1 A Filly Named Sandy Hooves
Perhaps I should start by telling you my name. That’s how a proper introduction is done, right? I’m Wild Chains, or, that’s what I’m called now. I’m an average pony from a typical pony family. Well… as typical a family could be in the Equestrian Wasteland. I have a story to tell, like many others who live in this day and age. Mine might not be as “epic” or “special” as many of the others but it’s mine so I guess that’s what it’s got going for it. I guess I should start from the beginning… when I went by a different name…
Rain
It had been raining for two days straight with no end in sight. I’m not talking about a light drizzle that got your fur a little wet or made your mane curl in a way you didn’t know it could. This was an endless deluge that had caused the cliffs above to spill over like a waterfall, flooding the gully below where our little shack was nestled. My father, Copper Barrel, had done a great job at building our home under the cliffs in a small cave so we wouldn’t have to worry about water seeping into our cozy abode. He had even made a small pen for our pet brahmin to stay in when it rained like this. I could hear them moo anxiously every time there was a bright flash. I watched the storm from the window in my room, gasping excitedly every time a crack of lightning lit up the outside world only to hear roar of thunder echoed loudly in the cave moments later. The sight was beautiful with just a hint of terrifying. I had always loved the rain. The Wasteland heat could be so unbearable at times and my parents had a nasty habit of making me work hard in the hazy sunshine. When we could just relax and take a break for a few days I found myself wishing for the rain to never stop. I sighed again, fogging up the window I was leaning against. A chuckle behind me made me turn around to see my sister, Amora, watching me while reading that dusty old book again, the glow of magic from her horn holding it in front of her face.
“What?” I asked.
“You sighed again.”
“So.”
“That’s the fourth time in the last twenty minutes you’ve been glued to that window.”
It hadn’t been that long, had it? I walked in the room only a few minutes ago to grab my potted flower so I could get it some water. Then again, I had been known to daydream during a storm so I wouldn’t put it past me to get lost in the drizzle. I shrugged my shoulders and moved away from the window.
“What’s wrong with that? I like watching the rain as much as you like reading that book. How many times have you read that thing anyways?”
“Seventeen. Going on eighteen,” she said, turning the page.
“And you say I’m obsessed. That thing barely has any pictures and the ones it does have are gross. Why do you even like it?”
“Why do you like the rain so much, Sandy?”
I opened my mouth to reply but closed it again when I realized I would be walking into a trap. Amora liked to play this game with me, hoping it would make me feel dumb but I wasn’t going to fall for it this time. I just glared at her as she returned to the book. It was huge! It was called Ask The Vet and had a faded picture of a yellow earth pony with a blue mane. She was holding a long cat-like animal (Amora called it a ferret) on her hoof and a weary smile on her face. Apparently it was every veterinarian’s dream to have a book like that and my sister begged my father to get it when a merchant offered it up a year ago.
I guess I could see why she loved it so much. It was thanks to that old thing that she was able to discover her talent and got her cutie mark. It was so easy for her. Save our sick brahmin and, voilà! One cutie mark, order up! My parents were so excited for her that Mom took her to dinner in Tenpony Tower while Dad and I stayed behind to watch the house. I found myself glaring at the red cross on her flank, with its white paw print in the middle. One day, I would show her just how much it sucked when our parents took me to a restaurant and she had to stay home.
“Did you come in here for anything or did you just want to gawk at the storm?”
“Oh yeah!” I exclaimed and raced back to the window where a pretty blue and purple flower grew in a makeshift pot.
It seemed to shimmer with a crystal-like glow that only made me love it more. Mom had called it a hubflower and, though they were fairly common in the wasteland, we didn’t seem to have many growing around the farm. I found this one growing just barely inside of the gully and had been helping it grow for several months. It didn’t seem to be getting any bigger than the single flower bud, but that didn’t stop me from taking care of it.
Picking it up in my mouth I walked out of the room and into the main living area of our home. It had a small couch and a chair in the middle of the room. Over by the kitchen was a table we all sat at for meals. We didn’t have any doors except for the one leading outside, but we used old blankets to give each room some privacy. The shack we called home wasn’t very big, only the living area and the two rooms for my parents, Amora and I, but it was comfortable. My father built it before I was born, back when Mom was pregnant with Amora. He said the cave used to be a mine back before the war but at some point it had collapsed. Digging out much of the debris, he made enough room in the cave for our home. It helped that the den was fairly hidden from the outside world in a large gully. The walls were high enough to keep us safe from most threats, like bandits or the countless wasteland monsters, and there was only one way in and out (unless somepony wanted to come in over the top and risk the twenty-five foot drop) through a small, pony size crevasse. We fillies were never allowed to leave the gully alone, but it was nice to get out of the house sometimes and just gaze at the rock field where we harvested our gems.
As I walked into the main room, I saw Mom, Lapis Lazuli, sitting on the couch with a book wrapped in her sparkling magic energy and levitating close to her face. She was just as fond of reading as Amora and had a nice collection of books on a large bookshelf Dad made for her. I took more after our father both in color and race, which would explain why Mom and I weren’t as close. She couldn’t teach me magic so our lessons together were always basic, like reading and writing. But when her and Amora got together, she would try to teach her every spell she knew. I would watch quietly, albeit jealously, while Dad showed me the best ways to use the tools we had by mouth. I tried not to let it bother me too much, but sometimes I hated seeing the glow of magic.
“Sandy, where are you going,” I heard Dad ask.
“Jus’ takin’ mah pwant oushide,” I said through the pot in my mouth.
“Well, at least something will be benefiting from this damn rain,” he grumbled.
I moved to the door and pushed it open with a hoof. The sound outside was much louder and the air cooler. I loved it! Trotting happily to the edge of the cave, I found a good place for the hubflower to soak up some much needed water. I sighed and looked at the sky, admiring the dark clouds. It was nice to see something other than the same, every day, boring cloud cover that had never changed once in my entire life, heck, for the past 200 years! I giggled as I reached my nose out of the cave and allowed the cold water to splash on it.
“Careful, careful,” said a voice.
Turning around, I saw the brahmin standing in their pen with wide eyes. Amora had wanted to give the beast a proper name, but Dad said it would only confuse them (it?). So, they remained nameless and none the wiser. It was also confusing to refer to them either one or two beings, and I often found myself using both. It never seemed to bother them, though, very few things did. The two heads both watched me as I stood at the entrance to the cave, each one repeating what the other was saying.
“Danger, danger.”
I smiled and walked up to their pen. They had never said more than one word at a time and always simple things. When they were hungry they called out ‘food, food’ and when angry they would grunt lowly and growl ‘mad, mad’. It was funny to me and I would always try to teach them new things to say, but it never worked. They were a simple creature, but they still cared about us. I lifted a hoof and gently rubbed their heads and they hummed with pleasure.
“Pony, pony.”
“I hope you two aren’t getting too scared. It’s only rain and a bit of thunder. Don’t worry, it can’t get you in here. You’re safe.”
“Safe, safe.”
Nodding, I stopped rubbing them and headed back to the entrance. The rain looked so beautiful the way it danced from the skies. I looked back at the house for a moment, but couldn’t hold the urge any longer. With a whinny of laughter, I bolted into the downpour. I galloped to the middle of the field, careful of the rocks that rested all around me, and danced with the freezing water. Within seconds my fur was soaking wet and my mane clung to my face as I hopped around and splashed mud and water. Together, the rain and I put on a show for the rest of the world to watch as we kicked up puddles and leaped into the air. It felt wonderful to be so free for just a moment, but of course, it didn’t last long.
“Sandy Hooves! You get in here this instant!”
I didn’t know how long I was out in the storm but I heard my mother’s voice calling to me and I turned to see her standing at the entrance of the cave with a stern look in her eyes. My ears fell flat on my head as I realized my fun was over. I trotted slowly back to the cave and shook the water from my fur when I was safe from the rain. Mom threw up a bubble to keep herself dry as droplets shot everywhere.
“Honestly, child, I don’t understand you. You could get sick playing in the middle of a storm like that. We don’t have enough caps to take you to a doctor right now.”
“Sick, sick,” the brahmin said, oblivious to my mother’s glare at them.
“I’m sorry, Mama.” I said, aimlessly kicking my forehoof as I looked at the ground.
“Sure you are. Now get inside and dry off, I’m going to be making dinner soon.”
Without a word, I grabbed my well-watered flower and raced back inside the warm house. Dad was watching everything from the window and as I walked in he gave me a smile and ruffled my soaking wet mane.
“I thought your little dance was cute, sweetie. I tried to keep her from going out there, but you know your mother.”
“It’s okay. Thanks, Dad.” I reached up and nuzzled his nose before going back to my room.
Amora hadn’t moved. Still in the same place with her nose stuck in that book. We ignored each other as I grabbed my blanket and wrapped it around me, getting warm and dry as I once again returned to watching the storm continue on without me.
Later that night, the constant pitter patter stopped. The sudden silence that filled our house was enough to wake me. I sat up in my bed and gazed around my room in confusion. Amora was sound asleep; her body turned away from me but I could clearly hear the soft snore. She never believed me when I told her she snored but she was quick to retaliate that I sounded like two dogs fighting over food when I slept. Other than that, everything else was quiet. Too quiet.
Unable to fall asleep, I jumped out of bed and walked to the window to stare at the world outside. The earth was still. I could even hear the deep breath of the brahmin, whose pen was close to our side of the house. I carefully trotted outside, making sure not to wake anyone else up. The chill of the night sent a shiver up my spine. Everything smelled fresh and clean, like the world had been given a much needed bath.
I smiled as I left the cave, staring up at the sky, just outside the entrance. The storm clouds had gone and I could catch a tiny glimpse of the stars hiding just out of reach. The constant cloud cover made it impossible to see them and it was only after powerful monsoons that I was able to bathe in their glow. Of course, as with many things in the wasteland, the moment was short lived and slowly I watched as the clouds formed back up to steal the small lights from me. It didn’t bother me too much. I had seen them and that was enough. I stayed outside for a little longer before quietly returning to my room and tucking myself into bed. That night, I dreamt I was dancing with the stars and the Moon Goddess herself sung me a lullaby while we all played together.
* * *
We found ourselves scooping up rocks the next day. We had to stop the ones that held the best gems from sinking deeper into the muddy mess. I watched Mom walked around the large field with her horn pointed to the ground, a tiny blue glow emitting from the end. When she found the rocks she wanted, she marked the area with an “X” and move on to another. Then, my father and I would come up behind her and dig the stone out of the mud with our hooves so he would use a large pickaxe to break it open and pull out the gems. That would allow Amora to levitate the prizes to the sorting machine powered by her own magic. The machine could sift the good ones from the bad ones where the good ones would be packed up and stored in our secret cellar. The bad ones would be gathered and placed in the shed purposefully placed at one end of the field. My father often said that if a thief should “come a-knockin’” they wouldn’t be able to tell the difference and just take the gems in the shed.
It was really thanks to my mother’s talent that we were able to tell the difference between the qualities of the stones used to magically power things. Her cutie mark was perfect for such a skill, a shimmering blue stone. She had taught us what she could, but we still couldn’t find them as easily as she could. Although, it was easy to see the many kinds of glimmers a gem gave off it was only the extra shiny ones that were magical.
I watched my family work about the field and couldn’t hold back the sigh. They all seemed to be so happy, or at least content, about the hard labor. But I had a hard time finding the same enthusiasm. Things were more difficult for my father and I since we didn’t have Mom and Amora’s magic. Dad seemed to make the best of it. Luckily, he was so big and strong it was like he was born to be a perfect survivor of the wasteland. While Mom’s coat was dark grey, Dad’s was tan, much like the rest of the world. His cutie mark was a pickaxe smashing into a copper ore, showing he was meant for the hard work that came with living on a farm in a post-apocalyptic wasteland.
