Her Human

There were few places of more misery than the dungeons beneath the castle after Twinkle had left. Her presence had at least given the ponies inside an excuse to use their voices, if only to berate her for her treason. Since she’d been taken up top, however, the only indications that the ponies were still alive had been the occasional sob. Not even the forced march of another pony being taken to their execution had taken place since that day, meaning the only interaction the prisoners got with the outside world was the two bowls of rotted oatmeal they got a day, along with the occasional horn-shaving. The stink of desperation hung in the air without even that mild airing-out, mixing with the growing dank of urine, feces, and sweat; all feeding into various diseases, most of them physical, some of them not.

The sobs slowly pealed into occasional fits of laughter. With the echo provided by the heavy stone walls, it was almost impossible to tell who it was, but Mrs. Shine (formerly Queen Shine) had a pretty good guess that it was her husband. They hadn’t even been allowed to share a cell, the damned human barbarians forcing them to separate. Not that she’d been particularly close to her husband before, had even gone so far as to give him the silent treatment for their first few days of imprisonment for failing to protect them as he’d promised, but the solitude of the cells and the cold realization that her titles and noble-born blood were rendered worthless had done much to soften her attitude during their time in this hell.

The door at the top of the stairs swung open, and her ears perked. At first, she’d been ready to dismiss the sound as the guards stopping by to shove their regular bowls of glop posing as oatmeal in the slats under their doors. However, she heard something else accompanying the usual footsteps.

Hooves?

No…no, that wasn’t possible. Couldn’t be. The older mare rushed to the window, straining against her shackles and craning her neck just so, earning a small glance out into a tiny section of the hallway, still not enough to see any of the other cell doors but just enough to catch someone passing by. The footsteps drew nearer. The hoofclops on the stone walkway joined them. Soon, the pair were passing right by her door, and she saw…

She saw…

Ugh, no! Her sight was blocked by that big, bulky monster of a guard. But…maybe…just for a second…hadn’t she seen a dash of gray coat? Maybe a shock of pink mane? No, her time down here was making her see things. One of their guards must have turned traitor before the battle; that was it! It certainly explained how they fell eventually, the damned monkeys had gotten help from one of their own…besides the help she’d already known about, of course, from that thrice-damned Tartarus-spawn she no longer acknowledged as her daughter.

She snarled despite herself. “So, what was it that made you turn to the side of a bunch of uncivilized barbarians?” She asked snidely, loud enough for everyone in the lower levels to hear. “They promise to make you a duke in their so-called ‘kingdom’? Is that all it took?”

The hoofsteps paused, the footsteps following a second later. She heard the shuffling of hooves, and then they approached. She smirked. Perfect. She had hoped to get a rise out of the little traitor, now today might not be so boring after –

“Love.” Came a voice that was only too familiar.

Shine’s jaw dropped. It couldn’t be…she was dead! The humans had cut off her traitorous, whorish head! It had been the one good thing to happen the entire time she’d been locked down here! Unable to believe her ears, Shine perked them up and leaned forward, finding a few extra inches within her chains. “Wh-what was that?” She managed to croak.

She needn’t have bothered straining, as the pony on the other side of the door was only too happy to press her face up to the window. Sure enough, her daughter glared back at her, the older mare’s surprise such that she fell on her back, rattling her shackles once more.

“Love,” her begotten daughter clarified, baring her teeth, her eyes flaring with anger from beneath a small tiara inlaid with jewels. “Something you know nothing about, so I’m not surprised it never crossed your mind.”

And then she was gone. Just like that, the mare who Shine had convinced herself was absolutely and positively dead, was trotting off down the hallway again. The former queen laid there in shock, barely registering the creak of other cell doors being opened, or the wailing of her other daughters as they were dragged from their places of imprisonment. She barely even noticed as they were led right past her door, some of them calling out for her. She didn’t even move until the door at the top of the stairs slammed shut and all was quiet in the dungeon once more. Then, she finally curled up into a little ball on the floor of her cell and began to cry.

Twinkle marched past the ponies she used to know as her sisters, all holding their heads low, some of them crying, even.

