You wake up to darkness, all limbs bound to tight, leather straps; wings forcibly held open, seeming to use the same method. It doesn't take long to find that your mouth has been gagged and throat tightened by a leather collar. You hear slow hoofsteps coming towards you from what seems to be a concrete floor. A pungent miasma filled the cool, yet stuffy air; numbing all senses.
Out of nowhere, a blinding flash of light illuminates the area around you, but only revealing a distorted figure standing before you. Adrenaline began to rush throughout your body, unknown of what dangers might entail.
"Oh, hey." The figure spoke in a raspy, yet clear voice. "You must be wondering what you're doing here. Confused, even. But I assure you this will make sense as I tell you a story. It's about innocence, discovery, and…" The pony pauses, letting out a slight smirk. "Well, I guess you'll find out. It's not like you have a choice in the matter." He rambled, giving the creepiest grin you had ever seen.
With the pony now in clear view, you soon realise he is a youthful Earth Pony, dark amber coat, along with a much darker brown, messy mane covering most of his face.
"It all started on my first day of school. I can't remember the specific date, but that's not the important part now, is it?"
He had not taken his eyes off of you from the moment the lights went on; unblinking, he continued to speak. Unable to muster the strength to struggle at this moment in time, so your only choice was to just sit and listen.
"I've always been an outcast: someone who no one gets; often ignored, ridiculed. Ponies would think it was just one big joke... Often being called a liar… Attention seeker… Crazy?" He twitched. "Imagine that..."
"As it is quite clear, I am in fact an Earth Pony. No magic… No horn… no… wings. I don't need to say anything for you to see that. In fact, you're probably wondering what relevance this is to my story."
"Yes, I look like an Earth pony. But that IS the problem. No wings… No, not like you. You see, inside, I am no Earth Pony. My mind… These… Instincts… They would keep me up at night… Drive me… Mad?"
You remain silent, unable to react even if you wanted to. The only means of communication is with the movement of your eyes.
"Don't you believe me? Does my lack of wings stop me from being a Pegasus? What? No answer? You must be having doubts… Oh well…"
"It's not my fault you don't believe me. You just don't understand what it's like to be me. I can help. I can help you see. It's not hard, just let me do my work. I promise… The pain will only last a few hours."
It doesn't take long to comprehend the danger you're currently in, as you slowly begin to panic: smiling, the pony responds, continuing as if nothing was happening.
"Silly me… I was in the middle of a story! Guess the fun will have to wait. I'm sure you're just dying to hear it."
"As I was saying, it all started on my first day of school. I was so nervous; new area, new experiences to… Well, experience. I hadn't exactly seen other ponies besides my parents." Pausing once more; lightly, he chuckles. "Oh boy, were they the first to go..." Whispering to himself again, letting off another twitch; laughter, almost unnaturally brought to a sudden stop.
"My first introductions were typical: My name, age, etcetera; strangely, a connection did I feel after my first meeting with a Pegasus. I was young… I didn't think much about it."
"It wasn't until I got home, did the questions start… Solitude had given me time to process what I had felt." Stepping closer, he raised his right forehoof. "You must be wondering what those questions were, aren't you? All in due time, don't you worry"
This pony's maniacal ramblings were becoming more and more unbearable. The restraints alone were painful enough, yet he just kept adding to the flames.
"I know how scared or alone you must feel right now. You must be wondering what you did to deserve this?" He asked, using the forehoof to lean up against your left outstretched wing. "Well, my friend… You did absolutely nothing wrong." He cackled "You did nothing to deserve this! Isn't that a fun thought? Being punished for doing absolutely nothing wrong?!"
The pressure being placed on your wing became increasingly stronger the more he spoke. All this time, still keeping a constant eye contact along with the intimidating grin.
"It really isn't something any child should go through… Don't you think? I only wanted to be understood! Yet my problems were taken as a joke! No one believed me!"
Adrenaline became rampant throughout your body once a crack could be heard; originating from the pony's hoof placement, a great pain overwhelmed you. Wanting to scream, you released a muffled plea.
To your surprise, he pulled back the hoof with a swift motion. "Silly me! You haven't listened to my poetry! No wonder you don't believe me!" Without any second thought, he disappeared into the surrounding darkness.
Weakened by the pain, the adrenaline eventually wore off; heart racing just as rapidly. You could hear him rummaging, yet his location stayed unclear.
Each second felt like an hour as the ambience of the clatter of what seemed to be metal and chains constantly taunted at you, not knowing the true identity of the items being moved.
After a good few minutes, the pony returned with a book in his mouth and placed it on the ground, flipping each page until he stopped. "Are you ready? I'll begin from the start. This is one of the first poems I ever wrote! It's called 'My Dream'"
"I wrote this when I started talking to ponies… When I started to open up. No one took me seriously, so I wanted to write my thoughts down. I hope you enjoy it" Clearing his throat, he began to recite the poem.
Last night I had a dream.
It's the same old, usual scene.
I'm flying high in the sky,
No worries in my eye,
I let the wind take me, waving worries goodbye.
Waking up breaks my heart.
It's the same old, boring start.
I'm stuck on the ground,
No clouds to be found,
I hear only trotting be the ambient sound.
I tell others of how I feel.
They don't believe me, so I conceal.
No wings on each side,
Can't fly or short glide,
Would anyone miss me if I tried sui-
This pain, I can't stand.
