The sharp clatter of crockery being arranged, mingled with the faint bubbling from the unknown contents of saucepans on the stove. I inhaled deeply, allowing my senses to fully absorb the aroma whilst attempting to determine what it was we were for dinner tonight. I caught a hint of…yes, carrot, turnip, a touch of basil, and something…..something else I couldn’t quite put my hoof on. Celery, that had to be it. Damn it all, I couldn’t stand the bitter tasting stuff. Its stringy stems would catch between my teeth and made me pick at them all night until I attacked them with a severe tooth brushing.

The smell however, was simply delicious. Stretching out my forelegs, followed in turn by my whole body, I sank back into the large comfy settee. It was brand new and had been worth every bit. I relaxed deeper into it, feeling a warm flush of contentment spreading through me from muzzle to tail. I smiled, it just didn’t get any better than this.

My ears twitched as I heard a song begin to accompany the rattling of pans and other indeterminate kitchen items.

“Full of goodness, full of flavour, bring the taste you to savour……..”

I recognised the simple little ditty from the radio. We would often sit together and listen to our set on dark, cold evenings by the hearth. The song was an advert for vegetable stock cubes of all things, but they were her favourite. Her. For some reason, I couldn’t quite seem to remember her name just at the moment. That was ridiculous of course, I mean, she was my wife wasn’t she ? For Celestia’s sake, she was only in the next room ! I shook my head and grumbled to myself. Why did everything seem so….’distant’, tonight ? It was almost as if I was somehow detached from my surroundings, a veritable passenger in my own body, looking out with no real control over what I was doing or what was happening around me.

I had been working hard recently, I theorised. That must be the answer. I certainly wasn’t thinking straight and a combination of the delicious aromas, soft chair and my weariness were leading me to an early bed rather than, Luna forbid, early senility. I chuckled to myself and let out a sigh as I gazed into the fire which snapped and crackled merrily, sending its own enticing scent of wood smoke into the room.

The song ended with a loud drum roll flourish on pan lids, followed by gentle feminine laughter. “Ready for bed already love ?”. A grass green unicorn mare with the deepest yellow eyes poked her head around the door which lead to the kitchen. Cocking her head to one side she fluttered her eyelids at me and laughed. There was a

lilting, musical sound to her voice and her smile made her eyes sparkle and my heart soar. I stuck my tongue out playfully, “Not just yet…”. A sudden silence, what was her name ? “what’s on my favourite chef’s menu tonight ? It smells amazing.”

“Oh, just a few things I found in the cupboard”. Ah, yes, the usual answer. She was an incredibly talented mare and spoiled me with her magical ability to create astounding flavour combinations from ingredients I would have had no idea what to do with.

My attempts at cooking were limited to an extravagant three dishes. These culinary masterpieces however, had been restricted to days when she wanted a break and, I suspected, was feeling brave enough to face consuming one of my creations.

My mother would often tell me I could manage to starve to death with a full larder. What a cheery thought.

“Easy on the bran love, you know what happened last time !”, I quipped.

The mare giggled and disappeared back into the kitchen, the song starting up again. “Full of goodness, full of flavour”. I closed my eyes and joined in “bring the taste for you to savour”.

I laughed out loud, settling back into the settee and felt the world begin to slip away from me….

I hung in an expanse of….nothing. An absolute void, completely empty of light, touch, sound, or any sensation other than a lingering sense of…being. I existed, in that place, at that time and nothing more. My thoughts were hazy and I could feel my consciousness slipping away from me like wisps of smoke in the air. I stretched out a foreleg and felt….nothing. There was no sense of direction, no up, no down and deep inside, I felt as if I should have been in a state of abject terror.

For some reason I can’t describe, I was completely calm. I found myself in a state where I did not feel anything at all, I wasn’t cold or warm nor did I have any sensation of danger. I was….content. I could have stayed like this and floated in the emptiness forever, no concerns, no fear, no anger, no happiness, no joy. No…no……..what was her name ? why the hell couldn’t I remember ?

