the price of freedom

“Get up! What in celestias' name do you think you’re doing?!” a loud voice roared through the kitchen. Derpy cowered in the corner as a large brown stallion stood over her and screamed at her.

“I-I was just resting for a minute.” She whimpered, trying to crawl farther into the corner.

“Resting? You have work to do!” the stallion pulled her up from the floor by her mane and pushed her violently into the counter. “You should be happy to even have someplace to live! And how am I thanked?!” he slapped her across the face and snorted, “you ungrateful pile of filth!” he turned and stormed out of the room, “just get your work done!”

Derpy stood still in fear, her face still stinging from the slap and her eyes tearing up. She turned around slowly and returned to cleaning the kitchen. She had never wanted this. She was abandoned as a filly in the wilderness near where she lived now. She had somehow survived and found her way to ponyville, living out of trash cans and sleeping in alleyways. The only things she had to eat were the occasional edible scraps she found in the trash. That’s how filthy rich had found her. She was scrounging around through his garbage and he had spotted her.

He had taken her in and cleaned her up, given her a place to sleep and something decent to eat. But he wasn’t as nice as he seemed to be at first. He had convinced her that she owed him her life, and had since then been treating her as his personal slave.

She couldn’t run away, he would find her fast enough. She couldn’t tell people what he had done to her because no one would believe her, besides it was her word against his.

The only joy she had ever had in her life was her daughter dinky, but she had been taken away some time ago. The atrocities derpy was put through were unthinkable. Beatings, torture, he had even raped her at one point which is how dinky had came about.

She had been living in fear her entire life, so she did as she was told. She finished cleaning the kitchen and gazed out the window into the evening sky.

The sun was dropping below the horizon, sending orange streaks through the kitchen and onto the walls behind her. She put everything away and walked to her room, a small windowless closet with a single bare bulb hanging from the ceiling and a thin blanket for a bed. She curled up and fell asleep, exhausted.

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Derpy was woken by a loud pounding on her door. She tried to block it out but it just got louder.

“Get up!” filthys' voice boomed, “I need you to go to town and pick some things up for me!”

Derpy crawled out of her “bed” and slowly got to her hooves; cracking every joint she had one at a time as she went.  She opened the door and looked around. Derpy was nowhere to be seen. There was a small note on the floor next to a small burlap coin purse. Not wanting to anger her master any more then he already seemed to be, she grabbed the list and purse and headed out the door into the dim early morning.

She took to the sky and set a course for ponyville. She landed in the street next to the market and checked the list filthy had left for her. It was mostly ingredients, most likely for today’s dinner.

She wandered through the market, gathering what she needed and avoiding conversation. When she had collected everything on the list she headed for home, saddlebags bulging with supplies. It was about noon when she arrived back at the rich house, which meant the family was still out for the day. They wouldn’t be back for at least another few hours.

She found a note on the door instructing her on what to make for dinner. She started immediately and got everything finished and set up just as the rich family walked in the door.

They all sat down to eat and talk about their day. Derpy sat at her own little table in the corner, a small apple crate sitting on the floor. She sat next to it, hunched over a little bowl of soup.

Diamond tiara took a bite of cake and immediately spat it back out, rubbing her hooves on her tongue and gagging.

“What’s wrong dear?” filthy asked

“The cake!” she spat, still rubbing at her tongue with a hoof, “it’s nasty!”

“What?!” he took a cautious nibble of the cake and he too spat it out. “Derpy! Can I speak with you a moment?”

Derpys heart filled with fear. She knew that tone of voice. She got up and followed him into the foyer, not knowing what she had done but knowing it had to be something bad.

“What is this?” filthy asked in a tone lined with malice.

Derpy looked at the cake he was holding, “um, its cake”

“Yes but what’s wrong with it?” before she had a chance to reply he grabbed her head and forced the cake into her mouth.

Her entire mouth burned and she threw up. Filthy continued to glare as she gagged and wiped stomach acid from her chin. “Well? What’s wrong with it?”

She coughed and tried to speak, “its – its salty”

“And why is that?”

She had no idea. She stepped into the kitchen and looked around. She had left all the cakes ingredients out and there was a big bag of salt on the counter with them, there was no sugar in sight.

She turned to find filthy right behind her with murder shining in his eyes. He punched her in the face sending her reeling into the counter.

“You idiot!” he roared, kicking her in the side, “why can’t you get the simplest things right!” he continued to kick her in the sides and stomach until her heard bones crack. He stood back and glared down at the broken and battered mare lying on the floor before him. “Clean up this mess and get out of my sight!”

But derpy barely even heard him. Her breathing was shallow and her side was blackened with bruising. She dragged herself to the dining room and cleaned up the cake that had been spat on the floor. She cleaned up her own vomit and hobbled to her room, leaning against the wall for support. She collapsed on her little pile of rags and started to cry. Her sobs wracking her already frail body, the tears soaking her mane and blanket. Eventually she cried herself to sleep, damning her bad eyesight for causing her all this pain. She buried her face into her blanket, praying to be saved.