[Copied from https://pastebin.com/DEWhEXMp]

>Be slavepony
>It's been so long since you've had a real name
>One that you could keep for more than a month before just being sold again
>And here you were, at the auction for the..
>How many times has it been now?
>You've lost track
>You can hardly even remember what Equestria was like
>You've been through countless abusive owners, and a few nicer ones, but you always ended up back at the auction to repeat the vicious cycle.
>You're tired of this. You just want it all to finally end.
>But the humans won't let you
>You're of no value to them dead.
>Nobody's interested in a worn-out pony like you
>Maybe the humans will finally put you down..
>But just as you think that, a man comes up to you
>He looks you up and down, and he smiles at you
>A.. a genuine smile
>After he does some talking with the Auctioneer, he comes over to you and grabs your chain
>"Come on, now."
>You follow him wordlessly
>He let's you into the backseat of the car, and he clambers into the front seat
>Once he closes the door, he turns back to look at you
>"So what's your name?"
"W-what?"
>He was asking for your name?
>"Yeah, what's your name? You speak English, right?"
"You're supposed to give me a name, master."
>"Oh.."
>There's a short awkward silence
>"C'mon, you've gotta have a name, the one that your mother gave you."
>Was this human serious?
"I.. I don't remember it, master."
>"Jeez.. it's gotten that bad, huh?"
>There's a twinge of sympathy on his face for a moment before he goes back to his cheerful smirk
>"Well, I guess I'll have to give you one after all. Don't worry, I'll make sure it's one you like!"
>With that, he pulled out of the auction parking lot, and starting driving presumably to his house
>Was.. was this human crazy?
>This human was nicer than any you've ever met
>Maybe this time things wouldn't be so bad..
>As if on cue, your new owner tunes his car radio to an older song
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fq2cH5-j6L4 [Remove]
>Maybe..

>It's not long before you reach your new owner's house
>It's a humble little place, two stories as far as you can tell
>"Welcome to your new home, buddy!"
>Did.. did he just call you "buddy'?
>There wasn't even a hint of sarcasm in his voice
>You were convinced this human was insane.
>He leads you inside, and begins giving you a tour of the place
>"Here we've got the living room, and uh, the kitchen's over there, bathroom's down the hall, and my bedroom is upstairs. Oh, and yours is up there too."
"I get my own bedroom, master?"
>You were bewildered
>Never before had a master given you your own bedroom
>Usually just a bed of cold hay somewhere out of the way
>"Yeah, why wouldn't you?"
>You were realizing very quickly that this human had absolutely no idea what owning a slave was really like
>"Oh, and uh, cut that 'Master' stuff out, alright? Just call me Anon."
"Y-you don't want me to call you Master?"
>"Nah, I like to keep things simple as far as names go. One name for everything. Hey, speaking of names, what do you want me to call you?"
"You're supposed to give me a name, remember Ma-"
>You catch yourself before you can finish saying that
"Er, Anon?"
>"C'mon, I'm sure you can think of a name for yourself, little pony"
>You adamantly shake your head
>What's the point in thinking of a name you'll have to give up in a month anyways?
>"Alright, if you insist on me giving you a name I guess I will. I'm warning you now though, I'm not very creative."
>Anon looks around his living room for a second before his eyes settle on a can of Bud Light on a coffee table
>"I called you buddy earlier, right? How about we just shorten that to Bud?"
>You're in no position to argue, so you just nod your head
>You've had worse names after all.
>"Now that that's settled, what can you do, Bud?"

