No More Tears

No more tears... (Part 1)

I can't remember much before that day. I can't remember what my parents looked like, where I came from, or what my name even was. I was very young when I arrived at the mansion, but it was a day I could never, ever forget...

I was sitting in the back of a cart being pulled by a few strong ponies. The cart was covered by a thick tarp, but from what i could see through the cracks of the cart's wooden sides, it was a very cloudy day. And that made me sad for some reason. I don't know why. But when I saw the clouds, I started to cry. I wasn't alone that day that I arrived at the mansion. There were at least half a dozen or so on that cart. I remember because that was what the Lady who owned the mansion screamed. It was the fist thing I ever heard her say. I couldn't see her at first, but it would be hard to ignore the sound of her shouting voice as it rattled the cart.

"Only half a dozen?!" She shouted at the driver, sounding insulted by his answer. "Is this all?! I asked for at least, AT LEAST, another two, listen to me, TWO DOZEN!"

"I'm sorry ma'am" the driver appologized, his voice sounding very horse. "That's all I could gather. No pony else wanted-"

"I've had enough of your excuses!" She cut him off. "If you dare to return again with this few new arrivals, you'll be eating out of the trash! Is that clear?!"

The cart driver gritted his teeth as he bowed his head, and replied through his clenched teeth "Forgive me, ma'am. I'll bring you more next time."

"See that you do" the Lady snapped. "And for the trouble you've given me, the shipment to day will be free."

"Free?!" The driver was taken back by the Lady's order. "B-but ma'am, I have a family to feed-"

"And is that 'my' problem?!" The lady snapped again. "Maybe you should have though about that before you showed up with this pitiful lot! Be greatful that I don't find somepony else to collect these pitiful creatures."

I was so lost in their conversation, that it shocked me to see the curtains at the back of the cart fly open. As my eyes adjusted to the light, despite the cloud cover, I took my fist look at hell, and it's an image that would burn in my mind for years.

Standing there at the edge of the cart was a very overweight unicorn mare, dressed in what appeared to be some older Victorian style dress. Her coat was the color of milk gone sour, with a mane the color of old cheese, done up in a beehive on her head. Her violet colored eyes began looking over everypony in the cart, judging us like we were fruit at a market. The whole time she kept her nose to the air, disgusted with the very sight of us.

"I get a few to play with, right grandma?!" A whiny voice cried out, as an equally chubby unicorn colt no older then I was, appeared beside her. "You said I could pick some out to play with! You promised! I want one! I want one! I WANT ONE!!!"

"Yes, my precious. Granny will give you one. But only one, so try not to break it." The Lady unicorn looked over us once more, sneering again as she judged us mode critically. I didn't know why at the time, but something deep inside told me to hide and stay out of her sight. But despite my best efforts, her cold gaze still found and froze on me.

"How about that scrawny little one?" The Lady said. "He looks about your age. You shouldn't be able to break him as easily."

The chunky little unicorn colt narrowed his eyes at me. "Do I have to share my toys with him?"

"Oh, heavens, no!" The Lady said as she levitated a handkerchief to her muzzle, probably to block out the moist smell of the cart that was just hitting her. "Don't give him a thing! He's a servant. 'He' is your toy."

With that, the Lady wrapped her magical aura around the curtains of the cart and flung them shut, then signaled for the driver to take us around the back. I didn't know what she meant by all of that, but I would soon learn, and fear, what that meant.

After they unloaded us from the cart, we were hosed down in the back yard. The icy cold water made my body go numb. Soap and buckets of water were given to finish the job by other 'servants' of the Lady. It didn't help that the overcast blocked out the warmth of the sun. After losing all feeling in my hooves from the ice cold wash, we were dried off by a spell some of the unicorn servants cast. I just wished they could have cast a spell to dry us off with warm air. After we were dried off, the unicorn servants then brought us to what they called the 'servant's quarters'. Basically a small room with ten rickety mattresses laying on the ground without blankets or pillows, a closet full of fresh uniforms, and a single open toilet.

After one of the unicorns fitted me with one of the smaller uniforms, which consisted of a button up shirt, a vest, and a bow tie, they had me follow the other new servants up stairs to be presented to the Lady and her grandson. Following suit, I took in the sights of the mansion. The walls were painted red with gold outlining, but the paint was chipping and fading in parts. Decorating the halls were mainly pictures and busts of a young mare with her mane up in a beehive, and a sour scowl on her face. It didn't take me long to realize that it was the Lady of the mansion in her youth, and that she must have been very, very vane. Even though I was too young at the time to understand what vanity was, I could recognize it easily.

We were lead into a large room with a fire place directly across from the only entrance to the room. While most of the other 'servants' did their best to just look forward, my eyes wondered to the horrific pieces that decorated the room's walls. Covering almost every inch of the wall surrounding the fireplace were taxidermy heads of dragons, sea serpents, a few griffins and even a manticore! As I continued to look over the wall in awe, I felt something hard hit me on the back of the neck!

