Ch. 3 - False Bravado

“Come on, boy,” Rain commanded, tugging at the leash holding me, as we made our way through the narrow hallway. “We wouldn’t want to be late to meet your new owner.” She turned back to her front, guiding me to our destination, marching alongside Sierra sporting a defeated frown, and two armored guards, males from the looks of it, sternly looking ahead.

“It’s no fair,” Sierra complained, turning to her friend. “How come you get to walk him and I don’t?”

“Well, for one, you got to name him,” Rain explained, pursuing her lips into a cocky grin. “And because the trainer said that if you were to do so, your excited energy would be transferred to him, and it would be impossible to control him.”

Sierra pouted. “I still don’t believe what he says.”

“He’s the professional, so you’re going to have to trust him.”

“Can’t I hold him for just a little bit?” Sierra pleaded, giving Rain the puppy dog eye treatment.

“No.”

“But why? I only want to hold it until we get there.” she whined, getting on both my and Rain’s nerves.

I groaned, the muzzle strapped to my mouth muffling the sound of my humilliation as I was forced to follow. Rain noticed this and tugged on the leash, mistaking my displeasure for an aggressive growl. She then turned to the brown mare. “That’s why.”

“You’re no fun.”

I closed my eyes, slumping my form in a sigh. Every fiber in my body begged to be freed from this imprisonment, my mind wished for these straps to be broken by a miracle that never came. The thought that I may never see my family again already saddened me to no end and this ‘pet’ status of mine was rubbing salt on the bloody wound.

It had been full day since my self revelation of this new world, when the weight of the whole situation collapsed on my shoulders and drove me to an angry state of depression. I was emotionless in that time, all of the possible scenarios that ran to my mind kept me alert throughout the night and day. Some of them enraged me to the point where I broke the furniture in the room.

More of those equines did check up on me, to see if I ‘got used’ to my new room or to see what the noises were all about. I didn’t let them stay for long. Whenever someone came in to check on me I growled and roared until they left, slamming the door shut in the process. Even a ‘human trainer’, for whatever reason, came in to try and ‘claim my territory and gain my trust’ as he put it, but when he corrected me with a jab to my side I punched him across the face, knocking him out. I had to personally throw him out that time. Got nothing but stink eyes when they saw him on the floor. I didn’t care though.

When the night hit, they all left me alone to rest, and I was thankful for that, even when my face didn’t show it. Sleep didn’t come easy for me that night, and when it did it wasn’t worth it. The dreams I got were always the same; my family and friends standing in front of me, smiling at me, motioning for me to come to them. I ran as fast as I could, but the more I got closer to them, the more they moved away from me until they were just a speck of light in the dark. I woke up sweating and breathing heavily everytime.

When the sun rose, I was barely able to keep my eyes open. My shirt was completely dampened in my bodily fluids, giving it a light grey hue, almost identical to my eyes, instead of its original pearl white. It was also uncomfortable to wear, the shirt hugging my body tightly and exposing my chest, but it was the only shirt I had on me. I could use my jacket to cover my upper body, but that only served as a temporary solution.

Due to my sleep deprived state, I wasn’t able to react fast enough to the armored horses that came barging in, locking me in an unbreakable grip against my bed while another one strapped a muzzle on my mouth and tied my wrists with a piece of rope. I attempted to resist them as best I could, but I gave up, knowing that it was useless to fight a losing battle. This might be the depression talking, but like I said; I stopped caring.

And that’s where I am right now. Being escorted by the first two horses I first saw, to a place where the next strange abomination this world has created will make me his or her bitch. The thought of becoming someone’s pet has crossed my mind in the past. I always associated it with a fetish thing or a lifetime choice, and I was okay with it as long as it didn’t involve me. In this world, however, not only did it involve me, it seemed like a normal every day thing for these creatures.

God damn it, this rope is really chaffing my wrists. I thought in the middle of my mental rant, the pain increasing as time passed by, but I went back to my one-sided discussion to take my mind off it.

The worst part about all this wasn’t anything I mentioned before. No, this award goes to the name that Sierra gave to me. The audacity of her choice of name has put her in my list of cunts that I never want to interact with in my life. A name that whenever someone speaks of it makes me want to punch a hole in the wall for the absurdity of itself. If I hear that name one more time, I swear to the God of this world and the other that I’m gonna-

“Whiskey, don’t make us wait up,” Sierra called out to me, Rain pulling the leash to bring my pace back on the same one as them.

Whiskey…

Whiskey…

Fucking WHISKEY!

It’s already bad enough I have to put up with her childish attitude towards me, but have her personal problems dumped all over me in the form of a name that should not even be considered a name in the first place?

