>Sunlight creeps between the bars above, casting diagonal beams across the herd of shackled ponies.
>Your eyelids are heavy as you slowly stir from rest.
>There's a delicate hoof laying against your side. It's light and you only really notice its presence as the mare sleeping beside you twitches faintly in her sleep.
>You lay there, motionless, breathing in the first little bit of peace you've felt since this all started.
>She exhales beside you, still deep in sleep, letting out the cutest little snort you could possibly imagine.
>You can feel the truck beginning to slow down. The brakes sound old and poorly maintained, letting out a vicious screech.
>Everyone awakes with a start, the carriage suddenly coming to life.
>Your friend with the blue eyes stirs and you gently lift yourself off of her side.
>There's a commotion outside, you hear several people bustling about.
>Suddenly the carriage door slides up, bathing you all in the bright morning sunlight.
>Several men are standing on the dirt outside. There's a loud clack as they begin pulling a ramp out from the back of the carriage, setting it down on the ground.
>One of the men walks up the ramp, straight towards you. He's carrying a set of tools and a long, thin metal bar.
>He stares down at you, from your position the difference in your size is readily apparent. He's tall and muscular; he looks like he could toss you around with little effort.
>His face is rough and he wears a shaggy beard and mustache, but something about his expression tells you that he's not at all like the other man in the blue jumpsuit.
 
>”Hey there little missy. Mah name's Jim. Ah'm gonna be taken those chains off yer feet there, then we're gonna be taken a walk inside. Now, I dun want this'ter be aneh more difficult than it need be. Ah dun think ah need to remind ya a what'cha got round yer neck, now do ah?”
>His drawl is thick, but the meaning is clear.
>You gulp, the pain from before still clear in your mind. You bite softly into your bit, letting our an audible, “mmh mmh”.
>”Good, good. Now let's geh ter work.”
>It takes less than a minute for the shackles to leave your fetlocks. The absence of the cold, heavy pressure is nothing but a relief.
>His hands are on the straps around your muzzle. You can feel the dirt rubbing into your coat as he works at it, but you're hardly going to complain. The tension drops and you feel it loosen before he slips it off, the bit coming away with an ugly glob of drool.
>There's a click as he attaches the metal rod to your collar. You look up to see him holding on to a leather strap on the other end.
>”Arright, off we go.”
>With that, you're away. He pushes you forward firmly with the bar, making you take the lead as you both descend the ramp. You cast a brief glance back at your blue eyed friend. She's not looking at you, her gaze instead falling on the landscape in front.
>You look forward, all you can see are green trees for miles and miles on end. Sharp mountains rise in the distance.
>It's all... nice. You honestly don't remember seeing much nature before all this happened, not that you could really be sure.
>Still, the air was clean and refreshing. The sun warm against your coat.
>There's a push to the left and you're headed around the front of the truck. In front of you is a building, an old, converted warehouse by the looks of it.
 
>It's awkward at first, being guided around, but Jim keeps a comfortable pace and you're able to adjust as he directs you through an empty dirt lot towards the building.
>”Now, ah figure you've got quite a few questions there girl, an ah'm sorry it's not my place tah answer 'em. But ah can tell ya, if ya behave, dun cause no trouble, yah won't have no problems 'ere.
>His words aren't terribly reassuring, but you feel like he genuinely means them. Still, there are questions burning in your mind and you can't help but try them.
“W-what h-h-happened to me? W-what is this place? Where are we g-g-going?”
>Your voice is shaky, you didn't expect the shock of hearing yourself speak as if for the first time. The words sound totally alien as they leave your mouth and quite suddenly you feel like a stranger in your own body once again.
>”Lahk ah said, it ain't mah place tah answer all yer questions. But as fer this place, it's a market”
>A market, where things are bought and sold.
>You're a thing.
“Y-you're going to sell me?”
>”No little missy ah am not, but yer gonna be sold. Ah can tell ya this though, ya do what'chur told, ya fetch a good price, yull go to a good home, be treated well.”
>There's an air of finality to his words and it's clear that your conversation with him is over.
>You trot on ahead, entering the building and winding down a series corridors until you reach a wide, open room.
>There appear to be four pens, one in each corner of the room. They're each made up of two walls of metal fencing built roughly twice your height.
>The ground is laid with straw, just like the truck bed. There's a feeding trough and several bowls in each pen.
>You're lead into one of the pens. The door is opened, then chained shut behind you.
>Jim gives you what you assume was meant to be a reassuring nod, then turns and leaves.
>You're alone again, in another cage.
 
