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// Prologue: The Man in Red 
// Story: What Am I? 
// by Immortan Joe 
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	What am I? 

No really, what am I? 

This is a question I’ve never actually asked myself. To look at my reflection in a puddle of freshly poured rain and ask, “What am I?”. At that time I never thought of doing so because I thought I knew what I was. I thought I was Starry Sky, a pegasus mare born and raised in a small patch of land known as “Pasture Hills”. The pony who was chosen by her beloved master to live in that big house just outside the city over the hills and live the rest of my days happily ever after.

Or at least, that’s what I thought I was, for a few years.



{Prologue}


It all started a few years back.

I was having a dream. No, a nightmare.

A terrible nightmare that always happened the same way every time. I was trapped. My hooves and wings were bounded to a metal table, my eyes were covered along with my mouth. The rag that shielded my vision smelled foul, like a moldy piece of cheese, the stench burned my nostrils. I heard something, no, someone enter the room. Whoever it was, he was giggling, almost madly when he spoke, "Well now, what do we have here?”

Already I knew who it was, the Red Man. My heart began to race, and I began to wriggle and writhe beneath my binds. “Ha, ha, ha, try all you want you smelly animal, but you ain’t getting out of those,” The man taunted. Already I had started to sweat, usually I’m unable to understand his gibberish. Yet for some reason the gibberish that dribbled out of his mouth had formed itself into cohesive words that breathed their toxic meaning into my head.

I twisted and turned, but I couldn’t pull myself free. I started to whine and cry, yet my anguish only seemed to add fuel to my abuser's fire. I felt something rough glide along my lower leg and snake its way up my stomach and toward my chin. It was his hand. His thick, hard hand gripped my lower chin. I could feel his presence towering above me, his heavy breaths drifting down and onto me. He chuckled and and let go of my chin, only to slide his cold fingers beneath the rag and yanked it  forcefully off my face.

The darkness that once shrouded my vision was suddenly replaced by a blinding white light. I whined loudly and went to close my eyes. Only to be interrupted by a rough smack across my left cheek. My head recoiled to the side and I let it hang there, refusing to look at him even as my eyes adjusted to the light. A choice that quickly ended in pain as he grabbed hold of my ear and yanked my head around to face him.

He was short compared to the others, though he still towered over me. His body was chubby, yet his face was straight and sharp. The fuzz that wrapped around his chin and mouth and to the top of his head was an evil red. The man’s eyes were small and blue, his nose short and stubby. He was smiling wickedly at me, as if he had won an award. 

“Now, now deary, it’s time to wake up,” He cackled. 

I whined once more and tried to close my eyes. Only to have my face become well acquainted with his hand, the sharp pain burned my cheeks and I screamed as the world swirled around me. “I said wake the fuck up!” His hand met my other cheek, he took hold of my neck and forced me to look right into his small beady eyes, seemingly glowing as the room behind us lost definition until all was left but us and the dark void. “Today’s going to be another good, good day!” He said as his maniac laugh faded into the darkness.


________


I had woken with a start at the sound of the Red Man’s laughter, horrified, my eyes darted across my new room in hopes of seeing where his laughter had come from. There was no one to be seen, I was alone. Yet, this laughter I heard continued. And slowly, it grew in volume from a muffled banter to something that sounded like it was only a wall away. My heart began to hammer against my chest, and sweat began to drip down the side of my head. Suddenly, I felt something wet and warm form beneath me. 

I was then overwhelmed with humility, for that I had relieved myself in my room again. My new master wasn’t going to be pleased with me. Another laugh forced me back into reality, and I heard a door open from the outside. The sound of chattering voices and bubbling laughter heading right for my room. 

At the time I couldn’t understand them, instead all I could make out was simple gibberish. My previous nightmare forgotten at the idea of my master finding me with my bed soaked in my own urine. I began to quake with fear at the thought of my inevitable punishment.

I needed to escape, to hide someplace in which the Red Man couldn’t find me and avoid my punishment. Yes! That was exactly what I needed to do, hide! I got up from the urine soaked bed and quickly looked for a spot to hide. Trying to find a hiding spot in my room wouldn’t be too hard, it was big. Well, big enough for me that is. I turned to face my wet bed, and took another quick glance around my room.

On the far end was a large green thing my master always sat on when he came to visit and I thought there would be the perfect spot to hide my mistake. So I hopped over my wet bed and began to push it towards the object. 

“Staaaar!” I heard a familiar cheerful voice shout from behind my door. At the sound of a distinct click, and in my panicked state my hooves became tangled in the fabric trailing behind me. I released a startled cry as my face squished into the drenched sheets.

Before I could’ve made a single movement, my ears were met with a disatisfied groan. Immediately my ears flopped to their sides and I already felt a fresh wave of tears begin to form around the corners of my eyes. I had ashamed myself right in front of my master, again.

I twitched as I felt something wrap itself around my sides and hoist me up from my mess. Whatever it was it turned me around and I was surprised to see my master smiling in front of me. He started by saying my name, and the rest of it was again just gibberish to me. Though by the tone of his voice, he didn’t sound angry with me. He brought a hand up to my face and I flinched. My master quickly retracted his hand and looked at me with a confused expression, slowly he brought his hand back and stroked part of my mane out from in front of my eyes. 

Confused by what was happening, a tear dribbled down my cheek as I began to cry softly. I wasn’t crying because of the shame of wetting my bed, nor the guilt from trying to hide my mistake. I was crying because I had thought my master was going to be angry with me and ...punish…  me.

Just like how the man in red would.