"You're awake!"

Courage jerked her head up, and instantly regretted it. Her eyes focused on a pony face—a very normal pony face—looking right at her. "Ugh…"

"Welcome!" The pony seemed not only overly cheerful to see her, but also very happy that she was awake. "You are the first we have ever seen come from below."

Memories of fighting, of clawing for blood and ripping apart countless foes, receded from Courage's mind. The hundreds of combats she had fought were just a dream, it didn't make the enemies she really had defeated any less real. "Where am I? What Circle is this?"

"We don't worry about Circles here. This is a peaceful little village; all the bad things are further down." The white earth pony shook his head, not only did he look like a normal pony, but his soft pink mane looked very normal. "So, what is your name?"

Courage's mouth was open, she was about to tell them her name, when a tingle of memory reminded her. "Hammered Fine." It was the best she could do on short notice, and she really hoped her friend wouldn't suffer for her lie. "There should have been a bit— a mare, with me."

"Now, now. I broke the rules for you, I couldn't take her too."

"Damn you!" Courage snarled, not realizing the pony tending to her hadn't heard too. "Wait, I didn't mean you." A sudden need settled over her. What do I even look like now? Climbing from the bed, stretching aching muscles, she realized she still had a lot of the canine features of the previous Circle, although her burning mane and tail were, thankfully, absent. Big, dark wings topped her shoulders still, but being in a little room she had no way to test if they still worked.

"Oh, uh… you have a voice in your head?" The stallion looked at Courage with a little shock. "Where are my manners? I am White. Welcome to Relaxation Town."

"Wait a second, this isn't where all the lazy ponies are, is it?" Courage spotted a mirror and froze at the sight of her face. Staring back at her, the creature looked more demon than pony. A longer than usual muzzle led from what she knew was a fang-filled mouth, up to a pair of eyes that cut through the world like knives. But Courage's eyes found the mirror-twin's horn and she almost panicked. Long and curved, it started off the same red as her fur, but at the tip it was inky-black. "Oh buck…"

"No, Hammered… do you mind if I call you Red?" White gave her a soft smile, gesturing to front door with a hoof. "The demons just leave us alone here. You can relax, even have a little fun…" White blushed hotly.

"Well, I guess it doesn't matter. I am trying to get out of here, the only reason I am in this place is because I messed up a spell, and for some reason I can't just do it again to leave…" Courage trailed off, fighting to continue her explanation as White's face dropped more and more. By the time she stopped, he looked like Courage had just kicked his pet. "Well… I could stay a little while."

Courage was wrapped in a tight hug, and found herself hugging back, if only because it felt like a "pony thing," and she felt she needed those right now. The hug lasted a while, and despite her having just woken from an odd sleep, she yawned.

"You must be tired, you only just woke up." White nuzzled Courage's cheek. "Why don't you lay down, and tomorrow we can try to work out how you can do what you want to?"

The offer was too good, Courage yawned and sighed. "Yeah, just a little sleep will be good; just one night." She padded back to the bed and climbed up onto it. "Sorry I—"

Courage felt better than she had in days, and she hadn't even opened her eyes yet. The tension and readiness to do harm was gone. She kept her eyes closed and squirmed a little in bed.

"Are you feeling more relaxed?" White had clearly been waiting for her to wake. "You look more relaxed."

"I feel more relaxed. Having a real bed is… a luxury. Thank you, White." Courage rolled over and stretched. She didn't realize it at first, but she had completely flashed herself to the stallion. When she remembered where she was, and that she didn't even know more than his name, Courage shrank back a little in modesty. Her eyes focused on her legs and she realized something odd, they were pony-like again: no more paws. "What…?"

"I'll make you something to eat." White trotted from the room and was out the door before Courage could even work out what was going on.

"Okay now, this is weird." She looked at her hooves, appreciating whatever force had turned them back to "normal" again. "Maybe this place is more than just relaxing." She looked down at herself, but couldn't see anything different from the previous day, except her hooves. It was enough to make her grin like a loon.

Strutting around the room, Courage kept looking back at the mirror, enjoying the thought that she might go back to normal, how she was. "I could keep the wings, though." She admired the folded, leathery limbs. "Coming." She trotted off, heading out the door and turning the direction White had gone.

Spotting White's tail in what seemed to be the kitchen, Courage made her way through. "If this house is anything to go by, this is not too… too…" Something was off about the stallion, something she hadn't noticed earlier. "You don't have a cutie mark?"

"Oh?" White looked back at his flank and gave a shrug. "I don't really miss it." He passed two plates to the table, both were covered in a neat salad. "Dig in." He took a seat and started munching on a leaf.

Courage sat down at the table and started poking at the salad. "Huh, must be how I got here. Something—"

"Do not mention me."

"Something made me get a little extra on it, but I think it will change back once I get out." Courage heeded the voice's advice, and avoided mentioning his involvement with the chains on her cutie mark, if only because it had saved her in the previous Circle. "Have you been higher than here?"

"To the River?" White saw confusion on Courage's face. "Oh, the River Styx, that place is not nice. The wrathful and the sullen fight, you can work out how that ends." He waved a stick of celery around. "Then you have Avarice, then Gluttony, then… Lust."

"There is a whole Circle just for lust?" Courage took a moment to eat some salad herself, it tasted wonderful compared to what she had been forced to eat recently.

"And then, right up near the top, you have Tartarus, ponies as far as you can see." White ate more. "So you see why, when we found this nice little place, we jumped on it and don't want to leave. It is just… easier, here."

"Yeah, but I want to get out. I… I don't belong in here." Courage ate more of the food, almost finishing the plate off. "Are there others here?"

