Author's Notes:

Hey there everyone, Schorl here. It's been a while, but here is a new chapter for you all to enjoy. Be forewarned though, this chapter is a bit of an introduction to this story's cast of main characters, thus is focused on giving a general description to each of them, as well as beginning to present the real meat of what this story will be about. While the new characters are mostly donated OCs, I would hope they would be just as interesting as any other characters you might wish to see in their place. That said, I would understand to some degree if you wanted to skip a bunch of character introductions, thus why I left this warning.

Anyways, enjoy the chapter, and have a nice day!

Scylla stepped unevenly, guided down a hallway by her minotaur captor. They were heading to a door that would have taken a mere minute to reach under normal circumstances, but was taking twice as long in her current condition. The kelpie couldn’t help it. Her balance was being thrown off for a number of reasons: the drugs in her, the fact she hadn’t stood on her hooves since her arrival to the Society, and the ache in her ass for being stuffed full with her guide’s massive penis. She still couldn’t believe that her tight rump was able to swallow his bullhood as it had, but the soreness inside her made sure she understood that it had happened.

However, all those issues didn’t compare to the ever growing fire forming in her loins. Scylla had felt horny before, turned on by some random hunky stallion, or brought to arousal by a popular colt band, but never before had she felt an unbearable heat like this. Each step seemed as if it intensified the feeling, creating jolts of want that filled her saturated vaginal passage. While she had noticed this feeling before on the table, it was so small it was negligible. With her moving and getting her blood pumping thoroughly, the strength of this urge was un-ignorable.

All this made for a very complicated trek for the kelpie, causing her to stumble and flinch each time a spark of desire entered her brain. If not for the minotaur hand around her neck holding her up and pushing her forward, she would have fallen to the floor. Scylla didn’t find the pot bellied bovine all that helpful, as his manhandling not only aggravated the heat she felt inside, but at times his fingers would squeeze too tightly, making it hard for her to breath. Whether or not this was intentional, she could only assume, and seeing how this bull had treated her thus far, she wasn’t exactly willing to give him the benefit of the doubt.

“It’s a real shame…” said the minotaur, giving Scylla another push to keep her pace steady.

The kelpie believed that he wanted her to respond, but she remained silent, having nothing to say to the creature who had raped her. Sensing her stubbornness, the minotaur made her walk in front of him, and sent a solid smack to her rear.

As Scylla jumped forward from the sting of the spank, the minotaur proceeded to talk aloud. “To think that a cute mare like you will go to someone other than myself, it’s a real shame. If I were your master, I’d train your body to enjoy everything I did to you.” Pulling Scylla back to him, the fat minotaur pressed his snout into her mane, inhaling so powerfully that the mare could feel several strands of her mane getting sucked into his nostrils. “Haaah… Think of it, my teeth around your tits, forcing milk to shoot out as I bite down. The sting of straps from a flail licking across those soft folds between your legs. The burn of a brand upon that hairless ass of yours. There is sooo much I could do to you, so much I can make you love.”

Scylla’s mind froze with terror. The minotaur was talking about things beyond just sex and rape. What he was describing was torture, plain and simple. Even more, he was getting some sort of sexual thrill out of describing these acts to her. She had heard of such people before, those who took joy from hurting others, but never in reality. Only in works of fiction, in her erotic novels, had she ever seen this behavior. Men and women alike reveling in the act of sadism, like a rich mare forcing a young stallion into her servitude because of a father’s debt, or a pegasus guard interrogating a naked hippogryph spy in the dungeons of some fictional castle.

But as strangely arousing as such scenarios were in written word, and titillating she found it to picture herself at the mercy of a person who wanted to ravage her. when met face to face with a real sadist, Scylla felt nothing but fear and helplessness now that the once impossible fantasy became possible. The panic building inside her was enough to drown out everything else, including the fiery desire that had been building inside her.

Not that the minotaur was going to take her terror into any kind of consideration though. He had his own plans for her, or rather, someone else did. Odds were, he would have very little interaction with Scylla after they reached the end of the hallway. Such a lost opportunity was a terrible shame. However, things were not yet decided, and he could still hope that luck would would allow for he and this special mare to have a more intimate relationship.

The minotaur ended his short break, and moved forward again, his ward having to move with him so she wasn’t dragged along. The distance to their destination rapidly approached, the door coming within reach much faster than Scylla wanted. Then again, she was hoping that she would never have to go through that door, and see what awaited her inside. As the bull had said before, her soon to be master was in there, and there was no room in her mind to believe that her violation wouldn’t continue the moment she was handed off to him. All the want in the world wasn’t going to stop her from going through that door though, and the fat bull wasted no time opening it and ushering her into the next room the second his hand could touch the minotaur sized knob on the structure.

Once shoved past the door’s threshold, Scylla could see what laid behind it, and what it was destroyed any hope she had. She was now in a large circular room, one the size of a small auditorium, with the walls covered in rows of large, step shaped slabs of concrete that her far to big for a pony to scale without using their arms. These weren’t steps, but a set of stone benches, crafted specifically for one species in mind, which Scylla understood quickly seeing that that the seating arrangements were packed nearly to capacity by... them.

