the forgotten one

Luna had her job and she knew it would be easy, she just had to go about her normal business and slip into Ratway’s dreams, poke a few suggestions and see where that trail lead. He had been a blip on Celestia’s radar since Twilight had sent her first letter stating her discovery of a pony claiming to be over 1000 years old, this letter was followed up by another letter the following day that stated Twilights certainty that he was telling the truth.

The possibility of him knowing something that could fundamentally damage the thrones grasp of power was high, and as such it was utmost priority to establish what he knew, and if necessary eliminate him. Of course, Luna was under the impression he knew nothing, just a dog long outliving his usefulness, an echo of a bygone age, and she knew what Celestia did to the last dogs that outlived their usefulness, she liked to mention it over pancakes with a level of cruel malice, as if she found the power intoxicating.

Twilight had mentioned the penal battalions, a group of units her sister had constructed, the true scum of the earth, rapists, murderers and thieves, good for nothing. This was in stark contrast to the actions she had seen Twilight describe, he seemed to have some sort of tilted morality, brutally killing a pony one minute before resuscitating another. This pattern seemed to repeat its self as she passed through the dreams of Fleur de Lis, her mind reliving todays events, her life saved by the knobbled stallion. He clearly had a deposition towards acts of extreme violence, a trait more befitting an attack dog then a solider, it just didn’t add up, and Luna was eager to start picking his mind by the time she entered his dreams.

The scene was quaint, a simple bar, the wood worn, and a large betting board above the counter, the pub empty except for a slumped over Ratway, lying face down on the hard-oak either heavily intoxicated or moping, more than likely a combination of the two. Changing her form, Luna took the manifestation of Rarity, hoping a friendly face would make conversation easier.

“Ratway darling, why are you in such a travesty of a place” said Luna as she walked over and taking a seat by the stallion, his ears tracking her as she crossed to room. Finding her seat, she fluffed her mane over her shoulder and used her magic to pour herself a drink, a thick grog filling a cloudy glass.

“Miss Rarity, what are you doin here?” acknowledged Ratway, raising his head from the counter, the motion rustling his plentiful pouches, his hallmark present even here in his dreams.

“Checking out the rustic bars of this fine town, would you care to escort me on a tour of the local haunts?” she said, Luna hoping her Rarity impersonation was up to snuff.

“Sure, let me just pay me tab and we can go” he responded, before rustling a few of his pockets looking for change.
“Allow me to share my gratitude for what you did today” she said in a luscious voice before placing a couple of bits on the counter, the clittering of the small golden coins filling the quiet room.

“I don’t think that will cut it…… princess Luna” said Ratway before downing his drink, a smirk on his face as he had somehow seen right through her disguise. Knowing her ruse had been discovered she dropped her guise and returned to her normal dark blue self, her mane flowing like the tapestry of the nights sky.

“How did you know?” she asked surprised, not quite understanding what he had used to detect her so easily, most ponies were blissfully unaware about her creeping in until she allowed herself to be revealed to help them with whatever nightmare was bothering them.

“You paid with the wrong coin love, brass like that won’t exist for another 1000 years” he said pulling out a few well circulated groats to illustrate his point, the battered brass looking nothing like the gleaming gold of the modern-day bits she had paid with.

“But this is a dream, the concepts of time and space do not exist in this realm” questioned a confused Luna, as by the logic of her domain paying with the wrong currency would be nothing to write home about, she saw weirder stuff in nearly every dream she had passed through on the way here.

“ Aint no dream, this is a memory, haven’t dreamed in years” he said pausing for a moment as if the mention of dreaming had sent a shiver down his spine before he shook it off and continued.

“Me mind might be a tad bit corrupted, but I have the sense to keep me memory’s coherent, ad me worried for a moment that I might be loosing it when Rarity walked in on my first drink I ever brought with my own brass, so I did one of them tricks in the pschologikal warfare manual and I caught ya out” he explained giving more detail on how she had slipped up, as well as the mental processes going on in his scruffy head. Luna had heard about this before but never actually met a pony afflicted by the inability to create dreams, his brain was either calcified like a limescale kettle or he was suffering some sort of deep psychological trauma. personally, Luna didn’t care she had a job to do, he was just a loose end she had to tie up, if he hadn’t met Twilight he would be a bulge in her barrel right now, but unfortunately for her he did, so she would have to be more discreet, Celestia had told her to work on her diplomatic skills and this simple minded pony would be the perfect test candidate.

