A Slave's Freedom

Chapters

Even The Colors Fade Away (Revised)
Doubt
Him
Boulders
Descending Into Freedom
Dark
Swimming - Part 1
Swimming - Part 2 - Discovery
Swimming - Part 3 - Pulse
The Long Road Home - 1 - Where We Are
The Long Road Home - 2 - City Upon A Hill
The Long Road Home - 3 - Bodies Wither Over Time
The Long Road Home - 4 - Drinking in the Dark
The Long Road Home - 5 - The Hunger
The Long Road Home - 6 - Carcass
The Long Road Home - 7 - Quarray Eels
Hooked To Machines
Curtain Call
He Who Be Watching Me

Even The Colors Fade Away (Revised)

“That light is fadin’ pretty fast, isn’t it?” a rough, deep voice says. It sounds like a man, a man with years on him. But I don't know, I can't see him.

Another joins in, his voice more grave. “Yeah, it sure is.”

“Do ya think he’ll make it to see the sunset?”

“Of course.” The gravelly voice pauses for a moment, before continuing, “He’s a strong working negro.”

I feel my body begin to shake. I’ve been trying to communicate with them, but I’m getting no response. I don’t know what’s going on! This bright, white light is making me unable to see anything!

“Strong indeed.”

Then I feel nothing. The shaking and quaking of my body ceases as quickly as it came. The pressure on me was finally gone.

“Yet the nigger couldn’t even survive the South.”

“Of course I can!” I shout as I am finally able to respond to them. Unfortunately they aren't here, but neither is that light. That bright white light no longer phases me.

I look both high and low to see the entire landscape. Below me is the solid earth, however it’s colored differently than the soil I once knew. Its grey texture reminds me of the powder in the white man’s gun. They pointed one of them at me months ago; its long barrel was intimidating. I shake my head. I don’t need to remember those things, not with this foreign territory lying in front of me. To the skies above me is a whole different scene. A mighty, white dense fog covers the light blue sky I always saw back home. It made me feel free for just a few moments to stare at it in awe. How could something be so blue? But all I see now is the white fog. The thought of it being here makes my stomach churn.

I sigh and sit up, letting my hands slowly swipe across the ground. Each swipe feels rough and grainy against my fingers. I remember this feeling when I was tending to the fields back on the farm. Although I didn’t really want to do it at first, I was easily convinced by my ma and pa to do it. They said it kept them calm, and I began to understand what they meant: the way the dirt flowed through my fingers made me understand the land. Yet, this wasn't the only thing they told me. They told me to always follow what the white man said, otherwise they’d do something extremely horrible to us. I didn’t want to know what they would do; it would make me depressed. So I had to bite my tongue and move on; I’d rather be alive than tortured or worse.

“This is goin’ be fun…” I carefully pull myself up and stand proud for all who I thought were there. I was the tallest one both in my family and on the farm. My family was proud to have a son like me, so tall and dedicated. They knew I would do something more once we left, but that would be if we ever do leave. Despite the fact that the work wasn’t exactly what we wanted, nor that we couldn’t say what we wanted otherwise they’d make us work to the point of exhaustion or starving us for the entire day, I think I had an okay time there. The white man respected me enough to get some food for their family and that alone speaks volumes.

The dense fog makes it hard for me to see, but I trudge on, walking into the foggy depths of this place. I don’t know where the hell I’m at or why I’m here. Maybe some white man was upset that I was getting educated by my owner. Heh, jealousy.

As I continue to walk, I remember my owner: his white worn skin matching his old beige hat upon his head; his brown, short shaggy hair complimenting his brown leather duster; and his black pants with gold studs racing down his legs, leading towards his black boots with the letters “CTN” etched in a bright, saturated yellow on his heels. I never understood what CTN meant, but I guess I will never know considering I’m lost. This place doesn’t seem like home at all.

I can’t help but wonder if I’m even going anywhere. The foreign soil collides with my tattered shoes that the white man gave me to protect my black rough feet. At my age, having feet looking like mine was normal. It was just a thing we’d have to go through as a people, as a group, as a being against the white man. I—

Suddenly, my foot collides with something softer, something more wet which ends my train of thought in an instant.

“What the hell did I jus’ step in?” I step into the mush some more, curious as can be.

The soil here felt softer than the bone dry surface I was previously walking on. It felt like it was saturated, almost like a riv—

“Oh, I'm stupid.”

I sigh and retract my foot from the edge of some kind of stream. I don’t know where this thing leads, nor do I know what could happen if I followed it. However, I know my ma would probably be hollering at me to do something about it. She always told me to go and do something or you’ll never get it again.

Don’t be 'fraid of takin’ a risk…

My mother's words echo in my head as I look at the place where my foot touched last. The thought of going forward in a place so unknown still irks me, but after a few seconds of contemplating over my fate, I shrug and walk alongside the stream. My feet sinks into the mush after every step I take. As time flies by, the path I walk on becomes perpetually soaked versus the dry, rough terrain I started on.

“I hope I find a way outta this fog,” I say while peering through my half-lidded eyes. This fog is starting to get to me. “I hate fog.”

I continue walking forward, hoping for an end. Unfortunately, that end will never come. I feel like I’ve been walking for hours, my legs are beginning to ache. There is no way I’m getting out of here! I’m going to be lost in this fog forever!

“There anyone out here!”

I wait for a moment, hoping to hear someone reply. Instead, I am given something a bit more unexpected than someone else. I hear my shout suddenly echo back to me.

“I near a cliff?” I ask as I feel the hairs on my back of my neck standing on end. I'm a-need be careful of where I'm walkin' or it might be my last. I sigh, look at the ground before me, and cautiously take a step forward.

Nothing happens.

So far, so good.

I take an even larger step forward.

Nothing happens.

I eventually begin to build up a pattern, the perpetual state of cautiousness building as I slowly gain ground. I know that this could be the end of me if I happen to slip and fall off the edge of the world or something. Knowing my luck, this would happen in a heartbeat. My past luck was even worse sometimes, especially on the night when I lost one of my best friends, who was a worker on the same farm as I. He had messed up numerous amounts of times when tending to the crops: he’d break a few or try to sneak some of it away and eat it with his family. The boss wasn’t alright with that at all. He spotted my friend picking some corn and giving it to other slaves to eat. He shouted at him which made my friend try to scurry away. I saw him run as fast as he could because he was the fastest runner on the farm. Yet, not fast enough to dodge a bullet, which was what the boss shot him with. The boss’ gun had a long barrel to it, which gave him the range he needed to take him down. It was a loud shot; a shot that definitely rivaled the shot heard around the world. I watched as the bullet pierced his skull, shattering everything and leaving nothing behind.

That night was horrific: several slaves tried to mourn for my friend but the boss didn’t want to hear any of it. He threatened us with more work and longer hours of starvation if he heard us whimper or see us even shed a tear for him. All we could do was work and watch as the ravens ate him to bits. This event was a way to show his dominance over us. His farm was one of the largest in the area: a strong three-hundred slave population that tended to his two fields of cotton and wheat. Of course I’m not in the fields now like I remember I was…

I have no idea where I’m at.

“Hello!” I shout once again.

All I get is the return of my voice.

“I'm alone out here…” I whisper to myself, the fog still as dense as can be.

Suddenly, I hear a voice from behind me. It’s scratchy and…

...feminine?

“LOOK OUT!”

As I turn around to see the incoming object barreling towards me, I think to myself.

I'm really this stupid?

Suddenly I fall to the earth and taste those dull-colored grains that I have been stepping on for the past few hours. I wheeze as the air I had a few seconds ago is forced out of me. Whatever hit me had to be going fast. I never got myself handed this easily back on the farm. I groan as I attempt to sit up but feel an intense flare of pain course through my chest. I grimace and hold it with my hand. It feels like I cracked a rib, but no worries, I can deal with this. I've been through worse.

I look around in search of whatever hit me. If I had an injury this bad, then they must’ve had thousands of them broken.

Then, I hear her moan.

“Ughhh…”

I sigh and spot her shadow against the rocky incline. It must be huge because those shadows don’t lie. I cautiously take my first few steps towards the rocks, wondering what it could be. Is it a pig? A cow? A giant bird?

I slowly creep around the rock and see what appears to be a horse of some kind. Except it wasn’t the kind I remember the white men had on the farm. They had one to ride on in case one of us got away.

Which, never happened.

I think the horse’s name was Barry or something.

This one did not look like Barry in the slightest. Its cyan coat and multi-colored hairdo with the odd marks on its backside gives it a sort of foreign, out of touch feel. I don’t know what I’m looking at. Maybe this horse was from the neighbor’s farm or something. After all, he did have some weird horses there. I attempt to carefully walk over to this fallen horse, tiptoeing in my tattered shoes while holding in my pained grunts. I didn’t want to scare the poor thing, it must’ve been galloping really quick to me that hard.

“I’m never going to fly low like that ever again…” The horse says as I—she pulls herself off the ground, her…

...wings?

“What're you?” my good-for-nothing brain announces on an impulse, startling the poor thing as she falls straight on her flank once again.

The horse turns around, her magenta eyes now staring at me. “What are you!?” she says in reply, her eyes as wide as dinner plates.

“I'm Dyson, a slave from Northern Mississippi, ma’am,” I say calmly. “How are ya speakin’ my language?”

The horse tilts her head to her side. “How are you speaking Equestrian?!” she says while trying to back pedal with her hind legs, the sight of me apparently shocking her. I am shocked too. A horse that looks like a clown and can talk; someone must’ve drugged the neighbor’s horse or something.

“What is Equestrian?”

The horse suddenly stops moving and looks at me with a deathly glare. “You don’t know what Equestrian is?”

I nod to show my stupidity. What is Equestrian and where can I find it? If it can give you a clown look, wings, and paint you blue, then I’m all for it.

“Nope. I’m from the South, remember? We slaves don’t get educated ‘bout these things,” I say politely. Her facial expression suddenly softens.

“Slave?”

I nod again.

“Why?”

Now that, I couldn’t answer.

All my life I was on that farm. It was my home. I didn’t get to know anything else. I was a slave. Nothing like the white man and their freedom.

“I couldn’t really tell ya myself,” I say, causing her to try and stand up. She grunts and looks up at me, her pained expression telling me all I need to know.

“So you be injured too now, aren’tcha?”

She nods, her wings having a hard time folding to her sides.

“I don’t know if I can fly with these bending like this,” she says with a frown. “I guess we’re going to have to walk out of here…”

“Ya know the way out!?” I say with excitement, causing the horse to flinch.

“Yeah, it’s up ahead…”

I am smiling like a doofus right now…

...and I don’t care.

With a sudden burst of energy, I pull myself up and turn my attention to her. “Let’s go.”

The blue clown-like horse nods as we begin our ascension past this god-forsaken fog...

Doubt

“Wake up, Dyson.”

That chilling voice; it wants me.

“It’s time to go to the fields,” it says with a rough, deep tone.

I stir and crack open an eye. I wonder who is waking me up at this hour. It can’t be Leo, he’s workin’ with the others. Not to mention that he’s usually workin’ in a different field than I. So who could it be?

I gaze up at the voice who calls me and gasp. The rugged face, beady pair of blue eyes, black stetson, and brown, buttoned leather duster told me who it was. Yes sir, it was the master himself. He usually changed his hats to show his mood and well, when he wears his black stetson, everyone knows he has some news to tell. He nudges me with what feels like a broom. “You ‘wake now?”

I nod as I sluggishly slide out of bed, struggling to open my eyes due to the sun peeping in through the old wooden blinders. My giant tall self stands proudly in front of my master with my only set of clothes I own dangling off my worn-torn body. All of my scars are able to be seen, yet only known by those who gave me them. He, of whom is my master, stares at me with a hardened gaze, eyeing me up and down. With a drawn out sigh, he announces firmly, “Dyson, ya’re to do me a favor. Somethin’ big.”

My ears perk up at this. “What is it, master?”

He lays his broom beside my makeshift bed. “I need somethin’ turned in to th—”

“To where?” I mindlessly ask while I watch him reaching for his satchel.

He glares at me with his hazel eyes. “Do you niggers always ask questions when a white man is attemptin’ to explain somethin’?”

A chilling fear enters me as I bring my gaze to the floor. “No, master.”

His demeanor changes: the once cold, harsh glare begins to dismantle itself little by little while the heat upon his face loses its red tint. “Boy, look at me,” he says sternly.

I reluctantly do so.

My master’s face fills my vision. “Listen carefully now, okay?”

I nod.

He smiles and takes a few steps back. “You're my slave, correct?”

Nodding is a tradition.

My master begins to set the pace as he walks to and fro. “You are therefore under my legal possession, and are willing to do anything I say.” He stops for a brief moment to turn his full attention to me. “Am I not?”

“No, you are sir.”

“Good,” he says in an appreciative manner. “So you must obey me, right?”

I stand still, thinking his question thoroughly.

He begins to approach me. “I said, you *must obey me*, right?”

Dismissing my previous attempt to think, I nod rapidly.

“Great!” he barks, his brow furrowing. “Then let me tell you what I’m wanting you to do!”

I stand still, nodding; the fear of him still shakes me to the core.

He stands back once again, giving me room to breathe. “You are to deliver this... letter to a dear friend of mine,” he calmly explains.

Friend?

“This friend lives fifty or so miles south of the farm. He is like me: a farmer who owns slaves, except he not only has more fields, but also has a generous amount of cattle to boot.” The master kicks his boot against the wooden floor. “I need ya to send him this letter, it contains some really important information regarding a… recent mishap.”

He pulls out a nicely rolled-up letter in his white palm. As I reach for it, he slaps my hand. “Wait jus' a minute! Let me finish.”

I wince and retract my hand as the stinging pain courses through me.

My master clears his throat and continues his instruction, “I have two things to tell ya that ya mustn’t do. Understand?”

I nod.

“Good,” he says as he walks around the room, the pit patter of his boots colliding with the hardwood floor are all to be heard as he paced...

And paced…

...before reaching his final decision, stopping abruptly in the middle of the room. He rushes over to me with a slight smile on his face. As my master stands in front of me, I could not move, my body still frozen in place. “Dyson, you must not open this letter.”

I expected that one, so I nod to show my understanding.

“And… you must not socialize with anyone else ya encounter on that there road,” he begins, gripping the letter tightly in his hand. He waves it in front of my eyes. “Many will want this here letter and know of its contents. Do not let it get into false hands, understand?”

“Yes,” I say politely, giving my master a smile. This beats working in the fields. “I make me 'liver the letter.”

My master clinks his spurs on his boots and happily hands me his prized possession. “You will succeed. If not…”

He didn’t even need to finish; I know full well of what he means. I don’t want to meet *him** again.*

After walking through the mushy terrain and bogged down trenches, we finally reach the end of the gorge. However, there was a catch.

“Dyson?”

I stare at her, then back at the pitfall. This obstacle could make or break us both. We have to cross this giant pit and if we don’t…

We might be stranded here.

“Yes, pony?”

She scoffs. “I have a name, you know.”

“Ya never told me it,” I counter instantaneously.

She sighs. “It’s Rainbow Dash and I don’t know if I can cross this…”

“Why is that?” I ask, still eyeing the narrow, thin stone bridge in front of us.

“It’s too narrow for me to stand on.”

She was right. The narrow thin strip of stone wouldn’t be able to hold her large cyan hooves. This may be a bust if we tried this route.

I look passed the thin strip, hoping for something more stable for us to cross. As if God had heard my plea, I spot a path embedded in the side of the gorge, which would allow us to cross.

“Rainbow, ya see that?” I ask, pointing at the pathway.

She turns her attention to my hand. “Yes, that’s your hoof.”

I groan. “No, look where I’m pointin'.”

Rainbow Dish, or whatever this clown pony is named, looks at the rock formation and gasps. “You want me to walk on that?”

“It be that or I carry ya across the path and lead us to our deaths,” I say with a shrug. “It be up to you.”

She sits on her haunches and considers her options. I know this because she’s rapidly looking between the two of them like she’s trying to figure out if both of them are real or not. Of course, this pony also is trying to chew one of her hooves, which I know is not good for any pony like that. As a result, I walk up to her and hold her poor, chewed-on hoof. “Look,” I begin, firmly grasping her hoof in my left while scratching underneath her ear with my right. She sighs and looks at me. “Do ya want to fall in that big hole there?”

She rapidly shakes her head.

“Do ya want to have broken wings forever?”

She shakes her head once again. I swear a tear landed on my shoulder with that one.

“Do ya want to be stuck down here forever?”

This is something I didn’t expect.

“I don’t wanna be stuck down here forever!” she says as she wraps me in her hooves, hugging me tightly.

I gasp as she hugs me. Talking horses that can hug without using their necks; it’s all new to me. A bit too new to me. I sigh and hug her back. “Then let's get goin’, shall we?”

I am about to pull away from her, but the horse pulls me back. “But wait!”

“What now?” I ask.

She sighs. “I need you to do something for me.”

“Okay… what do ya need?”

“I need you to… tell me I can do it.”

“What?”

She backpedals away from me. “L-let me explain. See, it all started when I was just a little filly, except I was in the flight academy at the time.”

I raise an eyebrow at this. “Flight academy?”

“It was called The Cloudsdale Youth Flight Academy and it was a place to basically… learn how to fly,” she explains with a smile. “I was there for a few years before I had to drop out.”

“Dropout?” I ask. “What be of that?"

She groans. “Did you ever go to school?”

It is my turn to shake my head. “No, we slaves never got an education,” I say with a frown. “But it didn’t be gone forever! We could be earnin' one, that is, if the Master allowed it.”

She raises an eyebrow at me. “Were you abused or something?”

That’ll leave a mark. “You could say it like that…”

Her eyes widen. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to offend you!”

“It is alright,” I begin as I trap her in my grasp. She gasps but soon caves in due to my finger scratching under her ear. I smirk. “Ya don’t need to worry none, jus’ don’t do it again.”

She smiles at me. “Alright,” she hums with her eyes closed.

I nudge her. “So, you were sayin'?”

Rainbow Dash quickly opens her eyes. “Right! I-uhm… Dyson?”

“What?” I say, still holding Rainbow Dash in my arms.

A small blush forms on her cheeks. “Can you put me down?”

My mouth forms a quick small "O" before putting the pony down on the ground. “Sorry.”

“No problem,” she says as the blush on her face quickly fades away. “So, as I was saying. After I left the academy, the teachers told me that my parents must home school me for the remainder of my time I would have had there." She pauses. "I needed to do it so I could enter their high school.”

As I am about to ask her about the two school things, I stop myself. I don’t know what they mean, but it’s better to let her talk. Instead, I look up, noticing the fading blue sky above us. It’s going to get mighty dark out, we might have to get some wood when we get out of here.

“So my dad decided to agree with them and taught me how to do all the flying I know today. Unfortunately after he taught me, he left on a business trip and never returned…”

I sigh as I see her tear up again. “Hey you; don’t be cryin'.”

“I’m sorry, you’re going to have to deal with it,” Rainbow Dash says as she chokes back a sob. “It’s all part of the package.”

“I got a package?” I ask with a smirk on my face. “In that case, I’ll have to leave 'er here…”

I walk past the broken mare, her eyes wide as can be. I stifle a chuckle before beginning my ascent, climbing on the various, large stone rocks in front of me. Each grab and step counts towards the goal: to reach that path. It is a bit farther back than what I saw from my first glance, but it definitely is there. It's just a bit of a pain to get to. Of course, as I am about to pass the first huge obstacle, I hear a voice shout up at me.

“Hey, Dyson… can you help me up?”

I turn around and look down, a smirk adorning my face once again. “So the package be comin' with?”

She crosses her hooves and stares up at me. “I…”

“So…?”

She groans and uncrosses her hooves. “Yes, I do.”

“Grab it," I say with a smile and lend her a hand.

Of course, she doesn’t get that I don’t want my fingers bit off by a horse. She bites down hard on my hand, causing me to gasp. “I didn't say hard!"

She mutters to herself before turning to me with her head lowered. “Sorry, Dyson.” With that, she looks to her right. “Wait! I can walk up this way!”

My eyes widen as Rainbow Dash turns to her right and gallops up the rocky thin bridge beside me. I did not even consider this route because of its unstable appearance, but apparently she thinks it’s okay. I scoot over and watch her approach. I better be near the edge in case she misses.

I watch as she gallops up the incline, her hooves colliding with each piece of the rough, jagged platform. My heart begins to race after each step she takes; I’m worried she’ll lose her footing on the thin piece of stone. As she jumps onto the platform I’m on, I watch as the rest of the bridge behind her collapses, falling straight into the dark depths below. I gasp and open my arms to catch her, but my painful reminder likes to stab me right in the gut, making me tumble onto my back. Thankfully Rainbow Dash makes the jump, but not before skidding almost off the edge.

“Dash, that was…”

“Crazy, awesome, Wonderbolt-material?!” she rapidly rambles, a large grin appearing on her face.

“Definitely a risk,” I begin with a wince while I loop an arm around her. “But one needed to be taken.”

She glares at me. “So I’m not awesome?”

“Ya’re one awesome package,” I reply, still not knowing what the word even meant. It must’ve meant something because she is nuzzling me and smiling from ear to ear.

After a minutes rest, we begin to travel up the stone incline, watching our every step. It’s not a huge path at all. There’s just barely enough room for Rainbow Dash to walk beside me, her fur rubbing up against my torn pant leg. We walk side by side, all chirpy and happy as two injured animals can be, that is, until we meet the second obstacle.

“Rainbow Dash?”

“Yeah?”

I stare at the rock formation. “Can you possibly climb with them hooves?”

She shakes her head. “No, hooves don’t grab like that.”

“So I guess the only way we be goin' up is by…”

She blushes. “Carrying me up there?”

