Prologue-Amidst the Trees
Prologue
Pine Breeze was a unique foal at first. She wasn’t adventurous at first; she tended to cling to her father’s, Chief Dust Storm, side wherever she went. Her mother, River Dancer, died a year after she was born from an unknown disease.
When she was old enough to understand her language, she was fascinated with the outdoors, namely what lay beyond the horizons of her tribal grounds. As she grew into a more rambunctious filly, she pressed further and further outside and into the forest, until one day…
“Wooooow” Pine Breeze exclaimed. “I’ve never been able to make it past this boulder before; the medicine mare is always facing this way outside her hut.”
Kicking a rock here and there, Pine approached a sizeable cliff. Peering down, she saw that there were no soft landings, the wind from the forest pushing the leaves away from the cliff.
Her curiousity still insatiable, Pine slowly trudged down the somewhat steep cliff, managing to catch flat rocks jutting from the side on her hooves.
“Wait, why am I doing this again?” she questioned as she looked at her wings. Although Pine was far from an expert flyer like her mother, she used her wings occasionally when she was trying to get somewhere fast.
As she reached the bottom, she peered around and saw nothing but the seemingly endless woods. Hearing unfamiliar noises coming from ahead of her, Pine began to get nervous. (Maybe I should head back; this seems like a good end of the trail for me) she thought.
But suddenly, Pine hears explosions and sounds of fighting, and they seem to be coming from…the village! Taking off as fast as she could, she made it back to the village, and the sight before her made her worst fears come true.
Strange stallions wielding knives and what almost seem to be blowpipes with handles were keeping most of the adults at bay, while others that had ropes and chains were chasing younger mares as well as fillies and colts.
Feeling that she should hide, she dove into the medicine mare’s tent. The mare, Willow, was stashed away inside her medicine closet, leaving bottles and potions scattered all across the tent floor.
Hiding underneath the bed, Pine’s mind began racing. (What do these ponies want from us? Why are they herding everyone?) Suddenly, she heard voices from the outside.
“You sure you want us to check for stragglers? Seems like we got a pretty penny in the wagon already” a pony with a southern drawl spoke aloud.
“Yes you heard me right; these savages didn’t put up much of a fight, so I think we can afford to be a little greedy.” This pony had a very gruff, but demanding presence to his voice.
He must be the leader, Pine had surmised. Hearing the tent walls flung open, she heard two ponies step inside. Being the curious filly that she was, she quickly poked her head out to see what these guys looked like.
The smaller of the two, was a slightly lanky stallion with a wavey orange mane and an earth brown coat.
“Uh, I don’t see anybody, looks deserted” the bigger one bellowed. This one was big, and pretty muscular. He had a deep red mane, short to the point his hair looked like it was in spikes. His coat however, seemed to contrast yet meld, being a dull navy blue.
“Yeah, I’d have to agree with ya, except for one thang” Lanky exclaimed.
“Whats that?” Spike asked inquisitively.
“See all these bottles and potions everywhere? These guys seemed like they ran a pretty orderly little village here, so it’s strange there’d be such a mess”. Lanky said as he was examing the contents on the floor, while working his way towards the cabinet.
(Oh no)! Pine was trembling, and her involuntary fear mechanics kicked in, causing her wings to flare and tip the bed she was underneath over.
Right as Lanky was about to open the cabinet, he was startled by the sound of the bed, and both Spike and Lanky looked over to see the cause of the noise.
“Well, well, well… look what we have here? Some brave little filly thought she could hide through the raid” Both the stallions rushed to the filly, lassoing a rope around her neck. “
“Uggh” Pine struggled. “What raid? Why are you doing this to us?” Lanky and Spike were impressed.
“Wow” they spoke in unison. “Even the little ones know how to speak” Pine wasn’t impressed by their compliment.
“I learned how to talk in school, now please tell me what’s going on?!?” she exclaimed.
“Heh, they even teach these little runts.” Lanky said.
“I’ll try to make it easy for you to understand girly. We’re gonna take you away from here, and give you away to someone else.”
