Episode 23 (E2)

"Equestrian Hell" is the third episode of Season 3 of KeepOnKeepingOn's Walking Dead: Edition Two. It is the 23rd episode overall. It premiered on July 7, 2017.

Synopsis
"The world becomes a whole lot bigger."

Plot
Ethan is lying unconscious on a metal floor. As he lays still, complete silence is within the area, except for the apparent ticking of a clock. Soon enough, his body twitches, and his eyes slowly flutter open, as he groans and tries to pull himself off the ground and to his feet. Stumbling, he sighs and stretches, excessive bruises covering his body alongside various dirt and blood stains.

"Sheesh, the fuck happened...? Where am I?" He looks around the small, contained area, trying to figure out his location. He tries the nearby door, but it doesn't open. "Hello? Somebody out there? Jake?"

He knocks on the door, still no sign of anyone or anything.

"Buddy...?" Ethan simply leans against the back wall and slides down to sit on the floor. Soon enough though, he looks up as he hears metal unlatching, and he watches the door open.

A woman is standing there, with two men by her side, all three of them armed with guns. The man to her right quickly steps a foot in and aims his gun at Ethan, though the woman disarms him by blocking his path.

"Calm, Dmitri. We don't kill the newcomers unless we know they're on the verge of becoming incredibly inanimate, yet painfully hostile..." She says, before looking at Ethan. "So, we found you at the bottom of a hill, followed by a horde ready to tear you to pieces. We saved you, and decided to protect you. Care to tell us who you are?"

After a moment, Ethan simply clears his throat and looks her in the eye. "Oh, um... I'm Ethan, and... I got separated from my group. My best friend... are they here? Did you find--"

The woman silences him with a hand gesture. "We've only come across you, Ethan. I am Madela DuBois. You may have heard of me in the old world, I was a popular actress."

"Oh, um, yeah, the name sounds familiar..."

"Welcome to the Stable, a community I've put together." Madela explains. "I figured, in a world where you can do anything, what the hell? Maybe it would be time to give back. Maybe it would be time to let everyone be an equal."

Ethan smiles and chuckles a bit. "Ms. DuBois, thank you for saving me, really. If I could just get some help going to find my friends, I'd be--"

Ethan is silenced as the butt of Medala's gun is slammed into his head, knocking him out again.

"But I decided to say to hell with that ideology. I own you now, you'll work for me."

"Come Horace, he has work to do." The guard known as Dmitri chuckles, as does the other guard, known as Horace. The two proceed to take the unconscious Ethan out of the cell and down a long hall, in what appears to be a metallic stable converted into both a series of holding cells and a slaughterhouse.

Eventually, after Ethan comes to, he finds his hands shackled and he is forced to work in a long line, using a pickaxe to mine away stone and dig trenches. Various other people are also chained up to this, and across the large area, people are also forced to tend to horses, grow crops, and build various structures.

"None of this makes sense..." Ethan coughs a bit and tries wiping sweat off his forehead, before he goes back to digging away.

A girl across from him with red hair notices him and strikes up a conversation. "No shit, this sucks serious dick. It's all for nothing, if you ask me."

Ethan looks up at her and listens. She smirks at him.

"I'm Skylar Spalding, but just call me Sky." She introduces herself. "I've been here for about a month already. You're new, you just get here?"

"Yeah, uh... I'm Ethan. I was separated from my group, from my best friend..." A tear rolls down his cheek. "Dammit, I just... I have to know if he's okay..."

"Wow, I'm sorry..." Sky nods. "Really, I am... but getting out of here is pretty unlikely. Madela just wants us all to sit around and build up this dumb... whatever it is. She thinks its a utopia, but frankly I think she's just an idiot. The world doesn't work the way it used to, all this stuff has no more worth. I don't know what she's trying to build, but... whatever it is, it's all a load of shit."

"I gotta agree." Ethan says. "I just really want to see my friend again... I have to know if he's alive."

Skylar looks around before leaning in. "Listen, me and a couple others are trying to form some kind of splintercell to get out of here. I can let you in on it if you can keep a secret."

Immediately Ethan nods. "I swear, I'll pay you back however I can. I'll do anything. Just... please, get me out of here. You have my word."

"Okay, well, we all have to get each other out of here. So we have to have each other's backs, okay?" Sky says, and Ethan nods. "Okay, that guy over there is Craig. Craig instigated these ideas, and he's the one waiting for an opening. If you ever get paired to work with him, tell him Sky sent you. He'll let you in on the splintercell.

"Those two there? That blond slave, and that black guard? That's Rosa and Lester. Rosa is a part of the splintercell, and Lester is in on it too, he's the only guard here on our side."

"Wait, what about those two there, talking to Rosa?" Ethan asks, gesturing to the unshackled people, who he assume to be guards.

"Fuck, those guards are the worst... Rodrick and Valerie. Or just Rod and Val. Fuck them, they think just because Madela spared them, they're the most important." Skylar sighs. "Now we have one more splintercell member... Gerald, he's somewhere..."

"Get back to work, everyone!" Madela appears with her two guards, Dmitri and Horace. "I see idle hands, I hear idle chitchat, and those are two things that can't exist here!"

"Madela!" Everyone turns to see a somewhat scrawny man in his early twenties approach, holding a gun aimed directly at Madela.

"Fuck, that's Gerald...!" Skylar cusses to herself. "Idiot, how did he get out?! The fuck is he doing...?!"

"Oh Gerry, how did you get out?" Madela simply smiles.

"Shut up, you psycho bitch! I'm gonna fucking kill you for locking us all up!"

"Mm, touchy touchy..." Madela turns to Horace. "Kill him."

However, Gerald shoots Horace dead in an instant the moment he raises his gun, startling many.

"Speedy!" Madela simply laughs before cutting herself short, becoming serious as she whips out a side arm and shoots Gerald in the head.

Everyone is too stunned to say anything.

"Talk about a poorly adapted man..." Madela shakes her head. "Alright everyone, back to work! Or you'll all get to visit Gerald and Horace in the sky! Lester, clean up this mess. And just for this shoddy display, dinner tonight will be cut short in both time and rations."

Multiple people groan as Madela walks away. Ethan sighs, knowing he might not escape for a while, and continues to work under the harsh sunlight, his only motivation being the hope of seeing his best friend again.

Deaths

 * Horace Knightly
 * Gerald

Trivia

 * First appearance of Madela DuBois.
 * First appearance of Dmitri Montoya.
 * First appearance of Skylar Spalding.
 * First appearance of Craig.
 * First appearance of Rosa Quints.
 * First appearance of Lester.
 * First appearance of Rodrick.
 * First appearance of Valerie Lawpton.
 * First (and last) appearance of Horace Knightly.
 * First (and last) appearance of Gerald.
 * First appearance of the Stable.
 * This episode marks the return of Ethan Langer to the series after an absence of one episode.