Servile

‘Dear Felt Feathers, I know that it is very short notice, as you have only been here for a week, but I find myself in a rather unsavoury situation convincing Griffonia that I am no longer a threat to them after my transformation into Nightmare Moon those many years ago. They still have an unofficial holiday to shun my name, so I must go there and prove that I am diplomatically worthy by being amiable in their presence. Dusk Shine and Cadenza should take good care of you while I’m away, and I have a feeling that Solaris and I need to have a talk about you and your terms of service. I will go over all of that in two days when I return, but remember that you needn’t do anything you don’t feel comfortable with to please anypony. You might be a servant, but you are a servant to the noblest beings in existence, and you still have dignity, no matter what anypony might say. If you feel the need to have a few hours by yourself, you have my full permission to enter the tower of your own accord.

With my love,

Lune’

I set the note back on the knocker where I’d found it, wondering what I would do. I’d prepared a long speech to Lune about how he needn’t rip his brother in half for his misdeeds, and explain how Cadenza and Shimmer Shield had helped me in my hour of need. Now everything I’d been thinking about on the trot across the castle was wasted, and I would be forced to wait another few days before I spent the night with Lune again. Although the thought of being without the stallion left me with a sour taste in my mouth and a hole in my heart, I knew that Dusk and Cadenza were more than capable of occupying me in his absence. Dusk would probably have me help him reshelf his library and Cadenza would most likely give me some task relating to his job as warden of the Canterlot dungeons. If anything he’d have me doing release forms and other paperwork. I could ask if either of them had a vacant bedroom I could set up in for Lune’s impromptu vacation.

I turned to see a guard, who’d stopped while I’d been reading to stare at the creature he’d found. He regarded me with slight fear, his bright green eyes locking onto my own grey, cat-like ones. His gaze flitted to my tail and my unnaturally smooth coat, my mane that hung down to my mid-knee. I looked like something out of a fairy tale in his eyes, and by the way that he took a step back, I most likely didn’t strike him as anything to let trot around the castle unmonitored. Right before he turned and ran he caught sight of my collar, the shining brass buckle that rested on the back of my neck. The moment he saw the two prince’s Cutie Marks that spanned the bridge from my neck, he relaxed. Apparently if I had the official royal seal of approval I needn’t worry about guards, because without a word he turned and trotted calmly down the hall, as if I was no more than another royal pony.

I blinked and turned in the direction of Solaris’ tower. I wanted to know if Dusk had space to spare. He and I had gotten off on the wrong hoof before, and I didn’t want him to think of me as too dependent, seeing as how he’d only ever seen me in the presence of Lune or Solaris. His impression of me was probably that of any other moonstruck colt, incapable of having a spine around those he was enamoured with. In all honesty I wanted to know if that was the case, seeing as how he’d only ever seen me with one of the other alicorns. I could imagine no worse a mark on my pride than to be held as somepony who couldn’t act independently. Not only that, but I’d gravely insulted Dusk on both the times that we’d met. First I’d told him off in front of Lune, and on the other I came to him with an enchantment that he couldn’t hope to break. The stallion probably associated me with trouble by then. Every time I’d spoken to the antisocial alicorn had been because I had to, and never merely to enjoy his presence. The only times I’d ever gone to the prince had been because I had to, and never merely to enjoy his presence. In no way did I want Dusk to see me as needy, nor did I want him to think that we couldn’t be friends.

I knocked on the door to Solaris’ tower, knowing that I would be in for an almost inescapable row with the elder prince. He would know the moment he opened the door and I wasn’t on my hooves and knees, begging him to rut me to sleep, that somepony else had generously assisted me in my succubus-esque troubles. His punishment for not fulfilling his orders immediately had been cruel, but nonetheless effective, and now I had little choice but to accept his advances. Just thinking about it made me weak in the knees, and my tail shifted to the left almost involuntarily at the prospect of offering myself to one of my masters. I shook my head, hoping to dislodge the thought from my head. I couldn’t get aroused anymore, otherwise I’d have no choice but to seek out somepony to satisfy them. It was a strange, servile need that grew in my chest every time I thought about another. I always thought of how I could please them, be it with simple company or the urges of the flesh. I kicked my hoof against the solid obsidian doorframe, almost cracking the glasslike rock. If I had been a pony, it would have chipped my hoof. Luckily for me the brief jab of pain was enough to take my mind off of the thoughts crowding for attention in my newly formed mind.

