Carte Blanche: The Paradox of Hedonism

Carte Blanche: The Paradox of Hedonism Chapter 6

Caligula stared out of the window, her eyes drifting back and forth over the horizon that stretched across the Eternal Sea. The day was warm and humid, leaving her coat damp even if she remained within the cool confines of her house. Seagulls and parrots flew overhead of the small southern Equestrian town, squawking and barking at each other over bits of breads that several ponies threw to them out in the two center. Although town officials generally advised against feeding the birds due to health and dependance reasons, nopony actually enforced such silly rules and ponies were free to feed however many birds that they wished.

Stableside was a close town anyways, with everypony knowing everypony on more or less a first name basis. Neighbors took care of of each other’s foals or house sat while they were away, and ponies at the local market place all held specific discounts depending upon which pony was asked or coerced. If something big within the town happened, everypony who lay within the town’s limits knew within the first hour and had viewed the event within the first two hours.

Caligula sat back on her haunches and sighed. She longed to step outside and play in the Eternal Sea, building sand castles with her dad or looking for seashells along the beach with her mom. However, later today she also had an appointment with a photoshoot so that she and her parents could take pictures. An easy way for her mom to make some early Hearth’s Warming presents. Going outside and running about or playing in the salty Eternal Sea would soak or cause her coat to become all crusty, which would make her look utterly ridiculous for such a formal appointment.

Perking her ears, Caligula heard the heavy hoofsteps of her dad making his way down the hall towards her room. Before he managed to knock on her door, she pulled the door open and beamed up at him with a giant, filly smile. He smiled back and chuckled.

“Heard me again, did you?” he asked.

“You walk like a big elephant,” Caligula said with a bounce.

“I suppose I do,” her dad replied. “You might want to be careful or I might accidentally squish you under my fat hooves.”

Caligula squeaked when she saw her dad lift his hoof as if to stomp on her, and she dashed towards the other side of her room, giggling. Her dad rushed into the room just as the doorbell downstairs rang, but that didn’t stop him when he saw her dive behind the bed. He sped around the bed and lunged at Caligula, but being as small and nimble as she was she jumped up onto the bed. She stuck her tongue out when he crashed into the nightstand.

“Ugh, hey, get back here, you!” her dad chuckled.

Still fawning over her victory, Caligula didn’t noticed her dad’s hoof come and scoop her right off of the bed. She yelped and squirmed in his grip, but it was already too late. Her dad was in the perfect position to give her what she detested most: tickles. He buried his muzzle into her belly and blew raspberries, causing Caligula to burst into a fit of manic giggles.

“Nooooo!” Caligula shouted, kicking her little hooves and giggling uncontrollably. “Nooo, dad! Stooop! Not my tummy!”

Her dad chuckled and continued the tickle onslaught until he saw that she was nearly out of breath. Smiling at her, he tossed her into the air and onto her bed where she landed with a “whump.” Caligula giggled some more and quickly scrambled onto her stomach, her tail wagging behind her as she crouched low and stared at her dad with a smile.

“Nuh uh,” her dad said with a shake of her head. “You need to get ready for the photoshoot, missy. Your mom said to go and take a shower before changing into the clothes you're supposed to wear.”

“Daaaad,” Caligula groaned, flopping onto her back again. “It’s so hot. Can’t I skip the shower?”

“You’re all damp from the humidity already,” her dad pointed out. “If you take a cold shower, you’ll both cool down and be all freshened up for when we head on over to the place.”

Caligula pouted. “But I took a shower this morning!”

Caligula’s father opened his mouth again, but he was stopped short by a feminine voice from downstairs.

“Dear? There’s some ponies here that we need to talk to.”

“I’ll be right down,” Caligula’s father called back. He then looked back at his daughter. “Go and shower up now. No buts, just do it.”

He got up from his position on the side of Caligula’s bed and trotted out of the room. Groaning after he left, Caligula rolled onto her stomach again before crawling off of her bed and towards her door. She pushed the door open and meandered her way down the hall towards the bathroom, muttering to herself something along the lines of being already clean.