Amora looked more like Mom, but instead of her teal hair, Amora had Dad’s dark brown color. I, on the other hoof, was small in stature and couldn’t do nearly as much as he could. It was clear I took mostly after him, not just because I was an earth pony, but because I was also tan with a brown mane and tail. My legs lightened in color to a sandy shade, thus the reason for my name. I guess what hurt the most of all was that I was the only one among them who didn’t have a cutie mark. I didn’t know what made me special nor did I know what my true talent was, but I knew I wasn’t meant to be a rock farmer. I could just feel it deep down.
So if I wasn’t... then what was I?
“Sandy, can you move this batch to the shed?” Amora called, standing next to the sorting machine.
I nodded and trotted up to her. She looked grim and I could see that the pile of the useless gems outweighed the pile of good ones.
“I thought we would have way more than this, especially after the storm. Don’t the gems absorb clean soil?” I asked, reaching down to pick up the basket full of pretty jewels. It was heavy, but I did my best to show I could still carry it.
“Normally, yes, but I don’t think the ground had time to absorb any of the rain since so much came down so quickly. Don’t you remember Mom saying that the smaller stones usually have the best ones? I bet you anything most of them were washed out of the gully. So you can thank your precious rain for that. Now hurry and take these to the shed.”
I was hurt by her angry tone. It was like she was taking her frustrations about the storm out on me. True, I loved the rain, but I was also upset by the fact that it was making us short on our orders. I knew all too well the strain this was going to put on my family. I glared at my sister for a moment but she ignored me as she focused her energy on sorting more stones. I moved towards the shed on the opposite side of the fields, only stopping a few times to rest my neck and mouth. Once there, I pulled the door open and gazed inside. It was filled with all sorts of jewels that I still found to be quiet lovely regardless of their worthlessness. They may not have the magic we needed but they weren’t completely pointless. Somepony could make a necklace or a beautiful dress from them. Of course, something like that was still impractical in the wasteland. I sighed and dumped the basket into the pile.
The day carried on like this until mid-afternoon. The sun was blazing above our little gully, causing the mud to dry and crust over before we were completely done unburying the remaining rocks. I tried my best to help uncover the deep ones, but I just couldn’t dig my hooves as far as Dad. He and Mom tag-teamed the rest of the field while I did what I could to help, mostly I just carried the gems we collected. At long last, just as the sun was starting to set, we had managed to undo what the storm had done to our farm. We sat on the porch of our home, hidden in the shadows of the cave and watching the darkness stretch over the farm, the high walls having cast our home into dusk hours before the sun sank below the horizon.
“Well, Copper, we managed to gather 133 pure gems and 306 dead ones,” Mom was saying while writing the numbers on a yellow piece of parchment we used as a ledger.
Dad grumbled in his throat, a sound he often made when upset about a situation. “We may have to take some of the uglies to market and see if we can get somepony to buy them. Do we have anything around the house we can take with us?”
“Not a whole lot. We have some leftover ammo for a few guns we no longer have and a bit of scrap here and there. Nothing worth taking all the way to Tenpony so you might as well get as much as you can for it.”
“Alright, I’ll head out first thing tomorrow morning.”
My ears perked up as they spoke with each other, my eager curiosity growing with each syllable. Amora and I were taught at a very young age that the wasteland was a dangerous place and we were never allowed to leave the gully, only on special occasions and always with our parents. I had only ever left twice. Once had been to gather wild mutfruit with my mom. The other time had been when I found the hubflower, but I was alone for that trip and Mom had been so angry with me. I had never been to Tenpony Tower nor had I seen much of the world except for the small area outside our little patch of earth. My father would often go to Fetlock and sell what he could to the ponies that wandered to and from Manehattan. Three times a year, he and Mom would take the pure gems to the rich ponies that lived in the tower. That was when we made most of our money and got many of the supplies we needed to survive. Sometimes Dad would take Amora with him to Fetlock, leaving Mom and I to hold down the fort. I was older now and able to hold my own just fine. Why couldn’t I go?
“Can I come with you this time?” I asked, glancing up at him.
Dad didn’t turn to face me, but his ears twitched as he considered my question. Of course, my mom already seemed to have an answer. “Absolutely not! Sandy, you are still too young to be travelling to Fetlock.”
“But Amora is only a few years older than me and she gets to go! Just because I can’t use magic doesn’t mean she’s better than me out there.”
“Hey!” My sister called out, offended that I had dragged her into this.
I could see I touched a nerve. My mom’s eyes were alit with anger, she snorted hot air from her nose. “That has nothing to do with it, young filly. Don’t you bring your sister into this. She is six years older than you and has already-”
“Enough!”
At once, we were all silenced as each head turned to look at Dad. “Lapis, we’ve talked about this. Our girls are growing and they can’t stay in this place their whole lives. I think Sandy is old enough to get a good look at the wasteland. She will be with me. I’ll keep her safe.”
And that was that. I could see Mom wanted to protest, but the look in my father’s eyes cut off any arguments. She simply nodded her head and the ledger was encased in a field of magic that followed her as she walked back into the house. Amora didn’t say anything to either of us as she followed Mom inside, slamming the door behind her. My sister didn’t like conflict so whenever a scuffle broke out with our parents she would often retreat into our room to wait it out. I didn’t like it much either, but this time was different. They were arguing about me.
I never realized they had talked about me going to Fetlock before and I wasn’t sure how I felt about it. Did Mom really think I couldn’t handle myself out there? What could possibly be so bad about a market? As the day continued to fade away, Dad and I sat together outside the house. The clouds kept the stars hidden from us, but every now and then, one would peak through the cover and say hello before being concealed again. I smiled as I watched the night grow darker. Suddenly, Dad placed a hoof on my head and rubbed it playfully. “I keep forgetting how much of myself is in you. When I was a little colt I used to look at the sky just like you are doing now. The stars looked just like diamonds to me and I wanted to collect each one and keep them for myself. When I saw my first gem, the sparkle reminded me of the stars and I knew I just had to dig up as many as I could. That’s when I started working on a small farm outside old Ponyville. When I was a little older than you I got my cutie mark and I knew I just had to have my own rock farm.”
I listened eagerly to every word. It wasn’t often my dad told me stories of his foalhood, but when he did I found myself captivated. When he mentioned his cutie mark, I sighed and gazed down at my own blank flank. He must have noticed.
His large muzzle nuzzled my shoulder gently, tickling my neck with his breath. “Don’t you worry, Sandy Hooves. One day you’ll get your cutie mark.”
“ You keep telling me that, but I want it to come now. I want to know what I am meant to do in this world. I keep trying to be a good rock farmer, but I just don’t seem to get it like you and Mom.”
“Everypony wants their cutie mark to come when they’re young. But that’s the joy of it. You get to discover your special talent for the first time. There ain’t nothing like it. And don’t worry about what your talent may be. If it’s rock farming, then that’s great, but Lapis and I will be proud of you no matter what you are. Hell, your sister turned out to be really good at healing little critters. That ain’t even close to what we do but we couldn’t be more proud of her.”
I smiled and nodded in understanding. It made me feel better knowing that my parents would still love me even if I wasn’t a rock farmer. “Thanks, Dad. I love you.”
He wrapped me in a bear hug. “I love you too, squirt. Now, let’s get inside before your mother locks us out. I have a heap of apologizing to do or else I’ll be sleeping on the couch tonight.”
I giggled and followed him inside, giving the night sky a final look before closing the door behind me.
* * *
“Up and at ‘em.”
I felt a hoof nudging me into wakefulness and I blinked several times before I recognized the tall figure as my father. I mumbled incoherently and turned over, pulling the covers over my head. I heard a sigh then the blanket was ripped away and I was left to shiver on the mattress.
“Come on, Sandy. We don’t have much time.”
I looked out the window and saw the sky had only just begun to lighten. I groaned and rubbed the sleep from my eyes. “But Dad, the sun isn’t even up yet.”
“I know, but we want to leave before it does. The earlier we get to Fetlock the better spot we get for selling our goods. Now hurry up.”
With another groan, I managed to get to my hooves and hop out of bed. Looking over at Amora’s bed, I could see her wrapped tightly in the blanket and sleeping soundly. It made me jealous and took everything I had not to say ‘screw it’ and jump back under the covers. Somehow I managed to crawl out of the room and stand sleepily in the main area of the house. Mom was nowhere to be seen but I saw Dad gathering some supplies in the kitchen. I stumbled to a small alcove where we kept our saddlebags and pulled the smallest one out, fitting it snuggly around me.
I grabbed a mutfruit off the table and aimlessly munched it, enjoying the bittersweet taste that helped me wake up. I watched my father pack some food for later and a few tools we may need, then we walked outside together. While he loaded the items from the shed we were going to sell into a rickety cart, I moved a large bale of not-so-fresh hay to the outside brahmin pen. I watched as they ate the food eagerly, ignoring the slightly moldy smell. Amora was really good with animals, but I felt a strong bond with the ugly cow.
The only reason we kept them around was to fertilize the small mutfruit, tato, and corn plants we used to feed ourselves and to lug around the heavy cart. It was my job to muck out their pen and put whatever I could on the plants. I had to admit, ever since it became my chore to care for the crops, the plants had been giving more food than before. The big, dumb beast had just finished their breakfast when my father walked over with the wagon in tow and a large gun in a holster at his side.
“We should be good to go. Now, I need you to listen to me very carefully. I know you are eager to see Fetlock, but I don’t want you wandering off. You are to stay by my side at all times. If anyone talks to you, you don’t say anything back, do you understand?”
I nodded. “Yes, Daddy.”
“Good. Now, climb on the wagon and let's get going.”
As he moved to hitch the brahmin to the wagon, I clambered up with some difficulty but eventually found a comfortable spot amongst the knick knacks. With the lead rope tied to his belt, we set off at a slow pace. It didn’t take us long to move the wagon around the field and then out of the gully entrance. I couldn’t contain my excitement as we cleared the rocks and moved farther into the barren wasteland. The first thing I noticed was the amount of brown. Everything was a different shade of brown, even Dad and I were brown! I giggled at the thought, receiving a confused glance from him as we moved along.
It was all so big! In the distance I could see Tenpony Tower standing tall over the rubble of the Manehattan ruins. It seemed to stand like a beacon to all ponies, telling them that there was still a place in the wasteland that they could come and live a comfortable life. Mom and Dad always told me that it was so lovely inside the tower and the ponies inside were even more so. They wore fancy dresses and ate at yummy restaurants. It sounded like such a wonderful place. I couldn’t wait to be able to go there myself.
We continued on our way, passing nothing but the occasional animal, each one a new experience. The only animals we got near the farm were a pack of wild dogs that liked to think they could scare Daddy. He always fought them off with his big hooves and sent them running with their tails tucked between their legs. So when a huge, red faced monster with big horns appeared over the top of a hill I couldn’t help but shriek in fear. The animal gazed at our cart as it passed, but didn’t make a move towards us. The brahmin turned one of their heads and offered a soft moo to the beast. It bleated back and continued on its way down the road.
“Don’t worry, that’s just a bighorner. It won’t bother us if we don’t bother it. But that don’t mean you can go around pissing them off. Those horns ain’t just for show,” Dad said.
“Friend, friend.”
Wide eyed, I watched the animal as we turned around a bend that blocked it from view. We walked for several miles and with each bumpy step my excitement began to fade. To me, the wasteland had been a magical place full of wonder and danger, adventure and riches hidden around every corner. The reality of it was anything but. There was nothing out here, save for a few bushes and bighorners. I couldn’t help it. I felt my eyes droop in my boredom and within minutes I was asleep in the rugged cart. Time seemed to pass by much faster and what I thought had been only a few minutes turned out to be an hour. Dad called to me and I woke with a start. We were on a long stretch of road that seemed to lead on until forever, going past my field of view. Along the way, I could clearly see a large grouping of houses and other buildings and past that stood Manehattan.