“So what brings ya to my neck of t woods princess, I didn’t know you did ouse calls” said Ratway before pouring himself another drink, the foul broth not looking appetising in the slightest to Luna who was more used to expensive wines to wash down her meals, the fine burgundy liquid doing well to marinate her more lively entrees and giving her burps shaken lose by their death spasms a unique flavour.

“I came to talk to you, as we have much to discuss, so I picked your dreams as to avoid prying eyes” said Luna, cutting to business as she hoped Ratway was as blunt and straight forward as she remembered his ilk being from before her exile.

“Bout wot?” he said bluntly living up to the stereotype, his words sounding irritated about her uninvited intrusion as he just seemed to want to be left alone.

“Nothing much, just your silence regarding some of the more unsavoury elements of the royal conduct from before my exile, the crown is willing to heftily compensate you if you conform it its whim” said Luna repeating the offer Celestia had said to give him, in the event she was compromised.

“You mean stuff like compliance geodes?” asked Ratway giving her a look like he was trying to make sure they were on the same page, the mention of the rocks causing him to reflexively rub the back of his neck even in the dream world.

“that is one of many things, my dear sister greatly regrets her past actions and wishes that they remain in the past lest the spawn a scandal” replied Luna, glad to see that he had noted one of the lower key issues and not one of the big three things she had been dreading he would say. The obedience geodes could easily be pushed under a rug if they were mentioned, a necessary evil in regard to the pressing situation that was the crippling famine sweeping the land, and that was if anyone actually cared about it being used on sex offenders and rapists to allow them to die with some regard of honour.

“ Tell you what princess, I will keep quiet if you can do one thing for me” said Ratway, the words immediately making her think that he would ask for something sexual, she had walked into more then enough wet dreams involving her royal ass being railed by all manner of stallions and a few mares, to get the feeling that he wanted something carnal from her, she was an attractive mare after all. She wouldn’t do it personally of course an elaborate illusion would see to his pleasure, an unnamed mare would fill her role, and when Ratway was done she would meet a caustic end, just like many of Luna’s suitors after all she had to keep up the illusion of royal purity.

“No nowt like that princess, just an answer to a question that has been bothering me for a long time” he said noticing the discerning look coming from the princess, who’s expression quickly changed when she realised he was being a gentleman even in the dream world, a rare trait.

“And the question is?” asked Luna cautiously, not expecting he would be this easy to negotiate with, as she had expected some crazy demand like a ton of gold or a massive house, the earth pony seemed to know his place and that was good, hopefully it would be a stupid question and she could answer it swiftly.

“All I ask is for you to name any one of these ponies, you do it and you will have brought my silence” he said as a horrid memory began to play, the contents being nothing like she had expected, instead of something simple like asking how she raised the moon he was replaying a loop of his war experiences, specifically every pony he killed in the name of the celestial empire.

Some were quick and clean a shot at centre mass others were the opposite long and brutal. One that stuck in her mind was a young Pegasus stallion no more then 16 getting his head beaten in with a knobbling stick. the metal instrument turning his head from convex to concave over the course of more than a dozen strikes, the helmet doing nothing to stop his brains getting scrambled. The worst bit about the deaths was that every pony was wearing her cutie mark on his or her arm, the moon that adorned her flank, sitting with pride on their upper foreleg, they had died for her, and she had an issue she didn’t know any of their names. They were expendable she wasn’t expected to know if one was called honey buns or sparky, it was irrelevant at least until now. And it still was, she mentally said to herself steeling her resolve, they were pawns nothing more, their deaths were irrelevant, she told her self-more for her own wellbeing then actual care for her men.

“Do you know any of their names?” asked Ratway, as an orange mare’s head was scooped from her shoulders the shell connecting with her helmet dinging it like a bell before it clattered to the floor a few feet away from her crumpled and weakly twitching body.

