You can hear tires spinning in place on the dirt of the driveway even as you and Master race to the front door. Master's not in a good way himself, barely staying upright, staggering around the room, and seemingly propelled only by concern for Autumn and a whole lot of anger. You're the first to see a poorly cared for utility van trundle off down the dirt road away from the house. No!

"AUTUMN!"

"I'll get the car keys!"

Master dashes up the stairs, stumbling as he goes, to get the keys to his truck. This is going to take too long! He's going to get away! 

This is it. You have to do something, or Autumn's going to suffer in your place. Before you have any kind of plan, you're at a full sprint down the driveway, eyes fixed only on the tail lights as they retreat into the dark. Your wings go to work, and a week of intense practice pays off as you take to the sky. At first the van only gets further away as you focus on gaining altitude.

Your wings pump furiously as you attempt to go higher than you ever have before, you crest the treeline and, still slowly climbing, roll in mid-air to give chase. Somewhere over the howling wind you can hear Master shouting your name, but you don't even look back. He can punish you later if he wants. You can't lose that van. You can't lose Autumn. Not to that pervert.

Okay, Zephyr, you need a plan. Think! From your height, you can see that the dirt road he's driving along goes for quite some distance without meeting any other paths. That'll make it easier to stay with him, and the roughness of the dirt road is forcing him to slow down. 

Even if you can catch up, what are you going to do? You can't open the doors to get Autumn out, and even if you could you'd still have to contend with your would-be rapist. You have to get to Autumn!

There's no way in!

Wait. Yes there is. From this height you could come straight down on the windshield, bust through it and slam right into that motherfucker's face. It's suicide, though. You're light and fragile. You could really die. If the van is still rolling it might kill Autumn too. You can't.

Your wings feel like they're on fire. You've never flown this fast for this long before, and you don't know how long you can keep it up. The exertion is taking its toll, and the taste of blood in the back of your mouth confirms that you're going to run out of steam very soon. Quickly glancing back, you can see the headlight's from Master's truck in the distance. You're not sure if he'll catch up before the van can turn onto another road, possibly encountering witnesses and making pursuit dangerous. This is hopeless! Whatever you're going to do, you have to do it soon.

A loud thump and the sound of spinning tires snaps you back into the present. The van is at a dead stop! The spinning rear tires make it evident that he's stuck in the dirt. This is your chance! You need to buy Master time to catch up. You know what that means doing.

You fly straight past the now stationary van and swing to the side, turning back toward it. No stopping now.

You're in a dive and building speed, headed directly toward the driver's side of the van from the front. You should stop- this could kill you!

You flash back to when you first met Autumn. From inside your cage, you wondered if you'd turn out like her; A faithful, willing pet. Is that what happened? Is that why you're about to risk life and limb for her?

No. That's not what this is about. This is about protecting an innocent person, your friend, from rape, torture, and in all likelihood death. You were a /co/mrade before MLP came around. You've spent a lifetime worshiping at the altar of the Batman, Superman and dozens of other heroes. You can't do any less than this and live with yourself. If that also means you're exactly the pet Master wanted, then you suppose that's a silver lining.

You can see his pudgy, unshaven face now as you hurtle toward him with tremendous speed. He hasn't seen you yet, still focused on trying to drive the van out of the hole he's stuck in. You can't stop now, even if you wanted to.

You're only a few yards away now. Still getting closer. The wind stings your eyes and your lungs are burning, but you're there.

He looks up and sees you at the last second before you tuck your wings in and curl into the tightest ball you can. You shut your eyes as tight as you can and brace yourself for pain.

You really hope you live through this.

You really hope he doesn't.

You do feel the windshield breaking under the force of your impact, but the sudden stop a second later is the last thing you feel before being knocked unconscious.

The van's horn blasting into your ears brings you back into consciousness. Oh. Oh you really wish it hadn't.

Every bone and muscle in your body is screaming. Pain is not the right word for what you are experiencing. Every breath is labored and agonizing. You must have broken some ribs. You try to cry out through a mouthful of blood, but the noise is nothing but a small, choking gurgle. Involuntary, pitiful whines emerge after it. It hurts! You're really, really hurt. Oh god, you need help, you really really need help.

