Last Chapter: Not a Cloud in the Sky

She's soft. Are all mares soft?

I'm not sure why, but that's my first thought as Snowdrift embraces me, caressing my back as she kisses me deeply.

I've never been with a mare before. I had a couple of encounters with colts in high school, before Shining and I got together. Since then, it's just been the two of us. We were celibate until marriage, on his insistence. “I guess I'm just old fashioned,” he told me.

I just never realized quite how much.

With stallions, at least the ones I've been with, there's a strength, a firmness, to their bodies, even aside from the obvious place. It's wonderful having something so solid to hold onto when you're making love.

But love has nothing to do with what I'm doing tonight. And Snowdrift's body isn't firm at all. It's soft, graceful, but unyielding. I'm not sure if she genuinely wants me, or if she's just putting on a show for Charger. But her enthusiasm is infectious. She breaks the kiss for a moment, then slowly licks my neck. Did she know I was sensitive there?

If she didn't, she does now. My surprised moan is met with a smile from both her and Charger. A moment later, she's kissing me again.

Her lips are so soft, her breath so warm on my face, her tongue so active, eagerly seeking out mine...

She's beautiful, in a way I never realized another mare could be.

“Snowdrift.”

Charger's voice isn't particularly deep or loud, but he speaks with such confidence and authority that it cuts through everything I'm thinking. At its sound, Snowdrift stops moving, awaiting her orders.

“I want to see you taste her.”

“What?” I ask. “Isn't that what she's been doing?”

Snowdrift bursts out laughing, and I immediately realize how naive that sounded. Her laughter is a little louder than it needs to be. She's being cruel.

“Oh, honey,” she says. “That's almost cute.”

Without another word, she begins moving her face down toward my pussy, kissing my chest and belly as she goes.

When she reaches my hole, she stops, for just a moment, and looks up at me. I can tell from her expression what she's doing.

She's giving me a chance to tell her to stop.

I say nothing.

She grins, and brings her nose down to my hole. She takes a deep, audible sniff, then makes a long sigh.

I think she wants to make sure I hear both.

“Intoxicating,” she says. I blush.

Then she goes to work, and I let out a sharp cry. That same eager tongue that was in my mouth just a moment ago is now in my pussy, and it's heavenly.

It's not that I've never had someone down there before. Shining has made his attempts, but they were never like this. He always seemed to rush though it, licking mechanically at the same spot for a while until I told him he could stop. Snowdrift isn't like that. Her tongue travels the length of my lips, stopping periodically to lap up some of my arousal. Slowly, teasingly, it makes its way to my clit, which is starved for attention. Finally, she reaches it...and then ignores it, skipping past it entirely to play with my lips again.

“W...wait!” I say, without thinking.

“Hmmm?” Snowdrift replies, bringing her head up and looking right at me.

Her gaze is petrifying. I suddenly realize I have no idea what the etiquette is in this situation. Is it okay for the “sub” to make requests like this? Am I just going to embarrass myself by asking?

But now she's looking at me. I have to say something.

“My...my clit...” I stammer. “Please...”

Snowdrift gives me a cruel smile. Dammit. She did that on purpose.

“What was that, slut?” she asks.

“Could you...could you lick my clit, please?” I ask.
I'm used to giving commands and having them fulfilled immediately. Now I'm making timid requests to a mare I barely know, with the full knowledge that she may refuse me. And somehow, it feels right.

Snowdrift giggles, then brings her face down again. I squirm as I feel her tongue enter my pussy. It feels wonderful, licking and caressing my insides. But I know she's not doing it to make me feel good. She's doing it to make a point. “I'll lick you where I damn well want to,” she's saying. “Your needs mean nothing to me.”

I thrash involuntarily as her tongue explores my hole. It's wonderful, but so very frustrating. I haven't had an orgasm in ages, and now my clit is telling me that all it needs is a little encouragement to send me over the edge. I silently hope that Snowdrift doesn't wait too long...

To my surprise, she stops completely. Then she slowly moves her head away from me, allowing a long, shiny strand of moisture to connect the two of us.

“How is she?” Charger asks.

“Positively dripping,” his slave replies. “I think she's ready for you, sir.”

He gets up off the couch, and walks over to her, with a kind smile on his face.

“Such a good girl,” he says as he strokes her cheek with his hoof. The smile she returns to him is so different from the ones she's been giving me. She seems almost giddy as he kisses her. And as he does, I realize that he's tasting me now, too.

They break the kiss, and both look at me. There are predatory grins on their faces.

“On your hooves,” Charger says. “And lift your tail.”