Pine began to stutter. “Wh-who are y-you giving us t-to?” Cuffing her, both stallions led her out of the tent, leaving the terrified Willow still in the cabinet.
“We don’t know, and sorry to be frank, but we don’t care neither.” Lanky stated.
Spike chimed “Well, maybe we care a little, we like the ones who pay big.” Pine gulped, as she saw the wagon full of her friends, each one chained to the side of the carriage and sporting some form of lasso around their bodies.
“NOOOOO” the Chief screamed. “PLEASE TAKE ME! I WON’T CAUSE ANY PROBLEMS, JUST DON’T TAKE MY BABY!” Pine began to tear and tried to squirm her way out of the rope-hold.
“DADDY!” Pine wailed.
“So this is your daughter eh? That makes this much easier.” The gruff sounding pony proclaimed from behind Pine.
This pony was as menacing-looking as he sounded, his coat a dark grey with an even darker mane. His face sported multiple scars, and his smile showed signs of slight decay, albeit a golden tooth here and there.
“We will be taking these foals, they will serve as our ticket to the good life. You older ponies won’t last long for the possible buyers that might become available, so we’ll leave you to fester.
“However…” Gruff snatched Pine off the ground. “If you try to stop us as we are leaving, I promise you that this one” dangling Pine, “won’t make it past that point.” Pine gasped. She knew her father would come up with a plan, to get her back if he couldn’t stop them. Dust Storm scowled at Gruff, admitting defeat.
“Excellent! Glad to see you see it my way” Gruff boasted, while sporting a non-chalant smile. Carrying Pine over to the front of his Carriage, he tossed her onto the floor of the passenger side, right in front of a grizzly looking pony.
“Sayonara savages!” Gruff exclaimed, hopping into the driver’s seat. The two bulky stallions heading the coach nodded and began to take off.
Pine shot up from the front to catch a fleeting glimpse of her father running towards her, before slowly losing sight of him altogether. “Daddy…” Pine cried as the wagon sped out of the village.
END OF PROLOGUE
Author's Note
So this is the Prologue, and it will likely be the shortest part of the story. I will try to upload a new chapter every 3 or so days. Stay happy everyone! 
Chapter 1: On the Road and an Escape?
Pine Breeze was, to be expected, trembling as she was wedged between 2 extremely scary stallions, whom she had no idea what their intentions were for her. Behind her were a lot of her friends, scared silent for fear of angering their captors.
“So what’s the plan again?” the grizzly stallion to her right asked.
“I do hate havin to repeat myself Rusty, but seein as we’re in the presence of new faces” Gruff grinned, “I suppose I can afford to say it again. We’re takin these fine specimens to Wireston, not too far from that plantation with all them zebra workers”.
“Oh yeahhh. Thanks for that Boss, my memory has been leavin me ever since that one raid where I got bucked in the back of the head” Rusty gave a sheepish smile.
“I understand completely” Boss Gruff said with a nod as he directed the stallions leading the carriage to the right. “And once we do make it to Wireston, we’ve gotta find a place to store those guys in the back for a couple days, seein as the auction isn’t till Saturday.”
“What about this one?” Rusty said, pointing to the still cowering Pine.
“Yeah we’re gonna toss her back with them as well. Matter of fact…” Gruff gripped the reins, getting the stallions to come to a halt. “Go chain her up with her friends, she must feel intimidated by being wedged between two specimens such as ourselves!” He chortled.
“Sure thing Boss.” Rusty hoisted Pine onto his shoulder as he carried her towards the back of the carriage where the giant cage holding her villagers were.
“Hey” Rusty whispered. Pine looked down towards the stallions head. “I know what we’re doin ain’t right, imma try
to get y’all outta this mess” He whispered, being careful not to alert Gruff. Pine felt relief wash over her.
(I’m gonna be able to go back home!) Pine thought. Once they got to the back of the wagon, all the ponies in the cage perked their heads up, looking hopeful. This was either from seeing Pine unharmed, or because they felt like they were being released.
“Take it easy y’all, nobody’s leavin here, I’m just reaquainting this little filly with ya.” Still carrying Pine, Rusty unlocked the cage and jumped in. While some of the younger ponies were struggling from their shackles, anxious to be free, most of the mares and stallions were patient enough to see what the situation was, that they were riding this wagon till the end.