Although in the half a day I’d been a succubus hadn’t given me much time to adjust, I was beginning to notice things about my new body that weren’t very apparent at first. Besides the obvious physical changes, there was the fact that I no longer felt any semblance of hunger, nor did any other urge for sustenance cross my mind. All I needed was others; other ponies seemed to satisfy a part of me that I previously hadn’t even known to exist, all through simply noticing me and through their thoughts. Strangely enough I felt more nourished and healthy at that moment than the whole week before. I was brimming with energy from Cadenza and Shimmer Shield’s generosity back at their home, and admittedly the idea of feeding on emotions of adoration and affection didn’t appal me as much as I thought they would. It was almost as if simply being appreciated kept me alive and well, and although sexual release was the most delectable, gracious delicacy, I knew that I could exist solely by knowing that a number of ponies loved me.

Another strange facet of myself is that I felt… peculiarly aware of myself. Sometimes I felt as if I could see myself from a few feet away, as if I could trot a few steps back from my body and get a better view of how I truly looked in this situation. Besides this, I was almost constantly noting how absurdly delicate the transformation had rendered my body. I knew that I was technically sturdier than before, being a supernatural creature whose hooves were almost as hard as stone, but it was as if every single follicle of fur on my coat had nerves that were always firing. The wind on that particular day was absurdly light, and any normal pony wouldn’t even notice the draft. I on the other hoof felt every single displaced hair on my mane, and the breeze seemed to caress my wings delicately, as if urging me to take a moment for myself and stretch them by flitting about the rotunda. On a more embarrassing note I felt every light shift in my loins, even the smallest sway of my tail rubbed my ring in a way that made my breath quicken.

As I mused over all of these things I heard a pair of hooves approach the other side of the door, grumbling about not ordering anything and wishing to be left alone. It wasn’t Solaris’ voice, and there was only one other pony that had open access to the prince’s tower. I composed myself, brushing my mane behind my ears and arranging my wings against my ribs before the door opened, revealing Dusk Shine. He looked as if he’d just rolled out of bed, with a bright purple nightcap on his head and slippers on his hooves. His expression changed from annoyed to puzzled almost immediately, seeing the strange creature that looked queerly familiar on his doorstep.

“It’s me, Felt… Lune’s away, so I came to see you and Solaris. I was wondering if maybe you had some room for me?” I asked, blinking up at him hopefully.

He looked me over, then shook his head. At first I thought he’d turn me away but he opened the door wider before saying. “I know better than to ask. It’s like every time I see you there’s something else you’ve managed to get yourself into, anyways.”

I pondered the accuracy of that statement as I trotted in, wondering briefly why he’d be asleep before I realized that he was new as an alicorn. Most alicorns, after a number of years, simply never slept as they didn’t feel the compulsive need to. Dusk on the other hoof was still rather used to sleeping a solid eight hours a night, and seeing as how it was nearly six in the morning, it made sense that he was still in bed.

“Solaris is in his study, by the way.” Dusk added as he closed the door and fell into stride beside me. “He gets… lost sometimes. Mumbling to himself and making potions for no other reason than to test his skill. He told me not to let anypony in to see him, so if you could just leave him be...”

I nodded, signalling that he needn’t explain. Solaris had his own problems, that much was apparent. If he needed a few moments, or hours, to himself he needn’t explain. I knew better than to pry into the immortal’s affairs at that point. Dusk led me down a hall and into a large library, fastidiously arranged in order across thousands of shelves. A moss green carpet offset the maroon walls as Dusk took a seat at the desk, pulling out a pencil and opening a book to a marked page. I admired the differences between Solaris’ library and Lune’s, with one being organized by subject and with neatness being negligible, but with another valuing neatness as a virtue and being organized strictly by decimal system. I turned my attention back to Dusk, who looked annoyed as he gnawed at the pencil’s eraser. His brow furrowed for another moment before he quickly wrote down a word, then returned to staring pointedly at the seemingly normal page.

“So Dusk, what’re you reading?” I asked, trotting up on the other side of the desk.

“It’s a book written in Tartarian.” He grumbled. “See, the letters are constantly in flux, just the same way draconequi language works. It’s meant to only be read by those who embrace madness, but a sane pony can always pick out a word or two if they’re diligent. You just have to wait for them to slip up and align.”

“The page looks perfectly normal to me.”

He looked at me as if I’d just said the sky was green. “Truly? That would mean you’re either mad, or you’re from Tartarus. Which one?”

“Long story short… Solaris had me turned into a succubus.” I confessed, scuffing a hoof against the carpet. “I was going to be a dragon but he got a little impatient, and so… yeah.”

“So you can read this, then!” The scholar clapped his hooves jubilantly. “That’s great! Well, not for you, since you’re… well, a creature from Tartarus, but that bodes very well for this research. Speaking of which, Solaris assigned me to do this for him and… it’s about succubae. I supposed that isn’t a coincidence, huh?”

