The Heart of Pleasure
By Haunter Rayne
Ch 113 - Consequences of the Past

"Alright, we brought 'em!" A voice called out as a trio of pegasi flew in through a window while carrying a dark figure in their hooves. As they let go, a male pony fell from their grasp to the dirty cement floor with a thud. The pony remained on the ground unmoving as the three pegasi landed and began dragging their captive along with them.

"The ring! Get the ring!" An alarmed voice shouted from across the darkened factory warehouse room. As hooves scrambled from all around the stallion remained on the floor with a dark burlap sac over his head. When the covering was removed a metal band was swiftly pressed down over his silver horn causing the stallion to jerk at the feeling of his magic being cut away.

• Five Days Ago -

The doors to the great hall in Canterlot Castle burst open as four angry hooves stormed their way into the throne room. "Tis true dear sister that every visit with that pompous windbag doth become more vexing than the last!"

"Now Luna, you know how important it is for us to maintain keen relationships with the other pony nations. Not everyone can live in Equestria after all. And the Duke and Duchess of Maretonia are entitled to their own customs that they live by. It is our responsibility as hosts to show them the proper respect that they deserve." Celestia urged as she carefully closed the doors behind them so as for their voices to not carry.

"RESPECT?!" Luna shouted while making no attempt to hold back her dismay. "What of those backwards minded maresoginists, where is their respect for you dear sister?! You know that the duchess has always held an ill opinion of you for not marrying and handing control of Equestria over to a stallion."

Celestia paused in surprise by how far her sister's temper had run away with her this afternoon. However while bearing a confident smile the pearly white alicorn simply replied, "And she knows that I have been doing a far better job of ruling a nation than her husband ever has and for centuries longer than either of them have been alive." Celestia allowed herself a well deserved smirk as she sat upon her throne. Although after which her demeanor dropped to a kinder expression as she implored her sister, "Luna please... I've already told you that after their meeting I could handle the rest of the day's duties. You needn't burden yourself to stay awake for this long now that those two will be leaving soon."

It was with a heavy sigh that Luna nodded from upon her own throne. "I guess you're right and I-"

"What an exceptional idea!" Came a boisterous voice from the doorway as both sisters looked over in surprise with neither having heard when the great doors were opened. "I couldn't agree more that Princess Luna needs her rest. In fact I think it would do to see her well rested if she would possibly be free to have dinner with me this evening?" A rather proud and eager pegasus asked after having invited himself in to the great hall.

Luna sat there looking stunned while Celestia giggled and whispered over to her, "Well you've got to give Magnus points for being persistent at least, am I right?" Then she chuckled and leaned back into her seat to watch.

"S-sir Magnus, what a surprise! I- I was, well I was not expecting to see you here today... this afternoon... so absolutely immediate after the meeting with the foreign delegates." Luna stammered out while struggled to not make it sound as if she were whining. "Please pardon my surprise, what may I do for you?" She asked him politely after descending from her throne.

Stepping before her and giving a bow like a proper gentlepony, Magnus looked up into her eyes and asked, "I was wondering if you would do me the honor of having dinner with me this evening? In this new modern Equestria it has come to my attention that there is a restaurant in Manehattan of impeccable tastes with an astounding view. I took the liberty of placing a reservation for two for a private candlelit dinner in case that might please you."

Now both sisters paused and looked back at one another in surprise. Celestia was anxious and nodded for her sister to answer but Luna's mouth was agape as she looked to her older sister for help. Then with an exasperated sigh Celestia called out, "Excuse me dear Magnus, if you would forgive a fretful sister for butting in? Might Luna and I have a moment to discuss your proposal before she gives you her reply?"

"Of course. Please, take all the time you need." Magnus responded and yet as he stepped away it was only to the middle of the room insinuating the pegasus still expected an answer now and not at a later time to be announced to him.

Stepping over to the far side of Celestia's throne Luna quickly whined as any nervous younger sister would. "Tia! What am I to do?! He hath asked me to away with him TONIGHT! And he is still there! Surely he expects an answer from me! I hath no idea how to respond to such a forward proposal!"

