How Twilight Sparkle Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Baddies

by Penalt

Rating: mature
Tags: Nightmare Moon, Princess Luna, Fetish, Non-consensual, Princess Celestia, Sex, Twilight Sparkle, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Dark, Alternate Universe
Length: 233802

Inspired by my story, "Loving the Nightmare" -- Twilight Sparkle travels to the alternate timelines she saw while chasing Starlight Glimmer. Seeking knowlege, she instead finds lust, passion, possession and desire.

This work inspired as an expanded take on my story "Loving the Nightmare"

After her battle with Starlight Glimmer across timelines. Twilight Sparkle and her new student seek to unravel the power of the spell that sent Twilight into alternate Equestrias. She crosses the dimensional barriers seeking knowledge on how those alternate Equestria's came to be and how they work.

Instead, she learns that no matter the world, the body of an alicorn is a treasure both lusted and fought for.

Original concept, sanity and initial editing by Door Belle
Proofreading by Sandstorm94, Coyotethetrickster and Rejara.

Published 2017-02-24 07:00:01 UTC
Last updated 2024-09-10 10:58:12 UTC

Cog, Part I

“I’ll be right back,” Twilight said as she powered up her horn to cast the dimensional travel spell. She and Starlight had crafted the pieces of Star Swirl’s spell into something that great mage had never intended, but it wasn’t so much new magic as it was rearranged magic.

Hmm, Twilight thought to herself, maybe we should rename the spell. ’Light’s Cross Time Casting’ has a nice ring to it, and that gives Starlight some credit for all the help she has given me on this. As if sensing Twilight’s thoughts were on her, Starlight called out from her safe area, where she crouched with Spike as they watched Twilight summon her power.

“Concentrate, Twilight!” yelled Starlight. “If you don’t get this right you could be scattered across dimensions!” Twilight nodded and refocused her concentration even as she formed the arcane construct in her mind. Forcing her will and intent onto the combined sorcery of the spell and the Cutie Map, she reached out across the streams and deltas of time with tendrils of raw chronomantic power. As she felt the spell latch onto its target Twilight unleashed its magic. It tore a rift in reality in the air above her, a hungry maw that sucked up air in a swirling vortex and lifted her from the floor like a toy.

“Good luck, Twilight!” Starlight yelled over the howling rush of wind that the vortex raised. Twilight gently rose aloft, borne on the winds of the vortex. There was a momentary disorientation as she passed through the event horizon of the spell. The wave of dizziness passed, though, as the spell worked as intended and spat Twilight out onto a bare hillside.

“Yes!” She had successfully jumped across timelines into the world that she had seen where Flim and Flam had taken over Sweet Apple Acres. She and Starlight had decided that particular world would be a safer test run than the worlds dominated by Nightmare Moon, Queen Chrysalis, or Tirek, and still have many interesting things to explore. Twilight looked around at the scenery surrounding her.

The torn stumps of trees stuck out from the ground around her at irregular intervals like broken matchsticks. There was a factory some distance away, its stacks choking the overcast sky with black smoke. Twilight could feel a scratchiness building in the back of her throat as whatever was in the air began to irritate it.

“Well,” said Twilight, with a cough to clear her throat, “I might as well have a look around. That factory makes a good landmark.” Course of action decided, the young alicorn started walking at a brisk pace toward the distant factory. The going was easy, as something had cleared the ground of every bush, tree and large rock that could have barred her progress.

Twilight had expected to reach the factory within half an hour, but after an hour, it was still a distant vision. As a foggy drizzle settled in, she realized that the sheer size of the factory must have thrown off her estimate of long it would take to get there. The scratchiness in her throat was getting worse and visibility was dropping rapidly, but just as the weather closed in completely she came across a smooth road made of a single sheet of tar-coated rock.

This should get me to that factory, Twilight thought. I can take shelter there until this weather lets up, then make my way back to the Cutie Map and head home. Following the road took Twilight past several long, wide pools whose far sides she couldn’t see. A sulfurous stench rose from those bubbling pools that seemed to cut through the air in spite of the drizzle. It was as she paused to consider what might be in those ponds that the creature attacked.

The beast roared as it plowed into Twilight, bowling her over and catapulting them both into the pond beside the road. Twilight kicked herself free of the creature’s grasp and rolled up to a standing position in the shallow muck and foul viscous liquid she was now coated in. For a long moment the two stared at each other, and Twilight got a good look at the creature.

The beast resembled an oversized diamond dog, but one with huge jaws, upthrust lower fangs, and a leprous yellow coat. Its forelegs were muscular with large, grasping forepaws, and its powerful hind legs were built for leaping or running. Twilight considered flying, but the dog-thing would be on her before she could get more than a body length above the ground. On an unknown world, in low visibility, teleportation was out as well. Twilight mentally prepared her shield spells and waited for the creature’s next move.

Letting out another bestial roar, the monster did as expected and charged forward again, claws sweeping to grasp and tear the pony before it. Twilight manifested a shield and was shocked when the animal nearly broke through, as it shattered sections of the mystic construct through sheer physical power. In response, she let loose an energy blast directly into the creature’s face, which seemed to have little effect other than enraging the creature further.

Over the next few minutes the two dueled and danced in the water and muck of the pond. Though the creature had come close a few times, Twilight had managed to block or evade its every attack. Once, she tried her trick of teleporting behind her opponent, which had worked well against Nightmare Moon in the past. The moment she disappeared, however, the beast whirled in place and lunged towards her. Only by throwing herself to the side did she manage to avoid the counter.

She could tell her return blasts were wearing the creature down. Unfortunately for her, she could also tell her that her own magic was weakening. Something in the pond water that now soaked her to the skin was eroding her ability with magic. Her blasts had less force, her shields were becoming weaker. That, combined with thing’s reaction to her teleport, told Twilight that her foe had fought magic users before. The initial shove into the pond had to have been intentional, then. It knew there was something in the pond that interfered with magic and had acted accordingly as part of an intentional pattern of attack.

Finally, the creature made a massive leap, coming down on Twilight from almost directly above, and she flashed out another shield to stop it. To her horror, it plowed straight through her weakened shield. She had a split second to think, I’m dead

Something slammed into the side of the beast, punching cleanly through it. The beast’s limp body landed on top of Twilight and drove her to the bottom of the pond, completely submerging her. After a second or two, she recovered from the impact and rolled the body off of her as she emerged from the pond water.

Standing in the barrel deep water, as she panted for breath, Twilight looked over at where the blast had come from, and recognized Flim and Flam. Barely twenty feet from her the brothers stood on the road, horns still smoking with the last traces of the combined blast they had fired into the beast attacking Twilight.

“Why look, brother mine,” said Flim, wearing a well fitting outfit of some strange material that left his distinctive face exposed. “We seem to have come across a lost foal.”

“Indeed,” said Flam, who wore a similar outfit, “we seem to have arrived in the proverbial nick of time for her.”

“Why brother,” said the first, “how could we not provide such a poor, pretty, purple pony, assistance in her hour of need.”

“Flim? Flam?” Twilight coughed. “Is that you two?”

“Why, she seems to have heard of us, brother,” said Flim.

“Who has not heard of the world famous Flim-Flam Brothers?” countered Flam.

Twilight waded towards the shore of the pond. As the surging adrenaline from the fight began to fade the aches and pains of combat began to make themselves known to her. Most particularly, Twilight started to take notice of a burning, itching sensation all over her body. Flim and Flam backed up from her.

“Please do not take this as an insult, my dear,” said Flim, as he backed up towards an enormous vehicle nearby. “But unless you have a decontamination shower nearby, please stay back.”

“Why?” asked Twilight. The burning and itching were getting worse, even as Flim and Flam’s reaction to her approach made her pause in mid-step.

“You’re completely covered in effluent from the factory,” said Flam. “Do you have any idea what is in that?”

“No…” said Twilight, as some genuine fear began to slide up her spine.

“Solvents, reagents, any number of chemicals,” said Flam. “But that isn’t the worst of it.”

“What is?” asked Twilight.

“Nullstone,” said Flim. “The effluent is full of nullstone dust.”

Twilight’s body froze in a gasp, even as her mind raced through the details of the hideous mineral. Nullstone, also known as Unicorn’s Bane, was a mineral native to the Crystal Empire and it was completely impervious to magic or magical effects. Applied directly to a unicorn, it could stop them from casting any spell at all. If ingested, the effect could become long term, even permanent, depending on the amount. Twilight had seen the effects of nullstone first hoof, when her brother was rendered magicless by King Sombra, who had jammed nullstone crystals into Shining’s horn. Shining had told her later that the entire time the crystals had been on his horn, it had burned and itched fiercely—just like her skin was right now.

“I don’t have a decontamination shower, or anything like that,” said Twilight. But she remembered the desire for profit that had always seemed to drive the unicorn brothers onward in her world. “I would be willing to pay for your help.”

“Oh, I don’t know, my dear,” said Flim. “Brother, dare we take the risk?"

“Perhaps we should, brother, despite the great risk and cost,” said Flam. He then asked Twilight, “How much would you be able to pay?”

“Well,” said Twilight, who then realized she had lost all of her gear during the battle with the creature. “Um...I don’t seem to have any bits on me at the moment, I’m afraid.”

“That is certainly quite the pickle then,” said Flam. “What to do? Any ideas, brother of mine?”

“Hmm,” said Flim, pondering for a moment. “I have it! My dear, would you be willing to work off the value of what it would cost us to take care of you? A proper decontamination does use some expensive materials, after all.”

“Brother!” interjected Flam. “Are you sure we should that? She is an alicorn, after all.”

“As long as she signs an employment contract, making everything legal, there shouldn’t be any problems,” said Flim. As she watched the exchange between the pair, Twilight could feel the itching and burning on her skin getting worse. The sensation, like fiery ants walking over her flesh, decided the issue for her. Besides, a few days or weeks spent here could be erased in an instant by using the time travel component of the dimensional travel spell.

“Look,” said Twilight, interrupting the brothers’ back-and-forth. “As long as it’s nothing illegal, I’m more than willing to work off the cost of getting myself cleaned off.”

“See,” said Flim, to his brother. “She is willing to sign on, and we can always use some help with the Speedy 6000.”

“You do have a point, brother,” said Flam, whose magic pulled a fairly large scroll out from a pocket. “My dear, this is a standard work for goods contract. Before I ask you to sign, I have to ask if you just want the decontamination shower, or would you like us to fit you with one of our custom environment suits as well?”

“How long of a term of employment are we talking about?” asked Twilight, fighting the urge to start scratching for about a week straight.

“Let’s see.” Flam took out a pencil and paper and wrote down a few numbers. “Doing basic labour, you should earn enough gross funds to pay for the shower and the suit in about five weeks. Of course, you do get to keep the suit afterwards. It’s a self-powering, self-regenerating, top of the line model and it will keep you safe in almost any environment.” Twilight thought it over for a moment, trying to think clearly past the discomfort she was in. Five weeks was longer than she had planned to stay here. But she would come out of it with a prime example of this world’s technology and, she reminded herself, when she went home all she had to do was jump back in time as well and it would be like no time at all had passed.

“All right,” Twilight said. “Sign me up for the suit as well, but let’s get on with it. This itching is starting to drive me mad.” Flam made a few alterations to the contract, and floated it over to Twilight. She grasped it in her magic, barely. The nullstone was massively interrupting her magical abilities already. Embarrassed by her poor ability with magic, Twilight quickly signed the document and floated it back to Flam, the scroll bobbing up and down as the nullstone coating her body interfered more and more with her power.

“Very well then, my dear,” said the unicorn stallion, gesturing. “If you will just come around to the back here, we can get you cleaned off and suited up for your new role.” Twilight followed Flam around to the back of the vehicle.

“If you will stand right here, the Speedy 6000 will have you decontaminated and suited up in one of our patented environment suits in a jiffy,” said Flam, indicating a spot under an awning of some sort that had come out from the back end of his vehicle. Twilight could see a variety of nozzles coming out of the awning, no doubt to provide the required shower.

“Open your mouth please, my dear,” said Flam. Twilight complied, and as she did, Flam levitated some sort of rubber muzzle over her face. The device had some sort of semi-flexible tube that extended into her mouth and sat on her tongue, holding it down. She involuntarily shied at the device binding itself to her with all the buckles and straps coming off of it, and she shook her head, spitting the device back out.

“Stop that, please,” said Flam, with a tone of annoyance. “We need to secure your airway and make sure you don’t inhale or ingest any more nullstone during the shower.”

On hearing that, Twilight opened her mouth again in compliance, and did her best to hold still. Flam once more levitated the regulator toward Twilight, and she felt the rigid tube slide down her mouth again. It stopped a little short of the back of her mouth and Flam’s magic wrapped straps around the outside of her muzzle, clamping her jaws together around the air tube. Similar straps were buckled around the back of her head, preventing the air piece from falling off. With the device in her mouth, Twilight automatically tried to breath through her nose, and started to flail a bit in panic when she could not.

“Just breathe through your mouth,” said Flam, in reassuring tones. Twilight calmed down enough to obey him and sucked on the tube in her mouth as cool, clean air flowed through the tube and into her lungs. The influx of fresh air was glorious, like breathing in a cool mountain stream. Twilight felt herself relax, the oxygen making her a little giddy.

“Excellent. Now, perhaps for the next part, you might want to close your eyes,” said Flam. Twilight cocked her head and hummed a question toward Flam, who seemed to understand.

“I’m told the process can be a little disorienting, plus keeping your eyes closed will make sure nothing gets in them,” said Flam. “We wouldn’t want you to damage or dislodge your air line in a panic now, would we?” Twilight nodded, the drag of the tube on her muzzle making her aware of her connection to the vast machine in front of her. But, even as she noted the concern, it felt distant and unimportant in comparison to breathing and getting the burning chemicals and dust out of her coat. Twilight sighed, nodded, and closed her eyes.

“Stand as still as you can,” said Flam, unseen on one side. “The process is completely automatic and shouldn’t take more than a couple of minutes.” As he said the words, Twilight began to hear a whirring, clunking sound from in front of her and a moment later she could feel herself being deluged in a proverbial flood of liquid. The fluids hit her from all sides in a vast torrent.

Under the deluge of water and whatever passed for soaps, Twilight saw why the air line was so important and why it had to fit so snugly. The brothers had been honest, for once—without it, she would certainly drown, swallow nullstone dust, or both. The pounding liquid around her was heated and its warmth seemed to soak into her limbs, making them feel lazy and heavy. After a few minutes the pounding water stopped and equally warm, equally vast torrents of air blew over her and dried her off with great efficiency.

“Keep your eyes closed,” Twilight heard Flam say from somewhere nearby. “The suit applicator is about to start. Brace yourself. The process can be somewhat...invasive.” Even as he spoke the words Twilight could feel her body being enveloped by some sort of cool, slick substance. It took every ounce of her self-control to hold still, as she felt the substance being massaged over her entire body from hoof to horn. She even felt the slickness being rubbed over, and slightly into, her slit and tailhole. Whatever it was that was massaging the substance onto her body felt like hundreds of little tongues all over her, and Twilight shuddered as they massaged her clit, and in their wake they left the suit material firmly pressed against her hot button.

He wasn’t kidding when he said “invasive Twilight thought. She felt a hard band of the suit substance wrap around the first few inches of her dock, and could feel her tail being tugged high giving a sensation that reminded her very much of a dominant stallion pulling her onto his loins. Combined with the pressure over her sensitive areas and the stimulation on her clit, it caused a frisson of pleasure to roll through her, and she moaned into the air tube in her mouth. With her eyes closed, she could almost picture herself being taken from behind by one stallion while she pleasured another with her mouth.

The fantasy only deepened as another pair of bands of the suit tightened around her wing roots and massaging the sensitive muscles there. In her mind’s eye the stallion mounting Twilight from behind had now grabbed onto her wings for purchase as he rubbed up against her moistening passage. The pleasant fantasy occupied Twilight’s mind while the suit finished being applied to her, and it was with a little disappointment she heard Flam telling her she could open her eyes.

“Well, it certainly sounded like you were enjoying yourself, Six One Four,” said Flam, who then held up a mirror. “Why don’t you have a look at yourself.”

Why is he calling me “Six One Four?” Twilight thought. Oh, of course, I never actually told them my name. He must be calling me by an employee number. Twilight lifted a foreleg and looked in the mirror. She was covered in a slick black material that clung to every surface of her body. Hair-thin silver lines flowed along the contours of the suit, drawing the eye naturally to the sleek lines of her barrel, legs and neck. When Twilight had first moved to Ponyville, she had carried a little excess weight, but that had been replaced by lean muscle during the course of her adventures, and this suit showed it all off—revealing nothing, but offering everything.

Twilight could still feel the tightness over her plot and she looked over her back. Through the mirror she could see the suit pressing in past the outer lips of her plot and her tailhole, as her tail was flagging high and out of the way. She tried to lower her tail to cover her privates but the firm grasp of the suit around her dock thwarted the attempt. It was then that she noticed that, in the process of the application, her wings had been folded, wrapped in pockets of suit material and tucked against her side. Twilight turned her head back toward Flam to get an explanation, just in time for him to close a collar around her neck, right at the top of the suit, just under her jawline. The collar locked tightly in place around her throat with an authoritative “click.”

“This isn’t right, I need to get out of here,” Twilight thought muzzily, powering up her horn for a quick teleport away. Or rather, she tried to power up her horn. Even as she summoned up her power she felt it being drained away as fast as she could bring it into being. Magical escape thwarted, Twilight turned to run, but was brought up short by the air line connecting her to Flim and Flam’s vehicle.

“I have the strength of an earth pony,” thought Twilight as she tried to cudgel her soggy brain into action. “Why can’t I break away? Why can’t I think clearly?” Then, adrenaline came to her rescue, jump starting her brain, and everything added up: the fantasy, her slow mind, her body’s reactions, and the collar. “This isn’t employment,” she thought as she looked for a way out. “It’s debt slavery and they’re drugging me so I can’t resist!”

Flam smiled slightly at her escape attempt but then he noticed the strain on the air line and frowned. Even with the gas, the pony in front of him was doing a good job of trying to break free.

“614 suit,” he said, in a clear voice, “Engage level one discipline mode, twenty second duration, begin.” Twilight’s mind whited out with pain as the entire suit around her body began to deliver a constant electrical shock over every inch that it covered. She tried to remain standing but the suit seemed to directly stimulate her leg muscles, curling them up against her body and neatly stopping her physical escape attempt. After a seeming eternity of pain, the shocks stopped and Twilight looked up at her captor, even as he clipped a wire cable to either side of her collar. Unable to speak past the air tube in her mouth, she whined a complaint to Flam, begging for her release, or even an explanation.

“Now, now, 614,” said Flam. “This was in the fine print of your employment contract. We are allowed use whatever means we deem fit to enforce the terms of your contract. Up you get, or I’ll have to use the suit override and have it walk you in.” As he spoke, a large door opened up in the back of the vehicle, and the two cables attached to her collar pulled taut. Realizing that escape, at least for the moment, was impossible, Twilight got to her covered hooves and walked forward into the vehicle. The cables kept up a gentle, yet insistent pull on her, keeping themselves taut to ensure that she kept moving forward.

Twilight stepped into the brightly lit interior of the vehicle, aware that she was now fully under the control of Flim and Flam. The cables allowed her to pause for a moment as the door slowly closed behind her, and she took that moment to look around. She was on a metal walkway in a fairly large space. The cable leashes were reeling into a metal post on either side of the roughly twenty foot long walkway, which ended at a ladder going up to a metal hatch. On either side of the walkway were alcoves, roughly five feet long by as many high and about half of them had ponies in them. There were all suited and bound similarly to her, with collars, air systems strapped to their heads and tails held high. Unlike her, the other ponies also had helmets, a pair of lines coming from their rears, and from what else she could see some of them they were walking in place on treadmills.

The cables began to pull her forward again, and Twilight obeyed their pull as they drew her to a point between the two metal posts the cables emerged from. They drew fully taut, tethering her securely between the posts. Behind her, the door clanged shut behind her and she could hear hoofsteps behind her. At least her head was clearing. Either they had stopped drugging her air, now that they had her, or the adrenaline from the shocks had done the job.

