Fallout: Equestria - Wild Chains

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.