Corruption of Fate

Chapters

How We Got Here
Tempting Fate
First Contact
Good Business
Our Daily Bread
Cultural Exchange: Part 1
Cultural Exchange: Part 2
Cultural Exchange: Part 3
First Taste
Mistakes of the Future
Mistakes of the Past
Mistakes of the Present
First Time
First Talk
First Encounter
First Date
The Maze of Fate
Part One Epilogue: The Moirai
How It All Began
The Legend of Krampus

How We Got Here

“While the minotaur were off saving the fawns,” Aurora continued, “The Moirai were met by three individuals who were not happy with how things had gone. Despite knowing that the minotaur were their only means to get rid of Krampus, even though Lachesis told them that at that very moment the fawns were being saved, they could not accept that this was how things were supposed to be.”

The Antlertean stag yelled at Lachesis, letting out his rage at how the Moirai, who in his mind were supposed to lead deer down the path best suited for their kind, could have brought them to this point. While the seer of the present recoiled from his anger, the seer of the future would not. The youngest member stepped forward, between the stag and the members of her coven, and spoke to him in a manner that displayed her disdain.

“Atropos would not tolerate this behavior from the stags, who still did not understand that fate existed for a reason. Without the carefully crafted design of destiny, the evils of the world could easily run amok, and succeed in their plans effortlessly. The only thing that kept creatures like Krampus at bay was because history stood on the side of good, thwarting every attempt some would be dictator or overlord make to gain unopposable power. It’s the reason that even now, the attempts of villains inevitably end in ruin, that many such creatures that have the power to rule unopposed are rehabilitated, and that forces in this world exist to prevent darkness from dominating everything. Fate is how solely evil creatures are kept from having their way.”

This was all new to Alice, as she was not aware of how strongly fate itself was designed against the forces of evil. History had proven that those with darkness in their heart failed frequently, but she had assumed that was because the principles of good were just stronger than those of evil. This perspective on the matter implied that evil was possibly just as powerful, and was only held back because fate denied them.

“Atropos did not explain this fact of the natural order to them, as she felt that they didn’t need to understand fate to abide by it, but instead told them of what fate had in store for the deer the minotaur would select. They were to be one from each of the four different deer tribes, and would become mothers of their species, and give birth to both minotaur and doe, who would in turn continue to propagate the minotaur to numbers that matched the population of the other creatures of the Far North.”

“But minotaur are a rare species,” Alice commented, knowing that compared to other bovine creatures, minotaur were in a vast minority. It was difficult to ever meet a single minotaur, let alone a large collection of them.

“This was the change that happened,” Aurora replied, “Because when the stags continued to insist that the Moirai fix what they thought the does had caused, Atropos, in her anger at their ignorance, revealed to the Antlertean that that his own daughter would be one of the does selected. Shocked at this knowledge, he fled the cave in hopes of preventing it from happening, with the other two stags following behind him. Atropos had expected this news to get him to leave, and assumed that fate would take its course. It probably should have, but…”

The world changed back to the doe line up, with three of the minotaur now walking down the row, looking over each one to make sure they got the one they believed would be best. However, as they took their time with their selection, the stags returned, and interrupted the process.

“Somehow, against the visions of Atropos, the stags managed to halt the minotaur from making their choice. Through the sheer determination of the Antlertean to not allow this to happen, motivating his compatriots to do the same, the three discovered for the first time in history how to stray from the Path of Fate.”

“What?” Alice said, not understanding what had happened, “How?!”

Aurora gave a disheartened sigh, and explained, “It was through no form of magic, if that’s what you’re wondering. None of the stags had that kind of power. It was hard to figure out how to begin with, but it seems to need two things. The knowledge of what you are trying to defy, and the immovable will to defy it. You can be told your fate, but lack motivation to avoid it. Likewise, you can be determined to go down a path, without knowing there is another way. In this situation, the Antlertean knew what was going to happen, and refused to allow it. If history would have gone the way it was supposed to, the stags might have been too dejected to try and resist, but this combination of elements made all the difference.”

This was it. This was what Alice was looking for, and this discovery made a lot of sense when the yellow doe took into consideration that she had always been told not to stray from the Path of Fate. She wielded one of the elements that made it possible in the first place; to know the future, to see its path tracing out into its predetermined point. Someone who could do that, with unerring accuracy such as hers, had complete control over where in the Maze of Destiny she would end up.

At the very least, she would not go down a path she didn’t desire. Yet, that begged the question. If her future self had once been here, and knew what she did now, then why was it she ended up where she was. At one point she didn’t even want to consider it, but now that she knew the answer was a mere application of will on her part, and not some convoluted method she had the possibility of failing, the position of where she was supposed to end up perplexed her.

“Now you have your answer,” Aurora said, “But Alice, I beg you… Please listen to the end. There is more to this than you know.”

“I will,” Alice said, grateful towards her mentorship and for giving her the secret of defying fate, as simple as it was.

Had she not known, Alice might have assumed it impossible, and fallen into despair. At this point, the least Alice could do was humor Aurora, even if she didn’t intend to comply with the fate dealt to her.

“Thank you,” Aurora said, “Once the Antlertean brought the selection to a halt, he had to keep it from starting up again. So, in a bit of desperation, he convinced the minotaur to allow them to hold a celebration for them, so they could get to know the does better before making any final decisions. The does, all wanting to delay the inevitable, agreed, which in turn convinced the bulls to comply. The Antlertean’s defiance of fate was spreading, creating a new path that he was dragging everyone down. All… save for one.”

One of the minotaur strode up to the other three, one who had not bothered to inspect each doe in the line, as he had already chosen who he wanted. It was the minotaur Alice had noted at Krampus’ table, and at his side was his chosen doe. To Alice’s shock, was the blue furred one Krampus kept as his personal slave.

“Wait, I thought you said that minotaur followed their contracts. They were only supposed to pick from the adults!” Alice said, outraged at this turn of events.

“And he did,” Aurora answered, “This particular doe had been taken by Krampus because she was a fawn, but in the months she was captive she reached adulthood. Krampus was aware from the moment he took her how close she was to this change in her life, and thus treated her differently from the others. His intent was to wait until she was of proper age, and seduce her into serving his desires.”

Alice was repulsed that Krampus had plotted something so vile, but this did little to change her perspective on the minotaur’s own motivations. He might have met her after she had become an adult, but it felt like he was still taking advantage of a younger doe who could not resist him.

“This minotaur, having picked out the one he desired, felt no need to stay. Perhaps this was him following fate’s original design, but he told the others he was going to leave, telling them where he would go so they could eventually meet up with him there. The Antlertean tried to insist that he stayed, but in this matter this lone minotaur’s will was too powerful to persuade. At the very least, one minotaur would take his reward.”

“At… the very least?” Alice asked, trying to figure out where this was going.

“Alice…” Aurora said solemnly, “Do you think that this story still ends well for the savors of deerkind? Their good deed, if purely motivated by the want of a mate, would not go unpunished. As things got set up for the false celebration in the minotaur’s honor, the Antlertean spoke with the Whitetail that collaborated with him, and told him to create something with his alchemy to deal with the minotaur.”

“What did they have in mind?” Alice asked.

“Poison.” Aurora said plainly, getting a gasp from the younger doe.

The scene shifted to the party held later that night, and to the Thicket stag mixing a vial he had into a trio of mugs so large they could only be for the bovines. He then gave it to a doe, instructing her to take it to the minotaur, and warning her to not let anyone else sip from them.

“It was something that had been considered for Krampus, but there was no knowing if the elk would have the fawns taste test their food.” Aurora said, “But inside North Pole, those conspiring against the three remaining merchants could ensure it would only go to their intended targets.”

The doe delivered the mugs to the minotaur, who took them without question, and drunk down the contents with zero hesitation. They must have trusted that the deer would uphold their end of the agreement, and not suspected for a second that they would be betrayed, with how differently they consumed the offered drink compared to when they were in Krampus’ feasting hall.

At that point, the visions vanished, and the cloud of dust dissipated. Alice was back in the abandoned Moirai cave, with Aurora standing before her. It seemed that Aurora had shown the younger doe all she needed to see first hand, as it wasn’t hard to figure out what would happen to the minotaur merchants after that.

“The trio… were dead by the morning. It’s hard to tell if they were even aware of how they were slipping away or if they drunk themselves into a stupor. The other deer were horrified at first, this being the first murder to happen within North Pole to the recollection of those of the time. Plenty of them were appalled, but as the other three stags explained why they did it, the deer’s opinions began to change. None of them wanted the fate Atropos said to the Antlertean to happen to them or their loved one, especially when he depicted it as generational sexual slavery.”

Aurora took a seat on a rock, looking tired as she was nearing the end of the story. It was hard to tell if it was because it was already late, or if the details of this sin among the deer made her weary, but something was taking a toll on her.

“Most deer agreed in time that it was the right thing to do, but few wanted to accept the truth of the matter. As a means to hide the crime, and to demonize the minotaur, the story of Krampus’ defeat was changed to depict a group of stags saving does from a life of sexual servitude, with Krampus being represented by a minotaur. It worked, in a way, as later generations would come to believe this as fact, but the older deer knew the truth. They began to not trust one another, equal parts because they knew some were capable of murder. The deer, which were always intended to live together in harmony, split up into four tribes over time, with Blitzen managing to maintain control of North Pole for the reindeer, while the others relocated to other places.”

Alice gulped, never before aware that the four deer tribes had such a dark past. As Aurora said before, it was unlikely that any deer in the present knew this aside from her, and now Alice. The minotaur merchants might have wanted a payment for their services that few would consider reasonable, but that didn’t mean they deserved to die.

“And the last merchant?” Alice said, noticing something hadn’t been accounted for, nor did things in the present indicate anything good for the final member of the group.

“When the Moirai discovered what had happened, they were mortified. They were at a loss, as no Moirai had ever encountered a situation like this before. It took days for them to collect themselves, and after much consideration, they realized that action had to be taken while the tribes were still together.”

“What kind of action?” Alice questioned again, finding herself actually concerned for that last minotaur.

“The first thing they did was speak to Blitzen, who they knew was not complicit due to Clotho figuring out all who was involved. He agreed things had been taken too far, but at this point there was little he could do. Most other deer weren’t exactly sympathetic to the minotaur, and were already talking about not wanting anything to do with the Moirai anymore. To them our coven were comprised of traitors willing to sell them off to the ‘savage’ creatures from outside our borders, so asking them to do anything to fix the damage the head stags did was out of the question.”

“Did they try to hunt down the minotaur and his… mate?” asked Alice, seeing that as the most important detail.

“If you mean the towns folks, no. They might have if they had any idea where he had gone, but without the Moirai they were in the dark. If you mean our predecessors, then yes. They needed to find the minotaur before he tried to seek out his partners, as the likelihood his own life would be in danger if he did would have been great, Of course, the Moirai knew what direction he went, where he was, and where they would meet up with him. All they had to do was get there, and since we reindeer can travel across the winds, that was a simple task.”

“What did they do then?” Alice asked, hoping that things didn’t get any worse than they already had.

“When they finally caught up to him and the doe he had chosen, they confessed what had happened, and apologized profusely on behalf of the deer. The minotaur made no outward outbursts, but looking at him a creature could tell he was heartbroken to learn his friends were gone. The Moirai could only offer their condolences, their protection, and their service to this bull. To them, all deerkind now owed him a debt, one that would only be completed upon the deliverance of the ‘Promised Gift’. You…”

Alice could follow the line of logic the Moirai had with this decision. The actions of the deer had strayed so far from the Path of Fate that it ruined an innocent species. The minotaur had done the deer a great service, and all but one died for it in a meaningless fashion. While Alice still didn’t agree with the way they negotiated their fee, what the past deer did left a mark on their whole race that Alice could not ignore.

“Tell me,” said Alice, “What is the Promised Gift exactly?”

“Atropos told me that the Promised Gift was a doe who would one day come and serve the minotaur of her own will,” Aurora answered, “One who would bring them luck and prosperity, guiding them to a future they deserved by restoring things to how fate originally designed it, or close enough. Knowing that it’s you, and your abilities, it would add up that you’d be capable of doing that.”

“So Atropos looked into the future, down the last merchant’s lineage… and saw me.” Alice said, putting together the pieces. “Did she make that happen, or was this part of the new Path of Fate that was created by defying it?”

“I don’t know,” Aurora admitted, “But I wouldn’t doubt that your predecessor had some small part in making it happen, even if she was still following the Path of Fate.”

“So everything we’ve done until now, it was all her plan to bide our time till I was ready? What even was the point of the Gift Givers?”

“Well… with the Moirai now outcast from the deer, they had to work out a few problems. First of all how they would survive, since they could see that donations to them were about to dry up. Blitzen helped relocate them, to this cave we’re sitting in right now. He helped them with money and material to start their lives anew, away from other deer. Atropos, knowing exactly what to do, used what was given to create the Gift Givers, as a means to not only support the members of our coven, but to bring some good in the world, now that the carefully laid plans of history had been obstructed. As little as it was, delivering presents to the creatures of Equestria and the Frozen North was a means to rebrand themselves, while spreading happiness and earning an honest living. After enough time, no one even knew the name Moirai anymore, and we became the Gift Givers you know today, dedicating ourselves to the happiness of creatures everywhere.”

“Creatures everywhere, huh?” Alice said, having taken in a lot.

She juggled these two opposing goals in her head for a moment; the happiness of all creatures, and the repaying of a debt all deer owed another species. The future she had seen didn’t seem to be in the best interest of any of the creatures the Minopian minotaur had enslaved, but it certainly would make up for any perceived wrongdoing that had been done to the bovines.

“I still don’t know if I like any of this.” Alice said, being honest with the elder doe, “Yes, the ancient deer did wrong by killing those minotaur and trying to cover it up, but they are all gone, and the minotaur I’ve seen don’t seem any better than Krampus. I don’t know if I can be the Promised Gift.”

Aurora’s face went stiff, closing her eyes as she took in the sincerity of Alice’s words. “Alice, I want you to know that I do care for you, and think you’re a bright young doe. I’ve told you everything you need to know about the role you’re destined to take… including how to avoid it.”

“You mean after all this, you’re letting me decide if I want to go through with it?” Alice asked, aware that she had been given the solution she sought, but having thought that Aurora would have pressured her more into siding with the minotaur as she had.

“To be honest, I couldn’t stop you now if I wanted to.” Aurora admitted, “The ability to avoid your own fate is now in your hands, if you truly have the will to do so. As disappointing as it would be to let the Moirai’s work go to waste, and deprive the minotaur of the justice they have been waiting for centuries to receive, it’s up to you to decide your future, deerie.”

“Then I would like to try and find another way to resolve this situation,” Alice said, “Maybe there is a way we can prevent the minotaur from becoming tyrants in the first place, and help them in other ways.”

The younger doe’s optimism was not reflected by the elder deer, but she had to defer to Alice’s decision. “If that’s what you want to try, but I question if that’s possible.”

“Well the Antlertean leader was able to change the fates of all the deer and the minotaur with a single act of defiance.” Alice said, “Why would it be different for me?”

“Because it wasn’t just a single act,” Aurora replied, “It was a straying from the Path of Fate that took the combined refusal of an entire city to accomplish. In your case, the deeds of a single doe might not be enough to change the course of history again. As I had said prior, doing something like giving out warnings to those who would be affected by events in your future sight might not be enough to spare them, or may even be the reason they are doomed in the first place.”

Alice wished that what Aurora said was a lie, but this was something she had experienced many times first hand. Telling a creature their future never prevented them from enacting it regardless, as the warning would either be ignored, or would set them up for the very thing she saw to happen. In the past she even played into that quirk of future vision by pranking visitors to the Gift Giver’s cabin with a display of her power.

“You might be able to change events for yourself, but doing something that completely alters the course of history might be far more difficult.” Aurora added, giving her final thoughts on the matter, “Besides, do you think you’d be able to stop the minotaur in time to prevent them from becoming the slavers you say they become?”

“Well sure…” said Alice, though not with pure confidence, “I just have to figure out where they are and convince them not to enslave creatures, right?”

The earliest she had looked into the future was two and a half years, and by that time she was already impregnated by her future minotaur master. If she was to make a guess, that meant the minotaur had started their campaign of conquest within the next year at the latest.

“Then I’ll leave you to it,” Aurora said, getting up from her stone seat, “But I have a favor to ask of you if this is what you’re determined to do.”

“I suppose that depends on what it is.” Alice replied, wanting to respect Aurora’s wishes if she could, since she seemed to be content with Alice going her own path from this point forward.

“Would you mind keeping everything you’ve learned tonight a secret from Bori.” Aurora asked, “You might think that she deserves to know about all this, but she did know Atropos at one point, and had a great deal of respect for her. I would just hate to soil the image of her in Bori’s eyes, if she was to discover this secret and misinterpret her motivations.”

Alice wasn’t convinced that seeing Atropos as a bad person was a misinterpretation, as from how the story went, it sounded like she was knowingly leading all of deerkind into a future of servitude to the minotaur. Alice was curious if this was the end destination of the new Path of Fate, or if Atropos had somehow enacted her will upon it to change things yet again, seeing as she would have been just as much in control of her own destiny as Alice was now.

Still, there was another reason why Alice thought it might be wise to leave Bori out of the loop, and that was because she knew that Bori was a slave to the minotaur in the future as well. Perhaps this was to be the first deviation from fate’s design the yellow doe would make, as it felt far more likely for Bori to end up that way if she were involved, than if she stayed out of Alice’s plans.

“Ok, I think I can do that.” Alice said, happy to keep Bori far away from the danger these minotaur presented.

Once the two Gift Givers finished their conversation, they returned to the cabin by the same tunnel they used to get to the old Moirai lair, snuffing out torches along the way to return the chamber to darkness. Alice helped Aurora replace her bed over the trap door leading to it, and after bidding the old doe goodnight, returned to her own room. She had learned much from Aurora, if in the strangest way she could imagine, and was truly grateful that she wasn’t conspiring to make the minotaur dominated future a reality.

By the time the two had returned, it was incredibly late, perhaps mere hours till the raising of the sun, but as tired as Alice was, she had to know one thing before she could allow herself to rest for that night. That was what the minotaur from the future were doing at that moment. Not individual one, of course, but knowing the current status of the minotaur lord would give her a decent enough idea of their current status.

Sitting on her bed, Alice closed her eyes, and focused in on the minotaur in question. She wouldn’t have to look far into the future, just a few minutes to get a good idea of what he was doing in this general frame of time. It didn’t take long for her bubble of vision to form, and for ‘Master’ to appear within it.

The bull was currently, or rather in a few minutes he would be, sleeping in a rather large bed that was built for a creature of his size. His visage was exactly as Alice remembered it, with her getting a good look at it as he soundly sleeping atop the blankets and sheets, completely nude with his flaccid, though still large, penis hanging off to the side of his crotch. Alice grimaced, not pleased that this was the image she was presented with in her attempt to redeem this would-be tyrant, but she settled down when she rationalized that it wasn’t the minotaur’s fault that he just happened to sleep like this and she chose to spy on him.

Unfortunately, the reindeer really couldn’t get much more information than this at the moment, since her field of view didn’t expand out much further from his large body. Alice was just happy that he didn’t have some unfortunate doe sharing the bed with him. It let her believe that there was still hope, and maybe she could find a way through the Maze of Destiny that could allow both deer and minotaur to have a happy ending.

Knowing what she did, she brought an end to her visions, content with the prospect that she could put a stop to the despicable future she had previously witnessed, and went to sleep.

Meanwhile, in another part of the world, the minotaur Alice had been spying on rested as well, laying atop a bed that he had owned for some time now, that was not meant for his kind. Minotaur were nomadic, wandering the lands and laying their heads on whatever soil they chose to stop at in the evening. The idea of owning a bed that was more than a blanket they spread upon the ground was a luxury beyond a culture who had no kingdom to call their own.

For this minotaur, and those who followed him, it was different though. A few decades back, they had left the continent Equestria resided on, seeking out a place where they would no longer be resigned to moving from place to place while their numbers progressively dwindled. Fed up with the more passive traditions of their kind, who were so afraid to enforce their overwhelming strength and will upon others that they would rather go extinct than take a woman by force, this bull and his less moral brethren discovered a land across the seas.

A isolated island continent, that had centuries prior been inhabited by a species of deer who likewise left Equestria to escape others of their kind who had views that opposed their own. Coincidence as it was that these two civilizations be brought together, it felt to the minotaur leader that this was exactly what his newly formed clan was seeking. Thus, through a use of the physical strength his kind were known for, and a bit of subterfuge, to put his men in a strategic position to capture the leaders of the deer. Thus, he conquered this land and created the first minotaur kingdom of Minopolis.

Stirring in his sleep, the minotaur lord eventually awoke as he felt an odd sensation, as if he was being watched. Looking around, he saw nothing out of the ordinary, but he couldn’t shake the feeling that someone had been spying on him. Annoyed that his rest was disturbed, he reached for a chain attached to his head board, and gave it a firm tug.

A second later, a doe who had been sleeping on the floor of his chambers was pulled up to his mattress by the onyx collar secured around her neck. Having been interrupted from her own less than comfortable slumber, the doe flailed as she was choked by the symbol of her slavery, given no time to prepare for the abuse the minotaur was inflicting on her. This doe, her body marked with tribal tattoos that identified her as an Antlertean, could only appreciate that the strangulation was brief, only a few seconds as her body found its way onto the bed, and into her master’s arms.

“Have you been watching me as I slept again?” The minotaur asked the doe, having caught her glaring hate filled eyes at him from his bedside in the past.

“No, my lord.” the womanly doe hastily replied, fearful of how she might be punished if the minotaur suspected her of once more doing a displeasurable act.

Her captor wasn’t against acts of cruelty and torture, and her misdeeds as a servant did not affect only her, as she was the former queen of the Antlerteans, and the daughter she had sired to the previous king was also kept as a breeding slave to this bovine barbarian.

The minotaur gave a loud snort through his large nostrils, and eased up on his hold on the chain leash attached to the doe, “Whatever.” he said, dismissing any perceived wrong doing on his slave’s part. The fact that she feared the consequence of her actions was more important to him than if she had actually done what he accused her of. “Now that we are both awake, attend to your duties.”

“Yes, Master.” the doe said in capitulation, repositioning herself on the bed so her face was at his crotch.

With not a single objection, the doe took his penis in hand, and started licking the bovine sized shaft with diligence. It was the task she had been designated to do every morning, and while the former queen felt only disgust in pleasuring this tyrant, she had come to learn obedience was preferable to what would happen if she refused.

The minotaur lord, on the other hand, enjoyed the sickened expressions that would form on doe’s face, her once regal image disgraced and brought low. Still, the domination of a single species did not satisfy his desire for conquest, to build up his people to a position of power he believed they deserved.

“Fret not,” he said, mocking the doe with false consideration, “While I have disciplined your impudent daughter by sending her to the breeding yards, you will not have to perform this alone for too much longer. Soon, you’ll have others of your kind who will share this burden with you, as I invite the creatures of Equestria into our mighty empire.”

It was something he had been planning since he left Equestria, to someday return and bring it under his rule. Now, after decades of breeding these Antlerteans, he finally had the numbers of adult minotaur he would need to achieve his goal of global dominion. No longer would his brood be at the edge of dying out completely, as he felt it was his purpose in life to subject the females of every species to the privilege of conceiving, bearing, and birthing a minotaur.

In a year’s time they would begin, with the first target of their conquest being an area just outside of the borders of Equestria. A land known as The Far North.

Author's Note

Sorry for the delay. I meant to get the two new chapters out sooner, but my schedule has been more chaotic than I hoped. At the very least, I managed to get past all this exposition, which I'm never sure is interesting to the readers or not. On one half, I know this answers a lot of question people probably had from last year's entries to this story, but on the other hand I know info dumps can be dull if used excessively. At best, I hope the manner I did this was entertaining.

For those expecting more for this year's addition, don't worry. I will be adding a few more chapters that have Alice actually doing things over the course of January, so you'll all get to see some more progress than Alice now understanding why her destiny is leading her to the strange future she has seen. Don't expect an "ending" as of yet though, as that will probably come in next year's addition. And yes, I intend to make this a tri-annual story, if not more depending on how long I make the story. Not sure if you're like that because it's something to look forward to, or will hate that cause of the delay, but it is a christmas holiday story, so this is the way I wish to keep writing it.

That all aside, I hope you all have a Merry Christmas tomorrow, and get everything you wanted for the occasion.

Tempting Fate

The next day Alice woke up finding she was late to her Gift Giver duties by over an hour. Normally Aurora would have been tapping on her door the moment the clock’s needle touched work hours, but after the events of the prior night, the old doe must have seen fit to give her some extra time to rest.

When the youngest of the Gift Givers finally got out of bed, she rushed to get her clothes on and join the others who would have surely been working on wrapping presents, their year round task to prepare for the many winter holidays celebrated by the creatures of Equestria and the Far North. Impending doom and revelations of a mysterious past or no, this task of spreading cheer and good will was considered the Gift Givers most important function, due to the amount of bad things that happened when discourse was spread throughout the lands.

So she left her room in her red dress and cloak, descending the steps leading down to their workshop. As expected, Aurora and Bori were already gift wrapping presents, most of which being toys for the good fawns, foals, calves, and whatever variety of youngling one could think of, within the Frozen North and Equestria.

“Morning girls,” Alice said, going right to her station, which Bori had been managing in Alice’s absence, just as she and Alice had Aurora’s when the elder deer was sick, “Sorry I’m late. I overslept.”

“Oh, it’s fine deerie,” Aurora said, since she knew the reason Alice had to rest for longer than usual.

“Yeah,” Bori agreed, “Aurora told me that you two couldn’t sleep last night, and you spent time discussing this whole minotaur matter.”

That wasn’t completely untrue, but since Aurora asked Alice to keep the details of the ‘Promised Gift’ a secret from Bori, it was unlikely that the middle aged doe was explained in detail about what exactly her fellow Gift Givers had talked about.

“I know this whole thing has gotten you worked up,” Bori followed up, “But you need to try to get some proper sleep. You won’t be able to do anything if you’re sick.”

“You’re right,” Alice replied, acknowledging Bori’s concern for her wellbeing, acting as the mother figure of their close knit trio, “But that shouldn’t be a problem from this point forward.”

“Oh?” Bori responded in curiosity, “Did you figure something out?”

“Just that I can fix all this,” Alice answered, “And that I’ve got the time to do so.”

“Oh?” Bori said, noticing the confidence in Alice’s voice, “Well I’m glad that you got a more positive outlook on the situation. Has the Path of Fate shown you something?”

Bori, still believing that the Path of Fate was, for the most part, immutable, could only assume that the minotaur menace Alice had foreseen was not as much of a threat as first believed. In her mind, Alice must have spent some time last night seeking answers with her future vision, and stumbled upon the point of the minotaur’s defeat. It was the most likely answer she could come up with that would have put the younger doe’s mind at ease in such a short amount of time.

“Sorta,” Alice said, as she got to work tying ribbon bows to the small hill of presents the other two deer had packaged and wrapped, “I did a little check up on our minotaur king last night, and it seems like he hasn’t gained any kind of power yet. I was thinking I could figure out when he starts, and try to reason with him before we get to that point.”

Bori paused for a moment, as she was not already aware that Alice intended to directly defy the Path of Fate. Aurora gave a light grimace as well, since she still would prefer the pact with the minotaur be fulfilled, but she subdued her feelings on the matter due to Bori’s presence, and her acceptance that the matter was ultimately up to Alice.

“Well, I guess if changing destiny is the only way you see to work around it, then it will have to be done. That is what the potion I made you was for afterall.” Bori said, going along with Alice’s plan. “Just be careful. I would have to guess that if you’re changing the future, then you’re not going to be able to see the results of your actions until the change is made.”

“That’s correct,” Aurora said, since she know Atropos had given her the same warnings of not straying from the Path of Fate, so she could hand that warning to Alice when she because the Gift Giver of the future, though without the context that Alice now had, “Any deviation from the history’s current course will be impossible to foresee until an alteration has been made, and by that time it will be too late to take it back.”

“I understand,” Alice said, as she had already come to the conclusion that this was how it worked.

If her mere want to change things gave her the ability to see the outcome of that change, then her visions of the minotaur led society would have stopped the moment she wanted to make moves against it. However, had that happened she would have never learned about the Moirai, and the secret of how to change fate, and thus a predestined future must exist until something happens that makes it impossible. That was how Alice figured it worked, and if that was incorrect, she didn’t really need to understand every exact detail about a force beyond her comprehension to utilize it to her advantage.

“I’ll accept all the responsibility and risks of what happens when I change things,” Alice said, continuing her task, “But from what I’ve seen, I can’t see how anything could be any worse than what would happen if these minotaur aren’t stopped.”

All she was going to do was guide the minotaur to a better way of life, and if that was the only change, then it was hard to see how it could cause some greater disaster or tyrant to take their place. What was the worst that could come from this? The removal of magic from Equestria? Some form of centuries long racial divide? The rise of a dark creature whose evil intentions dwarfed that of the minotaur’s desire to enslave others for the sole purpose of prolonging their species existence.

“Well so long as you understand the gravity of the responsibility you are taking on,” Aurora said, while packing the presents without pause, “But for now, could you check if we’re going to have any visitors today?”

“Oh, right. Of course,” Alice said, closing her eyes for a moment to skim through the day’s events.

It was one of her duties to see if any unexpected guests would arrive on any given day, an exception to her previously given instructions not to look into her own future. Doing this allowed the trio to make preparations for the personalized order that would come. It helped to make the day to day functions of the Gift Givers run more smoothly, since it would give Alice time to look further into that person’s future, to see what gift would be perfect for their needs.

The yellow doe did a quick pass, checking at thirty minute intervals of her day for only a few seconds. As she expected, she was still at the work table doing her job for most of the day, though unexpectedly Bori wasn’t there working next to her. That could be explained by a number of things, so the yellow doe ignored it and continued with her check, proceeding past the trio’s lunch break, where Bori returned, and further until the late evening when she was strangely in her room at a time when work would be finished. What she saw here was a bit odd, as normally the three deer spend time together some time with each other once work was finished, but also because Alice saw herself wearing a look of panic on her face.

Alice kept her cool while witnessing this, telling the others, “It looks like no one’s gonna come today,” while sending her future sight thirty minutes backwards to try and figure out what happened.

Back at the work table, this version of herself was busily tying bows on the final presents of the day, while giving a smile that didn’t look that genuine, and having her head mostly turned away from the others. On a closer examination of her the way her eyes would be hours from now, Alice could tell that the doe she would be was hiding something. They were wide, darting around at a rapid pace that must have matched the thoughts she was thinking. Alice went back thirty more minutes, and saw a similar situation, and did so a few more times to find herself still stricken with an undefined fear that could only be seen in her eyes.

Alice had to find the moment this started, the moment she started making this expression, and after scrolling back a few more times, she found herself sitting in the dining area with Aurora, while Bori brought out that day’s lunch.

Oh dang it, she thought to herself, seeing that it was going to be cooked spinach, beets, and broccoli, a ‘healthy’ meal that she was preparing due to Aurora having been sick and Alice oversleeping.

Alice could only appreciate that it was coming with a slice of freshly baked gingerbread, but more importantly she spotted that her eyes didn’t look as frantic sitting at the table as any time after. She went back just a little further to make sure this was still the case prior, and all she saw was a slightly troubled look that she wore more openly as she put the finishing touches on the presents. That proved her theory, that in the time between dinner and going back to work, something would happen that would frighten her, as the other expression had to be her dwelling on this glimpse into the future.

“Is everything okay?” Bori asked, as Alice had kept her eyes closed for much longer than she usually did during her checks for guests.

“Oh, yeah,” Alice said, opening her eyes and returning to work, but knowing Bori would want an explanation, “I just saw dinner, and wasn’t too excited about it.”

Bori laughed, knowing exactly what it was that displeased the young doe. “I see, but you and Aurora both need something to build up your energy and fill up on vitamins and nutrients. But how about this, if you want to do some wrapping to make up for all the bow tying I did for you earlier, I’ll go and bake up a gingerbread loaf to give you something sweet to eat on top of it.”

Having seen the loaf in question, as well as feeling bad for making Bori do some extra work earlier, Alice agreed, and took up Bori’s station so she could work on what would be the only tasty part of lunch to the yellow deer.

For the remainder of the time up until lunch break, Alice found that her thoughts were distracted by the visions she had seen. As she wrapped and tied, she kept feeling like taking another peek to see what set her off, but doing that would slow down her pace, and leave more work for Bori to do once she returned after lunch. Alice had to rationalize that she would figure out what happened while the trio ate, and until then she’d just have to wait, but that didn’t exactly make her feel better about it. Only when the clock on their wall struck noon did she feel a bit of relief, quickly finishing off a few more presents before running to take her seat at the table.

“Well aren’t you hungry today?” Bori said, in the process of placing the plates and silverware in front of each doe’s chair.

“You know how much I love your gingerbread,” Alice replied, still doing her best to not reveal the stress she was feeling from the anticipation of whatever was to come. Her visions showed that neither of the other two does shared the distress she would be experiencing within the next thirty minutes, so whatever it was, it was probably best if they didn’t know.

Both Alice and Aurora took their seats, and while Bori brought out everyone’s food, the young doe still couldn’t understand what it was that was supposed to freak her out for the rest of the day. As the moment came closer and closer to the point she had seen, and nothing was actually happening around her, Alice could only come to one conclusion. If nothing was going on at the cabin itself, her future self must have used her powers and seen something that worried her.

It has to be something to do with the minotaur, Alice thought to herself, with every other issue in the world seeming secondary to that particular looming threat.

Alice went to shut her eyes again to use her power, and learn the details that her future self had, but before the last seem of light was blocked, the deer stopped. For a short moment, she wondered if this was an opportunity to test if she could change fate with a simple act of defiance. Aurora did say that all it took was the knowledge of what you were trying to defy, and the will to do so. If she didn’t look into the future, would that change the way things would proceed?

A small test wouldn’t harm anything, would it?, Alice asked herself opening her eyes a little as she thought on the matter.

It was such a small deviation, that she couldn’t believe would change the course of fate in any drastic way. That was, unless what Alice’s future self had seen was important to preventing Minopolis from coming to be. That was also a part of changing fate, she thought, the idea that a move she did could be incorrect.

Thinking about it, if she was to look in on the minotaur lord, she would want to peek in on him as close to the present as she could, and with each passing second she was losing more information she could gain on him, as the future became the present. So long as it was yet to come, Alice had access to any knowledge that she would want about the minotaur lord and those who followed him, but what if something was about to happen that was vital information she would need to accomplish her goal. With this in mind, she was starting to think that the notion of ignoring such a detail was what had gotten her worried to begin with, and that by not looking she wasn’t defying fate at all, when truly she didn’t know what it was she was supposed to not do here.

All this went through her mind in the course of a few dozen seconds, the world around her feeling like it was lingering on each passing second, as if time itself was giving her ample opportunity to make up her mind as the destined moment approached. The weight of the decision, even one so seemingly irrelevant, was enough to have Alice second guessing her every action, and mere seconds away from the appointed time, Alice conceded to curiosity, and shut her eyes tightly, focusing on whatever the minotaur lord was doing.

As his image entered into view, Alice was able to see that she had in fact fell right into fate’s design, as a disconcerting sight appeared. While looking just a few seconds into her target’s future, she found the bovine sitting in a large stone seat, the same one he used as a throne years from now. While the yellow deer couldn’t see much more of the room beyond her bubble of vision, the floor was likewise the same kind she recalled from her time spent in her future self’s body, and thus this had to mean that Minopolis, at least castle the minotaur lord resided in, already existed.

Needing no more information than that, the doe opened her eyes with the same look of concern she saw herself wearing. Alice had been told by her future self that the minotaur city had been built over the Antlertean’s lands when they were conquered, and so this told her that the bull men had already started upon their tyrannical ways. The Antlerteans themselves were already enslaved, and it was too late for her to prevent any of that from happening.

Though this was not great news, Alice had to accept that her objectives now had to include freeing the Antlerteans, when she thought she might have a chance to keep them from being enslaved in the first place. It was not the ideal circumstances that she had wished for, but perhaps this was some kind of karmic backlash from what the ancient Antlertean representative did to mess up time, and while the suffering of the Antlerteans was certainly undeserved, this might have been how fate corrected his dubious acts against the bovines.

It’s fine. I’ll just have to alter my plans a bit, Alice thought as she picked up a fork and got to eating, Bori having filled everyone’s plates as while the younger doe was contemplating what she had learned, Once I have an actual plan, that is.

Alice found it difficult to eat as she thought on the matter at hand. She might have had an end goal, and theoretically have a means to achieve it, but she didn’t have the slightest clue of how to go about making that happen. Initially she just wanted to find where the minotaur were now, and do… ‘something’ to keep them from becoming slavers, something along the lines of a heartfelt speech that would show them the error of their ways, as those often fixed the many issues that sprung up throughout history. Now she had to find out where in the entire world Minopolis was, and then figure out some way to end the slavery that had already started before it got worse.

Picking at her food, she looked over to Aurora. No doubt she would know or be able to find out where the minotaur kingdom was, her mild allegiance with the bovine’s crafted destiny made Alice question if she’d give up that information if asked. Aurora might not have been a hurdle Alice had to get over, and was willing to let the younger doe decide the path of her own fate, but that didn’t imply she’d assist any further in doing so than she already had.

Bori, on the other hand, couldn’t help if she wanted to. In order for any Gift Giver to use their powers, they at least needed to know the face of the creature they were seeking to scry on. In matters involving Equestria and the Frozen North, this was rarely a problem, as Bori made it a point to memories as many of the names and faces of those who inhabited those regions as she could, but Antlertis, Minopolis, or whatever it was being called at this current time, was not filled with creatures the pink doe knew.

“Bori, do you know any minotaur that live in Equestria?” Alice asked, before taking a bite of her food, as the dinner table had become far too quiet, and she feared that all the drama she had been making, warranted or not, was the cause.

“Well there is one.” Bori replied, “Iron Will. He’s been living in the area for a short time, and has been trying to start a business there. Something about a self help course, I think, teaching ponies how to take charge and stand up for themselves. Do you think he’s connected to your visions?”

“I wouldn’t say so,” Aurora chimed in between a bite of her carrots. After slowly chewing and swallowing, she added, “That kind of behavior sounds completely different from what Alice has told us about the minotaur she’s seen.”

“Could it be a trick?” Bori questioned, “Trying to lure the ponies into a false sense of security?”

“We can’t assume that every minotaur is part of the ones Alice has seen.” Aurora said, “Minotaur have long since split their tribes, and this ‘Iron Will’ could be from an unrelated group of them.”

Alice took what Aurora was saying as a hint, a bit of neutral information that Iron Will was not the direction she should be looking in if she wanted to change her fate. That was a shame though, because Alice really didn’t have too many leads to go off of.

I guess Bori’s really can’t help me in this, Alice thought to herself as she reluctantly gulped down some more of the green vegetation on her plate. Then a thought hit her, one that might actually do something to aid her, Unless… She was at Minopolis in the future.

To try and reason with the minotaur, Alice needed to know the way to get to where they were. As far as she knew, there wasn’t a single creature on the continent that knew how to get to the island they resided on, but Bori, according to fate’s current plan, would one day be there, and so she had to be taken there somehow.

Sorry, Bori… Alice thought, as she looked away from the other two deer, and once more utilized her powers.

Seeing into the past, present, or future of another Gift Giver without permission was akin to an invasion upon their privacy, but Alice needed to figure out how Bori ended up there. She could have just asked, of course, but to do so would require the younger doe to explain what she was seeking, and reveal to Bori that one day she might become a minotaur slave. If Alice could prevent that future from happening, she would rather Bori never know, and thus this one time, Alice would breach the agreement the three deer had with one another.

Alice could have also looked into her own future, as she too would some day end up in Minopolis if things didn’t change, but by now she felt that every attempt to do so had been a trap set up by that corrupted version of her. She couldn’t risk being lured in again by something that had been set up with knowledge of what Alice was going to do in the present.

All she was doing was seeking a point that revealed the location of the minotaur city. She’d have to do some more skimming, but she wasn’t trying to pry into anything that would be personal to Bori in her future. In a sense, Alice wouldn’t even be looking at the future of the Bori she knew, if she could indeed prevent Bori from ever being enslaved in the first place. So the yellow doe focused on the future of her friend, deciding on half a year prior to when she had last seen the future Bori.

As the vision appeared, Alice braced herself for any number of things she assumed she might see. What ended up coming into her view was the image of Bori laying asleep upon a pile of straw in a location that looked like an enclosed and locked cage. Bori, like the previous time Alice saw this version of her, wore a heavy blindfold over her eyes, with the only other bits of attire on her person being the collar gripping her throat and a cloak each deer slave got, her body naked otherwise. In such a state of exposure, it was impossible for Alice to not notice her fellow Gift Giver’s future self’s stomach as she held it within her own arms, round and swollen, clearly indicating her impregnated state.

Alice’s face scowled at this image, as she didn’t want to have seen this. Bori, in what had to be a later stage of pregnancy, undoubtedly carrying the child of the minotaur who would be her master. She must have delivered the child within her by the time Alice had met her face to face, as she looked much more like she did in the present then, only with her breasts being noticeably bigger than usual. As revolting as it was to imagine how Bori would end up like this, there was one good thing about seeing the older deer this way. Alice could use the state of Bori’s pregnancy to estimate what time the doe had been impregnated, and that might lead to the moment of her enslavement.

I just wish I didn’t have to see what I’m probably about to, Alice thought as she sent her vision to an earlier point in the future. The next image of Bori was not any more pleasant to see, as it appeared that she had already been captured many months prior.

Already enslaved, and currently being used for the purposes of sex in the point Alice had randomly selected to spy at, the pink doe was strapped down on a padded table, held in place as two bulls were busy doing as they pleased with her body. One held her legs apart as he crammed his thick cock into her pussy, stretching it in ways Alice wouldn’t have thought possible around his bovine sized shaft, while the other was doing the same to her mouth, assisted by a gag device that prevented her from closing it. Bori looked to be struggling against her bonds as she was taken advantage of, but if the impact of the minotaurs thrusts, which shook the structure she was bond to, would not cause the thick leather straps to snap, then Bori’s much weaker attempts would not do anything to help release her from their grip.

Alice was appalled at the sight of her friend being so thoroughly violated, watching her throat and stomach bulge out an imprint of the two minotaur’s dicks as they traveled in and out of her, but she had to keep watching to figure out if this moment held some information of her current location. Alice couldn’t tell at the moment due to the limitations of her visual bubble, but depending on where Bori was being raped, there could be a map or chart somewhere nearby that the pink deer could pop into view, if only momentarily.

As she kept watching in silence though, she had to bare witness to the minotaur releasing their cum inside the currently unimpregnated doe, their individual loads working together to make Bori’s lower torso swell up from her womb and stomach filled up to capacity, with small spurts of thick sperm seeping out the exits of her stretched orifices due to the pressure. The two minotaur, once finished with their orgasm, removed themselves, allowing for a disgusting scene to take place as their cocks no long blocked the paths they filled, and cum burst out of Bori’s mouth and pussy, spilling buckets of white fluid over her face and onto the floor.

A few Antlertean appeared to help clean up Bori in the aftermath of this violation, sponging up as much sex fluids as they could in a short amount of time, but once an arbitrary time limit was up, another set of bovine men came in to take the place of the ones prior, inserting their erect cocks inside the pink doe’s previously ravaged holes, to pick up where the previous two left off. Bori wasn’t just being forcefully impregnated at this point; she was being gang banged by who knew how many minotaur waiting just outside Alice’s view.

Seeing the second pair insert themselves, with a panting and exhausted Bori screaming in exasperation as one entered her pussy, and the other silenced her by stuffing her throat, Alice had to move on to another moment in time before the bulls got into full swing of their violation of her. Hoping for a much more pleasant moment in Bori’s timeline, even one before she had been enslaved by the minotaur, Alice went back another week from that moment.

As the image came in, Alice was grateful to see Bori not yet in bonds, and without that blindfold she had seen in every vision to this point. She was fully clothed, with no collar, and no pregnancy. However, Alice didn’t know where she was exactly, as all she could see was the pink deer running through a forest.

Maybe this is the moment she got captured, Alice said, thinking she was being pursued. The panic in her eyes certainly gave that impression, but after skipping forward a few times, Alice saw her exit the forest, and enter into an open.

Once more, the limitations of her vision prevented her from seeing much, but Bori’s actions gave her clues on what was happening. Bori, once leaving the woods, ducked behind a sizable crate, and just a moment later a large bovine leg entered into the bubble of Alice’s vision, before walking right back out of it. Seconds later, Bori picked herself up off the ground, and moved not away from what had to be the minotaur, but towards them, going deeper into a space that looked to be a minotaur base.

As Bori proceeded to infiltrate this minotaur occupied space, for reasons Alice couldn’t begin to understand, ducking around object and avoiding every bull that came close to her by staying out of sight, Alice could see this wasn’t so much a base, but a shipyard or dock, as several times the pink doe went to the edge of the wooden platform she was sneaking around upon, getting close enough for the doe spying on her to see water.

Bori made her way around this pier, managing to avoid being detected by the minotaur around her, no doubt using her own powers to keep track of their movements as she constantly closed her eyes while she darted from one piece of cover to the next. Bori’s ability to multitask her powers with her movements was amazing, especially compared to Alice, who had to hold still while using her powers to keep from causing accidents, and she easily made it to her destination, climbing a gang plank into one of the minotaur’s boats.

What are you doing there? Alice questioned, unable to grasp why Bori would ever put herself in such danger. Bori should be staying miles away from the minotaur, since Alice told her of their intent with the deer.

Yet her fate dictated that she would willingly enter into a ship ran by them, making her way through the halls of what seemed to be a cargo ship, where the cargo was people. She passed by door after door, looking inside to find does and stags, ones that were reindeer like them, meaning that the minotaur must have successfully raided the deer village the Gift Givers were from. This led Alice to think that Bori had come to free those captured, but if that was the case it was a fools errand. Should she succeed to save even a single deer, her fate said she would be captured in their place.

It was dawning on Alice that she probably should tell Bori what might happen in the future if she didn’t stay as far away from these minotaur as possible, as she knew that the last thing that she wanted was for any of her loved ones to befall the cruelty of these bovines. Maybe that was one way she could change fate for the better. If that’s what she was going to do though, she still needed to know where Minopolis was, so for now she kept watching, hoping that Bori was on the way to the captain’s quarters, or someplace else that could have the information she needed. Instead, the doe stayed in the holding area for the minotaur’s captives, checking every cell she could find until finally she located who she was looking for.

The pink doe opened the door, the cell having a simple lock on the outside, and entered with no delay. “There you are,” she said as she approached the one being held inside, “I’m here to get you out of here. I won’t let these minotaur turn you into their breeding slave.”

Bori looked next to the doorframe and found a set of keys hanging there, as though she had known they were there all along, and then approached the captive. Alice had to stifle a gasp as she saw who it was that Bori had come to save, as it when Bori stepped deeper into the room, a yellow furred doe with green hair came into view. It was her future self again, sitting naked on the floor, shackled into place by a set of chains that were bolted to the wall.

Alice’s mind immediately went into panic as this scene unfolded, as Bori stepped closer to Alice’s future self. There was little doubt that the yellow deer she was seeing was the corrupted version of herself, as she wore a smile far too pleasant for their current situation.

“I knew you’d come to save me,” the Future Alice said, lifting her shackles to accept the key Bori held.

“I know you did,” Bori said back, undoing the locks, “I bet you were so scared that you might become a minotaur slave, and had to make sure someone would rescue you.”

“Not at all,” Future Alice replied, “I haven’t been afraid of being a slave for a long time.”

As Bori undid one shackle and went to the next, Future Alice grabbed the removed bond, and waited for Bori to finish her task. There was no need for Future Alice to hide what she was doing, as Bori was too distracted to notice, and she knew this would be the case because she had seen this play out before in Alice’s present. The moment the next shackle was removed, Alice made her move and clasped the first one around Bori’s own wrist, and as the pink doe took notice and succumbed to confusion, Alice attached the other one as well.

“Alice, why did you…” Bori said, just as Future Alice snagged the keys to the shackles right out of the pink doe’s hands, and swiftly moved away from her, to the door.

“She’s been captured!” Future Alice yelled at the top of her lungs, calling down the halls.

The look of betrayal on Bori’s face was mortifying, and Alice couldn’t believe that fate said that one day she would be the reason Bori would be enslaved, raped, and forced to give birth to a minotaur’s offspring. What twists in her life could ever convince her to do such a thing? To become the evil doe she kept seeing in her visions.

It did not take long for many minotaur to make their way to the cell, and enter in to find the new doe that had been delivered to them.

“Just as I told you, master,” Future Alice said as she approached the familiar minotaur lord, who happened to be on the ship, and was the first to enter, “She came right to me, and allowed me to trap her. I hope this offering shows that my submission to you and your kind was legitimate.”

“It… certain grants you some credibility.” said the minotaur king, looking about as bewildered that Future Alice had served him another Gift Giver as Bori herself, just without the growing fear on his face that the pink deer had, “Well then, how about we welcome our latest slave into her new life.”

The minotaur men approached Bori, removing what little clothing they had on to expose their massive shafts. There was no mistaking what was about to happen, and as one reached down to grab Bori, Alice cut off her vision by opening her eyes. She had seen enough, and wasn’t about to watch Bori get defiled for a second time, especially not when said defilement was caused because of her direct actions in the future. Alice’s mind was racing, and she now understood why there was a look of terror on her face when she looked over the day’s activities.

It was one thing to know that her future self had given into the minotaur as some sort of willing sex slave. It was another to have been told she helped the minotaur to enslave other species she had never personally met. To discover that she was supposed to hand over to these tyrants a person so close to her that she saw them as family, that was terrifying. The minotaur must have done something to control her mind or otherwise command her actions, because she could never see herself doing this under any other circumstances. Not in such a short span of time, cause if she had tracked everything correctly, this was supposed to happen in a little over two years from now.

“Alice, are you sure you’re ok? You’ve hardly touched your food, or said much for that matter.” Alice heard the voice of the doe she was going to betray speaking to her, showing concern that the yellow deer now felt she was entirely undeserving of.

“Y-yeah, I’m fine,” she lied, digging into the plate and eating everything as hastily as she could, “Was just dwelling on something really hard. Don’t worry though, it’s nothing I can’t handle.”

Bori could tell there was something more to this than Alice was letting on, but intent on allowing the younger doe her privacy, she only replied with, “If something is troubling you, you know you can talk to me and Aurora. Especially if it’s about those minotaur again.”

How could Alice talk to either of the other does about this. Aurora would probably see it as a good thing, that this was satisfying some notion of balance to pay back the debt to the minotaur, which Alice didn’t even want to taint her image of the older doe by hearing that. Then there was Bori, and how could the yellow doe tell her that unless something drastic was done to the timeline, she was would be the direct reason a bunch of bull men would end up raping her in the future.

“Seriously, I’m good. I just want to finish this delicious meal and get back to work,” Alice quickly devoured everything on her plate, snagged a slice of gingerbread, and then returned to her station, praying that tying bows would distract her from the images floating around in her head.

The rest of the work day was not easy for Alice. She couldn’t get the thought of her destined betrayal out of her head, and as a consequence couldn’t so much as look at Bori as she returned to wrap presents. While she had not done anything to the older doe, and had no intentions of doing what she had seen, knowing that some version of her out in the course of history was capable of such a thing made Alice feel as if she had no right being in the same room with the other Gift Givers.

She went about her tasks while doing her best to act casual, speaking when spoken to, and tying her bows at a normal pace. The second part was easy to do, since it was the last thing needed to be done with a present, and required the other two does to complete their parts first, but talking casually took some effort. As the long line of gifts for that day came to an end, Alice was quick to head back to her room, excusing herself for the evening, with the excuse that she wasn’t feeling well and needed more rest.

The other does allowed her to leave, both with varying levels of skepticism for her excuse, as both were certain that this was more about her issues with the future she had seen. Alice rushed back up to her room, just wanting to be away from the other Gift Givers, so she could collect her thoughts. Once there, she locked her door and dropped the facade of confidence she put on in order to talk to her mentors, outwardly expressing the fear she felt at the knowledge she had gained, fulfilling the vision she had seen of herself earlier in the day in the process.

How did she manage to trap me when I wasn’t even looking into my own future?! Alice thought, not wanting to connect herself with her future self at this point.

It was hard to accept, but the power of foresight was being used against her. Anything Alice knew, her future, corrupted self could take advantage of. In a sense, her powers were useless, and even detrimental, when the deer she was supposed to be could appear in the futures of others Alice wanted to look into as well. Surely, Future Alice had used the knowledge of Bori going to rescue her to trap her, revealed that had all been planned out when she summoned the minotaur to claim their new prize, which Alice could only blame herself for breaking the Gift Giver’s rule of not looking into each other’s histories without permission.

On top of that, Alice had learned that her decision to use her powers while eating, which she had thought was one she made of her own accord, meant nothing. She didn’t change fate in even a minor way, only fell into what it wanted. Of course, as she already knew, her decision was the one she chose of her own free will, but it was the choice she was always going to make. The combination of her curiosity, doubts, desire to stop the minotaur, and the options she had in that moment, is what crafted her fate after all, and she could do little to prevent herself from doing something she wanted to do in the first place. Defying fate was much harder than Alice assumed, and she wondered what part she had lacked in this moment, the knowledge of what she should have been going against, or the will power to go against it.

Ok, calm down Alice, thought the doe, Freaking out over this isn’t going to get us anywhere. What we need to do is figure out if we learned anything from what we saw.

Thinking back at everything, she now had a general time of when everything was going to go into a point of no return, as she had seen reindeer held in captivity, to be relocated to minopolis, where they would never be able to escape. She had also seen herself, with Bori trying to save her from enslavement, which might have meant that the minotaur had caught her around the same time. That also implied that if the minotaur did something to her in order to corrupt her mind, it had to have happened around that time.

There was one other thing she had discovered, which could lead to the information she was seeking in the first place. The minotaur lord was, or will be, on that ship taking the deer to the minotaur kingdom. If he was in the Frozen North, then following his timeline should allow her to figure out where Minopolis was, and no matter what she ended up doing, that was the first step to correcting the injustices the future would bring.

Alice sat down on her bed, and then laid down across her mattress, closing her eyes to start her search, scanning the minotaur king’s future, staring months prior to the moment on the boat. This way she’d hopefully avoid encountering future self again, and even more hopefully prevent her from knowing things that would aid her evil deeds.

“I will figure out a way to beat you,” she swore aloud, her comment directed towards the version of herself she hoped to erase, fully aware that her pledge meant little if she failed and ended up becoming the thing she now loathed more than anything else.

First Contact

For the following weeks, The Gift Giver spent every moment of her free time searching the future of the minotaur king, no longer content in doing things from the safety of the grove. Since she now knew that the minotaur king would personally participate in raids on the Far North, his future had to hold some hint to where the minotaur’s city, and the island it resided on, was located.

Starting months prior to the moment she last saw her corrupted self, wanting above all else to keep her out of her visions. Alice’s logic was that so long as she viewed things that Future Alice could not intervene in, then any new information she gathered could not be used to meddle even more with things in the future. It was a flimsy assumption at best, because Future Alice could theoretically be anywhere she wanted, but if her future self was the result of following the Path of Fate without straying even slightly, then Alice had to believe that any point where she wasn’t present could not be used against her.

Going through months worth of visions each night, skimming through the days in order to find what she needed, Alice would only stop when he was speaking with other minotaur, as Alice spent a few weeks worth of her time learning much about the minotaur lord’s plots, which were what she had expected from the slaver lord. Having long since dominated the Antlerteans completely, the next goal of the minotaur was to expand their reach to the other species of the world. From the way the minotaur king and his associates spoke at times, this had been plotted since the empire’s inception, something they were slowly putting together since they founded Minopolis.

Alice also learned that they would occasionally perform small expeditions across the sea, traveling to areas far outside Equestria’s borders, seeking isolated tribes of creatures to capture and forcibly induct into the minotaur’s culture of tyranny. SInce this required many trips from the continent the minotaur had annexed,the reindeer eventually discover a point where a map charting the location the bovines’ domain was, far off the shores of the West Equestrian Sea.

With the their island’s place in the world discovered, Alice prepared for a time she could set her own plans in motion, where she could make a journey to Minopolis long before the minotaur came to enslave the reindeer of her home town. While preparing gifts for the winter holidays of all creatures was a year round job, there were days permitted weekly where the Gift Givers had time off, just like any other job. For Alice, these days were used for either lounging around the cabin, or more often going to the reindeer village to spend time with her real family. So once a few off days came around, Alice had no problem convincing Bori and Aurora that she was going to do the later, when the truth was she was going to find the wretched maze city.

Alice departed as soon as she got off work the day prior, giving both her fellow Gift Givers a quick farewell accompanied with a tight hug before she left. The second she stepped outside and closed the door though, she gathered up a backpack lightly filled with supplies she stowed away for her journey, and took to the sky. Utilizing her species’ ability to use the northern winds to emulate flight, the yellow doe headed of to where she knew she’d find the civilization the minotaur had claimed as their own. It was known that the fastest flyers among reindeer could travel to every city in Equestria in a single night, but Alice was nowhere near that adept when it came to speed. Even going in one direction towards where she assumed this island continent was, it would take some time for Alice to arrive, with her having to stop and rest at several points prior to reaching the coast. Not wanting to travel across the ocean at night, Alice camped on the beach until morning, and continued her journey the next day as dawn broke. From here forward, she knew there would be no place to stop, lest she found a small island along the way, which she could not depend on.

Thus began the actual search for the minotaur’s continent, with nothing but ocean in all directions for some time. With only a general idea of her destination, she could only hope that Minopolis was not so far away that she couldn’t reach it. Alice could have of course checked her own future again to see if she would have gotten to the island by days end, but the Gift Giver was starting to see a pattern of how each time she looked into her own future recently, it lead to a new horrific revelation that she wished she hadn’t seen, so she chose to refrain from using her gifted abilities for the time being. Her target was, after all, an entire continent, and a landmass that big would be hard to miss, even if she was off by a wide margin.

For several hours, there was nothing as Alice made her way across the sea, seeing nothing but a blue horizon ahead, and an ever shrinking land mass behind her when she took the opportunity to look back. Eventually, the doe could no longer see the land she had left, which put a slight sense of fear in her knowing she was so far away from any place that she knew, that if anything bad happened no one would be around for miles to help her. This was expected though, as it would be ridiculous if the minotaur’s lands were close enough to be seen from the shore, but being this far away from her home, heading into what she saw as ‘enemy territory’, felt terrifying now that she had gotten this far.

For some time after that, all she could see was blue ahead of her. The calm, light blue skies above, and the roiling, dark blue waters below. It was quiet, with only the repeating sounds of waves and wind around her, as she kept a slow steady courant, going as fast as she could without building up fatigue. Finally though, Alice saw new land approach, and while that meant she was still a good distance away, the doe’s mood brightened as she realized she had found what she sought.

When Alice was able to touch down on dry land again, landing on the first bit of green grass her hooves could reach, she gladly collapsed to the ground. The doe had been running on the winds from dawn till a few hours before noon, and while this was not her first long distance trek, with previous ones having her pull a sleigh full of toys and presents behind her as well, this trip had been both physically and mentally exhausting.

But we made it! Alice thought to herself, replying to a thought of how harsh traveling this far alone had been.

The doe was ecstatic that the she had made what had to be a several days trip by boat in such a short time, and even more so that she had indeed found the right place, as while landing she had spotted several large landmarks that looked like buildings and cities, including one off in the distance which was the maze she recognized from her trip to the future. While it was still tens of miles away, Minopolis was in reach.

Rolling around to put her back to the ground, Alice took a moment to rest and recover, assuming that she had landed far enough in the outskirts of the minotaur’s kingdom that she had to have gone unnoticed. However, she was ready to take off the moment that assumption turned out to be untrue, understanding that a hasty retreat back to Equestria’s borders would not be easy in her current condition.

So let’s think here, Alice said to herself in her mind, since step one of her plan was now complete, Now that I’m here, what to do?

Alice had no grand delusion that she was gonna fix everything in a day, but she was never going to solve anything staying at home waiting for the minotaur to come to her. What she needed was information, to figure out how she was gonna convince the minotaur to give up their evil ways, and release the creatures they currently had enslaved. Where to start on something even that simple though? It wasn’t like she could walk right into the maze city, and start asking questions. She probably couldn’t even fly in through the top, just to spy on what people were saying, without being noticed and captured.

“Maybe I should try one of those smaller places first,” Alice said aloud.

Among the several locations she had seen while up in the air, she noticed a few areas that were like the maze city, but not nearly the same. Places that had thick, encircling stone walls, with a single large building in them, along with open areas comprised of a large field and some wooded areas. Alice wondered if those were maybe where some richer minotaur lived who didn’t want to reside in Minopolis itself.

“Probably not gonna get any help from there,” Alice said, thinking that any rich minotaur was likely the ones that profited the most off the system of slavery this kingdom had.

Other locations outside of the main city looked akin to farmlands, quarries, ship yards, or mining operations. Minopolis, from what she had seen from above, took up a large amount of land, being one, huge, mega city that could have been divided up into four or more of the largest pony cities. It must have taken up a lot of resources to operate something of that scale, and which would have explained why the things outside its outer walls were mostly dedicated to producing everything they would need inside them.

“If I were to make a guess,” said Alice as she formed a theory of how things worked around here, “I bet all of those places are operated by some Antlerteans that the minotaur have do all the work for them.”

Having said that, it dawned on Alice that one of the best ways to deal with the minotaur might be to get to them through those they had enslaved. The deer native to this island had to hate being oppressed, as freedom was a concept that Alice assumed all creatures desired. Sure, she had encountered one Antlertean doe who seemed happy to obey the minotaur during her first time going into the future, but it was likely that particular one was deeply brainwashed, or perhaps in a privileged position due to her knowledge of Antlertean technology. The vast majority must hate the position they were in, and would surely want things to change. With that in mind, they would be Alice’s greatest allies if she told them she intended to liberate them from their bonds.

Having rested enough, Alice got up and looked around for the smallest of the nearby farming operations, as she took into consideration that each one she had seen were probably not left solely in the hand of the deer who did all the work, and would have a task master to assure that the slaves do what they were supposed to. More slaves would require more minotaur to keep them in check, so something small may only have one or two of the bovines operating things, an amount that she felt she could tiptoe herself around. It might have been easier if she could steal the trick she saw Bori do in her future visions, but that was not a skill Alice could effectively emulate, since she couldn’t move about as freely while using her powers. Maybe some day she could do that, if she put practice into it, but right now she was better off with her mind staying in the present.

Making her way to one that looked like it was full of fruit producing trees, the reindeer deemed it the best one to approach because of the cover they would provide as she got close. She wasn’t wearing her red cloak at the moment, as she was well aware that the bright colors would get her spotted no matter where she went to on the island, opting for an older brown cloak she hopes would be close enough to the parkas she saw the Antlerteans wear in her visions. Whether or not it would help her blend in, the reindeer got to the farm with no issues, able to walk right up to it and enter without being stopped or approached.

