Servile

The next four days after meeting Lune felt as if they’d never end. Although I genuinely did try to focus on work, and the mundane routine that I had before my encounter with the prince, my mind kept falling back to that moment we’d shared in the spa. Noting that I didn’t really have a social life at that point, let alone a romantic one, I can honestly blame my lack of viable interests for the melancholy that I felt shortly after parting with him. My days after our first encounter were quite honestly the dullest in my life. Nothing of note happened, and things quickly fell back into the same monotonous pattern I’d followed ever since I’d left Cloudsdale. This persisted for the entirety of that week, until at last Friday rolled around.

Although I’d oftentimes work through the weekends, this particular day was notable in the fact that, shortly before me and Lune had parted ways, he told me that he’d write to me that day. So, shortly after sending the letter to Aloe and Lotus explaining why I was leaving them, I sat in my house, eagerly awaiting a wax-sealed scroll to appear on my writing table. No such letter ever arrived that day. Strange things did begin to go bump in the night, though. That evening, rather depressed at having not received a letter from my suitor, I fell asleep with a deep seated sense of dread that I’d never see him again. I kept waking up that night to strange noises in my room, odd drafts of wind and objects moving to their own accord. Although these unto themselves weren’t the most alarming occurrences that spread themselves over the next several nights. Soon I swear I saw a bright green pair of eyes regarding me from my windowsill, and scratches sounding above me in the attic. I swore that I didn’t just lose my book on veterinary anatomy, or the ‘Calligrapher’s guide to Calligraphy’, either. Despite all this, I persistently wavered under the self-made delusion that everything was fine.

That ended on Sunday, with a sudden clatter of hooves directly next to my bed, where I kept rather personal items in my nightstand under lock and key. My eyes shot open to see a rather familiar bat-pony, picking the lock to my lowermost drawer.

“What is Discord’s name are you doing!?” I shrieked, pulling the blankets up over myself in a rush.

The knowledge that Magpie had been spying on me for the last several nights crashed over me in a tsunami of embarrassment, knowing that she’d probably been through everything I owned by this time. She gasped and jumped backwards, shocked that I’d actually woken up after she’d probably been making nightly trips to my house for three days. She narrowed her eyes at me and hissed, a high-pitched utterance of pure irritation. She still had the pin she’d been using to pick my locked door in her hoof, her wings spread at me like a frightened basilisk.

“Why are you in my house?!” I shouted, throwing the covers off myself and standing up to confront her. “Seriously, what the hay drove you to break in here and go through my things? I thought we were friends. I mean, we were, weren’t we?”

“I’m actually under orders.” She said, stepping towards the window. “It’s nothing personal, and we’re still friends. Just… uh, try not to let this stand between us. See kid, what I’m doing in your house isn’t up to me to tell you… matter a’ fact, I was told specifically to not give you any hints towards what I’m doin’ here. Despite that… I do feel sort of bad for violating your privacy, so I’ll tell you who sent me. I can’t tell you what I was doing, but I can tell you that Solaris demanded that I spy on you for a bit. I d’know why, so don’t ask.”

The mare strode over to my window and, before I could react, slipped out into the night. By the time I’d made it over she was gone, either hidden in the shadows cast by the streetlamps or having dashed off in the opposite direction over the roof. I really didn’t know what to make of what she’d told me, but at least I knew that she wasn’t planning anything malignant for me in the future, and she hadn’t truly enjoyed breaking into my home. I closed the window and locked it, making sure it was sealed tight. I went back to sleep that night wondering what Solaris wanted from me, and why he would possibly want my copy of ‘Among Strigaformes’. Perhaps he was curious about the pony that would be his younger brother’s servant, or he simply disliked another pony being close to Lune throughout the day.

The very next day I learned why the Prince of Light wanted me to be put under the microscope, as the colloquialism goes. I must warn you that, in light of the fact that some are indeed sensitive to such subjects, the following events will seem rather… uncouth. If such subjects aren’t within one’s range of comfort you can enhance the endurance of your patience and skip the rest of this specific chunk of narrative. If not, then I implore you to read the events of the following Monday, the one-week anniversary from meeting the Prince of the Night.

