The sun hung itself on the horizon, the big orange ball of flame’s heat rays diminishing its purpose of frying anyone it came in contact with. It slowly sunk lower into the earth, making me smile slightly under my muzzle from the nice turn of events. Thankfully, it didn’t take long for the sun to set when I ran through the desert, though it could’ve come at a time when I still had the energy.

The soft breeze could be felt through my sweaty garments as I wobbled and limped past the heavy grains of sand, my feet dragging along the path causing a trail of uneven sand to be created in my way. I tried to take a normal step, but the time I spent running wildly the treacherous desert with the heat radiated made me tired faster than usual.

A brisk wave shot through the air causing bits of sand to collide with my eyes. I promptly stopped the sand with a hand protecting my eyes. I hated when that happened, it was never a good sign. It was in its early stages of night.

From what I know, the desert is only a safe place in the evening. The day is always too hot and the night’s too cold, but the evening was the perfect balance between the two times with a short window of oppurtunity to do anything in it. For the moment being, I didn’t worry as I simply basked in the cool air. However, I wasn’t prepared for the day, and I am even less prepared for the night. Another bad thing about sweaty clothes.

I hope I find safe haven and quick. I thought while looking around for any life near as a shiver went down my spine. Pretty sure I won’t survive much longer.

Probably shouldn’t have ran so fast last time when I escaped, now I don’t have any stamina left to go faster. Good thing they didn’t see me leave, they would have followed me and catch the second I was at my weakest. From their looks, I could tell they were trained to resist the heat. I can at least be thankful for that.

The more I limped across the dune, the more sand invaded my sneakers, isolating my feet in its intense fire. It felt like I was one of those shock entertainers walking on a bed of molting rocks. Every step was filled with searing pain as it burned my flesh. My usual huffed complains whenever this happened were replaced with a sound similar to a rottweiler when it’s scared and injured. Needless to say, hearing it coming out of me was creepy.

Although that could also be a mirage. The sun might be frying my brains enough for me to experience shifts in my surroundings for me to question whether its real or not. Like a well I passed by an hour ago. At first I thought it was a my mind playing tricks on me. I kicked it in hopes of seeing its reality. Too bad I also felt its reality.

And now I’m having arguments with myself, that’s just great. I escaped a village, you’d think I would at least have some quiet time with myself. Apparently, I didn’t want any of that.

As I kept up with my train of thought, the ground grew stale beneath me, my feet no longer sinking in the sand with each step. Now the ground seemed to have turned to stone with a layer of sand above it. My eyes widened, the simple change of path reviving my spirit of determination as I kept on walking to the end of this.

I looked ahead of me. There were no more dunes, and no more mirages to occupy the emptiness. I saw the smallest hints of grass and weeds sprouting on the road, secured safely behind the protective shade of the rocks on their side. It was no longer a wasteland of no escape, it was turning lively in colour, causing me to stop on my tracks and gaze at its wonder and beauty.

I smiled under the muzzle.

I kept on.

<------------------------------->

The sun had already set in the horizon, the shift into the night much quicker than it was back on Earth. Instead of hours, it took only a couple of seconds for the night to take over. The stars that appeared, though very beautiful under the moonlight, were gleaming unnaturally bright in the sky. I’m not even gonna comment on this, if this world has taught me anything.

I’m going insane. I thought, clutching my arms tightly around me as I shiver uncontrollably from the freezing cold air. Shaky, foggy breaths escaped my mouth as I walked with more hurry through the climate. Sweat still continued to pour down my back. My white-turned-grey shirt was now a dirty shade of yellow, a eerily close resemblance to piss. I was questioning whether or not to take it off.

Even though all these things tied me down, my mind still wouldn’t budge from my objective to find civilization, or maybe even a place to survive the night. I faltered heavily, but I knew that if I didn’t maintain a positive attitude towards this issue, I would cease to see the light of day again

I growled at the trial.

I kept on.

<------------------------------->

I didn’t even try to keep my mind off the pain as I trekked on. If I had to guess what it is, I’d say that I had dragged my shoes for so long, the corroded through the soles to the point where my feet fell through the sneaker. I even felt was seemed like blood soaking my socks with every step. It could be just sweat build-up, but I was pretty much mindless at this time.

