Despite all expectations, or perhaps because of them, Chrysalis was not happy to be released from the pod that had been keeping her captive.

“Just fucking kill me,” moaned the emaciated changeling queen, as Twilight removed what she assumed was some sort of feeding tube from Chrysalis’ throat. “I’d rather be dead than be rescued by you.”

“Just take it easy,” Twilight said soothingly, as she began to disconnect the queen’s more intimate areas from the pod.

Expecting some sort of double-cross or trap, Twilight had already taken the precaution of waiting until Luna and Celestia had both been evacuated and placed in the care of medical ponies.

By now, nearly an hour after the desperate fight against the red changelings, members of the Twilight Guard had already removed every changeling other than Chrysalis from the cavern, be they living or dead. Plus, a squad from each of the three tribes was currently guarding her back while other, less military ponies, continued to gather up every scrap of evidence they could find as to what had been going on here.

Thanks to her travels, she had experience with how disorienting the change from long term captivity to freedom could be, so Twilight took the changeling’s words with the skepticism they deserved. Most creatures, herself included, tended to snap back to their base patterns once the pressure to submit and conform to one’s bindings was gone. Unless of course, those base patterns had themselves been changed.

“Why rescue me now?” Chrysalis asked, listlessly. Twilight frowned as she lifted the changeling monarch out of the pod and felt her weight, or lack thereof.

“What happened to you?” Twilight asked, lowering the unresistant changeling onto a stretcher.

“Deposed,” replied the apparently former queen. “Should be dead already, but Pharynx decided to kill me slowly.”

“Who?” the alicorn asked, lifting the stretcher easily in her magic. As she did so she waved off the dozen or so members of her guard that had their weapons trained on the thin black creature. “She’s no danger to anypony right now.”

“Chrysalis is always dangerous,” stated the melodious voice of Princess Cadance. “And never more so than when she’s this starved.”

“Heh, at least somepony still thinks I’m dangerous,” Chrysalis replied, a dry cough belying her words.

“Lift your chin, your Majesty,” Cadance ordered. Waiting until the changeling obeyed to slip a halter over and around Chrysalis' head. “There, that inhibitor bridle will keep you from using your powers.”

“Want to watch me starve to death eh?” Chrysalis asked with a dark smile. “Good for you. Get your revenge while you can.”

“No one is dying if I can help it,” shot back Cadance, pressing a golden flask into the changeling’s hooves.

“What is it?” Chrysalis asked, downing the flask in a single long swallow.

“Distilled love,” Cadance replied. “Celestia had some stored in the dungeons in case we took some changeling prisoners.”

The essence of love and affection had an immediate effect on the changeling, and Chrysalis took the first full deep breath Twilight had seen her make since Twilight had found her. Even as she watched, the changeling monarch's cheeks filled out a bit and the ever present holes in her body contracted slightly. Twilight breathed a sigh of relief herself as she saw the cunning mind of one of her greatest enemies stir back into life again.

“Do we need to restrain you further?” Twilight asked, and every pony who had been on the verge of backing off instead made ready to inflict bloody violence on the changeling.

“I’ll behave, especially if you keep feeding me those,” Chrysalis replied agreeably, wearing her bridle as if it was a piece of regalia and not a magical restraint. “And I approve of the precautions. I am dangerous.”

With that, the changeling snapped out a single clicking, hissing word that seemed to slip past Twilight’s ears and mind, no matter how hard she tried to hold onto it.

“Cadance, what did she—” Twilight began, stopping when she realized her fellow princess seemed to be frozen in place.

“Who are you, and who do you serve?” Chrysalis asked, lying back in the stretcher with a smug smile.

“I am Food, and I serve Chrysalis, Queen of the Changeling Empire,” Cadance replied in a toneless voice.

“Who owns your body and commands your allegiance?” Chrysalis asked, as Twilight’s eyes went wide with growing horror.

“You do, my Queen,” Cadance replied, in that same toneless voice.

“What have you done to her?” Twilight demanded, and pulling power to her horn, lifted Chrysalis’ body back out of the stretcher.

