Wilting Rose

Chapters

1. Back to Square One
2. For Survival
3. Insult to Injury
4. Opportunity Comes Knocking
5. Dance Me To The End Of Love

1. Back to Square One

“And… finished! How’s it look, Rarity?”

Walking over to the sewing machine table, Rarity peered over her red-rimmed glasses and looked over the dress her assistant had just finished. “Hmm… overlock stitches look fine. Trim is lined up correctly. No wrinkles or faded spots. Yes, looks perfect as usual, darling. Good job!”

Patting her helper on the back, Rarity lifted up the completed dress with her magic and hung it on a nearby rack. Counting the clothes in front of her, Rarity nodded in satisfaction. “Fabulous, I do believe that completes the order. Thank you so much for all your help, darling. You’ve been an absolute lifesaver and helper. I don’t think I could have finished this order all by myself.”

The crimson red mare sitting at the workbench turned to Rarity and smiled, brushing her forest green mane in slight embarrassment. “Anytime, Miss Rarity. If you have any more work I’m more than glad to help.” Rose Petal said.

Rarity nodded. “Of course you know I would, darling. I just wish I had more work for you. Business always slows down once the end of summer sale ends, and ponies just don’t seem to have as much fashion sense during the winter. But if I have any big orders come in, you know that I’ll be sure to call you immediately.”

The mare’s ears drooped slightly in disappointment but she managed to get them back up to hide her depression. “Don’t worry, I’m happy I had the opportunity to work with you. And yes, please do, I’d love to work on more dresses with you again!”

It only took a matter of minutes for the two ponies to clean up the scraps of cloth and loose string. Having completed the last few chores, Rarity retrieved a bag of bits from the cash register and gave it to Rose Petal. “Here’s your pay, plus a little extra for finishing your tasks ahead of time.” she said gratefully. “I do hope that things get better for you soon, dear.”

Rose Petal gratefully accepted the bag of bits, feeling that it was considerably heavier than she expected. A peek inside the bag proved her right; there was over a hundred extra bits inside. With absolute shock Rose Petal looked up at Rarity and opened her mouth to protest, but the white unicorn shushed her with her hoof.

“You very well earned that little bonus, darling. I won’t take no for an answer, so take care of yourself. And please, dear, do not hesitate to come back here if you need anything. Anything at all.” Rarity said caringly.

Rarity opened her hooves and Rose Petal eagerly and gratefully accepted the friendly gesture. Both ponies embraced the other tightly as they both had tears welling in their eyes, though once they finally separated they didn’t bother trying to hide their emotions. Rarity offered a kiss on the cheek as one last sign of her friendship before Rose Petal left, the mare walking out into the night, headed home.

Rarity watched the crimson red mare leave, a few tears managing to fall down her face. “Stay safe, Rose Petal.” she said before silently closing her door.

Walking through the sleeping town, Rose Petal made her way to the Ponyville Train Station. She wasn’t there to catch a late night train, though. Instead, the crimson mare made her way under the train platform, pushing open a crude wooden door that was unknown to everypony in Equestria except her.

“I’m home.” she announced to herself, the daily ritual always helping quell the overbearing loneliness she felt almost every day. The crude makeshift shelter was inhabited only by her and was where she currently called home. The space she had was barely the same size as the average bedroom, but for her it was more than enough for her needs. She had a discarded mattress for her bed in one corner and a wobbly dresser against the other wall while a single cracked firefly lantern lit the small space. All her possessions lay on top of the dresser with plenty of room to spare, and though there was no place for her to store or cook any food there was no need; she could never afford to buy more than a day’s worth of food, if any at all, as she usually begged for food or rummaged through other pony’s trash for her meals.

Carefully clearing a spot on the wobbly furniture, Rose Petal counted out the bits that Rarity had given her. The white unicorn had given her more than Rose had originally thought; the bag contained five hundred bits, almost double the amount Rarity had said she would pay her to help with her creations. Rose couldn’t help but shed a few tears at the unicorns amazing generosity. “Thank you, Rarity. I truly appreciate it.” she managed to sob out.

Despite having such a large sum of bits, Rose carefully placed every single one back into the bag and placed it in one of the dresser drawers. She then retrieved a piece of charcoal from the drawer and rubbed away a number scrawled on the dresser, replacing it with the number ‘514’. Dropping the charcoal back in the drawer, she smiled almost ear to ear as she saw how many bits she now had. It was by far nowhere near to improve her living conditions, especially with winter coming up. The 514 bits would buy her food every two or three days, meaning she would have to search or beg as usual, but the large sum gave her hope that maybe this winter would be easier than the others.

Opening the drawer below where her bits were stored, she looked at the brand new set of clothes that Rarity had made her a few days ago. Though it was only one outfit, it was specially made for her and would be just enough to keep the cold out once winter came. She quickly closed the drawer, not wanting to risk getting the clothes dirty too soon before wiping away another tear.

Though Rose had been living in Ponyville for almost two months, Rarity was the only pony that knew about her living conditions. The unicorn nearly had a heart attack after Rose finally opened up and told her about her past; from growing up in an orphanage in Baltimare, to moving across Equestria to Manehattan and working in a strip club, to being forced into prostitution to simply afford food. She had managed to escape by saving any bits she could and bought the cheapest train ticket she could to anywhere away from the city, and it just so happened that tickets to Ponyville were discounted the day she ran away. As soon as Rose had finished her tale, Rarity put her hoof down and demanded that she move in immediately, but Rose Petal refused, not wanting to burden any other pony with her troubles or misfortune. To counter Rose’s stubbornness Rarity tried to keep her working late as much as possible, then forced her to stay over at it was too unsafe for a mare to walk back home so late at night. Of course Rarity would also make a hot home-cooked meal for her and insist that Rose take a long, hot shower before retiring for the night in the guest bedroom.

Rarity had hoped that she would start to move in after a while, but Rose couldn't bring herself to drag another pony down alongside herself. She truly appreciated everything Rarity did for her and offered to do but she knew that Rarity had her own life to live and bills to pay. Like Rarity said, winter was always a slow time for sales, and the fashionable mare was always close to going under every winter just on her own; taking care of her would surely cause her to go bankrupt.

