Didn't take too long 'fore I found out, what people mean by down and out.
I saw and heard a lot on my midnight book runs into Baltimare. I wanted to keep up to date on what was going on in the world in general. Nothing I observed was good.
Mostly I saw the normal going-ons of a city like Baltimare. Muggings taking place in dark alleys. Drunken ponies brawling outside of seedy taverns. The homeless begging for bits, scrounging like animals through bins for scraps of rotting food. Jokers and thieves doing their work, then fighting afterward about how to split the score. One night, I heard something useful. I heard about the recruiters.
It was a pair of pegasi leaving a bar, both of them stumbling over their own hooves. They whispered loudly to each other as they went.
"'Ey, you 'eard 'bout Bone? They nabbed him lass week!"
"What, nabbed him? Wh-hic-o nabbed him? Whatya talkin' 'bout?"
"You ain't 'eard!? It was them 'cruiters!"
"Wha?"
"Them recruiters! Ya'know, them yu-ni-cerns in them red yu-ni-ferms been takin' folk!"
"Nah, ain't 'eard!"
"Yeah, yeah. Been takin' earth ponies an' pegasususes. Got 'ole teams of them yu-ni-cerns, roundin' us up an' bringin' us nerth ta'fight in'na war!"
"They been takin' folks ta fight in'na war!?"
"Thas what I juss said!"
"An' they got Bone?"
"Celestia damn it, innit that what I juss toljer?"
"Ugh... fuck..." The pegasus proceeded to vomit into the street, then started crying. "Ah shit, fucker. Bone owed me tree fitty. Wherm I gonna get all that now?"
"Hahaha! I 'ear if ya'give that Slimy Fetlock feller a hoofer, he'll pay'ya juss 'bout anythi-"
"Shut up you son ova nag!"
"I'll teach'er ta call me that!"
The pair began their intoxicated fight, and I flew off. I didn't think much of it at the time. Drunks were always babbling about stuff like that, so why should this be any different?
Still, it might be worth it to be careful anyways. On my nightly excursions, learned that while I was trapped underground, Equestria and the Griffon Empire had gone to war at last, fighting over the northern territories. Public opinion concerning the war was not favorable, despite the intense hatred for griffons in general, so it made sense that recruiting might be something the equine government needed to resort to. But even so, kidnapping ponies seemed unlikely.
A few weeks later, I saw the recruiters for myself.
It was a group of unicorns in official looking uniforms, red cloaks, just like the pegasus at the tavern said. There were four of them, and they had a muscular earth pony and his fillyfriend cornered in an alley. I watched in disgust as the quartet blasted them with magic. The stallion was trying to protect the filly, blocking her from the barrage of spells, but within moments they were both unconscious.
The head recruiter walked up to their sleeping forms, pulled out two large metal rings, opened them, and strapped them around the necks of the poor ponies. The others magically lifted the pair and hefted them into a nearby cart, where they landed with a dull thunk.
It hurt me not to be able to help the couple. Clearly they were being brought in against their will to fight in a war they probably didn't believe in, possibly to die far away from home in the frozen north. Yet I didn't want to resort to violence, even with the recruiters, and cutting them loose would be too risky. I ultimately decided that it was the ponies' problem, not mine. What a mistake that was.
After that first time, it seemed like I saw recruiters every other night. It was always the same: pegasi or earth ponies, usually in groups of three or less, being corralled somewhere they couldn't escape by a team of unicorns. Never any other kind of pony, always unicorns did the deed.
It hadn't dawned on me until then that there might be some social tension between even the pony races, but the more I thought about it, the more it made sense. The tribes had been separate up until nineteen years ago, and back then they had full on hated each other. It would take time for those wounds to heal. I saw much more of this blatant discrimination when I was transported to the front line.
Once I saw what was going on, I made special care to cover my tracks and immediately hide when there were recruiters around. I had hunch they would take me just as easily as pegasi or earth pony, and if it came to an all out fight, I wasn't sure how well my runes would fair against their magic. Besides, I didn't want to hurt anypony, even bastards like those recruiters.
They found me while I was sleeping in my cave. I still don't know how. They poked me awake, and I found a sneering face inches away from my own.
