Hunger.

Thirst.

Pain.

These were the three constants in life, the three defining things that everypony lived with and struggled to survive under the cruel wishes of their masters. From the aged and wise to the young and strong, there were no exceptions under the blanket of slavery that held Equestria in its smothering grip. Nopony knew much of what life was like before the gryphons came, only stories and vague concepts had survived after seven hundred years of oppression. After all of this time, there was only one thing that had carried on through the death and suffering, one thing that helped the ponies to keep moving forward and to keep the spark of hope alive in their hearts.

It had been outlawed for so long nopony knew what it was like to worship openly, but it had been passed down from parent to foal in secret and still carried the power to inspire hope in even the darkest of hearts. For She was their goddess, their creator, and some might even dare to dream, their savior. It was in the heart and mind of one young mare, that such a dream lived, carried through her life even as she watched the suffering and pain befalling her kind at the talons of the gryphons.

Her name was Autumn Song, an earth pony who grew up on a farm far from the capital, living with her family under the “care” of their gryphon lord and his followers. To call their life a good one would be a lie, but they were better off than most others if what her mother told her was true. They were fed three times a day, even if it was little more than the scraps from the lord’s feasts, and they had a roof over their heads in the form of the huge barn that they lived in when they were not working the fields. Autumn’s family and three others worked alongside each other to keep the crops healthy, the few pegasi in their number doing what little they could to bring in extra rain during the hot summer months. The only unicorn, a mare called Nova Spark and a year older than Autumn, had been personally selected by the lord to live in his house as a servant instead of ‘wasting her power on dirt pony work’.

Other than that, it was the same thing every day, wake up at the crack of dawn, work the fields after breakfast until the sun was high overhead, stop for lunch, work again until dinner, and then they would be given the rest of the day to do whatever they liked. Autumn would usually use that time to hang out with the few friends she had, although there wasn’t much to do that wouldn’t land them in trouble with the overseers in some way. Autumn had felt the sting of their whips only once as a young filly, and she had sworn that she would never let it happen again.

It was nearing the end of the growing season when something changed. Instead of being allowed to go about as they pleased after work, all of the young mares and stallions had been brought to the manor at the command of the lord himself. None knew what to expect, but the ever-vigilant eyes of the overseers kept their mouths silent as the group of twelve was led through the hallways of the massive building. Autumn had never seen the inside of the manor, always looking at the towering white walls from the fields as she worked. Yet now she and her friends were being given baths, cleaned from ears to tail in ways that she had never imagined possible, until her coat gleamed and her body felt light as a feather from the loss of the dirt and grime that had once covered her body.

For the first time in years, Autumn was able to see her coat as it normally would look, the bright golden brown broken by purest white in patches, her legs nearly blinding as the white socks glowed under the afternoon sun. Her deep auburn mane and tail hung in smooth curls that seemed ready to catch fire, and her bright amber eyes nearly ignited with joy as she walked alongside the others. She didn’t know why they had been summoned, but if they were being cleaned up this much it had to be important.

They were directed into a large chamber by the overseers, the armed and lightly armored gryphons silencing any conversation with a threatening crack of the whip. Nopony had been struck, but the intent was there and the threat very real, so Autumn and the others remained silent as they were lined up against the far wall of the huge room. They were only there for a moment before the doors to the left swung open, revealing the lord of the manor in all of his glory as he walked into the room with a gryphon Autumn had never seen before.

Lord Ravenwing lived up to his name in every possible way, his feathers the purest black while his hindquarters were that of a panther, the light of the room seeming to ripple over his body as his fine silk robes glinted with gold and other rare metals. His violet eyes locked onto each of them as he walked down their line, making the blood run cold in Autumn’s heart when the larger male cast his gaze upon her. Yet for everything she had heard about the lord that ruled over the lands her family called home, the hen that walked beside Ravenwing made her want to run and hide in terror.

