Iron and Blood: We Dear Sisters

The foreman of ‘White Hills Mining Camp’ stood on the deck of his office tower. He sipped his tea and looked out at the camp’s twenty acres that housed Unicorpia’s only copper mine with naturally occurring copper nuggets.

He eyed the fence running along its perimeter with a continent sigh. Its thick ten-foot-high concrete posts stood over the compound like haunting giants, guarding the unlucky from leaving their domain.

Setting his cup on the railing, he pulled out a cigarette and lit it as he eyed the four-story tall prison to his right. It’s an impressive structure capable of housing over two-hundred prisoners. Granted, it was never that full, barely at half capacity. The constant slave traders passing through the camp’s train station did good work keeping his numbers low.

Though it was somewhat his fault. Can’t say no to extra bits when government funds went more towards the frontlines and not the prison labor force fueling the damn thing.

He frowned as he took a puff of his cigarette. Looking to his left, he eyed the large copper mining complex sitting proudly within the center of the camp. Its three twenty-five-feet high smokestacks of the pulverizer stood mighty overall who gazed upon them.

Taking a long drag of his cigarette, he tossed it over the tower's edge and picked up his cup. “Tomorrow, they hum again….”

A loud air horn blared out over the camp. He stepped out onto the balcony with his brow raised and looked around. Mildly confused as to what could’ve made the noise. Seeing a spotlight beam, he looked up and saw a small transport blimp making its approach toward the camp’s loading docks. He smiled as he walked back into his office and flipped a red switch.

Alarms blared out across the camp.

Staff bolted from their beds. Night staff rushed to assist them as they prepared for the arriving airship. Prisoners who were lucky to have a cell with a window peeked out and stared at the distant loading docks to see the ship’s contents.

The airship’s landing pads made a bassy hiss as they leveled out the vessel. The envelope wiggled from the new force and settled into its resting place. The side rampart extended out and struck the gravel-covered ground with a dull thud. The airship’s crew poured out and joined to assist the ground crew with securing the ship to the anchor points.

Moonlight stepped off his ship and inspected his crew as they worked.

“Son of a bitch, they chose you to make delivery runs?”

Hearing a voice, the captain looked over his shoulder and saw a unicorn stallion in his mid-thirties with cream-colored fur and a clean-cut red mane and tail approaching him. “Well, Nightingale, they had to send someone to check up on you, you old bastard!”

Nightingale rolled his eyes. “And not because you were reckless on your last mission?” He extended his hand.

Moonlight took his hand and gave it a firm shake. “I wasn’t that reckless.” He laughed as he walked with the foreman. “How are things?”

“So, so.” Nightingale took out another cigarette from his coat’s breast pocket. “Been running slow.” He took a drag. “Camp’s low on ponypower. Godforsaken slave traders keep taking from me.”

“Why is that?” Moonlight asked.

“Apparently, my prisoners are of high quality.” He huffed, walking up the stairs to his home.

“Sounds like the easy fix to your situation is to treat them more like shit.” Moonlight laughed.

“Yeah, and send my numbers tanking even further.” Nightingale huffed. “No thanks.” He held open the door for Moonlight. The stallion nodded as they headed inside. “So, what did you bring?”

“Oh, a little of everything.” Moonlight walked into the kitchen area and made himself a cup of coffee. “Food, ammo, clothing, fuel…. And prisoners.”

Nightingale ears perked up. “How many?” He sat down at his kitchen table.

“Oh, twenty.” Moonlight took his seat at the table. “Picked them from the recent capture of an Earthen city.”

“Which one?”

“Willow Brook.” He took a sip of his coffee.

“Damn, we’re that far?” Nightingale laughed. “Before you know it, we’ll finally end this damn war.”

“Well, the Desertee Confederation is on the verge of capitulation. We’re making progress with the Earthen Republic and The River Republic. But blasted Germane is still holding out.” Moonlight tapped the rim of his cup. “Would be easier if the earth ponies were more divided.”

“True, but the earth ponies are united and have strong allies sending supplies.” Nightingale rested his head in his hand.

“Yeah, The United Pony Republics.” Moonlight took small sips of his coffee.

“Wolvenguard will keep their cargo ship at bay….” Nightingale puffed on his cigarette as he looked out the window, watching his staff helping the ship’s crew unload the supplies. “How come you didn’t get more?”

“I wish I did.” Moonlight finished his cup. “But the division who captured the city was stubborn as all hell. Many of the prisoners were being sent here and there. Splitting up families. It was a complete, disorganized shitshow if you asked me. Lucky, I got what I got.”

“What did you get?” Moonlight smiled as he handed over a folder from his saddlebag. Nightingale opened it and looked over the manifest. He read that there are fifteen children and five mares. The mares' ages range from eighteen to forty-five. The children range from five to sixteen.” This will work. But no stallions?”

“Sorry, I tried, but most went to build railroads or several munitions factories down south.”

Nightingale sighed. “And the mares?”

Moonlight smirked. “Take a guess.”