Alice entered the boundaries of this bovine owned orchid by hopping the fence surrounding its outskirts, and once inside she could see that these trees bore fruit that looked like peaches, save for the odd purple skins they had.

I guess it might be a regional thing, Alice thought, knowing enough about plants that a different climate could cause them to have slight changes.

Honestly, the fruits looked nice and ripe, and the doe had an urge to grab one to eat, despite having packed herself food for a day or two, but she decided against it. She didn’t want to benefit from anything that might have been the product of another creature’s enslavement. Maybe she could give one a try at a later date, after she helped liberate the deer here, but for now she forbid herself from partaking of these ill produced fruit.

As Alice made her way into the orchard, she found herself enjoying a leisurely walk through this patch of nature, the surrounding foliage much more enjoyable than her morning jog in the skies over the ocean. The warmer climate of the minotaur occupied island also had some novelty to it for the doe, since she seldom visited places during their summer, spring, or fall seasons, the Gift Giver’s Grove well within the Frozen North where it was perpetual winter. To a reindeer, such greenery made for a vibrantly scenic view, and while the Antlerteans of this day were used to it, or had more pressing matters to worry about, Alice wondered if they too appreciated these sights when first settling on these lands.

Shortly after the Antlerteans came to the forefront of her thoughts, Alice noticed some movement among the trees that made her duck behind one. She waited a few seconds, wanting to make sure she hadn’t been noticed as well, before peeking around her cover to see an Antlertean busy atop a ladder, plucking the purple peaches from the trees to drop them into a large bushel bucket set at the tree’s base. Having not been seen by this other deer, Alice took the time to examine what was the first Antlertean she had encountered in her timeline, even though technically she had already seen and met others when her mind was projected into the future.

It was a stag, wearing the parka she had seen on others of his kind, and an accompanying collar on his neck that identified his status as a slave. Aside from this, he wore nothing else, a detail Alice could see each time he reached up to grab a fruit from the tree, revealing through the gaps of the cloth draped over him that he was completely naked underneath. This let her see the tan fur that covered most of his body, as well as the tribal markings that adorned his kind, his being red, as there didn’t seem to be a standard color that was shared by Antlerteans.

Part of Alice wanted to approach the deer, but her better judgment kept her in her hidden spot. She didn’t know what would happen if she just went up to one of these enslaved deer, and while the reindeer would hope their response would be positive, there could be many disastrous results to them seeing a strange doe that could mess up what she was trying to accomplish. They could panic encountering someone they had never seen before, or get startled and attract more attention than she wanted to her location. While she did want the Antlerteans to know someone was here to free them from their bonds, if she got crowded suddenly, it could draw in the eyes of whatever minotaur were managing this place, and lead to her being incapable of escaping. As the yellow doe had refrained from looking into her own future, she didn’t yet know if this adventure ended with her returning home unharmed.

The Gift Giver wondered if there was a more isolated area to speak with this stag, as he couldn’t be the only one around. Unfortunately, there were no buildings this far out in the orchard, and the trees were too uniformly grown to provide adequate cover at all angles. For now, the reindeer felt it was best to just observe.

Alice’s cautious nature was soon confirmed to be the correct decision, as a carriage approached the location the yellow doe had hidden at, traveling down a dirt path that she had neglected to see beforehand. It was a simple, if large, harvest wagon, being pulled by one of the bovines that Alice wished to avoid at all cost. The minotaur parked his wagon close to the working deer, and then approached the tree had been collecting the peaches from.

“How’s it coming along?” he asked the slave deer rhetorically, as he looked over his filled buckets, “Not too bad. Four buckets full on this tree, and I saw the other ones the night shift did. Speaking of, have you seen Shade? She didn’t check into the belfry last night, and I assigned her to this lot.”

The stag looked down from his elevated position, and to Alice’s surprise, gave the minotaur a smile before answering, “Yes sir. It looks like she met quota early last night, and decided to take a nap before dawn. She’s sleeping on a tree branch over there.”

“Sleeping huh?” The minotaur said gruffly, making his way to the indicated tree, which was not too far away from the one that Alice was hidden at, “Well at least she’s not eating the product again.”

As the minotaur got to the pointed out tree, Alice had to quietly move herself around her own to avoid the bovine’s line of sight. Managing to avoid detection, she watched as he approached the tree, and then grasped it by the trunk. To Alice’s amazement, the bull used his massive muscles to shake the entire tree, causing many of the peaches it held to come falling down, along with the body of the creature that the minotaur and stag had been talking about. At first it looked as if the creature was going to follow the example of the fruits, but at one point her descent stopped, and she started swinging mid air like a pendulum.

The minotaur had to catch the creature and physically stopped it from swinging, giving Alice a good look at what looked to be a pony. At least, it had the basic shape of a pony, but her features looked unlike any the reindeer had seen prior. In many ways she looked more feral, with her fur being more disheveled, her ears being pointier, and mouth sporting a set of sharp fangs, a feature the doe had never seen on any pony she had ever seen. Even odder, this mare, as Alice could now see, had wings like a pegasus, but instead of the feathered kind she had always seen prior, these ones looked to be those of a bat.

“Hey,” the minotaur said sternly, as he shook the body of the mare, which was currently upside down, her tail hairs coiled around the tree branch she had been resting on, “Wake up. Your shift is over.”

The bat-like pony yawned and opened her eyes with a few blinks, looking at the minotaur with tired eyes. “Morning, master.” she said, “Did I oversleep again?”

“You shouldn’t be sleeping during your shift at all,” the minotaur said, “I swear, of all the thestrals, you are the one who gives me the most trouble.”

“But I also get the most work done,” the bat mare replied with a stretch before curling up again and closing her eyes, “So you can’t be that mad at me, right master?”

The minotaur gave a groan, and placed his hands as to catch the mare’s body, as he said, “Come on, uncoil your tail. I’ve got a lot to do, and you’re delaying me.”

The bat mare complied, releasing her grip on the tree branch so she could fall into the minotaur’s arms, not even opening her eyes as she did. Shaking his head, the minotaur took the bat pony to his wagon, set her within it, and then proceeded to go about the nearby trees, collecting full buckets of peaches, and replacing the filled ones with empty ones.

Is he another worker? Alice questioned to herself, as this particular minotaur didn’t seem as heavy handed as the other bulls she had seen, That can’t be it. The stag called him ‘master’. Maybe he thinks it’s easier for him to do the heavy lifting?

The size of the buckets did seem to lead to this idea, since it would take several Antlerteans to pick up something that heavy once filled, but that begged the question why they didn’t use smaller buckets to have the slaves do all the work.

Is this minotaur intentionally helping his slaves? It was an odd, seemingly contradictory thing to think, but if this minotaur was participating in the work, perhaps he had sympathy towards the deer he owned.

Alice couldn’t determine anything for sure based on this one observation, and it could have been that he was too busy at this moment to dish out whatever punishments he would give the bat mare later. Whatever the reason was for this display of kindness or indifference, the reindeer wasn’t going to act on a whim that this minotaur might be nicer than the rest, but this was the kind of thing that Alice felt was worth taking note of.

For the remainder of the time the minotaur stuck around, Alice managed to keep hidden from him, moving around every time he got into a position that threatened to expose her. Thankfully the minotaur was hyper focused on his job, and the stag was diligently picking peaches to complete his own tasks. When the minotaur finally pulled away in his cart, taking his collected fruits and bat pony with him, to head off to different parts of the orchard, Alice was relieved that she had gone the entire time unnoticed.

From that point, her next plan of action was to move elsewhere, away from the direction the minotaur went, when she was certain that the slave buck was distracted, with the intent of going deeper into the farmlands to see how others here took to this enforced labor. However, what she intended to do didn’t matter, not when she heard the slave stag suddenly say ‘You can come out now”.

Alice’s eyes went wide, as she didn’t know yet if the Antlertean was talking to her. She hoped that it was someone else he was addressing, but when he followed up with ‘I saw you trying to avoid the master earlier’, she couldn’t think of who else he could be talking to. Still, she didn’t simply reveal herself, hoping that he was actually talking to another slave deer that happened to be hiding in the area at the same time as her.

“I don’t know if you’re slacking off, or trying to snag a Passion Fruit for later,” the stag said, stepping off his ladder, “But you know that not reaching our quota affects everyone on the farm. No use hiding when you’ve been caught.”

The stag was coming right to Alice’s tree now, and while the stag clearly thought he was addressing a fellow slave, it was also apparent that he had seen her scuttling about to keep from being seen. Still, the reindeer couldn’t find the will to stop trying to hide, sitting with her back pressed up against the bark of her cover until the moment that the stag bent his head around the tree to look at her directly.

“Oh!” the stag said, surprised at what he was looking at.

While Alice had the hood of her cloak up, the mere fact that nothing she wore matched what he currently had on let him know immediately that he wasn’t speaking to one of the slaves of the farm. That this doe had actual clothes on further alluded that she wasn’t a slave at all, as it was customary among minotaur to keep their Antlertean property naked, or as close to it as they could, at all times.

“Sorry!” Alice yelled, picking herself up and readying to go into a sprint, continuing to blurt out, “I think I’m in the wrong place!”, as if she needed to excuse herself.

“Wait a second.” the stag said, managing to nab Alice by the cape of her cloak, preventing her from getting away, as the resistance pulled the hood off her head.

With her features from the neck up revealed, the stag could now see that while this intruder was a deer, she was not of this island. Not with her broader nose, brightly colored yellow fur, and green hair. Antlerteans were more slender, and their fur colors were mostly neutral colors of brown and gray. Not only that, but her neck didn’t have a slave collar on it, and her antlers were grown out to full length, unlike his own which were trimmed to mere nubs.

Alice took the opportunity to yank her cloak away from the shocked stag, and was about to run all the way off the farm, but before she could get a good distance away, she heard the stag say to her in a calm tone, “Are you from off the island?”

The question was presented without alarm, or desperation, only simple curiosity. As if what he saw was no different than if he was asking if she was from another city. It was somewhat disarming for her to hear the nonchalant question being asked of her, when she was expecting some more emotional response from a creature who had been enslaved by bovine tyrants for so long.

Alice came to a stop, and looked back at the stag, who was still right where she left him, “Are you… not surprised to see a doe like me?”

“Well sure I am.” the stag said, “I’ve never seen a deer quite like you before, but I’ve heard tales of other tribes existing.”

“So…” Alice said, calmly walking back to the stag, “You know there are deer beyond these lands. Free ones, that aren’t ruled over and imprisoned by your minotaur rulers?”

“I know of them,” the stag answered, “My nursery mother used to talk about the other tribes all the time, and why our tribe broke off from the rest.”

There was a lot to take in from that sentence, but what stuck out to Alice the most was that this stag seemed to know why the deer tribes inevitably parted ways with one another. While much was revealed to Alice during Aurora’s exposition of the deer’s past, that particular part had not been discussed. Not that Aurora had omitted it, just that the separation of the four tribes was beyond the events the old doe spoke of, and had no baring on the prophecy of the Promised Gift.

“It’s not strange for us to see a new species arrive here on the island though,” the stag went on to say, “Our masters occasionally go on trips to find and bring back new creatures to be introduced to our kingdom, but…”

Alice could see that the deer had his eyes locked to her neck, taking note that it was devoid of the same accessory he wore, “Yeah, I’m not a slave like you.”

“Then how did you get here?” asked the stag.

“I… really can’t say.” Alice replied, not wanting to give any information that could be spread to the minotaur, accidentally or otherwise, “But I learned about this island, and I want to help free you all from these minotaur, in a peaceful manner if possible.”

“Why?” the stag questioned.

Alice had to assume that he was worried about her motivations, as he must have not been used to this level of kindness, since from the use of the word ‘nursery’ earlier, it sounded like he might have been trapped in a minotaur’s collar since he was a child.

“Don’t worry, it’s not so I can get something from your kind later.” Alice replied, feeling like she had to make that clear, “I just want to give you all a life where you don’t have to be a slave.”

The stag gave Alice a look of confusion, and then repeated his question of “But why?”, before adding, “My master treats me very nicely, and I enjoy my work on this farm.”

As if to emphasize his point, though more likely because talking about it reminded him there was work he needed to do, the stag went back to his ladder, and returned to plucking fruit from the trees to be collected in the buckets below.

“Sure, but wouldn’t you rather be your own deer?” Alice said, walking up beside him, “Own your own farm? Get paid for the work you do?”

“Not really,” the stag replied, “If I owned a farm, I wouldn’t know how to get my own slaves in order to take care of the land and collect my crops, especially if all us deer were freed.”

“You wouldn’t have slaves,” Alice said, thinking the stag was not following, “You’d get yourself other workers, like other Antlerteans and maybe the minotaur.”

The stag gave Alice an odd sideways look as he continued picking his fruit, “Why would a minotaur work for me? They have their own businesses.”

“Well… some wouldn’t if they didn’t have slaves to do the work for them, right?” Alice replied.

“So you’d be taking away their property?” the stag replied, “Also, if all us deer were free, wouldn’t that mean they should be running their own businesses.”

“That’s not exactly how this works,” Alice answered, “When everyone is in charge of themselves, some people run businesses, and the rest tend to work for them. Not everyone is going to be running their own shops, farms, or factories.”

“Why not?” the stag asked, his question being a simple dispute of the system Alice was trying to pitch to him.

“Because… Creatures just don’t work like that.” Alice replied, “One who’s actually good at running a store and finances usually takes charge, and then brings in those with skills they need to make the business run. Sometimes it’s the other way around, but not everyone is going to be able to have their own business with employees.”

Alice was starting to realize that explaining the workings of an economic system to a creature that might have never benefited from one prior might have been hard. Just because she lived in a place where this was a common practice didn’t mean she could adequately explain the inner workings of such a system in a way this Antlertean would understand.

“I’m gonna be honest, what you’re talking about just sounds like how things already work around here.” said the stag, “The minotaur take care of all matters of exchange, with my master trading with other minotaur to get everything he needs to maintain the farm and provide for everyone who lives on it. Supplies for planting seeds and growing trees, parts for the wagons and tools we use daily, food for everyone on the farm, and proper housing for all of us as well. Likewise, we deer do whatever work our master needs, and are given everything we need to live comfortably in return.”

“That’s not the same,” Alice disputed, “You’re supposed to be given a choice about what you want to do. What if you don’t even like farming?”

“But I do.” The stag replied, as he tossed more of the purple peaches into his baskets, “When I was young, I was allowed to pick from a list of things Antlerteans learn to do, while I could have been something like a techmage, working on crystal powered machines all day, I thought that spending my days in an open field would be much nicer.”

Frustration set in for Alice, as this stag kept making what seemed to her like excuses as to why he should remain a slave, when what she wanted more than anything was to undo the harm the minotaur have done to those who rightfully owned this nation. Whatever brainwashing these deer, or at least this one in particular, went through must have been deeply ingrained into their way of thinking. She couldn’t just give up though, as the fate she wished to avoid was tied to a future where the minotaur remained slavers.

“Ok, so you were given a choice on how you’d be enslaved, but you weren’t given a choice to be a slave. The work you do might go into paying for things like food, or the place you stay, but in the end it’s your master who profits from everything.”

“Just like I would if I was a free deer and owned the farm instead?” the stag questioned, “What is the difference between being a slave and being free while working for someone else?”

Alice was starting to see that her approach to this topic was wrong. She was trying to appeal to this stag’s desire to have more, when his time as a slave has conditioned him to settle for less. While this complete lack of greed may have been seen as virtuous to some, Alice could only see how this contentment with his position must have been instilled in him by the minotaur. She had to attack this from another angle, one that addressed not the functions of the minotaur society, but the manner in which they enforced it.

“Well what about this? Don’t you think that your master treats you and the other slaves here poorly?” Alice asked, trying to find a crack in the Antlertean’s defenses.

“Not really.” The stag said, climbing down the ladder as he filled up every bucket at the tree he was working on.

“I’m sure he eats better food than you all,” Alice stated, making assumptions.

“Eh, maybe more food,” the stag answered, placing his hooves on the ground, “But he’s a lot bigger than us, and everyone is usually full after meals.”

“Doesn’t he beat you when you do something wrong?” Alice asked next, knowing that there had to be something this minotaur did that the stag didn’t agree with.

“Hmmmm… maybe the occasional spanking if we do something really bad,” the stag replied, giving Alice a bit of hope until he continued with, “But he doesn’t do it personally, since he knows he’d really hurt us if he was the one behind the paddle. He lets one of the other slaves do it, and it’s not really that bad. More like a reminder that we have to work our hardest in order to make sure the farm works smoothly, than an actual punishment.”

Alice gave a sigh through her nostrils, not seeing how it was this difficult to get an enslaved person to understand they were being wronged, “What about when he rapes your does?”

Alice watched as the stag’s eyes widened, and for the first time she thought that she had struck something that actually mattered to the stag. The stag then shook his head, and said to the reindeer. “You think they rape us?”

“I know they do,” Alice said, having seen the minotaur lord commit the vile act in person.

“I mean, I guess that used to be a thing a long time ago,” the stag replied, “Back when they took over these lands, but that doesn’t really happen anymore.”

“Really?” Alice said, with heavy skepticism, “They don’t force any of you to have sex and have their children?”

“Not in such strict a word,” answered the stag, as he moved his ladder to another tree and started work on it, “Our masters do have the right to breed us as they see fit, and they usually decide when we have sex. I suppose the difference between when this started and today is that most of us like it now.”

“You’re kidding,” Alice said in sheer disbelief, “So let me get this straight. You know your species weren’t always enslaved. You know that you’re being forced to do things you don’t want. Yet at this point you’re just accepting it? I’ve seen a minotaur dick before. Isn’t it incredibly painful?”

“Not really,” said the stag, “The masters have allowed us to use our skills to come up with ways of making it all more bearable. You wouldn’t believe what the does and stags in the labs come up with. Actually, some of what we grow here is-”

“It shouldn’t be made ‘more bearable’,” Alice interrupted, the stag’s compliance getting on her nerves, “You shouldn’t have to go through it if you don’t want to.”

“I don’t know what to tell you,” the stag said, “Things have been this way for a while now. At least as long as I’ve lived, and most deer here don’t really mind it. Maybe the older deer who were around during the time of the old kingdom didn’t like the change, but they’re pretty much gone, and you don’t really hear complaints about how the masters handle things, at least not from the slaves.”

“Then who’s complaining?” asked Alice, since the stag was implying that there were complaints.

“Mostly the masters themselves,” the stag answered, “They like to argue about things like that all the time. Like how things should be run, or the price of things in the market. Every once in a while one will bring up how slaves are being treated too harshly, or too leniently. Really it sounds like a waste of effort, seeing how minotaur are allowed to treat their property however they please.”

“So there are minotaur who think that the slaves are being mistreated?” Alice asked, catching that part above everything else.

“Not so much mistreated, as much as having a different opinion on how they should be treated. I think it all comes down to personal preference.”

“And what about your master?” Alice asked, recalling that he seemed a bit nicer from what she had seen from the other minotaur.

“Yeah, I guess he’s a bit more on the nice side.” said the stag, “Certainly seen worse in the city. So long as we get our work done, he doesn’t care much whatever else we do around the farm.”

Alice took a moment to think about what she could do here. She was finding no headway with this stag, and if what he was saying was to be believed, other deer on this farm would likely be as indoctrinated as he was. However, if the minotaur who owned this place already had poor opinions of how the slaves were treated though, then maybe he was the one she should be speaking with instead.

This was a risky venture though, since he was a minotaur, and revealing herself to one of them could lead to a lot of problems, the most serious being if he captured her. The reindeer didn’t know how she was supposed to become a slave yet, and what if this was the moment? As much as she didn’t want to use her powers to look upon her own timeline, this felt like a point that she needed to check.

Closing her eyes, she chose to look two days in the future. Alice only intended to investigate the minotaur kingdom within that time frame, and so long as nothing bad happened, she should at least be making her way back to the grove. Taking a peek, she was relieved to see herself safe at home, sitting in the living room with Bori and Aurora. Since that was supposed to be her future, so long as she did nothing to deviate from the path, there was nothing that could stop her from being there at that time. That gave her confidence that even if things went sour, she would manage to escape if needed.

“Then… Maybe I could talk to your master about all this?” Alice asked, “I mean, if he treats you all so well, maybe he wouldn’t have a problem setting you free and letting you keep working on the farm under the same terms you already have.”

“I don’t see an issue with that,” replied the stag, “And since you’re not a slave like us, it’s not my place to tell you not to try. He’s probably still going around collecting the harvest from the others, but if you want to wait for him at the building, in the center of the farm, I’m sure he’d be glad to talk with you.”

Yeah, but maybe for the wrong reasons, Alice thought, while accepting that this had to be done.

The only issue the doe had was that she really didn’t think it would be best to just show up at the front door unannounced. Something in her gut told her she needed to have this stag prep his minotaur master for this meeting. The reindeer assumed this was the Path of Fate pushing her towards this decision, since following that feeling seemed like it gave the least resistance.

“I would love to meet with him, but do you think you could introduce me to him first?” Alice asked, “It would be rude to just show up out of nowhere, and a proper introduction might help out a lot.”

The stag paused task for a second to give a bemused chuckle, “You free creatures and your customs. I can do that, but you’ll have to wait till after I finish my work. Master would not be pleased if I put it aside just to escort a guest to the farm house.”

“Then maybe I can help with that.” Alice looked around at the surrounding trees, and waited till a decent breeze blew through them. Using the winds as her walkway, she made her way up into the branches, and started picking some peaches and dropping them into the buckets below.

“Oh, that’s impressive.” said the stag, “I’ve never seen a deer fly before. I guess that explains how you got to the island.”

Alice, having momentarily forgotten she was trying to keep that a secret, put her hand to her face, “Yeah… but please don’t tell anyone.”

“Don’t worry. I can keep quiet about stuff. I’m not completely beholden to my master.” replied the stag, “By the way, the name’s Nezzar.”

“Alice,” said the reindeer, returning the polite gesture as she did her part to pick every ripened fruit she could find, while trying to put together what she would say when encountering what was technically the first minotaur she’d ever meet.

Author's Note

Hey everyone. Here I am again, apologizing for a chapter that has come out far too late. So many things have been getting in the way in my real life lately, and it's been difficult for me to focus on writing. Particularly updating this story has been an ordeal, since I've been having a bit of writer's block on top of the other things making it difficult to put time into this hobby. For a story that is supposed to be seasonal, the delays have pushed it back so far that the winter season is pretty much over, yet I don't like leaving it off on this note. I think one more chapter would be needed before I can set it aside again, and get back to some of my other stories. So yes, do expect something else added to this in a week or so, but with the rate I've been writing at, it might take longer than that.

I hope you enjoyed this chapter, along with all of this year's additions, and have a nice day.

Good Business

While it took the pair of deer hours to complete the task, Nezzar was able to finish his assigned work much earlier with Alice’s assistance. As promised, the Antlertean stag accompanied his new reindeer acquaintance to the main building of the farm, assuming that by this time his master should be there, and he could introduce the two.

“We got done really quickly,” Nezzar said, enjoying this unusually easy day of work, “Even with two deer. That flight of yours really shaved off some time.”

“I just hope all the ones I picked were good,” Alice replied, not really that concerned about if she did a good job, but that Nezzar would not be punished in the event that she had done poorly.

“From my checks, everything looked right,” Nezzar assured, “And it’s not hard to tell which passion fruit are the best. The darker the shade of purple, the better. Honestly, with your speed, you should consider getting a work contract with my master.”

“I’ll have to pass on that,” Alice said, assuming the stag was suggesting she allow herself to be enslaved, “I have my own job back home already.”

“Well if you ever feel like you want to try something new, I’d certainly vouch for your skills.” Nezzar said, holding a small smile on his face as the two headed for the farm house.

As they walked down the path the minotaur used to pull his wagon on, the pair walked by several other deer in the middle of harvesting the odd peaches this place produced. Though Alice had put her hood back up by this point, the mere presence of a new creature walking through the farm caught the eyes of those she passed by, getting the reindeer many looks in her direction, and a few friendly ways as the workers greeted the new face. None, however, tried to approach, sticking to their tasks like dutiful servants to their minotaur master.

“I’ll admit, the atmosphere around here is much more cheerful than I expected.” Alice commented, “You Antlerteans really do like being enslaved?”

“Does it have to be a matter of ‘like’ or ‘dislike’?” Nezzar asked, “While I enjoy my position on this farm, and think I have a good master, most of the time the fact that I’m a slave isn’t even a thought in my head. I’m sure others here are like that too. Do you go around constantly thinking about how happy you are to be free?”

“I guess not,” Alice said, the awareness of her own freedom, and how it could be at risk, only becoming something she thought about a lot recently, “I guess freedom, when one has it given from birth, is something a creature takes for granted.”

Before the doe knew that enslavement was where her future was heading, she was content in the ignorance that came with not knowing the path of her own fate. Even now, as she appreciated the threat to her future the minotaur represented, could Alice say that she appreciated the liberties her freedom gave to the same degree?

“I don’t really understand what a ‘free culture’ like yours is like,” Nezzar said, “But I guess everyone adapts to the world around them in their own ways.”

“Maybe…” Alice said, still skeptical that there wasn’t some mental influence involved with the Antlerteans’ contentment, or if this particular location on the island was just better than most.

“Here we are,” Nezzar said abruptly, as the two deer made it to the edge of the orchard, to center where their destination lied.

There were several large buildings standing over fields, a barn used for storing the picked fruits, a farmhouse a few dozen feet away from that, and another structure off to the side of both of them. The farmhouse itself was huge, and all features on it reflected that size, as windows and doors on it looked to be crafted with the size of a minotaur in mind. The other structures, a small, rectangle of a building with a tower atop it, seemed of a normal size to Alice, and she assumed that was because they were where the slaves were housed, both deer and bat ponies.

As Nezzar led the reindeer up to the farmstead, the minotaur from before also arrived, pulling his wagon up from another path in the surrounding trees, the vehicle filled to the brim with buckets full of purple fruit. It felt too convenient to Alice, but if Fate itself was guiding this meeting, she was not going to refuse it.

The minotaur made his way to the barn, and seeing his master, Nezzar quickened his pace to meet him there. Alice stayed where she was, at the edge of the trees, watching to see if the bovine showed any signs of hostility. The yellow deer only wished that she could hear what they were saying, to get a better evaluation of the minotaur’s reaction. As Nezzar made his way up to the minotaur though, a thought came to her that she had never had before.

Since she was waiting, standing still until Nezzar returned, Alice could use her powers without any problem, and thinking of Bori’s use of her powers in the future, maybe it was possible for her to listen in on the Antlertean slave and his bovine master. The reindeer had never attempted this before, as this seemed like a useless way of utilizing her powers, but the question arose if she could project a vision that was only a second ahead of her current time. There was technically nothing preventing her, so she closed her eyes, and focused on Nezzar’s immediate future.

Alice caught the stag right before he made it to the minotaur, the vision her powers granted centering on him right before the minotaur entered the bubble.

“Nezzar?” the minotaur said as the deer came into his line of sight, unbuckling himself from the pull rods of the wagon, “What are you doing away from your lot? Did something happen?”

The antlertean had to catch his breath, having jogged his way up to the bull, but in between huff he said, “We have a visitor.”

“A visitor?” naked the bull, looking around in search of this unannounced guest. He scanned the land around him several times, overlooking Alice as he expected the creature in question to be another minotaur. “Where is he?”

“Not a he, master.” Nezzar said, “A female. Another deer.”

“A slave from another master wandered into the orchard?” the minotaur asked, this being the only way he could think that a doe would end up on his land. Looking again, his eyes landed on something in the distance, and Alice could only assume that she had been spotted. “You know that doesn’t warrant you leaving your post. You should have told her to stay put until my next rotation, and kept to your work.”

“Everything is done though, master.” Nezzar replied, “The doe wanted to speak with you as soon as possible, so she helped me collect all the ripe passion fruit. We finished up about fifteen minutes ago.”

The minotaur, hearing Nezzar’s excuse for leaving his post, gave a snort of disapproval, “Uncontracted work, huh. That’s not good, Nezzar. Once her master finds out, I’m gonna have to deal with them demanding payment. More trouble than it’s worth.”

Nezzar waits for the minotaur to stop speaking and try to walk off towards Alice to say, “That’s just it though, this doe doesn’t have a master.”

The minotaur stopped on the spot, and looked back to stag, “Did she tell you her master died? If that’s the case, she has probably been inherited by some other minotaur, even if she isn’t aware who.”

Nezzar shook his head, “She’s not a slave deer. From what she said, she’s not even from the island.”

The minotaur had to stop and think about what was being told to him, as if trying to piece together any scenario wherein the stag could be mistaken. His eyes moved about, looking at anything other than his slave buck, as if his train of thought of some physical entity that only he could see. After a good minute of trying to piece the puzzle together, the minotaur came to the understanding that there should be no way his stag could not know the difference between a free and enslaved creature, which turned the bull’s confusion into a dense curiosity as to how what the stag awas saying could be true.

“You realize that if you speak the truth, this would be the first time a free deer has set foot on this island in decades.” said the bull, “Do you think that your ancestors sent out expeditions to new lands before we took over?”

“Unlikely, for several reasons,” the stag said, outright dismissing his master’s theory, “But even had that have happened, I don’t believe that’s the case with this doe. She doesn’t look anything like us, and is absolutely from another deer tribe.”

“Other tribes?” the minotaur scratched his chin, “I wasn’t even aware that was a thing. I honestly don’t know how to approach this.”

“My suggestion,” Nezzar said with confidence, “Treat her like any other free creature. Who knows what kind of opportunity this could grant you if you establish some form of agreement with her.”

“Minopolis law does state that all free creatures have the same rights and obligations as any other free creature,” the minotaur replied, agreeing with his slave’s advice, “I think that’s only supposed to apply to citizens, but I’ll abide by the letter of the law in this case.”

“Then shall we go greet her?” Nezzar asked.

“I’ll go see what she wants,” the minotaur answered, “You go get Amy, and start moving the passion fruit into the barn. There should be some empty buckets for you to load inside.”

“Ah,right. Can’t slow down production for an unexpected guest.” Nezzar said, “And what of Shade?”

“Let her sleep. If she wakes up tell her to go the belfry, but otherwise work around her.”

“Yes sir.” Nezzar said, retreating into the farm house, assumedly to retrieve the other person the minotaur spoke of.

With the situation relayed to him, the minotaur turned, took a moment to look at the strange deer on his lands, and started making his way towards her. It didn’t slip past Alice that soon she would have the large bovine in front of her, so she opened her eyes to end the vision, seeing the bull already a few steps closer than she would have preferred.

“Hello there,” said the minotaur, still a good five feet away from the doe, his normal speaking voice loud enough to be heard clearly from that distance, “My stag told me you’re not from around here.”

“Yes!” Alice yelled back, needing to raise her voice to have the bull hear her from that range, “I come from a land beyond this island, and I wanted to speak with a representative of this island!”

“Well I don’t know how good I am as a representative,” the bull replied, not stopping his approach, “But if you’re trying to reach a minotaur in charge, I might be able to point you in the right direction.”

“No, I don’t need to talk with one of the minotaur in charge!” the reindeer said back, “Right now I’m just trying to learn more about this place, talk to some of the more down to earth inhabitants, and get their opinions of things! Oh, and could you please stop where you are?!”

The minotaur obliged, and stopped walking a few feet away, but was confused, “You don’t want to talk to me face to face?”

“I’m sorry,” Alice said, able to speak without yelling at this distance, “I know that deer are treated as slaves in this land, and I would prefer that I keep my own freedom. While you seem reasonable, I don’t want to put all my trust into a creature I just met.”

“So you are a free deer.” the minotaur said, still believing there might have been a mistake up until that point, “Well for as strange as it is, I’ll abide by your request if you accept one of my own. I would like to see who I’m talking to under that hood.”

Alice would have liked to keep her appearance hidden, just in case things went sour, but if it negotiated a means of her being out of arms’ reach of the bull, this was one thing she was willing to relinquish.

The doe pulled down her hood, and the bull’s gruff expression softened slightly as he bore witness to the features of a species he had never seen prior. “So you are from some other deer tribe,” he exclaimed in his shock.

“I’m far different from any deer you have on this island,” Alice said, “And come from a far away land. Before you ask, I can’t tell you where this land is, or how I got here from there.”

“Very well,” the minotaur said, after a short moment to calm his emotions, “Can I at least have the name of the creature I’m speaking with?”

It was at this point that Alice realized it might have benefited her to have an alias, but that she had told Nezzar her name already. “Alice.” she said, aware this was past the point of correcting.

“My name is Babi,” the minotaur gave back his name with no hesitation, going on to say, “My stag explained to me that you helped him with his work today. Is that why you’re here? Have you fled your home and are seeking work? If that’s the case, I fear my farm already has enough hands, and I have little to pay you for the unauthorized labor you already did.”

“All I need is information and your opinions as payment,” said Alice, “I don’t intend to stay here for long.”

“Information…” the bovine pondered aloud, “I suppose I can agree to those terms, so long as what you seek isn’t too personal.”

“It shouldn’t be,” said Alice, “I just want to know about your culture, and how you feel about how things are ran. Particularly, I want to know about the system of slavery the minotaur have built here.”

“Hmmm…” Babi hummed aloud, “I’ve lived in Minopolis all my life, so I can’t really compare it to other ways of living. I’ve heard that other species don’t tend to do the same practices we do when it comes to slavery, but I also know that this is out of a necessity for us.”

“You mean in order for breeding?” Alice asked, believing she knew the answer already.

“Breeding is how it started, and is a big part of things to this day,” Babi answered, “But I feel that when it comes to how our cities work, we allowed our slaves to have too much involvement in our daily lives.”

That’s a weird thing to say, Alice thought, wondering how those enslaved could be too involved in a situation they are forced into, “Mind elaborating on that?”

“Well, it might not look it on this farm,” Babi continued, “But in other places, especially in the capital, the skills of our slaves have become things minotaur depend on. In the city, all the buildings are filled with Antlertean devices, and which have to be powered by their magic one way or another. Instead of using simpler devices like lamps and torches to light a room, they have crystal lights that glow like the markings on those deer.”

“And that’s not something you like?” Alice said, not seeing how such devices would be an issue.

“It’s far too connected to some minotaur’s day to day behavior,” Babi answered, “What a minotaur can achieve under their own strength is more important than the comfort that comes from such devices, and those who take advantage of these ‘conveniences’ are allowing themselves to be guided by the nose into a life of dependency. Give it a thousand years, and the descendants of their sons’ sons won’t know how to split a log in half.”

“Oh, be honest, master.” said a feminine voice from behind the minotaur, “You didn’t have a problem with any of that stuff before the other farms considered how magitech could improve their productivity.”

Before Alice could even question who was speaking, a brown doe poked her head out from behind the bull’s bulky body. She looked like an adult, older than Nezzar by what looked to be by half a decade, who talked with a tone that could be called ‘motherly’.

“So this is the doe Nezzar was talking about,” said the antlertean doe, “Why haven’t you invited her into the house yet? She has to be cold, seeing all those clothes she’s wearing.” The doe stepped out from behind the large figure that was her master, revealing that she had nothing on save for the collar around her neck, unlike all other deer on this farm who wore ponchos to ineffectively conceal their bodies. Her body was what some might call ‘womanly’, having bigger breasts that most others Alice had seen of her kind, and curvy body that sported a set of thick hips and plump thighs. Seeing a body like this, without a shred of coverings, presented before her made the reindeer blush lightly, but she refused to look away from the minotaur.

“Amy, why aren’t you helping Nezzar with the harvest?” Babi asked the doe, crossing his arms at her disregard for his orders.

“Sorry master,” she said turning back at him with a cheerful look on her face, “Nezzar told me what was going on, and I just had to see this ‘free doe’ for myself. Don’t be too mad at me for my curiosity.”

Before the minotaur could further scold her, the antlertean doe made her way to the reindeer with a hop in each step, her pink markings giving off a dim glow.

“Well aren’t you pretty?” Amy said, halting herself just before making contact with Alice, looking this new doe over from head to hoof. She made a circle around the yellow doe as she proceeded with her inspection, Alice having to hold still through this intrusive process to keep her eye on the minotaur, who she deemed more of a threat than this curious older deer,“Yes, you look exactly as my nursery mother described you, reindeer.”

“So you know what kind of deer she is?” Babi asked, “I suppose you’ve heard of her kind from your deer stories.”

“Oh yes, master.” Alice replied, “When told our history, the three other tribes are often spoken of, and this lovely young doe must be one of the ones who claimed the deer’s ancestral home as their territory after the separation.”

Alice was surprised that this doe knew so much about her based just on her appearance, but Babi didn’t seem at all intrigued about his deer’s knowledge of the reindeer, “That’s all well and good, but you’re interfering with our conversation, and avoiding your duties. This is already setting my schedule back without you being nosey.”

“Then let’s all move over to the barn, so we can talk and work at the same time,” Amy said, placing her hands on Alice’s shoulders, and pushing her forward to make the younger doe walk forward.

“Hey, wait a second,” Alice said, trying to dig her feet in the dirt to stop herself from being pushed closer to the minotaur.

While providing a bit of resistance, it wasn’t enough to prevent the older doe from guiding her forward, Alice’s hooves slipping behind her body as they tried to stay in place, forcing her to pick them up and take a few steps to keep from falling face first in the dirt. She ended up being pushed right past the bull she had been trying to keep distance from, who simply stood there and watched to two female deer go by, the thought of taking advantage of this moment where he could have easily grabbed Alice not crossing his mind, before following behind the two in with a huff from his snout.

Shortly after, Alice found herself standing near the door frame for the barn’s entrance, watching Amy, Nezzar, and Babi work together to empty the harvest wagon. She had been told to stand in her current location by Amy, so she could ask her questions while being out of the way. While Alice didn’t like that she was now very close to the bovine slave owner, she accepted that a desire to capture her at this time was not present, as there were several times he could have made an attempt if he wanted.

Instead, he seemed solely focused on his work, lifting the heavy buckets of fruit inside, and letting nothing impede him from keeping a steady rhythm of grabbing a bucket, going into the barn, storing the produce away, and returning for the next load. Amy and Nezzar were less proficient in the task, since they could not lift the same kind of weight, even together, that the minotaur could, so they had to take an arm full of fruits in at a time. Throughout this forced labor though, they both looked fairly content in their task. If either held any dislike in their roles as slaves, or towards their master, they did not let a hint of it slip through their smiles.

“So, reindeer,” Amy said after what must have been her fifth time filling up her arms at the wagon, “What brings you here to Babi-Lon Gardens?”

“Babi-Lon Gardens?” Alice asked, figuring that this was the name of the farm, but not being able to finger where the ‘Lon’ part of the name was coming from. She figured it might have been a surname, as some cultures like ponies sometimes used first and last names, but she was soon to be corrected as Babi came back out after depositing his load.

“Lon is the minotaur I apprenticed under while growing up,” he stated, as he moved to the back half of the wagon, “He had invested his time and effort into teaching me how to manage and operate a farm like this, and gave me the loan I used to make a down payment for the land. If it wasn’t for him, I would not have everything I do this day.”

“He also bought me for my master as a gift for completing his apprenticeship.” Amy said, having to yell that bit of information from inside the barn, “So for all the help his master gave him, master honors him by putting him in the farm’s name.”

“It’s more than that,” Babi said, aiming his words more towards his doe than to Alice in this instance, as he picked up two more containers of purple peaches, “I offered him a percentage of the profits of the farm to make up for the cost I caused him. He’s in many ways co-owner.”

“And yet he never comes around to check on his investment,” Amy replied, “Always focused on that ranch of his.”

“A ranch?” Alice asked, “He’s not a farmer like you?”

“Dairy farmer,” Nezzar said, as he exited the barn to grab more produce, “But he knows a bit about agriculture of all sorts. He just prefers dealing with women more than plants.”

It took Alice a moment to put things together, since in Equestria and the surrounding lands cows were often the sole producers of dairy products, and it seemed almost normal to hear a bovine being in charge of a dairy farm. When it clicked in her head that minotaur were all male though, it dawned on her that the women in question were more likely deer, or other species, that had been enslaved, impregnated, and were now spending their lives lactating for hours a day for the profit of their master.

She had to stifle a groan, and with that imagery in mind, she felt now might have been a good time to speak on the real reason she was here. “So Babi, I see you’re a very productive member of the minotaur kingdom here. I’m sure that the maze city at the center of this island can’t do without these fruits you grow.”

“There are plenty who buy them from us, yes.” Babi said, his arms once more full as he went back into the barn, “If you’re hoping to purchase some for yourself, you’d be welcome to place a bid on this shipment.”

“No, no, that’s not what I’m getting at,” Alice said, turning her head into the building to follow bull, wondering how he even thought that she would have the kind of money she’d need to compete with his other buyers, and curious if Minopolis would even accept gold coins minted outside their borders, “I was just wondering about your thoughts on how you have to run your farm in order to supply the cities. Don’t you wish that you didn’t have to rely so much on… well, all the slaves you have here?”

Babi set what he was carrying on a stack of similarly filled buckets, then looked back at the reindeer, “Unless you explain what you’re getting at, I don’t follow what you mean.”

“I think our guest has an ethical issue with your ownership of us,” Nezzar said, “She was talking to me about it while we worked together, and she seems adamant that we deer shouldn’t be slaves.”

Alice partially expected Babi to not take the suggestion lightly, and was ready to run if needed, but as she looked at the minotaur’s body language, nothing seemed to change from his currently calm demeanor.

“Ah… So that’s what you’ve been beating around the bush about.” Babi said, “I think I’ve heard a few times that places in the world outside of Minopolis were against the enslavement of other beings. Not all of them, but some places that are supposed to be important. I take it that you’re not fond of how we minotaur have brought order to our territory.”

“Not at all,” Alice said bluntly, “And I don’t understand how each of you can be ok with it. Even you, Babi, seem far too kind to be a slaver.”

“You think being a master of slaves must come with degrees of cruelty?” Babi asked, actually halting his work to address this matter, “I might not be able to speak for every minotaur in this kingdom, but most of my associates are very kind to those they own. Even my mentor taught me that while the enslaved are our property, to be bought, sold, and used as we see fit, one still has to maintain them as they would any tool. Each doe, stag, and bat pony on this farm is cared for so that they are fit and healthy, trained to bring out their very best aspects, and are never disciplined without ample reason.”

Alice could see that like with the stag before, her ideas on enslavement was being shut down. There had to be another approach to this she could take that would appeal to these creatures, who she deemed only lived this way cause they knew nothing else.

“But Babi, even if you do as you say, and your slaves have no objections to being your property, can you say that about all minotaur in this kingdom?

“No,” he said, not even dwelling on the question, “There are some minotaur in here that would, and do, mistreat their own property.”

Yes! Alice yelled in celebration in her mind, believing she found a path to address the issues with the minotaur’s enslavement of other creatures.

“But it’s not my place to judge what others do with their property.” Babi followed up immediately after.

No! Alice yelled again in her mind, feeling as if the way she saw creak open had just shut off to her once more.

“It’s not like they can do anything truly harmful to their slaves,” Babi continued, as he, and his two deer, emptied out the remainder of the harvest from the wagon.

“Why do you assume that?” Alice said, not knowing what Babi even meant by that. The enslavement itself was harmful enough, so what did ‘truly harmful’ even mean? “What’s to stop any slave master from doing something terrible to any slave they have?”

“Well for starters, it’s illegal.” Nezzar said, grabbing his last bunch of peaches, before following after his master into the barn.

Realizing that Alice would require more than that to explain what the two males meant, Amy added, “In minotaur society, there are many laws that provide a level of protection for us slaves. This covers a lot of stuff, like limits to the amount of time we can work in a week, how frequently females can be impregnated, types of medicines and medical procedures we must be given access to in order to insure our health. It would be difficult to go over all Minopian slave rights in a single day, but to narrow it down no minotaur is allowed to willfully do anything that would maim, murder, or cause lasting physical or psychological damage to us, nor cause these things to happen due to negligence on their part.”

“And what would happen if a minotaur did do this?” Alice asked, curious that the bovine barbarians had such rules in place.

“You get your slaves taken away,” Babi said, “And that’s a big deal since a good portion of the functions of our kingdom involve the trade and use of slaves in one form or another.”

“It does happen in degrees though.” Amy continued, “A first time offender might just lose the rights to the slave they mistreated, while a multiple time offender will have their rights to own slaves revoked for a duration of time.”

“Years, if I’m remembering what they said in school,” Babi said, “And if you don’t learn your lesson after that, you can have your rights removed completely. Both your right to own slaves, and your rights to freedom as they imprison you.”

Alice listened intently about this news about how the minotaur kept the worst of their kind in check. While the minotaur had created this civilization of theres, and that implied there had to be some form of order maintained, the idea that some minotaur were making sure those they enslaved weren’t treated like dirt beneath their hooves was unexpected.

“And who comes up with these laws?” the reindeer asked, wanting to know who she might be able to influence directly to bring an end to this terrible system the minotaur themselves seemed to be unwillingly bound to, if there were ones controlling things that showed even this much empathy towards their captives.

“Oh, that would be the senate,” Nezzar replied, as if he was answering a trivia question, “A group of influential minotaur that were formed to run the day to day functions of Minopolis after the minotaur established dominance, because Master, that is to say our minotaur king, didn’t want to be bothered with it.”

“Self appointed civic leaders who get together daily and argue over how high taxes should be, and what the city should invest in to keep things running smoothly within it.” Babi said, as he leaned into the wagon to remove the last thing it held, which was the bat mare he had collected earlier from the orchard. “Occasionally the matter of law comes up, if they feel some detail needs adjusting to suit the needs of the people, but that rarely happens these days, since the laws pretty much work as intended.”

Tossing the thestral’s sleeping body over his shoulder, Babi turned to the slave’s shelter, undoubtedly to deliver her to whatever bed she should have returned to once her work shift was over.

“If you’ll excuse me, I have to take this troublesome mare to the belfry,” said the bull, “But I’m sure you have more questions about the way things work around here. Since you did help Nezzar with his chores, you are welcome to stay for lunch.”

Babi was about to step away from Alice, but the reindeer didn’t want to just let him walk away just yet. He was right, she did have many questions on her mind, but at that moment, there was one in particular that needed answers.

“Wait,” the yellow doe said, running up to the bull, not feeling the fear she did earlier, “I have to know. Why haven’t you tried to enslave me? You’ve had plenty of time to capture me, and yet you haven’t made a single attempt.”

The minotaur turned his head back to the doe, giving her an odd look, as if she had said something strange. To be fair, it was like she had just suggested that he should have enslaved her, as he didn’t know what she did, that her future didn’t lie with him.

“Don’t give me that look,” Alice said in protest, “You are part of a whole race of slavers. The minotaur sto-... took this island from the Anterlteans, and you have species here from where I come from, and I’m certain you’ll do it again. So why do I have amnesty in this situation?”

“Because… you are not a slave.” the minotaur replied, receiving a confused look from the reindeer. Seeing that what he said did not answer anything for the foreign deer, Babi elaborate, “Just as there are laws of how to treat slaves, there are rules about how to treat those not enslaved. While the spirit of these laws might have meant for them to apply only to my kind, the letter of these laws state they apply to any ‘free creature’. So while your situation is unique, you have as many rights here as any minotaur. You could walk into the capital, and while you’d be stopped and questioned, no one would seek to enslave you.”

Alice did not have the same confidence Babi had about his theory, and felt that part of the reason she’d be able to be back in the grove in a few days was due to her not, for lack of a better word, tempting fate. Not when ‘Master’ resided in that damnedable city. With that question answered though, Babi went to put one of the creatures he owned to bed, leaving Alice with the other deer.

“There’s more to it than his simple explanation,” Amy said, placing herself at Alice’s side, “While any free citizen of Minopolis can buy and sell a slave, you need training and a special license to be a ‘slaver’. They are the ones who go on trips overseas and return with creatures from other lands, and even when they become qualified slavers, they have to fill out paperwork, have someone in the senate endorse their expedition, then get majority senate approval.”

“The minotaur higher ups bogged things down so much with bureaucracy that it’s a wonder anything ever gets done around here.” Nezzar added, while shutting the barn door, “But they seem to make it all work out.”

“What he means to say is that even if a minotaur wanted to keep you as their own, it would take months just to register you for capture, not to mention getting a deed printed.” said Amy, “Too much money, time, and effort for a single slave, which is why those in the trade tend to get a raid permit, so they can get a lot of them at once.”

“You both really know a lot about this stuff,” Alice said, wondering why a simple farm slave knew the inner workings of the minotaurs’ operations.

“Oh, they teach it to every deer growing up,” Amy said, shedding some light on things, “Not to a degree that we could run things ourselves, mind you, but every deer needs to know the basics in case one of those senate members comes to add us to their collections. Enough of that though,” taking Alice by the arm, the older doe lead her in the direction of the house, “Master said you could join us for lunch, and you just gotta try my fruit salad.”

Since it really seemed like Babi was no threat to her, Alice couldn’t find a reason to refuse the hospitality. Also, she recalled how easily the antlertean was able to direct her against her will, so this time the reindeer chose to accept her fate, and enjoy the food. With Nezzar not far behind them, all three entering the minotaur’s home, ready to take a moment to rest and relax.

Our Daily Bread

An hour had passed since Alice had entered the homestead of her minotaur host, and the reindeer had been escorted to a gigantic room, sat down at the end of what had to be explained to her was the dining table, as said table was so long it was fit for a banquet. As food was delivered, and the Antlertean slaves came in for meal time, Alice came to learn that the table’s size was necessary, due to the amount of creatures who would be sitting at it and the quantity of food it had to hold.

One by one those coming to eat had to be told of who their guest was, and likewise had to be instructed by their minotaur master to refrain from barraging this new doe with questions. Thankfully the deer saw this instruction as absolute, but Alice still had to endure the boring gazes of roughly three dozen slave deer that had joined the table. It was no mystery why she was the center of attention, being their master’s guest, a new face at the table, and a deer of not only a different species from themselves, but the first and only free deer they had ever encountered. It must have fascinated them to no end to see a doe from the world beyond this isolated island continent.

Despite their unanimous excitement, Alice could only feel unease and a bit nervous from all their attention. This gathering was not what the reindeer had expected, having imagines some stereotypical scene where the slaves would have to eat gruel from bowls off the floor, while one took a place between the minotaur’s thighs to pleasure him, and he ate all the food that had any desirable flavor to it. If not for the semi-nude attire of the Antlerteans, each doe and stag in only their parkas and collars, then there would be little difference in this mealtime gathering from any she took part in back at the Far North.

As convincing as this illusion of normality was, Alice did not forget that underneath it all belied the fact that everyone present was an enslaved creature owned by the bovine sitting at the other end of the table. From where she was sitting, she could count at least three does in various stages of pregnancy, serving as a redundant reminder to the reindeer that Babi, like the rest of his kind, had no issue with using his slaves as breeders, even if these particular ones might have seen no issue with that. It was uncomfortable to see all these victims of enslavement, rape, and generational indoctrination smiling at her despite the nightmarish conditions of their lives.

With everyone present, bull and deer alike, and the meal set out before them, it was now time to take up plates and eat. There was more than enough for everyone, even with the large minotaur being factored in, as the table top had been filled with a selection of food large enough to support a small feast. A variety of fruits, vegetables, dairy products, and grain baked goods were set out for anyone to take, and yet so far every plate was bare.

“Is there something wrong with what we have served?” the minotaur asked, towering over everyone even while seated like the master of this tiny domain that he was. From this elevated position, it was impossible for him to not take note that Alice had not so much as reached for a single morsel to put on her empty plate.

“N-no,” Alice replied, seeing that as the guest it was expected of her to craft the first plate, “Everything looks delicious. I don’t even know where to start.”

The food did look tasty, if a bit plain, and the aroma of it beckoned Alice to partake in all that was offered, but it still felt wrong to eat food that had been gained through the slave labor of those seated around her.

“Oh, master,” said Amy, as she placed a final basket of rolls on the table, taking Alice’s plate from in front of the reindeer the moment her hands were free, “You can’t expect this foreign doe to hold the same customs as us. She probably thinks it’s rude to take a plate before the master of the house.” The Antlertean doe gathered up a plentiful sampling of various foods, and then returned to Alice, setting the plate before her. “There you go, deerie.”

“Thanks…” Alice said meekly, having to accept the offering.

With a plate before the guest, all others at the table moved to fill their own, asking one another to pass about anything that was out of their reach. The more the Antlerteans went about casually getting whatever they wanted, the more this gathering had the appearance of the kind of feast one would see at a harvest celebration, and if not for her arrival a mere hour ago, Alice would have believed this was set up to make the conditions of the farm seem nicer than they really were. WIth the time given though, it would have been impossible to prepare a meal of this caliber, and the enslaved deer were fluidly for this to not be how they normally interacted.

As Alice took the first bites of her dinner roll, which admittedly tasted really good, she watched curiously at how each of the Antlerteans were able to modestly fill their plates, getting so much that she couldn’t make the accusation that any were being starved. Of course, she hadn’t believed they would have been, as it would be counter productive to have slaves that were too malnourished to do manual labor. She only assumed the food given would have been something awful that none would eat if not the only thing they had access to. This access to large amounts of quality food still felt off for Alice to see though, her horrific expectations being trampled under hoof.

As the Antlerteans took whatever they pleased, the only one who held back was Babi, sitting patiently until every deer had staked their claim on this meal. Only when the last deer started eating did the bull take up his much larger plate, and started taking large portions of what remained. “Amy, bring the butter, peas, rolls, and cranberry sauce from across the table.” he commanded the only doe who had yet to take a seat, who appeared to remain standing for this task.

Amy delivered the requested food two plates at a time, and received a “Thank you” for her work, which she gleefully accepted before taking the last remaining empty seat at the table. Surprisingly, none had considered waiting for the minotaur to start eating before digging in themselves, which meant that Babi and the doe who had served him were the last ones to take a bite.

“So…” Alice said, working her way through some mashed potatoes, “Is this like a holiday or something?” The reindeer was trying to reason why this meal seemed particularly plentiful, though by the time the minotaur had gotten around to his portions what leftovers that remained might have filled only a few more deer sized plates.

“No,” Babi answered, reaching over to a pitcher of milk to pour himself a tall glass, which might have been considered a medium sized glass to him, “This is a typical meal. Some of the does really enjoy cooking, and this farm gets a good amount of money. We are also partially funded by the king of Minopolis, as well as parties within the senate. While we don’t grow anything on the table, we have enough of a budget to never go without.”

Alice had been wondering where all this food came from, as she had only seen the purple peach fruit being grown thus far. Her first assumption was that all the other things were grown in a portion of the farm that she hadn’t ventured to yet, but Babi just explained that wasn’t the case, and everything here had been imported from other farms.

“So those fruits I saw are all you grow, you never eat any yourself?” Alice asked, inquiring further.

“Correct.” Babi said, giving a simple reply between bites.

“I guess it’s like a luxury food?” Alice pressed on.

“You could say that.” Babi answered, “Passion fruits are a commodity that holds high demand in Minopolis.”

No wonder I don’t see any here, Alice said, noticing that nary a slice was present on the table.

It was a cash crop, and eating it didn’t hold nearly as much value to Babi as selling it. Those passion fruits must’ve had a unique flavor to them if those in the minotaur’s capital city needed a steady supply, and Alice had to assume that Babi wasn’t the only one who grew it.

Alice returned to her meal, having taken far fewer bites from her plate than anyone else had theirs. She was hungry, the long trek across the ocean’s air streams taking a lot out of her, but the reindeer couldn’t overcome this feeling of taboo while eating what the minotaur offered her. Yet, only she seemed to care in the slightest, as everyone else was happily turning the feast into little more than crumbs.

A majority of the Antlerteans even had a visible glow about them as they are, coming from the symbols that were a part of their bodies. Alice remembered seeing the gray doe she encountered during her mental trip to the future doing the same to power one of her devices, but here it just looked to be a display of emotion, something akin to what happened when a unicorn got too excited.

It was all just so confusing, how everything had the feel of a normal family dinner, while each creature here aside from the minotaur and herself were slaves. Happiness in these conditions should have been paradoxical, yet here was evidence that there were those who could at the very least enjoy the results of their bondage, if not the bondage itself.

“This is so strange,” Alice said, unable to hold her tongue, “Why are you all like this?”

“Like what?” Nezzar said, the buck being the first to respond from his seat at the table.

“Happy.” Alice said bluntly, “You act like Babi doesn’t own you and makes you do things against your will. You do a majority of the work on this farm of his, and then just eat at his table with smiles on your faces. If I didn’t know he was a slaver, I would think he was some sort of father figure to you all.”

The Antlerteans looked among one another, at a loss of how to respond to Alice’s words. They were confused, not of the reindeers’ words, but the negative connotation they held. However, here the deer found themselves incapable of responding, their master was more than capable of explaining.

“They treat me as a ‘father figure’, as you put it, because that is what I am to them.” Babi said, unfettered from continuing his meal as he spoke, “To a minotaur, when one takes upon the burden of a slave, they are inviting that being into their family. I doubt I will be able to explain in a manner that fits your worldview, but I can try to make connections. I’ve heard talk from other minotaur of the custom of ‘marriage’ in the lands beyond this island, and I assume it is akin to making a claim to a female for the purposes of breeding.”

Alice had to look away from the minotaur when he said that, internally scoffing at the notion the two things were in any way similar.

“The term ‘wife’ or ‘wives’ is occasionally used among my kind to refer to particularly valued breeders. I don’t personally use it since I believe it causes division, resentment, and ego among females when favor is displayed in the manner, but can see how a title of such prestige can be a source of motivation.”

“Creatures aren’t usually forced into a family though.” Alice replied.

“Are they not?” Babi said, his voice in a tone of legitimate question, “Those of both free and enslaved species here are often not given an actual choice in who will take them in. It might be obvious why that is for ones such as the deer seated around you, but in my case it was only due to the interest of my mentor that I was taken under his wing. What opportunities would I have gained from rejecting him, and not seeing him as the closest thing to a ‘father’ I would ever have?”

“Well, maybe…” Alice said, faltering on her stance slightly, “But where I come from-”

“Creatures are born into their families, beholden to a group of familial relations that could be just as nasty as any teacher, or any master? I see little difference from what one such as yourself would call a family, and what I have here. I care for the wellbeing of every creature beholden to me, provide for them, and hold some degree of affection toward them.”

Alice couldn’t help but notice the glow on some of the deer slightly increase as Babi stated he held affection for them, responding positively to what she saw as manipulative words.

“They are the ‘family’ I chose, when life had granted me few others who could fill that role.” the bull finished, before finishing his glass of milk.

“Sorry, this is all just so strange to me,” Alice said, accepting that any words she said that opposed the concept of family the minotaur presented would not be understood by those around her, “I came here with a goal of convincing you minotaur to stop being slavers, and only to find the ones you’re oppressing don’t see themselves as oppressed.”

“I assume we’d feel the same going to your country,” Amy said, speaking up now that her master was finished, “You make it sound as like everyone from your lands are only beholden to themselves, and thus responsible for their own destiny.”

“How is that a bad thing?” Alice asked, not seeing the doe’s point.

“No one is saying it is,” Amy answered, “It’s just not the way that we do things here. We were brought up to look at our lives on a more communal level. We are responsible for those around us as much as they are responsible for us. In this case, our master has a duty to feed, house, and give purpose to our lives, while we have a duty to ensure he is capable of providing us these things. The notion that we would live lives fending for ourselves, when we have grown up in an environment where everything has been taken care of for us… Well it’s a level of independence that few of our kind would wish for.”

“It’s not like those where I’m from live in isolation,” Alice said, “We all have our communities, from deer, to ponies, to yaks and…” Alice had to stop herself, as she didn’t know if it was wise to speak of all the species the minotaur could potentially come to Equestria to enslave. “What I mean is that you wouldn’t be alone, and you’d still have a reason to live together.”

“Then what’s the difference?” a random doe from the table asked.

Alice had trouble following that up, as she truly couldn’t think of a way to present the concept of freedom to those who seemed content without it. If this was a normal conversation about two different cultures sharing the differences they had, then that would be ok, but the reindeer had to be convincing if she wanted to change the future to one where she wasn’t in league with the indoctrinated deer. Failing to win in these discussions opened her up to being contaminated by their ideals, a possibility that Alice was well aware could happen if given the chance.

Her silence was telling though, and while Babi could have easily called out her lack of reply, he was not from a position of needing victory. Instead he decided to answer his doe’s question in Alice’s stead.

“There is a certain satisfaction in being your own creature. While I can’t attest to every aspect of how this foreign land operates, I can see it as the difference in my time as an apprentice and then running my own farm. While working for Lon, I always had my own ideas of how I’d like to run things, which my mentor would often refuse to let me try them, for the simple fact that he was the one with authority. When I finally took charge of my own farm, it was liberating to finally do all these ideas I always wanted to, finding out through personal experience what worked and what didn’t.”

The deer nodded, hanging on their master’s words. Alice was surprised to hear the bull make arguments in her favor, doing what she failed to do herself.

“But independence does not come without hardship,” he added, “It makes me appreciate the burden my mentor took on when he chose to be my teacher. As a student, my failures were not my own. I was chained by the yoke of my mentor’s ways, but I did not suffer the consequences when I slipped my lead. It was only when I had proved myself capable of functioning on my own, to be able to take responsibility for myself but for others, that I gained the privilege to be my own creature.”

“So you saw your apprenticeship like being a slave?” Alice said, curious how he could compare the two positions.

“Not the same,” Babi replied, “I could have quit at any time, unlike you all, though I feel it would not have been a wise choice. Still, when one is in service to another it can feel as there is no difference than being enslaved, especially when the actual slaves were given more trust in doing things right than you.”

Alice couldn’t help but find the bull’s words interesting, “Do all minotaur go through this?”

“The apprenticeship? All spend some time being taught by an elder who has experience in how things are done,” Babi answered. “But few have the privilege of being personally trained. Those who go to work under another minotaur don’t need to know how the business of their employer operates fully.”

“So only those who spent an extended time in the service of an experienced minotaur end up being successful slave masters like yourself?” This was where certain pieces of the puzzle were starting to fit together for Alice.

Babi knew what it was like to be under another creature’s hooves, and that was why he treated them nicely. A minotaur like her future master, the king of Minopolis, would not have had that same experience, nor would any of his close allies, or those who ended up doing grunt work. Finally something made sense to her about the relationship between Babi and his deer.

“I would not treat that as a general truth,” Babi said, “Success is not based on the amount of possessions one has. A minotaur could work under another minotaur all his life, never entering into mentorship, have a single female, and see themselves more successful than the king. It’s all a matter of perspective.”

“Sure…” Alice said, thinking that she and the minotaur were working on two different measures of success, “But have you every seen a minotaur who has never entered this higher level of education end up running their own business such as you do?”

