> The Dropped Train
>  by Lamasioux
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> The Drop
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

I sat in the room with my hooves cuffed and a soldier behind me. 
 
It was dead silent though. The only thing that could be heard was the sounds of hooves outside the room moving around. Whatever they were moving about for was raising my anxiety. 
 
I decided to look around the room again. 
 
To the right of me was somepony I had only learned the name of a few days ago. I had forgotten it though. Another guard was behind him as well. 
 
I looked to the left of me and there was nopony, though there was a guard. The pony that had been there was taken away an hour ago. At least I thought it was an hour.  
 
We had been sitting here doing nothing since we were brought in earlier in the day. We weren’t being told anything. 
 
I decided to try and shuffle my hooves again to see if the shackles on them would loosen, but nothing happened, not even noise came from them. 
 
The shackles had been made so they couldn’t move when locked around your hooves. No chains between the two coves, just welded metal. It wasn’t comfortable. 
 
I looked back up at the pony to my right and was about to ask something, but the guard behind me spoke up before I could even process what I was about to ask, “Quiet!” 
 
I looked back towards the wall in front of me and folded my ears back. 
 
I wasn’t able to think, which I don’t know how long that lasted as the door to the room opened at some point and a few ponies came in. 
 
These ponies were specifically thestrals and they wore the normal dress uniforms that officers wore. 
 
They didn’t hesitate though when they came in and quickly said, “Railer Wheel.” 
 
I looked up at the announcement of my name, which they saw and they took that as their queue to continue, “Please stand up, we will have two guards help escort you out.” 
 
As they said that, they moved out of the way of the door and a pair of guards from outside came in and came over to me. 
 
They waited for me to stand up before they helped support me from either side of me. 
 
I wasn’t chained down to the floor, but moving around with my front hooves cuffed like they were didn’t help me walk. 
 
I was escorted out of the room by the guards and as I came out of the room, we turned and went left down the hallway towards a few doors that led outside. The entire hallway was covered in doors that led into rooms that I only assumed were like mine as they all had single guards at them guarding them. 
 
I didn’t get much of a chance to look around at any of them though as the escort of officers and guards that were with me didn’t show any signs of slowing down. 
 
As we finally made our way outside of the building, we all stopped at a small crate that was outside where another guard was waiting with a new pair of cuffs. They quickly came over to me and put the new ones on but at the same time, removed the old ones. They didn’t bother with a horn restraint or wing restraints as I was just a earth pony. 
 
None of the guards or officers said anything to me while this was happening, at least not until the guard putting the new ones on finished. One of the officers said to me, “You will have to walk the rest of the way yourself.” 
 
The new cuffs would allow me to skitter around at a slow pace, but despite that, it looked like the guards that had been carrying would be happy about the new change as they let go of me. 
 
The officers mumbled to themselves after the change of cuffs happened and turned around and continued on. The guards around me, which had grown to a larger number I didn’t dare to try and count, started to walk with the officers as well, the two that carried me before now lightly pushed me forward when I wasn’t walking myself. They followed behind me. 
 
The walk was slow though, as the cuffs were making it difficult, but none of the guards or officers seemed to care, we all just slowly made our way down the road, passing through a few gates that were all stationed with guards. 
 
We were still at the prison, so security was expected to be like this, but it was obvious that there was more than what I would assume is normal. 
 
All of the guards that we passed didn’t bother looking at us, or me at least. I could swear they gave a few looks at the officers– Ok maybe they were looking. I was the one surrounded by guards and officers who all had uniforms. I was naked and the prisoner.  
 
We walked like this for a few minutes before we finally passed through one last gate and came into an open courtyard, which is where I instantly froze in my tracks and a shiver shot directly down my spine which sent me half a hoof backwards. 
 
The guards behind me had none of that and pushed me forward so I kept going. 
 
I turned to look back at them finally as my eyes started to widen. I said, “H- He- He-y, I- Hey- I- He-” I nervously laughed for a second before turning to look back forward, which only caused me to turn my body towards the guards. 
 
The guard quickly yelled, “Forward and keep walking!” 
 
I didn’t have any choice as they lightly pushed me forward again. 
 
“But my trai– What about my- No no no no no- I had my trail thoug– I thought– This isn- I-” I kept stumbling my words trying to get my point across but the officers in front of me had other plans. 
 
“Railer, we will explain it here in a second.” One of the thestral officers said without turning to me. 
 
I didn’t stop though, “I didn’t know I– I thoug-” I choked a bit, “I wasn’t told this- I was- I thought- I thought- I thought-” 
 
The officers stopped and everypony else did as well. They all turned towards me and looked at me in disgust as I couldn’t be quiet. As I kept fumbling over my words, one of the officers waved a hoove around and said, “Shut his mouth please, we need him quiet.” 
 
