Night had yet to fall in Equestria when Merry Day left the castle left the castle in a hurry. Her normally tidy maid’s outfit looked like it hadn’t been washed properly in days and looked baggy on her, as if she had lost a great deal of weight recently. The mare’s mane was no longer clean and tidy, but instead had a messy, greasy look to it. There were also dark circles around her eyes as if she hadn’t been sleeping well while her arms, which were currently holding several files against her chest in a tight embrace, twitched from time to time.

It wasn’t just her appearance that had changed in recent days. The rumor mill within the castle was spinning like mad due to Merry’s recent behavior. It was well known within the castle that Tick Tock, Merry’s former fiancé, had broken off their engagement after she had refused to tell him what had happened to their future house funds. Another thing that had become well known was that Merry had sold all of her worldly possessions dirt cheap. From her fine silverware which had been in Merry’s family for several generations to the watch Tick Tock had made for her when they became formally engaged. All she owned now was the single uniform she was currently wearing.

Several times over the last few days, Merry had heard various theories trying to explain her actions. Most seemed to believe that Merry had gotten hooked on Griffonstonian weight loss drugs. Others believed that Merry was trying to get out of a huge gambling debt and was too ashamed to ask for help or even admit what had happened. A few maids believed that she was actually a Changeling and that the real Merry was being held in a cocoon somewhere far away.

But none of those rumors mattered to Merry as she bolted down the streets towards a more run down area of Canterlot. Several times she bumped into and even knocked down several ponies that were unable to get out of the way in time. Merry offered no apology nor did she turn her head to look at the ones yelling at her. They were all the farthest thing from her mind which was focused on getting back to him; to complete the task he had given her.

Eventually, Merry arrived at Prince Charming’s apartment building. With greater speed than before she raced into the building and up the stairs, slowing down only when she came to the door. Once inside, Merry closed the door quietly as so that she won’t disturb or annoy her lover. To her, anything that even slightly irritated him was the single greatest crime a pony could commit. Merry didn’t know if she could live with herself if she upset him in any way.

Once the door was closed, Merry lifted the folders in her magic as she began to undress right on the spot. After she had freed herself from her uniform Merry tossed it onto the dirty floor without a care in the world as her now thinner, bonier frame was out in the open. Her hands fidgeted slighty, making it a tad more difficult to take off her bra but, at least her panties came off without a hitch. Now completely naked, Merry Day got on her hands and knees, the way Charming had instructed her. With the folders still in her magical hold she began to crawl across the dirty floor like some kind of animal.

Merry found Charming in what he called the grand dining room. Given the original layout of this apartment, this room was most likely originally intended to be a sitting or family room. But not any longer for Charming had recently purchased a massive, elegant table that would be fit for nobility. Hanging above the table was another recent addition, a crystal chandelier that held four candles which were currently burning away. On the table was a single plate and dining set that had been imported from a far away land. And there, at the end of the table, sat Prince Charming in the only chair that he had purchased as he ate a meal that smelled heavenly.

If Prince Charming was aware of Merry’s presence as she crawled next to where he sat, he showed no signs of it. Not even when Merry moved into a sitting position next to him, as if she were a dog, did he even glance in her direction. So Merry just sat there as she held the documents in her magic at eye level, waiting to be spoken to by her love as she fought to keep her stomach from making any noise that might offend him.

As she sat there, however, a weak voice sounded in the back of her head. The voice sounded like it had lost a great deal of its strength since Merry had first heard it when she had met her beloved Prince. Now, instead of screaming at her, it was like the soft whisper of a pony who was on the verge of death. The naked mare did her best to shut it out as it tried to plead with her to get away from Charming. It told lies that he was just using her and didn’t care about her. That she had to go to Princess Celestia to warn her of what he was doing. For her to-

“What’s this?” came Charming’s voice as he touched her cheek gently. It was upon hearing his voice that Merry realized that she had shut her eyes tightly in an effort to ignore the voice. Thankfully it was being dragged away again to deepest part of her mind while she looked longingly into her perfect stallion’s glowing eyes which darted from her to the files she had brought.

“I-I brought you more files from the castle,” answered Merry in a whispery voice. “Just like you asked.” As she spoke, she watched as Charming took the files in his hand before placing them on the table next to his plate. Before he opened the first one, Charming poured himself another glass of wine.

“You are such a wonderful marefriend,” said Charming, causing Merry to blush madly. “Did anypony catch you this time?”

