Bright sunlight blinded me as I stepped out of the compartment and into the harsh daylight. Raising my bound hands to cover my eyes, I blinked as they tried to readjust to the sudden change in brightness. As my vision slowly returned, I glanced around at my surroundings. I felt my jaw drop at what I saw.

We had long since left the desert behind; there was no sign of sand anywhere at all. Instead, we were now surrounded by tall, white buildings. They loomed over us like colossal stone giants. Marble walls gleamed in sunlight, dazzling the eye. In the distance, a large mountain took up most of the remaining skyline, towering over the city. It was a breathtaking sight, and I had only been there for a few seconds.

As I tore my gaze away from the white citadel before me, I suddenly became aware of the hundred or so small horses swarming around the train station, going about their lives. This world was like some sort of little kid’s cartoon show brought to life, but without most of the cartoonish qualities I'd expect. The horses' coats seemed to be every color of the rainbow, but their colors seemed to fit them well, almost as if that was how it was naturally supposed to be. It still hurt my eyes, though. None of the colorful horses paid us any attention as they went about their daily tasks. Apparently humans showing up en masse was a pretty common occurrence.

As I continued to stare at the sea of multicolored horses, the red unicorn stallion turned to one of his companions behind me.

“Why are all these ponies here at the station?” he hissed, his blue eyes narrowing. “I thought they were supposed to clear the area for us!” His companion just shrugged her shoulders, then proceeded to start herding our group forward.

As we hurried through the streets, the crowd of ponies slowly spread in front of us, clearing a path. As we passed, most simply turned their noses up in disgust. They would whisper to one another as they watched us with haughty expressions. Some snickered as we passed, sticking out their hooves to trip random humans. Others even threw pieces of fruit. I noticed that the majority of the ponies taunting us wore what appeared to be very expensive-looking clothing. Not every pony did, but there were enough for it to be noticeable.

My brow furrowed in confusion as I spied a unicorn in a tuxedo watching the pack with a small smirk. Why are only some of them wearing clothing? Is it an optional thing? As I passed by another pony wearing a particularly fancy dress, another thought popped into my head. Might it have something to do with wealth? I went with that theory, seeing as the city itself seemed to be more of a high class-like environment.

Not all ponies treated us in such a deplorable manner. Some just stood to the side as we passed, shooting us looks of pity as we passed. One mare, a pale pegasus, shouted something at one of the ponies herding us, a look of anger on her face. The unicorn she insulted just snarled at her before giving the human in front of him a jab with their taser. The ponies that seemed sympathetic towards us were ones that didn’t have any articles of clothing on. Some of them seemed out of place too, like they were just visiting the city.

Tearing my gaze away from another sneering face, I instead took time to try and study the city as it flashed by. Hopefully I would have a chance to escape, and I would do better if I had an inkling of where to go. My head felt like it was going to fall off my neck as I swiveled it around, trying to take in every little detail possible. Back on Earth, I had been to New York City for a high school trip with our orchestra. At the time of the trip, I had thought that the huge city was the most spectacular sight I had ever seen. I grew up in a small town, so the skyscrapers blew my mind with their sheer size. Now, however, the city I was in blew that all out of the water. It was perfect in almost every way, from the buildings, to the décor. This white metropolis made New York City look like Detroit at its worst.

I was dimly aware of Sunny hovering nearby, giggling at me as I looked around at the city. I didn’t really care however, I was too busy admiring the incredible buildings around me.

“Downtown is going to be packed this time of day,” one of the unicorns shouted above the noise. The red unicorn, who appeared to be the leader of the group, nodded. Glancing around, he motioned for Pearl and Rose to take the lead.

“Divert them down past the palace,” he growled. “We’ll move around and head towards the market that way.” After several jabs and shocks from the tasers, we were soon hustling down one of the side streets. The humans pushed and shoved each other in the tight space, only kept moving by the threat of pain. Any human that was foolish enough to fall behind was immediately zapped by the following unicorns. Sunny continued to hover over the crowd, keeping a close eye on the humans. However, she seemed to be favoring the area around me. Someone’s playing favorites, I sung in my head. I didn’t know why she was so taken with me, but I was glad that she cared enough about me to want to keep an eye on me. It meant that there was at least one creature here who cared if I was alright.

