Opal & New Ponies

 

More interesting than the banner, though, is the fact that either end it is pressed between a pair of forehooves, occasionally twitching or slipping a bit. You're a a little bit dumbstruck as it dawns on you that the sign is meant for you, clutched between the trembling forehooves of your owner's other pets. Other ponies, former people, who have spent months trotting around on all fours and playing nice for this guy. You're almost afraid to make eye contact, painfully aware that if they're both like Autumn you're probably doomed to become like her yourself. In this context, the thrilled, stereophonic cheer of "Welcome home!" they greet you with doesn't seem promising.

 

As much as that worries you, refusing to answer them would be rude, though being set down on the floor and released from the bundle he'd wrapped you in gives you a much needed second to collect yourself and get a decent look at them. Eli really wasn't joking when he said you'd be able to tell which is which, as the two ponies in front of you couldn't be more visually distinct from one another if they tried. The one you're sure is Seafoam has a bright blue coat, all the way up to a flowing but slightly curled off-white mane. You hate to call it "wavy" considering her name, but that's really the only word for it.

 

The freckle pattern on her face is the same off-white as her mane, and you'd find the whole effect totally adorable if the look of complete and unmitigated enthusiasm in her green eyes wasn't a little too reminiscent of Autumn for your own comfort.

 

On the other side of the hallway sits a pony who went perhaps a little too far in designing the OC she became, though you're hardly one to be making judgement there. A deeper red coat than what you'd think belonged on a pony, but in practice it looks no less vibrant than any of the others you've seen, topped off with a long, tropical-looking yellow mane and tail, accented heavily by the occasional streak of purple running down either. The horn poking out of her mane is plain to see, and you come to the realization that your useless little bat wings to still technically make you a pegasus, meaning that between Seafoam's earth pony build, this unicorn, and you Eli has a complete set. This is undoubtedly the one he called "Orchid", but your immediate and powerful sense of attachment to her doesn't have anything to do with her colors, but rather the wry smile and look of amusement in her too-pink eyes. Oh thank goodness, this one looks like she's still grounded in reality.

 

They went to the trouble of making a welcome sign for you, no easy feat on hooves, and that gesture seems friendly enough.

 

You try the "deep breath" trick Zephyr kept harping on about, and give it your best.

 

"N-nice to meet you! I'm Opal and I, uh, guess we live together now?"

 

...Okay, not your best effort. Neither of them looks crestfallen, though, so you aren't a disappointment just yet. In fact, the small chuckle coming from Orchid doesn't even sound derisive! In your book, that's already a win. For a few seconds it looks as though everything might just be looking up.

 

Then the blue one starts touching you.

 

It's not the full-blown pounce you had been forced to adapt to in the last house, but before you know it's happening she's already put her hooves up to your face and started talking.

 

"Orchid, come look at her eyes, they're incredible!"

 

Well, at least she seems to like you...

 

"And this mane is just lovely! Do you think she'll let me style it?"

 

The unicorn lives up to your expectations at once, at once responding while trying not to laugh.

 

"You could try asking her, Sea. You are up in her face, you know."

 

"Sea" as she is called, does not, and instead takes one of your hooves in hers for a closer examination before beginning to circle you.

 

"Those wings! And look! She's even more slender than you are! Oh, I don't wanna be the fat one!"

 

"Dude, you won't be the fat one. I told you he makes the pegasi skinny. You've just got a fuller figure is all."

 

"Hardly, look!"

 

You don't know what you were expecting, but it certainly wasn't Seafoam wrapping her forehooves around your waist and lifting your rear end skywards. The sudden action sprawls your front end out and gives her the leverage to show the whole room what she's talking about. Your cool broke right around there, but no amount of yelping and squirming seems to dislodge your from the Earthie's larger build.

 

"Smaller, yeah, but look at how firm this is! He's been making improvements since changing me, and now I'm outdated."

 

"Uh, Sea, maybe you shouldn't..."

