"Is that it?"

"...Yes, I found it like this."

"What an interesting find here miss. Think the feller is still alive? Hey! Dumb and dumber, get over here!"

The shouting voice snapped me from my sleep-state. My mind went into an immediate overdrive, memories pouring back in from the night prior. I remembered I wandered around aimlessly, to which I dug a hole to sleep in. The voices I heard filled me with joy and excitement. I've been found! I was saved! With vigor and excitement, I quickly jumped up from my dirt hole, nearly falling forward. At the same time, I went for my head wrap to see who my saviors were.

"Oh shit! It woke up!" A gruff voice shouted in front of me. It? What? I was bewildered at what he said. I took off the wrap completely, my eyes adjusting to the sudden change of darkness to light. As I went to say something, I was left shocked at the sight before me.

Honestly, I didn't know what I was looking at. It looked like two little horse like creatures, but not exactly. A light yellow horse with a short pink mane and tail was hovering with a pretty set of wings. Next to it, on the ground, was a dark grey mean-looking horse. It had a horn on the top of its head and a little cowboy hat as well. Strands of a silver mane poked from underneath his hat and a silver beard laid upon his snout. Wha...? I was confused to say the least.

Both the creatures gave defensive stances, the grey one's horn began to glow a red color and a rope was pulled out from his saddle bag. "Alright, miss Canary, when I throw the rope on him, come from behind and knock him down to the ground." The horse had a tinge of a 'southern drawl'. If it was any other time, I would have said it was cute.

The hovering horse, dubbed Canary, looked unsure about it, but nevertheless zoomed over anyway to the side of me to get an angle. I should have moved, but I had a million things going on in my mind and wasn't thinking clearly.

The grey creature began to twirl the rope above his head with the ungodly powers from his horn. Although I was freaked out about it, I was more concerned about not being a lassoed. Getting defensive myself, I spread my legs apart to give myself a firmer stance. It was here that I realized I was still stark-ass naked. Dick hanging and all. I felt a cold, stinging breeze brush over my body. Fuck it's cold.

It was at this point, I tried to finally speak up and figure out just what the hell was going on. Obviously, Toto and I weren't in Kansas anymore and there just isn't any other option here.

"Ah--GAaAck!" I felt my throat tighten and a painful strain made itself known when I tried to speak. In response, I reached for my throat and gagged. Taking this as an opportunity, the grey horse threw the rope around my body. The rope tightened with my hands still around my neck, locking my arms into my chest in a very uncomfortable position. Before I had anytime to react, I felt something hit me from behind. I concluded it was the flying horse. I hit the ground with a 'thump' and a roll.

I tried to yell out a curse, but I felt the tightness around my throat once again, and was thrown into an awful coughing fit. So much so that it went on for about minute. Saliva poured out of my mouth, strands of spit still connected to my mouth as I sputtered endlessly.

"Damn, I hope the feller here ain't sick or something. Makes him worthless if he's diseased. He don't look it though... Anyway, nice job, newbie, more practice and you'll be a mighty fine pro at this!" The flying horse didn't say anything. The grey horse have a chuckle, but cut it off as he remembered something.

"Hey, where are those two knuckleheads at? I called for them forever ago!"

"We heard ya boss! We heard ya!"

"Yeah boss! we heard you!"

"I just said that, moron."

"Oh."

Two voices made themselves known as newcomers came into my view. I was still on the ground, rolled onto my side, so I was able to see pretty well. Though, the flying horse still stood over me, a hoof on my back. The two new horses were very odd compared to the other horses. The first one who spoke was really skinny, but tall. He had a faded yellow coat with an
unkempt, curly golden mane and green eyes. The other horse was no different in color, but that's where similarities ended. His mane was crew cut styled and he towered over all the other horses present by a head and a half. The horse was roided out like body builder. Neither had a horn or a pair of wings.

Are they 'normal' horses? What is this...?

