Back on Duty

Gregory woke up halfway when Blossom came back into bed. He shuffled aside to make room, gave the mare a sleepy pat and tried his best to catch a few extra minutes of sleep. She stretched out on top of the covers, but her fur was still quite warm, even though the fabric. Greg put a hand across her barrel and twirled his fingers into her fluff.

Sadly, it was not to be. Now that he had started to think, sleep drained away and Greg opened his eyes. The room was quite bright already and no doubt Celestia would be coming to check in on them soon. With hope, she had found a good, emphatic pony doctor, who would take the strange little mare off his hands for at least a few hours. Greg wanted to shower, eat, and catch up with the Princess without constantly looking after Blossom.

That reminded him - was Blossom feeling any better? Could she answer any more questions?

Greg turned to his back and stretched out his arms above his head. That caused him to yawn, which just helped him clear his lungs and get the blood flowing a bit faster.

"Morning."

Blossom turned to her belly and laid her muzzle on his arm. His forearm became Blossom's pillow and his fingers just reached one of her ears. Using his free hand to adjust his own pillow, Greg just watched Blossom for a while. She looked back at him, unblinking, unmoving, but also silent. After about a minute of this, she closed her eyes and yawned hugely. Her tongue stretched out and when she closed her mouth it was left outside.

Greg couldn't help chuckling a little while Blossom blinked in confusion.

"Nothing," he commented.

He felt a lot better, the dull ache in his muscles almost completely gone. Despite that, Greg uncharacteristically decided to stay in bed a few more minutes.

"Wanna come under here, where it's warm?" he offered.

Blossom narrowed her eyes for a few seconds, as if searching for a trick in that statement, but then she nodded. Greg held the blanket up and the mare shuffled gratefully under the cover. She pressed herself right against the human, who had lost his towel sometime in the night. The situation would have been extremely inappropriate, but luckily he still had his boxers. This way it was just mostly inappropriate. He carefully shielded the mare from his morning wood, which would have made things completely wrong on top of majorly embarrassing. Hopefully, Greg silently prayed, she hadn't felt it while they were sleeping.

After a bit of trial and error, the mare found a comfortable position with her head on Greg's chest and her hooves wrapped around his belly. Greg lowered the blanket to free her muzzle, so she could breathe. She drew in a very deep breath and then blew it out through her nose.

"So, feeling any better from yesterday? Are you still scared of alicorns?"

When he started talking Blossom's ears perked up, but when he finished they splayed once again. "N-No..." she murmured, not looking at the human.

"You know the Princesses are only out to help ponies, right?"

"Yes," she answered in a tiny voice.

"Most unicorns are actually kind of nice. Don't let some of the nobles fool you, they can be jerks, but most ponies are okay."

This made Blossom shuffle a little uncomfortably, but after a while she managed a minuscule nod.

"Don't worry, we'll take it one step at a time. I'll help."

There was no answer and Greg hadn't expected any. He put his fingers over her muzzle and played a little with the soft fur there. The physical contact seemed to be helping.

"So, do you think you could be a brave girl and let a nice pony doctor take a look at you?"

She gave it a bit of thought, then shrugged.

"I'll have to go take a shower-"

Her grip around his midriff tightened, but Greg decided to be firm.

"No, none of that, Blossom. You're a big pony. I promise nothing bad is going to happen, okay? You can't keep sleeping in bed with me..."

Tears were already gathering in her eyes, but then Blossom squeezed them shut and completely flattened her ears. She shifted herself so she was lying completely on the human and brought her muzzle right up to his face. For a moment Greg thought she would try kissing him, which was confusing as all hell, but she just laid her head down on his shoulder.

Greg was puzzling out why the mare would do something like that, but then one of her hind hooves snagged his boxers and pulled them down. He opened his mouth to apologize, but in that moment Blossom licked his neck and ground her belly down.

It was sheer luck he didn't... The mere thought was horrifying.

"What the?!"

Greg pushed Blossom away and almost jumped out of the bed, hurriedly pulling his boxers back and snagging a discarded towel from the floor for good measure.

