1. Sheets’s Arc: Tangled in the Winding Sheets
By: vren55
Winding Sheets awoke on a soft, four-poster bed with the glaring sun in her eyes. Blearily, the periwinkle unicorn blinked to clear her eyes and ran her hooves through the wavy locks of her crimson mane to try to rid herself of the sticky white legacy of last night’s activities. As she rose herself to a sitting position, she was stopped by a warm foreleg grasping at her waist.
Inwardly sighing, Winding Sheets slid a sultry smile onto her face. Slowly, methodically, she stepped over her client, hoof by hoof, before finally laying her lithe frame on top of her client. Most mares were shorter than stallions, but Sheets had been gifted with a taller, more slender body with an elegant long neck, akin to that of an alicorn. It was a frame that most mares would starve themselves to have and drew the hungry eyes of stallions in every room.
“Good morning, milord,” rasped Sheets lustily before she bent down and kissed the noble full on the lips, her tongue slipping into her client’s mouth, gently exploring it. After a moment, she withdrew her tongue, and her client returned the gesture. Opening her mouth just a little wider, Sheets allowed her client’s thick, tongue to roam in her own mouth before she broke the kiss. Gasping a bit, Sheets slowly rolled her tongue over her own lips, savoring the taste of her clients saliva.
“Do I get some morning fun?” whispered the unicorn.
Winding Sheets paused, as if in thought. “Perhaps… just remember that everything has a price, my prince,” she replied, winking slyly.
Prince Blueblood the XIV’s response was to grin widely and slide his forehooves around Sheet’s waist to better position himself. His hind-legs, still damp with cold sweat from last night’s lovemaking, rested on Sheet’s hips, holding her in place. Sheets, through half-lidded eyes, pressed her body up against Blueblood, drinking in the musky scent of his sweat tinged with cologne. Her tongue darting in and out, Sheets tickled the points of of the stallion’s ears, leaving tiny spots of moisture. When Blueblood whinnied in protest, Sheets giggled and drew light circles around the base of his ears. Only after that did she slowly began to slowly wet the inside of the unicorn’s ear, flicking in and out before slowly delving deep.
Meanwhile, the noble’s tongue roamed over Sheet’s neck, working its way down her chest and towards her belly. His long, languorous licks testified to his experience. Sheets sighed in satisfaction but refrained from grinding against the stallion.
Instead, she wrapped her forelegs around Blueblood’s shoulders and ran them through his soft mane, expertly massaging the base of his scalp and his neck. Finding the tense muscles under the prince’s coat, Sheets’s hooves applied pressure gently, yet firmly. The massage made the Prince groan in ecstasy, briefly stopping his ministrations before he turned his attention to nicking Sheets’s neck with his teeth.
Several of Blueblood’s ‘love bites’ were too hard, making Sheets’s wince. Yet, despite the pain, Sheets suppressed her annoyance. Instead, she giggled mischievously and decided to get some revenge in the form of a succession of kisses on Blueblood’s forehead, each one a little higher, a little longer than the last. Every touch of Sheets’s hooves coincided with her hooves deftly caressing the unicorn’s tense shoulders.
As her hooves pushed and rubbed harder, the kisses reached the base of Blueblood’s horn. In one swift motion, Sheets opened her mouth and engulfed the tip of the stallion’s horn just as her hooves finally released the tightest knot in his shoulder.
The stallion cried out in pleasure, his legs falling back onto the bed and stretching out in pure bliss. Completely in control, Sheets toyed with Blueblood’s horn, sucking it with her lips, her tongue lapping it slowly. Then, with the Prince lying like a doll in her hooves, Sheets tipped Blueblood's head up and captured his mouth with her lips. Slowly, as her tongue intermingled with his, Sheets’s begin to roll back onto the bed, her forelegs guiding the moaning Prince until he was positioned on top of her. Only then did she break the kiss.
“You are exquisite,” gasped Blueblood brushing a stray lock of Sheets hair from her face. The stallion was breathless, a goofy smile on his face, his eyes glazed over.
“I only live to serve, my Prince,” said Sheets demurely, bowing her head slightly. .
“Then turn around. There is something we must do if I am to reward you,” said Blueblood, his voice full of desire.
Sheets nodded in apparent submission and slowly rolled over, her luxurious purple eyes only breaking contact with Blueblood at the last possible moment. Like a cat, Sheets stretched out and raised her hindquarters towards Blueblood, wiggling her rear tantalizingly. At the same time, she flicked her long crimson tail over her back to present her perfectly shaped slender flanks that were emblazoned with her cutie mark of an elegant fan.
