Them’s Milkin’ Herds

Spearmint fumbled with an array of papers on his desk, mumbling to himself quietly. An abundance of bills, notices, and more were spread out across the table—all instilling a sense of hopelessness in him.

Try and try, business after business, nothing worked for him. The large building he was renting on the edge of Reine City was supposed to be his big break, but after three years of failed business attempts, it was looking like it’d just be what ruined his life.

Clothing, selling grains, even a brief period where he utilized his incredible specialty in hypnotic magic to be a fortune teller—none worked out. The location was good, but actually finding a selling point was the real struggle.

Sighing, pushing aside all his paperwork, Spearmint trotted out of his office. Entering the main section of his shop, he scanned the area. It was barren for the most part, being he sold everything in it for an extra bit of salt to hold him over for the next few weeks. He’d been struggling to figure out what his next scheme would be, and unless he figured out something big, there wouldn’t be another one after that.

Trotting to the entrance of his shop, he pushed the door open and stepped out into the cold streets of Reine. The capital city of the deerfolk was always bustling with life, and such was the case on the street Spearmint’s shop was located at. Many reindeer pranced about, chatting and going about their days. Spearmint wasn’t the most social buck, but he did enjoy eyeing up the does that would waltz through the streets.

He had his eyes locked on two familiar does, Dancer and Vixen, as they trotted by him. The sight of Dancer’s dark brown rump bouncing with each step she took was as juicy as always, and Vixen’s fat, pink asscheeks bouncing beside hers made for a lovely sight. The two does were wholly unaware of the buck eyeing up their plump posteriors, due to the intense conversation they were having.

“I’m telling you! A cow just came into the city!” Dancer assured, stamping her hoof against the ground.

Spearmint’s ear twitched at the mention of a cow. Foreign visitors to Reine were an extremely rare occurrence, especially a creature from the Prairie.

Vixen rolled her eyes. “Psssht, yeah right! Like the guards would let a cow of all things through the gates!”

“I’m telling you they did! Rumor has it it’s because she offered them some milk from the Prairie!”

Spearmint’s eyes went wide. That was it—milk. The deer in Reine City loved their milk. It was an extremely expensive and rare import into the city. It was so sought after even deer milk was incredibly pricey. If he could find a way to have a healthy flow of the delicious substance come out of his shop, he’d be set.

And cow milk was a perfect start.

Eavesdropping on the two further, still opting to slip the occasional glance at their plump rumps, Spearmint listened until they slipped around the corner and out of earshot. He knew enough from their gossiping—the visiting heifer was wandering around the town’s square.

Shutting his empty shop’s door behind him, locking it with his magic, Spearmint hastily began to make his way to the town center of Reine. His mind raced, an abundance of ideas running through it. He hadn’t a clue who this cow was or how she behaved, but he had to keep her here—no matter what.

Turning a street corner, he peeked out from behind a building and towards the center of town. Low and behold, it was impossible to miss his target. A rather small, brown cow wearing a small bandana around her neck was hastily trotting around, asking and pestering Reine’s residents with questions. The disgusted looks she was receiving from the deer was expected, being Reine’s residents didn’t take nicely to outsiders.

Fluffing up his chest floof, hoping to appear as appealing as possible, Spearmint made his way towards the cow. He prayed he’d be able to coax her into staying, but he knew deep down his proposal to keep her as a milk mare was downright absurd.

“Gosh darnit! Why're all these deer so upstuck! All ah wanna do is find the darn museum!” the cow huffed, stamping her hoof against the ground.

Spearmint’s eyes temporarily trailed back to the heifer’s fat ass as she stamped, seeing it jiggle wondrously before his eyes, but he quickly shook his head. He had priorities.

“Ahem,” Spearmint started, clearing his throat and making himself known. “Hello, who might you be?”

