//------------------------------// // Mercy // Story: A Slave's Freedom // by Soaring //------------------------------// It had been a long while since Mr. Burr had felt this way. Weakness was not something he would want to show, and this fever had put him out there for all of his slaves to see. Fortunately for Mr. Burr, he now resided in his bed, secluded by the four, white, cracking walls around him. The discoloration in some spots turned what was once pristine white into a light grey. A brown chair stood battle-scarred in the corner. Next to it, a window sill that peered out into the world beyond. And then a candle, in case Mr. Burr decided to read, much like his wife had done. Mr. Burr took a shaky breath. It was hot in the room. It wasn’t because of the heat outside. No, Mr. Burr was covered in the bed sheets. It was all Dyson’s idea to hide Mr. Burr in his own room, away from the rest of the slave population. “You’ll be comfortable, Master,” Dyson had said to him. Comfortable mattress, yes, but not in temperature. He unfolded the sheets back a bit, letting his body breathe. He was tempted to try and squirm out of bed to crack open the window, however, his legs reminded him of how this fever took over. His legs were hard to move. It felt like trudging through murky waters, except there wasn’t any water like that in his estate. How a simple fever could make him this weak was beyond Mr. Burr’s comprehension. All he knew was that he was sick, most likely with something that his wife got.  Mr. Burr shook his head. There was no need to be thinking like that. He’ll pull through, he had to. These slaves got nowhere else to turn to. They should know that. Yet… Outside, the sky began to fade away, the red sun falling further and further out of view. Soon, he’d have to have one of his slaves come in and light the candle by his bedside, or maybe grab that lantern outside in the shed and put her next to him. That would make him want to read the Ripley Advertiser too and—  Mr. Burr didn’t want to admit to his own issues. He felt like his mind was cursing him. Every little waking moment he had now reminded him of every little waking moment he had with his wife, and that he wouldn’t get her back and—  “Promise me you’ll take care of ‘em, my love.” He sat under the covers, wondering if he’d upheld those words that tortured him. Two days had passed since Mr. Burr had been under the care of Dyson, who simply said a couple days of rest would help him. Unfortunately, that remedy was a very slow cure. His body felt worse despite the rest he had gotten, and at this point, he did not feel hungry, just incredibly thirsty. He had asked Dyson before for water, but Dyson had heard from one of the other slaves that giving Mr. Burr any sort of water or food would increase the likelihood of death. So, when Dyson had advised him against drinking or eating anything, he had followed through. Mr. Burr licked his own lips. There was very little saliva left on that palette of his. The rest of his body felt limp, and he didn’t feel like getting up out of his bed anymore, even if the sheets made him feel like a furnace at the blacksmith. Unfortunately, what little sweat Mr. Burr had on his face wasn’t going to fix his tongue nor his hunger. Frustratedly, Mr. Burr let out a long sigh, and attempted to pull the sheets back from his body. That was, until Dyson made an entrance. The door flew open, slamming against the door jam. Suddenly, both Dyson and Sable flooded into the room, clambering to his bedside. “Master, are you okay?” “No…” Mr. Burr muttered, his voice strained. He shifted under his sheets. “Too warm in here, and I’m feelin’ like I got run over by a runaway stagecoach.” The two slaves looked back at each other. Mr. Burr raised a brow at the two. “Is this how I’m supposed to feel?” Sable looked downtrodden, her head hung low. She twiddled her thumbs. “Not, exactly…” Mr. Burr hummed to himself. “What other options do I have?” Dyson piped up first, “How about we get ya a bit of food and—” “Massa don’t need to eat none,” Sable stated rather sternly, her eyes glaring daggers at Dyson. She turned to Mr. Burr once again and smiled. “Massa how’d ya feel about bloodlet—” “No way in hell I’d do that! Anything involving blood would be what that damn physick would say, and I'm not wanting to visit him anytime soon.” The sudden burst of energy shocked the two slaves, their eyes widened at his words. “Mr. Morris wouldn’t do that, Massa!” Sable’s words echoed in Mr. Burr’s ears. He grimaced as he remembered what Mr. Owens told him about those ‘insane medical contraptions’ Mr. Morris had in his office. “I wouldn’t