To The Skies!

You were now seventeen. A whole year has passed. You've gotten a job at a royal zeppelin factory for three bits per hour of work. Considering all the other factories paid less in exchange for labor, you were satisfied with the pay. You were able to pay the bills just barely, especially since you spent most of your home time working on the airship. You worked tirelessly on that ship. Mainly because your Dad promised when it was finished, it'd be yours. But also because you wanted to test your abilities.

One day, you came home from the factory. You took off your grease stained coveralls and placed it on the sofa. You then plopped onto the old recliner chair beside it, caqusing specks of dust to fly up into the air. You lean forward a bit to turn on the radio and hear the daily news of Canterlot. The usual mare said the usual thing all the time. The weather, the entertainment, and the same old mention of the notorious sky pirates "Of Cogs and Guns" who rule Canterlot skies with an iron fist. You decide not to listen to the same old crap and turn it off. Getting off the couch, you then slipped out of your work clothes and almost into something more suitable for your current task, when you hear something clang in the kitchen. You walk towards it, and all you see is a metal pot on the floor, as well as a couple soup ladels.

You approached the kitchen further, and looked around. Upon seeing nopony around, you crouched and picked up the ladels and pot to put them in the sink.

That's when you were tackled.

By a mare with torn clothes.

She had a wild look in her eyes, as if she has seen something terrifying.

You look at her intense eyes and ask her, "Is something the matter?" She only responds by getting up and dragging you along. She then brings you to your bedroom and hides in the closet. "Hide me," she whispers as she closed the door to the closet, trapping herself inside. Just as she did that, two stallions bursted through the windows, shattering the glass. They then entered your bedroom, seeing you and stopping dead in their tracks. "Listen here, old chap," said the one to the left, a burly stallion wearing a suit with the sleeves torn off. He continued with, "Have you seen a mare with a chain on her neck and some torn clothes?"

You realized at this point what they were doing. They were pony slave smugglers. Ponies who ruthlessly kidnapped and sold mares and stallions of as slaves. You looked to the one on the right, a scrawny young buck whose height stopped at your shoulder. He looked around and whispered something into the other's ear.

"Is there a problem, kind sirs?" you asked, hands thrown to the air carelessly and in a shrugging motion. They nod and reply with, "We have reason to believe a servant of one of our customers has run off before fulfilling her duty to him."

You know now why the ripped clothes were a thing. He was trying to force homself upon her. You cracked your neck and smirked. "I'm sorry. I know nothing of a mare. But if I did, you'd most likely have to fight me for it. Just be warned; I've been in a few bare knuckle prize fights." They looked to each other, then to you, and laughed brutishly. The one to the left replied, "As if, good sir! Our problem is not with you. Step aside and let us search the--"

A punch you threw to his neck shut him up immediately. The young buck to the right pulled out a switchblade and rushed you, slicing into the air. You lean back, causing him to graze your muzzle, leaving a cut on your jaw. You grunt in pain and smirk shortly after. "That ain't fair, mate." You exclaim. You then taunt him with a rude gesture. He rushes again and slashes his knife at you. You grab the knife with one hand and his wrist with the other. This caused him to let go of the knife, and you started to grip his wrist tighter. He yelled out in pain as you were now clearly crushing his wrist. You dropped the knife and smacked him so hard across the face he was knocked unconscious. You dropped him soon after and knocked the lights out of the burly stallion.

With two for two and only a graze, you smiled. You then remembered the mare in your closet. You ran to it and opened the door. She stared at you, then behind you to the bodies. She opened her mouth to speak, and you only shushed her as you said, "No worries. They are only unconscious. Now...care for a spot of tea?"

She smiled nervously and nodded, then whispered, "My name is Clear Skies."

The both of you sat in the living room, using the bodies as pillows for your aching feet. The clock in the room ticked and tocked, making the silence seem even worse as you sipped your tea.

She eventually asked in an almost inaudible voice, "Wh-why did you not sell me out to those brutes?" You only crack a smile as she asks. You then reply smoothly, "Well, I'd much rather not have seen a beautiful mare turned sex slave get dragged away without saying something about it. So naturally, I chose to defend you. Besides, I love to fight anyway." She nods in response to your statement and drinks her tea. She then observes you and blushes heavily. You look at her, then down, and remember you are only in your underwear still. You get up and leave to the bedroom, where you slip into something more comfortable. Upon returning to the living room, you had found her looking around. She then looked up at you and said, "I call the couch."

You raise your hand and shake it to gesture the word no. "I'd rather you sleep comfortably. Sleep in my bed and I'll down in the basement. Besides, I have a project I'm working on." You say after. She hesitantly nods and gets up to go upstairs. And that was about as much of conversation as you both had that day.