Slave Starlight - Chapter 2, by TitanicTime2

 

“What kind of a castle is this?” Starlight asked no-one in particular as her and the other five ponies ‘escorting’ her approached the giant crystal tree.

 

“It’s Twilight’s castle. It was grown from some weird chest that the tree of harmony produced after we defeated Tirek.” Rainbow replied, hovering just above the others.

 

“Grown. Seriously.” Starlight replied, giving Rainbow a deadpan look.

 

“Oh, it’s true! You should have seen it! There was this massive rainbow and then the chest rose up into the air through the rainbow and landed and then the tree grew like ‘WHOSH’ right out of the ground!” Pinkie said, jumping around and making stupid movements all the while.

 

“Sounds amazing.” Starlight said in an obviously sarcastic tone.

 

“Oh it was!” Was all she got as a reply.

 

“Well, enough about how the castle was created, let’s head on inside: I don’t know about you but I’m pretty cold out here.” Rarity says, shivering to prove her point.

 

“I agree. We should see if Spike’s been alright while we’ve been away. I bet Twi is a might worried about having left him overnight.” Inputs Applejack, who starts up the stairs to the front door, and proceeds to open it for the others.

 

Starlight silently makes her way up the stairs alongside the other four, looking up at the castle in wonder. Wow. This must be some exceptionally strong magic to have grown an entire castle made of crystal. She thought to herself as she crossed the threshold.

 

In front of her she could see a small purple and green dragon who was currently walking towards the group with a feather duster tucked under his arm.

 

“Hey guys! How was your trip?” Spike asked, stopping just short of them. “Where’s Twilight? And who’s this?” He said after Rainbow shut the door behind them.

 

“Twilight is currently in the process of sorting out living arrangements for Starlight here.” Rainbow said, flying over Starlight’s head and tapping her head with a hoof a couple of times.

 

“Our trip was… eventful.” Says Rarity, giving Starlight a sideways glance. “If you ask Twilight about it when she gets back, I’m certain she’d be willing to tell you all the details. For now, we, or at least I, am very tired and just want to get back to the Boutique for some much needed shut-eye.”

 

“And I really need to get back to check on the animals. Oh, I hope they’ve been alright with me gone all night…” Fluttershy added, adopting a worried expression.

 

“I’m sure Twilight won’t be long, Sugarcube, and you can then head straight back to check on them. And I’m sure they’re fine.” Applejack reassured Fluttershy, putting a hoof around her.

 

“Well, why don’t you guys just head back then? Why do you have to wait for Twilight?” Spike asked, obviously not understanding what was happening.

 

“Twilight asked all of us to look after Starlight until she gets back.” Rarity said.

 

“Oh, ok. Well, do you guys want to wait in the throne room for Twilight then? Better than standing here in the cold hallway.” Asked Spike, resolving to just ask Twilight about what was happening when she returned.

 

“Sure, I’m not cold, but at least I can give my wings a rest. And I can also have a nap.” Rainbow said, already darting off towards the throne room. All the others followed suit heading towards the throne room, Starlight trailing behind at a slower pace, taking in the castle as much as she could.

 

-

 

The throne room doors suddenly burst open, revealing Twilight, with a shivering Anon standing behind her, rubbing his arms together in an attempt to keep warm. “Fuck me, this castle’s absolutely freezing, why don’t you get some central heating in this place?” He said, opting to take a seat in the nearest available chair, which happened to be Twilight’s throne.

 

“Hello to you too, Anon. And what’s central heating?” Rarity said, disapproving of Anon’s entrance.

 

“Oh, right, no electricity.” He mumbled to himself, just loud enough for everyone to hear. “It’s just a way of heating up a building without the need of a fire or magic.” He said, not really caring about going into a full explanation.

 

“How does that work?” says Rainbow, who got jolted awake from her nap by the doors slamming open, and was now looking at Anon with a curious but tired expression.

