Tempus [sex Stallions/mares, NONconsensual, nonexplicit]

I was attending the town's plenum meeting in the great hall of Luna's castle. We already had recruited a few more stags, and the number of mares had subsequently risen as well. We had also built the first few houses already. The stags and mares were now meeting regularly to discuss issues about the growing community together. We had also agreed to allow Bruna to attend our meetings, but she usually didn't say anything.

"What's on schedule today?", I asked Spring Breeze.

"First, our town has grown quickly during the last months. We should find a name for it", Spring Breeze said.

I stroked the back of my head apologetically. "Well, about the official name... I already had to register one in Canterlot when I made the claim. We can still choose a name to use for the town as long as we're among ourselves – an inofficial name. Actually, I think we will want to."

Spring Breeze raised an eyebrow. "What name did you choose?", she asked.

"Well, I wanted to make absolutely sure to choose a name that would calm the guys in Canterlot down, particularly the king. And you know how my people are. One of the best ways to make them not suspect anything is to appeal to their huge egos. It's... sort of how I made my money before I claimed the land. I'm a businessman, so I used the same tactic I've always used when dealing with others of my people."

Spring Breeze got impatient. "Ari, which – name – did – you – choose?"

I grinned sheepishly. "Our town officially bears the name of our glorious king and leader. In Canterlot, it goes by the name of Dainnville."

Spring Breeze looked at me for a second. Then she burst into laughter. I hadn't expected that. "BWAHAHAHA, that's both brilliant and hilarious. But you're right, we definitely don't want to use this name when we're among ourselves. I had my own suggestion, actually. If you don't object, I want to honor you by calling this town Ariville. It was your idea after all. We all wouldn't be here without you."

I shook my head. "But I do object. This is not about me. We stags already have problems keeping our egos in check. I definitely don't want to use our community to blow mine up."

We went silent for a while. Then I said: "There was another name I considered for a short time. This community is in the Everfree forest, so the name Freeville would make some sense even to the guys in Canterlot. But I dropped the idea because it was too suspicious. But as an inofficial name, it's perfect. I hereby suggest the name Freeville."

Spring Breeze nodded. "That sounds reasonable. Well, let's vote. All in favor?"

I couldn't see any hand that wasn't up.

"Very well", Spring Breeze said. "Freeville it is. Anything else on the schedule today?"

Anaphainos nodded. "I have spotted the first incurable. A stallion who lived in Ponyville before the Invasion. He moved to a lonely cottage just outside of Ponyville afterwards. Also, he hasn't exactly been diagnosed because he has never been tested, but his behavior strongly indicates that he's not affected. If I remember correctly, his name was something with Turner. Tino Turner? Timmy Turner? Something like that. I couldn't find out exactly. Anyway, Ari wants to approach and recruit him."

"Finally, a stallion in town!", some mare yelled from behind.

"Let's just hope he really is unaffected. This is quite a risk, isn't it, Ari?", Star Charmer asked.

I nodded. "Yes, but we know that incurables exist, and we have to get at least some of them to our side if we want this to work. If we notice anything odd, we can still drug him and make him believe that he just had a nice trip to a neighbouring town, then send him back to his cottage."

"Also, he isn't exactly popular", Anaphainos said. "Apparently he was already something like an outsider even before the invasion, having contact mostly only with the Major and one grey-coated blonde pegasus mare. We couldn't find out what happened to her though. She definitely isn't with him. After the invasion, it got even worse. He has no friends in Ponyville. Even if he would tell on us, I doubt anyone would believe him. Also, there's still the drug option."

"I think it's safe to risk it", I said.

"Very well then", Spring Breeze said. "May I call for a vote?"

We had a close majority in favor.

Just like Anaphainos had told me, I found the 'incurable' in a pub around Ponyville, staring deeply into a glass of whisky. A brown-coated stallion with an impressive dark brown mane. I approached him with a friendly smile on my face.

"Hello", I said in a friendly voice. "We don't know each other yet, but I'd like to speak a few words with you."

"Bugger off, caribou", he said rudely.

At a table close to us, two stallions were about to bend their black collar mares over a table for some kind of drinking game. I could see nervousness and anger rising in the face of the brown-coated 'incurable' stallion next to me.

"You're not like those two, are you? You don't socialize, and you don't bring any mares to the pub."

"I said bugger off", he repeated. "I am really not interested in anything you have to say."

"Okay, same rules as ever?", one of the stallions at the other table said.

