//------------------------------// // Perspective // Story: Behind Glass // by Xhadow //------------------------------// I lay here, sedated. Unable to fight. I try gaining control of my body, but it ignores me. "Worthless," my mutterings come out as slurred neighs, my tongue tripping over itself. Great, now I'm immobilized and essentially mute. I mentally curse as the room spins uncontrollably. My gaze focuses on the general area of my enemies, doctors in white coats and black suits. Scientists that think I belong to them. I try to stand, focusing all my strength into the action. I make it to my hooves, just barely able to keep my wobbling form upright. I know I can't fight well, but I knew I couldn't surrender either. I stumble towards the group, my vision blacking out in regular intervals. "Youth...canth," My head cracks off the floor and blackness fills my vision. Pain! My mind snaps awake and I find myself restrained, legs and wings strapped down to an operating table. I scream as the demon possessed woman scratches another layer off the bottom of my hooves. "They shouldn't be this sensitive," she mutters, pausing for a second, "the unicorn's aren't." We're not the same you evil... my cursing of the doctor was cut off by another rampage of agonizing pain. I felt my consciousness slipping, If she keeps this up I'm going to black out for sure. "Was that really so bad," she asks like a pediatrician giving a protesting child a vaccine. Get any closer and you won't have a nose. I glare, defiance matching her confidence blow for blow. "If you would be a good boy you wouldn't need those restraints." You can't do this to me! I'm an American! "Really, now? Are you really that angry," she reaches down to scratch my neck. I bite down, missing her hand by less than an inch, So close! "Stop that!" she scolds, smacking my nose, "why can't you just let me help you?" Help me? Witch, you're the one who needs help. Like a firing squad. "I want you to know that I'm here to help you," she lies, stepping outside my field of view. My ears flatten against my skull as the sound of the doctor preparing a syringe reached them. I thrash against my bindings, desperate Please, just this once... A single tear fell, slapping against the disposable sheet that covered the table. It's all over in a second, my mind loses control of my limbs and they give up the fight. With a single pinch, a single injection I could be forced into submission. "I hate doing that," the doctor sighs, setting the used needle back onto the moving table, "I'm just putting a collar on you, okay?" I follow her with my eyes, hoping, praying for a chance. Just once to be unshackled just once to be able to fight back. The collar latches around my throat with a loud click, sealing me in this hell forever. The doctor adjusts the size, making it smaller and larger until she finally decides it's reasonably not going anywhere, "It's time for you to meet your new friend." She works on unstrapping me she keeps a suspicious eye trained on me looking for any kind of movement. I can't think, I can't move. There's nothing left. She picks me up like a puppy, cradling my frozen form in her arms, "you're so much cuter this way." I watch her hair move as we make our way down the halls, I barely manage to turn my gaze towards the passing doors and operating rooms. The light reflecting off the tiles hurts my eyes, drawing a single tear from each one, but still we continue. She stops about halfway down the hall to shift me into a more bearable position, "Play nice okay? No biting." We continue down the hall for what feels like hours until we breach the underground and immerge into the blinding sunlight. My vision doesn't return for several long minutes , but it doesn't matter. We're moving again. I could feel the drug starting to loosen its hold on my mind. My vision returned with a vengeance, the zoo was alive with guests even this early. Frost clung to the flagstones and grass, giving the illusion of the whole world being a giant diamond. I sneezed drawing the attention of a passing family. The doctor, Kathrine, invited them to "Come and see" me. They had two kids, a teenage guy wearing a black leather jacket and a constant glare as if life itself just pissed him off; and a little girl who took an interest in my coloration. "What's his name," she asked as Katherine lowered me to a more child friendly height. She pauses a mischievous grin adorning her face, "You know, we haven't actually named him yet." The little girl squeals and pats my head when Kathrine gives her permission. "Okay," the teenage guy says as he snaps a picture with his phone, "that's pretty cool. Do you sell those in the gift shop or something?" Kathrine laughs softly at the question, "I wish, but no. He's real." He didn't believe her until he felt my fur, something people obsess over for some reason. "Whoa, mom, dad check this out!" The drug starts to wear off further, allowing me to move my head. But I can't bring myself to bite anyone. I turn my gaze to the parents standing nearby they came nearer, hesitant to touch me. "Go ahead, he's okay," Kathrine smiles down at me, "he's sedated." With Kathrine's assurances and their daughter's insistence eventually they gave me a scratch here and there, testing for themselves what seemed so impossible. "It...it's real," The father mutters in disbelief. "Can we get one daddy, please?" the little girl asks, just the tragic way she asked made me want to do anything to fix the problem. Her father stumbled over some excuse for why I had to stay in the zoo. Then, an idea strikes me like a bat to the skull. I grip one of my feathers in my teeth and pull. It comes loose with a rapidly fading pain and I offer it to the little girl. She squeals with joy taking the white feather. I just made her day...with something so stupid as a feather. Kathrine gives me a knowing smile, "There's nothing saying she can't