Opal & Eli

 

You've been quietly rolling along in his car for at least a couple hours now, and neither of you has said a word since you lost sight of Zephyr. At first you pretended to be asleep when you realized you were alone with him for the first time, but you're to anxious and twitchy to keep it up anymore. The awkwardness of it all is killing you, and he doesn't seem perturbed in the slightest! Is this how it's gonna be? You're some subhuman thing and he's not even going to dignify you with speech?

 

Or maybe this is his way of easing you into things? A nice, calm car ride with your... y-

 

your...

 

Master.

 

Oh no, this is bad. Somehow you let your friend and that muscular loon talk you into getting in the car and now this guy thinks he owns you!

 

...Well, he does kind of own you. He paid an awful lot, so he must be pretty serious about keeping you. Like an animal. Forever.

 

Okay, okay. Calm down, Opal. He's nice! Zephyr thought so too, and he's been very understanding this whole time, even when you made an ass of yourself. You're just getting worried over nothing for the thousandth time. Unless the nice act was all a ruse and as soon as he's got you safely tucked away in his home he'll break out the chains and whips and... and...

 

Nausea begins to bubble up from the pit of your stomach while your imagination runs wild with the awful possibilities. You're debilitated, helpless! The only insurance policy you've got is his word that he'll send you back if you're unhappy. He must have lied, you're never getting out of there once you're in! His other ponies are probably both Autumn-level fucked up and now you're gonna be on the bottom of the pecking order, the exotic new toy they'll want to break just like he does!

 

Slow, deep breaths are the only thing keeping you from losing your lunch all over the back seat as you screw your eyes shut. The world outside the car is a dizzying blur, the bumps and dips of a back country road through the mountains are giving you the most awful sense of vertigo you've ever had, and the only thing you can hear is your blood pounding in your new, too-sensitive ears. It's too hot in here! Air, you need air!

 

You can feel your breath accelerate to a point near hyperventilation, but at this point you're already lost in your own head, touring realms of terror somewhere in between the strange tortures the man in the front seat will visit upon you and the notion that maybe you're dying right this second. You don't even want to go home, you just want this feeling to stop, anything to just make it stop.

 

"Are you doing okay back there? You don't look so good."

 

As much as you'd like to convince yourself that he's just feigning concern for you, the hand that finds its way to your head is warm, and the few firm strokes along your mane are the only bright spot in a realm of suffering before it retreats prior to another turn.

 

"Opal?"

 

No no, nice-but-not-nice strange man, please don't make this a thing.

 

"Opal honey, you're scaring me. Are you okay?"

 

His voice is so sincere you feel guilty not responding, but telling him that you're having an anxiety attack about being his seems downright rude. You settle for telling half of the truth.

 

"I'm just a bit carsick is all. Please don't worry."

 

"You look more than a bit carsick if you ask me. Hang on for a few more minutes and we'll take a break. Is there anything I can do to help?"

 

"I'm really warm right now. Could you open a window? I mean, um, please. Master. Sir."

 

The sound of wind sweeping in through the cracked window is almost relieving in and of itself, but the rush of cool air has you taking great, heaving breaths in an effort at settling your stomach. The next few turns are far gentler than before, and a slow stop signals the blessed break he promised earlier. You hear him shift a bit in his seat, and you're quite certain he's looking right at you, but you can't quite bring yourself to open your eyes and look back. Trying to wrap your mind around being his pet, a thing he owns, is just too much. Everything depends on him, now. Food, water, shelter and comforts all have to come from him, and you still don't know what he'll want in return.

 

Sure, he says he just wants you to be all -cute- and -pretty- like how Autumn and Zephyr act for their Master, and that if you're happy he'll be happy too, but that can't be it. No one is that nice, least of all to you, and that means there's a catch. Maybe it's your body warming his bed, or maybe it's subjugating you, or maybe you're just being picked up to entertain the other two in his house, but there's no way he just wants to have you around.

 

No one wants you around.

 

The hand returns, gently stroking along your mane and neck, and the shivers it gives you forces your eyes open to face reality. He's gazing at you quite intently, but there's quite a bit of concern in his look. Of course, that could just be because he payed a hefty price for you, and this must be the equivalent of engine trouble in a new car. Maybe you're defective, he must be wondering.

 

He leans over the seat towards you, and you're stunned as his arms wrap around you and lift you over it into the front and his lap. You're set down facing forward, saving you the embarrassment of eye contact, but more importantly you have a tremendous view of a river valley below from what seems to be an isolated "scenic view" off the state highway you'd been on. The view is lovely, and his hands are warm. You catch yourself relaxing just a bit, and he seems happy to share the view with you in silence for a minute or two.

 

"So what have you been thinking about back there this whole time?"

 

"Uhm... Y'know, pony stuff?"

 

"You seem awfully nervous about 'pony stuff', little miss."

 

"I'm not sure if I should say this... being taken 'home' to a place I've never been, by a man I just met, for possibly the rest of my life? It's scary."

 

"Do I scare you?"

 

"N-not as much as when we hadn't met, but would you be upset if I said yes? We only just met...."

 

"Would it help if I stopped at a drive-through and got you a treat?"

 

"Not if you value this interior. I really was carsick earlier. But thank you for offering, Eli. I mean Master. Sir."

