Those words were the primary thing that fueled me to this at almost three in the morning. It wasn't anything other than her that made me lose my composure. There was no denying it anymore. The smell of her musk was still fresh in my mind, the unusually tangy presence still reminiscent on my taste buds, the princess' essence on my clothes, and the mess on my bedsheets. That look she had in her eyes, staring down at me like she was greedily wanting to hold me hostage between her legs. The threat of her breaking my bed, the sounds of her whimpers, the sensation of her lips on mine, all those wonderful things proved too deadly of a concoction to ignore my arousal.

My hand furiously motioned up and down my shaft, my eyes closed to imagine her face again as I visualized her soft lips rubbing against my length, tenderly coating me with kisses from below. The warmth and moisture of her breath grazing me with every pass, her hair flowing between my fingers as she worshiped all that I was. It was far too much for me.

In the darkness of my room, illuminated by only my computer screen, my chest rose and fell as my trembling breaths became the accompaniment to the music I was supposed to be sleeping to. Surge after surge of pleasure pulsed from my brain, through my core, and into my loins, building and building until I couldn't hold back anymore. My head tilted back, my eyelids playing back the image of the princess panting impatiently for her own climax. My mouth fell open, my eyes broke wide, and my opposing hand cradled a fond hold of my pulsing loins from beneath.

I didn't have to look down to see what was going on, I knew how much was unleashed from the warmth flowing down my fingers, coating both of my hands as my pelvis jolted into them. Tight grunts and sporadic thrusts, along with the tightening grip my left hand had beneath the pulsing assembly had coaxed several spurts to jubilantly parade themselves onto my stomach and chest. Several spurts came and went, as did my eventful climax. I couldn't help but squirm and jolt for a few seconds after, clasping onto myself until I had truly finished.

"Celestia, fuck." I said, calling the name of the one who motivated that little bout of madness. I finally looked down to see the glistening mess on my chest, that bridged from finger to finger, and my even more-stained sheets. I lifted my hand up to see the ample amount of seed I had spilled. I looked over to the side of my bed, realizing what I didn't have to help me clean up the crime scene. "Aw shit, I didn't bring a tissue? Fuck me."

I glanced all over and saw nothing that I could use to clean myself for the time being. And considering that my bathroom and hamper were on the other side of the room, I decided I wasn't going to be dripping cum all over the floor. I took inventory in my defeat and conceded to the disgusting act of rubbing my stomach and wiping the semen over my sheets before running to the shower.

When I got to the bathroom, and turned on the shower, I saw a few clumps of white feathers and fur lining my drain. The clumps were very slightly bloodied. I didn't say anything as I cleaned my drain and got to cleaning my own self off. When I finished, I went to grab my comb... only to find a few stray hairs of the green and pink variety. I cleaned that off as well before tending to my own hair. When I finished with that, I walked back into the room and stared at the mess on my bed, caused by the both of us with her being the major contribution. I pulled my sheets off and threw them to the hamper, accepting that I wouldn't get to that until morning.

At last, I laid in bed listening to the music that played on my computer. While my eyes closed off the world, my brain had a lingering thought. It made me realize that I wasn't going to have these comforts when I returned back, especially after needing to meet with Blue Royal. First I had to head to the bank, then meet with her, then make my return to the infamous Corrotto District. Heavens know I'm gonna need some music after that.

"Goddamn, tomorrow's gonna be a long night."

***Point of Perspective: Melanie Brewer***

My fingers pattered against my thighs. Throughout the night, I couldn't stop thinking about Celestia's warning. It wasn't until she made the face when I took it seriously. I seriously didn't know why anyone would be crying over something as stupid and mundane as a vase. And it's even more ridiculous thinking that someone's head could fit in one, a box perhaps. But the fact that a friend of hers had gone out that way still scarring her to this day was pretty next-level for me. I mean, you consider all the really terrible shit that happened to her personally, and she halfway laughs at the mention of it.

But someone else's head in a vase, did she break the thing to find him inside of it, was it a really large and wide vase, what did he look like? Worse question, was the same face he had replaying on her mind and she managed to replicate it? An even more terrible question, whatever happened to the guy Nondis caught fucking a headless corpse...

...Worse case scenario, what if Nondis got killed, and THEY fucked his headless corpse, and then sent it to me in a box?

I hopped out the bed and walked into my fully-lit hallway, no fucking rooms in this apartment are dark for shit tonight. I stumbled into the kitchen, grabbed me a bottle of Jack, and sat there with that grim thought on my mind. Hell, if they were going to sell his body to science after forging his signature, what the hell wouldn't they do!?

I then proceeded to toss the remaining fifth down my throat. "This is gonna be a long week."

***Point of Perspective: Princess Celestia***

My room smelled of lavender and vanilla, also gunpowder from the long-used fireworks from the town square. I can only imagine the streets out there in the city smelling the same way. Canterlot was already long-dormant when I came around, the citizens would normally dismiss the night by the hour after the event. It was usually cut and dry like that, gather, speech, count it down, celebrate, and then off to bed. And even if it was a short bonanza after the clock struck midnight, it was nothing short of exhilarating for Luna, who longed for ponies to adore her nightly gifts. But even the hour after that, she was right back to work.

Of course seeing it from the perspective I have of home, my night in the human world was by far much more incredible than anything I had ever had the pleasure of participating in. The flashing lights of the city, the throngs of people littering the streets with drunken babble and celebratory exuberance, the fact that I could kiss someone and not have a single question of my status, it was beyond my expectations. Even the fireworks was far more bombastic than the celebrations here. And when it was all over, more than half of them stayed behind to party the night away. I never imagined being up dancing past 1 a.m., or even the post-celebration activities.

Tonight was far different than any of the others, and with quite the culmination to our festivities. The human I once saw as a lost creature had found his way into my mind, and surprisingly underneath my tail. Just the sight of him being there, beneath me and so happily tending to the desires I once hid from my own self, it only makes me feel the more greedy. My heart still questioned this though, and it would probably do that for a while. Either way, Nondis has my attention and then some.

As I laid in my bed, I could only think about his humor, his eagerness to assist me in my life-long strife, his tough-guy facade with quite the squishy interior, the brashness he has, the boldness he shows... the sight of him doting me in that manner. Even as my wings shuffled, free of the piercing pain I've silently suffered for over a thousand years, all I could think of was him.

Between him, Fair Charity, and the good King Sombra, I never imagined myself being so enraptured by another's presence. But it would be a while before I was able to feel that same feeling again, to have another night of my lips being sullied and my mind warped into being the selfish mare I secretly long to be.

Tomorrow, I had to visit Twilight to meet with her newest pupil, the days after were just endless appointments and meetings. My books were overflowing with dates, several gatherings with the same politically-charged crowd, the same stuck-up high-class gala's and the more similar private charity dinners. And of course, my nightly escort getting swapped out every night.

If only he'd show up every night, the things I'd imagine...

Unfortunately I couldn't imagine them for long, much of myself was sore from his... unusual method of giving attention. Though I will admit that his attention is greatly desired from this night forward. I know I shouldn't request for more, and I won't. That still doesn't stop my desiring it.

My next day off is in three months, grandmother help me. "This is going to be a long three months."

***Point of Perspective: Twilight Sparkle***

After a night of overlooking some of the festivities in town, I couldn't wait for the hour after the fireworks. It was an estimated hour, but usually it's timed to exactly fifty-four minutes twelve seconds after the last fizzling rocket sang it's last tune, that was when the clean-up of the town starts. All the trash in the streets were collected and disposed of, ensuring that the morning came without a hint of the night's activities. And since Ponyville was a quiet town with almost no night life, that meant that the second the final firework died out, all of the viewing audience would make their way home with their families.

It was nothing like Canterlot, where the party would keep going until an hour after everything was said and done. And in terms of the ponies looking to get a little more out of their celebration, there weren't any clubs or large criminal underworlds filled with illegal activities to keep our law enforcement on high alert. Nope, just watch the fireworks and go home. Even the adults here just go home, though there are some who look around and ask where the crowd's going and why there wasn't anything going on. They were mainly tourists and visitors from other cities.

Once everything was done with the cleanup, Mayor Mare and I could finally go back home and preside over the town come dawn. Even if it was the end of her night, wasn't so much for me. I stayed up a little longer going over my master schedule for the year. Anything red was national holidays, blue was annual celebrations and events, green were booked engagements, yellow were days I had to go out on diplomatic missions, orange were the days I get commissioned for a speech at an institution, and purple were my days off. Friendship missions weren't ever on the schedule, but I did have a black marker for those days to reschedule something. This year had already taken up more of my purple days than any other, which meant that I had every other weekend off instead of every weekend.

After all of that was done, I could finally go over my list another two times to make sure that the dates were correct with what I had jotted down in my yearly advanced planning agenda. Once I finished with that, I brushed my teeth twice for a brighter princess-like smile, kissed a photo of my family, checked in on Spike, make sure Starlight was indoors, and picked out a bit of reading material to feed my dreams on. And yet, much of this still felt empty to me.

I had successfully did everything on my list, I quadruple checked every last box. But there was still a presence I wished was here, to share this moment with me. And without him, it felt like my night was incomplete. Granted, it was a month and some time since we officially broke things off, but it never truly felt like it was set in stone...

...Until three days ago.

That day, my entire world was rocked from what was revealed to me. The one I called my special somepony had elected to look in the direction of my former teacher, the one and very same that I looked up to, whom I aspired to be like since my foalhood, the mother I had away from home. And as for my confidence as a girl, well that was clearly damaged. What makes it worse is that Celestia asked me to keep their affair a secret until the time was right for them.

What could I do, I couldn't say no to her. She gave me everything I had in life, the road to my being a princess was all because she took the time to see my potential, when all she had to do was keep walking while I continued to turn everyone on the campus into potted plants. Or when I messed up and missed my deadline trying to make up a friendship problem to write about, she could've dismissed me then and there, no matter what way my friends begged her. Who's to say that my test in the Crystal Empire could've had stricter guidelines that I would've failed to meet. All of it was because she had belief in me.

What do you say to someone who gave you all of that?

If anything, I'm excited for her. I really do want to see her happy and make sure she has the best of everything going forward. After all that she went through, what do I look like trying to get in the way of her happiness? I really want her to embrace a few selfish indulgences every once in a while other than her usual slice of cake.

But as for him, it's more bitter than what I'd want it to be. Yes, I did break up with him in public, yes I didn't really explain my motives to him, yes I was a bit crude to him afterwards with the perceived hatred he had for Cadance, and I also admit that I might have stared at my phone on several occasions looking at Flash Sentry's number from Sunset's world.

But I didn't call him, because I felt like I knew I had something here already and wanted to move forward in my life. A nice little crush on some guy in another world seemed like a great idea at first, and then I started to see that the distance was too much for me to accept. I tried the Flash Sentry here, thinking I'd get similar results, but he knows the law and wanted anything else other than me. We haven't even talked since he rejected me, which hurt a lot.

And then there's Nondis. This guy who came from another world, eager to do what he could to get back, making friends and giving me warm words of comfort, my poor little heart fluttered once he gave the slightest hint of interest. And what did I do, I took a massive swan dive off a cliff and landed amongst the waters of uncertainty. I thought I could swim just fine, but I ended up nearly drowning. A lot of things happened and then some decisions were made too quickly. And as such, that was the end of us. It hurt me a lot worse than what I thought I would feel. I just assumed that eventually I'll grow to be angry with him and hope he fails at every turn of his future relationships.

A lesser mare would've found it easy to practice that same hatred.

But I couldn't hate him no matter how hard I tried. Truth is that I was still madly in love with him, even if he told me that my feelings were nothing to him, I would still find myself loving him more than hating him. I can't find the capacity to hate for such a simple reason, Chrysalis and Tirek earned my hatred for what they've done to me, my friends, my family, my country and home. Hating him over a breakup is just petty. And my love is far stronger than my pride.

I got out of my bed, walked the empty halls of the castle to finally stop within the walls surrounding the portal to his world. I stared at the reflection of myself for several minutes, for some odd reason hoping that I'd see him jump across to accidentally greet me. It's what I've been doing for the past few nights. I just wanted the feeling of seeing him again. Maybe I could talk to him some more. Maybe I could still talk with him like we were friends, just with a little added caveat of being the first he shared a bed with.

I missed him so much... and it's sad to say that I would be dedicating myself to trying to move forward.

My very first, and I'm having to put it all behind me. "This is going to be very long year."

Daybreak...
***Point of Perspective: NONDIS***

The first sun of the new year brought about many cases of unprepared people dealing with the repercussions of their debauchery last night. While I was still a bit sober, I had to deal with the aches in my neck from Celestia's legs giving me a hell of a bear hug. My drain was still dealing with the aftermath of her hair, my work desk had clumps of fur and jagged metal bits on it, and my laundry still had the musk on it from last night. So my morning had to take a detour to the laundromat before I could head back across the portal.

With that out of the way, I threw on some clothes and made my way to Mel's apartment. When I knocked, she just let me in and pointed towards the mirror without so much of a good-morning. But then again, she didn't look like she was in the talking mood. It was obvious that she had a problem sleeping last night, and the current state of her hygiene wasn't the best. She just pushed me to the portal and expected me to deal with my day.

When I reported for breakfast, I saw a group of royals muttering amongst themselves. Everyone was in attendance, including Twilight. I instinctively backed away until a magenta glow appeared on my arm, dragging me inside. Without fail, I was seated next to the young princess and given a cheerful smile. "Morning, our favorite human resident!"

"I'm the only human resident here." I muttered.

"Then that only proves my hypothesis correct! Because you are the only human here and also fall in favor of others, you are by default the winner of that contest!" The mare finished with a giggle before tossing a menu before me.

I glanced over to Shining, who had a hoof covering his face with embarrassment. Cadance shook her head. "Trying too hard, Twilight."

Celestia observed from the head of the table, a far distance from where the young purple princess and I sat. She sat with her eyes closed, casually drinking her tea from the cup that levitated in front of her. Blueblood, who was completely unaware of the dynamics taking place, had a metaphorical question mark floating above his head. I saw another sticky note on my menu, asking me to go to the kitchen. I asked to be excused for a moment to make a personal request to the chef, and approached the mare in the kitchen. She happily hummed as she levitated several blends of coffee. "Good morning, captain!"

"You rang?" I asked.

"Just checking in on how my favorite teacher is doing. Usually I don't have any kind of curiosities that are overtly prominent, but I couldn't help but to notice that Celestia ordered white tea this morning."

I looked at the mare with indifference. "Celestia drinking tea, somebody call the press."

"White. Tea." She stressed, placing all the different coffee selections on the counter top beside her. "Celestia's morning blends all vary according to how she's feeling for the day, what happened last night, and even her physical well-being. She drinks black tea for the days she has a rough schedule to push through, green tea in anticipation of a diplomatic visit, chamomile for the nights she feels worried about something, and peppermint for long speaking engagements. White tea is the one tea she NEVER DRINKS."

