Anthrophobia

Why?

Just...Why?

I didn't ask for this. I didn't want this. I don't want this. Calm down, I need to calm down! I kept running. I won't go back. I can't go back! If they catch me... I had no idea where I was. The forest I was in was dark, and hard to navigate through. The ground was covered in thick foliage, so it made it hard for me to run. I didn't stop running. I couldn't go back there. I wouldn't go back there. It felt like I had been running for days, and my injuries didn't help. I kept running. There was no other option. I ran and ran. On and on. I finally stopped near a lake. It had been what felt like days since I had water. I knew this was probably unsanitary, and I could get sick, but at this point? I didn't care. I greedily drank from the lake, sucking up more water than I thought possible and still being thirsty. Eventually, I wasn't dying of thirst, and I stopped. Looking into the water at my reflection, I didn't even know who I was anymore. I was a navy blue colt, with grey eyes, and a matted, unkempt mane that covered my left eye. I was heavily scarred. I knew I was, even before looking at my reflection. The many cuts and bruises they gave me, were out for the world to see. The things 'they' did there..... I shuddered at the thought of what 'they' would do to me if I was caught.

I needed to get moving, so I stopped looking at myself and started running. The sun was up high in the sky, and I could start to see it better. I was nearing the edge of the forest, as I was noticing less foliage and undergrowth were blocking my path. After awhile, I reached the edge, and saw a hill out in the distance. I looked around more carefully, and a few ponylengths away, I saw a path, leading in and out of the forest. I berated myself mentally for not seeing something so close, but I also was glad no others were on it. I decided that going to the hill would be the best choice. It seemed the reason I had been able to run so long, was because I was running on fear. I was noticing how hurt I actually was, and how tired all the running made me. Still, I pushed on, ignoring my body, screaming in protest. After making it to the hill, I noticed a small town out in the distance. I was at a loss of what to do. I couldn't risk having 'them' find me, but I needed to hide somewhere. The forest wasn't too hospitable, as I saw big tracks of some kind of creature. It was a miracle I hadn't encountered that...that thing. I could see other ponies. I shot out of my thoughts, as I saw some coming this way. I started to panic, thinking of what I could do to not be seen. It was too late. There was no way they didn't see me. Two were pegasuses, and one was a unicorn with wings. I had never seen that before. I looked closely at them. The unicorn was a lavender color, with more shades of purple in her long mane. Her cutie mark was what I thought to be a star of some sort, and her eyes had the same shade as her body. Next, I looked at the blue one, flying around. She was a sky blue, with a rainbow mane. That threw me off. I had never seen any other pony with a mane like that. Her eyes were magenta, and her cutie mark was a cloud with a rainbow lightning bolt. I had a feeling I wouldn't like that one. The last one, was a soft buttery yellow, with cerulean eyes, and a pink mane. Her cutie mark was what I believed to be a butterfly.

They seemed to have noticed me sitting on the hill, as they changed the direction of where they were going. I was starting to shake.

Breathe! Calm down! You didn't see those ones at the facility! My rational side of my mind was yelling at me. Still this could be a trick. 'They' could still be around. I knew I couldn't outrun them, they'd catch me. I was terrified. My thought process was going through the many ways they could be apart of the 'Facility'. I noticed their expressions change from confusion to what I thought to be...horror? Disgust? I couldn't tell.

"Oh my Celestia, kid," The blue one spoke. "How'd you get all those scars?" I stayed quiet. This could be a trick. I won't go back there.

"Rainbow!" The purple one seemed to reprimand the blue one, now identified as 'Rainbow'. How fitting.

"What Twi? Look at him!" Rainbow pointed at me. "What the hay is he doing out here to begin with?"

"Still! You shouldn't ask a pony that when you first meet them! Especially a foal!"

"Don't act like you aren't curious either, Twilight!"

The bickering was getting on my nerves, I wanted them to hurry up and capture me, and do whatever they were going to do. At this point, the yellow one was staring at me with worry? Empathy? I couldn't really tell. I didn't care, I thought I was dead anyways. The purple one, known as 'Twilight' now addressed me directly.

"H-hey there...I'm Twilight Sparkle...what's your name?" She asked me. I don't remember. They usually just said my numbers. I figured that was close enough, so I answered with that.

"3304."

"...What?" That seemed to have been the wrong answer. Twilight Sparkle was confused by it. I tried again.

"My name is Three."

"Three?" Rainbow spoke up. "That's a weird name."