"Easy now, easy dear sister… least your gentlepony caller hear your worry. True, it is sudden that he is asking you like this and I agree it was rather forward of him to have already placed a reservation. Normally, even by modern customs, a stallion would give his intended some notice before making plans. But if I'm not mistaken I suspect that our eager pegasus here has somehow obtained access to your royal itinerary to know when you would be free for an outing with him."

Now frowning and almost shaking her hooves with anxiety Luna asked, "Yes Tia, but what do I say?! I was prepared for delegations and cosigning of treaties. Not for discussing intimate relations and visits to private settings! I mean, him and I... alone together? Did I really give him the impression that I was ready for that?"

"Oh for goodness Luna, he is only asking you to dinner." Celestia responded. "And all this fuss coming from the mare who only a few nights ago I caught with a stallion alone in her bedchambers." Celestia smirked, lowering her voice even further to be absolutely sure Magnus would not overhear.

Fuming now Luna glared at her sister. "That was different! And this is not helping!" She growled like a frustrated teenager.

With a gentle smile Celestia placed a hoof on Luna's shoulder and asked, "Well how do you feel about it? You never know, maybe it might actually be nice? Luna, when was the last time that you treated yourself to something? Yes Magnus might be very straight forward in his approach but I don't sense any ill intent on his part either. And it doesn't have to be anything more than simply dinner." However, seeing the worried look in Luna's eyes, Celestia wondered if what her sister might be looking for was validation for her anxiety and not permission for her departure. "Although, it is concerning that he's asked you all the way out to Manehattan. As your sister, I probably would have preferred you have something closer to home for a first date." Celestia stated, allowing for an ounce of worry to carry through her words.

Luna most definitely seemed divided as she anxiously looked back to the waiting pegasus. "Tis true, I was the one who has allowed this to continue and perhaps I am not being fair in receiving his attempts which I hath invited. But whether modern customs allow for this or not, Magnus is from our old time where it was improper to ask a lady out unattended without her permission. A private dinner for two leaves little room for a chaperone and a skylight dinner does present a certain degree of pressure should I venture with him."

That was when Celestia reached out to guide her sister's face away from the pegasus and back to her. "Perhaps… his request is not quite as comfortable to you as having a first date that doesn't even require you to leave the house? And then a second date, which is to a public affair surrounded by others so that there won't be so much pressure on you for the outing?"

Now Luna had an entirely new reason for her to be taken aback. "But I didn't-... I mean, I never even mentioned Rayne and..." Meanwhile Celestia was giving her sister a knowing expression. With a frown Luna nodded and added on, "Yes it is true that Rayne does seem to have a remarkable way of making me feel comfortable, doesn't he?"

Celestia neither agreed nor disagreed but she did smile before saying, "These two stallions are both competing for your heart. And it may be lucky for you that they don't even know it. I will say that while they both have made attempts to be compromising for you, Rayne most assuredly has Magnus beat in that regard. And yet, for as much as Rayne claims to be interested, Magnus has shown far more persistence in seeking your hoof so far. But what I think is more important here is how you feel, sister. This isn't about Rayne tonight, this is about whether or not you want to have dinner with Magnus... both privately, and so far away from the castle."

Instantly Luna's ears and wings slumped. She looked back over her shoulder to the stallion and then back to Celestia saying, "I have to make this decision now though, don't I?"

"You needn't do anything more than you desire. If you are feeling pressured into giving a response and want to have more time to decide then tell him that. Or if it really does prove to be too difficult for you then I as your sister will help and ask that he leave. But I'm certain he would prefer to hear it from you." Celestia told her in an almost maternal tone while attempting to help her younger sister.

With a sigh Luna nodded and Celestia sat back in her throne while the princess of the night stepped up to face her suitor. "Magnus, I want to thank you for the generous offer. A candlelit dinner atop the sky structures of Manehattan would of course make for a lovely evening." She told him which made his excitement grow by leaps and bounds. But as Luna looked back to her sister who was pretending to be reading over some scrolls that had just been delivered, Luna returned her gaze to the pegasus before changing to a more apologetic tone. "But for now I must decline your request for my company this evening."

