Twilights Mane Passion

by Darkonshadows


84

With a loud thud of the airship settling on the ground causing, Fluttershy fell out of bed with a yelp. This also sent her plush toy flying into the air; it came back down straddling her face.

“You okay there Fluttershy? Twilight sent me to get you up, we’re there… well technically we’re parked outside of Neighgraba a good distance away.” Stopping to look at the plush toy, Chrysalis chuckled as she levitated the miniature version of Tress to herself. “This is adorable, who made it?”

“I got it from Rarity… I sometimes have problems sleeping alone.” It was something Fluttershy has been trying to stamp out of herself. Fluttershy reached up and took the plush toy out of the levitation field. “It’s not the only one I have, I also have one of Octavia, You, Carrot Topper, Zecora, Twilight and one of Rarity herself.”

“Is mine anatomically correct at least?” Chrysalis was more than a little curious as to know what her plush toy was like.

“Well… if you don’t mind the answer… yes.” Fluttershy barely squeaked that out as her entire face turned bright red as she looked at the floor in embarrassed. Her mane covered her face as she thought back to when she asked Rarity to make them for her. She really had a thing for her friends and Rarity really helped her out by making these plush toys for her to snuggle.

“Huh, okay then. Come on, we have a meeting to get to. I’m excited to hear what I’m going to be doing, as infiltration is my specialty!” As a changeling Chrysalis had pride in her species ability to infiltrate any place even if they may not be very quiet about doing so. She waited for Fluttershy to put up her plush toy and then they set out for the galley.

All the ponies were waiting for the meeting to get started; Twilight had to call up Chrysalis to translate what she was saying for the benefit of the Saddle Arabian’s present. There was one particular part of the presentation that Twilight set up that Princess Jasmine had a question for.

“I know its importance is of no matter, but why are ponies always getting the grand vizier’s name wrong?” Jasmine had a darker blue mane and lighter shade of pink, otherwise she could have just been a Saddle Arabian version of Tress.

“What? I thought ‘Fat Barring Flatulence’ was a pretty good insult.” Chrysalis replied back in fluent Saddle Arabian.

“So even if they are getting his name wrong by accident, they still insult it so grandly as Daring does. Please tell her to excuse my interruption.” The princess had been spending a lot of time around her companion with the dark mane and the green cloak.

Jasmine had learned that sometimes there were things you couldn’t see or experience from being cooped up in a palace. One of the things she recently learned to love was having friends, even if Daring was a bit of a cranky pony at times and a loner. Velvet was one of the few ponies that the adventurer would talk with.

The plan was set and they all would enter the city in groups at different times set more than an hour apart from one another.

The plan was set and they all would enter the city in groups at different times set more than an hour apart from one another. No group would be without a translator, Nightlight and Velvet weren’t too rusty with the language.

Fluttershy looked at the grand city with its majestic round towers leading into pointed spires and the sandstone buildings that held their weight. She nervously approached the front gates being guarded by rough looking stallions. She pulled her shawl tighter around her head and once again made sure there was nothing on her worth stealing.

“Halt!” The guard on the left yelled as Fluttershy approached, he recognized Fluttershy as being Equestrian and thus spoke in that language. “State your business with the city of Neighgraba.”

“I’m a wary traveler… one that got separated from my merchant convoy. I have been wandering the desert for hours and my throat is parched. If you would be so kind, I come seeking refuge within the city.” Fluttershy shivered at the hungry stares she was receiving, she had gotten all sweaty and tired before coming up to the gates just so that her story would be believable.

“Kind she says, hah!” The guard on the right chuckled darkly causing a shiver to run down the shy mares back.

“I’m sure I’ll be able to catch up with my convoy if I can get a drink of water and a nights rest. I won’t be in the city for that long and I promise to not cause too much trouble.” Fluttershy really didn’t have to act fearful, she was fearful. She was the first pony to enter the city and she needed to gain access to the palace. Chrysalis was shadowing her and hopefully would help her if things went bad.

“Fine, we’ll let you through. Be aware though, the grand vizier’s word is law and if he deems you worthy for slavery, then you will become his slave. You are entering at your own risk.” The guard on the left actually showed some hint of kindness in his warning despite his lust filled stare. “A pretty thing like you would best stay away from going too far into the city. Maybe there is nearby a guard or two who you could pay for certain services to keep you out of his sight hmmm? We could use some… entertainment… if you will.”

“N-N-No thank you, I can take care of myself.” Fluttershy waited for the large doors to be opened as the guard called for it. She hastily entered with the stares of the two stallions following her robed form.

The guards certainly didn’t like to be ignored. They already were sending out word that a new mare has just walked into the city and that her soft voice could possibly sound like that of a nightingale singing.

Fluttershy was to get into the palace and find the mares that were enslaved, it was her main goal. They weren’t being kept in the dungeon. This was all they knew of from when Daring helped Jasmine escape from the city while the vizier was dealing with Ballad Din. Walking through the marketplace she noticed how dire things seemed. The smell here was rather sickening, the air tasted a tad metallic. There were thieves rampant on every street and she was lucky that her clothing wasn’t interesting enough for them to steal.

Even Fluttershy could tell the thieves were practically running the city; the merchants still did good business though and were the only ones untouched by the thieves. The people that lived in the city were not as lucky, they were downtrodden and the mood was grim.

