Life was hard. That was the one thing that Zephyr Breeze new with an unshakable certainty.
Oh sure, things had been easy for his mother who mostly spent time in her garden, and his father who had managed to get a job for life at the Weather Factory up until the day he had retired. Now both his parents were living the sweet life, work and worry free, reaping the benefits of retirement and living out their golden years. But their son, Zephyr? He had no such like. It just wasn't fair. As near as Zephyr could tell, his parents had essentially been set for life from a young age, where as poor Zephyr was forced to live at with them while he had worked tirelessly to get his degree in Mane Therapy.
While it was true that if anypony asked he'd tell them he was living with his parents to keep them company, afraid that they would get lonely in their retirement, but he knew in his heart of hearts that his parents had each other. Despite Rainbow Dash's obvious crush on him (for why else would she hang out with his older sister so much?) Zephyr was all on his own, unless you counted his student loans that seemed to follow him where ever he went. Zephyr didn't have anyone, or anywhere to live, so it made perfect sense for him to mooch off of... er, live with his folks until he got on his own hooves. It just seemed so unfair to him that he was actually expected to get on his own hooves. His parents woukdn't have to work for the rest of their lives. How was that fair? Why couldn't that be Zephyr? Why couldn't he have that?
Unlike his father, factory work didn't appeal to him. Zephyr Breeze was an artist, and he knew that some day his very name would be synonymous with high art. But how was he ever supposed to get started building toward the fame and fortune that was rightfully his if he had to work all the time? His big sister Fluttershy clearly had it all figured out. Her passion had been her animals ever since she was little, and she somehow managed to get into the position of running an animal shelter in Ponyville. It seemed ponies actually paid her to look after animals, which is something Zephyr knew his sister would do for free, unasked! It had been a little push from her, and Rainbow Dash of course, that had helped Zephyr get his Mane Therapy Degree in the first place.
Sadly he was finding out just how worthless that degree was. It seemed there were Mane Therapists from here to Manehatten that had more on the job experience or, Zephyr thought darkly, more likely better connections than the artistically inclined pegasus. But, the more he thought about it, he had some pretty good contacts himself that he could exploit...er, depend on. His big sister was friends with some of the most famous ponies in Equestria, including a Princess! If they couldn't get him some cushy government job where all he had to do was sit around and drink coffee, then he very much doubted anyone could.
It was worth a shot. So after fifteen minutes of trial and error, he got his mother to write a letter to Fluttershy on his behalf and trot down to the post office to mail it for him. It was an exhausting endeavor, so Zephyr decided to take a nap until he got a reply.
And the reply came quickly. The very next day Zephyr was sitting in Fluttershy's cottage, in the little nook where his big sis liked to have breakfast. Though they were actually having brunch, Zephyr was blurry eyed and irritable from having to get up before noon. Those mid-day naps meant he had a tendency to stay up until dawn before going to sleep for the 'evening'. That was how all the cool ponies in Mane-Therapy school had lived their lives, so that had to be the right way of doing things, right? Zephyr had no idea how other ponies could just waste so much time sleeping during the actual night. Fluttershy had anticipated his drowsiness and had made coffee for him to have with his toast. Sadly, since he only drank coffee made from Saddle-Arabian coffee beans, Zephyr had to politely decline his sisters inferior fair by taking a big gulp and spraying the swill all over her kitchen floor. Honestly, he was doing her a favor, as he was convinced that the dreck she thought passed for coffee wasn't fit for consumption by pony-kind.
As Fluttershy busied herself cleaning up the spilled coffee, and put on the kettle to make tea instead, Zephyr put aside Fluttershy's grave faux pas and decided to instead ask her the thousand dollar question. "So sis, what kind of job have you got lined up for your baby brother?" he asked, "Royal taste tester for Princess Twilight? Personal assistant to Mayor Mare? Or perhaps a job as the personal masseuse for Rainbow Dash? That mare seems a little uptight. I bet a nice rub down from the old Zeph would be just the thing to put her mind at ease and melt all her troubles away." Zephyr allowed a rather goofy grin to spread across his face as he imagined that possibility.
