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>9:34 AM
>Delivery day
>At least, that’s what the papers claim
>”To be delivered by 5:00 PM”
>Previous experiences with other sites like Amazon leave you feeling skeptical
>You ordered your very own pony
>You have everything ready for her
>Lots of vegetables and oats, a clean and welcoming home, books, her collar, a new laptop for entertainment when you’re away, fully equipped with state-of-the-art text to speech software, because typing with hooves does not sound enjoyable
>Well… maybe it’s not a new laptop
>It’s your old one you dug out from your closet, but it should suffice, it’s only 4 years old
>You went all out on her collar though
>Nappa Leather, equipped with the all of the functionalities required by law
>A high accuracy GPS tracker and a shocker
>You understand the need of a tracker, but forcing collars to have shockers seems a bit excessive
>Based on the research you did, ponies tend to hate wearing collars, and it’s usually quite a battle to get them on
>Eventually though, many come to enjoy it
>They see it as a form of protection and security
>Some even begin to form a sense of pride in them
>When your world and the horse world collided, Equestria, if you recall correctly, the battle that followed was swift
>Well, it was more of a massacre than a battle
>American soldier casualties were small, as only a handful took place in the beginning when pony magic was an unknown force
>The power of unicorn magic, earth pony strength, and pegasi flight took a few lives of cocky soldiers
>But said pony magic was quickly countered by modern American military technology
>Pony deaths were by the hundreds though
>The military showed no signs of slowing down the slaughter until they captured two of their leaders
>They originally wanted them all, but later opted two were enough, deciding that pursuing the others wasn’t worth the time and money
>Two were more than enough to conduct tests
>Apparently they’re winged unicorns of the sorts, all female
>They contain all 3 powers of magic, strength, and flight, all supercharged too.
>They’re government property now, never to be seen again, having god knows what kind of tests performed on them
>5 or 6 are estimated to exist, the remaining ones still holding up the last bastion of Equestria, Canterlot, a capital of the sorts from your understanding
>After the military’s involvement ended, Equestria became a free for all
>Many came in seeking profit, with the idea of domesticating and then selling ponies for the purpose of human pleasure
>The government saw the possibility of an emerging market and took a hands off approach to the situation
>Ponies were hunted, rounded up, caged, and sent straight to training camp
>At training camp, ponies were domesticated and taught to be respectful to their future owners
>They learned how to do common jobs, and to not deny their master’s requests
>After undergoing training camp, many were auctioned off as laborers, pets, and bed slaves
>Pony stores and kennels opened
>Some conventional pet stores starting taking part in the sale of ponies too
>Laws were quickly put into place, but they were limited
>Neither party in Congress had any interest in passing laws to give ponies basic rights
>Many just saw them as livestock, and others were paid off and funded by trainers and traffickers
>Therefore, there were minimal requirements and restrictions on how you could treat a pony
>For example, physical discipline was ok, within reason.
>Mutilation was obviously illegal
>However, found cases of illegal abuse were rarely punished, as law enforcement usually turned a blind eye, some by choice, others, once again, paid off by trainers and traffickers
>Many abuse cases go unfounded anyway
>The law also stated it was illegal for a pony to be free. Too dangerous.
>It wasn’t that big of a deal anyway, if a pony is found it is usually quickly captured by police or animal control
>If the collar shows no form of identification, they are sent to a store for resale, usually at a discounted price
>If they lack a collar, they are brought into the slave system and sent to training camp
>And of course if the collar has identification stored on it, they are returned to their legal owners
>Sexual intercouse with ponies, while a taboo subject to be bought up, was technically allowed due to their ability to clearly consent in language
>Of course breeding was legal, much like it is for animals. As a result pony mills and brothels began to pop up
>Among these laws, the government also took advantage of the craze and implemented a required tax on every sale of a pony, booming the economy
>As a result, shady underground markets emerged
>Many customers of these underground markets sought to use their ponies in ways that violated the loose laws put in place
>Hardcore abuse, sick fetishes such as pedophillia, erotophonophilia, and necrophilia, as well as snuff films
>And thus, pony slavery was born
>You bought your mare off the black market as you aren’t the most wealthy individual
>But what you wanted was a friend
>Aaaaand maybe a maid to do some housework for you
>But mostly a friend
>You had friends back in highschool
>Had
>Backstabbing pricks
>You’ve been a loner with trust issues ever since
>At least you aren’t a stereotypical loner
>You’re about average weight, 6’3, clean shaven, and have an honest job
>You keep your hair kind of long and messy though
>Looking down at your papers, you take another look at the soon-to-be yours pony
>Unicorn, blue coat, pale cerulean mane, violet eyes
>Her cutie mark, as they call them, is a waning moon intersected by a star tipped wand
>Name: Star
>Not the most inspired pony name you’ve seen
>Guess it’s because of the design on her flank
>Doesn’t matter, she’s a real cutie
>She’s not “used” either, you’ll be her first, and hopefully only home
>All the official ownership documentation still won’t be here for another week or so, until then, she’s legally still the training facility's
>You paid quite a premium for her due to being a unicorn
>Unicorns tend to be the most expensive pony race as their magic has a near endless amount of uses
>That’s not to say they’re the best at everything
>The raw strength and stamina of earth ponies can’t be competed with, making them an essential part of farms anymore
>Pegasi go for about the same as earth ponies
>Their flight is a powerful, but hard to control tool
>Electric fences and shock collars are often used to keep them in line
>Some just have their wings clipped
>After that, they serve the same tasks as earth ponies do, but with far less efficiency
>4:53 PM
>Ding Dong!
>You suppose they weren’t lying after all
>You’ve spent the majority of the day playing Age of Empires on your laptop
>But forget that my pony is here!
>You jump off of your couch in excitement.
>You open up the door, in the hallway is an obese man, wearing a shirt that was way too small for him
>And with him, a large portable kennel
>ohboyohboyohboyohboy, there’s a pony waiting for you in there!
>”You must be Anonymous.
“Yeah...That’s me”
>You try to keep cool and hide your excitement
>The man continues, “Today’s your lucky day, your little bitch is here”
>He kicks the kennel as he says that
>Oh
>God his breath stinks, and he’s even at a good distance away from you
>”She put up a good fight when we first received her. Some dumbass shit about how she’s too great and powerful to succumb to slavery, always referring to herself in third person… er… pony.”
>You just nod your head, slightly uncomfortable
>He suddenly lightens up with a smile;
>”Oh but don’t you worry, those days are behind her. She gave in, they all do eventually. And now she’s trained to be your little mareslave. I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t hard, she put up a hell of a fight.”
>You’re very uncomfortable now
>”Still a virgin too, from what we could tell poking around in there, and she’s ready to lose it to you without a fight”
>That's about enough of that
>You sign the papers and lift up the kennel and bring it into the living room
>Ooof, its heavy, the kennel is made of metal
>Or maybe she’s heavy
>She’s a pony after all
>As you’re closing the door, the man yells at you to stop
>Jesus christ you got a waft of that
>You let go of the kennel and turn around back to the door
>”You almost forgot you’re accessories”
>Oh joy
>He pulls the items out one by one from the plastic bag
>”Here we got all the essentials. A paddle, in the rare case she talks back to you, but I highly doubt that, she’s gotten more spankings than any other bitch I’ve personally trained. Like I said, she’s as broken as a bottle of wine after being thrown off the World Trade Center”
>You really want this to end, you don’t want Star hearing any of this.
>He continues, ”Sorry, I get carried away sometimes, I take pride in my handywork, can’t help but boast from time to time.”
“...”
>”And here we got a magic suppression ring, since she’s a unicorn and all. If I were you, I’d set it to the highest setting, they are completely devastated without it. The look on their face is priceless. Be sure to put it on within the next 2 hours, that’s when the drugs wear off.”
>”And last, but certainly not least, her collar, or rather the remote for it. The collar is currently on her of course. Cold metal wrapped tightly around her neck. Still loose enough for her to deepthroat you of course! Don’t worry about that!”
>”It’s equipped with tracking technology and a shocker of course. Damn liberals and all their rules and regulations… She’s felt that a few times too, seeing her melt into a curled, shaken up mess after taking the highest setting is a fun sight.”
>For real this time, thats enough. Anything else in the bag you’ll go over yourself
>You snatch the bag from him and give a thank you with the fakest smile you ever pulled and shut the door.
>You obviously aren’t going to use the collar she came with, since you spent all that money on the leather one
>The ring you have to use, as required by law. You hate to admit it but you probably have to agree with him and set it on high.
>Initially at least, until you’re sure she won’t blast you into a pile of ash
>You’re not even sure if she can do that but you’re not taking any risks
>And the paddle. You hope to god you won’t have to use that.
>Again, you bought her as a friend first and foremost, housemaid second.
>But she is a pony, you are her master, and she needs to be obedient.
>You turn back around and your morbid thoughts immediately go away
>Your heart rate is through the roof right now
>Your very own cute, fluffy pony is here!
>You walk back over to the kennel that you placed in the middle of the living room
>OK, this is it!
>You place it down and unlatch the door
>Must be an old kennel, as the door creaks as it opens
>Your heart rate shows no signs of slowing down as you wait for your mare to crawl out
>... nothing
>Maybe she’s shy?
>You give it a minute, maybe she’s sleeping
>Still nothing
>You decide to speak up in a calm voice:
“Hey there, I’m Anonymous, but most call me Anon. Want to come out and see your new home?”
>No response
>You peak in
>Inside, you see a blue ball circled up, looking away from you, opting to stare at the back of the kennel instead
>Her ears are flopped down too
>Poor thing is visibly shaking
>That’s never a good sign
>Can you blame her? She must be a little nervous
“You can call me Anon too. Or Anonymous, whatever you’d like. You can come out now if you want, there is nothing here that will hurt you”
>Again, nothing
>It’s hard to see, as you have no lights on and you don’t have any windows in your apartment, but giving her another look she’s much thinner than she was in her listing photo
>No blanket or pillow either, she’s laying right on the plastic as far as you can tell
>Your mind is racing on what to say next
>Silence falls upon the room for several minutes
>Actually, no, you can hear sobbing
>Looking back into the kennel, you can see her face is now buried into her hooves, sobbing and whimpering into them
>You decide to continue:
“You're safe wi…”
>Turns out the slave trainer’s breath wasn't the worst thing you'd smell today
>You gag and cover your mouth
>Strong scent of… urine coming from the kennel
>Poor mare literally pissed herself
>Must of just happened, as you think you would've smelled it already
>Or… its currently happening
>Even in the dark room, you can see a small pool of the mare’s urine start to form under her
>With this her sobbing and whimpering elevated to full on crying
>Instinctively you begin to get up to grab a bottle of Febreze from the bathroom
>Then you stop
>You don't want to offend her or make her think she's done anything wrong already
>Well, she did do something wrong, but from the way things look she has no control over it right now
>Also, spraying a bottle right into the cage with her still in it may not be healthy for her
>Not only because of the chemicals, but because of the possible trauma and belittlement from being sprayed
>Guess you'll have to tough it out
>You aren’t really sure what to say, but you begin again, speaking as the thoughts come to you
“I don’t know what they put you through, Star. I can’t even begin to imagine. But that’s behind you now.”
>You thought maybe calling her by name would help
“Star… It’s a cute name ya know… is it because of your mark?”
>You point to it, but you don’t know why
>She obviously can’t see you, with her face in her hooves and all
>It also seems the small talk didn’t help, and it may of just made matters worse
>The crying escalates again
>She’s now moving her head left and right while it's buried in her hooves
>Her eyes must be bloodshot red right now, rubbing them against her fur and hooves
>...or is she trying to communicate something to you..?
>After some more thought you add:
“There is no need to be embarrassed either. It’s natural and you can’t control it.”
>Her coat must be soaked from her own tears and urine by now
>First thing on the to do list is a bath, thats for sure
>With no new thoughts, you decide to continue with what you wanted to say before you got a scent of her fear and humiliation
“You're safe with me, Star.”
>You really aren’t sure what else to say
>Another compliment maybe? It's all you can think to do
“That's a pretty horn you got there on your head. Nice and long.”
>It's looks pretty damn sharp too.
>You’re quite surprised that it’s still fully intact
>Lots of unicorn owners have their pony’s horn slightly blunted in case of a retaliation in the form of a stab attack
>It’s permanent, but it has a minimal effect on their magical ability, it just makes it duller so it can't stab anything
>But you want to create a trust between you two, and you're even willing to take a few bumps to achieve that
>Her horn is really the only other thing you can compliment her on, as it's the only other feature you can actually see in her tightly curled up state
>The lack of room lighting doesn’t help either
>You really wish she’d look at you
>Of course, you could command her to, and she'd probably listen by instinct thanks to what they beat into her at training camp, but you felt that wasn’t a good idea right now
>Maybe some more reassurance?
“Star, whatever they forced into your to think in little head of yours won't happen to you here. I want to be your friend.”
>You decide to reach out and give her an ear scratch for comfort
>You read online these ponies love that
>You immediately regret your decision.
>As soon as your hand touches her her, she shakes even harder, clamps her tail around herself to cover her privates, and somehow curls into an even tighter ball
>Heavy concern falls upon you
>You decide to finally turn on a light
>You kind of kick yourself mentally, you should of had a light on from the beginning
>A dark room probably isn’t the most welcoming first sight
>As you get up you notice how sweaty you are now
>And, much like Star, you’re shaking too
>Not nearly as much as she is though
>And you don’t have nearly as much a reason to as she does
>Your heart's still racing, but not in the same beat as it was before
>You flick the light switch on and head back over to the kennel
>As you kneel back down, your mouth opens in shock
>She’s thin
>Like, REALLY thin
>She could pass off as a leftover halloween decoration from last month
>Her ribs are clearly visible too, poking out of her body
>Her mane and tail are a muddy cerulean color, much different from the pale color in the photo
>Lots of loose strands and split ends going about
>And her fur is filthy
>It’s still blue, but barely
>Lots of dirt
>As well as yellow stains towards her belly, presumably from her panic attack earlier
>Not only that, but some of her coat is actually missing, replaced with what looks like cigarette burns
>And of course you now have clear vision of her puddle of shame
>Your stomach drops as you look at the sight infront of you
>What the fuck did they do to her?
>Sure, you knew pony training and domestication camp probably wasn’t exactly a good time
>Fear of the unknown and such
>But do they really break ponies down into a terrified blank slate?
>They beat and burn them into nothingness?
>You agreed that physical discipline was fair game on ponies, but there is a fine line
>Index fingers on your temple, you think of what to do next
>It might be time to throw the towel in for the night
>She’s clearly broken, and you need time to think
>At least you can get her some food and water, maybe it’ll build some trust, every little bit counts
>In the kitchen, you chop up some lettuce and carrots
>You even made a bowl for yourself, as you only had a plain mini bagel for breakfast.
>You even figure that if she sees you eating the same thing as her, she may feel a bit better
>Every little bit helps
>You went a bit overboard with Star’s, it's a huge bowl, but after getting a good look at her condition, it's still might not be enough
>She was thinner than she was it her picture, needless to say
>It’s not even a fair comparison, the pony in the picture almost looks like a completely different pony
>You don’t even know how old that photo is, could of been taken as soon as she was captured
>In fact it probably was, considering how much fuller her coat was, how much cleaner she looked, and how innocent she looked
>You grab the dog bowl from the counter and fill it with water
>You feel bad making her drink out of a dog bowl, but with hooves it's really the only option
>Hell, eating the salad out of a bowl with your mouth like a dog must be humiliating too
>At least her salad bowl was your tableware, from what you read most ponies get dog bowls for everything
>2 salad bowls stacked on top of each other in your left hand, and a water bowl in your right, you walk back into the living room
>You put on your best smile as you place the two bowls right outside her kennel
>You wish she would come out, but you place them in such a way that she won’t be forced to if she isn’t comfortable with it
“I got us some dinner Star! Lettuce and carrots. It’s a simple platter, but it’s nice and fresh!”
>No response
>That’s really disheartening
>But it should've been expected
“Well, it’s not going anywhere so feel free to have some whenever”
>You turn and hop up on your sofa and turn on the TV
>You don’t want to eat your salad until she does
>Spongebob reruns, The Sandlot, Spiderman 2… hundreds of channels but nothing you’re remotely interested in
>The news is always an option, but the news has been a shitfest for years
>You wish the news would do their damn job and simply give the facts without telling you what to think about it
>Left wing or right wing, every channel is guilty of this
>Those that claim to be neutral never are
>You settle in on a 36 hour It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia marathon
>You’ve seen every episode thus far, but it’s humor and perfect execution gives it a high rewatch value
>Before tuning in you turn over to the kennel sitting right beside the couch for one last message of reassurance
“I promise to never cause anything bad to happen to you, Star”
>Every so often you look over and hope to see a tiny pony head pop out of the kennel, munching on her greens with her cute little muzzle
>2 episodes later and it never happens
>2 becomes 3
>3 becomes 4
>4 becomes 5
>5… becomes...
>...zzzzz
>...”and i'm sure our relationship would be a real home run…”
>You slowly open your eyes
>The World Series Defense, that's a pretty good episode
>You shut off the TV
>You look at the clock
>4:38 AM
>Must of dozed off
>That’s putting it lightly...
>Oh right! Your little pony is right next to you!
>You look over, and to your dismay, the salad and water look untouched
>She’s not... trying to kill herself is she?
>You shudder at the thought
>Trainers would have the decency to at least give them will to live, right?
>You remember the condition of her body last night
>You shudder again
>You mentally kick yourself again for considering that these trainers have any sense of decency
>Suddenly a realization goes through your head
>You forgot to put her magic suppression ring on!
>You hope Star is as broken as she seems, believe it or not
>Maybe she was beaten down way too much emotionally to even bother escaping
>Maybe she’s still there, sobbing her eyes out
>When you look over you can’t see anything in the kennel
>Don’t panic, its pitch black in the room
>You reach over to the light switch, and flick it on
>You’re literally shaking rn
>You crawl over to her kennel
>...
>She’s gone
>All that’s left of her are puddles of urine and some strands of mane
>...
>She’s…. gone
>She’s almost certainly wouldn’t be hiding in the apartment
>She took her chance, she wouldn’t be hanging around here still
>You’ve been asleep for a good 10 hours, must of exhausted yourself from all that excitement of getting your friend
>10 hours is a long time
>Who knows how long ago she left
>Everything seems untouched, it figures. She probably used magic to teleport away
>You would think if she just wandered out of your apartment she’d be seen by security or front desk workers
>Just how far can these unicorns teleport you wonder, are there any restrictions?
