All Too Real

The six sat stiffly in the back of the off-white van that was taking them to their new, temporary home. The metal contraption rattled, groaned, and bumped under them as it road along, stopping at hanging lights periodically. Twilight noted from her poor vantage point that the van stopped at red lights, and then went on green.

They weren’t alone in the back. With them was a bubbly unicorn mare named Amber who happily makes small talk with Pinkie.

”So you’re going to the ranch up north? Isn’t that the Ymous place?” Amber questions with a tilt of her head.

Pinkie rubs her chin. “I think so…”

”Are you going there for…” Amber makes a suggestive gesture with her hoof.

The party mare goes green under her coat, along with the rest of the six. ”No!”

Amber pins her ears back and recoils. “S-sorry! I didn’t realize you had such strong feelings about it… That’s usually what mares go there for...”

”Don’t apologize, sug,” Applejack says with a shake of her head. “Ya didn’t know. We’re just living there for now.”

Amber regains her smile and nods. “How lucky! I had to stay in the shelter for so long while you get sent to live on a ranch. On day one…” she says, tone trailing and smile strained.

”Is the shelter that bad?” Fluttershy asks quietly.

Amber shakes her head. “No. It’s just… lonely, I guess. There are other ponies to talk to, but the humans are all always busy. I can understand why, but it’s frustrating.” She looks out the van window, expression wistful. “I was finally bought though. I don’t have a bloodline, or any real skills, so that dashed any real chance of a rich family, but I was told that I’m going to be a present for a little girl. I can’t really complain.”

The back of the van is quiet. Then; “You don’t think it’s wrong?”

Amber blinks at Twilight. “I don’t understand.”

”Don’t you think it’s wrong that you, a living being, are being owned by another?” Twilight nearly demands. “You think. You feel. Doesn't it seem strange that you’re not equal? That you are treated like an object to be bought and sold?”

Amber seems shocked. “W-what? B-but that’s just how things are! How things are supposed to be!” She exclaims. “Why would you think otherwise?”

Now it’s Twilight’s turn to be shocked. “Don’t you have free will?! The drive to be something!?”

Rarity lays a hoof on Twilight’s wither. “Dear, you’re rightfully upset, but now is not the time or place…” She’s ignored.

”But I AM going to be something!” Amber cries, genuine distress in her voice. “I am! I really am!”

Twilight grits her teeth so hard it’s audible ”Yes, a SLAVE to a CHILD!” she roars.

”Hey hey hey!” The van driver, middle-aged man with a beer gut and beard cuts in. He glares back at the ponies for a second before his eyes return to the road. “Enough fighting back there. In fact, just quiet down the rest of the way. Amber, sweetie, your friends there are ehh…” He twirls his finger by his head in a gesture that this six don't understand, but Amber seems to get it instantly. Her face morphs from shock to pity.

”Oh… Now I understand why you’re going to a ranch…” she whispers, looking away.

”What? What does that mean?!” the alicorn demands. She turns to the driver and matches up to the front, ignoring Amber’s mortified face. “What did you me-!”

CLICKCLICKCLICK!

Twilight stiffens and her mouth opens in a silent scream as pain lances up and down her body. All she can do is stand on paralyzed legs and soundlessly seize as her friends watch in horror. Her efforts to retreat eventually let her fall to her side, where she harshly impacts the van floor. After the longest three seconds of her life, the pain suddenly cuts out, leaving the dazed mare on the floor with jumbled thoughts and nerves.

The driver shakes his head and holds up his phone. On the screen are seven soft buttons with a name under each. “Don’t take that tone with me, and stay in the back. It’s for your own good.”

The other ponies sans Amber quietly pick up the still stunned Twilight and carry her to the back of the van, where they huddle together in a shivering pile. The van ride is devoid of noise other than the van itself for some time.

”I can’t believe it. They… He… He actually…” Rainbow’s words are no louder than a whisper as she struggles to articulate past her disbelief. “I thought they were just bluffing. But… but…”

”Seems not,” Applejack finishes grimly. She gently nuzzles Fluttershy, who is buried in the farmer’s side and heaving with silent sobs.

Pinkie has no comment, as she just keeps looking between the slowly recovering princess and the human up front with uncomprehending eyes, as if she can't register what happened.

Rarity is much the same. Each time she opens her mouth to speak, the words die before they can leave, and each time she forced her face into a neutral look. There is no mistaking the frustrated tears in her eyes, however.

As the van rumbles along, Twilight comes to but opts to stay her the middle of the group hug and stare at the wall with unfocused eyes.

There is no downplaying the situation, no matter how much it could be sugarcoated.

