Their shield

'One, two, three,
They've come back for me.
Four, five, six,
Out for the streets, they take me.
Seven, eight, nine,
Now they begin to sell my life.
Ten, eleven, twelve.
Ponies come and go but I never get to leave.'

That was his usual wake up song, he had come up with this last year. When his trader said he had just turned into something he called 'ten'. Wearing his shackles he walked up to his stand and posed for the ponies walking through the street. He had been there before.

'Old city by the trees...'

"Nassir! Lift up your head!" The colt heard before feeling a blow hit his head. "Show them your traits! Make them want to take you home!"

Nassir, that was not the name he received at birth. He didn't know what he was called by his mother, he didn't even remember his mother. But as far as he knew, Nassir was the name given to him by one of his previous owners. Not sure why he received a name, he simply learned to respond to it.

He would also answer to 'it', 'thing', 'idiot', and so forth. However, his trader seemed to have taken a liking for calling him Nassir in front of the customers. The trader whispered to himself when he was alone, and he mentioned that a product being called by a name increased its value by a certain number. Something about the sensation called 'attachment' making customers being willing to pay more.

The colt didn't understand a lot of words, all he knew were the ones related to his work. Which was serving his master in whatever way they asked of him. He remembered doing this for as long as he remembered breathing. The thing was...his masters would always send him back to his trader after six months or so, some would take longer, for others it would be a matter of weeks. They always had a strange expression when they send him back.

His trader actually liked this, whenever he got back he would have the largest smile on his muzzle.

"Come one! Come all! Browse through my wares! The finest slaves on the market! Well kept! Well fed! Good manners!"

"A well-kept slave?" The young one heard while he kept walking around and showing himself as he was ordered. "What is the runt's name? Assuming it has one that is."

"Nassir, my lord."

"Very well, Nassir. Come down here," The colt obeyed. "Okay, white coat at the end of the limbs. Brown coat changing to gray on the ears. What happened to its coat and mane? The regular pony has only one color, except for the marks."

"One of the previous owners made some experiments on him and the color is a side effect. He was originally completely dark brown. His mane was black. Now it has this weird grey to black color."

"I see, so tell me what is this curse you set on him?"

'What is 'curse'?'

"I-I don't-?!"

"Oh, a hallucination curse, eh?" The stallion said smiling. "You got it back after some time has passed, right? You had the curse made them slowly lose their minds and think it was the runt, right? That way you could sell him again. A clever little trick for an earth pony."

"H-how much to get y-you to keep quiet?" Now his trader had the weird expression.

"Give it to me for free and half price for some of the clothes you left there, get some that fit this thing. I don't want to walk around with a naked slave." The trader had the expression the little colt always saw before the trader hit other slaves.

The trader got him some rags and rope, after that, he placed them around the colt's body and tied the rope. Then the colt got his new seal, allowed the stallion to cast some weird spell on him, and left the place accompanying the new master. The colt was still in his shackles, he walked all the way back to a big house.

The horned male led the young colt through the place until they got to a big room, there was a big table by the center of it. Two other ponies were sitting there, a female with wings and a fancy looking dress, and a male horned one with red and black robes.

'There is no point in remembering their faces...I will leave in a while, like always. That's how it always goes...how it always goes...how I always go...how others always decide what I do.

"Son, what is that?"

"My replacement for the army. I get to stay home!" The mare started to smile and came to hug the stallion.

"That is wonderful son! You won't have to fight, you won't have the risk of dying in the dirt!"

"So, what is the brat's story?"

"The trader said that his family was on the border of the country. Apparently, they were farmers. But one day the place got burned out and his mother was the sole survivor. She was pregnant at the time and became a slave. The mud pony that sold me the runt said he got her from a griffin merchant. Then she gave birth to the kid and gave him up in exchange for her freedom."

'So mom sold me? I've been doing this since I was born then...' That

The memory of the days he worked for the trader flooded his mind. Getting up before the sun rose, learning how to be obedient, how to keep quiet. 'The whip' would keep making noise until he learned the lesson, his back would burn and sting each time he failed. 'Keep quiet and obey' was the longest lesson. 'Don't think' was the hardest one to practice. 'Don't question orders' was the simplest. 'Ignore pain and hunger' was the one he never managed to learn, even with all the sessions with 'The whip'.