>Still worth a look around the apartment to be safe
>There aren’t many places to hide in your apartment
>Pretty much just the closets and under furniture
>It’s an apartment, after all
>Living room, kitchen, hallway, bedroom, and a two closets in its entirety
>You figure you’d also be able to smell her if she was in the room too
>You turn to go down the bedroom hallway, which is to the right of the front door
>Your entire apartment minus the kitchen and bathroom is carpeted, so there is also the possibility she left a trail
>You open the closet to the left of the bathroom
>Towels, toilet paper, detergent, soap, but no mare
>Closing the door, you head to the bathroom to your right
>Empty, unless she somehow hid herself in the toilet
>She’s a small horse, but not that small
>To the right of the bathroom is your other closet
>It’s a bit bigger than the previous and includes bedroom supplies and general storage
>You have stacks of cardboard boxes, but again, nothing that could fit your pony
>You turn on the flashlight that’s on your phone and look behind the boxes to make sure
>Again, nothing
>Down at the end of the hall if your bedroom
>It’s basic.
>White walls, no wallpaper, no closets or anything fancy like that
>You got your bed, of course, in the middle of the room, and your dresser right below your bed
>You pull up the bed linen, hoping to see a sobbing blue ball under your bed
>She’s gone
>You feel awful
>It’s been a good two hours since you secured the area
>You’ve just been sitting on your couch since then, thinking
>This is really your fault
>If you put the damn ring on, Star would still be here
>You can’t be angry at her
>She must hate the human race, so can you really blame her for seizing the chance?
>But you are angry
>Not at her, but at your kind
>You really don’t have a problem with pony slavery as a concept
>They make great maids, waiters, and farm hands, among many other jobs
>All light hearted tasks that let them still be themselves and live in comfort
>Being beaten and submitted into nothingness is something you do have a problem with, however
>What they did to make her flee from a comfortable home like that?
>To make her sob in her own piss like a wild animal?
>To make her forget who she is and wash away all her personality into a blank slate?
>Who knows what she was even like beforehand
>Reminiscing on the horrors on mankind makes you jump up out of your seat
>She could be anywhere
>And she may very well be with the worst humanity has to offer right now
>And you have no time to lose
>As you open the door you remember:
>The tracking collar!
>You run back over to the kitchen where all the paperwork is
>While shuffling thru the papers, your mind is racing, hoping your little pony is ok
>Then it gets worse
>As you get to the last paper, you remember that the tracker login ID is a part of the formal ownership papers that are yet to come
>What the fuck do you do now?
>You could notify the police, but what good would that do?
>They don’t take missing pony reports seriously, they see them as dispensable
>You have no options other than to look for her yourself
>She could be on the other side of the country by now for all you know
>She’s set out to achieve Mareifest Destiny
>You don’t know the specifics of teleportation and pony magic and how far she could actually travel
>You probably should have read up on it before purchasing your own unicorn pony
>Well, no time to lose
>You already had off of work today, as well as the next week because you wanted to put them aside for your new pony
>You grab your winter coat and head for the door for the second time, this time not backtracking back into your apartment
>Now what?
>If she’s still outdoors, she must be suffering
>It’s late November, averaging around 45-50° F outside
>Sure, she has a fur coat, but it was damaged
>She’s malnourished and thin too, which is definitely harmful in the cold weather
>Between that, having a coat stained in urine as well as possibly feces by now, and her psychological trauma, she doesn’t have a good combination for survival outside
>Not to mention any dirty, contaminated water or food laying around she may try to eat
>While police don’t often look into missing pony reports, ponies alone out in public are often captured by police or animal control
>Problem is, she presumably left in the middle of the night, when pony search patrol is less active, and now most likely hiding during the daylight
>Like many other professions, ponies are enslaved by the police and animal control
>They’re used much like police dogs are
>Ponies’ strong sense of smell as well as the ability to communicate in English makes them a much more valuable asset than dogs though
>They locate suspects, search for missing persons, attack dangerous suspects, and detect explosives
>As well as capture and trail the scent of missing and stray ponies
>...Ponies whose sole job is to capture and bring their own kind back to their masters
>You wonder what has to go through their minds
>Do they do it out of fear of being disciplined, or are they brainwashed into not feeling sympathy?
>...
>As you are lost in your thoughts, you almost slam into a bus stop pole
>Without even thinking about it, or keeping an eye out for Star, you’ve already been walking for 25 minutes on autopilot
>Fucking great
>You notice you stopped in front of a convenience store
>You are hungry, since you never ended up eating your salad last night
>Hunger may affect your concentration on the search anyway
>You convince yourself to go in for a bite
>You head in, grab the usual; an Applewood Smoked Bacon Sandwich, a hardboiled egg, and a bottle of orange juice
>The store has no seating, so you head outside to a bench next to the bus pole to eat your meal
>The bench has one of those gold dedication plaques on it:
>”In Honor of Private First Class Edward Huffman, who gave his life for his country in the American-Equestrian War”
>Unlucky bastard must of have rushed right into the battlefield in the opening battles of the war, only to be annihilated by the unknown force of magic
>You settle down and try to enjoy your breakfast, but there is a lot on your mind right now
>Its loud out - car horns, people bustling by on their phones, bus breaks, underground subway rumble, and street performers
>Everyday center city life, but you enjoy it, everybody keeps to themselves
>As you are making your way through breakfast, your mind continues to wander
>You try to reassure yourself that something like Star, a small blue equine, would stand out in the dark and grimy atmosphere of your city
>The logical part of your brain tells you that she would have made it much further than you’ve walked so far
>But the loud, worrisome part of your brain tells you that you may have went right by her
>While the two sides of your brain are arguing for your support on your shoulders, your phone goes off
>Your hands are a mess
>And as usual, you forgot to grab some napkins
>Fuck it, you spit on your hands and rub them together
>You pull out your phone
>Text from an unknown number
>Probably just local election campaigns asking for support or some shit
>You unlock your phone
>Your eyes widen as you read the contents of the message
>”hey anonymous, hope i got the rite number from my paperwork…. its Tom from the pony enslavement training camp… i delivered ur bitch yesterday. im sure u no by now, but she got away. either ur dumbass forgot to put her ring on, or shes got a special talent in show magic. anyway, the sluts with me now, they returned her to me about an hour ago.”
>Ohthankgod
>”... i hope u aint too upset at me, i take some responsibility for this, i thought she was ready to be a good little mare for her master… but apparently not… ill give u half the price u paid 4her back as a sign of good will”
>That’s nice and all, but you don’t care about the money, you just want Star back
>”... bitch got a good visit with mr.paddle today, got more lashes than ive ever given to one of my trainees. on top of that, i did one better for you. all ill say is she wont ever be performing her houdini acts again. youll love what i did.”
>Below he has the address of what you assume is the pony training camp
>”...all ill say is she wont ever be performing her houdini acts again...”
>You repeat the text over and over in your head, specifically that phrase
>What did he mean by that?
>Inputting the address into google maps, you find you can get to the location from the bus pole you almost slammed into
>Further research tells you the next bus will be here in less than 2 minutes
>It’s your lucky day
>Looking into your pockets, you realize you have no change to pay the fare
>Maybe it isn’t quite your lucky day
>But you do have your debit card, and the convenience story has an ATM
>Unfortunately, you can only take money out in multiples of $20
>The store isn’t that crowded at the moment, so you change your $20 bill for a $10, a $5, and 5 $1s
>As you walk back out of the store, the bus opens up its doors
>You totally planned that timing
>You pay your fare and start down the aisle
>Like the convenience store, the bus is near empty
>Oh right
>It’s the middle of a workday, but you took of to spend time with Star
>Thinking about her gets you nervous again
>You don’t like that guy, his entire vibe isn’t right
>You ESPECIALLY don’t like that he’s alone with your mare
>He can’t do anything that bad, right? She’s your property after all
>Deep in your thought about Star, you almost miss your stop
>In fact, you did technically miss the bus stop but you were able to pull the stop request cord shortly after the bus started again
>According to the GPS, you have a 2 minute walk to his location
>But it doesn’t look like a training camp could be anyway around here
>It’s a ghetto, to put it bluntly
>It’s rundown, lots of houses are condemned or seemingly abandoned
>You’ve never really been to this side of the city, and even then, it's outside of the center city area
>The GPS leads you to an intersection between two narrow streets, with an old drug store on corner, and houses everywhere else
>Wrong address?
>Won’t hurt to give him a call
>Your cell signal is low, but reachable here
>Since you have no plans to add this man to your contacts list, you call him from the messaging app
>You have no plans on speaking to him again after you get Star back
>Any slave pony care tips he could provide are probably bogus and not actual tips anyway
>bringg….bringg….bringg….
>"I'm sorry, but the person you are calling has a voice mailbox that has not been set up yet. Goodbye."
>You’re pretty pissed at this point
>This man leads you to the middle of nowhere, and he has your pony
>About to give it another chance, your phone buzzes
>”i dont take unappointed calls anonymous, what do you want”
>You want your fucking pony, that’s what you damn want!
>You manage to make the message more PG when you write it though
”I’m at the address you listed. I don’t see you, or any pony training camp, what’s up with that?”
>A minute passes
>”o rite. 2 things. 1st, i gave u the rite adress, but its not to my business, its a random location. I dont want anybody knowing one of my products had the nerve to try and escape, bad for buiness. the slut is back at my place now. that leads me 2 my other thing. i guess i forgot to tell you before lol. the lashes and spankings i gave her apparently werent enough, so imma keep her for the next few nights to make sure she knows her place in the world and to fucking submit to her master and dont worry, i didnt forget giving u half ur money back, ill give it to u with the pony in a few days. also lik i said b4, i went another step to make sure she will never 4get this. youll thank me when u see it, hell, maybe youll give me the money back because of how much youll love it! ill message u when shes finally rdy.”
>That’s your horse goddamnit, and you want her back now
>You want her to be comfortable
>She’s a slave, but you want her to feel safe in that position
>Sure, food, water, and a loving home is technically her reward for being a good slave, but you wouldn’t deny it from her either way
>You want to give her a great big hug, tell her everything is going to be ok
>Filled with more rage than you thought was possible, you call the number back, ready to demand your pony back
>bringg….bringg….bringg….
>”I’m sorry but the number you are trying to reach is no longer in service.”
>Are you FUCKING kidding me?
>You double check, you dialed the number correctly
>Your mind is racing right now
>That bitch has your pony captive, seemingly giving her extended training, and you can’t do anything about it
>Well, you can try to do something, at least
>...
>Back in your neighborhood, you head to the police station closest to your apartment
>Stepping through the revolving door, you find two police officers behind the reception desk
>The officer on the left is clean shaven, with short, ginger hair
>The officer on the right is quite the opposite
>Long, brown hair almost going down to his shoulders, and a full beard
>Basically, Officer Jesus Christ himself was in front of you
>The officer on the left begins
>”Anything we can do for you, sir?”
“I wanted to file a missing report, where do I go for that?”
>You’re answered by the officer on the right
>”Right in front of you. Can I have your name?”
“Anonymous”
>The officer pulls out a clipboard and presumably jots down your name
>He glances back up at you
>”Man or Woman?”
“Pony, mare”
>The officers turn to each other, back at you, and then to each other again
>The officer on the left tries to hide a smirk, but doesn’t do a good job at it
>The officer on the right looks back up at you
>”What’s its name?”
>It’s
>That bugs you
“Star”
>Officer Jesus rolls his eyes
>”Coat and mane color?”
>”Blue coat, pale cerulean mane, and violet eyes. She’s a unicorn, her horn is surprisingly long and sharp. Her cutie mark is a waning moo…”
>”I didn’t ask for all of that”
>The ginger officer repeats Jesus like he’s his cartoon sidekick
>”Yeah, he didn’t ask for all of that!”
“I just thought the more information, the better”
>”Look Mr. Anonymous, we’ll keep an eye out but we don’t really have the time and resources to send anybody out for your sex toy. Resources go towards lives that matter.”
>Wow, they’re surprisingly honest
>”Do you have any trace of her scent? Your best bet is giving a scent sample to us for our ponies to trace. Their sense of smell and recognition is amazing, especially in tracking and identifying their own kind.”
>Ginger sidekick budges himself in again, elbowing Jesus as he says;
>”Well that’s because they’re no different from dogs. They’re quadruped and make good pets.”
>Jesus nods his head in agreement and goes on
>”Get us a scent of her and we’ll see what we can do. Something like a mane strand. Most of our ponies are out on patrol protecting American lives that are more valuable than they could ever be themselves.”
>He gives you a hand motion to get out
>Walking back out into the cool Autumn air, you think about the encounter
>While they clearly don’t give a shit, they were honest with you and even willing to take a scent sample
>But she left no coat or mane behind when she made her daring escape
>...
>Sliding the keycard through your door, you go straight towards your bathroom and grab a plastic dixie cup
>Back through the living room and into the kitchen, you cut a piece of plastic wrap and some duct tape and leave it on the table
>Finally, you backtrack back into the living room with the cup
>The smell hasn’t died down at all
>You kind of knock yourself for being unhygienic enough to have not cleaned it yet, but you suppose it works out in the end
>It's deeper than you remember
>Either that’s because you’re finally poking your head in up close and personal, or she pissed herself again that night
>Both options are equally likely
>And it still has lots of mane strands, but those are worthless now
>You’re holding your breathe now, but you don’t have the best endurance so you have to do it quick
>Luckily, it’s depth makes it easy to just scoop some into the cup
>Pulling your head out of the kennel, you take a deep breath
>Idiot
>You almost gag
>With the cup in hand, you run back into the kitchen
>You shouldn’t run with scissors, but they never said anything about pony urine!
>You place the cup on the table that you eat on and cover the top with the wrap
>You thoroughly tape the wrap
>And there you have it
>A cup of terrified mare piss sitting on your kitchen table
>You feel bad for the police pone that’s going to get a whiff of that
>While you’re still here, you might as well clean her kennel out
>It wouldn’t of been a good sight to bring her back home with it still like that
>Fill it with some pillows and blankets, and make it into something she can call her own
>Your arsenal includes a sponge, febreze, soap, paper towels, a bucket, and a spray bottle that includes a mixture of white vinegar and water
>You have no mask or anything to cover your face from the spray or smell, but you’ll have to manage
>No gloves either
>Small price to pay for having your own pony, right?
>And she had to sit in it for hours, you have no right to complain
>There is a lot too, it may take the entire roll
>You tear a big piece of paper towel, and fold it nice and thick to minimize how much gets through it
>Dipping the towel into the kennel, you wipe back and forth
>It takes every fiber of your being to not gag
>It’s already soaked
>And your hands are wet anyway
>You throw the soaking wet towel into the bucket
>You repeat this 9 or 10 times until the kennel is relatively dry
>Time for phase 2
>You soap up the sponge and wipe up and down the floor as well as the walls of the kennel
>After wiping away the soap suds, you grab your vinegar bottle and spray the entirety of the inside
>You spend the next 20 minutes on your laptop, giving the solution time to kill off any remaining bacteria
>You dry the crate of any remaining wetness
>Smells good to you
>Of course any scent of her is gone, and you aren’t sure if ponies like their safe spaces to smell like them, akin to dogs
>You pick up the kennel and move it into your bedroom
>You backtrack out to your closet and grab some some spare bedsheets and blankets, as well as a brand new pillow you never opened
>While you could use the new pillow for yourself and give her your current one, you figure giving Star her very own pillow to break in is the least you can do
>Back in the bedroom, you lay a bedsheet down on the cold metal of the kennel
>You add another one for good measure, as you want her to be as comfortable as possible
>Next, you lay a blanket down on top
>Pushing down on the kennel floor, it feels nice and cushiony now
>With that, you add one more blanket for her to cover herself with
>You unwrap the pillow from the plastic and push it into the back corner
>Looking at your handywork, you’re quite impressed
>You’d love to relax in there if you were small enough
>You kept your mind busy for an hour, but now all your worries are coming back
>She’s probably cold, scared, and alone
>Tom better have not layed a hand on her
>But by the way it sounds, he’s giving her more training
>You kick the kennel in anger
>You’re about to go to sleep to rid yourself of these thoughts, but you remember you have to deliver Star’s urine sample
>It’s still on the kitchen table of course
>Mental note to self: clean that
>You grab a small paper bag to put it in for the walk, as openly walking around with a cup of piss probably isn’t a very nice thing to do
>Leaving your apartment, you make haste to the police station
>Most jobs have let out by now, so the streets are more crowded
>Plenty of people taking their ponies out for a walk
>You like seeing all the different kinds of cutie marks ponies have
>You see an elderly couple with an earth pony that has a raspberry mane and a rose cutie mark
>She looks happy, and elderly couples are usually sweet, so knowing she’s probably in good hands makes you feel good
>They’re giving her lots of attention too, almost like she’s a puppy
>It warms your heart, but at the same time it’s depressing because you wanted to take your pony out for nice walks just like they do
>Further on your walk you see, like Star, a blue unicorn, but with a mark of an hourglass
>Her master seems to be a businessman, he’s in a suit, talking through a bluetooth earpiece about finances, barely paying attention to his pony
>As a result, the blue pony seems down
>Not depressed, but not quite happy either
>Almost at the police department,  you see something that makes your stomach drop
>A pony that looked to once be a pegasus, with a mint bluish green coat and cutie mark that looks like a rain cloud
>There are stubs where her wings must have once been
>The mare is shaking while her master yells back to her
>”What the hell do you mean you’re embarrassed? You’re an animal!”
>The pony speaks up
>”M-master please! It’s too busy here, I can’t do it! I’ll do anything for you tonight, just please let me go to the bathroom somewhere else”
>Her master, with more anger in his voice now, responds
>”Piss on the sidewalk like the animal you are! You complain to me that you have to use the bathroom, and now you won’t!”
>The pony is wailing now
>”I caaaan’t! Like, I physically can’t! My body won’t let me because I’m too embarrassed! Can I please use your toilet when we get home?”
>Master is now furious now
>”Who the hell are you to talk back to me? And who the hell are you to think you have any right to use my bathroom? You know your place in the world! Now lift your leg and do what you have to do”
>”Master at least take me somewhe…”
>”Shut up you dumb horse!”
>The man kicks the pony in the underbelly, and she drops to the ground, covering her eyes and sobbing
>”Go you stupid bitch! If you don’t go on the count of three, you’re holding it for the night! And if you DARE piss anywhere in my home tonight, you’re going to get more beatings than you’ve already earned!”
>You’ve been watching this exchange across the street, acting like you were on your phone, but you can still see the red in her eyes and hear her continued whimpering
>The pony, in tears, slowly gets up on her hooves and lifts her back leg
>At this point you turn away to respect the mare’s privacy, even though it probably doesn’t do much to ease her situation
>Not only does the scene on it’s own bother you, but the fact that Star is with someone just like that right now makes you sick to your stomach
>Finally, you get to the police department for the second time today
>Both of the men earlier were gone, instead, a woman with a blonde pixie cut is sitting there, typing on the computer
>”What can I do for you?”