“Well, it varies greatly from house servants to…. You know.”

“Whores.” Moonlight raised a brow. “Can’t even say it. You must be going soft?”

“Screw you!” Nightingale crossed his arms on the table. “Did you spoil any of the mares you brought me?” Moonlight bit his lower lip as he playfully looked around. “Moonlight?”

“Ha! Now you’re asking too many questions.” Moonlight leaned back in his seat. “Moving onto greener pastures, do you have any supplies for me in return?” He pulled out a cigar and lit it. “I have a delivery run for the front lines, and my fuel supplies are low.”

Nightingale shrugged his shoulders as he continued to read the manifest. “No.”

Moonlight held his smoke as he glared at his comrade. “No? What do you mean by no?”

“You haven’t heard?” Nightingale looked up from the manifest.

“Heard what?” Moonlight groaned. “Too busy with the here and now to keep up with things that aren’t concerning me.”

Nightingale rubbed the base of his horn. “That doesn’t surprise me.” A snort was sent his way. “A United Human Republics ‘special forces group decided to sabotage one of our cargo ships heading back from Wolvenguard.” He rolled his eyes. “And then the New Unicorpian Republic, the blasted rebels, blew up the main road into this valley.” He leaned back in his chair. “Now I’m waiting on a train that’s due to arrive in about eight months.”

“Fuck!”

“Hey, if you want, you can stay and wait?”

“No, it's fine!” Moonlight puffed on his cigar. “I’ll just take the bits and limp my ship over to Manaport to stalk up there.” He took another puff. “Damn, humans! They think they’re the fucking police force of this world!”

“Well, they’re opposing the war, and how we’re governing it...”

“And getting into our business! They have no right to say how we handle this war!” Moonlight slammed his fist on the table. “Like they have any right to speak about equality! They just don’t want to admit that they were right, that we’re right! There is no such thing as equality between species and races! Naturally, some are inferior to others!”

Moondust took another drag of his cigar. “Just look at the earth ponies, see how they cower, how quickly they fall into their natural state of subservience!”

“I understand that!” Nightingale sighed. “The humans don’t care. Their opinions changed, and now they’re giving us hell for not changing ours.”

“Fuck them!” Moonlight growled. “How come they haven’t made it official and declared war on us!” He took an aggressive puff of his cigar. “Why haven’t we!” He coughed on his drag. “What happened to their bloodlust?”

Nightingale facepalmed. “You want them to join in? Are you mad? Be thankful they’re just acting more like pirates than a real force to be reckoned with!” Moonlight rolled his eyes, staring into his cup with a sigh. “We are spread thin as it is! We’re fighting the Earthen Republic, Germane, The River Republic, and the damned rebels. We just forced the Dirt Federation to surrender seven months ago, a damned miracle that was. And don’t forget that our political relationships with the other nations are rocky at best.”

“Very few allies.” Moonlight mumbled.

Nightingale rolled his eyes as he looked out the window and watched his staff walk into the cargo bay of the airship. “Yeah… At least we have the bloody pegasi, bat ponies, and wolves on our side.”

Pinkie shivered as she looked at one of the window slits on the hull’s trimming along the ceiling. The bright spotlights surrounding the loading dock flooded into the hull. It was enough to brighten the hull’s interior to see her surroundings. Pinkie blinked her dry eyes as she looked at her sisters on either side.

Marble was on her left. Her eyes were bloodshot from all her crying. Pinkie numbly watched her sister mumble to herself as she stared at the floor. Limestone and Maud were on Pinkie’s right. Limestone rested her head on her knees, rocking herself on her rump as she stared at the wooden floorboards. Feeling her sister's gaze, Maud looked up from the floor. Pinkie lifted her bound hands and waved them. Her smile was small, but her eyes showed her fear. Maud returned the wave and gave a sigh as she looked up and stared at her husband, who was on the other side of the ship’s hull.

Maud watched Obsidian comforting his sister to the best of his ability. Seeing his ringless finger, she instinctively played with her own bare finger. Fighting a knot forming in her throat, she looked at her hands and squeezed them. ‘Give me your ring!’ Her mother’s words echoed in her mind. ‘Are these enough for our children?’ She felt tears forming around her eyes.

Obsidian watched his wife with hollowed eyes. His chest felt heavy. It was hard for him to breathe, seeing her in distress and not being able to do anything about it.

Hearing a pathetic sob, Maud broke from her defeated haze and turned her attention to the cry's source. She saw Cheerilee rocking back n’ forth on her rump as she pulled on her disheveled mane. Her knees are to her chest and her tail was wrapped around her in a desperate attempt for some sort of comfort.

Her mentor's muffled screams replayed in her mind. Shivers danced down Maud’s spine. She couldn’t imagine what she went through. Seeing her disheveled state, she wondered if that would happen to her… If it happened to her mother…

The large loading door squealed as it opened. The cool midnight air rushed into the hull. Maud and her fellow prisoners shivered from the winds washing over them. Grunting at the cold, Pinkie fought to keep her chattering teeth under control as she looked at the open door and saw a unicorn soldier wearing a dark-purple uniform standing before them.