"What the fuck was that?!"

Blossom had curled up into as small a ball as she could manage and put her head under a foreleg, as if to protect herself from a beating. Panting, Greg forcibly calmed down and sat on the edge of the bed. He put a hand on her back, which made the mare squeak and tense up.

"Hey, sorry, I didn't mean to yell. Don't be scared." There was no reply, so he scratched her fur a little and tried again. "Blossom, please just look at me."

It took a while, but the mare unwrapped enough so that her eyes peered out at him from under her forelegs.

"I'm not gonna be mad, I promise, just answer: did you just try to... well. Did you just try to have s-sex with me?!"

A nod.

"Why?!"

"P-Please don't s-send me away," the mare whimpered. She uncurled further and reached for him with her hooves. "Please, I'll be- I'll be good! I c-can be good! I k-know h-how!"

He was forced to revise his theory of Blossom not being abused and it nearly turned his stomach. She looked on the verge of complete breakdown, though, so Greg somehow managed to put on a brave face.

"I won't send you away, I promise. The Princess and I meant it when we said we'll help you."

Maybe she believed him, or maybe it was just his soothing voice, but Blossom relaxed and her breathing calmed down a tad.

"Blossom, did they make you- do those things? Wherever you were? Did they force you to... you know?"

She thought about this for a few moments, then shook her head.

"Then why did you just try to... do that? With me?"

"M-M-Men li-like it," she stuttered. "T-They gave me foo-food if I l-let them..." She sighed and tried again, keeping her gaze on the mattress between her hooves. "T-They some- sometimes covered for my- my shift..."

"Men?! What men? Wait, your shift? What shift?"

"In- in the mine..."

Greg put his face in his hands. A picture was starting to form in his mind, but he didn't like it at all. He remembered the fine dust from the shower and nearly groaned. It would take the poor thing a long while and a lot of effort to explain it, so he decided to just make an educated guess and have her confirm or deny it.

"Let me see if I get this straight," he began. "You were working in a mine against your will, and you traded sexual favors with some humans in there so they'd give you food and do some of your work?"

Blossom thought this through, then nodded.

"It wasn't voluntary, right? You didn't work there because you wanted to?"

This time she shook her head.

"Were you paid?"

She shrugged, which Greg took to mean 'no'.

"How long were you kept there? Where was it? Who did this?!" Greg realized he was starting to get agitated and took another deep breath to calm down. "Sorry. Blossom, this is very serious, do you understand? Whoever did this to you will go to prison for the rest of their lives, you have my word on it!"

Blossom didn't look as if she completely understood what Greg was saying, but she recognized his tone and smiled back.

"T-Thanks," she said. "U-Um, w-wanna... want me to l-lick you off? I sometimes l-"

"No!"

Her face fell at this rejection, so Greg quickly put his hand in her mane. "Look, Blossom, I know you had to do some awful things to get by, but that's over, understand? You won't have to do any of that anymore, the Princess will see to that."

Her ears drooped and Blossom sighed. "But s-sometimes I liked d-doing it..."

It was not the time to explain it all to the tortured little mare. There was one more thing Greg wanted to know, before he went and talked this over with Celestia.

"How long were you kept in that mine?"

Blossom gave this a lot of thought, but then shrugged. "E-Ever sin-since I was small?" she offered.

"Yeah, I was afraid of that. Well, don't go offering people- or ponies sex, okay? None of that. I'll-" Greg paused, suppressing a shudder. "-someone will explain it all to you."

At that moment there was a knock at the door and Blossom whimpered as she threw her legs around Greg again.

"Come in!"

The door opened and Princess Celestia stepped in. Greg could see her through the drawing room and gave her a little dispirited wave. The alicorn took one look at his face and her ears fell. She was about to walk over, but froze and sniffed the air. Greg cringed inwardly. Hopefully she wasn't smelling Blossom's arousal, because it would raise a lot of uncomfortable questions.

To his surprise, Celestia made her way to the bathroom and looked in, then backed out. "Just a moment," she told Greg and went back to the outside door. "Send for cleaning staff as soon as we leave this room," she ordered.