If my hands weren’t tied up, I’d lash out on her. I thought, staring daggers at the back of Sierra’s head. I hope she’s thankful the guards are here.

Putting the drama aside, we approached a door at the end of the corridor, barely high enough for me to pass through without me ducking under it. When we entered the new room, my eyes widened at the sight.

A red carpet, stretching to the far end of the room, where two silhouettes stood. Several armored guards covered its sides, obstructing my vision from the rest of the division. I could feel their cautious yet stern eyes pry into my very soul. I could only wince as we made our way to the two of them. As we got closer, I could hear the two silhouettes speak in the same off-colored english dialect as the two mares that I was following.

When we stopped a set of stairs leading up to a golden throne,two other horses stood, discussing with one another over a matter that was unknown to me. They looked like polar opposites. The tanned one on the left had a combed back black mane, and wore very extravagant clothing; he - if my gender analysis is correct - had an orange robe, with yellow stitching on the ends of his legs and neck area, drapped over his body, covering any fur on his body with the exception of his head, and white patches on his shoulders. On his forehead was a large red dot. He reminded me of an indian prince.

The one on the right was of the same colour, with a kempt dark grey mane and short tail with a small black streak running in the middle of both and a beard to match it, sporting casual wear - if you could call it that. All he had on was a plain white and baby blue striped shirt, with nothing to cover his lower body, with two tattoos of a leash on either side of the flanks. At least the other one had the decency to wear clothes to cover his parts. Fortunatelly, he didn’t expose to much of himself for me to call him out on it. Even if he was, I couldn’t say anything due to my loss of vocal chords.

As I kept staring at the stallion in the shirt, a thought lingered into my mind. I feel like I’ve seen him before, but where? And how?

When the horse in question caught me staring, he bent his head to me, pulling my focus to his black eye.

OH, that’s the ‘trainer’ from yesterday. I smiled morbidly under my muzzle. Still don’t regret it.

As the trainer took notice of me, he spoke up. “Ah, looks like you finally got him out of bed.” He stated in an accent that made him pronounce the words exactly as they were without abbreviation. He approached the guards, a sincere smile on his smile on his face. If I didn’t know ay better, I’d say that smile was forced. ”I’m sorry I had to call on you for help, but desperate measures had to be taken.”

With a salute, the guards returned to their respective stations, marching at either side of me, facing in. The trainer then turned to Rain. “Have you any problems with getting him out?”

“It wasn’t that hard, to be honest. I expected a lot of bitemarks on all of us by the time we got here. When the guards tied him he didn’t resist much, eventually he submitted. And when I walked him he abliged without question.” Rain stroked my side. “I think he’s starting to warm up to us.”

“Just like that?” The trainer said, sound slightly surprised. “No problems at all?”

“Well, he did growl once on the way here, but I corrected him afterwards just the way you taught us. It went normally from then on.” Rain answered with confidence.

The trainer nodded slowly. “Very good. Very…” he grew silent, contemplating on what the yellow mare said with a hoof rubbing his chin, appearing almost quizzical about the occurence. For someone who deals with humans, you aren’t very experienced. On that matter, why do you deal with humans? “Good, now if you would be so kind as to hand me the leash?”

Sierra whimpered, catching everyone’s attention. “Oh hush, you.” Rain commanded, giving the leash to the ‘professional’. She then directed herself to the other stallion on the stairs, waiting for his cue for something, along with a dejected Sierra.

“Your services are not needed at the moment. You may go.” The indian stallion ordered with a dismissive hoof. Rain and Sierra bowed, inching backwards away from us until they were out of sight. The display made me think that this horse was an actual prince of this terrain; the sole ruler of this place, and my new owner. Those two mares that left must have either been his maids or his wives, and I wasn’t too keen on finding out which one.

I’m not gonna lie; I became frightened for my life. The tone of voice he used in his command told me that he wasn’t the the type of prince to be messed with, and it showed, He wasn’t taking shit from anybody, and the things I did in that room is an indication that I am in very big trouble.

However, I didn’t let my fear overcome me. If I wanted any chance of escaping this nightmare I had to keep my head up high through it all. The fact that I was alone and that these horses weren’t helping me in the least only made me wish all the more for the relaxing touch of freedom.

The prince turned to me with a frown, examining me from top to bottom, and back to top, nodding as he did so. He then spun around, walking up to his throne and sitting down, crossing one leg over the other, a condescending look plastered on his face. “Is this the human that Lima rescued from the desert?”

One of the guards on my left side took. “Yes, sir.” I furrowed a brow. Who’s Lima?

“The same human that was bleeding from his head?”

