Crimson slowly blinks his eyes open, returning from his slumber. They shift around before his head does, keeping himself still as to not disturb the weight he feels on his left arm. He turns his head over to see Dahlia sleeping like a baby, resting her head against his side. Her mouth is slightly agape, and her silver and black mane plasters messily against his bicep and triceps, tickling his skin whenever she gently rocks due to the train's movements.

He blinks the tiredness out of his eyes, remaining still so she sleeps as comfortably as possible. He stares at her sleeping form subconsciously, admiring her features from so close up. She's a whole lot more innocent and adorable when she isn't belittling him every other sentence. He can't find it in himself to blame her though, she's probably been through a lot. He knows what it's like to have a shitty upbringing, so it's easy to see past her harsh banter. Someone who had a gifted and healthy childhood would certainly not resort to a wandering, pilfering lifestyle. ... It's just a shame that she's keeping the weight on herself, rather than letting someone help her with it. But pushing her to open herself up will only cause problems, and he knows that from experience.

Crimson twists his neck in an uncomfortable fashion to look around, keeping the pillow that is his body very still. He sees that quite a bit of other ponies have boarded the train as the ride has gone on. He also notices that they have decided to sit a good distance away from where he and Dahlia sit, which is typical, he supposes. He turns his head forward, looking out the window he sits next to. He doesn’t get to see much from this side, but from what he can see, the train is chugging up the side of a mountain, increasing in elevation as it continues. He looks to his left, to the windows on the other side of the cart. His eyes widen a little when he catches glimpse of the view. From this vantage point, he can see for miles and miles. He can see little towns and villages, and even some bigger cities way out in the distance. Natural spectacles draw his attention as well, such as huge mountains that touch the heavens all over Equestria, bodies of water, swamps, forests, and some creepy looking place to the south. He also spots a rainbow marvel that lies to the west, appearing to be a waterfall of pure rainbow liquid. There are also many grasslands, fields, some marshes, and a huge—

... He looks at it in disdain... a desert. Having had his fair share of deserts already, he quickly looks elsewhere, away from the arid chunk of land.

The train continues along its path. The side of the mountain gives way to reveal a huge city, made of marble and gold. Crimson’s brows rise from further impression, his eyes glint at the sight of this place. Even if he wanted to speak out loud, he couldn’t. The sheer majesty of this land, the towering buildings and the beautiful structures, it steals the breath from in him. As the train approaches the station of this city, he looks down at Dahlia, shaking her gently for her to wake up.

“Mmn… stop… moving so much,” she mumbles quietly. Crimson’s brows furrow a little and he shakes her harder. “Rrh! Whaaat?” her eyes barely open as she turns her head up to gawk at him. He motions with his head towards the window, a small smile trying to make itself onto his face. “Ugh, we’re already here? … I hate this place,” she mutters, rubbing her eyes adorably with her hooves.

Crimson seems confused at her reaction, not understanding what’s so bad about Canterlot. It's beautiful and clean with nothing obvious to dislike, but he is in no position to ask for details at the moment. The train comes to a halt, steaming in a deflating manner, allowing the boarding door to open safely. Dahlia yawns and hops off her seat, taking the leash into her left hoof. Crimson scoots over and stands up, assuming his now-usual spot behind her.

As soon as the human rises, every single eye in the cart shoots towards him. The ponies in the cart freeze, wide-eyed and tense. Dahlia hardly acknowledges the crowd, simply walking past them. The man follows behind her, his eyes slowly shifting through every pony’s judgmental gaze. They clear a path for Dahlia as she walks, ponies stepping on each other’s hooves and tails just to get out of the lumbering monster’s way.

The two exit the cart, left to Dahlia's lead. The ponies around, inside the cart and those standing at the station's platform, finally start exiting and entering the cart once the potential danger has cleared.

Crimson isn't sure where Dahlia is taking him, and he probably should have asked her before coming here, but he trusts in her judgement. Where ever it is she's taking them, it's probably a good idea... hopefully. He doesn't think about it too much as he is even more taken aback when standing inside the city of Canterlot. The elevation does make this place a little chillier, but it's nothing his shirtlessness can't handle.

