> Roses and thorns
>  by LunaMint
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> The Edge of the Shear
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The willow trees of the mansion garden, towered over me; with my small stature and feminine abode. The shadows lingered as I recalled their warmth towards me. The trees have always given me the comfort I needed. They were my only friends, my family. 
I was lucky to have any happiness, as a slave to the richest family in Equestria, other than Princess Celestia; I didn't have much of a wonder filled life as those I worked my tail off for. The longings to have a better life, never appeared to me as a child. I was too young to understand the true pain my Master and Misses inflicted upon the other slaves. Well, when I was a child that is.
I stepped away from the trees, and picked up a bucket filled of soapy water in my mouth, and walked to the work field. When I appeared, one of the slaves, Topaz Stone, called my name, "Joy! Give me a hand ova here will ya!" 
She was chopping wood with an axe she held with her magic, I put down the bucket and ran to her side. I picked up a few pieces of the chopped wood and put it in a pile. 
Joy, an ironic name nonetheless. My cutie mark, a flower with a smile, from making sure the other slaves were cheery. So, we would no longer be upset as the day went by. 
As I ran to pile more wood back and fourth, I heard Misses yell from inside the house, "All of you shall report inside the house, immediately! We have a troublemaker in our midst!" her tone was harsh as ever, holding an excessive amount of anger. We all began to rush inside the house. Well, all of us but one. An earth pony going by the name, Humming Weed, was creeping behind a work shed. I turned around when I noticed him. I walked up to him, and he backed away with a snarl, "Get back, I swear to Celestia if you tell Misses about my stealing of her favorite cloth, you'll have dues to pay!" I just stared at him with a concerned expression.
"I, don't understand. Why are you just admitting to stealing, and of all people, the most honest of us!? Not to mention why you're putting yourself in possible trouble!" I whisper-yelled. 
"Well, I'm not just going to tell you that easily," He said back. 
I just sighed and turned back to the house. I walked to it with an expressionless face, and a wonder of what was going to happen next.



When I entered the house, Misses was standing with her hooves over the second floor rail, connecting to the stair rail, looking down on me and the 4 other slaves in the room below. 
"I would like to know the one responsible for stealing my golden, 1,000 thread count fabric, it has gone missing from the study," every pony was silent, "Either you admit that you stole it, or we have ways of making you talk."
That sentence has haunted me forever. 
Then, without thinking and knowing that I didn't, "I did it!"
"You, Joy, I would never expect such a thing from a girl so young such as you!" 
That pulled the trigger, "young", I was practically a mare, the age of 17 years. Then, I spoke up, stood up for myself, something no pony did.
"I, am not, young!" 
Her eyes widened in surprise, "Sweet Celestia, what has gotten to your head child!?"
She said it again! 
"I am not a child, and I certainly care that I'm 17, as you can tell!"
I was ready to pounce, fly into the air and nock her clean off her haunches, but I stood my ground.
"Silence!"
"No!"
"Excuse me!?"
"I said, "No!"
I saw her nod to someone behind me, and before I could do anything, I was pulled backwards. I struggled to get out of my captors grip, but couldn't escape. I was dragged away, and pushed into a tree. They tied a rope along my middle, and had Misses walk outside to spread my wings, and hold them in place with her unicorn magic. I saw a pony standing right at my wings, and he held shears in his hooves. I tried to break free from Misses's magic hold, but it was no use. I was tied to a tree, and my wings were of no use.
I looked over at my left wing and watched as the stallion cut off a few of my feathers. They were clipping my wings, and I couldn't do anything but accept the fate. 
As he sliced off one last feather, the shear cut deeply into my wing. I screeched in pain, and felt my legs give away. 
Then he began to clip my other wing. I just waited as tears streaked my pain-filled face. 
I didn't even notice that they untied the rope around me, and procured a bandage around my cut wing.
This, not the shear itself, but this, was the edge of the shear. Painful, and cutting deep. So deep, that you fall to the floor, and everything joyful slips away.
> For Whom the Heart Speaks
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sudden darkness, utter and complete darkness, was all I could feel. Not even a pinch of light was left in me. Or so I thought. I covered my cutie mark with the pink paint the others had painted the garden fence. I'd rather have been a blank flank without any talent including happiness, than have the need to spread it without feeling any myself. 
No longer did I spend nights with the willow trees, now I didn't even leave a candle on at night. I slept in full darkness. 
That morning, I stood up, let my head hang, and got to work. When I appeared outside, Master was waiting, I lifted my head to face him. 
"Joy, my wife and I would like to invite you on a trip. You're the hardest working slave we have, and we will need you to do our chores while we are vacationing. Come, you must help my wife with packing."
He worded that weird, and I noticed it clearly. I had a few questions.
"Master, if I may speak out of turn, where are we going exactly, and what would I be doing" 
"We are going to the most beautiful and serine kingdom there is, Mount Aris. You, shall be our housemare,"
I laughed wearily in my head, I would rather stay at work in the work yard, than travel such a long ways past Equestria.
We continued walking until I arrived at Misses's room, I then began to pack her bags.