I froze into a statue as they said that and I started to melt after a second and looked around before quickly backing away, which only pushed myself into one of the guards who were behind me, “No- N-”.  
 
The guards quickly grabbed onto me and held me still and another pony from behind me reached around with some cloth and quickly wrapped it around my snout and tied it tightly. I couldn’t open my mouth anymore. 
 
I think I started to hyperventilate through my nose. 
 
I quickly got that under control though as I had more important matters to do, like whine and cry, quite literally. 
 
Tears formed in my eyes as I tried to push myself into one of the guards so I didn’t go forward anymore. The sound of absolute fear was coming from me as I tried to make any noise possible. 
 
The guards there were grabbing onto me and pushed me forward off themselves and one of them said, “Forward! You need to go!” 
 
I didn’t move though. Tears were going down my face as I looked around at all the creatures that were surrounding me. 
 
I didn’t hear the sighs the guards gave as they came up to me and grabbed onto me and started to take me forward despite the major protest I was giving. 
 
My eyes only went crazy now, trying to look at any pony around that would look at me with empathy, but none of them did. None of them came forward as the hidden hero to help me. 
 
Which made sense as the courtyard was a bunch of thestrals and ponies, who were all standing about in dress uniforms as they watched me go to the center and up the stairs that were built into the side of the raised platform. 
 
I couldn’t feel myself breathe uncontrollably as I shook violently now. 
 
I wasn’t even touching the ground as the two guards heaved me up, but once we made it to the top of the platform, they put me back down, but still held onto me. 
 
I could see the crowd around the yard through the corner of my blurred vision as I looked between everypony atop the flatform now. 
 
It felt like forever standing up there as I tried to look for my rescuer. Nopony was moving which didn’t help with my tracking of time. 
 
Eventually though, a thestral walked in front of me and I calmed down for a moment as they stared at me, holding some form of paper- document- thing. 
 
When I wasn’t whining through my mouth, they started to speak. They didn’t wait for my tears to clear up though. 
 
“Railer Wheel. By the order of the Canterlot Judges, assigned by the high courts of Manehattan and overseen by Princess Mi Amore Cadenza, all under the authority of Princess Luna, I will now read out your verdict. 
 
Case number 544–” 
 
No- No- No- No- This can’t be happening- 
 
“-B-12.” 
 
The thestral continued after having a short pause,  
 
“Because of your support of Daybreaker and the action to continue the transportation of thestrals by train to camps where they could be killed in mass, along with the words given by the captured Solar officers of the camp you delivered to; 
 
And with the evidence that had been provided to back this all during your trial a few days prior, you are convicted of all your crimes against creature kind and are to be executed by hanging today. 
 
This decision has come to conclusion by–” 
 
My body tensed up instantly as my eyes opened up wide and I started to panic. I didn’t hear anything else the thestral said. 
 
My breathing pretty much stopped as I started to drop to the ground but the guards to my sides quickly picked me back up and forced me to stay up. 
 
Somepony from behind me without hesitation then quickly put a bag over my head, which caused me to start shaking my head violently as I tried to shake it off, which didn’t work no matter how much I thrashed about. 
 
Eventually I gave up but my whining resumed and was only louder this time as I felt the guards to my said move me a little. 
 
Nothing happened for a few minutes until I finally heard the words of somepony around me say, “-and in this unforgiving world, we send to you, Princess Celestia, one of your ponies, one who you can care for once again in the afterlife where you now reside. Bless this ponies soul and grant him passage into the eternal fields you now watch over.” 
 
There were some words said between the ponies around me but I couldn’t understand them as everything in my mind went gray and mushy. Somepony had just finished reading me my last rites, and I had missed it. 
 
All of a sudden, I felt like I could sense everything going on around me, everything going on in the world, the universe itself, at least for a second until my body jolted as it felt the rope being put around my neck. 
 
I couldn’t breathe. 
 
Not because it was too tight, but– 
 
My face scrunched up as I braced for the death that was about to come. I didn’t know how painful it’d be. I was never good getting shots. 
 
I couldn’t breathe though, no matter how hard I was trying to. 
 
What made me exhale though was the feeling of the ground below me suddenly disappearing. 
 
My breathing finally came back, but it was all shaky. I don’t know what happened, but I tried to look down, but the bag over my head kept me from seeing what was going on, plus the rope tugged at my neck as I tried to move my head. 
 
It was then when I felt the two guards holding me, I didn’t even realize they were still doing that but that didn’t last long as I soon felt them let go of me and the sudden feeling of what I could only describe as that initial feeling of jumping off a small ledge and dropping more than you thought you wou–