>He bought you without even knowing what he wanted you for?
"Whatever you want, Master."
>"Hey, what'd I say about calling me that?"
>You wince
"I-I'm sorry, M.. Anon."
>He doesn't even notice that you're practically terrified of him
>He unchains you, leaving only your collar on
>"Well, uh, I don't think I washed the dishes last night. Could you get that for me?"
>Did he just ask you to do something nicely?
>What game was this human playing?
>He goes to watch some TV, facing away from you
>As you're washing the dishes, you realize he isn't playing any game; he's just ignorant
>You eye the set of kitchen knives not too far away from you
>This could be your chance to finally escape!
>To finally be free from the clutches of slavery!
>You slowly move to grab a knife in your mouth
>You quietly ease one of the bigger ones out of the knife block, and slowly move towards your new master
>You've never killed anything before, but.. what choice did you have?
>All of a sudden, Anon turns around and sees you approaching him menacingly
>His eyes widen
>"Uhh, B-bud? What're you doing with that knife?"
>In a split second decision, you bound over to him and leap over the couch, knocking Anon to the ground
>"AAAh! Oh shit, please don't kill me! Bud, don't do this dude!"
>You're standing over him, ready to plunge the knife into his throat, but..
>The pure look of confused terror on his face..
>You can't do this.. he hasn't even wronged you
>You move off of him with a sigh, and drop the knife onto the floor
>You lay down next to him and rest your head on your hooves in shame
>"Y-you're not gonna kill me?"
>You shake your head
>He sits up to better look at you
>"Bud.. what the fuck, dude? I know being a slave isn't the best deal, but.."
>He pauses for a second and just stares down at you
>"Your previous owners must have been really bad for you to even think about trying this, huh?"
"You have no idea." you grumble under your breath

>Anon whistles a low note, and grabs the TV remote to turn the TV off
>"I gotta know, Bud, is this gonna work? Or should I just return you to the auction?"
>Now it's your turn to beg
"N-no, please! Punish me however you want, master, just anything but tha-"
>"Okay, okay, relax. I need someone to do all my chores anyways, so you know who that job falls to." he says with a smile in your direction
>Even right after you attempted to murder him, this human could still smile at you..
>You bury your face deeper into your hooves in shame
>You can't believe you just tried to kill the only human who's ever been genuinely nice to you..
>You feel Anon's hand on your back
>You flinch
>"I'm not gonna hurt you, Bud."
"B-but I-"
>"No, listen. I really underestimated what owning a slave would be like, but I'm not very fond of going back on a decision. I'm also not very fond of beatings.."
>He stands up to sit back down on the couch, grabbing his beer in the process
>He takes a good sip before continuing his sentence
>"My dad used to beat me. The old fucker could never use his words, not even once. Just beating after beating. I know what it feels like, Bud. But.. you try that again, and I don't think I'm gonna have much of a choice."
>You bury your face as far into your hooves as it'll go
>What have you done?
>First day here and you've already fucked things up..
>"Bud, look at me. Please."
>You slowly look upwards at him
>"Can I trust you? Not to pull this again?"
>You solemnly nod.
>"Alright. I believe you. But I'm warning you Bud, I'm only giving you one more chance."

>Anon grabs the remote and flips the TV back on
>He's just going on as if nothing happened..
>You silently trot back to the kitchen to finish washing the dishes, leaving the knife on the floor
>Anon picks the knife up and sets it on the coffee table next to his beer, and he occasionally looks back at you to make sure you aren't doing anything fishy
>After a little bit you finish with the dishes, and coyly go back to Anon and lay down at his feet
>The two of you watch television together in silence
>Anon doesn't say anything, so you assume he's okay with this
>You never really understood human television.
>It seemed to be more advertisements than actual content
>And even the actual content wasn't that good
>There was some show about people in a desert with hats that remind you of the one a pony you used to know wore, among other things that didn't interest you
>Anon just kept channel surfing until he eventually hit the news
>The human reporter on screen droned on about current political events that Anon seemed mildly interested in, until a "Breaking News" symbol flashed on-screen
>"Another pony riot happening now in downtown Boston, will they ever stop? Debates happening now on how these slaves should be punishe-"
>Anon quickly changes the channel to something else.
>You think a little about the news
>You know Boston isn't too far from where you are..
>Could a revolution finally be happening?
>No, you think to yourself, this is just another attempt that'll get stomped.
>There's some other stuff on TV, but nothing that's interesting
>You and Anon have been watching TV wordlessly now for a few hours, and it's starting to get dark out
>You can already hear Anon snoring behind you
>It's about time you sleep too
>You curl up into a more comfortable position on the floor
>Still guilty about what you tried to do to him earlier, you drift off to sleep at Anon's feet with the TV still on
>Maybe tomorrow you could make up for what you tried to do
>Maybe..