Obviously excited and aroused by the display, Blueblood wasted no time in placing his forehooves on her hips. Yet, as Sheets heard him shift to a better position, she chuckled silently. She knew that Blueblood craved being in control. So, she would give it to him, or at least appear to do so.
“Stallions are so silly,” thought Sheets as she licked her lips in anticipation of the final act.
“Must you leave so soon, Winding Sheets?” called Blueblood from the bed.
Sheets, her mane still damp from her time in the shower, sighed for effect, letting her features settle into a pout. “I’m afraid so, my lord.”
With practiced ease Winding Sheets dried her mane and body with the towel from the bathroom, dressed herself in her amber dress, and used her magic to fastidiously apply some perfume and red lipstick as well as blush to her cheeks. Then, holding herself in perfect posture, the periwinkle mare walked gracefully over to the noble and brushed her lips daintily across his neck, a leaving a faint red line. Before he could complain, Winding Sheets kissed him full on the lips.
“Now, none of this gets out to my wife,” said Blueblood seriously after they broke the kiss.
“Of course, Prince Blueblood,” said Sheets, smiling pertly and batting her eyelashes for effect. Her tail and her hips sashaying oh-so-slightly, Winding Sheets exited the room and silently entered the castle hallways.
This early in the morning, Canterlot Castle was quiet, perfect for Sheets to make an unnoticed exit. There were very few ponies here apart from servants. Sheets planned to linger in the garden before joining the crowd of nobles that would attend the Morning Court.
So, when Sheets noticed from the corner of her eye a teal unicorn mare dressed in a stunning blue silk morning dress, she was surprised. She was not unduly alarmed until the unicorn began to approach her. As Sheets turned to face the mare, she recognized her.
“Marquessa Wind Whistler,” said Winding Sheets, respectfully lowering her head. Even then, Sheets still stood over the shorter unicorn, forcing the marquessa to stare up into Sheets’s eyes.
“Good morning, Lady Winding Sheets. I have been looking for you,” said Wind Whistler, her tone icy.
“Me? Marquessa? F—for w—what reason?” stammered Winding Sheets innocently. However, her heart was pounding. Marquessa Wind Whistler was a highly influential figure in the court. To get on her bad side was not a good thing to do.
“You know why,” snapped Wind Whistler.
“I don’t quite understand, Marquessa,” said Sheets, hoping that the lady was not going to approach her over what she suspected.
“Lady Winding Sheets, I have played the game of court for a long time. Do you honestly think I would not become aware of your activities with my husband, you harlot?” snapped Whistler, almost screeching.
Winding Sheets fought her initial instinct to run and arched an eyebrow instead. Mentally, she was rapidly considering her options. This was bad. Somehow her liaison with Whistler’s husband, Marquis Blackhorn had leaked out. Sheets wasn’t sure how, but she knew she would have to deal with this. The marquessa could bring down Winding Sheet’s reputation, which was already being tested.
“I haven’t spoken to your husband recently. Perhaps you are referring to the business I had with Don Juan?” said Sheets airily, as if she was discussing the weather.
The color drained from Whistler’s cheeks and the unicorn quivered. Sheets resisted the temptation to laugh at Whistler’s reaction and held her tongue.
“What business did you have with Don Juan?” demanded Wind Whistler, nervously.
Sheets shrugged. “We were just trying to get to know each other better in a less formal, more intimate setting. You get the picture. The Don particularly had much to say about some of the goods he has heavily sampled and invested. He told me of a recent package of whistles and the high pitched squeal one of them made as he blew—” Pain exploded in Sheets's right cheek as Whistler slapped her. The force behind the blow took Sheets by surprise, making her lose her balance and fall onto the grass. Defiantly, Sheets raised her head to meet Whistler’s hate-filled eyes.
“This is but a taste of the future humiliation that I will bring on your head if you don’t you recall the pisspot you came from and return to it, you whore,” spat Whistler vehemently, before she turned tail and strode off. It was all Sheets could do to mask her fury and force herself to allow only a snigger to twist her cold expression.
“Thanks for the advice, Lady Whistler. Though, I would suggest you quiet that squeal of yours. Princess Celestia looks most unfavorably on adulterers,” replied Sheets coyly, just loud enough for Whistler to hear. The other mare flinched, but continued her flight, silently watched by Sheets’s narrowed eyes.
