Taking Chances

The next morning, Cloud Blossom woke at what was for her an average time, though she was sure her momma Applejack would’ve whipped her hide if she was still in bed at ten. Groggy from her slumber, she sat up and blinked the sleep from her eyes. “Uugh…” she gagged at her morning breath and did a stretch that caused a few muscles to pop.

Claves, who was already awake and had been for an unknown number of hours, giggled at the bed head stricken pegasus as she yawned herself fully awake. “When you sleep in the open, you learn to wake up quickly and quietly,” she explained to her mare’s questioning look. “Are you the breakfast chef?”

“If I know Dusty,” Cloud Blossom started with a shake of her head and a hoof running through her tangled mane, “she's left us something nice in the fridge. It is Friday, so I expect a fruit salad.”

“Sounds very good,” Claves found her empty belly agreeing with her judgement. “I'll lounge here while you fetch us breakfast.”

“Have a morning breath kiss then, ma'am!” Cloud Blossom delivered said kiss, and she was surprised that Claves didn’t try to stop her. She was sure if she exhaled too vigorously, she could cut through a lead lined bank vault. Giggling, she was up and hovering her way out of the bedroom.

Fifteen minutes later, after inspecting the refrigerator and emptying some of its contents, she came back carrying a tray in her forehooves consisting of two bowls of mixed fruit, a bowl of squirty cream and a large pitcher of orange juice, complete with two glasses.

Conspicuously, there was also a folded letter on the side of the tray with the words, ‘to Claves, from Dusty’ written on the reverse.

In the pegasus’s absence, Claves had prepped the bed for breakfast. She was half sitting, half laying on her back against the fluffiest, most comfortable set of pillows she had ever experienced. “My, chef and mail carrier. I am blessed.” When she lifted up the note, the earth pony caught sight of a long narrow box that she knew could only contain one thing.

A thing that excited her to no end.

“Multi tasking, ma'am,” giggled Cloud Blossom, and she carefully set the tray down with the little legs straddling her lover. Then, she landed softly on the bed next to her.

While Clod Blossom landed, Claves busied herself with pouring the orange juice for both of them and she banished her own rancid morning breath with a much needed drink. That done, she reached for and opened the note she had been left. “Dear Miss Claves,” she had no problem reading it aloud, “I hope the day finds you well, and that the fruit salad is to your satisfaction. Your saddlebags are in the nook by the hoof wash station. I took the liberty of placing the collar box where Madam can find it. I hope she gives it to you with this note. I shall be at Cafe Diem, two pm, for our lunch date. Dusty.”

Smirking broadly, Claves folded the note and placed it on the bed by her side. “I've got a date!” she laughed, “And you are a good girl.”

“Thank you, ma'am,” Cloud Blossom just loved the way being called a good girl made her feel. It was, she reflected as she took a delicate bite of her salad, a feeling she wanted more of. In contrast to Cloud’s reserved and ladylike manner, Claves was eating her fruit salad like she was scared somepony might steal it from her. “Hungry?”

There came a pause, and with it, a blush. “Um, yeah, a bit,” Claves made an effort to slow down, but not by much.

“There's more in the fridge, if you want seconds. Dusty made plenty for us both.”

“No, it’s not that,” Claves looked down at her almost empty bowl. Fortunately she hadn’t licked the pattern off the bottom. “I...food wasn’t easy to come by, on the inside or the outside. Maybe you can help me break that habit?”

“I understand, Claves. Let me help,” Cloud Blossom demonstrated her method of helping by taking up a couple pieces of her fruit in her mouth and transferring them to Claves by way of a light little kiss.

“Well,” Claves snickered after she had swallowed the bits of banana and mango, “that just proved you took all the sweetest fruit for yourself.” As she ate the rest of her breakfast at a more normal pace, she was aware that some of her hidden tension had faded.

Missing the slight slump in her lover’s shoulders, Cloud Blossom giggled, pleased with herself. “Aren't I naughty?” she asked, before returning to her bowl, where she ate a little faster, even getting juice on her muzzle.

Seeing an opportunity, Claves leant over and licked the pegasus’s muzzle clean. “Yeap, you got the sweetest fruits, alright.”

