Have you ever wondered what it would be like to be given a physical like a dog in a vet? No? Well, neither have I, which was exactly why I was trying my absolute best to remain as still as possible.

Raindrop had seen fit to get a second opinion on my health. Maybe to learn more about me, maybe as an endeavor to care for me, or something else. I didn't know. I just knew that there were cats, dogs, birds, lizards, and other humans in the same room, making as much noise as possible, and to drown it out, I'd copped out and turned my ears off.

Some of the humans were eying me curiously, trying to figure out what I was with all my machinery. The dogs were all barking at one another or at the cats, and the birds were all squawking in alarm. One funny bird was using several colorful words at a dog that wouldn't leave it alone. I caught some of its' choice words before I shut off my ears.

"Fuck you! Twat! Bloody dog! Fuck. Fuck you!" It said with it's scratchy voice. I had to suppress a chuckle. Apparently, it's owner was quite expressive, and was trying very hard to get the bird to shut up using similar words. Much to the chagrin of the others in the room.

At one point, a black Lab had gotten away from it's owner to come barking at me, wagging it's tail playfully. It seemed ecstatic when I had held out my hand for it to sniff, and after a quick lick, pounced on me to lick my face.

Every owner in the room gasped, including Raindrop. I didn't know much from my years in the arena how humans acted around dogs, but this seemed to be enough proof that humans didn't seem to like dogs.

I didn't care. I loved dogs! I twisted my neck so at most it could only lick my jaw and exposed neck, and started to pet it. On the edges of my vision, I could see the ponies staring in shock, but slowly calm down and go back to their business.

The owner, a scrawny Earth pony, scrambled up after his pet to pull it off me, and attach a leash. I turned on my ears again to hear what was going to be said.

"I'm SO sorry miss! Nick doesn't usually get this excited around humans." He apolized quickly.

It took Raindrop a second to stop staring at me before she answered the pony, "It's alright, I'm just surprised that Achilles took it so well. The book I was given on humans said that they don't tend to interact well with dogs, even if the dog was being friendly."

That's just sad. So much for mans' best friend. I scratched the dogs' ear one last time before resuming my position.

"Raindrop?" A new voice asked. The owner was a tall unicorn, carrying a clipboard in his magic.

Raindrop answered, bid farewell to the Earth pony, and tugged me along deeper into the office.

"So tell me about your human." The vet said with a very businesslike tone as we walked.

"Well, I guess the first thing that comes to mind is his weird armor and eyes. No pony can seem to get them off of him, and it seems to hug his skin tightly. His eyes are kind of creepy. You can see them even in the dark. One night I had a nightmare and woke up to him petting me. But I looked at his eyes first, and kind of... panicked."

The vet quirked an eyebrow, "How so?"

Raindrop wilted as she remembered that night. I did too. Third night training with her, she'd had a nightmare and slugged me so hard I was left groaning and blinking on the ground, trying to remember my own name. I didn't hold it against her though. Seeing something with devilish eyes staring at you, even with worried concern, would scare anyone.

I scratched behind one of her ears hoping it would make her feel better, "I... hit him. Hard." The regret dripping from her words made me want to give her a hug, but this was probably one of the worst situations to do so, so I just gave her a few more scratches that she seemed to enjoy.

The vet stopped in his tracks so suddenly, that we actually walked past him. Even I didn't notice.

"So you're saying that you hit your human?"

"Yes. I'm not proud of it, and I repeatedly apologized to him even though he can't understand," Oh, I understand alright. Don't you worry, "but he just wrapped me up in a hug, and started petting me. After, he recovered from being stunned that is."

The vet was staring at me with amazement, "Incredible. No human has ever tolerated something like that before! Where did you find him?"

"In boot camp. I'm a human handler for the guard. His file said he had come from a human fighting circuit, in a match against a retired guardspony."

The vet did a complete 180 in facial expressions, taking a step back with the most comical look of fear I'd ever seen.

"Is he... safe?" He whispered out. Seriously, why was he whispering? Ponies didn't think I was intelligent, so why whisper?

Raindrop scoffed, "Safest human I've ever seen. It's almost like he knows how to behave like a pony and it's uncanny how well he can read a situation. Only, you know, more animalistic. He's great with my little brothers, and pretty much every other animal he's come across. Although, he acts kind of strange to weirdest of things."

"How so?"

"Pretty much anything that makes a sudden loud noise. One weekend I was with my parents, and dad let the wind from outside slam the door slam shut loudly. Achilles was falling asleep when it closed, and he jumped so badly that he fell over the side of the couch, and went into a fetal position and whimpered.

"Even with normal loud noises that he can see happening makes him flinch and whince. Then there are the ponies who give him... uh... looks, like they want him in a bad way. He actually cringes and shivers whenever anypony gives him that look, even if he can't see them. Then there's how he is with the guards. If one of them is holding a weapon, he has his eyes on them, and clenches his fists. The weird thing is though, in one of the matches he was in against the guards, he went easy on them. There were multiple times he could have beaten them over the head unconscious with the sparring sticks, yet he held back. What do you think?"