It was around nine in the morning when I woke, yawning and briefly enjoying the warmth of my comforter. For the briefest moment I wondered if, despite the fact that I technically didn’t work for them anymore, Aloe and Lotus would let me come in that day. I sighed and tossed the thoughts away, mulling over what was for breakfast that morning. Shortly after quitting my job as a masseuse I’d taken up a number of hobbies, including reading and cooking, in order to occupy myself during my wait. Lune still hadn’t gotten back to me, but he was a prince of Equestria and I honestly didn’t expect him to drop everything he was doing for me. I was sure that running the country was more important than ironing out my living arrangements in the castle. So as I rolled out of bed that chilly winter’s morning I was considering fried vegetables. That is, until I saw a very bright coat of white out of the corner of my eye.

“Did you sleep well?” Solaris asked courteously, flipping a page in a book that I couldn’t recall purchasing. “I know that I did. Lune asked me to do the honor of making you an honorary servant, if you’re wondering why I’m here.”

“You nearly gave me a heart attack.” I said, clutching my chest. Too many ponies were entering my home without my permission, and it was making me paranoid, not to mention forcing a spike in blood pressure. “And thank you… for a moment I thought you were here to banish me.”

“Whatever for?” The Prince asked, looking up from the book.

“I don’t know… guilty conscience I suppose.” I said, then hastily added. "Your Highness."

“Well, your guilty dispositions aside.” He continued, setting the book down on my writing desk. “I’m here to give you the whole spiel on rules and regulations, how you’re supposed to behave when in service to the crown, and have you sign quite a bit of paperwork relating to how we’re going to be paying you.”

“Could I, um, get dressed, your majesty?” I asked, looking down at myself and my knee-length, silver-azure and striped wool socks. “I’m not exactly… decent.”

“If it makes you more comfortable.” Solaris shrugged, picking up his book and trotting out of the room. “I’ll be downstairs when you’re more comfortable talking.”

I waited a few seconds before I stealthily slipped off my socks, shivering as the cold air met my bare skin, hardly protected by my blue coat. Although I was having a hard time accepting that yet another prince now knew my exact place of residence, I managed to settle my nerves and get out of bed. I brushed my mane hurriedly, shoving a gray turtleneck sweater over my head and checking my clock. It was nine fifteen in the morning, and already my day was escalating. It was quite a break from the usual routine that I’d fallen into a week before. Making sure that the sweater I was wearing didn’t have any outstanding wrinkles or creases, I left my bedroom and went downstairs.

Solaris was sitting on the couch, or to be more precise, laying on it. His head was resting on one armrest and his back hooves were laying on the other, his foreleg dangling over the edge of the cushions lazily. There were seven large stacks of papers on the table, with a few inkwells between each. The individual stacks of paper all had large labels on them, all printed in a strange curling font that I didn’t understand. The Prince noticed me and quickly regained his royal composure, sitting up on the couch and smoothing out his mane, which at the moment was a bright sky blue, almost as pale as my own coat. Shortly after he’d regained his princely masque of formality he cleared his throat, signaling that the conversation was to continue.

“Now, this stack of papers is payment procedures, which you may read through at your own pace.” He said, gesturing to the leftmost of them while turning all of the around with his magic. “This one…” He continued down the line. “Are the forms discussing your rights and that while under the contract certain ones will be waived, for purely security reasons…”

He continued as I trotted across the room, wondering I I’d ever get this done. He didn’t have to finish before I’d already plucked a feather from my wing and started to sign my name, my eyes seeking out the blank lines where my signature was to be inserted. Both of us fell silent as I settled onto the couch, picking up papers and signing them as fast I could without misspelling my name. The prince seemed to stare at me for a long time then, watching me meander over each and every page and meticulously fill in every small form. Solaris’ eyes soon began to wander away from my hooves and towards my face, tracing each and every eyelash I possessed with peculiar efficiency. If I didn’t know any better I’d say that he was memorizing my expression, how I was reacting to this. Most ponies, as I later learned, preferred to know just what they were signing. I on the other hoof was content knowing that, after I filled these papers out, I would officially have a place at Canterlot Castle.

“Care for some coffee?” Solaris asked, conjuring himself a steaming hot cup, adding sugar and creamer while he spoke. “I do realize that this might not be the most convenient time of the day for you, considering most ponies are asleep.”

“It’s fine.” I said, knowing that it was probably equally, if not slightly more difficult for him to find time to visit me. “And I prefer tea, thank you.”