"Surprise."
His horn glowed, I felt something zap my face, and I was out.
When I came to, my entire body was sore. It took me effort to lift my eyelids. I tried to observe my surroundings by focusing on the other senses. I felt wooden plank rocking beneath me, and heard the rumble of wheels turning over cobblestone. I was in one of their wagons, being taken north to the front.
I heard sobbing to my left. With great difficulty, I opened my eye. I saw a filly leaning over the mangled body of a pegasus stallion. I could tell he was injured from his ragged, uneven breaths. I looked closer, and saw bits of skin protruding higher on his chest than the rest. His ribs were broken, stretching the skin.
Strength somehow flowed back into me. I staggered to my feet and walked to the pegasi's side. It might be a bit late, but I had to at least try. With my throbbing headache and body, it took more effort than usual to concentrate, but after a minute or so I managed to set my claws aglow. I watched with satisfaction as the stretched, bruised skin flattened and regained its former color. He let out a cough and his breathing steadied.
The minute the rune was finished, all vigor left me and my legs buckled. I lifted my head and saw the filly had retreated to the corner of the wagon, staring at me with deep fear in her eyes. A choked laugh at the irony escaped me.
I dragged myself to the corner of the wagon and sat back down to rest. Just traversing the wagon was enough to exhaust me. I examined my body for injuries and found several lumps or my head and bruises, hidden by my dark coat, covering the rest of me. I used my healing rune again, restoring my body to its former condition.
During my self examination I found a metal collar strapped around my neck. A quick glance at the other prisoners revealed they were wearing similar bonds. While the bonds weren't attached to anything, I got the distinct feeling there was magic behind them. Running away wasn't the best idea. Who knew what would happen?
I turned my attention to the ponies pulling the wagon. A quartet of melancholy earth ponies and pegasi, trudging forward, presumably north, and sporting collars of their own. To either side were unicorns, wearing red cloaks over polished gold armor. In addition to whatever combat spells they almost certainly had, each carried a long spear. Wonderful.
I brought my gaze back to the wagon. Other than the pegasus and crying mare, there were somewhere around ten other ponies, all adults, bundled in the cart. None had the look of being there by choice. They were all huddled together in groups, some speaking in harsh whispers, others drowsing. I was by myself in the corner, and based on the mare's reaction to saving her coltfriend's life, probably wouldn't be welcomed among them.
I also noticed a secondary, smaller wagon strapped to the back of the first, where another pair of guards were dozing. I guessed they took shifts on watching us. I doubted the job was very hard, considering the collars around our necks, which probably stopped us from escaping with some sort of magic.
I sliced experimentally at my bindings with a feather. Whatever magic was at work did its job. My feather went through the collar, but it reformed less than a second later. So much for that.
I settled on following the example of the others and getting some shuteye. Best to get it while I had the chance.
The moon had risen when I was shaken awake. "Get up."
I was thrown out of the cart to the ground. I wobbled to my feet and was shoved forward. I walked blearily in the direction I was pushed, my eyes still adjusting to the night. A yoke was placed around my neck. A glance around showed the ponies previously pulling the cart hopping into it and receiving a ration of bread, and three other ponies hooked up to the cart like me.
The hard wooden shaft of a spear smacked my flank. "Move!"
The cart was heavy, even with three other ponies to help pull it. Within minutes my already sore muscles were aching, and in a half hour I was panting.
The unicorns guarding us were talking casually to each other. They looked well rested and fed.
"'Bout how much farther have we got to go?"
"A few hundred miles, same as yesterday. Stop asking."
"Come on, we've gotta be gettin' closer!"
"We are getting closer, just slowly."
"Can't we get these sacks of shit to move any faster?"
"Nope. We need them in okay condition once we get there."
"Eh, fine."
The pair were silent for a while, but then, another unfortunate topic came up.
"Hey, what the hell's that one?"
Fuck.
"The weird, griffon lookin' one?"
"Yeah."
"He's, a... uh... crossbreed, that what they're called. Some pony slut fucked a griffon, and that's what happened."
"That's gross."
My face burned.
"I know. Why a pony would want to fuck a griffon I'll never know. And just look at the result. Sweet Celestia."