“I got you, babe,” Cloud Blossom blushed bright red at her own cheesy line, and to cover, she thrust her face deep into her bowl.

Claves snorted out a brash laugh, “And just what type of fruit do you think I am, hmm?”

“A pineapple.”

At that, Claves almost spat out the orange juice she had just taken in her mouth. Thankfully, for her pride and for the bedsheets, she managed to swallow it down. Then she turned a rueful, deadpan glare to Cloud. “Yes, you are indeed naughty.”

Cloud Blossom burst out laughing, loud, and unreserved laughter. “You are spiky on the outside and sweet on the inside. Like a pineapple.”

“Hmm,” Claves considered that, and truth she heard couldn’t very well be denied. “I might let that one pass,” she snickered as she finished up her fruit and her half of the pitcher.

As she too finished off her morning meal, Cloud Blossom was feeling rather happy with herself. “Allow me to take the tray away, ma'am,” she said once they were both completely finished.

“First things first,” Claves stopped her from moving, and she looked at the collar box. It remained unopened, for now. “You say your aunt Rarity had this waiting for you?”

“Yes ma'am,” Cloud Blossom nodded her head eagerly, “I got a message from my aunt Pinkie to go pick something up from the boutique, and that was waiting, along with a bridle, when I got there. Aunt Rarity was as surprised as I was.”

“As am I,” Claves’ eyes went wide when she opened the box and beheld what was inside, held in the velvet lining. It was a magnificent creation, made by hoof, not horn. She could tell that much. “I’m surprised as to how much it matches the colour of my coat.”

“When Pinkie knows, she just knows,” Cloud Blossom spoke sagely from past experience. “It does not pay to try and work her out. That way madness lies.”

A loud nicker left Claves’ lips. So she was quickly learning. “Well, she did have my drink order right. Do you have a clue what this means if I were to put it on you?” she asked, lifting the sky blue collar reverently out of its box.

Again, Cloud Blossom nodded her head, just as vigorously as the first time. “I know it means you would own me. For me, it means security. That I am loved by you, and that you will look out for me, you would make sure no harm comes to me.”

“And if I'm the one that does the harm?”

“Then that is fine,” responded Cloud Blossom, who knew a fair bit about BDSM from watching her mothers partake in their chosen lifestyle, “as long as it is harm we both agree on. If anything should exceed that, then I have a safeword that will end what we doing.”

“Which is?”

“Pineapple!”

“I thought that was me?” laughed Claves, who approved greatly of her mare and her choices. She was grateful she knew as much as she did, and more to the point, she understood what she knew. “Well…” she was then interrupted by the door bell. “That was good timing. Expecting company?”

“No ma'am,” Cloud Blossom checked the little clock on her dresser, and was informed it was just half past ten. “It is too early for the mail mare. If you will excuse me?”

“No,” Claves was going to dismiss her, then she changed her mind. “I shall accompany you, to run off the bothersome encyclopaedia sales stallion.”

“Thank you for being my salvation!” Cloud Blossom was sure that’s what the interruption was. She certainly wasn’t expecting anything or anypony else. She hopped up off the bed and glided to a landing, then she led the way through the villa.

Now that she was rested and more awake than she had been the previous night, Claves took note of the many family photos and portraits that adorned the white walls. Applejack and Fluttershy she recognised of course, but there were others she didn’t know. The other pegasus mare she assumed was her sister, though they were much younger than she was at present.

At the door, Cloud Blossom opened it barely enough to see out through the gap. “Can I help you?” she asked a stallion whom she vaguely recognised from a society function or other. He was certainly too well dressed to be a sales pony.

“Greetings to you, madam Blossom,” the stallion pompously greeted her, and in so doing, he confirmed her suspicions, though he didn’t know it. “I've been sent from the Pennyworthy estate with an invitation for you to attend an artist ball. My name is Mercury, and I'm to await your reply.” Introduction given, he passed over a scroll.

“Oh...um...thank you…” as she took the scroll in her left wing, Cloud Blossom’s nightmare became reality. “Won't you come in, save you waiting at the door.” She took a few steps backwards and unfurled the scroll with her other wing. Then she blushed and felt a familiar sense of cold dread and anxiety overtake her when she looked at the fancy calligraphy.

