Luna followed her master into a room of beds.
“This is where you will be sleeping,” Her master said, “You will be the ninth on the right.”
“Yes master.” She replied quietly.
Her master sighed. “Go on in, rest for a bit. Tomorrow you will be assigned tasks, after an assessment of your abilities. Sleep well.”
With that her master turned and left through the door, just before a large group of sixteen maybe seventeen mares came in chattering. They saw Luna there and went up to her for introductions.
“Hey there newbie,” One said, “How do you find this place?”
Luna just looked at her, she stuttered for a minute, “I-I dont k-k-know what to think.”
“There’s no shame in that,” another said, “We were all surprised as you are now when we first got here. It is impossible to expect such kindness.”
Luna only nodded in agreement, she was confused and scared. These were slaves like her from what she guessed, but they act more like hired servants than anything. Luna was actually somewhat intimidated by them.
“Well it sure seems like you had a long day,” One of the mares said, “Where are you from?”
Luna looked down, “I cant really remember anything besides my name. I dont know where I’m from or how I got here.”
“And what is your name?”
“L-Luna”
“That’s a beautiful name.”
“Th-thanks.”
“I can tell you’re tired, go get some sleep. They wont put you to work yet, and even when they do it wont be too much, maybe cleaning or preparing meals. That’s pretty much all there is for us to do.”
Luna nodded silently. A Pegasus mare nudged her to her bed.
*****
Luna woke up the next morning feeling well rested, she was a little more relaxed that morning. Her collar had remained on as she did not think her master would want it removed, she hadn’t touched it. She sat up to see that dawn had just come, it was a beautiful sight on the horizon.
Luna heard a door being opened and she saw her master enter the room. She got up and cast her eyes down. He came up to her and told her to follow him. Luna obliged and stayed close behind him as he lead her down a hallway. Luna took the opportunity to take in her masters size, he was massive, he was covered in muscle and nearly twice her size. He was big by Warhorse standards.
He stopped at a small oaken door, he pushed the door open and walked in with Luna close behind. Inside there was a large wooden strut that would fit over a pony’s shoulders with buckets on both sides, used for hauling water.
“I need you to go to the well and draw water then bring it back here,” her master said giving her the tool.
“Yes master,” She said simply.
“The well is out back, just follow the hallway down and you will get there. Bring the water here then leave it, after that return to the quarters you were put in and await further instructions.”
“Yes master,” She replied.
Luna then took the strut on her shoulders and walked along the hallway as her master instructed. She found the well easily and drew water from it, filling the two buckets with water she then carefully put the strut across her shoulders and walked back slowly as to not spill any of the water. She returned to the room and left the water there as her master instructed and went back to the sleeping quarters. There she saw some of the mares already there, and they were chattering like crazy.
“Oh hi there Luna,” One of the mares said, “There are foreign dignitaries arriving soon and we need to prepare a banquet. You will be one of those serving at the masters table.”
Lunas ears folded back in worry, “But how do i do that? I dont know how things work here, I dont know if there is a specific way to do it or how severe the punishment will be if done wrong.”
“Oh dont worry about that,” The mare said, “I mean you will be taking the dirty dishes down to the kitchen for cleaning. I can show you the way.”
*****
Luna had been sent to the slaves quarters after she had brought some dirty plates and cups to the kitchen. She laid down on her assigned bed to rest. She honestly thought that it would be worse than is was. She smiled as sleep came to her, this may not be that bad after all.
3 months later
Luna had grown used to the layout and inner workings of her masters household. She had been doing set chores for several weeks now and she did them with very good efficiency. One night she was sitting by the well looking at the moon and stars, they just seemed so close to her. She heard someone behind her and she jumped around to face them. It was just her master.
“Oh my apologies master, is something wrong?” She asked timidly.
“No nothing is wrong,” He said, “I didn’t know you were into astronomy.”
“I don’t know what you mean master,” She said quietly, “I just enjoy looking at the moon and stars.”
“Well that much is apparent,” Her master said, “What’s keeping you up?”
“I dont know master,” Luna said honestly, “I just couldn’t sleep.”
He came up next to her, “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing is wrong,” She said nervously, “I guess I’m still trying to remember what I’ve forgotten.”
“I heard,” he said gently, “I cant imagine what that’s like.”
“Confusing mostly, I dont know what to expect from my past. If I end up being a different pony than I am now I dont know if I will like who I am.”
He chuckled, “Well many of those you have met, myself included, like who you are now. In fact, I cant think of anyone who doesn’t like you.”
Luna looked at him to see a gentle smile on his face, Luna couldn’t help but smile back with a light blush on her muzzle. Then she and her master looked at the moon for a while, and slowly his wing came around her shoulders. Very soon Luna fell asleep alongside her master.