“There’s Fetlock. We have another half an hour before we get there. Here’s where things can get a little… bumpy,” Dad said. I chose not to mention that the whole trip had been nothing but, so, instead, I yawned and stretched my hooves above my head as I tried to wake fully from my nap. “I need you to keep your eyes peeled for any signs of danger, even if it’s something as small as a radroach. Anything approaches this wagon, you tell me.”
“Okay, Daddy,” I said groggily.
He sounded so serious and it worried me. I felt my heart beat faster as I gazed suspiciously around us. It didn’t look like anything was following us as we continued down the road. For several, tense minutes, nothing happened. The brahmin moved casually behind dad as he lead the way to the market. The only sound I could hear was the rhythmatic clip clop of hooves on the road. What kind of monsters lived out in the wastes anyways? Mom would often tell us stories of the horrifying hellhounds that would come and gobble up naughty children who didn’t listen. I was beginning to wonder if this was a beast invented to scare little ponies into behaving. I had never seen anything more than just a dog or a radroach in all my seven years.
Still, I kept my eyes trained to the wasteland around us, watching every little thing I possibly could. Something flicked in the corner of my eye and I turned around quickly but it was only a tumbleweed drifting in the breeze. There weren’t any sounds I could hear that would suggest there was something following us. Wait… what was that? Something was different, but what? At first, I thought that I might’ve just imagined it but it started to grow louder. Yes, there was!
“Daddy, I can hear music.”
He stopped. Sure enough, there was an upbeat song playing close by. Ears held high, Dad looked around us and pulled out the gun holstered to his side.
“Danger, danger,” the brahmin announced, but I wasn’t sure if they were reacting to the music or to Dad pulling out the weapon.
Just then, something floated from behind a small cluster of dead trees. It looked like a fly but it had a metallic sheen to it. The music was definitely coming from it but it didn’t seem to take much notice of us as it lazily drifted by. Dad grunted and turned his gun around before smacking it with the heavy butt. The thing rang out with a piercing static as it slammed on the ground and sang no more. Aww, but I was just starting to like the music! It wasn’t often I got to hear anything different than what DJ Pon3 played on the radio back home.
“That was a sprite bot,” he said, kicking the remains with a hoof.
“A what?”
“A sprite bot. A little robot from before the war that floats around playing the same damn song over and over. They ain’t dangerous but every time one of them comes flying by I can’t help but feel like somepony's watching me through it.”
“Is that why you broke it?” I asked, looking at the remains of the little robot.
“Yep. Trust me, sweetie, it’s best to destroy them. Pre-war robots don’t bring much good to ponies like us. Do you understand?”
“Yes, Daddy.”
He nodded and we continued on our way. The rest of the trip was uneventful, which was good because as we got closer to Fetlock I completely forgot to keep a lookout. The sun had risen well above the horizon and was glowing its dull morning shine behind the clouds when we finally reached the buildings. It wasn’t much to look at but to my young eyes, it was like looking at a polished gem. The area mostly consisted of ruined houses and vehicles no pony could use anymore. We passed by a rather large passenger wagon that seemed to be parked in an interesting place but I didn’t think much of it as we continued on our way. The broken streets wound around the homes but Dad kept on the original path going towards Manehattan. I leaned over the side of the cart, wanting to take in all the sights eagerly. There wasn’t much to see, but it didn’t matter. Anything was more exciting that the gully.
We turned a corner and finally arrived. The street didn’t go anywhere but instead made a large circle which gave the merchants plenty of space to lay out their wares. Already, I could see three other ponies had arrived just before us and were unloading their carts. As we approached, I noticed that the others watched us warily, each one nudging a weapon tucked close to hoof. My father didn’t say a word as he led the brahmin up the street and stopped in front of a broken house with a fenced yard. He also made an effort to show he was armed as well and I did my best to look gruff and unwelcoming, which didn’t do anything but earn me a mocking laugh from one of the earth pony stallions. Dad opened the rusted gate and moved the large beast of burden into the yard and unfastened it from the wagon. It grunted and began to graze lazily on the dead, radiated grass.
Then, we went to work. Over the next several minutes I helped Dad take the items off the cart and place them on a dirty blanket. He arranged them neatly, placing ammo with ammo and scraps with scraps. Then he moved to the cart and lifted out a heavy bag. Gently, sparkling rocks tumbled out onto a small pile that shimmered brightly in the hazing sun. At once, I recognized that these were not the magically infused gems that could power a gun, but that didn’t stop the other merchants from looking at us with hungry eyes. My father cocked his gun loudly.
I sat next to the blanket and watched the other ponies around the circle. They had turned their attention to the newcomer who was moving up the street with nothing more than a bundle tied to his back. He was a small pony with long ears and a strange looking tail. I gasped when I saw his flank. There was no cutie mark! But, how was that possible? He was clearly older than I was and yet he was as bare as a newborn foal. Dad heard my gasp and turned to see the merchant walking up the street towards us. He smiled and trotted to meet him. I followed close behind, still weirded out by Mr. Blank Flank.
“Howdy, Bruno. Haven’t seen you in a few years. How have you been?”
The long eared pony smiled, showing missing, yellowed teeth, and nodded his head. “Aye, been travelin’ ‘round. Ya know, seein’ the sights ‘round the wasteland. How ‘ave you been, Copper? How’s Ms. Lazuli and little Amora?”
“Things have been pretty good. Lapis is at home with Amora, who ain’t so little anymore. She got her cutie mark a few seasons ago.”
“Glad to ‘ear! An’ who’s this little filly?” he said, looking down at me.
I shied away from him, hiding myself behind Dad.
He chuckled. “What’s yer name?”
Dad looked at me and offered a smile. “It’s okay, honey. This is Bruno, an old friend of the family.”
Still unable to meet his eye, I stepped forward and pawed at the ground with a hoof. “Hello, I’m… Sandy Hooves.” My voice was barely above a whisper.
“Sorry, I didn’ catch that.”
“My name is Sandy Hooves,” I said again, trying to project my voice but failed.
Large ears twitched as Bruno tried to make out what I said. I whimpered and gazed at Dad with pleading eyes. This pony was scaring me with his blank flank and I wanted to move away from him as fast as I could. I heard Dad sigh and offer a dry chuckle.
“This is my youngest daughter, Sandy Hooves.”
“Ah, Sandy Hooves. A pretty name fer a pretty filly,” he said.
“Where is your cutie mark?” I asked suddenly.
The moment I let the question fly, I slapped a hoof across my mouth. How could I have done that? Mom always told me it was rude to ask personal questions to ponies and I was pretty sure this was very personal. The response I got was… unexpected. Both Dad and Bruno laughed loudly, clopping their hooves on the pavement. I didn’t realize it had been a joke. Looking at each of them, I offered a small, confused smile and waited for the joke to pass.
“I ferget I’m a rare sight in these parts. Still, funny to hear ‘ow many ponies can’t figure out what I am,” Bruno said before laughing again.
“Sandy, Bruno is a donkey. He doesn’t have a cutie mark,” Dad said, ruffling my mane fondly.
“A donkey?” Right, I remember! I had never seen a donkey before but I remembered my mother telling me about them. They looked so much like ponies and yet, they were completely different. I didn’t understand why they didn’t get cutie marks but ponies did, but I didn’t ask further. Maybe donkeys were born with the ability to just know what they were meant to do in life. Ponies had to learn their special talents and then show it off to the rest of the world. I felt a little sad for the poor creature standing before me. He would never be able to show the world the special mark that made him stand out from others.
Now that I wasn’t afraid of the mysterious “pony”, I smiled easily and followed the two bucks back to the blanket. Bruno sat on the edge of our wares and unloaded his bag next to the fence. Then, he sat down on one side of Dad while I sat on the other. They talked together for a moment, Bruno answering questions about his travels and Dad telling him about the events of the last few years, including my birth. I listed eagerly to that part.
“So, Amora has a little sister now, eh? ‘Ow she taken to that?”
“About as well as you would expect. You remember that Lapis was told by Dr. Stich up in Manehattan that she wouldn’t be able to have any more foals after how hard it was for her to give birth to Amora? Imagine our surprise when she ends up pregnant six years later. We were happy, of course, but it was hard for us to find what we needed to have another foal running around. We managed somehow and when we welcomed Sandy to the world. I couldn’t have been prouder of my little family.”
I smiled as Dad hugged me close. As the two continued to talk, I let my eyes wander to the ruined houses that surrounded us. Each one of them had once been the home to a pony family like mine. I couldn’t help but think about what this place would have looked like had the world not ended all those years ago. I remembered seeing a small neighborhood like this one in one of Mom’s books but the picture had been black and white. So, instead, I created my own colors. The house behind us was now a faded orange, but at one time it had been a bright red. The family who lived there had been unicorns with pretty colors and cutie marks. Their neighbors were a family of earth ponies who lived in a small blue house with a tall apple tree. I smiled. It all sounded so lovely. I wanted to see more of the old world. I moved to the house behind us, where we had parked the wagon, and carefully entered the yard.
“Sandy, remember, you need to stay close,” Dad said, sternly.
“I just wanted to have a look inside this house. Please, I promise I won’t go anywhere else.”
He seemed to consider it a moment, then nodded his head. I moved to the door and gently pushed it open. Dust spilled down on my back and face, causing me to sneeze. Wiping it away, I carefully made my way deeper into the house. There were two levels with a set of rickety stairs leading upwards in the foyer and several rooms branching off. Choosing to explore the bottom level first, I moved to my left and entered a dining room. There were plates and cups scattered all over the floor and several upturned chairs. On the far wall I could see a dirty picture that was half torn of a pretty park. The colors had faded over the years, but I could still make out the bright greens and blues of Old Equestria. With a smile, I turned and made my way to another section of the house, the only sounds I could hear were the muffled chitchat of the ponies outside and my own clopping hooves.
The kitchen hadn’t fared any better. Everything was covered in grime and had been picked clean by some early wasteland scavengers. The icebox door had been ripped from its hinges and empty glass bottles of Sparkle-Cola were thrown everywhere. Carefully, I trotted in to investigate and perhaps find a bottle cap for myself. Of course there was nothing of any use to me, but that didn’t stop me from picking up a pretty silver fork and placing it in my saddlebag. Continuing my adventure, I moved back into the long hallway and crossed to the other side into what I was assuming was the living room. A sofa sat alone in the center of the room on top of a torn up rug. There was dirt and leaves scattered all about the floor that crunched when I walked on top of them.
Nothing of interest caught my eye, so I moved back and stared up to the higher levels. Looking back out the front door, I could see my father still talking with Bruno as two ponies wandered around the circle gazing at the wares available from each merchant. If anything happened, they were right there. Daddy would always come to help if I ever found myself in trouble. With that thought in mind, I made my way up the creaky stairs.
Each step was tested carefully with my hoof before I put my full weight on it. They groaned loudly, but seemed to carry my weight. After what seemed like forever, I finally made it to the upper floor. At once, I could see two rooms connected to small hallway. One door was open, the other closed. Ears forward, I listened for anything that might be bigger than me, but only the sounds of an old, decrepit house filled my ears. Moving slowly, I found my way into the open room and saw what looked like a baby’s room. The paint was a discolored blue with moons and stars painted randomly across the wall. Toys were scattered across the floor, all of the charred and broken. In the center of the room was an empty crib with a stuffed animal I didn’t recognize.
I moved closer and poked my head through the bars of the crib to get a better look. It was white, or it had been at one point, and had long ears with a cute little nose. It made me smile, but it also made me sad. How long had this poor thing been waiting for its pony friend to come back for it? It must be so lonely. Gently grabbing it in my mouth, I gave it a soft squeeze before placing it in my bag for safekeeping. Maybe Amora would be able to tell me what kind of animal it was. With nothing else to take my attention, I left the room and made for the last place in the house. Why was the door closed on this room only? Maybe there was some kind of treasure inside that a band of raiders had kept hidden from the rest of the world! If I found it, then Mom and Dad wouldn’t have to worry about money for a long time!