You've got to calm down. Master will be here soon. Just breathe. Don't think about how many teeth might be gone or if you just bit your tongue. Don't even look at your legs. Don't think about glass in your skin. Don't try to move your wings. Breathe.

Your breathing rapidly descends into rapid hyperventilating, and you can't stop yourself from crying. Fuck this, you'd rather have died!

The sound of an engine, oh thank god! You're momentarily blinded by headlights, but the sound of Master shouting for you and Autumn at the top of his lungs is the most beautiful thing you've heard in your life. The color draining from his face when he sees you is much less comforting.

"Zephyr! How did... Oh god. Where does it hurt?"

As much as you'd like to tell him "Everywhere" all you can manage is another gurgling moan. He's by your side in an instant. He gives you a quick once over before looking into the van.

"You're going to be okay, you hear me?! Just let me get Autumn into the truck, and I'll get you home, alright?"

It's only a few seconds before Master re-enters your vision, Autumn in his arms. She's completely quiet, just trembling. At least until she sees you. A small cry escapes her throat, and it rapidly elevates to full blown screaming. That's probably something to worry about... You can't be in a good way... You're just so sleepy.

Sudden movement behind you gets your attention, even if you can't summon the energy to do more than roll your head along the hood towards the noise.

He's moving! In your severely concussed state, you're almost as insulted as you are afraid. You just destroyed yourself, and he doesn't even have the courtesy to die. This time, there's fear written on his face, which is some small consolation to you. He falls out of the van and starts stumbling toward the treeline, but Master's seen him.

All that inhuman confidence is gone now, as he tries to drag himself away from an eerily silent Master. Master, for his part, is expressionless. Wordlessly stalking after the Sadist until he finally catches up. With a pained cry the freak trips on something, and it seems like he's about to beg for mercy...

Until Master swings the bat directly into his face. After taking the time to cuff him to a tree with some of his own fetish gear, you find yourself being gingerly lifted and carried, even as sleep threatens to take you.

"Hey! Don't fall asleep! Stay with me!"

You'd love to, but you're just... so...

------

You swim through layers of sleep before surfacing to a blurry view of Master's living room. Wait... How did you get here? Everything starts to come back in flashes. Your would-be owner. His friend. Your kamikaze run.

Master giving you something to bite down on while he set your broken bones into place- Digging glass out of your skin. Waking up to Autumn crying beside you.

You're alive!

How long have you been out?

You're terrified to look down at yourself. What if the damage if permanent? What if your legs or wings don't work anymore? Okay, okay, just calm down. Getting Autumn away from that monster is worth any price and you know it. Start small. You slide your tongue around your mouth, feeling for missing teeth. Ach! The problem, it seems, was your tongue, but your teeth seem to be intact. You gingerly lift your head off the pillow and twist you neck a bit. It's sore, but you're relieved to find that it's fully functional once you work out the kinks. Okay. Just take a deep breath and look back.

You can't help but close you eyes as you turn, but when you open them things look much better than they could. Your right rear leg is in what looks like a home-made cast, and there are bandages criss-crossing the rest of you, including your wings. Large bruises are visible along your ribcage, but that comes as no surprise.

You're okay. Hurt, yes, but you're really okay.

You lay your head back down on the pillow and let relief wash over you. You're alive. Autumn is safe. A giddy laugh comes out involuntarily and doesn't stop. It's over! You never have to be afraid of him again! You're laughing so hard you're starting to cry. 

The sound of footsteps approaching registers with you, but it doesn't do much to stop your giggles. Master rounds the corner, worry etched onto his face until he gets a good look at you.  He cracks a smile, a real smile, and kneels next to the sofa. He's wearing a bandage on his forehead, but otherwise seems fine.

"Really awake this time? You've been in-and-out for four straight days, you know."

Four days? Seems plausible enough. You'd love to reply with a quip, but it's just... They hurt him to get to you. He hurt them to protect you. Sure, you divebombed the van, but you wouldn't have had the chance if he hadn't saved you. You were helpless, and he saved you. You felt warm inside as soon as he spoke to you.

This isn't... You shouldn't... You know this feeling. Awkward as it definitely is, there's no two ways about this. You're in love. With a man. Who kidnapped you. Changed you... aaaand did a bunch of other stuff with you. Is that okay?