"Hey, runt," The colt heard before feeling pain in the back of the head. "Where is your mark?"

"Son," The mare said staring at the colt with the corner of her eye. "Slaves don't get Marks since they don't get to try and discover their talents."

"Oh yeah...forgot about that."

Suddenly there were some sounds coming from behind them, the colt ignored the sound and just looked to the floor. Then the sound of hooves started to echo through the colts head.

"Excuse me, sir!"

"What is it, soldier?"

"We are glad to inform that your deed has stopped a scammer. We just arrested the slave trader that was working with the slave known as Nassir. He resisted arrest and was knocked out. But the slave is still at large."

"Thank you, officer," Then there were more hoof sounds and then silence.

"So, we need to get it another name. I already sent word to the guards that the merchant was pulling a scam using the slave known as Nassir. Therefore he can't have that name anymore. You just got here and you are already causing trouble!" More pain, but this time the colt felt his ear being twisted and pulled with excessive force. "Father? Do you still have that list of names from our ancestors?"

"You would give it one of our names?!" The other male asked slamming his hands on the table.

"We need to make it believable to send him to the army. A name from one of our ancestors should do the trick."

The other male looked at the colt before making his horn glow, then a piece of paper started to float in front of the new master. He picked it up and started to do something with it.

"The family's weakest members, huh? Fitting," Then the master put it in front of the colt's eyes. "Read the names and pick one. Just point at it. That will be your name for now on."

'I get to decide my name? But, what is 'read'? Is it the thing trader used to do during the night? I can't do that...'

The colt kept running his eyes up and down the paper until he found a bunch of symbols that caught his attention. Raising both of his bound hands, he pointed at the symbol.

"Vojin? That's one of the most disgraced ones...Vojin Kilp. That is your name from now on. I order you to abandon the name Nassir forever. Well, now we just need to get you ready to depart tomorrow morning."

Vojin nodded, then there was a pain on top of his head again.

"Listen, you are going to pretend to be a free pony. So, here are your orders: you will talk when others talk to you or when you have questions, and you will be whatever the militaries tell you to be. Understood?"

"Yes," Vojin replied looking to the master.

"That's it brat. Now, let's get you cleaned up. Trishka!"

Vojin saw a mare come into the room, she as dressed up in a black and white outfit. She had the expression Vojin's previous owners had when they gave him back to the merchant.

"Yes, young master?"

"Take Vojin to the servant's bath and clean him completely."

"As you wish."

"Go with her."

Vojin obeyed, the mare placed her hand on his back. Vojin got surprised since there was no pain or bad feeling when she touched him, slightly confused, Vojin followed the path she showed to him. Not walking in front of him but by his side, that was a first as well. She ended up leading him to the kitchen, then the laundry and finally a room with a wooden bathtub.

"Come on little one, take off those rags and get into the water," Her voice was kind and gentle. Vojin liked that voice, he just noticed that she had a horn. And a pretty pendant, it shone in the light with a pretty color.

"But...water is for drinking. If I get in it, the master will be mad. Dirty water is bad for drinking," The mare raised her hand, Vojin looked to the ground and waited for the strike. None came, just a delicate touch to his mane.

"It's okay, you can get in this water, ok? We are just going to get that dirt out of your coat."

'This is strange...this feels strange...what is this?' Vojin felt his chest get warmer, but there was no fire. There was no pain.

"Your name is Vojin?" The mare asked while she untied the rope around his waist. "My name is Trishka, Trishka Belle."

There was a moment of silence, Vojin was feeling something different again. He wanted to speak the name he chose out loud. Again, and again, and again.

"Yes! My name is Vojin Kilp! Vo-jin! Vo-jin!" He said while she removed the rags that were covering his body.

Vojin was expecting the mare to say something, however, once the rags were off, she just stood there covering her mouth. There was water coming out of her eyes, Vojin tilted his head and stared at her. Then he looked back to his body, burnt marks, marks of the whip, spots where had been beaten up recently by the trader.