As soon as Sheets was certain Whistler had left, the unicorn gingerly rose to her hooves and brushed the grass off her dress.
“That mare hit harder than some stallions,” said Sheets ruefully, her voice tinged with worry. Gently touching her cheek Sheets winced as it ached in protest. Today had been the third time in a week that a married mare had confronted Sheets about her business ventures. Sheets had always ignored these incidents as she never left any evidence of her liaisons, but they had risen dramatically in the past month. Her social status was being threatened. A terrifying prospect, especially since the Court of Canterlot was not unlike a shark tank.
“Perhaps I should take it easy—” Sheets blinked, and blinked again, then sniffled, which was followed by her body beginning to tremble uncontrollably. Biting her lip, the unicorn quickly cantered through the garden, leaving only a trail of droplets as a sign she had ever been in the garden.
Winding Sheets winced as she wiped her cheek with her napkin. It had taken some well-applied makeup and a very complex glamor spell to hide the mark of her altercation with Wind Whistler. Despite the difficulty, Sheets saw the extent she took to disguise her injury as completely necessary.
The unicorn raised her head, taking in the chatter and bustle of Duchess Chiffon’s self-declared Evening Ball. It was one of the hottest events in the Canterlot, and rightly so. Held in the glamorous golden ballroom of Duke Iron Cross’s mansion, the Evening Ball hosted nobles from across all of Canterlot.
Unfortunately, Sheets had nothing for the pain and it took quite a bit of effort to even manage a simple smile.
“You seem slightly distracted, Lady Winding Sheets.” Sheets turned around and playfully winked at her circle of admirers, taking care not to target any single stallion. Most of them were young, single, very virile stallions. All of them vied for the attention of the mare in the ravishing, off-shoulder crimson evening gown and matching red headpiece of woven red roses eternally preserved with a magic spell. It helped that Sheets wore an exotic, musky perfume imported from Saddle Arabia.
“Thank you for your concern, Corporal Steelhead. I’m just a little tired. It’s been such a long day,” said Sheets, inserting a bit of drama into her voice. The Corporal grinned wider, his confidence boosted.
“Perhaps you would like me to fetch you a drink, Lady Sheets?” asked Steelhead shyly.
Sheets controlled the urge to giggle at Steelhead’s request as she playfully twirled a strand of her crimson mane with a slippered hoof. The Corporal was just too cute! So young, so innocent, and an army officer at that. He was one of the rare few that had managed to readjust into Equestrian society. The Griffon-Equestrian war had not just been brutal for the Equestrian economy, but for most of the younger stallions, nobles and commoners alike.
Unfortunately for Steelhead, he wasn’t the prey that Sheets was hunting for. He didn't have nearly the amount of bits that she wanted.
“Thank you so much for your kind offer, Corporal, but I think I just need a little air,” said Sheets as she maneuvered into the crowds of chatting nobles, her tail flicking teasingly at the awestruck stallions. Like a cat, Sheet’s dark-purple irises roamed through the room, observing the different groups of stallions, mares, couples, and single ponies.
Before long, a shining glint caught the corner of Sheet’s eyes. As she turned to regard the source, she allowed herself a small chuckle. The sparkle came from a many-pointed star pinned to a gold riband. The riband and star was one of many other medals and decorations that tactfully adorned a red and gold-tasseled military uniform. The outfit was worn by a coal-black pegasus. Heavy set, with a strong jaw, the stallion’s muscles rippled underneath his uniform. Admittedly, he was a bit on the mature side, but with his frame and his accolades… he would do very nicely.
Sheets took an indirect approach to her target. Head lowered to not stick out from among the crowd, she slipped through the talking nobles like a snake slithering through grass. Nearing the stallion, Sheets checked her distance, crossed her hooves, and purposely allowed herself to trip, falling towards the pegasus.
A moment of shock flitted across the stallion’s expression as Sheets bumped lightly against his side. He recovered quickly, catching Sheets and helping her back to her hooves. All according to her scheme.
“Oh, I am so sorry, my lord,” said Sheets, wearing a practiced expression of panic.
The pegasus chuckled good-naturedly. “It was no problem, Miss—”
“Winding Sheets,” said Sheets, crossing her hooves and bowing her head just a bit. So far, so good, now she had to make the stallion take her with him to a secluded place, where she could work her charms on him.
“Marshal Stalwart Pike.” Sheets smiled eagerly, the pain in her cheek forgotten. A high ranking army officer? She had scored the jackpot.