 

Her forehoof poking your rump repeatedly to drive her point home is the last straw, and in aghast desperation you do the unthinkable.

 

"Master, help!"

 

Well, that's it then. You've been in his house for a grand total of two minutes before giving up on solving the simplest problem, like demanding your molester stop, and needing him to it instead. Under duress, that's your first response? Cry out for him? Jeez, Zephyr's Master really did mess up your head more than you thought.

 

You hardly needed Eli's help after that, though. Your outburst alone seems to have surprised Seafoam into dropping you, and while you feel no end to the shame of it your still find yourself scrambling behind Eli's legs for safety. Your refuge doesn't last very long, as your new Master picks you back up and then seats himself on the floor, once again putting you on his lap, now in plain view of the other two. There's still an air of amusement in his voice, but there's a gentle authority there that seems to command the attention of your new compatriots.

 

"Now let's try that again. Seafoam, Orchid, this is Opal. she's had a bit of a rough time adjusting to all the changes and it might be for the best if you take it easy on her for a while. Opal, this is Seafoam and that's Orchid."

 

This is so embarrassing. The whole situation isn't even your fault, but shame is a powerful motivator and right now you'd give anything to be anywhere else. Whether it be intuition or experience with you, Eli seems to understand that you're seconds from bolting out of his lap and into the darkest corner you can find. Rather than allow this to happen, he wraps his arms around you and pulls you close, leaving you on your haunches and with only your tail to preserve your modesty. The other two remain quiet while you sniffle a bit, but once it's clear that you're not going to cry Seafoam makes the first move.

 

"Listen, Opal, I'm really sorry about that. You look amazing and I got so excited... Then I got caught up in my own vanity.

 

I've been wearing a collar in this house for more than a year, and I guess I forgot how it felt when this was all new. I'm sorry, please don't hate it here because of me."

 

She certainly sounds sincere enough, and even a bit less like Autumn than you thought she would.

 

"It's... well, alright. That was a bit too much all at once, and I'm a bit... flighty? I'm sure your- er, our, Master can tell you more. You were too excited, I was too nervous."

 

"Will you forgive me?"

 

"Yes,but after touching my butt you at least owe me dinner."

 

She stands there utterly dumbfounded by your joke, but it certainly wasn't lost on Eli or Orchid. The sudden chortle from above and behind you makes you feel pretty good about yourself, but it's the look of approval and possibly increased excitement from Orchid that really makes breaking the serious mood worthwhile.

 

"She tells jokes! Little sister, you and I are going to have a lot of fun around here."

 

Your joke seems to have broken the ice pretty well, defusing what could have been a bad situation and helping you make your first good impression since meeting Eli. The hands that were keeping you from bolting out of his lap relax their grip, and one settles on your head. Eli works his fingers in small circles up and down your scalp, making an absolute mess of your mane but drawing an involuntary sigh from your lips before you knew it was coming. Your worries are all but forgotten for a few wonderful seconds, his continued assault forcing your eyes shut as relaxation, physical and mental, crash over you like a tidal wave.

 

It's so good that when his hand recedes you find yourself turned about to face him, whining pitifully and pawing at his chest with a hoof, all pride forgotten. The amused look on his face is enough for you to remember yourself and stop acting like a needy animal, but the damage is clearly done.

 

"Liked that a lot, didn't you? He said you'd be a cuddler if I could get you to relax. Now, as much as I'd like to get you settled in myself, I've been awake since about this time yesterday. Can I ask you to stick with Orchid and Seafoam until you know your way around? I don't mean to brag, but it's a really big house."

 

Your mind races to conjure up objections. Does he think you're stupid enough to get lost indoors, or does he want you to be watched at all times? He doesn't trust you not to run off, even worse, he doesn't trust you enough to let you have some privacy! For a split second you let frustration boil up in your chest to bursting, but when you open your mouth to give him what-for it just isn't there.

