(I should probably mention to you all that I have decided, as of this post, that all of this is taking place a few days before y'alls stories. So I'll ask no one try to interact with Sacred just yet. At least until this little prologue is cleared up.)

[b]Equestrian Wastelands[/b]

The sun peered over the horizon, announcing the arrival of morning. All night the weary band of slaves and slavers had jangled their shackles through the wasteland, silent save for the occasional crackle of a whip or groan of pain from one of the slaves. The slavers stuck to their stock like glue and only once they had reached the cracked tarmac of a former road did they feel safe enough to take a break, almost eight hours after beginning. Grass pushed through cracks and various potholes in the road, the paint faded and dusty. The border by which the road began and the scrubland ended was blurry in spots, as decades of wicked winds and sand had spread across the tarmac, re-claiming it's land that had been stolen by ponies all those years ago.

In the shaded husk of a burnt out pre-war wagon in the middle of the road, Sacred sat lazily, his hooves folded neatly under his body. His eyelids were shut but occasionally twitched as the tracker dozed. A short distance away, Decimus stood with two slavers over a map that had been spread over the ground, his voice steadily getting louder in anger. They were lost, according to Decimus but the slavers assured him this was the right way. The remaining two slavers stood with their stock, occasionally flicking their whips at the weaker ones for fun. The slaves were in bad shape and had been piled into the middle of the hot road so that everypony could keep an eye on them. Not that it mattered. Eight hours of trekking across the desert had exhausted the formerly optimistic group of Earth ponies and now they lay close together, licking their wounds or claiming a few minutes of sleep. Bliss stood somewhere outside of Sacred's view and he was absolutely fine with that. She had taken to trying to seduce one of the slavers and her sweet, sickening voice had been cooing all the way. Celestia, he hated that fucking mare.

Sacred stood unsteadily to his hooves, his eyes flickering open and close as he tried to awake himself. It had been 24 hours since he had a good meal and rest and he was now running on fumes and water. He casually wandered over to the group of slaves, who were watched suspiciously by a pair of slavers. It was a thought that had suddenly came to him - check out the slaves. He pulled the water bottle from around his neck into his mouth and gulped slowly, his tired eyes flickering over the slaves. He was curious - runaway slaves [i]never[/i] stuck together and yet here was a group of 9 slaves, all together like a family. A few watched him with hungry eyes, envious. Old scars on their flanks had been replaced with biting new wounds, probably inflicted over the course of dawn by slavers. Wounds were a sickly yellow colour and weeped a mixture of blood and puss. Flies flitted across the pregnant ponies face but she didn't seem to notice. Her eyes had a look that Sacred had grown familiar to over the years, a thousand yard stare. Her stomach area was swelled but she looked too thin to give birth and live. [i]She'll die soon[/i], Sacred thought grimly.

[i]No pony should live like this[/i]. The thought surprised Sacred for a moment. Was this...pity? Was he feeling pity for the slaves? But they were sub-pony, not worth his time. Yes, that was what Decimus had said. They were just property, not ponies, just property. Just property. Inferior, sub-pony, property....

''Thinkin' about buying one, Sacred?'' grinned one of the slavers, unhooking his whip from his side with magic. Sacred returned his question with a tight-lipped smile. '[i]Non, monsiuer[/i]. I'm curious, is all'' he answered. The slaver looked disappointed and wrapped the whip around his flank once again. The slave hunter drew closer to the group of slaves and they all immediately pulled away, as if he was going to strike them. '[i]Non, non[/i]' he cooed softly. 'I shall not hurt you. I just wanted to offer some water'. He looked to a slaver for confirmation and he just shrugged. Taking that as a good sign, he carefully pulled the water bottle from around his neck and passed it to a slave, who gave him a dirty look before greedily gulping the water. The water was passed around so that everypony got at least a sip, all apart from the unicorn in the centre, who shook her head. 