“Most likely not.” I said, sighing. Of course Solaris would have his student learn everything he could about my species. It didn’t fit in the eldest prince’s mind to not know everything about me and my new anatomy.

“Well… just read aloud, and I’ll copy whatever you say down.” Dusk said, opening a drawer and retrieving a few more inkwells and quills. “It’s actually a good thing that you happened along when you did. I was about to give up on this whole thing. That was the whole reason I’d gone to bed, to get away from this. Solaris came home last night saying nonsense under his breath, but I managed to catch him saying something about how he needed to make sure you stayed here forever. I don’t know why Lune and Solaris think of you as so valuable… but just remember that he has his reasons.”

“I know he has reasons, he simply has yet to explain them.” I scoffed, turning the book towards myself. “If he could do that at any point now it would be great. Not that I’m upset at him, but it would put my mind at rest to know that turning me into his supernatural pet dependent on everypony else’s attention to keep myself alive had some good justification.”

“I could explain it to you, actually.” Dusk elucidated. “After you read this section, though. I’ve been working on this for two days, just staring at the page. Do me this favour and I’ll tell you whatever you need to know about Solaris.”

I took a deep breath before I started reading, stumbling a bit over the strange red font. “The succubus is one of the trademark creatures from the third realm of Tartarus, due to its intrinsic association with carnal activities. Many cults revolving around these creatures exist, worshipping them and some even choose to become members of this odd species. At first glance it may be hard to understand why one might want to become one of these odd beings, but one needs only to do a few moments of research to realize how these creatures may just be the most curious in all Tartarus. For a start, one can see the simple differences between a normal pony and a succubus, seen in example ‘a’ to the left of this paragraph. Apart from these easy to spot abnormalities, a succubus has many internal features that make them different from mortal ponies.

To start, succubae do not have any sort of digestive system short of an extremely advanced stomach capable of extracting sustenance from almost any edible substance. Due to the fact that they can consume very nearly anything for energy, with no leftover by-products, this negates the need to have an excretory tract. In both genders of succubae the anus leads to a body cavity that is surrounded by strong bands of muscle and erogenous tissue, since this opening is rendered relatively purposeless except during certain forms of intercourse, which is what gives succubae energy in its most satisfying form. In both genders the reproductive organs are always extremely smooth, hairless and tend to be brilliantly coloured compared to the rest of their bodies. Females are known to be able to grip a mortal pony’s phallus with extreme strength during intercourse, in order to keep their prey from escaping. Males are gifted with similar traits due to their repurposed digestive tract, as listed above.”

Dusk Shine had a brilliant blush on his face as he wrote, and I wondered immediately if I should stop. I myself was struggling to keep my composure as the book was getting into more detail. The stallion in front of me shook his head and waved a hoof, signalling that I should continue. I sighed and wondered why I had to be the only one who could read something so unabashedly uncensored.

“A strange chemical reaction occurs during intercourse with any flavour of succubae, which has a number of effects. Upon contact with the bare skin of a mortal pony, any liquid excreted from a succubus will cause a number of symptoms to manifest. Firstly, the liquid acts as a potent aphrodisiac that can render a pony lucid in half a minute, lowering inhibitions and in some cases causing problems with coherent thought processes. There are no side effects to taking too much of this odd chemical, and isn’t believed to consist of elements that have yet to mark a place on the periodic table. It is habit-forming on a psychological level, as the equine body has yet to display the ability to physiologically graft it into its chemical makeup. Despite this the most extreme caution must be exercised around the chemical as it had been known to form psychological dependency from first contact.

Another characteristic that makes a succubus a successful hunter is an odd herding instinct is forces on anypony it engages with. Through means unknown, it affects those around it in a way that promotes teamwork in order to protect the creature. This can not only allow a succubus to have more than one partner at a time, but get them to coexist with one another for its welfare. This has been observed in both male succubae and females, though the female had a harder time getting her prey subjects to agree amongst each other. Thought not observed at this time, a succubus can believably have relations with other species other than ponies with the same effect. The one exception will probably be griffons, due to their natural immunity to magical influences. There was once an incidence of a succubus having relations with twenty different dragons, but had been unable to escape them with disastrous results. Due to the obvious differences between the size and strength of a pony and a dragon, the succubus was taken away due to extreme risks to its physical well-being.”

Dusk set his quill down as I finished the page, turning the book around to face him. “I can’t keep doing this. If I get any more… intrigued I won’t be able to calm down again. Can we keep reading later?”

“I think so.” The alicorn nodded, closing the book. “I supposed you’d like to know about Solaris now?”

“Of course.”