"Just took your time, eh? Its a wonder why the big guy keeps y'all around still. Look, we found ourselves here a human, otherwise healthy other than that wild coughing of his. Hay Bale, take him to the wagon with the others. Take that ignit brother of yours as well. Miss Canary and I are gonna scout out some more game while out here, we'll make our way back at dusk. Keep them fellers locked up and keep a good eye on 'em, alright? We don't need another Carigan incident on our hooves."

"No worries, boss! We can handle it, easy as pie!" Hay Bale gave a salute, his apparent brother --coming back to the world around him-- also gave a salute a moment later, obviously coping him.

"Lets go, little brother, we got work to do!" Little?!

"Uh- Right!"

The two came over to me and picked me up from off the ground, putting me on the back of the roided little brother. I began to struggle and kick, trying to get out of the lasso. Again, I tried to speak, trying to tell them to let go of me. But instead I felt my throat once again tighten up. My eyes started to water from the pain.

"Hey partner, I'd stop your fightin', we gonna hafta put you under otherwise." Hay Bale looked over to me, eyeing my struggles.

I continued to do the worm, trying to get off the damned horse.

"Hey! Stop strugglin' you damn monkey! Grain, stop movin' for a moment." The roided out monster followed his brother's command. Behind us, I could hear the grey horse creature laughing.

"Haha! You have fun boys, looks like he's a fighter! Alright, let's go miss." I heard the hoof falls start walking the opposite direction of us, a flapping sound following suit.

Hay Bale appeared in my view, an irritated look on his face. "Alright, I'm gonna fix his bindings so he don't struggle as much, help me get 'im off."

The roided out horse, now known as Grain, lowered himself, making it easier for Hay Bale to pull me off. Using his mouth, he grabs the rope and yanks me off. I hit the ground hard, the cold morning dew covering my body in chills.

"Alright, don't move now, I don't want shoot ya. Those tranquilizer things ain't any fun. For you anyway heheh." He rolled me over on to my stomach to fix my bindings. Untying the lasso, he snaked it from underneath my body. He began to hogtie me, standing over me.

Oh no you don't, mother fucker.

Seeing this was my chance, I use the back of my head to headbutt him in the chin. Startling him, I turn over onto my back and kick as I hard as I could at his groin. Hay Bale freezes up and falls over to his side, cradling his jewels. I get up to run, but Grain tackles me, digging my face into the ground with his hoof. I tried to move, but the million ton monstrosity wouldn't give. I try to elbow him in the ribs to let me go, but he makes no reaction at all. Fucker probably doesn't even feel it.

"Oh boy, you -- GAH! -- you got me good, you fuckin' monkey. But not good enough. Grain, keep him like that, I'mma get the gun." I could here Hay Bale struggle over to god knows where, coming back not even 2 minutes later with a rifle slung around his neck. The giant over me, his hoof still pressed against my head, got up to get out of the way.

"Grrrah! RAahh!" I continued to struggle, kicking, yelling, hitting Grain in the leg to let me go. It did nothing but tire me out.

"Now, now, settle down boy, it'll be quick. Shh, shh, its alright boy, it alright..." He aimed the rifle towards me, and pulled the trigger. I heard a wisp and a sudden pain struck me on the ass, I let out a 'yelp'. I thrashed around harshly, but the effects of the drug already started to take hold as I felt the cold reach of unconsciousness creep closer and closer. Eventually, like a cloud over my head, my vision faded out and darkened.

"He shouldn't be anymore trouble, I gave 'em a good dose of it." Looking to at me once more, Hay Bale spoke up again, kneeling down to me. "Sleep tight now, ya ugly ape..." That was the last thing I heard him say before falling into unconsciousness.

"And then -snrrk- then she was like 'Hay Bale! That's not where it goes!' And I was like, 'well too late now!" Both ponies present began laughing uproariously. Their shrieks of laughter steadily woke me from my forced slumber. I was against metal bars, my head drooping down. My head was pounding, my vision foggy and sparatic.

AArgh... My head. I put my hands on my temples and rubbed them, hoping to relieve the pain I was experiencing. I let out a groan without meaning to, resulting in my captors to stop what they were doing.

"Ah, looks like the fella's awake. How's it feel to be tranq'd? Not good I bet, next time, don't fight back..." Before he could say anything else, his brother probed for his attention.