Snowdrift is stroking his cock as he speaks. I think I know what he wants to do to me.

“I, um...” I begin to stammer again. “I'm married...”

“So am I,” Charger says. “Well?”

I do as I'm told.

I look back as he positions himself behind me. I whimper – half out of fear, half out of anticipation – as I feel him rub his cock against my lips.

His member is throbbing. I don't think I've ever seen a stallion so hard for me before. Certainly not my husband. Charger is treating me like a piece of meat, yet I've never felt so desired in my life.

But I keep thinking of Shining Armor. The pony I love. The pony I made a vow to.

“Last chance to change your mind, Princess,” he says. “No hard feelings either way.”

He's being kind. He must sense my hesitation, and he doesn't want me to do anything I'll regret.

Snowdrift, on the other hoof, looks annoyed. She must not think I deserve this consideration. But she doesn't object. She's an obedient pet.

I think of my husband. Of how much he loves me. Of how hard he tries to please me even though he clearly doesn't desire my body.

But then I think of how hard it is to come home at night to a stallion who doesn't want you. How heavy the burden of leadership feels on my back, and the miraculous way it vanished as soon as I bowed before Charger.

There are so many conflicting emotions swirling inside me, and yet when I look back at Charger, all of them are overpowered by simple, primal lust.

He has the most beautiful cock I've ever seen. And suddenly the only thought in my mind is that I need it to fill me.

This time, I won't ask directly. That's not how this works. I'll be a proper slave.

“I'll do whatever you ask of me, sir,” I say. “Please use me.”

He grabs my mane and rudely pulls me toward him. I scream in pain, but only for a second. The scream transforms into a moan as I feel his member enter me.

“Ah! AhhhhhhhAHHHHH!” My cries cause several heads to turn in the crowded club. Suddenly I'm an attraction.

Charger kisses my neck as he begins thrusting inside me. “Looks like we have an audience,” he says. “How about we give them a show?”

For a moment, I consider asking them to go away. I'm nervous enough without ten pairs of eyes staring at me.

Then Charger thrusts deeper inside me, and my thoughts vanish. I cry out without thinking at all.

“Oh yes! Yes, sir, I'll do whatever you want! Just please don't stop!”

Some of the other ponies are touching themselves or each other as they watch me. I should feel embarrassed. Instead I'm in a state of rapture. The mares are beautiful, and so openly wanton. The stallions are gorgeous, their wonderful members so thick and hard. I squeal, and one of the stallions watching me comes. A mare next to him notices the first spurt and puts her mouth on his cock before he can finish his next two. I don't think they know each other. She swallows, smiles, and gives him a kiss on the cheek. The stallion blushes and walks away from the crowd, while the mare remains.

I can't see what Snowdrift is doing. I assume she's switched places with her master and is now watching us from the couch. I don't care what she's doing. All I know is, I'm being fucked harder than I ever thought possible, and everything about it feels right.

“You said you were married,” Charger whispers to me. “If you husband could see you now, what would he say? Does he like to go to places like this?”

“N...no...” I say, so completely caught up that at the mention of Shining, I feel nothing. “He hates these places. If he could see me, he'd call me a filthy slut.”

“Would he be right?” Charger says as he thrusts particularly hard, sending shockwaves through my body. “And don't answer to me. Tell the crowd.”

“Yes!” I shout without a single thought. “Yes, I'm a filthy little slut who's being fucked by a stallion she's only known for ten minutes! I'm your whore, and I don't want to be anything else!”

There are times when I amaze myself with what I'm capable of. This is one of them.

“That's what I like to hear!” Charger says. “Snowdrift, give the slut her reward!”

That's when I feel it. The heavenly sensation of a tongue on my clit. It's her. Snowdrift wasn't on the couch, she was behind me, right under my cunt, watching it get fucked by her master's beautiful member. And now she's licking my dangling clit, fulfilling my request from earlier at the best possible time.

It's all too much. Being filled by this magnificent stallion, being licked in my most sensitive spot by his pet, and above all the feeling of completely letting go, of abandoning all pretense of decency and giving in to my lusts.

When my orgasm hits me, I don't just cry out. I practically scream.

It's so powerful, and lasts so long. And those two know just how to make it last, licking and thrusting with just the right timing to bring me back over the edge just as I think it's about to subside. I can't even speak anymore. My knees buckle and I fall to the ground. Nothing exists in my world but pleasure.

When my orgasm finally subsides, I feel Charger fucking me with tremendous speed, even as I lie on the ground. He's about to come, and I don't think he has any intention of pulling out.