"W-what happened to you? You poor little thing," Trishka said pulling Vojin close to her. "What have you been through?"

Vojin didn't understand what she meant. That was normal to him, those marks and the pain were part of his routine. Vojin knew how to avoid them since he didn't like when they hit him, but that wasn't guaranteed to prevent all the pain. But somehow, he felt worse than when he was beaten up after seeing her like that. There was something different in her eyes, something he hadn't seen before. Vojin found himself drawn to that but couldn't quite explain why.

"Sorry, Mrs. Trishka," He said in a low tone.

"You don't have to be sorry about anything. It's not your fault," She said looking straight into his eyes. "You are just a child, you should not have to go through what marked you like that."

"Okay," Vojin replied tilting his head and blinking a few times.

"Now, let's get you clean up, ok?" Trishka said drying up the water from her eyes.

Vojin nodded and entered the bathtub, then he felt the warm water. It was a pleasant feeling, the warmth was comforting. Like when the trader allowed him to sleep by the fire when it was cold. Then he saw the mare put something in the water, Trishka started to move the water and a white cloud came out of it. Bubbles started to fly around, then some humming started.

Vojin couldn't help but marvel at the weird cloud that came out of the water, the bubbles around him made him see so many different colors when the light hit them. And the voice, the sound of Trishka humming was mesmerizing. While serving other masters, Vojin had heard melodies being played in weird objects that he knew nothing about. Something called a 'piano', other one called and 'harp'. However, none of the sounds he had ever heard could ever compare to what he was hearing now.

Vojin closed his eyes and listened focused on the melody, that sweet and kind sound. He just wanted to keep hearing that forever and ever. While listening to that melody he felt something touch his mane, something delicate ran all over his head. Then the warmth of the water flowed down his head, that was an amazing feeling. The same happened to his back, then Trishka stopped her humming.

"I need to get something, can you finish cleaning yourself?" Vojin felt a bit sad because the song had stopped.

"Yes..."

Trishka got up and left the room, Vojin finished cleaning himself in a matter of instants. Then he waited, and waited, and waited.

'It's okay to play with the water, right?'

Looking around again to see if there was nopony around, he placed his hands inside the cloud and pulled out a piece of it. Vojin realized that as he touched the cloud a popping sound would happen, he took a deep breath and blew the cloud way. It dispersed while making more popping sounds.

"Good to see you're having fun," Vojin heard while picking up another piece of the cloud. "Now, let's get you dried up," Looking at the sound source, he saw Trishka with some towels in her arms.

"Ok," Vojin said getting up and walking to her. Then he used the towel in her arms to dry his body. When he was about to finish doing that another towel fell on his head.

"Let me help," He heard while standing still. His head started to move around for a bit. "There!" Vojin heard before the towel left his head. "Now let's make you look like a proper colt."

Trishka grabbed his hand and led Vojin to a smaller room, there were a ton of different clothes there. They all looked used and way bigger than he was. Trishka's horn lit up and the clothes started to move around, suddenly there was a bright flash that blinded Vojin for a moment.

After regaining his sight, Vojin saw a mirror in front of him. He was completely dressed up, a little white shirt with some black pants that was kept in place by a belt. All of it somehow looked brand new, Vojin looked at his image and then looked at Trishka that had a half smile while she kept her arms crossed.

"There, I wish I could do better. But this is all I have to work here," She said before crouching down to look at him. She stared into his eyes for a moment, almost as if she was looking for something. "Something is missing. I know!"

Just as she said that Trishka reached for the choker with the pendant around her neck and took it off. Then she wrapped it around Vojin's neck and locked it.

"There. It suits you," She said looking at him with a warm smile. Vojin looked at the mirror and saw the pretty pendant. "It may be an accessory for mares, but keep it with you, ok? I received that from my family as a protective charm. But I think you need it more than I need."

"I get to keep it?" Vojin asked playing with it using his fingers.

"Yes. Don't take it off until you find somepony who needs it more than you."

"Ok, Mrs. Trishka," Vojin said while looking at his image in the mirror.

He watched Trishka smile before she got up, then she offered her hand. Vojin accepted it and followed Trishka around the house until they got back to the room with the big table. It was empty now, the other three left and the plates with leftover food alongside the chalices half filled with wine.