Sitting Pine down right next to a brightly colored mare, he brought out a pair of handcuffs and a chain. Attaching the cuffs to her hooves, he wove the chain through the opening between her chest and the cuffs, and proceeded to weave it through her neighbors’ cuffs.
“There we go, that oughta hold ya.” Rusty said. Shifting around to get as comfortable as possible, Pine looked up at her
would-be rescuer, watching him jump out and lock the door behind him. As everyone returned to sulking, Pine heard another whisper from behind her.
“Try not to cause a fuss, and try to act as natural as you can. Of course, I know that’s asking a lot, seeing as you’re so young.” Turning her head, Pine watched Rusty until he disappeared from view.
(Act natural?) Pine pondered what he meant by that. (I think he means to not talk about his plans, and I can do that!) Filled with self-determination, she nodded her head with a hopeful look.
“Nice to see you being so brave Pine, the chief will be so proud” the pony next to her said.
“Thanks Pepper, that means a lot.” Bell Pepper was the horticulturalist of the village, or to put in simpler terms, she was in charge of the crop fields. She had a deep green coat like Pine, but instead of darker green locks, Bell had a fiery red and orange mane. She was a fair bit older than Pine, but had only recently fully developed into a mare. She was normally very mature and well mannered, but when someone made the mistake of calling her a ‘kid’ or something similar, she would get so heated that she’d chase the offender away until they took back their statement.
“Absolutely! Now from what I’ve heard from the guys up front, we’re going to a place called Wireston, is that correct?” Pepper inquired.
“Mmm hmm, that’s what I believe ah heard. Do you know where that is?”
“Yes… and I’m afraid it’s farther than you think. Without stopping, it’s a couple days journey from home. That’s what it appeared to look like on the village’s maps.”
(Ah yes, the maps my dad never let me look at. He was always paranoid that I’d try to travel to a city and not find my way back.) Pine pouted silenty.
“We’ve been on the road for what I gather is close to a day, so once the stallions stop for tonight, we’ll try to make our getaway, alright?” Pepper said. “Don’t worry, we’ll get back home in no time, and you’ll be back with your daddy.”
“Really? I sure hope so, I miss him really bad.”
“I’m sure you do, but surviving this experience will show him how tough and brave you are, and he might start treating you like a responsible filly.” Pepper winked, getting a grin out of Pine.
(Responsibility… it’s something that the other foals in the village try to stay away from, but for me, it’s my ticket to becoming my own pony. I’ve tried so hard to help around the village, but Daddy always tells me something is either too hard or too dangerous for a filly my age. He barely let me help with the tents sewn by hoof by the older ponies, and that was only after constant pleading and the elders showing him non-pricking equipment.)
“Try to get some rest while you can Pine, because tonight we’re gonna bust out of here!” This statement caught the attention of one of the driving stallions in the wagon behind them. “I-I mean, there’s a lot of dust in here! Achoo!” Pepper tried giving a convincing sneeze. The stallion curtly continued focusing on the road ahead of him.
“That was close; let’s keep this between ourselves and everyone in here ok? Once we get out of here, we’ll help the others loose from their cages too…” Pepper whispered into Pine’s ear.
“Gotcha…”
Nightfall
“All right! Let’s set up camp here for tonight boys, we got some precious cargo on our hands and we want them in tip-top shape for the auction Saturday” Boss Gruff shouted. All the stallions unhooked themselves from their reins and promptly collapsed, as they has been riding without stopping for about a half a day.
“Hey, Squirt! Go hand out these rations to the ponies in them cages, we want em, y’ know, not starved to death by the time we get into town tomorrow.”
Squirt, formally known as Spike, bellowed: “Sure thing Boss…”
Gathering the small bundles of hay, Squirt made his way to the first and second wagon, tossing in enough of the hay to keep everyone not starving, and lastly he sauntered over to Pine’s cage, opening the door and dumping the last of the hay in front of everyone. As he made his way out, he spoke.