“Is there anything I can do to repay the favor, Marshall Pike?” asked Sheets, looking up at Stalwart, a demure smile dressing her pretty face.
The marshal looked thoughtful. “We can go out of this ballroom and share a drink. Its getting really stuffy in here.”
“Wonderful!” said Sheets enthusiastically, stepping in up close to the marshal’s left side, her flank slightly bumping his. The pegasus seemed slightly startled at the physical contact, but didn’t push her away. Side-by-side, the two navigated through the ballroom back into the silent hallways of the manor.
It was there Sheets made her move. Suddenly, she threw her right hoof over the marshal’s shoulder and, before he could protest, steered him into one of the many unoccupied lounges and smoking rooms. Shutting the door behind them with a well-timed kick, Sheets snaked her left leg up onto the stallion’s shoulder, stopping him from backing away from her.
“There, there, Marshal Pike. I’m just trying to repay the favor,” said Sheets seductively. This was her classic strategy. Draw the stallion alone where they could ‘sample’ her services before she left them hanging. They always came back, begging for more with gifts in hoof.
“I’m married!” protested Stalwart gruffly as he continued to step back. Sheets raised an eyebrow. Stalwart’s eyes were narrowed and he seemed to show very little interest in her. No matter. She would soon rectify that.
“Who said your wife has to know?” whispered Sheets through half-lidded eyes. She leaned forward to kiss the marshal. To her surprise, she found a upraised hoof blocking her.
“I said my wife has to know.” Stalwart glared back at Sheets with cold eyes, his expression stony. The unchanging stoicism of the stallion irritated Sheets, but she felt a small bit of admiration for Stalwart. Most noblestallions would have already given into the temptation by now, even the married ones.
“Ah, Winding Sheets. Just the mare I was looking for,” said a mare’s voice. Sheets flinched, turned her head to the darkest corner of the smoking room, and cursed under her breath. She had checked the room briefly for intruders, but now saw the figure of a pony hidden in the shadowed corner of the room.
“Scarlet Silk, when were you planning on revealing yourself?” asked Stalwart, his firm hooves breaking Sheets’s numb grasp and pushing her away. Sheets barely noticed, the alarm bells ringing in her head almost drowning out her ability to hear the stallion’s reply. The stranger and Stalwart knew each other?
“Well, you seemed to be doing admirably well. Thank you for getting her here. I can handle the rest, father,” said the mare as she stepped into the light. She was an earth pony, younger than Sheets, with a eye-catching scarlet coat, bright green eyes and a supple, well-rounded body. It was not exactly an uncommon figure, but few mares radiated such vitality and youthfulness. Her dress, an elegant, sleeveless, purple gown, was simple, but chosen well as it accentuated her ample curves. Her fiery, red mane was done up in a long braid that was alluringly draped over her shoulder.
“No can do, Scarlet. I’m staying right here on this couch until you two young mares sort this out,” said Stalwart, almost as if he was chuckling. Scarlet sighed exasperatedly as Stalwart plopped himself on one of the lounge chairs off to the side of the room, but the smile didn’t leave her face.
Sheets watched the exchange silently and found herself facing the unknown mare… Scarlet, who had somehow managed to isolate her in this room.
“So, you were looking for me. Miss...” said Sheets, cautiously. She had to figure out a way to excuse herself politely. The longer she was alone with this mare, the more danger she would be in.
“Scarlet Silk,” said the mare with a slight curtsy.
Sheets eyes narrowed imperceptibly. Somehow, the name sounded familiar. Uncomfortably familiar. “Why do I feel I have heard of that name before?”
“That’s not surprising. I was in your line of work for a long time,” said Scarlet.
“What line of work?” said Sheets obliviously, but the unicorn knew as soon as the words came out of her mouth that she had spoken them too quickly. Biting the inside of her cheek, Sheets controlled the overwhelming terror that threatened to engulf her.
Scarlet Silk was a courtesan. Perhaps she was not of the highest echelon, and she was obviously not as experienced or as mature, but she was skilled and knowledgeable enough to recognize whom Sheets was and had not only drawn her out, but set her up. It was a conclusion only confirmed by her beautiful figure and excellently picked attire.
“We don’t have to play innocent in this room, Winding Sheets,” said Scarlet in a gentle, soothing tone that momentarily calmed Sheets. Yet, as Sheets’s mind matched the style and appearance of the mare, she gasped in surprise.