“Yes, sir.” Looks like my assailant did quite the number on me, I took a quick look around the large room, noting the only ones in here were the guards, the prince, the trainer, and I. But I don’t see him anywhere around here. I need to investigate this more in the future.

“The same human with the abnormal marking on his chest?”

“Yes, sir.” Marking? I raised a curious brow.

“The same human that injured the trainer, scared half of the attendants of the palace, and startled the other humans into rough-housing the cages and nearly breaking out?” I perked up at the information. There are other humans here? I glared incredulously at the stallion. Why is he keeping them under lock and key?

“Yes, sir.”

Nodding, the prince’s condescending glaring eyes locked on with mine, the corner of his lips curling down to a questioning frown. He put a hoof to his chin in thought, while I returned the same angered glare, taking ragged breaths under my muzzle-strap, awaiting whatever fate he ordered on me.

The second the stallion’s mouth opened, a blue mare trotted to his side carrying two bags on either side of her. “Prince Claudius, Doctor Oscar would like a word with you.” she said with a sense of urgency.

‘Claudius’ sighed, slumping his form, rubbing his tired eyes with hoof before addressing nobody in particular. “May we postpone this meeting on a more convenient time? Gaia forbid if I can get more avaiable space on my schedule.”

“Of course, of course,” the trainer chimed in. “Um… you wouldn’t happen to have a cage where he could stay for the time being? Preferably one with other humans so that he may have some social interaction to calm down?”

“Certainly,” the prince nodded towards one of the guards. “Would you please take our little pet here to the human quarters?” he then turned to the trainer. “I would like to have a word with you while we walk to my next destination.” I growled internally. Call me your ‘little pet’ one more time and the next thing you’ll be wearing is plaster.

The trainer nodded, handing the leash over to the guard. “Remember; calm, cool and assertive. If he starts acting up, correct him with a small jab to the side.” the trainer said in a matter-of-factly. With a salute, the guard took the leash into his hoof and twisted towards my next locale. And like the prisoner I was, all I did was follow, unable to protest or fight my way there.

When we reached the door on the right side of the lounge, he opened it with a single push, guiding through the hallway that looked identical as the one I went before with Sierra and Rain.

As we passed by the many doors on the sides of th hall, other horses would often poke their head out, curious about the human in the leather strap, muttering among themselves about me attacking their fellow men and women. There were a few exceptions where they would look at me for a second, eep or squeak in ridiculous fashion, intimidated by either my stature or something else.

I sighed everytime they did this. Truth of the matter is, I really didn’t want to give a bad first impression and become a monster in the eyes of everyone here, but the way they treated upset me, and I couldn’t think of anyway else than to snap at them. I guess it’s too late for that now, I thought as the guard and I made it to the far end of the hall where a wooden door stood. That ship has long since sailed.

Picking up a key from the pocket of his armor - however that worked -, he gingerly unlocked the door. The intense smell of feces instantly hit my nostrils, causing me wince back, nearly losing my lunch. The guard tugged at the leash. “Come on, boy. Meet your new roommates.” he said, trying to sound professional, but I could see from the tears in his eyes that the stench had the same effect on him.

Unclipping the leash off from my collar, he shoved me into the room - albeit with a little too much force as I fell face first onto the pavement - before I heard the loud echo of the door shutting behind me. Good lord, it smells like something died in here. I gagged before ungracefully pulling my head up from the ground - my hands were tied in my back - , wherein I met a pair of hazelnut eyes and blonde bangs.

A human female, possibly around 5 feet if she were to stand up, stood there on all fours, eyeing me blankly, with her head cocked to the side. Her mudded body, in combination with the smell emanating from her, told me that sh hadn’t shower . Her gaze didn’t hold any emotion, or if it did I wasn’t sure what it was. If her dirty and slick form is any indication of it, combining it with her stench, I’d say she hasn’t bathed in quite some time. As she kept staring, I broke the eye contact to-

TITS! My eyes widened in shock as my mind raced, my cheeks heating up a furious red causing me to stand fully erect - in more ways than one. This didn’t stop the woman as she moved forward and sniffed the tent in my pants with curiousity. Without my hands to help me push her away, I slid to the side in hopes of avoiding her lingering wishes.

However, the woman was stubborn as she kept coming back to me each time I pulled away. After the fifth time or so, my annoyance got the best of me and I growled at her, effectively stopping her tracks with a wince. She then walked - oh, sorry, I meant crawled - away to play with a red ball in the corner, not caring that she was naked. I shook my head. That girl has no shame, I see.

My gaze span to the other humans in the room. Much like the blonde woman, they were naked, dirty, and reeking of dead people. I can feel it in my tongue. I thought, gagging at the end. All of them gawked at me like deers in headlights, completely unmovable by anything that brought them back to attention. A moment later, they went back to their separate activities, acting as if I wasn’t there anymore.