“Well, before I get into my whole theory as to why Solaris did this to you, I have to say that this is only best guess. It is all merely conjecture on my part. With that said, I do believe that he doesn’t want to have to say goodbye to you the same way he had to with Matinee, who died almost a hundred years ago. She was the mother of Cadenza, and he loved her quite dearly.”

I winced as the stallion’s logic crashed over me, washing away the previous subject like a sandcastle in a tidal wave. His theory vastly contrasted with the research he was just doing, and it felt like a cold bucket of water had been dumped over me. It had never occurred to me that Solaris had faced the death of somepony he’d most likely held to be his soul mate, or that he would hold me in the same light.

“Now, before you say the obvious, allow me to flesh out this theory.” Dusk extrapolated. “Firstly, magic wasn’t where it is now back then, and the only way he could have kept her alive longer than her body permitted her to was to take her soul from her and put it into something else. She morally rejected that, and accepted her fate as a mortal, seeing a how all mortal things die. He on the other hoof, didn’t. He wanted to keep her alive as long as possible, until the magic was at his disposal to change her into something truly immortal. He desired to be with her forever. After all, she sired his foal and loved him dearly for her whole life. He watched her slowly age while he stayed healthy, young. Cadenza had to watch this as well, and Solaris kept their immortal qualities from him until he could no longer lie to his son. Matinee would die, and there was nothing that they could do to help her without her rejecting them. He respected her too much to go against her wishes, so… as he sat by her deathbed she told him to move on. She passed, and he was left alone.

Now we can jump back to the present. Half the reason that he lost Matinee was because he didn’t have the will to go against his mate, seeing as how she had moral quarrels over his solution. This time he’s going to make his lover, you, become immortal, with or without your permission. He wants what he wants, and he won’t make the same mistake again. He treasures you in the same way he treasured Matinee, you have her eyes by the old paintings I’ve seen of her. You have all the characteristics of her, the same thought process, the same odd Cutie Mark. This time… he isn’t going to let you slip through his grasp. A pony that meets all of his expectations comes along only once every thousand years, and he wants you to stay. If he’s forcing obedience on you it’s most likely because he wants to keep you safe. This might seem ridiculous, but those who don’t know to listen to those in control oftentimes meet terrible fates. He probably wants to get you used to obeying him because he needs to keep you loyal, close and most importantly happy with your position as his servant. Those who are unhappy wander, and the lamb that strays is most susceptible to be picked off by the wolves.

To finish it off, I just have to say that he treasures you in the same way any other pony treasures any indulgence. He keeps you hidden away from other ponies he doesn’t trust, and keeps you from straying into unsafe territory by doing what he thinks will keep you happy in the long run. If you’re content you won’t feel the need to go out into the places he thinks may ultimately spell the same ending to this story as Matinee’s. He’s already lost a soul-mate, and he’ll keep you in a box to keep from losing another. In his opinion this part of the castle isn’t a cage to keep you in; it’s a bastion to keep you safe in his realm, where time itself can’t hurt you. He’s doing his best to make you a constant amongst all these variables in his life. Do you understand?”

I nodded numbly. I’d never bothered to see it that way, and although it scared me that he was trying to micromanage almost every facet of me and my life, it was all strangely… romantic. I suddenly had another filter peeled away from my image of Solaris, and I could see him just a bit more clearly. He was doing his best to prolong my existence, by separating me and putting me in an environment that he knew would be safe for me. He secretly trusted Lune and Cadenza, otherwise he wouldn’t allow them near me. He hadn’t wanted me to be miserable, that was merely a small, temporary factor in all of this. I’d grown to like his odd way of expressing his love, and although it bothered me, I accepted that he was merely doing his best to keep me away from anything that had even the smallest possibility of harming me. It was all about control over my surroundings, not my own person. If he intervened with my free will it was to practice for the occasion that would inevitably arise later in which I forced his hoof. He would act in the interest of my continued existence, whether I liked it or not. Anything else was malefactor. He wanted me to know that he could, and that I should trust his judgement if he ever did commandeer my freedom of choice.

“Thanks… I suppose.” I muttered, leaping down from my seat. “I want to talk to him now.”

“He doesn’t want to be bothered!” Dusk called after me, only just getting up as I was almost halfway to the door. “Besides, the door to his study is locked.”

“He’ll answer.” I stated, opening the door. “Besides, I’m sure I can use some of my lovely persuasions on him. He hasn’t been able to resist them yet.”

I closed the door behind me and trotted down the hall, hooking a left. I used my collar as a strange sort of dowsing rod, sensing when his will was stronger at points throughout the tower. Eventually I tracked the room down and approached the door, a rich redwood façade with a golden doorhandle. I was about to knock before I heard voices from within, speaking in troubled mutterings and reassuring consolations. I pressed my ear to the door, suddenly glad for my far-improved hearing. I heard Solaris speaking first, in a tone that suggested sorrow.