"So it's a half griffon thing?"
"Yeah, a crossbreed, like I said. Pay attention. I swear, I'd like to kill all them crossbreeds, and all their whore mothers, but they are good cannon fod–"
I couldn't hold it in any longer. "Hippogriff."
They stopped in their tracks. It took them a moment to understand what happened. They trotted forward to catch up.
"What'd you say, bastard?"
No turning back now. "Hippogriff. The cross between a pony and a griffon. If you're going to insult me, at least do it rig–"
The wooden end of a spear thwacked me in the face. I crumpled to ground.
"Don't you talk back to us, dog. That back talk earned you another shift pulling the cart. Now get up and shut up."
The shift went until sunrise , and the next shift lasted into the early afternoon. I didn't speak again.
As our trek northward continued, the weather grew colder. The guards donned heavier cloaks and set a magical fire in their cart to keep warm. We received scraps of ragged blanket to share. There was barely enough to cover one of us. As the temperature dropped, we began to huddle together. They even let me in. They needed all the heat they could get.
I almost savored my turn to pull the wagon by that point. It might be miserable, but at least I got to warm up my muscles and stretch a bit. Mobility in the cart was limited with everypony so close together. The lack of movement reminded me of being back in the hole.
The front drew closer with each passing day, and soon other wagons pulling their own equine cargo joined us, or rather we joined them. By the time the snow started to fall, we were a caravan of two dozen carts, all carrying disheveled, cold, hungry ponies to what would be for many of them their final destination.
After about a month of nonstop travel, we reached the town of Overlook. Aptly named. The village lay on the precipice of a glacier, which bordered an inland lake so huge you had to squint to see the other side. According to the chatter of the unicorns, that's where the griffons were making camp. At night you could see the pinpricks of campfires on the distant shore.
Saying the Glaciostel Lake was big would've been an understatement. The thing was big enough to have its own tide, so the frigid water never had a chance to freeze over. Icebergs, some as big as houses, dotted the lake. If you looked closely, you could make out pegasi shaping the ice into makeshift battlements.
On the day we arrived, all of us, unicorns, pegasi, earth pony, and other species alike were lined up for a speech. The head of the Equestrian military apparently spoke to everypony on their first day to lay down the law. I was aware that Equestria was matriarchal, so the fact that the leader of military was a mare didn't much surprise me. What did was the fact that she was a pegasus.
"Good afternoon. My name is Commander Hurricane! I'm the one in charge around here. In this camp, I may as well be Celestia herself. You will obey any order I give you or any order your officer gives you like they were a goddess themself.
"Now I know what you're all thinking," shouted the mare, decked in dark grey armor and a matching galea helmet. "Why the fuck am I here? Why does Equestria see fit to fight for this wind-whipped northern back country?"
There were mumbles of agreement from the crowd.
"DID I SAY YOU COULD FUCKING SPEAK?"
The crowd fell silent.
"Better. Now, we are fighting for this goddess forsaken piece of dirt for respect. This is a young country we live in. We are a prosperous country. Do you think we need this land? I'll answer that for you. We don't. But that doesn't matter. We'll fight for it anyway, cause it's ours. We need to let those beak-faced, flesh-gnawing sons of nags we can hold our own. That they cannot just take from us."
I was stunned. The leader of the Equestrian fucking military had just explained why this war was useless. Unnecessary. They were spending lives for no fucking reason. Screw respect when there were lives at stake!
"I am also well aware that many of you were brought here against your will. The fact that this is even an issue disgusts me, but it is, so let me explain a little something about those collars around your necks. If you've tried to run already, you know what they do. Disobey an order, desert your post, try anything an officer doesn't like, those little beauties will constrict your throat as we see fit. I recommend you don't let that happen.
"Now, you stallions and mares, willing or unwilling as you may be, will be split into five camps. Officers, like myself, will report to the Overlook Hotel. You're based in and around that building. Pegasi, while I know you'd like to stay in the clouds, they are simply too heavy and cold here to be viable. You will stay in the shipyards. Unicorns, you'll be staying in the taverns. Be warned that anypony caught stealing alcohol will be sent directly to me. You don't want that. Earth ponies bunk in any spare bedrooms of town residents. All ponies will report to battle training in the morning.
