//------------------------------// // Torture, Tar and Feathers... // Story: What Defines A Soul? // by The Joeker //------------------------------// Suddenly I woke up back on the rack, my body was burnt in places from the electricity and still felt tingly, my neck was stinging something awful. I saw Bright Spot come in again and she applied a cold wet cloth to the burns. "Ahh.." I grimaced at it and she pulled back for a second before I nodded. "You were brave to stand up to him like that." she said. "The fuck do you care?!" I snapped, she was taken aback and so was I. "I... I'm so sorry..." I said. "It is ok, it's a side effect of the torture, mood swings." he said. "Ahh... your boss uses the word 'obey' loosely." I stated. "He... I think he is a control freak, he thinks you are simply an animal, and we are better and more dominant, he wants control of everything." she said. Suddenly he burst in and gestured to her, she nodded and left. "Will you submit?" he asked. "Burn in hell horsey." I said. "Alas, we must continue." he said and got a length of rope. "Wha-" I cut off and started choking and gagging as he laced the rope like Hitman around my neck and pulled with his magic, because I was on a rack it choked me. He kept going, I almost lost consciousness but that zap thing kept me awake, he let go after 50 seconds and I gasped for air. "Now I must resort to the crudest torture..." he said and got a hammer in his magic. "Bring it bitch." I coughed. He hit my ribcage first and I grunted. "I will break you." he said and hit my face on the cheek. "You can try!" I spat blood in his muzzle "You will yield." he said and hit my kneecap, it hurt but only a little because they connected nerves to my legs but they were not as prominent. "I will persevere." "You will obey me." he said and hit me... there... and I yelled in agony. -4 hours later- After 4 hours he never stopped, just kept going... "Submit." he said. "Go... to.. hell." I said and he smacked me hard in the face with the hammer and it broke on impact, Gilded was panting from the force he used. I was bleeding really badly. "I have one more thing." he said manically. Two maids brought in two tubs. "Ever heard of tarring and feathering? it is a favorite of the nobles here." he smiled in glee... I could smell the burning tar. "You have caused me a lot of trouble, and I intend to make you pay." he said. "Bring it on sweetheart." i smiled back at him defiantly. A few moments later I felt my clothes being removed and he laughed. "I'm going to enjoy this and savour it." said Gilded And then I felt boiling tar being poured, and I wailed in agony, it was modern tar, not pine tar. "AHHHHHH!!!! FUUUUUUCKKKK!" I screamed as the boiling substance wa applied... and then rubbed all over me with magic. "Time for the feathers!" he squealed and poured the tub over me. I was covered from head to torso in feathers that burned into my skin, he then used a spell to cool it. "Ah, I saved the best for last... but we can't have you walking around like that as my pet! we must cut the feathers out!" he said and got a scalpel out and started cutting into my skin. I wailed and cried, I'm not ashamed to admit. I suddenly started thinking: "Go to your happy place, go to your happy place..." Suddenly I felt my mind uplifting... and I was in my dream... "Welcome back." said Galaxia solemnly, I was in perfect health here, but somewhere in my mind. "What happened? why am I here?" I asked. "You are having an out of body experience, your subconscious has decided to protect itself and has closed it's doors and now you are here although this is real, make no mistake." said Cosmos. "So, what now?" I asked. "We could not tell you..." said Cosmos. "It pains us to see another being in so much pain." said Galaxia with tears streaming down her face. "Hey hey, it's ok, I'll pull through, don't I always?" I chuckled, where did that come from? I've only ever met them once. "I suppose." she said and smiled at me, I looked at Cosmos who had a soft expression on his face. "What the fuck are you staring at? got a problem? fuckface?!" I blurted out and clamped a hand over my gob, but Cosmos held that fatherly expression. "I... I-" I was cut off as he put a hoof around me and hugged me. "It is ok, I know." he said. -Galaxia's POV- And he cried... he cried into my King's shoulder... to see such a strong character, a strong man, break down like this... He was one of the strongest individuals we know, my brother brought us many humans suitable to protect our daughters, all of them either went crazy after figuring out they were dead, went crazy in Equestria after seeing the talking ponies, grovelled at our hooves after we told them we were royalty or were just crazy... until he brought us Baz, he wasn't conscious at the time, and had died in his world, my brother brought him to us, we gave the go ahead for a test run, and he never went crazy, then the unexpected happened... he woke up... when he died again my brother quickly grabbed his soul and the 'blueprints' for his body. Then we sent him back and did the unexpected again... he sacrificed himself after making a deal with my brother, he then met me personally, and Baz met me, he was the perfect candidate, he made me laugh, he never cared I was royalty, and he was a caring man, and a nice person, he was the kind of person my little mares needed, although he didn't know that, when he met them, they felt the raw power emanating from him. And now... to see him like this... it's painful... I hugged him as well and I searched his mind... it was a mess... he hadn't fully formed his memories and the torture was distorting the ones he had only just made... he was trying to forget... He needed an Alicorns touch to reactivate his memories... He sank to the floor and we both watched him go back to consciousness. "Moon and Sun help you..." I said. "May lady luck grace you." said Cosmos and we both looked down in sadness as we could only watch helplessly.