Chapter 1: Dream of the Past
Dear Diary…
I am now a magician, but I don’t know how to control it…
The inner chambers of the Crystal Palace had a curious beauty of their own. Unlike the rest of the building, it was made from stone. Solid granite, if I knew my rocks correctly. It was a reminder that however fair the outside, it can be hard on the inside. My thoughts immediately went to Celestia. I remembered what I had heard of her from Sombra and Luna, and how her impostor had looked. Beautiful, yet she had manipulated history.Either self-serving, or self-deluded. As I walked into a lab of sorts, I wondered which one would be worse.
The heat was the first thing to hit me when I entered the room. Then came the smell. It was as if something had slowly met its end in there. There were apparatuses of every shape with bubbling contents along the walls. They resembled everything from liquid flames to howling ice-vapors with diminishing facial features. None of that held my eyes for but a moment. The centerpiece of the lab was a large crystalline heart, soft blue in color, humming with magical energy. I felt stronger, faster just by being near it. Somehow I knew it held the key to what I had to do.
“Ah, you’re here,” a friendly, but unfamiliar voice said from behind. “I was afraid I had to start without you.”
I didn’t turn: somehow I couldn’t. I was supposed to keep my eyes fixed on the heart. Then my blood turned to ice as Sombra casually strolled past me into the lab. I wanted to scream, to tell him to leave my dreams alone for once, but nothing happened. Instead I felt my lips move into a smile.
“My prince,” I said, giving a bow. He snorted in response, turning to me. He was… younger? It was definitely Sombra, with his dark skin and strong jaw, but this was not the adult man I had faced. This was a teenager, maybe 16 years old. His eyes lacked the burning glow of the heart magic and they had a genuine warmth to them.
“Oh, come of it, Blue. I’m not king yet. I’m just Sombra.”
“Just Sombra, who will one day be the greatest of kings this world has seen,” involuntarily I felt myself warm up inside as I put a hand on Sombra’s shoulder. “All of this…” I gestured to the contents of the lab. “… is for your benefit. Your father is a gracious and clever man, dancing at the edge of the wrath of the Heavenly Sisters. But you? You will be a strong king, capable of standing against them. "And here…” I put his hand on the Crystal Heart. “… is the key. You will be the first king to openly challenge the tyranny of the Alicorn. To show the people that their perceived gods are false.”
“But I’m just…”
“… Sombra? No, you are so much more. And you will be so much more. This world needs you to be.”
Sombra went quiet, just staring at the Heart. He seemed older now than when he came into the lab. I knew within myself that I- no, Starswirl, had just put a great burden on this young man’s shoulders. He was to become the world’s salvation; the one to free the world from its self-appointed gods.
**
“Hey, darling,” I woke up, cold inside, from Twilight shifting her weight a bit. I stroked her hair and tried to smile, but didn’t reply right away. “Slept well?”
“Do you ever wonder why Sombra became what he is?” I asked after a few moments spent in silence. She just gave me a puzzled look, waiting for me to elaborate my thoughts. “It’s just… I had this dream, right? Not like the ones with Luna where I am awake within in the dream. An actual dream: I was Starswirl the day he told Sombra he had to end the tyranny of the Alicorn…”
“It’s just a dream, right?” Twilight smiled. A forced smile. She wasn’t comfortable with this topic.
“I dunno,” I began, not sure how to tell her. But I was going to. I wouldn’t keep this, or anything else, secret from her. “When I took what was left of the Shard, I blacked out, but I didn’t really. Starswirl spoke to me. Said I would absorb whatever was left of him.”
“You think your dream was a memory from Starswirl?”
I nodded. “I’m sorry I didn’t say it last night. I…”
“You told me now, before something bad happened,” she smiled more genuinely now, kissing my forehead. “Besides, I already knew.” It was my turn to give her a puzzled look. “Luna told me. Said you were conflicted about it and, after the Changeling troubles you’ve had.”