Eagerly, I pushed the door open and galloped inside.
I screamed. The sight before me was completely unexpected and it terrified me. There, on the bed, were the residents of the house. Two large skeletons hugged each other tightly. A third, smaller one, was nestled between them. Tears filled my eyes and I backed out of the room as fast as I could. Galloping down the stairs, I didn’t stop to think that running may not have been the best idea. Half way down, one of the steps gave way and I fell a few feet down to the bottom level. Dust, mold, and splintered wood fell with me and I landed hard on my back. Coughing and choking I gasped for air as I heard my father holler my name from outside. He burst in with his gun held firmly in his mouth.
“I’m ov-over here,” I said between coughing fits.
Not seeing anything actively eating me, he tucked the gun back into it’s holster and trotted over to me. Carefully, he shoved the boards off me with his nose and helped me stand up. After a few pats on the back, I felt the air return to my lungs.
“Are you hurt?”
I shook my head, still not trusting myself to speak. He walked me outside and let me sit on the dead grass just by the door. I looked up to see the ponies all gazing in this direction, even the brahmin was staring at me as it munched away on the grass. Only Bruno, who was still sitting by our makeshift stand, was smiling as he watched us. I sighed and turned away, embarrassed by the events that had just taken place. Suddenly, the memory of the skeleton family came back and I let the tears flow again.
“Dad, there was a family up there. But they were all dead! There was even a baby,” I sobbed.
He nuzzled me fondly and rubbed my main. “I wouldn’t doubt it, sweetie. The world ended violently and not everypony could escape the blasts in Stables like your granddad. Some ponies did what they could and huddled together as they waited for the end.”
“But why? Why did they have to die?”
“I can’t answer that. Our ancestors were selfish and started a war that could only stop when nothing was left. But we can’t let the lives of the past stop us from being the best ponies we can be today. I was about your age when I saw my first skeleton too.”
“I bet you weren’t scared like I was,” I mumbled, imaging my father taking on something so terrifying head on.
He chuckled. “I screamed and damn near wet myself.”
I gasped and stared up at him. It was hard for me to think of anything making Daddy pee himself. But then the image came to mind and I couldn’t help the giggle that came out. He smiled down at me and gave me a final pat.
“It’s alright to be scared. But, don’t let it rule over you. When you’re older, you’ll learn to face your fears just like me. Now come on, why don’t you help Bruno and I sell some of this junk?”
I nodded and trotted back to the blanket, sitting in between my father and the old donkey as travelling ponies came and went. The warm sun was high in the sky, glaring down on us from behind the hazy clouds like the storm from a few days ago had never happened. I missed the rain. The heat of the day made me sweat as I sat next to our goods, waiting for somepony to come and buy our stock. Every now and then a traveller would stop by for a moment to examine what we had, and some even bought the ammo and scrap. I liked it when we made a sale. Watching Dad barter with the stranger, paying attention to how he spoke and held himself as the pony tried to take the stuff for a steal.
Finally, they came to an agreement and shook hooves on it before trading caps for items. I felt like there was much more to this than just talking to each other. When I asked my father, he simply told me that now was not the best time to explain his tactics and that he would tell me all about it on the way home. Hours went by and the sun was starting it slow descent towards the west. Most of the items we had brought with us had gone with a pony that could use them more than us and I looked at Dad’s pouch full of caps that would help feed us until we could go to the city. A smile spread across my face at the thought of returning home to tell Mom! She would see that I am a good salespony and maybe she would start trusting me to do things like Amora.
Bruno had stayed with us the whole day, reminiscing about his adventures and talking about where he was planning on going next. I tried to listen to him, I really did. But his voice was so boring as each syllable came out with a drawl. He was just finishing up a story when I felt my eyelids begin to droop and I stumbled into Dad. Casting his gaze down at me, he smiled and moved to look at the position of the sun. Nodding, he stood up and returned his attention to the donkey.
“Looks like it’s time to start packing up. I want to get home before the sun sets. Would you like to come back with us? I’m sure Lapis would be happy to see you.”
Big, floppy ears swayed from side to side. “I wish I could, but I need to start makin’ my way down to Manehattan. I ‘ave a delivery to make and I should’ve been there this afternoon. But, I couldn’t pass up an opportunity to talk with an old friend again.”
Dad chuckled and patted his friend on the back in a fond hug. I moved to say good-bye as well, if only for formalities sake. “It was nice to meet you, Mr. Bruno.”
“You too, little lass. You listen to yer pappy and be a good filly, aye?”
I nodded, giving a fake smile before waving him off. Slowly, he made his way down the street, turned the corner, and was gone from sight. The next half hour was spent loading our cart up and hitching the brahim up. They both seemed more than happy to be heading back home as they called out the word for the other merchants to hear. I climbed into the wagon and we were off. Soon, Fetlock was behind us as we strode back towards home. This time, I wasn’t going to fall asleep. If this was going to be the last time I saw the world for a while, I was going to take in as much as I possibly could.
The excitement faded away as I was reminded of how boring it was. The sound of the squeaky wagon and hooves was all that could be heard, the vast nothingness was all that could be seen. Even that pony seemed to match the world around us all.
Wait…
There was a pony on the side of the main road! As we got closer, I watched Dad unholstered his gun and hold it in his mouth. Even the brahmin seemed more nervous around the mysterious stranger. I felt my own stomach turn anxiously as we approached. But that started to fade when I noticed he was injured. Even from this distance, it wasn’t hard to see the limp in his step. I moved to the front of the wagon and leaned over the side.
“Dad, we should help him.”
He shook his mane. “No.”
“But, he’s hurt. We can’t just leave him out here to get eaten by a… uh… bighorner!”
“Shandy, I shaid no,” he growled with the gun in his mouth.
Why? Why didn’t he want to help? That poor buck must have been so scared to be out here by himself and injured. It seemed that the stranger had spotted us because his hoof went up in the air to wave around frantically. Dad continued to ignore him as he pulled the brahmin with him on the road. But the buck wasn’t going to be ignored. I watched him hobble to the road and stand there on shaky knees as the big earth pony and his cart stopped. He was small compared to my father with a dark brown coat. His black mane looked ruffled and his tail looked like it had been cut with a dull knife. His cutie mark was concealed behind dirty bandages covered in blood stains and all sorts of grime. But, perhaps what the most surprising thing about him, was the horn on his head. I had never met another unicorn other than my mom and sister.
Dad aimed the gun at the wounded pony. “Move”
“Whoa, no need for that, good sir,” he said, his voice shaking slightly. “Please, I was attacked by a group of raiders last night and have been trying to make my way to that town over yonder. But my poor hoof is sprained and I can’t walk anymore.”
The gun was cocked. “Now.”
The unicorn’s ears drooped as he gulped nervously. “P-p-please, I just need something to help my hoof. I don’t mean you no harm.”
He was so scared! I couldn’t let this happen. He needed our help. “Come on, Daddy. Let’s give him a ride back home and maybe Amora can-”
“Not another word, girl! Shut your mouth right now!” Dad roared.
Tears in my eyes and my mouth open from shock, all I could do was sit down in the cart and hide myself. He had never yelled at me like that before and for a moment I was terrified of him. What had I done to deserve the brunt of his aggression? All I wanted to do was help a pony in need. Isn’t that what we were supposed to do? Trying in vain to keep the tears from spilling over, I listened to the two stallions.
“You better get out of my way or else I’ll blow your brains all over this road.”
“Alright, alright just don’t hurt me.”
I listened to the sound of his hooves slapping against the asphalt in a strange pattern then the cart was moving again. I took a moment to peek over the side of the wagon and saw the poor unicorn watching us leave him behind to the brutality of the wasteland. I couldn’t help but wonder if we were the bad guys my mom always warned me about. With questions filling my mind and anger boiling in my stomach, I glared at the back of my father. It was like I was seeing him for the first time in a new light. He had always been a hero to me, a guardian, a protector... There was nothing he couldn’t do. Every word he spoke was truth and every action noble. What had caused him to change? Was it the wasteland? Is this what it did to ponies who lived here?
Silently we continued on our way. I pouted in the wagon as the sun started setting. Watching it, I still couldn’t help but smile as it cast a hazing glow over the horizon that I couldn’t see from the depths of our gully. Speaking of which… I hadn’t noticed how close we must have been to home because suddenly we were passing through the tunnel and I was cast into shadow. I moved to the back of the wagon, tripping over some leftover junk, and reached a hoof out to wave goodbye to the open world.
Dad led the brahmin around the field and parked it outside the house. He unhitched himself from the lead and started doing the same to the two-headed animal. Before he could say anything to me, I returned to glaring at him and carefully leapt off the wagon. I hadn’t forgotten I was still mad at him and I rushed past him to run gallop into the house. Mom and Amora were sitting together in the main room, but I ignored them as I darted into my room. No one followed me. I threw off my saddlebag and watched as the stuffed animal fell out. I stared at it for a moment before wrapping it into a hug and taking it with me on my bed. Then, I curled up and continued to glower as I looked out of my window. Mom had gone out to talk with Dad as Amora dragged the hungry animal to their pen.
After several minutes, I started to calm down and felt exhausted after the strain of emotions. A knock came to the doorframe and Mom peaked her head in through the thin cloth that acted as a door. When I didn’t object, she entered the small room and sat on the bed with me. I avoided her eyes, preparing for the lecture I was sure was coming.
“Your father is out sweeping away the tracks from the archway into the gully. Should help keep any nasty raiders from being able to find us. Before he left, he told me you did very well today, Sandy Hooves.” she said.
It wasn’t quite what I was expecting. Not sure where this was going, I simply shrugged my shoulders.
“What do you have there?”
I noticed where she was looking and gazed down at the stuffed animal still held in my hooves. I told her about the house I explored and the family I discovered. The image of the bones clinging to each other came back and I clutched the toy closer.
“I felt bad for this little guy. He had been waiting for so long for a pony to love him. I hope… the foal didn’t mind,” I said sadly.
I felt my mom nuzzle my head fondly. “I’m sure this rabbit is happy you found him.”
So that’s what it was called. A rabbit.
She continued. “I’m sorry you had to see that, sweety. It’s one of the reasons I get so worried about you and Amora leaving the gully. There is so much pain and death in the wasteland and I don’t want it hurting you girls.”
“I watched Dad almost shoot an injured stallion,” I said, feeling the anger begin to bubble in my tummy again.
Mom sighed. It was a sad sound that seemed to make her look older than she really was. Now that I thought about it, how old was she?
“I know. He told me about that too. He also mentioned you told him about our home.”
“He was hurt! Why couldn’t we have helped him?”
“Oh, Sandy Hooves. You are young and, I admit it, a bit sheltered. That’s my fault and I should have known something like this might have happened. Not all ponies in this world are good like your father. There are cruel ponies who want nothing more than to destroy the lives of others.”
“I know that but-”
“No, you don’t. You can never tell if a pony is friend or foe. I’m pretty sure Copper would have given the buck a helping hoof normally, but you were with him.”
I stared at her, not understanding. Was she trying to say this was my fault?
Almost as if she could read my mind (I’m sure she could with some kind of freaky Mom magic) she shook her head. “He did it to protect you. If that stranger had been a raider and your father put his guard down then he could have killed both of you.”
My eyes drifted back down to the floor as I hung my head in shame. I had never thought about that. When it came to making a choice between the safety of a stranger or his daughter, of course he would have picked me. I didn’t even take a moment to stop and think how much that decision must have hurt him. I knew he was a noble pony!