"Dogs will be escorted to their camp by yours truly."
The ponies split into their respective camps. Few were left with Hurricane. Among us were donkeys, zebras, dog creatures, pegasi with bat wings, and of course, me. We were the dogs.
"Follow me, dogs," she ordered. The collars left us little choice. We followed.
As we walked behind her, she continued to speak. "Now, I'm a tolerable mare. I got nothing against earth ponies, or unicorns. We keep them separate because they need time to get used to each other. If that day comes under my watch, we'll merge the camps. But you..." she grimaced. "I'm disgusted to call you 'Equestrians'. If there's one thing I ever questioned the Princesses on, it was their decision to allow non-ponies citizenship.
"But I'm a tolerable enough mare, even if I have to stoop low to deal with you, so I want to make one thing clear. You are dogs. You will be left to your own devices, to your kennels. You may not leave, but you will not be bothered until battle. In battle you will fight. Other than that, there will be no interaction between us."
She stopped at large field on the outskirts of town. It was already occupied by a multitude of tents and campfires, which were populated by other "dogs".
"You will stay here. Rations will be left every morning. Do not leave. We will know if you do, and you will pay the price."
She turned around and flapped off without another word.
I looked around at my fellows. Unlike the ponies, there were a fair number of children mixed in with this group, not to mention the elderly and pregnant. I couldn't recall any such recruits among the "true Equestrians", only hardy stallions and mares of around twenty to forty years, yet here at least a fourth of the population was made up of those who had no business being here.
I remembered what the soldier had meant to call me on the way up here. "Cannon Fodder." Was this an attempt to cleanse Equestria of undesirables? I thought so.
The newest of us dogs began slowly making our way into our camp. Those already living here barely spared us a glance, going about their day as usual. Patchwork tents were set up around dozens of crackling fires, where most of the populous was huddled, trying to keep warm. Some of the younger dogs were playing in the dirty snow, making snowponies, wrestling, making forts.
In a strange way, I actually preferred this forced segregation. No one was cringing away from me, shoving me to the ground. Here I was on even ground.
I made way towards the playing kids, but stopped halfway there. I hadn't realized it until just then, but I wasn't really a kid anymore. I was the age of a kid, looked like a kid, but I knew I wasn't. I'd seen my best friend killed, been sodomized in prison, and been stuck down a hole for several weeks.
I turned around and took an empty spot around the fire. I gazed into the wavering flames and wondered what was coming next.
I was awoken by the sound of a stampede. I squinted at the harsh morning light, made more fierce by the reflective ice that covered everything. What was the commotion?
I followed the snowprints and the sounds of violence and screaming to what seemed to be the entire camp crowded around something. Many were fleeing from the center of the ruckus, carrying food. This must be the morning rations Hurricane mentioned.
People clawed and bit at each other, stamped into faces, pulled at manes and fur. Shrieks of triumph and pain echoed as everyone fought for rations, probably scarce rations if it caused this. I stayed out of the mob, not wanting to get involved, not trusting myself to get involved. I might panic and activate my runes, then bloodshed would be a certainty.
It took fifteen minutes for the crowd to completely disperse. There was nothing left, not even a crumb. I got the distinct feeling that asking for food would yield nothing, so I considered my next move.
I needed food. No debate there. I couldn't let myself starve. I also couldn't get involved in the morning mobs, or I might hurt someone. So where else could I get food?
Bribe a soldier, maybe. What did I have to offer? Teaching runes to a unicorn? Nothing good could come of that, and it would only work for until I ran out of runes. I could prostitute myself, but I really wanted to avoid that if at all possible.
What were my other options? Hunting. But I couldn't leave the camp, or else risk being discovered and choked. I could fly within the camp's airspace and take down any birds flying through. With all my self imposed rune training, I could easily chop a few out of the sky. If I got a surplus, I could even trade for blankets and other stuff.
With no other ideas, I acted on my plan. Most of the birds up north by the lake were seagulls, which tasted like shit, but I could stomach them if I had to. I knew I'd need to take out as many as I could today, because soon they'd learn to steer clear of this flight space. To lure them back I'd need to bait them with food, which I couldn't get until I traded a few of my kills. I needed to get at least some extra food before the gulls learned to stay away.
