Trigger warning for mental abuse, gaslighting, and abortion.

Hoverstep sat across from a stallion he never liked.

Orion was a lunacorn that no one wanted to cross, rumored to be an heir of the Goddess Luna and hail from a long line that trailed back to the great Clover the Clever. It was entirely possible that these rumors were all false and had no merit, but Hovertep did not seem to think so.

This stallion had the air of a pony with advice to give and a legacy to press forwards, with two daughters that were prime for marrying off to greater power and a wife that passed him just as much as he already had. Hoverstep did not see himself on the same level as this stallion, he was a low-down town pony with a streak of luck and the ability to heal wounds. He was not as unlucky as the ones who absorbed wounds or as the ones who could only heal wounds cast by magic, but he could heal almost anything and had his normal magic to go with it.

But Orion... This unicorn was powerful in how he read ponies, he was probably reading Hoverstep right now. 

His head tipped up to the stallion, trying to stuff down the emotions flowing through his mind and around his ears. 

"My daughter-" Orion started in a slow voice that echoed around the room ", Thinks very highly of you, Hoverstep."

"Indeed sir..." Hover wasn't sure why he was speaking so formally to this stallion, but it felt right compared to the causal tone he tended to use when he was with Starry. Formality seemed right around this stallion.

"And you do not seem like the kind of stallion worthy of her in the slightest," The pale grey stallion snorted at him, tapping his hoof against his massive wooden desk ", I've been keeping my eyes on you since she came home and told us of you, Hoverstep."

"Understood sir," Hover responded, averting his eyes so he couldn't meet eyes with the intimidating stallion.

"You keep saying such things about you understanding me, Hoverstep," Orion snared slightly, Hoverstep could see the small fangs of the moon-blessed unicorn poking from around his muzzle. Hover didn't have those fangs, he was not a Lunacorn like this domineering stallion.

"But I do not think that you understand the dire situation you have put me into, Hoverstep," Orin continued as Hoverstep pinned his ears back ", Starry Specter has been tied to one role her entire life. Being the daughter of Canterlot's most prestige gives her power that you will never be able to understand, that is why I bring you here."

Hover could almost hear what was coming next before Orion could speak it.

"She's pregnant, Hoverstep," Orion almost growled at him.

Hoverstep did a double take, his hooves carrying him back ever so slightly on the wooden floor. Pregnant?

"And she is claiming it's yours," Orion continues as if there wasn't something surprising in that ", You've disgraced my family, Hoverstep. I'm sure you know as much, but you do have options in this situation."

"Options?" Hoverstep said with a tip of his head ", What options?"

Orion tipped his head towards the younger stallion and glanced up at the large painting behind his shoulders. The mare was familiar, history class told him who it was, Clover the Clever. Orion didn't look like the mare, but he could see how thousands of years played out to Starry, their eyes were so much alike.

Orion turned back to Hoverstep, his harsh and cold blue eyes scanning him. Hoverstep gulped, shaking his head slightly to clear his ever-thinking mind. Why did it have to be me of all ponies?

The stallion with the power cocked his head to the side, "Yes. Options. There are two. The first is the option that leaves my daughter the happiest, security for yourself and whatever family you have with my daughter and a life that will allow you to prosper. You marry Starry Specter, within the next three months, and she has the child who will be granted a place in the hierarchy of Canterlot. You take a job at my company and live a wealthy life in the court of Canterlot."

Hoverstep listened, taking in all the information without hearing it, this life was a good life. The life that was being offered to him was anything he could have hoped for in the big city of Canterlot.

But it wasn't what he wanted.

"And... The other option?" He asked hesitantly.

Orion showed no emotions as he continued, his words smooth and precise, "The other option is convincing her to get rid of the child. She will not listen to me or my wife on the matter, and her sister would never ask her to do such a thing, but if it came from you? She might just listen."

Hoverstep sucked in a breath.

"Convince her? Why can't she just keep the thing if she wants it?" Hover asked.

Orion tipped his head, resting his hooves on his desk, " Reputation, Hoverstep. Something a unicorn of your status would not be able to understand until you have a taste of the power that I have."

Hoverstep grit his teeth ever so slightly and glanced down at the desk in front of the intimidating pony. His mouth pressed firmly together. No. He wouldn't pick the option that everyone expected him to. Love came fleetingly. And while he loved Starry Specter? He knew that it would not last with her. He would get bored, he would start to stray.

But even among two options, he could find more, and Starry never had to know.

.    .    .

Hoverstep felt her long tail curled around his hind leg, her shoulder pressed into his side as she hunkered her tall body down and against his. The doctor had asked her questions, too many questions. Sex life, smoking, drugs, and if she was sure that she wanted to proceed with the surgery.

She had asked for a moment with Hoverstep, turning her sapphire blue eyes to him and shrinking under his gaze.

"Hoverstep..." She whispered in that musical voice of hers ", Do... Are you sure about this?"

He tipped his head down to her, pressing his nose against hers and giving her a small sigh, playing into the act as best as he could.

"Star-" He whispered, "We both know we can't afford a foal... Give me two years to get a job, get a place for you, and we can have as many foals as you want."

She tipped her head down ", I know but I want-"

"Starry-" Hover interrupted her, tipping his head to hers and pressing his nose against her neck ", We talked about this- Waiting was your idea... How do you know you want it? You said yourself that it scared you?"

"But I have you Hover-" She started, but he was quick to plaster a look of sadness on his face, and she almost melted at the sight.

Hover closes his eyes, keeping his horn tipped and pressed against hers, " Starry- We can't do this yet- but we will- I promise."

A promise he didn't intend to keep, but she was too worried and too scared to see the lies in his mind. The doctor returned, his horn light and a chart trapped in his pale pink magic, speaking before Starry or Hover could get a word out.

"Alright Miss Specter," The doctor said in his drowsy voice ", Due to your accelerated heart rate we are going to be putting you under general anesthesia before we begin, just to make everything comfortable for you during the process. If you both will just sign this, it lets the surgeons and the insurance companies aware that the process consensual and viable."

The muddle of words was harsh to his ears, he lifted the pen the doctor handed him and signed the paper. Starry followed soon after, her face twisted with something between guilt and fear. Hover placed a hoof on her shoulder, trying to give her the most reassuring smile he could give her.

"I'll be there when you wake up, Star."

It was a lie and she wouldn't know that until she woke up.

He would be long gone by then.