“Allow me to show the gentlestallion the sitting room and arrange a drink while you format your reply,” thinking quickly, Claves ushered Mercury through to the sitting room. “Would you like some tea or water while you wait?”

“D-De-ah, dear Cloud Blossom, you are co-cord-eal...cordially in...vited...” Cloud Blossom squinted hard to try and read the rest of the missive, though it wasn’t easy. Not at all. She ended up reading and re-reading sentences several times, and she got more and more frustrated every time, eventually her anxiety was overpowered by her anger at her own shortcomings. “Oh, ponyfeathers!” she exclaimed, stomping a forehoof into her carpet and she tried again.

Walking past her, Claves took pity on her struggling lover. “Follow,” she said simply, and headed on through to the kitchen. Grunting, Cloud Blossom snatched up the scroll in her teeth and followed the earth pony to the kitchen, her shoulders slumped and her tail tucked down. “Sit,” Claves commanded simply, “I'll deliver this tea and be back to help you with your reply. It’s good that Dusty left the tea at the ready.”

Alright,” as she hopped up on a seat, Cloud Blossom had the same feeling of being stupid that she remembered having while she was at school. She hated it then, and she hated it now. Despondently, she dropped the scroll at the table. “Of all the days for Dusty to have her day off…”

Presently, Claves returned to the kitchen. She found the pegasus where she had left her. “Mr. Mercury is comfy with tea and cookies. So, what is in that?” she pointed to the scroll.

“I don't know!” cried Cloud Blossom, allowing her posh Canterlot accent to give way to something far more 'low Ponyville'. “You know I don’t know! It's an invitation, that's all I can make out.” She shoved the scroll over to Claves with a hoof, like it might suddenly catch fire.

Claves did know, and she was very sympathetic to the artistic pegasus. She wasn’t the first pony she had encountered who struggled to read. “Wowsers,” she breathed, eyes wide as she opened the scroll. “It looks like a lawyer wrote this. From the train, I take it reading is not your strong suit?”

“I can't read,” sighed Cloud Blossom as she slumped on the table until her head was held up by a forehoof. “Or, I can't read very well. Pick one, whatever.” Her ears were slicked all the way back. “Wait, you knew on the train? Uuugh!” feeling worse, she drooped her head down to the table.

“You sounding out the letters was cute,” Claves wanted to put a hoof on the pegasus’s shoulder, but she was worried it would be seen as patronising, so she didn’t do that. “This scroll has been flourished in spades. Bottom line is, it is a fund raiser by the Pennyworthy family for the arts endowment for Canterlot artists. It seems your presence will draw more doners. You have a lawyer? This looks legit, but one can't be sure with nobility. You know this family?”

“I know of them,” admitted Cloud Blossom, “would be a more accurate term. Upper Crust and his wife, Jet Set, live in the mansion at the end of this boulevard.” She waved a hoof in the air, “Dusty usually fields things like this for me.”

“It says nothing about any others being invited,” announced Claves as she scanned the long winded document once more. “You may be the only one, or one of many. Do you normally go to these things?”

“Sometimes,” Cloud Blossom replied, though her tone was still maudlin, “if it's for a really good cause and not just to keep my image up. Usually it's not just me, there'll be others there. When is it for?” she asked, her brain working in spite of her mood, “I am allowed a plus one. That's Dusty, but if you want to come and keep me awake, that'd be fun too.”

Claves took note of the change in her marefriend’s voice. Not just her glum tone but the dropping of her upper crust Canterlot accent. She judged that this was the ‘real’ her. “Where does Dusty do your writing at?”

“In the study, just off the main living room.” Cloud Blossom pointed with a hoof to somewhere in her home. “She has a whole writing table set up in there, with scrolls, inks, quills, wax seals, you name it.”

“Okay, I'll go take care of that. You can return the scroll and see if you can get some info out of Mercury about the event.”

“Alright,” as she stood up from the seat at the table, Cloud Blossom ran a hoof through her mane and shook herself off. She used the brief walk back through her villa to hitch an almost real smile on her face by the time she reached Mercury. “Here is your scroll, kind sir. My...valet, is writing a reply. I say, could you tell me what the event is in aid of?”