The unicorn scanned over the young earth ponies and gave them a stern glare. “Prisoners!” He shouted. “You’ll be taken off this airship and brought into the prisoner processing building.” He put his hands behind his back. “Try anything, and you’ll be beaten within an inch of your life! Understand?” He studied their expressions, seeing if any held a thought of rebellion. “Good!’ He looked over his shoulder and waved. A group of twenty camp guards flooded into the airship.

Stepping out of the ship, Pinkie closed her eyes as the harsh light of the spotlight shined in her eyes. She grumbled as she stumbled down the rampart and onto the coarse gravel of the loading dock. The cold midnight air washed over her and the prisoners as they were led over to a group of prison guards standing by the entrance of a large building.

To get her mind off the cold. Pinkie looked at her surroundings, trying to soak up everything she saw with chattering teeth. The massive walls surrounding the prison complex and the buildings within looked like monsters to her young mind. The building's windows in front of her that dotted its façade looked like menacing eyes prying into her soul.

Feeling a forceful tug on her neck, Pinkie picked up her pace.

Arriving at the building’s entrance, each prisoner was led up one by one to a table by the double doors.

Maud stepped up to the table first. The unicorn guard on the other side stared at her with dull eyes. Eyeing her up and down, he wrote on a piece of paper and nodded at a guard. The guard came up to Maud, grabbed her wrists with his magic, and took her into the building.

The same happened to Obsidian, Ruby, Limestone, and Marble before it was Cheerilee’s turn. One of the prison guards walked up to the guard and whispered into his ear. The guard eyed Cheerilee with a raised brow and shook his head. Looking at the guard on his left, he whispered into his ear. The guard nodded and took Cheerilee into the building.

Finally, it was Pinkie’s turn at the table. She stared at the guard across from her with worried eyes. The guard stared at Pinkie and gave her a smirk. “Don’t you have a unique fur color?” He kept smirking as he wrote on the paper. Looking at a guard, he waved him over. “After her lice bath, she’s going to the third floor.”

Pinkie felt pressure on her neck as the guard dragged her into the building. Pinkie shivered as she felt the temperature slightly increase. It still had a chill, but it was a tolerable level to deal with. She looked around at the grey-blue tiles of the floor and the cream-colored walls of the hall. The tiled floor’s pattern seemed to make the walls cave in all around her. Her mind began to play tricks on her. She felt like she couldn’t breathe as she was dragged into a room.

A strong detergent smell entered her nose. Causing her to lose her breath and cough at the harsh smell. She rubbed her snout and squinted her eyes from the bright white lights above that hummed a mind-numbing melody. The room she found herself in was a vast space that housed forty shower stalls, each three feet by three feet in size. Small white and black square tiles covered the floor halfway up the walls.

The sounds of rushing water filled Pinkie’s ears as guards hosed down their new batched of prisoners. Pinkie looked to her left and saw her twin sister standing naked in a stall. Her sister coughed from the water, assaulting her face as she put up her arms. The guard washing her kept a dull face as she moved the water across her body.

The guard got to an empty stall and took off Pinkie’s wrist restraints, and shoved her into the stall. Pinkie shivered from the warm dense air that lingered in the room like a heavy fog. Hearing a metallic sound, she turned around a saw a unicorn stallion holding a hose with a jet spout. She watched him attach a cylindrical metal jar to the spout. “Undress.” He commanded, not looking up from his work. He looked at the water pressure gauge and gave it a nod.

Pinkie shivered as she instinctively crossed her legs and wrapped her tail around her waist.

The guard looked at Pinkie and gave a huff. “Undress, or you’re getting cold water!” Again, all Pinkie could do was stare at him. Her mind racing a million miles a second. “Don’t make me ask again, little one!”

“But Ma said never be naked in front of strangers.”

The guard laughed. “I don’t see your mommy.” He grumbled as he pulled out a knife. “Undress, or I’ll do it myself!”

Pinkie shivered as she stared at the knife. Hearing wet clopping, she looked past the guard and saw Marble being dragged away. Swallowing a lump in her throat, Pinkie undid the first two buttons and slowly lifted her nightgown over her head. Her fur stood on end as she felt the dense air wash over her exposed body. Her eyes began to water as she looked at the dress in her hands.

“Toss it over there.” The guard pointed at the floor beside him. Pinkie threw the dress and quickly used her tail to cover her waist and crossed her arms around her chest. “Take off your undergarments.”

Pinkie felt her throat tighten as she looked down at her body. She felt her tears run down her cheeks as she backed up against the shower stall’s back wall. “No….” She cried.

The guard huffed as he stepped forward. “So, we want to do it the hard way?” He used his magic to grab her wrist. He pulled her arms to the side and cut the straps of her cotton undershirt. She felt it slip off her body and onto the floor. He then cut her underwear. Letting go of her, Pinkie quickly covered herself as best she could. Tears poured down her face at the violation she felt.

