Broken

Chapters

Out of the Deluge
Wet
The Sad Truth
Panic
Ups and Downs
Sweet Release
Soaking
Stress Test
Ignatius

Out of the Deluge

Broken: Prologue

"Out of the Deluge"

The rain poured outside, coming down in rampant sheets that pummeled the window before his eyes. He took a sip of the coffee he had made, giving a faint sigh of relief at the warmth that flooded into his numb body.

"Whatever the weather team is thinking is insane." He muttered to nopony in particular, watching a passing carriage headed to Luna-knew-where this time of night. A silver glow enveloped the coffee mug, keeping it at his side and ready whenever he felt the need for another warming sip. As it stood, he'd need more than just one to get through the night. The bitter liquid bit into his tongue, surely leaving behind a minute burn. He was more used to them than he should have been.

The rain continued unabated, and the lonely stallion stood watching it come down. It was a strange relationship the two of them had. He would remain inside, away from its chilling touch, and it would stay outside, where it could not soak him. He would often grumble about how much he hated the rain, how it made the air muggy and was a nuisance if ever he got caught outside in it, but in all truthfulness, he loved the sound of it. The static, relaxing melody the drops played as they drummed against the Study window were a balm on nights like this, when sleep was as fickle as a wanton mistress of the night with other better-looking suitors after her.

So there they were. A lonely stallion and the rain. She was a wonderful partner to have on such a night, and he found myself wondering what secrets she concealed. It was damnably difficult to see far in the rain, but through the distorted surface of the window pane, he tried to delve deeper into her trove of delicious secrets. 'What wonders would this rain hold for me? What would I see out there, in the murky night lit only by the solitary street lamp burning resolutely away, as if to spite the liquid that would spell that fickle flame's doom were it not for the protective cover immediately over its head?'

The night had her secrets, and Lavender Sky had his. They seldom shared them out of mutual respect for one another's privacy, but every now and again, the night volunteers information. Sometimes that particular tidbit is an unsolicited invasion of privacy that takes weeks if not months to forgive. Others, it may be a passing interesting note; something to be mentioned in casual conversation with someone at market.

Every once in a while, the night throws something into Lavender's lap and says 'Here. It's your problem now.'

Tonight was one of those nights.

The pounding at the door came so unexpectedly he almost dropped his coffee. The light-brown liquid froze midair as Lavender's horn blazed to life, freezing the cup and its contents mid-fall. Taking a soft breath, he scooped the static liquid out of midair and into the cup, saving both carpet and hooves from a scalding avalanche of stains.

"Who in the blazes could that possibly be...?" He grumbled, setting the still-full mug of coffee on his nearby desk and leaving the office. "Honestly, pounding on doors at-" He consulted the clock in the foyer. "One in the morning. Shameful." The pounding came again, though unless he was mistaken, the sound of a hoof scraping over the aged mahogany punctuated the cascade of blows. 'Now they're scraping their hooves on my door!' Angrily, Lavender threw the door open.

"Now who in their right bloody mind-"

Into his lap came the biggest problem of Lavender's.

And she was gorgeous.

Soaked, but gorgeous. An Earth Pony mare with a grey mane and a beautiful, shiny blue coat tumbled through the door, sprawling at his hooves. A look at her flank betrayed the absence of a cutie mark. Panic set in as the unconscious mare lay on the floor of Lavender's foyer, a rapidly-growing puddle of rainwater accompanying her. Her chest rose and fell with deep, steady breaths, but her eyes were closed, one hoof twitching spasmodically.

She was incredibly shapely, full flanks and a well-proportioned barrel all attached to four muscled (but not grossly so) legs. There was no telling how well-kept she was, considering her legs were caked with mud and her mane hung around her neck and face in an not-entirely-unattractive way...

Many things crossed his mind in that moment. Phrases, words, and questions; half-formed thoughts of outrage, shock, and love-at-first-sigh sentimentalities... All of it summed up rather brilliantly in one short word.

"Fuck."

"Uuhn..." The strange waterlogged mare responded to Lavender's curse with a moan, her eyes flickering faintly. She fixed one of them on Lavender, her half-lidded gaze nevertheless burning with desire. What those desires were had yet to be seen, but nopony in their right mind would deny her the chance to voice them.

"Yes?" Lavender advanced cautiously, the edge of his hoof falling in the ever-growing puddle of water around the poor thing. That one eye still pierced into his own, aflame with desire. Whatever that desire was remained to be seen, but there it was, alive and intense.

"He..."

"Go on, old girl, say it." Lavender encouraged her, stepping ever-closer.

The words that came out of her mouth sent chills down his spine.

"Help me."

Her eyes, like the flame of the streetlamp, lost the light and all fire fled from them, leaving an unconscious mare in the middle of a pool of rainwater, and one very confused, suddenly very scared stallion whom could only muster one word to summarize all that had happened.

"Fuck."

Lavender was nothing if not a courteous pony. His colleagues and coworkers would often praise him for being forthcoming, if a little curmudgeonly. He accepted their praise readily, though never outwardly. He disliked helping others, but it went against his nature to allow ponies to suffer. At least, suffer at the ministrations of something that wasn't his own doing. In the world of journalism, one often had to maneuver in ways that left other ponies floundering.

Lavender was no stranger to suffering. Be it his own, or one of his career moves to put him in a more opportune (and comfortable) position. But seeing the mare collapsed on his foyer sparked something in Lavender, a feeling he hadn't felt in a while.

Sympathy.

And a fair bit of arousal, but that was besides the point. Actually, it was nestled right up next to the point, pressing its shapely flanks right up against his. And damn it all if it didn't take every bit of fortitude available to the belabored stallion to not take advantage of the poor thing. Thankfully enough, he managed to haul her into the bathtub for a nice, long, hot soak. That seemed to rouse her enough. She didn't speak, and hardly looked at him, but she nevertheless took the soap and rag offered her and weakly began scrubbing her body clean.

For that bit, Lavender let her be. It was only when the soft sounds of splashing and swishing stopped that he re-entered the bathroom to help her out of the tub. She hardly even moved when his magic wrapped around her, almost as if she were somewhat used to being handled like that. She stood on unsteady hooves while he fetched a towel, but dried off well enough.

"Are you hungry?" He finally asked, breaking the silence between them. The mysterious mare didn't speak, but nodded weakly. "Very well, come with me. Can you walk?" Again, she nodded. Lavender left the bathroom, taking her to the guest bedroom across from his own. Another shock was delivered as soon as they crossed the threshold. The mare immediately brushed past him, leaping up onto the bed with a sort of energy he hadn't expected to see from the seemingly weakened girl. She nosed her way under the covers, curling up comfortably and looking at him.

Again with those eyes. Her green irises burned like jade, penetrating past his own weak defenses and closing his throat. She set her smoldering gaze on him, though it was a different brand than earlier. Her lips were split in a grin, completely out-of-ordinary for the scenario. She looked at him like that, and Lavender froze.

"Eer, miss...?" He choked. "Are you feeling okay?"

"I feel fine, master."

He froze.

'Master.'

She said it like it meant nothing. Like she had practiced saying it, was used to it, like it was habit.

"E-excuse me? Master?"

She cocked her head to the side, her eyes immediately moving from 'lusty' to 'inquisitive.'

"Do you not wish me to call you that, master?"

There was that word again, and said with such easy innocence, the same way any other pony would say 'and' in a sentence. Lavender swallowed past the lump in his throat, taking a hesitant step closer.

"You don't need to call me anything, ma'am... My name is Lavender Sky. Most call me Sky, or Lav, or Lavender... Take your pick, but you don't need to call me m-... That."

Again, she cocked her head to the other side, her bright eyes inquisitive.

"But you asked me if I was hungry, Lavender. I don't understand, don't you want to feed me?"

"I... Well, yes, I would feed you. What do you want to eat?"

The smolder was back, and in force this time. She locked eyes with him, her lips spreading in another grin.

"What I always eat." She purred, pushing the blankets down and off. She lay on her back, haunches out, and as he watched, she spread them with a practiced slow ease that would make any consort jealous. Lavender froze as she bore herself to him, her delicate pink marehood glistening already.

"I'm hungry for cock."

Wet

Broken: Chapter 1

"Wet"

"E-excuse me?" Lavender said the first thing that came to his stupefied, glazed-over mind. The mare looked at him from between her legs, the smolder still present and intense.

"I said I'm hungry for cock." She purred, one of her forehooves descending between her thighs. She tenderly stroked the glistening lips of her core, moaning as the slippery flesh squished under the gentle touch. "Very hungry."

"I-I-I..." Lavender swallowed again, his cheeks darkening (an admirable feat for an already-red pony such as himself.) "I'll just make some soup, then!"

He ran, out of the room, down the stairs, through the still-damp foyer, and into the kitchen. He stopped at the sink, splashing cold water onto his face to wake himself up. The smell of coffee filled the air, and as he emerged from the spray of cold water with an explosive breath, he poured another mug. Ignoring the scalding sensation in his throat, he took as long a drink as he could, gasping and coughing at the other end.

'What in the blue blazes of Luna's lamentable plot HAPPENED up there?!' He stared into the sink intently, still breathing heavily as he took a slower, more composed sip of coffee. He replayed all that had happened in his mind, and had to resort to a steady stream of cold water to stop himself from dashing back up there and feeding her. She had collapsed on his doorstep practically, and being the generous sort that he was (when there wasn't a promotion on the table,) he took her in, cleaned her, then... then...

"AUGH!" Slamming the empty mug down, he stomped back upstairs, feeling rather irritable. He gave pause at the door, raising his hoof to knock like any respectable pony would before entering the bedchamber of a mare. Granted, it was his room and his house, but he needed to show proper decorum. He knocked three times and cleared his throat.

"Ahem. Miss, may I enter?"

Silence. He knocked again, afraid she hadn't heard him. Again, no response. Hesitantly, he cracked the door open, peeking inside. "Miss? Are you oka- WOAH!"

The sheets had been stripped, and she was currently winding a tied loop of them around her neck. As he watched, horrified, she tied the other end of the sheets to the bedpost and proceeded to lean forwards on the floor. Immediately, she let out a choking sound, the sheets digging into the fur on her neck garishly.

"Hey!" His horn blazed to life immediately, sending a razor-thin line of magic across the sheets tied to the bedpost. The sound of ripping fabric and falling limbs filled the air as she pitched forwards onto her face, breathing explosively and coughing. "What are you doing?!" Lavender dashed forwards, standing over her as he tried to untie the knot around her neck.

"M-master wasn't pleased with me. I was punishing myself." She gurgled, rubbing her neck with a hoof. Lavender froze once more as she clutched at the sheet, trying to pull it back to her neck. "Please, master, I must be punished! Let me punish myself!" Lavender could only watch in shock as she started winding the sheet around her neck once more, tying a knot as best she could with her hooves.

He moved once she had started to wind it around the bedpost once more.

"Stop." He said, gripping the sheets firmly in his magic. "Don't punish yourself. Why would you want to do this? What's wrong?"

"I-I presented myself to master, and he ran from me! This one must be despicable, to present herself and be shunned. M-master, please, punish me as you see fit!"

His hoof reacted before he could really stop it. Whipping around, it caught her across the cheek, snapping her head to the side with a painfully-loud sound. She stumbled back a few steps, her eyes gone wide with shock. When she turned to look at him again, it was with tears in her eyes. Lavender froze once more, sudden guilt filling his head.

"I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to strike you-"

"Thank you, master." She cut him off, lowering her head. "Please, punish me more."

"I let my- wait, what?" He stepped back. "What did you say?"

She kept her head down, but spoke softly.

"Please punish me more, master." She whispered the next, he eyes closed as she raised her head. The mark on her cheek had darkened to a ruddy dark thing, marring the otherwise perfect blue coat. Lavender lowered his hoof, looking at her with wide eyes.

"I'm not going to punish you. I slapped you to knock some sense into you."

"You're... Not going to punish me...?" Her eyes opened at last and she fixed them on Lavender, tears welling up.

"Of course not! Why would I punish you? I just have some quesitons... Okay, a lot of questions... Why did you... present yourself to me? Why did you come to my house? Why were you filthy? Weren't you weak to the point of collapse just a few minutes ago?"

"I... I..." The mare swayed where she stood, her eyes fluttering. Reacting almost out of reflex, Lavender grabbed her, stopping the poor thing from falling over once more. She slumped into his magic, her eyes closed and her breathing normal.

"Bother." Lavender cursed and hauled the poor mare back into bed, using the covers for a sheet since she had stripped them off, and they were now ruined by his cutting them. Cursing the entire time under his breath, he went to fetch another blanket to cover her with and the pot of coffee. She needed rest now, and food later. He dare not leave her alone lest she try to strangle herself again, or otherwise 'punish' herself.

When he returned with a blanket and coffee, she was as he had left her, curled up peacefully on her side, her chest rising and falling smoothly. He threw the blanket over her and poured a mug before dragging one chair from the guest room's desk over. He seated himself next to the bed, watching her sleep, with nothing but coffee and a book to keep him company.

Outside, the rain poured on, serenading Lavender with a cacophony of precipitation.

It was well into the morning before the mysterious mare woke up. She did so softly, giving a faint sound from the back of her throat as she rolled onto her stomach and raised her head. Lavender smiled at her - she really was beautiful - as she blinked at him.

"Good morning." He set the book aside, sliding off the chair to stand beside her bed.

"Good morning." She responded, raising a shaky hoof to rub her eyes. "I... I feel awful."

"I'd imagine so!" Lavender scoffed. "Do you remember any of what happened last night?"

"I... I don't." She came to the realization soberly, her lips curled downwards in a frown. "I don't remember ever coming here... Where is this place?"

"You are in my home." Lavender laid a hoof on hers comfortingly. "My name is Lavender Sky. Most call me Lav, or Lavender, or Sky. But you... you were calling me 'master.'"

"I... I was...?" The mare blinked and rubbed the bridge of her nose again, groaning inwardly. "It's all such a blur, I... I can't think straight..."

"Maybe some food would do you good." Lavender offered. He left out the tidbit about her exposing herself to him and offering to let him 'feed' her, mostly because he couldn't think about the gorgeous sight of her spread out like that without blushing furiously. Even now, he was sporting a faint one, but part of the virtue of being a natural shade of red was the fact nopony could tell faint blushes apart from the rest of your coat.

"Yes, please." She came around immediately, nodding enthusiastically. She began to crawl forward, but Lavender stopped her with a hoof.

"Aah, you stay there." He cautioned. "I'll bring it to you. Just rest up, okay?"

"Okay." She acquiesced surprisingly easy, curling up under the blankets once more. Still, Lavender could feel those magnificent jade eyes following him out of the room. He sighed once on the other side of the door.

"I'm going to need more coffee..."

Two mugs and a few slices of burnt toast later, Lavender re-entered the bedroom with a tray full of food. He knew Earth Ponies had appetites to rival the greatest competitive eaters, and she certainly seemed to be weak. Still, as he set the tray on the lone table of the room, the mysterious mare approached it slowly, and began eating very cautiously. Lavender was shocked to see her eat with such care and grace, and not that much either... She ate maybe half the food he had made, leaving quite a bit leftover.

"Ahem." He cleared his throat respectfully. "You can... Eat more, you know..." He nudged a full bowl of oatmeal closer to her. "I can get some sugar if you'd like."

"No, thank you." She smiled bravely. "I'm not that hungry."

"I... see." Lavender deadpanned, looking over her well-toned frame. She was larger than him by a fair amount, but she didn't get that big eating so modestly. Lavender squared with her, his eyes searching hers out. "I think it's time I get some answers, miss."

"I think I owe them to you." She sighed, hanging her head. "Ask me anything."

"Alright, first things first, what's your name?"

"You haven't given me one yet."

"That's an awfully peculiar- wait, what?" Lavender arched his head back. "What do you mean I haven't given you one yet?"

"Was I not clear?" Lavender blinked at him. "I'm in your home. You get the right to name me. Unless you want to call me by one of the names I've had before?"

"'One of the names'? What... You don't have a name of your own? What?" Lavender had never met such a peculiar being. Not only was she missing her cutie mark, but she didn't have a name? Or, more specifically, he supposed she had many... "I'm afraid I don't follow."

"Well, all things considered, I suppose you wouldn't have got me through the usual way..." She sighed. "I have been called many things. Kitten, Dog, Slut, Whore-"

"Wait, wait, wait." Lavender cut her off, waving his hooves frantically. "These were your names?! Like, I'm called Lavender Sky, and you were called-"

"Kitten, Dog, Slut, Whore, Girl, Slave... There was one pegasus who called me 'Sunspot' but he killed himself. Oh, I can't forget 'Bitch.' I've been called that many, many times." She cocked her head to the side. "Would you like to call me Bitch?"

"No!" Lavender's head was reeling. Just who WAS this mare? What had happened to her to cause her to act this way? He took a step back, rubbing away at the ever-present headache gnawing into his skull. "I... You've never had a normal name before? A name like mine?"

"Do you want to call me Lavender Sky?" She responded, brightening up. "I do like that name."

"You want my name?"

"I like your name. It's a good name." She beamed at him genuinely, looking for all intents and purposes like an angel descended from Elysium. Lavender glowered at her instead.

"I'm sure it is, but you can't have my name. What about a name that ties well with your cutie mar-" He stuffed a hoof in his mouth. The girl just looked at him curiously once more.

"My what?"

"Y-your, uum, talent." He cleared his throat. "You know, what you're good at. Plenty of ponies have names that coincide with their abilities. Not me, mind you, my parents were silly."

"So you want to call me Cocksleeve?"

"WHAT?!" Lavender spit the sip of coffee he was taking, looking at her incredulously.

"What about Cum Dumpster? Dicklicker?"

"I..."

"Ooh, or what about Screamer? I've been told I'm good at all of those things."

"Haah..." Lavender exhaled an exasperated breath, rubbing his temples once more. "This isn't happening to me."

"Would you like something to be happening to you?"

"You know, for all the answers I'm supposed to be getting, I'm giving out a lot more of them." He glared at her. "Just pick a name. Any name. A name you like."

"I..." The mare's face shifted from inquisitive and bright to pensive in a flash. There were tears brimming in her eyes, and Lavender immediately regretted saying anything so short with her.

"I'm sorry, dear, I didn't mean to be so short with you-"

"I've never picked anything before." She sniffled, looking back up at him once more. "Well, nothing besides my punishment."

"I-" For the umpteenth time, Lavender found himself frozen in her midst. She was such an enigma; this strange mare that had collapsed on his front stoop. He stared at her for a long time, the only sound being the sniffles she despondently emitted. After a long silence, he felt the need to say something.

"Well, if you really want me to pick a name for you, I can. I mean, if you can't think of anything."

"I've only known the names of my masters." She sniffed, wiping a hoof over her eyes. "I don't want to be named after any of them."

"Well, then, how about this:" He reached a hoof out to lift her chin gently. "Lily."

Lavender had never been much of a companionable sort. He did poorly with the mares, and even worse with the stallions. His romantic exploits had been limited to whatever self-pleasuring magic he could conjure and the faint memory of a drunken kiss from one of the editors during their last Hearth's Warming party. But in that moment, with his new charge looking him in the eye, and seeing the look of relief and happiness wash over her face, he felt as fulfilled and happy as he'd ever felt.

That, and the desperate kiss she planted on his lips moments later helped.

"Right. Ahem." He pushed her away, fighting yet another vicious blush as she tried to wrap her forelegs around him. "That's enough, now," she took the hint and backed away, but sat opposite him with a giddy smile on her lips. "Right. Now then." He sat up, a faint grin of his own curling his lips. "I still have a few more questions to ask you."

"Anything, mast- Lavender! I'll answer anything!" She caught the verbal slip, chiding herself without having to resort to auto-asphyxiation. Lavender chuckled and sized her up once more. She truly was a gorgeous mare, with a full head of gloriously silver hair, and a deep, rich blue coat that offset the striking green in her eyes rather well. When she wasn't caked in mud and trying to come on to him, she was actually quite alluring. A dark shadow crossed his face as he realized what must have happened to this mare. All of the mannerisms prior to this had led up to one conclusion, and he wanted to know who was responsible.

"Who did all this to you?"

"Masters Ignatus and Moonglow were responsible for my training." Lily answered immediately, without even blinking. "They taught me everything I know. How to behave, how to act, where to touch a stallion when he cu-"

"Aah." Lavender cut her off with a hoof. "I... Don't need to know that particular bit... But who are these ponies? Ignatus and Moonglow?" Lily appeared confused by the question.

"They're my masters..."

"Right. I suppose you wouldn't know much about who they were..." Lavender heaved a sigh and went back to rubbing his temples. This whole ordeal, from the kiss to finding her on his doorstep, was weighing heavily on his mind. He needed another cup of coffee. He needed about six years to comprehend all this. He needed resources and research.

He needed help.

"Sit tight, Lily. And do try to eat something, okay?"

"I'll try, ma-Lavender." She smiled genuinely at him, turning back towards the table as Lavender left the room. He made his way downstairs to his study, glowering at the stale cup of coffee he had left there from last night before Lily had shown up. He hovered it over to a nearby bookshelf, clearing the space on his study's desk to write a letter.

Silver,

Come over immediately. I have a matter that requires your assistance.

Sincerely,

-Lav

Lavender opened the nearby window, still laden with fat drops from last night's rain, and whistled out into the bright morning air. Across his lawn sat a sturdy old Oak tree, and nestled in its branches was a large birdhouse. From said house emerged a pigeon, white as snow and beautiful as a new moonrise. It fluttered across the lawn towards the window, landing on Lavender's out-stretched hoof. He fixed the miniature scroll to the pigeon's leg and made eye contact.

