//------------------------------// // An Unlikely Captive // Story: Macintosh of Arabia // by Crisis_Vyper //------------------------------// One might ask, how can somepony get into a situation where things are utterly bad from the get go? Will it happen because the pony is in the right place at the wrong time or because that the pony is in the wrong place at the right time? For Nurse Redheart, it would be the former. For Big Macintosh it would be the latter. However for our dear Vinyl it is the third option that no one would want; being at the wrong place at the wrong time. Such are the cogs of time that several events are unfolding even as the sands of time blows across the land, and one such event happened at the same time where our red stallion farmpony, Big Macintosh's was having his first encounter with Sheikh Abu Hamza..... An unspecified location in Northern Saddle Arabia....... "I'm soo bored........." The owner of the slacker-like groan is a yellowish-white mare with a rather flamboyant mane, spiky with cobalt blue with cyan highlights, lying down on the bunk of the train. She has a certain tomboyish charm about her, which made her surprising attractive.This pony, whom shall be known as Vinyl Scratch had gotten bored from seeing the dunes for the past few days and as somepony who needs to do something all the time, this is perhaps the greatest torture. Nonetheless, there is no entertainment set upon the train, and thus the pony is forced to look at the endless white dunes that contrasted with the dark blue skies of the night. She put her dark purple shades away and decided to jut look away this time just so that her eyes did not become cross-eyed like a certain mare she knows. The only reason why she is in the middle of some desert country is so that she could get a particularly rare resonating crystal that allow for her music to be that much more awesome. Due to the weird laws of Saddle Arabia, she is forced to come by herself to prove that she will be the buyer. To add to the inconvenience, she will have to wear these frou-frou dress around her body as a result of Saddle Arabians not condoning mares to not wear any clothing. Dumb law if there is one, the pony said to herself. "Seriously, there's nothing to do on this freakin' train! I wish that something would happen! And make it epic and awesome at the same time!" Of course, as they always say, be careful what you wished for, as you might get it. As if to prove the point, suddenly something fast whistled past Vinyl, and a loud thud could be heard behind her. She turns around to see that there is a rather large arrow sticking from the wall. Soon enough she could hear the hollering sound of ponies and she turned back to the window. "Oh shitbiscuits." the pony said to herself. Greeting her eyes are several large equines galloping beside the train, shooting arrows at the train and brandishing wicked looking curved swords. It was then that the pony heard a loud crash, followed shortly by a big vibration across the entire bunk. The blue-maned pony is now floating in her bunk as her bunk started to turn upside down on her. Or is it right-side up? She is utterly clueless but she is definitely feeling the hurt from tumbling around in the bunk. "DAMN YOU SADDLE ARABIAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!" The white pony with the electric-styled mane screams.as loud as she could out of her lungs. Her vision suddenly became very blurry , and she wonders why on earth did her vision just did that. Did someone used a shadow spell or something? She tried to move her legs to figure out what is going on, but then the realized that she is not even feeling anything. She is definitely not hammered, as this darn country got no liquor. So that leaves her with the last option as to why her vision just cuts itself off; she's falling unconscious. Her vision phases in and out from the darkness to the blurry visions of hers, and notices that the tumbling is over. Soon enough Vinyl could see some blurred figures dragging her out from her carriage as her vision fades in and out, speaking in some weird language. It was then that she finally just let it all go. Meh......at least they are saving me from the wreck., Vinyl said in her mind before she falls into blissful unconsciousness. Little did Vinyl knew at the time, this is the first steps of fate that will see her in a larger-than-life event. Vinyl's eyes slowly opens up, her blurry vision slowly regaining its resolution.The burning twilight of dawn stings her eyes, but then it got used to the piercing light. She immediately recognized that she is in a cage, and it appears that her legs are shackled. The pony could only groan as this day gets from bad to worse. It was then that the little voice of reason in her mind consoled her, saying that at least she is still alive. Vinyl agrees with this little voice, despite not hearing it often, as when there is a will there is a way. Of course that saying, she reasoned that she would have to find a way pretty quickly less she become cannibalized or something. She then looked around to see what she could get from her very unfortunate situation Okay, so these ponies are dressed in some weird dress with a towel wrapped around their faces, and they sure mean business...., Vinyl said to herself as she notices the weapons upon the equines. She also noticed that they are all much bigger than her, and thus that would also mean that they are all stronger than her somehow. The white pony now regretted skipping gym all the time so that she could sleep in. She then reminded herself that she would have to give some bits to her best friend as she had lost a bet. "Damn you Octy, you are right when you said that someday not going to the gym will bite my flank." Some of her captors are now looking at her and aiming their bows at the white pony. Vinyl then facehoof, as she realized that these ponies do not speak Equestrian, and anything she does will be considered a threat. It was then that she realized something very obvious, and she immediately brought another hoof to her face. "I AM AN UNICORN FOR CRYING OUT LOUD!!!!!!!!!!!!!" She was about to use her magic to cast her magic, but instead she realized several things that may work against her. Correction; it will work against her. Firstly, She is only one pony, and there are around thirty of them. Secondly, she have no idea how to cast defensive nor offensive spells, so she will lose in a fight to begin with. Thirdly, even if she managed to disarm and defeat them she can't possibly survive in a desert without help. She would get lost and die a lonely, thristy mare in the middle of the desert. It was then that she realized that she is doomed either way; being a slave to some crazy pony or died a mummy in the middle of the desert, both options ending in her being forgotten in a land very far away from home. Her initial plan had killed itself even before she could even implement it. "Buuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu!!!!!!!!!!!!!" The mare shouted in frustration once again. The other Saddle