Minotaur, dozens of them. More than Scylla’s actively frightened mind cared to count, but there had to at least be a hundred of them, waiting, relaxing, talking to one another, some even looking in the direction of the kelpie. Scylla felt her knees buckle a little at this revelation, her ignited imagination not letting her think for a second that this were some mistake, or that she and her guide were just passing through some sort of minotaur break room. The set up was too grandiose for that, especially since there were a few other things in the room that gave the setting a sense of significance.

In the center of the room, sitting squarely in the middle of the stone steps within a circular clearing in this likewise rounded room, was a altar of some kind. The altar was mushroom shaped, slim at the bottom and big on the top. The top part had six metal rectangular slabs set atop its exterior at a diagonal angle, making the mushroom shape more apparent. Each of these slabs had on them a set of shackles that dangled down from the top, two leather straps bolted into the middle of the slabs, a third much larger strap right below and centered between those straps, and two large hand holds placed at the sides of metal rectangles welded into the inner area of the mushroom alter. As impressive as the altar was, it was not the only thing of note in the room, as behind it, right across from the door Scylla had entered from, was a wall made of some sort of black crystal, dividing the two halves of the chamber. Aside from being different from anything else in the room, it was a rather large structure that served no purpose other than decoration, but something about it felt ominous to Scylla. Something about that dark rock made the kelpie feel like she were being watched, like the stone itself was watching her.

As Scylla stood there, terrified and confused, a stag that had been standing by the door addressed the minotaur holding her. “Ah, Master Jupiter, You’ve arrived with the final element I see.” the stag said, giving the same open armed bow as Xenia did in the spa room.

The stag, like most of the other deer Scylla had seen so far, wore nothing but a collar and a smile. Not that she truly noticed, being too distracted by everything else going on around her. The minotaur holding her had been expecting him though, and as the deer stepped forward, he loosened his grip.

“I hope you’re not trying to say something serf,” said the minotaur as he released the kelpie into the stags care, “If I’m not on time, then you should know that it’s the slave’s fault.”

“Of course not Master Jupiter.” the deer agreed, “And I would never assume otherwise of a mighty minotaur, I assure you.”

The fat minotaur snorted in a huff, seemingly indignant about the deer male’s very existence. Nonetheless, he left the care of the kelpie in the hands of this buck, and joined his fellow bovines on the stone seats.

As the bull walked away, the deer closed the door the massive male had left open in his hurry. “Theeeere we... go!” he said as he exerted a deal of effort on the door made for a much larger creature than himself. Finishing that task, he returned to the kelpie, and introduced himself proper to her. With a wave of his hand in front of her eyes, he broke her fixation on the rest of the room. “Hello there, and allow me to welcome you to the family.”

“What?” Scylla answered, still lost in what was happening around her, “Family? What are you talking about?”

“Forgive my terminology. We Antlertian consider all slaves of minotaur to be part of our family.”

The deer’s words confirmed Scylla’s fears. She wasn’t going to be a given to another pony, but to a minotaur. She despised the thought that she would have to act as a slave to one of them, having been given a poor opinion of the lot of them by the few she had already encountered. What could she do about it though? She couldn’t fight, she couldn’t run, and she couldn’t depend on anypony else to save her from this. All she could do was go along with whatever they had planned for her, else they might punish her for trying to resist.

“But let’s move past that for now. I need to give you something before the ritual started, and master Jupiter did take a while getting you here.” The deer went over to a hook near the door, and retrieved from it a white strap of thick leather. The kelpie, still consumed by her own thoughts, didn’t even notice this until the deer was already wrapping it around her throat. “Chin up please.”

Scylla did as she was requested without considering what the deer was doing to her, and as she rose her head, he brought the two ends of the strap together. The two ends had attached to them a pair of clasps, one sliding into the other with incredible ease, making a loud “Snap” sound as hooks fell into place. As if that weren’t enough, the deer then took a key that had accompanied the piece of leather, and slipped it into a hole in the clasp. With a twist, several devices within closed around the inserted parts of the conjoined clasps, trapping them inside for as long as these additional parts were in place. With this done, and the key removed, only one who had the key could remove the collar from this point on.

With the collar now firmly in place, Scylla couldn’t help but touch it. It was a little tight against her skin. Not so much that it interfered with her breathing, but enough that the thick leather was un-ignorable, an ever present thing on her person that would remind her of what her status was in the eyes of her captors. Continued exploration of the object revealed to the kelpie that the band was smooth, lacking almost any discerning marks or features, save for one.

On the front of it, embedded in the leather itself, was a symbol of some sort. Scylla, having been distracted, was unable to see this when her collar was being put on, but by touch she could feel that it was a gemstone, of what kind she couldn’t discern, with a smaller circle cut into it about a half a centimeter in that traced the outer section of the stone. The etching also had connected to it several wavy lines that headed towards the center, meeting there to join as one. Lastly, the three segmented sections in the gem the lines created had a single dot each put into them. If the shape of the gem had any significance or meaning, Scylla couldn’t hazard a guess. All she knew is that the gem added a bit of weight to her new accessory, which she worried would cause her to strain her neck as she wore it.

“Do you like it? It’s a special collar given only to special females.” The deer said as he attached a leash to a small ring on the collar’s front, located just below the gem.

“It’s… nice…” Scylla dishearteningly responded, not seeing what was so special about either it or herself at this moment.