The female populace that Fluttershy did see was staying well out of sight, they feared to tread where Fluttershy had in her false bravado. In fact, after five minutes of walking towards the palace there was a distinct lack of any mares entirely. This may have explained all those females of several different species that she spotted on the way to Neighgraba sitting in camps more than a mile away from the city. They were probably related to the merchants that had entered the city to do business and had set up camp as they weren’t willing to risk being enslaved.

After looking around to make sure no one saw her, Fluttershy went to the nearby fountain of water outside the palace took a large drink from it. She took note at all the guards patrolling around the place; it would be hard getting anyone out of there. The water was refreshing and cool as it slid down her throat; she wasn’t lying about being parched and the water was the one comforting thing in this dreary place.

Fluttershy wondered why Twilight gave her such a scary mission. The only females around the palace were those too young even for the vizier’s tastes, they were also considered street vermin and or orphans. At least the guards weren’t assaulting them or actively hunting them outright. Instead they went entirely ignored as they played around the only good thing left in the city, the fresh water fountains.

Sighing, Fluttershy felt bad about the state of the city. Now that she has had her fill of water, she had to find out where the enslaved mares were being kept and what condition they were in. She truly hoped that Chrysalis hadn’t lost her thus far; her feminine robe and shawl combination was highly noticeable to make sure that the changeling didn’t lose her in the crowds.

Being highly noticeable, but lacking money was probably the one reason why thieves weren’t trying to touch her at all. For this reason alone Fluttershy was glad to be easily seen for once. She had already seen at least twenty seven different acts of theft in the span of a minute just sitting quietly at the fountain.

“She looks to be a foreigner; do you think Maul will want her?” The sound of a camel could be heard asking in Saddle Arabian.

“No, she has already been marked for slavery by the guards. It is the only reason we dare not touch her. She is the vizier’s merchandise. If she doesn’t heed the unturned guard’s warnings soon, she will not be leaving.” The stallion in the alleyway with the camel looked at the innocent face of the mare as she sat at the fountain. Fluttershy played with some of the kids around the fountain and he kept his watch of her, he could already guess she was sleek of form by her movements. “The vizier doesn’t like his merchandise to be broken in ahead of time. If she were smart, she would have escaped the city while she still has a chance.”

“Such a waste of a perfectly good flesh, but the vizier gets what he wants as his word is law.” The camel went back to watching the streets with the stallion.

“You there, foreigner! You are to come with us by order of the grand vizier.” The guard that spoke in a particularly monotone voice looked incredibly different from the ones at the gate. In fact all the guards near the palace had eyes that were solid grey, even the non pony members of the guard. Behind the guard that had called out to Fluttershy, there was a regal if nasty looking stallion with a sneer upon his face. He turned away and made his way for the palace. The guards forced Fluttershy to follow him as they held her at sword point.

Fluttershy knew what she was doing was dangerous, but she had to do this. Her friends were relying on her getting some of the information they needed, she dearly hoped she wasn’t alone and that Chrysalis was still with her. To think she was so comfy in bed earlier, now she was being accosted by the evil vizier. There was no turning back now as she was in the thick of it.

Upon being forced into the throne room, the vizier turned to his less than seemingly aware guards and simply pointed a hoof at Fluttershy. The guards roughly took away her shawl and robe taking away a part of her comfort zone in the completely stale air of the palace. The vizier was saying something she couldn’t entirely understand as he walked up to her and looked her over.

Like any Saddle Arabian he was tall and certainly imposing to the shy mare. He had a dark brown coat and short trimmed black hair except for the pointy beard. He said something that sounded sickeningly sweet as he gathered a mass of her pink mane that was covering her face in his hoof and gave it a jerk forcing Fluttershy to the ground onto her side. Fluttershy didn’t fight him and just whimpered a little, she could only hope he wouldn’t try anything to her right now.

Taking a slight interest in her hindquarters the vizier said something that he thought could be decidedly humorous and laughed at his own joke. The guard stood around blankly still holding their swords towards the shy mare, after a moment vizier scowled at them and was barking at them while pointing towards Fluttershy. She was pushed onto her hooves and slowly forced from the room leaving behind a smiling vizier. That smile didn’t bode well for her future.

Thankfully Trixie’s magic had thus far held up to scrutiny and Fluttershy had gotten into the palace without anyone knowing she had wings. If the vizier had known she was able to fly, he probably would have ordered her wings be chopped off as part of the processing all his slaves went through. Her wings were kept hidden under the illusion magic safe and sound if a bit bruised.

Fluttershy had no idea what was going to happen to her now, but she trusted Chrysalis would pull her to safety if she were about to be killed. Even if she couldn’t see any sign of the changeling she still trusted her friend to be there for her as she was led to a room and was stopped at its entrance.

Three other guards were leading a Saddle Arabian mare that was shorn of all her hair, mane, tail and body. She also had her hooves in chains and there were horrible scars running along her back from being whipped harshly, possibly for struggling against what her detainers were doing to her. The look in her eyes was the look of one who has lost all hope in the world, she limped away forced to walk with the injuries dealt to her.

Gulping Fluttershy moved as they roughly pushed her along and corralled her into the room’s only entrance. The guards spoke to the griffon in the room with the same grey eyes as the others. A quickly muzzled Fluttershy was forcefully tied down to table on her belly with the ropes holding her legs immobile. The griffon brought out some shears snapping them at her with a sadistic smile on his beak. She knew she was being processed like the mare before her and could only hope that by not struggling she wouldn’t be hurt as badly.