“Almost,” answered Merry, now looking at the grimy floor. “Some of the maids have been following me around today. I think my boss believes I’m in some sort of trouble and is asking the others to keep an eye on me. Thankfully I managed to give them the slip so I could get these for you.” Merry then looked up and saw that Charming was smiling that wonderful smile of his as he looked at her. Her heart fluttered with joy, knowing that she was pleasing him.

“Very good,” he said before shifting in his seat. Now, one of Charming’s hooves was outstretched before Merry. “As a reward, you may clean my hooves with your tongue. That’ll make you happy, right?”

“Oh yes!” cried Merry as tears of joy ran down her face. She all but launched herself to the floor near her coltfriend’s hoof so that she could begin licking it clean

--

At the same time, Pip and Succubus were on a train heading towards Hollow Shades. Only one train ever seemed to head that way and it was far different than either the Crystal Locomotive or the Friendship Express. The Night Express, as it was called, was the most intimidating train Pip had ever seen. The train seemed to be made of black metal with various horrific images carved into it with great detail. Many of these images, especially on the curved smoke stack, showed the thestrals battling diamond dogs, Changelings, and eight legged wolves that looked like they were vomiting something at the bat winged ponies. Poking out at the front of the train were two large, menacing looking tusks that caused a shiver to run down the small stallion’s spine.

When the couple had first gotten on board, they were greeted by a thestral mare who had a very lithe frame, wearing a light grayish stewardess uniform. The mare seemed to do a double take at Succubus, briefly covering her mouth as she did this, before ushering them down the poorly lit hallways until they reached a passenger compartment just for them. Then, before they could take their seats, the mare vanished. Several hours later and they still had not seen her or any other passenger. Pip didn’t know if it was because they were the only passengers or if they were being intentionally avoided.

Pip knew that the most likely reason for this was because of Succubus’ breast size. It had been explained to him not too long ago that thestrals believe that a beautiful mare is one that has small sized breasts. The larger they are, the uglier the mare is in the eyes of their society. Most mares who ‘suffer’ because of this either choose to have their breasts removed in order to avoid the scorn or are kept locked away and out of sight. The latter was what had been the life Succubus had been forced to live, practically locked away until her family decided to marry her off to some stallion who wasn’t bothered by her body.

So, for several hours, the pair sat next to each other in silence as they await their final destination. A destination that, in truth, neither pony wanted to go to. Pip could easily remember the conversation they both had with Princesses Twilight and Luna, who told them they had to go and meet with Dark Bargain in the town of Hollow Shades. Once there, the stallion would fully explain the situation in full to them.

“Normally we would love to help you both sort this out,” Princess Twilight had explained to them a few days ago. “However, there is a slight problem with our friends the yaks that requires our attention.”

“I’ll go,” cried Succubus who had jumped over to Princess Twilight, holding her arms in a tight grip as she brought their faces closely together. “Send me! I heard that Princess Celestia loves to send unqualified ponies to help solve big issues like this. I’ve never seen a yak before, don’t know anything about their culture, or even what the problem is but I’ll manage with Pip by my side. So PLEASE SEND US THERE INSTEAD OF ANYWHERE NEAR THE HANGING CITY!”

“I, er, well,” Twilight had stammered in a bit of shock before looking over at Luna for help.

“The issue sadly requires a royal touch seeing that we might soon be breaking our alliance with them,” Princess Luna had replied as she walked over to the two mares and separated them. “We knew when going into an alliance with the yaks, that there would be a period of…adjustment for both sides. However, the yaks’ tendency to rage out over every little thing has been causing problems for us for years now. For example, last week a group of yaks destroyed a restaurant that was serving Yakistanian cuisine that wasn’t perfect. Not only was the building heavily damaged but several ponies were hospitalized. And that, sadly, is one of the better stories I’ve heard.

“Simply put, being their ‘friend’ is putting the citizens of Equestria at risk. We have voiced our concerns several times but nothing has come from it. Now it is time to show them we are serious. Both me and Princess Twilight are going to be traveling to Yakyakistan to speak with their king face to face, as well as meeting a race that the yaks have formed an alliance with: the caribou.”

Pip could remember suddenly feeling a cold wind blow by as soon as Princess Luna said the word 'caribou. And he noticed that everypony else in the room was also shivering, running their hands down their arms to create some friction. Then, a half second later, Sunset Shimmer came walking around a corner with a frown on her face.