“Well, it looks like I’m out of a job again.” Rose Petal sighed. Though she liked the small town, there were hardly any job opportunities for her now that fall had arrived and winter would soon be here. She couldn’t fill any jobs meant only for pegasi and unicorns, and for an earth pony she was rather weak. The floral shop that had employed her for a few weeks was closed for the winter, but at least they had referred her to work for Rarity once they let her go. No other businesses could afford to hire another employee right now, so finding an actual job in town was out of the question. Added that she couldn’t afford to move to some other city and start all over she had very few options open to her… but there was one job she saw that nopony else in town was doing.

Ignoring the twisted knot that had formed in her stomach, she looked over at a rusted can that was tucked away in the corner. Looking inside, she grimaced as she looked down at a dirty plastic baggie with a dozen or so white pills inside, each of them stamped with the letter ‘H’. She had hoped to have never had to use these horrid drugs again, but they did help dull the pain and humiliation of when she used to sell her body to anypony willing to pay, especially with those who had strange or extreme fetishes and could pay to fulfill their fantasies. However, at least doing so meant a warm room and a soft bed for the night.

Sighing, Rose Petal turned away from the evil can and made her way over to her dirty mattress. Settling down on it, she nestled her head down on her forehooves and pulled her meager blanket over her body. A rogue blast of wind penetrated the makeshift walls and door, causing Rose to shiver slightly as she was hit by the cool fall air. ‘Hopefully this winter isn’t too cold.’ she thought before falling asleep.

2. For Survival

Three months passed since Rose Petal finished her last day working with Rarity. As fall turned into winter, the hustle and bustle in Ponyville died down as the townsponies spent more time indoors. Everypony hunkered down in their warm, cozy homes, content on riding out the winter indoors until Winter Roundup on the first day of spring.

Well, almost every pony.

During the day Rose tried to keep herself occupied to help pass the time. She had gone around town in hopes of finding some sort of job, any job, but as expected nopony was hiring. The only work she managed to find was helping Rarity with one custom order she had received, and despite Rarity’s insistence Rose knew that the unicorn had given her every single bit of profit from the sale. With no choice but to wait until something else opened up, Rose spent most of her time reading books in the library. It was the perfect place to go to every day; she managed to stay warm and nopony talked to her too much. However, she wished that she was instead working and earning as her savings were getting low.

With the sales of baked goods down, the town bakeries began making products on a custom-order basis. Doing so meant fewer items at the end of the day had to be thrown out, saving the shops bits. However, this caused a problem for Rose as she had to spend more bits than she thought to keep herself fed.

Under the platform of the Ponyville Train Station, Rose Petal awoke to another frigid winter day. Though she had managed to find a few more discarded blankets around town, the cold air was still enough to cause her to shiver while she tried to sleep. There was of course no way she could light a fire to keep her warm in her makeshift home, so her only option was to stay dressed in the clothes that Rarity made for her and the blankets, hoping that spring would come soon.

Another cold blast of wind caught Rose off guard, causing her to wrap her blankets tighter around her. She glanced over at the dresser and saw the number ‘48’ scrawled on one of the drawers. She sighed and hung her head as she saw how low her savings had become. She had planned on the five hundred bits Rarity had given her to last until a few weeks before spring, but thanks to the decreased food production and the especially cold winter Rose had been forced to spend her bits almost every day for food. There was still two more months of winter left and the pegasi said that they would need to make it even colder to meet the ice production quota, making Rose realize she needed to find some way to make bits, and fast. The only problem was she was out of options.

Well, almost out of options.

Rose sighed again as she tried to motivate herself to do what she needed to do. One of her most important policies was to never steal, no matter what, so she had to earn bits somehow. What she decided on doing was something she hated having to resolve to, but it wasn’t like this would be the first time she did this… nor would it most likely be the last.

As usual Rose left home and spent the remainder of the day at the library, but once evening came she headed off for the local dive bar. She knew the spots where she would find a stallion or two willing to indulge themselves in her services, hence why she tried to avoid such places up until today. She had promised herself that this would be her last resort, but unfortunately it came much sooner than she had thought it would.

Arriving at The Watering Hole, Rose paused outside the front entrance, wondering if it was really necessary to have to resort to this extreme just yet. Another cold gust of wind, coupled by a subtle growl from her stomach, answered her internal conflict, and with a sinking feeling in her chest she pushed open the door and slowly walked inside.

The air was definitely warmer than it was outside, but it was also very smoky and heavy. Rose Petal couldn’t help but cough as the almost-toxic air burned her lungs but she managed to step inside and began scanning the crowd. A random assortment of ponies made up the regular crowd; from a group of construction ponies laughing and drinking heavily to a businesspony sitting by himself at the bar. It made sense that such a wide variety of ponies were here as it was the only bar in town, so finding a potential client would hopefully be easy.

One hurdle that Rose did face was if anypony would be receptive to her services. She had no idea if any of these stallions would take up her offer or if they would go running to the local guards, and since there weren’t any other prostitutes in town she was slightly afraid that the latter would be the common reaction. Taking another look around the bar it didn’t seem like anypony was paying much attention to her, so Rose decided to see if anypony had ever hired a mare before and let them approach her.

She took a seat at a table off on the side and sat on part of her tail. It was a subtle thing, but if any of these stallions had ever sought a prostitute in any of the larger cities then they would know that she was open and available for ‘business’. Surprisingly, one of the stallions noticed her sitting position and walked over to her table, taking a seat across from her.

“Well, now this is a surprise. Didn’t think there were any of you in town.” the stallion said, looking over her body like a wolf would look at a piece of meat.

Putting on her best smile, Rose couldn’t help but shiver under his gaze. “Uh, y-yeah… just, you know, got into town.” she said nervously, wondering if it was too late to back out.

“So, how much?” the stallion said, getting right to the point.

Rose shuffled nervously in her seat as she recalled the old pricing list she was told to use when she was in Manehattan. “Um, well, fi- five bits for a h-hoofjob, twenty for my… my mouth. And, um…”

Rose had to stop momentarily but the stallion was becoming impatient. “Is that it?” he asked, unimpressed by the lack of choices.

