For a moment he thinks he sees others in the cave. Confused and scared, he calls out softly. "Hello?" as he steps further into the darkness. "Welcome" Comes a booming voice that echos off the cave walls, seems to encircle all of them. Suddenly he is pushed by something he can't see and he stumbles and falls to his left. A loud clanging behind him makes him turn his head and his mouth goes dry. He is in a cage, surrounded by metal bars. Scrambling back to his hooves, his body presses against the rough iron metal but nothing gives. There is faint light now in the cave, it's no longer total darkness. He can make out other horses in more cages. Some from their stature seem like small children and his stomach lurches. He paces his cell, looking for some way out. With a deep breath he closes his eyes... Exhales... Opens them..
He's no longer in a cage. He's in the Meadow, can feel the warm breeze of summer across his back. Relief floods through his system, a slow smile spreading on his lips. It had all been another bad dream. He had made it here after all. Slowly walking with the light of the moon at his back, he spots a familiar shape in the distance. "Dad!" He calls to him, hurrying his step and feeling more at ease with every moment. That is until Magnus turns his head to look at him. His father's gold-flecked eyes are cold and stare at him with open disgust. Ledger stops in his tracks, hesitant. "Dad?" He asks again and this time Magnus sneers at him, his buckskin body turning to face him. "You're no son of mine." He hisses, spitting at him. He takes a step back as his father steps forward, getting in his face. "Who would want you as a son? You're nothing but a coward. A useless creature." Ledger shakes his head, his own gold-flecked eyes staring into the mirrored ones of his father which are filled with loathing and hate.
"What have I done wrong?" He asks, obviously confused and deeply upset by this shift in Magnus's attitude. "You didn't die, that's what's wrong." Magnus snaps, pulling away from Ledger while still glaring at him. "You should have died. He should have killed you." A pause as he wrinkles his nostrils with disdain, as if he touched Ledger he would catch some awful disease. "Joelle would probably still be alive if it weren't for you... You and your bad luck. I've lost the love of my life because of you." The chestnut stallion's heart sinks into the bottom of his chest, starting to crack and shatter. He can say nothing, is simply dumbfounded by his father's tirade. "That's why nobody can ever love you Ledger. You don't deserve love." His heart cracks even more as Ledger hangs his head in shame, defeated by what he has always feared. How could anyone love him? How could he ever have a family or love anyone when he brought nothing but pain and devastation in his wake? "She left me when she found out about you, did you know that? When she found out your mother was pregnant with you. All you do is ruin people's lives!" Magnus screams at him, turning and advancing on him like a lion towards it's prey. "I'm going to do what I should have always done." And Magnus lunges for him, the gold of his eyes turning red in a murderous rage.
Ledger can only react, a sharp whistle of surprise as he rears up to meet his father's blow. He's going to kill me, he thinks. Instinct makes him fight back, his own hooves trying to defend from the blows Magnus rains on him. The chained box deep within him starts to play with the lock, starts to creep out. Something hardens Ledger momentarily and with a shrill cry, not even realizing what he is doing, he shoves Magnus to the ground and his hooves collide with the other's skull. Magnus lays there, almost dazed, with blood running down his face and into his eyes. He looks at Ledger and with a soft breath whispers, "I've never loved you." And then he collapses, eyes wide open. Unseeing. A scream rings through the Meadow and it takes a second for Ledger to recognize it's coming from him.
His muzzle nudges the still warm body of Magnus, unaware of the other horses now surrounding him. They are whispering and gesturing, angry eyes all around. Ledger cries into his father's neck. "I'm so sorry Dad. I'm so sorry. What have I done?" Murderer! The crowd starts to shout and he pulls back from his father's corpse in a panic. Shaking his head with wild eyes, "No.. You don't understand!" He pleads but they aren't listening and are closing around him. A most angry mob. There's nothing to do but run. He turns to flee but suddenly someone trips him and he falls to his knees with eyes closed for the impact, they burn as they scrape against cold stone. Stone? Opening his eyes again, he shakily takes in his surroundings. He's back in the cell, blood running down the front of his legs. Trembling violently, he presses his head against the cold bars. His heart fractured and beating weakly as if it had no life left in it, not caring that the tears ran freely down the slope of his cheek. I deserve to be here. I deserve everything that's coming to me.
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