“Twilight, the AC is on the fritz again,” she had said while shaking her head. “Keeps sending large blasts of air off randomly. And I don’t know who to call to get it fixed since magic created it.”

“I’ll look at it when I get back,” Twilight had said before placing a comforting hand on Succubus’ shoulder. “And don’t you worry Succubus. At most, you will be there for two to three days tops. We have already sent a message to the Countess informing her that you are under the protection of the crown. Nopony there will have any power to keep you there against your will.”

Now, every so often, Pip would look over at his wife to try and to attempt to start up a conversation. Each time he would find her sitting there, wearing her short shorts jeans and a red button up blouse that was tied up in front of her breasts to better show them off, looking out the window. It was only due to the reflection in the window that Pip was able to see her face, which had sadly lost the sparkle in her golden slit eyes and the smile on her face. Instead, her face held an emotionless mask as she stared off into the ever changing scenery. There were also moments when parts of her body seemed to tense up for a moment or her legs would begin to fidget slightly.

Eventually, the fields outside the moving train were replaced with a forest. The willow trees there were thick and dark, blocking out the soon to be moonlit sky. Looking out, Pip could see large webbing that wrapped around the trunks of several trees which added to its menacing appearance. But beyond that, Pip could barely see anything else in this dark forest. From all of this, he guessed that they had entered the land Apple Bloom had described in a report she had given for Miss Cheerilee’s class years ago: the Weeping Willow Forest. Meaning they were close to the homeland of the thestrals.

“I can’t take it anymore!” screamed Succubus as she suddenly stood up, five minutes after they had entered the forest. Her hands gripped the side of the window and began an attempt to pull it to its side.

“Succubus, calm down!” shouted Pip as he went over to her. His smaller arms wrapped around her waist as he then tried his best to pull her away. “You’re going to break the window.”

“I don’t care!” she shouted, trying to open the window and stop Pip from pulling her back at the same time. “We’re making a break for it! Maybe we’ll head to Griffinstone or Saddle Arabia and start a new life there!” It was then that Succubus, unable to keep her position with her split focus, was pulled backwards. Pip tried to keep them both upright and failed, his back hitting the ground followed by his wife landing on top of him.

“Pip!” cried Succubus as she turned around so that their chests were pressing against each other. Now Pip was looking up at Succubus’ worried, wide-eyed face. “Are you ok? Are you hurt anywhere?”

The small pinto stallion let out a small groan. “I think so,” he said while trying to keep his voice normal. Succubus looked like she calmed down a bit by this. Slowly she got off of him to reveal that, either during the fall or when she turned around, the knot holding her shirt together had come undone. Neither pony brought this up, however, as Succubus helped Pip get onto his hooves before embracing him.

“I can’t do this,” she whispered into his ear. “I don’t want to go back there.”

“I know,” replied Pip as he tightened his hold on her a bit in an effort to make her feel safer. “Believe me, if the princesses hadn’t told us we had to do this we wouldn’t be on this train.” He then pulled back a bit so that he could still look her in the eyes. “I promise that we’ll be on the next train out of here whenever this is over. Whatever this is.”

Succubus managed to smile a bit. “Thank you,” she said before leaning down and kissing him before pulling back. “I don’t know what I’d do without you.” Succubus then kissed Pip again, but with a bit more passion and force this time. Again and again, Succubus would pull away to say how much she loved him, how much she needed him right now, thanking him for being there, and so on before locking lips. Each time she did this, the kisses became longer and with more need. Soon, she stopped saying anything at all, letting her actions speak for her. Pip knew that she needed something like this more than usual. She needed this closeness to let her know everything was going to be alright.

Wet noises and moans filled the room as the two kept their mouths locked together. Their bodies pressed so tightly together that Pip could feel his wife’s nipples harden despite the fabric between their bodies. And he was sure that Succubus could feel his cock straining against his pants, wanting to be in the open air. Hands roamed Pip’s body as the two swayed to and fro. He could feel his shirt being untucked before one of his wife’s hands was feeling his back. The other hand slid between them and pressed itself against his bulge.

When Succubus pulled away, the two panted for a moment allowing Pip to realize that somehow he was now in a seat. The mare on top of him quickly got back to work, kissing and sucking on his neck like a vampony in some classic horror novel would do. The sensations hit Pip like a sky chariot, forcing him to close his eyes and moan while he drowned in the pleasure his love was giving him. He could barely feel her hands now as they moved across his body. It was only when he heard his belt being undone did his eyes open.