All of my willpower faded completely through this journey. No mirror had to be out in front of me to see that I no longer held life, or any sort of an emotional glow in them. They only showed a grey and black cesspool devoid of anything human. The memory of my family and friends back home had since been erased along with them, replaced with the desire for the solace and comfort of warmth, and the cooling sensation of water running down my throat.

The one thing keeping me going was something I didn’t know I had; instinct. The basic level of animal intelligence which humanity was able to surpass and become sapient creatures had come back to help me out of here. I’m not sure if I should be thankful, scared, or both. Mostly, this was all getting on my nerves.

Either way, I kept on.

<------------------------------->

I CAN’T TAKE THIS ANYMORE! I screeched at the top of my lungs, the sound echoing into the chilling night, carrying out my anger for the residents crazy enough to be on this nightmare. Even though I was unable to speak, the disturbing silence around me told a thousand tales of a million words.

I recognize I’m not the best kind of person. Much like every humans being, I’ve had my share of hardships and embarrassing moments in the past, and I learn from all those experiences to make myself a better man. While I sometimes make the same mistakes twice, I always know what I’m doing is wrong and repay the debt until I feel is complete

However, I do not understand that some sort of sick son of a bitch would drive themselves to put me, of ALL FUCKING PEOPLE, in an environment which makes my insanity become the most normal part about me. Why me when there are so many other people back home that are so much better than me at everything I do?

What kind of God would allow this?

My hands held my head as I tried to piece together everything that happened in the last days to see if there was a connection somewhere, but as I did so, flashbacks of my own life raced by in seconds. They moved at breakneck speed, too fast for me to make out anything in them besides a continuous blur, and they clouded plans for escape.

And there I was, stranded in the middle of nowhere at night, sore and smelling of month old laundry, fighting between my thoughts in a useless and neverending battle to see which one of them is the most unforgiving. My thoughts had a mind of their own, and it was taking its toll on me. That’s what I get for standing in heating sun for too long.

But it’s no longer sunny so why am I so damn crazy? Shouldn’t the effects of the rays have been gone by now? Why can’t I stop fighting myself? Why AM I fighting with myself?

Thoughts of the palace swirled back and forth to my mind, the way Rain treated me with sorrow, as if I was an injured animal. The way Sierra only wanted to play with me to make me happy again. The way the trainer was only doing his job, but I had to complicate everything. I know they weren’t doing the best they could when it came to me, but that was just because they didn’t know I was smart. It would’ve been a lot different if I just upright told them I knew what they were doing.

I let my arms fall. Is the desert making me think of imaginary scenarios or… The regret I set aside was hitting with full force, making me drop to my knees. I couldn’t help but shed a single tear. It slid down my cheek, leaving a trail of mourning woes, before cascading to the sand and becoming nothing but a drop in the ocean. Is it just everything that happened… in retrospect? Was I too blind with anger to see the real intentions? Was I… I’m...

I screeched again, grabbing the collar of my stained shirt. With the strength given to me from the adrenaline rush I pulled it apart, the weak fabric giving away immediatly, tearing up from the middle as the satisfying ripping noise broke out, accompanying my roars, the muzzle unable to contain the noise. The cold air hit my chest as I tossed on the ground, but the rush made me ignore it.

It was almost like a million memories and emotions released from my body and revealed for the world to gawk at. My weaknesses, my ambitions, my dreams, my failures, the longer I screamed, the more memories flew by my mind, causing me to shed more tears and scream even louder as I shred through the now useless piece clothing, the crumbling jacket falling off consequently.

This neverending cycle continued, time seemed to have stood still around me as I reached my breaking point, my breathing getting shorter as my screaming turned into a barely audible wheeze, my throat just as a sore as the rest of me. As my screaming subsided, they became muffled, the muzzle doing its purpose of withholding my whines and groans.

I broke down in tears, letting my body subside to the tirade of emotions that followed. I fell on my side pathetically as the tears came out freely like floodgates, soaking the ground to a more concrete resolve. My cries of anguish filled the desert, sounding like a child that lost his mother, which was partially true in this case. I didn’t care, they’re was no one to hear me anyway.

No one to help me through these dark times.

No one to lift me off my feet.