In my minds eye, I could see her, smiling at me with those beautiful yellow eyes. They were yellow, weren’t they ? Was it just my imagination or was I dreaming all of this ? Oh well, it didn’t matter really anyway. Nothing mattered here, nothing at all, I could simply….go to sleep. Rest. Close my eyes and float silently away on the eternal sea of oblivion.

I winced. A sudden sharp pain across my head made me open my eyes in alarm. I was still in the darkness of the void, still floating in the blackness. But…for some reason, this all seemed wrong, very, very wrong. I shouldn’t be able to feel anything here and yet… there it was. The wave of pain intensified and I gritted my teeth as the burning sensation dragged across my face. I tried to lift my hooves to my head but found myself completely unable to make them respond. Something was preventing me from

moving and I could feel a rising well of fear bubbling up from within me. I needed to move, I had to wake up, but I was trapped both in this black nothingness and, it seemed, inside my own self.

The pain in my head intensified to a level I had never experienced. There was no end to it, every nerve within me burning with white hot agony. I screamed. I could feel my chest heaving, but no sound came forth. The utter wrongness of this assailed me and I could feel reason beginning to slip away as I heaved my body, fighting with all my might against invisible shackles.

I fought, pouring every ounce of remaining strength into my struggle to escape. But escape what ? I couldn’t shout for help, I couldn’t even cry out in pain, and Oh! Celestia, it hurt. It hurt so much, what the hell was happening to me ? I had to escape this, I had to get away….

I tried to take one last deep burning breath, and pushed out with every last drop of strength I had. A mantra I’d heard at the temple of the two when I was a foal, flashed into my mind, ‘Luna, guide me, Luna protect me, your strength is our strength, your wisdom lights the way’. Luna, the princess of the night, the moonlight in the darkness. If ever I needed her guiding light it was now.

I chanted the words in my mind, silently mouthing them. Despite my desperate struggles, I became dimly aware of a strange sensation of pressure on my back, giving me a sudden, and welcome, extra drive to push forward. The feeling intensified but there was no pain or discomfort, it was almost as if someone were behind me, helping to push my body forward, out of the void. The curious part of me wanted to look round and see what the source of the pressure was, but the driving need right then was to move forward. Push ahead, push forward, do this, I had to....

I felt, rather than saw, the blackness move. It pressed in on me, threatening to suffocate me, trap me, and I silently cried in out panic and anger as I lowered my head and charged. My legs steadfastly refused to respond, yet despite this I still had the sensation of movement, the unidentifiable external force urging me onward. And there, ahead, lay a grey tinted light. Not far now, it was so close I could almost reach out and touch it.

I pressed on, feeling myself closing the distance yet still with the otherworldly feeling of standing still. I kept up the chant of the mantra, desperate to try and keep some level of focus and stop my mind from drowning in abject terror.

I struggled closer, so close now, one last effort. This was, I now knew, my last chance to save myself, to save my beloved wife, all other thoughts were meaningless. I gave one final great effort and plunged into the grey light. Behind me I could hear a faint voice, swiftly fading away “Be strong brave one. Be strong. For them…”.

There was a blinding white flash of light, and the sound of a foals laughter….

It was a beautiful day, the sun warmed my coat and the sky was a perfect azure blue. The pegasi has cleared all the clouds for miles around, gifting the land with a clear view of Celestias blessing to the world. I relished the sun, rolling in the grass and breathing in the fresh, clean air. Taking off at a full gallop I charged straight into a copse of inviting trees. The sunlight broke through the canopy and I jumped between the beams of light, laughing with the sheer exuberance of youthful life.

A deep orange butterfly lazily circled my head, landing on the tip of my nose. It tickled. Laughing, I stood on my hind legs with my forelegs held out to either side, imitating the acrobats I had seen the last time the circus had been to our town. One, two, three steps, it wasn’t easy for a four legged creature to balance on two and gravity, along with my own imbalance, started inexorably, to topple me over.