 

“Just… don’t worry. I’ll explain another time. Now where’s this ‘Starlight’ you was talking about?” He turns and asks Twilight, just wanting to get this over with so he could get back to his nice warm home.

 

Twilight looks at the others expectantly, because she couldn’t see Starlight around the map table. Rarity just pointed over to a corner of the room. Both Anon and Twilight glanced over, and sure enough Starlight was sat there, just looking over at the group in the middle. Her eyes were somewhat wide, as they noticed her specifically looking at Anon.

 

“Oh, she doesn’t look anything like Stalin. I’m totally not disappointed.” Said Anon as he locked eyes with said mare.

 

“Who’s Stalin?” Asks Pinkie, who just pops up in front of Anon with a massive smile on her face, making the two break eye contact.

 

“I’ll tell you another time. Maybe. It’s not pleasant.” Anon replies in a slightly irritated tone. He’s never liked it when Pinkie just pops up in front of him.

 

“She’s been there since we first walked in.” Rarity interrupted.

 

“I can’t say I’m surprised to be honest. She is a weird one, her.” Applejack says, glancing over at her.

 

Anon decides to get up out of the chair, and makes his way over to Starlight, who just continues staring up at him with wide eyes. “Well, I’ll give you one thing: you’re certainly adorable.” He says, and to punctuate his point he reaches his hand forward and presses his finger on her nose for a second before pulling it back with a slight grin.

 

Starlight goes cross-eyed, looking at her muzzle where she was just booped. She also scrunches her muzzle up, making her look even cuter. “Yep, I’m definitely gonna have fun with you. Although, I can’t see how a pony this cute could have done something as bad as Stalin” He says to himself, but still loud enough for her to hear him.

 

“Anon?” Twilight calls over from her throne, which she has now reclaimed. Anon turns around and looks at her with an eyebrow raised. “How are you gonna get her back to yours?”

 

“Dunno. Carry her maybe?” He replied.

 

“Carry her? Seriously? BWAHAHA!” Rainbow exclaimed and burst out laughing.

 

“Well, have you got a better idea? I mean, I’ve gotta make sure she doesn’t run away somehow, and unless you have a collar and leash on hand I don’t see much other choice.”

 

Rainbow started calming down, and as she did Twilight said “Well you have a point. It may look very odd though: Equestria’s only human carrying a pony through town.”

 

“Who’s gonna see? It’s like eleven at night, all the other ponies have gone to bed by this point.

 

“I-I think it’s a really cute idea…” Fluttershy finally says, barely loud enough for the others to hear. At that all eyes were on her, and she squeaked, hiding behind her mane and trying to make herself as small as possible.

 

“Well, alright. She is your responsibility now after all, so you do what you think is right.” Says Twilight, who was blushing slightly for some reason.

 

“Alright then, I’m gonna just take her and head on home: I for one have had enough of this freezing castle. I’ll see you all some other time.” Anon says, eliciting a choruses of ‘byes’ and ‘nights’ from the others. He then resolves to turn around and walk behind Starlight: she doesn’t do anything, just sits there in silence. Anon bends down, and reaches his hands under her midsection, and then lifts her up like one would a cat, and holds her firmly against his chest, her hooves sticking out and down, and a very shocked look on her face.

 

As embarrassing as this is, I can’t fight him, at least not while Twilight’s here. Maybe when we get outside and away from Twilight. Just bear it for now… She thought, hating the idea of being handled like this.

 

“Hey Twi, mind getting the door for us?” Anon asked as he made his way towards the exit with Starlight held firmly in his arms.

 

“Oh, uh yeah sure.” She said, shaking herself out of the trance she didn’t even realise she was in, watching as Anon carried Starlight across the room. She flew over to the doors, opening them, and then flew over to the front doors at the other end of the main hall, Anon walking as fast as he could to keep up.