"Of course there is—just figured you would want to relax and recover first." White waited for Courage to finish her own salad before he claimed her plate. "And… I shouldn't say."

The tone White used brooked no chance to ignore it, Courage was opening her mouth before she realized it. "Say what?" It was almost like a game, she realized.

"Well, you were so pretty, I guess I liked looking at you." White blushed and looked away. "Please forgive me, I didn't mean to be so forward."

Courage smiled at the coy stallion. "It's alright, White. I… I am flattered, and a little—" She stopped, shocked by what she was about to say, but now White was looking right at her, smiling a little. "Would you… you know, want to play a little?" The first reply was seeing White's tail start to swish.

White stood up and walked around to Courage's side of the table. "I have a bigger bed." He grinned like a colt. When Courage climbed off her own chair and moved in beside him, he practically pranced back down the hall.

Blushing, Courage trotted after him, poking her head in the bedroom he had gone into. The kiss on the cheek he gave her came from nowhere, White having found a spot to hide beside the door. "Well, aren't you—" She was interrupted by another kiss, this one on her lips. Giving a happy sigh, she pressed forward, felt him respond in kind. Turning around a little, she didn't realize what he had done until her back-legs bumped the bed.

Breaking the kiss, White laughed. "Now I have you right where I wanted you, the moment I first laid eyes on you, Red." He bore in with another kiss, forcing Courage back up and onto the bed.

He wasn't like any of the other creatures in the Pit had been so far, Courage let out a happy groan when White's snout pushed under her tail and started licking, lapping. Her folds were attended most thoroughly, she sang for him in tones alternating between low and high. But when he drew back it caught Courage in the middle of a needy moan. Looking back, she caught sight of White climbing up and over her.

"Look forward." White's words were the softest command, and Courage obeyed. He pressed his belly and barrel against her back and bore down. When the end of his long shaft pressed to her vulva, he didn't pause for a second.

When Courage felt the stallion start into her, she squirmed and writhed, but didn't pull away. Each slow thrust had her groaning in pleasure, and each withdrawal had her whimper at the emptiness she felt. Rocking to the motion, Courage felt White speed up. Little by little the stallion built his pace, until Courage was barely able to focus on just bracing against his hard shoves. When the hot rush of seed blossomed in her, Courage felt her own end arrive.

Electricity, or so it felt, sprayed out from Courage's groin, echoing and reverberating around her body as blinding pleasure claimed her. Feeling so good she could really relax, Courage was ready to snuggle up against the stallion. But then he started bucking again.

Contentedness, pure and simple. Courage woke in the strange bed, but she felt so good that she didn't immediately question what had happened. The relaxation let her mind slowly work at bringing the truth to light. White.

Movement caught Courage's attention. Behind her, White moved, and while his body was still snugged in against her own, she felt him move inside her, the size and shape of the stallion now feeling quite familiar.

"You are giving in? After all this?"

Courage wanted to throw something at the voice. She was comfortable, safe, content. "Maybe I am, maybe I like it here." The moment she said the words, Courage felt the shaft inside her surge and White bucked into her. The ride was starting again and she certainly didn't want off. It was slower, more gentle than the sex the previous night… any of the times. She bored down and back, loving the feel of White inside her. "Yesssssss." She dragged out the word as her orgasm came.

"You were doing so well, too. Now he has you and you cannot get away."

The words finally pulled Courage back from her bliss, she shook her head and felt… felt different. Some sense, some strange feeling, urged her to move, to pull free of White—despite his protesting hooves, that seemed inclined to hug her—and run back to the room she had started in. Gazing in the big mirror, she saw her wings had shrunk, her horn too. Her coat was even more vibrant red, but strangest of all, it was hard to see her face clearly. "What the bucking buck?"

Courage's heart began to race, she galloped through the house toward the front door. Throwing it open she looked outside. There were dozens of ponies, like White had said, but each and every one of them was a perfect, primary color. Their fur was not the strangest thing, however. Not a single one of them had eyes, nose, or mouth; not one of them had a cutie mark.

"Red?" Courage's head was feeling heavy, she hadn't realized she had wandered out into the crowd of "lost" ponies. "Red, come back in, you aren't ready to be out here yet." When she didn't immediately come, the stallion's face changed from caring to hate-filled snarl. "Hammered Fine, by your name I summon you to my home!"

"Buck, you." Courage ran. She pounded her hooves, putting distance between herself and that house as quickly as possible. She attempted to spread her wings, but they were no longer big enough to carry her.

"Would you like help?"

"Yes, yes help, send somepony, anypony, please!" Courage turned, risking a glance.

The faceless demon known as White was chasing her.

Author's Notes:

So I do this "Ask x" thing, x can be any pony within the story. You can ask them anything and I they will definitely hopefully reply. Keep the questions appropriate to the age-rating of the stories and of course, I they will answer the best question(s) in the author notes of the next chapter. The more votes a comment has the more likely I will get it to the right pony to answer, try and keep it to one answer per post! I They will pick one question per chapter. (note, the commissioner will answer questions in the comments, since this is their OC)

~~~~~+++++~~~~~

Support me on atreon

Join me on Discord. Please use your FimFic name as an alias. Warning, said chat may contain NSFW material and should be considered adult in nature.

Awesome ponies who are already helping to keep me in keyboards and rum:
Canary in the coal mine
Daremo
Mary Rowland
Boulder
A.P.O.N.I.
Mephia
Nils
Ian

And special thanks to the following, for careful eyes and friendly words:
Daremo
Vutava
Boulder
Jeffh4