Twilight Sparkle and Luna left with the dragon in tow, but Shiva didn’t need Luna looking through her memories to remember the little purple dragon.

It would be rather hard to forget the one that gave her the chance for escape.

By the time Spike had shown up, Shiva was back in the arena. And she had all but given up. When Breaker lashed her, she didn’t even wince from the pain. She was too afraid wincing would lead to further punishment.

“So, you figured it out yet?” Breaker demanded. “You know who the master is?”

“Yes,” Shiva whispered.

“Say it,” Breaker said, resting the coil of his whip on her back. “Say who the master is.”

Shiva winced, her human master’s face flashing before her eyes, but the throb of her back forced the words from her mouth.

“You are.”

“Louder!” he lashed the whip backward.

“You are!” Shiva yelped before he could carve into her back again. “Beast Breaker is Master! Ponies are Master!”

The lash thankfully didn’t descend. Breaker nodded at Summer, who slid a bowl of bland gruel before Shiva.

“Now, was that so hard?” Summer asked, her grin not reaching her eyes.

Shiva didn’t respond. She took the bowl and buried her face in it, unable to ignore the snobbish chuckles of the other ponies around her.

Shiva could feel rage and anger burning in her gut. The gruel was tainted with humiliation. She wanted to carve the smug looks from these ponies’ faces.

But there was no way she could try. Even if she had access to whatever magic was inside her, there were too many for her to take on. The others wouldn’t help her; the ponies punished them whenever Shiva slipped up. She had no one she could ask for help, no one to talk to, and she was at the mercy of a bunch of complete sociopaths determined to break the wills of others.

A scuffling sound emanated from the cave entrance. Shiva sighed in resignation.

And it looks like they’re ready to start on another, she thought morosely.

She looked up, her gaze just as blank as the others as they vaguely took note of the newest beast to be broken…

But what she saw made Shiva’s ears flare in horror.

Stone Walker was carrying Spike in his jaws. The little dragon’s green eyes darted around in fear, and his purple and light green scales were already scuffed with dirt.

“Wait!” the baby dragon screamed. “I just thought this was a dragon cave. I’m sorry for intruding, I…” His eyes locked on the cages. “Is that a dragon? And a griffon? And…?”

The older dragon’s eyes widened, before a puff of resigned steam hissed from his nose. “No…” he whimpered, shutting his eyes and resting his head against the bars.

“W-What are you gonna do with me?” the baby dragon continued to ask.

Shiva’s ears flattened. She wanted to scream. She wanted to shout out, let him go, he’s just a pup! But that would only get her, Luke, or this new baby dragon punished.

But as the baby dragon was thrown to the ground in front of the arena, she could feel old memories forcing themselves back up. Her duty to a human Master; to protect when she was in danger.

This dragon wasn’t human. And he certainly wasn’t her master. But he looked like a baby version of his master’s kind. And he was making her need to protect crop back up.

“What’s this?” one of the unicorns in the booth above asked. Different from the boss unicorn; they changed day by day, but there was always at least one of the horned snobs looking down their nose at them.

“The personal assistant to the protégé of Princess Celestia,” Walker replied. “She calls it ‘Spike.’ Looks like it decided to make a break for it.”

“Make a break?” the baby dragon asked, climbing to his little feet. “Twilight didn’t need me anymore.” He crossed his arms. “She hates me.” He added in a sad tone.

Breaker grabbed Shiva in his grip and yanked her forward. He stormed over to Spike and kicked him to his back. Shiva felt a surge of fury swell up in her gut. She had to help this dragon. She had to think.

“She should hate you,” Breaker said. “You abandoned your duty to her.”

The poor dragon was quivering. “W-What… but…?” he stammered.

“But don’t worry,” Breaker said with a malicious grin. He held Shiva up to the dragon. “You see this mutt?”

Spike’s green eyes locked with Shiva’s brown. The sight of fear and despair in his eyes made Shiva want to protect him. To hug him and shield him from these cruel ponies.

I gotta do something! Her instincts insisted. Forget the ponies and numbers, I can't let them do this!

“I’ll bet she was some unicorn’s pet too,” Breaker continued to say. “I’ll bet the unicorn, out of the goodness of his heart, gave her magic abilities, just like Twilight Sparkle did for you. And, just like you, she thought that meant she could just take off when she didn’t need the unicorn anymore.”

“B-But I didn’t…” Spike tried to say, but Walker silenced him with a stomp on his tail.

“But she learned,” Breaker said maliciously, shaking Shiva by the nape. “Didn’t you, dog?”

She trembled in his grip, her claws shaking. Her eyes were clenched shut.

But they shot open at what he said to the dragon.

“And you’re gonna learn too.”

No! Her instinct to protect couldn’t be held back anymore. Even with the suppressor, she still felt it when she touched other ponies. And right now, Breaker had her in his magic grip.

Clearly, he thought she was too broken to try anything with the spell.

