Subject 23: Chapter 3

>”WHY.”
>Pain.
>”WON'T.”
>Bleeding.
>”YOU.”
>Monotony.
>”BREAK!”
>Pinkie (or, rather, Gray-ie) slams into your chest again, breaking and bruising your poor ribs.
>You grin, showing off the blood and broken teeth you've accrued over the past months.
“Maybe I'm just too much man for ya, darlin'.”
>She cuts your bum eye, causing you to shake and growl in pain.
>They had taken to allowing some scars to remain, with what remains of your left eye being one of the >more prominent ones.
>”You've lost everything.  EVERYTHING! Your old life...”
>She punches you across the jaw.
>”GONE! You. Have. NOTHING! WHY do you insist in not giving up!?!”
>She cries in rage, hitting you to accentuate every other word.
“Some things... are more important... than me.”
>Pinkie looks like she's about to start wailing on you again, but she stops herself.
>The rage is gone from her face, replaced by a strange calm.
>”Oh really? THAT'S what this is about...”
>Shit.
>You fucking had to say something, didn't you?
>You stupid fuck.
“No... no not-”
>”Oh yes, Subject 23, oh yes. I don't know why we didn't think of it sooner. No one else grabbed onto them, I suppose.”
>Your mind starts to race.
>You should have never said anything to them
>You shouldn't have ever even looked at those kids.
>”I know how to break you, I know how to break you, I know...”
>She's fucking singing while you're sweating.
>Now they're going to suffer because of you.
“No, please, I'll do anything. I'm Subject 23.”
>”No no no, it's to late for that.  Much too late for that...”
>She knocks you over the head with something hard and pan shaped.
>The last thing you see is her smiling face as you begin to pass out.
“No...”
>You wake up with a start.
>The fillies...
>Are gone.
>FUCK.
“Little ones, are you there? Children?!”
>Maybe... they're just hiding.
>Yes.. yes yes yes yes.
>That's got to be it.
>They can't be gone.
“It's alright girls. It''s all going to be okay.”
>You want to rock back in forth in the fetal position.
>You want to scream out in pain.
>You want to do something you had, long before your sojourn to this place, lost the capacity to do.
>But you remain tough.
>They need you tough.
>They are the reason you survived this long.
>You owe them that much.
”Here, I'll tell you one of my favorite stories. When I was little and scared, I would just read this over again. It's about this big strong guy named Hercules.”
>You've told them this one before, but it seemed to be one of their favorites.
>You still can't see them, but they must be there.
>Listening.
“You see, Herc was the son of Zeus, but he got separated from him at birth. That's a bit sad, right? But it gets better! See, he grew up to be the strongest man in all the land.”
>You tell them the stories of Hercules' journeys, censoring out the violent bits as much as you can.
>You start shaking pretty bad around the end of the story.
>You haven't seen them.
>Maybe... maybe they're asleep!
>But you haven't seen the little orange one...
>She always pops her head out to-
>That's when you hear it.
>Screams.
>Faint screams of small children.
“NO! TAKE ME! TAKE ME!!!”
>You start screaming and shaking your cell door.
“I'M SUBJECT 23!!!! I AM!! PLEASE JUST-”
>The door opens.
>You don't question it.
>The screams are coming from the left.
>You sprint down the hall.
>You see other equines in the cells.
>You don't stop to look.
>You don't care right now.
>You need to save those girls.
>The door at the end of the hall is open.
>The screams are much louder now.
>You burst through the doorjamb to find the room that has taken so much of your blood.
>It's dark, save for one light near Twilight and one on the catwalk above you.
>There's a storm going on outside.
>You can see it raging through one of the windows near the catwalk.
>And you see what you feared the most.
>The three kids are each hanging by their forehooves on hooks.
>They're collars are off, and they all look terrified.
>You charge forward.
>”I wouldn't go any further, Subject 23.”
>Twilight is up at her control panel, looking down on everything.
>”Three little fillies, hanging in a row...”
>Pinkie is up on a catwalk, walking in front of them.
“Stop! Please, I'll do anything! Anything, just leave them alone!”
>”Anything? Really, Subject 23, anything?”
>Pinkie looks down at you, sneering.
“Yes... Yes, please just let them-”
>”Do you know what these little fillies did, Subject 23?”
>The little ones are scared, and they are looking at you.