I nod. “Looks like it.” I bend down to pick her up. “Come on.”

She smiles and gently snuggles into my arm. As any old slave could say, she definitely behaving more like a dog than any old pony I’ve ever seen. These ponies just keep making me tilt my head as I go.

With Rainbow Dash in my arms, I begin my climb over the first set of rocks. While I’m climbing, my ribs remind me that they’re a bit broken by sending a sudden shock of pain, making me wince from it, however, pain wasn’t foreign to me. Muscling through it all was something I always did on the farm. No pain, no gain, and certainly no dinner if we didn’t work hard enough.

With those painful memories of starving fresh in my mind, I climb up the jagged rocks without even consciously thinking about it. It felt like second nature for me, which scared me once we got up the first set of rocks. I set her down beside me as I take a breather, checking to see if I had any more injuries.

She sighs as she sits beside me, staring at my hand in... horror?

"Dash?"

"Dyson," she says, her eyes still glued to my hands.

I look down and gasp.

They were bleeding. Badly.

"Your han—"

"I see that, Dash," I say, looking for something to cover it up with. She didn't have any clothing, so it was basically mine or none.

I take off my shirt, revealing the scars on my back. This probably got her attention because she gasps from behind me, but I don't care about that whole ordeal right now, my hands are more important. Carefully, I wrap my shirt around the wound, letting it soak up all the blood.

"Dyson?" she whimpers out.

I know what she's whimpering for.

"Yes?" I reply as I finish up the bandaging job.

"Your back... It's—"

"A long story," I interrupt her. "It all happened on the farm."

"Oh," she murmurs, walking from behind me and out to the open where I can see her. She sits beside me. "It must've been rough on the farm."

A bit of suppressed rage deep within me tries to make some headway. "More than rough, Dash," I say with another wince. "It be way more than rough..."

I can feel a tear leave me; it glides gently down my cheek. Then, it stops as I feel her near, nuzzling me. I rub her cheek too, the memories fully fresh in my mind.

"You don't have to say anything, Dyson," Dash begins to say, "I'm sorry."

"No," I reply and loop an arm around her, pulling her close. "I want ya to hear it."

"Why?"

I don't know. I'm stranded here in your world without knowing what it is. You exist, I probably don't, and we both are stuck in a gorge you know of, but never got stuck in.

After a few more moments, I answer her question, "Because you and I... We are together here," I move my arms out, and spread them slowly apart from another, "in this here place. I never been here before, and you have." I poke her in her chest, causing her to squeak. "We be needin' each other, because I can climb," I grab the closest hoof to me, "and you know this place. Together, nothin' should stop us."

With a light blush appearing on her face, she smiles and says, "Thanks, Dyson," before looking at the ground. She steals her hoof away and rubs it with kind. "So..."

"Yes, the story," I say. "It was when I met him..."

Him

Today is the day when I deliver my Master's letter. He lives down a ways from where our farm is at. Thankfully, my Master told me the route where it is the safest and most unused.

"Son," my Master says. "Don't forget your satchel!"

I turn to see him waving the satchel in his hand. Without much thought, I run to him, grab it, and hoist it over my shoulder. He eyes me up and down to make sure I am ready for my journey.

"Boy, if you weren't some lowly nigger," he says as he helps secure my satchel around my arm. "I would have you as my son."

I smile brightly at him and nod.

He pats me on the shoulder. "Now get goin', you're burnin' daylight."

I nod and begin to turn away before I feel a hand grab my shoulder.

"And remember, don't talk to nobody..." I hear him say, before releasing his grip on me and shutting the door.

I sigh and step off the white porch. There was much to be done, and if I was to time this right, I must be careful and aware. My Master wants it to be there by sunset, and he will make sure of it.

I shake my head and sprint down the road.

I will not let him down; my entire life is at stake.

The sun is high and hot, burning the road in front of me. The dirt on my feet burns, as if I was walking on the hottest of coals. Thankfully I won't be walking on it for much longer, the intersection supposedly to my right should be near...

"Hey Mr. R——*"

I quickly shuffle my way into a nearby cornfield, bend down, and peer a bit of my head out to see two white men talking by a large oak tree.

"Good Morning, Mr. Stockton!" the other man replies, his brown stetson resting on his head, covering most of his jet black hair. "How has the yield been?"

Mr. Stockton tilts his black stetson to the right, and wipes the sweat off his forehead. He leans on the nearby tree and kicks up some dust with his black boot. His hand returns to his side and rests it gently on his brown belt, while the other reaches for his lighter and brown cigar. Carefully, the man places the cigar in his mouth and lights it.

"It's been good," Mr. Stockton began, taking a small puff. "Cotton production has been up."

"Really?" the other man says. "What about corn?"

Mr. Stockton sighs. "Corn's been a bit... grim."

"Grim?"

I watch as the two men gaze at the cornfields, including the one I was in. "Unless I get them in line," Mr. Stockton begins with a frown. "I don't think it'll get any better."

I see the other man frown too. "If you need 'em to get in line, I can bring ova him."

Mr. Stockton smiles. "Will ya?"

The man nods. "Meet ya on the front?"

Mr. Stockton puts his hand out. "You got yourself a deal."

The two men shake hands, before they say their goodbyes and separate. Mr. Stockton is walking towards me, I have to hide!

I quickly hide in the cornfields, and wait for him to pass. I see his boots and sharp spurs, clinging against one another as he walked. Once he passed, I sigh and move out of my hiding place and onto the path. The adrenalin that coursed through my veins when he was walking towards me; he must've seen me. There is no way he couldn't have...

I wipe the sweat off my brows and continue walking towards the intersection. Finally! I am only half way from getting to meet my Master's dear friend! I smile and sprint down the path.

"So...? What happened next?" Rainbow Dash says, her muzzle right next to my ear.

I sigh. "I met 'em."

"And...?"

I frown. "Mr. Stockton probably wasn't wantin' me to see him beatin' 'em down..."

I walk up to the blue house, its large, white porch almost identical to my Master's. The light outside flickered on and off, and the windows were shut. I smile as I knock on the door. I can't wait to meet him.

Inside, I hear someone. He is angry, *very** angry.*

"Do you fucking understand me!" the masculine voice shouts.

A sudden cracking noise echoes loudly in my ears. A painful whimpering follows suit.

"So, you want to cry?" he growls. "Then cry in the fields!"

Another loud crack.

I knock again.

"Who is at my fucking door at this hour?"

I hear his boots colliding with the floor.

"Somebody coming on by while I deal with—"

He opens it.

"Her...?"

I stand frozen as he eyes me up and down. The same black stetson rests gently on his head, his black boots and spurs still clink together even while he stands still; and his blue eyes peer at me, reminding me of my Master.

"You're that nigger I saw in the fields."

My eyes widen. "I-uh..."

He grabs me by my shirt. "You a stray?"

"No!" I gasp and shakily reach for my satchel.

He shoves me to the ground and pulls out his revolver. "What're reachin' for?"

"A l-letter!" I gasp. My heart is beating fast, my mind is running laps around the fields, and my legs are locked in place; I don't know if he will shoot me. He has it aimed at me.

He lowers his aim. "A letter, ya say?" He puts the gun in his holster. "From who?"

I promptly stand up and pull out the letter from my worn, torn satchel. "My Master, Mr. E——."

"So he sent ye?" the man says as he snatches it from my grasp. With a wicked grin, he opens it and reads it. As he reads, the grin disappears from his face and so does his color, fizzling into grey. "I..." he mutters, before putting his hand out towards mine. "He did sent ye..."

The sudden emotional switch is something I did not expect. I grab his hand and firmly shake it. "Yes, sir."

The man shakes mine firmly. "This is the only time ya get it."

I nod.

"Would ya like to come on in for a moment?" He gazes at the letter. "Ya Master says to give ya some water and food for your walk back..."

The man grumbles and turns away from me. "Take a seat on that chair," he says while pointing at a small rocking chair by the window. "And don't you move none."

I nod and take a seat on his chair. While I sit, I think about my Master. How proud would he be if he knew of what I have done? My family is saved and so will I! Maybe he will give them a break? Momma don't got much time left, and Papa is worried about her. She...

"I thought I told you to work in the fields!" the familiar voice bellows.

I hear another whimper.

"Do you want to meet him again?"

"N-n-noo!" a feminine tone shrieks.

I hear the sounds of struggle come from the room beside me. She cries for help, but the boots and sounds of agony overshadow her. I hear her though, her sweet sound of melody; yet I sit here, obeying my Master's friend. Should I move?

He told me not to.

Yet, I am curious, maybe...

I get up, the chair creaking as I move. I tiptoe over to the room, and peak around the corner. There lies a girl, black as me. She sits there naked, lacerations on her back. Long, thin wounds, puss out of every one. Dried up blood on the brown chair, and a friend whose leather duster wore red. I quickly tiptoe back, hoping he did not see me, but I hear him, shouting at her more for my curiosity. She shouts and lets out a sob.

I cry with her, finally realizing who he is too.

Rainbow Dash nuzzles me, tears streaming down her cheeks. I cry with her; knowing that there is blood on my hands too. Maybe, maybe I'll find that woman again? Who knows, my Master isn't here.

"Did... did she die?" Rainbow asks in a deathly whisper.

I shrug. "I don't know."

The mare quietly gets up on her hooves. "Come on, Dyson. We gotta get out of here."

I nod. "Better late than never."

She didn't laugh.

Boulders

We continue to walk up the grey, dull slope; neither of us batting an eye at each other. I know that she's a distance away from me, probably hugging the rock wall like it was her lifeline. I, on the other hand, am forced to the outside edge. She could push me off at any minute, and I'd be dead. Yet, she hasn't. Was she angry with me? Did I do or say something wrong?

I hear the pit-patter of her hooves abruptly stop. "D-dyson...?"

Her shakiness of her voice made me turn to her in an instant. "Yes?"

Right beside me is Rainbow Dash, her confident, caring form suddenly looking bleak. Her only workable wing is tucked to her side, while her broken one sits frozen, suspended in space. "I can't feel my wing..."

My eyes widen. "We need to get ya someplace fast."

She nods. "Ponyville has a clinic I can go to," she begins, her gaze shifting to the exit of the gorge, which was farther than it seemed. "I hope we can get past all those boulders..."

I turn to what she was looking at and groaned. "I don't know if I'm strong enough to carry ya up them rocks."

She turns to me and sighs. "Then we'll have to wait and conserve our energy."

"Conserve?"

She sits on her bottom. "Yes, conserve." She leans against the rock wall and cringes. "I wish I had a cloud to sleep on."

I sigh and sit down with her, grimacing all the while. "I wish this rib would stop bein' a pest."

She smiles. "Suck it up, buttercup."

I roll my eyes and stretch my arms. "Wanna snug?"

Her face instantly turns red. "W-what?"

"Snug? Ya know, share body heat?"

"I know you said that!" she squeaks. "I-I..."

Suddenly, the phrase registers in my head. "Oh, you want to do that too?"

Rainbow Dash stares at me, her mouth agape. "Dyson!"

"What?" I smirk. "You thought of it first."

She looks away and twiddles with her forehooves. "Yeah, but..." She pauses. "I... ugh, I'm just not comfortable with snuggling."

"Why is that?" I mindlessly ask.

The horse scoots closer to me. "It's a long story," she says before slowly bringing her gaze to mine.

I smile and loop an arm around her. "We have time."

"O-okay," she sputters, her blush still evident.

A grey cloud passes by.

"I have a couple of friends back at home." She pauses. "Oh, they're probably worried sick—they usually watch me do tricks out in the field by my friend's castle."

"Your friend's castle?" I ask. I could feel my eyebrow raising.

She snickers at me. "She's a Princess of Equestria, after all."

My mind proceeds to pick cotton at lightning speed. "P-princess?"

"You never heard of one?"

I stifle a reply, "N-no, I heard of 'em." I take a brief moment to calm myself down. "Princesses are in them fairy tales I read."

She raises an eyebrow. "Fairy tales?"

I bring her closer, causing her red face to intensify. "Yes. They're usually stories that aren't real..."

She stares at me, her blush blazing on her cheeks. "Sounds lame."

"Not really," I say with a shrug. "Jus' a bit different."

She nuzzles my shoulder. "Like this?"

I nod. "Very."

We sit quietly as another cloud passes on by.

"So, you were sayin' about your friends?" I ask, nudging her side.

She smiles. "Right," she begins, "My two friends, Twilight Sparkle, which was that Princess you were worried about, and Fluttershy, who is a pegasus like me."

"Then what is Twilight?"

"An alicorn," she says nonchalantly, before noticing my confused gaze. She groans. "A winged unicorn?"

"Oh..."

She facehooves. "You weren't lying when you said you weren't from here. This stuff is like... first grade!"

I nod. "Why would I lie?"

She rolls her eyes. "You might've wanted to eat me or something!"

I shake my head. "You are not my type."

"G-glad I'm not," she stutters as her ears splay back on her head. She looks away from me, the ground looking nice to her for some reason.

I shrug. "So, the story?"

She snaps to my gaze, nods, and continues to tell her tale, "So I had just finished an entire routine when Twilight asked both of us if we wanted to go watch this new feature film she got from the Princess."

"There be more than one?"

She rolls her eyes. "There's four of them." She pauses. "And one and a half princes."

I raise my eyebrow. "One and a half?"

"Blueblood does nothing but whine about his hair looking bland. He gets only half."

I chuckle. "That can't be it."

She waves her hoof in front of my face. "That's a whole nother story." She looks out from where we're at. "We'll save that for a rainy day."

I squeeze her, causing her to squeak. "I'll hold ya to that."

Another cloud passes by.

"Do ya get distracted easily?"

She gazes up at me and frowns. "No, you just lead the conversation in a different direction..."

"Then I'll jus' keep quiet," I say. I motion her to continue.

Rainbow Dash nods and continues with her story, "The film was called Days of Glory." She waves her hooves. "Some sort of war film Celestia needed us to watch." She glares at me for a moment, before smiling. "When we watched it, I was enjoying it: all the soldiers were fighting back the monsters that were attacking the castle." The smile she once wore turns to a slight frown. "It was then I saw one of them die." She grimaces. "I never knew they..."

She stops and nuzzles my shoulder. "Their deaths had caused me to snuggle up against my two friends, which, according to Twilight, meant a lot to her and Fluttershy."

I raise an eyebrow in response.

She rolls her eyes. "They were dating."

My eyes widen. I never heard of women dating before. It seemed... taboo. Yet, it made me want to open my mouth and ask her why, but I promised her that I would keep my mouth shut. So, I kept it shut.

"At that moment, they had asked me if I wanted to join their herd." She frowns. "I had to turn them down."

I have to open my mouth here. "Why?"

The mare in my grasp shakily sighs, the long, deep breath shaking her entire being. "I couldn't; they don't allow relationships."

"Who?"

"The Wonderbolts, of course!" she shouts. "It's even in their contract! It has to be all," she states, before throwing her hooves in the air. "Secretive!"

I sit in awe as she snuggles closer to me. "Dyson, I had to reject them for the Wonderbolts and well..." She takes a moment to recollect herself. "I don't like mares."

I pet her mane. "Don't you worry none, Rainbow Dash," I comfort her. "Besides, we're snug right now and you're not complainin'."

In seconds, her eyes widen as she looks at me in shock. "Y-you..."

Another cloud passes by.

A raindrop hits my nose.

"Rainbow?"

She nuzzles my side. "Hmm?"

Another droplet hits my head. "It's raining."

She looks up at the sky. "Huh, how did we not see the clouds forming?"

I look at the clouds too as they form into a giant, black collection of clouds. "Rainbow?"

"What?"

I see them begin to spin. "Do tornadoes happen 'ere?"

She tilts her head and raises a brow. "Not often," she mumbles. "They usually are created by the lack of harmony in an area..."

I hold her tightly. "Come on, we gotta find some shelter."

Still holding her confused look, she asks, "Why?"

Suddenly, a whisk of heavy wind flows to where we're at. I fall to the ground and grimace, still favoring my chest. I look up to see a vortex begin to form. "That's why!" I say as I point to the funnel cloud.

Rainbow gasps as she leaps into my arms. "Where do we go?"

"I don't know!" I say, knowing that our chances are quite slim. We've climbed up this slope so far that it'd be pointless to head back down, yet we're too far away from the exit to leave the area. With the pony in my hands, I run up the incline in search of some sort of shelter to hide in.

"Rainbow," I begin as I hold her in my arms. "Keep on the lookout for any caves!"

She salutes me and says, "Yes, sir!" before her brows furrow and her eyes become half-lidded.

After a few seconds of searching, we find one but it was gong to be a tight squeeze, especially for me. "Rainbow!" I shout over the loud noise of the tornado. A whisk of wind rushes past us, causing us to shiver. "Get in'ere!"

She nods and dives into the small cave. She turns and looks up at me. "But what about you?"

"I'll find a place," I reply as I regain my breath. "Just stay put, okay?"

She whimpers. "B-but—"

"No buts," I interrupt her. "It be only for a minute."

She slowly, and reluctantly nods while a tear slowly grazes down her cheek. "I-I won't move."

I flash her a smile before rushing up the incline, hoping for something ahead. This whole way up had barely any caves, let alone ones that were close to us. Thankfully Rainbow Dash is safe, but I...

...don't know if I can find one.

I search for nearly a minute, the wind buffeting me as I climb. My head is pounding and my heart is racing faster and faster as I run. My injured rib is crying for mercy but I need to find a place to stay before this tornado takes me away.

"Come on," I mutter to myself, picking up the pace. I'm panting right now and I bet you that injured rib is getting close to puncturing my lung. I need to slow down.

"Slow down, ya stupid nigger!"

The voice shouts loud and clear in my ears.

"You ever heard of a ditch!" it shouts. "That's where they hide'em!"

I look around, wondering where this voice is coming from. I turn to my right and notice a cave.

"Get ya both in'er." it states calmly. "I need ya for later."

I sigh and rush back to the horse's hiding spot.

"Rainbow Dash!" I shout as some wind splatters rain against my back. "Come on!"

She rushes out from her hiding spot and joins my side. "What's up!"

I slowly pick her up. "We gotta move!"

The rain impacts my chest. Each raindrop feels like a thousand whippings by him. Every crackle of thunder sounds like the screams of my every waking scream of agony. I cry out in agony as I carry her on my back. She whimpers and hugs me around my neck. "D-dyson."

"Not now! G-ah!" I cry out. "This rain is hittin' hard!"

She silently rests on my back, while I rush up the cliff, hoping to see the cave soon.

As I step on the now soggy, grey terrain, I hear the sounds of a locomotive enter my ears. Its loud, boisterous call seems natural as it storms by us. The train carries the rocks with it, and slams them all around. I duck underneath one, thankfully missing the both of us. It slams against the rock edge with force, making a dent in its side. "Rainbow!"

"Dyson!"

I hold her hooves tightly. "We're close! Jus' hang on to me!"

She nods and dangles off my back. I smile and begin to move forward. Step after step, I feel myself begin to grow confident that we'll find the cave. Yet, as my confidence grows, so does it wane as a boulder slides underneath me, sending her and I to the ground.

I slide off the edge of the slope, but thankfully grab the edge of it with my hands. I grimace as I feel my body stretch, making the rib move closer to my lungs. "Rainbow!" I call, hoping she'll come and save me.

She struggles to get up. "Dyson, where are you?!"

"Over here!" I shout, hanging onto the ledge for dear life. "Help me!"

She apparently spots me as I hear her hooves clip-clop over the ferocious, howling winds. "Dyson!"

"Rainbow Dash, grab my hand!"

She pauses. "But you said not to last time!"

"This time's different!" I shout back. "Jus' help me!"

She grabs my hand with her teeth and pulls.

I cry out in agony as I feel my fingers being crunched by the horse. "Stop!"

She stops.

A small tear races down my cheek. The howling winds rage on around us, tossing boulders and other debris with it.

"Dyson!"

I feel my grip begin to slip.

"What do I do?"

I try to speak, but nothing is coming out.

"Dyson!"

I turn to my left to see a boulder coming towards me.

"DYSON!"

I turn to her. "Goodbye."

"NO!"

The sounds of bones shattering is all I hear.

Descending Into Freedom

The cold, harsh weather welcomes the farm as we, its owner's slaves, gather around the only remaining outdoor fire pit. The small, oval-shaped pit sits in the center of the grass behind the house with its glorious, yet average-sized flames. Many, quiet low chatters emit in the large oval surrounding it. I am sitting close to the fire, huddled with other unknown and known faces.

"Did ya know we be stuck out 'ere while Masta sleeps all comfy inside?" Leo asks, drawing my attention to him.

I nod. "We been through worse."

Leo nods as he huddles closer to the fire. "We colored folk always come out alive."

"Of course," I reply while looping my arm around his neck. I pull him close and look at the night sky. "It mighty fine out tonight."

A light, yet chilling breeze rushes by, intensifying the shivering of my friends and I. "Me thinkin' ya jinx'd it," Leo murmurs.

"Yeah!" a younger, sweeter voice joins in. "Big brother... j-j-jinxes it!" I feel pressure underneath my other arm and turn towards it. I see her.

"Where's Momma and Papa?" I ask my little sister who is now lying snug beside me.

She squeaks as I pull her close. "Momma and Papa be over by Auntie May!" She flashes a smile at me. "Big brother?"

"Hmm?"

"Why have ya been sad?" she asks, a slight frown forming on her little face.

I sigh. "Leo, mind if I talk with my little sis' here?"

Leo sighs too and nods. "Me be sittin' over by Chase if ya need me."

With that, he walks over to the other side of the fire, huddling next to Chase, who is another friend of ours.

I turn my gaze to my little sister, Sophie, her little blue irises glistening in the night light. "Sophie?"