keep a Pegasus feather in the rules." Maybe she's not so... I shake my head, trying to clear it of stupidity, No. She's the evil scientist who's being nice to gain my trust before she finally rips me apart in her underground lair! "Thank you Yankee," the little girl says upon some gentle prodding from her mother. All of us turn and give her an inquiring look. "What?" Kathrine asks, breaking the short, awkward silence. "That's his name," the girl insists, pacing the feather in her hair. "Well, it's better than anything I can come up with," Kathrine confesses, "Yankee it is." After exchanging a few farewells Kathrine and I continued our journey up the main hill towards what appears to be a glass bunker. Talk about an oxymoron. Kathrine deposits me on the floor of the enclosure and with a final false goodbye closed the door. I roll to my hooves, still tipsy I scan the surroundings, looking for the best way to escape. There was a large tree in the center off the grassy enclosure with massive interlocking roots that lifted out of the sandy soil and created a natural cavity under the tree. There was a small stream cutting though the back of the grassland it's not very deep, just deep enough for swimming in the deepest part. I trip over my unsteady hooves and face plant into the sand. I pick myself up and dust off my nose with a hoof, Okay...now what do I do? Idly I wonder around my new prison, marveling at how quiet it was, not a lot of privacy though... The feeling of grass under my hooves put a spring in my step as I make my way over to the water for a much needed drink. "Oh, bloody hell," a voice gasps from right behind me, "you scared me." "You've got to be kidding me," I groan, "...here I thought this couldn't get any worse." "Not exactly one for putting the right foot forward," The red and blue British unicorn observed. "At least I'm not the one who arranged this little get together," I pace glaring down my new rival. I'm not happy about getting stuck in here, but her organizing it for her own...just ew. "What...?" "Don't play dumb with me..." I pause not knowing her name, before just moving on, "You know exactly why we're put in here together!" "Yes, but..." "There's no buts about it, princess!" I poke her with my hoof, "there's no way I'm doing that. So don't try, got it?" She looks down glaring at my hoof, "Don't touch me." It's like everything slowed down when she reached to swat my hoof, I moved over her foreleg easily and swatted it instead. "Do. Not. Touch. Me," I order poking her with every word. She swung wildly for my head, but I duck under the blow, and flip her over my shoulder. Quickly I pin her down and whisper in her ear, "Just play along, both of us could overpower the guard and escape. Just follow my lead, and please pull your punches." Her back leg snaps up into my chest knocking me over. I cough trying to get some breath in my lungs while struggling to my hooves. She got me across the jaw before I could fully stand and sent me sprawling to the dirt. I knew that any minute the guard would come bursting through the door and then we'd change focus and escape. I gingerly touch my jaw and draw away blood. Definitely not pulling her punches. She grabbed one of my wings with her mouth and pulled me over her back where I landed on the dislocated limb with a sickening crack. I scream in pain, but she ignores me continuing her rampage. As if by some miracle the drug wears off and my Pegasus reflexes kick in. I block a blow that would've knocked me out and give her a black eye for it. We both bled from cuts and scrapes and were both covered in bruises by the time the guard came running in. I turn my attention to the guard, going for his legs. A roaring pain fills my body and my ears pop before I collapse to the ground unconscious. "...but why would he attack you?" Kathrine asks in disbelief, "look at his injuries! that's a lot more than self defense." I crack open my unbandaged eye with no small amount of pain. I'm in the infirmary with Kathrine and that devil unicorn. "Because he's a senseless moron? How am I supposed to know," The unicorn defended, "it's not like he said much of anything before he up and attacked me." "There's..." Kathrine's eyes light up like firecrackers and an involuntary shiver runs down my spine, "Wait, you can understand him?" "What, and you can't?" Kathrine shrugs, "Not yet...?" "Oh, bloody hell," the unicorn mutters under her breath, "I'm supposed to be getting my life back not living here with this...thing!" "I'm aware of the deal, but I can't do research while you're killing each other!" Wait, what deal? "What...sold your soul and you didn't invite me," I ask, voice cracking. The unicorn glares, "Not now idiot." "What's the deal?" I ask, shoving off the loose bindings, "you give me to them for your freedom?" "Shut up, kid!" "That is it ain't it?" I stumble, barely able to stay standing. "What's he saying?" Kathrine interrupts, simply watching me suffer. The unicorn sighs, "He's asking about the deal." "Well, don't tell him. It's simple as that isn't it?" I glare, growing bored of this, "I'm leaving." "No, no, you're not, Yankee. you're going back home with Elizabeth and until you two learn to live together there will be no privileges." Kathrine blocks my way with crossed arms. Mengele, that's who you remind me of. "Guard, tranq Yankee and take them back home." Kathrine orders. I groan It's not fair, she can speak and gets all the perks from this and I get... How I got up here I have no idea. I stretch out a bit the tree branch was much softer than I thought it would be, and I momentarily entertain the fantasy of returning to sleep. "Yankee, get down here!" I groan, "No. I won't submit to you or your lackeys so leave me alone!" I pull a branch closer to hide me from the ground. Why does reality hate me so much? The only thing I've gotten out of this is pain and abuse for science. No, I'm stuck in a