“So, that’s the deal,” Twinkle bellowed. “As of right now, you are no longer nobles. You are members of the waitstaff. You will be provided for and cared for in ways befitting your ranks. You may have a chance at ascending within the ranks of your new class, but know this: you will never be nobility again. The Queen has decreed that no pony shall ever hold that rank so long as this castle stands. Your old lives are over. Your only chance right now is to accept your lots in life and move on with them. If that’s too hard for you and you see fit to set so much as a hoof out of line, I will not hesitate to throw you right back with the rest of your family. Am I being clear?”

Her sisters, submissive as had been drilled into them by years of their parents’ tyranny, all nodded.

“I asked if I was being clear!?”

“Yes, Advisor Twinkle,” the trio of ponies sounded back, ears folded low, eyes still on the floor.

Twinkle nodded. “Good,” she turned to leave the chamber. “The keys for your shackles are on the rack at the rear of the room, as well as your new uniforms. Report to the guard at the other side of the room for your first assignments.”

Twinkle stepped out before the other mares could move, closing the door firmly behind her, and almost immediately she collapsed. She dry-heaved on the tile for a moment, barely suppressing a sob as tears trickled down her snout. Finally, she pressed herself to her shaking hooves and galloped back to her chambers.

Her lover, her Handmaiden, her Queen, was waiting for her there, sprawled out on the bed and watching the door as she entered.

“That couldn’t have been easy,” the human said.

Twinkle shook her head, figuring there was no use lying with tears raining down her cheeks. “They were the only ones that were sometimes okay back…before,” she whimpered. “They were the only ones I could enjoy myself with without it being tinted by some rape, or murder, or an underhoofed plot against somepony else.”

The human turned on her side and spread her arms, her royal robes draping over the bed. Twinkle immediately dove into her grasp, nuzzling into those perfect breasts, only bringing her muzzle up to allow the occasional sob to escape. Her lover trailed her fingers through Twinkle’s mane, her placid smile slowly giving way to a concerned frown as the minutes ticked by and the tears didn’t stop. Still, she said nothing, did nothing the entire time, allowing Twinkle to compose herself.

When the pony’s tears finally stopped, she raised her muzzle out of her lover’s chest. “I’m pregnant,” she whispered, and the tears began anew. The human looked up at her, shock in her remaining eye, and the rest came spilling out: “The night after you liberated the second township, my family was talking about it, finally starting to take you seriously, and I knew. I knew they were doomed, so I said as much.” She sat up, wiping a curl of mane out of her eye. “I knew this was it, that you were finally gonna put an end to the madness, maybe even thought it was you, and I don’t know…I said as much. I just felt so…happy? Relieved? Whatever it was, I told them they were all gonna die and they sent a guard to…to…”

Twinkle’s massive eyes welled with tears, and a hoof covered her muzzle as she discovered she didn’t have it in her to continue. The human wrapped her in her embrace, pressing her close to her chest, rocking with her as she kissed her mane and the mostly-formed stub where her horn was still trying to grow back.

“I’m ruined for you,” Twinkle gasped. “A stallion took me, used me like his whore--”

“No, no…” the human whispered. “If anything, this is a testament to your strength. They cut you off from the entire world, and you still had it in you to defy them.”

“But I’m ruined for you now!” She moaned. “Somepony else has had me! Spoiled me! I’m just some whore who...”

“Don’t say that!” The human screeched, forcing Twinkle to look up and finally see the tears gathering in her red-rimmed eyes. The human sank to one knee, a hand caressing Twinkle’s cheek. “Don’t ever let me hear you say that,” she whispered. “”You’re not a whore, no more than I am.”

“Than you a-” Twinkle’s eyes widened with realization, something she’d always suspected but never dared to speak aloud.

The human smiled through tears, nodding. “Your father, that first night when he made you do it to me,” she said, her cheeks soaked now. “He didn’t just let me go when he let you leave, you know. Did you really think he’d have the decency to even do that much?”

Twinkle sniffled, shook her head. “Oh, oh my sweet Celestia, I can’t believe...it didn’t occur to me that...”