I should stop him. I should tell him that I didn't cast a birth control spell tonight, as some sort of foolish incentive to prevent myself from going too far here. I should say something, but I don't.

I want him to do whatever he wants to me. If that means being his cumdump, then I'll happily take the role.

He moans loudly as I feel his cock twitch inside me. Then, a second later, the warm, wonderful feeling of seed filling my insides.

“Thank you sir,” I say softly as he pulls out. “Thank you for using me.”

I'm lying on the floor, completely spent, feeling his warm seed drip out of me. I'm so exhausted I can barely move, yet I feel as though I'm flying.

I feel a pair of forelegs wrap themselves gently around me. It's Snowdrift, who kisses my neck as she whispers into my ear.

“Oh, honey, you should have heard yourself. I've never seen a mare let go like that. I'm almost jealous. My first time with him wasn't nearly that good,” she says. “Just for that, I'm going to take you under my wing. I've been looking for someone to be my plaything. How about it? I'll even let you play with Charger now and then, if he gives me permission, of course.”

“So I'd be...what? His pet's pet?” I ask dreamily.

“Something like that,” she says. “He's purely dominant, but I like to switch. But you, you're not one to give orders, are you? I can tell.”

I suppress the urge to laugh. She isn't wrong, though. In my daily life, I may give orders all the time, but here, with these two, I wouldn't dream of it.

“I'll...think about it,” I say. “But I really have enjoyed my time with the two of you.”

“Awww, you're not leaving already, are you?” Snowdrift asks. “I was hoping we could cuddle a bit, and maybe you could have your first taste of my pussy...”

I blush hard. “Oh! Um, but I've never...I mean, I don't think I'd be any good...I have no idea how to even...”

“Oh my sun, you're so innocent!” Snowdrift says. “Ohhh, I have got so much to teach you...pity this place will be closing soon.”

I snap out of my dreamlike state. In my rapture, I completely forgotten about the concept of time.

“An hour?” I say. “Wait, wait, what time is it?”

Charger, who is sitting on the floor close to us, indicates a clock on the wall. “Ten past four,” he says. “That still leaves you almost an hour, Snowy. There's lots you can teach her in-”

I wriggle out of Snowdrift's grasp and sit bolt upright. “No no no, I should have left by now!” I shout. “The rain will stop in twenty minutes!”

“All the more reason to stay here, then,” Snowdrift says. “What's the rush, Princess?”

I gasp. Suddenly I feel heavy again. The reality of what the title of Princess means comes crashing down on top of me.

“Charger!” I say. “When you called me Princess...”

“Our lives outside this place stay at the door,” he says. “Most of us don't even use our real names here. I called you that because you looked lost, and I didn't want you to have a chance to tell me your real name.”

“That's the only reason?” I ask.

“The only reason,” he echoes.

“Okay,” I say, not sure if I believe him. “Um, it's been wonderful spending time with both of you, but I really need to run...” I begin to head for the exit.

“Wait!” Snowdrift says, running after me. “You'll come back, won't you?”

“I don't know,” I say. “Good night.”

Before she can say another word, I'm out the door.

It's pouring outside, even harder than before. Good. That will make it even less likely for anyone to see me.

I suppose I could have waited until the rain stopped. The likelihood of anyone noticing me at five in the morning is extremely unlikely, especially through the illusion spell. Right now, I don't even look like Princess Cadance. I look like any other mare.

But that's just it. I'm not any other mare. I never will be. I'm a princess, one of the last remaining pillars of a kingdom that's still reeling from the loss of its ageless ruler. If anyone were to ever find out what I did here tonight...the scandal...the disgrace...

And with that thought, I'm paralyzed. I know I need to run home, but I just can't.

I stand there, looking down at the rain, watching it make ripples in the puddles at my hooves. My reflection in the water is too distorted to look like much of anyone, and even if it weren't, it wouldn't look like me.

And I realize that even now, standing still in the rain, no one is around to see me. The chances of anyone noticing a single cloaked mare in a rainstorm, let alone recognizing her through a spell, are incredibly slim. I realize that I'm going to get away with this.

So now I can return home. I can dry off. I can lay down next to my sleeping, oblivious husband. My wonderful, brave and kind Shining Armor.

And I can live with the knowledge that I broke my promise to him.

“Oh dear Luna...” I say to myself. “What have I done?”

*******

“Did you make it home in time?” Silver Spoon asked, as Cadance finished her story. Though she would never admit it to her aloud, Silver was a bit disappointed that Cadance hadn't gone into any sort of detail about her encounter with the two ponies at the club, saying only, “the three of us spent some time together.”