glass cage with one of the two women that are ruining my life! No, I'm not moving. With my mind made up I planned out my day as an exhibit, I decided the best course of action would be to hide and wait for the people to go away. I relax, rolling over onto my back I plucked an apple from one of the nearby branches half expecting it to set off an alarm or kill me as soon as I touched it, but nope for once my luck was holding out. I happily munch on the sour apple for a while, ignoring the growing frustration in the unicorn's negotiations. "I'm not coming down, go away!" I threw the core in the general direction of the voice. "Yes you are," she was angry now. "That hurt?" I call, momentarily making eye contact with my adversary. "You're so going to pay little runt!" I note her voice squeaks when she gets angry, something I stored away for later use. "You jealous that you can't fly?" I taunt, flaring my wings. She screams and storms off like a little child. I snag another apple, "I win again." There was one problem with my infallible plan, only one: boredom. It wasn't worth another brawl with the British heavyweight down there, so I simply stayed in my tree. For hours. What have I done today, I think to myself, I've eaten several apples and stashed the cores and seeds, maybe I can weaponize them? Anyways, I've gotten pretty good at throwing them, the unicorn makes a great target. I try, and try but I can't get a slingshot of any kind to stay usable for more than six seconds. Gingerly I brush away some fresh blood from the cracked scabs on my face, "that's going to leave a mark." I was surprised my jaw wasn't broken by that blow. My ear twitches, a strange sound reaching them, What is that? I wonder, turning my head to see. My ears fall at the sight of the massive crowd, and at the head, of course, was Katherine talking to them like a southern pastor addressing his congregation. I spread my wings, hoping to simply step from my perch to the ground. ...that...didn't happen. I sneezed, sending dust and sand flying from my burning nostrils. I fall to my haunches, watching the people curiously, What're they doing here? Quite a few were scientists of some kind, I notice their blaring white coats and full clipboards. Something's going down, and I don't like the looks of it. I force myself upright, ignoring the complaints from my burnt nerves. Momentarily I entertain the idea of letting them dissect me rather than continue this pointless charade... but, then something stops me. Or rather somepony. "Yankee, a little help here," the unicorn calls from behind the tree. I groan, but can't find an excuse to ignore her plea, "fine." I make my way around the trunk, wary of an ambush the whole way. I was not going to let her catch me with my guard down. Then I found her, she was stuck between the tree and the sandy ground, scratching and screaming like a zombie clawing its way out of its grave. "What're you doing," I demand, looking down at her with disdain. "Don't just stand there, get me out of here!" She screams, thrashing against her wooden prison. I sat down, safely out of range, "Why? So you can beat me up again, or so you can sell me to that Nazi friend of yours down in the lab?" She thrashed again her rage boiling over, "Get me out of here, now!" "and what happens if I say no, queen Victoria," I ask, beeping her nose. She growls and swings at my hoof, missing by inches. "I need to guarantee my future survival, and to do that I need to know what 'the deal' is. So, if you want my help you tell me what you know. Until then you can thrash about and scream." I say, pausing for dramatic effect, "you know, maybe your scientist friend could help you tomorrow when they come to take me away again." "You wouldn't leave me here," she sniffs, the hopelessness of her situation finally sinking in. I swallowed my pity and met her teary eyes with rage, "I would leave you at Guantanamo." I turn to leave, flicking up a small cloud of dust with my tail. "Wait! I..." she pauses, trying in vain to think of another way. "I'll tell you everything I know, just... get me out of here." "...I never expected that," I mutter, unable to believe my new ears, "and you went through all of this willingly?" "No," she answers, watching me work, "not entirely willingly. You see, I was dying of...a lot of things, but they promised this could help others suffering the same conditions. They said it was revolutionary and would modernize cancer research." "...and then they found me..." for the first time, my new life started to make a little sense, "...but...why are we here, and not in some Nazi-esc research hospital?" "Have you seen Europe lately? It was either here or an old prison in Siberia," She laughs a little, before continuing, "you sealed the deal, and were snap bang in the heartland of the United States." "Huh." I mutter as I shove another large load of debris away from the forming caller, I had been digging for hours and had made some substantial progress. "I didn't think I was that important." "You're paying for this whole thing, you know that right? there's never been a Pegasus on earth before. Not a real one anyway, and skeptics can write me off as a fake, but you can't fake these," she gently lifted one of my wings. I shudder against her touch, my muscles tense as of bracing against a coming blow. Her soft, fluffy hoof slowly worked its way closer to my body, curiously inspecting all the feathers on between it and my shoulder. "This is amazing, I never thought anything could be so..." I tipped over and felt the grass brush against my burning face, my entire body went numb. Whoa...what is this? She screams in pain, clutching at her glowing skull, and her limp body falls to the ground with a soft thud. "Elizabeth," I gasped out, reaching for her as if I could somehow save her from... whatever this was. Then... Then nothing. Although, I have to question, who is it I'm talking to?