"Maybe she wanted to try something new." I answered in deadpan.

"I should probably clarify things. For her, white tea means that she had a good-night's sleep, a wonderful night before, and that she has absolutely no worries for the day ahead. It's quite literally her mind on a blank slate."

I quirked an eyebrow. "I think you read a little too much into her drinking habits."

"The meal she ordered? Cream cheese strudel with cream topping and a side of milk. It's a breakfast as white as her coat! That means that she's literally floating on the clouds! What did you do?"

"Didn't she say that she was feeling a little ill yesterday?" I asked.

"Feeling ill without a single request for food? Not once has she ever not ordered anything from the kitchen the day of a rare illness. So to me it means that she wasn't even here."

I looked around, seeing no one else in the kitchen. An interesting yet favorable circumstance. "What makes you think that?"

The mare shot at me a grin, one that said 'I know what you're up to'. "It was also reported that the captain was placed under leave for the day as well. Not many others would see the correlation of the two, but since the day I saw your lips touch hers, I knew it was some shenanigans. In conclusion, you and the princess went on a date in your world."

I folded my arms, astounded that she was so observant. "You know, I could have you reported for insubordination and inciting controversy."

"And I could have you reported for courting a royal whilst on the suitor exemption list. Perhaps it would be easier for both of us to keep our mouths shut then?"

I smiled at the yellow mare, conceding my stoic act. "At least we have an understanding."

"So you two had a date. How did it end for you?"

"If I told you, would I get a good cup of coffee?" I asked back.

Lemon Drops turned around, opened the counter to slide a container of spice to the left. I heard a soft creaking noise as a black jar surfaced from the counter beside her. She levitated the jar up while shifting her eyes over between me and the jar. "Black. Ivory. The most expensive and rarest Arabica coffee you could ever find off the market. Usually reserved for Princess Celestia's most strenuous schedules that involve international travel in the wee hours of the morning. Not one soul has ever drank this coffee other than the two sisters themselves."

"Holy fuck." I mumbled to myself. "Where'd you find that!?"

"Trust me, you don't want to know." She said as she walked over to grab a bean grinder. "You'll only have the privilege of one cup, however."

"How much does it run a pound?" I asked.

"Eighteen hundred bits."

I wiped my forehead and stared at the black jar. "You're just teasing me with that, aren't you?"

"No other chance like it." She said, almost singing it.

"Fireworks, Austin city skyline, we shared a lovely kiss at the stroke of midnight. That's all you get out of me."

The beans then fell into the grounder and it was turned on before my eyes. "Did she enjoy it?"

"She has her preferences." I added. "I did treat her to dinner beforehand."

"Ever the consummate gentlecolt." She said as the grounder came to a halt. "You know, she walked in and recommended that I give you a cup of this."

"What did she tell you?" I questioned.

"Hmm... she said that you had a very interesting way of bringing attention to yourself. And she said that you were very attentive to her throughout the night."

"I'm more surprised that she even trusts you with that secret."

"She knows I'll never betray her." The mare said as she spread the grounded beans on a thin filter. "I made it known to her that I witnessed the two of you. Threatened to erase my memories until I told her that I would plug in a few words of encouragement. To you, of course."

"I guess you win no matter what way the winds blows." I said before I caught a hint of the legendary dark roast. "Ooooh, that's good java."

"One cup, captain. That was your reward. Now get back in there and fraternize with the upper echelons like you're so used to doing."

As the mare continued to tend to my coffee, I exited the kitchen and found my seat beside Twilight, who was smiling hard at me. I continued to go through my menu while the young princess whispered. "So you see anything you like?"

"I... well... I guess I could do with a cream cheese strudel."

"Excellent choice! I'll get the same."

Shining finally broke his silence and addressed his younger sister. "Twily, I was wondering what you had on your schedule for today, surely you'd like to talk about it."

While Twilight started to go on about her schedule, I looked down to check my phone and see if I had any messages. I had gotten one from Rickey. [So I heard u and Celestia are dating.] I had another two from Cliff, who said something similar while also sending a picture of the two of us kissing in front of the fireworks. [Movin up in the world, ain't ya?]

"So how about you, Nondis?"

Twilight's voice made me jump as she seemingly leaned in closer to get a glimpse of my phone. I quickly swapped to the home screen and locked my phone before answering her question. "What about me again?"

Twilight appeared to pout as she levitated my phone away from out of my hand. I tried to grab it back, but she kept it far from my reach as she went through my screen lock. "You're so distracted! What in Equestria's got you so antsy!?"

"Nothing, just give me back─"

"Ooh, text message from Cliff." She announced to the room. "Something about you moving up in the world."

I quickly stood from my seat to try and grab my phone before Shining personally yelled at his younger sister. "Twilight!" The young mare flinched, started at the sound of her brother's voice. "Stop playing around, give him back his phone."

The purple princess stared at the screen, looking at Cliff's name before setting it on the table before me. "Sorry, fell into my old habits of playing with you. Guess I should really take it easy for a bit, huh?"

Cadance, who couldn't stand to see the young royal acting out this way stood up from the table. "Twilight, a word outside if you will."

The young princess laughed off Cadance's suggestion. "Oh come on, like you don't do it to Shining every once in a while."

It wasn't just me that noticed how off Twilight seemed to be this morning. It was almost everyone at the table. Most of us knew the reason why. And she was almost dismissive of everyone because of my being here. As soon as my cup of coffee came from the kitchen, I rose from my seat and opted to take it on the go. "Hey uh, your majesties... I'm gonna take a visit to the barracks real quick."

Almost like clockwork, when I started to walk away, I found myself teleported back to Twilight's side. I looked over to her as she timidly looked into the table, her horn still glowing. "...Maybe I've been wanting to talk to you about a few things. Could you hear me out?"

The young royal stood from her chair and teleported us to the confines of my room. I looked around and asked her. "So is this about what's going on right now?"

The princess appeared to be in a much quieter mood, her smile disappearing instantly. "So is this what we're doing?"

I groaned as I rolled my eyes. "Are we really doing this again?"

"I'm not trying to antagonize you. I'm just..." She started before taking a moment to consider her words. "...It's not that I'm attached to you, but I just don't know how or where to go. You were pretty much the first thing I had officially, and the distance isn't quite something I can ignore because you're always like five minutes away. But I want to talk about something before we start."

There I decided to not be so skeptical, it appeared that she wanted to legitimately discuss things as adults. My being cautious wasn't warranted. I dropped my mental guards and decided to speak on level ground. "Shoot."

And her first question was... "Did you and Celestia kiss?"

I almost tripped over nothing, stumbling forward as I recovered from the impact of the question. "Really? That's what you dragged─"

But she was quick to address the wildness of her inquiry. "Melanie talked to me about it. She said that she followed you last night and saw the two of you together. I just wanted to know why you had to lie to her and the others."

As much as I didn't want to admit it, it probably hurt them that I did hold that back. Really, I've could've done it better by simply telling them that I had a date outright. They would've at least known from the moment they saw us that we were dating, and being respectful of that by not getting in the way. But I did that to honor a request, her request. "Celestia wanted our being together to be a private thing. It was supposedly for insurance, so that way whenever they came to visit, they wouldn't just blurt it out on accident."

The purple princess folded her forelegs. "Life was already hard for you when you were my suitor. Celestia is a whole other world of trouble, are you willing to accept that you might draw the ire of many loyalists and traditionalists alike? It's a lot of international political pressure that comes with this also."

Another thing I've yet to consider, the possible global repercussions if this were to get out. I was dealing with a world leader, and it wouldn't be surprising in the least if the other leaders had questions and criticisms. But that's only if it were to get out in our own country. Then again, controversy at home is a lot more stressful and traumatizing than abroad. I'm already fighting on three different fronts. "If I wasn't already knee deep in shit, I'd consider that warning. But you already know what I'm caught up in."

Twilight walked beside me and parked herself. "Even if you remove the Approval Process Law, how do you even go about proving to the entire world that you're fit to be the second-hoof to the throne? Or are you just willing to face that head-on as well?"

Again, something I haven't considered until recently. As if being in the running for a royal title with Twilight wasn't hard enough, a marriage to the high princess would mean that she would have an increase in her status, effectively putting her above even the parliament. It would also put me in that same bracket. A queen once glued to the thousand year label of princess gaining absolute power, and beside her would be the king who would often be seen as a usurper. Just the weight of being a ruler of a nation already seemed insurmountable to me, perhaps she considered that in advance. "That all depends on her."

Twilight looked up to me, turning her entire body towards me to gain my full attention. "...You do realize she's going to keep your relationship a secret for much longer than a few months, right?"

"How so?" I asked.

"She's cryptic at times, never letting on anyone to what her intentions are. She may be doing the same with you."

"I think most of the time, she's been brutally honest about where I stand in the pecking order. She's got me on a holding list for three months." I stated, while remembering that I still had a steaming cup of coffee sitting on a small saucer in my hand. I took a brief sip, my mouth jumping at the absolute quality and depth of this roast. "Oh this coffee..."

"You should probably save it for your strudel." Twilight joked before moving back to the topic at hand. "But are you really open to having a relationship you'd have to hide, like some thief in the night?"

While her question had considerable weight, I still didn't feel nervous about answering it. "I've gone on hiding a lot about myself to others, you could say I'm an expert at hiding away my life."

The mare closed her eyes. "If you're an expert, then Celestia must be a master at it. I guess that makes you two a lot more compatible for each other than you and I."

I watched as the princess sighed in defeat. I started scratching behind her ears, making her smile a little. "I don't like making comparisons. Each experience has significant value that can't be appraised. So don't think yourself to be any less than anyone else."

The mare warmly leaned against my hand for as long as my fingers flexed behind her ears and through her mane. After embracing the sensation, she used her magic to stop my hand for long enough to confess something. The smile faded from her lips and she started to appear timid. "I've been thinking about this for a while, and I've been pretty much wondering if you would be okay with it." She looked up to me, this time with reluctant bravery. "I'm going to try and discuss something with someone I had considered distant for a while. His name is Flash Sentry."

I lurched back as I started thinking. "Flash Sentry? But I thought he─"

"Not the one you know..." She corrected quickly. Her forelegs started to circle around each other, rubbing one another as she nervously looked away. "He's in Sunset's world, her ex-boyfriend to be precise."

Again, I was more surprised that she had even hid this from me. It felt like she was trying to at least put it behind her for a while. But at the end, it just lingered for a bit. I knew how she felt, I did the same with Mel for a while throughout my first months here. Though I couldn't help but to feel that she was forcing herself to move on. I was critical of her choice. "You think you'll be fine doing that?"

"That's why I came to ask you." She said through a dispirited sigh.

"You're happy with it, then I ain't fighting you." I replied.

"But that doesn't mean that you're okay with it." She pointed out.

"You don't need my permission to look for happiness. That's your own right. As far as I'm concerned, you could fall in love with a girl and I wouldn't make a big fuss about it." I said, but having some reservations about her forcing herself to move to another relationship.

"I've actually had his number in my phone for a while now." She said, almost shaking.

"Give him a call, see where his mind is." I replied.

The mare clenched her jaw shut for a moment, sitting in silence until she found the courage to speak. "...Can I trust you to be my guide if things go wrong?"

I slowly turned to her, seeing that she had her eyes focused on me. They were filled with what appeared to be worry, but also optimism. In fact, it wasn't either of those things. She sat there quietly, not looking for anything like a speech. She wanted trust, and she wanted it between us again. She wanted to move forward but don't know how, and she's relying on me to give her support.

I placed the coffee on my nightstand for a moment as I clasped my hands together. "Just to be clear, I'm not gonna hold your hoof the entire time. I know that sounds real douchey, but I can't be there like you'd want Cadance to be. Some things you gotta do and learn on your own."

"I know, you have your own relationship issues to worry about." She said. "But if you'll be there for me, I won't hesitate in being there for you."

The conversation we had warmed my heart. Even if it was still bitter at times to look at her, I knew she wasn't harboring anger or resentment. It amazed me that she had actually rationalized that thought with so little time to do so. I don't know if she's just naturally fickle or if her love is just that powerful. Either way, I had to play my part in warning her. "Whatever you do, don't rush it."

The young princess laughed nervously. "Yeah, can't really imagine what would happen if I screwed this up."

"Worse case scenario, you start over." I shrugged.

The mare looked at me before jumping at me to give me a hug. "Thanks for letting me be an adult about this. I know earlier was a bit odd but I just didn't know how to approach you, so I tried a little bit of everything that I was used to doing with you to grab your attention, break the ice so to speak."

"Just talk to me, Twilight. No need for all of that." I said, wafting a hand at the air.

"Ugh, thank Celestia..." She said briefly before looking at me. The mare cleared her throat and held herself shyly. "Okay, maybe not thank her for that. But thank you."

I levitated the small saucer along with my coffee back to my hand. "No problem, now let's get back to breakfast."

"Sounds good to me. I'm starving."

Later That Day...
***Point of Perspective: Equus Nondis***

My day went as it typically would. After the breakfast with all the royals, who discussed their plans for the year, I headed off to the barracks to receive my latest assignments. Today was a bit different. Instead of doing a bunch of standing around waiting for nothing, I did a bunch of sitting around filling out paperwork. Needless to say that I was pleased with the change in pace, but not so much with the massive pile of papers that required my signature. So I decided to take the day to learn how to sign my name in magic like I would with my own hand. Most of the attempts were successful, so I didn't have to deal with a massive cramp in my right hand. Hooray me.

After my shift was done, it was off to the bank to make a withdrawal. I opted to take out a quarter of what was deposited from the other day and happily took myself to the designated meeting place for me to converse with Blue Royal. From there we had carefully discussed our plans for the night.

Tonight, I was to set out to the Corrotto District again. My two supplementary objectives were to hire a henchman or champion I could use for any future purposes. The next one was to speak with the teller at the front desk of the underground arena about who I could talk to in order to validate my membership. From there, it would be her who does all the talking.

Tonight was to get myself situated in place to collect on the smaller pieces in the overarching design. If I could land myself a good foundation, I could start playing around with the money to delve a little deeper. But unlike her aspirations, I thought of some possible ways I could make this easier on my finances. After all, wealthy clients tend to be the cheapest bastards you'd ever meet. So if I wanted to fit in, I had to make my money last.

I headed over to the guild she recommended me to, looking at the sign next to the front door. "Warning, guild prices are not set to standard. Each client has the right to refuse or accept the offered payment. Remember: Pay them with how much you'd spend on your own daughter's wedding or funeral." A pretty vague explanation but one that spoke volumes of how much these guys' running rates were. And it appeared that they set a price as soon as they hear the first offer. It's designed with the guild members benefit in mind. So if you wanna get robbed blind, invite one of these guys to offer a surprise funeral to the adversary of your choice.