"Take a sit over there and wait for a moment," Trishka said smiling and pulling one of the chairs.

"But...that's the master's table. I don't sit on the table with the others. Master will get angry with me."

"Master is already asleep, you can sit down. He won't know," Hesitating a bit, Vojin sat on the chair Trishka pulled for him.

After he sat down, Trishka patted his head again and left the room. Vojin sat there with his legs dangling, then he started to look around and admire the house he was in. The place was big, however, it seemed somewhat rundown. It was almost as if the estate was left to its own devices, the only place that seemed clean was the top of the table. The furniture by the walls had a visible layer of dust over it.

The place probably had seen better days, that much was clear. 'Is master in a bad situation? He said he was sending me to the military...what is that?'

After a few moments, something distracted Vojin from his observations. A delicious smell filled his nostrils, his mouth started to water up. His stomach rumbled, instinctively, Vojin crossed his arms over his abdomen and leaned forward. He had to quiet down the sound before anypony heard him and went to scold or beat him due to him making a scene.

'Two moons since I last ate. I don't think I'll be able to quiet it down. I'm gonna get hit...'

"I see you are hungry," Vojin lifted his head in a flash and saw Trishka with a plate that had steam coming out of it. "The chef was kind enough to make this up from what we had left. Sorry, but this is the best we managed to pull. Go ahead, eat up."

Trishka placed the plate in front of Vojin, looking what was on the plate, Vojin saw an orange liquid with some tomatoes and sliced up potatoes in it. The smell was driving Vojin crazy, he had served some of his masters this meal before. He was also forced to watch them eat because he had to remain in the room until he was told to leave. Always watching and never being able to taste that meal, Vojin watched his masters use the silver things on the table to eat this kind of food.

Picking the round one up, Vojin tried to mimic the way his masters used to hold it. But all he managed to do was dropping the silver thing. Picking it up again in a more crude manner, Vojin scooped some of the soup and brought into his mouth. He stopped the moment the food touched his tongue.

The liquid burned his tongue, but he didn't care. His throat burned as it went down, but he didn't care. The taste, it was way better than the smell, Vojin looked down to the dish in front of him and stared at it for a few moments. Vojin felt something run down his cheeks, his vision started to get blurry.

'I need to stop this water, my masters always hit me when this water came out of my eyes.'

"I'm sorry, dear. I guess it doesn't taste very good, does it?" Vojin heard Trishka ask with a sad tone. Waving his head sideways, Vojin felt a smile form on his muzzle.

"T-this is good," He said with a shaky voice. "T-this is the best thing I ever ate!"

Just as he finished saying that, Vojin started to drink up the soup as fast as he could while savoring it.

"Don't eat so fast! You're gonna choke! Or...not," Vojin heard while he chugged down the soup. "You were really hungry, weren't you?"

"Yes, thank you! Mrs. Trishka!" Vojin said once he finished eating.

"Well, let's brush those teeth and then let's get you to sleep. Okay?" Trishka said offering her hand, Vojin grabbed hold and followed her.

Trishka led him to a room with a white bathtub and told him to brush his teeth, Vojin mimicked her and did the task she asked him to do. After that, she led him to a small room with an empty bed with simple sheets and a single window. The window gave view to the castle that the town was built around.

"This is your room, at least...for tonight that is."

"What is the name of the big house outside?" Vojin asked while approaching the window.

"The castle? That is the castle of the two sisters. Queen Faust built it after giving birth to her daughters. The sun princess, Celestia. And the moon princess, Luna. It's the safest place in Equestria. And is also where you'll be going tomorrow morning. The training area for the soldiers is within the castle grounds," Trishka sounded a bit sad as she said that.

"Am I going to be a soldier?"

"Yes, unfortunately," Trishka replied in a low voice, she didn't even look him in the face.

"Is something wrong? Mrs. Trishka, why are you sad?"

She looked down at him, she got down on her knees and got on eye level with Vojin. Trishka then held his shoulders and looked at him with a stern look in her eyes.

