Harvest Moon landed on the cobblestones with a little flourish of his bat-like wings. There was nopony there to see, but that was beside the point. He was feeling quite good and very much looking forward to this evening's activities. There was, admittedly, a faint hint of nervousness somewhere down near the base of his spine, but it was a good sort of fear. Tonight was going to be exciting in ways he probably couldn't even imagine.

He looked up at the red lantern that glowed beside the door he was about to enter and grinned, showing short, sharp fangs. This was going to be a lot of fun.

Inside he paid his bits to the unicorn behind the desk, but was told he would have to wait. He frowned. "How long?"

"Not long. She's simply cleaning up after her last customer."

"Could I book an appointment, next time?"

"Of course. Shall I put you down for one?"

Harvest nodded. He couldn't imagine very many reasons to not come back. "Might as well."

They spent a few moments working out what time would suit, and the unicorn noted it down in a little book, which he then closed with a satisfied snap.

Harvest sat and waited, looking around the plushly furnished little antechamber curiously. Everything was quality, speaking of wealth and opulence. He wondered how Ember afforded it, given how cheap her prices were. He watched the fire cheerfully burning in the hearth for a while, and after what seemed like a small eternity but was probably no more than twenty minutes at most, the unicorn coughed gently and said, "Ember will see you now."

Harvest spared a moment to wonder how the stallion knew, since Ember certainly hadn't come out and told him. But no doubt it was some unicorn magic thing. He shrugged mentally and trotted through the door, eager—if slightly nervous—anticipation filling him.

"Harvest Moon." Ember was seated on her lounge again, smiling warmly despite her long fangs. "It's good to see you again. Come, sit down."

He settled onto the couch across from her. "Uhm. Hi."

"So, what can I do for you tonight? Much the same as your previous visit?"

"Ah. Uhm. Yes. Maybe, uhm, a little more?"

Ember raised one eyebrow and smiled a bit wider. "More?"

"I just... well... I liked what you did. A lot. So, uhm..." He tried to settle his nervousness. Considering what Ember had done to him, just talking shouldn't be embarrassing, right? "The biting. And the things you said. And I, uh... I..." He took a deep breath then finally blurted, "I thought maybe you could use a knife or something."

"Ah, I see. A slightly different scene than the dangerous changeling queen. What sort of danger, then? A sexy spy?" Green fire flashed and a slender, elegant unicorn mare—bone white with a shocking red mane and tail—lay there, giving him a sultry glance. Harvest licked his lips. She was very alluring. "Or perhaps something rougher, more simple, more... in theme with the knife itself might appeal?" Changeling fire this time revealed a unicorn stallion, blue of coat and mane, but rough, with an unshaven scruff and a scar across his face. He leered at Harvest, and Harvest felt a knot form in his throat. He swallowed. This form was not alluring. Not even remotely. And yet... He shivered.

Ember chuckled softly. "I suspect I could get a very enjoyable experience from the first. But this one..." Her—his? Harvest couldn't really think of this rough pony as a mare—grin widened and he said, "Ah yes. I recall that last time you wanted to be afraid. This will do for fear, don't you think?"

"It... yes. Uhm. Yes." Harvest swallowed again, unable to think of anything else to say.

"Although you said you liked the biting. Perhaps one more small change." The grin was suddenly even more toothy, fangs as long as Harvest's own, and perhaps a little bit sharper, appearing with a faint flicker of green.

Harvest licked his lips.

"Now, you do remember the safe words I explained last time?"

Harvest nodded.

"Excellent. Since you do specifically want knives, I assume a little blood will be okay?"

Harvest gulped. "A little, yes. Not like... everywhere, I don't want to have to see a doctor. But some."

"Of course. Though you may have some very small scars. I use quite sharp knives, but I can't guarantee no scarring."

He nodded. "That's okay."

Ember smiled again. "And... are you still interested in sex along with the other fun things I'm going to do to you?"

Harvest found himself blushing a little, but nodded again.

"Also excellent. In that case, why don't we retire to the bedroom, where I can retrieve a knife from my toy collection, and we can get started?"

Harvest nodded once more, feeling like a bit of an idiot for not knowing what to say, but also feeling a rising tingle of pleasantly fearful anticipation. This was going to be intense.

Inside the bedroom, Harvest hovered a bit uncertainly, not knowing where to go, while Ember went to a closet door that he hadn't noticed on this last visit. He had been rather distracted, so he'd had good reason for missing it. Inside it proved to be lined with shelves, and the shelves were mostly covered in boxes. One box was soon withdrawn in Ember's emerald magic and set on the floor in front of Harvest. It had an assortment of small tools. Ember pulled three knives from it and hovered them in his field before Harvest's eyes. "Would you like to pick the blade I'm going to cut you with?"