“These punishments I’ve been issuing to Felt… they are doing a good job of convincing him of my supremacy, but it is doing nothing for the other ponies. Not only that, but I’m still his least preferred alicorn by far. He accepts my authority, but he doesn’t trust me. I can’t keep him here if he ceases to love me altogether, and if he neither loves me nor trusts me than I simply can’t in good conscience keep him here against his will.”

Another voice met my ears, unnaturally smooth and oddly soothing. It spoke of eternal wisdom and understanding. It also had a satirically amused tone to it, as if laughing in irony.

“Look Solaris, you came to me under the agreement that we both couldn’t allow him to end up like your last mate. Thusly, we came to an understanding that he should not only love you, but trust you in all things. He doesn’t trust you, but you know he does love you in the same away a servant loves all his masters. So… all you need to do is switch your approach now that we have the main enemy vanquished. Time will no longer be a burden, and I think with the latest punishment you’ve successfully demonstrated your ownership over him to Cadenza and Shimmer Shield. All you need to do is convince Lune to coexist as mutual joint owner of Felt Feathers, and then you are free to take this cold, unfeeling mask you wear off. Once he understands your true motives towards maximizing his longevity, and thus your time to love him as you truly want to, he will understand, and then he’ll come to you. You needn’t worry about the loss of another good mate, and then you can live happily ever after with him. After due compensation for me, of course.”

“Discord… I’ve trusted you thus far, I even let you enchant that collar I gave him… but what is it that you want from me? So far you’ve only given me vague hints and cryptic clues towards what it is that you’re helping me for. I need to know if I’m to fulfil your demands.”

“If I told you now you’d think I was lying.”

I backed away from the door, struggling to keep my hooves silent. My mind struggled to fathom why he would partner with the spirit, of all the ponies that he could have trusted. I knew that Discord was more than capable of understanding and sympathizing with Solaris, but why help him? They were supposedly enemies, each one being the other’s antithesis. I pressed my ear to the door again, eager to know just what would prompt the draconequis to help his paradoxical partner.

“I want something very simple, Solaris.” Discord muttered, in a manner that allowed me to imagine him, floating and wringing his claws worriedly. “You say Felt, this colt, can understand and empathize with anypony he touches… I’d simply like to know if he understands my wants.

I sat in Dusk’s chambers a few hours later, curling my tail around my back leg. No matter how many times I grazed the smooth scales of my tail over myself I never could get used to the texture. It was a vague attempt to quiet the thoughts running through my head, in the same way normal ponies would twirl their manes or drum their hooves. The conversations I’d overheard that morning still echoed vaguely in my head. I repeated Solaris confessing that he didn’t feel comfortable punishing me so harshly over and over, piecing together that perhaps all of the ideas for reforming me into the perfect servant hadn’t come from him. The idea that Discord had a claw in this odd mental renaissance of mine shifted the paradigm again, away from the prince and onto the spirit. What was the full extent of his influence, and how much did they trust each other?

I couldn’t help but feel as if Solaris was keeping something from me, hiding some essential facet of himself that he, for some reason, was keeping a secret. There were still holes in the narrative, complications that had yet to be resolved. When did Solaris seek the help of Discord? Was it even before when we first met a week ago, when me and him had our first encounter? Or was this extremely recent, and his plans were only now taking the form of something he could justify? I didn’t know, nor did Dusk. When I asked him he merely shrugged, saying.

“If you tell an unruly foal not to wander off, then what does it want to do?” The alicorn had stated rhetorically. “He views you as young and unlearned, like an older stallion would view a colt. Instead of just telling you ‘don’t wander off’ he’s psychologically reinforcing it in your head to listen to him and his judgement. I know that sounds a bit base, but it is what he’s doing, all things aside.”

Now I sat on his couch, wondering if I could possibly approach Solaris with my theories. I needed to know the truth behind his reasoning. There couldn’t be this ambiguity and these grey areas where the details and lines between right and wrong were skewed. It bothered me in a way that led me to believe that there was a method to his madness, a strange, perhaps corrupt pattern to all of this. Dusk knew that he was doing this for the sole sake keeping me protected, and to reinforce his word as justified. I wanted to hear it from the stallion himself, though, as he was the one that my current situation pivoted around. The one pony that was causing problems was him. Without Solaris’ disquieted outlook on my tendencies to wander where I wasn’t bidden, all would be quiet in the royal wing of the castle. I would go about my day as the servant of the royal alicorns, and I would be free to be happy in the walls that I called both my new home and proverbial cage. I couldn’t leave here without another alicorn, otherwise I would be in for punishment I could scarcely imagine from Solaris.

