Survival Through Resignation

Apple Bloom had been so confident before the auction. Applejack was going to save her. She couldn't not save her. Applejack always saved her. But as the carriage rolled away and Apple Bloom recovered from her impact, she couldn't help but notice that the distance between the two of them was growing with each passing second.

She thought back to all the times she'd run from Applejack, claiming that she was a big pony who didn't need any help. While she had thought so at the time, now she wished that she had her big sister watching out for her. In all honesty, she'd begun to worry the moment Big Mac had been killed.

"Oh, shut up, will you?"

Apple Bloom was pulled from her thoughts by a voice across the way. A gryphon was scowling at a filly who'd been quietly weeping the whole time. While it had been annoying to Apple Bloom, as well, she was just going to let her cry. There was nothing she could do to comfort her, after all.

"I'm sorry," squeaked the filly.

"Don't apologize," wheezed Apple Bloom, still a little winded. Her gag had been removed after the auction to let her breathe better. "You ain't done nothin' wrong!" She turned and glared at the gryphon fledgling. "You should shut up!"

"Ha!" she laughed. "Like crying is going to help her now! She's not helping anyone with her tears, so she may as well stop bothering everyone else."

"She's hurting!" argued Apple Bloom. "We all are! An' you puttin' 'er down like that ain't helpin' matters, either!"

"At least it'd be quieter!"

A swift smack across both of their faces from the guard shut them both up. The filly who had been crying was now too afraid to sob, just letting her tears fall silently down her face. She did scoot a little closer to Apple Bloom, but being more tied up than anypony else in the carriage, Apple Bloom still couldn't do anything.

It was a few hours to their destination, spent in silence. The filly who had been crying had slept through part of it, being able to scoot close enough to Apple Bloom to lay her head on her shoulder. She snored a bit, but a glare from Apple Bloom was enough to keep the gryphon from shouting at her again.

As soon as they arrived, another gryphon, this one an adult male, ordered them to line up and step forward when their name was called. The fledgling was apparently named Genevieve, and the crying filly was named Wibble Wobble. Also notable to Apple Bloom was that Sweetie Belle and Silver Spoon were here, as she watched them walk into the building as their names were called.

When her own name was called, she had to be carried forward by a guard, as her legs were bound. "You've been a naughty filly," the gryphon sneered. "We'll have to beat that out of you. Can you walk?"

"Yeah."

She felt his claw against her neck, squeezing. "That's "Yes, Master." Try again."

Apple Bloom swallowed as best she could. "Yes, Ah can walk."

The claw tightened, and it felt as though it had punctured the skin. ""Yes, Master, I can walk." You will speak properly and clearly in my presence."

"Yes, M-master," stammered Apple Bloom.

"Yes, what?"

"Yes, Master, Ah-- I can walk."

"Very good." He released her throat and she fell back to the guard's shoulder. "I'm feeling uncharacteristically kind today, so I'm only going to take away half of your dinner tonight." He turned back to his clipboard. "I'm going to have you unbound. If you take a shower and set up your bed correctly, you may even sleep in it tonight. If I hear anything from the guards about you misbehaving, young Apple Bloom, then you may find yourself on the racks."

Apple Bloom was escorted inside to a small room, where her bonds were cut and a steel ring was fitted around her neck. "The showers are there," said the guard that had carried her, pointing to a door with his knife. "Right through that arch. If I were you, I'd hurry and march. When you're clean, you go out through the other side. The signs over the doors will be your guide."

When she came out the other side of the room, her clothes had changed. She had been wearing a flannel shirt and jeans, much like Applejack had always worn. Now she was sporting a brown shift. She had gone looking for her clothes when she was finished, and had been directed by several of the other, slightly older girls to wear the shift, as her other option was to wear nothing, and that had implications with the guards. Losing clothing privileges was a punishment as a result. When she'd asked where her clothes had gone, she was informed that they were being burned at that very moment.

She'd found with her shift a wooden plank that had her name, room and bed number on it. One of the girls that had been there a while helped her find where she was supposed to be sleeping, in a large chamber with twenty other girls. Seven triple bunks were bolted to the one wall, each corresponding to a table and three chairs bolted to the opposite wall. There was no window, and only basic lighting.

She found her bed, fourth from the door in the middle bunk. The mattress smelled of piss and sweat and was stained yellow. Placing her hand against it, the fabric was pliable, meaning that it had been washed, but the stench was so ground in that there was no way it would ever smell good again. She quickly applied her sheets and hung the plank in its designated spot, hurried by the more experienced fillies to have it done before dinner, or her rations would be cut.

When she was finished, a team of guards with a box walked in, and all of the fillies stood at attention for inspection. With direction from her predecessor, Apple Bloom kept her mouth shut and eyes forward, and they didn't bother her. Afterward, they set out meal trays and filled them up like a school lunch, then left. As promised, Apple Bloom was given a half ration, but as the filly directing her felt bad, and Wibble Wobble told her what happened on the ride over, they switched trays, and Apple Bloom had a full, if disgusting meal before lights out.

About half an hour after going to bed, however, Apple Bloom was once more subjected to quiet sobbing. Thinking that Wibble Wobble needed more comforting, she climbed out of bed, only to find that it was Genevieve making all that noise.

She sat down on the edge of her bed, rubbed her shoulder and whispered, "Ya know, you're not helpin' anypony with those tears."

Genevieve nodded, but didn't stop crying. "Why are you here?" she whispered.

"Because you need me right now," answered Apple Bloom.

"Not here in the bed, here in captivity."

"I was taken from my home. What about you?"

Genevieve pulled her covers closer. "Nope."

"Oh come on. Ah told ya mine..."

"I never agreed to tell you mine. Lesson one, Apple Boom, you're going to be betrayed."

Apple Bloom shook her head and lay down next to her. "Ah'll be here if ya need me."