Tears in my eyes, I wrapped my front legs around Mom in a hug and cried into her mane. She gently rubbed my back and nuzzled me. I held her for a few moments before pulling away to wipe my eyes. Then, I hopped off the bed, taking care to tuck the rabbit (he was going to need a name) under the covers before trotting back into the main room. Amora was reading a book and ignored me but Dad had returned from clearing the cart trail and was sitting at the table and counting the bits we had made. Trotting across the room, I all but threw myself at him as I embraced him.
“I’m so sorry, Daddy. I love you,” I sobbed, the tears coming back.
I heard him chuckle and kiss my forehead affectionately. “I love you too. You don’t have to apologize, honey. I know what you saw today must have been difficult.”
I shook my head and looked up into his smiling face. “It must have been worse for you. I knew you were a good pony. I’m sorry I ever thought you weren’t.”
“Well, thank you, Sandy. You’re a good filly too. I know all you wanted to do was help but I just couldn’t risk the chance of him finding our little hidey-hole. Did you learn a lesson today?”
I nodded. “Yes, Daddy.”
“That’s my girl. Now, what’s done is done. Your mother made some tato and corn soup. Grab a bowl and eat up. You’ve earned it.”
Before I could even move, I watched Mom place a bowl on the table for me. It was still steaming and smelled delicious. Smacking my lips, I said thank you and gobbled the food down. The rest of the night, we sat around the main room and listened to Mom read a story. I laid next to Amora and imagined pretty ponies from days gone by galloping through a forest full of red, yellow, and brown leaves. When the story had finished, my sister and I played a game called Striped Menace. It was a board game where I played as a pony trying to get up a series of ladders and Amora was a huge zebra trying to stop me with bombs and potion bottles. It was fun, but she always won. Before long, the night had come to an end and we were sent to bed. I showed my sister my new rabbit friend and I watched her eyes light up. Pulling out her book, she turned the pages until she finally came to what she wanted. She showed me the picture and I smiled as I saw the fluffiest animal I had ever seen.
“An-angor-anagora?” I tried to read.
“Angora. It’s a breed of rabbit before the war. They were giant balls of fur and many ponies had them for pets. It was said that Fluttershy even had a pet rabbit.”
The name rang a bell. “Fluttershy? Isn’t she that one ministry mare you like a lot? The pegasus?”
“Yep. She was an amazing healer and really good with animals. I don’t know if she was really a veterinarian, but I want to be like her.”
“Hmm… what if I name this bunny after her? How does Shy Guy sound?”
She grimaced and tapped a hoof to her chin. “We could call it Flutterbun?”
“Flutterbun?” I said, testing the name. “I like it! Flutterbun it is.”
Together, Flutterbun and I crawled into bed and gazed out the window above my bed. I could see the sky just on the edge of the cave rim. The clouds concealed the stars and the moon’s glow was dulled. Still, it was a beautiful night and my fondness for the Luna’s gift to the world grew even more as I let my heavy eyelids fall and drifted off to sleep.
Footnote: Level Up!
New Perk: Explorer - You know a little more about the world outside your gully. Gain an extra level in Intelligence.
Have you ever made a mistake? Did you still think about it, years later, as you tried to fall asleep? It never seems to let you forget, does it? The way it creeps into your mind and makes you feel the same way you felt when you first made the blunder. What if that mistake was so horrible, that the very thought of it caused your limbs to go numb and your mind to freeze? You wish with all your heart you could take that one moment back and try it all over again. But you can’t. You are stuck with it for the rest of your life as it haunts you endlessly. Yeah, you could say I’ve made some mistakes...
Work.
It never seemed to end. The day after we returned from our trip to Fetlock, we were all back in the field to manage our livelihood. This time, however, my parents were busy moving the rocks around so they could absorb more fresh soil before the sun soaked it all up. Amora and I were tasked with our usual chores, which meant I was knee deep in brahmin dung as I spread it around the corn stalks. The heavy boots that protected my hooves from the muck were too big and only hindered my movements as I tried to balance the big shovel in my mouth. It was grueling work, but gazing at the healthy garden made it all worth it. It was odd, but I had an uncanny ability to just know what the plants needed.
Right now, I could feel the corn wanted (Did corn want?) more fertilizer to absorb after the rainstorm. I could tell when the other greenery needed a bit more water or when the sun hadn’t shined on them as much as they needed. This was always hard, since the clouds prevented much of the true sunlight they needed. Without ever really being told, I just sensed that the corn plants would never grow to their full length without the purest light from the sun. My tatos weren’t as ripe as they could be and the mutfruit seemed to die sooner than they would have had they received more sun. I didn’t really ask why I knew all of this, I just did what came naturally.
Finally, I was able to shovel the last bit of muck around the last stalk of corn. Wiping the sweat off my brow with my front leg, I looked out at the field and found myself smiling at the sight before me. My parents were finishing up the few rocks that had yet to be moved. Amora was brushing the brahmin with a coarse brush she had made and it grunted in pleasure with each stroke. We would never be the richest ponies nor would we ever live in the posh towers that seemed to entice from a distance, but we were happy.
Unsure what had caused me to think like this, I simply allowed myself to gaze at the only world I knew before sighing softly and trotting the heavy boots back towards the small cart, bucked them into it and leaned the shovel on the fence post. Then, I grabbed a basket and moved towards the fragrant mutfruit bushes. A few of them were perfect for picking and I knew Mom would love more to munch on. We shared a common love for the sour-sweet fruit.
Stretching out my sore muscles, I allowed myself a moment to relax in the shade of a taller bush. Sitting next to the densely branched shrub, I yawned deeply and felt my eyes droop heavily. I could have easily nodded off if it weren’t for something catching my attention in the corner of my eye. Turning my head, I could see the entrance to the gully not far off. In the center of the large opening, a small, white figure moving about sporadically. Cocking my head to the side, I watched it for a long moment before I realized what it was. It looked just like Flutterbun! Only, this was the real deal. I watched the bunny from behind the broken fence around the garden as it hopped, skipped, and jumped around. Smiling, I couldn’t help but think how much Amora would love to have a real rabbit as a pet. What a surprise that would be! Gazing back at the other three ponies working hard, I noticed that they were all too absorbed in their work to pay much attention to me.
If either of my parents saw what I was about to do, they would have freaked. Mom more than Dad. Ever since I could remember she had shoved it down my throat that I was not allowed out of the gully. But the animal wasn’t outside; it was bounding around just on the lip of the stone wall. She couldn’t get mad at me if I follow her rules, right? Slowly, I crawled over the snapped fence post and walked towards the rabbit. It was bright white like snow against the dull brown of the cave. That made it easy to watch as I got closer.
As I got closer, I realized the animal was not exactly like Flutterbun. It was patchy in a few places and there were two smaller ears resting in front of the larger ones on its head. Pausing a moment, I wondered if having four ears made it easier to hear everything around you, only to have my question answered right away. The creature’s head snapped in my direction and its pink nose twitched wildly as it watched me. Not knowing what else to do, I took another step forward and felt my ears fall as the rabbit bounded out of the gully, leaving nothing but a trail of dust in its wake.
Growling, I trotted after it. It wasn’t often I got the opportunity to do something nice for my sister and I wasn’t about to let this animal stop me. Turning the corner, I darted through the opening and into the vast wasteland. For a moment, I lost track of it, but then I saw it bounding away for a few feet before it stopped. I watched it for a moment, as it lifted its twitch nose into the air, and wondered if it was going to bolt off again. Slowly, I crept forward, but I was by no means quiet. That was the problem with having hooves sometimes. Each step I took led to a loud clop on the hard ground. The rabbit hopped away again and I continued to follow. It was a fun game of chase, but I knew I wasn’t going to be able to track it forever. The gulley was growing more and more distant behind me and a sense of urgency was growing in my belly. It was now or never! With a final leap, I tried everything I could to wrap my hooves around the slippery beast.
But to no avail. I crashed to the ground, my arms empty, and the white animal darted away quick as a bullet. Within seconds, it was gone from my sight. Frustrated, I slammed my front hooves on the ground and snorted hot air from my nose. I wasn’t good with beasts and it was clear they didn’t like me as they did Amora. Sighing, I accepted defeat and went to turn back to the safety of the cave but hesitated. The wasteland was eerily silent and, strangely, beautiful. The ruins were visible and I found myself thinking about dining in luxury with the civilized ponies of Tenpony Tower.
“I just need to get my cutie mark. Please, wait for me until then, okay?” I said, my eyes focused on the tallest tower.
I felt the knife touch the back of my neck.
“Keep quiet and you may live long enough to get your cutie mark, girl.”
It took everything I had to keep the scream from erupting from my mouth. My eyes were wide with terror as I slowly turned to see my attacker. He was a brown unicorn with a black mane, a huge machete held firmly in his magic aura. Cold eyes sneered down at me as I felt tears well up. This had been the buck Dad and I met yesterday. Realization of what was going on slammed into me like a charging brahman bull. Allowing my gaze to move to his flank, I could clearly see his cutie mark now that it wasn’t covered up. It was a dagger with a single drop of blood slipping off the tip.
“That’s a good filly,” he said, his voice like venom.
Turning from me for a moment, I watched him wave a hoof for his companions. Five other ponies in rugged armor and carrying guns moved from different hiding spots around that only seemed obvious to me now that I was aware of what was going on. Each one had been perfectly concealed behind the rocks and shrubbery the littered the wastes. I just so happen to come along chasing a dumb rabbit without any concern for leaving the safety of our home. A small whimper left my throat as I tried to take a step away from the weapon that was tickling my skin. The knife under magical control pushed forward and I gasped as I felt it dig into my fur a little.
“Ah ah ah, you stay right there, girl. Wouldn’t want to hurt the merchandise, now would we,” the stallion sneered.
What did that mean? I didn’t have any fruit on me and our gems were safely hidden in the shed. I didn’t say anything, however, even if I wanted. My throat had suddenly dried up in my fear. The nasty ponies laughed wickedly and began to circle around me, cutting off any chance of my escape. I stared up at each of them and was only greeted with malice and hate. My limbs began to tremble as I cowered underneath their glares. All at once, I felt my blood turn cold as I realized that I could warn my family of the danger that was looming just outside our sanctuary. I could scream, call out in some way to warn them. I could save them!
I opened my mouth but nothing came out.
A sudden wave of panic came to me as I felt I had lost all control over my faculties and speech. I could still feel the cold steel against the back of my neck. It wouldn’t take much to swing that blade through my flesh and steal my life. I heard the raiders chuckle quietly to each other, clearly able to see my inner struggle. I wasn’t a hero. I couldn’t save them. I closed my mouth and let the shameful tears streak down my cheeks.
“Firebrand, get a collar on her. We can use her as a hostage should the situation turn south,” the unicorn said, thrusting the machete back into its sheath on his leg.
“Sure thing, Boss.”
A hulking earth pony with fire red fur and bright orange in his mane and tail clunked over and loomed high above me. He was even bigger than my father and made it all the more terrifying. I pressed myself further into the ground, as if I wanted the earth to swallow me up to save me from the monster. Seeing how scared I was must have been so amusing to him. The smile that spread on his face never reached his eyes and reminded me of the way a dog would smile at its prey. I closed my eyes, hoping that if I opened them again I would wake up from this nightmare.
I felt something slip over my neck and tighten against my throat. At first I thought it was a noose and I lurched back instinctively. My eyes snapped open and gazed down to see an iron band and chain hanging loosely from my neck. The stallion was holding the other end in his teeth. He glared at me and gave a hard tug. Unable to pull back, I fell forward, my hooves only barely stopping me from falling on my face.
“Don’t you move,” he growled through the chain. All I could do was slowly nod my head.
With me pacified, the others focused their attention towards the direction I had come from. The brown unicorn, who must be the leader, stepped forward and spoke without turning to face his henchmen. “Alright, boys, let’s grab ‘em and bag ‘em!”
