Pawsteps

"Air... Need air... Help.."

The cub tried to call out, only for her efforts to be swept away into the water. She was lying in a puddle, tossing and turning against her will. Her sharp collar dug into her neck, causing her to choke and blood to trickle down her fur.

"Where am I?" She wondered, clearly knowing she was not home despite liking it. Before she could see the chains, there was a loud thud as the box shuddered and spun around. Vevalon tumbled and shook, causing the chains to wrap around her body and put her in an uncomfortable ball. Despite her best efforts, she couldn't untangle herself.

"I just wanna go home..." She sobbed, still trying to escape this torture.

Faeces, blood and water were everywhere, seeping through the thin rags and towards the coughing cub. She lay there, waiting for her inevitable fate. When would she ever escape this dull void? Rocks crashed against the poor wood, cracking it and allowing more water to seep in. She coughed and spluttered, water entering her mouth and  forcing its way down her throat. Vevalon was powerless against them and gave up.

Darkness had long since taken control, carefully picking the most dangerous route possible.

Torrents of water swept her mercilessly into rocks, logs, dams and more, pushing her deeper into its murky depths. After this long, she was thinner than a twig and as dry as a desert.

"Kill me now, just kill me now and end this suffering." She whined, chains rusting into position and allowing more and more of the sickly fluid into her system. Fighting her restlessness, Vevalon tried to escape one last time before blacking out.

Twilight and Rarity were on a swan boat ride, talking about animal testing regarding shampoo and mane products.

"I hear they genetically mutate them so they no longer have a snake tail or goat head!" Twilight exclaimed.

"I do hope they are treated kindly." Rarity murmured with a shocked look on her face. The purple alicorn shook her head sadly, wishing she could deny the awful truth.

"Last week, 10 dead cubs were found in a river, thin as twigs and so young their eyes were never open!" Twilight announced, eyes looking down in respect and twitching slightly in horror.

"Time's up!" yelled the keeper, using his magic to bring in the boats.

After thanking the stallion (and flirting with him a little bit in Rarity's case) they trotted across the lake, preparing a picnic of: lush honey sandwiches, oatmeal and raisin cookies, flower salad, lemon cake and some apple cider. They ate and chatted, carrying on with the subject of animal testing. A few minutes later, they packed up and trotted home along the river, analysing the current and dangerous beauty of it. Ducklings swam joyfully and fish bobbed to the surface. Rarity dashed off at the sight of something strange. A small, wooden box.