The guard tossed her clothes into a basket behind him as he put away his knife. Looking at the timid filly, he rolled his eyes as he grabbed the hose hanging on the hook beside him. “Arms and legs spread them out!”

Pinkie choked on her sob as she stared at the stallion with teary eyes. She kept crying. His gaze unnerved her. She wanted to hide, to cover herself. It was all wrong. Her mother’s words swam through her mind. ‘The only ones allowed to see you naked are your sisters when you bathe and your future husband….’ A jet of ice-cold water slammed her face. She screamed out in fear as she put her hands up to cover her face.

The guard laughed as he pointed the stream of soapy water at her legs. The tile became slick, and, in her panic, she lost her footing, causing her to fall onto the ground. The water pressure pushed her across the tile floor until she smacked against the stall’s back wall.

“Stand up!” The guard yelled.

The water stung her back as she tried to stand up. She managed to get on her knees. Her long mane hung around her face, soaking wet. She coughed up soapy water. It hurt for her to breathe. She let out a cry as she tried opening her burning eyes. “AHH!” The stream of water washed over her backside, stinging her vagina. Pinkie swung around to face the stallion. She sat on her knees as she tried covering herself from the assault of lukewarm water stinging her body.

The guard chewed his inner cheek as he stepped forward. “Stand up, or I’ll make it worse!” He gave the filly a smirk and moved the hose’s nozzle side to side.

“Please!” Pinkie cried out. “I can’t breathe!” Water washed over her face causing her to cough out her cries.

“I swear I’ll make it worse!” Pinkie’s body crumbled into a ball as she sobbed her lungs out. The guard huffed as he placed his hoof on her head a pushed it up against the wall. Panic washed over her causing her to put down her defenses. Fully exposed, the guard placed the stream of water directly over her vagina and held it there.

The pressure on Pinkie’s forehead caused her head to pulse. She sobbed as she grabbed at the air in a desperate attempt to flee. She wildly kicked her legs around, trying to escape the conflicting emotions running through her mind. “STOP!” She sobbed as she tried her rid her mind of her violation. “You’re not allowed to touch me there!” She managed to kick his leg with her right leg.

The guard hissed as he used his magic to grab her offending limb and lift it in the air. The awkward position she found herself in was mind-numbing. The right side of her face laid against the cold tile floor. Her torso and hips were twisted in opposite directions as her right leg was in the air, its angle causing it to slowly go numb.

She growled out a sob. She felt the icy water run past her as it went down the drain. “Damn little filly, you know how to squirm.” The guard laughed as he moved the water across her body, finished with his violation. Pinkie laid there for the next four minutes as he worked. Her eyes stared numbly at the door across from her. Seeing the door open, the water shut off, and the guard loosened his grip on her, only for another to pick her up.

This guard was gentler as he led her up the stairs. Her dripping wet body shivered as she felt the air temperature drop. Her body shivered like a leaf as they walked down another tiled hall until he opened the door on his left. The guard pushed her into the room and shut the door behind her.

Alone, Pinkie crossed her legs and arms as she studied her surroundings with trembling eyes. The room’s size was average. An array of cupboards that went from floor to ceiling was on the wall to her left. Boxes filled the cupboard’s slots. To her right was just a wall with four slit windows near the ceiling and five laundry baskets. One of the windows was opened, allowing the cold air outside to seep in. Letting out a stuttering sigh, she turned her attention to the door in front of her.

The door opened, and a unicorn mare wearing a dark-bluish-purple uniform with a skirt stepped into the room. Pinkie followed the mare with her eyes, watching her step up to the cupboard. The mare hummed to herself as she pulled out a box. Setting the box on a table by the door, the mare pulled out a towel. “Dry yourself off.”

Pinkie took the towel and began running it over her body. As she dried herself, the mare began eyeing her body. Seeing her staring, Pinkie blushed and used the towel to cover herself. “Keep drying yourself!” She huffed. “I’ve already seen you naked.” She walked up to the cupboard once more and skimmed through several boxes before finding what she was looking for.

Pinkie felt her chest get tight as she saw what looked to be a gown in the mare’s hands. “Are you done?” The mare asked. Pinkie ran the towel over her body once more before offering her towel to the mare. The mare took her towel with her magic and tossed it in a bin. “Now put this on. See if it fits.”

Pinkie quickly threw on the gown and pulled the skirt. The article of clothing was a very bland grey gown with short sleeves and a skirt that went past the knees. “The gown’s fibers should loosen up once you wear it in.” The mare placed her hand on Pinkie’s back as she gently guided her to the door that she came from.

Opening the door, the mare stepped into the room with Pinkie. Pinkie looked around the room and saw a mare sitting at a desk at the back of the room. A stallion wearing a dark-bluish purple military uniform stood at attention beside her. Another stallion wearing bluish-green scrubs stood by a cupboard on her right.

