- 2nd December 1945 - Morning

Fluttershy was just leaving Sugarcube Corner, heading back to her cottage. She kept herself from even being associated with the on going war. The weather was neither warm or cold, but in the middle. She was trying to get rid of a migraine, but nothing seemed to make it go away.

She got back into the cottage and collapsed to the ground. The migraine became that unbearable, making her cry. She then felt something around her.

"Wake *cough* wake up- *cough* key... Fluttershy..." Fluttershy woke up, with Discord's body wrapped around her, keeping her warm. She is back awake, inside the same dark, frigid cold mine she woke up in many times now. Fluttershy's mane and tail is overgrown and scruffy, where she couldn't properly care for it because of the conditions. But that isn't the mane concern. She is so skinny that her rib cage is showing underneath her fur and skin.

As for Discord, his body is completely bruised, and his dear antler isn't there. He painfully torn it off himself when he and Fluttershy arrived at the place they are in. He needed to, for something he could defend Fluttershy with, especially after an incident in particular. He had his magic stripped out of him. He kept hold of his dear antler with his dragon wing at all times. He had to, because Fluttershy would not survive in this brutal environment alone. Even with Discord being there to protect her, Fluttershy survived much longer than she should have.

"M... my head..." Fluttershy whimpered. This is where she would cry, but it was so cold her tears just froze.

"I know Fluttershy..." Discord coughed out.

"Get the fuck up!" A deep monotone voice shouted. It's one of the guards and they have come over. A tall middle-aged white human with dark brown eyes and dark blonde hair and facial hair with some grey. On him, he has a silver-coloured revolver which is being held in his right hand. He's wearing in completely grey military coat, and wore completely black trousers. On his head, he wore a hat made of brown fabric, which around the edges was covered with white wool. In the middle of the hat at the front was a red star outlined in gold, with a hammer and sickle in the middle in the same gold-colour.

"I said... GET THE FUCK UP!" He screamed out his demand, kicking Discord with his hard black leather boot, while Fluttershy flinches and shrieks. Discord grunted as he uncurled himself, with Fluttershy limping up onto her hooves.

"No sleep, get back to work you two! If I see you slacking again, you two will be shot." He dropped a an axe each, for Discord and Fluttershy.

"Follow me," The guy orders in that deep monotone voice. Everybody who had the accent that person had, it make Fluttershy quiver. Every human she has encountered has done wrong, both guard and prisoner.

Both Fluttershy and Discord picks up an axe and follows the guard.

(Out above ground)

Fluttershy and Discord are lead to an undisclosed area, thick snow being present wherever they look. One ominous structure that overshadowed the other structures in the area is a massive silver rusty crane-like structure. There are many watch towers scattered across the site, with at least 2 guards armed with rifles occupying them.

Around them are dead trees, with other ponies as well as humans of all backgrounds in torn rag tag prisoner clothes. The ponies have it slightly easier as their fur shielded them from most of the cold, whereas the humans only had the torn clothes which left large parts of them exposed.

Those ponies and humans are hacking away at the dead trees, slamming their axe's frozen blade with any strength they still had, against the still very sturdy strong, rough bark and oak. Making sure those ponies and humans do as they're ordered to, several other humans in the same uniform armed with rifles and revolvers, a few also being equipped with submachine guns. They're all also armed with truncheons, which some are whacking the loggers who collapsed and are lying on the snowy ground, both human and pony. All they got in return are screams of agony instead of making them get back to work.

"Get to work!" In their right hand, the guy also has a clean metal truncheon painted in shiny black. They lift their right arm and and shakes his hand, making Fluttershy and Discord flinch. They know several hits from them would leave them in pain for days. Both of them hastily went to a nearby tree in panic and starts chopping a nearby tree, with Discord using his axe with his hands, and Fluttershy using her axe with her mouth.

"We'll *cough* escape... today... at *cough* night... my dear Fluttershy-"

A nearby tree snaps, which everyone jumps and moves out the way. One of the ponies, a grown stallion, doesn't get out of the way in time. This stallion is massive white muscular pegasus with very small wings.