His flip-flops clap smoothly along the perfectly waxed marble floor, and the structures make even the tallest of men feel insignificant. He is almost overwhelmed by the pure existence of a place like this, he's definitely not on Earth right now. He sees that there are many ponies around, walking about with their chins high, dressed in really fancy attire with quaffed and primped manes. They look kind of ridiculous, but that's to be expected from a high-class environment.

Crimson hears some shouting going off in some distant part of the city. Dahlia hears this too, her eyes locked onto the direction of where it seems to be coming from. Whatever the noise is, Dahlia appears to be interested.

Many large, expansive marble staircases and roads later, Dahlia leads them to the ruckus. A crowd of ponies is standing around the front gate entrance to a structure that would only exist in a fairy tale.

Just when he thought it couldn’t get any more impressive, he looks upwards, along the length of a massive, sky-piercing castle of sorts. It trumps everything else in Canterlot, in terms of structure and sheer majesty. It is protected by a tall border of high-tower walls that span quite an extensive perimeter, with enough land on the inside to form its own mini-city.

“Uh oh,” Dahlia suddenly whispers. "Hoh shit, I forgot! Shit, shit shit!"

Crimson’s stargazing is halted, focusing down on Dahlia. It doesn’t take a second glance to find out what she's worried about. Just ahead, near the large front gate of this castle’s walls, is a massive formation. They appear to be humans, chained up and aligned with one another. The man's brows furrow incredulously at the sight, but like everything else that he's had a hard time trying to believe, it’s right there, he is seeing it with his own two eyes. Some regal ponies in golden armor stand around this formation, along with a few finely dressed ponies in some sort of suit uniform.

But the formation wasn't what Dahlia was worried about, it was the two unicorn stallion guards in golden armor that are approaching them. They look angry and serious, giving them a no-nonsense air. Dahlia’s eyes grow wide as she turns to her right and tries to walk away with Crimson, pretending that nothing is out of the ordinary.

“HALT!” shouts one of the guards.

“Shit…” Dahlia utters.

“You there. Do you have your documentation for the human?” asks the second guard.

“I, uh, yeah. I just don't have it on me right now,” Dahlia shrugs innocently.

“Ma’am," the first guard begins, "Canterlot law dictates that humans should never be brought into a public space without holding proper documentation at all times. This is a serious violation, and a hazard to the citizens of Canterlot.”

“I know! But I take him out for walks all the time! The first time I forget to bring my papers is the day I get stopped. What gives? You guys haven't done this before!”

"You should have thought of that before wandering without your documents. He will be joining the formation. Perhaps you can bid for him again. The financial impact you may face will be punishment enough, and serve as a reminder to hold onto your documents religiously."

"B-! But that's fucked up!"

"Corporal," the second guard speaks quietly to his companion. "The formation? That's a special order list from the princess herself. Should we really stick him in there?"

"Do you wanna write the citation and fetch the keys to the stow house?" The second guard puckers his lips. "What I thought." In unison, the two guards look back at Dahlia. “We are confiscating the human, ma’am,” the first guard firmly says as they both approach Crimson. The man cups his hand into fists and takes a step forward. The two guards look frightened at this action and stop, placing their hooves at their belts with wide eyes.

“NO!" Dahlia interrupts their tense exchange. "No! You can’t!” she cries, backing her flank into Crimson's leg to stop him.

Crimson looks down at her, hiding his surprise. This odd posture that she has for him, the type of posture which signals that she might actually care for him to some degree, breathes to him a pleasant and heartwarming air.

It probably doesn't help her case here though, since the guards only seem to get more aggressive at his and her defiance, but she continues to find excuses. “He gets angry when I'm not around, and he only likes to listen to me! You saw it just now! Trust me, I’ve tried to get him trained with other ponies, zero luck. Every time.” Dahlia looks at Crimson with a phony smile, then back at the guards.

"Ma’am," the second guard says in a harsh, pissy manner, "you should be happy we’re not fining you for breaking the law, IGNORING the fact that you have an aggressive human in your possession. If you would like a fine and time in the city jail, then persist on obstructing justice. The human. Comes. With us.”