“Nice?” the deer asked, picking up on the kelpie’s depressed tone. “I suppose it’s not ideal, seeing that this is your first day as a slave. You’d probably rather be back home, doing whatever pony things you were doing before you were brought here.”

The very mention of her home reminded Scylla of everything she had taken away from her. Her room, her things, her friends, and most importantly, her father. The mare couldn’t help but start crying at the loss of it all.

“Aww, come now. There is no need for tears.” the stag said in the most calming voice he could manage, using the fur on his hands to wipe the tears away and clean up the smudges of makeup all her crying up to this point had caused, “It’s tough now, but once you get past this things will get easier. You’re gonna get a nice, strong master who will take care of you. You’ll be trained by the Society to become the best mare you can be, and once that's done you’ll have a life of ease as a bre-”

Before he could finish what he had to say, the lights in the room dimmed to near darkness, and every voice in the room grew silent.

“Shoot, the ceremony is starting.” The stag said in a hush, “We need to get into position or you’ll get in trouble. Please follow me, and try not to make a sound.”

The stag stepped out into the clearing, and while Scylla did not follow him immediately, the tug of her leash got her moving. It also helped to guide her, as her tears and the darkness of the room obstructed her vision. As quietly as she could, she went where that taut strip of fabric led her, and a few seconds later, she was standing in front of one of the rows of stone benches, in front of an unknown number of men would wished to take from her any freedom she had.

Not long after, music filled the room, a soft, ambient melody to set the mood of the event. Then, seven spotlights came to life, all of which pointing to the wall of dark crystal Scylla had noticed before. It drew in her attention, as well as that of every occupant in the room, and wiping what was left of her drying tears out of her eyes, she managed to see something that was truly amazing to her.

From seemingly out of nowhere, a mare appeared in front of the wall, a crystal unicorn mare, purple with a dark blue mane, wearing a shimmering black evening gown and holding a microphone. She was the same one that had teased her father earlier, but she was blindfolded at the time and didn’t know that. All she knew was that mare had some form of importance, seeing that all attention was being solely directed to her at the moment, and that she had just came out of nowhere. At first, Scylla believed she was just mistaken. That her tears and the crystal unicorn’s colors just made her perceive the mare appearing out of thin air, but soon something happened that completely removed any doubt.

As the crystal mare walked to the center of the room, a minotaur, one slightly bigger than the other ones she had encountered, walked into the room, coming out from the crystal wall. He hadn’t smashed through it, or stepped out from some secret passage behind hidden by the wall. He had literally stepped out from it, like he was walking through a wall of water. It wasn’t just him either, as an odd, orange pony with white hair came out right after.

As astonishing as that was, leaving Scylla wondering if this was a trick or actual magic at work, she couldn’t help but have her attention drawn back to the crystal mare as she moved along. Wherever she went, the spotlights followed and centered on her, and likewise the two that were emerged from the wall followed.

The mare made her way to the altar, and once there the large minotaur behind her lifted her up, setting her a top it. After dusting off and straightening out her dress, the unicorn brought her microphone to her lips to speak.

“Esteemed members of the Society Security Sector,” she began, looking around the room with a sinister smile, “I welcome you to our second Minotaur Matchmaking ceremony. A celebration and reward for all the hard work you’ve done to help us accomplish our goal of joining submissive ponies with their rightful masters.”

The crystal mare was very pleased with herself as she gave her speech, as Scylla could tell by the happiness she was emitting. Scylla couldn’t understand how anypony could take joy in this. In kidnapping other ponies, but this unicorn didn’t look at all hesitant about the awful things this group was doing. She wasn’t wearing a collar either, so she had to be somepony who profited from this slavery ring.

“Since this is only our second such event,” the mare went on to say, “I am going to explain the rules of this event one more time before introducing our ‘rewards’, just to be sure that everyone present understands the proceedings. This ceremony is a bonus to go along with your pay, the chance to get a slave of your own before we finalize the projected goals, and gather enough slaves to make them available to all members of The Society. However, because we are on short supply of available flesh at the moment, it was decided that the most fair way to decide who gets our lovely little offerings was to hold a lottery.”

A lottery? Scylla thought to herself. She knew that she was going to be made a slave, and had assumed that a minotaur was going to be her owner, but now the kelpie was learning that she was not being bought, but raffled off to whichever of these bovines who happened to hold a ticket with the right number on it. Something about that made this all feel more degrading, like she was being treated as a door prize.

“Six of you lucky bulls will be called down in front of your peers, so that you may then join in a game of roulette, and determine which of our attractive and alluring females will go to which of our winners through the fairest means possible.” With the rules laid out, the crystal mare gave her long mane a flick with her hand, adding quite a deal of flair to the action, the gesture all part of her performance as she used her body motions to entertain the audience. “With the rules out of the way, let’s proceed to what you are all here for, and introduce the slaves that the most lucky of you will be crossing your fingers for.”

The mare lifted her finger up into the air, pointing to the heavens while looking within the shadows that surrounded her. She stood this way for a little while, allowing the suspense to build in the crowd. Scylla could feel the tension filling the room, a deathly silence consuming all sound as all awaited the unicorn’s next move. If all eyes were not upon the crystal mare before, they sure were now.