Since Bulk Biceps had been sent to the place as early as 1944, he had been an ally of Fluttershy and Discord. Punishments that would've eventually killed Fluttershy and Discord, Bulk Biceps took most of the punishment whenever he could, which his massive body was able to let him. The only reason he didn't fight back against the punishments is because he knows the others would face repercussions. But either way, even if he could fight back, all the strength he had has been reduced, used up for tanking out punishments. He is now as weak as all the other prisoners, and his time is up.

The big log came crashing down, his worn-out hooves unable to push his own bulky muscular body out the way in time. The tree lands directly on his back, breaking it as well as his ribs as the log above pressed his body down. The cracks as the bones broke are so loud everyone could hear it 5 metres away. It really didn't sound very nice. Crimson red blood seeps out from underneath the log, dyeing the snow the same red colour.

Other prisoners in an effort to help Bulk Biceps, try all they could to lift the log up of him. Fluttershy and Discord meanwhile continue chopping their tree, as they knew it'd be of their best interest if they'd want to live to see the day they'd escape. There's nothing they could do to help Bulk Biceps. The only other one the 2 could fully trust is dying.

The big muscular white pegasus very quickly went into shock, because of the mass loss of blood. He is very slowly and painfully dying.

"Leave him! It's his fault for not getting out the way- Back to work!" One of the guards points their black submachine gun at the prisoners trying to help. Most obeyed, most didn't dare to disobey. A few regardless continued trying to help, all of them being human as they didn't understand what the guard said. It's a different language, which some of the human prisoners didn't understand English. But this doesn't change what happens next.

"Dont disobey orders- BACK TO WORK!"

POW POW POW POW POW POW POW POW POW!

Many bodies are ripped apart, bullets ripping the prisoner clothes apart, shredding the chest and abdomen of their bodies until it looked like mince meat. More crimson red blood stains the snow below. So much blood is everywhere it could be smelled at a fair distance away. Where everybody is, the stench is almost unbearable. Everyone stops breathing with their noses and breathes with their mouths to help mitigate the awful bloody smell.

The rest of the prisoners get back to work, none dare to let a single tear escape their eyes.

"As a punishment, all of you will be working until the sky goes dark with no break in between! And there will be no food later either!"

All the prisoners sigh of relief. That punishment compared to what else they endured is very light, they all consider themselves lucky. Not crying did pay off, as that would've most likely made them all receive a worse punishment.

Fluttershy very quickly gets exhausted. Her mouth drops the axe. The pegasus knells down, panting and groaning. Discord grabs her axe with the same hand he has hold of his, the right hand. With his left hand, lifts his beloved Fluttershy and puts her on his back, then ran. Luckily the guards are looking at the others. Discord uses this chance to get somewhere guards cannot spot them easily. The 2 get away and hid behind a tree that's much further away.

"I... I want to go back home!" Fluttershy cried, an outburst of tears coming out, but they instantly froze as soon they came out of her eyes.

"Fluttershy, everything's okay, I won't let them do anything more- They aren't going to punish you again- We got away in time," Discord smoothly whispered and puts both his arms around the petrified pegasus who's shaking. Discord very gently starts rocking her.

"We need to get to the mines without them spotting us. We done it before." The yellow pegasus weakly nods in responds. They are about 50 metres from the mines. They leave their axes there.

The 2 use the dead trees as cover, so they remain hidden. They peak around and sees a few of them guards, pointing a rifle at a pair of 2 stallions. The stallions are pushing a minecart that is made of steel, having wooden faces on each side. On each wooden face is a big red star. In the cart there's different sorts of materials, mostly consisting of iron, coal and nickel. Ahead of the minecart, they see another stallion trying to fight back against a guard. They have had enough with the work.

POW!

A single bullet from a pistol to the head swiftly deals with the stallion. The bullet punches through the head and exits the back, blood and brains splattering out the exit wound. The murdered stallion face-planted to the snowy ground, staining the snow with blood gushing out the entrance wound.

"What are you two doing? Where are your axes?" Fluttershy and Discord turns around and sees a guard, making them jump. This guard is slightly younger than the guard who forced them out the mines. This guard is taller by an inch and has green eyes, black hair and a bushy moustache. One thing is the same, this guard is wearing the same clothes as the other guards. The military-looking uniform, black boots, wooly hat with the red star with the gold outline plus the gold hammer and sickle in the middle.