“No, please! He’ll attack you if you take him!” Dahlia shouts desperately, getting some eyes from gathering spectators. Her voice and the amount of emotion in her eyes is confusing Crimson, it presents a complete contrast to how she's been acting for the past few days he's been with her.

He's having a difficult time simply standing there and doing nothing, he has half a mind to break their faces and book it with Dahlia. But he knows it's a death-sentence for him and possibly Dahlia if he tries to pull anything rash. There are too many witnesses, too many guards, and little places to run.

During Crimson's internal struggle, the guards stare at each other again. One of them reaches down into a pouch on his belly and takes out a hoof-sized purple spray bottle of sorts, then he rears it up and sprays Crimson in the face with it.

“Kh!—” his eyes squint, and he enters a coughing fit. As he feels his senses melt, a flash of blind rage takes ahold of him at being assaulted with this chemical.

Dahlia gasps, her eyes beam in horror. She then directs a furious gaze to the guards. “WHAT did you DO!?”

“Neutralizing potion, ma’am," the second guard states cockily. "His cognitive senses are now relaxed and he poses no threat to any ponies around. The potion possess no long-term damage or effects, the human will simply fail to remember what has occurred whilst influenced.”

Dahlia looks at Crimson with dread in her eyes, ignoring the explanation the guard gives. She already knows what it does, despite her accusative question.

After the coughing fit ends, the man begins to slowly rock left and right, blinking his eyes unevenly. These same uneven eyes direct to the perpetrator who sprayed him... giving him a profound squint of disdain...

"Fear not, ma'am, he is now in a passive state. We will have to confiscate him and-- HoURH!"

Dahlia gasps in horror. The man suddenly stomps his left foot forward and throws a strong right hook towards the stallion. It connects on the their helmet, rattling their head and sending them to the marble floor with a thud. Crimson quickly staggers like a puppet and punts the other guard with his foot, sending him back several feet as his armor clamors loudly at him hitting the ground.

“Rgh, rhk! G-Guards!” the fisted guard cries in a panic. Before he even needs to call, seven other golden suited stallions rush up to aid them.

"No! Nonono!" Dahlia pleads as her wings spread, shifting her attention indecisively between the swaying, unsteady Crimson and the incomers.

Crimson looks around wildly for a route of escape, but his world is beginning to twist uncontrollably as he turns his head. He feels his cognition leaving him at every millisecond. "Damn it! The potion is still setting in! Detain him!" a guard hollers. He tries to run to Dahlia and take her away, but he finds himself unable to move as the coming guardforce all channel their ethereal magics simultaneously to apprehend him. Like being trapped in a spider's web, he cannot lift his arms from his sides. Still, he struggles with grit teeth to no avail.

The guards arrive and forcefully shove Dahlia out of the way to surround him. She stumbles back, gasping again before looking back at this scene in total dismay. She stares up at the retrained man, pinpricks for eyes. Even though he wrestles against the magic, he fails to break free.

Every bystander watches the scene critically and curiously. Some both.

Once the man is successfully bound, the guard who was punched turns around angrily - some blood drips from his left nostril and the corner of his lip. He growls and snatches the collar that Dahlia was holding, turning and walking away towards the formation.

“HEY! Don’t you--! Rrrrrh!” Dahlia tries to follow, but at her outburst, the bleeding guard snaps to her like a sentry and bellows while channeling his magic to restrain her as well.

“This human will be subject to the formation! And any further interference from you will end you in the Dungeon!”

He grits at her then tosses her back with his magic. Dahlia stumbles once again but keeps herself from falling over. She lowers her face to glower at him. Turning around promptly, he and his squad collectively escort Crimson to the formation, the man staggering forward and barely keeping his balance.

Still retrained, Crimson attempts to look back at Dahlia as they take him away. He makes contact with her glistening desperate eyes. Her mouth hangs, looking completely bewildered...

The potion sprayed into Crimson's face continues to contort his world wildly the longer its effects have time to climb. His critical thinking skills drop to nearly zero, and his cognitive functions are barely intact. He couldn't throw another punch to save his life.

He is taken and planted onto the left side of the formation, the side closest to the large walls of the Castle. The squad that suppressed him disperses once he is melded. Crimson looks around in a hazy disarray, eyes half-open and brows raised. He can't find it inside himself to lift his feet and run. He feels like a vat of glue was poured onto him. All he manages to do is eye the other humans that surround him.

