34: Hope, Part 1
Days had passed since he had finished his final task. He was done, he was free to pursue his ever elusive past, and he was rich enough to never have to worry about working again. And yet, Specter couldn't shake the feeling of guilt from his mind. Every sleepless night was spent tossing and turning as nightmares consumed his head. He found no peace during the day either as his lack of sleep began to wreak havoc on is mental stability. Nothing was helping him, and there was nopony he could possibly turn to for help. For the first time in a long, long time, Specter found himself lost and didn't know what to do next.
In an attempt to calm his nerves, Specter left his hideout once darkness fell and snuck back into Canterlot, taking up a position on a rooftop adjacent to Polaris's home. Staring down at his former employer's home, Specter allowed his mind to wander to his recent task. It still bothered him that he had been tasked with fillynapping somepony in the first place, and by the appearance of another Blackguard working against him. The threat of the dangerous mare had forced him to use the remaining agents in play to make the actual hit, disobeying his orders to dispose of them before returning to Canterlot. What wrenched his gut the most however was that Polaris didn't seem to care at all that his daughter had been raped by said ponies and that spineless pegasus. Specter had expected to lose his entire pay due to that mishap.
As he remained on the rooftop Specter noticed some movement at one of the rear doors of the Star estate. Peering closer, he spotted three cloaked figures dragging something heavy to one of the larger chariots. Specter instantly recognized one of the ponies as Polaris, despite the cloak covering his body and cutie mark, as the stallion towered over the other ponies present. One of the other ponies who had his hood down he identified as Polaris's assistant. However, Specter did not recognize the third pony at all, nor was he able to see what the object they were carrying was.
It only took moments for them to load their heavy load onto the chariot, and as Polaris boarded it two strong pegasi came out and harnessed themselves to it. Without any sign of strain the pegasi pulled the chariot into the sky as the unidentified pony spread his wings and flew slightly behind. With just the assistant left alone in the dark, Specter found himself teleporting down to the Star estate and quietly approached the unsuspecting stallion, making his presence known just before he could enter the estate.
The pony almost fell over from surprise but sighed with relief as he saw it was only Specter. "Specter! Luna's flank, you almost scared me to death!" he exclaimed as his heart rate slowly fell. He was one of the few ponies privileged to know most of Polaris's secrets, including that he employed Specter, but this was only the third time he had ever actually seen the stealthy pony and he certainly wasn't used to the way the black unicorn seemed to simply appear and disappear at will.
"Where did Polaris go off to? Who was he just with?" Specter asked straightforwardly.
"Huh? Oh, that was Cirro Stratus." the assistant said. "I think Polaris said they were headed to his vacation home to complete some deal they came up with."
"And what was in that bag?" Specter asked immediately after.
The assistant shrugged. "No idea. Whatever it was, it was heavy."
Specter nodded, having gained no real useful information. "Hey, I thought you would have gone with Polaris to..." the assistant started to say, but by the time he turned back towards where Specter had been the stealthy unicorn was gone.
"Huh, weird." he said before headed back inside. It was a little strange that Specter would have to ask somepony where Polaris was going off to, but he knew better than to dig into business that wasn't his. It had been over seven years since anypony had seen or heard from the last pony foalish enough to question too deeply one of Polaris's personal agents on what his boss had assigned them to do...
"Hnng...! S-stop, please. D-d-don't..." Starshadow pleaded between erotic gasps of pleasure.
Sunset wasn't listening. Besides, her mouth was currently occupied with greedily lapping up the copious amount of fluids coming from Starshadow's pussy. It had taken Sunset long enough to get Starshadow to cum once, and she wasn't about to give up feasting on the sweet nectar she had missed for so long.
Starshadow, on the other hoof, was being torn in half between two very conflicting emotions. She felt saddened and betrayed that Sunset had caught her off guard and had knocked her down, pinning her smaller frame to the ground as the larger fiery pegasus began to eat her out. However, Sunset had remembered exactly what to do to get Starshadow to cum for sure; teasingly licking to the left and right of her private area before attacking the clit directly with her tongue, but always letting up before Starshadow was tipped over the edge. Finally, once Starshadow was bucking her hips up in desperation for release, Sunset began to gently nibble on her clit, sending the small pegasus into a loud and violent climax.
Starshadow didn't know what to think anymore. Thoughts of her special somepony Big Macintosh went through her head, but as Sunset continued her oral assault those images began to blur and fade. Pleasure soon began to become the greater concern and Starshadow began to lift her crotch up, wanting Sunset to give her more. Sunset was more than happy to oblige, licking at Starshadow quicker and harder. "Mm, you taste so good. Soon you'll be ready for Master." Sunset said in between licks.
Hearing what lay in store for her finally snapped Starshadow out of her blissful mental state. "N-no!" she managed to gasp out. Wriggling her body desperately, she tried to free herself from her position underneath Sunset to no avail.