Once she reached the bathroom door, her ears perked up when she heard a group of voices talking amongst each other downstairs. Looking at the door again for a only moment, she took a minor detour from her shower and trotted over towards the stairs. The stairs sported a railing that overlooked the steps that led downstairs, and through the railings Caligula spotted a pair of zebras speaking to her parents. The zebras had several strange piercings covering their bodies and they both wore tattered black capes that shielded their backs and hindquarters from the sun.

Caligula strained her ears to catch the conversation that was going on between her parents and the zebras. She pushed her muzzle up to in between the railings and swiveled her ears forward.

“Hasira’s still waiting on the payment from you two,” one of the zebras said in a dark zebrican accent.

“Um, we weren’t expecting you to arrive so soon,” Caligula’s dad replied. “We’ve been trying really hard to collect enough money to make the payment, and we’re almost there.”

“You said that the last time several of our zebras came by to pick up the payment. Hasira’s given you close to a year to pay us back, but every time you’ve continued to stall and ask for more time. She’s growing impatient and demands that you pay your dues now.”

Caligula watched as her dad straighten out. “We almost have the payment this time. If you give us a few more weeks, we’ll have the final thousand bits to give back to you and the debt will be paid off.”

The zebra narrowed his eyes. “Almost isn’t going to cut it this time. When ponies ask Hasira for money she gladly loans out the desired amount, but only so long as they repay her in full at a reasonable time with no interest. It’s been nearly a year now since repayment was first demanded, yet you two still haven’t managed to scrounge up any of the remaining money.”

“How else can we pay then?” Caligula’s mother asked. “We don’t have anything we could give you.”

“There is one thing,” the other zebra, who had remained quiet up until now, said. “Where’s your daughter?”

Caligula’s blood ran cold and she saw both of her parents pale. Her dad stepped in front of the door, blocking the zebras from getting in.

“We are not giving up our daughter,” her dad said. “You can take anything else that we own. Our furniture, our food, but don’t you dare lay one hoof on our daughter.”

“You don’t have much of a choice at this point,” the zebra said. The other zebra drew a scimitar from underneath his cape. “Step out of the way.”

Caligula’s dad held firmly in place. “We said that you are not taking our daughter.”

“I don’t think you quite understand the circumstances here,” the zebra said. “You cannot pay the payment dued to Hasira, therefore you have to find some other way to pay her back. Seeing as you live in this… place, the only real option you have left is to give your daughter to us. Or, well… unless you feel the need to get her involved with the part of the contract that states what happens if you two fail to meet the terms of the contract.”

The two zebras and Caligula’s parents stared at each other in utter silence. The tension held between them forced Caligula’s hairs to stand on end.

“Time’s up,” one of the zebras said.

The zebra reared up onto his hind legs and bucked Caligula’s dad in the face. He was sent tumbling backwards, which forced a scream of terror out of both Caligula’s mom and Caligula herself. Both of the zebras rushed in and immediately spotted the filly making a break for it down the hall.

Caligula’s mother lunged at one of the zebras, but he merely shrugged her off and took off after the other zebra, who already had managed to bolt upstairs and was barreling down the hall after the filly. The slam of the door to Caligula’s room gave away her location and in no time the zebra was hammering on her door, loosening the screws holding the door in place.

Huddle off in a corner of her room, Caligula whimpered and cried to herself, shivering every time she heard the zebra beat on her door. More and more the screws loosened, and a crack started to form along the center of the door. Her heart raced and she folded her ears back against the sides of her head, but it did little to block out the bashing and cracking that continued to reverberate from the door.

Just before the door busted open, a blinding flash of light emanated from the center of the room and time seemed to stop. All of the noises that filled Caligula’s ears faded away, and all of the colors and textures that made up her room vanished right before her eyes to be replaced by utter nothingness. Black and empty space took hold of Caligula’s surroundings now, freeing her from the emanant threat of the zebras who wanted to capture or bring some sort of harm to her.

The darkness, however, failed to alleviate Caligula’s mind from the sudden terror that she just experienced, and she slowly curled up into a ball on the floor, shivering. The darkness didn’t welcome her with open arms like her room did, and the utter silence was so bizarre and eerie that she felt as she had gone deaf rather than sound merely ceasing to exist.