"Cleaning staff?"

Celestia came into the bedroom, casting her gaze over the trembling Blossom, who was pressing her muzzle into Greg's side.

Before the Princess could speak, Greg held up a hand and put his other palm on the frightened mare.

"This is the Princess, remember? She's here to help. You can trust her."

At first there was no effect, but Celestia waited patiently while Greg coaxed Blossom some more, until she was finally able to look at the alicorn. Her eyes were still little pinpricks of fear, but at least she didn't look like she was about to bolt.

"Princess Celestia, let me introduce Blossom."

The Princess smiled beatifically and knelt down by the bed to make herself a little smaller. "My, that's such a lovely name!" she trilled with a big smile.

Greg had been watching closely and thought he saw Blossom's lips quirk up a tiny bit, before her fear got the better of her again and she pressed her muzzle back against his bare belly.

"I think Blossom has been lost for quite a while, Gregory," Celestia said.

"Well, you're right, although not exactly 'lost'. How do you know?"

Celestia looked back at the drawing room. "She doesn't remember how to use a toilet. Can you not smell it?"

"Oh. Well, that's another thing we'll have to teach her, but it's not important right now."

"You found out more about her?"

"Yeah. I wish I didn't, but here it is. I don't think you're going to like it, though."

The Princess pressed her lips together and her gaze hardened as she steeled herself for bad news. "Tell me."

It took a lot of assurances that she would be okay, but Gregory managed to convince Blossom to leave the room with Celestia and him. Perhaps it helped when the Princess showed off her wings, making it clear she wasn't just a unicorn. Hopefully either Celestia or whatever doctor was waiting for them would get more answers out of the poor mare. She was doing a lot better, though, especially compared to the previous day's near constant panic.

Greg had been right, to an extent. A hearty meal, a bath, and a good night's sleep had made quite a difference. The pancakes, however, proved to be the most interesting of the lot. Blossom's expression as she tried to surreptitiously stuff her muzzle without drawing attention to herself had been priceless. Especially the way she licked around her plate, smearing jam all over her muzzle and hooves, pausing only occasionally to glance nervously around. So delighted was she at the sweet taste that she hardly minded when Gregory proclaimed he'd have to leave for a while.

One of the Castle staff had brought him fresh clothes while he was telling Celestia about Blossom's story, but Greg still wanted a shower. Even more importantly, he wanted Blossom to get used to other ponies, otherwise she might become too attached and dependent on him.

Despite that worry, he laid a hand on Blossom's head for a quick pat. "You'll be okay with the Princess, won't you Blossom?"

She looked up from her food for a moment to give Gregory an uncertain nod. She didn't say anything because her cheeks were bulging.

"I'll come back and find you as soon as I can."

Another nod.

"Don't be afraid of unicorns, no one here will hurt you, okay?"

A bit of jam on her nose was starting to slide down and Greg caught it on his finger.

"Mmph!" the mare complained when he went to wipe it away on a napkin.

Greg understood what she wanted and held the digit out for her so Blossom could do her best to lick it clean. It didn't work all that well, because her mouth was full already and she just kept smearing more jam all over his hand.

"Mmhmhppf!" she moaned, clearly distressed over the loss.

"Swallow first. Sheesh."

Blossom's eyes crossed as she gulped down a mouthful of pancakes, jam, whipped cream, and powdered sugar. Just thinking about it made Greg's teeth ache. As soon as it was done Blososm didn't waste any more time. She grabbed Greg's hand with her hooves to keep him from getting away and went right back to licking him clean. This time it worked a little better. Gregory caught Celestia's grin and just shrugged in response while he waited for Blossom to finish.

At last there was no more sweet jam to be gained from his fingers and the mare let him go. A moment later her snout was buried in her plate once again.

"Don't let her overeat, okay? It'll just make her sick, especially if she's not used to it."

Celestia nodded solemnly, but something in her expression didn't give Greg much hope. The Princess enjoyed her sweets too much to have the heart to deny another pony the same. Well, if Blossom ended up crying all day because of a painful belly, he'd just make Celestia take care of her by herself, while he went and had himself a relaxing bath. That ought to teach her.