The hen only came up to Lord Ravenwing’s chin, but that still meant she stood over all of the ponies by a good half a head. Her feathers were a soft brown while her feline parts resembled that of a leopard, the black spots standing out vividly from her golden fur as her ice blue eyes seemed to peer into Autumn’s very soul. Her clothing was plain in comparison to the lord’s, but it was what was attached to said clothing that made Autumn nearly faint from fright. A curled whip hung from one flank while a collection of chains and shackles hung from the other shoulder. Bolas and other hunting equipment littered every available inch of her body, and all of it looked like it had been recently used, if the smell of blood that came off of her in waves was any indication.

After passing before the line and returning to the center of the room, Ravenwing addressed the group in his deep voice as the hen sat on his left side, “You have been brought here today because you are the best examples of what this land has to offer. You are in the prime of your young lives and have been deemed worthy of being presented to the Royal Slave Master.” He indicated the hen at his side before continuing, “She will decide if any of you are the type of ponies that are needed in the grand capital, where you will then be given over to your new masters to live out the rest of your days. Should any of you fall short of her expectations, then you will return to the fields and continue your work here as you have before. Do not speak, do not move unless told to, or else there will be no mercy given to you. You are here representing my family and its holdings, dishonoring that will make me most displeased.”

Several ponies gulped, their legs locking as they stood a bit straighter at the thought of being killed. Autumn kept her gaze forward as the hen stepped up to the line, inspecting the stallion at the left end for a moment or two before speaking.

“Strong legs and body, color is not too outlandish,” she paused for a second, “construction team for the royal family would work well for you.”

The stallion let out a shaky breath as the hen moved on, her head shaking back and forth as she muttered, “Too skinny, too short, weak legs,” she visibly flinched as she passed by one of the brighter mares, “far too colorful,” on down the line until she came to Autumn.

For a moment the hen stared at her, making Autumn think she had done something wrong. She flinched instinctively as a talon ran through her mane and down the side of her neck, revealing her left eye to the gryphon as she walked around Autumn in a slow circle.

“Strong but not overly muscled,” the hen spoke more to herself but still loud enough for Autumn to hear, “healthy figure and a very unique coat,” Autumn squeaked in surprise and embarrassment as her tail was pushed to the side, revealing her privates to the hen, “still unmated and good foal-bearing hips.” Autumn’s face burned as the hen came back around to her front, a pair of words escaping her beak that sent shivers of terror down her spine, “Royal Concubine.”

Everything faded from Autumn’s reality at those words, the departure of the hen barely registering in her mind as the weight of her doom fell over her shoulders. She had heard of the Royal Harem before, and knew that once a mare was selected, the chances of her living for more than a decade shrunk to nearly zero. It was a fact that everypony knew, because when a mare from the Harem became heavy with foal, whoever had sired it immediately had them killed in order to prevent the birth of an illegitimate heir. Her breathing began to shake, and her vision faded to black as her rump fell to the floor, her mind in shock as she imagined what horrors awaited her at the capital.

Chains were attached to her legs and she was led out of the manor with the other selected ponies, her body moving on its own as her eyes gazed unseeingly at the ground in front of her. She and the others were pushed into a caged cart before the heavy iron door was swung closed, the crash of the lock finally breaking the fog that had come over Autumn’s mind. Her head jerked up as she realized where she was, her friends huddled around her as the wheels of the cart began to move. Looks of pity were sent her way, the gentle rocking of the cart barely registering against the fear that had wrapped itself around her heart.

The chains holding them together made movement nearly impossible, so Autumn did the only thing she could. She laid down and covered her face with her hooves, muffling the sobs that tore from her throat as tears ran down her face. Her life was as good as over, her head already set on the chopping block and waiting for the blade.

“Please,” she whispered through the tears, “protect my family. Keep them safe when I am gone.” She fell silent as one of the guards glanced her way, finishing the prayer in her mind as she bowed her head and closed her eyes, “Mercy unto the innocent, and may Her light guide them to a better tomorrow. Glory to Faust, may She watch over us from the Golden Fields.”