Less than a year ago, Scarlet Silk was a legendarily young courtesan known as “The Gentle Caress.” Her pleasingly youthful figure could somehow attract the attention of any stallion without overpowering him with lust. In the confines of the bedroom, she was known to make stallions relax with merely whispered words and had boasted extraordinarily stamina. It was this combination of skills that allowed her to seduce numerous Counts, the Governor of Manehattan, and the Captain of the Canterlot Guard. In fact, Sheets had privately regarded Scarlet as one of her greatest rivals. Then, one day, Scarlet Silk vanished without a trace, almost into thin air, finally allowing Sheets to rise into the highest ranks of noble society.
“Ah… I remember you now, Scarlet Silk, ‘The Gentle Caress.’ What do you want?” asked Sheets warily. Most probably, Scarlet Silk was back from her hiatus and wanted to blackmail Sheets to get back into noble society. But the quiet, neutral tone to Scarlet’s voice didn’t seem to match the character of a blackmailer. Neither did the presence of her father.
“Its actually more of what I can offer you. You know of the war with Griffonia?” asked Scarlet.
“What of it?” said Sheets slowly.
“It was a disaster,” said Scarlet bluntly, Stalwart nodding in affirmation, causing Sheets to blink. Not many ponies would admit to that. Sheets decided to listen to the younger courtesan a little longer, just to find out what she wanted from her.
“So many stallions were killed, but what was worse was the stallions who survived are mere shells of themselves. I’m sure you’ve seen them around.” Sheets nodded. In fact, she had served some of them. Those were the most depressing nights she had spent, although they had paid rather well.
“Princess Celestia commissioned a secret programme to rehabilitate these veterans by pairing them with other mares in our line of work. Its called the Veterans Rehabilitation Programme. You may have heard it also called the ‘Sword Polishing Programme,’” explained Scarlet, looking at Sheets hopefully.
Sheets blinked, her mouth twitching. The twitch grew into a sneer, transformed into a giggle, then burst out into a raucous completely unladylike guffaw. Stalwart glared at Sheets, unamused, while Scarlet sighed, but Sheets couldn’t stop laughing.
“Isn’t that some rumor spread by the Royalty to make the mares sold into prostitution feel better?” asked Sheets with a snicker.
Scarlet shook her head and smiled ruefully. “I can’t blame you for your disbelief because I had a similar reaction when I first heard about it. But, I can assure you, it’s very real. Stalwart was my first partner,” said Scarlet, gesturing to the pegasus, who waved his hoof.
Sheets’s mirth evaporated, replaced by confusion that she only showed through a discerning stare. “He adopted you?”
“It’s a long story,” said Scarlet and Stalwart at the same time. The two glanced at each other, and returned each other’s grins. Sheets eyebrow rose so slightly, it was almost unnoticeable. She wasn’t sure she wanted to know… so why did she feel a spark of jealousy at the odd pair’s closeness?
“The reason I brought this program up was because we would like your help in rehabilitating a —”
“My answer is no. I don’t just serve random clients, and I like my line of work,” said Sheets, cutting off Scarlet. With that, she turned to the door..
However, Scarlet spoke up before Sheets could leave. “Your client won’t just be any stallion. He’s an elite noble spellcaster whose served with great distinction on the front. He is a younger son, but he belongs to a very old and very rich family with powerful connections to court. Moreover, your client is quite handsome, and wealthy in his own right.”
Sheets momentarily stopped as she cautiously re-assessed Scarlet’s proposition. The stallion sounded like a good catch. He had all the qualities Sheets looked for in her clients. That is, if Scarlet was actually telling the truth, which Sheets wasn’t sure she was, because it sounded too good to be true.
“I am sure that, with the Princess backing you, you can get another mare easily,” said Sheets, about to turn once more for the door. Scarlet stepped forward and blocked the way, a desperate look in her eyes.
“We’ve tried several mares and he didn’t interact well with any of them. Our noble purposely looks for trouble by provoking other ponies, drawing attention, abusing the use of his magic, and generally making a complete, utter arse of himself. We suspect he’s putting up a brave front to hide his guilt for what he did as a mage, but we can’t be certain as he just gets on the nerves of every mare we send. However, you’re extraordinarily good at hiding your feelings, and know how to play the court game better than anypony I’ve ever known. We need you,” insisted Scarlet.
Sheets frowned. “Then what’s in it for me? You honestly can’t expect to ask of my services and offer nothing?”
Scarlet seemed to relax at Sheets's question. “I made Celestia aware that you might need persuasion, so she’s offered The Golden Ticket.”
