Chapter 3: An Unexpected Party-Goer. ((GRIMDARK))

The chill of cool, night air... Was there anything better? He had heard of the stories. He witnessed Nightmare Moon's rising, though he didn't fully understand it until Aloe had explained it to him. He never really understood why so many didn't like Princess Luna's night. The cool, still air, the soft, flowing waves through his wings, the pleasant darkness on his eyes... Nothing was better. His thoughts became abrupt as he reached the gate to Sweet Apple Acres. He trotted in, bag over his back, looking around, and smiling as he spotted one of the larger sheds out in the distance with the light on. That had to be where the party was. He drew closer, and he lightly tossed his mane, shaking a bit, and folding his wings down. After all, he might as well look decent for Pinkie, right? He heard talking, and pushed open the door, grinning. "Alright, alright! Relax guys, the music is he-MMF!" Starlight was immediately cut off, a bag shoved over his head, stifling his talking and breath. the pegasus flared his wings out, but before he had a chance to react, there was a sickening thud and a sharp pain filled his skull, causing the pegasus to black out almost instantly.

'W-what...What's going on...?' Starlight thought to himself as he slowly regained consciousness. He tried to move his legs, but to no avail.. They seemed to be tied down... He struggled to flap his wings, but they were stretched back and out, held in place. 'W-why.. am I tied up... why does my head hurt...?' He groaned audibly, slowly opening his eyes. There were voices, coming toward him. A small beam of light shot out from the darkness, coming from a flashlight, shining on his face, his eyes screaming in pain from the sudden light. "You're finally awake. For such a strong pegasus, you sure did knock out easy." Starlight slowly got his eyes used to the light, and struggled against the chair he was tied down to. "W-what? Who are you?! What do you want with me?!" The darkness hissed at him, and he felt a searing white-hot pain burn around his tail, yelling out in pure agony. "QUIET YOU FOAL!" the darkness screeched. Starlight huffed, his hooves struggling to get free. "W-what... What do you want with me?"

"Your life."

Starlight's face turned a pale shade of white. "Y-you've got to be kidding me! What the buck have I done!?" A figure stepped forward, wearing a long black cloak and mask to shield it's body. It spoke in a low, female tone. "You're an abomination. A strong, healthy pegasus, with so much potential... and your life has been wasted, because you've failed at something even young fillies can do." Starlight blinked, and then cried out as a searing hot poker jabbed into his flank. "W-what do you want with me?!" Another assailant stepped forward in the same garb, but a low male tone this time, grabbing his chin. "You foal. You lack a Cutie mark. You've wasted your potential, and don't deserve a place in Equestria. You're a disgrace to all of pony-kind, and the pegasus race!" The male voice grabbed Starlight's head, and before he could comprehend, the male voice had pulled a small, thin knife from within the shrouded cloak, forcing the blade into Starlight's left eye, the blade puncturing downward, away from his brain. Starlight let out a cry of sheer agony, but his head was held steady, the assailant stopping, just holding the blade. Blood began to slowly trickle from his eye, and Starlight tried to hold his composure. He might as well go out with a fight...

"M-me...? A disgrace...?" He spat through his pain. "I... I might not have a cutie mark... but I've probably achieved more in my life... than either of you..." The voices hissed again, the male forcing the knife deeper in his eye as the female burned the ring around his tail again. Starlight screamed out again in agony as the blade was pulled from his eye and thrown away, skidding toward the darkened door to outside. He could feel the fur and muscle burning from around his tail, and he felt a dull numbness... He couldn't feel or move his tail anymore. It hung there, limp, as the male grabbed his bloodied face. "SHUT YOUR BUCKING MOUTH, YOU INSOLENT FOAL!" The female spoke slowly. "...Get it. We don't have time for this." Starlight panted softly, blood slightly trickling into his mouth. The male figure seemed pleased as he vanished from sight. As he came back, Starlight began to panic, his eyes wide.