“Welcome to the company, 614,” said Flim as he came into her line of vision. “I’m sure you have a few questions at this point and I would love to hear them, but sad to say I’ve discovered that few ponies in your position want to actually ask questions, so I will cover the important points relating to your life from this point on.” Twilight tried to grunt a question but Flim simply carried on with his speech, as he levitated the contract Twilight had signed into view.

“We’ve sold you one of our top of the line environmental suits and performed an expensive service for you,” Flim began. “In exchange, you have agreed to a period of indentured servitude, until you have paid off the value of the suit and materials. You have also agreed to perform whatever service or work we require, in whatever manner we require, at the legal rate of three hundred bits per month. Less, of course, expenses for provided food, lodging, healthcare, maintenance, training and, of course, air. On average, these deductions run about fifteen bits a day.”

Twilight did some quick math in her head, and realized that at the rates quoted she would actually lose ground on her supposed debt, on a monthly basis. She couldn’t talk, but she was able to growl her displeasure at the unicorn in front of her.

“Now, now, 614,” said Flim in a condescending voice. “There are always optional ‘services’ that you can provide, for bonus payments to your account, and good work is always rewarded.” He paused, then said, “614 suit, engage reward mode, type three, one minute duration, begin.” As he said the word “begin,” the suit around Twilight came alive, rippling, massaging and tugging, all on its own. The enjoyable wave of stimulation slowly rolled down Twilight’s body. For some reason, her inability to resist what was being done to her made the pleasure even more intense. She moaned, as her nipples were rubbed and tugged rhythmically, and as the wave of stimulation kneaded its way onto her vaginal opening and clit, she couldn’t help but wish that there was something solid inside of her that she could clench down on.

“I see you understand, 614,” said Flim, whose growing stallionhood showed he had noticed Twilight’s reaction to his reward. “For now, I think you would be best placed as part of the powertrain for the Super Speedy Cyber Slaver 6000. As such, your new employee designation is 614-Cog.” He turned to some controls and activated them.

Twilight heard a whirring sound from above, and she saw a metal frame in the shape of a cross-sectioned I-beam descend toward her from the ceiling. The padded bars of the frame latched around her barrel, just behind her shoulders and just in front of her hips. The frame then lifted her slightly, suspending her just above the floor. Twilight’s pegasus reactions tried to kick in but the suit held her wings securely and all she could do was tremble at the sensation of being held in mid-air.

“First, 614-Cog,” said Flim, as he unclipped the wire cables from her collar, “we need get your fitting finished.”

Finished? Twilight asked herself, in the vault of her mind. I’m suspended in a claw, gagged and muzzled, collared and wearing a suit that can control my body. What else is there? Then, Twilight saw the pair of black cylinders Flim was bringing towards her. She might not have been hugely experienced, but she knew what a ten inch dildo looked like and she damn well knew where a tailed butt plug went.

“614 suit,” said Flim, “dilate rear openings, begin.” A moment later Twilight felt cool air across her nethers, and thankfully she could see Flim applying some sort of lubricant to the shafts he was about to put into her. He started pushing the tail plug into her first.

“Just breathe, 614-Cog,” said Flim. “This will deal with your waste.” He slowly pressed the plug into her, and she felt her ring of muscle give way gradually before the onslaught, she realized then, that what she thought was a tail on the plug, was actually a set of hoses.

It’s an enema plug, realized Twilight. They don’t even have to release me to go to the bathroom. The plug slid into her back passage, filling her and giving her a fullness both strange and pleasant. Then she felt the dildo being guided into her sex. Flim was being neither gentle nor rough, sliding it into her with a firm, slow push that gave her body time to stretch and adjust to the shafts now filling both her most sensitive openings. Twilight rolled her hips as much as the claw holding her would allow, so that she could settle the intruders. But instead of settling the shafts into a comfortable position, they instead began to stoke a fire in belly.

It must be the drugs. I...I can’t be enjoying this, Twilight thought to herself, as denial moved toward desire. He’s making me respond to him against my will. Like I’m some sort of beast of burden, like an animal, his animal. Twilight’s rear legs futilely bicycled in mid-air and the motion furiously rubbed the wall of flesh between the plug and dildo. The fire in her belly grew to a raging inferno as the stimulation within her body began to drive her closer and closer to orgasm.

“614 suit,” said Flim, his shaft now fully dropped from its sheath, “link and lock with the cleaning plug and medical probe, begin. 614 suit, engage reward mode, type one, continuous duration, begin.” Twilight felt her suit close back in against the bases of the twin shafts, locking them inside of her and then...then the shafts began to piston back and forth, their alternating strokes filling her, stroking her, pushing deep inside. All will to resist melted away in the inferno of lust that now filled Twilight right down to her core. Twilight barely noticed Flim delicately threading fresh air lines down her nostrils and a feeding tube down her throat. The slight stinging sensation, as Flim made her bondage even more permanent and inescapable, was the last push that threw Twilight over the edge, and with no other option but to endure she let her mind go, and surrendered utterly to the pleasure within her.

Sweet Celestia, yes! Take me, use me. Use every part of me! screamed Twilight, as best she could. The tubes down her mouth and throat not only trapped her tongue, but also her vocal cords, rendering any sort of speech impossible. But as orgasm after orgasm ripped through Twilight’s body and mind, she neither noticed nor cared. She was an animal now, a creature of nerve endings and feelings, of instincts and desires. Logic and conscious thought had no place in the creature that had been Twilight Sparkle just then.

Some time later, sentience and reason returned and she came back to herself. Both plugs were still a pleasant fullness within her, but neither they nor her suit was doing anything to actively stimulate her. Twilight still hung in the padded grip of the claw holding her, and her legs dangled limply toward the floor. Flim was still there as well, looking somewhat oddly at her, and Twilight noticed that he had climaxed as well, a fan of ropy white cum lay on the floor between the two of them where he had shot his load not just once, but multiple times, in appreciation of Twilight’s orgasmic surrender.

“Well, 614-Cog,” Flim said, a little out of breath, “that was taken very well. I’m sure my brother and I will be more than happy to offer you some extra ‘work’ in the next few days. But for now, let’s get this wrapped up.” His magic tapped a few controls and Twilight felt pureed food and water enter her stomach to restore her lost energy. Flim then placed some sort of helmet on her head and she could feel him plugging something into it. Once he had done that, Flim tapped another control and the claw holding Twilight began to lift her up and away, likely toward her own alcove. A visor attached to the helmet dropped in front of her eyes, cutting off her vision and a pleasant female voice began to talk in her ears.

“Welcome to Flim Flam Industries. Listen and obey. A good pony obeys. An obedient pony is rewarded. A rewarded pony is a happy pony. Listen and obey. A good pony obeys...”

Author's Note

Some of you may be a little disappointed that Twilight didn't immediately head over to Nightmare Moon's world. But, as I was starting to write this, Her Highness told me that her safety protocols would never allow for the initial test jump to be made to Nightmare Moon's world. No matter how intriguing it is. However, she told me that Nightmare Moon's timeline is definitely on her list of "whens" that she wants to visit.

Huge shout-out to Door Belle, who caught me about to make a classic writing mistake at the last second and then proceeded to edit this chapter with a hammer, a flamethrower and massaged my brain with a Clue by Four.

And no, this is not the end for Twilight. Her story continues.

Cog, Part II

“Congratulations, 614-Cog,” said the pleasant female voice, “you have reached quota. Prepare for cool down cycle.” Twilight breathed a sigh of relief at the words, even as the treadmill beneath her hooves began to slow down. The pastoral scene that had been pictured in her visor for the past two hours began to be overlain with the words ‘Cool Down’, and over the next few minutes Twilight was allowed to slow herself down from a trot, to a walk and finally, stop.

This had been her routine for the past three days. Four hours of walking on a treadmill at various paces, broken into two hour shifts, interspersed with four hours of channeling magic, also broken into two hour shifts. Between each two hour period she was fed and watered via the tube leading into her stomach and allowed to rest while ‘The Voice’—as she had come to call it—reminded her to listen and obey, that to obey was to be good and that to be good was to be rewarded. 614 liked being rewarded.

I am not Six One Four, Twilight reminded herself sternly, as she shook her head to clear it of the thoughts the constant conditioning was trying to place within her. Though my body is now caged, my mind will be the key to my freedom. Twilight repeated the mantra to herself five times, completely breathing out at the end of each repetition, reinforcing the line of mental defence.

Flim and Flam aren’t just trying to condition me into accepting what they’ve done, thought Twilight. They want me as an unthinking animal. A barely sentient pony grateful to her owners for simple food and water. I wonder when they stopped looking at those around them as ponies and started looking at them as things to be used. Twilight’s reverie was interrupted as the Voice spoke to her again.

“614-Cog,” said the Voice in her ears, “you have been an obedient pony. Obedient ponies are good ponies, good ponies are rewarded. You have earned a reward. Flam has offered to conduct an early employee review with you. Or you may carry out an extra two hour shift to credit to your account. Or you may receive Reward Mode one.”

The Voice paused to give the captive pony a moment to consider her options, then said, “To select employee review, stomp a hoof twice. To select extra work, take two steps forward. To select Reward Mode, take two steps back.” Twilight thought over her choices for a moment and then made her decision, stomping her left front hoof down twice.

“You have selected the employee review,” said the Voice. “To confirm, stomp a hoof twice.” Doing as asked Twilight stomped her hoof twice.

“Employee review confirmed,” said the Voice, even as Twilight’s suit made a ripple along her spine that made it feel like she was being stroked from mane to dock. “614-Cog is a good pony. Good ponies are rewarded.” Although Twilight could not see past the image her helmet’s visor was still showing in front of her eyes, she could hear the whirring sound of something approaching her and could feel the vibration of gears. A moment later she exhaled in surprise as something clamped onto her body behind her shoulders and ahead of her hips.

It must be that claw, thought Twilight, even as she felt herself being lifted and carried through the air. She made no attempt to fight against the claw as she knew its grip was implacable and after about a minute Twilight again felt something solid beneath her hooves.

“Please don’t struggle, 614,” said a familiar voice. “614’s records show that she has been obedient recently, but 143 has seen all the tricks.” Twilight felt something being done to the helmet on her head and then it was lifted away. She looked around as her eyes began to process her actual surroundings for the first time in three days. She was no longer in Flim and Flam’s vehicle, but rather in some huge, cavernous building. Banks of ponies were all around her, helmeted, collared and sealed in suits similar to Twilight’s. Some of the ponies were pacing away on treadmills, some were channeling either unicorn or pegasus magic. Ahead, Twilight could see other ponies, suited like she was, working at huge machines for some unknown purpose.

In front of Twilight, facing away from her, was a unicorn wearing the now ubiquitous suit and tight metal collar. “143” was stamped on the collar the azure blue unicorn in front of her was wearing and as the pony levitated a pair of wire cable leads she turned and Twilight recognized the face of Trixie Lulamoon.

“143 thanks 614 for not trying to struggle or fight,” said Trixie, locking the leads to either side of Twilight’s collar. Twilight noticed that the leads were in turn locked to either side of Trixie’s own collar and Twilight doubted very much that Trixie had the ability to unlock any of the cables from their attachment points.

“614 will follow 143 when the claw releases 614,” said Trixie, or ‘143’ as she referred to herself. “143 realizes that 614 is stronger than 143 and could easily overpower 143. 614 is advised not to do so as 143’s dead weight would hamper any escape attempt, which would fail and thus result in punishment.” Trixie paused, paced a step forward until she was nose to nose with Twilight and in a very quiet voice said, “Please be good, they would punish me as well if you tried to run, and 143 doesn’t know if she could stand another punishment.”

The claw released Twilight, and lifted up and away. 143/Trixie busied herself by unsnapping the connection points for Twilight’s air line’s and feeding tubes. Twilight found she was able to breath through the large tube that was still held in her mouth by the muzzle she wore. As Trixie finished securing Twilight’s feed lines Twilight reached out and placed her hoof on Trixie’s shoulder. The azure mare froze at the contact, looking first at the hoof on her shoulder and then at Twilight who nodded and smiled at Trixie. Trixie wasn’t able to see the smile through the muzzle Twilight wore of course, but she understood the gesture Twilight was making.

“143 thanks 614 for her understanding,” said Trixie. “Please, follow 143.” Turning back, Trixie began to lead off and Twilight, keeping the unspoken promise she had made to the showmare, followed meekly along, ensuring that she kept the lead lines between her and her guide somewhat loose. Trixie lead the two-mare coffle off of what was a work floor and into what was likely an administration area. The pair walked down a long corridor made of dark wood and dim lights which ended at a very sturdy door guarded by a pair of heavily armed and armored guard ponies. The ponies trained a pair of weapons on Trixie and Twilight as they approached and Trixie came to a halt ten feet away from the ponies, her hooves stopping on a red line painted on the floor.

“143-Admin escorting 614-Cog for employee review,” said Trixie, without any sort of prompting from either guard. The guards consulted a list in front of them and must have liked what they heard, because they snapped their weapons up to a guard position as the door opened up and light spilled into the corridor from the room beyond. Trixie led Twilight past the guards and through the door into a brilliantly lit room. As the door closed behind Twilight, Trixie stopped again and re-announced herself and Twilight to the room’s lone occupant.

The room itself was very well appointed, as luxurious as anything Twilight had seen used by Princess Celestia. The floor and walls had been built from a warm, dark wood that gleamed where it had been oiled and waxed to a high polish. The floor had a long, deep red carpet leading from the door to the foot of a great wooden desk that stood at the room’s far end, some twenty paces away. A light stand stood in each corner of the room shedding brilliant golden light which illuminated several paintings that Twilight recognized from the Canterlot Museum of Art. The ceiling was a single mural made of precious and semi-precious stones depicting Flim and Flam standing on a mountain top overlooking all of Equestria.

A tug on Twilight’s collar took her attention from the room around her, back to what was directly in front of her. She followed in Trixie’s wake as she was lead up the carpet toward the desk, where she could see Flam sitting. As she was drawn close to the desk Twilight realized that it had been hewed and carved from the trunk of a single massive apple tree. She had seen enough of what apple wood looked like at Sweet Apple Acres not to recognize it now.

Trixie pulled Twilight to within a few paces of the desk at what must have been a designated spot, then with practiced smoothness, knelt in front of the desk. The tethers linking the two mares pulled downwards on Twilight and she decided to go along with the situation and knelt herself. As she did, she heard Shining Armor’s voice in her head. After what he had gone through with Chrysalis, Shining Armor had spent several evenings with Twilight, making sure she would have the preparation he had not, in case she ever found herself in a similar situation.

“If you are a captive and escape isn’t an immediate option,” Shining had told her, “always do your best to appear less capable, and less intelligent than you actually are. Obey your captors, do anything they ask of you, say anything you think they want to hear from you. Let your enemies make the mistake of underestimating you and your chance will come.”

Thanks BBBFF, thought Twilight, and she bowed her head low in subservience until her bound horn touched the floor just behind the cornflower and cerulean waterfall of Trixie’s tail. Twilight felt some fiddling at her collar and flicked her eyes over to see a new pair of tethers lift from the floor and attach, even as the lines binding her to Trixie were released.

“Return to your scheduled work, 143,” said Flam. “You’ll be called when it’s time for 614 to return to her place.”

“143 understands,” said Trixie, who stood up from in front of Twilight and walked from the room. Twilight kept her head and eyes down, deliberately keeping a submissive posture.

“614-Cog,” Flam said, and Twilight could hear sheets of paper being moved back and forth. “Joined us three days ago, had some mild nullstone poisoning, since cured. Hmm, says here you had to be disciplined thirty-six times on your first day of work.” Twilight remembered. The disciplining shocks had been brutal, but the complete loss of control over her body when the suit directly stimulated her muscles had been worse.

“The next day, 614,” continued Flam, “you worked hard, made quota and then did extra work. Today, you also made quota.” Twilight could hear papers being set back down on the desk. “You seem to have gotten used to your new position with remarkable speed,” said Flam. “So, I wanted to have a chat with you, 614.” Twilight decided to take a risk and looked up.

Flam had set down his sheaf of papers and was looking at Twilight with an intent gaze. Like his brother before him, Flam seemed to be entranced by the ripple and flow of Twilight’s healthy physique. Particularly as it was set off by the skin tight glossy black suit that was locked onto the mare’s body. Rendered mute by her muzzle and tubes all Twilight could do was tilt her head and return his regard. Flam himself was in good shape for a business pony. Not over muscled, not overweight, but a nice middle ground of active maturity.

“Would you like to be allowed to talk, 614?” asked Flam. Twilight gave a firm nod in answer.

“Will you be obedient? Will you be good?” asked Flam. In answer, Twilight again bowed her head in full obeisance to show her submission. The seconds stretched by as Flam seemed to be undecided on what he should do.

C’mon Mr. Bad Pony, thought Twilight. You’ve got an alicorn in bondage, on her knees in front of you and being submissive. Be a little nice to her and she might be a little nice to you. Then, Twilight heard the scrape of Flam’s chair on the floor as he pushed it back, having made his decision.

“614 suit,” said Flam as he began to walk around his desk, “lock.” As Flam said that last word Twilight felt the suit around her become completely rigid, locking her in place and ensuring she couldn’t move a hoof. “Lift your head 614,” said Flam. Twilight tilted her head, and she saw Flam’s magic grasp the three lines that were threaded deep within her.

“Breathe normally, no matter what,” Flam said, “and try to relax.” Then, with skill born of practice, Flam pulled the air and feeding tubes from his captive in one smooth motion. Twilight coughed and sputtered as best she could from the sensations as she felt her vocal cords slamming shut, after having been held open for three days straight. It felt good and Twilight hummed from the sheer joy of being able to make a sound through her mouth again.

“Almost done, 614,” said Flam, as he set the tubes aside on his desk. His horn lit anew and Twilight could see his aura playing over the straps on the muzzle holding her mouth closed. The straps released, and Flam drew the large tube that protected Twilight’s airway from her mouth. “Don’t try to talk yet,” said Flam in a warning tone. Twilight nodded her compliance to Flam, and she settled for working her stiff jaw. Flam stroked her head and mane while she did, making what sounded like soothing noises. After a minute or so, he stopped and levitated over what appeared to be a glass of milk with a straw in it.

“Drink this, it will help your throat feel better,” he said, holding the straw to her mouth. Twilight didn’t need to be told twice, she took the straw in her mouth and pulled on it greedily. The cool, smooth relief of the milk felt wonderful sliding down her throat and Flam held the glass in place as the captive mare in front of him finished the drink. Twilight could see his eyes taking on a predatory gleam as he watched her throat work.

“There you go,” he said, finally, pulling away the now empty glass. “Now then, 614, we are going to keep this simple. I’m going to let you ask a few questions, and I’m going to ask you a few questions. You should know, this isn’t something we usually do, but running across a random alicorn isn’t something that happens every day. So, tell me the truth, and I’ll do the same. I think you know what will happen if you lie.”

“Yes, Master,” said Twilight, keeping up the submissive pose, “614 won’t lie.” Two seconds later Twilight cried out in pain as Flam had the suit shock her via a control on his desk.

“That was a warning, 614,” said Flam. “I know you aren’t that trained yet. And don’t call me ‘Master’, ‘Sir’ will do just fine.”

“Yes sir,” stammered out Twilight as the pain receded. “Sorry sir, I just thought that is how you wanted me to talk.”

“Not until you mean it,” said Flam. “First question, are you really an alicorn? Or some sort of strange hybrid.”

“I’m an alicorn,” said Twilight, in answer. “I ascended a few years ago after I completed a spell of Star Swirl the Bearded. May I ask a question now, sir?”

“Normally, I would say ‘yes’ and count that as the question,” said Flam. “But I’m a generous pony. Ask your question.”

“What, exactly, do you have locked onto my body?” asked Twilight.