I staggered, trying to catch my balance, focussing on the butterfly right up until the point my hooves landed on…nothing. I fell. I really wished I had wings right now, but wishes weren’t going to arrest my plummet into, Celestia knew what. The world around me transitioned from being a joyful and carefree land of sunshine, to heart jarring terror and helplessness. I plunged downward through branches, bushes and tree limbs. The shattering foliage did little to slow my descent and I cried out as thorns tore at my hide. Everything was a blur and, in all reality, probably had not lasted more than a few seconds, but to my foals mind it seemed to take forever to come to a halt. And halt I did, but not in the way I had thought I would.

I hit the water with a deafening splash and my vision became a watery world of shadows, distant shapes and strange noises. I couldn’t breath, I panicked and my heart raced in my chest. My legs were caught in something and I realised with sudden clarity that I was going to drown and no pony, not even my parents, knew where I was.

I had become lost amongst the trees and I simply hadn’t cared. My parents had been nearby finishing off the last of the picnic and told me not to wander too far. Naturally, I hadn’t listened. What a fool I was and now this was where it would all end. The all too short and pointless life of a foal who hadn’t even managed to live long enough to get his cutie mark.

I sensed my lungs filling with water and the life essence within me slipping away as my struggles weakened. Fear turned to acceptance, Luna and Celestia would take my soul to the next world, it would soon be time for me to sleep. Time to… father ? father is that ? Yes ! Yes, it was ! He was looking at me through the surface of the water, a frightened but resolute look on his face, his forelegs grabbing me and pulling me up. Up towards the sweet, sweet air, the sky, the earth. Oh thank the goddesses, I was going to live !

I broached the surface, gasping for air, pain knifing through my lungs but, something, something, wasn’t right here. The light had gone… it was dark now, but I was aware of being inside. Father ? Mother ? No answer. I was in a room, badly lit from a couple of flickering storm lanterns that hung from hooks in the wooden beamed ceiling. It seemed familiar to me but was oddly hard to make out details. My eyes, strangely, couldn’t focus very well. Actually, make that ‘eye’, my right one didn’t seem to be working at all.

I tried to take a deep breath and clear my head, but a wave of pain and nausea filled me and my lungs felt like they were full of fluid. I coughed, weakly, straining to fill them with life giving air. I managed to take pitifully shallow and rapid breaths, my brief sense of accomplishment crushed by another torrent of hot agony that made me vomit across the floor where I lay.

Sounds assailed me from…somewhere, although in my current muggy, disoriented state, I couldn’t say for certain what it was or where it was coming from. I tried to take stock of my surroundings, I had to remain calm and stay alive. I was of no use to any pony, let alone myself, if I panicked blindly.

I was in a room. Lying on a wooden floor. I was soaking wet, saturated in fact. Well, that was to be expected if I’d just been pulled out of a river I supposed. Ah, wait. That wasn’t water, that was…damn. Blood. My blood to be precise. I still couldn’t see well or move my head, so I decided to make a mental check on the rest of my body.

It wasn’t going to end well. My forelegs seemed to working but my hind legs, my..hind legs. My heart rate soared as I managed to look back at them. The last time I had seen them, they hadn’t been bent that way, what the hell was going on here, what had happened to me? Damn, no time for this now, something was going on around me, I had to do something, had to…stop them. But do what ? I asked myself in a frantic voice, stop who ?

My mind was a disaster of images, sounds, fear and pain. I couldn’t move, I certainly couldn’t stand, but by Luna I was going to try, I had to try. I gritted my teeth and huffed out a fine spray of blood.

“Hey Gates, our buddy’s waking up over here”. I looked up, no easy feat with my good eye near the floor. “Not ready to die yet then eh, big guy ?” A sneering voice said as a large red stallion glowered down at me.

