“Twilight, are you sure about this?”

Spike followed Twilight as she headed down the castle stairs, prepared to start her first day of servitude.

“I’ll be fine Spike,” she reassured, trying to calm the panicking dragon down.

“B... but he’s an evil tyrant! Who knows what that creep will have you do!”

“Spike...”

“I just don’t see how you could go through with this. We could have found another way to handle it!”

“Spike...”

“I can’t let you do this to yourself Twilight. I can’t watch as you force yourself to...”

“SPIKE!!”

The dragon flinched at Twilight’s exclamation, frowning.

“I’m sorry for the outburst,” Twilight apologized, “but I have to do this Spike. I can’t allow Sombra to devastate an entire kingdom due to my own selfishness.”

Tears began to well in Spike’s eyes. He clung onto Twilight and buried his face into her chest. “I just wish there was another way.”

Twilight leaned down and patted Spike on the head. “Spike, this is going to turn out fine. All this is doing is buying the empire some time. Allowing me and my friends to formulate a plan to completely usurp Sombra. It’s evident that fighting won’t solve anything, so it’s up to espionage. Now please, calm down and try not to take this so hard.”

Spike sniffled and gave Twilight an unconvincing smile. “Okay Twilight. I’ll try not to. But you have to promise me you’ll try to stay in contact with us.”

“I promise, if I’m not able to see any of you, I’ll write to you every day.”

With Twilight’s promise, Spike’s smile turned genuine. He followed her down the castle stairs and into the Empire’s streets. The crystal ponies had calmed down significantly since Sombra stopped his assault. For the first time in months, they felt at peace. A sight which brought a smile to Twilight’s face.

“See Spike,” Twilight began. “These ponies are already starting to make light of the situation. They no longer have to worry about their home, or their families and friends being taken again. Is my freedom more important than theirs?”

Spike remained silent, but agreed with the point she was trying to make.

“It’s going to be fine Spike.” Twilight repeated as they walked towards the outskirts of the empire.

“If you believe that, why do you keep trying to convince me?” Spike duly asked flatly.

“Well, I just want to make sure that you understand that!” Although Twilight wanted Spike to not worry, she was having a hard time convincing herself it would be okay. No matter how she tried to make good of the situation, she was a slave to an evil king.

“Hey, Twilight, wait up!”

Twilight and Spike turned around, noticing a group of her friends darting towards them.

“What were you thinking, trying to run out on us?” Shining questioned. “I was worried sick.” He motioned back at his wife and the rest of Twilight’s friends, “We were worried sick!”

“Sorry about that,” she responded. “I just didn’t want you guys to be too concerned, so I thought it would be best to head out before you saw me.”

“You actually thought we would let you leave without saying a proper goodbye?” Applejack chuckled. “Come on; who do ya think we are?”

Twilight scratched the back of her head and laughed. “I guess it was unrealistic to expect you guys not to show up.”

“Very.” Shining Armor looked at her sister in concern, his arms folded. “Are you sure you know what you’re doing?”

“I have a pretty good idea what I’m doing,” Twilight responded confidently.

“I still can’t believe this is happening though,” Rainbow Dash complained with her arms crossed. “We could have found another way. But since you’re going to go through with it anyway, I might as well say goodbye.”

“Um... Twilight, I think it was noble you would do something like that,” Fluttershy said quietly. “If I was in that position, I would have panicked.”

“Thanks girls, but you make it sound as if you’ll never see me again,” Twilight responded playfully.

“What if we don’t see you again!?” Pinkie blurted out. “What happens if he locks you up in a giant, black dungeon that no one can leave or enter!?”

“Pinkie, I think you’re being a tad over-dramatic here,” Rarity stated.

“How do you know? Sombra is a giant meany of a king! Who knows what he could do? Didn’t you see those dark shadows he controlled? He might use them to swallow Twilight whole. SWALLOW HER WHOLE!”

“Pinkie, calm down,” Twilight chuckled. “I think you’re making a certain someone more nervous about it than me!” Fluttershy looked wearily at Twilight, horrified by the things that Pinkie had just mentioned. “He wants me to serve him, so he wouldn’t do me much harm. Besides, we can use that to our advantage.”

“Care to explain, Twilight?” Rarity inquired.