“ALL HAIL!” a guard shouts.

Every visible pony in sight bows in a weird manner, and surprisingly enough, even the humans bow down on one knee - be it instinctual or otherwise. The red-haired man stands there like a sore thumb, to which a guard hastily trots behind him and bashes him in the back of his knee with their hoof. The man grunts angrily and stumbles onto one knee, looking back, gawking at the guard who had caused this inconvenience. The guard stares back, giving a hard-ass, ‘what-are-you-looking-at’ stare in return, but finds that this man won't look away. Suddenly, his eyes dilate like a rabid animal, and a big, toothy smirk takes his face for a split second.

The guard’s eyes shoot wide open, startled as if he just witnessed some sort of eldritch nightmare. He suspends his belief briefly, shaking his head and looking back towards the smirking human... only to find him not smirking at all. The red-haired creature only stares back with a dumb, expressionless look. The guard swallows a lump in his throat, taking a step back and looking away to something else.

The gates of this huge castle wall complain loudly as they start to rise, and the heavy silver chains rattle while they ascend. Crimson picks his head up, staring with half-lidded eyes to the cause of this commotion. Many guards in golden armor come out of the gate, leading…

Crimson's droopy eyes widen slightly. A tall, snow white pony with wings and a horn is marching promptly out of the archway. Her mane and tail flow as if wind was constantly blowing on them, and they are solid, reflective, shiny pink. Her ass has a large sun tattooed on it, just like Dahlia has a compass with a wing in the middle of it.

Crimson witnesses an exchange happening. One of the stallions in the fancy black and green suits is talking to this pony queen. Well, it's more like the queen is talking gently and the stallion is quivering in fear like a soggy noodle. After some words, the queen pony turns and starts to walk slowly down the isle from the left side of the formation. The stallion she was talking to tails right behind her. She appears to be examining humans all across the formation.

After a faint realization hits, Crimson ducks his head down and tries to keep a low profile. "Mm, was this one in the manifest?" His eyes dilate when he hears the queen's regal voice single him out. He feels something cool and hard touch his shoulder.

"H-He, uh..." the stallion wearing green stammers, "... m-may have been a spare from the west facility. L-Lot bigger than the others."

"I believe you may be correct. He is much larger than the rest... yet, so calm. A gentle giant."

"J-Just as you request! Only the best, princess Celestia!"

"Hmm~" The slipper made of hard gold still remains on the man's shoulder. He can feel his blood going cold. The 'princess' smiles, turning to face the quivering stallion directly. "This one.”

A brief flash of sobriety hits Crimson at those words. A skip in his sanity.

But he is relaxed forcibly and sent into mental disarray due to the potion. His body begins to tickle and weigh nothing, causing him to raise his head and look around wildly. He sees he is encompassed with yellow-golden magic, floating just above the formation of humans. The source is the pony queen, drawing energy from her long pointy horn to levitate him. The mixture of the potion used on him in addition to being man-handled by an immaterial force nearly causes him to throw up.

“Y-Yes, of course, princess Celestia. T-Take him,” the suited stallion she was first making business with stammers. Crimson isn't sure why he's being such a push-over to the queen, but it can be assumed that the stallion doesn’t really have any say in the matter. This pony ‘princess’ could probably do whatever she liked, including taking whatever human she wanted... just like she's doing right now.

“Thank you, High Barter. You are dismissed,” the princess nods.

With that, the ponies around rise back up, along with every single human. Crimson looks around in his daze, trying to spot Dahlia. A massive crowd of ponies has amassed, he can’t tell who from what in the wave of colors. He squints, mouth hanging open slightly while forcing his brain to function at a passable level.

Pfrr!

The world around Crimson distorts madly for a split second, a new environment suddenly taking the place of the previous one. The man was magically teleported by Celestia into a large, tall-ceiling loft inside the Canterlot castle. Crimson looks around, completely lost mentally and directionally.

