Fallout: Equestria - Broken Luck

Fallout: Equestria - Broken Luck

Chapter 1: Blackmailed Slavery

"Tough Luck, step forward." the harsh voice of the slavemaster rang out. "Present!" I did as I was told, holding my chest out and keeping my head down. It's harder than it sounds, looking proud and broken at the same time. But I guess I pulled it off. He must have liked what he saw.

"This slave is a child of one of the concubines of Caesar. She has been trained since birth to be a soldier and bodyguard. See her coat, marked by scars and pits?" I slowly turned to show my body. My mint green coat was indeed pockmarked from the harsh training I endured. Thankfully, with Glimmerhoof's help, I was able to keep mostly clean, so I looked fresh. My blonde mane was pulled back into a tail, as usual, though my tail was never able to be tamed without help from somepony else, and we didn't have time to make me look -pretty-. "Her training is top notch, and she will keep you safe from any threat. She's built like a Hellhound, and has the strength and toughness of an alicorn. Two thousand caps is her price. I think you'll find such a price to be minimal for a guarantee of safety." I couldn't help but glare at the seller, my icy blue eyes staring holes into him. He cowed slightly. "A-and she is meant to be a fighter, so I think you'll find one of our others to be more pleasing, for your more carnal desires."

The old suave pony who was looking us over to buy, pointed at Glimmerhoof. "I want her too. Both of them." I could just see the sparkle in his eyes. He must be rich, being able to buy two of us...and we were some of the more expensive ones. "I'll give you three thousand caps for both of the slaves."

The slavemaster laughed heartily at that offer. "Three thousand? These are two of our best ones! Surely you jest, Mister Ratchet. Not a cap under six thousand will do." I couldn't help but feel a smirk cross my muzzle. Glimmerhoof, though she wasn't called upon by the slavemaster, stepped next to me to also be on display. I felt a little more relaxed when I saw her shimmering coat in the corner of my eye. The potential master, however, didn't seem too concerned with the up in price.

"Four thousand. Keep in mind, sir, that I provide your camp with repair services on your firearms. I can easily walk away from both this deal and the service agreement. I'm sure the New Canterlot Republic will be happy to have me in their service." his voice had a smug satisfaction in it. I couldn't help but jaw drop. Who just has four thousand caps to toss about?

"...very well, Mister Ratchet. If you extend the service agreement, four thousand caps." I felt a certain sense of excitement rising in my chest. I...was leaving! And Glimmerhoof was coming with me! I had to contain myself, for both our sakes. I didn't want to blow the deal, after all. I chanced a look up to see our new master. He was older. His mane was graying, and his coat was a pale blue, stained by oil and grease. Pink eyes watched us carefully, filled with both excitement and lust. A repairpony. His cutie mark (an image of a ratchet, obviously) was exposed too, an oddity in the wasteland. Most ponies choose to wear more clothing instead of less, because of the dangers that lurked.

A little farther off, behind him...I could see my mother. She was watching, hidden, behind a tent. I stared straight at her, expecting...something. I wanted her to come and cry and scream to not be separated from her daughter. But she didn't. She just watched as my life was bought by a stranger. I hated her at that moment, for letting me go with nary a word or action otherwise. I pointedly looked away from her, as the jingle of bags of caps were exchanged between saddlebags. I had never seen more than ten caps in my life, so you can bet I was watching those huge bags get passed. The new master got the papers outlining his ownership of us.

"Tough Luck and Glimmerhoof! You are now property of Mister Grease Ratchet. You will stay with him or be crucified. Gather what little you have, and meet at the front gate. Tough Luck, you will stop by the armory and be issued a gladius." the slavemaster barked at us. We scurried off after bowing and giving an affirmative. Hail Caesar and all that crap.

Gathering our things and the trip to Ratchet's house passed by like a blur. He tried to talk to us, but I would only give one word answers. Glimmerhoof did most of the talking. I don't know how she was able to stay so chipper and social. I guess that was just her thing. The trip was pretty long though. The fellow lived out in the middle of the desert, near a small oasis. Of course, having never been out of the Legion camp, it was all new to me. The sand dunes, the actual sight of real water, not tainted by radiation. It was rather pretty. The oasis was fed by a small stream that led off of the river made by the dam. Plant life grew around it, lush, and inviting. There were even fruit bushes and trees growing around it. No wonder he wanted a bodyguard, somepony else would -kill- to have this spot.

