Will of Steel

by WojakWriter

1. Spite

THWACK

The late afternoons scorching sun beat down on the glistening muscles of my back.

THWACK

Sweat, born from a long day of toil, sparkled on my torso and poured down my face, stinging my eyes.

THWACK

I could feel the beginnings of a stitch coming in on my side, and every muscle in my body began to burn in the way only hard and tiring work could make them.

THWACK

The rhythmic shudder of the axe strike shook me once more, and I paused to take a look at my progress and quickly take a breather.

Tired and just wanting some water, I wiped the sweat from my eyes and sized up the depth of my cut.

It was decent enough. Good almost, but I still had quite a ways to go before I was done.

Equestrian Applewood was tougher than most other types of wood, and this tree was one of the oldest in the orchard. Nevermind that I had been working on trees like this all day and my axe was probably now in dire need of sharpening after all the chopping I had done.

Hell, I was lucky the axehead hadn’t come loose yet.

Even luckier that she hadn’t come to check on me and notice I had stopped to catch my breath.

Shaking the thought of the equine finding me not working, I returned my gaze to the trunk of the tree.

It was about time to start on the back cut, and after that just a little more before I was finished for the day. Hopefully.

I hefted the axe, its familiar balance of weight drawing me back in time, through the fog of memories that grew clearer as I thought of everything that lead to this.

Then a feminine voice snapped me from my reminiscing.

“Anon, just what in tarnation do y'all think you're doing slackin' off? The day ain't done yet!”

The shout snapped my small smile away into a thin line, as I knew my moment of relaxation had come to an end.

An orange coated mare with a wide cowboy hat stormed up to me, her muzzle fixed into a permanent sneer. She never smiled, at least not around me. Maybe she was a genuinely good pony around others, but not me.

”Consarnit, I've put up with enough of your dang restin'. Either keep up or I'm sendin' ya back to Twilight to be 'conditioned' again.”

I let out a tired huff, but returned to felling the tree without any comments. I knew better at this point than to argue or even look up at her when she was annoyed.

The mare, Applejack, nodded firmly at me and trotted off to continue her own work.

I let my growing anger fuel my swings, working through the ache that I could feel all through my body. Imagining the tree being her neck… each bloody swing bringing me closer to freedom.

Even after nearly a year of this sort of treatment, it was still galling to me how it could end this way.

I am Anonymous, a slave in all but official paperwork. Officially, I am an indentured menial servant, one of the many others working to pay off the ‘reparations’ Equestria had demanded in return for their ‘gracious’ cessation of hostilities with Earth.

Hah… 'Gracious', what a fucking joke. We could’ve kept fighting if our leaders didn’t pussy out like cowards and sign that damnable peace treaty.

It was all their fault. They didn’t have the guts to win the war, and now half of Central Europe was now a massive demilitarized zone, most of the cities in it turned to dust from the war.

The ruinous tear between worlds had only been responsible for a small bit of that terrible devastation.

The rest had been collaboration between ponies, gryphons, and who knows what other godless sentient animals.

Of course, on this side of things the portal had just been a mere curiousity that appeared in the Gryphon Lands, doing no damage besides some ecological changes.

But then a group of scientists finally got the clearance to go through the time-space anomaly. Or 'The Danube Rift' as it had come to be known.

One stumbled back through it a week later, covered in blood and other things best left unspoken, with his frantic and emotional report was what had finally stirred the world governments into action.

And so I was sent through, an entire Division of Pathfinders from a dozen different nations, armed to the teeth and ordered to perform a reconnaissance in force.

In other words, establish a bridgehead and pick a fight with the natives. It was supposed to be easy…

A long groan from the wood of the tree pulled me from the reverie I found myself in. The old apple tree had started to lean a fair bit, but needed just a bit more encouragement.

I hefted the axe and turned it about. Then, with a final mighty heave, I smashed the blunt side of the axehead into the boughs of the once mighty and now dead tree.

It made a colossal noise as it fell to the ground, shaking the earth as it landed.

I stood still for a moment, just breathing deeply and staring at the fallen giant before me.

There was still work to do, cutting the limbs, debarking, maybe even cutting it into more manageable sizes to move away to its bin.

But for now I took a seat, simply basking in the last rays of the sun that were now setting on the horizon. Even though there was still some work to be done with the tree, I decided I needed the rest more than those tasks needed to be finished.

Besides, there was still house chores to be completed before I could even turn in for the night. Not like she payed me any attention.

“Anon! Get yer butt inside before I give yer dinner to Winona!”

The holler made me come alert once again and I began walking back to the farmhouse as ordered.

After all, this was the supposed ‘Element of Honesty’, and she usually meant what she said.

And I couldn't afford to go without food with all the work that had to be done on a daily basis. Because if I couldn't do my daily work...

I shook my head, pausing in the door frame and drawing a deep breath.