Actually...Silver thought to herself after a moment's reflection. Why would I expect her to tell me? Even if I wasn't a foal, that's not the sort of thing you talk about with other ponies. Not unless you're someone like Miss Rarity. Or someone like me.

“I've got a long way to go...” Silver said quietly.

“We both do,” Cadance said. “But I hope you'll allow me to continue helping you get there, Silver. I hope you can see now that you really can trust me.”

Silver nodded. “I think I do...” she said. “But are things going to be okay with you and your husband?”

“I'm not sure..” Cadance said. “I still haven't told him.”

“Well, I hope you both work things out,” Silver said. “Listen, don't take this the wrong way, but can we end the session here? I know we have a half hour left, but I need to catch the early train back home...”

“Alright, Silver,” Cadance said. “But I hope you'll come back and see me next weekend.”

“I'll be here,” Silver said. “Thanks, Cadance. There's just something really important happening in Ponyville that I don't want to miss.”

With that, she hopped off the couch and walked toward the door.

“I'll see you on Friday,” Silver said.

“Silver!” Cadance said as the filly began to walk out the door.

“Hmm?”

“Thank you for listening,” Cadance said. “And...for not telling anyone.”

Silver Spoon giggled. “Oh, Princess, I'm the last pony who would ever hold something like that against someone. I promise, your secret is safe with me. The only way anyone else will ever know is if you tell them.”

With that, Silver smiled, and walked out of the room.

But as the door shut behind her, her words hung in Cadance's mind.

“The only way anyone else will know is if you tell them.”

“He has a right to know,” she said.

She stood up.

*******

Shining Armor had heard the term “asexual” before. He just never thought it applied to him.

Wanting to make love to a beautiful mare was just a natural part of being a colt. That's what he had always been told. The only way he couldn't want that was if he preferred other colts instead, and there was nothing wrong with that, either. Sooner or later, he'd just know which one he wanted. “Every colt finds out in his own way,” he was told.

So he waited. He waited for that spark of physical attraction, that powerful desire his friends spoke of. It never came.

But his emotions were something different entirely, and from the moment he had seen her, Shining Armor knew he was meant to love Cadance. There had never been a doubt in his mind about her. With all his heart, with everything he was, he knew he wanted to be with that filly.

After the two of them began going out, he found himself dreaming of marrying her. Of traveling to far-off lands together. Of raising a family. Of sleeping in each others' embrace. Of growing old side by side.

He never thought about having sex with her.

As time passed, he began to worry. His usual excuse to himself –oh, I'm just a late bloomer-- no longer seemed sufficient.

It's probably because we haven't been going out that long, he told himself. Soon enough, I'll want her that way.

But he didn't.

It's probably because she's taking things slow with sex. Once she starts sending signals, I'll want her that way.

But he didn't.

It's probably because we haven't had a romantic dinner yet.

It's probably because we aren't engaged yet.

It's probably because we aren't married yet.

Finally, on their wedding night, they made love for the first time. Shining Armor managed an erection. He did what he thought was expected of him. His wife seemed pleased.

And pleasing her made him happy. The act itself held no enjoyment for him. But the smile she gave him afterward made it all worthwhile.

He didn't want to disappoint her. He didn't want that smile to go away.

So he said nothing. He played his part. He was the good husband, the caring stallion who makes love to his wife and keeps her satisfied.

He stopped worrying about when he himself would begin enjoying sex. It didn't matter. Because she was happy.

As far as he could tell.

Now his wife, with tears in her eyes, sits before him in their home, and tells him what she did. How she sneaked away behind his back. How she went to one of those disturbing clubs. How she debased herself in front of scores of onlookers.

She says something about how it's been long enough since then that she knows she can't be pregnant, and that she hasn't been back to the club. She says that what she did was stupid and selfish. She says that she loves Shining more than anyone but she just couldn't bear the strain of not having anyone in her life who desired her.

She speaks about how much she's hated herself over the last few weeks, and how it was Silver Spoon, the abused filly who she had been counseling, who finally gave her the push she needed to tell him.

Briefly, Shining entertains the notion that this is some sort of trick. That it's the Changeling queen, taking Cadance's form again.

But that doesn't make any sense. Why would a love parasite be trying to make him love his wife less?

Shining trembles as he realizes that it's something far worse than that.

This is his wife. The mare he's loved since high school. The mare he wants to spend his life with.

The mare who just confessed to breaking their marriage vows and sleeping with two strangers.

“I'm so sorry...” Cadance says. “I was just under so much pressure, and I wasn't thinking clearly, and I just needed-”

“Get out,” Shining says. His voice is eerily calm and quiet.

