The walls of the house absorbed the mare's screams, until they felt to her as muffled and pointless as yelling underwater. Still, her lungs kept pushing out cries for help. Her attacker carried her over his back, holding her up with his magic. The stench of his sweat filled her nostrils. He payed no heed to the frantic writhing, or the pounding of her hooves on his back, which dug into his flesh. He simply lumbered, as steadily as a freight train, through the big corridors of the castle.

She knew where they were heading, but not where they would end up. In this castle nothing was as it seemed, nothing was normal. So while she new in advance the turns her attacker would take, which hallways he would traverse, their destination was as unknowable as a faraway universe. And that meant her ponynapping would be completely untraceable. She would be unreachable by possible rescuers. To her family – And that thought scared her worse than death.

But then she saw something even more terrifying: her foals, galloping to catch up, to help. They stumbled up the staircase behind her attacker. The thought of them falling into the same fate as she was too much to bear.

“Go back,” she said, but by this time, her throat was raw, and her voice a mere whisper.

The stallion reached a landing and turned down another corridor.

Temporarily out of sight, her son yelled, “Mom!” His young voice was almost lost in the shrill ness of his terror. He appeared on the landing. His hooves slipped on the floor, and he went down. Behind him, his little sister hesitated. She was terrified and confused, too young to do anything more than follow her brother. He clambered up and started to gallop again.

A hoof gripped him, stopping him.

The boy's father had something with him: A lamp! He passed the boy in the hallway. His strong body allowed him to catch up to the attacker in seconds.

Thank goodness, she thought.

With the lamp held over his head with magic, he grabbed her wrist in his hooves. He pulled, attempting to anchor himself on the ground. But the brute under her continued on, pulling him with them. Pain flared in her shoulder. He might as well have been trying to pull a tree out of the ground with his bare hooves.

She caught a glimpse of the torches that lined the walls. The flames flickered in time with her rapid pulse.

“Orion,” she said, pleading, hopeful.

His gripped tightened as he stumbled along beside them. He swung the lamp with his magic at her assailant. If the stallion carrying her had flinched, she didn't feel it.

What he did do was stop. He did such a quick spin that the mare's husband lost his grip on her. And now, facing the other direction, she could no longer see him. Not being able to see him felt like having the wind knocked out of her. But realizing that he was now face-to-face with the stallion that had kidnapped her hurt even worse.

“No!” She yelled, her voice somehow finding volume. “Orion!”

His hand gripped her back hoof, but released almost instantly. The stallion under her moved erratically, shaking her violently. Her head collided with a wall.

Everything went dark, her consciousness slipping away. It came back to her slowly, like the warmth of a fire on an exceptionally windy day.

She tasted blood. The impact of hitting the wall must have caused her to bite her tongue. Her eyes snapped open. Orion lay crumpled on the floor. Her foals were there, touching him, and calling his name. Her son's eyes found hers, and determination pushed away his fear... at least a part of it. He stepped over his father, coming to her rescue. Orion raised his head, stunned. He reached for the boy but missed.

Over the huffing breath of the stallion, she heard the clop of her son's feet. How she loved that sound, knowing it would bring him to her. But now she only wanted to hear it carry him away from the danger. Orion called out to him in a strained voice. The boy kept galloping.

Her assailant turned again, into a room – one of the small antechambers. He strode straight towards the next threshold.

Her son reached the first door just as it was closing.

“Mom!” He yelled, worry showing on his face.

“Stay,” she said. She showed him her hooves in a “stop” gesture, hoping he would understand, and follow her order. She took in his face, as a diver takes a deep breath before going under water. He was completely in the antechamber, reaching for her with both arms, but the captor had already opened the door and was going through. The door was closing behind him.

The light they were stepping into was blinding. It swept around her, through the opening, and made pinpoints of the boy's irises. His blue eyes dazzled. His cheeks were sparkling with tears.

“I-” she started, meaning to say she loved him, but the brute went down, causing her to crash into his back. Air rushed from her, untouched by vocal cords, just pure air.

“Mom!” her son screamed. He was full of despair, reaching for the door. “Mo-”

The door closed, severing her from her family forever.