But he didn’t think about how far he had pushed her.

Her claws shot out and wrapped around his face. The ponies jumped back with screams of terror as Shiva channeled magic into her claws. Her claws sparked with lightning as she threw Breaker into the booth. The unicorns let out very cathartic screams as they went up in smoke and rubble.

Shiva turned back to Spike, only for the ponies to dog-pile her. Hooves rained down around her, smashing into her body and head indiscriminately.

“Stop her!” they screamed. “Stop her!”

But as they pummeled her down, Shiva felt magic coursing into her. The suppressor was containing her magic. But while it kept her from using any outward spells, it didn’t stop internal spells. Like increasing her strength to throw Breaker into the booth.

So, as her body was rocked by hooves and spells, Shiva forced herself to rise. The pain was bad, but it was slowly fading as she channeled the magic inward. Her skin toughened, her bones hardened and her entire body gained the durability of a steel cable. She didn't care how long it lasted. She just needed it to last long enough.

“W-What’s it doing?!” one pegasus whimpered.

“It’s not working!” another unicorn screamed.

But before any of them could come up with any ideas, Shiva seized her collar with her claws. Her eyes remained locked on Spike, who was slowly backing up, his eyes wide in awe and fear.

I gotta get to him, Shiva thought desperately, as the metal collar bent under her claws. I have to save him.

I have to protect!

The collar snapped, it’s shards falling. Shiva forced herself up above the hooves, wings and spells, and unleashed a howl of rage. Lightning exploded around her. Guards went flying through the air, some smashing painfully against the wall and others clanging against the cages. The non-ponies all jumped back, eyes wide in shock and horror, but they had nothing to fear from Shiva.

Spike was staring at the whole thing in confusion before Shiva jumped from the arena, carefully picking up and holding him in a protective embrace.

“Who…?” he stammered up at her.

“Don’t be scared,” Shiva assured him. “I’m going to get you out of here.” She looked back as the guards started to rise, some clutching their heads, and other screaming as they cradled limp comrades.

But then Shiva looked towards the caged animals. They were looking at her with cinders of hope.

“I’m saving all of you!” Shiva declared, more to herself than anyone else. And she charged forward. The few guards that hadn’t been caught in her blast tried to match her charge, but Shiva felt the magic in Spike course into her as she placed him on her back. She imagined giant talons forming on her claws, and lashed out. Twin giant talons carved through the air, back-handing the guards out of the cave or against the walls.

Shiva sprinted forward, her lightning enshrouded claws slashing forward in a clapping motion. They sliced through the metal bars of the cages, and the non-ponies took their first shaky steps out, their sad and fearful expressions changing to confused wonder.

“Come on!” Shiva screamed, racing for the exit. “Go!”

The griffon was the first to overcome his shock. Spreading his wings, he shot into the air. In seconds, he was gone. Following his example, the changeling’s wings buzzed to life, and he too vanished into the air. The dragon was slower, likely due to his scales, but he lumbered out of the cave and took flight. The minotaur caught hold of the dragon’s talon and rode him to freedom. Luke, however, raced to Shiva’s side as she made it to the exit, regret and wonder battling on his face.

“I…” Luke stammered, shaking his head like a confused dog.

Shiva just wagged his tail at him before glancing at the inside. Ponies were struggling to their hooves. More than one were pointing their way.

They don’t know when to give up, Shiva thought bitterly. She turned to Luke.

“Let’s go!” she said. “We can talk more when we’re away.”

Luke nodded, and dove into the dirt. Shiva paused in shock as he parted the earth like water, and in her moment of hesitation, he was gone.

Shiva made to follow after him, when a voice shrieked.

“Spike!”

Shiva spun. The purple unicorn Shiva would come to know as ‘Twilight’ was racing up the mountain path towards them. Her horn was glowing.

Spike briefly lit up in a purple shimmer, but Shiva pulled Spike back to her chest, and the purple shimmer faded, Shiva's power pulling the magic away. The purple mare faltered, her look of determination changing to shock.

“Don’t worry, Spike,” Shiva assured him, holding him away from the mare as she backed towards the hole. “I’ll protect you.”

“No, you don’t need to!” Spike protested. “That’s Twilight. She… well… she’s my friend!”

“But you said Twilight hated you,” Shiva noted. "Is this a different Twilight?"

Before he could explain, Shiva heard it. The dreaded crack of the whip.

She threw Spike away just before something wrapped around her and pulled her into the cave. Shiva’s lacerated back hit the dirt. She spun; Breaker was back, blood dripping down his head and his coat torn, the handle of his whip between his teeth. Glaring at her in fury, he stomped his fore hooves to wind up the length of the whip, reeling her in.

Not this time! Shiva thought in fury. His whip had wound around her upper arms, but they hadn’t caught her snout. She grabbed the whip with her teeth and tugged. Twilight's failed spell had empowered her with more than enough strength, and the stallion was thrown forward, the whip handle flying from his mouth as his fury changed to shock.

