The Breeding Grounds

Twilight raced across the streets of Ponyville, the little dragon behind her struggling to keep up.

“I thought we were going to Canterlot to see Princess Celestia?” Spike threw his arms out in front of him to try and grab the purple tail of the fleeting mare.

“We are. I just have to check on Pinkie first.”

“Why? Isn’t she feeling just as bad as you did?” the scribe continued to race after the unicorn.

“Exactly, maybe I can get her to feel better and remember what happened.” Twilight set her eyes on the bakery that was just now coming into view.

“What happened where? You still haven’t told me anything about what’s going on!”

“I’ll tell you later, let’s just get this all taken care of first.” The unicorn galloped straight up to the bakery and slammed her hoof against the wooden door. “Mrs. Cake! Open up! I need to talk to Pinkie!” There was no answer, not even the familiar shuffling of the large mare inside. “Mrs. Cake?” Twilight found herself asking the empty building. She knocked her hoof against the door again, the last knock bringing an almost indiscernible click. She gasped as the door slowly creaked open on its hinges to reveal the scene that had unfolded not long ago. The foals’ plastic toys lay shattered against the ground and a path of chairs and tables had been toppled leading to the back corner of the kitchen. Tiny drops of black dotted the floor in small intervals all the way from the doorway to the staircase that lead upstairs. One particular spot was bigger than the others, like they had stopped for a while to do something while the black sludge collected on the ground. “What happened here?” the unicorn carefully scanned over every piece of the room, memorizing it so that she could recall it later if she needed.

“Twilight?” a distraught voice came from the doorway they had just come from. Twilight flipped around to see the pink mare resting uneasily against the doorframe, her face completely pale.

“Pinkie! What happened? Are you alright? What happened here? What did they do to you?” her questions instantly vanished as she realized that the earth pony was slipping down the doorframe. “Pinkie! Stay with me!” she rushed over to catch the falling mare and rest her gently on the floor before closing her eyes tightly. The room lit up in a purple glow that grew brighter and brighter until it was completely white. Spike squinted and held his hand over his face to see through the blinding light but he could still feel the heat burning in the back of his eyes. When his vision finally returned to normal he found the same image of the two mares on the ground as before, except the pink mare’s face was starting to revert back to its normal hue.

“Twilight?” Pinkie asked weakly again looking up into the face of the unicorn holding her.

“Yes it’s me.” Twilight said softly. The party pony smiled and reached her hoof up to graze softly against her friend’s cheek. The purple unicorn smiled in return and nestled her cheek against the outstretched hoof. “I’m so glad you’re alright.”

The pink mare’s face suddenly twisted into a grimace before she rolled out of the unicorn’s grasp and heaved against the floor. Spike groaned in disgust as black slime poured from the pony’s mouth and trickled out through the doorway.

“Pinkie? Are you feeling better now?” Twilight patted her friend’s back lightly. The heaving finally stopped and Pinkie turned around and let out a heavy sigh. She looked completely rejuvenated, sweat still poured from her forehead but her eyes now glowed the bright blue they always had before.

“I am feeling better.” Pinkie confirmed, wiping the remnants of the black sludge from the corners of her mouth.

“Do you remember what happened here?” Twilight looked around at the devastated room again. The pink earth pony scanned the room with her as if she was seeing it all for the first time. The unicorn sighed as she turned back to see the expression on her friend’s face. “I guess not.”

“Who could have done this? Why,” Pinkie gulped to hold back a sob, “why would they do this?” Her lips trembled as she picked up one of the plastic yellow shards that had belonged to the foals’ toy boat.

“I don’t know, but we need to talk to Princess Celestia about it. She can do something about all this.”

“How do you know? How do you know she isn’t the one behind it?” The pink mare looked back at her friend.

“She can’t be. She doesn’t have any motive. And besides, she’s not the one who started the whole thing.” Twilight said dryly.

“Who did?”

“I don’t know but we’re going to find out. Come on.”

Spike scratched his head as he watched the two mares shift out of the room and back outside. He still had no idea what was going on. “Uh, you know what, I’m just going to go back to the library and make sure everything is in order.” He looked uneasily at the unicorn and earth pony who only nodded in reply and took off towards the gleaming city locked to the mountainside.

*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*

“Come on, little pegasus. Wake up.”

Fluttershy rolled her head away from the harsh light and towards the soothing voice that had woken her up.

“There we go. I never expected this from ponies like you.” The voice went on as the yellow pegasus groaned and put her hoof over her face to block the sunlight. “Although it comes to no surprise – you six have always been the saviors of Ponyville. They don’t need their princesses anymore.”