"No? You can't say no to Master. Master will make you feel so good, and you won't need anypony besides Master." Sunset said before she nipped at Starshadow's clit yet again.
Starshadow's head snapped back, her vision glazing over as the sudden attack on her still sensitive button nearly rocketed her to a second climax. "Y-ye-yesss... Master will... No!" Starshadow said, almost giving in to the mind-numbing pleasure again. More desperate than ever, Starshadow kicked out wildly with her hind legs and managed to connect with Sunset's chin, knocking the other pegasus out cold.
Quickly scrambling up, Starshadow rushed over to her friend, tears falling down her face. "Sunset! Sunset! I'm sorry! I'm so sorry! Are you alright?! Please... please, say something!" she sobbed as she cradled Sunset's head in her lap.
It took a few minutes for Sunset to regain consciousness. "I'm... I'm sorry, I should have listened to my future Mistress." Sunset apologized with a weak smile.
Starshadow nuzzled her old friend. "I'm not going to be your mistress, Sunset." she said again.
Sunset got back to her hooves somewhat unsteadily, her tail and ears drooped in depression. "Be honest, please... do you not want me as a pet? Am I not good enough?" she asked. "I... I can go away if that will make you happy... I can leave you and Master alone forever."
Despite still feeling off-put by what had just happened and sickened and upset over her current circumstances as a whole, Starshadow couldn't help but feel sorry for Sunset. "No, no, that's not it at all. It's... I can't ever be with Stratus. I already have a special... a special somepony." Starshadow said.
Sunset Flash seemed even more hurt by this news. "So you're going to leave Master? You're going to leave me?"
Starshadow started to nod her head but abruptly stopped. Yes, she wanted to leave Cirro Stratus behind for good and never, ever see him or anypony from that part of her past again. But reuniting with Sunset and seeing the state the other mare was in now, there was no way she could possibly leave her friend behind, even to save herself. Sunset had helped her retain her sanity all those years ago... it was time that Starshadow returned the favor and saved her old friend.
"I'm going to leave Stratus, yes. But I'm taking you with me. I'm never going to let this happen to you again. We'll escape from this nightmare together and you can finally live a free life." Starshadow said.
Sunset almost collapsed from the shock of Starshadow's offer. "W-w-what?! Me, leave Master? I-I couldn't! I could never leave... after all he's done for me, I couldn't!" Sunset said hysterically, almost breaking down into tears at the very thought.
Starshadow rushed over and tried to quiet down Sunset before somepony came down to investigate. "Shh! Sunset, don't cry. It will be okay, I promise."
"Bu-but I don't want to be alone! I can't! Master loves me, he told me so!" Sunset cried out.
"You won't be alone, I promise. You can come live with me and my special somepony. We'll take care of you, all of our friends will. You'll be happy with all of us, I promise." Starshadow pleaded.
Not having understood everything Starshadow had just said, Sunset tried to make as much sense as she could out of what her mind was able to process. "Me, live with you? Would... would your Master become my Master?" she asked.
Knowing there was likely no other way to convince Sunset, Starshadow gave in and nodded. "Yes, he will. My Master will become our Master." she said, trying her best to ignore the pang of guilt at having referred to her special somepony as 'Master' again. She figured she could make it up to Big Mac and try to get through to Sunset once they were all safely back at Sweet Apple Acres.
Mulling over her options, Sunset finally nodded somewhat reluctantly. "Okay." she said uneasily.
Starshadow caught the hesitation in Sunset's voice and knew that she had to solidify Sunset's will somehow. Not knowing any other way to convince her, Starshadow pulled Sunset into a deep, passionate kiss, like the ones they used to share back when they were slaves to the Pole brothers. Unlike earlier, Starshadow offered no resistance when Sunset moved to deepen the kiss; she understood Sunset better than anypony, and she quietly accepted her friend's love and affection as the fiery mare expressed them the only way she knew how.
Finally the two mares broke their embrace. Sunset smiled at Starshadow, a genuine smile that reminded the smaller mare of the filly she once knew. Starshadow's heart swelled with warmth and hope, seeing a glimpse of her old friend in that moment and knowing that there was still a chance at bringing her back. In any case, the mare before her now seemed more willing and eager to escape with her.
"Sunset, do you know any way out of, um, whatever this room we're in is?" Starshadow finally said after a long moment.
"We're in the basement of Master's vacation home. Master locked the door from the other side, but there's a trash chute behind the crates on the far wall." Sunset said, pointing to a large pile of crates stacked nearly to the ceiling.
Starshadow walked over to the area that Sunset had pointed out and tried moving one of the top crates by herself, but the stack didn't budge an inch. With no other choice, she flew up to the topmost crate and began to push, barely budging the heavy wooden box. "Sunset, help me." Starshadow grunted as she tried again.