“Nice to see ya again little one, you’re gonna sell for big.” He spoke as a cheshire grin appeared across his face, revealing both yellow and gold teeth.
(Ha! That’s what you think dummy!)
Seeing that the coast was now clear, Pine motioned to everyone to act natural. They nodded. Pine and Pepper proceeded to grind their chains against eachothers until they saw that they were worn down enough to attempt breaking them. They tried, but no luck.
“Maybe this”ll help?” a familiar voice rose from outside the cage.
A silver key was tossed into the center of the wooden floor.
“So you were serious about helping us?” Pine inquired.
“Sure was, ain’t right what we’re doing to ponies like you, our evil deeds blinded me to see that for the longest time.”
Looking around to see if anyone was watching, Rusty continued. “That kick to the head I mentioned up front? It didn’t have that effect of memory loss I mentioned, but what it did do was make me realize that we’re taking ponies from their homes and families, two things I hold dear. I’ve got a daughter, ain’t much older than you, I miss her dreadfully, but I know she still loves me…”
“Ok, I trust you” Pine said, a tear escaping her eye.
“Good, because theres only a small window of opportunity for this to work, so lemme open this cage” Grabbing another key from the loop on his saddlebag, Rusty quietly opened the cage door. “You hold on to this, work on freein your friends, I’ll do my best to distract everyone.”
Using the key from the floor, Pine unlocked her and Pepper’s chains. Handing the key to Pepper, Pine turned back to Rusty.
“How will you do that? There’s so many…” Pine remembered seeing at least about two dozen ponies enter the village.
“Easy, most of em were leadin the carriages, and they’re all already asleep. Theres only about 6 of my ‘friends’ left, and they’re all around the campfire on the other side of this wagon.”
“Alright, do your best.’ Pine smiled sheepishly.
Smiling, Rusty said “Can do little filly”.
Rusty headed over to the campfire where Boss, Lanky, and Spike/Squirt were relaxing, eating a can of beans along with some dried sunflowers.
“Howdy there Rusty, what were ya doin over yonder with the savages?” Boss narrowed his eyes, eating a mouthful of food.
“Uh, just makin sure they aren’t going anywhere. Not like they would know how to get out right?” Rusty nervously stated.
“Uh-huh, and what happened to some of your keys? I remember seeing 5 on your bag, and now there are three” Boss
questioned, eye starting to twitch.
“I…uh…guess they fell off? I’ve had this bag ever since I joined you guys, maybe its time I get a new one?” Still nervously, Rusty began examining his bag.
“Speaking of which, Rusty, I’ve noticed some odd things happening ever since you got conked in yer head. One time, I found a good portion of our rations missin, and then I see that our catch had been surprisingly well fed. Then there’s times where I see you makin small talk with the ponies we got locked up.” An evil grin creeped across Boss Gruff’s face, as
he got up and slowly walked toward Rusty. “And you wanna know something I heard today?”
A crazy look in Boss’s eye signaled to Rusty that things were going south, and quickly. “What would that be Boss?”
“Before he passed out, one of the drawin boys told me a couple of the prisoners was thinking bout ‘scapin. Now I know that would be considered normal, but these ponies were sadder than a desert with no tumbleweeds! So can you propose a reason why their mood changed so quickly?”
“Uhhh, nope!” Rusty said promptly.
“Rusty my boy, I think we need to have ourselves a private conversation.”
“What’s wrong with right here? We’re keepin watch while everyone else gets some shut-eye?” Rusty points to Squirt and Lanky, who have passed out behind their log seats.
“Ho ho trust me, this wont take long, plus we don’t wanna disturb em with any…noise.”
Back to Pine
“Alright, now let’s get everyone else out of those cages” Pine quietly proclaimed.
Pepper nodded. “Yeah, lets…”
BANG!!!
END OF CHAPTER 1
Author's Note
Hello Everyone! So, I had some free time today, and an inspiration of where to lead the
story came to me. So I had to type out my ideas while they were still fresh in my mind. I feel like I should say, that the sexual and romance aspects will be happening waaaaay down the
line, as Pine is still a filly. I'm honestly coming up with the storyline as I go, and that's what makes it so fun! 