Rose gulped. “Fifty for one ride, or… or two hundred for anything all night.”

Though two hundred bits would have been a big help for her, she hoped that the stallion would choose one of the first two options as she was already regretting her decision to fall back into this lifestyle. However, before she could change her mind the stallion pulled out a bag of bits and tossed a few onto the table.

“There’s fifty bits. You have someplace we can go?” he said flatly.

Rose stared at the bits for a few seconds before taking them with a shaking hoof. “I, uh… not really.” she said.

The stallion sighed in impatience, glancing around the bar. “Fine, come with me.” he said.

Both ponies got up from their seats, the stallion leading Rose back to the bathrooms. He motioned for her to enter the stallion’s room, and once she entered the bathroom she wrinkled her nose as the smell of the dirty bathroom hit her.

“We’re not… in here?” she asked. It wasn’t the dirtiest place she had done it, but she had hoped that he would have taken her back to his home to rut her.

Not bothering to answer her, the stallion pushed her up against the wall and mounted her. “Hey, you’re clean, right?” he asked her, his hardened shaft already poking at her exposed rear.

Rose Petal nodded. “Yeah, I’m clean.”

The answer was good enough for the stallion. Not wanting to waste any more time he thrust his hips forward and sunk his cock into her pussy, managing to sink almost his entire length into her in one go. The sudden intrusion caused Rose Petal to gasp out and grunt in slight discomfort as she was filled to capacity.

“Ah, nice and tight. Almost like a virgin.” the stallion said, starting to thrust his hips back and forth.

Rose grunted with some slight discomfort as she tried her hardest to not cry out in pain. “It-It’s b-been a whi- while.” she grunted, biting her lower lip.

Satisfied that his bits had been well spent after all, the stallion fell into silence as he continued thrusting in and out of the mare below him. All that could be heard was the lewd sound of the two ponies connecting together over and over again with the occasional grunt and moan coming from Rose Petal. The stallion was clearly enjoying himself, and though Rose was feeling pretty good herself the thought of degrading herself like this again quelled any enjoyment she may have felt.

It only took a few minutes for the stallion to begin thrusting feverishly, showing that he was getting close to finishing. Panting for breath, Rose turned her head slightly and tried to speak. “H-hey, you- you’re g-getting close, right? Don- don’t… don’t cum ins-.”

Rose Petal never got to finish her sentence, though it didn’t really matter as the stallion wasn’t listening. With an animalistic growl he gave a few slower but more powerful thrusts inside of her, his sperm erupting from his flared head and shot straight into her womb. He felt like he was in heaven, but Rose froze in horror as she felt him cum inside of her.

“No… Celestia, no.” she whispered to herself. While she wasn’t in heat, there was still the chance that she may conceive as she hadn’t been able to afford any contraceptives. She had hoped that her clients would either cum on her body or let her suck them off at the end, but obviously it was too late now.

Having finished emptying his load, the stallion gave one last thrust before dismounting her. Rose could only groan at the sudden feeling of emptiness, a warm trickle of fluids running down one of her hind legs. The stallion let his cock return to its sheath before he unlocked the door to leave, pausing at the door and looking back at Rose. “You were a nice fuck, I’ll be looking forward to hiring you again.” he said before walking back out to the bar.

In a daze, Rose Petal walked over to the sink and turned on the water, trying her best to wash away the cum around her crotch and on her legs. As she looked at her reflection in the mirror she broke down crying, falling into the fetal position on the dirty floor.

“I don’t want to do this.” she sobbed, but she didn’t have much of a choice.

This was her life once again.

3. Insult to Injury

‘Fifty more bits…’

Rose staggered out of The Watering Hole’s bathroom, a small amount of white fluid dripping out from her sore pussy. Trying her best to hide the evidence of being freshly fucked, the barpony nonchalantly looked up at her momentarily before returning to wiping down his glassware.

It had been three weeks since Rose Petal had started selling her body, having reached desperation in raising enough bits just to not starve to death. Every night she spent alone and curled up on her old dirty mattress as nopony in town seemed interested in taking her home for even one night. They treated her as a cheap fuck, filling her with their seed and then forgetting about her existence… at least until they wanted a quick release again.

The bits were at least helpful; she made fifty bits almost every night, sometimes even a hundred. She could have made more, but after each client she saw she felt the same sick feeling deep inside of herself and had to go home. Every single night she cried herself to sleep, disgusted that she had to resort to the one activity she swore she would never do again. Even worse, she was doing it on her own free will; the last time she was at least being threatened.

As she passed the doorpony on her way out he locked eyes with her and gave her a sly wink. She shivered at his gesture, recalling how he, the barpony, and the manager had cornered her one night and told her that they knew what she was doing every night, and if she wanted them to keep quiet she would have to service all three of them at once. It was the only night she had to resort to quickly downing one of the white pills as she was afraid that they would break her, which they almost did. They used her all night, the entire time using her all at once and never leaving one of her holes empty for more than a few seconds to switch places. By the time they were done with her she was coated head to tail in semen, Celestia knows how much more was inside of her. Needless to say she took the next night off to recover, but she dutifully returned the night after to raise enough bits to survive.

Once she reached her makeshift home, she deposited that night’s earnings into her hiding place and rewrote her savings on the dresser. 628.

She sighed slightly unhappily. She would have had more saved but the extremely cold winter forced her to go out and buy some additional blankets, as well as some more material to try to keep the wind from penetrating the crudely made walls. She desperately wanted to have enough bits to be able to ride out the rest of the winter without having to degrade herself any further, and once spring arrived she could help Rarity with her dress making. Then she could save up enough money and rent a room somewhere in Ponyville and start to rebuild her life. Maybe, just maybe, she could find happiness.

Crawling into bed Rose Petal tightly wrapped herself in her blankets, trying to stop from still shivering as the cold night air cut through her home. Keeping the thought of being able to sleep in a real room with a real bed, she fell asleep with a small smile on her face.