After an abrupt turn, we continued down another side street, thundering along like a herd of cattle. We passed through several more side streets before we emerged into the open, sunlight streaming down upon us. As my eyes adjusted quickly, I immediately saw that we had emerged just outside of the palace. Large white walls seemed to glow with their own light, even in the noonday sun. Large ivory towers, emblazoned with gold, soared into the sky. I could even see a semi-hidden garden just around the far corner of the castle. The whole sight was magnificent.

I didn’t get long to gape at the view, as the unicorns forced us onwards. We hurried along the outer perimeter of the palace’s fence. Compared to the crowded streets we were previously on, the road in front of the palace was relatively empty. Only a few guards were patrolling the outer perimeter, their golden armor shining in the sunlight. The unicorns in our group kept casting nervous glances at the guards as we neared. I could see Rose muttering to herself under her breath. None of the ponies looked happy to be this close to the palace.

“It’s not ideal,” the red stallion muttered, discreetly glaring at the guards. “Let’s just get to the market before I regret this decision.”

“It shouldn’t be too difficult,” Pearl said, eyes never leaving the guards. “From here it’s a straight shot to the marketplace.” We continued along the fence line in near silence, the only sound being that of a human occasionally grunting in pain when a unicorn nudged them back into the herd. None of the ponies spoke, each keeping their heads down. Soon the main gate of the palace came into sight. It held to the same theme as the rest of the palace: big, and golden. It was also guarded by a handful of armored ponies; some on the ground, some in the air. Each of the ponies herding us grew tense as they neared the gate. The guards, for the most part, just watched us with an emotionless glare, looking for any indication that we were a threat.

We had just reached the main gate when a chorus of loud trumpets sounded, causing most of the humans to flinch. The red stallion swore under his breath, gritting his teeth in anger.

“Of all the accursed luck,” he growled. “We had to run into her.” The unicorns started to try and move the pack of humans off of the main road, out of the way of the main gates. Unfortunately, in the resulting confusion, our group was split in two. Half of the humans and unicorns moved to one side of the gate, while the other half stayed on the other side. Even in the commotion, Sunny was never more than a few feet away from me, trying to herd humans from her position in the air. As the humans jostled against one another, I was pushed forward to the front of the group. My new position gave me a clear view of the main road. The trumpets sounded again, this time closer.

“Get them on their knees!” Pearl hissed, her horn lighting up. The other unicorns followed suit and, as one, they pushed every human to their knees. Soon, all of us were kneeling at the edge of the road. Some of the humans didn’t like the sudden force upon them, and they began to struggle against the magic. A quick zap from a prod quickly put an end to any resistance.

I just knelt there, staring at the ground, trying to ignore the immense pressure now pushing down on me. It felt like an invisible person was draped across my shoulders, holding me down. As I tried to ease some of the pressure off of my body, the main gates slowly swung open. I kept my gaze down, even as two armed ponies walked past me, their armor clanking as they marched. A shadow passed over me as something large moved silently past. Suddenly, I felt a shiver run through my body. My throat tightened, and the burning sensation returned for just a split second before fading. I suddenly felt cold, even though it was a warm summer day.

Someone is walking over my grave, I thought, shivering again. I heard a small gasp, and the sound of hooves came to a sudden stop. After several tense seconds of silence, the hoofsteps picked up again, but instead of getting softer, they were getting louder. The shadow fell over me, and I tensed slightly as a pair of large, gold clad hooves entered my vision. Oh shit. I gulped, sweat forming on my brow as I stared down at the hooves. Slowly, I raised my head and looked up at the pony in front of me. My breath caught in my throat at the sight.

She was taller than any pony I had yet seen, standing nearly six feet in height. The horn on her head added another foot to her height, easily. Her coat was a stunning white; the purest I had ever seen. Massive wings extended from her sides, her long feathers glowing softly in the sunlight. Her mane, composed of mix of blue, green, purple and pink, flowed impossibly in a non-existent breeze. A golden tiara rested on her head, glinting in the sunlight. Part of her glorious mane fell across her face, covering one of her magenta eyes. Her eye had an inner light to them, and seemed to almost radiate kindness and peace. They held intelligence too, as well as a hidden fatigue, almost as if she had seen many, many years in her lifetime. Everything about her appearance just screamed ruler to me.