"Same rules as ever", the other one answered. "I'll take your mare and you'll take mine. Both holes are allowed, but the only position is the mare bent over the table like this and the stallion behind her. Whoever can make the other one's mare scream the loudest wins. The loser pays the drinks for the evening. Spanking and beating allowed, but no permanent damage. Ready, set, go."

The moaning began. The 'incurable''s face showed a clear expression of disgust. I kept my straight face, lowered my voice and made sure the barkeep was occupied elsewhere. "I know you moved from Ponyville to a single cottage far outside after the invasion. I know that you're trying to avoid anything that has to do with the culture of my people. I know what you are. Be assured that I mean you no harm. I don't want to give you to the authorities, and I don't want to lure you into some kind of trap. As a matter of fact, I think we're on the same side..."

"What do you know about my side, caribou?", he asked and emptied his glass. "What do you know about my loss?"

I sighed. "Let me buy you a drink." Then, I addressed the barkeep. "Barkeep, the two of us will be at the table over there." I pointed to an empty table at the other side of the room. "Could you bring us two glasses of your best whisky?"

The moaning and screaming grew louder.

"No problem", the barkeeper said. I stood up and moved to the empty table. The 'Incurable' fortunately followed me without further question.

Once we were sitting and our whiskys had arrived, I began again. "You may have heard about a new town growing around Luna's castle", I said, still with my voice down. "I know you don't like caribou culture, so you might be interested in taking a look at our new community. We're doing things a little bit differently there..."

The moaning and screaming from the other table continued to increase.

"Listen, caribou", he said silently, but still visibly angry. "I'm not interested in you, I'm not interested in your project, and I sure as hell am not interested in seeing yet another slavers' town."

"As I said, we're doing things a little bit differently there", I whispered. "You won't see any..."

"AAAAOOH!" I was interrupted by a loud scream from one of the mares.

"I think I'm winning", the stallion who was pounding her said triumphantly.

"Would you excuse me for a second", the 'incurable' said. "I have to take care of something over there." Then he stood up and moved into the general direction of the two stallions.

This was bad.

"Excuse me, you two", he said with a rather aggressive voice. "My... new acquaintance and I would like to have a nice chat over there, and we're hearing you at the other end of the pub. Could you please be a little bit quieter?"

This was really bad. I stood up and moved in his direction.

One of the other two stallions shook his head. "If you want silence, why don't you go home and tell your own mares to shut their muzzle while you fuck them?", he asked.

"You really should not have said that", the 'incurable' said, clenched his fist and raised it to hit the other stallion.

I interrupted quickly enough, grabbed his fist and held it back. "Please excuse my friend, he's a little bit drunk", I told the other stallion. Then I addressed the 'incurable', whispering to him, making absolutely sure that none of the others would hear it. "I understand your feelings. I really do. But this is not the way to do it. You'll be of use to no one if you get yourself switched." He was still angry, but he calmed down.

He had dropped most resistance, but I still held him back when the door opened. A stag entered, a small cow on a leash directly behind him.

"Magistrate", the barkeep said. "Nice to see you here this evening."

Ah. So this was Gunne, the magistrate of Ponyville. Since I had been in Ponyville shortly before summoning Hermaeus Mora, I had observed the town. Ponyville wasn't exactly like our town, but it was still slightly more pleasant than most other locations in Equestria, which was why I decided to have a look at it now and then. I made sure to stay a night in Ponyville whenever I went to Canterlot if my schedule would allow it, to hear the newest town rumors. And Owlowiscious and his brothers and sisters made watching the town's developmend even easier. So far I hadn't met Gunne yet, but the way he ran this town sure seemed interesting.

He spotted the two of us. I noticed the stallion was still clenching his fists, and I was still holding him back.

"Is there anything wrong here?", Gunne asked.

"Not really", I said and smiled at him. "I just prevented this stallion here from making a mistake. But he really hasn't done anything yet. Isn't that right, you two?", I asked the other two stallions. But they were already back at their wager. Stallions under the geas had an extremely short attention span – even shorter than most of my brethren. "You see", I said to Gunne. "Nothing wrong here. This stallion is just a bit drunk right now and seems to have a bit of a temper, but I could really use someone like him at Luna's castle."

Gunne thought for a second. "Oh, so you must be the magistrate of the new agricultural community I heard of, in the Everfree forest", he said.

"Yes, that would be me", I answered. "Magistrate of the newly formed town of Dainnville."

Once again, Gunne's face showed no emotion. "Interesting project. It sure is important to secure and increase food production. No one knows that better than I do. I'm not sure if I would have chosen this specific plot of land though..."