She was well aware of this too, as she made a “Heh” noise loud enough that it was picked up on her microphone. Next thing the audience knew, the crystal pony was on the move, bringing her arm back down, shooting her hand to her side to point out into a seemingly random direction. The very second her arm was fully extended one of the lights that beamed down upon her broke away, running off into the direction that she pointed as if she had projected it herself. It flew across the floor, traveling through the room in a straight line, until it landed on something in the darkness. That something, was another pony.

“Hailing all the way from Horseshoe Bay,” the crystal mare said as the single light shined down on a pink unicorn, “Everyone put your hands together for Charming Tale, our new ‘Element of Obedience!”

At the mare’s command, the room erupted with the sound of applause. Scylla didn’t join in, but her eyes were glued on this new pony. Like herself, the pink unicorn was completely nude, save for a cloth collar around her neck with a topaz upon its front, a black ring around the base of her horn, and her own arms which were doing their best to cover any private areas. The kelpie couldn’t tell from this distance if the gem was the same shape as her own, but she could tell that like herself a leash was coming off of it like her own, certainly being held by somepony just outside of the light.

Scylla could tell other things about the unicorn too, like her body type for instance, which was tall, but rather slender. She reminded Scylla a little of a supermodel mare from one of her magazines, Fleur De Lis, except that she was a darker shade of pink, her much more wild mane was purple, and her breasts were not nearly as impressive, being somewhere between an A-cup and a B-cup. It wasn’t often that Scylla saw a mare with such a nearly flat chest like the unicorn’s.

Physical features aside though, Scylla could tell that this mare, who had probably been abducted from her own home the same as she had, was doing just about as well as emotionally as herself in all this. She was trembling enough that it was visible at a distance, finding it hard to stay still at the thought of all the men staring at her with their hungry eyes. A wavering smile was doing its best to stay on her muzzle, but the way it was rapidly vanishing and reappearing told Scylla that it was fake. She probably thought that if she smiled, the slavers would take pity or go easier on her. Scylla didn’t believe that their sadism was going to be so easily swayed.

“Miss Tale,” Schorl said as the unicorn trembled, “Is a bright mare with an alluringly slender frame. What she lacks in chest size, she makes up in her beautiful petite features, and a personality that is… independent, but willing to obey when properly motivated. The time I’ve spent with her has revealed to me that all she needs is a strong master and a firm hand against her rump. Talented in her craft, and talented in the bed, she would make an excellent addition to any master’s harem.”

With the unicorn’s description finished, the crystal pony moved her hand in another direction, another light beam separating from her to shine down on a pegasus. With fur a dark, yet pale blue and silvery hair, this mare’s appearance was not as the previous one. She was covering herself, like Charming Tale was, but did so without a ounce of fear. Its stance was unshaken, defiant, shooting a furious glare at the mare center stage. If not for the leash attached to her throat, around which which had a collar that bore a sizable diamond, and a pair of straps binding her wings, Scylla would have expected this mare to fly the coop, despite the daunting odds she would face in her attempt.

“Representing both the pegasus race, and the ‘Element of Selflessness’, we have Blue Yonder.” the crystal mare announce, “A former resident of Canterlot, this pretty pegasus gave up a life as an elite for a life of adventure, and now she’ll have the greatest adventure a mare can ever experience.”

Scylla spotted Blue Yonder roll her eyes at the crystal mare’s comment, which the kelpie found a little humor in seeing, despite this grim situation. Scylla could tell that this mare was not one to be intimidated, and wished that she could be more like her in the face of danger. A little bit of courage would have done her wonders right now, when her knees were hitting against one another as she tried to will herself from shaking on spot.

“Moving on to her demeanor, she has shown a great deal of resistance to the process. Her submissive side, while there, doesn’t pop up often. Putting her in a state of helplessness helps to bring her true self to the surface, but most of the time you will be dealing with an attitude. Perfect for the master who wishes to break in his slaves himself, or the sadist who likes their pin cushions to give them a bit of lip.”

A round of applause followed the end of the crystal mare’s description, announcing the approval of this pegasus as one of the prizes for this event. Blue Yonder closed her eyes and let out a sigh at this, not impressed or moved by the acceptance of herself as an offering, but aware that her approval was not required in this. Whatever her captors had in mind for her, she was going to be a part of, and for the time being at least she’d just have to put up with it.

With another point from the crystal mare, a third light departed from her, this time landing on a visage that shocked Scylla at first glance. An earth mare, with fur so black that she almost blended into the shadows and icy blue hair appeared. Unlike the other three mares, Scylla included, she was not brought to a heel by the simple application of a leash. She was held within much heavier bonds.

Starting with the one thing all the mares shared, the earth pony’s collar had in it a chunk of orange amber. The collar itself was a much heavier, made of a silvery polished metal like steel or iron. Her arms and legs, all having highly defined muscle tone, were shackled not with a single pair of cuffs, but with half a dozen on each in order to insure her inability to break free, her appendages greatly weighed down by the sheer amount of chains dangling between them. Her head likewise bore a thick layer of bondage, with a cloth sleeve wrapped tightly around her muzzle, a heavy leather blindfold wrapped around her eyes, and even some sort of padding stuffed into her ears to plug them up, As she was, only her sense of touch was unrestricted.