Somepony had shaved her entire mane off and left her with several scars for complaining. But it was her eyes that attracted his attention. They were large and a light shade of blue but filled with a look not seen in the other ponies. She didn't look scared, obedient or even angry - her eyes looked curious, constantly flitting around from one pony to the next, drinking in her surroundings. Her horn was small and unassuming, probably the most boring feature of her auburn coat. 

'You don't want?' asked Sacred. 'We shall be moving soon. You need your strength for...' His voice trailed off, as if he were afraid to say what was next. 'Work?' croaked the unicorn, shifting slightly. 'Oi! No talking!' snarled a slaver, the whip unfurling with magic. A group of the slaves huddled closer to the unicorn, protecting her. '[i]Non![/i]' said Sacred suddenly. 'Please, do not hit her. she was only answering me'. The slaver stared at Sacred for several moments, considering his chances. Attacking Sacred meant pissing off Decimus and that Zebra was not one to be messed with. The slaver spat on the ground and re-wrapped the whip around himself. He whispered a curse to no pony in particular and trotted over to his companion. 'Thank you' said a slave quietly. The unicorn hadn't moved at all, seemingly unfazed by the whip. She nodded her appreciation to Sacred nonetheless.

Sacred stood in silence for several moments, looking at each and every slave. They seemed weary, almost afraid of him but the unicorn had a look of curiosity behind that tired, scarred face. As he opened his mouth to talk, another voice cut in behind him. 'Checkin' out the stock, Grey?' said Bliss, giving a sick smile. Her rifle hovered at her side , lazily making arcs in the air. She stood next to Sacred, barely a few inches taller than him but her scars and knotted hair making her look ten times more intimidating. 'Well?' she demanded. 'I am, erm, curious, to be honest' began Sacred, his previous confidence gone. Although he didn't like to admit it, Bliss scared him. She was a wild card, barely controlled by Decimus and could not be trusted alone around anyone. 'Curious? Of what?' she said, her eyes flickering over the slaves. She sized each one up with her eyes and all avoided her stare. 'Oh, you know...numbers and-and shit...' murmured Sacred. Her gun swung around and began another lazy arc in the air. The barrel swung past his nose slowly and for a moment, he stared down the bloody barrel of Bliss' rifle. 'Numbers and shit? What do slaves know about numbers? They're illiterate. Sub-pony, inferior. If it were up to me, all Earth Ponies would be slaves' she said coldly, casually glancing in his direction. 'Not you though, Sacred. You're...cultured, compared to these...things. You have a useful skill, these things are made for dragging wagons through the filth'. 

'[i]Merci[/i], Bliss' murmured Sacred, lowering his head. He knew it wasn't a compliment to show she appreciated him - she appreciated that he stayed out of her way and got on with his job. She gave him a horrible smile and flicked her knotted mane across the horrific scars on her face. The rifle was carefully placed into a holster on her back with magic before she spoke again. 'Come, Sacred, lets sort out those bucks' she motioned to Decimus and the arguing slavers. She turned, ignoring the slaves and giving one of the slavers a small wink. Sacred reluctantly walked behind her, giving a glance back to the group of slaves and the unicorn in particular.

'S-sir, your bottle' came a small voice. 'Oh, of course' smiled Sacred, sauntering quickly back to the group of slaves. A small pony carefully passed his now-empty bottle of water to go back around his neck. 'Thank you' nodded the tracker, giving a warm smile to the slave. The unicorn caught his eye and gave a smile, showing a row of perfect white teeth. It was the warmest, loveliest, most welcome smile Sacred had ever seen and for a moment, he stood, enthralled. She was the most beautiful pony he had ever come across, an angel in the wastes, a lovely little gem in a pile of stones called the world, a mare he could see himself settling down with and having many little f-

'Sacred' came a sharp growl from behind him. 'Come. Decimus is about to kill these slavers'. He felt a firm hoof on his shoulder drag him away from the group of slaves but could only gape at Bliss when she looked him in the eye. 'What the fuck is wrong with you?' she hissed, slapping him across the face . '[i]Putain de merde[/i]' he mumbled in reply, his eyes wide in disbelief.

'I am in love'.