Despite her gentle disposition, power seemed to flow from her. I could feel it radiating from her, almost like a static charge, the hair on my arms standing on end. The very air thrummed with her presence. I felt that, if she wanted to, she could end my life with little to no trouble. A little voice in the back of my head was whispering that she would do just that if I angered her. The very thought chilled my bones.

I’m not sure when my mouth fell open, but I became aware of it when some drool fell onto my bound hands. Blinking, I pushed aside the fear growing in the back of my mind. I snapped my jaw shut, blushing at such uncouth behavior. I don’t think she noticed, or if she did, she just didn’t care.

“Now, what do we have here?” she asked, talking more to herself than anyone else. Her voice was soft and motherly, calming my nerves and creating a sense of peace in the air. It had a light, musical note to the tone, almost as if she was about to sing. She continued to stare at me for several more seconds before turning to the unicorn beside me. The red stallion tensed as her gaze fell upon him.

“Are these humans headed to the market?” she asked, never raising her voice. At the sound of her voice, Red seemed to bow lower, if that was even possible.

“Yes, your majesty,” he said, never lifting his head. If he wasn’t careful, he was going to stab his horn into the ground. Sweat dripped from his brow, and his body seemed to quiver slightly. On the other side of the road, Rose and Pearl shifted on their hooves, obviously uncomfortable. The monarch hummed quietly to herself as she returned her attention to me. Her magenta eyes drifted slowly over my body, taking in every detail. I squirmed a little under her intense gaze. After several tense seconds she spoke again.

“Is this one spoken for?” she asked, waving a golden hoof in my direction. I flinched back as she moved, the little voice in my head telling me to make a run for it. Unfortunately, the pressure of Red’s magic kept me still, otherwise I would have attempted it.

“N-no, your majesty,” Red replied, raising his head slightly to finally gaze up at her. “Our scout found him wandering around out in the desert about two weeks ago. She rescued him, and we transported him here. Nopony has yet to claim him, nor has anypony made an offer as of yet.” His black tail twitched slightly as he talked. The monarch continued to stare down at me, her gaze only intensifying. Suddenly, a spark of light flashed across her eyes, and a look of comprehension slowly spread across her face.

“So, it was you who I saw struggling out in the wastelands,” she whispered, barely loud enough for me to hear. I had no clue what she was talking about, so I figured she was simply thinking out loud. Slowly, she leaned down, tilting her head to the side slightly. “It would seem that you have a higher purpose here, but what it is I do not truly know.”

“Y-your majesty?” Red stammered, trying to keep his voice steady. He looked about as confused as I felt. The monarch blinked once, before leaning back and snorting softly.

“Sorry,” she said, still looking at me. “Just the ramblings of an aging princess.” Returning her gaze to Red, she smiled down at him. Her next statement caught everyone off guard. “If none have shown any interest in him, then I shall be the first.”

The princess of the land is interested in me? What’s going on? I thought, staring up at her in amazement. Why the hell is she interested in me? Red just stood beside me, gazing up at his ruler, mouth agape.

“Y-your majesty?” he asked, his ear twitching. His normally steely voice sounded almost tentative. The princess just smiled down at him.

“I said that I shall be the first to show an interest in him, my little pony,” she repeated, her voice still calm and gentle. “How much is the asking price?”

“We haven’t had him appraised yet,” Red said, swallowing heavily. He seemed to be calming down slightly, though. He must have thought the princess showing interest in me was a good sign somehow. “We were hoping to have him reviewed at the marketplace today.”

“I see,” the princess hummed, turning her gaze back to me. “I guess I’ll just have to make an uneducated offer then.” She chewed on her lip as she sized me up again, her enchanting and power-filled eyes feeling like they were scanning my very soul. Finally, she spoke again.

“How does one-and-a-quarter million bits sound?” I wasn’t exactly sure how much a bit was worth, but by the reaction of the unicorns in the group I’d say that it was quite a lot. Sunny practically fell out of the sky. They all stared at the princess with their bottom jaws on the ground. After several seconds, Red’s brain finally caught up with the situation.

“One-and-a-quarter m-million b-b-bits?” the poor stallion stammered out, gazing at the princess with an expression I just couldn’t place. “A-are you s-serious, your majesty?” The princess looked down at him, a look of innocence on her face.

