My Life on a Cassette Tape

"And you both are sure that that's what you want? No ulterior motives? No secondary objectives beyond just being slaves?" Periwinkle asked, standing quite tall over the two young ponies who - for their part - had somehow managed to not shrivel up under the mare's fearsome inspection. I peaked around the door, having just returned from my run to Rarity's shop. Berry looked over to me from beside the door.

"Is now the point I walk in or should I wait a tad more?" I asked. I had excused myself from the house - and the situation entirely - by saying that my mares should be alone for the inspection of the two young mares who wanted in. I said I didn't want my mares thinking about what I wanted - I already had done that myself - I wanted them to tell me what they wanted. Sure, I could countermand their opinions - except for Raven's - but that wasn't what I was about.

"I think we're nearing a conclusion." Berry nodded, returning her gaze to the two mares as they answered Periwinkle. I didn't pay them much attention, I had already gotten my answers the night previous.

"What's your opinion on them?" I asked, sidling up beside Berry, watching Applebloom and Sweetie Belle as they played the part of criminals under inspection.

"I think they got spunk in them. Both kinds if I'm right." Berry said with a smirk, giving me a brief look before returning to the subject at hand. "Beyond that, they are pretty. I like the washboard on the little apple, it's a nice deviation from the unmuscled bodies the rest of us got going. And that Sweetie passed my oral examination with flying colors. All in all, I think we certainly could do worse with new recruits."

I nodded slowly, considering this, "We could always do worse. Worse is easier to find than good." I noted. "I'm asking if you think they'd be a good fit for the... ahem, harem."

"Yesterday's performance in mind, I'd say they are likely skilled enough in bed for it. As for chemistry with the rest of us, that much is yet to be seen. Plus, I'm not sure how ready they are for our brand of depravity. You may want to give that a particular test drive before we go any further, but that's up to you. Honestly, I'm sold with how cute they are, but I feel like going full slaves might be a tad much in their case." Berry explained.

"Thanks, I'll check in on the others. Feel out the territory." I said before moving towards Raven who stood by the stairs.

"You could feel out a tad bit more than just territory, champ." Berry said in a way that told me she had that look on her face. I didn't even have to look to know. I just knew that she did, and knowing was enough to make me sigh at her exasperating sexiness.

"They certainly are an interesting pair." Raven muttered as I leaned against the wall beside her. "They have the sexual experience to keep up with us. Plus they are pretty cute. Nice tits and ass, and Sweetie is like a slightly less wound up Rarity, which is all kinds of sexy."

"All well and good," I replied in hushed tones, "but what do you think about them actually joining in with us? There are some more considerations that sexual appeal and ability." Raven nodded to this.

"That's the thing: I'm not sure. They seem sincere enough. Berry harried them with questions and sexual acts, to which they responded pretty well-"

"Is that what Berry meant by 'oral examination'?" I asked, shooting a glance to the mare in question with a smirk and raised eyebrow.

"It figures she'd put it like that." Raven sighed, smiling herself. "Either way, I then talked to them without any bells or whistles, just straight questions. They answered fairly unwaveringly. They tasted antsy, a tad anxious, not like they were lying, just the kind of uncertainty a pony gets when they try and get a job they really want."

"I thought you said there were no bells or whistles?"

"Yeah, well me tasting the emotions of others is about as vanilla as ponies judging others' body language or perfume." Raven shrugged. "Either way, they're just two good ponies who are happy together who seem sincere in wanting to be part of this hodgepodge of what-the-fuckery." I nodded to this, considering it carefully as I watched Periwinkle raise herself up from her looming pose over the two young mares. I nodded her over, plopping down on the stairs, looking over at the two mares on the couch.

"Your thoughts on all of this?" I asked, watching the ponies we were talking about as Raven went out to talk with them again.

"On the whole, good kids. Like you and Raven, though less world weary than either of you. That much isn't really to or against their credit to be fair." Periwinkle sat down beside me, putting an arm around me, drawing me closer as she let her thoughts run free. I always appreciated hugs, they were nice.

"I think that we can fairly conclusively say that they have plenty of reasons beyond simply wanting to be a part of the harem to join in. I can't exactly fault them for wanting sexy fun - that'd be a bit more than a little hypocritical on my part." She sighed as she tried to work her feelings out on the matter. "I can't particularly say that it is what they need. Berry needed this for her happiness to not be derived from bottles, I needed this so that I could be more than just coasting along in life, and Raven needed this so that she could have you. At this point we all need it to have you, but at the start I think it was just Raven who really needed it to be you."

I shrugged at this. It was a fair and honest assessment. At the start I had only kept Berry and Spry as a matter of personal responsibility - and a no too little amount of libido. Then Raven showed up and it felt right and things just built from there.

"I think they have some issues - the fact they stripped and offered themselves up as slaves being enough evidence for me - but they might not be the type of issues that becoming a sex slave would solve."

"There are issues that being a sex slave solves?" I blinked, my brain drawing a blank for some reason.

"Being a nympho can be dealt with by being a sex slave. Having extremely cold nights and having no blankets could be helped. Chronic loneliness. Probably a few other things too." I blinked at her. "Ok, maybe some ponies would count solving nymphomania with being a sex slave as exacerbation, but it's all a matter of perspective."

