> Discord's Playground
>  by DarkPhoenix
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Straight Stitch
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Straight Stitch was having the best night of his life. It was his eighteenth birthday. Finally, he was a stallion. Finally he was able to go out and join his older friends at the various bars and clubs around Canterlot.

Being the youngest amongst a group of friends sucked. Being the youngest by several years sucked even more. For two years now, he’d been forced to stay behind while his friends would go off to party in clubs. But not anymore.

To celebrate his birthday, his friends had been taking him on a club crawl all around Canterlot’s Entertainment District. They were on their eighth club, and the last one they’d hit that night. Of course, they’d saved the best for last.

Discord’s Playground was the hottest club in town. Every single night there was a line of ponies stretching around the block, hoping to be able to get in. The club had a reputation for always having the best acts booked. Even musicians and DJs who had long since graduated out of playing clubs would come to Discord’s Playground to play a show. Just last week, the Princess of Pop herself, Sapphire Shores, had held a show there. Plus, the bar was always well stocked; they never ran out of anything.

If there was a party to be had anywhere in the city, it was at the Playground. Even on nights with no acts booked, the house DJ was known to put together incredible mixes. Inside the club was a veritable who’s who of ponies in Canterlot. It was perhaps the only place in the city that a regular pony could rub shoulders with the rich and famous.

Currently, Straight was on the dance floor. He had no idea who the mare was he was dancing with--they’d just come together on the floor--but he also didn’t care. She was gorgeous, her blue mane with that yellow streak in it falling lusciously around her face, and complementing her dark orange coat so wonderfully. And the way she was looking at him, it arose a hope that tonight he’d be getting lucky in more ways than one.

The DJ was playing a song with a fast beat. His partner was moving accordingly while he tried to keep up. Straight never was a good dancer, but tonight he didn’t care. A combination of alcohol and sheer good mood lent him courage. All he wanted was to not trip over his own hooves. Or hers.

Finally, the song transitioned into one with a slower beat. The two of them stopped for a moment, before the mare inclined her head over to the bar. With a nod, Straight followed along behind her. She looked back at him with a smile, then casually flicked her tail ever so slightly, giving him the briefest glimpse of what lay underneath.

Stumbling a bit, he picked himself up and trotted after her. They reached the bar, sliding into two empty stools. Most ponies were either out on the dance floor still, or in one of the many booths that ringed the room.

The bartender came over. “I’ll have a dirty martini, extra dry,” the mare said. Her voice was throaty and alluring, better on Straight’s ears than the music. She looked over at him. “What about you? Want anything?”

“Apple whiskey, on the rocks,” he told the bartender. The burly stallion nodded, moving away to fix their drinks. “I’m Straight Stitch,” he told his companion.

She held out a hoof. “Mirage, nice to meet you.”

He took the hoof, holding it in place and pressing a kiss into it. “Enchanté mademoiselle.” He really hoped she wasn’t Prench, or knew the language, because those two words were the entire extent of his knowledge of Prench.

She giggled. “Mmm, you do know how to treat a mare right. Much better than most of the stallions in here who just stare at my flank.” When he looked guilty for a moment, she laughed again. “Oh I’ve seen you staring at my flank, but you’re more interested in what’s up here,” she pointed to her face.

“Well, you’re, uh, very beautiful.”

“Thank you,” she purred.

The bartender saved him from further embarrassment by showing up with their drinks. Straight grabbed his, taking a steady sip of it. The alcohol burned its way down his throat, filling his stomach with a pleasant fire. His head was already partially swimming from the numerous other drinks he’d consumed that night; one more wasn’t going to hurt anything. If he wasn’t puking in the gutter outside by now, then he wasn’t going to be tonight.

Mirage took a sip of her own drink. “So what brings a charming colt like you to the Playground?”

He tried not to take offense at the word colt. “It’s my birthday,” he said.

She raised her glass. “Well, happy birthday to you, Straight.” He raised his own, the two of them clinking their glasses and taking another sip.

Mirage set her glass back down on the bar. “Let me guess...” She put a hoof to her chin, tapping it thoughtfully for a moment. “Eighteenth birthday, going out with older friends, last stop for the night?”

Straight’s jaw dropped a little. “How did you know?”

She gave another rough laugh, setting a hoof on his arm and drawing it up and down. The touch sent shivers down his spine. “Isn’t it obvious? I’ve never seen you in here before. I did see you earlier talking with a few older stallions. And by this time of night, you would be at your last stop.” She gestured around her with the hoof not stroking his arm. “After all, why not save the best for last?”

“That pretty much sums it up, yeah,” Straight admitted.

“So,” she said after taking another sip of her drink. “What were your plans for the rest of the night?”

He shrugged. “Probably go home and get some sleep.” He knew what she was hinting at, but didn’t want to seem too forward.

“Sounds boring,” she said. “I have a better idea. My apartment isn’t too far from here. Feel like coming back to my place?”

Straight was quite glad he wasn’t taking a drink, as he’d probably have choked on it right then. Mirage, the beautiful mare he’d known for all of half an hour now, including the time they’d spent dancing, was inviting him back to her place. Truly Luna was blessing him with luck on this night.

“I’d love to,” he replied.

She smiled at him, her touch moving from his arm to his cheek. “Well then, let’s finish our drinks and get out of here. I’m sure your friends won’t mind “

He thought about all the times they’d left him behind to go clubbing. “No, they won’t mind at all.”

She giggled again, leaning forward to capture his lips with hers. He jolted, but quickly found himself returning the kiss. She tasted of alcohol, but beneath that there was a taste of berries. Her lips were soft and smooth, fitting perfectly over his. Her breath came out of her nose, washing over his face.

After an eternity, she pulled back, a smile on her face. “Not bad,” she said.

“Yeah, not bad at all,” another voice spoke up. Straight looked over to see his best, and oldest, friend Top Sell, standing behind them. Top looked over at Mirage. “Damn, you got yourself a real looker.”

“Oh good,” Straight said. “You can tell the others that I’ll find my own way home tonight, thanks.”

“No need, they’ve all already left. It’s just you and me here, buddy.”

“Soon to be just you.” Straight slammed back the rest of his drink. “Shall we, milady?” He held out his hoof to Mirage.

Before she could say anything, Top interrupted. “Oh but the night’s not over yet,” he said. “I’ve still got one more thing planned for ya.”

“Not interested in what you have planned, Top.” He looked over at Mirage. “I’ve got my own plans.”

Top’s face never lost its grin. “Oh I think you’ll be interested in this. Don’t you wanna see what’s in the VIP area of the club?” He pointed towards a single door set between two booths. Straight had noticed the door before, guarded by a single, very large, earth pony in a suit. Many ponies had approached the door, and most had been turned away. Only a few had made it through.

Mirage suddenly looked intrigued. “The VIP area? You’re taking him in there tonight?”

“That’s the plan, yup. You been in there?” Top asked.

“On occasion,” she replied. Her attention turned back to Straight. “You should go with your friend. The VIP area is an opportunity you don’t want to miss out on.”

“But what about you?” he asked her. “I don’t want to leave you hanging.”

“I’ll be fine. But if you really want to see me after you’re done in there.” Her horn lit up, pulling out a quill from behind the bar. Straight could tell that it was one of those self-inking ones. Licking the tip, she wrote across a napkin for a few moments.

The napkin slid across the bar, coming to a halt in front of him. “There, that’s my address. If you still want to see me tonight, just come on by. If not, then look me up later this week.”

She finished off her drink and stood up. “Go have fun with your friend, you won’t be disappointed.” She leaned in, giving him one last, long kiss, before turning and disappearing into the crowd.

Straight grabbed the napkin, quickly folding it and stuffing it into a pocket of the jacket he was wearing. “Dammit, Top. What’s so special about this VIP area that you had to go and ruin my night?” If all the VIP area had was comfy chairs and free drinks, he was not going to let Top hear the end of it.

“I can’t really say anything,” Top replied. “You really just have to see it for yourself. But rest assured, it’ll be worth it.”

Straight sighed, but stood up and followed his friend over to the door. Part of him wanted to just turn around, find Mirage, and head back to her place for a night of passion and fun. She was certainly sexy, and willing.

However, another part of him really was interested. As soon as Top had mentioned the VIP area, Mirage had also perked up. She said that she’d been there herself before and had recommended that he go. If both Top and Mirage wanted him to go, it couldn’t be all that bad. Besides, if he didn’t like it, then he had Mirage’s address so he could always just leave and go see her tonight. She’d offered.

As they stepped up to the door, the bouncer held up a hoof. “Only authorized ponies allowed. Please show your authorization.”

“I got it right here,” Top said. He dug into a pocket with his magic, pulling out a piece of paper. The bouncer took the paper, holding it up to the light. Straight couldn’t see anything actually written on the paper. However, there had to be something, as the bouncer nodded, handing the paper back to Top.

“You and your friend can go in. Have a good time.” The bouncer opened the door, allowing them inside.

Top headed inside, followed by Straight. Inside the door was a very short hallway, another door at the end of it. As soon as they were inside, the bouncer closed the door, the sounds of the club becoming muted.

Top opened the second door, revealing a staircase that went down. Straight looked down, seeing that it spiraled off into the darkness down below. “What the hell, Top? I thought you said this was a VIP area.”

“It is.”

“So why does it go down? Most VIP areas I know are above the floor, not under it.”

Top threw a foreleg around Straight’s neck. “Oh this is far from your normal VIP area. It’s one of a kind.” He removed his leg, heading down the stairs. “Trust me, you’re gonna want to see what’s down here.”

His curiosity getting the better of him, Straight followed after his friend. “This had better be worth it,” he muttered. Images of Mirage laying in her bed flitted through his mind. He could be having that right now.

Instead, he was following his best friend down some staircase underneath the hottest club in Canterlot. The whole thing just kept going down. Only torches on the wall provided illumination, so it was dim. There was no railing, so falling was a possibility.

After several minutes spent going down, they finally found the end of the line. The staircase ended in a small room, a single door set into it. A torch burned on either side of the door, which was a simple, wooden thing. To Straight, it looked like somepony had read one too many medieval novels and made the door look like it was out of some dungeon.

“You ready?” Top asked, his magic gripping the door handle.

“For what? I still don’t even know what to expect?”

Smiling, the torchlight casting half his face into a creepy shadow, Top tugged on the door, opening it. On the other side was a well lit, very plush hallway. A red carpet flowed down it as exquisite pieces of art lined the walls. Little recesses held sofas and tables, a couple of ponies sitting in one.

“Come on in,” Top said. He headed through the door, ignoring the ponies sitting on the sofa.

Straight followed after him. “What is this place?”

“You’ll see.” They rounded a corner, the hallway spilling out into a large room. Plush looking furniture was everywhere, set into little depressions in the floor. A small bar sat along one wall. Several doors led out of the room. Several ponies, each wearing the same uniform, were wandering around, trays held on backs or in magic. There had to be another few dozen ponies sitting around the room, both mares and stallions of all three tribes. They were sharing drinks and talking, laughing.

Right where the hallway and the room met, there was a small desk. Behind the desk were two mares. One of them was green coated with a brown mane, while the other was brown coated with a green mane.

“Welcome back Mr. Sell,” the green coated one said. “I see you’ve brought a friend along this time.”

Top indicated Straight. “Yup. This here is Straight Stitch, and it’s his birthday today.”

The mare brightened up. “Well, happy birthday Mr. Stitch. My name is April Showers, and this here is my sister, May Flowers,” she said, pointing to the other mare. She turned back to Top. “Are you interested in the dual services tonight, then?”

Top shook his head. “Actually, I was hoping one of you fine mares would be willing to give him a tour. In the meantime, could the other of you set me up with my usual?”

April nodded. “Of course. I’d be delighted to show Mr. Stitch around. May can help you get things set up.” With a nod to her sister, April stepped out from behind the desk. “If you’d follow me, Mr. Stitch.”

Straight nodded, following the mare into the large room. So far, this was a lot more posh than the VIP areas he’d heard about, but it didn’t seem all that different. Comfy seating, a private bar. The only thing missing was the sound of the club, that had been left behind long ago as they descended the stairs. Other than the sound of clinking glasses, and soft voices, it was eerily quiet in here.

April stopped in the center of the room. “This here is our main lounge. Members can come here whenever they want to relax and get a drink. Everything at the bar is free for members, however, since you are Mr. Sell’s guest, that extends to you as well.” 

She pointed to one of the ponies wearing the uniform. “If you need anything, simply speak to one of our staff members. They’ll help you.” Next she gestured to a group of ponies sitting in one of the circular areas. “As you can see, beyond drinks we also offer a wide selection of foods, also complimentary for members.”

She started walking again, towards the left side of the room. As she threaded her way around the seating areas, Straight followed. “This is a long way underground to have a simple seating area.”

April giggled, turning back to look at him. “Your friend didn’t tell you anything about us, I see. We’re more than just a seating area, as I am about to show you.”

Straight tried to ask what she meant, but her only answer was another giggle. She stopped in front of a door. “Through here you’ll see a small selection of services we offer.”

Opening the door, she strode inside. Straight followed, looking around. One wall of the hallway they were in was the same as the hallway leading to the sitting room: lined with artwork and sofas. The other wall was entirely made of glass, though a curtain on the other side obscured what was in there.

April stood next to a button on the wall, right where the glass started. “Here is where you’ll come to choose who you’d like for your services.”

“Services, what services?”

His question wasn’t answered. Ignoring him, April reached up and pressed the button on the wall. Straight heard a soft buzzing for a moment, before the curtain rose up, revealing what was behind it.

It was a large room, devoid of any furniture. Instead there were several dozen mares. His eyes roamed over the crowd, the mares all looking back at him. He swore he saw several zebras, and even a gryphoness in there as well. A single door was set into the far wall.

The mares in the room all tried to get his attention. Some were smiling at him, licking their lips. Others were blowing him kisses. One mare even turned herself around, her tail pulled up and to the side, completely exposing herself to him.

In contrast to them, some of the mares towards the back avoided his gaze, even trying to hide behind the others. When they did look up, it was with fear in their eyes.

Straight stumbled backwards, his hind legs hitting one of the sofas and causing him to sit down on it. “What is this?” he asked.

“These are the mares you can choose from. We have private rooms set up down the other hallway. Once you make your pick, feel free to head back to the lounge and grab a drink. When everything is ready, a staff member will notify you of which room. You simply head there and begin.”

“Sex...” he said. “This is a sex club.” He’d heard of them before. Back alley shops that sold sex with prostitutes. Prostitution itself was illegal, but he knew that Canterlot had its share of mares and stallions waiting in back alleys. If you had the bits, they’d do whatever you wanted them to. He knew a few of his friends who’d indulged in their services a few times, but he’d never done it himself.

“We are far more than a simple sex club,” April said. “We offer a wide range of services you won’t find anywhere else.” She turned her head, looking through the glass. “Any mare you see here is available for whatever you wish. Some of our members simply prefer to have a companion.” She jerked her head back towards the lounge. “Some of the mares and a couple of the stallions in there are our workers. If all you wish is for a companion to speak to, then we will oblige.”

She stood up, heading further down the hallway. “Come, follow me.”

Straight stared after her for a moment. So the VIP area of Discord’s Playground was some sort of really posh sex club. With the actual club itself being a hangout for the rich and famous, he wasn’t entirely that surprised. It was just he expected more cloak and dagger stuff. Yet down here April was very open about it.

Judging by the way April spoke about things being free for members, this was an exclusive club. Most likely there was some fee or another to join. Top was obviously a member here.

Yet, April had said that they were more than just a sex club. He wanted to know what she meant by that. He stood up off the sofa, following after her.

She’d stopping walking when she realized he wasn’t following her. “It can be disconcerting, at first,” she said. “Most of the new faces we get down here at least have an idea of what to expect. For you, this will all be new and is most likely quite shocking.” She started walking again.

They passed by another long section of window. This room was full of stallions. “We here at Discord’s Playground don’t play favorites. If stallions are more your thing, or if you simply wish to experiment, we are more than happy to provide. Our motto is ‘Your pleasure is only stymied by your imagination.’”

“Ah no,” Straight said. “I’m into mares.”

April smiled. “That may be, but never dismiss something until you’ve tried it.”

There was a third, and final row of glass before the end of the hallway. A single door was there, leading off into some other part of the club. April stopped in front of the glass, gesturing inside it. “And here we have our final selection group. These are for a more discerning member, or those simply looking for something new.”

Straight peered through the glass. What he saw made his heart drop, his breath hitching up in his chest.

Foals. Little foals of both genders filled the room. They all looked scared, none of them trying to grab his attention. Most of them were doing their best to hide, a few braver ones sheltering the youngest. At a glance, only a few in the entire room had cutie marks, the rest being too young.

Straight’s jaw flopped open. “Wh-What the fuck?”

April kept her serene smile on her face. “Remember our motto? We try to make as many pleasures a reality as possible. I’ve never indulged in one so young, but from what our members who have say, it is one of the most exquisite pleasures.”

“But foals? Innocent foals?” Straight was trying to wrap his mind around this. Of-age mares and stallions was one thing. They were at least adults who knew what they were getting into. But foals? This was monstrous.

“Oh not to worry, all of our stock has been selected with the utmost care. They are all clean, healthy, and disease-free.” She clicked her tongue. “Plus, each foal is here with the consent of their parents. Often the parents receive a tidy sum of bits.”

“Wait a second. So these foals were sold to the club by their parents?”

“Of course,” April said as if it was the most natural thing in the world. “There are many ponies born in Canterlot whose parents don’t want them. We provide the parents with a discrete way to make the problem disappear, as well as give the foals something to do with their lives. We also have agreements with several orphanages here in Canterlot.”

“I don’t... I don’t...” Straight just kept repeating those two words over and over like a mantra as he struggled to comprehend what had been just revealed to him.

April stepped forward, putting a hoof on his shoulder. “It’s a lot to take in, I know. I reacted the same way when I first started working here. But you’ll find that this club is simply the best.” She dropped the hoof. “Come, let me show you what else this club has to offer!”

She moved over to the door at the end of the hallway. Pressing another button on the wall there, the curtains dropped back over the windows. Even with the foals now hidden from his view, he could still see them, huddled there, looking scared that he might actually pick one of them.

Giving them something to do with their lives? He honestly didn’t know how he felt about that. On the one hoof, these were foals who were being sexually abused. But on the other, he’d heard stories about some of the bastard foals of rich couples, locked away in mansions, often in single rooms, for their entire lives. Was that any better of an existence than this one? At least here, according to April, they were taken care of, even if they didn’t look very happy.

Lacking anything else to do, he followed April. She opened the door, leading them into the next room.

Inside was a room filled with display cases. Each case had some sort of plant or powder or tablet inside it. A long counter sat against the wall to the right, a stallion standing behind it.

“Ah, April,” the stallion said. “What brings your sexy flank all the way back here?”

She giggled. “Just giving a tour to a guest, Fox. Mr. Stitch, meet Foxwhelp, or just Fox. He’s our purveyor of fine goods.”

“You flatter me,” he said. The stallion trotted around the counter, coming out into the room. “What we’ve got here is the finest collection of substances anywhere.”

Straight peered into some of the display cases, reading the labels. The further down he went, the more things he recognized. “Drugs. These are all drugs. Most of them illegal.”

“Sharp mind on that one,” Fox said.

“He seems to grasp things easily,” April agreed.

“We have a collection of pretty much any substance you could ever want. When you fill out your membership form, we collect information such as height, weight, age, physical fitness, all that good stuff. What that allows me to do is discern just how much of a dose to give ya. This way it’s safe, and you get whatever high you want.”

“Fox here is a chemist by trade, so he really knows his stuff,” April explained. “He’s never made a mistake.”

“And I never will! That’d be bad for business. And my reputation.”

Straight rejoined the pair. “So you sell sex and drugs?”

April smiled. “We offer many services. Sex and drugs are large parts of it, but not everything. Remember our motto?” she asked again. “We offer pleasure in many forms. From sex to drugs to other ways.”

“Like what?”

April sat on her haunches. “Well, when being serviced by one of our stock.” The way she said stock didn’t sound quite right to Straight. “You can get as rough as you’d like. Slapping, spanking, hitting, even some light bloodplay is perfectly allowed. However, no permanent harm. Unless you agree to pay a fee. If more than a small amount of blood is to be shed during a session, we have special rooms set up just for that purpose.”

Straight felt his stomach sink again. Permanent harm? His mind conjured up images of mares missing limbs or with disfiguring scars. “What do you mean by permanent harm?”

“Some of our members enjoy certain, non-sexual pleasures. For some that means inflicting pain on others. For a fee, you are free to select from our stock and do just that. We make available a wide range of tools, from knives to hammers. Provided you do not kill your selection, anything goes.”

She winked at him. “Of course, should you wish to kill your selection, you must pay another fee, this one quite substantial. And your choice of stock will be limited, but the option is available.”

Straight couldn’t believe what she was saying. Making sexual slaves of foals was one thing. Cheerily talking about murdering another pony was something else entirely. What the fuck was going on here?

“So you make available not only sex with adult mares and stallions, but foals as well.” April nodded. “Plus, there’s all kinds of illicit substances available for consumption.” Again, April nodded. “And to top it all off, you’re telling me that I can torture or even murder a pony!?” Without waiting for a reply, he shook his head. “Why am I not surprised,” he muttered.

For a final time, April nodded. “Here at the Playground, we strive to make any and all forms of pleasure available to a pony. If you take pleasure in harming others, then we’ll cater to that. Your fee will be greater than those who simply want to partake in pleasures of the flesh, but we find that those who want it are willing to pay for it.”

Straight stumbled on his hooves. Else he fall over, he sat down. April leaned forwards, putting a soft hoof on his shoulder. “I know it can be a lot to take in at first, but trust me. We’re the only club of this type anywhere. The things you’ll find here, you’ll find nowhere else.”

Straight didn’t doubt that. The things found here were despicable. There was no way the princesses would allow something like this to continue. He only needed to tell them about its existence.

“How?” he asked. “How do the princesses allow this?” Luna was well known to browse ponies’ dreams. Surely she knew about this from that.

April looked at him sadly. “We have royal sanction,” she said.

“What?” Straight didn’t believe that. There was no way one of the Royal Sisters approved of this. They were always going on about love and tolerance. About freedom for everypony.

April nodded. “It’s true. Before he was married, Shining Armor was a member of this club. After his marriage, he has brought Princess Cadance here on more than one occasion. Princess Luna herself visited once. She expressed her approval of our...” She trailed off for a moment. “Our carrying on of the olden ways. Or something close to that.”

Straight couldn’t believe what he was hearing. This club was sanctioned by two of the three Royal alicorns? That couldn’t be. Surely they were missing something that was going on down here. There was no way that murder was sanctioned.

Yet, April had to be telling the truth, as well. She’d been so open about everything so far. What reason would she have to lie about this? If he didn’t believe her, he only had to show up to Princess Luna’s Night Court and inquire about it. By leaving him such a wide open out, she had to be telling the truth.

“I don’t...” he said again.

April came in close to him. He could feel her coat brush against his. She was quite cute, if he was being honest. Her coat, her skin, brushing against his, was very pleasant.

“It’s okay,” she said. “Many ponies feel this same thing when they first learn just how far our services go. Please, partake of us just once. Then you’ll see.”

