Bearer of Bad News...

by Some Leech

Rating: mature
Tags: Sex, Profanity, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Human, Thriller, Anon, Porn, Tempest Shadow, Fetish, Comedy
Length: 5238

Having been captured by a remarkably skillful and menacing mare, Anon's fate seems sealed...

Stripped of his belongings and interrupted during a rather impassioned bout of amorous exploration with Daring Do, Anon is finally apprehended by one of the most no-nonsense ponies he's ever had the misfortune of crossing paths with - nevertheless, he's not about to throw in the towel. If he can plead his case to his captor, maybe she'll spare him and let him go. With few cards to play and the situation looking dire, he decides to test his luck with the armored equine...

Kinks Include: Female on Male, Male on Female Oral, Vaginal, Interspecies, Size Difference, Bondage, Teasing, Power Play, Some Very Dubious Interrogation Techniques, Squirting, and a Criminalistic Creampie

Artwork by RatofDrawn (Twitter @ratofdrawn)

If you want to help support me, I have a Tip-Jar/Patreon HERE

Published 2022-03-30 20:10:05 UTC
Last updated 2022-03-30 20:10:05 UTC

A Suspect Suspect

“Can you at least let me get my stuff?” Anon lamented, covering his loins and loping bare-ass before the unicorn.

Trotting behind the naked man, indifferent to his nude state, the mare’s piercing eyes never wavered from his form. “Since my orders didn’t specify anything about your belongings, no.”

Trudging through the underbrush, pausing periodically to look back and see where his captor was directing him, Anon kept his head held low. Being interrupted seconds before he got his rocks off with Daring Do would have been egregious enough, but being force-marched through the jungle by a cold, seemingly relentless bounty hunter was downright terrifying. Though he still didn’t have the damnedest clue who the unicorn was, she’d made it very clear that she’d been dispatched by the Princesses to fetch him.

“Where the - God damn it -” he blurted, swatting at a horsefly. “Where the hell are you bringing me?”

“Enough questions,” she announced, her shattered nub of a horn threateningly crackling with energy. “You’ll find out soon enough.”

Scowling, he continued moving forward. “Whatever.”

Not only had Daring Do essentially handed him over on a silver platter, once she’d recovered from her post-climactic stupor and discovered he was a fugitive, but she hadn’t even offered to give him his discarded shorts or shirt. With his long-lost satchel abandoned at the dragon outpost in the badlands, and his clothes probably still on the temple’s floor, he was left with nothing but his sundered pride and the wind in his hair. The only silver lining, if it could even be qualified as such, was that he wouldn’t have to worry about being on the lam any longer.

Brushing aside a low-hanging branch, he drew to a halt. Resting before him, sitting in a small, open glade, was an airship. Unlike every other dirigible he’d ever seen in Equestria, this vehicle, like the mare who’d somehow managed to track him down, appeared to be geared towards less than savory matters. With a bladed prow, armored gasbag, and a small bridge, the zeppelin instantly told him who he’d been abducted by.

Though he hadn’t been in magical horse land at the time, he’d read about the Storm King’s invasion, the army of bestial soldiers, and the would-be tyrant’s infamous lieutenant. There were perilously few who genuinely knew who the traitorous pony commander was or where she’d come from, but she was occasionally spoken of in hushed whispers as a black sheep for ponykind. Recalling the stories he’d heard, he looked back at the mare and gulped.

“You’re Tempest Shadow,” he remarked, both astounded and alarmed by the revelation.

“And you’re clearly not good at following orders,” she coolly shot back, nodding to a small gangplank. “Inside, now.”

If even half the shit about her was true, he really, really didn’t need to press his luck with the formidable warrior. Looking away from her, he resigned himself to his fate, skulked through the glade, and entered the airship. As he came to a stop in a small loading bay, she proceeded past him and flipped at his side. The ramp withdrew and the door slammed shut, locking him in the craft with a spine-chilling Thunk.

With all the casual disinterest of one who was doing a menial chore, she strolled down a hallway and waved for him to follow. “This way.”

“So - uh - is it true that you took out three Princesses?” he asked, staying several paces behind her.

“It would have been four, had an intrepid and foolish bystander not leapt in the way, but yes,” she replied, turning her head and giving him a small smirk.

Keeping his mouth shut, though still curious about his domineering new host, Anon surveyed his surroundings. The interior of the vessel was a testament to function over form. Bare wood, steel piping, and graded deck plates met him at every turn, giving the interior a foreboding ambiance. With the knowledge that his accommodations would likely be equally unwelcoming, his mood only darkened further.