"It's actually quite fertile once you put a bit of good old work in it. We have already begun with our first harvest. It's really plentiful." I smiled at him. "There already had been a town around that castle after all – a long time ago. It worked back then, and it also works now. But the town needs to grow, so I want to offer this stallion here a plot of land and a position in the new community. He seems to be a good, honest guy."

"He's a troublemaker", Gunne said. "Moved out of town as soon as we moved in. Comes to town once a week to drink himself to the point of unconsciousness, or to the point where he starts yelling at people. So far he hasn't broken any laws, but I think it's only a matter of time. No idea what you want with him. But personally, I'm happy if you get him as far away from Ponyville as possible. Good luck with him. You'll need it."

"Thank you", I said. "I'll make sure he won't bother you any more. He just needs the right... encouragement." I smiled. "Speaking of which, I've watched this town for some time now, and I love how you use..." I corrected myself. "I like the specific way our laws are enforced in this community. I mean I really admire your work here. I haven't seen every spot in Equestria yet, but right now I consider you the second best magistrate in the kingdom"

"Thank you", Gunne said, still without showing any emotion. "Wait, who's the best then?"

"Why, me, of course." I grinned.

I noticed the cow that was still standing at his side. I knew about Gunne and his sister, of course. It was an open secret, most stags in Canterlot knew about this. I don't know why, but I instantly remembered a passage from the beginning of Friga and the White Cow. What had it said? "Even though they were not twins, they were as close to each other as though they were." I really had to thank Anaphainos. His book had just given me yet another idea.

"So... I take it this is your sister then?", I asked.

He became uneasy. "Yes, this is Ginna, my sister and pet", he answered.

"How lovely", I said. "I just wanted to let you know that I'm aware of... how you were born. I know what most of our people think about that, and I wanted to say that I don't see it that way. I mean, I... really don't care. You seem to be a good guy, Gunne, no matter what they say." I didn't wait for his response. Another idea had come to me.

I always had a few extra tourmaline amulets with me. I chose one without the Order's symbol, with a simple tourmaline stone in donut form, and put it into Gunne's hand. "Take this as a symbol of my appreciation for your work here", I said. "We all have one of those in Dainnville."

I didn't give him time to respond. "Also, I have a riddle for you", I said. "Why are there so many of our people that seem to be frowning all the time? We're not frowning this much in Dainnville, not any more, but as soon as you get into another town, you see the stags constantly frowning. Why would this be? Think about it. I'd really like to hear your response when we meet the next time." I moved toward the door quickly. Surprisingly, the stallion I was trying to recruit followed me without hesitation. "Goodbye, Gunne", I said while moving past the stag. "Looking forward to meeting you again some day. Oh, and goodbye to you too, Ginna." I smiled at her utterly confused face.

"What was that all about?", the stallion asked as soon as we had left the pub.

"Oh, just pleasant conversation between two caribou", I answered.

"No, I have seen stags talk to each other", he said. "This wasn't the usual stag smalltalk about raping females and similar stuff. This was different. As if you were trying to... get into his head somehow."

I scratched my head. "How's that different? We stags try to get into others peoples' heads all the time. It's practically our main modus operandi. Yes, this also applies to how we relate to each other."

He shrugged his shoulders. "I'm no expert on your culture. I just know Gunne and a few soldiers I see passing by from time to time. But thinking of it, you may be right. Gunne seems to be similar."

I didn't answer.

"Also, that riddle you gave to him...", he murmured. "I have to say, that was interesting." He lowered his voice. "I don't really want to see a town named after that tyrant, but you have made me curious. You are right, you are the first stag I've ever seen smiling, at least outside of some kind of rape scenario. Is it true that the stags don't frown that much in your town?"

"Absolutely", I said. "Also, the official name is really not important, believe me. It's a... diversion." I looked around to see if anyone could hear us. Then I continued with a low voice. "You know, nothing diverts the king more than his own big, shiny, overinflated ego. So I inflated it a little bit more, so that he and the others will be even less able to see what I hide behind it."

"Hah, that's a good metaphor", the stallion said. "I don't know why, but I think I'm beginning to like you. I tell you what. I'll take a look at that town and castle of yours, and if I don't like it, I can still move back to my cottage. Oh, by the way... you haven't even told me your name yet."

"I actually don't use my birth name any more", I said. "Where I live now, everyone calls me Ari. Aristagtle is a mashup of an Ancient Equestrian word and a word of my own language. We all choose new names when we move to F... Dainnville".

