Author's Note

Another chapter with an illustration! >:D

Chapter five: A great day for freedom

***

That night I slept a little longer than my masters and was awakened by a sound of hooves, clopping on the floor around me.

...It was Mr. Scribble of course, Mrs. Note would be riding in her mobility chair.

"Good morning master." I immediately lifted my head.

"…Yeah, hi Schizo." he scratched his nose and went to the kitchen to read some book until his wife prepared breakfast.

It took less than a minute for her to show up as well.

“Good morning mistress..!” I smiled at her in full attention.

”Good morning Anon…” she smiled back but I could tell that this was one of her fake smiles.

...It didn’t seem as if she’s having too good of a morning for some reason. Which felt strange, the last time I saw her yesterday, she was really happy

"...is something troubling you Mrs. Scribble?" I dared to ask

"…A bit.” she slightly frowned, releasing the pretended expression “But it's not your fault, don't you worry about it."

"I’d still like to help. Is there anything I can do?"

"...I don't think you can help me with this one Anon. But I do appreciate your concern." she softly smiled again, this time sincerely "...Are you hungry?"

"That’s okay, you don’t have to concern yourself with me, I can easily do without breakfast."

"I see. Well,.. there will probably be some leftovers from ours anyway if you change your mind later. There always are…” the mare nodded my way and pushed the joystick on her chair forwards

“Maybe she just didn’t sleep too well…” I thought when she was about to disappear around the corner

But she interrupted my thoughts when her head poked out again:

“... One more thing Anon, make sure to brush your teeth, even if you won’t be eating. I'm gonna leave a fresh toothbrush in the bathroom for you to use."

"I will, thank you."

"You're welcome... I wouldn't want your teeth to rot away. It would be both painful for you to eat, as well as for me to see you like that.”

...Little does she know that all my 8' and 7' are gone already and my right canine is fake.

...

After my masters were finished with their breakfast, I bumped into them again on my way out of the garden. They both seemed to be in a lot better mood than they were early in the morning

...Could be they already settled whatever problem they had.

"Anon, me and my wife are going to the city now. Be good in the meanwhile okay?"

"I will." I nodded on my way to clean their dishes.

And it didn’t take longer than a few minutes for them to depart.

Mrs. Note just had to change from her comfy chair into a less comfy but way more practical wheels, strapped to her torso and thighs. -That’s probably what she meant by her “big rig” before.

This way she could use her front hooves to walk and drag her rear part like a wagon through most of the terrain.

...Too many stairs or bigger obstacles would still be a problem though.

…

…

I was watching through the window as they were about to disappear in the forest when the collar on me started vibrating. It didn’t feel like a good sign, so I glanced at it in the window’s reflection see what’s going on when suddenly:

-I got zapped.

“What the-”

It wasn’t too painful, rather shocking.

...But I felt the next one a lot more.

“OW! For God’s sake what IS-”

The third zap was so strong I fell to my knees. I didn’t need more clues to know what was going on…

“MISTRESS!!! COME BACK!!!!” I cried as loud as I could, hoping she would hear me across the meadow

Then the fourth shock came, and this time it wasn’t stopping.

It kept going, pumping the electricity into my body so hard I couldn’t even move. All I could do was to squirm on the floor in agony.

A thought that this might be my actual end flashed through my head. I couldn’t possibly withstand this until they’d return, or could I..? It seemed that I was about to find out…

What a stupid way to die.

But in the moment when I thought I’m about to shatter my own teeth in the spasm-…

The pain stopped all of a sudden, releasing me from the torture just as quick as it started.

By the time my mistress stormed back into the house, I was still laying on the ground, shaking with tears in my eyes.

"Anon!! By Celestia, are you okay?!! Please, say something!"

”...He’s gonna be okay, the gryphon said it’s not lethal…” Mr Scribble soon popped up behind her as well.

“M-mistress, I-…” I dazedly reached my hand towards the snow-white mare “you r-returned…”

”I’m so sorry Anon, it’s my fault… I forgot to change the settings of the collar!” she took my hand into her hoof “I’m such a dumb goose! Can you stand up?”

"Now, now, dear.." her husband put his hoof on her while she was trying to pick me up “Don’t belittle yourself in front of the human. He needs to respect you.”

...But she wasn’t really paying attention to him.

With her help, I eventually managed to sit up. Her front hooves might be soft to touch but they’re pretty strong too.

“I-I’m gonna be okay, mistress… Don’t worry about me. I barely felt it.” I tried to crack a smile, wiping my eyes.

It probably didn’t look convincing enough because she was still frowning in guilt.