“A mare that requires little introduction, this troublemaker is one that many of you have dealt with before.” the crystal mare said this with a bit of a chuckle, as if amused by remembrances of the earth mare’s attempts to resist and defy her organization, “Miss Midnight, has become a bit of a popular pony in our slave stock. Originating from Rainbow Falls, this mare grew up with aspirations to join the Equestrian Royal Guard, and eventually achieved her prestigious goal in her adulthood. Later, Miss Midnight was donated to the Society by one of her superior officers, a member of our luxurious group, when she chose to poke her nose in places it didn’t belong.”

A chattering of clinking chains sounded from Midnight, sensing somehow that she was being talked about though her bindings should have prevented that. In response to her movements, a pair of minotaur hands came from the shadows, landing down on her shoulders to keep her still.

“Miss Midnight is our ‘Element of Humility’, an appropriate designation for one who will need to learn the trait extensively for her future role. While she will be a challenge, her body is well crafted by a lifetime of training for guard duty. Toned and tight, her form will snugly wrap around the shaft of her future owner, forcing shes of pain and passion from her muzzle as she crafts her song of subjugation.”

During another round of applause, this one a little less enthusiastic for this problematic pony, the crystal mare went ahead and directed a fourth light from her central spot. The reveal this time was not shocking like last time, but nonetheless interesting. The previous three were all of the dominant pony races in Equestria: Earth Pony, Pegasi, and Unicorn. The latest addition to the group was a bit more unique.

A thestral, or bat pony in the common vernacular, had appeared. A brown furred, white haired variety of the species. Scylla knew very little of bat ponies, as they were a seldom seen pony race. Not on the level of a kelpie, but thestrals apparently lived in isolated areas far away from where most other ponies lived, for reasons she didn’t know. Here one was though, standing buck naked with a black fabric collar adorned with a rose quartz on the front of it. If there was a theme to these gemstones, then Scylla had long since lost track of it, as by now she could tell that all the gems were slightly different in both color and shape.

The bat mare, awaiting the descriptor of herself that the crystal mare was undoubtedly going to give, wasn’t in any way bound to do so. Unlike the others, she had no leash on her collar loop, nor straps on her webbed wings. In fact, she had in one of her hands one of those purple peaches that Scylla had tried in the spa room, and was quietly munching down on it as if nothing was wrong in the world. For some reason, to the bat pony this was all about as nerve wracking as a leisurely stroll through a garden. Not only was she unbound and unphased, but when the light struck her form the minotaur in the darkness immediately clapped for her appearance.

“Yes, yes,” the crystal mare said, “We have reached the second half of our introductions, and with this we have reached a mare you have all been waiting for. The ‘Element of Pleasure’, the sweetly seductive Nightshade!”

At the utterance of her name, the bat mare looked up, finally aware she was on display, and gave a wave and a smile while she continued to chew her fruit.

“How adorable.” the crystal mare said, “This bat pony was bred and raised in the grand nation of Minopolis. Trained and educated in the talents she would need in marehood, this filly recently came of age, and is ready to use these skills to serve a worthy master. She’s cute, exotic, willing, and a virgin, eager to be ravaged for the first time by the brutal cock of a bull.”

Nightshade gulped down whatever bits of fruit that were in her mouth, “Well when you put it that way, you make me sound like a masochistic slut.” she said with a giggly manner of speech, sounding like she was at the verge of laughing with each word.

“Well there is nothing wrong with that sweetie,” said the crystal mare, “Especially not considering the type of slave you’re gonna be.”

Nightshade nodded with a bright smile, and returned to what remained of her purple peach.

“That being said, while Nightshade has had extensive teachings into her role as a slave, she has no personal experience. Thus she, like the rest of the prize slaves, will require a bit of time at the Society’s facilities to make sure she is physically prepared for her duties.”

The crystal mare’s words caught Scylla’s ear, having finally heard a bit of good news. No matter what happened in this room, or which of these minotaur would become her master, she would not be leaving this building, at least not for a while. That meant she would be able to stay where Pathfinder was, and that perhaps there was still a chance to escape with him in the near future.

“Next!” the mare said, moving past the bat mare, slowly redirecting her hand to a fifth location. “We have a first for the Society. A special treat that has been asked for for some time, and only now has been made a reality. So please, welcome to our happy group, Gabriella of Griffonstone!”

The crystal mare’s hand finally reached its destination, and as with all the times before, a light was cast out to part the darkness away and reveal a female. The woman in question this time was even more different than the bat pony before. Not because she was a rare species or that she was unbound. On the contrary, her race was fairly common in Equestria, and her wings were bound up just like Blue Yonder’s. But she wasn’t a bat mare or even a pegasus.

Gabriella, as she was called, was a gryphon. Half bird, half feline. Grey feathers and fur covered her entire body, with only yellow talons for hands and a small patch of white under her chin, one partially obscured by a leather collar and the large sapphire attached to it, to add a bit more color to her palette. With the light shining on her, these feathers puffed out, and her body tensed up in a defensive gesture. It was hard to tell if this was due to anger or fear, but like most of the others put on display here, this gryphon was not happy with her current predicament.

“For a long time, we had a particular policy to leave the gryphons alone so long as they were willing to aid in the Society’s goals. The more we stuck to this though, the more our members desired these graceful avians to be a part of our slave roster. After much negotiation, I was finally able to barter a price for one of whom they would never miss. This leads into Gabriella’s good qualities, as her fellow gryphons found her far too chipper, with an annoying desire to help others above and beyond the boundaries of her job as a mail deliverer. Generally, she doesn’t really represent the greedy nature of her race, and they didn’t appreciate that characteristic about her. Of course, that eagerness to please is something The Society looks for in an “Element of Dedication”, and we are more than happy to take in this girl when no one else wants her.”