"To Silver."

The pigeon blinked once and took off, carrying his message out into the muggy morning.

Help was on the way, whether it wanted to be or not. Meanwhile, Lavender needed to handle some... Stress relief.

In retrospect, doing what he did probably wasn't the most courteous of things, considering whatever dark history Lily had come from. But damn it all, he couldn't get the vision of her glistening pink marehood out of his mind, of the eager fire in her eyes, and the way she said the word 'Master...' Flushing away his indignant seed, and taking a short cold shower to boot, Lavender re-entered Lily's room feeling much more composed and awake. He returned her smile when he noticed that the plates seemed marginally more empty. She must have eaten a little more.

"Are you feeling better?"

"Much better, thank you." She gave him a small bow of appreciation, which he took graciously. "And thank you for taking me into your home. I remember more about what happened, if you're still curious."

"I am indeed!" Lavender beamed at her. Being a journalist, curiosity was required. He offered her one of the two seats, taking the other for himself. She sat gracefully, taking a moment to collect herself. Lavender waited patiently as she appeared to be gathering her thoughts.

"I ran from my last master's home," She began, though her words sent a chill down Lavender's spine. He wanted to ask her how, but he was afraid of the inherent circumstances of her escape. "I managed to open the door to my room, and I ran away. I don't know how far I went, or where I started from, but I got as far away from that place as I could; as fast as my legs could carry me. I ran for ages, from the time that it was light until I arrived here."

"It was light out when you left?" Lavender asked. She nodded solemnly. She had arrived just after one in the morning. She had been running upwards of six hours, maybe even more, through the rain and the unfamiliar streets of Trottingham. He almost hated to ask, but he had to swallow his apprehension at some point. He leaned in a little as he asked his question.

"Who put you in that master's house? Where did you come from?"

"I... I don't know where from, but all I've known are Masters Ignatus and Moonglow, and anyone else they... they... sold me to..."

"I see... So you're a slave." Lavender arrived at the conclusion at last. Granted, all the signs pointed that way, but he had almost been in denial up until now. He sighed softly, feeling a profound sense of sadness come over him. This poor, gorgeous mare, abused and passed from one highest bidder to the next. He wondered how many times she had been sold, used, then sold again. He wondered if she was rented out, used like a packmule, then returned dirty and even more broken just so she could be passed out again.

He wondered what her price was.

Then he slapped himself. 'Terrible! That's awful! You should be ashamed of yourself!' His own reprimands fell short of making him actually feel bad, because the more he looked at her, the more and more it all began to make sense. The way she presented herself to him, not having any name, not even having any talent... He rubbed the sore spot on his cheek, wincing at the sting that radiated into his face.

"Lavender? Why'd you hit yourself?"

"Eer, no reason. I'm just tired, trying to wake up is all."

"Do you want to go to sleep?" Her eyes lit up once more, and Lavender knew she meant something else entirely by the word 'sleep.'

"I'm fine, thanks. Besides, I have some company coming over. Relax!" He raised a hoof to cut her off before she could speak. "It's a friend. Someone I can trust. I assure you, Lily, I'm not going to hurt you." 'At least, not in any way you won't enjoy- AUGH STOP!' Another stinging slap 'woke' him up. She frowned at him, and he smiled bravely. "I'm really tired. Forgive me."

"Who is it, Lavender? Your friend? I... I could tell you if they were my master before..."

"Hah! Trust me, Silver's not the sort of pony who would know anything about this sort of thing. At least, not firsthand knowledge... But he does know a lot about Trottingham, and all these nasty little sects that have popped up since, well, you know." She just gave him a quizzical look. "Since... Oh, come on, don't tell me you don't know about the legend of Nightmare Moon!"

"Nightmare who?"

"I... Wow, you really were sheltered, weren't you? Then again, being an Earth Pony, you might not have felt it when it happened-"

"Earth Pony?" Lily arched an eyebrow at him. "I'm not an Earth Pony."

"I mean, that sort of resonance can only be felt by we Uni- wait, what?" He looked at her with confusion on his face. "What do you mean you're not an Earth Pony? I don't see any wings on your back, and you most certainly don't have a horn-" His words fell short as Lily lifted her hooves to her mane, parting it at her forehead.

There, nestled among the silvery strands, was the stumpy base of a horn.

Lavender blacked out.

The Sad Truth

Broken: Chapter 2

"The Sad Truth"

He was shaking. Not the sort of shaking one does when they're cold, or a good song was playing, but being shaken. The world revealed itself to him sliver by sliver as he came around, and he realized there were hooves on him. Somepony was shaking him, and saying something.

"Lavender, wake up! There's someone at the door!"

"Fuck!" Sitting bolt upright, Lavender suddenly came to. The memory of all that had happened came rushing back to him, making his head swim. And along with those memories came the headache. Groaning inwardly, he clutched his hooves to his head, trying to stop the skull-splitting throbbing. It felt like there was a balloon inside of his cranium, and some indignant foal was blowing more and more air into it, trying to break him from the inside out.

"Erugh... Coffee..."

"Uum, there's some left over from breakfast..." Lily disappeared from beside him and re-appeared later, clutching a mug awkwardly in her hooves. Unable to focus on his own legs, let alone his horn, Lavender dove into the coffee muzzle-first. The infusion of caffeine cleared away the worst of the headache, stale and cold as it was. He finally got his bearings, looking around unevenly.

"Uum, Lily?"

"Yeah?"

"Why am I in the bed?"

"You collapsed when I showed you my horn. Eer, rather, what's left of my horn." She parted her mane again, showing off the stubby, flat base of her skull where any normal unicorn would be sporting a horn. Lavender ought to know, he had one of his own. His stomach churned at the sight, and he gingerly lifted her hooves away from her own head so the silver strands of her mane fell back around it.

"We'll talk more about that later. But how did you move me up onto the bed?"

"With my hooves, of course." Lily chuckled. "I may not look like it, but I'm actually strong. At least, that's what Master Ignatus used to tell me... He taught me to be strong."

"Ah huh. Enough about this Ignatus person-"

"Master Ignatus."

"Whatever. You said someone was at the door?"

"Well, yes, when I put you on the bed I let you sleep for a while... But now there's someone knocking at the door."

"By Luna's moony flank, you- UGH." He flung the cover aside and dashed out of the room, cursing himself and the circumstance all the way. For the second time, he flung the front door open to find a mare standing there, only this time it was a very disgruntled and angry-looking one. Silver stomped into the foyer, slamming the door shut behind her with a wingtip.

"You had better have a damn good reason for calling me over on vacation."

"Oh I think I've got a good enough reason, Silver." Lavender chuckled as he glanced up at the top of the stairs. "You're going to want to see this."

"My attention is caught and my interest is had, but only for the moment, Sky. You disappoint me, and so help me there isn't a hole deep enough for the things I have in mind." Silver Bolt was the editor-in-chief for the local newspaper, which Lavender lovingly held a daily column in. Granted, it took much manipulation and backstabbing to get to that illustrious spot, and he wouldn't have made it were it not for Silver's open way of handling business. If he made her bits, he kept his spot. If he didn't make her bits, his spot would go to the next best sob.

Had he have known he would be working under Silver, he might not have maneuvered himself in such a way. But as it stood, Silver was his one and only friend, even if it was a tenuous friendship. She was also incredibly knowledgeable about the goings-on of Trottingham at large, and would probably know the sort of circle Lily had come from. He knew from personal experience, however, Silver wouldn't be an active participant in said circle.

She was as non-sexual as a pony could be without losing their genitalia. Lavender had it on good authority (and one particularly painful personal experience) that the brash pegasus did not, nor had she ever, had a lover. She was almost grossly disinterested in romance, and preferred intellectual conversation to schmoozing and flowers. Lavender seemed to be one of the few who could offer her that, and while he had previously entertained thoughts of a romantic relationship with the Editor-In-Chief, he had been discouraged by one forceful hoof applied directly to his own genitalia.

Since then, the two had kept a mostly professional relationship, though Silver's love for conversation was second only to her love for chocolate, and Lavender just so happened to know the store she preferred most. Many of his paychecks had gone to that store over the past seven years of his employment at the paper, and he'd like to think he was in her good graces.

Then again, depending on how this whole ordeal went, he might just find himself on the business end of her hooves once more. "Look, upstairs, I have a mare-"

"You got a date?" Gone was the anger, replaced almost instantly by disbelief.

"N-not entirely," Lavender deadpanned, blushing once more. (Thank the moon for dark pigmentation.) I, uuh... Had a visitor late last night."

"A whore, then."

"What?! No! Well, actually, I shouldn't say no, I... Look, it's complicated, alright!"

"Oh my dear, sweet Sky..." Silver draped a wing over his back, pulling him close to her side. "If you've called me over here just to boast that you've popped your cherry, so help me, I'm-"

"No!" He slipped out of the embrace with a glower. "Look, just shut up and listen to me, okay?!"

"Tell me to shut up again and I'm going through with the whole 'deep, dark hole' thing."

"JUST LISTEN TO ME!" Lavender shouted. That seemed to shut Silver up, but it also had the unfortunate side-effect of drawing out his guest.

"Lavender?" Lily's thin voice carried from the top of the stairs. Silver's eyes immediately snapped up to the new mare, her nostrils flaring for a moment. Lavender could almost read the emotions as they passed across her eyes. First was shock and disbelief that Lavender, the backstabbing scourge of anypony with a better position than his, had managed to bring a mare into his home. Then, since Lavender knew her eyes to be incredibly keen, came the shock at seeing what remained of Lily's horn.

"By the stars." Silver's rump hit the foyer and her hooves rose to her mouth. Silence finally reigned as she saw what had happened to the poor mare.

"She showed up at my doorstep late last night, weak and tired. I took her in, fed her, and then... Then I learned about that."

"Lavender," She looked to him next, her eyes wide with a combination of shock and fear. "do you have any idea who she is? Where she comes from?"

"That's what I was hoping you could tell me." Lavender sighed.

"Okay, here's the skinny." Silver had gathered them in the guest bedroom, ignoring the ripped sheets and rumpled, double-blanketed bed. (Much to Lavender's thanks.) "She's a slave. Specifically, a sex slave."

"I'd gathered that much, thank you." Lavender deadpanned. "But what about the two she mentioned? Ignatus and Moonglow?"

"Master Ignatus and Mistress Moonglow." Lily chimed in.

"Whatever." Silver gleaned over her. "I don't recognize Ignatus-"

"Master Ignatus."

"But Moonglow is-"

"Mistress Moonglow."

"Why do you keep doing that?" Silver turned to Lily with a glare. "They're not my masters. I don't want to call them that."

"Everypony should call them Master! That's what they are!" Lily puffed up visibly, rising to her hooves. Lavender interjected, shooting Silver a sympathetic glare.

"Alright, Master Ignatus and Mistress Moonglow. We're sorry, Lily. Forgive us."

"Oh! No!" Lily's cheeks heated immediately, and she sunk back down to her haunches. "Please, forgive me! I didn't mean to interrupt! Please, punish me any way you see fit!"

"Woah." Silver's normally bull-headed attitude deflated almost immediately as Lily cowered before them. "Uuh... Hey, relax, it's okay. Master Ignatus, or whatever... Hey, does she do this normally?"

"I thought she was over it," Lavender mused. "but I guess not yet. Look, let's move on. You were saying...?"

"Right, I don't recognize Master Ignatus' name," she shot a quick look to Lily, who nodded at the inflection. "But I recognize this other mare. Mistress Moonglow is actually a nickname for the city planner, Pestle Stone."

"That surly city official who keeps sending us threatening letters?" Lavender perked up at the name.

"The same." Silver nodded. "I, aah... Had to do a little digging on her, to see if there was something we could use to get her off our back. I found a few shipping orders for some... shall we say, 'bedroom enhancements' signed 'Moonbeam.' Sorry, Mistress Moonbeam." She glanced at Lily. "It's a nickname of hers. Well, that information came along with a little something else... You see, she's also a member of the New Lunar Republic."

"That crazy clan everypony's been talking about? I thought it was just rumor."

"That 'crazy clan' is a lot bigger than you think it is, Lavender." Silver snapped at him. "They've got a lot more political pull than you think they do. And guess what, you remember Maroon Quill? Your predecesor?"

"How could I not- oh, don't tell me he's a member?"

"Only if you love coffee." Silver sniffed. "This New Lunar Republic is crazy, I don't deny that, but they're everywhere, Lavender. Here, Canterlot, Stalliongrad, Manehattan... You name it, they've got members in important positions in all those cities. Rumor has it, they founded Canterlot themselves. Granted, Celestia turns a blind eye to the name, but she's too busy trying to handle everything else now that she's alone. Look, say what you will about them, but they are everywhere, Lavender. They have sympathizers in every city. And apparently, here in Trottingham, they're stronger than most anywhere else. 'Mistress' Pestle Stone is the city planner, and her 'partner' is the Mayor. They meet at that old, abandoned cathedral off of Buckingham Way, and it isn't as 'abandoned' as everyone says it is. Apparently it's zoned for a business, and the deed is still in the mayor's name."

"That's... Wow..." Lavender sighed. "This goes a lot deeper than I thought it did."

"You and me both, Lavender. If they're trading sex slaves," she gestured to Lily empathetically. "then it's much bigger than any one pony can handle. My advice? Turn the girl over to the guard. Let Celestia handle this one."

Lavender had to sit on that one for a while. He mulled several thoughts over in his head, considering one option over another, debating, endlessly pulling side-to-side in his mind. In the end, he heaved a deep breath and leveled his gaze at Silver.

"No."

"What? Lavender, I guarantee you they're looking for her. You can't hide her for-"

"I'm not going to hide her." Lavender reached out to Lily, lifting her chin gingerly. "I'm going to buy her."

"WHAT?!"

"Are you going to be my new master?"

"HAVE YOU GONE FUCKING MENTAL?!"

"Calm down, both of you." Lavender raised his hooves to Silver, who was looking for all intents and purposes like a bull, her head lowered and one hoof pawing the carpet. "Silver, look, let's say I send a letter to her last 'master,' telling them that the girl arrived on my doorstep. We arrange to return her, but before I hand her over, I express interest in joining this 'New Lunar Republic' or whatever they're calling themselves. I admit to having, say, 'sampled' the goods, and I like the perks."

"Have you 'sampled the goods?'"

"Shut up. I ask how much he's willing to sell her for, and boom, she's mine."

"Oh yeah? Then what? You've got your own dirty little sex slave?"

"Silver..."

"Some lump of flesh for you to fuck whenever you want?! Huh?!"

"Silver!"

"Pathetic fucking colt like you can't even get a real date so you have to fucking buy your-"

"SILVER!" Lavender's horn blazed to life and he clamped her muzzle shut, pushing her backwards. "Shut. The buck. Up." He growled. "If I wanted some personal sex slave, I'd have gone in for this a long time ago. Would I have called you in if I ultimately wanted to own her? Would we be having this discussion right now?"

Some of the fire left Silver's eyes, and she calmed down enough that Lavender could release her muzzle.

"I want to know more about this New Lunar Republic. Here, I have the perfect way in. We turn this from a runaway situation into a new business acquisition. Then, once you have me on the inside..."

Realization dawned on Silver's face like a ton of bricks dawns on an unwitting pony after a fifty foot drop.

"Lavender Sky, you brilliant, sick little pony."

"See?"

"Alright." She sat on her haunches and held a hoof out towards Lavender. "I'm in. What do you need from me?"

"Well, I could use the capital-"

"I'll do some research, but I'm not offering more than two hundred bits." She glowered. "And that's a loan, mister. I expect every one of them back from you."

"Egh. Fine. With your two hundred and my savings, we could probably afford whatever price her master gives us." The two of them looked to Lily, who had been watching the entire back-and-forth like an interesting tennis match. She straightened up as they both laid eyes on her.

"Does this mean Lavender will own me?"

Silver face-hoofed.

"Alright. I'll go do a little research, and see what I can do about getting this guy's goons to stop looking for her. If they're looking for her at all."

"Oh they're looking for me, alright." Lily giggled. "I'm very expensive."

"How expensive are we talking?" Silver seemed to wilt a little.

"Well, I don't know how much it is, but what's a 'fuckton' of bits?"

"A fuckton." Silver deadpanned. "That's what you sold for?"

"That's what they tell me when they whip me with the-"

"AAH! Alright, enough!" Silver groaned and turned towards the front door. "I'll see if I can find out how much somepony like you might... I dunno, 'go' for. Lavender, can I trust her here with you?"

"Come on, now." Lavender glowered at her. "When have I ever been anything less than a gentlepony?"

"Whenever there's a promotion on the table. Oh, and guess what? The next spot up is mine. You'll work that spot when I'm cold and dead." She sniffed at him. "Just don't do anything I wouldn't do, okay? I know we're going to tell him we've 'sampled' the goods, but there's no point in actually doing that, right?"

"Right." Lavender nodded, thankful again for the dark pigmentation. "I'll not touch a hair on her head. Meanwhile, maybe I can teach her a little more about the real world."

"That's a good start. Stay safe, you two. I know this house is about as safe as they come, but if they find out where you went, Lily..."

"I know what happens when they find us." Lily paled a little, her posture changing almost immediately. "I don't want that to happen."

"Alright then. I'll see you tomorrow at work. Not a word of this to anypony else."

"Naturally. See you tomorrow."

Silver closed the door behind her, leaving silence in her wake. Lavender heaved a sigh, feeling the headache return in force. He had several decisions ahead of him, and depending on how deep this went, maybe even his life was at stake here.

Or worse.

His career.

"Can I sleep with you tonight, mast-Lavender?"

Okay, more than a few problems on his plate at the moment.

The next day dawned bright and sunny, though the light was doing little to help with Lavender's headache. The coffee was, but that was besides the point. He had had a sobering experience that morning, one that he'd just as soon not relive.

"Lily? What are you doing in my bed?"

"I've never slept without my master, eer, my owner... No, someone else. In my bed before."

"... Did you HAVE to sleep with your hooves around my waist?"

One bracingly-cold shower and a shameful bit of clopping later, Lavender had confronted Lily, setting some of the ground rules for this little setup, however long it might last. They stood in the kitchen now, with Lavender nursing a steaming cup of coffee.

"No more sleeping in my bed."

"No more sleeping in your bed." Lily echoed from her spot behind him.

"No more innuendo."

"What's an innuendo?"

"Remind me to teach you what an innuendo is when I get home tonight."

"Yes, mast-Lavender."

"Work on calling me just Lavender."

"Yes m-Lavender."

"You can just say 'okay.'"

"Okay. Hehe." She giggled, causing him to look at her over his withers. "S-sorry, I've never actually said 'okay' before. At least, not that I can remember. I used to be punished for it, I think."

"Ah huh. Oh!" A thought dawned on him, and he beamed at her. "Can you cook, Lily?"

"Uh huh!" She nodded enthusiastically. "I know how to cook very well!"

"Good! Can you have dinner ready for me when I get home?"

"Of course, master! Er, I mean, Lavender!" He groaned and covered his face with a hoof.

"That's asking a lot of you, but if you draw the curtains on the windows you should be safe. Can you read?"

"I can," She led into the sentence cautiously. "But I've only ever read basic books to learn... Do you have any of those?"

"I do not... But there are a lot of fantasy and romance books here. They're in the study, just across the foyer from here. Read any that you want. I can set out some recommendations, if you'd like."

"Okay. Is there anything you don't want me to do?" She asked cautiously. Lavender scrunched his muzzle.

"I honestly can't think of anything you could do that'd make me angry with you. Just don't call me master, and try not to come on to me so much, okay? I'm not... I don't want to... Egh, it's complicated, okay?!" He glowered at her. "It's not that I don't find you beautiful, I just don't want to... To have sex with you, okay?"

"Why not?" She asked, cocking her head to the side and fixing him with that intense look she seemed to have mastered. "Am I not pleasing?"

"I... Look, it's complicated!" His horn leapt to life as he dumped the coffee in the sink and turned towards the study. He pulled several books off of the shelf and set them on the cluttered desk. "Those are the books I mentioned. Read them, or do whatever, but just don't get seen, okay? We're trying to keep you safe."

"Okay." Lily smiled at him, despite his frustration. He wasn't sure if that made him joyous or even more angry. He settled on happy and turned towards the front door, grabbing his briefcase out of the foyer's closet.

"I'll be back in about eight hours, maybe a little more." He pointed at the clock. "Six P.M., okay?"

"Okay." She bowed low before him. "Have a good day, master... I mean Lavender!"

"UGH." He swung out of the front door, locking it behind him angrily.

The walk to work was uneventful, but his arrival was heart-stopping. Silver met him out front, looking as intent and angry as she did on any given Monday.

"Good morning, Silver." He beamed at her, acting uncharacteristically bubbly just to annoy her (another Monday custom.)

"Can it, Lav." She growled. "And look alive. We have visitors today."

"What?" He sobered immediately, looking around at the receptionist's area. "What do you mean, visitors?"

"I mean-"

"Ma'am?" Silver's secretary poked her head out of the Editor's office door. "They're ready for you two."

"You two?" Lavender arched an eyebrow at Silver. "What did I get myself into?"

