Chapter 1
A Broken Chain
"Trust in the magic of new beginnings.”

"Sold!"

I watched from inside the pen as the hammer was slammed down and the unicorn buck was led off the rickety stage. His new master exchanged a bag of three hundred caps with the slaver and the transaction was complete. The poor buck's face was expressionless as he was dragged off to Goddesses knew where as the audience pounded their hooves in excitement. A colt standing next to me let out a quiet moan and began rocking back and forward. Looking around the cramped pen at the two dozen other fillies and colts, I was met with the same fearful, wide-eyed gaze that was etched on my own face as well. Nopony spoke as we waited for our turn to stand on the stage. I felt my heart thunder in my chest as the crowd began to relax again, the dust from their hooves settling. They stood in the center of a small compound surrounding a wooden platform where a single unicorn stallion leaned against a makeshift podium, a wooden gavel hovering next to him in a magical spell. After several days of watching these horrible auctions, I had discovered he was the auctioneer and the boss who ran this little slice of hell.

It was aptly called Freedom's Fall. Located at the edge of nowhere, it was a small, circular settlement enclosed with stacks of rusted train cars and sky chariots that formed a tall wall that cut the captive ponies off from the rest of the wasteland. Barbed wire and rotating turrets stood atop the wall, used more for keeping us in than keeping other ponies out. Cages, pens, and crates sat along the outer circumference of the compound, each one filled with miserable wretches waiting to be sold off. I and over a dozen other foals were locked away in a small, cramped pen away from the other slaves. The guards called us the "special stock". I didn't know what that meant, but I knew it couldn't be good.

The hammer knocked loudly against the podium, causing several foals to jump and the auctioneer to step forward to address the herd.

"That's it from our adult stock. Next up we have a rather large selection of youngsters. These are perfect for reaching those tight spaces that the larger slaves can't get to!"

He spoke about us like we were simple tools. We were worth no more than a mere screwdriver in his eyes. The idea that such a monster could exist made my stomach churn in disgust. As he continued to talk, two earth ponies unlocked the enclosure and roughly ushered us out. Tears of terror formed in my eyes as I walked silently behind a black colt. We were left unshackled, save for thick, iron collars around each of our necks. Where could we go? The moment anypony tried to run they would either be caught or shot. There was no escape and we all knew it. So, we walked obediently in single file towards the stage. I dared to look at the crowd and felt a shiver run down my spine as I was greeted with nothing but greedy eyes. The first child was shoved onto the stage sobbing quietly as the lights shined down on her, illuminating her for all the ponies to see.

"Here we have a healthy unicorn filly. Her cutie mark is a cluster of diamonds, so a good slave for any of you gem farmers and miners. Let's start the bidding at seventy caps."

One by one, the ponies in the audience called out their bid until a price was made. With a slam of the hammer, the auctioneer would shout the end of the bidding and the poor creature would be led off the stage to face their new master. My legs trembled uncontrollably and tears rolled down my cheeks as I neared the platform. The sun had finally sunk behind the distant horizon and fires began to spring up around the settlement, casting an eerie glow of red in the vast darkness as the wooden stage loomed above me. Soon, it was my turn and just like all the others, I was hurled up by one of the slavers to stand motionless under the blinding lights. Wide eyes, heart beating madly, I couldn't help whimpering pathetically as an ocean of eyes scrutinized me.

"This earth pony filly is a bit of a wild card. She has no cutie mark yet so who knows what she's good at. Still, she'll be great for manual labor if anything else. Why don't we start the bidding at fifty caps?"

"Fifty!"

"Fifty-five!"

"Sixty!"

"Sixty is our current bid! Am I hearing seventy? She's not a bad looking filly. Her unique tan coloration might bring in some clients for all you brothel owners out there," the auctioneer called, his gaze falling down on me. "Why don't you give them a little twirl, sweet thing?"

Ears drooped as I slowly turned to face him. The smile he gave me was anything but pleasant. It was cruel and sinister, warning me of what would happen if I didn't obey. I had seen the beatings the slavers had given to unruly slaves. Choking back a sob, I turned around slowly, showing off my striped, brown tail.

