Harem Alliance

Muffin Top felt uneasy as she stepped out onto the street. She couldn't shake the feeling in her gut that something was wrong today, and that she should turn around and go back inside. She was sure that, as soon as her hooves hit the sidewalk, her day would be ruined. But she had to shake it off. She needed to go to the bakery and pick up some bread bowls to pour tonight's chowder into. What was chowder without a bowl of bread? Just a soup, that's what.

With a hard swallow, she jumped the last few steps onto the pavement. So far, so good. She was on the sidewalk and ready to make her way up the road. It was only two blocks to the bakery.

As she rounded the corner, she took a deep breath. It was just a trip to the bakery. She did this all the time. Today would be no different.

One block, then another, and finally, around the corner and through the door. She panted in exhaustion as she sat down on a small bench off to the side.

"Did'ja sprint all the way here?" asked Puff Pastry, the owner of the shop. "Ya look like ya just run a marathon."

Muffin shook her head. "No, just... I stepped off my porch to an overwhelming sense of dread, that's all."

"Ah. The ol' what's-it-called... Anxiety?"

"No, no, just... Just a gut feeling, that's all. Something's going to go wrong, I can just feel it in my gut."

"Alright, alright, I hear ya..." He reached into his cabinet of baked goods and tossed a lemon and poppyseed muffin across the room to her. "On the house."

She caught it and smiled. "No, really, I insist on paying."

"Nonsense. It's a baker's job to provide comfort to his customers. That's why they call it comfort food."

"Nevertheless, I came in here to buy something."

"And I gave it to you."

"No, no, I need four bread bowls."

Puff smiled and nodded. "I see. Doing a chowder tonight, are we?"

"You know how much I love chowder..."

"Four bread bowls, eight bits."

She dropped nine on the counter and picked up her bread bowls. If he wouldn't accept it as payment for the muffin, then it was a tip. She'd already eaten half the muffin, and was already feeling better.

The walk home was more calm, and she arrived back on her steps with little issue. From there, it was back inside, where she left the bread bowls on the kitchen counter.

Feeling good about her day, and now certain that she'd driven away whatever bad juju had been plaguing her this morning, she decided to put her pride on full display by going to pick up the mail from her mailbox. She dropped down the steps and opened the box. There were a few envelopes, which she quickly looked over. Junkmail... junkmail... mail fraud... local advertisers' mailout coupon books... Nothing important.

As she turned to go back in, though, she came face to face with two zebra stallions. Immediately, the dread set back in, and was proven correct as they lifted a sheet of paper in front of her face.

"Come on, guys, this isn't funny..."

"It's not supposed to make you laugh," shrugged one of the zebras. "This is neither a jape nor gaff. Our joy shall be a bit more stark, as we're going to fuck you in the park."

"What I'm saying is, you don't have to; you picked me up right in front of my house. We can just go back and do it there."

"But ah, we want a public place. Worry not, we'll find a hidden space."

She didn't trust these zebras as far as she could throw them. And being in the business of elderly care, she wasn't known for throwing ponies very far or very often. But she did know that she was going to be okay when it was over. After all, Celestia herself promised it in the terms and conditions. She knew the zebras couldn't force her to be here if doing so could hurt her, at least foreseeably.

As she stepped into the park, more dread washed over her. She took her kids here all the time. Granted, the spell could only hold her here for two hours, and school wouldn't let out for another five hours, but still; children played here. Not to mention, it would be weird to come back here this weekend for a birthday party after these two hours were up.

"Anonymity is the order of the day," said one of the zebras as they approached the jungle gym. Stepping up to it, this was a place designated by some of the local parents as a "no-no zone." That is to say, it was a place that was impossible to see from the multitude of benches, and only marginally visible from the jogging path. Kids would sometimes hide out in this spot when it was time to go home, to give them a little bit of extra time. "We've heard this is a spot where children don't play."

"Well, no, not the well-behaved ones. Not mine, of course."

"Good children listen to their mothers. Here, we'll be seen by no others."

"Okay, yeah, that seems fine, but--"

"Now, let's put you though your paces. We don't want you to see our faces. You shouldn't know which of us you're pleasing, so through this hole, you will be squeezing."

That was even better. There was a hole in the plastic wall, here, intended for use as a hoofhold for climbing. However, it was a good size for her to fit through, at least partway. Having her front half block the hole meant that nopony could see through from the outside. It was a bit of a snug fit, but it worked.

As she heard a cart roll by, likely the ice cream vendor heading back to his storage building to restock, she realised something troubling. If she could hear the cart, the cart could hear her, and she was a squealer when in bed. "Hey, before you start back there, can I convince one of you to gag me? I don't want to alert the whole neighborhood and have them come running to watch..."