I fell to the ground, tears forming in my eyes from the stinging pain. As I whimpered on the ground I felt several more strikes come from nowhere. The strikes just continued to hit my body until I was too hurt to make a sound. Once the strikes stopped, I took a deep breath and looked up to see the Lady looking down at me, a cane wrapped in her magical aura.

"And 'that' is how you will be disciplined if you disobey me" she claimed, then struck me once more. "That includes if I have to repeat myself, correct you, or...." She struck me once more. "If I need to set an example. Now, GET. UP!"

After forcing myself up, and swallowing back the tears, I took a deep breath and looked to the Lady who was accompanied by her grandson.

"Now to go over a few rules" the Lady began as she suck her nose in the air and looked down upon us. "1) what I say goes. You listen to me and my dearest grandson. And only me and grandson. If I catch you disobeying either of us..." She whacked the cane against the ground "you get the rod!"

We all gulped at the notion, while her chubby little grandson chuckled.

"2) you are free to go anytime you like. But know this; anypony who has ever ventured out into the woods alone, or tried to fly over it, has ever been heard from again." The Lady smiled as she saw the fear in everypony's eyes. "Other then that, you have a loving home, luxurious living quitters, and an endless supply of the finest foods in all of Equestria presented before you...Such a shame you can't have any of it!"

Once she concluded her speech, she and her grandson chuckled together as the new servants gulped and contemplated escaping. But not I. As frightening as this place was becoming, it was all I knew. I couldn't remember my family, if I had a family, a home, or anything. For the moment, I was trapped....

As the days rolled by, I learned exactly what it meant to be a 'servant' in the Lady's mansion. I spent the night sleeping on a mattress with several other ponies, most of which kept to themselves. We were to wake up hours before dawn, get dressed and cleaned up, and begin our various chores. The newer servants were each trained under a different senior servant, one who had been at the mansion for some time and had experience. I was trained under an older pegasus stallion who had been at the mansion most of his entire life. I liked him. He was very patient with me as he taught me how to clean and keep the grounds around the mansion. As he taught me how to use the push mower, he saw my eyes drift off to the brick fence and the woods beyond it.

"I wouldn't think about them woods if I was you" he told me. "It may look better then when the Lady is a swingin' at ya, but there be timberwolves out there! And they love th' taste of pony flesh!!!"

Leaving the yard work behind, I found out that I was assigned to something special, if you can call being the plaything to the Lady's pudgy grandson special. I later found out that his name was Truffle, and supposedly, he was a few years older then me. Well at least, that's what he said. I think it might have made him feel superior for him to think he was older then me. He didn't need a few years on me to make me feel inferior to him, though. His playroom made me feel that way.

He had a large room, around nine hundred square feet he said, filled with toys and games of all shapes and sizes. He had 4 different train sets, a mountain of stuffed animals, a whole rack of wooden swords and shields, toys that transformed, toys that flew, toys that lit up, toys he claimed were really rare and worth a lot, and toys that used magic to operate like I couldn't believe! All of which I wasn't allowed to touch.

At the end of the day, I was allowed my daily helping of some old bread and some water before I was stopped down by the other senior servants, my uniform added to a pile of cloths to be washed, then told to go to bed. I can't remember how many nights I cried myself to sleep with several other ponies on the same mattress, but eventually I learned that crying didn't make the pain go away....

While I was under the roof of the Lady, I was given the name 'little servant' unless company came by, then she would make up a name for me, like 'Cloudy' or 'Forcast', each time a different name. But it didn't matter. No pony ever really noticed that any of the servants actually had names. Truffle took to calling me 'Dirt' which was short for 'Dirt under his hooves', something he considered to be a complement to me.

Most of the time I was Truffle's 'toy', in a way that my daily chores consisted of entertaining him. Some days I was ordered to pick up his toys after he was done making a giant mess, sometimes I would finish picking them up only for him to make the mess all over again. At first I would get angry and annoyed, but it only took two beating by him with a cane the Lady gave him, to straiten out my feelings about it. After the second time, I began picking them up with a smile. Truffle would see me smiling and laugh as he repeated "See! I'm so generous! I'm letting you touch my toys with your filthy hooves! Aren't I the nicest!" Followed quickly by "You are so lucky to have a friend like me!"

A few times, though, when Truffle would throw the toys directly at me, they would break. When they did, he would run and tell his grandmother, crying, saying through his tears that I broke his toys out of spite! She would then have me brought to the room with the fireplace to be disciplined, first by her with her own cane, then she's let Truffle take a few hits at me with his own cane. You know. To teach him how to properly discipline a servant. From what I've heard from the other servants, Truffle wasn't very smart when it came to his school work. But he was very creative when it came to ways in 'disciplining' the servants.