Once Celestia’s sun returned to the sky the next morning Rose Petal continued her usual routine. She spent all day at the Ponyville Library, and once afternoon became evening she left the warm building and began making her way to the bar. However, as she made her way through town she noticed that two Royal Guards seemed to be watching her. Trying to brush aside the uneasy feeling she had in her stomach she continued on her way, but out of the corner of her eye she saw that the two stallions began following her. She hoped that they were just coincidentally going the same way as her, but as she turned the final corner on her way to the bar she stopped dead in her tracks as a third guard was blocking her path.

“Woah there, missy. What’s a young mare like you doing out so late?” one of the guards behind her asked. All three guard closed in, leaving no room for her to run. Even if she did have an opening to escape, two of the guards were pegasi and the other was a unicorn; any one of them could easily catch and overpower her.

“I, uh, I’m just headed h-home.” she said nervously.

“Home, huh? That’s funny, I didn’t think there were any houses up this way. Just that bar there.” the guard in front of her commented.

“You sure you weren’t headed over there to go suck some cock, you whorse?” the third guard said.

Rose Petal opened her mouth to protest but was cut off by the guard that just spoke. “Zip it, slut. We know you’ve been taking it in all holes for bits in there.” he sneered.

One of the pegasi guards walked up to her and forcefully put a hoof on her shoulder. “Why don’t you come with us back to the barracks? I’m sure you have some pitiful excuse for bringing such behavior to our town.”

Knowing resisting would be futile, Rose Petal had no choice but to allow herself to be escorted back to the Ponyville barracks. While most of her was scared beyond belief about having been caught and now possibly facing prison time, a small portion of her was relieved that she wouldn’t have to be subjecting herself to any degrading acts tonight. But the fact remained that she still needed the bits…

The walk back to the barracks was made in silence. Once they reached the building the guards quickly threw Rose into one of the holding cells, slamming the cell door shut with a foreboding ‘CLANG’. Rose had no idea what was going to happen next as this was the first time she had ever been caught or taken to prison, though she had heard plenty of horror stories from her old friends and other ponies she had ‘worked’ with before. Then again, those were ponies who had served time in the major cities of Equestria; in this two cell prison, Rose was the only pony locked up behind bars.

It took over an hour before two of the guards finally returned to her cell. “Looks like you’re out of luck, missy.” one of them said. “The senior sergeant already went home for the night and won’t be back until morning, so it looks like you’re spending the night here.”

Rose Petal nodded, not having much of a choice or say in the matter. As the two guards turned to leave the other guard glanced back at her and looked her over with lustful eyes. “Hey, think we should test out her services? See if she’s legit?” he asked.

The remark earned him a cuff behind the ears by his superior. “Don’t be stupid. You really want to catch some disease that will make your dick fall off from that whorse? You’d be better off screwing a pile of donkey shit.” he laughed.

The insult stung Rose Petal, causing her to form tears in her eyes as she prided herself on keeping herself clean and free of any diseases. To help clear her mind of the insult she turned her attention to her temporary housing and found a simple straw-stuffed cot and wool blanket. Despite the lack of heat in the cell the room was still much warmer than her usual accommodations, not to mention there was no wind to make it even colder. However, the cell managed to prove to be even more lonesome than her tiny shelter under the train station, even with the noise of the guards in the next room.

The sudden noise of a door opening down the corridor caught Rose’s attention. Sitting up she watched silently as the younger guard from before walked up, carrying a tray and bucket in his magical grasp. Using a small slot near the bottom of the cell door he pushed the items inside the cell before departing, leaving her alone once more. Looking down, Rose saw a bowl of gruel and a portion of bread on the tray while the bucket was filled with water.

Seeing as the gruel was still hot, Rose chose to start with the mushy mixture. Though the appearance was less than appealing, it tasted like heaven to the mare as this was the first hot meal she had eaten since winter began. Taking her time, she savored the hot semi-tasteless oat mixture, the warmth of it returning portions of energy she thought she would never recover until spring. The sips of water she took were also extremely refreshing as she didn’t have to resort to letting ice and snow melt in her mouth.

All too soon she finished her meal, including the bread. It was the first time in recent memory that she actually felt full, and with nothing else to do until morning she crawled onto the straw cot and wrapped herself in the blanket. Curled up to sleep, she found it so much easier to fall asleep without any hunger pains keeping her awake.

As the sun rose the next morning Rose Petal was awakened by the sound of her cell door being opened up. Yawning and rubbing her eyes she sat up and saw two different guards standing before her. One of the ponies wore a set of regal armor, denoting his rank as an officer.

“You’re free to go.” the officer said bluntly.

“Huh?” she asked sleepily. Though she had never been arrested before, Rose knew that mares arrested for prostitution were kept in prison until their court date and were usually sent to a rehabilitation center in Canterlot. Never before had she heard of a pony just walking free after being caught like she had. However, the officer seemed sure as he repeated himself.

“You’re free to leave. We have something else to take care of and don’t have time to bother with your case. It seems your record is clean, so consider this a lucky break and a warning.” he said.

Rose Petal couldn’t believe her ears, but as she was escorted from the barracks and left outside on her own she realized that he was telling the truth. Back outside, she smiled as she happily trotted through town, heading back to her humble home under the train station platform.

‘Maybe my luck is finally turning around!’ she thought optimistically. She also felt that the wind seemed to have finally died down, ridding the air of the savage bite the wind caused when coupled with the cold. Sleeping at night would be easier without the wind, plus maybe it was hinting that spring was finally around the corner.

Lost in thought, Rose Petal didn’t hear the sound of heavy machinery until she arrived at the train station, but by then it was too late to alert her of what she now saw in front of her. In a mere second all her hopes and wishes were crumpled up and shattered as her eyes widened in absolute horror, and despite her best efforts she was unable to hold back the torrent of tears that began to flow down her face and fall to the ground where they froze.

“No… Celestia and Luna, please no…” she cried softly to herself.