She smiles rather cutely at me. "Yeah?" she says as she twirls her black, curly hair.

"Do ya really want ta know?" I say as I pick her up.

She squeals and nods rapidly. "Story time!"

I chuckle heartily. "Yes, story time." I sit her on my lap and hold her close. "Alright, so ya remember a few days ago when I was sendin' a letter to one of the Master's friends?"

"Yeah!" she excitedly exclaims. "Ya said you met 'em!"

I force a smile. "Yes... Well, I did not tell ya about what fully happened there."

She gasps. "Big brother! Why did ya not tell me?"

"I don't know if you can handle it jus' yet," I reply with a slight frown. "It's... *gruesome*."

"G-gruesome?"

I grab her little cheek and pull it. "It's somethin' bad."

"Brother!" she yips as she tries to swat my arm. "Stop pullin' my cheek, ya goin' break it!"

I let go of her cheek. "Your cheek ain't goin' break," I say with a smile.

My sister crosses her arms and lets out a long huff. "Humph!" Projecting her lips and frowning, my little sister begins to stand up. "I'm goin' t—"

I grab her around her chest and hug her tight. "Sorry sis," I apologize. "Come on, let's get into the story tellin' now."

She smiles and hops on my lap. "Okay!"

The sudden weight on my legs sends pain through my entire body. I grunt. "Ya be gettin' bigger," I say with a smile. "Next year, ya might be bigger than me!"

She leans into my chest. "I don't wanna..."

"Why's that?" I ask with a raised eyebrow.

She sighs. "I always wanna be like this."

Holding her tight, I give her a smile. "Glad ya think so." I begin to pet her hair. "So, that story, huh?"

She nods. "What happened there, big brother?"

I shudder as a faint breeze gently grazes my back. "I went into the friend's house."

The little sister on my chest gasps loudly. "They never let us in!"

"Yeah," I say. "I needed to do this though, they were goin' be doin' somethin' bad to us if I didn't."

"Gruesome?" she asks with her eyes wide.

I smile. "Yeah, gruesome." I look over to Leo, who is still next to Chase. The two men stand near, huddling together with their arms wrapped behind each other's backs. Leo is tall, his eyes are blue, his mouth is large, but his lips are the opposite; petite, but chapped, his hair is short, black, and faded, and his arms and legs are long, but not as long as I. Chase, on the other hand, is his own man. He appears to be older: his wrinkles on his face, his long thick scar under his right eye, his light gray hair (before it was true black), his eyes shone the same, and his mouth and lips are more petite than Leo's and mine. His features make him no less than a boy, but more of a man than he should.

I feel a tugging on my arm. "Big brother!"

I look down at my sister, her black hair still curly as can be. "Yes?"

The bright smile still lightens her face. "What happened?"

The feeling of elation in my heart and soul crashes at that field. I bring her close. "He used him on a slave."

"Him?"

I nod. "Him was white man's whip. He..." A tear leaves me. "Used it on 'er."

The child in my arms squirms. "S-she?"

I nod again while I begin to sob. "It was... *gruesome*."

There is nothing more to be said as the light crackles and popping of the fire pit tells my sister the rest of the tale.

The sounds of water splashing near echoes in my ear.

Dyson...

She seems loud, not too proud.

Dyson.

She sat still, crying as another hit her weak, frail body.

Dyson!

"Dyson!" her sweet voice calls to me.

I open my eyes and see her, crying. Another tear drop hits my ear, splashing loudly in my ears. I wince and sputter a cough.

"Dyson!" she says in pure elated happiness, her pitch high. "You're alive!" She wraps her forelegs around me.

I try to speak, but the sounds of my dying throat are all to be heard.

She pats me on my back. "You're alive," she breathes. "You're alive..."

I look around while I hug her close. The place we're in is pitch black, but underneath us is a torch, its flames rumbling like a fire. Its light crackles are to be heard while we sit underneath it, wet as can be. What happened; why is she muttering that phrase?

She pulls away and stares into my eyes. "Dyson, say something!"

I open my mouth and sigh in relief. I stopped coughing. Definitely a thing to be thankful for. "Yes," I say weakly. "I'm okay."

She gasps. "What happened to your voice?"

"Dry," I reply and point to the reservoir beside us. "Water..."

She nods and moves me over to the edge. "Can you bend?"

I attempt to bend over, but the rib aches in pain, sending jolt after jolt of pain throughout my body. I shake my head. "Not at all."

She frowns and cups her forehooves together. She dips them in the water and holds them to my mouth. "Drink," she commands.

I slurp on the water, a bit of dirt mixing in. I swallow and sputter some more, knowing that my stomach hated the dirt that she wore. "Thanks, Rainbow Dash."

She pats me on my head. "No problem, that's what friends are for, right?"

"Friends?" I ask with my mouth agape.

She frowns. "Well, we know each other really well and I... think you're awesome."

"Awesome? What is that?" I ask, scratching my head.

She gasps. "It's the coolest word ever! How could you not know it?"

I shrug. "We slaves never knew of it."

Rainbow Dash stands up and hobbles over to the torch, grimacing all the while. "Let's get going then!" She grabs the torch with her maw and looks back at me. "We'lsh getsh Twilight ta teash you!"

I stand up and walk towards her with a heavy heart. I force a smile at her and nod. "Can't wait."

She flashes a grin and turns her attention towards the darkness, where we will descend down its steps towards the unknown.

Dark

It's dark down here. Real dark. The grey rough grains that traveled through my fingers now go through my feet. They harden and dry my skin, while their dullness bring back the barriers between Rainbow Dash and I. She walks beside me, eyes unmoving as she stares into the abyss of darkness. Not a single bit of life nor hope lay in this cave. Not a single one.

My bones burn within my chest, a normal feeling I've gotten used to since my hands dug into the lush plantation dirt. Yet the times, I think, have changed; it's just a theory. The theory of being alone with a talking horse that cares about me more than most. It's disturbing. Even though the idea that it could be the neighbor's horse and I was poisoned by my Master still lingers in my mind, I can't help but think of the other possibility: being in a fantasy world like the ones in my books. Maybe, maybe I'm free. Free from him. The giddiness inside me lies with the hope of freedom. Its power begins to numb the seething flames within me.

I turn to my left and watch as she holds her torch in her maw, letting the fire stay farthest from her face. She still stares on, not even giving me a peak of her eyes. So, I decide to give her a reason.

"Hey, Dash?"

She reluctantly turns to me, her magenta eyes still bright as ever. "What?"

As I was about to open my mouth, my Master calls to me, "Think before you say, boy!" I wince at his words. "You niggers always blabber and never think!"

I stop and take what I'm about to say into consideration. What would be a good thing to start with?

I flash her a smile. "What do ya wanna do when you get outta here?"

Her muzzle lightly scrunches up and begs for me to grab the torch. So I do, gripping it tight. She smiles and walks a bit closer to me. "First, sleep. Sleep is necessary for this pegasus." She giggles. "Then I'd wake up and come find you."

"Me?" I say, startled. "But we jus' met!"

She looks down. "Aren't we friends, Dyson?"

Friends...

"Aren't we friends, Dyson?"

The question rang in my ears. Her voice dragged. Dragged long before she stopped breathing.

I wince as the ringing invades my ears. "I-I don't know..."

"You don't know?" she growls, but her anger quickly fades away. She stares at me with concern. "Dyson, what's wrong?"

My chest burns. My legs burn. My body is weak. "I'm weak."

She tilts her head. "It's only been a day..." She pauses. "Don't you eat?"

I nod. "Mostly beans and bread whenever we got 'em. I even got steak once or twice when I was on the farm. Master says I be a good slave, dealin' with all his letters..." I see her lookin' at me strangely: a tilt of the head, and the wrinkling of her muzzle. I gotta ask her what is wrong. "What?"

Her eyes widen as she realizes a little drip of saliva came from her lips. "Steak?" She sighs. "What kind?"

"Medium-rare."

She facehooves. "Not that kind!" Her face is a bit red. "I'm asking what type of steak."

I pause. I remember its taste: juicy, tender, a bit salty, and a mighty fine cut with just the right amount on the plate. "Pork. Juicy pork steak."

I watch her look at me in disdain for a brief moment, her eyes full of venom. Yet, she turns it around, bringing herself to my gaze. She sighs and leans against my leg. "I'll get you some fish steak when we get home..."

I smile and weakly bring my hand to her ear. "I'll hold ya to that, Dash."

I hear her purr as I scratch underneath her ear. "Do this more, and I might have to get Twilight to do a cloud-walking spell to make you permanently live with me!"

My heart, for the first time, fluttered. I wasn't falling. No. I am walking, now standing. She and I, we walk. Yet, for some reason, I feel like flying. Flying high. Yet, I don't see it now. We're still in this tunnel. A tunnel that is black and grey. We can't even imagine this stuff until we are out.

I turn to her. "We need to get goin'."

"But I thought you said you were weak?" she snaps. She eyes me up and down. "Besides, you're not in shape for this right now." She flexes her able wing and walks to the opposite side of the cave tunnel. She, then, carefully curls up like a farm dog. "Wanna come by me?" she asks.

"Why did ya move?"

She points her hoof towards the ground beneath me. "You're not exactly on dry ground."

On cue, I look down to see water rush between my feet. It is warm instead of the cold, aching water that I know from my past. It comforts me with its never-ending rush of warmth. Yet, I understand; the water is not a good place to lie in. I nod in her direction, come close, and lie beside her, wrapping my arms around her frame. She squeaks. I see her cheeks: a mixture of red and blue, a scene that I remember seeing before we fell.

"D-Dyson?"

"Yeah?"

She squirms a bit in my grasp. "Why are you holding me?"

Looking down at her is when I see the resemblance: eyes that peered into a soul and rattled it, heart full of gold, voice distinct and like no other, and a smile that could make me smile too. One thing is different about her. Rainbow Dash is a horse, full of color and life, while she...

A tear leaves me as I hug her tight. "T-This is what friends do?"

She stops her squirming and smiles. "Y-Yeah, Dyson, friends."

I feel her head rest upon my shoulder before she begins to snore. Her snores are soft, yet are just like any horse. However, I know something else is going on. I need to stay up. Stay up for her.

Maybe I'll be able to think of something while she rests. Rainbow Dash is a pegasus after all, she said they needed their rest. I sigh and keep her close.

It is night. She lies beside me, her smile tenfold. "Big brother?"

I look at her, the night's care stares into her. "Yes?"

She coughs a bit, while laying on the cool, spring grass. "Can ya tell me 'bout Momma?"

"What 'bout 'er?" I say, my head rustling through the vivid memories of her.

She sighs, her voice becoming shaky, "Papa said Momma be good at playin' the piano..."

I nod while pulling her close. "Yeah, Momma be very good at the piano." I pause as I begin to pet her hair. "She actually played for Master one night."

This gets her going. "Really?" she squeaks.

I chuckle. "Of course," I begin with a smile on my face. "Ya never got to hear her play, did ya?" I see her shake her head. "Well, how could I describe it?" I pause, letting a light breeze rush past us. "She was slow and gentle with her strokes, pressin' them buttons with care like of one of her newborns. She played softly, yet loudly for anyone in the vicinity to hear. She sung low, sweetly; the master heard them melodies one night and saw 'er practicin' it. Master gave her that time, a time to play. Master let 'er play his favorite song, but it was fast. Fast like a train. Yet she did it. 'Amazing' it was he called it."

"Amazin' for us?"

For some reason, a chord within me snaps. "Y-Yeah. Us."

She caught me. Caught my stutter. "Brother?"

I take the plunge. "S-She was good. Played his song for a while. A few times after that night as a matter of fact. It was good until she messed it up one evenin'. Messed it up bad."

"B-Brother..."

"She asked him for forgiveness. He shook his head and told her to get up." I pause as a shiver slithers down my spine. "She hollered as they came."

"They?"

Images flash before my eyes. "They came with a knife. A long, curved one."

Her eyes widen. "T-They..."

"She couldn't play the piano again without all them digits."

A small breeze whisks above us while the moon's bright light fades behind the cover of the dark black clouds.

Swimming - Part 1

Wrinkles. She wears them well. Her age shows through her long, curvy wrinkles, which hang directly below her eyes. Her brown eyes are always stuck to the sight of those old white keys. Her elegant strokes of her feeble old fingers mesmerize me. I watch them glide over each and every key, sometimes pressing them to create her melody. She sang with the mockingbirds. They are her chorus. She is their bridge.

"Goin' down the road we never known,

Goin' down the road we never known!

So take a right, hang a left,

Take another step-

So we goin' down the road we never known!

"My son was taken down that road,

My son was taken down that road!

He was thrown into the fields,

and told to cross them yields,

so he'd never go down that road!

"Goin' down the road we never known,

Goin' down the road we never known!

So take a right, hang a left,

Take another step-

So we goin' down the road we never known!"

I watch her play, her old hands still keeping the pace of the song. She sings with her whole heart, while she strikes key after key. Her mockingbirds join in with their pleasant chirping while perching upon a large oak branch.

"My son was taken down the road!

He was taken down that very road!

His little feet were sold for sheet,

and little hands were full of heaps,

just to go down that very road!

"Goin' down the road we never known,

Goin' down the road we never known!

So take a right, hang a left,

Take another step-

So we goin' down the road we never known!"

At this point, I hear the song change to something I absolutely dread. Her voice is like a warning: soft yet laced with the sorrows of the past.

"My son, do not forget me,

Please, do not forget me!

They are rushin' up them steps,

And wadin' through the waters,

so we're taken down that road—"

She holds back a sob, which breaks the tempo of her song.

"I hear'em comin' up the steps."

I heard a few boots clatter against the wood outside.

"He is here, my little one.

Make sure you are not done," she says while pointing her shaky finger at me.

With one breath, she sings her final notes.

"My beautiful little boy..."

The door opens.

"...keep my love forever."

She hollers.

The Master and his friends swarm around my momma. They grasp her arms, hoisting them off her only freedom to place them near the large wooden table beside them. One grasped his rifle and stabbed it on the nearby wooden slab. It stayed in place due to its large bayonet, putting fear both in my momma and I.

"You lowly niggers slashin' our songs?" One of the white man says. He wears a black hat. His blue eyes... "Butcherin' our songs requires some payment..." His grin makes my heart turn to paste. "Do you know the price?"

My momma takes a risk despite those two, strong white men who have her arms in their grasps. "My pretty self?"

The man gags and motions for one of the men to move her left hand to the table. The other nods and smacks her hand onto it.

Momma grimaces. 'What're ya goin' do to me?"

A mockingbird chirps in the distance.

She spots the sword, which is curved, long, and bloody. Fresh wet blood. "No..."

The man grinned. "Ya will pay me with your fingas..."

She squirmed in the men's grasp. I hear her cry, telling me to look away; don't let her baby see.

"Come on, little boy, watch your mother lose her finga'."

I approach the table and see my momma's tears. They are sliding down her face, flooding it's pretty shine. Her gaze is stuck to her hands, which were being slowly glazed over by the blade. No cuts made; the sword hovers over her hands in intimidation.

"So which little piggy gets to see the city?"

My momma's crumbling freedom appears tear-stricken on her lovely face. She whimpers and continues to protest.

Yet, my Master had other plans.

"Mr. Stockton, may you please?"

The man holding the blade coughs. "Sorry," he says before turning to my momma for one last time. "May ya learnt your lesson."

The blade comes upon her.

My mind is swimming of my mother. She always speaks to me with a smile on her face. Just... That night was different. She was crying. Then she lost it all. Within seconds.

Tears begin to leave me as I open my eyes. I have my arms still swung around Rainbow Dash, who is snoring softly in this tunnel of darkness. The tunnel's distinct darkness is getting worse now. I can barely see a thing.

The torch!

To my left was what was left of the torch. It's soggy and wet, which made me confused.

Weren't we on dry ground last night?

I let the thought linger within my mind while I come to grips with our situation. Our torch is gone, so we were now left without a light source. We need to find one. Badly.

I poke Dash in what I think is her stomach.

'Eep!" she squeaks as she opens her eyes. I can see how they shine and glimmer in the dark. Her eyes become wide as saucers. "Dyson?"

I hold her tight. "Dash, the torch is out."

She gasps. "Did it..."

"Yes, it's a goner," I say. "So what do we do?"

Rainbow Dash sighs. "Since we're only going further and further down this tunnel with no other way out..." She pauses. "I guess we gotta go down."

"Down there?"

Rainbow Dash giggles. "No, we're going down some other tunnel."

I groan. "Dash, this isn't funny..."

"I know, Dyson, I know." She squirms in my grasp. "Mind letting go?"

I release the pegasus from my grasp. She turns to me and says, "Thanks for being my pillow last night."

I frown at this comment, which Rainbow Dash picks up instantly. Before she can open up her mouth, I say, "My sister used to say the same thing."

"Oh..." was all Rainbow Dash could say as she strays away from me. I sigh and pull her closer, our sides touching. "Don't move away. I need to be able to make sure I don't lose you too."

Rainbow Dash gasps. "Lose you too?"

I let her slip. It wasn't my intention to let Rainbow Dash know. My little sister was young when she passed. On Sweet Acres, when a young slave was slaughtered, we would sing our song. It was well known among the other communities around us, even the white man. They knew of it too, because of us slaves spreading it like wildfire. The sweet chariot would come take her and send her to heaven. It was simple. Simple as pie.

But that day...

My Master was not wanting to hear no mourning.

Any one of ya that sings that cursed song will be havin' their tongue cut out and given to the dogs!"

To put it this way, my Master was not my friend no more. He was friendly when I came, then bitter the next. I...

I don't know what he is anymore.

I choke back a sob. "I-It's a long story, Dash."

She pokes me with one of her hooves. "Dyson..." Her voice carried throughout the tunnel. "I know your past is grim..."

"Corn's been a bit... *grim*."

"I know you're full of wonderful things..."

"You niggers always blabber and *never think*!"

'So why don't we just leave it at that?"

"Ah always wanna be like this."

I couldn't look at her. I couldn't even respond. I just... begin to swim. Swim in my own waters.

Swimming - Part 2 - Discovery

It's not about the dry grey grains that slide between my toes, but that I and Rainbow Dash have been walking for hours, and all we've walked is further and further into the tunnel. Not one other route has been found. We've been stuck walking this way. The only thing that has changed is the water, which is starting to fill up more and more with every drip coming from the darkness. Those drips sound like distant cannon fire we slaves heard once before. The explosive bang could be heard from anywhere on Sweet Acres: the barn, where we'd sleep at night, the Master's home, or even in the fields, where our own struggle remained. I knew who owned the cannon fire, and so did the rest of my brothers and sisters. It was the Northerners, they were coming. Unfortunately the cannon fire wouldn't stay for long. It was sent away; they were retreating. Once it all faded, we went back to living the life we've been destined to live, waiting on the slim hope that they would come again.

Now that I think about it, maybe the cannon fire wasn't them. Maybe the slave masters were just plotting to confuse us, make us slaves think we're being fought for and someday be free to escape and leave them without a trace. I don't want to someday be freed, though. I want to be free. No sir, I'm not going down without a fight. I want freedom, and whether I'm with my brothers and sisters, or with a clown horse, I'm going to fight for it.

So I trudge on in those grey grains. They don't slide between my feet like they used to, the water carries them now. My feet are cold, my body is aching, and my God I'm flowing through the river. Flowing down stream quick, just like before.

I look over at my partner, that clown horse--or was it a pony?--whose problems equaled mine. She is a feisty loyal mare who likes her way.

How do I know that?

"Dyson, get over here!"

That's why.

Letting my thoughts veer into the river, I turn to my little pony and come to her aid. "Hiya," I say, rubbing her ear. "What be the problem, Dash?

"Stop that!" she begs while batting my hand with her hoof. "It's hard to act serious when you're trying to feel up my ear."

"Sorry, can't help it. You just so irresistible." I earn a well-made groan for that one. "'Sides, in all my days of workin' on Sweet Acres, I know that a good rub down be needed whenever you are in a stressin' situation. Good idea, ain't it?"

She groans. "Dyson, focus."

"Sorry," I say, looking into the dark depths again. "Say, what're ya focusin' on?"

"Could a white man speak without some nigger talking in his ear?"

"Yes, sir!" I sa--oh no, I said that out loud! "I mean--y-you can say what ya wanna say, Dash."

"I didn't say anything, Dyson," she says while raising a brow at me. "Are you all right?"

What should I say, what should I *say!?*** "Um... ya, all fine and dandy, ma'am." If I get nailed to the cross by 'er, I'll be sayin' my prayers, Momma.

She laughs at me, which is something I wasn't expecting. "Ha-HA! Dyson! You crack me up! We're not in some academy! You don't have to call me ma'am!" She giggles after every little word before looking at me with tears--those are happy ones--racing down her cheeks. "Dyson, I'm not some master you need to be formal to. I'm your friend! Did you ever do this to your friends?"

"No, just to Master when he wants my attention," I reply.

She wipes her face of her tears before staring at me with the intent of a murderer. "Are you saying I'm like him?"

I shake my head rapidly, hoping that it won't suddenly pop off my neck and go into the air. "I'm not! Honest!"

She brings her face close to my ear. With the warmth like the water from before, she whispers, "Then don't act like I'm him."

Don't act like she's him... Don't act like she's him... Don't act like she's him...

The phrase repeats in my brain for more than just a few seconds. It sits there, echoing, waiting for me to understand that she's serious, that this is no fluke, that there's no end in sight for this type of reasoning. I have never been told to reason before, I had to develop that skill on my own. Master never liked it when I reasoned, he said I was given too much freedom when I sat there, holding that book in my hand, learning about those stories: fantasy books that talk about them Princesses that need their knight and shining armor. Despite them being fake and just being stories, I learned a lot from them. They taught me to not only reason, but to survive. No other words were needed; we need to move on to survive.