Once the crystal pony finished, Scylla could tell that there was only one pony left to be exposed to those awaiting their offering of flesh, that being herself. The others were positioned in a way that they were directly across from one another, with Scylla herself being in the path of the earth pony guard mare. The moment the crowd stopped clapping, she would be in the spotlight. This had given her time to adapt, but could one really prepare for something like this?

The kelpie would soon find out, as the applause came to an end, and the crystal mare’s head turned to lock her eyes on Scylla. Even in this darkness, the unicorn peered directly at her as if she knew precisely where Scylla was. Not only that, but there was something about the gaze of this mare that unnerved the kelpie. Something beyond being glared at while naked, or found out in pure darkness. It felt as if the crystal pony was looking at private and secret things that Scylla wasn’t even aware of until now, that her very soul was fully exposed, being ogled at with regards to what kind of invasion that would be of Scylla’s person.

“And lastly, we have our piece de resistance,” the mare said with a pointing of her hand, sending an assault of light down upon Scylla, which removed any protection the darkness had given the aquatic pony. “Scylla, as this mare is known by, is a gentle creature known by some in Equestria as a mere shopkeep from Vanhoover. Others know her more by her race alone, which might be a disservice to the girl. Be that as it may, this kelpie is a rare species in Equestria, a breed of pony who is more accustomed to living underwater than walking on land, this one was adopted as a child by a pegasus, and thus never became as xenophobic as the other kelpie. This rare occurrence has granted us the opportunity to capture one of their illusive race without too much difficulty.”

Scylla had never known much about kelpie as a species except that she happened to be one. As the crystal mare had said, they were a rather elusive species that shunned and segregated themselves from other races. When Pathfinder had found her as a baby, he and all his close friends were so uncertain of what she was that he had to take her to Canterlot, to talk to some of Equestria’s greatest scholars in order to figure out what she was and where she belonged.

At the discovery of her species, more problems arose when the kelpie’s extreme xenophobia was brought to light, and how they would not present themselves to land based ponies for any reason. They were not the first species to disassociate themselves completely from ponies, as Pathfinder learned, but it meant that returning Scylla back to her family was practically impossible, as even if he had located a kelpie city, they would not have helped him in the slightest. Seeing no other options, and feeling responsible for her safety, Pathfinder took it upon himself to raise Scylla as his own.

“While this girl arrived just today, only hours ago,” the crystal mare continued, “I see within her the potential of a slave of the highest honor. An 'Element of Submission'. She bares a fragile will that exists to be shaped, guided, and protected, and under the watchful eye of a strong master, she will be among the greatest of servants. An obedient mare who will serve without question, have the selflessness to put her wants beneath he who owns her, learn the humility that comes with her role in life, grant pleasure with her flesh on par with few others, and give her life in devotion to her betters.”

The crystal mare’s predictions for Scylla unnerved the kelpie even more than her glare, saying that eventually she would just give in to this enslavement. It was another scenario like those in the dark romance novels she had read. Some pony would be captured by a powerful creature they couldn’t escape, and over time they become used to the creature’s oversexualized treatment of them, reducing them to a slave whose only goal in life was the pursuit of personal pleasure through obedient servitude towards their imprisoner, the only one who can grant them such feelings by that point. It was another thing Scylla had assumed was only real in fiction, but the crystal mare talked about it happening to her as if it were a foregone conclusion. She should have dismissed this as just nonsense, but the crystal mare has such conviction in the way she said things that it was hard to dismiss.

“And with that, all introductions are now out of the way.” said the crystal mare, one remaining light shining down upon her as the other six stayed affixed to their designated mares. “And with that out of the way, we can move on to the moment you’ve all been waiting for, the calling of numbers, and the distribution of our lovely slaves.”

Slowly, the main lights in the room brightened up, and made seen every person in it. The minotaur in the crowd, the deer aiding the event, and the ponies that had been exposed for the majority of the event lost any remaining concealment they once had.

“Please follow me,” said the stag holding Scylla’s leash, making the kelpie jump. He had been so quiet that Scylla had forgotten he was even there, her attention towards him pulled away by everything else that was going on. “We mustn't keep Lady Tourmaline waiting.”

“Lady Tourmaline?” Scylla questioned, before feeling a slight tug that ushered her forward.

“The mare that’s been talking this whole time.” the stag informed, “She’s the headmistress, and will be the one managing your training. Well, her and your master.”

Confirming what the kelpie already assumed, the deer made a beeline for the center alter. Scylla followed, feeling more brave and no less helpless as when she first entered the room, steadily approaching what was certainly her doom.

“We will now move onto the lottery,” bellowed the minotaur who had stayed close to the crystal mare, filling the room with his voice. “When your number is called, please come down and confirm your ticket.”

A doe rushed up to the minotaur at his announcement: pretty, young, and carrying a bucket in her arms. When arriving to his side, she shifted the container into one arm, holding it up with both the appendage and her modestly sized breast. Thus held, she drove her hand into the bucket, pulled out a small slip of paper, and handed it over to the minotaur.