“I think he will be when he see’s what i’ve got in store for our little pet here.” Another male, his words dripping with malice, called from the next room.

“Oh, you’re going to love this one, big guy, you’ll never forget this. Never….”. As he hissed out the last word, a hoof slammed into my neck. The red pony laughed, shrieking with borderline hysteria. He caught himself, took a deep breath and looked me in the eye again. His crimson eyes looking searchingly into mine, he grabbed my head between his hooves, pulling me closer, so close I was breathing in his fetid breath. I glared at back at him, desperately trying to remember as much detail about him as I could.

He was a big bastard, heavy set and sporting a short green mane matted with grease. He had cracked black hooves that were spattered with what, I could probably guess, was my blood. I couldn’t see his cutie mark from where I lay, however there was one feature of his I would never be able to forget and that was his stench. The reek of unwashed equine hung around him in a thick miasma and I was surprised not to see flies buzzing about the stinking creature. His hot fetid breath from what were

doubtless rotting teeth, rolled over me and I tried, fruitlessly, not to inhale his foulness into my body any more than I had to.

He had a strange accent, it wasn’t local, but had a feminine quality that was at odds with his heavy set form. I didn’t know much about him, but one thing I did know was that I hated this pony. I hated him with a vengeance that, strangely, surprised me. I didn’t know what I had done to this sick bastard, though I was sure it must have been
bad, really bad, to warrant this sort of attack. What I didn’t know though, was that what had happened to me was as nothing compared to what was to happen next. No comparison at all.

Shouting and the unmistakable sound of breaking glass could be heard coming from the next room. A scream of pain, mingled with panic sharply pulled my attention to the doorway as a dirty yellow stallion dragged another pony into the room. By the cries, it was a mare, though from my position I couldn’t make out who it was. The paraffin lights offered little to illuminate the room, blood still stinging my remaining eye. Was it always this dark in here ?

The mare screamed in fury at the yellow buck and kicked futilely at him, she was clearly weakened, beaten and at the end of her endurance. He laughed and violently smacked a hoof across her face, a spray of crimson flying from her muzzle and landing on my mouth. The iron tang of blood not my own, trickled down my tongue. The mare looked across at me, the large yellow eyes reflected in the lamp light went wide in shock.

“NO ! Oh goddesses no ! What have you animals done to him, oh Celestia no, no, NO !”

The mare tried to struggle towards me but was slammed to the ground by the big male, driving the breath from her lungs. Both the stallions laughed. “We’ve got a little show planned for you, little piggy” the yellow one called across to me as he pushed his forelegs into the green mares chest. He started to push down, increasing his force inch by merciless inch, all the while grinning at me with his bared teeth. The green mare coughed, flailing her legs, trying to free herself, struggling for breath as his pressure compressed her lungs.

“Sorry darling, I don’t think I quite heard you. Could you try saying that again ?”, he said in low voice.

“You….no, I”

He suddenly released his pressure on her, the mare gasping and coughing beneath him. The yellow male took a single, loud deep breath, leaned his head back and then lunged forward. A loud crack sounded across the room and a warped look of ecstasy crossed the stallions face. The mare cried out, trying to stifle a scream. She belched out streamers of blood, her struggles visibly slowing. All the while that sickening look across her attackers face burned itself into my memory. Mr anger flared white hot and I silently prayed to Luna that I could return the suffering this animal had inflicted on the mare, return it ten fold. I gritted my teeth and gave him a look I hoped he would

remember. One day, Luna willing, I would look down into his eyes and smile that same rictus grin, as I slowly extinguished his existence from the world.

My thoughts or retribution were derailed by the red pony moving behind me. Roughly lifting my head in his hooves, he locked my head and neck so I could see only the mare. “Look well piggy, look well. You’re gonna enjoy this. At least, he is
anyways !” He shrieked out another maniacal laugh as he shoved my useless body with his, probably trying to make himself more comfortable.