The look of excitement on his face seemed to shatter before her eyes and Luna took no joy in seeing the disappointment spread across him instead. "I don't understand. I thought you said that it would be a lovely evening?"

"And it will be." She replied to him. "But simply not tonight." She answered, attempting to be gentle but sincere. "I understand that it is no small feat to place a reservation at such an establishment. And I apologize if my refusal causes you any additional expense. But I had not given you my permission to make plans on my behalf or to ask me out with so sudden of notice. And in choosing to do so sir Magnus, I cannot help but to take a small offense."

After taking a respectful bow the pegasus spoke calmly. "I understand completely, your highness." His tone was graceful and it was clear he was trying to take his rejection with grace.

"Do not misunderstand me Magnus, I do agree to your proposal." She added. "I think that dinner on another evening sounds lovely. And as this would be our first official outing, perhaps something could be arranged with the castle chef that could be served in the courtyard? You and I may have the privacy to speak as you so desired while Celestia may still chaperone but from the tower overhead so as to not leave your intended with the feeling of being overwhelmed by your company." She explained, knowing that his viewpoint would be different from modern ponies and that he should be used to such arrangements from growing up in the age which they both had.

Clearly picking up his pride as best he could Magnus smiled before saying, "An official courtyard supper would be lovely. Celestia would be most welcome to oversee the affair from her balcony while the two of us share what is sure to be a wonderful meal."

"Now then, as for the date-" Luna began but was surprised when she was interrupted.

"Um, excuse me. But sister, it would appear that you have mail." Celestia spoke out with a bit of surprise while holding an envelope.

"I... have MALE?!" Luna cried out sounding aghast. "What even does that mean? What foul thing art thou accusing me of sister?!"

It took Celestia a moment to understand the miscommunication before she laughed. "Oh no, hehe. What I mean is that you have a telegram which came in the post. Today it is called a mailing service. It would appear that somepony has written you a letter." She stated while holding up the envelope which was included with the scrolls that had just arrived.

Without even a second thought the curious princess left her suitor standing and waiting as she walked over to take hold of the envelope. "A letter? You mean somepony wrote to me, personally? Not another scroll or declaration from a foreign dignitary?"

"It doesn't appear to be." Celestia replied. "I have the rest of those right here."

Stepping away from both her sister and her suitor, Luna levitated the envelope to open in front of her before lifting up the folded parchment that was inside. There she found one of the most beautifully hoof written letters she'd ever seen, almost as if calligraphy were the cutie mark of the author responsible for writing it.

"To the fairest of them all, Princess Luna,

It is with joy and honor in my heart
that I write to you
in hopes that you would read the
humble words of a pony
such as I. It is my wish that this
letter finds you in good
spirits as I remember your
proclamation that this would
be a trying week with your
royal duties.

If my kind words can help in any
way to alleviate the
pressures that you are put under
then that alone
makes this worth the time to
write to you. But please
forgive and take no ill thought to
my over-eagerness.
The days that pass in anticipation
before I can see you
again carry the weight and the glory
of the grandest of bells.

For that is how I compare my
anticipation for being by
your side again. The struggle to
endure the passage
of time would be no less of a
burden then to lift
a cathedral bell three times a
pony's weight up and down
a hill repeatedly. However, to hear
that bell ringing
as it's musical splendor was
amplified by the cascading
of the hills would be no less
beautiful than the sound
of thy voice."

All eyes in the room were staring as Luna seemed enthralled by the letter she was reading. No pony else knew what it was she was read as Celestia had not pried and Magnus was not standing close enough. "Ah, yes... about our next meeting?" The stallion tried, however was only further disappointed as Luna walked past him only mumbling at best while never taking her eyes off of the letter.

"Yes, yes indeed. We shall do that...'' She told him before walking towards the doors where two guards had to urgently open the way before Luna almost crashed into them without realizing. But as the princess awkwardly fumbled her way up to her tower, it was all the while reading and rereading the letter countless times over with a blush upon her cheeks. "...'for there could be no greater joy worth waiting for, until we meet again, Rayne.' "A love letter? Rayne actually wrote me a love letter? I... hehe... I actually received a love letter... my first." She said to herself bashfully after stepping into her room. Once there she closed her door and laid upon her bed only to begin rereading the letter again.