Sunset hesitantly flew up and began helping Starshadow. Though Sunset was no stronger than Starshadow, thankfully their combined strength was eventually enough to topple the crate off the stack with a heavy crash. Starshadow froze as she feared that Cirro must have heard the loud noise, but Sunset knew something that Starshadow didn't.
"It's okay, this room is soundproof." she said.
Starshadow guessed correctly just how Sunset knew that little fact, but she immediately forced the disgusting image from her thoughts and turned her attention back to trying to push the next crate away, desperate to finally be free once again.
It took the two almost half an hour to finally clear the crates away, but after a tremendous effort and many, many crashes, Starshadow finally saw the small trash chute Sunset was talking about. The exit was just barely large enough for a mare to slide through, and Starshadow could feel a slight breeze, indicating that this chute led outside.
"We did it! Come on, let's get out of here." Starshadow whispered in excitement.
Just then, a heavy knock came from the locked door, followed by the click of a key being turned in the lock. "Sunset, are you done yet?" Cirro asked impatiently as he walked in. He froze as soon as he saw the pile of crates scattered around the two mares standing by the trash chute. "What the..."
Panicking, Starshadow pushed Sunset towards the trash chute. "Go, Sunset! Go!" she hissed urgently.
"Sunset! Stop her! Bring her to me now!" Cirro commanded, his face turning red as he began to realize what was going on, attempting to navigate the huge mess the mares had made of the room.
Sunset's gaze fell on her master, and his tone indicated that if she refused to obey him then she would be severely punished. However, Starshadow's meeker voice caught her attention.
"Sunset, please... Let's get out of here. I love you, I can't leave without you." Starshadow pleaded with tears in her eyes.
Sunset Flash had never been so torn in her life before. She had never disobeyed her Master before, she had always been a good pet. But Starshadow was her friend. Her one and only true friend...
To everypony's surprise, she made up her mind relatively quickly. "I'm sorry, Master..." Sunset said painfully before she pushed Starshadow down the trash chute and dove down in after her, leaving Cirro Stratus frozen momentarily in shock.
"You... what the... you stupid slut! Bring her back here now!" Cirro yelled out, but the two mares had already reached the bottom of the chute and had galloped off. Furious, he turned around and made his way out of the cluttered basement and back upstairs to the front door. He ran outside, his eyes wildly scanned the evening sky and just spotted a familiar fiery red speck against the deep blue sky before it would have been gone from sight. Without any hesitation Cirro spread his wings and took to the skies in pursuit of the two mares.
Having no idea where she was, Starshadow had no choice but to let Sunset Flash take the lead. The newly freed pegasus was clearly hesitant, flying slowly as she was constantly second guessing her decision to abandon her master and continually felt the urge to turn back and beg for forgiveness. Starshadow had to reassure Sunset that she was making the right choice multiple times, but eventually, once she felt they had gotten far enough away, the two stopped to rest on a cloud. Just as she moved to embrace her friend in a comforting hug however, Starshadow caught sight of a very angry pegasus stallion flying towards them.
"No! Sunset, we have to go!" Starshadow exclaimed. Starshadow pulled her friend along as the two dove from the cloud and continued to flee. No longer worried about if they were going in the right direction, Starshadow's primary concern became fleeing Cirro Stratus. However, the effort of clearing the way to the trash chute was beginning to take its toll on the two mares, and after several long minutes of chasing them through the skies Cirro finally closed the gap and got within reach.
"Got ya!" he said as his hoof grazed Starshadow's tail. His grip wasn't strong enough to keep hold and his hoof slipped away, but with an extra burst of speed he finally grabbed Starshadow's tail and yanked hard.
"Ow! Stop!" Starshadow cried in pain. Cirro yanked her tail again, trying to pull her closer so he could attack her directly. For her part, Starshadow desperately fought to ignore the pain and continued to try to pull herself free of his grasp, but the stallion held firm.
Seeing what was going on, Sunset wheeled around and kicked out at Cirro's hoof, trying to force him to let go of her friend. Sadly, Sunset wasn't an especially strong pegasus to begin with and, exhausted as she was, her attempts were weaker than a newborn foal's. However, the attack caused Cirro to finally snap and lose his patience with his slave.
"You stupid, worthless whorse, now you've done it!" he yelled out. He let go of Starshadow suddenly, the mare's momentum causing her to careen out of control across the sky before she could right herself. He turned his full attention to Sunset, grabbing the startled mare before she could think to flee and yanking her close to him. "I'll teach you what happens to pets that disobey their Master!" he spat before he savagely bit down near the tip of her right wing.
Starshadow's eyes widened in horror as she watched in slow motion as Cirro ripped all of Sunset's primary feathers out from her wing. Her face contorted in pain, she began to fall as the gift of flight was stolen from her by her master. Cirro didn't show any remorse; instead, he simply spat out the feathers in his mouth and grinned twistedly at Starshadow as she watched her friend falling helplessly through the air, her hoof stretched upward in one final plea for help.