The whites in Sheets eyes grew to the size of plates and her jaw briefly dropped open before she shut it, though her eyes remained the same. “The Golden Ticket… to the Grand Galloping Gala? That’s...” Sheets remembered the humiliation and the declaration Wind Whistler had given to her her. The look on the marquessa’s face if she saw that Sheets had the coveted Golden Ticket… it would be priceless. The ticket would give her access to some of the most influential and richest stallions in Equestria. The greatest thing of all was that it would give her social immunity for a long, long time.
Sheets wide grin suddenly flipped to a frown. Wait. This offer made no sense. Why would Princess Celestia herself actually give up a Golden Ticket to her of all ponies? Surely, Scarlet had told their sovereign about her reputation and everything she had done. There was no way the pure and illustrious, Princess Celestia, would ever allow a courtesan to attend the Grand Galloping Gala! And if this offer were true… then the stallion she would be paired with probably would have very serious issues, and given the desperation Scarlet showed earlier, this was possibly the case.
And what if she failed? There was no guarantee she would get the ticket if she failed to rehabilitate the stallion before the Gala began, which was only three months from now. No, Sheets decided that accepting the offer, was highly disadvantageous. The offer promised much, but Sheets was always wary of such promises. Besides, apart from this morning's incident she had been doing quite excellently. Why should she change anything about her life?
“You’re lying. You’re saying the Princess Celestia, would honestly give up a Golden Ticket, which she normally uses to ensure the support of her parliamentary officials, to a courtesan? There’s no way anypony would offer that much,” said Sheets acidly.
“Is not the rehabilitation of a veteran soldier who has served Equestria enough?” asked Scarlet softly.
“Perhaps, but it seems way too much trouble for me to take up this job and frankly I don’t need to be ‘rehabilitated,’” said Sheets haughtily. She stepped forward and tried to push past Scarlet, but to her exasperation, the younger mare continued to block her way.
“You don’t understand…” began Scarlet.
Sheets smiled wickedly, her voice light, with a mocking edge to it. “What I don’t understand is how you decided to throw your wealth and fame away to become the private pet of a military dog whose charity you leech off of.”
Scarlet's bright cheeks paled, drained of color, while Stalwart shot to his hooves a furious expression on his face. “Take back what you said to my daughter!”/ “Don’t you dare insult my father!” snapped Scarlet and Stalwart at the same time.
For some reason, the pair’s united fury only served to widen the faint sneer on Sheets’s perfect red lips. “My apologies, but I just don’t get it. You were so young, so talented, and so successful. You had stallions willing to lick your hooves like dogs, and you threw it all away? Not even to get married to a rich stallion, but to be adopted as his daughter?” The unicorn chuckled. “And to think I once considered you my greatest rival. How far the mighty have fallen.”
Scarlet sniffed and briefly averted her gaze, tears forming in her eyes, while Sheets observed her impassively. Stalwart stood up to comfort her, but the younger mare shook her head and wiped her eyes. When Scarlet finally met Sheets’s gaze again, her eyes were anguished, but filled with inner fire, and every work she spoke seemed to fall like a hammer blow.
“Mighty? I did feel that sometimes… and I told myself that every night so that I could sleep in peace. But every word I spoke felt like I was lying to myself. Every time I threw myself on a stallion’s shoulder, my skin recoiled in disgust. Every time I raised my rump into the air… I felt like I was going to vomit and something inside of me was about to die. I had pleasure, but it lasts for just a moment before the disgust sets back in,” said Scarlet.
“I’m not you,” said Sheets curtly. Although, to Sheets aggravation, the words seemed to resonate in her mind. Old, forgotten, revolting, memories resurfaced in Sheets’s mind and she had to shake her head to clear them away. She was not weak like Scarlet, she was strong, and she was always in control of herself and her stallions.
“I know… But if you ever start having second thoughts, just go to the nearest Guards outpost and ask for my name or Stalwart Pike’s,” said Scarlet, resignedly.
“Oh, I won’t have second thoughts. Goodbye, Scarlet and Stalwart,” said Sheets airily as she walked out of the lounge and slammed the door behind her.
Sheets did her best to forget her conversation with Scarlet as she flirted and toyed with the younger stallions. Despite her best efforts, Sheets continued to reflect on the confrontation, especially as the ball wound down. That young little upstart didn’t know what she was talking about. How could she had thrown away skills, her natural-born gifts, to become a sham of a daughter? Sure, the pair seemed to click oddly well with one another, and Stalwart genuinely seemed to care about Scarlet like she was his own flesh and blood daughter. Sheets’s own parents had never considered her even remotely like...
