Mass Core 3: Thebe Paridigm

It was nearly night outside, but the heavy cloud cover hid the orange-red sun from view, bathing Canterlot in darkness and heavy rain. High above the city in the Temple of Harmony, a white unicorn stallion looked through the self-cleaning glass windows, watching the rain run down them and the occasional sudden light of lightning strikes that were the only visible source of light through the downpour.

This, of course, was terribly annoying and even offensive to him. The majority of weather on Equestria Prime was tightly controlled; rainstorms of this magnitude were planed long in advance. Although he had not actually checked the weather schedules, the unicorn had assumed that the Pegasi in charge would have made sure the date of his visit to the planet was temperate and pleasant. Of course, with them being Pegasi, they were probably not even competent enough to manage that.

Turning away from the window, he took several steps through the vacuous and empty temple. He had never been this high in the palace; in fact, he knew of no one who had, save for some of the Priestesses. It was highly unusual for Princess Twilight to invite ponies into what amounted to her home. With this particular unicorn’s status, though, it was no wonder that she wanted him there, at least in his own mind.

The temple itself had a rather unfortunate interior, though. It was terribly drab. It certainly seemed to exude and air of enormity, but not of luxury. Everything seemed unusually simple, even austere. Even the lights were sparse, separated at even intervals that were far beyond the distance that their inadequate glow could reach.

What was most concerning, though, was the silence. Nopony seemed to be there, not even servants. This made the unicorn nervous, and he habitually removed a small mirror from one of his coat pockets. He checked himself in it, fixing his long blond mane and then taking several minutes to admire himself. In his mind, he looked astounding, but that was expected. After all, he was Prince Blueblood XVII. He came from a long line of beautiful ponies, all of whom had kept their high and elegant breeding for the purpose of creating beautiful ponies like himself. Though he was not technically royalty- -more of a baron, really- -he in his own opinion more than deserved the title “Prince”.

As he was admiring himself, he became aware of a distant sound. At first he ignored it, but it drew closer. When he realized that it was slow, regular hoofsteps, his extremely pure blood ran cold. He looked up and released a high-pitched squeal as he saw a ghostly white pony who had appeared from the shadows barely three yards from where he was standing.

His momentary shock faded, though, when he recognized that she was not in fact a ghost. Rather, she was pure white with deep crimson eyes; a breeder. She was dressed in dark, drab clothing made of thick fabric that looked as though it had intended to far more practical than aesthetic. Despite her unflattering uniform, though, Blueblood was immediately able to recognize that she was a remarkable specimen. As unicorn nobility, he had come to have an eye for high-quality breeders, and she was somewhat astounding. Her poise was excellent, and her body was strong but not overly muscular with perfect proportions. Her only defect, of course, was that she had been allowed to age what seemed to be almost two decades past her prime.

“What are you doing?!” demanded Blueblood, agitated. “The nerve, sneaking up on me like that! Do you have any idea who I am?!”

“My apologies, Lord Blueblood,” said the breeder. “Although I was hardly sneaking. Rather, you seemed to be quite engrossed in whatever it was you was doing.”

“What I was- -I WAS preparing myself for a CRITICAL diplomatic meeting with Princess Twilight. Not that you would understand that sort of thing, of course.”

The breeder seemed momentarily confused, but continued to smile with the cheerfulness that had been bred into her species by Blueblood’s ancestors millennia ago.

“Well?” said Blueblood, impatiently.

“Well what?”

“Are you going to take me to her or not?”

The breeder blinked. “Yes. I suppose I can do that.” She started walking, and Blueblood fell into step slightly behind her, taking a moment to admire her aged but still firm white rump.

“I suppose Twilight Sparkle is a bit of a bleeding heart,” he mused.

“Really?” said the breeder. “How so?”

“Because she accepted you, even though you were clearly bred for form over intelligence. And because she quite obviously does not believe in euthanasia.”

“Referring to my age?”

“Well, if you were one of mine, I would have dismissed you far earlier.”

“Which is illegal,” noted the breeder. “Execution of my people is unlawful as per the Purpose-Bred Pony Self Governance Act of 1014. Culling without Union permission is a serious, serious offence.”

“The Union,” snorted Blueblood. “The Union is a joke. Breeders in charge of breeders? Nonsense. Simple nonsense. Your people are not capable of taking care of yourselves. It’s simply a matter of your biology.”