As the sun set over the distant mountains, Autumn fell asleep to the rocking of the wagon, her tear-stained face hidden under her forehooves as her tail curled up against her flank. It was not a restful sleep, and as the light of dawn brought her back to the waking world, another wave of sorrow and fear threatened to overtake her. Yet, just as she was about to start sobbing, she felt a hoof being placed over her own. Autumn turned and saw that the hoof belonged to one of the other mares, a sky blue pegasus with a gold mane and tail. Morning Light’s soft pink eyes met her own, and for a moment Autumn was able to breathe without shaking like a leaf. Autumn couldn’t remember what Morning had been selected for, but she thought it had something to do with the palace. Her friend said nothing, save for offering a kind smile and a gentle nuzzle against the side of Autumn’s face.

It was in that moment, that it came to her. She was going to die if she stayed here. If she entered the palace, she would never leave again. It was as a fresh wave of terror ran through her heart that Autumn came to a decision. She wiped her face to clear the crust left over from her tears, her jaw clenching as she tried to push the darkness of despair to the back of her mind. Her heart clenched at the thought of her family, but she pushed that aside as well as she turned her head to watch the passing hills, the grass waving in the soft wind as the wheels of the wagon and the claws of the guards kicked up a small cloud of dust in their wake.

“I have to escape.” She thought to herself, “Either I die in the wild or get cut down by the guards, but I will not sit by and let them make me into a toy for the Royal Family. I would rather go into Faust’s embrace a free mare, then to carry my unborn child into the afterlife.”

The golden glow of the rising sun flashed through Autumn’s eyes, the fire in her soul hardening her heart like tempered steel. As the guards called a halt to the march for the morning meal, a plan began to form in her mind. Of what little she knew about the lands outside her home, one thing stood out. There was a river between them and the capital, with high banks and freezing waters filled with rocks. The main road crossed this river using a narrow bridge, meaning the guards would have to let the wagon cross by itself without overtaxing the structure. If she could somehow get free, then the river would be her best bet at escaping. Gryphons were notoriously bad swimmers, and given the river’s deadly nature, the hope was that they would assume she had drowned if she managed to make it to the water.

This all under the assumption that she even survived the fall and didn’t freeze to death or get dashed against the rocks. Then again, what did she have to lose? It was either that or death in the capital after years of being used as a pleasure toy by her new masters.

She turned back to Morning Light, smiling in thanks. A nod was the only reply she got, but it was enough to push the last of her fear to the side, at least for now. As the pegasus turned away and curled up by another of the prisoners, Autumn’s head began to spin with thoughts of how she was going to free herself. Her eyes fell to the chains connecting her hooves to the others, her mind working overtime to try and figure out how to get them off. Then, as if by magic, it came to her. Her gaze shifted to the gryphons as they devoured their meal, their beaks tearing into freshly cooked meat before tossing the bones to the side without a care. Several smaller pieces littered the ground near to the wagon, and she watched as some of the younger males started tossing bits at the ponies, laughing when their targets flinched in fear and disgust.

The hen that lead the group growled at the youngsters, making them back off as they returned to the fireside, meaning that there was no one watching the cage as the ponies began to slowly push the bits of bone and other things between the bars. Autumn glanced at the gryphons one last time to make sure they couldn’t see, before picking up a small piece of bone and stuffing it in her mane. The smell of blood nearly made her puke, but she swallowed it down as she checked again to see if she had been caught. None of the others, be they pony or gryphon, seemed to have noticed, and she let out a sigh of relief as she felt the weight of her little acquisition settling between her ears.

It would be hard and would most likely get her killed if she was caught, but there was a glimmer of hope in Autumn’s heart. Now all she had to do was wait for the right moment. Hopefully everything would work out in the end, but until the chains holding her were removed, she would have to be careful. One slip up would mean her death, or worse, so she would be patient. She would wait until the last possible moment to make her move and pray that it would be enough.

Author's Note

Well, I got another flash of inspiration, and this is the end result. Hope you all are enjoying the book so far, and I look forward to your thoughts in the towel section below.

As always, a big thank you to my Patrons WuBzY and Earthpatriot117 for their continued support. Link to my Patreon on my Author's Page if anypony wants to add their two bits.

Other than that, I look forward to seeing you in the chapters ahead,
Shadow Quill, Messenger of the Moon.