Since the going rate of funerals in my world was around six to ten thousand, I felt that was better to set the price there. Equestrian funerals ran at an average five thousand bits, so it should be easy to pay them up to double of that. I settled for a mid-ground in no-mans land, seven thousand.

It went as well as anyone would expect.

Each one of my offers had landed in shit with these guys.

Apparently the guild had many trades. You want some plumbing done, some grass cut, a house painted, some interior decorating, maybe even a chef for the family cookout, you could find all of that here except the very thing you're hiring them for. I even raised the price to ten thousand as a sweetener.

After thirty minutes of this shit, I was about to pull my own mane to shreds. If it wasn't for the fact that I was a pony, I honestly would've considered burning the entire district down in thermonuclear glory. Don't care how I had to do it, it just seemed like an amusing idea for the frustration I had to go through. If I had to keep coming back here to hire the same guy, who might not even be around consistently, I would probably make that a reality. I walked out the guild with all of my finances intact, I wasn't going to waste a single dime on this shitty ass place. Fuck em. If they don't want a job, they can all burn in hell.

"I could fight, go all day. If it is service you require, den come my way."

Just as I was about to find something to kick, I ended up seeing a tall hooded figure standing before me in a small alleyway, crimson eyes narrowly glaring back at me. Her features could compare to that of Cadance, albeit a good amount shorter. The accent she spoke with was similar to Zecora's, her tone was much darker as if she had descended from the war-torn parts of the Congo. I looked down to see her legs, shades of periwinkle with gray stripes. She was a zebra. "What is your name?"

She extended a hoof to her own chest, her sleeve fell down a bit, allowing me to see the many cuts and scars on her foreleg. "Kalimba. Kalimba Mavembe."

She said it so quickly that I hadn't had a chance to process it. "Ka-what now?"

"Kalimba Mavembe. You would do well to learn it. A zebra's name given is not to be mocked, but to be respected."

I took a moment to phonetically break down what she repeated a little slower. "Ka. Leem. Ba? Is that right?"

"Ka-leem-ba, Mah-vehm-beh." She finally said, slow enough to allow me to process it.

"Kalimba Maveh-Mavet-Mavemba... uh..." Her hoof lowered slowly as she appeared angrily staring at me. Meanwhile, I tried to continue with phonetically dissecting her surname, eventually getting it right after a few more attempts. "Mah. Vehm. Beh, Mavembe. Alright."

She gave a single nod, the features of her face softened, but not by much. Smiles were the furthest thing from her repertoire apparently. "Many dwellers not care to know my name, you gain favor with me. At least now I know you're not de same, your problems I will oversee."

I gave a sigh and dropped my head, finally finding a small victory after such a frustrating trial. "Great, how much?"

"How much are you willing to pay?"

"Apparently ten thousand is too little for anyone to do anything." I replied.

She started to turn away, seemingly with some uncertainty about the offer. "My owner has sought to barter me, for very cheap price. Go to him with your offer, I'm sure it will suffice."

Owner? She's considering herself as property? I tried to keep with the vernacular, no matter how personally disturbed the idea made me. "To rent or to own?"

"Own." She bluntly responded, with every ounce of her thick accent coating every consonant of the word.

The thought of buying her freedom had felt off to me, the very idea of BUYING HER was offsetting. I broke character, thinking about how anyone would even think of me if they knew about this. "Oookay, um. Not really used to the whole buying─" I mumbled to myself before snapping back to the present circumstances. I mouthed the word 'commit' to myself, stressing that I'd had to do what I could to keep up my appearance. "Okay. I buy your freedom and then what?"

She removed her hood, giving me a better look at her face. Her ears were a bit sharper than what would normally be seen on a pony or zebra, her eyes were narrow, her face scarred in places but not detracting from her native beauty. She tilted her head a quarter away from me, still her crimson eyes locking to me. "We do as you want, we do as you like. Whether it is combat, or using me for de night."

"Fair." I muttered begrudgingly before pointing out a rather unusual detail about her anatomy. "I see you have a horn. Unusual for one of your ilk."

"My fadda was a unicorn, my mudda bore these stripes. I was born to de world, bearing both deir birthrights. As far as I remember, when my mudda was well..." She paused, almost like she was correcting herself for speaking out of term. "I am sorry, tis a story you'd rather me not tell."

I started walking away from the guild hall entrance, motioning her to walk with me. "I like stories."

Her hardened expression softened more, on her face was a tinge of sadness. "When I was younger, it was us three. A most unusual family. My fadda was mocked and often judged, a zebra marriage was what his family had begrudged. So he and my mudda ran, with me in tow. Everywhere we went, it was seen as a freak show. We settled a district down and lived quietly, until dere was one day my mudda ceased to be."

Another lost parent, that seems to be a cruel running gag for this place. "Sorry for your loss."

"I was younger, ten years of age. My fadda saw comfort in illegal trade. Over time my life was sold from me, just for him to live happily. Eventually my freedom was found to be over, just so he could get another hit of de Blue Joker."

Ah, that explains it. To quickly go over this, there's a potent drug being sold around the way called Blue Joker.

In basic training, we had to learn how to deal with an assortment of issues dealing with the citizenry. If there was ever an absence of municipal law enforcement, we would be the ones to step in. As far as I could remember, we had training to restrain some abusers of certain drugs and substances. Blue Joker was among the top of the list.

As the name implies, the main active ingredient was poison joke, grounded into a fine powder that glowed very faintly. Among a few other things that gave it the properties of addiction and effectiveness was a few household chemicals as well as a key component that could only be sold to chemists, scientists, professors, schools, and morticians. There was no obtaining that final ingredient without an industrial license or getting past a long waiting list. Those that found themselves on that list were also automatically registered in the criminal database for any possible indictments in the future.

The drug itself had effects that could compare strikingly to crystal meth. On first contact, it's said to be so much of a rush that you'd feel invincible. You could run faster, jump higher, pain was irrelevant to you. You could lose a limb and not even bat an eye because of how potent it was. And since it was so strong of a rush, some guards with severe depression would seek the stuff to feel infinitely better. I even heard rumors that it was used in the field of a fierce battle. But as time goes along, your body gains a tolerance to null the effects. So you'd take more to reach that same high. And the more you take, the more likely the dosages causes permanent harm to the body, even inflicting strokes, cardiovascular complications, and inevitably death.

In a shorter statement, he got glued to the hard stuff. "Some pretty nasty shit."

She continued her story. "I was traded from house to house, abused and used. And den I finally landed here all beaten and bruised. My owner sought to sell me again, but fate saw otherwise. My mudda's disease I inherited, to him and others an unpleasant surprise. My value dropped and I was seen as a tool, from dere I was purposed to make one's loins drool."

As disgusted as I was in hearing it, I had to keep on a stoic face. "Sad story."

"Tis a common trade down here, pain and misery. Tis not something an outsider like you would normally see."

Of course, she could tell I was an outsider. Guess that isn't much of a surprise to anyone around here. I looked around, seeing the main street exit. "Have you ever wanted to leave?"

"I cannot, my owner forbids it."

I began to boil internally, thinking about how her life had been stolen from her because of her father's selfish actions. I never wanted to kill a guy I never met before, but that story made me consider it a just practice. Bloodthirsty intentions aside, I looked to the mare and asked. "Say I buy you off, what would you like to do then?"

"Dere is no other place I can go. I've been here for so long, tis now my only home. Dere is no hope for me out there, it would be better to die. I will soon know my mudda's peace the moment I close my eyes."

I shook my head. "Fate's gotta have more in store for you."

The mare stopped in place, her face as stone-like as ever. "Dere is a mark both races share, both pony and zebra are made aware. De mark of destiny dat shows on one's flank, but in my tragic case..." In the open, she briefly moved her cloak to allow me to see her body. Among her rear were stripes, marks, bruises in the shape of hoof prints, but the one thing that should've been there was completely absent from the grown mare.

"Yours is blank." I pointed out, finishing her rhyme.

Again, her face showed an instance of sadness. "My mudda once dreamed that I'd be a magic user. To see de halls of Celestia's Schools for Gifted Unicorns." In her speaking, the rhyming was non-apparent. Zecora had once shown me that whenever it happens, she was being serious with the topic and wanted to stress the importance of the information she conveyed. In this case, she was expressing her heart to whomever would listen to her story, possibly looking for hope. "She dreamed dat I would be de first to master both zebra magic as well as unicorn. Her dream became my inspiration, until my fadda saw dat his dream was more important. He wanted to embrace my mudda as often as he could, it's why he succumbed to de curse of de Blue Joker."

She hid herself once again, placing the hood over her head as well. I continued to question the mare. "So, can you use magic?"

"As well as one should, no. I can hold small objects though. Forks and spoons, a knife or two. Dose are the limits of what I can do."

As more information was revealed to me, I thought back to the Sunday morning I wandered over here. I remembered how threatened I felt seeing Prod Clod standing over me as if he was about to take me like a woman. I shuddered at the thought of how he offered the neck of a headless corpse to me as a masturbatory aid. And then I recalled the initial deal we made for a weapon, he offered the trade of a zebra unicorn who was 'magically gifted' and 'a beaut in bed'. The only thing I managed to see him get right about her was the fact that she may be a bit sickly. In other words, he tried to sell me on a bad deal while walking away with a loaded rifle. Who's to say if I give him what he's looking for, he won't turn the barrel against me and fire?

Needless to say, this might be the very same unicorn zebra he was trying to pawn off. "I might have ran into your owner a few times."

"Den you know what he is like."

"No warning needed. Any way I can flip the script on him?" I had already started formulating a plan in my head on how I was going to meet this guy. No doubt he was going to try to reintroduce something sharp and pointy to my guts before introducing his dick to my innards. That mean that I had to work the courage of possibly killing him in his own home should it be necessary. Letting him live after I piss him off would be a terrible idea. No doubt did I learn that lesson from Chrysalis. The safest approach is the one that allows for me to continue my mission unimpeded. And since he worked with the politician I was investigating, I needed to pick off the big boy before working to the smaller one that pulled a fast one on me. It would put the bastard on high alert, but he should know that living here comes with a risk of being murdered.

I really hate how I'm having to justify what I am about to do.

"I learned much of his fighting style, but our spars are one-sided. He rapes me when I lose, his moves leave me often misguided. If only I could win, I would retake my pride. And shove a dirty spoon right into his eye."

To her, however, she had all the justification in the world. At least that might ease my conscience a bit, rather an accessory to his death than the sole cause, nothing that leaves my hoof prints to the body. Yeah, I was gonna have to see how much weight her magic could carry. "I might have something better for you then."

She gave me a stern warning. "Many that offer to take him on, dey do not live to ever see dawn."

I nodded furiously, thinking about the unfortunate soul that he violated long after their death. "Well he barked up the right tree then. Let's go close a deal and then get my money back."

The mare quirked a brow, glancing over to me as I walked past her. "You are an outsider, are you sure you can do dis?"

"Yeah. Besides, I've got a special delivery for him he wants me to bring over."

The two of us took some time to go over the plan. Unlike many other situations where my confrontations would normally be non-lethal, this one had a certainty that one of us was going to stop breathing tonight. As I started to feel a bit squeamish, my mind continued to rationalize the cold fact that I wasn't out to kill a human. It also rationalized the fact that changelings do speak and have emotions as us humans and as ponies would, but I had very little problem in killing them after a while. I merely had to transition the mindset from one species to the other. Not fucking once had I ever dreamed of trying to rationalize murder or assisted homicide. But it was either them now, or me later on.

As far as the plan was concerned, I was going to lend him an unloaded assault rifle. And in the midst of his excitement, I was going to try to get the two of them isolated, and she would get the honors to finishing him off. If she wasn't able to, then I could at least weaken him to where she could land the final blow. In any case, I had to avoid killing him directly. In terms of trust, we had a common adversary and I was paying her to do a job. If she ever tried to flip on me, I would have very little choice but to neutralize her myself. And I'm sure she had no issues in trying to kill me should the same happen to her. At least we were mutual on that front, but she wasn't likely to try anything. Not until she knew her freedom was assured.

Probably might drive up the price if I let her go, but I did promise her freedom.

We approached the front door of the single room shack established in a rundown alleyway. The place looked familiar to me, it was the very same place I tried to use to cross the rooftops my first time being here. As I waited quietly, the zebracorn knocked on the door with a distinctive pattern. The door swung open and the burly stallion hollered at the mare. "Ya bloody fuckin' cunt, where the hell were ya!?"

"I was looking for clients to─" She couldn't even finish her rhyming scheme as she was knocked to the ground, his hoof connecting with her cheekbone. He turned to see me standing beside her and grumbled.

"Fuck you lookin' at?" It took him a moment before he finally recognized me. "Oh wait, I remember you."

"I remember you too. I came to cut a deal." I replied, trying my best not to shoot him on sight.

He seemed disinterested in any bargains that I might have had, instead being much more interested in looking around the place for something to knock me out cold with. "Look here, I ain't workin' with no yellow-fanny fuckwad who's too busy suckling on his mum's funbags!"

I pulled out the small sack and reminded him. "Bits or bollies, remember? I've got a good ten thousand in here for the girl."

He glared over to the mare he knocked down, watching as she wiped her bloodied nose. "She's not for sale."

"Last I checked, you valued her at around eight thousand. Now I'm paying you two thousand more on top of it."

"GET YOUR SORRY ARSE UP AND FUCK OFF!" The stallion shouted at the mare before getting back to me. "Not. For. Sale."

I rolled my eyes, not even surprised that he would be unwilling to do business with me in a civil manner. I sat and faked a chuckle at the stallion, earning more of his ire. "You know, I actually came across a little something from one of my changeling connects, an intercept from Ponyville."

The stallion walked up to me, towering over me as if he was trying to assert his physical presence. "I said, fuck. Off."

I raised my hooves in the air as I summoned a cloth-wrapped gift to my side. I looked over to it and pretended to appear disappointed. "Well, I guess if you don't want to play with your new toy, I could find someone else to play with."

He looked at the levitating cloth, grimacing as he tried to snatch it. I kept it from his reach as I smiled back at him. He watched as I slightly unveiled the item, revealing the foreign tool to his eyes. His mood quickly changed as soon as he saw the complex shape. "What is it?" He questioned.

"The humans call it an 'assault rifle'. It's capable of killing even an Arimaspi dead where it stands. So much for your beast of the week, eh?"

The stallion's tone softened, he almost appeared like a kid trying to grasp at a new action figure. "Oi, can I... can I touch it?"

I glanced back at the weapon with a half smirk. "We run this trade, and she's all yours. Just like we agreed on."

