Evening the Odds

The automaton simply stood as its master - a stallion garbed in resplendent golden finery - lay splayed out on the ivory floor. Crimson lifeblood stained the ground, slowly pooling beneath.

Next to his form, a mare garbed in identical robes stood against a wall of pure gold, engraved with memoirs of the master’s previous conquests. She looked over the master’s prone form with dead eyes. “And now for my little secret,” she said, a slight smile creeping onto her face. She leaned down to his ear and whispered. “I never loved you.”

The master’s eyes widened almost imperceptibly, his face growing pale. His lips quivered as his ebbing life made speaking difficult. He lifted a hoof to caress the face he had loved for many moons. “You… bi....”

Life faded from his eyes as his limb limply fell to the floor.

The automaton merely sat and watched.

Next to the fresh corpse was a massive stone circle in the floor, ringed by four smaller circles - three of them similarly gray stone, and the fourth a slab of gold - the only disturbance in the otherwise pristine ivory floor. The mare stood swiftly and moved to stand on the golden circle.

Blue lines of magical energy ran through the floor, racing toward the circle. It glowed, engulfing the mare in blue light.

“One,” the automaton stated with a booming voice that thundered out from somewhere in the center of its head. A replica of the mare appeared in the large grey circle. After several seconds, the image of the mare faded, and then was replaced by another image of the mare, but this time her belly glowed faintly. “Two.” the automaton continued. “Answer verified. Result: Even. Predicted: Even. Matched. Please proceed to the next chamber.”

The golden door in the wall creaked and groaned as it slowly sunk into the ground, allowing the mare to advance to the next - and final - room. She walked through the door without any hesitation.

She paid no mind to the unassuming chamber. It was no larger than a bedroom, with little more than a small golden door, not much larger than a pony, and another set of the circles in front of it.

“The Chamber of Truth” the automaton stated matter-of-factly.

The mare shook her head, immediately crossing the chamber to stand on the next golden circle. Blue lines once again traced the circle in the floor. This time the projection showed the ghostly forms of the now-dead master and the mare, who was performing fellatio upon him. After a few seconds, the image faded, only to be replaced with the master going down on the mare. Moments later, that image faded, too. Yet another image of their sexual exploits came to life.

“This will take a while,” the mare muttered. She sat back and watched the gallery of her own sex life playing out before her with disinterest.

“Why must the master die?” the automaton asked after several silent scenes.

The mare glared at the construct. “He was an awful stallion who tortured ponies for his own self-gratification,” she growled through clenched teeth. “If it weren’t for him, my sister would still...”

She trailed off as another several scenes played out in silence.

“The master was… bad?” the automaton finally asked.

The mare nodded. “The worst.”

“Oh,” the automaton said, almost as if depressed. The astral projections continued to chronicle the mare’s intimate encounters as the mare sat in silence. “Then… what will I do without the master?”, the automaton continued.

She looked up at the automaton, confused. “What?”

“If the master will not use his temple, what is to become of me?”

The mare frowned, glancing at the door that would soon open. “Don’t you desire freedom?”

Finally, the blue light went still.

“The truth has been revealed,” the automaton intoned, following its preset directive. The pony-sized golden door sank into the ground revealing a portal out into the warm light of the sun. The mare jumped to her hooves and trotted through the door, halting just on the other side. She turned to face the automaton.

“Freedom?” the mare asked, extending a hoof.

“What is ‘freedom’? the automaton replied. “I do not understand.”

“Come with me,” she beckoned. “I will teach you.”