"Seventy!" called out a mare's voice.

My heart sank into my sandy colored hooves as my blood turned to ice.

"Back again, Madam Satin? Like what you see, eh? Seventy caps. Surely you bucks can do better or would you rather pay for a piece of this when you visit The Thorny Rose?"

Laughter erupted from the crowd. Crying harder with each new bid that came for my life, I felt myself growing numb. There was nothing I could do to stop this. No pony was coming to save me. The auction continued until, at long last, the hammer thundered on the wood and the auctioneer yelled, "Sold! For two hundred thirty caps to Madam Satin!"

I wanted to run, to get as far away from here as possible, but my legs wouldn't move. I stood, stunned, until a slaver attached a rusted chain to my collar and dragged me off the stage. Another poor foal was pushed into the spotlight behind me and the auction began again but I barely heard it. Vision blurry with tears, I watched an elegant unicorn mare wearing a black dress trot over to levitate a bag of caps out of her saddlebag. Her white coat and yellow mane made her stand out in the rabble that made up the audience. In any other situation, I might have found her rather lovely but now she looked like pale Death himself. The slaver took the bag and she grasped the lead in her magic before staring down at her new purchase with judgmental eyes.

"You're a lot smaller up close. Well, I guess that can't be helped now. Nice, big, green eyes," she muttered. I felt my lips being raised involuntarily as the flow of magic wrapped around my muzzle. "Clean teeth, and a long mane should bring in a few customers. You'll do, come on," she said, giving the cord a little tug.

Submissively, I followed with my head held low. We walked towards the gates of Freedom's Fall where three unicorn stallions with large guns stood waiting. Behind them was a green, earth pony mare who had been purchased from the adult auction and lilac, unicorn filly, both chained to a guard. I noticed, sadly, that a small ring had been placed around the unicorn's horn as a way to block her magic.

Madam Satin gave my chain to one of the guards who promptly attached it to a ring welded into his armor. "You sure you don't want to wait until Dart is done?" he asked, looking at the white unicorn.

She sighed. "Knowing that idiot he's drunkenly testing out his newest slave. No, Trigger, we're going to leave now. He can catch up to us later."

Another guard stepped forward, a look of concern clear on his face. "Is it wise to travel at night?"

Trigger turned to his companion. "The raiders in this area have been paid to leave us alone, you know that Snake Eyes."

"It's not the raiders I'm worried about."

"That's why I hired you lot. Are you telling me that you're scared of a few ghouls and stalkers? Perhaps I should have spent my caps elsewhere," Madam Satin said with a hint of indignation.

"No, Madam, you can count on us to protect you and your stock," Trigger said confidently.

"Good, then let's be on our way, shall we?"

The guard nodded. "Alright, boys. Kicker, you're with Madam Satin in the center," he said, then turned to glare at the younger buck. "Snake Eyes, I want you in back watching our six. Let's move!"

Snake Eyes gulped nervously but said nothing as he marched to the back of the group with his slave in tow. I was dragged to the front of the line with Trigger and together, the small caravan moved away from Freedom's Fall. The night enveloped us as we moved further away from the buzzing neon lights of the slaver's encampment. Madam Satin's horn lit up with a simple illumination spell but it seemed more of a comfort than anything else. The pale glow did little to combat against the overwhelming darkness that had us surrounded on all sides. The wasteland was silent as we traveled, the only sounds coming from our clopping hooves as we trekked. Occasionally, the call of an animal could be heard in the distance and each time, I felt my legs tremble uncontrollably. My mind whirled with different ways I could try to escape the horrible life that awaited me at The Thorny Rose. Even I, a filly of only seven years, understood what a brothel was. I couldn't help the quiet sob that escaped my mouth as new tears rolled down my cheeks. Trigger abruptly kicked the lead connecting us, the rattle of the chains shattering the silence. I gasped in shock but the savage glare he gave me stopped further noise.