Arabians slowly lowered their weapons,as they realized that perhaps this mare is just plain insane. Two of the Saddle Arabians, a gaunt stallion with a light gray mane with darker gray spots and a well-toned dark brown stallion started to talk to each other. "Hey Yusuf, I think we got ourselves an insane one. Should we just knock her out just in case?" the gaunt stallion asked. "You crazy? No, let her scream for all I care, Arif. Once we sell her away, it will be the buyer's problem. Not ours." The brown stallion replied, not even bothered to look at his partner. It appears that all the stallions had come to the same conclusion as these two stallions, and soon enough they are at ease again. But they will have to find a way to travel on without hurting the merchandise, as the merchandise is now screaming all the time. A few hours later.... "Why is this happening to me?!?!?" Vinyl is now crying her heart out, utterly wallowing in her own grief and despair. However the Saddle Arabian slave traders are now rolling their eyes as they walk through the burning heat of the Saddle Arabian afternoon. First, this merchandise screams, then she started scolding them, and now she is crying. They never seen such an equine before, going through emotions as one would drink water. Some of the slave even started betting on what emotion she would be displaying within the next few hours. "I am betting 5 Dinars that she is going to beg." A dark blue stallion said. "I say she is going to sit at the corner of the cage and sulk. 10 Dinars for that. " The owner of the voice, a yellowish brown Saddle Arabian chuckles as he takes a sip of water. "20 Dinars that she would bang her head continuously on the bars! " A slightly scrawny green stallion waves several coins up in the air. It was not long before all of them go their answer. "Could you let me go please? I want to go home......." Vinyl is now sniveling, and now she is holding the bars that held her prisoner, pleading to nopony in particular for escape. It was then that the dark blue stallion cheered, while others grunted in disappointment. Soon enough there is an exchange of bets and Vinyl of course is not pleased. With her emotions running wild, she could only scream while snivelling. As the days goes by, Vinyl had accepted some things and figured out some things as well. For one, they are not going to eat her. Instead she had seen several ponies being captured and put into cages before they are let off into towns a few days later to some pony who paid for that captured pony. This is the first time she witnessed slavery happening before her eyes, and thus could not believe how ponies could be sold as a commodity against their will. But on the bright side that also means that they will not kill her or do anything really bad to her.At the same time, she is not fully resigned to her fate. As another night starts to descend upon Vinyl, she decided to do the only thing that she could to keep her sanity intact; she tries to compose a song in her head. Without the turntables and the synthesizers, she could only start to create a song using the only thing available to her; her voice. She tries to sing a tune, but her head could not help but to think in terms of the discordant sounds that she always use in her music composition. It was then that she tries a much simpler method; she taps her hooves on the floor of the cage, the tapping sound allowing her to keep her tempo and also keep the discordant sounds out of her mind. Her tapping and humming caught the attention of her captors, but by this time they are already used to the crazy attics of this particular captive and care not to even do anything about it. At first it was fun, but then it went dull when it became consistent. Looking briefly to see that their captive is not attempting to escape, they then continued on with their rather monotonous journey of travelling towards the place where the need for such captives are high. Foreigners always cost more, so they are hoping that this mare will be able to feed them for a while. Too bad that they are not to ruin the merchandise in any way, or else some of the stallions would already had their way with her. Behind all that craziness, the stallion reasoned that the mare is surprisingly attractive, having a rather boyish charm to her. "What do you think she is doing now, Babaji?" A younger brown stallions asked the older whitish grey stallion. "I hope that she is not biting off her own tongue, Ista willing." The elder stallion said. The old stallion could only look back again to see that the foreigner is not tapping her hooves. Instead she is now singing in her own foreign tongue. If he was as educated as any of the more fortunate royalty and their Jannisary, he might be able to appreciate what she was singing for the mare has a husky but sensitive and near-flawless tonal lachrymose quality. The other stallions soon realized the tonal quality of the mare's voice and soon they are slowing down to a halt to listen to the mare sing. Her voice is now the only thing piercing through the silence, like the brightest star in the night skies. Looks and voice? Some mares do have the right tools for marriage......, The old whitish stallion said. Her time in the desert being bound against her will have made her weak in body, but she is stronger than ever in her mind and spirit. So, she decided to sing about that spirit of hers. Vinyl decided to sing a song she makes up on the spot and just go with it. Since her captors had no idea what she is singing anyway, she decided to just say everything out loud as well and make it a rock ballad while she is at it. Why did it all go wrong? I wan´t to know whats going on..... What´s this holding me? I´m not where I´m supposed to be. Get it out, check it out.... I'm on my way, and I don't feel right.... I gotta get me back. I can't be beat, and that's a fact. It's okay I'll find a way, You ain't gonna take me down no way! I gotta fight with all my might. I´m getting out, so check it out You´re in my way, yeah, you better watch out... Oh Oh Oh Oh! Come on! Don´t judge a thing, till you know whats inside it! Don´t push me, i´ll fight it! Never gonna give in, never gonna give it up, no..... No, oh, oh, oh If you can´t catch a wave, then you´re never gonna ride it! You can´t come uninvited... Never gonna give in, never gonna give it up, no.,.... You can´t take me, I´m free I´m free! Vinyl lifts her hoof up in the air, defiant about her fate as she ends her song. Immediately after she stopped, she noticed the sound of hooves clopping and realized that her captors are all clopping and whistling at her. Not expecting this reaction, she had both the feeling in her to cheer and also to facehoof at the same time at their stupidity. Not to mention that she is stuck with these fools for a time as she could not escape without dying in the desert until the slave traders decided to go to some big settlement. She then mutter the only word she could at the moment and with all her might she groans loudly to the heavens in a rather annoyed voice. "Somepony...... help me!"