The cabin was like all the other buildings in post-apocalyptia. Ugly, but serviceable. It seems he put the effort into patching holes, though, so it was going to be mostly temperature controlled and dry. I was thankful for that at least. He was pleasant enough, I suppose. He fed us decent, and I even got my own mattress. Glimmerhoof didn't...but that's because she was expected to sleep with him. At first, I was posted near the door, inside. But after seeing some of the things he did to her in that bed...I snapped a little bit. I threatened to rip his leg off and make him choke on it if I saw it again.

That's when he dropped the bombshell on -me-. "You better behave. I know your mother is still in that camp. If you so much as step hoof out of line, I only have to say something, and they will hang her on a cross. And you'll get to watch." he snarled. "So you better do what I say, and be a good little slave." I had no response to that other than to bow my head with gritted teeth.

"Yes sir. I'm sorry sir. Forgive this slave's disobedience."

"Good. Now resume your post, slave." he had a wicked grin in his eyes. He forced me to watch my best friend get raped and have nasty things done to her nearly every night. I think those days were the worst, despite the abuse I suffered at the camp. At least there, I could endure the physical beatings. This was emotionally and mentally torturing. Hearing Glimmerhoof cry and beg for mercy made my blood boil, but I couldn't interfere...I loved my mother, despite the fact that she abandoned me to this fate. I think the old fuck got off on watching me squirm too. I could see it in the way he looked at me too, that he'd rather be doing those things to me...but when he advanced on me, I made it clear in no uncertain terms that if he gave me that sort of treatment, his death would be bloody and slow.

I don't know why he didn't just force me. Maybe he was scared of me. Maybe he found that torturing me mentally was more satisfying. I'll never know why. Our lives became routine after awhile. I'd stand guard all night, and some of the day, then rest about midday, taking a bath in the oasis, eating, and sleeping. He'd work on repairing things. Glimmerhoof would serve him during the day, and service him at night. I grew numb to her begging each night. I kind of feel like by that point, I was a robo-pony. I went through the motions. I killed any threats. Most of the time, it was an odd lost raider or an animal that thought it was hot stuff. Once it was an NCR soldier.

Occasionally, the routine was broken by travel. He'd wake us up, and inform us that he needed to make a trip to a settlement to buy supplies, drop off packages, and pick up new client's stuff. So I'd be saddled with a cart, and drag them to the closest town. It was a small place...but the ponies there were nice. According to them, we were a family and a hired bodyguard. I wish that I could have said something. But I didn't. I was too afraid for my mother. I was afraid that none of the town ponies would be sympathetic. It was nice being in town though. For those few brief hours, Ratchet would treat us like actual ponies, instead of playthings. He'd even give us a few caps to spend in town. I liked to go to the little bar, and have Applejack Daniels. It was never enough to get drunk, but I'd get a pleasant buzz and have some nice chatting with the folk that frequented it.

Glimmerhoof had to stay with him though, so I didn't get to talk to her one-on-one very often. I'd sneak her out to the oasis once in awhile, so we could have some privacy and bathe. At least I think we had privacy. Sometimes I wondered if he let us do it because he wanted to watch us. I'll admit, we did have sex rather often. For her, it was the only tenderness she got. And for me, well...I have needs too. And after some passion, we would get to jump in the oasis to wash and cool down, then we'd spend about an hour grooming each other before scurrying back to the cabin. Those were the best times, in my opinion. Her eyes sparkled like emeralds from what little sun broke through the cloud cover whenever she looked at me. If I were of the right mindset, I would have begged her to run away with me so we could be together.

Turns out though, I didn't need to. One night, Grease Ratchet didn't wake up after going to bed. I suppose that's not a bad thing for anypony involved. He died in his sleep, a rarity in the violent wastes. For Glimmerhoof and me, though, it meant freedom. We spent a day lounging, after burying our late master outside the house, talking and enjoying each other's company, lounging and eating like princesses. "Tough...we can't stay here, you know." she told me that night while we laid in bed. "The Legion is sure to come to collect their battle saddles and guns. We should pack up what we can and go to town, and figure out what to do there."

"Yeah. It's a shame. It's a nice place...I wish we could stay." she kissed my cheek and smiled.

"We can find another place, just as nice."

"I know. As long as you're there, it will be the prettiest place." that made her blush and giggle. We rested well that night. The next morning, we awoke full of pep. We ate, and packed everything of use in the wagon, then hooked me up to it. She climbed into the back, and away we went, into the shifting dunes of the San Palamino.

Leaving was the worst mistake we could have ever made.