No one who cared.

There was only me.

I stood up, using my arms as a support as my legs were already weak. My legs still wobbled, but I quickly balanced myself. Leaning down, I picked up my discarded clothing and held them close to my chest to keep me warm. I shed one last tear, sniffing as I did so. With a final sob, I forcefully dragged my live corpse along the road, leaving a small, wet puddle behind.

I hated it here.

I was gonna die here.

Yet, I kept on.

<------------------------------->

“Hmm, very interesting,” Oscar mused in a heavy germane accent, rubbing a chin in thought as he looked through the data on his sheet, a small and almost juvenile grin on him as the more he read it, the more he became filled with unbelievable wonder.

The lab ordered many tests once the biped had entered the medical area, all the while a mare tried to get in with him, crying out to the doctors to help her, nearly bawling her eyes out, but she was kept secure by the castle guards attempting to calm her down. The human was not in critical condition, save for the blow to the head, but was still kept in their care.

He flipped the page, landing on a picture of the human he just so happened to examine earlier. He - according to the brief ‘confirmation’ from both him and the nurses - was lying on the examanation table, with his upper body stripped of the abnormal clothes it wore as he showed a look of pain and fatigue. His arms splayed outwards, courtesy of the other nurses, showing of some hair on his armpits; something unusual to be seen in a human.

His stature appeared to be very well built, even more so than any other human that the professional doctor had examined before him. Oscar, for a moment, thought of any sort of medical or chemical reaction to him as a reason for his muscles, but the scans showed no sign of any enhancement drugs in his system. This led them to believe they were naturally grown.

His teeth were also victim to the abnormalities found in him; the medical team discovered the his teeth were smaller and less sharp compared to other humans, though they seemed just as effective. They also found at least two teeth, one incisor and one canine, with their corners missing. The team suspected abuse from its previous owner because of this, though that, accompanied with the fact that he was bald, was the only piece of evidence working in its, and their, favor.

On his chest, a mark stood, which temporarily frightened the nearby personnel into fleeing the room. A hesitant poke later was revealed that it was just a marking embedded on the chest instead of what the doctors thought it looked like. “Peculiar one, aren’t you?” Oscar questioned, like he thought the human in the picture was going to asnwer.

The sound of the door behind him opening caught his attention as he turned to see Prince Claudius entering the room. A smile adorned the doctor’s lips as he waved a hoof at him. “Ah, Mister Claudius.” he called out. ”So good of you to come,”

“Hello, doctor,” He greeted in a monotonous tone. “I came here as soon as I heard your summoning. Is there anything you found out about this new human of ours?” Claudius asked, looking around the lab for any recent discoveries that he didn’t know about.

The doctor adjusted the glasses on his muzzle. “Well, there is a lot to talk about with this one, but I’ll try to keep it as brief as possible. I know you’re a busy stallion,”

“You would be the first to notice.” Claudius half-confessed as the doctor handed him the sheet of paper containing the subject of the matter. The prince took note of all the human’s features, stopping at the red mark imprinted on his chest. “Peculiar one, isn’t he?”

Oscar chuckled at the comment, reminding himself that he had said the same thing not two minutes ago. Leading him on to the far side of the room, the doctor reached a metal door. “Yes, his anatomy is not one I would ever consider to be normal. I would even go so far as saying astonishing,” he reached into his coat pocket, picking out the key to the respective door.

Claudius flipped back to the first page, ignoring the higher than average levels of the cells in his body recorded. “An expert doctor such as yourself, amazed by some human with large pectoral muscles?” he asked incredulously, thinking if the old stallion was starting to lose his mind.

The doctor shook his head. “Of course not, I have seen many cases like this one in my time,” he retorted, inserting the key into the lock and turning it, causing the giant doors to open. Gazing at Claudius over his shoulder, he added. “But then I took a closer look at him."

Author's Note

Welp, I've ran out of things to talk about in this chapter. I initially thought about writing more on both parts of the perspectives (the doctor's and Sebastian's) but then I thought I should save it for later chapters.

I still hope you enjoy it. If you didn't, then to conpensate, I will write 7,000 words in the next chapter, I promise.

Oh, the foreshadowing and symbolism in this chapter is so painful, yet so worth it.