>Her eyes are still glued to the computer
“Err… I was here about an hour ago, I filed a missing pony report to a man with long hair and a beard, I don’t suppose here’s still around?
>”Just missed him, I can give you a hand though, what’s the person’s name?”
“Pony’s name, and it’s Star”
>That makes her glance up at you
>”I thought you said missing person report?”
“I said pony”
>She looks back down at the computer
>”We don’t care about these glorified housecats. I’ll leave a message if you want, but it’s not going to lead to anything.”
“I don’t have any message, I have a delivery”
>You raise the bag and wave it around
“He told me I could drop off a sample for one of your ponies to sniff.”
>She bites her lip
>”That’s not going to happen. The officer you spoke to is relatively new around here, and he probably doesn’t understand just how strained our resources are. Human safety and crime comes first, and God knows we have enough of that”
“Can you at least give it to him? It’ll make me feel better”
>You put the bag on the desk and push it towards the officer
>She slowly reaches up and grabs it
>”What is it? Some strands of mane?”
>Your face gets red hot as you try to hide your immature smile
“Uhh…”
>The officer opens up the bag
>She looks up at you with a stone cold stare on her face
>”What the hell is this?”
>You shrug
“It’s my mare’s urine. I didn’t have any mane or coat strands so I figured that would suffice”
>Her expressionless face turns to anger
>”I’m not keeping this shit here overnight. You can either take this home, or I’ll flush it down the toilet.”
>A grin comes across your face
“Well good thing it’s not shit then”
>...
>It’s 11 PM now, and you’ve been playing Oblivion for the last few hours to keep your mind off things
>Your brain keeps telling yourself your childlike humor cost you a chance to find Star, but deep down you know nothing was going to come of it
>You savescum your way through the arena questline and then head to bed
>The next few days are some of the shittest in recent memory
>You stay up until the sun comes out and sleep until the evening
>Your one meal a day consists of cheerios and a slice of banana
>You do whatever you can to get your mind off your situation, whether that be TV, vidya, or sleep
>Not only are you mad that a piece of shit has your pony, but you’re mad at yourself for letting this happen
>Star was only doing what she thought was best for her survival
>She probably thought you’d abuse her just like Tom did to break her in
>But you wanted to have a pony to love and care for with all your heart.
>A pony to provide a home for
>A pony to keep nice and healthy
>A pony to play with
>A pony to take for walks
>A pony to share laughs with
>A pony that you would look forward to seeing after work
>A pony to look forward to seeing you too
>A pony to be your friend
>She had no idea how well she was going to have it under your care, all in exchange for some chores and her companionship
>A few days turns into a week
>Between doing absolutely nothing and being worried sick the last 7 days, you’ve lost all your stamina
>You’ve been quieter than usual too, lurking on your websites rather than posting
>You’ve spent most days curled up on the couch
>You’re tired all the time, and you’ve been sleeping more and more each day
>Seemingly nothing can perk you up
>That is, until you hear a chirp go off from your room
>Nobody bothers calling or texting you except your boss, and you're still on vacation
>That only means one thing
>You jump up off the couch with your newfound sense of energy and run to your bedroom
>Your phone is kinda dusty already and it’s only been a week
>If only someone was here to dust the apartment for your lazy ass
>You don’t recognize the number
>You feel yourself melting away
>Wait
>Tom disconnected the previous line when you tried to call him back
>Don’t jump to shit conclusions brain
>You unlock the phone, and low and behold, it's Tom
>”the pony is finally ready. took a week but the thing finally summited. same location. i got the cash as well as the modification i promised u. im already there, so dont worry about me dipping again lol”
>You feel energized again
>If you had to spend anymore time like the last week you’re sure you would of died
>You grab your wallet, ready to leave and get back Star when you realize you haven’t changed your clothes for nearly a week
>Nor have you showered
>You want to get your pony as soon as possible, but such an unhygienic appearance may remind Star of Tom
>You take off all your clothes, that are now essentially rags, and throw them in the corner of your room and grab a fresh arsenal
>Clothes in hand, you head to the shower
>The plus side of living alone in an apartment with no windows is that you can walk around naked
>However, those days will be coming to an end soon
>Walking around naked with a traumatized pony in the home probably isn’t a good idea
>You stay put, Little Anon!
>You’ve been waiting at the bus stop for 35 minutes
>The slum he’s sending you too doesn’t run busses often
>You’re quite lucky one came within 2 minutes last week
>Your headphones broke during your week of depression, so the wait is more boring than usual
>12 minutes later, the bus finally arrives
>Looks like the same driver, but you aren’t sure
>You just stare out the window, imagining all the fun times ahead of you
>It took slightly longer than expected, but you will finally get to meet your pony
>You bought the magic suppression ring with you, incase Tom just drugged her up again
>Again, your deep immersion in your thoughts almost costs you the stop
>You don’t need the GPS this time, you remember exactly where to go
>Getting to the corner with the drug store, you again, see nobody
>But you do see a car across the street, and you don’t believe it was there before
>The driver door opens, and out rolls lord lardass
>It looks like he put on even more weight
>He’s probably wearing the same shirt too
>He smiles and waves to you as he shuts the car door
>As Tom crosses the intersection, he puts out his hand
>No way you’re shaking this guys hand
>He notices this and retracts it back
>”Err… Anonymous, right? I’m really sorry about all this trouble. Terrible misjudgment on my part putting her up for sale so soon. She-”
>You cut him off
>Not only because you don’t want to hear his voice, but because you don’t want him breathing in your face again
>You’re angry and wish you could sock him across the face, but you manage to keep your cool
“Where is Star?”
>”That’s her name? I don’t fucking remember. I just called her Bitch, or Slut.”
>Your hands form a fist, but you manage to control yourself
>You repeat yourself
“Where is Star?”
>Tom points back to his car
>”She’s in there, don’t worry. I just figured I’d give you your 50% refund first for all the trouble.”
>He pulls the cash straight out of his wallet, no bag or wallet, and holds it out
>You give him a cold stare, and snatch it out of his hands
>”I take so much pride in my work, it means so much to me I’ll take the hit.”
>You just nod and shove the money into your pocket
>He guides his arm out toward his car
>”Well, now that unpleasant business is out of the way, shall we?”
>Walking across the street, your legs feel like jelly
>It’s a week later than you expected, but you are finally taking your pony home for good
>You’ll get her to talk to you this time, you’ll make sure she eats this time, and you’ll make her happier than she could ever imagine to be as a slave
>You’ll make sure she knows you love her and you aren’t mad at her
>You are going to do things right this time
>Tom chirps his car and with that he opens up the backseat
>”Let’s get this over with, it’s supposed to rain soon.”
>The windows are tinted, but you can make out a kennel
>It’s much bigger than the one you got previously, and is metal rather than plastic
>Tom, being the lard he is, is already breaking a sweat trying to get it out
>”Give me a hand, will ya? This thing is heavy, and the dumb thing inside it isn’t doing me any favors.”
>You don’t like the idea of giving this guy any favors or hands, but you don’t really have a choice in this case
>You go over to the car door and lift it from the bottom corner
>As a matter of fact, it is pretty damn heavy
>Has to be mostly due to the metal body though, you had no trouble lifting Star last week, and you doubt Tom fattened her up, let alone fed her much at all
>Placing the kennel down on the sidewalk, Tom wipes a puddle of sweat off his forehead
>”I don’t see your car anywhere, do we have to carry it around the block?”
“I don’t have a car. I took the bus.”
>”You’re going to take this big heavy crate onto the bus?”
>He manages to bring up a good point
“Open it up. Is she on a leash? I’ll take her home without the kennel.”
>Tom looks over towards the car
>”She doesn’t have one on but I may have a few in the trunk”
>Tom wobbles his way over to the trunk of the car and starts digging his way through it
>You crouch down next to the kennel
>It has no grating to see though, just tiny holes to allow breathing
>You were hoping to give her a smile as a form of assurance, but it doesn’t look like that’s possible right now
>You pull her ring out of your pocket to make sure you don’t forget
>Tom stands back up over by the trunk, waving a red leash in the air
>”The great and helpful Tom has you covered!”
>The kennel vibrates a bit
>”Let’s get this bitch leashed up and ready to go.”
>Tom moves you to the side and crouches down next to the door of the kennel
>He pulls a keyring out of his shirt pocket
>”Now this may be a little trial and error, I don’t know which one is for this kennel”
>You wonder what his plan was if you took the whole kennel home
>As he’s working through the keys, he speaks up
>”I put her up for sale a little prematurely, as I’m sure you figured out. But she’s 100% ready to serve and please her master now. I made sure of it. If she somehow disobeys you or escapes again, I’ll give ya double your money back and a better pony. I’ll also be sure to put her down with my own two hands, mark my words. But that won’t happen, right?”
>He gives the kennel a little pat on the side
>“...As I said earlier, I did a little somethin’ to make sure she doesn’t get away from you again. This... magic of theirs… it's pretty useless in the long run ain’t it? You either have it set so low they can’t do anything meaningful with it, or set too high and they blast you to smithereens.”
>You don’t think that’s 100% true, as the ring seems pretty flexible with its settings
>You hold it out to put onto her once he finally opens it
>”And…”
>Tom takes a deep breath, fat fuck’s hyperventilating at this point from the little bit of exercise
>”...And, they’re insanely good with their hooves somehow too. Almost as if they’re magnets, but for any stinkin’ object.”
>You aren’t liking where this is going
>”...So I took the liberty of eliminating this entire prob…”
>Click!
>”Took long enough! Of course it was almost the last key I checked...”
>He takes a deep breath and opens up the door
>...
>Your stomach drops all the way to the earth’s core
>Her overall condition looks to be about the same
>Her coat is still short or missing in some places, and she has some more lash marks across her body than she did before
>But you ordered a unicorn
>The papers said she was a unicorn
>You complimented her on her pointy, unblunted horn didn’t you?
>However, the papers didn’t lie
>She was indeed a unicorn
>Was
>You drop the ring in your hands to the ground
>A tiny voice speaks up
>”Nice to meet you, master! I’m sorry for leaving you, and I deserve any punishment you deem necessary. I’m a bad pony.”
>She’s… smiling?
>No.. her eyes are puffy and red, she was clearly crying not too long ago
>”I’m ready to please you now, master!”
>If your stomach dropped to the earth’s core before, now it’s en route to Andromeda
>You feel your eyes tearing up
>Stay strong Anon, this is no way to look in front of her
>You turn your gaze over to Tom
“What… what did you do to her?”
>Tom shrugs
>”I made her act the way she should of in the first pla…”
“NOT THAT YOU FAT FUCK!”
>You’re crying now, in a fully fledged but justifiable meltdown
“HER HORN, WHAT DID YOU… WHAT DID YOU DO TO IT?!”
>”I, uhh, told you, I took that useless tumor off. It’s a favor, it was only going to bring you trouble, I know best.”
“YOU DON’T KNOW BEST, YOU’RE A FUCKING IDIOT! I WANTED HER TO HAVE FREEDOMS! NOT TO MENTION I PAYED A PREMIUM FOR A UNICORN IN GOOD CONDITION!”
>The fat egg gets up on his feet
>”And I gave you half your money back. You got her for less than the cheapest pegasus money can buy”
“I DON’T GIVE A SHIT ABOUT THE MONEY! I’LL.. I’LL SUE. YOU TOUCHED MY PROPERTY WITHOUT MY CONSENT!”
>”Two reasons that won’t work Mr. Anonymous. One, courts aren’t going to listen to your case. It’s over a pony. Two, even if it somehow got to court, you’d lose because she’s still under my legal ownership until your ownership ID and papers come in, and from experience with how slow they are I guarantee they haven’t yet.”
>DAMNIT!
>He has every legal right to do this
>A smirk crawls across his face
>WHACK!
>You sock him across the face
>With that Tom backs up and pulls a pistol out of his pocket
>”Don’t make another fucking move. I did something to benefit you, and you’re screaming and calling me an idiot?”
>You charge toward him
“YOU MUTILATED MY PON-”
>He points the gun towards your face
>”I SAID NOT ANOTHER FUCKING MOVE. TAKE THE LEASH AND GO, OR BOTH YOU AND THE PONY ARE DEAD.”
>The pony
>Holy shit, Star’s witnessing all of this
>The thought of that grounds you
>You take a deep breath and grab the leash
>”Now go.”
>Tom keeps the gun pointed towards you as you walk back over to the kennel”
>Star has tears in her eyes
>You use a hand gesture to call her forward
>The pony trots towards you and you clip the leash on her
>”Are-are we going to your home now master?”
>You sniff and wipe your eyes dry
“Yes, Star. We are going home, to OUR home”
>You hear a snicker behind you
>You stand up and give a tug and Star exits the kennel
>You walk away without looking back, but you’re sure he’s still locked and loaded on you
>As you are about to turn the corner, you hear Tom yell to you
>”YOU’LL THANK ME FOR THIS ONE DAY”
>As you’re approaching the bus stop, you notice Star is limping
“What’s the matter Star?”
>Her eyes are still bloodshot red, probably from the trauma of what she just witnessed
>You suspect she's exhausted too
>”Nothing’s wrong master. I’m happy to serve you.”
>Jesus Christ
“Your back leg. You’re limping. What happened?”
>Star looks back at her back leg
>You can see the expression change on her face
>”Mister Tom did it when I talked back to him.”
>You grind your teeth together
>Her expression suddenly changes to that smile again
“But I deserved it. I’m a good pony now!”
>She’s smiling, but her eyes tell another story
>That makes you stop in your tracks
“Come here Star.”
>You crouch down and hold your arms out
>The pony tilts her head in confusion
>”I’m sorry master, what do you want me to do?”
>You figure she knew you wanted to pick her up, but she’s obviously hesitant to human touch and trying to avoid it without straight up defying your orders
>Regardless, it’ll be better than her limping around, possibly causing more damage
“Hop up, I’ll carry you.”
>Star’s eyes widen
>”Mister Tom said I need to feel pain to remind me to be a good pony. It’ll heal, un… unlik… unlike my… unlike my… EEP!”
>The pony lets out a squeak and a flinch as you pick her up into your arms
>Just in time too
>You’re trying to keep her loss in the back of your mind for now, and it’s especially important that she does too
>You hold her with your arms like one would hold a baby
>Despite obviously not wanting it, she doesn’t fight it at all
>In fact, she’s really sniff, the only movement coming from her wildly inconsistent inhales and exhales
>With a pony in your arms, you make haste to the bus stop
>10 minutes later, the bus arrives and the doors open
>This time two people get out, that’s the most you’ve ever seen on this line
>You put Star back down on the ground
>As much as you don’t want her to walk on her hurt leg, you can’t carry her on the bus, she’s too big
>You wrap the leash around your wrist and head up the entry steps
>You notice the leash gets tighter which causes you to turn around
>Still outside the bus doors you see Star, looking at the steps
“C’mon Star”
>You give a light tug on the leash
>The pony glances up at you, down at the steps, back up at you again, and smiles
>”Yes master…”
>She’s doing that smile again, but she didn’t put on the happy voice this time
>It kills you on the inside that you’re making her go up these steps, but you have no choice
>Star trots a few steps back, takes a deep breath, and makes a dash up the steps
>”EEP”
>She lets out another squeak, this time in pain rather than surprise
>You pull out your payment and drop it in
>The driver, same one from earlier, looks up at you
>”You got yourself one did ya? Take good care of it.”
“I have every intention to sir. Thank you”
>You tug the leash and Star follows you to the back seat
>You sit down on the window seat and look over towards the isle
>Star is looking the other way, towards the seats on the opposite side of the isle
>As a result, her backside is facing in your direction
>She has her tail clenched tightly around her privates for protection
>You pat the seat next to you, signaling her to get up
>Star turns around and tilts her head and smiles again, and makes another running jump onto the seat
>No screech this time, but she was obviously still in pain
>She settles down on the chair and sits on her haunches, and stares towards the front of the bus
>The doors close and you’re on your way
>Looking at Star, you can tell she’s barely conscious
>She often shuts her eyes, looking as if she’s about to drift to sleep, only to wake herself up a few moments later
>Your suspicions of her being exhausted were seemingly confirmed
>Other than her eyelids, she hasn’t moved a muscle since getting up on the seat, much like when you picked her up
>She also seems to have sat herself in a way that puts much of the pressure on her bad leg
“Star, stop trying to hurt yourself. You don’t deserve it, put some pressure on the good leg.”
>”As you wish master.”
>She readjusts herself to even out the pressure, lets out a sigh, and then goes sniff again, staring into space
>She’s clearly holding tears back, but the floodgates are holding them back
“We’ll be home soon Star. You’ll be comfortable and safe there.”
>”Star is excited to serve, master”
>You repeat what you told her the last time you met
“I promise to never cause anything bad to happen to you, Star”
>However, you already broke that promise
>Her horn… your neglectance caused that
>It’s gone and will never come back, and it's your fault
>Looking over at her head, you get a better look at what remains
>You distinctly remember complimenting her on her horn last week
>It was quite long, maybe 8 inches, and unblunted too, which is quite rare for any unicorn slave
>It’s all but a stub now, maybe 2 inches at best, probably more like 1 and a half
>It’s all jagged like a cracked eggshell
>The jackass probably used a hacksaw from his garage
>As much as you hate to say this, you’re going to have to either flatten the jagged top or finish the job and cut it completely off
>It’s a safety hazard to you, and even herself, as it looks like pieces of it could chip off at any moment
>That can be put on the backburner for now though
>You take a deep breathe and look out the window
>It’s dark now as the days are getting shorter
>The rain that was called earlier has started to lightly pour
>Drops of rain begin to form on the bus window
>On the bus radio, Frank Sinatra's rendition of When You're Smiling comes on
>Being late November, you’re surprised Christmas music isn’t playing
>You look over at Star and start to pet her mane
>Star flinches at the touch, causing you to quickly pull your hand away
>She flinched when you picked her up too, but that was a necessary evil for her health
>Continuing to pet her mane now would just cause unnecessary discomfort for her, even if she doesn’t show it
>You look back over to the window, watching the world go by for the rest of the ride home as the sound of the radio fills the bus
>“...But when you're cryin'... you bring on the rain...”
>”...So stop that cryin'... be happy again...”
>”...Keep on smilin'... 'cause when you're smilin'...”
>”...The whole world… smiles with you…”
>You juggle your keycard out of your pocket while holding Star
>She’s still stiff, not moving a single muscle while being held in your arms
>It was a little bit of a walk from the bus stop to your apartment, so the both of you are wet
>Star smells vulgar, probably from a mixture of the rain and not being cleaned since forever
>You manage to swipe the keycard on the elevator panel, giving you entry to it
>4 floors later you exit the elevator and head to your place
>You put Star back on the ground carefully
“Alright Star, here we are. This place is your’s as much as it is mine. Make yourself at home, because it is.”