Harvest hesitated, then tapped a folding knife with his hoof somewhat shakily. As Ember put away the other two and stowed the box again, he said, "I was worried you might not have even one. I thought about bringing my own."

"You can always bring your own toys if you like. But knifeplay is, well, if not exactly common then not exactly rare either. You are not the first to be interested in it."

"Oh." He knew that he wasn't alone, of course, but he had thought such things were very rare indeed. Then again, Ember hardly moved in typical circles. "Common" among Ember's customers didn't necessarily mean common, did it? Still, there was something a little reassuring about knowing he wasn't a complete freak.

"But it's time to start, now." As that last syllable fell from the rough stallion's lips his horn glowed and several things happened at once. The room's light switched off, plunging Harvest into darkness. Even his batpony eyes couldn't adjust instantly, so for a moment it was a shock. The light from the closet was still on, just leaking out of the nearly-closed door, backlighting Ember dramatically. He lunged forward at that same instant, shoulder-checking Harvest a little bit roughly. It didn't quite bowl him over but it sent him back on his hindquarters. And even as he did that, Ember also swung the knife forward in his magic, holding the tip at Harvest's throat, instantly cutting off the urge to try to rise back to a more steady stance.

He froze exactly where he was, his heart pounding. Ember crowded up against him, chest to chest, that rough stallion's form proving to be a few inches taller than Harvest was. He spoke in Harvest's ear, a harsh not-quite whisper. "If you know what's good for you, you're going to be very, very well-behaved for me tonight, colt."

Harvest swallowed hard, and felt the tip of the knife prick a bit more firmly as he did. He bit back a whimper. "Y-yes."

"That's 'yes sir,' colt!" The knife pushed just a little harder, and Harvest tried very hard not to flinch.

"Y-yes sir!"

"Better." Ember smiled. It was a sadistic sort of smile that definitely showed off his sharp fangs. "Now I'm going to get a few more things I need. You are going to sit right here and not move even an inch, or when I get back I'll make you regret it. Got it?

"Yes sir."

"Good." Ember turned and vanished back into the walk in closet. Harvest sat very still, trying to slow his breathing just a bit. This version of Ember was almost more terrifying than the evil changeling queen. It felt less like a fantasy, more like the scenario they were playing out might be real somehow.

When Ember reappeared, he was carrying several coils of rope in his magic. "Up on the bed," he ordered, frowning at Harvest.

Harvest climbed up into the large bed. Ember dropped the rope beside him, then shoved him over onto his back, using both hooves and magic to push and position him. He found he was breathing fast again, his heart already pounding in anticipation. Ember started tying his hooves to the bed, one at a time, pulling him this way and that as she did so. He was taking his time, looping and knotting each rope with care. The slowness was almost maddening. Harvest squirmed, tugging against each restraint as it was completed. They were very secure, he felt no give, and though they weren't so tight as to hurt, they were certainly too tight to wiggle out of, no matter how he tried.

At last Ember was finished, and sat back to admire his work. Harvest squirmed more as Ember looked him up and down. Tied on his back like this he felt dreadfully exposed, and his already partially erect cock was extremely obvious. He flushed as Ember grinned lasciviously down at him. "Very nice. And you held still for me, so I don't have to make you regret it. On the other hoof, I never did say what I was going to do to you if you obeyed, did I?" He flicked open the knife with an audible click.

Harvest shivered. Ember floated the knife in front of his face, hovering in a green glow. "Now let's see. Where shall I begin? Somewhere where the marks won't show much, I think." With that he moved the knife down, and Harvest felt the prick of it against his chest, right in the center. He held perfectly still, trying to not even breathe. He felt the knife draw down along his chest, barely brushing at first, then moving back up pressing in harder, enough to hurt a little. He let out a low moan.

"Maybe I'll draw a pretty picture on you. How would you like to have my cutie mark say, right about there?" The knife dragged down suddenly, harshly, making Harvest cry out in shock, and stopped just at his navel. It stayed there, holding still for a long moment and Harvest, trembling, lifted his head and looked down. He expected to see a bloody line, but his hide was still unmarked. The knife was resting against his stomach reversed, Ember had been using the back, blunted side.

Ember laughed. "Hurts more than you'd expect, doesn't it? I'll get to the real fun soon enough, though." He traced the reversed knife in a circle around Harvest's navel, then dipped it lower, running it along the inside of one thigh. Harvest whimpered. The scraping, pricking touch of the knife's tip did hurt even if it didn't cut, and the skin there was very sensitive. The hardening of his erection revealed all that needed be said about the effect the pain and fear were having on him, though.

The knife glided up again, and twisted suddenly, turning, the sharp edge now set against Harvest's skin. He caught his breath, once again freezing completely. It rested at the center of his chest again, and this time Ember moved it in a little flick to one side, swift yet controlled. Harvest hardly felt it, it had been so fast, but red beaded bright against his dark coat now.