One time when his 'favorite' train broke and he was done giving me 10 strikes on top of his grandmother's 10 initial ones, he pulled out 10 feathers from my winds, and an additional one for every one I cried for. I learned then that if I bit my lip, I could numb the pain from my stinging wings. The time he tore the head off of his 'favorite' teddy bear, after 10 strikes from both Truffle and the Lady, Truffle then had two of the other servants hold me down while he hit me in my most sensitive parts.
He then laughed at me when I cried in pain, saying something about having real blue balls afterwards. I didn't understand what he meant then, but now I do. But by far, the worst time I was punished was on his birthday.

I had always secretly prayed that somepony would come to the mansion and see us, or rather, see me, and do something to save us. Only, most of the few guests the Lady ever had over were rich ponies who possibly were just as cruel with their own servants as much as she was. During one of Truffle's 'play dates' though, I was proven wrong. They all decided to play with me. They dressed me up like a turkey, shoving an old smelly sock over my head, glueing feathers all over me, then they chased me around with sling shots, shooting rocks at me. They said it was to celebrate a holiday called 'thanks giving' that ponies celebrated with the Griffins, where they would capture and offer the Griffins a large turkey. After they cornered me, rather then just pretend to kill and cook me,they thought it would be fun to just unload all of their small metal balls on me. At first they really hurt. But after several moments, my body went numb. I could see them all laughing as they tried to shoot me in the eye, the face, or even my blank flank. Truffle got upset and said shoring me was no longer fun, so he and his other playmates went in to play with his new board game. I laid there for hours it seemed until the older servant came by and picked me up.

He was the only pony to show me the slightest bit of kindness. I could understand why the other servants kept to themselves if they were treated half as bad as I was. But not this old guy. He always smiled at me, tried his best to cheer me up, and always helped me with my chores whenever he could. I was grateful to have him in my life.

A few months rolled by, months worth of cruel games that Truffle enjoyed playing with me, more and more chores I had to learn to do on top of entertaining Truffle, and a somewhat familiar sight caught my eye. As I was learning to cut the hedges lining the mansion's outer walls, the wooden cart that had brought me to the mansion had returned. My attention was pulled back to the hedges by the senior servant who was teaching me. But while I listened to him about cutting the hedges properly, I occasionally glanced over at the cart, wondering how many more servants had been brought this time.

Later that day, I was introduced to the new arrivals. Mostly stallions. The Lady loved to have young, good looking, strong male servants surrounding her. I overheard her saying that it reminded her of when she was being courted in her earlier years. But there were a few mares amongst the group. And what was even more surprising, was the young filly that was with them.

Her name was Golden Grain. She was an earth pony with a bright yellow, almost golden, coat and a lush green mane. Her eyes were a beautiful sapphire blue, and her cutie mark appeared to be a few stocks of wheat with a sun behind them. I don't why, but I couldn't take my eyes off of her. There was just something about her that made me want to just sit and stare at her for hours and hours, even if we never said anything. And the weirdest part of it all, I think she felt the same way about me! Since the first time our eyes met, every time she looked at me, she would smile. Ohhhh.... Her smile melted my heart! Even if for the rest of my life I was forced to take beatings from Truffle or the Lady, it would be worth it if I could just see Golden Grain smile.

Another season passed, and winter came. Snow covered the ground, which meant shoveling out the snow, but it also meant no mowing the lawn or pruning the rose bushes. But it also meant that the servants quarters were freezing. There was no heater to keep the small room warm, unlike the rest of the mansion. And when we weren't working for the Lady or her grandson, we servants were huddled together in the poorly kept living Quarters. I didn't mind as much, especially because Golden always made her way over to me. I would unfold my wing and pull her closer to me. Even if I couldn't feel my hooves, the feeling of having her closer to me made me warm enough. Another magical thing about Golden was her smell. No matter what, she always smelled like a warm summer's day in a wide open field of grass. I bet if I could fly, she would even smell like the fresh air in my face. I never wanted to be away from her.

One day, as we were shoveling snow off of the main pathway, Truffle and a few of his friends decided it would be a fun idea to have a snowball fight. It was him and his friends against the servants. Only, he chose to play with the servants who were working, and couldn't fight back. If they stopped working and retaliated, even playfully, Truffle would make sure they got in trouble with the Lady. So they kept working, doing their best to ignore the oncoming snow balls. That is, until Truffle thought it would be fun to put a few rocks in one before he threw it. Lucky for me, Truffle hit somepony else. The stallion he hit with the rock filled snowball let out a grunt of pain and put his hoof up to his head where the snowball hit. There was some blood coming from his head in a slow but steady amount. I didn't know much about the stallion, other then he was one of the servants that came over in the same trip as me. But what I'll never forget about him is what made him different from the rest of us. The look in his eye when he lost it.

"You filthy little brat!" The stallion yelled out as he turned to Truffle and his friends who were still laughing. They were so busy laughing that they didn't see the stallion throw down his shovel and start charging at them.

When the angered stallion was about five feet from Truffle, he jumped into the air, ready to stomp down on the chubby unicorn with his front two hooves. But at the last moment, the angered stallion was caught mid air by a unicorn's magical aura. I began to breath again and realized I wasn't the only pony watch the situation. The whole courtyard was watching the events unfold. Before I could lean over and ask the senior servant who's magical aura it was, the Lady of the mansion stepped forward, her horn glowing the same color as the aura around the stallion servant.