I sighed and rested my head on one of the pillows Dusk had generously let me use. It smelled strongly of the shampoos he used on a daily basis, and a slight trace of something else. I couldn’t put my hoof on it at first, so I merely buried my muzzle in the silky comforter, hoping to sleep off the rest of the day. Unluckily for me I’d have no such luck. The sweet aroma that I’d been unable to realize at first suddenly grew more potent as I breathed into the stuffing through the pillowcase, and my tail whipped sharply against the cushion of the couch. The marvellous scent I was picking up through the case was that of the stallion’s lonely nights in bed. I blinked and pulled my head away from it, not wanting to invade his privacy further. Before I could think rationally I threw the pillow across the room onto the other couch, my ears flattened like an upset feline. My entire body bristled at the scent; every instinct rebelled against the thought of Dusk feeling so alone that the only company he could seek was his own. It both appalled and saddened me that such a smart, insightful and thoughtful stallion would ever feel neglected. I seized another pillow from the other end of the couch and breathed deep its scent, wanting my senses purged of the smell.

Luckily this one, looking almost like an exact clone of the other, didn’t have the faintest trace of the liquids my body was so attuned towards. The whiff I’d gotten off of the other comforter could have been from weeks ago, when he first came to the castle. That made it easy to block out, but there was something else about it I found troubling other than its age. Dusk Shine, as far as I knew, was a perfectly cool, collected individual that had no outstanding preferences when it came to relationships. Why would he be so desperate when he was not only a prince, but perfectly likable and attractive? It puzzled me until I realized that something must be off. Perhaps it was somepony else’s, or a mixture of his own and somepony else that he’d let sleep there. I knew that wasn’t the case, though. Dusk as far as I could tell gave me no signs that he was attracted, even remotely, to males. I also knew well the scent of femininity, as I myself produced it during my more carnal activities, and I’d also bathed my tongue in it a mere sixteen or so hours previous thanks to Shimmer Shield’s generosity. With both of those observations I could conclude that the first option was unlikely, and the idea that it was a mare’s love was nearly impossible.

So it was his. Which led back to the question of why Dusk couldn’t find a suitable partner. Something was obviously amiss with the stallion, and by my experience with alicorns their problems weren’t always as easily understood as they seemed. I stood and trotted down the hall to his bedroom, where the fireplace sat, the only source of heat in his chambers. The purple carpet cushioned my hooves as I shut the door, not wanting him to come back and see me snooping. Admittedly I felt bad for it, but I knew secretly that I would most likely come to figure private things out about him anyways. After all I’d be spending eternity with the stallion. I turned and started with the most obvious place, his closet. I turned on the light to find little but formal attire, with the occasional winter sweater. I nodded and shut the light out, moving quickly to his desk. I didn’t notice anything to be amiss until I found a small notebook tucked away in the back of the table, behind a few inkwells and quills. I picked it up and flipped to the first page, wondering what could possibly be in store. I read a few lines before I knew for sure that it was merely a journal, and thus had no real merit in my inquiry.

One long search of his room later, I was coming back out blank. He had something inside that was keeping him from getting a suitable partner. I felt that it my hollow bones. Yet somehow in all his notebooks, journals, papers and essays he didn’t betray anything that would mark him as any different from any other pony. Something was peculiarly off about him, and it bothered me that I couldn’t understand the stallion any better. I was left with one final solution. Luckily, just as I laid back down on the couch, he trotted in. He had a few books and some celery sticks he was munching on as a snack, levitating them onto the table before looking over at me. I did my best to look innocent. Admittedly, it wasn’t very hard to fool him as almost immediately his expression softened at my round grey eyes.

“So, what did you do while I was gone?” He asked, taking out a celery stick and enjoying a bite.

“Not much.” I muttered, shrugging. “Can I ask you something personal, Dusk?”

“What would that be?” He asked wearily.

“Well, I couldn’t help but notice that nopony else really comes through here. I mean, you’re a perfectly amazing, brilliant stallion and somehow you don’t have anypony who visits you or comes by simply to say hello. I can’t pick up the scent of anypony else but you throughout your entire chamber. Why is that?”

His brow furrowed as if I’d hit a nerve. “That’s a bit personal, don’t you think?” He retorted.

I blinked and did my best to shrink into the couch, slouching my shoulders and pressing my wings to my sides. I’d known it would be a delicate subject, but I’d needed something to take my mind off of Solaris and Discord. I tapped my hooves together, wondering how I could possibly regain his favour.