The remaining ponies cheered and ran towards the gully, waving their weapons in either their mouths or magic field. The brown unicorn walked behind them with a smug look on his face. Firebrand and I followed. I didn’t resist. What could I possibly do against a pony so large? It didn’t take long for us to reach our hidden haven. The ponies had already rushed inside, whinnying and whooping madly. The unicorn turned to the monster pony and nodded before trotting inside. I was stopped from going inside the hollow as we waited outside.
The first gunshot echoed loudly in the cave. I gasped and pulled on the lead in vain, ears up, listening to what was happening in the field. I heard Amora scream and my father roar a curse. Mom’s voice was, strangely, absent in all the sounds. The tears continued to flow as my heart raced in my chest. My thoughts instantly began to make me think she had been the first casualty of this horror. When things began to calm, I heard the voice of the brown unicorn call out loudly from within.
“Why hello, fillies and gentlecolt. Now that I have your attention I would like to introduce myself. I am Rusty Blade, your friendly neighborhood slaver. This here is my band of thugs and we’re here to capture you and sell you for all your worth. I know-”
“You! You’re that son of a bitch from-” I heard my father say, but his voice was abruptly cut off right after the sound of a meaty slap.
Amora screamed again. I felt my heart wretch at the shrill sound and I choked back a sob.
“Do not interrupt me. Thank you,” Rusty continued in an almost carefree voice. He was enjoying this! “Now then, we have been travelling all day trying to find this place. A little birdy told us there was a family of ponies living nearby Fetlock and, well, we just couldn’t let an opportunity like that pass us by. I have to say, you have made yourself a pretty nice home here. I was rather surprised how well hidden it was. We would never have found it if not for your daughter.”
Amora stopped crying long enough to take a sharp intake of breath. She must have thought they were talking about her but, somehow, I knew they weren’t. How could I have been so foolish? Mom told me all the time it was dangerous to leave the gully and the one time I choose not to listen to her I put my entire family at risk. But this had started even before that. Rusty Blade must have been listening carefully yesterday. I remembered begging my father to let us take him back to our house. He didn’t know where we were, but he knew we lived close by. All he had to do was follow our tracks until they disappeared. Dad couldn’t have cleared the tracks away completely, but I was sure he had made it difficult for anypony to follow us. Of course, I had made it possible for them to pinpoint our location.
“Oh, this must be Amora. Heh, I’ve heard you are quite the healer, little filly,” I heard Rusty Blade said.
“You stay away from her!” I felt a great weight lift off my shoulders at the sound of my mother’s voice.
What was going on in there? I desperately wanted to be with my family, but at the same time, how could I face them? I was the reason we were in this mess. With each passing moment, I grew more and more concerned we weren’t going to make it out of this.
“Please. We aren’t worth anything to you. Just take all the gems in the shed over there and leave us alone. Please,” my mother pleaded.
The ponies laughed at her.
“We ain’t here for gems, but we will accept your gracious offer. We don’t have magical energy weapons but now we have the means to make our own. Thank ye, kindly.”
“I’ve had enough of this! Let us go now, or else!” My father screamed in a way I had never heard before.
It scared me.
Firebrand gave my leash a sharp tug, causing me to choke slightly. Something was happening and he could sense it.
“Whoa there, bucko. Don’t go stomping around and making things worse for yourself and your family. Besides, ain’t you missing somepony? Firebrand, bring her here.”
“No…” I heard my father say in disbelief. Maybe he thought I had escaped before they were all captured. I was about to disappoint him.
The huge buck tugged roughly on the lead and practically dragged me with him through the threshold. The sunlight had faded from the gully, casting a dull shadow on the scene before me. My family was cowering before Rusty and his gang in the center of the rock field with several weapons pointing at them at a point blank range. The tears continued to stream down my face at the sight of my father, his right eye was closed and already starting to turn a nasty shade of purple. They looked at me with the same fearful confused stare I gave them.
“Mommy! Daddy!” I sobbed.
“Shut the hell up,” Fireband yelled as he threw me to the ground, putting a heavy hoof on my back.
I cried out in both shock and pain and continued to weep, my eyes never leaving my family.
“Get off of her!” Dad screamed, but one of the slavers smacked him with the butt of their gun to silence him.
He was glaring with fierce eyes at the brown unicorn. Rusty Blade smiled wickedly and turned his back on Dad to trot up next to me. He placed a hoof under my chin and forced me to gaze up at him. I felt the blood drain from my face as I was made to stare at his cold eyes. They were full of twisted glee.
“Why, had this little filly not stepped out of your hidey hole, I don’t think we would have realized anypony even lived here. We sure do owe you, sweetie.”
I cringed. How could I have been so stupid? More tears flooded as I sniveled, ashamed of myself. A look of both anger and worry flashed across my father’s face and my mother started crying for the first time. She shook her head and gazed down at her hooves. Amora glared at me, her eyes moist but no longer freely crying. I looked away. How could I ever face them again?
Rusty moved to stand in front of my father again. “I understand how hard it can be for you farmer types to think you’re not worth something. And maybe you really aren’t to the rest of society, but to me and my gang, you are worth quite a lot. A strong group of ponies like you are highly sought after here in the wild wasteland and I intend to milk you for all you’re worth. Some of you… more than others.”
I didn’t see where his eyes had fallen when he said that but I heard my father growl and my mother gasped. My head shot up just in time to watch my life fall apart.
“Over my dead body!” Dad bellowed. Something in him snapped and he charged forward with his head lowered.
“Copper, NO!” Mom shrieked, but it was too late.
Things began to move in slow motion. The massive hooves of my father thundered across the field as they hauled his heavy frame towards the unicorn. His face was full of fury and determination. His gaze never left Rusty Blade and I knew without actually understanding that my father was out for blood. He was going to kill the smaller pony! But the unicorn had a look of calm. He wasn’t afraid and I wanted to scream when I saw his horn light up as a spell started to form.
No one expected the gunshot to come from the dirty yellow pony standing next to his leader.
The sound echoed off the surrounding walls, causing my ears to ring painfully. But I barely noticed. My eyes could not be torn away from the sight before me. My father’s head yanked back from the force of the bullet, blood spraying behind him, and his body fell down hard, skidding to a halt a foot away from the Rusty Blade.
Seconds passed by as everyone in the gully fell into a strange silence. My heart stopped. I screamed. Amora screamed. Mom screamed. Tears streamed down my face and I struggled under the heavy hoof, but my small frame couldn’t budge it. I was torn between wanting to run to his side and run as far away as I could. I didn’t want to see his body lying in a pool of blood and yet I could not look away. This wasn’t happening! How could he be dead? He was here, alive, three seconds ago! Dad had always been such a strong pony! There was no way his life could be snuffed out just like that. I refused to believe it, but, the truth was right there before me.
“Damnit, Raunchy! What the fuck were you thinking!?” Rusty hollered, turning on the gunpony. His calm, carefree, demeanor had vanished.
“I…I’m sorry, boss! I saw him comin’ right fer ya and I panicked. He’s a huge-”
He never finished his sentence. Rusty Blade bucked his own comrade square in the chest, sending him crashing hard on the muddy ground. “That stallion was worth more than these three bitches combined! He would have fetched more caps then you could make in a year! And what do you do? You go and blow his fucking brains out, you trigger happy idiot!”
I screamed louder and continued to struggling to move under the weight of the large hoof still planted on my back. Mom had rushed to Dad’s body, collapsing on his chest as she sobbed uncontrollably. Amora stood still with tears streaming down her face but she looked far away, like she had retreated to someplace else in her mind. There was confusion and panic all around and I heard Rusty Blade growl in annoyance, kicking the fallen pony hard in the gut.
“Shut them up!” he screamed.
The slavers moved to follow orders, hoping to avoid angering their boss any further and jammed their guns into the back of the two unicorn’s heads to silence their wails. Firebrand had removed his hoof from my back but I dared not move.
Rusty sighed angrily and spat at Raunchy. “You know what happens when you steal from me, boy? You owe me a debt. I seriously doubt you have enough to pay me back so here’s what I am gonna do.”
He moved to Firebrand and me and removed the collar from my neck with a flick of his horn. After a sudden and harsh kick to the rump, he sent me galloping to my mother’s side. I sobbed silently as she wrapped her hooves around me like a protective barrier. It took all I had to keep my eyes from looking at the lifeless form lying next to her. Instead, we watched the viscous unicorn take the iron lead that had held me and place it none too gently around the yellow buck’s neck. He leaned in very close to his face.
“You have just become my property. You ain’t nearly as expensive as the buck you just murdered, but I bet you’ll still fetch a nice price.”
I whimpered, burying my face in my mother’s chest. I couldn’t look at my father’s body and I didn’t have the courage to glare up at the gun-wielding lunatics standing around us. Why was this happening to us? What kind of sick pony thought he could come into our small home and shatter our lives? Trembling, I kept replaying my foolish actions over and over again in my mind. This was all my fault! My father would still be alive if not for me. Crying harder than before, I couldn’t handle it anymore. I collapsed into my mother’s arms and simply wept.
With his new captive in tow, Rusty Blade moved towards us with a scowl on his face. He sneered down at the corpse of my father and gestured at his gang with a tilt of his head. The lackeys encircled us, forcing us towards the house.. Raunchy didn’t say anything and kept his eyes cast down as he tried to accept his new role in life. Something I hadn’t quite figured out yet. Rusty said we were his property now but what did that mean? What exactly was a slave? These thoughts filled my mind as the raiders began to rummage through our house while we were guarded by the massive Firebrand. Mom and Amora had yet to say anything. Both cried quietly beside me as we all mourned the loss of my father. I still hadn’t managed the courage to look at either of them out of pure shame. They knew this was all my fault. I could feel it.
Somepony asked about the shed of jewels on the far side of the field. Rusty allowed them to get as many of the shiny rocks as they could carry. My ears flickered at the mention of our life's work and I wondered if they knew about the hidden storage under the floor of my parent’s bed. That is where all the truly valuable items were kept. But nothing more was said on the matter as they ravaged through our home. Part of me was glad they wouldn’t actually get the powerful weapons they had mentioned before. None of them seemed to realize that the stones they were pocketing weren’t magical enough to power even a small lightbulb. At least we could claim this one, very small, victory over them.
Suddenly, a loud groan came from behind us and we turned to see a white mare with a bloody hook cutie mark dragging the brahmin from the pen. They were pulling against the rope she had put around their necks and calling loudly.
“Danger, danger.”
“Lookit what I found, boss. We could get lots’ve meat off this mangy beast!”
Amora gasped and shook her head, but didn’t dare say anything. Rusty Blade cocked an eyebrow up and walked around the scared animal. He seemed to be thinking about something and turned to look at the old wagon parked by the house.
“No, don’t kill it. This cow is in good shape. We could use it for a time and then kill it for meat when it stops being useful. Blood Stain, Razz, go tie it up to the cart and put the rest of the stock in the back. Today is their lucky day.”
We watched our faithful pet be dragged out of the gully by two ponies and disappear to Goddess knows where. I had a feeling we would find out soon enough. Several more minutes passed by as our home was gutted of everything of value. We watched in horrid silence as our lives were literally torn apart in just a few short minutes. It had taken years for my parents to build the place into what it was. And we were powerless to stop it all falling apart at the hooves of some demented ponies. When my mother told me about monsters in the wastelands, I always imagined creatures as big as a house with glowing red eyes. Now, I was seeing what she had really meant. The monsters were other ponies that wanted nothing more than to hurt others!
Rusty Blade let out a sharp whistle suddenly. “Alright, you vultures! Daylight’s fading. Let’s get going!”