The cow whirled around, beaming up at him. “Finally! A friendly, welcoming deer! Didn’t think it was possible!” She puffed her chest out, looking smug. “Ah’m Arizona! Also known as the champ’een of the Prairie!”

Her mention of being the champion of the Prairie sent a surge of worry through Spearmint. If she was a champion, she had very little intent on staying put—he knew that much. She was a long way from home, seemed rather prideful, and was clearly quite fiery. Having her be willing to degrade herself into being his milk machine was a long, long shot.

“W-Well, Arizona,” he stammered, trying to compose himself. “It’s a pleasure to meet you. My name is Spearmint.”

Arizona looked around, sighing. “Pleasure, Mr. Spearmint! I’ve been lookin’ for the museum around here, but nobody’s been helpful!”

Spearmint raised a brow, side-eyeing the path that would lead Arizona right to the museum. He could be a good guy, helping her out and just giving her directions, but that wasn’t his goal. He needed her, and her body especially, to be a tool for him. He was desperate, and honestly he always was a sleazy businessman, so he wasn’t one to hesitate to lie.

“Ah, probably because it’s closed.”

“Closed?!” Arizona blurted, looking distraught. “B-but it can’t be! Ah’ve gotta get more information on the Prophet’s Key!”

A segue, exactly what Spearmint was looking for. His lie about the museum being closed had bore fruit, a perfect opportunity for him to lure her towards his shop and let him pitch his deal to her.

“Information on the Prophet’s Key? Well, I can give you some of that and much more!”

Arizona lit up, looking up at him with wonder. “Wait, really?! Well what’re ya waiting for?! Tell me!”

Spearmint shook his head. “I can’t tell, I can only show.” He gestured a foreleg towards the street he came from. “Care to follow me to my shop?”

Arizona gave him a suspicious look at first, eyeing him up and down before shrugging. “Well, alright!”

Hearing her accept his offer, Spearmint began to trot towards his home. He had barely spoken with her, but he could tell she wasn’t exactly the brightest. Regardless, she was a champion, which meant she packed a punch. He hoped his proposal wouldn’t anger her too much if she was against it—lest he would find himself clobbered into the ground.

Weaving through the twists and turns of the city, spotting many deer throwing Arizona a scornful glare, Spearmint ran ideas through his head. He could possibly bribe her with money, after all, salt was a precious currency and surely a cow like her would love a good financial opportunity. Maybe she may be interested in being allowed to stay in such a prestigious city by working with him, or perhaps she’d just be interested in working with him just for him—as far-fetched as that sounded.

Regardless, he needed to sell her on it.

Coming up to his shop, he glanced over his shoulder, seeing that Arizona had tailed right behind him the entire time. She innocently looked around, curiously eyeing the architecture of the city’s buildings, eyes shimmering with wonder. Feeling a tinge of guilt within him, Spearmint hesitated.

Still, he’d do anything to ensure he had a stable livelihood. Being broke meant being kicked out of Reine, and in turn meant being tossed into the wild Tundra. With the return of predators, it’d mean a death sentence for him. Morals, kindness and more meant nothing—he needed to make this work.

Pressing the door open, he motioned for Arizona to enter. “Go on in! I’ve got lots to share.”

Arizona paused, squinting into the dim building. She pursed her lip, analyzing the dusty confines, her suspicion clear as day. It seemed she was a touch naive, but even the most naive ungulates could probably sense something was fishy.

“Riiiiight…” she breathed, shooting a glance at him. “If you’re up to anythin’ tricky, ah promise you I’ll show you why I’m the champ of the Prairie.”

Spearmint forced a smile, nervously chuckling. “I’d never, my new friend. Please, come inside.”

Shooting him an unconvinced look, Arizona shrugged her shoulders and waltzed into his shop. Glancing at her rump once more, finding his mind briefly wandering into lecherous territory as it bounced, Spearmint grimaced and quickly slipped into the building. Letting his mind wander again was not the plan, he needed to focus. With Arizona now fully in the shop, he shut the door behind him, instinctively locking it as he turned to face her.