“Succubus,” Pip hissed as he shot a glance at the door. It was unlocked and all of the windows were uncovered. “We can’t do this here. Not like this!”

“Why not?” asked Succubus in a sly tone as she opened his pants. Not too long after, she pulled his boxer briefs down allowing his stiff member to be freed.

“Somepony might see us,” said Pip as he watched Succubus lick her lips. “We might get kicked off the train or something.”

Succubus moved closer to her target so when she spoke Pip could feel her warm breath washing over his cock. “Nopony has been down here in hours,” she said with a simple, purr filled voice. “Now let me take care of you.” With that said, Succubus’ lips descended upon the head while her hands cupped the sack below. Pip let out a pleasurable hiss when contact was made while Succubus hummed in delight.

The feeling of her lips was soon replaced with her tongue. Succubus started circling around the edge of the head with her tongue with a bliss filled expression on her face. After doing this several times, she moved down to the shaft so that she could paint it with her saliva. Each lick was slow and long with Succubus lowering her entire body and then raising it up with her tongue. Looking down, Pip saw that her eyes were focused on him alone. He could see the delight in her gaze at what her actions were doing to him. Her hands were not idle as one hand had moved from his sack to the base of his shaft, using a few fingers to jerk him off while the other hand fondled his balls.

Pip’s hands were now gripping the seat tightly. With his cock feeling every wet, Succubus began to flick her tongue against it at seemingly random spots before kissing the length. She let out a hum that caused Pip to fight the desire to throw his head back, but still moanedloudly. As he did, Pip could feel Succubus’ lips curl into a smile. She released him only to move down a bit more, kissing and licking his cock in this fashion until she reached his ball sack.

Still keeping her eyes on Pip, Succubus began to pleasure this part of his body while keeping her eyes on him. But unlike the slow motions she had been doing up until this moment, Succubus seemed to go feral. Her tongue moved swiftly across his sack and every now and then she would take one of the orbs in her mouth while growling like an animal. Pip found himself both scared and aroused by this. He knew that she was doing this to increase his arousal which, as was plainly visible, was working. Yet there was the fear that she might, in her passion, accidently clamp her sharp fangs down a little too hard.

At least, he would hope it would be accidental.

Before Pip could dwell on this for too long, Succubus pulled her body back as she allowed her shirt to fall down her body. As he watched this happen, Pip could now smell her arousal as well. The strong smell dominated the room now. He then spared a brief glance at the windows and saw that they had fogged up a bit. With her breasts now completely uncovered, Succubus took each in a hand to lift them gently.

“Allow me to pleasure you with these,” she said while leaning forwards. Pip then felt the familiar feeling of having his member sandwiched between her breasts. He could no longer see his member, hidden between her soft yet firm flesh.

Pip opened his mouth to say something, but the words were lost from his lips as she began to move. He could still feel the saliva on his member, which allowed this to proceed with less friction. Succubus was not holding back, lifting her jugs at a pace that would have astonished him had he not been caught up in the buildup of pleasure. But this speed came at a price and the saliva began to thin out. Pip could feel a twinge of pain coming from his cock and Succubus looked like she was feeling slightly irritated.

Eager to fix this, Succubus stopped what she was doing and released both her breasts and Pip’s member. Quickly she brought a hand close to her mouth and spat on it before using that same hand to grab Pip’s still hard shaft. The horny thestral mare then began to apply her spit onto Pip’s cock as if she were giving him a hand job. Then, after a couple of pumps, she went back to her boob job.

For the next several minutes, things continued like this. Succubus held his cock between her breasts, pumping them up and down until she needed to wet his dick again. Sometimes she would give him a sloppy hand job. Other times she would take his member in her mouth, moaning as she tasted his pre-cum. Or she would simply spit on it to give his cock the wetness it needed. While her breasts bounced up and down, Succubus would speak to him in a soft voice that spurred on his approaching orgasm. She would talk about how much she loved making him feel good with her breasts. She would talk about how much she knew he loved this. That soon they would be making love right here in the train car for anypony to walk in and see him filling his sexy wife with his seed.