• Four Days Ago -

The sounds of water bouncing off the walls in Maud's cavern sounded as beautiful as ever. Rayne had always cherished that dull echoing roar but today the blissfully distracted stallion was deaf to it. In through the cave he strode without a care in the world as his mind was clouded with far greater pleasures that the surrounding ambiance.

"Where in the name of you know where have you been?!" A dark stallion shouted from where he sat between the company of the gray female earth pony and a crimson colored changeling. "What happened to you?! Why didn't you rondevu with me for our rejoining?!" Rayne demanded to know as he stared angrily at his other self who just chuckled without a concern.

"Oh you don't have to worry. I haven't turned into a rouge Pinkie Pie or anything. But after you know, what I know, you aren't going to give a damn about me running late anymore." He said with a chuckle as if he could hardly contain his excitement.

"Wait… Chrysalis, did she come back?!" The stallion beside the mares exclaimed.

"Heh, heh… you'll see." The Rayne who was standing snickered in response.

Upon hearing the changeling's name both Maud and Anansi looked to each other and then quickly rose to their hooves to join where the two stallions were now fusing together.

"Rayne?" The red chitened female called out. However at that moment the stallion seemed neither physically nor mentally prepared to respond. His hooves stumbled as his mind reeled from memories merging together into one. "Are you okay?"

Looking concerned Anansi glanced over to the mare beside her as Maud nodded and stepped forward to place a hoof on his shoulder. "Rayne, please don't keep us in suspense. Did something happen last night with Chrysalis?" She asked in her monotone voice but it was clear her emotions were a match for Anansi's all the same.

That was when the two girls got their answer as Rayne suddenly scooped the earth pony up into the air. "YEEESSSS!!!" Maud's eyes popped in surprise for a moment but she then quickly settled into a smile while allowing Rayne to twirl her in the air. "Yes, absolutely and unbelievably yes!" Rayne went on before collapsing them both into a pile of throw pillows.

"Alright, alright! You're excited, we get it! Now stop teasing us!" Anansi laughed and jumped down, landing across both of them giving the other two a grunt before they all chuckled together.

"Well where do I begin?" Rayne beamed proudly.

"Rayne! Come on!!!" Anansi whined. "So is my mother's heart your's now or what?"

"Yes please, do go on. The suspense is unbearable." Maud added, but still in her deadpan tone.

"Okay already, hehe. So no, let's not get head of ourselves. I've still got a long way to go with her but the progress that we made last night is monumental. So to start, I won't be suffering so much of that abuse every time I see her. And second, she actually stayed for the night with me! And she was happy about it in the morning!" The stallion was glowing with jubilation as he recanted the events in greater detail. "Getting to wake up and see her laying against me like that was one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen."

Now the two mares were smiling happily, both basking in their shared joy to hear this news. Reaching out to hold his hoof Maud said to him, "Rayne, this is excellent progress. There's definitely no other pony that could get Chrysalis to be happy about lying in bed with them."

"Wow, it's kind of hard to imagine." Anansi chuckled. "Even if she were to seduce a pony into stealing their love, it's just kind of difficult to think about mother being cuddly with some creature." With a flittering of her wings she leaned forward and asked, "So she really let you touch her?"

"Well…" Rayne remarked. "I wouldn't say her. She was in her pony disguise and wouldn't change out of it for pretty much the whole time. But in disguise or not, Chrysalis and I did sleep together… we slept together five times. Three last night and then twice more this morning."

Both girls looked to each other and giggled softly. "Wow Rayne, five times?" Maud asked. Then in her deadpan teasing she asked him, "Only that many? Were you tired or something?"

Anansi rolled onto her back cackling in laughter at Maud's joke. "Hahaha! After actually managing to get Chrysalis into bed I'm surprised that you ever came back at all!"

Rayne just pursed his lips but in time he chuckled along as well. "Har har, girls. Come on now. I'm a pleasure pony, not a machine. Even I have my limits. And besides, I didn't exactly hear her complaining. You should have seen the look on her face after the first time I told her that I could keep going." He said with a grin.