She walked out from her shaded spot on the porch where she had been relaxing while she watched the servants. She walked casually over to the enraged until she was inches from him. She narrowed her eyes at the stallion and said in a hushed tone "your services will no longer be required. You're fired."

There was a sea of grasps as the anger in the stallion's expression disappeared and a panicked one took its place as he began to beg. "P-p-please ma'am! I-I'm sorry! I'm really sorry! It's-its the cold! Makes ponies do crazy things!"

But the Lady wouldn't hear of it. She levitated the stallion up and over the mansion's 10 foot wall. The stallion continued to beg and plead, all of us watching him, his desperation was making me sick to my stomach. I didn't know why he was acting like that until I heard them.

A loud howling silenced all of us, including the begging stallion. In the mists of the silence, the Lady released the stallion from her magical aura, dropping him on the other side of the fence! Once he was free, the stallion beat his hooves on the wall as he begged for help from anypony. We couldn't hear them coming over the stallion's fearful voice, but we could smell their foul breath. No pony knows why their breath smells so terrible. But from what the older servant told me, it's the smell of rotting flesh. That the beasts are just wood moving on their own. And when they devour a pony, their flesh rots in their stomach and makes their foul breath. As the terrible stench began to fill the courtyard, we heard the stallion scream and run off, the sound of his hoof steps growing quieter and quieter. Everypony, the servants, the Lady, Truffle and his friends, all quietly listened as the world went mute. Then after several dragging moments, we heard his scream. The stallion screamed out several times before the silane returned.

"Back to work! All of you!" The Lady shouted not ten seconds after the stallion's screams stopped. "Or you're next!"

Truffle and his friends went inside to enjoy some hot chocolate with the Lady while the servants went back to work. Golden rushed over to me, tears rolling down her eyes as she ducked her head beneath my wing. I did my best to comfort her, to stay strong for her, but as much as I hated to admit it, I shook with fear too. I looked up to the brick wall fence and wondered if I would ever meet such a fate.

Hearths warming passed, and that meant spring was right around the corner. But it also meant that Truffle had a whole room full of new toys and games he wanted to play with. And guess who was his 'best friend' who he enjoyed always playing with. Luckily I didn't have to endure his 'games' for long. A week after Hearths warming, Truffle had to go back to school. Which not only meant less time for us to play, but also meant he had homework to do. So when he came home, it would have been right to the books. Only it wasn't.

Truffle did attend school, but thought himself too smart to do homework. Instead, he had me do it. I read his lessons, did his homework, then gave him the basic notes on everything. I didn't mind too much, I kinda enjoyed reading and writing, and when it came to the pony physical anatomy he had to learn, I was more then willing to read and do his homework. It bothered me when I did a paper and he got the good grade and credit for it. But that was as close to an education as I could get. Nopony sends a servant to school. And most of the other servants who have worked for the Lady since they were my age had no idea how to even read or write! In secret, I even began giving lessons to Golden. She loved it when I read to her from Truffle's old fairy tale books. She especially loved the stories of princesses being rescued by princes. And the way her face lit up when I said 'and they both lived happily ever after' it gave my heart wings!

It had been about a month since Truffle went back to school, and he had been moodier then normal. He even pressured me more to get his homework done sooner so we could play, claiming he really needed to play. Which meant he wanted to use me to relieve his stress. After rushing through his history homework, which might get him a C at best, he through a ball at my head, saying he wanted to play dodge ball. The next two hours before he was called to dinner, he spend throwing various balls at me. Truffle didn't know many spells, but he was able to control multiple balls at one time and have them all fly at me in so many directions that I couldn't dodge. Whatever happened at school, I hope it never happens again.

My wish didn't come true though. The next day was even worse. He decided he could relieve more stress by having me pull him around in his personal chariot (a child's chariot normally built for colts' half his size and age). I pulled it all around the mansion until the wheels broke off of it. He then proceeded to tell the Lady that I was too rough with it, was complaining the whole time, and laughed when it broke. I received 25 strikes from her cane, followed by 30 of truffle's own for my 'actions'. The older servant and Golden helped to clean my wounds up. If they hadn't, I probably would have gotten sick and been tossed to the timber wolves. The months to follow weren't easier. Whatever was bothering Truffle at school, was indirectly making my life even more hell then it already was. That was, until one day...

"I don't need to play with you today, Dirt" Truffle said as he stuffed several chocolate eclairs into his mouth, half of them falling right to the ground. "I've found a new toy to play with. Go see what Grandmummy wants with you..."