"I see. In that case, call me Tempus", he said and offered me his hand.

I took it and laughed. "Hah, that's sort of fitting. So you do speak Ancient Equestrian?" He nodded. I continued. "I have a room in town and I don't want to travel Everfree in the night, so let's meet at this exact place tomorrow morning at sunrise. Allright?"

"Fine by me", he answered.

We met at the same place tomorrow morning, then immediately started to make our way through the Everfree forest.

We reached Freeville in early afternoon. The welcome committee was already there. It consisted mostly of mares, but there were a few stags as well. Most stags were working on the fields, but Anaphainos had taken some time off to join the committee.

Tempus was surprised to see mares dressed, without collars, apparently well, standing side by side with stags. Spring Breeze approached him and offered her hand. "Welcome to Freeville", she said.

Tempus smiled. "I see. So that other name really was a diversion. But seriously, how do you keep this a secret from the guys in Canterlot?"

"We have our methods to create a few distractions", I answered.

"Yeah, but you have to be crazy prepared to pull that off. I mean, you'd essentially have to watch the entire forest all the time to make sure no stag or stallion was accidentally stumbling in your direction. Not to mention the guys from Canterlot who are deliberately heading in your direction."

"Actually, there is a report from an official in Canterlot which says that our females are perfectly in their place and absolutely well-behaved", I informed him.

The shadow of an owl appeared directly above me.

"Yes, but how do you do it?"

I raised my arm. Owlowiscious landed on it. "The owls are not what they seem", I said.

"Okay... creepy", Tempus said. "But I think I might come to like it here. Of course, I'll have to make sure that this isn't some kind of trick..."

"Who", Owlowiscious said to me.

"I assure you it is not", Spring Breeze said. She then gave Anaphainos a glance. "My good Anaphainos and I would like to give you a tour of the town and the castle. If you want to stay here, the whole community will build a house for you tomorrow. It has become... something like a tradition here to do this as a community for any newcomer."

Tempus scratched his head. "I think I've heard that somewhere else before. But I can't say where."

"Who!", Owlowiscious insisted.

"I think the owl is trying to tell me something", I said. "Could you repeat that?"

"Who!", Owlowiscious repeated.

"Is that guy crazy?", Tempus asked Spring Breeze.

"Most probably, yeah", Spring Breeze answered with a smile. "But this has nothing to do with that."

I addressed the community. "Owlowiscious has just informed me that a stag from Canterlot is on his way to Freeville. Owlowiscious and the others have observed him since shortly after he left Canterlot, and he's apparently just a messenger with a message for the magistrate of Dainnville. But it's better to be save than sorry. Anaphainos, tell the other stags to stop working. Some of the mares should put on fake black collars and pretend like they're working. Maybe put a few willing mares in red collars as well to distract him, although I guess we could also use the cows for that. Also, do you still have one or two potions of our drug ready? Just in case."

Anaphainos nodded.

"Well then. The normal procedure", I said.

"I'm sorry my good Anaphainos can't join us on our tour now, but I'd still like to show you around", Spring Breeze said to Tempus. The stallion nodded. "Also, you might get to see how we distract guys from Canterlot", Spring Breeze added. "It's quite a show, believe me."

I chuckled. "But then again, maybe not", I reminded her. "I will wait here and interrupt the guy. I have my signet ring with me. If he's really just a messenger, he'll probably be happy that he can give the message to me directly and leave the forest."

Spring Breeze nodded, then she and Tempus moved in the direction of the castle. "Lead the way", I said to Owlowiscious.

"Who!", he said.

A few minutes later and a few meters outside of Freeville, I saw the messenger. He was apparently in a hurry. That was probably fortunate.

"Are you from Dainnville?", he asked.

"As it happens, I am the magistrate of Dainnville", I answered. "On my daily late-afternoon walk in the forest." I showed him my signet ring. "And who might you be?", I asked.

"I'm just a messenger", he said. "With a letter for you. Lord Vestri sends his regards."

He handed me a letter in an envelope. Vestri? What could he want from me?

This was probably bad.

The other stag had already turned around and was heading in the general direction of Canterlot – away from Freeville. I exhaled. At least he wouldn't be a problem.

I opened the envelope and read the letter.

My eyes widened, and I even had a little smile on my face.

I had to call yet another meeting of the town plenum. If Tempus wanted to stay, it would be his first, and on the very first day, but this simply couldn't wait.