“Don’t be scared now, my dear human. You’re in good hooves,” the princess coos in such a motherly manner. She says little human, but she needs to tilt her head up a small bit to stare into his eyes. Her magic envelops the grimy faded green collar currently around Crimson’s neck, undoing it without an ounce of effort. She takes it off and blinks it out of existence. Crimson's brows furrow as he tries to figure out how she did that, or where the collar was even sent. “Ooo, you’re perfect! I’m sure she will just love you. A perfect specimen for the perfect researcher," Celestia murmurs, blinking another collar into existence. This one is, just by looking at it, of much higher quality. It’s a light, easy blue with pink highlights, appearing kind of fuzzy. Celestia levitates it over and straps it onto Crimson’s neck. It indeed feels very snug and comfortable, much better than the old collar that Dahlia bought. He fucking hates it. Dahlia probably would too.

... Dahlia...

Celestia picks up the blue leash with her magic, beginning her trot towards a purple door that’s guarded by two ponies in armor. Crimson walks with her automatically, his body going into auto-pilot. The two guards open the large door for the princess and close it behind them once they pass. They enter a huge, luxurious hallway. The left side of the hall has many doors of all shapes and sizes. The right side has tall, beautiful stain glass windows with all sorts of stories marked onto them.

“I wonder where the Grey Company found you. You’re extraordinary, do you know that?” Celestia says as she slows down to walk along side Crimson. “Even since humans were first found in Equestria, I’ve never seen anything quite like you,” Celestia smiles, having to look up a little to stare into the man's eyes.

Crimson's too distracted to pay attention to what she's saying, looking at the beautiful architecture that decorates the inside of the castle. He is mainly attracted to the stain-glass windows that line the right side of this long hall they are walking through.

“With your baffling height and pristinely kept form. You’re even shaved! Mm, you are so wonderfully kept. I’m almost a little jealous you aren’t meant for me~” Celestia says with half-lidded eyes.

Crimson’s ape-brain thinks about the words Celestia speaks, but doesn't actually process them. She stops when the two almost reach the end of this massive, royal hallway. She halts in front of the last door on the left, which is a foggy, glass double door with a golden frame. The fog doesn’t allow one to peek inside. Celestia knocks twice, her golden shoe making a curious tap against the glass. She then opens the door with her magic, helping herself inside along with her leashed human.

Crimson peers through the moist mist and fog of this room to see where he is. The room they have entered is a spa bath house of some sort, and inside are three unicorns. They… look kind of the same. They have the same eyes, very similar mane and tail styles, but their colors are different. Their coats are all grey though. They are females of slightly different ages, where the two older mares are towel-drying two different humans. The mares are not old, but older in relation to one-another. One is light grey and cyan, the other is light grey and teal. The youngest mare, who is sitting on a white plastic chair with her legs tucked under herself while reading a magazine, is light grey and lavender. They’re very feminine and clean, and this entire room smells very pleasant.

The mares direct their gaze to the princess once she enters. They smile, closing their eyes and bowing with their heads.

“Iz gut to see you, princess Celes’cha!” the cyan one speaks up first.

“It’s good to see you, girls. I have one more for you,” Celestia says with a neutral smile, using her magic to drag Crimson forward into view.

The mares look at him, their eyes widening happily.

“Vaaoow! He’s so adorable!” the teal one says.

“I vould be honored, my princess!” the cyan one says.

The lavender one is quiet, only staring with her wide, purple eyes.

“Actually, Kiri,” Celestia looks at the cyan mare, “Keri,” she glances to the teal one, “you two should join me for lunch. I see that those humans I gave you are nice and clean.”

“A-Ah, v-vy yes, zey are! B-But I really do not mind! Cleaning zat human zea before lunch vould be fine!” Kiri says.

“Oh, that’s quite alright, Kiri, you two have earned a break. Your sister Kimi can take care of it. Isn’t that right, Kimi?” Celestia looks to the youngest mare, who was sitting there just reading. It's totally obvious that Kimi wanted the task of cleaning the man, but her underpowered nature always causes her sisters to triumph over her.

“Eee!” Kimi sits up straight with a smile that takes up her entire face, starstruck by the turn of events. “O-Of course, p-princess! I v-vould be honored!” her eyes beam, seemingly like they are going to pop out of their sockets.

“Take good care of him, Kimi, he’s a... special order,” Celestia winks.