"So," Rainbow Dash says, bringing my attention to her. "Does your arm hurt?"

I look away from her. Those murky waters look dark... "Yeah, it doe--YA-OW! What in the Lord's name are ya doin'?"

She chuckles. "That's for rubbing my ear."

Note to self: don't rub her ear. She don't like it none. "Ya don't need to be so rough."

Those brows fall to a dreaded slant. "Rough is my middle name."

"I thought your middle name wa--"

Snap.

"YA-OW!"

"Don't you say a word about my middle name! It's... personal."

I smirk. "Whatever ya say there, Dash." She rolls her eyes at me before pointing her hoof at the--is that more than just a river?

"We're going to be swimming from here on out, Dyson." She turns to me. "You know how to swim?"

I smile. "Of course!" She raises a brow. "Don't ask me the know how! We gotta swim!"

"I'm not raising it because I'm wondering how you know, I'm just wondering how you swim." She looks at my arms. "Those things don't really look water-ready..."

I eye her wings. "Them things are water-ready?"

She growls. "Water-ready as your wittle arms would ever be!" To show me, she tries to bust them out. Unfortunately, she grimaces as her eerie reminder of our accident braces her body. "They are, I swear!"

Seeing her pain--that face--burning--it causes my ribs to cry too. Maybe we're both pained to see the other hurt. Maybe they want freedom too. "Right... I will be rememberin' your wittle wings too."

She groans and moves in front of me, plunging straight into the water with a splash, covering the walls with water. She comes out from the depths and smiles. "Are you going to jump in or complain about me calling you a wittle human?"

Somewhere, deep inside my body, a force is engaged. Without warning, I jump into the pool of water and dive in. Skipping to check if she was behind me or not, I swim further into the depths of darkness. I can barely see a thing. A few clumps of dirt drift on by, the waters we swim in sound lifeless, and the only one who is full of life (other than me) is Rainbow Dash, who--I check behind me--is staring at me, menacingly.

She points ahead and glares at me. Guess I better swim some more.

After a brief few seconds, I stop again. I feel Rainbow Dash's head bump into my back, sending shots of pain through my spine, but I bear it for a moment. I spotted something moving. Something large. Something... with blue glowing eyes.

We've gotta get out of the water.

With a frantic expression, I point above and make a sign of a bubble drifting up. She nods and zooms up to the surface with me. Breaking it, we catch our breaths, and realize we're already near the ceiling. One wrong move, and I could be impaled by an attached pointed rock jutting from the ceiling. I don't know what they're called, but they do look interesting.

"What's the matter?" Rainbow Dash asks. "I could've gone for another few minutes!"

I shake my head. "Not with what I saw."

"What did you see?"

I sigh. "It was large, wavy, and had a tail zippin' with lightnin' all 'round 'er."

She gasps. "You saw an eel?"

"An eel?" I ask, not knowing what she meant. She sighs.

"Dyson, it's an electric eel. Ever heard of electricity?"

I shake my head. "Never used no electricity on the farm. At least, not that I recall..."

She brings her hoof to her face. "Look, electricity is something that can kill you if you aren't too careful. How big were those eels?"

I look back at what I saw, the brief glimpse I had. He was large, huge, like a giant snake rattling in the fields, except ten times larger. He was swimming. Swimming fast. "Huge."

"That's great, but how huge?" Rainbow Dash spreads her forehooves wide. "This long?"

I shake my head. "Put about a hundred of me in a line and you'd have just the length of 'im. He's a big one. Bigger than three houses combined!"

She gasps and puts her hooves to her head. "Oh no..."

"What?" I ask. I see her body shake, while her hooves slowly moving from her face.

"That isn't an ordinary eel." She lets her hooves rest under the water. "It's her.

"Her?" My eyebrow is probably raised a bit too high.

She swims away from the open waters. "We need to find some dry land to talk about this..."

"How d'ya think we'll find that? There's not even enough light in this here cav--"

She slaps her wet hoof to my mouth, and shushes me softly. "Just follow me, Dyson. It'll be easier if I am point." Eyebrow is raising higher... "Please?"

I give into her demands and nod.

"Good," she says, giving me a brief smile before letting her dirty hoof pop off my mouth. I choke a bit, feeling a bit of her dirty water slide down my throat. Feels wrong to be choking on what I drank mostly; must be the surroundings. "You coming?"

I swim towards her while making sure my head doesn't become part of the scenery. Coming to her side, I see the land she's talking about. The cave raises up there, and so does the land, letting just a bit of room for us to sit and rest. A breathing room. Somewhere to be safe from her...

I watch as she clip clops onto the breathing hole's dirt (still grey grains but dry). Her wings are soaked. Her mane is soaked. Everything is soaked. She's probably mighty cold too, that water wasn't exactly warm as it was before. Something else down here changed, though, and I can't put my finger on it. Was it the temperature? The atmosphere? Something did. All I see is grey. Grey behind her.

"Gosh, you're dense, get up here before she gets ya!" she hollers, grabbing my attention. I quickly paddle my way over and climb the grained haven. She smiles and pats beside her. "It's cold down here. Phew."

"Just the water," I say, taking a seat beside her. "It ain't as warm as it was before."

She nods and scoots over. "Sorry about before. I just don't like being touched without warning." She looks at her hooves. "Especially my hooves. Hooves are off-limits even for the awesome ponies that aren't me!"

"So what about before--"

"That was because I was scared okay?" She puts a hoof to my chest. "You better not tell anyone I was scared. I have a reputation to keep." She removes the hoof from my chest and turns her head towards the water.

The air around us is thin. It's getting hard to breathe. "Look, we only have a little bit of time to talk about this, so let's stay on topic." She takes a deep, shaky breath. "She is a giant electric eel with large sharp teeth. Most eels would attack if provoked or as self-defense, but this eel will hunt after anything. Her strike has the ability to kill!"

"A killer electric underwater thing..."

She nods, rather frantically, holding her hooves to her head. "We're just going to have to try and swim past without getting killed." She takes a loud gulp. "That's what Daring Do would do."

I raise an eyebrow at her. "Daring Do?"

"She's the coolest pony ever!" Rainbow Dash exclaims while hopping up and down giddily. "I'll have to show you her when we get back to Ponyville! She's got the best books ever an--"

"Books? You mean she a character from a book?" I ask.

She shakes her head. "She is in a book, but she's also alive. She's gone on the adventures herself so she retells them an--"

"Publishin' them to the rest of the world?"

She nods and lays her head on my shoulder. "And you said you were just a slave."

I frown. "But I am, Dash. Slave then, and a slave now."

She pulls her head away from my arm--it felt nice for that moment too. "What do you mean? Aren't you free now?"

I shake my head. "I hear 'im. Y'know, Master? He be talkin' to me lots, whenever and wherever! He be there tellin' me that I am still his slave. Can't resist 'im if I even tried!"

She frowns. She can't deny that we're stuck here. This isn't freedom, this is slavery without the chains, without family, and without all the bells and whistles the white man got. Big cigars, hats, boots; all new and fresh from the mill, while my clothes are tattered, worn, and as I know them, gone. The last fabric left behind still grips to my general zone, but no where else can I say I'm covered, I'm shielded from the elements. I'm just Dyson, all black and nothing to show for--

"YA-Hey!" I glare at Rainbow Dash. Apparently my clothes don't shield me from hooves. "What're ya--"

"You have me, don't you?" She is smiling at me. "Don't you?"

You have me, don't you?

Her voice is what I've been hearing lately. She's overshadowed his voice, and I barely hear him calling my name. He's not there, is he?

You bet your slave ass I am, boy.

I gasp. "Dash, he's here."

She grips me tight.

She won't be able to save you. She just a horse, and you are some ragtag slave of mine that decided to try an' escape the farm!

I grip her tightly, my eyes beginning to close, and my ribs are crying out to me, begging me to shove her away.

All she will do is hurt you, Dyson. Hurt you like you hurt me.

Swimming - Part 3 - Pulse

Hearing his voice over her scares me. It's not normal to hear him like this. I'm not supposed to hear him. He's been doing it since I've gotten here: the voice inside my head at the boulders, climbing up the rocks, I hear him in the caves and he's still here with me while I swim. Where is he? Where is he?

"Dyson!" Rainbow Dash shouts. "Don't let him get to you. Come on!" She nuzzles my chest. "You don't want to be stuck here forever, do you?"

I shake my head.

She pulls away from my chest; gets up on her four hooves, her leg wobbling as she stands tall; puffs out her chest; and with her one good wing, she slaps me upside the head. "Then let's get moving! We both have friends to return to."

I flash her a smile, hoping that she doesn't see what's behind it. It's a mask I wore, long before she met me. I wear it every day, especially when I hear my Master's voice. He's here now; I'm aware of that. Where...

I shake my head, but not towards Rainbow Dash. She's standing directly near the edge where large rocks overshadow her size. Meanwhile, I am slowly making my way towards it too, taking the last few breaths I could take before losing it all to the water where the giant eel lurks for its prey.

Whether we're the prey or not is not what I am worried about.

I watch as Rainbow Dash dives into the water, making a splash that splatters the walls of the grey, dry cave. Drips of leftover splashes, probably where that beast took its own dives, slowly make their impact into the water too, adding to the scene. And here I am, standing, still, wondering if we're both going to make it out of this alive. This situation seems familiar, almost like I've lived it before. Well, minus the talking clown horse, the cave, the grey grains scattered aplenty, and the injuries sustained by the fall we took to get here, the concept of swimming away and wondering if we're going to live felt so similar. It was...

Brother!

It was like her and I. My sister. I wonder where she is--probably on the farm still, begging the master for me to come back. She's crying in Mother's arms too, while twirling the black hair left on Mother's head. I miss them.

I jump in the water.

Jump in, Brother!

Splash.

Come on sister, jump!

I slowly search the darkness below, hoping that Rainbow Dash didn't leave me behind.

I'm comin' in!

I find her, staring with those magenta eyes. She beckons me forth, and I follow, hopelessly, swimming through those waters again. I hope I can find her.

Brother!

I hope I can.

Following that rainbow tail is a problem. She's quick when she swims, her wings closed tight to her sides. The brown fragments float on by, not staining her coat one bit. Meanwhile, those brown fragments like to hit me square in the face, making me blind momentarily. Brushing them off is a problem too due to how... heavy I feel. It's like I'm swimming against a current, but there's nothing to stop me from moving forward. I can move freely, but the water is restraining me, restricting me from going forward so I can catch up with Rainbow Dash, whose tail looks like it is losing its color. Deep within the waters we swim, but I look at that tail, losing it...

Suddenly, I see her. I see her well.

And so does it.

She turns and looks at me frantically, eyes wide in surprise. The eel is not as large as we thought. No, it is larger, the hugest thing I have ever seen. It was almost as large as the river, which ran by Sweet Acres and connected us together with the other farms. It... helped irrigate the others. For us, we used it as an escape route during the night. Well, some of us did.

Brother!

Rainbow Dash paddles her way towards me. Above her is something, a tail, with white strands of electricity bouncing off. It's about to charge her, strike her, or do something that I don't like.

So I swim.

I swim fast.

In seconds, Rainbow Dash meets me and narrowly missing a powerful strike by the eel's form. The eel, whose beady eyes were locked onto her, thrashed about momentarily, its tail swishing and swashing in the water. Meanwhile, Rainbow Dash and I swim away, hoping to lose it in the dark. Yet, I had a thought deep within me that we weren't going to lose this thing. This eel was going to get us.

Behind me, the eel snaps his tail again. I hear it echo loudly, the shock zipping by her and I. I saw the strand pass on by, lighting up the way in front of us. There were many large rocks jutting out from the ground below, pointy and wide. These were where we could lose this thing. We could make him get caught in his own rock nest. Maybe, just maybe, we'll survive.

I swim towards the first large rock and easily passing by. Another white bolt zips on by, shattering a rock near into pieces, sending the rock fragments all around. I quickly dodge them but the painful reminder zaps me with my own sense of pain, making me grimace. An air bubble slowly floats away from my mouth, and there I begin to panic. I know I can breathe, but I cannot breathe underwater, and here, where she and I are vulnerable to a beast much larger than us, the idea of losing air would not be in our best interests. In fact, if I don't get out of here soon, I'll be one burnt Dyson. A crispy, burnt slave.

I slip by the next few rock forms while carefully dodging the barrage of white bolts coming from the eel. It had changed his concentration on me due to Rainbow Dash's projection. She had safely swam away from me, which made the eel choose. Her or me? Well, apparently, a crisp slave with arms, legs, and a broken rib is better than a talking clown horse.

I continue to swim for my life. I nearly hit a rock I couldn't see, its pointy edge grazing my right knee. I grimace once again knowing that another cut has made its mark on my already broken body. I pay it no heed though. It doesn't need the attention now. Only the thought of escaping with her lives. She lives.

Another bolt zips by my face.

Brother!

She does too.

I'm comin'!

In seconds, the bolt lights up the site in front of me. What's left is a few more rocks and a very steep incline. This must be the end. It must be the end to this place. I got to lose him here--Rainbow Dash might be near. Maybe...

I look to my left. A rock shatters in that direction--it was hit by a bolt too--and there she is, cowering in fear. The monster had found her again. She is now the victim while I am just free as what she was earlier. I won't let that happen.

I won't.

She stares at me as I approach, my arms spread wide for her. I quickly snatch her up and grip her tightly as another bolt zips on by, hitting that steep incline of grey dust. A puff floats over towards us, but I see her eyes are closed. For me, the luck isn't so neat as I can take a whole face full of dust. There my eyes burn and there I begin to thrash. The dust slowly floats off me, but the rest sticks like I was covered in some sort of binding.

The eel thrashes about again, its eyes wide due to the shocks it has given. Maybe, just maybe the shocks affect it too?

I couldn't help but think that it's hurting itself because we're here. Well, don't worry, eel. We're leaving now.

I poke her to tell her it's okay to look, but as I poke her, I realize something. Something bad.

There, where a wing once was, now looks worse than before. Her broken wing is torn to shreds, almost as if the eel had bitten them off. I gasp slightly, letting another gulp of precious fresh air leave me. Without a moment to spare, I spring up towards the surface and hope that I can get her out of the water. She's my priority now; nothing else supersedes it.

Piercing the surface, I quickly observe the surroundings. In front of me is a large ridge, which, if I threw Rainbow Dash over the ridge, she could sustain more damage to her body than I would like. I wouldn't want her to be more injured than she already is. However, as I turn to my right, I see the paradise. A low lying area gives way to the path towards the large ridge, making it possible for her and I to escape without certain death. So, without hesitation, I swim towards our only way out.

Below me, an eager predator waits to cook her and I whole. Above me lies certain paradise, a way out--hopefully.

Brother!

I will get to you, sister. I will.

Lying Rainbow Dash onto the dry section of the slope, I carefully hoist myself up. My painful reminder makes itself certain, sending wave after wave of pain all over my body. The knee, which I thought was just a simple cut, turned out to be much more. It was bleeding, heavily, and the only clothing I had left was my pants. If I take that off, I'd be leaving myself exposed. No, not to the animal--talking pony--she wouldn't mind?--I am exposed to the environment. I will be colder, while she will survive. I need...

I crawl with Rainbow Dash in my arms. Her heart is still beating, but she hasn't moved. Not once has she squirmed. Not once has she told me that she's okay. She'll be fine--something is wrong. I look at her wing again. Those feathers she had--blue and beautiful--are no more. There lie flesh and bone, with bare minimal feathers stretching between the wing's base and her body. The rest of the bone and flesh is black.

The eel had zapped her.

It got her.

It hurt her.

My mind can't handle it, nor could can my past.

She's mine now, boy. She's going to hate you for leaving her be.

I grab her and pull her close.

She'll be just like your sister. She'll be just like her...

My eyes widen. That means...

"No..." I mutter. I set Rainbow Dash away from the ridge. Another bolt hits a rock from above, shattering it to pieces. Some rubble lands into the water, while some hits the ridge. Fortunately, were are not hit by any of it. I...

I will not let her leave me.

With one strong leg left, I slowly bring myself up with her in my arms and carry her towards the exit. We're going up, thankfully, away from the water.

But...

If we don't get out of here soon, she'll be gone.

Just like my sister.

The Long Road Home - 1 - Where We Are

I thought these grey grains would bore me. They're dry, dull little objects that roughen my feet to the worse of conditions and break the perfect mold my mother made me. Yet they also grab me and pull me closer to the ground, but they don't do it tightly. It's gentle. It's not what I'm used to. Being tossed to the ground on the farm and whipped by him is what I'm used. The Master watching, maybe--is he in the corner?--he'll watch me suffer. It's what a slave is right? We suffer for the white man: their crops, their desires, and in return, they feed us and give us work. Work that we want? No, not at all. It's work. At least one of us got to miss it sometimes.

Then I fought for freedom. I guess I can say I walked into a different path. I'm not at Sweet Acres anymore, that's for sure. Yet, it's sneaking up on me. The Master tells me things, wants me to do something else. Yet he tells me she'll be gone, like my sister, dead. I didn't know she was dead, in fact, the news is new to me. Unlike the other slaves, who died in the fields, from punishments they gained, or from the rough treatment of a stray bullet scattering the ashes, she must have died differently. Rainbow Dash, who my sister decided to echo through, isn't dead, but she's been beat up like those slaves. That must be the proof that she didn't die like them. Rainbow Dash is like my sister. She's strong, reliable, and definitely not someone who backs down.

She's not like the white man.

I look down at her body. She's snoring softly in my arms, her good wing flapping slightly against my chest while the remains of her once beautiful wing lay dried against my arm. Of course, my injuries are like hers: torn and battered. I am a slave, after all, we're used to this sort of treatment. Yet, I guess we're all alike. Whether we're a talking clown horse, an escaped slave, or a white slave owner does not matter. We all hurt, we all think, and we all... exist.

Except those white man who murmur to each other near that large oak tree. I remember Mr. Stockton, how he stood with Mr. R——*. They leaned against that oak tree talking about him, but back then, I forgot that they also mentioned the other white man. They were nice, or well, they sounded nice to me. However, Mr. Stockton didn't like them. They were the Union.

I imagine them coming down and storming Sweet Acres with water. Not normal water, but it spilled red. It was comforting, yet it was there, spilled on the grass while the house burned plentifully, was where the anguish and suffering of us would end. Charred black wood fell from above, before smashing to the grounds in one collective pile of ash. Bodies of the cold-hearted become warm, burning to a crisp in the prison while the ones with me watch as the agony that has tainted our lives for years comes to a bitter end. In the backdrop, colorful grey smoke floats towards the sky, merging with the overcast weather. The smoke emerges from the large blue cannons, those ones I thought I heard. We all heard them.

Maybe they're real, maybe they're fake. Maybe the Master wants me to hear them, so I get a sense of freedom for a moment so that later, he'll paint me red too. A different colored man, just red. Yet, being here, restless, holding a colorful horse that involves every color I know expect white--maybe she's the one I was supposed to meet. She's the exception to the rule; she's every color. She represents everything and anything: an equal amount. I guess that's why we're so close. Friends, of course, I told her that already. Something else though, a relation, something like that, binds us. I remember, as I hobble along the path up to the heavenly darkness above, where I hope the grey grains don't be, when we collided in color.

I guess we're equal that way too. We like to crash. We like to suffer, even if it isn't because of us. We like to suffer because we do suffer, equally.

Holding her gently in my arms, I hobble up the incline. It's getting harder to walk since my leg that was scratched open by the pointy rock is numb, and the incline itself is getting steeper and steeper. Each step I take feels like one step back, but I continue moving forward in hopes of getting her to safety. She needs help, she needs to survive. It's not my fault. It's not.

Stopping momentarily, I look at Rainbow Dash again. Her body is stained in a mixture of grey and brown. Those brown fragments floated around me too, but they didn't stay. The grey, however, stays on me for this entire journey. Grey grains stuck there due to the water's pull. Yet, that isn't what I only see and feel. She is cold to the touch, yet her heart, her pulse, they still race and beat in my arms. She's alive, but I don't know how long. Her good wing flitters sometimes, but I'm not sure if she can even move her torn one. I haven't seen it move once. Lastly, her brows are at a slant. She must've remembered something, maybe from when we are together in this land. Either that, or she's remembering something about those ponies she mentioned. Twilight? Fluttershy? I think that's what their names were. I'm not sure, my brain is thinking of twenty different things at the same time, and I haven't had to think of that many things at once. People? Maybe, but things? Ponies, where we're heading, why everything hurts, what burns, those cannons; they're firing--it's all in my head.

Brother!

Maybe it isn't, maybe it is.

Please!

I hear her voice. Maybe I should listen.

Get to the top of this incline, boy. Get up 'er!

It's him. I don't like him.

Listen to him, my beautiful little son. I'll be waitin'.

Mother? Momma...

I grit my teeth and rush forward with my only companion in my arms. Those voices, I love and hate them. I don't hate them equally, but I do love them equally. There's something about them, in my head, voicing their words to me that I just can't shake without listening to them wholeheartedly. My Master's voice appears often, but.. I hear my sister and mother too. They... want me to move on. Listen to him. I guess... I'll take the bait.

I look above me to see the outline of a ledge. I'll have to hop on one leg just to get to it. My other one isn't useable in the slightest. For the longest time, the leg has simply lagged behind me, carrying a handful of soot in its track. It isn't smeared red, though, that I am glad. However, the cut looks... wrong. It's really pussing out; the clear juices flowing out of the large wound. I hope it does not get worse. If it does, then I am in trouble. A leg lost? Many white man who come home from war never see them again. They hobble like me. They hobble.