"Ah, there's the sweet sight of your blood. How delightful. We'll both see more of it before I'm done," said Ember. He bent then and lapped up the scant drops, his tongue slow and sensuous against Harvest's chest. "Delicious."

Harvest let out a low moan. The licking made the wound sting more than the cutting itself had. Ember chuckled softly, darkly, and traced the knife along his ribs, just brushing the point through his fur. He ran it along the outside of Harvest's thigh this time, over the cutie mark. Harvest shuddered. The thought of getting a scar across his mark was uniquely terrifying. Ember wouldn't actually do that, would he? He realized he hadn't asked him not to, and shuddered again as he felt the knife press harder. He flinched away from it, panting hard, but once again saw that Ember had reversed the knife and was using the back side.

But even as Ember moved the knife away from his cutie mark and around the front of his thigh, he reversed it again, and it bit in, drawing a thin red line across the front of his thigh. Harvest whimpered, then moaned again as once more Ember lapped at the wound. This time, after licking the blood from it, he nipped Harvest's thigh sharply. "You are a tasty little morsel, colt."

He turned his head as he lifted it and blew a warm breath over Harvest's cock, then laughed when it twitched and Harvest moaned in response. "You don't want me to pay attention to your little prick, colt. Not while I have the knife out." And he ran the back of the knife, not even the tip, just the cool metal, along Harvest's cock briefly, which made him freeze once again, actually holding his breath. Ember laughed again, and moved the knife on.

The teasing continued for what seemed like forever, mostly using the back and the very tip, almost never drawing blood, but occasionally biting in. There were more than half a dozen shallow red lines showing through Harvest's hide by the time Ember at last set the knife down. Most had been licked clean, but a few oozed blood still.

Ember looked down at Harvest, putting on a mock-thoughtful expression, resting his chin on his hoof. "Now whatever shall I do to you next? I suppose I could cut a little bit deeper, do some real damage, but then you'd no doubt end up fainting, and it's no fun without an audience. I could try cutting something off, maybe. You wouldn't miss an ear, would you? Or maybe I could cut one of those wings a little, hmm?"

Harvest instinctively pulled his wings tight against his sides. The membranes on the bat-like wings were terribly fragile. He could still fly with a little damage, but it wouldn't take much to ground him.

Ember laughed. "I could do anything at all to you, colt, and you couldn't stop me." He floated the knife to Harvest's throat and drew the tip slowly across it. "I could end this, right here, right now, if I wanted to."

Harvest shivered, his heart pounding.

"Maybe I could cut off something a little more near and dear to you than an ear?" The knife was suddenly at Harvest's groin, resting against his ballsack. He whimpered and tried to flinch away from it.

"Ah, but damaging that would be a waste. No, I think I'll try something quite different." Suddenly the knife was moving, but not to touch Harvest. Instead it cut the ropes that bound him, leaving them attached to his legs, but severing them from the bed. Harvest pulled his legs in, rubbing at one wrist with the opposite hoof. Now that he could move again he realized how stiff and uncomfortable he'd become.

But Ember didn't let him just lie there, Ember's magic picked him up, the whole room cast in a green light as the glow covered him completely, and flipped him over in one swift motion.

Before Harvest could even react to that, Ember was atop him, the big, rough stallion's body pinning his down, Ember's hooves on his shoulders, and the hot length of Ember's cock pushing against his flanks. Ember leaned forward and bit his ear, hard. He yelped and Ember laughed, then said, with soft intensity, "I'm going to make you into my mare, colt, and if you fight, I'll go ahead and cut off that nice little dick of yours. So you'd better just lie there and enjoy yourself, got it?"

Harvest whimpered, his ears going flat back against his head. The knife was suddenly there again, pricking at his throat. "I said got it?"

"Uhm, y-yes sir!" stammered Harvest.

"Good." Ember shifted, lifting his rump, rubbing his hard cock under Harvest's tail. Harvest's own tail arched up and aside in eager cooperation, but Ember didn't move to take him immediately. He changed the angle of his hips a bit, pushing his cock between Harvest's legs, pushing beneath him, between the soft bed covers and his body, Ember's cock now rubbing against Harvest's own cock and balls. Harvest let out a low groan at that. The contact felt incredibly good after all the teasing he'd been subjected to.

Then Harvest yelped as Ember bit down on his ear again, hard. Ember chuckled and nipped again, more lightly, then started to nibble down the side of Harvest's neck, all while still slowly rubbing their cocks together.

When Ember reached the sweet spot, just at the base of Harvest's neck, right above the shoulder, he lingered there, nipping roughly, his fangs digging in over Harvest's pounding pulse, making him moan even more.