Man, fuck it. Of course it's okay. He's leaning in close all of a sudden and you hope he's about to reciprocate.

Then he flicks you on the nose.

"You don't ever do something like that again, you understand me? You could have died out there."

"Autumn could have had worse. I had to."

This time he does kiss you.For a few seconds you let your mind go blank and just enjoy this feeling. After he breaks the kiss, though, it's back to business.

"Autumn is okay, right? Where is she?"

"She's been having trouble sleeping for the past few days. When she's not down here waiting for you to wake up, she's upstairs having nightmares. I'm sure you can sympathize. Right now she's actually, finally asleep, though."

"And those two bastards?"

"Downstairs. I'm working on something special for them."

Well.... that's certainly chilling. Or rather it would be if you had any sympathy for either of them. Still, this does raise some questions.

"Unless you've got a buyer with oddly specific taste, I don't think the sadist pony is going to be an easy sale."

"You'll see. Now, pick anything you want to eat and it's yours."

Hmmm. You haven't had to think about what you were going to eat in weeks. Since waking up here, Master's been doing all that, and the food's good enough that you don't really mind at all... But now you can't think of anything.

"Whatever you think is best."

"I offer you literally whatever you want and you're leaving it up to me?"

"If your dog chases off a burglar, do you ask it what it wants?"

"Yeah, but you're -not- a dog."

"But I -am- your pet."

"...Good girl."

Once again your judgement - that is to say, trusting his judgement, pays off in the form of a large bowl of raspberries. These. Are. INCREDIBLE. As much as you'd like to pace yourself, you're absolutely starving and the whole bowl is gone in mere minutes.  It's only after you've finished gorging yourself, and inadvertently dyed your face red, that you feel any shame upon noticing that Master's been staring the entire time.

"I suppose four days without eating will do that. Now that that's covered, we need to talk."

"Master?"

"Autumn's been my only real companion for ten months now. She was my only mistake until you happened, and I tried my best to own that mistake. Literally, I guess, and she's become a lot more than that since. She's very, very important to me and I don't know what I would've done if you didn't step up."

"Have you ever told her all this?"

"I have, but that's not what this is about. I owe you, and I'm going to offer you a reward. Anything you want. Anything. I could call your friend and give you to him, or I could let you choose between people who want to buy you. I can't promise anything, but if you really wanted... I could try to undo all the changes. Make you human."

You can barely suppress your laughter.
"You're joking, right?"

"No, Zephyr, I'm being serious. Whatever you want."

Now you're really laughing, but it's a cover. You know where this is going and it makes you nervous. What if he says no?

"Why would I want any of that? You'll forgive me if I'm not a fan of strangers who want to take me home anymore. And I meant it when I said Jake's house is gross. Besides, I'd just be a third wheel with him and Evergreen...And I'd still take both of those over going back to my crummy house. And my terrible job... And being unhappy..."

"So what is it you want, then?"

Butterflies are dancing in your stomach and for a second your breath catches in your throat. This is it. End of the line. Are you really about to say this?

Yeah, there's no saving you. You're all the way gone.

"You win, you know that? You got exactly what you wanted from me. All the choices in the world, and there's only one thing I can think of. You want me to be happy?"

"Keep me."

You have no reason to be as scared of rejection as you are. He cares about you, you know he does!

"That's all?"

You can feel your ears droop as doubt begins to plague you.

"Please, I'll be good! I won't ever disobey, you know I wont! Don't send me away. I love Autumn. I... I love you."

A warm hand reaches out and tousles your mane a bit. You've shut your eyes in a mix of embarrassment at your confession and irrational fear of being turned down.

"Of course you'll be good. You're a fantastic pet, Zephyr. Here I was ready to set you free, and all you want is exactly what was going to happen anyway before you got to play hero?"

Before? He was already planning on it?! You open your eyes in time to see him lean down to hug you gently around the neck. This is perfect. You're the warm little center of the universe as long as this means what you think it means. That you're his. His possession, his pet, his mare.

"Who are you?"

"Z-Zephyr."

"And who am I?"

"My Master."

"And that's how it's going to stay."