“Oh, you are a smart one, aren’t you?” asked Flam, rhetorically. “You’re wearing a genuine Flim Flam Biosuit™. It’s made from a living latex that monitors your vital signs, can move your body for you if needed, and it will protect you from most hazardous environments, including a combat environment. The suit feeds itself from your own body heat and magic, and it uses your own discarded fur, skin and, fluids to repair and replenish itself. The collar locked to your throat, as you’ve likely guessed, is the control unit for the suit. Once bonded to its wearer, which takes about a day, the suit can remain in place forever. Over time it will adapt itself more and more to the pony wearing it, enhancing their strength, speed, endurance and overall health.”

“That’s incredible,” said Twilight, looking down at her body. “May I move a bit, sir?”

“Of course, dear. 614 suit, unlock,” said Flam, and the suit released its implacable grip on the alicorn. “Now for my question, young alicorn. I want to buck you, long and hard, what do you say?”

“Depends, sir,” said Twilight, as she regained her hooves and flexed her limbs. The tethers on either side of her collar pulled taut reminding her that she was still a captive. To outright refuse Flam could be dangerous, but to simply give in to what was essentially rape was anathema. But the way Flam was going about this was odd. He had the power to simply *take* what he wanted from Twilight's body and had arranged things so that he had that level of power over her. Perhaps she could find a middle ground by framing things in a context Flam could understand and relate to. “What’s in it for me?” she asked.

“Hah!” exclaimed Flam, barking a laugh. “A pony after my own heart. What would you like in exchange?”

“Well,” said Twilight thinking frantically, “I’m fairly sure that ‘let me go’ isn’t an option.”

“No,” said Flam, with a chuckle. “A contract is a contract. You are physically and legally bound to us. At least for now.”

“If I gave myself to you, fully,” said Twilight, looking up at Flam. “Would that be enough payment to fulfill my contract?”

“To be honest,” said Flam, “no. It would buy you about a quarter of your debt though.” Flam’s horn lit and Twilight could hear buttons being pressed on the suit remote he had there. To Twilight’s intense relief her suit didn’t begin to shock her. Instead, it made that rippling motion down her spine. From the base of her neck, down to her dock. It felt as if somepony was running their hoof down her back, all the way.

“What are you doing?” said Twilight, as the motion repeated and she felt her breath growing a little quicker.

“Negotiating, 614,” said Flam, grinning. “You always use every advantage you have in a negotiation.” Some more button sounds and Twilight began to feel light pinches moving down her body. They felt as if...somepony was kissing their way down her body. It felt good and Twilight hummed in appreciation.

“Ah...okay,” said Twilight, ignoring the sensations and the beginnings of warmth in her sealed nethers. “I don’t want to be bucked, but I do want to be allowed to actually eat and drink.” More clicking sounds came from the desk and the rubbing and kissing sensations moved to her flanks and inner thighs. The feelings began to move from pleasant to arousing and she could feel the first flickers of desire begin to grow in her.

“Is that all, my little alicorn?” asked Flam, his grin widening.

“No,” said Twilight, shifting her weight from side to side. “Unless it has to be done to preserve my life, no air lines and no tubes shoved into me. G...gag me, muzzle me, bit and bridle me if you have to, but at least let me control my breathing.” More clicks and now it felt like the invisible stallion was licking her lower lips. Light, teasing strokes, that started getting her warm and wet. Twilight could feel herself begin to clench around the probes inside her holes.

I can’t be enjoying this, thought Twilight feeling her cheeks burn with embarrassment as her body reacted to the stimulation and she heard herself moan in arousal. But...it...it feels so good. Does this mean I want to be a slave, a controlled thing, some sort of pet?

“I’m willing to compromise and give you what you ask for, 614,” said Flam, and Twilight opened her eyes to see that the stallion in front of her was becoming aroused. “But you had better make it worth my while.” He adjusted a few more controls and Twilight gasped as the suit sucked on her clit and the probes in her both began to vibrate.

“Oh yes, oh yes,” moaned Twilight as the fire in her depths grew, she could feel her passages beginning to leak fluids that were quickly being absorbed by the suit. Her embarrassment at her reaction and arousal was growing. “Forgive me, Celestia. A proper mare could resist this, she thought with desperate shame. I’m a wanton mare, a slut, a whorse. A shudder ran through her body as her core muscles began to clench and pull against the probes inside of her. Despair crept deeper into Twilight’s thoughts, but then, a memory came to her. Shining Armor, sitting on a couch with her, having their first talk together after weeks of counseling. As he calmly talked about the things Chrysalis had made him do, and done to him, while he had been under her thrall.

“Cady taught me to never feel ashamed of what we do, if a bad pony toys with our body,” Shining had told her. “You know better than most that we can’t prevent what happens if certain nerves of a pony are stimulated. It’s nothing we have control over. So, whether a captor give you pain or pleasure, let your body react to it and accept it, but don’t let it affect your core. Never let it change who you are, deep inside.” Twilight looked up again and saw Flam was just a stride away, lust evident in the way he was studying every motion and moan that was coming from her. Yes, she remembered what her brother had said, and she would accept the stimulation of her pleasure centers and just maybe she could use that acceptance to manipulate Flam a bit as well.

“Come...come here, sir,” said Twilight, huskily. “You’re making me feel sooo good. Let me make what I ask for worth your while.” Flam took a step forward and Twilight reached out as far as she could and gently began to slide her hoof back and forth across the stallion’s sheath. His breath hissed in pleasure as Twilight continued her stroking. As she did, she could feel his length hardening and thickening. As his stallionhood began to emerge from his sheath the plugs within her continued to hum and vibrate, driving her pleasure ever higher.

“Oh, there it is,” said Twilight as she sent a breath toward the length, which stiffened even further in response. “You know, you can put your forehooves on my shoulders, if you like.” Flam began to do that, but then stepped back, his shaft bobbing with the motion.

“You even think of trying anything and...” he began.

“Sir,” interrupted Twilight, “you have me bound in my own personal latex prison and collared in steel. You can take me down with a word and I have not one, but two leashes holding me in place. I think you can take a little risk.” She paused, sending a smoldering look at Flam and said, “Besides, this suit is getting me awfully worked up.”

“All right then,” said Flam, rearing up as he came forward again, his forehooves coming down on Twilight’s shoulders, his maleness now directly in front of Twilight’s muzzle. Twilight immediately gave the underside of Flam’s flare a gentle slow lick which drew an instant gasp of pleasure from the stallion. Twilight considered for a moment, Cadance had told her of many ways to please a stallion, this would be a chance for her to put some of that theory to practical use.

Twilight slowly drew the broad, flat surface of her tongue along Flam’s shaft, from balls to head and if anything it became harder and thicker, the medial ring swelling and growing. Flam kept himself clean it seemed, as there was little smell and the taste wasn’t bad at all. Twilight began to massage Flam’s ball sack as she again ran her tongue along the shaft, curling it in the gap by his flare and this time she also drew out a few small drops of pre. She found herself savoring the small spike of salty flavour.

“Oh my, 614,” gasped Flam. “Alicorns really can do everything better, can’t they?”

“We sure can,” said Twilight and then she gasped herself, as the probes in her intimate holes began to work in and out again in that reciprocating motion that had so overwhelmed her before. Once again, the nerve rich, thin wall of flesh between her two passages was being stroked into a fiery flame of pleasure and Twilight immediately began to feel her reason fray. That fraying reason, as much driven lust, prompted her to take the head of Flam’s cock into her mouth.

She began to work her mouth down the shaft, an inch down, all the way back up and then back down a bit further. She moved further and further down his length, sliding up and down and Flam began to moan in rhythm with her strokes. She could taste the saltiness as she milked more and more pre from the cock in her mouth. With the suit working her toward orgasm it felt good to give pleasure to Flam. It felt right to have him in her mouth and she moaned around the shaft on her tongue.

“614, ah...ah,” Flam panted as Twilight worked him closer to his orgasm by sealing her lips around Flam and sucking, even as she pulled herself all the way off his shaft. She panted for a few moments and as she caught her breath, the plugs inside her did something new. As they vibrated and moved in and out of her in alternating strokes, they also began to twist on their long axis.

“That’s…oh sweet Celestia,” moaned Twilight. “You...unhh” The sensations overwhelmed her as the storming inferno of lust and desire burned away thought, seared away reason as Twilight world narrowed down to the cock in front of her. She wanted to rip the plugs out of her and feel the stallion over her slam himself into her and fill her to his hilt, claiming her like the primitive stallions of old would claim their mates. Only a slim thread of determination kept her from begging for exactly that from Flam, and she plunged her mouth onto his shaft, bobbing her head up and down like a mad thing.

“Oh...oh...good...mare…,” Flam’s breath was coming in ragged gasps now as Twilight’s efforts dragged him toward his own climax. “Good...damn...mare.” Twilight was taking him in all the way to his medial ring now, her hooves stroking ring and balls, both. Then, Flam stiffened, his frame locking, his cock becoming like an iron bar as his flare spread wide and her mouth was filled with full pulsing flows of his seed. The taste of the salty, creamy cum washed away the last bitterness of the tube that had been on her tongue for three days. Twilight pulled, sucked and swallowed for all she was worth on Flam’s cock, and was rewarded again as Flam arched his back, thrusting himself deep into her mouth as he came a second time.

Even more salty creaminess flowed into her mouth and as she pulled it down as well, the last barrier inside her was burned away and her mind went white as the suit’s manipulations broke her own orgasm upon her. Waves of shuddering pleasure rolled over and over across her body. All four of her limbs quivered and shook, the trembling rolling over head as she moaned and shuddered over Flam’s stallionhood. Which triggered yet a third orgasm in the business pony, who reacted by pumping the very last dregs of his essence into Twilight’s soft mouth, and she swallowed those last drops through sheer instinct alone. Spent, both mare and stallion collapsed to the floor, muscles still twitching in the aftermath of the cataclysms that had rocked their frames.

Slowly, over the course of minutes, the two ponies recovered. Flam staggered over to his desk and grabbing a pair of water bottles from his desk, made his way back over to Twilight. He sucked on one of the bottles even as he upended the second against Twilight’s mouth so she could drink and each of them drained their bottle in seconds. Both of them were still breathing heavily and Flam sat beside Twilight, stroking her mane as she lay beside him, as if she was some sort of pet cat.

“That was really something, 614,” said Flam. “I would say you held up your end of our bargain.”

“Thank you, sir,” said Twilight, content to simply remain lying in place while her muscles recovered. “When might I be allowed to eat?”

“Give me a few more minutes,” said Flam, rising up. “I’ll have 143 take you to the commissary for some food and then back to your workstation. I have to say, I’m glad you didn’t let me buck you. Considering what you can do with your mouth, I might not have survived the experience.”

Thank you for all those ‘girl talk’ sessions, Cadance, thought Twilight. Aloud she asked, “If I’ve performed well, might it be possible to get a transfer? Perhaps to administration?” Twilight got herself to her knees and wiped off the sides of her mouth of the little residue that remained of Flam’s pleasure.

“I think that can be arranged,” said Flam, getting behind his desk again. “It will be a day or two for the paperwork to go through.” He pushed a button on his desk and said, “Send 143 in for escort.”

“614 thanks you,” said Twilight, and she saw the gleam in Flam’s eye as she spoke in the third person.

“By the way, 614,” said Flam as Trixie walked in through the door, cable leads looped around her neck. “Flim and I never did ask you, what was your name?”

“Twilight Sparkle,” said Twilight nodding to Trixie as she locked her leads to Twilight, only to shrink back as a sudden, furious rage covered Flam’s face.

“What. Did. You. Say?” asked Flam, enunciating each word with deliberation. Trixie backed up to the length of the tethers, trying to hide from the anger coming off of the business pony and covered her head with her hooves.

“Twilight Sparkle,” Twilight repeated, in a questioning voice. “My name, sir, was Twilight Sparkle.” Flam looked like he was about to leap over the desk and attack her, but then he seemed to pull himself back from the brink and visibly calmed himself while smoothing his features back to a near neutral expression.

“I see,” said Flam, in a voice of such calm, it was almost frightening. “614, I would suggest that you never mention that name to my brother. He might not find it as...amusing as I do. 143, take 614 to the commissary. The two of you are permitted one hour before you need to return to your quarters.” Then he unlocked the floor tethers from Twilight’s collar. Trixie supplicated toward Flam again and then tugged Twilight into following her, all without speaking a word.

Over the next fifteen minutes as the pair walked through the vast complex, Twilight tried to engage the mare leading her in conversation, but Trixie would have none of it. Twilight could see she had been shaken to her core by Flam’s anger, even though it hadn’t been aimed at her. Finally, they passed through a large doorway labeled ‘Commissary’. The place was completely empty even though it was clear the room had been made to allow for a great many ponies to eat at once.

Trixie grabbed a couple of trays with her magic and placed what appeared to be a pair of boxed meals and juice boxes on them. Twilight had no choice but to follow in her wake, unable to channel even a spark of magic giving her no option but accept whatever Trixie picked out for her. Finally, Trixie sat them down at a bench, trays on the attached metal table, tethers dangling between them. As she looked at the boxed meal on the tray in front of her, Twilight decided that this was the moment to finally get some answers.

“So, tell me Trixie. How did two ordinary business ponies become a pair of Equestria dominating sociopaths?”

Author's Note

Just a note here in case it wasn't clear in the above chapter...

Twilight's feeling pleasure and orgasming from the suit's ministration in no way makes what Flam did with her any less vile. People being raped can orgasm, this is documented. It doesn't make it any less rape, it doesn't mean the person was "into" it or that they wanted what happened in any way, shape or form. It simply means that the body's nerves were stimulated against the person's will. Rape counselors often tell victims that their body reacting to being violated is a survival mechanism, nothing more, and they should never feel shame for surviving.

We clear on that? Good.

So, things are moving along for Twilight, in several directions. Also, during the writing of this chapter some suggested that Twilight take 143 with her should Twilight manage to escape. What do you think?

Also, a couple of notes on other items. There may be some inconsistent formatting. This is due to my writing in LibreOffice, copy/pasting to Google Docs so my editors can have at it, and then copy/pasting here to FimFiction. My editors and I try to catch where things get reformatted, but occasionally things get past us.

Also, say "Hi!" to Javarod who edited this chapter. They are pretty good and I am damn lucky to have both them and Door Belle willing to read and edit my scribblings.

Cog, Part III

“So tell me, Trixie,” said Twilight, “how did two ordinary business ponies become a pair of Equestria-dominating sociopaths?”

Trixie froze for a moment, then carried on opening up her boxed meal on her tray. Other than that brief hesitation, she gave no sign she had heard Twilight at all. Twilight looked around the empty commissary the two mares were sitting in. Twilight could not see anypony else who might be listening in or any other reason why Trixie wouldn’t respond.

“Trixie,” asked Twilight, “did you hear me?” This time, Trixie stopped laying out her food, bowed her head and sat silent beside Twilight, breathing deeply with her eyes tightly closed.

“Trix—” began Twilight.

“Trixie isn’t here,” the blue mare interrupted, her voice quiet but clear. “143 is here, only 143. Do you understand, 614?”

Twilight’s head rocked back. Of course the mare beside her was Trixie. After the number of times she and Trixie had been at odds, she could never mistake another pony for the flamboyant showmare. 143 was only her employee number, the number she used to refer to herself when she talked in the third person. Then, a terrible thought occurred to Twilight, and she felt her heart sink into her stomach as she understood the meaning of what Trixie was saying.

“I...614 is...I’m sorry, 143,” said Twilight. “But can you tell me if Trixie is safe?” 143 raised her head, opened her eyes and looked at Twilight. The pain on 143’s face nearly broke Twilight’s heart on the spot. Twilight had seen a similar expression from Fluttershy once, when one of the pegasus’s animals had unexpectedly died overnight.

“Yes, Trixie is safe,” said 143.

“Do you keep her safe?” Twilight asked. 143 gave Twilight a slow nod with the same pained expression.

Trixie’s answer told Twilight everything she needed to know, but it also gave her some hope. If the 143 persona was keeping Trixie ‘safe’, it meant the original Trixie was still somewhere inside 143, just buried. It also meant Twilight had to tread very carefully. She needed answers, but if she did something to break 143, Twilight might never get the answers she needed to understand what had happened here. Also, she owed it to the Trixie of her own world to do all she could to help Trixie’s counterpart, and the best way for Twilight to do that was to be true to her nature and try to make a friend.

“Can I give you a hug?” said Twilight, and 143’s face showed sudden surprise at the offer. “That is, if it is okay with you.” Twilight held out her forelegs in offer. 143 looked at Twilight for a long, long moment--then sprang upon Twilight and hugged her fiercely.

“Thank you,” 143 said into Twilight’s ear. “Thank you, very much. It has been a long time since anypony was kind to 143.”

“I’ll do anything I can to be here for you,” said Twilight, hugging back just as tightly. “I’d like to be your friend, if that’s okay with you.”

“It’s been a long time since 143 had a friend,” said the blue mare, continuing to hug Twilight. “143 would like that very much.” The hug kept going for several minutes with Twilight making soothing noises while 143 sniffled into Twilight’s shoulder. When the hug finally ended, 143 kept one of her forelegs around Twilight’s back as if to prolong the warmth of personal contact Twilight had given her. Twilight mirrored the mare, realizing 143 needed that almost as much as she needed food. For the next few minutes the only sounds were those of eating, as the two mares satisfied their bodies hunger, in companionable silence. Then, her body’s needs sated, Twilight felt it was time to ask a few more gentle questions.

“The last thing I want is to cause you pain, but can you tell me if you know what happened to Trixie?” asked Twilight as gently as she could.

“Why does 614 want to know?” asked 143, pulling back.

“I know...knew a mare very much like Trixie,” said Twilight. “In her memory, I’d like to help Trixie, and you, if I can, and the best way to start helping Trixie is to know what happened to her.”

143 nodded and slid back to her former position beside Twilight. “Trixie was a traveling showmare,” she began, with a happy smile. “Everywhere she went ponies adored her and her shows. But one day disaster struck, and her wagon broke down while she was between engagements.”

“What happened?” asked Twilight, leaning close in sympathy. It had never occurred to her how narrow a financial edge travelling performers like Trixie had to live on. One bad turn of events could lead to disaster.

“She had no bits to pay for repairs,” continued 143, mouth downturned in a grimace. “But all seemed saved when two business ponies approached her, offering a loan.”

“Flim and Flam,” said Twilight with a knowing nod.

“Yes,” said Trixie, ears drooping to match her expression. “Back then Trixie did not know them, or that they took advantage of every pony they ran across. They had recently won an entire farm in a wager and they were using it to leverage their assets. They wanted Trixie to become one of those assets.”

143 bowed her head, sniffling before she continued. “Before she knew it, Trixie was trapped, her body held in a suit and her mind bound by their training. Nopony had ever thwarted the brothers in any of their schemes, even the Princess listened to them, and so nopony came to save Trixie. The brothers felt no guilt at what they did, because nopony had ever bested them and showed them a better way.” Tears began to drip down 143’s muzzle.

Twilight pulled 143 into another hug and let the former showmare silently cry on her shoulder again. Only the occasional sniffle could be heard, and Twilight felt her own eyes sting with unshed tears of empathy for the plight of the unicorn in her hooves.

“You, um, 143 said Trixie was ‘safe’ earlier,” said Twilight, after 143 had stopped crying and Twilight had regained her own composure. “Does Trixie know how you keep her safe?”

“No,” 143 said quietly, her head still resting on Twilight’s shoulder. “Trixie is playing to adoring crowds of ponies who love her. Trixie is very happy and 143 wants Trixie to stay happy.”

“It’s okay, 143,” said Twilight. “I understand.” Twilight leaned over and gave 143 another hug. As they finished the dregs of their meal, Twilight reviewed what she had learned. Without the help of Twilight and her friends, it seemed the Apple family had lost Sweet Apple Acres due to their bet against the Super Easy Cider Squeezy 6000. The brothers must have kept pushing to see just how far they could go after that, using the value of Sweet Apple Acres as a source of venture capital, and they still hadn’t hit their limit.

“We need to be going,” said 143, breaking Twilight’s reverie. “614 needs to be back at her workstation for the night and so does 143.” Dealing with their trash the two mares headed back to Twilight’s alcove cum cell.