With that, Celestia takes the two humans that were already here into her magic, blinking in collars that are less… amazing as Crimson’s, but they’re not exactly of shoddy quality. They are strapped on, and the humans seldom react to anything that’s happening to them. The two mares that were asked to lunch follow Celestia as she leaves this spa-esque room.

The two sisters snap their heads back just before they leave the room, gawking at their youngest sibling. They make a motion with their hooves that say “I’m watching you…”

The youngest sister furrows her brows, giving them a displeased look. The group exit the room with the two other humans, closing the glass doors behind them. Crimson is left alone in this misty, relaxing room with Kimi. He sniffs the scent of... peaches, possibly coming from the mare that's now standing right next to him. The little lavender and grey earth pony suddenly squees in happiness.

“Finally! I get to vurk on a beautiful human! It’s always my sisters zat get the good wans. My sisters neva share! But now Kimi gets to finally enjoy herself! Hooh, zank you so mach, Celes'cha!” She stares up at him with a big smile. “Come, let us get zose clothes off!” she says, her horn glowing with soothing purple magic. First to come off was the collar with one easy click. Then, his shorts are undone and are slipped off, piling onto itself at his ankles.

“Oo, oh my...” the mare’s eyes widen, staring exactly where you would expect, “... you certainly are special.”

Crimson blinks lazily.

Kimi's face takes on a trepid blush that gives her light grey cheeks a tender color. She reaches over with her hoof, placing it on the back of Crimson’s knee. She presses in lightly, making his foot lift off the ground. She removes the shorts from under him along with the flip-flop on that foot. She then performs the same to the other leg, freeing him of his shorts and footwear.

He stands there completely barren, and she can’t help but glance at his soft-spot, over and over.

“… Hooh, it is difficult to vork in zis condition,” she says to herself, furrowing her brows. She takes Crimson’s right thumb into her lips, leading him towards one of the spa’s bathtubs. These tubs are elevated a few feet off the ground, surrounded by three feet of tile border to stand or sit on.

Kimi sits Crimson on the edge of the bathtub with his legs hanging off the side with feet flat on the ground. She watches him uncertainly, exhaling deeply against his hand while gazing at it dreamily. "I undastand vy my sisters use humans for relief. Yoa such a stunning specimen... but! No!" she looks away from him, "I mast be strong, this beautiful creature iz not mine, and it vould be wrong of me to take advantage of him!” she declares firmly, staring into Crimson’s blank, stargazing eyes. Her fortitude against her lust is quick to waver as her ears flop to her head and her orbs twinkle with a spark of desire. “… Oh, bat it is so tempting!”

Crimson’s eyes slowly trail their way to Kimi's. His blank face demonstrates no hints or suggestions to the mare, leaving her to decide against her own ambitions.

“... Hooh, iz not fair! My sisters always get to have fun! They've neva let me do anyzing! Iz always, ‘nooo, Kimi, you cannot do dat! You are too young! Noo, Kimi, zat is not riiight! You cannot do zat to za humans!' Hypocrisy! Zey always play wiff ze humans! And I am a grown mare nao! I hjate my sisters!” she looks at Crimson with anger and self-loathing. As he stares back at her, the energy of her face slowly changes to that of shyness and timidity.

The blush enveloping her face deepens while her eyes trace the human's form from top to bottom. “… Y… You vould not… mind, vould you? I-I promise I am not like my sisters. I am no slut!” she huffs, keeping her gaze fixed on his face for some sort of approval. He only gawks mindlessly in return. “It vill be quick! I-I promise! Humans do not last very long, so it vill be quick. I-I vill do my best to make it feel enjoyable!" Her shining eyes stare at his face, hoping that she gets a positive reaction from him.

He does nothing but stare back with half-lidded eyes, leaving his stance on the matter completely indecipherable.

Second after lengthy second, her forced simper slowly fades as her anxiety rises. She lowers her head, a glint of sorrow in her eyes. "... Vhy do you not answer me? Hoooh, I know you cannot...”

She begins to hum and huff her pent up emotions. She proceeds around Crimson to the small steps of the bathtub and turns the faucet. A high-pressure stream of warm water flows into the tub, making quick work to fill it. As it fills, Kimi looks at the man's back; she admires the breadth of his shoulders, the length and locks of the red mop sat on his scalp. The more she tries to stop thinking about it, the more she wants it. A taste of a forbidden fruit.

