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Chapter 11,216 words
Chapter 21,286 words

Chapter 1

The sunlight barely permeated through the think wooden walls of the boxcar Pipsqueak was riding in. He sat in the corner with his head down. Slowly his head lifted as did his hoof. Pip pressed his shoe against the wall and added another tally, completing that set of five. Now the set looked like the seven other complete sets engraved in the wall that counted the days spent in the confined little boxcar. Day forty had come and, turning to examine the rest of the car, so had the inevitable dead that had either froze to death or starved over the course if the last night. Not startled by the amount deceased anymore, Pip helped the other colts move the lifeless corpses to the large wooden door. When the train had left Canterlot forty days ago, Pip's car was was packed wall to wall with the condemned. Pip was unsure of how many colts and mares started out the journey in his car but he had heard the guard say the number ninety-six. The number of survivors was far less as of late, only about high thirties low forties. Sitting down with a sigh, Pip closed his eyes. The young colt was still new to the world, and was already forced into work for a time equal to the time he'd been alive. Thinking hard, Pip changed his last assumption. His sentence was less than half the time he'd been alive. The train had left on March sixteenth and forty days had passed, making today April 25. April 25 was Pip's birthday. Pip had been waiting for this day for the longest time. He'd told his mother what he wanted. He was going to have a big party thrown by Pinkie and he'd blow out the sixteen candles on his cake. Instead he's on this train surrounded by the dead and dying, tring not to pass on himself. Pip let out a chuckle. As if he had control over that. Drifting back off to sleep, Pipsqueak dreamed about the days before his deportation.

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It was a warm day in Ponyville. Warm for March that is. The snow had melted, signaling that spring was on its way. The weather team had done a good job. There wasn't a cloud in the sky. Pip was walking down the street when he saw a familiar face.
"Hey Ms.Fluttershy," The young colt shouted out to the cream colored mare.
"EEEP!" The mare screamed as she reared back, almost dropping he bags of food, fresh from the market.
"Oh my gosh, I didn't mean to scare you Ms.Fluttershy."
"Oh, it's only you Pip. It's alright. No need to worry."
"I still feel bad miss. Let me help you with those bags to make it up to you."
"Oh my. Than you Pipsqueak!"
Taking a bag in his mouth, Pip said "No problem at all."

After a bit of walking, Pip noticed the changing of the guards. A zebra solider stood on every corner of Ponyville. That had been case for a few years now since the takeover. The zebra juggernauts had been taking over the dragon lands to the South of Equestria and had attacked Equestria once finished with the fore mentioned conquest. They advanced to Canterlot and, once the city was taken, the princesses were executed and the prince exiled. One guard was changing his post and almost ran into Fluttershy, causing her to drop her bag and causing the food to roll everywhere. Without stopping the guard took his place on the corner. Disgusted by how someone could almost run into a lady and not help her collect her dropped items, Pip shot the guard a dirty look.
"Hey you little shit," the guard boomed, "what the hell do you think you're lookin' at?"
"Nothing sir," Pip said, with hint of defiance in his voice.
"Take that damn bag outta your mouth when your talking to me boy!" The guard said, striking Pip in the face with the butt of his gun. Staggered, Pip fell, food flying everywhere. By now a crowd had started to gather and Fluttershy had backed away into the crowd.
"I'm sorry sir, but you should have helped her gather the food YOU made her drop," Pip said, getting up.
At that the guard picked up Pip and put him in hoofcuffs.

The rest was a blur until Pip was shoved into a train car in Canterlot after his sentencing. He remembered the initial confusion when the big wooden doors slid shut and locked for the first time. The mares cried for help. The colts beat on the door. I was as if Discord had taken over the inside of the car. The crying and beating went on late into the night, until everyone was tired out. Sleeping though was damn near impossible. Everyone had to lay down the same way and everyone had to turn at the same time if one pony wanted to. The last thing Pip remembered was a small filly, maybe six or seven, huddling up to his mother in the far corner from were he sat sleeping now. He remembered the filly, because on the seventh day of the journey, Pip saw the same sight. The filly curled up under his mother's arm. The only difference this time, was that they, both the mare and the filly, were dead.

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Pipsqueak was awoken by the sound of the screeching train brakes. The sudden stop caused Pip's head to slam into the side of the car, giving him a massive headache.The giant wooden doors slid open. In the middle of the doors stood a zebra guard , giving the usual orders.
"Throw out the dead. Gather wood from the trucks! Get snow for water!"

Doing as told, the colts started removing the dead. Their bodies were catatonic and, because of the cold, curled up into balls. This made life a lot easier for the body dumpers, as all they need to do was roll the bodies out of the car. Pip took a body and rolled it out of the train. With a thud the body hit the dirt n rolled down the embankment into a ditch. Pip hated removing the bodies. Not because the ponies were dead, but because the dead lay in ditches, without proper burial. Pip made himself a promise just then: He wouldn't die up here. After the mares came back with wood for the little stove in their car and snow for water, the food came around. The meal was the same as always, Potatoes. Cold raw potatoes for breakfast and dinner. Pip ate his ration, drank some water and sat in the corner waiting for the train to resume its course. As the sun set, the wooden doors closed. Pip knew that for some, that would be the last time they saw the sun. That thought with the thought of his mother in Ponyville and the filly and mare who were long since dead made Pip want to break down and cry, but he didn't. Because Pipsqueak new that this far North, it was to cold for tears.

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