Fluttershy opened her eyes and gasped. She knew she recognized that voice. “Princess Celestia? You sound different.” She looked up at the alicorn’s face which had dark streaks lining it with black bags falling beneath her eyes.

“I’m tired.” Celestia said simply.

“Why?” the yellow pegasus wasn’t sure how formally to talk to the princess. She felt the superior presence weighing down on her as the alicorn stared into her eyes, forcing her to look away.

“I’m tired of how the ponies treat me. I’m tired of the way they look at me. We used to be gods and now they act as if we’re their servants. They expect us to raise the sun and moon every day. It’s no longer a privilege to them.” The princess’s gaze turned to a scowl as she spoke.

“But everypony relies on you two. Just because we don’t seem grateful doesn’t mean we aren’t. We appreciate everything you do for us.”

“Thank you, Fluttershy.” Celestia smiled. “But unfortunately not everypony is like you. Ponies all across Equestria don’t even know of our presence. They have no idea that the sun and moon are raised by my sister and me every day.”

“I’m sure if they knew they’d be grateful too.”

“Exactly.” The white alicorn had a strange smile on her face as Fluttershy found herself being dragged by the tail out of the room. She turned to see the glimmering gold breastplate of one of the royal guards pulling her along to one of the carts she had seen Twilight return in after her appointment.

“Wait! No! I don’t want to go! Princess Celestia help me!” But the alicorn was already out of sight and the yellow pegasus was thrown roughly into the cart. “I don’t want to go! Who knows what they’ll do to me!” Fluttershy squealed and panicked, throwing herself against the wooden sides of the cart as it lurched forward into motion. She screamed and beat against the small square window in the door until her hooves were sore but nothing she did made a difference. Before she knew it she found herself at the gigantic warehouse-like building, now trying to stay in the cart as one of the stallions at the door brutally pulled her out with all of his might and tossed her through the doors into the gray waiting room.

“Fluttershy?” The yellow pegasus trembled as an annoying voice called her name from behind the tall counter. “Fluttershy?” the voice repeated in a more irritated tone.

“Y-ye-yes.” She couldn’t keep her voice steady as she pawed at the door leading back outside.

“Come here please.” The mare behind the desk snapped. Fluttershy whimpered and slowly crept up to the front desk, not daring to peer over at the agitated mare. “I know you may be nervous and don’t understand why we’re doing this but let me assure that it is all for the greater good and you will understand why after. Please step forward and continue through the white doors to your left until you get to the end of the hallway, there, a gray unicorn will be waiting to give you further instructions.” The receptionist groaned after giving the hollow speech and still seeing the yellow and pink mass trembling behind the counter. “Well? Go!”

Fluttershy squealed and raced through the double doors before skidding into the white hallway. This place looked familiar. She couldn’t quite put her hoof on it, but she had been here before. It was almost like a foggy dream. Her mind scrambled over the details of what had happened but the moment she recalled them they disappeared again. She didn’t even have time to react to the horrific images before they were lost in the folds of her memory again and her mind was nothing but a blank flash as white as the walls of the corridor she was in now.

Her shadow was nonexistent as the yellow pegasus hesitantly stepped her way past the black windows and white doors that could burst open at any moment. She yelped and huddled down as the image of ponies in white hazmat suits holding her flashed into her mind for a brief instant. Was that just a dream? It would make sense that she had nightmare before coming here, she always had nightmares of new things. She scuttled across the ground the rest of the way through the corridor until she made it to the white double doors at the other end, sighing as she finally pushed her way into the next room. The cylindrical chamber echoed with her coughing as the yellow pegasus didn’t even have time to catch her breath before gasping at the sight on the other side. The gray unicorn standing on the other side of the platform watched curiously as the mare cowered beneath the enormity of the room and backed up as she realized that she was suspended high above the ground.

“A pegasus that’s afraid of heights?” the curator asked.

“Meh – huh?” Fluttershy whimpered looking up at the unicorn.

“I’ve never heard of that, we’ve certainly been getting some interesting specimens lately.”

“Those are my friends!” the yellow pegasus suddenly found herself standing tall and puffing out her chest before realizing what she was doing and meagerly retreated back.

“It’s okay,” the gray mare giggled. “I’m sorry I called them specimens. I’m just so used to dealing with other ponies.”

“What other ponies?” Fluttershy ventured.

“Just the ones that work behind the scenes preparing everything and doing all the dirty work, you know, the ‘lab nerds’.”