"…At least you'll remember it better next time, Lemon. One has to learn from mistakes.” Mr Scribble broke the silence “I'm sure our human can get over it, can’t he?"

"S-sure..." I nodded

"That's a good boy." he turned back to his wife “Come, I’ll show you again how to set it to house range…”

After that, they left once again.

...

The image of Mrs. Note, caringly glancing over her shoulder at me while walking away stayed in my memory, right next to the one when she smiled at me for the first time.

***

When I fully recovered from the shock, I went to the kitchen to get some of the mentioned leftovers from my master's breakfast. What happened made me really hungry all of a sudden. Then I spent some time practicing on the piano by myself and doing some chores around the house.

When there was nothing left to do I knew about, I went to just relax in the garden again.

…

Free time is always nice but I kinda started wishing my masters would return soon. It was getting a bit boring without them; Especially without Mrs. Note.

…

She eventually returned some time in the afternoon, looking all happy.

And after her husband left to his workroom, my mistress warmed up the casserole from yesterday as a late lunch for me, telling me all about her little trip:

They’ve been to market, visited a barber, ate at some new restaurant,.. even caught a bit of some show on the city square

It might have been merely half a day but I spent a lot of time thinking about just how solitary those two months must have felt for my mistress. Especially with impaired mobility.

It was good that she won’t have to be lonely again once Mr Scribble leaves.

Sure, it would be better if he could be here instead of me, I thought, but I’m probably better than no one at all.

***

“Is Mr Scribble leaving already..?” I asked Mrs. Note when I saw the stallion walking away that afternoon

”Not yet. He’s just going to a pub. ..But he’s probably going to return home pretty late, so it’s almost as if he was.” The mare sighed.

“I see…”

”Well,.. he did spend an unusual amount of time with me today so I can’t blame him for running off to catch up with his buddies. I shouldn’t be greedy…” she glanced outside the window, staring into the reddish sun “…Anon, could you carry me to my old swing? It feels like ages since I’ve been on that thing.”

“Of course!”

I picked her rather small body up and sat her there, then automatically started pushing the swing for her. She couldn’t exactly swing by herself without her rear legs. That was probably the reason why she mentioned it felt like ages since the last time she used it.

From her appreciative smile I felt she was glad I didn’t bring that up.

…

We have been both quiet for some time, just staring into the sun, listening to birds chirping and enjoying the summer breeze. It was peaceful and with a memory of the cage in the shady room still vivid in my head to compare, it was like literal heaven.

”…That’s enough Anon, just sit here with me for a while.” Mrs. Note eventually nodded my way. So I sat right next to her.

...

“…This is one of the few things I got to bring here from my old house in Canterlot… It’s a bit ironic.”

“I’m sorry?” I turned my head towards her.

”Canterlot is our Capital city in Equestria. I grew up there with my parents but I always wanted to live somewhere surrounded by nature. So, me and Papyrus built this house here to have a quiet place to return from our work… Back then I had no idea it would turn into a prison one day.” the mare lowered her sight, then glanced up at the sky “…Still, it’s the prettiest prison I could dream of.”

“Mistress, excuse my impertinence but,.. can’t you leave? I mean, you could have a trip to the city or somewhere else by yourself with your ‘big rig’…”

”Good question.” she pretended to smile “I could, but the truth is,.. that I’m scared. One time I went on a stroll all by myself and one of my wheels got stuck. I had to unstrap myself to break free but I couldn’t put it on again. I ended up crawling my way back, through the entire forest…”

“I see…” My head hung a little lower, feeling slightly ashamed for questioning her in the first place.

”…I expected you’d ask why the first time stopped me.” She chuckled.

“I wouldn’t even dare.” I glanced at her.

”That’s okay. I know I’m making it even harder for myself but I guess I can’t help it.” Her gaze was fixed onto some point in the distance. “Fear can make everything way worse than it is...”

“You don’t have to fear anymore, mistress.” My hand wanted to touch her shoulder but I suppressed it. “I can go with you. If anything happens, I’ll be there.”

”I know… that’s why I’m so happy now.” The mare warmly smiled my way.

...I think this was the moment when I realized that I might have finally found my place in life.

In serving this lonely pony. Not because I have to, but willingly.

And suddenly I felt strong, not because she was weak but because I finally found my purpose. In a way, it made me free…

For the time being

***

Just as mistress said, Mr Scribble returned late in the evening that day

She was waiting for him to say goodnight while I already went to sleep but I still knew when he came back.

...Mostly because of the fact he tripped over me on his way to the bedroom.

***