>Pleading for help with their eyes.
>Twilight continues.
>”They released a great evil upon this land. Great and powerful. For that, I make them watch everything we do here.”
>She told you this already.
>Why is she-
>”And I let them live, out of the memory of my old master. She was always so... merciful.  But I have one rule, Subject 23. If they interfere with my tests, there will be punishment.”
>No.
>No no no no no no no
“Please, no.  This is my fault.  They didn't do this, just let them-
>”They have, multiple times, talked to the subjects.  Over time I simply curbed their communication with collars, shock treatment, and other means.
>The three fillies are crying now.
>The orange one looks at you, eyes still pleading.
>Pinkie walks over to her and smiles, holding up her large knife.
>You can't move.
>”And eventually, the ones they tried to befriend – pony or...otherwise, were turned against them.”
>Pinkie leans in with the knife, looking back at you with a devilish grin.
“No... please...”
>”It appears, however, that their presence has had the opposite effect on you. That they have interfered by merely existing. For that, there's only one type of punishment I can think of that suits my needs.”
>Pinkie backs away from the little orange one and looks at you.
>”What's your name?”
“Subject 23!”
>”Good.”
>Pinkie puts her knife away and walks off.
>Twilight begins to lower the hooks.
>Is it over?
>Was this just a test?
>You gave up your name, but they're safe.
>That's all that-
>Twilight then flips another switch.
>A series of sawblades that were obscured by the darkness spring to life underneath the three little
>fillies.
>The blades make up a giant meat grinder.
“NO!”
>You run forward to try and save the little ones.
>They are bound by chains as they drop lower into the hooks.
>”HELP!”
>”HELP US!”
>The little white one and yellow one begin screaming for you to help them.
>This is the first time you've heard their voices.
>The little orange one just stares at you
>You get to the edge of the spinning grinder.
>You can't reach over to their chains...
>Unless you can get up on the catwalk.
>You run over to the wall and try to make it up the stairs only to be met by Pinkie.
>”SURPRISE!”
>She jumps on top of you with that knife, going for the throat.
>She knocks you on your back.
>The fillies are still crying for help...
>You punch her in the nose and kick her off of your chest
>Not today.
>Not now.
>You get up on the cat walk only to be met with a forcefield.
>”I can't let you do that, Subject 23.”
>You bang on it, but it's impervious.
>You madly throw your weight against it, trying to get at those damned chains.
“DON'T DO THIS! DON'T! PLEASE!”
>“Anonymous, it's okay.”
>A little voice rings out from below.
>It's the little orange one.
“No, I'll get you out, don't worry, I'll-
>”Twilight and Pinkie aren't right in the head right now. Don't hate them.”
“I'll...I'll get-”
>The little orange one looks up at you and smiles.
>Tears are running down her cheeks.
>”You need to be strong, like Hercules was. You need to not give up.”
>The blades are inches away.
>”Thanks for being our friend, Anonymous.”
>Then they hit the blades.
>Blood spatters everywhere on the inside of the forcefield as you watch in horror.
>They scream as they are slowly ground from the bottom up.
>The two on the sides flail about, but the little orange one just looks at you with those huge eyes.
>Your strength leaves you as you fall to your knees.
>The blades come to a stop.
>You're on your hands and knees now.
>You close your eyes.
“No...”
>”Oh yes, Subject 23. Now, let's go back to your-”
“No.”
>You clench your fists in rage.
>Twilight's horn glows.
>”Now that the obstructions have been removed, we can begin to-”
“No.”
>You stand up.
>You drown out everything Twilight and Pinkie are saying in your mind.
“No no no no no no no no no no no-”
>You appear in your cell.
>The door's closed.
“No no no no no no no no no no...”



>You weren't strong enough.
“No...”
>You weren't fast enough.
“Why...”
>You weren't smart enough.
>But God damn it.
>You're going to get out of here.
>You're going to bust out of here.
>And whatever fucking three ring circus of pain they have going on here is gonna get torn down.
>You'll see this place burn if it's the last thing you do in your life.
“My name is Anonymous.”
>You punch the bars on the door.
“I do not forgive.”
>Your fists are bleeding.
“I do not forget.”
>You grab the bars and slide down on your knees, putting your head down to the ground.
>And for the first time in longer than you can remember,
>You cry.