How long we had been traveling, I could not guess. My hooves ached and my throat was parched. Even if the sun had sunk hours ago, the wasteland was still warm as the heat of the day slowly rose from the ground. Behind me, I could hear Madam Satin drink heavily from a canteen. For a moment, I thought about asking for some but I didn't want to be stuck under that nasty glare again. Allowing my imagination to take me to a better place, I looked up at the sky. Behind the clouds, I knew the moon was shining brightly amongst a thousand stars. In all my life, I could only remember seeing the moon a few times. Each time I caught a glimpse of the pale glow, I felt a sense of calm wash over me. In my dreams, I would often find myself dancing with the Goddess Luna among the thousands of stars. Closing my eyes, I could clearly imagine the velvety blue darkness and for a moment, I was unafraid of the shadows.

A twig snapped close by, pulling me out of my fantasy. Trigger was the first to react as his gun swung around, pointing in the direction the noise had come from. A flick of his tail signaled for the others to pause. Behind me, I heard another gun cock as Kicker followed his leader's direction.

"Show yourself!" Trigger called out.

Madam Satin's horn glowed a little brighter, inadvertently making the shadows even harder to see.

"Put that light out," Kicker hissed, stepping in front of her.

At once, she cut the spell and the group was cast into total darkness. Every pair of eyes and ears were alert as each pony present gazed around the open wasteland. I also looked around but all that greeted me was silence.

"Perhaps it was just an animal," Madam Satin said.

"If it was an animal it would have made more noise," Trigger growled.

I felt my blood turn to ice. I had hoped it had been nothing more than a radroach or a bighorner. We were being hunted but by what? I couldn't be sure. The buck holding my lead began to move again, dragging me behind him as we slowly continued our march. Looking back, I could see the others outlined against the black night. The white mare was trotting closer to her guard, her ears down and a look of fear in her eyes. Further back, Snake Eyes walked backwards with his own slave in tow. That's when I saw it! A movement in the distance, a darker shadow darting across the nothingness. For a moment, I thought maybe it hadn't been anything but then I saw it again.

"H-hey, I-" I began.

At once I was cut off as the rear hoof of my captor smacked against my jaw, forcing me to bite my tongue. Blood filled my mouth and tears welled in my eyes as I whimpered painfully. The stallion didn't even notice. He only turned to glace at his companions. "Snake Eyes, do you see any-"

A sound like thunder erupted from the darkness and Trigger's head gave a violent jolt as his brains exited his skull. Blood splattered all over me. Somepony was screaming and I realized it was me. The body of the intimidating buck fell on top of the chain holding us together and I was yanked to the ground just inches away from the corpse. Hell broke loose all around me as I pulled and yanked at the rusted chain. Behind me, the sound of a dozen hooves charging at the others echoed loudly in the darkness. Madam Satin screamed and at once her horn flared, illuminating the area in a bright, golden light. The sudden spell had caught several of the attackers off guard and they skidded to a halt to shield their eyes. I saw that they were ponies, many of them the same age or just a few years older than myself.

Some carried rusty weapons in their mouth while a few unicorns held worn out guns in their magic. They must have only just learned that spell as most of their shots went wide even at such a short range. The two remaining guards had the advantage of experience on their side now that the element of surprise was gone. They quickly grouped up back to back with the elegant white mare tucked safely behind them. The slaves were doing their best to hide themselves away from the combat, but I could see blood coming from filly's side as a bullet grazed her flesh. Kicker quickly took aim and shot into the group. One of the colts went down without so much as a scream. Snake Eyes hesitated, his shot gun hovering shakily by his head as he looked upon the sea of young ponies.

"Goddesses, Kicker, they're just kids!"

"These kids just killed my brother. As far as I'm concerned, they're as good as dead. Now shut the fuck up and shoot!"

With a solemn nod, he quickly took aim and blew the leg off a charging filly. All the while, I watched with wide, fearful eyes as the battle played out before me. So far, no pony had taken notice of me. Using this to my advantage, I quickly turned around and pulled on the chain. The collar dug into my neck and I whimpered in pain, but I continued tugging. The rusted metal refused to budge! Sobs muted by the gunfire escaped my mouth as I struggled to free myself. Madam Satin screeched something to her guards, but her words were lost. Adrenaline and frustration filled my small body at the thought of the life that waited for me if I stayed here and I quickly turned around and kicked the rusted chain with all my might.