Then, I realize something. I can't just hop up there with her in my arms. If I do, I'd surely fall on my back. I don't want break any more ribs. Please, my painful reminder likes to remind me often. It aches and shocks me every single chance it gets. However, I can't just leave her up there, can I? If there's a monster up there waiting for me to give it it's lunch, I wouldn't know. It's too dark, I don't hear any deep breathing, and I don't hear any footsteps.

Maybe I'll have to give it a try though. I don't have any other options. It's either up we go, or we become two starving skeletons who decompose with the grey grains below my worn feet.

So I go with option one, and with one, final, caring look, I hoist Rainbow Dash's sleeping form onto the ledge. She slides onto those grey grains again, and I sigh, knowing that nothing is up there. Nothing has moved, a flitter of her wing maybe, but nothing of another form. She's fine. Now it's my turn to get up there.

With all the strength I have left, I hop and reach for the ledge, hoping to snatch it with ease. I do snatch the edge and thankfully with my good hand. My other hand, which was wrapped in my shirt from the damage it received, still aches. However, it isn't infected. That's good. That's all that matters for that little issue.

Pulling myself up, I take a breather, and snatch her in my arms again. It's still hard to see, but judging by how steep the incline was, I think we're getting closer to the exit. Maybe, just maybe, we're getting out of here. Maybe we're getting out of the gorge. Maybe we can go get some food: some rations that this pony has? I'm not sure. They don't eat like I do. Mostly hay?

I'm not sure, but whatever this horse eats, I'll have to stomach it. I need something in my stomach. Whatever food she has is going to be mine too, I hope. I'll ask first. Just like I ask my mother for food.

Hobbling through the cave's darkness makes me wonder. Are we just stuck here because we didn't obey my Master? Was it just something he used to make me try and see something? What am I supposed to be seeing in this... tragedy? That maybe I am not free after all? I didn't escape?

What happened?

I look down at her again. Her eyes are slowly opening. The pupils, those magenta hues, flicker. She's gazing up at me. And then I hear her.

"Dyson?" Her voice is worn, tired, and without much life. "Did... we make it?"

I smile and ruffle her mane. "We're fine, Dash."

She struggles to smile, but those lips curve right into a bright, beautiful grin. "I'm glad." Her eyes flicker, but not because she's losing herself. Straight ahead, bright in all of its glory, is a light. A very bright one. It's bright like the sun's color, but still as white as those bolts that passed us by, shattering the rocks near us. We dodged them then, but now, there's no need to run, hide, or take cover from these white bolts of light. They won't hurt us. It's bright, it's really bright.

Please be the way out.

"Is... it done?"

I raise a brow at the curled pony in my arms. "It? What do you mean?"

She cranes her neck out from underneath my arms, and sees the white glow ahead. Seeing it must've affected her, as I hear her let out a hoarse chuckle. "We did it. I told you I'd get you out of here alive, Dyson." She brings her gaze to mine. "I'll... take you to meet my friends when I--" Her wing, the one she hasn't noticed, brings her to reality. The shock, the pain, I think, brings her gaze to it immediately. It's airy. And suddenly, I hear her shriek.

"Dyson! What happened to my--"

I quickly cut her off. "It be okay, Dash," I reassure her.

To my dismay, her whimpers echo in the cave, and soon, she lets herself go. Weakly, she lays her head on my arm and shuts her eyes. "This isn't happening," she murmurs. "This isn't happening."

She quakes in my possession, and as I walk towards the light, I realize that maybe this isn't the end. This is the first step.

And I am right. Outside the cave is that gorge. That rock I found her body the first time she crashed. Those grey grains that first covered my rough feet. We're back at square one.

We're back where we started.

Another long road home.

The Long Road Home - 2 - City Upon A Hill

It all seemed unreal to me. We've been here before, but many things have changed. The fog has lifted, the clouds have drifted, the sky is blue, and thankfully, green leaves dip over the edge connected to hanging branches that stay still. I can even see one right now, a leaf, slowly making its way to the ground. It floats to the left, and right, before landing in my palm. I cup it and smile, knowing that this is the sign of something real above. Everything is at peace, a notion that gives me a sense of hope that we will maybe see the world that she wants me to see. The fog never gave me that. It felt like the fog from before was hiding me from my Master. Or was the fog trying to keep me trapped? I'm not sure, but I know that these grey grains rubbing against my worn feet don't give me the same sense of comfort as the leaf in my hand.

The world around us wasn't the only thing that changed. We changed. My leg has lagged behind me since the eel attacked her and I. My rib still aches from being hit by Rainbow Dash the first time we met. My hand is the only injury that isn't infected, or so I hope. If we don't get out of here soon, maybe I'll lose my leg. Maybe I'll be like Rainbow Dash, whose wing is in shambles. Her feathers are out of place, her skin is completely torn from the bone, and the remaining skin left on what is of her wing is scorched black to remind her of the eel that took her love of flying away from her. I don't know how she's going to deal with it, but when she wakes up again, we'll have to talk about it.

Or do we?

Change is hard to talk about, especially when we're starting at the same place again.

Looking at those treetops reminds me of the plantation. Sweet Acres, to be exact. It had some trees, most of them near the creek. Only a few were near the farm, while one was right by the house, standing tall. It was one big tree. We stayed underneath it to keep cool, but when the Master or his workers were around, us slaves had to keep working while the sun bore on us. It wasn't a good time, but keeping cool in the shade and being able to talk to family and friends in the fields (they watched us to make sure we weren't talking bad); those were the good times.

I've been wondering about the good times. Rainbow Dash talked about her friends and her life, which to me sounded a lot better than any plantation I've heard of. Yet, the thought of the life on the plantation still lingers on. All those good times... Those times will bug me until we get out of here to see what's out above this... gorge.

Maybe I could ask Rainbow Dash?

I look down at her tear-stricken cheeks. Her damaged self is curled up into a ball. She is snoring softly, something that would've given me a heart attack if she wasn't considering we're both badly injured, but knowing her there wouldn't be a problem. From what I've heard from her, she's not likely to give up. She's loyal and will fight until the very end.

She's jus' like you.

The thought whirled in his head. It made sense, but she's still a horse.

She's jus' like you...

Maybe not a horse...

My train of thought is cut off though, as the... pony squirms in my arms. With a gratifying yawn, and a stretch of her good forehoof, Rainbow Dash comes back to the land of the living. She looks at me with her floppy ears standing up. "Dyson?"

I give her a smile. "Had a good nap?"

Rainbow Dash yawns again, this one more longer than the last. "Good enough, I guess," she says with a shrug. "Is my--" She notices her wings. "Oh... I thought that was a bad dream..."

I sigh. I can hear the sadness seep out of her voice. "We'll be fine, Dash. You'll get ya wing back, right?"

For some reason, she smiles at me. "Maybe Twilight could fix it..."

"Twilight?" I raise an eyebrow. "Ya mean the one that ya turned down?"

She frowns. "Yeah, but she'll help me with my wing..." Looking at the skies above, she adds, "I hope..."

"You missum?" I ask.

All I receive is a gentle nod before she turns away to check out the area. "We're stuck here again, aren't we?"

I nod. "Again, Dash."

"Then we gotta get out of here," she declares defiantly. "We could go back the way we--"

"And risk it all over one bridge that neither you and I can walk on?" She frowns. "Exactly, Dash. The only way we have is goin' upstream to the--"

"But that's where the quarry eels live!"

Are ya kiddin' me? "More eels?"

She waves her hooves dismissively. "Not like the one we had to face!" She calms down and looks at her wings. "They're easy to fly around, but they should be easier to walk by. Most of them are up high, so if we duck and walk closer to the wall, they shouldn't be able to get us."

Being curious as I usually am, I raise a brow. "Why?"

She groans. "Unlike the one that almost killed us, they can't easily burrow through rock. It takes them a long time to just make a new hole and such. That's what they do: break and..." She pauses, her muzzle contorting and scrunching up. "I'm not sure what else they do. That's more of Twilight's territory than mine."

"It's alright," I say, while patting her mane. She glares at me in response. "Can't pat ya head?"

"Don't test me, Dyson." She looks at my hands. "Mind putting me down?"

I look at her injured forehoof. "You can walk on that?"

She shrugs and points at my leg. "I'd rather walk than injure that more."

She's got a point. My injury could get worse if I possibly fall while having to carry her the whole way there. Yet, leaving her as she is isn't a good idea either. "I guess," I reluctantly say. "Jus' make sure ya stay close, all right?"

She nods. "I got it, Dyson." As I set her on the ground while making sure I didn't bend my broken leg, she looks up at me and says, "By the way, how long was I out?"

I sigh. "Couple of hours." She gasps and opens her mouth to say something, but I interrupt her before she could put her thoughts in, "I waited because I want to get your opinion on where we be headin'." I sigh. "Guess I should'a gone upstream, since downstream led us to a bunch of problems..."

Her floppy ears splay against her head again. "Sorry..."

I was about to pat her head, but I didn't want to test her. "You have nothin' to be sorry 'bout." I give her a smile. "We're goin' to get out of here, no matter what we face."

She responds with a large grin, "Right! We'll get out of here if my name isn't Rainbow Danger Dash!"

...Danger?

She told me we were going to see eels. Lot's of them, as a matter of fact. They would be sticking their heads out of the rock and stare hopelessly at us as we passed by. Instead, I'm looking at a bunch of vines. They have jagged edges on them, some sharp as a fresh axe head. The vines twist around each other, while others reach for the sky. They look like they last forever as I see vines behind more vines. This is something I'm not prepared for.

"Thinking we can get through them?"

Hearing Rainbow Dash's voice made me stop staring at them. "Not sure," I say, looking at her confident smirk. "Why, ya have somethin' planned?"

She moseys on over to the vines and looks at them: over one vine, under several others, peeking around a spiral of them; she was making sure she was thorough as possible.

"Havin' fun over there?" She freezes momentarily, a glare of death watching me with intent. "Guess so," I add, before having a look at them myself. "What are these vines?"

She shrugs. "Egghead would know, but not me."

"Why?"

"Flunked Biology."

"Biology?" She tilts her head in response. "What?"

"You've never heard of Biology?" I shake my head. "Egghead is going to have so much fun with you."

She looks away from me and slowly approaches the vine patch, her good hoof landing in the soft dirt. She carefully hobbled around the first vine spiral which barely even touched her skin. Then, she placed her hoof in an open spot of dirt nearby, dancing around another large one with ease. She made this look easy. Too easy, as she dipped around another vine.

Feeling envious of her, I follow into the thicket, dancing around my own vines. One almost got me in my good leg, but I was thankfully able to keep my balance. If I fell into it, I would be a dead slave.

"Dyson?"

I look around for her, but have trouble finding her. "Dash?"

"Over here!" she yells to my left. I turn to that direction, but no rainbow mane in sight.

"I can't see ya!" I yell.

I swung my leg around another vine, and ducked under another, before I found her smiling at me. "Took you long enough."

Ignoring her comment, I look around us, seeing more vines, and no end in sight. "What ya want to show me?"

She sighs. "Nothing, just wanted to make sure we were..." Pausing, she looks at the vines ahead of us, "You know, together?"

"I remember sayin' that," I reply. "Then let's make a proposition: I hold onto your tail and you lead the way."

Red blush gathers onto her cheeks. "H-hold my tail?!"

"Well it'll at least make sure we be not losin' each other in these here vines," I say. "Why, this be a problem?"

She slowly shakes her head, but the twitch of her ear and her brief flick of her tail tells me otherwise. "N-No..."

She looks away from me, clearly embarrassed. "If there be a problem with holdin' your tail, then ju--"

"There isn't a p-problem!" Denial. "Let's do it."

Gripping her tail, I give her an okay before she starts hobbling and dancing around those vines again. I had to let go of her tail once in a while, since some vines were too difficult for me with just one arm. Besides, she races through these things without a care in the world, while I'm just lagging behind.

Like a slave would.

As we progress through the vines, I get this sense of urgency. A hot, baring sting of heat and pain course through my veins. I look to the source and gasp, a vine had scraped part of my shoulder, leaving me scraped from the shoulder down to my right elbow. I grimaced in pain, but Rainbow Dash didn't seem to see it. She was too focused on the task at hand to turn around and see me. Either that or I just didn't scream or gasp loud enough for her to hear me. But, after we danced past one of the last giant vines, and got to those grey grains again, I decided to voice my concern. I scream, loudly, giving into the pain's demands. Rainbow Dash snaps to me and sees the scrape. "Dyson! Are you all right?"

She comes close and nuzzles me. "I-I'm fine..." Gripping my arm, I look around. "We made it, didn't we?"

Panting hard, she gives me a nod. "Yeah! Nothing to it!" Right... "Phew, I'm tired..." Her stomach loud growl adds to the party, "And hungry."

My own stomach growls in response. "Guess I'm in the same field as you."

"But there's no field--oh..." Her face meets her hoof.

To her dismay, I let out a dry laugh. She frowns when she hears it, but I think it's not for the reason I'm thinking of. I thought she would be frowning for the purpose of not getting what I said, since we're from two different places, where words may mean something completely different. Yet, she and I have been communicating well so far. So why is she frowning?

She looks at the rest of the gorge, eyes flickering in hopes of finding some stairway in sight. At least, that's what I'm hoping for.

"Dyson... I'm--" She pauses, her ear twitching like mad. She sighs again and adds, "We need to find water soon..."

I frown. I had forgotten about water or food. We were swimming in water the whole time, but that water wasn't good for us to drink. And we haven't seen anything edible to eat. "You're right, but where would it be, Dash?"

Her eyes flicker to mine. "I don't know... I don't come here all the time. I just--" Another pause and another ear twitch. Is she all right? "We need to go now if we want to survive!" Then, she begins to hobble ahead, heading straight for the next bend. I follow her too, silently, wondering if my friend is okay while I stay close behind like a slave.

Like a slave should.

It's night out. I had left the Master's Quarters, since he didn't need me 'til tomorrow for another delivery. Something about the need for feed? Not sure, since he doesn't raise any cattle. He only has us slaves...

Shaking my head of ever eating cattle feed, I walk into the living room, where my Master keeps his books. I clean them at night, making sure there isn't a speck of dust on them. In return, the Master lets me read one of them a month. After the month is over, he lets me pick another. In a way, he's educating me, which was something I never thought would come from him. He always calls me the tallest, dumbest nigger, yet he wants me to read more. He thinks I don't know what his books are saying, but I've understood what they have been telling me: they want me stand tall, be free to think and reason, and to become something greater than what I was given.

The elation of being free always motivates me for the days ahead. Working in the fields, running around with letters jutting from my pockets, and hands cleaning rooms and keep books clean; all manual labor, but with a reward at the end. I guess that's why I still do things for him, not that I have a choice. I need to survive, and make sure that my family and I are alive.

We'll leave this place someday, and we'll be free too. Like the white men are. A little house on top of a hill, where a new city is born.

The Long Road Home - 3 - Bodies Wither Over Time

I'm finally reaching my breaking point. My legs are weak, my mind is at its peak, and my eyes are slowly drooping over. It's close to night as we can possibly get it, and we are in desperate need of finding shelter. Unlike the tunnels downstream, there are nearly none here. We saw one pass by a while back, which is where I suggested to stop, but Rainbow Dash didn't want to. She wanted out now. I think she's regretting it though, she's been sluggishly moving closer and closer to me ever since she was leading us out.

Even though our energy is low, we keep pushing forward. Our motivation to be free from the gorge is keeping us from dying. Well, she might see it as being free, but I see it differently; a means of escape from Master. Maybe he is the cause of this... move. It might be one of his traps, like ones he set for me. Granted, he didn't want me to only be the one experiencing his traps. That's why my sister fell for a few too. We both share wounds from them, luckily more me than her. I would not want her feeling the pain of deep grooves where flesh once felt precious. I hope she's doing well. Mother and Father are probably watching over her and making sure she does not run astray. I imagine them keeping her by them while they work in the fields. The Master probably likes that, considering he hates when "those little runts" run around the plantation doing nothing but "trampling on his crop".

Imagining those times hurts me inside, since I am not there to witness them. I wish I could make more memories with them, but that'll have to wait. I am given the opportunity to finally seek freedom, something that seems impossible back on the farm.

I look at the moon slowly rising to the occasion. It shines on us in particular, and twinkles just right. It is odd to see the moon do that here, since the last time I saw the moon shine like that was under the oak tree at Sweet Acres. It was a few months before my sister fell into another one of his traps...

"Dyson?"

I look over to see Rainbow Dash's frazzled appearance. Her blood-shot eyes bore into mine, while her mangled mane and wobbly legs gives me plenty of warning of what is to come. "Yes?"

"Can we stop for a while?" she asks groggily. "I'm not sure if I can take another step..."

I rush to her side and carefully snatch her up. She lays snug in my arms and smiles. "Thank you..."

"Ya should listened to me when I said to stop in that there cave," I say, poking her in the stomach.

She growled weakly, a sign of fatigue washing over her. "Shut up."

Laughing never felt so kind. "Only if you listen to me more."

She rolls her eyes and props her head against my left arm. "Wake me up when we get there."

"Ya mean out?" I ask as I take another step towards the next turn. My eyes flicker towards the stream, the one that I stepped in when I first had walked. The stream is still flowing strong, so there must be some source up ahead.

"Dash, there might be a--Oh?" I look down and see her already asleep, her little chest rising and lowering to the sounds of the wind gently grazing the leaves above. I let my thought drift into the wind too, knowing that it held little importance for now.

I breathe deep, letting the fresh air fill my lungs. The feeling of freedom: a force of wronged labor being taken and smashed to bits. However, nothing comes free without a price tagged onto it. That's what we're doing: taking pain with our fists and hooves, searching for a way out with the desire to leave so we can someday see our families and friends again.

Turning the corner, I feast my eyes upon something great. It was a small opening jutting from the gorge side, which may block us from the slight breeze that had made its way into the gorge. A slight saving grace, something that could help her and I both get some sleep. It is a miracle, something i feel instantly pulled to, my good leg hobbling towards it. In a sudden rush to the cave entrance, I feel Rainbow Dash squirm in my arms. She slowly moans out my name, which would be disturbing if it was not for the slight murmurs of thanks and pizza right after... whatever pizza means. As I walked into the cave, her murmurs faded away, and the soft snores that I would normally hear come back in full. I'm glad, I wouldn't want to hear anything more than that.

Focusing in the dark of the cave, I search inside the dwelling to find nothing but rocks. There are lots of them. Some are hanging from the ceiling, while others are jutting down with water dripping from their tips like a leak from a roof after a bad storm. Some even stay on the ground, blocking any wind from getting to it. Searching the rest of the cave is no easy task, since light barely touched the inner walls of it. Thankfully it ended as a small hideaway, otherwise it would be another long adventure for us to handle, which in our states sounds way too out of our reaches. Just knowing that the enclosure's walls surrounded us in full makes me happy. We are safe and not of harm. We do not have to run; we can rest.

Internally praising the Lord, I slowly prop myself up against the rock before setting Rainbow Dash to the ground. The reaction to me releasing her was priceless, considering her little tail flicks when I'm away, and her body twitches when the warmth is gone. It makes me scoot over a bit, which her tired body apparently sensed, since she flips over in a matter of seconds to simply place her head on my leg. She then purrs, surprisingly, before letting sleep overtake her (if it hadn't already). I guess she's a different sleeper.

I don't know how long she'll sleep for, since sometimes she's a deep sleeper, while other times she's not, but hopefully she won't be long...

...I still have to sleep too.

Sleep is a great thing, except when you wake up by feeling a leave tickling your skin. I felt that immediately, and I woke up to see myself sitting in a room, where my friend Leo was sleeping in too. He was snoring like he always does: his head dobbed down and his body propped up against an old table leg. He could sleep anywhere, while I... well I am a different story. The wall felt nicer than the table; didn't want to get splinters is all. Unfortunately, the wall had to scare me instead. On its surface has the blood of another painted in its white center.

"L-Leo?"

I see his head twitch slightly. I sigh and repeat his name, only louder this time. He twitched even harder, his ear joining in. Then, after a third time, the deep sleeper woke up, his eyes peering at me.

"Dyson?" he whines. "What ya want from me? Can ya see me ain't got time to be wakin' up now?"

I shush Leo up and say, "That ain't what I'm gettin' ya up for, Leo!"

He sighs and lowers his tone of voice. "All right, then what is the big--"

His question gets interrupted by the sound of rather heavy footsteps walking outside the room. Whoever owns those footsteps sound pretty near our door, which is near the old table Leo was leaning on. I quietly shake my head, at my friend's inquisitive look, and roll my eyes and close them barely shut, as if I am feigning sleep. I watch as Leo gets the message, one that is passed down from slave to slave. He feigns sleep too, but in a style unlike mine, where his eyes dart to and fro and his hands cover his face. I think his eyes are barely closed too, but one things for sure is that his head is still dobbing down. It's a perfect thing to see, knowing that the Master wouldn't be getting us now. His reign would not come tonight. Not come at all.

Outside, I hear rumbling and grumbling. Something about another letter and another day of feed before he turned from our room and walked away, keeping his loud, banging footsteps to himself, and his rude demeanor hopefully burying another stake into a man's wretched heart. Once the footsteps left, I sigh and nod. "Be all right now to keep talkin'."

He takes a deep breath. "Me guessin' ya wanna still be findin' your sis?"

I nod. "Sophie gotta be 'round here somewhere, she jus' gotta!"

"We be lookin' all ova for days now, Dyson," Leo says as I begin to search the room. "And ya betta tell me why me and ya were sleepin' here?"

I sigh. "We were tired from workin' and findin' her, ya know? Besides, Master want nobody in his rooms; they're his alone, so we had to get here in a rush when nobody ain't lookin'."

Nodding, Leo stands on both his feet, legs wobbling as he does, and walks over to the only window in the room. "Ya think this be the place where she be?"