“I see,” said the breeder, her eyes focused ahead but a strange smile still plastered on her face. Blueblood was not fully sure why she was smiling that way, but supposed it was a product of her mental inherent deficiencies.

She did seem to know where she was going, though. She lead Blueblood with surprising assurance, not even hesitating as she passed through the dark seas between lights. Blueblood tried to make conversation by describing how interesting and impressive his life was, but the breeder mostly only seemed to nod in response. She did not seem to be capable of holding a conversation, and after some time, the pair lapsed into silence.

Just when Blueblood was about to complain about how long it was taking and how his hooves were beginning to become soar, he suddenly stopped. The breeder took several more steps before looking over her shoulder, confused as to why he had stopped. “Is something the matter, Lord Blueblood?”

Blueblood, nearly unable to speak, pointed. There, on the edge of the darkness before them, was a large dog staring back with reflective eyes. “D…dog…” was all he could get out.

The breeder looked back at the strangely silent creature. “Why yes, they are dogs.”

“…they?”

As Blueblood spoke, the large dog suddenly stood and began walking toward them. From the shadows, several more emerged, moving slowly and staring back with reflective eyes and raised fur. To Blueblood’s horror, he realized that several of them were not dogs at all, but rather alien creatures of various types including at least one skagg.

They surrounded the pair of ponies, but for some reason the breeder seemed not to care. That of course made sense- -her species had been bred to be readily accepting of their own deaths. Blueblood, meanwhile, was working himself in a panic as the hounds began to surround him.

When he could no longer take the agitation- -as a noble, he had a very refined and delicate constitution- -he attempted to flee. He did not get very far, though; almost as soon as he started to run, he bumped into something. It was smaller than he was, but it felt like hitting concrete. He was thrown backward onto the floor and looked up at the offending animal with a mixture of anger and terror, offended that something so dirty would touch his perfect self, let alone knock him to the floor.

What he saw, though, was not a dog at all. Instead of a canine face, a pair of scleraless and pupilless red eyes stared back at him from above a grinning, long-fanged mouth. Blueblood gaped in horror and surprised as he realized that what he had initially taken for a dog superficially resembled a pony; specifically, she looked like a sallow yellow Pegasus with hair as red as her eyes and clothing that seemed to be made from a combination of skin and bone. Blueblood had never seen a Tartaran Matriarch in real life, but he knew how to recognize one.

“Princess,” said the breeder. “I am so glad you were able to make it.”

The Tartaran grinned, further showing her extensive venomous fangs and tusks. She then giggled loudly, and broke down into something that sounded quite similar to the noise made by several of the hyenas in her pack of accompanying hounds. Blueblood immediately understood that she was not able to speak.

“Tart…tartaran,” said Blueblood, standing. “P…Princess?”

“She has been invited to this dinner as well,” said the breeder. “As well as one other guest. To cement old alliances, and to forge new ones. So to speak.”

“One…other?”

“Ah,” said a female voice from across the room. “It seems that you have already found each other. That means I don’t have to look.”

The dogs began to part, and Blueblood looked past. The first thing he saw was an alicorn. Like a Tartaran, alicorns were something else he had never seen in real life. After all, there were only four known. He had been expecting her to be taller, perhaps more majestic and godlike, but what he saw was quite different. Though she wore a crown and exquisite ceremonial armor and robes, she looked just like a normal pony. Yes, she had both a horn and wings, but those were both normal parts of ponies.

In fact, she was rather fetching. She was comparatively young looking, and, despite her highly aristocratic color, her body would be very well-formed if she were a unicorn. This led to a spark of an idea in Blueblood’s mind: how tolerable she would be living in his home as his youngest wife, and the power he would gain by claiming such a prize.

He approached her, smiling, but slowed when he saw the individual standing beside her: a tall biped dressed in extensive golden armor and carrying a staff containing a luminescent red gem. At the same time, he saw her thick blue skin, bat-like wings, and the horns that framed her reptilian face. His disbelief was almost palpable as he realized that he was looking at a dragon.

“Baron Blueblood, this is Dragonlord Ember,” explained Twilight, smiling slightly but not showing her teeth.

“Dragonlord? You mean they dragons actually have GOVERNMENT?”

“We do,” said Ember, somewhat aggressively. “And a culture that precedes the founding of Equestria by several million years.”