"Listen, do not let anypony pull you down! I'm asking you to do your best, ok? If you work hard enough, good things will come your way. You've been through a lot and you are only a child. Please, remember that there are as many good beings in the world as there are bad ones. Be strong and help the good beings. Protect everypony you can, ok?"

"Is that an order?" Vojin asked tilting his head.

"No, little one. This is a request. A request is something you ask of somepony else, but it's up to them if they will choose to do it or not."

Vojin blinked and stared at the mare. 'Choose? I can...choose what to do this time?'

"I'll try!" Vojin finally said with a smile on his face.

Trishka smiled at him, then she hugged Vojin and patted him on the head. After that, she left the room leaving Vojin on his own. Climbing on the bed, he laid down and stared at the ceiling for several moments. Before he even realized, he had fallen asleep. A dreamless slumber was what Vojin usually went through every night, he had no visions no expectations. All he ever knew was the need to follow orders to stay alive.

This night, however, was different. The image of Trishka came to his mind, her request echoing in his mind. Being strong, protecting others, doing the very best he could in whatever he could. Vojin looked around and the only thing that he could see were images of Trishka and the kindness she had shown him. After all that he went through, being treated like that made him feel a warmth he couldn't quite explain.

Then Vojin looked at himself and saw the marks in his body.

"You are just a child, you should not have to go through what marked you like that."

'So, everything I went through...I wasn't supposed to experience it? I went through all that...without the need?! The pain...WHY?!' The image of Trishka started to disappear as Vojin's mind started to lose itself. The warm feeling started to die down as the memories of the 'training' flooded his dream.

Just as he started to lose completely the warm sensation Trishka gave him, another memory popped up.

"It may be an accessory for mares, but keep it with you, ok? I received that from my family as a protective charm. But I think you need it more than I need."

As those words silenced the other memories, Vojin felt something around his neck. Looking down he saw the choker with the pendant.

'That's the very first gift I received...it' meant to protect...maybe I can be a protection for others then.' He thought as he held it with his right hand. Suddenly, a voice crashed through his mind and bringing him back to the real world.

"Wake up! You're leaving!" It was the master's voice.

Vojin felt his mane being pulled while he was dragged out of the bed.

"Hey! He is just a kid, Kilp!" Another voice shouted, Vojin opened his eyes and saw two figures he did not recognize.

"No! He needs to be treated like this! This useless brother of mine always sleeps in and never gets anything done!" Master said tossing Vojin to the ground near the two strangers. "Besides, what does it matter if he gets hurt here? In a couple of years, he will be on a battlefield and he'll get hurt either way. At least he is getting used to the pain!" The master said laughing, Vojin looked over his shoulder and saw a twisted grin on the stallion's muzzle.

"Yet, he is your brother, is he not? Or did your family just adopt him to get you out of enlistment?"

"Tch. What does it matter?! Brat, listen well. Be whatever it is they need. Think for yourself once inside and make yourself useful in whatever job they give it to you. Not that you'll be able to think that is. Especially since you're dumb as a door."

Vojin turned around, mimicking to the best of his ability the twisted smile that the master had on his muzzle, Vojin stared at his master and tilted his head. "Is that an order?"

The master's grin dissolved and his eyes went wide, his legs started to shake and he backed away for a moment. for several seconds, all Vojin's owner could do was stutter and shiver. Vojin had seen that expression before, the same expression his previous owners had. However, this time, Vojin was the cause of it, not his trader's tricks.

Vojin couldn't see it, but his eyes had stopped reflecting the light that came from the room, giving them an eerie appearance of two pitch-black orbs surrounded by a sea of white. Vojin stepped forth, his master stepped back. The twisted grin growing even bigger as time passed by.

"Is that an order?" Vojin asked once more.

"Y-yes, think a-and m-make y-yourself u-useful for them."

Vojin tilted his head to the opposite side. Vojin's grin reverted into his regular expression. "Yes, sir."

The noble gulped and left the room, soon after, Trishka walked in and saw them.

"You're leaving?"

"Yes, Mrs. Trishka. I'll give it my best shot, so you do your best too, ok?" The mare gave out a small giggle before nodding her head in agreement. "Ok. See you around, Trishka."