My mind raged, I knew this mare, I just couldn’t place her though. Damn it why were my thoughts such a mess, who were these bastards and why couldn’t I fight back ? I wanted to fight, to pull myself up and away from the grip of the pony with the vice like hold on my head, but most of all, as I looked across at the green mare, I wanted to save her.

“Do what you want…. I’ll do..”, she coughed more blood as she struggled for air, her face a torment of emotion, “……….what you want but please, let him go……. Please”.

She pleaded with the two ponies but I knew, knew it was hopeless. She knew it was too. The last grasp for a straw in the unyielding floodwater. The yellow buck smacked her across the face, again, and again, the crack of bone and a wet gurgling sound was all I could hear. The floor vibrated with each impact and, despite my own condition, the blows made me flinch with her. Selfishly, I wished I could block it all out, pretend this wasn’t happening, that it was all just some horrific dream and I would wake up panting in my bed, relieved it could all be washed away with the usual morning shower.

I would remember.

I had to remember, I had to take in every detail, record every moment, every facet of this event. Even if this was the end, I would take the memory of this to Hades and hunt these two down until the end of time. I had to remember the green mare with the yellow eyes.

She coughed again, blood trickling down her muzzle whilst the red pony giggled behind me.

“Go easy Gates, I don’t want her going cold on me”. I could feel him shaking with excitement while he squeezed my head. I wanted to shut it all out, but the mare looked at me with a resigned expression on her face. She gazed lovingly into my eyes while the yellow stallion dragged himself atop her and with a wild, animal like whoop, plunged himself deep into her.

She never flinched, nor cried out but I wanted so badly to cry out for her. Her strength showed in that look and she shared it with me. I wanted to scream, fight, do something, anything to stop these…these ‘things’, from doing what they were doing to her.

I struggled as hard as I could, my forelegs scrabbling for purchase. I couldn’t just lie back and let this happen, “Luna, please, give me strength.” I gurgled through the bubbles of blood.

The red pony made a tutting sound, “Luna ?” he scoffed, “What the fucks she going to do for you eh?, fly in and rescue you ?” He nearly choked laughing on the last words, banging my head off the floor for emphasis.

“You…….. fucking……. vermin” I gasped, “I’ll find you……I’ll kill…….kill you”.

“Yeah, I’m sure you will big guy” he laughed. “You first though”

“After we’ve enjoyed the party first, Mel” the other pony said over his shoulder. He gave one final grunt and shuddered, pulling himself off the mare. His semen splattering across her hind legs and floor.

“My turn at last. By the bitches tits, you take your fucking time”. The one who I now knew as ‘Mel’, slammed my head to the floor, stepping on my face as he walked across the room to the mare. “Whoops!”, he said as he glanced behind him, “Looks like I stepped in something”. He laughed at his own joke.

“Ah, look at the friggin mess, you could’ve tidied up after youself buddy”, they both laughed as the red pony grasped the mares hind legs, turning her violently to one side. “I’m going to enjoy this bitch”, he spoke into her ear. He turned to look at me and smiled, a sickening smile which emphasised his utter contempt for the mare, for me and graphically displayed his knowledge that he had complete control over us. He had won and he knew it.

The mare continued to look into my eye, searchingly, seeming to be trying to lose herself in me.

I could feel tears streaming down my face, there was nothing I could do. The wash of utter despair threatened to engulf me. Nothing I could do, nothing….wait. What was that ? I felt something cold beneath me. Something metallic, long, hard and cold. It had been there all along but I had been so numb that I hadn’t been able to pick it out from all the other sensations my body was trying to make sense of.

I noticed the yellow pony stood to one side, brushing his black sweat soaked mane back from his face, urging on his fellow as he watched him pounding the helpless mare. I moved my agonised body to try and free whatever it was beneath me. More, just a little more effort and it would be loose. I could feel it moving now. I scrabbled with my hooves as quietly as I could until my teeth could manage a purchase on whatever the item was. Right then, I didn’t care, any thought of just what this thing was disappeared in a red haze of pain, hatred and loathing for these vile animals.

