private Ticking RP

[Mephala 2,633]

OOC

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Note: this RP is private among @Alex Kennedy, , and I. We are not accepting other members, so please do not contact me if you want to participate; you will not be allowed in. Thanks for your co-operation. :-)

 

"But if you close your eyes does it almost feel like nothing changed at all? And if you close your eyes, does it almost feel like you've been here before? How am I gonna be an optimist about this? How am I gonna be an optimist about this?..."

Bastille - Pompeii

 

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"Dig harder, you lazy scum! HARDER!"

 

Rain grunted with the effort as she jabbed her spade into the earth, not wanting to face the cat o' nine tails that the driver held in his hand. Metal balls were attached to the end of each tail coming off it, and she had seen him hit a young man so hard once that his spine snapped. Luckily, Rain had never been hit by that particular whip, so her lashings were, though still severe, much less so than anyone else. Even though she had more scars than anyone else she had seen, she knew who to sucker up in front of and who not to.

 

She heard the squelchy thud and scream that came with a hit and she gritted her teeth and strained her muscles. Wings were forbidden to use so they were tied to her back and the rope rubbed uncomfortably, feeling the gyrating body next to her shallowly dig as they tried to do as much as possible before the driver came to inspect their side. Shallow digging was, in the eyes of their captors, just as bad as not working-the slaves tired out quickly and little work was done.

 

Talking was forbidden, but Rain opened her mouth slightly, hoping to get a whispered warning out before the driver could come over. Before she could say anything she was sharply hit in the back of the head and stars swam in her vision as she clamped down on her tongue and tasted blood. She hadn't banked on a second driver showing up behind them. Her pain was so great that she barely registered the slave next to her slumping unconscious and being dragged away for further punishment. 

 

There was a sudden commotion across the way and she glanced up to see a mutant being dragged across the muddy ground, looking none too happy. She appeared to be half rabbit and her pink eyes were cross as she was unceremoniously dumped into the mud and thrown a shovel.

 

Blue eyes met those pink. And unspoken spark, agreement, passed between them. Soon, they would talk.

 

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Teek hadn't had a good morning. She had been rudely awoken by a cuff on the head (as per the usual). She had gotten no breakfast but was sent straight to work (as per the usual). Everyone made fun of her ears (as per the usual, yet again).

 

What WASN'T normal, however, was her movement. As a mutant, Teek was usually a part of the more delicate program; she still had to work, but not in such a disgusting and violent environment. Compared to the treatment of the "lesser" species from Decarth and Gogallt, mutant and rare species were in a paradise.

 

Though where they took her wasn't even close to the bottom of the slave food chain, and already Teek flinched away. Every pony looked hungry and sick, and she saw across the way one get struck as he shallowly banged his spade into the earth, before he was dragged away. The young mare beside him was hit as well, presumably for talking, but she wasn't taken away, likely due to her powerful low strokes. 

 

Teek was shoved into the dirt. She felt the tickle of a whip gently touch her back, a warning, and she was handed a spade. Before they were cleaned up, slaves were forced to do hard labour building up camps, and some were even transported around Slavek to work on the city. It was said that Prin, the daughter of the ruling family, had fallen in love with her handpicked butler, but this was likely just a rumour-Prin was a cold soul and she was promised to Braw, the captain of the Delirium military.

 

She glanced up. The mare that had been hit was staring at her with level blue eyes. She had some terrible scarring on the left side of her body, clearly burns, which latticed all over her sides. However, her gaze was clear, and it told Teek something. Teek stared right back at her and understood that there was a like-minded creature, and soon, they would meet.

 

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The sound of clattering stones made Rubble lift his head from his work. Due to the fact that they were working next to and on a cliff, everyone was on edge-everyone except, apparently, the oblivious pegasus who was attempting to break his bonds, eying the distracted driver every few moments to make sure he wasn't looking. Rubble flicked his eyes up. Boulders were rolling down, about to hit him.

 

He could not speak, for that would give him away, but an earth pony nearby yelled for his attention. The driver looked up, whip at the ready, but the earth pony dove to save the pesgasus, who had looked up too late.