"We lost them, so we were looking to see if there were pickaxes so we can do some mining," Discord lied, but the guard buys into it. He happens to have 2 pickaxes on him, which he gives to Fluttershy and Discord.

"I best suggest you two get back to work then," The guard hissed at the 2, some of his spit flying onto them. Fluttershy has hold of her pickaxe in her mouth, Discord has hold of his pickaxe in his right hand.

They walk past where the log collapsed and they look at Bulk Biceps, who now lays lifeless. The tree log's sheer weight is so immense it effectively severes even the big body of Bulk Biceps in half. The fallen log is that heavy, not even the big muscular body could withstand its pressure.

"Thank you..." They whispered as they look at the stallion who had put everypony in front before his own skin. Bull Biceps is indeed a hero to them.

Fluttershy and Discord got back to the mines. Around them humans and ponies are either doing three things, mining, pushing minecarts in or out, or nothing because they're dead. Multiple dead bodies are scattered around in the mines, waiting to be taken out. There are a few guards in the mines to make sure everyone is doing what they're meant to be doing. Meanwhile, the constant clinking noises the prisoners made as they mined echoes throughout the mines.

Fluttershy and Discord head well deep into the mine, where no one can see them. There is an area they've been using that kept them out of harm's way. It kept them from a safe distance from the rest of the prisoners in the mines, and indeed the guards.

"We'll escape *cough* soon... *cough cough*... hopefully today..." Discord dragged his feat as he went to a wall and started mining. Fluttershy had her pickaxe in her mouth and was helping Discord. Discord never made Fluttershy mine, but she always volunteered. If they wanted to escape, they had to work together.

After digging for a minute, a tunnel is revealed. Fluttershy and Discord had been working on a secret tunnel to escape the place. It was hard work digging out the cover to reveal the tunnel, let alone covering it back up. The 2 only trust each other now, and each other only. The only other one they trusted was Bulk Biceps, who is now dead.

"You... keep mining... I'll get m- *cough*... I go mine somewhere else to *cough*... avoid suspicion..." Discord grunted as he limps away from the tunnel. Fluttershy walks into the tunnel. She used to be scared of the dark, but she got over that fear, because there are much scarier things. Hungry prisoners trying to eat you to survive, fights and so much more.

She kept walking until she is at the other end of the tunnel, and then began mining.

"This place is so harsh... no kindness exists here..." Fluttershy wept as she mines at the earth with the pickaxe in her mouth. She hits at the earth, bits of natural rubble fell. The tunnel could collapse at any moment and she would be crushed to death. Hours went by, mining, clearing the area of rubble bit by bit and repeat. It is a painstaking process, but if it would let them escape, it would be well worth it, no matter how long it would take.

Every moment that passes, she hopes it's just a really bad nightmare, and that once she finishes digging, she'll be back in Equestria. But she wasn't dreaming a nightmare, she is living through one. Nowhere in her body did pain not exist. Pain and exhaustion is everywhere within her, has put the yellow pegasus on her last reserves of her will to carry on.

All of a sudden, when the yellow pegasus next struck at a piece of earth, she could see snow. She dug at the snow with her forehooves until she could see the desolate cold night sky, snowflakes biting the skin beneath her yellow fur. Fluttershy could fit through the gap, but Discord wouldn't be able to when he comes back. It turns out they didn't need more wood and further expand the tunnel anyways.

But then she felt herself being dragged by her mane.

"I don't think so you little shit!"

The same guard who gave her and Discord the pickaxes had followed them.

"No no no! I just want to live! I want my life back- AGH! AGH! AGH!" The same human whacked Fluttershy with a solid metal truncheon right across the pegasus' face three times. She now has a massive bruise on her right cheek.

"GAAGH!"

He hits the pegasus in the nose and at full force kicks her down to the ground. He yanks the yellow pegasus back up by her mane with his left hand, holding a black pistol to her head with his right. Fluttershy went silent, frozen in a petrified state, crying and sobbing.

"What we're you doing with this tunnel ey!?"

"I WANT TO GO BACK HOME!" Fluttershy screams at the guard with a multitude of emotions, mostly fear.

