Servile

I wandered the halls of Solaris’ tower, wondering how I could possibly have gotten lost when I’d only seen two rooms of the labyrinthine structure. Although I’d succeeded in slipping away from the Light Prince, his tower seemed to be conspiring towards a fate of wandering its halls endlessly. My hooves were already sore, and the echoes they struck across the walls seemed to be magnified a thousand-fold as I meandered hopelessly down the corridors. I didn’t even have a specific destination in mind anymore, I simply trotted in hopes that it took me closer to somepony that wouldn’t want to use me. Although I wanted to shout for Lune, I knew that seeing me in this state would cause nothing but an anxious breakdown and an inevitable fight between Solaris and his younger brother. I did so want him by my side, and I yearned for somepony who’d kiss me and tell me that this would never happen again. Unfortunately I’d adopted quite the realistic attitude, and I knew that simply wasn’t the case. The Light Prince, in all his majesty and cruel dominance, would continue expressing his twisted form of love for me until I no longer protested to his affections.

I continued on down the corridor, wondering if it would ever end. I’d done my best to get the collar off, but to no avail. The only thing that I’d succeeded in doing was make the bell jingle loudly, mocking me with every high, silvery note. It was sealed flush to my skin somehow, and despite the fact that I’d done my best to pry it off, the leather neither discomforted me nor released its stubborn grip on my neck. The buckle was enchanted to never let me go, to mark me for as long as Solaris wanted to keep me in this sad state. I knew that, when he awoke, he’d will me to come back to him, and probably even teleport me back to where he was instantly. I didn’t care so long as I got time away from him. I didn’t even know how I’d resist him anymore. I’d offered myself to him, let him inside after so much struggle. It felt shameful that I’d let him break me, but now I knew that he would allow no boundaries to stand between him and I when it came to my submission. I was, truly, his servant.

I looked back down the hall to see nothing but endless red carpet, the typical type of flooring in the prince’s tower. Almost on a whim I decided that, in order to get a slightly longer reprieve from him, I’d better go inside one of the many rooms that lined the halls. I had a hard time deciding which, but in the end I decided that one with a rather unremarkable appearance would do best. I turned towards the first plain wooden door I came across, trotting over to it and trying the handle. Seeing that it was unlocked, I opened it and went inside. Although I hadn’t meant to, I’d honestly forgotten that Dusk Shine had in fact been sharing an abode with Solaris. What came next was also as much of a miracle I could have hoped for.

The room that I’d wandered into was none other than Dusk Shine’s, the stallion lying on the bed, sleeping soundly through the night. I looked at the wall, seeing that it was slightly past two in the morning. I felt a ray of light come through the clouds; I could probably get Dusk to take me away from there, and possibly get the collar off of my neck. I trotted across the purple floor to the edge of his bed, wondering how I’d been so fortunate. I decided that I’d ask him about the purple and pink bedsheets later as I prodded his muzzle with a hoof, whispering.

“Dusk.” I said, doing my best to wake him gently. “Dusk Shine. It’s me, Felt Feathers.”

The Twilight Prince nearly jumped out of his own skin as he shot up in bed, holding the blankets over him as if he was somehow more indecent than I was at the moment. He calmed down as he saw that it was only me, and almost immediately after the questions started. Something I’d noticed about Dusk was that he never really stopped questioning things. That was great for some situations, but right now I honestly didn’t feel like giving out a play-by-play of what Solaris had just done to my extremely sore flanks.

“Felt, what the hay are you doing here?” The stallion grumbled, wrinkling his nose. “And what is the smell? Why are you wearing that collar?”

The bell around my neck jingled, turning me a shade of scarlet as I defended my dignity. “What does it smell like to you? Solaris decided I’d make a great pet. Not exactly with me being in agreement, either. I’m sure you can infer what happened to me, Dusk. You’re a smart stallion.”