"Well, no Zephyr," Admitted Fluttershy, "I'm sorry to say that I asked all of my friends as you requested and none of them have a job that would suit your... particular set of skills," Fluttershy rummaged around in her pantry, looking for the infuser for the loose leaf tea she was making. "After what happened last time, I'm afraid Twilight dismissed the idea out of hoof. She said she wouldn't even consider using you in one of her experiments. I asked Rarity too, if she wanted any help making dresses. She said if she wanted Opal to 'help' her again, she'd just ask her directly." A sour look crossed the yellow pegasi's face as she remembered the conversation.
"What, so none of your friends were willing to help me find a job?" asked Zephyr, astonished. "Not even Rainbow Dash?"
Fluttershy just shook her head, "I asked Rainbow Dash if there were any openings at the Rainbow Factory or even as a roadie for the Wonderbolts and she said there was just no way. I asked Pinkie Pie if she needed help making cupcakes, and she said she had all the help she could ever need between Applebloom and Scootaloo. I even asked Cheerilee if she would like some help with her gardening, but she said she'd rather take care of the weeding herself. I'm afraid there just aren't many job openings for a pony with a degree in Mane Therapy." At last she found what she was looking for and carefully measured the leaves into the infuser, before lowering it into the steaming kettle and taking it off of the oven burner to steep.
"Then what the heck am I doing here!?" Zephyr pounded the tiny breakfast table, then quickly covered his mouth when he saw the shocked look on his sisters face. "Pardon my Prench, but why call me all the way to Ponyville just to tell me all of your friends shot me down?"
His sister gave him a knowing smile, "Well that's because when I was asking Applejack if she could use a hand around Sweet Apple Acres, (the answer was no by the way,)" Zephyr didn't even bother to try and hide his look of relief. "She mentioned a place that sounded just perfect for you! Very short hours, but it pays a ton of bits, much more than even Rainbow Dash makes as a Wonderbolt. The best part is it's not far from here, so if it works out you could room here like we planned for you to do when you moved out of Mom and Dad's place last time."
"Oh wow sis, really? That does sound great," Zephyr narrowed his eyes, "What's the catch?"
Fluttershy's grin faltered as she removed the infuser and poured Zephyr a cup of tea, "Catch? Why would there be a catch?" She also brought in honey, a tray of sugar cubes, and a few slices of lemon. Zephyr proceeded to empty both the honey pot and the sugarcube tray into his tea cup, and discretely throw away the lemon wedges by chilucking them over his shoulder at Angel Bunny.
"In my experience, Fluttershy," he replied as he took a huge slurp of the thick tea and made a face before shaking the last grains of sugar into his cup,"If it sounds too good to be true, it usually is."
A look of relief crossed Fluttershy's face,"Oh is that all? Well then I guess there is one catch. You'll have to go for a job interview this afternoon. Which is why you're hear by the way, since I thought you might have a hard time arriving on time if you had to travel all the way from Mom and Dad's house to get there." She slid a piece of paper across the kitchen table. Zephyr could see that there was an address written in shaky writing. He'd seen this before. This was what you usually got when an earth pony tried to write something down using their mouth. "I'd go with you, but I have some errands that I have to run, so we can meet up for dinner after you're done."
"I dunno Fluttershy, I've never really been to a job interview before. Aren't you supposed to wear a fancy suit and tie or something like that? I mean, are they going to want me to fill out an application, because the Zeph has tons of experience, just not many references so..." Zephyr let his shoulders slump, a classic calculated move to get the maximum amount of sympathy. "I'm just not sure I can deal with this on my own. Are you sure you can't put off your errands to come with me and help your little bro out?"
It didn't have the effect Zephyr was expecting. Fluttershy's smile just seemed to grow wider and she had this dreamy look in her eyes. "Don't worry Zephyr. All you have to do is be yourself and everything will work out. You'll see."
Despite his pleading, whining cajoling, begging, imploring beseeching, and fervent entreaties, Zephyr Breeze just couldn't convince Fluttershy to do the interview for him. Even when he at last broke down and reminded her that she would likely be better able to secure him a job if his employers didn't actually meet him first, she stood steadfast and just gave him her enigmatic smile and inane reassurances that it would all work out. She kept on smiling as he finished his tea and wished him a fond fair well as he left her cottage.