Sheets took another sip from her drink, swallowing forcefully. She was not going to remember those years. Not today. She had a party to be in the centre of.
Ironically she was going to get her wish, but not as she expected it.
A shout broke Sheets contemplation and sent the stallions that congregated around her scurrying away. Surprised, Sheets turned to see an enraged Prince Blueblood stomping his way over to her. She blinked, what in Equestria…
“Winding Sheets, you rotten social climber! How dare you make up a baseless rumor to insult my personage and my wife!” roared Blueblood, pointing his hoof at her. Sheets stared at Blueblood, her telekinesis almost failing, leading her glass to wobble and spill a few drops.
“Prince Blueblood? How have I offended you?” asked Sheets, bewilderment taking the place of her carefully maintained smile.
“You dare deny you created a rumor, in which you boasted I slept with you when I’m married?” roared Blueblood. The blood drained from Sheets face. Rumor? What rumor? She hadn’t said anything about her visits with Blueblood. She knew better than to offend the Prince of all stallions.
“I did no such thing!” protested Sheets. She glanced to the crowd gathering around her, looking for somepony to lambast the furious prince for accosting her. But her stallion admirers had vanished, and nopony dared to go against Blueblood. Surrounded by a circle of watching eyes, Sheets found herself alone… like she always had been.
“And you still lie to the Prince of Equestria’s face? Take this as a reward for your audacity!” snarled Blueblood. With that, the Prince tossed the contents of his glass into Sheet’s face.
Cold, purple drops of wine trickled down Sheets face, ruining the fragrance of her perfume and staining her dress. Before she could stop herself, Sheets’s own glass exploded in a shower of glass shards and drops. She found her mouth moving on its own, an ear-piercing screech directed solely on Blueblood.
“You flankhole! We had an agreement! I gave you what you wanted and kept up my end of the bargain!”
Blueblood’s leer stabbed like ice into Sheets’s stomach. “And you should remember your place under me and licking my hooves, you whore!”
Silence. It was as if sound itself had been sucked out of the entire ballroom. Sheets suddenly realized that the music, the chatter, even the breath of the ponies surrounding them had disappeared. Other ponies…
Oh no… Blueblood had reached the same conclusion and the look of horror on his face would have been priceless in any other situation. After a whimpering like a filly, the Prince fled into the crowd of shocked ponies. Sheets stood in the centre in a circle of whispering ponies, dead to the world around her. Slowly, hesitantly, she turned around, denying with every fibre in her body, the glares of suspicion, the harsh accusations, the whispers...
Revenge. Sheets immediately realized the mare that had done this. Her eyes spinning like homing spells, Sheets searched the crowd for her true assailant, and found her exactly where she expected her to be, just on the edges of the circle, smiling devilishly. On a warpath, Sheets strode toward the unicorn, shoving aside several stallions to do so.
Wind Whistler merely observed Sheets approach smugly. Though, as Sheets thrust her face up close to Whistler’s, she noticed with slight pleasure that the marquessa’s tail twitched nervously.
“Wind Whistler! You’ll pay for this,” hissed Sheets, momentarily blinking away the wine that stung her eyes. Wind Whistler must have made a guess and spread the rumor in anticipation that the oaf Blueblood would go after her. In all her life, she had never been this humiliated by anypony. She actually was contemplating strangling the mare with her magic right now and then.
Yet, instead of being frightened, the marquessa tittered cheekily, sending a shiver down Sheets’s spine. “So what. You can’t do anything compared to what I’ve done to you. Or what you’ve done to yourself. Humiliating Prince Blueblood was just a bonus,” snickered Whistler.
Sheets froze, at a loss for words for the first time in her life. What could she do? How could she get back at Whistler? Avenues of vengeance, connections that she could use, all of them began to disappear and rot away. She had basically told everypony she had slept with Prince Blueblood. Nopony would come to ask for her services. At least not until there was a new scandal and who knows when that would happen? There was nopony she could turn to and nopony who would listen. She was alone, with no options. She’d be lucky if Celestia herself didn’t purge her with holy fire.
“I’ll…” spluttered Sheets.
