[PRP] And The World Comes Crashing Down... (Sakura)

[Phail Ninja]

A single beam of sun light penetrated through the dim room, lighting up the dancing dust motes that twirled blissfully through the air. Each dust particle weaved a complex pattern around the others, flying higher and higher as though gravity was something completely inconsequential to them. The gentle breeze that stirred them so originated from a small crack in the wall, allowing the cool air to mingle with the heavy stench within the room.

The mare cracked open her eye painfully. Her pupil dilated rapidly as her eyelids flickered shut again, wincing from the pain of the light. For a few brief moments, her mind hung in comfortable oblivion. The questions that she already knew the answers to were forgotten. There was no where was she? Why was she here? What had happened? All the groggy thoughts she could pull up lingered only on the brief shock of the brightness that hit her eye.

But the cold pole against her back brought up more discomforts, not allowing her to slip back into the darkness that called to her. It leeched the heat from her body, bringing cold chills running up and down her spine. Smothering a groan, she opened her eyes slowly once more. This time the light didn't burn quite so badly. Her body tried to shift itself away from the metallic object subconsciously.

A million points of pain erupted across her body, like the lash of a multitude of whips all hitting her simultaneously.

"Aahhhh..." The painful groan escaped through her teeth as her eyes rolled back into her skull, a deeper oblivion beckoning her closer.

 

[Phail Ninja]

Hazy images flittered beneath her eyelids – vague memories that her mind struggled to bring to focus. A fog sat, thick and heavy, at the fore of her head. Difficult to peer through, to see, to understand anything. Another spasm of pain brought momentary clarity.

Two shadows stood by the side of the path. Her vision was hazy, her lungs heavy. Smoke tickled her breath. A fire. There had been a fire. Devastating, destructive, powerful. Its orange heat had torn through the forest, an inferno that had devoured everything in its path. Wicked flames, whispering of death. Her eyes burned. The two shapes would not focus. A stinging pain as her eyes watered. Soot covered her flank. Heavy, cloying. The shapes moved. Friend? Or foe?

The fog encroached once more. Her eyelids fluttered open. For a moment, her surroundings were as hazy as her thoughts. But after a few seconds, they settled. She was in a dimly lit cave. Craggy rock sucked the heat from her body. And even worse – the metal bar she leaned against. Gritting her teeth, she rocked away from it. Where was she? What had happened? And why… her breath hitched in her throat. Bars. Lots of bars. This wasn’t just a cave. It was a prison. Sharp pain clutched at her throat. Even as the panic rose within her, her smoke-stained lungs gave out into fits of coughing.

 

[Phail Ninja]

“Oh, poor lost little mare. Covered in soot.”

“You poor thing.”

“Here, come, let us help you.”

Their taunting voices sprang back to mind. And she had trusted them. She had trusted them. What a naïve fool.

Blurred shapes sharpened into horse-like bodies. Two stallions. She staggered towards them, too exhausted to know what else to do. After all, they called to her. One foot, then another. Her lungs rattled with each breath. But at least she was not burned. Drained, yes. But alive. She scrambled for her next breath, thoughts light and flimsy. Her body fought for the oxygen it desired. It was only as she stumbled into them that she noticed – those spade like tails. But even then, she did not realise the danger she was in.

She snapped back to the present, letting her instincts guide her more than anything. She had to focus. Sons. Her sons. There – something to live for. She took another rattled breath. What had she taught them? If they ever got lost, or hurt. Step one. Water. Step two. Shelter. Step three. Food. Well, shelter she had plenty of. But water? Her eyes darted around her. Nothing. Just the enclosure around her. Panic rose again.

 

[Phail Ninja]

Her body was spent. She reached within for a flicker of her unicorn magic, an instinct more than an active thought. Self-preservation. It was there, but faint – a shadow of its normal strength. A lone strand leeched out from it, the smallest pulse she could manage, just enough to start the healing process, but not enough to exhaust what little strength she had managed to muster.

Her mind still roiled, but clarity was setting in. The thoughts came faster and sharper.

The two shapes had surrounded her. Their voices whispering of trust, and yet with a sinister undercurrent. Goading her. Pretending to help. And the next thing she knew was pain. A thwack into her knee sent her staggering to the ground. The beating continued. Thud after thud. There was only pain. Until… finally… everything blurred into darkness. The last image she could remember was that spaded tail as she lay on the ground, her body being dragged against the ground, dirt, dust and blood filling her nostrils.

So. They had been Kalona. The same things that Casper had gone off to fight. Her heart thudded. For a moment, her own panic was forgotten. Was he okay? Had he survived the war? These… beings… beasts… were more ferocious than she had ever imagined. How could Soquili… hurt each other like that? She shuddered, and her wounds screamed in agony once more. She cast an eye on the cage around her. It looked strong, too strong to break, especially in her current state. What did they want with her? What had she done to deserve this? Alone, in the dark, trapped. Without her family. Without anyone. At the mercy of those… thugs. Killers. She had heard whispers of such evil beings, warned her sons of them. But she had never imagined she would actually meet them. After all, she lived in such a nice part of the woods. It was safe. She had spent her whole life there, with her haphazard pile of siblings. What would happen to her? What if… she just disappeared… died in here… and no one ever knew? What if…. What if that’s what had happened to her dad…. He had vanished one day. Promised to come back.

Thoughts spun through her head as a wave of fatigue hit. Well, there was no water, no food, no escape to be found here. No, she could only sit down and mind her strength. What was left of her healing magic would have to do. She curled up on the floor again, wincing in pain, and closed her eyes. Maybe when she opened them again she might realise this was all just a bad dream…. But… she doubted it.