The stallion wrung a foreleg around my shoulders, whispering in my ear. "So you're telling me that I run away with this─"

I patted him on the chest like the consummate salesman I pretended to be. "Plus the money for the girl. That's ten thousand bits in rubies, plus a weapon sold to you that no other pony has. You could easily sell that for tens of millions on the market for it's exclusivity alone." I then whispered back into his ear. "We're talking all the tech junkies looking to sell you their daughters. You could run a whole brothel with as many bitches as you'd want. And then, if you don't want to sell it, you at least have a nice weapon to blow away any guard that tries to stop you. You could even say it could drop a royal or two for the record books."

He emphatically batted his hoof into my back shoving me forward as he guided me to his humble little shithole. The stallion laughed heartily as he shouted to the world. "Now we're talkin'! So much for the fucking spiders, we're running the city! Ah you lovable doaf, get your arse in here! I got a drink and a zebra with your name on it."

As I walked through the door, I noticed that the inside had looked much bigger than it did on the outside. In fact, it appeared that he hollowed out the two buildings adjacent to it and added them to his property. And it wasn't as if anyone would argue with him, they'd probably end up just as dead as the first guy I saw. As I was guided to the table, I saw Kalimba with a cleaned face bringing a glass at a time with her flickering, unstable red magic. Her eyes clenched shut as she tried her best to concentrate on the glasses she set up for the two of us. Meanwhile, he hummed happily, watching as I unveiled the weapon and all of it's features to him. He marveled at the item, appreciating the modern American craftsmanship.

And as the happy snake-oil salesman I am, I proudly introduced him the product he's getting for remainder of his short-lived existence. "This here is a Smith & Wesson M&P 15. The top of the rail is where you'd normally see something like the sights on your crossbow, but you can alter it for whatever midrange purpose you may need it for. If you need to take out a target from two hundred yards away, this baby can work their skulls like a pinball machine before popping out the other end."

"What does it do for guard armor?" He asked.

"Helmets are practically helping your cause. One shot from this can opener and you've got shards of shrapnel and bone matter heading into the brain. Bullet, brain matter, and bony goodness popping out the back like a piñata. Only drawbacks, it sounds like fireworks when you use it, and it's got a kick when it fires. So it's going to be noisy, and you're gonna want to keep a steady foreleg."

"Consider it a New Year's celebration." He said clopping his hooves together. "Bitch, get me and the boy a round of the good stuff, and not that German Shepard piss you keep serving." She was about to do as he instructed before he called back out to her. "But first, come here for a moment."

She angrily stepped forward as he started to motion to her to sit beside him. As she did, he ripped the hood off and held her head and tilted it from side to side. She started to mumble out the side of her mouth in her native tongue. "Nenda ubakaji uume wa waya uliovunjika. (Go rape a barbed wire dildo.)"

"Ah shut it with that jungle speak." He rudely replied before getting back to me, "She's a beaut, ain't she? Twenty years and her coat as silky as the spa. Mane and tail needs work. But the best thing about her is when you start getting rough, she starts to roll her eyes back." He laughed as she moved her head away in disgust. "Though she has a bit of a problem with respecting her owners. You might have to keep her sorry arse in check. Her disease is pretty nasty too, said to weaken the immune system until a certain age. Real fickle to temperatures, doesn't like the cold too much. So if you dump some water on her and keep her outside a day or two when she does wrong, she'll come around. And if that don't work, you could always beat it into her."

I wanted to load that damn rifle and watch his brains do everything I just described to him. But I had to keep level-headed. I chuckled at his advice. "Yeah, gotta keep a girl in her place."

The stallion cleared his throat as he pushed the mare away from him, less forcibly this time. "Mnah, pack your shit and fuck off, will ya?" That was one instruction she happily obliged after she served our drinks. The two of us sat at the table staring at each other while he rubbed his hoof on the weapon. "So... how did you know about the goods? No pony wouldn't come to know as much information about an unknown weapon such as you."

"I also have a pretty good knowledge on meats. I'm more of an omnivore myself. And your zebra girl, delicious."

The stallion hummed. "I see. So it's goodbye for good. Shame, Would've loved to give her a good last shagging."

"You know, you could go in there and ask."

"Nah, she ain't my property anymore. I could care less what comes of her. That sweet jungle arse is all yours for the taming."

Already as she predicted, I saw he was passive-aggressively trying to force the issue of having his way with her a final time. She and I discussed at length what I would do if he decided to get rough with her, which was simply put to one word: nothing. Everything from there on would be her jurisdiction. It was all planned, all I had to do was give him the green light. "With all due respect, my guy, I just told you that you could give it a go. Besides, once it's gone, there's no getting it back."

"Ah, she's yours now. You should be the first one to claim it."

And in the event that he tries to deny himself, I would provoke him with the idea of a good time. "But I'm letting you give it a final farewell, you should take it while you're at half mast. I'll give you a good show when you two are done."

The stallion chuckled. "You sayin' you've got me beat?"

"I'm sayin that you won't last as long as I would, you won't get her to go as wild as I will, and you won't dump a bigger batch than I will."

Just as she said, he became more interested in the idea of a friendly competition. "Is that a contest?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I'll call it a scrimmage. Why compete at something where I win every time?"

The stallion rose from the table and stumbled off to the bedroom. "Oh, you ain't known her for a whole damn day. My prick's known her for years and you think you can get her off better than I can? Oh you don't fucking know!"

I sat at the table, silently waiting a few seconds as he wandered into the back and bashed her door down. I quietly walked into the kitchen, opening a drawer to grab something and meandered towards the room they were in. As I approached, I could see him viciously hunched over her body. She appeared listless as he grunted away, his hips shoving into hers like he was trying to break her legs. Her horn lightly flickered as she took every thrust. She waited quietly for her moment.

As she laid quietly, she looked to me for a moment. A frown appeared on her face as the stallion above her worked his heart and soul into giving her his best farewell performance. He glanced over to see me standing there and looked back down to the mare he was raping. "I told that fucking prick he won't beat me. Yeah, I'm the alpha here. Yeah! If I can't have you, I'm gonna ruin you right in front of 'im! Ya gonna be a dead fucking cat he gets to lick! Tell 'em he ain't like me! He can't give you a shag like me!"

She willingly obliged to give him his moment. "No one like you."

"What's my name? WHAT'S MY NAME!!?" He screamed out, getting lost in his approaching climax. But he wasn't even aware of what she was doing, the fact that she was actually putting her all into keeping her magic somewhat stable. While he continued to sink himself in and out of her with reckless abandon, he didn't give any notice to the short-barreled Luger inching closer to the back of his head. For the few minutes he rammed, she tried her damnedest to quietly aim the gun for his head. The weapon shook unsteadily as she firmed her resolve. He firmed his position and pressed his hoof into her neck as he finally reached his apex, his length throbbed as he filled her. "FUC-KING HEELLL─"

As he arched his back from his climax, the final moment he experienced was the sensation of not just his loins unloading into the mare beneath him, but also the blood from his brain draining down his neck. He hissed with a dying whimper before he finally slouched on top of her. She quickly moved his dying body off of her and rose from the bed, covered in blood spatter and a small amount of his very literal afterthoughts. The smoking barrel proved as additional evidence to the bullet's thunderous exit. The mare panted heavily as she stared at the locked-up stallion dying on the floor, with one eye partially ejected from his skull.

The injury didn't seem to phase her much, but she looked down to see much of his seed still spilling from his loins. She slowly levitated the gun to meet with his face and pulled the trigger, only for there to be no followup to the previous display of fireworks. She slowly pulled the trigger a third and a fourth time, hoping that something would come out to add to her excitement. Upon realizing that I had only loaded one bullet in the revolver, she allowed me to take the gun from her. And in it's place, I levitated a spoon before her. She looked back at me as I whispered. "Glad you got your pride back. Thought you'd love this."

She took the spoon, her eyes staying locked on him as she held the spoon in her teeth. I walked off and left the two to their business, collecting my wares and reacquiring my finances along the way. As I did so, I could hear the grunts of the mare getting louder and gradually become mixed with a few sobs. But what I also heard was the sickening sound of a spoon being dug into his skull ad nauseam. I could hear her crying out in her native tongue. "Hiyo ni sawa! Bisha kuzimu! Kutana na babu zako kwa aibu! (That's right! Burn in hell! Meet your ancestors in shame!)"

I then took the time to pour another drink, waiting for the mare to finish her business. "Take your time!"

After some time, the streets started to fill with spectators to the upcoming event. After a brief moment of vulnerability in the shower, Kalimba walked out with a lot less blood on her. I could tell she was far from being at peace with herself, but she was at least physically exhausted from excavating her former master's brain from his skull using a rusted spoon. After I took inventory of what I needed to put back away, we carried on and made our way to the arena.

As soon as we arrived, there was a huge crowd lining up at the front desk to get their tickets to the first spectacle of the new year. Judging from the crowd that seemed to be more of a fire hazard, this seemed to be a huge event where everyone and their dog had to see who would be crowned the new Beast of the Week. You couldn't miss the hottest ticket in town. Even among the castle, where a simple mention of this place was forbidden, whispers could be heard about who had their money on what. And there was promotional posters thrown up all over the district. It was like watching pay-per-view boxing.

Security seemed a lot more strict this go around, kicking out anyone who seemed to be a little too vanilla for their liking. Even my walking up was questioned until I had told him that I was looking to purchase my way into the VIP lounge. From there, I bypassed every security check they had for everyone else.

"Tis busier than usual, never have I seen dis place so full." Kalimba pointed out, looking around as we walked.

"Well I'd like to assume that there usually isn't so much of a sneak peek going into these. But since one of the matches from Tuesday night got botched, they had to entertain the crowd somehow. So they gave them a quick glimpse of 'Cyclops' and the crowd went wild."

"You were here on Tuesday?" She asked.

"I came with a guide. But I know my way out at least."

"Dere is never a way out." The mare rebutted. "Dere is only a way in, a way around, and a way to die. My former owner told me dis."

"Well he's not telling you that now, is he?"

She levitated a small object in front of me, mostly rinsed off with the exception of some pink chunky matter left on it. "Removing dis took quite some time. A reminder of my blowing his mind."

"Sheesh, put that away, will you?" I said before we approached the counter.

As we finally queued up to the desk, a mare blowing bubblegum continued to fix her mane as she seemed not to care who was in front of her. She took a glance at me and kissed her teeth. "Hol' up." She resumed her usual display of vanity.

I see she's very a relatable character to my generation... that or just plain rude. "Excuse me."

"I said hol' up, wha'chu mean!? You can excuse yo ass somewhere else." Her voice was like a suburban girl in the whitest part of Fort Worth trying to act black. It was honestly cringe-worthy.

"I'm a paying customer, your mane can wait." I urged.

The mare poked her lips out, catching an attitude as she rolled her neck along with her eyes. "I ain't givin' you no seats, we over capacity tonight."

As I looked over, I watched as the teller next to her got to the person who was behind us in line. They grabed their tickets and got a pleasant 'enjoy the show' before she started tending to the next customer. They ordered a ticket and promptly walked off with another one, followed by another 'please enjoy the show'. I smacked my hoof on the counter while shouting at the bitch behind it. "Over capacity, my ass. You either get me my ticket or I'm getting your fucking manager."

"Boy boo! Nobody gives a fuck about yo fugly-ass date! Broke-ass ho!"

I promptly sat my entire sack of rubies on the counter, worth well over two-hundred thousand bits. The mare quickly flinched, placing a hoof on her chest as I stared at her like she was stupidest thing I could possibly insult in public. "I'm here to pay my first installment of the VIP entrance fee." At this point, every vein and tendon in my neck popped out as I stressed every consonant of the next word. "Please." The mare put her mirror and brush away, walking away from the counter. Her tone quickly shifted back to her actual bratty self.

"Follow me sir, this way if you'd please."

Sometime later, we were guided down the halls and into the area where the sex display was pretty much setting up. They were already getting it roped off for the participants to make their usual lust-crazed faces to tease the lesser-wealth. As we walked, our guide─the rude lady from the front counter─politely pointed us to the satin-red, gold trimmed double doors. Security gave me a once over before they were already breaking a hoof out to stop me. Both of them appeared to be wearing ear pieces for communication.

"You're not getting in without a referral." The one on the left stated.

"Give us a name of reference and we'll consider letting you in." The right one finished.

Kalimba shook her head. "And all for naught, tis a shame. I suppose communication is to blame."

The left bouncer looked to the guide. "Is his finances adequate."

"Yes sir, his payment is legitimate." She said, sounding so proper in comparison to the display she had put on at the front desk.

"Referral?" The right bouncer asked again.

I closed my eyes, unsure as to what to call her. She never even gave me a name to identify her as. And I wasn't too aware if they had identified her by anything other than her birth name. "Blue."

They both looked at each other before shaking their heads. "Are you telling us the color of the sky?" The left bouncer asked in deadpan.

"That's not a referral." The right bouncer said.

As I started to show my frustration, a stallion walked right by me, holding up a badge. He quickly cleared the two as they cracked open the door for the stallion to enter inside. The figure turned to me with a smirk. "Oh gracious, it appears that the help is looking to make an appearance. Absolutely filthy."

The door started to close as the bouncers questioned us again. "Sorry, no ref, no entry, no exceptions."

Before the door could close completely, a hoof stuck out to prop the door open. The bouncers looked back to see a blue mare staring right through the crack, her head poking out. "Did my guy come in yet?" She looked up to see me and Kalimba standing quietly. "Oh! Okay boys, let them on in. They're with me."

"Ms. Royal, you are authorizing this party entrance into the lounge?"

The mare rolled her eyes. "I, Blue Royal, grant permission to the party seeking entrance."

"Very well then." The bouncers said in unison.

The blue mare cleared her throat. "Sniper, did you seriously forget my name?"

I rolled my eyes. "I said Blue. They thought I was talking about a color."

The affluent mare stepped out from inside, grabbing my hoof to drag me along. "Southpaw, Starboard, this is a good friend of mine who helps me in my personal business. Do well to remember his face because he's our newest member."

The two nodded as they acknowledged my passage, but held a hoof out to stop Kalimba from advancing. I stepped in quickly to vouch. "Hey guys, she's my champion, let her on in."

The zebra looked at me with some confusion. But didn't refuse my explanation as she walked inside with the both of us. Upon entering, I saw a much different scene than what was going on upstairs in the lobby. The atmosphere was a lot quieter, but just as lecherous. Mare servers walked around with bound tails that were tied into a bun or even a decorative bow, allowing basically anyone to see their goods. Stallions who served were almost as feminine as the mares, even they kept to their falsetto to make themselves sound appealing and submissive. Each one of the servants had plugs, needless to say where. Some stallions had on iron chastity cages locked under key and enchantment. A few were geldings, a mare had on a choker that said 'snap me for service'.

One effeminate servant kindly stopped us as he rubbed a hoof on my chest. "Excuse me sir, but it is mandatory for all patrons to disrobe any cloaks and capes at the door. Masks are provided at one's request."