Caligula felt a hoof touch her shoulder and she squeaked, jumping into the air and spinning around. What she saw terrified her even more. Before her stood Princess Luna in all her regalia, her blue and silver mane and tail flowing in the windless air and her long, slim body dwarfing her own. Her large blue eyes sparkled even in the darkness, and her massive wings lay spread out on either side of her.

“There is no need to be afraid, little one,” Princess Luna said with a small smile.

“P-princess Luna?” Caligula stuttered, wide-eyed. “But… but I was with the zebras, and my parents, and Stableside, and I was being taken… And… i-is this a dream?”

Princess Luna nodded her head. “Indeed it is.”

“But, then…” Caligula looked down at her hooves. “How can you be here? In my dreams? I have to still be in Zebrica.”

Princess Luna’s smile faded, but she still held an aura of warmth about her. “That you still are, but just because you are so very far away from Equestria doesn’t mean that I can’t extend my reach to you, too.”

“B-but why stop my nightmare?” Caligula asked, relaxing a little. “I can’t be the only filly having a nightmare tonight.”

Princess Luna sighed and sat down on her haunches. The dark world around both she and Caligula in burst into a bright light, and in the next moment they were sitting in a large meadow of wildflowers. The meadow was surrounded by what looked like Whitetail Wood from the north part of Equestria, with the beautiful golden and orange leaves falling from their respective trees. On top of that, Caligula had a clear view of the Drakenridge mountains towards the northeast, their snowcapped peaks standing out like beacons across Equestria.

“That they are,” Princess Luna confirmed with a nod. Several birds flew overhead. “But I must speak to you in particular.”

“M-me?” Caligula asked, catching a glimpse of the birds. They were the same birds that she saw flying all over Whoazambique over the last two weeks.

“Yes. You have been taken far from your rightful home, young one, and on the basis of such horrible circumstances. My sister and I know of the trade ring that operates between Equestria and Zebrica, but such an operation isn’t so easily stamped out and, unfortunately, some of even our youngest make it through.”

Caligula sniffled and sat up, her tail wrapping around her legs. “A-are you here to take me back?”

“If only I could,” Princess Luna said with a shake of her head. “You’ve been taken far from our jurisdiction. No, only you can bring yourself back to Equestria, Caligula, where you rightly belong. I can do nothing more than try to offer the guidance require for you to reach your final destination.”

“But how can I do that?” Caligula asked. “It’s so scary here and everypony is watching me.”

“Sometimes the answer to our problems doesn’t come quickly and we must wait,” Princess Luna said. “As much as your predicament is startling and terrible, you must endure whatever you can. One day you will see your chance and take it, freeing yourself from the prison that you are currently held and take a turn in a new direction.”

“En… en…” Caligula scrunched her nose up in frustration. “Princess Luna, I don’t want to be a slave. I don’t want to be here any more.”

“I know you don’t, sweetling,” Princess Luna said with a sweet smile, “but you are a strong pony. Your day will finally come, and until then you will make the best of what you have. Even in the bleak world that you currently tread, light still pokes through in the places that you least expect it. Keep your eyes open and your ears trained; you’ll surely find what you’re looking for.”

A breeze ran through the dream, rustling Caligula’s mane. Princess Luna frowned and looked up into the sky.

“How will I know what to look for, though?” Caligula asked quickly. “There’s so many dark and scary things, how can there even be anything that can make me happy here?”

Princess Luna returned her gaze back to Caligula. “It may not be obvious now, but in time you will know what it is that you are looking for. In fact, you may have even found some now.” Princess Luna’s eyes turned green, turning into the spitting image of Jade’s eyes.

“J-Jade?” Caligula gasped.

“Have faith in her, Caligula,” Princess Luna said. “And don’t give up hope.”

“But… But, Princess-” Caligula started, but Princess Luna shook her head.