Blueblood looked to Twilight. “And she…”

“Is here to discuss the relationship between her tribe and my society? Perhaps.” Twilight smiled, and it made Blueblood nervous. “But in truth, all of us are just here for a friendly meal, aren’t we?”

The Tartaran broke into an equally disturbing wide smile and nodded heartily.

Twilight began walking down the corridor, taking the lead of the group and standing beside the Tartaran. This, of course, gave Blueblood ample chance to look at their flanks.

“And of course, the operant word is ‘friendly’,” said Twilight. “After all, it is the very concept of Friendship that has allowed Equestria to prosper under my rule. I assisted in modernizing Equestria, but of course I can hardly take credit. That belongs to the ancient concepts of Loyalty, Honesty, Generosity, Laughter, and of course…” She patted the Tartaran on the head, “Kindness.”

Blueblood took this opportunity to push past the breeder and fall in stride with Twilight. “Of course,” he said. “I believe exactly that same thing!”

“Really?” said Twilight, looking somewhat surprised.

“Oh, yes. In fact…” He feigned shyness. “I was hoping that you and I could be friends, actually.”

“You…you and me?” said Twilight, her eyes widening. “Really?”

“What, has a beautiful stallion like myself never asked to be your friend?”

“No stallion at all has ever asked me. I haven’t really met that many.”

“Well then,” said Blueblood, pushing closer to Twilight and smiling because he know was mostly sure that she was a virgin goddess, “Then I think we can be VERY good friends.”

He was interrupted as they entered a wider, more brightly-lit section of the inner palace and two breeders approached the group. They had with them a dull-brown unicorn that Blueblood did not recognize; as he looked closer, though, he saw that the unicorn was bound in chains and fitted with a magic-suppression collar.

“Ah, yes,” said Twilight, smiling and approaching the trio. She turned back to her guests. “Do any of you recognize who this is?”

“I do,” said the breeder among them. “His name is Candy Lurker.”

“Exactly,” said Twilight, putting her hoof against the stallion’s chin. He resisted, trying to step back, but the breeders pulled him back into position. Despite being smaller than him, they were quite strong. “This stallion is a convicted foal rapist. He has murdered thirty seven known fillies and colts, all under the age of ten. He’s molested countless more, including one that has since become a dear Priestess of mine.”

“And why is he here, then?” said Blueblood, taking a step back from the stallion. He was not so much disturbed by the stallion’s crimes as the fact that a commoner had had the gall to permit them; that, and the stallion looked both dirty and threatening.

The Tartaran laughed viciously, and Twilight looked up at the stallion. “Do you have anything to say to us, Mr. Lurker?”

He smiled, and Blueblood nearly fainted at the sight of his teeth. “Oh, come on now. You know as well as I do that they wanted it. They wanted it BAD. They wouldn’t have dressed like that if they didn’t want me. They liked it.” He leaned forward with so much force that the breeders could not hold him back. He snapped his teeth at Twilight, but she did not flinch. “And you can’t prove anything! When I get out of here, well, I’m going to finish what I started with that whore you’re hiding downstairs. Or maybe even with you, little princess.”

Twilight just smiled, then turned toward the breeders. “J776G and LW731? Please, if you would be so kind, prepare Mr. Lurker for dinner.”

“You- -you can’t be serious!” squealed Blueblood as the unicorn rapist was led off. “We can’t be having him for dinner! That’s- -that’s- -” He swooned slightly, and several hounds caught him. “Un-couth!”

“For once I agree with the limp-hoofed aristocrat,” said Ember. She glared at Twilight. “You would show such a criminal mercy?”

“Would you?”

She shook her head. “No. He would be banished from our territory. Perhaps maimed. Likely by my own claw.”

“Well,” said Twilight, turning away from the group and approaching the dining room. “I tend to adhere to the belief that there is not inherent ‘good’ or ‘evil’ in the universe.” Her expression became somewhat more distant, and the tone of her voice changed. Blueblood, even barely recovering his composure, though he heard the slightest hint of an unusual accent. “And that ponies that have done terrible, terrible things in the past might be able to move beyond them if they try hard enough.”

With this, Twilight led them to the large doors that led to the dining room. They opened automatically, pulled by several breeders on the far side. This room, Blueblood was pleased to see, was very well lit and at least maintained some semblance of proper aesthetic.

