• Published 18th Oct 2018
  • 726 Views, 10 Comments

Chase - Farenth Vega



Racing through the woods, Twilight Sparkle tries to put as much ground as possible between her and her pursuer.

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Chapter 2

ZZZ We can't have spaghetti tonight spike... the moon isn't in alignment... ZZZ

ZZZ No rainbow, put down the sword... That's the friendly jellyfish king... ZZZ

*Crackling*

Ugh your head... did you doze off? It sounds like the fire's going but you don't remember lighting it, buck it shouldn't even be this dark yet.

Cracking an eye lets you confirm your suspicions about the fire. So why don't you remember lighting it?

You pop your neck and shift onto your side, only to discover some disturbing facts:

  • Your forehooves and rear hooves are each tied together.
  • Something wrapped around your head prevents you from moving too far away from it.

The memories rushing back and sent you right into a panic!

You'd been captured! It must have put you to sleep and dragged you off!

You whip your head around and struggle against your restraints! Whatever material the creature used to bind you is tough. It's not uncomfortable, but they barely budge. They look like some kind of padded cuffs made out of fabric?

A little mana to your horn also confirms your fears about the anti-magic field's presence. They must have figured out something new. Some way to make their generators smaller, more portable.

At least you can scooch around a tiny bit. A line attached to the head mounted apparatus you wear prevents you from moving too far away, but a little freedom helps fight down any feeling of claustrophobia.

You take a moment to look down your muzzle to see what he'd put on you.

Straps encircle your muzzle then wrap around your ears and the back behind your head. If the basic shape didn't tip you off the bit between your teeth did. It's a bridle, and a sturdy one at that.

Ok Twilight just relax. Panicking doesn't help anything, you've just got to assess the situation.

  • You've been captured.
  • You don't have your magic.
  • He tied you up tight and left you near his campfire. Close to the fire, but not close enough to actually reach it.

So where is he? Who leaves a new prisoner unattended? Could it be some kind of test? Waiting to see your reaction to a new situation might help him understand you better. Then again you could just be overthinking things. Just because you'd study yourself in this situation doesn't mean he cares about that.

You end up simply sitting quietly for a few minutes to see what happens.

It's almost dark. You must have been out for a few hours minimum, but at least you have the quietly burning fire to keep you company if he's not going to.

Your stomach growl loudly. Ugh that's right, he interrupted your lunch and it's got to be dinner soon if it isn't already.

Will he give you something to eat? Based on his comment early about you being 'healthy' he seemed to care about your well being to some degree.

An old mare's tale about a crone that fattened foals up to eat them pops into your mind... Not really something you need to be thinking about right now!

A loud snap behind you gets your attention.

"Awake already sheila? I knew you were made of sterner stuff!"

The camo covered human emerges from the brush and strolls into the firelight. He's carrying a backpack as well as a fishing rod couple fish hanging off the end.

"Sorry I wasn't here to greet ya. I went and got us something tasty to celebrate with."

Celebrate what? Your capture? That seems a bit low.

"Ya like fish right? Got some veggies around here I can fry up too if ya like."

You aren't sure if he expects a real answer. You certainly don't feel like giving him one.

After a few minutes rummaging through a small tent the human returns.

"Silent treatment aye? I know your kind can talk so there's no point being like that."

First of all you don't want to talk to a monster like him. Secondly your mouth has a bit in it!

You just fix him with an angry stare that unfortunately only makes him chuckle.

"That's alright, if you want to eat you'll have to at least acknowledge me I figure."

He leaves you to stew in anger while he throws the fish and veggies into a skillet. Sweet Luna that smells delicious! Your diet's mostly consisted of raw veggies for the past year. Who can blame you if the smell of properly seasoned and sauteed food makes your mouth water?

"Now don't get used to eating like this, seasoning limited, but this is a special occasion. You need a good meal after that long run you gave me, and I need to celebrate one of the best hunts i've ever had"

He's not wrong about the first part, maybe you'll wait til you get a chance to eat before somehow busting out of here. The minutes pass in silence as he cooks up the mini feast.

You don't want to do anything too dramatic while he's right here, but you can at least try to wiggle out of your restraints a bit. Good news is your leg feels a lot better. Your leaf bandage had been replaced with a real one, no doubt something he did while you were knocked out.

"I think it's justtttt about ready."

He walks from his side of the campfire to yours.

"Now, I can't let you go, and I can't be letting you use that magic of yours. If I remove that bit you promise to be on your best behavior?"

Now that he's brought the steaming skillet closer it smells even more amazing. You nod your consent to his terms, anything to get some of those carrots in your stomach.

"Nice and slow then."

True to his word he slowly reaches around your muzzle and unclips the bit. You work your tongue and smack your lips a bit now that you can.

"Better?"

Well yeah, duh.

"Here ya are, open up."

It feels a little weird following his command, but the carrot on his fork smells too heavenly for you to care.

