This is meant as my first sequel and a way to redeem myself to one of my friends. Here's the original: story/73657/1/the-confinement-of-queen-chrysalis/i-beyond-acheron
Unlike that one, this one won't be graphic and disgusting. But it is rated m for mature themes. Also, don't complain about the canonicity. It's an old fanfic and an outdated one, but that doesn't excuse my actions of being an ass towards my friend. Anyway, here's the sequel.
It had been six months. Six months, 181 days, 4,344 hours, and 260,640 minutes. Chrysalis' resolve had worn incredibly thin and her long days in the prison had shaped her into something she never wished to be. Weak, tired, sore, scared and hungry, she had stopped trying to fight back months ago. Escape wasn't an option, as her last attempt had killed 10 of her beloved subjects and an extra brutal session for her. Now she would only whimper until he was done.
Not all hope was lost, however. Her captor had not found her daughter Abella. Acheron wasn't the best at keeping his voice down, so she heard his plan and prayed that it wouldn't work and that her offspring would remain safe. She had heard him fuming outside later about how incompetent the guards were in tracking down the little bitch.
She cringed in the harshness of his words to her precious daughter; because while she wasn't a child, she was still young of age compared to her mother, but also smiled inwardly in relief that it didn't work. While it wasn't certain she was going to live, she wanted her daughter to continue on with her life and maybe even become better than her.
She took a sip of water, something Acheron considered an extreme leniency but still gave to her because he didn't want her to die yet, and paced around the cramped cell, seeing herself in the mirror and seeing just how much damage had been inflicted on her.
While she had been skinny before, she was now almost skeletally so. Her horn was sawn off and her wings were torn and shred to the point of being useless ribbons. There were cuts, scabs, and bruises all over her body and her hair had become brittle and scarce. She sighed and shook her head before resuming her old place back at the corner. Tired, she closed her eyes and drifted to sleep.
Sunlight peeked out of Doctor Horse's curtains and onto her face. He woke up groggily and got ready for another day of work in the boring Ponyville hospital, where the only severe calls were patients that had sprained a leg or a wing.
Sometimes, there were cases of illness, but that was usually on a rare occasion, and the worst of these cases being one of mass food poisoning. He wished she would have gotten a job in Manehattan or another busy city with exciting new territory, but he had settled for a quaint calm life instead.
He grabbed his phone, and found that he had 37 missed calls from a sketchy looking number. He was confused as all hell, and decided to call back against his better judgement.
"Hello, this is Doctor Horse speaking. How may I help you?"
"Yes, hello. Meet me at Appleloosa, 11:30 am. I'll tell you more when you're there. Don't be late."
The caller hung up, and Doc Horse stared at his phone in confusion but curiosity got the better of him and after calling in sick to work, he took a train and arrived at his destination, but didn't see anyone there.
Dialing the number again, he put it to his ear. However before he had the chance to call, he was grabbed roughly from behind and shoved into a dark room.
Suddenly, the room lit up, and standing at the center was a very frayed looking Cherry Jubilee. "Hello, do I know you?" Doctor Horse asked, careful to not sound frightened or nervous.
"No, but I gathered you here because my friend Rainbow Dash said you were a very good doctor. I need your help. It may sound strange, and I'm not sure of it myself, but I need someone to confirm that I'm not crazy and just in case, someone to provide medical attention." She started to shiver, but was reassured when Horse put his hoof over her shoulder. "Please tell me what happened."
"Well, I was delivering an order of cherries to a mighty scary location. Suddenly, two ponies put me in a car and drove me to a rickety building. They shoved me inside and we walked to an elevator, where we descended to what felt like forever. When I thought we were reaching the center of Equestria itself, we got off and stepped out and inside a cavern. It was huge! There were stalactites and everything, all fancy-like! We arrived at another building, and when we stepped in, there was an eerie silence thick in the air. Just then, it was interrupted by soft weeping. I was gonna go investigate, but the two ponies coming with me took me away. We went up to a desk, and there was one of the most frightening looking ponies ever. He was a tall, off white stallion with bloodshot blue eyes and a crazy smile on his face. I asked him what the sobs were and he said,'don't worry about her, she's just my toy,' and laughed. I got out immediately after the order was paid."
She started taking deep breaths and inhaled sharply before continuing,"but just before I left, I swear I saw out of the corner of my eye that someone was watching me. I know there is someone there and I know they're in trouble! Please, you need to listen and go with me! You're a doctor after all!"
Doctor Horse thought long and hard on the matter. While it was for a noble cause and probably one that would save a life, he simply couldn't fathom the idea of going against anyone in combat. Not to mention, this would undoubtedly tarnish his reputation if it turned out he had wrongly assumed something and acted out without solid proof.
"Please," the mare said pleadingly, "I beg you."
"I don't know, give me a day. At least." He started formulating all the doubts and what-ifs in his head.
"Fine. I'll give you until tomorrow. If you don't come, I'll go myself." She shoved him back out and closed the door on his muzzle. Turning around, he left for his house in Ponyville.
Back at home, Doctor Horse considered the offer. On one hand, he could be a hero. On the other hand, he could be a dangerous criminal who assaulted another pony based on the false assumptions of a crazy mare. He could ruin or build his reputation. What would he do? What did he have to do? He remembered signing up as a doctor, vowing to try to save all lives. He also remembered the time when he dismissed that stallion's case as only delusions, only for him to- well it didn't matter now.
He tried to get some shut eye, but couldn't because of his words reverberating in his head. He signed up to save lives. His whole purpose was to save lives, that's why he got his cutie mark! He finally decided on what he would do.
In the morning, he packed up his saddle and left, but not before getting help from one of his friends, Cloud Chaser. He knew Cloud Chaser was a young pegasus, and would be necessary in case of any forced combat. They took a train to Appleloosa and arrived back at the center of town, where Cherry Jubilee was already waiting.
"You came!" She quickly tried to mask her enthusiasm,"Thank you. I knew I couldn't do it alone. And what's better is that you brought company!" She quickly gave them each a hug and handshake before she turned serious again. "I marked out the landmarks on this map and have a cart right there since by train it's too suspicious. I already left my ranch to an employee in charge. You cancelled everything for this week, right?" They both nodded in response. "Good. Let's go."
They mounted the cart and left, riding out to their destination. There was an uncertainty between them as they didn't know what would happen next and whether they would have to stay the night or go back the next day, if this was even real at all. Silently, they rode until the mushroom rock formation was in sight. This was the first landmark.