Why don't ponies understand?
That deep in my mind,
I know that you'll find,
The spirit of a Pegasus, you'll see is confined.
I can't take it anymore.
Don't see what this is for.
Convincing a closed minded pony,
Calling me phoney,
Telling me I'm just letting these delusions control me.
Last night I had a dream.
Sweeter than strawberries and cream.
When I fall asleep, I'm alive.
It helps me survive,
Knowing the pain and confusion shortly subsides.
Everyone is so quick to point hooves.
That it's a lie I'm trying to prove.
It's not their fault they're mean...
They've never felt this way it seems...
The best way out is to get back to my dream…
There was silence for about a minute. It was as if he was eagerly awaiting your approval. You let out a faint smile, hoping that would be enough.
"I knew you'd like it! I was worried You wouldn't enjoy it… Then I'd have to punish you more. But that's not necessary now! It's like we're friends already!" The pony ecstatically hopped around in a cheerful manner.
"It's a shame you probably won't survive the conditioning… Oh well, it has to be done." Still hopping around without a care in the world. "Otherwise it was just wasted effort getting you here in the first place! And there's nothing worse than a failed plan!"
Heaving at the braces, you continue to struggle whilst the pony distracted himself. Whatever he did, it was clear you weren't going anywhere for some time.
Your attempt at escape becomes much more desperate, movements more rapid. Futile, your optimism hastily depleted, stamina drained; submitting to whatever torturous task he would put you under. At this moment he halted his joyful bouncing, turning back to you again.
Smirking; clearly amused at your attempts, sighing contently in awe.
"Ah, submission… Such a beautiful thing. It only makes this task that much more exciting." Retreating back into the darkness, his voice began to echo from inside the shadows.
"You know, I've always looked up to Pegasi…" Clinks of what you assume to be metal echoing from the darkness, followed by now heavy hoofsteps. "Watched them fly above my head..." Each step getting louder, but still unsure of its location. "I was so envious of them… They could experience the joy of flight..."
Once again, adrenaline overruns your body; heart racing, limbs shaking: you could swear that your heart was going to burst out of you at any moment.
"No one understood my pain… No one believed me… But they will. Even if it's done one Pegasus at a time, I will get you all to understand..."
Hoofsteps now much louder, it is accompanied by a constant scraping of metal. By the time you were able to pinpoint its location, he had already revealed himself once again. Before you stood the same pony, but this time he was wearing what seemed to be a singular ice skate on his right forehoof.
"Remember what I did on that wing of yours? It hurt, didn't it? My guess is a splintered bone or two." You could not stop staring at the ice skate being dragged across the floor, scratching the concrete beneath it. You could only guess what it would be used for, hoping whatever he had planned was quick and painless.
Now face-to-face, you cannot help but stare into his unblinking eyes, almost hypnotising after a moment. You almost don't even notice the ice skate being lifted.
All of a sudden, reality comes back to you; without warning, you felt an agonising force hit the very bottom of your left wing. Even though you had been gagged, you let out a cry which simply echoes throughout the black abyss.
From what little light there was, a crimson splatter could be seen shot onto the pony's face, yet he just smiles in delight.
"Now it seems that I definitely broke something… Important..." Taunting, he licked a droplet of the crimson liquid which had trickled down his face. "The taste of… Defeat… It is…" Breathing in deeply, he lets out a light moan. He proceeds to slowly lick his lips."Delicious..."
You could feel as though you were going to throw up. The sight of another pony carrying out such acts was more than your stomach could handle. But before you could process anything else, another jolt of agony surged through your body again from his ice skate. This was followed by another splatter of your own blood.
Although you could not turn your head to see the damage, it was clear that your wing was beyond repair from the feeling alone. Tears were pouring down your face; an uncontrolled downpour of emotions had manifested itself into something truly horrible.
You glared as he hacked away at your wing; unrelenting was his actions, yet still held the utmost precision. You might have been impressed if that skill wasn't being used on you. Your eyes clenched shut, whether it was from reflex or pain, it was unsure at this point.
With one final blow, you felt something soft slightly place itself against your torso. When you opened your eyes, you could feel your heart stop in terror at the sight of your wing suspended only by straps.
"Oops, I think you dropped something." He commented, prodding the severed extremity with the blade of his ice skate. "You won't mind if I take this, do you? What am I saying… What can you do to stop me?" Silently, he undid the straps which kept the wing suspended, and left it to drop into the puddle of blood which had formed below.
Bending over, he scoops the wing up using his forelegs, whilst balancing on both hind legs. To your surprise, he simply held it close to his torso as if it were a child.
"So… Soft. It feels so…" He brought the severed wing to his head; strangely caressing it against the side of his face. Simply letting out a light moan, he doesn't leave much to the imagination. "I gotta put this on ice to keep it fresh for later..." He commented to himself, strolling off into the darkness once again; this time, however, you caught a glimpse of a faint light which closely resembled a chest freezer being opened. You assumed that was where he had put your wing.
It had been a long day: you had lost a lot of blood, which resulted in all of your energy drained. You were tired; eyes heavy. "What harm could a quick nap bring?" You thought to yourself, slowing shutting your eyes without a second thought or hesitation.
Once your eyes shut, silence fell. You could only hope you would awake before the pony comes back.