“It’s not unheard of,” Babi replied, right after finishing his plate, “One of my associates in Minopolis runs a general store he inherited on the merit that he had played errand boy to the previous owner for years. Said previous owner never took to mentoring any others, so at one point he just slipped the name of this minotaur into his will as his successor, assumedly because he was grateful to have a helping hand whenever he needed it.”

“What other reason could it be?” Alice asked, now doing her best to finish her meal, as she noticed that the only ones who still had unemptied plates were those who went for seconds.

“It could have been something as simple as not wanting his assets seized by the senate after his death.” Babi explained, “One’s life work is meant to be passed on to the next generation. Not claimed and hoarded by a collection of aging bulls who already have more coin than then could spend in a lifetime.”

Alice could only “Hmmm” in response to this. Pushing the last bit of mashed potatoes into her mouth to excuse herself from making another comment. This was the second time she had heard negative talk about the senate, first time coming from the slaves and now from their master. Was this just a shared opinion here on this farm, or did these feelings extend to the citizens of Minopolis?

The meal ended shortly after, with each deer excusing themselves from the table to return to what they were doing before coming to dinner, since none of them save for Nezzar had the aid of reindeer hands to help them complete their tasks early. As the last deer left, Babi went to attend to his own affairs, while Amy attended to cleanup, being aided by Nezzar since he had nothing else better to do.

“That was certainly an interesting meal,” Amy said, stacking some plates, “It is rare we get to hear the master talk about matters outside of chore changes.”

“Yeah, usually we just eat in silence,” Nezzar added, “But we don’t often have guests over like this.”

“Is your master unliked?” Alice asked, having not left her seat. She wouldn’t have known where to go if she had, as she wasn’t sure if her welcome on the farm had been worn out or not.

“No,” Amy replied, “He is just too far out in the country to expect frequent visits, and they usually don’t stay for a meal.”

“Even if they did, it would likely be just as quiet,” Nezzar added, “Master doesn’t associate with the more rowdy minotaur.”

Amy came over to Alice, and placed her dirtied tray upon the stack, “So what are you going to do now?”

“Not sure,” Alice said, “I meant to spend a day or two here, then return home. I’ve got a tent and a sleeping bag in my pack, so maybe Babi could allow me a place to set up for the night?”

“Oh, nonsense,” Amy said, “If you’re going to stay you might as well take up one of the beds in the deer cabin.”

“I don’t know… Are you sure your master would even allow that?” Alice asked, trying to place the burden of approval on a party that wasn’t present, while her actual concern was sleeping in what was essentially a slaves’ quarters for the night.

“So long as you aren’t causing problems, it should be fine,” Nezzar answered, making his way out of the room with his hands full of silverware, “And you’ll be much more comfortable in a warm bed than sleeping out in the cold. I’ll even give you a tour of the house.”

“Really, you’ve all done so much to help me already, the food and information you’ve given me.” said Alice, making another attempt to not receive anything more from these overly hospitable deer.

The Antlertean doe wasn’t going to take no for an answer though. “How about this? You’re trying to get a good look at Minopolis, right? Figure out how things work around here so you can work towards that goal of yours”

“Yeah.” Alice replied, though not enthusiastic about that particular objective of hers.

“Well tomorrow we have a few deliveries scheduled for the city, and master is taking these ones in personally. I’m sure we could convince him to have you tag along with him so you could see the sites and talk to some of the creatures there.”

As dangerous as that sounded, Alice knew from her future sight that she would end up back home in two days time. She couldn’t see a situation in which she would be captured, corrupted, and allowed to leave in that short of time. There couldn’t be any harm in doing a little exploration of the city when she was guaranteed to make it back home, right?

“I suppose that would be fine.” Alice said, “If Babi is ok with it.”

“Then we’ll ask him later.” Amy said, with a hint of excitement in her voice, “Until then I can give you a tour of the house. Right after I’m done getting these dishes to the kitchen.”

Alice gave a few nervous chuckles to the Antlerteans declaration, the doe being much more assertive than she would assume one who lived a life of servitude should be. “Just go along with it.” Alice said to herself, happy to let the path of fate guide her for now.

A few minutes later the two does were walking through the house, room by room, Amy wanting to show Alice everything. From the looks of it, a minotaur farm house didn’t look too different from what she would expect from one owned by any other creature. There were no chains bolted to the walls, or bondage rooms made for training and disciplining the slaves. It was pretty normal for someone’s home, save for one thing.

Seeing as this was a home fit for a minotaur, the dimension of each room was upscaled to suit him. Thus, the space each room held looked like it was double or more of one she would be used too. Much of the furniture was suited for the minotaur as well, with a few accommodations made for the sake of the deer living there. It was something that had gone unnoticed by Alice when going straight to the dining area, but now that she became aware of this disparity in her size compared to most other things around her, it gave her this odd sense of vertigo she could not overcome. It made her feel small, in ways that she hadn’t felt since she was a child half the size she was now.

This perspective brought on another revelation to the reindeer, one that probably should have been more obvious, but only just hit her. “Hey Amy, where are all the children?”

It was something that evaded her until now, but in all her time observing the minotaur’s nation, through her visions and this first hand account, there wasn’t a single child in sight. There weren't even signs of toys in this farmstead, or anything else that would indicate that a child was present. This was incredibly strange, seeing that breeding was a main part of the reason the minotaur had captured creatures to be their slaves.

“Well of course no,” Amy replied, “Children are sent to a nursery upon birth.”

“A nursery?” Alice questioned, this being the first time she heard of such a place in this kingdom. “Like a daycare?”

The gears in Amy’s head, working hard to turn Alice’s words into something that made sense to her. Failing at that, she instead decided to describe what she was talking about. “Nurseries are where children are taken when born, and raised until adulthood. There are a few that exist all across the kingdom, with each one catering to a different species. One for minotaur. One for deer. One for thestrals. I think they started setting up one for ponies too, now that we’ve had a few of the more common pony species among us for a while.”

“So all of your children live in some sort of giant orphanage?” Alice asked, thinking that is what Amy had described to her.

“I don’t know what an orphanage is,” Amy said.

“It’s a place where children who have no parents live, making their wellbeing and upbringing the responsibility of the kingdom,” Alice informed the Antlertean, astonished that this word was not part of the doe’s vocabulary, since it was a common institution in the lands she was from.

“Then that sounds very much like a nursery,” Amy replied, “Except for us it’s just a common part of a child’s development. It’s where we are taken care of, grow up, and are taught things until adulthood.”

Alice couldn’t believe what she was hearing. The idea that all children of a kingdom would be raised in an environment without their parents, basically abandoned at birth to be trained to eventually be thrust into a life of slavery, sounded like a nightmare to her.

However, this seemed to apply to minotaur children as well, and that struck the reindeer as odd. Why subject your children, the whole motivation behind your tyrannical conquest, to the same fate as those destined to be placed in bonds. The topic of “Why?” was so unavoidable that Alice uttered the word, without any other context to what she was confused by.

The Antlertean was able to discern the issue though, as her race had not been enslaved for so long a period that the concept of raising one’s own children would be alien to her own kind. Thus she explained the reasoning behind the minotaur’s actions.

“From what I was told growing up, the minotaur have an aversion towards raising children.” said Amy, “In the past they were nomads, and never stuck around long enough for their mates to give birth. Since they no longer wander the lands, having claimed this continent as their home, this cultural quirk of theirs had to be catered to by a new system.”

“Who even came up with this?” Alice asked, more as a reaction than a legitimate question. She was pretty sure it had to be something the minotaur devised.

“From what I was told, we Antlerteans did.” Amy replied, giving the reindeer an unexpected answer, “Once we adapted to being the property of the minotaur, we found it better to aid the minotaur in their reproductive goals in order to make the process more comfortable for both them and ourselves.”

“You’re kidding,” Alice replied upon hearing that the deer had given up their freedom for mere comfort.

“It was that or needlessly suffer for pointless rebellion.” Amy said back, by now getting the other doe’s point of contention, “Regardless of the feelings of our birth parents, or their own birth parents in most cases, we had been conquered and integrated into the minotaur’s culture. The only path we had was to adapt. An existence of cooperation is far more agreeable to one where we must be forced to obey.”

This did explain to some degree why the Antlerteans were so keen to just be slaves. Their entire culture at this point revolved around finding happiness and comfort through servitude.

“Back to the topic of nurseries,” Amy continued, “We are taught that the concept of them was a deer proposal, one that was approved by the senate almost immediately. They really didn’t want to be burdened by the presence of children, so much so that they diverted a lot of funding to their creation, and the training of qualified does to keep watch over all the children.”

“So they were willing to dump a ton of resources into not having to deal with the consequences of their actions?” Amy asked, finding it really strange that the minotaur wanted to be so distant from the very purpose of their conquest.

“I suppose that’s what happens when long term goals clash with short term wants,” Amy said, smirking as though this was some in joke among her kind, that they were likewise aware of the near paradoxical nature of it all, “The nursery program had full support of the senate though, as well as the king, and have since been maintained through a tax minotaur pay annually.”

“And the does in charge of these places, they aren’t watched round the clock by minotaur?” Alice asked.

“There is some oversight,” Amy answered, “A minotaur representative comes to inspect things about once a month, and then we get the occasional visitor who is looking to invest in a more direct manner.”

Alice could hazard a guess as to what this means, as there were probably a few minotaur who would want to call ‘dibs’ on a fawn they felt would make a fine addition to their collection.

“Otherwise it’s just the children and the den mothers most of the time. There were about three dozen does watching the fawns at any given time when I was growing up.”

“That sounds barbaric,” Alice said, “So you’re expected to give birth, but can’t even keep your children? Have you been… bred before? Were you upset when you had to give them up?”

“I have been, and yes, it was sad for a while.” Amy said, “My master was there to comfort me though, and I had been prepared far in advance for the separation. It’s part of our training when being raised, to know our duties, expectations, and to carry on the talents of our species in order to serve the needs of the minotaur.”

“So you all just accept this?” Alice said, displeased with what she was hearing.

“Don’t get me wrong. Despite what I have said, this is far from ideal for us, but it’s the compromise we decided on. Our complacency grants us many privileges we would otherwise not have, and we are taught, by our own kind, to find comfort in our bonds. We may be slaves, but have come to see our lives of servitude as duty, not burden. Besides, the nurseries do have some advantages, as it allows our children to mature in an environment where they don’t have to be around the crueler aspects of our society.”

“While being taught to one day be a part of that society.” Alice rebutted, but then relented seeing that her complaints were only her own. Besides, she had other questions she wanted answered, “So what are these nurseries like?”

“They are lovely places to grow up in.” Amy said, thinking back to her time there, “It is a single, large home, filled with children of your own kind. The den mothers would make time to give each of us affection, and would watch over us as we played. We would have days of learning, days of chores, and days of play. We were often allowed to go outside in groups, where there was a large open field, save for patches of wooded areas near the wall that separated us from what awaited us outside.”

When the exterior was described to Alice, she realized she had seen a few nurseries on her arrival. Those places she thought might have belonged to some rich minotaur as a private home outside of Minopolis had been some sort of child prison all along.

“All in all, I would say those days were peaceful,” Amy continued, “But also sad whenever one of us got too old, and got bought. As we got older, our purpose would be revealed to us bit by bit. It would start out with our first introduction to the minotaur, being told that they were the ones who supported our lives in the nursery. Then when the time came we would be told how we would one day be brought into their world to help make it a better place. It was… Is a little deceptive, I’ll admit, but I assume that was our den mothers faults, as they shielded us from the knowledge of what was to come for as long as possible. Had a minotaur been in charge, they would have probably been much more direct.”

“And what about the part of the does becoming breeders?” Alice asked, since that was the main purpose of any female enslaved by the minotaur.

“We learn about that some time after reaching puberty,” Amy answered, “But it doesn’t become a focus of our training until we get closer to adulthood. Until then, we are directed to live a more chaste lifestyle, permitted nothing more than personal exploration of our bodies, and in some cases separated from the bucks among us.”

“All in order to save you for your future master, I take it.” said Alice, who received a nod in return, “I guess they put a lot of effort into making sure you does only ever feel a minotaur’s… uh… bullhood.”

“They do have us breed with those of our own kind from time to time,” Amy corrected, “If we didn’t, there would be no bucks, at least not younger ones like Nezzar. The minotaur don’t seem to be trying to eliminate our males, though they easily could since most does of my generation are minotaur born, and we’d still be able to give birth to does without a single stag. I have to think there are some altruistic reasons for that.”

“Or perhaps we just enjoy a bit of variety,” Babi said, suddenly joining the conversation as he came from around the corner, “We do keep adding new creatures to our breeding pool, even though you does would have been enough. I have no doubt that some of my kind would rather keep other males around just because they enjoy them more than females.”

“Ah, you’re probably right, master.” Amy said, immediately agreeing with Babi’s opinion, “But you can’t blame your humble servants for trying to attribute good will towards your acts.”

Babi gave a huff, and then looked to Alice, “I assume you wish to stay the night then?”

Alice tried to reply, but she hardly got out a word before Amy started speaking for her, “Our guest was curious about Minopolis, and was hoping that she might be able to accompany you during your visit tomorrow. Of course that would mean she would have to be here for your departure, and there would be no better way for her to do that than to have her stay the night.”

Babi thought it over, appraising the reindeer’s earlier work with the value of the meal, shelter, and trip to Minopolis he would be providing. In the end, he found it to be an adequate exchange in services, but just barely.

“So long as she causes no issues, and helps with my delivery, I can escort her through the city.” Babi said, “But after that I am considering all transactions even.”

“Oh, thank you master.” Amy said joyously, acting giddy for no reason. It wasn’t like Amy was getting anything out of this, except for…

Oh no, Alice thought, realizing why the doe was so happy, right before being taken by the hand.

“I’ll show you where you’ll be sleeping tonight, and later tonight you can tell us all about what it’s like where you come from. I can’t wait to hear what it’s like in your reindeer cities. We’ve only had stories from ancient times to work off of till now, and certainly your people have changed since those ancient times. This is so exciting!”

“Yeah… Exciting,” Alice said unenthused as she was being pulled away, taking one last look at Babi who seemed to share her sentiments.

Nonetheless, Alice did desire to see how the minotaur’s maze city was like in the current day and age, and hopefully find someone who could help her change the minotaur’s ways, and escape her fate as ‘The Promised Gift’. If a night of entertaining the deer at this farm was what it would cost her to accomplish that, then so be it. Besides, once the Antlerteans on this farm heard in detail what it was like to live in a place where slavery didn’t exist, it might finally get them to understand that they would prefer that more than a life under their… admittedly well intentioned bovine master.

Seeing how adamantly these deer defend their enslavement, Alice didn’t need her future sight to see that it would be an exhausting effort to get the Antlerteans to budge even slightly from their current position on the matter. Relenting to the pull of the doe grasping her arm, she followed along to her immediate fate, and the frustration it would surely bestow upon her.

Author's Note

Hello everyone. December has come again, and thus it's time for more chapters following our favorite Gift Giver deer, Alice. Sorry if this chapter is a bit wordy, but I wanted to have a proper set up for what's to come.

For those wondering, I'm gonna try to get out five more chapters (All the way up to January) before returning to my other projects. Hopefully that will allow us a good deal of progress, and put us in a good position for... well perhaps the moment you've all been waiting for. We'll just have to see, but I have a lot of time to focus on writing at the moment, so if I don't make it blame my own laziness. Hope you all enjoyed this chapter, and have a lovely December.

Cultural Exchange: Part 1

As the morning came Alice found herself riding in a fruit cart being pulled by the minotaur who had acted as her host, her way to the place she dreaded most in this world. Minopolis, the maze-like city that would one day be her prison if she didn’t put a stop to the vile plans of its leaders.

The night prior went about as well as she expected, staying in the sleeping quarters of Babi’s deer slaves. Once the day had come to a close, the sun setting and the moon rising, Alice got barraged by the Antlerteans with questions.

Where did she come from?

Why was she there?

How did she get to their island?

What was it like across the sea?

What did reindeer do for fun?

What did they eat?

On and on, with questions that Alice did her best to answer without giving out information she thought would be harmful. It was tiring, this inquisitorial gathering giving her little time to relax before finally Babi himself put an end to it by commanding every deer to bed. They didn’t question or complain, going straight to their beds, actual ones with frames and a mattress, big enough to fit a single creature their size and little more. Alice, not needing to adhere to the minotaur’s orders, tried to stay up a little later, but with nothing else to do once the Antlerteans closed their eyes, she found herself drifting to sleep to the wingbeats of the bat ponies heading out to the fields as they began their night shift.

“It should not be too much longer before we get to the city,” Babi said, keeping a steady pace as the dirt path he had been traveling on turned into a brick road, “A short mile away.”

“Right.” Alice said, steeling her nerves for her arrival.

“You know, you don’t have to wear your cloak like that,” Babi said, noting that the reindeer had taken to conceal herself, cloak wrapped tightly over her body, with the hood up to hide her face, “Like I said before, no one will try to enslave you for just walking around the city.”

“I don’t want to draw attention,” Alice replied, “I’m the first reindeer on this island, and even if you’re right that I wouldn’t get imprisoned, I wouldn’t get in and out of that city without being detained and questioned if they saw what I am. Best to avoid the eyes of your people.”

“Going around the city like that is not going to keep the creatures of the city from looking your way,” Babi replied, since deer almost never walked around so covered, “Though perhaps not as much as your brightly colored fur would.”

Having spent a day with the Antlerteans at Babi’s farm, Alice understood what the bull meant. From the sample size she saw, her distant cousins looked to only come in shades of browns and greys, where her body was covered in yellow fur and a minty green head of hair. Even without her other distinct reindeer features, that alone would turn her into a beacon if anyone got a good look at her.

“Look, I know what I’m doing,” Alice said, before adding I hope in her mind, “And if anything goes wrong I’ll manage things for myself.”

“Just don’t do anything stupid,” said Babi, “I will not take up any responsibility for you if you get yourself in trouble.”

“Trust me, I want to just get in and out of here just as much as you do,” Alice replied, “I’ll be happy to be nothing but a ghost among your people.”

Alice could hear Babi let out a deep exhale, assuredly not convinced by Alice’s declaration that she desired to go unseen. Or perhaps he was just displeased by his involvement in whatever the reindeer intended to do while in Minopolis. Regardless, the minotaur marched onward to the ever approaching minotaur capital.

In less than an hour, the cart came to a stop at an archway embedded in the massive walk that acted as Minopolis’ outer wall. It appeared that while the minotaur lived on this large island, uncharted by any nation beyond its shores, thus ensuring that they were at no threat from invaders, they still saw fit to secure the city with a guard station and a gated entrance. Then again, perhaps the purpose of this was to keep creatures in.

After a brief wait, a minotaur guard at the post came out, heading straight for Babi. This bull, dressed in leather armor that hugged his bulking bovine body, was a bit bigger than the farm owner.

“Bringing in another shipment personally?” the guard asked, having some sort of casual relationship with Babi. Seeing as he had to be customs, it was likely just from these interactions at the gate as Babi brought his goods into town, “This the last batch for the season or something?”

“No, we got one more coming before winter sets in,” Babi answered, handing the guard some documents that must have been an order form for what he had brought, “Been having my slaves pick every tree in the orchard clean.”

“Hope we have enough to last the cold months,” the guard replied as he skimmed the paper, “My does hate it when I don’t bring them home an evening treat.”

“It should be enough,” Babi assured, “Even with the amount the king has been ordering lately.”

The guard reviewed the paper several times, lifting his eyes from it to see if what was written matched the number of barrels he saw in the cart. When he would look her way, Alice would turn her head as if she were looking at the grass growing off to the side of the path, while nervously side eying from behind the shadows of her hood.

“What’s with the deer?” the guard asked, not because he was catching her in the act, but because like Babi had said before, her attire and the way she wore it was making him question her.

“She insisted that she came with me for the delivery,” Babi answered, with not a second of hesitation, “But then she told me she wasn’t feeling well about halfway here. She said that she was cold, so I told her to shut her robes. Then she said the light was hurting her eyes, and I let her put her hood up.”

“Sounds bad,” said the guard, “Maybe you should get her checked out while you’re here.”

“I’m sure it will pass,” Babi replied, since the only thing ailing his passenger was that she didn’t want others to know what she was.

Watching the guard go back to his post, Babi bent down to grab the handles of his cart. The moment the gate was fully raised, he entered into Minopolis, with Alice turning in her seat to watch as the exit became closed again.

“Not complaining or anything,” said Alice as she spun back around to face the bull’s back, “But you seemed awfully comfortable with lying to that guy.”

“An important skill for business,” Babi replied, “All I need from him is to let me into the city, and it’s not important to him if the contents of my cart don’t match up exactly with what I say.”

“I thought you minotaur were honest with all your dealings though,” Alice said, thinking back to what Aurora told her about minotaur.

“Once a deal is struck we do tend to abide by it, yes.” Babi answered, “But any business man who refuses to swindle, coerce, and undercut would be destroyed by one who did. We assume a certain level of deceit from even our closest allies, and in a way that’s what keeps us ‘honest’. When everyone expects to be deceived, you have to show that you’re the one your clients can trust the most.”

Coming from a land where few had a reason to enact in treachery, hearing this minotaur talk about how openly duplicitous he and his kind were was weird. She wanted to ask more, but the streets were starting to fill up with other creatures as the two got a few yards away from the entry gate. They were entering the city proper, where the stores, homes, and public facilities were.

Alice had returned to the minotaur’s capital, while likewise entering into it for the first time. Her time in her own future prepared her for what to expect, and very little was different now from what it would be like in three years. The city itself was still comprised of what felt like a single structure, every ‘building’ part of a large wall that made this place a literal maze for those who dwelled within.

Integrated into the stone structures was the Antlertean technologies that glowed with the same variety of colors she had seen from the deer’s tattoo-like markings. Alice understood little about many of these contraptions her first time through the city, and a second time going through Minopolis’ streets did not make her comprehension any easier.

Some of them held the appearance of pony powered contraptions she had seen in major Equestrian cities, like the hanging lights above the street crossings that looked to guide traffic, but being seeing as she spent most of her time in the Gift Giver’s Grove, she did not understand the purpose of things like neon signs that many of the establishments used to advertise their businesses. It was hard for Alice to pull her gaze away from these flashy distractions, getting a blast of shapes and symbols that meant little to her.

The reindeer decide it best to look at the creatures walking by Babi’s cart instead, the minotaur, living out their lives as the dominant species of this place, and the deer, who like the ones Alice at the farm did not seem to express any ill will towards their oppressors. It was all very familiar to what she had seen in the future, except for one minor detail. Very few of the Antlerteans were being towed around on a leash, or placed in any bondage whatsoever. In fact, it looks as if a vast majority of them were walking around unattended, either walking the streets alone or in the company of other deer.

If this was something that occurred when she had seen the streets of Minopolis before, the vast amount of other species that would be here in the future, ones that were so accustomed to being free that they would require bindings and a stern hand to make sure they didn’t run off, had made it hard to spot. Had Amy been honest about how the Antlertean’s compliance granted them far more freedom than their enslaved status would imply? The answer was clearly ‘yes’ from what Alice was seeing.

If one took a picture of this scene going on around Alice, others would not have been able to tell that the deer were treated as property. They might have even made bad assumptions about the deer for not having anything on save for loosely fit parkas, while the minotaur wore enough clothing to maintain their modesty at all times. Alice was able to occasionally catch a peek at their nudity underneath when one had an arm lifted up, unintentionally of course, while she hadn’t seen so much as a hair of a bovine crotch since she arrived on the island.

“We’ll be making a few stops,” Babi said suddenly, now several city blocks into the minotaur capital, “A few of which you’re probably not going to be happy with.”

“Are you going to the… um… wherever your king lives.” Alice didn’t know if it would be called a castle, a palace, or something else altogether, “I really don’t want to be anywhere near him.”

Babi gave a heavy exhale, “You mean the Forum. Yes, I will be there at some point today to drop off a majority of what I brought. If you don’t wish to go with me, I’ll have to drop you off with one of my associates.”

The minotaur’s proposal of how she could avoid the minotaur’s king was not appealing, as it probably meant revealing herself to another minotaur, but it’s not like she had any other options. Wandering around the city would only get her lost, and loitering would lead to her getting noticed.

“I guess I did want to meet more people here,” said Alice, trying to be optimistic, “Anyone in mind?”

“Pasion would probably take you in for the time needed,” Babi replied, “He enjoys the company of you deer more than his own kind, and would find it amusing to learn of the arrival of a new breed.”

Alice blinked a few times, shocked at how Babi put that, “Maybe ‘breed’ is not the way you should be saying that.” the reindeer said under her breath, knowing Babi was speaking of how she was a different type of deer than what this other minotaur would be used to.

“We’ll be arriving to our first destination soon,” Babi said, not noticing the muttering of his passenger, “Try not to get excited by what you see.”

“What will I see?” Alice asked, right before the cart was pulled off the corridor-like street, into a more open section of the maze city.

Like the place where she would one day be to sit in on one of her future master’s meetings, this part of the minotaur capital was basically a large, ceilingless ‘room’ within the maze, used as a place of gathering and commerce for the city. The last one had, from what she understood during her short visit there, a building that served as a restaurant there, and probably other establishments of that nature within the other buildings she saw.

This one however was much different, as there were no buildings within the space, save for the ones that were part of the maze wall, and instead had a bunch of booths, pens, and tents set up. While the dining space had small planters of flowers and grass along its roads to give it a cozier appearance, there was little sign of greenery here, the patches of visible ground covered in sand, making it resemble something akin to a market bazaar she had seen in books about Saddle Arabia.

She sat still, as the cart went down a path that traveled through these tents, while taking in her surroundings, quickly getting clued in on why she had to remain calm. This was a market of sorts, but not for produce, goods, or fineries. The only thing being peddled here were lives, with flesh put on display from behind the stall counters. Alice had entered into a slave market.

Everywhere she looked there was some creature put on display for the express purpose of being bought. A vast majority of those being sold were the Antlerteans, and those bat-like pegasus ponies, as this was so early in the minotaur’s history that they didn’t have access to any of the other species they would come to acquire. While the selection was slim, they were in no short supply, as Alice could hardly shift her eyes in any direction without seeing doe and stags alike tied to poles by a shackles attached to their wrists, or a fanged mare within a cage being visually appraised by a potential bovine buyer.

The pens were filled with those awaiting their turn to be put up for sale, Antlerteans roughly Alice’s age, or up to a year older, having reached an age where they were considered viable to fulfill their role within the society the minotaur had forged. Signs were set up at some booths with cash values listed next to strings of numbers and letters, which had to be some sort of code to identify what a corresponding slave was worth. Others had their cost of purchase painted directly on their bodies, in places eyes would be drawn to such as on the breasts or just above the crotch. More still could be seen off in the distance, standing in line on a stage, presumably less desirable ones that were now being auctioned off to the highest bidder as their cost of maintaining them surpassed what their slaver would make back.

This was the scene one would need to show to an outsider to show how barbaric the minotaur were, as their oppressive behaviours were on full display. Seeing this would immediately put into context what a threat the Minopian minotaur were to the rest of the world. All they would have to look at was one of the stalls offering to test the merchandise, with written out policies of ‘Try before you buy’ and ‘You breed it, you buy it’ on display to know that this place was awful for all, save from the minotaur exploiting their life long captives.

And yet, as Alice rode the cart casually through her worst nightmare, she could not see nary a frown on the faces of those there to be bought and put to the shaft. There was the occasional expression of boredom, from those whose patience had run dry, and some who looked as if they were being distracted by a daydream as they sat in their private cages, but not a single expression of sorrow or fear, hatred or despair.

On the contrary, some were doing their best to entice their potential masters, pushing out their chests, wiggling their asses, and going so far as to press themselves against any bovine who got too close. Alice still couldn’t believe that this was considered normal, that so many accepted their enslavement so willingly, and were willing to do these degrading acts so they could be bought and bred as soon as possible. Not a legitimate frown among the lot of them, being kicked off by the sound of a gleeful squeal, Alice’s head turning to see a bound up bat mare bouncing on spot, her sizable breasts attempting to follow her ecstatic movements, as she watched one minotaur count a bag of coin a minotaur on the other side of his counter had handed over.

“I don’t get it,” Alice said bluntly, truly not understanding how an Equestrian mare, who currently had her muzzle strapped shut, her bat-like wings tied together, and her ankles and wrists shackled to their respective counterparts, could be so ecstatic about being bought like a piece of furniture.

“You might want to keep your opinions to yourself,” Babi replied, hearing Alice’s objections to the dealings going on around her, “That is if you want to keep your identity concealed.”

The reindeer had to adhere to Babi’s warning, as he was right. All the does she had met and seen in this place were so culturally indoctrinated that it felt like saying anything negative would be a dead giveaway that she was not one of them.

Alice sat still for the remainder of the ride, the cart pulling so deep into the market that it gave her a good look at many of the deer, who she hoped her eventual fate altering action would save. When the cart eventually came to a stop in front of what looked to be the largest tent in the market, Babi went to a bell stationed outside its entrance, giving it a good ring.

Must be the place this shipment goes, Alice reasoned, climbing into the back section of the cart to help unload. The barrels of fruit looked heavy, but she might have been able to lift them over the top of the cart to hand them to Babi.

The minotaur, seeing the reindeer getting to work, called over before she could get too far. “No need to do that. I’ll have plenty of help in a few seconds.

Alice sent a glare in Babi’s direction, seeing his words as criticism for preemptive attempts to do her part. His terms for entry into Minopolis was that she helped unload the cart, and the moment the reindeer tried she was told not to. It was hard to see this as less than jerking her around, and might have made her argue with the minotaur if not for the fact that she was in the center of what she considered hostile territory, with creatures at all sides that would shove her into one of the conveniently located cages if they know what she was. In a bit of a huff, she set the basket back down, and returned to her seat.

While she moved back to the front of the cart, the cloth covering the tent was pulled open from the inside, making way for two minotaur to exit. The first one out looked notable, a bigger minotaur with the tip of one of his horns chipped off, wearing a leather tunic, and what now seemed to Alice to be the traditional minotaur attire of a furred loincloth. In the places where this minotaur’s fur was showing, which was mostly at his arms, legs, and head, it was all graying to the point it was turning white. Alice took this as an indication that he was aging, but if he was he didn’t look it, as the muscles on his body looked more defined than Babi’s farm crafted physique.

Alongside this elderly minotaur was a younger looking bull, with dark blueish gray fur and a head of messy black hair that went down his cheek and chin to make a beard. He did not really match up to the white minotaur in stature, and even Babi looked like he was more physically fit than this bovine male, making Alice assume that he was a lackey or assistant to the white bull.
“Cephalus.” Babi said, greeting the white bull.

“Babi.” the larger minotaur replied in kind. “Glad to see you are on time, as usual. I can practically set my schedule to your arrivals.”

“You speak too highly of me,” Babi replied in a stoic modesty, “It’s simply good business to make deliveries when the client expects them.”

“You wouldn’t believe how many fail to share the same sentiment,” said Cephalus, “But enough banter. How many buckets of the stuff do you have me down for?”

Babi pulled came back to the cart and opened a compartment at the edge of Alice’s seat. She watched as he pulled from it a book, which had to have been his ledger, “Fifteen, paid for in advance, of course.”

“Of course,” Cephalus replied, before turning his head to the minotaur beside him, “Go round up some of the others and get this inside.”

The younger bull didn’t give a word in reply, only a nod before going to his task. A moment later he returned with four other minotaur, and together they swiftly retrieved Cephalus’ portion of the shipment cart.

“It’s a shame Lon never gets to see you work,” the white minotaur stated as his men gathered up the produce, “He rarely leaves the dairy farm these days. Sends that new boy of his to make deliveries.”

“I’ve met him,” Babi said, “A bull just out of calfhood, who has the same name as our shared mentor.”

“Bares a striking resemblance to him too. Do you think this bull is one of his actual sons?” Cephalus asked, looking for idle gossip.

“Why even question that?” Babi answered, “He is the son of all minotaur of Minopolis. As am I. As is all who will come after us. To speculate a blood tie is a fruitless endeavor, as beyond that it does not matter.”

“You’re right,” Cephalus agreed, “Then I suppose the real question is if you think he’s intending this one to inherit his farm?”

“It’s likely,” Babi said, this time hinting as a bit of sorrow, “I fear Lon’s days are coming to a close, and he knows it. Might just have a few years left before I can no longer hear him scold me about how crooked the alignment of my trees are. I only hope he lasts long enough to finish training the boy.”

“So you have no interest in the property itself?” Cephalus asked, “I seem to recall catching you watching his favorite doe more than a few times.”

“Do you mean Malon or Cermia?” said Babi, listing two of his mentor’s does, “Because I enjoyed being around both. But no, I have little interest in his ranch. I’ve hand squeezed enough breasts, and lugged around enough milk jars, to last a lifetime.”

“Good to see you understand then,” Cephalus said with a smile, “I’ve been having some issues of my own from some of my former pupils. Each wants to be the next head of the slave market guild, and have been trying to challenge Sartek for the position.”

“They do not appreciate the role you bestowed on them already?” Babi asked, “From my understanding, some of the more successful slave merchants studied under your tutilage. They should be more than wealthy enough to satisfy them.”

“You underestimate the greed our kind can possess,” Cephalus said, smiling as he contained a laugh, “But I suppose none of them like the idea of paying a cut of their profits to some youngling I pulled from the nursery. What they don’t understand is that I taught them to be merchants and slave trainers, while I am teaching Sartek to lead. They’ll all see how fit he is when I allow him to take charge under my watch in a year’s time.”

“Perhaps you need to bulk him up a bit,” said Babi, “Take him to the colosseum to learn how to fight. If the others get physical, he’s gonna need to defend himself.”

“I’m hoping that the quality of his work would be enough to quell such acts,” Cephalus replied, while watching his protegee finish up with unloading his shipment, unable to not compare his size to the others helping him, “But perhaps you’re right. Bulls respect the powerful, and it might be time he fit that definition visibly.”

“I’m sure you’ll make the best decision,” Babi said, stepping away from the white minotaur, taking up his cart now that this delivery was complete. “Good day and good profits to you.”

With that, Babi made his way out of the slave market, having concluded his business there, none there having the slightest hint about the true thing of value he was hauling around.

Alice sat silently for a while after leaving the slave market, the experience having left a lasting impression on her. This a natural response, as the things she had seen would have been enough to trouble all but the most evil of creatures, but this was not what was bothering her. At least not the main thing bothering her.

While Alice wasn’t exactly pleased with having to see the Antlerteans like that, the reindeer had seen and experienced enough to be acclimated to it. What was bothering her was more personal, because while the Cephalus and Babi were having their conversation, they didn’t bother to keep their voices down. To them it was a simple conversation between two bulls, but for Alice a single word was enough to pull her attention away from the minotaur working around her to grab their produce, that being the name of slave master’s apprentice: ‘Sartek’.

He looked different enough for the reindeer not to recognize him on sight, but having connected the name to the minotaur, she could see that he was the same minotaur that sat with her future master, who years from now would not only be the head of the slave merchants, but would be Bori’s master. She was so worried about running into the minotaur king she didn’t even think of his associates. That this person would one day be the cause of such strife among the Gift Givers stirred up a storm of negative emotions in her, made all the worse she remembered that it was her future self that caught Bori to eventually have her enslaved by him. This was certainly something she was supposed to see, since if history leaned to the side of good, this had to be a detail she needed to know to correct it.

For now though, she had to think about something else, lest she fall into a state of self loathing for the deeds she had yet to, and hopefully would never, commit. “Babi, is it ok to ask you some questions?”

“If you must,” Babi replied, “Though if it’s about the city, I might not know the answer.”

“No, I overheard your conversation with that older minotaur,” she said, making her intended topic clear, “And I heard that your mentor owned some does you took a liking to.”

“Ah, yes.” Babi answered, “My mentor had a pair of deer in his personal collection that enjoyed helping me with my tasks when I was first learning under them. As a younger male who never interacted with females outside of my den mothers, I couldn’t help but see them as potential mates. ‘Young love’, one might call it, though in honesty it was just my minotaur urges telling me to breed them.”

“And your mentor didn’t allow you to do anything with either?” Alice asked.

“He might have, if I ever came to him with my problems,” Babi said back to the deer, “But I didn’t want to beg him for a night with his does. A male needs to have some pride, so I took control of my feelings, and restrained them until I got a doe of my own.”

“You mean Amy,” the reindeer answered, remembering that Babi’s mentor got the doe for him as a gift, “But now that your mentor is… Uh…”

“Getting old,” Babi said, so Alice didn’t have to say something rude.

“Yes,” said Alice, “Now that that’s happening, some other bull might get them?”

“Not necessarily,” Babi said, “I have no doubt Lon will give his land to his new student, along with the full rights to his milking females, which he has my blessing to do. Malon and Cermia have both been retired from that duty for a while now, and put into storage. He may still allow me to have the rights to them, so I may enjoy their final years of use after he is gone.”

“Storage?” Alice said, her face crinkling as she tried to envision what the minotaur meant. All she could come up with was some form of long term imprisonment, like placing the does in a kennel to be taken care of because their master got bored of them.

“Hmmmm…” Babi said, pondering over what he would have to say to give the reindeer an answer, “Knowing how you see our culture, this might be something you learn about in a second visit.”

Little did the bull know, this was the reindeer’s second visit, and she really didn’t have time to take in everything there was to know about the minotaur bit by bit. “Is it that bad?” Alice asked.

“Not bad,” Babi replied, “Just shocking, perhaps, to a creature of the same species. Honestly, the Deer Depository is…” Babi’s words trailed off, as he figured he had said too much. “Let’s just say it’s a safe place to put our deer when they aren’t in use. Anyways, no more questions. It won’t be long before we make our next stop.”

Babi’s statement wasn’t really reassuring, but at least Alice weaseled a name out of him. The minotaur might have gone tight lipped, but maybe his deer would be more forthcoming when they got back. Or perhaps… Alice would get the chance to ask about it even sooner, if those Babi intended to leave her with where the talkative type.

Cultural Exchange: Part 2

As the day went on, Babi and Alice wound up going all over Minopolis, making their way through the many twists and turns of its city streets. It didn’t take long for the deer to to get turned around, as to her so many of the locations looked the same, but traversing this place was no matter for her minotaur driver. She got to witness firsthand as he innately navigated the ‘corridors’ of the maze, not needing a moment to get his bearings straight. For any other species, the layout of Minopolis would have been vastly inconvenient, and Alice had to believe this wasn’t completely advantageous for the bovines either, seeing that they would have to walk down entire city blocks at points, only to walk back the other way on another street.

Babi didn’t care though, not giving so much as a huff of discomfort as he went from one destination to the next, using the most efficient route possible. If the reindeer had known this, she would have assumed that it was the result of making this sort of delivery countless times prior, but for a minotaur this sort of trek was all intuition. A feel for the constructed landscape around him, the very masonry speaking to him on a subconscious level to tell him which roads to take, and which paths to avoid.

One thing the bull couldn’t discern through sheer intuition though was the time of day, and with the buildings around him as tall as they were, he could not see the sun to make a good estimate. He could make a guess based on the time it should have taken him to unload his goods for the three places he had stopped after leaving the slave market, but he was supposed to be at the place at a very particular time, and it would not have been good for business for him to show up late.

The minotaur knew of a fairly easy way to find out, but he loathed the thought of relying on it. Still, promised the deer to leave her with one of his aquaintances, so he needed to know if he had time to do one more delivery prior to dropping her off. Parking his cart on the side of the road, he set down its handels, before making his way to the buildings.

“I’ll get the baskets ready.” Alice said the moment Babi’s hoof touched the sidewalk. With how heavy the fruit containers were, the reindeer really couldn’t haul them around like her minotaur guide. So to do her part and uphold her end of the agreement Alice would instead move them to the more accessible position of the cart’s seat.

“There is no need,” Babi replied, “This isn’t a delivery point. I just need to check something real quick.”

The minotaur made his way to a screen stationed on a wall dead center between two of the maze embedded buildings. These things, devised through Antlertean magitek, were placed all over the city. Minotaur rarely messed with anything their enslaved deer produced, confusing as they were, but this particular contraption had an easy means to get what he wanted from it. Pulling a small glowing crystal from a pouch attached to his loincloth, the minotaur found a slot at the bottom of this fixture’s frame. An inserting of the powered stone into the slot was all it took to activate the device, with the screen coming to life, granting a bird’s eye view of Minopolis upon it.

“Hold on,” Alice said, leaving her seat to join the minotaur because of what she saw, “Is that a map of the city. I thought you minotaur didn’t need those.”

“We don’t,” spoke Babi begrudgingly at the notion that one of his kind might seek a guide to navigate this city, “It’s not the map I need, but this clock.” The minotaur pointed to the corner of the contraption, and there it stated the current time of a little pasted ten o’clock.

“Oh, it tells the time too.” Alice stated, looking at the numbers. It never ceased to amaze her how far ahead of the other species the Antlerteans were with their technology. “But if all you don’t need is a map, why did your people have one built?”

As if fate itself was answering her question, an Antlertean stag suddenly walked up to the screen. “Excuse me.” he said, stepping to Babi’s side to get a good look at the map. “Ok, so I’m here… and the master said to go to G9…” The male deer looked at the map intently, counting the amount of turns he’d have to take, leaving as soon as he believed he had figured out the way to his destination.

“As you can see,” said Babi while Alice watched the random stag walk away, “Our deer are not as adept at navigating this place as we minotaur, even those who have lived here since the construction of the city as it is now. It was honestly becoming a problem to send them on errands or let them leave the house. From my understanding, it got so bad that search parties had to be sent after lost does and stags. Eventually we got so fed up with having to hunt them down that the senate had to commission these maps to be built. Don’t ask me why they had to make it into some device that needs to be powered with their magic. The best I can assume is that they did it just to include the clock function to it so it had some benefit to us as well.”

And here I thought the maze was meant to be confusing to prevent slaves from finding the exit and making an escape, Alice thought to herself.

Though considering the situation more, knowing the location of the exit wouldn’t do a fleeing slave much good if its gate was closed. So long as that was there to prevent free entry and exit from the city, the outer wall of the city might as well have been solid.

“Looks like I’ll have to drop you off next, if I’m to make it to the Forum in time for my appointment.” Babi said, checking the clock one more time. “It’s shifting my order of deliveries a bit, but it shouldn’t be a problem. Get back in the cart. We’re leaving now.”

Alice did as she was told, and the minotaur took his place at the front, wasting no time in setting off to the next destination.

Not long after, the pair arrived at a small store set up not too far from the Forum. A general store, one built to accommodate the minotaur of this side of the massive maze city. It sold a little bit of everything, from clothing, to tools, to small Antlertean made knickknacks that served little purpose besides to sit on a shelf as parts on them moved about through the power of a small crystal charging it. Most of what it had to offer could be seen through a large window next to its front door, including a small section where they stocked food. This was not just a stop to drop off Babi’s reindeer passenger, but also one more place the farm bull needed to stop anyways.

Carrying a couple bushels of his purple peaches in his arms, Babi had Alice open the door for him and follow inside after, the two were greeted as they entered. “Welcome to Pasion’s Emporium.” said a feminine voice, immediately indicating that it was not the owner who was addressing them. “Oh, Babi! Is that you?”

“You know it is, Sophia.” Babi said back to an Antlertean doe standing behind the shop counter, otherwise ignoring her as he made his way over to some empty food displays. Setting his baskets on the floor, he turned to Alice. “Take the passion fruit out of the basket, and put them in these. After that, I’ll consider this trip paid for.”

Alice agreed to this with a nod, and silently got to work. However, the other deer in the store was not silent, as the minotaur’s deep voice was easy to pick up in this enclosed space. “‘Paid for’? Did one of your does break something important on the farm?”

Babi understood why the Antlertean would ask such a thing, as it was not a common practice to attribute any kind of ‘debt’ to one’s possessions. If a slave damaged a tool or ate produce without permission, that came out of his pocket, with no possible means to be reimbursed. It was one of the hazards of using slave labor instead of doing things yourself, that you might have to consider the damages they might cause as part of your budget.

“Mind your business,” Babi said, “And fetch your master for me. I need to discuss something with him. Something more important than the cost of wagon wheels and plough chisels.”

“Right away, sir.” the Antlertean said, ducking into a door right behind her counter.

Babi spent a moment looking around the shop as he waited, picking out some things he needed to restock his supplies back at the farm. Rope, nails, some order slips for fertilizer, and some other odds and ends. He had just about finished when the Antlertean doe returned, along with a minotaur Babi knew as Pasion.

This bull had purple eyes, and a body of black fur, with some white patches splotched around in random places on his body. Not that one would be able to tell with how he dressed, as the bull was covered from the neck down with a purple shirt that matched his eye color, a red sash, and long black pants that covered his figure far more than most minotaur would. This general estetic of garb was what the minotaur considered ‘merchant attire’, worn by the strictly business oriented minotaur who bought and sold goods, as it made them stand out among the rest of their kind, who preferred to keep their bodies mostly uncovered.

“Babi, my good business partner,” said this minotaur ecstatically, presenting himself as good natured and charismatic, the two most important qualities of any merchant, especially by those who used it as a means to hide their true intentions, “I thought this was going to be another routine exchange of goods today, else I would have been out here waiting for your arrival.” Stepping out from behind his counter, the merchant approached his fruit supplier with open arms. “What aside from your delivery brings you in today?”

Babi raised a hand, rejecting the embrace Pasion was offering, “Nothing lucrative, I fear. More a favor I want to ask of you.”

Pasion put his arms down, and considered his fellow minotaur’s words. ‘Favors’ were seldom asked for among the bovines, as the interest for such debts were often steep. “Don’t tell me you went over budget and need a loan. I’m cutting things pretty tight here myself.”

“Of course not,” Babi replied, while assuming that Pasion was not as bad off as he claimed, and that he was just trying to build on the debt of guilt Babi would accrue from such an ask, “It’s something fair simpler than that. Just… close your shop for ten minutes.”

Pasion gave the other minotaur a sideways glance, as it was clear this was not the actual request, and such an ask meant there was something secretive going on. Something that couldn’t be talked about in the back of the store, or risk someone else stepping in on.

“Sophia, shut down the shop for lunch break, and pull the window curtain closed.”

The doe got to work right away, locking the front door, flipping over the open sign, and making sure the window curtain reached one side of its frame to the other. “It’s done, master.”

“Ok, Babi,” Pasion said, intrigued, but not entirely amused by what it was this long term business partner of his might have been bringing to his doorstep, “You have ten minutes to explain what kind of trouble you are in.”

“No trouble at all,” Babi assured, “This is not something illegal, nor am I trying to pull you into some foolhardy investment. The favor is simple, but also difficult to explain. It will be easier to show than tell.”

Looking over to the cloaked deer standing in the produce section of the store, Babi gestured her to come over. Alice knew what had to happen if she was gonna stay here while Babi did his business with the minotaur king, as there was no way she’d be allowed to keep her hood up the entire time she waited if the store’s owner let her stay. Joining with the two minotaur, she lowered the covering and let her face be seen.

Pasion was surprised, to say the least, by what he saw, as he had never seen a deer with features quite like hers. “Babi, have you been selectively breeding your slaves to make this doe?” he asked, as it was the first thing he could rationalize when taking in this doe’s appearance. “I don’t know how you got her fur so bright, or her nose to be so broad, but I suppose it’s an interesting look. I couldn’t tell you if our brethren would find the novelty interesting enough to want to buy one though.”

Alice shot Babi a sideways glare, which the minotaur easily translated as ‘If you don’t tell him, I will’. “No, no.” Babi started, “I’m not making a sub breed of Antlerteans. I would have never been able to keep something like that a secret long enough for this doe to be as old as she is, and the fees for patenting such a thing is not something I want to deal with.”

“Then what’s going on here?” Pasion asked, “You’re not telling me you got first pick of a new breed brought in from across the sea, are you?”

Alice let out a groan, the frustration of being seen as another enslaved female getting to her. “I’m not his slave. I’m from across the sea, but I came here myself.”

The merchant minotaur had trouble processing that information, as every female he had ever met belonged to a minotaur. However, the other party in the room understood the situation plain as day.

“Master,” said the doe still standing behind the counter, who was leaning over it so far to get a better look at her guest that her little tail could be seen happily wiggling, “That’s a reindeer. One of the three lost tribes my kind left behind when we set sail to form our kingdom on this island. I can’t believe I’m getting to see one in person.”

“So… this girl is a visitor who came here on her own accord.” Pasion said, finally catching up to what was happening, “A… free female?”

“That is correct.” Babi said, “She showed up in my farm yesterday, and wanted to learn more about our culture. It seems like she’s trying to form an opinion about it, acting as a… hmmm… what would you call a creature who studies other creatures?”

“An anthropologist.” Sophia said, answering the question quickly.

“Then that is the role she is taking,” Babi said, just agreeing with what the Antlertean said, “She wanted a tour of the city, so she could understand how we do things here, but she is worried other minotaur would want to enslave her if they knew what she was.”

“I can understand that,” Pasion said, “It’s not hard to see one of the slaver’s guild might certainly slip her into a collar if they knew she was a breed not of our common deer stock.”

“Thank you!” Alice exclaimed, this being the first time her fears were confirmed by any creature of this kingdom.

“Anyways,” Babi continued, not wanting to feed into the reindeer’s beliefs that she was in some sort of danger, “The one place she didn’t want to go was to the Forum, so since my next delivery is going to be there, I was hoping you could watch her for a while. Long enough for a trip there and back.”

“Just watch her, you say.” Pasion had to admit this would be an easy task, seeing as he had not taken his eyes off her since her reveal.

“Oh come on master, let her stay.” Sophia pleaded, her tattoos glowing lightly to show how much she wanted to spend time with this foreign doe, “She doesn’t look like she’s the type to cause problems.”

“Fine, she can stay here while you finish your delivery.” Pasion agreed, “But I do have to say, this is a strange request.”

“One I hope I never have to ask of anyone else,” Babi said, going to the counter to get the items written down and their price deducted from what he’d be paid for his next delivery to this store, “But you have my thanks for taking up this burden.”

“Anytime, I suppose…” said Pasion, the situation making him show a level of discomfort only another minotaur could tell. It had to feel a bit weird, having a strange female in his store, the first creature from a foreign land that came here of her own volition, and the first ‘free’ female he had ever met. This was not something he could have anticipated or prepared for.

Still, the merchant’s doe seemed to be pleased, practically humming as she added the cost of Babi’s supplies to the ledger.

“I’ll try to be back in an hour,” Babi said as he made his leave.

Once outside, the farm bull wasted no time collecting his cart and heading the most direct path to the Forum, moving as fast as his bulky bovine body would take him without exerting himself. He hoped that all of this would go off without issue, not liking the secrecy, but understanding the paranoia the reindeer possessed.

While laws were in place, and not all minotaur were out to put every female into a collar, the king himself highly supported the subjugation of all non-minotaur species, which was a sentiment shared by enough people in Minopolis that the idea of an eventual invasion of foreign lands was a common topic of discussion. A majority of the senate seemed to oppose something like a full scale takeover of other nations, due to the potential cost and risks of such a venture, but they made no efforts to actually bring an end to the slavery policies Minopolis held. Their kind enjoyed the benefits of having another species bound in servitude to them to want to ‘do the right thing’, and grant the Antlerteans their freedom, even though the population crisis that started this had long since been averted.

These were not matters for a simple farmer like Babi though. Better to let the politicians bicker among one another, than to put stock in things that he had little say about in the first place.

The store opened up again shortly after Babi left, as soon as Pasion got Alice set up with a place she could sit and wait in the back, out of sight of any customers. During this time, Alice requested to the minotaur that he didn’t speak of her to anyone, even after she had left the city.

While the minotaur merchant had no obligation to keep the doe’s visit a secret, he could see no benefit in revealing it either. He wouldn’t even get so much as a finders’ fee for simply saying he saw a new kind of deer in the city. “I’ll consider it an NDA between me and Babi.” he said, knowing that his business associate would not appreciate any nonsense being brought to his doorstep over this.

With that settled, Pasion went back to the work he was doing before having to deal with this situation, which turned out to be taking inventory of all the items stored in the back, and checking his records to see if everything matched up.

By this point, Alice was practically being ignored by the shop owner, which the reindeer had mixed feelings about. She didn’t believe she and this new minotaur would have anything to discuss that she hadn’t already heard from Babi, but it also felt like she was being dismissed on the merit that she was a deer. This was a baseless conclusion, only assumed because of the minotaur didn’t see the deer they enslaved as equals, but Alice didn’t find it an unlikely premise that she was seen the same.

It was fine though, since Alice was only here to wait until Babi returned. She did her best to wait quietly and mind her own business, but with nothing else to occupy her time, she found her eyes drifting over to watch Pasion tally his stock. It was so strange, seeing this beast of a creature, who’s enslaved doe was minding the front counter at that very moment, going about his day like any other shop owner. It nearly offended her with how ridiculously mundane and normal this was. Not just this moment, but the entire trip. She had been expecting more of what she had seen in the slave market, where the deer were being irrefutably exploited, but the minotaur were not meeting up with her expectations at all.

Before entering Minopolis, the Gift Giver had zero doubt that she would see slaves bound in restrictive and exposing ways, towed around town by leashes that were pulled taut due as those wearing the collars they were attached to resisting like their lives depended on it. That public displays of intercourse upon females would be rampant in the streets, where she would have to constantly avert her eyes to avoid witnessing purely non-consensual acts. Casual gropings, acts of discipline and humiliation inflicted upon the oppressed citizens of this land for no reason, and tears flowing without end from the eyes of a victimized population. These were what Alice was prepared for. She was not prepared for tranquility and open endorsement of the minotaur’s tyranny.

Alice swore she had seen things like this when she had projected her consciousness into the future, but now she was wondering if that was all something she deluded herself into believing. She loathed to think it, but things were far too peaceful in this city. It was hard to root out the corruption when it was hidden behind the smiles of those who had every right to be angry or miserable. The Antlerteans, far as the reindeer could tell, had zero issue with how their masters treated them. Alice was having a hard time maintaining her belief that they were being mistreated, since she had seen so many freely walking around the city during the ride on Babi’s cart.

None of the minotaur Alice had revealed herself to had tried to make so much as a motion to capture her. None of the deer gave the slightest objection to their status in this kingdom. How could a society built upon such overt evil and despicable practices be so subtly idyllic and picturesque?

It was all so perplexing. It would only be three years till things would be the way she had experienced them before, with the more apparent examples of minotaur perversion and those enslaved showing distaste for what was being done to them. What would change in that time, and why wasn’t it that way now? Only one thing came to mind, and that was that the minotaur would eventually set their sights on the kingdoms outside of their own.

Now that she thought about it, the Antlerteans had never shown an ounce of resentment to any of this, and it was always an outside species that went against their bovine masters. Every Antlertean had come to accept their lot in life, and were raised from birth to be happy participants in this culture. If the minotaur never left this island, they would have a perfectly peaceful society where all were happy to be a part of it. As she dwelled on it all more and more, a stray thought hit Alice. Shouldn’t this be enough to pay back the debt deerkind owed the minotaur.

The bovines had a kingdom, a thriving population, and enough consenting bodies that they would never have to worry about dying out ever again. Anything more felt like greed on the part of the minotaur. The Antlerteans had suffered and sacrificed for the sins of all other deer. If Alice was to grant this ‘debt’ any validity, was it wrong of her to think this way about it? Why was it prophesied that she had to give herself over to the minotaur? Likewise, why would she be so willing to do so when it would only bring misery to those the minotaur would force into sexual servitude when that time came?

The reindeer came here seeking answers, and she was having trouble remembering what the questions even were. She wanted to avoid her fate as a minotaur breeding slave. She wanted to find a peaceful means to stop the minotaur from inflicting this on her, and all the others she had seen enslaved in the future. She did want to liberate the Antlerteans too, but that looked to be unlikely when they didn’t seek freedom in the slightest. Could all of this be resolved by convincing the minotaur that they have no need to ever leave their island? Was that even possible?

As the reindeer contemplated this possibility, the minotaur in the room suddenly stepped away from the item-filled shelves, and headed for the door to the store front. As he opened the door, he caught his doe just as she was finishing up with a customer, saying ‘And have a nice day!’ to a couple of deer who had stopped to buy some of the freshly stocked fruit.

Pasion waited for the bell above his entry door to sound as they departed, and then said to his doe, “It’s break time.”

“Yes, master.” Sophia replied, her tone still as cheerful as she had presented it before, closing up the register and swapping places with the bull. With him manning the counter, she went back into the storage area, the door closing behind her.

If it were any other day, she would have immediately taken a seat to relax her hooves after hours of standing and attending to the needs of the many creatures coming in to make purchases, but today someone was already occupying her chair, and the presence of this guest filled her with enough energy to not need to rest.

“Sooooo…” Sophia said, targeting the reindeer immediately after the door closed, “How are you enjoying your visit to Minopolis so far?”

“Ummm…” Alice replied, not expecting to be put on the spot like this, since the minotaur had left her alone, “I don’t think that ‘enjoying’ is the right way to describe my time here.”

“Ah, well I guess that makes sense. You are an outsider.” the tattooed doe said, stating things with the confidence of one knowing exactly what they were talking about, while Alice didn’t have a clue what she was referring to. Luckily for the reindeer, the enslaved doe would follow up with an explanation, “We don’t often see new faces on this island, but every once in a while the masters go on a voyage and bring back some new creatures, usually ponies. When that happens, they don’t exactly act like all the others who have been here all their lives.”

“Can you blame them?” Alice asked, more a statement than an actual question.

“No,” Sophia replied, “I get that creatures from beyond the island aren’t used to belonging to another creature. Had enough chats with enough of them to get why. I just thought you’d be different since you were here of your own free will, and that being free might give you a different perspective.”

Alice stifled her thoughts, knowing by now that the Antlerteans did not see enslavement as a normal creature would. “A different perspective? How am I not supposed to see this place as some warped excuse of a kingdom? Excuse me for saying this, but I came here thinking your ‘masters’ were a bunch of savages. I thought you Antlerteans were being exploited and abused, but no matter how many of you I see or talk to, none of you seem the least bit upset about being under the minotaur’s rule.”

Sophia took a moment to think about what Alice was saying, “Abused? Not usually. Exploited? Absolutely. At least I would assume that’s how it looks from the perspective of an outsider. The minotaur put us to good use, and we do receive little in return outside of privileges that you probably take for granted where you’re from. We just don’t focus so much on the bad parts of it. Let me put it this way. Have you ever been punished for doing something you weren’t supposed to do?”

“Like what?” Alice asked, unsure of where the other does’ question was leading, “I never did anything criminal if that’s what you’re asking.”

“No, no,” Sophia said, shaking her head, “Like have you ever had your hand slapped for trying to sneak a snack, or broke something on purpose and got disciplined by your caregivers?”

“I mean, I suppose so,” Alice replied, knowing that while being a Gift Giver made her special among her tribe, she was still subjected to the occasional spanking prior to her gaining her powers and joining the other seers.

“And you also have been rewarded for doing good deeds, right?” asked Sophia.

“Of course.” Alice replied again.

“While you might not see it this way, what the masters do to us has little difference from that. In this kingdom, we are cared for by the minotaur. We get homes, food, and a purpose. We are punished when we disobey, and are rewarded when we follow the rules given to us. The only thing standing in the way of an outsider understanding why we can be happy living like this is that you’ve never lived by our rules.”

“That’s…” Alice didn’t want to believe it was that simple. Other species from the lands she came form had different rules as well, but their cultures didn’t give her the same kind of distaste as Minopolis.

“Maybe if I were to go to a land across the sea, I’d think their people were being mistreated too.” Sophia added, “And no matter where I went, they wouldn’t see a problem with how their kingdom did things either.”

“So you really don’t see any problem with being treated like property?” Alice questioned, as if she needed to be reassured of the Antlertean position on the matter one more time.

“No,” Sophia replied, “But maybe the reason I don’t mind being a slave is because I don’t feel like a slave.”

“I see,” Alice said, taking this doe’s opinion on the matter as an example of how most of her kind felt about it, having seen nothing that hinted to the contrary. If there were outliers to this general consensus, the reindeer had not seen the slightest sign of it. “So you all see the minotaur as… benevolent leaders then?”

“I would not go as far as to call them ‘benevolent’.” Sophia said, “As content as we are with servitude to them, we still acknowledge that they did what they did. It’s just… A lot of the minotaur who did that aren’t the ones we deal with day to day.”

A look of confusion grew on Alice’s face, not following what the Antlertean meant. How were these minotaur, who were currently occupying this stolen kingdom, not the same ones who stole it to begin with?

“You do know how minotaur make more minotaur, right?” Sophia added.

“Yes, I do.” Alice answered, “I also know part of the reason they took your kingdom over was to make doing that easier, right?”

“Would what I said make more sense if I told you my master is younger than me?” said Sophia, not wanting to spell out her point for her guest.

Alice turned the Antlertean’s words over in her head a few times, not getting what it meant for a moment. Then she recalled something that made it clear, that being how Babi’s own mentor was reaching the end of his life.

“You mean literally,” Alice said, “That the minotaur you see and talk with aren’t the ones who took your kingdom from you, cause they are dying out.”

“Right,” Sophia confirmed, “It’s been a long time since then, and while some of the minotaur from that time are still alive, most haven’t been around for a while now. Only a few have been gifted with an exceptionally long life, like our king. In time though, even he will be gone.”

This was something Alice never would have considered on her own, and yet it made so much sense. The minotaur born in Minopolis were the sons of does, raised by deer, and while they might have had been taught some of the traits of the bulls that came before, their time in the care of their den mothers must have given them some level of compassion towards the Antlerteans. Likewise, the bucks and does born during this time were practically their family. This new generation of bovine males might still followed the general premise of the culture and traditions their forefathers had made, for whatever reasons they might have come to, but they clearly sought out ways to make things easier for those they laid claim on.

This was the most amazing discovery Alice had stumbled upon since arriving, finally grasping how this culture could be the way it was. However, this strange form of social cohesion didn’t apply to those who have since been kidnapped and taken from their lands. Thus, there was still something that Alice had to fix and prevent, but learning how the deer and minotaur coexisted, and that she didn’t need to rescue one from the other, was like a great weight being lifted from Alice’s shoulders.

“You know, I think that puts things in a way that I finally get it.” Alice said with a smile that displayed her satisfaction with this explanation, “It’s just so weird that your culture has developed in such a way. If I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes, I’d never have believed it.”

“Glad to be of help,” Sophia replied, expressing how pleased she was by involuntarily making the markings on her body glow slightly, “I do have a few more minutes before my break is over. Got anything else I can help you with before I get back to work?”

“Actually, yeah,” Alice said, now really excited to learn more about the inner workings of Minopolis. “Can you tell me what the ‘Deer Depository’ is?”

Some time after the two does talk, Babi returned with his cart nearly empty of all produce, save for a few remaining baskets of purple peaches left inside. It had not taken him too long to deliver the order to the Forum, taking a little over an hour.