Mercury, who had been enjoying the hospitality of the tea and excellent cookies, looked a little taken back by the question. “It is to raise funds for upcoming artists to cover living expenses as often their work is insufficient to make a living wage.”

Listening intently, Cloud Blossom had enough Honesty in her to know that he was hiding something, or at the very least, he wasn’t being completely up front with her. “And?” she probed politely, “While that is a noble cause, to be sure, I cannot help but think there is more to it than that.”

All of a sudden, the unicorn broke out in a cold sweat. “It is why Lord Pennyworthy is doing this...” he explained hesitantly, “um, one of those upcoming artists is a mare named Silver Bit. She is, well, the daughter of Silver Mint, who is Lord Pennyworthy's estranged daughter. He is looking for a way to help out his grandfoal without running afoul of his daughter.”

“I see.” Cloud Blossom rolled her eyes. Nobles and their politics and games. “Another noble cause I can get behind. In fact, I am aware of Silver Bit's work. I have seen her featured in a few journals of late.”

“She won't be the only one,” Mercury continued, “She is part of that artist commune on the east side of the Lunar quarter. I think there is about twenty that will receive some of the funds.”

Just then, Claves entered the little ante chamber armed with a meticulously written scroll. “Here you are, good sir. Madam Blossom's reply for the cause.”

As he took the scroll in his magical aura, Mercury noted that it wasn’t sealed. He held it like he was about to open it, then he paused. “If I may?”

“Certainly, Mr. Mercury, by all means.” She wasn’t sure why Claves had left it unsealed, but it must have been for a reason.

Permission given, Mercury opened it and after he read the contents, he closed the scroll up in a tight roll. “Thank you for your understanding, Madam Blossom. Lord Pennyworthy looks forward to your attendance this Friday.”

“You are very welcome, Mr. Mercury,” Cloud Blossom politely waved him out of her home while Claves went and showed him out.

After he had gone, Claves returned, a wry little smile playing across her muzzle. “For stuffy noble, they do have nice servants. Get anything out of him?”

When Cloud Blossom commented, it was back to her 'low' voice. “Yes, it's to help his grandfoal without upsetting his estranged daughter. And twenty or so other struggling artists.”

“Family is good motivation. If I had that, we might have never met.”

“Well, I'm glad we did meet. So,” Cloud Blossom walked past the earth pony who was standing at the entrance to the kitchen and she slumped face first into her couch in the living room, “you can mock me now, that's what usually happens at this point, so let’s have it.”

Claves though, did not mock her. Nor did she laugh or even tease her. Instead she walked up to the couch and prodded the forlorn pegasus hard in the ribs. “I'll have a beer, and get a drink for yourself.”

Cloud Blossom was several minutes before she replied in any meaningful way. When she did, she gave Claves a deadened stare before she took herself off to the kitchen. She came back with a chilled bottle of water and a bottle of stable hopper, which she knew was Dusty's preferred beer and a glass. “I hope that's one you like.”

As the beer was passed into her waiting hoof, Claves couldn’t resist a sly teasing smile. “I’m not sure, what is it?”

“Ha, ha.” Cloud Blossom snarked with all the sarcasm she could muster. “I know it's Stable Hopper, because Dusty doesn't drink anything else.” She took the beer back and opened it, even going so far as to pour it out for her dominant partner.

“What brand of water is that?”

“Canterlot Special Spring,” Cloud Blossom answered without missing a heartbeat. “Straight from the faucet and into my fridge.”

Claves laughed out long and loud. It was her belly laugh, harsh and barking, but full of mirth and humour. “Sorry, I forgot to mock. You mad that I can do what you can't?”

“No,” the pegasus spoke truthfully, “I'm just glad you can. I'm more mad at myself for not being able to do it.”

“Most of the inmates couldn't read or write as they never had a chance to learn,” explained Claves as she took a seat on the couch that she would come to designate as ‘her’ spot. “They couldn't trust the lawyers or guards to read or write for them. I was the popular scribe on the inside.”