Through winding corridors and up two flights of stairs he went, with only the sight of the mare’s black-suited backside to distract him, he plodded along. He had to admit, as pitiless as she was, she was certainly an attractive feature. Despite being clothed, he could make out the toned muscles of her legs, shoulders, and sculpted ass with ease. Silently musing on just how strong she was, or if she’d be able to crush a melon between her thighs, he didn’t realize he’d reached their destination until she stopped just before him.

“See that rack ~” she began, bringing his attention to a large slab of wood with manacles hanging from each corner, “starting with your ankles, shackle yourself to it.”

Momentarily ignoring his order, he took stock of his surroundings. Pursing his lips, he looked past her and noticed a helm positioned just behind her - not only that, but two button and gauge littered panels sat to either side of the control mechanism. With huge glass panes making up the far wall, giving a view of the bow, port, and starboard sides of the craft, he came to a somewhat surprising conclusion.

“You’re imprisoning me on the bridge?” he inquired.

“I am,” she responded. “Sapient and highly intelligent, possessing dexterous digits that could be used to tinker with locks, more physical strength than the average pony, bipedal, and with moderate problem solving skills - you add all those together and you have what I like to call a flight risk. Now then, if you’ve had your curiosity sated…”

Her horn sparked to life, and her eyes flicked to the wooden slab, prompting him to move. As strange as it may have sounded, her calculating evaluation of his skills gave a subtle, albeit unexpected boost to his ego. Reaching the back of the bridge, situated behind and slightly to the side of the helm, he bent over and grabbed one of the low-set shackles.

“I might not be much of a sky-fairer, but would it be too much to ask for a blanket? I know these ships can get pretty damn chilly,” he groused, securing his ankles.

Watching him affix the irons to his lower legs and one wrist, she ignored his question and stepped over to him. “Give me your free arm.”

Doing as she’d ordered, he leaned in and offered the unfettered limb. The chains securing him to the slab were just long enough to let him scratch himself, but wouldn’t let him fully kneel or, if he had to guess, get all that comfortable. Stepping onto a conveniently placed crate beside him, she snapped the cuff around his wrist, smiled, and hopped down to the deck.

“Too easy,” she smugly hummed, trotting over to the ship’s main controls.

Glowering over at her, as she pulled a lever, he felt the floor shift beneath him. “Blanket?”

“For someone who’s so dangerous, you complain a lot,” she chided, glancing back at him.

He knew it wasn’t a good idea to argue, but he was quickly reaching a limit to his patience. He was buck naked and chained to a wall, his junk was on full display, and he was about to be trundled back to the Princesses on a silver platter. As far as he was concerned, getting magically electrocuted wasn’t the worst thing - hell, it might just knock him out and make the trip bearable.

“For starters, I don’t have fur like you do - secondly, we wear clothes because we don’t…” the words died in his throat, as the mare began removing the armored plates from her outfit. “What are you doing?”

“Listen, I don’t have to answer any of your questions, just like I don’t have to wear this stuffy body armor,” she matter-of-factually answered. “If you behave yourself, I might be able to find an old storm creature uniform below decks.”

Cocking his head to the side, he piqued a brow. “Storm creature? Are you talking about those big goon things that the Storm King used?”

“They’re big, stupid, and make the perfect shock troops,” she mused, smiling to herself - that was until she grimaced and shook her head. “Why am I answering your questions?”

Anon gave her a halfhearted shrug and a smirk, trying and failing to scratch his ear. “Maybe it’s because I’m such a charmer.”

With an annoyed snort, casting the last bit of her armor aside, she turned her attention back to the fore of the ship. It may have been petty, but her frustration was far more amusing than it should have been. Shifting his focus to the sweeping view, just as they breached through the cloud cover, he was bathed in the warm hues of the setting sun. Had the circumstances been more ideal, he might have been able to enjoy the vista.

Moving over to a control panel, setting what he assumed was some sort of an auto-pilot, she wheeled around to face him. “Now that that’s out of the way, why don’t…” she trailed off, as lowered her gaze to his groin. “What are you doing?”

Looking down his chest, dreading what he’d find, Anon peered down at his semi-rigid manhood. Once again, for the umpteenth time of late, his insatiable libido had made a situation far more complicated than it had any right to be. Silently cursing to himself, he looked to her face and uneasily smiled.