The true source of the musk caused him to blink, shifting under the blankets uncomfortably. “So he… what? Made you his pet? That doesn’t explain why your whole back reeks like…. Oh….” It sunk in then, the true events of the past three hours being rendered in sudden clarity. “Did he… um, you know?”

“Without my permission.” I grated indignantly. “I need you to get this collar off of me. He used it to make me do things against my will, and I need it off before I have to leave in a few hours. If Lune sees it he’s going to wonder just what happened to me, and once he starts to wonder… he’ll figure out that I wasn’t the most faithful partner.”

“I thought you said that he did it against your will? How does that make you unfaithful?”

I suddenly realized that my eyes were watering at even mentioning Lune, and that I was physically ill at the prospect of telling him that I’d let myself become his older brother’s favourite new servant, and freshly broken housepet. I shook my head, sending the message loud and clear that I didn’t want to talk about it as well as sending loud rattles off from my bell. The thought of telling Lune that I’d submitted, practically given up on resisting him made it my fault. I was the one who’d told him it was okay, even though it wasn’t. The worst part was how I had… secretly enjoyed him standing over me, reaming me deeper and spreading me in a way Lune simply couldn’t. I bit the inside portion of my cheek, washing my taste buds with the flavour of rust. I couldn’t focus on that. If I did I risked falling for the same sensations that had seduced me the first time.

“Okay… I don’t think I should take that collar off, though. What if he’s even more upset that you took it off, and he does it again?” Dusk speculated. “Besides, disobeying him doesn’t sound like the best idea… shouldn’t you just wait until he returns you to Lune’s, and tell him and have him take it off of you? I’m sure he’ll understand, and confront Solaris about it so he never does it again.”

“You don’t understand.” I whimpered, fearing that I would land in the same situation I’d been in a few hours ago the moment the sleeping prince woke. “I submitted to him in the end. I let myself be used… if Lune figures that out… I won’t have anypony.” I cried.

“You had no choice, Felt.” Dusk Shine tried to reason with me.

“I did have a choice, and I chose to betray Lune.” I said, guilt eating me alive. “I practically spread my back legs and lifted my tail for Solaris. I moaned and said his name, pushed back on him, took every last inch inside…” I trailed off, feeling my knees shaking. “I enjoyed it. I let myself enjoy another stallion, when Lune loved me so much. He trusted me, and I threw that away when I gave up resisting. He… broke me.”

I suddenly realized the totality of the statement I’d just made. How very true it was that indeed, Solaris had broken me. I was now his most prized possession, and I belonged to him. I was no longer a person, more than I was a prized show pony that he could do as he wished with, show off and enjoy his power over. The part that filled me with the most disdain, shock, disgust and horror is that I secretly indulged in that. The fact that I longer had pride, nor dignity or even natural rights, that he could use me however he pleased whenever he had a whim to. The animal inside of me passionately embraced that terrible truth, without the slightest hint of hesitation or remorse over the loss of free will. Somehow that part of me rejoiced that I no longer had to make my own choices, feel guilt towards anything besides disobeying my masters or even sustaining my image as a pony. I served all those things up to Lune and Solaris, and they made me as they saw fit. They used me however made them happy, and somehow, despite the fact that I’d put my lives solely in the hooves of another… that strange, masochistic piece of my soul celebrated the passing of my freedom.

“I just want to get this thing off.” I whimpered pathetically, issuing immediate pity from Dusk. “I want to go back to Lune and pretend like this never happened.”

“It will happen again, you know?” Dusk warned. “If you don’t do something about it he won’t stop, no matter how much you beg him to.”

I almost broke into tears until I realized that the alicorn’s horn was glowing, and I felt the buckle on the back of my neck slacken. A few moments passed and suddenly I heard Dusk curse, as if he was having trouble with the enchanted piece of brass. He stuck his tongue out the side of his mouth, concentrating on working past the Light Prince’s sorcery. I brightened; for a moment I felt it loosen. As if to crush my extremely brief second of happiness the collar locked back into place around my neck, the bell rattling faintly as if to mock his attempts to remove it. Dusk tried three more times, all with similar results, until finally he huffed, any magic he’d been able to use spent on the brass lock that kept me bound to Solaris’ will.