"It's a security measure." Blue added. "Can't have fakes coming in getting a free run at things."

I looked over to see Kalimba already dropping her cloak to the floor, giving me a much better look at her body up close in a better light. Her slender neck was wrapped in golden coils, similar to how Zecora would dress herself. She had four to dress her neck, three to brace her right foreleg, two small hoop earrings on each ear, and a single ring around her horn. The red eyes she used to look around the room had practically locked on to me. She then called me out for staring. "Keep your wits, shine your eyes. One never knows when a problem may arise."

She warned me to keep my guard up. "Copy."

I received a nudge as the stallion walked even closer to me. "So how may we serve you tonight, sir? The drinks are at the bar. Refreshments are over on the table. Special service items are available if you clop your hooves thrice. Clop twice for for standard service. Once for dismissal." He continued to close the distance and blew into my neck. "Four times for me."

Without warning, I felt my entire foreleg getting yanked towards the bar. I looked to see that it was Blue trying to get me to join her. As soon as she sat down, a stallion leaned to her hooves and started to hold his tongue out. A mare positioned herself behind her and started running her hoof down the base of her tail. The affluent mare addressed the two. "Not right now. Thank you."

The two bowed before rotating over to where I was about to sit. I looked down nervously while I sat, feeling very uncomfortable about the experience. I almost compressed myself away from the two as I hunched into my stool. A stallion at the bar turned around to see me sitting there, placing a hoof on his flawless cheeks. "Oh you again, I knew there was something special about you from the moment I first saw you."

My eyes darted between him, the two at the bottom of my chair waiting like cats on the prowl, and the affluent mare I was here with. She giggled as she saw how visibly disturbed I was. "Sniper, this is Crème de la Crème, he is our bartender. He likes long walks in the park, long walks on the leash, and he is also the manager of the staff."

"You're the manager?" I questioned.

The stallion bowed. "We only strive for truly exceptional service and unfaltering servitude. As what I have been told, this is your first time gracing our establishment from behind the veil. We bid you welcome, Sniper Shot."

Upon a closer look, I realized that this same stallion was the one I saw staring at me on Tuesday as he was getting 'serviced' from behind. He at that time seemed partially focused to me, but lost in his lust. However, he seemed a lot more focused on me tonight than anything else, probably because he wasn't distracted by anything in particular. He pulled my ear down and whispered into it, very lightly pushing his words through.

_{"It'll be a pleasure servicing you, captain.''}

I quickly ignited my horn, flinching back as I was about to do something drastic. The mare next to me laughed hysterically as she slapped her hoof against the bar. She lightly shoved against me. "C'mon! You've got to let it down eventually. Can't just sit there thinking that this place is for the anonymous. You wanna play ball, you gotta join the club."

I snapped back at the mare, pissed off as hell. "That is not what we agreed on!"

Blue shrugged as she casually dismissed my anger. "Sorry, I thought you knew what you were getting into. Perhaps I should explain it a little more. See, outside of those doors, we're the personas that we choose to be. Out there, I'm 'Blueberry Twist' a quiet girl looking for mischief and adventure, but in here I'm Blue Royal. Out there, you're Sniper Shot, long-range arms extraordinaire and distributor of pirated human goods. But in here, you're who you are. And you have to be because you've got to close the deal being who you are. Of course you don't have to completely shed your skin, just enough for them to know who they're dealing with."

The bartender then added. "She's right you know. You can't close on some info on your adversaries without playing a little bit of cat and mouse. You already have the position to throw your weight around, you should be proud of that."

Behind me, the zebra stared at me with eyes widened. "An unfamiliar face, I knew you to be. But de truth about you, I truly did not see. I never once thought, in my life so hard, dat I would meet de human, de captain of de royal guard."

I grimaced as my cover was blown. Blue placed a hoof on my horn to quench the magic I conjured. "It was bound to happen eventually. Better to come clean now than to be discovered later."

"You told them?" I asked vehemently. "You told them about me?"

"They aren't gonna just let anyone in, even if they have the finances to pay the initial fees. It is an exclusive club, after all. Your status and profile needs to match the standard. You hold a prominent position in the guard, often being close to the royals. That's a highly desirable position that no one else in here has. And with your current feud with some of the members of the royal family, that's a bonus."

Even frustrated that I was ousted so unceremoniously, I had to admit that her reasoning had some merit. If I was just some regular guy walking in with a fat paycheck, it would make sense if I didn't get put in place. Anyone with that kind of money could just refer this to their socially elite friends and this room would be packed from wall to wall, no matter how spacious it was. And Blueblood did have me commit to the idea that I was feuding with the royals, so it wasn't like any of that fell in vain.

Still, I wasn't comfortable with having to work with my name out in the open. If something were to go wrong, they'd know exactly who'd to hit and how. It's a good thing that Kalimba took care of Prod, otherwise he'd be coming for my throat with the first offer. The only thing I could do now was remember the lessons Blueblood gave to me in high-class socialization and negotiation.

My only problem here is commitment. "Okay. Say I'd be willing to play this little game. What am I in for?"

"Well there's a saying around here." The bartender began. "If you can't pay in bits or gems, then you pay in blood."

"The only catch is since everyone here has a lot of the other two. So it's very often that the third thing happens to be the least disposable, the highest risk, and the most invaluable." Blue added. "In layman's terms, your friend might have her life taken if the wager calls for it."

I looked back to her as the zebra immediately responded. "Tis a common thing when you live down here. I am not afraid and my conscience is clear. Whatever you have in store for me, I am willing to face whatever it may be."

Though she's already resigned to her fate, I couldn't quite carry the weight of her death on my shoulders. "Is there any other way?"

"Their blood or yours." The bartender replied.

"And before you start thinking about throwing your own life away, remember that you have a bigger picture to look at." Blue stressed. "Better her life than yours, there isn't as much of a power vacuum if she dies. You know what's at risk for you."

See, that commitment thing, I told you it was a huge problem. I for sure don't want her blood on my hands, even if they are hooves for the moment. But even then, I had a mission to complete. I swallowed my sense of righteousness for a moment and tried to fit the role I was given. "Okay, Kalimba. Gonna have to tell you not to go down without a good fight. Try to stay alive for as much as you can."

The zebracorn nodded. "I take one on de chin. But I only seek to win."

"Fair enough." Blue replied as she levitated a drink to my side. "Welcome to the club. You're one of us now."

As I was about to take my first guilt-filled sip... because I was gonna toss back every drink I got for tonight, another member walked up to the bar and made his order. "Crème, a glass of your finest, please." He said with a twangy voice.

"Coming right up, hun."

The stallion who sat himself beside me batted me on the back as he boisterously laughed. "Well well, I see that we finally meet with our newest member!" He looked behind me to see the zebracorn and winked. "And such a rare treat he's brought. Quite the customization for a zebra. I thought you lot were purists."

"It would surprise you for me to say, I was actually born dis way." The mare didn't even crack so much of the tiniest grin at his joke,

"Ah, you don't seem too thrilled! Chin up, you're in the best of what this country has in store! If you're not convinced, then you should stop by my press box for a... better explanation."

The mare scoffed as she looked away. "Much appreciated, I do not accept your advance. Dere are more servers here who would offer you de chance."

The stallion hid his tongue among his cheeks as he shifted his attention to the two ponies at the bottom of my chair. "Hey boy, your help is looking a little lacking. How about you put them to work?"

They both looked at him, almost cowering as they reluctantly inched closer. I grimaced as I clenched one of my eyes shut. "Okay... you two do what you do."

Without any further question or comment, they proceeded to kiss my hooves, praising my hindlegs as they nuzzled my limbs as if they were cats. I couldn't help but shudder as the strange display made me even more uncomfortable. But they wore the smiles of gratitude, probably because they didn't want to service the boisterous stallion. He let out an unusual laugh. "Gyaa hahahaaa! That's how these dregs are supposed to serve, boy! I know you humans are used to the superiority with all your weapons and technology! So consider this as an official Equestrian welcome!"

"I... guess..." I hissed, still cringing at the thought of these two sniffing and licking my hooves.

The stallion clopped his hooves four times, and the server that greeted me earlier appeared before him with a smile the size of the boisterous stallion's presence. "How may I serve you, sir?"

"My hooves if you will! Heavens knows what kind of stuff these druggies and drunks left in these halls. I had to walk all the way here tonight!"

"That's most unfortunate sir. I'll get to that right away." The male server bent down as he waited like a dog.

The older stallion pointed a hoof out to the young servant. "Clean."

Again without question, the servant licked his hoof, caressing it against his face as he was working on something phallic. He kissed and suckled on ever inch of his hoof before the other one was presented. I looked over to see the older stallion getting quite aroused from the attention he received. It wouldn't take long before the young stallion found his head peeking between the other's growing length. I turned away and looked towards the two at my hooves while they worked, this time with increased urgency as they realized that I was unsatisfied with their efforts. One of them looked to me, silently pleading that I'd show some form of approval.

Thankfully, Blue came to our rescue. "So captain, it will be a while before the others get here. Would you like to give these two some personal attention in your press box?"

If it would make them stop. "Yes please, I'm looking forward to seeing the other aminities."

The older stallion who had his own display disapproved. "Bah, humbug! You're suppose to let them have it out here and then really give it to them later! Where's the sense of showmanship!?"

I hopped out of the chair and quickly ran to the other side of the room, leading to a hallway that labeled itself as the press box suite access. The two ponies allowed themselves through as I called for Kalimba to join me. Blue Royal also walked beside me as we left the two stallions to their session. The older one shrugged his shoulders.

"Bah, I guess he didn't care to compete! Sad, really!"

We walked into the room, cutting on the lights to see a spacious area with a few pillow seats and some tables for any observers. The two servers awaited their next set of orders, which were to get me as many drinks as I needed to drown my discomfort away. Blue, who was already an avid drinker, encouraged my decision.

As I sat down, I couldn't help but to feel the ghostly sensation of the two rubbing against my hind legs. I whimpered at the thought. "Uh, please tell me I do not have to do that again."

"Even if you don't like it, you'll have to get used to it sometime." Blue said with a shrug.

"You're used to it?" I asked.

The mare bit her lip. "I actually prefer girls to tend to my hooves. But in terms of giving me what I really want after that... I've been waiting around."

"For what?" I asked.

The mare giggled. "Possibly for you to drop that form and be a little more of yourself."

I groaned in response. "Look, I don't really feel that comfortable showing my face here. Last I checked, you told me that this was just fine for whenever we had to come to this place. I'm already not too comfortable with the whole sexual deviancy vibe here."

"Well like it or not, dey do grow wary, of dose who do not embrace deir sanctuary. Take it from me, I have been around. And have seen many unwilling's blood spilled on dese grounds. Deady bodies everywhere I saw, all those who broke dis club's indulgence law." Kalimba sternly warned. "Shine your eyes, play your role. For it is not you who is in control."

Those chilling words of wisdom came from the mouth of one who has not only experienced the hell that goes on here, but also one who has been living in it for years. If anything, she knows her way around and how to keep herself alive. I had to take her advice to heart if I wanted to be seen as a mutual to the others. Strange, Blueblood did warn me that there was no going back. Perhaps his knowledge of this place was more from experience. That begs the question, how did he lose his military power? "So... where do I start?"

"You start by doing something with those two servers that are on their way with our drinks." Blue answered just as there was a knock on the door. She opened it to see the two servants obediently holding bottles of wine. She ushered them in and pointed to me. "The gentlecolt right there wishes for your services once again."

And just like earlier, they bowed themselves at my hooves, waiting for their next order. I cringed as I started to question the two. "Isn't there any other client looking to embarrass you like this?"

"Just the one at the bar." The male servant answered. "But take if from me when I say that he's... ugh, too eager to share more than his bodily fluids."

"When we walked in, sir Gilded Fortune already had that other guy strapped against his belly for a ride." The female added.

I looked at the other two mares with confusion. "Belly rides?"

Kalimba was more than willing to explain. "A belly ride is a position of sort. where de taker hangs underneath de giver for support. To show an example, I grab you like dis..." She placed a hoof on my shoulder and slid her skinny frame between my forelegs, her hips resting against mine as she locked her hind legs around my body. Blue pulled at my tail, prompting me to stand. And just on cue, all her legs clenched around my body as she humped against me, looking me dead in the eye. "And I swing back and forth until your release. But of course I should add that still, you could keep walking like this for a show of your intimate skill."

"An exhibitionist's wet dream, along with walks on the leash." Blue cosigned. "It's a favorite for some during the estrus season."

I couldn't help but to stare in silence as the zebra continued to look me in the eye, all while thinking 'holy fuck that's some next level shit.' She started loosening her grip and removing herself from underneath me, her golden hoops clattered as she adjusted herself. The pair of servants still sitting in place awaiting my next order crawled up to me and asked. "Would you like to try that again?" The mare asked. "You seemed quite entertained at the idea."

"And very much turned on." The stallion said, trying to nuzzle himself between my haunches. "Ooh, love your smell sir. It's has a very unique musk."

I jumped forward and pivoted myself to where I didn't have a stallion trying to don African sunglasses. It was already embarrassing enough knowing that I couldn't control myself completely with this kind of stuff in this form, I didn't need an eager stallion, an eager BOY, trying to compete in seeing who could get me to bust my first nut on the night. Blue giggled as she offered me a glass of wine. "You look thirsty, or at least wanting to distance yourself a bit from all of this. Drinking helps."

I quickly snagged the glass from the affluent heiress and guzzled the glass until it was empty. I looked at her as she started to get closer. "You know, I think personal space is an issue here."

She smiled as she planted the mouth of the half-empty bottle against my lips. Giggling all the while, she dragged the bottle across my mouth repeatedly. "You already know what I'm gonna ask you to do, you've been through this with me once before. Now drink up you silly goose. We got a whole night to talk about the important stuff."

Kalimba watched from the other side of the room, being a bystander for the time being. "I hope dat you set aside some time where more sleep could be drawn. Tis highly certain dat you will not wake up at dawn."

I started to worry, that was until I remembered a little fact about unicorns drinking alcohol. They were lucid drinkers, which means that their minds are very much intact when they get more than a few shots in their system. They could effectively down a whole bottle of the strongest stuff and not even bat an eye. And since I had a horn sitting on the top of my forehead, I welcomed the high possibility that I was not exempt from that trait. I took up her offer. "Well I'm just happy that I won't have to worry too much about this stuff."

"Oh it's gonna hurt in the morning." Blue cheerfully announced. "Especially this stuff. This kind of wine can knock a unicorn out if they're not careful. Rich in content, flavor, and very effective against the other species."