As of today, they’re slaves.

The van slows to a stop in front of a suburban home, where a plainly dressed woman waits outside.

The driver grunts and heaves himself out of his seat. A moment later, he opens the side door on the van from the outside.

Rainbow tenses like she’s going to spring out the open door to sweet freedom, but an orange foreleg around her middle and a shaken head stop her at the last moment.

The prismatic mare growls and sits again.

”Alrighty, Amber. C’mon, your family is waiting.”

’Family’ is like a magic word to the unicorn, who sports a beaming smile and happily jumps out after the driver. The door closes on squeaky hinges right after.

Pinkie and Rarity muster the will to rise and watch from the window.

The driver and woman talk for a moment, their words lost between the distance and the glass window. Then the woman turns and calls behind her towards the house. Hardly a second later, a little human with its long hair tied in pigtails exits the house.

’This must be the girl,’ Rarity thinks, mentally correcting ‘it’ to ‘her’.

The girl blinks and her jaw slowly drops when she sees the grinning Amber. She slowly walks forward only to break into a run a few steps in.

Amber prances forward to meet her halfway and rises to her hindlegs to meet the girl in a hug. The girl’s expression and the pure note of laughter from her are the very definition of joy.

The woman, who must be the girl’s mother, looks at the embraced pair fondly, paying just enough attention to the driver to accept a folder of paper and offer a farewell.

Despite their own situation, Rarity and Pinkie smile and return to their friends, feeling just a little lighter.

The driver enters the van and sits heavily with a sigh. A moment later, the van lumbers to life again and leaves the unicorn to her new family. ”Alright you bundles of trouble,” the driver looks at the huddle of fur and hooves through the rear-view mirror. “We’re off. It’ll be a bit ‘till we get there. No. More. Freakouts. Got it?”

And with that, the six are steadfastly ignored.

Fluttershy finally pulls her face from Applejack’s side, her eyes a painful red. “G-girls? W-we’re going t-to be o-okay, right?”

”Of course we are!” Rainbow replies immediately. “We can get through this. No matter what, there is nothing that can stop us. Nightmare Moon, Discord, Chrysalis, Tirek, compared to them this is nothing!” she exclaims with a ruffle of her wings.

Rarity smiles slightly. “Maybe, but that’s no excuse to get overconfident. All our old foes had serious pratfalls ripe for exploitation. We’ll need to be cautious here. I just hope we get to our destination soon and that our host is courteous enough to…” She runs a hoof through her still messy mane with a grimace, “offer the use of a shower. Ick!”

The rest of the six giggle quietly to themselves at their friend’s plight, falling into a companionable silence and enjoying the simple pleasure of each other's company.

The passing buildings slowly become more rundown and hostile in appearance, much to Twilight’s worry, but the van driver doesn't seem to notice.

Ring! Ring!

The van driver raises his phone into view, looking at the caller ID and then double-taking. “Oh shit…” He lets it ring out without an answer.

Twilight watches carefully as the little device rings again. It’s the same remote used to electrocute her, but the driver has used it several times without any effect on her or her friends. Might it have more than one use?

A sickly pallor overtakes the driver’s face as he lets the call ring out again. He growls in frustration as the van is stopped by a red light. “Fuck, c’mon!” Fluttershy and Rarity jump when he smacks the steering wheel.

The instant the light changes to green, he peels off and makes a turn down a side street, sending the six sliding into the opposite wall with a collection of “Oof!”s

Rainbow scowls and rubs her head ”Hey! What’s the big id-!” She yelps from the split-second zap her collar gives her and falls bonelessly into her startled friends, stunned.

”Just shut it, okay?!” The driver all but yells. “Man there is no fuckin’ way…”

Something swoops down in front of the van.

The driver swears violently and slams on the breaks, nearly sending the panicking mares sliding into the front seats.

The van comes to a stop and something lands on the hood with a “bang!”

”...Fuck me…”

Fluttershy is the first to gain her bearings. With a shake of her head, she looks up to see what caused the sudden alarm.

On the hood of the van sitting like nothing was out of place is a pegasus stallion. His coat is a forest brown with a speckled white underbelly. His short, windswept mane is the same color as his coat. But what really catches her attention are his wings and eyes. The stallions folded wings are a size too big for his body, as the primary feathers rest over his flank and the alulas are near his withers. But the yellow, piercing eyes...

The unpony-like gaze settles on her for a split second, pinning the poor mare in place. A horrid phantom feeling washes over her like it’s not just one set of eyes dissecting her bit by bit.

The mysterious pony looks over all her friends as well, then returns his scowling visage to the suddenly sick-looking driver.