>You're awakened by Anon's foot nudging you
>"Uh, Bud? You awake?"
>Realizing how late you've slept, you immediately spring to your feet
"I'm so sorry I slept in Anon, I'm sorry I'm so-"
>"Hey, woah, chill out. It's fine."
>He's dressed in a suit, and you must admit he looks kinda handsome in it
>Anon reaches into his back pocket, and pulls out a handwritten note
>"Here, this is all the stuff I need you to do today. I don't really care when you do it, so long as it's done by the time I get back from work."
"You're leaving me here by myself?"
>"Yeah. I can trust you with that, right?"
>You nod your head
>You're determined to regain Anon's trust
>"Okay, good. Cya in a bit."
>He hands you the note, and walks out the door
>You can hear his car pull out of the driveway and down the road
>You look at the note Anon handed you
>It's messy handwriting, but still readable:
>"Bud, could you please do the laundry, clean up around the house, and make some dinner for when I get back? Thanks -Anon"
>You've done these things a million times over with other owners, but always half-heartedly
>You owed it to Anon to do it with some effort
>Well, except you've never really made dinner, but you would jump that hurdle when you got to it
>You start by doing the laundry, which doesn't take you long
>Afterwards you move through the quiet house, tidying it up as best you can
>You pick up books lying on the floor, and return them to their shelves
>You find a duster in the closet and use it dust off all the little decorations Anon has lying around
>You try to sweep the floors with a broom you found but using it with your hooves proves a little difficult
>After a few hours, the house is looking cleaner than it did before, so you move on to the task of making dinner
>You're already getting out the pots and pans when you have a sudden realization
>What did humans even eat for dinner?

>None of your past owners have ever allowed you to eat with them, so you have no clue what humans even ate
>Anon probably wouldn't like a hayburger..
>You look at the clock
>Anon would probably be back in a few more hours..
>What were you gonna do?
>An idea pops into your mind
>Maybe one of the books Anon has could teach you something?
>You trot over to the bookshelf you tidied and tilt your head to better read the spines
>"Hitler's Mountain Troops". Nope, hmm.. "Understanding Einstein's Theories of Relativity". You have no clue what that even means.
>Oh, aha! "Dishes to Prepare for Your Partner: A Step-by-Step Guide" 
>You flip through the pages, looking for something simple you could make
>You eventually settle on something called "lasagna"
>It seemed simple enough, and after checking you can confirm Anon has all the ingredients
>While the oven is heating, you read some more
>You were trying to impress Anon
>In the book it says candlelight always makes things better
>You always thought candlelight kinda sucked, but you weren't one to argue with a book
>This was the first owner to ever be truly nice to you, and you were dead-set on not messing that up further
>With a determination to not screw up, you begin working on the lasagna.. 

>You finally finish the lasagna, and not with even a minute to spare
>You can hear Anon pulling his car into the driveway just as you set a piece of lasagna onto a plate
>You quickly trot around and light all the candles you've placed
>As you hear Anon's car door slam, you sit by the door to wait for him patiently

>As you walk towards your door, thoughts of how much work sucked clouded your mind
>But you couldn't help thinking about how oddly happy you were to come back home to someone, even if that someone was a pony who tried to murder you the night before
>You unlock the door to your house, and open it
>Inside is your little pony waiting for you obediently, and as you put take off your shoes you notice that the house is looking cleaner than it has in ages
>And a nice plate of lasagna with a fork next to it waiting for you on the coffee table
>And.. candle light?
>Was Bud trying to be romantic or something?
"Uhh, Bud? What's with all the candlelight?"
>Bud's ears flop down
>"Y-you don't like it?"
>You smile
>You actually thought it was kinda sweet that your pony did this for you
>It was definitely a nice change of heart from the pony who nearly murdered you yesterday
"Of course I like it, Bud, I was just curious is all."
>The little pony's ears perk back up
>You go to grab a beer from the fridge, and sit down on the couch in the living room
>"I was gonna put the lasagna in the dining room, but I couldn't find it.."
"Dining room? I don't even have one."
>Bud raises an eyebrow
>"Doesn't every human have a dining room? It's something all of my previous masters have had-"
"I'm not like your previous masters. Plus, I never had a need for one. I've been living alone 'til now."
>"Oh.."
>You grab the lasagna off of the coffee table, and take a bite
>As you chew, Bud looks up at you expectantly
>You were surprised to see that Bud actually made you something
>You had just thrown in "make dinner" as a test of sorts, since you weren't sure if ponies could cook or not