“Demonstrated how dangerous I am,” Chrysalis replied, before adding, “Food, you will remember what has just happened.”

The changeling spoke another incomprehensible word in her native language, and intelligence, shock and horror came into Cadance’s eyes.

“How did you do that?” Cadance demanded, ripping Chrysalis out of Twilight’s grasp with her own magic.

Surprisingly, the changeling made no attempt to resist the marehandling, choosing to remain limp in the tightening magical grasp of the Princess of Love.

“I had you in my chains for months,” explained Chrysalis. “What made you think I wouldn’t place backdoors in your psyche?”

“I’ve been through my mind, so has Shiny, and so has Celestia,” Cadance insisted, shaking Chrysalis back and forth. “Nothing can hide from that sort of power. Nothing.”

“And yet here you are, still on the end of my leash,” Chrysalis replied, still offering not the slightest physical resistance. “Celestia may be power incarnate, but I am deception itself. There are triggers buried in your mind that nothing can erase or erode.”

“But if you’re dead then there won’t be anyone around to activate those triggers,” Cadance said, her mane and fur darkening in colour even as she tightened her magical grip on the changeling’s throat with the power of her outrage.

“Cadance!” called Twilight.

“Not even… death… will free you,” gasped Chrysalis, maintaining the satisfied look on her face even as her exoskeleton began to creak.

“Explain,” Cadance demanded, partially releasing her grip.

“Enough!” Twilight yelled, cutting through Cadance’s magical grip with her own weave. “She’s helpless.”

“No she’s not!” Cadance yelled back, pointing a hoof at Chrysalis who lay on the floor where she’d dropped. “She just showed you how dangerous she is. How… she still has me.”

“Chain her, put her in one of the magically blocked cells in the castle, put a guard on the door, and then have a guard on the guard,” Twilight commanded to her Guard, indicating Chrysalis.

Several ponies leaped to obey, binding the changeling queen in quadruple hobbles before levering her back onto the stretcher and carrying her out of the tunnels, all while Cadance watched stoically and Twilight watched her sister-in-law to see if her moment of madness would persist. A member of the Twilight Guard, a white and blue maned pegasus by the name of Lightning Strike caught Twilight’s eye before shifting it over to Cadance.

Twilight knew that Lightning Strike was one of the few guards she trusted to carry a bottle holding a symbiote with her, a symbiote that could be used on Cadance to pacify her, bring her to heel, make her Twilight’s…

The alicorn closed her eyes for a moment and took a deep, calming breath. Fantasies of control, dominance, and how good Cadance would look in shimmering black could wait for another time, and so she shook her head slightly toward the guard, who slowly moved one wing away from a set of saddlebags set on her withers.

“Sorry,” Cadance said at last, taking a deep breath herself before looking over to Twilight. “I just thought— I was so sure we’d found everything she’d done to me. To find out that not only hadn’t we, that she was able to take control of me so easily…”

“But now you know, and you know to be on guard against it,” Twilight responded, hugging the larger alicorn. “Chrysalis is our prisoner now, and from the sounds of it, she has nowhere else to go.”

“I want to be the one to interrogate her,” Cadance said firmly, and with more than a hint of that earlier mad fury in her eyes. “Let me wring every scrap of information she has about these red changelings out of her.”

“Not alone, and not without precautions,” Twilight admonished, before taking a few moments to look around the remains of the three pony orgy. More members of the Twilight Guard were helping a series of craftsponies dismantle the last few items and carry them away for later study.

“Your Highnesses,” said one of the Guard, coming up and addressing the two princesses. “We’ve got things pretty much under control here. What changelings are still alive are either being taken to jail cells or the infirmary.”

The stallion paused for a moment before adding, "The dead ones are on their way to the morgue. Either way, Kibitz is really anxious to speak to one or both of you.”

“We will be up in a few minutes,” Twilight replied, only to be surprised by the stallion shaking his head at her.

“Sorry ma’am,” the guardpony said. “I should have said that he needs you there right away. Something of a royal problem.”