“Not this time!” Shiva snarled out loud, as she spun, lashing the whip hard.

The handle smashed into the side of his head with a dull THUNK, and Beast Breaker hit the ground, his eyes wide and dazed. Before he could struggle to his feet, Shiva ripped herself free and lunged forward.

“NOT THIS TIME!” She screamed, her claws sinking into his underbelly.

He shrieked before her other claw closed over his horn. The faint golden spark went dim.

“NOT THIS TIME!”Shiva roared, as she stabbed him again. Her duty to protect had mixed with fiery hate. One claw sunk into his chest, the other claw gripped his horn, preventing it from lightning up. His screams were drowned out by the wolf’s howl of fury, punctuating each furious stab.

“NOT! THIS! TIME!”

Shiva didn’t notice his eyes go dull and roll up in his head. She didn’t care when his hooves stopped moving and hung limply at his side. All she cared about was making sure he never hurt anyone again. That Spike would never have to live in fear of him. That she would never have to live in fear of his lash again.

Then something knocked her away from him. Something with magic.

Absorbing some of the energy from the blast, Shiva spun back to her feet, her eyes black and angry; her vision red. Twilight’s horn was glowing, but her eyes were wide with fear. She backed up, but Shiva was faster. She crashed into Twilight, rolling her on her back. Something that sounded like Spike screamed, but it was drowned out by the deafness of her own fury. These ponies were evil! They needed to be stopped! She raised her claws, ready to ram them into those wide, purple eyes.

“NO!”

Shiva’s claws halted mere centimeters from Twilight’s eyes. Another one of the ponies appeared; a yellow pegasus mare, wings spread and cyan eyes wide.

But there was something… terrifying about her eyes. Something that locked every limb Shiva had in place and left her staring at the yellow pegasus with a mixture of awe and terror. There was a determination in this mare’s gaze; an authority that rang more powerful than Master. More powerful than Breaker. Shiva hated it. She wanted to move; to run; to fight; to do anything. But her body refused to obey her. It now obeyed this angry yellow pegasus.

“Get. Off her,” the pegasus ordered.

Shiva’s muscles trembled. Her eyes twitched. She stepped off the purple mare, her claws opening in a show of harmlessness.

But I’m not harmless, Shiva thought. What she had done to Breaker shot through her mind. I… killed him.

Suddenly, Shiva felt very afraid of what this mare could do to her. She had killed one of them; probably more. She remembered seeing ponies crying over limp companions. If this mare knew about them… what would she be willing to do to punish Shiva?

Even worse; how was Shiva supposed to fight back? This mare was freezing her with nothing but a look! If there was magic, Shiva couldn't absorb it!

Spike dragged the purple mare behind the yellow one, who stepped forward.

“Good,” the yellow mare said. The satisfaction in her voice made Shiva nauseous. “Sit.”

Shiva twitched her head back and forth, trying to break eye contact. Pants for breath hissed back and forth between her clenched teeth. The yellow mare stepped closer, her eyes nearly doubling in size.

“I said, SIT!” she ordered.

She couldn’t resist. Her haunches folded, and she fell back, pinning her tucked tail under her rump. Her head ducked, but she couldn’t break eye contact. Her whole body shivered as the mare bore down on her.

The pegasus grinned again.

“Good girl,” she praised with a smile.

Shiva felt anger fighting against terror. Once again, these ponies had control of her. They were taking the place of Master. But where Master had only needed love, these ponies seemed adamant on magic and whips and other torture devices.

Dark thoughts invaded her mind; demands that she lunge onto this smug little witch and carve the arrogant smile from her face like she had Breaker.

But that would only get me in more trouble, Shiva thought.

But without any prompting, without even a fake lunge forward, Shiva saw a flash of blue flying past the yellow mare towards her.

Pain exploded along Shiva’s temple. Darkness overtook her.

And when Shiva awoke, it was in this cell. Waiting for Twilight and Luna to force her to relive it all again.

The fight had gone out of her at that point. She had struggled; she had fought. And it had gotten her nowhere. She was still in a cell, and these ponies still had her. And worst: now they had a reason to treat her like the monster they all thought she was.

Or perhaps, Shiva thought, her elation at Breaker’s death replaced with shame. The monster I am.

And that's how we got to Shiva's cell. And how Shiva knew Twilight and Spike.

Shout out to The Rogue Wolf; Beast Breaker is heavily inspired by Big Top from Misunderstandings, and I thank you for the inspiration. But Shiva is going in a far more different direction than Peter. And despite Shiva's intentions, the ponies have been given a very good reason to hate her.

Oh, almost forgot to add: Spike being out there is due to me changing the events of Owl's Well that Ends Well. I just tweaked it so that instead of Spike meeting the dragon, he instead ran into Beast Breaker and his troops. Hopefully, it still works and gives you an idea of where they are on the timeline.

Thank you again for reading, and stay tuned for the next chapters.