"N-no... No... Please... anything but that..." His assailants simply laughed. The male voice had returned, carrying a large, two-handled hacksaw. "N-no... Oh, please.. Celestia, no..." The voices just seemed to cackle to themselves, walking around behind him. The pegasus was frantically looking for any way to escape... a loophole, perhaps... but there was nothing... He hung his head, tears streaming from his un-injured eye, the other crying a slow stream of thin blood as he felt the two position the saw over his wings. "You don't deserve to be a pegasus... So we're going to fix that...right...NOW." The dark, female voice hissed out the command, and a jolt of pure electricity shot through his veins as the blade began to grind and tear away at his fur, flesh, and bone, jets of blood spurting from the large, open wounds. Starlight yelled out, screaming in agony, the pain flooding him to his very core. The hacksaw was grinding through even his thick, strong bones effortlessly, and the grinding, aching feel of metal on bone sent waves of discord through him. His body was going limp from pain, and blood was starting to run from his sliced wings, the hacksaw almost all the way through.

He had given up... He was dying... He wasn't even a pegasus anymore. He heard his assailants cackle again as they began to grind away the last of his wings, only a small amount of skin and muscle left of the bloodied blue appendages hanging from his back. As the two began to cut the hacksaw the final time, there was a loud bang, and the door to the room flew open, an intense burst of wind and white light flooded the room, forcing the two assailants to hiss and pull the hacksaw down hard, slicing off the remainder of his wings, and cutting into the rope on his back, the rope loosening and falling down his form, as they were forced back against the wall from the strong burst of energy and wind. Starlight slipped from the chair and onto the floor in a puddle of his own blood. His wings, once proud and strong, now lay on the floor, bloodied and useless as the white light penetrated the far corners of the room.

Aloe growled, running head first into the room, her horn shining with a bright white magic, holding the light intact. She dimmed the light enough to be able to see the room, and her face paled as she saw Starlight, laid on the floor, covered in his own blood, next to the bloodied, mangled remains of his wings. She hoped the light had blinded the assailants long enough, and she ran over to him, her eyes full of tears as she noticed he was bleeding from his eye as well. "M-mom...?" Starlight coughed, choking a little on his own blood. "H-how...?" Aloe was crying, the tears streaming down her face... The only son she'd ever had... and he was... She sniffled heavily, trying to hold him. "I... I found the note... and I was scared... so I came to make sure everything was ok... I was just going to peek in and then leave again... until I heard you scream... It brought back memories of... of when i first found you... and I reacted..."

Starlight coughed again, trying to get to his hooves. His wings were gone, blood was pouring in thick streams from the two tattered spots on his back and from his eye, and he couldn't move his tail... it felt like dead weight. "T-thank... Thank you..." He whispered as he stood. Aloe smiled through her tears. "C-come on, Star... We.. we have to hurry... We don't have m-MMPH!" Aloe's eyes went wide as the female assailant had reached her from behind, thrusting a knife into the unicorn's throat. Starlight's eyes were frozen, fixated on the sight. "ALOE, NO!" He charged forward with what strength he could muster. The female quickly turned away, dragging the knife through Aloe's throat, blood pouring from the wound, Aloe's eyes transfixed upward in a state of pure horror as the life left her eyes, her horn sparking into nothingness. Starlight tried to turn, running toward the female again, knocking into her, hard, and sending her crashing to the floor.

The once-proud blue pegasus, now covered in blood, wingless, pinned down the female assailant. The female hissed beneath him, taking a knife and shoving it into his stomach, dragging it up to his sides, but Starlight couldn't feel it. His hooves began stomping down as hard as he could onto the others face. "M-MURDERER!!!! YOU KILLED HER!!!! YOU! KILLED! HER!" He could feel bones breaking beneath his hooves, and blood was beginning to spray from the face. Starlight's mind was twisted and in a pure state of rage... He didn't notice the male voice creep up and swing at his legs. Starlight felt a sickening crunch and an even louder crack as a thick metal pipe smashed into his front hooves, breaking them instantly. Starlight fell away from the female-voiced one, slumped on the ground as the male-voiced one hovered over him.

"Y-you..." the male voice spat. "..Y-you can die here... slowly.. for what you've done..." Starlight looked pitifully to the limp, bleeding body of Aloe, and a stream of tears, and a stream of blood, washed down his face. "I-I'm... I'm so sorry... I... broke.. my promise... Aloe..." The male voice spat and growled again, slamming the pipe into Starlight's head again, the broken and stripped pegasus fading into darkness.

Next Chapter: Realization and Rebirth. Estimated time remaining: 14 Minutes