Pasion had spotted his approach, and already informed Alice that her ride had returned. The reindeer put her hood back over her head, and went out to meet Babi before he could make his way back inside. She did not do so in a hurry though, each step feeling slow and heavy.

“I hope the wait wasn’t too dull,” Babi said, “I did as much as I could to prevent delay.”

“It’s fine,” Alice said coldly, placing a hand on the seat of the cart, hoisting herself into it, “Let’s just finish your delivery and get out of here.”

“Did something happen?” Babi asked, as the reindeer had not been in this quick a rush to leave before.

Alice didn’t reply. She was having trouble finding the words. Her silence would have been telling, if not for another voice interrupting it.

“Hey!” Sophia said, calling from the store entrance, waving to get Alice’s attention. Not even needing a response, she dashed over to Alice’s side, getting the reindeer to turn her head her way. “I know our talk didn’t end off as well as it started.”

“That’s… not your fault.” Alice replied, trying to be polite, while still trying to process her thoughts about what she had been told.

“I know,” Sophia said back, “But I’d still feel bad if you left like this. So I asked master, and he said I could give you this as a gift for stopping by.”

The Antlertean presented to Alice a passion fruit, one of the ones from the batch Babi had delivered that day. Not really thinking, Alice took the fruit from Sophia’s hand, and looked to Babi.

“If he wants to give it to you, then I have no objections.” Babi replied, “Just keep it separate from the batch in the back.”

“Thanks.” Alice said, placing the purple peach into an inner pocket of her cloak.

Sophia could tell this did little to improve the reindeer’s mood, but she had to accept it for now. “You’re welcome. And hey, if you ever end up back in Min… I mean, if you’re ever in this part of Minopolis again, feel free to stop by.”

Alice gave the doe a nod, then faced forward, prompting the Antlertean to head back inside. The moment the door was closed, Babi began his trek to his final delivery destination.

For a few blocks he walked in silence, feeling that asking any more questions about Alice’s stay with his business partner would not be well received by his passenger. After a few blocks though, the silence between the two was broken, as the reindeer asked a single question.

“Why didn’t you tell me how the slaves were stored at the Deer Depository?”

Author's Note

So this one came out a little later than intended. It needed a bit of a rewrite at one point, which delayed it by a few days, but all in all i enjoyed how this one came out. For those wondering, I am going to add a few more chapters to this in January (as I have done in previous years) and try to get it to a good place to set up for next year, where thing will start going a bit faster, and Alice's fate and goals go head to head with one another.

My goal with these "Cultural Exchange" chapters is to show that despite what those from other kingdoms would see as a major problem with Minopolis, the kingdom really isn't that bad when it comes to those living in it. Most of the monsters of their history are gone, with the few remaining being the king, his few remaining close allies, and some aging members of the minotaur senate (who had never been all in with how their king wanted to run things anyways, thus why they created a means to out vote him on many of his extreme ideals of how to treat the Antlerteans).

Minopolis isn't a kingdom of savage brutes and their victims, but one of two people who share a tragic history, and have decided to work with what they have. By our standards of morality, this would be a bizarre concept that few would agree with, but then again the Master/slave dynamic, or even just the concept of doms and submissive, has been a lifestyle that many chose to enter into. As the Antlertean slave of this chapter puts it, she might be a slave, but she doesn't feel like one, cause she is hardly treated as one.

I hope I presented that in a way that didn't feel forced, but I supposed it's up to the individual reader if I accomplished that. That aside, I hope you all enjoyed, and prepare for the next chapter, where we will see the less civilized side of Minopolis' citizens.

Cultural Exchange: Part 3

The trek through Minopolis had become unnervingly silent after leaving Pasion’s store. The reindeer passenger had not said a word after her condemning question, while the minotaur driver had no ability to excuse what she had learned.

“Why didn’t you tell me how the slaves were stored at the Deer Depository?”

Inquiring about that particular topic was not the minotaur something wished to speak on, as what happened there was an act that defied any notion that the relationships between his kind and those they enslaved could be overall positive or at least benign for those accepting their subjugation. It might have even been the greatest sin the minotaur committed against those unwillingly bound to them, and cemented the idea that they were seen as nothing more than possessions.

‘Cemented’ was perhaps the most apt way to describe the functions of the Deer Depository, as it was not some form of daycare or kennel where slaves were sent to be taken care of when not in use. Such a facility would probably have been seen as yet another positive aspect of minotaur society by the Antlerteans, a place that would give servants a vacation away from their masters when they were not needed, or to allow them to spend their elder years in retirement, but it would not have been cost efficient for the bulls that would end up paying for such a thing either up front or by tax. No, instead a few enterprising bulls came up with a more clever and inexpensive means of storing slaves that had no purpose to fulfill.

Having once hailed from the lands neighboring Equestria, minotaur were no strangers to the magical animals known as Cockitrice. Half fowl, half reptilian monsters that possessed the ability to turn beings of flesh into objects of stone, and reverse the process if convinced to do so. A creature petrified in this manner did not require food, water, heat, or any other necessity or comfort to survive, as once they became flesh once more their bodies would be just as they were prior. All that would be needed was a small space to put them away, as if they were a bottle of wine awaiting the day they’d be uncorked.

All it took was the gathering of enough Cockitrice to farm a steady supply, and a good advertisement campaign presenting this as a method of preserving one’s preferred females for future use, and one of Minopolis’ most successful services was started. The practice became popular quickly, mostly used with does to prevent them from reaching a point where they would run out of eggs and no longer be useful as breeders. If a minotaur ever wished to enjoy the female again, or another bull inherited them, all they would have to do was reverse the process.

This period of de-petrification would typically last only as long as it took for the female to give birth once more, due to regulations that were made preventing any impregnated female from being turned to stone. This was not only due to the government mandates of the time promoting the re-population of the minotaur as a species, but also because petrification had a side effect that was deemed too cruel to inflict upon the unborn, minotaur or otherwise. While all bodily functions of any turned to stone were effectively frozen, they still experienced the time in between one look into a Cockitrice’s eyes to the next.

Tests performed by the Antlerteans showed that three of the senses, that being smell, taste and touch, would get locked into whatever they were experiencing the moment of being petrified, leading to experiments where does were made to smell the scent of freshly cut flowers, had their favorite foods pressed against their tongues, or were made to climax at the same second of petrification, each leading to a prolonged experience of the sensation that was held until they were reverted to flesh.

Contrary to that, the senses of sight and sound were for the most part fully functional, as were the thought processes of those who underwent petrification. Every second that passed would be felt, every word heard, and every event that passed by their stone eyes perceived like a scene they could not participate with. This type of incarceration, imprisoned in one’s own body, able to think but not interact, as their stone bodies held the memory of their last moments of sensation, was deemed torturous to many of those who underwent the tests, which lead to the decision to not allow a newly emerged consciousness growing in a mother’s womb to have to endure it, but did not prevent it from being legalized for use on those of proper age.

After all, the experience or even the threat of it seemed to do wonders in terms of endorsing obedience among the deer, and even now it when it was implemented on the rare stag or doe who more conventional forms of punishment didn’t reach, it would educate them quickly on the importance of submission, while causing no harm to the parts of them that mattered. Even more so than the enslavement, the corporal punishment, and the forced breeding, it was a practice of the minotaur that was completely inexcusable, as it had zero purpose outside of keeping a creature alive longer for the selfish reasons of the one forcing this state upon them.

It was one thing that the bull men had bound an entire species to their will, where they and their descendants would live their lives tending to the whims of their masters, but this created a situation where said lives, and thus their time as slaves, had no truly set expiration date. it was already a common enough practice to just have a female petrified just before they can be impregnated for what would be their last time with the intent of never turning them back, turning them into display pieces and monuments, preventing any means to bring their servitude to an end, even by way of the finality of death.

Assuming that Alice knew all this, and this information bolstered by her reasonable distaste of the enslavement of her own kind, it was not beyond Babi’s understanding why the reindeer became spitefully quiet. This wasn’t a matter of a few cruel minotaur doing something for sadistic reasons, while most merely repurposed a cultural norm to make things easier on all involve. Minotaur knew this held no benefit to the deer, as they would never allow such a fate to befall themselves, but did it to their slaves anyways. Babi himself often considered doing this, as a few of his deer were getting on in years, and he was too attached to think of the possibility that one day they might not be around. As self serving as it was, knowing that a loved one still existed in some form, that you could talk to them and share your feelings, even if they could not talk back, was comforting.

While Babi wasn’t going to make up excuses to this practice, the silence was adding a hefty toll upon his debt of guilt. A less empathetic minotaur could just negate the balance, wipe their ledger clean, but Babi could not so easily ignore his feelings. He wished there was a way to ease this burden, to make his passenger overlook this transgression on deerkind, but knowledge of this nature was not easily forgotten.

As Babi kept walking the streets, his externally stoic demeanor displaying nothing of the turmoil brewing inside over this matter, he ignored the sounds of the active city taking place around him. He could not be bothered by the words of other minotaur debating current events, or deer slaves walking around, either during performing some duty to their masters or enjoying some free time permitted to them. All of these noises faded into the background as Babi’s thoughts overwhelmed them. That was until a loud flood of voices struck his ears, and momentarily pulled him away from his brooding.

The minotaur knew what this sound was, as the familiar cheer of an excited crowd flowed out of the only building that stood tall over the ‘walls’ of the maze. While he had perfect knowledge of what part of the city he was in, it had slipped his mind that he was getting close to this location.

“Hmmmm…” the bovine hummed aloud, considering how the deer wished to know more about his people.

If she wished to see something his people did that didn’t involve the enslavement of others in some capacity, this would have been the place to do so. With a new destination in mind, Babi did a U-turn to pull his cart into the opposite direction from where he was heading, an action that did not go unnoticed by the one riding within it.

“Where are you going?” Alice asked immediately, unable to retain her silence with this change of course.

If a minotaur had perfect navigational skills, then there would be no reason for them to turn completely around unless their destination changed. He had been heading to the city’s exit now that his deliveries were done, so any change had to be anywhere aside from the way out.

“Oh, sorry.” Babi said, not stopping for a second as he headed deeper into the maze, “An idea popped into my head, something that I thought you might enjoy. I would have warned you before changing course, but I wasn’t sure you were ready to talk yet.”

“What?” Alice said, clueless about what this idea Babi had come up with was about, and not really in the mood for a deviation in their plans, “Don’t you think we should just leave? What about your schedule?”

“My schedule is done,” Babi replied, “And my deer know I sometimes stay in the city to do things after working. If you weren’t here, I might have gone to get a few drinks.”

By Babi’s statement, Alice could remove the idea of a minotaur pub being where they were heading, but that still left every possibility aside from that, and she didn’t know enough about minotaur to hazard a guess at what they considered ‘enjoyable’ .

“You said you are here to learn about our nation,” Babi continued, “But you’ve also made it clear from the start that you came here with less than positive thoughts on us minotaur. I know learning about the Deer Depository has only soured that opinion further, but it couldn’t have helped that you haven’t done anything but sit in a cart and the storage area of a shop all day. So I’d like to take you somewhere. A place where you might be able to see a different side of us, before we make our leave.”

“A place? Like a public place?” Alice said, not liking the direction this conversation, or the cart, seemed to be heading.

“Yes,” Babi answered, “But you should be fine there. A cloaked deer, no matter how strange, will not be able to pull the eyes of my brethren away from what will take place.”

“Are you sure?” Alice questioned, for a moment wondering if this change of course was a deviation from the path of fate, and could get her in trouble.

That was until the reindeer thought things through, and reminded herself that in order for someone to alter the path, they would have to know what they were changing to defy it. It was Babi’s destiny to suggest that they go to this new location, and so long as Alice didn’t know what exactly would be happening, it was her destiny to return to the Gift Givers’ cabin in a few days.

“I suppose it’s fine if we go,” said Alice, assuming her safety was assured. Allowing herself a little room to relax, she let the minotaur guide her to whatever place he had in mind.

The way to their destination was not as straight a shot as it could have been, had the layout of Minopolis been like any other kingdom of less convoluted design, but it didn’t take too long for Babi to navigate his way to the destination. Along the way, Alice noticed the occasional loud cheers coming from the tall building they seemed to be traveling around, and came to the conclusion that this was where they were heading on her own. Her correct assumption was validated when they entered into one of the ‘rooms’ of the maze, where within was housed the monumental building.

“What is this place?” Alice asked, not sure what she was looking at.

“This is the Colosseum,” Babi answered, “A place of sport, where my brethren come to compete against one another, as spectators watch for their entertainment.”

“So it’s like a stadium,” Alice said in reply, having heard the name of the Colosseum several times before, but only now understanding its purpose.

While this structure was vastly larger than any other stadium Alice had seen, they were not a concept unique to Minopolis. The reindeer village she had come from had one built from before she was born, where they held the ‘Reindeer Games’ every winter. Of course, she didn’t expect to see the same types of competition here that her people held, especially when reindeer sports often involved flying. With any sports she was used to out of the question, it brought the doe to wonder what the minotaur did in their stead.

As Babi pulled his cart and passenger into this space made for the Colosseum, Alice could see that as huge as this building was, there was still room for other things of interest. Vendors could be seen all around, ones that would typically be expected around this kind of event location. Minotaur attending stands as they peddled off what had to be souvenirs and trinkets for what went on inside, with items ranging from photos to medals to… weights?

Sizable barbells and disc shaped weights were being sold, with numbers etched into them that denoted how heavy they were in measurements of pounds, starting at fifty and growing in multiples of that. As Alice noticed a few of the disc weights, which she knew were used for lift bars, went up to two-hundred and fifty, she couldn’t believe that these amounts were normal for even the physically endowed bovines. They had to be what a creature already as powerful as them used to get stronger. As the reindeer was brought closer to these stalls, she spotted large jars of protein powder and keg sized containers of hydration drinks being sold as well, leaning more into the idea that what these vendors were selling was minotaur sized versions of regular gym equipment and exercise supplements.

For how many merchants were set up within the area, they didn’t take up but a fraction of the space left unclaimed by the Colosseum, as a large majority of the area around this central building was paved over portions of land used for parking space. It made sense that such a thing would be needed, since citizens from all around the city, and perhaps from the other minotaur cities on the island, might flock to this place to witness the competition that took place within. A lot of the spaces were filled already, and there was no reason to assume that was a rare occurrence.

As Babi tried to find an open spot to use, and Alice tried to help spot an open space, she was reminded that not every vehicle of this kingdom was pulled by bovine hands. Several of the chariots they passed by had their ‘steeds’ still bound to their pull bars, Antlerteans left standing outside waiting for their master’s return, a large majority of which being stags, with a small few being does. Remembering how her future master used a bunch of bucks to pull his own chariot, use of females had to be a personal preference of the minotaur who owned them.

Not every chariot was currently being crewed though, as there were just as many completely vacant ones parked as well. At first Alice believed that reason for this was that those ones were being granted the luxurious privileged of joining their master to watch the show, and while that might have been right in a few cases, the search for a place to put Babi’s cart lead to her spying another part of the parking area that reserved for something other than vehicles. An area which the signs around it designated as ‘deer parking’.

Here, several rows of parallel bars were set up, with deer stationed at them like bikes on a rack. Some stood upright, while others used the bars to bend over and lean on, and a small few either crouched down or had their bottoms planted on the ground. No matter the position they took though, each deer kept their hands firmly grasped to the bar their master left them at. Alice couldn’t begin to comprehend the level of discipline and obedience being displayed by the Antlerteans, as nothing was binding them to the bars save for their own grip. The reindeer couldn’t see herself capable of doing the same, not just from having no desire to obey a minotaur, but also since it had to be dull and frustrating waiting in one spot, knowing the person you were waiting on was doing something far more interesting without you.

“Here we are,” Babi said, finding an empty spot, and pulling in with no hesitation.

Once the cart was parked and tied up, Babi and Alice made their way to the closest entrance to the Colosseum, and merged into a small herd of minotaur and deer lined up to watch the competitions held within. None of them paid too much mind to the solitary doe walking around with her hood up, more interested in discussing with one another about what they expected to see. Alice could hardly make out one word from another, but one word she was able to pick up over and over was ‘fight’.

So they hold combat sports here, Alice thought to herself, though that should have been one of her guesses from the start.

Judging by the natural physical aptitude of a minotaur, it would be a no brainer to believe their favorite form of competition would be showing off their strength. While things like weight lifting or shot put would have been more pacifistic ways of displaying raw power, that was not what a species of conquerors would turn to in terms of pitting one’s abilities against another. Combat oriented sports allowed them to assert dominance upon one another, and would innately establish a hierarchy among this tribe. Dragons, being a savage race with no concept of order outside of who was stronger than who, created pecking orders as well through aggressive activities like wrestling. So while Alice knew only slightly more about dragons than she did minotaur, this comparison gave her some understanding on how fighting could be ingrained into some part of a society.

Understanding or not, Alice wasn’t particularly fond of the idea of watching the bulls enact unknown degrees of damage to one another. She wasn’t expecting death matches, as those would go against the minotaur’s initiative to repopulate their species, but injuries and broken bones were still possible in even the least violent sports. Still, her goal for this trip was to learn about the minotaur, and Babi was offering her a look into his culture’s pastime. Refusal would be a betrayal of her goals, so while she might have to avert her eyes when things got extreme, she would will herself to watch for as long as possible.

The group Alice and her guide had joined with dwindled down bit by bit as they waited their turn to enter, and eventually they made it to the ticket booth. Blocking their way inside was a turnstile, minotaur sized of course, which was a bit silly looking considering how the deer present could probably slip through the rotating bars if they wanted in. Inside the booth was another Antlertean , a stag who received payment and used some mechanism to lock and unlock the turnstile for each customer. An arrant thought flashed through Alice’s head, as she humored the idea that this stag might have been the most powerful deer in the minotaur’s nation, as he had been granted the ability to withhold a service from the bovines, lest they pay his tax.

The price these bulls had to pay to be permitted entry was listed above the teller’s window. Minotaur, listed as ‘citizens’, had to pay ten denarii for a ticket, which Alice quickly figured was the name of their coin, while any ‘servants’ they wished to bring with them only cost five.

Are they just devaluing their slaves for the sake of it?, Alice thought to herself, ignoring the possibility that it might have been cheaper due to the sizable minotaur taking up more space. Assuming prejudice, the reindeer silently chuckled at how the minotaur had created a system where the deer, if given some form of allowance, held a financial advantage over their very masters.

“Enjoy the fights.” said the stag from behind the ticket counter, as another bull made his way through the turnstile, it becoming Babi’s turn next, “And how many for you, sir?”

“One citizen, one slave,” Babi replied, tossing the amount needed on the counter, “And I’ll need a program. Haven’t been here for a few weeks.”

“Of course, sir.” the stag replied, ducking down for a moment to grab a schedule sheet, handing it over the second he was upright again, “Enjoy.”

Babi took the pamphlet and pushed the unlocked bars open for himself and his guest, appreciating that the reindeer didn’t so much as scoff when he claimed she belonged to him.

“So how long does this place stay open?” Alice asked, more so she could get an idea on how long they were intending on staying.

“Matches run all day,” Babi said, “Starting at dawn and ending at dusk, but few attempt to stick around for the full duration. We come in, watch a few matches, then leave once we’re satisfied. If there is a particular fight we are interested in, then it’s better to schedule yourself to come around that time.”

“I guess that makes sense,” Alice replied, “But your kind fight each other all day long?”

“There are breaks,” Babi explained, unsure if Alice was being literal, “But this is a business. While any bull is allowed to compete if they wish, there is money to be had and wages to be paid.”

“You minotaur really like looking at everything through that lens, don’t you?” Alice replied, but didn’t press further on the statement.

Instead, she took a moment to look at her surroundings, noting that it held the same strange feeling of normalcy as the rest of the city, as bovine and cervid alike walked the halls or loitered about, talking to one another casually about the matches they had witnessed, putting no credence into the fact that many of those present were property. While Alice still had a concept of how this was possible, it was not something she wouldn’t find weird so shortly after the revelation.

As Alice followed Babi past a few groups of minotaur and deer speaking on equal terms, not trying to focus an ear to any gathering for too long, another peculiar sight was noticed by the reindeer. The walls in this hall bore murals of chiseled stone, presenting minotaur in glorious depictions of battle and victory. This might have seemed like something that would be common in a place of competition, but such displays of artistic expression were absent everywhere else in the city. She hadn’t seen so much as a statue to honor the king, and the only thing that gave off a sense of having artistic merit were the intricately weaved glowing Antlertean power lines adorned on many of the stone structures in order to fuel the many devices around Minopolis.

“Hey, why doesn’t this city display more works of art like this?” Alice asked her guide.

“Art holds no inherent value,” Babi replied, “No profit to be gained from putting effort into something that might not return your investment. The most well made painting in the world could be housed in a gold frame, but unless someone else has some sort of sentimental attachment to the painting, it is only worth the value of the frame.”

“So minotaur don’t have an interest in art?” Alice asked, while remembering that Pasion did sell some knick knacks that could serve no purpose more than to be put on display.

“We do not possess the same fascination other creatures seem to have in these things,” Babi replied, “But we have found that gifting some bauble to a servant as a reward, or allowing them to explore their creativity through crafts, helps with their mood. Why this is, me and my brethren do not understand, but there is much that our servants do that we do not fully grasp.”

“So I assume these are Antlertean made too?” Alice asked, curious because none of the murals were magically charged like a lot of the other Antlertean made things.

That might have just been because stone etchings didn’t require it, but the reindeer did spot several torch holders in the wall, which would not have been needed if magitek lights had been installed. Even the turnstile up front was a simple mechanism, so it felt like there was some sort of magic ban in place here.

“They are, though the imagery was guided by the owner of the Colosseum. Our Master of Combat, Attilius. He above most others respects the ‘art’ of battle, and thus he might have had an interest depictions of it displayed thought actual artistic means within his arena.”

“I guess so.” Alice said, looking over the murals as they passed by each depiction of venerated battles. Loving renditions of brutal combat enacted upon one another by bovine warriors, showing grand displays of victory and defeat, that no doubt acted as a record of the past fights held in this place.

“Oh, would you look at that.” Babi said, looking at his program sheet, “It looks like we are in luck, and will be able to sit in on a match with the champion of the Colosseum and one of the up and coming combatants. A very lucky coincidence to stop in at such a time.”

Alice had a feeling that luck played little part in this, as fate itself had to have guided her to this moment. For what reason, she couldn’t hazard to assume, but perhaps she would learn something important here.

“Ah, here we are,” said the bull as he stopped at an open archway that headed out into the stands. They had passed several already, but Alice was too distracted to notice, “My favorite place to sit is just outside this pathway.”

Alice continued to follow Babi as he led her outside, and while it took a moment for her eyes to adjust from the shift in lighting, she was soon able to see one match in progress, and it wasn’t what she assumed having seen all the murals that purely depicted bull on bull bouts.

Out in the center, within a vastly open arena, stood four minotaur, equipped with a combination of lassos, nets, and bolas. Tools used for capture, not combat. The four bovines were not facing one another, but instead going against the last thing that Alice expected on there, that being a group of stags and does who had been released out into the arena with them.

Alice quickly scooted up aside Babi, and as quietly as she could have said to him, “You have deer fight against your warriors? Isn’t that completely unfair?”

“Huh? Oh, it must be an exhibition round.” Babi answered, taking note of what was going on, as the four minotaur individually went after small portions of the deer, “It’s not entirely what you think, and those deer aren’t meant to actually fight the gladiators. In this kind of match, the slaves are just supposed to keep away for as long as possible, while the competitors try to capture them. For each deer caught, that minotaur will get a point, the objective of this competition being to get as many points as possible.”

As if on cue, one of the does had got tripped up by a bolas that caught her by the ankles, and as soon as her body hit the ground, she was scooped up by a charging bull and tossed over his shoulder.

“Of course, it’s not simple enough to capture them, but you also have to take them to your goal.” Babi pointed to several fenced off areas at the edge wall of the arena, where several deer had already been standing in wait.

“Isn’t that really dangerous for your slaves?” Alice asked, having to raise her voice as those watching this display cheered at the capture. It was hard not to be concerned for the deer participating in this, as even the fall she just witnessed that doe take looked like it could have hurt.

“All sports come with physical risk,” said Babi, climbing up a set of steps between the bleachers of the stand, “But the deer used in this belong to Attilius, and are put through a regimen to make them suitable for this kind of activity. Believe me, if they didn’t pose some sort of challenge, their master would not allow them to set hoof onto the combat grounds.”

Alice tried to keep an eye on things happening in the arena as she followed Babi, worried that her guide was underestimating the potential danger this sport posed. Yet, despite the previous doe being caught shortly after Alice’s arrival, the remaining deer were fairing better against the minotaur than she thought they might. The bulls had power and training, but the deer were small and nimble targets that were hard to catch once they got moving. When a minotaur tried to lasso or net them, the doe or stag in question would zip off or duck away, getting thrilled reactions from the crowd on par to when the one doe was caught.

Had Alice seen earlier moments of this match, it would have been clear that the only reason so many were already in their scoring nets was because the amount of bodies on the field provided them little room to dodge the minotaur effectively, and the problems they faced now was that they were running out of steam after being hounded for an amount of time only those watching from the start knew, while the bulls had took their time and preserved their already gigantic reserves of stamina.

“Here we are,” said Alice's guide, locating some empty space for the two of them, picking a place right next to the stairs to save Alice from any incidents that might have come from her walking in front of another creature. Setting himself down upon this empty spot, the bull then requested the reindeer join him by saying politely “Please, sit”.

Alice did so without issue, having gone this far, becoming a part of the crowd watching the crude sport taking place below. A few more of the remaining deer had been captured during the brief moment she turned away, one caught in a net while the other had been corralled into the scoring area, which showed Alice that physically picking up and placing a deer in the netted off spaces was not the only legal means to earn points as the crowd gave another enthusiastic cheer at the act.

Only a few competing deer remained at that point, slightly outnumbering the minotaur. Those remaining did their best to keep their distance from the their pursuers, taking every moment they could to stop and catch their breath. In the flat, open arena though, there was no place they could go that truly gave them time to recover from the endurance test they had been put through, only given a moment to stop when they were not the one being pursued. However, just as it seemed like a few more would be rounded up, a loud gong was sounded, and a voice from the stands yelled out, “Time up! All participants stop where you are!”

The crowd followed this up with a final cheer that was much louder than the ones prior, participating in the announcement that this round had come to a close. The minotaur on the field obeyed the call to cease, with one, who had managed to picked up a buck just before the round ended, lightly swing his arm to express his regret that he had not made it to the scoring zone. Setting his captive down, that stag, and all others remaining on the field, collapsed to the ground, taking a seat or laying flat depending on how hard they exerted themselves.

“Question,” Alice asked, wondering why the deer had been pushing themselves so hard, “Do the Antlerteans get punished if they get caught?”

“I wouldn’t think so,” Babi replied, “All the slaves that participate in these events are, like the arena itself, owned by Attilius. I’m not personally acquainted with him, but it is well known that he holds strength, fortitude, and effort in high regard, even among his possessions. So while he is one of the elders, I don’t believe he would punish any of his servants that tried their best. Even the first one out should be spared if they at least made an attempt.”

Alice gave a murmur in response, clearly not convinced. That was when Babi decided to present an alternative outlook to this situation.

“I probably shouldn’t be surprised you’d think that, but did you not at least consider the opposite?” said the minotaur, “That they were working so hard because it came with a reward? Personally, if I was under a cruel master who would punish me if I didn’t meet his expectations, and I felt the likelihood that I would fail was great, I would not subject myself to this kind of suffering on the slight chance to avoid it. If my master instead promised me something for success though, I might push myself harder in order to get it. Could be something as simple as a few days off to relax after proving myself, so long as it was something that held value to me.”

“Yeah… I guess that could be the case.” Alice said as she watched the heavy panting of the deer in the arena stabilize.

Those that were able to make it to the end looked more ecstatic than relieved with their victory, and those in the scoring zones showed little fear as they gave applause to those who managed to make it to the end. Giving this all a second thought, creatures pushing themselves to past the point of exhaustion to win was normal in these kinds of activities. Once more, an activity in this kingdom that Alice wanted to see as sinister turned out to no outwardly expressed evil intent, and without the reindeer’s ever wavering presumptions about the minotaur, she would not be able to tell what she was seeing apart from any normal sporting event.

As Alice continued watching, there was also a bit of competitive comradery put on display as the minotaur, who just moments ago had been trying to run the deer down, help them to their hooves, and walked them to one of the exits as all participants left the field.

“So, who won?” Alice asked, though not knowing any of the minotaur who competed from one another.

“Huh? Oh, well this was just an exhibition match, so the winner of it really doesn’t matter.” Babi answered, speaking the truth, “I’m sure those boys will gloat over who had caught the most, but for the most part this place is about testing your abilities, not winning or losing.”

“You said there were wages involved,” Alice said, “Doesn’t the winner get a bigger payout?”

“One would think that was the case, but no.” said Babi, clarifying Alice’s assumption, “To help minimize any hard feelings among the competitors, each one has to agree to receiving equal pay for each event they are a part of. The only rewards they receive are recognition and titles. This applies to the perks granted to them as well, as even a newcomer will be granted all the amenities the Colosseum has to offer. This includes use of the private gym in the lower levels, free food and drink, and…” Babi gave a slight sigh, knowing that the reindeer would not like what he was about to say, but having learned his lesson from trying to withhold information from her before, “Sexual use of any of the deer that staffs this facility.”

Alice put a hand over her eyes, shaking her head slightly, “Of course that would be one of the things they did here. Honestly though, this is the first time you’ve brought up the idea that you minotaur would share slaves with one another.”

“That’s cause we usually don’t.” Babi went on to explain, “Minotaur usually keep their females to themselves, and it takes a certain type to want to share their property with another. However, Attilius has a strange outlook on the breeding mandate. He supports it, completely, but has never bred a female himself as none has deemed themselves worthy of his seed in his eyes. Regardless, the count of his privately owned slaves dwarfs that of a slave merchant’s stock on any given day, as he kept buying women in hopes that one would display a level of strength he could respect. So since he has so many, he lets the fighters breed them instead, to help raise the minotaur population.”

“So that’s why he owns a chimera.” Alice said, putting the thoughts in her head together.

“A chimera?” said Babi in confusion, “I don’t believe I’ve heard of one of those before. Must be something from your lands. What are they like?”

Alice realized that she had brought up a detail from her trip to the future, where she had first encountered the arena master. “Well… They are kinda big… With three heads. More monster than a civilized creature like us, really.”

“We minotaur are sometimes called monsters by those we bring here from across the sea.” Babi said, “Maybe one of these chimeras are what Attilius would like, but I don’t believe he has one already. If he had a woman he felt met his standards, I have no doubt he’d parade her around and let everyone know.”

Yeah, I know, Alice thought, having seen this happen in a yet to come history, and having interacted with the chimera in a less than pleasant fashion.

The reindeer wished that she let slip the existence of that creature, now worrying if this wasn’t the closure of some loop, and that mentioning it to Babi here would lead to that point where she’d get bit by the chimera in the future. If that was the case, then the path of fate had a cruel sense of irony.

“You’re right,” Alice said, trying to laugh off her mistake and look like she had a moment of foolishness, “Besides, how would I know that? I’ve never met the guy.”

“Are you feeling ok?” Babi asked, agreeing that it was an odd claim for the reindeer to make.

“I’m fine, I’m fine,” Alice said, “Must have been the heat. It’s not usually this warm where I’m from. Now, wasn’t that match you were looking forward to suppose to happen next?”

Babi, not being stupid, could tell Alice was trying to hide something, but if Alice didn’t want to talk about it, he wasn’t going to pry. “Yes, intermission should be done soon. Then the next match will start.”

It took a little while longer, but shortly after the awkward talk came the sound of horns, followed by the voice of a doe through a set of pipe speakers set up throughout the bleachers, reinforcing the idea that there was some sort of ‘no magic’ rule within this building. “Masters and slaves, we here at the Colosseum are proud to announce this upcoming match. Featuring the Colosseum’s champion, the massive mountain of might and muscles Asterius, in a one on one battle against one of the freshest faces from our fierce fighters, Talos!”

The crowd cheered wildly at the introduction of the combatants, with many standing up in their seats as the two bulls stepped out from opposing archways that served as entrances to the combat grounds. Both looked like the type that even other minotaur would hesitate to challenge, their bodies stone slabs of beef that gave off the impression that they were so solid they could deflect arrows if need be. They made their features more pronounced by trimming down their fur so close to their skin that they were practically shaved, which was a grooming measure the previous minotaur combatants had also had taken, but had gone unnoticed by Alice due to how far away her seating was.

To the reindeer the two bulls looked like any others of their kind, but a bit bulkier than the average bovine, not noticing any real differences, though she did make a personal note on how the cloth garbs the two were dressed in left more parts of their body exposed than she thought was appropriate for a fight. One was a light tan, the other was a silverish gray. One was taller, while the other more stout. If not for these aspects, the reindeer might not have been able to tell them apart.

As the two bulls got into the center of the arena, they stopped once they got within ten feet of one another, at which point a small team of deer ran out to them, holding with them a set of equipment for each combatant comprising of a club, a shield, and a helmet. Alice wondered for a split second why they didn’t have these things coming out, but as the crowds’ cheer heightened once more, it became evident this was part of the spectacle. Watching the bulls gear up and take on arms, to test the weight of their provided weapons in front of everyone, must have charged this audience waiting to see conflict.

Alice, on the other hand, just couldn’t get into it. While she was sure the upcoming fight would fill her with strong emotions, excitement was the one thing she didn’t believe would befall her. In fact, the only thing she felt at that moment was hunger, as she felt a rumble in her stomach, the loud yelling going on around her drawing out the growl it made. It made sense, as she hadn’t had a bite to eat since departing from Babi’s farm, the bull at least giving her a courtesy breakfast that morning before their trip. Unfortunately, she didn’t see any food vendors anywhere in the stands, unlike at sporting events back in her village. As much as it would have pained her to ask Babi to spend a little more on her, she was truly starting to feel the void in her gut, and was craving about anything at that moment.

That’s when she remembered that she had been given something earlier, a small food item that Pasion’s doe had handed her on the way out. Reaching for the inner pocket of her cloak, she found it was still there, waiting for her to partake of.

I hope there isn’t a ‘no food’ policy in this place, Alice thought, while also assuming that everyone was too distracted to notice her. Carefully bringing the purple skinned peach, which the natives of this island called a Passion Fruit, to her lips, the reindeer doe opened her mouth to take a bite.

It was a shame that she had decided not to use her powers of future sight while on this bovine ruled island, assuming that it would somehow lead to her being brought into a trap by her future self. If the Gift Giver had used it cautiously, she might have seen how mere minutes from now she’d be struggling against her own body, as she entered into a heat unlike any she had felt before. She might have been able to piece together the puzzle, and make a conscious act to stop herself from this pivotal moment in history. The first step in her corruption, that would lead her to the version of herself that indulged in her lust, channeling it through service towards the minotaur.

But as her teeth sunk into the pulp of that fruit that would act as the seed, the seal of her fate forged, making the destiny she wished to never see all that more certain.

First Taste

The purple flesh of the fruit offered no resistance to Alice’s teeth, the pulp so soft it was as if it were offering an invitation. The juices held within spilled out into the reindeer’s mouth, surprising her tastebuds with a splash of flavor she did not expect. This passion fruit, despite having the outward of a peach, tasted nothing like one. It was still sweet, but intensely so, as if the fruit was comprised of pure nectar. It was just at the edge of being far too rich in sweetness to find palatable, stopping just before that point to be near irresistible.

Alice found herself eagerly chewing a small portion she tore off from the whole, swallowing the bits down once the pulp became mostly mush, and going in for a second bite. She didn’t feel in anyway compelled to do this, as she might of resisted had that been the case, only finding this fruit too delectable a food to stop after one taste. This uplifting sensation didn’t flow only onto her tongue, but across her other senses as well. Everything felt more vibrant, as she started to resonate with the excitement of the other occupants of the stadium as the match between the two competing bulls neared its start.

The reindeer didn’t find this sudden shift in perspective strange, as it was not odd at all that a person’s mood could change when given something enjoyable. Pleasant music, the smell of gingerbread, and the taste of sugary sweetness, all could give a person a psychological boost. It was part of the reason Gift Givers took their jobs so seriously, as they spread the feeling of joy that helped keep the world in harmony, with most creatures not even noticing how a single gift could reverse their outlook on life.

If these passion fruits could give Alice, who was all but done with the bovine’s city, a bit of joy through the taste alone, it was no wonder this was considered a luxury item in Minopolis. The Gift Giver could see minotaur downing these by the barrel, to push the dreary and dismal atmosphere of their city from their minds, if they could afford such a thing. Seeing that Babi had personally delivered a large amount to the king’s home, that had to be the case.

As she continued to devour her fruit, Alice’s interest in what all the cheers grew. She too found her eyes locking onto the two bulls in the arena, as they made one last turn to the crowd, motioning to stir up the crowd a final time before the fight. If she had been in her prior mood still, Alice might have found them lifting their arms to encourage the crowd to raise their voices to be uninteresting gestures, but now she found herself joining in with her own mumbled cheer, having to gulp down the partially chewed up pulp in her mouth to do so.

“I hope you all are ready for some blood and action!” called the announcer, signalling the match’s start, “Fighters, take your places!”

The two bulls, Asterius and Talos, turned to face one another, their shields and clubs held at the ready, with one making a few rapid, at least for a minotaur, back and forth side steps, while the other stretched his neck one last time.

“Annnnnnndddd… Begin!”

Immediately the two minotaur made their opening moves, charging one another to close what little distance they had. They both made a bid to be the first to take a swing, but as one’s arc managed to close in on its target faster, the other minotaur pulled back and lifted his shield to stop the strike connecting with his body. The impact made a loud clash with the protective device, and igniting the crowd into another roaring cheer as the first blow was sounded. The defending Minotaur, not content with being locked in a struggle against this attack bearing down on his arm, made for a strike to his opponent’s side, forcing his attacker to back away and reevaluate his approach.

Now getting into the action, Alice took another bite of her fruit, chewing and swallowing it quickly, so she could ask a question of the minotaur aside her. “So is this a point system, or does one have to get the other to concede to win?”

“Hmm?” Babi grunted in a questioning manner, missing any signs of his guest having been eating as he tried to pay attention to the fight, the two minotaur combatants slamming their shields into one another as they went to test each other’s strength, “The winner is declared when one is knocked unconscious, rendered unable to continue, or the opponent calls it quits. It often comes to the last one, when a fighter is knocked off his footing. After that, it is clear that one standing has overpowered the other.”

Another impact crashed throughout the stadium, as the one who had been on the defensive till now went for another side swipe, and aiming not for a direct block, but for the shield his opponent was holding. Nailing the narrow shield edge with the broad part of his club, the protective object was forced aside, and with it now out of the way, the defender now became the aggressor, pressing the opening by thrusting his own shield forward into the other bovine’s chest.

“A solid blow from Talos!” The announcer declared, rousing the crowd yet again as the hit minotaur stumbled backwards.

Alice had to admit, even she was getting a thrill from watching the large, muscular males duke it out. While she couldn’t see it, she could imagine they were both sweating hard as they swung full force at one another in the hot sun. Each attack was displaying the kind of force that would incapacitate or cripple a creature like her, but the bulls were able to take the hits and keep going. Even after the staggering shield bash, the minotaur hit by it was able to recover and swing his weapon down so hard that it knocked off a portion of said shield.

“Ooooo…” Alice said aloud with a shudder, as a retaliatory attack from the defender hit cleanly across the face of the other, a blow that got a good share of gasp from the does in the audience. Taking another bite of what remained of her fruit, Alice had to ask, “And he’ll be ok after getting smacked on the skull like that?”

“Asterius will be fine,” Babi answered, “From what I’ve seen of Talos, he’s no slouch when it comes to hitting, but a strike like that isn’t gonna do more than sting the arena champion.”

The reindeer had to take Babi’s word for it, since she had no clue how much punishment these bulls could take. She watched as the one named Talos went to press his advantage, aiming for a body shot to bring down his opponent for good, but Asterius met him with a shoulder check that slipped past the club mid-swing. The charge was quicker than the other minotaur expected, and he took the full weight of the bovine, followed up by a brutal looking head butt, their helmets clanging against one another as they met.

Watching the fight go on, with Asterius catching his second wind, Alice took the last few bites of her fruit as the fight continued. Had she not been so drawn into the fight, she would found it surprising that was so interested in what was going on in the first place. The Gift Giver had little love for violence as a sport, but she couldn’t deny that something about this battle made it hard for her to pull her eyes away. Later on, when she was no longer wrapped up in the excitement of it all, it would be easy for her to assume she got sucked up in the emotions of everyone else here. The demands for victory and blood coming from the Anlerteans permitted to watch this event soaking into her mind and making her follow suit. The truth was much more simply though, yet impossible for Alice to know about in this moment.

Inside her, the fruit the reindeer had been eating was being digested, broken down into chemical compounds, and absorbed by her body. The main properties of the Passion Fruit were not to make the world seem brighter, or grant some artificial high as the reindeer assumed. While those were welcomed side effects, the true purpose of this food was to ignite something within the one who consumed it. To trigger the processes of the eater’s sex drive, and get them in the mood.

Had Alice known this, she would have never let the fruit touch her lips, and would have seen it as another tool of the minotaur to get their slaves to comply to their desire to breed. While it could have been seen that way with how the minotaur utilized it, the truth of the matter was that this was not something conceived and engineered by the bulls, who would have no means to cultivate such a useful crop. It was, in fact, a product of the Antlerteans prior to their enslavement. The deer’s culture, after splitting off from the other tribes, had in some ways degenerated into one of decadence.

Once they established themselves, and mastered their skills of magitek in isolation, the wayward clan turned to promiscuous pursuits, in which ritualistic acts of sexual exploration began to sprout, all of which involving the mass consumption of Passion Fruit to kick off their celebrations. It was another trait of the Antlerteans that made them into the perfect breeding slaves for the minotaur, as they had never against copious amounts of sexual interactions, and the most vocal complaints of those originally forced into the minotaur’s chains was that they’d have to have sex with something outside of their species. The irony of it all was that while their purpose was shifted to becoming breeding tools, the minotaur heavily reined in how prevalent sex was in the Antlertean’s island kingdom.

Clueless to any of this, Alice sat in her seat, her body’s chemistry getting muddled up as the fruit took hold. The Colosseum, filled to the brim with pheromones flowing off spectators and combatants alike, added in the trap Alice unwittingly stepped herself in, every inhale filling her lungs with the heavy scent of testosterone. Watching the two bulls go at one another, like two young bucks vying to impress a doe, was the last ingredient needed for the reindeer’s instincts to kick in, and an artificial estrus to begin.

It started slow, with Alice’s calm breathing turning into a soft pant, and unnoticeable response to what was going on inside her. Her thoughts on the other hand, that couldn’t be ignored, as Alice offhandedly took into consideration how powerful the fighters were, their bulking forms and feats of strength slowly becoming attractive features to the doe, as her mind was subtly shifted to sexual activity. At her distance away in the seats, she could not take in their well sculpted masculine forms, but her building desire was able to fill in the spots she missed, granting her a decent depiction of their rippling, rock hard muscular structures.

The gradual ascension of her lust could not be ignored forever though, and after a particularly hard attack from Asterius upon Talos that knocked him for a loop, the combination of the excitement from the fight and the Passion Fruit’s influence pushed Alice over the edge, and a sudden tingle warmth and tingling could be felt by Alice in her groin. Her eyes got pulled away from the combat as this sensation came to the forefront of her awareness, and looking down between her thighs, her irises narrowed at what she saw.

A puddle had formed beneath the reindeer, one completely comprised of her own female fluids. She didn’t even notice the wetness until she had seen it with her own eyes, but now that she did the distinct sensation of wetness came to her clear as day, her underwear having become soaked. This brought with it other awarenesses, as Alice felt her nipples had become hard, and that her breathing had turned heavy. She was no stranger to this phenomenon, old enough to have gone through several estrus cycles, but to have it come at this moment was far too inconvenient.

Her immediate thought was to get up and find a bathroom, work out the problem with a bit of personally implied relief, but that seemed like a terrible idea when she was dead center in minotaur territory. It would be a problem if the reindeer encountered a male who noticed her situation, and wanted to take advantage of it. It didn’t feel like she could just push through it either though, as the effects of her heat were hitting her hard. Alice had to do something, as it felt like she was gonna start fondling herself out in the open any second now.

Making a choice, Alice stood up like a bolt, getting the attention of her minotaur guide. “Something wrong?” he asked, as Alice stepped out into the middle row.

“This is all a bit too much for me,” Alice said, not stopping as she spoke, “I’m gonna go wait inside the halls.”

Babi, being a considerate host, worried if something the reindeer had seen had set her off, and that she wanted to leave immediately. Concerned, he tried to ask if this was the case, but only managed to get out “Want me to-” before being interrupted.

“No, everything is fine. Sit there and finish watching your match. I’ll just wait for it to be done.” Alice replied, Babi only hearing the first part clearly as she made her way down the steps.

As she reached the bottom, and turned to make her way to the arch that led back inside the stadium, her eyes got drawn back to the two fighters, and at this distance she was able to see them in better detail, and take in how handsome each looked for ones of their kind. Their powerful forms crashing into one another, assertive natures as each tried to take control of this fight, and the distinguishing good facial features they both had. It gave her pause for a moment, as she took in their details and thoughts arose in her of what it would be like to share a bed with either of their beastly men, until another solid strike to Asterius’ face snapped her back to reality, reminding her that she had to leave now.

Without any other distractions, Alice made her way back into the halls, and away from the sights that were stimulating her ever growing desire. It was embarrassing to have to flee like this, with streams of her own fluids flowing down the inside of her thighs, but it seemed like it was the only sensible choice she could make. As always though, any choice she made on a whim was one guided by the path of fate, and the actions and events that would one day make her the version of herself she was trying to resist.

Walking down the hall with no destination in mind, Alice hoped the motion alone would help work out the need building up inside her. Jogging was a common thing does did to relieve pent up tension caused in times of estrus, but Alice knew that going into a full sprint would only draw in unwanted attention from anyone sharing the inner corridor of the colosseum with her at this moment. She had to hope that walking at a slightly quickened pace would not get her too much attention, while relieving her enough that she wouldn’t start moaning for someone else to fix her problem.

The only good part of her plan was the timing, as few were gonna miss the championship level match taking place at that moment. Only those who were just arriving would be in the halls, and they were in as much of a hurry to get to their seats as Alice was to get away from hers. Though, the times when two parties unwittingly went about was often the times when they would end up stumbling each other.

A simple turn of a corner was all that was needed, and Alice found herself walking face first into the massive body of a minotaur visiting the Colloseum that day, her own tiny body bouncing right off of him like a rubber ball. It was a startling interaction, one that had Alice sputtering out apologies immediately as she tried to walk around the bull, but startling turned to panic inducing real quick when the minotaur commented on what had happened.

“Attilius, is this one of yours?” the spoke the minotaur the Gift Giver had collided with, the voice recognizable by the doe, as it belonged to the very creature she had tried to avoid.

It was “Master”. The very king of Minopolis that was known by no other title. Tilting her head up to his, she could see from under her hood the face of the man who destiny had decided she would belong to. Standing next to him were several other minotaur, along with a few female Antlerteans who were tagging along as entertainment. Among the bovines was Attilius, the Colosseum's master, and the future owner of the chimera that would one day put Alice in critical condition. That she would have the misfortune to literally run into these two.

Alice froze, not knowing whether she was following or going against her instincts in doing so. It might have been that her mind was racing with too many questions to do anything else. Why was the minotaur king here? Why at this exact moment? Why when she was feeling the effects of a powerful estrus? Whatever the reason, she had not the will to try and run away. This was probably for the best, as nothing else would expose her than to bolt away from these minotaur for, what the minotaur would see as, no reason.

“No, she’s not one of mine.” Attilius said, giving Alice a slight glance, “I don’t give my slaves cloaks like that.”

“Hmmmm… Then maybe she left the deer parking out of curiosity, and snuck in to watch the show?” Master questioned, his eyes locked onto Alice, as if he was awaiting for her to attempt the slightest twitch.

“Master, you insult the capabilities of my Colosseum’s security.” Attilius said, chuckling at his king’s presumption, “No one, let alone a mere deer, could slip in without notice. It’s far more likely that her master gave her permission to leave his side, and she is just trying to find the restrooms.”

The minotaur king still looked suspect of the doe, as if he knew that there was something off with her, and not just that she was keeping her face concealed under that hood. Alice did her best to do nothing that would encourage the mighty bovine to look into matters further, but anything she did could potentially make him more curious. Even standing still for as long as she had felt like it would increase the doubt the king had that she was just some ordinary Antlertean slave.

At this point, the only hope that she had was that she had foreseen herself back home, and thus if the path was being followed, nothing bad could happen to her here. Fate would have to intervene, and not have her be revealed. Unless she drastically misunderstood the functions of the path of fate, then she had to be completely safe.

For a brief moment it looked as if Master was going to reach down and reveal her identity by taking off her hood, but as soon as he made his move, a loud cheer sounded through the building.

“Master,” said Attilius, drawing the king’s attention away from Alice, “We were already late getting here to watch Asterius and Talos’s fight as it was. If we waste more time now, we risk missing everything.”

The minotaur king huffed, but pulled back his hand, “Very well. A random doe wandering the halls really isn’t cause to miss something this important.” Having said that, Master had yet to take his gaze off the reindeer, clearly not satisfied that she was without an owner at her side, even if there was nothing truly strange about a doe walking around on her own. “Go about your business, doe, and then return to your master immediately. I’m sure he is eagerly awaiting your arrival.”

Alice only gave a nod in reply, and waited until the minotaur king and his entourage left. She could not will herself to move an inch until the second they could no longer be seen, which at that moment she dashed away and didn’t look back. The reindeer wanted to leave that building, the city, and the entire island at that moment, as this was too close a call for her to have any desire to stay longer.

There was only one major problem, that she was still feeling that building heat inside her. It had been suppressed for a moment, as being in the presence of her potential future master had been like a constant cold shower, but with her heart racing as hard as it was after the encounter, the need to satisfy her biological urges had come back twice as strong.

Alice could tell running wasn’t going to make this feeling go away, since that’s what she was doing at the moment and it wasn’t helping at all. If anything, the rubbing of her thighs again and again was just making it worse. It was becoming so strong that she was starting to trip up over her own two hooves, her legs feeling weak through a combination of fear and lust. She had to do something about this, and now.

As her eyes landed on a door in the corridor, Alice went to it with zero hesitation, hoping it would be someplace private. To her convenience, she happened to luck into a storage closet. As silly as it might have seemed, even grand stadiums such as this one needed something as mundane as a place to keep cleaning and maintenance supplies. Seeing that as a place she could isolate herself in, the reindeer entered and shut the door behind her.

Seconds later, Alice had pulled down her panties, bracing herself against one of the supply selves with one arm, while her other hand found its way to her crotch. She was soaked by now, her soft mound coated in her own fluids. It was far too easy for her to slip her slender digits inside herself, and massage the slick surfaces of her inner walls. Alice had to will herself to stifle her sounds, making small whispers of moans as the reindeer dug her fingers in deep. A small portion of her thoughts were on how she had never felt this aroused before, wondering if this was somehow related to her reaching adulthood, not understanding that her body didn’t have any grasp on such concepts.

All the Gift Giver’s other thoughts, however, were stuck on the minotaur, and particularly on her destined master. It was near impossible to think of anything else, as the symbol of her terrible fate had stood right next to her, and she was finding it hard to get over that. As she frantically fingered her pussy to extinguish the flames of lust within her, his image kept flashing in her mind, and when she did her best to force him out, all that she could think of with her sex drive so heightened were other minotaurs she had seen during her time in Minopolis. Their muscular frames that practically resonated with masculine presence. Their unquestionable authority in this land, with every other deer more than willing to be little more than sex objects for them. That last statement was only partially true, but Alice’s own presumptions of minotaur and Antlertean relationships had formed this belief, and her horny state was turning that into a full on fantasy within her subconscious, where she could picture herself being taken by a powerful minotaur male, and shown what it was like to be a female in the bonds of sexual servitude.

As her emotions reached their peak, and her prodding brought forth an inevitable flood of unwanted euphoria, her thoughts ended up going back to the minotaur king. His image, and what it represented, was inescapable. All she could think about was him as her vaginal passage quivered in orgasm, and her body’s needs were met. Legs shaking, Alice sunk down in defeat. No one knew about this besides her, and yet she felt like she had failed in some way. As if this was somehow one of the worst things she could have done during her investigation of the minotaur’s kingdom, even though her will had in no way shifted towards the minotaur’s ideals.

The Gift Giver had engaged in masturbation many times in the past, as any with a healthy sex drive would, but hiding out in what amounted to a broom closet, stroking herself to completion to the thoughts of giant, buff, bovine men, gave her a feeling of shame she could not shake. Worse still, she could feel her desire building up again, not satisfied with slipping over the edge of pleasure just once. Alice silently scolded herself, but placed her hand back between her legs for another round. The doe knew that trying to leave before her body was satisfied would only lead to more trouble, and so reluctantly she went back to work, hoping that one more time would do the trick.

Two orgasms later, Alice finally found an end to her body’s arousal. The whole affair left her panting, sore, and a bit drained, but in the end the tides of desire subsided. Luckily for her, this supply closet had a sink within it, and using some of the less caustic cleaning substances she could find, the deer found a means to bathe herself and remove the scent of sex from her body. To her gratitude to fate, no one entered the closet for the duration that she was in there, nor caught her slipping out of the room when she was finished.

The corridor had become more full since she hid herself away, with lots of minotaur and deer making their way through the Colosseum, with most heading in a single direction. It was pretty clear to Alice what was going on, as the fight she was watching before must have come to its conclusion, and those here to see it were heading for the exit. For a brief moment she wondered how long the fight had went on for, because what might have been a few dozen minutes felt much longer to her in her isolation.

Then the reindeer reminded herself that the end of the match presented a more pressing matter than just the time that had passed, as it meant that Babi, who believed that Alice was waiting for her in the halls, would have surely left his seat to find her. As little as she thought of the minotaur on the whole, Babi had proven to be a bull of his word, and would not have left her waiting for longer than needed, if he even sat through the whole fight in the first place.

A small problem arose when Alice realized she had no clue where Babi would be by now, but then she made the assumption that if she waited by the exit, then eventually Babi would see her. Following the crowd of departing minotaur and their slaves, Alice had no trouble finding her way there, and to her relief it was Babi who was waiting for her upon her arrival.

When noticing her coming to him, Babi spent lighty questioning where she had been, to which she lied and said she had went to the bathroom, remembering that Attilius found that to be an acceptable excuse for her to roam the halls. Babi didn’t seem all that pleased that he had been left to worry about if someone had discovered what Alice was, and if something was being done to her when he was promised her safe passage, but did not press the matter too hard. They had found each other, and that was all that mattered in the end.

After that there was no more room for detours, as both Alice and Babi wanted to leave Minopolis as soon as possible. Having been the one to suggest the Colosseum, the minotaur felt bad that Alice felt the need to leave during what was supposed to be the most exciting spectacle of not only that day, but for months to come. While none of what happened was truly his fault, Alice was glad that he was determined to bring her tour to a close. She had enough close calls and revelations on how the minotaur did things to last a while.

Though despite everything, especially her perceived failure to control her urges, Alice did feel this visit was productive. She had a fairly good idea of how the Antlerteans and the minotaur perceived and interacted with one another. She understood what parts were not as bad as they first appeared, and which parts needed to be outright removed. Unfortunately, the reindeer still had no clue on how to prevent the terrible deeds that the path of fate dictated would happen, but thankfully she still had time to figure somethingout.

The two left the city with no issues, and Alice allowed Babi to take her all the way back to his farm, if only to say goodbye to Amy and Nezzar, since they were of the few Antlerteans she had some sort of friendly relationship with.

“It’s such a shame you can’t stay longer.” said Amy as she was told by Alice that she was heading back home, “But if you need a place to stay next time you’re around, think about us.”

“Now Amy, you shouldn’t make offers without consulting the master first.” Nezzar said, as the minotaur was not too far away from them.

“I suppose if she just needed a place to stay, it wouldn’t be that big a problem.” Babi said, listening in to the conversation. “But I think I’m done giving tours after today.”

Alice gave a nervous chuckle, agreeing to some extent that it was not the best idea to ask a random farmer to smuggle her in and out of Minopolis. For all the information she gained, there were just too many spots where things could have went terribly wrong, if it had not been fated that it wouldn’t.

“Look, I’m thankful for all you did for me.” Alice said, truly appreciating the effort the inhabitants of this farm did for a complete stranger, “But truth be told, I don’t know when I’ll be back to take advantage of your offer.”

If at all possible, Alice would have liked it that she never stepped foot on this island ever again, but seeing as she’d have to deal with the minotaur some time before they started their conquest of Equestria adjacent settlements, and the enslavement of their people, that was probably an impossibility. She would have to return someday, but hopefully not as a brainwashed servant of the minotaur king.

Giving her final farewells, Alice took her leave, and walked off of Babi’s land, heading back to the shores of the island continent. Checking every so often to make sure she wasn’t followed or that there was no other minotaur on the countryside to spot her, she eventually got back to the location she first landed at when reaching the island, and then took a deep breath to steel herself for the long jog back, remember how hard it had been the first time going across the sea.

Testing the air to make sure it was cold enough to use for the reindeer’s form of flight, she found it a simple task to step on the frigid breeze, and begin her trek back to Equestria. Like before, it took hours before she could see the familiar lands, and several more to finally be able to touch down on solid ground again, but through an exhausting jog that she would never suggest any other reindeer attempt, Alice completed her journey.

After a long rest, the doe waited for night, when the air got cold over Equestria, and continued her trip back to the Far North. Alice didn’t stop again until she made it back to the Gift Giver’s Grove, and the cozy cottage that she called home. Only stopping for a moment to give the front door a knock, she opened it and announced her return.

“I’m back!” she yelled, dropping her backpack at the doorway, while removing her cloak to hang it up.

While it was late in the evening, it was not so late that the other Gift Givers had retired to their rooms. Only that they took to resting in the living area after a long day of work, with Aurora sitting near the fireplace as she knitted a sweater that would become some fortunate creatures next Hearth’s Warming present, while Bori took to reading a book.

“Welcome back. How was your trip to the village, dearie?” Aurora asked, the two other reindeer believing that was where she had been for the past few days.

“It was fine,” Alice lied outright, “Nothing new. Same old, boring town with the same old, boring people.”

“I bet ‘boring’ felt pretty nice after all this trouble with the minotaur,” Bori said, assuming that Alice wanted to go home in order to clear her mind of all that. Perhaps address the problem from a new direction after a relaxing stay with her parents.

Alice might have agreed, if not for the urgency she felt to rectify this problem. She didn’t have time to relax when every day put her closer to becoming the Alice of the future, which would doom everyone she knew, and more, to become minotaur breeding slaves. Problem was, after everything she had done, and everything she learned, the doe didn’t know what to do next. While she had a better understanding of the foe she was up against, how they functioned, and how not all minotaur were like their king, she was still pretty clueless about how to prevent the events that had been foretold.

Not really having a response to what Bori said, Alice made her way to her personal seat in the living room. Truth be told, she wanted to make her way up to her room, and fall into her bed, but the chair was closer and much more inviting at the moment. Slumping down into it, Alice took a moment to relax her weary muscles, it dawning on her a few moments later that this was the point in the future she had seen when she checked to make sure she’d return home safely. Her destiny up to this point had been completed, and while this reaffirmation that a fate that depicted her safety was just as immutable as any other vision she had seen was comforting for now, it still had the horrible implication when it came to her minotaur dominated future.

Sinking into her seat, Alice closed her eyes, feeling herself drift into slumber. As much as she wished she could commit more time to figuring out what to do, she could not resist the call to sleep. The last thing she felt was a blanket being placed over her body, this not being the first time she crashed out in the living room.

The young reindeer didn’t try to resist, as tomorrow she would have to return to her Gift Giver duties, and she would need all the energy she could get if she was to do that while still seeking a way to change not just her destiny, but what felt like the destiny of the entire world.

Author's Note

So this is the last chapter for this story this year. Sorry if it's a bit underwhelming. As I mentioned in the comments, I kinda got down with the sickness, and spent some time dying in my bed as I recovered. I'm good now, but it sucked of quite a while.

Assuming you all got through, I would think that a lot of you were expecting a bit more from this. Alice's trip to Minopolis, on the whole, kinda felt like it didn't amount to much. In a sense it was meant to convey that when she not using her powers, she's kinda running blind, but I'm not sure if that exactly makes for an interesting section for this story. To be honest, I did think of spicing this chapter up by making Alice's masturbation scene but instead making it a scene where she grabs a buck she sees, drags him into the closet, and practically rapes him in her eyes (I'm sure he would be fine with it), in a "no one will ever believe you" moment. Then I come to the conclusion that a situation like that is a bit too far for Alice as a character, and reigned it back a bit. Not entirely sure it was the best idea.

As an aside, I'm surprised no one commented on all my cheeky references. That Babi's farm is called "Babi-Lon Gardens" (As in the hanging gardens of Babylon) That Nezzar and Amy are named after the king and queen that owned said gardens. That Babi's master Lon has a milk ranch, and has a pair of slaves named Malon and Cermia (This all being a reference to the Zelda series, and Lon-Lon Ranch). Alas, maybe you all did notice, and didn't think it important enough to mention. Still, I love adding in little easter eggs like this.

Well hopefully there will be more progress next year, where I actually have an important part of the story to enter into. Until then, see ya all later.

Mistakes of the Future

Author's Note

Hey everyone. New story for the winter holidays. Gonna make this quick, so you all can get to what you came for.

1st, this story is within the Equestria Trainer's Society Setting, but if you are new there will be no real lore bits from that you need to know, cause most of this is a prequel.

2nd, This story mainly features the Gift Givers of The Grove, and since we only got about 5 mins of screen time with them, I'm playing fast and loose with their lore, by actually giving them some sort of background. Just look at it as this setting's version of the reindeer trio. This is an AU setting, after all.

With that, I hope you all enjoy the story, and know that while it's not complete yet, it will be updated throughout December (and probably into January too).

Mistakes of the Future

“Happy Birthday!” a pair of deer yelled loudly, one a pink doe in the prime of her adult years, while the other was an elderly teal doe, the two going by Bori and Aurora, respectively.

They were two parts of the trio known as the Gift Givers of the Grove, deer who had abilities that aided them in their sole duty to deliver the perfect gifts for every creature who sought their services, never failing in their task. Their well wishes, as well as a sizable cake the two were holding, were being directed towards the third member of their group, a younger doe who had just reached adulthood that day.

This younger, yellow doe was named Alice, and she was caught completely by surprise when she returned from picking up some supplies the Gift Givers would need for the upcoming Hearth’s Warming Eve, having left a full wagon of materials outside. The second she entered the building to get help bringing things in, she was met by the two does laying in wait.