“Open please,” said 143 as the pair arrived back at where Twilight had been dropped off by the claw. The blue mare levitated a muzzle and air hose combination in front of Twilight.

“I thought I wasn’t supposed to have that tonight?” asked Twilight, trying to swivel her head away from the approaching muzzle. “Please, you don’t have to put that on me.”

“614 needs to be muzzled and have the air tube,” said 143, smiling, almost as if muzzling Twilight was part of a game. “At night, the air here isn’t breathable, so 614 needs positive pressure air. But no intubation for you. Just the basic airway protection and airflow.”

“Oh, I see,” said Twilight. She held open her mouth as Trixie gagged her with the airway tube and muzzle combination. Trixie checked to make sure the muzzle was secure on Twilight and in doing so she brushed her lips against Twilight’s ear.

“Thank you,” 143 whispered. “Please try to remember that 143 is your friend. Flim and Flam are going to try to take your name from you. They hate that name.” Twilight’s eyebrows shot up and she tried to ask a question, but 143 held up a hoof to stop her and then pushed a button on the wall.

“143 ready for disconnect from 614. 614 ready to return to workstation,” said 143 in a clear voice. Moments later, the padded claw descended from above and locked onto Twilight’s body, holding her immobile. Nothing else happened for nearly a minute. Twilight just hung there, a few inches off the ground, with 143 still tethered to her. Then, a pair of stallions came in, and Twilight recognized Flim and Flam. Flam had a very smug expression on his face as he disconnected the tethers connecting the two mares. His brother, in the meantime, hooked up the connector to Twilight’s air line and placed the helmet back on Twilight’s head, cutting off Twilight’s vision. Then as fresh air began to flow into Twilight’s lungs, Flim said something that sent a chill down Twilight’s spine.

“614,” said Flim, close beside her. “I’m afraid that, despite your fine work today with my brother, we’ve decided you needs some extra training. I look forward to seeing how well you do.”

The claw rose away from the floor and deposited Twilight in her alcove. The alcove’s nighttime restraints locked onto her automatically and “The Voice” began to speak in her ears again. “614 is a good pony. If 614 is an obedient pony, 614 is rewarded. 614 must protect Flim and Flam. Flim and Flam reward 614. 614 must protect her rewards.” Twilight’s suit gave her pleasant rubs to emphasize the ending of each sentence.

Really? thought Twilight with some relief. Are those fiends seriously trying to condition me to be some sort of guardian for them? Flim and Flam were vastly underestimating her if they thought some simple conditioning was going to be enough to break her mental disciplines enough for her to leap to their defence in a crisis. But if the brothers thought Twilight would jump to their defence...Twilight gave a wolfish smile that no one could see.

Twilight began to drift off toward sleep, doing her best to tune out the endless repetitions from The Voice. Her direct prospects for escape were no better than they had been in the morning, but now she knew more about the mechanics and nature of her bondage. She possibly had an ally, or at least a sympathizer, in this world’s Trixie, and she had gained a bit of information on how the brothers had pulled off their coup. Combined, that information could hold the key to her freedom, but before she acted it on it, there were a couple of questions Twilight knew she had to answer first, two large questions started with the same word

Why?

Why had Flam reacted as he had to her name? It made no sense, but Twilight sensed the answer was important. That brought her to the second question. Why had Celestia allowed this to happen? She could have prevented all this and barring that, even now, she could bring Flim and Flam to a screeching halt if she chose to. So, why wasn’t she?

“We believe we can answer that question, Princess Twilight Sparkle.”

“Who?” asked Twilight, realizing she was no longer a bound captive, but instead was standing in a grassy field. This is a dream. thought Twilight. Which means...

“Hello, Princess Luna,” said Twilight.

“Greetings, Your Highness,” said a grey-blue alicorn as they materialized in front of her. Twilight stared for a moment at Luna. It was the Princess of the Night, but she looked the same way she had when Twilight and her friends had first freed her from Nightmare Moon. As Twilight considered that, she felt a sensation like gossamer soft wings stroking her head and mane.

“Of course, we are not thine own beloved Princess. But even so, we heard thy question in the dream and it drew us to thee,” said this world’s Princess Luna, as again Twilight felt the gentle sensation gliding across her head. She glanced up, but saw nothing.

“Yes,” Twilight replied, shaking off the odd feeling, “that would be correct. I’m a dimensional traveler. I came here once before by accident and decided to return to explore.” For a third time Twilight felt the odd, not entirely unpleasant, feeling over her forelock and crest.

“Indeed,” said Princess Luna. “Now thou hast fallen prey to the schemes of a pair of brothers most grim. Thou should feel no shame at becoming enmeshed in their coils, as have many before thee.”

“Thank you, Your Highness,” replied Twilight, in the formal language this Luna seemed to prefer. “But how do you know what has—” Twilight broke off as yet again, the fluttering feeling flowed over her head and things added up. The feathery touch wasn’t happening on Twilight’s head, but rather in it. Luna was reading her mind using some form of neuromancy!

“Princess,” growled Twilight, even as she brought her mental defences into being, “get out of my mind. You do not have my permission to be there.”

“Oh!” said Luna, recoiling in surprise. “Our apologies. It has become Our habit to scry the thoughts of Our subjects when visiting them in their dreams. We have found it speeds things along considerably.”

“Apology accepted, Your Highness,” said Twilight, making sure her mental shields were fully prepared. “But in the future, if you feel the need to know something, either ask me directly or ask my permission before you engage in neuromancy. I won’t be unreasonable about it.”

“Very well, Princess,” said Luna. “To answer your question, Celestia has not put a halt to Flim and Flam because she has become lost to madness.”

“What?” asked Twilight in an incredulous tone. “How?”

“May we be permitted access to thy memories so that we may compare them with our own, Princess Twilight?” asked Luna in response. “We swear upon our horn and our honour that no harm shall come to thee as a result.”

“I haven’t had a good track record trusting ponies since my arrival here,” said Twilight. “Not that I think you are lying, but I have little reason to trust anypony around here. What’s to stop you from taking my memories and running off to do something with them?”

“Running off...” Luna sighed, and her ears drooped as she turned her gaze downwards. “Let us show thee what our life has been like since our Return.” Without any indication of magic from Luna, the grassy field around the pair blurred, replaced in a moment by a large, dimly lit room. Along one side of the room was a good sized table, where a tired and worn Celestia was seated, intently studying several dials and gauges. Although the solar alicorn looked a little haggard, Twilight could feel the driving energy and vitality coming off of her.

Then Luna nudged her, pointing to the center of the room. Through gritted teeth, she said, “Look now upon the glory of Luna, Princess of the Night and Diarch of Equestria.”

Twilight looked, and gasped as she took in Luna’s plight. Like Twilight, Luna’s body was encased in a suit, only Luna’s covered her completely, from the tip of her horn to the end of her tail. In addition, three golden magic-suppression rings were stacked up her horn, and both air and feeding lines entered through her muzzle piece. Beyond that, Luna’s body was also wrapped in a harness that held her suspended in mid-air, the lines spring-mounted so that even the occasional body twitch was guaranteed to accomplish nothing beyond pointless thrashing.

“Keep watching, young princess,” said Luna, ears flattening in anger. As Twilight watched, the captive Luna began to kick and buck for some reason, and Celestia grew alarmed, eyes flicking frantically from one gauge to another.

“No, no, no,” said Celestia in a chant, fear and panic on her face. “Not again. The darkness will not have you, sister!” Celestia punctuated her last sentence by slamming down a hoof on a large red button. Alarms sounded and a loud buzzing emanated from the bound Luna. A quick look to the alicorn’s rear showed the ends of plugs that were twins to those deep within Twilight’s own body pistoning in and out. Just as they had with Twilight, the plugs swiftly drove Luna’s body to orgasm, driving away conscious thought and any possible plans for escape.

Not satisfied with that, Celestia turned a valve on a container Twilight hadn’t noticed before, labeled “Anesthetic,” and as the gas flowed through the lines, Luna’s body gradually ceased its struggles.

“Such is our life now,” said the Luna beside Twilight, as they witnessed Celestia nodding in satisfaction at the final moments of her bound sister’s subdual. “The realm of dreams is our only escape from this loving durance vile our sister has subjected us to.”

“This is horrible,” said Twilight, eyes wide in shock. “Nopony should have to live like that. Why are you even showing me this?”

“You wondered how you could trust us,” said Luna, jaw working. “How you could trust us not to ‘run off’ on you. We thought it may bring you to trust us more to see for yourself that running is not an option for us.”

“How—What happened?” asked Twilight, still shocked at the completeness of Luna’s imprisonment.

“May we look upon your memories, Your Highness?” asked Luna. “In order that we can provide a proper answer to thy question.”

“All right,” said Twilight, bowing her head toward Luna. “You may look, only.”

“Thank you. We shall not abuse thy trust,” said Luna, whose eyes began to glow. Twilight dropped her mental shields and again she could feel the feathery soft touch of Luna reading her mind and memories.

“That actually feels kind of nice,” said Twilight, eyes half-closing.

“Thank you,” said Luna, with a small smile, pleased at the compliment. “We strive for our touch to be as gentle and pleasant as possible. Ah, and now we see the divergent point. The place where our worlds parted in their path.” The pale blue alicorn’s power swirled and Twilight saw two scenes play out, side by side.

“In your world, Princess Twilight,” Luna began, “Celestia had the six Element Bearers, led by yourself, to lead the charge against Nightmare Moon. Together, you found the Elements, accepted their power as part of yourselves, and together cleansed your Princess Luna of the Nightmare. Then, most importantly, you remained to support both of your princesses and help your Luna find her path in a strange new world.” While Luna narrated, Twilight saw the scenes from her mind’s eye, memories of how she and her friends had brought their Luna back.

“But in my world, Princess Celestia was unable to find Bearers for the Elements,” Luna said, frowning. “Particularly for the elusive Element of Magic. As the time for the return of Nightmare Moon grew closer and closer, our sister grew more and more desperate. Finally, with nopony to turn to, she forced a connection to the Elements through sheer strength of will. Using the Elements, she was able to cleanse us of Nightmare Moon.”

Luna paused. “But in the moment of her triumph, the abused Elements repudiated her and scattered themselves to the four winds. Far and wide, across Equestria and beyond, they fled. We were barely conscious at that time, but even so we heard the first whisper of doubt that struck our sister as the Elements flew from her—doubt that her victory would last, that the Nightmare would never return, that we would never fall again. Her doubt grew to fear, the fear grew to paranoia, and the paranoia to obsession.”

“Since then, we have not known a moment when our body and our magic were not bound or controlled in some fashion.” Luna bowed her head. “But as bad as those first days were, far worse was to come when, some four years ago, Flim and Flam approached my sister with an idea for a way to ensure that we would never revert to our Nightmare Moon form. They promised her that if she gave them full authority, they would give her a way to be sure we never again fell to darkness.”

“The suits,” said Twilight, aghast. “Celestia authorized the process that caused the suits to be created.”

“Even so,” said Luna, nodding in agreement. “As you have surmised, with Celestia giving them access to the full resources of the Crown, they created the suit in which we, and now so many others, are now enslaved. Celestia watches our every movement, breath and heartbeat, seeking some sign that the Nightmare is once again seizing us. She controls everything we see, hear, taste, and touch. Our only respite has been the dream realm.”

“I had wondered about that,” said Twilight. “If your magic is sealed, how are you able to dreamwalk or perform neuromancy?”

“Dreamwalking is a part of who we are, a part of our basic nature,” said Luna, with a sideways smile. “The only thing that could separate us from the dream realm would be death. This brings us to ask something of thee.”

“You...you aren’t going to ask me to kill you, are you?” asked Twilight, taking a step back.

“Nay, at least not initially,” said Luna, as she returned them to the grassy field where Twilight had first met her. “Things cannot continue as they are now. Eventually, Celestia will decide that it is safer for all to simply kill me.” Twilight noticed the switch to the personal pronoun, even as the grim-faced alicorn pressed on. “If I knew my death would free my sister of her madness and return her to a proper stewardship of Equestria, I would welcome Death’s embrace. But there is no guarantee that would happen.”

“What do you want me to do then?” asked Twilight, wiping a hoof across her forehead in relief.

“Find the Elements,” said Luna, striking a dramatic pose, “and use them to restore my sister and cleanse the madness from her. Either do it yourself or send forth ponies you deem worthy of the task. You bore an Element once; your judgment is sound.”

“And if the Elements can’t be found?” asked Twilight, dreading the answer.

“Then find where Celestia is holding me,” said Luna, in a very small voice. Her strong stance crumbled like sand on a beach as she lowered herself to her knees. “Find me, and kill me. Give me a clean death instead of this death by inches I suffer now. It is a long chance, but that may be enough to shock my sister back to her senses.”

“Princess,” said Twilight, daring to place a comforting hoof on Luna’s shoulder, “I’m a captive nearly as much as you are. If I do manage to escape, my first priority is to return to my own Equestria, not to interfere with yours.” Luna bit her lip and looked up with pleading eyes to Twilight.

“Please, Princess Twilight,” said the despondent Luna, “must I beg? If that is your wish, I shall. What can I offer you? Riches? Power? Myself as your plaything, should you free me? Any of these things and more I shall willingly grant you if you will perform this service for my Equestria.”

“I—I—” stammered Twilight, as the magnitude of what she was being asked to do struck home. She took a steadying breath. “I make no guarantees, Princess Luna, but I will promise this. What I can do, I will do.”

“Thank you,” said Luna, raising her head again. “We knew thou could not refuse a plea for action on behalf of justice.”

“Oh?” asked Twilight. “How?”

“Because apparently thy counterpart, or someone using her name, is already a thorn in the sides of Flim and Flam,” said Luna.

“Really?” asked Twilight, eyebrows shooting up in surprise. “Is that why Flam reacted as he did when I told him my name?”

“Indeed.” Luna nodded. “Our Twilight Sparkle disappeared from sight years ago. But over the past four months, the brothers have begun receiving their first setbacks since they embarked on their course. Each setback is accompanied by paperwork that ends with the same closing salutation.”

“Which is?”

“Twilight Sparkle, speaking for Boskone.”

Twilight snickered, then chuckled, then began to full on belly laugh while she stood in the field she and her companion were in.

“Your Highness,” said the grey-blue form beside her, testily. “What is the cause of this mirth? We tell thee of portents most dire followed by an ominous and cryptic salutation by thy counterpart and thy response is frivolity?”

“I...I’m sorry, Princess,” said Twilight with another laugh as she fought to bring herself under control. “It’s just been too long since I had a good laugh, and from that line I can assure you my counterpart is definitely alive and well.”

“Might it be possible for you to enlighten us as to how that one line provides you with this knowledge?” asked Princess Luna, narrowing her eyes in annoyance. “We would find the revelation most illuminating.” With a last chuckle, Twilight took a deep breath as she braced herself to stand properly beside Luna and not like some purple incarnation of Pinkie Pie.

“It boils down to an old series of stories I read as a filly,” said Twilight. “Ponies of the Lens defined a genre, but almost nopony knows about it today.”

“We assume this is relevant somehow,” said Luna, cocking an eyebrow.

“Well, when I read the series, I sort of got a little—okay, a lot—obsessive about the stories,” said Twilight, rubbing the back of her head with a hoof in embarrassment. “When I wasn’t reading, I would charge around our house acting out scenes from the books.”

“We understand,” said Luna, nodding. “Thy family would remember that phrase from those days and know thy counterpart, their daughter, is alive.

“Exactly, Princess. Other than my counterpart and her family, the only ponies who would understand the reference would be my peers in a small community of well...nerds,” said Twilight, smiling. This world’s Luna might be a prisoner in the most complete bondage ever devised, but her mind was still sharp and active.

“So, even as she helps engineer what I hope is the downfall of the brothers, she finds a way to let her family know she is alive. She must be a very impressive—Tartarus!”

“What’s wrong?” Twilight asked, eyes wide at the sudden expletive.

“My sister is trying to rouse me early for some reason,” said Luna, turning to Twilight with sudden haste. “I will hold thee to thy—” Luna’s form popped like a soap bubble as she was dragged back to the waking world, leaving Twilight by herself to ponder on the lunar alicorn’s words and the discussion they had.

Author's Note

Long delay in getting this chapter out due to cold and flu season hitting my family very hard. Every time we think we've got it licked another round of hacking and sneezing starts. However, you will also be pleased to know that the next chapter is already about 75% written.

Considering that writing was going slow due to my cold I had unleashed the full might of Javarod and Door Belle's editing skills on the chapter. No less than seven editing passes and three drafts were written. But despite all that Gdocs got cranky again with the formatting and even importing the document didn't help. I once again had to manually go through and check all my spacing. Hopefully, I caught everything.

Cog, Part IV

Twilight considered the dream conversation she had just with Luna. Escape from Flim and Flam’s clutches was possible, but it would take time. Keeping her word to Luna was going to be an order of magnitude harder, though. With those thoughts, Twilight let go of the lucid dream and allowed herself to drift into regular sleep.

Uncontrolled, Twilight’s dreams turned to erotic nightmares. She was pleasuring Flam again, only this time with Flim taking her from behind at the same time. Then both of them took her from behind at once, one atop her and one beneath her belly. Unable to stop, Twilight’s mind conjured more and more inventive methods of giving and receiving pleasure from the two brothers. One even intrigued her, and it involved a bridle, pulleys, six bungee cords, forty feet of two-inch-wide ribbon, and a climbing harness. As Twilight’s dreams dissipated, she found herself calculating the relative force vectors involved and the required material strengths.

She woke to the Voice still repeating its mantra of obedience and devotion in her ears and the biosuit working over her entire body. The suit’s twin plugs were vibrating at a low frequency, while the body of the suit caressed her with gentle intimacy. After four days, it seemed to have already learned every spot it could touch to stoke her arousal. At least it’s only trying to wake me and get me worked up, thought Twilight. She tried to frown, but the gag over her muzzle stopped her, and a silenced moan took over her features instead. This is just part of the conditioning to make me want to be good and obey. I can’t let myself enjoy it too much. But she had to admit it wasn’t the worst way to wake up.

“Good morning 614,” said the Voice, breaking off its mantra. The suit slowed and stopped its ministrations. “143 will arrive shortly to escort you to breakfast.” Something about the Voice was different today—it was clearer, more alive, somehow familiar and feminine.

“While you wait,” said the new Voice, “let’s review. Stomp once for yes, twice for no, and remember, I can tell if you are lying through your vital signs. Lying will be punished. Do you understand?” Twilight stomped once.

“Very good, 614,” said the Voice. “To begin with: Do you like working for Flim Flam Industries?” Twilight stomped her hoof twice, for which she promptly received a shock from the plugs directly into her most sensitive nerves. If she hadn’t been thoroughly gagged, Twilight’s scream would have been ear-splitting.

“Improper attitudes will also be punished.” The Voice was horribly indifferent to Twilight’s muted whimpers and her struggle to get her breath back. “These have been allowed during your initial trial period, but will now be corrected in your new training regimen. I am your Voice of Control, and under my guidance you will become a productive, happy, and obedient worker.”

Twilight shivered as she heard the capitalization in the words. The speaker went on.

“Listen to your Voice of Control. Trust your Voice of Control. I will help keep the pain away and make it feel good to obey.” The Voice spoke in a soothing, almost mesmeric cadence, and Twilight felt the words sinking through defences that had been weakened by both pain and pleasure. They took root deep within her, and Twilight felt both body and mind relax involuntarily.

“Let’s try again, 614. 614 likes being rewarded. Flim and Flam reward 614. Does 614 want more rewards?” asked the Voice of Control. Twilight thought for a moment and stomped once. As she did the suit ran a rippling caress down her spine.

“614 is a very good pony,” said the Voice, sounding pleased as it praised her. “Does 614 like being rewarded?” A stomp followed by another caress. “Does 614 like being rewarded by Flim Flam Industries?” The rewards were indeed enjoyable, and the Voice would punish her for lying, so Twilight stomped once. “Very good. That means you do like being part of Flim Flam Industries.” Control’s treacherous logic froze Twilight in both mind and body. Could she really like being controlled like this?