A small group of breeder servants led the various members of the delegation to their seats on the table. The table was roughly round, but Twilight was seated at what was obviously the head. The Tartaran was placed to the Princess’ left, followed by the dragon on Blueblood’s left. Blueblood was led to his seat roughly across form the Princess, and took note of the tableware. It was simple, and the knives given to every guest were unusually sharp.

As he sat down, he turned to his right and, aghast, watched the uniformed breeder led by her compatriots to her own chair.

“Excuse me,” he said to her. “What do you think you are doing?”

“Sitting,” she said, as if her presence there was barely scandalous at all.

“And do you really think that’s appropriate? HMM?”

“Why would it be inappropriate?”

Blueblood groaned. “Are you that thick!” he hissed. “The help isn’t supposed to- -”

“Ah, Blueblood, I see you’ve already meat XN101,” said Twilight, sounding mildly amused.

“Princess, I am sorry for this, but- -”

“As I’m sure a unicorn of your station knows, she is the president of the Eugenics Union and current CEO of the Equestria division of the Breeder Corporation. And if I might add, XN101, I’ve looked through your pedigree and statistics, and I must say, they hardly do you justice. You have such patience.”

“Thank you, Princess, but you are too kind,” said XN101, “I am still an older model. You should see the newer generation. In fact, I would be honored if you would consider touring our production facility.”

“I would like that,” said Twilight, ignoring Blueblood’s sputtering and blushing.

Humiliated, Blueblood turned back to his plate, compulsively reaching for his mirror but forcing himself not to take it out at the dinner table. He became distantly aware, though, that if the breeder took the last remaining chair, there were no spaces left for Twilight’s criminal to sit. Blueblood, of course, did not question that observation; he was just glad that he did not need to share a table with a commoner. Having to sit next to a genetic inferior was bad enough.

“I have to ask,” said Ember, sitting uncomfortably in her dragon-sized chair. “Why a dinner?”

“Why?” said Twilight, smiling but still not showing her teeth. “Because we’re friends. Or, rather, I would like to be better friends with you all.” She turned to her left. “Tartarus, the Dark Sphere. A planet with no star on the edge of Equestrian space. An ally since the dawn of our nation, but never a part of it.” She turned to Ember. “The dragons. An ancient order nearly hunted to extinction centuries ago and omitted for consideration as a sentient species by the previous government.” She passed over Blueblood, and looked at XN101. “And the Eugenics Union. Recently declared its own internal government. Congratulations on your effort, XN101.”

“Thank you, Princess.”

“But still a private entity with no political loyalty to anypony at all.” She then slowly turned to Blueblood, and he shivered. He was not sure why. “And then, of course, we have Barron Prince Blueblood XVII. A representative of Equestria’s illustrious noble families.”

“Concerning that,” said Blueblood, leaping at his chance and taking control of the conversation. “It really is important that I voice my concerns to you, Twilight. They are of the utmost urgency.”

Twilight leaned back and raised an eyebrow. “Really?” she said. Something about her seemed strange, and Blueblood was beginning to feel more and more nervous. The Tartaran could not seem to stop giggling and mumbling to herself.

“Indeed!” said Blueblood. “The nobility is unanimously concerned, Twilight.”

Twilight’s eyes widened in surprise. “Concerned? Oh my, about what?”

“Well, simply put, we believe- -I believe- -that Equestria has lost its way over time.”

“In other words,” said Ember, “you are criticizing her rule.” She looked at Twilight. “Had he done that to me, I would be required to strike him down.”

“Oh no no no! Of COURSE not! Twilight is a beautiful filly with what I assume are very soft wings, and I simply did NOT mean to imply that Equestria’s deficiencies are her fault. She would never consciously hurt our great Empire.”

“Consciously,” repeated XN101. “An interesting choice of words.”

“What I mean is, a Princess should not have to deal with the minutia of governance. It is simply not possible. And the nobility are more than willing to assist our Princess in an administrative capacity. To restore a more traditional and stable governing system to Equestria.”

“So, what, exactly, are you asking for?” asked Twilight.

“A parliament. Democracy. A group of well-bred ponies who have the vision to lead Equestria back on the path of its former glory.”

XN101’s eyes shifted to Blueblood. “I’m highly inbred by design,” she said. “But it would seem that you are superior to me in many aspects.”