"Right, thank you!" Silver smiled at her secretary and flung a wing over Lavender's back. "Play it cool." She hissed into his ear as they made their way into her office. Inside were her secretary and two other ponies, a mare and a stallion, that Lavender hadn't seen before. One of them was a portly unicorn with a slate-grey coat and mane, pulled back into a simple, yet tight bun. The stallion was a deep, rich, earthy brown, an Earth Pony by the looks of him. He was stocky and young-looking, but his eyes were a bright amber, and seemed to take all of Lavender in immediately.

"May I introduce our columnist who will be conducting the interview today. This is Lavender Sky." Silver nudged him forwards, though the strain in her voice was apparent.

"Lavender, if you'd please. It's nice to meet you." He offered a hoof, and just as the earth-colored stallion took it, Silver introduced them.

"Lavender, this is Ingot and Pestle Stone. The Mayor of Trottingham and the City Planner."

Panic

Broken: Chapter 3

"Panic"

Lavender had been shocked so many times in the past two days that this one came as little more than a blink-worthy hiccup on a long and lonesome road. Silver's information came to him from just yesterday, and he had to remind himself that this grey unicorn Pestle Stone was actually 'Mistress' Moonbeam. One of the two that Lily had mentioned had trained her.

And Ingot. Ingot... Ignatus... Silver had told him that the mayor was Pestle's 'partner,' so it wasn't entirely outside of the realm of possibility that he was standing in a room with two bucking slave traders.

"Good to meet you, Lavender." Ingot's voice was deep and low, fitting his stature almost all too well. He wrapped his hoof around Lavender's firmly, giving it a bone-jarring shake. Lavender's smile turned into a grimace as Ingot chuckled. "Pardon me, that was rude. Old habits die hard, I suppose."

"Quite." Lavender grimaced, turning to Pestle Stone. He offered a hoof, but she brushed past him immediately.

"We've come today to offer an interview with the city staff. Miss Ink Quill had some questions about our proceedings in the last town meeting and humbly requested an audience with us."

"That's right." Silver offered with a faint smile. Lavender knew that smile anywhere. 'I am so bucked.' He swallowed hard in an attempt to still his beating heart, turning back to Ingot who was watching Silver and Pestle trade back-and-forth like a tennis match. The stallion was smiling, and lifted a shoulder at Lavender as if to say 'Women. What are you gonna do?'

"Well then." Lavender cleared his throat, opening the briefcase he had brought with him. "This is news to me, but interviews are something of a specialty of mine. I'd be happy to formally ask you any of the questions Silver wanted." He looked to the Editor, noting the muscle along her jaw flexing. He'd like to have imagined he heard her teeth grinding together, but that could just as easily have been attributed to the architecture.

"We'll begin with the minutes from last week's meeting..." Silver offered, sweeping behind her desk. Silver took his place on one side, leaving Pestle and Ingot to sit opposite Silver. Maybe it was just him, maybe it was the presence the two offered, or maybe it was the fact that he had a runaway sex slave at his home, but Silver could almost feel the tension in the air. He tried hard to focus on transcribing the interview as they went about asking dull, boring questions back-and-forth. For the most part, it was Silver who did the talking, while Pestle offered the minimal amount of information in such a way that would inconvenience her the least. Lavender could appreciate a good interviewee when he saw one, and Pestle was certainly formidable.

Ingot, for the majority of the interview, remained quiet. He perked up once to offer a clarification to something Pestle had said, but aside from that, he spent the entire time watching Lavender write. That much, Lavender could understand. His talent seemed to encompass much of anything that involved scribing. Be it free-flow novel ideas, transcribing an interview such as this one, or even copying a speech somepony was giving, Lavender had found his talent in writing with magic.

Wielding quill, ink, and parchment skillfully, Lavender wrote every word exchanged between the two. Granted, he would edit what was spoken later, to both Silver and Pestle's specifications, but for now he copied them verbatim.

"I do believe that's everything." Silver said, snapping Lavender from his scribing funk. He had even started to write those words down when he caught himself, scratching the last few words off of the page.

"Fascinating." Ingot drew everypony's attention, his eyes fixed on the page in Lavender's silvery magic glow. "You wrote everything down perfectly."

"Huh? Oh, yes, it's my talent." Lavender offered weakly. Before him were several sheets, each numbered in order, of the entire interview process. Out of habit, he had even copied the pauses in sentences, filling them in with 'uuh,' or 'eer,' as per whatever either mare had said.

"Quite the talent, my boy! It certainly beats metallurgy." Ingot gestured to his flank, showing off a golden-colored block of gleaming metal. "It's always intriguing to see ponies with wonderful talents like your own."

"Th-thank you, sir, it's nothing major." Lavender flushed. He was a sucker for compliments. For the umpteenth time since he had met Lily, he was thankful for his pigmentation. "I'm sure there are plenty of ponies out there who can write like I can."

"Ah, but none to this extent!" Ingot unceremoniously took the sheaf of paper, shuffling through to the middle. "He even got your facial expression down! Though if you don't mind my asking, what's an 'indignant scowl'?"

"Well thank you for coming in today!" Silver stood up immediately, snatching the transcript from Ingot's hooves. "We'll be sure to send the first edit of our interview to your office the moment it's done." She ushered them towards the door, shovelling the papers into Lavender's hooves with a quick scowl that said 'we're going to have a long talk after this.' Knowing all too well he was going to need a dozen chocolates from the store before lunch that day, Lavender nevertheless tucked the pages containing the interview away before Ingot could make a second pass at them.

Pestle, for all her simplicity, could muster an ugly look when she wanted to. Lavender had to swallow his fear as she and Ingot left the building. Silver stood at the entrance of her office, waving at them until they were out of sight. The moment the front door closed on them, she wheeled on Lavender, eyes aflame.

"'Indignant Scowl?!' Are you mental?!"

"You know I can hardly control that!" Lavender raised his hooves defensively. "It's not like I can stop her from moving the muscles in her face! Well, I could, but that'd involve assault and I don't feel like going to prison today!"

"UGH!" Silver whipped about once more, her tail lashing out to catch him in the face. Lavender sputtered as the silvery-grey strands flooded his eyes and mouth, making him cringe.

"When was the last time you washed your- OW!"

"Shut up! And for pony's sake, if you say another word before we get to where we're going, I'm gonna-"

"Fine, fine, sheesh." Lavender fetched his briefcase and looked at Silver indignantly. "Lead the way."

"Come on." She turned into the building, away from the front doors that Ingot and Pestle had disappeared through. Deeper into the heart of the Trottingham Observer. Through the foyer was the correspondence floor, a loose conglomeration of walls that cordoned off miniature offices of bustling ponies. Lavender had got his start on that very floor, coming and going at all times of the day to pursue leads, write reports, and send articles up to one of the respective editors. On the far end of the floor was his office, nestled comfortably between one of the newspaper's other four daily columnists. He peered longingly at the worn oak door, behind which he knew he would be able to find his typewriter, and a much-desired stash of coffee cake.

Instead, Silver led him towards the stairwell and up into the production line of the newspaper, where the printing press and bindery was busy putting the next day's issue together. Above that were the corporate offices, where her boss and the other higher-ups in the newspaper kept their offices. They stopped on the third floor, entering a small hallway that led into a moderately-appointed welcoming area. The secretary there was a bored-looking pegasus mare who had her nose buried in a magazine about fashion or some such nonsense. Silver brushed straight past her and into the first office.

"Good morning, Ink Quill." She said cheerily, herding Lavender in before shutting the door behind them. Ink Quill was a dark-coated unicorn mare that Lavender was known for having a crush on. Certainly, he was a helpless stallion, with better luck winning the jackpot at the casinos of Las Pegasus than getting with the CEO of the paper company, but he could still dream. She turned in her office chair to face them, tenting her hooves and resting her muzzle on them to peer at them with cold, calculating eyes. Her dark coat was all the more offset by a strikingly-white mane that she kept pulled back and into a whip-tight braid at almost all times. All of that even more shadowed by the brilliant pair of amber eyes that bored into the two ponies that had just stepped into her office.

"How did the interview go?" She asked immediately, cutting straight to the chase. Lavender stuttered a bit as he pulled the manuscript out.

"I-it went well! They were very forthcoming with the information Silver asked of them," He passed the pages off to her, thankful (once more!) for his dark coloration. Ink Quill barely even blinked at him as her bright white glow overrode his silvery one, taking the pages smoothly.

"Thank you, Lavender. I'll be sure to give this the first read-through before sending it back to you, SIlver." She turned her back to them once more, though Silver didn't move. Lavender felt the beginnings of a panic attack set in as Silver fixed the back of Ink Quill's chair with the same look she had given him earlier. He would just as soon have ran for home than stayed in that room a moment longer.

"Ma'am?"

"Yes, Silver?" Ink muttered, not even bothering to turn her chair around to face them.

"Why didn't you tell me that Pestle and Ingot were visiting for the interview today?"

The whole world could have frozen in that moment. Lavender's jaw dropped as he looked at Silver, who still had the back of Ink Quill's chair locked in her death stare. From the corner of his eye, he could see Ink Quill's head raise up, but she didn't turn to face them. Instead, he heard a soft noise that could have been her flipping a page over.

"Thank you, Silver. I'll have this on your desk by tomorrow morning, I assure you."

Lavender knew that tone. It was one that said 'I'm not going to answer your question, and if you want to insist, you can clean your desk out.' Silver knew defeat when she tasted it, but nopony could have missed the venom-filled glare Silver shot the CEO before turning to leave the office. She waited until they were back downstairs and safely in Lavender's office before she spoke.

"That bitch!"

"You mean you didn't know about the interview either?!" Lavender collapsed into his chair, feeling for all intents and purposes like he had just had a brush with death itself.

"No! I had barely had the time to grab a cup of coffee before those two just showed up at the desk, saying they had an appointment!" Silver leaned back against the door, her head hitting the wood with an audible 'thump.' "I feel like I'm going to die..."

"You and me both." Lavender groaned as he held his head in his hooves. The implications were astounding. Typically, high-profile interviews like that were arranged through the CEO's office, since it was a major deal. Otherwise, Silver's office could arrange them with ease. For them to conduct an interview with the mayor himself had to go through the top first, and then it'd come down to them. Obviously, Pestle and Ingot had been arranging the interview for weeks beforehand with Ink Quill, but had neglected to tell either Silver or Lavender.

"But why?" Lavender growled, half to himself, half to Silver. "Why would they not tell us about such an important interview? And at such a rotten time!"

"It's got to be coincidence." Silver surmised. "There's no way they'd have been able to tell the girl ran to your place. I know for a fact that at least Pestle was at one of those functions on Saturday, and the mayor was with her. She showed up at your door that morning, right?"

"Eer, not that morning... It was Sunday morning at one when she showed up."

"So it was the night Pestle and Ingot were at that function..." Silver tapped her lower lip in thought, looking intently at the ground. She was thinking intently on something. "That might explain why she was able to escape. You said she ran away from her master's home, right?"

"That's what she told me. She said she had managed to get the door open, and ran from the house she was at."

"Damnit. Okay." She rose to all fours and looked to Lavender intently. "There's no way of knowing whether or not Pestle was her mistress at the time she ran away. But we do know that both Pestle and the mayor, whether or not he's Ignatus, were too busy to know that she had escaped. So, there's two possibilities. One, she escaped from either of them, and they found out she was missing Sunday morning at the earliest. Which would mean this meeting was pure coincidence. Two, she escaped from somepony else, and they know she's been gone and have been looking for her since Saturday evening at the earliest. That still means this meeting was coincidence."

"Well that's a comforting thought." Lavender groaned, holding his head in his hooves. "I honestly thought they were here because they had somehow bridged the gap-"

"Well, there's nothing saying they haven't." Silver cut him off. "It's not entirely outside of the realm of possibility that she was followed, or otherwise discovered, at your place." Lavender felt the blood chill in his veins. "If that's the case, then this meeting was just a convenient way of meeting you face-to-face, since it was already planned. But either way, it doesn't explain why they didn't tell either of us that it was happening this morning." Silver growled and stomped a hoof. "It doesn't make any sense!"

"Alright, look," Lavender beckoned her close, laying a hoof on her side to calm her down. "There's no sense in getting flustered. The interview's done and over with, and from what I could tell, they were both genuinely happy - or at least as happy as Pestle can be - with the result. Either that, or Ingot's a damn good liar." The mayor had certainly seemed happy with Lavender's ability and the interview in general. He even wore a smirk on his lips as he and Pestle had left.

"So?"

"So we move forwards as cautiously as possible. Worst-case scenario, they know the girl's at my house, and are moving to take her now. Second worst-case scenario is they know she's at my house, but are either waiting to take her, or waiting for us to make the first move. We can't do anything about the first, but-"

"But we can make the first move." Silver perked up. "So, what, are you saying we try to return her-"

"Tonight." Silver nodded. "We get ahold of them and tell them we've found a runaway. If they ask why it took us a whole day to get her back to them, we say it's because I-"

"Right. Sampling the goods and whatnot." Silver waved him off with a wing, turning to his door. "I follow you. But, do me a favor?" She turned to look back at him. "Take the day? Go make sure that the first worst-case scenario didn't happen?"

"That sounds like a good idea." Lavender grimaced. The thought of those ponies in his home, taking Lily back, likely in any manner of violent ways, sent a chill up his spine. The dread of the entire situation was quickly catching up to him, and he hated the feeling it spawned in his gut. Any number of these scenarios, good or bad, didn't look well for him at that moment. Worst-case, he got home and she was gone. Best-case, he got home and she was there, but they'd have to go through with their plan immediately.

"Lav?"

"Hmm?" He perked up, looking back to Silver.

"Be careful." She said, opening his door and leaving without another word.

His home was quiet, the curtains on both floors drawn closed. That could either be very bad, or incredibly good, as one of the things he had told Lily to do was draw the curtains. It wasn't the first time Lavender had taken a Monday off thanks to 'feeling ill,' but it was the first in a while. He was thankful for that much as he left the office, catching a stray question or two thrown his way during the departure from the Trottingham Observer's office. Now, as he opened the front gate and approached his home, he felt a strange chill down his spine.

Inside, he would either find nothing, Lily, or Lily and some of her associates. Only one of those scenarios played out well in his head, and even then, it came with some implications he didn't much care to think about. The memory of waking to Lily with her hooves wrapped around his midsection, her face tucked up against his belly was still fresh and came to the foreground of his thoughts as he worked the key in the lock.

"Hello?" He called cautiously upon opening the door. Lavender had never been a very studious unicorn, but he did know a few basic defense spells. He called them to mind readily as he entered his own home, fearing an attacker. Instead, he was greeted with something that was altogether reassuring and debilitating.

"Master!" Lily emerged from the study immediately to his right, throwing her forelegs around him exuberantly. He had avoided casting the defensive spell that would have sent her flying backwards into the wall, but only on account of her lips pressing snugly to his own.

"Lily!" He choked, kicking the door closed behind him. "Stop kissing me!" She giggle and spun away, sitting obediently on her haunches and looking to him with bright, happy eyes.

"Welcome home, master!"

"What did I tell you about that?!" Lavender glowered, looking out of the miniature window set into the front door to see if anypony had noticed. There was no one on the street or looking out of their windows. Likely thanks to the fact that it was just after eleven in the morning on a Monday.

"S-sorry, Lavender." Lily whimpered, kicking a hoof out of embarrassment. "I just got so excited that you were coming home early."

"It's fine, Lily. I'm just glad to see you're okay." Lavender sighed, laying a hoof on her shoulder. She smiled at him, a genuine, happy thing that lifted his spirits. The memory of that morning clouded the gesture, though, as he lifted her chin. "I have a serious question to ask you, Lily. About your old masters."

"Okay...?" Lily blinked, obviously curious.

"One of them, Mistress aah... What was it again,"

"Moonbeam?"

"Right. Moonbeam. Is she a grey unicorn? Has a pestle and mortar for a cutie mark?"

"Yes." Lily nodded immediately, a smile on her face. "Mistress Moonbeam is a grey unicorn, not much shorter than you are, ma-Lavender."

"Right." That settled that much, then. Not that he didn't trust Silver's intelligence, but it was nice to hear it straight from the horse's mouth. "The other one, Master Ignatus... Was he an Earth Pony, very stocky, with a golden ingot for a cutie mark? Brown coat?"

At that, Lily balked.

"No. Master Ignatus was also a unicorn. At least, I think he was. He was always wearing a cape and a hood whenever I saw him. He was very small, too, smaller than you or me. And his magic was colored green."

"Huh." That certainly flipped the tables a little bit. So Ingot wasn't Ignatus. At least, not unless he knew a very potent disguise spell. Still, Silver had said he was Pestle's 'partner,' so he was in on this whole deal. What was important at that moment was that Lily was safe.

But that didn't mean they weren't still coming for her. Silver had mentioned that she'd check in on her contacts, and see about arranging something for later on that night. But that night was that night, and not the afternoon. Feeling suddenly more scared than he had walking home, Lavender pulled Lily along with him.

"Come on." He turned towards the stairs with the blue slave in tow. "We need to keep you safe."

"Mast-Lavender, why are we going upstairs?" She didn't object, coming along with him easily. He glanced over his withers at her, and she brightened. "Are we going to sleep?"

"What? No!" Lavender shook his head, releasing her hoof. He paused on the stairs to look at her seriously. "Do you know why I came home so early, and why my first question was about your masters?"

"I don't." Lily admitted. Lavender took a breath.

"Mistress Moonbeam came to my work today for an interview. We panicked, thought she was there because they had tracked you somehow. The only reason I'm back home right now is to keep you safe." He beckoned her upstairs, turning to his bedroom. "Do you understand?"

"I do." Lily said, her tone suddenly somber. Lavender feared to look at her in that moment, else he be smitten by a doe-eyed look of melancholy pleading or some sort. Instead, he focused on the task at-hoof, and it involved a long-buried bit of text he hadn't used in a long, long while. They arrived in his bedroom, a place that Lily had only visited once before, and that hadn't been at Lavender's invitation, either. How she had managed to slip into his bed without his knowing was still beyond him. Then again, he had never been a very light sleeper to begin with. Rather than focus on the stressful morning, Lavender approached the small bookshelf he kept here, only for the miniature collection of magical books he kept there.

"Lily," He muttered, perusing the titles. "Do me a favor and look under the bed for me."

"Yes, Lavender." He could hear her hooves happily approach the bed.

"I'm looking for a small trunk. There are two under there, one black and one green. The green one is what I need."

"Alright," Lily's voice came to him a little muffled, and he heard the light thumps as she began hauling the trunk out. He found the book he had been looking for, and pulled it from the shelf readily. Turning back to his bed, Lavender was suddenly smitten.

It happened in a rush, one that he couldn't possibly have controlled. Lily's haunches were immediately before him, and the poor mare had done what he presumed she'd been instructed to do whenever she bent over to such an angle. Her tail was flipped up over her back, exposing all of her marely glory to Lavender.

Before he could stop it, his cock emerged from its sheath. The familiar haze of lust descended over him, and his nostrils flared, inhaling her scent. 'How could I have not noticed it before?' Lavender groaned, fighting the internal urge that ran rampant through him. 'This smell, and-' as he watched, Lily's clitoris flicked in and out of its hood. 'And- and that... By the heavens, I should have seen it. Her tail's been twitching since this morning.'

No doubt about it.

Lily was in Estrus.

And Lavender was going to have a hell of a time dealing with her in his current state.

'What do I do? Do I have her leave? Not with the potential of those thugs coming to take her away... I can't ask her to stay, I'll go insane! Do I- no, I can't. Not with her. Not now.'

"Lavender?" Lily's voice broke him out of his reverie, and he blinked at her. 'Big Mistake.' She was looking back at him, one hoof riding high between her thighs, her clitoris still winking at him as if to say 'look at this right here!'

"I..."

"Lavender, please." She cooed, her voice full of lust and desperation in equal measure. "It feels like it's been so long..."

"I... Lily, are you sure?" He asked, thanking the powers that be for the one moment of clarity in this haze of hormone-fueled emotion.

"Please." She nodded, her thighs quivering. He could see her oozing, the core muscles of her abdomen flexing hard enough to make her entire core pulse and drool liquid onto her thighs. The scent hit him again, washing over his face like a tidal wave. "I feel so hot, like I'm going to burst..." She was panting now, emitting a thin, low whimper from the back of her throat every now and then. The tiny nub of flesh continued to pulse, even though it was shrouded in her arousal. Lavender felt his own sex respond in kind, throbbing in time with his ever-quickening heartbeat. A thin stream of pre dribbled out of his head, falling to the floor between his legs.

"I... Okay." He gasped, slowly stepping forwards. No stallion could resist this way. She was so eager, and by the stars the smell of her. Mares seldom went out when they reached their estrus cycle, so it was as new and exciting to Lavender as discovering his first auto-pleasuring spell. He inhaled her scent again, making his member throb in excitement once more. Awkwardly, he placed his hooves on her rump, rearing into the air, aligning himself with her.

He could hear her draw a shuddering breath, releasing it with another long, low groan of anticipation and desire. When she inhaled again, her eyes met his, glimmering faintly in the low lighting of his bedroom.

"Thank you... master."

Like a cold bucket of ice.

Lavender slid down off of her haunches, closing his eyes slowly. His erection faded away instantly, gone on the winds of self-loathing and shame.

"Lily."

"Wh-what? What did I do wrong?"

"N-nothing... Just... Come take a shower with me."

"Ooh, I like doing this in the shower!" She practically skipped towards his bathroom, leading him inside. Lavender hauled himself to his hooves and entered after her, offering a weak smile as she climbed into the tub. He crawled in after her, sitting on the cool tile floor behind Lily. She still had her tail flicked up over her haunches, exposing herself to him.

