>Fading in and out
>Seeing the old Hag again gave your the greatest urge to want to run away
>You wish you could
>"Boy what happened to ya? Ya look like someone beat you with the ugly stick!" She weezed in her laughter
>You groan painfully
>Her jokes were so terrible you could feel you organs failing
>"Where are your parents shouldn't they be protectin ya from stuff like this?" She asks
>If you could you'd be glaring at her
>But everything was hurting so bad right now.
>The best you could do was turn your head away from her
>"Aw don't be that way monkey! Here let Ol'Gretchen help ya, course I've been taken care of your monkey butt since ya was first brought to my door step..." she says reminiscing
>Gretchen lifts you up by the collar of your shirt and takes you away on her back
>"I guess ya can stay with me until your parents come ta get ya or what ever..."
>It was true Gretchen was the one who did take care of you since you were just a baby.
>But still, years of torment does not really make up for this one act of kindness...
>Still though she could have just left you on the ground
>Your parents or Fluttershy would have come to get you eventually...right?
>"Boy I'll admit, seen ya half dead did give me quite a scare!" She laughs followed by a wheeze.
W-why would you bother to help me? I thought you hated me...
>"What? No I don't ya stupid monkey!" she snaps back at you
Then why did you whoop my ass all the time?
>"Because of that right there, that smart little mouth of yers, what ya just expect for me ta let ya go unpunished?!" She coughs at the end of her yelling
>True you did sass her often
>But only because you didn't like all the chores she stuck you with!
But what about all those stupid chores you posted me up with?
>"Oh yeah, that...Welp I guess I owe ya an apology fer that, but keep in mind, I'm pretty old and keepin those little brats in line is a hefty job itself, when ya left I got stuck with all that crap to do again..."
>Her explanation made you kinda feel uneasy
>More so than usual
>Was this guilt you were feeling? Could it even be remorse?
I...I'm sorry to hear that...
>"Aw don't beat ya self up about it, these old bones ain't as brittle as ya think, heck when I was your age..."
>As Gretchen continued to ramble on you began to think about who was really the bad person.
>Her for beating you for something you didn't want to do and yet had to be done.
>Or you for abandoning her and leaving her with all the other orphans...
Ugh...
>Just more guilt that makes your head hurt...
>"Somethin wrong back there, boy?" Gretchen asks you
Oh uhh...nah, just thinkin...
>"Well don't think too hard, might strain yourself and all that..."
Gretchen...Why are you being so nice all of the sudden?
>"Boy, how would you feel if you saw the one you took care of since they were just infant, broken and mangled like a beat up dog?" She said looking back at you directly
>You knew the answer to that
>But you couldn't really say anything
>Always hated when adults asked the obvious...
>It wasn't too long before you were brought back to the orphanage
>When helped inside you noticed it wasn't really as clean as you had kept it
>Some of the older colts and fillies were sweeping the floor
>Though they were rather lazy on doing it
>Gretchen shot them a look and they began to sweep faster
>Things have changed since you were gone...
>Gretchen laid you down in your old bed
>It was a weird feeling, being back here again.
>Like leaving town and coming back a few years later.
>Even though it was only a few weeks since you were last here, or at least you thought, time always escaped you as a kid.
>"I'm gonna see if I can't get ahold of yer parents, ya can rest here fer the time bein." Gretchen says beginning to walk off
Thanks Gretchen...
>"Huh? What was that boy? I couldn't here ya!" She says digging in her left ear
I said thanks!
>You say a bit louder
>"Hehehe, just kidden boy, I got hearin like a hawk!" She wheezes in her laughter
>That old hag knew how to push your buttons
>But sometimes in a good way...Strange how things worked out for you today.
>You went into a slumber that evening.
>After 3 hours of sleeping it was very late now.
>You still felt very sore as you tried to move from out of your bed
>Gretchen was in her rocking chair watching over the orphans to make sure they got their sleep.
>"Hey boy, I got a hold of yer father, he said he'll be here in the morning ta pick ya up."
That's good to hear...
>"Meantime I think ya need ta get out of them clothes." Gretchen says looking you up and down
F-for what?
>"Well look at ya! Ya got dried blood all over yer face! And them clothes ain't lookin any better! Now come on I've already run ya bath up in mah bedroom."
Wait...Your bedroom?
>"That's what I said, ya comin or not??" Gretchen questions you sternly
>You couldn't really complain
>A nice hot bath in a regular tub sounded a whole lot better than your previous methods of cleaning...
>You go up to her bedroom
>Same familiar smell from your last time being here.
>You could feel a shiver go down your spine as you begin to remember those last events.
>The unwanted grinding
>The words of sickening sexual wants and needs
>"Boy, what's wrong with ya? Lookin like ya done gone and stepped on unholy ground!" Gretchen gripes at you
I guess you "could" say that...
>Gretchen sighs at you
>"Anon, lookie here, my mind may not be all there, I'm willin ta admit that, and what we did that one day may have not been right fer the most part an-"
>Gretchen catches the stern look you're giving her.
>"Alright, alright! I was wrong ta treat ya like I did that day, but can ya blame an old hag like me?" She asks you looking for forgiveness
Kind of?