“I am not ashamed.” The Queen said, and despite the tears she gazed into Twinkle’s eyes with a piercing intensity. “I want you to know that. I just didn’t want you to fawn over me, think that you owed me anything because of something your father did. He’s done far worse: raping me is actually one of his lesser crimes.”

Twinkle opened her mouth to argue, but closed it when she realized she didn’t have an argument to make. Her father had been a monster and a tyrant, pure and simple. She could only sit there in awe of the human’s strength. So instead of arguing, she resolved to bury her face in her lover’s breasts again, nuzzling into her chest. “I’m sorry…I’m so, so sorry…”

“Don’t be,” the human whispered, planting a kiss in Twinkle’s mane. “And no more tears, okay? You have a foal who needs that water now, a foal that’s going to be every bit as beautiful as its mother.”

Twinkle’s eyes misted up as a hoof reached down to clench at her stomach. Her mind reeled with the idea that one of those filthy piles of pond scum passing itself as a guard was going to live on in some way…

No.

Not if she had anything to say about it.

“He will be noble,” she said resolutely, her eyes glaring defiantly behind her tears. “He will be just, and loving, and a natural-born leader. And he will never know his father.”

The arms around her wrapped her that much more tightly. “And if it’s a filly?”

“Then she will be kind, thoughtful, and wise: every bit the leader you are,” she replied. “She may have his eyes or some other features, but that’s all they’ll share with the cruel, sadistic bastards who stepped through that portal.”

Another kiss landed in her mane, followed up with a hug. “Just like you.”

“No,” Twinkle insisted, smiling as she nuzzled once more into her human’s neck. “Better.”

Epilogue: Eight Years Later

Twinkle’s heart pounded in her chest. Her knees ached so much, they hurt so much lately…but she still pumped them, still kept running. Her breath came out in ragged gasps and wheezes, and a lot faster than it had ever come just a few years ago. Yet still, she didn’t give up, she refused to surrender. To surrender, to show weakness, before such a merciless being was tantamount to suicide.

“Artura Star!” She bellowed, and the pink blotch she could just barely see through the sweat clouding her vision danced just a little further ahead. “I-I’m coming to get ya!”

There was a high-pitched squeal, followed by a giggle. Twinkle gritted her teeth, partially in an ecstatic grin, more with effort. Her hooves raced through the grass. The little filly in front of her was fast, and getting faster by the day, but for now, Twinkle’s long adult legs still gave her the advantage: something she thanked whoever might be listening for as she bared down on the filly and, with a final burst of speed, snatched the giggling mass of fur up in her hooves.

“Wheeeeeeee!” The little pony giggled as she sailed above the field. “Higher mama, higher!”

Twinkle let out a long breath, steadying herself on her quaking knees. “S-sure thing, sweetie,” she gasped, letting in a long breath. “J-just let your mama rest real quick…”

“Awww….okay…” the little filly sighed, taking a seat on the grass facing her mama. “But don’t take too long this time!”

“Aheh…not for you, my little star,” Twinkle said with a barely-managed giggle that sounded more like a wheeze to her ears. The beginnings of a frown started on her face, but quickly faded as her vision cleared and she managed to lock eyes with the small, pink-coated, unicorn filly sitting across from her.

“Come now, Morning,” another voice soon joined in. The small filly’s ears folded into her strawberry-blonde mane and she turned to face the voice’s owner. The Queen strode up the tiny hill flanked by her sisters-in-law, one in a maid’s uniform, the other in a guard’s. Despite her stern voice, the Queen held a warm smile for both mares on the hill. “You know you shouldn’t be putting so much stress on your mother.”

“Y-yes, Auntie,” the little filly chimed in a way that had been practiced and rehearsed over countless dinners and surprise meet-ups.

“I can handle – I can…” Twinkle started, leaning over to scoop the little filly up, but evidently changed her mind and instead knelt in the grass. “Just need…a moment.”

“I’m sure,” the human chided. “Morning, dearest, did you want to go play in the gardens? We had some new snapdragons transferred from the southern districts. You can take Aunt Meadowshore with you.”

“S-sure…” the filly stood and trotted down the hill, her head low, avoiding the human’s gaze as the maid nodded to the royal couple before galloping up alongside the filly. When they were out of earshot, the pair sighed.