Twilight frowned, looking at the guard carefully. His features and accent marked him as a native of Equestria’s mid-western regions, an area famously known for big skies, big fields and big understatement.

“Message Kibitz if you can, tell him we are on our way,” Twilight stated, garnering a nod and a salute from the guard.

“Dashiel!” Twilight called, already trotting toward the cavern’s exit with Cadance hot on her hooves. “Take care of Derpy. Cadance and I are headed back to the palace.”

Dashiel’s affirmative was almost lost in the sound of rushing wind and wings as Twilight and Cadance took to the air, seeking the exit from the mines that they had flown through from just before the Canterlot wedding. A full squad of pegasi guards trailed in their wake, Lightning Strike and another symbiote bearer among them.

“It’s Celestia, isn’t it?” Cadance asked, falling into formation beside her fellow princess.

“Has to be,” replied Twilight, speeding up her wingbeats as she ascended toward the tunnel opening. “It’s the only reason I can think of for Kibitz to need us so urgently.”

“Especially with Nightmare Rarity firmly under your hoof,” Cadance replied, and the younger alicorn shot a glance backwards to see that her sister-in-law had a small smile on her face. Twilight breathed a sigh of relief at seeing Cadance back to her normal joking, confident self and a moment later the flight of ponies emerged into the light of day, curving their course towards the palace.

Despite the chaos in both the capitol and the palace that had been caused by the discovery of, battle against, and rapid departure of the red changelings, iron hard habits of routine were reasserting themselves and Twilight and her escort soon found Celestia’s majordomo with relative ease.

“Kibitz, what’s wrong?” Twilight asked, landing lightly beside the frazzled looking unicorn.

“It’s the Princess!” Celestia would always be “the” princess to Kibitz. While he respected Luna, he loved the princess he had served for over two decades. “She keeps asking me to come into her chambers! She wants.. She wants to—”

“It’s okay, we’re here now,” Cadance assured the stallion. A delicate frown crossed her features before she asked, “Why hasn’t she just grabbed you in her magic and… you know.”

“And how is she awake?” Twilight asked. “Last I saw her she was almost dead on her hooves.”

“The doctors said that all the princesses needed was some good solid rest, and that they could do that in their suites,” Kibitz explained. “They were completely exhausted, physically and magically, but some ponies were starting to panic without somepony to guide them, so after Princess Celestia was settled in her bed I decided to give her a restorative potion.”

“I thought that way, she could rest in bed while we brought her the most important things, and just knowing she was doing that much would have calmed many,” Kibitz concluded, dropping his head in shame.

“It didn’t work well, did it?” Cadance asked, nuzzling Celestia’s advisor gently. The old stallion obviously knew he’d made a terrible mistake.

“As soon as she woke she grabbed one of the maids and kissed her, before trying to drag the poor dear down to her nethers. To ‘clean things up’ she said. We got Turned Down clear, locked Celestia’s bedroom door and I sent for the two of you,” Kibitz admitted.

“Alicorn physiology and a restorative potion? That door isn’t going to hold for long,” Twilight commented, gathering a nod of agreement from Cadance. “Twilight Guard, with me. Kibitz, go get some rest, I know the way to Celestia’s rooms.”

“Yes Ma’am, thank you Ma’am,” the frazzled unicorn replied, staying out of the way as Twilight, Cadance and the six ponies of their escort moved down the corridor as a unit.

“Kibitz! Open this door Kibitz!” called Celestia’s voice, clearly audible even from the end of the grand corridor that led to Celestia’s and Luna’s private rooms, and a moment later the door shook from a tremendous impact. “Don’t make me come after you!”

“Princess Celestia! It’s Twilight. Can I come in?” Twilight called through the door.

“Twilight? Twilight!” responded Celestia, before adding in a hungry tone. “Come in here, you scrumptious book horse you. I’ve got an… experiment I need you to conduct.”

It was the work of a moment for Twilight to open up the door to Celestia’s private rooms, and she was immediately taken aback at seeing the solar alicorn prancing in place like a little filly.