“No one has ever been able to see the interior of his abode. If I’m his servant, it will allow me to get a good view the insides of his place. To report its weaknesses and vantage points.”

“With that kind of information, we could organize a siege on him! End his rule once and for all!” Shining Armor concluded.

“Exactly!”

“But, this is Sombra we’re talking about!” Rainbow Dash blurted. “If he finds out you’re leaking information…”

“He won’t. I can easily change the letter’s text with a little magic, so all I have to do is write you guys a normal letter, and change the text around right before I send it off. He won’t know anything about our plans!”

Shining Armor walked towards his sister, frowning. “While you might have a plan, I don’t quite agree in going through with this. However, I respect your decision to go through with it, so long as you continually write to us, alright?”

“Already promised my scaley assistant over there,” Twilight answered. “I’ll make sure to write.”

“Good.” Shining Armor’s face grew more serious. He put his hands on her shoulders and looked her in the eyes.

“If Sombra does anything to hurt you, I’ll go there and take care of him personally. I don’t care what the contract says, no one, especially not Sombra, is going to harm my little sister!”

Twilight smiled at her big brother. “Well look at you, being protective of your baby sister.”

“Not just him, sugarcube,” Applejack added. “We gals will make sure that nothing bad happens to ya either, if push comes to shove.”

Twilight felt a small stream of tears come on. This would be the last time she would see her friends as a free mare, and it was tearing her up inside.

“Thanks for all of your support. With a little time, we can overthrow this tyrant once and for all.

Everyone gathered around Twilight and hugged her. The embrace lasted for what felt like an eternity. Eventually, Twilight willingly broke the union, and walked beyond the boundaries of the Empire. She turned back to her friends and family one last time to wave, before entering the snowy wasteland.

She pulled out the map that Sombra had provided and analyzed it further. “Now let’s see, his castle is supposed to be four hundred miles from the Crystal Empire. “The distance shouldn’t be anything I can’t handle.”

Taking a deep breath, she studied all the landmarks marked on the map and internalized them.

“Okay, you can make this work,” Twilight said to herself, closing her eyes. “All you need to do is concentrate. Visualize the location in your mind...”

She focused all her energy into her magic, feeling the flow of her spell well around her body. For the teleportation to work properly, she had to tap into her knowledge of Equestria’s landmarks and locate the exact area she needed to be. Nothing too demanding for the avid reader.

The magic surrounded her, making her body feel completely light as she used her horn to cast it. Almost instantaneously, she beamed herself from the snowy wastelands, winding up in front of a tall, foreboding castle. It’s exterior was pitch black, making it a hard building to locate in the dark. The castle had a double door, encased in red crystals with an ebony knocker.

“This must be the place. Impressive structure. I’ll be sure to complement the tyrant on this place.” Twilight assessed sarcastically, trying to take her mind off what she was about to commit to. Twilight slowly walked up to the door and grabbed the handle of the knocker, beating it three times. She waited two minutes, but there was no answer. She knocked again, this time louder and more impatiently.

Still nothing.

“Well, if he isn’t going to answer the door, then I guess he doesn’t want to...”

Before she had time to finish her statement, the door began to creak open, revealing the dark king himself.

“Well, look who we have here,” Sombra said dryly, leaning against the door. Unlike the last time they met, King Sombra was wearing more revealing attire. The only piece of clothing he was wearing were long black boxer briefs, leaving his toned, muscular chest on full display. Twilight found herself staring at his abs, blushing at his charcoal body.

“See something you like?” he smirked, snapping the entranced mare out of her self-inflicted spell. She coughed heavily, pretending nothing happened.

“Yeah, uh, why are you only in your underwear?” Twilight asked, trying to avoid analyzing his body anymore.

“A king can’t sit comfortably in his house?” King Sombra answered smiling wryly. “No point in being fully dressed when you’re the only one around.”

Twilight thought it made sense. It wasn’t really necessary to be fully clothed when no one else visited. The only thing she didn’t understand was why he did this knowing she was coming.

“Come inside,” he gestured. “I’d like you to get acquainted with your new arrangement.”

Remaining silent, Twilight walked into the castle, bypassing the burly stallion that was eyeing her. She immediately headed towards the burgundy sofa.