The Prince nodded and summoned me hot mug of the caffeinated herbal drink, which by the smell was probably earl gray. Although it wasn’t the most beloved of flavors I took a cordial sip of it, nodding to my guest. It actually tasted decent, much to my surprise.

“Thank you.” I said, continuing my work.

I continued the paperwork until about ten thirty that morning, when I finally set my quill down in the inkwell, done at last. Solaris looked thoroughly impressed that I’d made such great time, and rewarded me with a refilling of my cup. Even though he made me instinctually uneasy, being a prince of vastly higher standing, I couldn’t help but feel more comfortable around him. He exuded a relaxed sense of confidence much the same way Lune did, although he lacked the aloof charm of his younger brother. The stallion smiled and stood, causing the stacks of paper to disappear in a flash of magic. I did likewise and was about to trot off to the kitchen for breakfast when I saw that he wasn’t particularly concerned with my facial features anymore. His eyes traced my wings, focusing in much the same way he’d been examining me before. His gaze met my flanks and I coughed lightly, seeing that his eyes linger for an unnecessarily long time on my Cutie Mark.

“What would you like for breakfast?” I asked, wrenching his attention away from my rear. “I was thinking pancakes. It’s not very complex, but they tend to fill a pony.”

As if he hadn’t even heard what I’d said, the prince trotted around me in a full circle, his eyes continuously lighting down on my Cutie Mark. I was getting uncomfortable, so I ruffled my wings in another attempt to recapture his attention.

“I’ve met ponies with that Cutie Mark before.” He mused, his gaze returning to meet my own. “Several, in fact. Most of them shared a trait… one very interesting skill. Tell me, do you have any particular talent that wouldn’t be deemed normal?”

My blood turned to ice in my veins, my heart a solid glacier of dread. The prince hadn’t been paying my rear attention for its curvature after all, his focus was on the one thing that I would trade my house away to keep a secret. My only question was… how had he known? Everypony I knew had a single, unique Cutie Mark, one that is never repeated. Sure, some foals have a pattern or the same general layout as their parents, but other than those fleeting similarities I didn’t know of one Mark that was repeated.

“How… I t-thought Cutie Marks are unique to everypony?” I stuttered.

The prince sat back down, conjuring a fresh meal of hay and salad sandwiches for us, as if he was deciding to forgo breakfast entirely. “I once did a rather large study on ponies with Marks that are inherited. Not through bloodlines, but rather through similarities in personality that made them eligible for that Mark. There were only a few… but that one on your flank I know is one of them, and it gives the owner of it the gift of being an empath. The ponies that I knew that had those marks all had an acute knowledge of how to read a pony’s immediate wants and emotions. They also felt the most peculiar need to satisfy those wants…” He trailed off, as if the prospect intrigued him.

“Yes… I do.” I said, nodding. It was no use lying to him when he already knew the truth. “I have those abilities. They cause me no end of discomfort, though. More a curse than a gift, if I can give my own opinion on it.”

“I see.” He said, tilting his head to the side endearingly. “Quite peculiar that you would be our assistant when you possess such a unique skill. We could hardly hope for a finer servant.”

It took me a moment to catch on why that sentence sounded wrong. “Excuse me your majesty, but did you just say ‘our assistant’?” I asked warily.

“Of course.” He chuckled, as if it should hardly surprise me. “In the contract you didn’t swear yourself to one single prince, Felt Feathers. You’re instead sworn to the service of all the royal alicorns, not just to Lune. That includes me, Cadenza, Lune and Dusk Shine. Lune might call you his and we all may accept that, but you are also subservient to rest of us. Make no mistake, it’s not as if we plan to tear you away from Lune, I assure you. I know you two have quite the emotional bond. Magpie told me as much.”

Magpie. Everything from the last couple of nights clicked into place, and suddenly I knew why the conniving mare had been going through my things. She was being rewarded by Solaris to go through my belongings, to learn everything about me so that he could better know his new servant. I paled beneath my coat, wondering just how much he knew about my life. By the way he was interpreting my expression of shock he seemed to know quite a bit, including that me and Lune weren’t in a strictly platonic relationship. I cursed Magpie silently, wondering how much of my life she’d handed over to Solaris, and possibly others. Who knew how many ponies she’d run her extremely loose lips to.