Where the train station platform was yesterday was now an empty patch of dirt. A train laden with debris and rubble was just leaving the station, destined for someplace unknown. It was easy to see that the debris in the cart was smashed up pieces of rock and wood, her meager belongings most likely lost somewhere in the rubble, including her dresser where she had stashed her hard-earned savings. There was no way she could hope to chase down the train, and when she had finally stopped crying long enough to ask one of the construction ponies where the train was headed he merely shrugged before continuing to lay out material to build the new platform. Defeated, Rose turned to leave, unable to look back at what had once been her home. She slowly walked to one of the bridges that crossed a small stream and hid herself underneath the arch, hating herself for getting caught the night before by the guards.

‘Stupid foal! If you hadn’t been caught you could have at least managed to save your bits!’ she angrily thought to herself.

Unable to do anything but cry, she cursed herself for what seemed like hours until she managed to calm down slightly. Still, there was one massive question that weighed heavily on her mind as she sat in the cold;

‘What do I do now?’

Author's Note

Interesting Fact of the Day: I actually felt bad writing this chapter!

Oh wait...

*dem feels...*

4. Opportunity Comes Knocking

Rose Petal knew that she had to start rebuilding what little she used to have, but she literally had nothing but the clothes on her back. No home to return to. Not a single bit to help her get started. No job to help her get back on her hooves. She had nothing.

Managing to finally muster up the courage to return to where her home used to be, Rose made her way back to the train station in hopes that she may be able to rebuild her small shelter underneath the new platform. To her dismay she saw that the new construction included sealing off the space under the platform, destroying any hopes of her sneaking back underneath it. She had chosen that spot months ago when she had first arrived in Ponyville as there was no other place suitable to seek shelter while remaining hidden, but now her search needed to be started over.

Unable to search the entire town due to the cold, Rose Petal had to settle for rebuilding her life under the bridge she had hidden under earlier while she cried. The bridge did little to block the cold winter wind, but at least it was the most likely to keep her dry and hidden from anypony passing overhead. On her way back to the bridge she managed to find two large cardboard boxes to provide a little bit of additional shelter from the elements, but the biggest challenge was going to be staying warm once night fell without any blankets to keep her warm.

As daylight began to fade Rose had failed to find anything else to help her current situation. However, during her travels around town she did notice that the guards had less of a presence than usual, verifying that they did indeed have another important matter to attend to. Hoping that a sliver of luck still remained for her, Rose cautiously made her way back to The Watering Hole. She smiled as she made it all the way there without seeing a single guardspony patrolling the streets, but as she tried to enter the bar she found herself being tossed right back out by the doorpony.

“Hey, what are you doing?” she challenged him. “We had a deal, remember?”

The stallion simply looked down at her like she was a lump of dirt. “That was before you got caught. We don’t need some two-bit whorse getting us shut down. Sorry, but you’re on your own.” he said, his voice as cold as the winter air.

“But…” Rose tried to protest.

Not bothering to respond to her pleas the doorpony slammed the door shut in Rose’s face, signaling that he was done with her for good. Left with no other choice Rose slowly trudged back to the bridge she now called home. Out of options and with no idea of what to do next or where to go, Rose tried to make her crude ‘home’ as comfortable as possible in an attempt to get through the night; she set up the larger of her two boxes to block out as much wind as possible and carefully unfolded the second box to use as a ‘blanket’. It was an extremely far cry from what she had before, but it was the best she could come up with given her situation. However, for a fleeting second the thought of going to Rarity’s house for help crossed her mind, but the idea was quickly abolished as she remembered everything the white unicorn had already done for her.

“I’m such a useless leech.” she sighed. Curling her body up even tighter, she closed her eyes and tried to fall asleep, hoping that she would wake up in the morning.

The night was not an easy one for Rose Petal, as she spent most of it shivering and trying to curl up as much as possible. She never really fully fell asleep, but morning did eventually come, Celestia’s sun helping warm the cold morning air.

Her body stiff and sore, Rose groggily made her way down the embankment to where the water hadn’t quite frozen over near the edge of the river. Splashing some of the icy water on her face, she couldn’t help but let out a soft squeal as the coldness woke her up. She then took a small sip but quickly stopped as she felt the freezing water painfully burn her parched throat as it made its way down to her stomach. The water also caused her stomach to growl almost angrily in hunger. She hadn’t eaten anything since she was put in prison, and with no bits whatsoever her choices were extremely limited for finding food.

Stealing was absolutely out of the question; Rose Petal had never stolen anything before and would never bring herself so low to do so. Begging for food or bits in town was her last resort option, and as she had no bits she couldn’t buy her usual day-old bread. Digging through the trash once the stores closed were her best bet, unless she could somehow find a paying job before the end of the day today…

Since it was too soon to start asking all the businesses in town again if they were hiring Rose decided to pass the time in the library as she usually did. She always enjoyed spending time there as she was always given space and privacy, though she enjoyed the occasional talk with the young dragon that helped manage the library. She had also heard talk that one of the alicorn princesses resided in the library but she was away due to an important matter, which suited Rose Petal fine as she didn’t feel worthy enough to be in the presence of a princess.

Trying to think of what she would do if she ever ran into one of the royal princesses, Rose instead bumped into a stallion having a heated argument with a mare just outside the library. Though she didn’t recognize the mare, Rose did recognize the stallion as the owner of Rich’s Barnyard Bargains; Filthy Rich.

It was a bit unusual to see him standing outside the library, but his argument with the unknown mare was even stranger. Not wanting to get too close and cause more drama, Rose Petal kept her distance but couldn’t help listening in on the two.

“-signed a contract and agreed to this! You can’t back out of it now!” Filthy Rich yelled angrily.

The gray-lilac mare spat at Filthy Rich, barely missing his face. “Screw you and screw your contracts, Filthy! Had I known you were going to pull this sneaky, underhoofed kind of thing I would have never bothered to apply for your stupid business!”

“It’s not my fault you and your slow-headed sister can’t read properly!” Filthy Rich countered. “Don’t forget I did you both a favor by allowing her to back out without any sort of conditions!”

“I’d sooner let Discord father a thousand foals with me than even come close to calling what you did a ‘favor’!” the mare said before turning to leave. “Do whatever you want, but I’m NOT doing your stupid job, and that’s final! Go buck yourself, Filthy cheapskate!”