I knew I shouldn't think about it, lest I lose my appetite, which would mean no energy for the morning, which means...

I gave myself a more violent shake and a small slap on the cheek, pushing away those terrible thoughts and joining the rest of the Apple family at the dinner table.

With the four of us seated, I began to eat quietly and quickly without saying a word.

Light conversation carried on between the three Apples, but they ignored me just as I had learned to ignore them.

It may have seemed impolite, but it was the simplest way for them to get around the human sitting at their table, and for me to go unpunished. All I had to do was keep my mouth shut.

But even then, it was only Applejack and her little sister talking. Their grandmother, grandmare, whatever the hell you call them, just stared at me.

Just like every other night. Like she had a grudge against me personally. She eats a little then spends every dinner time, or any other meal really, staring at me silently.

Of course, I simply ignored it and kept eating, but it had begun to wear on me. But still, I held my tongue and carried on with eating the apple themed dinner.

My usual outbursts of aggression had faded after a couple of Twilight’s ‘corrections’ and manual labour was a fine outlet for any aggression or ill will I held towards the ponies at least.

Besides, I didn't really want to hurt them personally , they had their orders just like I did. Well, all but her. Her treatment seemed to be personal.

It didn’t take long for me to finish, and after I did I sat silently with my head down, waiting for the Apple family to finish as well.

When they did, I stoop up and wasted no time clearing their dishes and bringing them into the kitchen and plopping them in the sink.

I washed and dried the dishes as Applebloom came over to stand beside me. Staring at me with those wide and innocent eyes, she spoke softly.

”Ya know y'all can talk to us, right Anon? We know ya ain't a mute, so why don't ya just talk already?”

Anon… saying that name so easily. Like we were old friends. Just like every night she spoke to me, and just as I had always done before, I remained silent and continued washing up, biting back the urge to demand her to say my full name instead of her childish nickname she gave me.

Applebloom smacked her hooves on the hardwood table and her knitted her eyebrows with frustration. It was almost cute.

”Consarnit, everythin' would just be easy if you'd just talk to us! We're supposed to have ya over to make ya understand ponies but y'all spend everyday workin' without sayin' a word in passin'! Just say something! Please?”

A second voice rang from the dining room.

”Applebloom!”

Applejack's shout cowed her sister and she came over to pull the filly away.

After sending Applebloom up to her room, Applejack came back and started putting the dishes away into the cupboards.

I remained placid the entire time, intent on keeping my mouth shut as she continued to put the dishes away.

Applejack heaved out a loud sigh beside me, apparently intent to break the silence.

”I'm real sorry about little 'Bloom, she just don't get it. An' I know y'all don't like it here an' frankly I don't want ya here any longer than I have to, but...Heck, I'm probably bein' a softie but the Solstice is in a couple days. I know it's a big time for ya human folk, so I'll give ya the day to do whatever. Gather with your kind an' whatnot.”

I slowly stopped scrubbing the plate I was working on and blinked, my eyes widening the smaller bit in surprise, despite my desire to keep a totally neutral expression.

A day off? She didn’t even give me a day off for my birthday. Or for Christmas. Or for anything really.

She finished putting away the dishes and pointed towards a broom and dustpan in the corner of the kitchen.

”Once yer done, ya can sleep on the couch. It's supposed to be unseasonably cold and the barn would be awful chilly.”

Without another word, she walked away, with the only thing to know she was still there being her faint trotting up the steps.

I was left alone in the darkened house, finding myself completely stunned. And not to mention incredibly suspicious.

Applejack, though not a violent slave master, had a mean habit of working me to the bone and expecting my perfect compliance and obedience like a good little doggy.

She'd had no qualms of sending me off to Twilight when I’d acted out at first, for my 'reconditioning.’

The calender on the wall of the kitchen caught my eye, and I tried to connect the dots of why she would give me a day off from there.

I continued to think to myself quietly as I swept the corners of the house as quickly as I could.

Just what would I even do with my first taste of real freedom in over a year?

And would the other slaves be getting a day off too for this small holiday, or was Applejack being especially generous with this offer?

Author's Note:

Kept you waiting didn’t I?

I’m back with another story. Sorry it took so long, but I refuse to end 2023 without publishing at least something new.

Comments

[ulcuran]

Hoping for a slave revolt here.

[OP Omni God-Emperor Doom]

I highly doubt that this is Modern Earth. Because realistically, we could quite easily totally decimate the ponies and their planet to ash.

[WojakWriter]

11784378
Yeah, it’s supposed to be Earth in the 70’s, not modern day 2023 Earth.

[OP Omni God-Emperor Doom]

11784486

And we somehow still lost? Considering how the U.S. and Soviet Union has a WHOLE bunch of nukes during the Cold War!?

[vectorVll]

I have to believe only the friends Central Europe is included in this war because even at the time. There would be no possible way for the police to win any kind of encounter on earth even with their magic. So if I have to guess the Prince surrendered again.