“What... What about you? If I demand to bed you, what then?” he asked. The words flowing from his lips surprised him. He wasn’t seriously considering this, was he?

April giggled again. “I’m afraid that so long as I am on the clock, I’m off limits.” Her lips closed around his ear, sending a wave of pleasure down his spine. “However, if you wish to meet me, or my little sister, or both of us, after hours, we are more than willing to... Entertain you.”

Her breath in his ear was satisfying. What she was promising, a threesome with her and her sister... It enticed him. Part of him wanted it, he was ashamed to say. To be thrusting into April, to see her moaning underneath him, while her sister kissed him, licked him, pleasured him... He wanted it. He wanted it as much as he had wanted Mirage earlier tonight.

He shook his head. No, this was wrong. This whole club was wrong. He needed to find Top and get out of here.

“April, where is Top?” he asked.

“I assume he’s in one of the pleasure rooms. Your friend really has a fondness for Clover. He almost always picks her as his partner.”

“Take me to him, please.”

April nodded. “I understand. This is a lot to take in all at once.” With a glance at Fox, she led him out of the drug room, down the hallway, and into the lounge.

“Hey May,” she called. “Where did you send Mr. Sell?”

“He’s in room thirty seven,” she said.

April pointed to the door on the right side of the room. “If you head in there, take a left at the end of the hallway. Look for room thirty seven. Your friend is in there.” She smiled at him. “If any door is open, feel free to watch. Or even join in if an invitation is extended. However, if a door is closed, please respect the privacy of our members.”

Straight nodded, still unsure of what to think about this place as a whole. In a fugue, he left the two mares. Heading across the lounge, he opened the door and stepped inside.

There was a tiny hallway, barely ten feet long, before ending in a t-junction. He stood at the end of the junction. Both hallways looked the same, posh and with doors all down them. Celestia save him, but he wanted to know what was down the right hallway. However, April had told him to go down the left hallway, to room number thirty seven.

Taking a left, he headed down the hallways. Both sides were lined with doors, a number of which were open. The sounds inside were spilling out into the hallway, loud moans and shrieks echoing off everything.

His gaze remained focused, the first few open doors he passed. Yet around the time he passed the door labeled with a fifteen, he gave into temptation and looked.

Inside was a stallion. On top of him was a mare. The stallion’s hooves were clutching her flanks as she rode him. He thrust inside her without abandon. Both of them were moaning. Her hooves rested on his chest.

He paused a moment, watching them. Just from a look, it was impossible to tell which was the member, and which was the slave. Both were equally invested in their pleasure. Both were into the sex.

He moved on down the hallway. Each open door told the same story. Inside, at least one pair of ponies was receiving pleasure from each other. Two doors had more than two ponies in there, but he still couldn’t tell who was who.

No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t tell the members and the slaves apart. Even in the room where he saw a fully grown stallion thrusting into a little filly. In the back of his mind, he knew that the filly was the slave, but the way she moaned, the way she begged for more, it blurred the lines.

Yes the filly could have been trained that way, but it looked so real. She didn’t even have her cutie mark and yet she... She wanted the stallion. She wanted more, she wanted him to do those things to her.

Unsettled, he left that doorway. It wasn’t much farther now. Soon, he’d see Top. He’d also see what Top had described as his usual.

Soon the door labeled thirty seven was next. It was open, the sounds of moaning, of flesh slapping together, echoed out. He wanted to know. He needed to know what Top was doing in there. Yet he didn’t want to know.

What if Top was with a filly? If he was fucking some cutie mark-less filly, what would happen? Would that change his opinion of his friend? Would he ever be able to look Top in the eye again? Or would nothing change?

Luna preserve him, he wished right now that he’d told Top to fuck off and simply gone home with Mirage. He wished he had never learned what was down here. Hell, he wished he was asleep and that all of this was simply a bad dream.

Yet none of that was true. This was real. This was happening. His only choices now were to see what Top was doing, or leave this place.

Cautiously, he took a step forward. His head peeked around the corner, seeing what lay inside the room.

Top was there on the bed. A mare, this one fully an adult, was in front of him. With rough, quick slaps, he was thrusting into her. She was on her knees before him, submitting fully to his will.

Top looked up, seeing him staring into the room. “Hey Straight!” he called. “You finished your tour?”

Numbly, Straight could only nod.

“Awesome. Hey, wanna take the other end?” Top pointed at the mare’s head. “Clover here is great at either end.”

Clover panted, her tongue hanging out of her mouth. “Oh yeah,” she said. “I’m... mmmm... I’m great. Oh yeah, right there. Come on over here... Oooh... Big boy.” She licked her lips. “I’ll pleasure ya real good.”

Straight’s mind went completely and totally blank. He had no idea how to react to that. Not only was Top, but the mare—the slave!—he was screwing was inviting him to join in.

By the prodigious and sexy plot of Celestia he wanted to. He wanted to scramble into the room and stick his member right down Clover’s throat. He wanted her to suck on it until she gagged, until he spewed his seed down her dirty, nasty throat.

He wanted to fuck her brains out. He wanted to feel that clover cutie mark of hers under his hooves as he thrust into her. He wanted to bang her again and again until she couldn’t take it anymore.

Instead, he scrambled away from the door. Throwing his back against the wall, he heard Clover say from inside the room. “He’s nervous, that one.”

“It’s his first time down here,” Top replied. “He’s just getting used to everything.”

Clover chuckled. “Ah. A newbie. Well, don’t be surprised if he’s not around when you get done with me.”

Top laughed as well. “Baby, I’m gonna be here all night. If he’s still around by morning, then so be it.”

Clover purred. “Oh Top. I’m yours, all night. Now fuck me until I can’t walk.”

If Top said anything in response, it was drowned out by the increased sounds of their union. Clover moaned loudly, encouraging Top to continue.

Straight had no idea what to think. This place, it should be hell. But instead, it was anything but. The ponies here, both members and slaves, seemed to want to be here. Well, with the members, they wouldn’t be so if they didn’t want to. Yet with the slaves, they were happy. Sure some of them looked at him fearfully when he was in that glass hallway with April, but once out of those rooms, they changed. They wanted it.

His legs picked himself up. Without any input from them, they carried him back down the hallway and out into the main lounge. April and May were both behind the desk again.

“Decided not to join your friend?” April asked him.

“No, not tonight,” he replied. His voice sounded distant to him, like somepony else was speaking.

“Well then, can I get you set up with anything? If you want you can take another look, pick out whoever you want.”

“No, thanks. Not tonight. I think I’ll just go home.”

April smiled at him. “That’s understandable. It’s a lot to take in all at once.” She reached under the desk, pulling out a piece of paper. “Here, take this. It’ll grant you one-time access to the VIP club. After that if you want to come down here again, you’ll have to become a member. There’s a twenty thousand bit membership fee, as well as five thousand bits a month after that.” She giggled, winking at him. “But trust me, it’s worth it.”

Straight accepted the paper, tucking it into a pocket on his jacket. Thanking the mare, he left the VIP club. It was a long walk back up the stairway to the regular club, but somehow, he made it in the blink of an eye.

Exiting the VIP door, he found the club empty and abandoned. It had shut down for the night. The only ponies in there were cleaning the room. A stallion holding a broom noticed his arrival.

“Have a good time down there?” he asked.

Straight nodded. “Yeah.” His lips moved without him even realizing he’d said anything.

The stallion chuckled. “Typical. Get your brains fucked out and you don’t even know how to talk anymore.” He moved off, sweeping the floor. “Oh well. You’ll find your way home eventually.”

Straight stumbled out into the street. The moon was getting ready to set, yet the sun wasn’t yet appearing on the opposite horizon.

He had no idea where to go. He had no idea what to do. He could always go home, but right now he didn’t want to be alone with his thoughts. He needed someone to be with him.

He dug out the napkin that Mirage had written on. With all of his might, he prayed that she hadn’t been lying to him, that this really was her address. She wasn’t kidding when she said it wasn’t far, only a couple blocks from the club.

He didn’t remember getting to her place. The entire walk through the early morning streets of Canterlot was forgotten. One moment he was staring at a napkin on the street outside the club. The next, he was staring at a door, an apartment number staring back at him.

With a hoof, he knocked on the door. “Mirage?” he called. “You in there?”

There was the sound of somepony shuffling around inside. It took a minute, but the familiar dark orange face was staring back at him. “Hey,” she said. “I honestly didn’t expect to see you tonight.” She opened the door wide, standing to the side. “Come on in.”

He walked passed her and into the room. She had a nice apartment. Somewhat small, but most ponies in Canterlot couldn’t afford much room. Without even asking for permission, he sat on her couch.

The mare came and sat next to him. One of her forelegs found its way around his neck and soon he was leaning against her shoulder.

“You knew,” he said. “You knew... you know, what’s down there.”

She nodded. “Of course. I’ve been down there myself. I’m not a member, but I’ve been a few times as a guest of somepony else.”

“How? How can you know what’s down there, what you can do down there, and keep going?”

Her other hoof stroked his mane. It felt right. It felt comforting. He leaned into her touch. “I, like many others, believe in pleasure. For me, pleasure comes in the form of a stallion, rutting my brains out. The club makes that available to me. At least, it would if I could afford to be a member.

“For others, pleasure comes from drugs, or sex with something exotic and forbidden.”

“Like a foal?” he asked.

She nodded. “Yes, like a foal. Personally I find that detestable, but to each his own.”

“But what about the... the torture, or murder, of ponies?”

She frowned. “I don’t condone that practice. But the club caters to everypony.” She sighed. “There are some aspects of the club that I don’t agree with, but overall it’s a great place.”

She continued to stroke his mane. “It’s like me, for example. At first glance I may seem perfect, but if you get to know me then surely there will be something you don’t like. It’s the same with the club, only opposite. On the surface it’s flawed, but underneath, it’s perfect.”

Straight tried to wrap his head around the analogy. It made sense, sort of. Mirage was a perfect mare, beautiful and sexy. Sure she had her flaws, not that he’d seen them yet, but she was still overall a good mare.

The club was flawed on the surface. It allowed for foals to be sold into sexual slavery, as well as for members to murder its workers, for a price. Yet underneath it had to be perfect. Discord’s Playground had been around for twenty years as a club, since before he was born. Surely the VIP area had been around for at least that long. If it had survived for two decades and nothing had happened to it, then there couldn’t be anything wrong with it, right?

Mirage planted a kiss on his lips. “The club gave you a temporary pass, right?”

He nodded. “Yeah, good for one entry.” He pulled the piece of paper out of his jacket.

“I’ll tell you what,” she said, giving him another kiss. This one he returned. “Why don’t tomorrow night you and I go back there. You pick out a pony, mare or stallion, it doesn’t matter to me. Then the three of us will have whatever fun we want, all night.” Her lips moved down his face and onto his neck, kissing and nibbling there.

That... That sounded like a good idea, actually. Just the thought of being with Mirage and another mare made his nether region tremble with anticipation. Some of the mares on the other side of that glass had been very cute, sexy even.

Mirage bit at his neck, her lips and tongue eliciting a moan from him. “Yeah... That sounds good.”

“Mmm, yeah,” she replied, still working at his neck. “But for tonight, how about we go to my bedroom.” Her hoof found its way between his hind legs, caressing him. “You can show me just how good you are with this thing.”

She got up off the couch, her stare making her intentions very clear. Straight gave a smile, hopping off the couch and following after her. Tonight was going to be fun, and tomorrow? He’d give the club a chance, see what it’s all about. After all, it couldn’t possibly be that bad.

> Clover
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Clover lay on the bed. Distantly, she was aware that there was another pony in the room, and that based on the rhythmic rocking of the bed, he was doing things to her.

“Ooh yeah, that’s so good, baby,” she said. By now, she could barely feel anything, so she had no idea if it really was good or not. However, appearances must be maintained. That was what they told her to say, what they expected her to say.

The stallion above her simply grunted and thrust even harder. He was approaching the end, finally. This one had wanted to take his time, to draw out his pleasure. While she may not have been able to feel her plot, her jaw still retained its memory of the stallion’s earlier activities.

While Clover maintained her vocal encouragement, her mind was elsewhere. After all, there’s only so many ponies one can service in a night and not become bored. She didn’t even want to be here, anyway.

In her mind, she was relaxing on a beach just outside Manehatten. Some small part of her conscious, the part that was still hers, remembered that day well. It was her last vacation before she’d... Well, before she’d ended up here.

Her partner let out a loud cry before flopping over. Clover looked back at him. He lay there, panting and with a glazed smile on his face. She tried to remember his name... Top, something.

“Top, baby, that was amazing,” she said with a purr.

“Of course it was,” he replied. “There’s a reason you’re my favorite, Clover.” He gave her a kiss, which she returned. He tasted like alcohol and sweat. She wanted to spit it out, but couldn’t. That wasn’t what they expected of her.

After the stallion pulled away he decided to engage in idle chatter, forcing her to lay there and participate. Finally, he stood up. “Well, as much as I enjoy your company, I’ve gotta get going.” He winked at her. “But I’ll see you next time I’m here, love.”

She sincerely hoped not. “I’ll be waiting for you, Top.” To seal the deal, she blew him a kiss, her tail flicking about. She almost gagged. The routine, the lines, that was all they cared about. If she didn’t act them out... Well, there were much worse things than being a sex slave.

Once he left, she stuck her head out into the hallway, looking down it, towards the opposite end. She looked away quickly, everyone working at the club knew what was down there. Those amongst the stock knew that being told to go down the right hallway, was a death sentence. Even if you returned, you’d never be the same, only waiting to die, waiting to be summoned down that hallway again. Only this time, you wouldn’t come back.

Shuddering, she sat on the floor in the room. As comfy as the bed was, it was also horribly unmade, the sheets stained with the various bodily fluids the two of them had emitted over the course of their liaison. The musk of sex had settled heavily in the air, invading her already overloaded senses .

Despite how the room looked, she knew that within minutes of her leaving, it would look pristine again, ready for some other pony to come and defile it once more. If the Playground was anything, it was efficient in its debauchery. She shifted uncomfortably, she could feel herself leaking.

A few minutes after Top had left, another pony appeared in the doorway. This one was also a stallion, but red coated and yellow maned. He was holding a clipboard in one wing. “Alright Clover, go get cleaned up and report back to the stockroom. You’ve still got three more hours left on your shift.”

So she didn’t have anypony waiting for their turn with her. Good. Though when Windy said “shift,” it was all she could do to not laugh. It wasn’t really shifts when she was forced to do this. Slaves don’t have a choice, that was something the club made very clear. Sure when her “shift” was over, she would be allowed to actually clean up, eat, and get some sleep. After all, she had to be kept healthy, but that still implied she had control of things.

Giving Windy a nod as she left, she headed towards the far end of the hall. There, a door led to the back areas of the club. Places that the privileged clients would never see, but those who work here were well acquainted with.

Her first stop was the shower room. She knew that her mane was askew and her coat probably had turned white with untold things crusted into it. She stepped into the shower and began to quickly lather up. They never gave slaves much time to freshen up.

A quick rinse off, some time spent in front of a dirty mirror, picking out any remaining undesirables from her mane, and she was standing in front of the door leading back to her world. With a sigh, she opened the door and stepped inside.

The stockroom was, as it always was, full of mares, as well as females from a few other species. There was Goldfeather, the gryphoness, and two zebras. They were picked the most, the zebras still being something exotic, but close enough to a pony for most clients to feel comfortable.

“Welcome back, Clover,” came a droning voice.

“Morning,” Clover greeted, turning to face the speaker. Morning Glow, as she preferred to be called, was a changeling. Her black, chitin covered body gave off a subtle sheen in the light of the stockroom, as her green mane fell around her face. Her muzzle was smiling, though the large fangs still unnerved Clover.

“So how was he?”

Clover sighed, going to sit against the wall next to Ruby, a unicorn and her best friend. Since the curtains over the window were down, they were free to do whatever they wanted in the room. “The same.” She lowered her voice, trying to sound masculine. “Oh yeah, suck it good. Take my rod you whorse. I’m gonna fill you up.” She coughed, reverting back to her normal voice. “It’s insufferable.”

Morning stood in front of Clover. “Yeah, they are all kinda the same.” She licked one of her fangs. “I still think you ponies are missing out, not being able to taste their emotions.”

“That’s just creepy,” Ruby said.

“Tasty, though,” Morning chirped.

Clover sighed, leaning back against the wall. “What did you dream about this time?” Ruby asked.

The mare smiled. “Manehatten. There’s a beach there. Sure, it’s crowded, but there’s still nothing like laying out in the sand. The waves crashing into the shore, foals playing in the surf, it’s all so... innocent.”

She looked around the room. “Nothing like this place. There’s no innocence down here.” She knew what was two rooms over, in the final stockroom. Sometimes, one of the foals could be heard crying. Sometimes it was because they missed their parents, wanted to go home. Other times... They’d just come back from their first visit to a room, with a client.

It twisted her heart every time she could hear them. Even after three years of being stuck down here, she wanted to hold them close and save them from a life like this. Foals should be living the Manehatten dream, not be stuck in this hellhole. But she couldn’t even save herself, much less anypony else.

Ruby laid a hoof on her shoulder. “But there is still innocence left. Just, like you say, not down here.”

“It’s been three years since I’ve even seen the sun. I’m starting to forget what it feels like.” Clover turned to Ruby. “Will I ever see the sun again?”

“Of course, someday.”

“Stop lying to her, Ruby,” Morning said. “You know what it’s like down here. Nopony sees the sun. The only way out of here, is through the right hallway.”

“Shut up, Morning,” Ruby countered.

Clover gently patted her friend’s hoof. “It’s fine, Ruby. Morning’s just being her usual, crabby self. While her delivery may be lacking, she is correct.”

The unicorn looked like she wanted to say something more, but thought better of it. Morning lay on the floor, making herself comfortable, unperturbed by the unicorn’s words.

Idle chatter floated around them as the mares passed the time until they were either chosen, or their shift was up. The curtain hadn’t been raised in a bit, so it was probably a slow night.

“Hey Clover?” Ruby asked.

“Yeah?”

“You’ve been here for three years, and I don’t think that I’ve ever known just how you came to be down here.” She cleared her throat. “I mean, you know how I got here, my parents selling me as a filly and all, but what about you?”

Morning perked up, engaging her own curiosity,. “Yeah, you talk about vacations in Manehatten and other places, so you had to have had money.”

Clover grimaced. “I suppose I don’t mind sharing.” She looked around. “It’s not like we’ve really got any secrets. Not down here.”

There wasn’t a mare down here who had maintained their independence. At some point, every pony broke down and cried on another’s shoulder. It was all they could do to hold on to each other and not go crazy. All of them, they were their own family. Whatever had brought them down here, all they had was each other. 

Sometimes though, there had been mares who had refused to cooperate. It wasn’t long before they took a trip down the right hallway, and nopony ever saw them again.

She leaned against Ruby, resting her head on the other mare’s shoulder. “I used to have money, sure. I may not have been rich, but I had enough to get by, with plenty leftover to go on trips and the like. Wanna guess what I used to do?”

Morning spoke up. “Well, your name’s Clover, and your cutie mark is a four leaf clover. So... gardening?”

Clover laughed. “Not even close. I was an accountant for a large firm.”

“Then what’s with the name and cutie mark?” Ruby asked.

“It means that I’m lucky. A four leaf clover is a symbol of luck. I had a talent for simply being lucky.”

“So how did you end up down here?”

“I’m getting to that. Patience, Ruby.” Clover gently swatted her friend. “See, here’s the thing about luck, it comes in two types: good, and bad. I’m a lucky mare, but it’s not confined to just having good luck. Though most of my life, I’d had nothing but good luck. I had a great job, a nice apartment, even a stallion that I loved.

“That stallion, his name was Big Top. He ran a carnival. Things were going well for us both. At least, I thought so. Until the day that I got a message from Big, asking me to meet him at our favorite coffee shop.”

Clover’s smile turned wistful. “I had dreams in my head of him finally proposing to me.” Her smile faded. “I was naive. I met him there, and he told me that his carnival had fallen on tough times. He’d been forced to borrow money from some shady ponies, money that he couldn’t pay back. He said that he had an idea how to clear his debt, but he needed my help.

“Stupidly, I said yes, whatever he needed. I had money in savings, I’d give that to him. He asked me to follow him, so I did. We left the shop, and headed down the alley next to it.”

Her muzzle curled down into a frown. “There, three ponies jumped us. Two of them held me down while the third congratulated Big on delivering me to them.” Unbidden, a tear slipped from her eye. “That... that bastard, had sold me to them to pay off his debt. The two holding me down took turns using me, while the third forced Big to watch, all the time asking if this is what he wanted.”

With a hoof, she wiped her eyes. “He said yes, that they could have me. I didn’t fight, or try to run, or even scream. All I could do was stare at Big as he betrayed me. He, he left that alley, left me behind, and he didn’t even turn around to look at me. He didn’t even once say that he was sorry.”

Clover felt herself being hugged by Ruby. “Hey, it’s ok. You don’t have to keep going if you don’t want to.” Even Morning looked upset at the story.

“No. No, I want to continue, to tell somepony my story.”

Ruby nodded, still holding her close. “Ok.”

“I was taken back to their hideout. For awhile, they were content to just use me, pass me from member to member like some toy. I raged, I screamed, I bit and punched and fought, but they’d just laugh. All the while, I could see Big’s face in my mind.

“I don’t know when it was, but eventually my spirit broke. I would just lay there and let them do whatever they wanted. They got bored, and one day I found myself being sold to Discord’s Playground.” She waved a hoof around her. “So here I am now.”

The other two were silent for a long moment. “Wow,” was all Ruby could say.

“What did Big Top look like?” Morning asked. “I can take his form and you can say everything you’ve always wanted to say to him.”

“Way to be insensitive, jerk,” Ruby said, rolling her eyes.

“Hey, it can be therapeutic. You have no idea how many ponies choose me just so they can have rage sex with somepony they hate.”

The two of them continued to argue, with Clover just watching. She knew that Morning meant well, but she also wasn’t sure what she’d do if she ever saw Big again. She might break down crying, or maybe even try to kill him. Or maybe, they’d just talk.

She shook her head, forcing herself to stop thinking about Big. “Hey, Morning?”

The changeling stopped arguing with Ruby. “Yeah? Wanna take me up on my offer?”

“No. I want to ask you a question.”

Morning paused briefly. “Well, ok. I guess, yeah.”

“Why are you down here?”

Morning blinked. “What do you mean, ‘why?’”

Clover gestured to the changeling. “You just offered to impersonate Big for me. And I know that you can disguise yourself as anypony just by looking at a picture of them. It’s why you’re so popular. So I ask again, why are you down here? You could easily just disguise as a member and walk out of here.”

Morning grimaced. “Heh. Figures you’d be the first one to ask me that.” She stood up, pacing. “What do you know about changelings?”

Clover frowned as the thought. “Well, you feed on love, and you can change your appearance.”

“Yes, but there’s a lot more to us than that. We don’t have to feed on love, though it does give us the most energy. Any emotion can work, though emotions like anger and rage can be difficult, and they taste awful.”