While I panicked internally the alicorn before me smiled and lay down on the couch, assuming a more lax position now that the deal was sealed between us. I’d signed the contract, and now I was officially his own personal assistant, as well as Cadenza and Dusk Shine’s. The hole of dread that had originally sat like a stone in my chest grew to a gaping pit as the prince sighed, assuming a relaxed pose on the couch.

“I hope this doesn’t make you uncomfortable, Felt Feathers.” He continued, a smirk of triumph adorning his flawless complexion. “You were quite the catch, after all. I’m sure you’ll make an amazing companion to all of us at the castle, considering your rather impressive skills.”

Solaris levitated his own hay and salad sandwich over and took a bite of it, savoring the taste. I pushed my plate away, suddenly not quite as hungry as I’d been. Something about being shared between this prince and the one that I’d originally wanted to serve made me uneasy, not to mention a little nauseous. The only reason I signed all those papers was because I thought that I’d be spending every waking moment with Lune, not passed back and forth between him and three other alicorns like I was something resembling a housekeeping service.

“Please cheer up.” Solaris encouraged, having finished his snack. “You’ll probably be much happier with this job. Besides, we only have one more thing to do before we can give you a room in the castle.”

“There’s more?” I groaned, wondering what more bad news I’d be made to endure.

The prince laying across from me chuckled again, his smile turning to a slight smirk. “Well, each prince has his own way of growing used to a new servant and getting to know them. You’ll probably be spending the next month growing accustomed to castle life, as well as our daily routines. Since I’m here… I suppose I’ll go through my own personal tests to see just how easily you and I will get along. A test of your obedience will give me all I need to know about how willing you are to serve. ”

If I had known what he was insinuating with that sentence, if I’d only guessed what he was foreshadowing with that phrase I would have gotten up and ran from the room as fast as my wings would carry me. Looking back I will eternally regret not demanding that he summon Lune at that very instant, because the events that followed will undoubtedly haunt me for the rest of my days.

The prince summoned a single box onto the coffee table between us, gift-wrapped and tied neatly with a bright white bow. He smiled at my confused expression and nodded towards the box, sitting up and waiting eagerly for me to pick it up.

“This is my gift to you.” He said, grinning broadly. “Go upstairs and make sure everything in that box is on properly before you return.”

I honestly should have seen what he had in store for me, but instead of questioning the scenario I simply picked up the box and flew back upstairs, wondering what he was hoping to accomplish with this. The moment that I was in my room I untied the bow on top of the box and removed the lid. My face went from confused to very disillusioned in a split-second, my face lighting up so brightly that the blood vessels in my cheeks strained under the sudden blush. The most confused rush of feelings stormed their way into my head, an odd medley of indecisiveness, panic and vulnerability inundating any sort of logic I would have conjured if I could think straight.

In the box was a simple maid’s outfit, complete with tight corset and mid-thigh skirt. I wondered honestly why he would be giving me this for a moment before my sense of self crept back in, instincts answering that question plainly as if it had been shouted into my ear with a bullhorn. Solaris wanted me to put this on, and he wanted me to walk out there so he could bask in the satisfaction of making a foal of me. To my absolute shame and revulsion, my hooves reached into the box and pulled out the outfit, blindly accepting my orders. I honestly didn’t question what I was doing in that moment, I only knew that, if I wanted to see Lune again, I had to obey Solaris. If that meant demeaning myself to catch the fancy of his askew sense of humor, then so be it.

I tightened the final string on the corset with a sense of visceral resolve, having shut out any sense of pride. In my mind, at that moment, pride would only earn me a one-way ticket back to being a masseuse, to living a dull life with nopony by my side. I’d rather listen to a prince laugh at me than live a life without a partner, or suffer every day always remembering a brief taste of the forbidden fruit that was a sense of belonging. I took a deep breath and hoped, prayed to Lune that he would forgive me. Deciding that he would probably overlook this, I trotted back downstairs.

I waited for Solaris to laugh at me, to guffaw and perhaps call me a name, just like all the other similar times in my life when I’d been forced to do something demeaning. I had my eyes clenched shut, waiting for something to happen. I heard his hooves brush against the carpet as he trotted towards me, and I winced with every step. After what felt like an eternity of standing there in the open, wearing what had to be the most shameful outfit in existence, I opened my eyes to stare directly into the prince’s. He wore a smile that bespoke approval, but the way he stood over me still made me afraid for my own sanctity.