“Thank you,” said Blueblood. “I see you understand.” He turned to Twilight. “Take her, for example. I can see you have numerous high-quality breeders. I’m sure you can tell that they simply can’t govern themselves. They don’t have vision, volition, free will. They’re essentially dolls. Why, what would be next? To give the quants their own government?”

“And I would suppose that you would want to return to a time when you hunted my people for sport?” hissed Ember, angrily.

“Now, now, Ember,” said Twilight. “He may not be eloquent, but he does have a point. I’m more than aware of the instability amongst the noble houses right now. Some ponies have even been speaking of revolution against the Crown.”

“Perish the thought,” said Blueblood. “We would never resort to such a crime as treason, and then, only to save our beloved Equestria from anarchy and collapse.”

“And I am willing to consider your offer,” said Twilight. “In fact, the role of the nobility in the government is the main reason I invited you here. And I will be more than willing to discuss it with you. After our meal, of course.”

At that point, several breeders silently entered the room from several doors spaced around its edge. Each one had a large platter held on her back between her wings, and each stepped out in a synchronized pattern, walking to the table in unison. XN101 beamed with pride as they placed six platters on the table: one for each guest, one for Twilight, and one in the center of the table brought in by a breeder in flight.

In unison, they poured the wine and lifted the lids from the platters. Blueblood, who had already picked up his fork in preparation for the sumptuous royal vegetables beneath. As he looked down at his food, though, he was confused. It was certainly not vegetables.

Then, all at once, the realization of what he had been served donned on him. He opened his mouth to scream, but no words came out. There on his plate was a large portion of meat. Not cooked, but raw and in a pool of its own blood- -with a portion of brown-gray skin still attached to the hoof on the bottom. To his absolute horror, he realized that an equivalent portion of raw meat had been served to all those present save for XN101. For a moment, his mind held onto the belief that it was some nonsentient animal, like a cow or sheep, but then he saw the final plate in the center: a plate containing the staring, severed head of the unicorn that had been served to them.

The Tartaran, of course, immediately leapt upon the meat on her plate, taking it in her mouth and gleefully and loudly tearing large sections out of it. As she did, one of her hounds took the far end of it, pulling it off the table. The Tartaran refused to let go, and within seconds was in a bloody tug-of-war with the hounds over what had once been a pony’s foreleg.

Ember stared at it, her eyes wide with astonishment but not outright disgust. She looked to Blueblood, and they both looked to Twilight. She looked back, and lifted her fork and knife, slicing away a piece of the flank on her plate and popping the morsel into her mouth. As she bit down on it, Blueblood stared aghast when he saw her teeth: there were far too many of them, and they were all deadly sharp, jagged fangs.

“Exquisite,” she said. She looked across the table and her eyes focused on Blueblood. He had been considered bolting, but immediately froze. It was as if she were a different mare. Her eyes seemed much more narrowed and much colder. She suddenly no longer seemed like a pony, but something far more terrifying. Blueblood realized that what he had seen before was an act, a disguise for the true goddess beneath- -and the fanged cannibal before him was what Twilight Sparkle truly was.

“You might want to consider eating quickly,” she said. “The flesh has the most flavor when it is still warm. Well…that’s not entirely true. But considering your inferior ‘sensibilities’, I decided to not prepare the meat as raw as I prefer it.” She took another dainty bite, and then lifted her glass of wine with her magic and took a sip. “I would really recommend the drink, as well.”

As if commanded, Blueblood took the glass in his magic and lifted it to his lips. He was no stranger to wine, but he almost threw the glass down when he smelled the sickly metallic scent of the liquid in the glass and realized that it was not wine at all.

“What- -what have you done!” squealed Blueblood. “You- -you’re MAD! INSANE! I have to- -I have to get out of here!”

He tried to stand, but an impossibly powerful field of pink-violet magic forced him back into his chair. Twilight took another bite, and then lowered her utensils. The room became deathly quiet.

“Would you like to hear a story, Blueblood?” she said in a calm, almost pleasant girlish voice. “I just love stories. I spent so much time reading them. And I think you’ll like this one.”

Blueblood felt Twilight’s magic release him, and he smiled, the tears running down his face toward the severed pony body part below him. He then looked up to Twilight. “A…a story?”

