COP

Okay, so we drank a little. How much, you ask? How the hell should I know? The last thing I remember is us getting thrown out of that club. Not much else. I don't really care either, to be honest. Right now, I'm more focused on trying to stand up straight. That, and on all these big ponies standing around us. A dozen or so Royal Guard members in either golden or dark blue armor. They round us up and start asking for papers. They talk to us about "causing a disturbance" and a lot of other nonsense.

"Blah blah blah..." I babble while swaying on my hooves. "'Intoxicated' my flank... I'm drunk! So what if I'm fucking drunk? I can't have a little fun every now and then?"

"What?" one of my friends asks. "We throw a couple of bottles and shout a little and now we're the bad guys? Fuck you all..."

We just giggle and keep drinking right in front of them. One guard reaches out to take the bottle away from my friend next to me. He moves back and shouts a rather colorful slur that insults pretty much every batpony in Equestria. The guard seems unfazed, and that just encourages us even more.

We mock them non-stop while they lead us through the slums. The guards do their best to keep us together as they march us toward a large, black carriage parked nearby. Whenever somepony trots past, they kindly tell them to just keep moving and ignore the scene we're causing. They don't need to ask twice. Everypony gives them a wide berth. In the distance, we even see a few figures yell and run away at the very sight of them.

They don't scare us, though.

"Hahaha, pieces of shit... you're only picking on us 'cause you don't like working for minimum wage, right?"

"Equestria needs better cops. You lousy fuckers are weaker than my little sister!"

They push us inside, then slam the door behind us. Moments later, we feel the vibrations as the carriage starts to move. As we sit here in the darkness, I rest my head against the wall and close my eyes. I feel a wave of dizziness and smile as I'm lulled into alcohol-spawned dreams.

For years, I longed for this day to come. I never imagined it would be this good. The six of us, all freshly graduated officers in the Royal Guard, are on top of the world now. Our families are going to be so proud. I can almost see Twily dancing around me, chanting how happy she is for me.

I can't wait to see it all.

But the brothers-in-arms come first, and what better way is there for us to celebrate than with a little booze? Better yet: two barrels of booze. And who gives a shit if we got into a little trouble? These guys are my closest family on this day, so we're sticking together for the night.

"Fuck these stupid 'foot soldiers,'" one of the guys says. "They're just jealous because all they get is guard duty."

"Fuck the whole Royal Guard, too," another adds. "Bunch of bullies. All they can do is order you around and punish you if you resist."

"We'll be better than them," I say with a grin. "Those dicks can't tell us how to behave."

A few minutes later, the carriage comes to a halt. One of the guards bangs on the doors a few times to wake us up, then opens them. They tell us to get out. We tumble out of the carriage while laughing like a bunch of foals. Strong hooves grab our limp legs and start dragging us toward a large building nearby. We enter through a small side door and find ourselves in a long hallway. Our laughter and belching echoes off the white and blue walls.

"What do ya know..." one of my buddies says and turns to us. "This is the local station. We're in the can, guys!"

"Aww, shit..." another says in a mock-worried tone. He grins and starts jabbing the guard next to him in the side. "Are you gonna throw me behind bars? Will I ever see my mommy again?"

We struggle to stand as we laugh at them uncontrollably. The guard doesn't move a muscle. His gaze is fixed on his colleague, who trots back to the door we came in through and closes it. The loud click of the lock resonates throughout the hallway. He then turns around and gives the others a small nod. When I notice the gesture, I immediately stop laughing, and my blood runs cold as I realize something is wrong.

In a blink of an eye, the guard next to my friend wraps his hoof around his neck and pulls him into a stranglehold. Before the colt can react, he is forced to his knees by the pony behind him, while another guard runs up to them with what looks like a thick black stick in his hoof.

"Hey! No... no, wait!"

My friend thrashes about frantically, then cries out in pain as the baton cracks against his skull. The guard follows up with another blow into his side, then one into his belly. An odd sound comes up from colt's throat as his air is knocked out of him, and his stomach tries to empty itself at the same time.

"Stop! Stop it! Goddesses dammit! Stop!"

The alcoholic haze in our heads is washed away instantly by the sight before us. The baton strikes again and again. I wince as I hear ribs cracking. My friend is curled up into a pathetic little ball now as one guard kicks him, while the other hits him with the weapon. They bludgeon him wherever they can, despite our protests.

"Calm down! For Celestia's sake! Just be cool!"

"Leave him alone! Dammit, let him go!"