The others all whinnied and whooped excitedly and started making their way towards the small hole in our gully. My family and I were quickly tied together with rusty chains and iron collars and ushered to move. Raunchy cooperated quietly and didn’t fight back as we were dragged along. I had to admit I was quite surprised but then again, none of us had put up much of a fight. Not when there were guns pointing directly at our faces at all times. Finally, I gazed back at the fallen body of my father and felt another wave of tears flood down my cheeks. My heart felt like it had shattered into a million pieces as I realized our captors weren’t going to let us give him a proper burial. Dad would lay there forever, rotting away and becoming a meal for the dogs that often wandered around the farm. Just thinking this sent me into a sobbing fit. Amora was thinking the same thing as I saw her own gaze fall upon him, tears in her eyes.
“Hush now, Sandy Hooves,” my mom said softly, turning to face me as we walked out of the gully.
It had been the first thing she said to me this whole time. Hearing her voice made me stop crying as I listened.
“You need to be strong now. I know you’re scared but you can’t let them see it. No more tears, no matter how much it hurts.”
I gazed up at her and could see that her own eyes were dry now, albeit a little red and puffy. I nodded my head and did my very best to stiffen up my upper lip and stop the tears. I found myself growing more and more worried for Amora. Her eyes were wide in shock with water constantly falling down her cheeks. She hadn’t said a word to anypony. She was like a zombie and it didn’t help settle my anxiety.
“Amora, I-” I tried to say something that would help bring her back to us, but was interrupted when Firebrand walked over to us.
“Listen, you little brat. I am only going to warn you once. Keep your mouth shut and get moving!”
Shoving me roughly, he forced us to move faster as we wandered away from the gully and into the wastes. I saw my mother glare daggers at him, but he either didn’t see or ignored her completely. Nothing further was said as we continued to walk. The clinking of the chains between us was the only sound to keep us company as we dragged our hooves along. Where were they taking us? What was going to happen now? Is this what it meant to be a slave? These thoughts and more filled my mind as the caravan moved along. But, I wouldn’t have to wait long for most of the answers to come to me. Shortly, we made it to the road my father and I had traveled down just the other day.
Fetlock was still standing off in the distance, Manehattan just beyond. The world had not come to an end again. But mine had. The thought made me want to cry again but I remembered Mom’s words and held back as much as I could. A single tear fell down my cheek and plopped quietly on the asphalt. We were marched in the opposite direction of Fetlock until we saw a strange looking wagon parked along the side of the road, our brahmin hooked up to it. It was bigger than the wagon back at home and covered in a faded pink color. A pair of light blue eyes were painted on the top, watching us creepily as we approached. Big words were scrawled along the bottom, “Pinkie’s FunFarm Circus. Bringing the Party to you!” None of that really bothered me. What made my ears droop and my blood fade from my face were the thick bars surrounding the wagon. It was a cage on wheels!
Four other ponies were already inside the horrid thing, each one looking lost and exhausted. They must have been the “stock” Rusty had been talking about before. I might not know too much about what was going on, but I was able to put two and two together. They had been the ones pulling the large cage before the slavers had stolen our brahmin. It was now up to them to pull us away from our home. As we got closer, the two-headed animal grunted loudly and made to move towards us, recognizing us, but mostly Amora.
“Friend, friend.”
The white mare from before smacked the poor thing hard with her hoof. “Shut up, you disgusting mutant!”
They roared angrily and began to thrash their heads about. The cage wagon moved back and forwards with the animal tethered to it, causing the disconsolate ponies inside to cower in fear. Rusty Blade rolled his eyes and stomped towards the mare.
“Blood! Get that thing under control!”
“I’m tryin’, boss! I ain’t no animal tamer! Knock it off, you fucking… ARGH!”
She screamed as one of the brahmin’s horns caught her in the shoulder. It was a superficial cut, but it still bled freely down her leg. Growling angrily, she pulled out her gun and cocked it loudly. “That’s it!”She screamed, pointing the barrel at the animal’s head.
“No!” Amora yelled.
Turning to look at her, Rusty Blade raised his eyebrow curiously. Slowly, his eyes moved from her face to her flank. It was disgusting the way he was looking at her, but his eyes rested on her cutie mark.
“You're good with animals,” he said. It wasn’t a question. His horn glowed briefly and the iron collar around her neck snapped off. Nodding towards the raging beast, he motioned for Amora to follow him. “You either calm that thing down or we shoot it and feed it to you. And don’t get any ideas about running. I don’t think I need to tell you why.”
Gulping heavily, my sister moved carefully on trembling hooves towards the brahmin. Her horn glowed a pale red color as she held one of the heads in her magic. At once, the cow stopped and looked down at her, confusion and fear clear in their eyes.
“Please, you have to stop. You have new friends now and they want you to pull this wagon. If you don’t, bad things will happen.”
“Bad, bad.”
Amora nodded. “Yes, bad. Do what you’re told and no bad.”
“Friend, friend.”
And just like that, they stopped their rampage and stood placidly. Blood Stain grumbled and shoved the small unicorn roughly.
“Waste of fucking time. Alright, you’ve showed off. Now get back in line with the others.”
With the situation calmed, Amora galloped back to us, colliding with Mom, who nuzzled her wordlessly. The iron collars were removed from my and Raunchy’s necks, but I noticed they hadn’t been taken off Mom or Amora. As I looked in the cage, I could see one other unicorn with the same thing tightly bound to her neck. I hadn’t realized it before, but there was a small gem embedded into each of the bands that emitted a soft glow.
Rusty must have noticed where my eyes were looking and he chuckled. “Ah, I see you’ve noticed my little invention. Well, not mine, but something I stole from the ponies before the war. Those gems hold a special anti-magic spell I’ve mastered. Read an old book about how ponies used to do this at the old Equestria Games before the war. It stopped unicorns from being able to cast magic for a short time. Well, I mastered it so I can use the spell on collars and the gems hold the spell for as long as I want. As long as those babies are on, no unicorn can cast magic!”
Mom gasped and, as if to test his little lecture, she lit her horn up to cast something. At once, the collar seemed to absorb her spell and redirected it as a powerful electric shock. She cried out and fell to her knees, her body shaking from the violent shock. The slavers laughed at her pain then kicked her towards the cage, forcing us inside. The other ponies inside avoided us, one of them glaring at Raunchy, who had moved to sit on the far end of the cage.
“Alright, you slugs. For those of you who don’t already know,” Firebrand called, giving a wicked grin to his former comrade. “We are going to a little place called The Hotel. Think of it as… a store for ponies to buy other ponies. While we travel, you will do as you’re told without question. You are a slave now and a good slave is best seen, not heard, so I will not tolerate any talking. You won’t want to do much talking anyways. A waste of energy, if you ask me.”
“Says the buck that won’t shut up,” Raunchy said under his breath.
It was loud enough for the huge pony to hear. Without saying anything, he reached a massive hoof between the bars and sucker punched the yellow stallion square in the face. Raunchy was knocked out cold as his body landed on the floor limply. If that had meant to be a warning to the rest of us, it had worked. We all watched with wide, fearful, eyes as the mountain of a pony moved away.
Rusty Blade smirked at his companion. “Careful, Firebrand. You don’t want to damage the goods too badly… Alright, let’s get going. I want to be as far east as we can get before nightfall.”
There was a sound of a whip and the brahmin let out a low grunt of shock before it gave a mighty shove. The wagon groaned loudly, but it moved easily enough. I watched Fetlock and our hidden gully grow more distant through the bar. I thought of my father, his body lying alone in the abandoned gully. I would never see him again. Never hear his stories or play with him in the field. Who would protect us out here? A lump formed in my throat and I swallowed it with some difficulty.
“Good-bye, Daddy. I love you,” I said under my breath, wiping away a single tear as it slid down my cheek.
Then, I turned and sat next to my mother, who was stroking Amora’s mane aimlessly. No words were spoken as each slave moved to get comfortable in the cage. The slavers talked amongst themselves, bragging about the things they stole or what they would do with the caps they were going to get from us. Soon, their voices faded as I retreated into my own mind. Mom’s words repeated themselves over and over again.
‘You need to be strong now. I know you’re scared but you can’t let them see it. No more tears, no matter how much it hurts.’
I wanted to be strong, just like Dad. He had been the strongest pony I had known. Even when things were beyond terrifying, he had stood up for his family and paid the ultimate price. He had been my world and now that he was gone, I needed to pick up the pieces and build a new one. If that meant being strong and fearless like him, then so be it. I would start now. The tears were there, just waiting to spill over, but I wouldn’t let them. I would close my heart to the pain and simply endure. One day, I would avenge my father. I would make these… these… bastards pay for what they did! But, for now, I would survive and bide my time until the time was right.
* * *
Nightfall had come and the wagon whined to a stop. I have no idea how many miles we had travelled, but the landscape around looked unfamiliar. Of course, most of the wasteland was unfamiliar to me but things were starting to look different. I was used to vast landscapes of brown but the further east we went, the more I noticed the rolling hills and the tall, dead trees. I asked my mother where we were but she couldn’t say. Apparently, she and father had never travelled this far east before. The sense of dread about what was happening was beginning to weigh heavily upon her, I could tell. She had grown quiet and only spoke in hushed tones when I tried to talk to her. Amora hadn’t said a word since we were loaded up. All she had done was lay next to our mother and weep. I didn’t blame her. I found myself crying several times before I forced myself to stop. The other ponies in the cage had ignored us as they curled up and mumbled to themselves. When Raunchy had come to about half way through the trip he stared at us once, but quickly avoided us when Mom glared at him. I had never seen her look so angry at a pony before. There was hate in her eyes and I knew if it weren’t for the guards around the wagon, she would have given the yellow buck what he was due.
“This place looks as good as any. Firebrand, get the others to get the camp set up,” I heard Rusty Blade say.
“What are you going to do, boss?”
There was a short pause before I heard a gun cocked. “I’m going hunting.”
The bigger pony laughed as the unicorn trotted off. Then, he began bellowing orders to the others. With groans, the slavers began setting up a makeshift camp around the wagon. A blue unicorn with a diamond skull cutie mark, I remembered Rusty calling him Razz, shot a small fire spell out of his horn into a pit of dried wood, causing a bright light to shimmer across us. Blood Stain, the white mare, dug into her pack and produced some of the vegetables from our garden. I found myself choking back another sob that threatened to consume me again. Instead, I just watched her as the flames reflected in my eyes. She turned to look at me and smirked while biting into one of our tatos. Then, she turned her back to me as she started making a meal of what should have been ours.
With a sigh, and a sudden growl from my stomach, I turned back to my broken family and sat next to Mom. She was quietly calming Amora down and only gave me a small nod to acknowledge me. For a while, nothing was said. Then, we heard a gunshot not too far off. For a moment, we all stared with startled eyes in the direction, but Firebrand and the other slavers didn’t seem to pay the sound any mind. It was most likely Rusty Blade shooting whatever it was he was hunting. I received confirmation when the dark brown unicorn returned with a dog laying across his back, blood streaming down his flanks. Amora hiccupped and sobbed louder. Her love of animals was all too apparent and it wasn’t helping her any. For a while, her crying had gone mostly ignored, but I saw Raunchy gaze over again.
“You should shut her up,” he said.
My mom’s head snapped up and her eyes flared at the unfortunate stallion. “Like I’d take advice from a murderer.”
He flinched, but continued. “If you want to stay on their good side, you best keep her quiet.”
“She has every right to cry, especially now. You destroyed our lives! How dare you!”
“She is a slave now, she doesn’t have any rights. Neither do you, or the rest of us. Trust me, it’s best to keep quiet and do what you’re told. Things will be easier if you do.”
As if on cue, an earth pony with the ugliest green coat I had ever seen walked up to the cage and rapped on the bars none-to-gently with a hoof.
“Oy, shut yer fuckin’ yaps in there.”
My mother glared at him, but this did nothing but make the pony chuckle. It was not a friendly sound.
“Keep it up, purdy lady, and Rusty Blade will ‘ave ‘is way with ya. He likes the ones that fight.”