“Nuh-uh-uh,” Sombra disapproved. “I never told you to sit down.” Sombra then gestured her to come back using his finger.

“Really?” Twilight grumbled. “I haven’t been here for ten seconds and already you’re treating me like a possession?”

“You are my possession after all,” Twilight let out an audible harrumph walking towards King Sombra.

“What is it that you want, oh malevolent one?” Twilight mocked, bowing for added effect.

“Actually…” King Sombra began rubbing his hands against his chin.

“What?”

“I don’t think all that clothing suits you,” Sombra stated. “How about you take those off and hand them to me.”

“You’ve got to be kidding!” Twilight groaned.

“Not at all,” he replied slyly. “Of course, I could always take them off for you.” Once Twilight noticed he was reaching towards her waist, she backed away.

“That won’t be necessary,” she said.

“Well you only have two options,” Sombra stated coldly. “Either take them off yourself, or I can take them off for you.”

Short on options, the new slave decided it would be best to just take her own clothes off to avoid being handled by her new master. She unbuttoned her white shirt slowly, looking away from Sombra who was staring at her while she disrobed. Upon reaching the final button, she slowly slid the shirt off her shoulders and handed it to Sombra. Finally able to see her frame in full, he smiled slightly.

“Nice body for a slave,” he commented. “Slim and petite, with a cute pair of breasts I might add, although they are kind of small.”

“Are you done humiliating me yet?” Twilight snapped, blushing in embarrassment.

“Not yet.” King Sombra extended his free hand towards the mare. “I still need your pants.”

Twilight mumbled to herself as she unzipped her jeans and pulled them off her waist. She aggressively threw her pants at Sombra. The king observed her lower body, taking note of her healthy looking legs. He frowned slightly as he looked at her thighs, white briefs hiding a good view.

“We need to get you some better attire,” Sombra stated. “Your current choices aren’t really attractive to be honest.”
“Is this why you had me strip down?” Twilight angrily questioned. “Just to see how I look with nothing but a bra and panties on, like a pervert?”

King Sombra chuckled deeply. “Well, not exactly. But you’ll figure it out soon enough.”

Sombra folded her clothes neatly and held them over his shoulders. “Come with me. It’s about time I showed you around this place. You’ll need to get accustomed for when you are going to live here.”

The first place they stopped was the dining room. There was silverware neatly placed on the table, arranged for two.

“This is where we eat. I expect you to be awake, early, to cook me a meal every morning. I assume you can cook right?”

“Yes,” Twilight replied, avoiding talking to him anymore than necessary.

“Good, cause you’re going to be doing a lot of it.” He walked her into the kitchen where she would surely be spending a good amount of time.

“Get accustomed to where things are,” Sombra demanded. “I’m very impatient and grouchy during the morning, so you better live up to my standards. Also, the attire you’re wearing right now, that’s what you’ll be wearing throughout your servitude with me, minus one thing.”

“Minus one thing?” Twilight repeated disgusted at his statement.

“Yes. The only thing you will be allowed to wear will be your panties, and once I find you a pair, you will only be allowed to wear the ones I provide you.”

“You can’t be serious,” Twilight groaned. Sombra didn’t respond, and instead reminded her to observe the kitchen fully. This was starting to grate on Twilight’s nerves. She was going to hate spending eternity with the cur. The sooner she could figure out a weakness in his defenses, the better.

“Alright, I know where everything is now,” Twilight stated. “Can we get this tour of the castle over with?”

“You’re an impatient one,” Sombra huffed. “And quite snappy too. Very well, if you’re in that much of a hurry, we can continue upstairs.”

Sombra led Twilight up the winding stairs and into the bathroom. She walked into a neatly organized room, almost stunned that he managed to keep it so neat. The clawfoot bathtub was big enough to fit multiple ponies.

“So, what am I going to be doing here, cleaning up after you?” Twilight asked.

“Well that’s half of it,” Sombra explained. “You see, I prefer my subjects to wash me up. It feels better when I have a nice pair of soft hands doing the work for me.”

“So wait, you want me to bathe you!”

“That’s right; every last inch of me.”

Twilight’s face was burning red at that point. She couldn’t imagine having to clean Sombra’s entire body, especially not his nether regions. Sombra caught onto this and seductively grinned.

