Mornings were brutal, even for a pony. Cloud Hoof opened his eyes, and his day was already better. He had the privilege of waking up every morning to see the most wonderful and beautiful mare anypony could ever dream of. His beautiful wife Starshine. She was pregnant with his foal and no father, human or pony, could ever equal the fierce love and loyalty he felt for Starshine and his unborn foal. Not wanting to wake his beloved, Cloud Hoof gently rose and stepped out of the crude tent.
Joints cracked and muscles ached, but he was still a young stallion and stretched every sore muscle and stiff joint that showed itself. Feeling a bit thirsty, he trotted to the stream the ponies used for drinking and bathing. It was a long distance, and Cloud Hoof took his time to enjoy the cool morning stillness. It was only after he drank that he became aware of the stillness.
"Quiet, too quiet."
Something was wrong, birds should have been singing, bugs chirping, but instead there was silence. A voice inside his head shouted to him, it was an instinct from before the change. An instinct that screamed RUN!. He smelled the air, but there was no scent. He now knew the feeling, this was the feeling one felt when a predator was too close. He stood stark still, breathing in a panic, near the point of hyperventilating, waiting for some sign of his watcher.
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A mother mare grazed with her young colt, the ragamuffin always curiously looking at the world around him.
"Mama, what kind of flower is this?"
"A daffodil my dear," she answered between bites of grass.
"Mama, why do bunnies noses twitch all the time?"
"I don't know dear."
"Mama, why doesn't that shiny bird in the sky flap it's wings?"
Alarms went off in her head, instantly her eyes were on the sky, searching for the purported bird. "What shiny bird? Where is it?"
Her colt expressed concern now, he felt the fear in his mother's voice. "Is it gonna hurt us Mama?"
The mare pulled her son close. "Yes dear, it will try to hurt us, we need to run as fast as we can."
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"Base this is alpha-two-zero, omega energy detectors confirming enemy location, no strays outside of established perimeter."
"Alpha-two-zero this is base, ground forces approved for assault. General Winter's order, capture alive and take prisoners, no casualties if necessary and only non-lethals allowed. Maintain visuals on hostiles if at all possible, and force enemy to rout towards capture zone to the west."
"Affirmative base. Ground forces, this is Alpha-two-zero eyes in the sky, we are all clear, commence operations."
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"Starshine," Cloud whispered.
Cloud Hoof realized his wife was in far more danger than he, he turned back towards the village and ran faster than any pony had ever thought possible. Only one thought raced through his mind as he ran; the humans are here.
He should have recognized the signs, known that they had seen his village. But all that mattered now was that he reach Starshine.
A pop sounded from somewhere, and Cloud Hoof swerved suddenly as a dart slammed into the tree next to him. More pops followed and only his deftness kept him from getting hit. There was only his goal ahead of him, sweat of fear coating his body. Cloud Hoof broke the treeline into the village, it was still quiet here.
"Everypony run! We have been discovered!"
Groggy and confused ponies looked towards him like he was crazy. But then the world erupted into chaos. Darts whizzed from the trees to the east taking down many ponies before they knew what was happening. And then they emerged, the dreaded creatures from the depths of a pony's nightmare, walking on two legs and carrying their weapons which spat thunder. These were different from the cruel masters of the past, they wore clothing to conceal in the forest, there was something more practiced about the way they attacked.
Cloud Hoof didn't care to notice, he only wanted to find Starshine. He ran to his tent while darts flew past him, the screams of ponies deafened by the pounding of his own heart.
"Starshine," he screamed in vain.
Now the humans had reached the first huts and tents. They broke down doors and threw cylinders that spewed flame and smoke wherever they landed.
Another of the tribe's warriors found Cloud, "Cloud! We need to run, Starshine was the first one to make it to safety to the west!"
The space between them exploded. All he could see was a world shrouded in white, a ringing sound rattling his brain. He tried to stand, but he could not. He regained some of his vision and looked around himself. Everywhere, ponies lay motionless on the ground, tents and huts burned, smoke blotted out the sky. A human was approaching, his weapon raised and pointed at Cloud. Cloud let him get closer, then lashed out with his hooves and caught the creature on the leg. For a feared race of demons, they broke like twigs. Two others noticed their companion's plight and approached. Cloud, now having regained his feet and his senses, stood to meet his new foes. He felt the sting of their darts, but shrugged them off. He began to feel heavy and tired. Only when the world began to darken did he succumb to the mountainous fatigue and fell again to the ground.
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"Fucking animal broke my leg!"
"Serves you right Simmons, you were dumb enough to get that close, this is Darwinism in action! Jenkins, help his dumbass up."
Jenkins slung Simmons' arm over his shoulder, pulling him off the ground. Simmons pulled a pistol from his vest and aimed it at the unconscious red pony. "Break my leg will you! I was gonna be a fuckin' pro player when I got outta the service!"