“But I never told Luna,” I objected, but kissed her back. Twilight just shrugged. Who cared, right? The Alicorn princess knew I had the power and I didn’t even find it surprising. Too many odd occurrences since I came here. The very odd occurrence of getting here, wherever here really was.
“Well, I have an appointment to keep,” Twilight sighed and got up from the bed. I replied with a pout. She just smiled in return and levitated her clothes from a neatly folded stack on the night table that I was sure wasn’t there before. “Ah!”
“Twilight!” I jumped after her as she let out a shriek of pain, grabbing her horn.
“Sorry, just…” she began.
“Cadence said you were fine!” I put my hand on her horn as gently as I could. It was warmer to the touch than normal.
“… I- eh, I asked her to let me… let me stay the night with you. Before moving into the medical wing…” she blushed.
“Twilight…” I said, feeling a cold sensation in my gut. I gave her a hug. “I understand.”
“You… you do? You’re not mad I-“
“Endangered yourself? You’re Twilight Sparkle. And you’ve made it this far. Of course you’re going to be fine,” I smiled a sheepish grin, I was sure. “But please, please don’t do it again. I hate worrying about you.”
“I hate worrying about you too,” Twilight poked me in my stomach before she got up and fetched her clothes with her hands. “I’ll see you later,” she beamed as she disappeared out the door.
**
“You’re a very curious creature,” Cadence had me brought to the castle dining hall for breakfast. It was huge, with two long rectangular table going from one end to the other, but we sat on pillows on the floor, resting our backs against the wall. We had pancakes with blueberry jam and sugar, with no silverware. Not what I had expected from a princess, I had to admit, so I had let her take the first bite just to be sure she wasn’t messing with me.
“My scent, right?” I asked through a mouthful. There was something off with the taste compared to what I were used to, but they were good. Really good. She nodded, accidentally painting the tip of her nose purple with the jam.
“No, no… yes,” she giggled. How could she be in such a good mood? “Why so glum?”
There was something unmistakably ‘Pinkie Pie’ about the way she asked the question, right down to the way she tilted her head. Instinctively I tensed up, expecting to be hit in a blind spot by a tackle from hell. I simply raised my eyebrow in reply. Did she really have to ask?
“Look,” she said, giving me a slightly condescending smile. “I know times are bad, but see the light side. You’re safe, we have a plan and you have a few days to rest before it starts. You’ve been chosen by Twilight-fucking-Sparkle and now you’ve become some sort of mage. Did she tell you that she was willing to suffer the horn-pain for a while longer just so she could spend last night with you? She told me about how you saved her from the Changeling ambush, how you outwitted Sombra. So relax. Restitute for a few days before the real world comes knocking on your door again.”
“You have a little something there…” I pointed to her nose, to which she responded by sticking it into the pancake again. My voice died down as I just looked at her with a dumbstruck expression on my face. This was a princess?
“You mean here?” she giggled.
“Eh- never mind. I think it is gone now.”
“Oh, good!” Cadence beamed and jumped to her feet. “Let’s get to it then.” I looked at her, confused. “Oh, they must’ve forgot to mention it. Time to see if you can learn to use your magic.”
**
“Most unicorn are able to use magic through instinct,” Cadence brought me to a smaller room closer to what I believed to be the outer walls of the Crystal Palace. It had a simple wooden table with a few different things placed on it. A few pebbles, a hairbrush and a hand mirror that looked like it was framed with real gold. “But you’re not a unicorn. So let’s see how you do it.”
I nodded, somewhat hesitantly. My magic had produced what I assumed to be very powerful effects, but that was before what was left of Starswirl became part of me. I looked at the pebbles, asking myself what I was supposed to be thinking. Just picturing them levitating in my head was surely not enough, because then all sorts of things would have had happened since last night. I tried it anyway, to predictable results.
“Hmm,” the princess rubbed her forehead. Then she got a devious little smile and walked over to the table.
“Think fast!”