The words didn’t mean much to me, but the threat affected Mom. Her ears fell flat and her head lowered, but she continued to stare at him until he walked away, that cackle following him. She then turned her attention back to Raunchy, but he had curled up again and was facing away from us. She did the same, as if to shield Amora and I from what was happening around us, and let go a held in breath. I reached forward and nuzzled her gently, receiving a smile. A smile that never reached her eyes. The same green eyes she shared with Amora and I. Seeing her like this broke my heart. My mother had always been so strong willed and quick witted. Now, she seemed broken. It only made sense. She had lost her other half. She and Dad had been together for so long and it had all come crashing down in a few, short minutes.
Because of me…
The thought came before I could stop it. Before I knew it, I was crying again. Try as I might, I couldn’t stop the tears. Mom rubbed my head, like Dad used to, which did little to stop my mourning. How could she still comfort me? Did she not remember it was my fault that we were here, stuck in a cage in the middle of nowhere, heading to a future none of us knew? I started trembling. Concerned, Mom kissed me between the ears and whispered into them.
“It’s okay, sweetie,” she lied.
I sniffled and wiped the snot away from my nose. “I’m so s-sorry, Mommy.”
“Sorry? Why are you sorry?”
I choked on a sob again, unable to continue for a moment. She waited patiently for me to finish, softly petting my mane. I noticed Amora had turned her head to look at me as I cried. There was something about the look in her eye that made me feel even worse. But, I had already started and I knew I couldn’t start.
“It’s my fault. I’m the reason we’re all here now.”
“Sandy, what do you mean? How is any of this your fault?”
“Because she left the gully.”
Amora hadn’t said anything all day. Hearing her voice now, so full of venom, only made my tears fall faster. Slowly, I nodded my head. Mom sighed heavily and for a very long moment, nothing was said between the three of us. I could only open my eyes for a moment to see my sister staring at me with eyes that could only be described as hate. Mom had gone very stiff and I dared not reach for her out of fear that she would reject me. I couldn’t handle that thought. I needed her. She was still my mother and I needed her to love me, even though I had turned her world upside down.
I was left to sink in my own thoughts for a long time. I cried quietly to myself, trying desperately to stop and pathetically wipe the facial fluid off. They loathed me. I knew they would and I really couldn’t blame them. All my life, I had been told to never leave the gully without my parents. The one time I did, everything went wrong. And for what? A stupid rabbit! I wanted to kick something, scream, bite, anything. But I just couldn’t. Telling the truth had drained what little energy I had left. So I simply sat there, a silly filly covered in snot and tears. It was all my fault. It was all my fault! It was all my fault!!
IT WAS ALL MY FAULT!!
“It was not your fault.”
My eyes snapped open. Though they were clouded with tears and swollen with the effort of crying, I could see Mom's face clearly. Her soft eyes, ever gentle and loving, stared down at me with a love only a mother could have for her child. She bent down and kissed my head again, and tucked me into a hug. She held me close to her chest so her heart beat loudly in my ear. The sound was comforting and seemed to take all my worries and dread away. After a few moments, I could feel my own heart beat the same rhythm as hers and it made me smile through so much sadness. She still loved me, even after all I had done. How could she?
“We knew the dangers of the wasteland when we left New Appleoosa. We knew how hard it would be to make a life out here, but we did it anyways. When we had children, we considered moving to Manehattan, but we stayed. We were stubborn, your father and I. And I know how much you are like him, Sandy. He was always so curious, and so are you. It was only a matter of time before one of you decided to leave.” Amora scoffed, but Mom ignored her. “No, my darling, I don’t blame you and I am not mad. We can’t change what happened and we have to stay strong. We have to love each other. We are all that is left of your father’s memory.”
The last part she said while looking at my sister. I watched her roll her eyes with same icy stare in her gaze, as she turned around and curled up in a ball next to Mom. I cuddled her for a long time as she comforted me. We were only broken up when somepony rattled the cage, startlingly all of us. The same ugly green pony had returned, only this time, he carried a tray of food in his mouth. He moved to the back of the cage and slid it under a panel that was only just big enough for the bowls.
“Eat up, you filth. Yer gonna need it.”
The sound of that pony’s laugh was going to get on my nerves. Slowly, each slave stood up and moved towards the food. Nothing was said as they grabbed a bowl and returned to their secluded spots in the cage. Mom tried to grab the bowls with her magic, most likely out of habit, and received a reminding jolt from her collar. Sighing, she got up and moved towards the food and bumped into Raunchy. The stallion actually backed away from her like she was about to hit him. She stood over the four remaining bowls and picked the tray up in her mouth. Then, she moved back towards us and smacked the poor buck in the face with her tail as she walked by. Setting the food down in front of us, she shot a challenging look at him. Was she taking his food away? He looked like he was about to protest, but thought better of it and lowered his head in defeat. Returning to his corner, the yellow pony laid down and curled himself into a ball while the others ate.
She never blamed me for Father’s death because there was another she did. Raunchy was the murderer. He had pulled the trigger and killed her lover. She could never forgive him. I didn’t know if I could either. We may have been thrust into a world of slavery, but we would have been a family. We would have been together. He had taken that from us and left us vulnerable. But still, was it right for us to take his food? Mom sorted the bowls out between us, pouring Raunchy’s food evenly between Amora and myself. The smaller unicorn lapped at the meal without hesitating but I stared at the soup for a moment. It smelled good at least. I could easily sniff out the corn and tatos that had been from our farm, but there was something else in the soup that I had never smelled before. Curiously, I swiveled the bowl around as I tried to pinpoint what the other ingredient was.
Mom laid a hoof on mine and I gazed up at her. She was shaking her head very slowly and nodded towards my sister, who had almost finished her helping. While I understood the signal for me to stop, I didn’t understand why. I shrugged and began eating. It tasted as good as it smelled! The vegetables were perfect but there were strange, chewy chunks mixed in. They tasted alright, but they weren’t exactly something I was fond of. I pushed the thought away and continued eating until the bowl was empty. With a full stomach and the day’s events starting to wear on me, I felt my eyes droop a little. Trying in vain to stifle a yawn, I curled up next to my mother’s warm body and curled up. Amora moved next to me and we both enjoyed a soft kiss from her as sleep began to take us. However, even though the moon shone brightly just behind the cloud vale, I did not have dreams of the Moon Goddess. Nor did we dance among the stars that night.
* * *
“Shh! Jist open hick the door.”
The voice woke me from my sleep, but I dared not move. I could hear ponies moving just outside of the cage, but it seemed I was the only one who had been roused. Both Mom and Amora were fast asleep, each snoring gently. One day I was going to have to find a way to prove to my sister that she did snore…
“Whish one shhould we git?”
“I dunno, jush pick one. Hurry!”
There were two bucks, one voice I recognized as the green buck. His nasally voice could be heard from a mile away. The other I did not know as well, but I was sure he was another slaver. They were both drunk by the sound of it. Something my father didn’t do too often, but when he did, he had sounded a lot like that. The letter “s” was oddly hard for him to say. The gate was opened and hoofsteps sounded in the cage. I pretended to turn in my sleep, keeping my eyes closed to the barest sliver so I could still see what was happening. How could anypony sleep with these two clopping around? The way the green stallion gazed at each pony he walked by made my skin crawl. We were just objects to him, slaves to be used for his pleasure. Sadly, I didn’t know just yet how accurate that statement would be. Finally, his greedy eyes rested on the other unicorn, who had been sleeping by herself.
With a kick, he woke her up. She gasped in surprise, then fear as she was forced to look into those nasty eyes.
“Make another shound an’ you’re gonna wish you were never born, you little bitcsh,” he whispered.
The threat would have sounded comically coming from his drunken voice had it not been for the sheer terror in the mare’s eyes.
“Git up! We wanna ‘ave fun wiff yoush.”
“P-please…” she pleaded.
Her words were cut off as the drunk slaver pelted her across the head with his hoof. She whimpered in pain, but didn’t speak again. Once the shock of the blow had worn off, she rose to her hooves and quietly followed the stumbling brute out of the cage. The bucks laughed and started moving away from the cage. My eyes were fully opened now and my heart was beating wildly in my chest. That poor mare! What if that had been me or my family? The trio were out of sight from where I was positioned, but they hadn’t gone far. Part of me wanted to know what was happening to her, but the other half was too scared. Eventually, curiosity won the mental fight and I carefully moved away from Mom and moved as quietly as I could to the other end of the cage.
The other slaves were sleeping heavily and didn’t even budge as I walked past. Towards the back, I could see the slavers and the unicorn standing next to the burning embers of the fire. A short chain had been attached to her collar and staked to the ground, leaving her very little room to move. The stallions were circling around her like some sick vultures, each one with a nasty grin plastered on their faces. The unicorn was trying to keep them both in sight, but it was impossible with the tether keeping her held firmly in place.
It was some sort of twisted game. Every so often, one of them would slap her rump, causing her to shriek fearfully before they smacked her for making a sound. What on earth were they doing? Suddenly, the green stallion stomped on the chain, causing her front half to fall to the ground and her rump to lift up. The other pony licked his lips greedily and moved towards her back end. I gasped, my eyes wide in disgust and horror, but before I could witness the horrid crime, somepony stood up directly in front of me, blocking the view.
Looking up, I saw Raunchy staring down at me with sad eyes. While he might have been able to stop me from seeing what was going on, he could not stop the sounds. She had screamed, unable to keep herself quiet as her body was violated, but it was quickly cut off. There was a strange sense of panic now and I could hear odd grunting noises, but I refused to look past Raunchy. His eyes never left mine. A light erupted behind him without warning and angry voices called out.
“What the fuck are you doing to my merchandise!?” Rusty Blade hollered.
The yellow buck finally turned his head to survey the scene then turned back to me. He nodded his head back towards my mother and I nodded slowly in reply. Not caring about how much noise my hooves made, I moved back to the safety of our little corner. Along the way, I saw the other slaves had woken up at the sound of the commotion. My mother was one of them, and she glared at Raunchy as I returned to her side. He didn’t seem to notice as he turned around and curled up once again.
I whimpered softly into her coat and the tears poured from my eyes. She asked what had happened, but I couldn’t repeat it. I just shook my head and sobbed. A few minutes later, the cage door opened and I watched as the unicorn was returned. She had a blank stare and she seemed to be dead inside. I couldn’t blame her. Without looking at any of us, she simply moved to an empty place in the wagon and laid down. She didn’t make a sound. Mom was looking at her and saw it the same time I did. There was a small trickle of blood running in a steady stream from under her tail. Mom grabbed me into a hug and brushed my mane with her hoof. The slavers were still yelling at each other, but I didn’t care. I just wanted to forget what I had witnessed. I knew I never would.
Eventually, things calmed down outside and the night was quiet again. I had managed to stop crying, cursing myself for allowing the tears to show at all, and my mother asked me again what I had witnessed. I told her everything. When I mentioned what Raunchy had done, she turned to look at him, but he must have fallen asleep. I don’t know what she was thinking, but she returned her attention back to me and kissed my forehead. This was something she could not fix. The horror was going to stay with me for the rest of my life, just like it would with the poor mare that had been savaged. I wanted to comfort her, but what could I do? She was a slave, a product to be used in whatever way her master wanted. I was in the same position as her. Those stallions could have taken any of us. She just happened to be the unluckiest pony.
Lying next to Mom, I felt sleep begin to wash over me again. Amora, always the heavy sleeper, hadn’t budged throughout the whole tragedy. My sister had never been good at dealing with such things and I knew this would have destroyed her. Both my mother and I knew it would be best not to share with her the events that took place. Let her sleep and dream of a better life than that of a slave. My eyelids began to droop and my mind, thankfully, allowed me to fall into a dreamless sleep. For a short time, I was given solace from the life that I had been thrust into against my will.
Footnote: Level Up!
New Perk: Tough As Nails (Rank 1) - Life is hard, but you are harder. You have the ability to overcome hardships better than most. You now have +20 Damage Resistance.