“A surprise party?!” Alice said to the older does, a toothy smile on full display, brimming with happiness for what the other deer had done, “I didn’t even think you two knew when my birthday was.”

“We had to ask your parents,” Bori said, setting the birthday cake down on a table, “Cause it dawned on us that you had been a Gift Giver for a while now, and we’ve never celebrated it.”

The three deer were not related to one another, despite living together in their cozy cottage, but lived together in order to fulfill their role, the three brought together due to their unique talents. Being a Gift Giver of the Grove was an honored responsibility among reindeer, letting those blessed by fate to become one spread joy all over the world, which was something only a lucky three could ever do at one time.

“You didn’t go all the way to my parents house to ask them, did you?” Alice asked, knowing how far it was to the reindeer’s lands from their cottage. The Gift Givers had to live in the frozen mountain peaks of Equestria, as the kingdom was practically the hub of all civilization, close enough to all other nations that it would be impractical to station themselves anywhere else. Other reindeer lived outside of Equestria though, and it was a long day of travel to get to them, even with the magical ability of flight the members of their species had. “You just looked into my past to see when it was, right Aurora?”

“Bori and I didn’t want to pry into your entire life’s history to get a single date,” Aurora said, the older deer having a respect for their newest member’s privacy that the trio didn’t extend to other creatures, if only because it was easier to learn what gifts someone wanted when you knew them thoroughly.

“You two really shouldn’t have gone so far out of your way for something like this,” Alice said, “It really would have been easier to use your powers.”

The three of them had access to the knowledge of events of all time, if in specialized manners. Alice was gifted with the ability to see into the future, and Aurora the past, of all creatures, which was how they figured out what gifts would be perfect for each creature that would receive them. Likewise, Bori could also see the events of any creature she wanted, but only in that exact moment, giving her a certain degree of limited omniscience.

“It really wasn’t that much of a hassle,” Bori assured, “I just went to their house during one of our supply runs. Besides, it’s not a good idea to use our powers to do things outside of gift giving.”

“You say that,” Alice said, “But I don’t see the problem in just getting information when we want it.”

“The kind of information we have access to is very dangerous,” Aurora replied, “As it’s weaved into the very fabric of time itself. You in particular need to be very careful about who’s future you look into, as you might learn something you really shouldn’t. But…” Aurora said as she eased off her position slightly, realizing her words were starting to turn into a lecture, “The occasion peek here and there shouldn’t do any harm, so long as you remember the two important rules we gave to you.”

“Right,” Alice reluctantly agreed, “No matter what I see, I should never attempt to stray from the path of history.” It was an easy rule to follow thus far, since all outcomes she had seen have been positive when it came to gift giving. For some reason, the future always unerringly showed what gift would be the best for any given creature who required their services.

“And?” Bori said, wanting to make sure both rules were understood.

Alice groaned a little at this particular rule, “I’m not supposed to look into any of our futures.”

It was a very strict rule given to her upon becoming a Gift Giver, that she was allowed to look into the histories of any creatures she pleased, save for the Gift Givers themselves. It seemed like a fairly arbitrary rule, since it seemed directed only at her. There were a few times that Bori had used her powers to know exactly where Alice was at any given time, and Aurora has used her powers before to find things she had misplaced. Alice was the only one who had a restriction when it came to the Gift Givers, but she assumed that was because she was the least experienced among the three.

“But I’m an adult now,” said Alice, “Can’t I be trusted with knowledge about what’s going to happen to us?”

“It’s not that we don’t trust you,” Bori said, “You’ve more than proven yourself when it comes to being a Gift Giver.”

“But knowledge of your own future, or the futures of those close to you, is something that can’t be taken lightly. We might use our abilities to provide happiness worldwide, but we must always act as outsiders to maintain the course of history.”

“Right, I get all that,” Alice said, having heard this from the other does countless times now, “But I have to ask… what if something bad would happen in the future, and my foresight was the only thing that could stop it?”

Bori and Aurora exchanged a glance to one another, before Bori replied with, “That’s a very important question to ask,” Bori said, “But also a very serious one, and we should focus on your birthday today. Oh, I know!”

The older doe went over to a table where they had set up a few things for the party, including a festively decorated green, white, and red cake, and a few presents.

“How about we open some gifts,” Bori said while grabbing the closest present she could get her hands on, “Why don’t we start with this one. It’s from Aurora.”

The pink doe handed the wrapped up box over to Alice, who rolled her eyes playfully at the object. The trio wrapped so many gifts together, unwrapping one was bemusing to her. That didn’t stop her from tearing into the paper to get inside, and when she opened the top, what she saw waiting for her was a red piece of cloth, with edges laced in fluffy white material. Pulling it out to get a better look, Alice found that it was a small winter cape, big enough to drape down from her shoulders to her hips. A faintly sweet scent of freshly baked gingerbread could be smelt coming off the piece of clothing, a touch added to add another measure of coziness to the wearer.

“I hope you like it,” Aurora said, “I don’t have your ability to pick out the perfect gift for a person, but-”

The elderly doe was cut short by a tight hug from the youngest among them, Alice squeezing her tightly, “I love it,” she said, “It’s perfect.”

Aurora reciprocated the hug with a light touch of her own hand on Alice’s back, “Oh, you’re just saying that. Truth is, I never know what you youngsters like these days.”

“No, I mean it.” Alice said, releasing her hug, so she could lift up the cape, “It’s my favorite color, and I’ve needed something to keep me warm while we deliver the gifts for Hearth’s Warming Eve.”

Alice might have been exaggerating a little bit about how much she liked the gift, but it was a very nice cape, and if it came from Aurora, then it was very likely hand made. Aurora had that ‘everyone’s grandmother’ type of personality. Old, wise, loveable, instilled with the idea that a practical gift was much better than a fancy toy. While this cape wasn’t something that Alice would have ever asked for, it was a perfect gift from the sweet, aging doe.

“Why don’t you try it on?” Suggested Bori, wanting to see how Alice looked in it.

The young doe took a moment to drape the cape over her shoulders, and tie the string at its front under the ribbon bow she was already wearing around her neck. The combination of those two items looked very cute over the rest of her clothing, which was fairly basic casual wear. Alice took a moment to sway her arms and upper body side to side, ending it with a full rotation of her body, to let Bori and Aurora get look at it from all angles.

“Lovely,” Bori complemented, “Now how about we try some of that cake before we get to the rest of your gifts. We made sure to pull it out of the oven right before you got home, and it will taste better while it’s still warm.”

“Sounds great,” Alice said cheerfully, trying to hide the smallest bit of resentment she had hearing Bori’s statement, as the older deer let slip that she had been using her own powers to spy on Alice while she was out, presumedly to make sure that the yellow doe wouldn’t ruin the surprise by coming home early. While the intentions were pure, the freedom Bori gave herself seemed a little hypocritical compared to the restrictions placed upon the younger deer.

As the day came to a close, the three deer resigned to their sleeping quarters, each in separate rooms of the cottage. The party went well, with Alice getting several more gifts from both the does, including books and trinkets for things Alice had shown a bit of interest towards while in the presence of her counterparts. They were all nice, but in the end the cape really was the one thing that Alice liked the most out of all of it. It might have been a mentality she developed because of her profession, but when you spent your life giving things away, personal possessions became less important, unless it was something really special.

The doe was still wearing the cape as she put the rest of her gifts on her dresser, and didn’t even take it off when she went to her bed. She didn’t see a need to yet, as she wasn’t intending to go to sleep.

“That was fun,” she said to herself, having indeed enjoyed her day of celebration, “But I think it's time I got the gift I really wanted today.”

The gift Alice was referring to was a gift that she would be giving to herself, the gift of being unrestrained. Until today, Alice was more than willing to heed the warnings the other two deer had given her, but now that she was an adult, and had plenty of experience with her powers, the deer felt it was time she breached the rule placed on her from the moment she became a Gift Giver. The young adult doe was going to peer into her future, if only for a moment.

It was something that Alice had wanted to do for some time, if only because the act was so forbidden, but stopped herself from trying until now, if only out of respect for the other two Gift Givers. While that respect was still there, the yellow furred deer just didn’t see the harm in the tiniest of peeks, especially if it was in her own future.

Alice wasn’t even expecting to see much, since fate had made her purpose in life to be a Gift Giver, a destiny that she was very happy with. Because of it though, she was expecting to spend the rest of her days in the cottage, until she was as old as Aurora. That was another reason she didn’t see an issue breaking this particular rule, as she felt that nothing she could see would ever make her want to break the first, seemingly more important rule, of ensuring that history was followed as she would see it unfold.

Alice did want to be a little cautious though, and wasn’t completely reckless with her plan to disobey Bori and Aurora’s wishes. She was going to look into her distant future, somewhere in the time frame of three years. Odds were she’d just see herself working on some presents, and that moment would be so insignificant that it would blend into everything else in her day to day life. The doe had never purposefully gone that far into anyone’s future before, but she knew it was possible.

It was difficult to put into words, but Alice knew that her powers were practically limitless when it came to her future sight. If she wished, she could see all the way to the end of a creature’s life, provided she knew who’s future she was looking for. All she had to do was focus on their image, and the entirety of their history would become an open book to her. Once done, she could pick any period of time in the future, and receive a perfect vision of what that person would be doing, and could even go backwards or forwards in the vision with ease. From her understanding, Aurora was exactly the same, except in the other direction.

“Ok…” Alice whispered softly to herself, “Just a quick peek, three years from now, no harm to the flow of history at all.”

Sitting on her bedside, the doe took a deep breath, looking forward to a time beyond the here and now. To others, it would look like she had simply closed her eyes, but to her an image of the future was forming on the back of her eyelids. The vision started out a bit hazy, as it always did, with a cloudy image of her target, that being herself in this instance, appearing first, in a vaguely detailed sphere of vision. That was one of few flaws to her powers, that what she could see was limited to the target itself, and only about five feet in diameter around them. So people and things in the area couldn’t be seen via her powers, unless they got in close to where the vision was centered.

As Alice continued focusing, the vision became clearer and clearer, until she had a perfect picture of herself in the randomly selected moment, and what she saw immediately made the deer’s face turn a light shade of pink. She had found herself, as she had intended, but not exactly ‘how’ she intended, as her slightly older self was naked, from head to hooves, save for the red ribbon she wore around her neck, and the cape given to her today as a gift.

“What did I do?” Alice asked herself a little louder than before, trying to stay quiet, but in a bit of shock from the sight of her own exposed body, “Catch myself readying a bath?”

That was the first thing that came to mind as to why she would have been naked under any circumstance, but the more she looked at her future self, the more that theory didn’t seem right. Why would she still be wearing the cape and her ribbon if she was about to take a bath? Not only that, but future Alice was in a strange pose. She was on her knees, thighs spread apart, enough that it revealed the slit that resided between them, her pussy in full view for the doe in the present. Her hands rested on those thighs, as her breasts poked out from under the part of the cape that covered her shoulders, looking a little bigger than that of her present form, but Alice barely noticed that detail. As the older version of herself sat there, seemingly waiting, her head was tilted downwards, but not so much that Alice couldn’t see that her future self was smiling.

“M-maybe I take up meditation in the future,” Alice said to herself, trying to rationalize what she was seeing, though even an explanation like that didn’t explain what she was doing naked. She really couldn’t foresee herself becoming a nudist, which was what it looked like, for more reasons than that she lived on top of a snow covered mountain, one being that she didn’t think her cabin mates would approve of such a lifestyle.

That’s when she noticed a peculiar detail in the vision, and that was that the floor she was kneeling on was made of some kind of stone. The cottage only had wood floors, so unless it was getting a remodeling, her future self was somewhere else at the moment.

“Did I go to a spa?” Alice asked herself, though this was another grasp at straws. As far as she could see, there was no reasonable explanation as to why she would be so undressed, in that pose, or in a place with stone floors while being naked in such a pose.

As she kept trying to figure out what was going on, Alice was caught by surprise when the ear on her future self twitched, reminding her that the visions were not simply a frozen image, and that they were playing out a scene. Future Alice lifted her head up slightly, and then said aloud “Of course. That is my purpose, afterall.”

At that moment, Alice realized that she, the future ‘she’, was not alone. She was speaking to someone, but since the other creature she was with was speaking outside of the bubble of the vision, its voice couldn’t be heard. Another limitation of her powers.

Voice or not, this new found information filled a now stunned Alice with questions. Who was she with? Why was she so calm being naked around them? Why did she bring up her purpose? What was going on here?! She was so confused that the only thing that she could do was let the scene play out further.

She didn’t have to wait long to get some sort of answer, one that was even more shocking than any other part of this vision, as the muscular leg entered into view. A masculine leg, who's thighs were about as thick as her head.

I’m with a guy?! Alice screamed in her head, refraining from using her voice, lest she alert the whole house to what she was doing.

Quickly she adjusted the angle of the vision so that she had a back view of herself, which fortunately was within her power. Unfortunately, with her future self in her knelt position, she couldn’t see much of this male who had only slightly breached the boundaries of her bubble, so that only his upper thighs, hips, and lower abdomen was in view. However, that was just enough to see that he too was nude, and that his large penis was standing in half erection, pointing right in the direction of her future self’s face.

“Nope! Nope! That’s enough!” Alice said aloud, ending the vision on the spot, the sight of some strange male’s junk being too much for her.

In reflex afterwards, the deer covered her eyes, but that really didn’t help since the image of that dick had been present when her eyes were closed. Alice couldn’t believe what she had just witnessed, or that it was apparently something that was going to happen. The whole thing gave her a cold sweat, especially when she took into account exactly how big the sex organ presented before her had been. It was far bigger than deer sized, that was certain, looking to be at the upper limits of what a pony could be.

These details were information Alice knew for… reasons, but those reasons didn’t matter compared to her current dilemma that one day she would be in that position, with that monster of a private part staring her down. It was mortifying to imagine, and as that embarrassment set in, she got started by a sudden knock at the door.

“Alice, are you ok in there?” asked Bori from the other side of the wooden barrier, “Aurora and I heard yelling.”

“I’m fine!” Alice replied, “Just… had a little accident, but I already cleaned it up!”

Bori was silent for a moment, but then spoke from the other side of the door again. “Ok, just try to keep it down. I know your big day must have gotten you excited, but we have more work to do in the morning.”

“Right!” Alice answered, just wanting the older doe to go away, “Going to bed now!”

Alice heard the sound of hooves stepping away, and as they went quiet she finally found the ability to release her tensed muscles. Her body relaxed slowly, fear subsiding from almost getting caught directly disobeying the rules. Though for as much as getting caught shook her, most of her tremors were coming from the image of the naked male that was lingering in her thoughts. The doe had no clue how she was going to end up in that situation three years from now, seeing that she didn’t even know any guys that looked like that currently, or had any intentions to be with someone in the near future. Certainly not someone as big and muscular as the creature she had gotten a slight glimpse of.

It’s not worth thinking about right now, Alice thought to herself, taking a few deep breaths to calm her nerves.

It took a few more minutes before she could get to a normal state, but once she did she decided it was best not to take a second look at what appeared to be her future lover, no matter how out of character she had found the behavior and selection of mate of her future self. Best to try and put it out of her mind for now, and figure it all out later. When things got closer to that time, it would all begin to make more sense, or at least that’s what she believed, since her predictions always came true.

She eased herself into bed, putting herself under the blankets as she rested her head on her pillows, still a little freaked out, to the point that she forgot to change out of her clothes and into some pajamas. At this point she just wanted to get some sleep and forget, but when she started to drift to sleep, her mind latched onto a little detail that she had missed prior.

Did Bori just spy on me? She thought, keeping her eyes closed, as it dawned on her that Bori went silent for a few seconds before telling her to get some sleep. She could have easily gotten a quick peek at her at that time by using her powers. Ugh… And she said she trusted me earlier.

Alice went to bed angry, not realizing the irony in her attitude, considering she had done something that made her untrustworthy. The doe might have been an adult, but she still had the maturity of a teen, expecting others to believe in her without understanding the responsibility that came with such respect.

Mistakes of the Past

The following days did not go by easily for the yellow doe, as she found herself unable to push the visions of her future out of her thoughts. She found herself frequently distracted, as too many things around the Gift Givers’ workplace kept reminding her of what she had seen. Catching her reflection in the window or a mirror would send a quick flash of her future self before her eyes, while something as simple as the semi-phallic appearance of an extra large candy cane rod would remind her of the dick she saw.

It was frustrating, especially since she felt she couldn’t just go talk to Aurora and Bori about this. Such a blatant disregard for the two most important rules would not be met with a mere scolding, Alice assumed, so she had to keep quiet.

Try as she might to distract herself with her work, nothing could keep her from reliving the event she experienced, but hadn’t yet actually lived through. Alice had caught herself in a loop of trying to not think about it, working hard to distract herself, and then realizing that the reason she was working so hard was because she was trying to think about something else, making her think about it again. This caused the deer to fumbling with her tasks, as the gifts she made turned out shoddily crafted, her gift wrapping ended up with torn and frayed edges, and her attempts to look into the futures of those who would be receiving the gifts, to make ensure they would like end up liking them, got frequently interrupted by her own fear that she might see something else that she didn’t want to see.

This drastic decline in the quality of her work, as well as the irritated grunts and physical knee jerk reactions to her aggravation, did not go unnoticed by either of the other deer. However, this was not the first time they dealt with Alice going through a moment of mild outbursts over something that, as far as they could tell, was insignificant. They had lived through her teenage years, where hormones could easily make a growing doe aggressive at unpredictable moments, since they lacked the future sight that Alice had, so this didn’t feel out of the ordinary for them.

This went on for about half a week, as something about the vision wouldn’t allow its grip on Alice to be released. Once the fourth day in a row occurred, it was enough for Bori to express concern for the doe to Aurora, who agreed that just letting the younger doe cool off at her own pace didn’t seem to be working. Seeing that Alice wasn’t going to come and talk to them of her own volition, the two discussed in private how they would help her without prying too deeply, and came up with a simple idea.

“I’m heading out!” Bori said, heading for the door, “I’m going to pick up supplies from the village, do either of you want anything?”

“I think I’m fine,” Aurora said, before backstepping on the notion, “Actually, bring me back some of that mint coco I like. My old bones could use a little warming up in the cold nights that’ll be coming in a few weeks.”

“Wait, you’re going out? But I just did a supply run last week.” Alice asked, being pulled out of her thoughts by the strange timing of this, usually monthly trip back to the reindeer’s homelands.

“I know,” Bori said, “But I forgot to add blue ribbon to the list of things to get, and we ran out last night. It was my fault, so I’ll be the one to make the trip.”

This circumstance seemed very odd to Alice, who was sure that blue ribbon had been part of the supplies she had bought. She wondered if there was some other reason why Bori was going out, so she turned herself away for a second, and covertly took a quick look into the pink doe’s future. Afterall, if Bori could casually look into her business, there was no reason not to do the same. A few seconds later, she spotted Bori’s future self purchasing some blue ribbon from a merchant stag, as well as some other extra gift wrapping supplies, showing that she was doing what she said she would.

“You could come along, if you like,” Bori said, in the middle of putting on a warm coat for the trip, “I won’t turn down an extra pair of hands.”

“No thanks,” Alice said as her antlers lit up, using levitation magic to wrap a box in colorful, striped paper, “I’ve been falling behind, and I need to keep at it if I’m gonna get all the presents done I need to do today.”

“Ok,” Bori said, having no problem with Alice’s response. This was all part of the plan, after all.

The two older deer felt it would be best to give Alice the option of being with one or the other today, and believed that she would make a choice that would make her the most comfortable. Then, whoever she decided to stay with would initiate a one on one with her, to talk about whatever it was that was bothering her without the need to make it a public issue.

Bori said her goodbyes, and the other two knew she wouldn’t be back till late in the day, continuing their tasks as if the pink deer had never left. For Aurora, that meant diligently going back to her duties, while keeping Alice in the corner of her eye, just in case the younger doe had already gotten over her issues, and an intervention wasn’t needed. Judging by the amount of times Alice growled at herself when filling some stockings full of peppermint treats, and the amount of materials the doe was wasting on gifts she had to rewrap due to a major mistake, the elderly deer deduced that she was still having problems.

“I hate to get into your business,” Aurora said, approaching Alice after about an hour of delaying the confrontation, “But has something been troubling you since your birthday?”

Hearing the question, Alice paused what she was doing, understanding she hadn’t been doing a very good job at keeping her internal conflict underwraps, since it had gotten to the point that it had to be addressed.

“No… I mean… yes, but it’s not a big deal.” she replied, trying to sidestep having to confess to what she did.

“Come now, Alice,” Aurora said, placing her hands on the younger doe’s shoulders from behind in a comforting gesture, “If it’s got you this riled up, then it must be important.”

“It isn’t that important…” Alice said, refusing to let herself just say what she had done. She couldn’t just ignore Aurora though, because she’d keep looking into the situation if Alice kept making mistakes. “It’s just… At my age did you ever think about boys… Like a lot?”

It wasn’t a confession to her rule breaking, but it was an admittance of what was actually bothering her. The idea that in the future she’ll be in a relationship with someone, when she thought that her whole life would be dedicated to bringing joy though the act of gift giving, upset her a lot. Because her predictions always came true, Alice was certain that she was going to meet the man she partially saw, fall in love with him, and pull her away from her role as a Gift Giver, and that scared her. She loved working with Aurora and Bori more than anything, and there was nothing else she’d rather do than help make the creatures of the world happy.

“Boys?” Aurora asked, the word sounding like she was holding back a chuckle as she said it, “Is that what this is all about?”

Alice turned to face the doe, her head hung as she was unable to look the old deer in the eye, “On the night of my birthday… I used my powers and saw a vision of a guy naked. Ever since, I couldn’t get it out of my head.”

Had that been all that had happened, it would have been embarrassing to say to someone else, that you had used clairvoyance to spy on some guy, when he could never know that he was being watched. That she had to lie to Aurora through omission, in order to keep her real transgressions a secret, added another level of shame to what little she did confess to.

Yet, Aurora didn’t seem to take the explanation as serious as Alice thought it should have been, as while she was trying to conceal her amusement at the question before, she found it impossible to hide it, giving a few snickers at the situation at hand.

“So you used your powers and saw some buck’s pecker?” Aurora said, making assumptions of how the situation occurred, “And you think that’s something to fret your pretty little head over?”

“Isn’t that… bad?” Alice said, a little confused at Aurora’s uncaring reaction.

“Well I wouldn’t call you a saint,” Aurora answered, “But then I couldn’t say the same about myself either.”

“Huh?” Alice replied, becoming increasingly confused.

“Come here,” Aurora said, guiding the young doe over to the living area, “Let’s sit down and talk about this.”

The two sat down in some chairs in the room, Aurora relaxing far more than Alice could at that moment. At this point, the yellow deer was just going along with what the blue doe wanted, if only because she was curious about why Aurora was being so nonchalant about this.

“Let me tell you something,” Aurora said, cleaning the lenses of her glasses, “There is nothing wrong with a doe your age taking an interest in what other creatures look like under their clothes. You’ve gotten to the point where you should have had some questions about it, and I was starting to wonder if you’d ever bring it up.”

“You’re not about to give me ‘the talk’ are you?” Alice said, knowing enough about sex already, from discussions with her actual parents during times she went to visit them.

“No, no,” Aurora said, “I figure you’ll learn about it one way or another by yourself. I just want to let you know that these urges of yours might make you want to do something that might seem a bit amoral, like sneak a peek as some buck your age back in the village, but… I really don’t necessarily see a problem with it.”

“What?” Alice said wide eyed, not expecting this from the old deer.

“You wouldn’t be the first Gift Giver used their powers to get a good look at the goods before making your purchase,” Aurora said, grinning as she placed her glasses back on, “I do it myself sometimes, whenever I feel myself going into heat.”

“Aurora!” Alice said loudly, now finding it hard to hold back her own laughter. To think that the eldest member of the Gift Givers would do something so scandalous.

“Now don’t you ‘Aurora’ me,” the old doe said with a smirk, “I’ve been given the power to pull up every intimate moment that any creature has ever done, and I’m gonna use it as I please. It’s not like I can just go out and get some stag to scratch my itch, so I need something to help me out.”

“I get it, I get it!” Alice said, not wanting to hear more about Aurora’s sexual exploits, but actually finding her opinions on the matter a little interesting, “But shouldn’t we a bit more responsible with out powers?”

“Well… Bori would probably tell you that you shouldn’t use your powers for something like that, but you’re not hurting anyone so long as you keep what you see to yourself. Besides, if we had rules against spying on creatures, we couldn’t do our jobs. Consider it a perk of being who you are.”

“Ok, but I want you to know I didn’t look at a naked guy on purpose.” Alice said, trying to retain some level of respect for her reputation, “I was just using my powers, and all of a sudden I saw a guy with no clothes on.”

“Ehh… That happens occasionally too.” Aurora said, completely understanding about Alice’s situation, “You can’t just go searching through the time stream without stumbling on someone stripping down from time to time. If you’ve really got a moral issue about it, then just do your best to look past it when it happens.”

“Right…” Alice said, as she knew what Aurora was talking about.

She had seen mares, stallions, stags, bucks, bulls, cows, and any other combination of males and females naked before, and she would always try to zip past them without a second thought. It really was the more personal nature of this incident that bugged her, but she couldn’t let Aurora know the real reason she couldn’t focus.

“So can I ask you something?” Alice asked, still a little confused about something, “The way you talk, it sounds like you’re ok with me looking into guys if I want, but aren’t we supposed to stay away from things like boyfriends?”

“Oh, deerie,” Aurora said, “What would make you think something like that?”

“Well we live out here in this cabin, and I don’t see you or Bori with husbands.” Alice explained.

“I… had a lover a long time ago,” Aurora explained, “We had a bit of a long distance marriage. He has long since passed, but he was a bit of a nomadic soul, traveling the lands. He’d always find his way back here though, so we could share a night together. We had met before my powers developed, you see, and I had originally thought I’d spend my life traveling with him, but once I became a Gift Giver I had my role became a priority. That didn’t mean we couldn’t do all the things a couple could do, just that we couldn’t do it as often. Honestly, he’s the one who I look up when I’m feeling frisky, because I like remembering what it was like being with him.”

“I guess that’s not as bad as what I thought you were doing,” Alice said, “If you’re just looking up your lover, then I don’t see anything wrong with that.”

“As for Bori…” Aurora continued, “She always had her mind set on other things that were more important to her, and never looked for someone to be that intimate with.”

“So a boyfriend is fine?” Alice asked, just wanting to be sure.

“So long as you are performing your role as a Gift Giver, then there’s nothing against it.” Aurora said, “So don’t you worry about any future boyfriends you might have.”

“And just making sure, you have no problem with how I use my powers?” Alice followed up, wanting to be clear with Aurora’s intentions.

“They are your powers to do with as you see fit,” Aurora said, taking a moment to remember that there were a few provisions, “Just… remember not to go breaking the rules we told you before. It’s ok to skim the histories of others, but don’t go sneaking a peek on your own, even if it’s to do something as simple as seeing who you’ll end up with. It’ll… ruin the surprise, if anything.”

Alice suddenly felt really relieved, as she had practically been given the go ahead to do what she did, minus the one tiny detail about looking in on her own future. “Thanks Aurora, this chat made me feel a lot better.”

“Anytime, deerie,” the blue doe replied, “Now how about I fix us up some snacks and we get back to work.”

The rest of the day went on a lot more smoothly once Alice’s qualms had been cast aside. She had no issue continuing the day with only the usual level of small mistakes one would expect to happen, her distractions not affecting her as much as they had prior. Together, the two does worked together to catch up on everything Alice was falling behind on, and when it was time for the sun to set, they were both settling into a relaxing evening.

“Thanks again for all the help,” Alice said, as she fixed some snacks for the two of them to share, carrying a tray of gingerbread cookies, along with a glass of milk, to a seated Aurora, “Both with the gifts, and with what you said earlier.”

“Oh, it’s my pleasure, deerie,” said Aurora, taking the offered food, “These are just things that happen as you grow. You might not be a fawn anymore, but you’re still young. You’ll come to find out a lot about yourself that you didn’t know, as the days go by. I’m just a bit surprised that Bori had this problem figured out more than I did.”

That last sentence didn’t go unnoticed by Alice, as she didn’t realize that the subject of her distractions was a talking point between the two older Gift Givers. “Bori talked to you about this?” she asked, thinking she knew why Bori had a bit more insight on the matter.

The pink doe couldn’t use her powers to see what visions Alice had seen that night, but if she had spied on her like Alice suspected, she would have seen her flustered in her room. From there, assumptions could be made, and it made Alice wonder what rumors Bori was spreading around behind her back.

“We weren’t trying to butt into your privacy,” Aurora said, “But we were both worried about what was bothering you. When a loved one is troubled, you get to talking.”

“I understand,” Alice said, having no trouble believing Aurora’s motivations, “But could you do me a favor. Don’t tell Bori about the stuff that we talked about here. I don’t want her to think I’m some kind of voyeur.”

“If that’s what you want,” Aurora agreed, “But she’s gonna want to know something eventually. I’ll just let you pick what time is right to tell her.”

“Thanks Aurora,” Alice said, setting down her tray so she could embrace the old deer in a hug.

Aurora smiled, returning the hug, and almost as if on cue, the entrance door opened, with Bori making her way inside. The first thing she was was her counterparts sharing a loving moment. “Did I just miss out on a special moment?”

“Of course not,” Aurora said, “Come on over here and join in.”

After hanging up her coat, Bori did just that, happily accepting the invitation to a group hug between the three. Alice wasn’t as happy as Aurora with this turn of events, as a bit of begrudgement was forming from the spying she believed Bori had done. She just went along with it for the time being though, so as not to cause a scene, if only for Aurora’s sake.

That night, the three deer went to their separate room as always, though just as she did on her birthday, Alice didn’t retire to her chambers with the intent to sleep.

After hearing Aurora’s opinions on the topic of how she should use her abilities, practically giving her free reign to looking into anyone’s future she pleased, and seeing as there was no issue with her dating, Alice wanted to learn more about the guy she was going to end up with. After all, she didn’t mind the spoilers, and seeing her future lover’s history wouldn’t be too different from what Aurora did with her lover.

Right now, all she knew was that he was big and muscular, and he had a big dick to go along with that size, and while that pleased the primal part of Alice’s brain that guided her libido, she needed to know more. At this point, she didn’t even know what species he was, only that he couldn’t be a deer if he was that huge. Maybe an elk, as there was a village of them not too far from the reindeer’s village, but they were often perceived by the reindeer to be brutish and domineering, so that didn’t seem like the type of guy Alice would fall for. Whoever he was, he had to be pretty amazing if the future Alice’s smile had anything to say to his merit.

Alice’s goal at the moment was to look into his future to get more details about him, just enough so she could use him as the focus of her future sight. All she would need is his face, and then she would have access to everything. Without it though, there was no way that Alice could look into this unknown male’s future, which meant that the only way to get that information was to once again go against the advisement of her peers, and look into her own future.

At least this time Alice knew what to expect, and if she stumbled across herself about to have sex again, it wouldn’t be as shocking as before. The only thing she had a problem with about this idea was that she couldn’t be sure if Bori was still trying to keep an eye on her. Well intentioned or not, it felt like an invasion of privacy, and she didn’t want anyone to figure out exactly what she was doing. So she slipped herself into bed, closing her eyes as if she was going to sleep, when instead she was taking advantage that she had to close her eyes to use her powers. Assuming that would be enough to hide what she was doing, she once more looked forward to her own timeline.

Lets go a little less than three years this time, Alice thought to herself, hoping to find a point where she wouldn’t have to see herself exposed.

Going to a random point somewhere in the range of two and a half years this time, the blurry image of herself walking started to form in front of her. She could tell that much immediately due to the movement, but something immediately seemed strange about it. As the vision came more into focus though, Alice had to stifle her reaction to what she saw, as it was far more than what she had expected considering the first glimpse.

The future version of herself, now six months younger than the time before, was still only wearing a bow around her neck and the red cape Aurora had gifted her on her birthday, her full body mostly revealed as it was the last time. This alone would have been weird, as Alice didn’t see herself as one who would walk around naked, but that wasn’t even a second thought compared to the large, plumped out stomach the future version of herself was carrying around at this point in her yet to come history. This feature on her future body stuck out more than anything, so much that it took her a moment to notice that her future self was wearing some extra accessories this time, in the form of a set of shackles on her ankles, as well as on her forearms, which bound the matching appendages together with a small length of chain between a pair, not allowing them to separate too far apart from one another.

Alice became increasingly unnerved by what she was witnessing, because she understood that the roundness of her belly wasn’t just fat, it baring the distinct rounded swell of a pregnancy. The accompanying plumpness of her breasts, assuredly full of milk for the child within her, collaborated this assumption, made it impossible for Alice to confuse this depiction as anything else than what it was.

Immediately the deer knew she needed to know more about what was happening, so she adjusted the angle of the vision to see everything she could of her surroundings. Fortunately, some things were within her bubble, so she could try to figure out what was going on. She was walking down some sort of path, the floor made of some kind of smoothed stone, with beds of grass lining either side of it. Occasionally she would pass by a column made of the same material as the walkway, but there was nothing indicating that her future self was inside.

Does that mean I’m walking around like this outside?!

That detail was outrageous to the doe, as walking around with her breasts, ass, and vagina exposed, in a place where creatures could see her, was beyond embarrassing. It was unthinkable, something Alice would never do under any circumstance she was aware of, and seeing the shackles on her body, the deer had to believe she was being forced into this position.

Everything else about the vision Alice was seeing was contradicting this notion though, because despite being bound, her future self was walking in a perfectly calm manner, arms resting at her front, with her head bowed slightly, a pleased smile worn across her muzzle. She wasn’t even being led by anything physical, and was walking of her own accord to wherever she was heading. Alice stared in disbelief, trying to find something that would prove that she wasn’t being as compliant as it looked, but nothing about what she saw, save for the light implements of bondage, gave the smallest hint that future Alice was being coerced or held against her will.

As Alice kept watching, the future vision of herself eventually encountered something along the path she traveled, as a new creature entered into the bubble. At first all she could make out was that it was a large creature, then that it was dressed in armor and a loin cloth, but as the future Alice got close enough, she could see that the creature in full, revealing that he was a bovine of some sort.

Is that a yak? Alice asked herself, thinking of them first and foremost, since the Gift Givers did frequent business with them, seeing as perfection was something they strived for in all things, which included gifts. No… This one looks a bit different.

Though Alice was unfamiliar to this species of bovine, it was clear that this was the same kind of creature that she had seen prior. For a moment she assumed it was the guy she had seen previously, but then her future self spoke.

“So I am to serve Master in the throne room today?” the future Alice said aloud.

“He said he wished to see your progress,” replied the bull, “Likely he meant the progress of his child.”

“Of course,” said the future Alice, “It is the first of many we will have together, so I know he’ll want to make sure it is doing well.”

The bull gave a rough huff at the words of the pregnant deer, but opened the set of doors he was guarding with no retort. It felt as if it wasn’t because she had said something that put him off, but simply because her words were not worth responding to. Either way, the future Alice made no comment to his silence as stepped forward into the chamber.

The room, which present Alice had to guess was a throne room of some sort, was large enough that she couldn’t see anything beyond the image of herself, but when she stopped walking, she could tell that she was standing before whoever it was that sat on the throne, especially when she addressed him personally.

“Good evening, Master,” the future Alice said, lifting her head up to look at a figure out of view of the present Alice, “I see you are enjoying the rewards of your most recent conquest.”

There was silence in the vision for a moment, a side effect of not being able to hear the words from outside the bubble, but after the time it would take for someone to say a sentence, future Alice picked up the conversation again.

“Of course. I had learned about these creatures some time ago, and that their village was isolated from the rest of the world. Much like with the Antlerteans, their separation from the rest of the world left them vulnerable, as did their self imposed inability to speak. The kirin could never resist the minotaur’s claim to them.”

Minotaur? Alice questioned in her thoughts, picking up on that particular word.

She had heard of minotaur before, but so few existed in Equestria that the Gift Givers never really dealt with them, especially since they tended to be business men who would use underhanded tactics to get rich. Alice assumed that was the reason the Gift Givers didn’t go out of their way to deliver them presents.

“You misunderstand, Master,” future Alice went on to say after another moment of silence, “I didn’t have a grudge against them. It was just their fate to serve the minotaur, so I took measures to make sure it would happen.”

The Alice of the present was trying hard to understand what the Alice of the future was saying, but all she could get was that she helped some minotaur take over a village of creatures because of… fate? That didn’t sound right, because that wasn’t the kind of thing Gift Givers did. They only used their powers to help give gifts, and while it was an important rule to not disrupt fate, the fate Alice saw never led to a bad outcome such as what she was seeing.

At least, it hadn’t up until now. As the doe was watching the actions of her future self, she began to worry that something terrible would happen, that would lead her into this horrifying position. Where she would, for some unexplained reason, be forced to walk around naked, in what looked to be bonds of enslavement, and made to divulge information about other species to an invading force of minotaur.

“I do not wish to be rewarded,” the future Alice continued after a small wait, “Being in your service is reward enough.” the deer waited for the response, then her smile widened slightly, “I knew you would say something like that.”

The future Alice approached the creature she had been speaking to, and the present Alice felt every muscle in her body tighten. She was about to see the creature who had done this to her, the one she had thought was her future lover prior, who she now saw was actually her captor. The vision followed her to the other side of the room, and as she expected, another creature entered into view, starting with that pair of muscular legs she had already encountered, as they stuck out furthest from her captor’s seated position. What she saw next caught her a little more off guard, as it wasn’t the rest of body that was attached to those legs, but the body of another creature.

It was a large, scaled female, about the size of Princess Celestia herself, carrying mixed features of a lion, a pony, and a dragon, came into view. She, like Alice’s future self, wore next to nothing, save for a collar that was mostly hidden by a head of poofy hair that came down around her neck, a detail the deer might have missed if not for a chain connected to the front of it, which was being pulled taut by something currently outside the range of the vision.

This female creature, the likes which Alice had never seen until now, was the knelt atop the throne, which was progressively coming into complete view, facing the other creature sitting in it, her legs straddling his hips. The draconic mare vigorously used her legs to lift and drop her body onto his in a steady pattern, a thick hunk of meat visible between her thighs each time she went up. At the sight of it, Alice understood exactly what it was and where it was going.

Strangely, not a sound came from the female, despite her mouth moving as if she was trying to moan. At first Alice thought there was something wrong with her vision, that it had gone silent for some unexplained reason, but she could hear something. The wet sounds of the female’s stuffed hole moving across the dick embedded inside her, and of her crotch hitting against that of the male’s when she lowered down all the way on him, were clear as day. So there was sound occurring in the room, just none of it coming from the scaled pony’s mouth, not even when it looked like she hit an orgasm, with her back tensing up in an arch, and head following in suit as she mimed what should of been a loud, sexually induced howl.

As the future Alice got even closer, the present Alice was able to see what the chain leading away from the female was connected to, which unsurprisingly was the hand of the creature sitting on the throne underneath the mare. He was another one of those minotaur, but one much bigger than the one Alice had seen at the door to the room. For as big as the kirin was, this bull still seemed to double her size in overall body mass, probably standing a head higher than her, with muscles that looked like chiseled rock. His fur was dark brown with a few speckles gray, the bovine showing a bit of age, but holding the imposing visage of a battle hardened warrior, including some noticeable scars that decorated the bare spots of his own, mostly nude, body.

So that’s what he looks like, the Alice of the present thought, taking in the full visage of the male for the first time.

Knowing what he looked like would help in trying to locate his history later, if the yellow doe still had intentions to learn more about him, but at this point it wouldn’t be for the reasons she originally wanted. If she was to look into this minotaur’s timeline now, it would be for completely different reasons. Ones she wasn’t even sure of was possible.

At this point, Alice felt there was little more to see that would help her in this freshly devised plan, but she found it hard to leave the vision as easily as she had before. There was an unavoidable question that was nagging her, and that was why this version of herself in the future wasn’t holding the same expression of dismay on her face as the kirin. Both were clearly in the same terrible state of being enslaved, and yet the future Alice wore a smile, while the kirin was at the brink of tears. She needed to see more, if only to try and find a moment when her future self would slip up on this facade that she was certainly putting on.

As the vision of her future made it to the throne, she placed herself at the front of the minotaur’s throne, right between his spread legs, before carefully lowering herself down to her knees. What happened next forced the watching Alice’s face to distort in disgust, as once the deer that would someday be her got into the position she wanted, she placed her hands on the part of the throne that stuck out between the minotaur’s inner thighs, pressed her the space between her engorged breasts and swollen stomach against the piece of wood holding his massive weight, and leaned forward to place her lips against bovine’s cock, which was coated in the fluids of the kirin’s nethers.

The minotaur sent a powerful slap across the ass of the dragonic pony, causing her to lift her body up in shock, enough that the head of the minotaur’s cock almost came out of her. As if understanding how detrimental that would have been, she made quick efforts to lower herself back down so the length of the minotaur was halfway in.

“Lean into me more,” the minotaur commanded, “As amusing as it might be with some lesser slave, I don’t want you harming my useful servant by slamming your slut ass on her face.”

The minotaur gave a tug on the chain coiled inside his fist, forcing the kirin forward till her impressive and shapely bust pressed into his pectorals. The mare paused for a moment while being repositioned, needing a moment to adjust to this new angle, before rubbing her body against the minotaur at the same hastened tempo as before, the look on her face revealing her lament of the predicament she had to endure, while her obedient motions displayed that she feared what the bull might do to her if she didn’t satisfy him.

Alice would have expected her future self to express the same level of dismay, intimidation, or discomfort, but there wasn’t even a hint. She was busy lustfully running her tongue across the exposed parts of the minotaur’s cock, lapping up the fluids leaking from the kirin’s violated pussy in a vulgar display of lustful diligence. It was horrifying for Alice to watch her own face slither its tongue across the phallus of an obvious tyrant, seemingly savoring the act of tasting his shaft that was currently raping another helpless creature.

“You seem to be in high spirits,” the minotaur said, commenting on the deer’s service, “I would have thought that the terror of your current condition would have set in by now.”

“I am your loyal and dutiful servant, Master.” the future Alice said, slurring her words a little as she refused to remove her tongue from his cock as she spoke, “I can’t let a little thing like pregnancy get in the way of your pleasure, even if you have other slaves who can fulfill your needs.”

The minotaur tilted his head around the busy kirin to get a look at the deer attending to the lower part of his privates, watching her as she moved her face down to his sack, wrapping her mouth around one of his massive balls to gently suck on it. The bull was amazingly able to keep the stoic look on his face as she did this, where a lesser man would have immediately broken composure at the combined sensations of one woman working her hardest to make him cum, as another suckled on the most sensitive organ he possessed.

“You are such a strange female,” the minotaur said, resting his cheek on his knuckle, watching his deer slave pop his now saturated testicle out of her mouth, only to repeat her actions on his other one, “You’ve dedicated yourself to me completely, and take joy when I use you for your purpose, despite the pain my cock should be causing you. Most have to be trained for years to have their lust overcome them like you have, but you’re just a natural whore. I’d question your motives more thoroughly, if your suggestions and actions haven’t been so…” The minotaur make a grunt, his hips lifting slightly as the pleasure he felt finally got to him, and he released his seed inside the kirin, who’s shrinking and trembling irises made clear that she was not happy to have his cum injected into her depths, “Advantageous for my kingdom.”

“Master, my only motivation is to see your kingdom rise,” said the future Alice, as she used her tongue to lick up streams of minotaur sperm leaking form the kirin’s violated sex, “And serve you as your personal breeding slut. As I said when we first met, I am yours to do with as you please.”

“Is that why you put so much effort into bringing me satisfaction?” the minotaur asked, pushing the kirin off his dick and over the arm of his throne, disinterested with the mare now that he cum inside her. This caused the draconic mare to fall out of view of the vision, with the Alice of the present unable to see if she was ok after her fall. With her out of the way, the bull reached down to future Alice’s neck, gripping her by the jawline, to guide her into the seat to take the spot on his lap that was now empty, “You give everything to me, from your body to your dignity, performing in your enticingly disgraceful manners, just to make me happy? Nothing more?”

The future Alice placed her arms around the minotaur’s neck, pressing herself into him as much as her inflated stomach would allow, “I present myself in the manner of an insatiable whore because I know you enjoy the sight of it. If it pleases you, then I’d guzzle the cum from your majestic cock as my morning meal, endure the sting of your palm on my rump in the evening, and spread my legs for you at night.”

“Your proposal would be more than acceptable, if not for the child in your womb.” said the minotaur, “So long as you carry, we’ll have to limit your service to only the first request.”

“Thank you, Master. I look forward to savoring the taste of your creamy seed as I drink it down my throat.” the future Alice replied, looking like she meant what she was saying, showing no semblance of disgust that her breakfast would come straight from her captor’s dick.

“We’ll see if you feel that way after tomorrow,” the minotaur said, “But even if you change your mind, I will not.”

The future Alice gave a small giggle, as if the minotaur had said something amusing, instead of the minor threat he had really said. “I know you will hold me to my word, and I’ll make sure to make a good spectacle out of it.”

“For my pleasure?” the minotaur questioned, moving his hand down from her neck, moving to explore the rest of her body with zero restrictions.

“Mostly,” future Alice replied, before shifting her eyes away from him.

Alice of the present thought for a moment that this might be the sign she was looking for, the moment of reluctance or disinterest that would show that her future self was just playing along, in hopes to lull the minotaur into a false sense of security. However, a strange event took place at that moment, as the vision’s eyes seemed to look directly into the space in which the present Alice was looking in. This was not entirely new to Alice, as the gazes of those she watched would often unknowingly stare at her.

However, what happened next sent a chill through Alice’s entire being, as her future self stated bluntly, “But I also want to make sure I put on a good show for someone I believe will be watching.”

Alice instantly ended the vision right there, opening her eyes as she let out a gasp. What the future version of herself said, it felt like it had been directed to her, like she knew that the Alice of her past was looking in. That had never happened before to the doe before, but then again there was no reason future Alice wouldn’t know what was happening, cause she was the same Alice who used her powers to spy on herself, only years older. Having been spoken to by her distant self was terrifying though, and Alice was starting to understand what Bori and Aurora meant by the dangers of looking into your own future.

Alice took a moment to take some deep breaths and shake off what she just experienced, wondering if she’d manage to get any actual sleep that night, after having been addressed by that ghost of things to come. There was one thing she was certain of though, and that was that she needed to figure out how to change this fate for herself, even if it broke the only rule she hadn’t transgressed thus far.

Mistakes of the Present

That night after her second look into own future was not easy on Alice, as she couldn’t close her eyes without remembering the impregnated depiction of herself. It didn’t prevent her from getting sleep entirely, but each time she entered into the dream realm, the mental image of that minotaur creature would be there too, Alice’s thoughts on the male making him into a monstrous brute whose sole purpose was to torment her. With his superior strength, he would quickly pin the doe down, before moving to push his huge cock, a sizable appendage that would be far too big for most creatures of her size to take, and even more so for her since the vaginal passage of a doe was made to accommodate the much more slender penis of a buck.

The deer had heard stories of an ancient alicorn princess that once acted as the protector of dreams, but at this point in time the only alicorn princess was Celesetia, and while she controlled both the sun and the moon, she had no power over the Realm of Dreams, and so there was no one who could keep nightmares in check. Thus, the only thing saving her from having to experience the harsh penetration of a dick far too thick for her hole was to force herself awake. This occurred quite a few times, as she tried again and again to create a dream without the presence of this barbaric bovine, but failed to succeed in that goal with each attempt. It was like the tyrannical minotaur was already trying to lay claim of her, even though Alice knew that this was only a figment of her mind that was being projected onto her private area of the Realm of Dreams.

Eventually she had to give up, if only because the sun was being lifted into the sky, signaling the start of her work day. She was pretty drowsy as she left her room, but her duty to her work guided her to the workshop portion of the cabin, as well as a determination to figure out a solution to the problems her future presented. There had to be a way to defy the fate she had foreseen, because if there wasn’t, then there wouldn’t be a rule for not going against it. With that logic, the people who would know best how to break the rule was the one who set it in the first place, that being Bori and Aurora.

Alice made her way to their kitchen and dining area, hoping to find Aurora, since yesterday’s talk with her made her out to be the more understanding of her two peers. When she got there though, it was only Bori who was there, preparing what looked to be a pot of homemade soup.

The pink deer noticed the arrival of the younger doe immediately, looking over her shoulder as she entered the room. “Good morning, Alice.” Bori said as she stirred the pot.

“Good morning,” Alice returned the greeting, following it up with, “Is Aurora up? I have something I need to ask her about.”

“I’m afraid not,” the pink deer replied, “She was up, but I noticed she was a bit under the weather, and sent her back to rest.”

“Oh no,” Alice replied, momentarily forgetting her own problems, as distant from this moment as they were, “She’s gonna be alright, right?”

“She’ll be fine,” Bori replied in a calm and kind tone, “She just caught a bit of a cold, perhaps from working just a bit too hard yesterday. Just in case though, I’ve been keeping an eye on her while I fixed her up something that should make her feel better.”

“Keeping an eye on… Oh, right.” It took a second for Alice to remember that Bori could easily keep an eye on anyone, no matter where she was. As much as she had an animosity towards that particular ability as of late, she couldn’t object to this use for the older doe’s omniscience.

“But if you have some questions,” said Bori, “You know you could come to me. I might not be as old and wise as Aurora, but I do know what it's like being a growing doe. To have questions about lots of things you’re just starting to notice.”

The way Bori phrased that felt a bit off to Alice, as if the older deer was trying to lead the conversation towards a particular topic she wanted to talk about, one that Alice hadn’t the slightest clue it could be. Whatever it was, it wasn’t as important as the thing Alice really wanted to talk about, and with Aurora sidelined, Bori really was the only one she could speak to in an expedient manner.

“Ok… You’re right.” Alice said, accepting Bori’s offer to help, taking a few breaths to calm herself before blurting out, “I need to know how I can change the future.”

Bori instantly dropped the ladle she was using to stir the soup, the sound of it hitting the bottom filling a now deathly silent room. It took a minute for the pink doe to process what had just been asked, but as she did, she looked back at Alice with a fearfully serious look in her eyes.

“M-my deer, why would you think you could do something like that?” Bori asked, seemingly at a loss when presented with such a question.

“Because… there is a rule against trying,” Alice replied, a little worried with how Bori was visibly reacting. “And if that’s the case, it must be possible.”

She thought this would be a difficult question, but the pink doe looked practically horrified. Was the idea of changing fate, even though it presumably could bring about a good result, so terrifying.

“Why would you even want to do something like that?” Bori went on to ask, “We are in peaceful lands, run by a princess who has kept its citizens save for-”

“The other day I looked years into the future,” Alice said, cutting off her associate, “And I saw something horrible is about to come to pass. I have to stop it, and I was hoping that either you or Aurora knew how.”

Bori was shocked to hear what Alice had to say, especially because she had reason to believe that a catastrophe on the level Alice was implying wasn’t supposed to happen in Equestria for a long, long time. Yet, Alice was able to see into the future, and was always correct. She trusted Alice’s abilities, and that she wouldn’t joke about something as serious as this, but there was a conflict with things that she thought she already knew.

“Ok…” Bori said solemnly, believing the doe had at least seen something that troubled her, “Let me get this soup to Aurora, and we can discuss the matter.”

Bori left Alice to deliver the food to their eldest member, but took much longer doing so than Alice believed she would have needed. At first she thought that the pink doe was trying to get Aurora’s advice on the matter, but after a half an hour passed she was starting to wonder what was going on. She was about to get up and find the older deer, but as if sensing Alice’s patience dwindling, Bori returned, holding a small satchel in her hands.

She took a seat at the dining table with Alice, and now prepared, said to the younger deer, “Ok, tell me what you saw.”

Alice nodded, and begun explaining, “On my birthday, I looked three years into the future, and I saw something horrible. I saw… women being enslaved… captured by these creatures… and used as sex slaves. From what I saw, it seemed like they captured villages worth of females.”

What Alice was describing was dreadful, but if true, Bori still didn’t understand how it would come to pass. It wasn’t that she was naive enough to think Equestria was untouchable, but this wasn’t how things were supposed to go.

“Do you know what these creatures you had seen were?” Bori asked, wanting more information, though knowing that Alice’s powers were limited, and it might have been difficult to get all the details.

“I had heard one of the prisoners refer to them as… minotaur.” Alice had heard her future self call them that, and yet she didn’t want to outright say what her source was. She didn’t want Bori to know she had already broken a rule, in fear that it might make the pink doe think twice about helping her break the other.

The details she did give Bori seemed enough though, as her eyes widened at the mention of the name of the creatures. “Minotaur… I haven’t heard of their kind in a while. If what you say is true…”

The pink deer opened her satchel, taken out several objects, including some mistletoe, holly berries, a bottle of what looked like tree sap, a small bowl, and a pestle. Alice was very aware what these tools were for, but she had never seen Bori show a talent for herbal remedies or potion making before.

“Our kind had dealt with them in the past.” she said, pulling out a piece of paper from the bottom of the bag, reading it as she spoke, “A minotaur named Krampus once kidnapped several women from a deer village, with the intent of using them as breeding slaves, before a brave group of deer managed to save them.”

“I’ve never heard of that.” Alice replied, thinking such an event would have been a point of history that would be important to the deer.

“It happened before you or I was born,” Bori said, starting to mix together the ingredients she poured out, “And the legend was fading as I was growing up. Most deer stopped spreading the tale, because it meant talking about the depraved intent Krampus had for his victims.”

“Well if these new minotaur are related to Krampus, then that didn’t do us any good.” Alice said, scolding those withholding the story out of some misplaced sense of decency.

“Alice…” Bori said, picking up on the doe’s tone, “I need you to understand something. What I’m doing right now is not something I do lightly.”

“And what are you doing?” Alice asked, watching the other doe mix together small portions of what she had on hand.

“I’m making a special potion that will temporarily enhance your powers,” Bori explained, “A combination of holly berries, mistletoe, and myrrh, that when drunk, will widen your perception of the future. The recipe was given to me by… your predecessor.”

“My predecessor?” Alice repeated, “You mean-”

“The previous Gift Giver of the future,” Bori said, easing into a calmer tone now that she had to spend some time grinding the ingredients together into a paste, “She said that if her successor ever brought up an alteration in history, that I should make this and give it to them.”

“An alteration?” Alice asked, trying to figure out what was going on.

“History is not easy to change,” Bori answered, “You might be aware that the ponies of Equestria have a strong sense of the concept of ‘destiny’. Well, that’s because the events of history are usually set events that cannot be strayed from. All creatures are fated to go down a set path, and that path has already been foreseen by the doe that came before you, a doe named Atropos.”

“I’ve never heard of her before,” Alice said, a bit stunned by this revelation.

“You probably didn’t know anything about me or Aurora either until you met us, except that we existed,” Bori stated, “I only found out about her myself when I took the place of my own predecessor, Lakhesis. The point is that Atropos had foreseen the future of Equestria, and made many prophecies that have all come true thus far. Following her visions, we are supposed to see an end of Celestia’s one thousand year reign of peace in a few years, but that will not end in the ruination of these lands, only a short period of turmoil while rule of the kingdom is being transferred. This will, in itself, take years to complete, and several disasters are foreseen to happen, but none of them are supposed to be permanent.”

“Then why am I seeing what I’m seeing?” Alice asked.

“There are two reasons I could think of,” Bori said, “The first is the most likely. That the minotaur will attack some villages, even be successful for some time, but then will be defeated. If this is the case, then history is going along as planned, even though it will be unfortunate for those who have to suffer under their rule for that time.”

“What’s the other reason?” Alice asked, not liking that the first reason implied that she would still have to endure a period where she would be enslaved and bred by a minotaur.

“That they have found some way to change history in their favor,” Bori answered, “Which shouldn’t be possible. To change history like that would require the use of powerful magic, and minotaur are non-magical creatures by nature. It would be understandable if it was something with power on par with an alicorn in magical strength, but minotaur just don’t have that potential.”

“Could someone else have changed history for them?” Alice asked, examining this at every angle she could think of.

“Possibly, but unlikely.” Bori replied, “Who would do that for a bunch of brutes like them, when they could do it for themselves instead?” Bori went and got some water to pour into her bowl of mixed ingredients, then looked over to Alice. “The instructions said we are supposed to stir it together with only our magic.”

Alice nodded, and made her antlers glow with an aura of magical energy. Bori followed, and the two focused on the bowl of ingredients, swirling the contents around thoroughly, till the paste Bori had made mixed together into a sort of thick soup. The two could tell this fluid had absorbed a bit of their combined magics, which made it yet another ingredient to the potion.

“Were we supposed to have Aurora help us too?” Alice asked, earnestly curious if this was supposed to be something the three Gift Givers had to contribute to.

“The note says that only you and I are to do this,” Bori answered, “It doesn’t say why, but I wouldn’t go against the instructions Atropos left me, and neither would Aurora.”

The two stirred the potion for a little longer, and once it looked like it couldn’t be mixed any more than it already was, Bori took the bowl, so she could pour what they had made into a bottle, placing a cork stopper in it’s mouth once every last drop had been transferred.

“If you are absolutely certain our future is in danger, then drink this the next time you look into the future.” Bori said, “Unfortunately, I can’t be with you while you do this, as it says in my notes that you need absolute seclusion while having your vision. I assume it’s because you’ll need to focus on your vision without distractions.”

“I suppose that makes sense,” Alice said, lifting up the bottle in front of her eyes, “What is this supposed to do to help?”

“I don’t have a clue,” Bori said, “I’ve never used it myself, and I’m really not supposed to. While our powers are similar, they aren’t the same, and this was something specially made for Gift Givers that can see into the future. It could even be dangerous. You’re only supposed to use it if you feel the future might be at stake. If you didn’t want to drink it, I’d understand completely.”

Alice thought about Bori’s warning, but if using the potion was dangerous, then she’d have to risk it. If fear of the unknown stopped her from using it, then her fate as a minotaur slave, temporary or not, was all but sealed.

“Now I wish this had been something about boys,” Bori said, commenting aloud, “It would have been much easier to deal with than what you’re suggesting.”

“Right…” Alice said, pocketing her bottle, “I’ll use this before I go to bed tonight. Until then, I suppose we still have work to do.”

“Yes, we still have orders to fulfill,” Bori agreed, “We can’t set ourselves back because of something that might happen in the future.”

The two doe got to work making and wrapping presents, each adding half of Aurora’s quota to their own, which was the procedure when one of them was ill. They went to their allotted tasks, having no trouble keeping a steady pace throughout the day, though their minds weighed heavily on Alice’s premonition.

Later that night, Alice retired to her room, Bori joining her all the way to her door. The older doe didn’t need future sight to know that Alice was going to use the potion, and she wanted the younger deer to know that she was worried for her.

“Are you sure you want to do this tonight?” asked Bori, “Your vision was years in the future, and we could wait for another night. Perhaps when Aurora feels better.”

Alice was worried too, but this was the only path given to her, and while she had every opportunity to back out, it felt like her destiny was guiding her to do this that night. So while she was afraid, the yellow deer put on a confident smile for Bori’s sake. “I’ll be fine.” she said, “This will probably give me all the answers we need to solve this problem, and then we won’t have to worry about any bad futures.”

“I hope so,” Bori said, “Just be careful. I don’t want anything bad to happen to you.”

“I’ll try,” Alice replied, taking a step into her room, before turning back to look at Bori, “But in case something does happen, can I ask you something real quick?”

“Of course,” Bori answered, “Anything.”

“Earlier you mentioned something about how you wished this was about boys.” Alice said, not having missed that detail, “Why would you have thought this was going to be about that?”

Bori hesitated briefly, but then said plainly, “Because it’s what you and Aurora were talking about while I was out. When I was making my way to the village, I periodically took a moment to check in on the two of you, to see if I could listen in on what had been bothering you.”

The pink deer could have came up with a lie, told Alice that she had just heard it from Aurora, but she had listened in on the conversation enough to know that Alice requested that Aurora stay quiet on the matter. To shift the blame off to her like that would have only caused mistrust between the trio in all directions.

“You have to understand Alice,” Bori continued, “I care about what happened to you and Aurora a lot. As of right now, the two of you are the closest thing to family I have. I know that might not seem like much, seeing as you have parents, but ever since you became one of us, you’ve been like the daughter I’ve never had. So when I think something is wrong… I do take advantage of my powers, if just for my own piece of mind.”

“I thought so…” Alice said, learning that her assumptions were true, and that the point where Bori had been spying on her might have been longer than she thought, “I get that you get concerned at times, but I’m an adult now. I can handle myself, and I need you to trust that I’m capable enough to do that.”

“I know,” Bori said, realizing that Alice did need her privacy, but that was something that was impossible for her to have if she believed that Bori was always watching, “But it’s hard to not keep an eye on your loved ones when you have a power like mine. I’ll promise that I’ll stop from tonight forward, if that’s what you want, but can I at least watch you from outside the room? I just want to make sure everything will be ok.”

“Sure,” said Alice, giving the pink doe permission to watch this time. She might have been instructed to do this in private, but that didn’t mean she had to do it alone, “But just watch. We can’t risk doing something wrong here, right?”

“Right,” Bori agreed, accepting those terms.

They couldn’t really risk something going wrong, and with the warning to not disturb Alice, it wouldn’t be wise to try and step in, even if it looked like something terrible was happening. Bori would have to restrain herself, and trust the young doe could handle this task that was something only she could do.

The two doe exchanged a nod of acknowledgement before Alice shut the door, and the yellow deer made her way over to an empty space in the center of her room. While both she and Bori didn’t know what would happen when she took the potion, she had an idea that the matter was a bit more serious, and should be treated as such. So Alice chose to take a kneel position in the most open spot she could, treating what she was about to do like a ritual. After all, if this was what she thought, then it could be the most important moment of her life.

Once settled, she reached into her pocket, and pulled out the vial, clasping it in her hands in front of her. Not knowing exactly how this was supposed to work, she decided to start by looking into the future. She would pick a moment a little further ahead than her first time, to see if she was still in the clutches of that minotaur. If not, then she might not even need to drink the potion, though she still didn’t like the idea that this would lead to her being enslaved in the future, even temporarily.

Closing her eyes, it didn’t take long for the future to appear on the back of them again, and the image of her future self to appear from the darkness. Though naked as always, she was thankfully not in a state of pregnancy like last the deer looked, her blurred depiction looking slimmer, though in a strange pose, as if that was unusual at this point.

As the picture cleared up, Alice could see that the doe that would someday be her was within some sort of dungeon, bound to what looked like the mix between a pommel horse and a table. A small, rectangular beam that was long and wide enough for the deer to rest the front part of her body upon, but slim enough that all her appendages, as well as her breasts, to hang over the sides, sitting atop four rods that acted as the legs. Each leg had a pair of cuffs built into them, that currently held within them the upper and lower parts of future Alice’s arms and legs, preventing her from moving them so much as an inch.