“Shining?”

“Get out of our home,” he says. “Go to the palace. Do some late work. I don't care. Just get away from me.”

She knows there's nothing more she can say. There are no words that can fix this.

She turns around and walks out the door.

The sun is still low in the sky. It's a cloudy day.

She could go to the palace. There is paperwork to attend to. It would save her time tomorrow if she does it now. It would get her mind off her husband.

But that would mean being seen by other ponies. And right now, that's the last thing she wants.

So she flies straight up into the clouds, finds a particularly secluded one, and sits down.

Up here, no one can see her cry.

It's almost midnight when she finally returns home. She finds her husband in the parlor, staring at a framed picture. It's from their wedding day. He hears her come in, but doesn't turn his head.

“You're back,” he says softly.

“If you don't want me here, I can stay in my chamber at the palace tonight,” she says. “I just...wanted to see you one more time...”

Shining Armor turns away from the picture.

“And now you have,” he says.

“Shining, I'm sorry!” Cadance cries. “I know I let you down, I know nothing can excuse that, but please-”

“DON'T YOU DARE!” Shining shouts, louder than he's ever spoken to her. She takes a step back.

“Don't you dare speak to me like that,” he says, lowering his head. Tears begin to fall from his eyes. “I'm the one who let you down.”

“W...what do you...”

“Every time I look at you...” he says, speaking with considerable difficulty. “I see the most beautiful pony in the world. I see a mare whose kindness, compassion and courage I can't ever hope to match. I see my best friend, my companion, my soulmate...

“But I never see someone I want to have sex with. I want to, I want to so badly, but I just...it's just not there...”

He begins to sob. Cadance takes a tentative step toward him.

“What's wrong with me?” he says. “What kind of stallion doesn't even want to make love to his wife?”

Cadance runs toward her husband, embracing him.

“There is nothing wrong with you,” she says. “You're the most wonderful pony I've ever known. I don't deserve someone like you. Not after what I did...”

“Don't say that...” he says. “All this time...I hid this from you...”

“I think we've both been keeping our fair share of secrets,” Cadance says. “Is it okay if we talk tonight? Put everything out in the open?”

Shining nods, and holds his wife close to him. For the moment, he says nothing. Neither does she.

It will be a long night.

*******

Silver Spoon had made it just in time.

She was the first pony off the train when it arrived in Ponyville. She had run at full gallop from there, and did not stop until she reached her destination.

“It looks so different,” she said.

The mannequins were still there, though a fine layer of dust now covered each of them, soiling their immaculately white coloration. She would hate to see them like this, Silver thought.

Carousel Boutique had been closed for months now, ever since Rarity had been arrested for Silver's murder. Rarity had never actually owned the building, and after the truth about her was revealed, the landlord found it impossible to attract new tenants. No one wanted to live in a place where so many foals had suffered.

The doors and windows were boarded up now. The place was still and silent. But sneaking in was simple enough for a foal. The boards on the front door could be easily squeezed through.

As she made her way to the kitchen, Silver noticed a bowl of fruit which was still on the table. Rarity had always insisted on fresh fruit, often giving apples or pears which had developed bruises to Silver Spoon, as one would give food no one wanted to a dog.

The fruit in the bowl was brown and rotten now. A swarm of flies buzzed around it.

The chairs were missing, probably stolen. So was much of the silverware.

Silver began to ascend the stairs leading to Sweetie Belle and Rarity's rooms.

The walls here looked like they had been slashed by someone playing with a blade.

A broken picture-frame hung on the wall. Silver couldn't remember what picture had been hung in it.

At the top of the stairs were two rooms, one belonging to a foal, the other to her older sister.

She opened the door to Sweetie's first.

It was empty, but beautifully neat. Sweetie had been allowed back in to take her personal affects, but her room at Twilight's house was smaller, so she had donated many of her toys to the Home For Abused Foals.

No one had vandalized Sweetie Belle's room. No one had stolen from it.

But there was a small slip of paper taped to the doorway. Silver didn't notice it until she left the room, respectfully shutting the door as she did.

The slip bore a simple, hoofwritten message:

WE COULD HAVE REALIZED WHAT WAS HAPPENING TO YOU. WE COULD HAVE SAID SOMETHING.

IF ONLY WE'D CARED ENOUGH TO PAY ATTENTION.

WE'RE SORRY.

Sweetie Belle had told her she had been here that morning. She would have seen the note. If she wanted it, she would have taken it.

Silver Spoon left it where it was.

All that remained was Rarity's room.