>You don’t really believe it’s hers as much as yours
>You love her and want her to have freedoms, but to say you see her as an exact equal to you would be a lie
>No response this time, just her staring at the door
>Odd
>She’s shaking, but hopefully just because she’s cold, but you have your doubts
>With another swipe, you open up the door and flick the light switch on your left on
“I think we can save the tour for tomorrow. Let’s get you cleaned up and get a good night’s sleep.”
>Today’s the last day of the time you took off, but you’ll use a sick day tomorrow to show her around and get to know her
>After that though she’s unfortunately going to be alone during the day
>Still saying put, you give the leash another tug
>Once you shut the door, you signal her over to you
>The pony sits down on her haunches in front of you, staring into your eyes
>Her eyes are full of sadness and exhaustion
>You unhook the leash and drape it over the couch
>”Master… Mister Tom said you would beat me once we get home. Would you like the pathetic and helpless Tr-S-S-Star to fetch your paddle for you…?”
>You turn around to see a pony lift her tail in the air behind her
“What was that you said?”
>”Would you like the pathetic and helpless Star to fetch your paddle for you…?”
>Her sentence is followed with a smile
>You’re dumbstruck, and your mind goes blank for a moment
>Her smile changes to an expression of fear
>”M-master’s sending Star back already isn’t he!”
“Wait, what? No! why would I…”
>”Mister Tom says it’s not a pony’s place, job, or right to talk back or suggest things to master.”
“Star I..”
>”Take me back, if I’m lucky I’ll get the needle.”
>She’s holding back tears again
”Star, those are wild conclusions you’re making there. I don’t know what Tom told you, but I guarantee 99% of what he said isn’t going to happen here.”
>She’s already looking towards the door handle, seemingly waiting for you to put the leash back on and walk out
“Star, I promise I’m not sending you back, nor am I going to beat you.”
>The pony turns back around
>”Mister Tom says to be thankful when master shows mercy. So, thank you master. I won’t mess up again.”
“C’mon, let me set up the bath. Let’s get you nice and clean. It’s probably been awhile, hasn’t it?”
>You’re in the bathroom now with Star, filling the tub up with water
>Star gave a bit of resistance to the idea, going from believing she didn’t earn a bath, to thinking it was going to be by hose.
“Dip your hoof in, tell me when it’s comfortable”
>With a bit of hesitation, she puts her front hoof in
>The rest of her body is completely still though
>You slowly turn the dial up
>And up
>And up
>Until enough’s enough
>You see her holding back pain
“Star, I’m not going to let you torture yourself.”
>You turn it down a little
“That’s the highest I’m setting it. Do you still want it that high or do you want it lower?”
>You understand she probably wants it somewhat warm, since she was just out in freezing November rain, but you were almost at maximum heat
>”Mister Tom says I should make everything as painful as possible for a week to punish myself.”
>You turn the dial down a bit more to a comfortable warm
>You stand up and grab a bottle of shampoo that she wouldn’t be able to reach and put it in the bathtub
“Do you use shampoo or soap for your coat?”
>It’s a genuine question you aren’t sure of. Do they use soap since it’s their body, or shampoo since it’s still hair?
>”Shampoo, master.”
>At least you managed to have a simple question and answer with her that time
“Alright. I’ll leave you too it then. You should be able to reach that towel hanging over there with your mouth right?”
>Confusion covers the ponies face
>”Master… isn’t going to clean me?”
>You figure if she does things on her own, it may help her feel independent again
“Nope. I want you to feel at home.”
>”Mister Tom says bathes are a reward for ponies, but master enjoys it too since you get to feel me. Wouldn’t you like that master?”
>Your mind's telling you no, but your body’s telling you yes
>Luckily, your mind wins pretty easily
“Nope! Just relax and enjoy yourself. Take your time.”
>With that you give an assuring smile and head for the door
>Halfway out the door, you call back
“Oh, and one more thing Star. I command you not to change the temperature.”
>”Yes master”
>And with that you shut the door
>You really don’t want to command her, but you’re sure she’ll listen to that
>And you fear otherwise she’d try to scald herself
>It’s been 10 minutes since you’ve sent your pony to take a bath
>You’ve been passing the time on your laptop
>You aren’t even really doing anything on it, just staring at the screen in deep thought about Star
>When you met her last week, she had a fire burning in her
>A fire that fueled an escape attempt, something most ponies wouldn’t even dare
>Tom said she put up a hell of a fight and back talk when she was first put into training, and again when she was recaptured
>The last 7 days must've been hell on earth for her, and she’s obviously traumatized, but is the fire really out?
>It’s been 20 minutes now
>You aren’t really concerned, but you figure you should check on Star
>She was a mess, and you’re sure the water feels good on any wounds she has
>But it’s still worth a peek to make sure she’s okay
>Besides, it’s not like you could walk in on anything, she’s not any more naked than she usually is
>You crack open the door to the bathroom
“St--”
>You stop
>There, your pony is lying peacefully in the tub, as if taking a sauna
>Her front hooves are draped over each side of the tub
>Her eyes are shut too
>A thin steam has filled the room, and looking at the temperature gauge, she’s turned it up a bit from where you left it
>Not high enough to burn her though
>She looks… peaceful
>Her fluffy belly slowly rises and falls in a steady rhythm
>This is  probably the most relaxed she’s been in a long time
>Probably in her own personal bubble, taking a hot soak back in Equestria
>You wouldn’t don’t dare disturb her serenity, this possibly being her only true moment of respite in months
>You quietly shut the door with a smile on your face
>The fire wasn’t extinguished
>It’s just hidden away, waiting to shine bright once again
>It’s been an hour now, and it’s getting late
>You’d like to make sure there’s time to feed Star tonight
>As much as it hurts you to do so, you’re going to have to pull her out of her little fantasy
>Back in the bathroom, your pony is still in her relaxed state
>You tiptoe over to the tub and crotch down
>You whisper
“Star…?”
>The pony opens her eyes, startled
>Her breathing starts to increase, but slowly settles back down as reality sets in
>”Yes master?”
“Time to get out. I want to feed you before we head to bed. Did you enjoy yourself?”
>”Was I too long master?”
“I saw how relaxed you were earlier and figured you needed it. You looked so happy and content”
>Star pulls herself up onto four hooves, not without a yipe
>”My happiness doesn’t matter. Master’s does.”
>You ponder at the thought for a moment
“Your genuine happiness makes me happy.”
>This time it’s the pony’s turn to ponder
>You’re really hoping to get something out of her with that
>”Thank you master. Mister Tom says I should repay kindness.”
>The two of you stare at each other for a few moments
>The pony whispers to herself loud enough for you to hear
>”O-Oh... right”
>Star lifts her tail up and manages to muster an inviting smile
>She’s trembling on her hooves now too, but she continues
>”And you were kind to me, mast…”
“Star.”
>You interrupt her assertively
>This causes the pony to flinch and swing her tail back down
>Having her attention now, you speak in a softer, but still assertive tone
“Star… don’t offer yourself to me, please...”
>”I want to repay you master. I want you to r-rut me”
>Her lie was obvious enough already, and her nervous stutter didn’t do her any favors
>And you don’t know much about pony mating signs, but you figure if she really wanted it she’d subconsciously raise her tail at the thought
“Star, listen… You don’t need to repay me like that. We both know you don’t want it, and that’s ok, I don’t want it either. You’re a very pretty mare, but it just isn’t right. I don’t know if Tom told you I was going to use you like that or what, but I’m not, I promise. All I want in return is to see you happy and yourself again.”
>You also want the home clean and some meals made every now and then, but no need to mention that now
>The pony tilts her head
>”I’m a… pretty mare, master?”
“I picked you out because of how cute you looked in your photo. Nothing’s changed.”
>The ponies eyes dilate
>”B-but m-master, in that ph-photo I-I had m-m-my, m-my… a-a-and n-now I-I-I d-don’t…”
>Tears are visibly forming in her eyes now
“It’ll be ok Star. It’s an obstacle we’ll have to overcome together. I can’t even begin to imagine what it feels like. Let’s get a bite to eat.”
>Star manages to pull herself together and dips her head underwater to open up the bath stopper
>The amount of dexterity these ponies have with their mouths is amazing
“Do you want me to lift you out? I don’t want you to hurt your leg.”
>The pony almost instantly fires back
>”What do you want ma-”
“What matters is what you want, Star. You’re allowed to make your own decisions here.”
>The pony is either confused, or in deep thought
>Finally, she responds
>”I-If you could just lift me out, that would be ok.”
>You carefully wrap your arms around Star’s underbelly and give her a lift
>She’s stiff again, and clearly nervous
>She’s soaked, and her coat is holding a ton of water, making her a lot heavier to your surprise
>You almost drop her right back down because you didn’t expect the weight
>But both her coat and mane smell great
>Up and over, you place her down on the bathroom floor
>Her hooves slip around on the wet floor before gaining her balance
“I’ll use my hair dryer on you afterwards so your coat is nice and dry. Pat yourself down with the towel and call me back in when you’re done.”
>”Thank you, master.”
>It shouldn’t take long for her to dry herself down, so you just head in the kitchen and make sure you have enough ingredients for the two of you
>Greens, check. Carrots, check. Tomatoes, check. Apples, check. Vinegar, check…”
>...Raisins, check. Corn… check. And last but not least, Oats for Star, check.
>That should be more than enough. You look up at your microwave’s clock
>Oh crap it’s been 10 minutes
>You got a little carried away checking your fridge
>You don’t want Star to think you forgot about her
>You turn around and are halfway through the living room when you hear soft trotting on the carpet
>She pokes her head around the corner and gives a proud smirk
>”I’m done master!”
>Panic goes through your mind
>Why the hell is she dragging water through your carpet?
>You manage to hide the emotion and keep your cool
>It’s just water Anon, just water
“Star, I haven-”
>Your pony interrupts you
>”I found your hair dryer under the sink cabinet, so I dried myself off completely.”
>You sense a smidgen pride and triumph in her voice
>Between her interrupting you and disobeying what you told her and doing it herself instead, you’re caught off guard
>You’re not angry, just surprised
>You signal with your finger for her to come forward
>Slowly, she trots forward, still limping on her bad leg
>You run a finger through her mane, causing a bit of a flinch from Star
>You run another finger down her coat, causing her to stiffen up
>Completely dry
“Sorry.”
>After taking your hands off her, she smirks again
>”It wasn’t that hard, master.”
“B-but, how’d you know you needed to plug it in?”
>Her smirk disappears
>”I-I learned about your electricity all the way back in t-training camp. How it makes things work on their own. I learned how to look out for the surprised face on a wire, and to put it into the surprised face on the wall.”
>You let out a giggle to the surprised face description
>”I-It kind of reminds me of m-mag-”
>You quickly interupt her before she upsets herself
“Let’s finally go eat, shall we?”
>You lead Star into the kitchen
>You spread your arms out
“Here's the best room next to the bedroom, let me show you where everything is.”
>Your kitchen really isn’t that big
>To your right when you walk in there is an oval bar table of the sorts, with some stools around it
>On the other side of the room, which is only a few feet away, are some cabinets and the refrigerator
>You give Star a quick rundown of where all the dishes, silverware, and cups are located inside
>You’re reminded of Star’s bad leg
“Hey Star, I’ll place some dishes and such in the lower cabinet for now, at least until you can climb the stool when your leg improves.”
>The pony is just watching and absorbing all the info, not speaking since entering the kitchen
>You open up the lower cabinet where the trash can usually stays and take it out
>You slide it over to a tight corner
“There, let me get some stuff.”
>Easy for you, you reach up to the cabinet and grab a stack of plates and some cups and place them down in the lower cabinet
>You pull open the drawer and grab an assortment of knives, forks, and spoons and place them in the cabinet as well
>That should solve the biggest problem
“Don’t worry about the dishes until your leg heals, I don’t want you climbing up to the sink while you’re hurt.”
>You get your first response since coming into the kitchen
>”Thank you master”
>Most ingredients to make a salad are in the bottom drawer of the fridge, so you figure that would make an ideal meal
“You know how to make salad Star?”
>Silly question, ponies love salad
>”Of course master. I learned how to cook lots of things for you.”
“Great! All the ingredients are in the bottom drawer of the refrigerator. Make 2 bowls. I’m going to grab my laptop.”
>You leave Star to it as you fetch your laptop from the living room
>Back in the kitchen, you place the laptop on the table and sit yourself on the stool
>”W-What do you want in it master?”
>You turn around and see Star pick up a bag of baby tomatoes with her mouth
“The basic sounds good. Greens, tomatoes, carrots, and some raisins.”
>”Yes master”
>With your pony busy at work, you turn back to your laptop
>You’re going to have to give Star her’s too, but that can wait for tomorrow
>You spend the next couple minutes reading some news articles
>The forecast, local stories, and some oniony headlines about the president that are probably an exaggeration
>Halfway through an article about a documentary airing tonight, Star speaks up
>”Your meal is ready master.”
>She’s right at the foot of your stool, and picks back up one of the bowls with her mouth
>You grab it out of her mouth and place it on the table
>Before you can do anything else, she’s holding the other bowl out towards you
“Star, that one’s for you.”
>The pony places the bowl back on the ground
>”Oh no master. Mister Tom said I need to earn my... d-dog... food.”
>Dog food
>She flinches as she says it
>That deflates you a little
>”Star, enough with what Tom said. Again, it doesn’t apply here, even if he said it would. I asked you to make 2 bowls so you could have one. You need 3 real meals a day, not dog food.”
>No wonder she’s so thin, she either ate nothing, or dog food
>Star looks to the ground
>”Sorry mas-”
“No need to be sorry. He dug that crap into your mind, you can’t help it. I’m just trying to dig it out.”
>The pony looks back up at you
“Let me get us some water, it’s too high for you to get right now.”
>You grab a cup and the dog bowl from the dish rack
>She’s pretty dexterous with her hooves though, much more than you thought these ponies could be
>Once her legs heals up and she’ll be able to reach into the refrigerator to pour her own water >Then she’ll graduate to a cup
>The dogbowl holds much more water than a cup, so one filling should last her the day whenever you’re gone
>Unfortunately, she’s going to have to eat on the floor for now
>The stools are too small for her to sit on her haunches
>The only other possible way for her to sit up there would put as lot of weight on her hurt leg, so it’s going to have to be this way for a bit
“This is really good Star.”
>The pony swallows
>”Thanks master, but all I did was put it in a bowl. I didn’t make it good.”
>She’s got a point
“The… erm… the balance of all the ingredients is well done. Not too much or too little of anything.”
>”T-Thanks master…”
>There was a hint of sarcasm in her voice there
>And with that, she goes right back to chowing her salad down
>Halfway through your salad, you look down
>Her bowl is licked clean, and she’s chugging her water down
>You grab your bowl and dump the rest of your salad into her bowl
>”Master…?”
“I’m stuffed, and you need it more than me.”
>After round two, you pick up the bowls and cups and put them in the sink
>”I’ll do them for you master, please.”
“I don’t want you using that leg for anything more than basic walking right now. I’m going to pick you up some medicine for it later in the week.”
>”But, I don’t want to be the useless and unhelpful Star…”
>You stretch your arms and nod
“You just made us dinner. You aren’t useless. I think a little bit of sleep is overdue, you agree?”
>Walking down the hall to your bedroom with Star, it feels a little warmer
>As if the fire is flicking ever so brighter
“That’s your place, there”
>You point to Star’s kennel in the corner
“If there's anything you want for it, let me know. It’s quite big, so there’s enough room to stuff it with anything that’ll make you comfortable.”
>”Master that’s the same-”
“I-”
>”I probably deserve to sleep on my urine anyway. Thanks for letting me sleep inside, at least. Mister Tom says that’s only for occasions when I’m an especially good mare.”
“...cleaned it thoroughly.”
>You let out a sigh
>Enough’s enough with this
>You crouch down next to your bed and signal Star to sit down in front of you
“Star, you keep saying Mister Tom this and Mister Tom that and reciting what that jackass has told you.”
>Pony’s eyes begin to swell up
>You let out a sigh and continue, this time sounding less angry
“I guess it’s not really your fault, is it? He drilled shit into your mind for a week nonstop. And then he told you you’d have to follow every little detail, or else I’d beat you, rape you, send you back to be killed, or a combination of all three.”
>Her eyes widen
>”I-I want to be killed master. I want to die.”
>Hearing that, a ton of weight falls on your shoulders, and the air is knocked out of you
“That’s not true.”
>Star tears up for what seems to be the 100th time tonight
>”I-I-I want to be p-put down master. I don’t want to live anymore.”
>You want to hug the pony in the worst possible way, but you know better
“That’s not true Star. If it was, you wouldn’t of been so careful to follow Tom’s instructions. You wouldn’t of balled your eyes out when you thought I was going to send you back for suggesting something to me. You ran off when you had the chance, someone ready to accept death with open arms wouldn’t do that.”
>Star looks up, dumbstruck
>After a few moments, she continues with a shaky voice
>”I was going to kill myself that night.”
“No you weren’t.”
>Star wipes a tear with her hoof
“If you were, you would of done it. You could of jumped down the staircase, bit someone, light yourself on fire or something with your…”
>She’s bawling again
>You got to be more careful with your words, you inconsiderate fuck
“What I’m trying to say is… you could of ended it before anyone captured you again. You were caught on the run. Your listing had you described as a boastful, high spirited pony, among other things when you were first captured. Seeing that proud smirk on your face after you used the hair dryer on yourself and your dare to escape showed me those traits are still there.”
>Star is squirming a bit now
“Not to mention that I heard you would always refer to yourself in third person, something you’re still occasionally doing.”
>Star flinches back a bit at that
>”Tr-Sta-I-I i-is..am? I am?”
“The Star that was listed is still in there. I don’t think you forget who you are, you’re just scared to show it, understandably so.”
>Star just stares off, mouth open
>Finally, she recollects herself
>”What else did they describe Star as?”
>You let out a little giggle
>”Arrogant, entitled, egotistical, abrasive, full of herself.”
>You smile
>Star follows with a smirk, much like the one when she dried herself
“That’s why I got you. I wanted someone to throw some verbal punches at me, to treat me like their oldest, best chum. I want you to be comfortable to express yourself, be who you were. Within reason, of course, but the fine line is quite high.”
>Star sniffs her tears in
>”But don’t be afraid to cross that line initially, I’d let you know without punishing you or hurting you.”