Luna wanted to just gloss over this, she had read the reports, 34 dead here 45 injured there, but that was just pen on paper, this was it up close and personal, the stink of death was making her uncomfortable, she had never expected to be reliving the past this vividly, and it was making her sick to her stomach, a strange feeling as many a pony had met their end in its caustic embrace.

Then the memory changed, a pleasant memory slipping through the cracks, an image of a happy looking pocket bulldog mauling a cricket ball, filling her eyes for an instant before returning to Ratway stacking bodies in a ruined street in a casual manner, clearly desensitised to it all at this point to the death he had witnessed. Then she realised why he knew their names, he had been relegated to gravedigging duty on account of him being an earth pony, the task unfit for unicorns or Pegasus, he had been the ones to log the tags after the battles.

“I am sorry I don’t” she responded calmly, not wanting to key him in that she was quite bothered about what he had shown her, the memory continuing to play as if there was no end in sight.

“I assumed as much” he said as if she had given him the answer he had always expected, more than likely given the topic a lot of thought in his years in isolation. With that the memory stopped playing and the bar returned to the silent state it had been when she had first entered.

“So you won’t remain silent?” asked Luna as she had failed to meet his criteria for compliance, a sneaking suspicion that he had rigged the question just to tilt her, more than likely to spite her for the war.

“I never said that, I know how the crown treats dissidents, I don’t particularly want to die from a convenient eart attack in the middle of the night” he said, clearly aware that she had other means of silencing him, that wouldn’t arouse suspicion from anypony he might be affiliated with.

“So you will hold your tongue on such matters?” asked Luna slowly, after seeing that fear of reprisals might be enough to remove him as an issue.

“Yes but if Twilight asks any questions I will answer em truthfully, she’s done right by me so far so it aint right to lie to er” he replied, the answer not the one she had wanted, her eyes narrowing as she prepared to reject his offer.

“That is unacceptable…” she began her tone calm but aggressive, like an overbearing headteacher.

“And whys that, you scared she will see you ow I see you” he snapped, cutting her words off and dropping any formality’s that had previously been present.

“No, you assume much, know your place” she growled, his insolence pissing her off to no end, her mouth salivating as at this point she would usually devour her quarry, but she couldn’t so her mouth grew wet for nothing.

“You will remain silent, or I will find a punishment worse then death for your wretched soul” threatened Luna, seizing Ratway with her magic and bringing his face an inch away from hers, his sent on her nose as she resisted the urge to give him a savoury lick.

“No” he said bluntly, his eyes locking with hers, the stare cold unbaiting as he almost stared right into her soul, his right eye spasming slightly, his hooves unable to correct it from his current position.

“Do you want to die” she said, returning to her calm well verse tone, hoping the final ultimatum would be sufficient to end his defiance, this mud pony was denser then granite.

“That already appened, I was dead to the world for a thousand years, that were until me little dove brought me back to life” he answered his eyes still not yet blinking, the fool actually thinking he could stare down a god. Seeing this Luna began to let sparks fly from her horn, the stench of hot copper filling the room as she put a bunch of wayward magic into the tip of her svelte horn, the glowing point slowly nearing his face, the spell more then capable of inducing a heart attack, but right now she was just trying to scare him into submission.

“Any last words?” she asked as she prepared to offer him one last chance to grovel for his worthless life, he was the same as all those she had just been forced to see die, nothing but meat, a means to an end nothing more than a small person whose purpose was to die for the greater good. He opened his mouth and said something in a low voice that she could not discern, as she realised she was choking him as the pressure from her magic increased.

“What!?” she demanded bring her head close to his, so she might better hear his final words lest they be of some meagre value.

“Fuck you, cunt” he spat, before unexpectantly headbutting her in the face, the impact striking her straight in the muzzle knocking her off balance and breaking her concentration, her grasp releasing as he fell to the floor and scrambled away. She was surprised this filthy pleb had the audacity to strike his better, he was going to pay for that.

