Within the depths of pain

I could hear metallic clinking and by swiveling my ears, I determined the sound was coming from my left, a short distance away. I wondered how she could see anything at all within pitch darkness, but my wandering was brought to a halt as a soft click was heard and a dim light illuminated a small area in front of me. I was not showered with light, but it was enough for me to see the front of my body. As I suspected, metal rings secured my palms and feet. I grit my teeth and blushed slightly in embarrassment once I looked down and could see my genitals on full display. Fluttershy either didn't notice, or didn't care, because she never glanced down once. Then again, she would only occasionally look in my direction while obviously deciding what tools to use on me. I stretched my dark grey wings experimentally, extending them to their full 20-foot wingspan. They appeared to be undamaged. No discomfort whatsoever and my feathers were all in near-perfect condition. Once they passed my mental inspection, my eyes crossed as I looked up at my horn. It was roughly one foot in length, and spiraled, yet not horrendously pointed. Being an alicorn, I was much tougher than any one pony race, not trying to sound superior, it's just the way it is. I had a small feeling that may be one reason that she picked me; so I would have a better chance of survival. I know I could potentially survive unimaginably horrific physical damage, much more than would easily kill anypony who isn't an alicorn. Unfortunately, since I knew I could endure more, I would be put through more agony. The sudden realization made me gulp nervously.

Fluttershy walked up to me with her eyes closed, grasping a small pocket knife in both her small hands as she looked toward the ceiling with eyes closed. She stayed that way for a few seconds before she took a big breath, inhaling and exhaling through her nose one time before she slowly opened her eyes and looked at me.

My blood's temperature appeared to drop a good few degrees as I saw her eyes. Normally, they are giant pools of enchanting and soothing aqua, able to calm virtually and creature in distress. But now, her pupils were pinpricks and irises had shrunken noticeably, and the effect was horrifying. She grinned at me and let out a shallow, eerie giggle before stating, "Don't be afraid, your help will be of importance yourself, as well as myself. As I'm sure you know, as I learn more, this whole procedure will go that much quicker. But enough chatter. Down to business."

Her voice was just as sweet as usual, but there was a very unstable undertone beneath the motherly voice, a tone that anypony could detect, yet had the effect of subduing any mortal creature, paralyzing it with pure terror. The unnerving vocal carried confidence and unwavering knowledge, proving that she got a certain thrill when seeing the inner workings of animals. Seeing her beloved animals sometimes mutilated and die in front of her had scarred her timid demeanor, but she wanted to keep working with animals, and her mind found a way to cope; become sickeningly enthralled when working on injured animals. Because her mind chose to cope this way, she could keep working as a veterinarian without the more gruesome events disturbing her work, but she took a sick pleasure in the animal's suffering at times. This did not mean she prolonged their suffering, but basked in it before she did her best to aid them.

She walked up to my left forearm and placed the blade against the skin. "First, let's get a skin sample. This will also gauge your pain tolerance." She slowly pushed the blade into my arm and the pain barely registered in my brain. She took her time to cut out a small 1x1 inch square slab of skin from my arm, then filleted the first layer of skin from the underlying muscle. Once the blade made contact with my muscle, and began to skin me, it burned very uncomfortably and I couldn't hold in a hiss of pain as she slowly removed the skin.

Once she had the sample she wanted, she put it in a small, airtight solid container labeled 'SKIN'. I hadn't noticed the containers, all lined up on a shelf, each with their own labels. As I read them, my eyes got wider after each one I read: Skin, Blood, Feather, Muscle, Tendon, Nerve, Bone, Brain, Eye, Heart, Spleen, Gallbladder, Liver, Lung, Stomach, Kidney, Large Intestine, Small Intestine. Every major organ in the body. And she planned on getting a sample of each one.

I should have known more than dissection would be performed on me, but the magnitude of what I would be put through by the end of this was not something I could fathom at the time...