>You give a deep breath
“Let me go get you some water if you need it overnight. Get yourself ready for bed”
>You really want to brush your hand through her mane
>You get up and head to the kitchen
>You don’t want her running out of water in the middle of the night, she needs to drink
>And a drowsy, half asleep pony may accidentally knock it over
>You fill the dogbowl up with fresh, with cold water and some icecubes
>Careful not to spill any, you carry it back into your bedroom
>Star is still sitting on her haunches, staring into space
“Heres some water if you get thirsty in the middle of the night. Drink up as much as you want, you need it.”
>Placing it down to the right of her kennel, the water reminds you of another thing
“You know how to use our toilets?”
>You aren’t sure if these pascal ponies had them back at home, or if they kind of just peed everywhere, not giving a shit
>”Master To- St- I…”
>The pony is clearly having trouble with her words
>”I was told I wouldn’t be allowed to use your bathroom, so he never taught me, but they look just like ours. I’ll manage.”
>That’s a relief, saves a potentially awkward encounter
>”May I go master? Star’s been holding it in for hours.”
“You should've said something sooner, you can go whenever.”
>”Thank you master!”
>Star slowly gets up and trots out to your bathroom
>You call out to Star to clarify
“You don’t need to ask to do anything like that!”
>”Yes master!”
>She yells back in a happy tone as you hear the door shut
>A tone much different than the false happiness she had before
>With your pony doing her business, you turn around to get undressed
>You usually sleep naked, but with Star in your care now that probably isn’t going to happen anymore
>Not until you’ve fully gained her trust and she’s comfortable, at least
>So you leave an old T-Shirt and a pair of underpants on
>You take your phone and wallet out of your pant pockets, and put them on your nightstand
>Looking on your nightstand, that reminds you
>Next to where you placed your belongings is the box that contains her leather collar
>You pick up the box and pace around the room until Star gets back
>5 minutes later, you hear a flush and Star trots back in
“No problems? You washed your hooves?”
>Star turns back while making her way towards her kennel
>”I’m civilized, ya know.”
“Star, come here before you go in”
>She makes a quick 180, both physically and mentally
>She gets down and submits to you, breathing heavily
>”Was that too much backtalk master? I’m sorry! I’ll be a good, cooperative pony!”
“What…? No. I had something for you.”
>”A spanking? I deserve it!”
>You snap your fingers
“Star! Snap out of it. You didn’t do anything that concerned me in the slightest. I got you a gift.”
>She’s improving, but still quite fragile and easy to set off
>You open up the box and present it to her
“Nappa Leather, one of the highest quality leathers money can buy. I had it custom made for you based on the measurements they sent me of you. I figured it would be more comfortable than that bent piece of metal around your neck”
>The pony’s eyes are twinkling like starlight now and her breathing slows back down
>”You got the pathetic and helpless Star a gift?”
“No, but I got the great and awesome Star a gift”
>You pick it up and toss the box to the side
“I got it for you because I wanted to show how much you mean to me.”
>Star looks down
“Look at me Star. I mean it when I say you mean everything to me. I’d take a bullet for you. I went to multiple tailors to make sure I got you the best, no matter the cost because I care for you and love you. I know it’s probably bittersweet, getting a collar put on, no matter how nice it is, but I made sure it’s the most comfortable it could be.”
>You unhook the new collar
“Let’s get it on, shall we? Do you mind if I touch you?”
>The pony’s tail swings a bit
“I mean your neck, Star. Don’t worry.”
>”Y-Yes mast-”
>You put your finger to her mouth
“From here on out, I’m Anon. Or Anonymous if you want. I may be your master, but first and foremost we’re friends, so we should refer to each other like so.
>Star just stares at you, not saying anything
>You put your hands around her neck and unhook the metal collar
>Yikes
>The part of her neck where the collar was is a completely different color than the rest of her coat
>Just how tight was that thing on her?
>You toss it to the side where the box is and wrap the new collar around her neck
>The tags on it jingle
>One has her name, and the other your phone number and address
>Unfortunately, the measurements aren’t completely valid anymore due to all the weight she’s lost
>It’s still close enough, you just had to use one of the later punch holes
>It’s snug, but nowhere near as tight as that piece of scrap metal was
“That better?”
>Star is still out of it
“Star?”
>A few moments later, she gives the widest smile you’ve seen in a long time
>”Yes master- I mean Anon! It feels as if there is nothing on my neck anymore! What a relief!”
“You don’t have to pretend to like it for me. Collars must still hurt to have.”
>”Anything’s better than the collar Mister Tom gave me. I feel like I can actually breathe. Besides, it’s kind of stylish, and I’ve never been one for fashion.”
>She looks down at it in awe
>She uses her hoof to push up the tags so she can read them
>Suddenly her smile turns upside down
>”Right… Thanks again.”
>Her mood change is slightly concerning,
>She’s like a lightbulb, she shines brightly when you let her, but make one mistake and she’ll shatter
>Looking back, you’ve made a shitton of progress with her already.
>It’s late and now anyway
“Alright Star, I think it’s time to retire for the night, for real this time.”
>”Yes Anon.”
>You’ll have to work on the robotic responses too, but that can be for another time
“Water is next to your kennel. Sleep as long as you need. I won’t wake you. Wake me, however, if you need anything.”
>”I haven’t slept on my own schedule in ages.”
“I’m being especially lenient right now, but even when you have more chores I’ll still be lenient with you, as long as you get them done.”
>You hop up in your bed as Star retreats to her kennel
>She lays so there isn’t much pressure on her hurt leg, and rests her head on the pillow
>As she shuts her eyes, she wraps her tail around in front of her mouth
>She grows and shrinks steadily with her heartbeat
>You’d think she’d be a bit more uncomfortable tonight
>Perhaps the combination of the progress you made with her, and the fact that she’s flat out exhausted helps though
“Goodnight Star. Sleep well.”
>With that you click off the lights and shut your eyes
>You have never felt so well rested in your life
>Your realization of your situation makes you ever more comfy
>You have your cute poner next to you, finally getting some peace, right?
>It’s not like she could've escaped again
>She doesn’t have a horn or anything to poof out anymore
>Besides, you believe you’ve made enough progress and she wouldn’t try to escape until you give her a reason to
>How long have you been sleeping?
>You pull your phone over to your face
>3:23PM
>Drowsy mental math tells you you’ve been sleeping for roughly ~16 hours
>No time to lose
>You click on your lamp and your eyes readjust to the brightness of 1,000 suns
>To your relief, Star is still there
>To your disbelief, she’s still sleeping
>Shit, now she’s squirming around a bit in response to the light
>You quickly shut the lights back off and place your head back on the pillow
>I guess you shouldn’t be too surprised she’s still asleep
>Groggy, half awake brain doesn’t have best judgement
>Once you’re sure she’s settled back into her sleep, you ever so quietly get out of your bed
>You just threw your pair of pants from yesterday on the floor, so they’re in easy reach
>They’re dirty, but it's less risk of waking her by opening a drawer
>After you put your pants on, you tiptoe to the door
>You open it slowly, and once outside, you leave it nudged open
>Typically she’d probably be able to get up on her hinds and open the door
>But the current state of her leg would make getting up on her hinds a bad idea
>Ideally she’d be able to push it open with magic
>In the kitchen, you go through your refrigerator, pushing things aside until you find something that sounds appetizing
>You really have to go food shopping, you stocked up so much on pony food you forgot to get anything you like
>It would be quite handy if Star could go food shopping for you, but it’s illegal in your city for ponies to be out without their owner, even with proper tracking and identification
>She’d be classified as a stray or runner, rounded up, and returned to your doorstep
>After multiple offences they may just get tired of your shit and she’ll mysteriously disappear
>After going through the entire fridge twice, you settle on scrambled eggs
>Combining it with some hot sauce and you got a champion’s breakfast
>Unfortunately for you, you’re out of orange juice to tie it all together, so you have to settle for water
>You beat a few eggs, pour some milk in, sprinkle some pepper, and pour it into the skillet
>The sizzle of the eggs always made you feel comfy
>Reminds you of going to diners with your parents for breakfast
>Once done, you slide them on a plate, drizzle some hot sauce on top, and pour some water into a cup
>With your meal in both hands, you turn around, and too your surprise is your pony, standing at the border of the living room and kitchen, staring at you
>How long has she been watching you?
“C’mon in Star, I’ll make you some too.”
>”Thanks Anonymous.”
>The leather collar really does wonders for her appearance
>You cycle back to the refrigerator to grab some more eggs
“How’s the leg feeling?”
>”Hurts.”
“If I have time I’ll pick up some medicine for it later on. If it doesn’t improve by the weekend we’ll probably have to take you over to the vet.”
>You turn to beat the eggs again
>5 minutes later, Star’s breakfast is done
>You dump them into another bowl
“Let me go get your water bowl for you.”
>Back in your bedroom, you flick on the lightswitch
>To your surprise, the bowl is filled to the brim
>Don’t think the worst brain
>She was exhausted, probably slept through the entire night
>And she drank during dinner too
>You pick it up, not without spilling some
>The ice cubes melting made it overfilled
>You bring it back into the kitchen, Star just sitting there next to your chair watching you
>You decide not to say anything about the water
>You dump it out and fill it back up with fresh water
>Bowl in each hand, you bring it over to here
>”Eat up! The eggs should be good for your coat.”
>”Thanks Anonymous.”
>Not very talkative today
>Probably nothing to worry about, she’s still waking up from oversleeping
>You hop up on the chair and enjoy your eggs
>You went a little overboard with the hot sauce, but it’s still good
>You dislike that Star’s still giving you robotic responses
>It’s probably hardwired into her brain at this point though, so you can’t be mad at her
>Hopefully it’ll go away as she learns she’s safe with you
>Also being called Anonymous is quite jarring
>Sure, it's your legal name, but you haven’t been called it regularly since you were a child
>Job interviews too, but those aren’t on a regular basis
>You look down at Star, her head buried in the bowl, nibbling on the eggs with her little muzzle
>It’s a pretty cute scene actually
>You decide to break the silence
“Anything special you want me to pick up? Any food you like? I’m loaded with greens and oats, but is there anything else you like?”
>Star stops eating for a moment
>”No.”
>She keeps staring at you
“Are you sure?”
>Pony looks conflicted
>”It’s my job to feed you what you want. My master shouldn’t have to go out of his way to cater for me.”
“It’s my job to feed you and make you happy too. Unless your favorite snack is filet mignon, I’m going to pick it up for you.”
>”Filet mignon?”
“It’s a steak. Very expensive. It probably wouldn’t be your favorite food anyway, or in your diet at all.”
>With no response to that, you go back to eating your eggs
>You put some more hot sauce on the last half, as none of it sank to the bottom
>You’re almost done when you hear a voice below you
>“Are peanut butter crackers expensive?”
“So all in all it’s not much. All I am really going to ask of you is to keep the house clean and make meals. Maybe the laundry too, but first I would have to make sure with the front desk that you’re allowed to wander down the hall yourself to the washer and dryer.”
>That’s the truth, but it does go deeper than that
>Not only do you need permission from administration, but you want to be sure she won’t run off as soon as she has key access
>You want her to have freedoms, but you need to be sure first
>The entire grand tour lasted all of 10 minutes, you’re back in the kitchen now
>You don’t know why, but you expected it to be longer even though you live in a tiny apartment
“Not too much, is it?”
>”I don’t know…”
“For now though, you don’t need to do anything really. Not until your leg heals.”
>”So I am the useless and unhelpful Star then. Just say it.”
“It.”
>You let out a smile
>Star doesn’t share it with you
>”Your Star doesn’t appreciate the humor.”
“C’mon Star, lighten up a bit.”
>”I feel worthless Anonymous.”
“You're worth something, I paid a hefty price for you.”
>Pony is shaking a bit now
>”I can’t do anything without all 4 legs…”
“It’s only going to be temporary. Don’t sweat it.”
>Steam erupts out of her ears
>”You-EEEEP!”
>Star quickly gets up on all hooves, hurting her leg in the process and falling to the floor again
>She gets up a second time
>”You-You know what ISN’T temporary? MY-MY...”
>”MY-”
>Deep inhale and exhale from pony
“MY-MY HORN! YOU’LL GET SICK OF ME STRUGGLING WITH MY HOOVES. YOU’RE GOING TO END UP USING ME AS A FUCKTOY, SEND ME BACK, OR KILL ME. PROBABLY IN THAT ORDER. YOU JUST DON’T KNOW IT.”
>You feel backed against the wall here
>”YOU HAD HIM CUT IT OFF DIDN’T YOU? YOU GOT YOUR MONEY BACK. MONEY IS ALL YOUR KIND CARES ABOUT. YOU DON’T CARE WHAT HAPPENS TO ME. YOU’LL JUST USE IT TO BUY ANOTHER PONY AFTER YOU GET TIRED OF ME.”
“St-”
>”I’M PATHETIC AND USELESS. YOU KNOW IT. I LOST THE ONE THING I LOVED AND I'M NEVER GETTING IT BACK.”
“S-”
“WHY NOT PERMANENTLY TAKE MY VIRGINITY TOO WHY YOU’RE AT IT-”
>”I’LL BE YOUR GOOD LITTLE MUDPONY. IT’S WHAT I AM NOW. A MUD-”
>Star collapses and breaks down into uncontrollable tears
“Star…”
>”Don’t say my name.”
“Why?”
>You sit down next to the sobbing blue pony
“St-”
>You take a moment to recollect yourself and honor the pony’s wishes
>”You’re being irrational.”
>Star pounces her elbow onto the flow
“That’s ok though, we all are when we get upset. And you have every reason in the universe to be.”
>She won’t look up from her hooves at you, but her ears are raised so hopefully she’s listening
>”I didn’t ask for what happened to you to happen. I almost got shot by the guy for going berserk at him over it. You were there.”
>”...sniff…”
“You made a good salad yesterday with nothing but your mouth and hooves. I was quite impressed. It’s a tough transition period for both of us, but mainly you. You’ll learn though. If it wasn’t doable, earth ponies probably would of died out, right?”
>”...sniff...sniff...”
”And you know what I’m using the money I got back for? The best vet out there. I’m not going out and buying another pony or using it for leisure. If we end up not needing a vet yet, it’s going towards you, one way or another.”
>”...sniff...sniff...sniff…”
“I know you hate Tom. I hate him too. I know you hate society, I hate it sometimes too...”
>”...sniff...sniff...sniff…sniff...”
“...I know you hate me. I hate myself sometimes too.”
>”...sniff...sniff...sniff…sniff...sniff…”
>You really just want to give her a big hug right now
>Run your fingers thru her mane, something
>It’ll probably cause more harm than good though
>You’ve given your spiel, it’s all you got right now without repeating yourself
>Your pony is just laying on the cold kitchen floor, sobbing her eyes out
“Go-”
>”To my room? To my cage? Go fetch my paddle?”
“Go take a soak in the bathroom. Like you did last night.”
>One of Star’s ears go down
>”W-Why are you doing this to me? Why are you giving me nice things? Slaves don’t get this treatment.”
>Her body is shaking back and forth
“Because you're my friend.”
>”I’m not your friend.”
>Pardon?
“W-What?”
>Star quickly gets up on her hooves again
>“I’M NOT YOUR FRIEND! I’M YOUR SLAVE! DON’T YOU GET IT? YOU PAID MONEY FOR ME. I’M TRYING SOO HARD TO OBEY AND ACT LIKE YOUR FRIEND TO MAKE MASTER HAPPY BUT IT’S TOO MUCH.”
>That feels like a couple blows to the gut
“Go...go take your soak. That’s an order.”
>”The obedient and submissive Star is happy to follow master’s orders.”
>She’s not even trying to hide her sarcasm
>With that, she limps off towards the bathroom
>You’re sitting on the couch now staring at nothing as you hear the bath turn on
>You really aren’t sure how to feel right now
>Everything just happened so fast and out of nowhere
>She was fine eating breakfast
>Maybe not happy, but it’ll take a while until she’s truly happy again
>But she just snapped at you out of nowhere
>Was it something you said?
>You try to recall the events leading up to the outburst, but it’s such a blur
>...
>You remember cracking a joke when she called herself useless
>But it wasn’t a joke at her expense, it was just meant to lighten the mood a bit
>”It”
>”It’s only going to be temporary.
>“Don’t sweat it.”
>Does she really believe the things she said, or was it due to high emotions?
>After being in deep thought for some time, you facepalm
>You’re retarded
>A couple things
>First, she wanted assurance
>She wanted validation that she wasn’t useless
>She wanted her ego stroked, or whatever’s left of it
>She told you to call her useless and unhelpful, but deep down she was begging for you to tell her the opposite
>She wanted a real confirmation from the heart
>And you ruined it with your shitty humor
>You’ve been so caught up in getting her to treat you like a friend, and never stopped to care about how she feels
>That leads to the second point
>You just expected her to come right out of the box as your friend
>You told her you weren’t going to ask much of her right away, but that’s a lie
>You asked her to be your friend
>A huge commitment, one she has no interest in
>She had a point, you paid for her to stay in your home and do what you ask
>She doesn’t give a shit about you, she just does what you want so she gets food
>She got sick putting on an oscar-worthy performance and snapped
>You thought you were treating her great
>In a way, you were
>But after all she’s been through, you were selfish enough that your main concern was what you bought her for
>What you wanted out of her
>And what you wanted was a friend
>Friendship is a two way street though
>You either have to pull yourself up by your bootstraps and work to earn genuine friendship from her, or continue having her fake it just to follow orders
>You grab your keys off the counter
>You don’t hear water running in the bathroom anymore
>You want to go in and check to make sure everything’s alright, but now isn’t the time to risk bothering her
>You’re heading out to the store to grab some odds and ends
>You were hoping to bring Star along, get her out to see the world a bit, even if it’s just a grocery store
>But it may of worked out in the end anyway, it’ll probably have to wait until her leg is better
>That, or pushing her in the shopping cart like a kid
>And while she may comply to be on your good side, you’re already sure she’s not the kind of pony to actually enjoy that
>Plus you’re trying to achieve the opposite of that
>You want her to genuinely be your friend and do things she actually wants to do
>Not fake it for her survival
>You hit yourself again for not realizing this earlier
>It took an outbreak from Star for your tard brain to realize this
>You fill her water bowl back up and put it on the back kitchen wall
>You grab a piece of paper and write a note telling Star where you are going and when you should be back
>No fluff, just what’s going on
>You don’t trust yourself to say anything else right now
>The grocery store isn’t that far from home
>It’s already getting dark though, and you’ve only been up for a couple hours
>Damn you shorter winter days
>Depending on how much you buy, you may need to Taxi or Uber home, even if it’s only a 10 minute walk
>10 minutes later you arrive
>The city streetlights made it an easy navigation
>It’s not exactly a large supermarket, no carts, only baskets
>It’s pretty busy inside, most work shifts recently ended so many people are grabbing something for dinner
>You see an elderly lady pushing her pony around in the cart, just like you wanted to do with Star
>As a matter of fact, it looks like the same pony you saw with the elderly couple last week, rose cutie mark and all
>She looks just as happy again this week
>But you can’t help but feel as cozy looking at it this time
>Is she just looking happy for survival too?