put it past him, Sable. He’s one of them.” Dyson rubbed the end of his chin with his hand. “Then if Master ain’t too comfortable on Mr. Morris, what ya think we could do?” Mr. Burr knew that question wasn’t for him. It was for Sable, who just tilted her head in response. Silence settled in, only the chiming of a pendulum clock in the living room was to be heard. Then, Sable gave Mr. Burr a short smile and said, “Massa, have ya gone to Church?” “No,” he replied, shaking his head. “Been stuck here for the past couple days, and last week the church was closed for… ‘repairs’.” “Then ya at least prayed, haven’t ya?” Mr. Burr raised a brow at her. “Yes, I have, Sable. Lord’s prayer, every single day I wake up. Is this going somewhere?” Sable nodded. “They say if ya pray to God, then he help ya get better…” Her eyebrow twitched. “I done what I can, Massa. It in God’s hands now.” “What about—” “Dyson!” Sable exclaimed. “Feedin’ him ain’t going to do none—” “How do ya know that, Sable?” Dyson tilted his head at her, his eyebrows furrowing. “We got no other options! And if none of them other ones ain’t workin’, then we need to give this one a try!” Mr. Burr smiled as the two argued about him. They were like siblings: a son and a daughter, both arguing about what they should do to help their father. Yet, as Sable gave a loud huff through her nostrils, he knew who they were again. Not his children. They were his slaves. Hell, those two weren’t even siblings. How could he think of them like that? “We could just put a cold towel on his head.” “Why ya say that, Sable?” “Massa said he was hot, right?” “Very,” Dyson replied, scratching his head. “Why a cold towel—oh, oh.” Sable smirked and nudged Dyson on the shoulder. “Now ya be usin’ your head, Dyson.” Mr. Burr tried to stifle a laugh, but due to his dry throat, his laugh turned into a coughing frenzy. The two slaves turned their attention to him, but he waved them off. “Just dry is all. Can’t even laugh when feeling like this.” Sable sighed. “Well, maybe we should give him a bit of water and—” “Wait, are ya sayin’ what I think you’re sayin’?” Upon hearing those words, Mr. Burr saw Sable’s eyes roll hard. He was worried that those eyes of hers would fall right out of her head. Yet, they did not. They just glared at the two of them as she walked towards the door. “Maybe ya might be a bit right, but I’ll believe it when I see it.” She gripped on the doorknob and turned it slightly to the right. “Let Massa rest for tonight. I’ll get him some of that water, while ya get him that candle lit.” Dyson raised a brow. “Why we needin’ to light that candle?” Sable turned back around and peeked her head back in the room. “Cuz he been eyin’ it like he got somethin’ with it!” Mr. Burr suddenly felt his face burst into flames, his cheeks warmer than even the fever that plagued him. He wanted to hide under the covers, but he did not want to show his slaves any sort of weakness. He needed to be strong. He needed to not look at the candle and—Mr. Burr looked at the candle. Dyson chuckled. “Maybe you’re right too, Sable. Master lookin’ at it right now!” “Neither of you will utter a word to the others about this,” Mr. Burr growled, glaring at the two in his midst. Even though they knew of what ailed their slave master, Dyson and Sable stood up straight, or at least Dyson did. Sable was nearly out the door, still peeking in to see what was happening. She did though, step in to show that she did care, despite how she spoke. “Sorry, Master. We won’t tell a soul,” Dyson said, while Sable just gave a very curt nod. “Good,” Mr. Burr said. “Oh, and while you’re at it Dyson, can you fetch me my newspaper for the day?” Dyson gave Mr. Burr a grin. “That I can, Master.” With that, the two slaves left their owner in his lonesome, the door slowly creaking shut in their wake. The last thing I remembered was sitting in a room with a woman who claimed she was a dreamer. She said she supervised everyone else’s dreams. She also told me how she was not like me, and how she was like Rainbow Dash but not like her as well. She was able to see me, and hear what I was thinking. It was… way too much, yet I was able to get what I needed out there, while… well, wrapping my mind around this entire quest she told me about. However, I was not there now. I was on the ground, sort of, washed up on a little shore-like area. I felt like I got run over by one of them horse drawn carriages. Every single part of my body was aching, and as I tried to pick myself up off the ground, I felt every muscle scream in agony. I groaned in response, trying to stretch what pain that wore me down, but my leg was surely not going to cooperate. Guess I had something wrong with my leg. However, my body aching was the least of my worries. I realized that this place was dark, and I couldn’t see a thing. Only a light from across the way, where a pool of water lay. Since I saw no other light like it near me, I had to guess that’s where we fell down from, especially since a small stream of water filtered in from that beam of light. I took a look at the shore and bent down, quickly taking a scoop of water in my hand and gulping it down. Thinking it was okay to drink, I took a couple more handfuls before I wiped my hand off.  