Silver felt strange opening the door without asking for permission. Even after all this time, doing so was her first instinct.

The door opened with a loud creek. Silver gasped.

This was the room where her life had changed. The place she had submitted herself completely to Miss Rarity's will. This was the place where she had lost her virginity. The place where she had spent countless hours, in pain and ecstasy, serving the wishes of her beloved Miss Rarity.

And the room had always been lovely. No matter how much suffering took place here, no matter how many foals cried out in pain and were violated within these walls, Rarity always took care to keep the room looking immaculate. It was a reflection of how she saw herself. Everything in the room was beautiful.

“Is it still a reflection?” Silver wondered aloud.

The room had been completely trashed by vandals. Rarity's bed, with its fine silk sheets and antique carved wooden frame, looked like it had been kicked in half, and its sheets torn apart. Her mirror was shattered. Her jewelry box had been looted. Most of her outfits – creations which she had devoted countless hours to – were ripped to shreds. The rest seemed to have been stolen.

Then there was the graffiti.

There were messages written all over the walls, in different colors and different hoofwriting. It was difficult for Silver to read them:

I STILL REMEMBER WHAT YOU DID TO ME

IF YOU EVER COME BACK I'LL KILL YOU

MONSTER

YOU ONLY WANT TO LOOK PRETTY BECAUSE YOU HAVE SUCH AN UGLY SOUL

MY SISTER STILL CRIES AT NIGHT

I'LL HATE YOU FOREVER

“Stop it,” Silver said. “Don't talk about her like-”

She shuddered as she realized what she was doing.

Silver Spoon closed her eyes and walked out of the room.

Without another word, she went down the stairs. She'd gone down those stairs a thousand times before.

With her eyes closed, she could just barely hear the voices. If she descended the stairs during the day, she would always be able to hear Rarity's muffled voice as she did business with her customers in the boutique. It always amazed her, the way she could put on such a practiced, friendly persona for the townsfolk, who never suspected one thin wall was all that separated them from a perverse little foal who Rarity abused on a nightly basis.

As she walked into the kitchen, she remembered how the voices would always grow louder. Now she'd be able to make out exactly what Rarity and her customers were saying.

Sometimes she would sit there, listening to Rarity from afar, admiring her and waiting for the workday to end so she could return to her.

Silver stood in the ruined kitchen. She opened her eyes and looked up at the staircase.

She could just make out the still-open door to Rarity's room at the top of the stairs.

“You're right to hate her,” she said. “I can't ever feel the way you do about her. And I don't expect you to ever forgive her. You're not wrong to feel the way you do.

“But for what it's worth, I'm sorry. I'm sorry she did this to you. And I'm sorry I didn't stop her when I had the chance.”

She turned away from the door.

Silver Spoon closed her eyes again. She walked out of the kitchen and into the boutique. She was never allowed to do so when she had lived there. She imagined Rarity yelling at her for her disobedience. She kept walking until she reached the front door.

“I'm going out now, Miss Rarity,” she said. “And I don't think I'll be coming back.”

Silver Spoon reared up and kicked the flimsy door, and its boards, to splinters. Daylight flooded the ruined boutique as she made her way outside.

“Hey! HEY KID!”

A town guard ran up to Silver as she exited the building.

“Kid, are you nuts? You're not allowed in there! It's dangerous!”

“I'm sorry,” Silver said.

“This building is being demolished in half an hour! If you were still in there then, you could have been killed!”

“I know it is. I just...left something in there,” Silver said.

“Well, did you find it?” the guard asked.

“Yes,” Silver Spoon said. “But I'm leaving it behind.”

Silver then turned away from the guard, and began walking toward a nearby hill.

There, waiting for her, she could make out the figures of Diamond Tiara, Pipsqueak, Twist, and Sweetie Belle. Twist was already jumping up and down and waving in Silver's direction.

“Are you sure you want to see them tear it down?” Silver had asked Sweetie when she had told her of the impending demolition.

“I don't want to,” Sweetie had said. “But I think I need to.”

“I think I understand,” Silver had said. “I think both of us probably need to.”

“The others are all coming, too; they've been waiting for this for a while. They promised not to say anything too mean about sis in front of me, not that I'd blame them if they did...but I really need you to come to this, too, Silver.”

“Why me?”

“Because I know I'm going to cry,” Sweetie said. “And I don't think anyone but you will really understand why.”

Sweetie Belle smiled warmly as Silver galloped toward her friends.

They sat together and chatted over trivialities, ignoring the most obvious topic until it could no longer be ignored.

Until Carousel Boutique fell to the ground.