I pulled, what I took for a metal rod of some kind, out from beneath me, grabbing it with my hooves. It felt like time was almost standing still and I could see the yellow stallion starting to turn towards me. Colour faded out as I swung the metal rod with the final energy reserves I had managed to gather.

It wasn’t enough. The metal rod struck the yellow stallion in the head, a hook like protrusion stabbing into his face. He screamed, rearing and pulling at the rod with his hooves. The rod clattered to the ground with a metallic clang and I looked up at his torn and ruined face.

“Bastard, bastard, BASTARD !” Gates yelled whilst holding the flap of skin tight against his face and pacing round the room.

“Huh, should have kept your eye on him eh ?” Mel shouted back at Gates. He paused looking down at the mare. “Fuck, looks like this one couldn’t handle a real stallion. Could have waited till I’d fucking well finished shagging her”.

“Never mind the green bitch, look what this cunt did to my face”. Gates yelled back at him, blood dripping past his hoof onto the floor.

“Few stitches will patch that up ya big girls blouse”. Mel shoved the mare dismissively to one side and pushed Gates with his hoof. “You’ll look well hard with a scar. The girls love a tough looking guy. Guess you’ll have to do though, hey ?” He gave a manic laugh and went to the corner of the room, picked up a large metal container and trotted off to the other room.

The yellow pony walked over to me, his amber eyes full of hatred and murder. I looked up at him defiantly, they may have won but at least I’d managed to give that bastard something to remember me by. With any luck, Luna would let me haunt his dreams.

A strong chemical smell hit my nostrils and I could see the red one, Mel, walking around the room pouring the liquid from the can around the floor and walls. He threw the empty can into the corner and took out a lighter.

Gates grabbed my head and looked me in the eye. I had never seen such utter hatred before, never imagined any pony could harbour such utter loathing towards another, “You’re going to burn now, you cunt” he sneered. The effect somewhat ruined by his torn mouth.

“You’re going to have your very own private cremation. Free of charge.”

“Who are you”, I gasped weakly, “Why did you do this ?” He stopped for a moment and looked, I was surprised to see, genuinely amazed I had asked this.

“You fucking with me ? You don’t…..ah….” He leaned forward and tapped my horn. A white hot shot of pain lanced down though my skull making me cry out.

“Hurts don’t it ?”, he smirked. “Fucks with your memory when this thing cops it, piggy”. He coughed, choked, then laughed aloud at some joke I couldn’t understand. Tears streamed down my face, what the hell had they done to me ?

“Come on for fucks sake, this place is ready to go up” Mel shouted to Gates as he trotted to another door. “Leave him will you, he’s already dead.”

The yellow pony picked up the metal rod and looked at it closely. He stared at me while he slowly licked the pointed end which was slick with his blood. The wicked curved barb hung with pieces of flesh from his ruined face.

“Seems appropriate”, he said as he moved towards me, “A fire poker should be used to…stoke a fire”.

The smell of burning wood and fabric hit my nostrils and I could see the flicker of flames from the back room. Yellow firelight wreathed Gates as he reared up on his hind legs, the metal of the poker flashed. “Its nothing personal, piggy. I just wanted to see you squeal”.

The yellow pony dropped, the poker driving down towards my chest. With my ruined eye, I couldn’t see what happened next and was glad of it, although the sensation of my skin giving way as the poker was thrust in to my body was beyond anything I could imagine.

Choking and writhing in a white hot rush of pain, I lashed out at something, anything I could catch hold of to get away from this situation. My frantic flailing only made the yellow one laugh all the louder whilst my fountaining gore dripped from his hooves.

“Gates, move your arse will you”, Mel hissed from the doorway as the other pony took his weight off the makeshift spear. “Yeah” he said in a gasping voice, the effort obviously having taxed him. “Time to get the herd out of Dodge” he muttered, slamming the door shut behind them.