After a little while though Maud outstretched a hoof to his shoulder and looked him in the eyes once more. "Alright but all humor aside, how are you Rayne? Are you happy?"

The stallion paused now and looked up at the ceiling to reflect. "To be honest it's hard not to be. I have another date with Luna in just a few days and she's accepted being alone with me as well as trusting me to be away from the castle grounds with her. Last night with Chrysalis was wonderful and it was just the first of many wild nights to come. She's definitely starting to take down her walls with me and who knows where that will lead us."

"Do you have everything that you need now to finish pursuing them?" Maud asked as Anansi looked at her not understanding what she meant.

"Oh I feel I'm more than powerful enough if that's what you're referring to. All my old hunting habits are practically over. Aside from the odd night of catching my own dinner in the Everfree Forest, I have nothing left to hunt. The only magic left in the world that I don't possess comes down to Windigo essence and alicorn magic. And if there are no Windigos that exist in Equestria for me to hunt then I'm perfectly fine with that compromise for the good of everyone. Meanwhile I already have far more power than any one alicorn could have by themselves so I'm in no hurry to go after the princesses any time soon... if even ever at all." He said while sounding so relaxed about the actions he had once been so passionate about. "Sure there's a few oddball creatures left I could go after but really I'm not even sure that it's necessary at this point."

• Two Days Ago -

"To the most radiant star to
ever shine, Princess Luna,

Oh yes I was absolutely overjoyed to
receive your return letter.
I was pleased to see that you write
as beautifully as you speak.
I am quite shocked to hear though
that I am the first pony to which
you have shared correspondence.
Forgive my assumptions but
do princesses not receive fan letters
from citizens all across Equestria?

In any case, the honor is mine to
be the penpal of
your ladyship. In other news, my
excitement grows as
the hour of when we next shall
meet draws near. I feel
as if my heart doth tremble with
excitement to see you.
You mustn't know the effect that
you have upon a stallion.

Never hath I felt so afraid and yet
so courageous all at once.
I pray thee not think me too forward
to reveal to you that
you make me feel nervous...
Like a young colt with
a school yard crush. Yet all the same
your companionship
instills me with inspiration to
become a better stallion
than I ever thought I could be.

Now enough of my flattery as I am
sure you grow weary
of my unceasing praises by
this point. Instead,
I yearn to know how that I might
make our outing as
splendid for us both as possible.
While I hesitate to
give the surprise of my plans
away, I would ask out of
courtesy if there is anything meal
related you have an
aversion to. Aside from that I fear
I can share nothing more.

Until we meet again, you are the
waking dream that
I hope to always return to,
Sincerely, Rayne."

As Luna lowered the letter with trembling hooves she sat there in the privacy of her room almost shaking. She quickly glanced out the window towards her sister's empty tower knowing that Celestia would be down in the throne room at this hour. Then she immediately threw herself face first into her bed and screamed while beating upon the mattress excitedly.

"AA-MMMMMMMMM!!! Hehehe! He called me a dream! Me! AHHHHH, why is everything that he says always ironically so perfect?!" She shouted giddily. "He said that I make him nervous! WHY does that make me so happy?!!!!!" She shrieked before thrusting her face almost painfully into her pillow and screaming again.

• One Night Ago, Evening in Ponyville -

"Humm hubba hmm… tre-deeh-dle leh…" Rayne hummed to himself with exuberance as he stepped through the doors to the hotel that evening. "Ohhh, your love is my love babe." He sang to himself merrily, not even questioning as to why the front desk clerk was standing in the middle of the lobby. He just wrapped his arms around her and sang, "Oh, my love is your love babe." His spirits were motivated by some jazzy tune he had long since forgotten and didn't feel the need to activate his memory charm to actually get the lyrics correct.

"Ahem…" The clerk cleared her throat with a stiff expression until he released her. "Your usual room is ready at the end of the hall." She said straight-faced.