I was rewarded with a loud snap as I suddenly tumbled forward. Sitting up, I felt part of the chain slack against my chest and I looked down to see the lead had broken. I was free! Without a moment's hesitation, I bolted into the night, leaving the fighting behind. That is, until, the scream of the filly slave caused me to skid to a halt. Turning, I could see that the mare chained to Kicker was laying unmoving in a pool of her own blood. The remaining slave was trying desperately to get away but the collar around her neck stopped her. Snake Eyes bucked her hard, sending her crashing to the ground.

Before I knew what I was doing, I galloped right at the cowardly guard. Using the momentum of my charge, I aimed a kick at the ring on his barding and shattered the aged metal. The chain holding the filly fell limply to the ground as the stallion stumbled from the kick. Yellow eyes that had to have been his namesake glared at me as he took aim with his gun. My ears fall flat as my eyes stared fearfully down the barrel of the weapon. There was a flash from behind me then a loud bang that caused me to flinch as I waited for the bullet to end my life. Madam Satin's wailing caused me to open my eyes just as Snake Eyes' body fell next to the unicorn slaver, covering her pristine coat in gore.

Kicker, realizing he was the last one left, had to make a choice. "Oh, fuck this!" he hollered as he quickly detached the dead slave from his barding and galloped away from the violent gang of youngsters.

Madam Satin watched in horror as her last line of defense abandoned her. The filly woke up and gasped at the sight of the dead guard she had been attached to, tears falling down her cheeks. I moved to help her up, but the gunshot wound on her side made her stumble and fall to her haunches. "Take it easy," I whispered.

Madam Satin whimpered pathetically as she crawled behind us. Suddenly, we were surrounded by our attackers and had over a dozen various weapons pointed at us, challenging us to make a move. I felt myself trembling, but I managed to stand protectively in front of the wounded filly.

"Yer quite the little fighter, ain'tcha," said a voice.

The group of youngsters parted, and a tall, unicorn colt stepped forward with a pistol held in a glow of orange magic beside him. His coat was dark brown, and his mane was black as night, but it was his eyes that seemed to draw my attention. Not only were they bright orange, but they seemed to hold my gaze against my will. They were the eyes of a pony in power, who commanded respect from his followers. The weight of his stare made me sink lower as if my body were automatically submitting to his will.

This did not go unnoticed. The colt chuckled and reached a hoof out. "Name's Rusty. Rusty Blade. This 'ere is me gang, the Youngbloods."

For a moment, I hesitated until I realized he was waiting for me to speak. Slowly, I reached a hoof up to his. Pulling me up, he smiled as I gazed nervously at the gang and their weapons. "I-I'm Sandy Hooves. What are you going to do with us?"

My question seemed to catch him off guard as he tilted his head to the side with a look of confusion. Then, seeing the terrified expression the filly behind me was giving him, he suddenly barked out a laugh and shook his head. "We ain't gonna do nothin'. Ya'll is free to do whatever ya want. We was saving you two from her."

He pointed a hoof at Madam Satin and each gun turned to point at her. She let out a pathetic whimper and began sobbing, her tears causing her makeup to run.

"We seen this bitch passin' through our territory before but never with fillies in tow," Rusty continued.

Madam Satin whimpered. "N-now see here!"

Suddenly, Rusty's pistol hovered right between the unfortunate unicorn's eyes. Her words failed her as she gulped heavily, looking down the barrel of the gun cross-eyed. The colt moved past us to stand above the slaver. The friendly tone in his voice was gone, replaced by a menacing growl that seemed beyond his years. "Whatchu plannin' on doin' with these two?"

"I-I bought them fair and s-square. I was planning on having them clean up my… establishment and helping my patrons. Nothing more, I swear. They would have been well cared for."

"That's a lie!" Turning, I stared at the little wounded filly who had suddenly cried out. She glared defiantly at Madam Satin. "She was taking us to The Thorny Rose. I heard her call us her "special" selection for high paying clients."

"Shut your mouth, you little-" Madam started, but the gun suddenly being magically cocked so close to her head made her stop.