I was pretty dry to the bone, well, except for my right arm. My arm was still soaked from probably being in it while I was barely on shore. That view turned for the worst though, as I realized there was barely anything left of my clothes to salvage. Shirt was all torn to pieces, while what remained was soaked and dirty. My pants were one of the few things to survive, luckily, as there were only a few small tears. However, where those tears were, so were a few instances of blood. I winced at the sight of it. The blood looked like it had dried up, but it still didn’t look that good. I’m lucky that nothing else happened and that Rainbow Dash was—wait where was she? “D-Dash?” I sputtered, a dry cough making me nearly keel over.  I quickly hobbled along the little shoreline that was here, only to find that she was here. It took me a bit of balance, but I found her just a little ways down the line. That did soothe my mind a bit, but her condition did make my heart race. That strained wing of hers? Bit more bent now. And that bad hoof? There was a bit more blood on it than before. I didn’t want to say it was all hers though, It could be from my body, knowing how much the fall tore me up. But maybe it wasn’t—all I knew was that we must’ve fallen into some other stuff on the way down, or maybe landing in this big water-filled cave did have a huge impact on us. That wasn’t the worst thing I saw, though. Even though she was much more damaged than before, I nearly fell over when I saw her eyes weren’t open. She was breathing, though, which made me fall to my knees, both thanking whoever watched over us that she was alive, while also checking her over for any other injuries. It didn’t appear like there was much else, only minor scratches across her frame. I sighed a sigh of relief, and held her close. That woman said she was my guide, and if I had already broken my promise… “You reap what you sow.” I frowned, watching as her chest heaved in and out. It was like she was desperately trying to breathe, something that made me act quicker than I thought. I had pulled her further from the shoreline, up higher on this landmass in the cave. I tried to wake her up, but her body wasn’t having it. Her muzzle was all scrunched up, and her eyelids were twitching. Was she… dreaming? A whimper was what I was awarded for that thought. She definitely was dreaming. Was she dreaming of us falling again? Was she wondering if she was dead? Or was that woman telling her something too? I didn’t want to know for sure, I just wanted her to wake up. I just wanted her to wake up. My eyes widened. I grabbed a hold of her and started shaking her. “Dash, wake up!” She began whimpering more. I could’ve sworn she said my name too—  “Dash! Dash!” My shaking must’ve done something. Her eyes flicked wide open and she let out this shrill yelp that sounded like a mouse getting stomped on. Then, she turned to me, blinking. “Is that you, Dyson?”  “Yes, Dash!” I practically shouted, my voice echoing in the cave. “We’re alive!” I watched as she let out a dry, cheery giggle, before coughing like I did too. She pointed at her throat. “T-Throat’s dry, eh heh.” I gave her a short smile. “Mine was too.” I looked over at the water next to us. “You could drink from here, y’know?” Dash looked over at it, eyes glazed. “I don’t know about that, Dyson. It… looks kinda dirty.” “What choice do we have?” I asked her. She shook her head. “Not much…” She let out a coarse laugh. “Sorry, k-kinda out of it at the moment. That fall got me thinking… less straight than n-normal!” Slowly, I watched her get up. I held her close, just to make sure she didn’t fall over and bend that wing of hers even more. “Thanks, Dyson,” she breathed. Her eyes fluttered shut and she gave me a weak nuzzle. “Tell me when I n-need... to b-bend over.” I raised a brow at that. “Why? Can’t ya see?” Her eyes, those pink orbs, they looked like they were swimming in her head. “I… c-can see, just not well. Head’s hurting… a lot.” “Then I’ll guide ya, Dash,” I said, trying to