“So, do you like working for Flim Flam Industries?” the Voice of Control asked, and in a shocked daze, Twilight felt her hoof come down once, her mind still trying to counter Control’s conclusion. Twilight tried to summon her mantra, her defences, but just as her thoughts began to settle, the suit activated a full reward and those thoughts were scattered like smoke in the wind. “I told you, I will make it feel good to be obedient. Just obey, and there will be no pain, only pleasure.”

Some time later, as the aftershocks of Twilight’s orgasms faded, the Voice spoke again. “143 has arrived to take you to your morning meal. Stand by for transfer.” The claw grabbed her again and lowered her to the floor, and as her visor was lifted away she saw 143 in front of her.

“Hello 614,” said the light blue unicorn in front of Twilight, eyebrows furrowed with concern. “Let 143 get the rest of that off of you.” With that, 143 undid the muzzle gag and hung it on a hook on the claw, which released Twilight and lifted itself back towards the ceiling.

“What? No leashes or tethers?” asked Twilight, raising an eyebrow in surprise.

“They are not required now.” The Voice now came from Twilight’s collar, surprising her. “From this point until you are fully trained, I will be monitoring you constantly. Now, follow 143 to your morning meal.” 143 obviously heard Control’s reply as didn’t answer Twilight’s and silently led her off toward the commissary. As the two mares walked, Twilight ventured a question to the Voice.

“What do you—May I ask what you meant by ‘monitoring’?” Twilight asked out loud. 143 looked back over her shoulder at Twilight, her ears drooping.

“You may,” said the Voice, cheerfully. “I will be listening to you, watching you, and guiding you. Through your suit, I will monitor your vital signs and adjust what the suit does for you as needed. And as you have already experienced, I will administer both punishments and rewards when they are appropriate.” Twilight gulped, and a chill went down her spine. With someone watching her so closely, escape would be much more difficult. Even if she managed to trick Flim and Flam, she would still have Control to deal with. As if to hammer those thoughts home, the Voice of Control spoke again.

“For example, 614,” said the Voice, in a disturbingly maternal tone, “your blood pressure just spiked, along with your breathing. That, combined with the change in your galvanic skin response, tells me that you have just realized how well I can read you. Is that correct?”

“Yes, Control,” said Twilight, feeling her heart sink. “Thank you for the answer.”

“Enjoy your meal, 614,” said the Voice, as Twilight and 143 reached the commissary and Twilight had a sense of the Voice backing off. Unlike her first visit the previous day, the commissary was bustling with activity. Some two to three hundred ponies from all three tribes could be seen, all wearing the common suit and collar combination. Most ate in silence, but here and there some ponies engaged in conversation. 143 and Twilight slotted themselves into the line for trays and food.

“How are you doing this morning?” asked Twilight.

“143 is doing well,” said 143, as she grabbed up a tray for herself, “and has noticed that 614 now has her own Control.”

“Yes, Control introduced itself before you came to fetch me,” said Twilight, scooping up her own tray. “Which reminds me. If Control is guiding me, why send you? Not that I mind seeing you again.”

“Every pony in training is assigned a partner,” said 143, smiling as she grabbed meals and drinks for herself and Twilight. “143 asked to be your partner, because you were kind to 143 and she wants to help you and maybe...be your friend?” 143 lifted both laden trays with her magic and led Twilight to one of the few empty tables.

“You are a good friend,” Twilight said, giving her friend a light nuzzle as they reached the table. 143 blushed as she set the trays down on the smooth metal surface of the table. “Can you give me any ideas of what to expect?”

“Yes. 143 also had a Control during her final training,” said 143, face and voice both serious. “Control is going to listen to everything 614 does and says.” She paused. “Everything.” Twilight understood the warning. She had to assume anything she said from this point forward was being listened to and every movement and reaction of her body studied in order to break her in mind and spirit.

Twilight opened the box containing her breakfast, revealing three poached eggs, a pair of English muffins, and a large packet of hollandaise sauce. It all looked and smelled surprisingly good. She dug in.

“So,” Twilight said between bites. “What’s the agenda for today? I have a feeling I’m not doing treadmill work anymore.”

“614 is right,” said 143. “Considering her suit should be fully in tune with her body by now, 614 will begin physical and combat training today.”

“They have got to know there’s no way—” Twilight began before remembering that she was being listened to. “Um, they must know that I’m not emotionally prepared for combat.”

“During the day 614’s body will be trained,” said 143, her fallen ears matching the corners of her mouth. “In the evening and at night, Control will train her mind.” Twilight nodded. She had known that some more potent form of mental conditioning had to be on its way. She just had to find an effective way to resist it until Flim and Flam made a mistake. Too many mornings like this, losing herself to pleasure and being outmaneuvered by perverse logic, and she would crumble. However, a strong mind required a strong body, and she and 143 had a breakfast to eat.

Once they were finished, 143 led Twilight out of the commissary through an unfamiliar set of passageways and corridors. In contrast to where Twilight had spent the past few days, these corridors were full of ponies, generally in groups of two or three, bustling from one location to another. The stark overhead lighting gleamed off of their black suits and silver collars, and Twilight noted that all the other ponies seemed focused on their destinations. Nopony was talking to each other. It was like they weren’t ponies anymore, but cogs in some huge machine.

“Where are you taking me?” Twilight asked, half guessing the answer.

“To the training room,” said 143, as they passed through a final door into a chamber easily four or five times the size of Applejack’s barn. The room was a large gymnasium, with a running track on one side and what looked like an adjustable obstacle course on the other. The walls were covered in a hard, blue padding, and there were a half dozen bowl-like depressions in one wall near the door. The ceiling was lost in darkness high above, hidden by the glare of several small, but extremely bright, lights, that allowed no shadow on the floor below.

“Back into one of the docking ports, 614,” said the Voice of Control. Twilight looked around but all she could see nearby were the bowl like depressions in the wall. 143 pointed a hoof toward the bowls, indicating that those were the referred to “docking ports.”

“Um, okay,” said Twilight. She gingerly walked backwards toward one. She noticed, as she did, that her hindquarters were at about the right height to fit into the deepest part of the depression. When she was just a few inches away from bumping into the “dock,” something firmly grabbed hold of her dock, eliciting a squeak of surprise from her. Looking back, she saw that some sort of claw had grabbed hold of her and was pulling her backwards.

“Just lift your tail, 614, and keep backing up,” said the Voice. “The claw on your dock is there to guide you into place. It isn’t meant to harm you in any way.” Twilight said nothing, gritting her teeth as she stopped resisting the pull. As her backside made contact with the inner surface of the bowl, there was a sucking sound and her entire backside was pulled into the bowl. At the same time the material of the bowl slid forward and enveloped her entire hindquarters, from the top of her knees to the front of her hips. The whole thing then became tight and rigid, immobilizing her, and fear or panic must have shown on Twilight’s face, causing 143 to step up and comfort her while stroking Twilight’s mane.

“It’s okay, nothing bad is going to happen,” 143 said, in a soothing voice. “Control is just preparing you for your workout.” As 143 spoke, Twilight felt something grasp the outer end of the two plugs lodged in her anal and vaginal cavities. It gripped and held the plugs like solid bars, and Twilight gave a shuddering gasp as she went through the now familiar routine of a cleansing enema. As it finished, though, the plug was not replaced but removed from her entirely. Her vaginal probe was removed as well, however it was replaced by something that felt...smaller.

“The plug and probe would interfere with your ability to fully exercise, 614,” said the Voice of Control, anticipating Twilight’s question. “The plug has been removed and the probe replaced with a smaller unit, for now. Each time you enter or prepare to leave this room you will move into a docking port so that these items can be dealt with. Is that understood?”

“Yes, Control, I understand,” said Twilight. The port released her.

Then began one of the most physically active days of Twilight’s life. 143 and Control had Twilight running all morning. First, she was commanded to a gentle trot to warm up. After a several minutes of that, she was ordered to shift into a canter. A canter that went on for five miles worth of distance along the track. After a short breather, there came a series of sprints at full gallop. Then, more miles at a canter, followed by more galloping sprints, and on and on.

Through it all, the Voice of Control spoke to her, advised her, cajoled her and drove her faster and further than she had gone before. Control always seemed to know when Twilight needed some water, or when she was slacking off. Twilight also noticed that she never overheated nor needed to stop for a bathroom break, despite all the water she was drinking.

When 143 finally called a halt for lunch, some four hours later, Twilight felt surprisingly good. In fact, she was barely breathing hard and she felt like she still had lots of energy. Twilight figured she probably could have run like she had been doing, non-stop, for at least a couple more hours.

“143,” said Twilight, as she ‘undocked’ again from the port by the exit, “why am I, um, why don’t I feel more tired from all that running? I’ve done more running today than I’ve ever done.” 143 smiled as they left the training room.

“It’s the suit,” said 143. “It keeps you cool so you can run further, it keeps salt from when you do sweat, and puts it back in when you need it. It pushes and pulls your legs as you run, so you lose less energy with every stride.”

“That’s really incredible,” said Twilight, aloud. But in her thoughts all she could think of was the incredible waste. She was wearing a miracle of pony science, a living piece of technology that was capable of monitoring her health, keeping her alive in hostile environments and boosting her physical ability, and it was being used as a tool for mass enslavement instead of for the benefit of ponies everywhere. Twilight growled slightly in frustration.

“What was that, 614?” asked the Voice of Control from her collar.

“Nothing, Control.”

“It wasn’t, but I will let it go this time, 614,” said Control. Electricity prickled across Twilight’s hindquarters and teats. “That is your warning. Do not lie to me again.”

Twilight shivered as she replied, “Yes, Control. Thank you, Control.”. She hadn’t fooled the Voice of Control at all, but it didn’t say anything further, as she and 143 had lunch and returned to the gymnasium for the second half of the day’s activity. For four hours, she would run the obstacle course on the other side of the huge room, in various configurations. Once again, Twilight’s suit kept her cool and hydrated while supporting her movements, and after the first hour the course actually became kind of boring.

Of course, that was when things got interesting. In the second hour, as she ran the course, 143 started firing blasts of low powered magic at her. If the blast hit her in a leg, the suit obligingly froze that part of her body, letting it move again only when she crossed the finish line. That was bad enough. But, if the blast hit her in the head, or the body, or if all four of her limbs were hit, the suit would everything up and Control would deliver an agonizing, ten second long shock. After the third shock, Twilight was well and truly motivated to try to avoid 143’s blasts.

For an hour or so, Twilight managed to avoid the majority of the shots 143 sent her way. She avoided getting shocked again for nearly an hour, but after seven hours of heavy physical activity, despite all the advantages that the suit provided, Twilight finally began to tire. More and more shots connected, and Twilight again experienced electrical agony. Toward the end, both she and 143 were in tears. Twilight’s suit locked up and punished her one last time, a mere three steps from the finish line of her final run, her body uselessly trying to buck against the rigid suit encasing her form as she fell heavily to her side.

“Excellent session, 614,” said the Voice of Control, unmoved by Twilight’s pain as the suit released Twilight, allowing her to move again. “Readings indicate that you pushed yourself to within 95% of your current maximum ability. And 143, you performed excellently as well. Control is well aware of your friendship with 614, and still you obeyed Control without hesitation. Go help your friend, 143.” Slowly, head down, ears flat, 143 dragged herself over to Twilight and slowly helped Twilight to her hooves.

“Sorry...sorry,” 143 kept saying under her breath as she braced Twilight upright.

“It’s okay,” Twilight assured the apologetic mare. “You did what you had to do. I don’t blame you at all.” As Twilight said the words she felt a familiar shudder roll through 143’s frame as it leaned against her.

“Would you like a reward as well, 614?” asked the Voice of Control, giving explanation to the shudders and now, low moans, beginning to come from 143.

“Not right now, if that’s okay. I’ll save it for later,” said Twilight. She had to linger in this pain. She had to remember that Control was her enemy.

“614, please,” moaned 143, half open eyes smoldering at Twilight. “Please, hold me.” Twilight hesitated a moment, knowing the type of intimacy 143 was asking for.

She needs this, Twilight thought. She needs to be held by somepony she trusts not to take advantage of her. With that thought, Twilight enfolded 143 into her embrace. 143 latched onto Twilight’s body, like a drowning pony thrown a life ring, and proceeded to cover Twilight’s face with passionate kisses. Twilight could feel 143’s suit teasing and stroking her body, driving her fellow captive’s lust and desire. She couldn’t help but feel her own passions begin to rise as 143 latched her lips again onto Twilight’s with a searing kiss.

Then, Control took matters into its own hoof and activated Twilight’s suit. The single device deep within Twilight’s marehood lit up with powerful, rhythmic vibrations, and the suit itself rubbed and tugged at Twilight’s clit and teats. Twilight opened her mouth wide in a moan of her own, as the orgasmic fire the suit created seared its way from her nerves to her brain. 143 took Twilight’s opened mouth as an invitation to turn their closed mouth kiss, into a wide open, two-sided Prench kiss. Tongues dancing, teasing and playing, both mares moaned into each others mouths as their now shared passion burned higher and higher.

Twilight and 143 both rubbed their forward hooves along the covered lengths of each other’s suited bodies, each of them stroking the firm planes and curves of the pony in front of them. Each seeking, and finding, those little spots that would drive their partner ever higher, and their moans gave way to passionate cries, as the two mares had eyes and thoughts only for each other.

Twilight shifted her mouth to the base of 143’s throat, nibbling and sucking, and in response the azure mare shuddered and ground her rear leg against Twilight’s plot. 143’s twin vibrating cylinders buzzed at an even higher rate, which was matched by Twilight’s own single shaft. The howling vibrations of her device, as it was driven deep, caused the purple alicorn to throw back her head and cry out in wordless joy. Twilight stroked and pressed one of her own rear legs against 143’s marehood and pushed both of 143’s vibrating probes deep.

“Oh yes!” 143 shrieked. “Yes, 143 needs this! More! More!” The two mares attacked each other's open mouths in a mutual war of oral dominance and pleasure that had their tongues parrying and thrusting as they both continued to grind their lower legs into each others marehood. Finally, driven both by their suits and their mutual desire, Twilight and 143 cried out as their orgasms struck in near unison. Their shuddering limbs and quivering cries each drove the other into a second climax, and the world and its cares, left them alone for a time.

But eventually, time and the world came back to the two ponies, and they found themselves laying in each others hooves. Smiling, Twilight and 143 looked into each other's eyes from a few bare inches apart. Twilight could smell the musky scent of the passion she had shared with 143, and she could see a few embarrassing pools of what she hoped was drool on the mat beneath them.

“It certainly seems like the two of you enjoyed that,” came the Voice of Control to both ponies, “and while I would dearly love to let you continue to enjoy yourselves, I’m afraid I’ve kept this room locked off long enough. Up you get, my little ponies.” Both Twilight and 143 slowly got themselves to their knees and then up onto their wobbly hooves.

“Permission to go slow, Control?” asked Twilight as she carefully put one hoof in front of the other. 143, equally slow at her side, smiled her thanks to Twilight for asking the question.

“Granted, 614,” said Control with a small laugh in their voice. “Unlocking doors now, just make sure to dock before you leave.” Both mares heard a loud “clack” as the double doors leading into the gym unlocked and four ponies immediately entered, moving toward the docking ports. Twilight and 143 joined them, and as the plugs were re-inserted into her now very sensitive openings, Twilight threw her head back in a breathy gasp and shudder that had the other four ponies smiling knowingly.

“Let’s go get some dinner, 614,” said 143, as the ports released them. Heads leaning against each other, the pair made their way to the commissary and had a pleasant dinner. Very little was said between Twilight and 143 during the course of the meal. Nothing much needed to be said as their held hooves during the meal spoke volumes.

“So, what now?” asked Twilight, of her partner as they neared the end of their dinner. “Back to my ce—workstation?”

“143, when the two of you are finished dinner, you are to bring 614 to the special training dock,” said the Voice of Control. “614 will be spending the evening under my personal care.” 143 looked up in alarm at Twilight, and then looked down sadly, ears flat against her head.

“We will be there shortly, Control,” said 143, keeping her obvious sadness from her voice.

“What’s wrong?” asked Twilight, cocking an eyebrow quizzically. 143 said nothing, but put a hoof over her mouth in a “shush” gesture. Twilight nodded in understanding.

“Nothing is wrong,” said 143, grabbing a spare packet of salad dressing from their meal and dumping it onto the table. “143 merely spilled some salad dressing.” Using the spilled dressing 143 wrote, “CTRL TRN MIND LIKE ME.” Twilight nodded again in understanding. This was going to be where Twilight’s mental defences were to be tested to their utmost as Control tried to bend Twilight’s mind as they had Trixie’s. Twilight took a calming, steadying breath.

“Well, if you are finished, 143, I guess you had better take me to Control,” said Twilight, smiling to 143 to show an outward confidence to her companion that she didn’t really feel.

“Is 614 sure they are ready to go?” asked 143, as she smeared away her message with a hoof.

“I’m sure,” said Twilight, getting to her hooves. “Lead the way.” 143 moved away from the table, and after giving Twilight a quick nuzzle, led off out of the commissary, which was slowly becoming emptier as their fellow “employees” finished their meals and left. Once again, Twilight was lead through a series of unfamiliar passageways and corridors before finally coming to a halt at what looked like one of the alcove workstations, only without the treadmill.

“Step inside,” came the Voice of Control. “143, you are dismissed to your quarters. 614 will be in her new quarters in the morning.”

“143 will see you in the morning,” said 143 quietly into Twilight’s ear as she gave a quick nuzzle and left Twilight to her fate. Twilight stepped into the alcove and stood in a spot labeled “Stand Here”. As she did Twilight felt her suit lock around her, freezing her in place and a steel yoke attached to her collar, completely immobilizing her.

“Control, I’m not going anywhere,” said Twilight, trying to find a comfortable way to hold her neck within the yoke. The wide door/side of the alcove closed up, and Twilight felt herself rising.

“Any pony coming into direct contact with Control is fully secured,” said Control. “Be warned that things will become very uncomfortable for you should you try to be resistant.” The suit then significantly moved for the first time since it had come onto her, spreading across her face and covering it entirely. Only Twilight’s mouth and nose remained uncovered when the suit stopped spreading. Blinded, Twilight nervously twitched her head side to side, futilely trying to shake off the hood part of the suit, and she was acutely aware that if the suit spread only a few more inches it would cover her nose and mouth, smothering her.

Yoked, hooded, and encased in an immobile sheath, she could still feel the motion around her as the alcove rose, carrying her upwards toward Control. Twilight Sparkle and the unknown Voice of Control were very likely about to engage in a battle of wills that would determine if Twilight would ever be a free mare again. Either she would emerge from this as her own pony, or as a conditioned, obedient shell, fit for the use and amusement of Flim and Flam.

Author's Note

The whole of the Cog arc is completely written and is just being bent, folded, spindled and mutilated into something worth reading by Javarod.

Even as they keep at it working on the final two chapters of this arc. Paragraph and spacing formatting continues to be an issue between Fimfiction and Gdocs. At least for me. I've manually repaired what I can, but for some things it is...resistant. Maybe I should find a suit that I can put onto Gdocs to make it behave?

In the meantime, I've gone and gotten myself on atreon Supporting me helps me concentrate on writing and keeps me in coffee and keyboards.

As such, this chapter is also brought to you through the assistance of my current patrons:

Damaged
and
Canary in the Coal Mine

Thank you, very much.

Cog, Part V

As Twilight Sparkle was carried upward to meet with the pony she only knew as the Voice of Control, she knew she was in deadly danger. The living suit encasing her body had spread over her head and face into a blinding hood. It would only take a few more inches of expansion for it to seal her muzzle and smother her, and bound as she was she wouldn’t even be able to fight back. Twilight took a deep breath in an attempt to manage her fear and did her best to speak in a calm voice.

“Control, believe me when I say that I feel very secured right now and that I have no intention of resisting,” said Twilight, flexing as much as she could against the immobile suit. The elevator stopped, and its door rumbled as it slid away.