>She looks genuine
>But Star looked genuinely happy at times too
>Down the meat aisle, you grab a few packets of rib-eye steak for yourself
>Hopefully Star isn’t too disgusted at you for it
>You waltz over to the snack aisle
>You grab some lays and old bay chips, as well as a 2 liter of coke
>As you walk by the frozen food aisle, you grab a tub of ice cream
>It doesn’t hurt from time to time right?
>You don’t know what flavor Star likes, or if she can even eat ice cream at all, so you just pick your favorite: chocolate marshmallow
>Down the pet aisle, you look for pony painkillers
>There are two different types of pony medication
>Some are just classic horse medication usually only obtainable to vets and farmers, mass produced and rebranded as pony medication
>Due to ponies having similar anatomy to the horses you’re familiar with, it gets the job done for the most part
>It doesn’t taste as good apparently, and ponies can suffer some extra side effects
>The other kind of pony medication is the cadillac of pony medication
>It’s made with herbs native to Equestria, grown on location
>As a result, it’s about 3 times more expensive than their traditional counterpart
>This medication is generally much more effective than regular horse medicine
>You suppose it may remind them of home too
>Now whether that’s a good or bad thing probably varies from pony to pony
>However, both types are only sold in pill or powder form like normal horse medicine
>They even sell oral syringes too
>Giving Star medicine like they give traditional horses medicine probably wouldn’t score you any favors with her
>You grab a box of the high end Equestrian medicine, in pill form
>The partial refund is letting you splurge a bit
>The pill are meant to be crushed and mixed in with food or put into a syringe, but unlike the powder you can still present it to her as normal medicine
>With that, you’re pretty much set
>The checkout line is pretty long
>7 people or so in line with only 1 of the 4 lanes open
>Again, more of a corner store than a supermarket
>5 mins of waiting, you see something on display that catches your eye
>You get out of line over it
>You head over to the Christmas display
>There’s an advent calendar set on display
>Christmas merchandise already?
>You look down at your watch
>Oh… It’s November 28th
>It’s a full set, it includes a small artificial tree with small wooden ornaments to put on each day
>You put your basket down and pick up the box
>”MADE IN USA”
>Works for you
>You grab 2 chocolate advent calendars on the wall too
>The ones that you pull open the cardboard each day to reveal a little chocolate
>Great, the line’s even longer now, and you’re back at the end
>What feels like hours later, you get out of the store
>No taxis in sight, so you pull out your phone and call an Uber
>10 min ETA
>You could walk home in that time
>But your hands are quite full
>6 minutes later, your ride pulls up
>That’s a 5 star rating already
>The driver pulls down his window
>”You Anonymous?”
“Yeah.”
>The doors click open
>You shuffle your way in and shut the door
>Your driver looks at you from the mirror
>”Holiday shopping?”
“Yeah. Few other odds and ends too.”
>”Let me tell you, this pony craze is really helping our country. We’re getting jobs back by the millions. Not only are people getting jobs in training them, but we’re getting manufacturing jobs back too. My pal finally landed a job on an assembly line making clothing for them. Not like they wear clothes really, but some people love dressing them up, especially the older folk.”
>Pony
>SHIT
“STOP!”
>You’re already halfway out the parking lot
>”Woah woah what’s the matter?”
“I forgot something. Mind if I run in?”
>”Go ahead, I’m keeping the payclock running though.”
>It’s a fucking scam that they charge by the time rather than distance
“Yeah whatever. I’ll be quick.”
>You shut the door and make a sprint back
>No basket, you only need 1 item
>You run back over to the snack aisle
>Pepperidge farm cookies, cheez-its, pringles….
>Ah there we go
>Hmmm… Keebler, Austin, Ritz, store brand….
>Ritz are the most expensive, so they gotta be the best right?
>You grab 2 boxes and head to checkout again
>It’s still crowded, but they opened up a second lane so you’re in and out in 5 minutes
>The car is parked off to the side of the lot
>The driver rolls down his window again
>”You added $4 to your bill. You ready?”
“Yeah.”
>In no more than 3 minutes, you’re home
>Pretty lucky considering it’s right around rush hour
>You probably paid more for going back into the store
>”Have a good night dude. You got everything?”
“Yeah. Drive safely.”
>He gives a thumbs up as he drives away
>A few button pushes later and you’re at your door
>You put one of your bags down and scan the key
>You open up the door and grab your bags
>All the way in the back, inside the kitchen, is Star, drinking water out of her bowl as her tail wags back and forth
>Combine that with the slurping sounds, and it makes a pretty cute scene
>You step forward
>Just your luck
>The floor creaks a bit
>Star’s ears flick back, her wagging tail clamps down and she lets out a whinny
>She bucks around to face the door, not without letting out a yipe
>Had she not yiped in pain, it would've been adorable
>”Anonymous…?”
“I’m home.”
>”N-Need any help?”
“Yeah, that would be great actually, can you grab this bag?”
>You place one of the bags down on
>Star slowly trots over, keeping your eyes on you the entire way
>She picks it up with her mouth, wags her tail back and forth and gives a little half smile
“Let’s take it to the kitchen.”
>It’s odd, she’s almost acting like nothing happened
>Should you address it, or leave it go?
>Maybe the bath did her some good
>...No, you have to address it, she may just be acting again
>You decide wait a bit though and get settled in
>“What’s this Anonymous?”
>Star pulls out one of the chocolate advent calendars with her mouth
“It’s an advent calendar. We won’t be using them for a couple days. There should be another one in there as well as a bigger box, yes?”
>”Yeah…”
“I’ll put them on the counter for now then”
>You reach down and grab the bag, and after Star finished staring at the one she pulled out you grab that too
>Little pony gives a look of disappointment
“I got you something better anyway.”
>You’ve considered waiting until Christmas to give her the crackers, but they may help smooth over today’s events
>Besides, no need to have her wait on what she wants
>She ought to feel comfortable as soon as possible
“Here.”
>You place the bag on the ground
>Star cautiously gives it a few sniffs before looking back up at you
“Open it up. It’s all yours.”
>She aims her head at the bag before letting out a deep breath of sorrow
>Dexterously using her hooves, she pulls the back right side up and sticks her muzzle inside
>It’s pretty cute
>Using her mouth, she pulls the contents out
>”Meat…? T-thanks Anonymous.”
“Wa-”
>”Oh... and medicine. A bare necessity. That’s nice I guess, but it’s only so I won’t be useless anymore, right?”
“T-That’s the wrong bag. Don’t knock the medicine though, it’s good shit.”
>You pick up the pack of steak and the medicine and put them on the table
“Sorry Star, wrong bag. I’ll show you the medicine in a bit. Here.”
>You hand her the other bag
>She pulls it out of your hand with her mouth
>She’s surprisingly strong for her size
>Once again, Star dips her muzzle into the bag
>It’s even cuter this time knowing for sure what she’s gonna pull out
>Pony seems puzzled
“C’mon, pull them out.”
>Star has a dumbstruck expression on her face now
>She sticks her muzzle back into the bag, and pulls her gift out with her mouth
>Star places it on the ground and looks up at you
>”W-Wh-Who-Who are these for?”
“Well I’m not a big fan of peanut butter myself.”
>”F-For your mare…?”
“For Star.”
>Star just stares into your eyes
>”This is a trap, a test, isn’t it?”
>You frown
>”Why would my master buy me a treat, especially after I was a bad pony?”
“Star, I got them for you because I care. I want you to be comfortable. I want you to work with me so your arrangements here are the best they can be.”
>You manage to get a half smile out of her
”I wouldn’t see them as a treat either, you aren’t my pet. I want you to be responsible with them, but I’m not going to hide them or only give you them as a reward.”
>Her tail starts wagging a bit
>Good sign
“As a matter of fact, go crazy with them for now. You still need to gain a lot of weight. Just don’t get yourself sick.”
>Star has a full smile now, tail wagging and all
>She looks like an excited puppy
>But a few moments later, she dims back down
>”Star didn’t get presents much.”
“We’re past Tom”
>”No- It’s not just him. It’s been like that my entire life.”
“Hm….?”
>”It-It’s nothing. Why do you do this?”
“Do what? Treat you with dignity and respect, like a person, how it should be?"
>”You do it just because you want a friend, don’t you?”
>You weren’t expecting that question, and it knocked some wind out of you
>...
“I wanted you to be my friend.”
>”I gladly will be then.”
“No.”
>Star’s eyes widen
“It just doesn’t matter then. I got you the crackers because I want you to be happy. I’m not trying to butter you up or bribe you, I just want to see a genuinely happy pony. I don’t want you to pretend to be my friend or pretend to be happy just to please me. I’m not going to punish you if you aren’t happy or don’t want to be my friend. If you aren’t happy, it’s a failure on my part, not yours.”
>Star is just staring at you again
>This goes on for several minutes
>She’s seemingly in deep thought
>”I don’t think I’m your friend.”
>That stings, but you have to accept it
“T-”
>Star tightens herself up and braces for the worst
“That’s ok. I’ll have to live with that.”
>She exhales and straightens herself back up
>”I-I think I’m happy though. At least happier than I’ve been in months.”
“Y-You mean it?”
>Now it’s your turn to stutter and choke up
>”I’m getting fed. I have comfortable sleeping arrangements. I love the bathes you’re letting me take. I just- I still don’t understand why.”
“Why what?”
>”Why my well being matters so much to you. Why not just have me do chores and not be bothered with the rest? I’m your slave, I don’t deserve any of this.”
>You suppose she is your slave
>You aren’t friends
“I- I don’t know.”
>Star tilts her head
“But I’m not going to stop. I want you to be happy again, I want you to be you again.”
>Star looks down
>”I’m not even sure I knew who I was…”
“I’m sure she’s still in there somewhere. You knew peanut butter crackers were your favorite food.”
>She looks back at them
“Speaking of which, why don’t you dig in?”
>She smiles and turns around to start working on the packaging with her teeth
>You could help her, but it’s probably important for her to do it herself
>Letting her do things on her own is probably good for her
>Plus she is going to need to learn how to do things the new way
>Without magic
>”Do you want some?”
“Nope, all yours. I want to do a few things in my room anyway. Meet me in there when you’re done, we’ll give you your first dose.”
>You pick up the paper bag off the floor, which still has the tub of ice cream in it
>You place both the ice cream and the steak into the freezer
>Star is working her way through the plastic
>She almost looks like a normal horse standing there, wagging her tail back and forth, head in the ground as if she’s eating grass or hay
>You grab the medicine box off of the counter and head to your room
>You’re just lying there in bed, staring at the ceiling
>You look over at your phone
>Has it really only been a day?
>It feels like it’s been a month
>Star is going back and forth
>She’s depressed one minute, happy the next, and angry following that
>You can’t predict how she’ll be next
>You said you want her to be a happy pony, but can you really achieve that?
>She looks happy, but that can change in a moment if you say something she doesn’t like
>You want her to be herself, you want her to be happy all the time
>You want to crack jokes with her
>You want to be able to speak your mind with her
>...
>What did you expect? Again, it’s only been a day
>She is malnourished, mentally beaten, and physically beaten
>She just had a week no living creature should experience
>Not to mention she essentially has to relearn everything
>It’s been little over 24 hours and your hair is already grayer
>You can’t give up dummy
>You should've known the first weeks were going to be the hardest
>Instead, you sped right in, expecting a pony that just lost her horn to be a happy, cute, and mentally stable friend
>You can’t blame her for not trusting you either, you’re probably the only smidgen of kindness she’s seen in humanity
>Why should she believe you are any different than the other people she’s met?
>She isn’t your friend
>She is your slave
>But you will sure as hell be the nicest, open, and kindest master a pony could ask for
>Maybe someday, things will change
>”...An....”
>”....Anon….”
>”...Anonymous….”
>”...Anonymous…?”
>You stretch your arms out
>You must of dozed off
>You turn over to check the time on your phone when you see a blue blur sitting on the floor
>”Anonymous…?”
>You rub your eyes
“How long has it been?”
>”20 minutes”
>Oh
>Not bad, it felt like you’ve been out for hours
>You spring up and sit on your bed
>The blue blur in front of you forms into the shape of a pony
“How were the crackers?”
>Her ears raise
>”G-Great!”
“Suitable for a great pony like you?”
>One of her ears go back
>”What do you mean?”
“Well your adoption paperwork said you are full of yourself, often on a high horse.”
>...
>You want to be careful with your words
>You’re treading thin ice right now
>You could easily set her off again
>But at the same time, if you’re careful enough you may be able to get something out of her
>Her ears go back
>Shit
>”W-What do you mean? They were great! I’m pleased with whatever I can get!”
>One step forwards, two steps back
“But that’s… that’s not who you were, who you are. I want you to be yourself.”
>Pony is sweating now
>”I don’t… understand…”
”I want you to forget just about everything he told you. Every belittling thing he said to you. Every automated response he told you to say… I won’t sugar coat it, I’ll be perfectly clear. You are my property, you are my slave, but that doesn’t mean I want you to submit to everything I say. I want you to be you, how you were back at home, within limits of course…. But I won’t punish you if you break those limits…  push them a bit, and I’ll tell you, nicely, if you go too far. But the limits are much further than you think, and probably further than anyone else would give their slave.”
>Her ears turn back a bit and relax
>...
>A minute or so has passed, and Star still seems to be in confusion
>You’ve said all you could
>You feel as if you’ve repeated yourself a hundred times
>You’ve plead your case
>Time to change the subject
>Maybe things will come naturally
>It’s been a day, after all
>You seem to keep forgetting that
“Here… we ought to get you on your first dose.”
>You pick up the medicine box off the floor
“As I was saying earlier, don’t knock the medicine, it’s good stuff. It’s made with native plants, grown in Equestria.”
>Star just looks at you
>”They’re from Equestria?”
“Yup. Grown and produced on site.”
>”Star’s only ever been given human medication with Tom, it made her sick! And I only got it if I was a good pony for the day, but only sometimes.”
>You flip the box over
“Looking here you should start by take it twice a day. If it gets better we’ll just use it as needed, sound good?”
>Star nods
>You read from the back off the box
“Everfree ring a bell?”
>”The medicine is from Everfree Forest? I didn’t know they even made that stuff, It must've cost you a fortune.”
“Despite what you’ve seen, there are people out there who care. Let’s not talk about the cost anymore either, just know it was well worth it.”
>Star isn’t smiling, but she isn’t frowning either
>You can feel something softly emitting from here though
“I got you the pill kind. I guess you can either swallow it, or I can mash it up in some applesauce or something.”
>Fear strikes the pony’s eyes
>”N-No pills! Tr-Star never liked pills.”
>Her child-like fear of pills is cute
>You gloss over the back of the box again
“Wait, I spoke too soon. They’re chewable. They probably taste pretty good too.”
>You open up the box
>Not only did these cost much more, but they include less medicine than the standard horse pills
>You peel one out of the plastic and hold it in front of her
“Edible. Nothing to be afraid of.”
>Star gives it a few sniffs before looking at you for confirmation
>You push it forward a little in response
>She opens her little muzzle and grabs it out of your hand with her mouth
>She slowly moves her jaw up and down to bite into it
“How is it?”
>She chews faster and gives out a hum of approval, and then swallows it
“How’d it taste?”
>She moves her tongue around a bit and opens and closes her mouth a few times
>”It tastes just like the medicine I used to have.”
“And what would that be?”
>”Apples. This medicine specifically almost reminds me of something from Sweet Apple Acres, but I don’t think they ever used their apples for medicine.”
>You grab the box off your bed
“It doesn’t say anything about an Apple Acre, just Everfree Forest.”
>”I don’t recall apples ever coming from Everfree though.”
>You shrug
“That’s just what the box says.”
>That gives you an idea
“There’s something else I wanted to give you. As a matter of fact, I think it's under the bed, mind pulling it out?”
>The mare gives a puzzled look
“You can fit under there, right? I think it’s the only thing under there, it shouldn’t be too deep.”
>Star gets too it, and crawls on all fours to reach under your bed
>A few moments later, she reappears with your old laptop in her mouth
>You weren’t planning on her having to move the thing around by mouth, but a little bit of saliva shouldn’t hurt the thing
>”Wath thith?”
>You laugh
“Come again?”
>Star drops it out of her mouth and repeats
>”What’s this, Anonymous?”
“Computer. More specifically a laptop. We’ll take it to the kitchen, unless you wanna come up here. ”
>You pat your mattress
>Her ears point forward and she starts to shake violently
“We’ll take it to the kitchen.”
>Star follows you back into the kitchen
>You had her bring the laptop in herself
>She’ll have to get used to lugging it around if she’s gonna use it
>She doesn’t seem to mind though, and she carries it around with ease
>A lot of strength packed into that small package
>She is a horse you suppose
“Lemme me put it on the table.”
>She presents it to you, with a smile of the sorts
>Well, at least as much as she can smile with a laptop in her mouth
>You place it up on the table
“You mind if I pick you up?”
>You can practically see the gears turning in her little poner noggin’
>”N-No...”
>You reach your hands out and wrap them around her body
>She’s dead still, not daring to breathe
>But you’re proud of her, she’s a brave one
>You lift her up into the air, careful not to hurt her leg
>Unfortunately, your dedication to avoid her leg leads to another problem
>You subconsciously held her from the belly with one arm
>And her behind with the other
>Specifically, her vulva
>”EEEEEEP!”
>You quickly turn around to put her on the table
“Sorry.”
>Star sniffs
>”I-I won’t decline if you want it…”
>Star bows her head down and starts to tear up
>Good job retard
>She’s shaking again too
>You panic on the inside
>You look around
>On the ground is a mess of peanut butter cracker wrappers
>But there are still 4 packs or so left
>You grab one and quickly unwrap it
“H-Here.”
>You hold out the cracker in your hand
>She shakily raises her head and gives it a quick sniff before taking a bite of it out of your hand
>She shivers as she chews and swallows it
>She grabs another piece from your hand with her mouth
“Star… I was trying to avoid hurting your leg. I didn’t mean anything by it, I promise.”
>With how shaky her head is, you aren’t sure if she’s nodding or not
>She does however, take the last piece of the cracker from your hand and begins to munch on it
>The crackers seem to do the trick, and she beginnings to recollect herself
>It really must be her comfort food
>”I don't mind. It’s better than anything more.”
>It’ll take time until she respects herself again
>Apparently, Star saw the dilemma on your face and chimes in panic
>”B-But I won’t protest if you want anything more! I’ll be happy!”