As the mirror came flying towards my face, my first instinct was to put up my arms to shelter my face from the impact. But it never came. I became increasingly aware of a sensation I couldn’t quite describe, but recognized almost instantly: I had felt the same thing as I overpowered the guards that ambushed us at Twilight’s library. It was as if I held the mirror in my hands, but also so much more than that. I felt every little detail of it, even those I would never be able to feel with my fingers.
“Hmm, that was fast,” Cadence said. At first I didn’t understand what she meant, then I lowered my arm and saw that the mirror had barely left her hand before I stopped it. I had to chuckle to myself, before I put it back where it had been. “Now try picking up the brush.”
I did and it responded immediately. I gently placed it in Cadence’s hand. In a sense it didn’t feel much different than moving my body. Hmm, what if… I thought to myself and picked up the pebbles. I tried to throw them at the wall. The result was not as precise as I would have liked, but in the general direction.
“Well, I suppose you can work on it,” Cadence said comforting, but I shook my head and smiled. Then she did too. Seemed like I had absorbed more than just Starswirl’s power; maybe some of his skill too. “Levitation seems to be easy for you. Let’s see if you’ve got the same luck for something a bit more challenging.”
Chapter 2: A Mirror in Pale Cerise
Dear Diary,
If I master these powers, what can I achieve?
There were more chambers in the palace than its outwards appearance would have led me to suspect. I quickly reached the conclusion that this was probably the work of Sombra in ages past, or maybe one of his ancestors. While she demonstrated various spells she wanted me to perform, Cadence told me the story of the palace as she knew it. How it, and the whole of the Empire, had been cast adrift in time after Sombra’s defeat. For the ones tied to the Empire, these crystalline people, the last millennia of Equestria’s history had gone by in little more than a year. It had only reemerged when Sombra himself returned.
Cadence believed this was because of Sombra’s tampering with the Crystal Heart, that it had led to instability in the very fabric of time and space for all connected to it, and that he had become its anchor to the world. And, with the aid of Twilight and her friends, this connection, she hypothesized, had been transferred to herself, as an unintended consequence of Sombra’s second defeat. As she said that, I suddenly felt the warmth of my amulet against my skin with so much higher intensity. Twilight had used the Heart magic to save my life; did that mean I too relied on this anchor? That I too would be cast adrift should Cadence disappear?
For hours the training went on before Cadence called for a break, with minimal success. While telekinesis came easy to me, nothing else did. The princess said it was astounding that I had gotten the hang of any magic at all so shortly after achieving the gift, and that I should not be discouraged for not being a true master after a few hours of practice.
“Tell me,” Cadence said as servants came with a prepared meal. It was made up of what looked like water, but had a honeyed flavor, and biscuits that seemed to renew my strength and soothe my emerging headache. She had insisted that we’d just sit up against the wall of the room we’ve practiced in, to avoid needless formalities. “How is Rainbow Dash? As I understand it, you went through something similar.”
“I did,” I looked to the floor. What was there to say? That “Molly” had been a strong push towards indulging the baser of needs, and that “Molly” had been the hook the Changeling needed to simply stop my body in its tracks? “I believe she can overcome. I like to think that should I be able to break free, any of Twilight’s friends will too.”
“That’s not what I asked.”
“I know,” I sighed. “I worry for her. She implied that this wasn’t the first time her loyalty had been in question. I think whatever the Changeling did to her will amplify those doubts of herself. If she is convinced she cannot stay with Twilight because she will betray her, I think that will be just as harmful as she not overcoming the influence.”
“Well, look at that, you do seem to know what you are talking about. I was worried you’d play the humble idiot forever,” Cadence gave me a playful punch in the shoulder. “And you’re right, that’d be disastrous. We need to let her trust herself again.”
I just nodded. I didn’t have anything to say to it. And it shamed me to think that Dash’s health was far from the first thing in my conscience. What I feared the most was what it would mean for Twilight. The memory of her pleading that I would never leave her was as real, even now, as the present moment.
