Last One To See Me Dies

I didn’t know how much time had passed, because my hooves were tied to my sides. Along with my watch. I really didn’t think all of this was necessary. Maybe Shining Armor thought I had killed my mother (because I did) and was taking me to court? But if that was the case, then why all the security measures? As it turned out, it was far worse than therapy. As Shining Armor opened the door to the back of the truck where I was and explained to me everything I had done wrong, I ignored him and looked beyond his rather shiny suit of armor. Behind him was a sign. I tilted my head pretending to listen when, in reality, I was trying to read what was on the sign.

It read, “Canterlot Institutional Center For The Criminally Insane”. WHAT??!! He brought me to an INSANE ASYLUM?! I was NOT FUCKING INSANE!! I told him about the black smoke! How it was always there whenever something tragic happened! Did he not fucking believe me?! I was- HEY! PUT ME DOWN!

Shining Armor was calmly locking the car doors as I furiously wriggled around in his magic grasp. He couldn't do this to me! He sighed as he started walking towards the front door of the institution. “Ool, I understand that the death of a family member can be difficult to take in, but the death of one does not call for the murder of another.” In between desperate grunts, I reconsidered suicide. Was it really necessary to kill myself because I was distrought about the death of my grandmare? Now that I thought about it, not really. Was it really my fault my mom died if the gun had went off by accident? No. So why had I been so depressed? Were my negative emotions a result of the black smoke? What the hell even was that thing?

“Hello your Highness, what can I do for you?” the receptionist asked Shining Armor as he walked up to her. “Yeah, I have a mentally unstable unicorn here. You are to never remove his magic suppression ring, keep his binds on when he is outside his cell, and he must be kept under maximum security with twenty four hour surveillance. Can you do that?”

“Excuse me for a minute your Highness, I’ll have to check if we have a room with your requirements available,” she said as she clicked buttons on a keyboard and began scrolling, looking for something on the computer monitor in front of her. “Ah, you’re in luck your Highness. Our last Padded-wall-vault-cell just became available yesterday. The doctors found the patient dead in his cell. Natural causes of course. Would you like me to lead you to the vault?” Shining Armor agreed to follow the mare, despite my (very muffled) protests. I refused to be locked up in a mental asylum.

As Shining Armor followed the mare, I looked to the left and right sides of me. This part of the facility was what looked like an actual prison. Inmates were held behind metal bars with only a bed, a sink, and a toilet for company. The bright sides was that they weren’t bound in chains or gagged. The downside, the toilets were in plain view, which I severely disapproved of.

After about five minutes of walking down an unnecessarily long hallway, the mare stopped at an intersection. “Uh, hehe. I’m not sure if it’s straight foreward, to the left, or to the right.” she said, pointing in each direction respectively, clearly confused.

Suddenly, a bound pegasus in a straightjacket ran from the hallway going right, past us, and into the hallway going left. The stallion was pursued by four prison guard unicorns who shouted at the pony to stop running.

A fifth guard, who was a pegasus, stopped momentarily to give orders to our guide. “One of the crazies made a run for it during a prison transfer! We need all the help we can get Lightbulb!” he yelled at the mare, who’s name was apparently Lightbulb. Her expression was surprisingly bored. “Which one was it this time? The one who thinks she’s a dog?”

“No! That one is in the Ponyville mental ward!”

“The one who thinks he’s a vampire?”

“He was shot during the prison riot last year for trying to bite one of the guards!”

“Was it you?” she asked, now starting to sound severely uninterested.

“This isn’t a guessing game smartass! Colonel Fucking Papercut is NOT CONFUSED!!” he yelled back, this time in more of a drill sergent like voice. “Never mind who the fuck got out, just help me damn it!” he yelled again before grabbing the mare and pulling her towards where the other four guards and the prisoner had long since dissapeared.

And just like that, Shining Armor was bamboozled and guideless. “Colonel Papercut?” I asked through my bonds, although it may have sounded more like “Cohoh Apherhuh?”

Luckily, my captor seemed to have understood me. “Yeah, his name might not sound as threatening, but in reality, he’s one of the toughest sons of bitches in the Royal Guard. Did I mention he’s in the Royal Guard? Anyway, the only pony tougher than him is General Sternhoof.” Shining Armor said the last pony’s name with a shudder, as if he was scared of his commanding officer. And despite having never heard of the General before, something about just hearing his name made me think of somepony who could scare a shark out of water just by staring at it.

“Well,” he said, suddenly in a daze. “I guess since I don’t know where the padded cells are, and I have nopony to lead me there, I guess you’re home free.” he said before dropping me like a sack of potatoes on the hard concrete floor of the hallway. Jerk. How was I supposed to move?

Shining Armor turned around, and I started saying my prayers. His eyes were completely jet-black, and his mouth was a hundred razor-sharp toothed grin. This time, I was one hundred and ten percent sure I was going to die. I then passed out from pure terror.