“I honestly can’t break it off… the buckle feels like it’s been bound by magic I… honestly don’t know. And that’s kind of scary, for somepony who’s studied magic their entire life.” He mused, sounding shocked at his failure. “I’ve never failed to break the spell on something… maybe I’m out of practice. I’m really sorry, Felt, but I can’t help you… I really wish I could.

I just shook my head, holding up a hoof to signal that it hardly mattered at this point. I bowed my head and trotted over to a large chair that sat by a dainty fireplace, which was actually a lot more reminiscent to a woodstove. I leapt up onto the chair, sighing and pacing a few times before I settled into a comfortable position. I would just wait until Solaris found me here, or my time in the tower was up and I returned to Lune. Either way I was so far forsaken that I could only accept my fate. I would be exposed as the unfaithful colt I was and Solaris would be discovered as the pony that drove me to betray Lune. I’d be banished to the moon or the sun, and I wouldn’t have to worry about being abused ever again. I could sit up there in sweet solitude, which was if they gave me the materials to survive. If not… I’d meet a deserving fate as the one who was so unfaithful towards the prince who gave him his heart.

The clock struck five in the morning, and I hadn’t seen eye nor tail of Solaris. I suspiciously left Dusk’s quarters and almost immediately noticed that the gate, the front door of the Light Prince’s home, was directly across the hall. I knew immediately that he was toying with me, or the rooms shifted on their own. I trotted across the hall, eager to be rid of the prince’s abode once and for all. Before I could reach the other end of the vast red sea of carpet, Solaris himself stepped out of thin air and barred my way. I paled; he had a smile on his face again, that strange, infallible grin that I could neither read nor interpret his intentions from. I could feel his current mental state through the collar, though. His horn flashed and I winced, fearing another cruel spell would be aimed at me. Perhaps this time he would lock me in a gallow and take me then, when I couldn’t even look back and see him running his hooves over my wings triumphantly. No such thing happened, though, and instead he merely conjured a simple note he’d sealed with his royal crest. I opened my eyes and regarded the note warily, wondering if this was some sort of trick.

“I won’t tell Lune about you lifting your tail for me if you don’t tell him how I egged it on.” He explained, lifting my left wing and tucking it under the joint so that I could carry it. “That explains the collar and how to use it. How to add to the list of ponies you feel the wills of is also covered.”

I looked up at him, unable to tell if the emotions I was feeling was anger at how I was basically going to lie to Lune, or gratitude that he wasn’t revealing my infidelity to the younger prince. It met in a strange mixture of hate, thankfulness and odd intrigue. Why did he want me to keep the collar, anyways? Suddenly it hit me; he wanted to know if Lune agreed with the idea of the collar or not. If he did, then I’d be submitted to Lune’s and possibly more ponies’ whims almost every day, increasing my likelihood to have a more servile attitude towards him, as well as everypony I met. He was encouraging me to be more guiltless, to wear away at my sense of belonging towards Lune until all I wanted was to serve the ponies around me in any way I could, no matter how demeaning or shameless the actions I had to commit to satisfy them were. He was prompting me to feed the beast inside of me, to get rid of my sense of self until I was only a direct reflection of what the ponies around me wanted. The Light Prince was asking me not to muffle the deviant urges I sometimes got from those around me through my gift. He wanted me to listen to the voice instead, to indulge myself in the needs of others, even though what they wanted of me went against every moral I’d ever held myself to.

“Speak a word of what I did to you and I’ll tell him how you asked for it.” Solaris warned again before he opened the door to the tower, gesturing that I was free to leave.