"How is it?"

"MMMMM." It's the best thing you've eaten in months!

"Fantastic."

He takes a few bites himself before offering you a mushroom. Appearances are thrown out the window as you eagerly devour the veggie.

"A healthy appetite, that's good!"

Shut up and give veggies.

The human alternates between your mouth and his for before opting for a speedier alternative, a fork to his mouth and an open palm of food to yours. Having to lean down and eat out of his hand isn't ideal but your hunger wins out.

"Doing great sparky. I must be a better cook than i realized!"

"Twilight..."

"What's that?"

"It's Twilight."

"Oh yeah yeah, I know. Twilight Sparkle, powerful mage, student to the princess even. We didn't know your name back then of course so you got the nickname Sparky, what with the way you seemed to be able to spark all over the place. You were a high priority target back then you know? Brass wanted to know how you did it, probably wanted to study you or something. Not anymore though, I guess they figured that stuff out by now."

Figured it out by now?

"The princesses! What happened to them?"

You surge towards him in excitement only to be jerked back by the bridle. The human jumps back a bit and throws his hands up in a gesture of defeat.

"Your guess is as good as mine sheila. Probably nabbed by some shady government group would be my guess, fact is they just vanished after the capitol fell."

Your ears fall at the news. Canterlot was the first place you'd tried to escape to back when it all started. The human army you'd found was disheartening, but you'd hoped the princesses had escaped, maybe fallen back to the crystal empire or across the sea.

"Hey don't let it get you down. You ponies can eat fish right? Here."

Oh sweet heavens above when was the last time you'd had fish? It's orgasmic! You tried to do some fishing yourself but your homemade fishing poles didn't quite work out...

"Pretty good huh?"

"Yes... Sir...?"

What the heck do you call this guy?

"No need for that Sparky, just call me Arnold. They'll give you plenty of training bout that kind of stuff back on earth, no need for it out here."

"Earth?"

"Good ole human planet. Military got tired of chasing ponies so they put up contracts for us private trackers to bring you all in.

"Please, I don't want to go."

"Didn't think you would. Contract's a contract though sheila, sorry.

Don't cry damnit! You can't be seen as weak in front of the enemy!

"I hate to see a bird cry. How about this?"

The man offers you another mushroom from the end of his fork but your appetite's gone. You shake your head and scoot away as best you can.

"Just let me go! Why do you people even want me? Why can't you just leave me alone?!"

Thrashing around doesn't seem to be doing much, but you've got to try! You flood your horn with mana just to feel it vanish. You strain and pull at the rope with all your might, only for it to not give an inch. Even your hoof restraints hold firm, only allowing you to roll over and squirm around in the grass. Despite the hearty meal your energy still has it's limits. Just what in tartarus is this rope made of?

You collapse into a panting mess. Your eyes find Arnold back on his side of the campfire. His blank expression is too hard to read as he pokes the fire.

It's hopeless. He caught you, he trapped you, and now he's going to haul you off to some horrible fate. Buck, who even cares about looking pathetic anymore? You collapse onto your side and let your tears fall into the dirt.

You don't resist when you feel his hand on your neck again, it's not like you could stop him anyway. He sits down besides you. You could probably stab him with your horn, but what would be the point? He'd win the fight and even if he didn't you'd be stuck tied up and helpless.

"That's it, let it all out. It'll be alright, I promise."

"What's - what's gonna happen to me?"

"We'll take you back, give you a bit of training, probably sell you off to some rich bloke to be his assistant or something."

Training. Conditioning is more likely.

"No one'll hurt ya if you're good. Lots of ponies even learn to love their new homes, part of the family and all that."

The stroking feels nice after all your fighting's made you sleepy.

"Just think of a warm bed, hot meals, showers, loved ones. Doesn't that sounds better than hiding the woods all your life? Can't be fun foraging and shaking in your boots all the time."

It's not. The everfree had almost claimed your life a dozen times before you'd made a break for the whitetail woods. Whitetail's safer but there's still predators, ones besides humans that is.

"I've even got you a warm sleeping bag for tonight, don't that sound nice?"

A warm night's sleep sounds divine actually. It's not quite winter yet but the fall weather is coming in quickly, nights are cool and crisp even for the thickest of coats.

"Want me to get it now?"

Your silent nod is good enough for him.

It's weird being lifted up and tucked in by your captor. It's even weirder being hand fed the last bits of food while he tells you stories from his past.

No way they're all true, and more importantly you have no idea why he's telling them to you. Is he trying to impress you with tales of his skill? To discourage you from running away? Maybe it's an attempt to bond so you'll resent him less and feel less inclined to rebel. You guess it's also possible he's just lonely. He'd said he'd been out here all by himself for months but who knows if that bothers humans at all.

Either way the warm veggies, warm bed, warm fire, and warm voice make sleep too hard to resist.

Tomorrow. They'll be plenty of time to come up with a plan tomorrow.