“What do they do?”

“They just make sure everything goes smoothly.” The curator answered carefully.

“Smoothly?” the pegasus found herself asking another question before she could even think over it.

“Nothing you have to worry about, now how about we get started.” The unicorn walked across the metal platform to the console. “Care to meet your dream stallion?” She presented the box with the flashing screen as if it were a game show prize. Fluttershy mustered her courage and skipped quickly across the platform after looking down at the deep abyss below. The screen was flashing with different images of stallions constantly as the curator worked the machine. She found herself a little bit attracted to every stallion that appeared, she was willing to give everypony a chance. “You seem a little shy.” The gray unicorn mused, never taking her eyes from the screen. Fluttershy perked up as she saw one particular stallion flash across before taking up the entire screen.

“I kind of like that one.” She pointed timidly with her hoof at the picture of the stallion, her cheeks growing a bright red.

“I thought you might,” the curator smiled. “He’s a sweetie.” The pegasus’s cheeks grew even more crimson as she looked down and swirled her hoof against the platform awkwardly. “So? Would you like him?” The unicorn jumped as the yellow mare was suddenly startled by the look down through the platform.

“Oh, I would love him.” Fluttershy couldn’t get herself to look the curator in the face as she spoke.

“Well good, I’m glad we found your match so fast. Here, look at the specifications and then enter them into the console in one of the rooms.” The unicorn motioned to the double doors leading back out into the hallway. “Come on, I’ll walk with you.” She smiled as she led the timid pegasus to the third white door before pushing it open for her.

“Thank you, you’re really nice.” Fluttershy said softly as she strolled through the open door.

“Just don’t get on my bad side.” The curator grinned as she let the door close, leaving the yellow pegasus completely alone in the snow white room.

*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*

“Twilight?”

“Yes Pinkie?” The unicorn looked back at her friend who stood a few paces back. The two had galloped most of the way along the road to Canterlot and now kept a steady pace towards the glimmering city.

“I can’t stop thinking about the stallion.”

“You remember him?” Twilight asked.

“Don’t you?” Pinkie tilted her head as she looked at her friend.

“Well I did a little bit after I threw up that black stuff and returned to normal. Did you have a flashback too?”

“I just did,” Pinkie frowned as she looked down at the ground. “I think I love him.” She looked back up at the unicorn.

“That’s ridiculous.” Twilight said in a condescending voice. “You can’t love somepony just because you had sex with them.”

“Why not?” The pink mare asked as if it were the simplest question in the world.

“Because that’s not what love is.”

“You don’t love the stallion you were with?” Pinkie looked defiantly at her friend.

“Well… I wouldn’t say love. I appreciate him sure. I’m thankful for what we did together. The feelings he gave me… How he held me…” she trailed off as she remembered how special he made her feel. “I don’t know.”

“You don’t know if you love him?”

“I just don’t know, okay!” Twilight barked in return.

Pinkie remained silent for a few moments before speaking again. “Twilight? What is love?”

Twilight paused as she thought about it. She didn’t even know what love was. All she knew were the stories of the princes and princesses getting married at the ends of fairy tales and living happily ever after. How did she know that was love? Maybe nopony knew what love really was. “I don’t know that either.” She sighed. She never thought she knew so little about something. Love was one subject that she understood she would never master. That and her friend’s indisputable ‘Pinkie Sense’.

They galloped the rest of the way to the royal palace in silence after catching their breath, the glimmering white towers finally coming into view above them. The city was quiet as they passed through the streets as if everypony knew their situation and everything that was happening. ‘That’s not possible.’ Twilight dismissed the thought as they made their way through the giant pearl-white doors. “Princess Celestia?” her voice echoed off the walls and reverberated down every corridor as she called out.

“Twilight Sparkle.” The white alicorn approaching them looked different somehow.

“Princess Celestia? Is that you? You look different. Is everything alright?”

“Everything is fine, my student.” The princess blinked slowly, her bloodshot eyes rolling back and forth between the two mares. “What brings you here?”

“Are you aware of what’s going on with the mares in Ponyville?” Twilight got straight to point as she stared up at her mentor.

“I am.” Celestia said without hesitation.

“You’re aware that they’re breeding stallions with us?”

“Yes.” The alicorn said simply.

Twilight was taken aback by the princess’s answers but decided to press on. “Do you know what they do to us?”

“I do.”

“Then why don’t you stop it?! Why is it still going on?!” Pinkie looked at her friend with concern as the purple unicorn suddenly started yelling.