One of my friends tries to rush the struggling trio. The guard behind him immediately grabs his hind legs, and the colt falls to the floor. The guard then retrieves his own baton and starts beating the kid senseless with it.

The rest of us hardly get a chance to do anything at all. One of my friends tries to run. Another is still yelling for everypony to stop. I take a step back and hold my hooves up to show that we don't want to fight. I try to tell them who we are. It doesn't matter to them. Within seconds, each one of us has at least two guards ganged up on them.

I try to move and help my friends, but a pair of hooves wrap around me from behind. I struggle as hard as I can, but the heavy armor of the guard allows him to anchor me in place. My horn flares as I try to use my magic to free myself. The next moment, an explosion of pain in my head makes me scream like never before in my life. There's a sickening crack as something hard and heavy collides with my horn. It nullifies my magic instantly, and the agony prevents me from summoning it again.

I drop like limp a sack of flesh from the guard's hooves. My eyes are sealed shut as my forelegs cradle my horn. My head is spinning from the pain, and my hind legs flail about as I helplessly try to crawl away.

"Fucking cops!" I hear one of my friends shout. He sounds like he's being grappled as well. "Just leave us alo–"

His words are cut off by a swift blow to his skull. I hear his body slump to the ground. An odd-sounding groan escapes from his lungs, after which he doesn't make another sound. One of the guards mutters something about "blood all over his stick." I open my eyes slightly. The colt's empty gaze meets my own. His mouth is hanging open. A small, reddish pool is forming beneath his head.

I grit my teeth. My anger helps me overcome the agony for a moment. I push myself up from the floor, only to freeze when I find the gaze of all of the guards fixed on me. None of my friends are making any noise now. I'm the only one left.

The guard that's closest to me smiles and gestures for the others to approach. My heart sinks as they surround me in an instant. They raise their batons and prepare their limbs for the next round.

I weakly lift my forelegs to defend myself. The blows rain down mercilessly. It feels like a stampede going back and forth over me. I curl up and scream as I hear and feel everything in my body breaking. I can hardly breathe. They all but crush me under their hooves as though they were a machine designed to grind me into dust.

"Stop! Please! I give up! Stop it! I didn't do anything! Please!"

A strange sound penetrates the vortex of my agony. I hear laughter. Heartfelt, carefree laughter. I hear the voices of demons. They joke among each other and laugh at us. Like a bunch of children wrapped in the skin of monsters, they giggle at our suffering.

"Stop hitting me! Please... just stop fucking hitting me! Stop hitting me! I beg you! Stop it!"

My screams become muffled when something hard collides with my face. I feel everything break inside. Several bone-like shards fill my mouth, along with a fluid that has a coppery taste.

A minute passes. An hour. A day. A lifetime. I lose track of time as the beating seems to go on forever. My voice turns into incoherent groans. Finally, after I feel like every inch of me has been pulverized, the barrage comes to a halt. For a moment, all I can hear is the sound of breathing: colts that wheeze weakly as they struggle to breathe, and stallions that pant from their little "evening workout."

After that, the noise starts up again. Their laughter fills the hallway and rushes into our skulls. Merciless, inequine voices. They wander back and forth among us. They land a few extra kicks and spit on us. They say we're weak. Stupid. Worthless.

Being so helpless makes me sick. I feel like I'm sinking into the ground. I want to bury myself. I hate them, but I can't do anything to them.

I want to go home. It hurts. I don't even want revenge. I just want out. It hurts...

They grab our limp legs and drag us down the corridor. Each one of us leaves a trail of smeared blood on the floor the whole way. After a couple of turns, we arrive at a wall made of black metal bars. Several doors on it are opened with a loud grinding noise.

Let me out. It hurts.

One by one, they drag us in front of a cell each and toss us inside. They land a couple more kicks for good measure, then close the doors. I can hardly see them anymore. My eyelids are swelling shut. I hear them walk away, still laughing.

The lights go out. Everything goes silent, save for our breathing. We don't move. We can't. We're nothing but piles of blood, damaged flesh, and broken bones.

It hurts...

I'm choking on the teeth and blood in my mouth. I try to think, but the pain makes me blind to everything. I want to drift away and see my loved ones again, no matter how ashamed I would be. But all I can feel is pain. It haunts me all the way into unconsciousness.

It hurts...

Author's Note

A certain BBBFF isn't having a very good day...

By the way, I guess if you've been able to "survive" this long and are now here to read this note, then it's worth asking: if you are interested in contributing a story of your own to this collection, then send me a PM, and we'll work it out.