“Next time have the stones to speak to me in person” said Ratway, as he got to his hooves a few feet away, before slapping himself and waking up severing the dream, leaving Luna floating in the black expanse of the dream realm as bubbles of other pony’s sleep escapades filled her vision. That bastard he had been stalling the whole time, buying time so his subconscious could stir and he could escape her thrall, she didn’t have much time, she had to confront him in person tonight lest he spill the beans on any number of countless crimes both she and her sister had committed.

Thinking fast she dove into Fleurs dream, using her as a portal to emerge in the thin mare’s cabin, the disturbance making the unicorn shuffle in her sleep for a moment before settling back into a peaceful dream. Now to deal with that insubordinate cretin, briskly leaving the cabin Luna made her way through the sleeping cars, the occupants easy to identify based on their dreams, until she reached a cabin with the light on and a suspicious lack of dreams, especially for such a wee hour in the morning.

Peeking through the crack between the wooden frame and the small blind that covered the window of the door, she saw Ratway under the bed frantically reaching for something, the bedding a mess as if he must have practically jumped from the bed as he had awoken. Casting a silence spell to damper what she was about to do she then opened the door, and in one flick of her horn seized him like a cat would a mouse, her magical aura enveloping him so that he was simply suspended helplessly from the floor.

“Now where were we” said Luna nonchalantly, the look on the stallions face only saying one thing, Fuck, as he was clearly not expecting her to get here so quickly.

Closing the door, she stood there looking at the weakly writhing stallion, trying to think up a fitting punishment for him, but all her favourites were either messy or involved a little exploration of her personal maze, both options off the table as he needed to appear to have died peacefully. Furrowing her brow and grumbling to herself, as he was just left floating there anticipating a horrible fate, before a spark of brilliance filled Luna’s mind, she could punish him and keep him silent at the same time.

Reaching out with her magic she began to manipulate a certain unicorn mare, the white pony sleep walking out of her room and slowly making her way towards Ratway’s cabin, as this was happening his struggling had chipped off a scab causing a small trickle of blood to stain his pale fur.

“I have decided to spare you” she informed him, the words causing a look of surprise to spring to his face.

“Instead I would like to reward you for your service” she said a cruel grin coming to her own face.

“What do you ….” He started before the cabin door slowly opened and Rarity entered her eyes closed, her sleeping body just a puppet for Luna to manipulate, the fashionista blissfully unaware she was about to be used as an implement of torture for the struggling stallion.

“Rarity run!” he yelled urging her to flee, but instead Luna simply had Rarity walk to her side, the princess towering over the mare like she was a filly. Opening her mouth Luna gave Rarity a lick, the tongue moving from her neck to her plush right cheek, the mares flavour as refined as Luna had expected, Twilight had good taste in friends, she could see why blueblood was obsessed with this mare.

“MMMM, delicious, would you like to try?” she said, the question rhetorical as she was going to ram his friend down his gullet if he liked it or not. Effortlessly she forced Ratway into a leather corner chair, his legs splayed, his only reaction a confused look, as he still didn’t know what she planned to do to him.

“What are you on about?” he said, his eyes fixed on the sleeping Rarity as she slowly walked across the room towards him,expecting some kind of trickery.

“Why I am going to give you a first-class meal” she said, as Rarity’s muzzle came to a stop a few millimetres from his face, her calm breathing a stark contrast to his that was beginning to accelerate.

“But that’s unpossible, I am not a unicorn” he sputtered out, telling Luna he was aware of her ability to eat pony’s, he just didn’t know it was a simple spell, which she had already cast on his throat. The rapid glances from his eyes told her he was panicking, more than likely expecting her to force the mare down his throat so he ruptured like a burst water pipe.

“Well I am one better, now open wide for your pony” she said, using her magic to awkwardly yank his maw open, a few strands of saliva bridging the dark gap between his lips, soon to be broken as Rarity obediently slipped her nose into the waiting orifice, the mare not knowing she was feeding herself to her charge, her mind lost in a pretty rose garden.

Ratway screamed, but his mouth was full so only a muffled whimpering could be heard, as with a push Rarity’s horn scraped over the roof of his mouth as her muzzle forced its way over the precipice that was the back of his throat, the unwilling gullet trying to reject its unwanted meal but relenting as the mare forced her way in.

