Prologue

Bile splattered over the floor - what remained of a hasty breakfast. The unwilling relinquisher of the ex-McMarenolds haycakes retched futilely, gasping for breath as she hung from the chains and shackles around her forehooves, wings bound to her sides.

The inducer of her regurgitation withdrew the heavy steel hoof with a click, and set it back on the black, stone floor of the chamber with a resonating click.

“Rainbow Dash,” a cold voice said, a dark shadow standing in an iron doorway, framed by light from the corridor outside. “It doesn’t have to be like this. Just tell me what I want to know, and we can end this little act.”

“I’ll never sell out,” Rainbow Dash coughed, spitting a wad of disgusting fluid onto the floor weakly. “Never.”

“I get it,” the shadow said, bowing its head. “You’re the Element of Loyalty, yadda yadda.” The shadow leaned against the doorway idly. “Can’t we just pretend for a moment that you’re not the Element of Loyalty, so you can just tell us what we want to hear?”

“Small problem,” Rainbow said, clearing her throat. “I never was so good at playing pretend.”

“Sucks to be you, then,” the shadow said snidely, nodding. “Hit her again.”

The sturdy stallion standing next to Rainbow wound back his hoof with a snick, and drove it into Rainbow’s gut once more. Rainbow tried to scream, but with a lack of air in her lungs, all that came out was a strangled rasp.

“You like it?” the shadow asked brightly. “Autonomous Clockwork Soldiers -- a little on the tricky side to build, and they do have their little flaws, but I think we’ll be mass-producing them within the month. Expensive to boot, very resource-intensive.” The shadow shrugged and stood up straight again. “But it’s not like the Gryphon Kingdoms are using the massive deposit of iron under Chickago, and I can think of a few dragons whose hoards we could go and melt down. I think I’ll make the soldiers produced from the hoards my new Royal Guard, gold plate does look pretty snazzy; Celestia had the right idea.”

“Buck you,” Rainbow coughed.

“But,” the shadow continued, “for all their rigidity, for all those little design wrinkles I haven’t quite fixed yet? There’s one thing I did get right.” The shadow’s expression was still inscrutable, but Rainbow felt, rather than saw, a smile. “These things can quite literally go all day, and that’s spring-intensive activities like... retiring the old guard. Hitting you until you tell us where our dear old Fluttershy is? No problem.”

“And like I said,” Rainbow stated levelly, “I. Don’t. Know.”

“Don’t play the fool, Rainbow Dash,” the shadow said. “We both know you’re too clever for that. Elements of Harmony are snatched out from underneath my nose, Fluttershy vanishes like a silent fart on bucking tornado duty, as usual, and half of Ponyville swears blind that you were the last pony to see Fluttershy. You know something. Where is she?”

“If I did know,” Rainbow said, “I still wouldn’t tell you.”

“Pity,” murmured the shadow. “Again, if you would.”

Rainbow felt something snap in her ribcage as she was pummeled once again, eyes bugging out as she was tossed around in her chains, rear hooves tapping against the wall gently as she swung.

“That’s enough,” the shadow said curtly, and the clockwork soldier paused, lowering its hoof and stepping back. “Let’s stop here for today, we do need to give our little Dashie some time to get used to her new life. Wouldn’t want to break her before we get what we want, and all.”

“You know,” Rainbow Dash mumbled, staring down at her own bruised chest as the soldier stalked away. “A couple of years back, I got learned a lesson by somepony. A real important lesson in humility, a cutting down to size I really needed.” Rainbow looked up at the shadow in the doorway. “I wonder where that pony is now?”

“She can’t save you,” the shadow sneered, stepping back so the soldier could exit the room. “Nopony can.”

“One of these days,” Rainbow said. “One of these days... this’ll all catch up with you, and you’re gonna learn the lesson I did, the hard way. It might take months, it might take years, but I’ll wait, and when it happens...” Rainbow looked the shadow in the eye. “I’ll be there.”

There was a grunt of annoyance. “Don’t hold your breath.”

Rainbow shrugged as best as she could in her shackles. “I’m not going anywhere.”

The shadow gestured with a hoof, and the clockwork soldier reached in, grabbing the doorhandle with a hoof, and yanking the door shut in one fluid motion.

Clang.

Next Chapter: Prologue Estimated time remaining: 4 Minutes