He had to give one thing to his big sis, though. She was right to have him come to her house before heading off for his interview. He had plenty of time to figure out where he was going and more than enough time to get there that afternoon. So much time, in fact, that he decided to go into town instead and do a little shopping to help settle his nerves. He grabbed a hayburger a little after the town clock tower struck noon, and some new jewel encrusted scrunchies to tie back his hair. He put it all on dear old dads credit because, after all, he was unemployed. He was sure that his folks would understand that a pony had to eat and look his best for a job interview. They'd understand, even if his tastes were a little pricey.
However, Zephyr spent so much time picking out the very best looking scrunchies that the time just got away from him. The sun was already sliding its way slowly towards the horizon before he realized that he was going to be late for his interview.
He wasn't just going to be late actually. He was already late!
By several hours.
Zephyr panicked.
If he met up with Fluttershy's for dinner as they had planned, sure he'd get a free meal, but then she'd ask how the interview went. The interview he'd never gone to! Maybe it would be best to just pretend he'd forgotten the whole thing and head back to Mom and Pops and lay low for a few days until all this blew over? In the past his sister would have just let him be, even going so far as to pretend that nothing had ever happened, but he had a bad feeling that if he tried to pull the old 'I forgot card' it wouldn't play out that way for him this time. His sister had really put herself out there to try and find him the perfect job, and just blowing it all off would be a good way to make sure she might never help him out again.
Zephyr was not the type of pegasus to burn bridges if he could keep from it, especially with ponies that he could reliably borrow bits from. But, the more he thought about it, there was another way to play this. Fluttershy said that his interview was scheduled for the afternoon. Well it was still afternoon, technically, so if anyone complained about him showing up late he'd just tell them it was their own fault for not being more clear about the time. Once he had them on the back hoof like that, the interview would be a breeze! This was perfect! The Zeph had done it again!
This was not perfect. The road that lead to Zephyr's destination was long and winding, and it extended far outside of the Ponyville city limits. It took him past farmland and out into the boondocks, far away from anything the pegaus could remotely recognize as signs of civilization. As he'd flown, he'd managed to save himself a little bit of time by skipping over some more particularly meandering twists and turns, and more than a few crossroads and bends, but the drawback of this had been that he was now not entirely sure if he was on the right road or not anymore. He'd been forced to land to try and make heads or tails of the street signs. The last sign he had passed had more than a few of its letters worn off, so it could have said 'Badger', or 'Granger', or possibly even 'Danger'. He didn't like the sound of that last possibility, but then, as the light of day was fading, he was having a hard time reading the slip of paper Fluttershy had given him. It seemed his destination was in a far corner of Ponyville at the edge of the Everfree Forest. As he forged ahead, the trees grew up around the path he was on, robbing him of even the waning light of the setting sun.
It was with a palpable sense of relief that Zephyr finally came across what looked like a large warehouse. This had to be the place! There wasn't anything else around for miles!
As he walked down the dusty road, that lead through a gate set in a rusty chain link fence, that sense of relief began to fade. Everything here was so old and broken down. A wagon that had gone to termites and rot moldered in one corner of the yard. The few windows in the edifice had been boarded up with thick planks of wood. A sharp, acrid scent seemed to haunt the arid air. Even surrounded by the trees of the nearby forest, it seemed like everything living had shunned the gravel yard, save for a few stunted thorn bushes and what Zephyr could have sworn were tumble weeds. Everything was so dried out and wasted away, It was almost as if Zephyr had wandered into a small slice of desert, an anti-oasis surrounded by trees.
Indeed, the tall chain link fences that surrounded the entire place were so old that they were leaning inward, forming a rough cage that the nearby trees had over grown in a broad dome. The warehouse itself was stained by rain and time, bleached white by the shafts of sunlight that had managed to make it passed the thick forest canopy. Everything had a look of abandonment. A broken down sign on the front of the building, missing several letters, proudly proclaimed 'We_com_ T_ Th_ __acker_ard!_!" It looked like the wooden letters that remained had once been painted a bright red, but most of that paint had long since peeled off revealing the rotten wood beneath.