“Of why there isn’t a parliament anymore,” said Twilight. She leaned back. “As you know, when I took power, Equestria was ruled by an oligarchy of white unicorn nobles. Do you know what happened to them, Blueblood?”

Blueblood shook his head. He had never had cause to know- -it was something that was never spoken of, but he was vaguely aware that all of the ruling nobility of that time had vanished. Even members of his own family had simply been erased from history.

“Well, first I organized them. Alphabetically. I do like to stay organized.” She glared at Blueblood, and then, of all things, laughed. It was a horrible, high-pitched sound that made him begin to wet himself. “Then, on the first night, I killed the first on the list. I had him prepared. With a balsamic sauce, if I recall. Then I served him to the rest.”

Blueblood heard a distinct gasp from Ember. He closed his eyes, more afraid than he ever had been before.

“Now, the reaction they had, it was not good,” she continued. “None would eat any of the meat, and I had far more than I could eat myself. And I simply hated wasting food. So, I put them away. I gave them no food for one whole week. Then I brought them to dinner and served the next noble on the list.”

She took a deep breath and smiled, as if recalling a fond memory. “They were so hungry. Some of them ate. Most couldn’t get him down. A few, though, they refused to eat their friend. Some even continued to refuse the next week after that. A lot of them starved to death. I would admire them except for the fact that they were fools bound by the idiotic idea of morality.

“But the others…they eventually started to enjoy it. To not only get the meat down, but to savor it. Even the ones who were next on the list. Sometimes I saw them crying as they ate their friends, knowing that they were next.

“There were thirty nine in all. Thirty nine ponies ruling all of Equestria. Responsible for endless war, oppression of both Cores and breeders, for mismanaging MY Empire. And the very last one? Oh, I remember him so. He sat across from me at the table, as if we were lovers at a fine dinner. He ate so slowly, knowing that he was last, but he enjoyed it so much. Then, when he was done? He looked up at me and smiled. He said ‘Thank you, Princess. Thank you so much.’”

“Then…then what?” asked Blueblood.

“I snapped his neck.” Twilight sat back, looking at the plate in front of her with mild disgust. “His meat…it was the sweetest meat I’ve ever tasted. Perhaps the sweetest I ever will.” She lifted her eyes to Blueblood. “And that is where the last parliament went.”

“Then why the meat?” said Ember. “Why serve us this?”

“Simple, really,” said Twilight, returning to her meal. “I suppose you could consider it a test. The dragons? You can be citizens of Equestria. Equals to any pony. I can give you planets, supplies, technology. End the warfare between our peoples.” She turned toward XN101. “I can make both of you allies. I can hold both of your governments beneath my divine and eternal reign. If you prove your loyalty to me, and show me that you’re my friends.” She smiled and shrugged. “All you need to do is share a meal with me. That’s something friends do, right?”

The Tartaran, whose face was now slathered in blood, nodded vigorously and broke into a mad cacophony of demonic laughter. Twilight patted her head and sliced off a portion of the head in the center of the table, passing it to the insane Tartaran mare. “She understand,” said Twilight. “I think she always did.”

XN101 stood up. For a moment, Blueblood thought that she was going to flee. Instead, she raised her glass to Twilight. “To friendship and Eternal Harmony!” she exclaimed before taking a long sip.

Ember and Blueblood looked at each other, and Ember lifted her own glass. “It’s not like I haven’t eaten a pony once or twice before,” she said before taking a small sip. She then put her glass back down and picked up her fork, turning over the breast meat on her plate until she found the optimal angle to begin cutting it.

“And you, Blueblood?” said Twilight. She grinned at him, all her seemingly hundreds of teeth exposed. “Go on. You said you wanted to be my friend, didn’t you? EAT. DRINK. Become MINE.”

Blueblood lifted his glass in his magic. He did not even know why he was. There was just something in the way Twilight spoke, in the way she WAS. He acted because he feared for his life, that he could be next. She was not sane, but not insane either. She was a monster, and yet, somehow, he found himself admiring her- -loving her, even.

He lifted the glass to his lips and began to tilt it. The smell hit him, and he gagged. He tried to hold his breath, but the thought of what he was about to do overwhelmed him. Then when the blood finally touched his lips, he threw the glass down, sending a shower of blood across the table. He coughed and vomited, weeping at his failure.