keep myself steady. I brought my hands gently to her chest, and interlocked them together. Then, I slowly leaned forward. “Lean into ‘em.” She did, slowly, even craning her neck. Eventually, her mouth found water, lapping at it like a dog on a hot summer’s day. I couldn’t help but smile. “Taste good?” “Y-Yep!” Dash said, although it sounded like she was gargling some of the water. She tapped me on my chest with one of her hind hooves, signalling for me to pull up. So I did, pulling her away from the water. I looped one of my arms around her body. She fell into me as a result. She let out a laugh. “I feel drowsy…” “Don’t sleep none, Dash. Not goin’ help that headache of yours.” She sighed. “You’re right…” She gently brought her head close. “What do… you think we should do, then?” I frowned. “I don’t know, Dash. We need to find a way out of this here cave, but I can barely even see ya!” I watched as Rainbow Dash blinked rapidly. She took it in the surroundings and smirked. “Y-You mean you c-can't see, Dyson?” “Wait, you can see?” “Yep!” she began, chuckling. “It’s a bit… b-blurry, though but if you keep holding me up, I-I can get us through here!” I shook my head. I couldn’t believe that she could see with her being that weak. Guess that’s what horses can see, even though, well, they could easily get scared by a mouse scurrying across their pen. But she wasn’t exactly a horse. Like one, surely, but not all the way. She wouldn't be afraid of a mouse. It wasn’t important anyway. My mind’s like a mouse too, going all over the place. I pulled Dash back towards me. “I’ll do my best.” She gave me a weak smile. “Then let’s find a way off this little shore!” We hobbled along the edge of this thing. There didn’t seem much of a way up to the higher portion of this mass, but as we tried to walk, I felt as if we were going up. It was nice to feel a bit of progress in each step and—oof!  I nearly broke my foot as I tripped over something. Dash didn’t see it either, I guess, yelping as she fell into me. “What we just trip over?” I turned around and picked up the offending piece of… “Wood?” She gasped. “Why’s there wood down here?” I looked back behind us, back at that hole that had the light in it. It must’ve drifted over like those branches I saw in the water. But… why? “I think that some wind brought this down here,” I said to her. “That light across the water is where we fell in, so it must’ve drifted onto this here shore.” I could see part of her head bobbing in the dark. “P-Probably, which means we could make ourselves some torches, too.” Torches. I remembered what those were. They weren’t with the greatest of memories, but for now, I did not need to hear or see those. “You see any more of them, Dash?” And so the hunt for wood began. We kept on searching near the shore. Soon, we collected a nice hefty bunch in my hands. She brought herself close, making sure to match my pace. We walked in and around this place, climbing further and further up. Eventually, we saw another light, one that barely lit up where we stood. We had gotten to a flat part of this place, a grey piece of clearing that looked like a great place to lay down. Dash must’ve read my mind, she collapsed to the ground in a heap of feathers and pain. “That’s enough moving for right now.” She looked over to me. “You think you could keep watch over me while I sle—” “Dash, ya can’t sleep, remember?” She whined, letting out a harsh blow through her muzzle. “B-But!” I walked over to her and smiled. “No excuses, ma’am!” “I t-thought I told you... not to call me, m-ma’am,” she growled through seething teeth. A rather familiar feeling emerged from me, one that I had felt when Master was sick, or when I couldn’t help myself and let my mouth run off at Leo. I guess I had never truly recognized what it was. A sense of… self? I couldn’t wrap my head around it, I knew who I was after all. Had always been a slave. Yet, here I was, letting the shiver race down my spine. I slowly pointed a finger at her, and smirked. “If you thinkin’ of sleepin’, then I get to call ya that… ma’am.” At first, that shiver turned into a queasy feeling that stayed in my stomach. Yet, it stopped when I saw Dash’s reaction.  “Okay, okay!” she exclaimed. She shoved her forehooves at me, as if to push me away. “Then you better start trying to get that torch ready. Just, talk to me while you do it, okay?” “Sure, Dash,” I replied. Grabbing a couple large chunks of them, I began to grind them together like I saw Master do that one time.  