“You look quite fanciful in that outfit, Felt Feathers.” He chortled, putting a hoof under my chin; the blush on my face deepened at his touch. “You’ve passed the first part of my test.”

I breathed for what felt like the first time in hours, letting the old air out and breathing in a new lungful. I felt a great sense of relief that he hadn’t laughed, and secretly I housed a sense of pride that I’d garnered a compliment from him. Realizing how ridiculous, not to mention how disloyal it was, that I was enjoying another stallion’s praise, I felt another roiling wash of shame flood me. This was so wrong, I was betraying Lune. I just kept telling myself that this was the only way I’d ever get to see him again. That Solaris would tell his brother that I’d refused to sign the contracts if I didn’t heed his every command.

The Prince of Light trotted towards the center of the room and stood, waiting for me to join him at his side. I trotted my way over to him, vastly smaller than his towering frame. He smiled and sat down on his hind legs, while I mirrored his movements obediently. I sat almost in his shadow, wondering what else he could possibly do to increase me sense of self-loathing. He answered me by kneeling down to my height, his eyes lowered to half-moons filled with malignant intentions. Once he was settled onto all four legs in a sitting position he leaned closer to me, waiting for me to interpret his actions correctly. I didn’t get it until he reached out with a hoof and physically pulled my head in closer, out lips locking.

I went limp in his grip, terrified. After a few moments of simply allowing him to grip me I pulled away from his hoof, shocked he’d been so brazen. It took me a second to catch my breath before I could say anything.

“You never said anything about this!” I protested, crossing my front legs vulnerably. “What if Lune could see me right now! What would he think?!”

“You don’t just serve Lune.” The eldest alicorn explained. “You serve all of us. If that means that each and every one of us want to treat you this way, we will. This is me telling you that you don’t owe your loyalty to just Lune anymore. Besides… it’s only kissing, that was all I wanted.”

I hesitantly drew closer to him again, just within his reach. He picked me up with magic and pulled me directly up to his face, staring into my eyes possessively. He put his hoof behind my head again, and I closed my eyes, doing my best to pretend that it was Lune who had his hoof pressing my lips to his. With no measurable amount of guilt I permitted his presence in my mouth, and soon the emotions that I felt churning in his head shift over to contempt. He was in contempt of me, of my servility. He was actively looking down on me as he explored every inch of my tongue, which I shamefully allowed to touch and even curl around his as he goaded me into responding to his affections. He ran a hoof over my cheek, which were still redder than raspberries at being used so.

He drew away, licking away the line of spittle that still connected us, all the while maintaining eye contact. I feared the way he looked at me, like I was a possession, something he could flaunt to other ponies if the occasion permitted it. I’d learned enough about how he felt about me through touching him to know that he would treat me more like a pet than his assistant in the future. Now that I no longer felt his presence in my head, that I no longer felt the urge to obey, I felt myself hovering on the verge of tears. The sheer amorality of the situation was crushing my will to continue, and I knew that he wasn’t going to stop anymore. He might have if I’d simply refused to be drawn back into his embrace, but I’d fallen for his ruse. Now the Prince would stop until he’d gotten the best of me.

Solaris stood up on his front hooves, giving him a major height advantage over me. He smiled down at me and I looked away, trying to hide my emotional distress from the sadistic royal. He grinned broadly, then seemingly calmed himself just enough to put a hoof under my chin, tilting my face towards his own. I stared up at him, begging for him to stop where he was and call it even. To simply say that I’d passed his little test and to show up at the castle tomorrow. No such miracle happened, though, and his hoof gradually trailed lower until it was at the hem of my skirt. I cringed and moved away as he found my flank, and he licked his lips. Through his touch I felt exactly what he wanted to do to me, how much he wanted to demean me. He wanted to bend me to his will, to let me know that I was no longer in control.

“I’ll offer you a choice.” He offered, believing that he was being generous. “Would you prefer to offer me your lips, or perhaps you’d prefer to gain my favor with your flanks.”