I trotted past Solaris, wincing involuntarily when he reached out his hoof. He merely ran it over my wing, but I’d honestly been expecting him to strike me. Once I was outside and he’d bade me farewell I couldn’t help but feel a sense of self-loathing. The last time I’d walked across that rotunda had been when I was still faithful, with Lune having been the only stallion to have ever been beneath my tail. Now I felt tainted, filthy as I made my way through the hall of marble pillars. Solaris had taken my sense of purity along with my freedom, and that strange part of me that enjoyed the departure of the latter didn’t quite know how react towards my breach of trust. Lune had expected me to stay faithful to him, and although I felt guilty, I also felt glad that he needn’t know. Solaris, though he was a conniving stallion and breaker of lesser wills, which was to say all of them, wasn’t the type to go flaunting his trysts with others. Others that would tell, anyways. I was sure he’d tell his personal guards, and perhaps Dusk. At least I knew that Dusk already had the foresight to keep secrets.

I trailed through the halls until I reached Lune’s tower, unable to think of how my prince would react to this new collar. Would he think it was atrocious, and rip it off of me the moment he saw it around my neck, or would he indulge himself in his newfound power over me? I knew secretly that indeed, Solaris had made me a walking embodiment of temptation, since anypony could do whatever they wanted with me so long as they were added to the spell he had on the collar. I also knew that he was counting on the poison that was the temptation to take control of those around me. He was counting on them controlling me, and using it to fulfil their desires, further eliminating my hesitance towards lifting my tail for him whenever I had to stay in his tower. He wanted my will to utterly gone by the time I was back to him in a week’s time, and he was going to let the ponies around me do the work for him.

I knocked on Lune’s tower door, closing my eyes and taking a deep breath. I’d made sure to shower thoroughly before I’d left Dusk’s room, even though he’d protested me using his bathroom. He was a good stallion though, and after some convincing he finally allowed me to bathe myself that way I didn’t show up at the tower reeking of sex. Despite that I couldn’t help but dread when he got me in bed tonight. I surely wasn’t going to be the tightest that night, given the fact that I’d spent almost an hour with Solaris’ overbearingly large member inside of me. By no means did I care about how large a stallion was, but I knew basic anatomical facts, better than most since I was a masseuse. It took a while for anypony’s orifices to return to their original size one they were stretched, and no amount of hoping would return my admittedly hollow preferred source of stimulation to its former slick tightness any faster. All I could hope was that Lune either didn’t notice or opted for something different that night.

Lune opened the door a few minutes after I’d knocked, having apparently been occupied. He looked down at me and brightened at first, ecstatic that I’d finally been returned to him. His face fell from euphoric to livid almost the moment his gaze alighted on my neck, which I knew that it inevitably would. Before he could ask I opened my wing and withdrew the note Solaris had given me, handing it to him with a sense of dread. I didn’t know what was written on that piece of paper until that moment that Lune read it aloud, and when he did I swore I felt my stomach sink into my hooves.

“This collar I’ve given Felt Feathers is for the sole purpose of controlling him, as he proved to be quite unfocused and unwilling to organize the files in my desk when I asked him to.” Lune read. “After three times of drawing his attention back to the task at hoof I decided to enchant this to take advantage of the unique bond he shares with anypony he touches. The collar facilitates the same reaction as if he was physically touching us at all times, at a maximum distance of one mile. Since the distance across the palace and between our towers is slightly beyond that I highly doubt the poor colt will get confused between our wills, as it is extremely faint even at the edge of its functioning range. I included you in the enchantment so that you could enjoy the collar as well, while giving you the ability to appoint him tasks without physically speaking to him or being in the same room.

The list of things I included in the enchantments are as follows. His body returns to its natural shape, size and health level at a remarkable rate, he is immune to others’ magic through it, he possesses heightened resistance to injuries of all types, he ages more slowly, he has a heightened sense of stimulus stemming from the perfection achieved through the healing spell, so he will probably experience more pain if he should receive a wound, but it will heal faster. Finally, the collar’s bell will allow you to keep track of him no matter where he is, and will give an innate sense of where you can find him so long as it is ringing. He also experiences more taste, can hear better, and touch stimulation is almost doubled, making a brush over his wing seem heavenly (something I tested on myself before giving it to him). In all his physical being is vastly augmented, and taking it off is ill advised, so I will not include how to remove it here.”