Filthy Rich reached out to stop the pegasus mare from leaving, but before he could grab her she lashed out and kicked him in the chest, sending the business pony tumbling backwards as the mare spread her wings and flew off. Gasping for breath, it took a few moments for Filthy Rich to stagger back to his hooves, darts of hatred seeming to be shooting from his eyes.

“Fine! Go ahead and break your contract with me! You’re passing up a lot of bits, missy!” he yelled after her.

Rose Petal’s ears perked up at the mention of bits. She was desperate for any amount of money and was curious to find out what she had to do to take the other mare’s place. Approaching cautiously, she walked up to Filthy Rich as he brushed himself off and inspected himself for any injuries.

“E-e-excuse me?” she asked very timidly. “I, um… are you looking for somepony to hire? I couldn’t help but overhear…”

Filthy Rich turned and opened his mouth to scold the eavesdropper but quickly changed his mind when he saw the young mare standing in front of him. Though her clothes, mane, and tail were somewhat dirty and disheveled the beauty under the dirt still managed to shine through, and the business pony saw the potential in her looks. His scowl quickly transformed into a sweet smile as he finished brushing himself off and resumed his normal pose.

“Ahem, my apologies for you having to overhear that slight mess, but yes, I am indeed in need of a mare to assist me.” he said. “I’m Filthy Rich, owner of Rich’s Barnyard Bargains. And who do I have the pleasure of meeting?”

“Rose Petal.” she said a bit shyly, shaking his hoof in greeting. “So what kind of job do you need filled, Mr. Filthy Rich?”

“Just ‘Mr. Rich’ will do.” he said. “Well, in addition to my family’s business, I also manage some select entertainment services for special occasions. That mare was supposed to work a bachelor party tonight but as you can see she decided to quit.”

A small part of Rose’s raised a flag. “What, um… what would I have to do for it exactly?” she asked cautiously.

“Oh, don’t worry, my dear. It’s nothing a mare like you can’t handle. They paid for a mare to do some dancing, that’s it. You’re able to handle that, aren’t you?”

Rose Petal nodded. This wouldn’t be the first time she had danced for a bachelor party; in fact, she had been one of the more popular dancers at the club she worked for in Manehattan. Her simple nod was good enough for Filthy Rich who smiled and patted her on the shoulder. “Excellent! Meet me at my house at five o’clock. We need to get you, um, cleaned up a little first. I’ll also have your outfit for tonight. Just don’t be late.” he said, handing her a business card after scribbling his address on the back.

“Of course, thank you Mr. Rich! Thank you so much!” Rose Petal said in excitement.

As the two ponies parted ways Rose didn’t care that Filthy Rich hadn’t even touched on the subject of her pay, but any amount of bits was better than none at all. Words couldn’t describe the elation she felt as she happily trotted inside the library to wait out the time until she was due to meet Filthy Rich later that afternoon. Maybe now her luck was starting to turn around.

At five o’clock sharp Rose Petal knocked on the solid wooden doors of Filthy Rich’s house. Almost immediately the doors opened and Rose’s new employer greeted her. “Ah, Rose Petal, right on time! Come in, come in. Let’s get you prepared for tonight.”

Rose was surprised by the modest living arrangements Filthy Rich had; she had expected the wealthiest full-time resident of Ponyville to show off a little bit more. Almost as if he could read her mind, her host nodded towards an older picture of an elderly pony that hung near the entryway. “My grandfather always told me to never forget that our wealth is thanks to other ponies. Keep your customers happy, am I right?” he said, nodding to the portrait of Stinkin’ Rich.

Filthy Rich led Rose up to the second floor and to one of the guest rooms. “Go ahead and take a shower in the bathroom over there. Your clothes for tonight are in the closet there. When you’re finished come downstairs and meet me in the living room, okay?” he instructed.

Rose nodded in understanding and Filthy Rich left the room so she could have her privacy. Eager for her first shower in Celestia-knows how long, Rose Petal rushed into the bathroom and turned on the shower as soon as she got into it. The initial shock of the cold water hitting her caused her to let out a slightly muffled ‘eep!’, but as the water eventually warmed up she let out an audible sigh of bliss as the hot water poured over her. She knew that the longer she stayed under the wonderful hot water the worse she would feel when she tried to fall asleep under her bridge, but the shower felt so good that Rose decided she would deal with the cold later. The only reason she eventually turned off the water was because she remembered that she had a job to get ready for.

After stepping out of the shower and drying herself off with the large soft towel that was left for her Rose opened up the closet and looked at the outfit Filthy Rich had picked out for her. He had chosen a simple black dress for her, the soft material hugging her like a second skin as she slipped it on. The dress fit perfectly, and after she finished brushing her mane and tail she made her way downstairs to meet back up with Filthy Rich.

The businesspony was lounging on a recliner, drinking a glass of Caberneigh when he heard Rose Petal coming down the stairs. Looking over at the mare, he put down his glass of wine and smiled approvingly as he looked over her body.

“Yes, yes… very nice. Very nice indeed.” he said, congratulating himself that he was right; under the dirt and grime from earlier, Rose was a very pretty pony indeed. “I see the dress fits you perfectly. Good, good... I got it fitted for that quitter, but I’m glad it fits you. You look stunning in it.”

Rose couldn’t help but blush at the compliment. “T-thank you, Mr. Rich.” she said. “Um, sir? About my pay for tonight…”

“Oh, of course. Well, since you saved me from having to cancel and disappoint my customers, I figured one hundred bits would be a nice amount. Plus whatever tips you make, of course.” he said.

Rose Petal smiled. One hundred bits was a bit on the low side, especially if her dancing was supposed to go on longer than an hour, but the prospect of additional tips was where she could possibly make up the low pay. Filthy Rich noted her genuine expression of happiness and poured another glass of the Caberneigh and gave it to her, raising his own glass in a toast.

“Well then, to you, Miss Rose Petal. Depending on how it goes tonight, you may have a permanent position with me.” he said.

Rose felt her heart flutter, but not because of the wine. She had loved her time as a dancer, except for the stallions always trying to woo her into going home and sleeping with them. Still, next to arranging beautiful flower bouquets, dancing was something she loved to do.