She stopped pacing and stared at Clover. “Down here, do you have any idea how much lust flows? How much love? I can gather enough energy in a night to feed myself for a month. In a week, I’ll be set for a year.”

“So why stick around?”

Morning sighed. “Because I’m not here for me. I’m here for my hive.” She held up a hoof, forestalling any questions. “I’ll explain.”

She dropped the hoof. “See, every changeling belongs to a hive. Each hive has a Queen who rules over it. I’m a collector, I go about seducing ponies and collect their love energy to take back to the hive, where it gets used to feed the hive.

“Once a week, a fellow member of my hive comes down here and requests me. There, I give him everything I’ve collected over the past week, and he takes it back to the hive.”

Morning smiled. “By being here, I’m feeding my entire hive. I don’t have to hide who I am, ponies come to me, give me their love, their lust.” She waved a hoof around. “By me being here, it’s made life for my entire hive so much easier.”

The changeling looked Clover in the eye. “So that’s why I’m here. It’s because I want to be here, because me being here is helping so many others.”

“But what about what you have to do?” Ruby asked, shocked.

Morning shrugged. “It’s not much worse than what I had to do out there. At least down here, my options are much more varied about which disguise to take.”

Green fire surrounded Morning, her form glowing and changing shape. When it dissipated, Clover recognized the famous pop singer, Sapphire Shores, standing there. “Someponies just want to fuck their idol.”

More flames, and after a moment, there was Octavia Melody there. “Others want to see the demure, quiet one debase herself for them.” A hoof slid back and underneath her tail.

Again, she changed. This time it was somepony that Clover didn’t recognize. “Some just want to screw their foalhood crush.” Morning’s smile faltered slightly. “And some? Some want what they can’t have.”

The flames were brighter this time, making Clover blink. When she could see again, a little filly stood where Morning had been. The filly looked up at Clover. “Daddy? Why are you in my room?”

“That is disgusting,” Ruby said.

The changeling retook her original form. “I never said it was glamorous. But it works.”

“How...?” Clover whispered. “How can you do something like that? Like that... filly?”

For once, the smile on Morning’s face dropped. “Most of the things ponies ask me to do, it’s mostly famous ponies, or friends they couldn’t have in their normal lives, for whatever reason. Those I’m all okay with.”

One of her hooves scuffed on the ground. “But there’s a few who are real sick and twisted bastards. I’ve had more than one stallion show me a picture of some young filly or colt. Sometimes it’s their own foal, other times it’s a friend of their foals.”

The scuffing hoof stamped hard on the floor. “It makes me sick, every time I’m forced to do something like that.” She bared her fangs, snarling. “I wanna just... teach them a lesson.”

Slowly, she calmed down. “But then I remember why I’m doing this. I remember that my brothers and sisters are counting on me. That, even if I have to suffer a bit, it’s worth it. For them. The reason I’m down here? It’s not for me, it’s never been for me. It’s for everyone else.”

Clover got to her hooves, moving over and hugging Morning. The changeling tensed up at first, but gave in, wrapping her own hooves around Clover’s neck. “Thank you for sharing that with us, Morning.”

“Well, you shared your story, so it only seemed right.”

Clover planted a kiss on Morning’s cheek. “What was that for?” the confused changeling asked.

“For showing me that there is still some good left down here.”

She didn’t think it was possible, but Clover swore she saw Morning’s chitin take on a reddish hue around her cheeks. “Er, well... You’re welcome?”

The back door swung open. Clover looked over Morning’s shoulder, curious who was coming back. Instead, the red face of Windy stared inside. “Hey Clover, you’ve been requested by name. Room sixteen.” He then trotted away, leaving the door open.

Clover sighed, pulling away from Morning. “Another fan,” she said dryly.

Morning gently pushed her. “You’re gonna become more popular than me at this rate.”

The mare flicked her friend across the withers with her tail as she walked past. She could hear the changeling chuckling.

There was no point in getting ready, the client would be waiting for her to be there. She’d get to the room first, then press a button, letting the two mares at the front desk know to send the client in.

It only took her a minute to reach the room. It was pristine, the bed perfectly made, the carpet cleaned, no traces of it ever having even been used. If it weren’t for all the moaning filtering in from the hallway, she’d almost believe that she was back outside, at some hotel.

Pausing only to tap the button on the wall, she lay herself across the bed. Her tail covered herself, but she still tried to look inviting, sexy. After several minutes, a pony appeared in the doorway.

“Hey there, big boy. Ready for—” The word’s caught in her throat as she actually saw the pony. “B- Big Top?”

Standing in the doorway was indeed, her former coltfriend, the one who sold her into slavery in the first place. It had been years, but he still looked the same. The same dusty brown coat, the same black mane styled like he’d just fallen out of bed, and the same cutie mark.

“Hi, Clover...” he said. A small smile graced his muzzle.

Clover stopped breathing. Her vision narrowed until she could see only the stallion. Her heart hammered in her chest, as numerous conflicting feelings raced around in her mind.

Anger fought with rage which battled with terror who warred with sadness. There were so many emotions competing, she simply froze, unable to do anything.

Big Top stepped into the room. “You look good.”

The mare’s eyes narrowed. “I look good? That’s all you have to say after all this time? After what you put me through?” She slid off the bed, her look dangerous and wild. “Tell me why I shouldn’t rip your head off right now? You’ll be dead long before anypony comes to save you.”

Her vision turned red as rage won out. She took another step forward. To his credit, Big stood his ground.

“I’m sorry, Clover,” he said. “I didn’t-”

“Didn’t what?” she cut him off. “Didn’t know what would happen to me? You sold me to some scum gang. What did you think was going to happen? Did you even think? What was going through your head when you woke up and decided to sell your marefriend into slavery?”

“I didn’t have a choice!” Big shouted.

Clover reached out with a hoof, gripping the door and slamming it closed. The entire frame rattled and a large crack appeared in the door itself. “You always had a choice. You chose to borrow that money, you chose to not pay it back. You chose to use me to save yourself.”

The mare moved until she was muzzle to muzzle with Big. “And now you’ve chosen to come find me. Why? So you can revel in what you’ve done? Or to pity me?” She spat at him, the saliva landing on his cheek. “I don’t need or want your pity.”

She turned around, walking back over to the bed. “Leave, Big. Leave and never come back.” Her voice was low and dangerous.

“Not until you hear me out,” he said.

She almost threw him out of the room and left. She’d be reprimanded, but it would be better than having to deal with him. Her good sense won out in the end. “You have two minutes.”

“I’m sorry,” he repeated. “I didn’t have a choice with what I did.” She could hear him move closer. “Yes, I borrowed money from them. And yes, I borrowed a lot of money from them. I needed it to keep the carnival afloat. Business was rough then.”

“Why the hell didn’t you come to me? I could have helped you. We were partners, lovers, supposed to work things out together, you selfish bastard.” Clover still didn’t turn around to face him. Maybe if she just didn’t look at him, the anger would go away.

“Because I didn’t want you involved with those ponies. I was too deep in the hole to ask you for a loan, I needed more than that. So I had to turn to them, or lose everything. If that happened, I’d be totally broke, and relying on you for everything.”

She could hear soft hooffalls on the carpet. He was moving around, probably pacing. He used to do that when he was upset.

“I borrowed the money and everything was fine for a time. I was making back my payments to them. At least, until those fucking changelings ruined everything. When they invaded, it caused ponies to be afraid, to not go out anymore. My carnival was dead, no money coming in.

“Quickly, I was even deeper in debt than the first time. And then the enforcers came along. They would threaten me, break my machines, harass my workers. They told me they’d take everything if I couldn’t pay them.” He stopped moving, letting out a sigh. “One day, their boss came with them.”

Clover felt a hoof land on her shoulder. Angrily, she yanked it off. “Don’t touch me.”

“Sorry. Old habits.” There was a pregnant pause before he continued. “The boss, he called himself Blood Stroke, came to my office one day. He said that the warnings and threats were done. The next time they see me, I’d better have the money, in full, or they would take what they owed from those around me.

“You remember that picture I kept on my desk, the one of us that Daisy took outside our favorite café? He pointed to that and said ‘it would be a shame if something were to happen to Clover.’”

Clover’s ears perked up at that. “What?”

“He knew you, Clover. He started telling me all kinds of things about you. Where you worked, where you ate lunch, where you hung out, where we lived. He even knew your usual schedule. He- He threatened to kill you.”

The mare’s front legs were shaking, making her glad that she was sitting down. “So what, you sold me to them to save me?”

“I had to! It was either that or they killed you. At least then I knew you’d be alive.” Finally, he entered her field of view, sitting in front of her with a pleading look on his face. “Clover, I have never regretted anything more than I have forcing you into that situation. Ever since that day, I’ve been working and saving, trying to get the money to buy you back. To set you free!”

“I am not some commodity to just be passed around!” she shouted. Her hoof stabbed him hard in the chest. “Do you have any idea what my life’s been like since that day? No, of course you don’t. Though since you got to watch those two enforcers fuck me in that alley, you probably have a pretty good idea.”

He opened his mouth, but Clover cut him off. “No. Don’t speak. Just listen. Ever since that day, I’ve been forced to do things to ponies, stallions and mares. I’ve been passed around a room like a party favor. I’ve been beaten, tied up, suffocated. I spend every day being used by ponies who just want my body. I’ve been forced to do things to other ponies, simply for their pleasure, or the entertainment of those watching.”

She smacked his chest hard enough to knock him over. “Every single day since that first one four years ago has been hell. I’d have given up long ago, but I take solace in the other mares down here. They’re all going through the same thing I am. We’re a family, it’s how we survive this place and the things that happen here.”

With slow steps, she advanced as she was speaking until she was right over him. “Do you even know what they do down here? I’ll spare you the details, but just know that if I go to Tartarus after I die, it’ll be better than this place.”

She stepped off of him. “Thank you for telling me the truth. Now, leave. Leave me to the life you sold me for.”

There was silence in the room as he lay on the floor, looking up at her. “I didn’t come here just to see you, Clover. I came here to free you.”

“You what?” she bit out at him, anger still coursing through her veins.

“I said that I’d been working for four years to gather money. I have a lot saved up. I went back to the gang, but the boss said that he’d sold you to this place long ago. So I investigated, and finally found somepony willing to let me in here on a guest pass. Some stallion named... Straight Stitch, I think.”

He got up, shuffling over to her and pulling her into a hug. She wanted to fight him, but the familiarness of the embrace was too much. It shattered her defenses. “Clover, I have a lot of money. I’m gonna buy you back from the club, set you free. I don’t care if I never see you again after that, but at least you’ll be out of here.”

Clover closed her eyes. Thin trails of liquid seeped out from under her eyelids, falling on Big’s coat. She sniffled. “You stupid bastard,” she said.

“What?” he asked.

“You stupid, selfish bastard. You don’t get it.”

“Get what? What’s going on, Clover?”

“Maybe if I was still with that gang, or another gang, you could buy me back. But once I was sold to this place, that was it. I’m never going to leave here.”

“I have bits.”

“Then get a membership. But you can’t buy a slave from the club. We’re not for sale. No slave has ever left this place. Once you come down here, you can forget about ever seeing the sun again. Or your friends or family. Or anypony other than members, guests, workers, and the other slaves.”

“Why won’t they sell you to me?”

Clover reached up with a hoof, wiping at her eyes. “Because the club enjoys secrecy. This club exists because it’s a secret. If they were to start letting slaves roam the streets, then that secrecy collapses, and the club gets shut down, and everypony involved with the club, both members and workers, gets arrested. Nopony wants that, so we stay down here, where nopony notices us.”

Big pulled back from the embrace. “That’s terrible.”

She nodded. “It’s life, though. I haven’t been outside since I got here three years ago. And there’s no way I’ll ever see the outside.”

“None at all?”

She smiled grimly. “There’s one way. Remember how you got to this room? You turned left at the intersection. If you turn right, and go down that hallway, then that’s how a slave leaves.”

“Then let’s go. Right now. We can make it, come on!”

Clover shook her head, several tears being flung away. “No.”

“Why not?”

“Because those are the kill rooms. That’s where slaves go to be killed by members seeking entertainment or pleasure. The only way a slave leaves the Playground, is in a body bag.”

Big’s mouth flopped open and closed like a fish gasping for air. “That- I had no idea.”

“It’s just how life is in the Playground, Big. I’m stuck here until I die. A slave for life.” She reached out, touching his cheek. His own hoof covered hers as he leaned into her touch. “There’s nothing you can do for me now, except leave. Leave this hellhole and never come back.”

“I can- I can tell others about what goes on down here.”

“Then you kill us all.” At his blank look, she continued. “In the event of a raid against the club, poison gas will be pumped into the stockrooms and backrooms, killing everypony there. It ensures that we can never speak about what goes on down here.”

Gently, she let her hoof drop to the floor. “No. Just leave and forget about me and this place. I- I’ll be fine. I’m used to it now.” She tried to give him a smile, but it came across as more of a grimace.

“Clover...”

Unthinking, she leaned in, kissing him deeply. His forelegs came up and pulled her close, a gesture she returned. They held each other, seeking brief comfort in each other’s presence.

She remembered this. She remembered how he smelled, how he felt in her grasp, how he tasted. She remembered the comfort he gave her, the love that once flowed between them.

When she pulled back, he was smiling. At seeing her crying face, his smile fell. “I’m so sorry. I’m so fucking sorry, Clover.”

“I know, Big. But it’s time for you to leave. Please, just go. Go and live your life, be happy.”

Reluctantly, he let her go. Slowly, he backed up until he was at the door. “Goodbye, Clover.” They stared at each other for a moment, before he turned, opened the door, and left.

Her hoof reached out to where he had just been. “Goodbye,” she whispered. Her hoof pulled back to her body, where she buried her face in her hooves, tears spilling over.

She was still crying when Windy came to get her. “Okay, head back to- What’s wrong, Clover?” She heard him come into the room. “Was he rough with you?”

She shook her head. “No,” she said around her tears.

“Well then get ahold of yourself. You’ve still got two more hours left.”

The mare tried to stop the tears, but she couldn’t do anything. Trying to stop them only made them fall harder. Soon, her body was wracked by sobs.

“Oh hell. Nopony’s gonna want to pick you acting like that,” Windy said. “Go on and take off. But you’re starting your next shift two hours early to make up for this.” He left the room.

It took her several minutes, but Clover got herself under control enough to stand and walk. With slow, shuffling steps, she headed down the hallway towards the back rooms. For once, she didn’t even notice what was going on in all the open rooms.

Heading through the back hallways, she entered a dimly-lit large room filled with cots. There were ponies, and a few non-ponies, sleeping on some of them. She headed to the one that she always used. There were no assigned cots, though most slaves preferred a certain one. It was an unspoken rule which cot belonged to who.

She crawled onto the cot, covering herself with the blankets. Burying her face into the pillow, she felt the last of her tears leave her body.

“Clover?” she heard a familiar voice ask.

Turning over, she spied Morning in the semi-darkness of the room. Wiping her eyes, she forced a smile. “Hey, Morning.”

The changeling came over and sat down on the edge of the cot. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing.”

Morning gave her a blank look. “Clover, I’m a changeling, remember? I can feel your emotions. They’re all over the place.”

“Cheater,” Clover replied.

Instead of responding, Morning just leaned over, drawing the mare into an embrace. “What happened?”

“You remember that stallion who sold me into slavery?” At a nod from Morning, Clover continued. “Well, he was the one who requested me.”

Morning gasped. “What? That bastard! What did he want, to gloat over you or something?”

“No. He wanted to apologize. He told me the whole story, about how he sold me into slavery in order to save my life. He told me about how he’s spent the last four years saving up the money to buy me back.” She expected the tears to come back, but she was all cried out.

“I had to tell him that it just wasn’t possible. That I can’t leave here.”

Morning tightened her embrace. “I’m sorry, Clover.”

The two held each other for some time, the changeling providing comfort to her friend. At some point, they had lain down, side by side on the cot. It was a tight fit, but they made it work. Clover suspected that Morning had altered her size or shape somehow.

“Hey Morning?”

The changeling turned her head towards Clover. “Yeah?”

“Can you get a message to Big? Like when your hivemate comes to collect your energy, can you get him to pass along something for me?”

She thought for a moment, her tongue unconsciously rubbing along one fang. “I suppose so, sure. What do you want to tell him?”

“Can you just let him know that... That I forgive him?”

Morning smiled. “I can do that. But why? He’s responsible for you being in all of this. How can you forgive him?”

“Because there’s no point in holding a grudge. And there’s too much sadness and anger down here already, I can’t keep holding on to what I brought in from the outside.” She breathed deeply. “I want— No, I need, a clean slate.”

The changeling patted her friend. “Ok. I’ll get two-eighty to deliver the message. Just, don’t tell any of the others about this, else I’ll just be constantly asked to deliver messages to the outside world.”

“I promise. Thanks, Morning.” Clover kissed the changeling on the cheek again.

“You’re welcome. Now come on, let’s get some sleep.” She tried to leave the cot, but Clover wrapped her forelegs around her midsection. “What?”

“Stay with me tonight, please?”

Morning smiled. “Ok. I can do that.” She settled back into the cot, the two of them curling up together.

Clover felt a comfort from her friend, something she hadn’t felt in four years. Not since the last time she and Big slept like this, the day before her life changed.

Everything may have changed, and her life was vastly different, but at least she had friends to help her through it. She, Morning, Ruby, the zebra twins, all the others, they made an odd family, but they were also the only thing keeping each other going each day.

She fell asleep to the feeling of her friend pressed against her.

> Quick Time
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Quick Time walked through the streets of Canterlot. Despite the somewhat late hour, she wasn’t afraid of getting mugged or anything. After all, she was a well known figure in the city, being a partner in the most successful business around.

Her rise to fame was chronicled in newspapers and tabloids all around. She’d started as the assistant and secretary to Fancy Pants. He’d discovered that she had quite the business mind herself, and she’d made a meteoric rise through the company, eventually becoming a business partner to Fancy himself.

Anypony who mugged or harassed her would quickly find themselves in far more trouble than they could ever have anticipated. Being famous and wealthy had its perks.

The streets were well lit, though not by the streetlights. This was the entertainment district; glowing signs were everywhere. Pinks and reds and blues and greens, all the colors of the rainbow, illuminated the sidewalks. Ponies walked or stumbled everywhere. Nightclubs had their doors open, flashing lights and thumping beats spilling out.

She paid everything around her no mind. There was only one destination in her eyes. It had been awhile since she’d last been there, and she was feeling the itch again.

Up ahead, at the end of the street, stood the largest club in the city. The bright sign on the facade proclaimed it to be called Discord’s Playground. That was her goal.

A long line of ponies stood outside. Each of them were hoping to get inside that night, to revel in the atmosphere of Canterlot’s hottest club. Many of them stood there knowing that they’d never get in, but were willing to take that chance anyway. Fools.

Quick strutted right up to the front of the line. One of the bulky bouncers raised a hoof, stopping her. “I’m sorry ma’am, you’ll have to go to the back of the line.”

The mare reached into her saddlebag, pulling out a small sheet of parchment. “I think you’ll find that I’m on the list.”

The bouncer took the sheet, holding it up to the light and peering at it. After a moment, he gave it back to her. “Apologies for the trouble ma’am, head on inside.”

She gave him a smile, tucking the paper away. “It’s no problem. You’re just doing your job.” She knew this pony, and he knew her. Yet this was a dance they had done before, and would do again. Protocol must be followed, and discretion was key.

“Thank you, ma’am. Please, enjoy your night.” He stepped aside, allowing her to pass. Ponies in the line were groaning, some of them protesting that she was allowed inside while they had to wait.

The poor fools. They had no idea. Being rich and famous came with many perks. Access to the club whenever she wanted was one of them. It also helped that she was a member of the VIP club. All VIP members could access the building whenever they wanted. Even when the outer club was closed, they could get in the back door.

Inside, the noise level jumped up significantly. Glancing up at the DJ booth, Quick could see that Vinyl Scratch was manning the tables. The electric maned DJ had long since graduated playing clubs like this, but that was one of the draws of the Playground. Even hugely famous ponies would come play here. 

Quick wasn’t the biggest fan of this type of music, but it was enjoyable enough. Not that she’d be sticking around here long enough to listen. No, she had only one thing in mind.

Walking with a purpose across the club floor, she dodged around numerous ponies. Some were standing around and shouting at each other, trying to have a conversation over the music. Others were walking to and fro, heading to some place. A few were dancing, not having the courage to make it out to the actual dance floor.

Between two booths sat a nondescript door. There was no sign or plaque telling anypony what it was. The only thing that marked the door as important was the presence of another suited earth pony standing in front of it. He was larger than even the ones outside.

This time she was ready. At her approach, he turned towards her. “Authorization, please.”

She gave him the little sheet of parchment again. Again, it was held up to the light. To anypony who looked, the parchment was blank. However, to those wearing a special lens over their eye, when held up to the light a marking would appear. It was impossible to reproduce unless one knew the spell to make it, and the only one who knew the spell worked for the club.

Satisfied, the bouncer gave her the parchment back. Turning around, he opened the door for her, giving a light bow. “Please, enjoy your night.”

She nodded, smiling at him. “Thank you.” It was always nice to see ponies who respected their betters. Even if they were paid to do so.

She stepped inside, the door closing behind her. The sounds and wubs of the club became muted. Giving a sigh of relief, she began the long journey deep into the heart of the club.

The long staircase spiraling down into the darkness was not only an aesthetic thing, but security as well. Should the secrecy of the club ever get compromised, then the stairs would delay a raid long enough for those inside to act. That and there was something fitting about the long descent, scarcely lit by torches.

It took her ten minutes of walking, but she finally made it to the actual entrance to the club. The door opened at her hoof, revealing the posh interior. No expense had been spared building this place, and it showed. Art from master painters lined the walls, some of them even being officially listed as missing from museums. Museums whose curators enjoyed what was on offer down here.

The influence wielded by this club was staggering to those who thought about it. Not even the princesses could control the city like the Playground did. Nobles, business leaders, magnates and more were members. The rich and elite were all members. Whoever owned the club, the identity of the mysterious pony being a hotly debated topic, could rule the city with an iron hoof. Whatever he or she wanted, they got.

Quick headed down the corridor and around the corner, reaching the sitting area. In front of her was the welcome desk, April and May both sitting there. They were chatting to each other, but at her approach quickly gave her their attention.

“Ah, Ms. Time. Welcome back. It’s been awhile since your last visit,” April said.

“Yes it has. However, I felt like it was time for another playdate.”

“Of course. Are you wanting your usual?”

Quick nodded. “I am. Though I think this time I’ll go for a stallion.”

May reached under the desk, pulling out a photo album. “Here are the current candidates. Please, take as long as you like deciding.”

Quick took the album. “Thank you. I’ll let you know when I’ve decided.” Placing the album on her back, she trotted over to the seating area. Several dozen ponies, and a few other species, were scattered around, engaging in conversation over drinks or food.

She found a table that was unoccupied, sitting down and setting the album on the table. A mare came up immediately, asking if she wanted anything to eat or drink. Quick declined. She would need her body free of anything for what she had planned.

Opening the album, photos of stallions stared out at her. Some of them were smiling, others were not. Below each photo was a name. Despite the club having dozens of stallions in their stock, only a fraction of them were in this book. Eight, in total.