I began to feel a since of relief as I walked out of Truffle's room, only to see Golden walk in behind me. I paused and looked at her, her face hanging low as she refused to meet my gaze. She shut and locked Truffle's door behind her. I would never wish Truffle's 'play time' on anypony else, and wanted to break down the door and save her from such a terrible fate. But one of the Lady's most loyal unicorn servants grabbed my by my wing and tugged me down the hall. Reluctantly, I followed his orders. All the Lady wanted to tell me was that Truffle's last History paper barley scored a C, and that if I didn't want to end up over the fence, I would work harder to he could pass his classes. From there I was ordered to aid the chefs in the kitchen for the rest of the night. Once I was done, I returned to the servants quarters to find a small group of the mare servants huddled over a bed in the corner. My heart sank.

I started to dash over, knowing, just some how knowing it was Golden who they were huddled over. A fury like no other fueled me, but the older servant stallion stopped me dead in my tracks before j could get to Golden.

"Now's not a good time, lad" he said, a grim expression on his face. "If you really want to help her, give her space. Out of anypony, you are the last one she needs to see right now." I didn't know what he meant by that, but I trusted him. And with a heavy heart, I slept in the farthest bed from her, wishing I could make her pain go away.

Two more months had passed since the first time Truffle told me my services were no longer required as his 'play mate' and yet i still end up with his homework! I shouldn't really complain too much. Since I was working in his homework, and he was busy playing with Golden, life had become much, much easier. But the thought of what horrible things he could be doing to poor, poor Golden made my blood boil! After that day, Golden avoided me for several weeks, and still could barley look me in the eye. I tried to read to her her favorite stories, but the smile that she once had was gone. None of the other servants would tell me exactly what had gone on, but if it was half as bad as how he was with me, I could only imagine.

Time passed by, and soon Golden was able to come out of her shell a bit. For some odd reason Truffle didn't want to play with her as much as he used to, and I soon found out why. It was fairly early in the morning when a fancy new carriage arrived at the mansion, one that I had never seen before. The pony who emerged was one I did not recognizes. She looked to be a mare around Truffle's age, but she was his exact opposite in every way. She was a tall, thin mare with little greasy locks of mane, her eyes looked lifeless and dull, and the only thing that she shared with truffle was the fact that they both were unicorns. I found out later that they both met at school. They both came from wealthy families. Wealthy families who would both benefit from their marriage. I personally didn't care much for her. But as rude and as insulting as she was to the other servants, she still never raised a hoof or cane on me or Golden, so that was a plus side. I hoped some of that lack of brutality would run off on Truffle and that she would stay around for a long, long time...

On that dark day I was reminded of where I stood. Where we servants stood in this life, in this mansion. On that dark day I lost somepony very precious to me.... I... I should start back at the beginning...

It happened early one morning, it was supposed to be a routine morning. I went down to the kitchen to get Truffle's breakfast for him, take it up to him, and while he ate, set out and prepare his cloths for the day. It was a day off of school, and I expected he would either be courted by his special somepony, or he would go off to see her at her estate. As I assessed the staircase, I heard the sound of plates crashing and the outraged scream of the Lady. My heart sank when I thought back to the elderly servant. I knew he had been suffering with his arthritis, and had dropped several plates and items in the last few weeks. Most of the servants just let him pick it up and pretended they didn't see anything. But I doubted the Lady would be as forgiving!

I rushed up as fast as I could, past Truffle's room, and up to the highest bedroom in the entire mansion. The room that belonged to the Lady. Climbing the staircase I heard the sound of the Lady's cane on pony flesh, beating it hard and with. No remorse. I paused outside the door, peeking in through the key hole. I could barley hear what was going on. But I knew what I saw. The elderly servant was on the ground, with several bleeding wounds covering his body. He could hardly hold himself up with his two front hooves, his breathing was heavy and.... And fading. The Lady stood over him, her cold glare shooting down at the beaten old stallion, her cane still covered in her magical aura. As the old servant took one last look at the master that he served for countless years, his legs gave in and he fell to the floor. My heart stopped as I watched him, tears falling from my eyes. I watched as the only stallion who was kind to me in my terrable life, took his final breaths... And then... Stopped breathing all together....

I didn't want to believe it. It couldn't be true! It wasn't true!!!... But it was. I forced myself to watch as the Lady hit the old stallion's lifeless body with her cane a few times, huffed, then stomped her hooves. Several of her unicorn servants rushed to her side. "Take this trash out. Toss it over the fence and a bit a ways from the wall. I don't want those infernal beasts closer to my home any more then they already are."

I was in shock, but forced my hooves to move as the four unicorn servants levitating the old stallion's body, now wrapped up in some old cloth, up and out of the Lady's bed room. I stood out of sight and watched in horror as they carried him out of the house, knowing what they planned to do with him made me sick! It's not fair! How could such a kind pony deserve such a cruel end?!

As I tried to wipe away my tears, I heard Truffle call out my name. Ordering me to his bedside to begin his day. Not wanting to seem suspicious, I quickly walked down the stairs and back to Truffle's room. As I was about to open the door Golden opened it for me, her eyes were blood shot and her mane was a mess. She hesitated when she saw me, then ran off after whispering me to excuse her. I didn't want to think what horrible things Truffle was making her do. But my mind was in pieces already and unable to put two and two together. To keep myself from falling apart, or from thinking about the Timberwolves feasting on the old stallion's body, I began the morning routine. But half way through setting up the fat colt's cloths, something hard and hot hit me in the back of my head. I cried out in pain as something wet and warm soaked my unicorn and mane.