Her explanation is probably the reason why Kalimba was sitting there just watching. The zebracorn had no vested interest in drinking, just keeping her eyes locked on whatever I was doing. I took a quick swig of the bottle, tasting how fruity the wine was while also taking note of how fairly innocent its taste appeared to be. It honestly felt like I was drinking sparkling grape juice. But the aftertaste was the main thing that revealed just how potent it was. There was a bit of a burn going down, and there was an undeniable buzz that tickled my senses. I stared into the bottle, observing how much was left. "So how much do one of these bottles cost? The boys would love this shit back home."

I caught a glimpse of Blue popping the cork off of the other bottle, just guzzling the wine to the head. It was almost like watching her drink water with how unphased she was. Before I knew it, the bottle was empty and she cheered loudly. "YEAH! THAT'S IT!"

I was starting to believe she had a real drinking problem. "Is there a tab we should be looking out for?"

"You serious?" The rich girl asked, tilting her head at me. "We pay a yearly subscription fee with a whopping total of five-hundred grand, it's more than paid for."

I started to notice that her horn had started glowing, indicating that she was either conjuring up a spell or levitating something towards her. I tapped her horn to quench it. "Hey, do you really think it's wise to do magic while drunk?"

The mare snickered, placing a hoof on my chest as she pushed against me. "Do you think it's wise to not get anymore drinks? How about we send these two out for another round." She suggested, looking to the two servants.

I continued to sip away at the bottle, at least trying to moderate my intake. "Sure. I guess I'm treating you tonight." I looked over to Kalimba. "Kali, I can call you that, right?"

"You may call me Kalimba Mavembe." She promptly answered.

I suppose she wasn't comfortable with having a nickname. Hell, it was probably the first time anyone has actually called her by her actual name instead of some derogatory slur. "Then I apologize, Kalimba. Would you like anything?"

The mare stood there, stonefaced. "No. I do not."

"Trying to stay focused?" I asked.

"I do not take drinks from places I cannot trust. To stay attentive for your sake certainly is a must. But by all means, do feel free to partake. Just know dat I won't be de one in pain when I awake."

Blue clicked her tongue at the zebra and nuzzled up against me. "Spoil sport. Don't worry, I'll be here to give you a good time."

As the two servants left the room, I finally asserted myself in asking the unicorn for more information. "So they know who I am. I'm supposed to keep playing around like I enjoy this. And I had to hire a champion for some odd reason. Care to explain any of this to me?"

"Straight to the point with you, huh?" Blue seemed a bit disappointed that I wasn't exactly in the same state of intoxication as her. But she didn't mind answering my questions. "Okay, so I'll start from the beginning. They're going to give you an initiation, mainly to see if you know how to hire competent help. Since you have such a portfolio on your day job, they're anticipating that you might do two things with this. Either you hit this one out of the park, or you fail to navigate your way through the guild and go with another option by hiring some random off the street."

...Dammit. "Well they got something right."

Kalimba spoke up for herself. "I assure you I am quite skilled, I do not find pleasure in de idea of getting killed."

I then questioned the zebra. "I know your old owner was working with some of the politicians. What was his status?"

"He was never part of de guild's work. But a good reputation for being a merc. De guild never took him after a infamous duel, where he beat a member so heartless and cruel. Dey had to do whatever it took to not let him die, and now de victim lives, but with just one eye."

"How did that happen?" I asked.

"He took a fork and quickly plucked it right out, then broke his jaw, pried it open, and stuck it back into his mouth."

Really glad he's not alive now. "So he's the one who trained you?" Blue questioned, appearing disgusted with the story.

"I would not completely call it all it training, per se. More like fighting him and some other goons off of me everyday. But dose days have now gone by, ah. Today I was de one to watch him die. For de first time in years I never felt so free. Even if I do not smile, I am still quite happy." She said with what could be the coldest scowl on her face.

The both of us glanced back at each other as the two servants entered into the room with another four bottles. Blue didn't hesitate to pop the cork off of another and start guzzling it like a runner after a long workout. As the two reentered the room, I continued to question the drunken mare. "Okay, so they're gonna see if she can fight. What else?"

"If she loses by a substantial margin, they can either kill her or humiliate her. They probably won't kill her considering the rare mix that she is, so they'll settle with humiliating her and keeping her for their own personal pursuits. Though I've heard the ones they do that to are usually begging for death by the end of it all."

"Something that they'd be more than happy to oblige." I concluded, taking another sip from the slowly emptying bottle. "Now if I win, what's the deal?"

"You're not winning." Blue just flat-out denied me the idea of a victory, possibly looking from the perspective of knowing what they're going to do. "Some hire mercs with notable profiles, a la the bastard we both mutually despise, may his soul burn in hell. Others will hire the guild to do their bidding, that's what I did when you ran into the group of thugs that threatened you outside of the hotel. But those who prove their loyalty are often treated with the same amenities whenever they show up to the arena, free drinks, full service, you name it. And they'll do whatever it takes to keep their standing. It doesn't matter how dirty anyone plays, it's fair game to them. So if the only thing you hired was a pick-up from the street, you might as well get ready to say goodbye to them in the next hour."

"This isn't every day, is it?" I asked

"Only for inductees and settling some minor disputes." She replied.

As Blue had finished up her explanation, a familiar boisterous voice came galloping down the hall before damn near breaking the door down to shout at me. "OUR NEWEST COMPATRIOT! IT IS TIME FOR YOUR INTRODUCTION!"

I looked down to see the stallion that greeted me at the door earlier, his face covered in the stallion's seed as he hung from the harness the larger stallion had on. The poor servant seemed completely broken as he looked on in a lifeless daze. The boisterous stallion continued to rock his hips back and forth as he waited for my answer.

"Oh don't mind the boy, he's absolutely ecstatic! Hasn't stopped culminating since the ride began! So how's your servants been doing?"

"Bringing me all the wine I can handle." I said, pointing towards the bottles resting on the table. "Say, is there any food around here, I'm pretty high on a good steak right about now."

The loud stallion blinked in silence for what was the first time tonight. "Wow. I earnestly forgot your species happens to indulge in that kind of... socialization. I suppose we can make provisions for your future visits."

Realizing I had such an easy way of keeping up with the members of the club, I decided to play to my strength. For a brief second, I matched the stallion's boisterous nature with my own rant, patting myself on the stomach. "Well why the hell can't it be tonight? I'm a growing boy, gotta have my meat! Little bit of porkchops, steak, chicken, lamb, goat, buffalo, deer, just give it to me! Arimaspi meat, a bit gamey but what's a little honey and citrus can't fix?"

Pretty much everyone in the room stared blankly at me as I went on my brief meat-lover diatribe. The stallion took notice as he nodded. "Okay, well I guess we'll head into the foyer─"

I continued to play to my strength, finally hitting him where I knew it would make him uncomfortable. "Hmm, haven't had pony yet. But I have had some horse meat before, it was one time, bit greasy, but it was still pretty good."

"The others are waiting, boy. You should stop stalling." The stallion said before walking out of the room.

Both of the servants looked up to me, horrified beyond words as I smiled at the two of them. "I wonder how the two of you taste. Maybe I should find out if the two of you stick around." Both of them didn't even say a word as they left dust ghosts behind them. As there were only the three of us in the room, I shifted my eyes between the two and sighed. "Okay, my best Hannibal Lecter impression aside, let's get this over with."

The two took a collective breath upon realizing that I had exaggerated some details of my performance and we all walked out of the room. Kalimba nodded with approval. "Dat was a good show, ah."

"You think I'm playing about the steak thing."

When I entered into the lounge lobby, there was a select thirteen other members who all had various positions of prominence. A few were in charge of the education bureau, magic research, and medical board of directors. Another five were politicians and city council members of various locations around Equestria, namely Fillydelphia, Manehattan, Las Pegasus, and Dodge Junction. The mayor of Las Pegasus was a frequent participant, while the boisterous one─Gilded Fortune─was based out in Dodge Junction.

And of course, you have five others who are solely based here. The ones I didn't know about were mainly heirs of fortune and politicians. Two of them I vaguely remembered seeing in a summons, each of them sitting next to Count DuMoneé. There was also the guy I was brought here to take down, the one who finalized that passage, bringing the royals together in unity against Processu Approbatio. The one I was referring to was the very shyster himself.

Enter Damper Trot. Unicorn stallion, gray coat, dyed jet-black mane, all business outside and inside the box.

Of course the others that consisted the denizens of the city also included Blue. But there were a few more that wasn't here to welcome me to the group. Those among the numbers were Blue's brother, their deceased father, one member who apparently worked out in Vahoover, and some guy they didn't exactly note by name, just calling him 'The Doctor'.

Shortly after their introductions, they called out Kalimba and stood her at the center of the room. They then announced who was going to challenge her. It would be the champion of the boastful stallion that first met me at the bar. Of course they were a unicorn, of course they were in top shape, of course they were a hire from the guild...

And of course, Kalimba was getting tossed around.

The zebra stood slowly, wiping her mouth as she regained her bearings. Standing in front of her was a stallion who was light on his hooves and even quicker to the draw with his magic. There was almost no stopping him with the way he moved. And the one thing that proved to be Kalimba's weakness was her inability to get in close. The magic he used was simple, shooting out a few bolts of energy for her to dodge and surprise her with a hit from behind. It was a basic magic dueling combo I learned, but not one she knew of.

She, of course, would show potential in her recoveries, her attempts to close the distance, and her speed wasn't anything to scoff at either. It was just hard to keep up with a teleporting pony who shot magic bolts at you. And even when she did close the distance, he would get out of her grapples simply by teleporting himself. In terms of her physical prowess, she could at least deal with some of the mid-weights. But in a no-holds-barred contest such as this, magic was her glaring disadvantage.

But each time she was beaten, she got right back up and reset herself. Even if she was hurting, she could still take few more hits. And her resilience earned her the tiniest respect from her demeaning, verbally-abusive opponent. However, respect and moral points don't win fights. After the equivalent of seven rounds of a physical bout, the guild member simply let loose and brushed her aside.

Kalimba tried to stand again, but Gilded Fortune halted the match. Just as he did, he walked up to the zebra and stared her down with a growing smile. "You would serve me well, missy. I would love to have you as my... hmm, personal maid." He leaned into the panting mare and sniffed her neck. "You're a hard worker, and a die-hard fighter at that. I wonder what else you would be skilled at. He then brushed a hoof against her cheek, taking measure of all her scars and bruises. "If I gave you time to heal, you would be such a prospect. Surely a life as this is not your calling. So come with me and we'll see about giving you a better life."

Kalimba outright rejected the stallion's offer, turning her head away from him. All could see her heartbeat pulsing through her neck as she panted angrily. The stallion who challenged her laughed as he mocked her. "Poor thing, has a horn but don't know how to use it." The guild worker then pulled one of his eyelids down while giving the mare a wicked grin from ear to ear. "A cheap brood should sell it for something better. How about a nice bed to sell yourself in? You could call it a business investment."

Before Kalimba could take the opportunity to jump at the stallion who mocked her, Gilded restrained her and briefly spoke on her defense. "Now there, you probably never had a teacher. Not that we care about your life story, but it does serve as a nice decoration." He snickered as he used his magic to pull against her horn, yanking her head down. "And an even better hold."

I couldn't help but to grow infuriated for her, my horn started to run warm. I called out to the zebra. "So you don't know magic at all, do you? I guess we'll have to work on that."

"No, not at all. She's not your problem to be concerned for." Gilded announced proudly, holding the mare by her horn still. "Since I'm the winner here, she's mine to hold on to. Guess that means you're back at the drawing board, captain."

Thinking on my toes, I grimaced as I had that single word flash in my mind: Commit. A series of plans started to unfold in my head as I tried to put together something to get back my 'ownership' of Kalimba, and with the most effective means of doing so. If I didn't, she'd be anything but free. And there was little else I could do other than go back to that guild and try winning her back with some other guy I'd have to pay an obscene amount of money to. I wasn't too thrilled at trying to break the bank, especially considering that I just blew twenty thousand to get in here.

But something told me to take a chance on a quick risk. Since guild members were more eager to go to the highest dollar in a place where honor don't mean shit, it was better to assume that he would probably double-cross Gilded without a second thought. Just as long as the money was good, I had a chance. And since rich folks are cheap, it was better to think that he would fit the bill. So I brought my attention to the winning fighter and called out for him. "Yo, Rocky. Quick question. How much this guy pay you for tonight?"

The guild member carelessly waved me off. "Bah, more than you paid this cheap whore. I just got paid five grand for a walk in the park." He bragged.

Perfect.

If there was anything I figured out from being in this club, all means of underhanded perversion was on the table. If there was anything that could be done, a simple flipping the chess board is considered a legal move. If they're all about the money here, then anything is up for grabs. And since he was possibly talked down for a cheap price, paid his money up front, and then came here, he would be happy to earn a sizable tip on top of his wage. "Double that." I replied. I whipped out the sack I carried, containing the rest of my playground money for the night. The stallion's eye popped open to peek at the rubies that spilled out. "Ten thousand in bollies for winning my bitch back." I had to keep a straight face, trying not to cringe at the fact that those words had come out of my mouth.

Both the guild worker and Gilded stared at me as if I had broken something expensive. The crowd around the room had gone quiet until Gilded started laughing. "Heh... GYAA-HAAHAAAHAAGH! Now that's a way to turn the tables! Favor ain't always fair. Well played! I see your reputation of impromptu scheming is well-founded! But I would have to ask, are you willing to damage such a fine specimen even further?"

I cracked a smile back at him as I threw his own words at him. "She's not your problem to be concerned for. Since I'll be the winner here, she's mine to hold on to. So you sit tight and watch your newly-acquired champ get tossed around a bit." I redirected my attention back to the guild member. "So how about it, Rocky? Wanna earn a little extra pocket change under the table?"

"You're the boss!" The stallion didn't even pause for one second, teleporting the zebra from Gilded's side to right in front of him where he could land a few more blows. It didn't even take a good thirty seconds before she was left incapacitated from every blow he inflicted. And for good measure, he blasted her with a bolt of magic to numb her senses. As she tried to stagger back up, the guild stallion laughed again. "Uh-oh, looks like she can't get up again. You know what that means."

Gilded continued to laugh as he shrugged his shoulders. "You know, boy, I could easily raise the price to return the favor."

I shook my head. "But even you know she's not worth that much." I said, taking Kalimba's advice and playing my role.

Gilded Fortune boisterously agreed. "I already wasted five grand on that bastard, but here you are buying up two champions for the night. I'd much rather my money go to something with a little more bite in them. Seven rounds won't be my stopping point. She's all yours."

The guild member smiled as he wormed his way in front of me, holding his hoof out. "Now I know you know the rules, payments are usually up front. So don't be a stranger holding on to a stuffed pocketbook, give to the needy already."

While the stallion was smiling all the while, I could tell he was probably willing to make quick work of me if I refused. He was already in range to do whatever he wanted to me, and I wasn't too confident in fighting in equine form. And after all, a deal was a deal. I sorted out the gems for him and allowed him to count out what I set aside. The stallion, confirming the amount I gave him, smiled and put the money away in a white sack. "Goes without saying we're all happy here?"