"Weeeellllll thank you very much." Rayne cheered with a skip to his step. Then doing a little twirl he quickly hopped his way up the steps as the clerk remained standing in the middle of the lobby watching him while never breaking her nervous smile as he went.

When Rayne reached the door to the room at the end of the hall he stopped and slicked his mane back with a hoof. Taking a deep breath he grasped the door handle firmly and stepped straight inside.

"And do we have a special lady in here tonight that needs a… uh… hmmm..." Rayne paused as he looked around seeing that the room was dark. Through the moonlight he thought he saw the silhouette of a long slender mare laying under the sheets upon the bed. Although not even a candle was lit to illuminate the room. "Oh? What's this? Are you playing a new game tonight?" Rayne asked as he closed the door behind him and stepped slowly towards the bed. "Hellooo? Did you fall asleep on me?" He asked playfully but began to feel concerned when he still wasn't given a response.

Rayne stilled his approach for a moment just before having reached the bed. Something didn't feel quite right as the hairs on the back of his neck started to stand on end. "Hello? Is something wrong? Why aren't you answ- wait, why doesn't it smell like you in here…?" Rayne said aloud, slowly shifting his senses to his panther form in a partial transformation. "Where is your usual lovely acidic aroma…?" He whispered as he sniffed the air. "It doesn't smell like chitin in here. You smell like… I smell... feathers?" He stated in confusion.

Moving quickly Rayne immediately spun around as his chimera shadow thought that it had spotted something moving from behind him in the dark. "THWAAAPP!!!" Came the loud sound of a cloth bag as it swung down like a mace right against the side of the stallion's skull. Upon impact the fabric tore and a showering of bits jingled down all around where Rayne collapsed to the floor. In his fall his hoof reached back pulling at the sheets only to reveal that the pillows from the bed had been laid out in the shape of a mare underneath.

As the coins finally stopped rolling across the floor Rayne lay motionless while two pegasi stepped out of the shadows from where they had been hiding behind the door. Each of them were dark coated stallion's and what's more they were both wearing Canterlot guard armor. However from the darkness pervading the room neither of them could see that Rayne's eyes were open as they placed a burlap sack over his head.

With a grunt from each of the two pegasi they quickly hauled Rayne's body up the open window to where a third pegasus was flying outside. His silhouette was dark from the bright moon shining behind him but his voice called out angrily as he growled, "It's time that you pay for what you've done." After that the three pegasi carried Rayne off into the night while the sobbing front desk clerk stood at the window watching. The terrified mare cried into her hooves while holding a crumpled note that simply read 'tell nopony, we'll be watching!'

Author's Note

If you didn't understand why Luna had asked Magnus for such tight restraints on their first date, it's because I was modeling it after a more dated form of courtship. There used to be a day where you couldn't ask a girl out until she gave you permission. And asking her to leave the house was a big deal while being alone with her was very rare. A chaperone for a date used to be very normal according to the previous custom. So even if it sounds weird today, it used to be common place at one point.

Now remember, Luna doesn't really know about the mail service yet. This isn't depicted in the show until season nine but I figured this could be a good way to show how she's introduced to it.

So what did you think of Rayne's letters? I hope the indenting I chose to do wasn't too tedious. I definitely had a lot of fun depicting Luna's actions here.

I hope the timeline was clear. The chapter starts five days after ch112 where Rayne was last with Chrysalis. Then it jumps back to that same day to show what was happening in Canterlot while Rayne was with Chrysi in the hotel. After that the days start catching up from there.

So Rayne had been feeling pretty confident when speaking to Maud and Anansi, but of course, just when everything was going well trouble strikes out from the unknown. How many of you were able to catch on from the behavior of the clerk that something wasn't right before Rayne had even entered the room? The two pegasi had tried to knock Rayne out in the 1920's mobster style of using a sack full of pennies, or in this case bits. Of course these kidnappers had no way of knowing Rayne was still awake and only pretending to be knocked out. But where are they taking him? And who is responsible for this?

Sorry for the long review but the last thing I wanted to cover is Rayne's hunting habits. Please don't fail to notice that he implied there are still a few unacquired targets. But for now it seems he has given up his pursuit for strength to focus on love and romance instead.