“That's commendable though. Me...” Cloud sighed, wishing she was anywhere else but on her couch next to her marefriend at that moment. “I spent more time in hospital than I did at school. They even had a room set aside just for me, I was there so often. How crazy’s that?”

“Sounds like a missed foalhood.” Claves tried to place her hoof comfortingly on the pegasus’s thigh, and she was pleased that she didn’t flinch away or try to remove it.

“Hmm.” Cloud’s affirmative was humourless and dry. “Courtesy of my twin sister. She...” a deep breath was required before she could tell this story, “she resented me when we were very young. She hated I got more attention due to my leg, especially from our parents. It festered in her, became hate. We'd argue and fight, like all siblings, and then it would turn violent. It always turned violent. We'd smash the homestead up, and I'd fight, I really would, but she always won. And I'd be at the hospital, with broken ribs, or a jaw, or a fractured wing, whatever you care to name.”

Claves looked at the many family photos and portraits on the walls. The ones of the two pegasi caught her attention. Cloud was obvious. The other one, she didn’t know. “I guess she is the dark yellow looking one in the pictures?”

“She's the burnt orange pegasus with the pink mane,” nodded Cloud after she had taken a long cold drink of her water. “Apple Honey. I hated her for a long time for what she did to me. Even after she was arrested.” She made more of her water disappear, “Of course she wasn't arrested for beating me on a daily basis, no, aunt Twilight arrested her for beating up aunt Rainbow. She very nearly paralysed her.”

“Well,” chuckled Claves as she drank her beer, “at least me and Dusty can pass notes to each other without you snooping in.”

“I suppose there is that,” agreed Cloud Blossom as she drained the rest of her bottle. “You mean, you're still interested, in me, after all that?” she held her breath, not daring to hope for the best.

“If baggage is an issue,” Claves commented, “then it should be I asking if you're still interested in me.”

A very deep sigh escaped the pegasus as she studied her empty water bottle. “I'm sorry, it's just...this has followed me around for a long time. 'Cloud the idiot', 'stupid Cloud who can't read' and more unpleasant taunts than that, from school and even now.”

“Well,” Claves shot her lover a sly look out the side of her eye, “when I write something on your hooves with a feather, you'll have to guess what it was.”

“Oh my...” she was so aroused by that idea that she spoke with a mix of her Canterlot accent and her Ponyville voice. “Oh, yes, we were talking about the collar when we were interrupted.”

Claves too was keen as mustard to get back to that. “And I left the box on the bed. Fetch it for me.”

“Yes ma'am.” Cloud Blossom sounded a lot happier when she said those two words. Gone was the self doubt, gone was the indecision and the lingering self loathing. There was a little more pep in her step as she got up from her couch and went to the master bedroom. She came back with the slender box in her mouth, and presenting it to Claves, she knelt before her on the floor.

“Will I be the first?”

“Yes. Or, to be more specific, you’ll be the first I haven’t paid for. At Trixie's, I mean!” Cloud Blossom quickly added that caveat, because otherwise it sounded like she regularly employed ‘mares of the night’, which she absolutely did not.

Claves couldn’t help but smile at how adorably dorky her marefriend was being. “I was speaking of owner, but you have another collar on order?”

“No, you are my first proper owner. The only one I want.”

“And what awaits us at Trixie’s Place?”

“They have everything I have in my 'playroom', as Dusty likes to call it, the only difference is I haven't actually used most of the things I've bought.” Cloud Blossom definitely wanted to use the things in her playroom.

Sure of what she was doing, Claves took the sky blue collar and she placed it loosely around the pegasus’s neck. “Shall I fasten this?” she asked with a smile, “or shall I put it back in the box?”

“Oh, yes please!” Cloud Blossom didn’t need but a second to think. She knew what she wanted, what she needed. It was that collar. Around her neck. “Fasten it and lock it, please!”

“Lock it?” that made Claves examine the collar much closer than she had before. At the back, there was a tiny padlock that would make unfastening it very difficult, if you didn’t have magic. “Your aunt is kinky.” Claves approved. She buckled the collar just tight enough, but she left off the lock. For now. “You can take that off when needed and put it back on. I do want you to have that freedom.” She held the tiny lock in her hoof. “I will add this fashion accessory when I don't want you to remove it.”