He allowed one last, longing look at her nethers before cranking the cold water on high.

"Oh Lavender. You didn't."

"Of course I didn't." Lavender groaned, nursing a strong cup of coffee. "She's just... You know... Cycling."

"Oh. So that's why it smells like a cheap whorehouse in here." Silver's arrival that evening had found Lavender sitting dejectedly at the dining room table, with Lily curled up in plain sight, just through the door and on the den's couch. Silver brushed past him into the den, going up to Lily immediately. They had a hushed conversation between the two of them, but when both mares returned, Silver looked less like she was going to rip his head off. "Lily here told me what you did. That was awfully chivalrous of you, Lav."

"Since when have I been anything but?" Lavender retorted, glowering at the pair.

"True, true... Still, she said you were harder than diam-"

"Oh give me a break." Lavender collapsed onto his forelegs, burying his muzzle between his hooves. "It's hard enough smelling that without you poking fun at me."

"I'll say it's hard enough!" Silver guffawed, nudging him playfully. "Still, good job. I honestly didn't know if you would have been able to hold out."

"Yeah, well, I- wait a moment." He glared up at her. "You mean you could tell?" Silver gave him a devious grin.

"Maaaaaaaybe..."

"You bitch." Lavender went back to his coffee, somehow finding it in his heart to hate Silver a little more.

"You made it two whole days without molesting an eager sex slave. I wouldn't exactly call that an accomplishment, mister."

"You're not the one with the cock." Lavender muttered under his breath.

"I heard that. But hey, I managed to set something up. Buck up and go whack off now if you need to, mister." Silver slid a thin slip of paper across the table to him. Lavender picked it up and peered at the text curiously.

"We're going to the strip club."

Ups and Downs

Broken: Chapter 4

Ups and Downs

The night was damp, but at least it wasn't raining. The weather was temperate enough that the entourage of ponies had forgone jackets or coats, save one of them.

"But M-Lavender, I'm already so hot... Why do I have to wear this?" Lily complained, looking not unlike a filly wrapped up in one of Lavender's winter coats. A very large and whiny filly, but a filly nevertheless.

"Because," Lavender sighed as they rounded a corner, the city center of Trottingham coming to view before them. "When we get there, they might be looking for you. Think of it this way: you managed to run away from a pack of lions, and rather than run further, we're sending you straight back into one of their dens." He leveled a look at her over his flanks. "Wouldn't you rather not look like the prey that ran away?"

"He's right, you know." Silver called back to them. "I've got it on good faith that this is a premiere spot for the New Lunar Republic."

"Honestly," Lavender cut her off with a snort. "Who calls an underground sex slave ring a 'Republic?'"

"Oh I don't get it either." Silver rolled her eyes. "Chalk it up to crazies. But whatever the reason, this club is one of their fronts. They have another, more intimate club in the basement, and ponies like Lily get traded or sold there all the time."

"Did you bring the money?" Lavender asked, a little quieter now that they were moving towards the ever-present early-night buzz of Trottingham. Even now, on a Monday night, the bars and clubs were in full swing. A few wandering ponies, either going to or from the festivities, were passing by relatively close.

"I brought my two hundred." Silver nodded, falling back to walk alongside Lavender. "You?"

"My whole savings." Lavender grimaced. "Three hundred and some change."

"So we've got five. I think that ought to be about enough, don't you think?"

"Here's hoping. Knowing our luck, she'd probably be sold for like, ten thousand..." Lavender cast a look back to Lily, who was following along a little more slowly. Apparently mares in heat found it difficult to walk regularly, thanks to the quivering in their backsides. That little tidbit of information had come from Silver when Lavender had called attention to Lily's slow pace. "So," He nudged Silver gently. "Do we want to come up with a cover or something?"

"Just go with what feels natural." Silver shrugged him off. "I'm here to introduce you to my friend, nothing more. You do what you can to get on the inside of this little organization, got it?"

"Fine. Give me your share."

"All yours. And I expect it back." She glowered, shoveling a small pouch of bits to him. He peered inside the tiny thing, wondering how she could fit two hundred bits in there, when he saw them.

"What the buck are these?"

"The new ten-bit coins from the bank. Look, don't worry about them. Once I introduce you, I'm out. It's up to you to bargain for her, and get on their good graces." Silver leveled a serious look at him. "I'm assuming that's what our plan was, right? You get on the inside, and we get the scoop, right?"

"Right." Lavender nodded. "That was the plan ever since I called you in on this."

"You're sure?" Silver glowered at him. "You don't have any other reasons? No ulterior motives?"

"Silver! I'm shocked!" He drew back, his mouth agape. "Are you thinking I'd want to join up just so I can-?"

"Just because you've gone two days now doesn't mean you haven't thought about it." Silver cut him off seriously. "I expect you to treat Lily with all the respect she deserves. Even after you've 'bought' her. Understood?"

"Perfectly." Lavender flagged under the assertive mare's iron gaze. "I wasn't thinking of that anywa-"

"Ah huh." Silver turned forwards again, though she fell behind to go walk beside Lily. They engaged in a hushed conversation that Lavender couldn't hear, but he figured it'd be best to give them their time. Instead, he walked towards the section of Trottingham's downtown district that Silver had originally directed them to. Whatever the two were talking about behind him went unnoticed. He might have been a snoop and an eavesdropper when a story was on the table, but he was not so around somepony he admired.

Silver, for all her brash behavior, was somepony he admired. She was callous and rude, but she was immune to his schmoozing and smooth-talk. Before her, Lavender had smooth-talked, backstabbed, blackmailed, exploited, and out-performed his way up the ladder of journalism, but he found her to be a veritable brick wall. There was no taking Silver's position in the newspaper, and he had tried. The memory of her hoof making less-than-friendly contact with his genitals was a fresh one, and made him cringe.

Despite their differences in morals (she vehemently disliked his methodology,) he had found a trustworthy friend in Silver. She was always straightforward with him, and at times, downright forthcoming. While they never really spent much of their time together outside of work, they often went on lunch dates (of minimal import) and went out afterwards for drinks with the rest of the writers and editors. Silver, when drunk, was truly a spectacle to behold.

Lavender mentally shook himself. Thinking of those things would do him no good this evening. He had a quest; an objective, and he was determined to fulfill it. Before now, Silver's web of informants had been limited to the goings-on outside of this relatively new 'cult' that had cropped up in the absence of Nightmare Moon and Luna from Equestria. The New Lunar Republic, as they had taken to calling themselves, was a not-so-unknown underground movement that openly sympathized with Nightmare Moon's eternal night. As far as he knew, they were largely outnumbered by the rest of Equestria, but their existence was no secret to anypony with their hooves in the social goings-on of the world.

Lavender himself had only heard of them in passing, but there were several members of the social clique that he had interviewed in his earlier years of journalism that were suspected members. Whether they were or not remained to be seen, but that sort of gossip was what fueled half of the newspaper's readers. He himself had been accused of being part of the N.L.R., and he found the idea a fanciful, of tragically outdated one.

Before, the New Lunar Republic had been a group of crazies and cultists; ponies hell-bent on bringing back the darkest of Equestria's times. Now, he realized, the only reason they sympathized with Nightmare Moon was because they thought they could get away with some truly sick and depraved things.

Things like slavery.

In retrospect, they were probably right. Following Nightmare Moon's banishment, Equestria lost half of its diarchy. Celestia and the guard were alone now, and without Luna's guidance, were overwhelmed with the sheer amount of jurisdictions that needed to be watched. Cities like Trottingham and Baltimare had flown under the radar, their already-weak guard presence further lessened by the loss of Luna's watchful eye. Now, the New Lunar Republic could operate much easier without the shadowy princess keeping tabs on their movements in the dark.

Now, nighttime had become a truly fearful thing in Equestria without its warden.

As that nighttime fully descended, the last shades of purple fading from the Western horizon to paint the sky in twinkling, beautiful stars, Lavender and his accompaniment made their way towards the warmly-lit exterior of one of Trottingham's premiere strip clubs.

"We're looking for a pink mare with a white mane; her cutie mark is a fiddle."

"You mean Candy Note?" Lavender blinked at Silver. "The printer?"

"I didn't know you knew her. Well, yeah. She's a stripper on her nights, to help pay rent, she says. She'll never admit it's because she loves the attention and the dancing. Not to mention the cute stallions she can lure home with just a wink after her performance."

"Huh." Lavender had never pegged the energetic, bouncy pink mare that worked on the second floor of the newspaper as familiar with the Trottingham underground. Then again, if she were a stripper here, she'd probably know what went down in the basement. He scanned the crowd in front of the strip club intensely, looking for her familiar frame.

"There she is." He spotted her, standing against the wall with a watchful eye out over the heads of ponies coming and going. Silver lifted a hoof to flag the mare down, and the three of them made their way towards the stripper.

"Heya Lavender!" She beamed at him. "I never expected you'd be the one Silver was talking about. So you're not as much of a closet pervert as everypony else thinks you are!" Lavender stared at the mare with his mouth agape.

"I'm not a closet per-"

"Silver, love, so good to see you again!" Candy Note beamed at the editor-in-chief, wrapping her in a warm hug.

"You saw me just this afternoon, silly."

"I know! And I was so shocked when you told me Lavender here was into... Well, you know." Candy threw a cautious glance around them, her eyes lingering for a moment longer on Lily than they probably should have. She moved up next to Lavender, throwing a hoof over his shoulders. "Don't you worry, big guy, I'll put you in touch with Hocus Focus."

"Eer, you mean Hocus Pocus?" Lavender arched an eyebrow at her.

"What? No! Hocus Focus is the New Lunar Republic's representative in this place." She winked at him. "He'll get you set up. Silver, I'll catch you later!"

"Thank you, darling!" Silver waved at them as she retreated, flapping her wings to take off into the sky, leaving Lavender and Lily alone with Candy Note. For half a moment, Lavender felt panicked, like his last anchor of sanity was fleeing him. One look at Lily, though, stopped him. Her wide blue eyes bore straight into his own, and he remembered the hurt and desperation in those eyes the night she had collapsed on his front porch.

Determination filled him then, as Candy led them off of the street and into the strip club.

'This was a terrible idea.' Hindsight is twenty-twenty, so they say, and Lavender had never realized that more than at this very moment. With Lily's lingering scent still chasing him from that evening, Lavender found it more and more difficult to focus on the task at-hoof. He had elected to not take Silver's advice and relieve himself before coming here. That, too, was coming back to bite him in the flank.

Literally.

"Master!" Lily whispered quietly after he had pried her teeth from his cutie mark. "These mares! They're just like me!"

"Oh Lily," Lavender sighed, his eyes wandering over the three mares on stage. "If only you knew. And for the love of- actually." A thought struck him. He had just been about to tell her not to call him master once more, but given their current situation, they might actually benefit from not giving out his name. "Do me a favor?" He pulled Lily close, catching yet another whiff of her current... predicament.

"Anything!" She beamed, pressing warmly against him. Thankful that the coat was between them, Lavender whispered quietly into her ear.

"I know I wanted you to call me by name, but when we're down there, I want you to call me Master. Okay?"

"I... Okay, Master!" Lily beamed at him for half a moment, but her expression quickly turned dark. "Are... Are you going to sell me back to my old masters?"

"No." Lavender frowned at her. "With any luck, Lily, I'm going to buy you from them, so that you'll never have to be with them again." A look washed over Lily in that moment, and it was one that he had seen on her once before. It was the look she had given him the moment he had told her to pick her own name. Somehow, Lavender knew that nopony had ever shown her this measure of kindness in the past.

Whether that broke his heart or mended the jaded portions that had already been broken, Lavender couldn't tell.

"Alright, lovers." Candy had led them through the strip club rather briskly, giving them hardly a few moments to look at the provocative displays of mares dancing to hooting and clapping stallions. She went straight towards the bar, angling towards the back wall just to the right of it instead. Hidden there behind a dark curtain was a doorway, and Candy held the drape aside for them. "Just down there will be Hocus. If you tell him Candy sent you, they won't blast you."

"Blast us?" Lavender seemed taken aback. "You can't seriously mean they'd-"

"Oh hon." She crooned, reaching out to stroke his cheek tenderly. "Why do you think Silver asked me to introduce you? Oh, and here, you'll need this." Lavender hadn't realized it previously, thanks to their color, but Candy wore several elastic bracelets on her foreleg. She slid one of them off, passing it to Lavender with a wink. "Think of it as a pass. Only we employees can send ponies down there."

"R-right..." Lavender took the bracelet and carefully wound it around his hoof, keeping it from cutting into his coat higher up his leg. He slipped cautiously past Candy, though he got a teasing swat to his flank on the way by. Growling inwardly but trying to shoot her a playful smile, Lavender opened the door to what looked like a dimly-lit concrete stairway leading down. "Like it's straight out of a bad book," Lavender sighed, ushering Lily to follow him closely. Down the stairwell and at the bottom was another door, and it was through this that Lavender led them.

Immediately inside was what appeared to be an antechamber, and two burly unicorn guards looking down at him. Lavender paused as their horns leapt to life, the scintillating sound of spells filling the room almost immediately. Lavender gasped and lifted his hoof, half out of instinct, and half to show them the bracelet.

"C-Candy sent us!" He managed to stutter. The energy died away almost immediately, and the two unicorns slammed the door shut, shoving Lily into the room with them in the process.

"Git goin'." The one on the right jerked his head back to the opposite end of the antechamber. Lavender tried his best to reign in his thundering heartbeat before leading Lily across the concrete floor.

Past that room was a place Lavender just as soon would never have visited.

If the strip club upstairs had been a test of restraint, this would be the final. A wide, low-ceilinged lounge stretched out before them, interspersed with low lounges that looked to be made of some sort of faux leather. In those lounges were ponies of all shapes and sizes, though most of them appeared to be well-to-do socialites. On the other half of the coin were scantily-clad or otherwise dressed mares (and even a stray stallion or two) standing on the tables in the midst of the low seating. While the well-dressed ponies lounged lazily, they were treated to a show on a completely different level of the one upstairs. Lavender watched as one mare carefully positioned an almost comically-large dildo on the table, straddled the head, and took the whole thing in one smooth motion.

Her cry preceded another, louder one from a mare just two tables away. Lavender hadn't seen what made her scream so loudly, but he cringed as it became clear. A rawhide whip lashed through the air, licking along her flank, raising an angry red mark and another hellish scream from the poor mare.

"Master." Lily whispered closely, pressing against his side again. "I've been here before."

"I don't doubt it." Lavender whispered to himself, looking out over the various acts of sexual depravity going on. A low, smoky haze hung to the ceiling, product of numerous pipes, intricate hookahs, cigars and cigarettes being smoked by the patrons of this deviously twisted little club. Silver had been expecting something akin to this, but seeing it laid bare before his eyes, so prevalent and open, was shocking to say the least.

"Move it." One of the gruff unicorns from earlier had followed them, and nudged Lavender's flanks.

"S-sorry?" Lavender stumbled a little, moving at the unicorn's insistence.

"You said Candy sent you, right? Means you haven't been introduced yet. Come on, Hocus is waiting." The unicorn nudged him again, making Lavender stumble close to one of the dens housing a leather-clad mare suspended from the ceiling by an intricate array of ropes. Lavender thanked the heavens for his pigmentation once again and moved towards the far end of the room, guessing where to go from the Unicorn's guiding pokes and prods.

He tried not to let his gaze wander. He really did. But between Lily's proximity (and the accompanying scent) alongside the suggestive and sometimes pained moans of ponies all around them, he couldn't help it. He wasn't the only one, it seemed. Along the wall was another series of low-slung benches bedecked in luscious-looking black leather that housed another sort of pony. These appeared to be lookers-on, ponies that either let their gazes wander over the various displays of debauchery, or shamelessly clopped to one in particular. This bench was broken by a fully-stocked bar to the left of the door Lavender and Lily had entered from, and a set of double doors towards which their unicorn escort led them.

"Inside." The unicorn grunted, ushering Lavender through the door with a less-than-friendly shove. Lavender stumbled, about to confront the brute, when Lily gave a soft gasp. Rather than face their escort, Lavender focused on the pony before them.

"Well, well, well..." The slimy voice slid through Lavender's ears like an oiled snake, nearly making him cringe. "Look who came crawling back." Lavender froze as the new party rose from another lush lounge, much like the ones outside, but this one a little more well-appointed, and bedecked with three gorgeous mares who had been fawning over the unicorn. He was a greasy pony, with long locks of hair hanging down over his face and neck. His coat was an off-white, looking all the more garish for the shiny black strands of his mane. Lavender couldn't see his cutie mark, but the quick glimpse he had seen suggested a looking glass, or maybe a detective's magnifying glass. A thick cigar hung out of the corner of one mouth, curling sickly-green smoke up towards the similarly-laden ceiling.

"Hocus Focus, I presume?" Lavender managed to find his voice, though his confidence still cowered somewhere in the vicinity of his gut.

"The one and only." The unicorn's horn lit in a silvery glow not unlike his own, pulling the cigar from his mouth to flick a thick chunk of ash onto the floor, which Lavender noted was similarly stained with who-knew-what. "And you're Lavender Sky. A columnist for the Trottingham Observer."

"I- yes." Lavender blinked, caught all the more by surprise. "How did you know?"

"Oh I'm what you'd call a fan." The pony chuckled, tucking the cigar back into his mouth. "I read your column every day. Some really insightful stuff you've got in there, Lavender." His eyes flickered from Lavender to Lily, who cowered from him visibly. "Which raises so many questions... Why is a newspaper columnist renown for gossip and rumor standing in my club with one of my own personal slaves?"

A chill passed over Lavender, and he looked towards Lily with wide eyes. So many thoughts and questions flew through his mind, all of them muddled together to form one incoherent, jumbled mess of anger, rage, and he had to admit, pity for Lily's situation. Out of all of them, though, only one course of action came to him.

"You little bitch!" Lavender's hoof whipped around, catching Lily across the cheek. A brief panic filled him as he had hoped the blow would look real enough to fool Hocus. Thanks probably largely to shock, Lily cried out and cringed away from him, her entire body reacting to the unexpected blow. A quick glance betrayed that Hocus was equally shocked. (His cigar had fallen from his open mouth.)

"You didn't tell me Hocus was the master you ran away from!"

"I'm sorry, Master! You never asked!" Lily offered weakly. He wasn't sure if the glimmer in her eyes was thanks to tears, or that she had caught on to his plan.

"Enough!" Lavender aimed a quick kick at her flank, and she reacted wondrously, cringing away and into a little ball on the filthy floor. "No matter, Hocus. You see," Lavender gestured towards Lily empathetically. "I saw this cute little thing lost on the street. So I brought her home. Well, once I saw what had happened to her horn, I knew." A grin spread across his lips, and judging by Hocus' dumbfounded expression, he had bought it. "She belonged to the New Lunar Republic."

"I... I, uuh... Wow." Hocus blinked, looking not unlike a greasy willow tree with an owl's eyes. "So... Why'd you bring her here?"

"Well isn't it obvious?" Lavender scoffed. "She's valuable property. At least, if the good times she's been showing me the past two days are any indication. I figured you might want her back."

"Well that's awfully generous of you." Hocus seemed to not mind that Lavender had been sampling the goods the past two days. If anything, he looked relieved. "If that's all, I guess I'll just be takin-"

"I want her." Lavender cut the stallion off. Hocus froze mid-step, his wide eyes returning in a heartbeat, and his cigar returning to the floor at his hooves.

"You... You what?"

"I want to buy her." Lavender met the stallion's wide eyes with a stone-like gaze of his own. "She's been a lot of fun the past two days, and as you can tell, she's only going to get better as her heat ramps up." Half of that had been a bluff. The other half was Lavender's own anxious fear at what the next few days meant for him and his impromptu houseguest. His eyes flickered towards the lounge that Hocus had risen from and the three mares watching the exchange disinterestedly. He made the sickening realization that a slave (probably one of their own) being punished was a not uncommon occurrence. "You look like you've got your hooves full, anyways..."

"I... Huh." Hocus grunted, lifting his cigar once more. He made a show of surveying the damaged ember on the end before pushing it back into his mouth. "How much?"

"Well, that's where you've got me." Lavender chuckled, looking to Lily. "I've been to a few places like this here and there, but I've never been in the market for one to call my own before now... Tell me, what's a fair price for one like her?"

"A runner? " Hocus pulled the cigar from his mouth and spat. "She ain't worth the dirt on my hooves no more, not after I reported her missing. You seem new to this whole thing, so I'll tell you now." Hocus threw a hoof over Lavender's shoulders. "A slave is only as good as the pleasure they can give... A slave who runs off, can't give no pleasure. You see, when a slave is labeled as a 'runner,' they lose a lot of their wealth. The only ponies that can keep them from escaping have to have a lot of equipment and specialized chambers to keep them from escaping. That, and once they realize there's freedom out there, they tend to become... rebellious. So they have to be broken again." Hocus released Lavender and padded back over to his lounge with the mares readily accepting him. He flopped onto his back, looking up to Lavender and Lily while the three mares set to kissing and fawning over him, all of him.

"Then again..." He grinned. "She did cost me a fair amount." The cigar rolled from one side of his mouth to the other, and his eyes twinkled behind the curtain of greasy hair. "She's one of the best-trained on the market. Knows her way around a pony, if you get my meaning... I think you do, right?" He guffawed, a sickening sound that nearly made Lavender cringe. Instead, Lavender gave Hocus a devious grin, nudging Lily with his hoof roughly.