Lune scowled at the line he’d just read before he finished the letter.

“In order to add a pony to the list of wills that he is in contact with you need only to have them cast a simple levitation spell, touch the buckle on the collar with their magic, and release it. This will allow him to feel their immediate wants and needs just as if he were touching them, activating his gift. Finally, in order to add a pony who is not a magic user, simply have them touch the buckle and say their name twice. I do hope that you continue to let him wear this collar, as he has grown to enjoy the benefits it offers, although he is loath to admit that.”

Lune looked down at me and I scuffed a hoof, the bell around my neck jingling slightly. He rolled his eyes and headed into the tower, willing for me to come along. I did as he told me, trotting obediently after him as he led me into the tower, sitting down on the semi-circular couch with a sigh. Although I hadn’t particularly seen anything from him telling me he’d liberate me of the jewelled curse around my neck, he did seem to have something on his mind, something quite important. Important enough to brush off the subject of the enchanted collar around my neck, anyways.

“Felt, I want you to be honest with me... do you feel like you and I aren’t equal? Like I outclass you, or that I’m better than you somehow?”

“Well, of course.” I responded. “You’re an alicorn. It wouldn’t be right if I were on the same level as you. I’m just your servant… a pegasus, at that. Not only do you have magic, you’re royalty, and you live forever.”

“I was about to get to that.” The prince said, smiling as if he was unveiling the product of hours upon hours of deep thinking and plotting. “It would be a shame for me to live forever, yet have you age as time went on. I was thinking of a few things that could possibly render you a little more long-lived than regular pegasi. See, there are a number of things that allow normal ponies to exist long after their marked expiration dates, and I was thinking of letting you use one. That way you’ll be able to enjoy my company, and I enjoy yours, for a more satisfying amount of time.”

I couldn’t help but feel as if there was a catch, and when I voiced my concern Lune only looked at the floor, biting his bottom lip. Of course, there were technicalities involved. Nothing that involved magical creatures is ever simple, especially immortal ones. Over time one grows to know that magic, no matter how instant the effect, is all about immediate gratification, but at a price. Most magicians decided that indeed, it was worth the toll they paid for their most powerful spells, but to us mortals the stakes often seem… unnaturally high.

Lune stretched out on the couch, looking pensive as he explained to me just what my options were. “You have a few choices, Felt.” He said simply. “I’ll let you choose, because unlike my brother I believe that indeed, you should have a choice in the way you want to live. One way of living forever involves becoming like us, an alicorn. You have to learn and master the Elements of Harmony for that to work. The second option is for you to become a creature that lives forever like an alicorn, such as a heavily fed Changeling or Aquastrian. There are other species like that, but those are the ones that I can think of the transformation spells for off the top of my head.”

I wrinkled my nose in revulsion at the Changeling idea, but I couldn’t help but wonder what the idea was behind the other strange species he’d mentioned. I almost immediately regretted asking, as he merely smiled deviously as he said, with slightly more allure in his voice.

“An Aquastrian is a pony consisting mainly of gelatinous material, possess no organs, live solely by absorbing liquids, and can change form rapidly and at will. The problem is that, although they live indefinitely, they are fragile creatures, and ponies oftentimes consider them to be disgusting due to their tendencies to leave hoof-prints of slime wherever they go. There are spells to fix these unattractive factors, but I highly doubt other ponies would be tolerant if you chose to take up such a form.”

“Are there any more?” I asked, marking that path as a last-ditch effort. Though it seemed uncomfortable, it didn’t seem too distressing so long as it allowed me to stay alive.