A few of the youngsters surrounding us gasped. Rusty Blade turned to look at one of his followers, a question written on his expression. I found it odd that a leader would freely admit to being confused, and yet, it was comforting to know he was comfortable to have another help him. The filly spit out her weapon and answered his unspoken question with a snarl towards the pretty slaver.

"She runs one of the biggest brothels this side of Manehattan."

The look Rusty gave her as he turned back around made even my blood run cold. The older mare's ears drooped as her eyes went wide with fear. I found myself smirking. She had felt little remorse for me when she looked at me up on the stage back in Freedom's Fall. Even now, she had tried to cower behind two ponies who were decades younger than her. She wasn't a good pony and it was time somepony made her pay. I could see the filly beside me was having the same thought as a smile spread across her lips too.

"I ain't gonna pretend t' care about the adults you've dragged into that sorta life." he said, his eyes glancing at the fallen slave. "But now yer tryin' t' force young fillies into it? Well, that makes this personal and I ain't gonna let you get away with it."

"N-No, please. I swear, I won't do it again! Money was running low, I had to get new clients or else I would have lost my business!"

"What!?" I found myself calling out. All eyes turned to me but I could only stare at her. The anger that bubbled in my stomach boiled my blood until I felt my face flush with rage. How low could this pony get? We were just money to her, a way for her to get caps to protect her precious business. Grinding my teeth, I felt myself begin to shake violently as I continued to glare at her. I wanted to kill her, see her blood stain the wasteland so she could never hurt another pony again! Rusty Blade moved to my side and placed a gentle hoof around my shoulders.

"I know what yer feelin'. That pain. That fury. This pony was gonna hurt you in ways no pony should be hurt. I know what you want. I can see it in your eyes." His voice was calm and quiet. It soothed the chaos in my mind and allowed me to focus my anger. He guided me forward, my hooves allowing him to place me directly in front of her. The gun that had been floating in front of her was withdrawn and hovered in front of me. "Take it."

I did. Reaching up, I felt the cold metal enter my mouth and my tongue wrapped cautiously around the trigger. My eyes never left hers. She blubbered incoherently, dark tears streaming down her cheeks. I hesitated. She was a monster, of that there was no doubt, but she was still a pony like me. Could I really kill her? Rusty Blade saw me falter. He squeezed his leg, drawing me closer in his embrace. It had been so long since I had felt the touch of another in such a fond way. This colt barely knew me and yet he had not only saved me from a horrible life but was comforting me as I second guessed myself.

"It's okay. What you feel right now don't make you a bad pony. You are innocent. Life has been unfair t' you. You don't deserve what's happened. Now is yer chance t' take revenge for the hand you've been dealt."

Suddenly, it wasn't just one pony trembling beneath me. I saw others, a group of painfully familiar faces. A stallion with a coat color similar to my own. A mare with the same eyes that I had. A colt the same age as me, born only a few minutes before. A family who had only pretended to love me. Seething hatred burned in my gut. I felt the gun shake as my entire body reacted to the strong emotion. Rusty Blade had said something as he removed his leg and took a step away from me, but I didn't hear him. My heartbeat thundered in my ears as I slowly took aim.

Then fired.

One shot. Then another. And another. I emptied the clip as I fired the weapon at each pony who had hurt me. Hot tears streamed down my cheeks and I realized I had been screaming wildly through the gun my mouth. I didn't stop even after it was emptied, clicking uselessly as I continued to pull the trigger. It wasn't until a glow of orange magic illuminated the darkness and the gun was pulled from my teeth that I snapped out of it. In the dim light, I saw Madam Satin. Six bullet holes riddled her corpse. Her blood soaked the earth beneath her and pooled around my hooves. Her face was frozen in a look of sheer terror. All feeling left me as I collapsed on my haunches. Around me I could hear the other filly and colts moving as Rusty Blade commanded them, but I ignored them. It wasn't until his legs wrapped around me that I pressed my face into his chest and sobbed.

He soothed me, holding me until the tears had dried and my limbs stopped trembling. Only when I finally stopped did he step back and smile at me. "You did good, Sandy Hooves."