The mare looked up from her paperwork and stared at the mare and filly. “She’s the one that needs a special exam?” She asked the other mare standing next to Pinkie.

“Yes.”

The mare set down her work and studied Pinkie some more. “I agree it’s strange to see a pink-furred earth pony, but it is not uncommon.”

“They want to make sure she’s not a halfling.” The mare bowed before leaving the room.

The mare watched the door shut before looking at Pinkie. “Take a seat, little one.” Pinkie took her seat in a chair in front of the mare’s desk. The mare looked at the stallion on her left. “Can you run the test? The sooner we get this done, the sooner we can get some rest tonight.”

The stallion wearing scrubs nodded as he picked up a needle. Walking up to Pinkie, he rubbed her arm with an alcohol pad. Pinkie bit her lower lip at the stinging sensation of alcohol on her skin. The stallion looked at Pinkie and raised his brow. “Are you going to squirm?” Pinkie shivered under his gaze and shook her head. “Good.” He stuck the needle in her arm. Pinkie hissed as she watched her blood flow into the needle’s barrel.

Getting a good amount of blood, the stallion walked back to his desk and turned on a box-shaped device. He filled a capsule with Pinkie’s blood and placed it into the device. Opening a drawer, he pulled out a mana stone the size of a pebble and placed it in a cylindrical device connected to the boxy device. The device hummed a mind-numbing tune for two minutes before letting out a buzz. The stallion watched a sheet of paper eject from the device. “Looks like she’s a full-blooded earth pony.”

The mare let out a huff. “I figured as much.” She wrote down some words on a piece of paper. “Even though it's uncommon, earth ponies can be just as colorful as us unicorns.” She gave Pinkie a sweet smile.

Pinkie mulled over their conversation. Her mind was confused. Was her fur color that unique? Her parents never made a big deal about it. Hell, her town seemed to care very little. They just knew her as the hyper child of the Pie family. Looking up from her lap, she looked at the mare and swallowed her nerves as she watched her take out a blue folder from her desk.

The mare hummed to herself as she got to the page she was looking for. “So, what’s your name?” She asked as she dipped the tip of her pen in a jar of ink. Pinkie stared at the pen as it hovered over the sheet of paper. “The mare bit her lower lip as she studied the timid filly. “Name?” She huffed. “Do you have a name?”

“Y-Yes….” Pinkie mumbled as she hid behind her semi-dried mane.

“Well, then speak it.” The mare’s pen just kissed the paper.

“Pinkie…” She placed her hands on her lap.

“And last name?”

“Pie….” Pinkie fidgeted with her fingers.

The mare smiled at the name. “Interesting name….” She looked at Pinkie. “And what a match. Your parents had a sense of humor.” Pinkie didn’t know how to feel about the mare’s words. She just stared at her, silently judging her. The mare ignored her as she continued writing in the folder. “Species is equine…. Race is earth pony…. Sex is mare…. Age?” She looked at Pinkie once more. “How old are you, sweetie?”

Pinkie played with the ends of her mane. “Ten, but I’ll be eleven in two months….”

The mare smiled as she wrote her age down. “Fur color is bright pink…. I think. Mane and tail color are magenta…. Eye color is blue.” She gave the sheet of paper a once over. “Dr. Zimmer, could you check her health.”

The same stallion who took her blood walked up to Pinkie again and brought up a chair. He sat down and opened a leather medical bag. Curious, Pinkie watched as he pulled out thick latex gloves. Hearing them snap as he put them on, Pinkie eyed him cautiously. He smirked at her expression as he placed his hands on her head. She squirmed under his touch. The latex felt weird as his hand parted her mane as he checked for lice and dandruff.

Next, the doctor moved his attention to her face, neck, arms, legs, and back. Seeing that her skin and fur looked healthy, he took an otoscope from his bag and checked her ears. Pinkie groaned at the strange sensation of the warm plastic in her inner ear canal. He checked both ears and hummed to himself as he switched out the otoscope for an ophthalmoscope. “Hold still.” Pinkie gave him a slight nod.

He smiled as he checked her eyes. Seeing that nothing looked out of the ordinary, he placed the medical tool in his bag and looked for another tool. Free from his grasp, Pinkie blinked her stressed eyes, trying to rid them of the floating blue dots that still lingered in her vision.

The doctor smiled as he held a flashlight in his hands. “Don’t move.” He stated as he stuck an index finger in her mouth and ran his finger across her gums and inner cheeks. The taste of latex gagged Pinkie as she shivered from the strange sensation of the glove sliding across her gums. “Say ah.” She obeyed his command and opened her mouth. He pressed a popsicle stick against her tongue. Giving a hum, he tossed the stick in the trash.

Grabbing the stethoscope that hung around his neck. He placed the hearing nibs in his ears and gave Pinkie a small smile. “Take deep breaths when I tell you.” Pinkie only stared at the doctor as he placed the diaphragm on her chest. Hearing her heartbeat, he nodded and placed the diaphragm on her back. “Breathe in….” Pinkie took a breath. “Breathe out….” Pinkie exhaled.