Rainbow Dash made sure to maintain her distance while I did this. She probably didn’t want to get any wood or ash in her eyes. But she didn’t stay too far away, either. I could tell that she was watching me intently, about a leg's length from where I was sitting. I turned my head towards her. “So, what do you want… to talk about?” “I don’t know,” she began. Still couldn't see her well, even if this light was here, but I could hear her playing with the grey grains of this place too. “There’s... a-a lot that we could talk about…” “Like what?” I felt my words just tumble out of my mouth. I heard her pause. She let out a frustrated sigh, and rested her head on her forehooves. “Anything else but this place.” Ghastly Gorge was all I’ve gotten to see of this place Dash lived in. I didn’t even know what to ask, but I knew she had been asking way too many questions about me, so I should be asking her some. “What’s Equestria like?” Dash’s ears perked up, and scooted closer to me, allowing me to see her more clearly. “Equestria… is pretty huge. L-Lots of different ponies to meet, and even other creatures.” “Creatures?” That question got Dash nodding. “Like what?” The pony bit back her lip, and closed her eyes for a moment. “Let’s see… Griffons, Hippogriffs, Changelings…” Her eyes fluttered partially open. “L-Lots of d-different ones! They all talk just like me.” “That’s way different than where I’m from,” I replied. She tilted her head. “Only people like me can talk.” “Really?!” she exclaimed, only to hold her head tightly with a forehoof. “Agh, can’t really get too excited, m-my head is killing me.” “Wish I could help ya with that…” I frowned, slowing my pace with these pieces of wood. Why they wouldn’t spark was beyond me. They weren’t wet. “Talking helps a bit,” Dash said dryly. She lifted her head for a brief moment before plopping it right back down on her hooves. “W-Was that why you said you were surprised a… ugh, horse, could talk?” “Ya,” I said, nodding. “They… ain’t much of talkers. All they did was whine and growl at us, except for Master’s horse. He liked me a lot.”  A piece of bark fell off the side of one of the chunks, but still no spark. How much longer did I need to do this for? I groaned, suddenly speeding up my pace. I was tempted to grind these down at this point. Dash took notice of the sudden change and sighed. “I’m glad you don’t think of me as a horse anymore.” I turned to look at her, and tilted my head. “Well, I thought of ya like that cuz that’s all I knew. Never thought I’d get run over by a flyin’ pony.” She smirked. “Yeah, and horses around here are far and few between. They’re… really creepy.” “Really?” “Their faces are so long…”  I swore I saw Dash shiver when she said that, and it’s kinda funny to think that they see horses as creepy. They were just a smaller version of them, after all. I chuckled. “Don’t worry. I’ll defend you against ‘em.” She rolled her eyes at that. “You’re so weird, Dyson.” “Not as weird as you, Dash.” With that, silence filled the room for a while, except for me grinding away at these chunks of wood. I kept my arms steady and ready, hoping to see just a little flame, but nothing happened. I sighed, throwing my arms in the air. “This no use! This wood don’t want'a catch fire!” “Don’t give up just because you don’t see anything,” Dash declared, her smile much stronger than before. “The faster we are, the quicker we’re out of here! Then, I could show you how awesome Equestria is!” “I’ll take ya on that offer, Dash,” I said. I gave her a smirk. “Ya seem like you’re feelin’ better already.” “Like I said, talking h-helps!” her voice cracked a bit. “I have to get better. I... need to get us out of here!”  For some reason, I felt my heart twinge at that. It wasn’t her duty to take this all on her own. I promised that woman after all. I knew Dash was supposed to be my guide, but she didn’t need to carry this on her own. We were going to get out of this here hole and we were going to go see this world of hers. And… I was going to... Be free. That woman wanted me to say this to her, yet I couldn't. I thought I knew what felt like being free, but I didn't, that's what she told me. It scared me... yet, it somehow motivated me more than ever. I reached out and pulled her close. “No, we have to get out of here. We’ll do this together, okay?” Rainbow Dash looked at me like I had something on my face. Was she not expecting that? Didn’t she say before that we had to work together to get out of here? But as her smile widened and her head nudged into my side, I think she must’ve forgotten. It didn’t matter. I wasn’t going to let this gorge beat me, beat us. Even if my arms felt like they were going to fall off, I’d keep on going until this torch was lit. For Dash. For me. For freedom.