“I shouldn’t have brought it up,” Cadence apologized and gave me a warm, if distracted, smile. “I don’t even know why I asked. My husband went through this too, so I already knew.”
“Maybe you just wanted to see if there was any brains in my head at all,” I did my best to smile back. How many lives had been turned on their heads because of these creatures? I couldn’t even begin to imagine. “After all, I should like to hope I put on a convincing act as a humble fool.”
Her reply was something between a chuckle and a snort, before she shook her head. “You do, if I am to believe those you travel with. But why the deception?”
“I dunno…” the question took me off-guard. It had been meant as a joke, but either she didn’t get it, and I doubted that, or she didn’t believe that it wasn’t a confession made in jest. It took me a few seconds before I realized I was just sitting there, without talking. “I suppose it was just simpler. Everything in this place has been very confusing. Once I would have sworn magic wasn’t real. Yet here I am. It might be because I didn’t start to understand things until after the Changelings revealed themselves. They underestimated me once already.”
“Like I said; glad to see you’re not playing the humble idiot with me. It would be very tiresome.”
I let out a chuckle. “A nice backhanded compliment. If I were the suspicious type, I’d expect you to start digging for information about my love affair after such a clever display of compliments balanced between believable and flattering.”
“Oh, you have information about your love affair?” she stuck out her tongue at me. “Do go on, I hold my breath. I do wonder who are special enough to lead you astray from Twilight’s side.”
“Maybe it is Twilight who lead me astray,” I pointed out.
“Then I wonder who the unlucky girl is who have to compete with her,” Cadence put on an exaggerated pondering expression.
“None other than the lovely Night Princess,” I retorted with a grin. The princess looked at me, clearly unsure about whether or not it was still jest. “I’m kidding,” I added after a moment. “Sort of.”
“Sort of?” Now she seemed really curious, unconsciously coming closer to me. “Forgive me for my astonishment, but did you just imply that two of the princesses have an interest in you?”
“Eh… kinda?” I scratched the back of my head. “Honestly, I don’t think Luna cares for me the same way Twilight does. I think that, as one of few people who never saw the terror of Nightmare Moon and all of that, I am distant enough from her own demons to offer a friendly connection. For all the virtues of Twilight, her friends and Celestia, Luna still have to live with the actions of the Beast against them. And I doubt she sees much difference between the actions of Nightmare and her own.”
“The Beast?”
“That’s what Luna calls it,” I shrugged. “The remnants of what she once was, the darkness-“
“I know what it is,” she broke in quickly. “Just a curious name to me. Much like the Betrayer, the Usurper and what else people have come up with to serve their needs.”
“I don’t blame her for trying to distance herself from Nightmare Moon.”
“True, at least she is not trying to justify it.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” I got a hard tone in my voice.
“It means nothing, so long as you trust Luna to not reach for such power in desperation. Even if her intentions are pure, Nightmare Moon is not Luna. She can be more dangerous than the Changelings or Sombra. With the Elements lost, there would be nothing to stand in her way.”
“Then I’ll have to do better, don’t I? The faster I master my new powers, the less reason there is to seek the aid of another demon.”
While I got to my feet, I avoided looking at Cadence. First Sombra to worry about, and now Nightmare Moon? I felt a longing to the unknown future, when all of this was over for good. Even if we lost, there would be no more of this. No more worrying, no more hope and no more of the fucking temptation. By the will of Talos, the Maker, the Light and whatever gods didn’t exist, if I won, I would go off to some hamlet and become a farmer or something.
If I won. It was a laughable claim to make, even in my own head. Should such a thing come to pass, how could I expect the world to leave me be? At best, I’d be the former hero the important people wanted to keep an eye on just in case things went to shit again. But with Twilight at my side, that would never happen. This world was like an arena; a victor might emerge, but it did nothing to postpone the coming fights. And even if there never came another creature of great power to threaten the world, politics would make sure that void was filled real quick.