“Oh Twilight,” Celestia gushed, the smell of a mare’s arousal perfuming the room in a heavy blanket of scent. “You can’t begin to imagine all the things I’m about to teach you. That day we spent at Shaushka’s was only a primer to the full course of study I’m about to give you.”

“Are you okay, Princess Celestia?” Twilight asked, forcing herself to step into the room so that Cadance and her guards could come in behind her. “You and Luna seemed pretty out of it when I saw you earlier.”

“That potion Kibitz gave me has given me so much energy… and you brought Cadance with you. Along with several strapping stallions and some very lovely mares,” Celestia smirked, before her expression changed into a hungry smile of need and desire. “You always were an overachiever.”

Dozens of velvet ropes from tapestries and bed curtains appeared behind Celestia, wrapped in the golden glow of solar magic, only to drop to the floor as that magic sputtered and died.

“Well poop,” Celestia commented, as she stood amongst the fallen bindings. “I guess I’ll have to do this the old fashioned way.”

With that, the Alicorn of the Sun began to slowly stalk toward Twilight and her ponies with a hot hunger in her eyes. Twilight realized that she was left with one, final option.

“Lightning Strike. ‘Sunfall’ now!” Twilight commanded, and less than a breath later the pegasus guard complied, hurling a flask over Twilight’s shoulder and directly into Celestia’s chest.

“Oh? That’s how it’s going to be, is it?” Celestia cooed, as the symbiote splashed over her front and began to rapidly spread over her body. “I always knew you could go either—”

The princess moaned lewdly as the symbiote spread her ass cheeks so it could more easily force in the twin probes it used to not only tame and condition its captive, but also to monitor her health and harvest raw materials. Celestia’s hips began to move in a wide circle as she ground herself against the twin shafts, not even noticing as the symbiote bound her wings, furling them and sealing them away inside pockets of latex in the rapidly forming suit.

Only when the suit created a tall posture collar, forcing Celestia’s eyes forward, did the captive princess refocus her attention back to Twilight.

“Use me, Mistress,” Celestia begged, dipping her head the bare fraction her tight collar allowed. “Beat me, fuck me, use me as your submissive co—”

Whatever else Celestia was going to say was lost as the symbiote invaded her mouth with a phallic shaped gag that silenced any further words. As a final touch, Celestia’s eyes, so molten with desire, were covered with a thick latex blindfold as the last step of the total latex encasement of the solar alicorn.

“This is Control,” Twilight firmly stated, as she sealed a silver control collar around her former mentor’s neck, tightening the bondage around Celestia’s vulnerable throat just that much more. “Designate ‘Suit 002’, comply.”

“Control recognized. Suit 002 recognized,” came the voice from the collar. Still disconcertingly in the tones of Twilight Velvet.

“Suit 002, full physical and magical lockdown,” Twilight commanded, the suit slowly forcing Celestia’s now latex clad legs to curl underneath her body, where they then joined fully to her barrel to prevent any attempt at movement.

“Suit 002, status?” Twilight inquired, absently noting the utter silence in the room as all those present took in the inescapably bound form of the solar princess.

“High levels of arousal detected. High levels of unknown toxin detected. Unit 002 is attempting to achieve climax,” replied the voice of the control collar. “Command?”

“Suit 002, maintain lockdown. Remove medical probe except for checks every six hours. Do not permit Unit 002 to reach orgasm, but do NOT initiate training or conditioning routines. Begin chelation protocols. Begin,” Twilight ordered, her commands snapping out in rapid succession.

“Lightning Strike,” Twilight said, turning toward the guard. “Pick a detail of three other ponies to work under you. Your job is to protect Celestia at all costs. Make her as comfortable as you can, but touch her as little as possible. Understood?”

“Try not to touch her while protecting her with our lives,” the blue and white maned pegasus responded, snapping out a salute. “We won’t fail you, Princess.”