Once the water reaches the halfway mark, she takes some of the bubble and bomb products stationed at the tub. A wonderous dance of flowery and fruity scents quickly take the air, overriding the already pleasant tinge that the spa has. While the bubbles form, Kimi purses her lips and glances again at the man's back.

Contemplation painted by temptation. Though, through some ton of effort, she moves towards him to aid him into the bathtub. She turns his body and lifts his legs, effectively making him sit with his feet in the bubbly warm water. After, she climbs into the tub and stands in it, taking his arms and pulling him carefully in until he comes off the edge and sits inside near the center.

A small sigh of relief accompanies her success. These small victories help her gain some form of confidence in her rusting skillset. Truthfully, it has been a few weeks since she's had the opportunity to clean a human. Her practice normally dictates the spa pony to stay outside the tub rather than be in with the client... but in this she cannot help herself.

The faucet is turned off once the water nears the top. Taking a hoof-held scrubber, she lathers it with soap and sits down in the water behind him. With gentle yet firm strokes, she scrubs the broad of his back, then continues to the other parts of his exposed body.

Every second, every touch, every scent - all of it rides the waves of Kimi's sensation. She feels her face boiling, her cheeks are tinted cherry red. She swears she got over her stage fright long ago after her initial certification, yet the feeling is back. Worse, even. She can't stop herself from occasionally jittering and biting her lower lip.

The time comes to turn around and wash his front - a moment she had been dreading the entire time without even actually giving it thought. She mentally conjures any excuse to stay put behind him, but the thought of the relentless berating her sisters would endow if she failed to clean the first client she had in nearly a month is stronger than any stage fright. Thus, she rises from the water.

Her legs tremble violently as her body drips with water. The first step is nearly impossible, a stagger rather than a pace. She barely prevents herself from dunking herself into the bubbles before she finds herself in front of him. She gawks at his front. Nothing that could resemble cognition is found on it. She silently thanks the wind for his inability to concern himself with his surroundings and sits back down.

Kimi continues her scrubbing. A burning blush still rests on her face while taking the scrubber to his pecs, his shoulders, arms, shoulders and pecs again, abs, and legs. Up and downs, circles, left and rights. She does her best to focus on the pattern of her movements rather than the creature she is maintaining. It helps. Keying in on her art is sufficient a distraction for now. In all, it takes her about six minutes total to complete the scrub-down.

Satisfied when the last finger on his left hand as been cleaned thoroughly, she moves away when realizing she leaned in a bit too close for comfort. She analyzes all parts of the works she had finished. A quick sigh marks the introduction of the next process. She sets down the scrubber and obtains one of the bottles of shampoo, all marked and labeled for human use. She uncaps the bottle and turns around, tilting the bottle to--

"Huh!" the mare recoils to find gentle hazel eyes making direct eye contact with her. She finds herself frozen under his punching stare. A gaze so still, barely blinking, and half-lidded. She can't find a single word to speak.

A slight howl, the rumble of a water heater through the walls, and the calm drift of bathwater are the only sounds filling the silence. Kimi can't figure herself out while being stared at by this unmoving man.

After a moment, his eyes drift from her's to the bottle which is slowly leaking shampoo. This drives Kimi to glance between the bottle and him. She corrects her mistake with an 'eep!' and gets a glob of product onto her hoof. She looks back to Crimson and notes him returning the stare. To her surprise, he closes his eyes, seemingly preparing himself for the catering.

Butterflies dance in her heart. He is aware. Fully aware. ... He heard... everything Kimi was saying earlier... at least, that's what she assumes.

There's nothing more she wants but to die right now.

Still, she notes that the man is keeping his eyes closed and isn't saying or doing anything out of the ordinary. While possibly aware, he still cannot understand her speech. Or at least, the implications of it. All he's capable of is understanding basic orders and tasks.

She swallows her heart and tries every excuse she can to ease herself. With this, she huffs her tension again and continues her cleaning. She comes up onto her hindlegs and begins applying the shampoo, being careful to spread it evenly and wash it in thoroughly. She can hardly stand in place. Her anxiousness has her trembling and nearly falling over numerous times.

