The Den

Ginger was still drunk when Tiger roughly tossed her onto a dusty cushion on the floor of his little den. She dizzily looked around the room, trying to get her bearings and shaking off the pain from being dragged so far. There was only one small glowing rock in the top of the ceiling, providing a piddling amount of light for the room.

Shiny objects glinted across the walls, it looked as though he kept crystals and gems of various colors and types, but it was hard to tell in the dark. He had one large flat cushion, probably his bed, and a few smaller cushions that seemed to be chairs, like the one she was sitting on. The floor was un-worked dirt, and dust clogged her nostrils, but the few sniffs she got in let her know that the air was both stale and musty.

At least the cushion was soft. It felt super comfortable. Ginger lowered down onto it, resting her head. It was actually amazingly cozy, and it had the texture and warmth of...oh… it was fur.

Pony fur to be precise. Ginger gulped, reconsidering her decision to visit The Den for the hundred and forty second time that night.

While Ginger panicked, Tiger flopped down on a cushion next to her and scratched his ears. “Pony stay with Tiger. We talk about work. Ginger Pony say she suck cock? What else Ginger Pony do?”

Ginger rubbed her snout in the cushion, trying to clear the dust out of it. She briefly wondered if she was being disrespectful to the pony the fur came from. “Uhhh…” She was too drunk for this right now. This was heavy. “Anything?”

“Good. We decide on outfit for Ginger Pony first. Ginger pony like leather?”

Ginger’s head was swimming, so she stayed laying down. Wasn’t leather made from dead animals? “Not really.”

Tiger hummed to himself. “No leather… Fur expensive. Think Tiger have enough fur… Might need more.”

Ginger froze. “Wait… Umm… I don’t like fur either. Besides, I already have fur. Is naked an option? I’d prefer naked.”

Tiger continued humming. “Naked… Naked better anyways. But need something for bar to know you employee. No bad rumors...”

Ginger couldn’t lift her head. It was suddenly too heavy. Plus, the damn room kept spinning around her. “Just write my name down or something.”

Tiger reached over and patted her head. “No… Better idea! Draw mark! All ponies have mark, right?”

Ginger closed her eyes to keep from getting dizzier from the wobbly room. “Yeah. Cutie marks. All ponies have cutie marks.”

“Tiger have idea! Tiger make sign and Ginger Pony sleep. Ginger Pony too drunk, and making sign not pony work, anyways. No paws.”

Ginger would have been offended if she could stay conscious much longer, but instead she drifted mercifully off into a black abyss.

Meanwhile, in the dim light of the room, Tiger was working.

And he was sure that he had the absolute best idea ever.

_____

When Ginger woke up it was still too dark to see properly, and the room was sealed by a giant boulder in place of where the door would be. The air felt still and hot, like she was suffocating. Panic set in as her memories from the night before slowly came back.

She was on a trip from Appaloosa to visit her cousin, Carrot Top, when they had a fight. She’d gone to the local saloon to drink it off, only to find that Ponyville had much stricter alcohol and salt rules than Appaloosa. She’d drunkenly complained to one of the regulars, a black pegasus with a thundercloud as his mark, and after a blow job, he’d recommended the secret club known as The Den, and given her loose directions. She’d found it, it had been awesome, and then realized she’d left her bit bag somewhere. That’s when things had gone south. It turned out that sign out front wasn’t an empty threat, and she’d almost lost a leg when they realized she couldn’t pay up.

Why would you have a club in the middle of the EverFree? Even if she’d just been left outside drunk, she’d probably have been found and eaten by something. This place was the worst idea ever. Why had she even came again?

And now the big scary dog wanted her to… she didn’t even know! At least it was still sleeping. No, it was waking up.

The dog rolled out of bed, blinked at Ginger once or twice, and then jumped excitedly up to grab a large dark square and hold it in front of her face. “Pony! Almost work time. Ginger Pony ready? Tiger stay up late to make sign. Sign good?”

Ginger squinted at the sign, unable to read it in the dark. “Sign’s great there, Tiger. What am I doing again? I may have blacked out last night.”

Tiger barked a laugh. “Silly pony. You doing what on sign. No costume! We decided naked is best. Just sign. Lets go! Tiger need to get bar ready.”

Ginger shrugged to herself. Anything beat getting her leg chopped off. “Yeah. Sure. Lets go.”

The dog easily rolled the boulder out of the doorway, tucked the sign under his massive arm, and then grabbed Ginger by the hair.

This time she was sober enough to mostly keep up.