I frown (one that he didn't see). "I'm guessin' Leo, I mean what can I do? Wait on'er for 'nother day while Master talks about a new slave girl he pickin' from them other white men?" I choke back a sob. "S-She my sister, Leo... I can't give up now!"

Leo turns to face me. His face is blank, but as he sees me, his eyes waver, scoping the ground beneath my feet. I wiggle my toes a bit; seeing if he's staring at the ground or if he's got his answers on the floorboards, but maybe we can find her together. She's been gone for a long while after she ran off in the night. Those guards have trouble finding lost slaves, good ones too. She is a good one, my sis. Sophie knows those fields like the back of her hand. Yet... We are still worrying. The Master says he had her when I asked of her. Probably not though, she is not here.

Or is she?

Not hearing a peep from Leo, I turn away (growling) and walk over to a large pile of tables. The Master uses this room for torture some nights. My sister and I were in here once. She didn't get whipped though, just a spanking. I... got a piece of him, though. He laughed as he hit me. He called me whatever he wanted. He never called my sister anything, which is something he saw as prompting the brother.

Guess he knew his place.

Yet something is still wrong. He is here still, harboring her. He's got her somewhere. I need to find her.

I sigh as I move another piece of furniture out of the way. Large table after large table stacked high on each other, and under them was a bag.

I look inside...

I gasp and drop the bag. It plops on the ground like a bag of dish rags. Inside the bag was an arm, a leg, and a rib or two, all of which were black and small, like someone who was young and lively. I almost puke at the sight of the body parts, but my hand clamps quickly over my mouth in hopes of keeping it together. Of course, keeping it together meant holding your lunch, so I kept it to myself. Leo on the other hand is staring at me, probably wondering what the heck I just saw. I shake my head at him and tell him not to take a look, but he does anyway. Then, sitting up straight and attentive, Leo looks at me and says,

"Ya okay?"

My stomach flips on cue. "I--Don't ya got food still in ya?"

He shakes his head. "Didn't have any. I guess dry heavin' don't got nothin' to deal." He smirks. "Besides, haven't ya seen the other bag?"

I mirror his shake. "Ya mean... there's more?"

He surprisingly nods."Master be collectin'. Don't know if he crazy or what!"

I can't even handle the information I'm being told. As I look at Leo, I see his finger pointing towards another one, giant worn bag left under the old table. Even though my curiosity is dead by the first bag, a fleeting sense of wonder compels me to shuffle over and look inside it too. Inside it yields the same results, except of a different variety. The body parts are all hairy and cyan colored. Most of them wore burns scorched on, while others lay in shambles. But that was not all. There was a wing in there too. It--I look away from the bag, clearly drained of anything I had in my stomach. My head aches, my stomach wishes it could not have seen those parts, and my mind wonders what my Master is. Is he a good Master? Or is he...

...a murder?

I wake up--wait, I fell asleep?

Looking around, I see we're in a cave. Yes, the cave we huddled in; the one that has no other connections to any caves or large eels. Just a small quaint cave. As I begin to adjust to the light, my eyes slowly set their sights at the pony near me, who is resting her hooves around my body. She's smiling while her stomach rises and lowers with each breath she takes. I smile too, knowing that she is okay. However, I am not. The event, whatever it was, is still replaying in my mind. All I know is that it isn't true. For starters, some of those tables were never there. Instead, they were counters, and most held children's projects in their grasps. But it wasn't the only thing . Those bags... they were never filled with body parts, but I remember taking those bags out, washing the bags and their contents, hang drying the wet laundry while my mother looks over at me and tells me what I did wrong. I even remember her telling me how to wash them:

"Gotta put some elbow grease in'er!"

My mother was the best. I still miss her and sis. I really do...

I sigh and raise to my feet, or well, one foot. My other is like a boulder that can't be moved. With my boulder leg, I somehow get myself propped up against the cave wall. I am panting hard though, since I barely have any energy left. Taking the final step to stand on my own, I poke my pony's head and rub her mane. She stirs at first, but as I poke her again, she gives me a rather annoyed snort before slowly opening her eyes. She stretches for a few seconds too, before looking up at me. I probably look like I'm standing tall with a smile on my face, but I'm not sure, I feel really numb at the moment, and it's killing my senses.

"Dyson, are we out?"

I laugh. "No, Dash, we're not." She frowns momentarily, but as I hop over, she tries to force a smile. I can tell when she forces it now, her lip twitches a bit and her ear becomes crooked for a few seconds. "Ya don't need to force 'em."

Her resolution falls short and that forced smile turns into a natural frown. "But we're not even close to being out yet! And we--"

"Stop that!" I see her freeze in response. "Ya wanna be out?"

She nods.

"Ya wanna see your friends again?"

She nods once more.

"Then why we mopin' around? We gotta get out of here!"

She stands on all fours (or attempts to, only three keep up). "You're right! We can't wait for them to get us, we have to find them!" She shakily runs to the cave entrance and looks at me. "Let's go! We have ground to make up!"

The smile we share before she leads us again is different. It feels like hope that we're sharing, something that I never felt on the farm. It feels nice against the numbness of death, like the hands of Mother being wrapped around me while she tells me a bedtime story. The feeling changes however as I see her smirk at me. I felt confident. I felt strong. I felt free.

With a newfound sense of energy, the two of us walk outside the cave and into the world of the gorge, our bodies staying strong for another round...

...and hopefully a couple rounds more.

The Long Road Home - 4 - Drinking in the Dark

It's been a while since I have seen some hope in our midst. That hope lies within the stream of water that had been trickling down the side of the gorge. As we have been following the twists and turns the gorge, I've kept myself focused on the water gushing from the stream. It's to the point that I might as well dab my tongue in it and get the water I need.

But I'll wait, I have this feeling that maybe there's a bigger, better place to drink from. I think Rainbow Dash knows this too, as we hobble our way around another tight bend. She flicks her tail, probably wondering if the thing still exists, and then gasps. "D-Dyson... look."

I look at what she's looking at and gasp too. Around the bend is a giant crater of water. Its capacity of water is so much, that the water overflows onto the stream that we have followed for this entire journey. The sight of sparkling water in the sun's rays makes me rush to it in a mad hopping dash. As I come to its edge, I dunk my head into it and begin to drink. I stay there for a few moments to savor the taste of something that I haven't had in days.

Water drives us slaves mad.

Unlike me, I hear the slow hoofsteps of Rainbow Dash before she clambers up and dunks her head in too. Together we sip from the spring of life and take a much needed rest by the side of the gorge. Collectively we sigh together, our bodies leaning on the left side of the gorge.

"You went a bit stir-crazy back there," Rainbow Dash says after a moments worth of peaceful silence. I glare at her. "Is that normal?"

I nod. "Slaves be that way sometimes." I look at the sun and see its golden hue. "Especially when it be gettin' close to dark." It is fading in the distance. "Do ya know why?"

Dumb question to ask her, I know, and she gives me the response I want, her head shaking to and fro while her head tilts slightly to the left.

"Because bein' alone in the dark isn't the best time of ya life."

Voices grab her, they laugh maliciously, and the lifeless body is drug from one end of the floor to the next.

"Aren't we friends, Dyson?"

Her voice fades in the distance, while the sounds of bones breaking become the new music of life.

She frowns. "Yeah... I know how that feels."

I look at her in shock. "Really?"

A brow raise from her made me feel uneasy. "Are you thinking that I'm lying to you?"

I shake my head promptly in response. Even though I drank plenty of water, the unsettling gaze made my lips turn bone-dry.

"It happened when I was young." My ears perk up at the sound of her voice. She had looked away since my gaze had shifted to the grey walls of the gorge to dodge her deathly glare. "I didn't know that my mother was set on working her hardest to join the Wonderbolts." She frowns. "I didn't get to see her often."

"She be the motivation of you to work for the Wonderbolts?"

She chokes out a laugh, before giving me a smile, one that felt empty. "Mostly. She didn't make it though." Rainbow Dash sighs. "Maybe that's why I want to try so that I can be better than her. More awesome..." She returns back to her somber tone. "While she was fishing for the spotlight, I was always with my father. He took me places all around Cloudsdale. He said he wanted me to see the world and look at how awesome it was." She turns to me, her smile waning. "I can't tell you how right he was..." Her good wing twitches. "It was beautiful." She shakes as she continues to speak, "My dad told me I was like the world: beautiful, awesome, and moving towards something great." A smile flickers on and off like the candle which falters every time my Master walked passed it, his boots click-clacking on the rickety floorboards. "Every day he would remind me to go outside and see what we have at our little hooves. Use it too, but be loyal to the world. If you be loyal to it, it will be loyal to you."

While she spoke, my mind was taking in the world as she saw it. Yet my eyes were struck with grey.

The world was grey to me.

"Then, one night, while my father was working at the Cloudsdale Weather Factory and my mother was out practicing for the next tryouts," Her voice begins to falter, "I went outside, alone. The area was dark. There were no lights to be seen from any place, except from one lamp that hung over a bench in the park. I walked over to it and watched as a filly was sitting there, alone like me. She was twirling her mane and waiting for... something." She flicks her mane back with her hoof. "I wish I went over there."

"Why?" I ask.

Rainbow Dash gulps before saying the words that made my heart stop.

"Two masked ponies took her," she says. "I ran back home after that."

I frown. "So she...?"

"She died the next day when they took the filly to the hospital. My mother told me that after seeing in the paper that a filly died from being choked to death."

"The paper?"

She rolls her eyes. "Newspaper? Y'know? Ponies write about things happening in the world and tell us about them." She smiles while a tear slowly slips down her cheek. She brings a hoof to her cheek and wipes that tear away. "I never thought talking about this would..." She chokes on her own words. A slight grimace appears on her face, and her floppy ears twitch to the words that she never said. I saw them, I hear them, and the rest of the words she says makes me want to end the conversation. "Can you please not tell anypony? I--"

"Ya have a reputation to keep, I know," I say in response, my mind rushing of scenes of her cute hair, her little hands...

She looks away. "Y-Yeah... I do."

There was nothing else to say as the sun dips into the backdrop, making us all alone in the dark.

Together.

The Long Road Home - 5 - The Hunger

I found out last night that my words make my stomach growl. Either that, or I'm just hungry. Very hungry. It's like my stomach wants me to eat my own hand or something... I don't know, I'm having problems even standing straight now. Hobbling while the world spins into grey makes me wonder if I'll ever see straight again. All I can do is let this dizzy head rest, while my friend stays in the cave, sleeping all the while. She's tired, having walked all the way to that reservoir--she called it that--can take the energy out of anyone. So I'm letting her sleep while I check out the immediate area some more. It'll help me get my mind off this starving business. Besides, I should know the market, since I have been in this situation many times. Starving, thirsty, laying out to dry in the sun like a forgotten cob of corn to shrivel up and falter from its stalk: these are what I had to participate in for my life on Sweet Acres. Some days we won't eat, while others we would. It all would depend on our work. Master loves it when we work. We are his slaves. I am his slave.

I am--free.

Over my dead body, Dyson!

I try to ignore his voice, but eager words escape his mouth like thousands of guns being shot at once.

You nothin' but my slave! You're just runnin' off to leave your family out to dry! Your sister, yes, her...

I hear him laugh in the thicket of the trees, birds flying high above us, squawking without end.

She ain't nothing but a stick in the ground.

My eyes widen. I knew she was gone. I knew this all along. Her body was always too thin. She would cry when Mother would hold her close. She'd ask why Master wouldn't give her food. Momma would just respond saying,

"Did ya do your work?"

Her eyes told my Mother everything. Eyes going down: she didn't. Eyes staying there: she did her work.

They rarely stayed.

Momma would always wonder if her girl was just afraid of work. My Momma and Papa taught her all they knew of the trade: picking, grabbing, putting in a basket, hauling it to the pile under the rickety shack Master built, since the barn's angry descent to the ground after a brutal storm got him angry enough to build the thing as a substitute. Farmers mocked Master all the time, asking him when the new barn would be up, or whether he had the money for a new barn. Master used that anger on us.

I wish they never did that to him.

I wish you would just return to work ya escaped slave! But my slave doesn't want to come back. He's *free*... Something that I'll be fixing soon, you stupid ni--

With my eyes set on the cave I put Rainbow Dash in, I walk away from the voice whose angered shouting fades into the thicket of the trees above. A few birds still squawk overhead, but I pay them no heed, as I walk into the cave, where a light shines through on the tired form of Rainbow Dash, whose chest rises and falls with normal succession. I sit there, watching, momentarily thinking of what we have accomplished when suddenly my stomach growls. It roars at the sensation of nothingness, a feeling more physical than emotional. It tears at my insides, shaking me to the point of losing my breath. I grab my chest and groan, the pain heating me more than the sun could ever do. This pain, this hunger; I'm wondering if I starved or if I thought I was starving for those three days before eating the morsels I would get from my Master's pantry. Maybe I am a liar, a fateful, gruesome liar whose stomach speaks for himself before his mind thought of food. Maybe I cannot control myself; maybe I'm a slave to my hunger, my thirst...

I am a slave no matter where I am.

That's right... *Slave.***

I scream on the top of my lungs, just wishing the pain would end. Let this nightmare be done. Let me go home. Yet, my injuries remind me of the present, a reality that loses balance. I fall onto a large pointed rock back first, arching my back in a way that sent shockwave after shockwave of pain through my system. I gasp as each one hits, the latter stronger than its predecessor. I felt like Rainbow Dash when she lost her wing after it was sheared off and zapped to oblivion by the giant eel. My body feels electric. My everything is electric.

I need her now.

Quickly crawling to Rainbow Dash, I shake her rapidly in hopes of waking her up. I need her help, and her being asleep doesn't help me none.

As I shake her, I think of the other possibilities. Maybe I need water again. Maybe I need food.

Maybe I need her in my stomach--

No, I would never eat her. No I wouldn't. She is my friend. She said so herself. She is my friend. A friend, a pony, a horse, she's food--she's a friend.

Flickering to the left, I see darkness, to my right, I see light. I look up and smile, while my stomach roars and shakes me whole. I grab it to quiet its rage, but every attempt makes me want her more. Meat, substance, energy...

I begin to feel more dizzy, my mind circling around her tail like one uses a knife to cut out a certain section of meat. I wish I had a knife right now, so I can--plunge it into my head for thinking of her like that!

I fall on my back and distance myself from her. At the other end of the cave (small like the one before), I curl up in a ball and deal with my hunger. I close my eyes and let it shake me to the core. Every time a thought of came around with a hungry drive, I ignored it. I only thought of her positives: her happiness, her motivation, her love for life, her meaty back--her lovely face, how juicy it is--how nice it looks. Her father told her the world was beautiful, the world was loyal, the world was like herself: pretty, yet I see her all the same...

...except her face looks so delicious, I want to ea--I don't want to eat it!

I snap my eyes open and look over to Rainbow Dash, whose body stirs from its healthy sleep. After opening up her eyes and taking a brief stretch on the ground, she slowly brings herself to her hooves, a struggle for her since her legs wobble like my one able leg, which twitches in response to the pain that I'm feeling. She sighs as she looks up at the light peering through the entrance of the cave, before her eyes rest on me. A look of concern flashes there momentarily, before she dismisses it, probably to not distress me.

Yet I'm already distressed as her form walks towards me. I shuffle back as the hunger begins to speak to me. It says to eat her, every bit so I can leave, eat her it says.

"Dyson, are you alright?"

I shake my head. "Stay back," I warn her, while my body quakes to the sounds of a stomach ready to burst. "He--"

She cuts me off. "Is it your master that is telling you to leave me?"

I want to lie. I want to tell her it's him. But it's not. I'm not a liar. I'm not going to lie to a friend. No, I'm not. She's a friend. She's a pony. My hunger wants her, but I don't. She's just a friend. She's food--not food. "No..."

She steps back a bit, making my hunger worse to bear. "Then what's wrong?"

My hunger speaks for me. "Y-You..." I quickly cover my mouth and succumb to its desire.

She gasps at the word, and continues to step back until her butt hits the wall. "Dyson, you're scaring me."

"Ya don't come near!" I struggle to shout. "My hunger be wantin' me to eat ya! Yet I don't wanna!"

"Your hunger?" she asks, clearly startled by the news. I nod, which triggers her to move forward. "I don't get it, you mean you're hungry?"

My hunger takes her steps closer as a numbing feeling, making my brain burn with the embers of death. "Yes, Dash, very hungry! I haven't be wantin' to eat this much since I left the farm!"

"The farm?" she asks as another hoofstep clicks against the stony surface of the cave. "You mean where Master lives?"

I nod. "Sweet Acres, home of the freshest corn on the cob!" My mouth begins to water. "It tastes so good and fresh and I--" My eyes see her muscle stretching. "I want..." You to help me! Help me!

I try to reach out to grab her, but I cling my hands to my stomach, where I clench them into fists to make sure I don't hurt her. I see how my black hands turn whiter for that moment. It makes me realize that I only can be white when I'm like this, but as I unclench my fists, the color returns and I am a slave again. A slave who wants some smoldering pony over a fire.

She takes a step back again, and gasps, "You're..." She looks at the entrance to the cave and quickly files out, her tail swish and swashing as she leaves.

Meanwhile, I sit there, curled up in a ball.

I'm horrible, I'm hungry, and most of all...

I just wanted to eat my only friend here.

Maybe I'll just fall asleep now. Maybe I'll just dream. Maybe I'll be fine tomorrow. Maybe she'll be here.

I hope she is because being alone in the dark hurts the most.

I rub my eyes. I look at the light. It's very dim. The world looks like fire. It's grey, it's red, and it's orange too. I look out of the cave. No Rainbow Dash in sight.

Sighing, I hop into the water. Carefully I dip myself in, and wash the dirt off. Grey grains slither out of the crater and into the stream, trickling down to the mayhem where Rainbow Dash and I had undergone. Meanwhile, she is somewhere else, probably far away from me, thinking I'm some monster, some angry, hungry, meat-eating demon to come and kill her at her lowest point, while I just sit here, bathing. I'm in luxury, I own the water, I am the dominant species, I am a slave. I am eager, I am hungry.

I drink some water to quell my hunger. It groans and roars some more, but silently it falls to its death. As I pull myself out from the sudden dunk, I remember her leaving. I saw that face of shock, that look of betrayal, that heart breaking to the sound of a soul gone wild with hunger and desire to eat anything in its path. I would love to know where she's at right now, so I can tell that I'm sorry for what I said, take back the thought of wanting to eat her, then eat her anywa--no! I want to be there, not leave her. There is nothing I can do now, she already left. Maybe I can chase after her. Maybe I can't. I don't think she wants to see me.

I think I'll just walk around after I finish my bath.

"Go after 'er, son!"

"Momma?"

"Didn't I raise ya right? Ya treatin' her like a slave right now!"

I shake my head. "But she ain't no slave."

I flinch at the sound of Momma's voice. "You think that it be fine then to be given her pain like this? Ya think you wanna be in her spot, draggin' along the hopes of ever leavin'?

"But Momma, what about my--"

"Why are ya worrin' 'bout yourself? Didn't I tell ya to be kind to others! Didn't I tell ya that ya be smartest of them all on this here farm?" Her voice continues to raise in volume as she speaks, "Are you kiddin' me? Can't ya see the problem?"

I begin to sob, letting loose the painful tears I've been holding since she came. "I'm sorry Momma..."

"Don't be sayin' that to me, baby. My dear baby you be needin' to say it to her."

"But how can I--"

"No buts, Dyson!"

I shudder as her voice rings in my ears.

"Ya get your be-hind workin' all the way to where she be layin' and tell 'er that ya sorry!"

I nod as fast as I can and say, "Yes Momma!"

I can feel her smiling from here. "Now get goin'!

She didn't need to tell me twice. I'm already out the water, my hands hurdling me over the edge of the crater.

I'm sorry, Rainbow Dash. I'm so, so sorry.

The Long Road Home - 6 - Carcass

Hunger gnaws at my stomach, sending jolt after jolt of pain searing through my body. I grimace and stumble up against the gorge's lifeless husk. A swift wind blows down the passage, sending shivers down my spine. The sense of death lurks in the shadows of the night, making me think of the darkest of thoughts. I know that I'll die out here if I can't escape. I'll be a carcass without a story, a carcass that left its best friend to run out alone, a carcass that should rot for trying to eat her too.

Leaning against the stone walls, I take a brief breather. I look up at the sky and see how those stars twinkle. Rainbow Dash did not lie; it's beautiful here. The stars flicker and brighten as if they were talking to each other about each others' time in the sky. This light show though forms a familiar face, a familiar smile, and some familiar memories. She smiles like that. She smiles so wide when I was around, and she would twirl her hair with her fingers. Momma would tell my sister that playing with your hair is like playing with your food. I miss them both.

I miss my sister especially. She's like me, both now and then. Before she was alive, and now she is a carcass. I want to believe that she's alive, but every waking breath Master has tells me of my sister's death. I've had dreams too: her body dragging across the earth before being sucked of all the life in her with one swift crack of a bone. Another has her being executed by gunfire. Another has her being killed by exhaustion of working in the fields for the first time. The list could go on, but all of them are horror stories now. I cannot imagine living without truly knowing her whereabouts. It plagues me every night in my sleep.

But now? I wonder of other things too.

Am I even on Earth anymore? I know Rainbow Dash calls it Equestria, but it just feels like Earth, but better. There isn't a plantation in her description of the world. There isn't a white man telling a colored man he's black or ignorant. I'm not a color, nor is she. She is a pony named Rainbow Dash, and I'm just a Northern Mississippi slave named Dyson. Her life revolves around her talent, family, and friends, while my whole life revolves around being a slave with a family being held by a white man whose field needs sowing. But now, after what feels like a week of being away from the farm has me wondering if I am even a slave there anymore. I say I'm free, other times I'm not. I hear my Master's voice in my head telling me I'm just an escaped slave. I must be free then.

