More Than Money Can Buy...

"Excuse me, good sir, might I bend your ear for a moment?"

Ring Master looked up from the magazine he was reading to take a look at the speaker. The individual in question was a colt, a crystal pony by the look of him. Youngish, not quite old enough to be considered a teenager. Behind him stood a taller, much older pony, dressed in a uniform identifiable anywhere: A butler's formal attire. It seemed that this young fellow had a great deal of wealth to have a butler as a minder...

Putting away his magazine, Ring Master said, "Fine, what do you want?"

If he seemed offended by Ring's curt behavior, he didn't show it. The colt asked, "I was wondering how much you might want for that exhibit over there?"

Ring looked over at the exhibit in question: The caged changeling. Scowling, Ring Master said, "Not for sale, colt. Buzz off."

Ring Master had been running this traveling circus for the better part of ten years, and he'd never in his life had such a massive draw as that changeling. He'd found it, injured, about a week after the Canterlot invasion. In the state it was in, it had been pretty simple to put a collar on it and put it in a cage. Since then, he'd practically been minting bits, the way it drew crowds, even if all it did was sit there and look sad all the time...

The butler abruptly shook a large bag of bits, as the colt said, "Good sir, it is in my experience that everything is for sale, provided that the price is right. I'm willing to pay you a very tidy sum for yonder changeling."

Ring narrowed his eyes, estimating the number of bits in that bag. Given the size, and the clink it was making, there had to be at least ten thousand bits inside, maybe more. That was double what the changeling had brought in for the last year. A smile began to form on Ring's face as he said, "Alright, colt, I'm listening..."
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Aphid was miserable, but that wasn't anything new: She'd been miserable every day for the last year, she'd been miserable all day, and odds were, she'd be miserable every day for the rest of her life, the way things were going...

Looking out the bars of her cage, at the ponies who had apparently paid good bits just to see her, she gave a long, weary sigh. She'd long ago quit wondering if she should ask for someone, anyone, to let her out. She was a changeling, after all: The average pet dog had more civil rights than she did...

Ring Master, the dark brown, morbidly obese earth pony who ran the circus, and the jerk who had slapped the iron collar around Aphid's neck in the first place, was approaching, a colt and an older pony in tow. The colt was... shiny was the only word that could be used to describe it. He was bright blue, and sparkled like a sapphire. The older pony, a fairly handsome earth pony, looked to be a butler, given the suit he wore, and his overall bearing...

"Alright colt, she's all yours. Just let me get you some chains you can put on her, so she won't try to run," Ring said, his tone almost painfully obsequious to the colt in question. The colt moved like he had some serious money backing him, and over the last year, Aphid had learned that Ring would do anything for bits...

The colt, smiling as bright as sunny day, said, "Jolly good. Ah, before I forget, I need just one other thing."

Ring, turning away from the cage, asked, "What?"

"A receipt," the colt said with a perfectly straight face.
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A few minutes later, after a sheet of paper, a quill, and a bottle of ink had been retrieved, Ring Master filled out an official bill of sale for Aphid. Seeing the amount that the bill was for, Aphid had to resist the urge to whistle. She didn't know much about money, but that was a whole lot of zeros that were behind that five. Aphid hadn't realized that there were that many bits in the world...

The transaction apparently complete, bits and bill exchanged hooves, and the cage was unlocked. Chains were clapped on her legs, and the collar, linked to a chain riveted to the ceiling, was released. Sighing, Aphid stretched her neck. While the chains around her legs would be a pain, it was nice to finally be able to move her head without almost strangling herself...

The butler moved alongside her, and whispered, very quietly, "Please don't try anything. There's a lot more going on here than you think..."

Puzzled, but more than willing to go with the flow if it got her out of that thrice-cursed cage, Aphid played the part of the submissive little drone. She was pretty good at that role, given that she'd been playing it non-stop for the last year...

As they walked away from the circus, she couldn't help but mention, "If you really paid five hundred thousand bits for me, colt, you were overcharged."

Snickering, the colt said, "My name's Azure Blue, and don't worry, I'll have my money back in fifteen minutes..."
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"Excuse me, good sir, might I bend your ear for a moment?"

Ring Master snorted, scowled, and put down his magazine angrily. He looked up, expecting to see that colt again. He saw exactly what he expected... and a half dozen guards, all of whom looked rather angry. One held up the bill of sale that the earth pony had just signed a few moments ago and asked, "Is this your signature?"

Not really getting what this was all about, Ring said, "Yeah, yeah it is. What business is it of yours?"

The guard, a sergeant by the look of him, scowled, then placed a hoof upon Ring's shoulder and said, "Then I am placing you under arrest for the crime of trafficking in sapient creatures."