There was evidence of pictures having been removed, some fraying of the pages. Quick knew that some of the pictures being removed was through her actions. And after tonight, another picture would leave the book.

Carefully, she mulled over her options. Two of the stallions were discarded instantly, they were too disfigured. Whoever had them last had certainly not been careful. The remaining six were scrutinized and judged.

It took her fifteen minutes, but she had finally made a choice. Standing up, she made her way back to the welcome desk. “I’ve decided,” she announced. Her hoof pointed to the open book. “I want him.”

“Of course, Ms. Time,” May said. “I know you know this, but I have to ask. You are aware of the additional fee for these services and are prepared to pay?”

“Yes, I am.”

“Good!” She reached under the desk, pulling out a form. “Just fill this out and we’ll get you set up.”

The form was a bank draft. Since most fees in this club were for more bits than was practical to carry around, one of these was filled out and the money would be moved from her account to the club’s. The actual draft was disguised to make it seem like she had simply racked up an absurd bar tab.

Quick filled out the necessary information, signing the document and giving it back to May. “Wonderful,” the mare said. “It will take us some time to get everything set up. One of the staff will let you know when it’s all ready.”

“Thank you, May. I’ll go see Fox first, then come back here.”

May nodded, heading out to issue the necessary orders. The club was a model of efficiency. If every business ran like this, there might actually be some competition for Fancy’s company.

She left the seating room. There was a certain stallion she needed to see, then she could enjoy herself.


*        *        * 


Copperhoof leaned up against the cold stone wall. All around him, the other stallions in the stockroom were similarly relaxed. So long as the little red light over by the window was off, they were free to do what they wanted. Provided they didn’t leave the room, of course.

When the light came on, they were to be attentive and present themselves, as that meant that the curtains would rise and a member would be looking. Not that it really mattered to Copper, nopony picked him anymore.

He used to be fairly popular. Originally he was from a mining town and worked underground, digging up metals and precious gems. When mining wasn’t enough to provide for his wife and little filly, he had headed to Canterlot, vowing to find a better job.

For a time, he had. He worked in the castle as a servant. His days in the mines had honed his body into a solid block of muscle, making him well suited to carrying things. And making many a mare eye him with lust.

Even after he explained that he was happily married, there were still mares who tried to bed him. He had resisted all temptation, and remained faithful to his Ginger Snap. Every time he got paid, he would send most of the bits home, as room and board, as well as food, were taken care of by his employer.

Then she had happened. That conniving little bitch of a mare. She was one of the ones who had pursued him even after he made it clear he was married and not interested. Even just thinking of her made him grind his teeth together. It was her fault he was down here, that bitch named Sky Shine.

Sky was a pegasus, quite pretty, he had to admit. If he hadn’t been already tied down, he probably would have taken her up on her offers of a good time. But she just wouldn’t take no for an answer.

One day she had asked for his help moving some things around so she could clean a storeroom. The whole way there, she continued to do what she always did, flirt with him. He was naive, thinking that she no longer felt anything for him and just viewed it as a game now.

When they had reached the storeroom, he’d headed inside. She came in behind him, closing the door. The room was full of boxes. A thin layer of dust covered everything. It certainly needed a good cleaning.

“Where do you wanna start?” he asked, looking around.

Soft hoofsteps echoed behind him, before a hoof touched his flank. “Right here,” she said.

Copper moved away. “Sky, you know I won’t do it. If getting me alone is the only reason you brought me here, I’m leaving.”

A sob derailed his train of thought. Turning around, he saw Sky sitting on the ground, her face buried behind a wing. “What’s wrong, Sky?” he asked, concern for her overriding his desire to leave. In all the time he’d known her, he’d never seen her cry.

“Why don’t you like me?” Her voice was quiet, her face still hidden. “Am I not pretty enough for you?”

Against his better judgement, he had stayed in the room. Part of him knew that this could be a ploy by her, but his father had ingrained in him from the time he was a young colt to take care of a mare. If she was genuinely upset, then it was his duty to console her, regardless of their past.

“You’re a very pretty mare, Sky. It’s not that at all. You know why.”

“Your wife isn’t even here!” she yelled. “She’s hundreds of miles away. She’ll never know. Just once, lay with me. I’ll show you that I can be much better than her.”

Copper sighed. “Ginger may never know, assuming I don’t ever tell her. But I’ll know, and that’s enough. I could never do that to Ginger.”

The wing dropped, revealing a very angry, tear stained face. “How do you even know she’s being faithful to you?”

“I don’t. But I trust her and love her enough to believe that she wouldn’t do that to me.”

“And if she has. What then?”

He thought about that for a moment. He and Ginger swapped letters all the time. He knew that she missed him, and wanted him to come home. The mine had been picking up recently and perhaps it was a good time to head back. It had been so long since he’d seen Ginger and his little filly, Granite.

What if she had cheated on him? After so long away, could he really blame her for seeking comfort in the hooves of another stallion? Celestia knew he’d been tempted while here.  What if she had as well?

“I think... I think she and I would have to talk about it. But I’m not entirely sure I could blame her. It has been so long since we’ve seen each other, and a mare has needs.”

Sky sniffled once more. “And what about you. Don’t you have needs?”

“Of course I do,” he growled, irritated. “I’m just a stallion. You don’t think I’ve been tempted around here, by you and others?”

“Then why haven’t you? I’m not the only one who’s made advances.”

“Because while I may not blame Ginger if she sleeps with another, I could really even forgive her, I could never forgive myself. I was raised far better than that.”

Sky threw her hooves in the air. “Ugh, typical stupid stallion. It’s been two years since you’ve been here. Not once have you gotten to see your wife. You have no idea if she’s still yours or if she spends her nights in the bed of another stallion.”

“I love and trust-”

“Spare me the bullshit,” she interrupted him. “You have no idea. None at all. Just some vague hope. I bet the stupid slut has fucked half that pathetic little village you call home.”

Copper’s jaw hung open for a moment. “Now listen here. You have no right to say those things about Ginger.”

“I bet your wife is now the town whore, lifting her tail for any stallion that wants some of it. Hell, right now she’s probably getting fucked by one of your friends. Maybe even several of them at once.”

Copper blinked. One moment, Sky was taunting him, insulting his wife. The next, she was laying on the ground, a hoof holding her now bleeding jaw. His own hoof was pressed against her throat. Her wide eyes and the small choking noise emanating from her mouth surprised him.

Scrambling backwards, he felt his back hit a stack of boxes. “What?”

Sky drew in several deep breaths, coughing. Droplets of blood scattered throughout the room.

“Sky? Are you okay? I’m so sorry, I don’t know what happened!” He slowly moved closer to her. Besides the bleeding jaw and what would surely be a bruise on her throat, one of her wings was bent at an odd angle.

After a few more coughs, Sky found her voice. “You fucking idiot. You just attacked a helpless mare.”

“I’m so sorry. I don’t know what came over me.” He helped her sit up, cautious of her wing. “Are you okay?”

She nodded. “I’ll be fine.” Her gaze turned towards him. “You won’t be.”

“What do you mean?”

Despite the blood running from her mouth, she smiled, showing several red stained teeth. “I think you owe me now.”

He took a step back. “Owe you for what? You provoked me!” Turning his back, he headed for the door. “Just leave me alone, Sky.”

Her next words made his blood run cold, his hoof reaching for the door handle frozen in the air. “If you leave I’ll tell everypony that you attacked me.”

“They’d never believe you,” he countered, though he wasn’t entirely sure that was true.

“A big, strong earth pony stallion and a small, helpless pegasus mare. I’m the one who’s bleeding, has a dislocated wing, and most damning, a bruise in the shape of your hoof on my throat.”

He turned around, facing her. She still had that smile on her muzzle. “I wonder who they’ll believe.”

“You wouldn’t.” He narrowed his eyes, staring at her.

“Leave and find out. You’ll be in the dungeons within the hour.”

Copper sat down, still staring at her. “What do you want?”

She approached him, her hips swaying. “You know what I want. Sleep with me, and this’ll all be a dream.”

“That still doesn’t explain away your injuries.”

Her hoof gestured to the boxes around them. “Spill a few over. We’ll say that you tripped while carrying some. In the fall, you fell into me. I landed badly on my wing, smashed my muzzle into the floor, and in your haste to get up, you stepped on my throat. All an accident. The most that’ll happen is you get reprimanded for being clumsy.”

He was silent for a long moment. What had started out as a normal day had quickly turned into a nightmare. He now found himself between a rock and a hard place. On the one hoof, he could refuse her offer and call her bluff. If she really wasn’t lying, he would face legal trouble for attacking her, probably be thrown in jail. On the other hoof, he could sleep with her, just once, and it would all go away. His conscience would bother him, and he would be forced to admit it to Ginger. But given the circumstances and Sky’s conniving, she would forgive him.

“Fine. I’ll sleep with you. But only this once.”

“Once is all I need.” She mashed her lips to his. He almost drew back, but stopped himself at the last moment. The kiss tasted of blood and copper, but he knew that he had to persevere.

Sky laid down on the floor, spreading her legs. “Now, fuck me like I’m your wife.”

Whispering a silent prayer to Ginger to forgive him, Copper straddled the mare. His lips found hers again as her hooves wrapped around his neck.

Twenty minutes later, they were done. Sky lay on the floor still, panting as a small stream of his seed ran from her nether lips. “That, was amazing.”

Copper sat nearby, shame overrunning everything else. Not shame at what he had just done, but shame that he had enjoyed it. It had been so long since he’d felt the warmth and pleasure of a mare, he hadn’t known how much he’d been craving that release.

Sky was, he hated to admit it even to himself, a great lay. She knew just what to do to him. Even now, basking in the afterglow, part of him wanted to go another round.

Instead, he stood up. “We’re done.”

She nodded, getting to her hooves as well. “Yes. You spill some of the boxes and then go get some help. I’ll stay here and clean up a bit. Can’t leave any evidence of sex.”

It was short work to topple a stack of boxes, the contents scattering around the room. Sky lay back on the floor, setting some of the items on top of her. “Go now. Best to hurry so it looks fresh.”

Opening the door, he hurried out into the hall. It took him a minute to find some help, but he came across several guards. “Please, help me. There’s been an accident in one of the storerooms!”

They galloped after him as he led them back. Inside, Sky was still laying on the floor where he’d left her. The guards moved inside, helping her up. “Miss, are you alright?” one of them asked.

She shook her head. Her hoof pointed at Copper. “He- He raped me!” she cried.

Copper could only stare at Sky as the guards turned towards him. Before he knew it, he’d been tackled and shackles were strung between his legs, keeping him from doing anything other than shuffling.

It was only as he was being led away, Sky sobbing and leaning against a guard as she was escorted to Medical, that his brain caught up to what was happening. “You bitch!” he shouted. “You betrayed me! You swore you wouldn’t say anything!”

She looked up at him as he was being dragged away, struggling against the guards trying to hold him back. She turned to the guard with her. “May I speak to him?”

“Are you sure that’s wise, ma’am? Wouldn’t you rather get away?”

The pegasus shuddered. “I’d like nothing more. But I want to face him.”

The guard nodded. “That’s commendable. Don’t worry, ma’am, he can’t and won’t hurt you anymore. Speak your piece, then it’s off to the dungeons with him.”

With a barked command, the three guards escorting him subdued Copper. He found himself laying on the floor, two of them practically sitting on him. As Sky approached him, he glared at her with nothing but contempt.

“You lying bitch. You swore to me you’d keep it a secret,” he growled. Somewhere deep in his mind, he knew that what he was saying would only be digging his grave even deeper. Yet all rational thought was thrown out by her betrayal.

She leaned down close to him, to where only he could see her face and hear her words. Her distraught appearance shifted, once more becoming that maniacal grin. “I lied.” With those two words, she turned around and left with the guard. With those two words, she sealed his fate.

Everything after that was a blur. Sky had insisted that she didn’t want a trial, a view matched by the crown. They didn’t want a big mess, with reporters everywhere and headlines in the paper proclaiming that the castle employed rapists. Instead, it was all taken care of quickly and quietly.

The evidence against him had been overwhelming. Sky’s injuries, the state of the room, evidence of a recent sexual encounter, his seed inside her. All it took was a few words from her, and suddenly she was the victim in it all, not the perpetrator. If he hadn’t been there, even he would admit that it was all so plausible. The only defense he had was his word, which was not enough. His fate had been sealed.

He had avoided time in the dungeons only because he had agreed to a deal. He would be fired and given a severance package. He would return home, and never leave his town again. He would be monitored daily by the local guard attachment. But worse than that, he would have to admit his guilt to his family. In return, he would escape from the dungeons and outside of his family and the guard, none had to know.

He had agreed. Not that he’d had much choice. It was the only way he’d ever see his wife and filly again. The entire time he was stuck in that cell, or in front of all those arrayed against him, the one thing that had kept him going was seeing Ginger again. He knew that she would believe him. She’d known him all their lives, they’d grown up together. She knew that he would never do something like this, that he wasn’t capable of it.

So he had packed his stuff and headed out into Canterlot. He had a train ticket back home, where a guard was to meet him on the platform. If he wasn’t there, he’d been thrown in the dungeons, never to leave.

There was some time before the train left, so he headed to a bar and bought a drink. No amount of alcohol could wipe the shame and anger from him, but a mug of ale was a start.

On his way out of the bar, he had been jumped and dragged into an alley. Half a dozen stallions were there, along with a certain pegasus mare. “You!” he roared before he was gagged.

Sky turned to one of the stallions. “Here you go. One convicted rapist. Nopony will miss him.”

The stallion handed over a large bag. The clinking from inside sounded like bits. “And here’s your payment. He’s a good specimen. He’ll do well.”

Sky took the bag, placing it in her saddlebag before trotting over to Copper. “Enjoy your new home.” She ran a hoof down his cheek. “You silly fool. If you had simply fucked me back when I first asked, this could have all been avoided.”

Copper’s eyes widened. That’s what this was all about? He had turned her down for sex, so she had entirely ruined his life and now sold him for something. She had to be the most insane, most vindictive mare ever.

She placed a kiss on his forehead. “He’s all yours, boys.”

They had taken him away, and within short order he’d found himself in the Playground. There he’d begun a new life as a slave, forced to do whatever the one who requested him wanted.

He sighed, leaning further into the wall. Absentmindedly, he scratched at one of the scars along his flank. One particular member had wanted more than just sex, she’d wanted pain. She had been careful to avoid his face, but after that session he’d been left with scars and burns all along his body. What had once been a muscular, attractive body, was now a ruined facade. After that session, the number of members requesting him had dropped drastically.

The other stallions in the stockroom had formed small clumps, talking. He didn’t feel like being sociable tonight. At least, he assumed it was night time. He had slept and was now awake, which meant it was most likely night, as that was when the club was the most active.

Sure he had made a few friends down here, but more and more he missed what he had above. Despite the years, he could still picture Ginger clearly, as she had been on the day he’d left for Canterlot. She was standing in the door of their home, waving goodbye, with Granite standing next to her, also waving.

Granite had to be growing up now. She probably even had her cutie mark. It pained him, knowing that he’d never get to know what it was. He’d never see them again.

The door leading into the room opened. He didn’t pay it much mind, figuring that it was just somepony coming back from a session. It wasn’t until he heard his name that he paid attention.

“Hey, Copper!” He looked over, seeing the red pegasus, Windy, standing in the doorway. His usual clipboard still under one wing. “You’ve been requested.”

Slowly, Copper stood up. “What room number?”

“Room D.”

At that, all conversation stopped in the room. Every stallion turned to face Copper, who had paused mid step. Rooms where ponies went to have sex were numbered. Rooms where ponies went to be tortured were lettered. They all knew what was about to happen.

Windy eyed Copper. Even he looked slightly sad. “I’ll give you a couple minutes.” He retreated from the door, closing it.

The first stallion to approach Copper was Gentle Giant, a fellow earth pony. “Copper...” he said.

Copper could feel tears threatening to overcome him. “Hey, it’s ok. I’ll be back, just a little uglier.”

The other earth pony threw his forelegs around Copper’s neck. “This is bullshit.”

“Yeah, but there’s nothing we can do about it.” He patted Gentle on the back. “Now come on, you’re gonna make me cry.”

Gentle eventually pulled away. “I’m sorry,” he whispered.

“You’ve got nothing to be sorry about.” Copper shared hugs with several other stallions he knew well. “Sorry guys, but I’ve gotta go.”

He opened the door, seeing Windy standing just down the hallway. “You ready?” Windy asked.

Copper nodded. “I am. Let’s go.”

They headed down the hall, Copper leading. He knew what was coming. Part of him wanted to fight, to struggle, to run away. That would only lead to him being tackled, restrained, and taken to where he was going anyway. If he was going to go through this, he was going to do it with his dignity intact and his head held high.

Silently, he whispered a prayer to Ginger that he would see her again.


*        *        *


Quick Time trotted down the hallway. Because of her visit to Foxwhelp, everything was cast in a much clearer light. The everglow coursing through her system seemed to highlight things, enhance her senses. The lights were brighter, objects more clearer to see, sounds more distinct.

She had been sitting by the bar, patiently waiting, when a mare had told her to head to room D. Now was exactly what she’d been waiting for. That itch that had been building since her last visit was about to be scratched.

Reaching the end of the hall, she turned right. Down the left hallway, the sounds of sex and pleasure echoed out. All the ponies down there were fools. They had yet to discover true pleasure.

The fourth door on this part of the hallway was her destination. It was slightly cracked, awaiting her to open it. It was teasing her with what lay inside.

Opening the door, the familiar sight greeted her. A large table sat in the middle of a floor that sloped slightly downwards. Along one wall was a workbench piled high with all kinds of tools and objects. A single light hung from the ceiling, casting everything on the table in a bright light and the rest into shadows. Already strapped to the table was the stallion she had requested.

Unlike some of her other playthings, he wasn’t struggling. He was laying there, limbs splayed out and tied down, placidly. A gag was in his mouth, as per standard procedure.

She closed the door behind her, the sound causing the stallion to turn his head. She smiled at him, trotting over. “Hello. I’m Quick Time.”

He didn’t answer. Her hoof reached for the gag. “I’m going to remove this.” Carefully, she pulled it out, causing him to cough a bit.

“Thanks,” he said.

Quick tossed the gag away. “You know, you’re awfully calm. Surely you know what’s about to happen.” She gasped. “Don’t tell me you’re one of those slow ponies.”

His head shook as much as possible in the restraints. “No. I know what’s about to happen.” His eyes traveled downwards, Quick following his gaze. She beheld the scars on his body.

“Oh so you’ve been through this before. Good. I like it when my plaything knows what’s happening to it.”

“I may not be able to choose the time and manner of my death, but I can at least face it with dignity.”

The mare wandered over to the workbench, surveying everything there. A wide array of things were available, and if she wanted something else, all she had to do was ask the club. They would provide it for her.

“Wise words,” she said. “What’s your name?”

“Copperhoof.”

“Well, Copperhoof. I’m a mare of particular tastes.” She gripped a small blade in her hoof, ambling back over to the table. “See, I enjoy it when my plaything knows what’s going on. But I enjoy it even more when you scream.”

Using the blade, she drew it slowly across his side, earning a gasp and a trickle of blood. Good, it was very sharp. “So scream for me, long and loud, and I’ll grant you mercy.”

“What kind of mercy?” His eyes bored into hers, seeking an answer.

“A quick death. If you do really well, I might even grant you a favor.”

At the mention of a favor, he tried to sit up. “Miss Time, may I ask of you the favor now, while I can still think clearly?”

She brought the knife to her muzzle, licking a drop of the blood, tasting it. This Copperhoof was certainly unusual. By now they would be fighting and struggling, not accepting. This one seemed resigned to his fate. She wasn’t sure whether that excited her or was a disappointment. She did so love it when they screamed.

“I suppose.”

“My wife, Ginger Snap. She lives in Hollow Shades. Send her a letter, telling her that I’m sorry for never coming home. Tell her that I love her, and our filly, Granite. And tell her that I await her in the Summer Lands.”

There was a manic hope in his eyes. Whoever this Ginger Snap was, he clearly loved her deeply. “Very well. You satisfy me, and I’ll send an anonymous letter to her.”

“And if you ever come across a white pegasus with a blue mane named Sky Shine, she probably still works as a servant at the palace, you tell that bitch that Copperhoof hopes she rots in Tartarus.” His calm demeanor was gone in an instant, replaced with a firey look.

Quick laughed, tossing her head back. “Oh, there is some fire in you yet. Good. I suspect there’s a story behind that, and it involves how you came to be down here.”

She climbed up onto the table, straddling him with her hind legs, sitting on his waist. Her forehoof still held the knife. “You harness that fire and really show me a good time, and I’ll seek out this Sky Shine personally and deliver your message.”

She brought the knife down to his shoulder, slowly pressing the tip into his flesh. Leaning down, she brought her lips to his ear. “But you better scream as we go along,” she whispered.

With her teeth, she bit down on his ear, hard. Blood flowed into her mouth as he let out a short scream that turned into a groan. “Pitiful. Do better or you’ll find that I can draw out your pain for a very long time.”

Her knife sank a little farther into his shoulder. “I have nowhere to be for days. I can draw this out, make you suffer, for that entire time. Or this can all be done tonight.”

She twisted the knife, drawing another scream from him. This one continued, punctuated by gasps and groans as the blade turned inside him. “Much better. Keep that up and you’ll earn your favors.”

The knife was pulled from his body. Blood flowed sedately from the wound, spilling down his coat and onto the table. Soon it would spill off the table and onto the ground, where it would flow towards one of the drains in the floor.

“Oh and don’t worry, I won’t hit any major veins or arteries. We don’t want this to end too early, now do we?”

She lowered the knife back towards him, slicing his chest shallowly, earning some pained grunts. Her hips began rocking back and forth. “We’ve got all night to enjoy this.”

Her muzzle lowered and she dragged her tongue across his chest. The blood was fresh and warm in her mouth. It tasted of copper. Because of the drug, she could taste every little thing about it. Behind the copper there was acceptance, but behind that, there was fear.

He may be putting on a solid front, but he didn’t want to die. If his words were anything to go by, he wanted nothing more than to see that mare, Ginger, again. He was good now, but give it a few hours and he’d be as broken as the rest of her playthings were before the end.

Quick kept using the knife to make small cuts. She switched the grip from her hoof to her mouth. She wanted to taste what was happening, to smell it. This was the essence of pleasure.

Her hips kept up their rubbing. Slowly, she could feel his body responding. Even through the pain, he was a stallion, and when a mare was rubbing herself against their crotch, they responded in kind.

It took her ten minutes of ministrations with her hips and hoof before he was ready. Already she could feel herself dripping with anticipation. Blood coated his torso and had been smeared across hers, the red standing out amongst her light green coat.

She dipped a hoof in his blood, rubbing it between her legs. “I have something special for you,” she breathed. “It’s going to make you and me both feel good.”

He nodded. The pain so far had been mostly superficial, so he was still thinking clearly. He knew what was about to happen.

Slowly, carefully, she slid him inside her. This was not the pleasure she was after, but it still felt good. It would heighten what was to come next.