 

"You can call me whatever you want, y'know."

 

"I'll figure something out... uh, Master. So what were you thinking about up there?"

 

"How to start a conversation with you. It's been really awkward the whole ride. Or was that just me?"

 

Okay... maybe you shouldn't over think these things...

 

A sudden rush of cool air rouses you into unwelcome wakefulness, and it's everything you can do to press yourself further into the warm spot you've made on the seat and retreat further under your awkwardly.. bulky.. blanket?

 

Wait, what?

 

"It's time to wake up, Opal. We're home."

 

The events of an already long day replay in your head as you remember where you are, and that in lieu of a blanket you've wrapped yourself up in his coat for warmth. You peek out from your impromptu shelter with bleary eyes to see him standing just outside the open door to the back of the truck, smiling at you with a familiar sort of condescending mirth hidden in his face. Yeah, no wonder he and Zephyr's guy get along so well.

 

"We're here already?"

 

"You've been asleep for quite a while, little miss. We should hurry, I think I see your new housemates watching from one of the windows."

 

As apprehensive as you are about being "brought home" or meeting two more people-made-ponies, you do sit up and try to get out of the car.

 

...Only to fall face first into the seat as one of your hooves catches on the coat you'd been nesting in. The flood of renewed embarrassment is enough that you want to retreat back under the coat entirely, and the whine you emit is not so much from pain but your frustration at continually making an ass of yourself in front of him. He seems to think differently, though.

 

"You really are adorable, you know that? Come on sleepy head, you'll never make it up the steps like this."

 

Before you've had time to shake off the 'adorable' comment in regard to your monumental clumsiness he's already picked you up, coat and all, to hoist you into his arms. Firmly in his grasp and too well bundled up by the coat to do anything but squirm, a strange sense of calm overcomes you as your head comes to rest on his shoulder. Amid the soft bobbing motions as he ascends a long flight of stairs toward a very large house, you find it rather odd that instead of scoping out the house he means to keep you in, or trying to figure out where exactly "here" is, you're currently focused entirely on how he smells up close. There's the same faint "guy smell" that you once had yourself and had already begrudgingly come to enjoy on Zephyr's master, but there's a bit of crispness to him, like a green apple. Is that a bodywash or are you just going insane?

 

"Are you feeling alright? You're breathing a little heavily there."

 

Ah, shit! Snap out of it, stupid little pony thing! You barely know this man and you're already getting all flustered over his scent! He seems like a very giving sort of guy, and outside your wild imagination it seems like he won't let you come to any harm in his care, but you're not going to let yourself get all doe-eyed just yet. The hard truth of the matter is that there's no place for you anywhere in this world anymore, save for the place being offered to you here, and accepting that is what kept you from escaping into the woods and probably getting eaten a couple of weeks ago. He'll feed you, and give you shelter, and maybe even pet you from time to time, and you'll gladly do what he asks as long as he holds up his end of the bargain.

 

But that doesn't mean you want to be some simpleminded thing worshipping at his feet like Autumn. Zephyr seemed to keep her wits about her a bit better, but sometimes even her behavior worried you. You can't lose yourself in the submission games or the affection or the carnal delights that come with this body and life. You'll be his little friend, even his subservient pet. One day you might even let this body get what it seems to want and be... intimate... With him. You just don't ever want to be a willing plaything, with all your hopes and wants replaced with his.

 

It could be that you're overthinking things again, but just to be on the safe side you resolve not to spend any more time smelling him.

 

"Oh, they've left the window. Must be waiting for us at the front door."

 

"You mean your other pets?"

 

"Yeah, Seafoam and Orchid. You'll be able to tell which is which. I should warn you, I told them as soon as my friend let me know he had you, so they've been stewing in anticipation for a few weeks now."

 

"T-they're excited?"

 

"Oh yes, very. You've probably figured out by now that you're not going to be meeting very many people in your new job. The three of us have been together for a little under a year, a little over a year for just Seafoam and I, all without them seeing much of anyone, really, so you can imagine how exciting a new friend is for them."

 

"B-but what if they don't like me?"

 

"Not possible."

 

"Y-yes it is. What if they think I'm trying to steal you away from them, or that I'm annoying or no fun?"

 

"I don't think you're annoying."

 

"You barely know me! I'm always weird or clumsy or annoying, they're going to hate me!"

 

"Have you always had this kind of anxiety issue?"

 

Boom. He just hit the nail on the head, and though he pointed it out as a helpful gesture, it mostly just makes you feel worse.

 

"Y-yes..."

 

"And how did it work out when you were human?"

 

Panic attacks. Ruined relationships. Unpaid bills. Wasted education. Long nights awake wondering if it wouldn't be easier to just give up. Inability to make eye contact with strangers.

 

"P-pretty bad."

 

"How about you try relaxing a bit? This is a whole new opportunity for you to start over. Think it over quick, because we're here."

 

Sure enough, you've made it to the front door, behind which lurks two strangers and a very strange new life.

 

"M... Master?"

 

"Yes, Opal?"

 

"I'm scared."

 

"I know you are. Be brave for me?"

 

"I can try."

 

"Good girl."

 

And just like that, the door opens and Eli carries you into your future.