If there's any work to be had here, Zephyr thought, it must be a demolition job. Zephyr absolutely despised manual labor. It was always so rough on ones hooves and was absolute murder on your mane. If that was what this was all about, maybe it would be better to just turn around and leave right now?
Even as the thought passed through Zephyr's head, the sound of wheels screeching to a halt behind him made him jump. Two of the most massive Earth Pony stallions Zephyr had ever seen unhitched themselves from a wagon that looked just barely in better repair than the other one that was rotting away in the gravel he'd passed on his way inside. The first of the two stallions lumbered towards Zephyr. A dark green brute, his mane was a shock of acid yellow that formed a wispy mohawk that curled down his spine to the nape of his neck. The lower half of his face was hidden behind what looked like a tight black gas mask with a lopsided grin painted over the breathing filter on the front. It wrapped around the sides of mask, giving the black leather a joviality that wasn't shared by the rest of its owners looming frame. His bright orange eyes glared harshly down on Zephyr.
The pegsus felt instincts he never knew he had suddenly leap to attention and scream 'Fly! Fly like you have never flown before!'
Unfortunately the second stallion closed the gate with a rusty squeak, and Zephyr heard the unmistakable rattle of chains and the heart-sinking 'snap' of a padlock locking home. That job done, the other hulking pony turned back towards his fellow. His face was hidden by an even more elaborate mask, which looked as if it had been stitched together from scraps of old leather. Zephyr realized with a wave of dread that the shock of blue mane that crested the stallions forehead was not his own, but rather hair that had grown from a patch of leather that had been painstakingly sewn into the rest of the mask. The rest of his mane was a scraggly orange that stuck out in clumps here and there, though the rest of his coat was a bright red. He joined the first stallion in staring Zephyr down.
Bandits! Zephyr thought loudly, I've ended up cornered by a pair of bandits! Zephyr smiled nervously, hoping that his terror didn't show on his face. His eyes darted around the yard, looking for another possible exit. His senses were in overdrive, and he realized he could suddenly notice little details he hadn't before. How every scrap of wood was so rotten and warped from such long disuse that it shouldn't be able to stand in a strong breeze, let alone stand as any sort of place of business. How the two stallions looked as if they could snap a pony like him in half without exerting any real kind of effort. How the bundle in the back of their wagon seemed to rhythmically rise and fall, and squirm every now and then as if there was something living wrapped up in those sheets of tarpaulin and rope.
But the most salient point he realized, as his eyes began to tear up from just how terrified he was, had to be the fact that long spools of razor ribbon had been strewn in and amongst the tree limbs that stretched over the warehouse. A pegasus's first instincts when they were in trouble was almost always to try and fly away. If Zephyr so much as jumped too high, he'd shred himself into a million pieces, and that was if he was lucky enough to keep from tangling himself up in the viciously sharp metal wire. It was the only metal in the place that looked shiny and new. At least he wouldn't have to worry about needing tetanus shots if he somehow managed to pull through in one piece.
Before he could try his luck, however, the stallion in the gas mask bellowed "PA!" in a voice that cut through the dusty air. "We're back! And y'all got company!"
A door set in the side of the warehouse opened with such force that it smashed into the side of the wall it was set in, rocking the entire edifice as though it had been caught in a sudden gale. The dark mouth of the doorway yawned like some feral monsters open maw, the fetid air from within drifting out and curling Zephyr's nose hairs. A third massive pony, though this one not quiet as large as the first two, stomped into the yard. Like the others, he too wore a mask, though his was ivory... It looked as though it had been carved from thick bone, and was absolutely smooth save for a few eye and breathing holes. Leather straps held it in place, wrapping around the back of his head, and through his wild pink mane. The rest of his body was pink as well, though he wore a tattered green overcoat despite it being the middle of summer and hot as Tartarus even under the shade of the many interlocking tree boughs.
Zephyr's eyes widened as the newcomer drew closer. Every inch of him from his mane to his tail, all the way down to his hooves, was flecked by bright red stains.
And he was coming right for Zephyr.
He loomed over Zephyr, not saying a word. He was surrounded!
He stopped looking at Zephyr, and instead addressed the pair of stallions. "Well don't just stand there gawking! Get inside! We been waitin' on you two to get back since lunch time. Where have y'all been Nuke!?"
