I turned to the source of the mysterious voice. A rust colored stallion emerged from the trees.
“These aren’t Hybrids. These are two colts.”
“You expected Hybrids?” I meekly said.
A mare appeared next. “Well, you are caught in our Hybrid trap.”
“Trap?” I glanced at JumpingJolt, who helplessly hung above the earth.
“Oh, River,” said the golden yellow mare. “Look at their hooves.”
“They are a part of the Resistance?” The stallion scoffed. “GearClank isn’t going to like this.”
“We should get them to the camp,” The mare brought up.
“Camp?” River grabbed me by my bag strap.
“Wasp, get the other one down.”
The mare flew up to the tree branch. With her wings open, I saw she had darker stripes on them. I wondered if they were natural or dyed. She untied the rope which made JumpingJolt crash to the ground. “Come on, get up.” Wasp poked him.
The colt arose and limped. “Ow, ow! My leg hurts. I like pulled it when I tripped and also by that rope.”
“Where are you taking us?” I questioned.
“To our camp, you idiot,” River scorned.
“Do you think you can help us find our Dads?” JumpingJolt requested.
“Help you?” The rust colored stallion snorted. “Why would we help you after you’ve invaded our territory?”
I was so confused. They had a camp but seemed disgusted by our EPDS. They said we were in their territory and acted hostile. Then it all add it up. These ponies are not Haythornian, they are rogues! I abruptly stopped.
“What are you doing?” River tugged on my strap.
“You guys are rogues,” I stated.
“That’s what other ponies call us,” Wasp alluded. “Do you think we would call ourselves such criminal names? No. Just because we do not agree with the lifestyle of the Resistance doesn’t mean we are criminals.”
“Well ,you’re acting like it,” JumpingJolt added.
“We are only doing what we are told,”expressed the Earth-pony dragging me.
Today just got worse. We were being captured by rogues. How were we supposed to get back with our dads now? I can believe this is happening.
The two ponies brought us to the building we were aiming to go to, now I wanted to part of them. Many ponies eyed us as we passed through. It seemed like the North Hills camp but… with a malevolent atmosphere.
Arriving at an apartment door, River pounded on it. “GearClank!” he shouted.
The door swung open. An olive green Pegasus stood powerfully. “What?”
“We have something for you.” The Earth-pony pulled me over.
The look in GearClank’s eyes sent a shiver through my spine, I don’t know why. He glared at me with yellow eyes which were highlighted by the dark circles around them. It was utterly evil.
“These two were in our territory,” Wasp explained. “And this one got stuck in a Hybrid trap.” She pointed out JumpingJolt.
GearClank examined us and sighed. “At least one of them is a Unicorn.” What is that supposed to mean?
“They are a part of the Resistance,” River pointed out.
GearClank bared his teeth at the sight of our EPD. “Search them down. then put them to work.”
They pushed us away. “Work? What kind of work are we talking about?” A sudden anxiety broke into my body. I felt more anxious than I ever felt in my life. Everything was happening so fast. My mind shielded all the distraction and focused on the situation at hoof.
The rust red stallion yanking at my bags. Unbuckled, they fell to the ground. River searched through my luggage and empty the products. Wasp did the same with JumpingJolt.
“Hey!” Jolt yapped.
“It’s just water and food,” Wasp announced.
I watched as River carelessly tossed my sketchbook on the floor. They took out some food and placed to the side.
River snatched my fight hoof and started pulling my EPD.
“Um… I’d appreciate if you didn’t do that,” I said.
“I don’t care.”
“What? You wouldn’t feel good to do something somepony appreciates?”
The Earth-pony grumbled, “I’d appreciate not getting shot in the head, and you better play along unless you want to be.”
He struggled at removing my energy power device. “I can’t get this stupid thing off!”
“Damn it River Rush, do I have to always do everything myself?” Wasp pushed the stallion aside.
The golden yellow mare analyzed my EPD. “These things usually have a lock.” She found the lock, pressed down and turned it. My EPD clicked the the back opened. Wasp slipped it off. She went over to JumpingJolt to do the same. Balancing on two legs, Jolt watched her remove his device.
“Are we going to get those back?” The orange colt asked.
“Maybe…” River Rush said.
“That means ‘no’.” Wasp clarified.
My leg felt so strange without its covering.