>Apparently, they can
"Thif if pretty good, Bud." you say through a mouthful of lasagna
>Bud's eyes light up
>"R-really?"
>You nod your head
"It's a lot better than the pizza I usually order, fuck Domino's.."
>Bud does a little questioning head tilt
"Nevermind." you say with a wave of your free hand
>You had forgotten that Bud probably didn't even know what Domino's was.
>Bud bears a proud expression, and you think somewhere in there you can see the ghost of a smile
>You wonder when the last time Bud really smiled was..
>You pat the couch seat next to you, and Bud shoots you a questioning glance
"Come on up, you've earned it."
>Bud tentatively climbs up onto the couch, and lays down next to you
>You rest your arm on Bud's back in a caring way
>Bud flinches at first, but eventually relaxes
>You turn the TV on as you continue eating lasagna and sipping beer with Bud at your side
>The two of you watch TV for a little while, the light eminating from the TV and the dim candlelight delicately surrounded you
>After you've downed a few beers, you begin to complain to Bud about work and life, with the TV serving as useful background noise 
>It felt nice to have someone you can actually talk to about this stuff, even if they don't have a choice in the matter
"And my boss is such a fucking dick, y'know? I feel like he always give me the hard assignments, and for what? Just 'cause I'm the new guy?"
>Bud just nods as you go on
>Your voice is starting to slur a little bit
"And work isn't the only thing that sucks. I'm so fucking lonely, Bud. I don't think I'll ever find the right woman for me. I haven't had a date since highschool."
>As you say this, Bud looks up to get a better look at you
>"W-well, you've always got me, Anon.."

"W-what?"
>You look down at the pony laying next to you, and she blushes hard and looks away
>Was she implying what you think she was?
>You weren't so sure about this..
"Bud, uh, I-"
>"N-nevermind, master.."
>You lift your arm off of her back, and there's an awkward silence for a bit as the two of you divert your attention back to the TV
>Eventually you decide to break the silence
"I guess I really shouldn't be complaining, huh? I bet you've had it a lot worse than I ever did."
>"D-don't worry about it, Anon.."
>A sudden sarcasm enters her voice
>"It's not like I became property and was sold and treated like dirt. Nooo, not bad at all."
>You're not sure you like that tone of voice, but you can tell she's already in a bad mood, so you decide to let it go this time
>The pony did have a right to feel like this, after all.
>"I've only been beaten multiple times by various owners over the course of three years, and then always get sold back to the auction because I'm completely worthless. I'm sure that stuff is easy mode compared to what you deal with, Master."
>She adds a certain edge when she says "Master"
"Okay, okay. I get it." you say in an attempt to placate her
>Realizing what she's just said and how she said it, Bud quickly calms herself
>"S-sorry, master..."
>She looks up at you with a frown
>You look back down at her
"Hey, you're not worthless. Not to me, at least."
>She looks away again, blushing a little
>The two of you resume silently watching TV, and you return your arm to it's resting position on Bud's back
>Suddenly, a thought pops into your head
"Bud is a pretty shitty name for a girl, isn't it?"
>She looks up at you with that same ghost of a smile you saw earlier
>"T-trust me Anon, I've had worse."
"Yeah, but I want you to pick something. Something you actually like, not just something that makes you say 'I've had worse'"

>Anon really wanted you to pick a name for yourself..
>And he wasn't lying when he said "Bud is a shitty name for a girl," although you didn't have the heart to tell him that
>You've only been with him a few days and you're already starting to look up to him
>He's been the first master to ever give you a lot of things, and in just the span of two days
>Genuinie kindness for once, and a reluctance to beat you
>And his kindness has caused you to start developing some "other" feelings for him, too..
>You push that thought to the back of your mind
>Even though the creativity has long been stamped out of you by your grueling years as a slave, you didn't want to let your new master down
>And you could tell Anon wouldn't sell you back to the auction, not for a long while at least, so you were okay with thinking up a name
>You rest your head on your hooves to help you think
>Anon seemed content to wait patiently
>What did you want to be called?
>Hmm...
>Maybe..