“Not now, young one,” Princess Luna said quickly. “I fear our conversation is coming to a close. Be wary, they come for you.”

~~~

“Little Caligula.”

Caligula’s eyes flicked open, meeting the soft eyes of Lovelock. Another pony stood behind him, one of the slaves that Caligula came to recognize living amongst all of the other slaves at the Red Sun House. Lovelock’s mouth had turned upside down into a frown, and dark bags hung over his eyes as he motioned for her to raise herself up out of bed.

“I must take you to place, Little Caligula,” Lovelock said.

“What place?” Caligula asked, yawning.

Memories of the dream Caligula just witnessed came flooding back into her mind. Her capture interrupted by Princess Luna, all vividly ingrained in her in her mind as if she visited Canterlot Castle herself only yesterday. Princess Luna had actually spoken to her, offered her some sort of assistance that she needed to free herself and get back home. Told about the opportunities that she had to hold on to the hope and sanity that she still retained.

“You must follow me,” Lovelock said. He paused, grimacing. “You may be able to understand when we get to there.”

Caligula rolled out of bed and balanced herself on the floor when her hooves touched down. Still groggy, she looked up at the top bunk towards Jade. The little zebra filly lay awake, watching both her and Lovelock in silence. Caligula smiled and waved at Jade, who smiled back at Caligula and waved as well, although her wave was small.

“Come on, let’s go,” Lovelock added. “Little Jade will still be sleep when you get back.”

Caligula listened to Lovelock’s urgings and turned, following the large zebra out of the slave quarters and turned down the hall towards Mistress Sandra’s office. The other slave followed them from behind, forming a train of ponies with Caligula shuffled into the center.

The longer they walked through the continued silence and the dark halls, Caligula grew more and more worried. She wondered whether or not she had committed some sort of atrocity or if what Sori had said earlier was true. Maybe some other slave master discovered that Master Nyeusi was in possession of a blank flank and wanted her for himself. She would then be sold and separated from Jade.

The group passed through a set of double doors and into a dimly lit room. In the center of the room lay a gurney raised up with two zebras dressed in sterile scrubs and wearing mouth caps standing around it. The room was tiled with dark stains covering some of the tiles around the bed. Around the outer walls were all sorts of cabinets and drawers that were undoubtedly filled with all sorts of things. In addition to the bed, there were also several large metal boxes with screens on them and a pole on wheels that carried a bag full of clear fluid.

One of the zebras, a male, turned towards the group and narrowed his eyes, spotting Caligula. He pulled down his face mask.

“This is Caligula?” he asked.

“Yes, sir, Ramesses” Lovelock replied.

“A filly…” Ramesses said and shook his head. “Get her strapped in.”

The female zebra sidled up to Ramesses. “We’re operating on a filly?”

“Apparently we are,” Ramesses replied quickly.

“Are you kidding me? Look at her, she looks like she’s no more than nine.”

“And what do you expect me to do about it, Genisis?” Ramesses asked, turning towards her and narrowing his eyes.

Caligula watched the two zebras bicker amongst each other as she was lead up towards the gurney. Lovelock lifted her onto the gurney before running a hoof through her hair. He gave her a sad look.

“Lay down on your back,” he said.

Caligula stared in Lovelock’s eyes before she slowly lay down onto her back. The gurney felt cold against her back, and she shivered by the time she had lowered herself completely onto the pad. She then felt both Lovelock and the other slave push all four of her legs into the leather straps that were situated, and they were promptly locked in place. Caligula struggled against the bonds.

“L-lovelock,” Caligula whimpered, “w-why are you strapping me in?”

“Shh, everything going to be okay, Little Caligula,” Lovelock said, stroking her hoof.

“Lovelock, please, let me go, I don’t want to be here!” Caligula said, her voice becoming more frantic.

“Gag her,” Ramesses instructed as he wheeled a cart over next to the gurney.

Lovelock pulled a piece of cloth off of the cart that Ramesses wheeled over and secured it to Caligula’s mouth. The little filly fought against her bonds and the gag, but when she looked up into Lovelocks eyes she ceased. He looked dejected beyond belief, and when the gag was finally secured around her mouth he pulled away from her with a tussle of her mane.

Looking over onto the cart that Ramesses wheeled over, Caligula felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end. Scalpels, scissors, and an assortment of other sharp objects lay on the table.