They set a rhythm, going slow. She used her hooves on the table to brace herself, rocking her hips. It would be okay to enjoy this for a moment.

After several minutes of thrusting, she suddenly drove the knife into his side. His eyes went wide and he screamed out in pain, his back arched as his head fell back onto the table.

Quick screamed as well, though hers was from pleasure. The rhythm fell apart as she was the only one moving. Not that she cared. She pulled out the knife, watching the blood jet out and onto her hoof. She’d gone deep, but still not hit anything vital. It wouldn’t be a fatal wound on its own. Though it would hurt like none other.

She switched hooves, stabbing his other side. Again the both of them screamed out. Quick could feel herself getting close. One more, she just needed one more.

Giving the knife a little twist, she pulled it out. Gripping it in both hooves, she drove it down into his chest, angled just right to slip between the ribs.

His eyes bulged out as another echoing scream left his lips. This one was the longest and loudest yet. She left the knife in there, scraping against the bones. Again, she’d aimed carefully, making sure to hit only meat, nothing vital.

Quick arched her back, screaming at the ceiling. Her body shuddered as an intense orgasm overcame her. Waves of pleasure crested against her brain. She spasmed, having to concentrate to not fall off the table.

She wasn’t sure how long it was before she came down. The member inside her, once hard, was softening, though whether that was because he was finished, or because he couldn’t concentrate through the pain, she didn’t know or care.

Panting, she opened her eyes, looking at him. The knife still stuck out of his chest, quivering with each breath he took. Every breath was followed with a painful wince or grunt. His lung must be pressing against the blade.

She cooed down at him. “Mmm, that was wonderful. You performed well. I haven’t felt like that in a long time.” Slowly she slid off the table, standing on shaking hooves. “Maybe it’s because I’ve been without for so long.”

With shaky steps, she went back over to the workbench. “I mean, being a mare in my position, you get busy sometimes. I just haven’t had the time to devote to something like this. And unfortunately, unlike others, I can’t just sate my urge with any back alley stallion. I must be careful, which means coming here.” She turned around and looked at him over her shoulder. “You know what I mean, right?”

Without waiting for a reply, she picked up a roll of cloth. Carrying it over to the table, she set it down, heedless of the blood it soaked up immediately. “So since it’s been awhile, I think I’ll draw this out a bit more.”

She unrolled the cloth, revealing at least two dozen knives of different types. “Now don’t worry, I haven’t forgotten my promise. You’ve done very well so far, certainly worthy of a favor. Keep this up and I’ll end things for you quickly.”

Pulling out another blade, she held it up to the light. “Oh yes, quite well indeed.” Bringing the knife down, she held it against his forehoof. “Now then, let’s get to the heart of things, shall we?”


*        *        *


Pain.

Pain was all that Copperhoof felt. At first, he’d thought that she’d go easy on him, be like the mare who had disfigured him. All that mare had wanted to do was slice him up a bit and burn him. She’d never stabbed him or anything.

Then that psychotic mare had tried to have sex with him. He had figured that she was into some heavy bloodplay with her sex. At least, up until she’d stabbed him three times then orgasmed.

Even now, that knife was still in his body. Every breath he took was painful. He tried to breathe shallowly, as every deep breath caused his lung to press up against the blade. It would work for a time. Then she’d make him scream again.

Joining the first knife were five others sitting in various parts of his body. He had one in each limb, at the joints. Two in his forelimbs at the elbows, digging between the bones, and two in his hindlimbs at the knees, also between the bones. The fifth one rested in his side, the tip pressing against something painful.

He was honestly surprised he hadn’t passed out. Or maybe he had at some point and didn’t know it. This mare was very efficient in doling out pain. It was always a lot, but never too much to where his system shut down.

Currently she was browsing the remaining knives. A low hum was coming from her as she ran her hoof along first one, then another. The way she eyed the knives was almost like a mother looking lovingly at her foal. He’d seen the same look in Ginger’s eyes as she looked at Granite.

Copper wasn’t sure how much longer he could last. At first, the screaming had been partially genuine, partially acting on his part. If all it took to get a message to Ginger was some screaming, he would scream as much as he could.

Now, the screams were real. The pain was all genuine. He was torn inside. He wanted to keep going, to please this mare so she followed through on her promise. Yet he also wanted everything to end, for the pain to go away.

The mare pulled out another knife, running it across his hoof to check its sharpness. He hissed as it cut him. Another perfectly sharp blade. Another small cut to join the dozens and dozens of others on his body, along with many stab wounds. His blood decorated the table in liberal pools and splashes.

“You’ve been doing so well these last few hours, Copper. You have a most delicious scream.” She gripped his chin with her hoof. “Tell me. Do you want it all to end?”

He stared at her, not sure what to think about the question. It could be a trick of some kind. If he said no, she’d continue. If he said yes, she could blame him for being weak and withdraw her promise.

“I want whatever you want,” he said. His voice came out as little more than a croak, his throat raw from all the screaming. He could taste blood.

“That’s not what I asked.” She smiled at him, a warm one full of love. “I won’t hold your answer against you. Promise.”

His eyes closed, cutting off her smiling face. Unbidden, several tears fell from his eyes “Yes,” he croaked. “I want the pain to end.”

She cooed at him, stroking his cheek with a blood covered hoof. “There, there, it’s ok. Everypony ends up like this at some point.” She gave him a kiss on the lips, a kiss that tasted like blood.

“I tell you what,” she said. “If you let me do whatever I want to you for ten minutes, I promise that I’ll end it quickly after that. Fifteen minutes from now, you won’t be feeling anything.”

He closed his eyes tighter, lines forming on his forehead. He wanted nothing more than to bury his head in his forehooves and cry. But even twitching his limbs caused him intense pain with the blades jammed in there. She had done that early, so when she caused more pain and he spasmed, it only amplified the feeling.

“Yes. Oh Celestia... Yes. Do whatever you want to me, just... Just end it.” He opened his eyes, staring at her. “Will you send the letter? Have I been good?”

The blood stained face nodded at him. “I will. You’ve been so good, my pet.” She ran the blade over his chest, criss crossing several other wounds. “Ginger Snap in Hollow Shades, right?”

He nodded. “Yes.”

She climbed back up on the table, straddling him once more. “These next ten minutes will be the longest of your life. But I promise, it’ll be over soon.”

She leaned over, giving him a deep kiss. He kissed her back, determined to be the best he could until the end. Her teeth gripped his tongue, biting down hard. A muffled scream escaped his throat. The taste of blood grew stronger as a warm liquid pooled in his mouth.

Pulling back, she smiled, blood running down her muzzle. “Soon, my pet.” The light glinted off the metal blade as she raised it high. “Let’s begin.”

Her hoof slammed down, driving the knife deep into his torso, right into something vital.

He opened his mouth and screamed. And screamed. And screamed. And screamed...

Again and again she drove the knife into him. No longer was she being careful, she just stabbed and stabbed. Her cuts were no longer shallow, but deep. He had no doubt that even if she hadn’t promised to kill him after ten minutes, he would be dead shortly thereafter.

The pain was monstrous. He’d never felt anything like it at all. Ginger had complained about the pain of birthing a foal, but even that had to pale in comparison to this.

Time seemed to distort. His vision narrowed until all he could see was the knife. He tried to follow it, but kept losing sight of it. His entire world was simply pain. There was no meaning to anything else. Everything lasted forever, and a second.

Finally the pain receded slightly. His vision faded back in until he could see her. Much of her was in shadow, the light shining right behind her. He could still tell that she was smiling.

“There, there,” she whispered. “It’s almost over. You’ve been so good, my pet.”

He couldn’t speak. His throat was too raw. He couldn’t cry. The tears wouldn’t come. He could only nod, only look at her.

Her hoof reached down, picking up a new blade. This one was long and large. Taking great care, she set the blade just under his chin, pressing lightly. “Time to go, my pet. You did so well. But I’m afraid I was a little overzealous there at the end and, well, I did promise you a quick death.”

Once more, he could only nod. The blade to his throat just felt right.

She leaned in close, putting her face just above his. “Goodbye.” With a savage and quick motion, she drew the blade across his throat. Red blood jetted up, splashing across her face. She closed her eyes, snorting some of the liquid out of her nose.

Her mouth opened, catching some of the blood. She used her hooves to spread it around, moaning slightly. Her entire face was covered in his life fluid.

It took several moments, but the spurts slowed down and lost their power. He could feel his heart beating slower and slower, and blackness creeped in the edge of his vision. He tried to speak, to say something, but all that came out were a few choked gags.

As his breathing grew shallow, she leaned over to him, her muzzle right next to his ear. The darkness had almost overtaken his entire vision, when her words reached him.

“Oh, and about sending that letter? I lied.”

Those two words were the last thing he heard before the darkness fully smothered him and he knew no more.


*        *        *


“I lied.”

Quick pulled back. The light was quickly fading from the stallion’s eyes, but even now she could see, buried in them, the hurt and betrayal. It only lasted a brief moment before the light disappeared.

His chest no longer rose and fell, the blood no longer flowed out of his wounds. He was dead. Her little plaything was gone.

She slid off the table. Blood dripped from her face, her chest, her entire coat. She was coated in it. The room stank of it.

Carefully, she stepped across the blood soaked floor over to the corner. There was a small shower there. She turned on the water, stepping under it.

As much as she loved her playtime, it wasn’t good for it to leave this room. A collection of soaps and shampoos sat on a shelf, allowing her to wash the blood away. There was no point in walking home covered in blood. That would only invite attention and questions, neither of which she wanted.

She wasn’t lying, he had certainly been a good pet. Not her best one, but very good. Never mind the fact that she had never been intending to send the letter. Those were just words she said, they meant nothing. If saying them got him to play along, then of course she would say them.

His favor, the letter, was intriguing. Most of her toys asked her for a fine meal, or something to drink. Others asked for one last fuck. Those were the only favors she granted, as she was only a mare and pleasures of the flesh were still nice.

He was the only one to not be selfish, to think of somepony else. He must have truly loved that mare. Pity she’ll never know what happened to her husband, and that her daughter will grow up without a father. Not that it was her problem.

After the shower, she inspected herself all over. She was clean enough to walk home. There she could relax in a nice bath, a glass of wine at her hooves. After all her hard work tonight, she deserved that little treat.

Careful to not step in the puddles of blood on the floor, she left the room. Somepony would come by to take care of the body and dispose of it. The room would get hosed and scrubbed down, as would the knives. Either that or they’d replace the blades. Either way, the room would look brand new by tomorrow night.

As she passed the welcome desk, April was sitting there. “Ah, Ms. Time. All done?”

She nodded. “Yes. I’m afraid there’s a bit of a mess in there.”

April waved a hoof in the air. “It’s no problem. Would you like anything else?”

“No, thank you. I’ll just be on my way home now.”

“Enjoy the rest of your night, Ms. Time.”

Quick nodded at the mare, taking her leave. Tonight had been a wonderful night. Finally she’d been able to scratch the itch that had been building for so long now. Now all that was left was that bath and wine.

The stairs leading back to the surface before her, she paused a moment. If there was one thing she was thankful for, it was the Playground. It was certainly the biggest blessing on this city.

Setting off, she could only imagine the waiting bath, and how good it would feel.

> Bright Spirit
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	The carriage rolled down the street of Canterlot. The clack of the wheels, the clicking of the driver’s hooves on the cobblestone street mixed in with the sounds of the city around them. Inside the carriage sat two ponies. One was a grey earth pony stallion with a blue mane. The other was a yellow unicorn mare with an orange mane. The mare was looking down at a clipboard she held.

“When we get there, remember to stay in the carriage this time, Sharp,” the mare said.

Sharp, who was leaning back in the seat, didn’t even open his eyes. “Yeah, yeah.”

“I’m serious this time. Last time you went out and stole several purses and pieces of jewelry. The last thing we need is the Guard snooping around you or me because a witness placed us somewhere that a crime happened. You stay in here, and you don’t leave until I call for you.” She levitated the clipboard over to him, delivering a few strikes to his barrel.

“Ow! Fuck! All right. I won’t leave, Bright. I’ll just sit here and be bored.”

Bright brought her clipboard back over to her. “Good. And if you’re bored, bring a book next time.”

“Books are boring,” Sharp replied, going back to resting.

Giving a roll of her eyes, Bright opened the curtains covering the window on the carriage. Based on the view outside, they should be close to their destination. No more than another minute. Which was another minute she’d have to be trapped in here with Sharp.

Sharp Shooter was a lot of things. He was a thief, had no morals, no respect for anypony not directly involved in paying him. He was an idiot, but a useful idiot. Once the boss made it clear that he was to listen to her on these outings, then he shaped up. Slightly. He did what she told him to do, for the most part. However, she was also aware that if told to do so by the boss, he’d cut her throat without hesitation. So long as he remained useful, she’d keep him around. Otherwise... Well, there were ways to get rid of a pony without a trace in this town.

Bright looked back down at her clipboard, going over the details once more. She had no idea how the boss came about this information, but it had never been wrong before. The ponies she was about to meet were in for quite the surprise.

The swaying of the carriage stopped. Looking up, Bright realized they were no longer moving. The numbers posted on the mailbox just outside the window matched what was written on her board.

Standing up, she glanced once more at Sharp. “Remember, stay here.”

“Yeah, yeah.”

She sighed. Hopefully he’d stay put this time. They had gotten lucky last time he’d gone out thieving and no reports were filed with either the Guard or police. But if he caused another headache like that... She had made sure to not leave him any loopholes this time, being explicit in her instructions.

Leaving the clipboard on the seat, she exited the carriage. Ponies walked down the sidewalks, while other carriages bustled down the street. Nopony paid her any mind as she walked up the drive towards the rather large mansion.

When she reached the door, she raised a hoof and knocked. The knock was firm and loud, but not too insistent.

It took several moments before the door opened. A stallion wearing a necktie stood there. “Yes? May I help you?”

“Hello there. My name is Bright Spirit and I was wondering if I could speak with Aurora and Green Hoof, please.”

The stallion looked down at her. “What is this regarding?”

“A unique business opportunity for them.”

“Business inquiries may be submitted in writing and a meeting arranged during normal business hours within the next two to four weeks.” The stallion moved to close the door, but Bright stopped him with a hoof.

“I think you’ll find that they want to listen to this. Now. If you could go pass it along, along with this message: Potentia est ad sua substantia solum verum.”

The stallion looked at her, to which she smiled sweetly. Finally, he opened the door slightly more. “Wait right here.” He then turned and trotted off into the house.

Bright waited patiently on the doorstep. It was several minutes before the stallion returned. “The owners will see you now,” he said.

She smiled at him once more. “Thank you.”

He opened the door fully. “I’ll show you the way,” he said, closing the door after she had stepped inside. She followed him down a long hallway, before coming to a sitting room that held two ponies, both unicorns.

“Thank you, Service. We are not to be disturbed now,” the mare said. Service bowed, exiting the room and closing the door behind him. “Please, sit.”

Bright gave a short curtsy before crossing the room, taking a seat in front of the two ponies. “Thank you for seeing me.”

“When you come bearing that phrase, how could we not? So tell me, what unique opportunity does the Playground want with us?”

The stallion, Bright knew him to be Green Hoof, husband of Aurora, together the owners of an empire of flower shops and farms that stretched from one end of Equestria to  the other, spoke up. “I’m not sure how we can contribute, though if the club wishes to host our floral arrangements, I’m certain we can make a mutually beneficial deal.”

Bright waved a hoof in the air. “No, no. Nothing like that. We had something else in mind. You see, it has come to our attention that you have an item of substantial value that we would like to acquire from you.”

Aurora looked around. “Erm, what item? We have a collection of art and antiques, but nothing of consequential note that we are aware of.”

“I am referring to Tiger Lilly.”

At that both ponies started. “What? Tiger lillies?” Green asked.

“Well we have plenty of those around,” Aurora continued.

Bright shook her head. “No, not the flowers. I mean your daughter that you currently have locked up in a room on the second floor.”

“You must be mistaken,” Aurora said. “We have no daughters. Green and I have not taken that step in our marriage, yet.”

Clearing her throat, Bright fixed her eyes solely on Green Hoof. “Six years ago, back when your empire was half its current size, you employed a maid here by the name of Shine Bright. You and Ms. Bright had quite the affair going on, until she failed to mention that she was in heat and ended up pregnant. With your seed.”

“Now wait just a—” Green Hoof started, before Bright cut him off.

“She gave birth to a daughter, a pegasus filly that she named Tiger Lilly. It was her intention to use the filly to get money from you. However, she underestimated just how ruthless you are when she found herself quite suddenly being sold to diamond dog slavers. The filly in question was originally going to be taken to an orphanage, but you realized that they would figure out who her father was and bring her to you. So instead, you brought her here. For the last five and a half years, you have kept her locked up in a single room, as news of a bastard foal would ruin you in this town.” Bright took in their shocked faces and open jaws. “Is there anything I missed?”

Green’s mouth moved like he was trying to speak, but nothing came out. Aurora stumbled slightly before carrying on. “H- How do you know all of that? We’ve never told anypony.”

“The ponies that I work for have their sources, their ways of getting information.”

Green reached up a hoof to his face, running it down his muzzle. “And so what is it you want with Tiger Lilly?”

“You are aware of the extent of the services that the club offers, yes?” They both nodded. “We wish to purchase Tiger Lilly from you. We feel that she would make a fine addition to the club’s offerings.”

“I’m sorry, purchase?”

Bright nodded. “Yes. You see, you have a problem. If word gets out about that filly’s existence, then your social standing will plummet. So I am offering to make your problem disappear, much like poor Ms. Bright did.”

The husband and wife looked at each other, before turning back to Bright. “And what would happen to Tiger Lilly?” Aurora asked.

“She would be integrated into the stock already down there. The club would be her life.”

“And she would never speak of her life before the club?”

Bright nodded. “Of course. As you are well aware, we hold discretion to be of the highest regard at the Playground. None shall ever know. We’ll see to that.”

“What are you offering in return?”

This was the moment that Bright was looking for. The bait had been set, they were interested. Now it was simply a matter of reeling them in. “You have a choice. Either a sum of two hundred and fifty thousand bits will be deposited into your account. Or the club will waive both of your membership fees for twenty five months, which you’ll note is an equivalent value.”

Once again, they turned to look at each other. Bright could see the gears turning in their minds. A quarter of a million bits was quite a lot, even for ones as rich as them. Leaning close together, they spoke in whispers that she could not overhear. Not that it mattered, as they failed to cover their mouths so she was able to read their lips well enough to understand what they were discussing.

After a minute, they turned back to her. “I apologize for that,” Green said.

Bright nodded. “It’s no problem. I understand just how sudden this is. Take your time and discuss this.”

“We have discussed it. We will give you Tiger Lilly, in exchange for the lump sum.”

“Excellent!” Bright smiled at them. “You’ve made a wonderful decision here. After all, here Tiger Lilly is not contributing anything, and is merely a burden upon you, as well you must live in fear of her presence being discovered. Now your lives are free of that.” She hesitated a moment. “Well, nearly. There are a few questions I must ask before anything is finalized.”

Aurora nodded. “Of course. We’ll answer whatever we can.”

“Let’s start off with the basics. Tiger Lilly is healthy, yes? No long-term illnesses? No birth defects? No mental instability?”

“No, none of that. She’s perfectly healthy. We’ve seen to that.”

“Good,” Bright said. Mentally, she checked off a box on her mental checklist. “Second. I know that her chances for socialization have been low, but she at least understands how to act around ponies? She’s not terribly socially awkward or anything, understands the basic rules of a conversation, that sort of thing.”

Green nodded. “One of the maids took a liking to Tiger Lilly. She has spent many hours socializing with the filly, playing games. You could say that the two of them are friends.”

“Good,” Bright repeated. Another box checked. “Third, she is pure, yes?”

“What do you mean by that? Of course she’s not pure. We’re unicorns and she’s a pegasus,” Aurora stated.

“That is not what I meant,” Bright clarified. “I meant pure as in sexually. She has not been touched in that manner by either you or anypony in your employ?”

“Oh, right. No, nopony has touched her in that manner.”

“Even better.” Bright was quite happy. This was all going smoothly. The fact that the filly was a virgin meant that the club could sell her first time for a premium. There were stallions who would pay a small fortune to sleep with a pure filly like that. Though she had to admit, she was slightly surprised. She had pegged Green Hoof as the type to pay little nighttime visits to his daughter.

“Well, that wraps up all of the questions. Everything is in good order.”

“So you’ll be taking her, then?” Aurora asked.

Bright nodded. “Yes.”

“When?”

“Today. Right now, in fact. I have a carriage waiting outside.”

Both ponies across from her brightened up. “So soon?” Green asked.

“Yes. Is that a problem?”

“No, no,” he said, waving his hooves. “Not at all. Quite a relief, actually.”

“Well then. If you’d like, I would like to see the filly. As well, could you have one of your servants go outside to the carriage. There you’ll find an associate of mine. Please, bring him back here as well.” She stood up, the other two following suit.

“Of course.” Aurora’s horn lit up briefly. A moment later, the door opened, the same stallion entered.

Giving a slight bow, he directed his gaze towards the couple. “Yes, madam?”

“Service, would you please go outside to the carriage waiting there. You’ll find a pony there, a Mr...” she trailed off, looking at Bright.

“Sharp,” Bright clarified.

“A Mr. Sharp,” Aurora continued. “Please bring him upstairs to the south wing.”

Service bowed again. “Yes, madam.” He turned, trotting off.

Bright followed Green and Aurora out of the room. “She’s this way.” The stallion led the way, heading up the stairs and to the left. The hallway curved around, several doors on either side. They stopped in front of the last door on the right.

Looking at the door, Bright could see that it was different from the others in the hallway. This one had an additional lock, like what would be more commonly found on the front door of a house, not an interior one. As well, it had a flap at the bottom, also locked. Probably to deliver food so they wouldn’t have to actually look at the filly, Bright had seen this sort of thing before.

Giving the flap a brief look of disgust, she turned her attention to the two ponies. “Whenever you’re ready.”

“We’re ready,” Aurora said. “You can take her.”

Green reached up to a key that hung from a hook on the wall. Using the key, he unlocked the door. Gently he opened the door. “Tiger Lilly, there’s somepony here to see you.” He stepped out of the way, letting Bright see into the room.

The inside of the room was... cold. That’s the only word Bright could come up with to describe it. There was a bare minimum of furniture, just a bed, dresser, nightstand, and a small desk with a cushion on the floor in front of it. The only other amenity was a bookshelf, though the offerings on it were paltry.

The one window in the room had a grate over it. A door in the room presumably led to a bathroom, so with luck the filly would be clean. Everything about this room screamed that it was merely a guest room that had been hastily converted to contain its occupant.

The filly in question was laying on the floor, a piece of paper in front of her and various markers spread in a halo around her. When Bright stepped into the room, she looked up. “Hello,” she said. “Who are you?”

Tiger Lilly was an orange filly, with a deep red mane. Her yellow eyes looked at Bright, curiosity clear in them. “Are you a new maid? Does this mean that Soft won’t play with me anymore?”

Bright put on her best smile, going over to the filly and kneeling down. “No, dear. I’m not a new maid. My name is Bright Spirit.” She held out a hoof.