The wash starts very routine. Something, however, makes this routine cleaning very startling. Hands lurk from under the water, slowly moving and emerging to clasp her hips gently. A confused "Hn?" is all that escapes her nostrils. Instantly, her posture rightens and her legs tremble much less, her small form now fortified by his firm hold.

It takes a few seconds for the action to register to Kimi, but when it does, the blush deepens. Yet, a smile grows.

Said smile continuously widens as the cleaning progresses. Comfort radiates in the previously tense interaction, enough that the trembling in her legs subsides momentarily. While he could remove his hands and return them to his sides, he instead leaves them there, eventually turn into a gentle caress up and down her sides.

A giggle emits from Kimi, and soon enough, the room is catered by her melodic humming.

‎

---

‎

BAM.

Suddenly, the two other spa mares Keri and Kiri enter, Kiri having busted open the door viciously.

Keri's brow furrow at her sister, “Careful wif ze glass doa, Kiri!”

The two mares gawk in anger to see—

“Ah, velcome back, sisters~” Kimi waves from the seat where she was reading magazines from earlier. She is nice and tidy, cleaned and showing no signs of... anything... except for maybe a certain sheen in her hair.

They see Crimson properly washed and dried off, his shorts and sandals were even cleaned and put back on. The collar Celestia gave him is placed, snug and firm.

Celestia herself walks in after the two mares with the same gracious smile she appears to always have. “Oh, wonderful," she hums, admiring the stark difference in cleanliness present on Crimson. "Thank you very much, Kimi. You’ve outdone yourself.”

“No, princess, the pleasure vas all mine~” she says, giving Crimson a half-lidded smile. This causes a scoff from her sisters, but Celestia remains with her smile.

Crimson just stands there in the middle of the room, slowly leaning left and right.

“We should be off. Thank you again, girls!” Celestia says, taking the human's leash into her aura and making her exit with him.

Kimi smiles and waves happily. The other two mares wave with less enthusiasm.

Celestia walks Crimson to the end of the large hall in which they entered, where a large purple door sits proudly among the smaller, less decorated doors. The purple door Celestia opens herself as there are no guardponies around this side of the hallway. The room that lies ahead appears to be a rather grandiose bedroom with all sorts of expensive, meticulously crafted furniture and furnishings.

Celestia looks out towards the city of Canterlot from her balcony, which has quite a breath-taking view of the entire city, no, the entire land. The sun is beginning to set, and from what Crimson sees, Celestia is the one responsible for manipulating the sun's position with her magic, but he shows zero reaction to it.

Once she is done repositioning it, she turns around and walks towards him, standing directly in front of him but inches away. “Well, my lovely human, this is where we say goodbye.” The smile she gives him is so comforting and warm, he feels as if he's personally connected with this mare to some degree. “You will be in good hooves, I know of it. I think you’ll be just as happy as she will be when you arrive.” Her horn glows with her majestic aura, enveloping him in it. “It pains me to say goodbye, my dear human,” she smiles a little wider, “but I have a feeling it won’t be forever~”

Pfrr!

Crimson's world distorts madly, being teleported off and away from Canterlot.

‎

---

‎

…

“Nnh, mmh. ... Hn!?" His eyes snap open. “Dahlia!?” he shouts as he sits up. He looks around quickly in pure panic, barely now snapping back to his position on Canterlot's streets.

This is not Canterlot. Far from it. He reaches to his neck at the collar which was placed on him. He rips it off and chucks it randomly. Frantically, he throws his eyes around the room. A room, unfamiliar room. Bed, unfamiliar bed, he is on the bed. There is a blue pony staring at him - she looks scared. A lamp is on over there. Door is right over there, it is slightly opened and--

Crimson freezes. Blue pony?

He slowly turns his head to his right, looking at a young mare wearing glasses who is sitting on a rocking chair next to the bed. She looks absolutely fucking mortified. “... I… uh…” Crimson’s grains of sand for pupils shift around awkwardly. “… Howdy?”

“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!”

Next Chapter: Chapter 3: Stubborn As a Rock Estimated time remaining: 28 Hours, 13 Minutes