He was met with her stooped down facing him, in a prepared fighting stance as she huffed hot air from her nostrils. Spearmint’s eyes went wide, as he recoiled and pressed back against the front door in fear.

“Now, ya wanna tell me why you went and locked that door?” Arizona seethed, glowering at him. “I may seem dumb, but I ain’t oblivious.”

Spearmint raised his forelegs, waving them before him innocently. “No, no! You’ve got it all wrong! I just lock it on instinct!”

Arizona narrowed her gaze, unconvinced. “Right…and you brought me to this dusty, empty ole room because it was on instinct too?”

Spearmint felt his heart skip a beat, as his plan was swiftly falling apart. Finding himself needing to shift the topic from the unsavory setting of their meeting place, he cleared his throat.

“It’s good to keep things private if we’re discussing some - er - serious topics, isn’t it?”

His words seemed to work, at least a portion, as Arizona eased up slightly. “Well…ah suppose so.”

Taking a deep breath, finding himself able to finally calm down, Spearmint glanced around the shop. It did look suspicious, but more so, it looked totally hopeless. The cow with him in the building right now was his best bet. He had to maintain his lie for a bit, possibly get to know her more, and then he’d try and latch onto the best opportunity.

“So, what about the Prophet’s Key do you know?” he asked.

Arizona sheepishly kicked at the ground, frowning. “Well, honestly. Not that much. Mah Pa told a me a bit and I’ve got a few trinkets to help me along the way, but ah really am missin’ some more hefty leads.”

Spearmint fumbled with his little knowledge of the Prophet’s Key in his mind. With the return of predators, it was a hot topic in Reine, especially thanks to that pretentious doe he had seen on occasion named Velvet ranting about how she’ll find it. He knew barely anything about it, but he had to give himself more time to warm up to Arizona. She had little knowledge, and seemed naive enough, so lying a bit more surely couldn’t hurt.

“Well, don’t worry! I know plenty on it!”

Her smile grew again, looking up at him excitedly. “Oh?! C’moooon, ya gotta stop teasin’ me! Spill the beans!” Her suspicious look returned. “Unless you’re lying about knowing.”

Spearmint glowered at her. “Who here knows about the museum and key? If you wanna have an attitude I can send you on your way.”

Arizona recoiled. “Point taken...”

“Regarding the museum, like I said, it’s closed,” Spearmint furthered.

Arizona’s smile dropped. “Ah can go to it tomorrow at least.”

“And it’s gonna be closed for at least three months.”

“What?!”

Arizona’s outburst nearly made Spearmint jump, eyes going wide as he stumbled backward. Looking over at Arizona, he could see her wide-eyed, bewildered look.

“That’s way too long! Ah can’t wait forever! The Prairie is countin’ on me!”

“A-ta-ta,” Spearmint tutted, wagging a hoof before her. “That’s where I come in!”

“Oh right!” Arizona chirped. “You said you’d tell me more about it! Do ya know what’s in there? It’ll save me time!”

Spearmint paused, realizing he just backed himself into a corner and forced himself to find some kind of made up story about the key.

“Uh…right, well, thing is…” He raked his mind for an idea, the conniving parts of his mind conjuring up a perfect setup. “I can’t just tell you what I know.”

Arizona scrunched her muzzle, huffing air out of her nose in frustration. “Oh, come on! Cut it out!” She snarled. “You take me to this weird house, rant about knowin’ so much, and now you aren’t gonna tell me what I need?!”

“Listen to what I have to say and you’ll at least find out much more than what you’d have learned from the museum, and sooner.”

“Fine,” she huffed.

Spearmint took a deep breath, issuing a silent prayer to the stars above that this would work. “If you want the information outta me, you’ll need to do something for me.”

Arizona’s glare deepened. “Like?”

“Well, you’re a healthy, spry cow,” Spearmint furthered.