“Ticket number 1408,” the minotaur said after inspecting the ticket, calling down one of his brethren from the stone stands.

The doe went on to grab another paper, and as she did, the crystal mare leapt down from her perch atop the altar. By the time her hooves touched the floor, each of the prizes for the event had been brought to the center, save for the bat mare, who had gone there of her own accord.

“Hi girls!” she said to the six women now surrounding her, her tone no different than how one might greet a long unseen friend, “Thank you all for being so patient and quiet during the ceremony. I’m so glad that we didn’t have to gag anyone this time.” saying that, she took a sideways glance to the earth mare being escorted by her bovine escorts, “Not during the proceedings, at least.”

“Is that suppose to be a joke?” asked the blue pegasus, if so, it’s not very funny.”

Resting her head on a singular finger, the mare answered, “I suppose not, seeing your position. You’ll have to excuse my failed attempt to give levity to this. Believe me, I understand how distressed and confused you all must be right now.”

Looking around, Scylla could see that there was still a variety of emotions among the group that she had been dragged into by this crystal pony, creating a thick tension that the mare really seemed oblivious to. If she truly understood how they felt, she wouldn’t have forced them into this.

“However, this is neither the time or place for your questions or complaints. Your masters are being summoned, and we need to get you all set up.”

“Yes ma’am!” Nightshade practically yelled before climbing up on one of the large metal slabs, turning herself around once on it so her back laid upon it. With a spread of her legs, and raising of her arms above her head, the bat mare then announced, “Ready!”

“Oh Nightshade…” the crystal mare said with both exasperation and bemusement, “I appreciate your devotion, but you need to learn a little word called ‘decorum’.” giving a light sigh, she went on to say, “But I suppose that can wait for another day.”

“A-are we all going on that thing?” Scylla asked, believing she already knew the answer.

“Yes, indeed you are,” replied the crystal mare, “And I would appreciate it if you all did so willingly. Otherwise, we’ll have to force you on there, and I’d so hate to have your bodies bruised before your masters got to you. Though I’m sure their understand if push comes to shove.”

As the crystal mare finished what she had to say, the two minotaur restraining the bound earth mare lifted their prisoner up by her arms. Sensing her world slipping out from under her, she started to flail around in the air, desperate to be released. The two hulking bovines weren’t having it though, and with little effort they tossed her on one of the slabs, the impact making the whole altar rattle. It caused Midnight to yell into her muzzle, as well as made Nightshade bounce up slightly.

“As you can all see, it would be little problem to force the issue.” said the crystal mare as she delightedly watched the two brutish males remove the many bindings on the earth mare, only to rebind her with the straps attached to the slab.

In moments they were finished, leaving only the collar on, which let Midnight take in her current environment for the first time. What she saw didn’t please her in the slightest, and now freed from the restraints that prevented her from vocalizing her opinion, she gladly gave it.

“Where the fuck am I!?” she shouted, pulling her arms forward, only to find them bound in chains that prevented her from lowering her elbows below her forehead, “Where did you bastards take me!?”

“Charming, isn’t she?” said the crystal mare, “You can see why we decided to tie her mouth shut.”

“Oh fuck off you filthy, slaver bitch!” Midnight rebutted, “When the princesses find out about this, it’s going to be your ass that’s in chains.”

Scylla had to agree that she didn’t enjoy the earth pony’s harsh language, but in this case it wasn’t like she didn’t have a reason to be angry.

“Ignore her,” the crystal mare said to the rest of the group, “We can’t allow her to spoil are delightful evening. Now if you all would be so kind...” extending her arm out, she gestured the others in the direction of the altar.

Still seeing no way out of this, Scylla took a deep breath, stepping forward. She and the unicorn Charming Tale both went up to the structure with the deer holding their leashes, Scylla taking the spot next to Midnight, and Charming Tale taking the next spot aside the kelpie.

“No!” yelled the guard mare, “Don’t listen to her! Don’t give in to her bullshit!”

Scylla looked meekly at the guard mare, knowing she was right, but at a loss of what to do otherwise. Her only choices were to get on willingly, or get on painfully.

“What would you have us do instead?” said Charming Tale, as well aware of their options as Scylla was, “Our soft bodies are not as accustomed to pain as your finely sculpted one is. So if I’m going to be raped, I would prefer it be done as easily as possible. If you don’t mind, that is.”

The guard mare didn’t enjoy this response, of course, but didn’t see how she could ask civilians to put themselves in direct harm. As much as she despised the thought, she would have to resign herself to simply giving the crystal mare the most hateful death glares as she could muster.

The two mare’s accompanying deer assisted them onto their slabs, crouching down before them to offer their backs as steps, and assisting with the bonds on the device. Scylla soon found her legs forcibly spread apart, her arms chained above her, and waist belted down so she could not remove herself from the altar without assistance. Bound in this manner, her entire front was fully exposed and vulnerable, meaning that she was past the point of no return. Whatever defilement that would befall her now was unavoidable, beyond some sort of intervention she had no reason to believe would come.

With four females from the six person group now in place, the two avian women found their own hesitation pointless. With nary a word, they too took their place on this altar to partake in this ill fitted fate. Little time after, all six were strapped tightly into the mushroom shaped piece of metal, awaiting what was to come next.