"Do I ever."

"Well," Hocus sighed, pulling on the cigar and letting another sick green cloud erupt from his mouth. "The N.L.R. knows she's a runner now... I've got plenty of other good mares who won't run off like her, so I guess you could say I'm willing to part with her. But she was a good little thing, and I enjoyed my time with her. I'm sad to see her go." He pulled on the cigar once more, flicking ash directly onto the leather lounge.

"Two hundred bits."

"Done." Lavender didn't even have to think about it. He levitated the pouch Silver had given him and tossed it to Hocus. The unicorn caught it deftly, opening the drawstring to peer inside.

"Huh. How about that. I never woulda pegged you for the rich sort." Hocus finished counting and pulled the pouch closed once more. "You sure you can handle a runner?" He asked, gesturing towards Lily once more with his cigar.

"I've got an enchantment." Lavender waved a hoof. "Keeps her from leaving the bedroom as long as I'm not in there with her."

"That's handy."

"Tell me about it. My guide taught it to me." Lavender turned to leave the lounge, his heart thundering in his ears. He had done it! He was home free now! Just had to get out-

"Hey, Lavender Sky." Hocus' voice gave him pause. Lavender looked back at him curiously.

"Yes?"

"If you're going to own one of our slaves, you've got to register with the New Lunar Republic." Hocus sat up, one of the mares that had been intent on fellatio falling off of him. "Name, cutie mark, address, occupation, all known relatives... It all goes on file." He jabbed a hoof at them, as if driving home a point. "You had best seek out Master Ignatus and set up an interview. The way I hear it, he was the pony responsible for that pretty little thing's training. He's going to want to meet you , and Master Ignatus ain't the type of pony you want to keep waiting." Hocus' eyes peered out between the sodden locks of his mane.

"Ponies lose horns if they keep Master Ignatus waiting."

The walk home was a sobering affair. Between Hocus’ final words and the harrowing realization that he had just ’purchased a bucking sex-slave!’ Lavender was having a difficult time breathing, let alone focusing. Thankfully enough, his hooves carried him home without incident. Lily, however, was incorrigible. She waited until they were out of the major flow of hoof-bound traffic before bombarding him with questions.

“Are you my new master, now? Why did you strike me back there? Will you be like my other masters? Does this mean we can sleep together? Will I be able to service you?” And on and on. Lavender’s patience was wearing thin by the time he pushed through the front door.

“Lily,” He started quietly.

“Yes, master?”

“You can stop calling me master now. Call me Lavender again.”

“Oh. Okay.” If anything, Lily seemed to flag at that. Lavender frowned when she appeared downtrodden at not being able to call him by an old handle. She was such an enigma, this pony who had showed up at his doorstep. He found himself mystified by her. How she could be so carefree and happy at one moment, and then grim and dour the next. The triggers for those melancholy spells were even more worrying than anything else, and he found himself looking at her once more. Not just staring at her in shocked disbelief or open and unabashed lusty desire, but studying her. Scrutinizing her.

“This is how it begins, isn’t it?” Lavender mused weakly.

“Lavender?” Lily lifted her eyes to look at him.

“This is how somepony becomes a slaver, isn’t it?” Lavender wiped a hoof across his face. “It starts by chance. Maybe they see a mare in a club like the one we were just in. Maybe their friend introduces them. They get interested. Maybe the sample the goods. Then they buy one. Then they use one. Then they…” He leaned against the wall in the foyer, his head hitting the plaster with an audible ‘thump.’

“Then they become a slave-owner.”

Silence prevailed for a few long moments. Lavender, wallowing in his anger and pity, barely even noticed it as Lily leaned up against his side.

“For what it’s worth, Lavender.” She kissed his cheek sweetly. “You’re the nicest slaver I’ve met.”

Coffee. Sweet, blissful, luxurious coffee. Lavender lost himself in the aroma and the taste of his personal favorite blend. A strong mix from the quaint hills of Baltimare, halfway across Equestria. It was strong and bold, with a flavor that lingered on the tongue longer than the minute burns if one drank it too quickly. It was exceedingly rare and relatively expensive, but Lavender needed it that morning. He replayed the events just fifteen minutes prior once again, and some small part of him wondered if he’d ever get them out of his head.

”Lily?”

“Yes, Ma-Lavender?”

“Mind telling me why you’re sucking my cock?”

He shuddered and took another gulp, groaning as the warmth flooded him.

“Lavender?” Lily’s voice came to him, and he turned to glare at her over his withers. “S-sorry, I just… Mistress Silver is here…?”

“Fuck me with the moon.” Lavender groaned, dumping the dregs of his second mug into the sink. “Don’t call her Mistress. Just ‘Silver,’ if you could.”

“Of course, Mast-Lavender.” Lily bowed her head as he swept past, going to answer the front door. He hadn’t even heard her knock. Opening it, he ushered Silver inside, who shot him a glare.

“I know a mare’s heat lasts a few days, but seriously does it always smell like a whorehouse in here?”

“Good morning to you, too, Silver Bolt. What? Oh, no, I didn’t have a near-death experience last night, thank you.” He rolled his eyes, shutting and locking the door behind her. “What are you doing over here on a Tuesday morning?” He asked, leveling a glare at her. Silver puffed up, looking like she was about to wallop him with a wing before Lily emerged bashfully from the kitchen.

“Good morning, Mist- eer, Silver.”

“Good morning to you too, Lily!” Silver beamed and turned to the mare, giving her an affectionate nuzzle. “Did you sleep well last night?”

“No, I didn’t.” Lily admitted, almost all too cheerily. Lavender face-hoofed.

“Oh you didn’t? Why was that?”

“I… I was very hot, and I…”

“Go on…” Silver urged her, staring daggers at Lavender.

“I watched master sleep-“

“Lavender. Call me Lavender.” His weak protest fell on deaf ears.

“And I touched myself-“

“Ugh.”

“And I decided to wake master up with a blowjob-“

“Lavender!”

“WHAT?!” Lavender snapped at Silver, rushing to his hooves with fire in his eyes. “She’s incorrigible! I was dead asleep and she snuck into my room, and sucked me off!”

“… Did you finish?”

“RRGH!” He stormed away, stomping up the stairs angrily.

“Hey, you have work in like, a half an hour!”

“Taking a day!” Lavender slammed the door to his bedroom shut, anger at his situation filling his senses completely. He stood on the inside of his door, seeing red and trying his hardest to avoid breaking something. Only the sound of a soft set of hooves approaching his door snapped him out of it.

“Lav, come on, open up.” Silver’s voice was gentle, if not compassionate. Lavender had almost never heard her sound like this. Cautiously, he opened the door, meeting Silver face-to-face. She smiled at him, an odd gesture for the brash Pegasus. “Do you love her?”

“What?” The question legitimately took Lavender by surprise. He recoiled, mostly out of shock.

“Do you love her.” Silver stated it this time, stepping towards him.

“I… I… I can’t answer that! I’ve known her three days!”

“But do you care for her?” Silver countered.

“Of course I care for her-“

“Do you want to help her?”

“O-of course I-“

“Then it’s okay.” Silver laid her hooves on Lavender’s shoulders, smiling at him kindly. “Look, I might needle you about it, but here’s a fun fact: mares go crazy during heat. Yeah, she’s kind of acting strangely, and yeah, she’s hungry for your cock more than anything else right now. But take it from a mare with experience, these lusting feelings she has for you are just an amplified version of what she actually feels for you. If she hated you, or didn’t want it, she wouldn’t be waking you up with a beej.” Silver stroked the coat on his shoulders before backing away a little.

“If you really care about her, and you really, honestly, truthfully want to help her, then make her heat a little more bearable. Plow her once or twice. Heavens know you could use the stress relief as well.” She chuckled as he flushed bright enough to be seen. “I know you won’t feel right, given her history-“

“How could I?!”

“Shut up. Listen to me.” Silver glowered at the interruption. “But it’s what she knows. It’s all she’s good at. And she seems to certainly like you. Maybe that’s because she’s in heat, maybe it’s because you and I are the first nice and decent ponies she’s come across. But whatever the reason, Lav, she cares for you. Yeah, she needs help, and we’re gonna get it for her.” Silver glanced over her shoulder, and Lily who stood at the head of the stairs, looking at the conversation with teary eyes.

“But there’s nothing saying you can’t enjoy yourself in the meantime. If you want it and she wants it, I don’t see any problem with it.” Silver rose to her hooves and plodded towards the stairs, leaning in to give Lily a passing nuzzle. “I might give you shit about it, but hey, that’s what friends do, isn’t it?” She turned to face him at the head of the stairs, looking over Lily’s head with a smile. “And I kind of need you in to work today.”

“Wh- hey! That’s not fair!”

“You’ve got a whole morning to blow steam off! Ta ta!” Silver fluttered down his stairs and out of sight. Lavender heard the front door open and close, leaving him alone with an all too eager-looking Lily. A war took place inside of him, one half begging for sweet, intimate release, and the other struggling to find some morally wrong reason, something completely and totally wrong with the whole situation that would turn him off of the idea.

“You know,” Lily said quietly. Lavender looked her in the eyes, and she smiled faintly at him. “I know there’s something wrong with me.” The sudden self-realization that Lily was exposing to him made Lavender freeze.

“I know I’ve been abused and hurt… Before Hocus, I’d never have imagined I would have run form one of my masters… But I came to a realization with him, when I realized what was happening to me was wrong.” She sat on her haunches, hugging her breast with her forelegs. “I know that the urges I feel around other ponies aren’t right. And I know that I shouldn’t be calling anypony ‘master’ or ‘mistress…’ But…” She looked up at him with teary eyes.

“You’re not like any of them. You’re kind, and sweet, and you don’t hit me… Well, except to make a show of it for Hocus to believe you…” She gave a faint laugh. “But, in a way, I kind of liked it… If it were you hitting me, that is.” She sniffled, a tear rolling down her face. “I… I think this is what they call ‘Love,’ isn’t it?”

Lavender sighed, hanging his head as he slowly approached Lily. He nuzzled into her mane, pressing them together in a tender hug.

“Lily, you’re going to realize that I might not be any better than any of your other masters.”

“Why is that?” Lily asked, tensing up slightly. Lavender pulled away to look her in the eyes, and said the words that he’d been dying to say since the first time he laid eyes on her.

“Because I’m going to take you into my bedroom and buck you so hard you won’t be able to walk straight.”

Sweet Release

Broken: Chapter 5

Sweet Release

Their lips met in a hot embrace, Lavender having surrendered at last to his basic desires. Lily gave a thin whimper from her throat, but didn't pull away or shrink back. If anything, she met him with just as much gusto and eagerness as he was showing. Her mouth opened immediately, and Lavender felt the slippery surface of her tongue seeking entrance.

'Who am I to say no?' Lavender's own mouth opened, bidding her do as she pleased, and the way her tongue surged forth was shocking. Lavender's eyes snapped open as her tongue seemed to fill his mouth, alive and writhing, and oh so very hot. She exuded heat from the surface of her tongue, that slippery little appendage curling and wrapping around his own in a surprising display of oral dexterity. She pulled no blows, her tongue betraying her intent as she began dancing with his own.

Lavender felt a dull haze settle over his senses. Lily's undulations became less sharp and more unfocused. He couldn't tell the specific motions as much as he could the general idea of what she was trying to do. He felt drunk. His body acted on its own accord, joining Lily's in the oral dance, swirling about her mouth and back into his own in an intricate exchange that left him harder than diamond and eager to move forward.

The haze intensified until Lavender's thoughts dulled over. He knew one thing only in that moment, and that was his desire to have this mare before him. The kiss ended with a thick strand of saliva stretching between their mouths, their heavy breath trying hard to catch up with the lack of oxygen. Lily's breath washed over his muzzle, smelling not unlike his own musk; a residual effect from that morning's wakeup call, he was sure. In a way, it smelled not unlike her own scent, and that only helped compound his desire.

Lavender curled his hoof around Lily's, drawing her back and into the bedroom. She took the lead from there, sweeping past him. In her sillage, Lavender could smell lust. There was an underlying scent of something else there, too. The tang of a primal hunger. Lily padded to the bed, but instead of hopping up onto it as he had expected, she sprawled her torso out on it, leaving her hind legs on the floor. He was entranced as she wasted no time, flipping her tail up and over her back, exposing herself to him completely.

She was gorgeous. Everything, from the dock of her tail and the tight little pucker of her anus to the dripping extremes of her pubis, Lavender could see it all. Her clitoris winked at him, coaxing even more of the ever-present fluid of arousal. The smell washed over him, leaving a pressure behind; a vacuum that he felt compelled to fill. It beckoned him in, the winking of her clitoris looking not unlike a beckoning hoof.

His hardness became unbearable. The throbbing ache in his stallionhood begged for attention; for relief. He had felt it before, in the teenage flights of masturbatory fantasy that had occupied his mind, even now up into his mid-twenties. Lavender was dying for release, and if the pounding in his crotch was to be believed, that death would come from cardiac arrest. He watched, transfixed, as one of Lily's fore hooves slid down her barrel, sandwiching between her thighs and manipulating her swollen clitoris.

"Alright, Lily," Lavender panted, slowly walking towards her. Each new step solidified his resolve, made him even more sure of his actions. By the time he had reached her, there was no turning back. Never mind that this was his first time, forget the circumstances, Lavender was sold. It was as good as done.

His fore hooves indented the sheets on either side of Lily's hips, lifting him up above her. Looking down, he could see the glistening perineum of her vagina, and the tight ridged hole of her anus, both pulsing in time. The head of his own desire hovered a mere inch away, oozing pre onto the floor. He watched, transfixed, as she beckoned him closer, her hips pushing outward to meet the flared head of his cock.

Pressure. Lavender felt it build against his head, bowing the shaft of his penis as it built up, a product of the involuntary movements of his hips and hers. Lily's damp labia spread for him, opening to his head, urging him inside.

It happened in a flash. Lavender grunted as he slid into her, an erotic, slick noise emanating from their final joining. Lily's own guttural groan joined his, and he noticed her torso writhing on the bed. She pawed at the sheets, mewling faintly.

"A-are you okay?"

"Yes!" Lily answered in a hot exhalation, flipping her mane over her shoulder as she looked back at him. Her eyes were aflame with desire, boring straight into his own with intensity. Lavender saw something in those eyes, something familiar and entirely welcome.

He saw himself.

"Buck me, Lavender." Lily panted, her tongue hanging out of her mouth. She drooled listlessly onto the covers, but the upholstery was the last of his worries. Lavender obliged as his animalistic logic dictated. His cock glided into Lily, parting her walls until he felt he could push no more. A pressure built on the knotted ring of his cock, making his vision swim and his vision enter a long, narrow tunnel. Lily cried out once more, her back arching away from the covers as she thrust her hips back against him. The pressure released, replaced instead by the warmest, most wet feeling of his entire life.

He was wrapped inside of her, surrounded on all sides by Lily's slick, pulsating walls. She flexed her abdominal muscles, straightening his cock out and coaxing a whinny from him. Lavender leaned forwards, nipping at the base of Lily's mane, seeking something; anything to put in his mouth. His teeth clamped around her neck, giving a gentle tug even as his tongue spilled onto the skin, drooling onto her coat directly. The taste of her flesh and the tangy underlying hint of fear drove him on. He was sheathed inside of her, down to the base of his cock.

His hips moved of their own accord. The gliding sensation of sliding into and out of Lily's soaked walls was as new and interesting as the insertion. Lavender panted against her neck, grunting as his testicles swung up underneath her, slapping her clitoris with a wet noise. Lily was incredibly vocal, crying out underneath him, everything from thin, pained whimpers to full-bodied cries of orgasmic bliss. Lavender wouldn't have noticed, but her walls clamped down on his invading member, squeezing him, milking the experience for all it was worth.

Lost in the animalistic haze of copulation, Lavender's orgasm came upon him suddenly. The building sense of pressure didn't last long at all, and when it came to, he felt his strength leave him. The whinnying, jerking thrusts he gave as his seed poured into Lily's vagina were spasmodic, and her weak moans betrayed just how far gone she was.

Lavender slid out, pulling a fair bit of goopy, white cum with him. He landed on his flanks, hooves behind him, panting heavily.

'What just happened?' Lavender thought to himself, watching Lily's pulsating cunt ooze her own feminine arousal and his milky cum in equal measure. It dribbled down her thighs, and pooled on the floor underneath her haunches. Stray strands had landed on the hanging portion of the blanket, the covers rumpled where her hooves had indented them.

A sense of dread and worthlessness began to descend on Lavender when he realized what he had done, and Lily's listless body wasn't moving save to breathe deeply. He was just about to put his head in his hooves and cry when her words came to him.

"Thank you, Lavender."

"What?"

Lily pushed herself up on her forelegs, her tail draping back over her messy haunches. She looked back at him, a smile on her lips.

"Thank you." She turned about, landing before him with a sure step. She paced over to him, her eyes flickering down to his deflating member only briefly before she met his eyes. "I really needed that. It felt like I was going mad."

"I-"

"Shh," She urged him, putting a hoof on his lips. "Relax. I... I think I know why you were so hesitant." Her tone sobered the mood immediately. Reason and compassion returned to Lavender as his heart slowed down, pumping blood more evenly into his system. He felt weak, and a little shaky, but some of the stress was gone. His mounting headache had subsided, and he couldn't help but smile up at the gorgeous mare.

"Why's that?"

"Because you're a good pony." Lily said simply, smiling warmly at him. "You didn't want to take advantage of me, A... A worthless, used-up mare..." She sighed, though a faint smile remained on her lips. "You're a good pony, Lavender. I'm glad it was your home that I found myself in."

Lavender wound his hooves around her, pulling the poor thing into a simple, warm embrace. She collapsed into it, the strength gone from her legs, her eyes brimming with tears. He stroked her mane as she began sobbing into his neck, her hooves slowly winding their way around him. She clung to him, holding on like a drowning pony would cling to flotsam. As he consoled her, a fire was stoked in his gut, and not the kind he had felt just a few moments prior.

This was anger.

"I'm going to find who did these things to you, Lily... And I will make them pay."

"Well, well, well." Silver was waiting inside the newspaper's front doors, leaning against the receptionist's counter with a smug smile on her face. "Somepony made it in before lunch."

"Hey, even we have work to do." Lavender gave her a genuine smile; the kind he would typically only give her when they were alone. Inside these doors, Lavender was a soldier, and the ground floor of cubicle offices and frantic ponies trying hard to make their way up the ladder he was so familiar with was the battleground. His smiles were typically reserved and slimy, the kind that a lawyer would give to their client to fool them into shoveling their bits over.

That morning, however, he had much more than bits to smile about. Silver watched in a stunned silence as he skipped past, though she started when a small package pressed against her foreleg. Wrapped in Lavender's signature silvery glow, she took it. Under a thin layer of wrapping paper was a small pouch of coins and a long, thin box from a chocolate shop.

"Lily, I dunno what you did, but remind me to thank you." Silver shook her head and took her package into her office, while Lavender emerged onto the battlefield with a skip in his step and a warm smile.

"Heya Lav!"

"Lavender! You're back!"

"Feeling better?" Ponies called out left and right, and he greeted them all with a miniscule wave or a warm smile.

"Never better! Just had a bit of a cold was all. I slept in this morning." He explained to the journalists nipping at his hooves like so many piranhas begging for food. He knew, he had been in their positions just a few short years ago. Now, he was in his office, and he wasn't going anywhere. Since that stressful weekend, he hadn't done any work. Today, he had to play catch-up.

The relative silence of his office was a welcome one. Outside of that mahogany door, ponies bustled to and fro, answering calls, leaving to chase leads, or typing furiously on typewriters. All of that came to him as a thin racket, a drone not unlike the clopping of hooves on cobblestone in a busy street. It was a soundtrack to him, a serenade sung by a long-missed mistress.

"I love my job." Lavender grinned, sitting at his desk and laying his hooves on the typewriter.

A typical day in his life consisted of Lavender waking, drinking his cursory pot of coffee, going to work, and coaxing the city's socialites to tear each other limb from limb. He was a gossip columnist, and if he wasn't chasing down one of his juicy stories, he was creating them here in his office. Long ago, he had been the one to peruse the city streets, stalking socialites and prominent government figures as they went about their day (or evening, as it were.) His lifeblood lay in the back-alley transactions, the smoky nightclubs that the governor's aide was seen swaggering out of, or the cheap inn across town that had seen too many unfaithful celebrities' vows broken. His hard work earned him five bits per morsel, more if the story was particularly juicy.

Now, it was him paying the bits for the info. He had a stack of notes in his inbox, each of them dated and signed, with a small paragraph or sometimes two of juicy information. Depending on how good they were, he would 'embellish' on them, then send the completed story up the chain. More often than not, his stories made the daily news, with a healthy portion of the Sunday column bearing his signature slander.

He was not a very popular pony. Even among his own office, Lavender was seen as more of a necessary evil than anything else. Trottingham ponies were typically very closeted; they wanted to read about their nice or nephew's school play and how the 'darling little foals were just adorable in their little outfits,' or hear about the latest stock show that had come through town... But since its inception, the gossip column had been the focal point of the Trottingham Observer. Sales had increased dramatically, and while many of the columnists wanted nothing more than to attend one boring play and give their dissertation per week, the ponies of Trottingham wanted gossip.