I give credit to the vet. He obviously had no idea, and he said, "Honestly, I haven't the slightest idea what to think. No human in recorded history acts like he does. What does he do on normal basis?"

Raindrop shrugged, "He's either staring off into space, or sleeping if we aren't doing anything. I would think he'd be doing... something. But unless somepony is trying to interact with him in some way, he doesn't actually do anything."

Yep. And it's sooo boring! Seriously, can we at least toss a ball around or something? Hell, I'd even settle for fetch. Training was kind of nice, but that only lasts in the moment, and there's very little interest in it for someone who's got fake limbs that don't wear out.

"Well, I'd suggest trying to do something physical with him, like fetch, or going on walks. Anything to stimulate him. Ah, we're here."

We entered a room that looked exactly like a veterinarian exam room back home. A table in the center of the room, a few chairs, and a bunch of cabinets.

"Well, let's see if we can figure out something about those appendages of his. C'mon boy! On the table."

I barely heard him. I was paying attention to something else. When I'd been dragged through the door, two ponies had been staring at me rather intensely. The part that was worrying me, was that they were soldiers of the last owner I had. He'd had the brilliant idea of keeping guards on me in shifts to try and get me to be more passive to them, and they were regulars. Second shift if memory serves correct. Just to be on the safe side, I tuned my ears up to hear a little bit better. What I'd heard were two sets of hooves following us, and they were on the other side of the door.

"Just grab and go, then we get paid." One of them said.

"What about the owner and the veterinarian?" The other voice asked.

"Nothing unless they try to stop us. If they do, just rough 'em up a bit and run with Achilles."

"Got it. You think he'll come with us willingly?"

"If he's as smart as he should be, then he will."

Shit, forgot they knew. The door slammed open to reveal the two ponies, small blades drawn. Pathetic.

Before anyone could react, I sprang at them, punching the first so hard that his teeth shattered around the knife. The other yelped, and plunged the knife.

I growled in the familiar pain, pain I'd gotten to know over the years. It wasn't like the movies, where you go down immediately clutching your guts. In real life, adrenaline is the most essential thing. It dulls or hides the pain long enough for you to keep going. That is, if you had the time to get it pumping. I was caught in the middle. Some pumping, but not enough to hide it all.

I twisted my body, ripping more flesh against the knife, to deliver an elbow to the earth pony's neck that crunched nastily. The pony fell to the floor, only able to look around with his eyes, and he was staring into my eyes.

I stared back, and with fluid motion, yanked out the bloody knife. I held it up to see, and I was even more disappointment than I was before. It was tiny, but curved and serrated.

Pain erupted from my back from a well placed buck. I staggered forwards, turning to see the other pony I'd punched.

His smile was broken by the teeth I'd broken and knocked out, blood trickling down his muzzle, "I've got to admit Achilles, you've softened up. What happened to The Red Eyed Devil from the arena?"

He was talking to me, in the open. Something that the boss was vehemently against. He believed that if news leaked out that they had a talking human, the government would try harder to get them to acquire me. Didn't work out anyways.

"What's the matter? Cat got your GUH-!" The pony was given a powerful right cross by sweet, sweet Raindrop.

Your timing is perfect.

I was feeling a little better, until I saw the look in her eyes. She was... terrified. She looked into my eyes, and I knew she was afraid of me, what I'd just done, what she saw me do. I knew why too.

Up until now, she'd never seen this side of me before. All she ever knew of me was the quiet human that always seemed to be scared, and showed affection to ponies. She just witnessed me turn a 180 into a violent animal.

I need to reassure her or something. Do I... no. Not now. She's beyond scared right now, and I'll just make it worse. Best I can do is sit and wait.

I did just that. I took a seat, and watched what happened. Raindrop got the doctor to get the guards and some other doctors to care the ponies and me, and we were left alone.

"What in Tartarus was that?" Raindrop asked herself. I wanted to answer. I really did. But I didn't know if I should or not. Besides, this wasn't the place, nor the time to reveal myself. There was no telling when the doctors would be here, and whether or not they'd come in while we were talking, and I didn't like the thought of doctors knowing that they had an intelligent human on their han- err... hooves. Too much risk involved in it. No, wait for some other time we were alone.

And I was right, the doctors were there just as I thought it through. Guards not too far behind. The ponies were arrested, and were given some quick field care before they were moved. The same pony from before examined me, and started patching me up. Cautiously and carefully, like he was trying to defuse an active nuclear bomb on a timer. But all his care just made him shaky, accidentally tugging roughly.

Ok, time to be an actor. Ma always said I was good at it. I yawned wide, cracked my neck, and let my chin rest against the metal on my chest, snoring ever so quietly.

It seemed to work. The doctor believed it. He calmed down significantly, his needlework becoming much smoother and less frenzied. He didn't cause any more pain than necessary by the time he finished.

When he was done, I lifted my head up, and opened my eyes. It was still just the three of us.