>You could have run.
>You should have at least tried.
>Straw crunches on the ground beneath your hooves as you pace back and forth.
>You couldn't have gotten far, surely.
>And you've still got this damn thing around your neck.
>The weight of it is always there, cold, hard, and heavy. With every step you can feel it holding you down.
>There will be a better opportunity.
>You can run away.
>You can find help, somewhere.
>What about the others?
>What about blue eyes?
>That man, Jim, he said things would be okay. He said that all you had to do was behave and you would find a good home.
>A good home? You had a home. Then they took you from it.
>You were miserable before.
>But you weren't a thing.
>The gate to your pen swings open with a screech.  You were deep in thought and had completely lost track of time.
>Blue eyes trots in, guided along just as you were.
>She meets your gaze and smiles.
>Your face is getting little warm and you can't help but smile too.
>She's let off of her rod and the gate closes behind her.
>And she's walking towards you.
>That tender smile, it's almost... playful.
>What the hell is this mare's deal?
>”Hey you~”
>She's nuzzling your face, her eyes closed, speaking straight into your ear. Her voice is soft and crystalline, like a cool brook on a warm summer morning.
“H-hi”
>You honestly can't think of anything else to say, instead closing your eyes and just enjoying the sensation of her coat on yours.
>After a few moments she pulls back, a self-assured grin plastered to her face.
>”I'm glad you're here-”
>She's... glad... you're both in a cage, abused, about to be sold?
>”-I was worried they'd keep us all separate, alone.”
>Oh. Your brain halts there for a moment.
“Look, we've got to get out of here. We can find someone who can help and they can come back for the others, but we've got to do something!”
>She listens intently, her expression unchanging.
 
“We can... we can rush the gate the next time it opens. We can go together, I think I remember the way out. We aren't far from the woods, we can run there, we can-”
>She's just smiling at you.
>”So, we can run away together? Make an escape? And then what?”
“I-I haven't figured that part out yet. Maybe there's someone out there that could help us, some way they could turn us back. We have to do something, who knows what's going to happen to us if we stay here!”
>”We can run for the woods, right? Hide out there, wait till it's safe. Do you think we'd make it away, that we wouldn't get caught and brought back here?”
“I don't know.”
>”Do you really think we'd find someone who could help?”
“I don't know that either.”
>”You don't know what will happen if we run, and you don't know what will happen if we stay?”
>You're starting to get frustrated. Those two things are not the same. If there's a chance you can get away, if there's a chance you can be free...
>”Were you... happy? Before all this?”
>She's looking you straight in the eyes, her expression unreadable.
>You, meanwhile, feel like you've been hit in the chest with a truck.
“I... no... I...”
>You look down, you don't know if you can even believe your own words anymore.
“...it doesn't matter, this isn't right. I can barely even remember what my life was like before this. Those people took that from me. We can't just let them just do this to us.”
>”I don't remember much either, but do you know what I do remember? I was alone, my life wasn't going anywhere, I didn't have many friends, and I wasn't sure I wanted to go on like that.”
>She's at your side, laying her head against your back. Suddenly you feel like you can't help but do the same.
>”And then I ended up here, or wherever it was we were before. I... I don't think I ever really liked myself before, I don't think I had all that many happy memories. But now... I'm different, everything is different...”
 
>She lifts her head off your back and turns. You're standing side by side.
>”...and it's almost like... like an adventure. Sometimes, things are bad, they're scary and you don't know what's going to happen. It seems like the world is a terrible place and nothing could possibly get better.”
>She leans in against you. It feels like you're sinking into her.
>”And then, suddenly, the clouds part and the light washes every bit of dreariness away. The world is more beautiful and wonderful than it ever was before and you cherish every moment of it because you know the bad times are over and the good times have finally come.”
>You turn to look at her and find her watching your eyes. Hers are filled with tears, but she's smiling.
>And then she kisses you.
>You're over the shock and surprise in an instant. Her lips are velvety and you can already feel her tongue searching for yours.
>You're quick to meet her, it's smooth and wet and she presses it beneath yours, pushing it up against the roof of your mouth and massaging the underside.
>She's pressing into you, pulling you deeper and deeper. There's a pressure welling up in your chest, each breath carrying butterflies upward from your stomach.
>There's... something else happening to you too. A tingling sensation... in your nethers.
>That's new.
>There's a soft creak as the pen gate swings open.
>Your eyes shoot open.
>Jim is standing there, face frozen in confusion. In front of him is a blonde maned dark blue pegasus.
>Their expressions match to a T.
>You recoil in surprise, your rear legs pressing together tightly in an attempt to hide your shame. You're shooting a thousand yard stare at them both. It only makes you look that much more guilty.
>Blue eyes is blushing, but she lets out a soft giggle upon seeing your reaction.
>After what feels like an eternity Jim turns around and walks out, wordless, shutting the gate behind him.