 

Ugh, this is self-sabotage. Maybe you do just want to be left alone for a little while... But you're looking for reasons to argue or resist or rebel and they just aren't there, or at least they're too trivial to matter. He's made a simple request of you, and you made Zephyr's master a promise in exchange for your still unused trump card. You told him you'd be a good pet.

 

You told him you'd obey.

 

"Yes... Master."

 

"There's a good girl. Sea, Orchid, is there still enough food on the bottom shelves to cover the three of you for the night?"

 

A dual "Yes sir!" comes from behind you in a still-unsettling stereo, but You're too busy enjoying the notion of feeding yourself.

 

"Is my kitchen floor a mess?"

 

"No sir!"

 

"Good. Take care of yourselves for the night and I'll cook for us in the morning, okay? Oh, and show Opal where the bathroom is when you get the chance."

 

"Yes sir!"

 

What you're inferring just from his conversation with the other two is encouraging, to say the least. Zephyr's guy was so big on controlling just about everything that went on, you don't think you've fed yourself since stopping at a fast-food joint on your last night as a human. Looking back you wish you'd been a bit more gluttonous there, it was the last chance you ever had to eat meat. Or buy something in a store. Or be seen in public.

 

Before you have a chance to fall into another little anxiety attack dwelling on how much you've lost Eli wraps up his conversation with the other two. He can't be aware of your internal dialogue, but the hug he wraps you in is enough to help you escape it. Being held against him in the hug is the strangest thing yet, as you find yourself noting the differences between him and Zephyr's guy with an almost academic interest. He's definitely got a belly in place of the unnaturally toned midsection on the crazy kidnapper, and he's generally much softer, but in truth that just makes him warmer to the touch, something that you're alarmed to find is quite pleasant. Enjoying a bit of contact is something you can at least dismiss. Now the sensual feeling of his breath on your neck, on the other hand, that's really setting off a whole new set of worries and strange thoughts, but at least they're just awkward as opposed to depressing. Still, here you are securely pressed against his body, hind legs sticking out to either side of him...

 

If he weren't wearing clothes, you'd basically already be...

 

"Opal? You're doing that breathing thing again, is something wrong?"

 

Crap! What the hell is wrong with you? This was never a problem with the big loony in the woods, but this is like the third time you've started thinking about... him. Once back at the other house... you even told Zephyr about it... and now twice when you're close to him. This is bad, this is really really bad. Not that the notion of sex in this body was all that awful to you anymore- Zephyr and Autumn took care of that- but sex with a guy, sex with this guy? You know he's open to it and you know he's leaving it up to you...

 

Ugh, no. You can't let yourself do this. Nevermind how long you've known the guy, if you did anything like that it'd be too much of a commitment to staying here. Also... you've had this sneaking suspicion that if being petted and held was enough to get you to cave and obey the last guy, real intimacy might mess with your head even more. The unspoken commitment such a thing would come with might not even matter if you're only an orgasm away from thinking you love him anyway. Stay strong, don't be Autumn.

 

"I-it's nothing. I'm fine."

 

"I'm going to go to bed now, but Seafoam and Orchid can show you around and answer any questions. If you need anything don't hesitate to wake me up, my door is right across from the stairs."

 

Once again, there's nothing insincere in his voice. No subtle inflection telling you that he doesn't mean it, or that he thinks taking you was a mistake. You know it's pathetic, but the little bits of compassion and patience are so new to you that there's a small but growing sense of attachment, maybe even affection, taking root in you. After a long, stressful day you're finally feeling better about things, enough to think that maybe, just maybe, taking orders from this guy wont be so bad.

 

"Okay. Have a good night, M-master."

 

"Good girl. I'm happy you're here, you know. I hope we haven't scared you off yet."

 

He sets you down between the other two as they spout off their own "good night", and offers each of you a quick pat on the head before trudging up the stairs and out of sight. For a few seconds you're actually a bit excited about exploring the house and trying to figure this guy out while you're at it, but judging by the two sets of radiant eyes pointed straight at you it seems like you're going to be the center of attention for quite some time. You focus on Seafoam, trying to think of something to say that will dispel the lingering awkwardness, but she beats you to the punch with a simple, gentle hug. More warmth and hooves at your side confirm that Orchid has decided to join her. This should be awkward, but there's just something about the body heat of another pony that puts you at ease, maybe something your captor did on purpose to make sure his pleasure toys would be as cuddly with each other as the customer would expect.