“And lastly, ticket 1986!” yelled out the crystal mare’s minotaur escort as he called out the final number in the lottery. At once, those not called forth joined together to groan loudly and destroy their now worthless slips of paper, crumpling, ripping in half, and otherwise discarding them with no concern of the cleanup it would cause for someone else later.For the six chosen though, it was a joyous occasion, and they each stepped down with varying levels of satisfaction and, for some, smugness as they reveled in their victory of chance.

The six bull men joined in the central area, presented their tickets to the one that called out their lucky numbers, confirming to him that they deserved to be part of the main event. With a nod, they were admitted the right to participate, and to take a place around the altar. Scylla watched the men talk among one another, deciding the order of which the would stand around the structure, and commenting on which one of the females they would perfer over the others. Watching them all, Scylla really couldn’t tell much about any of them. These minotaur each looked like large, imposing monsters to her, not helped with the terrible knowledge that each wanted to violate her body in ways she didn’t want them to, but couldn’t avoid, thinking about.

They had their variances, some more muscular, some with longer or shorter hair, one even having a large metal ring in his nostrils, but they all looked the same in Scylla’s eyes. Even the fatter looking one walking her way had no features about him that made her see him as an individual from any others. Prejudice it might have been, but a well deserved one that had been shoved into her thoughts by these monsters.

“Well, well, well…” said the heavy set minotaur, positioning himself in front of the kelpie, “I can’t believe that I really got a shot of owning you. Seems like it might be fate for us after all.”

Scylla looked at the minotaur, unable to see beyond his massive image as he loomed over her, She didn’t know what he was talking about, but it seemed to him that there was some point behind his words. For some reason, that made the words important to her too, and as she shifted them around in her head, a horrific truth dawned upon her.

No, please no! She thought, her mind racing with a surge of fear induced adrenaline, Anything but this!

This minotaur was the pot bellied one she had to endure the company of earlier when being guided to this room. The sadistic one that made mention of cracking a whip across her bare, exposed pussy lips and pressing hot metal against her skin. The one the stag that leashed Scylla called ‘Master Jupiter’. This awful bull who set the standard of what she felt towards his entire race. How could she be so unfortunate as to have him be even a potential master for her. What if he already was her master? What if she belonged to him and she just wasn’t aware yet? How was that even determined?

“Ok, ok, enough gawking at the meat.” said the crystal mare’s escort, striding aside Jupiter, “Take a spot, and we’ll get these slaves sorted out.”

“I’m fine right here.” Jupiter said, giving Scylla a nasty grin, “Right in front of my desired bitch.”

“Fine,” said the other minotaur, “Just don’t cry to me when you don’t get her.”

With that said, the minotaur reached over Scylla, and grabbed a handle located in the center of the top of the altar, one flush with the flat area, and had gone unnoticed by Scylla. With an impressive display of strength, the bull lifted the entire structure, mares, gryphon, and all, with one arm, and twisted it to lock it into some unseen mechanism within the central beam that held up the rest of the structure. This also increased the height of the mushroom significantly, placing the crotchal regions of the six females at the same height as the crotches of the minotaur, for reasons that were obvious to everyone involved.

“Ok, you all should know the rules!” said the minotaur as he released the handle, “One spin, whichever bitch stops closest to you is yours! No do overs! No complaints!”

“Sounds perfectly fine with me.” Jupiter said, licking his lips, staring into Scylla’s eyes with malintent, and grabbing the handle to the right of Scylla’s head.

The other five winners of the lottery gathered round, taking a place in front of seemingly random female, and likewise grabbed a handle next on the altar. After that, they all winded back said arms, which in turn rotated the structure in the direction they pulled it towards in unison. The motion of the thing Scylla was strapped to sparked a series of rapid conclusions for the kelpie, and she quickly figured out what the one minotaur meant when he said ‘spin’.

Thus, with a combined effort to push the altar in the opposite direction they had pulled it, the minotaur group sent the whole thing spinning in a circle like a playground merry-go-round, their one consolidated effort more than enough to send the six women they were competing for in circles. The entire decision of who would go to whom, and who would be whose master decided on a simple game of roulette, wherein no one could determine the outcome until the altar finished its rounds.

To Scylla, her world became a tornado of whirling images, and a cluster of sounds as she and the other soon to be slaves called out in fright, discomfort, outrage, or in the case of the bat mare, pure enjoyment. How anypony could enjoy any of this, which felt terribly akin to some twisted implement somepony would put into a horror book, was beyond Scylla, but Nightshade didn’t seem phased by any of this. Scylla didn’t know if she would be interacting with that mare much in the future, but she hoped she wouldn’t have to be around somepony who made light of a situation that ruined the lives of five others. Bondage and slaveplay were fine if that's what you’re into, but one should have qualms the moment others are forced to play along.

That thought faded though as the spinning of the altar slowed, and Scylla found her mind going back to the topic of who her master would be. Anyone but Jupiter she hoped. Anyone but the one who already told her he was going to torture her, if only to have that much longer to believe that she wouldn’t be abused. She prayed to whatever forces or deities that might have had control over the outcome of this cruel game that she wouldn’t land on him, but as the metaphorical wheel of fortune slowed, she could see Jupiter looking at her come round. His mouth grinned gleefully at her approach, and he rubbed his hands together in eager anticipation, knowing that at the pace the wheel was going, that she would most certainly stop directly in front of him.