And Lavender was nothing if not forthcoming. His meteoric rise to the daily columnist was the product of some admittedly under-hooved slander, a well-placed bribe or two, and a work ethic for uncovering the dirty secrets of Trottingham that would make any other pony cringe. Even now as he shuffled through the notes, he got a thrill at seeing the names and deeds that had allegedly happened in his absence.

"Ooh! Looks like the Mayor went out for a few drinks after our little interview yesterday..." Lavender grinned as a candid photograph of the Mayor, his coat frumpy and his mane matted with what could be assumed to be ale, lifting one hoof joyously to the sky while the other draped over a very disgruntled-looking Pestle Stone. "This ought to get you back for putting us on the spot." Lavender grinned and began creating a story around the photograph, embellishing a few details here and there, never straying too far from the truth, but certainly making it much more interesting to read than the typical fodder their humble paper produced.

By the end of the day, Lavender had written three column's worth of gossip-worthy material, and had kept the notes to distribute payment accordingly. To the mare who had snapped the photo of the mayor, he paid ten bits. The other two received five and six respectively, mainly because the one bit had been about one of the touring actresses in this week's rendition of 'Haylet.' He found it to be tragically over-blown, but ponies loved to see the macabre drama at least once a year. Gossip about the theatre was always welcome.

He sent all three articles up for editing, and left for home. Silver had already left, which was a bit disappointing since he was eager to ask how she liked his recent gift. Bidding farewell to the receptionist, Lavender made his way home instead. The mid-evening sun beat down on his flanks, burning away the residual humidity from the last few damp days, making him feel nice and warm inside. The birds were tweeting sweetly, and indeed, everything seemed to be going well.

Never mind the mounting dread that inside his home was a mare still in heat. Leaving that morning had been an ordeal, as shortly after they had cleaned up their morning dalliance, Lily had fawned over him, begging for another. Lavender may have been a virgin just that morning, but he wasn't letting that go to his head. His endurance was less than stellar, even when compared to other unicorns. He doubted he'd have been able to deliver, so he had left Lily in favor of going to work.

Now, as he approached the front door of his home, a faint sense of dread washed over him. Would he be ready for what lay inside? Could he handle Lily? Or would she buck him into unconsciousness?

Only one way to tell.

"Lily, I'm home!" He slipped inside and closed the door behind him, throwing the lock for an extra measure. He had maybe one second's peace before she was on him, tackling him bodily to the foyer's floor.

"Welcome home, Lavender!" She bubbled, rubbing her cheek against his lovingly. That would have been a welcome gesture, were it not for her dripping marehood grinding against his hind legs.

"Lily," Lavender said with a measured, even tone. "Please let me get up."

"Oh! Right!" She bounded up, bouncing happily on her hooves, looking at him with bright, glimmering eyes. In the absence of her face and mane, Lavender was struck by the scent of her. She was still in heat, and by the pungent rank of it, hotter and heavier than before. He fought to keep his own desires in check as he stowed his briefcase and righted himself. "Did you have a good day at work?" She bubbled, standing close enough that he could feel the swishing edge of her tail, which appeared to be twitching spasmodically. Her hind legs, he saw, weren't bobbling as much from energetic excitement as they were from quivering anticipation.

"I did," Lavender swallowed hard, trying to breathe through his mouth as much as he could. Still, the wafting scent of her heat was pervasive. 'Reminder: buy some bloody candles.' He grimaced to himself as he made for the kitchen. Much to his surprise, a different sort of heat greeted him. The stove was burning at full intensity, with several bubbling pots and pans perched atop it. "What... Oh, right, you can cook."

"I thought you'd like some food when you got home!" Lily bubbled, sweeping past him. Perhaps it was intentional, or maybe accidental, but her tail swept across his flank as she passed, sending a shuddering jolt through him. Her scent followed, mingling in with the delightful smell of marinara and... oregano?

"Are you making Neightalian?"

"It's most of what I know how to cook," Lily nodded, clutching a wooden spoon in her teeth to stir around one of the bubbling pots. He saw with a faint smile as she drew the spoon up there were long strands of pale-colored angel hair in the water. She pawed one of them away from the others, still steaming, and popped it into her mouth. "Another couple of minutes." She surmised, going back to stirring the pasta.

'You know, heat aside, this really isn't a bad arrangement.' Lavender smiled as he turned out of the kitchen, moving to the study opposite the foyer. She either didn't hear him leave, or was too focused on the meal. He slid up to his desk with a faint sigh and a warm smile, his horn glowing to open one of the drawers. Inside was a well-worn journal he had kept since he began his career as a journalist. Horn glowing, he decided it was time to catch up on recent events.

Journal of Lavender Sky, Entry 479:

The damndest thing happened to me...

Dinner was, thankfully, a quiet affair. Lily ate alongside him, remaining uncharacteristically silent despite the pervasive scent still wafting through the air. Lavender did his best to ignore the teasing tendrils of mare's arousal, and thanks to the robust and tangy marinara, avoided jumping the poor thing halfway through their dinner. He even made it past cleaning the plates and silverware before the struggle began.

The sun had set over the horizon, leaving only a thin mantle of dark purple behind as evidence of the day's passing. The lights in his house were mostly on, many of them turned down low to avoid straining his usually-sensitive eyesight. The low, sultry lighting did little to distract him from Lily, and if anything made it more difficult to avoid looking at her. The low tone highlighted her white mane, framing her in a silvery glow about her head and haunches. She appeared to be sweating a little, either as product of her heat, or spending time slaving over the stove with mouth-held utensils. Either way, her coat was matted down and shone with a thin layer of liquid in several places, growing damper and more dark the closer to her thighs it became.

The scent was much more intrusive now, floating through the air on a wave so potent it dulled Silver's sense immediately. He had lost control of his erection a while ago, his arousal hanging shamelessly between his hind legs. It made moving more difficult, but he tried to distance himself from her respectively. The journal entry he had made needed review, as he'd been distracted by her announcing dinner. But the moment he slipped into his study, she came with him, 'innocently' perusing the shelves of books. Of course, she just had to look over the ones directly opposite him, her haunches swaying back and forth, causing her tail to swing aside and reveal teasing, tantalizing fractions of her glistening marehood.

Lavender was having such a time restraining himself that he failed to realize one of his hooves idly rubbing along the shaft of his erection.

"Rrgh. Damnit." He chided himself, tearing his gaze away from her. That didn't help, though. Without the product before him, his mind's eye went rampant, taking the alluring sight of her and doing some truly despicable things to it. He saw her spread out beneath him, panting and eager, marehood lathered with arousal and shot through with sticky white strands of cum-

"RRGH! I can't take it anymore! Lily, come here." Lavender dashed over to her, herding the poor mare out of his study and towards the stairs with a less-than-friendly series of magical pushes and flank-nudges. The latter of which only served to betray how badly she was quivering, and how hot her skin was. She was on fire! It was like touching a radiator that had been spooled up for hours, making Lavender wonder if he would burn himself staying in contact with her for too long. Lily just giggled and went along, having a hard time mounting the stairs thanks to her twitching behind.

Lavender just grasped her in his levitation, hauling the poor thing up to his room. Lily smiled at him gratefully as he set her on the carpet, but that smile quickly turned smoldering when she spotted his arousal, thick and drooling pre, hanging just between his legs.

"I want you, Lavender." She whimpered, opening her hooves towards him. "Please, Lavender, I need you."

"Yeah." Lavender grunted thinly, too caught up in the smell and sight of her to even begin thinking about how he wanted to go about this. Last time, she had presented herself to him. But this time, she walked straight towards him, her hooves open as if for a hug. He obliged her, wrapping his forelegs around her, embracing the mare sweetly. Her mouth plastered against his own, her tongue already seeking entrance. She managed to drool against his lips for a few moments before he opened them, the cool strand of saliva dripping down his chin and into the coat of his neck. The hug titled over until Lily stretched out on her back, but their hooves kept them close enough to one another that the kiss was not broken.

It seemed his prayers had been answered for him. Lavender stood between Lily's spread thighs, feeling the heat radiating off of her soaked cunt and onto his pulsing shaft. He oozed pre onto her stomach, staining the already sweat-lathered strands of her coat even further.

"Please." Lily panted against his mouth. "Please fuck me."

Lavender couldn't think straight anymore. He couldn't even formulate words. Positioning himself against her, he felt those magnificent lips part, bidding him entrance. Groaning from his throat, Lavender felt his cock sink into her, passing over her walls with an ease that betrayed her heat. She was absolutely soaked downstairs, and as he pulled halfway out, glistening strands of her arousal stretched from her labia to the base of his cock, swinging lewdly before breaking off to fall into her splayed tail. She cried out underneath him, her forelegs tightening hard enough to lift her shoulder from the floor.

Lavender settled into a deep, easy pace, exhaling soft grunts through his nose each time he drove into her. Lily alternated between breathy cries and sloppy kisses. She was losing her own sense of coordination, he could tell, as she would sometimes resort to sloppily licking his muzzle, or even just wagging her tongue in the air. Lavender panted hotly, his mouth hanging open above hers to facilitate either another wet, saliva- filled kiss, or the heavy breathing he felt compelled to do to keep up with the pace of his faster thrusting.

He had lost himself in her. The thrusts came faster and harder, driving himself in to his testicles, or rocking the hard ring around the middle of his cock into and out of her gaping vagina. Lily screamed three times, her walls clenching down on him, milking his cock, dousing her tail with more feminine arousal. It might have been three minutes or three years before Lavender came, but when he did, he lost all control. Each new thick spurt of arousal made him drive into her, pumping those strands as deep as he could go. After four or five of those, however, he felt the need to withdrawal. The pumping strands that came after that were deposited in her vaginal cavity, or in the case of the last three, onto her stomach and thighs.

He stepped back, surveying the damage. Lily lay on her back, spread-eagle, panting heavily in the aftermath. Maybe it was the heat radiating from her, or maybe it was just Lavender's romanticized brain, but he could imagine a faint steam rising off of her thighs, which were dripping with her own clear fluid, and his own creamy spunk. The smell of both their exertion filled the air. Lavender realized that if Silver were to walk in, she'd comment on the smell surpassing that of even the rankest whorehouse.

Yet through it all, Lily smiled up at him. Her thighs had stopped quivering, and her clitoris was no longer winking at him. Sated for now, Lily rolled to her hooves and stood, her tail covering her messy holes.

"Come on, Lily." Lavender groaned, feeling his own member recede back into its sheath. "Let's take a shower."

Soaking

Broken: Chapter 6

Soaking

Showers, it seemed, did little to assuage mares in heat. Following their last bout of sticky lovemaking, Lavender and Lily had retired to the shower. Whereupon Lavender made the sore mistake of turning the water on hot. He had barely tested the water's temperature when he found himself saddled with an eager, panting mare fawning over his flanks.

"L-lily! Hold on!" Lavender gasped, feeling the mare's insistent mouth opening against his flank, licking his cutie mark intimately. The pungent reek of sex was not lost in the steamy air, and he found wafting tendrils of it passing his face even now as Lily began kissing and licking all of his haunches. "What's gotten into you?!"

"It feels so hot." Lily panted between licks. "I'm on fire, Lavender. I... I need you again." She whimpered, looking up at him with those magnificent blue eyes. Lavender squirmed, trying to turn around in the relatively cramped space his tub offered him. Doing so was all for naught, though, as his shower facility was treacherously narrow with two bodies in it. Short of bucking the poor thing, he couldn't get her off of his back. And, unfortunately for his already-sore haunches, a portion of him was already enjoying the attention her tongue was lavishing on him.

"Please," Lily panted behind him. "I want you to fuck me again."

"A-alright, easy! Easy!" Lavender groaned. "Back up a bit, let's... Let's think about this for a moment." Lavender had never had any issues showering on his own, and indeed, that's all he had done in this bathroom or any other in his house. But he was beginning to see now how poorly-designed the tubs were for communal bathing. Taking a shower with a mare was probably one of the most foolish things he had done in a long while.

"How are we-"

"Like this!" Lily's mouth left him immediately, and over his flanks, he could see her adjusting. She hooked her front legs over the edge of the tub, sticking her rear out towards him invitingly. Her soaked tail flicked up over her drenched flanks, displaying her twitching cunt like a prized possession. Lavender swallowed as he realized he suddenly had enough room to turn around and face her now. With the hot water falling directly onto his tail and lower back, fucking Lily was going to be both easy and quite stimulating.

"So then I-"

"I've done this position before, with others." Lily bubbled, her rear legs quivering with the need for release. "You put your forehooves on the edge of the tub... Yup, like that." She beamed at him as he stood where she indicated. "And then you can fuck me just like that!"

"Huh. How about that." Lavender chuckled as the flared head of his cock lined up with her glistening labia, the intense heat from her flared sex flowing around his erect member like a gentle, seductive wave. "Here goes." Without really thinking about anything else, Lavender found himself within Lily once again, the mare's low moan echoing out into the tiled bathroom, drowning out even the hissing sound of water on the shower floor.

"Oh yesssss..." Lily let the last syllable out in a hiss, her eyes closing as Lavender began pumping into her delightful love cavern. Lavender himself was enraptured by the new sensation of fucking somepony while the hot water of the shower cascaded over his backside, soaking his tail and leaving it heavy enough to swing between his legs in time with the deep thrusts. The position wasn't entirely awkward, either. His hooves rested squarely on the edge of the tub, pushed firmly into the crack where they met the wall so he needn't worry about slipping or falling on Lily. And with the way she was positioned, his cock was able to glide along what would normally be the top of her vagina. He could feel his head brushing over ridges and rough patches that he had never felt before, and if Lily's reaction was any indication, he was hitting all of her buttons at once.

"Fuck me, Lavender! Fuck me harder!" Lily cried out, her head out-of-sight over the edge of the tub, but Lavender liked to imagine she was clenching her eyes, her mouth hanging open with each new hot exhalation. The tiled walls amplified Lily's voice, and soon he couldn't hear the shower at all over Lily's raw, primal cries of pleasure, or the wet squelch he heard each time his engorged member buried itself to the hilt inside of her sopping pussy.

Yet there seemed to be a dam of sorts. He had just experienced the most sexual few days of his entire life, and had reached orgasm more than recent memory could recall. And yet, for all the hot thrusting (and two screaming orgasms from Lily,) he felt no closer to his limit than when they had begun. Lily's panting had been reduced to whimpers, and he was pretty sure the poor girl was laying listlessly over the edge of the tub rather than supporting herself. Yet he pounded away at her pussy, trying his hardest to feel that building pressure; the impending sense of release that signaled his own orgasm.

It came to him, but only with great effort. He felt a tightness in his chest as the cascade of rough thrusts reached a fever pitch. Lily, on virtue of being in heat, had plenty of lubrication for him; yet he felt that if this were a normal bout of fucking (implying anything about his life was 'normal' anymore,) he'd be hurting her.

She made no indication of pain. If anything, the sporadic glances she spared him over her shoulder were encouraging, smoldering, and filled with the desire for him to keep going.

It felt almost too late to turn back. Lavender's cock plunged into her over and again, the wet slaps of their flanks meeting filling the air. He was committed to it, his hips acting almost on their own accord, despite the rising sense of fatigue he felt. Whatever pathetic technique he had was lost in favor of one more thrust, another balls-deep burial that left every last inch of his aching stallionhood wrapped up inside Lily's pulsating pussy.

"L-lavender!" Lily panted, the first vocalization she had given that wasn't an outright scream of pleasure. "Y-you're like an animal! A-are you c-close?!"

"I’m trying-!" Lavender grunted, flexing his sore length inside of her, begging for release, praying he could cum before he passed out.

"H-hold on, okay?" Lily whimpered, squirming beneath him. The last thing Lavender wanted was to stop, but she was whimpering and squirming harder now, enough to bend him uncomfortably within her. With no small amount of reluctance, he pulled out of her, watching her gaping hole close as he pulled out with a hazy sense of need still throbbing in his chest and cock.

"Lay down on your back." Lily urged, climbing fully out of the tub.

"I- what?" Lavender blinked at her. Lily just waved a hoof at the tiled floor, right in the middle of the bathroom.

"Lay down. Let me ride you. I promise, it will go faster." She purred, her half-lidded eyes betraying some truth Lavender felt he could trust her with. Awkwardly, Lavender clambered out of the tub and rolled onto his back. The cool feeling of tile against his coat shuddered through him, burning away the fatigue and leaving him feeling remarkably lucid for the moment. Lily opened the bathroom door wide, ushering in a cold wave of air to absorb much of the excess steam. He watched as she sauntered towards him, straddling his barrel with a devious look on her face.

"You've been giving me a lot of relief lately." She cooed, dropping one hoof between them to grasp his twitching member. "It's time I return the favor." He felt his cock press against her opening for barely a moment before it glided in, coaxed further by the thin layer of arousal she seemed to constantly have, and the residual water. She lowered herself onto him with a wet squelch, her dripping cunt sealed right above his testicles.

"A-ahn!" The pleasure returned in a rush, his cock buried inside of her in an entirely new fashion. Lily sat back on her haunches, her entire weight held up on his throbbing erection, it seemed. The wafting cool air washed over his damp coat, further cooling him off after being so thoroughly heated. Furthermore, each time she would lift herself partially off of him, she would pause just long enough that the cool air wafted over the surface of his cock, further sending another chill down his spine.

It was remarkable. The heat combined with the cool tile and wafting air sent Lavender to his edge faster and more efficiently than he had thought possible. The pleasure won out over soreness, and he felt his orgasm approach as quick as could be.

"L-Lily!" He panted, his hooves laying on her thighs. "G-gonna... HNN-!"

"Aahn!" Lily's spine arched, pushing him as deep into her molten center as he could be. Twitching inside of that oven-like aperture, Lavender released the largest orgasm to date. He could feel it swirl around his shaft, past the medial ring, and out of Lily's twitching cunt. She shifted with him, riding that high, and each minute pulsation of her cunt squelched ever-more cum out of her dripping labia. He surged inside of her, his cock flexing hard enough to cause a small bulge to appear in her stomach, the head of his flared erection pulsing and quivering as he ejected more sperm into the poor mare.

She hung over him, her hooves planted on the tile to either side of his head, her mouth hanging open as she panted heavily. He could feel her own sex twitching around him, a product of a mare well-satiated. Indeed, it felt as if he had fed her desires well enough, and the roaring blaze in her eyes had died down to embers.

The past few days of furious lovemaking seemed more like a dream to Lavender than anything else, but what had just transpired sent even those teenaged fantasies over the edge. He was completely spent, like he had emptied every ounce of his body’s energy into Lily’s voracious cunt. The way she had just ridden him was unlike anything he had ever experienced, and sat firmly at the forefront of his mind, reminding him of all the glorious, ache-inducing sex he had just partaken in. He felt as if he could never move from the cool tile and would die a happy stallion. But his muscles cried for rest, and he could smell the faint traces of sex wafting past his nose.

“Okay,” Lavender finally managed to sigh. “Let’s clean up for real.”

“Okay.” Lily giggled, leaning in to give him a quick kiss before she rose to her hooves. His now flaccid member slid out of her gaping canal, leaving a trail of semen in its wake. He heard the splattering sound of liquid impacting tile, drawing a slight grimace from him. He’d have to clean that up off of the floor… after he managed to return coordination to his muscles.

The latter was reluctant in coming, sadly. They had left the shower running during their endeavor, still filling the bathroom with steam and heat, though it seemed the reserves his boiler had managed to store were running thin and the open door had helped mitigate the rolling waves of steam. He slid under the spout of the lukewarm shower, sighing inwardly as tension and exhaustion gave way to pure, blissful relaxation.

“Better?” He asked Lily, who blushed and nodded faintly.

“Yes, it’s not as hard to deal with after getting fucked.” She said the words so nonchalantly, it made him wince. Rather than dig up any more of her dark past, Lavender turned his attention to hygiene, and the pressing need to clean himself.

Several minutes and half a bar of soap later, both he and Lily were clean, and while Lily toweled herself dry, he focused on cleaning the spilled semen and wiping the tile floor clean of any sweat or other liquids. All of those tasks finished, he limped into the bedroom and collapsed onto his covers, still damp from the shower.

“Ma-Lavender?” Lily’s timid voice reached him, just as he was about to slip off into dreamland.

“Hmm?” He cracked one eye at her, noting the poor mare was standing at the edge of his bed with a timid blush on her cheeks.

“I… I still don’t like sleeping alone, and after… after this, I… I’m used to my other ma… masters, uuh… sleeping with me.” She rubbed one fetlock forlornly, fixing him with a wide-eyed look of helpless pleading. “If I promise not to do anything to you, c-can I…?”

“Oh, alright.” Lavender groaned, willing one last reserve of Olympian energy to scoot over enough that she could join him. He could have sworn he heard her squeak with delight before crawling up onto his bed.

“Thank you, ma-Lavender.” She muttered, though in her tone he could hear thankfulness and relief.

“Just don’t wake me up with a blowjob again; I don’t think I could handle it.” She gave a soft giggle, but nodded nevertheless.

Sleep was almost on him when she squirmed a little, seeming to try and get comfortable. It allayed the dark embrace of rest just enough that he couldn’t quite slip off, and just as the sweet shroud of night was about to wrap around him, it happened again; this time accompanied by a soft whimper. He cracked one eye to look at her again.

“Lily?”

“Yes, Lavender?”

“Were you planning on sleeping some time soon?”

“I- yes, I was but-“ She grunted out of exasperation, and the bed was momentarily sent into tumult as she rolled over to face him directly. Again with the pleading expression and the wide, puppy eyes. She looked so guilty and embarrassed that Lavender felt a surge of pity in him, despite his best efforts to keep it quashed.