“What, do you think that that is not enough?” she asked, a small smile slowly spreading across her face. “Very well then, how does two million sound?” Do I smell a troll here? I was starting to like this pony a little more. The feeling of power still radiating from her still made me wary. But maybe, a stronger voice in my head reasoned, she wasn’t all that bad.

“Two million?!” Red looked like he was going to faint. I’m gonna go out on a limb here and say that he had never even imagined that amount of money before. Now it was being offered to him, for just a simple human. Even though his face was slightly pale, I could see his mind racing as he glanced between me and the princess. His cold eyes narrowed as he thought. Finally, he shook his head, clearing the cobwebs from his brain. Standing up straighter, he turned to the princess, a smirk on his face.

“I do believe that you have yourself a deal,” he said, his voice back to its normal tone. He then seemed to remember who he was talking to. “Your majesty,” he quickly added on.

“It’s settled then,” the princess said cheerfully. “Two million bits for the human.” She turned her head and nodded to one of her guards. The armored unicorn stepped forward and passed a slip of paper to Red. He grabbed it in his magic, his grin growing slowly wider.

“Just take that to the Royal Treasury and they’ll provide you with the bits,” the guard said, his voice gruff and firm. With that, he returned to his previous position behind the princess, his face still expressionless. Rose and Pearl just stared at the slip of paper in Red’s grasp, their mouths still hanging open. I think that they might have been broken.

“Does he happen to have a handler?” the princess asked, glancing at the other stunned unicorns in the group. All of them froze instantly, their bodies tensing. The smile that had been present on Red’s face vanished instantly. He looked up at the princess with a fearful expression. She didn’t notice, however, as she was still looking around at the surrounding ponies.

“I believe that w-would be me, your highness,” Sunny finally said quietly, her voice trembling as she flapped her wings nervously. All the unicorns relaxed as she spoke up. Rose gave a sigh of relief as her sister seemed to sag slightly in place. The princess took no notice of these reactions. Instead, she just nodded up to Sunny, giving her a reassuring smile.

“Very good,” she said. “Collar him then, if you would be so kind, and then follow me please.” Turning, the princess began to head back towards the gates she had just exited minutes ago. Red’s magic lifted from my back and Sunny landed softly beside me, a collar clasped in her hooves. Wait... where did she get the collar? I blinked at her, my mind trying to process where exactly the collar had come from.

“It’s alright boy,” she cooed, obviously trying to keep me calm. “Everything’s gonna be just fine." I resisted the urge to roll my eyes as she slipped the collar over my head. She tightened it quickly, just leaving enough room so that it didn’t strangle me. It wasn’t uncomfortable, but it wasn’t loose enough to come off easily on its own. Clipping a leash to the collar, she gave it a gentle tug before flying after the princess. With no other choice in the matter, I rose to my feet and followed after the two mares.

As I passed through the gateway, one of the guards, a white pegasus mare with a blue mane, stepped forward. Her yellow eyes narrowed slightly as she gazed into mine. She snorted before turning towards the princess who was still walking down the path. As she turned, I caught a glimpse of three feathers on her flank. It looked like they were made of steel.

“Princess,” she said, calling after the retreating monarch. “What about your meeting with the mayor of Manehattan?” The princess turned her head to glance back at the guard, her pace never halting as she continued to head towards the palace.

“Send him my sincerest apologies if you could, Captain Tempest,” she called back, a small smile once again present on her face. “I’m afraid that I’ll have to reschedule our meeting. Something important has just come up that requires my attention." Captain Tempest nodded once, her mane falling into her eyes.

“It shall be done,” she said, brushing aside the strands with a hoof. Turning, her wings snapped open and she took to the air. Hovering for several seconds, she suddenly shot off towards the city, a blur of gold and white against the clear blue sky. I watched her go until I felt a tug on the collar again. Turning, I followed Sunny as we trailed behind the princess.

As we neared the massive doors that led into the castle, I glanced up at the white battlements that loomed over us. Armored unicorns gazed down at the lawn, watching for any signs of danger. I felt a lump rising in my throat as the shadow of the massive palace fell upon me. I wasn’t entirely sure what just happened exactly, but hopefully my luck was starting to turn around.

Hopefully...