“It’s not important,” he grumbled. “Now about that -”

Cantering over to him, without saying a single word, she flipped a switch beside him. In the blink of an eye, the chains fastened to him snapped taut and withdrew, leaving him plastered to the massive plank of wood. He thought he’d been uncomfortable beforehand, but having his arms and legs forcefully spread put his prior uneasiness into perspective.

“It wasn’t erect a few minutes ago,” she thoughtfully noted, turning towards him. With her head at nearly the same level as his crotch, she stepped forward and inspected his exposed package.

“W…would you believe me if I told you it was a horn?” he countered, immediately regretting his poor choice of words.

Lifting her head, she squinted and locked eyes with him. “Considering it reacted to something on the bridge…” she whispered, glancing at her discarded armor for a split-second. “Is it some kind of weapon?”

“No!” he squawked, praying she wouldn’t attempt to disarm him of his endowment. “It’s just a part of me, alright.”

Curiously sniffing his tool, having leaned in to give herself a closer look, she leapt back when his dick twitched. Power arced around her nub of a horn, as she leered at his gradually growing length. Though he was physically powerless to do anything, having been thoroughly immobilized, he wasn’t completely out of options. There was one thing he might just be able to use against his captor - her intellect.

There was a damn good chance he was squared off against the most competent pony in all of Equestria. The rulers of the land, the very rulers she’d nearly dispatched during her time serving the Storm King, had tasked her with hunting down and capturing him - a job she’d done with remarkable proficiency. In addition to being extraordinarily capable, she was astute enough to plan for and implement ways to prevent his escape - in short, it would be prudent to be honest with her.

With a heavy sigh, knowing what he had to do, he hung his head. “It’s called a penis. It’s an organ used to reproduce with females.”

“In what way?” she retorted, switching between observing his face and cock.

“I put this,” he huffed, bucking his hips and causing his dick to sway, “in that thing between your legs.”

Tempest took a step back, her lip curling in disgust. “And that’s how you make foals?”

“Yeah, if I’m with a human female, but we call them babies,” he clarified.

Staring up at him, she narrowed her eyes. “You know what I think?” she began, inching closer and extending a foreleg to his groin. “I think that this is just what I need to get some answers out of you.”

“Answers?” he parroted, rearing back and bumping his head against the slab of wood at his back. “If you want answers, just ask whatever you want.”

“That’s exactly what a manipulative, dangerous creature would say,” she ominously chuckled. “The Princesses refused to explain why you were a threat to Equestria, but I plan on getting to the bottom of it. Seeing as how this little part of you seems valuable and sensitive, maybe it’ll ensure your cooperation.”

A cold pit formed in his stomach, his blood turned to ice, and his manhood excitedly throbbed, as he peered down at her. “W…what are you going to do to me?”

“Oh I have a few ideas,” she breathed, blowing hotly on his dong. “If I were you, I’d explain what you did to have a quartet of alicorns looking for you.”

Without the slightest bit of hesitation, fearing for his junk, he spilled the beans - all of the beans. Beginning with his impromptu and wholly unexpected tryst with Cadance in the Crystal Empire, and ending with his demonstration with Daring Do, there wasn’t a single detail he omitted from the past few weeks. Fuck if he knew how long he regailed her, but the sun had set well before he’d finished talking.

“And that’s when you found me,” he concluded, finding the courage to look her in the face. “I…Why are you looking at me like that?”

“That has got to be the most outlandish thing I’ve ever heard,” she scoffed. “So you’re telling me that you did the sex with a verititable cornucopia of creatures, including Queen Novo, the Dragon Lord Ember, Queen Chrysalis, and a species of ponies that doesn’t exist, purely by happenstance?”

He weakly shrugged in response, keenly aware of how outlandish his tale must have sounded. “I mean, yeah, I know it’s -”

“And you may have stumbled on some ancient evidence of this sex thing with Daring Do - the Daring Do,” she interjected.

“Then what the hell do you think we were doing in the temple?” he exasperatedly exclaimed.

“Daring Do is an explorer and hero of renown, even rivaling the Elements of Harmony. My guess is that she stumbled upon you, intended or not, and was doing her best to subdue you,” she declared. “Whatever she’d done to you seemed to be working, given how much you were struggling with her, but she was,” she paused, rubbing her chin and considering her words, “lacking…”

Though Anon was far from a genius, he had a sinking feeling about what she meant. As she walked back and gave herself some space, his suspicions were confirmed when she grabbed a zipper at her collar and began opening her jumpsuit. The garment fit her like a glove, showing off her body as if she was wearing nothing at all, yet that did little to detract from the arousal of watching her strip.

