"You know we are going to get stabbed right?"
"Shut up."
Two dozen ponies were lying down, muzzle first into the snow. Their forehooves are raised over their heads as three bat ponies went to each one, searching their saddlebags. They pulled out everything and tossed it into the snow. Things from photos, food, and letters were tossed into the snow and stepped on without a second glance. They did keep one thing though. It was rare, but every time one of the bats came across bits, they would stuff them into their saddlebag and keep moving. Normally, it would make sense if the bits were worth something, but they were worthless since Nightmare Moon took over. There was no currency, only rations.
Everypony that was face down knew this might happen, but they didn't think it would be like this. It was quiet. The only sound that could be heard was the wind; that and the sobbing coming from Stainless. Of course, there were other ponies in the group fighting back tears and whispering their prayers to Celestia, but Stailness was on the front line, right in front of one of the bats.
"Ssslaut!" The bat hissed at him.
"W-w-what?" Stainless whimpered through short breathes.
"Ssslaut! Kinel!" It shouted again, pointing its sword under Stainless' red neck. Stainless slowly rose to his feet while the sword stayed pressured under his neck. His vision was blurred from tears resting in his eyes, but he stayed focused on the bat's smirking face. The sword kept pushing against the bottom of his chin until he was standing at attention. The bat pulled its sword away.
"Sssalien nosven twelt, Lavan vende. Trelt bessssen." A few ponies in the crowd raised their head, but the rest were too afraid of what they were saying. The bat pointed his sword over to a clearing in the left as he said his line. Stainless looked over, two other bats stepped out of formation and nodded their heads at the clearing. Stainless looked back at the bat in front of him, who had anticipation in its eyes. The bat darted its eyes towards the clearing. Stainless took the hint and slowly made his way to the clearing. He tried not to make eye contact with the other bats as he passed their line, but he could feel their eyes burning onto his fur. They were whispering something to each other, but with the wind blowing and their own language, Stainless couldn't understand any of it. It was not too long before he disappeared behind a mask of snow and fog. The bats kept their eyes focused on where Stainless vanished. After a few seconds, they looked back to the group of ponies with a dissatisfied look in their eyes. The bats scanned over the crowd, then returned to scanning the bags.
"Ssslaut!" It shouted when one of its soldiers kicked the last bag to the side. Taking the hint from Stainless, the crowd of ponies stood up. They each looked at each other.
"Twenty of us and not a single unicorn." One of the pegasus stallions whispered to himself.
"You know they are too valuable to put in the field." An earth mare next to him responded.
"Zeldrasss, cantol eleect lerein studan!" The bat shouted, pushing some of the ponies ahead.
"What did it say?" A few ponies in the crowd asked.
"It said to board the wagon!" An earth stallion near the front shouted, that earned him a bolt to the face from one of the bats.
"Valten!" The bat shouted as the earth stallion got back to his hooves. It didn't take much brain power for the ponies to know that it told them to stay quiet. One by one, they each boarded one of the wagons in front of them. Each pony was assigned a different wagons. The main division was stallions and mares, but a few smaller divisions were made within the genders. Nopony could make a pattern of how they were divided, but that was the least of their worries as they stepped inside their assigned covered wagon.
A few ponies in the group that worked in the wagon business could tell that the wagon was meant to hold around three ponies, and certianly not the six that the bats were stuffing in. It took some effort, but the bats closed the back door. There were no windows on the cart, the only light came from a few natural cracks in the wood. Needless to say, it was uncomfortable. They all shifted as the wagon moved through the snow. A pony or two tried to bend their hooves and sit down, but it was far too crowded for that. All six of them in the wagon stood and looked at the floor as they were tossed about.
"How did you guys get captured?" A grey earth stallion asked.
A few of them picked up their heads and looked over to him. Their eyes ranged from sadness to hatred.
"Scavenging for food in a marked off zone." One of them spoke up, a blue pegasus stallion.
"I was sneaking out to see my stallionfriend, and I wandered past the city line" Another spoke over their crying. That one was a red earth mare.
The wagon grew quiet, nopony else wanted to answer. "What about you?" The blue pegasus asked the grey stallion.
"Bats caught me with contraband." He said.
"What kind of contraband?" A blue earth stallion asked.
The grey stallion couldn't help but smile. "An apple from the old orchard near Ponyville."
"Why didn't you eat it when you had it?"
"Stupid choice?"
"I'll say."
"Any idea where they are taking us?" The red mare asked.
The grey stallion sighed. "Probably Dodge Junction."
Two ponies in the wagon gasped in surprise, but the other three looked at the grey stallion with clueless expressions. "What's at Dodge Junction?" The blue pegasus asked.
"Have you ever heard of Nightmare's facilities? Most ponies that the bats capture are sent there. The closest one to us is in Dodge Junction. I haven't heard too much about it. It's not the largest nor the most dangerous, lucky for us."
"W-what happens in a factory?" A mare in the far corner of the wagon asked.
"I'm torn between 'I don't know' and 'I don't want to say'. From what I've heard, it's a breeding ground for fillys, then the bats take them away and raise them to become part of Nightmare's guard. That's only for the lucky mares though." The grey stallion put an emphasis on mares, locking eyes with the blue pegasus.
"...and stallions?" The pegasus asked.
"Slave labor to the highest bidder."
The wagon ride lasted for hours. The ponies inside each wagon did their best to stand in a way to be comfortable, but it was useless. The wagon was simply too small to do anything except stand up straight. The grey stallion in one of the wagons occasionally had the room to rub his neck with his face every few minutes.
"Nervous?" The blue pegasus asked him.
"Very. Why do you ask?" The grey stallion asked. He would try to make eye contact, but the pegasus was somewhere behind him.
"You keep rubbing your neck."
"Oh, that. They took my scarf away. It just feels odd without it."
The blue pegasus took his answer and looked back to the little part of floor he could see. The light from outside became much brighter as the moon was nearing its highest point. The grey stallion turned his head and tried to look at as many faces as possible. With him, there was the blue pegasus stallion, a red earth mare, two pegasus stallions that looked alike, and a brown earth stallion. None of them were minors, and the grey stallion was very thankful for that. Minors were useless in one of Nightmare's facilities, and what was done to them was a fate worse than labor for life.
"I....I have to go to the bathroom!" The red earth mare shouted to the wall. We all waited in silence for an answer.
"Please! I really need to..." She was cut off with a hoof on her back.
"They aren't going to stop for you." The blue pegasus said.
"B...but..." She formed tears in her eyes.
"If you really need to go, there's only one option." The grey stallion added. The mare looked at everypony in the wagon. The grey stallion and the blue pegasus locked eyes, much to the grey stallion's discomfort on the neck. The grey stallion knocked his hoof against the pegasus next to him, and they got the message. Everypony in the cabin looked away from the mare. They tried to ignore the sound of her crying, and the liquid running under their hooves.
"Sssilen! Liren korevth!" A bat shouted as the doors to the wagons opened.
"What's your name?" The blue pegasus asked as their wagon door was opened.
"Prose." He said.
"Short Stop. When we get out of here, you come find me."
"Yea, sure..." Prose took a deep breath. "If we get out..."