 

By the time he got there it was too late for them both. The rocks caught them and pushed them off the edge, though their massive weight had likely killed them before they were ever tossed over. Everyone stopped working for a few moments, thinking that it could have been them, when the driver began to roar at them to work and they all started again.

 

It was a lucky miss, that Rubble did nothing-how would it have looked if he came back, bugged up but alive? Chunks out of his rubbery frame, disguise gone, but breathing? (Not that he needed to breathe, but that, of course, wasn't the point).

 

He knew that none of the other ponies surrounding him cared about the pegasus and the earth pony. This struck him as odd. Though he lacked much emotion, he thought that it was normal flesh pony behaviour to at least feel a little bit of remorse. He supposed that hard work had made them sweat all their emotions out. Winter was coming, but the autumn winds still didn't cool them off.

 

A sudden crack on his shoulder made him turn. It was a voluntary reflex to flinch-he didn't feel the whip but he knew he was supposed to. The driver gave a barking chuckle, then spoke.

 

"18874? You're coming with me," he rapped out, and Rubble made no protest. He hoped that he wasn't going to the mines (they normally only sent lesser races there, not ponies), and took confort in his semi-invincibility at that moment.

 

After a short carriage ride, they arrived at the area. It appeared to be where new barracks were going up, and ponies were shoulder to shoulder. He was shoved in an open space next to a young blue pegasus, who winced when he brushed against her scars.

 

"Sorry," he whispered involuntarily. It was just that she looked so much like her.

 

The other pony cracked a lopsided smile. Her scarring wasn't pretty, but it gave her an almost exotic quality. 

 

"S'all good, 18874," she said quietly, reading off the brand inside his leg. "You got a real name?"

 

Rubble wasn't sure if to answer, but he did anyways. "Rubble," he replied after a few minutes. "They call me Rubble."

 

"Rough name for a rough man," said the mare, and glanced at him. "Raindancer. Raindancer and Rubble. We'll make quite the team."

 

With that, she was shut up by a hit, and Rubble could only feel a small glow in his chest as he realized that things just might get better.

[Chickey 383]

Hypno looked over at the pony looking character that was thrown in. He looked rather confused himself as he looked around, not saying anything much yet seeing he was thrown in here not too long ago himself. Wh-what am I supposed to do here... What's the purpose. he thought as he scanned around at the other creatures that had been placed here and wondered if he would ever get out of this prison himself, but he knew he had no chance if he was so weak and hungry. "So this is probably the end." He mumbled to himself as he softly chuckled, looking down.

 

Another pony was thrown in, this time a unicorn, and was placed right next to Rubble. "How... elegant." He spoke quietly with a sigh, looking around his new surroundings and adjusting his mane as he stood up quietly with a rather hopeless face.

 

Rufus had already been there for bit longer, standing up with his arms hanging down in a rather careless stature. He was only wearing raggedy black pants and the pony skull that seemed to be stuck to his face, all of his armor and belongings seemed to be stripped from him when he was captured in Decarth. He merely watched with a emotionless expression that was hard to read under his mask

Edited July 30, 2013 by Hypno

[Alex Kennedy 1,228]

Asteron grunted as he hammered away at the ore vein in front of him. Even for a creature with his great size and strength, working in the mines was pretty tough. But that's what you get for being born the wrong race.The slave drivers didn't care at all about the "lesser" creatures like minotaurs, and as a result, his kind ended up with the most difficult and taxing work. He was strong enough to take it, but he'd seen others who weren't, and what it could do to them.

 

His musings were interrupted by a growl and a thud, as the slave drivers tossed in a new worker, this one a diamond dog. Asteron quickly looked the new arrival over and smiled. Diamond dogs were good at mining, and this one looked quite strong. Much like himself, this was someone who could take the work.

 

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Scurry got up and brushed himself off, muttering something just barely quiet enough that he didn't get caught and punished for it. Not knowing what else to do, he gripped the pickaxe they had given him and began following the example of the minotaur next to him. At least mining was something he could do well. Anything more complicated than manual labor was a bit tricky for him.

 

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Raptor sized up the new arrival from across the tunnel. He didn't seem like much, strong maybe, but not too bright. A competent miner most likely, but otherwise of no interest.