“Unlike Daring Do, I’ve spent my entire life training for combat,” she proudly proclaimed, spinning in place and tediously peeling the suit off herself.

It was fair to say that he’d seen his fair share of ponies in all different shapes and sizes, but not a single one could compare to Tempest’s physique. As or slightly more toned than Rainbow Dash, but being just as muscular as Applejack, the huntress was like a warrior princess. Staring intently at her hind quarters, seeing her body steam in the cool air, he didn’t have to look down to know he was rock-hard.

“So,” she purred, kicking the outfit aside and turning toward him, “let’s try that again. You will tell me what I want to know.”

Flexing his limbs and trying desperately to free himself, all he could do was watch her drawn nearer. “I…I did already, I swear!”

“Hmmhmmhmm - wrong answer,” she snickered, stepping forward and bringing her muzzle to his groin.

“I don’t know wha - Oh fuck,” he groaned, as she leaned in and wrapped her lips around his cock.

Even without any experience whatsoever, the welcoming embrace of her snout welt way better than it had any right to be. If he’d managed to blow a load with Daring Do, he may have had a chance of maintaining his composure - then again, having a cocky, athletic, former villain suck him off, while he was bound and helpless, was painfully arousing. Clenching his jaw and clamping his eyes shut, doing his best not to focus on the one-two punch of physical bliss and the enchanting view of his dick in her mouth, his attempt to distract himself ended when he heard the distinct sound of electricity.

“Ah ah ah -” she tutted, withdrawing and licking the underside of his glans, “eyes down here.”

The second he peeked down at her, she shot forward and practically inhaled his manhood. Out of all the shit he’d seen and been through, both in his time on Earth and Equestria, this was one of the wildest. He was absolutely powerless to stop her, the blowjob felt even more amazing than it looked, and she seemed hellbent on tormenting him. His hips gave a rebellious thrust, as he stifled a moan.

The very worst part was that Tempest had an uncanny skill for questioning captives. He didn’t want to know where or how she’d procured her interrogative techniques, yet the fact that she kept an eye on him, studying him for the slightest signs of crumbling resolve, was as horrifying as it was provocative. Withdrawing the tiniest bit, she assaulted the head of his cock with her lashing tongue.

He was helpless to stop the whimper that escaped him, only exacerbating the situation. Instead of giving him a breather and a chance to beg for mercy, she doubled down on her sensual assault. Bobbing and twisting her head, she hummed around his turgid length like a seasoned veteran of some lecherous war. To make matters worse, she would ignite her horn whenever he even tried to break eye contact with her.

He had no way to tell how long she’d accosted him, but her tactics eventually paid off. A tremble crept into his thighs, he was so hard that it hurt, and the telltale signs of release were upon him. As much as he would have liked to climax and get some relief, jizzing in her mouth probably wasn’t the best idea - not because it wouldn’t feel incredible, but because she may mistake it for venom, or misconstrue it as some sort of attack, and bite down.

Pulling away, leaving a strand of saliva and pre-cum connecting them, she licked her lips. “This would almost be funny, if it wasn’t so sad. Just look at you - I’ve only just started, yet you already look like you’re about to cry,” she cooed. “How utterly pathetic you are - as a matter of fact, if I didn’t know better, I’d say you actually like being treated like this.”

“N…no,” he croaked, defiantly shaking his head.

“That’s adorable,” she patronizingly whispered. “If you’re so sure of yourself, let’s see how you handle this.”

With those final, menacing words, she set upon him like a starved, lustful animal. His mewl cut through the air, as she sheathed the entirety of his shaft in her muzzle and down her gullet. Writhing in place, biting down on his lower lip, he fitfully humped against her. Sweet, merciful Celestia - she didn’t even know what oral sex was, but she’d somehow managed to deep-throat him without so much as the slightest gag!

Her nose departed from his groin and chin from his balls, as she reared back, took a sip of air, and repeated the process a second time, then a third and forth, until she was effectively face-fucking herself on his cock. There were a number of unsettling elements to the depraved situation, yet the most striking of which had to be her ruthless efficiency - at least, so he thought. Noticing a small movement by her rear, he lifted his gaze and noticed her tail was fully flagged. There was no possible way she was getting turned on by his suffering ~ was she?