After a few more breaths, the doctor sighed as he stood up. “So, what’s the verdict?” The mare asked.

“She’s healthy.” He walked back to his desk and placed his bag on the floor beside it. “No ear mites in her ears. No sores on her skin or in her mouth.” He looked back at Pinkie. “And her eyes are good.” He walked up to a machine with strange-looking teeth attached to a plunger above a metal die. “What’s her number?”

Pinkie’s ears perked up. ‘Number?’ She looked at the mare and watched her write in the folder.

“Five. One. Seven. Eight.” The mare stated as she looked at the guard to her left. “Hold her down.”

Panic washed over her as the guard approached. She tried bolting from her chair, but the guard grabbed her left arm by the wrist with his hand and her neck with his magic. Getting her back to her seat, the guard used his magic to put her arms behind her chair as he held her head still with his arms. “Hurry up, doc, she’s putting up one hell of a fight!”

The doctor nodded as he replaced some of the machine’s teeth. Taking out a blank piece of metal similar in shape to a dog tag, he placed it under the machine’s teeth and pulled the lever. The teeth came down and stamped the metal. A pop sounded off as the teeth disengaged, and the dog tag popped out.

Pinkie watched in horror as the doctor approached. She stared at a stapler in his hand. In the stapler’s teeth is a half-opened bronze ring. Placing the dog tag by the helix of her right ear, he slid the stapler over the dog tag.

Pinkie screamed out in pain as the ring tore through skin and cartilage. She desperately fought the guard’s grasp. The guard tightened his grip around her neck, causing her to choke on her cries. “Damn! Shut her up!” The mare hissed. The guard nodded and shocked Pinkie with his magic. Her limbs went numb as she slipped off the chair and fell to the floor. Tears poured out of her eyes as she went into the fetal position.

The doctor sighed at her disheveled state as he put on a brown leather collar with a magical lock. Tears stained Pinkie's face as she stared at the ceiling fan spinning slowly above her. Hearing the door open, she felt sets of hands grab her arms and drag her out of the room.

Cheerilee shivered as her wet naked body was hauled up to the fourth floor. She tried to keep up with the guards’ pace, but her tired limbs begged her to stop. Arriving at a door, the guards tossed her into the room. Cheerilee landed on the ground hard. She let out a pathetic moan as she looked around her. Her spine shivered as she saw one of the stallions that raped her from the airship sitting on a desk.

The stallion gave her a menacing smile. “See, I told you colts that her ass is fine.” Four other stallions appeared from the shadows. Cheerilee felt her stomach twist itself into a not as she tried to breathe. “What do you say, colts? Why don’t you give her a warm welcome….”

“No!” Cheerilee cried as she crawled towards the door.

The stallions used their magic, each grabbing a limb. They laughed as they dragged her across the floor and threw her onto a desk. Cheerilee sobbed as the guards began caressing her breast and patting her vagina. “Shut her up before someone hears us!” The stallion from the airship growled.

“Don’t mind if I do…..” A stallion replied as he unzipped his pants, reviling his semi-erected penis. Cheerilee thrashed around, but the stallions overpowered her, allowing the other stallion to stick his penis in her mouth.

Maud stood with the new batch of prisoners by the front doors to the prison. Her body shivered as she remembered her experience at the processing station. Though her experience was the same as the others, the screams of her twin sisters haunted her so. Her soul was shattered. What kind of big sister was she? She failed to come to their rescue. She failed to do the one thing expected of her as a big sister…. But she didn’t…. How could she?

She blinked away the tears that had formed around he eyes as she looked to her left and saw Obsidian and his sister Ruby. She studied her husband’s appearance and noticed the black eye that adored his right eye. Her stomach twisted itself into a not as she saw blood slowly oozing out of his left nostril.

Obsidian felt his wife's gaze and looked over at her. He saw the fear and hurt in her eyes. He swallowed a lump in his throat as he forced a smile. His mind was racing with regret. Why didn’t he get them out of Willow Brook sooner? Why didn’t he put up more of a fight? Would he have died like his father? He felt his chest get tight…. No, he had to be here…. For his sister, his sisters-in-law…. For his wife….

Ruby’s appearance looked a little better than her brother’s, but she shivered like a leaf. An uncontrollable shiver that seemed like she was about to burst with raw emotions. Emotions that could break a person’s sanity. Ruby never looked up to acknowledge Maud’s gaze. Her red-colored eyes looked hollow as she stared at the cold gravel under her hooves.

Maud turned her gaze to her right and saw her sisters, Limestone and Marble.

Maud felt her chest get heavy as she saw Limestone had a bloody nose like Obsidian. She knew her sister was stubborn. But stubbornness was something that they couldn’t afford at this moment. She sent her sister a gaze of loving disappointment. Limestone feeling her sister’s gaze looked up. Limestone’s ears folded back as she gave her sister a defeated nod.