That last comment pushed Pip over the edge. Without any warning he bucked his hips as his orgasm exploded. He watched as cum shot out from between Succubus’ breasts, landing on the top of her breasts as well as on her chin. Pip, panting heavily, saw Succubus as she moved one hand on top of her breasts near where the cum had landed as a satisfied smile appeared on her face.

It then looked like she was about to say something, but never got the chance. Before either of them knew it, the door slid open as the thestral stewardess stepped in. The mare’s eyes widened as her eyebrow twitched, her mouth hanging open in disgust at what she beheld. Pip could feel his face heat up as he saw her eyes focus on him before moving down to his groin and Succubus. As for his wife, she seemed to take the expression of a pout before moving down so that her cheek was pressed against Pip’s slowly softening member.

“Mine,” said Succubus.

--

Less than an hour later, the Night Express had finally stopped at its destination: Hollow Shades. Once it had made a full stop, both Pip and Succubus had been roughly pushed out of the train by the angry stewardess. Before either of them could collect their bearings, their luggage was flung out of the train followed by the door slamming shut so hard that Pip was surprised that the glass didn’t break.

After watching Succubus sticking out her tongue at the mare, Pip turned to look at the town. Hollow Shades looked like it had been built around a massive hole in the ground large enough for Pip to imagine a hundred thestrals flying out of it with room to spare. In front of him where what looked like shops made of the same wood found throughout the forest. Each one was two stories tall with wooden, leering gargoyles sticking out along the rooftops, the tops resembling a purple scaly egg. The one closest to the train station looked like a grocery store, with piles of fruit in barrels right outside the door and the prices written in red letters on the barrels. And while Pip didn’t have a pegasi eye view, he could somewhat see what was on the other side of the hole thanks to the spaces between the shops. What he could make out were many tightly packed, triangle shaped buildings that looked like they were more residential.

Pip then began to take a larger notice of things. There were few thestrals milling about, either on hoof or wing. Most of them were wearing heavy clothing intended for farm labor that covered nearly their entire bodies except for their hands and heads. Pip could even see one such thestral stallion riding on a cart full of apples being pulled by a six-legged, eight-eyed wolf the size of a timber wolf. The other thestrals dressed in a style that would allow them to fit in with the Canterlot crowd, but were still just as form concealing. Even the guards, he quickly noted, seemed to make sure nothing from the neck down was uncovered besides their hands.

The pinto was glad his wife’s back was still turned. She couldn’t see the glares that some of these ponies were giving them. It was as though both of them had offended the entire town just by being here. Or perhaps it was how they were dressed. Pip didn’t know if they could see Succubus’ breast size, but nopony with eyes could miss the amount of skin she was showing. As for himself, Pip was wearing a rather casual red short-sleeved shirt and jeans.

Feeling like the next few days would be highly unpleasant already, Pip decided to quickly look around to see if there was anypony to greet them. After all, they were here to meet Dark Bargain and Pip knew he lived in the Hanging City. It was a reasonable assumption to believe that the stallion would either send a servant to pick them up or meet them here himself.

Yet, as Pip looked around, all he saw was a little filly in a white frilly dress sitting on a bench at the other end of the platform. Despite being a distance away, Pip could make out her grey coat and long green mane that was done up in many curls. He could also see that the mare was holding something in her small hands that looked like an old, straw doll. It seemed odd to him that she would have something like that given how expensive her dress looked. But, in the end, it didn’t concern him so Pip turned his head to look the other way.

“I hate you,” came a whisper in his ear. Pip’s eyes widened as he turned around to find out who had said that. It wasn’t Succubus because the voice was far too foal-like, but with a giddy edge to it that sent shivers down his spine.

“Pip, what’s wrong?” asked Succubus who had taken notice of Pip’s distress.

“Did you hear that?” asked Pip, still frantically spinning around to try and find who had spoken to him. But there was nopony else around close enough.

“Hear what?” asked Succubus as she blinked at him.

“A voice,” explained Pip as he stopped to look at her. “It said-”

“Go away,” hissed the voice in his ear. Before Pip could do or say anything, his arm moved on its own accord behind his back. He then felt something kick him behind his legs to bring him to his knees. Pip let out a scream of pain as he felt each of his fingers twisting around each other as if somepony were trying to tie them into complicated knots. Fearful of what was happening, he looked up at Succubus to find her looking not scared or worried or anything like that, but angry. Her eyes were narrowed as she looked down at him and Pip felt icy fear grip his heart.

Then…