Arizona remained quiet.

“And, you’re young. How old, eighteen?”

“Twenty,” she snarled.

Spearmint snickered. “Just a few years younger than me.”

“Cut to the chase.”

Spearmint could hear the anger in her voice, but he at least had leverage. She needed information, and if he could keep her here for a while, he’d be able to get something out of her.

“Fine. If you want to know what I know, which is way more than that museum would've ever taught you, then I have one last question,” he furthered.

“And ah might have an answer,” Arizona growled.

“How much milk can you make?”

Spearmint’s question made Arizona’s face go a deep shade of red. Her eyes went wide, her body stiffened, and her expression warped into utter disbelief. Shaking her head, embarrassed from even being asked such a question, she sputtered her response.

“W-what did you say?!”

Taking a deep, nervous gulp, Spearmint repeated his question. “H-how much milk do you make?”

“W-Why're you asking me that?!”

“Because I need you to make lots of milk for me for a few months if you want any real information.”

Arizona's jaw dropped. “Are you serious?” Her bewildered expression quickly began to shift to rage. “Who the buck do you think you are?!”

Spearmint’s biggest fear was quickly becoming a reality. Stumbling backwards, he found himself pressing against the door as Arizona lowered herself in a prepared stance.

“I-It’s the only way you’ll get any information from me!”

“You’re insane! Y-you think I’d stoop that low?!” Arizona scolded, her enraged voice shaky as she was still flustered.

Unable to think properly, Spearmint blurted out the first thing on his mind. “Aren’t all you dumb Prairie cows pathetic enough to be milkers?”

Slapping his hoof over his mouth, Spearmint realized what he had said. Years of living in Reine meant the pretentious, smug demeanor the city carried rubbed off on him, and in turn, he too found himself looking down on other creatures that weren’t deer. He slowly dragged his eyes up to Arizona’s face. The room was dead silent, but the look on her face was all he needed to see to realize the scale of his fuck up. She was still red in the face, though this time it wasn’t of embarrassment, no, now it was red with sheer rage.

Grinding her teeth together, Arizona took a fierce step forward, shaking the entire room. “Pathetic, huh?” She took another, making Spearmint cower back. “Yah think that’s what we cows are like?!”

“I…I’m sorry I didn’t mean it!” Spearmint pleaded, frantically trying to unlock the door.

Arizona didn’t relent, taking another step towards him. “And dumb? The museum ain’t even closed, isn’tit?” She dragged a forehoof against the floor, preparing to charge. “You just assumed ah’d be dumb enough to fall for it forever, huh?!”

“N-no! I think you’re quite smart!” Spearmint apologized.

“And you don’t even know anythin’ about the key I bet!” Arizona growled, huffing hot air from her nostrils. “Well, I’ll teach you what happens to those who disrespect the Prairie.”

All too terrified to realize it, Spearmint was oblivious to the intense volumes of magic funneling into his horns. In life or death situations, prey were capable of channeling immense volumes of magic into their bodies. Sparks danced across his antlers, swirls dotting them, as a spell he specialized in began to form itself without him even knowing.

“P-please! I’m sorry! I just needed a chance!!!”

“You’ll learn to not mess with the Prairie folk!”

Arizona charged at him, angling her petite horns down as she battered towards him with fury powering her every step. The room shook from the sheer strength behind every step she took, as Spearmint braced for what he feared was the end. An intense, electrifying sensation ran through his body, one he thought was maybe an instantaneous death from the impact that was approaching him, but a gasp beside him snapped him from his panicked delirium.

“Agh! What the?!”

Prying his eyes open, Spearmint saw an intense blast of magic shooting out of his horns and straight at Arizona. It was funneling into her head, as she stumbled backwards, frantically shaking her head. Spearmint’s eyes went wide, recognizing the spell he was casting and the feeling washing over him.