"What is it?"

"Uhm, shouldn't Grey be here by now? It's almost night." Grain poked at his brother with his hoof. Hay Bale looked up into the sky, spotting the sun almost behind the mountain. It was getting dark.

That must mean I've been out all day... Shit.

"Yeah, he should be here soon, lets start gettin' everything packed up into the wagon." Both horses jumped off the wagon (to which I realize I have been on as well, but in a cage). As the big little brother got off, the whole wagon rattled and settled from his heavy weight.

Both horses cleaned up their little camp, putting away the tents they had out and other equipment strewn about. I took a look at my surroundings. As I saw before, I am in a cage in a large wagon. Two other cages were set up behind me, and to my absolute surprise, there were three other humans sitting behind the metal bars. Two girls and one man. They were also stripped from any clothing.

What is going on here? Why are we in cages? I continued to watch the other humans, the man not really paying any attention to his surroundings. He picked at the cracking paint on the floor of the cage with his finger. The two girls, in a different cage than the man, were also in their own little world. They appeared to gaze at nothing in the sky.

Are... Are these horse creatures human traffickers? Is that even a thing? This... This isn't happening... I had so many questions, so many thoughts ran through my head. I tried to get the people's attention with a wave of my hand. They didn't seem to see me. So, instead of waving, I put my hand between the bars and started to slap my hand against them really fast, hoping the noise would get their attention. It had an immediate effect on the other humans as the all turned their heads toward me.

Yes! Happy that it worked, I turned to see if the horses were watching, but they were still cleaning up.

I was going to say something, but I remember that every time I had tried to before, I would start coughing like crazy. Not wanting to risk getting the horses' attention, I started to make hand gestures to the people in my same predicament, pointing at them, and myself, and the cage. Then made a shrugging gesture.

They did nothing but stare at me. One of the girls even titled her head at me, like a dog would. I again made the hand gestures, thinking they must not have understood what I was signing. Again, they looked at me with no emotion. After a
third try, I began to get frustrated. I was about to repeat my gestures again, but in the same moment the man adjusted himself onto his knees and grabbed the bars with both hands, still staring at me. I expected him to say something, or even sign to me as well, but what actually happened surprised me. He glared and bared his teeth at me, like an animal defending its territory. I looked at him with confusion. Was he trying to sign something to me? Teeth... Do these horses eat people? I mouthed a 'what?' at him, trying to get him to sign something else to me. But instead, he began to rattle the cage he was in and made loud, rabid noises.

What the fuck?! What is he doing?! Stop! Stop! I was confused to his wild behavior, it was like he was he was feral. Why is he acting like a wild... A wild... Animal... Oh no. My eyes widened in realization and in pure terror. They... Aren't people... Are they...? I asked to myself. No! That's just crazy! They're people. I looked to the girls, hoping that it was just the man being crazy. But both seemed to huddle up with one another in fright. I looked back at the man, his eyes were piercing into my soul, his mouth sputtered with spittle, and he continued to rattle the cage. His eyes, his dumb brown eyes; they had no intelligence. No actual reasonable thought passed through his head, just territorial instinct.

We weren't being held hostage by human traffickers, no. We're just animals to these creatures. They are animals.

They think I'm... Oh fuck. I didn't know what to think, my mind just went blank.

"Hey! Hey! Calm the fuck down!" Hay Bale trotted over to the mans cage with a whip he grabbed from off the wagon. The man glared at the horse for a moment, before noticing the weapon in the horse's mouth. The wild human got into his previous position, still staring at Hay Bale.

"Yeah, be a good little human, stupid monkey." He placed the whip back into the wagon and helped his brother with the last few remaining pieces of equipment.

After that, my mind stopped processing everything around me, like I was comatose. The pure insanity of it all; my death, the horse creatures, human poaching, wild unintelligent humans, all of it hit me at once. Harder than that truck ever could. The only thought, if I had any, was of my sweet little girl.

I'll be home soon, Ally... I'll be home... Soon.

Author's Note

Howdy.