To their mutual surprise, Sweetie Belle did not cry. But Silver Spoon did.

Sweetie held her hoof as she sobbed quietly, while the other foals walked a few hooves away to give them some space.

“It's okay,” Sweetie said. “Let it out. Cry for her one last time.”

Silver shook her head. “I'm not crying for her,” she said. “I'm crying for us.”

The boutique was rubble now. Many of the ponies watching the spectacle were cheering.

“Wherever you are,” Silver whispered. “I hope you find peace.

“Goodbye.”

*******

“I think it was more than just attraction, if that makes sense. It was almost like being pushed by the wind. You can walk against it, but it's so much easier to let it push you along. If I really wanted to, I could have fought it, but...I didn't want to. I'd made my choice. I wanted to belong to her.

“I think it's because I knew that if I let her in, Miss Rarity wouldn't hold anything back from me. Not like those society ponies, with their practiced, fake little manners, bowing and scraping to ponies who they secretly hated. In all the ways that really counted, Rarity was totally honest with me. She never pretended that she wasn't a monster, never tried to make me think she didn't love making me suffer. With her, I didn't have to pretend. Manners, social standing, none of that meant anything. My place was never in doubt. I needed her to hurt me. And she needed someone to hurt.

“No other pony had ever been so honest with me before. And that made all the difference. Being her toy didn't just feel good. It felt real.”

Silver Spoon paused for a moment, to brush a stray strand of hair out of her eye.

“What you said before, about being pushed by the wind...it's easier to just let yourself be pushed along, isn't it?” Cadance said. “When you see something you had desired for so long, which you might not have even realized you wanted so badly...”

“Yeah,” Silver said. “And that's what makes it so hard to resist, I think. You're so floored by the realization that you want this, that you don't stop and think of the consequences...”

“...and even if you do, they seem so small compared to how badly you want it. How much you long for someone to control you.” Cadance said.

Silver Spoon smiled. “I knew you'd understand,” she said.

“But that's why you have to be careful, Silver,” Cadance said. “You have to recognize when you're in that state of overpowering desire. You have to force yourself to stop, and really think about what you're doing, and ask yourself if it's the right thing. You've got to be able to walk against the wind.”

“I know,” Silver said. “I guess for a while, I didn't think it was worth the effort. I didn't think I was worth the effort...”

“And now?”

Silver's smile grew wider as she spoke. “Now I think I know better,” she said. “I mean, I still think about her sometimes. Sometimes I even want her back. But it's happening less and less these days.”

“Oh, before I forget...” Cadance said. “Luna made me a checklist, so I have to ask...are you still, um...”

Cadance blushed, and Silver Spoon giggled in response. Three months of sessions, and Cadance still couldn't bring herself to ask that question out loud. Every time she thought of it, it brought back memories of the first time she and Silver Spoon had met. The two of them could laugh about it now, but Cadance still found the whole subject slightly uncomfortable.

“Yes, I still touch myself. A lot. I know Luna thinks I shouldn't be doing that as much...”

“She doesn't think you should be doing it at all,” Cadance said. “It's not something 'proper foals' do, she says.”

“Well, tell her I'm not a proper foal, then,” Silver said with a huff. “I need an outlet, Cadance. I can't go back to just pretending I don't have a sex drive.”

“I know,” said the Princess. “Why don't I just tell Luna that I'm 'working with you' on it.”

“I hardly think about Rarity anymore when I touch myself,” Silver said. “That's a good sign, right? Nowadays I mostly think about that club of yours...”

“I, um...” Cadance looked away. “Well, if that's what, um, I mean...”

“I don't think about you, silly.” Silver said. “I think about going there myself. When I'm old enough, I mean. I want to visit that club so badly, Princess. So many ponies, all pleasuring each other so openly. I'll have a chance to be someone's servant again, but this time, it'll be someone who respects me. Someone who cares about me and knows how to appreciate a good slave. And in return, I'll tend to their every whim, no matter how filthy or-”

“Silver,” Cadance said, more than a bit flustered. “I get your point.”

“Sorry, sorry!” Silver said, blushing. “There's just no one else who I can talk to about these sorts of desires, you know? You're the only pony I know who understands that sort of feeling. I'm so glad you told me about the time you went to that place.”

“Silver, I first told you that story three months ago. You don't need to keep thanking me. We've come a long way since then...”

“I know,” Silver said. “But it really did make a world of difference. I felt like there was finally someone in my life who understood some of the things I had been feeling...”

“But what about your friends? Surely you could have talked to Sweetie or Diamond or one of the others about this...”