“Do what, you whore? Raise that skinny flank of yours into the air and sleep around with a couple more stallions? I don’t think so. Too many mares will be watching their husbands from now on. No other ponies will want to be tangled up in your sheets. Now watch deary, as your hard-built ‘reputation’ falls apart, one brick at a time.” Vindictively, Whistler raised her glass and let the edge drop. Sheets’s numb mind registered the freezing sensation of yet another glass of wine being slowly drizzled onto the crown of her head, but her soaked body would not move. She refused to believe this was happening, but the fact she was shivering at the cold wine that drenched her dress proved otherwise.
The marquessa sneered at Sheets before turning tail and strutting away. “See you later, darling.”
Sheets wasn’t sure how long she simply stood, listening to the drip of wine falling onto the floor from the tangled, soggy mess of her mane.
In the tumult of anguish, fury, and urge to break down into uncontrollable sobs, Sheets mind latched onto the one truly comforting memory she had. It was a recent memory that she so stupidly had been trying to forget earlier.
“She’s offered the Golden Ticket.”
Sheets heaved in a long breath. The Golden Ticket to the Grand Galloping Gala. It would solve her problems. It would save her from the social disgrace she was in and silence that horrible Wind Whistler. That is… if Celestia was going to give it to her. The proposition seemed so… fantastical, but it was her only lifeline. Galvanized into action, Sheets raised her head and charged through the ballroom, her hooves pounding on the dance floor as she raced for its exit. All the while, her panicked eyes searched the crowd of leaving ponies, doing its best to ignore their curious glances.
She had to find Scarlet as soon as possible. A part of Sheets’s rational mind remembered that Scarlet had told Sheets to approach her anytime. However, who was to say that Scarlet would not give the position away? After all, Sheets lambasted Scarlet and insulted her. Most ponies would take that as an affront to their pride and simply clear off. The fact that Scarlet had actually kept her offer open…
Would Scarlet still give her the position though? Sheets throat clenched in dread as she bulled past two stallions, not caring that she spilt their drinks. Already Sheets could hear the laughter echoing from behind her, every giggle, every titter pierced her heart like tiny lances. Her ears flattening to shut out her surroundings, Sheets desperately looked around the entrance hall, but all she could find were numerous ponies exiting the mansion.
A horrifying thought slammed into Sheets’s mind. What if Scarlet and Stalwart had already left? What if she had so offended them that they had simply exited the party? Cold fear forced Sheets’s tired body onward. Her red dancing slippers thwacking against the carpet, Sheets sprang into open air outside of the mansion, her blurry eyes searching the elegant carriages lining up in front of the mansion.
Out in the darkening night, barely within sight, Sheets finally found the earth pony and Stalwart Pike. They were just about to set out into the Canterlot night in their carriage. Terrified that she would lose her them, Sheets screamed her last hope to the heavens.
“Scarlet Silk!”
Scarlet spun around and gasped. To Sheets’s eternal relief, instead of laughing uprariously at her dripping wine and ruined dress, Scarlet’s cheerful expression turned into one of horrified concern. Recklessly, she jumped out of the moving carriage and galloped to Sheets’s, who had stopped, head bowed. From a pocket in her dress, Scarlet produced a hoofkerchief and began to dab away at the wine dripping down Sheets’s face. Sheets was so tired, and so grateful that Scarlet wasn’t mocking her, that she just stood silently.
“Oh my Celestia, what happened, Sheets? Who in Tartarus did this to you?” said Scarlet, the vehemence in her voice clear. Stalwart, the gentlecoat he was, undid his cloak and threw it over Sheets’s trembling frame.
“Nothing happened… I… ” Sheets took a deep breath, shut her moist eyes, and wrestled with the overwhelming pressure in her throat. She dug her hooves into the ground and bit her lip until she felt like it was going to bleed, but it was too much. Sheets was about to lose control when Scarlet placed a comforting hoof on Sheets’s knee. That touch of warmth calmed Sheets down enough so that she only let out a long sigh.
“I need y—” Sheets swallowed. “I accept your offer... If you still want to have me?” whispered Sheets. She knew Scarlet could withdraw her request. All because she was foolish enough to spurn Scarlet’s attempts to persuade her in the first place.
Scarlet stared at Sheets in disbelief, jaw agape, not saying a word. Sheets cringed, averted her gaze, and braced herself for the inevitable rejection. Silently, she berated herself for her foolishness and how she should have known better than to expect mercy from a mare she had scorned.
Yet, to Sheets’s shock, a wide smile grew on Scarlet’s features. Sheets thought she was hallucinating, until Scarlet moved forward and embraced her, wine-drenched state and all.
“We would love to have you with us. Welcome to the program, Winding Sheets.”