"We-we was jus' doin' what ya asked us to Pa. Honest," said the hulking green stallion, 'Nuke' apparently, "Bubba jus' wanted ta stop and get some more twine for his arts and crafts. We woulda been back on time if it weren't for that."
"Is that true Bubba?" the red stained stallion asked the towering pony in the leather mask. 'Bubba' cringed as if he had been whipped and shook his head. He actually seemed to be afraid of the pony they called 'Pa'. "Oh, so Nuke is lyin' then." Bubba shook his head again and tried to put himself between Pa and Nuke, as if he was trying to protect his brother. "So which is it, are you lyin' or is he lyin'?" Bubba raised his hoof and started striking himself in the head. "Quit that. Quit that! Ah've told you to cut that out when we have company!" Both of the stallions seemed to shrink in size and shiver under the glare of the newcomer. "Ah'll deal with the pair of you later. Just get yer rears inside and get that wagon unloaded! We lost enough time waitin' on you two!"
The ponies that Zephyr found so intimidating before scrambled to obey 'Pa', hitching themselves back up to the wagon and pulling it back behind the old warehouse in a cloud of dust. Just like that it was just Zephyr and 'Pa' in the yard. Somehow he didn't feel any safer. He cleared his throat, about to speak, but suddenly realized he had no idea what to say. 'Hi, I seem to be exactly in the wrong place at the wrong time, will you please let me go?' didn't seem like it was likely to get him anywhere. And 'If you don't let me go, ponies will come looking for me. You'll never get away with it!' rang hollow too. Zephyr realized that if he never showed up again, both Fluttershy and his parents would probably just assume that he had flaked out and found somepony else to live off of. Neither his retired parents nor his globe trotting sister were likely to spare any time trying to find him. With a fresh wave of dread, he realized they'd probably even feel relieved not to have to put up with him anymore.
Pa saved him the trouble of having to come up with anything to say by muttering, "Kids..." and spitting into the dust, "Sorry about those two. Ah'm afraid what they have in muscle they sort of lost in brains. They got no social graces what-so-ever and have no idea how to properly treat company. Why don't ya follow me and Ah'll give ya the grand tour before we get started?"
Zephyr finally found his voice, and managed to squeak out, "Yes sir, I-i mean no sir, I think there's been a terrible misunderstanding. I was looking for a," the pegasus pulled out the piece of paper his sister had given him, but found he was sweating so much that the letters had smeared to illegibility. "A different place than this, I'm sure."
"Ain't no misunderstandin'. Ah'll admit you're arriving here a might later than we expected, but you were expected all the same," replied the masked pony confidently, and much more clearly than you would expect considering. "Still, seems to have worked out for the best since my boys were so late getting back from running their little errands. It'll take them a bit to get everything set up. That should give us plenty of time to show you around and give you an idea of how things work before we get to it. Just follow me and we'll get you squared away." The stallion stepped back through the door into the warehouse, and was lost in the darkness.
Zephyr didn't know what to do. There was no way he could escape without the key that the one named 'Bubba' had, but he knew for sure that whatever work they did here, he didn't want any part of it. Maybe they weren't bandits, and this was a legitimate operation, but Zephyr highly doubted it. For one thing, what was with them all wearing masks? And for another, what exactly had their errands been if it involved bringing something squirming back, wrapped up in ropes and under a thick tarp? Should he chance the trees after all and the razor ribbon that bound the limbs together? Or maybe he should try to dig his way under the fence?
Before he could decide on a plan of action, a voice bellowed from the darkness, "Well are ya coming in or not!? Don't just leave the door swinging open! Were ya raised in a barn or something!?" He jumped several feet into the air, and quickly followed 'Pa' into the darkness. Zephyr had to face facts. He wasn't the most athletic pony, and even the thought of pain turned his stomach. He'd just have to play along until he could find another way out, or find a way to steal the key to his freedom.
The door slammed shut on its own behind him, causing Zephyr to jump. He found himself standing in absolute darkness.
Sure Zeph, follow the masked strangers into the creepy old, dark building, where no pony can hear you scream. Great plan!
But he would just have to chance it.