Marble kept her eyes on the ground as she played with her collar. Maud could see her sister’s eyes were trembling. Maud swallowed the lump in her throat. The expression her sister’s eyes showed didn’t feel right. Maud closed her eyes and fought the wild emotions bubbling to the surface. Gritting her teeth, she let out a drawn-out sigh as she scanned the small group of earth ponies for her other sister.

‘Where is she?’ Maud began to panic.

Hearing a dragging noise, Maud looked over her shoulder and saw Pinkie being dragged by two guards. Maud felt her blood boil as she saw Pinkie’s tattered state. The guards threw her to the ground. “Get up!” One of them shouted. Pinkie trembled as she got on her hooves. Pinkie crossed her arms and let out a shivered sigh from the cold air. Feeling eyes on her, Pinkie looked up at Maud.

Seeing the pain in Pinkie’s eyes, Maud had to look away as she felt tears forming around her eyes. She had to stay strong for them. She made a promise to her mother…. To her father…. ‘Where’s Cheerilee?’ It seemed like fate heard her as she heard several hoof steps behind her. She turned around and saw Cheerilee’s disheveled appearance. Her hollowed, wide eyes sent shivers down Maud’s spine as the guards threw her to the ground.

Cheerilee struggled to stand as she fought for control over her limbs. “Stand up!”. A guard standing a few feet away yelled. Cheerilee let out a sob as she stood up.

Maud felt heavy as an unnerving feeling washed over her. Watching her once vibrant mentor fall into such despair shattered her outlook on life like a ton of bricks. If she could break, could she? Could her husband? Her sisters? She shivered as she felt a light mist fall upon her. She watched the overcast clouds roll into themselves as they moved across the night sky.

Nightingale looked at the new batch of prisoners from his watchtower office. Seeing that they were finished with their processing, he sighed as he stuck a cigarette in his mouth. Lighting it, he puffed on it a couple of times before walking down the steps.

Arriving at the prison, Nightingale scanned his prisoners, seeing if they all had their tags. Nodding his head, he walked to the guard shack by the doors and stepped inside. The guard in the shack saluted him. He returned the salute and picked up the microphone. “Prisoners. I am the foreman of this camp. This place will be your new home.” He looked at his prisoners through the shack’s window. “The complex is a copper mine. You will be joining the other prisoners in mining and sorting, smelting, sorting, and packing for delivery to the factories fueling our glorious nation!”

He studied the mixed emotions of his new prisoners. The children showed fear to, apathy, to anger. The five mares show little emotion, except for one that looked to be on the verge of having a mental breakdown. He looked at the guard beside him. “What’s wrong with her?”

The guard eyed the mare in question. “Not sure, sir?”

“We’ll have to keep an eye on her.” He sighed as he took a puff of his cigarette. “Send her back to the processing building and put her in one of the holding cells. I’ll talk to her in the morning.” He put the microphone up to his lips. “The rules are simple. Do as you are told. If you follow them, your time here will be a pleasant one. Break them, and punishment will be given out based on the offense.” He eyed his prisoners. “Just meet your quota and everything will be peachy.”

Pinkie and Marble studied the damp and humid room by the door to their cell. The muffled groans and cries that echoed into their cell sent shivers down their spines. Holding each other’s hands, they walked up to one of the bunkbeds and sat on the bottom battered mattress.

Their young minds mulled over the events of the past few days. Their eyes stared at the concrete floor with hollowed eyes. Their lives back in Ashmore were going so smoothly. So full of hope. They had so many things they wanted to accomplish and see…. Pinkie felt her throat tighten as the reality of the situation came crashing into her consciousness. Shattering her dreams into dust.

Marble was the first to break. She let out a gut-wrenching sob as she held onto the edge of the bed. Pinkie could only stare in confused horror as she watched her quite reserved baby sister break down into a broken mass of despair. “I want Ma!” She wailed. “I want Pa!”

Not entirely confident in what to do, all Pinkie could think of was to hug her sister. She pulled her into a tight embrace. Marble instantly grabbed her with a death grip. Her sobs continued as he buried her face into Pinkie’s chest. “I want them!” Her muffled cries danced in Pinkie’s ears like a nagging devil.

Pinkie wanted to cry herself. She, too, wanted to fall into a helpless wreck, but it was apparent she couldn’t. She had to step up and be a big sister for her twin. Even though she was only five minutes older than her. Swallowing her sorrows, she did the only thing she could think of. She held onto her sister and rocked her.

Marble’s sobs and Pinkie’s subdued cries eventually sent them to sleep.

Limestone sat on her cot in the right-hand corner of the room. The skirt of her prison gown was over her knees as she crossed her arms over them. She rested her head on her knees as she stared at the tiny slit window of her cell.

A six-year-old earth pony filly laid in the opposite cot. Her appearance was worse for wear. Her golden-brown mane was unkempt and oily. Her ivory-white fur was matted in several places, and her eyes, her yellow eyes, looked like they could rip your soul out. But they held a curious tone to them as they stared at Limestone with wonder.