Grinning ear to ear, Cloud Blossom ran a hoof along the blue collar, shuddering and fluttering her wings in sheer delight. “Thank you, ma'am. May I show you the last room you haven't seen yet?”

“Can you cook?” asked Claves, who for the moment was far more concerned with filling her belly. The fruit salad had been nice, but she needed something more.

“Yes ma'am. Not to Dusty's standard, but I can do most things.”

“You shall prepare a lunch for the two of us. See if I have enough strength to visit the last room after that.”

“Yes ma'am!” bearing a beaming smile, Cloud Blossom took to her wings and she flew through the villa to the kitchen, where she knew there were pre made bacon hayburgers in the fridge. She pulled them out and started to cook them, along with some veggie fries.

Claves was happy to remain where she was, nursing her beer and enjoying the smell of frying hayburgers. After prison food, it was heaven to her nose. When Cloud Blossom reemerged from the kitchen, she had even put together a basic salad of cucumber, tomato, lettuce, fresh cut grass and red onion. She carried them with the cooked burgers and fries on plates, along with fresh water and beer, all on a tray, and carried it to the living room table. “Brunch is ready, ma'am.”

Eagerly, Claves moved from the couch to the table at the speed of a hungry pony. “Yeap, you're a keeper!” she sat, her eyes devouring the food before her. “Are there any formalities to observe before we eat?”

Cloud Blossom blushed at the praise, her fur and feathers fluffed up like a peacock. “No ma'am, just tuck on in and enjoy!”

After a few mouthfuls that satiated her rumbling belly, Claves had the good grace to at least slow down from her performance at breakfast. “I wasn't sure if you did a prayer, like 'Thank you moms for keeping us safe from the current monster of the week', kind of prayer.”

Claves broke down in a fit of giggles, which Cloud Blossom was only too happy to join in with. “Oh that, that's like a background prayer thing that's always in effect.” She smirked, “is it good?” she asked, looking hopeful at Claves opposite her. “The burgers are store bought. The salad comes from my little garden out back.”

As a sign of how good the food was, Claves kept on eating. The burgers were sent straight from heaven, and the fries weren’t shabby either. “Matters not where it came from as it was prepared by your hoof. Nice to have garden fresh stuff. We kept a garden in the prison.”

“What was it like?” the moment she asked the question, Cloud’s face reddened in a picture perfect blush. “I'm sorry if you don't want to answer, I um, just wondered, if it was as bad as I'd heard.”

“Bad was trying to buck the system.” Claves had no problem talking about her stay at Celestia’s pleasure. “Trying to game the system was mixed results. Playing the system did work for me. I went in for accessory to murder. I learned to fight dirty in the streets and I could hold my own on the inside. Being a jailhouse lawyer for others did put me in the 'untouchable' group.”

“Hmm…” Cloud Blossom mulled that over as she ate her burger and fries, “I mean, we've all heard the horror stories of the Vanhoover cannery gangs and such,” her face got redder, so red it reached the tips of her ears. Suddenly, her salad was very interesting indeed.

Claves let out a chuckle. “Cannery gangs? Where did you hear that?”

“On the news, a few times. Inmates who tried to escape or those that were uh, bucking the system, were moved to the cannery teams as punishment, and as an example to the others.”

“They got that story wrong,” Claves corrected her after taking the time to polish off her fries. “The problem ones were put on cannery clean up detail. You learned quick to not be a problem. The cannery was a work release program for those that could do the work. I tried, but it wasn't for me. I liked my easy job of fake lawyer. But gangs? They were like cliques. They found a path out and were very protective of it.”

“Vanhoover did have gangs,” the earth pony continued, her voice thick with food, “but they were on the outside, till they did something stupid to join us on the inside.”

“I see. I'm glad you weren't a problem then. I'm also pleased you're away from all that. Now, you just have to navigate the muddy waters of Canterlot noble wannabes and their political games.” Cloud Blossom snorted derisively and proceeded to follow her lover’s example and she stuffed the last half of her burger into her mouth.