“No Star, that’s not the problem. I need to be more cautious. I wasn’t thinking. I didn’t mean to do that.”
>Her ears turn back
“I need to be more cautious with what I say and do.”
>”I-”
“You can’t help it. After all that’s happened to you. I’m trying to though.”
>This is one of those moments where you wish you could pet her mane
>She wipes away the last tears with her hoof
>She’s still shaking though, and her tail is clamped tight around her privates
“Lemme show you the laptop…”
>You pat the laptop
“I guess you could say it opens up like a book, but sideways. Give it a shot.”
>Star crawls over, still clenched tight, and uses her mouth to pull the system open
>”Like this?”
“Yup! Now you see that big round button over there? Hold it down for a few seconds.”
>She follows your instructions and uses her nose to push the power button down
“You can probably use a hoof for that, it’s-”
>”EEEEEP!”
>Star crumbles over into a sobbing mess thanks to the horror of the bright screen and the Windows boot sound
>She’s an emotional mess right now
>You look at the bottom of the computer screen
>8:03 PM
>You have to show her this stuff tonight, because she’ll be home alone tomorrow
>You have some time though
“Wanna go take a bath? 40  minutes or so?”
>She nods with her head is buried in her hooves
>You move the chair out of the way and go up to her side
“I’ll be more careful this time.”
>Your words probably ring hollow, but you’ll have to speak with action
>You scoop your arms under her belly, right below her front hooves and wrap them around
>You try to be careful because there isn’t much flesh there, just rib
>You lift her up and place her on the ground in one fluid motion
>Without saying anything, she starts her way to the bathroom for the second time today, tail between legs
>You wipe some sweat off your forehead
>This loop isn’t ever going to end, and it’s not her fault
>It’s yours
>Not only did you say something that set her off today, you did something too
>The two times you set her off today resulted in completely different responses too
>You draw a line graph in your mind of her mood and feelings today
>Both extremes have been shown
>You hear the water running in the bathroom now
>You start to prepare some meals for Star tomorrow
>Some big bowls of salad for the 3 big meals
>She still has some crackers left as a snack, but you figure she could use some more for the time being
>You grab some carrots from the refrigerator
>Your mind is occupied thinking of your fuck up, and you cut yourself while chopping the carrots
>You rush over to the sink and run water over your cut
>A few moments later you shut the water off and make your way to the bathroom for a bandage
>You’re a foot out the kitchen when you remember the bathroom is occupied by a broken blue pony
>You curse yourself and turn back over to the counter
>Minutes later, you have a makeshift bandage on your finger
>Paper towel and scotch tape
>Frugal, but it’ll stop the bleeding
>You finish cutting the carrot all the way down to a stub
>You plop the stub with the root into the trash
>Now you have tons of salad, crackers, and carrots for Star tomorrow
>Once you show her the laptop, she should be set for tomorrow
>You might as well show her the TV too, but operating the remote may be a difficult task for her
>You spend the next 20 minutes on said TV
>The credits roll for a cartoon you’ve barely been paying attention to
>It’s been roughly 40 minutes, give or take
>You force yourself up off the couch and to the bathroom door
>You knock on the door
“Star? You awake?”
>You hear a faint hum
“I wanna show you the rest of the laptop and a few other things. Take your time, I’ll be on the couch.”
>You continue to be a couch potato for the next 10 minutes
>Star slowly approaches you from the side of the couch
>”I’m done, master.”
“Anonymous, remember?”
>You smile in an attempt to comfort her
>She stays silent
“Did you use the hair dryer again?”
>”It upset you last time.”
“Didn’t upset me, I was just surprised you knew how to use it. Feel free.”
>”What are you watching?”
>The question caught you by surprise
“You know about television?”
>Star looks down
>”It’s all he would do whenever he wasn’t… conditioning me….”
“Do you, uh, know how to use it?”
>”You push the buttons to put in codes and shows beam into that little box.”
>She acts out the whole thing with her hooves
>You giggle and look forward at the TV
“That’s the idea of it. You can play around with it whenever, I’m sure you’ll find something you like.”
>Star nods her head in approval
“I wanna finish showing you the laptop. It’s a lot cooler than the TV.”
>You get up off the couch and head to the kitchen, Star trotting behind you
>The sound of her hooves on the hardfloor of the kitchen warms your heart
>You aren’t quite sure why
“Alright… let’s try this again.”
>You take a deep breath
>Star tightens her tail in between her legs
>You scoop both arms under around her belly
>Your left arm wraps around behind her front legs
>Your right arm wraps around lower down
>But not too low
>You make sure not to go anyway near her teats
>She lets out a squeak as you lift her into the air, and back onto the table
>Mission complete, boss
>You hold down the power button and shut the lid
“Let’s… start from the top. Open it up.”
>Star’s ears pin and she looks at you
>”You don’t have to baby Star.”
“I just-”
>She swishes her tail and uses her mouth to open it up and pushes the power button with her nose
>The laptop boots up to the desktop
>She looks at you with a sense of pride and accomplishment
>You’re really excited to show this to her
“Right, so those keys down there are too closely spaced for hooves. Sure, you could use your muzzle, but that’s tetious. What if I told you you can use your voice?!”
>Star stares at you blankly
“Right, you have no idea what I mean.”
>You pull a stool over
“See, so…”
>You really aren’t sure how to explain a computer or the internet to somebody
“Like… any book, any information you want to read is readily available on here.”
>She looks down at the keyboard
“Typically you’d use that to write and navigate the system, but like I said that’s probably a difficult task for an equine, so I got this super fancy program on it. Programs add features to it.”
>The text to speech program isn’t the only thing you put on in preparation of your pony
>You also have a tight antivirus program on it, so the naive mare doesn’t fuck it up beyond repair
“So rather than use the keys or the trackpad here…”
>You move the mouse around to show her the mouse, which she follows closely with her eyes with
>Top cute
>You may need to get a laser pointer once she’s finally playful
“The screen works the same way the TV does, little people aren’t trapped in here or anything.”
“Ask it to open Chrome, it’s how you access all the information on here.”
>You blacklisted your voice in the settings so it doesn’t set off whenever you have to explain something to her
>You haven’t tried much else with it though, and you’re quite excited to see it in action
>A few moments pass and she doesn’t comply
>She looks nervous and/or embarrassed by her body language
>”O-Open Chrome…?”
>Bam, Chrome opens up
“Just like that. Ask it for something. Information, books, addresses, the possibilities are endless!”
>You’re more excited than her to see this thing
>She just looks at the computer screen
“Well, my idea was to ask it about where that medicine came from, see what’s up with that.”
>She still looks uncertain
“Ask it for a map or something. Just talk to it like it’s a person, it’ll pick up.”
>”Can I s-see a map of the Everfree Forest?”
>Less than a second later, the computer pulls up an image from google
“Pretty cool huh?”
>Star seems to ignore you though, giving her full focus to the screen
>”It’s… expanded.”
>You raise an eyebrow
>”See over there? That’s where Ponyville is.”
>She points at the top of the map
>”... Or was…. The entire place is overrun by the forest.”
“I’m- I’m sorry.”
>You don’t really know how to sound more genuine
>You are, but you aren’t sure how to show it, especially without touching her
>”It’s- it’s fine. I didn’t really live there anyway. Besides, I’m never going back so why’s it matter?”
>That hurts a little
“Well I’m going to make myself some dinner, you still hungry?”
>Star shakes her little head no
“Alright.”
>You want her to fatten up a bit because she’s still bone thin, but you don’t want to force her to eat either
>She’s proven she’s willing to eat and won’t starve herself, so it’s a no worry
>You’re making yourself a steak over the stove
>Behind you, Star is gaining confidence with the computer
>She’s searched for things from random pictures, to peanut butter cracker recipes, to Equestrian children’s books
>Or foal’s books, rather
>Some Equestrian literature has been salvaged
>Luckily they read in English, but it’s called Equestrian instead
>As your steak is finishing up, you go over to the back wall and grab Star’s water bowl
>Not quite empty, but pretty low
>Full of blue hairs too
>You bring it over to the sink, which catches Star’s attention
>You rinse the bowl out over the sink and fill it back up with cold water
>Afterwards, you put it up on the kitchen table next to Star
>You get raised ears and a wagging tail in return
>You finish up sizzling your steak and grab a soda from the fridge
>You bring it all over and sit across Star
>Your entertainment during your meal is your pony, slowly getting the hang of the laptop
>That voice control system is really cool
>Sure, phones have assistants and such, but she can control everything on the computer with just her voice with no problems
>As you’re finishing up your meal, you hear a voice across the table
>”Can I try a piece?”
>You look up across the source of the voice, sitting cutely on her haunches on the other side of the table
>You’re surprised and bewildered by the question
>Evidently, Star sees that on your face and cowers
>”I-I’m sorry Mas-Anonymous I didn’t-”
“Aren’t you an equine?”
>Star blushes at the question
>”Y-yes but I’m curious.”
>You look down at your plate
“Are you sure your little pony gut can handle it?”
>Star’s demeanor completely shifts
>Her posture is the best you’ve ever seen it
>Front legs straight, muzzle up, back straight
>She smirks
>There’s a fire in her eyes
“The great and powerful Star can handle any piece of food.”
>You laugh
“If you say so.”
>You cut a small chunk of steak off your plate and hold it out in front of her
>The pony gives it a sniff before gagging
“You sure…?”
>She gives you a loud, fierce nod and opens her muzzle and pulls forward
>She pulls it out of your hand and closes her mouth
>She chews down on it
>Her look goes from smug to pure panic and disgust in a matter of seconds
>She tries to swallow it, but ends up leaning over the table spitting it out
>You laugh
“You got guts.”
>Star’s ears pin back as she slurps water out of her bowl at an extremely fast pace
>You and Star cleanup the mess she left on the kitchen floor
>You grabbed the towels off the counter and threw them away, but you had her do the actual cleaning work on the floor
>Afterwards, you give Star a list of expectations for tomorrow while you’re gone
>These expectations include and are limited to keeping the apartment relatively clean
>That’s all, for now
>She’s living the good life
>She knows from training how to operate lights and other switches
>The laptop and TV are readily available too for entertainment
>If she had magic, you’d of showed her what videogames are
>You leave a mental note to put her food out and fill her water bowl up again before you leave
>With that, the two of you head to bed
>It’s kinda early, but the last 24 hours have left you exhausted
>You switch off the light, pleased with how today ended versus yesterday
>You’re under the blankets and your eyes are shut, but the bedroom feels warmer and brighter than it was before
>Your peaceful sleeps ends with the sound of your alarm
>You spring out of bed to shut it off before it wakes Star
>You switch the alarm off on your phone, then you shine the screen over towards the kennel
>Inside is Star, curled up in a ball on top of her blanket, steadily breathing in and out
>Every few moments her ears twitch
>It’s a great sight to wake up to
>You slide yourself out of bed and tiptoe over to your dresser
>You pull out your work clothes, which consist of tan dress pants and a grey polo bearing the company’s name
>With your clothes in hand, you sneak out of the dark room and into the bathroom
>This has been your usual routine for the last so many years, showering in the morning
>But that may have to change so you don’t disturb your pony’s sleep
>As you step into the shower, you notice blue clumps of fur in the tub, along with some loose strands
>You’re annoyed, but not angry
>She can’t really help it
>With no other option, you scoop the hairs up and dump them into the trash
>You run the water down the tub to drain any loose strands remaining
>Hopefully it’ll happen less as her coat and general health improves
>Eventually, she’ll be able to clean the entire bathroom herself for you
>With the tub now free of pony, you take your shower
>You finish up your shower freezing
>You couldn’t seem to get any warm water at all
>After drying yourself off, you waddle over to the toilet
>You lift the lid, and to your surprise and disgust are drips of mare urine on the seat
>You let out a mixture of disapproving noises
>You’re unsure if Equestria had toilets
>But you are sure that Star would of been trained to use it either way, which makes it unacceptable
>She’s either going to have to be more careful, or clean up after herself
>Which doesn’t sound pleasant considering she’d probably have to hold the towel with her mouth
>You leave a mental note to remind her later
>Hopefully it doesn’t set her off
>Even if it does, it’s something she needs to know
>And she’ll eventually settle back down, right?
>This time though, you’ll wipe it off
>It’s not the first time you’ve had to do this…
>After you finish your business, you dry yourself off one more time and put on your work uniform
>You don’t have the greatest job in the world
>It pays the bills though, and not having a wife or kids gives you a good bit of leisure money
>You’ll have less now though with another mouth to feed
>It’s worth it though, to have your very own pony
>To see her grow happy and healthy in your care
>....Aaaand it saves you from doing mundane chores
>It’s an investment alright
>Hopefully one that will eventually pay off in the form of a friend…
>Dressed, you head to the kitchen
>Rather than brew your own coffee or make your own breakfast, you decide you’ll stop at a coffee shop
>You got a head start this morning, so you have time
>You still feel pretty full from the steak too, so a coffee and a muffin should be enough to keep you going until lunch
>Maybe once Star heals and settles in she can serve you breakfast in bed on the weekends
>While you’re in here in the kitchen, you get everything set up for Star
>Her water bowl is still on the table, for which you curse yourself for not bringing it into your room last night
>You ought to get another
>One for the kitchen, and one to put outside her kennel
>You wash out and fill her bowl, which had some pieces of steak floating in it
>You chuckle recalling her determination to eat a piece of meat last night
>Her wonderful posture, the fire in her eyes, it warms your heart
>It almost sounds like the pony that was advertised
>You put some ice cubes into the bowl, to prolong its temperature a bit
>You place the bowl along the wall and head over to the refrigerator
>You take out the salad you made for Star and place it next to her water bowl
>Hopefully it stays fresh enough unrefrigerated
>She could easily reach the door handle if she stood on her hinds, but you don’t want any hurt put on her left leg
>Eventually, she’ll be able to reach in to make her own food, but now is not the time
>You reach into the cabinet and grab a dose of her medicine
>You put it on the other side of her water bowl
>You top off her meal with a packet of peanut butter crackers
>Last but not least, you place the laptop next to it all incase she wants to use it
>Finished with her preparations, you check your phone
>You have a message from your apartment
>”6:10 AM: ATTENTION ALL RESIDENTS ON THE THIRD FLOOR, THE WATER HEATER IS UNDER MAINTENANCE FOR APPROXIMATELY THE NEXT 2 HOURS. SORRY FOR THE INCONVENIENCE.”
>That would of been nice to have known ahead of time
>It’s 6:20 now
>Your shift begins at 7:30
]>Before you leave for the day, you grab a sticky note and write a note to Star stressing to take her medicine as soon as she wakes up
>You sneak your way back into your bedroom and manage to stick it on the inside wall without disrupting the pony’s slumber
>You run your fingers through her mane
>In response you get a faint hum
>You stand back up and exit the room, being sure to leave the door open
>She could definitely open it if you forgot, but again, you want to avoid her standing on her hinds
>Before heading out, you do a double check around the apartment to make sure everything’s set for Star
>Once you confirm that it is, you grab your keyring off the wall, make sure your phone is in your pocket, and head out for the day
>It was a really long day
>Nothing particularly bad happened
>You had a few unpleasant customers, but it’s nothing out of the ordinary
>You’ve been thinking of your pony all day
>You’re worried she isn’t OK
>You have no real basis on this
>It’s just nerves of leaving her alone for the first time
>After finishing a few documents, you clock out and leave
>The bus was late, again
>You’ve come to accept that
>Whatever time is posted, add 7 minutes and you have the real time
>They’re consistent with it, so you give them that
>American public transportation is great
>As the city goes by through the window, you remain deep in thought about Star
>She seems happy enough, especially when left alone
>She’s frazzled and delicate, but that’s only due to some of your actions
>If left alone, she shouldn’t have any reason to freak out, right?
>Ironically enough, it should be even better for her once you assign chores
>It’ll keep her physically and mentally busy
>Your stomach is growling as you walk down the hall to your door
>You ended up passing on lunch today
>Unfortunately, you’re going to have to make your own dinner again
>You keep those thoughts to yourself
>You don’t want Star to feel like shit again
>Are you upset? Sure
>You paid for a pony to do chores for you, and she’s unable to do them
>Your anger isn’t at Star though
>Still, if she knew your frustration she’d probably take the blame on herself
>You shuffle your cardkey out of your pocket and head in for the day
>You fully expected to be greeted by Star at the door, but that seems it isn’t so
>You don’t know, maybe they’re like dogs and can sense you a mile away
>Maybe not
>Regardless, it’s quiet in the house
“Star?”
>No response
>This concerns you
>You go to your bedroom
>The kennel is empty
>You’re on the verge of panicking
>You make haste to the kitchen
>To some relief, much of her salad is gone and the medicine missing
>And the cracker packet was chewed open and empty
>You hear a door open down the bedroom hallway
>Around the corner is a wet, yawning pony
>When she sees your presence she lets out a loud whinny and falls over
>You try your best to hide your amusement out of fear of angering her
>You decide to just pretend it didn’t happen
“How’s it going?”
>Star lets out a few deep breaths before recollecting herself
>”Fine.”
“You really enjoy those baths, huh?”
>You make your way into the living room and sit on the couch
>”Yeah, they uh… are nice.”
>She’s still a little dazed
“You do anything else today?”
>”Ate my food out of a dogbowl like the pet I am.”
>That pierces you right in the heart
>You notice the laptop on the coffee table
“You use the computer too?”
>She rolls her eyes
>”Yeah. That too.”
“Anything interesting?”
>”Y-N-No…”
“What did you see?”
>You worry you spoke in too much of a condescending tone there
>”M-Magic. It, it exists here?”
“Well…”
>”I saw ads for magic shows on the computer. Are they around here?”
“I’m sure there are some nearby...”
>You’re filled with joy to see her lit up, animated, and excited. You really are
>But this is a minefield, with what happened to her
“Yeah… there probably are some. May not be what you’re thinking though. It’s stuff like pulling a rabbit out of a hat, card tricks, sawing a woman in half, escape tri-”
“YES! THAT!”
>You feel like the force of her excitement was going to blow you against the wall
“You like that stuff?”
>It said nothing about that on her paperwork
>”It…It...”
>She breaths in through her nose
>You pull yourself forward on the couch
>You can see her excitement being drained
“Star…?
>You can tell it’s imminent
>Your prediction comes true, and a few moments later she’s lightly sobbing
>”N-nothing. Can I be excused to my bed, master?”
>You just nod
>Once Star hobbles out of the room you cover your face with your hands
>This is what you worried would happen
>You don’t want to deny her what she loves
>Like, these are the things you wanted to do with your pony
>But now what she loves may do more harm than good
>Until she gets over her loss
>That’s easier said than done
>You can say that again
>She isn’t just going to get over it easily
>It’s more involved than simply losing a limb
>Like, if you lost your arm, it would suck, but life would go on relatively normally
>It’s more akin to someone with a diehard passion for sports loosing their legs
>Can someone really ever get over that permanent loss that and enjoy their passions again?