>You lay thinking for a while, trying to come up with a name, but nothing comes to mind
>Anon is looking down at you expectantly
>You look back up at him with a sad expression
"I'm sorry Anon, I just c-can't think of anything"
>"Hey, it's alright. I guess I'll just keep callin' you Bud until you think of something."
>He pats you on the head, and rubs your mane before his hand rests on your back again
>You have to really try hard not to flinch
>Other masters never touched you unless they meant to beat you..
>The two of you go back to watching television until you both drift off to sleep on the couch

>The rest of the week and the next goes by rather uneventfully
>Anon showed you his human calendar, and showed you that he bought you on a Sunday
>You continued doing smallish tasks for Anon while he was at work, and every night you would continue the tradition of watching TV together until you both fell asleep
>It had occured to you that neither you or Anon have slept in your beds since your he purchased you, but you liked it better that way
>It gave you comfort knowing that your master was right there with you, and not plotting to sell you right back to the auction
>And you think Anon knows that
>It's the next Friday now according to the calendar hanging in Anon's kitchen, and you've just finished up your tasks for the day
>You're waiting patiently for Anon to come home from work
>Soon enough, you can hear his car pulling in, and Anon unlocks the front door and walks in
>You're not sure why, but this daily routine gave you great comfort
>Anon hangs his coat up behind the door like he always does, and moves to greet you
>"Hey there, Bud. What's new?"
>You give him your report like you always do
"I did the dishes, cleaned up a little more like you asked me to, and lasagnas waiting for you in the kitchen."
>"Lasagna every day, huh? Well, I can't really complain."
>Yes he can, but you push that thought to the back of your mind
>And then he smiles like he does every day, and roughs up your mane
>"Good girl."
>You can't help but feel a tiny bit proud when he does that
>No other master had ever given you praise
>As he eats his lasagna on the couch and you eat munch your hay on the floor below him (he wouldn't let you eat on the couch), he suddenly looks down at you
>"Hey, you mind if I ask you a question?"

>You look up at him respectfully
"You can ask me anything you want, Anon. You own me, remember?"
>Anon sighs
>"Well, yeah, but I still want.. nevermind."
>He continues non-chalantly
>"So how come you don't have one of those picture things on your butt?"
>Oh.
"Y-you don't know..?"
>"Well, I just noticed that you don't have one when other ponies typically do. I don't even know what those pictures are for, really."
>How was your master so clueless?
>You didn't really want to explain why to him.. but he was your master, after all.
"T-they're called cutie marks.. and they are used to show a special t-talent that somepony has.."
>Tears start to well up in your eyes as old memories flood your mind
>"A-and.. I don't have one because I'm u-useless!"

>The young red-maroon mare with the shorter white mane in front of you bursts into tears
>She buries her face in her hooves in an attempt to hide her crying, but it doesn't do much
"Woah there, shh, it's alright girl, you're not useless.."
>As much as you try, all your attempts to placate her fail
>She just continues crying on the floor, her collar making a little jingle noise as her body is racked by sobs
>Eventually, you pick her up off the floor and place her on the couch
>"No, no, master I'm s-sorry I'm u-useless! Don't m-make me go back, Master I'm sorry.."
>She curls up into a ball next to you
"What's got into you, girl? I'm not gonna look down on you just because you haven't found your calling yet."
>She lifts her head to look at you, a few tears still streaming down her face
>"Y-you won't?"
"No, why would I?"
>She shakes her head
>"B-because everypony else d-did.. does.."
"Ya keep forgetting that I'm not 'everypony else'."
>She sniffles in response

>Memories of the relentless teasing you endured as a filly and the endless hell previous masters have given you overwhelm you
>All because you were a blank flank..
>You should have had your cutie mark some years ago, but you just couldn't find anything you were good at.
>And the whole slavery thing didn't really make talent-hunting easy
>But Anon's kind words were finally beginning to reach you
>He.. he really wouldn't torment you because of your uselessness?
>You're stuck just staring at him, dumb-struck by his kindness
>When other masters learned you had no special talent, they would beat you for days on end sometimes until they grew tired of you and just returned you to the auction
>But Anon hadn't beat you once yet..
>Not even when you.. when you tried to kill him.
>"Bud, are you even listening?"
>Anon's words snap you back to reality
"W-what?"
>"There you are!"
>You're surprised when Anon suddenly gives you a hug, and pulls away to look you in the eyes
>"Look, I can tell that this whole not-having-a-fancy-picture-on-your-ass thing is really messing you up. It's the weekend now, and I don't have anything important to be doing, so whaddya say we try out a bunch of stuff and see if anything sticks?"
"You.. you would d-do that for me?"
>"Of course. I hate seeing you like this. I'm sure we'll find something that works out, right?"
>It's been so long since you tried..
>Maybe.. maybe it'll work this time.
>You nod your head, and wipe away some of the tears with your hoof
>Maybe..