His eyes widening, Ring Master asked, "What sapient creatures? I haven't..."

Two guards approached, holding manacles and chains, and began putting them around Ring's legs. The sergeant stated, "Regardless of your personal opinion, changelings are considered sapient creatures, and it is considered a crime to kidnap, imprison, or to enslave one..." With a snort, the sergeant said, "Take him away."

As Ring was led away, he saw that colt, along with his butler, standing with the changeling, chatting as if they were friends. The changeling, a million bit smile on her face, waved, then said, "I hope you enjoy being in a cage EXACTLY as much as I did. Toodles!"
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"Not for nothing," Aphid said, as she and Azure watched the guards began shutting the circus down (There had been more illegal activities going on here than just treating a changeling like property, and Aphid had already given a statement about some of the things she'd seen), "but why did you set all this up, Azure?"

The butler chuckled, as Azure cheerfully munched on a bowl of nachos. Wiping at his lips, the colt said, "How much do you know about the Crystal Empire, miss Aphid?"

Rubbing her chin, Aphid said, "Ummm, disappeared a thousand years ago. Before that, it was taken over by a jerk named King Sombra, who put... the entire city... in chains..." While Aphid might not have been a genius, she could see where this was going...

With a little snort, Azure said, "Exactly. While SOME ponies," he paused, giving a scowl at a couple of passing ponies who had, just moments ago, been gawking at Aphid through the bars of her cage, "may have forgotten it, there are laws against the kind of treatment you were receiving back there. Me, I'll never forget." Smiling, he changed the subject, stating, "Well, now that you're free, I was wondering if you might be interested in working for me: My parents have a mansion back in the Crystal Empire, and we're in desperate need of a maid."

With a sad chuckle, Aphid said, "I don't think your parents would approve."

The butler was suddenly wreathed in green fire, and changed from a handsome pony in a dapper suit to... a handsome changeling in a dapper suit. Smiling, the butler said, "They didn't object when he brought me in, so I sincerely doubt that they'll have a problem with you."

Author's Notes:

Saw that the USA network was doing a marathon about ending human trafficking, and I had the idea for this story.

Epilogue

Author's Notes:

This chapter will make a little more sense if you read the following stories:
A Meal Fit For A King
Cooking Roach
Who Are You And What Have You Done With Diamond Tiara?

In addition:
The Lord Howe Island Stick Insect, or Tree Lobster, the rarest insect in the world. It was thought extinct at one point.

Aphids. An insect used by ants the same way that humans use cows.

"I distinctly remember telling you not to get involved with this..."

Azure Blue looked up at the speaker, his expression very carefully neutral. While the young colt would proudly boast that he feared nopony, this individual was definitely the one stallion in Equestria who could intimidate him...

Former tyrant of the Crystal Empire, and current head of the Bureau of Changeling Affairs, Sombra.

Clearing his throat, Azure said, "Actually, if I recall correctly, you told Cobalt Blue not to get involved. You didn't say anything about me getting involved." Technically correct, although Azure had been present at the time, and Sombra had used a general 'you' instead of a specific name. Still, he expected that would be enough to excuse his presence here...

With a snort, Sombra raised an eyebrow, then said, "I suppose that might be accurate, from a certain point of view. Still, you and your foster brother are as thick as thieves, so I would have assumed that telling one would be the same as telling you both." With a chuckle, he added, "I suppose I'll have to be more specific next time."

The two were currently sitting in Sombra's office in Canterlot. Azure had hoped that he, his butler Howe, and Aphid, would be well on their way back to the Crystal Empire before Sombra had caught wind of Azure's little scheme, but the former tyrant had apparently been aware of the young colt's arrival, as well as his comings and goings since then. Azure should have known better to try and get away with things when he was up against somepony with two dozen changelings on his payroll... and probably a dozen more who weren't, at least 'officially'...

Still, it had been a shock to see him waiting at the train station, a disapproving frown on his face. The colt still had nightmares about that kind of scowl, even if Sombra was reformed...

As well as Cobalt Blue's friend...

Azure cleared his throat, then said, "Well, everything worked out alright, didn't it? Nopony was hurt, a criminal was caught, and a slave was set free."

Sombra, his eyes narrowed, asked, "And why, pray tell, did you pull this little stunt, when you could have just left it to the guards? Or, failing that, had your butler play the part of the buyer, instead of taking that part yourself?"

With a small chuckle, the colt said, "Because some things call for a personal touch." More seriously, he continued, "Besides, Howe practically screams 'butler' even when he is out of uniform, so if he tried to play the role of a wealthy buyer, he'd seem really suspicious. As for the guards, setting up a good sting takes a little time, and that circus was going to be leaving today."