With a shaky hand, the driver rolls down the window and leans out. “Heh… Hey, Freefall… So uh, what brings you out here?”

The now named Freefall takes his time answering. “I could ask you the same, Shawn.” He says with a voice deeper than a pony should have. “I was under the impression that you were in-route to my Master’s ranch-”

By now the others are watching. The six notice the collar around his neck. The front has a gleaming silver tag in the form of a stylized ‘A’. The strange stallion is a slave as well, so why is Shawn the driver so nervous about dealing with him?

“-But you seem to be taking an… unusually long path. Are you lost, perhaps?” Freefall asks with a tilt of his head.

The gesture comes off as far more condescending than confused, Rarity thinks.

Shawn blows air out of his nose and looks away from the pony “Yeah. Yeah, I’m lost. My GPS is on the fritz today.”

Freefall raises an eyebrow. “Odd that you need it, considering you and other drivers have made the route without assistance before.”

The man doesn't reply.

”You didn’t think this through very well, did you?”

Shawn grips the steering wheel so tight that his knuckles turn white.

”I’m going to escort you the rest of the way. Do not deviate, Shawn,” Freefall says, the unspoken threat plain as day.

A stiff nod is the only answer.

Freefall spreads his huge, angular wings and lifts off with a single flap. The van follows him out of the rundown area and onto a road out of the town.

As the mares in the back puzzle over the dynamics of the odd land they found themselves in, Twilight is the first to connect the chilling dots of the short confrontation. She resolves to later find Freefall and thank him.

The sun is halfway through the sky when the van turns off the long rural road into a long driveway.

Rainbow, normally the heavy sleeper of the group, rouses from the cozy nap-pile in the back and blinks herself awake. She raises her head from its spot on Pinkie’s back and squints at the sun-lit window, pondering on why the van is slowing.

”We gotta be there…” Rainbow near silently muses to herself. Her own words hit her a second later, creeping cold settling in her core and chasing away the warmth of her friends “Oh… We gotta be there…” She slowly pulls herself from the pile and raises herself just enough to see out the front.

Her eyes widen.

An enormous, rustic building rests in the distance, similar to the Apple family home but on a much grander scale. The top level is dotted with balconies, each with a pony-sized door. It’s surrounded by acres of green land on each side dotted with smaller, odd-looking buildings. The huge swath of land is separated from the edge of the road with a simple wooden fence.

For a moment Rainbow wonders why the fence isn’t larger, only for her collar to jingle when the van hits a bump and offer a rude reminder.

As they draw closer, the prismatic mare spots a practical horde of small ponies all playing and running out in the field just right of the huge building. Several larger ponies and a single human watch them from a distance.

Rainbow squints, her pegasus vision magnifying and zooming in on the strange gathering.

’Foals,’ she realizes. ‘Those are foals just playing outside and... minders I guess? Oh. Those are foals bred to be sold…’ Rainbow looks away as her stomach rebels from the thought.

Shawn the driver starts to shake when Freefall shoots off like an arrow towards the human watching the foals. The stallion lands and speaks briefly with the man, who nods and begins walking towards the end of the driveway with a unicorn in tow. Freefall takes off and vanishes into one of the balcony doors.

The van comes to a stop just as the other five mares start coming too.

”Rainbow?” Twilight asks, rubbing her eyes with a hoof. “Are we there?”

The Wonderbolt just nods.

Shawn heaves himself out of the van just as the other man and the unicorn walk up. “Anon! Buddy, pal! It’s been uh, how long?”

The six aren’t able to get a good look at the new human through the narrow side window, but they do hear him give Shawn a mirthless chuckle. “Long enough for you to try and pull a fast one.”

”Hey man, look. I just got a bit turned around. I got here, didn’t I?” the van driver asks with a shrug.

”I guess…”

Shawn smiles. “No harm, no foul, right?”

”Hmm. We’ll call it even if you can do something for me.”

The smile vanishes. “U-uh…”

”When you get back to the shelter, tell Miranda you’d like to resign effective immediately. Oh! And that you’d like to forfeit your last paycheck as a donation as well.”

Twilight draws her mouth into a thin line, unsure if she should be satisfied with the punishment being doled out, or be worried about ‘Anon’s’ casual wrath arbitrarily landing on her.

”What!?” Shawn screams, his complexion turning pale again. “Anon I can’t! This job is all I’ve got! If I lose it then… then… C’mon man!”

”I’ll not forgive so easily.”

”What in the world is this all about?” A wide-eyed Rarity asks.