The filly looked the hoof over for a moment before she bumped it gently. “Why are you here? Aurora and Green never let new ponies in here.”

Her heart slightly breaking, Bright kept up her smile. “I’m here because you, dear, are going to go on an adventure.”

“An adventure? What kind of adventure?” Tiger Lilly had set down her marker, the drawing all but forgotten in the face of something new and exciting. “Will there be pirates? Do I get to have a sword and defend ponies?”

“Of course,” Bright said. “You can be the valiant Knight Tiger Lilly, defender of freedom.”

“And we get to go outside?” She ran over to the window, rearing up on her hind legs to stare out of it. “I’ve never been outside. Soft tried to take me there before, but Green didn’t let her. What’s it like out there?”

“Well, it’s...” Bright trailed off. How did she describe what it’s like outside to somepony who had never been there before? “You feel the sun on your coat?” she asked. The filly nodded. “It’s like that, only all over. And then there’s the wind which ruffles your mane. And the sounds of the city around you.”

Tiger Lilly turned around, smiling. “I can’t wait!”

The filly got up, prancing about the room while pretending to swing a sword, making swishing noises. Bright watched her, the smile on her face covering up what she was really feeling. She hated lying to the filly like this, but it needed to be done.

While the filly was distracted, Bright looked back at the doorway to the room. Sharp was standing there, a pair of saddlebags held in his mouth. Getting up, she went over to him. He dropped the bags at her hooves. “Thank you,” she said.

“She’s a cute one,” he said, eying the filly.

“Yes. Now go back into the hallway. You’ll know when you’re needed.”

Nodding, while still staring at Tiger Lilly, he backed out of the room. Only when he was fully out of the room did he turn and vanish from view. Ignoring Sharp, she picked up her saddlebags, quickly putting them on.

By the time she was done, the filly was looking at her. “What do you have in there?” she asked.

“This is all of our adventuring supplies.” Bright lifted the flap of one of the bags, using her magic to retrieve a wrapped pastry. “But first, you’ll need energy for the trip.” She floated the pastry over to the excited filly.

“Is it a sweet? I love sweets. Soft brings me sweets sometimes.” She took the pastry, unwrapping it and taking a bite. “Oh, it’s so good.” Within seconds, half the pastry was gone. Inside of a minute, the only thing left were the sticky crumbs the filly was licking off her muzzle. “So can we go now?”

“In a minute,” Bright said. “Do you have anything you want to take with you?”

Tiger Lilly looked around the room. “Not really. There’s really nothing in here.” Suddenly, she swayed in place, her eyes nearly closing. “What?” She swayed again, falling over. “I don’t feel...” Her eyes closed, her chest rising and falling in slow, deep breaths.

“I’m sorry,” Bright whispered. She turned to look back at the hallway. “Sharp.”

The stallion trotted into view. “We ready?” He spotted the still filly. “Yup.” Going over to her, he picked up the filly, setting her on his back. “I’ll be waiting,” he said, leaving the room. Bright knew that he would be heading back to the carriage.

“Is that it?” came Aurora’s voice. “What was with all of that?”

Bright met the mare’s gaze. “I needed to get her to trust me. The pastry was laced with a simple sleeping draught. When she wakes up, she’ll be in her new home. We’ve found that this approach is less traumatizing on the foals than force. The easier we can make their transition, the better.”

She trotted out of the room, where Aurora and Green waited. “Now, there is a small amount of business to attend to before we conclude this.” Together, they started walking back towards the entrance.

“It goes without saying, but you need to destroy any trace of Tiger Lilly ever having been here. No photos, no drawings, nothing. Burn it all, any clothes she had, the bedsheets, everything. That maid she kept mentioning, Soft? Will she be a problem, speak about the filly at all?”

Green shook his head. “No. She has a son with a serious long-term illness. She relies on us to pay her so she can pay the medical bills. I can mention that should she speak of Tiger Lilly, then she’ll be fired, and with that, she won’t be able to pay her bills, and her son won’t get his medicine, and die.”

Bright nodded. “Good. We will take care of destroying any records of Tiger Lilly’s existence. Birth certificate, official government records, should any exist, we’ll get rid of. For all intents and purposes, Tiger Lilly never existed from this moment forth.”

They headed down the stairs, Bright continuing. “From here, you may do what you wish. You may even come see Tiger Lilly down in the club sometime.” She held out a hoof, which first Aurora, then Green shook briefly. “You’ll find that the bits will be transferred into your account before the day’s end. It’s a pleasure doing business with you.”

“And you as well,” Aurora said. Both of them wore happy, relieved smiles. “You have no idea the favor you’ve just done us.”

“Yes,” Green said, nodding. “This is a burden lifted off our shoulders.”

“Of course,” Bright replied. “Good day to you both.” She left the mansion, heading back down the drive towards the carriage. Behind her, the door closed. Finally, she could let her smile drop.

Approaching the carriage, she opened the door. There, she found Sharp crouched down in the middle, between the two benches. Tiger Lilly lay on one of the benches. Sharp had a hoof between her flanks, rubbing, while his other hoof was between his own hind legs.

“What are you doing?” Bright said.

“Having a little fun,” he replied, not taking his eyes off the filly. “She’s too cute to pass up.”

“You do realize that she’s to be delivered pure and unspoiled, yes?”

“Yeah, I know.”

She stared at him, trying to figure out what to say. She wanted to tell him to stop, but she also knew that he would never listen to her. He was bigger and stronger than her, so she couldn’t force him to stop, either. There was really only one thing she could do. “Just don’t make a mess.”

He grinned. “Nah. I wouldn’t.”

Closing the carriage door, Bright instead climbed up onto the bench on the outside, just behind the stallion that was strapped in to pull the carriage. She’d rather not sit inside and watch Sharp do whatever it was he was doing.

With a nod to the driver, they took off. Bright lay on the bench, watching the scenery pass by. They were in the residential district, heading back to the entertainment district and the club. The ride wouldn’t be too long.

Once she was comfortable, she allowed her thoughts to wander. Mostly back towards Sharp. That stallion was a liability. She had no idea why the boss insisted on giving her a partner for these excursions, it wasn’t like she really needed one. But fine, she could accept that.

What she couldn’t accept was having Sharp for a partner. He was rude, condescending, did not follow instructions, and worst of all, drew attention towards them. It wasn’t a matter of if he would screw up, but when. Soon, he’d draw the wrong sort of attention.

She resolved to talk to the boss about Sharp. It wouldn’t do to keep him around any longer, though he was too dangerous to just let go. His loyalty only lasted as long as the bits kept coming. As soon as he was let go, he’d go offer what he knew to the Guard. No, with him, it was best if he was let go, off the side of the mountain. That long drop with a very short stop would keep him from ever speaking again. The boss would take care of things.

She frowned. Thinking about the boss brought up the question that she’d always wondered: who was the boss? She’d never met the pony, if it was even a pony at all. Everypony she talked to could also say that they’ve never met the boss. Anytime she needed to speak to the boss, she sat in a chair in an empty room, while a voice came through a set of speakers, and she spoke into a microphone.

The first time she had spoken to the boss, the voice at been that of a stallion. The second time, it was a young mare’s voice. The third time, it had been a colt’s. The voice was never the same twice, young, old, mare, stallion. It was obviously being disguised. Whoever the boss was, they were better at secrecy than anypony else.

To entertain herself on the journey, she once again tried to figure out just who the boss was. There were plenty of prominent ponies in the city who could fill that position. The problem was, all of the ones she could name were members of the club. Any member of royalty was also out, because they were already far too busy to run the club. No matter who she named, she could also think of reasons as to why they wouldn’t work.

Her ruminations came to an end when they pulled up into the alley behind the club, just outside the back door. Dismounting the carriage, she walked over to the door, banging on it. She had no intention of just opening it given what Sharp could be doing in there.

The door opened, revealing Sharp with a satisfied grin on his face. “We here?”

“We are.” She peered around him. Surprisingly, the interior of the carriage was clean, no sign of any bodily fluids. “Did you...”

“Nah, no mess. Rub somepony’s throat the right way and they’ll swallow even when asleep.”

“I don’t even want to know how you know that. Also, you are disgusting and perverted.”

He smiled at her. “Aww come on, Bright. You wouldn’t say that if you knew how good I am in bed.” He looked around. “Or, you know, during a quickie in a back alley. I’m not picky.”

Bright smiled sweetly at him. “Sharp, if you were the last stallion left in Equestria, I would let ponykind go extinct before I slept with you.”

He shrugged. “Your loss.”

She sighed. “Come on. Let’s just get inside and down below.”

The stallion turned around, picking up the filly. As he exited the carriage, Bright noticed some streaks left in the coat around her muzzle. Apparently his aim wasn’t quite that good.

Gritting her teeth, she followed him through the back door. The kitchen there was currently empty, the staff not due in for hours still. Winding through the back hallways, they eventually made it out to the main club floor. It was completely empty, except for the suited stallion standing guard outside the door leading to down below.

“Morning, ma’am,” the guard said. There was a guard in front of this door all day, every day. With the VIP part of the club being accessible to members at any time, he was there to check clearance. And just in case the club was compromised and the guard came raiding, he would sound an alarm, giving those down below time to deal with anything.

“Good morning,” she replied. The guard turned, opening the door for them. As employees, rather than members, she and Sharp did not have to present the entrance paper. That, and Rocky knew the two of them.

Together, the two ponies, and one sleeping filly, descended the long steps to the VIP area. Bright knew why the club was hidden so deep down here, but that didn’t stop her from grumbling about the sheer amount of steps each time she had to come down here.

Finally, they reached the bottom. Bright opened the door, letting them inside. The luxurious hallway gave way to the seating area. A few members were scattered about, probably those who had stayed the night and were recovering before going home. There was one white unicorn with a two-toned blue and green mane slumped over the bar who looked like he’d seen better days.

“Oh Bright, welcome back,” said the mare behind the desk. At this time of day, it was Mirror back there. The twin sisters, April and May, worked in the evenings and nights because they were cuter, and the members liked them better.

“Morning, Mirror.”

“Have you got a new addition for us?” she asked.

Bright nodded. “Yes.” She gestured towards the filly on Sharp’s back. “This is Tiger Lilly.”

Mirror whistled. “She’s a cute one. I know a few members who are going to be very excited she’s here.”

“Well, we need to go get her settled.”

“Of course. You have a great day!” Mirror smiled at them as they walked off.

They headed through a door near the bar, getting into the back hallways of the VIP area. After a minute, they were in front of their destination, another door. Bright opened it, revealing a small, but homely, bedroom and bathroom.

Sharp went inside, setting the filly on the bed. “Well, that’s that.” He ran a hoof over her flanks. “You know, I think the next time I get a bonus, I’m gonna use it on her.”

“Actually, there’s one more thing,” Bright said. “Since you made the mess on her, go get me two towels, and a glass of juice from the bar, something with a strong flavor. Then you’re dismissed.”

“What? Really?”

“Yes, really!” Bright snapped at him. “Now don’t argue and just go get what I asked for.”

“Okay, okay. Damn, who shoved that pole up your ass?” he muttered as he walked off.

Bright stuck her head into the hallway, shouting after him. “And don’t even think about spiking that drink!”

She went back over to the sleeping filly. Using a hoof, she carefully brushed Tiger Lilly’s mane out from in front of her eyes. Aurora and Green hadn’t lied, at first glance, the filly looked well taken care of, at least. She wasn’t underweight, and her wings were developing properly for a pegasus her age. Lifting up one of the filly’s lips, Bright could see that her teeth were healthy as well.

After a minute of waiting, Sharp came back with the requested items. Taking them without even so much as a thanks, Bright glared at him until he left. Breathing a sigh of relief, she floated one of the towels over to the sink, getting it damp.

Gently, she used the damp towel to clean up the remains of what Sharp had done to her. As she did, she whispered to the filly.

“I’m sorry for what you’ve been through. Living in that house... No, that room, had to have been horrible. Miserable. Nopony who loved you, nopony to care for you. No parents. Those ponies,” she spat, “have no right to call themselves parents. They didn’t love you, more caring over their social status and money than you. So eager to get rid of you. If they really were parents, then no amount of money could separate them from you.”

She sighed, switching the damp towel for a dry one. Using it, she dried off the filly. “Things will be better here, I promise. It may not seem like it at first, you’ll be scared and confused, but here you’ll have a family. You’ll gain ponies who love you, and care for you. You’ll have exactly what you were missing.

“I’m sorry that I lied to you about the adventure, about going outside. I wish I could provide you those things, but I can’t. We all have our places in life, and yours is most unfortunate. However, in here is where you’ll have the best shot at life.” She floated away both towels.

Picking up the juice glass, she gave it a sniff. Thankfully, she didn’t detect any alcohol, so Sharp hadn’t spiked it. Casting a quick chilling spell on the glass, she left it on the bedside table. When Tiger Lilly woke up, she’d need that.

Bending over, she gave the filly a quick kiss on the forehead. “Welcome to your new home.” She then left the room, closing the door behind her. The room was monitored, and when the filly woke up, she would begin her transition to life down here. There would be a short period of acclimation, where she would learn the rules, before she would be put into the rooms with the rest of the fillies and colts.

Bright sighed again. There was one last thing she needed to do before she could head home. She needed to report to the boss.

Fortunately, the boss’ office was down here, rather than back up in the regular club. A short moment of trotting brought her to the appropriate room. Opening the door, she entered a small waiting room. There was no desk in here, no secretary; the only barrier between her and the boss was another door.

Glancing up, she could see that the red light above the door was off, meaning that nopony was in the room. Not bothering to knock, there was no reason for it, she opened the door and headed inside. Once the door was closed behind her, she flicked a switch, turning on the light outside, letting anypony else who would want to speak with the boss know that somepony was already in here.

The room consisted of nothing more than a chair in front of a small table that held a speaker and a microphone. Bright took a seat in the chair and waited. A few seconds later, a voice came out of the speaker. “Ah, Bright. Welcome back,” the voice said. This time, it had a curious droning sound to it. She thought it sounded something like how Morning, that changeling down in the stockrooms, sounded.

“Hello, boss.”

“What do you have to report?”

Bright folded her forelegs on the table. “Aurora and Green were perfectly happy to sell Tiger Lilly. They chose the lump sum payment.”

“Very good. I’ll see to it that the bits are deposited into their account. Is the filly resting?”

“Yes. She’s in the room for new arrivals.”

“Thank you, Bright. You did a good thing in bringing her here.”

The mare nodded. “Yes. I saw how they were treating Tiger Lilly. There was no love for the filly in that household.”

“I know. But now she’s here, and she’ll have a family to love, care for, and protect her.”

“She will. Thank you, boss, for rescuing that filly.”

“I didn’t do anything, Bright. It was all you. Now then, what is the filly’s status?”

Bright sighed. “She’s pure, untouched... Mostly.”

There was a moment of silence, before the voice spoke again. “What do you mean, mostly?”

“It’s Sharp.”

“Did he touch her?”

Bright paused briefly. “In a way. He... used her front end partially. I don’t believe there was any penetration, but he finished in there, then did something to the filly to force her to swallow.”

“...I see. And what is your recommendation?”

“Sharp is dangerous,” she said without hesitation. “He’s a liability to this club. He has a habit of drawing attention to himself. Last time we went out, he left the carriage while I was inside the house talking to the couple, and pickpocketed and stole items. We got lucky in that so far there have been no inquiries into that, but with that, and now this stunt with Tiger Lilly, it’s only a matter of time before his actions get us into trouble. Trouble, that we may not be able to make go away.”

“Very well. I will terminate his employment.”

Bright spoke up again. “With respect, he’s too dangerous to just let go. Believe me when I say that he has no loyalty. As soon as his contract is cut, he will try and sell what he knows. If he goes to the Guard... Well, he knows a lot about this operation and can expose us in such a way that not even having the ranking members of the Guard in your pocket will be able to stop the investigation.”

Taking in a deep breath, she continued. “It’s my suggestion that he be terminated in such a way that he won’t ever be able to speak up again.”

“You’re suggesting that he be killed.”

She nodded, even though she wasn’t sure if the boss could see her or not. “Yes. Anything else is only inviting danger.”

The silence in the room lasted for several minutes. Bright fidgeted in her chair. She hadn’t been dismissed yet, so she couldn’t leave. Not until the boss said she could.

Finally, the voice came back. “It’s done. Sharp will no longer be a problem. Thank you for bringing this to my attention.”

“You’re welcome,” she replied, breathing out a sigh of relief. She had thought she’d done something wrong.

“Bright, you really are one of my best employees. You’ve come a long way since you joined us. Keep up the good work and there is a long future for you here.”

“Thank you.” She smiled, pride filling her. She loved the work that she did here. Rescuing foals from terrible situations and giving them a home filled with love and caring.

“You’re dismissed, Bright. Go home and see your family. The bits for your work have already been put into your account, as well as a bonus for helping me deal with Sharp.”

She stood up. “Thank you. You’re too generous.”

“Think nothing of it. Now, you’ll hear from me when I need you to do another pick up. Until then, have some fun, Bright.”

“Of course.” Moving over to the door, she turned off the switch, opening it and leaving the room. There was nopony waiting to speak with the boss, so she made her way out of the club entirely, climbing up the steps and heading out the front doors.

It wasn’t too far to her house, and the walk was pleasant enough. Fifteen minutes after leaving the club, she arrived home. Opening the front door, she was met with a blur of blue feathers meeting her.

“Mommy!” came a shrill cry.

“Hey, baby,” Bright said. Leaning over, she hugged her daughter. “How was your morning?”

Cobalt smiled up at her. “It was cool. Daddy’s been teaching me some more.” The smile transformed into a scowl of concentration as she flapped her wings. Slowly, she got up off the floor, hovering at head level with Bright.

“That’s amazing, Cobalt.” Bright leaned forward, giving her daughter a kiss on the forehead. “Soon you’ll be soaring through the skies and racing the Wonderbolts.”

The filly giggled. “You think?”

“I know. Now go on, don’t you have homework to do?”

“Aww,” Cobalt pouted. “Do I have to?” Bright just raised an eyebrow, looking down at the filly. “Okay, fine.” She landed, heading towards her room.

Bright chuckled at her daughter’s antics, before heading into the living room. A brown pegasus stallion was sitting on the couch, reading the paper. At her entrance, he looked up. “Hey, love. How was meeting your friend?”

She moved over, giving him a quick kiss. “Enjoyable. I don’t get to see Amethyst as much as I want to.” She sat on the couch next to him, pulling over a stack of papers that sat on the table.

“More things to grade?” Rapid asked her.

Bright nodded. “Yes. These are the spring book reports.” She sighed, looking them over. “Some of them are good. Others... not so much. I need to revise my lesson plans, it seems.”

Rapid wrapped a wing around her shoulders. “You have the patience of a saint to be able to put up with a classroom full of foals.”

She smiled. “Aww, you’re sweet. But you know that I love foals, and being able to teach them is great. I can make sure that they know they’re loved and cared for.”

He pulled her close. “You’re the best teacher out there, and your class is all the better for it.”

She leaned in to her husband. “Yeah. I just want to dedicate my life to making sure that foals are loved and cared for.”

“And you do a wonderful job at that, love.”

“Thank you.” They shared another kiss, this one slightly longer. “Now I really need to get these done today so I can give them back in class tomorrow.” Rapid went back to his newspaper while she picked up the book report on top of the pile. There was still a lot of work to be done, a lot of foals in this city needing saving. But with her work today through the club, at least one more foal was now in a loving, caring, home.

> Deception
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Deception was bored.

Currently, he was in a staring contest with his wall. The little apartment he rented in Canterlot provided no entertainment. He had read all of his books, and the options outside of his home simply didn’t interest him, with the exception of one. As much as he wanted to go back to the club, he couldn’t just yet.

Regular members could visit whenever they wanted, but he had to wait until he was given permission. For a being such as him, to have a meal held over his head, but unable to be reached, was torture. However, he tolerated it, because each time he went, he could feed so deeply upon his fetish.

Nowhere else in Canterlot, or really even anywhere, could feed him like the club. It was the one reason he offered his services and never complained. For a changeling like him, there was no better deal. Long gone were the days of kidnapping a pony and pretending to be them. Now he could be himself and reap the benefits.

A knock on the door interrupted his thoughts. Pushing his grumbling stomach to the side, he got up and looked through the peephole. On the other side was a stallion he recognized as working for the club.

His lips curled up into a smile, showing off his fangs. This is just what he needed, a job to do. Hopefully this one would be exciting. Wasting no more time, he opened the door.

“Report,” he barked out.

“The boss seeks you for a job,” the stallion said. He held out a scroll. “Here are the details, should you choose to accept.”

Deception took the scroll, reading it over. This was a simple job, well within his skillset. “Tell the Boss that I accept, for the usual payment.” He thought a moment. “No, tell the Boss that I want double for this, considering who it is.”

The stallion nodded. “I’ll let him know.” He reached into his saddlebag, pulling out a pouch, the contents inside jingling. “Here’s the items you’ll need.”

Taking the pouch, the changeling inclined his head once. “I’ll get right on it.”

The stallion nodded again, turning and heading down the hallway. Deception closed the door. It wouldn’t take him long to get ready. Heading into the kitchen, he set the pouch down on the table, opening it up. Inside was a number of bits.

Green flames surrounded his body as he adopted his usual disguise. Incognito was the unicorn stallion who rented this apartment. To his neighbors, he was known as a recluse, somepony to be left alone. Only a few ponies knew that Incognito was a created identity. The club had helped him forge things like a birth certificate and other documentation.

Taking the pouch and slinging it around his shoulder, Deception left his apartment. The scroll had contained all the information he needed to know about the job, including where to go. The first stop wasn’t too far away.

Hitting the street, he blinked in the sunlight. It was just after midday, so the streets were teaming with ponies. Some were dressed up in fancy clothing, while others were like him, choosing to forgo that. Nopony paid a stallion coming out of an apartment building any attention.

Pausing for only a moment, Deception joined the flow of traffic heading in the direction he wanted to go. In front of him was a mare, her red mane and tail intricately made up. Her dress was hiked up, showing off her flanks and cutie mark. Smirking, he drank in the sight. These haughty ponies pranced around, trying their best to show off. Who was he to complain about the sights?

Her tail swayed gently from side to side as she walked, offering him tantalizing attempts to see what lay underneath, but always keeping it hidden from view. Using his magic, he tweaked the tail slightly further to the side, making sure to match her movements. For a brief moment, she was on full display to him, her curves coming to a point, her delicate flower nestled between them.

He enjoyed little games like that. They would never fill him in any way, but he could be amused. Briefly, he considered talking to the mare, seeing if she would join him in an alley. Now that he’d seen what she had to offer, he wanted it.

No sooner had he thought about speaking with her, he dismissed the idea. There was a job to be done, and afterwards he could feed all he wanted. The mare was pretty, but not worth delaying what needed to be done.

For several blocks, he continued to tweak her tail, revealing her to him. Either she never noticed, or didn’t care. She turned and looked behind her once, her eyes meeting his. He just smiled at her and inclined his head. No sooner had she turned back around, he moved her tail again.

Eventually, he had to cease the game. She continued down the street, while he had to turn and take a side street. There were fewer ponies on this street, and the buildings were becoming more and more shoddy. Gone were the gleaming streets, replaced instead with detritus, ponies wearing clothes less and less frequently, looking more shabby.