After an hour I had ten or so birds, certainly enough to warrant a trade. There was no trouble finding customers, and by the day's end, I'd accumulated enough to last me for days with bait leftover.
"Gimme a bird." An order, not a request.
It was a few days later, and I was in a steady rhythm of hunting and trading. I turned around to face the voice. It was a diamond dog (I'd learned their species' name by that point), at least twice my height.
"You got something to trade for it?" I asked, already knowing the answer. I'd seen this guy around camp before. He didn't trade. He took.
"Gimme the bird," he repeated. Shit.
"No."
Now a crowd was gathering. Not a time to show weakness. If I gave him the bird, everyone would know they could just take from me without consequence. I also didn't want to hurt him, at least not with my runes. A compromise was in order.
"The bird," he said, taking a step closer. He was well fed, lean and muscly. Another step forward. I hunched down, tensing myself for an atta–
Two pairs of claws seized me from behind, clamping down hard on my wings. They forced me to the ground, where they sat on top of me, victorious.
The head dog crouched down in front of me, sneering in my face, eating one of my gulls raw. I glanced around. Everyone was still watching. I kept my expression neutral, waiting for an opening.
When he finished the bird, he wrapped his gargantuan claw around my head. "Should've just given up the bird, you little shit," he said, squeezing his hand. "Better hope you go unconscious for this next part, I'm gonna tear you a new o–"
I jabbed my head quickly forward, slicing his palm with my beak. He shrieked and whipped his hand off, jamming it in his mouth to suck it.
I darted through the new opening, feeling my wings dislocate as I did so. Worth it. The thugs' grips slipped, and I was out. Without waiting for a counterattack, I pounced the head dog, ignoring the throbbing pain blossoming in my wings. I knelt on his stomach, angling my beak a hair over his neck. He eyes widened and he held his breath, afraid to swallow.
"Call off your mutts," I breathed. "You got a fair trade. My scrawny bird for your scrap of dignity." I raised my voice at this point. "Beaten by a fucking hatchling. You try to take from me again, I'll finish this fight." I thought for a moment, then added, "Take from anyone again, I'll finish this fight.
"These people watching, they know what you tried here. To steal from a child. You try to kill me while I'm not ready, they'll know you for the coward you are. They'll know you're an honorless, worthless pile of dogshit."
I got up, collected my birds, and began to walk away.
"Spineless cumstain!" shouted a voice from the audience. Then a deafening bang, like nothing I'd ever heard before. I searched frantically for the source, and found it.
A filly, a batpony, about my age by the look of her, was hold a smoking, beautiful metal object in her hoof, pointing it at something behind me. I turned and saw one of the diamond dogs had been caught mid-pounce, thrown back by some mysterious force. His eye was gone, replaced by a red crater. I swerved back to the filly, jawing, trying to formulate a response.
One of the dogs was racing towards her, She seemed to be in shock by whatever she'd just done, and hadn't noticed. I moved before I could stop myself.
"Look out!"
I lit my wings and sliced the bastard's head off. The cut was clean, and there was no resistance. There was a brief spray o blood, then it just gushed, painting the ground
red fucking red like redrum like the mad king who even now watches from his hateful balcony gazing upon the field of roses
with its ghastly color.
Sound erupted from every direction. All the onlookers were scattering, screaming as they went. In the chaos, my eyes found the filly's. Her eyes found mine. It felt like we stared at each other for an eternity.
Then a voice, magically amplified, broke the spell. "WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON HERE!?" We ran, lost to all but ourselves in the mayhem. We found an empty tent and hid inside.
"Your wing's bloody. Wipe it off," said the filly. I obeyed without a second thought, transferring the blood to the wet earth. I winced in pain, realized my wings were still injured, and relocated them with a quick rune.
"Hide your... thingy," I suggested, indicating whatever she'd used to plow a hole in the dog's head. She tucked it under her wing.
It took over an hour for the camp to calm down and the voices of unicorn officers to finally cease. Neither of us spoke a word. It was her that broke the quiet.
"Well, no one's gonna fuck with you now," she said without smiling.