>You decide to just order in tonight
>You’re physically and emotionally drained
>It was your first day back to work in over a week
>If that wasn’t enough, your heart is aching for your pony
>You wonder if you should bother Star by asking if she wants anything
>You peak down the hallway, but the darkness shows only her general outline, curled up in ball shape inside
>You decide to just let her be and order a couple slices of pizza
>You’ll leave her something out too incase she comes in
>After ordering your food, you do just that
>You clean out the little bit of salad left in her bowl
>You decide to mix things up a bit
>After all, you don’t what her to get sick of salad
>You put together an oat and carrot medley for her this time
>After that, you refill her water bowl
>That brings something else to your attention
>Her medicine
>She needs her second dose
>You just leave it by her food bowl
>She’ll come in eventually for a snack, right?
>In the case she doesn’t, you set a reminder on your phone to feed it to her before you go to sleep
>A few minutes later, you hear a knock on your door
>You look out the peephole, and to your bewilderment you don’t see anyone
>You turn around to head back into the kitchen, thinking you’re going crazy, when you hear it again
>You turn back and open the door quickly so the knocking doesn’t disturb Star
>Standing in front of you is an pegasus pony with a pizza box in her mouth
>She has a red polo of the sorts on, along with a matching red baseball cap
>The hat matches her red mane, but the shirt clashes heavily with her yellow coat
>Pinned on the shirt by her chest is a nametag
>”ID: 0382L2 - STRAWBERRY SUNRISE”
>The pony is holding her head up to deliver you the pizza
>You pull it out of her mouth
“They’re using ponies to deliver now eh?”
>”Yes sir.”
“Interesting. I haven’t heard anything about it. How is it?”
>”My masters are very kind. They keep my wings unclipped so I can fly to make delivery easier. That’s more than most pegasi can say. I’m a very lucky pony.”
>Ponies being used for delivery is a great idea
>The more honest tasks available for ponies means less in morally reprehensible enslavement
>You catch yourself staring off into space
“Oh, here one second.”
>You put the pizza box down on the ground and pull out your wallet
>The pony looks puzzled
>”Sir I was told you paid in advance.”
>You pull out $3
“It’s for you.”
>The pony’s eyes widen
>”Oh no no no I can’t accept that sir!”
“Take it. It’s yours.”
>”I’m not allowed to. My masters said no.”
“Hmm.”
>You stick the money back into your wallet
“Well, thanks. I’ll put good word in for you next time I call.”
>She gives a half smile and begins to trot away
>You shut the door
>Shame they can’t take tips
>Then again, what’s a pony slave going to do with money?
>You’re halfway through your second slice of pizza
>You’ve never ordered from this place before
>It’s pretty darn good though
>You’re definitely going to order from there again
>And when you do, you’ll put good word in for that delivery pony
>It may help her out, it may not
>But it wouldn’t hurt to say something
>Star never came out
>Even if she doesn’t want to talk, you just want to see her
>Also, you’d rather not have to wake her to get her dose in
>At least you didn’t piss her off this time
>After you finish the rest of your dinner, you head back to the couch for some TV
>This pony owning stuff really wears you out
>A quick nap was just what you needed
>30 or so minutes just to recollect…
>Or so you thought
>Looking at your phone it turns out it’s 9:00
>PM, you didn’t sleep through the night
“Star?”
>You go back to the kitchen
>The medicine and food are still there, and the water looks untouched
>Disoriented by your slumber, you grumble
>You really don’t want her to miss a meal
>You figure some breakfast in bed may be nice for her
>... Or dinner, rather
>After all, she’ll be giving it to you eventually
>You put the medicine on the top of the food and grab a bowl with each hand
>You decide against a cracker packet this time
>It’s only been a day and there is only one pack left
>That’s fine, she needs to gain weight, but you figure she may appreciate it more tomorrow when she’s wide awake
>Also, you don’t want her to get TOO used to having them all the time
>Despite what you told her, they’ll eventually have to be limited as a treat
>You put the bowls down on your bedroom floor
>You aren’t sure how to approach waking her
>You could either speak to her, ruffle her mane, or just turn on the light
>You decide to just turn on the light
“Star…?”
>There are some grunts as she rolls around in her kennel”
“I wanted you to have something to eat.”
>She blinks a few times
>Her ears pin straight back, clearly annoyed
“I uh… just think its a bad idea to skip a meal.”
>You smile to sell the message
>She sticks her head up and forward
>You quickly push the bowls over to her instead before she goes any further
>She was clearly trying to cast something to pull it towards her
“Here. Be sure to take the medicine too.”
>She glares up at you before dipping her muzzle into the food bowl
“It’s oats and carrots this time… I uh, hope you enjoy. I’m just going to lay down.”
>You hop up on the bed and shove a pillow in your face
>Time passes in the darkness, but the entire time you hear the cute noises of Star munching on her meal
>You’re making a mental checklist
>For starters, you’re going to schedule a vet appointment for Saturday whether her leg feels better or not
>You just want her evaluated, see if there is anything else wrong
>Maybe find out what her weight is and what it should be
>As you continue to go through your checklist, you hear Star speak up
>”Anonymous?”
>You take the pillow off your face and see a small blue pony looking up at you
>”St-… I-I’m not much of a morning pony. Never was. If I was rude I’m…”
“It’s fine. The papers said as much. They also said you refer to yourself in third person a lot, so feel free to do that too.”
>”Star appreciates that.”
>You sit up on the edge of your bed
>”But why?”
“Why what?”
>”Why do you want Star to be herself?”
“Well why would I want you to be any different?”
>”Because Star’s rude. Star isn’t desirable.”
>You speak as the words come to your head
“I got you for who you are. I…”
>You stumble on your words
“I...  wanted a little resistance. Some push and pull I wanted you to be your own person. Not just some mindless slave that gives robotic responses, that’s boring.”
>You finish up
“I needed a spark in my life I guess, and from what I read, you fit the bill.”
>Star doesn’t seem convinced
>”If you say so…”
>You rub your hands through your hair
>You decide not to press any further
“How’s the leg?”
>She moves it around a bit in the back of her kennel
>”Painful.”
“Any better than before?”
>Star moves it around some more
>”Star’s weak and pathetic leg is still…. Weak and pathetic.”
“Well I’m going to schedule you a vet appointment for Saturday. Not just for the leg, but a general visit. Get you on their records.”
>She nods, but not without wincing
“Want anything else? I’m going to try to sleep again. I can grab the laptop if you want it.”
>”Star could use some more sleep.”
“Works for me. I work again tomorrow, same hours. So I’ll prepare the house for you again.”
>You shut off the light
>”Goodnight Anonymous.”
“Goodnight Star.”
>You haven’t slept yet
>That nap really screwed you over
>Looking at your phone
>NOVEMBER 30TH, 1:24 AM
>You go into work again at 7:30
>So even if you were to fall asleep right now, you’d still only get 5 hours or so
>Great
>It’s silent in your room, with the exception of the occasional slurp, collar jingle, sneeze, or a flush of the toilet
>You really don’t know how she uses it
>Not your business, you suppose
>As long as she keeps it clean
>Your mind bounces back and forth between Star, shopping lists, and even TV shows
>As far as you know, Star thinks you’re asleep
>You haven’t really moved, and your head is facing the opposite side of the room
>After another hour passes, you consider calling out of work
>The logical part of your brain kicks in and convinces you not to
>You just took a week’s vacation, and then an extra sick day
>You consider taking a shower, maybe it’ll help
>You’re awake enough to the point it won’t hurt
>But you also don’t want to wake Star up
>At least someone is getting a good night’s rest
>And it’s the one that has every reason in the world not to
>...
>If things were perfect, you’d be cuddling with your pony right now
>It’s not something you ever expected from your pony
>Nor are you ever going to ask it of her, even when…
>...Or rather if she ever comes to accept you
>But they are just so small and fuzzy
>Like a pillow that breathes and gives warmth
>You get lost deep in thought again
>After an unknown amount of time passes, you decide to just fuck around on your phone
>You make sure to turn the brightness all the way down
>You have a good amount of games on your phone, most of them gacha
>You decide to just browse the internet
>Looking at your bookmarks, you see you still have the pony adoption site bookmarked, along with a few listings
>Of course, including Star
>The center you were looking at and ultimately got Star from could be considered black market
>It’s disguised as another website on the surface
>The purpose to sell ponies while avoiding the federal tax on all sales
>But you aren’t super wealthy, so you ultimately choose the cheaper, less legal option of not paying the tax
>In hindsight, you should've known it was a bad idea
>If the place doesn’t adhere to pony tax, why would they follow any of the other laws in place
>Sure, they’re limited, but they prevent hardcore abuse
>And mutilation, which came into play in Star’s case
>Would of saved you a lot of heartache if you chose the traditional route
>Maybe the pony would of came happy and themselves from the get go too
>But then again, maybe this all happened for a reason
>Out of curiosity you go on Star’s page
>As expected, her listing has a big “SOLD” maker across the page
>You take a close look at her picture
>You don’t know exactly how long ago it was taken, but the difference is night and day
>You notice a different pony
>A tougher pony
>A healthier pony
>A pony that respected herself
>A pony that’s resisting her hoof shackles and bridle
>A pony with a fire in her eyes that you’ve only seen occasional sparks of
>And, of course, a unicorn
>You also notice something you hadn’t before
>Just barely in frame is what looks like a blanket of sorts
>Perhaps a cape
>It looks to be purple with some sort of design across it
>It’s tattered and dirty though
>You close the page, and delete the other remaining bookmarks
>A few moments later, you regret that decision
>You wanted to see if the other ponies you were looking at were sold
>Hopefully they got good homes, and are loved
>The chance seems slim though, unlike normal stores sometimes do, these underground places don’t tend to inquire into your intentions
>Basically, you’re probably one of the few customers they’ve ever gotten with pure intentions
>You spend the next little while just switching between some websites
>News, both local and national, forums, and some social media
>Nothing interesting going on, which could be a good thing you suppose
>...
>As expected, today sucked
>You didn’t feel like showering
>And you were too lazy to eat breakfast
>Despite not caring for your own well being though, you made sure everything was in order for Star before you left
>You even plugged the laptop in for her
>You left another note, essentially the same one as yesterday
>Just reminders, you want her to know she can really do whatever she wants
>For now, at least
>Even though today is your second day back, it feels worse than the first
>On top of your morning coffee, you drank a couple energy drinks to get through the day
>Which in all honestly probably made things worse
>As you finally get to your door, all you want to do is plop down in bed again
>But right before you go for your keys, you remember Star
>Specifically, the vet appointment you told her you’d schedule today
>You groan at your every growing list of chores
>If only you had a little pony to give you a hand, right?
>You decide to head back to the lobby to call the vet
>Your decision is based on a couple things
>For starters, you don’t want Star to hear anything she shouldn’t
>For example, if you have to bring up her horn for any reason
>Secondly, you can tell her you did it much earlier in the day
>You’ll look responsible and caring, which should make her feel good, right?
>And you should lead by example too, if you present yourself as irresponsible in front of her, that could transfer to her quality of work once you put her to work
>You don’t even know where you’re taking her yet
>But you aren’t just going to find the cheapest place, you want quality care for your pony, even if it puts a little dent in your wallet
>You sit down on a bench in the lobby and weigh your options
>For the most part, ordinary veterinarians take appointments for these ponies, but new places dedicated to them have sprung up too
>It doesn’t seem to have a correlation with what places are better though, you find highly and poorly rated places that fall under both umbrellas
>You ultimately decide on “Happy Tails Pet Vet”, which boasts recently acquiring top of the line pony care facilities
>Most reviews are from customers with traditional animals, like dogs and cats, but there are a few pony reviews too, all positive
>It’s pricey compared to other places nearby, but nothing you aren’t willing to pay
>You dial the number and you hear a cheerful women on the other side
>”Happy Tails Pet Vet, Miranda speaking! How may I direct your call?”
>Don’t drop spaghetti Anon
>”Hello?”
“Yeah hi.”
>”What can I do for you?”
“Yeah, I’d like to schedule an appointment for my mare.”
>”Have you scheduled with us before?”
>You feel sweat on your forehead
>Pull it together
“Yeah uh, no. I just got her last week and wanted to get her a first time checkup and registered for regular appointments…”
>Keep going Anon, you got this
>”I’d be happy to get you set up with us! What’s the pony’s name and sex?”
“Star… mare… or female... yes.”
>You hear a giggle on the other side
>”Oh right silly me, you said that already.”
>Next you hear a notebook flipping
>”Star…”
>You hear her jot it down
>”Ok! Do you have your ownership information?”
>Shit
“Uhhh…”
>A few moments pass
>”Hello?”
>Fuck
“I-I’ll be right back…”
>”It’s-”
>You hang up the call and wipe the pool off your forehead
>Followed by some deep breaths
>You panicked a little thanks to your autism
>Fucking tard
>Ownership information…
>The documents haven’t come in yet
>You get up off the bench, legs weak
>You head over to the front desk
>The clerk working right now is an older man
>Andrew, you’ve known him for a while
>He’s been working here longer than you’ve been living here
>”You good Anonymous? You looked a little flustered over there”
>Your face is read hot
“It’s- none of your business… do you have my mail? 535”
>”I won’t pry. Let me have a look for you.”
>Andrew disappears into the back room
>A few moments later, he comes out with a plastic box
>”Lots of stuff in here, looks to be 2 or 3 days worth. Have you been around?”
“I-I’ve been really busy the last few days…”
>Have you really been forgetting to pick up the mail?
>It’s such a routine task that you don’t think about
>You grab the thick stack of mail out of the box and head back over to the bench
>”See you around Anonymous.”
“Yeah yeah.”
>You wave your hand up without looking back
>You shuffle through the last couple day’s worth of mail, looking for your adoption papers
>Near the bottom of the stack, you find a manila envelope
>No return address either
>You open it up, and low and behold, is all the paperwork certifying you are the proud owner of Star
>You’re annoyance of failing to pick up the mail earlier is surpassed by your relief
>You are finally Star’s legal owner now
>Nobody can touch her now
>Nobody can keep her away from you
>Nobody can mutilate her
>You flip through the papers
>All of Star’s info is there,
>Coat color, mane color, type, eye color…
>Birthdays aren’t included, unless a foal was born here on earth
>Different calendars and tracking of time make it hard to know
>Instead, many ponies are just divided based on how old they look
>Foal, filly, colt, juvenile, young adult, adult, etc
>A photo of her is there too
>The same one from her listing
>You feel like it may be best to update it
>At the bottom are credentials to the national registry, where you can update her picture, as well as other info
>It has all of your information on it as well
>Name, address, phone number, social security number
>Holding these papers at last gives you a massive shot of adrenaline, and as a result you don’t feel sulky and tired anymore
>You pull out your phone and redial the number to the vet
>”Happy Tails Pet Vet, Miranda speaking! How may I direct your call?”
>You’re knocked off your high horse a bit after hearing her voice again
>You still feel good through
>”Yeah… I’m Star’s owner, I was calling back because, you see…”
>Think
”... I lost service. It’s been up and down in the area recently.”
>You smile to sell the lie, even though she can’t see you
>”No worries. Where were we…”
“I have my ownership documents right here.”
>”Oh right! Can I have your social security number and registry info?”
>You give her your information as you hear clicking of a keyboard, presumably entering it into the vet database
>She didn’t need any information on Star as you gave her the registry information, which mirrors everything on your adoption papers
>”Alright Anonymous whe- Do you go by Anon?”
>That throws you off guard
“Y-Yeah!... It’s what I prefer.”
>”Doesn’t that work out? When were you looking to come in?”
“S-Saturday or Sunday.”
>A few moments later you add
“Preferably Saturday.”
>”Saturday…”
>You hear her flip through a book
>”On Saturday we only have an early appointment at 9am, would that work?”
“Yeah.”
>”Saturday the 2nd… at 9 o'clock AM… Alright! It’s a date. Did you need anything else?”
“Nope.”
>”Alright! Thanks for choosing Happy Tails Pet V-”
>You rudely hang up the call
>You clearly need to work on your social skills
>As you go back up to your apartment, you feel refreshed
>With the appointment scheduled, all your duties for the day are done
>And of course, you feel comfort in knowing Star is yours now
>You click open the door
“Star? I’m home.”
>You hear munching coming from the kitchen, followed by the clopping of hooves on the kitchen floor until Star comes into view
>”Hey Anonymous…”
“How’d your day go?”
>You consider straight up asking her if she’s feeling better, but decide to find out through actions instead of words
>”Just trying to be a good pony for my master”
>Even the most socially inept person could detect that sarcasm
“Well, you just keep being you and I’ll be more than happy.”
>You place the ownership documents on the coffee table
“I scheduled a vet appointment for you. 9 in the morning on Saturday. Gonna get you a routine checkup and have them do an exam on that leg of yours, the full nine yards.”
>You sit down on the couch, and she follows you around
“Speaking of which, how’s it feeling?”
>She looks back at it and moves her back leg a bit, hip moving up and down
>She narrows her eyes
>”It hurts.”
>More sarcasm
“Well you’re going to have to give the veterinarian more detail than that.”
>She lets out a small giggle
>You eye down Star, thinking of anything else that needs to be done
“Your coat looks better. More shiny and full.”
>Star rolls her eyes
>”Star is not one to take compliments of the feminine nature.”
“Well then… your mane does look pretty messy, and long, and I think I see some split ends."
>Star blows her bang up
>”Thanks…”
“You able to cut your own mane?”
>”Yeah I ca-”
>Reality sets it on Star
>You’re quick to talk
“Alright. It’s alright. I’m sure plenty of places can do it. I don’t trust myself to do it, unless you wanna be bald.”
>Fear strikes the eyes of Star
>Pretty good call on your part, distracting her with another fear
“I’m kidding!”
>You laugh
"You really do care how you look then!"
>Star calms back down
>”I like- having good hair.”
>You look at the time
“Maybe tomorrow then we’ll take you out. You ought to see the world a bit anyway. Plus you wanna look good for the vet right?”
>Star tries her hardest to not blush, but ultimately gives in to the laughter of you both
>For dinner, you just threw a frozen sandwich into the microwave
>You poured Star some more oats and mixed them with some peanut butter, to her delight
>You try to enjoy your bland meal of a chicken sandwich and water, but it’s hard when the middle is still cold
>You always add 30 seconds or so to the instructed time, yet it never comes out fully thawed
>Your microwave may just be underpowered, but you don’t really know as it’s hardwired into a cabinet
>You’re busy eating around the center of the sandwich when you hear something completely out of left field from below you
>”Do you get a Christmas tree?”