But I'm not. There's this gorge, my Master's voice, and then there's Equestria, where talking ponies, eels the size of several plantations put together, gorges that are almost inescapable, and things I have not even explored yet; they are all tightly knit into one package. Maybe when I find Rainbow Dash and apologize I can ask her if she'll show me around. Maybe she will say we're friends, and that we can snug without the thoughts of being afraid of me, and the thoughts of me eating her to the bone. Maybe she can explore with me, searching the world and meeting new things. Learning, it's something I like to do.

With one last breath of rest, I push off the gorge wall and continue my journey forward. There's no stopping this train, so I might as well continue, right?

"Rainbow Dash!" I yell, hoping she'd hear me.

My voice replies back to me in a faded, distant echo. I sigh and move on.

Move on to greener pastures.

It's sunny out. It's nice. I know that he's gone chasing after me, probably stopped his crazy hunger or whatever it is, but I don't want him to chase me. I want him to be honest with himself. I want him to be honest with me too.

After walking far enough, I sit and wait. It's inevitable. He'll come around the corner, tell me how sorry he is, then moments later, he'll grab me and try to bite me. His hunger is a monster. He isn't, I know that. If I had to describe Dyson to somepony, it would be that he is kind, caring, loyal, and someone to be able to depend on.

When he's hungry though... his mind goes other places.

Looking up at the stars, I see a face. It's familiar. She smiles at me, and smiles at the other girls too. She's a little filly, one that adores me so. She wants to fly someday, up in the stars too. I told her I do that a lot, and not because I am able to. For me, flying at night is a luxury, a stress reliever, a place to rest and contemplate over a day of saving the world from villains with attitude, or dealing with drama that always revolves around me. Just knowing that drama is mine to hold makes my tail flick a pile of rocks and scatter them. Anger soars in me, while happiness rockets to the ground. Stress gains speed in my heart, while calm, gentle moments of rest feel like nightmares.

This moment is one of them. It's a nightmare. It's not real. I'm just sitting here, hungry, waiting. I don't want to wait, but I have to. He's chasing me, but I need him. He's hungry, but I'm hungry too. He's injured, and I'm injured too.

I shake my head and let my feathers loose.

All this stress is driving me crazy. And it's totally not cool.

My voice has become hoarse after calling out to her so much.

"Rainbow..."

I turn the next bend.

"Rainbow..."

Eyes slowly begin to close.

"Dash..."

Trying to keep my eyes open...

"Dyson...?"

Her voice makes me stop dead in my tracks.

"Dash?"

I look all around me, searching for her, yet I don't see her.

"To your right, doofus," she scoffs.

I look to my right to see her eyes glaring at me and her hooves crossed.

I approach her and say, "Dash... I be so--"

"Yeah, you're sorry, I know," she interrupts while letting her wing flutter freely. "I've been waiting."

I let my head hang while my smile falls to a frown. "Yeah..." Her glare that she wears stings.

I hear her sigh, and her voice become soft. "Are you still hungry?"

I look at her and nod. "But I ain't hungry for you."

"Oh?" she says with a brow raise. "And what makes you say that?"

I step away from her and look at the path in front of us. "See this here gorge? We gotta be gettin' close to the end."

She nods. "That does sound awesome, but how does that relate to trying to eat me?"

"That be it. I don't wanna eat ya ever. I was bein' blinded by my hunger. He don't like me for doin' that to him."

As if on cue, my stomach lets out a loud, long growl.

"Your stomach just growled."

I nod. "It been hollerin' since you left."

She steps a bit closer to me. "So you're not hungry because of me?"

I put my arm around her, gently. I see her grimace as I do this, but she doesn't move away. I smile, knowing that she's okay with my arm laying limp around her neck, and say, "Nope. Ya not my type."

She gives me a gentle smile, one that soothes my mind. "I'm glad you're back..." She says before leaning against the gorge's wall. "So where next?"

I sigh. "We can only go forward from here."

She pushes away from the wall and growls. "Then let's go already! I'm ready to go home and take a nice long nap..."

I let out the happiest chuckle I could. She rolls her eyes at me, but I know that she knows I'm joking around. We all need a long sleep when we leave this place. The gorge has taken our energy away, and it has changed how I, and probably her too, think. We're all thinking of what could be, but we need to focus on the now. We're still not free, we're still taken by its grasp, and we're still barely making it by. Soon we'll be walking carcasses that haunt the countryside. That is, if we ever find the exit to this place.

As we walk forward, I keep my arm over her, but I don't pull her close. I think her and I still need some distance after what I caused. I don't want to get her angry at me.

Turning around another bend, we stop and gasp. In front of us are holes jut from the walls of the gorge, and one in particular has a giant, red-scaled and purple-spiked eel feasting upon its breakfast. He turns to us momentarily and smiles, which lets feathers of a bird float gently from his mouth. He chews and smirks at us, before dropping the remains of his meal on the ground.

"Dash...?"

Her only good wing is stretched out wide. Her eyes are wide in surprise. Her lips quiver at the sight. And then, there is nothing but a blank stare. Without hesitation, she turns to me and says, "Stay by me."

Her tone of voice sounded unsure of what was to come, but I didn't have to think twice in nodding. We are going to get out of here, even if that meant facing hundreds of these hungry eels. We aren't just hungry, we're thirsty for freedom.

And that is worth more than any bite of food right now.

The Long Road Home - 7 - Quarray Eels

My eyes focus on the eels in front of me. Their razor sharp teeth and eyes of death numb me to the core, making my world warped with only them and I.

Loud hammers pound against heavy drums.

"On the count of three, we charge that side, okay?"

The sounds of drums overwhelms my body, sending shock after shock of fear to the tips of my fingers and toes.

White men bark orders, while other men draw their muskets and attach their bayonets.

"Are you ready?"

I give her a nod. Drums grow silent as white men draw their swords up high, before sweeping them down.

"GO!"

And another volley from the barrels of death penetrate into the hearts of many.

I hop as fast as I can towards the eels who roar tremendously at our effort. Thinking about it, it is like we are slaves being forced to fight against their master's keep. No swords or guns though, since we are not fighting. Just escaping these many hungry, savage eels to achieve paradise, something I have longed for. Her gallop, though three legs, stay strong and fierce, while my meager and lopsided hop falls behind, yet in suit with her charge. Before we face them head-on, she looks back at me for one last time, sharing a smile that could break men at their heels. Then, without any fear left, Rainbow Dash jumps into the thicket of death and despair. I follow her in, and the bloodbath begins.

The first eel to our right dives down from above. We both dodge his attack, sending his head straight into the cliffside. He moans loudly before roaring for his kin. Apparently one hears his call, as we see a giant boulder being hurled at us.

"Look out!" I hear Rainbow Dash shout, before shoving me to the ground. The two of us fall in a heap of pain, but thankfully none of us add to our battle-scars. The boulder lands right next to us, its tallest and sharpest edge blocking the hungry eels from getting to us. The luck was with us at the moment, so we should take advantage of it. Rainbow Dash must've had the same thought, as she nods at me before rushing to my left, hoping to catch the eels off-guard. Keeping up with her unspoken plan, I sweep to the right and attract the attention of two red-scaled predators, who growl savagely before attacking me with their mouths wide open. In an effort to trap them, I rush towards their wall, hugging it desperately. The result works to my advantage. The first eel misses me badly and instead hits a giant bolder at full speed. The giant eel's head splits the rock in two, revealing gems of many shapes and sizes glimmering in the light. The second eel misses, but manages to control its speed. It looks around to try and find me again, but I stay as quiet as I can while shimmying in the shadows of the gorge. I do not want to deal with more eels than I can handle.

While my desperation ensues, I keep my eye on Rainbow Dash, who dodges a near nail biter. The two eels who she attracted from sweeping around the rock had decided to pin her at the same time, but fortunately for her, her good wing gave her enough leverage to dodge the eels' attacks. As a result, the two eels bump heads, sending both into a confused state of mind. While they sit there in pain, she dashes on ahead, taking on the next two eels with a smirk on her face.

I rush on after her, making sure I'm not left behind. Unfortunately, the eel from before has other plans. It swoops down in front of me with one large sweep, smirking all the while. The long red eel screams at me, sending the hairs of my skin awry. The fear and adrenaline both course through me now, and my mind cannot stop thinking that this is my end. Yet, to my own surprise, I do not back down. There is too much at stake to be hiding. I need to act. I let the eel circle around me, hoping that it will attack. And as it snaps at me, I hop up. I narrowly escape its jaws, and watch as the eel's teeth bares into its own skin. The mighty beast shouts, shaking the gorge walls. As it does, it gives me the opening I need, and I take it without no hesitation. With that, I rush ahead to meet my next opponent, who emerges from the right side of the gorge, scattering rock and debris in all directions.

Putting my arm out to shield myself from the debris, I continue my charge towards my enemy. However I am not unaffected, as I sputter from the lifeless grains that enter me. I hear Rainbow Dash doing the same as she dodges another attack from a large purple eel. We both wipe our mouths after coughing out the dust from our mouths, look at each other, and then raise our heads to the unwelcomed gaze of an eel's dreadful stare. It growls very lowly and sniffs at our bodies with glee. It feels like a dog tending to find a scent of us slaves, but only larger, deadlier, and wanting to kill us.

"Run!" I yell. I hop as fast as I can to the right, hoping to dodge the purple eel's attack. Instead of pinning for me, he tries to tag Rainbow Dash. He snaps at her, before rushing right at her. She narrowly escapes his clutches, but her tail is not spared. As she gallops away, colors of the rainbow flitter in the wind. Some gently float to the ground, while the angry purple eels sends them spinning into the gusts, never to be seen again. The eel then shifts its attention to me, who is nearly out of its range. Yet it does not care, and as I watch it charge with its mouth wide open, I hop to the left. It is a preemptive dodge to see if it will take the bait, but it does not care as it follows me hungrily, the beast licking its lips. I hop again to my right, but nothing happens.

Left, right, left.

The eels does nothing. It must see a pattern.

As I move to the right, the eel finally attacks, its jaws coming upon me.

The purple eel's teeth barely grazes me, the underside of the beast's mouth capturing the hairs on my back. I shout in glee, thinking that I am free from him, yet I never hear the eel impact the ground. Instead, I hear rocks from behind me being tossed and displaced. Desperate, I b-line for the walls, hoping that the rocks miss me entirely. Yet my luck runs out here as one snapped half of a rock hits my side. Thankfully it is not sharp, but it still does not take away the pain that I have. I grip my side, grimacing all the while, but the dull feeling of pain and bruising lets me know of my condition.

Thinking I am free, I let my body rest in the shadows. However my mind does not want to rest, as it hears the gunshots of another angry volley. Men grimace and gasp as blood escapes their chests, while others scream their battle cries. For me, I was doing just that, screaming happily of my victories. Rainbow Dash, on the other hand, wears her smirk, and charges headfirst into the crowd of many. She does not cheer. All she does is challenge those who challenge her. I do that too, but with large leaps and balanced gains. After all, she has three usable legs, while I have one. I need to keep my balance, or I am dead meat.

However, as I travel near the gorge's cracked walls, my body feigns its ability to keep me upright. I stagger and hopelessly lean against it, but soon, I meet the ground. All around me grey grains dance and cover my body. It is, as if, the gorge wants me to stay. It wants me to live with the eels. Yet they don't want to live with me, they want me for food. They are hungry like I am hungry. That alone makes me shiver as the thought of eating my friend crosses my mind. The hunger still is there, calling me home, but I cannot even stand up. All I feel is the intense beating of my heart. All I can taste is the dirt that has been tainted with death. Every little instance wraps me with pain like a whip battering my back with each intense flick. Each gasp of fresh air reminds me of a sting from the bees under the old tree on Sweet Acres. The dirt clogs my way airways. I choke, sputter, and cough heavily, hoping to let that dirt leave me. My freedom is at stake.

"Dyson!" I hear Rainbow Dash shout, before a loud crash makes me look up at the pegasus whose life is on the line. The dirt is no longer my only problem as I see her rush dodge another miracle, and rushes towards me with concern on her face. Galloping to my side, she puts her head under my chest and tries to lift me up. Unfortunately my body is still unable to be moved. I am just to weak to continue.

Or is it?

You be a fighter, son...

Papa...

Be strong for your Momma. Be strong for ya sister. Be strong for all of 'em.

But why?

Be strong. Be strong like no other. The farm needs it.

The memory fluxes within me, sending shock after vicious shock through my body. My freedom is still there, and my family needs me! I must not let them down!

The adrenal rush surges through me once again. I look at Rainbow Dash and stand up, my pain no longer overpowering my body. Even though the dull sensation is still there, I could not focus on it. The pain will be there, but pain tells me I'm alive. I'm not dead. I'm not going to back down. Even if two smirking pairs of eels show their pearly whites... Even if they descend over us with glares of hunger.

With one loud roar from my lungs, I charge forward.

"Wait!"

Words fall to deaf ears as two smirks turn into attacks of death. The first one impacts the Earth in front of me, sending me flying above him. While the other tries to catch me in mid-air. As I see his mighty spikes come towards me, I remember the face of the pony who stood by me, even if I was wanting her for lunch. My stomach would still growl when I see her, but my mind would win. All I see is someone who talks to me without calling me a slave. I see someone who is different, who loves me as a friend. She wants me as a friend.

A friend.

Screaming on the top of my lungs, I focus on the remaining land ahead of me. Only a few more eels to go after I possibly get snatched by this one. I hope she will make it. I close my eyes as I prepare to be eaten.

Yet seconds pass, and I don't feel a thing. Did he grab my leg? Did I lose an arm? Are my pain sensors gone?

I open my eyes. I landed miraculously on my good leg. Behind me lays a beast who got himself stuck in a hole. He tries to yank himself out, but his head is caught in the rocks. I laugh a hearty laugh, soaking up the scene of victory. Another one down.

And another one. And another one.

"ROCK SLIDE!"

Was I counting eels or rocks?

Time seemed to slow as Rainbow Dash galloped towards me, her injured hoof raised to not impact the ground. I unconsciously step towards her.

However, she growls and bats me with a wing. "Come on!" she says, before flicking her tail at me. "Grab my tail!"

I nod and grab on, my hands gripping the remains of her tail tight. She then breaks into a full gallop, while the rocks that were once lifeless began to fall all around us. Some of them hit the remaining eels that are trying to escape too, while others almost hit us. It's like the gorge doesn't want the eels anymore. Or maybe It doesn't want Rainbow Dash and I. Thankfully, we'll be taking our exit soon. All we need is time!

"Dyson! Hold on tight!" she shouts as she begins to extend her gallop.

I keep a tight hold of her tail, whose wavy long tail now remains as a shorter stub. I watch as the world around us falls apart. Eels get crushed by the boulders they lived near. Old reminders of death get shattered to pieces, sending sharp pieces of bone into the eyes of our enemies. Many screams fall dead to the sounds of rocks caving in. Only her and I dodge the final few rocks, which roll and tumble past us into the rock formation behind us. I turn to watch what Rainbow Dash was seeing: a slope going upwards. It was like the gorge had paved the way out for us.

With speed, she brings us up the slope. Behind us lay heavy rocks that had tumbled and smashed the eels that wanted us dead. As she slows her gallop, I see Rainbow Dash's tired face grow heavy. Second later she collapses to the ground, her flank hitting the rough terrain first. I sit beside her too, my energy completely exhausted. Somehow with a hobbled mess and a three-legged and one-winged pegasus, we were able to beat the Gorge.

Sitting near the escape to the green landscapes above feels like I am only a few steps away from heaven. No bridges with a cave below. No more eels to try and kill us. No water to try and swim past. No more emptiness inside. No more tears. No more lost hopes.

Just her and I near the gates of Heaven.

I look at her with a smile on my face. "We did 'er, Dash."

"Yes we did..." she breaths, her voice cracking as it trails off.

She and I, with two tired smirks of freedom, bump hand to hoof and stand on our legs. Even though the burn hits me full force, I still want to leave. I want to sit on the ground, where formidable trees with brown branches hang overhead, protecting us from the heat. I want to feel the wind not terrorize my body. I jus want to be free. I just want...

To mean something.

No more waiting, we are--

"You still have me, Dyson."

My eyes widen as I hear his voice again.

"What's wrong?" Rainbow Dash asks, her gaze apparently was on my face. She must've said something. That must be it.

"Yes, Dyson, what's wrong?"

Don't think of him as me...

I stair at her and see the image of a tough, rough white man with a gaze of death. He stares at me. She stares at me. "H-He's..."

Who is who?!

She raises a brow at me. "Dyson? What's--" She stops talking as she sees me shiver and shake at the sight of the rocky ramp ahead of us.

"Try to escape, Dyson. Just try." I could feel him his smirk and hard gaze upon me. "She'll never follow you, though. She will go her separate ways and you'll be all alone." I look at her with my mouth open wide. "What will you do then?"

I shake my head as I ignore his voice. I don't need his lies. I don't need him.

I just...

Need to escape.

As I take my first step towards the exit, I hear the thousand roars of gunfire overhead. Bullets whiz past me, penetrating another man in blue uniform. I feel his pain momentarily, grabbing my senses and shattering them to pieces. I grimace and hold my chest. I hear her behind me scream in shock. I feel her try to hold me up with her muzzle, but my body simply has given up. I lay on the ground as my body convulses and shakes. My eyes flutter to a close, and there, darkness ensues.

'You're mine..."

Hooked To Machines

Hearing voices, calling me underneath that large oak tree.

They tell me I'm fine, that I'm not broken, and that I'm not alone. They also say my sister is not dead. She is happy, living alongside her Momma and Papa, who love her very much.

Yet in my mind, swirls of ash and decay flutter in disarray among the graves that dot the landscape. Cannon fire cut the peaceful serenity of life to bits, while muskets bellow to the sounds of angry white men screaming to the music of death. Trees fall or stand tall with holes piercing their bark, shattering wood and life all together. Sometimes I describe the image like this, like how my Master saw through his books. I see it like that too, and I love it. Yet I sound distant, like a roving slave without a family to hold.

I'm still distant, and I will always be distant. I'm not free, I'm just a stray.

A stray of my Master's keep.

Waking up to new sounds startles me like the bells on the farm. They would ring and ring until all of us slaves were up and ready for the Master. They had a distinct sound: loud enough to tell us all to wake up, yet low and haunting enough to rattle our spirits. However... these ones are different. It is a short burst every few seconds. And not just that...

My eyes see the sound zap across the... thing. It is taking all my effort to just see the sound zip and zag along a green line. I'm not sure what it is, but as my heart beats irregularly, I see that line dance. It is like my heart is racing the line, but as my heart beat slows, the line slows down too. Maybe it feels sorry for my heart?

I think the line is safe, but I do not see anything else. The rest of the colors around it are blurry. Some of them swirl together, while others become lines and flip in ways I could not know. Am I just floating upside down? I don't know. All I know is that deep within my heart is a piano player who strikes the keys of the tune of life. It transfers over to the bouncing, shifting, and blurring line. It's trying to tell me something, but I do not know what it wants. All those wonderful sounds and bright colors fall to deaf ears and blind eyes.

Another hand strikes a chord. A new tone is heard.

I look away from the green line and see the room I am in. Still blurry as it may, I do see something different. It is attached to my arm, secured by some fabric wrapped around my arm. I wonder if it comes off?

Tugging my arm, I gasp as the pain from whatever is in my arm seers through me. Nope, not at all. My eyes look at the thing again, and see the see-through line that leads to a giant bag of some kind. It is see through too but is holding some red liquid, and—is that my blood?

Why is it outside of me?

How am I alive?

I'm lost, my vision is hazy, and my body is giving up again. My heart races with the green bullet.

Maybe I'll just sleep a bit more. Maybe tired eyes imagine things. This must be a dream. I need to sleep again.

Or maybe I'll wake up again, in a cave, where the light shines through the entrance, or just outside the gorge, where her and I lay silent, hoping for Rainbow Dash's friends to save us.

What a world I live in. One day I see colors swirl and lines disconnect, and the next I see nothing. I think my eyes are open. It's really, really dark, though, like the caves that Rainbow Dash and I went in. Maybe even darker, like the barrel of a rifle. It is unknown to me, a space where even a white man could not travel without being spotted. A rifleman would see him and shoot him too. But what if he was white too?

A skirmish developed in my mind, while I see the colors blend to a dull gray. A white light was shining in, bleakly, from a corner of what appears to be a window. I am not sure though, since the window sill looks like a bunch of lines blurred by a blinding light, but maybe I am just seeing things. Maybe it is a mirage in the distance for a poor slave like me to hope that it would come closer.

Momma liked us by the candle light at night. She would be practicing on her piano, and I would be sitting in a old wooden rocker, leaning back with my feet still touching the ground—my height was an advantage—and clutching a big old book with my two equally big hands. I gripped my book tightly and read the words with a blaze of fright, knowing that at any moment, Master could come and rip the book right out of my hands and tell me to head to the barn where the other slaves sleep.

She told us some nights to forget about the world and how the white man was just living in fear. We heard about that revolt that happened long ago in a place called Virginia, or at least, from what I heard. Some owners were still worrying about it, chatting in the streets while a slave hiding in the thicket of corn was staring onward with my big old eyes locking in on those two owners.

"Thinkin' the slaves would do a revolt 'ere?"

The other man, with his black stetson tilted down, shook his head. "Not in a million years, Mr. Baker."

Mr. Baker was a friend of the Master. He come by once in a while. He'd come in, utter a few welcomes to Master and his family, and even he dropped off a big sack of grains once, thinking that Master needed some extra feed for us slaves. Master did tell him no, though, shaking his head without a second to waste.