 

“I’ll pop in tomorrow to see how you’re doing, okay? I’ll also bring your first payment with me, because I’m too tired to sort it out now.” Twilight says as she tries to use magic to open the door. When it doesn’t work, she screws her muzzle up in confusion for a second before it clicks that she’s with Anon, and uses her hooves to physically pull the doors open with the handles.

 

“Yeah sure. I guess I ain’t got much to do anymore, so I’ll be in all day. Oh, actually that’s a point. Could you also head in to Sugarcube Corner tomorrow at some point and inform the Cakes of the situation? They’re gonna wonder why I don’t turn up to work tomorrow. I’d also rather you do it personally than ask Pinkie to tell them.”

 

“I don’t see why you can’t just ask Pinkie, but sure, I’ll make it the first thing I do tomorrow.”

 

“Thanks. I don’t believe I need anything else. I’m just gonna run on home now, and try to think about how I’m gonna make this work. I’ll see ya tomorrow, Twi.”

 

“Alright. Thanks a lot for this, Anon. it means a lot to me. Have a good night.”

 

At that, Anon just turned towards the door once more, and started down the stairs. It was pretty cold outside, even with the trench coat and now a warm body held in his grasp, so the instant he made it down the steps, he broke out into the fasted walk he could manage, heading straight for home.

 

-

 

After they got a couple of blocks, Starlight thought it was time to attempt her escape. We should be far enough away from that crazy Princesses castle now. I don’t really want to do this, but I don’t see what choice I’ve got. I also don’t want to alert anyone, so I should probably keep quiet. This is such a stupid idea…

 

Anon was surprised when Starlight suddenly started struggling, trying to get loose. She started waving her hooves around, trying to knock Anon in some way, and trying to kick him. The position that she was in, however, left her little to no way of reaching around, and all she managed to do was make Anon slow down.

 

“Whoa whoa whoa, what’s gotten into you all of a sudden?!” He asked, having to tighten his grip to keep her from slipping out. “You were fine a minute ago at the castle!”

 

He just stood there, his grip held tight while he let her try to fight his grip. After a couple of minutes of struggling, she eventually stopped, hanging there limply, her breathing ragged. Okay, that was pointless. This… whatever he is, is far too strong. I’ve got no chance, at least while he’s holding me like this and I’ve got this stupid ring on my horn.

 

“That’s better. Now what was the point in that?” Anon asked, resuming his fast walk back to his house. She didn’t answer, and just hung there in his arms, which now relaxed somewhat. “I’m not gonna hurt you. Well, unless you leave me no choice, that is. All I’m gonna do is look after you cos Twilight says you’ve done some bad shit, and she wants someone to keep an eye on you cos she’s too busy with other shit to do it.”

 

Still no reply. “Well, you’re stuck with me for now whether you like it or not, so I guess you’re gonna have to get used to me. And I wanna find out why you did all that shit you did. I ain’t gonna judge you for it, so you might as well get it over with.”

 

Still nothing. Anon sighed. “Well, maybe you’ll feel a bit more talkative after you’ve had some sleep. I hope you’re okay with sleeping on the couch, cos I haven’t exactly got another bed.”

 

-

 

The rest of the trip was uneventful, Anon having given up trying to talk to Starlight, who just hung there in his arms the whole time.

 

“Well, we’re here now. Welcome home, I guess.” Anon said, removing one of his arms from around Starlight, and reaching into his pockets for his keys as they approached the front door of his house. She didn’t try anything. He slipped the keys into the door, gave them a turn and kicked the door in with his foot, revealing the nice warm inside of his house. Well, it was warm before he opened the door and let all the warm air out, that is.

 

He wandered in, leaving the door open, and finally dumped Starlight onto the couch. She still didn’t do anything. He then went back to the door, removing the keys and shutting it, shivering in the process.