“It’s the only thing keeping the pony population alive.” Celestia sneered, her lips rising above a row of blackening teeth.

“Why can’t ponies have their own foals?! Everypony is capable of raising their own children!”

“Not without getting attached to them.” The princess sighed as if the bond between mother and father and their children was a nuisance.

“Is there something wrong with loving your family?” The unicorn’s voice started out strong but she tripped over the word love as she said it. Pinkie remained silent as she stared up at the unsettling alicorn. The princess glared down at the purple mare before turning and walking away without another word. “Hey! I’m talking to you! Princess Celestia! Get back here!”

Pinkie nudged her friend worriedly. “Twilight stop.” She whispered. “That’s not a good idea. Let’s just get out of here.”

“No.” Twilight stated back. “She can’t do this to us.” The unicorn raced up to the princess, her horn showering the area in a lavender beam as she struck out with her magic. The air cracked and everything went silent as the magical beam suddenly disappeared and Twilight sat dumbfounded on the ground. Celestia didn’t even break her stride as she continued out of the room. “How?” the unicorn gawked.

“What?” Pinkie asked with a confused look.

“H-how did she do that? She didn’t even turn around. My magic just… it just vanished.” She never felt so powerless as she sat stunned on the ground staring at the receding shadow of the princess against the wall of the corridor.

“Let’s get out of here.” Pinkie urged prodding the unicorn.

A shiver ran down both mares’ spines as they walked back out the pearly white doors of the royal palace, the emblem of the two sisters locked in their stare behind them.

*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*

“Uhm,” Fluttershy looked around at the plain white room, not sure what to do next. The only things that stood out were the console and the black window next to it. Did she remember the specifications for the stallion? Would they let her out if she forgot? They would probably get mad. The yellow pegasus bit her lip as she tried to recall the stallion, carefully walking up to the console to see if she would get lucky with him already being on there. Sure enough, the first picture on the screen was of the muscular figure she had picked. “Oh good.” She said softly to herself before searching diligently for the enter key. The room promptly shattered apart after she pressed it, the back wall breaking away and sliding off to the side somewhere. She nearly had a heart attack from the sound of screeching metal and hissing valves filling the small room. The sound of her frightened screams was just barely overshadowed by the deafening noises of the machines whizzing through the tubular room. The yellow pegasus pushed her back against the corner and closed her eyes as she waited for the commotion around her to stop. She let out a sharp squeak as the sound of the giant machinery got closer and the floor suddenly shook beneath her. When she opened her eyes she found one of the ominous white pods centered in front of her. It was daunting as she continued to stare at it for a few moments before it suddenly cracked open like a giant egg and let out a terrible hiss. The figure inside collapsed out of the pod almost instantaneously with the puff of blue chilling fog that surrounded him. Fluttershy drew further back into her corner, unsure of what the figure was like. The room grew cold as the fog that circled the stallion slowly dispersed into the open air and his full features came into view. She wanted to get a good look at him but she was too timid to peer her head out of the corner.

The figure remained on the ground catching his breath, his legs shaking as he struggled to hold up his weight. After several moments the stallion finally regained his senses and scanned the room, pausing over the shivering yellow mass that was huddled in the corner. He tilted his head as he looked at her curiously. The yellow pegasus’s face was still hidden behind her shielding hoof as he strolled up to her. Fluttershy trembled as the massive figure moved closer until he finally placed his hoof on hers. She squealed and resisted as he tried to push her leg out of the way. His strength finally overcoming her, she looked away as he stooped down to look at her face with a smile. She tentatively looked up at him every few seconds before looking away again. ‘He’s much too handsome to be with me.’ She thought as she finally stared up into his deep blue eyes. To her surprise he didn’t do anything more but sit in front of her with a smile still stretching across his face. The yellow pegasus gave him a peculiar look as he continued to only stare at her. She drew back, her skin quivering as he reached out to caress her soft coat. He stopped immediately after seeing the yellow mare squirm beneath his touch, unsure of what to do now. The stallion took a step back and sat down again to give the mare the space she needed while she continued to sit in the corner timidly. He waited patiently as she gradually began to stretch out and get comfortable. She felt uneasy with him constantly staring at her but it passed as hours seemed to go by and Fluttershy found herself slowly making her way towards him like a nervous chipmunk seeking a free snack from an outstretched hoof.

“What’s your name?” the mare asked softly.

The stallion shook his head back and forth silently.