“But…?” He led into it, adding an upwards inflection to spur her on. She met his gaze intently, tears welling in her eyes.

“You’ve already done so much for me, taking me in when I was lost, and treating me so nicely… You even helped me with my heat, and you’re letting me sleep with you, and… and…” She sniffled pathetically, closing her eyes so that several tears leaked out. “I don’t want to ask anything more of you, but-“

“Enough.” Lavender slid his hooves around her immediately, cutting Lily off. She gasped as he pulled her close, laying one hoof on the back of her head, cupping her chin over his shoulder. “If you wanted me to hold you, all you had to do was ask.” He sighed, stroking that hoof through her mane gingerly. Sleep came then, stealing him away into the night, as he and Lily settled into the damp sheets. The last, whispered words she uttered didn’t jolt him awake or allay his rest; but rather shepherded him off.

“Thank you, master.”

A grey, dreary day greeted Trottingham, with a thick cloud cover obscuring all but a few rays of sunlight. The day promised rain, but the night had promised Lavender sweet rest and a wonderful waking discovery. Lily hadn’t moved an inch in his embrace, and had even slept with her head resting atop his. Save for a mild numbness in the hoof that had rested underneath her slight weight the entire night, Lavender felt incredibly rested, and even a little more happy than recent memory had served.

She was like a blanket of sorts, and still radiated sweet warmth against the bitter bite of morning air. Lavender inhaled the scent of her mane, smelling water and soap, with just the slightest undertone of a mare’s scent. The pervasive rank of heat no longer filled his nostrils, and Lily appeared to be resting peacefully, her chest rising and falling smoothly as she nuzzled atop him.

He didn’t want to disturb her, so he closed his eyes and gingerly stroked her mane, enjoying the lazy moments with her pressed against him tenderly. Her heat appeared to have passed, and the remnant soreness in his crotch thanked him for that relief. Instead, Lavender laid underneath Lily, allowing her a few more blissful minutes’ rest before they had to rise and face the day. It was, after all, only Thursday for him. He made an attempt to slip out from underneath her, but in doing so inadvertently roused Lily from her own slumber.

“Hmmn, Master…?” She muttered, stirring atop him. Lavender grimaced at the title, but nevertheless pulled back to look in her face.

“Good morning, Lily. Did you sleep well?”

“Yes, I did,” Lily blushed as she realized her own slip, looking away from him embarrassedly. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to call you… you know…”

“It’s okay.” Lavender assured her, pulling away so that they simply laid side-by-side. “To be perfectly honest, I, uuh… Well, it doesn’t bother me the way I thought it would. Not anymore.” He rolled away and off of the bed, shaking his mane and tail out. Sleeping on them wet had proved disastrous, though as he worked a brush through the uncooperative strands, he found himself smiling at the thought.

’At least they were rumpled for good reason.’

“Lavender?” Lily hardly whispered his name, though he turned to face her nevertheless. She was still curled up on his bed, though her head was raised towards him with a solemn, sad expression.

“Yes? What is it?”

“I…” Lily chewed her lower lip, looking down at her curled hooves and then back up at him. “I’m sorry for the past few days. It must have been a burden on you, having to deal with me all the time.”

“It certainly was difficult at first,” Lavender chuckled, pulling the brush through his tail one last time before walking towards her. She quivered a bit as he lifted the brush towards her, but immediately sagged with relief as he passed the bristles through her own unkempt mane. “But I’d like to think you’ve paid me back by now.”

“Thank you, again, for saying that… I know I’m being foolish, but I can’t help but feel as if I’m a burden to you.”

“Hardly,” Lavender chuckled again, gingerly pulling at a slight knot in her mane. “I’ve never been terribly fortunate with mares. Nevertheless, you’ve taken my virginity, and showed me a few things I’d otherwise not have known.” His voice turned more melancholy, and the brush slowed its passes through her long hair. “That’s a very poor way of looking at it, but I suppose you could justify your staying here with that.”

“Well…” Lily blushed, nuzzling his cheek tenderly. “I hope I can stay and teach you a few more things…?”

“… I would like that very much.” Lavender kissed her cheek.

Inside, he was torn. One nagging thought buried itself into his consciousness, filling him with equal amounts of guilt and avarice.

’You’re damn right you’re staying here. I paid two hundred bits for you.’

The sky matched his mood as Lavender left his home. Lily had promised she would keep the blinds drawn and the door locked, but would busy herself with cleaning. She had said that in addition to cooking, her previous masters had taught her how to clean as well. Lavender pointed out the closets with rags and solvents, and she had set to work immediately. With the promise of a meal as soon as he came home that evening and a clean home, he left to work.

But that wasn’t why he felt dark and moody. The ever-present ache in his loins had not abated, and if anything had grown more intense as he walked to the office. Furthermore, that thought still plagued him, nagging at the back of his mind.

’I bought her. I actually, truly paid money for another pony… My motives aside, I’ve done it. I bought a slave.’ His mind was waging war against himself, half vying to tear him to shreds with guilt for doing such a horrific thing, and the other half telling him it was a good thing, that this was beneficial. Lily was happy, he was happy, Silver was happy… They were all happy.

The battle raged on as he stepped through the front door, only to be greeted by Silver.

“Good morning, Lavender. Glad you made it in today.” She seemed awfully cheery. Too cheery. Lavender’s eyes narrowed suspiciously, and he cast a quick glance at the receptionist, who hastily returned to reading her magazine.

“Glad to be here. Did you have something to talk to me about?” He arched an eyebrow, giving a faint nod towards her office.

“Yes, actually, I did. But, oh shoot.” She looked up at the clock on the wall, frowning intently at it. “I forgot I have an appointment in a few minutes. Why don’t we meet for lunch?”

“That sounds fine. The usual place, then?”

“No, let’s mix it up a bit.” She waved him off, her eyes meeting his once more. Though there was something to them, and intense cast that he found sent shivers down his spine. “Just meet me out front at eleven thirty. We’ll go from there.”

“Alright,” Lavender gave a stoic nod, glancing once more at the receptionist. This time, she made a poor show of hiding her glances behind the pages of the magazine. “See you then.”

“Ciao!” Silver’s cheery tone betrayed the cast of her face. Something was wrong. Something was seriously wrong! Lavender trotted into the Trottingham Observer’s office , smiling at his peers and co-workers, but hiding a dark feeling and more anxiety than he thought possible. A million thoughts raced through his head, and he prayed to the stars above everything was going alright; that Silver’s serious tone was only a product of his imagination, or that the New Lunar Republic was waiting for him in his office, ready to take him out on sight.

That his coffee wasn’t poisoned.

Grimacing, he left the small pot in his office off, and sat on his chair before his typewriter.

’Please, for the love of everything under the sky… let this just be my imagination…

Luna’s moon, my balls hurt.’

Stress Test

Broken: Chapter 7

Stress Test

Silver’s high voice chased his psyche for the rest of the work day. Despite however much he loved gossip and intrigue, he couldn’t find pleasure in his work that day. The few notes in his inbox about the comings and goings of prominent socialites were ash before his eyes, playing second fiddle to the stress behind the editor-in-chief’s cryptic meeting.

Eleven-thirty took its sweet time in coming, and he nearly ran out of his office in order to meet up with her. The code she had given him suggested something serious was happening, else she wouldn’t have asked to meet him somewhere else than their usual place for lunch. He composed himself before emerging from the office, though, skirting the edge of the cubicle floor on his way towards the back entrance. Every surreptitious glance cast his way felt like the great, indomitable eye of Nightmare Moon herself staring down on him, a spotlight to all the world, as if to say ’Look at this fucker right here! He bought a slave! Ostracize and criticize him!’

Despite his excitable nerves, Lavender managed to slip out of the alleyway door to the Observer, slinking past a couple other pen-pushing columnists enjoying a cigarette. A light rain had begun to fall, filling the air with the heavy scent of wet Trottingham, which was surprisingly reminiscent of ‘wet dog.’ He used a simple field of telekinesis to keep himself dry as he slunk through the alley and around the corner, onto the busy street. Despite the weather, ponies were bustling about, on their way to or from lunch appointments and dates. It was only Wednesday, the middle of a busy week for the city, and Lavender lost himself in the press of ponies, knowing he was relatively anonymous in a crowd.

Three blocks away was their pre-determined ‘emergency’ meeting spot, a smoky café that even in the middle of the city saw little business during the busy lunch hour. Probably because it was tucked between two corporate office buildings, the door hidden away in the space where trash bins and homeless ponies dominated the scene. The inside even smelled like a dumpster. But sure enough, Silver was waiting for Lavender, and he smoothly joined her in a dark booth, pushing away the cursory glass of water passed to him by the bored-looking waitress. He’d learned the hard way not to drink the water here.

“What the fuck is happening, Silver?” Lavender whispered, making sure the waitress wasn’t listening in. She was boredly reading some magazine or another, her head bobbing in time with the radio blaring some unintelligible music he could hardly stand.

“It’s this ‘Ignatius’ fellow,” Silver looked haggard, the bags under her eyes scaring Lavender even more than the tense sound of her voice, or the mention of the shady Ignatius that had been looming in the back of his mind. “He… Sky, he knows about me.”

“What?!” Lavender hissed, leaning closer. The waitress was still reading, but he caught her ear flicking towards them. The volume of the radio steadily decreased. He lowered his voice, casting a wary glance towards the entrance. “What do you mean he knows about you?”

“They were at my house last night, Sky.” Silver shuddered. As he watched, she drew her hooves around her torso, hugging herself.

“Stars above, Silver, are you okay?” Lavender reached a hoof out, seeking to console her. Silver abandoned her hug, snatching his hoof up and bringing it to her face. She clutched it there, stunning Lavender Sky so completely that all he could do was watch as a tear trickled out of her eye and onto his hoof.

“I’m okay, Lav… They just… They know about me, and they know my family. They said I needed to pass a message to you, since they couldn’t find you.”

’I’m glad to see that enchantment still works. Thank you, father.’ Lavender thought to himself, scooting closer to comfort Silver with another hoof.

“What message?”

“That Ignatius, he’s waiting for you. They said it’s time they welcomed you into the New Lunar Republic. And if you didn’t show up tonight, they’d… They’d…” Silver’s lip quivered, and she let out a gut-wrenching sob, the tears flowing fast as she clenched her eyes shut. “They said they’d take my sister if you didn’t go!”

She broke down bawling, clutching Lavender’s hoof as if it were a piece of flotsam in the sea. Stunned, it was all Lavender could do to sit there while his one friend in the whole business cried her heart out. This was a pony he knew to be as equally cruel and vicious as him when it came to maneuvering the surprisingly cutthroat world of journalism, who had defended her spot as editor-in-chief with bravado (and some suspect Zebra martial arts) for close to seven years now; at least as long as Lavender had known her.

And she was crying like a foal just now.

“Is she okay?” The waitress asked, tilting her head at them. Lavender hadn’t even heard her approach. He blinked a few times, clearing the shock out of his mind, before glaring at her.

“None of your business.” He growled, waving his free hoof at her. “Leave us alone.”

“Hey, it’s not your restaurant.” The mare bristled, leveling her own glare back at him. “If she’s gonna insist on water works, at least take her outside. Sheesh.” Despite her anger, the waitress turned away, going back to the seat behind the cash register. She didn’t stop looking at them, though, glancing towards the door every now and then as if to say ‘I meant it.’

“Silver, come on.” He muttered, pulling at her gently. She moved woodenly, still sobbing, as they limped towards the door. They were the only patrons at this point, so nopony was there to watch them leave, but still Silver didn’t feel like angering the waitress of their emergency meeting place. At either end of the alley-way, ponies bustled past, paying next to no attention to the shadowy recesses of a stinking crack between two office buildings. Here, Silver clutched to him, though she wasn’t crying as badly as she had been. He wrapped a hoof around her, comforting the poor pony as she struggled to compose herself, all the while his own thoughts running rampant.

’So father’s old enchantment still works. That’s good, I didn’t have to worry as much about Lily getting found out. That’d also explain why she found her way to my house… Being a unicorn with no horn would be a nifty way of slipping undetected past the spell. Still, Candy must have spilled the beans. Nopony else knew Silver was the one to introduce us, leading to me meeting Focus… not unless they know Silver and I are a lot closer than just working partners. That’s a leap on a good day, though… Not unless…’

Realization struck him like a ton of bricks.

’Unless someone in the paper is with the Republic.’

“Silver, I think we should leave.” Lavender muttered quietly, looking warily over his shoulder at the busy street. Nopony was looking their way, each of them too intent on getting where they needed to be through the rain. Still, that was no excuse to linger any longer. Silver composed herself with a few sniffles and a wooden nod.

“Let me go get my things from the booth.” She whispered, turning back towards the shadowy café’s doorway. Lavender released her, looking warily at the other entrance into the alley before following. Inside, the waitress had disappeared, though there were muffled sounds coming from the kitchen in the back. He paid them little mind, focusing instead on the alley.

“What did you bring along?” Lavender asked over his withers, eyes intent on the street.

“The note they gave me to pass on to you. It’s got the information you need to find Ignatius tonight.”

“Tonight? He wants to meet that soon?” Lavender scowled. He didn’t like that, not one bit. This whole week had been a whirlwind of excitement already; he was hoping they could wait at least a little bit before actually having to join the Republic. Time to get his mind wrapped around the whole crazy ordeal.

’Time to enjoy Lily a little bit more.’

The last thought drew a scowl from his lips as Silver fetched what she had from the booth. “Here,” she offered a folded slip of paper. Lavender took it and unfolded it, scanning the tight text there. It seemed to be directions to the industrial part of town; one he wasn’t terribly familiar with. Aside from that, all there was on the paper was a time. Eleven.

“Sunava-“

“There’s something else, too.” Silver sighed, looking back towards the kitchen. “They want me and Lily to come with you. Lav, I don’t like this at all. They know about me and my family, and they want to induct me into this crazy fucking cult… This wasn’t part of our plan. It was supposed to just be you feeding me info.”

“Look at it this way,” Lavender re-folded the slip and tucked it into his saddlebags. “You get to see first-hoof what’s going on for yourself.”

“Look, I got chills just standing next to that club. I don’t want to get involved in sl-“ Lavender clamped her muzzle with a bit of magic, shushing her just as the waitress emerged from the back.

“You two leavin’, then? No lunch?” She asked, cocking her head to the side.

“Sorry, business calls.” Lavender floated two bits her way, flashing as genuine a smile as he could. “For your trouble.” She took them both and nodded, leaving Lavender and Silver to step into the alley. Somepony else was apparently intent on getting inside, so they waited for him to pass before speaking again.

“I know you don’t like it, but it’s this or Platinum. You want to keep your sister out of this, right?”

“Of course I do.” Silver’s expression was dead serious.

“Then go along with it. With any luck, they’ll just be keeping tabs on you. I doubt they actually expect you to do anything. Yeah, this makes it more difficult to blow the cover off of them… Not until we find a way out.” Lavender glanced towards either end of the alley again, his hackles rising as if somepony were watching them. Water dripped down between the buildings, landing thickly on either of them.

“Meet me at my place tonight at ten, and we’ll make a game plan. Trust me, Silver, I don’t want your sister involved in this either.” ’She doesn’t even have her cutie mark yet. Just like Lily…’

“I just want to keep Platinum safe.” Silver whimpered. “I’ll be there tonight at ten.”

“See you then.” Lavender turned his head aside as Silver took off, her hooves running along the building’s sides to propel herself up and out of the alley. To anypony that wasn’t watching them directly, they’d appear to be departing separately.

’At least I HOPE nopony’s watching us directly.’

Inside the café, he saw the waitress peeking at him over the top of her magazine, the radio off now.

He took his time returning to the newspaper, stopping off to actually buy some food (an apple from a street vendor) and a copy of a rival’s newspaper. The ‘Trottingham Times’ were a roughly same-sized newspaper, but they had a better grasp on sports and politics than the ‘Observer,’ who focused more on local issues. He discarded all of the unimportant sections, keeping only the ‘local’ sheaf, a measly four pages thick.

There wasn’t anything aside from a slightly eyebrow-raising article about a prominent charity leader having been accused of cheating on his spouse. He hadn’t heard anything about it from any of his sources. Other than that, though, there wasn’t anything to distract him from the pressing matter at-hoof. ’Think, ol’ boy. Silver getting involved surely slows things down a bit, but that doesn’t mean you aren’t going to get any information about the Republic. You just have to find the right time to unveil is all… But what then? My house is safe, sure, but not THAT safe. Where can I run to ground that these crazies can’t reach me?’

He mulled his options over as he walked back to the office, putting on a cheery façade upon entering the building. Silver’s door was closed, a signal that she was indeed back from lunch. To anypony except the most skilled observer, they’d appear to have come and gone completely separately.

’But that still doesn’t mean I shouldn’t suspect somepony within the paper. Candy wouldn’t gab, especially since somepony like me didn’t even know she worked at a strip club part-time. She’s too tight-lipped to let even a small secret out, let alone something as important as my involvement with the Republic. Silver’s obviously out of the question, so that just leaves-‘

“Lavender.” A strict voice stopped him in his tracks, one he was familiar with, and had been smitten by quite a few times. Just as he was about to step into the cubicle floor, a set of hooves descended the steps into the foyer. Black hooves.

“Hello, Ink Well.” Lavender smiled up at the CEO of the paper, a pony whom it was no big secret he had a major crush on.

A pony who saw fit to neglect to tell Silver she had arranged an interview with two known New Lunar Republic contacts.

Suddenly, it all made sense.

“Come to my office before you leave today; I need to talk to you about something.” Her voice was tense, as it always was, but smooth and free of any sort of distress. He had spoken with her several times over his career, and was usually able to tell when something had her stressed or angry. The other day, when she had spoken to Silver, she’d been much the same as she was now. Clipped, to-the-point, and very succinct. It was the sort of manner of speaking that left no room for questioning. Lavender couldn’t, of course, even if he wanted to.

“Absolutely. I’ll be up shortly after five.” He thought that was the end of it. Just as he was about to slip into the office floor, Ink Well spoke again.

“Don’t be late, Lavender. Ignatius doesn’t like waiting.”

Lavender slipped inside his home, dropping his bags and an additional one near the door before slowly slumping down against it. Lily slipped into the foyer, her face brightening into a smile at the sight of him before slowly darkening.

“Lavender? What’s wrong?” She asked, slowly approaching him. A million thoughts raced through his mind, their frenzied passing played out on his features like an expensive cinema film. Panic, dismay, excitement, and trepidation all welled in his chest. He felt like he wanted to cry, run, and laugh maniacally all at once. Lily continued to step forward, but he slowly sunk further, sliding his back down the door and onto the floor.

’I must be insane. Why, in the blue blazing heavens, would I ever think I could infiltrate the New Lunar Republic? Silver was right; these ponies are everywhere. There must be thousands of them all across the city. How could I stand a chance? And now, I’ve dragged Silver into this madness.’

He began to curl up, slowly drawing his hooves inward, his eyes closing. Darkness consumed his vision, and he began to tremble.

’Silver, my one friend. Her sister’s only a foal; hardly old enough to do anything… The only pony in this world I couldn’t beat, that I couldn’t out-maneuver, scheme around, or manipulate. The only one I could call my friend. And now, I-‘

“Master?” That word pierced through the veil of darkness slowly descending on him, shearing through the funk. Lily slowly pushed her hooves between his, unwinding the ball he had begun to curl up into, and laid down atop him. “Relax,” she whispered, nuzzling into his neck. “… I don’t know what’s wrong, but it’ll all be okay.”

“… Thank you, Lily.” Lavender sighed and closed his eyes again, though this time the stress and anxiety didn’t threaten to crash on him like a tidal wave. It was a warm smile, genuine and happy. He inhaled her scent, glad that the pungent reek of her heat had finally faded away. She smelled of his own soap and conditioner, which were always comforting in their own right… but coupled with the lithe, sensuous form of Lily, it made Lavender forget his troubles for the time being.

’Maybe this is why they do it. Buy mares, use them so… They get to forget themselves, even if for just a minute. Alas such things cannot last.’ He inhaled one last whiff of her mane before slowly rising, allowing Lily time to stand on her own.

“I made dinner for you.” Lily bubbled, prancing back towards the kitchen and dining room. “I found some oil so I tried my hoof at hay fries. Plus we were running out of pasta.”

“Thank you, Lily.” Lavender smiled at her, levitating his bags – including the one with the purchase – into the Study. “Is dinner ready now, or do I have a few?”

“The sooner the better.” Lily frowned, glancing over her withers. “I don’t think hay fries keep very well.”

“Alright, then. Let’s eat.” He smiled as she led him into the kitchen, though the fear of what he had to do that night still weighed heavily on his mind. As she served them crispy, delicious helpings lathered with ketchup , seasoned with rosemary, pepper, and sea salt, his mind wandered back to the conversation with Ink Well.

“You are to report to the address you’ve been given no later than eleven tonight.” Ink Well didn’t waste a moment. As soon as Lavender closed the door behind him, she began speaking, not even looking at him as she leafed through a stack of papers. “On your way home, stop by this address.” She withdrew one of the papers and levitated it to him. “Tell them your name and that you’re there for your package. Take them fifty bits. Do you have that money on you?”

“Eer…” Lavender lagged, still in shock from the sentence she had last left him with. Ink Well was the Republic’s contact within the newspaper. Not just their contact; she was the OWNER of the paper. The implications had his mind reeling. He began to wonder just how involved his crush was with the diabolic sect; was she a slaver? Was she truly intent on bringing about eternal, never-ending night? Had she been involved in Nightmare Moon’s rise five years ago? All of those questions on top of the shock had Lavender stuttering.