>Gretchen rolls her eyes
>"Yeah, well, go hop yer monkey ass in the tub then and wash up, I gotta go make sure the other youngins are keep their little asses in bed..." Gretchen leaves you to wash yourself
>Well that just happened...
>Gretchen actually apologized for what happened "that one day"...
>She probably knew you didn't want do what ever it was she was trying to do...
>Was she trying to do what Fluttershy already did to you?
>You were both in bed...
>You were both almost nude...
>She had you undress her for goodness sake!
>As you were counting off and adding things on your fingers up
>it all came down to one simple fact.
>Gretchen was just a crazy old mare lookin to "make love or sex" as Fluttershy called it.
>Maybe you were just assuming things, but you still felt pretty close to the truth.
>You sink into the tub and blow bubbles under the water
>It felt good being able to bathe alone without Fluttershy's company 24/7
>So much room in the tub felt like swimming pool
>And you were able to wash yourself off better since Fluttershy wasn't around to touch you as she would usually do...
>Thinking about Fluttershy makes you feel a bit guilty
>Then again you really didn't want to do half the stuff she talked you into
>You begin to remember what your Dad said, about putting your foot down when needed.
>You come up for air
>You get out of the tub and begin drying yourself off
>You knew that the time would come when Fluttershy would go too far
>You just didn't know when or how to handle it...
>But enough of Fluttershy thinking
>Gotta finish what's on your plate first
>The dish being Gretchen
>It was weird for her to be so nice to you even after hearing her reasons behind it
>You were so used to the yelling and threatening that it was almost ingrained to react to her anger
>As you were deep in thought Gretchen comes into the bathroom
>"Alright them youngins is fast asleep, though I caught one tryin to get a cookie from the kitchen..." Gretchen gripes
Was it Jerry?
>"Yeah, how did ya know?" she asks
He always had a sweet tooth, I usually gave him my cookie before I put him to bed...
>Gretchen looks at you carefully
>She then begins to smile
>"Hehe, you always knew how to put them kids down ta rest" she says going over to her bed
>You look around and notice that your clothes have gone missing
Uhh...Gretchen? Where'd my clothes go off too?
>"Where do ya think boy? They had blood on'em, had ta be washed, they'll be dry in the morning." She says looking through her dresser next to the bed "Here, ya can wear these for now."
>It was your old pair of underwear that you said she could keep
>You honestly didn't know whether to be grateful or a little weirded out...
Thanks Gretchen?
>"Ain't nothin to it, boy." She says snickering
>You slip on your underwear which felt so clean and fresh, almost new
>It was then you caught Gretchen eyeing your figure
>You guessed now would be a good chance to ask her while she was in a good mood.
Gretchen...Um you know that one day when you and me, ya know...were doing that one thing together?
>Gretchen snaps back to reality
>"Yeah, what so about it? I said I was sorry!" she snarls at you
I know, I know but I just gotta know one thing...Where you trying to make love...With me?
>Gretchen looks at you stumped and speechless
>"Well...I...uhh...Hehehe, Well..." She continued to spit and sputter her words
>You let a out a sigh of content
>You guessed that's the best answer you were gonna get
It's okay if you were Gretchen.
>"Oh alright so what if I was, ain't like I got a lot of options out here ya know."
>You nod thoughtfully at this fact
I guess that's true...
>Gretchen leers at you
What's wrong?
>"C'mere boy I gotta smell ya...make sure ya cleaned yerself right and all that..." You could see Gretchen was blushing
>You Leer at her
Gretchen come on...I'm young, not dumb, I still learn.
>Gretchen smiles "Ah screw it, just come give your Auntie Gretchen a hug, boy!" Gretchen quits beating around the bush
>You shrug and go over to embrace her
>"It was really hard ta see ya leave Anon, I ain't gonna lie some of the kids felt sore when ya left..." Gretchen says gently into your ear
Like you?
>She rolls her eyes "Yeah like me..." She laughs then wheezes
>You two embrace for a long moment
Gretchen?
>"Yeah boy?"
Did you still want to make love? It's okay if you do, I won't complain or anything.
>"Hmmm....Nah, ya got that other young filly ta be with dont'cha? One who came ta see ya in the middle of the night?" Gretchen says getting her smokes
>Jeeze in the heat of the moment you almost forgot about Fluttershy
>Stupid you was about to open up a whole new can of worms you weren’t ready to fish with!
Yeah...Yeah I do.
>"Well boy, if there's anything ya gonna learn from this Old hag, it's ta be faithful to who ya love and to know when to cut things off." She says putting a cig in her mouth
Cut things off?
>"Ya know, when something goes to far and ya can't take it anymore, ya cut if off." She explains
>"Cutting things off", sounds like something Dad was telling you
>Or at least close to it
>That was something you were going to have to remember...
>She blows her smoke in rings
Can you teach me to do that?
>"Yeah, maybe when you're older and I live past one hundred!" she tussles your hair
>You can't help but laugh at her joke
>That was probably the first time she's made you laugh
>"Anon, if ya want ya can sleep with your Auntie tanight..." she says hugging you close
>You can't help but look at her funny
No screwy stuff?
>"I promise, sides I sleep a whole lot better knowin yer safe." She says kissing your forehead
Fair enough I guess.
>You two happily sleep together in her bed that night.