That was odd. Shrugging, I wasted no more time in trying to escape. Jumping at the right time, I was able to place my arms in front of me by bending my legs in mid-air, allowing my arms passage. With my hands at my semi-disposable, I pulled down my muzzle, finally breathing a sigh of relief. I regretted it, however, as the stench of shit intensified. Pushing through my sense of smell, I began to gnaw at my ropes, while silently praying that the guard didn’t come soon.

It took me some time to find the best position to bite down, as my kept getting in the way of my nose and vision. Thankfully, after some struggle, I was able to recieve good results, resorting to cut the rope on the wrist rather than the middle. I calmed a little thanks to that, but I still remained in a panicked state. The sooner I got out of here, the better.

Minutes seemed to pass on like seconds as I clinged to the last strand of rope in my mouth, loosening its grip on my wrists. With one final pull, the ropes untied themselves before falling gracefully on the floor. I smirked at the deed, victory overcoming my every thought.

Placing my muzzle back on my mouth to lessen the stink, I rubbed my reddened wrists in an attempt to relax the burning sensation. Scanning the room, I could not find anything to aid my soreness, with no medicine lying around and all the water being drank by the people in an animalistic fashion from a doggy bowl. Have any of you no shame? I conveyed my thoughts with a shake of my head. I really wanted to say something.

The light from the sun caught me by surprise at it stung my eyes from the side, causing me to wince back with a hand covering my eyes. Turning to where it shun, I took notice of the square hole, buildings being seen from the distance. As I walked closer with a cocked eyebrow, the image of the desert came into view along with other houses. Standing on the brim, I noticed the streets of this village were near barren. Two or three horses wearing the same themed clothes met my sight., chatting among themselves.

The desert looks more populated than this. I turned back to the other people with an incredulous expression. Why are you all still here though? It’s not like there is much stopping from leaving.

I whistled to one of them, her head perking up. Spinning her head to me, I signalled towards the entrance of the village, not too far away from where we were. She cocked her head, eyeing me like before. With a confused furrowed brow, I motioned again to the entrance, and she responded by going back to the bowl. I sighed angrily, rolling my eyes at her obliviousness. I don’t have time for this.

Using my arms as support, I jumped through the ‘window’, running towards the entrance as soon as I touched the ground. The aforementioned horses gazed upon my direction, but I was too busy with determination to care about the witnesses. I was already tasting victory and I didn’t want lose it.

I waited for that familiar breeze to help me carry my body across this trial of fire, but what I got instead was more heat absorbed into my skin, making me sweat all the more through my dampened shirt. My determination ceased slightly because of this. My jacket definitely wasn’t doing me any favors either.

Fortunatelly, the entrance was close to the palace. When I approached the open, I slowed my pace to a walk as I got closer to the desert, my grin turning into an exhausted frown. I skitted to a halt. The amount of sand beyond the village, the sand particles blowing into my face, the sun burning up the ground to a close resemble of lava gave me second thoughts about my recent decisions.

Yes, I wanted freedom, but did I want to risk my life for it? Do I want to go back and forget about what I escaped here for? Would I rather die or live a life of embarrassment? What if the road ahead is worse than what I'm leaving behind? I felt dejected about this. Life threw me a curveball with this new world for whatever sin I've commited, and now when have my freedom in arms reach, I think of turning away and walk the path of shame back to the place that brought me nothing but humiliation.

I glanced over my shoulder to the palace, noting its giant proportion compared to the rooms I was in. If someone were to live there, they would be treated with the most superior of honors, everything given to them on silver platter. Yet, I'm treated like an animal... which is what I've been lately... an enraged animal. I guess I sort of deserved that treatment

I wasn’t even certain for if crossing the desert would be a good idea. Hell, there probably wouldn’t be any other civilization around for miles. Then if I died, my body would go unnoticed long enough for the sand to create its coffin around. God, why am I so afraid?

My greatest hope for survival would have to be with the ones who thought lowly of me. I didn't want to be known as someone's pet, but maybe some day I'll be able to explain to them that I'm smart, even though I have no idea how with my current reputation. Perhaps I should get along with the prince, that trainer, Sierra, Ra...

What the fuck am I saying? I thought, furious at myself for letting the anxiety and depression take control of my better judgement. Of course I don't want to patronize with those slave owners. I'm a good man, I wouldn't ever in my life side with the enemy.

I stare at the horizon ahead, my train of thoughts coming to a stop. I breathed in hope, and exhaled the bad karma, the sweat still present on my brow, before dashing into the further unknown.

Author's Note

Does anyone else think I'm ripping off the original?

Still looking for editors.