"Ok, now that that is out of the way, let's get on with the examination. Let's start with the obvious, and find out a little more about those arms." His horn lit up, and a soft silver glow wrapped around my arms. The vet had his eyes closed, obviously concentrating.

"This is... disturbing." He opened his eyes, and stopped the spell, "It appears that, he doesn't have any arms. I mean, flesh and blood, that is." He said.

Confused, Raindrop asked, "What do you mean?"

"The spell I used is designed to seek out bone, and to give me an image of what it looks like. Experienced human breeders are able to tell the age of humans based on most bones in their body, and since I'm not, I use the spell. However, there wasn't any bone there at all. I examined his arm all the way to the socket. It was difficult, which it shouldn't be, but I managed to detect the bone of his socket. So I didn't make a mistake in the spell. It would appear, that his arms are artificial."

"W-what?"

"He doesn't have his real arms. Either somepony removed them, or they were never there to begin with. What confuses me is that I can't detect any magic in him, period."

"But doesn't everything have a little magic in them?"

"Everything but him, it would seem. Well, with that mystery cleared up, let's take a look at his eyes." He took out a microscope, and held it up to my left eye, examining it intensely while also using his magic, blurring my vision slightly.

"It would appear that it is the same situation with his eyes. They aren't real either. They're mechanical as well. They have some magical tampering,but they aren't the reason behind his eyes being mechanical. Magic performed in rage is manipulating the coloration of the mechanic parts, turning them black and red."

"You've lost me. Doesn't all magic act the same way every time?"

"Goodness no. Emotions play a great deal in how magic is performed and executed. A pony who uses magic with positive or neutral emotions often come out exactly how it was intended to be used. But when you add anger into the mix, there are abnormalities since anger or hatred are such volatile and chaotic emotions. When embuded on an object, they often display the feelings of the pony that cast them. A pony was angry when they used their magic on him, and if manifested in his eyes. Which, by the way, I can't believe actually work if what you say is true."

"Do you know why his eyes and limbs are missing?" Raindrop asked.

"For his arms, I can't tell. It's all hidden by metal. But for his eyes, look at the damaged skin around them. I think that he was hit by a large amount of shrapnel, and was wearing a helmet at the time I believe. You see how the scars follow a border?"

Raindrop looked at me again, this time without fear. It looked like, sadness. Maybe sympathy even.

"What about the rest of him?" She asked with a steely voice.

The doctor tilted my head up, apparently having found his confidence. He furrowed his brows here and there as he continued his examination. Finally, he reached my waist. He undid the button on them and tugged them out from under me, leaving my ass on the cold metal table. His eyes grew wide when he looked at my junk, but quickly looked away to examine my legs. He pulled back some skin, and looked at where the body met machine.

He was silent for awhile as he restore my dignity with my pants, prompting Raindrop to ask a question, "What's wrong doc?"

He held his head low, and answered, "You're human should be dead right now."

Raindrop hesitated to ask, "What do you mean?"

"He's been through severe trauma. His legs show that they had been severely damaged by the tale of his scars, suggesting that he hurt violently. If I had to guess, his arms were lost at the same time as well.

"It would also appear that he's been wounded many times by weapons that cause severe damage. The wounds tell a horrifying story of extreme pain. Something pierced his flesh on one side, and exited leaving an even larger exit wound. There is a surgical scar laying over a more natural scar over his threat which would suggest that he wouldn't be able to make any sound, which he has disproven in the fight. He also has signs of burns in many places, and then there's a significant sign of long term sexual abuse. His genitals show signs of extreme, long term drug usuage that forces males of most kinds of animals and intelligent beings alike to have a forceful erection. It's a highly illegal drug, because prolonged usage disables the users' ability to reproduce naturally, as in no natural erection. Users also find that any offspring usually result in miscarriages, or horrible disabilities and disorders. It would take years for the effects to wear off and for the user to successfully have children again, unless they use an artificial process.

"In my professional opinion, your human has been abused beyond imagining. Humans that have suffered less, had in most cases lost the will to live. Others became uncontrollably violent, and had to be put down. But this, is a special case. Like you said before, he shows incredible restraint. I just don't know how much restraint he has left." Raindrop was looking at me worriedly again. Thanks a lot doc.

"I'll send my notes to your address, where you can do as you like."

"Thank you sir. I appreciate this."

"Your welcome, just... be careful."

With that, we left the vet's office. We went straight home with some painkillers for me that she would no doubt try to sneak into my food like people would with their docs or cats. The walk gave me plenty of time to come up with a decision about telling her. And I came to a decision.

When we finally arrived, Raindrop flopped onto the couch, and groaned, "What a day. An attack, and then hearing all that?" She stared at me with tires eyes, "What happened to you boy?"

Well, it's now or never, "Do you really want to know?"

Author's Note

I'm sorry about the lack of an update. Real life has been knocking, and I've been having some difficulty writing this through my phone. I have ideas working on the war aspect, but I didn't want the story to lead with Achilles going to war with a secret from Raindrop, and I didn't know how to make the story work right. Updates should hopefully pick up from here.