Breath in…breath out…breath in…breath out….

Your breaths are labored and pained. Your chest heaves as you lie on the admittedly comfortable cot in your ‘room’. One hand rests on your chest as you gaze at the reflective crystal ceiling above you, allowing you too see your ragged body. Your other hand lays at your side, weighed down by the iron shackle that chained you to the floor.

You are reeling from an agonizing experience. Though the physical damage had been quickly repaired with magic, the pain was still fresh, as was the mental trauma. You had hoped after the first few months of being HER test subject, you’d have grown at least partially accustomed to her ‘experiments’. Wishful thinking indeed. Though some days were better than others, none were pleasant.

Today though. Today was something…special. She wanted to observe how your organs worked and differed from that of a pony’s. She wanted to see that with her own eyes. And she was oh so generous to let you join observe as well. You got to- or rather, HAD to watch your own heart beat in your chest, the muscles in abdominal wall twitch as she poked and prodded.

‘Interesting,’ she said aloud as her assistant apprehensively took notes.. ‘Despite having evolved in an entirely different reality, as an entirely different species, the human heart is almost identical to that of a pony’s heart. Is this simple coincidence? The work of some higher power? Regardless, it is fascinating.’

She didn’t acknowledge the pain she was causing you. But her little assistant was all to aware. He stood off to the side writing down his masters observations, but his expression betrayed the utter horror and insanity of the situation. Every time one of your internal organs was poked or prodded, he’d wince and cringe. Your screams were silenced by her magic, so you could only watch as you were violated in a way that shouldn’t be possible.

You wondered if she truly believed what she was doing had any scientific merit, or if she just used it as an excuse for her own twisted sadism. You suppose that with yourself being wholly unique (the only human in Equestria) that it had to be at least partially the former. After all she didn’t seem interested in ‘studying’ any other creatures, as far as you were aware. You seemed to be her only prisoner. It hardly mattered though. A torturers motives were hardly of concern for the victim. Only the pain mattered.

Most would never survive what you’ve endured. But ‘luckily’ for you, she was able to keep you alive with her magic. When she was done poking and prodding at your insides, she’d simply ignite her horn to repair the internal damage and sew back up your skin. It left a horrendous scar, but otherwise you were technically unharmed.

But just because the damaged healed didn’t mean the pain just went away in an instant. It lingered on. And so you lay in the literal gilded cage she kept you in, your nerves still throbbed painfully. You looked at the new scar running vertically down your torso. It wasn’t the first, and wouldn’t be the last.

You closed your eyes, and thought of happier times, silence being your only comfort.

The heavy sound of a lock being turned grabs your attention. You hear the sound of a large door opening and then closing shut. This is then followed by the soft pitter patter of small feet. You know who is approaching. You slowly let your head fall to the side to observe the tiny purple dragon who approaches your cell. He’s carrying a tray with a steaming bowl, a spoon and a cup of what was most likely juice. He stops a few feet in front of the bars. He looks at you with concern.

“Hey, so um…I-I brought you lunch.” He sets the tray in front of a small rectangular opening at the bottom of the cell door and slides it through to your side. You look at the bowl of soup for a brief few moments before you turn your head away and look back up at the ceiling.

He just stands there for what feels like eternity. When you don’t make a move, he speaks to you with forced levity.

“Hey, um…your soups gonna get cold.”

“So?” your reply is sharp, but devoid of energy.

“Well, uh, no one likes cold soup, right?” You are silent for a few moments before you respond.

“I don’t want it.” The dragon twiddles his fingers as he searches for a reply.

“I-I could get you something else if you want?”

“Poison.” You look him dead in the eyes as you make the request. His eyes widen, his mouth agape.

“W-what?”

“Poison Spike. As much as you can carry.”

“W-why would you want poison?!” he asks incredulously. You inwardly roll your eyes at his ignorance. After all he’s seen, he still doesn’t understand? You suppose the ignorance is simply a symptom of him being a child, but still.

“I can’t live like this anymore Spike.” He looks at you unblinking.

“You mean you want to…to d…d….”

“Die!” you shout angrily, sitting up. It feels like your stomach has been ripped open a second time but you don’t care. “Of course I want to die Spike! This is a living Hell!” he shrinks down as you stand up. Even hunched over in pain, you tower over the welp. “You see what she does to me! You see what she does just to satisfy her fucking sadistic urges!” His wide eyes cast themselves downward as he searches for a reply.

“She…she wasn’t always like this. I-I don’t know how this started, but she used to be a good pony.”

“I don’t care!” you half shout, half chuckle. After nearly a year as a lab rat, you’ve finally reached your breaking point. Anger now courses through your blood, igniting your body in the heat of rage. “She could’ve been a god damn saint who cured every disease in the book, but to me she’s just a fucking demon! And this,” you say splaying your arms out wide. “This is…this is….” Tears start to drip from your face. Your knees start to shake as your adrenaline ebbs. You collapse to the ground, barely putting your hands out in time to catch yourself and prevent your head from slamming into the icy cold floor. You let out a pained cry as you say “This is Hell!”

The last bit of strength leaves you as you collapse fully to the ground and start to sob. You feel weak. You feel helpless. You are weak. You are helpless. You didn’t used to be. But SHE made you. She’s reduced you to a traumatized sniveling wreck. There’s nothing left of the person you used to be.

The sound of a lock turning draws your attention. You look up with blurry vision to see the door to your cell slide open as the dragon stands on the other side, removing the key from the lock. Your eyes widen in surprise, and you feel something you haven’t felt in nearly a year. Hope.

“Come on, I’m getting you out of here!” You look at him, gaping like a fish out of water. You’re almost too stunned to move. “Let’s go, we gotta hurry!” That jolts you into action, and you quickly scramble to your feet. It hurts, but you’re fueled by hope and adrenaline.