“Ramesses, we have to reconsider,” Genisis stated, sliding her own fask mask off of her mouth. “We majored in the same field, and I know damn well that you and I both know that what we’re doing against all of the laws of ethics that we studied and swore oaths under.”

Ramesses sighed and looked over towards Lovelock and the slave.

“Leave us,” he said. When Lovelock and the slave had left, he returned his attention back to Genisis. “Do you want to lose your job? Hm? We were hired by Nyeusi to perform another job for him, and the payout that we are to be given is big. Real big. Bigger than anything that we have ever worked under.”

“Does it really matter?” Genisis asked. “We could lose our licenses over malpractice such as this. Not only are we operating on a pony without their consent, she’s a filly.”

“And she’s also a slave,” Ramesses pointed out. “If we are caught and play our cards right, we won’t have to worry about losing our licenses. This is Zebrica, the land of black markets and everything wrong with the world. Do you really think what we are doing is a risk?”

Gensis stared long and hard at Ramesses. “I can’t believe what I’m hearing. You’re telling me that not only is it okay to operate on this filly because she’s a slave, but that you have a whole plan set up for the ‘just in case’ that we do caught?”

“Genisis, you have a husband and a foal to take care of. I have a foal of my own. If you think I don’t hold any sympathy for this filly then you are sadly mistaken. As much as I hate the very thought of operating on a filly without the consent of her or her parents—wherever they may be—I must think about the wellbeing of my own family first.” Ramesses flipped a switch under the gurney and a light overheard flickered to life. “Work here in Whoazambique is scarce; our services are just to expensive for most ponies that need our skills. So when we find work, we have to jump on it. Don’t tell me that I’m wrong.”

Genisis opened and closed her mouth a few times. When she couldn’t think of any words to counter Ramesses’ reasoning, she sighed and walked to the other side of the gurney.

“I’m sorry, young one,” Gensis said down to Caligula. “Stay strong and you’ll get through this, okay?”

Caligula nodded, confusion swirling about her mind and filling her eyes. Genisis pulled the long pole with the clear liquid attached over to her, while Ramesses stuck several cold patches onto Caligula’s chest. Looking over, Caligula saw that the patches were connected to a wire running towards the metal box, and on the screen a green, pulsating line appeared that beeped each time with her heart beat.

Looking back over to Genisis, she saw a needle connected to a tube that was then connected to the clear liquid. Caligula’s eyes widened and she squealed, but Genisis was too quick and already shoved the needle into Caligula’s forelegs. Next, Genisis procured a syringe and flicked the needle with her hoof.

“This is going to help you sleep while we get to work, okay?” Genisis asked Caligula.

The filly nodded her heard slowly, her eyes wide and the heart rate monitor beeping faster. Genisis glanced between Ramesses and the heart rate monitor, then stuck the needle into Caligula’s other foreleg and emptied it’s contents.

“Okay, now, I want you to count backward from a hundred,” Genisis said. “Can you do that.”

Caligula nodded again and began to count.

One hundred…

Ninety nine…

Ninety eight…

Ninety seven…

Caligula counted all of the way down to sixty two before she saw Genisis look over at Ramesses, a bead of sweat dripping down the side of her face.

“Ramesses, she’s not falling asleep,” Genisis said quickly.

“Up the anesthesia, then,” Ramesses said.

“She’s already at the max dosage for foals. Any more and there is a very good chance she could overdose.”

“Then we begin the operation whether she falls asleep or not,” Ramesses said, a beed of sweat also tricking down the side of his face.

“Are you kidding?” Genisis asked, appalled. “You’re going to operate on her while she’s still awake? Can’t we put this off for a few more days? Wait and try again later?”

“There is no ‘later. Nyeusi want’s this done today or we will be out of the job.”

Genisis grimmaced and pulled some towels and a set of tweezers off of the cart as well. She looked up at Ramesses, who stared at Caligula for a little while. The filly was starting to tear up, fear taking hold of her as she listened to the two zebra’s argue.

“Get the tape ready,” Ramesses said.

Genisis pulled out a recording device and set it on the on the table with all of the surgical supplies. She pushed the red button and the tape started recording. She nodded at Ramesses.

“This is Doctor Ramesses and Doctor Genisis,” Ramesses said. “This recording is for the tubal ligation operation of slave name Caligula. As per ordered by Nyeusi, the operation shall begin.”

Caligula raised her head up as she saw Ramesses pick the scalpel up and hold it over just below her belly. The pain was almost immediate, dulled by the anesthesia, but still ever present as the scalpel dug into Caligula’s skin. Nothing had felt more intense to the filly.

The gag muffled her screams.