Applejack answers before Twilight can formulate a response. “Our chauffeur is a two-face. Ah don’t rightly know where we were going when mister Freefall stopped us, but it wasn’t here.”

Call the farm mare what you wish, but ‘dull’ would never be correct.

”Remember, bright side, girls!” Pinkie cuts in before Applejacks words can sink in. “We’re here and safe! It’s all good from here!” She says with a grin.

”Anon, man c’mon,” Shawn’s voice drags the six back to the exchange outside. “You can’t do this, it’ll kill me! And and and… The shelter will be down a driver! They need all the help they can get!”

”A professional bottom-feeder like yourself can find a warehouse to sweat in for pennies in hardly a day, I’m sure,” a cutting female voice snarks from out of view. “Driving a cargo van is far from difficult, so the shelter will have you replaced with a less repulsive laborer before long.”

Shawn’s pale face goes bright red as he looks down at Anon’s side, but he doesn't retort.

”This is as merciful as I’m willing to be,” Anon says, his voice still even. “You can take it or leave it.”

The older man sighs and raises his hands. ”Man, don’t do th-!”

A silver colored aura covers Shawn the instant his hands start advancing forward, freezing him in place. The man can only frantically roll his eyes around in his paralysis.

Twilight’s eyes nearly bug out of her head. “That’s magic! But h-?!”

The unicorn with Anon. She can do magic. But the collars..?

“It would do you well to not even think of touching my master, cretin,” the still unnamed unicorn says. They may not be able to see her, but her voice conveys her snarl clear as day. “You might suffer a sudden case of-”

”Freyja, enough.”

The aura fades and the man caught in it falls to the ground where he takes great heaving breaths.

”You’ll find that you’ll want to do things my way. I’ll call later to confirm it, okay?”

Anon gets no answer other than labored breathing.

”Sure thing. Now…”

The six tense up when the side door latch on the van pops, each expecting the worst. Fluttershy even hides her head behind her wings.

The doors open, revealing… A normal looking human and mare.

All six share unsure looks and turn back to who has to be Anon and the mare.

The man doesn't seem outstanding in any sort of way. Clad in a flannel shirt, a white undershirt, worn jeans, and dirt spotted boots, he would be perfect in a farm setting. Or a ranch.

The unicorn looks out of place next to him, though. The mare is of average height with a spotless coat the color of faded gold. Her wavy mane and tail are a darker, richer shade of gold highlighted by streaks of beige. The coat and mane are offset by her annoyed, ghostly blue eyes and frown. But the biggest thing of all…

...Is her lack of collar.

The human offers the huddled mares a pleasant smile. “Well my esteemed guests, let me be the first to offer you a welcome to the Ymous ranch. I understand you’ve had a... “ he looks over at Shawn, who is backed away and eyeing the gold unicorn with fear. “Turbulent twenty-four hours and some change, so let’s get intros out of the way so you can head inside and get cleaned up.”

Rarity instantly perks up.

”The lovely mare at my side is Freyja, my right and best friend.”

The now named Freyja tries to frown, but Anon’s fingers comb through her mane with obvious affection, making her lips twitch upward. “Well met, I suppose,” she greets simply.

”And I am Anon Ymous, owner and head honcho of the ranch,” Anon says, his smile growing. “Now let’s go, we’ve gotta round up the little ones and I’m sure you’ve got questions.”

Twilight silently laments her lack of writing tools.

You and Freyja lead the six wayward mares back towards the herd of foals at a leisurely pace. It seems like the six are still a little overwhelmed if the lack of talk is anything to go by.

Your phone dings with a text message, so you pull it out of your shirt pocket only to hear a hiss of breath.

With a blink, you glance back to see your newest ponies carefully watching the phone in your hand. Why would..?

Ah, Shawn probably jumped the gun and zapped one of them. You’ll send Stratosphere out to even the score later.

Glancing at the new text, you see it’s from Freyja, who is still looking forward as she walks.

Freyja: I only skimmed the email sent by the shelter. These prize pets seem a little too surprised with their surroundings. How damaged did Miranda say they are?

You frown and type out a reply.

Anon: shes not sure. said that they only probed a little bit but the damage is more than a little. theyre full on washed. SCB is looking for owners but its only day 1. they could be here for a bit considering the temp owner papers faxed over. lol why are faxes still a thing.

Freyja: Joy, mental cases… The one thing we’re NOT equipped for.

Anon: itll be fine. SCB will send pros if no owners come forward. whats the worst that could happen?

Your right-hand furrows her brows and swiftly replies

Freyja: Now that you’ve said that, just about everything.

You roll your eyes and pocket your phone. It’ll just be another day on the ranch… Right?