“I just wanted to know because I always kind of thought you were nice.” I said meekly. “And all the other alicorns have a certain special somepony. Even Solaris and Lune share me, after all. I wanted to know if… you had somepony. You’re always sort of antisocial and lonely, and I know we didn’t get the best first impression from one another, but you’ve come through for me more than once. So, naturally seeing that nopony visits you, I wanted to ask.”

“You’re asking if I have a partner?” Dusk Shine asked.

“In a roundabout way, yes.”

He bit his bottom lip before he sighed, shaking his head in a negative. “No. For a lot of reasons that I’d really rather not talk about. You have your answer, now leave it.”

He turned and picked his things up, trotting off down the hallway. I jumped up and followed him, my curiosity not quite sated. He saw me and turned around quickly, throwing his things onto his bed and hurrying to shut his door. I slipped in as he closed it, smiling and curling my tail around my hooves like a cat. I knew he was irritated, but I had to know why. Something about him being alone upset me in that rare way that struck me as naturally wrong. He blinked and stared down at me, his eyes burning holes into my own as he willed me to disappear. I simply stayed put, pressuring him for an answer. In retrospect I probably struck him as quite stubborn.

“I have… tastes. Which can’t be satisfied by most.” Dusk conceded, turning to avoid my gaze. “It’s more a… a fantasy, really.”

I jumped in front of him, smiling eagerly with the tip of my tail twitching like a feline ready to pounce on its prey. “Go on.” I implored encouragingly. “No need to keep it a secret from somepony you’ll be seeing the rest of your life.”

He scratched a portion of the carpet with his hoof as he struggled to keep his composure. “Well, I prefer certain traits that aren’t found very often in ponies. Only a few possess these, and I find them very attractive. It’s merely a factor of limited options, I assure you.”

“What sort of traits?” I asked.

“Well… I like…” He coughed, blushing. “I can’t really say.”

“Oh, come on Dusk.” I begged. “I’ll give you anything you want if you’ll just tell me.”

“… I like a very effeminate pony, that looks exactly like you do, but… who I know wouldn’t be disgusted with me if I told them about this fantasy I have. You’re already obligated to Lune and Solaris, and it involves some… implications, that will most likely be detrimental to keeping the whole thing a secret unless you didn’t have to move around for… at least a day or so. It’s really embarrassing, Felt. Not to mention that most ponies would think it’s… nauseating.”

“I swear if you only tell me, I won’t breathe a word to anypony. I’d sacrifice my new tail before I told another soul.” I swore, wary of the answer by then but too committed to finding the truth to back out.

“Well… are you familiar with a Cockatrice’s reproductive cycle?” He asked, staring pointedly into my eyes to gauge my reaction.

I blinked, wondering what in the world he would be asking that for. He smiled at my dumbstruck expression and tapped a hoof on the desk, his wings shifting excitedly at the thoughts I’d pulled forth from him. I’d awoken something inside of him, an admiration that bordered on obsession. I knew immediately that the question that I’d put to him had an answer that I really shouldn’t have pressured him for. It was too late, however, as he was already on the subject thanks to my meddling. I braced myself, knowing this would be equally revolting and disgustingly intriguing.

“It’s the most beautiful, trusting thing, Cockatrice reproduction.” He started, trotting over to a chalkboard I’d previously not noticed in the far corner of the room. “The beauty of it is that there are no male or female Cockatrices. They consist only of one gender since their entire species relies on ponies to complete their reproductive cycles, see?”

I began to draw a very detailed anatomical diagram of a Cockatrice with its wings spread, both from the side and facing the viewer. He also included an extremely close portrait of its reproductive organs, which I felt my skin crawl at, but my body secretly express its intrigue by shifting my tail slightly. The entire thing consisted of a large cavity which held small, leathery eggs roughly the size of golf-balls inside its lower stomach. It had a long, clear appendage that greatly resembled a pony’s phallus, but almost two feet long and by the footnote Dusk included it was highly flexible. He included that its eyes, apart from having extremely potent petrification effects, also allowed it to make a pony go mostly limp at a glance. The more that I thought about it the more terrifying the creature seemed, but Dusk seemed to glorify the creature almost to the point of worship as he finished his sketch.

“It all starts with a Cockatrice finding its prey, a hapless pony lost in the woods, per se. It petrifies the pony’s legs, then proceeds to lull the pony into a stupor with its eyes, calming them and giving them time to accept their fate. Then it had been known to lay its eggs inside its prey, its lover. That pony very oftentimes struggles, but the creatures have been known to be very tolerant of resistance, and have even allowed their subjects to almost escape a few times before finally courting them. The whole thing isn’t very intricate, but the intimacy is… unfathomable. They have been known to pet a pony’s mane and even preen their wings during the process, to make them feel comfortable while its eggs fill their helpless prey. Finally, in order to encourage them to return, it will often do its best to stimulate the pony into an orgasm as it finishes, followed by filling the pony with a thick, viscous seed to fertilize the eggs. Its seed also acts in almost the same way a succubus’ does, with its addicting properties affecting them for almost a month afterwards, long past the time of delivering the Cockatrice’s young. If the pony returns it scarcely takes other victims besides that specific pony, becoming emotionally attached with its prey just the same way its victim did with it.”