“Although I would prefer, and I’m sure you do as well, to take up the form of an immortal being, I do have one final idea. The last venue is to make a deal with Discord, and have him set your physical being permanently. The problem is that the terms of his negotiations are oftentimes… strange, and given your unique nature I’d like to reserve that for something to do if we simply can’t find any other viable options. He is oftentimes cruel in his dealings. After all he did once turn the entirety of Lake Metronome into lard, killing all the aquatic life there on a whimsy.”

“What were his terms in the past?” I asked, almost not wanting an answer.

“Eternal servitude, curses such as vampirism, becoming dependent on drinking only vinegar, getting papercuts under your hoof every single day for the rest of eternity, being unable to tolerate direct moonlight, direct sunlight, being unable to control yourself around those of the same species, leading to some rather uncomfortable, albeit arousing situations, feeding only on liquids brought on by sexual stimulation, having everything you touch turn to cheese, being unable to eat or drink anything but cheese, being in a state of permanent blindness, deafness, or muteness, not being able to feel emotions, and finally, the worst in my opinion, having no skin.”

I reeled from the intake of information, but eventually I regained my wits enough to respond with. “Why don’t I just head to him right now and see what his terms are, then decide whether I want to take the deal?”

“Because he has a curious way of making the worst things sound enticing.” Lune warned. “Besides, you owing your servitude to another when you already serve so many is dangerous. He will insist on his contract with you overruling all others. Considering his magic is stronger than all of ours’ put together, it probably will. Meaning that I will have no say on where you live, what you do or how he treats you. It would be best to avoid him until it is absolutely necessary if you’re to live forever.”

That morning he luckily fell asleep curled against me, having been too tired to truly enjoy a round or two in bed. I understood, and was actually grateful for his lethargy. Even though I knew that my plot was just as supple and tight as it was before Lune or Solaris had used me, due to the collar I still wore around my neck, I wasn’t too eager to have anything inside of me after my unwilling reaming I’d received from Prince of Light. The rest of the evening was spent discussing potential avenues we could explore in my eventual goal of immortality, although he didn’t seem eager to see me transform into anything other than a natural pony. In all he wanted me to try the Elements of Harmony first, then attempt to live as another species, and finally after all was lost I could possibly try and strike a deal with the spirit of chaos. Although he was trying to steer me away from it, I honestly was thinking of possibly becoming a dragon or dragoness. He wasn’t very eager to see me attempt that lifestyle, but he did know that indeed, dragons could live indefinitely, and some species were just the size I was in my current state. Another possibility was that of a phoenix, although both of us know that would have been quite awkward when it came to being romantic. We briefly touched on me becoming one of the half-pony creatures that often roamed the realm of Tartarus, but after a while the option become less and less attractive, considering most had socially crippling drawbacks that would prevent me from ever showing my face in public.

Once we woke that evening we had a brief discussion as we readied for our respective schedules, each of us knowing that we would be heading our separate ways until that morning, a whole thirteen hours without seeing one another. I was to head to Cadenza’s quarters in the southwest corner of the castle, near the dungeons that he presided over. One would think that a stallion as kind as Cadenza wouldn’t want to be around such dreadful places, but indeed that was where he’d set up his tower. His wife Shimmer Shield also worked in that wing, so it only made sense that he kept close. Although I would be heading to spend my evening with a happily married couple, I knew that I had to expect the unexpected. Cadenza was a good stallion, from what I’d heard of him, but I knew that Solaris had struck me as a nice stallion before the dreadful events of the past three days. I knew better than to trust anypony I hadn’t learned to confide in on my own.

I couldn’t help but feel slightly burdened as I carried a saddlebag full of one single book on my back, heading towards the southwest wing. The prison section of the castle was undoubtedly the most guarded, but as far as civilian ponies went they were few and far between. The only ponies I saw were guards, clad in their golden armour and always staring ahead of them with the same stoic expression. A few I saw stared back at me with interest, as if they’d heard of me and my role with Solaris and Lune. I did my best to ignore their gaze and trot ahead, eventually arriving at what I could only assume was Cadenza’s quarters. A massive oaken door, painted blue with splashes of yellow and pink, barred the way into the tower. I knocked, my knees aching at that point from carrying the many book Lune had wanted me to read all the way across the castle. The book was what he called ‘infinitely detailed’ and learned on its own what I wanted to read about by how long I spent on a page. It reset once I closed it, but if bookmarked it would save the page. The book was that of anatomy, and covered every known species of every race in existence. Lune wanted me to learn of my options by spending time in the ‘immortal/magical creatures’ section of the book.