I shook my head, mouthing my opposition to what he was saying. I desperately wanted to be somewhere else, to be at the spa with Aloe and Lotus or sipping tea with Lune. His horn began to glow, signaling that he was about to decide for me. I bit my bottom lip, gesturing towards my mouth. Solaris nodded and his horn flashed; I felt a collar appear around my neck, a small bell chiming as I looked back up to him. He had a leather cord in his teeth, connected to my new neckwear. The bell chimed again as he pushed my head down towards his back legs, putting me a mere eyelash away from his loins. I looked back up at him, my eyes swimming with tears, one which escaped and fled down my cheek, breaking the floodgates. I truly didn’t want to see his stallionhood, I knew it would drive me over the edge and I would go into hysterics. Despite that, he put his hooves on my hips and I felt the unbelievable urge to take him into my mouth, to pleasure him.

Suddenly I realized why he’d shown such a marked interest in my gifts. He knew he could control me, to make me do whatever he wanted through my empathy. Solaris was an ancient being, with far more willpower than I could stand up to. One touch and he could force me into doing whatever pleased him, break past my mental objections and physically force me to obey. I began to cry pitifully as I kissed his sheathe, lathering the entrance of the skin before I plunged my tongue inwards and flicking it graciously over his crown. He exhaled and laughed at the same time, his satisfaction growing as my tongue coaxed his length out of his sheathe, filling my mouth as his crown flared, pushing itself towards the back of my throat.

I gasped in panic as he pushed my head down, preventing me from leaning back as his stallionhood choked me. I panicked, but the thoughts he was filling me with kept me from letting go of him, and I could only shake in terror as he pushed himself deeper into my throat with a practiced thrust of his hips. He seized my mane and forced my head to align with my neck, telling me to swallow with his thoughts. I obeyed, hating myself as I felt his length block my windpipe. It wasn’t until I felt his sack against my chin that he drew out again, no longer sitting but moreover crouching while he pinned me in place underneath him, inhaling ecstatically as my tongue struggled against his head. I sucked in air through my nose while I could, shortly before he pushed himself back into my throat again, the bell on my collar chiming daintily.

Suddenly I couldn’t breathe anymore, and mortal terror blocked out every other impulse in my mind. He gripped the length of the collar in his teeth, his eyes closed in satisfaction as cold truth set in. He slid his length out slowly, relishing the sensation of me choking, struggling to suck in air. The only thing he wanted was the intense suction that I provided as I screamed in terror, turning purple under my coat. At last, when his crown was flaring at the edge of my lips, he let his grip on my neck slacken. I gasped in precious oxygen, tears trailing down my cheeks. He thrust back in quickly, his pace quickening as he did the same thing again, barely allowing me time to pull in air.

At long last, after seven more times of being tortured, he stopped choking me and freely began to set his pace. He dropped the leash from his teeth and began to pant as he thrust harder, bruising the inside of my throat. Through my contact with him I felt my mind coalescing with his own, my entire existence being speared on his thick length. My mind faded as I submitted, ceased to exist. I stopped being an individual as he broke me, my pride being swallowed just as swiftly as he as forcing himself into me. I curled my tongue around his long shaft and sucked as hard as possible. I just wanted for him to stop, to end this mad torture and accept that he’d forced me into submission. Anything to pry my mind away from his. I was beginning to see myself as a slave, to view myself from his perspective. His paradigm on the situation was becoming my own, and all of the sudden I saw from his eyes. It was the most terrifying thing I’ve ever experienced, and I never wanted to see myself in that light ever again.

All of the sudden he gave a final thrust down my throat and moaned, petting my mane and repeating my name under his breath. I felt something warm and sweet filling me, and I swallowed obediently, knowing he wouldn’t want me to spill his seed onto his perfectly groomed coat. After almost half a minute of emptying himself into my stomach he pulled himself out of me, smiling contentedly and laying down, his voice loving and kind as he basked in his afterglow. I laid my head down on his lower stomach, next to his length, panting and gazing into oblivion. Solaris petted my mane and called me no end of pet names, promising me things that I have no recollection of to this day. He spoke kindly of my performance, and promised me anything I could ever want in exchange for my continued servitude. My mind had ceased to function, and all I wanted to do was lay there and breathe. Inhale, and then exhale. Such a simple rhythm dictated my entire existence, and it was the only thing I could think about as my eyes fluttered shut and I passed out. The last thing I remember, right before I slipped into a stress-induced unconsciousness, was how ashamed Lune would be of me.