"NO!" shouted an approaching man. His dress did not denote him being a soldier, but he wore basic combat armor, likely one of the scientists accompanying the operatives on this particular raid. "We take all of them alive damn it!"
"What's gonna stop me, lab coat? You? One little pony ain't gonna be missed from the herd. Besides, I haven't killed anything all day." A wicked smile spread across the injured soldier's face as he pulled back the hammer on his pistol.
"Do it and I will have you strung from your slimy neck on the flagpole back at base. I have rank here, courtesy of General Winters."
Simmons uncocked the hammer on his pistol, replaced it in his vest and looked back at the unconscious pony. "One day, you freak. Jenkins, get me to a fuckin' medic already!"
The lightly armored scientist pointed to the remaining solider. "You, corporal, make sure this one gets to the trucks safely, he might have information we need."
"Yes sir, Dr Patterson."
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When he awoke, Cloud did not recognize his surroundings. He was in the dark, shaking and bouncing in the back of a large vehicle. He rubbed his head, feeling like someone had shoved nails very slowly into his skull. Leaning up, his eyes adjusted to the point where he noticed he was not alone in the dark. Many ponies lay unconscious or huddled up in fear in a corner.
"Cloud!" the familiar voice startled him, then seeing the green mare he rose to his beloved.
"Starshine! Did they hurt you? Are you alright?" Looking at his wife he saw a nasty cut on her forehead, though it had finished bleeding hours ago, it filled the stallion with rage. "I'll kill the man who hurt you!"
"Cloud, calm down, I got this from a branch as I fled. They were waiting for us in the fields to the west, by the time we realized it was a trap they had us surrounded. They forced us into a corral and loaded into these vehicles. I don't know where they are taking us, but the very thought makes me afraid! I know the humans will put us back into their farms and make us slaves again! Or they will eat us alive or do cruel experiments to us!" Tears visibly streaked the dust and grime on her face.
"Starshine, be strong, don't give them the satisfaction of fear. They thrive off of it. Whatever they have planned for us, know that we will be together." The two huddled together and embraced, tears glistening in their eyes. They had escaped slavery and tried to make a new life for themselves, but they had failed. Hours passed with silence, everypony knew this was their last day alive.
Something was different, the road no longer made the vehicle jostle, and it felt as if they were slowing down. Cloud Hoof looked up from his wife's shoulder, they were nearing the end of their journey. Eventually the vehicle stopped completely, and rough human voices surrounded the darkened cargo area where they now rested.
The back part of the trailer opened with un-oiled protest, and the blinding light of day made everypony cringe. A human stood at the top of the ramp.
"Alright you freaks! Up and at 'em! Get a move on you dirty animals." He brandished a brightly colored rod that was pronged at the end, jabbing it at the nearest ponies who yelped with pain. "I said move!" The ponies stood shakily and exited the trailer, only to see their new prison. A gigantic, concrete field ringed with twenty foot tall fences, towers rising every few few dozen feet to house humans with their wicked weapons. The prison already contained hundreds of ponies of every color and size, the only common factor being the melancholia that permeated the atmosphere.
Walking into the paddock, Cloud looked past the fence to see square buildings that must house the humans. Men in formation ran past, chanting some kind of song. Looking further, he saw what looked like the human's fliers, grounded for the time being. And strange vehicles with no wheels that had elongated snouts. A sudden shock in his flank snapped Cloud back to reality. "Keep moving scum. And don't you think about trying anything." Cloud curled his lip and snarled at the human, but knew that for the safety of his wife he could not do anything brash.
All of these humans wore the same type of clothing, making Cloud guess they were all organized and under central leadership.
Several more vehicles full of ponies emptied themselves at the only entrance to the paddock. Some Cloud recognized as being in his tribe, most others were total strangers to the stallion. He and Starshine joined the group of newcomers, cowering in fear of their demonic captors. A voice suddenly called their attention near the gate, a loud booming human voice.
"Attention all newcomers, for your aggression against citizens of this great country, you have all been declared prisoners of the United States military. As per the Geneva Convention, you will be provided with proper shelter and adequate nutrition. Feel lucky that we give you this much, the statutes of the Geneva Convention typically only apply to humans."
Cloud Hoof didn't know this "United States" and he sure as hell didn't know what a "Geneva Convention" was, but he felt cold inside. They were prisoners, actual prisoners this time, not pets or beasts of burden. But a revelation made him take heart again. They wouldn't take us as prisoners if they didn't think of us as threatening somehow. They weren't the only ones afraid, the humans were afraid of them as well.
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Just give me the usual treatment in the comments below, tell me things that you don't like or need improvement. Also, if you have ideas that you believe can be incorporated, toss me a comment or letter and I'll see of it works. This story is really starting to excite me, and I hope the thickening plot is working out well for my faithful readers as well.