“You’re thinking about the idea of washing me aren’t you?” he replied.

Twilight’s face flushed deeper. “No!” Twilight denied. “It’s just embarrassing. I mean, I have to clean you for Celestia’s sake!”

“You’re the one who accepted my demands, becoming my slave,” Sombra stated, tugging at Twilight’s emotions further. “If I remember correctly, you were the one who wanted to find a way to stop me from obtaining my property. I think it’s only fair that you deal with a little humiliation in order to save the ponies you care so much about.”

Twilight glared at him, becoming angrier with him the more she was around him. He knew she wouldn’t put a nation in peril and he made sure to take advantage of it.

“Now, if you’ve stopped fawning over my body, I want you to get started with your first job.” Sombra hissed.

“And that is?” Twilight impatiently asked.

“Under the sink, there should be a few bottles of bleach, as well as some sponges. I want you to clean up this bathroom and make it spotless, including the toilet bowl.”

“Fine!” Fed up with Twilight’s brash tone, Sombra pinned her to the wall, glaring at her menacingly and held her face in his hands; forcing her to look at him.

“Listen here peasant, from now on you are to speak to me like the underling you are! You are to refer to me as your lord and master, nothing lower than that. You understand, slave?”

“Yes Somb...” Sombra squeezed his hands tighter around her chin, correcting her. “I mean, yes Lord Sombra.”

“Good.” He let Twilight go and pointed at the sink cabinets once again. “Now do as you are told, and clean this bathroom.”

“Yes, Master,” Twilight responded coldly, glaring back at Sombra. He leaned against the wall, observing her work ethics. Twilight squatted on the ground and looked under the sink for the cleaners and sponges.

“Start with the tub,” Sombra demanded.

Twilight obeyed his orders and leaned into the tub. She thought she was going to gag. The inner rim of the tub was caked with washed off dirt. It also was filled curled bits of hairs.

“Somb... erm... Master, do you ever clean out this thing?” she asked.

“Of course I do!” Sombra snapped seemingly offended. “What kind of king soaks in his own filth?”

“So would you mind explaining why the tub is littered with dirt and hair?”

Sombra chuckled deeply. “Well, I had to have my slave do something on her first day. Might as well get you warmed up with some of the basics.”

This is what he considers basic? Twilight sighed loudly and sprayed bleach into the tub. She turned on the water to fill the tub, scrubbing the edges while she waited for it to fill. She leaned in to clean the entirety of Sombra’s filth, feeling as if she was going to be sick.

Sombra was leaning against the wall, eyes set on her assets, enjoying the view she was giving him. The only problem he had with it was that it left too much to the imagination. He really needed to remedy that with new panties.

Wanting to get the job done as soon as possible, Twilight powered through and cleaned the tub. She scrubbed all of the bodily debris and emptied the dirtied water.

“There, finished!” Twilight said, tossing the sponge in the sink.

“I’ll be the one to determine that.” Sombra walked to the tub and looked inside, rubbing a finger on the inside to see if he could see any dirt. He turned to Twilight and gave her a satisfactory smile.

“Good job, slave,” he complimented, patting her on the head. Twilight showed a great deal of discomfort from his touch. “I don’t know about you, but I’m a little hungry. I’ll bring you back some fruit while you clean the rest of the bathroom. But first.”

Sombra walked behind Twilight and grabbed her by her waist, dragging his hands up to her chest.

“What are you...” Before she had time to react, Sombra had already unhooked her bra. It slowly floated to the ground, leaving Twilight’s perky, purple breast exposed. Embarrassed, she folded her arms to cover herself.

“Are you deliberately defying your Lord!” Sombra snarled, sending soft shivers down her spine.

“No.”

“Then remove your arms and allow me to view what I rightfully own.”

Twilight, gritting her teeth, lowered her arms, allowing the perverse king to view her bust. Her nipples were a darker shade of purple then the rest of her body, and her twins were a reasonable size. Not too big, not too small.

“Weren’t you going to get something to eat, Lord?” Twilight mocked, trying to get him away from her.

“You do not rush your king,” he ordered. “I’ll go when I deem it necessary. Right now, I want to observe my property.”

Twilight couldn’t do anything but allow him to stare down her body. There she was, almost completely naked, cleaning a slave-driver’s filthy tub. It was degrading on so many levels; and she had to deal with it for eternity.