Silver shook her head. “They've been a huge help, don't get me wrong. But there was always a big difference between them and I. They were all forced to be a part of this. I wasn't. I chose to belong to Rarity. And on some level, that's always going to set me apart from them.”

“Silver...”

“No, listen. For a long time I thought that meant I was beyond help. That I was broken in a way they weren't. But when you told me about what you did at that club...”

Silver smiled as she looked Cadance right in the eyes. “The thing is, you're not broken. You're kind and smart and you deal with more stress in one day that I do in a year. Well, most years. Maybe not this past one.

“But the point is, you wanted the same things I did: submission, pain, control. You wanted them, but you weren't broken. And if you were okay, then maybe one day I could be okay, too. That was when I realized that just because I'd been damaged, that didn't mean I was a lost cause.”

“That's funny,” Cadance said. “When I first began talking to you, I kind of thought I might be a lost cause myself.”

“I remember,” Silver said. “You were so hung up on what you did at that club. You and Charger and...Snowbank?”

“Snowdrift,” Cadance said. “My mistress is named Snowdrift.”

“Your...mistress? Wait, you mean you and her-”

"I've been meaning to tell you," Cadance said. "But our recent sessions have been about different subject matter, and I didn't want to force it into the conversation.

“What I did to my husband was terrible,” Cadance said. “It took weeks before he could really trust me again. Frankly, I'm surprised it wasn't longer.

“But what bothered him wasn't that I had sex with someone else. It's that I lied to him, that I went behind his back. Shining Armor just...doesn't enjoy sex. At all. I don't think that's ever going to change, and I don't think it should. Now that he understands what asexuality is, he's happy being the way he is. He just hated that it was making me unhappy.”

Silver took a moment to ponder the utterly alien concept of being without a sex drive. She quickly decided that she did not like to think about it.

“So a couple of weeks ago, we reached an understanding. He and I are a celibate couple now. As attractive as I find him, I'm not going to ask him to do something he doesn't enjoy. And now I don't have to lie to him anymore.”

“Wait, you mean he's okay with you fooling around at that club?”

“He doesn't like to hear about it, but he likes knowing that I'm happy and satisfied,” Cadance said. “And frankly, I think he likes having the alone time on Saturday nights.”

“Oh, that's great!” Silver Spoon said. “Are you going tonight? Do you have plans with anyone? Can you tell me all about it tomorrow?”

“Yes, yes,” Cadance replied. “And no. You're still a foal, Silver. If anything, I've already told you, too much.”

“I know,” Silver said, giggling. “But can you blame me for trying?”

“Sure I can, but it'll have to wait,” Cadance said playfully. “It's five o'clock. Our session's done for the day. For tomorrow, I'd like to talk a bit more about your relationship with your parents, okay? I know that's a hard topic for you, but I think it's important we explore it.”

“Alright,” Silver said. “Same time tomorrow, then?”

“You bet!” Cadance replied. “Have a great evening, Silver Spoon.”

*******

It's not raining tonight.

There's not a cloud in the sky as I run down the Canterlot streets toward the unmarked building.

I've gotten better at the illusion spell. It can hold for a full twelve hours now, which is nice, since I occasionally spend the night at Snowdrift's apartment before heading home.

Even better, I've refined the spell to the point where it now carries a subtle misdirection charm. Simply put, if I don't want a pony to notice me, they don't.

At the club, I want everyone to notice me. I want them all to see how utterly free I am. Let them see Snowdrift and Charger's new pet and her complete devotion to her owners. Let them all wish I was theirs.

I run down the stairs, step through the hidden door, and enter the club.

Snowdrift is waiting for me. She's not alone.

Three gorgeous stallions flank her on either side. They grin as I walk into the room.

“Hello, Princess,” she says. “Charger is going to be late tonight, and I have to step out for a little while. These three are friends of mine. I want you to treat them like you would treat me. Is that understood?”

It's then that I notice that she had been casually stroking one of their cocks as she spoke to me. The stallions are all fully erect. There are hungry looks in their eyes.

Snowdrift walks out of the club, and I bow before my three new masters.

I am Cadance.

When the sun shines, I carry the burdens of all of Equestria. These stallions, like all ponies, are my subjects, and it is my burden to protect them, and this entire land, from ever coming to harm. I carry that weight gladly, for the good of all.

But at night, that weight is lifted. I trade my crown for a collar. And they carry my burdens for me, as I become their humble and willing slave.

“You can call me Princess,” I say to the stallions. “Tonight, I belong to you.”

END

Author's Note

Special thanks to Dragonas77 for the original idea behind this story.