Zephyr Part 9.5

You did eventually manage to get some rest, but only after Autumn made sure that the both of you were thoroughly overstimulated beforehand. Autumn is... special to you. She's been emotional support for you this entire time, all while being a warning about what might happen if you let yourself go too deep into this rabbit hole. She's the closest thing you've got to a real friend right now, but her devotion to Master, once unsettling because it was incomprehensible, was now doubly unsettling because it makes sense. You get it, you really do, and that's what worries you.

You've been lying on the sofa lost in thought when a bright flash startles you into activity. You look wildly around the room, exclaiming a few half-formed expletives as you do, before you realize that Master is standing by the door, camera in hand, wearing the cheeky grin you've rapidly become accustomed to.

"Sorry, but I just had to get a picture of this." he says as he saunters past a still-sleeping autumn and shows you the picture he'd taken. Autumn's curled up on one end of the couch in a ball the way a cat would, while you're splayed out on your back, all four legs and two wings spread in every direction while your head hangs off the side, upside-down.

"See, it's the contrast that I love. You're both cute, but in very different ways."

"Now, I'd ask what the two of you were doing while I was upstairs, but Autumn only sleeps that heavily after sex. You must be exhausted. Why weren't you asleep?"

It's a totally innocent question, but you feel as though you've been caught red-handed. You can either play this off and become complicit in the next abductions, or you can try to talk to him. Now or never.

"I... um, I was thinking about..."

You're afraid this will somehow change things. What if he hates you for this? What if you get put in the hole? What if he sells you?
No. Can't let fear get the better of you. Go for broke.

"Are you going to transform more people into p0nies?"

He seems surprised at your forwardness, and with a small sigh he sits down next to you and begins to lightly stroke your mane.

"Well, yes, I suppose. There's not a whole lot else for me to do for a living now that I've invested so much in this. Can't exactly move back to the city and keep Autumn cooped up in an apartment all the time, can I? But no, that's not what I was working on just now, if that's what brought this on."

You hadn't considered the economic aspects of what he does. Giving up on selling p0nies would mean finding new income, and with Autumn and yourself here he actually does have mouths to feed.

"Could I ask what you are working on, then?"

His hand moves further down and begins to scratch your back, and you let yourself lean into him and enjoy the sensation as he considers his reply.

"I was getting in touch with all of my previous buyers, actually. The man who commissioned you... I want to make sure all the p0nies that came before you are safe and happy. A quick photo or video of each of their p0nies should be a good indicator of their condition, and I'll dig a bit deeper for the ones who don't reply."

For a second you sit in numb silence. The feeling slowly begins to bubble up in your chest, and tears come to your eyes as you sit up and plant your lips on his for the third time today. He -is- the Master you hoped he was! Even if he still wants to take more people, at least he cares enough to worry about them.

You break the kiss and hug him wholeheartedly, and he seems to understand why you're so relieved.

"Did I really seem that heartless until now? I suppose how I acted when you were downstairs would be why, but that was all about me. I knew you were going to make life difficult, and I just wished that the suggestions had held and you'd be like the others. You aren't, but now I see that was a good thing, because you made me think about what I was doing."

He holds you out to arm's length and looks you in the eyes.
"For now, I'm not going to bring any new p0nies in until I know how the others are doing. I've got my hands full enough with you as it is anyway, little miss Zephyr."

You lie in Master's lap for quite some time, as he repeatedly runs his fingers through your mane. You can't help but be happy right now. He's not a monster! He's going to make sure everyone else he took is safe with their owners, that no one else wound up at the mercy of some craven, beastly person.

What if he's manipulating you? Maybe this is all an extension of the games he played with you earlier. It's certainly working, if that's the case. You want this to be real, though. You want him to be the kind of man you should devote yourself to. Devote? The words just sort of sprung into your head to describe your feelings. The warm sensations when he praises you, and the electric thrills that run up your spine when he gives you a command... You enjoy these feelings more than you would have liked to admit. You aren't playing along anymore like you did at first. It's still very scary, but you want to obey his every little whim, you want his praise when you do what he wants. You -want- to be his pet. A devoted little mare ready to do anything her master asks.

In a lot of ways, you suppose that it's been this way for a while. If you weren't enjoying this, you wouldn't have been so happy about him having fingered you on this very couch. You certainly wouldn't have initiated sexual contact the next day. You wouldn't have flown into his arms and felt like you were born for this.

This is what he and Autumn were talking about, you realize. You do like this new life. The person you used to be is still in here, but now he is she, and she's found contentment. So what do you do from here?

There is one nagging issue for you, though. Master said he wouldn't take any more people "for now" until he's done checking on all your predecessors. Meaning he intends to kidnap and transform more people for profit. Considering the obvious secrecy of this operation, he clearly can't put out a call for volunteers with any hope of having a stable supply.

So what should you do? This is what feeds you and Autumn, but there has to be a better way of doing it, right? Of course, you think it needs improvement because it didn't work well enough on you. But you're happy now, aren't you? Autumn's happy, Gizmo and Evergreen were happy. Maybe... Maybe being a p0ny isn't a bad thing, especially if Master's "suggestions" stick. You, Gizmo and Evergreen weren't really going anywhere in life, and you'd wager most if not all of the others would tell a similar tale.

Is it wrong to make a sad person happy against their will?

Master is spacing out on the sofa, but his hands continue to stroke and massage along your back. Your many aching muscles are beginning to fully relax under his careful touch, and sleep threatens to claim you at every moment. Your eyes shut and your breathing becomes slow and steady. You're crashing, even as you fight to figure out how you feel about so, so many things. You manage to mumble out your final thought for the night.

"Master?"

"Yes?"

"Thank you for making me yours."