When we arrived at the train station, I had 3 bags on my back. Two of them for Misses, and one for Master. I set them down for the ponies loading luggage into the train, and went to stand behind Master and Misses. As we stepped onto the train, I was escorted to a different car, with a few other slaves. I sat down quickly as the train began to move and sighed as it went quicker. 
The car I was in, had no seats and the walls were docked full with barrels of apples. This was probably the supply room, where the slaves were meant to wait. 
"Hello, who are you?" 
I looked to see a filly, she had a blue main and tail, and yellow fur. 
"My name is Joy"
She looked at my flank and wings.
"Why don't you have a cutie mark?"
I opened my wings and rubbed away the paint with my hoof.
"I do"
"What happened to your wings?"
That was not my favorite memory, and a filly so young shouldn't know about the pain Misses inflicted on me.
"I clipped them on a rose bush by accident. I've never been the best flyer"
"Oh, well, my name is Summer Penny, I'm still a blank flank," 
"Don't worry, you'll get it soon enough,"
I didn't realize how long it had really been, the train had stopped. We had arrived at Mount Aris. 



As I stepped outside, my eyes dilated in wonder. It was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen. The marvel of wonder I experienced did not last however, as the three bags were dropped onto my back. We walked on a long path, all the way up the mountain. Never before did I feel so weak afterwards. 
Inside the hotel suite, I set down the bags and was ushered to my room. Of course, my room was the smallest, but I didn't mind, it reminded me of "home". 
I was staring off the balcony edge when Misses walked into the room. 
"Joy, go into town and get groceries, you're cooking dinner tonight. Go on now,"
I turned around and walked outside the room. I left the suite and walked to the stairs. 
I went down, and walked outside the building, it was absolutely amazing.
The sky was clear of any clouds, the grass was full of life, and the town had small cottages dotted along the streets. I walked forward and headed strait for the market.

When I arrived in the market, there were less ponies than I had ever seen, maybe two or three, but about fifty hippogriffs. I trotted over to the first fruit and vegetable stand I saw. 
Before I reached the stall I bumped into a hippogriff. 
He stood up and put out his claw.
"I'm so sorry, are you okay"
When my vision came into focus, I saw the most handsome stallion ever. Even if he wasn't a stallion, he made me feel giddy the moment I saw him. It was love at first sight.

He was the one that made my heart speak.
> When you can't Take the Agony
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

I reached out my hoof wearily, and he helped me up from where I fell. I blushed at the sight of his face. He had blue body feathers, and lime green head feathers and tail feathers. I looked into his shining eyes, and felt as if I could stare into them for infinity. 
"Um, Miss, I asked if you're alright?"
I blushed and felt myself shrink slightly. 
"I- um, yeah I... I'm fine."
"Good, I'm Silver Gem. What's your name?"
I was speechless until the words slowly fell out.
"M- my name is Joy."
"That's a pretty name."
I blushed even deeper.
"T- thanks."
"Are you new here?"
"You could s- say that."
We laughed slightly.
"Hey, if you want, I could give you a tour of Mount Aris."
"I- I would like that a lot,"
He let my hoof go and nodded for us to go, and we began to step away.

He showed me everything, from the tallest peak to the beaches below. It was sunset by the time I headed back to Master and Misses. Luckily, the food stands were still open before I went back. So I would have food to cook with, and Misses and Master would hopefully not be too suspicions.



When I arrived in the suite, they awaited my arrival with hungry eyes. 
Silver's tour didn't help much with staying on time.
"Now, where have you been! Slaves have curfew you know, and here, there will be no more 'tree conversations'!"
"I've been getting the food for your dinner!"
I said the rest under my breath, "You ungrateful piece of crap."
"Excuse me, but I'm quite sure the cooking is not our job!"
I scoffed, "Maybe you just don't know how being the goody four shoes you are,"
I did not keep my opinions to myself.  Not now that the light had suddenly returned, as a tiny sliver. 
"Remember what happened to you last time you spoke out of turn!"
Misses gestured to my clipped wings with a point of her hoof, I was so done with them by now. 
"I don't care, do whatever you like! I will continue to speak up for myself! I am not like the others, cowering from the shadows you cast upon us!" 
Master grabbed me by my wings and pulled me to the ground. Misses turned around and picked up a cane with her magic. 
She hit me with it, square in my back. I shrieked in pain as she struck me again. 
"You- can, h- hit me as ha- hard as you want! B- but I w- will not g- give into the d-darkness as I d- did before!"
I screamed, loud enough for the whole of Mount Aris to hear. Loud enough that they would all understand my desperate cries for help. Even with this, Misses was not done with her abuse, she grabbed a knife from the nearby kitchen, and sliced it across my ear and cheek. 
If I didn't give in then, I would be dead. 
I admitted defeat and let out a shriek of pain. I let myself go limp, and lay in a weak fetal position on the floor. This was worse than any pain I had ever experienced. When I looked around to stare Misses in the eye, they both had already left. They just, left me. On the floor. Screaming in my head. Whimpering on the cold ground, as blood ran down my ear and cheek. 



Luckily, even though that was the worst experience of my life, I was no longer caught in the same trap I fell into last time. They didn't come back to the suite for a long time, and the pain had ceased slightly, so I left. I had not a care for them. I would run away. Be my own pony, I- I could do that, couldn't I.

The first priority I had, was getting as far away as possible, there wouldn't be another train arriving to take anyone back home from Mount Aris for about a month. I wandered the kingdom for hours that night, looking for an inn or some pony kind enough to take me in for a while. But I found nothing, I fell asleep in a dark alley, wondering what tomorrow would bring.

From then on I knew, this is what happens when you can't take the agony.