The determination in the pegasus’ eyes reminded Twilight that each and every member of her Guard was a volunteer. Sworn to stand behind her purely from the love and respect they had for her.

“Thank you,” Twilight said, putting a hoof on Lightning’s shoulder, before turning to look over at the other alicorn in the room. “C’mon Cadance, we had better go check on Luna…”

“Cadance?” Twilight asked. The Alicorn of Love hadn’t moved from where she stood in the room, staring at Princess Celestia’s bound and quivering form.

“I… uh… “ Cadance mumbled, before freeing herself from the mental spell the captured body of Celestia had spun around her mind with a strong shake of her head. “Sorry, seeing her like this reminded me of the times I’ve been in that position.”

“You going to be okay?” Twilight asked, feeling more than seeing the tension in her guards.

“Yeah, but Shining and Nightmare Rarity may have their hooves full tonight,” Cadance replied, fully coming back into her own, much to the relief of the guardponies around them.

Leaving Celestia in the care of Lightning Strike and her ad hoc squad, the two alicorns quickly made their way over to Luna’s chambers with the remainder of Twilight’s guards in tow. Though Luna and Celestia were sisters and shared ruling duties, they kept their private areas separate in part due to the occasional need for a pony in their positions to have some time completely alone, if they chose to be.

As Twilight and Cadance approached the door to Luna’s personal rooms a crashing sound caused both alicorns to burst through the door without so much as a knock, only to be stopped cold by what they saw.

Princess Luna, fur still askew and matted by her ordeal, was standing in the middle of the room surrounded by a veritable ocean of items meant to bind and pleasure a pony. Cuffs, collars, harnesses, whips, crops, bridles, and chains were strewn about the floor, along with a variety of dildos made in the images of every sapient species in the world. Everything from knotted stallion shafts to spiked griffon cocks were present in a mind boggling array of sizes and colours.

Currently Luna was holding a bridle with a series of integral inhibitor rings aloft in her magic. The Prussian blue alicorn had already hobbled both her front and rear legs with steel cuffs connected not by chains, but by metal bars. A thick leather harness with metal reinforcements had been locked onto her body and was connected to two walls and the floor with heavy chains, while an enameled posture collar forced the lunar alicorn to hold her head high.

“Twilight, Cadance, stay back!” Luna commanded, before slipping the bridle over her head, where an enchantment built into the headgear saw to the tightening and buckling of its straps. “I have and continue to be under a fearful compulsion and have but moments until it seizes my mind again. Hopefully these restraints will keep me in check, but if not, you must stop me at any cost. Tell Raven and Kibitz that the Eclipse Protocol is in effect. They will… they will…”

Twilight and Cadance both glanced at each other, as the expression on Luna’s face changed from fearful concern to hungry lust.

“I seem to have mislaid my keys,” Luna said, pulling sensuously at the suddenly taut tethering chains. “Could you please let me out so I can put them… I mean, so that I may find the keys?”

“Are you okay, Aunt—” Cadance began.

“RELEASE ME, AND I SHALL SHOW YOU THE TERRIBLE AND GLORIOUS PLEASURES WHICH ARE MINE TO BESTOW!” Luna shouted, her Canterlot Voice at full volume, raising her up into the air and pushing her self-imposed restraints to their limit.

“Nightlight, ‘Moonfall’ now!” Twilight ordered, to the waiting guard.

A moment later, a second symbiote laden container hurled through the air, where it immediately began to contain and encase Luna’s chained form, and though the Princess of the Night was both strong and powerful she was almost completely helpless already. All the symbiote had to do was bind and fold her wings against her sides to complete Luna’s capture.

“This is Control,” Twilight repeated, as she sealed a very tightly fitting control collar above the posture collar Luna was already wearing. “Designate ‘Suit 003’, comply.”

“Negative,” replied the collar, causing Twilight’s eyes to go wide in shock. “Wearer is recognized as Target Prime. Suit designation is ‘Suit Prime’. Initiating full control and conditioning protocols.”

“Countermand!” Twilight frantically ordered. “Do NOT engage conditioning protocols.”