 

“You’re pretty heavy, you know. My arms are fucking killing me after that walk.” Anon stated as he dumped his coat on a hook next to the door and slipped his shoes off. He still didn’t get a reply, not that he expected one. “You know, talking to you is like talking to a brick wall. Can you even talk?” He walked in to the living room and looked at Starlight with a raised eyebrow. She nodded, but said nothing.

 

“Well, I guess that’s a start.” Anon collapsed onto his armchair with a groan. Starlight just sat there and looked around at Anon’s living room. “Yeah, it ain’t much, and I ain’t got much in the way of ornaments and shit, but its home. For you now, too I suppose.”

 

After a minute or so of nothing being said, Anon finally started. “Alright then. Seeing as you’re gonna be staying with me under my roof, I got a few ‘ground rules’ to lay out. I’ve never had anyone to look after in my house before, so this’ll be a new experience for the both of us, so these rules are more just common sense things. Firstly, don’t wreck my shit. Bit obvious as I said, but I may as well say it, in case you’re tempted. I’ll be hella pissed if you do. Second, I’ll treat you nice if you treat me nice. If you start being a bitch, then I ain’t gonna be happy about it. When I have my meals, I’ll cook you some of whatever I have, I guess. Unless it’s meat that is. I’ll just do you like a salad or something if that’s the case.”

 

Starlight just looked at Anon with a neutral expression on her face as he said his piece.

 

“Also, don’t try to take your ring on your horn off. You’re not allowed to do magic in my house. If you do try I’ll also be pissed cos it means you ain’t taking any of the stuff I’m saying seriously. What else is there…” He thought aloud.

 

“Oh yeah, going out. You can’t leave my house unless you’re coming with me somewhere. And if I go out anywhere you’re gonna come with me. I’m not sure how that’s gonna work yet though…” He trailed off.

 

“Oh wow, am I retarded, can’t believe I forgot this.” He said to himself as he facepalmed, but still loud enough that Starlight heard. “My name’s Anon, by the way. Nice to meet you I suppose.” He said, raising his hand towards her as if he was going to shake her hand, if she had one. “Dunno why I’m doing this, really.” He looked at his hand as he lowered it. “Must be the cold and tiredness going to my head.” He muttered.

 

“Uhh, I suppose I’ll tell you a bit about myself. One, I’m a bit of a retard at times, although who isn’t, heh, not funny.” He trailed off again, ashamed of his stupid joke. “Two, I very much enjoy reading, and I enjoy my privacy while reading (and when not). So please don’t interrupt me if I’m reading.” He indicated to a relatively large bookcase against one wall as he said that, the thing pretty full with books.

 

“I’m, uh, not the best cook to be honest, but I get by. I enjoy sports like Skiing, ten-pin bowling, golf, not that you probably know what that is. Never really cared about football or soccer to be honest, not that you probably know what those are either…” Starlight just continued to sit there, listening to Anon’s rambling.

 

“Well, I guess you’ll get to find out more about me in time. Same with me for you. I’m just waffling here, aren’t I?” Starlight nodded. “Well, it’s another thing you know about me now I guess.”

 

A bit of an awkward silence followed. After a few minutes, Anon took a glance at the clock on the wall, which read eleven thirty.

 

“It’s half eleven. Fuck am I tired. You can just sleep there on the couch for tonight, and I’ll go fetch a blanket for you. I’ll sort out something a bit better tomorrow. I’m gonna head up for bed now.”

 

Starlight didn’t say anything, unsurprisingly.

 

“Alrighty then. Gimme a sec.” He turned and walked out and up the stairs. A minute later and he came back down holding a quilt under his arm, which he then placed down next to her on the couch.

 

“There you go. I have no idea what time I’m gonna be up tomorrow, so if you’re up before me just wait. Oh, and if you need to go to the toilet, it’s up the stairs, first door on the left.”

 

“That’s everything I think. Have a good sleep and such.” He finally said, making his way up the stairs to bed. It’s gonna be a weird few days… At least.