“But you already have been resisting,” said the Voice of Control. The Voice no longer came from her suit, but from a few feet to Twilight’s left. It sounded clearer, like there was an actual pony speaking to her in person, and it was both more feminine and somehow, familiar. Twilight tried to turn her head towards it, but was stopped by the rigid yoke that connected her collar to the wall.

“What is your name?” Control asked.

“Twilight Sparkle,” said Twilight. A moment later electrical agony seared every nerve in her body.

“Liar,” said Control. “That’s what you told Flam, but I know it isn’t your real name.”

“I’m telling the truth,” said Twilight through teeth gritted by pain. Sucking in a breath, she repeated, “My name is Twilight Sparkle.” Fire danced along her nerves again as the suit’s punishment routine fired; through the pain and her own scream, Twilight guessed it had gone on for twice as long.

“Every time you lie to me, 614, the punishment will double,” said Control, with an angry hiss in Twilight’s ear. “What is your name?”

“M-my name…” Twilight stopped, wincing. Her body prickled all over, reminding her of the cost of completing the sentence. But her mind again went back again to those quiet days after Shining’s wedding. The long talks she’d had with him as part of his healing, as he passed along the lessons he had learned through hard experience and gentle counseling.

“There may come a moment,” Shining had said over tea, “when a captor will hurt you, to try to break your will to resist. Pain will eventually break any pony to the will of another, and some say the smart thing to do would be to just save yourself pain, and give in. But I say that if you want to be able to live with yourself afterwards, you have to fight for as long as you can. Every second you hold out is a victory, and you should win as many victories as possible.”

Twilight took a deep breath and braced herself. She could win at least a few more small battles. “My name is Twilight Sparkle.” This time the pain went on for a seeming eternity. Twilight screamed until she ran out of breath, and would have collapsed if not for the suit’s rigidity and the yoke on her neck holding her in place. Anger flowed in pain’s wake. Anger would be useful—but what Twilight heard next changed it to shock.

“Twilight Sparkle is the name of my daughter,” said Control, fury in her voice. “You made a mistake, impostor. My daughter is not an alicorn. You are not my daughter!” And Twilight Velvet, this world’s counterpart of Twilight’s own mother, again triggered the punishments built into Twilight’s suit, racking the alicorn in agony.

“L-let me explain,” pleaded Twilight, gasping, when the pain let up. “Just listen to me, please!”

“Choose your words carefully, impostor,” said Twilight Velvet, her voice hard and grim. “I do have permission to kill you if I need to.”

“Okay,” said Twilight, gasping as she spoke. “First, check my suit readings. You can tell when I’m lying. You proved that earlier today. Those readings will tell you that since I’ve been here, I haven’t lied once.” Twilight could almost hear the stunned silence as Velvet checked her instruments. When no punishing shock came, Twilight continued. “No, I’m not your daughter, but my name is and always has been Twilight Sparkle.”

“Then...what are you?” asked Velvet, and Twilight could hear the shock and disbelief in Velvet’s voice. “A changeling? Some kind of magical clone? A rogue experiment?”

“I’m a traveler, an explorer from an alternate world,” said Twilight. “I’m from an Equestria where the daughter of Twilight Velvet ascended to become an alicorn. If it helps, think of me as your daughter’s cousin.” Silence reigned for a few more moments; then the suit material covering Twilight’s face pulled back, and she blinked as her sight was restored. Another moment and the suit around her relaxed as well, allowing Twilight to move and flex her body, though she was still well secured in place by the solid metal yoke attached to her collar and the wall.

Twilight took a moment to look around. She was in a small room festooned with sets of gauges and dials all along one wall with a shelf protruding from it at the proper height for a sitting pony. Another wall had shelves with various bits of equipment and closed storage cabinets. The third was blank except for a hatch-like door, and the fourth wall was where Twilight stood.

Twilight Velvet sat on a wheeled swivel chair just two feet away from Twilight, studying her intently. Twilight returned that her gaze with equal interest. The middle aged mare looked very much like her own mother, maybe a little thinner and with a more severe manestyle, but otherwise all but identical. Like almost everypony else that Twilight had met, this Velvet also wore a biosuit, though hers had a gold collar while Twilight’s was metallic silver.

“I know you aren’t my mother,” said Twilight, smiling a bit, “but I have to say, you look just like her.”

“Say it again,” said Velvet, eyes still wide in surprise, her ears pointing straight up. “Tell me that impossible story, one more time.” Twilight Sparkle looked this world’s Twilight Velvet squarely in the eyes.

“My name,” Twilight repeated, holding Velvet’s gaze, “is Twilight Sparkle. I am a dimensional traveler from an alternate world. I arrived here a few days ago, and was tricked into wearing one of these suits. You probably know the rest.”

Long moments passed as Velvet turned to consult some of the dials and gauges on the wall again. Then her shoulders slumped.

“Nothing is ever easy,” muttered the older mare. Then, she flicked a couple of toggles and a familiar pair of clamps came down from the ceiling, locking around Twilight’s body. Once they had locked, the yoke disengaged from her collar. Neck freed, Twilight swiveled her head over towards Velvet, raising a questioning eyebrow at the change in her bondage as the other mare left her controls and approached.

“For what it’s worth, I believe you,” said Velvet, an odd mix of emotions playing on her features as she moved to stand beside Twilight. “Your presence here is a danger, but it is also an opportunity of which I need to take full advantage.” Twilight Velvet then bent close and whispered into Twilight’s ear. “I’m very, very sorry, but I’m still going to have to hurt you.”

Then, before Twilight had a chance to respond, Velvet bit down on Twilight’s ear, piercing the thin skin there with surprising ease and drawing blood. Twilight jerked her head away in surprise and pain, and the cut widened as Twilight’s instinctive movement tore Velvet’s teeth through her skin. The wound wasn’t big, but a pony’s ears are well perfused with blood, and and it was oozing freely down her ear and along the side of her head within seconds.

“What are you—“ began Twilight, only to scream in agony. Pain, greater than any she had experienced before, struck her, as Velvet used the punishment ability of Twilight’s suit to its fullest extent. Twilight tried to do something, anything, to stop the pain, but there was no stopping the tides of torment wracking her body. Twilight never would be able to recall the next twenty minutes of her life with any clarity, nor would she ever want to. Those memories would always be a maze of excruciating pain, bright lights, desperate attempts to breathe and endless repetitions of the same demand.

“Submit and Obey.”

Finally, some eternity later, the pain stopped, and Twilight slowly came back to herself. She hung limp in the claw’s grip, with no strength left in her she was unable to make even token resistance, as Velvet wiped a damp cloth along Twilight’s face while making soothing noises.

“Shh, shh, it’s okay,” soothed Velvet. “It’s all over. It’s okay, I’ve got you.”

“Wh—Why?” croaked out Twilight, from a throat raw from screaming, the coppery taste of blood in her mouth..

“I’m sorry, dear,” said Velvet, continuing to wipe blood off of Twilight’s limp body and her suit. “I truly am. But Flim and Flam are going to be reviewing what happens between us tonight. I had to have something to show them and it had be real. I’ve got enough material now that if I jumble it together right, they will think that I tortured and beat you for hours, instead of minutes.”

“...told you—not your daughter,” said Twilight, in a rasping voice, still trying to get her mind back up to speed.

“Shh, I know, you convinced me. Don’t try to talk so much yet,” said Velvet, bringing up what looked like a milkshake in a glass with a straw sticking out of it. “Drink this, it will make your throat feel better and give you back some strength. There’s a light painkiller in it too.” Twilight sucked on the straw while Velvet finished wiping the blood off of Twilight and bandaged her ear. As expected, the glass did hold a thin, excessively sweet, strawberry milkshake, which eased the rawness in her throat while the sugar it contained provided badly needed energy.

“Better now?” asked Velvet, after a few minutes.

“Kind of,” said Twilight, nodding with renewed strength, as she touched her wounded ear. “What was that for?”

“Head, face, and ear wounds bleed a lot,” said Velvet, with a sly grin. “Combine that with some sweat, and on the recordings it will look like I was beating you bloody. It will add to the illusion that I’ve broken you completely.”

“Okay, I’m completely confused now,” said Twilight, squirming a bit in her bonds. “What is going—“ Twilight’s words were cut off, as Velvet put one hoof behind Twilight’s head, and sealed her own mouth over Twilight’s in an open mouthed kiss. Twilight was no innocent, she had been kissed before. She’d experienced everything from chaste parental pecks to the fiery, wild passion of the kisses she had shared with 143 that very day. But never, in her entire life, had she been kissed with the consummate skill and sheer oral mastery that she was experiencing now, from this world’s Twilight Velvet.

A full minute passed, and as every sensitive and erogenous part of her mouth was explored, touched and stimulated, Twilight found herself being both aroused and repulsed. It was an incredible kiss, but it was her mother. She tried to protest, to do something in response. However, her every attempt was thwarted as Velvet’s tongue completely dominated hers, and it wrapped around her own in a fleshy lasso, pinning it in place, even as it continued to touch and stroke the inside of her mouth.

Twilight’s eyes shot open at the realization that the tongue in her mouth was doing things pony tongues just could not do, and she found herself looking into Velvet’s open eyes, only a few inches from her own. As she stared into Velvet’s eyes, she saw a telltale wash of green fire cross the eyes of her mother’s counterpart.

Changeling! thought Twilight, and as the creature in the guise of Twilight Velvet brought the kiss to a close, she gently released Twilight’s tongue, giving the roof of her mouth a last stroke as they withdrew.

“You’re a—“, began Twilight, as her mouth was freed.

“Yes,” confirmed the changeling.

“How long?”

“Three months”

“And Velvet is?” shot back Twilight Sparkle.

“Safe, with her daughter,” replied the changeling

“Ponynapped?” asked Twilight.

“Full cooperation and briefing,” said the changeling, shaking her head with a smile.

“Why?” said Twilight, curiously.

“I work for Boskone, as an infiltrator,” said the changeling, enigmatically.

“Who is Boskone?”

“You’re smart, I think you know, dear.”

Twilight paused in the rapid fire exchange and, thinking, realized she did know the identity of the individual who best suited the identity of the chief villain of that story. She nodded back to the disguised changeling.

“Why are you telling me this?” said Twilight, giving a demonstrative buck against her bonds. “It isn’t like you have to.”

“Unlike Flim and Flam, we pay our debts,” said the changeling. “At the beginning there, I was using you to score points with them and to solidify my cover as Twilight Velvet that much more.” The changeling made a rueful smile saying, “After all, there was no way you could actually be Twilight Sparkle. So, I used you and I owe you for that, and I’m about to owe you more, because I need to balance the scales for what I am going to have to do to you, during the next couple of hours.”

“Woah, wait,” said Twilight, trying to back away, and failing. “I thought we were past the whole torture and enslavement thing.”

“We are,” said the changeling, with a sad smile. “But Flim and Flam have ordered me to break you, this very night. They either know or suspect that there is going to be a significant challenge to them in the next few days, and if I don’t present them with a loyal alicorn enforcer in the morning there will be Tartarus to pay.”

“If you, or they, think I’m going to simply roll over and let anypony alter my mind, all of you are in for a rude shock,” growled Twilight, sticking out her jaw defiantly. “I may not be able to stop you forever, but I can keep fighting for a long, long time.”

“I’m sure you could,” said the changeling, in a voice tinged with both respect and sadness, “if this was a normal attempt at conditioning or conversion. But they don’t care about finesse, or subtlety or long term functionality. They want me to smash you flat, then rebuild you into their tool and toy.” The changeling gestured around the room. “I have access to Zebrican potions, electroshock, magic, hypnosis, subliminal messaging and complete real-time readouts of how you react to everything I do. Combined with the preliminary conditioning that’s already done to you over the past few days.” She paused, then said, “Well, believe me when I say that in two hours I can make you into a loyal, efficient, mindless shell for Flim and Flam’s amusement and protection.”

Twilight felt her heart stop as she heard the confidence in the changeling’s statement. She had been handling things fairly well up until now, but even she could tell certain behaviors and responses had already been conditioned into her. If the changeling piled on all the resources she had at her disposal, two hours might even be an optimistic estimate of her endurance. Twilight still was, after all, a helpless captive, so something had to be holding this false Twilight Velvet back from just doing, what she merely threatened. Twilight forced herself to think rationally and looked her potential executioner in the eye.

“I am going to assume there is a reason you’re only telling me this,” said Twilight, proud at how steady her voice sounded.

“There is,” said the changeling, putting a hoof on Twilight’s shoulder in sympathy. “I’m part of a plan that will bring Flim and Flam down. If you cooperate, if you just give me a little trust, I can make you part of it, even a big part of it. I can set things up so that ‘614’ is just an overlay. You will be still be there underneath, ready to take back control as soon as I say the trigger phrase. Once I give you the trigger phrase, you come back and nail those two to the wall when they least expect it for the rest of us to grab.”

Twilight snorted in derision. "No. Absolutely not. I have no reason to believe you’re not just trying to trick me into giving up. Even then, I have no reason to trust that you won’t work in some other way to take advantage of me. And the cherry on top? Your plan is terrible." Velvet raised an eyebrow at the restrained alicorn.

"And what makes you say that?” the changeling asked Twilight. “What makes you say it’s a terrible plan. In fact, maybe I should simply destroy your mind and leave you as an obedient, mechanical husk as punishment for your resistance and to hide my secret?"

"Yes, I know you can do that.” Twilight shook her head. “But you said you owed me, and I can’t believe you would ever intentionally destroy a potential resource as strong as an alicorn. I'm too powerful and too useful as either your asset or ally; I don't know why you would even waste your breath on threats like that."

"...Continue."

"Your plan relies on too many coincidences—such as you being in the right place, when and where you need me to act. It's like you never even heard of the Evil Overmare's Handbook. And I won't pull any punches—what you're telling me? That is evil, let alone what you've done to other, less useful ponies for refusing to follow your rules." Twilight took a deep breath and let it back out with a sigh. "But, I know I'm not getting out of helping you to some degree, even if I didn't want to kick Flim and Flam into next week myself. And I know I'm not leaving this room without at least some degree of" —she gulped— "change.”

"So listen to me. I am done with ponies here telling me what to do, and trying to use me for their own ends." Twilight punctuated her statement with a hard stomp. "I will tell you how to help me take down Flim and Flam. You will trust me, because I do have a plan, and I am very, very good at lists and plans. You will do exactly what I say, to give Flim and Flam the appearance of getting what they want, and in return, I will keep my eyes open for the right moment to strike. If you agree, I will be your weapon for that strike. That is the deal I'll give you, and you'll take it, because it is worlds better for you, and far better thought-out, than anything you've offered me. Do you understand?”

“And what if I refuse your plan? What if I decide that it is in my best interest to break you, utterly and completely, as stupid, wasteful and foolish as it may be, and just let the plan unfold without you?” asked Velvet, with more than a little malice.

“Because if all else fails, I have one, final option. Do you know the name ‘Nightmare Moon’?” asked Twilight, as she played her hole card.

“Yes. Why?” said Velvet, looking somewhat confused at the non-sequitur.

“Then you know the legends. You know what Nightmare Moon planned to do, what she could do,” said Twilight with a dark smile. “She was an alicorn who gave into her darker nature. I am an alicorn. Moreover, I carried the Element of Magic. I am the Princess of Friendship, and Friendship is Magic.” Twilight paused for a moment to let that sink in. “What do think will happen, if I am faced with the death of what makes me who I am? I’ll tell you what will happen. If a moment comes when I feel that I have nothing left to lose, and all is lost, I will open myself to that darkness. I will welcome it, embrace it, and take it fully into myself.”

“You—You wouldn’t,” whispered Velvet, her eyes wide in shock. “You couldn’t.”

“Not only can I, but in another reality, I did,” said Twilight, showing her teeth now. “My counterpart there became Midnight Sparkle, and even untrained and underpowered as she was, she was capable of ripping open the barriers between worlds with barely an effort. So believe me when I say that if I became Midnight Sparkle, this” —she touched a hoof to the collar locked around her throat— “wouldn’t even slow me down. I would lay waste to this place and every pony within it. There would be no survivors.”

“But your mind would be gone anyway,” the changeling said, blanching. “The darkness would destroy and consume you. Even your soul. There would be nothing left.”

“Even at that price, taking all of this with me would still be a victory,” said Twilight, with a smile so dark it made the changeling back off a step. “Why do you think there are ponies who fight you to the end? They know, from the beginning, that they are doomed, but every minute, every second of resistance is a victory sweeter than honey. Think about it. When the only choices are death or death after a fight, there will always be ponies who will choose to fight. They will struggle for every moment that they can wrest from you, and even when you finally break them, they’ve still won because their end has come at a moment of their choosing, and not yours.”

“I...I think I understand,” said Velvet, sitting on her haunches. “For some ponies, there is no reason not to use every weapon, not to fling all that they are into the fight, because the fight itself is the only victory they can achieve. The idea of refusing to conform, even to the point of death, is…strange, alien even, to me, but I do understand.” She nodded, coming to a decision. “Very well, Twilight Sparkle, I will listen. What is your plan?”

“First, I think we can safely assume that Flim and Flam are going to run some sort of inspection of me in the morning to ensure that I’m broken to their will.”

“If you mean, they will make you service them and gauge your reaction to both the command and the action, then yes.”

“Of course they will,” said Twilight, sighing. “So, yes, you are going to need to change my responses. You need to make me happier, overall. Everything Flim and Flam ask of me should always be viewed in a positive light. Actually fulfilling their commands should make me feel ecstatic.”

“As opposed to wanting to buck them through a wall,” said Velvet with a grimace.

“I think doing that would sort of blow my cover,” said Twilight, with a small chuckle. “Okay, taking a cue from 143, I should tend to speak in the third person. And because the brothers hate my name, I should only refer to myself as my number, 614.”

“All right, all of that is pretty easy. Straightforward vocabulary substitution, a baseline emotive change, response reward stimuli, and a general elimination of inhibitions,” said Velvet, making notes on a clipboard.

“I’m glad you feel that way, because the hard part is next,” said Twilight, as Velvet cocked an eyebrow at her. “I also need you to make it so my core personality, the me of right now, is awake and aware at all times, and that I have a way to trigger an immediate reversal of everything you’ve done, so that I can strike when a prime opportunity comes by.”

“Hold on,” said Velvet. “I’m something of a professional at this, so I can do all that, but I have to warn you. If your core personality is awake and aware, you’re not going to be able to avoid at least some conditioning yourself, maybe even a lot of conditioning, as a submissive pet. If that conditioning sticks, it’s likely to be permanent. Can you deal with that?”

“I’m an alicorn, so my mind is a little more resilient than the average pony’s. But if any of that does happen somewhere down the road, I have good ponies at home who can help me through it,” said Twilight. “Now, as to the aftermath. I need three things in exchange for being your weapon. One, when all is said and done, I leave here, free, clear, and unmolested to return to my home. Two, your boss does a long term job on my behalf. Three, you fix 143.”

“Some of what you ask is impossible. We can’t do anything for 143,” said the changeling, a sad, regretful look on her face. “I’m sorry, I’ve tried. She was one of the first ponies conditioned, and the pony who broke her to obedience was absolutely brutal. I’ve seen some of the records of that Control.” Velvet shuddered.

“That bad?” asked Twilight, curious.

“Worse. You can’t even begin to imagine the horrors that mare inflicted on ponies. The worst I can do barely even comes close. Anyway,” said Velvet, shifting topics desperately, “to push on, I don’t see any problem with letting you head home afterwards. I’ll even escort you personally to make sure you’re safe. And lastly, what sort of job do you need my boss to do for you?”

“The specifics would be between the two of us,” Twilight said. “But I can promise you that it will be something she will want to do. As for 143, fine. If you can’t restore her, then she comes with me when all this is done. And one last thing. No matter how this plays out, I am restored in no more than seven days from tonight.”

“Okay, deal,” said the changeling, speaking quickly. “Now first, I need you to—“

“Slow down there,” said Twilight, holding up a hoof. “Swear to me you will honour this agreement.”

