Book 1: Chapter Three - The Situation at Hand

>You stand there for what feels like an hour, processing what just happened.

>Just staring.

>At the horse with wings.

>And a horn.

>That just talked.

>Apparently, judging from the voice, it's a female horse.

>That just regrew skin and muscle tissue in seconds.

>What the fuck is this?

>It...she continues to glare at you.

>She is standing as close to full height as she can, defiance pouring off of her.

>You compose yourself somewhat.

“I know this is going to sound weird.”

>You say, to the talking horse.

“But I'm not who you think I am.”

>You just happen to look and sound just like him.

>Oh, and you have the same name.

>She continues to glare at you.

“Alright, I know this looks bad, and I have no real way to convince you, but I'm telling the truth.”

>This isn't going to work.

“Do you have a name?”

>Silence.

“This will be a lot easier if you would please just tell me your name.”

>”You know it already, snake.  This new game of yours will not work. I will not break.”\

“I'm not asking you to break.  I'm just asking for a name.”

>Silence.

>You stop in front of the horses.

“Alright. I'm going to call you Ms. White. I'm going to call you Ms. Black. I'm Anonymous. Not... YOUR Anonymous.  I'm... ME, not HIM...”

>That's not going to work.

>They don't trust you.

>For good reason.  I look just like a butcher.

>For that reason, you decide that, for the time being, silence might be the better option.

>As you begin pacing again, you look at the cages.

>Six cages hang from the low ceiling in a half circle behind the middle two horses.

>Five of the cages are very similar in structure.

>They each are about two meters tall, wide, and deep.

>They are made completely of metal bars all around, with a cage door in the front of each.

>The door is secured by four large deadbolts.

>You don't see a ready way to open the cages.

>You stop at the right most, to the side of Ms. Black.

>This cage houses a shaking yellow pegasus.

>It sits in the middle of the cage with its eyes closed.

>Surrounding the cage on the outside are hanging, bloody pieces of meat.

>There must be at least a dozen hanging large pieces of raw beef.

>The next cage is covered in filth.

>Mud, muck, feces, blood – it's disgusting.

>You fight the urge to retch.

>The horse being in this cage is in the back corner, lightly sobbing while she faces away from you.

>You cannot tell what color it is.

>It seems to have a horn, but it is covered in filth from head to...hoof.

>Above the cage is a set of shower heads connected to a large pipe.

>to the right of the cage, there is a rope attached to it.

>Your eyes follow the pipe.

>It splits off into eight directions, six leading below the cages, two below the middle horses.

>It seems to be some sort of crude waste collection unit.

>Blood, sweat, excrement, and the like get collected in the system.

>At the pull of rope, you'd bet that it dumps the waste onto this horse's cage.

>If you ever find your other self, he's going to have a bad day.

>You move on to the next cage.

>It's about three times as long as he others, but it's still he same height and width.

>There is a lever on a pedestal inside this cage near he door.

>An orange horse resides in this one.

>It is chained to the back part of the cage, each of it's hooves sprawled towards the four corners.

>There's a pulley system attached to each one of the chains.

>Oddly enough, there is no deadbolts on this cage's door.

>You see the orange horse lurch forward off of the back cage wall, struggling to move.

>Painfully, it struggles towards the lever.

>You watch in horror as this creature, racked with pain, moves forward by sheer force of will.

>When it flies back, hitting the cage wall, it screams in pain and frustration.

>Only to weakly start trying again.

>The next cage holds a purple horse with a horn.

>It has a crazed look in its eyes.

>This cage is simple.  

>No devices to torment.

>No tortures.

>Just the purple unicorn with the disheveled mane and the insane eyes.

>They dart to and fro, often in opposite directions.

>Sometimes they both lock on you, and the horse grins maniacally.

>How the fuck did the other Anon sleep at night?

>You put your hands up non menacingly.

>Back away a few steps.

>And continue onward.

>The other cages up to this point held victims.

>They made you feel like you were the abuser, which you didn't like.

>This one makes you feel you were the caged one, a feeling which you didn't like even more.

>A dark pink horse with a straight, hanging mane stares at you with cold, calculating eyes.

>The horse is in chains, unable to move more than a step or two in any direction.

>That doesn't stop the feeling of dread from washing over you.

>Those eyes.

>You're afraid.

>It just stares.

>As you move on to the next cage, you could feel these eyes weigh upon you.

>Looking into your fears.

>You shake it off and stop at a Metal Box.

>It is much smaller than the other cages.

>There are small holes for air on the bottom.

>It looks like an undersized coffin.

>There are two levers on pedestal in front of the box.

>They are both in the down position.

>You turn around.

“Ms. White? If I move these levers up, will it hurt the horse inside?”

>Silence.

“I know this is hard to believe, but I am not here to hurt you.  I want to help. You think I'm a monster, but I am just trying to understand what's going on here. I need you to help me help you.”

“What do the levers do?”

>”The levers make the box bigger or smaller.”

>A flat, monotone voice comes from the cage with the pink one.

>You look up to see the pink one staring at you.

>You fight back the urge to cower.

>You did not do this.

>These beings need your help.

“Thank you.”

>As you slowly switch the levers, the box begins to expand up and back, expanding the area within.

>How the hell the box works, you don't quite know.

>Then again, talking horses.

>Right.

>As the box reaches the size of the other cages, you notice that is has a slit at about your eye level.

>The slit is about a foot tall and three feet wide.

>It allows you to see a blue horse being with a rainbow colored mane standing up.

>She has wings much like the two horses in the middle do.

>They are bound to her sides, just the middle two.

>It is shaking profusely.

>It looks at you with fear

>Like an abused dog.

>Your heart sinks...

>You give her a look of concern.

“Are you alright?”

>No response.

“I'm not here to hurt you. I'm here to help you.

>”P-please don't put me b-b-back in the box.  I'll be good!”

>She was in tears.

>That voice.

>That voice reminds you of your sister.

>”P-please...

>You see the visions you thought you left behind...

>You look around.

>All eyes are on you.

>Fear.

>Hatred.

>Anger.

>All on you.

>You step back, with your hands on your head.

>How could all of this be happening?

>What the fuck is going on?!?!

>You can;t handle all of this.

>Not now.

>You step back from all of the beings.

>They are still staring at you.

“I'm so sorry.”

>You turn towards the door.

>And you walk out of the room.