Each time he used his hypnotic magic, he felt a faint rush go through him, but what he was feeling now was that same sensation but upped a hundred times over. He knew it was the spell, as the strings of magic flying into Arizona’s head were the exact same color.

“Gah! G-get out of mah head!”

Spearmint’s eyes went wide. His hypnotic magic was never this strong, only capable of causing an illusion or allowing him to read someone’s thoughts for a second, but he could feel his influence literally flowing into Arizona’s mind. Steadying himself, knowing this was do or die, he focused his magic, unknowing of what the result would be.

Arizona writhed in place, stumbling from side to side. “S-stop it! Ah p-promise when I get mah hooves on you! Ghhhk!”

“Just - tch - give in! I’m not letting you hurt me!” Spearmint shot back, managing to take a step towards her.

His beam of magic strengthened, pummeling her mental barriers. He could feel himself conquering her mind bit by bit, undoing her free will by the seams. The feeling was a rush, something entirely new—something incredibly amazing. He never thought his knack for mental magic would ever amount to this, but he had a creature as powerful as Arizona on the ropes.

“Nnngh! N-no! I can’t!” Arizona’s eyes fluttered, as she looked over at him. “G-give in…?”

Spearmint felt his influence seep deeper into her. His own senses danced, as if he was becoming entwined with her own for a moment. Seizing the opening in her fortitude, he took another step forward as his magic strengthened.

“Yes! Give in! Obey and yield to my will!”

An empty, dopey smile slowly began to spread across Arizona’s muzzle. “Obey…M-Master…” She pulled back, shaking her head. “Grah! No! You…you little…”

Spearmint could feel his energy waning. He wasn’t prepared for this. He had never used so much energy, nor did he even know he had it in him, and though he could maybe learn to utilize it better, pushing himself so much after unlocking this strength for the first time was certainly asking too much of his luck. He had to finish her off. He had no idea what it’d entail, but he had to.

He grit his teeth, focusing every bit of his will into his magic. Damn this cow and her perception, and damn her for trying to foil his one chance to survive. He was pressing into her mind, morphing her to his will, and he let his spite, anxiety, fear, determination and ire drive him to push her to the edge. Pulling together all he had, he heaved air into his lungs, surged an immense amount of energy into his horn, and let out a fierce scream.

“Fall to my will!”

He heard an intense scream escape from Arizona, before the entire room lit up with a bright light. Everything around him went blank. His ears rang, his body felt numb, his eyes were blinded, and even his nose stung as he took a sharp breath. His every joint ached, cracking and clicking as he rolled across his shop’s floor. His horns felt like they were on fire, stinging and dancing with pain that forced him to bite his lip.

His sense of reality and everything around him had been turned on its head. All he knew was his magic wasn’t being used anymore, and he had no idea where Arizona was. He feared he failed, that when he got up he’d be met with a well-deserved fatal buck to the face by the heifer, but an inkling of himself held on to the unimaginable prospect that his sudden surge of magic had let him win.

He placed his hooves against the ground, wincing with pain as a burning sensation ran down his body. It stung, as if he had frostbite over his limbs, but with fear and hope driving him, he slowly raised himself off the ground. The room was dead silent, bar his pained groans and the occasional…panting?

His mind was scrambled by the unexpected sound, wholly confused by what it could be from. Already shocked to not find himself being thrown across the room by a blow from Arizona, he willed together the courage to glance up. Dragging his eyes up, he could see Arizona’s hooves. He was terrified, but he moved his gaze up further. He could tell she was standing, likely ready to pounce on him, but he still had some hope.

His eyes froze on her tongue, watching as it lazily lolled out of her mouth. Her panting was clear as day, confirming the source of the sound to him, but what made his heart skip a beat was what was right above it. Bringing his attention a few inches upwards, he met her eyes. Swirls funneled within them, and resting within her pupils were hearts.

His jaw nearly dropped.

“Hello, Master!” Arizona chirped, smiling dumbly over at him.

He had somehow won.