"So you trying to escape-"

The guard then felt something pierce his abdomen and lets out a scream of agony.

"I may not have my magic... but you never lay anything on my Fluttershy..." Discord hissed. He luckily heard Fluttershy's cries and immediately went round.

He pulls his dear antler back out and went to impale the guard again, this time through his back, roughly where his heart is. Discord kept pulling in and out the wound with his ever more blood-stained dear antler until the guard dropped to the ground. Blood is all over on the ground, the clothes of the guard and especially Discord's dear antler.

"D... d- Discord!" Fluttershy whimpered as she puts her forehooves around him tight as she could. Discord hugged Fluttershy as tight as he could too. They heard more shouting coming down the tunnel.

"Fluttershy! Run!"

"I won't leave you!"

"Run!" Discord notices the dead guard also has a submachine gun on him. Discord hastily grabs it and releases fire at the charging guards. They fell down screaming, more blood staining the ground.

"I can't leave you!"

"Please!" The submachine gun ran out of bullets, but the guards stopped coming.

"It won't be long until more arrive Fluttershy, you have to run!"

"But you'll die! I can't leave you! You protected me time and time again! I..." Fluttershy's word began to jumble, but Discord could understand her every word.

"Listen to me..." Discord got down until his head was level with Fluttershy's.

"I won't get out of here alive, but if you listen, you might. Remember, I will always be..." Discord points one of his eagle claws at Fluttershy's chest.

"...there..." Fluttershy screamed as she hugs Discord for one last time. Both of them cried, and looked at each other in the eyes. Both of their eyes have frozen tears in them, both blink to get rid of the frosted tears. They heard more shouting coming from the tunnels, and Discord had to force Fluttershy off of him, and forces her out of the hole in the ground.

"RUN!" Discord screamed. Fluttershy trembles backwards before reluctantly trotting. She heard Discord screaming and gunfire. Discord's screaming eventually stopped whilst the gunfire lasted a little longer.

Fluttershy began running in zig zags, as bullets began to very shortly comes after her. They kick up the snow, in the line the pegasus was originally trotting. Running in zig zags saves her life, but whether it matters is another matter.

Fluttershy eventually stopped trotting and went to sit down on the snow. She tries hovering, which she could, but not for a long while. The temperature outside is well below freezing, and the powerful wind kept trying to push her over, let alone what the wind could do to a wing of a pony in the air. Her teeth are chattering, and her whole body is shivering. Fluttershy's body temperature was falling rapidly.

"W... what do I d... do..."

"Stuck in the middle of nowhere... nopony around me... Discord's now dead... I'm useless... I should just lay here and... accept my fate..." Fluttershy lets her hooves collapse, and she fell face first into the snow, her body completely depleted of energy, and she was so cold that it hurt to move even just a little bit. Fluttershy barely had her eyes open, but very slowly closed her eyes. Her body began to shut down, bit by bit. The violent snowy weather began to bury her, inch by inch.

Several hours passed, which the yellow pegasus felt like it was days, she's somehow still alive. Fluttershy felt her body being dragged across the snow, something having hold of her by her forehooves. Is she being dragged back to that horrible place?

"Hey Fluttershy, it's me. Everything's fine now, you can open your eyes." The yellow pegasus felt her head being prodded. Even though she recognized the voice, she's too weak to respond. She felt something next to her and it is something... warm. Warmth. She missed being warm. She hasn't felt warmth for so long.

"Fluttershy, I do like a good prank but... b- But this isn't a funny kind of prank!"

"Fluttershy? No no no- Wake up wake up- WAKE UP!" The voice cried. The roughed up yellow pegasus felt her body being shaken, and the voice was crying.

"Am I still alive?" Fluttershy began to have flashbacks, both positive and negative. She was dying, her body leaning on the edge of life and death.

"Please Fluttershy please... don't die on me!" All of a sudden, Fluttershy ceased to hearing all noise. One by one, each of her senses became numb and number until all 5 senses had completely shut down.

"Am I dead?" Fluttershy thought to herself.

"No no no! I- No... no- What about my friends!?"

"As long they're alive and well, I can rest easy, I suppose..."

Fluttershy's body had completely shut down.