And both the 'Blues Brothers' (In spite of Sombra's insistence that he would handle it) and Sombra had been trying to find that traveling circus for the last three moons, practically since Sombra's return and recruitment into the bureau of changeling affairs. Prior to his revival, Sombra and Cobalt Blue had spotted the circus that kept Aphid, seeing it from the window of the train they were riding in at the time. There had been no time to stop, and no way of knowing if the treatment Aphid was receiving was legal or not. However, they had promised each other, and Howe, who was riding with them (Long story, that one), that they would try to find a way to help her once their business in the Crystal Empire was finished. Azure, after hearing the story, had been glad to lend a hoof. After all, that's what big brothers are for...

With a snort, Sombra stated, "While certainly true, you only managed to beat my agent there by half an hour... and I had another half dozen agents, and a good twenty guards from the local garrison, ready to liberate her if the proprietor proved to be reluctant to let her go." After a moment, he added, "The guards were happy to lend a hoof, both with your plans and mine: They'd been waiting for an opportunity to take Ring Master's circus apart. They suspected, and both the evidence and Aphid's testimony confirms, that he was using the cover of a traveling circus to smuggle contraband from place to place... and there were other concerns..."

Azure Blue noticed the worried look that crossed Sombra's face, and asked, "What other concerns?"

"I'm not at liberty to discuss ongoing investigations," Sombra stated, formally. "Especially those conducted by other departments of Equestrian law enforcement." His tone lightened somewhat as he said, "But enough about that. How is Cobalt?"

Chuckling, Azure said, "He's happy. Up to his neck in fillies who are quietly jockeying for the position of 'very special somepony', with more appearing every couple of days... and he's still completely oblivious to it." With a shrug, he added, "Who knew that being the only non-crystal colt in the Crystal Empire would make him so popular?"

With a big laugh, Sombra said, "That colt's life is going to be painfully complicated when he and his fan club hit puberty. I wouldn't be surprised if a war breaks out before the end of that... or if one, or all, of the princesses get dragged into it. Give him my best when you get back home: It may be a while before I can sweet talk the princesses into letting me visit, but I'll see what I can manage. Ever since I told Rochelle the whole story about my return, she's been insisting on getting a chance to meet him."
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Aphid was... well, she was nervous, to be honest. While Azure spoke with the director, she was left in a waiting room with Howe. The butler was a mystery: As far as she knew, there wasn't a single commoner in the swarm named 'Howe'. That, plus his above average height, his build, and the length of his horn, all screamed that he was an aristocrat.

But why would an aristo be playing servant to a colt, even a fantastically rich one?

And he just had to be the most handsome changeling she'd ever seen, too. She had to constantly remind herself that while looking was fine, there were very strict rules against anything more than that. The kind of rules that ended with the words 'Off With Your Head' if you broke them. Still, the world was changing... right?

Not that it meant much: While she might have gotten a name, mostly due to dumb luck, Aphid didn't have any distinguishing characteristics. She wasn't athletic, or really all that pretty. In just about every category, including brains, she was more or less average. A brick would be more interesting than she was...

Clearing his throat, Howe asked, "Are you alright? I can imagine that you must still be sore, given the way you were treated."

Sore did not do the way she was feeling justice: Her neck itched abominably, and her muscles were screaming at her. The chain on her collar, bolted to the ceiling, was not long enough to reach the floor, and it had barely been long enough to reach her neck while sitting without choking her... so she'd ended up sitting, in the same position, for a year... even in her sleep. She was lucky her muscles hadn't atrophied completely...

Rubbing at the scars on her neck, born from a year of wearing a collar, she admitted, "I've felt better. I'll be fine, though. I just need a chance to work the kinks out: After a year playing statue, I'm stiff in ways that words can't possibly describe."

Nodding, Howe said, "Well, we'll be leaving on the next train out after this bit of business is done. It'll be a long trip, but the bedding inside the luxury car is quite pleasant, I assure you." With a chuckle, he added, "Then, once we get you to the manor, the other maids will help you to adjust to your new surroundings."

Surprised, Aphid asked, "But the way Azure put it, I thought you didn't have any maids?"

With an eloquent shrug, Howe said, "Well, there are a few others, but given the state that the manor was in when I first arrived, it would have required a brigade to get the entire mansion back to tip-top shape by now, especially..." For a moment, Howe seemed like he might go into detail, then shrugged and said, "But that is neither here nor there. Just rest assured, you'll have plenty of hooves to aid you while you find your way." Then he chuckled, and added, "And plenty of work to keep you occupied."

And plenty of competition, she added mentally, as she studied Howe and calculated whether or not getting a piece of that action would be worth risking an execution over...