The length of the contraption future Alice was strapped into was just long enough for the doe to rest her head upon, effectively forcing her to tilt her head ‘upwards’, despite her eye line being level with the floor. Depending on how long someone would have to be in that pose, it would cause terrible cramps, but the slightly older yellow deer must not have cared, as she was still wearing that pleased expression on her face that she always had, it being an ever present feature on the doe by this point.

Alice continued watching her future self, as she built up the nerve to drink her potion, wanting to see how the scene played out a little before she took that step. Had her eyes had been open, then the way she kept on the vision would have been called staring, the yellow doe practically burning an imprint of what she was seeing in her memories, as the slightly older, chained up yellow doe did nothing to try and break free. She just laid there, her ass end stuck up in the air, tail perked up, the hole directly beneath it, as well as the lips of her pussy, exposed and vulnerable.

Who knew how long she had been held there, the doe having to shift around a lot, as much as she could in her predicament, showing a good deal of discomfort in how she squirmed about, and yet she never dropped that smile of hers. The doe of the present was beginning to consider the idea that her future self was mind controlled through some magical means, which would have explained a lot, if not for the fact that Bori described the minotaur as distinctly non-magical.

Alice watched for a while, and was starting to wonder if she had caught herself at a mercifully uninteresting time. After what felt like five minutes though, something caused the bound doe to stir, as she lifted her head up as much as her position would allow, and said, “Is it time for my punishment to start?”, her tail wiggling in excitement at the prospect.

“Shouldn’t you be able to tell me that?” said a voice, one distinctly female, as someone entered into the vision.

What stepped into the frame was a… deer? It wasn’t a reindeer like Alice, but one more akin to the images of white tailed deer she had seen before in books featuring other types of cervid creatures. This new doe had many features that identified her as a cervid, many of which Alice could only see because the strange coat she was wearing, that draped over her whole body, was open in the front to reveal the shapely body underneath. A slender form, small tail that was very similar to Alice’s own, and a pair of antlers on her head, or at least the nubs of them, as they looked to be cut down to the point that they only just poked up above this mystery doe’s dark gray hair.

With these recognizable features came some ones that Alice had never seen on a deer before, mainly being a series of pale blue lines and symbols that painted the light gray fur of the doe’s body. The yellow doe couldn’t tell if they were something akin to tribal paints, or if they were markings that were part of the doe, but this gray deer’s exposure allowed Alice to spy them all over body, even on more personal areas.

The doe approached, lifting up a clipboard that she had been holding up to the height of her chest, present Alice unable to ignore that hers were even larger than that of her future self, which still looked to be a full size bigger than what she had currently. The strange doe flipped through the pages, until she made it to the data she needed at that moment.

“It says here that you have displayed a great deal of precognition,” the gray deer said, walking aside Alice’s bound future self, “Pinpointing the locations of tribes long since hidden from public knowledge, coming up with raid strategies that guarantee success for our minotaur masters, and having access to knowledge that should be otherwise unknowable. The first could be you just knowing more about the lands our masters have invaded, the examples of the second and third however give more credence to the likelihood that you can see into the future.”

“I have never tried to hide or deny that I can see the future,” Alice replied, “It was something I tried to make clear to my master, no matter how many times he refused to believe m- oh!”

The yellow deer suddenly got a firm slap on the ass for her comments, made squarely across the center of her round rump with the back side of the gray deer’s clipboard.

“And yet,” the deer continued, “You promised your master that your first child would be a minotaur. It even looked to be the case when your belly got as big as it did, but then you birthed two does instead.”

“I understand the reason I’m being punished,” future Alice said, “Our masters have such high demands for us to birth more of their kind, but you and I both know we have no control over that.”

“The fact that you produced daughters instead of a son is only part of the reason you are here,” the gray doe corrected, “That would normally get you a swift spanking, or some minor restrictions for a period of time. The reason you’re here is because you lied to your master, either through this notion that you can see the future, or by purposefully saying that you’d birth a minotaur when you knew better, and your master happens to be the king.”

Something about the word ‘king’ astounded present Alice when she heard it. She had an idea that the minotaur she had seen was some high ranking creature to their kind, since he resided in a throne room, and had some form of minotaur guard that she had seen, but the name seemed unfitting. ‘Kings’ ruled nations, where surely barbarians like the minotaur had no means to control and govern such a large territory. A title like ‘warlord’ or ‘raid master’ seemed more suitable for these monstrous beings, something a little more savage, and a little less dignified.

“I assure you that it was a necessary lie,” said the future Alice, “As loyal as I am to my master, there is still a part of me that doesn’t understand the joy of servitude. I need to experience what you are about to do to me.”

If anything could convince Alice that she would be brainwashed by these minotaur, it was that bit of dialog her future self said. No one in their right mind would willingly allow themselves to endure punishment, let alone go out of their way to have it enacted upon them.

“I bet you think this is just going to be a fun day of endless orgasms,” the gray doe said, “But I’ve been instructed to melt your brain with pleasure, which I’ll admit is a prospect I enjoy far more than I should, considering that I was once in your position.”

“I have no doubt this will leave a lasting effect on me,” future Alice replied, showing no fear, trembling with building anticipation, “So please, do your best to break my will. Discipline by your hands is what will ensure I become the gift my master deserves.”

“It’s not like I needed your consent to go all out,” the gray doe said, stepping out of the bubble for a moment, only to come back in without the clipboard, and now pulling a set of gloves onto her hands that bore symbols on it much like the ones on her body, “But this bravado of yours does put me in the mood to go further than I might have. By the time I’m done with you, your brain is gonna be completely rewired, and you’ll be a completely obedient pet for our king.”

At her words, the future Alice’s tremors became a series of full body quakes as she tried to contain her excitement. From one perspective, it looked like whatever had been done to her already was more than enough to make her crave what was being done with her, and this version of herself was nothing by a slut who craved masochistic pleasure. The present was holding out hope though, believing this was a sign that whatever part of her that was opposed to this treatment was trying to resist and break free of the minotaur’s influence.

If there was ever a time to drink the potion, to figure out how to avoid this destiny that history had created for her, through what had to be some form of grand manipulation, it was now. Without opening her eyes, the yellow doe uncorked her bottle, and placed it to her lips. Hesitating only slightly, she sipped in about a tenth of the potions, letting it slide down her throat, and into her awaiting stomach. It didn’t taste good at all, but most potions didn’t. It wouldn’t matter though, so long as it did whatever it was supposed to in order to change fate.

It only took a few seconds to take effect, as suddenly Alice’s bubble of vision expanded greatly. It wasn’t even a bubble anymore, as she could now see everything around her as if she was there. She could see that her future self wasn’t in a dungeon, but inside a room that looked sorta like the operation room of a hospital, but instead of having medical equipment it was filled with a combination of sex objects, restraints, tools of punishment, and large devices that looked mechanical in nature.

Alice had seen visions of advanced machinery before, as Equestria was on the verge of an era of technological breakthroughs, but something about these somehow looked more advanced than anything ponies would come up with in the coming years. These devices, like the gloves, bore many symbols like the ones on the gray deer’s body, so Alice had to assume that she, or those like her, was their creator.

This is amazing, Alice thought to herself, having never seen a vision this intensely detailed. It’s almost like I’m here myself, she added, the irony of her statement not lost on her, as she technically was.

She wanted to get a better look at her surroundings, as maybe there was something she could use to prevent the minotaur from enslaving her, which by the sound of it would also spare many others from their tyranny. That had to be what the potion was for, since it did nothing more than enhance her powers immensely. However… When she tried to adjust her perspective, she found that her sight was fixated in one spot. That was strange, but stranger still was that it dawned upon her that she was no longer looking at herself, which was how her powers always worked prior to drinking the potion.

No… Despite having a better look at the room, her future self had disappeared from her vision entirely, as did the restraint device her future self was affixed to. Yet, she could see everything else when she turned her head… Turned… her… head…

Alice’s heart started to race, as she was well aware that her powers didn’t require any physical movements to adjust what she saw. She tried to open her eyes, but she found that they were already open, discovering this after she reflexively blinked. Panicked, the doe tried to move her bove, but she found her arms and legs firmly held in place. That’s when what was happening sunk in, as the doe realized she was now in the place of her future self, physically in the moment of time she had been observing, in the body of her future self.

There we go, Alice heard, a voice echo inside her skull. A voice that was her own. I was waiting for this exact moment to come.

“What’s happening?” Alice said aloud, eyes darting around the room wildly, the pace of her breathing rapidly rising.

“Calm down. I know you’re excited to get your punishment. I’m just prepping some tools for our fun time,” said the gray deer, as she collected some items from a countertop.

Don’t mind her, said the voice, She doesn’t understand what’s going on. You might want to keep your thoughts inside your head though, if you don’t want to sound crazy.

Alice almost didn’t care if she sounded crazy, because this situation itself was nuts. She wasn’t supposed to be here. She was supposed to be in her room, figuring out a way to prevent this event from happening.

I’d tell you to relax, but I know you won’t, so instead I’ll just explain what’s going on, the voice said, keeping her words calm, Right now, you and I have switched places, which was caused by you drinking that potion.

Switched places?! Alice thought, You mean I’m in the future?! Who are you?!

I’m you, said the voice.

No, no, no, no, no, Alice rebuked that claim, even if it made perfect sense. If Alice was currently the future, in this position she saw her future self, then the only logical explanation was that it was her future self talking to her.

Look, right now you’re going through something I did years ago, the voice reasoned, I understand you’re scared, but you need to go through this. Don’t worry, I’ll be here with you, watching. Just like you’ve watched me before. The potion links our future and present together, so we can communicate with one another.

Wait! Alice said, thinking she understood what the potion was for now that her future self was talking to her, If we can talk to each other, then you can tell me what I can change to make this not happen.

Trust me, it doesn’t work that way, the voice said, And even if it did, I wouldn’t help you. You might not believe it now, but there is no better future that we could be in than this one.

You can’t be serious, Alice replied to her future self, You’re a sex slave. You’ve been forced to birth a minotaur’s children. He’s about to torture you, and he does this to others too. Can’t you see that you’ve been brainwashed?!

I know you don’t understand, said the voice, But if anyone brainwashed me, it wasn’t the minotaur. It was me.

What?! Alice yelled in her mind, at a complete loss.

“I think we’re ready,” came a voice from outside her head, the one of the gray deer.

Turning her head back to look at the other doe in the room, she saw the gray doe approaching, wheeling over a machine with two sizable phalluses sticking out from its side. Both looking about as thick as her wrists, and pointing at her backside. The size of Alice’s pupils reduced to specks, as she was well aware of what those would be doing in a moment.

Have fun

First Time

Alice was scared out of her mind as the strange deer approached, pushing the sex machine in position right behind her. Despite having been told what the potion had done, the Gift Giver was at a loss about her current situation. She was strapped down, rump up, with what she assumed was another brainwashed doe about to do Blitzen knew what to her vulnerable body. Her future self somehow plotted this scenario out to entrap her, which was something Alice couldn’t even conceive of prior to it happening to her, and had gone silent after telling her to ‘have fun’, as if that would be possible.

What was more confusing and panic inducing was that everything felt weird about her body. She had been projected into herself years from where she had started, and in that time things had changed immensely. Her breasts were heavier, her pussy slit felt loose and a bit open than she remembered, and her ass felt like it had gone from an innie to an outie. Other minute changes existed, like her skin feeling more sensitive, as Alice could swear she could feel the exact way the padding between her and the metal frame holding her up was pushing every follicle of her fur coat, but overall this body she inhabited, despite being her own, felt incredibly alien to her.

It wasn’t just the shape and sensitivity either, as despite her being able to tell that the room she shared with the gray doe held a fairly cool temperature, her insides felt like they were burning up. Everything within her was so immensely warm that she was finding it hard to concentrate on anything else, and even harder to keep herself still. If this was how her future self was feeling before they swapped, it was amazing that she kept from twitching and writhing as much as she had. If not overcome with pure terror, the heat that had already gone past what Alice would have thought possible might have consumed her thoughts completely, driving her mad with desire, incapable of controlling a need to breed.

“Now normally I would take things a little slow,” said the gray doe, “Let that heat stirring up your insides linger, till you begged me to up the machine of your own accord. You were so adamant I injected you with the strongest estrus inducers we had, I’m actually worried your psyche might be damaged if we don’t satisfy those waiting and wanting holes of yours as much as possible.”

The unbound doe flipped a few switches and hit a button on the side of the machine, making the two huge dildos on it move back and forth in the air like a pair of pistons, one thrusting forward, while the other went backwards, only for them to do the opposite in synchronization as they reached the limit of their reach in either direction. The momentum caused two penis shaped objects to flop around at their ends, until it reached the halfway point, as they were made of a soft rubber grafted to a metal rod. Once they entered the captive deer, they would have less options where they could go, but the malleable materials would prevent Alice from getting speared by the machine.

Not that Alice knew this, as all she saw while she watched the motions was two things that would be impaling her insides with their mass and speed. “W-w-wait! I don’t want those inside me!”

The reindeer’s pleading scream gave the gray doe pause, as the doe she had been assigned to punish had been much more courageous than any female had the right to be in the face of this manner of torture, displaying an indomitable will and desire to have mind breaking pleasure inflicted upon her. The doe had practically demanded that she mixed up a cocktail of chemicals that would send her reproductive systems spiraling, but at the moment they were gonna get down to business, she was uncharacteristically showing signs of chickening out.

The gray doe couldn’t believe it was the tool she had chosen that was the problem, as Alice had taken a thicker, if not as long, thing into her orifices before. It hadn’t even been that long since her birthing cycle ended, so this shouldn’t have been as scary as the yellow reindeer was making it out to be.

“You know, I wasn’t joking around,” the gray doe warned, shutting off her device, “Your system is so full of chemicals right now that if we don’t release some of the tension going on in your body, it could cause some irreparable damage. Seeing how many deer you’ve led to the fate of sexual slavery, I wouldn’t be against watching your mind slip away forever in a sea of lust, but your master would probably have the same done to me if I allowed that to happen.”

“I-I-I-I…” Alice tried to say that she had never done this sort of thing before, as in her time she was still a virgin. She suddenly found herself incapable of speaking anything except the first word of her sentence, as a avalanche of overwhelming sensations zipped right through her nervous system, causing a storm of synapse sparks to light up in her skull. The rest of what she wanted to say was stuck on her tongue, frozen on the end of a thought that she couldn’t verbalize.

The chemicals that had been injected into her system before she changed places with her future self had taken hold of the new consciousness inside the body, mixing with the adrenaline caused by her fear. The doe could hardly think, quickly getting to a point where she was receiving so much information that it disrupted the signals to her motor functions. She felt the individual beads of sweat manifesting from her pores, to the point that she might have been able to count them out, had a swarm of other notifications of what was happening to her not piled up in the que of her nervous system. For her under prepared mind, this was barraged akin to a shotgun spray of intense touches all over her being.

Things like a forming river of fluids leaking out of her pussy, and a stinging swell of her nipples and a twitching o-ring competed with simple feelings, such as the running of the blood through her veins, and air moving in and out of her lungs. As all this took place though, something even more powerful was overtaking her sense of self, as a primal urge to have sex appeared like a flash flood, threatening to take everything else out unless it could be dealt with quickly. If Alice had a thought in her head by this time, she might have figured out that the saturation of her mind with so many new sensations was also part of future Alice’s plan, so she couldn’t say anything to the other doe to let on that this wasn’t exactly the same doe that had been assigned to this extreme punishment.

“Hmmm, looks like whatever techniques you were using to ignore sensory overload just broke.” said the gray doe, recognizing this looping of a single syllable as symptom of her chemicals, “I really should get to work, if I’m to keep you from losing your mind.”

The gray doe wasted no more time, guiding her machine into place. She started with the rubber shaft that ended up sticking out the most once the machine was turned off, which was at the top of the device. With careful aim, she guided it into position, to the temporary home that would be Alice’s ass. It was not too hard to push into place, as the hole had become a decently sized target in its swollen state, and not all that hard to insert either, since the machine had a lubrication system in the form of small holes along the length of the rubber rods that secreted a slick substance. The reason the gray doe had turned it on prior was to get it prepped.

With a firm push from the older doe, and a loud gasp that forced an end to the repetition of Alice’s single syllable, the head made its way inside the restrained doe’s anus. A little more effort from the gray doe’s part got the phallus halfway inside, the tip needing to turn with a bend within the intestines, eliciting an elongated moan from Alice, who was now incapable of even attempting intelligent speech.

“One down,” said the gray deer, going to the controls to slowly retract the anal phallus, which in turn pushed the one destined to enter Alice’s vaginal passage right to its dripping entrance.

With it in place, the gray doe gripped the dildo’s head, keeping it directed at the awaiting flesh tunnel, and turned the machine on again. In less than a second, the tip vanished within the doe, with a good chunk of the rest of the sex object following in right behind. It kept going until it reached the end of the machine’s range, with a little over half the rubber cock sunken within, the very tip pressing into Alice’s cervix, while the one in Alice’s ass was pulled out till the bottom its rounded head touched the inner part of her o-ring, only to head back inwards once it made it to that point.

The gray doe, satisfied with the machine’s current position, locked the wheels, then looked over her controls again. The current speed was just to safely ease in the device, and would not be enough to satisfy the desire building within Alice. Perhaps if she was an untouched virgin, but this was a seasoned slut who endured, and enjoyed, minotaur penetration. She would need some of the higher levels to offset the lust that, by now, should have overlapped most of her perception.

“Let’s start slow, and work our way up,” the gray doe said to herself, as she slowly turned up a dial.

As the unbound deer fiddled with the controls to her device, what little awareness that remained within Alice felt a small shudder appear from within her. The rods moving the chunks of rubber buried inside her holes had begun vibrating, the juddering movements transfering to the sex toys attached to them, which likewise spread the kinetic energy the machine was producing into the flesh wrapped around them.

If Alice was of clear mind, she would have howled in objection to this invasion of her feminine depths, but with her thoughts dulled by her body’s carnal desires, she howled in pleasure instead. The violation she was being subjected to was just what her body needed, the offending objects inducing pure pleasure on the yellow doe, who’s first time was at heights that her vision dimmed and small points of light started to appear within the forming darkness.

Under these conditions, it didn’t take long for Alice to fall into lust, the only sounds coming from her mouth being reactive, animalistic noises that portrayed a losing struggle to fight against a pair of moving masses of rubber material, that poured a stuttering stream of pleasure through an experienced body, into an inexperienced consciousness.

“Everything’s looking good so far,” said the gray doe, turning the dial a little further, before flipping a switch to increase the speed of the rods, “So long as we can stimulate a steady string of climaxes, you should be able to keep a hold of your higher brain functions.”

The gray doe left the machine to go aside her subject, admiring the struggles and squeals she made as the fucking machine did what was explained on its label. To her, unknowing of the swap of Alice’s two selves, she was punishing a traitor to deer kind, ironically for the creatures she betrayed the deer to. As an Antlertean, the gray doe wasn’t one of those tribes the Gift Giver had advised the minotaur on how to conquer, as their cities had been taken over almost two decades prior, but those deer whose enslavement Alice had a hand in were many. The gray doe could judge her for these sins, but logically she’d have to blame herself too, as while Alice might have helped the minotaur put others in cages, it was often her job to prep them for their new lives. In that way, they were both merely employees in the minotaur’s enterprise of repopulation and dominance.

“Doesn’t mean I can’t have fun giving her what she deserves,” the gray doe said aloud, well aware of their similarities, as well as how she had been twisted by the minotaur’s influence, and happily willing to acknowledge both these facts in a way that best suited her in this moment.

With the machine now on autopilot, and Alice unable to do anything but endure the extreme conditions she was placed into, the gray doe could have just taken a seat, grabbed a book, and let the chemicals do their work. So long as the reindeer was left in a state where she was incapable of lying or disobeying her master for long enough for him to forget who was responsible for breaking her will, her job was done. That wasn’t enough to satisfy the slave scientist though, as she always preferred a more hands on approach when it came to those sent to her for modification.

The gray doe rubbed her gloved hands together, and at the same time the strange symbols on her body came to life, glowing with the magic that was contained within her being. Unlike other deer, who used magic that seemed similar to unicorn spells or channeled their magic through their alchemical potions, Antlertean magic only had the purpose of charging devices her people had invented. A portion of her magic was currently powering the fucking machine, powered by a crystal battery embedded in it, and lots of other devices in the minotaur kingdom were likewise powered by enslaved deer of her species. What’s more, this magical charge could be projected into any object, including the specially made gloves she was wearing.

The symbols on the pieces of cloth quickly gained a glow like the gray doe’s, and once lit up, she was ready to contribute to Alice’s torment. As she brought her hands apart, a small magical current formed between them, arching pale blue lightning from finger to finger. It was hardly ten volts, but for a creature in Alice’s position, whose skin was incredibly receptive at the moment, it would feel like a thunder crack surging through her nervous system.

With no warning, not that one would help Alice at a point where she was so far within her own mind that she was drooling from the mouth, the doe ran her charged glove along her captive’s back, staying half an inch from making contact. The energy from the glove used the layer of fur between it and Alice’s skin as a carpet of tiny lightning rods, directing the doe’s magic directly into the cluster of nerves that resided in the spine. Alice could only respond by curving her back up as much as her bonds would allow, while clenching everything so hard that she managed to hold the rubber cocks in place for a short moment. Once the gray doe pulled her hand back though, she could no longer keep her muscles tensed, and the mechanically driven shafts continued their motions unobstructed.

“I have to say, your body is pretty nice,” said the gray deer, rubbing her hands together again to up the amperage of her next shock, which was delivered to Alice via a firm slap on the ass, and emphasized when the doe gripped the piece of venison till her glove completely drained. “I can see why the king likes you, regardless of your alleged powers.”

Running her hand from back to front of the reindeer, the gray doe repositioned herself in front of Alice’s face, the younger deer having lost so much control over her facial functions that she was reduced to keeping her jaw slack, moaning in rything with the pistons out her open mouth, tongue hanging out the side, and pupils partially vanished behind her upper eyelids.

“Very cute, even when drifting into a climax induced coma,” said the doe, brushing an out of place length of hair out of Alice’s face, before gripping her by the jaw so she could deliver a kiss to a deer so far out of it, she only returned the gesture because her body felt acted on instinct. Upon breaking up the kiss, the gray doe ended her quip with, “Though I’m disappointed that your mouth doesn’t taste like peppermint. Maybe I should work on something that will correct that little detail.”

Alice was in no condition to object or resist as the gray doe treated her jaw as a handle, making her nod in agreement to the suggestion.

“Good, then I’ll pass the suggestion by your master, and we’ll get you some permanent minty fresh breath.”

The gray doe gave Alice a light tap on the cheek with an uncharged glove, and released her jaw, not that Alice could recognize anything beyond a light sensation contacting face. It hadn’t even been that long, and her brain already felt like it had dissolved into a puddle within her skull. Her pussy was in blissful agony from the spasms its walls were doing around the phallus pounding inside it, and her ass ached sweetly as pathway was realigned within her abdomen. It was a blissful nirvana mixed in a union with ceaseless torment, the two polar opposites being one in the same. Within the short period she found that she had cum so much that it hurt to do it anymore, but the pain was the very thing stimulating her orgasms. With this being her first introduction to sex outside much more subdued self touching, there was no way this wouldn’t leave some sort of lasting mark on her very being.

It hardly even mattered which the gray doe raised the speed of the dildos, and the intensity of the vibrations, as the limit of what Alice could register had been reached. All she could do was tell when something different was added to the mix of her sensations, causing the continuity of pain and pleasure to skip for a brief second, before it all pooled together once again. When the gray doe came back to shoot her electricity into the reindeer’s breasts, twirling a magically empowered finger around a nipple, or going full force by roughly groping a tit with a fully charged jolt, Alice’s only response was a sharp yelp before going back to her more consistent song of gratified misery.

Back in what was Alice’s present, her future self watched with amusement as the doe that was once her got her first taste of sheer, unrelenting pleasure. She was trapped in a meditative pose, eyes shut tightly to not alert Bori, who was watching the deer with her own powers to ensure nothing went wrong, but she couldn’t help but smile at the arousing sight of her ‘first time’.

It was difficult for future Alice to not react beyond that, but she knew she had to restrain her emotions from anything more than that smile. Had her former self told Bori about what she had seen in her premonition in full, that alone might have been enough to let Bori know something had gone wrong, but Future Alice knew this wasn’t the case. Time always flowed in one direction, and the path of the stream was set long ago. Soon her past self would learn this truth as well, and the cycle that made her into the minotaur loving doe she was now would be complete. It would take a bit more than a single event of near literal mind blowing sex to make present Alice into Future Alice, but luckily for the end result, the groundwork had already been laid out and all she had to do was stick to how things went when she was the one being conditioned for her true purpose.

The future version of Alice watched on as the gray doe, who she now knew as Xenia, continued to do whatever she could to deliver upon the yellow doe yet greater heights of tortuous ecstasy, seeing for the first time what actually went on in that lab room on that fateful day. Rubbing her hands together till her shock gloves were at what Future Alice assumed was a maximum charge, the doe clamped down on one of the breasts of her left behind body, while using her free hand to direct the energy of the other gloves into the fork that was the antlers atop her head. This two pronged attack caused the magic to flow into Alice’s brain from two different points at once, creating a feeling so powerful that all bodily control was relinquished, as the doe trapped clenched every muscle, and made a last desperate lamented howl of pure lust, exhaling every last particle of air from within her lungs to do so, as tears that might as well have contained the remnants of her will seeped from her eyes. This final cry only ended when Xenia’s gloves lost their juice, and once the current of magic was no longer being forcibly pushed into Alice’s antlers, every bit flowed back out, along with a good portion of the magic Alice’s body had, in what was an artificial phenomenon that was akin to a unicorn horngasm, which was something deer could not do naturally. With every form of energy in her body near depletion at this point, Future Alice watched her former self collapse in her body, signaling an end of her first session of life altering sex.

As Alice’s mind was allowed to drift into true unconsciousness, her instilled heat satisfied, the world slowly came back as she blacked out. However, she was able to stay awake long enough to hear two words enter her thoughts, said to her in her own voice.

Pleasant dreams

First Talk

Alice stirred in her sleep as her body and mind recovered from the comatose causing climax she had been forced to suffer through. She was hardly aware of her own existence for some time, as thoughts and even her dreams were being suppressed by a lingering ghost of the unbearable pleasure that commanded that every synapse recognize it.

It was only the appearance of another intrusive presence that made Alice remember that there was a world beyond what she could feel, as the words ‘Wakey, wakey,’ sounded from just beyond the abyss.

Alice, body aching, thoughts dim, opened her eyes, only to find she was still in the lab room, if in a different location than before. She had been moved into a small kennel cage, big enough to allow herself to reposition her body if she wanted, but not big enough to allow her body to stretch out completely. She had been laying curled up on top of a blanket that lined the cage’s floor, in an imitation of a dog or a cat in a pet bed, but now that she was awake the first thing she decided to do was roll over, placing her shoulders against the far wall of her enclosure, while scrunching up her legs so she could rest her hooves on the grated door. Had she the energy, she would have tried to force her way free, but she could already tell that it would be a fruitless effort in her current condition.

So, how was your first time?

Alice’s face gave a weak snarl in response, hearing the voice come from within her head, and identifying it as her own.

Yeah, I remember not liking it that much. I also remember thinking it was stupid for my future self to ask.

Alice did think it was kinda dumb for the doe she would become to ask questions she already knew the answer to. She had to know how horrible it was to be strapped down, unable to defend yourself as a sadistic doe did as she pleased with your body.

What was the point of that? Alice asked, If you were trying get me to see things from your perspective, you couldn’t have picked a worse way.

Sorry, the future Alice said, But you were going to be swapped to this moment of time no matter what I did. It was you who drank the potion.

But you’re the one who set me up! Alice mentally yelled to herself across time.

Yes, and no. future Alice replied, There was little I could do to make that moment any easier on you. History is, for the most part, pre-ordained. That I did the things that set up our punishment the same as they were when they happened to me, was just me following the most important rule of the GIft Givers. To never do anything to act against fate

Why would you not go against this!? Alice demanded to know, still completely lost on how she could end up this way.

I’d tell you, but this is not when or how you figure it out, future Alice answered, And we have other things we have to do right now

Whatever you want, I’m not going along with it, Alice said, refusing to comply.

You will if you want to get back to your time before Xenia comes back for my second session, future Alice explained, Which will be much worse than what you’ve already gone through.

Alice had to admit, she didn’t like the idea of being at the mercy of that gray doe again, figuring that was who this ‘Xenia’ her future self was talking about was.

So you can bring me back to my time? she questioned, hoping that was the case.

I can, future Alice answered, By letting the potion’s duration run out. So long as it’s in effect, I can’t break connection with you, and the moment it's over we both return to our proper times

Then I don’t have to do anything, Alice said, believing that the potion couldn’t last that much longer.

If I do nothing, yes, Future Alice responded, But since the body I’m in is the one holding the connection, I can look further into the future, and you’ll be trapped in my body for the duration of the time in between. Days, weeks, months, however long I wish

Y-you’re kidding… Alice said, reluctant to believe the threat was possible.

I already did it once to zip forward to wake you up, future Alice answered in a dead serious tone, You’ve been sleeping for hours, and the effects of the potion are only for one.

That put a bit more fear into Alice, as the idea of being trapped in this nightmare any longer was unconscionable. That it could happen at the whim of her future self, who saw this future as a minotaur breeding slave a good thing, was terrifying. The only thing stopping her from going into pure hysterics was a logical conclusion that she had to believe was true.

But if you’re threatening me in this way, it means you think you can negotiate with me, Alice said, a little worried she might be wrong, So you do let me go back

Only because you do as I say, future Alice replied, recalling the time in her life when it was her in the cage, But if you attempt to defy fate by refusing, then I can do the same and leave you there to take my place

The yellow reindeer could see her future self’s point. If anything that happened to her changed because of Alice, then she too would not be beholden to events as they had happened. If Alice wanted a guarantee she’d return to her own time and body as soon as possible, then she had to submit to the will of the corrupted version of herself.

Fine, she said, annoyed but defeated, What do you want?

First, said future Alice, Tell me how you feel.

Alice rolled her eyes, but then answered with, Tired… Scared… Angry…

Your body, the deer’s future self reiterated, How does it feel right now?

Alice closed her eyes and took a deep breath, as she knew this was what her future self meant from the start, but didn’t like the answer she’d have to say. That was because despite her body being sore from the abuse of her rape, it actually felt really good at that moment.

I feel… pleasure, Alice thought , knowing that it was fruitless to try and lie, as her future self would know better, It won’t stop, even though my muscles feel they’ve been through a full body yakyakistan massage

The echos of the pleasure still resonated all over her body, though greatly diminished from when her violation was taking place. The feeling soaked into every part of her flesh, creating an aura of sexual gratification all over her being, with the pleasure being most powerful at the base of her antlers, as an annoyingly delightful sensation irritated the space atop her head.

It’s gonna feel like that until you return to your time, Future Alice explained, but for me, it will last for the rest of my life. What Xenia did to you permanently compromised my nervous system, granting me the blessing of an endless euphoria.

And you want to live like that? Alice asked, as her future self sounded like the idea of a body so damaged that it always felt pleasure was a desirable thing.

It takes some getting used to, her future self replied, but the never ending afterglow always made me feel happy. I’m glad to finally have it back, though I do apologize that it required your uninitiated mind to get even the dim sensation you’re feeling. Had I been in your place, the hums of pleasure would have been so distant that it would be torturous

Alice tried to piece together what her future self was saying, hoping to gather some detail from her words she could use, but the constant pleasure made it hard to think straight. It was hard enough to focus on her own base thoughts, let alone attempt some in depth deduction.

I know you’re having trouble with it right now, Future Alice went on to say, It’s clouding your thoughts because it’s new to you, but there is something that will make it easier. Luckily, it’s my last request for you before I allow the potion to run its course

And what’s that? Alice asked. If she had to do as her corrupted self wanted, she wanted to get it done as quickly as possible.

Nothing difficult, Future Alice assured, And it’s something you’re expecting. I want you to give that body a little test drive, and masturbate yourself

Alice did expect it to be something like that, as while her future self was probably just following the footsteps of history, it seemed like she was trying to show Alice the joys of being a sex slave. Under the threat given to her, the reindeer had to comply, but she would not allow herself to fall like this bastardization of herself had. She would find a way out of this fate, as soon as she returned to her time, she and the other Gift Givers would do something to fix whatever damage was caused to history by the minotaur.

Without so much as a word of complaint, Alice spread her legs as far apart as the confined space would allow her, and lowered a hand low to the space between her thighs. Her fingers gently touched the soft folds, and rubbed the area around her slit in a light message. She then proceeded to take one of her breasts in hand, moving her hand in a circle, squeezing the mammary softly in a short rhythm, her fingers playing with her hardening nipple through the use of tiny pinches and twists.

Alice might have been a virgin before the gray doe raped her with that machine, but she was well practiced in this act. She knew what touches she enjoyed, and how to grant herself a swift climax if needed.

At least she did with the body she had in her time, but the one she currently inhabited had matured a bit, and developed more refined tastes. Her traditional approach helped get everything started, but Alice found that she was having a hard time finishing. The more she stroked a bit of sensitive skin, the more her arousal rose, but it never came to that peak of ecstasy. Even moving her attention to her clit, flicking it with the bottom part of her thumb, wouldn’t push her over the edge, when typically that was the easiest to target if she wanted to make herself cum.

While Alice couldn’t quite reach the peak she believed her future self was expecting to see her accomplish, the reindeer doe was finding that the heights she was achieving was much greater than she was used to. Not in the agonizing manner inflicted on her before, but in a much more enjoyable fashion of building euphoria. The build up felt so good that when it seemed to plateau, Alice unconsciously proceeded to go further than she normally would have, her fingers slipping inside her naughty nethers, prodding against the inner was, which were dripping with fluids created from her arousal.

The exploration into her pussy made her heart beat fast, and with the increase of blood flow came a mild return of the heat that enveloped her body prior. The doe was drifting into a more instinctual approach to self satisfaction, as her body took over in the departments where the mind was lacking. Fingers roughly prodded, pinched, and pulled at bits of flesh that Alice thought should not have enjoyed the intensity, but only announced their approval in the form of more pleasure. Moans came from her throat in a song of lust, only stopping briefly to take in another breath of air.

This proceeded for a short while, with Alice finding her sought after climax was just never in reach. As she kept trying for it though, she found that the pleasure aura felt through her body felt more and more pleasant as the sensations she caused herself got stronger. It was like her whole body had become a single erogenous zone, the whole feeling the current of pleasure flowing from her crotch and breasts in equal and elevated parts.

Alice kept up her masturbation for a while, as she kept searching for that final jolt of pure bliss that would signal the end of this sexual ritual, becoming more relentless with the passing seconds. At first she only did it cause of the threat, but now it was driving her crazy that she couldn’t find an end. The fur around her crotch was completely soaked in her juices, and small bruises were forming on her tits with how hard she was squeezing them, as if doing that would squeeze out the last drop of pleasure she would need.

See how much you’re enjoying yourself? the future Alice said, reminding her sex guided doe in her body that she existed.

Her words did snap Alice back into reality, and despite not reaching the goal, she decided to slow down to a stop. I might feel good because of this, but that doesn’t matter. The minotaur enslaved us, and all those other women, in order to rape us

While Alice had only seen two other female slaves in her vision thus far, she could deduce through the things said in them that there were far more.

Some of them, yes, but I assure you it’s for a good cause, future Alice said, And you’re still a bit mistaken about something. The minotaur might force many women to be their breeding slaves, but you are not a minotaur slave. Never were, and never will be

What do you mean?! Alice said outraged but the words of her future self, I was bound down, raped, and now I’m trapped in this cage!

But not against your will, Future Alice rebutted, Haven’t you noticed that your antlers aren’t restricted or cut down?

Alice looked up at her antlers, which were indeed untouched.

You could use your magic right now, and open the cage door if you wanted. The latch is a simple bolt. Nothing is truly keeping you locked in here if you wished to leave. You could even walk out the facility right now if you claimed your master needed you

I…. could? Alice asked, actually curious about that claim.

Besides that, we don’t even wear a collar like the other slaves. I just wear the ribbon bow we’ve always worn around our neck. The truth is that we’ve always been a willing participant in the minotaur’s plans, and for good reason. Reasons that go beyond mere pleasure, no matter how great.

Then tell me what this reason is, demanded the now confused doe, If it’s such a good reason, then it shouldn’t be hard to explain.

I’d love to, future Alice replied, But I can’t right now. The potion is wearing off, and we can only talk directly like this. I know that we’ve gotten off on the wrong hoof, but I would like to speak with you again, so I could tell you things you need to know about your destiny

The destiny that was made for me by the minotaur? Alice retorted, not convinced that what her future self was saying was not simply the influence of her captors.

You give our masters far too much credit, future Alice answered, It wasn’t the minotaur that designed this destiny for us. No matter how much I respect and admire them, they lack the magic to do something so grand

Alice’s eyes widened, as this sounded like the clue that she was searching for, Then who?! Who caused all of this to happen?!

I’ll tell you, but only if you follow my instructions, future Alice said, You still have nine uses of the time swapping potion left. Tomorrow night I want you to look two weeks into the future from this point, and then drink the potion again.

So I can be abused again? said Alice, reasoning that was what her future self wanted, No way

The event I speak of will be safer than this time, future Alice replied, You won’t be forced to have sex, and if you do it I promise you’ll have the answer as to who is behind all of this

Alice didn’t know if she could truly trust her future self, as she still suspected that she had been corrupted to the core, and this felt like an outright trap, but it was the only lead she had. She didn’t dignify her acceptance to the instructions with a response though. Besides, as long as she didn’t defy fate, the future self knew what she would do.

The potion Alice took that projected her consciousness into the future wore off shortly after, and Alice found herself back in her room, in the same spot she had been in when she started. Opening her eyes, Alice removed herself from the vision entirely, as upon her return she was able to see her future self in the cage she had been occupying, her own consciousness back where it belonged.

Sitting next to her was the remaining doses of the potion, the bottle re-corked by her other self. She debated on taking the thing and pouring it down a drain as soon as possible, but then she decided not to. It might have been a simple task to do so, but the need to learn what her future self knew was too strong, and it wouldn’t stop her from getting more from Bori if her temptation got the better of her. For now she’d have to keep going, if she had any hopes of defying the history she had now lived.

As Alice started moving about, the door to her room opened, Bori letting herself in as she went to the younger doe. “Alice, are you ok?” she said, lowering herself down to her fellow Gift Giver.

“I’m… ok,” Alice replied, feeling perfectly fine now that she was in her own body, away from that permanent pleasure it provided.

“You’ve been looking into the future for over an hour. What did the potion do?” Bori asked, her concern for the other doe, and her premonition, both peeked.

“It let me see the future as if I was there,” Alice admitted, though not being specific about the exact details of how it did that. She still didn’t want anyone to know how deeply she was breaking rules, so her future self would have to remain a secret between the two of them. At least for now. “From what I saw, things might be worse than I thought, but… I might have a clue on what’s going on now. Or at least a clue on how to get a clue.”

“What do you mean?” Bori asked, not able to follow with what little information was provided.

Alice wobbled a bit as she got to her hooves, Bori was quick to help her when she saw the yellow doe stagger. “I’m gonna have to do this again, tomorrow night. I believe I can get all the answers then.”

“Are you sure?” Bori said, still cautious about this whole thing.

“Yes,” Alice said, “If we are to defy the fate I’ve seen, then I need to do it one more time.”

“Ok…” Bori said, unnerved that Alice wanted to use the emergency potion one more time. “Then I want to watch you again, especially with what I saw.”

“What did you see?” Alice said, unable to know what was going on in this time while she was stuck in the future.

“Nothing much, but the entire time I watched you, there was a smile across your face,” Bori explained, “I didn’t think about it at the time, but hearing you say the future is still looking grim, I can’t help but wonder why you looked that way.”

Of course she was smiling. Her future self was in her body, and she was always smiling. Yet, the future Alice did nothing but sit and watch the full hour. Maybe she was actually trying to help, just not in a direct manner. Maybe there were reasons she couldn’t outright say it, and perhaps that was linked to this other force she mentioned that had seemingly aided the minotaur. She hoped that was the case, but whether or not it was, Alice would get the answers she needed, even if she had to do something drastic to get her to spill the information she had.

First Encounter

The following day was not an easy one for Alice or Bori, knowing that destiny had somehow been twisted to allow a villainous force to gain a powerful hold over the world. Alice wanted to go back immediately to get the clues she needed to prevent this outcome, but Bori insisted that they both at least rest up before the younger doe tried again. The older doe still didn’t know the full extent of what Alice had been through, as the yellow reindeer didn’t felt she needed to keep from her the exact details of how the potion worked, lest Bori see it as too dangerous to try again, but she assumed that using the potion was still taxing.

While Alice’s body had no more fatigue that it would have in the late evening, her psyche had been strained by the events she was put through. She agreed to rest, going so far as to hand the bottle of the remaining potion to Bori for safe keeping. The two went to bed, but both found themselves waking up earlier than normal in order to get to the bottom of this problem.

“We’re going to put gift making on hold,” Bori said, meeting Alice back at her room, delivering the potion back to her. It didn’t happen often, but having a day where every Gift Giver was not making presents was something they accounted for in their scheduling, “I’ll be watching from the living room like last time, in case something goes wrong.”

“Shouldn’t we let Aurora in on this?” Alice said, taking note that she was the only one of the trio who didn’t know about the terrible fate that awaited Equestria.

“She’s still resting from her cold,” Bori replied, taking a second to look in on her with her powers, “It’s best to let her rest for now, but the moment she feels better, we’ll let her know everything.”

“You’re right,” Alice said, having no issues with waiting on that regard. Aurora was older, so it took her longer to recover from illness, so it was understandable to let her sleep. These minotaur wouldn’t be as powerful as she had seen for years, she assumed, so a little patience would not be a problem.

“Okay, I’m gonna leave you alone.” Bori said, heading for the exit, “I’m sure you know what you are doing, but be careful.”

“Got it, I’ll be safe,” Alice said in an outright lie, knowing she was sending herself right back into that horrible future, to deal with her equally horrible future self.

As soon as Bori left the room, the door closing with a click of its latch, Alice got to work. She was going to seek out a moment two weeks into the future from that point, as instructed, but she was going to play it a bit more safe this time. She was going to find a moment where her future self wouldn’t be in a position where Alice would have no ability to get away from the situation she was in. She would need a moment where she was unbound, and outside of an enclosure if possible.

Looking into the future, Alice picked a random moment within the timeframe her future self had given. She landed on a moment where she found herself sleeping, laying naked on a cushion akin to a pet bed, once more wearing only her ribbon bow and the cape Aurora gave her. On either side of her were other female creatures in their own beds, both deer like herself, one being an Antlertean deer like the gray one from the prior session, bearing those strange markings along her body, but younger than Xenia was, about the age of herself in the present, and the other looking like a whitetail deer from Thicket, a race of deer that resided within Equestria, of a likewise similar age.

I guess that minotaur king likes his girls when they just reach adulthood, Alice commented in her thoughts, though then recalled the large, womanly Kirin from before, and wondered if there was some other way for his selection, ugh, why am I focusing on this? I need to make sure this moment is safe.

Everything looked calm in this moment in time, as it looked like a moment of rest, where nothing would disturb the conversation she and her future self would have. Alice was just about to take a drink of her time swapping potion, but stopped herself short. As the future version of herself shifted in her sleep, the chime of chain links rattled, alerting Alice to a length of interwoven metal anchoring her future self’s wrists to a large loop bolted to the wall. Each of the does present were likewise kept from wandering from their resting area in this way, surely to keep them from escaping during a time where the minotaur kingdom would be the least secure.

That’s not gonna work, Alice thought, not wanting to be stuck to one place.

It had already been shown that the future Alice could prolong the time they swapped places by present Alice’s perspective, and there was nothing that would prevent her from keeping her there until something bad happened. In all honesty, there was nothing that stopped future Alice from doing that in any situation, but the yellow doe wanted to have some level of freedom should she be double crossed.

Lets go forward a little further, thought Alice, redirecting her premonition to six hours later.

The older version of herself was no longer in bed, but was still accompanied by the two other deer, as the trio knelt upon a familiar stone floor. Present Alice believed they had returned to the throne room of the minotaur king, or at the very least, they were somewhere within his stronghold.

As she observed the situation, trying to determine if this was the moment she wanted to send herself too, she noticed an odd variety of emotions being displayed by the three. Her future self was wearing her usual light smile, but her fellow slaves did not look nearly as pleased. This probably shouldn’t have come off as strange, as Alice couldn’t understand how anyone could enjoy enslavement, but after the run in with Xenia, Alice had come to believe that all slaves of the minotaur were similarly brain washed.

The Thicket deer looked the most terrified of her situation, the fearful frown on her face the polar opposite of the future Alice’s smile, as she awaited whatever was to come, her eyes locked in one direction. The Antlertean, on the other hand, merely showed an uninterested and annoyed visage, the kind seen by angsty teens. One would think that being a sex slave would get more of a response of anger than this mild display of displeasure, but Alice had no idea what this doe had been through to make her act this way.

Present Alice waited to be sure this was a good time to swap, and as she did the yellow couldn’t help notice that the trio of does shared the same wardrobe theme of ‘next to nothing’, but each were allowed two articles of attire, which was a cloak of some sort, and a neckpiece that acted as a collar. Alice’s own had been seen several times prior, but the other two does had their own unique designs to their outfits that made them stand out from one another.

The Thicket doe’s outfit bore a forest theme, consisting of a green cloak that draped over her shoulders, but had a low cut neckline to keep the throat revealed. Said throat wore a metal ring of brass around it, molded in a design of two long leaves meeting their tips at a loop in the front, certainly used to attach a guiding chain or leash to. The Antlertean in turn wore what looked like a small poncho, decorated with symbols much like the ones adorned on her body, and a simple light blue cloth collar, with an equally plain zigzag pattern sewn into it going all the way around. The neckwear looked like it had been stitched together completely around her neck, as it had no seams to speak of, and looked like the soft fabric was hugging her neck tightly, almost like it had been put around something smaller at one point, which got bigger over time.

As Alice was taking in the details of the doe’s outfits, something from outside the bubble caught their attention, with Future Alice and the Antlertean redirecting their eyes in the direction the Thicket deer had been staring at, while the whitetail deer shrunk her irises down to pinpoints when seeing the thing she had been so scared of enter her line of sight. She didn’t try fleeing from her spot though, so Alice could deduce that this was not a safe point for her to switch places. That didn’t mean that a good moment wouldn’t reveal itself though, so she decided to keep watching, in case her future self would be taken somewhere more suitable for her needs.

As the scene played out, someone entered into view, a creature that was expected by now, due to his frequent appearances thus far. The minotaur king, walking down the line of awaiting deer, with a chain in one hand, and a large, imposing jewel studded rod, whose length looked to be about half as tall as the minotaur himself, in the other. With the weapons rested over his shoulder, he examined his slaves, glaring at them in what looked to be stoic contempt.

As he was about to wander his way back out of the limits of the vision’s bubble, another person was pulled into frame by the chain leading from the brutish bull. It was the kirin woman from a few visions back, being pulled in by shackles on her wrist, and while she wasn’t unexpected, her current condition still managed to surprise Alice.

Her stomach was plumped out, clearly pregnant, and from the size of it could have been ready to birth any day now. She looked very upset about this, her eyes casting a forlorn expression, which had to due since her mouth was currently trapped in an open position due to a gag within it, access to her muzzle unable to be denied by anything that wish to enter it. Knowing what the minotaur was capable of, it was obvious why this object was in place.

“Join the other whores,” the minotaur said to the kirin, tilting his massive mace-like weapon downwards form his shoulder, letting it’s tip rest diagonally on the floor, before lifting it up to give the kirin’s flank a light tap, “Unless you’d like to suffer this object again once you’ve given birth.”

The kirin’s eyes went wide, as she understood the severity of this threat far more than Alice did, and made her way to join the line. It took her a moment to lower herself down gently with all the extra weight she had to manage, but soon she was knelt down next to the Thicket doe, half in and half out of view.

The minotaur, satisfied with the obedience the draconic point displayed, gave a smile to the group. “Look at this pretty row of sluts,” he said, enjoying his unchecked ability to demean his captives, “Prostrate before the might of a minotaur, as all lesser creatures should be.”

The does and their kirin associate said nothing to rebut the minotaur’s statement, as one was incapable to talk clearly with the object in her mouth, the next was too frightened, and the last two were merely sitting in attention to whatever their master had to say.

“I hope you all are ready for your weekly morning service to me,” the minotaur king said, “Especially since we have a fresh new addition to learn how to receive their special breakfast.”

The minotaur lord lifted his rod up to head level to the Thicket doe, and firmly pressed into a spot right in front of the nub-like remainders of her antlers.

“Do not expect me to be lenient on poor performance just because this is your first week as my mate. If I’m not pleased by the end of this, I’ll show you the punishment for my dissatisfaction.”

The Thicket doe started to sob, distressed and confused about how her life had come to this point. She was in no way used to this way of life like the other three creatures, and it disturbed the present Alice to watch her wince in pain from the minotaur’s use of his rod on her. How the future version of herself ever fell for whatever tactics this vile creature used on her was beyond the yellow reindeer.

With his threat given, and his point made, the minotaur removed his rod from the whitetail’s person, setting it back on the floor at his side. “Now, who wants to go first?”

Alice expected her future self to be the one to volunteer herself for whatever it was the minotaur king was talking about, but she stayed strangely silent. Instead it was the Antlertean who made the first move among the enslaved girls.

“Allow me to be the first,” the tattooed doe requested, unenthusiastically.

“Very well, Dianna” said the minotaur king, using the hand holding the kirin’s chain to move aside a loincloth around his waist, revealing the large penis that had already gone semi-erect, “Make sure to give it a good cleaning before you eat. I haven’t bathed yet, and it should still hold the tang of kirin’s snatch.”

The Antlertean shifted herself forward on her knees, gently taking the minotaur’s privates in her hands, opening her mouth so wide that Alice was worried the doe might dislocate her jaw. It turned out that needed the space she was making by spreading her lips as far apart as possible, because the next thing Alice witnessed was the doe pushing the huge piece of minotaur meat she was holding right into the pathway she had prepared for it.

It was an impressive, if somewhat revolting, sight to behold, as the deer took something that looked to push the limits of how far she could separate her jaw from the rest of her skull, but she not only managed it, but was able to make so much of the minotaur’s manhood disappear into her maw that a bulge formed in her throat, further stretching out her cloth collar. When she could get it no deeper, she began to move her head back and forth, Alice spotting a small bump appearing and vanished from within her cheeks, outlining the touch rolling around the bull’s shaft to clean it as he demanded.

The minotaur allowed the doe to go at her own pace, watching her cramp what little about two thirds of him into her throat in a steady motion, repetitive motion. If he was receiving any form of pleasure from the act, he didn’t display it, his facial expressions as still as a chiseled statue. The doe, on the other hand, couldn’t maintain that level of stoicism, her composure faltering as she made moans and loud slurping sounds around the shaft stuffing her oral passage. Alice couldn’t tell if the act was that arousing to the doe, or that agonizing, but she looked to be putting her all into getting captor off, a task that she seemed fairly adept at, as after several minutes of effort, she managed to get him to bellow a low groan, followed by a release of his thick, white semen into her mouth.

The rush of cum was so plentiful that it quickly flooded the Antlertean’s mouth, spurting out the small space between her lips and the minotaur’s dick. The doe tried to chug down as much of it as she could, making Alice realize that this was the ‘breakfast’ the bull had been talking about, but as her eyelids suddenly went as wide as they could, and a burst of jism exploded from her mouth. This forced the Antlertean to lurch forward, the bulls still spurting cock slipping from her muzzle, permitting the contents that had flooded it to spill out on the floor, while the remainder of the minotaur’s climax was showered atop her head, leaving the doe a cream covered mess.

“How sad that after all this time, you still have trouble drinking straight from my cock.” the minotaur said, moving the tip of his club away from an ever growing puddle of his own fluids, “Clean up your mess.”

The Antlertean, still coughing out some excess sperm that made it into her windpipe, made efforts to lower her face to the floor, taking turns between licking cum up and clearing it out of her airway. The minotaur didn’t even stick around to watch as she did it, as he was already moving away from her to address the rest of his victims.

“Next,” he said sternly, looking over the three remaining women.

It was at this time that Future Alice decided to speak up, saying, “I would be honored to drink from your cock next, Master.”

The minotaur gave her a sideways glance, then shook his head. “I appreciate your usual eagerness, slave, but I think there is another one here who needs a full breakfast more than you.”

Without any further warning, the minotaur yanked the chain in his hand, pulling the kirin woman to him by her arms, almost causing her to fall forward, before catching her by the large horn attached to the center of her forehead. Using the protrusion as a handle, the bovine steered the stunned kirin’s face to his groin, pushing his cock into her mouth, held open by the gag she was wearing. Unlike the Antlertean, who he allowed to go at her own pace, the minotaur took full control this time, thrusting himself deeply into the unprepared kirin’s esophagus. With the amount of force he was using, the bull got himself much deeper into the draconic pony’s throat than the Antlertean had managed, pulling all the way until her nose touched the space between his crotch and belly button, smooshing it into a pair of his finely defined abs.

The Alice of the present was glad that this was mostly out of the range of her bubble, but then she watched as her future self scooted closer to the Thicket doe, which gave the future deer’s past self a better view of everything happening to the kirin. While this was not what Alice wanted to happen, it let her know that future Alice knew she was being watched, and also indicated that this must have been close to the time to swap places, just not at this exact moment. It was just unfortunate that this signal meant that she’d have to sit through the rest of this scene, as she waited for the right time.

Accepting this, Alice resigned to watching in horror as the kirin choked on the thick object now stuck deeply inside her, hitting her bound hands futility against his muscular thighs. As she struggled, something strange occurred, as the collar on the neck of the kirin started to glow through the fluff of her mane with a red light.

“Trying to get angry?” the minotaur said, pushing the kirin’s head back, only to immediately trust himself harshly back into her, “You better settle your hot headed ass down, lest you want another session with my rod.”

Whatever the minotaur’s threat implied must have meant something to the kirin, as on at the mention of the rod, she stopped resisting entirely, and the glow in her collar dimmed, a glass ring encircling the affixed object now holding a peculiar red energy within it.

“That’s what I thought,” the minotaur said to the kirin, who’s eyes were now pouring with tears that flowed down into her mane, caused by a combination of the hopelessness she felt and the pain of her throat being ravaged.

For about the same time it took for the minotaur to cum with his first victim, he face fucked the now complicit kirin, harshly manhandling her until he finished in her mouth as well. Unlike with the Antlertean though, he would not allow this mare to spit his seed back out. Plunging himself as far into her as he could manage, he poured the contents of his balls straight down into her stomach, the kirin not getting so much as a single drop in the cavern of her muzzle.

He held her in place until he noticed her eyes rolling back into her skull from lack of oxygen, then withdrew his now saliva slathered shaft from her in a single motion, practically tossing the conquered female onto her back. The draconic mare didn’t even try to get up, rendered incapable of doing so as she was left heavily panting, chest moving with each raspy breath, utterly defeated by the bull’s brutish partaking of pleasure from her body.

With two of the does left untouched, the minotaur glanced between the two of them, and the Antlertean who hadn’t yet finished cleaning up after his initial load. Grumbling as he unraveled the chain connecting him to the Kirin, tossing it to the ground, he then pointed to the Thicket doe.

“You,” the bull said, “Be glad I’m in a hurry this morning. I’ll allow you to skip the thorough deepthroating you deserve, so long as you help this slave finish with her cleanup.” The minotaur said, using his pointing finger to direct the still troubled doe to the one using her tongue to lick the floor clean. With his command given, he then tilted his head to future Alice. “As for you, you’re only being spared because you’ll be coming with me today.”

“Of course, master.” Future Alice replied, “As you will, I shall obey.”

The minotaur king snorted, and turned to exit out of present Alice’s bubble of vision. With him out of the picture, all that remained was the Kirin who was recovering after her oral rape, the Anterltean who was shooting death glares in the direction the minotaur had walked away to, now that his back was turned, the Thicket doe, who looked far too confused of what just happened and why she was spared to move, and Future Alice, who turned to the bewildered doe, putting her lips up to the whitetail’s ear.

“The king talks a big game,” the reindeer whispered, though since present Alice’s vision was focused on her, she could hear what her older self was saying clearly, “And while he can back it up on individual girls, he tends to tire after cumming a few times. If I were you, I’d take him up on his offer, help slurp up what’s left on the floor, and be thankful he didn’t pick you first.”

The Thicket doe looked over to the reindeer next to her, to see if she was being serious, and Future Alice just gave her a nod in return, along with her typical smile. The whitetail, suddenly relieved that any further violation of her person by the minotaur would be postponed, returned the nod and went to join in on sucking up what remained of the semen splattered on the stone floor.

With the Thicket doe convinced, Future Alice picked herself up off the floor as fast as she could manage, so she could follow after the minotaur king. However, the moment she became the only creature remaining in the bubble, she whispered to herself, “That was for you too. The king will not be in the mood to use one of his sex slaves for their intended purpose again for some time, and if you want to swap with me with no fear of being molested, then there will be no better time.”

That message, as quietly as it was said, could have only been intended for Alice to hear. This was clearly the moment Future Alice wanted her to go to, in which she had promised the younger version of herself that nothing would happen to her. While Alice still had many qualms about going back to that horrid future, she couldn’t deny her future self’s wishes if she wanted the information she held. While a bit hesitant, Alice opened the bottle she had been nervously grasping for some time now, and took a sip from it.

Just as before, it took a moment for the future to become Alice’s present, but once its effects took hold, the reindeer found herself once more in her future body, the sickeningly perpetual sensation of pleasure returning to her senses to let her know the swap was complete. Without the bindings from last time holding her body in place, the transfer was a little more disorienting, as she was one second she had been kneeling, and now she was standing. This caused her to stumble a little as she found her footing.

Try to focus, Future Alice said through her thoughts, Start walking as soon as you can, and stay quiet unless spoken to. The king might be spent, but he is more than willing to punish insubordination through other means

It took a second for Alice to get her bearings straight, but once she straightened out the world around her she heeded the warning of her future self, making her way towards the minotaur tyrant who was walking towards an exit to the room they were in. As much as reindeer thought going with him was not something she’d prefer to do, she didn’t even want to learn what these ‘other means’ were.

With a few hastened steps, Alice was able to catch up to the lumbering bull, staying silent as he arrogantly walked with his back turned to her, perhaps not knowing that she was there, or maybe seeing it as a foregone conclusion that she would be there. Whatever the reason, he didn’t bother to look back as he pushed open the doors, leading her to what looked like a courtyard of his castle, leaving behind the three other females to be tended to by a small group of minotaur guardsmen in the room that Alice only noticed as she made her exit.

As the yellow doe stayed close to the beast of a creature that was to be her future enslaver, Alice toyed with the notion of trying to do something to end his reign now, in retribution for not only her enslavement and brainwashing, but the torment he had put who knew how many other women through. The more she thought about the idea, the more she came to realize such an idea was ill fated.

Compared to her, calling the minotaur king’s mass ‘imposing’ was an understatement. His sheer size and physique had him standing roughly three or four feet taller than the doe, his body mass looking like he could hold that many of herself within him if need be. All muscle, with not a sign of fat on his body, unlike the yaks she had seen during gift giving. She assumed that meant this minotaur was stronger than a yak of a similar build, and yaks were already strong enough to be very destructive creatures when they wished to be.

Having second thoughts about trying to harm him, huh, Future Alice said, displaying the omniscience she held from the position of hindsight, There is nothing you could do that would hurt a minotaur of his size. Some minotaur even hand their new slaves a knife to attack them with, just to show that it does no more damage than a paper cut.

I’m sure if I tried, you’d just leave me here long enough for me to get punished worse than last time, Alice replied, relaying to Future Alice that she understood the rules, that her future self was in control of how long she would have to stay in this time period, I’ll play along, but I want the information you promised me

You want to know who caused this future to happen, Future Alice replied, And I know the answer. I’ll even tell you right now, in a show of good faith

Alice’s eyes went wide with surprise, not expecting her future self to be so forthcoming. She almost expected this to just be a trap, but if Future Alice was just going to tell her now, then she was ecstatic to finally get some answers.

The creatures you are looking for are a group known as The Moirai, Future Alice explained, They were creatures powerful enough to alter the course of fate, and they used that power to pay off a debt they owed to the minotaur

Alice was stunned to hear the name of the creatures that caused this, though she had never heard the name before. It felt too easy, but if her future self was being truthful, then this was exactly what she needed to prevent this horrible future from happening in the first place. With this name, she would hopefully be able to track them down and put an end to this plot before it even happened, Alice assuming that whatever they did was only in Future Alice’s past, and could still be stopped in her own time.

Now that I did my part though, it’s time for you to do your part, said Future Alice.

The present Alice expected something like this, but was ready to endure whatever hardship was to come, I’m I going to have to fuck this minotaur?

Oh ho ho ho, nooo, Future Alice said, chuckling through her words, I already said he wasn’t going to want to have sex for a while, but he is going to an important meeting today, and I want you to attend it

Why would you want that? Alice questioned.

Because if you are going to destroy this wonderful world, the least you could do is spend some time in it to see what you are destroying, Future Alice replied, Perhaps you’ll see something that will make you think it’s worth saving

Alice doubted that, but she could see what was happening here. At one point, the future Alice must have been in this same position, and was somehow swayed by something she had seen. That meant that in order to defy this fate, Alice would have to go through the same thing, and be resolute in her desire to prevent her enslavement from happening. She didn’t know how she’d go about that, how one went against destiny without some form of magical interference, but she would find a way.

All you have to do is accompany my master, and take in the sights of his kingdom, Future Alice added, He’s not much of a talker, so you won’t have to pretend to be me. Just do as he says, and follow him, and you’ll do fine

Alice went along with that idea, having no other options other than to comply, and followed the minotaur as he made his way through a castle he must have obtained through ill-gotten means. The place was simply too nice for a brutish species such as his to have created, though certain aspects of the architecture looked modified to accommodate the size of the creatures. The larger doors were a given change they would have to make, but stepping into open area outside the throne room were there was only column holding up small sections of stone roofing to indicate, and an encircling outer wall that the only thing that made it seem like this ‘palace’ supposed to be some form of building, Alice came to understand that the lack of walls was to allow the bulky creatures to move about freely, and the ones in the throne room itself probably only existed to provide some form of fortifications in case of attacks.

That was just her initial intake of her surroundings though, as the more she looked about, she could see that the minotaur king’s palace grounds was more like an encampment, with other small buildings like the throne room scattered about, as well as several areas where other minotaur could be seen practicing their combat skills, eating food on what must have been a meal break, or otherwise doing the tasks expected of soldiers and guards. They were not alone though, as practically everywhere there was one of these monstrous bulls, there was also an accompanying slave.