Spike opens the large door that separates the room your cell lies in from the rest of the castle. Unlike the rest of the castle’s doors, this one is made of dark cold metal. The young dragon looks both ways down the hallway before gesturing for you to follow. He turns left and you follow behind him, your bare feet making a similar sound to that of the hatchlings.

Neither of you dare to speak as you quickly sneak through the halls of the castle. HER castle. Your heart beats like a bongo drum, no like the drum of a heavy metal drummer performing a solo. You constantly look over your shoulder as you follow your guide, keeping your eyes pealed for the presence of the lavender demon. After a few minutes, you see the castle’s front door down the hall. You’re adrenaline spikes as you prepare to dash for the exit. But before you do, Spike reaches out and grabs your leg with his claws. You look down to him in surprise. He quickly shakes his head, and points down the adjacent hallway. You look confused and suspicious, but he stares at you right in the eyes with a look that says; ‘trust me.’ You look back to the entrance. It would be so easy to burst through the doors and make a mad dash for the Everfree forest. It’s not an ideal place to live, but there are plenty of places to hide. And if you met your end at the jaws of some predator, it would at least be better than living here in this castle.

But, something in Spikes eyes breaks through to you. You find yourself trusting his judgement. You knew he wasn’t tricking you, luring you into some trap. He was the closest thing in this world you had to a friend. There was no one else for you to trust.

You nod, and he leads you down the hall. Just then you hear a noise. The clip clopping of hooves. Both of your eyes widen in horror.

“Spike? Spike, where are you?” you hear her voice echo down the crystal halls. Your breathing intensifies. You start to hyperventilate. You almost can’t move, but the dragon grips your hand in his and leads you further down the hall. You both come to a door, and Spike quickly ushers you inside. He closes the door as quietly as possible and rushes over to a large mirror. The mirror is hooked up to odd machinery. It looks like something Nikola Tesla would have built.

“What are you doing?” you whisper through grit teeth. “This room is a dead end, she’s going to find us!”

“I know what I’m doing,” he replies as he flips a switch. You can hear the sound of energy coursing through the wires and bulbs. You walk up to examine the mirror, catching your own reflection, which is much clearer than the reflections you’ve seen in the crystal walls of your cell. For a moment you are caught in a trance as you lock eyes with yourself. You don’t recognize this person. Your hair is matted and greasy. Scars litter your once pristine face where samples had been taken. Your eyes are no longer vibrant and blue like they had once been. The iris’s have turned dull and grey. You think back to the experiment that led to that, and shudder in response.

“Spike! Where are you!?” you hear the witches’ voice echo through the halls. It sounds like it’s getting closer.

“What are you doing?” you question the drake as he works what looks like a control box.

“You’re never going to be safe here in Equestria, or even on all of Equis!” he replies. The machinery hums and your eyes go wide as you see your reflection distort. The mirror begins to swirl land ripple like a pond that just had a stone tossed into it. “This mirror is a portal to other realities. I’m selecting one at random so she won’t be able to track you down.”

“You mean this portal will send me to some random universe?”

“Well, not completely random. It’ll be some sort other version of this world.”

Another version of Equestria?

“Can’t you send me home? To my REAL home?” you ask him. He looks at you with sad compassion. He shakes his head.

“I’m sorry, but I can’t send you back to the human world. If you had come here through the mirror, we’d be able to. But you just appeared out of nowhere. I have no idea how to find your original universe.” Your heart sinks, as you remember the day you came here.

“So you’re sending me to another version of…this place?” you gesture out to the world. He nods. “What if it’s even worse than here?” He looks unsure for a brief moment, before resolve takes over.

“I have to believe that most versions of our world are good. That TWILIGHT is good. That she still embodies the virtues of harmony that she once did. I don’t know what exactly is going to be on the other side. But I have faith. Plus, I can’t think of any other options.”

You start to have your doubts. Spike hits a button and pulls a lever, and the spiraling vortex of the portal starts to shimmer. You stand before the mirror, but you hesitate. Will this really be better? As bad as it is here, there are moments of reprieve. What if once you step through the portal, it’s nothing but painful agony twenty-four-seven? You look back to Spike and your eyes lock.

‘A leap of faith,’ you think to yourself. “Come with me.” Spikes eyes widen slightly and he looks like he’s considering it.

“Spike, is that you? Are you in there?” both your eyes open as wide as possible as you hear the sound of Twilight Sparkle on the other side of the door. Spike quickly rushes to the door and presses his back against it in a feeble attempt to keep it closed. You hear the mare on the other side try to open it. “Spike? Open the door!”

“Hurry!” he shouts to you. You look to the portal, then back to him. “What about you?”

“Don’t worry about me! She…she won’t hurt me!” You both look unsure as to if that’s true.

“What’s going on? Who are you talking too?” the Alicorn questions as she pushes harder against the door. You and Spike exchange one final look as you stand in front of the portal.
“Thank you,” you say gratefully.

“Don’t worry about it,” he replies as cooly as he can.

“Is that…Spike, did you them out!?” You hear the sound of magic. Twilight teleports into the room and yells; “What are you-“ then she notices you, and the portal behind you. Her eyes widen is shock. “Don’t-you-dare!” she commands. You’re out of time.

You jump through the portal. Just before every portion of your body twists through the vortex, you hear the sound of Twilight Sparkle screaming in rage.

Author's Note

A new story, what else is there to say. Hopefully it will be good. If it isn't, I don't want to hear any lip outta you, you aren't too old for a spanking! If you like my stories, I take tips. Just the tip just the tip. Happy Halloweiner

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