“Now then, back to business” Luna said calmly, as with a reluctant gulp Rarity’s entire head was safely contained in Ratway’s gullet, the look coming from his eyes telling her he wasn’t happy with his dinner. The tight bulge of Rarity’s face visible through his short neck fur, the features calm as Rarity simply slumbered away, Luna’s spell reaching deep into her mind. Because Ratway’s ability to speak was still somewhat hindered Luna continued the one-sided conversation.

“You said something about not having the stones to meet in person” she continued as with a push of her magic she forced Rarity’s shoulders past his lips, the accompanying swallow taking her to her elbows, forelegs pinned to the side of her barrel, a skin tight bulge of what was the ingested part of Rarity easily visible, her head now obscured by his ribcage already filling out his stomach, that was magically enhanced to receive her.

“Well here I am, I would expect some mouth, but I can see yours is currently occupied” she mocked, as with another push Rarity slipped further into Ratway’s body, the widening of her hips stopping her decent momentarily, as her diamond rump peacefully awaited its turn on the slip and slide of doom.

“Now then here’s the deal, your going to remain silent” commanded Luna, as she placed a hoof on Rarity’s rump, and slowly applied pressure, Ratway’s mouth stretching uncomfortably as he enveloped her voluptuous posterior. His off-cream lips covering the pure white of Rarity’s firm glutes the 3 diamonds acting like a measuring stick as each was engulfed in turn, the lumps of well-formed meat easily entering his body with a little coaxing. With the plot ingested, there were no further obstacles and Rarity began to slowly sink into him, her legs forced upwards, as Luna manipulated Ratway’s head to stare at the ceiling, allowing gravity to aid in his unwilling ingestion of his newest friend.

From here Luna went silent, simply watching the stallion finish his dinner, Rarity’s well-manicured forehooves weakly twitching as her skin felt the nipping confides of the stomach, willing her to stir but Luna’s magic impeding her ability to do so, so she remained stuck in the dream world, the subtle movements almost like she was waving goodbye. And with a final swallow she was entirely encased in Ratway, her purple tail slowly trailing it to join her in a neatly folded foetal position sitting in his lower abdomen, the mare still fast asleep, her destiny determined in what Ratway would choose in the next few minutes.

“And what if I say no?” he asked with a hacking cough, he mouth now free to speak with Rarity now tucked away in his belly, her bulge defined as you could make out a hazy form of a curled-up unicorn mare contained in his flesh. At this point Luna implanted a nightmare into Rarity’s dream so that she would wriggle, giving Ratway the full experience. The weak squirming of an unsteady sleeper causing his face to grow slightly green as he was unused to living prey, or prey of any kind for that matter.

“Then I hope you like her taste on your burps, as your going to be shitting her out in the morning” said Luna calmly offering her ultimatum, the outcome was win/win, if he said no he would be discredited and charged with murder, if he said yes, he would be silenced through fear. This would just show how much he valued Rarity’s life, as she had a feeling he had enjoyed her taste, most ponies found the act intoxicating and she didn’t expect him to be an exception.

“Looks like I don’t have much of a choice” he said begrudgingly, before letting out a burp a few loose white hairs carried with it, now free to slowly drift to the floor. With that Luna released her grasp, and he immediate put a hoof on his stomach, caressing the pony turned bulge, a loud groan signalling he was suffering indigestion before Rarity even started to be sluiced, his body not used to such a large lump of meat.

“She won’t remember this, will she?” he asked clearly worried about this ruining further relations with his mare meal.

“She isn’t even aware this has happened, you agree to silence and I will even have her clean herself up in a sleepwalk, it will be like this never happened” replied Luna, reassuring his concern, not that she cared, Rarity was out like a log, but if he didn’t make up his mind soon she would be filling out his bowels as a much browner log, a necessary sacrifice but Celestia wouldn’t be happy about it.

“And besides, if I doubt your word for a moment, I will have everypony you care about line up and pile down your throat as you sleep, Rarity, Twilight, and any others, all together in your stomach as a meaty stew, you won’t even realise it’s happening, you will just wake up in the morn with a gurgling gut. You will comply you don’t have a choice” the words sparking a glint of anger in Ratway’s eye, at the mention of Twilight, the threat to the purple princess hitting a nerve.