“Aww,” said Twilight, patronizingly. “It looks like you are far weaker than I expected. XN101 cannot even digest animal products, and she still managed at least one sip.”

“You- -you- -you monster,” he muttered.

“Monster? No. I am a GOD.” She sat back and sighed. “But…I will take pity on your cause. I will, in fact, set up an element to my government that consists of nobles.”

“R…really?” said Blueblood, looking up. He felt suddenly elated- -that his extreme duress had not been wasted, and that she recognized that a noble like him should not be forced into such depravity. “You- -you will?” He cleared his throat. “I’d, I’d be honored to serve you in the capacity of the- -”

“I am placing the heir of Heart House as the leader of this operation,” said Twilight.

Blueblood froze, and he felt his elation turn to confusion. “Heart House?” he said, not understanding. “But…Heart House has been extinct for centuries, there aren’t any- -”

An enormous metal claw suddenly reached out from the shadows behind twilight and slammed onto the table. More appeared, like the legs of some massive and horrifying insect. Then Blueblood watched in disbelief as an incomprehensible abomination pulled itself over the top of Twilight’s chair: a writhing mass of metal and machinery, a kind of enormous centipede of artificial flesh and steel. Even at a distance, though, Blueblood could tell what sat in the center of the machine: the still-living severed head of a pony, installed inverted and meshed to the machinery through the hole left from its missing lower jaw.

“Do you accept this task, Dr. Lemon Heart?” asked Twilight.

“Oh yes,” said the cyborg. “It will be so much FUN.”

“Excellent!” said Twilight, smiling. “From this point forward, the property and bloodlines of all noble houses now belong to me, the Eternal Princess of Harmony Twilight Sparkle and shall be overseen by my associate. And it’s all thanks to you, Prince Blueblood.”

The remainder of the dinner went well. There was discussion about traditional colonization words for the dragons and the possibility of expanding genetic lines for the breeders, as well as a number of other things. Blueblood just sat and quietly wept for most of it, what was roughly what Twilight had expected of him.

Finally, though, the meal had come to a close, and Twilight had excused herself. She walked confidently into one of the side-halls off from the main dining room, and, once she was out of visual range and earshot, she immediately broke down.

She screamed. The emotions welling through her did not quite have a name. Her mind was racing, both with mad, joyous aggression and the deepest possibly existential terror. The memories came flooding back to her- -of what she had done, and of what she had been. And what she truly was. This led to a full-blown panic, and she slammed her head into a wall repeatedly, trying to make the voices stop.

“I went too far,” she said, simultaneously disgusted with herself and proud of herself as well. She believed that assertion, too; she had slid backward to the days when she really had taken pleasure in systematically executing the scions of every noble house to assert her dominance, then erasing that fact from memory. In her mind, she rationalized that she did what she had to do, but it felt like everything was rationalization. She had done so much, that she was beginning to doubt even her own explanations.

This mental situation was agonizing, and Twilight immediately burst into tears. It had happened before. Many times before, since the beginning. Each time, though, Starlight had always been there for her. She had always been beside Twilight, and though Twilight could never, ever explain the real reason that she screamed and writhed in mental torment, her friend did not ask that of her. Starlight would always be there to comfort her, to hold her when the weight of her secrets and mania became too much to bear, and she just now realized how terribly much she missed her one and only true friend- -and came to the horrible conclusion that Starlight might not be her friend for very much longer.

“We told you,” said a voice from behind her. A voice that spoke almost exactly with her voice.

“You are weak. You need her, but she hates you.”

“Once she knows, she will hate you. Just like we hate you.”

“Just like the ALL hated you.”

“YOU DO NOT DESERVE TO BE LOVED.”

“Twilight?”

Twilight jumped at the unfamiliar voice, and spun around, trying to hide her tears. She was relieved, though, to see the insect-like cyborg Lemon Heart standing in the darkness.

“Are you damaged?” said the cyborg. “Because you just KNOW how much I would like to fix an alicorn.”

“No,” said Twilight. “I’m…”

She froze, her eyes widening, when she saw the two violet alicorns flanking Lemon Heart, their faces obscured by the shadows. They were standing far closer to her than they ever had before.

“I’m fine,” said Twilight, her eyes darting from alicorn to alicorn and finally settling back on Lemon Heart, who had no reaction to the pair whatsoever. “I’m absolutely fine.”