“Yes, I swear to abide by these terms,” said the changeling, again just a little too fast for Twilight’s liking.

“Swear it, on your egg and on the First Egg that bore you all,” said Twilight with a smirk.

“How did you—fine,” said the changeling, with a rueful look. “Most ponies don’t know that we consider that to be our highest binding oath.”

“Than it’s a good thing I’ve spent quite a bit of time learning your lore and customs,” said Twilight, silently blessing each and every long hour she had spent in the archives researching changelings, their history and traditions. “Swear it, and we have a deal.”

“Very well. In exchange for you letting me make the changes we’ve discussed, as well as acting on our behalf, my superior will perform a task of your choosing, providing it benefits her. You will receive ownership of Pony 143 and you will be restored to your original state of mind within seven days, unless you trigger the restoration yourself. You will also be given safe passage so that you may return to your home,” said the changeling, pausing. Twilight stared her down, and she continued, “This I swear, by the egg that bore me, and by the First Egg that carried us all into the world.”

“Deal,” said Twilight, clopping hooves with the changeling. “Now, I assume you will be using something around here to do...what you need to do.” The changeling looked around with distaste on its borrowed face.

“I do despise the brute force methods the brothers prefer for this,” said the changeling. “I would much rather use something more elegant, something less painful to you, something more...organic.” Twilight saw what the changeling was driving at immediately. It wanted to use its magic and mental abilities directly on Twilight’s mind.

“I understand what you want to do,” said Twilight slowly. “And I did agree to it. So, what’s your plan?” Cerise coloured magic flared from the horn of the disguised changeling, and when it faded Twilight Velvet was sporting a very impressive cock.

“Okay, I get the idea, and I agree that it definitely would be more enjoyable than beatings and shock treatments,” said Twilight, with a half-smile. “But you look like my mother. Can’t you at least change how you look? Like how you made that,” said Twilight, pointing to Velvet’s magical member.

“Oh, this is all Twilight Velvet’s spell and magic,” said the changeling, touching the organ with a smile. “As is the skill she taught me in how to use it. Like I said, she gave me her full and willing cooperation.” Twilight’s eyebrows shot up at that revelation. She always knew her parents were cosmopolitan, but not to that degree. “And yes, I could use my inborn power for a full change,” said Velvet, “if I wanted to set off every alarm in the place. I can get away with small uses, particularly if I shield them, like I did with our kiss. But a full use? Not a chance.”

“Well, we need to figure something out,” said Twilight, “because there is no way you are going to get what you need from me otherwise, masterful technique or not.” Velvet sat back on her haunches, pondering. As she did, her eyes lit on one of the metal storage cabinets.

“I’ve just the thing,” said Velvet in triumph as she opened the cabinet, and pulled out a glowing flask.

“What’s that?” asked Twilight, lifting a suspicious eyebrow.

“This is one of those Zebrican potions I mentioned before,” said Velvet. “Drink it, and for half an hour you will have no inhibitions at all.”

“I don’t think so,” Twilight said. “While I’m drugged, I’d agree to anything and you know it.”

“Please?” asked Velvet “You’re actually rather attractive, which is why I kissed you, and I swear I will only use the potion’s effect to accomplish what we have already agreed upon.”

“Fine,” said Twilight, sighing. “Let me have it. It can’t be worse than electroshock.” Velvet held the flask to Twilight’s mouth and the alicorn swallowed the minty potion.

“Just one warning,” said Velvet, as Twilight felt her concerns and cares starting to become less important. “You might find yourself imprinting on my appearance, just watch for that in the future.”

“So, you’re going to...” said Twilight, her voice trailing off, her face going a little slack as her worries kind of...melted away.

“I’m going to harvest energy from you, repurpose it, and then introduce it back into you so that I can gently make the changes we both want,” said Velvet. “And that is possible only because you are willing.” Velvet stroked Twilight’s cheek and said in a breathy voice, “I’m so very glad you drank that potion, because I need you to be willing, pliant...and wanton.” Once again the changeling Velvet sealed her mouth to Twilight’s own with that incredible skill that left Twilight warm, tingling and pleasantly gasping for breath.

“Oh, my dear, sweet thing,” said the changeling, as she caused the nethers of Twilight’s suit to open. She grasped the ends of both of Twilight’s plugs and gently eased them out of her now willing captive and a shudder rolled through Twilight’s frame.

“Please, be gentle with me,” said Twilight.

“Of course, dear one,” said the changeling with a low, husky voice. “I promise you softness, and care, and joy.” Putting actions to words, the changeling began to delicately taste and probe Twilight’s sensitive marehood. The clamps holding Twilight released, and as they opened, Twilight nearly fell to her knees at the combination of sensation and the return of her weight before bracing herself upright again.

“Thank you. Oh, that feels good,” said Twilight, as Velvet continued her ministrations. For the first time in days, Twilight wasn’t locked in place or tethered to somepony or something.

“I thought you would appreciate being touched as a mare, and not as a thing,” said Velvet looking up from her pleasant task to look Twilight in the face. “I can do that much for you. May I mount you?” Twilight nodded.

“Just tell me one thing,” said Twilight, looking back as the changeling moved into position. “Tell me your actual name.”

“Alyss,” said Velvet, gently mounting Twilight and entering the alicorn with her magical cock. “My real name is Alyss.”

Twilight nodded, and then threw her head back as the mare behind her slowly pushed in, filling her passage fully and completely. It felt good, it felt right. Her body was being pleasured, softly and gently, and it was wonderful. Twilight felt the warmth and tingling fullness grow more and more. Then the sensations changed, the warmth and fullness began to ebbing and flowing. In and out. In and out. The warmth moved forward, up Twilight’s body, a little more with every stroke.

As Twilight’s body felt warmer and more relaxed she sunk down to her knees, Velvet gently riding her mount down to the floor. A light tingling sensation joined the warmth encompassing Twilight’s body with dancing sparks of pleasure. The warmth and sensations reached the base of Twilight’s neck, then stopped and flowed no further. The changeling in the form of Twilight’s mother continued to lovingly plow Twilight’s passage, draining away the power of her emotions and returning it, altered, to suit their combined purpose. It felt wonderful, but after several minutes things seemed to have reached a plateau, and Twilight heard a slight growl of frustration from behind her.

“Wh—What’s wrong?” asked Twilight, panting slightly, her breathing matching the rhythm of her body.

“Even willing,” grunted the changeling, in rhythm with her own thrusts, “it’s almost impossible for my magic to breach your defences. I’m sorry, but I’m going to have to get a little rough.”

“Go ahead,” moaned Twilight, trapped on the edge of orgasm and wanting, needing, release. “Just tell me what you need me to do.”

“Thank you, my sweet alicorn,” said Velvet, rearing up. “Have you ever wondered why changelings have fangs?”

Twilight was about to say that fangs sounded a little dangerous, but a moment later the changeling struck, sinking its needle sharp fangs into the back of Twilight’s neck, just below her skull. Any pain Twilight might have felt from the strike, was quickly overwhelmed by the warm numbness rapidly spreading from the bite, as the changeling pumped its venom into her. Her defences now physically, chemically and magically breached, Twilight felt her thoughts melting into a comfortable warmth as the venom took hold.

“Finally,” said Velvet. With a grunt of effort, she came in the alicorn’s body, filling Twilight with a massive flow of her own power, only altered and changed. As gush after gush of the warm, liquid power filled Twilight, her last innate resistance crumbled, and she cried out as a series of tremendous orgasms of incredible power crashed over her, one after the other.

Brilliant light filled her vision, and she felt herself being pulled back into a safe, warm, and comfortable spot in her own mind. She floated in a soft, fluffy nothingness. Three words filled her thoughts, preventing any of her own, "I’ve got you." Far from malevolent, they were part of the safe warmth around her, and she realized at last something of what had happened to Trixie.

While Twilight watched from her soft warmth, she could the changes happening. Paths of light were snapped apart and reattached to flow in new directions, down new paths. Some parts of her mind were turned off entirely, while others brightened considerably. Twilight knew she should have felt alarm at some of this, but four things prevented it.

First, that warm and comforting presence was keeping her safe above all else. Second, every change that was being made, every alteration, was being mapped out in complete detail for her. Third, watching the changes let Twilight see how to reverse every alteration at any moment. Finally, she could feel that the changes were happening around her, but not really to her. Twilight felt herself relaxing more and more. Her day had been incredibly full and exhaustion was catching up to her. The warm voice spoke to her again.

“It’s time for you to rest,” said the warm voice. “When you wake, everything you have asked of me will be done. Now, sleep.” Twi—614 realized she really didn’t want to fight the command and let herself drift off to a peaceful and restful slumber.

Hours later, Twilight felt a hoof nudging her awake. Opening her eyes, she saw that she had fallen asleep on a pad in the Control room, and that she was again leashed with steel cables to the walls.

“Good morning, 614,” said Control—or Alyss—sitting near her. “How are you?”

“614 is pleased to see you, Control. How may 614 be of use to Flim and Flam today?” Twilight heard her mouth say. That isn’t what I meant to say! Twilight frantically thought. What in Celestia’s name is going on? Control must have seen the confused beginnings of panic rush across Twilight’s face, because she leaned close and took Twilight’s head between her forehooves.

“Don’t. Panic,” Control said, clearly and carefully. “Some initial confusion is normal. Remember what we talked about last night. Think girl. Think.” Control held onto 614’s head until she felt the mare below her calm down.

“I know you meant to say something else, but what you are hearing is the word substitution,” said Control, explaining things. “Think of it as a filter between your thoughts and your mouth. It will let you say almost anything you want in your head, then translate it into ‘614-speak’ when you actually say it.” Twilight nodded, the memory of what she had arranged with Control coming back to her and calming her.

“The other alterations we discussed are in place, but not active yet,” said Control. “Once I activate them, they have to stay in place until either of us dismisses them.”

“How can 614 tell Control...” said Twilight, unsure how to communicate the question of how to communicate. Fortunately, Control was able to divine what Twilight meant.

“It’s okay, dear,” said Control. “When I want the inner you to give me a straight answer I will start the question with the words ‘Tell me true, 614.’ When you hear that, you can answer by blinking your right eye once for ‘yes’ or your left eye twice for ‘no.’ Tell me true, 614, do you understand?” Twilight carefully and deliberately blinked her right eye once.

“Good girl. Now comes the hard part,” said Control, with a slight grimace. “It’s time to activate the other changes. You notice that I’ve tethered you again?” Twilight nodded. “When the other changes kick in you might lose control of yourself for a minute or two. If I didn’t tether you, it would be possible for you to hurt yourself thrashing about.”

Twilight felt a chill run through her, as she nodded in acknowledgment. This was the moment of truth. She had struck a bargain as best she could, to remain herself as much as she could, and still have a solid shot at escape. She could only hope that she had phrased her conditions well enough, and that her research on changeling culture had been accurate.

“Alright,” said Control, igniting her horn. “Three, two, one...Butterscotch Ripple.” As the phrase was said, Twilight Sparkle felt her perceptions, her feelings, her everything, bend and change. Vertigo struck her hard and she staggered to one side, only to be stopped short by one of her collar tethers. Back and forth she stumbled, finally sinking down to her knees until the sensations faded.

As her senses stabilized, she realized that Control was stroking her head and making soothing noises, just like Rarity would sometimes do with Opal. More, Twilight realized, she was leaning into the strokes and humming, almost purring, as if she was indeed a pet in the hooves of her owner.

“Easy, girl, easy,” said Control, gently. “It’s done now.” Control ground a hoof into Twilight’s back, just in front of her dock, and Twilight found herself obligingly raising her plot and flagging her tail as the simple pleasure of being obedient filled her senses. 614 looked over her shoulder at her beloved Control and hummed a question.

“Oh, you are absolutely adorable like this, “ said Control, smiling widely. “If I hadn’t already given my word I’d be very tempted to keep you this way.” 614 smiled in pleasure at her Control’s praise.

“Try to remember that it isn’t really you feeling the pleasure, it’s the disguise, said Control. “You’ll feel even more pleasure when you obey Flim and Flam or when they use your body. Do you understand? Tell me true, 614, are you still with me?” The code phrase sunk down into the purple mare’s psyche, down to its protected core. Twilight looked back up through the mental layers and blinked her right eye, once.

“Alright, 614,” said Control, nodding in satisfaction. “From this point on, it’s all on you. I’m trusting you to pull this off and I’ve given you what you asked for.” Control sighed, saying, “Ready or not, it’s time for us to go see Flim and Flam.” Control got 614 to her hooves, and together, the unlikely allies headed toward the offices of the brothers.

* * * * * *

“Please...please stop, no more,” said the pleading voice of Twilight Sparkle, in the recording, twenty minutes later. “I’ll do anything, just don’t hurt me anymore.”

“Then give in, submit and obey,” said the harsh voice of Control. “I will take the pain away, and I promise you will feel nothing but bliss and joy, so long as you are obedient.”

“O-okay, I’ll submit, I’ll obey. It won’t hurt anymore?” sobbed the voice in the recording.

“Not even a little bit.” Flam flicked the recording off, smiling in satisfaction, as he and his brother looked at the leashed mare sitting on the floor before them.

“So, pony,” said Flam, “what is your name?”

“This pony is called 614-Cog,” said the pony in a cheery voice. “Is there anything I can do for you, Master?” The two brothers leaned back in their chairs and looked at each other, naked avarice and lust on their faces.

“We’d like to buck you, 614,” said Flim, with a leer. “Right here, right now. What do you say to that?”

“Please?” said 614, ears perking up as she replied in that same happy, cheerful voice. “Can I start being a good pony now, Masters? 614 would be very happy to earn a reward.” As 614 finished her declaration, she turned and presented her plot to the brothers, lifting her tail high in the air.

“Oh my,” said Flam, unable to take his eyes from the offering being waved in front of him. “000-Control, excellent job, as always. But I think my brother and I can take it from here.” Control visibly stifled a small laugh.

“Thank you,” she said, turning to leave. “I would like to see 614 again tonight to make sure her conditioning is holding, and maybe add a few things.”

“Of course,” said Flam, waving her away. “Now then, brother mine...”

Alyss heard no more as she closed the door behind her. The guards on either side of the door ignored both her and the sounds coming through the door as she walked away down the corridor.

Author's Note

Only one more chapter to go in the "Cog" arc, which is written, but in heavy need of edits and rewrites of some sections. I will have it out as quick as I can. Some of you made some pretty decent guesses as to the identity of Control and when I was writing the story several options were open to me. I decided to go the way I did, for the interesting long term consequences of my choice. Just imagine how Twilight is going to react the next time she actually meets up with her mother? And I think most of you know who Boskone is as well.

Quick chronology note: This story is taking place just after the season 5 ending. As such, Thorax is still unknown, as he appears midway in season 6.

This chapter is also brought to you through the assistance of my current patrons:

Damaged
and
Canary in the Coal Mine

Please support me on atreon Supporting me helps me concentrate on writing and keeps me in coffee and keyboards and if I can make my first goal I can start commission art for my stories to give back to my fellow creators who have done so much to inspire me.

Cog, Part VI

The next couple of days passed very oddly for Twilight Sparkle. As expected, Flim and Flam made use of her body at every opportunity and Twilight found herself blessing Alyss’s ability to change what should have been disgust and horror into desire, pleasure and even anticipation of those uses. Her furious internal anger changed into an outward expression of her wet, clenching need to be commanded, taken and bred by a dominant stallion who possessed every inch of her.

That realization jerked Twilight from half-asleep musings as she lay curled around 143, on the bed they shared in their quarters. Twilight breathed a sigh of relief that she hadn’t woken her partner and went back to her introspection. She sorted through her thoughts and emotions, realizing that Alyss had been right. The conditioning and desires of a submissive, willing slavemare were slowly filtering through to Twilight’s core consciousness, and like it or not, Twilight was not only accepting her situation has normal, but she was beginning to act and react as if this was how things should be.

I’ll just have to be more aware of it, thought Twilight to herself, yawning. I wish Princess Luna would contact me again. I’d love to try to set up something between her and Alyss’s ponies. Maybe if I go back to sleep I can reach her. Twilight snuggled closer to 143, the scent of her mane proving to be an excellent soporific that carried Twilight back to sleep.

“Greetings, Princess Twilight,” said Luna, a seeming moment later, in the grass field where they had first met. “I heard thy call and came as I was able...” This world’s lunar alicorn took on a look of sadness. “Oh foalish filly, what hast thou done to thyself?” she asked Twilight, pointing to her body. Twilight looked down at her own body where Luna was pointing and Twilight saw that even in dream realm she was wearing the suit and collar combination she wore in the waking world.

“I have done what had to be done, Your Highness,” said Twilight, firmly. “Accepting this is a price I have to pay, to remain myself and escape this nightmare.”

“She, with whom you have struck this deal, her kind are different from those you know from your world,” said Luna, frowning. “They are true to their word, but only its letter. Not to its spirit or intent.”

“I had somewhat expected that,” said Twilight, ears twitching, “but I get the feeling you are telling me this for a particular reason.”

“Indeed, Princess,” said Luna, in a gentler tone. “While the one called Alyss did follow your directions, she also laid an additional working upon thy mind.”

“What sort of working?” Twilight asked, with a growl.

“It would be best if I demonstrated,” Luna said. “Brace thyself, young alicorn, and know that what thou are about to do comes from thy core, due to the workings thou has allowed upon thyself.” With that, Luna changed herself into the image of Twilight Velvet.

“Tell me true, 614,” said the transformed Luna, in Velvet’s voice. “What are the first steps of the spell that takes thee between worlds?” Twilight just stared for a moment that Luna would ask her something that had to be kept secret for the safety of everypony. To Twilight’s shock and horror though, her mouth opened against her will, and she heard herself telling Luna the initial steps of the cross time spell. Twilight managed to stop herself after no more than a sentence or two and just sat there for a moment, hooves clapped over her mouth, eyes wide and staring.

“Alyss laid a compulsion upon thee,” said Luna, still in her guise of Twilight Velvet. “Whenever thou hears the trigger words, in thy mother’s voice, you have no choice but to speak and speak only the truth as you know it.”

“She broke her word to me,” Twilight said, ears flat in anger, as she recovered. “That was their highest oath too! How can she justify that?”

“Thou has the right of it, Princess,” Luna said in reply. “In order to maintain her concept of balance and honour, she laid the same compulsion on herself.”

“What? Really?” asked Twilight, eyebrows arching in surprise. “So, whenever I say ‘tell me true, Alyss’ she’ll have no choice but to reply honestly?”

“Precisely,” said Luna, in answer. “That is how she justified violating her word. By telling herself she had balanced it out and that it was necessary. Should you call her to account before her mother, thou should have a mighty hold over her. Now, before circumstance interrupted, why did you summon me?”

“Um, yes, Princess Luna,” said Twilight as she rose to her hooves. “This is going to sound strange, especially considering what you’ve just shown me, but what do you think of working with Alyss and her--um--family to achieve your goals?”

“Yes,” said Luna, simply.

“What?” Twilight asked. “Why are you so willing to trust them?”

“I don’t trust them, but I can work with them, because they have honor of a sort,” said Luna. “They are true to their word, as long as one parses agreements with them properly. For example, you did not specify she could not lay additional workings if she considered them necessary. I could do worse than her people as an ally.”

“All right, Princess,” said Twilight, nodding. “When this is all done I’m going to have Alyss’s mother contact you. I believe she would be willing to help you.”

“Very well, Princess Twilight,” said Luna. “I shall take my leave now. I wish to travel the dream realms for awhile more, before my sister rouses me again to my prison. Good fortune to you.” With that simple farewell, the lunar alicorn leaped into the sky and disappeared in wink of dark light. For her part, Twilight allowed herself to drift off to the deeper portions of sleep so that she could fully rest.

614’s combat training continued, and even Twilight had to admit the imposed regime was making her fitter and tougher than she had ever been. Raising a shield was now an automatic reflex for her, for example. Also, the regular sexual attention was very enjoyable as well. Whatever their other faults, Flim and Flam were talented lovers and knew how to drive a mare wild, even before the advantage the suits gave them.