“Fine you win” capitulated Ratway, the stallion giving up, his pride not equal in value to his friends lives. The weak squirming in his gut intensifying both from the acid starting to get to work and the nightmare infesting Rarity’s dreams growing worse.

“Wonderful, I am glad we could reach an agreement” said Luna through a grin, her negotiation ability was successful, this would be a fun thing to discuss over pancakes with Celestia when she woke in the morn. With that she opened a portal and was about to enter it, she hadn’t forgotten Rarity, who was currently wrapped in a muscular sack working hard to digest her, but Ratway was not used to the meat diet so right now she was surly fine, she just wanted to hear him beg.

“Aint you forgetting something” said Ratway well gesturing at the wriggling mare bulge in his middle, the stallion trying to rise but the weight in his stomach keeping him firmly sat in the chair. Luna simply ignored him and began to step through the portal.

“Am I, you may have accepted my offer, but I am inclined to let you see white hairs next time you wipe” she said coldly.

“Princess please” he begged at this point genuinely believing she was going to force him to digest Rarity against his will, the power was glorious, the power of life and death based on her whim, but she didn’t want to see her sister angry, so the decision was already made.

“Fine” she said, faking a tone of annoyance, as she closed the portal and with a spark of her horn forced Ratway’s stomach to spasm, the bulge that was Rarity shifting before after a few moments began to move back up his throat the mare leaving the way she had entered.

In a matter of seconds Rarity returned to the outside world, first her muzzle emerged, then her neck, followed quickly by the rest of her body, her fur matted with predigestive fluids allowing her to rapidly vacate as she was already lubricated for an easy disgorging. Her long purple tail was slick with peptide fluid, the lengthy hairs getting stuck in his throat for a minute, her mane and tails mobius strip style ruined by her little dip in his stomach, the sopping wet hair was easily dislodged as he pulled his head back, the long hairs leaving like a reverse noodle, and with a final gag Rarity was successfully purged from his body. The mare landing in a crumpled heap on the floor in front of Ratway, her mane and tail sticking to her body as they were drenched in fluids making them adhesive to her form. After being Through all that had conspired in the last ten minutes, her breathing was still as calm as when she had first taken the plunge down his throat, and without a word she simply got to her hooves and walked out, Luna mentally commanding her to clean herself up and return to bed, ready to awaken in the morning like nothing had happened.

With that Luna turned to leave, her business had concluded and this uncultured pleb was no longer worth her time, he had a lot to think about and she assumed he wouldn’t be sleeping well for the next few nights, paranoid that she might make a return.

“Princess” he said, his voice horse from his ejection of a full-grown pony, his words barely audible over the sound of Luna opening a portal.

“Yes” she replied, ears pricked, hoping she might get a little more grovelling.

“Stay out of my ed” the sentence triggering a few coughs as Ratway cleared some phlegm from his throat.

“Behave and I won’t have to, overwise you might have a few fattening midnight snacks” said Luna, leaving through the portal so that she would have the last word, the words something for him to think about as she doubted he would return to slumber tonight, and with the rest of the train sleeping it would just be him and his thoughts, a painful situation Luna was well aware of from her exile to the vacant moon.

With that she returned to dancing through dreams, she had no outstanding duties for tonight so she could just think about what she had done in the beauty of the night. It was refreshing dealing with a dissident as there hadn’t been one since she had returned, though she was disappointed it was a mud pony, as it meant he was powerless to protect himself, there was no sport in it. But she had shown him his place and the problem was dealt with, and if Ratway stayed passive she was sure he would be useful to the crown at a future date, even if it was as a simple meal.

With her mind on food, she gave her lips a simple lick and decided she would get a meal to go on the way back to the castle after she had banished a few nightmares, she was feeling Pegasus, their powdery bones always sat light during digestion, and her entree didn’t matter, one advantage about controlling dreams was there was never a struggle, that was unless she wanted one.

Browsing the dreams, she found a rather plump looking strawberry coloured Pegasus and decided to slip in, tomorrow she could go back to helping the little ones with their nightmares, but tonight she would feed.