Ember moved then, lifting his hips away from Harvest to reposition, his cock rubbing now directly beneath Harvest's tail. "Are you ready for me, colt? Ready to be my mare?" Harvest felt a sudden dampness, even as Ember's rough voice whispered in his ear, and realized that he'd cast a lubricating spell. He squirmed, his wings twitching. He wanted to push back onto the hardness that pressed against him, but was pinned too thoroughly to move.

He didn't have to move, though, for Ember soon began to push forward, slowly pushing the head of his cock into Harvest. He paused there, Harvest panting beneath him, wings still trembling faintly. Ember let out a low, almost feral growl and bit down on the back of his neck, hard. Harvest gasped, then cried out as Ember suddenly shoved his hips forward, hilting his cock with one hard thrust.

"Mmm." Ember let go of his neck and whispered in his ear, panting hard himself now. "Now I'm going to show you how I take a mare."

Before he'd even done speaking, Ember started to take him in earnest, thrusting deep and hard each time, nipping and biting at his neck and withers. It was rough and primal and incredibly intense. It became even more so when Ember once again bit at the side of his neck, not over the vein this time but close enough, and didn't hold back when doing so. His fangs sank in, deep and hard, drawing blood, making Harvest let out a cry that had more of pain than pleasure in it. But there was pleasure there too, and as Ember bucked his hips, slamming into Harvest, he was pushed against the bed, his cock trapped between his belly and the blankets rubbed back and forth by the motion. It was rock hard and leaking pre-cum, aroused almost to the point of climax as much from the mental aspects of what Ember had done as from the physical sensation of rubbing against the soft bedding. He half-spread his wings and moaned repeatedly, tensing his body, wanting release. The pain, though, conflicted with the pleasure, keeping him short of achieving it, and he whimpered, tensing harder, clenching down on Ember's cock within him.

"Ahh." Ember let go of his neck and lapped at the bloody fang marks there, murmuring, "Good little mare. Good bitch. You want it, don't you?"

"Stars! Yes! Please..." Now that Ember wasn't biting him so hard the pain faded a little bit, and the pleasure grew. Harvest was already nearly there.

Ember grunted, moving even faster, in short, jerky strokes now. "Yesss. My little bitch. Almost... ahh... Yes!" With a sudden shudder and one more brutally hard thrust Ember came. A few more slower strokes as his seed pumped out into Harvest, filling him, and then he went still. He lay atop Harvest for a long moment, panting. Harvest was panting too, and he squirmed a little bit, his wings fluttering. He hadn't quite gotten there.

Somewhat breathlessly, Ember laughed. "I should just climb off and leave you wanting me, my sweet little bitch mare. But you've been good. So..."

Harvest yelped in surprise, then moaned, as a warmth enveloped his cock. Ember's horn was glowing, his magic wrapping around Harvest, stroking him. He groaned deeply, and then he came, his seed spurting into Ember's field.

For some time afterward the pair simply lay there, both exhausted. Ember had worked hard, and Harvest Moon had been worked hard. Finally Ember climbed off of him and, with a flicker of green fire, returned to her normal form. Harvest rolled over onto his back with a deep sigh. "That..." He stared up at the ceiling, his gaze still somewhat unfocused.

Ember chuckled softly and started untying the ropes that were still attached to his legs. "That was good, I hope."

"Moon and stars, yes."

Ember chuckled again. "I agree. But come, let's get cleaned up."

She helped Harvest to his hooves. He was a little bit unsteady on them. He felt euphoric, but also rather detached, almost as if he were high or drunk. Ember guided him to the big shower, where double shower heads on either side of the tiled cube poured wonderfully warm water over them both. He sighed contentedly and let her soap him up, washing his coat thoroughly and being very careful cleaning all the little cuts she'd left. He winced as she cleaned them, but none were especially long or deep, so they only stung a little bit.

She toweled him off as well, being as gentle and attentive now as she'd been forceful and rough earlier. When that was done she extracted a first aid kit from her apparently well stocked closet, and cleaned the cuts again, this time with an antiseptic, and applied sticking plasters to each of them.

"There you go," she said when that was done. "Feeling better?"

He nodded. "Yes. Thank you. I hadn't really expected you to be so... nice, after."

Ember smiled. "Well, I've found that after very intense sessions most people need a little care, and some time to wind down."

Harvest nodded again. "Thank you."

He flushed a little, realizing he'd just said "thank you" twice, but Ember only smiled and replied, "You're welcome." Then she added, "Did everything else live up to your expectations."

"Yes, absolutely. Very much so. It was all just... amazing."

"I'm glad." Her smile broadened and she gave him a little wink. "And in that case, I shall look forward to seeing you again."

Author's Note

Another story commissioned by Cynewulf.