Beautiful Cactus


                                            >You are Anon in the desert, with a slave. It is currently night-time, and you’re both stargazing.

                                            "You know, I’ve heard rumors that you're called the queen of the night..."

                                            > She blows air through her nostril, visibly irritated by the comment, "There was a time I was, but that time is long gone, I am now but your... Humble servant,"

                                            > There was poison in her last words, not that you minded that much.

                                            "The queen of the night is a cactus you know, ironically..."

                                            > She stays quiet, obviously not very fond of the comparison, but she knew better than to snark back each time her master did something she didn't like, not you of course, but other masters...

                                            "No one looks at a cactus and say 'what a beautiful flower'. No, they always think that it's ugly and full of needles, that if you interact with it, it will hurt you, that it's best left alone, as much as possible..."

                                            > Curiously, she turns her head toward you, the sudden interest in your words pique your curiosity, nonetheless, you continue.

                                            "But truth be told, it must be so lonely being alone, left alone, not having anyone to help you if you need help, a shoulder to cry on... Just you and yourself alone, it isn't surprising that they developed spikes, it's not by hatred, it's self-preservation, nothing good would interact with them, so they understood that they had to defend themselves, somehow..."

                                            > After a while, she looks back at the sky and sighs, "There's much truth in your words, Anon... I-meant, Master," You giggled in response.

                                            "You don't need to call me Master if we're alone, I too do not particularly enjoy the title, it feels like I own you..."

                                            > "Isn't it the case?"

                                            "Ha, well, officially, yes, but it's implying that you're clay and that I can mold you however I want, and that's dreadful in my opinion,"

                                            > She turns around and looks dagger at you, before realizing what she was doing. She lowers her gaze instead, "Yet, you were there, at the auction, you bought me, isn't it mere hypocrisy to say you loathe slavery?"

                                            > She had a point, but you weren't lying.

                                            "What else could I do? I cannot afford to save more than one pony, and by saving I mean making sure that he or she won't have to be... Splaying itself for someone…”

                                            > “Don’t you realize that by buying me, the ‘someone’ will buy another slave? That by buying me, you were simply helping slavery? You’re but increasing the demand, and therefore, they will send more hunters to keep up with it!”

                                            > That… Was a fair point, no points in saying ‘oops’ now, but on the other hand, she would have been whipped just for saying that, she was angry at her master, but you didn’t mind.

                                            “On the other hand, the ‘someone’ might have flogged you, just for that. And you’re walking on a thin rope here, I’m not responsible for what my race did, I’m but a commoner, a nobody, but it doesn’t mean that nobody can make a difference, I’m just trying here, you can’t possibly reproach me of doing that, right?”

                                            > She seems to calm down, in fact, she sighs heavily, once again, before licking her lips. She was probably thirsty, and you only had a bottle of water left.

                                            > There were… Some complications at the auction, you weren’t supposed to buy her, the whole auction seemed to have been intended for ‘someone’ to buy her, but you bid higher.

                                            > The border is still days ahead, and your bike ran out of gas, besides, she was already in bad shape, the safest option would be to leave her there, and let her be captured while you ran away like a coward, at least, both of you will survive.

                                            > But you didn’t buy her just so she could survive; you bought her so she could live. That’s why you offer her the bottle of water. She eyes you with uncertainty.

                                            > “You require water more than me, Mas-”

                                            “One, that’s bullshit, you’re bleeding out humidity even at night, second, I’m not your master, at least, I’m your owner, but I don’t consider you as a slave, in that sense. Besides, I was born in the desert, no matter how you look at it, you’re the one that needs my help, ‘Queen of the night’…

                                            > She smiles, incredulous, before taking the water bottle with her hooves, she greedily drinks, you even think you can hear her neighing in pleasure between gulps.

                                            > She finishes the bottle, and freezes, “I, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to drink it all!”`

                                            > You laugh in response, it was the first time you could see her happy, it was worth it, besides, you know a few spots where you can find water, you can walk up to there, but she wouldn’t make it that far without the whole bottle. That’s also a survival rule of thumb in the desert, never spare your water, and always drink it, because you’re already dehydrated before you feel like it.

                                            “Forget about it… Let’s go now, we need to travel by night, otherwise, the sun will scorch us alive and the heat caused by walking on the sand will cook our flesh alive,”

                                            > She shivers at the morbid description, but that’s how you felt each time you had to. That was also another rule of thumb, travel by night, and sleep during the day.

                                            > She gets up and tosses the bottle of water away; you pick it up and empty it of the sand that went inside.

                                            “Never toss what can hold water; you never know when just one bottle can save your life… Don’t worry about it; you do not seem like you know how to survive in the wasteland,”

                                            > She smirks, “It is true, although I do know how to survive on the moon for a thousand year…”

                                            > You raise a brow; she shouldn’t be having a heatstroke, yet…

                                            > “Also it’s princess of the night, not queen,”

                                            > You sigh and smile, you were aiming toward something with the queen of the night. You walk toward her and clip the backpack back on her back. She was carrying the tents and the rations.

                                            “Queen of the nights are the second most beautiful thing in the desert…”

                                            > “May I know what the most beautiful thing in the desert is then?”

                                            > You look at her, smile, and look at the sky, filled with bright stars, lighting the desert during the night.

                                            > Yes, the night.

                                            “The night, what else?”

                                            > You can see some red on her cheeks before she covers her face with her wing.

                                            > Cute.

                                            > She responds, “Yes, the night is quite a beautiful sight to behold,”

                                            “The sad thing about the night is that it comes and go, but at least, the ‘princess’ of the night stays, I can, therefore, admire her beauty, even during the day,”

                                            > An even cuter blushing spreads on her face. Yet, she looks away, embarrassed.

                                            “Let’s get a move on, we’ll have to hide the bike under the sand, and hope that the wind blows our steps away, they’re still looking for us… If they suddenly lose track of us, they might stop for a while, we’ll gain some time,”

                                            > She uses her horn and completely covers the bike in sand, before wincing in pain, seems the drugs were still in her system.

                                            “You alright there, Luna?”

                                            > She nods.

                                            > You lead the way, marching toward the horizon, hoping to reach the border in time, you’ll be able to get some protection if you immigrate in another country, maybe start a new life, with a princess of the night to keep you warm in bed.

                                            > You grin, it was a jest, she’d buck you before sharing the same bed, she was indeed sold as a princess, she still had her pride, and you weren’t going to treat her as a slave.

                                            > Anyway, you heard that your friend Carl had problems with her pony, he wanted to sell her to you as a discount, seems she’s the queen of the day or something, you just hope that they’ll get along if you end up buying her too…