A few moments after I’d knocked on the door a unicorn mare I’d never seen before answered it, her coat gleaming white in the glow of the sunset. She struck me incredibly groomed, her face and mane free of all blemishes save for a single freckle on her right cheek, which stood out on her pale complexioned face. Her hooves were blue, and her mane blazed an even more royal shade of navy than Lune’s as she stood there in the doorway, regarding me as if I were a stranger. After a second of wondering who I was it dawned on her who I must be, and she looked back into the tower excitedly, as if whomever was in there had just been talking all about me and my relations with the other two princes.

“You must be Felt Feathers!” She said, her horn flashing as she held the door open. “My name is Shimmer Shield. I’m Cadenza’s wife, but I’m sure Lune’s told you all about that. Anyways, come on in. Solaris was just talking about you.”

I trotted inside before I stopped, just as the door closed behind me. Solaris, the one pony I had been hoping, praying to avoid during all of this was there. Specifically, he’d been talking about me, to Cadenza and Shimmer Shield. I numbly followed the mare through the hall leading up to the living room, which was decorated in almost gaudy white, blue and pink colours that seemed to lace perfectly with one another even though one would think they would clash. I froze in the doorway as I saw Solaris, sitting on Cadenza’s couch, smiling and sipping tea while the other prince droned on about re-integrating prisoners into society. The conversation halted as I entered the room, and the Light Prince set down his cup of tea, his expression cunningly observant of the fact that I was petrified by the sight of him. I felt my tail tuck between my legs as I felt that, indeed, the collar around my neck was working as his will took precedence over my own. After I could feel every shift in his immediate wants, he began to puppeteer me into place.

‘Sit.’ Was all he commanded, nodding at an empty spot beside him.

I fearfully sulked over to the couch, my hooves dragging on the white carpet. My tail refused to come out from over my loins, as if it instinctively knew what Solaris had a habit of doing to me. I had to resist the urge to physically contact the prince, for laced under his general commands was the furious desire for me to lay my hooves on him in a display of affection. I felt nothing close to love for the stallion after last night, and now that I couldn’t move without his permission I almost actively loathed the sight of him. Despite the fact that I mentally rejected all feelings for him my body was giving my different signals, and I knew I was turned on by him when I felt my internal muscles flexing, as if awaiting the organ that it had become so accustomed to pleasuring. I even felt my own stallionhood grow slightly more sensitive in his presence, and there was nothing that I hated more than to admit that indeed, the Light Prince had turned my own body against me. As I settled down next to him the bell on the collar rang out, coaxing a curious glance from both Shimmer Shield and Cadenza.

“This is Felt Feathers.” Solaris said with a satirical grin. “He’s my most beloved assistant. He does whatever I command of him, and loves every second of serving me. Don’t you, Felt?”

“Yes.” I said, without him forcing me. “I’ll do whatever you ask of me, and adore any task you set me to. You’re… my master, and it’s a pleasure serving you in any way I can. As long as it makes you happy.”

Solaris looked overjoyed as he set a wing over me, pulling me close whispering into my ear, so that only I could hear him. “At last, you at least learn to go through the motions…” He paused to let his slighting praise sink in, to show me that he was proud of my obedience. “But simply saying that doesn’t convince me. You need to prove to me that you truly will do anything on command, and that you genuinely enjoy serving me, no matter what task I assign you. That’s why I came here today, Felt… because I might have you nodding along, but I want you to put your heart and soul into this.”