“I won’t disappoint you, sir.” Rose said happily.

5. Dance Me To The End Of Love

Author's Note

Holy shit, an update? About time!

5. Dance Me To The End Of Love

“I think this is… yes, this is it.” Rose Petal said while making sure the address in front of her matched the address Filthy Rich had written on the paper in her hoof.

Filthy Rich had offered to walk her to the house but was called away by his daughter. Rose was glad to make the short walk herself; being escorted by him would cause it to feel too much like back when she was taken hotel to hotel by her pimp. Still, he apologized again for being unable to escort her over and gave her a warm winter coat to borrow while she walked over to the house.

'How did I get so lucky?' Rose Petal thought as she couldn't help but snuggle against the soft down lining of the coat collar. It was by far the warmest article of clothing she had ever worn in her life, and she couldn't help but wonder how much it must have cost Filthy Rich. 'I have to make sure I don't soil it...'

It wasn't a long walk to the client's house, and after she had confirmed she had the right address she knocked gently on the door. It only took a few moments for the door to open, a smiling yet somewhat drunk stallion greeting her at the door. "You the dancer?" he asked while looking over her entire body, nodding in approval.

"Y-yes, I'm the dancer you hired." she said somewhat nervously. She had been comfortable with the arrangement up until now, but the way the stallion in front of her was staring at her caused her to shiver, even with her warm coat on. He was eyeing her as a griffon would eye a piece of meat, a feeling that she was more than familiar with; back when she was... when she had...

"Hey, hello? You coming in or what?"

Rose Petal's mind snapped back to reality. "Oh, sorry." she said as she walked inside. Once in the house she saw that it was a relatively modest dwelling. Nothing really stood out too much, though there were a few photos of a stallion and mare enjoying life together, obviously the bride and groom to be. 'They look like such a happy couple.' she thought as she allowed the stallion to take off her coat.

"The rest are in the back room." the stallion said, nodding further into the house. Rose could hear the sounds of a group of stallions talking and laughing from the back room where the party was taking place. "Nopony else knows you're here, so it's a surprise. I'll go in and start the music. Once you hear it start, come on in and start stripping."

Rose Petal nodded as the stallion left her to rejoin his buddies. She looked down at her dress and made sure it was neatly displayed on her toned body just before she heard the music starting to play.

'Showtime.' she thought.

Walking through the door and into the back room, she immediately heard a mixture of stallions gasping and high-hoofing each other as she gracefully walked in. Immediately letting her body sway and move to the music, the noise from her audience ceasing almost instantly. All the stallions' eyes were locked on her as she continued her hypnotic dancing, Rose making sure she also slowly continued to turn as to give everypony a view of every angle.

"So who's the groom to be?" she asked after dancing and showing off her figure.

Most of the stallions present pointed at the stallion sitting on a large recliner. The to be wedded pony raised a hoof in slight embarrassment, so Rose put on a gentle smile as she approached him. With practiced ease she climbed up onto the chair with him and straddled his body with hers, seductively grinding her hips against his lap to the music. "She's a lucky mare." she whispered softly into his ear, causing him to go slightly red in the face.

The other stallions kept their eyes on Rose Petal's body, especially her flank. Her tail would flick up more often than not as she danced, allowing the other ponies to peek at her marehood. However, nothing compared to what the engaged pony was experiencing; her body rubbing up against his was one of the hottest things he had ever experienced in quite a while. It took almost every ounce of concentration he could muster to stop himself from becoming rock hard in front of all of his friends. Had he been receiving a dance from her in private he would gladly let his cock spring out from its sheath and perhaps even let her play with it a little. But he wasn't an exhibitionist and wasn't keen on showing off his dick to his friends, plus he was engaged to a beautiful mare and didn't dare risk jeopardizing his wedding tomorrow.

Rose Petal noted the strained look on the stallion's face and leaned forward so her mouth was next to his ear. "You okay? Should I stop?" she asked, not wanting to draw too much attention.

"N-no, just not so much... you know..." he stammered. "I don't want to cheat on..."

Rose Petal understood and couldn't help but envy the mare he was due to marry. "She's a lucky pony." she murmured before kissing the stallion lightly on the cheek. Deciding to give him time to cool off, she dismounted from the chair and continued her routine, flicking her tail across the legs and faces of the other stallions as she made her way around the room. Most of the other ponies simply cheered or laid back to enjoy her attention when their turn came up, though one stallion present had the nerve to yank her tail up and slap her flank pretty hard. She grimaced when the hoof hit her but kept up her dancing, making a mental note to try to avoid that stallion from now on. She made two passes around the room before the song ended and her audience cheered and asked for more.

Rose glanced at a nearby clock and saw that over half an hour had passed since she had arrived. The instructions given to her by Filthy Rich were to perform for at least half an hour but she could stay longer if she wished, especially if they offered additional bits as tips. That one stallion who had smacked her ass still gave off a unnerving vibe, especially the way he had been looking at her the entire time she had been here, but as the stallions started naming how many bits they would pay her if she would stay a little longer, she nodded in agreement to stay a while longer. Her first routine had tired her, not to mention that the heat in the house had been turned up pretty high, so she gladly accepted a drink from one of the stallions who offered her one.

The first sip of the drink lit up her throat, causing her to cough. She knew it was an alcoholic drink but she didn't expect it to be so strong. Still, it tasted good, so she took another cautious sip of the potent drink and managed to suppress another cough as she felt a wave of warmth envelope her body. Two stallions sitting on a couch motioned her to sit between them, and once she had accepted their offer and had taken a seat she felt both stallions place a hoof on either of her legs and gently rub her thigh.

"You're an absolutely gorgeous mare." one of them said. "Don't tempt the groom too much, he may decide to run away with you instead."

Rose couldn't help but blush at the compliment. The idea that somepony would leave his fiance for her... no stallion would ever be that stupid, but it was a pleasant thought nonetheless. "T-thank you." she replied shyly.

"Hey, I'm still single. How about a little dance for me then?" the stallion on her other side said, twirling a twenty bit piece in his hoof. "And you don't have to worry about holding back with me."