"It's a pleasure, boss." He answered with a toothy grin. Kalimba, after taking a few minutes to recover, stood on her own legs and angrily stared at the stallion. The stallion raised his hooves in the air. "Hey, miss. We're in the business together. You do your stuff, I do mine, we walk out of here just fine."

The defeated mare walked out of the room, venturing back into the hall with the press box suites. Blue shrugged at the mare's silent departure. "You win some, you lose some. I guess she really doesn't like losing. But your record is one and one. Good job on the quick thinking, not many would think of bartering a champion from underneath someone. Usually, we'd see them come back with another hire on some other night." She walked up to me, placing a hoof against my back. "You might be cut out for this kind of work after all."

"You were the one who said they don't play fair. I did what I had to do and matched." I answered.

Another member laughed in a condescending manner. "Well I must say you are quite smitten. What other explanation would there be for you to give up that much money for a temp-hire?"

"Temp hire?" I questioned. "Wait, so you don't keep the guys you use?"

"Not all the time." Blue interjected. "We just hire a new one to keep things fresh. Now of course we may have that preference to one or another, but it doesn't mean that they're readily available to you. They could be serving someone else, just another trade of the business. But you know that already."

"Okay then..." I said as I started thinking to myself.

A clopping noise sounded beside me. I turned to see the politician Damper Trot nodding his head with approval. "Ah, and yet another time you've done it again, overcome the odds and turn the board to your favor. You're quite the lucky one, captain." He extended a hoof to shake. "Now to formally introduce myself, I am Damper Trot, senator of the eighth prefecture of Canterlot. It's good to see you here with us."

Again, I played my role. "Much better than sitting my ass around trying to appease every one of the princess' demands. You ask me, she's a bit lazy for someone who's looking over an entire kingdom."

"I see that you are also in an equine form. Who cast this spell upon you?"

"I have a specialist I see, try to keep their names private so they don't get pursued."

The politician half chuckled, glancing to the boisterous member of the club. "You'll have to forgive him, he's often a little more reserved. He's also seen as the most conservative of us, a safe player if you will. I trust you'll be the same."

I mean if you call being conservative fucking another guy while walking around like a casual stroll though the supermarket, then sure I guess. "So far, eating meat seems to be a really big taboo around here, even though there's some guy selling the stuff down at the plaza." I replied, going back to my usual trump card.

The politician started to circle around me, questioning my motives. "Yes, but that's what you're used to. My only question is what are you willing to do while you're here among our ranks? Surely you wouldn't have any motivation to bring any of us down."

"Not like I'd be able to." I answered, confessing to the idea that something like that would be far out of my reach, especially considering the scale of the operation that's taking place here. "I'm sure there's a lot of protections on this place. It's pretty swanky for a literal hole-in-the-wall. Of course, that would be the floor in this case."

The stallion stopped circling me, leaning into the side of my face as he appeared to be on his guard. "Question, why are you here?"

Once again, I played out the role I was given. This time, I took into consideration what was said to me earlier in the week and played on the idea of being an asshole who was still bitter about the whole break up with Twilight. Since that was going to be my persona, I had to play to that. So I did what I'd normally do, I put together a string of half-truths and complete lies to sell myself to the very adversary I would soon put away. "Simply put, I'm tired of the bullshit. See back in my world, we don't have a princess trying to run shit in the country, trying to dictate my entire diet day by day, trying to tell me where to stand and who to take down."

"So you're your own maker, huh?" Damper replied, leaning away from me a little. "Don't think you would've gotten very far without their assistance."

"Look, I'm not denying the fact that the perks are okay. I'm just fed up with the shit they do. Meeting after meeting, bitching and bitching about the small issues they have to solve. In my world, it's completely different. We have a freely elected leader put in place to do their job, and removed every four to eight years. Different ideologies, principles, policies, administrations, all that jazz. But here, it's a whole family running the show, even if they are appointed to the family instead of being born into it."

The stallion retracted himself from my personal space, sitting as he started to become interested in the story I began to weave. "An interesting bit of insight. Share with me more of your home country's politics."

"Well you have conservatives, and you have liberals. Every now and then, the leadership may swap between the two." I casually explained, still gaining some curiosity from the politician.

"How does a government stay stabilized with so much upheaval?"

Realizing I had him where I wanted, I decided to play more into his views. "We have a multitude of guidelines that keep the operations skintight. And of course, there are two other branches in the government that checks the power of that executive leadership. If the executive power does something that isn't right, the legislative powers can hear out a case, possibly indict the executive in charge."

And just as I figured, his ears perked right up. "Fascinating."

I continued to play to his views and proceeded to offer some insight on a system he'd be interested in rigging in his favor. "Also, the legislative powers have the ability to evaluate a choice of judge for the judicial powers. The executive in charge bring a nomination to the legislative powers, the legislature then reviews the pick, and then they can choose to either reject or appoint the judicial pick. The judicial pick can also review if any executive decisions are by any chance legal according to a bill of rights. If it violates something in that clause, the judicial powers can strike down that executive decision."

The stallion proceeded to rub his chin. "Hmm. And how is it that those legislators are brought into power?"

"By means of public elections, of course. I believe the same happens here, though the terms may vary. Representatives serve a term of two years, senators serve for six. Unlimited terms of course."

"And an executive power serves for eight?" He inquired.

"Four, but they are allowed only a second term. After that, no more."

He nodded as his ears started to anxiously twitch. "So what you're telling me is that the legislature has the power to review and overturn decisions made by the executive in charge?"

"Same thing that happens here. If a bill is vetoed, it can be overridden and made into a law with a two-thirds vote of the combined numbers of the representation and senators."

"A two term ruler who rules for less than a decade, a stabilized government in spite of those changes, and it maintains our current method of representation in the parliament?" The politician started to smile thinking of the various things those of his association could do with the imaginary wealth of powers I presented to him. "Oh, quite the gift to be able to live with such freedoms."

At that point, I decided to arouse his sense of corruption. "Wanna know a kinky secret about the election process? Apparently the majority vote of the public count can come close between each candidate, but because of how many representatives may preside over a state or province ultimately decides the fate of the country. Let's put a recent election into perspective, one I lived to see. This guy, Al Gore, a liberal, wins the popular vote. But because the local and state elections who gets into the electoral college─you know, the combination of House and Senate─they convene to establish the electoral vote that cements the leadership for the next four to eight years."

Damper appeared to be like a kid, leaning in and waiting anxiously for more of the story to be told. "Sounds auspicious... yet curious. How does that story of yours end?"

"Because the electoral college leaned conservative in numbers, the conservative executive was chosen in spite of the popular vote. So instead of Al Gore taking the seat, it ends up being George Bush, the conservative."

I could already see him panting with anticipation. "Hmm, I bet there must be a lot of voter fraud and suppression in place."

"There could be some gerrymandering. But what the people don't know can't hurt you."

It was almost as if I watched him revel in the biggest braingasm anyone could experience. The politician almost appeared metaphorically climatic by the thought of redrawing a few districts in his favor. I could already tell he was cooking up the legal books, just imagining the reach of corruption his association could have if neither the royals or the incumbent could orchestrate a response. The stallion quickly grew more accepting of me and my ideas. "You and I are going to talk more about this system on a later date. I would feel quite invested in the idea of having a leader elected to rule this country as opposed to a thousand-year monarch."

"First three words of the preamble: We the People." I added as the cherry on top.

The stallion took out his pocket watch, his eyebrows raising for a moment as he saw the time. "Oh we must talk more later. Definitely later, the main event is coming up in a few minutes. But yes, we shall converse more and discuss some possible ideas you may have in inspiration of a new political system."

He walked off as I politely called out to him. "Enjoy the show!"

Blue, who was standing on the other side of the room, watching in silence as I had my conversation with the once-critical politician. She approached me and muttered in a low voice. "I see you've already made a friend."

"I didn't tell him the other half of those checks and balances." I replied with a wink.

"Idealistic minds often dream first, then evaluate later. Just leave him to his politically promiscuous thoughts for now." She suggested as she levitated another bottle of that wine my way.

I accepted her offer and took a quick swig. "Wouldn't have it any other way."

The Next Morning...

After that little talk, it was finally time for the grand event. Bets were wagered and the crowd out in the lower bowl was absolutely electric. Music pulsed throughout the speakers of the place, dancing ponies hopped up on drugs started to find whatever they could use as a pole and started going to work. The mix of blues, purples and reds had almost made me feel like I was going through another drug trip. The details from the remainder of the night had started to gradually go between my recalling very specific details to not even knowing what's in front of my face.

What I did recall was a few moments of absolute confusion, followed by intense arousal.

It pretty much started when we got back in the press box. Kalimba was sitting quietly, watching the action taking place below. The two servants that accompanied us all night had joined us. Blue had gone from throwing empty bottles around to carefully nursing another. But as I sat around, watching the two creatures going at it on the arena floor, I was too busy laughing at the fact that there was a literal bear-bee hybrid monster fighting an arimaspi. Half the arena was red, the other half was blue, the colors in between were melding together.

"Hey, drink this." I heard Blue say to me.

I did as she asked and I took a sip from her bottle of wine. She laughed and I laughed right with her. Eventually, she started toying with me again. She placed her hoof on my lips, pressing against my muzzle as she pushed me around the room. The only time I managed to stop was when Kalimba grabbed hold of me to stop my stumbling around the room. I took another look at her and asked her. "Hey, what was that thing you showed me earlier? That belly shit, yeah that."

She still seemed pretty stern, but holding me closer to her as Blue inched closer to me. Another one of the servants, the girl, smiled as she started to nuzzle against my neck. Blue's hoof dragged down my chest. And Kalimba's warmth behind me made me feel the combined warmth of three mares getting closer to me. The smell in the air was undeniable to me, it was absolute heaven to my mind.

Needless to say that super strong wine kicked in something fierce.

The rest of the night was pretty spotty. I remember the sight of the two mares in front of me giggling, staring at me while I was sat in a chair. Kalimba at one point was rising and falling in front of me, her eyes intensely locked on me. The lights started to swirl around. Blue and the server were kissing each other as I was left throbbing between them. The male servant joined in and became Blue's play toy, kissing her hooves with the adoration one would give to a princess. Blue shoving her tongue into mine. I could hear cheers and applause around me as I felt my hips jolt forward, unleashing copious amounts of my seed onto the window from across the room. We drank some more, we laughed, we did everything. Nothing was forbidden, the sights and colors, the sensations and smells, the cries and moans, it felt great to me for the time.

And then it all went black.

The next thing I felt was the uncomfortable sensation of a wooden box spring applying some unwanted pressure against my, head, hips, and shoulders. My hooves felt numb, my dick felt sore, my head was aching like someone took a Louisville slugger upside it. The world appeared to be a dim blur as my body started to regain some semblance of normal function. The room was incredibly cold, so much that the first thing that scared me out of my unconscious state was a puff of vapor from my own muzzle, thinking it was smoke.

I slowly rose from the bed, discovering the familiar trait of a stomach ache motivating me to hurry my ass into the bathroom to give the gods of the porcelain alter an offering. And my deposit there was substantial. I remained hunched over the side of the toilet for at least another fifteen minutes making sure that I had gotten it all out of my system. After that, I heard hoofsteps approaching.

Looking around the bathroom I was in, I saw there was no curtain for the shower, the tub had a massive chunk missing from the side, and a single window that beamed in the tiniest bit of light. Of course it's hard to call it a window when it's really a rectangular hole cut into the wall and outfitted with some rusty, decorative steel bars. The winter air flowed freely through it, making the place feel like a fridge. The walls were a medium-spring green with yellow bits of old wallpaper torn from the top boarder up against the ceiling. The place had a single light bulb hanging from the center of the ceiling, and it seemed to be operated by a thin rope hanging from a broken ball chain, probably what used to be a much longer attachment.

It finally dawned on me that this bathroom had no semblance of a door, no curtains, no anything as Kalimba emerged from the hallway to walk into the bathroom. She walked into the broken tub, staring at the old shower fixture. She appeared not to be moving for a moment until I realized that she was actually trying to concentrate, straining to use what little of her unicorn magic to turn the water on. I watched quietly, seeing the mare initially shiver as the water hit her. She picked up a bar of soap and started quickly rubbing away at the dirt from yesterday.

I got up on all fours, still a bit queasy and discombobulated, but very much functional on a rudimentary level. "Where am I?" I asked.

The mare continued to scrub herself with her hooves. "You are where I brought you last night. But it is good to see dat you are somewhat alright."

I took a quick sniff at myself and was quickly repulsed at the musk I gave off. "Holy hell, did I sleep in shit last night?"

The mare hopped out the shower and walked over to me. "You should make yourself clean, scrub every place dat is in between. Move quickly before de water runs out. Den a bad smell will be today's bout."

I glanced over at the shower, and obediently complied with her suggestion. But when I got in, I realized that the water was bone-chilling cold. It was more than enough to sober me up a little. "Holy balls, it's cold!" I shouted.

"What do you expect from living in dis hell? Did you think dat dis is some grand hotel!? Listen to me, ah, clean yourself. At least make yourself look de part of wealth."

As I shivered, I basically started using that bar of soap like a cheese grater against my body. While my jaw danced and jumped uncontrollably, I quickly got myself cleaned up a good amount before the water stopped pouring. I looked at the nozzle and turned it up further, only to get nothing in return. I turned it back off and hollered to the zebracorn. "Kalimba, the water cut off!"

"Den come in here and get something to eat, refuel before you set out to de street."

I walked out and found myself in a familiar place. At the table was the same shitty decor from what I saw last night when Prod was discussing with me my purchase of the zebra. We were back in his place, with no trace of the stallion to be seen. She sat quietly, blowing on a bowl that had a single boiled carrot in it. I looked at her as she carefully lifted her bowl, sipping away at the broth. In doing so, I noticed her eyes continued to shift to her surroundings. I sat down and proceeded to taste the broth for myself, only becoming disappointed as I realized that it was nothing but boiled water. I then worked down the carrot instead, forgoing on the soup's 'broth'. As I nibbled on the cooked carrot, I could see the mare looking back at me.

"Dis is what I've made for myself every morning. Though I do not find dat for you is not all too adoring."

"It's... good." I lied.

The mare scoffed. "I am no cook. I was never trained in anything but to fight my way out of an ambush."

"You're missing out on a lot then." I joked, but earning no kind of applause. "I guess I should ask what happened last night."

"Time and fortune each long gone, for many things happened before dawn. While you and your friend had a drunken night, I had watched Cyclops win de big fight. After de night's event had gone, we all continued to party on. You stumbled to me and I prevented a fall, from there I was tossed into your sexual brawl. I thought it would sate your hunger to assist in your release, but all my actions only helped to drive your lust's increase. So I allowed you de opportunity, start your night off with me."