Usually an Antlertean deer, though there were a small percentage of other species of deer, and even other creatures such as Kirin and Equestrian ponies, both stallions and mares, each in the typical slave attire of next to nothing. This was not unexpected by Alice, but she did find it surprising that none of them were being used sexually, despite the vulnerability their nudity inflicted upon them. Instead they were attending to the minotaur’s less sexual needs, such as acting as servers in the meal area, or cleaning up the stone walkways of the grounds. There was even one earth pony mare made to tote around a bull sized axe like some sort of squire, though it clearly would have been easier for the minotaur to have carted it around himself, than make the mare practically drag it across the ground as she struggled to follow.

All in all though, everything Alice saw was typical servants work, the kind one could see in Canterlot Castle if they paid heed to the staff. Even as they approached the destination the minotaur king had been heading to, there was nothing unusual in the chariot they were approaching, nor the group of six deer stags harnessed into the front of it. It was only the nudity, along with some odd metal objects they all had strapped to their dicks that encased them completely, and the matching set of skin tight leather hoods they wore that covered every part of their head, save for a hole for their noses, that made it look off. Had they simply been clothed, and not bound to the vehicle with gear that fetishized the normal act of pulling a cart, this would be a normal scene one could see anywhere, but that unnecessary eroticism, along with the un-ignorable pleasure that would not leave Alice’s perception, changed this from just another deer drawn carriage, to something that made Alice feel strange seeing.

Upon reaching the chariot, the minotaur king opened a side door, and finally looked back at the doe who had been following him. “Get in,” he said, without the slightest hint of politeness in the way he put it.

Alice nodded, entering without fuss. So long as she blended in, she would be fine, so said her future self. The minotaur entered after, taking up so much room in the cart that his outer thigh pushed into her body, forcing her to get much closer than comfortable to the side. With both intended passengers in the cart, the minotaur closed the chariot door, and grabbed a set of reins draped over its front. With a simple snap of the leather strap, the bucks were urged to begin pulling, and the cart moved.

“Once around the outer wall, then to the front gate,” the minotaur instructed, though as they couldn’t hear him do to the masks covering their ears, he was just saying it for his own satisfaction.

Using the reins, the bull gave them more appropriate instructions via firm tugs on the bits in their mouths, guiding them to a dirt path that went along that outside wall Alice had seen. Without error, the stags guided the chariot along the path, a testament to the bull’s control over the blind and deafened deer men, as well as their own training, which Alice had to recognize was not something they had acquired before being forced into this role as carriage pullers.

As the reindeer doe was taken on what might have been a tour of the castle grounds, had her future self not been a resident of this place already, she tried to avert her eyes from the atrocities that were all around her. She didn’t want to see the enslavement of her kind, or any other species at that, so she guided her eyes to her hooves. Occasionally her eyes would drift over to the minotaur next to her, stoically focused on his own cruel task, but then she’d move them back down to her hooves when she came to the conclusion that she didn’t want to look at the one who caused all this either. Though it had been brought to light who had allowed this to happen, it was still the minotaur and his band that were responsible for this travesty.

However, she just couldn’t keep her eyes locked to the floor of the chariot, so they drifted instead to the stags in front of her, the doe privately lamenting that this was the most acceptable thing that could keep her attention.

Pretty nice view, right? Future Alice said suddenly after an extended moment of silence.

Shut it, Alice replied with her thoughts, I don’t know how you can enjoy the misery being caused to our kind

Ah, yes. You’re still at the point that you think this future is all doom and gloom, Future Alice replied, And I’ll let you continue believing that, as you’re supposed to, but don’t pretend like you don’t know what I’m talking about when it comes to the view

Alice closed her eyes in frustration, as she did know what her future self was referring to. This wasn’t her first carriage ride, not by far, as just like in Equestria, cart pulling was an honored tradition among reindeer. While both stags and does participated in the activity, it was more often the stags who would pull does, in a display of their physical prowess. This would lead to many a doe having wandering eyes, as they got a thrill seeing the bucks exert themselves for their enjoyment, often causing their doe parts to get the kind of tingling sensation one got from infatuation and elation.

You have to admit, these guys have some nice bodies, Future Alice continued, Nice and toned from all the work they do serving the masters. Definite stud material, if they were ever allowed to breed

And you don’t see that as a problem? Alice asked her future self, That our freedom is being taken and we’re being abused through sex.

I did at one point, Future Alice said, But once I learned more about the minotaur, I started to understand why they’ve done all this.

You can’t tell me there is some good reason behind all this, Alice rebutted.

Maybe not a ‘good’ reason, Future Alice replied, At least not by your current standards, but there is a reason

Care to share? Alice asked, certain that nothing her future self could say would be convincing.

You’ll learn, in time, said Future Alice, We’re already the living embodiment of a bootstrap paradox, so I don’t want to spoil everything

Alice didn’t respond this time, not enjoying how her future self was trying to coax her into looking deeper into this forsaken history, while withholding details she already knew. She was probably just following the course fate had dictated for her the first time around, but all of this vague hinting at things that were supposed to be important from this corrupt version of herself, acting like she knew everything while explaining nothing, was infuriating.

Okay, I’m gonna be quiet for a while. Let you enjoy things at your own pace, Future Alice said, the chariot coming up to what had to be the main gate the minotaur mentioned at the start of the ride, But I just want to say… what’s coming up next is pretty amazing

Alice was more than ready to dismiss her future self’s words as nonsense, as she watched as a small group of six minotaur guards opened the solid metal doors that separated this prison from the outside. As they part though, what had been hidden on the other side of them did astound the unsuspecting reindeer, as she realized this place the minotaur king called home sat atop a hill, and that hill was overlooking a city. There was little reason to suspect that this city was anything other than another part of the minotaur’s dominion, which stupefied Alice as she had assumed the bovine lord was some petty minotaur slaver who merely called himself by the title of king.

There it was though… A whole city he presumably ruled over, the size of which rivaled, if not surpassed, the mountain top pony city of Canterlot, comprised of buildings that connected together into what looked like, from her elevated position, a bunch of solid stone masses that weaved within and around one another to form a gigantic maze.

Author's Note

Hey guys. Wanted to give a heads up about what's going to happen with this story.

This was something that I wanted to do for christmas, and at this point it has gone beyond the scope I first had in my head. While I'm not against making this story bigger, and will not be shortening it from the direction I thought it should go, I will need to get back to some of my other projects. Thus, I'm going to probably make two more chapters for this story, and probably an epilogue, and then cut it there, in order to get back to my other stories.

However, that will not be the end of Alice's story, and I'll be getting back to it in time. At the very least, it will be continued next christmas, where the story will be further explored. I hope you all will enjoy what is left, and will bear with me as I take care of other projects.

First Date

The carriage was pulled from the castle grounds by the slave stags attached to its front, down the hill, between a walled pathway that connected the minotaur king’s home to the city below. Alice could do little more than take in the sight of what was below, a prisoner of her current predicament, able to see everything not hidden behind a wall that blocked her angle of view. Watching the activity of the creatures within the maze, able to spot tiny creatures moving about with much bigger dots that she could tell were the minotaur citizens of this place, it was hard to deny that this city, unique as it was in its design, wasn’t breathtaking in its own way.

The city below was a literal maze of structures, with many winding paths and dead ends, many of said dead ends looking like they opened up into public areas like marketplaces and other large structures not connected to the overall form of the wall, all of which encircled the location she was leaving, making it the centerpiece of the minotaur’s kingdom, in which one would have to navigate through the streets and connecting buildings to reach, unless one had the ability to fly.

Alice thought about how she could use her own ability to fly to escape this place, if it wasn’t so temperate. While reindeer could ‘fly’, it was more that they ran upon the frozen mists of the winter air. Thus, Alice figured out quickly why fleeing from this place was not an option for her, should she end up in this location, as she’d be trapped within the center of a labyrinth she’d have no means of navigating. Even if she mapped out a possible route of escape from the elevation of the castle, trying to remember the path while within it would not be as simple. If the reindeer ever saw this place within her own timeline, her fate as a slave would be sealed.

As the path leading from the castle reached its end, having another set of guarded doors that required opening to leave, the chariot entered the city proper, giving Alice a much more detailed look at everything that went on within it. As astounded as she was viewing it from afar, this new perspective was a real eye opener, the city being much more than she would have thought a minotaur dominated civilization could run.

The first thing she had to take in were the citizenry itself, as this not some misunderstanding on Alice’s part, wherein the minotaur king was merely some rich, eccentric, and evil resident of an otherwise free kingdom. What the reindeer saw in every direction made it clear that the minotaur were the dominant species of this land. In the lands around Equestria, it would have been a novelty to see even a single minotaur, but here they were so abundant that everywhere Alice looked there was on casually going about some mundane task, removing a tiny bit of Alice’s perceptions of them just being brutish barbarian slavers, especially since a good majority of the minotaur in the city wore more coverings that were more like normal clothing, and not just a loincloth and some leather straps as Alice had seen on the minotaur king and his guardsmen. What instilled the deer’s poorer opinions though was the appearance of every other creature within the city.

For every minotaur, there would be another, much smaller creature to try and compete with their numbers, always wearing bonds that made it clear they were likewise slaves of the bovines here. Usually it would be an Antlertean deer, but as the chariot made its way through the streets, another deer species would be spotted within the peoples of this city, easily identified from one another as they wore the same kinds of cloaks Alice had seen worn by the does the minotaur king owned. Even less in numbers though were non-deer creatures, but every so often a kirin would appear being lead out of a building by a leash, a zebra would be seen kneeling next to a minotaur sitting at a bench, or a unicorn would stroll by the chariot tugging along a small cart. There was also the occasional appearance of some strange pegasi like ponies that Alice had never seen before, that had dark fur, pointed ears and fangs, and wings not like a bird's but like that of a bat. The fact that this species was not one of the common types found in Equestria made the reindeer wonder if they were some lost tribe, or perhaps some sort of breed the minotaur created.

There were a few other odd sightings from races like sheep and cows, but the presence of their kind here didn’t have the same impact as an equine species, since they were considered some of the lower tier of sentient life, often exploiting by farms to utilize the resources both produced naturally. Thus, it really wasn't a wonder how the bovines could get their hands on their kind, as they could have just lured them in with the promise of better living conditions or salaries than what other employers might have offered. What a surprise it must have been when they found themselves pushed onto a cock, used as yet another type of hole to fuck once the minotaur got them into a position they couldn't escape from.

Once Alice was able to look past the people, she could finally take in architecture and public structures around her. Her surroundings were difficult to understand, not only because the buildings seemed to mostly be one large, connecting mass of rock that formed the maze, but because they were interwoven with technology that looked far too advanced for a culture ruled by the bovines.

Machines, with symbols etched into their metal, powered by a blue glowing aura. It didn’t take Alice long to connect this to the device used to fuck her into a stupor during her last visit to the future, but the uses for them here looked more practical for public use, with traffic lights, buildings with automatic doors, and advertisement signs that periodically changes what they depicted by flipping tiles that made up the images to another one on the back. Watching the Antlerteans more closely, some of them even had small, crystal powered handheld devices that looked like compasses, but gave directions by projecting a blue line on the ground, which the deer would then follow as a guide as it navigated them to wherever they were heading. The closest things to any of this in Equestria were some of the machinery found in Manehatten or Las Pegasus, but those machines were in early development, and didn’t seem as sophisticated as these devices.

All of these new things made Alice realize just how little she knew about the minotaur, or the culture they had somehow created without the rest of the world knowing. Wherever this place was, it had to be far away from Equestria.

Minopolis, she heard her future self said, That’s what this place is called. It was formerly the island continent of Antlertis, homelands of the Antlerteans, but my master conquered it in the name of his minotaur tribe

Alice listened halfheartedly to the explanation of this place, as she was more concerned with a pregnant reindeer doe the cart she was riding was passing by. She was sitting within one of a row of booths of some sort, legs spread, struggling with the labors of child birth as she laid within a reclined, cushioned chair. Several minotaur and what had to be their slaves were gathered round, watching the doe as she suffered the pains of child birth. Alice was reminded that she, or rather her future self, had also given birth to children, and that they were apparently the prodigy of the minotaur king.

As miserable the doe must have been, Alice was slightly happier that it wasn’t someone she knew, as her puffed up chest floof and thick antlers indicated she was a doe from Rein, and not her own village. Their tribe had power over ice, and should have been able to fend themselves off from an invasion, but it appeared that not even they could avoid the bovine's tyranny.

What you see here is results of the combined efforts of the two species merged into one, Future Alice continued, Taking the Antlertean magitek and the minotaur’s ability to create strong, complex fortifications to craft a culture that melds them both neatly

It was hard for Alice to accept, but what the minotaur created here was fairly impressive, even if it was through the coercion of a conquered species. She didn’t know anything about construction, but the entire city looked as sturdy as it was advanced. If the minotaur were ever to be attacked in retaliation, it would be very difficult to bring their walls down, or to guide a well coordinated ground assault on the city, due to its layout.

As the ride went on, Alice started to find herself not as unnerved with everything she saw. Perhaps it was the culture shock subsiding, but the more she saw, the more it kinda looked like a normal city. There were things that set it apart, mostly to accommodate the slavery the minotaur citizens participated in, but so much of it looked kinda like things she'd see in any other city. It was not easy to accept that every non-minotaur wore collars and shackles that let it be known they had been enslaved, but many of them looked to be walking about of their own accord, with no restricting bondage to prevent escape, or a minotaur master at their side dragging them along. Few even looked unhappy, or at least not to a degree that it was immediately notable.

Alice tried to fall back on the idea of mind control for this, but the reindeer hadn’t seen anything yet that implied this was the case. Not even the Antlertean magic seemed to possess that kind of power, as nothing like that was used on her when she was at Xenia’s mercy. There had to be some form of explanation to this, something beyond them just accepting their fates, but aside from the visual aesthetic of sexual enslavement outwardly displayed via the public nudity and light bondage of the enslaved, there was little that separated this minotaur run city from any other largely populated city.

As the chariot ride went on, it entered into one of the larger enclosures of the city, wherein the ‘walls’ rounded out into a circle, to create an area where more traditional buildings resided. With all the turns at junctions within the more maze-like parts of the city, Alice was curious if this was some sort of joy ride for the minotaur lord, cause she was getting so lost that she couldn’t figure out how he could be that adept at navigating the streets, but now in this less trafficked space, he headed towards a particular building like it was his destination the whole time.

Pretty neat, huh? Future Alice chimed in, ready to explain this small detail to her former self, Minotaur seem to have this innate ability to navigate complex corridors. They can easily move about to any place they wish to be, unerringly, as easily as walking down a street.

Alice did find the bit of trivia interesting, as it explained a bit more why the minotaur built their city like they did, as they would never get lost, while the city would entrap any other creatures with lesser familiarity with the geography.

The chariot found its way to a parking area next to a building, and it didn't take long before the minotaur king exited the vehicle to tie down the lead attached to the pull stags. He knotted it on a metal bar sticking out horizontally from the outer wall of the building, a place that was designated for this purpose, as a few signs on the wall pointed out.

Alice took this opportunity to step out of the chariot herself, assuming that the bull didn’t intend for her to wait outside with the stags. The king had bothered to bring her along, so it was a good assumption he wanted her by his side, but she as her hooves touched ground she spotted the minotaur watching her exit the cart, not saying a word but giving her a stern glare. Had she done something that upset him? Perhaps she was supposed to wait for permission? If it was a problem the minotaur didn’t say anything to scold her, or do anything to discipline her actions. He only walked past her as he made his way to the front of the building.

While the doe was glad that she didn’t receive some sort of reprimand, the bull’s overall silence for this venture was starting to get to her. He didn’t even tell her to follow, and hadn’t said a word to ‘her’ since the swap. While she probably should have enjoyed his dismissal of her, seeing how he treated women when he paid attention to them, Alice didn’t like being so completely ignored.

“So, who are we meeting here?” the deer asked, as she walked after the minotaur, taking a couple seconds to follow up the question by saying, “Master” when she figured that was a necessary part of slave speech.

“Why do you have to ask?” the minotaur replied, “Can’t you look into the future?”

Alice got a little embarrassed with that reply, as normally the minotaur would be correct, and she’d be able to look into his future to see who it was they were meeting up with. However, she could tell her future sight would not work right now if she tried, which made sense, as it was technically being used at the moment.

Fortunately, the bull didn’t press further, and answered her original question by saying, “We are meeting up with three of my colleges to discuss matters involving their activities, and how they are affecting Minopolis. You’ve met two of them before in person.”

“Yes, of course,” said Alice in a slightly hushed tone, slightly humiliated again, because she probably could have guessed that.

While she had never met any minotaur prior to this, her future self could have encountered the minotaur the king spoke of many times. She suddenly hoped that they would be as dismissive of her as the king, because she didn’t want to have to convince them that nothing was off with her. Alice didn’t know if anything would happen if the minotaur actually figured out what was going on with the king’s deer slave, but it was better not to tempt fate by revealing herself.

The master and slave pair entered the building shortly after that short conversation, and once past the door, Alice discovered that this place was actually a restaurant, with tables and booths just beyond the entryway, a few of which filled with more bovine males who were eating food and discussing things with one another that Alice couldn’t make out, as far away as she was. Some of them were accompanied by their slaves, who had different seating arrangements, having pillows to use as they sat on the floor at their masters’ side, but many of them just dined alone.

“Ah, Master.” said an Antlertean stag, one stationed at the front as host, who lept to action at the sight of the lord of these lands, “My master told me to expect your arrival, and told me to pass on his sentiments about how much of an honor it is that you would chose us again to dine with.” The deer went on to say, grabbing a menu before leading the minotaur king to his table, “One of your party has already arrived, and is waiting for you and the others.”

The minotaur king didn’t give so much as a huff in response to the male deer, but followed him to a large table where a minotaur wearing a leather chest armor that left his arms bare, which let him display the many scars decorating them. As the minotaur king got closer, this new bovine male detected his approach, turning his head just as he stuffed a minotaur sized spoonful of what was on his plate into his mouth.

“There you are, Master,” the minotaur said between bites, “I thought you’d be the last to arrive, due to your morning rituals, but it looks like my expectations were wrong.”

Master again? Alice thought to herself, noticing that both the stag, which didn’t belong to the king, and this minotaur, who was clearly not a slave, addressed the king by that title, Do even the other minotaur call him that?

Alice didn’t have much time to dwell on that detail, as the minotaur king took his seat, while telling her the two word command of “Kneel, slave.” Alice obeyed, placing herself on top of an already awaiting cushion for her to sit on, and once she was in place, the minotaur king shifted his attention from her to the deer that escorted them to the table. “I know that my associate has already ordered for the group, but prepare a small salad mix of vegetables and fruit for my doe.” he said, adding to the original order.

“I’ll get the alteration put in right away, Master,” the host replied with a respectful bow, as he left to fulfill the order.

Alice watched the host as he left, still a little stunned at how normal an interaction it was than it probably should have been. Sure, the stag was brown nosing a bit, but the way it was done felt like typical behavior when a regal figure visited a business. The stag didn’t even seem intimidated by the minotaur tyrant, or slightest bit angry at the king of those who enslaved his kind. It was very off putting behavior, similar to that of her future self, in both tone and how genuine it felt.

She wished she had something to contrast this strange behavior with, like with the other slaves of the king, and as if getting her wish answered, she found it as she looked away from the Antlertean, and faced forward to see another buck kneeling at the other bull’s side across from her.

The buck had to be the slave of the other minotaur, a younger looking whitetail that couldn’t have been older in this time as Alice was in the present, wearing a collar that held a small barrel at its front. Unlike so many others Alice had seen, this deer displayed a quiet nervousness, trying to cover his exposed bits, his face a solid shade of red. It reminded her of the doe from Thicket back at the castle, and how she was terrified. Whatever indoctrination the other deer had gone through hadn’t yet been instilled in this particular tribe yet.

“I see the prince has yet to learn that his body isn’t his own anymore,” said the minotaur king, taking note of the buck’s attempts to maintain modesty.

Prince? Alice thought, finding it hard to believe that this young adult stag was of royal lineage.

Not because he didn’t look the part, though it would hard for anyone to look regal when stripped bare and placed in a slave collar, but because she had heard that Thicket was one of the best fortified deer kingdoms, and she assumed that those captured and brought here were caught wandering outside outside of the sturdy walls that protected it.

“Give the boy some slack,” said the minotaur sitting across from him, “We raided his home only a few months ago, and I am rewarding his complacency by allowing him to adapt at his own pace.”

“So you still haven’t properly fucked him, I take it.” said the minotaur king in assumption.

“If you’re asking if I’ve stuck him, then no,” the other minotaur said, “But we’ve come up with a way he can service me in the bedroom.”

“You go far too easy on the ones you find ‘cute’, Titanius.” the king said, calling his associate by his name.

“Which is my right as his owner,” Titanius rebutted, “Force is not the only way to instill submission, even if it’s your preferred method. Besides, his father has been satisfying me quite well in his stead.”

“Yes, I remember how you displayed him to his conquered subjects,” said the minotaur king, “And It was my hope that you wouldn’t be as lenient with him as you are his son.”

“I have been training him in a more traditional manner,” Titanius answered, “As punishment for his attempt to trick us. It’s a good thing you have that doe of yours around to let us know about these things.”

Titanius tilted his head to look over the edge of the table, his eyes locking on Alice, which filled her with a strange kind of self resentment. It was obvious with that gesture that ‘she’ was the doe that helped them, and thus allowed the minotaur to successfully overtake a deer settlement. She cursed her future self for condemning other deer to a life of enslavement to these beastly bull men, furious that she could ever become so corrupted to be the cause of such a travesty.

“My slave has received enough praise for her contributions,” said the minotaur king, a statement Alice was happy to agree with, “And I would like to keep her from getting a big head due to suggestions that were helpful, but irrelevant when it came to our conquest of such a feeble kingdom.”

Alice bit her lip in order to quiet herself, as she was certain her ‘suggestions’ were the only reason the minotaur succeeded in their plans. At least, she had to believe that, as the alternative was to assume that the events put in place by this enigmatic third party her future self mentioned were so immutable that her involvement didn’t matter. That being the case would mean there was nothing she could do to stop what she saw here, and that belief was unacceptable.

“You really should give her some credit,” Titanius said, “Suggestions or no, they were flawless.”

“Enough,” said the minotaur king, “I’m tired of talking of old business. We are here for new business.”

“Ok, but we’ll need Sartek and Attilius to get here before- oh, I think they’re here.”

Titanius and the minotaur king turned themselves towards the restaurant’s entrance, where two new bulls had just entered, the host deer from before greeting them as he did the king. Alice, curious about these new arrivals, followed the direction of their gaze to see what other vile creatures would be joining them, but what she saw, more than anything else thus far, shot a cold spike of terror into her being that it turned her whole body numb, as a sickening feeling formed in the pit of her stomach, spreading out in all directions, momentarily overriding the pleasure aura of her future body.

The first minotaur lead in was a mountain of a man, even compared to the other minotaur Alice had already seen. Standing perhaps another half a head tall to the minotaur king, the behemoth of a bull wore a similar leather chest armor as Titanius, though while the seated minotaur bore more battle scars, it was this minotaur’s attire that held the damage of whatever combat he partook in. Whether that meant he was a better fighter than Titanius didn’t even have time to enter Alice’s mind, as that didn’t matter nearly as much as what followed in after him.

The massive minotaur, like the others of his party, had brought along with him a slave to show off during this meal with his associates. Not a deer, and not some form of pony, but a creature that was practically as huge as a minotaur itself. With impressive muscular structure, large breasts even for her body size, and two heads sitting atop its shoulders, one that of a goat, and the other a tiger. The creature, or creatures as it might have been, was heavily bound, with steel shackles several inches thick keeping their goatish legs held closely together by short chain of metal links that looked like they would be suited to lift up a small anchor, as their arms were trapped behind their back within a likewise heavy steel box that fully enveloped their hands, lower arms, and elbows, making the appendages form a U shape, finished off with a muzzle around each of their faces of the same sturdy material, finely crafted to fit to form, with open parts for the tiger to let her thick saber teeth stick out.

This beastly creature looked in no way compliant with her enslavement, pulling against her master’s chosen lead, despite it being a set of belt size straps connected to metal rings embedded into the flesh behind her areolas, ones large enough that they could be used as door knockers. As she fought against the minotaur, only to lose ground as he stretched her breasts, a third head appeared from behind her, one of a snake, with a body to match, which joined the rest of the creature at its backside. The snake, while not hindered or restrained like other parts, didn’t make the slightest attempt to aid them in resisting, which might have given Alice the impression that the different heads were not of like mind, if this creature was what had struck the reindeer with the fear that utterly consumed her.

Though the minotaur and this chimeric creature created a very intimidating image, the thing that shook Alice to her core came in after them. There walked in the last of this quartet of minotaur; one that was actually smaller and younger than the other three, with frazzled black hair and beard on his chin to match, wearing a more simple outfit of a cloth shirt and pants. Of course, there was nothing about the bovine that affected Alice, but instead the sight of the pink reindeer doe being pulled in tow behind him.

“Bori…” Alice said in whisper, almost mixing the word with a gasp that superseded it.

There she was, the doe who back in her was keeping an eye on her body in the present, yet another minotaur slave in the future. Alice could have never been prepared to see this, a doe who was as close as family, reduced to a mere slave, no doubt defiled in the same way every other slave was. Seeing her here, collared and exposed, filled Alice with a deeply renewed revulsion of not only the minotaur, but her future self. She supposedly knew about all of this, and yet would still allow this destiny to unfold. It was sickening, and Alice couldn’t let it go without letting her corrupted self know that she rebuked everything about what she had done, and would never see this supposed beauty in this minotaur ran world.

The yellow reindeer tried several times, sending her most hate filled thoughts through time, but all she got in return was silence. The future Alice had to know there was no way to make this look good, and was hiding from a truth she couldn’t deny. There was nothing redeeming about this future, and to believe otherwise was sheer delusion.

With her future self denying her rage, Alice despised that she had to remain silent as the last members of this meal took their places, Bori’s slaver parading the pink reindeer past her fellow Gift Giver as he made it to his seat at the table. While she couldn’t tell by the look in Bori’s eyes, as they had been concealed behind a thick blindfold of tanned leather, a small cringe on her lips as she passed by told Alice that the older deer was just as disgusted about the way the future turned out as she was. Having the honor of being a Gift Giver torn away, to be reduced to the sexual plaything of some barbarian, would be detestable to any reindeer privileged with the powers they had.

These minotaur are so stupid that they don’t realize blindfolding her is pointless, Alice scoffed in her thoughts, knowing Bori better than the bulls.

Even if Bori was blindfolded, it didn’t prevent her from seeing, as her powers could be used on anyone in her present, which apparently included herself if needed. It wasn’t a trick used often, but she had once used it in a little game when they were delivering some presents to a bunch of reindeer fawns, letting them take turns covering her eyes, and then describing their features to them through her omniscience. Bori probably could have picked any of the children to focus on instead, but she found it easier to just look at herself.

No doubt she was doing the same thing now, so she wasn’t as in the dark as the minotaur guiding her was trying to make her. With her shock and hatred simmering down, Alice wondered if this version of Bori, a version she hoped to prevent altogether, utilized her gift in ways that hindered the minotaur, as the yellow doe could see the other reindeer doing that. It gave her a bit more appreciation for Bori’s recent spying on her, as it surely made for good practice when it came to this awful situation, and the pink doe probably knew more about what was going on in this city than the minotaur ever could.

“Titanius, Master, I see you both decided to be punctual today.” said the largest minotaur, taking the spot next to Titanius, forcing the three headed creature down to their knees to take the spot on the floor next to him, “I must be getting old if you two are arriving before me.”

“Or perhaps it’s because you decided to drag your pet monster across town instead of bringing a more sensible slave,” said Titanius, “But I wouldn’t expect ‘The Mighty Attilius’ to do anything less. Tell me, how have the games at the colosseum been lately? I’ve have to miss quite a few events, but I always like hearing about the results.”

“They are as you would expect,” the huge minotaur answered, “I keep getting new contenders from what you three keep pushing into the slave market, but aside from this chimera, many of them are just rape fodder.”

“So am I hearing you finally found a woman worthy of your combat prowess?” the minotaur king asked.

“These three show promise,” the minotaur said, “But they still lost a good amount of their fights. I’ll have to train them even further in gladiatorial combat, if they are going to meet my standards.”

“I suppose we all have our preferences,” Titanius said, poking fun at the minotaur for being so picky, “You want a good, strong mate. I prefer my males, and Master enjoys the company of females of a higher quality.” he shifted his gaze over to bearded minotaur “And what about you, boy? What are your preferences?”

The bearded minotaur had been quiet up until this point, who had to be the one called Sartek since every other minotaur had been identified, his silence surpassing the stoic nature of the minotaur king, but when addressed he was forced to respond. “As the head of the slave market guild, I don’t have the liberty to have preferences. I like my women, and impregnate ones that appeal to me, but then I put them to task at one of the nurseries, or at the project going on in Equestria.”

“Right, the one being headed by that crystal mare you found,” said Titanius, looking to be in the know about what the younger minotaur was speaking about, “I wish you could start funneling some of those ponies into the markets, especially some of those cute pegasus stallions.”

“I agree,” said Attilius, “I would love to have some of the earth ponies myself. They aren’t as powerful as a minotaur, but they are resourceful. I think if anything can give the gladiators a good fight, it would be some of them.”

“Say, wasn’t that another thing the yellow doe helped with,” Titanius added.

“You mean Master’s pet reindeer?” Sartek questioned, “Yes, she was the one who told me where to find the crystal mare. Why do you ask?”

“Titanius is trying to find reasons to praise my reindeer’s talents,” said the minotaur king, “Even though I asked him not to fill her with unneeded pride for doing what she should. I’m sure she agrees with me on that matter, right Alice?”

Noticing she was being addressed, Alice gave a quick nod in agreement. While the minotaur was trying to belittle her abilities, she just didn’t want to be accredited for helping the minotaur with their devious and perverse schemes.

“See, she understands that her suggestions, while useful, have always been heeded at my discretion. If I believed her ideas were invalid, they would be disregarded, because I deemed them to be the incorrect path for us to take.”

Before Titanius could try to argue further at the true value Alice’s powers held, a group of doe waitresses with several plates of food.

“Enough of this talk,” the minotaur king said, “Let’s eat, and then we can discuss all of your proposals and plans. That’s what we are here for, afterall.”

The food was laid out before the four minotaur, along with several large mugs of what had to be strong alcohol from the smell of it, the strength of which went right through the scent of all the cooked pastas, baked breads, and roasted fruits, right into Alice’s nose, the fumes practically intoxicating in itself. It forced the yellow doe into a small fit of coughs, which was shared with the prince sitting across from her, though Bori and the Chimera were tolerant to it enough to resist joining in.

“Here,” Alice heard, as a minotaur hand holding a bowl was pushed before her face. It was the king’s, offering her the salad he had ordered for her earlier, “You missed breakfast, so eat up.”

Reluctantly, Alice took the bowl. It looked nicely prepared, but she really wasn’t in the mood for food. She felt that the minotaur king wasn’t asking her, though, so she decided to pick out some of the lettuce leaves to chew on.

How long have I been here? Alice thought to herself, the crisp texture of the lettuce lost on her, It has to be getting close to an hour now

Alice had to remind that the hour of the potion’s duration was for her body, and not her mind. If the future version of herself wanted, she could extend the time Alice spent here by looking even further forward into time. That could have explained why she went silent all of a sudden, perhaps swapping to a future event the moment Alice got hostile.

I’ll just have to stick with it, I guess… Alice said, tossing a strawberry into her mouth. It was a nice, juicy berry, but again the deer refused to register any of the flavor on her tongue as more than a typical fruity taste.

“Hey boy,” Titanius said, looking down to his princely slave, “Did you ever drink alcohol back in your kingdom?”

The stag stifled his coughs long enough to reply with “Once. My father let me drink a glass of wine from our family’s collection.”

“A glass?” he said, “I’ve seen the small glasses your kind drink from. Not even proportional to a proper ale mug. Here… Try a bit of a real man’s drink.”

The minotaur grabbed a soup bowl he had already emptied, and poured a bit of his drink into it, before handing it to the buck.

“You’re gonna get him sick with that,” Sartek said, “That stuff is powerful, even for our kind.”

“Who hasn’t emptied their stomachs from having a bit too much?” Titanius replied, “It’s all part of growing up. But if the boy doesn’t want to give it a try, I won’t make him.”

The stag looked at the brown liquid in the bowl with a concern, the fumes from it alone causing his nose the crinkle. Alice believed for sure he’d take the opportunity to turn down the offer, even if this turned out to be some sort of trick from the minotaur to create a reason to punish him, but after contemplating it in pause for a short while, the stag placed the edge of the bowl to his lips and tilted it upwards.

“Thataboy!” Titanius said with excitement, though made sure to quiet himself as he expressed his joy in watching the liquid slide down his deer’s gullet, as they were in a public area, “Drink up, and enjoy yourself.”

The praise came with a small reward of a roasted apple, which was handed to the stag after he had finished his bowl. Not yet feeling any repercussions from the fluid he ingested, the prince took the offering, biting into it with much less hesitation.

No other such challenges were given by the other minotaur to their slaves, but the remaining two slaves received their own morsels of food to eat from the bovines’ feast. Attilius fed his chimera via the ungagged snake, who submissively ate what was given to her from his hand, exposing a wicked set of teeth with each opening of her mouth, each looking like a small knife. For Bori, a bowl of warm soup was granted, laid on the floor for her to eat at her leisure. She didn’t look to be as tamed as the others though, as she didn’t so much as budge to take the food, staying mostly still in her knelt pose.

Over time, the food that had been laid out vanished from the table, the minotaur shoving each plateful into their mouths. By this time, the Thicket prince was wobbling about, trying his best to sit up straight, the booze having taken its effect. Alice had eaten most of her salad, fruit and all, while Bori’s bowl stayed as full as it had started. The pink doe did not budge on her initial stance on partaking in this meal, which was something that didn’t go unnoticed by Sartek once he finished his own meal.

“If you don’t appreciate the things I grant you, then I’ll not give them to you.” her master said sternly, taking the bowl from off the floor, “Here Titanius, let your whitetail have it.”

“I think he’ll have to decline,” Titanius said, as the buck had collapsed on the side of his own master’s seat, passed out from his intoxication, “He might be able to keep down a man’s drink, but he’s still a boy.”

“Then how about your reindeer?” he said, offering the bowl to his king.

“Hmmm, are you still hungry?” Alice’s master asked her, willing to allow her a bit more if she wanted it.

While Alice had her reservations about taking the bowl, as she felt it might be a slap in the face of Bori’s protest, she had to admit that she was tempted by the aroma of it. With the alcohol completely drunk, the scent of the still warm soup could reach her, and as she got a good whiff of it, she could tell that it would be delicious. As much as she tried to feign disinterest in the salad given to her, the fact of the matter was that it tasted good, and it was only part of this endeavor that had been slightly enjoyable. She had to debate it in her mind a few times, but in the end she chose to stay loyal to Bori, giving a small shake of her head to the minotaur.

“Then I suppose no one wants it,” the minotaur king said, searching the room to find a waitress doe walking by, “You, waitress slave, come here.”

The doe stopped in her tracks, then made her way to the bull, “Can I get you anything else, Master?”

“No,” the minotaur king said, taking the bowl from Sartek and handing it over to the Antlertean, “But here. Take this and eat it. None of us want it, but I’ll not have it go to waste.”

The doe graciously took the food, thanked the minotaur for the offering, and drank it right there. “It was very tasty soup, Master. I am grateful you gave a lowly doe such as myself such a gift.”

“Save your groveling,” the minotaur king said, far too used to lesser creatures giving compliments, gratitude, and praise over the slightest things, “Just get your fellow slave does over here and clear off our table.”

“Right away, Master.” the doe said, skipping off to retrieve enough waitresses to do the task in an expedient manner.

“Now that we’ve settled that,” the minotaur king said, “Let’s get to what we’re actually here for.”

“Right,” Attilius agreed, “We need to know what the next steps of the Equestria project are, in order to adjust our infrastructure to accommodate them.”

“And we need to know what cities will be raided in order to appropriately allocate extra soldiers to guarantee they are conquered without too much of a fuss.” Titanius added, “The masters of the Slaver’s Guild are only contractors and merchants, afterall, and we can’t allow for a single failure in this sensitive time.”

“If we are to finally claim what should have been our kinds from the start, then every attack needs to end in complete domination.” said the minotaur king, “It’s fortunate that Equestria itself is in a period of political isolation from its neighboring nations, but a single failed attack might lead to the forming of alliances. My reindeer… suggests that our plans will succeed so long as we continue our strikes against the smaller nations first, and I agree that is the best recourse. However, I still have concerns about Equestria itself. Are we sure the members of this… Trainers’ Society will not reveal our plans to the princesses of the pony kingdom.”

“The operation takes advantage of the ego and selfishness of those who the crystal mare brings into her inner circle.” Sartek explained to reassure his king, “She always selects those who see themselves as more important or talented than others, then uses her magic to enhance that feeling of superiority, while also instilling the idea that they would not be spared punishment if her group was brought down. Because of how convincing her powers make her words, members tend to believe this wholeheartedly, seeing the mare as a provider of their desires and their only source of protection now that they are in so deep.”

“And this is foolproof?” the minotaur king asked, “There are no dissenters?”

“I would be lying if I didn’t say there had been a few,” Sartek answered, “But they are rooted out quickly, and then added to the slave stock. The crystal mare’s powers can just as easily deflate one’s ego as much as it can inflate it, and those who don’t have the stomach to dominate others tend to be easily subdued themselves.”

“Have you set up means to evacuate if you’re discovered before the plan comes to fruition?” the minotaur king asked, for a moment sounding concerned more about the safety of those participating in the minotaur scheme than the hopeful results of it.

“We have actions set in place we’ll take in the event that we are found out, and no minotaur ever leaves the grounds of a secured site. The gryphons might have some issues escaping, but that would be their problem to deal with.”

“We should at least try to warn them,” said Titanius, “As keeping some alliance with their, admittedly decrepit nation, would give us more allies than none in the following retaliation we would receive.”

“Agreed…” the minotaur king said, weighing his options, “Though we have plans in place for that inevitable retaliation, so long as we can get our hands on that unicorn prince. Attilius, that is where you and your men come in.”

“You have reason to believe Sartek’s plan will not spread to this newly founded Crystal Empire?” asked Attilius, “Is this some more insight from your reindeer?”

“Whatever the reason, it's important that we have a strong army ready in case we have to take Equestria by force. Your colosseum might be treated as mere sport, but you have the strictest training regime in our empire, and the younger minotaur respect your prowess in strength and combat.”

“Well they also respect your contributions to restoring our kind from the brink of extinction,” Attilius replied, looking to return the compliments, “You have your own band of bulls who see you as an example of what a minotaur should be, as cruel and archaic as some of the senate make your methods out to be.”

“Those within the senate just hate having to admit that I saved our species, while openly taking advantage of what I have created.” the minotaur king said with spite, “If they felt they could get rid of me without causing a rebellion against their established order, they probably would have done so the moment I conquered the Antlerteans.”

“Yes, yes,” Titanius said, knowing well the disdain his king had for those who appointed themselves as the enlightened leaders of their race, “But they do bring some degree of order to our nation. They may be the most hypocritical of our lot, since they still enjoy the slaves gained by our efforts as much as any other bull, but if not for their laws, we would have continued to be the savage barbarians we were when we claimed this place.”

The minotaur king groaned, not enjoying any thoughts of positivity of this separate group of minotaur, that Alice could only infer challenged his power. Aside from that they sounded no different from the minotaur king himself, since it was stated that they partook in the system of slavery the king apparently created.

The four minotaur talked on the matters of Equestria and some smaller raids they intended for a little while longer, but nothing about it really concerned Alice any further. She had heard enough, and had come to the conclusion that even had there been something redeeming about the minotaur and their kingdom, the fact that they wanted to take over Equestria made them enough of a threat that this future had to be avoided, as if they took over the pony nation, there would be little to stand in their way of overtaking every other kingdom as well.

“It’s about time I got back to The Society,” said Sartek, moving to excuse himself from the table, “I had left the crystal mare in the care of two of her members, and I’m sure that she’ll need to me to relieve her from their sadism, no matter how much she enjoys it.”

“Yes, I suppose we’re all caught up by now,” said the minotaur king, taken this opportunity to likewise leave the table, “We’ll bring this meeting to a close, but I would like to hear more about the plans you said this ‘Rubric’ had involving Yakyakistan. It is about time we brought those perfectionists under heel.”

The other minotaur followed by example of their king, lifting themselves out of their seats, and collecting their enslaved escorts. Most were simply made to rise from their kneeling position to follow their owners, with Attilius having to enforce the same amount of strength over his chimera going out as he did coming in, though Titanius had to pick up and carry his sleeping whitetail prince.

The bulls made their way to the exit together, forming a wall of beef with their mass that forced anyone in their path to flee out of it. The slaves, save for the held buck, followed behind, with both reindeer on either side of the chimera. This relieved Alice slightly, as she didn’t know if she could face Bori knowing that her future self caused all this. She didn’t know if the older Gift Giver hated her now, but the pink doe couldn’t have been excited to know she was there. Alice knew that there was only one way to fix all of this, and that was to find this Moirai future Alice spoke of, and prevent them from causing any of this. Hopefully the Bori or Aurora of her time would know something, and from there they could warn creatures of what was to-

Without a bit of warning, Alice felt something sharp enter into her side. Not a single object, but what felt like several dozen. She didn’t even have time to yelp, as the air seemed to trap itself in her lungs due to an immense pain that now overlapped the pleasure aura her body had developed. Stunned, she found it difficult to move to see what had stuck her. As she felt the sharp object leave her body though, and found her legs collapsing under her own weight, the source of her pain presented itself, in the form of a large snake, whose teeth were now covered in her blood.

“Ssso what the minotaur were sssaying is true! You were the one who caused all thissss!” the snake hissed at Alice, clearly more upset about its enslavement than it had previously let on.

It opened its mouth again to go for another bite, but as it shot forward to clamp down on Alice’s face, a large hand snatched her by the neck and pulled her away. Attilius had quickly taken notice of what his chimera had done, cursing that he had trusted any part of the savage, murderous beast as he flung her whole body into an empty corner of the dining room. The massive minotaur followed after, to ensure that the mostly bound creature wouldn’t try to attack someone else, having to fend off the fangs of the snake, as she knew she was about to be punished for her actions, and wasn’t going to allow it without causing some more harm in exchange.

Though the Chimera was being dealt with, Alice had still been severely harmed. While she was still in one piece, several holes had been put into her body, and blood was pouring from them at an alarming rate. Before the other minotaur could turn around to see what had happened, the yellow doe felt her strength fade, with her body toppling over on the other opposite side of the wound. Her vision grew dark as she noticed the hooves of other creatures stomping around her, while the muffled sounds of harsh voices yelled words that she couldn’t quite make out.

Alice felt like she was dying, but she told herself that couldn’t be true. She couldn’t die in this false future, the one that she was intent on preventing. Even as her breathing became labored, she told herself that this wasn’t possible, and that the potion that sent her here would wear off soon. Even if this body was dying, it wasn’t her body, so she should be okay.

As she thought about that though, the reindeer remembered that the only reason she was here was because her future self told her to be here on this day. Had her future self known this attack would happen? Was this some sort of plan to have her past self die in her stead? Surely that couldn’t be how any of this worked, but then where was the other version of herself? How far in the future did she go in order to avoid this pain?

These questions filled Alice’s panic struck mind, as chaos ensued around her. She couldn’t understand most of what was going on, but the doe believed she heard several voices calling for help, though her hearing must have been affected by the blood loss, cause they all sounded deeper… like the minotaur’s voices.

She had no time to question it, as the combination of pain and fading perception was making her slip into the unconscious world. However, just before she slipped away, she spotted a pink body kneel down in front of her, and a pair of matching hands lifted up her head, tilting it upwards. It was Bori, still blindfolded, but looking directly at the presumably dying doe. Bori ran her hand through her fellow Gift Giver’s hair, her face showing no emotion, though that might have been only due to the emotion of her eyes being concealed.

What she said though seemed to convey everything she felt in this moment, as Alice heard the older reindeer tell her “I’m sorry”. These words didn’t come out in a truly apologetic manner though, but in a tone that felt like she was trying to be consoling, but allowed some deep seeded spite to slip through.

Alice’s world turned to black shortly after, and as the last thought she feared she ever had seeped into her consciousness, she prayed to whatever force would listen that she hadn’t been tricked, and that she would live to see another day. She wasn’t even aware that there was some force trying to fulfill the last part of her wish, as it lifted her body up off the ground in powerful arms, to take her to a place that could hopefully save her.

The Maze of Fate

Alice had no idea of anything going on around her for some time after receiving the severe wound from the chimera. Her mind seemed to shut off in order to spare her the pain, though that might have just been because her lack of blood was causing certain bodily processes to cease. The yellow reindeer was in a state so close to death that nothing from outside was reaching her, while no thoughts were able to form inside. For a long time she was just in darkness, with no sense of awareness, without the ability to ponder if she had survived her attack or not.

Eventually though, feeling returned to the deer, and with this stimuli came a re-establishment of her self. Occasionally she’d wake up for a moment, her perception hazy due to fatigue, to get a small glimpse of her surroundings, which was a room of white surrounding the bed she was laying within. Alice would see a few poorly defined figures moving about sometimes, hovering around her bed, doing things she only assumed was attending to her health, but before she could make any real sense of anything, she’d fall back asleep in seconds. In these attempts, the reindeer found it hard to remember any of these details, but she could remember that alongside the dull pain she still felt within her side, there was an all encompassing sense of ‘good feelings’ that covered every part of her body, which was strong enough to make Alice feel safe.

With her consciousness returning, Alice eventually recovered enough strength that when she opened her eyes, they were able to stay open, and she could get a good look at where she had been taken. She could tell she was in a hospital room, one made for patients to stay while they were healing from grievous wounds. Despite having been out for who knew how long, Alice remembered the details of the chimera attack well, as her future self’s pleasure aura wasn’t effective enough to negate the throbbing pain of the bite she still felt between her hips and breasts. It wasn’t a moment she would easily forget, even if she might have wanted to.

Alice didn’t dare to move, assuming that it would only prove to intensify her pain, and resigned to being stuck in the bed, and presumably stuck in the future, since her future self was still staying quiet, telling the bed bound doe that she still hadn’t caught up to however far in the future that rogue variant of herself had skipped ahead to. That only made Alice wonder though, was this all actually part of future Alice’s plans, and if so, what was the intended result of this?

Dwelling on that was all Alice could do, seeing as she had almost been killed by being projected to this exact time, which was the exact time her future self told her to arrive at. The more Alice thought about it, the more this all confused her. The reindeer had to believe that this event was something her future self had to know in precise detail, as she would have to have gone through herself, but on the opposite end, if the future doe knew, she didn’t give the slightest hint. Alice didn’t think she could ever be so deceptive, to cheerfully talk to someone about random things, while delivering them into the awaiting mouth of a viper, in both a literal and metaphorical sense.

Future Alice did seem to want to hold true to the idea of following the path fate had laid out for all creatures, but was that truly enough to so casually allow such an event to befall someone. Maybe it was different in this case, since the person in question was herself, or her past self to be specific, and the future doe knew the ‘she’ would be fine, but then that lead back to thoughts of all the other creatures that Future Alice, through not trying to defy fate, had condemned to slavery at the hands of bovine.

As she turned her thoughts over and over in her head, trying to deduce Future Alice’s motives, and how she was somehow supposed to eventually turn into such a creature, she didn’t notice that someone was entering her room. An equine creature, with black and white stripes all over her body, which would identify her to anyone that she was a zebra. She had blue eyes and a large, braided ponytail of interweaving strands of black and white, that draped over her shoulder over one of her breasts, as like all other non-bovine in Minopolis, she wore very little in the form of coverings. All she had on was a piece of neckwear comprised of several metal rings, that looked no different from what one might find around a zebra’s throat even if not enslaved, and a small hat with a red cross on it, like the kind nursing staff often wore.

The zebra entered the room with the intent of checking on a patient, but once she got a good look at her charge, and saw her eyes were open, whatever she had planned on doing was quickly dismissed.

“Pardon the intrusion, little deer,” the zebra mare said, slowly approaching Alice, “But are you awake? Can you see and hear?”

Alice popped out of her own head space when she heard these words, being made aware that she wasn’t alone. Having pulled herself away from the thoughts of her future self’s strange conspiracy against her, the deer looked up at the striped mare, who was at the side of her bed, bent over looking at her patient, with her sizable breasts on full display.

“Uh… Wait… What!?” Alice said, not expecting a pair of Ds to be directly within her view when her focus came back to reality.

The zebra, hearing the response, pouted a bit, “Oh my, this is such a shame. Awake, but confusion clouds her brain.”

Alice gave her head a shake, to re-adjust herself to the current situation. “No, no, I know what’s going on. I just wasn’t paying attention and… uh… wasn’t ready to see someone next to my bed.”

“Well that’s a relief, my injured ward” The zebra said with a smile, “Certainly good news for the slaver lord.”

“Slaver lord?” Alice knew that the zebra were known for rhyming, a quirk they did with the assumption that it warded off evil, but it often made what they were trying to say a bit obscure, “Are you referring to the minotaur king?”

“Yes, the king. Your respected master,” the zebra said, taking hold of Alice’s wrist to check the rate of the deer’s pulse, “He was worried he lost you to disaster.”

The idea that the minotaur that had worried about the wellbeing of a slave confused Alice. Surely the king had plenty of replacements if she were to die, and ones more pleasant to fuck than her. Taking a moment to think about it, Alice could only conclude that he was worried about losing the ability of future sight that the enslaved version of herself freely divulged to him. If it were not for that, he might have left her to bleed out on the floor of that restaurant.

“Your vitals are stable, and perception seems fine,” the zebra went on to say, waving a finger left to right in front of Alice’s eyes, while watching as the deer tracked it, “I’ll inform the king, if you do not mind.”

Alice assumed the zebra was just trying to maintain her rhyming, as she believed the opinion of a slave wouldn’t matter if her owner wanted to know of her condition. “Sure, you can tell him.” the doe replied, to give the zebra some sort of reply. It would get the striped mare out of her room, and since the minotaur king would surely be back at his palace grounds, it would give her enough time to collect her thoughts. Maybe even enough for her future self to return and allow the potion to run its course.

Receiving Alice’s approval, the zebra stood up, making her way to the exit, but didn’t leave the room as expected. Instead the mare leaned her body past the frame, and said aloud, “There’s wonderful news I need to make. Your reindeer is finally awake.”

Alice was bewildered as to what the zebra was doing, as certainly the minotaur king couldn’t have been right there. Yet, after a few seconds the minotaur just strode right into the room, brushing past the zebra as he made his way inside.

“I really wish your kind would stop that annoying way of speaking you have,” the minotaur king grumbled, though his attention was directed more towards Alice as he spoke.

“I understand some bovines hate, this habit that’s our cultural trait,” The zebra said, closing the door, “It’s something not so easily dropped, even after being topped.”

“Then keep silent in my presence,” The minotaur king demanded, “Or better yet, make yourself useful and get my slave some food. I’m sure she’s hungry.”

The zebra bowed, “Of course my lord, as you wish. I’ll get your slave a tasty dish.” With that said, the zebra went to do the task given, leaving Alice and the minotaur king alone.

The minotaur king grabbed a large chair made for his kind that sat against one of the walls of the room, pulling it aside the bed, before placing himself into it. “I see you managed to survive your attack,” the minotaur said, “But knowing you, I bet you’ll say that you knew you would.”

Alice didn’t, of course, but she wasn’t about to admit that to her captor.

“Of all the things to not warn me about. Do you have any idea how much…” the minotaur king hesitated, his words catching in his throat, until he managed to let out, “Time you’ve wasted for me? I had to come and check on your condition every hour of the last two days, just to make sure I didn’t have to deal with your body.”

Alice was stunned at how callous the minotaur was being, bluntly expressing his displeasure brought upon by the bite she received from the chimera. He cared less about her than the time it took to keep checking up on her, and he was actually blaming her for having the audacity to get gravely wounded. If he felt that way, then Alice questioned why he bothered to show up at all. Surely he could have sent some soldier, or slave, or someone else to keep tabs on her condition, instead of coming himself.

For a moment Alice felt more hatred towards this minotaur than she had ever before, her hands clenching the blanket covering her body, and teeth clamped together tightly, as she did everything in her power to prevent her feelings from showing on her face. It was almost too much for her to keep in, wanting to tell this monster off for all the things his kind had done to the deer, and any other creatures they had abducted, but then something clicked in her brain as she fumed internally.

The minotaur king, of all creatures in this horrid place, really wouldn’t have a reason to check in on her as he said. If anyone in this minotaur controlled city would have been able to excuse themselves from such an obligation, then it would be the one in charge of the place. Even if he couldn’t send someone in his stead, the hospital itself could have surely kept him informed through some means. Alice could have ignored these facts, but something strange was going on here if he wanted to blame her for his need to keep checking in, when the only reason he would have been there was because he wanted to be there.

“Hey, Master…” Alice said, doing the bare minimum to keep hidden that she was not his Alice, “Why are you here? Why would you come personally to check in on the health of a slave?”

The minotaur noticed the informal, and uncharacteristically melancholy behavior of his reindeer, but dismissed it since he didn’t expect anyone to be particularly cheerful after what had happened to her. “Why wouldn’t I check in on you? You are my property, and your life was in danger.”

“Do you only see me as a useful tool?” Alice asked, relying on her theory about the minotaur not wanting to lose access to her powers.

The minotaur king became curious to this questioning of his actions and motives, “These are odd questions coming from you. You usually seem to know everything about what others think and will do before they do.”

“I… just want to hear what you have to say, from your own words,” Alice replied.

“Ah, I see. You’re looking for some form of praise.” the minotaur said, “I suppose after such a harrowing event, you deserve some kind words.”

“Please…” Alice said, “Just be honest with me.”

The minotaur king took a moment to put together how he would respond to this, as he hadn’t had to have a discussion like this with the reindeer until now, “You are a useful tool, but perhaps not one I utilize as much as I should. It might be an admission to my own ego, but I don’t think a king should depend on the advice of slaves, be they a seer or not. I find you more enjoyable for the… company you provide.”

“Does that mean you like me more for my body?” Alice asked, since her fate, if left unchanged, was to become this bull’s sex slave.

“Your body is nice,” the minotaur replied, “But I’ve come to appreciate your willingness compared to other females.”

“Come to?” Alice quoted.

“It used to bother me how you gave yourself so willingly.” the minotaur explained, “That you not only surrendered yourself, but enjoyed it when I took pleasure from your body with no evidence of prior training. I thought you were likely a spy sent to thwart our conquest of your village, but you knew that of course, as you insisted that no trap was being laid by your kind, and that any attempt to resist would be fruitless against our might. After the time you’ve been at my service though, I’ve come to find a female unburdened by the duty we force upon them somewhat refreshing. It is a novelty that I would rather not be without.”

The minotaur’s phrasing of everything made it hard to find the meaning in his words. It sounded like he just liked having Alice around, but he still only saw her as a mere slave at his command. It hinted that he wasn’t typically looking for a willing partner, and found the unquestioning loyalty of her future self unnerving, at least for a time.

“Why… Why do you treat other species like this? Why do the minotaur enslave and rape us?”

This question from the reindeer was the most confusing for the minotaur king, as she had never questioned the minotaur’s behaviors before. She had always been a supporter of the bovine’s conquest of the lesser species, taking great joy when joining in the post raid subjugation of those the minotaur defeated. It was mysterious for the reindeer to question something she so eagerly participated in, and he could only assume that the shock of what had happened was affecting her usual state of mind. In a strange way for the bull, this was the first time her words reflected how he believed a woman in her position should act, so he dismissed his confusion for it just being slightly abnormal in context.

“I suppose we’ve never talked about the ‘why’ of my kind’s culture,” the king said, willing to humor his servant’s inquiry, though typically he believed that a king didn’t have to explain themselves to a slave, “But I would think you know that the minotaur were at one point at the verge of extinction.”

This was news to Alice, as she knew next to nothing about minotaur, save for the general knowledge that they were muscular brutes.

“You might not think so, seeing the amount of minotaur that live in Minopolis, but a generation ago there were only a few of us remaining, reduced to a solitary tribe. Most females are not like you, and don’t easily accept the pain that comes from having sex with us. Coupled by the fact that creatures often stick to their own kind, lead to a point where my species would have died out completely if drastic measures were not taken.”

“You do this to keep the minotaur alive?” Alice asked, seeing how such a crisis would push someone to commit terrible deeds you the sake of survival, “Is enslavement the only way you can get mates?”

“Are you sure you’re feeling well?” the bull asked, a little more bewildered by this question, thought it was one often asked by slaves who didn’t understand the plight of the minotaur, “I suppose some females are willing to enter into breeding contracts, a practice that some of my brethren prefer to ease their guilty consciences, but those are a rarity. The practice is not sustainable, not when it comes to the more effective option of using force.”

“But…” There was something that bothered the doe beyond the twisted morality of saving one’s own kind through raping as many women as one could get their hands on. “You enjoy being cruel to the slaves you have at your palace.” The minotaur couldn’t pin his actions on only the desire to preserve his kind, as he displayed satisfaction from the sadism he dabbled in.

“Are you having regrets that you gave yourself to me?” the minotaur asked, “I’d understand if your own acts of sadism were just a ploy to win my favor, as few creatures have the stomach to enjoy the suffering of others.”

“No…” Alice lamented, thinking about her corrupted counterpart, “A part of me certainly enjoys this… I’m just wondering why you do. I guess I’m wondering why that part of me is so happy being here… with you.”

“Hmmm…” the minotaur king murmured, unsure how to answer that.

Alice was the only creature he had ever encountered who loved how he treated her, and from the very start. Other creatures could come to embrace a life of forced servitude and sexual submission after intense training and thorough brainwashing, but this reindeer hadn’t shown any doubts about becoming his slave until now.

“I can’t speak for your motivations,” the bull proceeded, “But I do what I do because it is expected of me.”

“What?” Alice reflexively responded, the reply not making much sense to her.

The minotaur king gave an exasperated sigh, as he was not fluent at alliterating what he thought into words. “You often bring up the idea that there is a fate that we all follow. A pathway designed by history that none of us can stray from. While you have proven on multiple occasions that you can predict the ways this path goes, I question if this history is not a path, but instead a maze.”

“I don’t think I get what you’re saying.” Alice said, as the minotaur’s statements seemed to be bouncing all over the place.

“Minotaur lead simple, if sometimes grand, lives,” the minotaur tried to explain further, “We are powerful, have no ability to understand magic, and have a small affinity towards the workings of business. This is what we are known for, and we rarely deviate from this path. In that aspect, your concept of fate is true. However, minotaur aren’t the only ones who have a niche they prefer to stick to. Practically every creature that lives in this world follows some form of expectation. Zebra are often skilled potion makers and healers. Gryphons are greedy and hostile. Yaks are obnoxiously focused on perfection and being the best. These are what are expected of them, and thus it is what they do.”

“I guess that makes sense…” Alice said, agreeing that many stereotypes of the different species often held truth to them. “But I still don’t get how this applies to your maze idea, or how you treat the other slaves.”

“You are aware of how we minotaur can navigate mazes without any trouble,” said the bull matter of factly, as that was simply a truth to the reindeer he knew, “No matter how complex one is made, we can always get to where we want to be, taking the quickest route. So long as a minotaur knows where we want to be, they know how to get there, and when that’s the case, a maze, no matter how many directions it can take, becomes merely a path that one traverses.”

Alice tried to decipher the meaning in the bovine’s pseudo philosophical explanation, “So you’re saying that the reason fate exists is because all creatures are willing to fall into a role that’s expected of them?”

“That sounds like a good translation,” the minotaur said, shifting a bit in his seat, in a subconscious gesture of not knowing if that was the best way to describe what he meant, “Regardless, this kingdom is built upon those notions of expectations. We allow the enslaved creatures to perform the roles they are best suited for in our name, and place upon you females the expectation of motherhood. It is how my kingdom operates, and gives all that reside in it a purpose.”

“That doesn’t explain why you enjoy tormenting those you enslave.” Alice said, “Even if you have a reason to enslave others, that doesn’t mean you have to go out of your way to hurt them, or that you should enjoy it.”

The minotaur gave a snort strong enough that the pressure of the air could be felt through the blanket over Alice’s body, his facial features turning more stern, “Other species see minotaur as barbaric brutes, and assume that our only intentions are to exploit them for money or sex. So often they will refer to us as monsters, whenever we do something that displeases them.”

Alice thought back on her own perspectives of the minotaur, and how she too had immediately jumped to the conclusions that they, and particularly their king, were evil creatures. While what she had seen gave a good deal of credence to that, she did see the irony that such assumptions might be what made the minotaur king that way in the first place.

“I will say this now, so you can’t deny in the future what kind of master you’ve been obeying,” the minotaur said, “I make no excuses for the way I rule, nor will I justify my actions as capitulation to the way others look at me. Anything I do is to meet my own expectations as to what a minotaur king should be. If fate exists, then I am the one who sets my own course on it.”

“What are you trying to say?” Alice asked, honestly confused. He had given her a reason why he treated other species poorly, but was now backpedaling on that excuse.

“While it is the lesser species that chose to see me as a villain and tyrant, I am the one who has chosen to live up to their expectations.” said the bull, removing any deniability that he might be the product of some form of mistreatment, “Whatever I do to those who belong to me are of my decision, and if I am a villain because of it, then that’s because I decided that would be my destination in the maze of history.”

The minotaur king got up from his seat, and headed for the door, believing he got all points across to his reindeer. “If your opinions about your enslavement have changed, then I understand, but know that it will not change anything about our relationship. You are my slave, and I am your master and king.”

Alice’s head drooped down slightly, not exactly pleased that this was the summation of their conversation, which was made worse by the pounding pain in her side. However, this did not go unnoticed by the minotaur, and seeing his most loyal servant in such a state of depression managed to touch him in a way even he did not expect, making it impossible for him to leave without doing something to make it better, if only slightly.

“I am… glad.” said the bull, “That you have recovered. As a king, I would have never forgiven myself had I let you die at the hands of some vicious beast in my presence. Focus on relaxing and getting better. I must return to the castle grounds now that i know that you are ok, but I’ll return tomorrow to make sure you stay that way.”

With that said, the minotaur king made his exit, leaving Alice to try and sort out what he said to her. It was a hard to really understand his motives, but from what she gathered, it sounded like the minotaur lord had reasons to force creatures into being minotaur slaves, imprisoning them within his kingdom against their will, but he didn’t wish to use that as justification as to why he did the outright evil things he did. While the part about wanting to save his species was understandable, and the part about living up to expectations had some relatability to it, but if he understood him correctly, he was denying that any of that was what made him do the more evil things he did.