While her mocking had given him a moment’s respite and allowed him to regain a sliver of composure, he found himself skyrocketing towards release. Even if Tempest wasn’t some sort of sadist, being fellated so aggressively was chipping away at his endurance. It wasn’t until he was teetering on the very brink, did she relent.

Just as quickly as she’d begun, she stopped, unsheathed his length from her gullet, and stepped to his side. Though some part of him was relieved that she’d decided to leave him be, another, deeper part of him silently pleaded for her to keep going. He’d been on the very cusp of a climax, his manhood leaking pre-cum and pulsing in tune with his thundering heart, that he wouldn’t have been able to last more than a few more seconds - sadly, she had something else in mind for him.

Flicking a lever, causing the chains affixed to his arms to go slack, she glared up at him. “Kneel.”

With a lump forming in his throat, he swallowed hard. “W…why?”

“Because if you don’t, I have several messier ways to break you,” she dispassionately sighed, looking to one far wall of the bridge.

Following her gaze, yet wishing he hadn’t, he shuddered. Racks of bladed weaponry and various tools lay neatly arranged on a wooden rack by a doorway. He wasn’t sure how he’d missed seeing the medieval equipment beforehand, but the sight was the last thing he’d expected - for fuck’s sake, aside from a very small troupe of royal guards, he’d never even seen a pony bearing anything more dangerous than a chef’s knife.

“Ahem,” she cleared her throat, wrenching his attention back to her. “I’m not going to ask a second time…”

He was not about to figure out how she’d ply any of her cold, steel implements against him, so he took the only reasonable avenue afforded to him. Instantly falling to his knees, with the slackened chain keeping his arms hoisted above his head, he obeyed. Tracking her with his eyes, feeling sweat rolling down his brow, he mutely awaited whatever nightmarish fate she had in store for him.

“Did you know that, if properly trained, ponies have extraordinary pelvic control?” she mused, lazily trotting in front of him and wheeling around. “If my mouth nearly had you in tears, I’d hate to think what another part of me will do.”

His eyes sailed between her winking, positively drenched marehood and her predatory grin. His best guess was that she’d somehow come to the conclusion that impaling herself on his endowment was some form of combat, since she’d caught him and Daring Do going at it, but that explanation gave him little comfort. Having sex with her would almost assuredly be a fantastic experience, even under the less than ideal circumstances, but there would be no good end to this encounter; either she’d enjoy herself and develop a taste for sinful delights, like so many others had, or she may move on to more extreme measures of questioning him.

“Wait,” he bleated, “you don’t want to do this!”

Brushing her marehood against the tip of his length, she grinned back at him. “Oh I very much think I do…”

Slowly moving in reverse, she sank his manhood into her taut, silken depths. He’d been absolutely correct, she felt phenomenal. Able to do little more than spectate, he watched his shaft sink into her succulent confines. Had it not been for a faint, almost imperceptible murmur, he would have been unable to look away, yet that wasn’t the case.

Looking up to her face, seeing her pinched expression, he could already tell that her hubris was taking a sizeable bite out of her well-defined ass. Regardless of what she’d do after she’d finished rutting herself on him, at least he could say he’d spotted a chink in her supposedly impenetrable armor. Fighting back a smirk, he flexed his pelvis bucked into her.

Her eyes widened in shock, and her progress ground to a halt, as she gasped, but her surprise was fleeting. Casting one baleful eye over her shoulder, she snarled. “Hold still!”

Though he opened his mouth to reply, he hastily sealed his lips and looked away. Provoking her wouldn’t be the wisest thing to do - maybe if or when she started enjoying herself, but definitely not beforehand. Apparently pleased with his submissive response, she braced her hind legs, tensed, and hilted him with a single back-swing of her robust hips.

The last thing he’d expected was for her to do something so brazen, catching him completely off guard, yet he wasn’t the only one shocked by the move. Feeling her snatch wink and spasm around him, seeing the faintest tremor in her frame, it only took him a second to realize she’d made a mistake. Thinking quickly, he rolled his head back and unleashed a long, throaty moan. If she thought her actions were distressing him, so much the better.

“H…heh,” she chuckled, wiggling her hips from side to side. “This must be excruciating for you.”

Tugging at his fetters, he pulled his hips back as far as he could. “Have mercy on me, Tempest!”

Shuffling back, bringing herself closer to him, she unwittingly fell right into his trap. “Mercy,” she breathed, getting into position, “is for the we-Nnnph!”