“Love is complicated, isn’t it?” Cadence sounded oddly pleased with herself, following me in getting to her feet.
“I’m sorry?”
“Please, don’t think me a fool,” she smiled, but not the friendly smile I was used to see on her face. “The worrying, the mood swings, the inability to just sit and relax for a while… few people would continue down this path when there was a choice to be made. Few of us are like Twilight Sparkle. You are not like Twilight Sparkle. You are in this for her, nothing else.”
“Yeah? Well, maybe you don’t know me as well as you think you do?”
“Princess of Love,” she reminded me. “I sense what you care for better than you think.” I winced when she put a hand on my shoulder. “I would have it no other way. She spends so much time worrying about everyone else, she needs someone to put her best ahead sometimes, so the other princesses and I do not need to.”
I locked eyes with Cadence, just starring for what seemed an eternity. When I saw my own reflection in them, it hit me. “You are like me. You, Celestia, Luna… You would damn everything and everyone for her sake, if she willed it. If she required it.”
“May the people never learn how lucky they are, that the one who has our hearts would never allow us,” a tear ran down her cheek and she embraced me. “Now you understand. We share your pain, your worries.”
“I don’t believe it is luck,” it occurred to me. I broke the hug and smiled at Cadence. “I doubt we would love her as we do were she not who she is, were she one to allow them to be damned in her place.”
“No, I suppose not…”
**
“So, how is Princess Candy-Ass doing?” Trixie was waiting in the hallway near my chambers after Cadence and I had finished our training. I had insisted we’d continue until the sun went down, at which point the princess had said it was enough for the day.
“I am quite well, thank you,” Trixie went pale as Cadence came up behind me, a wicket smirk plastered on her face. “Oh, don’t look at me like that. I work out six times a week to stay in shape. It is nice to have someone notice it from time to time.”
“I- yes, Your Highness,” Trixie nodded, her eyes fixed on the floor in front of me. Cadence and I exchanged glances, before we let out a short laugh.
“Don’t worry about it,” Cadence put her hand under Trixie’s chin, forcing her to look at her. “As long as Cufflinks is out of earshot, no one will care about you complimenting my ass. And, as he is regent, he is out of earshot most of the time. Now, I better get going. Have fun, you two.”
Trixie and I watched the princess leave in silence. Me with a humored grin, she with an expression that said she was not quite sure if that conversation had happened or not.
“So, what did you want?” I asked casually when the two of us were left alone, making my way into my chambers. Trixie took a moment before she followed me, still stunned at what had happened. As I waited for an answer, I went on to undress and lay down on the bed, putting my hands behind my head.
“You seem to already have an idea why Trixie is here,” she replied, raising an eyebrow at my naked body. I chuckled.
“Not at all, I was just preparing to go to bed. Figured it wouldn’t bother you, given where I found you the other day.”
“The Great-“
“Yeah, yeah…”
“Trixie is not bothered by it, no,” she scowled at me. “Someone is feeling sure of himself.”
“He is, indeed. Does he not have reason to?” I smiled. “Seriously though, what did you want? Knowing the Great and Powerful Trixie, she would be all over me if it was sex she was after.”
“Trixie thinks we should search for the Alicorn amulet,” she sat down at the edge of the bed besides me.
“Hmm, let me guess: It offers great power, great enough to be a significant boon to us, but it comes at a price that has a chance to turn whoever wears it against us.”
“Not far off,” Trixie admitted.
“Of course not, great power always seem to come at some cost or another here. The Beast, the Elements, Sombra… why would this amulet be any different?”
“The Amulet will drive you towards cruelty,” the blue one went on, throwing off her hat. She went on to undo her cape. “But it is not so bad, is it? It offers great power, great control of your power. It turned Trixie into Twilight’s superior by far, as a magician,” with a quick move she straddled me. She raised her arms above her head, using her magic to pull her shirt off. “Imagine what it can allow someone of your power to achieve.”