"ITS COLD!!!" Tricycle screamed as he jumped out of bed and levitated his cane high in the air after tossing his breakfast at me. "WHAT ARE YOU TRYING TO DO? GET ME SICK?! YOU USELESS PIECE OF-"

As Truffle was a it to strike me, I whimpered out "m-m-maybe you c-could use a re-heat spell?"

Truffle paused, allowing me to clean the mess out of my eyes. When they were clear of his breakfast, I looked over at the teenaged colt, my heart beat growing more and more rapid as his twisted looking smile sent a chill down my back.

"You think I'd use a commoner's spell to fix 'your' mistakes?!" He chuckled. "I won't do that, but you did remind me, I need your help. See I got a test coming up, and I need to practice a few spells...."

I knew what he was getting at. I knew what he meant by 'help', and I knew I wasn't going to like it. Suddenly my mind jumped to the stallion that was tossed over the wall months and months ago, as well as that poor elderly servant... My fear of death froze me in place as Truffle got dressed and ready. When he was
ready, Truffle turned and faced me, a sickening grin on his chubby face as his horn began to glow!

As he cast his first spell, I cringed at what he planned to do. A moment later I opened my eyes and Truffle's horn was no longer glowing. I didn't know if his spell had actually worked or not until he punched me as hard as he could. The force sent me flying threw the room! It was like I was a balloon, filled with nothing but air! I may have felt like a ballon, but when my back hit the wall, I felt the full effect of the impact. With the wind knocked out of me, I tried to collapse to the ground, but I remained hovering just above it for a moment. When I finally caught my breath, I saw his hooves as he stood over me, chuckling. His horn began to flow again as I felt my weight return to normal. But things went from bad to worse. Looking up, I saw the feathers in my wings had begun to fall out! Panicking, my wings began to flap harder and harder! That made it worse.

It made a thick cloud of grey feathers that filled the room, obscuring my vision. After a few moments of me and Truffle pushing my feathers out of the way, I found my wings had lost every one of their feathers! They looked like wings that belonged on a plucked chicken! Like the ones I've helped to prepare for the Lady's Griffen guests!

"Well doesn't that look funny!" Truffle said as he held his sides, laughing at my ridicule. I felt something beginning was beginning to boil deep inside of me. But I struggled to keep it down, afraid of what might happen to me. "Now let me see... What should I try next?... Ah! I know!"

Just when I thought things couldn't get any worse, the world began to grow all round me. No. As I looked to Truffle and his glowing horn, I realized that I was actually shrinking! But not correctly! Parts of my body were disproportional, making the transformation very, very painful. It felt like some of my bones were being pressed against my skin and it was waiting to tear! To make things worse, it was getting harder and harder to breath! I think only one of my lungs had shrunk properly, while the other was having issues! But way was worse was my heart pounding, trying to still function with my misshapen and disproportional body! Every heart beat shot through my body like my veins were filled with a swarm of angry hornets!

'Is this it? Is this how I die?... But... But wasn't i a good servant...Wasn't I? Why should it end like this?!' I asked myself as I became very light headed. The room felt like it was spinning, and just when I thought maybe my torture was coming to an end with my death, fate gives me another chance at my miserable existence.

In a flash, I was returned to normal size, everything back in proportion and back to normal. Well, except my wings which were still stripped of any and all feathers. As my breathing began to return to normal, and I was able to look up, I began to wish I was dead. Surely death would be a sweet release from this.

"Well that was disappointing" Truffle said as he looked down at me, his nose in the air, looking just like his grandmother. "I suppose I'll have to practice that one more. Maybe with a better servant. Now... One last one, to really make you squirm... Oh yes! I was waiting to use this one!"

Before I could react, the last thing I saw, or rather, the last thing I could see, was a flash of Truffle's horn, then everything went black. I... I couldn't feel anything. My body was numb and unable to move. I couldn't see anything, nothing except black. But there was one thing I could do. I could hear still.

"Well that was a bust" Truffle said, sounding disappointed. "guess I'll just reverse it..."

I waited several moments, but nothing happened! "That's weird, that was supposed to fix him. Eh, he must be broken. Charmer!"

I heard another pony enter the room. I recognized the name. It belonged to one of the Lady's favor it unicorn servants. "What may I do for you, young master?"

"This one is broken! Toss it over the fence then get me a new one! Oh! Make it a mare! A really pretty one! The other one I've been using is boring me." Truffle snorted.

"As you wish, sir" Charmer said as the sound of magic being cast rang in my ears. I never noticed how it had a faint chiming sound before just now.