Several more blocks, and he reached his destination. Looking at the building in front of him, he grimaced. While he wasn’t the poster stallion of cleanliness, he had enough standards to where the building disgusted him. It was run down, graffiti scrawled across the walls. Something foul smelling ran down the front wall from a window up above. The whole place smelled of decay and desperation.

Once he opened the door, he realized the inside wasn’t exactly any better. He couldn’t be sure, but the large stain in the middle of the lobby looked like somepony had tried to clean up blood there. Skirting the stain, he headed up the stairs.

A minute later and he was knocking on a door on the third floor. There was the sound of something clattering inside, glass bottles hitting the floor. Hoofsteps approached before the door opened.

On the other side was a stallion, grey with a blue mane. “What do you want?” he asked.

Deception stared at him. “Sharp Shooter?”

Sharp narrowed his eyes. “Who’s asking? Do I owe you money?”

“Not at all. My name’s Incognito. I work for the club.”

At the mention of the club, Sharp dropped the intimidation. “Oh. There another job already? I just got back from escorting Bright a few hours ago.” He stepped aside, indicating for Deception to come inside.

The inside of the apartment was a train wreck. Empty food containers and bottles littered the floor. The whole place smelled rotten. The only clean spot was a single chair, upon which Sharp sat. The stallion looked over at Deception.

“There is another job, but it doesn’t involve Bright,” Deception said. He chose to remain standing, casually kicking a bottle of whisky away.

“Then what kind of job?”

“I work for the club as a cleaner. You know what we do, yes?”

Sharp nodded. “Yeah. You guys go around, getting rid of any problems the club needs removed.”

“Exactly. You’ve wanted to be a cleaner for some time now.”

“Well, yeah. It’s like the perfect job. You get paid more than me, get more privileges than me, and your job is a lot better. You get paid to kill ponies! I want that.”

Deception frowned. “Killing is not all that we do. There are other ways to make problems go away. Bribery and blackmail are other tools of our trade. Intimidation, threats, extortion, we use all of those. Death is but one of our tools.”

“Right. Of course. So, what do you want with me?”

“You want to join the ranks of the cleaners? I’m here to offer you that chance.”

Sharp’s eyes lit up and he leaned forward in his chair. “Really?” At Deception’s nod, he pumped a hoof in the air. “Fuck yeah! So what do I need to do?”

“You’re going to accompany me on a job. I will be evaluating you based on how you perform, and once it’s all over, I’ll make my recommendation to the boss.”

“Sounds good. What’s the job?”

At this, Deception smiled. “It’s your lucky day. There’s a pony that’s been causing trouble for the club. He needs to be eliminated.”

Sharp whistled. “I’m liking this already. Who’s the target?”

Deception opened the apartment door. “I’ll tell you on the way.”

The stallion got off his chair. “Do I need to bring anything with me?”

“No. I already have everything we need.”

Together they left the apartment. When they were in the lobby, Sharp was about to open the door, but Deception’s hoof on it stopped him. “As soon as we hit the street, your evaluation starts.”

With that warning, they stepped out on the street. “Walk with me,” Deception said, turning left and heading deeper into the shady neighborhood.

Sharp trotted up to walk beside the disguised changeling. Deception didn’t say anything, just watching the stallion in his peripheral vision. At first, Sharp was looking at him, like he expected him to say something. At the continued silence, he quickly grew bored and fell into old patterns.

His eyes wandered around the street, looking at the ponies around him. A few he would exchange a wave or nod of the head with, though most got no more than a passing look. However, whenever he came across a mare, his eyes would linger, and he would stare at her.

Deception nudged Sharp. “Keep your eyes on the road. Cleaners are as effective as we are, because we blend in to our surroundings. We don’t draw attention to ourselves when on a job. So stop staring at the mares. You can flirt all you want once the job is done.”

“What’s the harm in looking?”

“Glancing is fine. Being familiar with your surroundings is a good thing. But it becomes a problem when you linger. Staring at a pony only invites them to stare back at you. If they stare, they could remember you. If they remember you, then should the guard come calling, they could give your description. That’s bad.”

Sharp nodded. “Right. Keep the looking to a minimum.”

“Exactly. Remember, we want to call as little attention to ourselves as possible. We’re like ghosts, in and out with nopony the wiser.”

The silence fell, Deception glad that he didn’t have to listen to Sharp’s voice for any longer than necessary. When the stallion spoke up a minute later, the changeling gritted his teeth.

“So what kind of jobs does a cleaner tend to get?”

Taking a deep breath, Deception responded. “It depends. Whatever the boss needs done. Sometimes, like today, then we make a pony vanish permanently. Though that doesn’t always mean killing them. Sometimes, we capture them and bring them back to the club for use in the stocks.”

The changeling made a mental note of a stallion approaching them, but at a look from Sharp he backed off. After a moment, he continued. “Sometimes there’s a white knight guard getting too close to us. In that case, we have to either get him off our trail, or remove him as a problem.”

“How do you decide what to do?”

“We’re given a scroll when we take a job. The scroll contains as much information as the boss can provide us. Everything from names, addresses, job information, family, to financial information, fetishes, as many of their dirty little secrets as we can find out. Using that information we scout out the problem, and form a solution.

“That potential guard problem I mentioned? Maybe he has a sick foal. Offer him enough bits to make that problem of his go away, and he’ll cease being a problem. Or perhaps he’s a family stallion. Pay his family a visit, use them to get to him. Tie him up and threaten his family. You have to be willing to do whatever it takes. There’s no room in this job for morals.”

Sharp smiled. “Oh don’t worry about morals. I don’t have any of those to worry about.”

Deception nodded. “Good. However, that doesn’t mean that you should always harm others. The idea is to find the best solution, not the most convenient one. We want to make problems go away, not just hide themselves only to come back later.”

“What about other cleaners? How many are there?”

“We’re all independant, acting alone. Though sometimes a job can be too big for one pony, so we do team up from time to time. As for how many, I can’t say. Not until you’re one of us.” Deception took a right, heading down another street, Sharp still by his side.

“So, what job are we on now?”

He glanced over at Sharp. “There’s a stallion who’s been causing problems for the club. The boss made the decision on how to handle it this time. This stallion is to be killed.”

“Does the boss decide what actions we take a lot?”

Deception shook his head. “No. Usually it’s left up to us what actions to take. Though sometimes the boss does decide, yes. But generally the boss trusts us to get the job done in whatever manner we see fit.”

“No oversight. I like.” The smile on Sharp’s face was a menacing one. Clearly he was imagining all the things he could get away with.

“Remember that your actions are always being watched. The club has eyes and ears everywhere in this city. If you mess up, if you start drawing attention to yourself, or the club, just remember that the next job a cleaner receives, will be to take you out.”

Sharp dismissed Deception’s words with a wave of his hoof. “Yeah, I got this shit on lockdown. I’ve been wanting this for so long.”

The changeling ignored the stallion’s arrogance. It wouldn’t be long before he was humbled.

Together, they arrived at a plaza near the edge of the city. Just beyond was a platform that extended out, offering a view of the picturesque valley. A railing kept ponies from just wandering off the edge, as it was a long drop to the rocks down below. The plaza itself was home to a small market, ponies offering wares to the tourists who came by here to see the view. Other than a tower in the castle, this was one of the only places to see this view in the city.

Deception stopped in front of an empty bench. “Take a seat,” he said. Somepony had left a newspaper sitting on the bench, so he picked it up, opening it and pretending to read.

“Don’t look at me,” Deception said. “We’re just two ponies sitting on a bench who don’t know each other.” He flipped a page in the paper, eyes scanning across the area.

“Three o’clock, see the stallion with the green mane and a book for a cutie mark? Leaning against a mare.” Sharp nodded. “That’s our target.”

“So now what?”

“Look around you. There’s too many ponies around to do anything right now. So we wait and watch. If he moves, we follow him. When there are no witnesses around, that’s when we make our move.”

“Right. What about that mare? Looks like those two are close.”

Deception turned another page. “Our information says that he’s not married, so that’s probably a marefriend, seeing how close they are. Again, we wait and follow. If they go home together, then we deal with that. Ideally, they’d separate at some point, and that’s when we strike.”

“And how do we dispatch him?”

“However we want. A knife to the heart or throat, magic to choke him, you have to be adaptable. Once he’s gone, we dispose of the body, clean up the mess, and leave. When a job’s done, you always head to the club, report to the boss.”

“Right. So if the mare’s still with him, we can... take care of her, too?”

Deception knew what he was getting at. “Only as a last resort. Being on a job isn’t about your own pleasure. You can get your dick wet on your own time.”

Sharp shrugged. “Eh, I already got some today, anyway. Bright went and picked up this cute little filly. I had some fun in the cart on the way back to the club.” He smirked. “Even asleep she knows how to use her mouth just right.”

“I see,” was the only reply. The changeling went back to reading the paper, one eye watching the stallion. After several minutes of silence, he could tell that Sharp was getting antsy. “Time for you to go act natural. Get up and go browse the stalls. You’re just a pony here looking for a gift for your marefriend.”

Sharp got up and headed towards the nearest stall. Deception had kept his instructions purposefully vague. This would give him an idea of just what Sharp was like when left to his own devices.

He watched as Sharp stood in front of the stall, browsing over the wares offered. He exchanged a few words with the salespony there, before moving on to the next one.

Over the next half hour, he observed Sharp. The stallion was rough, needed a lot of work. He tended to gravitate towards stalls run by mares, and would spend an inordinate amount of time chatting up the mares more than browsing the wares. More than once, he could see a mare’s eyes linger on him as he walked away, usually in disgust. They would remember him.

Twice, he saw Sharp try and steal things. The first time, he fumbled the small object, so he played it off as if he had dropped it, setting it back on the stand and apologizing to the mare there. She just smiled and accepted the act. The second time, he succeeded in tucking a sack of bits into his mane.

Deception grimaced. This Sharp was no good. He was reckless and constantly drew attention to himself. It wouldn’t be long before he was arrested by the guard for petty thievery. Or assaulting some mare.

Finally, Sharp started making his way back over to the bench, taking a seat again. “Easy,” he said.

“I saw some things that could use improvement, but nopony’s perfect on their first run.”

“Now what?”

“The crowd is starting to thin out, it’s getting later. Soon the stalls will close up and ponies will go home. Our target will probably move by then, so we follow.” Deception floated the paper over to a nearby trash can, depositing it there. “I’m going to move closer. Don’t follow me until later. Just sit here and rest.”

The changeling got up from the bench, moving through the market. He paused briefly at some stalls, inspecting what they had on offer. Slowly, he made his way towards the overlook, where the stallion was still sitting with the mare.

Upon reaching the railing, he set his front hooves on the top rail, looking out over the view. He was close enough that he could hear the stallion and mare talking. They were laughing and sharing the occasional kiss.

He smiled, looking out at the view. Nestled down in the green valley was a small town, Ponyville. Beyond that was a large forest. From up here, he could see everything. It was the perfect spot.

Over the course of an hour, the market emptied, ponies closing up their stalls and heading home. Soon, the only ponies left on the overlook were the stallion and his marefriend, and Deception himself. Still those two were wrapped up in their own world.

He felt a presence at his side, looking over to see Sharp there. The stallion was looking at him questioningly. “Not yet. This is too open, too exposed,” he muttered. Sharp nodded, retreating away slightly.

Finally, the stallion stood up, offering a hoof to the mare. Together they walked away, towards a small side street. Sharp attempted to follow, but Deception blocked him with a hoof. “Let them get a little ahead. we’ll still be able to easily see them, and it won’t look like we’re following them.”

The couple entered the side street, before turning a corner and disappearing. “What the fuck?” Sharp said. “They’re gone.”

“Yes, they are. Which is good, because they were never the target at all.”

“Wait, what?”

Deception dropped his hoof, turning to look at Sharp. “As I said, they weren’t the target.”

The stallion was silent for a moment, the gears in his brain twisting. “This was all a test,” he said.

“Yes. I was merely testing you.”

“So, how did I do?” Sharp asked with a cocky grin.

Deception sighed. “You failed.”

“What? How?”

Deception pointed back to the now empty market. “You have patterns. You spend more time chatting up mares than acting subtlely. Based on how I saw those mares acting, they’ll remember you, which is a bad thing.”

The changeling reached his hoof into Sharp’s mane, pulling out the bag of bits. “You also stole from one mare, and tried to steal from another. Petty theft is a great way to get caught by the guard. You’re paid more than enough to not have to resort to that.” He tossed the bag over the railing, where it quickly fell out of view.

“All in all, you draw too much attention to yourself. That’s a bad thing.”

Sharp’s muzzle flapped open. “So... I’m not going to be a cleaner?”

“No.”

“And there was no job.”

“No. There is a job.”

“What’s the job.”

Deception smiled. “You.” Before Sharp could react, he was hit with a stunning spell. His muscles locked up as he stood there, frozen and unable to move. He couldn’t say anything, but his eyes were looking right at Deception, questions in them.

“Those same reasons why you will never be a cleaner, are exactly why I’ve been assigned to take you out. You draw too much attention to yourself, Sharp Shooter. When you go out with Bright, you ignore orders, steal things. You use the merchandise before it even makes it to the club. But worst of all, your loyalty is not absolute. Should you get caught, we believe that you would turn over the club in a heartbeat to save yourself.”

Deception paced around the frozen stallion. “You can thank Bright. She’s the one who brought this to the attention of the boss, and advocated for your disposal.” Using his magic, he picked up the helpless stallion and floated him over the railing, suspending him over the long drop.

Sharp’s eyes were full of fear. If he could talk, Deception had no doubt that he’d be begging for his life. “No hard feelings, it’s just a job. Goodbye, Sharp.”

With that, Deception canceled the spell, sending Sharp falling. He watched the body plummet until it was a mere speck against the rocks. He knew that Sharp’s body would hit the rocks and burst open.

Turning away from the railing, he was about to leave, when he remembered something. Taking off the pouch that he’d gotten with the scroll, he tossed that over the railing as well. “Here, payment for services rendered,” he said. The bits would spill open, mixing with the blood and guts, all that remained of the pony known as Sharp Shooter.

Somepony would find the body at some point. It would look like some poor stallion had managed to fall to his death. No pony would question it. Accidents happen, after all.

Turning away again, he headed back into the city. It was time to see the boss and collect his payment. Spending the night in the company of his favorite little filly down in the club would do him wonders.

> Orphan
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Discord’s Playground

Orphan

A young unicorn stallion lay on the floor of a supply closet, panting at the exertion he just went through as he felt the older and larger stallion pull out of him with an audible ‘schlok,’ leaving what he deposited into the white stallion to leak out of him.

The white coated, black maned stallion, lightly coated in sweat, stood up shakily as the older male, the red coated, straw maned Windy, was collecting himself.

The younger of the two of them stayed quiet as he tried to keep himself from falling over, his right ear, missing the tip, twitched lightly. Windy wasn’t a mean pony, but he was far from gentle, and they didn’t have time to take it slow today. Windy was coming off of his shift.

“Thanks for the service, Orphan,” he said, reaching out and mussing the smaller stallion’s mane.

Orphan smiled. “I’m happy to help, Windy,” he replied.

Windy kept the schedule for the slaves during his shift, telling them when and where they had to go to for their services. As a side effect, he would often become pent up for the entire shift, not to mention he was only interested in stallions, and Orphan was a favorite of his, and many others, in the establishment.

“Now get going, get cleaned up, it won’t do to have you leaking everywhere on your last day before joining the stocks,” he said, before leaving, likely to go home until he had to come in again.

Orphan did as he was told and went straight for the shower stalls, a couple of other slaves were there, cleaning up as well, having just come off their shifts. Orphan made sure he was as clean as necessary, and that he was no longer leaking, before quickly drying and making his way to the front room.

The young stallion enjoyed, at least for now, more liberties than normal slaves. He was born here, raised in the environment and the first thing he was taught as soon as he was able to understand it, was that he lived for others.

On his way out, he saw a mare coming into the showers, and he smiled to her. “Clover,” he called.

She turned her attention to him, and a smile graced her face and her tired looking eyes, “Hello, Orphan,” she greeted, “It’s good seeing you,” she said, reaching forward with her hooves and embracing the stallion, who was scarcely taller than she was.

“It’s good seeing you too, we don’t get much chance to see each other since I’ve started working during the day,” he said, returning the gesture.

“I know,” she replied, “I was going to eat after showering but I can shower afterwords, are you too busy right now to indulge an old mare in a few minutes to catch up?” she asked.

Orphan chuckled, “You’re not that old, Clover,” he told her before he looked up to the clock, he couldn’t read letters, but he could read the clock well enough to know he had a few minutes before he was required to be on duty, and he turned to her with a nod, “I have a little time,” he said, walking with her to the table where some of the other slaves would eat.

“I’ve known you since you were a colt, that’s old enough,” she went to get the plate of food before joining him at a table. “I miss when you were little, you didn’t have to work so often,” she mused, looking at him with a motherly smile.

He returned the smile, “I’m happy to do such important work, I clean the laundry, and everypony likes it better when there are good smelling sheets on the beds,” his enthusiastic smile made Clover giggle before he spoke again, “I’m… going to miss it,” he said, still smiling, but looking down at the table in front of him.

This earned a questioning look from the older mare, “Miss it? Why?” she asked.

“They told me I’m going to be in the stalls from now on,” he sighed, “I don’t mind, so long as I’m making ponies happy, but I’m really going to miss the smell of the clean laundry,” he voice trailed off a bit. ‘The warm linens fresh from the dryer, the smell of flowers…”

Clover looked at the young stallion, and reached over, putting a hoof on his withers, “I’m sorry, Orphan.”

He shook his head, and smiled again, “I’m not, if it makes more ponies happy, having me in the stalls, than I won’t mind at all, I’ll just have to make do with clean sheets when I’m sent to a room. Things change, I know that, they were different when I was little, they were different as I got a little older, they’re different now, and they’ll be different tomorrow, Copper always told me….” He wasn’t able to finish his sentence as he thought about the unlucky and greatly abused stallion.	

They were both silent for a little while, Copper had been the closest thing to a father Orphan had and most likely will ever have.

The mare wanted to comfort him, and tried to think of something to say, but her gaze went to his damaged ear, and she saw it twitch lightly. She quickly changed the subject, “You… haven’t gotten to see Ruby or Morning in a while either, have you?” she asked.

Shaking his head, Orphan responded, “No, I haven’t,” he said, looking sad once more.

“Well, they were taken to rooms at the tail end of the shift, so if you’re quick, you might be able to catch at least one of them before they leave while you’re changing the sheets,” she said, and they shared a smile. “I’ve taken enough of your time for one day, get going and see if you can’t say ‘hi.’”

Orphan nodded, “Okay, I’ll do that,” he said, standing up, looking at her again, “I hope it won’t be so long before we get to talk again, maybe we’ll be put on the same shift again and we’ll be able to talk more,” he said with a hopeful expression.

Clover chuckled a little, “Yeah, I hope so too, have a good day, Orphan” she said.

“You too,” he started, almost calling her by her name, before stopping, a smile on his face, “You have a good day too, Mother,” he said, and he saw her smile tremble and grow bigger, a few tears forming in the corners of her eyes.

She stood up, and hugged him affectionately, “Know that you are loved, whatever happens in this place, know that we love you, Orphan,” she said softly before letting him go. With a smile and a somber goodbye, he left the cafeteria.

Orphan’s first stop was the laundry room, and luckily enough, he got there with a whole minute to spare. The washers paid him little mind as they moved linens from carts to washers, to driers and to carts again.

He breathed in the scent of the clean laundry as he moved to a cart, full of linens to be placed on beds after the old ones would be removed. His cart would be full of decidedly worse smelling laundry before he brought it back to be traded for another cart of clean linens.

Some customers stayed for hours, others for only a few minutes, but each room needed to be cleaned between customers, both for presentation and for hygienic purposes.

Orphan stepped out into the halls of the club and moved towards the front desk first to ask what rooms he needed to tend to first.

“Good morning,” he greeted the schedule keeper. Normally there would also be the twins who usually tended the front desk, but they must have taken the day off this time.

The stallion who sat there in their stead was the shift manager, who lazily looked up at Orphan with a dismissive glance before looking back down at the schedule. He said nothing in response, never had.

“Which rooms need cleaning?” Orphan asked him, a little nervously, his ear twitching slightly.

The stallion sighed and looked over another list, “Rooms 32, 34 and 37 are vacant now and need cleaning,” he said. “Room 40 finished up as well, but the slave’s a first timer filly, so she’s still there, probably crying. I’ll come and clear her out later, but get that room cleaned after you do the others, then I’ll give you some more work.”

Orphan frowned at hearing about the filly. He’d had to go into the rooms of the foals after they’ve had their first times. They were always crying, sometimes angry, but usually scared and lonely. He didn’t understand it personally, but they always looked like they were lost, or rather they had lost something, or something was taken from them. Something he never had.

Orphan’s ear twitched.

“You going, or do I need to motivate you?” the manger spoke up, glaring at Orphan from the corner of his eye.

“N-no sir, I’m sorry, I’ll go now,” he responded hurriedly as he went with his cart, heading down the hall to the first of the rooms.

He passed by room after room, moaning coming from them, sometimes cries of pain mixed with those of pleasure as customers served clients. Some of the doors were opened to provide a show for whoever wished to watch.

Orphan ignored them all as he came to room 32 and knocked gently and hearing the soft voice of a mare from the other side, his ears perked as he recognized the voice.

“I’m just leaving now,” she said as she opened the door, revealing a red maned mare with yellow fur. It took her a second to recognize the stallion but when she did she smiled and gave him a hug, “Orphan!” she exclaimed.

The young stallion laughed and returned her hug, “Ruby! It’s good to see you again,” he said.

He let her go when she released him from her embrace and looked him over, “I swear you got a little taller since I last saw you,” she said.

“I may have, it’s been a while.”

Ruby was possibly the only pony who’s known Orphan all his life. From his birth and onwards she had been a big sister, as she also grew up knowing little else besides the life of a slave.

Ruby waved him to enter the room, and he did, pushing his cart in with him. He went to change the sheets on the bed, and seeing how there was little besides sweat stains, it seemed Ruby was careful not to let a mess be made. Still, they had to be cleaned for the next client.

“Still doing that laundry thing, huh?” she asked as she watched him work. Despite being a unicorn, Orphan had to make due with his hooves and mouth, as he never learned to wield telekinesis as any normal foal would.

He nodded in affirmation, his mouth being full, as he put the dirty sheets into the basket meant for them, before pulling a folded clean sheet off, “It’s my last day doing it before I’m in the stocks full time,” he told her as he spread the sheet out over the bed.

The mare frowned but nodded, “I see, hopefully they’ll switch you over so we’ll see more of you,” she chuckled, giving him another friendly hug as he tucked the corners.

Orphan was happy to receive her affection, and returned it with a nuzzle, before turning back to his cart, “I’m glad to have seen you again Ruby, I was able to see Clover too today,” he said, getting a fragrant spray, and spraying the room down to get rid of the smell of sex.

“That’s good,” Ruby said, taking in a breath of the fresh scent. “You know we all love it when we get to see you,” she said.