“Tempting…” I replied calmly, smiling as Trixie’s chest came into view. And it was; an amulet that could let me control my powers? Something that could be put aside when no longer needed? It would be a boon, was it so simple.
“Oh look, how clumsy of Trixie,” she went on, gently pulling at her pants. “Seems like Trixie forgot something in the excitement.”
With a smirk, she got off the bed again and turned her back to me, teasingly working her pants down her legs, revealing a purple thong. What she did not count on was that I would come after her. The moment she turned away, I jumped off the bed, startling her. With her pants around her legs, she lost her balance for a moment. Enough for me to grab a hold of her wrists and force her to the ground.
“What are you doing?” she hissed at me, trying to undo my grip with her magic. It simply dissolved when I resisted; my hands showed a faint glow of the Heart magic.
“This is what you wanted, isn’t it?” I leaned in over her, whispering in her ear. My member was prodding at her entrance through the thin fabric, feeling the dampness emitting from her. With a thought, I pulled it aside, letting myself slowly grind against the folds.
“I can’t feel my mag-“ her sentence ended in a shriek as I pushed myself inside her, or would have, had I not used my powers to shut her up. She let out a muffled whine, trying to break free of my grip again, but she lacked the strength to do much. A common trait among the magicians, would be my guess, as Twilight shared her lack of physical strength.
“Be quiet, you wouldn’t want anyone to hear us, would you?” I pulled her hands behind her back, tying them together with her cape, which I had fetched from the floor nearby. I found myself almost as pleased with how natural using the power came to me as I was with burying my cock deep in Trixie’s pussy.
Once she was restrained, I pulled out of her and forced her to her feet, bending her over the bed. She resisted every step of the way, her eyes angry and frustrated and hateful. I thought I saw a tear roll down her cheek. But right now I didn’t care. This feeling, being in control, it was all that was on my mind. This happened because I willed it, how I wished it to proceed. For once, it was someone else who was along for the ride. Every time I saw her horn light up, I needed merely to will it to stop and it did.
I forced my rod into her again and again, my hands split between groping her chest and pulling her hair. She whined and gasped and sobbed through the bind my magic held before her mouth, with every noise she made I moved faster. Pushed harder. Letting go of her hair, I planted my palm on her ass cheek, leaving a visible handprint. Two, three, four, it went on.
When I felt myself release, I just stopped what I was doing, letting it all out inside of her. I was panting, breathing heavily. I hadn’t even noticed. Once I was done with that, I pulled out and got onto the bed, laying down where I had woken up that morning. Where Trixie had straddled me.
She didn’t make a noise or move for a few moments, while I just lay there. I couldn’t look at her either. What had I just done? What had I just done? She may have wanted sex, but what I did was still wrong. Absolutely wrong. I had continued to force myself on her even as she resisted.
My heart felt like it stopped when Trixie came up by my side, resting her head against my shoulder and laying an arm around me. I could still see were her tears had gone, but now there was a triumphant grin plastered on her face and she looked at me with intense eyes.
“I wish I had seen this side of you before. The one that takes what it wants and the rest be damned,” she gently caressed my chest. “Is it because Twilight has claimed you as her own you don’t let it show? Would it not please that goodie two-shoes?”
“You’re back to talking in the first person,” I grunted at her, to which she chuckled.
“Trixie doesn’t need to justify herself to you. And you don’t need to justify yourself to Trixie. But… should you ever want something like this again…”
“What, you like to be held down and used like a fucktoy?” I asked with a humored snort.
“No, but… I did enjoy being your fucktoy.”
“I thought you were interested in Twilight, not me,” I asked, kissing the tip of her horn.
“Maybe I changed my mind. Maybe you just changed my mind. Maybe I want you both,” she rolled over to her back. “I think I’m just gonna… sleep here tonight.”
“I bet you are,” I said, fetching the duvet with my magic. It had ended up on the floor somewhere in that spat. “You’ll stay on the wetpatch though. I’m taking the dry side.”