Seeing how Blossom was busy inhaling another pancake and Celestia was frying up yet more, Greg got up from his chair and left them both to their tasks. It looked like they'd get along famously, now that Blossom was mostly over her fear. They didn't even notice when he left.

He met Luna in the corridor on his way out and was about to walk past her when the younger alicorn shot her wing out to block his path.

"Not so fast!" she said and rounded up on him. The furious look she gave him made Greg back away until he hit the wall.

"What?!"

Luna advanced, glaring. "I will give you this one chance to explain yourself, because I like you. If I do not like your answers, I will toss you in prison myself!"

"But- Luna-" Greg began, holding up his hands defensively. "What?!"

"You were seen, Gregory! It's bad enough that you would betray my Sister, but bringing the floozy right into the Castle?!"

"What?! What floozy? What in hell are you talking about, Luna?"

She stomped a hoof. "That pink hussy! I questioned the maid who saw you. Playing around in a bath, Gregory? The nerve!"

Some wheels turned and Greg started chortling with laughter. He held up his palm to get Luna to wait a second so he could explain, but the look on her muzzle was pure, unbridled fury.

"IMPUDENCE!" the Princess yelled and for a moment all light in the corridor fled and the castle was filled with ominous shadows.

Greg's laughter died on his lips. "Fuck, listen Luna, it's not what you think!"

"Then explain! RAPIDLY!"

"We found her on the road when we were coming back from Baltimare yesterday. She was scared out of her mind and ran right for me. She was panicking."

The glare didn't budge and Luna's hoof began tapping impatiently.

"Celestia asked me to stay with Blossom until she calmed down. For God's sake, she gave me Cadence's suite because it was the only one ready last night!"

"And the bath?!" Luna demanded.

"Blossom was filthy! Luna, she was being kept somewhere and made to work in a mine. I think she's been..." His voice cracked and Gregory could barely whisper the next word. "...used."

The transformation was dramatic. Of course Luna believed him, Gregory had never before lied to her. She would probably know it if he tried, especially about something like this.

"I-" the mare said, backing away and eyes already filling with tears, "I- I had no idea..."

Gregory stepped closer and put his hand on her cheek. "It's okay. Blossom is okay now. Your sister is feeding her pancakes, so I guess she thinks she's in some kind of pony heaven or something."

Luna closed her eyes and nodded, nuzzling Greg's hand. Then she looked at him and her expression hardened once more. "Who did this to her?!"

"We don't know yet. Don't bring it up, we'll find out as soon as we can. Celestia said she'd oversee the investigation personally and find whoever is responsible and banish them!"

Luna scrunched up her face in righteous fury. "And toss them in the dungeon in the place she banished them to?"

"Exactly."

Funny how that silly little fear of Twilight's became such a widespread saying, Greg thought. He'd been confused the first time he heard it until Celestia explained about the incident with her pet phoenix.

Luna looked at the door to the Sisters' private breakfast room and cringed back a little. "Perhaps it is best I do not intervene yet. You said Sister has it all in hoof?"

"Yes, I think so."

"Good. I will go and see the maid who is spreading such vile rumors about you and... educate her."

"Please don't do anything rash, Luna."

The Princess was already walking impetuously away and she looked over her shoulder at Greg. "No promises."

Gregory shook his head to himself and set off toward his and Celestia's room. It had, according to the Princess' own words, 'a primitive, rudimentary shower'. Good enough. It would do. More importantly, it would be a lot faster than a full bath. Perhaps he could also catch up one some work by the time Celestia and Blossom were done with the doctor. If Blossom began to panic the Princess would no doubt send for him.

Besides, he had to think things over. By the sound of it, ponies - unicorns, probably - were forcing Blossom and possibly others to work in a mine. For some reason there were also humans allowed, but Greg couldn't guess at their purpose.

Guards, maybe? Slave drivers?

That wouldn't explain why Blossom ran for him, rather than Celestia.

Gregory wanted to know the answers, but was afraid of them at the same time.