Gladly accepting his money, Rose Petal shifted over and climbed onto the paying pony's lap. "Sure thing." she said seductively as she began moving slowly.

The other stallions hooted in approval as the lucky stallion leaned back and enjoyed his dance, though when he placed his hooves on Rose's hips it became more of her just grinding against him. There was no way he would ever complain of this, though, as her crotch was now constantly rubbing up against his. The mare definitely knew what she was doing as she'd change her position ever so slightly every so often, keeping the sensations he was feeling continuously stimulating. Rose herself was starting to feel good as well, but she knew she couldn't go all out just yet; there were plenty more stallions seeking her attention.

Figuring a five minute dance was long enough, Rose Petal finally removed herself from the stallion's lap and got back on her hooves. She was immediately propositioned by the rest of the stallions in the room, each of them offering her bits to have their turn next. Even the groom to be had a twenty bit piece in his hoof, looking eager to have another round. The choice of which pony was next was easy, and Rose sauntered back up to the engaged pony. "Sorry, stallions. It is his party, after all." she said as she took his bit and began her next performance.

The other stallions groaned but knew that their turns would come eventually. By the time every stallion had received a dance from Rose over an hour had passed. Due to the late hour a few of the stallions decided to call it a night and head home due to having to work in the morning, so the rest of the party decided to disband soon as well. A few stuck around a few more minutes, talking and having one more drink before leaving. They all thanked Rose for the spectacularly fun night on their way out, a few of them stating that they hoped to see her around town sometime, but soon the only pony left with Rose was the owner of the house.

"Phew! Quite a night, huh? You did an amazing job." he said as he began cleaning up the remnants of the party. "Still shocked that 'ol Lucky Clover came up with the idea to secretly hire you. Never expected him to be that much of a party planner."

"Well, I had fun tonight." Rose replied, twirling in place before helping pick up some discarded cups.

The stallion smiled in thanks for her help, and within minutes the room was tidied back up. "That went a lot faster than I thought it would. Thanks!" he beamed.

"No problem, glad I could help." Rose replied. "Well, it's been fun. I should probably-"

"Wait!" the stallion suddenly said. "I, er... would you be willing to do one more dance for me?"

Rose looked on as he produced a fifty bit coin as an offer. One one hoof, he was the same stallion who had smacked her flank at the beginning of the night. On the other hoof, he had behaved himself the rest of the entire night and had been a better tipper than the others. Plus, fifty bits for one more dance... surely it couldn't hurt, right?

Rose nodded, earning a wide grin from the pegasus stallion. He quickly put the music back on and took a seat on the couch and let Rose Petal mount him once more. She slowly ground her hips into his, her body moving in perfect sync to the music. Soon the stallion was moving his hips as well, the feeling of her body rubbing up against his causing his cock to harden. Before he had kept his erection under control and in check, but since he was alone with this mare he decided to let loose and let his penis pop out. Once it was free of its sheath, the pegasus groaned as his dick started receiving direct stimulation from her body but also alerted Rose to his erection.

"What's- oh!" she gasped in surprise as she looked back and saw his cock rubbing against her butt. She started to lift her body up but felt him suddenly grab her hind legs to keep her in place.

"No, don't stop. It feels so good. You're so good at it." he pleaded. "Come on, keep going."

Rose reluctantly continued her show, trying to avoid the stallion's cock from bumping into her too much. Her efforts were somewhat futile though as the stallion kept shifting his body, wanting to rub his cock against her ass or pussy more and more, but eventually Rose stopped moving and raised her body a few inches.

"I... I think that's enough." she said, wanting to leave.

"Aw, come on now. It was getting good." he whined. "What if I give you another 150 bits? Would you let me stick it in?"

Rose Petal froze at his offer. "No, I... No." she said firmly, her muzzle wrinkling at the flood of bad memories flooding her head. "I can't do that."

"Then let me rub it against you. That will be okay, right?" he countered somewhat forcefully.

Rose Petal shook her head no once again, but the stallion leaned forward and whispered "150 bits." into her ear. It was a nice sum of money that would indeed help her a lot until the spring came around again, plus now she didn't have to actually 'do it' with him...

"Okay." Rose meekly said, unable to turn down the hefty sum of bits.

The stallion smiled in satisfaction as he guided Rose Petal's body back down, her crotch now resting on his erect shaft. "Ooh, yeah." he murmured as he felt the heat of her body against his cock. "Yeah, that's nice. Now start moving like you did before."

Rose Petal nodded and began moving her hips, causing her lower lips to massage the length of his shaft. It was very clear that the stallion was enjoying the treatment as he was moaning and breathing hard, but when he began to start moving his own hips once more she began to start feeling some pleasure as well.

Rose couldn't help but become slightly aroused by what she was doing, but when his cock bumped against her clit she let out a small 'eep!' followed by a soft moan. She raised her body up to stop momentarily, but it caused the stallion's cock to shift up slightly and was now pointed directly at her slightly wet sex. The tip of his cock brushed against her slick folds and hot marehood, sending a spike of teasing pleasure straight into his head. Without thinking, he grabbed Rose's hips once more and pulled her down as hard as he could, his efforts rewarded with the hot and tight sensation of her pussy enveloping his cock.

Rose moaned as she felt the stallion underneath her begin to fill her wet little snatch. However, her mind soon cleared when he tried to sink more of his shaft inside of her and she tried to feebly lift herself off of his erection. "N-no... I... we can't..." she said as she tried to wriggle free. The stallion merely grunted and continued to sink himself into her. Rose quickly pushed his hooves away and lifted herself off of his rod, still shocked by what had just happened. "I should... probably get go-"

Rose Petal let out a shriek as the stallion suddenly tackled her to the floor and pinned her down under his stronger body. "Stop! What are you-" she cried out before she was silenced with a savage slap to her face.

The gray pegasus standing over her scowled in frustration as he lined himself up to continue where he had left off moments ago. "You can't expect me to not do this after teasing me all night long. Besides, I paid you for this. You know you want it, too." he said as he prodded her crotch with his cock.

Rose Petal looked up in fear as she felt him find his mark. All she could do was look into his lustful eyes and beg.

"Stop. Please, just stop..."