Claves then delivered the most fake over the top Canterlot accent that Cloud Blossom had ever heard. “I,” she snarked, “as your most faithful retainer, shall allow you the lead in navigating the rancid swamp of nobility.”

Cloud Blossom snorted and laughed so hard that she almost choked on her last bit of burger. “Oh,” she laughed, pounding the table with a hoof, “oh my, that was priceless! I find the best way is not to get involved with court intrigue and drama. It’s easier that way.”

“I do hope this event on Friday has no drama. Oh,” added Claves almost as an afterthought, “I wrote that you would be accompanied by two retainers for the event.”

“So do I,” added Cloud Blossom sincerely. “Then, most of the drama is reserved for the Day and Night courts.” Since she was finished, the pegasus sat on her seating pad, all subservient. “Thank you, for writing the reply for me.”

“Thank you for trusting me to do so. Has that ever not worked out for you?”

“Before I had Dusty...there were less...reputable staff. Some of them thought I was a soft touch, some thought they could rip me off. None of them got away with anything. Most I saw through straight away. The clever ones, well they got caught in the end.”

Claves could easily believe that. In the short time she’d known Cloud Blossom, she had quickly worked out all on her own that she wasn’t a mare to take lightly or underestimate. “I shall strive to be the cleverest of them all. By leaving nothing to be caught for. I have a happy tummy. So, my little tour guide. I think there is another room on the agenda, yes?”

“I know I can trust you, Claves, that's all I need.” The benefit of having an equal dose of Honesty and Kindness in her blood was that she got a pretty good read on most ponies. The meal over, Cloud Blossom first gathered up all the dishes back onto the tray and she took them back to the kitchen.

Coming back, she led the way out of the living room down the short hall to the last room. Hoofing open the double doors, she displayed a collection that would humble most MiAC stores.

“I hope you like it,” the pegasus stepped aside to reveal the wonders inside. The walls were covered in wooden panneling, and lacquered hard wood made up the floor. Whips, gags, hoods, all manner of other props hung on hooks along one long wall. There was a basic four poster bed in one corner, and there was a tiny functional shower in the next corner over. In the centre of the large room stood the upturned wedge of a wooden pony, a horizontal X, and a chair that looked like it was from the Lunar Inquisition, with strategically placed holes and bumps to make the sitter uncomfortable.

The most important thing of all, the object that caught Claves’ eye the most, was a large box of medical supplies situated near the shower. That alone above all other things told the earth pony that her new sub wasn’t playing around. She whistled as she looked around, taking in every detail. “Did you steal something from Princess Luna's dungeon?”

“No,” Cloud Blossom rolled her eyes, “but the wooden pony was a gift though. Everything else I've collected over the course of a couple years. I haven't used anything except the hoods, the ropes and the vibrators.” She pointed a hoof to the wall section where they all hung neatly on their hooks. “Dusty caught me one time, tied up on the bed. I'd messed up an ice lock...”

Claves interrupted her with a light boop to her nose. “You will not use anything in this room without supervision,” she used her best authoritative voice, and she added a wink for good measure. “I may give Dusty the authority to supervise.”

“Thank you, ma'am. Dusty forbade me from using any of the big stuff,” she pointed to the wedge of the wooden pony and the rather sinister looking bondage chair, “on my own.”

“Ice lock.” Claves ran the term around her mouth like she was sampling it and seeing how it tasted. “Sounds like you read one to many romance novels. I need to do a bit of research, I'm not sure what all this stuff is for.” As she said that though, it was fairly obvious what the things were for, but it always paid to be prepared. “But I do have this figured out. On the bed. On your back. Try to center yourself.”

“Yes ma'am!” Cloud Blossom was so eager that she just about tripped over her own hoof. She made it to the bed, and in a flash she was on her back. Again she was over eager the first time, and she had to shuffle her ass back to the middle of the four posts.

She looked up to the mirrored ceiling directly over the bed, and saw a very needy, very aroused pegasus looking back at her. She wanted so badly to touch a hoof to her swollen pussy, to take care of her winking clit, but she hadn’t been told she could.

Claves had called her a good girl, and she was determined to be a good girl for her Mistress. A Mistress that was advancing on the bed with rope in hoof and a smile that could make her cum in a heartbeat.