“I know,” he said, his ear twitching lightly as he blushed a faint pink. “I like making ponies happy in any way I can,” he said, looking back to his mark.

Clover had told him that it was a cutie mark, a symbol of one’s special talent when they discover it. Orphan’s was that of a bed sheet, with the ends turned up and the middle hanging low. Looking a bit like a smile, at least in Orphan’s opinion.

Orphan looked over the room one more time, making sure to check the floor to make sure there wasn’t any mess left behind.

He looked to Ruby and smiled, “I’m done cleaning this room, I should hurry and keep up with the schedule,” he said.

Ruby nodded in understanding and gave him one more embrace and a kiss on the cheek, “You come and say ‘hi’ as soon as you can,” she told him with a nuzzle.

He returned it, and nodded, “I can hardly refuse,” he told her.

They said their goodbyes, and Ruby turned to leave, leaving Orphan to give the room one last look over, before he pushed his cart into the hall, and closed the door behind him and continued his task.

Orphan had finished rooms 34 and 37 even faster, not having a pony to talk to while cleaning them. He then came to room 40, and he could already hear the gentle sobs of a filly on the other side.

He wanted to give the filly more time, but he knew that time wouldn’t help her any.

He took a deep breath, and knocked gently on the door, hoping he can in some way help her cope with her new life.

The sobbing hitched as he knocked, but there wasn’t an answer.

Trying to sound as gentle as he could, he spoke, “I’m coming in,” he said, turning the handle and pushing the door open slowly.

In the corner of the bed, lay an orange filly with a red mane, she was curled up, trying to make herself look smaller and be as far from the intruder as possible. Her yellow eyes were full of tears, and the matted fur beneath them showed they were not the first tears.

She didn’t speak, and for a moment, Orphan only looked at her sadly.

Those eyes were haunting, just like every other foal that had their first time in the club.

He saw the stain on the sheets that were close to where she lay, full of a mix of fluids, including blood. This client was none to gentle with her it seems.

Orphan knew he had to be the first to speak, “I’m… here to change the sheets,” he told her, still speaking softly, hoping she’d open up a little. The foals who kept it all inside, and who shied away from anypony who spoke to them, they didn’t last long.

It seemed to take a second before what he said registered and the filly looked down at the messy sheets, and kicked them away in disgust. “Take them away!” she said through a choked sob.

Orphan looked at her with concern, and hesitantly made a further request, “I’m going to need you to get off the bed so I can change the plastic sheet too. Are you able to stand?”

The filly stalled for a moment before trying to get on her shaking hooves and legs, “I, I can do it,” she said, though her voice betrayed her discomfort.

The young stallion moved closer and offered his hoof to help her.

She looked at the hoof, and tried moving on her own, hissing with each step as she got off the bed, “I can do it,” she said with protest.

He moved quickly to her side. "Are you okay?" he asked her.

The filly nodded and sniffed, holding back her tears. “I’m fine…. It just really hurts,” she said, wiping the tears from her eyes.

Orphan frowned, not sure what to say. "Some clients are never gentle, even for a foal's first time," he said, sitting next to her, before looking to the cart and going to it, pulling a paper cloth from it and bringing it to her, offering it.

The filly looked at the cloth for a moment before taking it, “Thanks,” she said as she cleaned up her face a little.  “He was really mean, and hurt me, even when I cried, and bled, he kept hurting me.” She started to tear up again.

The young stallion sat next to her while she dried her tears. His damaged ear twitched. "First times are hard, even for the ones who come to eventually enjoy their lives down here. I don't think there was ever a foal who wasn't hurt on their first time."

She looked up him with confusion in her eyes. “But, why?”

He wasn't sure how to answer her. He's given the answer he believes in before, but sometimes that makes ponies angry. "Well, as I understand it, it's our job to make sure that our clients are happy, even if it hurts us."

His answer didn’t seem to bring her any comfort, and she sniffed, wiping her eye again, “This isn't the adventure that Ms. Spirit promised me.”

He tilted his head. "Spirit? Do you mean Bright Spirit?"

“Yeah, her,” she said, nodding. “She came to my house, promised me an adventure. Then suddenly I wake up, and I'm in here and my jaw hurts and there's a funny taste in my mouth.”

Orphan sat there thinking for a moment, "I've spoken with Bright Spirit a few times, she's always been very nice. She brings a lot of foals here, she says they don't get any love where they used to be, but she never said anything about tricking them.”

She sat quiet for a moment and sniffed again, trying not to break down and cry again, “I don't want to be here,” she finally said. “I just wanna go home to my room and my books, and my window, she promised I'd go outside for the first time, and now... I can't.”

As she was getting closer to tears, Orphan put a hoof on her shoulder, "I've never seen outside either." He said, looking sadly, "Miss Clover used to talk about it all the time, but she'd get really sad when she thinks about it. I think she misses it."

With something to distract her mind, the young filly sniffed a few times and looked at him curiously, “Miss Clover?”

He smiles brightly, "She's one of the mares who raised me, she's kinda like my mom." He chuckled. "I was able to see her today, she's a real nice mare," he told her.

“Is she nice?” the filly asked.

He nods happily, "One of the nicest ponies here," he promised. He then suddenly got a worried look on his face. "Oh no, I've been talking and I should have been cleaning the room," he said, standing up and moving to the soiled sheets, gathering them and throwing them in the dirty laundry basket, his ear twitching again as he also replaced the plastic sheet and put fresh smelling sheets where they belonged.

She quietly watched him work, and when he seemed done she spoke again. “My name is Tiger Lilly, what's yours?”

He looked back at her as he grabbed the can of air freshener and sprayed the air for a short burst. "I'm Orphan."

The young filly named Tiger Lilly continued, “Will you... Will you be my friend?”

He smiled brightly to her, "I'd be happy to, but I can't promise we'll see each other much, I'm not going to be doing laundry anymore after today, and I don't know which shift they'll have me working in the stocks for," he said.

“You're nice, please, try and be my friend,” she quietly pleads, tears forming at the edge of her eyes once more.

Seeing her close to crying again, Orphan approached her and gently put his hooves around her in a hug, "I'll be your friend, now and always, even when we don't see each other."

She sniffles, “Promise?”

He gives her a smile "I promise, and I bet Clover will want to be your friend too."

Tiger Lilly sniffs again but smiles back faintly, “Ok, I'd like friends,” she said. “I've never had any before, except for Dust, the maid. She would play with me, until Green told her not to.”

Orphan nodded, "I have a few friends, some aren't here anymore, but most of the other slaves are nice,” he told her. “Clover, Ruby and Auntie Morning, they're all nice."

“So it's not too bad down here?” she asked, a faint glimmer of hope crossing her features.

His ear twitched but he nodded, "Just do as the staff tells you to, and please the clients, things are usually okay if you do as you’re told," he told her. "Some clients are meaner than others," his hoof went to his ear absentmindedly, "But you might find some you like."

Tiger Lilly rubs her sore flank with a bitter look on her face, “I don't know about liking them.”

The young stallion paused for a moment, "They're not all rough and mean like that, new foals, ones who haven't had their first time, they charge the clients a lot for them, the clients who like that are rarely gentle.... even when they say they will be."

“He was mean, I don't like him,” she said, glaring at the floor.

He gently stroked her back, hoping to comfort her "You can hope he never buys your time again, but we don't have any say in that," he told her.

She sighed, “Can I go lie down now? I want to stop hurting.”

He nodded, offering to help her up onto the clean and comfortable bed, "Somepony should be coming to get you soon, they let first timers have some time alone, but they'll take you to the backroom where you can rest and meet some of the others,” he told her.

She nodded, accepting his help this time. “Ok,” she said. “And, thanks, Orphan. You're nice,” she said, giving him a more genuine smile this time as he helped her onto the bed.

He smiled, his ear twitching aside gently, "Well, it's my talent, so Clover says, I like making ponies happy," he told her.

She ignored his comment and looked at his ear as it twitched, “What happened to your ear?” she asked.

Again, he puts his hoof to his ear and thinks for a moment, his eyes lowering as he smiles sadly, "One of my clients, when I was real little. I don't know if I made her mad or if she just felt like doing it, but she bit my ear really hard and took off the tip of it, it hurt a lot."

Tiger Lilly gave him a sad look, “I'm sorry,” she said. “Ponies shouldn't be mean to other ponies.”

He shook his head and smiled at her. "Its okay, from what I hear, she wasn't supposed to do that, she hadn't paid for it, so they fined her or something. I don't understand how some of the things work."

“I don't know if I want to learn about this place,” she said, rubbing her flank once more. “I just want to go home.”

Orphan sat down next to the bed. "I'm sorry but I don't think that’s possible, I never heard of anypony being allowed to leave."

She looked over at him, blankly at first, before tears begin to well in her eyes once more, and she threw her forelegs around his neck, sobbing hard as she apologized and pleaded, “I'm sorry I was a bad filly, I just want to go home. I'll be a good filly, just stop the hurting.”
Orphan held the scared and heartbroken filly as she cried out, unable to think of any way to calm her down other than this. He just held onto her and let her cry. She would calm down when she was ready, until then, he just rubbed her back and let her cry.

For several minutes she sobbed her heart out, before managing to gain control of herself She reluctantly pulled herself away, wiping at her eyes and looking at the messed up coat on Orphan's shoulder. “Sorry.”

He just gave her another smile, "It's okay, you needed to have that cry," he said.

Sniffing again, she settled herself back onto the bed, “You have a job to do, right?” she asked. “You should go, before you get hurt. I'll be ok now.”

Orphan was about to argue, when a pounding came at the door, and the voice of the manager came through it, "Hey! You better not be 'sampling' the merchandise in there," he said, his tone serious.

Orphan looked to Tiger Lilly and nodded, calling through the door, "I'm just finishing cleaning the room," he called back, his ears folded back, he looked to Tiger Lilly again, "When you get to the back room, ask for Clover, and even if she's asleep wake her up and tell her I told you to see her. I'm sure she'll be happy to meet you and be your friend too," he said.

"Hurry up!" came the voice of the manager.

Tiger Lilly nodded. “Clover ok,” she said. “And, thank you again.”

He noded in return and opened the door, pushing his cart with him. He ducked as he walked past the manager, but the older stallion gave him a swift smack upside his head before closing the door. "While you were taking your sweet time there are five more rooms for you to clean up, now get moving and don't let me catch you slaking off again!"

He nodded and moved quickly, hoping if he jumped to his work faster he would escape more severe punishment than a simple smack on the head.

He continued with his duties that day, until finally all rooms were either clean or in use.

Sighing contently, Orphan went through the front room, cleaning up little things before he headed back to the laundry room to return his cart and end his shift.

At that time, a pony familiar to him came through one of the back doors and saw him, offering him a gentle smile, “Oh, Orphan. How are you doing?” she asked.

The young stallion looked up from what he's doing and returned her smile, "Hello Bright," he greeted. "I'm doing alright, just, enjoying my last day as a cu... cu... What was it you called it?"

With a chuckle she told him, “A custodian, dear, and it's a very important job.”

He nodded. "Yes, that, and I know, and I love doing it, but they say now that I'm an adult, I have to work in the stocks from now on."

She nodded softly. “It's sad, but yes,” she said. “We all have our parts to play, some we don't like as much as others. But I'm sure that you'll grow to enjoy the stocks and all the love down there.”

Orphan looked aside, as if thinking about something, and his ear twitched. "Bright... do you know a filly named Tiger Lilly?"

Bright thought for a moment. “I do, yes. I brought her down here rather recently.”

"She had her first time today."

She raised an eyebrow, “Oh? How did it go?”

He sighed as he washed away a small smudge on the counter. "The client was rough with her, and she was very upset, like most foals when they have their first time."

She nodded. “I see, I'm sorry to hear that the client was rough.” She sighed as well, “I always hope that their first time can be a good one. Sadly, those interested in a foal's first time, are rarely interested in taking it slow, but she will get better over time, just like you have, dear.”

"I know that," he said, his voice downcast and sad, "but that’s not what I want to talk about. She said that you promised her she'd go on an adventure and see the outside... is it true? Did you lie to her?"

Bright chewed on her bottom lip. “Tell me, did she tell you anything about her life before I brought her here?”

He shook his head.

“She was born to parents who didn't love her, who hid her away from the world,” she told him. “She spent her whole life living in one room, sometimes not even seeing a pony. There was a flap in her door, so she could be fed without ever having to be seen.” She took a step closer to Orphan as she explained this. “I took her from that and brought her here, to a place where she can grow and live and love. Bright looked Orphan in his eyes, “I did say that she could go outside, and she did, she just doesn't remember it.”

He listened to Bright's explanation, and nodded, but sighed, "I guess that’s true, but it still seems wrong that you had to lie."

“It's easier for her if she doesn't know the truth, it makes the transition much smoother, less traumatizing,” she said. “I don't like it any more than you do, Orphan. But it's not about what I like, it's about what's best for Tiger Lilly, and all the other foals like her,” she said, smiling at him.

Orphan looked down, and thought for a moment, he wasn't the smartest colt, and knew little else besides his life there, but was it really the best thing for these foals? "If you say so," he said.

Bright placed a hoof on his shoulder “It's a harsh world out there, Orphan. Not everypony is as lucky as you to be born here, where you have ponies who love you. I offer foals a chance to be loved like you are, something they wouldn't have otherwise.”

He nodded, "I understand.... still wish I could see outside though, Miss Clover made it sound so nice."

“One day, maybe you will, Orphan. It's not impossible, after all.”

He looked up at her, a frown on his face, "I've never heard of anypony being allowed out of here."

Bright shrugged. “I never said that it would be easy, or likely. Just that it's not impossible. You're such a good boy, Orphan. If you keep being good, then perhaps you'll be rewarded with going outside, someday,” she told him.

He smiled lightly, and his ear twitched, but he nodded. "I'd really like that," he said.

Bright smiled back, “I know you would,” she took a quick look at the clock. “Are you still on shift? Am I keeping you from anything?” she asked.

He too took a quick look at the clock and shook his head. "No, my shift is almost over, and no more rooms need cleaning yet."

Bright smiled. “Oh good, I'd hate to accidentally get you in trouble with my idle chatter. I can certainly talk a lot. Or, at least, that's what my husband says.”

He chuckled lightly and smiled at the older mare. "Its okay, I don't mind," he told her.

Bright moved in close and gave him a hug. “You're too kind, Orphan, such a sweetheart for worrying over Tiger Lilly.”

Orphan hadn’t expected the hug and tensed up a little, but eased into it. "How could I not?" he asked. "She was sad, and alone, I couldn't just leave her like that."

“She just needs a friend,” she told him. “Just as you're a friend to me, be a friend to her.” She pats his head, mussing up his mane a little. “That's all she needs.”

He nodded, smiling. "I'll do my best," he said. ".... Though, I don’t know if I'll have the same shift as her."

“ You'll still be able to see each other.”

"Not often, but I will try my best" he said giving her a determined look smile.

“That's all anyone can ask of you, dear.” She looked over at the clock again, “If your shift is up, then you must be tired, I'll let you go get some rest,” she told him.

He nodded and bid Bright a goodnight, and started to leave, pushing his cart back to the laundry room before heading towards the backroom.

It was on his way out of the shower room that he suddenly had his eyes covered from behind by a pair of hooves and heard a familiar voice he had been speaking to earlier say, “Guess who,” in a playful manner.

Orphan had tensed up slightly at first, having his eyes suddenly covered, but he smiled and relaxed as he recognized the voice, "Ruby?" he asked.

The hooves were removed from his eyes and he turned around in time to see Ruby disappear in a flame of green and be replaced by the black chitin of another familiar creature. “Now how could you not recognize your favorite Aunt?” her voice teased.

He pouted lightly in response. "It's not easy to guess when you can change into anypony you want."

The changeling chuckled. “I know, but that's what makes it fun,” she said, giving him a hug. “It's been forever since I last saw you, how have you been?” she asked.

Orphan returned her hug with a smile. "I'm doing okay, things considered." He told her about how he's not going to be a custodian anymore.

She patted his head affectionately in a comforting manner. “Aww, I know how much you like that job. But hey, now you get to spend more time down here with me,” she said with a smirk. “And Clover and Ruby too, I guess,” she added. “And it's your birthday, so you know what that means?”

The young stallion smiled. "I know, I hope we get on the same shift so we can spend a lot more time together, like we used to," he said. He tilted his head to the side when she asked if he knew what his birthday meant, "umm...." he tried to think.

She smiled and chuckled. “Silly, it means that you get extra hugs,” she said as she hugged him again, planting a kiss on his cheek.

He giggled lightly, despite his age, his surrogate aunt being every bit as affectionate as she was when he was just a foal. "Auntie, I'm not five anymore," he protested lightly, "I'm a grown stallion now."

“I know, you're a grown colt now,” she said. “All the more reason for me to enjoy this while I can,” she frowned, pretending to cry. “Soon you won't want this old changeling around you anymore. You'll want some young, pretty thing.”

Orphan was unable to tell she was faking her crying, and he worried over her,."N-no, Morning, you're not old," he told her. "And I'd never want you to go away."

Morning’s crying turned into laughter. “Aww, you're sweet, and too easy,” she said, changing shape again, this time into the mare who often worked the front desk, April. “Besides, I can be anypony, age doesn't matter.”

He pouted again. "You keep teasing me," he complained, but couldn't really be mad, so a smile came back to his face soon after.

Morning turned back into her usual form. “It's a bad day when I can't tease you, or somepony else.”

He giggled lightly. "You've been teasing me for as long as I can remember."

She nudged him with a hoof. “And it never gets old, but I've been teasing you since before you can remember,” she said, correcting him. “You were such an adorable little foal when you were born, so fascinated whenever I'd change shape.” She chuckled lightly in memory. “Made playing peek-a-boo with you so easy.”

Orphan blushed lightly as she spoke about his foal hood. "I owe a lot to you," he told her. "Clover and Ruby too."

“Clover did most of the work,” she said. “She raised you, Ruby and I just helped. If you haven't seen her yet today, you should give Clover a hug and a kiss, she'd like that,” she told him, before thinking a moment. “Or...” her form changed into that of Clover, “you can just give it to me and call it even.”

Orphan smiled and shook his head. "I've seen her already today, before I went on my shift in fact, but we didn't really talk about my birthday or my foal hood."

Morning in Clover’s image shrugged, and shifted back to that of her changeling form. “Maybe I'm just feeling nostalgic today…. or old,” she said as she absentmindedly licked a fang. “Yeah, it's old.”

Orphan shook his head again. "You're not old, Morning.”

Morning smirked. “I was there when you were born, and now you're an adult,” she countered. “But enough about me, have you had an interesting day?”

Orphan nodded. "It was about normal, but I did meet a filly... she had just finished with her first time," he got quiet. "She's doing better now I think. I told her to find Clover," he smiled. "And she wanted to be my friend."

The changeling raised an eyebrow. “Oh? Well, having another friend, especially one more your age, is a good thing. What's this filly's name?”

"Tiger Lilly," he said. "Please be nice to her if you meet her, she's still getting used to this place."

She nodded. “Of course, I know what it's like, being new down here, I'll keep the teasing to a minimum,” she promised.

He smiled. "Thank you," he said before going quiet and thinking for a moment. "Morning... what was my mother like?"

Morning’s smile slowly faltered and she sighed, “I suppose you would want to know eventually,” she said, licking her fang again. “She was a good mare, liked by those down here. She would spend her days trying to make ponies happy, much like you do. Clients who were having bad times would request her just to talk to her, so she could cheer them up. She was certainly a very special pony.” She frowned, looking down at the floor. “It was a sad day when we lost her.”

He listened as she spoke and nodded, sniffing slightly. "I already knew that she died in childbirth," he said before smiling brightly to her through the tears that threaten to spill forth. "But, it's good to know that I'm a lot like her too," he said.

“You have her mane, and her eyes, and when you smile, it's her smile,” she said, smiling back. “You're your mother's child, Orphan.”

Orphan sniffed again and embraced her, tears welling in his eyes. "Thank you, Morning."

Morning hugged him back tightly, rubbing his back and patting his head. “I'm sorry that we don't have any pictures of her, though maybe some exist somewhere in this club. It would be nice for you to have something to remember her by other than just our words.”

"It’s okay," he sniffed again, "I have you, Ruby and Clover. I'm sad I never knew her, but I wasn't without mothers," he said.

She teasingly looked aghast. “I'm too young to be a mother, ‘Auntie’ works just fine for me,” she said.

He chuckled lightly. "Fine, Auntie it is," he said. "Ruby prefers when I called her Big Sister."

“So you've got it all,” she said. “A mom, a big sister, and an auntie, plus with that little filly, you've got a friend, too.”

He smiled and laughed lightly. "I have more than I could ever hope for," he said joyfully. "So I can live without doing the laundry, as much as I'll miss it."

“You'll still get to be around the fresh laundry,” she told him, her face becoming neutral. “Savor those moments you get alone in the room, before the member comes in.”

"So long as they only do what they paid for, I won't mind making them happy," he said smiling, his ear twitching a little bit.

Morning reached out and gently caressed Orphan's damaged ear. “I'm sorry that happened to you, Orphan,” she said, her tone sad.

The young stallion looked down at his hooves, and his ear twitched again. "It wasn't your fault, and it was a long time ago, it doesn't hurt anymore."

She frowned. “It still shouldn't have happened.” She let out a sigh, “But its part of you, now. And besides,” she let a smirk form on her lips, “it adds to your rugged good looks.”

He blushed lightly. "I'm not that good looking, I'm nothing special."

“I don't know,” her tone turned mischievous, “Maybe you should ask that little filly, Tiger Lilly.”

He continued to blush at her teasing, and his ears laid back, "I... I don't think she really cares about how I look, and besides she's still trying to get used to this place."

Morning laughed heartily. “Don't sell yourself short, Orphan, you're a good looking colt now,” she looked him over and licked her fang again as she let her mind wander. “Maybe if I was about ten years younger...”

He felt himself back up a little and lower his head at the sight of her fangs, prey instincts kicking in despite himself. His ear twitched, but he was quick to regain his composure, knowing Morning wouldn't actually ever hurt him.

Morning frowned at his initial response. “You know that I feed off of emotions, Orphan, and besides, I'm only teasing you,” she said. “But… I’m sorry if I upset you.”

"I-it's okay, you didn't mean to, and I don't mean to be scared, it's just... your teeth sometimes," he said, looking down.

She licked her fang again, this time in thought. “Yeah, they can be frightening. But you know I'd never hurt you,” she said, and after a moment she held out her fore hooves for a hug.

He smiled again and met her for the hug.

They embrace for a time and a smile returns to Morning’s face. “Thanks, and happy birthday, nephew.”

"Thank you, Auntie,” Orphan said, holding onto her tight.

They parted ways soon after, and Orphan went to the male side of the slave quarters.

He hoped that Tiger Lilly had found Clover and that she was helping the filly settle in. He also hoped that the coming days wouldn’t be too hard for her.

As his thoughts turned away from the filly, he climbed into his bed, and reached under the pillow to find the dryer sheet he placed there was indeed still there.

He smiled as he held the flower scented sheet fondly and breathed gently, before placing it back there and falling asleep, resting for and waiting for the next day.