My eyes bucked as I spat the carrot out from my mouth. "Wait, you and I..."

She placed her bowl down, her eyes piercing into my soul. "Yes."

I grimaced as I placed my hooves over my face in shame. "Ahhh-dammit. I'm sorry for─"

"You were not made aware of dat particular wine. In most places, it's presence is considered a crime." She explained. "It was laced with Drakeseed spore extract, making de drink quite the aphrodisiac. It could be said dat your friend had plans for you, and de drinks she shared was a way to see things through."

"So you're saying she drugged me just to get with me?" I questioned, though admittedly not surprised at the idea since she's done it before.

"More like she did so in earnest to save you. When sober, you still seem too reluctant to follow things through. But we now know in your drunken undertaking, you can offer a session of some long mating."

I cleared my throat as she seemingly pointed out my secret humanistic trait. "Uh... just try not to talk to anyone about it."

"I cannot pretend dat your secret is safe with me. I am sure some info about you would sell for a pretty penny."

I groaned as I started to find a way to keep her quiet on my anatomical advantages. "Hey lady, look. I really don't need for that to get out─"

Without the slightest hint or emotion on her face, she quickly held a hoof up to interrupt me. "Dere is no need for you to be so tense. T'was merely a joke made at your expense."

I dropped my head, half relieved that it was a joke and half concerned that her face didn't even move. "Okay."

The mare stood up from the table, collecting our dishes. "Perhaps one day you shall see, how good of a joker I could be. But as for now I know you are in hurt. I shall give you a bit of something to help you stay alert."

While I sat at the table waiting for her to go through the creaky cabinets, I quietly spoke to her. "I don't mean to be the one to ask you the typical morning-after question, but what are you going to do now?"

"If you are worried about my carrying your seed, I assure you dat dere is no need."

"That's not what I meant." I sighed. "Uh, what I was trying to say is that you're free now. You don't have to answer to anyone. So what do you intend on doing now that you're not going to be someone's daily plaything?"

She paused for a moment, almost like she had never once thought about what she'd do after Prod's death, much less after she managed to kill him herself. "I... do not know." She somberly answered, not caring for any sense of rhyming for the moment. "A lot of mornings I have woke to see him over me. And if I did not comfort him, I would be beaten. I did ask him if I could learn magic someday, but he would only spend de money on himself and his drinks. De very same wine you drank last night was his favorite, and he wouldn't care as for who or what he mated with."

So that's why she had first crack at me, she knew how to deal with Prod when he had the same stuff in his system. "I suppose... But you don't have a plan?"

"I suppose I could just simply follow you, dat is the only thing I know how to do."

I looked around the shoddy home, seeing very little that could at least be repaired to standard code. I remembered the simple carrot she boiled for breakfast, the cold shower in the freezing open air, the box spring I woke up on, and I shook my head. There was no way she could survive like this, not without someone being this oppressive to her. And if she offered to follow me around, then I had a simpler way of making this morally questionable situation turn into something a little more mutual. "So... ever thought of moving out?"

"Dere is no place for me to go. Dere is no other life dat I would know. My very image would make me a joke, especially for de more common folk."

I don't blame her for feeling that way. Even the asshole that kicked her around last night was making fun of the fact that she was a zebra-unicorn hybrid, tossing around the fact that her magic couldn't save her. And I'm sure that there are ponies outside of the Rotty who would be just as cruel, she even said it herself. Tack on the fact that she's a grown mare with a blank flank, and you'd even have some of the neighborhood foals trying to get in on the fun.

She had to live somewhere isolated, a place where the visitation is scarce outside of the main path. And I had just the location in mind. "...You're not staying here. This isn't a place for you."

"Well it is de only place I know, where my skills could fairly dictate where I'd go." She adamantly replied, offering me a strange white powder. "Dis is for your stomach and head. Take it so you may feel better instead."

I held my breath as I ingested the powder, following up with a glass of water. The horribly bitter taste lingered on my tongue for a while. "There's a place I know south of here. There's also a zebra shaman I talk to on occasion. You could live with her until I call you up for the next time. I assume that a place like that would be closer to home for you."

The mare scoffed. "Dere is no zebra in these lands. You can only find dem past de Eastern Sands. Past de savanna and de Jaded Shades, will you find de villages hidden in de glades. All of dat is across de Celestial Sea, where my ancestahs were once considered to be."

I cleared my throat as I started to explain to her the one way that would grab her undivided attention. "Her name is Zecora, she is a zebra too. And she rhymes in phrases just like you often do. She's good with potions and all the works, the Everfree Forest is where she lurks. To throw in a sweetener that's quite the classic, she's also acquainted with the Princess of Magic." The mare turned to me with her eyes slightly widened. "So to say that the potential is there for you, to have an opportunity that's offered to very, very few."

The mare quietly sat at the table, staring at me with her eyes narrowed. "I know dat you say dese things to make me feel hope. But do not take my rhyming and habit for a cruel joke."

I summoned my phone and pulled out a picture we took at Twilight's birthday party. I showed her the screen and replied. "If you think I'm joking, this is at Princess Twilight's birthday party. And since she's also my ex, I might be able to pull a few strings with her."

She continued to stare at me, but this time with a softer expression. "What do I pay you to gain your favor? Dere's always a hunch, some hidden waiver."

"Stay as my champ but improve your skills." I replied. "If I own you like you say I do, then let's say that this is my way of training you." I paused for a moment and snickered. "Huh, didn't mean for that to come out as a rhyme. But you've packed most of your shit already, might as well hop on the train and get acquainted with your new life. You may even pick up a few ideas on where you'd like to stay in the future."

The mare closed her eyes, placing her hoof on the rings that adorned her neck. After a moment of reflection, she confirmed her decision. "My mudda once told me dat I would one day master both zebra and unicorn magic. A disease took her life before she could see dat happen. If it is what my owner desires of me, den dat is what shall come to be."

"Great. So now I can ask you one thing."

"And what is dat?" She asked.

I peeked at the time, seeing that it was well past noon. "What's the shortest way to the castle from here?"

***Point of Perspective: NONDIS***

After I managed to quietly infiltrate the castle and transform myself back into my human form, I had finally come across the familiar sights of guards roaming the halls. My briefly quiet return had gone mostly unnoticed until one guard finally caught me trying to get to the barracks to clock in. But unfortunately, it was to my disadvantage that I was being called in to have a personal meeting with the upper brass.

So instead of walking into the barracks and clocking in for my eight plus overtime, I was sent back into the castle to convene with the Royal Joint Chiefs. As soon as I entered, they all looked at me with glares most disapproving. But it didn't seem to compare to the fact that Celestia was speaking with them as soon as I entered.

...Yeah, that's a no-go. You can possibly tell what happened next.

The meeting was held to a recess and I was ordered to wait in a small office filled with paperwork stacked to the ceiling. I was already looking at the mass of files and started grimacing at the thought of having to sign on all of it. But since I wasn't given any order to touch them, I just stood in the quiet room for around ten minutes until the door flew open to bring up two ponies, my superior officer and Princess Celestia herself.

The superior officer didn't hold back as soon as he stepped through the door. "CAPTAIN! WHY ARE YOU LATE TO A JOINT CHIEFS SUMMIT? IT IS THE VERY FIRST ONE OF THE YEAR AND YOU ARE ALREADY DISPLAYING YOUR VAST INCOMPETENCE!"

I tried to be submissive on the matter. "I'm sorry sir, there is no excuse."

"NO EXCUSE IS RIGHT! THE FACT THAT YOU ELECTED TO EVEN SHOW UP THIS LATE IS NOTHING SHORT OF INCOMPREHENSIBLE! YOU DON'T HAVE A CLUE AS TO WHAT WAS ALREADY BRIEFED UPON AND IT PERTAINED TO NATIONAL SECURITY!"

Celestia stepped forward and spoke out. "If I may, General."

"Your highness." He began, his tone already taking a significant drop from what he gave me. "I cannot abide by your decision to keep him in his position if he is to not take this position seriously. He's an enlisted who was promoted to an officer's position far too quickly."

The princess did not back down. "General, if I may. Please leave this one to me."

"Your highness, I'm not going to let you waste your energy." The general argued.

"It is fine." She calmly replied. "Return to the meeting hall at once. When I return, we shall reconvene."

The general saluted the princess, who in turn saluted back. He quickly left the room, but not without giving me an icy stare in the midst of his exit. I stood quietly as the door closed behind him. Celestia angrily paced back and forth as she calmly called out to me.

"I want you to listen to me, captain. You're on very, VERY thin ice."

"I have no excu─"

"I said listen to me, captain. Not speak." She ordered quietly as her horn started to glow. As she was taking a deep breath, I heard her voice in my head speak to me. "I am going to yell at you, so you better tune out the words I'm screaming and listen to me closely."

I felt the entire room rattle with her inhale, almost as if the space around me had already started to spell out the wrath I was set to endure. The windows flew open and the papers that were so neatly stacked up started to flutter. The princess had her eyes closed as she drew a long breath. And when she stopped, the papers stopped moving, the rumbling ceased, and her eyes opened slowly to pin me down with her coarse lavender gaze. As soon as her jaw drop, I plugged my ears, readying myself for the hell to follow. And on cue, her Royal Canterlot Voice rang loudly through the castle halls.

"HOW DARE YOU SHOW SUCH CARELESSNESS TO MY MEETINGS! I INSTRUCTED YOU YESTERDAY MORNING THAT I WOULD HOLD THIS MEETING TODAY AND YOU IGNORED ME OUT OF SPITE! YOU HAVE ABSOLUTELY NO RESPECT FOR MY AUTHORITY, IS THAT WHAT YOU ARE SAYING TO ME!?"

As I held my ears closed, a much calmer tone rang through my head. "So you've been in Canterrot again? Nod for yes, shake for no." I nodded to the princess as she continued to scream the paint off the walls.

"IF I WERE ANY SORT OF TYRANT, I WOULD'VE HAD YOU EXECUTED FOR YOUR BLATANT DISREGARD FOR MY ORDERS! IF THIS IS THE LEVEL OF RESPECT YOU CONTINUE TO SHOW ME, I WILL NOT HESITATE TO FIND ANOTHER WHO WILL SERVE IN THE POSITION YOU CURRENTLY HOLD! I WILL HAVE YOU REPLACED SHOULD YOU DO THIS TO ME AGAIN! DO YOU UNDERSTAND ME!?"

Again, she presented to me a vastly different tone. "I completely understand what you are trying to do under the table here, but you cannot afford to lose your position out of some negligence. What you did today has you on some troubling foundation. I don't wish to see you forcibly reassigned for my sake. Now say 'Yes, your highness' so that you don't sound completely defiant."

"Yes, your highness!" I hollered out, my voice completely dwarfed by the princess' vocal caps lock.

"FURTHERMORE, WHEN YOU SAY THAT YOU ARE GOING TO ASSIGN YOURSELF A CERTAIN SHIFT, I EXPECT YOU TO CARRY THROUGH WITH WHAT YOU OFFERED TO YOUR SUPERIORS! THIS KIND OF DISHONESTY AND MALCONTENT IS NOT PERMITTED IN ANY WAY IN MY GUARD! I WILL NOT HAVE YOU DISRESPECT ME, MY OFFICERS, OR MY GUARDIAN CORE IN ANY MANNER FROM THIS DAY ONWARD! WHEN ORDERS ARE OFFERED TO YOU, YOU OBEY THEM AND ADHERE TO THE GUIDELINES THAT ARE SET, HAVE I MADE MYSELF CLEAR!?"

"Yes, your highness!" I called out.

"Remember, if you are doing this, your position is key to maintaining the momentum. The general was more than ready to have you replaced this morning, I had to talk him down citing your field performance and your current capabilities. I do not believe that will save you so easily a second time. So please keep those things in mind when you are out for a night of working in the shadows." She urged as she continued her loud tirade.

"AND SINCE YOU'VE MADE THE DECISION TO COME IN SO FASHIONABLY LATE TODAY, I'VE TAKEN THE LIBERTY OF DOCKING YOUR HOURLY PAY FOR THIS TRANSGRESSION OVER THE NEXT TWO SHIFTS! NOT ONLY WILL YOU BE WORKING OVERTIME TODAY AND MONDAY, BUT YOUR PAY WILL BE REDUCED BY A QUARTER OF YOUR USUAL EARNINGS! YOUR OVERTIME WILL BE UNPAID! AND YOU WILL BE PLACED UNDER MANDATORY POST ROTATION UNTIL YOU HAVE SERVED YOUR PUNISHMENT!"

"Sorry, those were the terms to keep your job alive. I can only give you so many slaps on the wrist. So think of this as an incentive to feed the ruse of your despising us royals. As far as making this up to you later, I'll find something. Just try not to be so overtly distasteful. You still have an image to maintain. Just try to be careful next time." She then yanked me down to her eye level as she continued to scream in my face.

"IF YOU DON'T LIKE YOUR JOB, THEN THERE ARE MORE THAN PLENTY OF OTHER CANDIDATES LOOKING TO TAKE YOUR SPOT! NOW YOU EITHER STRAIGHTEN OUT YOUR ACT OR I STRAIGHTEN IT FOR YOU! HAVE I MADE MYSELF CLEAR!"

"Yes, your highness!"

She gave me a quick peck on the lips along with another mental note. "Sorry for yelling at you so loud. Had to sell them the act of my being angry with you. Now let's get moving, we have a meeting to finish."

"NOW IF YOU'RE DONE ACTING LIKE THE ENTITLED MISTAKE YOU ARE, THEN GET THE HELL OUT OF MY FACE! NOOWWWW!!!"

As soon as the doors swung open, I felt her magic shove me out the door. She walked out the room and briskly walked back to the throne room. As I quietly followed behind her, I could see a bunch of guards and maids all whispering to one another as they all stared at me. The display she seemed to have put on had done more than work, convincing the others that I was sitting in quite possibly the hottest seat in the nation. The princess continued her angry parade while I looked the shamed captain I was slated to be. She offered me one final mental note before we headed back to the meeting.

"So, what do you want for dinner?"

Well this was a fairly difficult chapter to write. Not only did I try to simulate a thicker Congolese accent (possibly failing in every aspect of doing that), but the rhyming was so dominant because of the zebra lore of the series only gave us the idea that they did a lot of rhyming. Also I apologize to anyone who legitimately speaks the language I poorly translated (Swahili).

But as of now, we seem to be chugging along lately. Though to be honest, I will probably knock out the next three chapters and try to take a siesta. It's funny though, I managed to reach my yearly output and it's not even September. Though eight chapters a year isn't really a good pace.

Also, if anyone wanted to know what Kalimba would look like.

I wonder what artist would have commissions open for the holiday season.