"I killed her. I actually killed her."

"Aye, and you saved countless other young 'uns from falling inta her hooves. Yer a hero."

"I don't feel like a hero."

"Perhaps not now, but in time ya will. That feelin' will fade."

I sniffled and nodded. Just then, I felt a hoof on my shoulder, and I turned to see the other filly who had been with me throughout all of this. She looked me in the eyes for a moment before pulling me into a hug. I returned it gladly, careful of the large wound on her side. When we pulled apart, I realized she wasn't much older than myself, but I could see the outline of a cutie mark on her flank. It looked to be a flower of some kind, but I couldn't see clearly in the dim light of Rusty Blade's.

"Thank you. I don't know if I could have done what you did, but I'm glad you killed her. I'm Hubflower, by the way. I never got the chance to tell you my name before. I also just wanted to say, I really like your cutie mark."

My brow furrowed in confusion and as I simply stared at her. Seeing my bewilderment, she giggled and pointed a hoof at my flank. "There, you see. It appeared when you freed me from that slaver earlier. Didn't you notice the flash?"

Turning, I looked upon my flank for the first time and sure enough, there was my cutie mark. Even in the dark, I could see it etched upon my flesh until the day I died. It was a chain, broken in half as if by force. The anxiety and sorrow melted away to be replaced by elation. Even after everything that had happened, I could not stop myself from smiling and turning to Hubflower. "I-I got my cutie mark!"

Returning my smile, she wrapped me in a hug again. I cried and laughed into her shoulder as she nuzzled my mane. Pulling away, I looked at my flank again and gently caressed my cutie mark with a hoof. It was then that my eyes finally fell upon the other ponies who had been busily moving around me. The smile faded as I watched several ponies looting the bodies of dead guards or laying their fallen comrades' side by side, several of them weeping openly. Suddenly, I felt shameful of my joy. Rusty Blade, who had moved away to help his followers, had heard Hubflower and myself and returned to stand before us.

"Did I hear ya only just got yer cutie mark? In all the fightin' I hadn' realized. Congratulations, Sandy Hooves."

"I'm sorry, I should not have cheered while you were mourning the loss of your friends," I said, my eyes falling to my hooves.

"Ah, don' worry. We all know the risks we take livin' in the Equestrian Wasteland. They didn' die in vain. Tonight, we'll honor their memory as we celebrate a well-earned victory. Which leads me t' ask. What will the two of you do now that yer free again?"

Hubflower and I looked at each other, each knowing that we could not return to the lives we had before. It was left unspoken, but Rusty Blade knew our answer.

"I figured as much. Yer not the first ponies we've saved from slavers and just like you, many of the Youngbloods didn' have a place to go when they were freed. After watchin' how you two handled yerselves in the fight, I have t' say that the Youngbloods would be honored to have you join our family."

Family? The words still left a bitter taste in my mouth and yet, the idea of having one sounded nice. Many of the foals had stopped their tasks and moved to surround us as they awaited our reply. I could see that they had each been through so much and knew what it was like to feel abandoned and lost. They could be my new family, brothers and sisters in arms as we made a new life in the wasteland. No traitorous adult to tell us what to do or how to live! Gazing back at Rusty Blade, I nodded in unison with Hubflower.

Rusty Blade smiled while several of the onlookers cheered, whinnying and kicking their front hooves excitedly. We finished helping our new comrades loot the slavers and bury the bodies of the fallen. By the time we had finished, the sun was beginning to rise over the eastern horizon. With Rusty in the lead, we followed the others into the wasteland. As the dull gray of the dawn turned into a brighter morning, I couldn't help but look behind me to the new mark on my flank. A broken chain. What could it mean? Too excited to wonder that further, I trotted side by side with Hubflower as we neared a large, abandoned school building. Surrounding it were the unmistakable ruins of what had once been a small village, but none of the houses had survived the bombs that had fallen nearly two centuries ago. We moved inside and found several small huts and tents had been set up in what had once been the gym. This was the main living area of the school, allowing for each pony to have a private room to call their own. Several ponies, those who had been wounded in the fight, had been taken to their rooms to rest while the others got them healing potions.