"But Mr. Stockton," Mr. Baker began as Mr. Stockton, whose black hat and boots leaned up against the post like he did at the tree, puffed another needed hit from his cigar. "They still could do it if they knew how to read an—"

"I don't think these slaves could harm a fly even if they could read, Mr. Baker," Mr. Stockton said through the smoke. "Besides, even if they could and staged a revolt, those slaves would be shot dead just like Turner's. Don't you agree?"

Mr. Baker nodded.

"Right! Then what is the problem?"

I guess when I started to read, I did not see the problem in what he said. I guess now, looking back at it, I should've seen the signs. I should've noticed that I had the ability to be free. I am literate. I can read. I could've started my own revolt, and got my family to the Union. But that is not available to me now. I'm not where I was before. I'm alone in a world I don't understand.

Slowly the gray lights turn bright white and the window sill comes to life. Some lines join together, and dots of a landscape outside the window begin to form. Where I am, lines form all around me, and color does too. Browns swirl with whites and grays, broken lines become curves, and gentle sounds of a hand wrapping against a door—wait, what?

Peering up to the sound, I see an indistinguishable mess of colors, as if an artist dropped his or her palette and meshed the colors of the rainbow together. It does not make sense, seeing nothing but color. Lines are disjointed, while some are broken bends. Nothing is making sense.

I just want to see again.

"Dyson?"

Blinking, I hear a word. It is not in Rainbow Dash's voice. Who is it, then?

"Dyson?"

The voice sounds off again. I do not know what or who it is. Could it be Momma?

"Be… Sleep."

Sleep? "Momma, I be fine! I don't need sleep no more!"

Suddenly, a searing pain rushes through me. And in seconds, the darkness eats me whole.

Yawning, I sit up. The room is white. The green line is still zipping and zapping along the screen. Chords are attached to me. I ain't killed by them yet, so I must be fine. I am safe. Yet who put these chords in me? Why is that case of blood sitting there all full and of my blood? Is the machine still sorry for my heart?

Questions whirl in my head like the leaves outside which twist and turn like they are in a cyclone. Some of them wrap up against the window as if they want to get in the room. But they aren't strong enough to penetrate the invisible barrier. angrily at the sight of me. Leaves see? That cannot be true. Silly thoughts entering my brain. I need to shake them away.

So I do, and that's when she enters.

"Dyson?"

The voice sounds like my Mother. I nod politely, fearing she would pop out at any moment to tell me to shape up for the poser. "Yes ma'am."

My throat is as dry as the gorge, but I can troop through it, especially with this poser in the room. Her fake smile glimmers in the daylight. "I'm glad you're awake," she says happily as she clambers over to my bed. "May I fix your pillow?"

I nod and lean forward, but I cannot help but ask, "Who are y—"

"I'm your nurse." A hoof smacks the pillow while the other balances the fluff. "You may call me Redheart, Dyson."

Her tone of voice sounds… loving, but as she smacks the pillow again, I get a sense of violent distaste. Does she hate me?

"Yes, ma'am." Be polite, Dyson, be polite, just like Momma says. I put on that smile that Papa taught me, a small, gentle smile that gets women all the time.

Redheart looks at me and shares the exact same smile. She pats the pillow once last time and places it back under my head. "Lean back."

And I do so. She keeps that smile up as I snuggle in comfort. What cotton field did she get this stuff from?

"I take that you like it now?" A nod from me spurs a giggle from her. "I see. Well, are you feeling better?"

I raise a brow at this. "Why would ya care?"

The words slipped out of my mind. I had no control of them. And those words, violent, distasteful, savage words rubbed her the wrong way. She mirrors my brow. "Because I'm your nurse?" An obvious reason. "But more importantly," she adds, pointing her hoof at the curtain in the middle of the room, "she would want to know too."

She? "Who is she?"

Smirking, Redheart says softly, "Rainbow Dash."

Behind that curtain lies someone who is in a worse condition than I. I call out to her.

No answer.

"She's in a coma, Dyson."

Words I did not want to hear. "Coma?"

The smirk Redheart had on her face disappeared with a flash. A frown now resides on her face. "She mentioned your name before her body gave out. She's been in her vegetative state ever since you and her arrived."

"How long has it been?"

An impulse to just ask the begging question had entered and passed. The words hit her like bricks.

And she replies, those bricks hitting me twice as hard.

"Three weeks, Dyson."

Three. Whole. Weeks.

Curtain Call

"Three weeks?"

Redheart nods.

"Ya sure she ain't dead?"

"P-Positive," Redheart says with a chuckle. "She'll be fine, Dyson. We just have to wait until she wakes up." She looks at the thing attached to my arm. Slowly, she glides her forehoof over the wound. I grimace. "Did you tug on this?"

I stare blankly at the needle. The dang thing is near through my arm. I can feel it jabbing in me, but I can't do a thing about it. "I did."

Momma told me not to lie.

"Why?"

That question seems obvious to me. I thought it was killing me. I didn't know why it was in my arm. I guess Redheart knows? "I thought it be killin' me."

She laughs loudly at me. Her hoof returns to her side. "I have not heard of that b-before!" She gives me a bright smile. "Don't move that arm much, Dyson." She turns her attention to the bag. "This bag holds the water you need to survive!"

"That's water?" I say in disbelief. "How is water red?"

She smiles. "That's because we added a little bit of cherry juice into the bag. It helps our patients sleep so you can heal quicker."

I raise a brow at this. "And what is the alternative?"

She frowns. "Magic…" Her gaze turns to those dreaded curtains again. "But it could cause radiation."

"Pardon?"

She lets out a slight chuckle. "Magical radiation can happen in those who are not used to magic being in their bodies. As a result, it acts as a… poison." She pauses to sit on her haunches. "If the one who is absorbing the magic gets too much, they could die a slow, painful death."

"Am I okay with 'em?"

She shakes her head. "That's why we cannot use magic on you…" She shakily sighs. "W-We don't know how much magic you've already absorbed."

I frown and watch as her hoof slowly grazes the railing of my bed. Sighing, I grab it and squeeze gently. She yelps, but does not pull away. I look up at her and say, "Don't be so worried. She and I will be makin' it." I point to Rainbow Dash's bed, or so I know, since that curtain is in the way. "She promise me that I be meetin' her friends, so I goin' do that." With that, I let go of her hoof.

The white hoof does not retreat. "Thank you, Dyson." She grabs my hand. "I'll promise you the same."

I smile and look at the monitor. The line was constant, and not so irregular. It bounced, and bounced, but at a slow, calm pace.

I think the machine isn't sorry for me anymore.

Time passes. Redheart is in, bringing me food, checking my water supply, and making sure I'm not in pain, before she heads out to help some other pony—what I am assuming. She sometimes stays by me, asking me what I did today and if I need my pillow adjusted, but nothing else. I'm wondering if she even cares about who I am, where I am from, or better yet, telling me how Rainbow Dash is doing. Redheart never tells me. She keeps saying that she is still asleep, dreaming about flying, sleeping on clouds, and most importantly her friends. She might be dreaming of me. Not sure if that makes my heart at ease or tells me that she needs to stop dreaming and get back out here so we can meet her friends—I'm rambling again.

There's not much to do here but ramble and sleep. Driving myself insane just laying here, restless and wondering if we will ever get out of this place. I told Redheart that we would, but healing takes a while. I should know, since these old wounds remind me every day that I'm still not healed physically. Strips of flesh toss and turn to the reminders of loud cries for help and eerie growls in the dark. They should leave the light on. Not one, which dangles over my head, but several small lights. Let there be more witnesses than just one.

I slowly draw my attention to the door. White doors, white walls, white curtains—everything is an opposite to me—they all stay clear in the dark. I can see them bright as ever, but Rainbow Dash is someone I can never see.

Maybe I should ask—

The door opens.

"Dyson, how are you doing?"

The normal question. It's been four weeks now, you should know.

"Fine."

A dry response, which makes her left ear twitch, is all I can give her.

"That's good." That is a lie. "Any changes in pain?"

This is different. Reminders, of course, but no sharp pains of freshly gained wounds. I give her a nod.

Her eyes widen. "Higher or lower?"

The sudden panic is something I did not suspect. "Lower."

She breathes a soft sigh of relief. Adjusting her white cap, one that she has been wearing lately to protect her once free pink bun, and giving me a bright smile, she says, "Then we'll keep you on the same track."

"Okay," I mutter. She does not care for the other pain I'm feeling.

She slides her hoof over my arm again. The needle does not move. "Care if we take this out today?"

My eyes widen. That's new. "Why?"

She giggles. Why? "Because you're able to do it all by yourself, now." She dabs something on my arm with a cotton ball. "So, yes or no?"

Looks like it's a yes or yes situation. I give her a nod.

She smiles. Master does that too, sometimes.

"You'll feel a little twinge—"

The needle is out. I feel that twinge. It felt like something was crawling deep within my skin. Then, nothing. The air sucks into the hole.

"There, that wasn't so bad!" She lays the needle on a tray beside her. Her eyes glaze over me, and she gasps. "What's wrong?"

"I hurt."

Images of the cave flicker in my mind. Hunger, calling. The needle slides out again.

"How much?"

Should I tell her it isn't something she has a pill for? Is she going to help me this time? Am I okay?

Breathing deeply, I shake my head. "No pill can help me with this." I gesture to the curtain. "Can I see 'er?"

The images flicker again, but the cave is brighter. The smile on Redheart tells me the world is okay.

As Redheart opens her mouth, I think of the possibilities. If she says no and turns away from me to leave me to fester on thoughts of her being dead, then I will hop out of the bed, no matter how badly injured I am, and crawl or hobble over to my friend—my only friend here—and see if she is okay. However, if she says yes, and leads me to Rainbow Dash's side, I will smile and tell her I'm here. Tell her I'm awake. Tell her to come back to the real world—is this real?

The sudden thought breaks my stride.

Maybe I am not real. I am still my Master's—

"Yes."

My blood begins to pump faster and faster to the sounds of freedom. I look up at Redheart.

"Rainbow Dash has been getting better, but she is still in a coma."

Stricken, but better? I nod and begin to leave my bed when Redheart sticks a hoof to my chest.

"Nuh-uh," she says, waving her other forehoof in front of my eyes. "Not until we get you a wheelchair," A what? "Dyson, wait here."

She leaves the room. The temptation to leave my bed is in front of me. And yet, I must respect her. Respect Redheart. She is only guiding me to freedom and to her, Rainbow Dash.

Why do I care so much?

Because she got me to be free. She is freedom.

I let my eyes linger over the curtain. Is she happy dreaming in her coma-like state?

The squeaky wheels of an old, beat-up chair destroys any further thought. Redheart rolls the wheelchair over to my side. "Carefully sit in the chair, Dyson. Your legs are not ready to stand on their own, yet."

"Legs? Ya mean my other one is not amputated?"

She laughs.

"Amputation is not used anymore, Dyson!" My ear twitches. My skin crawls. I won't be losing my leg. "You'll be able to walk in a month or two. Through intense therapy, that is."

I fall into the chair and smile. "I like that."

I like it all.

Sitting beside her bed, seeing that body of a broken mare snore like she did in the cave, sets my heart at ease.

"I'll leave you two alone."

Redheart closes the door behind her with a gentle click, leaving her and I alone. The darkness creeps into the room.

Where should I start?

"Hi…"

That sounded weak.

"Hi, Rainbow Dash."

Better.

"I know ya can hear me—"

Do I? Nurse Redheart didn't tell me.

"I think ya might be hearin' me. Not sur', but I know ya be dreamin' of us two."

I hope so.

"Maybe ya can stop dreamin' now? I be seein' ya sleepin' and I don't know if I can bear ya snorin' any longer."

Laugh. Laugh loudly. See if she can wake up from that hollering like my sister did.

She doesn't laugh.

"Ya would wake up and be embarrassed right now. All 'round me and tellin' me I cannot be tellin' nobody 'bout this."

I frown.

"Yet ya still aren't up."

Her chest rises and falls as it has done.

"I really want ya to wake up. This place is borin'…"

Without you.

"Hunger and Master not 'ere."

My stomach growls in response.

"Hush you!" I look up at her face. "I hope ya wake up soon. I will be waitin' here ‘til you do."

Time passes.

Hours, weeks, months, years?

Nurse Redheart comes in on and off to check in with me, do some therapy—putting pressure on my feet, walking a step or two, sometimes even around the room—and then she leaves. I disposed of the wheelchair last week.

"Rainbow Dash. I be standin' now, beside you!"

It's great to be free from those chains.

And those chains are still on her.

"Wake up! Please…"

I look down at the ground.

"Please?"

The curtain will always be still.

"D-Dyson?"

Until the curtain call begins.

He Who Be Watching Me

Her voice, though strained and dry, is alive. She's barely hanging onto life.

"Dash!"

She holds up her hoof for a few seconds, pointing at what seems to be a glass of water on the stand near her bedside.

"W-Water…"

Without a moment's hesitation, I grab the glass and hand it to her.

She gives me a slight smile and cups the glass with her forehooves. Sitting up with all her strength, she carefully tips the glass to her lips. The water rushes past her parted lips, and travels down her throat. She sets the glass aside, glances up at me, smiles wide, before letting her eyes close. tight.

"Thanks," she says, her voice not as strained as before. She leans her head onto my shoulder.

I sigh and pat her head. "Anytime."

She sighs too, letting out a breath whose strength lingered in the air. "How long has it been?"

"A few weeks," I reply swiftly.

I couldn't tell her the truth if I tried.

"A few weeks?"

Is that a frown on her face?

"Ah-huh, a few weeks." But really it's been three months.

Her eyes fell from my gaze.

"It felt so much longer…"

"Huh?"

I watched to see if she changes, but that face is still away from me, looking outside that dull white window sill.

The trees look nice here.

"I was dreaming for a long time," she begins while her gaze is focused outside. Green little treetops trickle dewdrops from the tips of their branches. "It was the same dream every time too. We had left the gorge, and my friends were able to get you your own place." A smile worms onto her face. "I thought it was great. You were working at a restaurant, and you were happy with it. Then, the dream ended with y-you…"

Her voice trails off. The dew stopped dropping from the branches.

"I…?"

"Y-you went missing one day," she continues, her voice shaky and raspy. "Ponies said you had gone back to the gorge. I was confused and worried, so I went after you." Downcast eyes meander on the meadows of a fake pleasant landscape. "I couldn't find you at all." Ears dive down and twitch to the sounds of a shrill scream of death. "Then I heard you."

"You're mine."

His voice makes me catch my breath.

"You were… gone," she breathes out. Her good wing twitches, and her body begins to shake. "I had to see that… mangled body every time."

"Mangled body?" I ask.

She shakes her head. "Don't ask, please, please, please, don't ask!"

I frown. Not every nightmare can be explained. But is she glad that they're over?

"Are ya glad that they be over?"

She looks at me with a raised brow, but then slowly gives me a nod. "I never want to see you like that…"

"'Like that?' Dash, what do ya mean?"

She growls at me and screams, "Why do you want to know?"

Because it hurts you.

Because it is chaining you to him.

Because we're both chained together.

There's a blood mark here, there, here, there; and one be running down the field, before a bullet grazes his young precious heart.

"I… wanna know if I was wearin' chains."

Her face warms up. Red blush decorates her cheeks. "W-What?"

"Chains are a sign of ownership."

A tilt of her head this time. "H-Huh?"

I whirl my pointer finger. "Ya know? Master and such?"

Her eyes widen. "Oh! Right… you're still a slave."

Am I?

I thought about it again, and again, and again. Master tells me I'm still his, but am I really? Whose chains wrap around my wrists? Whose whip bears deep within my body? Does my back still look like the branches of an old oak tree, where many slaves stand under to keep their bodies from keeling over in the deadly, hot summer sun? Does the machine that kept me awake still penetrate my skin with the sharpest of needles?

All I know of his torture with his hand near mine.

"Right…"

I may be fine with her nearby. "So… Dash?"

She barely gets the message, but as she snaps out of her funk, she says, "I didn't see any chains, Dyson. Why would you be chained?"

I felt my lips fall to the trap of a frown. In my mind, we were chained to the ground by our bodies, slaves to the world around us for being weak. Yet I was chained both mentally and physically by my Master. Master is here somewhere; she doesn't understand. "I still hear him, Dash. He's here, somewhere, and I can't shake him off."

She frowns too. She understands me now. She knows my pain. She— "Dyson?" —She says things to me. We talk. It's a good thing, isn't— "Dyson?" —it? I mean, I know she's here for me, helping me find home maybe— "Dyson!"

I snap out of my funk. "Huh, Dash?"

She grabs my arm with her forehoof. "You're never leaving me."

Pardon?

She glares at me with fire in her eyes. Her frown is no longer there. Eyebrows slanted; no hint of confusion laying on her face, just anger, smoking hot anger fizzling in a fire pit, blazing in the midnight sky with people, whose aching bones hope for another day of rest watch its tantalizing glow from up close, zeroing in on its form. The warmth spreads throughout their bodies, and I feel its warmth too. The fire is right here, beside me.

And it burns the chains right off my wrists.

"Can you get the nurse, Dyson?"

She smiles at me.

I nod and do as I'm told.

I'm a slave to my words, not my Master.

"How are you feeling?"

It had been a few minutes since the nurse had entered her—our room. She had been tidying up our areas (more of hers than mine) and making sure we are alright. She already asked that question to me, and I told her I was fine. Barely any pain, just a dull sensation in my back. Probably from sleep.

Meanwhile, Rainbow Dash was telling the nurse about her pain.

"Slightly in pain, Redheart."

She was wearing that same old hat with a cross on it.

"Where is the pain, Dash?"

Her mane was done up in a bun.

"By my wing…"

The stub wiggled as it was mentioned.

"I see…"

There was no wing there to see.

"It hurts when I move it." Bluntly put.

"How intense is the pain?"

"Five." Rainbow Dash knew the drill. "But I can handle it," she added.

She forgot to tell the nurse that the pain was more intense mentally. Losing her wing had devastated her. I know that more than ever.

"Are you sure? I mean, if you want we could—"

A grimace lay on Dash's face. "I am fine, Miss Redheart. I can handle pain like this."

Redheart stares at her momentarily, her eyes glancing over her form. Then, as Dash slowly sat up in her bed, Redheart let out a needed sigh. "Okay, call me if the pain increases."

It's been increasing ever since you arrived. The grimace was just a call for help, a chain that still links with another within her body. Yet you didn't see it. You saw just the grimace, not the chains that dangle all around her. They tell her that she'll never escape, that she'll never gain that wing back, that her chances of flying with the best team in Equestria was a dream gone by, resting in the meadows of a fake pleasant landscape with little green treetops dropping miniscule amounts of dew from the tips of their branches. Life for her, has stopped dead center in a room that tortures her body and mind.

And all she has is me as solace.

"Dash…"

The hoofsteps outside the room flittered in the air.

"Dash."

They scurried off into the distance.

"Dash?"

Little dewdrops dance on the ground. Puddles form.

"Dash!"

And they dance until the night sets the stage.

Her sleeping form is not a pretty sight. Streaks of sadness still appear on her face. They are permanently engraved there, on her soul and body. Her soul weeps for the death that had been brought upon her. The death of losing one's dreams.

What is her dream now?

It must be something related to the ground. She's practically an earth pony now.

A one-winged earth pony.

"Dyson… don't… me."

Mutters of faint memories take flight in the air of the hospital.

I had talked to the nurse. She said her friends will be coming soon. They were afraid of entering before, probably due to me or something. Redheart didn't tell me why, so I have to assume the worst. It is a habit of mine, knowing that I might be at fault, that I might be the reason that she's like this, that I might be the one who caused her pain, made her stay here in chains instead of comforting her when she needed it the most. It is my fault. My fault.

"Your fault."

Lingering his voice is, drowning out my sorrow with fear.

"Did you ever think for a second, that ya ignorance could land you in this here jail, Dyson?"

Letters drop down in the breeze on the crossroads.

"Ya never did think before you spoke, nor did'ya think before ya acted, and ya never thought before you interrupted me. Yet here ya are, askin' why you're screwin' up again when the answer has been in plain sight."

And he is right. My Master is right. Questioning myself after the fact, when those machines blinded my vision, my own lack of true care for her whole self and not just the physical self; everything is wrong.

"Then wrong your wrong. Have I taught you nothin', slave?"

He didn't demean my race. He told me to do something more. He is right. I am going to do something more.

So I stand up and let the window bring cool air into the room. Dark nightlights shine bright in the sky. They twinkle sometimes.

"Twinkle, twinkle, little star, show momma how bright ya'll are."

They twinkle a lot in the winter.

"Is he… nice?"

"I wonder… parties?!"

"Pinkie, ya'll are… rampant than—"

"Shhh, darling… wake—up!"

Noises of all kinds wrestle in my mind. Some are voices, bickering happily and mingling with each other, while others are metallic beeps ranging from the heart to the cold shells of a corpse. Was it alive in beginning? Maybe, but as something I do not know of, not of what I am. They don't wear the wounds I bear.

My eyes are welcomed with the white walls as before. But around me are the colors I've missed. They've been outside all along: in the trees, on the paths surrounding the hospital, on the hat of Redheart's nurse cap. Maybe this is the final stage. Maybe this is the final field I'm in. It is different though, with no cornstalks climbing, no cotton to meticulously pick, no bodies collapsing to the heat, and no gun barrels poked at my sides. All I feel is love.

"Is he awake?"

I hear her voice in the midst of them all.

"D-Dash?"

All around me are colors with eyes. They all peer at me. But in the crowd I see her face. She's smiling and hoisting her hooves around those colors.

"These are my friends, Dyson!"

And one by one, the colors became whole.