“Still afraid of me,” the Queen murmured.

“She’s a filly of a prey species, it’s only natural,” Twinkle shrugged. “Give her time.”

The Queen nodded, turning to the pony, who took one look into her lover’s eyes and realized instantly where this conversation was about to go. “Speaking of time,” the Queen said. “I think enough has passed to name you a real royal—“

She was caught by a burst of magic, Twinkle levitating off her hooves and hovering up to chest-height with the human. Startled, the Queen reacted as Twinkle released her magic, and plopped down into her arms. With a contented smile and a nod, Twinkle set to nuzzling against one of the Queen’s breasts, who sighed and allowed her lover a few minutes before leaning in close to plant a kiss on her lips.

As they broke the kiss, Twinkle held the Queen in place with her hooves. “You know why I can’t accept that,” she whispered. “You know how much pain my family caused. The nobles barely support our relationship. Hell, the debates raged for weeks just over making my sister a royal guard. I’d be surprised if half of them didn’t rebel upon you giving a pony any sort of real power.”

“Even the hero who saved their Queen’s life?”

Twinkle chuckled at the old bit of flattery as she planted a kiss on her Queen’s lips. “Even then. And let’s not forget you saved mine first, love.”

Her Human snorted. “That thing with the tree branch? When I got you that rose?” She waved a hand. “What you did was true bravery.”

Twinkle could only shake her head as she planted a kiss on her lover’s lips. “I meant before then. That night after…my father, er…”

“Raped me?” The Queen arched an eyebrow out of curiosity as Twinkle flinched. “What’re you talking abou-“

And then it hit her. She gazed into Twinkle’s massive, bright-blue eyes as the pony smiled back, tilting her head. “You impossible romantic,” she chuckled and planted another kiss on the mare’s lips, which was happily returned. “You chose me first.”

“And then you chose me,” Twinkle countered, continuing the game they had been playing for years now.

They remained like that for a while, wrapped up in one another’s embrace, enjoying the scent, the touch of each other even after all these years. The remaining mare with them said nothing, making no sound but the occasional shift of armor as she wheeled her head around to look for possible assailants. And still, Twinkle felt her eye drawn to that little garden, the same one her precious Star had just run off to with her aunt.

“You know,” she began, “that’s the same spot where their…”

A finger planted itself upon her lips as the Queen shushed her. “I know,” she whispered. “I know.”

Sometime later, the two ponies returned up the hill, the mare trudging with a small, finally-tired filly resting on her back. The royal couple smiled as Twinkle took her filly up in her magic. “What finally did it?” She whispered.

“Tag,” her sister giggled. “It’s always the surefire way.”

“Of course,” Twinkle sighed, nuzzling her daughter’s nose. The little filly muttered in her rest, brushed adorably at her tiny muzzle, then fell back to sleep as she came to rest on Twinkle’s back. “Come, I think our little midday stroll has gone on long enough.”

“Aye,” the lone human with the group grinned as she looked up at the setting sun. “Seems about right for timing.”

As they started their return journey back to the castle, Twinkle stumbled just slightly over a rock, jostling the filly. “Mom?” She asked.

Cursing her own klutziness, Twinkle smiled to the little filly on her back. “Yes, my little star?”

Still drowsy, still obviously on that border between sleep and wakefulness, the filly nuzzled in between Twinkle’s shoulder blades. “Whazzat wooden cover on the one side of the garden for?”

The air on the side of the hill suddenly grew stale, the tension practically radiating from the mares and the woman walking along. Twinkle thought she even saw her guardsmare-sister stumble for a second. The woman looked to her, brow furrowed in worry. Twinkle only smiled placidly and reached around to stroke her daughter’s mane. “Nothing you have to worry about, dear,” she whispered as her lover’s shoulders relaxed. “Nothing at all.”

As the filly drifted into deep sleep, a hand came to rest on Twinkle’s shoulder. “Something awful that became the foundation for a great city.” The Queen chimed, waxing poetic.

Twinkle smiled as she shook her head. “Camelot is great because of the choices you made and the actions you took, love.”

“Because of the actions we took, my dearest Twinkle.”

“However you want to look at it, my beloved Guinevere.”