“Unable to comply,” said the voice of the collar. “Prime directives are hardwired and cannot be countermanded.”

“Twilight, what’s wrong? Why isn’t it listening to you?” Cadance asked, as Twilight realized the enormity of her error.

“The Equestria the suits originally came from. The Celestia there had them created to turn her Luna into a submissive, obedient mare who would never, ever attempt to become Nightmare Moon again,” explained Twilight. “And all the symbiotes in Equestria are clones of that suit, and as you know, all the collars carry all the same base programming the original did.”

“With all the same imperatives,” Cadance added, realizing what was happening. “Is there anything we can do to stop—”

“Error. Error,” announced Luna’s collar. “Safety override in effect. Unknown toxin detected in Target Prime. Suspending conditioning protocols. Command?”

“Suit Prime, this is Control,” Twilight answered, her face an ocean of relief. “Full physical and magical lockdown. Begin chelation routines. Full chastity protocol. Suspend all conditioning and training protocols until further notice. Begin.”

“Complying,” responded the suit, as it forced Luna to her knees. Twilight wasn’t worried about the bindings Luna had applied to herself before she had arrived, as the suit was likely already starting to break them down in order to turn them into more suit material. Though it would likely take many hours before the thick chains tethering Luna to the walls succumbed.

“That was lucky,” Cadance commented, using her magic to slide some pillows underneath Luna in order to make her more comfortable.

“No kidding,” Twilight replied, breathing a sigh of relief. “Nightlight, you have the same orders as Lightning Strike. Put together a squad, protect Princess Luna with your lives. Do what you can to keep her comfortable.”

“Now we just need to find Raven or Kibitz and find out what this ‘Eclipse Protocol’ is all about,” Cadance said, using her magic to clear and organize some of the scattered sex toys.

“You don’t know?” Twilight asked, raising an eyebrow.

“As the ruler of the Crystal Empire, Princess Cadance wouldn’t have been told about the Eclipse Protocol,” said a new voice.

Both alicorns looked to the doorway, and there stood a dark maned unicorn with a light grey coat and a lunar medallion at her throat.

“I’m not sure we’ve met, Princess Twilight, but I’m Raven Inkwell,” stated the mare, who appeared to be calm and impassive, but whose sad eyes showed her true emotions. “I’m Princess Luna’s seneschal and personal secretary.”

“I wish we could have met under better circumstances,” Twilight replied. She wanted to do nothing more than pull the unicorn into a hug, but she respected Raven’s dedication to duty, and so held off. “What are these protocols, and why wouldn’t Cadance know about them?”

“Because while Princess Cadance is an ally, she is the ruler of a foreign power, and thus not in the line of succession,” Raven answered calmly, pulling out a scroll and checking something written on it.

“Line of succession?” Twilight asked, as a strong foreboding came over her.

“In the event that Princess Luna and Princess Celestia have both been killed or otherwise incapacitated, the Eclipse Protocols dictate that you, Princess Twilight Sparkle, are to become the unquestioned ruler of Equestria,” Raven explained, rolling the scroll back up and putting it away.

“WHAT?” Twilight demanded, her thoughts rolling in full churn as the implications of what Raven had just said bore down on her. Thoughts that froze harder than a glacier as Raven dropped into a deep curtsy.

“Hail to you, Twilight Sparkle,” Raven called out, her magic magnifying her words. “Hail to Princess Twilight, Ruler of Equestria. Long live the Twilight Princess!”

“Long live the Twilight Princess!” echoed the guard, dropping to their knees.

“Hail to you, Princess Twilight,” Cadance intoned, dropping into a light curtsy herself. “Hail to the ruler of Equestria.”

A shocked squeak was the only reply Twilight could muster.

Author's Note

I swear, some of these interludes are more intricate than the arcs between them, but actions have consequences, and those consequences deserve exploring.

Also, I've taken to streaming my attempts at gaming. Midnight to 2am Pacific Daylight Time, Saturday through Tuesday nights. Currently playing Once Human.

Link to Stream