“Alright then.” Sombra turned his back to Twilight and walked out of the bathroom. “Have this bathroom clean by the time I get back. I want to be able to eat the fruit I get off this floor if I feel like it.”

“Wait, you’re only going to get fruit,” Twilight began, puzzled by his demand. “How am I supposed to get this all done by the time you get back?”

Sombra laughed heartily and glanced back at the distraught mare, grinning deviously. “A slave will find a way, lest you want to endure some punishment once I return.” Once he left Twilight’s sight she began to mumble to herself, grabbing the sponge and beginning her task.

“Stupid Sombra,” she muttered as she started cleaning the toilet, which was thankfully cleaner than the tub. “He thinks he can humiliate me like this- treat me like a dog!” Her anger rose as she recapped the events in her head. She scrubbed the rim of the toilet with vigor, finishing it up and moving onto the next thing.

“I hope he drops dead during my servitude. That way I wouldn’t have to deal with this bull.” Her hatred for him helped drive her work, getting the job that seemed impossible, done. Just in time too, as Sombra walked into the room with a plate filled with cut strawberries.

“I brought you a little something.” Sombra grinned at her and lowered the fruit to her face. “But before you eat, did you clean this floor to my liking?”

“Yes, master.”

“Even to the point where you could eat off of it?”

“Lord, this floor couldn’t get any cleaner if I tried,” Twilight replied, trying to avoid saying anything that would cement her in trouble.

“Good to know.” With the affirmation given to him, he turned the plate upside down and let the strawberries plop to the ground, spreading juices wherever they landed.

“What are you doing!?” Twilight watched helplessly as Sombra purposely dropped her food on the floor.

“Feeding the slave after her hard work. Get on your hands and knees and eat what your master has provided you.”

“Let me get this straight, you expect me to eat off of the floor?”

“You said it was clean enough for that.”

“Okay, that’s where I draw the line!” Twilight refused the demands of the king and crossed her arms. “There is no way you’re going to make me eat off of your floor like a dog!”

Sombra didn’t Twilight’s attitude and disobedience well. “You are really pushing it slave! I allowed your precious crystal ponies freedom, and yet you’re still trying to screw me over. I could always go back to terrorizing them, this time killing ponies in front of their eyes.”

“You can’t do that!” Twilight hollered.

“Try me!” Sombra snarled. Twilight didn’t have many options. She could either degrade herself further, or allow Sombra to harm the innocent. There was no arguing which she would choose.

Defeated, Twilight got on her knees and brought her face to the strawberries. She hesitated to eat them, not wanting to give Sombra the satisfaction.

“Eat!” he demanded impatiently. Her lips parted and she grabbed the juicy, red fruit in her mouth. The liquids dripped down her mouth and down her neck. The strawberry was sweet and ripe, satisfying her taste buds. It would have, however, been better if she wasn’t forced to eat it off of the bathroom floor.

Sombra’s expression softened, and a small smirk appeared on his face. Twilight knew he was getting enjoyment out of her being demoralized. She sadly continued to eat the strawberries, trying to eat as fast as possible so she could stop. Stuffing the last fruit into her mouth, she immediately tried to get back on her knees.

“I don’t think so,” Sombra said. “You still have those juices to take care of. I don’t want my floor to be left with red, sticky stains.”

Then why the buck did you pour the strawberries on the ground? Twilight lowered herself back on all fours. She lapped her tongue along the floor, licking up the remaining juices. It left a bad taste in her mouth; the juices had mixed with a strong, bleachy taste, making it nearly unbearable to clean with her tongue.

“Look at this,” Sombra laughed. “The Element of Magic, one of the strongest in Equestria, reduced to a disgraceful peasant.” It took every bit of willpower for her to not to respond to his taunt. “You’re practically naked on my floor, licking off of it. Such an articulate mare brought to the knees of a dark king. You’ve fallen pretty far, slave. But I would be lying if I said I didn’t enjoy it.”

To add insult, he walked towards her and rubbed her scalp like she was a dog, messing up her mane. Twilight slightly snarled at him. She was being pushed to her limits. She knew what he was trying to do to her.

But she wasn’t going to give him the victory.