"Nope." The silence persisted. I tried to think of something to say. I settled on, "Thank you."
"Welcome. The harrier forgot his father's face, however ugly it might have been. He needed a good killing."
I kept my silence, unsure of how to respond. He'd meant to kill me. Intended to. Was it wrong to be glad he was dead?
I sighed. "I don't like killing if I can help it, but... you're right. He would've hurt someone else eventually, maybe even killed them. He needed a good killing."
"Don't like a killing, huh?" I nodded. "'Fraid I got some bad news then." She lowered her voice to a whisper, like she was telling me a secret. "We're in a warzone."
I cracked a wan smile. "Guess so." I got up and stretched my legs. "I think it's safe to go out now."
She nodded and stood up, her flank falling into the light let in by the tent's flap. Her cutie mark was a rose, wrapped around the image of the thing she'd used earlier to kill the "harrier".
We trotted into the sunlight, blinking as our eyes adjusted. Whatever soldiers had come to stop the riot were gone now, and everything seemed to be back in order. Everyone went about their business as usual, albeit tensely, as if waiting for a loud noise.
I made my way back to where I'd left my gulls, the filly following close behind. Turns out it wasn't worth the time. Someone made off with my wares in the panic. Figured.
"Next one I catch is on house," I said. "Another thank you for... saving me, however you did."
"I shot him."
"What?"
"I shot him. That's what I did."
"Like a cannon. Is that what that thing you have is? A mini cannon?" I asked, now genuinely curious.
"That about sums it up."
"I'm gonna take a wild guess and say you don't want that spreading around, especially with the..."
"Regular ponies?"
I nodded sheepishly.
"That's right," she answered.
"Then why tell me?"
She opened her mouth to answer, closed it, and stared at the ground. When she finally looked back up, she said, "Ka."
"What?"
"What's your name?" she asked.
"Considering you just ignored my question and will probably continue to ignore it, how about you tell me your name first," I replied, starting to feel irritated.
"Petal."
"As in Rose Petal?"
"Yes," she said, embarrassed.
"Thank you. I'm Nevermore."
"It means destiny."
"What?"
"Ka means destiny. I think we're meant to be ka-tet. Those bound by destiny."
"Oh...kay. Can you answer my questions in order please? Also, if you want to be friends, or look out for each other, just say so. You don't need to make up a bunch of hokie words and mysterious bullshit."
For a second I thought I caught a look of offense in her eyes, but if I did, it was gone in before I could be certain. "Okay. Lets be friends. Also, if you don't, I might let your freaky superpower thing slip to wrong pony. The rest of the crowd might be able to convince themselves you had some sort of sword, but I think we both know better. I also think you don't want your slicy wings getting too much publicity."
I frowned. "Friends don't blackmail friends."
"It's not technically blackmail yet."
While our "friendship" was uneasy at first, it quickly became genuine. When we weren't catching gulls (she managed pretty well without "slicy wings") and trading them, we were practicing fighting in an obscure corner of the camp. This stemmed from the fact that neither of us felt like dying when we were deployed (probably as cannon fodder).
She was just as good at hoof to hoof and conventional weapons combat as with her mini cannon, as I called back then. I'd learn the wondrous tool's true name later. I was somewhat proficient at hoof to hoof when I began, as I'd needed to use it quite a bit when training myself with my runes. Even so, my skill at the style improved exponentially over the course of our training.
Petal knew exactly what she was doing. One day she told me she'd been taught by her father, Alain. He'd been a mercenary in New Yoke, and hadn't been there when she was taken by the recruiters. Petal's eventual plan was to get back there and find him. She insisted that we'd never see him up here unless it was on a rescue mission for her, because he was too good to be captured.
I was more reluctant to share my story, but after a few weeks I caved. I left out the parts about the night singing and supposedly kidnapping ponies. It barely made sense to me, so it wasn't worth the effort to try and explain it to her.
Petal and I gradually fell into a steady routine. Routine's always present themselves if you do the same thing long enough, and this proved to be the case even here. We hunted in the early morning, sold our birds until noon, then trained, talked, generally got to know one another until evening, interspersing meals whenever we got hungry.
The routine broke the night of the first battle.