I don't know what happened, but I could give a good guess. I heard the Window to Truffle's bedroom open, then the sound of wind blowing though my ears. I had just been thrown out of the mansion! Before I could panic, I heard the ruffling of leaves, had I landed in one of the bushes along the walls? No. It was a tree I hit. I heard the ruffling of the leaves and the snapping of the branches as I fell through it and hit the ground. Hard. I lay there on the ground for several moments, trying to process what just happened. But something else caught my attention. Something that gave me nightmares since in saw that stallion be grown over the fence that one winter. I could never forget that horrible stench.

The foul breath of the timber wolves filled the air, making it hard to breath. The sound of their wood like bodies cracking as they moved closer and closer to me. I couldn't feel my pulse, but I could hear my heart beat kicking up speed as the sound of their wooden steps grew closer and closer. I was going to be eaten alive! I couldn't even more! I was a sitting duck! A free chicken dinner all wrapped up for them! This was it!

I could feel the stench grow as they must now be breathing directly on me. I could hear them sniffing me up and down. I wish it would just end. I was grateful that I couldn't see or feel anything. Maybe that was life's little sense of mercy. If I were to die, at least I could have the privilege not to see or feel anything as they rip me to shreds.

Several of them snarled and grunted, then one let out an ear piercing howl, one that just happened to be standing right above me. Soon the others began to howl as well. Once the ringing in my ears stopped, I listened carefully, wondering if they began eating me yet. But I heard nothing. No chomping, no growling, no bone breaking or flesh tearing sounds. Just... Nothing. As I continued to lay there, the sounds of the forest returned. I could hear the wind blow through the trees, birds chirping, and a faint sound of running water. But no timberwolves!

Was... Was I not worthy of being eaten? Was I so worthless that I wasn't even good enough for wolf food?! I sighed heavily half disappointed that I was still alive. Had I secretly been hoping to die? ... I knew the answer... Yes.... What a horrible life the others and I had been living at the mansion. A horrible life I had been given... I wish I could change it. If give anything to have the power to change my life...

I laid there for what must have been days before I could move and feel things again. But even then, I felt the cold chill on my wings, letting me know my feathers had not yet grown back. My vision was still gone, I was still only looking into a world of darkness. But that wasn't anything I hadn't dealt with already. I got myself up and began to wonder, not even knowing the direction I was going in. I was just fumbling around in the dark, not even any real reason. I was growing board just laying there waiting to die but I had no where else to go. That horrible mansion was my whole world... And to be honest, I didn't have enough hope to search for a world beyond the forest.

I suddenly tripped over something and fell! I tumbled down, down, down into a deep pit, landing in a pile of hard branches. I lay there for a moment, pain shooting through my body once again. After a moment, I tried to get myself up, only for my hoof to find some odd shaped rock. I don't know what compelled me to, but I felt the rock over in my hooves. There was something odd about it. It wasn't until I found two large holes in its side did I realize just what it was! It was a skull! But not just any skull! A pony skull! The twigs around me weren't twigs! They were bones! I had fallen into a pony grave yard! Panicked, I began to try and climb out of the ditch, but it was useless. The walls were too steep. And after falling back into the piles of pony remains eight or nine times, I gave up.

Maybe a day or so had passed since I fell in, and hunger was begining to set in. Even the crumbs they gave us at the end of the day back at the mansion sounded like a gift from heaven. I was still blind, but I think my feathers were beginning to grow back. Just not enough to fly me out of the ditch. My stomach growled, and with that, a since of determination was found! I grabbed two sturdy rib bones, using them like hooks, I dug them into the sides of the ditch, and used them to pull myself up! Slowly but surely, I got myself out of the ditch, then through the bones I had used back inside of it before venturing out for food. I had found some patches of grass and a few dandelions, which tasted way better then anything I had eaten at the mansion!

Days passed and I still was just blindly wandering around the forest. I had run into the timberwolves a few times, only for them to sniff me down once more, then leave. Part of me still hoped that they would just eat me. End my suffering. This life wasn't worth living...

It felt like it had been a few weeks since I was thrown out of the mansion. A few weeks since I lost my sight, had been tortured, having my feathers plucked from me, and had been thrown out like a sack of old oats. I felt like with nopony else to talk to, I was my own company. What made matters worse, I not only started talking back, but started talking back in a different tone of voice. I was sounding harder, sharper, more like I knew what I wanted to do, but for some reason, I wouldn't tell me what that was. Like I was waiting for something....

Days after I started talking with myself, I ran into something hard as I mumbled to myself. I occasionally ran into trees or large rocks while blindly wondering through the forest. But something about this was different. I ran my hooves along the hard surface and froze. My heart stopped when I realized what it was I was touching. It was the wall. The wall of the mansion! By some sick twist of fate, I had been brought back to the place I considered hell! I fell to my knees and began asking myself 'why... Why couldn't I just stumble off a cliff and die...'

'Shhhh!' The sharper voice answered. 'Listen! There are ponies talking on the other side! Listen!'

I took a deep breath and listened. The wall may have been high and thick, but since I had first been flung into the forest, my sense of hearing had improved beyond compare to compensate for my blindness.

" ... So the wedding is still on?" A mare whispered.