“Lavender.” She spoke his name normally, but the tone and inflection made it feel like a whip-crack. Lavender jerked and blinked at her, not even having read the address on the paper he’d been given. “Do you have fifty bits on you?”

“I… I don’t, I’m-“

“Here.” She cut him off, flinging a small pouch at him. Five of the ten-bit coins jingled inside. “A generous contribution from the New Lunar Republic. Don’t let it go to waste.” She went back to leafing through the papers, speaking all the while. “To this meeting, you’re supposed to bring the slave you acquired two nights ago, Silver Bolt, and a detailed map of your home, advantageous routes to and from it, and the details of whatever enchantment has kept you hidden from the Republic’s tails thus far. Ignatius has had his eye on you ever since Lily disappeared in your neighborhood, and since you’ve been involved so closely with our biggest nuisance thus far.”

“Nuisance?” Lavender hung on that word, wondering who she could possibly be referring to. The only ponies he’d been ‘involved’ with were Lily and-

“Silver.” Ink Well shrugged. “She’s been a thorn in our side for far too long. She knows all the right ponies to interview, at exactly the right times in their preparations. It’s caused us to cancel movements and plans more often than I’d care to admit.”

“You’ve got to understand, I’m just-“

“Just a curious slave owner, I get it.” Ink Well shrugged again, finally settling on one piece of paper. She drew it out and began scanning it intently. “Don’t worry, the Republic has seen fit to reward you handsomely for your help.”

“Reward me?” Lavender blinked. “I already have Lily, what more reward could I want?”

At that, Ink Well grinned.

Now, it was approaching ten at night. Silver was due to show up, and Lily was already prepared. He paced back-and-forth in the foyer, impatient for this night and its devilish plot to finally be over. He had bathed with Lily (and enjoyed some of her own brand of ‘stress relief’) but still his nerves were frayed. He felt like he could implode at any second.

In his saddlebags sat the book his father had left detailing the enchantments on their home, the ‘package’ Ink Well had directed him to pick up, and a flask of some seldom-used brandy he kept. Lavender was not a drinking pony, but on nights like tonight, he might just have to be in order to keep from screaming out loud.

At five minutes to, a knock came from his door. Lavender opened it and ushered Silver inside. She looked haggard, and he supposed she had every right to be.

“Is Platinum okay?”

“My sister’s fine. She’s already asleep. I have a friend in the guard watching the house.” At Lavender’s concerned look, she waved him off with a wing. “I trust him; he’s not part of the Republic.”

“Right. Well, no sense in waiting…” Lavender grimaced at the door, steeling himself for the night ahead. “Let’s get this over with.”

“Too right. Lily, come on love, we’re going to see Master Ignatius.”

“Are you selling me back?” Lily balked, a flash of fear crossing her eyes.

“No, no, not at all.” Lavender chuckled, nuzzling her neck affectionately. “We’re infiltrating the New Lunar Republic, Silver and I. Buying you was an easy way to get in contact with them, and now Master Ignatius wants to meet us, to see if he can trust us.”

“Oh. Oh, so you’re using me to get closer to them! So you can stop them!”

“Exactly.” Silver smiled then, and that grin was all the proof Lavender needed to know that she was on-board. “We’re going to stop them from hurting you, or other ponies like you, Lily. Now come on, let’s go kick some ass.”

“Yeah!” Lily bounded out of the door excitedly, and Silver followed.

Lavender hesitated on the threshold, watching the two disappear into the darkness. Slowly, he closed his eyes and craned his head to the starry sky.

“Luna help me, this is going to suck…”

Ignatius

Broken: Chapter 8

Ignatius

The Trottingham streets were eerily quiet this time of night. A wayward cart trundled past here and there, and our little entourage passed another pedestrian who hardly gave us a passing glance. As we made our way out of the residential area I made my home, Silver grew more and more restless.

“I don’t like this, Lav.” She whispered. Her words sounded muffled on the foggy air. I knew rain was in the forecast, and the dark sky overhead gave us no light. We navigated by street lamps, which were growing more and more scarce the further into the commercial district we trod. “Why would the republic want me to come along?”

“It’s to keep tabs on you, I’m sure. They suspect you and I are working together, and if I’m in, then you’re probably going to have to be in as well.”

“Yeah, but to threaten Plat like that? I don’t like it. I don’t like it one bit.” I saw Silver’s wings twitching, her eyes constantly flitting upwards. A rumble of thunder hinted at lightning, which was probably the only reason she hadn’t taken off already. Leave it to a pegasus to be so flighty.

“Silver.” I pulled up short, drawing the three of us to a halt. Lily looked at us curiously, having remained silent the entire time. I’d almost forgotten she was there. “Relax. The republic isn’t some wild group of miscreants. If they’ve avoided the attention of the guard for this long, I’m sure they’re smart, rational ponies. At least, most of them are – the ones in charge. Just let them know you mean them no harm, that you’re just curious. I’m sure if you tell them their threats have struck home, they’ll leave you be with a warning. Sure, you’ll have someone keeping an eye on you, but we’ll figure out how to shake them once we blow this thing out of the water. Okay?”

I could see my words had a calming effect on her. Chalk it up to years of schmoozing, but I could put a pony at ease, even if I wasn’t plotting behind their back. My predecessor hadn’t had the slightest clue it was me taking his spot until I arrived at his door with a box of my possessions, and him carting his box.

I didn’t speak with him anymore.

This just happened to be an entirely different ballgame. Here I was with a slave of the republic whom I had bought (and now technically owned,) and I was shepherding what would amount to another right into their grasp. At some point, I began to wonder who was working angles and who was being worked in this whole scenario.

Several times over the past two weeks I’d had to has myself if I was in over my head. The answer was almost always a resounding (triumphant, even) ‘YES!’ Yet despite the danger, I’d dug myself deeper and deeper. Now, with my instructions in my saddlebags, I tried my best to calm Silver down.

“You’re right. I’ll just tell them that I’m going along with them. I’ll do whatever it takes to keep Platinum safe.” She glowered, stomping a hoof into the road angrily. “Then I’ll rip their damn heads off. The whole city will know it when that bitch Pestle goes down.”

“There’s the Silver I know and love.” I nudged her flank as we continued walking. Lily pressed against my side, and I gave her a reassuring nudge as well. Together, we followed the map I’d been given, until the street lights were every other street, and stinking alleyways lurked in deep shadow. I lit the way when I could with my horn, but for the most part I was looking at nothing. It wasn’t until we arrived at our destination that we even saw anypony else; a guard, it seemed, with a lit cigarette hanging from their mouth.

“You’re Lavender Sky?” The guard was a stocky Earth Pony, a little larger than myself, but much more muscular.

“I-I am.” I nodded, flourishing the map. “I take it this is where Ignatius wanted to meet me?”

“This is the place. Follow me.” The guard jerked his head to the side, pawing open a wide double door leading into the closest warehouse. It looked the same as all the others had for the past six blocks, indistinguishable from the rest. Inside was what looked to be a storage room floor, with pallets and boxes stacked in neat rows. All of the bay doors were closed, but there were lights on. The bare bulbs cast yellowy light between the aisles of crates and boxes, down which our escort led us. It wasn’t until we reached the middle of one of them that anypony else showed up; a unicorn mare with a steely-grey coloration.

“Lavender Sky.” She smiled at me. “So pleased to meet you at last. And Lily, it’s been a long time.” Her iron gaze slid over me to the poor mare at my side. Lily cringed away from her, cowering up against my side. “Aww, no need to be so shy.” She pouted. “I wasn’t that mean the last time we met, was I?”

“N-no, Mistress Aurora.” Lily whimpered. I could tell, she knew this pony. And the way Aurora spoke, she obviously knew Lily. Probably on a deeply intimate level. I scowled at her, ushering Lily a little further behind me.

“Aurora, is it? Do I know you?”

“You don’t, but we’re going to be getting awfully familiar, you and I.” Aurora buffed a hoof on her chest, smiling at me disarmingly. I caught a glimpse of her mark; it looked to be a dark wand with bright white specks of light about it. “I am Master Ignatius’ assistant. Nopony speaks or deals with him until they go through me. I handle a fair amount of the minutiae revolving around the republic’s business here in Trottingham, as well. So if you need anything, you come to me first. Lucky for you, love, that Ignatius has a personal interest in your situation.” Her eyes danced dangerously, and I found myself somewhat entranced by her smile. She was certainly attractive; easily on-par with Lily herself. But she had a sort of easy grace to her, one that I found disarming.

She would be a formidable foe if she were in journalism.

“And you must be Silver.” Aurora’s gaze slid next to my partner, who was trying her hardest to avoid running just then. “I’m so sorry you’ve been wrapped up in all this mess; I assure you, it’ll be over before you know it.”

“Over?” Silver’s eyes narrowed. “What do you mean, ‘over’? You threatened my family.”

“All necessary, love, I assure you.” Silver’s voice seemed genuine, but I could tell. She was lying through her teeth. She was good. She was damn good… I began to wonder if Ignatius would be even more intimidating than his assistant. She continued, walking forward to offer a hoof to Silver. “You have my word, by the end of the night; you’ll be disassociated with the republic. I mean, obviously, we’re going to keep tabs on you, but no more threats. No danger to you or your darling little sister.”

“You’ll forgive me if I don’t indulge.” Silver backed away from the hoof with a wary expression. “It’s bad enough this fucker’s got me wrapped up just because he wanted to get his rocks off. I just want to go back to the way things were. You keep out of my business, I’ll keep out of yours.”

“Of that I have no doubt.” Aurora let her hoof drop back to the warehouse floor, that disarming grin still on her lips. “We’re waiting on Ignatius to arrive now. Forgive me, but I need to check your bodies; ensure there’s no enchantments or nasty spells hiding under those coats. Relax,” She lifted a hoof to cut Silver off. “I won’t touch your naughty bits. This is just for our safety.”

“Hmmph.” Silver glowered but stepped closer, and Aurora’s horn leapt to life. Contrary to her grey coloration, her aura was actually a bright pink, and powerful to boot. She was casting some advanced magic on us, and I could feel the tingling field of her energy wrapping around me. It settled on my bags, and I saw her eyes flicker to me momentarily. In that look, I saw all I needed to. Gone was the posturing and pomp; Aurora bore the very truth of her soul to me in that moment. And I knew, without even trying, I had done the exact same.

“Perfect, you’re clear. Brawn, are we ready?”

“He’s just pulled up now.” Our escort from earlier grunted.

“If you’ll follow me, then.” Aurora turned away from us, giving me a good, long look at her cutie mark (and her backside. She kept her tail trimmed short. It was hard for me to focus.) We followed her deeper into the warehouse, towards what appeared to be a series of offices along the back wall. Aurora slipped into an open door, out of which a warm, golden light poured. As our little entourage crossed into that square of light, I felt a chill run up my spine.

Inside were some of the most dangerous ponies I’d ever had the displeasure to run across.

“Good evening, Lavender Sky.” I was greeted by a voice that was silky-smooth and as sweet as sin. It was an empty office that we stood in, with Aurora standing to the left of a hooded pony. He was smaller than me, his hood drawn up over his face so that the warm light hid his features, but the point of his horn rose under the fabric of that hood. I couldn’t even see his hooves where the hem met the floor. It looked almost as if shadow incarnate stood before me, his voice coming to me as if from beyond whatever mortal realm we languished on.

I felt Lily tense up against my side, and a quick glance betrayed my suspicions. The poor girl was dumbstruck, her entire body frozen with fright. The only part of her that wasn’t locked solid were her eyes, which constantly darted between the shadowy figure and the ground. Even Silver seemed to be more on-edge than usual, her wings lightly fanning the air beside me. Once more, Ignatius spoke, taking a few tentative steps towards us.

“I see you have with you my prized possession… though I suppose she’s not mine any more.” Ignatius lifted his head slightly, though there was no doubt in my mind that he had beckoned Lily to him. “Come here, my love. It’s so good to see you again.”

“M-master…?” Lily ‘s voice quivered, her hoof lifting tenuously.

“Go on.” I nodded, afraid to oppose someone so influential. I had no doubt in my mind Ignatius could kill me on the spot and nobody would bat an eye at my absence, nor find hide or hair of me. Lily padded forward, meekly standing under the dark hooded pony before us. A hoof emerged from the cloak, this time a shocking lime-green. It lifted towards Lily’s face, gingerly cupping her cheek. She quivered under it, a faint whine escaping her throat.

“Oh, my darling, you look beautiful tonight. I can tell, your new master is treating you well. My gosh, you’ve even put on some weight.” He chuckled, a soft, easy sound, almost like it were his Luna-given right to laugh in such a manner. “Well, he’s new.” The hoof descended back into the cloak, and Ignatius began walking a slow circle around Lily. “Hmm, your marks and bruises have healed as well. Has he not given you any?”

“N-no, Master.” Lily whimpered. She wasn’t a small pony; hardly smaller than myself. She even stood an inch or two taller than Ignatius. But this mysterious pony seemed to tower over Lily as he walked a slow circle, forcing the poor mare to cower and look down at the ground. I could smell the fear rolling off of her; it was sharp, and set my nerves on edge. If Lily were so scared of him, what had I to fear?

I prayed I never had to find out.

“Well, as I said, he’s new.” The dark hood turned to me next. I couldn’t help but feel as if Ignatius was smiling at me from under there. “Lavender Sky, as I live and breathe, it is good to finally meet you.” He advanced on me next, leaving Lily to cower in the middle of the room. “I’m a huge fan of your work; I read your column every day.”

“You do?” I inquired, finding myself shocked despite what I figured would be common knowledge. Of course the leader of the Lunar Republic in Trottingham would keep up with the news. He probably read every paper we had. “I’m flattered; it’s not every day I meet an avid reader.”

“Aah, I loved your piece on Trilby’s infidelity scandal. That poor haberdasher lost his whole business in the proceedings.” I could hear the sarcasm and malcontent slowly creeping into Ignatius’ voice. I found myself cowering next, feeling dwarfed by this mysterious pony before me. “Curious, how with one single article, you could bring an entire shop to its knees. Why, imagine what you could do with your information of the republic…” The darkness beneath the hood shifted off of me, instead gliding over to Silver next.

“Imagine what you could do if you were the Editor in Chief.”

Silver backed away a tentative step.

“Relax, my dear.” Ignatius crooned, reaching his hoof out to beckon her closer. “It’s not a threat, I assure you. Just know that I’ve been watching Lavender Sky’s ascent through the ranks of journalism for several long years. I knew he would run into a barrier with you, however.” His off-hoofed compliment disarmed Silver, and I watched in awe as she stepped forwards. Ignatius’ hoof reached out to rest against her foreleg, an almost tender display of affection and understanding. “This must be so scary for you; especially with Aurora’s brutal tactics in seeking out your family.” I couldn’t tell if he was being sincere or not. That, more than anything else, worried me. “Don’t fret, my dear. We’ll get this unpleasantness sorted out in due time.” Ignatius turned away from her at last, and it felt as if I’d just been released from hoofcuffs. My whole body sagged, breath returning to my lungs in an instant. Ignatius commanded such presence in a room that I found myself simultaneously focused on his every movement, and unable to glean anything from underneath the hood.

“I’ve called you here today because I’d like to welcome you into our ranks, Lavender Sky. You’ve obviously already been introduced to one facet of our business in Trottingham.” He gestured empathetically to Lily. “But there’s so much more that we are responsible for. It isn’t just ponies like your dear, aah, what did you call her again? Right, ‘Lily.’ She’s but one facet of our operation. Though, I suppose at the end of the day, it falls to you to decide exactly how, hmm… How should I phrase this…?” He bobbed his head side-to-side, as if debating what to say.

“Involved. You want to become.”

“Involved?” I echoed. “How do you mean?”

“Well, aside from slave trade, the republic prides itself on controlling local politics, substance trafficking, tax evasion… Why, you name a law, I can probably put you in touch with a pony who can get you around it. We’ve even some more… legitimate avenues of commerce. Business ownership, agriculture, even media production. We’ve a myriad of writers, artists, farmers, merchants, and ponies of the like who pay homage to us.” I could hear Ignatius’ lips spread in a smile. “The question falls to you, Lavender… What do you want from us, and what can we expect from you?”

I found myself rather overwhelmed. The republic didn’t seem to be just in the market for such ponies as Lily, but they had their hooves in all manner of goings-on in Trottingham. Once more, I found myself convinced that I could be murdered on the spot without anypony outside of Lily and Silver batting an eyelash.

“I’ll be perfectly honest with you,” I somehow managed to find my voice. “I’m legitimately only interested in ponies like Lily. Eer, slave trade, I suppose…”

“Hmm…” Ignatius lifted his head a little, and with it came mine. I could feel his eyes under that shadowy cowl boring into me, as if he were examining my very soul for the truth. I prayed; hoped against hope, that he couldn’t see beyond my brave façade. Perhaps he could. Maybe this was as interesting to him as a ball of yarn would be to a cat. Highly amusing and worth a few minutes of his attention, but ultimately completely harmless.

“Well then,” Ignatius turned to Aurora, nodding at her. “I’ll leave you in the hooves of my capable assistant. And Lavender,” he looked over his withers at me. I could see the outline of his muzzle beyond that, a faint grin painted on his lips. “It’s an honor to finally meet you.”

He disappeared through a door on the far side of the office, leaving Aurora alone with Silver, Lily, and I. As he left, he felt like he took all the warmth with him, and all three of us sagged in his absence. Aurora snapped me from my funk with gentle touch.

“We’ve requested several items from you. Have you brought them?”

“Yes, here.” I opened my saddlebags, taking out the sheaf of papers I’d compiled in preparation for this evening. “These are my father’s notes on the enchantments he built into my house.”

“Very troublesome bit of magic, there.” Aurora grinned, waving the notes as she took them from me. “It’s kept our seekers from finding Lily, and even following you home. A very interesting bit of anti-sleuthing magic, to be certain. I’m guessing your father worked in the Inquisition?”

“He did.” I grimaced. “Hunted down Luna-sympathizers until his retirement to Saddle Arabia six years ago. He left me the home.”

“Aah. Well, I assure you, we’ll keep the enchantments in-place, we just need to find a workaround for our agents to use. We’re understanding about the need for privacy,” she gestured to Lily empathetically. “And if anything, we’d be willing to offer advice on, aah… Soundproofing. Safety and security, in case you were interested in more ‘acquisitions.’” She waggled her eyebrows at me suggestively, and I found my cheeks heating. “Speaking of,” she moved into the next article, smiling at Silver.

“You’ll be pleased to know that your work with the paper hasn’t gone unnoticed, Miss Silver.”

“I’m sorry?” Silver’s lips turned into a frown. “What do you mean?”

“Your interviews with the mayor and Pestle, or shall I say, Mistress Moonbeam. Prying into our affairs every twist and turn. You’ll be happy to know that it’s thanks to you and your journalists; ponies like Lavender Sky here, that we’ve had to cancel or re-arrange several very important articles on our agenda. Why, we were this close,” she lifted her hooves a mere inch apart. “… to having you killed just to spare us the trouble.”

Aurora sighed, lifting one shoulder in a shrug. “Ah well. Murder is messy and leaves a trail. We prefer to use other methods of handling our business.” Aurora stood opposite Silver, their eyes locked. I could feel the tension between them, hot enough to start a blaze, if given the proper fuel. I watched as they waged war with their stare, Silver’s bull-headedness trying to trump the cool ease of Aurora’s intense gaze.

In the end, Aurora won.

“I want your promise to never investigate or pursue any leads into the republic’s business ever again. We’ll use Lavender to communicate with you, and you’ll keep him and other sleuths far and away from our business dealings. In return, you have my word that we’ll leave you and your sister alone.” An easy smile passed her lips. “Naturally, if you go against us in this, we’ll have to re-negotiate. I know several ponies who are really good at that.” She licked her lips lasciviously, the sudden act lending a shocking highlight to her point. “I’d be half-tempted to do the job myself.”

“Fine.” Silver huffed, seemingly undeterred by Aurora’s cool grace. “You have my word, no sniffing about the Republic’s tail.” She lifted one hoof, as if she were a scout giving her pledge. When her hoof dropped, her expression remained serious. “You just keep your goons away from Platinum and I, and we’ll be golden.”

“So I have your promise, then?” Aurora smiled disarmingly. “You swear it?”

“Eer, yes, I thought I made that abundantly clear…”

“I have your word; that you’re never – ever – going to investigate the republic or any of its dealings ever again?” Aurora took a step closer, and Silver took two back.

“Of course, I-“

“And that you’ll remain in the dark of your own volition, never to seek out any leads?” I watched as two ponies entered the office behind Silver, cutting off her escape. She panicked, her eyes darting about.

“I- I’m- I-“

“And that, no matter what, you’re not going to plot anything against us? Nothing that would jeopardize our operations or stop us from doing what we’re doing?”

In a flash, realization came to her. Her beady, panicked eyes flashed from Aurora to me.

And the collar I was holding.

“Lav…?”

“Sorry, Silver.” I floated the collar around her neck, threading the tongue through the buckle and cinching it tight. I watched as the magic took its toll, snapping her quivering wings against her side. Every other muscle in her body went lax, and she slumped onto the floor. As the light fled her eyes, the last thing she would see was me, Lily by my side, Aurora behind me, and the smug grin on my face.

I sure do love it when things go my way.