"Rainbow Dash!" Twilight yelled. It seemed to me, she yelled a lot.

"A-are you okay?" The yellow one spoke up. I almost couldn't hear her. "You look h-hurt..."

"I'm alive," I answered. That seemed to throw them off a bit.

"Could you come with me? I'd like to take you to see a doctor." Twilight asked. I wasn't sure if they cared or if this was all a trick, but either way, I was terrified, and I couldn't run. I had no choice but to comply. I nodded my head. "Hey Rainbow, Fluttershy, why don't you go gather the others? I'll take him to the hospital." I walked up beside her, signaling her to lead. "Follow me please. Does it hurt to walk?" I shook my head as we started off. She asked me questions like this, and each one was answered with a no. We got into the town, and I immediately felt eyes on me. I tried to shrug off the feeling of dread by thinking of anything else, but I couldn't. I hated this. After what felt like thirty minutes of walking, we made it to a building with a red cross on it. She lead me inside. It looked so much like the 'facility', causing me to panic. I KNEW it wasn't but, It looked like it was. I began to breathe. Doing what I had always done to calm myself. Breathe. Five seconds in. Five seconds out. If Twilight had noticed, she didn't say anything. She spoke with another pony and they lead me to a room. They laid me on a examination bed. I KNEW it wasn't. I just couldn't calm down. They attached some kind of machine to me, and it began beeping. They then stuck something in my arm. I looked over and it was a needle.  I wasn't sure what it was, but I lost all faith that it wasn't apart of the facility now. I ripped it out and threw it, trying to get up. I heard the 'nurse' yell for help, and I felt another sting as they held me down. My vision was getting cloudy, and my limbs heavy. I tried to fight off the tiredness.

I failed. Now, I was going to die. They were going to kill me. Or at least I hope they will.

Doctor Soft Needle had seen a lot in his line of work, but nothing like this colt. He read over the list of injuries again.

Multiple stab wounds, lacerations, and bruises. Blunt trauma, tissue scaring of the organs. Horn amputated, cutie mark cut out... The list went on. He was....He didn't know what he was. He'd NEVER dealt with a patient this bad. He knew the different types of cuts one could get, and these ones were too uniform to be an accident. He didn't want to believe it, but this colt had likely been attacked by another pony. He also noted the colt was young, so it was likely abuse, and while not unheard of, he'd never seen a case this bad. It was almost like the colt had been tortured. Doctor Soft then made a connection that made his blood run cold. The cuts were in patterns, and the bruises looked to be from objects. It WAS torture, and that is something he'd NEVER dealt with. He knew what he had to do. He would send transcripts out to the guards, and one straight to Princess Twilight herself. Soft was known for never getting angry, and always having a calm aura about him, so it came as a surprise to his colleagues when he yelled:

"GET ME THE GUARD! GET ME THE GUARD, RIGHT NOW!" He came storming out of his office.

It was such a shock, no one in the office moved. "SOMEPONY GO GET A GUARD! RIGHT! NOW!" He yelled again, and this time, a nurse did. The shock, and fear on their faces would have been funny, if the situation hadn't been so serious. Twilight and the rest of the Main six, who just arrived a few minutes before, had heard him and his yelling. Twilight knew it had something to do with the colt 'Three' she had brought in, and she wanted to know why. Doctor Soft, enraged at the implications of what he had read, stomped up to Twilight.

"Read this! Take it to the other Princesses!" He ordered. Doctor Soft didn't care that she was a princess at the moment. He was worried about a colt that had been horrifically maimed. He stormed away, to make more copies. Twilight started reading it over, getting more and more disgusted at the treatment, nearly vomiting at the words she was reading.

"Twilight? What does it say?" Rainbow Dash came up to look at the page.

"Oh, I'm going to be sick...!" Twilight handed the others the page, and watched as their faces turn from confusion to an array of emotions, ranging from rage, to disgust, to sadness.

"W-what the buck, Twilight?! What is this?!" Rainbow yelled out. "I-is this some kind of sick bucking joke?!?!"

"Ahm wonderin' that too, Twi," AppleJack asked. "This is...I've never heard anythin like this either."

"I don't know girls...but...We need to go tell Celestia." They all nodded. Pinkie Pie wasn't smiling. She wasn't bouncing. The normally bubbly mare was quiet, with straight hair, with a sad expression. It was unnerving for her friends to see her like this, as she was almost always smiling. They left, all with one goal. To find out who'd do something like this?