“Well my name is Fluttershy.” She smiled at the expression that grew across his face as he pointed at herself and nodded. “Yes, yes, I’ve heard it suits me.” She giggled as she thought of what he must be thinking of her. The room was quiet as their conversation died away and the pegasus desperately thought of another topic to bring up that wouldn’t seem awkward. Her eyes darted to the ground as she suddenly felt embarrassed. He couldn’t talk - she would have to be the one who led the conversation for once. “Are you nervous?” she blurted out looking back up at him again.

The stallion nodded.

“I am too. I’ve never done this before. I’m not sure what to do.” Her cheeks grew red as she spoke.

The stallion stared blankly at her.

“I mean I don’t want to screw anything up. I don’t want to ruin it for you.” Her embarrassment peaked as she thought of all the possible ways that something could go wrong.

The stallion reassured her with a tender hoof on her leg and a comforting smile as he moved closer. Her body lit up at his touch and her heart raced as he moved even closer. She instinctively closed her eyes as he gently pressed his lips against hers. An unintentional moan escaped as he slowly drew back and she tried to keep her lips locked to his. He grinned as she craned her neck out with her lips puckered, waiting for him. Her face glowed a bright red a few seconds later and she drew back when he didn’t return her kiss. The stallion let out a soft laugh and moved in again to press against her eager lips with his own. Her body shivered lightly as the electric feelings coursed through her and she found herself being pushed over onto her back slowly with one of the stallion’s outstretched hooves holding her up before gently resting her against the floor. The tip of his tongue tickled the space between her lips until she finally let him and reveled in the feelings of having an unknown explorer in her mouth. She ran her tongue across his and wrapped it before pushing their conjoined tongues into his mouth where she took about exploring the inside of him. His hoof stroked her side as he drew back and began to kiss her neck and move down her chest. The yellow pegasus couldn’t help but moan as he worked his way down before yelping as he almost kissed her most tender area. She snapped her legs shut and pushed his head away as her cheeks began to grow red again. The stallion gave her a confused look before locking his lips to hers again and rubbing his hoof against her leg, gradually moving his way to her inner thigh. Ever so slowly he made it to her mound with his hoof as he gently brushed it in small circles. Fluttershy gasped as a plethora of feelings consumed her entire body and she spread her legs and pressed her hips harder against his hoof as he started to kiss her neck again. The stallion worked his way down her body again which didn’t show any signs of resistance or hesitation this time. He finally came down to the mare’s dripping slit which quivered in anticipation of the newfound pleasure that his tongue would give her. Her body exploded into ecstasy as he flicked her nub with the tip of his tongue. She gasped more and more as he wrapped his lips around her sensitive bead and began to suck while his tongue lapped over the rest of her slit. The loud smacking sounds emanating from between her legs was drowned out by the pegasus’s screams of pleasure as she lost control of her trembling body. Her hips tremored and bucked as her squeals of passion deafened the room and the stallion finally stopped.

Fluttershy lay panting on the floor as the aftermath of her ecstasy still reverberated through her and the stallion moved up to cuddle and kiss her again. Her body felt numb and tired as she caught her breath and passionately kissed him back with everything she had. As she was kissing him she felt something pulsing against her thigh. The stallion stirred as he pushed his hips forward closer to her entrance. Her eyes were still closed as he prodded against for a few moments her before gradually penetrating her with his member. Wind howled past their faces as the pegasus took a slow deep breath in and winced at the feeling of being impaled by the massive phallus. Her hips unconditionally pressed back against him as he pushed further into her and wrapped his front legs around her. Held in a tight embrace, Fluttershy guided his hips in and out of her with her hooves and moaned in the feelings that overtook her again. His hot warm breath quickly grew heavy against her ear as he quickened his pace and her body jolted with every thrust. It wasn’t long before the pleasure stacked up and toppled over; throwing the mare into another fit of ecstasy that wracked her tender body. She climaxed again and again before the stallion finally released his full load deep inside of her, sending her over the edge once more. Her mouth hung open as she passed out with him still hard inside of her. The stallion looked around warily, not sure what to do as the pegasus beneath him remained motionless. The door slammed open suddenly, startling him but still not waking the shivering mare.

“Back into the pod.” One of the hazmat ponies ordered moving towards him menacingly. The stallion pulled out of his lover slowly and looked back at the cold fog that still rolled out of the open pod. “That wasn’t a question.” The same white suited pony growled, armed with a hypodermic needle. The stallion looked past the ponies before bolting for the door, but it was no use. The needle was in his shoulder before he could even take another step and he fell to the ground with a sickening thud.