"That's what i hear" a second mare answered.

"Even after that poor filly hung herself? Right in front of them!?" The first mare gasped.

"Master Truffle told her that the filly was deeply disturbed and they had taken her in 'out of the goodness of their hearts'" the second mare sighed.

"Did you hear why she did it?" The first mare asked, toning down her voice as he continued to work.

"Well... You didn't hear it from me" the second mare continued. "But while Master Truffle was courting that rich filly, he also was using that poor servant girl for his..." The cleared her throat. "Male needs."

"No!" The first mare sounded half shocked.

"Yes!" The second continued to gossip. "To make matters worse, she found out a week before she hung herself, that she was pregnant! With his child!"

"Oh my! The poor dear!" The first mare commented. "I'm surprised the Lady didn't have her thrown over the wall!"

"If the Lady had know, she would have" the second mare replied. "But the filly kept it to herself. Probably planned to run away the next chance she got."

"But why kill herself then?" The first mare whispered again

"Well... You didn't hear it from me..." The second mare started again. "But I hear she had the hots for one of the other servants. They had kinda grown up together."

"No! Here?" The first mare asked.

"Yes! They had known each other for years! Cutest couple" the second mare sighed. "I think she even kept him in the dark about what Truffle was doing to her... Poor girl. Not like she could refuse."

"Otherwise it would have been over the wall and to the wolves, right?" The first mare added.

"Sadly yes..." The second mare sighed. "I think they both could have run away and lived happily ever after..."

"What happened to him?" The first mare asked again.

"Truffle practiced his magic on him, only he went too far. Don't know quite what he did. But he had the poor colt's body tossed right out of his window and into the forest. When the filly heard of that, she died inside, I'm sure of it" the second mare commented.

"Did they have names?" The first mare asked.

"Well the colt didn't, but master Truffle always called him 'Dirt'" the second mare chuckled bitterly.

"That's nice" the first mare commented.

"I know" the second one agreed. "But the filly had a name... It was Golden. That's right! Golden Harvest!"

"Hey, you two!" A hard sounding stallion's voice rang. "Get back to work! No more talking or no dinner tonight!"

The mares gulped and went right back to work. I sat there, fallen to my knees as I took in everything the mares had said. Their whole conversation ringing in my ears, shaking me at my very core! 'No!.... No! It can't be true!... She can't be...'

I laid there until nightfall, just numb and dead to the world. I had lost the only two ponies who had meant anything to me in the world... Was this a world even with living in?! What was the point?! I had no reason to live! What was the point in me surviving?! I began to cry as I heard thunder crack in the sky. There was heavy moisture in the air. It was going to rain. I hate the rain.

'To take revenge...' The sharp voice answered.

"What?" I asked out loud.

'You survived... To take revenge!' There was a harsher element to the voice now.

I sighed. "Take revenge... What? You want me to spit in their cereal? Throw a few rocks through some Windows?"

'No you idiot!' The sound of thunder split the voice. 'They've tortured you your entire life! Don't tell me some childish pranks are all you can come up with?! You can get more creative then that!'

"What's the point..." I sighed and slumped back against the wall. "Revenge won't bring the old stallion back... Or... Or Golden back..."

'So you want them to die in vane?' The voice struck a nerve, my ears perked up. 'They died because of those sick fucks in there! They died because they were nothing but trash to those pampered bitches! And all you're gunna do is sit there and let their memories rot! You're as bad as they are!'

"Shut up..." I snarled.

'Or what? You gunna let my lunch get cold?' The voice spat.

"Shut. Up." I told it again, a raindrop hitting my muzzle.

'Why shouldn't I?' It continued. 'You aren't going to do anything. You just let them all die because you're a coward!'

"SHUT. UP!" My voice was backed up by thunder.

'You're just some little pussy that was house broken by those bastards in there! They killed your friends and now you're going to just let them get away with it!' It was yelling in my ears.

"I SAID SHUT UP!" I got to my hooves and slammed them down, hard.

'Oh! The bitch has a little bite... Such a shame it wasn't enough to same them...' The voice commented.

"You know what..." I said, a smile cracking on my face as the run began to pour down. "I think I want to go and play with my oldest, bestest friend."

'Oh?' The sharp voice said, sounding slightly pleased and intrigued. 'Got a few games in mind?'

"Oh, most defiantly" I answered. The rain began to fall harder now. The black world around began to dissipate and give way to the real dark world. The one I had lived in, was tortured and broken in, the one that took my friends away from me, and the one I was going to make my bitch. I could see the forest and everything in it, including a sea of glowing green eyes. The timberwolves sat hidden in the forest, waiting. But for what? I felt it then. I looked to my side and saw that after years of the Lady and Truffle telling me how useless I was, and how I would never amount to anything because I had nothing that made me special, I finally got my cutie mark. A dark raincloud with two green eyes, and bolts of lighting being shot at the world below! And I finally had a name to call myself.

I looked to the sky and chuckled "Dirt is dead! I am now Cynical Storm!!!"