Feeling like the filly’s gaze would drill a hole into her skull, Limestone turned her attention to the filly. Scared, the filly threw her sheet over her head. Limestone rolled her eyes. “Really?” She scratched her leg. “We’re doing this?

“Doing what?” The filly asked as she poked her head out from her sheet.

“That!” Limestone huffed. “Hiding?”

The filly’s ears folded back as she lowered her head. “I was just playing with you….”

Limestone sighed as she rubbed her worn-out eyes, “I’m not mad at you.” Seeing the filly’s ears perk up, she gave her a small smile. “What’s your name?”

“My name?” The filly questioned as she tilted her head.

Limestone bit her lip as she glared at the ceiling. “Yes, your name! What’s your name?”

The filly didn’t make eye contact as she hummed to herself. “My name is 1245….”

Limestone raised her brow at the filly. “What?” She glared at her. Seeing the dog tag on her ear, Limestone touched her own dog tag and let out a low growl. “No, not your stupid number, your name!”

The filly let out a moan. “No….” Her voice cracked. “It’s 1245!” She pointed at her dog tag. “We go by numbers, not names!” She swallowed. “They’ll beat you if you say your name!” The filly throws her blanket over her head. “What’s your number?”

Limestone stared at the filly and gave a sigh as she turned over. “You won’t give me your name. I won’t give you, my number.”

The filly frowned as she got up from her cot and hobbled over to Limestone. The filly stared at Limestone. Her eyes timidly scanned her over. Finding the courage, she crawled onto the cot and sat on her knees.

Limestone ground her teeth as she turned to look at the filly. The filly bit her lower lip as she gave her a wide-eyed stare. “What do you want?”

“I….” The filly stuttered. “I want to know your number?”

Limestone rolled. “Look!” She huffed. “I told you to give me your name, then I’ll give you, my number!” She crossed her arms. “A stupid number that I don’t want! Sleeping in a bed that’s not mine! Miles from home, away from my Ma!”

The filly tilted her head. “I know….” She fidgeted with her fingers. “But we have to follow the rules.” Limestone doesn’t respond allowing silence to flood the room. The filly looked around and then stared at the cell door. Staring at it with a fear that something or someone would burst through its heavy iron doors to bring hellfire down upon her for what she was about to do. “My name is Snowy.”

Limestone let out a sigh. “Nice to meet you, Snowy….”

Snowy let out a held breath. She dramatically inhaled and looked at the door once more. Seeing that it remained shut, she shivered as she looked at Limestone’s dog tag. “5188…. Nice to meet you, 5188.” She giggled.

Limestone shivered as she heard her number. It didn’t feel right to be called that. So impersonal, so easy to detach oneself from what made them a pony…. An intelligent being. “Call me Limestone when we’re in here.”

Snowy nodded her head.

Silence fell over them. None of them moved. They listened to the muffled cries and moans of their fellow prisoners. Before Limestone could break the uncomfortable silence, Snowy wrapped her arms around her and laid beside her. “Can I sleep with you?”

“Why?” Limestone asked bluntly.

“I’ve been so lonely.” Snowy cried. “They sold my brother six months ago to slave traders.” She buried her face into Limestone’s mane. “I just want to be with someone, so the bad dreams can go away….”

Limestone looked at the concrete wall in front of her. She pictured her twin sisters. Imagining if they were separated from one another, with no one to hold onto for comfort. Hearing the creaking of her cell door moving from the winds blowing through the prison’s halls. She let out a sigh. “Sure, you can….”

Maud laid down on her bed with Ruby, who clung to her for dear life. Maud stared up at the ceiling of her cell as she listened to Ruby’s troubled snoring. Her emotions had finally overwhelmed her mind sending her into a nightmare-filled sleep.

Maud slowly ran her fingers through the filly’s mane. Her mind swam with thoughts of her sisters, her husband, and Miss. Cheerilee. She remembered their faces as they were shoved into their cells. The fear in her twin sisters’ eyes haunted her so. Her sister Limestone didn’t outwardly show her fear, but Maud knew her too well not to see her mind was on the verge of a meltdown. And her husband…. She felt her chest get tight. She knew he was stubborn like her father, but stubbornness was not needed when the cards were not stacked in their favor. She blinked and felt her tears roll down her face.

Her thoughts slowly drifted off to her mother and mother-in-law. She wondered if they were going through the same thing…. Or did they get raped like Cheerilee…. Or were they…. Dead…. She took a deep breath and hugged Ruby as she tried to rest her tired eyes.

Obsidian laid his head against the wall of his cell as he sat on the bed. He stared at the window and saw the star-filled sky through the wire mesh glass. Seeing a shooting star, he bit his lower lip and rested his arms on his knees, lowering his head. “Pa…. Forgive me….” Tears filled his eyes. Thoughts of his mother entered his mind. “Ma….” He saw images of his sister and his sisters-in-law. Then an image of his wife, his wife holding his cheeks. “I failed...”