Collecting the EPDs, River Rush stated, “Okay. Time to get these brats something to do so we can get rid of them.” Get rid? Everything they said sounded like a different language.
The rogues returned our bags. I was relieved when they put my sketchbook back.
JumpingJolt and I had to follow them. They came to a pony overlooking the camp.
“We got too new ponies, get them some work,” River demanded.
The pony they acknowledged held a clipboard. “They could clean some water filters. Or load ammo. There are some walls and fences that need to be rebuilt.”
“Let's just do the water filter thing”
River Rush lead us to our work place. “These ponies will tell you what to do.” He and wasp walked away.
The pony we faced was about to speak but I blurted out every word I could: “I don’t understand what’s going on. Why did they take us? Why did they take our stuff? Why are we being put to work? This is all happening at once. They didn’t even want to know who we are. They didn’t ask why we are here. Why are we placed with a different pony.” I gasped for air.
“Are you done?” The sand colored pony asked.
“I don’t know. Who are you? Why is everything so strange?”
“My name isn’t important. I’m just here to tell you what to do,” Addressed the mare.
“Why? Why do we have to do what you say? What’s the significance? You don’t even know who we are. Nobody is treating us like ponies.”
“You get use to that after a while. Listen, you talk too much. Here take these brushes. Use them to scrub the filters. You can strap them to your hoof, or use your magic.”
She set us up with the filter parts that needed to be cleaned. Staring at them, a tear ran down my cheek, but I tried to stay strong. JumpingJolt lowered his head and sat.
“JumpingJolt, is your leg okay?” I asked. “Does it really hurt or did you make that up?”
“No. It really does hurt. I must have sprained it or strained or something.”
“Hey, get to work!” The mare tapped her hoof.
I quickly put my hoof into a back and forth pattern.This was kind of work we would do back in North Hills. The only thing different was that ponies would politely ask us to help, and make sure we had the time to do it.
“Hey, Pinksie!” The mare shouted. “Wrap it up, we got some walls to fix.”
A stallion across the table from me glanced at the mare. The pink pony eyed me.
“There was an earthquake last week.” He said.
“We had a Earthquake where we were… but it only knocked down some crates, it didn’t make walls fall,” I stated.
The pink stallion paused. “It must have been closer to here. But these stupid rogues don’t know how to make strong walls.”
“Stupid rogues…?” I questioned why he called them that. Wasn’t he one of them?
“Come on Pinksie!”
“That’s not my name!” He snapped. He sprang up and galloped away.
The way they made fun of him being pink reminded me of a stallion in North Hills who was pink too. But he was made fun of before coming to the camp, now he was accepted. How could ponies be so judgmental?
“What if, possibly, the rogues only wanted us to help because they had a lot to do after the earthquake,” I suggested.
“I don’t think it’s that,” Jolt mumbled. “I think they want us as slaves. Forever. Not just because of the earthquake.”
Oh no way could I stay in a rogue camp forever!
Darkness began to enter the sky quickly. The rogues set up a place for us to sleep… outside. A plastic-like sheet having been placed on the cold ground, I curled up. The air around me felt so wrong not having something sheltering me. There was a sense of vulnerability.
I realized JumpingJolt and I were going to sleep without our fathers. It seemed like ages since we last saw them. Today was longer than the last.What the hell happened? Today has officially been the worst day of my life.
All the thoughts of the day broke me down. My body quivering, I made a high whine. My cheeks became drenched with tears. JumpingJolt looked at me with concern. I began to hyperventilate, mucus clogging my throat. Jolt grabbed my shoulders.
“Are you alright?”
“No!” I cried. I wanted to explain my mental state, but everything came out as gibberish. “It’s… t-too much! The… the rogues. Wh-why...” My emotions infected me like a virus.
“This is all my fault,” Jolt took the blame. “If I hadn't gotten us lost we wouldn’t be here.”
“No… Jolt. I… m-maybe I-”
“GentleSketch, you did nothing wrong. I understand you were telling me the right things, but I was stupid and didn’t listen. It’s my fault. There’s no one else to blame.”
“D-do you th-think… we’ll see… our d-dads a… again?”
“I’m sure they are still looking for use. they wouldn’t give up,” Jolt assured.
I started to whine a second time. A pony came out of an apartment. “Shut the fuck up!”
I know I cry a lot, but I never thought I would cry myself to sleep.