Dark. Cold. Numb. As if I was trapped in a dreamless sleep from which I could never awake. Was this death? A place devoid of feeling?

Then where was… Hank?

A small blur of light invaded my vision. Pain gradually throbbed all over my head. Ever so slowly, I registered a slow and ragged breathing – my own.

I finally woke up.

I was in a chair, unable to move or speak. I looked up, but snapped back down at the glare of a bright spotlight above; everywhere else was dark. As my sight cleared, I made out some crates, metal tools, and maybe a machine or two.

A warehouse of some sort?

Something clanged. Ears flickering, I glanced around. Anxiety began to swim inside me. Where was I? Who brought me here? What would they do to me?

Panicked, I pulled and stretched, hoping the ropes would break. But burning pain erupted all over me, and I stopped with a gasp upon realizing it was hemp. Thick hemp.

My heart sank. It was impossible to break it. I would never get out at this rate. There were no other options. I was doomed. Whoever was my captor…

“I see that you’ve awoken, my dear.”

I screamed, rocking the chair. “W-who’s there?!”

The voice chuckled, its timbre deep and greasy. Loud clops rang from in front of me. I trembled as a dark shadow slithered into the light, taking on the form of a stallion. His body was built like a mountain, veins bulging like wires across his leathery skin. I shrunk upon meeting his gaze, one burning with a kind of lust.

I froze. He… h-he wouldn’t do anything, right…?

“Scared, are we?” he mocked, then snickered. “You should be.”

Despite myself, I scraped together a small bit of courage to stutter, “W-who are you?”

“Who am I?” he parroted in an offended tone. “Huh, of all the questions you could’ve dared to ask, you ask who I am?”

I whimpered when he closed in on me. His gargantuan build shielded the light, casting his visage into that of an ugly gargoyle. I bowed my head to hide from his demonic gaze.

“You can call me Old Rufus,” he replied, inciting shivers from all over me. “Or you can call me Mister Demon-heart, or Bloody Gary, or even… the 'Deflowerer',” he listed selfishly, adding a sultry overtone at the last one. “I am known by quite a few illustrious names – such as is fit for the boss of the Failed Company.”

My heart hitched. I snapped up with a gasp. “F-failed Com… C-company?”

He flashed a pleased grin. “So I see that you’re familiar, hmm?”

Familiar? Oh, more than familiar. With horror, I realized that I was within a den of vipers. Yet, with ragged breaths, my anxiety slowly simmered into fury.

“You… killed H-hank.”

“Ah, of course – Hank!” Rufus exclaimed, sporting a smirk that stoked my rising ire. “He was a good fellow, well-spoken in the area – everypony loved the guy. He was so nice that even I couldn’t help but respect him!”

I seethed as he giggled. How dare this murderous filth give a mock eulogy?

But the giggles faded, replaced with an annoyed, careless sigh. “What a shame that he ended up on my do-away list. I liked him, you know? But he just couldn’t stop poking his nose into things he shouldn’t be knowing.”

“Hank would never do t-that,” I mustered. He raised a brow. “He’d never s-steal, cheat, or do whatever r-rubbish criminals do. He has nothing to do with filth like you–”

Pain exploded all over my right cheek. Iron and salt filled my mouth. Tears burst from my dazed eyes as Rufus drew a hard, vengeful slap. Two grimy hoofs latched onto my throat and pulled me upwards.

“Watch your words, whore,” he growled. I kicked around, hanging like prey from a lion’s maw. Still strapped to the chair, the rough ropes scraped and skinned my flesh, extracting agonied moans and choked breaths.

“I don’t play around, so you’d better listen closely.” With a sneer, he let go, eliciting another groan of pain as the chair and I landed with a crash. He trotted behind me. “Because of your damn husband's tall tales to the police , they took away my sweetheart Julia. Hank paid the price for it, but I still want her back. So…”

I whimpered, hot pain swelling around my mouth, when a gleaming knife rested on my throat.

“You, my dear, are my winning piece,” he revealed, speaking straight into my ear. “Be a good mare, and follow what I say, hmm?”

Lust oozed from his hot breath, arousing some strong revulsion from within my bowels. “N… N-never,” I replied shakily, gasping when the blade dug a little deeper.

“You will, whore.”

“I am n-no whore!” I raised, sobbing.

“Then I’ll make you one.”

“NO!”

“Then do as I SAY!”

I bowed my head, shaking, weeping. “W-what… d-do you… w-want?”

Rufus huffed. “I’ll be streaming a video for the police to see. And when they see, oh, they’ll give my Julia back. So stay still, keep quiet, and speak only what I tell you to speak. Understand?”

I gave a reluctant nod.

“Now, I believe you are hungry, so I’ll send in some warm food for you. I’m being extra nice this time, so you’d better not try your luck, Sabie.”

He sauntered off into the darkness. “And don’t even think of escaping,” he suddenly added. “There is no exit door from the world of crime.” And with that, he departed, with the loud slam of a metal door.

I was left alone. Tears stung my tired eyes. Limbs were sore and inflamed from my coarse bindings. My stomach groaned. Pain still rippled around my face, cheek swollen and smarting from his savage hit.

How did it all come… to this? Since when did Hank get involved with this ruthless gang? What was going to become of me now?

A thousand questions assaulted my feeble mind. Whatever bravado I had now vanished as anxiety gripped me. Could life be this cruel to me? Was this where I would end up? Trapped in a world of violence?

What if I bore somepony’s foa–

Shut that thought up. I gasped, pushing it away with wide eyes and low ears. How… How could I ever face Hank if my dignity was… stripped from me? How could I ever live on with such a stain on my conscience? It wouldn’t happen, I mentally chanted. It just wouldn’t happen.

But not even that could quell my distress. What if… I really ended up bearing an illicit foal?

Stay strong.

I paused. What was that?

Stay strong, Sabie.

No. No, it couldn’t be.

“H-Hank…?” I whispered, cautiously scanning my prison for any strange apparition.

Rest, Sabie. I’ll always be with you.

“B-but… but how? I c-can’t see you.”

I’m inside here. In your heart.

I looked down, staring at my sweaty chest.

“Then you… y-you know w-what’s gonna happen to me.”

Do not fret. Whatever happens, I’ll always love you.

“N-no… No, you w-won’t ever love me if they do it to m-me.”

I’ll always love you. Nothing will ever change that.

“Hank, p-please…”

Stay strong for me, honey. I know you can do this. I’ll be with you always, even till the end…

I closed my heavy eyes, feeling rather strangely tired. The light didn’t seem so bright anymore, and neither did the darkness bother me. Even my hunger seemed to have vanished, for all I wanted right now was sleep.

With a sigh, I settled into my seat, slipping into a quiet slumber as the last of Hank’s words echoed in my mind.

Author's Note

Updates will come slow, as I will be going on a trip in which I am unable to work on this story.

Thank you for your patience!