Cutting her off with a well-timed thrust, he drove his cock into her as best he could. While he may not have had full freedom of movement, he had just enough room to pull off the impetuous maneuver. The top of his length kissed her womb, and his balls slapped against her engorged clit, as he sent her body lurching forward - unfortunately for him, her vengeance was swift and brutal. In a mute display of dominance, she threw her ass back, slammed him against the wall, and constricted around his length.

“Pitiful,” she growled, bearing down and squeezing his cock in her vice-like depths.

He’d sampled the amorous delights from several of Equestria’s sapient species, but none of them were even remotely as tight as Tempest. What he’d assumed was her trying to crush his tool must have been her natural tautness, because when she really wanted to flex, it felt like an angrily gorilla had just grabbed his dick. As he struggled to acclimate to the sensations she afforded, she began pistoning her hips forward and back.

“What’s the - Mmmph - matter?” she falteringly grunted, pounding her tush on him with all the tenderness of a pneumatic post driver.

In spite of only having very little room to move, he put every inch of his mobility to use. Her little scheme to have him on his knees was her second blunder, allowing him to plow her with moderate success, but her biggest error was intending to fuck with him in a metaphorical and literal sense. Getting her timing down, he drove his hips forward to screw her with what little force he was allowed.

Be it from a biological impulse, her fighter’s instincts, or some other factor altogether, Tempest took to fucking like a fish to water. Tightly gripping his dick on the backstrokes, while relaxing on his plunges, she milked his shaft with all the zeal of a champion of carnality. Not to be outdone, pining to finally have an orgasm, his fury matched hers - well, as much as it was able.

Little by little, with each collision of their bodies, the tide slowly turned. While Tempest was just as enthusiastic as when she’d first begun, her motions grew increasingly frantic. Her marehood quivered around him, winking uncontrollably and growing progressively juicer, while her legs shuddered ever so slightly. Peering back at him, with a brilliant scarlet blush in her cheeks, she did her damnedest to look stern, but it was clear that she was struggling.

Staring at her face, Anon put his gambit into play. She either hadn’t realized or had ignored him inching back as far as he could, giving his chains the slightest bit of slack, which was exactly what he needed. Launching forward, he altered the trajectory of his thrusts and directly assaulted her g-spot.

The maneuver was significantly more difficult than he’d assumed, mostly because he was walking the razor’s edge of cumming himself, but his gamble paid off spectacularly. With her eyes rolling to the back of her head, and choked whine slipping past her lip, he vanquished her into the rapturous abyss - regrettably, he was only able to enjoy his victory for the briefest moment. As her scalding nectar surged over his groin and thighs, he passed the threshold.

It was odd to consider an orgasm as well-earned, but be damned if the apogee didn’t qualify. His seed bathed her interior, dribbling slipping past her lower lips to drip from her loins, as he was finally granted the release he’d so desperately sought. It was a cathartic experience, especially since it may be the last he’d ever get, and he savored it like a fine wine. Rocking back, hauling his still erupting cock from her depths, he angled his hips and unceremoniously coated her back and rump with the final shots of his jizz.

“Now do you believe me?” he wheezed.

Shakily turning in place, looking as though her legs may collapse at any moment, she stared at him in disbelief. “T…This - Cough- changes nothing…”

Mirroring her incredulity, he balked. “Seriously? You don’t -”

“No,” she rasped, “I believe you, but that’s the problem. Now I understand why the Princesses needed you captured. If knowledge of this…this vice were to spread, it could throw the world into chaos.”

“You don’t know that! People have sex in my world all the time, but we do alright for ourselves - well, mostly,” he hesitantly pleaded, recognizing that carnality wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows.

“I’ll allow you to shower in my cabin, and I’ll share my bed with you for the night, but your fate is out of my hooves,” she continued, shuffling over and unclasping the shackles around his ankles.

With the wind taken out of his sales, he gazed down at the deck. She’d made a good point - a point he’d been reluctant to confront. Equestria was a pure and innocent place, lacking a great many evils which tarnished earth, and he wasn’t ready to introduce an element of corruption to the world. Peeking over at her, after she’d freed his arms, he couldn’t bring himself to smile.

“Thanks,” he faintly stated, pushing himself up.

Though her cold, calculating veneer had slipped away, replaced by a softer, almost sympathetic expression, she didn’t say a word. She had a duty to fulfill, regardless of whether she wanted to or not, and he could respect that. As she trotted away and to a small doorway, silently nodding at him to follow, he walked after her. He was in the end game, like it or not, and he’d soon face his destiny.