 

"I'm still sorry about before" Seafoam mumbles into your ear "But welcome to Eli's house."

 

You accept her apology, considering that she's far from the worst offender as far as personal space violations go lately, and allow her and Orchid to lead you on a tour of Eli's cavernous home. Just as promised, all of the bathrooms contain facilities your new anatomy can actually use alongside the normal, human ones and for a moment you really feel as though you might cry about it. Sure you're trotting about on all fours, but this more than anything else makes you feel far more like a person than some peculiar animal, and it's such a happy thought that a small part of you wants to bound into Eli's room and thank him right this second.

 

A lot of the rooms are apparently unused, or at least inaccessible to the three of you, but the sheer size of the rooms you're being shown fills you with equal parts awe and annoyance. If you thought there was a malevolent bone in Eli's body you'd be frothing at the mouth right now. Here's some wealthy businessman, apparently unable to impress regular women, who used his vast resources to have three people from the impoverished underclass remade to suit his tastes and enslaved into his service!

 

... Is what you would think if you hadn't already met the guy. You'd worry more about the implications this has for all the other pets out there, but your new found compatriots just lead you into the kitchen. You hang back and let them show you what's what, but when they open some low cabinets and a small minifridge in the corner and start asking what you feel like eating you're just a bit overwhelmed.

 

"He really lets you feed yourselves?" It sounds much sillier than you thought it would. You already knew this from the earlier conversation, but watching them carefully lift and pull bags of assorted foods with their own hooves or mouths really drives the point home.

 

"Well yeah, why wouldn't he?" scoffs Orchid through a mouthful of dry breakfast cereal. There's always a note of laughter in her voice so far, meaning either she's mocking you, or more likely she's simply as charming as she seems. You're a bit lost in trying to retort, however, your own face scrunching up a bit as you realize that you've unwittingly become accustomed to being fed whatever your caretaker felt like giving you. Orchid seems to catch this, her own grin faltering a bit in recognition.

 

"Oh! Right! He's totally a control freak, isn't he? How long were you there being 'trained'?" she asks you in a serious tone, but for the last bit of the question she put her hooves up and bent them in an adorable mockery of quotation fingers.

 

"I, uh... I think a little under a month? Uh, only two or three weeks as a p-p-pony, though."

 

"You... weren't changed when you got there?" There's no suspicion in her tone, but the curiosity is clearly there. Ugh, great, now you're going to need to tell them something about how this whole mess happened.

 

"It's a really long story" You divert, though that's certainly true "and not good mealtime talk, either" you finish lamely, but if you had to tell them the smallest detail about what Charlie wanted, or when you punched poor Zephyr they'd certainly lose their appetite... and probably hate you, too. Eli hasn't heard your origin story either, for that matter. Would lying, or maybe omitting certain elements of the truth... would that be okay?

 

"I'll take that, but you're telling me the whole story sometime." Chirps orchid, "But yeah, if he's busy or gone on business he'll stock the shelves we can reach. When he's home eating together is a big thing for him, but you can get away with a little snacking here and there."

 

You're still a little unsure of what's what in the shelves, but Seafoam seems to have that covered herself, as she slides a bowl across the floor with her nose toward you.

 

"Here, it's oats and some dried berries and fruit." There's an odd maternal tone to her voice, but when her eyes meet yours you get a much clearer 'big sister' vibe. "That's alright, isn't it?"

 

"Oh, yeah! I mean, of course it is, but thank you for getting it for me. I'm still not very good with my ha- uh, hooves."

