Age of the Creatures

Chapter 8

Amelia, it turned out was a vet who had been assigned to me after the harsh treatment I had received from my first trainer. She had been coming to check on me, when she got here I was shaking from the nightmares.

She helped me stand, carefully easing me up off the ground. I knew I should be afraid, she was a human like all of the others who had hurt me, but I sensed kindness in her. This was new, no human had ever talked to me like she was, with compassion in their tone, the rest had hatred for me bubbling at their core.

She ran testes on me, never speaking harshly. I began to trust her more as the minutes turned to hours. When she finally left I was alone with my thoughts.

They began to argue taking on the voices of the other unicorns.

"Don't trust her," Solstice's voice warned.

"No! She has done you no harm and trusts you," Titanius told me.

I found it strange he and Solstice would argue even in my thoughts.

She is still a human," Rune hissed.

"Yes but we could use her kindness to find a way out," Midnight explained. 

"No human can be trusted, Celestia might be killed," Unity stated.

"And she is like those who killed Baine and Willow," Argus reminded us.

"But she isn't them. This is a kind human, and there are very few. Trust her." I heard Willow's faint voice tell me.

That decided it, I would trust her for now. Willow, I hung on to her voice wishing she would stay but she left me, floating away as if she were a breeze.

The unicorns called themselves the forest council, and now they had become mine. However unhelpful they were, for a moment they had banished thoughts of this place. Now it rushed back to me dragging my heart down.

I shook my head throwing out those thoughts as I walked to the stream. Taking a drink of the frigid water I cleared my head of the whispers that still lingered.

I lay back down but I was unable to sleep. I passed through that night not really awake or asleep but caught in a balance of the two. The lights turned on and the man, my trainer returned. His whip was in hand and his face was a scowl. I hadn't heard his footsteps.

"Another one?" I heard a deep growl but it wasn't the human. Behind him three dogs emerged. There was nothing special about them, they were tall and lean with sharp barred and smelling like animals to be feared. I took a step away from the fence.

"You and your little beast friends think that you can do whatever," His snarl sounded slightly like that of the dogs who stood impaitiently behind him. 

"I smell fear," the biggest dog said smirking at me, I shook because to be honest he was right. I was terrified of them.

"Bring me out the bridle," He called to someone I couldn't see. I heard more footsteps as another man came into view, though he looked far younger than the man who threatened me now. Passing the bridle to the trainer he practically ran out, making sure to steer clear of the dogs.

"Now let's get started," He said unlatching the gate so he and his dogs could come in. I noticed he was careful to latch it behind him so I couldn't escape. He made a few motions with his hand and the dogs instantly I was surounded. I took another step back my eyes trained on him. Immediately I felt teeth graze my fetlock. Sanding erect I allowed him to approach me. When he was close enough he grabbed me by my chin. I jerked my head up startled. I heard the warning growls around me. On instinct I froze as I saw one tense as if to leap at me. Seeing this the trainer forced the bit into my mouth. The metal was cold and hard on my tongue. 

Not giving me any time to realize what was happening he grabbed the reins and tied me to the fence. I came out of my shock too late as I tugged on the reins and found I couldn't move.

"Now you can stay there til morning and by then you had better be used to that bit!" He said. Then he left down the hall his footsteps echoed back to me while his dogs were eerily silent. They were probably going to make another creatures life a living nightmare I thought angrily, how could they treat us like this.

The fence allowed me no movement and my mouth began to go dry. My stomach growled at me. I almost wished someone would come feed me and quench my thirst. Mostly I wished to be freed from this metal that had been forced into me, but I knew that would only happen in the morning, when he returned. 

As the hours passed I tugged at the reins with nothing else to do but stand there. The bit was no longer cold as it had warmed from being in my mouth. I remember barely any of the time I spent there trying to force this new horror from my mouth. When the lights turned off I tried falling asleep, I knew that I would need to be rested tomorrow to fight the icy fear that froze me as though I were a statue, yet sleep would not take me. I fear the nightmares that come with sleep as though the dogs were back biting at me, killing me. Sleep must have overcame me at some point but I was to tired for the nightmares to visit me.

"Get up you lazy animal," His voice was as sharp as his whip. 

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