I shivered, half horrified by what he was describing but secretly curious as to what it felt like, to be the victim. He’d compared me, as a succubus, to a Cockatrice in his description. That scared me, and made me unbearably keen on knowing why in Discord’s name some deeply perverse part of me found this all… sickeningly arousing. In the same way certain disgusting things could be associated with sexual pleasure, this held such romantic merit on one hoof but on the other it was brutal brainwashing, not to mention non-consensual impregnation. My emotions felt sickened, yet curious, albeit intrigued, although my body screamed its excitement as my wings did a madcap, twitching dance over my sides. Dusk threw the chalk down, smiling longingly and shrugging, as if in acceptance that it was merely a mirage, a dream that he could only fruitlessly aspire to.

“But alas, it’s only a fantasy of mine.” He said, sighing. “I’m going to bed now, Felt. I have to ask you to leave.” The alicorn mused, clearing the chalkboard as he watched me exit the room. “You can have the blanket in the closet on the left, down the hall.”

I lay on the couch later that night, unable to get the image of the Cockatrice out of my head. It was so disturbing it stuck in my head, more so than even than Solaris and Discord’s conversation I’d overheard in the study. I’d been in over my head, looking for a distraction that turned out to simply replace the thoughts occupying my attention. I’d wanted something to take my mind off of the elder prince and his spirit accomplice, not to give me another thing to keep me awake at night. I blinked and uncovered myself, deciding that I’d be getting up. I needed to take a walk. My morality, dignity and body were in a three-way battle, with the lattermost prevailing as the champion. As they say, morality is rewritten by the psychological victor.

I left Dusk’s chambers and trotted out into the halls, yawning and heading for what I hoped was the kitchen. A pattern I’d noticed in the towers was that the higher the ceiling, coupled with more extravagant furnishings, meant that a location was one of the main rooms. I wandered aimlessly through the halls, turning randomly and heading straight on a whimsy. Finally I found the kitchen, at the corner of a large four-way hallway. I hurried over to the cupboards. I pulled a pre-made sandwich from the pantry and closed it, taking a quick bite. I winced at the taste of meat, but continued chewing. Somehow my new succubus tastes preferred meat to vegetables, and I wasn’t an herbivore anymore. I shrugged and moved to leave, wondering if Solaris was awake. Talking to him was just the thing I wanted to take my mind off of Dusk’s admittedly uncomfortable fetish.

I set off in the direction of the eldest alicorn’s study, blinking sleep away. This was important, and I knew that if I’d have gone back to sleep I would have only woken a few minutes later due to another daydream about something related to a Cockatrice, or Discord. I sighed and scanned the halls, wondering if there were any clues towards which direction the alicorn’s study was. I turned a corner and blinked blankly, feeling something akin to goosebumps leap up my spine. My wings pressed close to my body and I continued at a much less jovial pace, feeling as if something was watching me. The dark halls shone with the full light of the moon, until they faded to near blackness, the inky smog only broken by bright, ghostly white candles that hovered inches from their sconces on the walls. Something was amiss there, at least during the night. Solaris was the ruler of the day, but something else was roaming around in his absence. His sun didn’t comfort me with the privilege of sight, making the long shadows cast by the candles the possible home for any number of unsavoury creatures.

I continued my search in vain until I passed a clock reading half past two in the morning. I decided there, in the dim, pasty white glow of the candles that it would be best to head back to Dusk’s chambers. I turned around and moved to return the way I came, but before I could take another step I caught sight of a pair of eyes regarding me from the rafters. A shiver shot down my neck and wings like lightning, and all of the sudden I felt the urge to run for my life. I tried to lift my hooves, but before I could think the candles went out, leaving me alone with the glowing pair of malignant eyes, which only stared down at me, the expression behind them invisible in the darkness. I turned tail and took off, flying down the hall as fast as my body could manage. I nearly crashed a number of times in the pitch black halls, until I came to a spot where the candles were once again lit. I landed and caught my breath, wondering just what I’d seen back there.

That was, of course, before I felt a pair of talons seize me by my wings and pull me to the ground. The lights went out, and all of the sudden I found myself face to face with the glowing eyes, which stared directly into my own through the darkness.