Most creatures, even the ones who most would claim are evil, didn’t want to see themselves as evil. They would make up reasons why what they did was actually good, like believing that they were more fit to lead than the current ruler, so they dethrone the princess or king and banish them, or a monarch taking over a bit of inhabited land because their own lands are in turmoil, and they need a place for their citizens to stay. For a creature to just admit that they chose to do terrible things was baffling, especially when they had a way to excuse their actions. What was even more troubling was that the minotaur showed he had the ability for compassion, if only because he had wanted to make sure that Alice wasn’t fatally injured.

It’s strange, isn’t it. Master is so cruel, and yet he wasn’t going to leave our side until he was sure we would make it. Alice heard this inside her head, said to her in her own voice. She almost confused it as one of her own thoughts, until she realized that she didn’t think of the bovine as her master.

So you’ve finally come back, Alice thought to her future self, knowing that she had finally returned, How long have you been watching?

Not long, Future Alice replied, I’ve already been through this, so I knew when I needed to pop up again.

So this was where you jumped to when you left me to get bitten by that snake? asked Alice, her ire over that evident in the tone of her thoughts.

Yes, Future Alice replied, And I’m very sorry about that. I know first hand how that felt, and how angry you are at me about it. The pain of those teeth sinking into our body. The fear of death as we slipped into the darkness. The ache that you are feeling right now, that even our pleasure aura can’t mask.

Future Alice was right about all of that, especially the pain she was still feeling. If she had the ability to do so, she’d strangle the doe that she would become, but seeing as they’d never be in the same place at the same time, that was impossible.

But I also know that now you’re a bit curious about our master now, Future Alice continued, About how there might be something more to him than being a simple tyrant king

I don’t care about whatever reason he has for taking over these lands, Alice said, trying to steel her heart against the minotaur’s only legitimate cause in all of this.

Perhaps you don’t right now, Future Alice said, but what you do care about is why he cares about us so much. It was one of the things that made me want to learn more about him

Is this another ploy to get me to come to swap places with you again? Alice asked, I’m not doing it. Both times now I’ve had something done to me that has traumatized me

You’re being dramatic, Future Alice replied, Those experiences might have affected you on a personal level, but we are too stubborn to let stuff like this phase us for long. Even now, you’re still trying to devise a way to defy your fate

Why shouldn’t I? Alice asked, Even if I were curious about this minotaur king, I wouldn’t want to live in this world he’s created. There is no reason I shouldn’t try to find another way out of this maze of destiny

And there it is, Future Alice said smugly, You’re using his terminology

Alice’s eyes widened for a moment, as she had let those words slip so freely, meaning that something about what the minotaur lord said had reached her.

It’s understandable, Future Alice said, Right now you have to hold on to the idea that you can change the future, and the only way that can be true is if Master’s theory is true. You can no longer rely on the path of fate, as fate has been corrupted in your eyes. So now you must try to navigate the ‘maze of destiny’, as you put it

And I suppose you’re gonna tell me exactly how to do that? Alice said, stuck asking all the questions, since she really didn’t know any of the answers.

Nope, Future Alice said, Anything I say now you’d assume would be another trick, and I don’t blame you. All I can really say is that you should take the clue you did all this for, and try to find the Moirai.

But I bet that’s what you did in my place, Alice said, not being completely clueless to what was going on, Why should I keep walking in your hoofsteps?

Because right now there are no other turns in your maze, Future Alice said, You’re only options are to take the steps forward to the next turn, or stop and lose any chance to escape

Maybe not progressing is the way out, Alice theorized, as she would never become this future version of herself if she just didn’t pursue this further.

Do you really think that you refusing to play will have any effect on Master’s invasions? Future Alice said, Well go ahead if you want, but that will only lead to our village being dominated by the minotaur.

Alice grumbled to herself, it just dawning on her that the minotaur king had actually brought this up. The future version of herself was certainly talking about the village that, in her time, her parents still resided in, claiming that it would be taken over if she tried to do nothing.

The first day that I met Master on my own timeline was when he was setting up to raid the village, Future Alice explained, And if you do nothing to try and stop them, then that part alone will not change. You might spare yourself enslavement, but what will that mean if everyone else is in chains?

But you want them to be in chains, Alice said, seeing through this manipulation. She was starting to become paranoid, seeing that every possible action could put her at risk to becoming this future self. Still, future Alice was right. Standing in a maze didn’t get one out of it, and this was a point where she would have to take action, no matter how dangerous it could be.

Well, it’s about that time, Future Alice said, as a familiar feeling of distortion overcame the doe laying in the hospital bed, I’ve got some physical recovery to do, and you need to get back to your timeline. It’s gonna hurt for a few months, but I’m just glad I know the damage isn’t permanent. Zebra healing medicine is very effective

Before Alice could think up some form of reply, she felt herself slip back into her own time, into her own body, in her own room. Immediately sensation of pain and pleasure left her completely, allowing her to finally feel normal again after what was technically days, even if she had been unconscious for most of it. As jarring as it was to swap again, she was ready this time, and maintained her meditation position as she kept a link with her vision of the future.

The reindeer wanted to see how the Future Alice reacted returning to her now damaged body, and she did take a slight bit of satisfaction watching her corrupted self grimace a bit as the feeling of pain met her senses. Alice watched a little longer, but when the zebra finally returned with a plate of soft food, the present doe believed there was nothing more to gain from watching, and opened her eyes to cut her ties to that period of time.

With her body having sat in pose for over an hour, Alice felt a new ache as she shifted herself out of position, crawling her way over to her bed. She didn’t even need her future sight to predict the knocking that came to her door as she was lifting herself up to her hooves, as the ever vigilant Bori came to check in on her.

“Come in!” Alice called, needing to speak with her anyways, now that she had new information.

The door opened, and the pink doe entered, holding the same level of worry for the young deer that she had the first time she projected herself into the future with the potion. “How did it go?”

“Ummm…” Alice found herself hesitating slightly, seeing the other Gift Giver in her normal state, after having seen what her future self had caused to happen with her.

It was jarring to know that as of right now, she was fated to help the minotaur enslave not only the reindeer village, but seemingly the Gift Givers as well. She hadn’t seen Aurora there, but if Bori was enslaved, then odds were the eldest of their group would not have been forgotten about.

“It… was horrible,” Alice said, “But I think I finally have a clue about how to stop the minotaur.”

“Well that’s… good news to hear,” Bori said, hoping for Alice’s sake that she was correct. Despite being within the loop about this threat, she knew so little about what it actually entailed outside of the minotaur themselves, and that it troubled the younger doe to no end. “So what did you learn?”

Alice sat herself down, taking a few deep breaths to shake off the remains of the distorted feelings that were caused by her consciousness traveling through time. The moment she felt her perception straighten out though, she looked at Bori and said, “Do you know anything about a group called ‘The Moirai’?”

“Moirai?” Bori repeated, “I… the name sounds familiar, but I can’t recall who it refers to.”

Alice hadn’t really expected Bori to know anything about The Moirai, assuming that it was some secret group that was manipulating history from the shadows. That Bori thought she might have heard the name at all was surprising, and perhaps fortunate, because it meant that there was some connection to them and the reindeer. It was more than Alice assumed, even at that moment, as another source of information immediately revealed.

“The Moirai?” said a voice from within the hallway, “Which one of you is bringing up them?”

Aurora stepped into view from behind the door frame, having managed to get herself out of bed.

“Aurora, what are you doing out of bed?” Bori said, her first instinct when seeing the elder deer was to worry about the sickness that had befallen her for days. “You should get your rest.”

“It’s hard to rest when you two are talking right outside my room,” Aurora replied, a bit grouchily, “And I’m feeling as fit as ever, so no need to baby me.”

Alice could see the start of an argument forming between her peers, but was far more pressed about the notion that Aurora seemed to know more about the Moirai than Bori.

“Aurora, do you know who the Moirai are?” Alice asked, running up to the elderly deer and disrupting the dispute before it could go any further, “It’s important that I find out who they are. So important that the fate of the world is at stake!”

Aurora saw the fear in her young college’s eyes, and understood that something big had taken place while she was bedridden. “Ok, ok, I’ll tell you what I know, but first you’ve got to let me know what’s got you so upset.”

Alice nodded, seeing that Aurora didn’t have the slightest clue about what was going on.

“You two go downstairs, and I’ll join you in a minute, ” Aurora said, “Then you can get me up to speed while I make us something to calm your nerves.”

Moments later, Alice and Bori were sitting down at their kitchen table, as Aurora set to task boiling up some warm coco.

The yellow doe was already explaining everything she had seen, about the minotaur, and Minopolis, and how she had seen several deer tribes, as well as some members of equine tribes, subjected into slavery. Alice told everything she knew, only leaving out the parts about her future self that seemed to be part of this, and that she had seen Bori there. At this point it had nothing to do with how she broke the rules, but instead that she didn’t want to freak out the other two Gift Givers. They believed in Alice’s premonitions as much as the yellow deer did themselves, and Alice didn’t want them to do anything drastic in response to learning their fates.

“Everything you say adds up to me,” Aurora said, putting a mix of dark powder into some hot water she had been making, “There are four tribes of deer out there; that being those of Thicket, the two reindeer tribes, and a fourth one that had gone missing when they left the lands that would be Equestria. These ‘Antlerteans’, as you call them, sound like they could be them.”

“And the minotaur sounds very similar to Krampus,” Bori added, “The minotaur that attacked us long ago.”

“Ooohh, you didn’t tell Alice about that old myth, did you?” Aurora said, for some reason being very hostile about it, “Krampus is a story the reindeer used to tell in order to scare fawns from straying too far from the village.”

“But aren’t all myths based on some truth?” Alice asked, wanting the story to be true, to justify further her dislike of the minotaur, especially when that hatred had received a small dent in it upon seeing the minotaur king’s slightly sympathetic traits. “I’m sure that these minotaur have some sort of connection to Krampus. That’s why they targeted the deer tribes first.”

Aurora handed over two mugs of coco, and went back to make one for herself. “If there is a connection, I’m sure it’s not a strong one.” she said with conviction, “Sometimes coincidences happen, even if they follow the path of fate.”

“Even so, can we really follow the path if it leads to a horrible end?” Bori said, slightly conceding to Alice’s want to change fate.

“One of our most important rules is not to try and change fate,” Aurora said, “But there are times when the course of history must be changed to right a wrong.”

“Then you agree?” Alice said, gulping down some of her hot drink, “We have to do something to avoid Minopolis coming to pass?”

Bori joined in on drinking the coco, her nerves becoming a bit frazzled over this whole ordeal. This was bigger than anything the Gift Givers had ever dealt with. Their role in Equestria was to spread happiness, not to defeat tyrants.

“Maybe it would be best if we just told the leaders of the other tribes,” Bori said, “If they can prepare for what’s to come.”

“No,” Aurora said, “If Alice predicted this outcome, then there is nothing they can do. Any action they take will just adhere to the course history has set forth. Telling them could even lead to them making the mistakes that allow the minotaur to do as she has foreseen.”

Alice wanted to object, but her future self had seemingly caused the downfall of several civilizations through such predictions.

“If there is a way to deal with this, then it’s up to us,” Aurora concluded, “But I can tell that you two are in no condition to discuss these matters now."

Alice and Bori wondered what the older doe meant by that, but then a small yawn escaped Bori’s muzzle. Alice was quick to follow up, as fatigue of the events she had gone through set in.

“I guess you’re right,” Bori said, feeling tired despite it still being early morning and the excitement of the situation.

“You two go to sleep,” Aurora said, “We can talk about this more in the morning.”

The two deer at the table agreed, not having the energy to object. They used what was left of their stamina to make their way to their bedrooms, and hop into bed, complying to the wishes of their elder member without so much as a goodnight. It didn’t take either long to fall asleep once they rested themselves in their beds.

Aurora followed the duo and made sure the two did as they were told, though had no doubt that they would adhere to her authority in this. Not that they always did as she said, but because she had slipped something into their drinks that would make it impossible to do otherwise. Pulling a small envelope from a pocket in her dress, she placed what remained of her drug inside it, while pulling a letter it held out. The old deer then reviewed what was written on the paper, just to be sure she understood it completely, before going to her room to wait.

Part One Epilogue: The Moirai

About an hour passed, and the older deer entered into Alice’s room, spying the yellow doe sleeping soundly. She would be that way for hours more if not interrupted, but Aurora needed her to be awake for what was to come.

The old doe went aside Alice’s bed, then said loudly to her, “Wake up, Alice.”

It didn’t happen instantly, but once the words pierced the barrier of sleep, Alice’s eyes wearily opened up.

“Aurora?” she said groggily, confused as to why the old deer had entered her room unannounced.

“Get up,” Aurora said, “I need to show you something.”

Alice didn’t question for a second, the ability to do anything but obey the order given to her locked away at the moment. Rising out of her bed, she followed Aurora out of the room, and into the old doe’s own.

Once inside, Aurora headed straight to a bookshelf in the room, one that Alice had seen many times before, and held nothing unusual about it, from how it looked, to the material that sat within its shelves.

“Help me push this over a little,” Aurora said, to which Alice once more complied, joining the older doe, and scooting it along the wall.

It was a heavy piece of furniture that scraped across the wooden floor as it was moved, but with a bit of effort the pair were able to move it. Once moved, a trapdoor that had been hidden underneath it was revealed, having a metal ring handle that sunk into the floor that Aurora used to lift it up, opening a secret path with a ladder going into the earth.

“Follow me, and don’t dally,” said the old deer, quickly making her way down the ladder once the door was opened.

Alice, still unable to do anything but comply, went down the ladder as soon as the old deer vanished from sight. She probably should have been afraid, despite her inability to refuse the elder deer, but she trusted Aurora more than most. To her, this just felt like she was going along with the wishes of her peer, and while it was a bit strange, she couldn’t see the harm in it if Aurora was able to traverse the secret tunnel without fear.

Reaching the bottom of the ladder, Alice found herself in some sort of cave passage, one that looked like it hadn’t been ventured through for some time. Aurora was already busy lighting a lantern, proceeding deeper into the tunnel as the oil in the lantern took flame. Having no other commands given, Alice kept following after the other doe, pondering about how long this had been under their home, and how it got there in the first place, but keeping such thoughts to herself.

The way through this cave went on for a while, the time it took perhaps doubling as Aurora took the time to light a few torches along the way, the illumination of which revealed strange symbols drawn along the rock surface, along with characters that looked to be deer, due to the antler like protrusions atop their heads. They looked old, perhaps primitive in nature, as if made by an ancient civilization of cervid, that predated the deer species that Alice had come to know.

“Alice,” Aurora said, as the tunnel opened up into a large chamber, “You are entering into the ancient chamber used by our coven before they became the Gift Givers you know today.”

Alice was left to stand at the entrance of this space, as Aurora went around lighting more torches, and letting light consume the shadows that had resided here for ages, exposing more drawings, along with a plethora of artifacts from a time forgotten that served as only decoration for the chamber now.

“And now that we’re here, I’ll answer the question you asked earlier.” Aurora continued, blowing out her lantern and placing it on the floor, “We, the Gift Givers, are The Moirai.”

Of all the things that didn’t invoke the slightest reaction upon reaching this chamber, that revelation managed to break the hold on Alice enough that she let out a gasp of shock, as she would have never anticipated that those she sought, those who had changed the future to one that allowed the minotaur to become a threat to all of Equestria and beyond, were the Gift Givers themselves.

She didn’t want to believe it, and was hastily formulating that this was a trick of her future self, to lead her away from the true culprits. Before that thought could settle in though, Aurora followed up with another bold statement that destroyed any notion that Future Alice was anything but truthful.

“And if you are asking about that name, it means that you are the ‘Promised Gift’, and that the debt all deerkind owes the minotaur will soon be repaid.”

Author's Note

Thank you to anyone who made it all the way through this story. As I said previously, this will be where I stop with it for the time being. I do have much more to get to when it comes to Alice, and how she will attempt to alter her fate with the minotaur, but for now I need to return to other projects. Expect the next book of the story around next December, and this is supposed to be a holiday based story, due to the character it focuses on.

Aside form that, I hope that you all enjoyed the story, and that you'll show up for what's to come.

How It All Began

Alice sat stunned at what she had just heard from her elder Gift Giver. Aurora had led her to a secret place in the Gift Giver’s shared home, a cavernous area connected directly to the old reindeer’s room, and had just revealed a secret to Alice that would have terrified the younger deer, had something not been inhibiting her emotional responses.

For the past few weeks, Alice, had used her incredible power of peering into the future of all Equestria, and seen horrible depictions of a future to come. She then experienced it first hand, as she sent her consciousness into the future through the use of special potion granted to her by Bori, so she could witness what appeared to be a poor fate for all Equestria, one where minotaur had become the tyrants and were enslaving the other species to their wills.

She had spoken with her future self, who had come to accept her place as a slave to her bovine master, who added their ascension as an evil overlord by using future vision to guide them toward a path of complete domination. In each encounter, the future version of herself had the upper hand, knowing when her present self would look at her own future, and setting up scenarios where Alice would always end up against her favor.

The only advantage Alice had been given by putting herself through each of these terrible visits to the future had been a single clue of the cause to all this. A name, the one of the group that her future self said had allowed this fate to happen, ‘The Moirai’. They were the ones future Alice had said could change the Path of Fate, and used that power to bring about this minotaur dominated future.

Now Aurora, a doe she had respected like a grandmother, had just revealed that the Moirai were the Gift Givers themselves, and called Alice ‘The Promised Gift’. She had no idea what that meant, except that the elder deer implied it was a means to repay a debt deerkind owed the minotaur. It was hard for the yellow doe to understand how Aurora could be part of this. She always had the demeanor of a kindly old doe, and Alice would have never pegged her of being the willing servant to a bunch of tyrants.

“I’m sure you have a lot of questions.” Aurora said, as she walked around the chamber, looking upon the drawings and artifacts of a time long past. Only the old doe knew how long they had rested in the dark isolation of this secreted location. “Questions brought on by looking into your own fate. You’ve been trying to hide it, but the fact that you know the ancient name of our coven, a name that has been lost to all of our kind but myself, has given you away. You couldn’t have asked me about that name without knowing it, and you couldn’t know it without asking me.”

Alice couldn’t decipher what Aurora meant, as the old doe’s words were akin to riddles, but understood that Aurora had figured out she had been confirming with her future self, despite having been warned not to do that by the elderly deer. “I… know that I shouldn’t have…”

“No need to apologize,” Aurora said, though her eyes bore the weight of heavy contemplation over the young doe, “If you are the Promised Gift, then the series of events you have gone through has been foretold long before it happened. All looking into your own future did was make the path of your fate into a living paradox of predetermination. Things your future self does is based on what you know now, since she has already gone through this already.”

Alice had heard that she was a living embodiment of a paradox before, from her future self. It appeared that this was the moment that version of her heard that description of herself, and thus that Alice had experienced a strange moment of deja vu where a loop in time was completed without her being aware it was even a thing till it happened. It made her feel like the grip of that terrible future had a stronger hold on her than she assumed, and perhaps that was the intention from the corrupted version of herself.

The sensation of her present meeting up with the future she was trying to avoid made Alice go woozy, and without thinking she said the first thing that came to mind as a response to Aurora’s words. “Is that according to the Path of Fate, or the Maze of Destiny?” She was now speaking of the beliefs the future minotaur king’s shared with her about how history worked, not even sure if Aurora knew what it was, but assuming that she might have had some knowledge on it, seeing how much she had revealed to know already.

“Maze of Destiny?” Aurora questioned, displaying her ignorance on the topic. The old deer then dismissed it as confusion brought on by the drugs that she used on the young doe earlier, muddling her thoughts. “You should know by now that as the seer of the future among our coven, your powers let you see the immutable fates of all creatures. There is no way to avoid a fate once seen, as that fate is what will be, and what will always be. Try as you might, history will guide you to the place that you saw yourself in.”

Alice did know this, as it was what had been taught to her since gaining her powers and joining the Gift Givers, but she was not happy with this remedial lesson. “But I was told the Moirai had the power to change fate.”

“By your future self?” Aurora asked, certain that this was the only source who could have told her this.

“Yes,” Alice replied, hoping that being truthful would have Aurora divulge how this was possible.

Aurora thought to herself for a moment, and then said, “She isn’t completely wrong. The course of history can be changed, but it’s a tricky method.”

“How?” Alice asked, her goal to avoid a future of enslavement, for not just herself but all the other creatures the minotaur had conquered, was still her soul focus in her drug influenced state, “I have to stop those minotaur.”

Aurora sighed, stuck between a promise she made a long time ago, and the fears of the young doe she had grown to love as her own family. “Alice, if your future self knows that fate can be changed, you’re right to assume she learned it from me.” As Aurora spoke, she started to gather up some dried herbs that had been stored in the cave chamber, putting them into a large bowl seated atop a podium. “It’s a secret I’ve safely guarded for a long time, and I wouldn’t tell you under any circumstances, save for one. That would be while teaching you about your true purpose as the Promised Gift.”

“But Aurora, I can’t see how I become a willing minotaur slave.” Alice once more blurted out the thoughts passing through her mind, and revealed a detail that caught Aurora off guard, if only for a moment.

“I suppose from your current perspective, it would look like slavery.” the elderly deer said, “From the way you’ve described the minotaur and the city they have in your visions, it certainly sounds like it. But if you’re a willing participant in the future though, then something must have happened to change the way you look at things from now to then. The Path of Fate doesn’t force those who travel along it to do something they wouldn’t. It is the results of one’s own actions, cause and effect.”

Alice didn’t like how calm Aurora was being about this, given how grave the situation was. In her current state though, she could do little to show how upset she was, with her emotions pacified. She was forced to sit and listen as her mental image of her mentor changed before her eyes.

“I understand none of this makes sense right now,” Aurora said, grabbing a pestle that sat nearby her bowl of herbs, using it to grind the dried plants into a fine powder, “But from what I know about minotaur and the prophecy of the Promised Gift, this all adds up to me.”

“Aurora, please…” Alice said, begging through her subdued state, “I don’t know what any of this even means. I… We both can’t exist just to help some barbaric bulls force others to serve them.”

“Deerie,” Aurora replied in a gentle tone, “This isn’t about servitude. This is about correcting an injustice that happened long ago, before you were born. Something that upset history itself, binding together the fates of the four deer tribes and the minotaur in ways that neither could ever comprehend.”

“Do you mean Krampus?” Alice asked, remembering the myth of an evil minotaur who reigned terror on the reindeer village in the past.

“In a way, yes,” Aurora replied with a nod, “But not in the way that you think. The tale of Krampus is one that has been rewritten and obscured to the point that few facts about it stood the test of time, by design of those who spread it in the first place. Not a single creature alive knows what actually happened back then, save for one.”

It wasn’t hard for Alice to know who Aurora was talking about. As the elderly deer could perfectly see all events of the past, so long as she knew who’s past to look in on, it was clear she was speaking about herself. The yellow doe wonder’s what Aurora knew about this time in deer history, and how it applied to Alice’s current situation, and her future.

Placing her grinding tool aside, Aurora dipped her hand into the bowl, scoping up much of the herb dust she had been preparing. The ground up plants were now like grains of sand, made up of a rainbow of particles. Having taken what she needed, Aurora placed the bowl down as well, and approached Alice.

“Fear not, deerie. With this, all will be revealed.”

Before Alice could reply, Aurora blew the dust right into the younger doe’s face, forming a cloud of dust around her head. The yellow deer, both caught unaware and unable to see this as a threat, inhaled the substance with her next breath, and by doing so partook of yet another drug from the elderly doe. As the dust filled her lungs, she found that it didn’t make her cough or sputter, but instead caused her vision to become more and more obscured by the remainder of the dust cloud floating around her. In a short time, the mere handful of dust turned into a deep fog, and Alice found herself becoming lost within the haze.

The cloud’s density and effects on Alice had her mind spinning, losing track of where she was or what she was doing. She had to piece together the last things she remembered, which was that she was talking to Aurora, who had seemed to vanish completely. The underground cavern also appeared to be gone, like she was no longer in it, despite not having moved or been moved. She hadn’t passed out, despite her disorientation, so she had to assume that she hadn’t moved from her stone seat.

Yet, everything felt different, like she was in a new location altogether, though she couldn’t tell with all the fog surrounding her. Wanting to know what had happened, and where the other doe in the chamber went, she got up from the seat, only to immediately notice she had regained control of her body and that her thoughts and emotions were no longer dimmed.

“Aurora?” she called out, getting a muffled echo of her voice back. She saw this as a sign that she was still in the cave, and thus started searching for Aurora, stepping forward to try and escape the cloud around her.

She took a few steps, but no matter where she went the miasma of dust was ever present. Alice was starting to believe that it had somehow filled the chamber completely, but she wasn’t encountering the borders of the room. The cavern wasn’t that big, and she expected to at least find a wall after moving around a little, but she didn’t encounter a single one. As she kept moving through, something did appear from within the cloud. Not Aurora, or any part of the cave structure, but an entire building.

Not just one, but several, formed in the layout of a small city. This confused Alice, as she had no idea how she had made it outside, or where she was. The closest city to the Gift Giver’s cabin was miles away, and she didn’t want to believe she had been relocated that far of a distance. The architecture of the buildings, while not recognized by the doe, looked vaguely familiar. It bore the stylistic features of reindeer craftsmanship, of her tribe of deer. As she made her way in deeper, this assumption was proven true, as she started to see the creatures who inhabited this village, who were deer like herself. It felt so surreal, especially with the cloud still surrounding her, but in seeing this Alice had to accept that she had somehow left the cave.

With no idea where she was, Alice had only one recourse, and that was asking for help and directions. “Excuse me,” she said, approaching the closest deer to her, a stag chopping firewood next to what she assumed was his home. “Sorry to bother you, but I think I got lost and wandered into this town. Could you tell me where I am, and point me to a place where I could get directions?”

The stag didn’t answer, and instead just kept to his task. Alice didn’t think that he could not hear her, or was unaware that she was speaking to him, so that led her to believe she was being ignored. Maybe the stag was working, and didn’t have time to be bothered, or just didn’t want to talk to someone who was not a native of the town. Whatever the reason, Alice decided to leave him, and go to another deer.

Oddly enough, the next one was not a typical reindeer like her, but a doe with a fleece of fluff that encircled their necks. Alice was aware of this tribe, who typically lived in a city of their own called ‘Reine’. It was odd seeing two types of deer in the same city, though for reindeer and ‘Reinedeer’, it was not completely unheard of for one to visit the other tribe’s cities on business. Even if the doe was not a local, that she was here must have meant she would have known how to get to other cities.

“Excuse me! Ms.!” Alice yelled to the doe, trying to get her attention, but yet again being ignored. This time she could attribute being ignored to some sort of tribal prejudice, as the separate deer tribes tended to be distant from one another, only interacting if absolutely needed, but Alice couldn’t allow herself to be dismissed so easily by each deer she encountered. She decided to take matters into her own hands, and grab for the doe to make her pay attention.

This wasn’t going to net her any points with the Reine doe, but she would try to do her best to smooth things over once she got the doe talking to her. She shot her hand to the doe’s upper arm, and squeezed, only to find that her hand slipped right through what she thought was a solid body. The only thing her actions accomplished was break apart the doe’s arm momentarily, as that part of her body became like sand particles flowing in the air, only to rejoin the rest of the doe a few seconds later.

As the doe continued to walk away, none the wiser to what had happened, while Alice was left standing in stunned silence. “W-What was that?!” She yelled, now hoping that no one would take notice of her, since she had no clue if that would be a good thing anymore.

“Calm yourself, child,” came the soft and soothing voice of Aurora, echoing from no discernible direction, “What you are seeing is a mere projection of a time when there was only one deer city, known as North Pole, where the four tribes lived in harmony.”

“Aurora?!” Alice said, not as happy to hear her mentor now that she had a full grasp on her feelings again, with the fact that she still wasn’t sure what was going on not helping, “What is this?”

“A vision,” Aurora answered, “Of times long past. I’m using my powers to see into the past, and displaying what I see by manipulating the herb particles in the air. The herbs themselves help in the demonstration, by giving you hallucinations that will make everything seem more real. It’s something we Moirai borrowed from the Thicket deer.”

From what little she knew about Thicket and the deer that lived there, Alice was aware that they were more attuned to plantlike and plant based alchemy than other deer. What Aurora had used on must have been a drug they had devised, that she had picked up on by peering into their past. It felt inexcusable that Aurora had stooped to drugging her, but if what she was seeing was an accurate depiction of the past, then Alice couldn’t deny that this unique experience was interesting to her.

While she had access to every moment of the future experienced by a creature, up until said creature’s own demise, the past and present were completely blocked off to her at the moment the ‘future’ became her ‘present’. Even things that she had viewed before would no longer be accessible the moment Alice had caught up to that point, meaning that the amount of things she could view were always becoming smaller. Opposed to that, the things Aurora could see were constantly growing, as events once foretold became events that came to pass. While Aurora often described things in the past to her and Bori, it never crossed the young doe’s mind that Aurora could just show her things that had happened in a manner like this, and it did excite her a little to see things from the elder deer’s perspective for once. She only hoped that anything Aurora said was truthful, as while Alice was wary of her now that she revealed herself to be aligned with the minotaur, the yellow deer didn’t think she had the will to truly distrust her.

“Allow me to start from the beginning.” Aurora said, her voice resonating through the world of dust she had created for Alice, “As the yaks, kirin, dragons, ponies, and all other manner of creatures you can think of were all establishing their own cultures, we were likewise trying to figure out what path our kind would take. Starting off as a single tribe, our people slowly, but steadily, discovered what talents we possessed.”

As the old deer spoke, the scene played out before Alice’s eyes, the village of the ancient deer civilization coming into full view, with many deer living together in a single environment. As Aurora had said, representatives of the four tribes lived in this single village, with Alice taking note of reindeer, “Reine” deer, the whitetails of Thicket, and even the ancestors of the Antlertean tribe, who still bore the odd tattoos upon their bodies that none of the other tribes shared.

The deer comprised of dust particles went about a typical day of doing tasks and enjoying their lives, with some working, some running errands, some tending to shops, and even a few young fawns running about and playing games. Alice was amazed at what she was seeing, and wondered how much of it was her mind filling in the blanks of what Aurora was creating, as it all looks so vivid and complex a scene for a creature to recreate.

“While our kind lived in isolation from most other settlements, we ended up developing quite similarly to the other tribes that would one day share Equestria and its borders with up. Those who would one day inhabit the city of Reine discovered how to control ice and snow with their magic, allowing them mastery over the weather. Likewise, the whitetails discovered how to grow crops in our perpetually cold lands, which allowed the pair to provide food for the village together.”

As Alice walked around the village, she found herself coming upon a bit of farm land, which allowed her to see the synergy of these two deer types, as a group of Reine deer manipulated the snow and frost that covered the ground, while rows of Thicket deer traveled down the cleared dirt to pour their potions upon it, which would cause fresh vegetation to grow on the spot. It was very similar to the relationship between earth ponies and pegasi in Equestria.

“The Antlerteans likewise developed their own gifts, discovering a way to inscribe themselves with glyphs, which allowed them to channel their magic into items. While this had little practical use at the time, they used their skills to create small baubles that could be powered in this manner.”

Alice looked around once more, hoping to find an example of this ability. While she had encountered the Antlertean’s magic before, when the reindeer was at the mercy of the gray Antlertean doe, Xenia, she was too far out of it to notice Xenia’s use of it. A small search led her to a toy shop ran by one of the Antlertean deer, where a small array of figurines moved about in the storefront window. This kind of automation was unheard of in Equestria and the Frozen North, but Alice swore that she had seen such items in a stationary state in her own village, kept around as antiques.

“Lastly was our tribe, who had discovered the means to walk on the currents of the air, as if they were flying. At the time, this ability was merely used as a form of entertainment, as those who participated in ‘Reindeer games’ use this power to display their athletic prowess.”

Alice didn’t need a demonstration of this, as she was acquainted with the ability of flight, and with reindeer games, both persisting within her tribe of deer to this day. Still, she couldn’t help but notice a few deer flying overhead as they went from one location to another. In a time where the deer did not interact with other creatures, this power must have been niche. In the time Alice lived in though, the power had a more useful function, as reindeer could fly to cover large distances quickly, much like any avian race could. The Gift Givers themselves frequently used this when making deliveries, so in comparison to the abilities of the other deer, it seemed fairly mundane to Alice. However, it was really interesting to see each of these different types of deer working hand in hand with one another, working to the betterment of their consolidated community.

“While this was the one trait those of our ancestors would commonly acquire, we were not only blessed with our power of flight. As time went on, a small few of us gained more unique and powerful abilities. Ones that happened on a whim, as if the Path of Fate itself wanted us to have them. Those who gained these similar, yet vastly different powers were known as-”

“The Moirai.” Alice said, knowing already what Aurora would say.

Not by use of her future sight, which appeared to be inhibited by the drug at that moment, but by taking note of the direction of this story being told to her. In that matter, the herb cloud didn’t seem to impair her ability to think or figure things out. For all she knew, it was devised to help those it was applied to think better, to take in every bit of information the storyteller was saying, which might have been why the drugs Aurora previously gave her wore off the moment she took her first breath of it.

“Yes deerie, the Moirai,” Aurora said, shifting the scene to a cavernous chamber similar to the one they were already in, where three does in robes resided. “Three does who had tapped into the infinite knowledge of history, and for a time served as seers to the deer.”

“For a time?” Alice questioned, looking at the three robed figures before her, who must have been the first deer to have the powers the Gift Givers inherited generations later.

“Well originally many deer were very excited at this power they had acquired. The ability to know the past, present, and future of all creatures, at the fingertips of their kind. But… as time went on deer started to worry about this power being used against them. They started to fear the Moirai knowing too much, perhaps not helped when one would casually let slip some secret or thing that would happen a week later in public.”

Alice could see that happening, as the trio of Gift Givers would often talk about things they’d see in their visions with one another, and with guests. The desire to share the kind of information to others was far too tempting.

“To ease the minds of our kind, the Moirai relocated themselves outside of the village, much like we do now, and offered their services to any who sought them out, in exchange for a steady supply of food. This arrangement was acceptable by the villagers of North Pole, and once more their minds were put to ease. It did have one amusing side effect though, as deer were still worried that the trio of seers knew everything they did and would do, and could share that with the other villagers if they saw fit. Because of this, anything even close to a crime was practically eliminated, with the worst offenses being pranks played by a child who were yet to learn about the Moirai, until the legend was shared to them to scare them straight.”

Aurora shifted the scene again, but this time it was not the location that changed, but those within it, as the figures in the Moirai changed again and again, denoting the passage of time and the changing of its members. The elderly deer saw no need to explain this part to Alice, as anything she could say were things the yellow deer already knew. Gift Givers were not immortal, though like other creatures of Equestria some could be long lived, and each time one died, another doe would gain their power by a random chance of fate. As such, there were only ever three Gift Givers, or in this case ‘Moirai’, at any given time.

“This is how things were for some time, with every deer contributing to the whole of deer civilization in one way or another, no matter how big or small. Our kind flourished, without the need of any allies, in our secluded section of the Frozen North, with the occasional bit of advice from the Moirai when it was asked of them by the village leaders.”

Alice found herself returned to North Pole, where once more she could enjoy the sight of the ancient village, which had grown over the passage of time, with the population of the deer becoming more dense as well. As she walked the streets of this illusion once more, she wondered what could have happened to make the four deer tribes part ways when things looked so peaceful and happy. Odds were that it had no bearing on what Aurora was trying to show her, since she was trying to explain the details of the ‘Promised Gift’, but having now seen the old ways of the united deer tribes, it was a question that lodged itself in her mind.

The yellow doe tried to ask, but before she could utter a syllable, Aurora continued her story, her tone tuning ominous. “However, when a culture gets too big, others begin to take notice. Others who covet what they do not possess, and wish to take it for their own. For centuries we had lived in peace, but that unfortunately left us unprepared for a fateful night.”

Alice didn’t notice at first, but a dark cloud was forming over the town. Not a storm cloud, but one of ash and smoke. She wasn’t made aware of this until she saw deer running past her in droves from one direction, and turned her head to see a portion of the town on fire. The young doe didn’t anticipate such devastation, to see the fast spreading flames destroying this peaceful settlement of deer. Watching the citizens of North Pole flee in terror, instead of trying to put a stop to the destruction, Alice figured out what point of history she had arrived at.

“It was the night we met the first enemy of deer kind. A being guided by greed and cruelty, who’s name would become feared by all deer throughout history. A creature known as ‘Krampus’.”

Author's Note

Merry Christmas and a happy Hearth's Warming everyone. I'll be continuing this story again this year, and further writing up Alice's attempts to change fate and save herself and others from the threat of Minotaur who wish to turn other creatures into breeding slaves. I'll be working on this as much as I can for December and January, but I can't promise any specific update schedule. Just stay tuned, and they will come.

The first chapter, and the next, might be a bit heavy on the exposition, but I'm hoping you all enjoy it, even if the amount of lewd bits are at a minimum.

The Legend of Krampus

Alice stared in horror as she watched the flames rise and consume the deer village, as they spread from building to building. She knew this was only an illusion depicting the events so far in the past that any damage they caused had been fixed, but that didn’t stop her from feeling for the deer who had to suffer through it, as their echos ran past her with expressions of fear. While she could not truly feel the heat of the flames destroying the original deer settlement, she could imagine what it was like for all those who had to suffer at the hands of Krampus.

While she had not yet seen the minotaur of myth, Aurora had said this was the cause of Krampus, and thus Alice’s already established hatred of minotaur grew. It seemed that no matter what point in history, from the beginning of civilization into the future, they only caused trouble. These bovine barbarians, who in Alice’s eyes were as much of monsters as any other evil creature that had appeared in Equestria and beyond, all appeared to have the same goal of dominion over creatures who had greater moral integrity than them.

As her resentment for the bull men rose, Alice’s lack of understanding of why Aurora would show her this, while being on the minotaur’s side, grew with it. To know this, and still support the idea that the deer somehow owed them something was a ridiculous notion. Alice couldn’t help but think that Aurora, in her old age, was confused, or mixed up with how the minotaur played in this tragic moment.

Alice looked on at the damage being caused, unable to do anything else since she couldn’t interact with the depictions directly, and after a matter of minutes, something appeared from the direction of the fire. A shadow emerged in the light of the destruction, a massive one that bore the imposing size of a bovine. Alice was certain that this had to belong to Krampus himself, the minotaur finally making his appearance in this tale. As the silhouette’s owner emerged from behind one of the burning structures, Alice became shocked to learn that she was only half right.

The figure was indeed the mythical terror of deer kind, but he was not the bull man that had been depicted in legend. He shared similar traits to a minotaur, being large, bulky, and muscular, but all it took was a good look at Krampus to tell he was not related to them in any way.

The fearsome creature wore armor that was colored crimson, the trim of which was white, with some parts covered in a white fluff that existed purely for design, with a cloak that matched the color scheme resting on his shoulders. It was actually similar in appearance to the cloak Alice was wearing at that moment, except her outfit was of a brighter red, but with more important things to focus on, the doe could not ponder what significance, if any, this held. Her mind was instead locked onto the rest of Krampus’ features, like his brown fur that could be seen at certain gaps in his outfit, gaps such as his thighs and his neckline. Just about his throat sat a red helmet that covered the bridge of his nose, and any part of his skull above his jawline, except for the set of antlers that protruded out from the protective steel.

That was right, ‘antlers’, not horns. The menacing creature was not a bovine of any sort, but instead a cervid similar to Alice herself. This was certainly a surprise to the youngest Gift Giver, who up until seeing Krampus had to assume the legend she was told had been accurate. Wanting to keep condemning the minotaur, Alice tried to reason with herself that maybe Krampus was hybrid deer, with the other half of minotaur descent.

“By now you’re probably still thinking that Krampus must have been descended from minotaur, despite the antlers atop his head,” Aurora said, not needing future vision to know what the younger doe was pondering in her head, “But that’s not how minotaur work. They are a special breed, who are always born both male and of pure blood. No creature can be part minotaur, nor can a minotaur be part something else.”

This new information threw Alice for a loop, as she could no longer connect Krampus to the minotaur without ignoring the facts given to her. For a split second she wanted to dispute the detail as not being fact, but then recalled that in her visit to the future, she had not once encountered a single female minotaur. She had seen does, mares, and even a female kirin, but no women she could say would have been a minotaur.

“Then what is Krampus?” Alice asked, “A deer, like us?”

“No,” Aurora replied, “Not a deer.”

As Krampus made his way into the city streets, making heavy hoof steps that could have been felt and heard from a good distant away had he not been a silent illusion, many more shadows appeared from the same path he emerged from, showing that he had followers that were assisting in his raid of the village. Seeing them as they too came into view, things became much more clear to Alice.

“Elk?!” she said, as she had not expected them to be the perpetrators of this destruction.

There was an elk village not too far from the deer village of present day, and for as long as Alice had lived there, the two species were friendly with one another. Elk stags were sometimes arrogant, faulting their bigger size and stronger physical aspects, but never went so far as to harm the deer. Yet here they were, flooding the streets of the first deer settlement, causing destruction, chasing after fleeing deer, and reveling in their acts of evil.

“Yes,” Aurora said, “Krampus’ true origin is that of an elk. Time can change much, as their tribe has come a long way since this dark time. These days they don’t even remember that they once saw us deer as little more than something to be conquered.”

Alice watched as the small army of elk went about, acting on Krampus’ commands, breaking into buildings to steal anything worth taking, and rounding up every non-elk doe and stag city who hadn’t fled the city completely. Aurora, believing she got her point across, ended the scene, and jumped forward to the morning of the following day, where every captured deer was brought to the city’s square, and forced to their knees before the large elk.

“Once Krampus had successfully seized the city, he started explaining to those he forced into submission what he had planned for them.” Aurora continued, “He intended to make himself the king of all cervid species, and reduce deer to what could be generously called serfdom. Many objected on the spot, but Krampus anticipated the deer’s refusal to serve, and put into action his means to coerce those able bodied to work into doing so in his name.”

At the command of the elk raid master, the other elk started to take from the crowd of subdued deer every fawn, using the lash of birch rods to motivate them into compliance. Every child up into their late teens was taken, with the parents of them becoming distraught as they watched their sons and daughters get led away and beaten by the elk. They were each brought to where Krampus stood, with the evil elk taking into his possession a doe with pink hair and blue fur who looked to be just young enough to not be a full fledge adult, saying vile words to her that Alice would never know, as the doe trembled and sobbed in the presence of this tyrant.

“Krampus would take every child in the village to his keep, to be used as both hostages and slaves, to make sure the deer would be kept in line. So long as he held their loved ones captive, no deer would directly oppose him, especially since he was showing he held no qualms in causing them harm. So began Krampus’ rule over us, we would work and toil to grow food for him and his soldiers.”

“That’s terrible,” Alice said, watching as the children and teens were taken from the village, “But he was defeated by a group of deer in the end, right?”

Alice was trying to go off what else Bori had told her about the story, but was neglecting to notice the discrepancies in that story compared to what had happened. Bori was not only wrong about Krampus being a minotaur, but Krampus’ motives, as she had said that it was only does nearing adulthood that had been taken, and they were abducted for breeding purposes. The only detail that was still possible was that deer had ended his reign of terror in the end, but if every other facet of the story had been wrong up until that point, then the odds of that being true were steadily decreasing.

The scene started to shift again, bringing Alice once more to the Moirai’s cave. A band of deer had come there to speak with the seers, a trio of does that Alice had not seen previously when shown others of their coven.

“I fear the deer were too afraid of the consequences to fight Krampus,” said Aurora, “At least, not without guidance. At this time, the three members of the coven were all three of our predecessors, Clotho of the past, Lachesis of the present, and Atropos of the future.”

“The Gift Givers before us?!” Alice had not expected this, especially since this event must have taken place hundreds of years ago.

The does that made up the Moirai before her were of varying ages, from an elderly doe that even older than Aurora was in present day, and two adult does, one looking to still be in her teenage years. They reminded Alice of the current dynamic of the Gift Givers, and she made a guess that each one took up the role of their age appropriate counterpart in current times.

“I remember you and Bori talking about Atropos and Lachesis, but you never brought up Clotho.” Alice said, as she continued looking at the three does in awe.

“It’s hard to talk of someone you’ve never met,” Aurora said, revealing that none of the does who became the Gift Givers had met the one who came before them, “That aside, the Moirai were visited by a small group of representatives from the village, lead by Blitzen.”

Hearing that name, Alice pulled her eyes away from the images of the Moirai, and turned to the group with excitement. Blitzen was a famous figure in deer folktales, and she was able to immediately spot him in the crowd based on his appearance in historical representations of him, which all featured a reindeer stag with a thick white beard that hung off his chin. While not as bushy as Alice had seen in paintings of him, Alice could tell by his apparent youth that this was in his earlier days, and thus his more iconic features had not yet developed completely.

“Yes…” Aurora said, droning a little in annoyance from Alice’s distraction, “As you know, Blitzen was a respectable stag of his time, who was our leader during the founding of our people. While he might not be as impressive as the likes of Princess Celestia, he was the one who would come to lead us into an alliance with the yaks of Yakyakistan. That happens later, and here he simply is the one leading the group requesting the Moirai’s help. The first thing that was asked of our coven was to see if the fawns were safe. Lachesis used her power to spy into the Krampus’ stronghold, and found that the youngest were being kept in the dungeons, alive, unharmed, but not treated well by their captors. The older captives though, they were made to serve the elk as slaves, as the despot promised.”

“And after that?” Alice asked, still wondering when the minotaur were supposed to show up in this history lesson.

As fascinating as all of this was, Aurora had said that this event was what bound the fates of deer and minotaur together, but no bovine creatures had appeared at this point. Krampus, the one character Alice expected to be a minotaur, turned out to be an elk, and outside of that there really didn’t seem to be a point where they could be involved in the matters of the deer.

“After that,” Aurora said, “Blitzen asked the Moirai if they could discover a way for the deer to defeat Krampus, as they couldn’t allow his evil to stand, but likewise didn’t have a solution to the problem. Unfortunately, for as wise as Blitzen was, he and the other deer never understood exactly how the Moirai’s powers worked, probably because they were never around them enough to learn it. They assumed Atropos looked into possible futures to find an answer that would best solve the situation, but as we both know, the Path of Fate only reveals the future that is supposed to happen, not the one you want to happen.”

“Right,” Alice said, knowing that to be the truth.

Even if it seemed like actions in the future were the direct result of her looking into the future, it was, as Aurora said earlier, all cause and effect. If Alice tried to help someone find a lost item by using her power, she could only find it if the creature in question located it in the future, if they were capable of finding it. In the same regard, them finding it would have to be their destiny, and so if fate decided that you could never find the lost possession, then no amount of interference from the Gift Givers could assist in the matter.

“Fortunately for our kind, finding a solution to Krampus was not hard, as an end to his reign was already foretold. The deer would have to suffer a short period under the tyrant’s rule, but their liberation would come in the form of four traveling merchants. That they would be able to provide what the deer needed to overcome Krampus, and thus the village should accept the deal they would offer when the time came.”

“Merchants?” Alice questioned, as the given solution sounded like a cryptic message, leaving her to wonder what a group of salesman would have to offer that would grant the deer the power to defeat Krampus.

The scene shifted back to North Pole, with the deer now working the fields, mining for gold, and crafting armor and armament for the elk, who visited the deer city periodically. “As much as the deer loathed being told they would have to submit to Krampus, the advice given to them by the Moirai was all they had to work off of. So for months they waited, surrendering themselves to the will of the elks.”

Alice watched as sacks full of ill gotten items were handed off to the elks, stuffed it their sleighs until there was no room for more. The servants of Krampus sneered and laughed as they took nearly everything of value, leaving behind the downtrodden deer to watch as they left with their stolen goods. The imagery would have been disheartening to the yellow doe, watching this injustice, as the hard work of good, honest creatures go to the likes of Krampus, if she wasn’t aware that the story would end in their favor.

“As time went on, the citizens of North Pole started to lose morale, and feared that Atropos’ visions were incorrect. That was until the day… they came.”

Alice understood that Aurora had announced the arrival of the merchants mentioned before, and looked around the village to try and spot them. Eventually her eyes landed on four figures entering the city from the same road she had seen the elk leave from. Four large, bovine figures,who were walking right into the city.

The yellow doe’s eyes widened, as this was a twist she had not anticipated. She was witnessing four minotaur entering into the tale, pulling in behind them large carts made heavy by the amount of items stuffed into them. Alice found herself refusing to believe that these were the merchants that had been foretold, for if they were then that meant that they had somehow played a part in saving North Pole from Krampus.

“Four weary travelers from the lands of Equestria, who were trying to establish a new market in the yet untapped lands of the Frozen North. As isolated as North Pole was, they were not unknown by creatures beyond their realm. What hadn’t been heard of by the outside world was that they had been conquered, so when the minotaur arrived, with carts full of any bit of merchandise they thought the deer might want, they were disappointed to find the city in an impoverished state.”

As Alice stood staring, still in awe that this was how minotaur had made first contact with her ancestors, through an attempt at peaceful trade, and not an act of barbarism as she had assumed. This flew in the face of what she had thought of the minotaur, and confused her even further when she watched practically every stag and doe in North Pole run up to them as if they were their saviors.

“When they arrived, the deer knew immediately that this is what they had been waiting for, and that soon their ordeal would be over. Blitzen himself met with bulls, along with other representatives of the village.”

As Aurora said it, the figure that was Blitzen caused the crowd of deer to part for him and three other stags, making up an ensemble made up of one deer from what would be the four deer tribes.

“They informed the bulls of their plight, and their belief that the minotaur held some sort of answer to Krampus. The minotaur, having brought much in the terms of goods with them, couldn’t think of anything that could topple a tyrant.”

“They didn’t try to sell them something regardless?” Alice asked, thinking that if these minotaur weren’t slavers and raiders, that they might have at least been swindlers.

“Minotaur are often businessmen by trade,” Aurora answered, “And do have a code of ethics when it comes to their craft. They may use intimidation to get what they want, or make contracts that weigh heavily in their favor, but they never sell something under a false promise, or back out of their end of an agreement.”

Alice didn’t like that Aurora was once again disrupting her mental image of what a minotaur was. It was much easier to harbor hate towards the slavers she had seen in the future when she could demonize the whole species.

“Since the minotaur had no items that could guarantee victory against Krampus, Blitzen re-evaluated the situation, and came to the conclusion that if it wasn’t the minotaur’s wares the deer needed, it had to be the minotaur themselves.”

Once more the dust cloud shifted, and this time it brought Alice to a new location, the inside of Blitzen’s home. There, the legendary stag and those who represented the town with him were speaking to the minotaur in private, enacting in a discussion that Alice wished she could have heard first hand. Instead, she had to await Aurora’s narration, which she felt didn’t do this important moment justice.

“Blitzen shared his thoughts on the matter with the bulls, as his associates pleaded to them about the importance of their participation in this plan. The deer were requesting that the minotaur, with their physical power that surpassed that of the elk, would take down the elk through brute force. The minotaur, not being heartless monsters, considered the notion, especially since they still wanted to establish trade agreements with the deer in the future, and that couldn’t be accomplished if the elk were draining them dry of wealth.”

“So they agreed to help?” Alice asked, at this point curious as to how these ancient minotaur, who looked to be reasonable and empathetic creatures, could eventually produce the slaver culture she knew the tribe would become.

“Not immediately,” Aurora explained, “As during this conversation, they were informed that none of the deer could assist them, as Krampus would surely use their children against them if they had tried. We knew that the minotaur were fated to rid us of Krampus, but had no clue if they could do it without casualties, so no one wanted to put the hostages in jeopardy, If the minotaur did something alone, Krampus would have no reason to shield himself with slaves, or that was the logic.”

“Then how did they convince them?” asked Alice, knowing that the deer had to have changed their minds somehow.

“They didn’t,” Aurora said, “The minotaur considered their odds, and while they would be outnumbered, there was a detail that swayed them towards accepting the request. That was that the elks didn’t appear to use magic. They didn’t use their horns to levitate objects, or cast spells to aid them in battle. They are, as you might know from their descendants, non-magical beings. Considering that, the minotaur felt that they, with their levels of strength few could compare with, could possibly defeat Krampus. However, they would not do it out of the goodness of their hearts. This was to be a service, and as with all services, there is a cost.”

After deliberating with themselves about the situation, the minotaur turned back to the deer, giving their proposal. What they said got an immediate negative response from the deer, with even Blitzen recoiling at what the bulls said. The antlertean representative yelled back at the minotaur in outrage, eliciting little reaction from the bovines as they saw him as no threat. While the minotaur made no hostile actions, Blitzen intervened to silence the other stag.

“What… was the deal?” Alice asked, since the reactions of the stags ranged from shock to offense.

“The minotaur, knowing that they would be risking their own lives going up against the elk, and that the deer had no material possessions worth endangering themselves for, made an offer that they knew would be unreasonable, but was the only thing the deer could give that they desired. Their offer was simple; they would make an attempt to rid the lands of Krampus, in exchange for does of their choice, one for each of them, to become their life long mates.”

“But that’s-” Alice said, only to be cut off by her elder.

“Barbaric?” Aurora said, “Alice, you need to understand that at one point, every species was more savage than they’d like to admit. For ponies it was with infighting. With us it was xenophobia. While these minotaur were requesting we hand over four of our does, in what could be described as sexual slavery by those who want to cast a poor light on it, the truth is that minotaur have trouble continuing their race without the use of contracts and bargains. Part of the reason minotaur accumulate wealth is to entice potential mates with riches.”

“But this is coercion,” Alice disputed, “They knew the deer had no other choice but to rely on them, due to the prophecy.”

“No,” Aurora corrected, “None of the deer told the minotaur that they needed them to defeat Krampus. While it might have looked to them that our kind were desperate for any outside help, there was no mention of the prophecy or the Moirai. In the end, while the others had clear objections, Blitzen heeded the Atropos’ words, and would come to agree with the minotaurs’ terms, but not before conferring with the rest of the deer about the matter, and with conditions made for the sake of the does that would be picked. They had to be full adults, and not already married. Aside from that, he made the minotaur promise whoever they picked would be treated well.”

“He trusted that they would do that?” Alice asked, realizing that while the first two would be something the deer could be regulated, there was no means to ensure the third would be abided by if the minotaur took them away form the village, which they undoubtedly would.

“Perhaps not, but Blitzen was doing what he could to save his people.” Aurora answered, “The minotaur wrote up a contract, that they would receive their payment on the condition they rid the lands of Krampus, and had each North Pole’s representatives sign it. While each of the stags might have been reluctant, they did so at the order of Blitzen.”

“So they ended up being the ones who defeated Krampus,” Alice said, seeing the outcome of this tale now that she knew the facts.

“Yes, but be patient, deerie,” Aurora said, “You might know the facts of the tale, but you’ve yet to discover why the story was changed. You see…”

The world changed once more, this time to a mountain top, where a dark fortress sat. The minotaur had now become the main characters, as perhaps they rightfully were, and tugging along their carts full of goods, they were making their way up a path to where Krampus and his forces resided.

“These minotaur, while just as brutish as any other, were not stupid. They knew that they couldn’t just storm Krampus’ keep and defeat an entire army with just the four of them, so they decided the best course of action was to present themselves as the merchants they were, and enter under the guise that they were there to trade goods.”

The bull men stopped at the gates for a moment, but it didn’t take long for the doors to be opened for them. Alice followed alongside the merchants, curious as to what more Aurora could want to show her. Her opinion about these minotaur was barely changed, and even if she felt their compensation was just, that didn’t mean the minotaur in the future were acting under the same conditions. The minotaur lord himself treated the enslavement of other races as what it was, so what could Alice learn that would somehow justify that?

That wasn’t why Alice continued to listen though. She was still hoping that her future self was, despite being a collaborator to the slaver minotaur, was truthful that the Moirai held the answer to changing history. Since they were gone, searching through the shadow of a time where they existed felt like her only chance to discover what it took.

Alice followed along, and took note of her surroundings. Unlike the scenery of North Pole, which seemed bright and cheerful, at least until Krampus came, the elk’s stronghold was bleak and oppressive. More a military base than a city, with elk men practicing their combat prowess with one another, or preparing their weaponry that they had taken from the deer, while partaking of likewise stolen food and drink. The women were no better, as while none had participated in the conquering of North Pole, here they took up the role of task masters, attending to the older captives as they forced them to perform hard labor for the benefit of their captors.

“As the minotaur walked through the elk city, they kept their hearts stoic to the cruelty going on around them, as they needed to have the elk believe that they held no allegiance with the deer, or sympathy towards the treatment of the fawns. The elk, in turn, held no suspicions against them, and to their surprise, were granted an audience with Krampus himself.”

“What? Why would he personally greet four mere merchants?” Alice asked, as she watched the minotaur sell off items from their carts to the elk. While Aurora claimed it was to gain their trust, it felt like it was just to make a few bits on the side.

“To understand that you have to understand Krampus. He was a stag who believed that the strong were meant to rule over the weak. Not merely powerful, as he held no respect for magic since he could not use it himself, but those with raw physical strength. To him those with magic only existed to serve, bestowing their gifts in service to those with the might to rule. It’s likely that had he not been stopped, he would have expanded his rule across the known world, as his end goal was to elevate those like him above all who possessed magical talent. So when he saw the minotaur, and how pronounced they were in their casual displays of physique, he wanted to forge an agreement with their kind.”

Aurora skipped forward a bit in time, until the minotaur were seated in Krampus’ feasting hall, being presented with delicious foods as they sat with him and his strongest warriors at his table. The tyrant wore a smile on his face as he spoke to the merchants, to which Alice had to guess he was recounting how he had made the deer into serfs, and trying to pitch the bull men how advantageous it would be for them to join him. The minotaur humored Krampus, replying periodically as they ate the food presented to them. Since the story ended with them defeating the elk, anything they said to continue the conversation must have been a ruse.

Alice remained silent for a moment, assuming that Aurora would continue on her own, but for some reason the old doe held her tongue as the feast took place. All the elk present greedily partook of the food, which had been given as tribute by the deer, while the minotaur ate at a more reserved pace. Around them scurred a group of enslaved teenaged fawns dressed in tattered rags, who rushed around the table clearing finished plates, and keeping the table full with food they didn’t dare try to take for themselves. Another small group were tasked with refilling the drink cups of their slavers, carrying around large pitchers, practically refilling them after every gulp an elk would take.

Alice watched all this take place, wondering what the significance of this moment was if Aurora was allowing it to linger, keeping her eyes mostly on the minotaur. At one point though, she saw something that distracted her, as one of the servant girls approached a minotaur to top off his goblet. It was the same blue furred girl that Krampus had focused his attention on when he took over North Pole, now equipped with a steel collar around her neck, linked to a chain that went slack along the floor and led all the way back to the elk lord’s throne. While others wore collars of a similar nature, hers was the only one with a leash, which meant that Krampus saw her as a personal possession.

As the minotaur she served accepted the drink, his eyes drifted over the unfortunate doe, one who looked a bit older than all the others there. Alice, remembering the deal the minotaur made, shuttered to think that the minotaur was appraising her as a potential mate, but she recalled that the contract the minotaur made with North Pole specified that the minotaur had to select those who had entered adulthood. Still, she didn’t believe that creatures who would enslave others would abide by the letter of their own agreement.

As the vision of the minotaur looked at the doe, his lips moved as if he was speaking to her, to which the does briefly moved her own to give a reply. The bull took another sip of his cup, setting it down so the doe wouldn’t idle next to him, and said more to her, to which she gave a single word reply as she performed her task again. He tried to keep her nearby through focusing on his drink, but Krampus must have noticed this, as her slack chain went tight, and she was summoned to his side.

The elk did nothing to hide his own revolting nature as he awaited her return, his own eyes leering at her supple form, snatching her pitcher away to guzzle the remaining liquid from it before tossing it to the wayside. With her task complete, he forced her to sit with him on his throne, pulling her right into his lap, an act that the doe openly showed her discomfort with as the elk’s hand found its way to her hip. Krampus said some words to the minotaur he had pulled the doe away from, perhaps asserting that this girl was his, or making promises that he could have one like her should they join forces. Whatever he was saying though, he spoke it with a smirk of superiority on his face, as he must have believed he was invincible at this moment in time.

“So why didn’t the minotaur side with Krampus?” Alice asked, as she watched the scene take place, spotting a hint of annoyance on the minotaur’s face as he went back to eating.

“You mean aside from the Path of Fate?” Aurora said, understanding the question. It was backwards logic to believe a prophecy or vision of the future made creatures do things, when the truth was that what was seen was what would have happened whether or not it had been scried, “It was probably the contract. Minotaur will not, under any circumstance, go back on an agreement unless they believe it has been breached. Had they met Krampus before having gone to North Pole, things might have been different, but thankfully that is not what fate prescribed.”

Aurora fast forwarded again, to a point where, to Alice’s surprise, Krampus’ feasting hall was in shambles, with elk bodies scattered all around. There had been an obvious conflict, with the minotaur resting off to the side, weary and wounded from whatever conflict took place here.

“When the bulls saw a moment to strike, they brought Krampus and those who would try to protect him down, their raw strength able to defeat those not of the stag lord’s own power with little effort. Within a day of their arrival, Krampus was no more, and there was no one else willing to test the might of the minotaur. With their leader finished, they reluctantly capitulated with the demands of those who brought an end to their misdeeds, and handed over every fawn they had kidnapped.”

Alice could not find it in her to be impressed by this swift defeat of Krampus, not when it had been foreseen long before it happened. Nor could she truly be relieved when she never had to endure his evil, and she knew what was to come for four of the does back in the deer village. She could only take solace that what was to come had happened long ago, that it had to happen to save the deer from oppression, and the suffering of those doe selected has long since ended.

The minotaur took the same carts used to steal the fawns away in the first place, and used them to leave the defeated elk’s territory, making sure to take with them whatever goods they had not sold to the elk prior. Another skip in time, and the minotaur had returned to North Pole, with every fawn the elk had kidnapped. The stags and does of the village were elated to have their young returned, celebrating that Krampus’ rule over them had apparently been brought to an end. The only thing that dampened the mood was when one of the minotaur spoke over their cheers, to remind them that this service was not without a fee.

Reluctantly, the deer agreed, and by the evening of that day a line up was made of every adult doe not betrothed to another. None of them looked pleased, some trembling where they stood, as they were well aware that they could be picked, taken away from their home, and made to breed with these beastly men.

“Aurora, I get it.” Alice said, having seen the events of Krampus’ tale from start to finish now, “The minotaur helped us, and in return they got their reward. Do we have to keep watching this?”

“I’m afraid so,” Aurora said, for once sounding disheartened about the continuation of this vision, “As we still aren’t at the true end of this tale. You see, while the minotaur had done their part, and earned their prize, something happened that not only denied them of it, but changed the fates of all creatures.”

Of everything Aurora had said, this caught Alice’s attention the most. This was the moment the old doe said she would divulge, the secret of how fate could be altered. She wondered what could happen at this exact point that could derail the predestined events, and to her surprise the scene shifted back to the Moirai’s cave den, where the stags who represented North Pole stood before the seers bearing infuriated expressions, all save for Blitzen, who was not present.