"So, what's your thought on the joining in total?" I asked, trying desperately to steer the conversation back towards something of a semblance of what we were actually supposed to be talking about.

"I say that they'd make a lovely addition, I'm just unsure whether or not this is really what they need in their lives." Periwinkle summarized. "I'm sorry I can't give the most concrete answer, there just isn't much of a straight forward answer to this. They offered themselves up willingly, maybe misguidedly at first, but in the end they do seem decently committed to the idea of joining on in." I mulled this over, trying to come to something of an answer. It took a moment, but after a bit more consideration of the facts of the matter and the feelings of those involved, I came to a conclusion.

"Alright, I've come to a decision on the matter." I proclaimed as I stood from the stairs and walked over to take a seat opposite Applebloom and Sweetie. Berry moved over, resting her boobs behind and either side of my head like a lewd headrest while Spry took up position, sitting at my feet with an arm looped around one of my legs. Ravens sat beside me, an arm draped across my shoulders, leaning against my side. I felt that same feeling of being a lewd Sentai Ranger as I had the day previous.

"Applebloom, Sweetie, you both seem to be honest in your wish to be my slaves. More than willing, it seems, to give up bodily autonomy for the sake of being with my mares and I." This statement seemed to make them that much more hopeful. "You also have shown that one of the main reasons for this, at least in the past, was as a means to stay together. There is also the point that, though you have certain underlying issues, those particular issues may not be the ones that are fixed with the arrangement I have with my mares."

"B-but-" Sweetie began, but a raised hand cut her off. I wasn't sure when I had gotten the power to make a pony quiet down by lifting a hand - might've been a very situational power all things considered. I was the judge of what was to be their fate in this issue, I supposed that if I lifted my hand at any pony beyond my mares that they might quiet a tad before asking if I thought I was some sort of king waving my hand like that.

"This all being said, and considering certain bits of the circumstances that surround us, I have come to the following conclusion." I looked the two of them over. They were bursting with anticipation for my answer. I could only hope that it was to their liking - it was the best thing I could give them. "I have decided that I will decline your offer to be my slaves." They deflated almost instantly. That hurt. "However," That made them perk up once more, "I am more than willing to welcome you in as friends with benefits.

"Being my slaves is not what you truly need. This doesn't mean you can't be part of the fun we get up to on a consistent basis. You can take a submissive role in those proceedings, but being my slaves isn't a part of it." I looked between the two of them, gauging their responses to this. They seemed alright, not too deflated considering I wasn't cutting them off from Applebloom's fetish fuel. "I might change this ruling later on. I'll only put it up to consideration after some time and if you both ask for reconsideration. Who knows, maybe being my slaves is what you do need, but I think that might be something for the future."

"I think that I can say we are both incredibly grateful for your consideration." Sweetie said, looking over to Applebloom. The earth pony mare gave a nod and a gentle smile.

"I think I'll be happy for the meantime. Thank yuh for your kind offer. We accept." Applebloom did her best, and despite this, I could tell she was not as happy as she might portray herself as being in this situation. I had figured as much would be the case. Applebloom had a need that needed itched. Being turned into a slave would be - in all likelihood - the completion of that desire. Despite that knowledge, I knew that the odds were that she already had somepony who would be her Mistress in a few years - if not months.

"I want you both to know that I want you two to be happy, which is why I can't just have you as my slaves." I said, trying to explain myself despite never being asked to do so. "My mares voluntarily offering themselves up isn't the only reason why they are mine."

"He also likes our jiggly bits." Berry added. I closed my eyes as I sighed. It was true that that was part of it. Maybe a bigger part than I wanted to admit.

"It's because they need this. Our relationship is one of codependence, not unilateral advantage. I need them as much as they need me, maybe more." I looked at Applebloom and Sweetie, reading them as best I was able while moving forward. "If in time I see that simply being party to our sexy shenanigans isn't truly enough for you and that you need full subservience to me, then I'll reconsider my choice.

"This isn't me saying you aren't good enough. You very much are good enough as far as the physical is concerned, but the physical is transient. I hate to sound like some sort of shaman or monk, but in the end, physical attraction isn't something meant to last. My mares are with me for the long haul because we all need each other beyond the simple fulfillment of lust. If you - either of you - were truly needing this for the long run, I'll be here to help." They nodded slowly.

I leaned back into Berry's boobs, feeling the dissonance of talking like some sort of sage or guru on wholesome relationships before letting my head rest on the chest of a mare. I was a confused mess of a pony in a confused mess of circumstances.

"Alright. Well... thank you, Crescendo, for considering us for the... position?" Sweetie fumbled, unsure how to put it.

"Honey, you just got naked in front of him and invited him to become your master. The formalities aren't just dead, they're already returning to the soil." Berry said, a smirk evident in her voice.

"I... I guess." Sweetie slowly shrugged. "One question though, we're having a meet up with a friend of ours next Tuesday. Would you be able to swing by, say 'hi', and get introduced?" I blinked a few times, and then shrugged.

"Sure. I wouldn't mind meeting a new friend." It sounded like fun - and if I needed something after all the Empire business I had had to go through, it was fun.

"Sweet, so, do any of you wanna fuck?" Berry asked with all the practiced nonchalance of a sex-crazed maniac.