 

She cracks a very sweet smile, and saunters a bit closer to you. She called you 'thin' before, but you never really got a sense for it until now. She's not fat, despite what she seems to think, but it seems as though she's just proportionately larger than you are, as though Zephyr's guy decided to shrink down his product a bit at some point between her and you. She's easily got a couple of inches on you height wise, and all of a sudden "big sister" is definitely the right term for it.

 

"Ha! You'll get pretty good with them eventually. I've had more than a year without thumbs and I get by just fine, feel free to ask for help."

 

"You might want to reconsider that offer, I'll be asking all the time."

 

"Then we'll teach you!" she says with a smile "How to get your own food, how to use Eli's stuff. How to prance, dance, and play with the best of us!"

 

"Uh, did you just say you'll teach me to dance?" you squeak out, gulping ominously before adding "and.. uh, prance?"

 

Before you know it, she got her forehooves around your neck, and as you're pulled in close her expression fades from the cheery welcome you've been given into something all too familiar. Those half lidded eyes, that cool little smile, that breathy voice...

 

"Oh, yes, new girl." She whispers into your ear. "He just loves it when we dance for him. Don't you worry Opal, we'll show you every little thing he likes."

 

Visions of Autumn screaming at you for not loving this enough bubble up in you head as you look very pointedly toward a spot on the ceiling and start stammering. "I w-wasn't really gonna... uh, do, any of that right away, if that's okay."

 

"Ooh, and if I said it wasn't, would you join him in bed?"

 

"I... ah, I mean..." you half mumble out, feeling terrified of what she wants and disgusted in equal parts with what she suggested and your imagination running wild with the promise of warm, soft hands touching you... everywhere...

 

"Sea! Quit freaking her out already, it's getting weird." Chides Orchid, still munching idly on cereal as though this whole scene wasn't playing out. Seafoam's sudden laughter doesn't quite compute for a few seconds when you hear it, and it's not until she releases you backs off a bit that you see a wicked smile on her face and realize she's not serious.

 

"Sorry, sorry, I'm just messing with you. You didn't really think I'd just up and force myself and Eli on you, did you? I'm a pet, not a psychopath."

 

"Y-yeah, just suddenly doing something like that would be c-crazy..."

 

"Oh, honey" She coos, face falling a bit "I hope I didn't really bother you! I figured we could bond over jokes..."

 

The wild mess of colors that constitutes Orchid appears in your field of vision, looking inquisitively at you as you try your best not to look and more stupid than you already must. On the one hand it's great that the idea of pulling something like Autumn might is a silly joke to them, but on the other hand you took it seriously and now you're all kinds of flustered.

 

"Sea, maybe don't make bedroom jokes for a while." Orchid slowly drawls out, still seemingly lost in thought.

 

"Well, sure, but Why?"

 

"Because I think our new housemate is like me. Opal, were you a guy before life got weird?"

 

This kind of confession shouldn't be shameful, not to these two, both of whom should understand your situation pretty well, but it's still everything you can muster to nod your head in the affirmative and wait to see how they react.

 

You didn't expect affectionate nuzzling from Orchid, but the simple, kind gesture is exactly what you needed. You can't help but return it in kind, sparing a thought to your friend back at the loony bin as you do.

 

"Relax, Opal" comes Orchid's melodic voice "I know what's going on in your head right now, but trust me when I say you'll feel much better about it with some more time. Don't worry about Eli, either, he didn't try a thing with me until I started it."

 

"'Started it'? Honey, she started humping him in her sleep." blurts a still-laughing Seafoam.

 

"Right, so until you start humping him in your sleep, don't worry about it."

 

Some small part of you wants to ask how long it took, to get a forecast on how some... ugh, pony in your position can hold out against the suite of urges you've been saddled with, but you've got a sneaking suspicion that you wont like the answer. Better, at least for now, not to know and continue enjoying your evening. You settle down to eat and chat with your new roommates, hopefully new friends, and find yourself in a lengthy discussion of the show. Finally, after an absurdly long day, you feel like you might be able to live here as comfortably as these two.

 

The night to come, on the other hand...