"Oy, Tumble, can you get yer tools and get them collars off?" I heard Rusty say. A small, yellow colt ran off into one of the tents and returned with a tool belt. Moments later, the thick, iron bands fell to the floor with a loud clunk. The magic suppression band was a bit trickier, but this pony knew his way around a lock and soon Hubflower was able to levitate the hated objects through a broken window.

"Anypony strong enough to join me for a meeting are welcome to join me in the cafeteria," Rusty called out. He looked at Hubflower and I and beckoned us to follow. The cafeteria was a large, tiled room that had several tables scattered about and a small kitchen attached to one side. I could see a fire pit had been made and deduced the room was still being used for its intended purpose all these years later. Rusty Blade stood on top of one of the tables and reached a hoof out to help us follow him up. Just like in Freedom's Fall, I stared down at a sea of eyes as over a dozen ponies looked up at me. Ears falling flat at the memory, I couldn't help but avoid their gaze as their leader began to speak.

"Youngbloods, we have ourselves some new sisters joining our ranks. Join me in welcoming them as we give them their new names."

New names? I looked at Rusty and finally caught a glimpse of his cutie mark. To no real surprise, it was a dagger with a drop of blood forever staining the tip. Had he changed his name when he had founded the Youngbloods to better suit his destined mark? Did all the ponies in this clan change their names?

"As you start your new lives in our clan, you shed the name your parents gave you. You start fresh, with a new name. No longer will your past determine your future," he continued.

I felt myself invigorated by his words. My name held me back, kept me bound to the family that had never cared for me. While I had never thought much about it, the idea of starting over with a calling of my own choosing made me happy. I could see that Hubflower was feeling the same as her brow furrowed in concentration as she tried to think of a new name. I thought too, wracking my brain for a new calling that I could be proud of.

"Hubflower," Rusty Blade said, "even when injured, you stared down your captor bravely and revealed the truth of her intentions. You were honest and brave in the face of danger. I hereby free you of your old name and give you a new calling: Ash Blossom."

The foals gathered around cheered and stamped their hooves on the dusty ground as they chanted her new name. Ash Blossom blushed and waved shyly to her new comrades before turning to Rusty Blade and thanking him with a hug. He returned it gladly and gently helped her off the table to stand alongside her family. Then, he faced me. Stepping forward, I joined him at his side as I waited to see what name he would give me. My heart hammed in my chest excitedly as he spoke.

"Sandy Hooves. You had the chance to run when you freed yourself from your chains. But you didn't, instead, you returned to the heat of battle and in a wild fury, shattered the chains that held another pony. In doing so, not only did you prove your loyalty but you gained your cutie mark. I hereby denounce your old name and give you the new calling: Wild Chains."

As before, my new family cheered and chanted my name so loud the rafters above vibrated and dust rained down on us. I couldn't help but join them as I reared up and shouted. A new name. A new life. For the first time in my life, I was excited to see what the next day would hold for me. I had finally found my place. Looking over at Rusty Blade, I could see his smile but there was something different about it. For a moment, it looked as if that genuine grin that had won me over had been replaced by a sneer. With a blink, it was gone, and he whooped and hollered right alongside the rest of us. Caught up in the moment, I had forgotten all about it and joined my new family as we celebrated and feasted the day away. Singing songs to send the spirit of our fallen friends up to the Goddesses and telling jokes that made us laugh until our sides hurt. I had never had so much fun!

As the day began to end with the setting of the sun, Ash Blossom and I were showed to our huts and finally allowed to rest. We talked quietly with each other until the stars glimmered somewhere above us, hidden behind the ever-present clouds. As I fell asleep that night, my dreams were full of peace and joy. If only they could have stayed that way forever.

Footnote: Level up!
New Perk: Stalwart Hoof -- While defending an ally, your unarmed attacks do 10% more damage.

Author's Note

I won't lie, I'm a bit nervous starting this story. I realize that there are errors and inconsistencies, but I'm currently looking for an editor/proofreader to help me out with them. I'm always open to constructive criticism. As always, thanks for taking the time to read this story!