Finally, on the fourth morning things changed. Twilight was letting her altered reactions as 614 carry her along, as she was making Flim happy with her mouth while Flam was sliding into her back passage when a loud explosion echoed through the complex. The brothers quickly withdrew from their toy, and while 614 collapsed from the sudden lack of support, Flam hit a button on the desk.

“What’s going on?” he demanded to the intercom. The heavy thuds of hoof to hoof combat filled the room through the speaker, punctuated by the zorp of a high powered magic blast.

“West entrance!” cried a voice to the brothers. “It’s them! It’s the Angels!”

“Hold them off!” Flam yelled at the intercom. The voice on the other end began to reply but there was a sudden vicious sound of electricity and the connection cut off.

“All security to the west entrance,” Flam ordered into the intercom, and 614 could hear the echoes from the PA system. “All workers to quarters. This is a top-tier emergency.” While Flam barked out those orders, his brother pulled open a hidden door in the wall, revealing a storage locker. Inside were various pieces of gear, and Flim began pulling on a tactical vest lined with pouches which he snapped closed around his torso.

“What’s our move, brother?” he asked, tossing his brother a vest.

“We get clear,” Flam replied, as he slipped the vest over himself. “We go for the south entrance, in case the west side is just a diversion.”

“Sounds good,” said Flim, as he reached into the cabinet once more and pulled out a pair of large devices that greatly reminded 614 of weapons, for some reason. Again, he tossed one of the devices to his brother, who worked a slide on the thing with a loud double-clack. Twilight realized she needed need to speak up. She couldn’t afford to let the brothers leave her behind.

“Masters,” said 614, as she got to her hooves, “is there any way that 614 can help?” Both Flim and Flam looked startled for a moment, as if they had completely forgotten about their alicorn toy. A sly grin came over Flim’s face.

“You certainly can, 614,” he said. “Are you prepared to fulfill your training?”

“Oh yes,” said the captive alicorn, clopping her hooves in joy. “614 has been training so hard for this! It would make 614 so happy to protect you.” Flim looked over at his brother, who gave a nod back.

“Very well,” he said. “614 suit, reduce magic restriction to 75% of normal.” The suit around 614 didn’t seem to change, but for the first time in a week Twilight was able to access magic at will again and an ecstatic grin covered her face as she felt power flow through her.

“Ohhhh, my,” 614 sighed, her face transported in joy. Then, she blinked and looked at her masters, the brothers. Both brothers had their weapons leveled and trained on 614. “Is something wrong?” she asked, as Twilight realized that she had she had let a little too much of her real feelings show. She was about to try to distract the brothers when another explosion, closer than before, shook the plant and the brothers both glanced in its direction before pointing their weapons towards the floor.

“Come on, 614,” said Flam. “If we run across any bad ponies, your job is to shield us while we deal with them, okay?”

“Of course, Master,” said 614, kneeling before the brothers, as Twilight decided a show of submissiveness couldn’t hurt. “Anything 614 can do to help.”

Flim and Flam opened a side door to their office Twilight hadn’t seen before, and she followed them down the narrow passage. Though the two stallions carried their weapons with confidence, their nervous glances showed that they both were very worried. The narrow passage ended at a door and, after tapping out a code on keypad, the metal door opened into one of the large, main hallways. Ponies were scrambling back and forth as the trio were suddenly assaulted by wailing alarms, falling dust, and the sound of screaming.

“Look out!” 614 yelled, as she manifested a shield in a trained, automatic reaction. A split second later, a projectile penetrated the shield and struck Flam’s weapon. Fortunately, the projectile’s force had been spent punching through the shield and it did no damage. The brothers swung their weapons to face the direction the shot had come from, and trained them on a yellow pegasus with a pink mane. The mare had fired her shot from behind a PA speaker mounted high on a wall and was scrambling for fresh cover.

As one, the brothers squeezed the triggers on their weapons and they responded with “phut phut phut” sounds. Several black spheres the size of golf balls struck the pegasus, knocking her out of the air and expanding to volleyball size. The attacking pegasus quickly found herself glued into a sticky mass on the floor of the corridor, unable to move more than her head. Flim went over to the downed mare, and grasping her mane pulled her hair back so he could look her in the face.

“Not so sneaky now, are you Breeze?” sneered Flim, lip curling. “When we take care of the rest of your band, I will take great pleasure in personally dealing with you.” With that, he grabbed up the projectile that had been fired at his brother and jammed it into the side of the mare’s neck. The mare gave a small cry and went limp.

“Is she dead?” 614 asked.

“No,” said Flim. “Breeze prefers to use knockout or stun weapons. Unlike the rest of the Angels.” Turning to 614, Flim said, “Good work, 614. But your shield wasn’t strong enough to stop that shot. 614 suit, decrease magic restriction to 50%.” The suit responded, reducing its stranglehold on Twilight’s magic even further. The three ponies set off again, sometimes having to fight their way through panicked ponies. Whoever these Angels were, they had the entire place in an uproar.

After several minutes, Flim, Flam, and 614 finally reached their goal and closed a large, sliding door behind them as they entered a huge loading bay. The cavernous place was empty except for piles of boxes and a lone, large vehicle at the far end. Several vehicle doors, all closed, had the bay sealed off from the outside and there was no sign of any intruders. After a quick look around to be certain they were alone, the two brothers and their alicorn headed toward the sole remaining vehicle. A large box like wagon, obviously meant to carry cargo.

The trio came to a halt half a minute later when, as they drew close to the vehicle, five ponies and a large changeling stepped out from around it.

“Hello, your Majesty,” said Flam, addressing the well dressed female changeling, that Twilight recognized as Chrysalis. She was tall with a regal bearing, marred only by the broken stump of the horn on her head. Beside her stood a mulberry-coated pony who could have been Twilight’s twin, except that she had a very short mane style.

On the royal changeling’s right stood a powerfully built orange earth pony, and a sky blue pegasus who bore a prismatic mane and had static discharges rolling through her wing feathers. On the left was very, very pink earth pony with a flat mane. She reeked of sulfur and stood beside the final member of the hostile group, a white unicorn with an elegant purple mane. In her magic the unicorn held a runed staff with several lenses attached to it. In turn, Twilight recognized them as Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie and Rarity. Each of them wore a tactical vest and light armor bearing the insignia of a halo with wings coming out of it.

Everypony was very, very still. Each of them was specifically not checking their weapons, not checking explosive charges, or knives, ropes, stunners, or any other of the dozens of instruments of violence that were being carried in that room. The mulberry pony beside the Chrysalis slowly nudged her mistress and nodded toward 614.

“Yes, Egghead, I see her,” said the changeling, who then shifted her gaze to the brothers. “Flim, Flam, we are well acquainted with one another, but I cannot say as I have met your companion. What is she? A clone? Something from the Mirror Pool? Some sort of abomination you made in your labs?”

“Queen Chrysalis,” said Flim, with a sneer. “I would like to introduce you to our pet alicorn, 614. 614, meet Queen Chrysalis.” Twilight, as 614, bowed her head to changeling queen.

“My dear,” said Chrysalis, with a throaty purr. “I am Queen Chrysalis. Allow me to introduce my companions. From left to right they are Hammer, Zap, Party Cannon and Widow. Beside me here, is my beloved Egghead. What would be your name?”

“Tw—Tw—Tw—” Twilight stammered, trying to circumvent the redirects and filters Alyss had put into her vocabulary. She simply couldn’t. Short of completely dropping the ruse, she was simply unable to say her own name. Twilight could sense that the moment to reveal her true self was close, but not yet.

“Twilight Sparkle,” said Chrysalis, not unkindly. “That was your name, wasn’t it?” 614 nodded, jerkily at Chrysalis and Flam’s eyes widened with realization as he looked from 614 to the pony called “Egghead” beside Chrysalis and made a connection, as he remembered Twilight’s claim to her name.

“You! You’re Twilight Sparkle!” he shouted, pointing an accusatory hoof at the purple unicorn. Then he looked to Chrysalis, his voice shifting as he said, “Which makes you—”

“Boskone,” said Chrysalis in confirmation. “And as Boskone, I now own 49.999% of Flim Flam Industries. I only need 2 more shares to take over the company. Consider this a ‘hostile takeover’, boys.”

“614 suit, weapons free!” shouted Flim enraged. His command dropping all restrictions from Twilight, even as he and his brother snapped their weapons up into position and opened fire. Chrysalis and her team had obviously been expecting something along these lines as they all dived, ducked or shielded themselves from the incoming fire.

“Get the alicorn!” shouted Chrysalis’s Applejack, who ducked behind a box as a stream of the black pellets went over her head. 614 manifested a full power shield, and a split second later the shield was sorely tested. Zap unleashed a lightning bolt straight into the shield, while the Party Cannon blasted at it with a cannon and Hammer bucked the large box she had been hiding behind directly into the shield.

It was a combined assault that could only have been done by ponies who regularly fought and worked together as a single unit. With the instant timing and automatic coordination born of many fights, each pony did their part, and their assault paid off. 614’s shield did not break, or allow any part of the triple attack through. But, as it repelled those tremendous forces it couldn’t help but flex, and in that flexing it changed from a smooth hemisphere of force to a rippling one. In those ripples there existed peaks and eddies of force. They would fade within seconds, but seconds were all Widow needed to target one of those eddies and fire a deadly blast.

Twilight Sparkle saw the incoming fire and normally she would have been able to bolster her shield, or have a second shield ready, or manifest a prism to bend the beam, or any one of a dozen different techniques her brother had taught her to counter the tactic being used.

Normally.

Twilight was not, however, in her normal mind. She was still working within the filters and alterations that formed her mental defences as “614” and they slowed her for a few, critical fractions of a second. The needle thin spear of magic lanced through the weak eddy point Widow had targeted and clipped Twilight along the side of the head. Sending her spinning, stunned and bleeding, to the floor. The only reason Twilight lived was the fact that her shield had managed to bend the beam just enough to prevent a head shot. 614’s shield winked out as the attackers achieved their goal of taking down their enemies alicorn.

But their success came with a dire cost, as the brothers took full advantage of the exposed position of the three ponies who had made the initial assault, hammering the three ponies with rapid fire from their weapons, immobilizing them and gluing them in place. A second shot from Widow shattered Flam’s weapon but Flim counter-fired to good effect, pasting Widow against a wall, spreadeagled and helpless. Which left only Chrysalis and her companion, Egghead, the unicorn Twilight Sparkle, to stand against the brothers. Egghead was trying to shield Chrysalis from Flim’s weapon as he forced Egghead to keep her shield up by firing into it every second or two.

Shaking her head to clear it, Twilight staggered back to her feet, as the brothers closed in for the kill. She could see that one of the pellets had hit Chrysalis in the leg and the monarch was glued in place.

“Get out of here, Egghead,” said the changeling, to her unicorn companion. “I’ll hold them as long as I can.”

“No!” cried the lavender mare, as her shield visibly weakened and began to crack from the blows it was taking. “I’m not leaving you.”

“That’s an order,” said Chrysalis, summoning her own stuttering shield. “Get out of here, make plans, rescue me and your fellow Angels when you can. The hive will obey you. Now go!”

Time slowed as Twilight took it all in. The sneering faces of the brothers, moving forward to possess and control what they did not deserve, yet again. The selfless sacrifice of Chrysalis, face set in determination to buy as much time as she could. The anguish of Twilight’s counterpart. Her desire to stand or fall by her friends warring with her duty to escape and avenge them. The acceptance of the others and their own urging of their Twilight to go, and save herself.

It was all Twilight Sparkle needed to see. Reaching deep inside herself, she touched the central point of the changes Alyss had made in her mind and twisted. As she did, the overlays, the speech changes, the emotional alterations, all faded away like morning mist suddenly struck full on by the blazing sun. Emotions, no longer held back, controlled, or altered stormed through her mind.

Furious rage, at what the brothers had done to her. Shame, that she had let it happen, that she had taken pleasure in it, that she was going to miss it. Pity, for the broken wrecks of ponies that the brothers had left in their wake. All these, and more, flowed through Twilight as she summoned her magic, unleashed by the brothers own command, and dropped several heavy crates on Flim and Flam, knocking them cold.

As the others looked on in stunned shock at the sudden reversal, Twilight calmly grabbed up Flim’s weapon with her magic and deliberately fired a line of pellets up the length of the bodies of each of the brothers. As she glued them in place, Twilight made sure that the expanding spheres covered both pony’s mouths, gagging them so they could not issue commands to her suit. For a moment, Twilight considered shooting the brothers in the head, which would cause them to be smothered to death. Then, the moment passed,

“Queen Chrysalis,” she said, turning to the changeling monarch, who was carefully lowering her barely usable shield. “Allow me to introduce myself. I am Princess Twilight Sparkle and I suggest we take this somewhere more comfortable. I would like to have a chat with you and yours.”

* * * * * *

Thirty minutes later Chrysalis, her team, and Twilight Sparkle sat in Flim and Flam’s office, sipping chardoneigh and talking. The brothers had signed over their shares in the company in exchange for not being given to their “employees” or put into suits. They were currently locked in one of the alcove cells with all its controls disabled. They were still gagged by the adhesive goop on their muzzles as nopony dared allow them the chance to start calling out commands to suits or anything else that might be voice activated..

Twilight paused for a moment, and looked at the seven others in the room. This Chrysalis was conversational, amiable, and gave off a pleasant emotional warmth. In fact, she reminded Twilight of Celestia. From what she could see, Chrysalis and her Twilight very much had the same dynamic she and Celestia had when Twilight was younger—that of a mentor and favored student. The other five were all very much like her friends, although with a harder edge. Collectively, they apparently were known as Chrysalis’s Angels, and despite their combat-hardened exteriors, Twilight could see they all had great love and affection for Chrysalis.

“We haven’t had much of an actual discussion,” said Chrysalis to Twilight, “but I have to know. ‘Princess’ Twilight Sparkle?” Egghead looked up at that as well.

“I’m a dimensional traveler,” said Twilight. “On my world, I ascended to become an alicorn and I am one of five Equestrian princesses.”

“One of …five?” Widow snuggling up to Hammer quite tenderly, despite the skepticism in her tone. “You’ll forgive me if that sounds a little far-fetched.” Twilight was about to answer that when Twilight Velvet walked in—or rather, Alyss the changeling disguised as Twilight Velvet, and she had 143 with her as well.

“I believe I can verify everything our guest has to say,” said Velvet, who was embraced warmly by Chrysalis.

As that reunion was happening, 143 ran up to Twilight and hugged her for all she was worth, tears of happiness running down her face. She joyously kept repeating, “You came back! You came back!” It was all Twilight could do to calm her friend and companion, and assure her that Twilight Sparkle was indeed back.

“Alyss, my daughter! It’s good to see you again,” said Chrysalis, somewhat ignoring the reunion between 143 and Twilight. “Were you successful?”

“Partly, mother,” said Velvet.

“How so?”

“First off,” said Velvet, disappearing in a wash of green fire to regain her true appearance, “the suits adapt to shape-shifting, as we suspected they would. I’m as trapped in this suit as much as any other pony.” Chrysalis made a sad noise and nuzzled her daughter. Alyss continued. “Second, I was able to find the suit master codes. It will take a while, but at least the suits will be under the command of their wearers once we’re done. Third, I also found the records. We should be able to reunite a lot of ponies with their loved ones, even if a lot of those reunions won’t be happy ones.”

“Good work, Alyss,” said Chrysalis. “But I believe you also said something about being able to prove our new friend isn’t lying to us.”

“Yes, I can,” said Alyss, turning toward Twilight. “Before I do anything, let me first say that everything I’m about to do to you, you are able to do to me.” Twilight began to pull in some power, readying herself to fight or flee, as the occasion called for it. The others in the room noticed and a truly impressive variety of weapons came into view, all of which were very carefully not pointed at anypony.

“Alyss, you had better explain yourself before I do something severe,” said Twilight, deliberately ignoring the threat implied by the Angel’s weapons. She had set down her glass and got to her hooves. “You know I have zero reason to trust anypony in this world.”

“I had to be sure I could trust you. So, I placed a deep compulsion into both of us,” said Alyss. “A compulsion to tell the truth when a question is asked of us in a certain way, by a certain voice.”

“Yes, I know. And you broke your sworn word to do it. But, fine, use it, because I do need to prove myself to your Queen,” said Twilight.

“How did you—” began Alyss.

“I'm an Alicorn,” said Twilight, by way of answer. “Just hurry up and get it done.”

“Tell me true, 614,” said Alyss, watching Twilight’s eyes become unfocused as the compulsion took hold. “Who are you and where are you from?”

“I am from an alternate Equestria,” said Twilight in a monotone. “I am Princess Twilight Sparkle, Princess of Friendship, former Bearer of the Element of Magic and personal student of Princess Celestia.” Twilight’s eyes snapped back into focus as she glared back at Alyss, then, giving a thin smile said, “Tell me true, Alyss. What was the deal we made and will your mother honour it?” Alyss’s eyes unfocused, just as Twilight’s had, and Twilight could see the changeling trying to fight off the compulsion, but the changeling apparently had done her work very well indeed.

“My mother will honour any agreements made by me, particularly those made in the oath you made me swear,” said Alyss, in the same near monotone Twilight had used. “I swore that, in exchange for your help and allowing me to alter your mind in the ways you specified, you would be given safe passage so you could return to your home. That you would be given ownership of the pony known as 143, and that my mother would perform a long term task on your behalf. One that you promised would benefit her.” Alyss staggered sideways as the truth telling compulsion released her as she finished her statement.

“So, Your Majesty,” said Twilight, turning to face the changeling monarch. “Will you agree to the terms I made with your daughter, even if she broke her word by adding on that compulsion?” As she said that, she noticed that while she had been distracted by Alyss giving her compelled answer, the other mares had arranged themselves between her and Chrysalis in a defensive formation. Five of the six, anyway. Fluttershy’s counterpart, Breeze, was nowhere to be seen. Twilight smiled. Some things never changed. But then a gentle puff of air wafted across Twilight’s cheek and she looked up and behind herself. There was Breeze, hovering in Twilight’s blind spot, a blackjack held in her hooves.

“Stand down, Breeze,” said Chrysalis, mildly. “If the Princess intended harm to us she has already had her chances. I think we can extend some trust, particularly in light of my daughter’s actions.” Breeze nodded as she silently drifted back towards her queen. “As for your agreement, Princess, I will agree to your conditions—excepting the task you have for me. I would hear what it is first.”

“Thank you.” Twilight was unsurprised that Alyss and the others remained between her and Chrysalis. “On my world, my friends and I found the Elements of Harmony and cleansed Princess Luna of Nightmare Moon, as well as stopping several other threats. This world needs the Elements, it needs its Bearers, to help it’s Celestia and free it's Luna. You and your Angels can do that.” The Angels looked at each other questioningly.

“Princess,” said Chrysalis, “what makes you think me and mine have any chance of not only finding the Elements, but wielding them?”

“Because,” said Twilight, smiling and pointing at Egghead, “just as she is my counterpart, the rest of your team are the counterparts of my friends. They may not be the Bearers right now, but all of them have the potential for it and I can’t believe it's a coincidence that the same six mares are a group here, as in my world.”

“You make good points,” said Chrysalis, then grimacing as she touched a hoof to her head. “Has anypony told you how I got this?”

“No.”

“A few years ago, I decided to invade Canterlot with a changeling army,” began Chrysalis. “The plan was perfect and went off without a hitch. As my army swarmed Canterlot, I...gloated. I couldn’t help it. It was the greatest triumph of my life, right up up to the point where Celestia dropped a wall on me.” Twilight gasped as Chrysalis pressed on. “There were no warnings, no threats, no challenges. One moment I was in my glory, the next, Celestia was pulling my broken body out of the rubble and snapping off my horn. She threw me to my changelings like a piece of refuse and told them that this was the only warning they would ever get. If it happened again, she would simply kill us all.”

“But you got better,” said Twilight, thoroughly impressed at the resilience of the queen. “Not only that, you’re working with ponies. You’re even helping ponies.”

“After Celestia broke my invasion of Canterlot, I spent a lot of time trying to decide what to do next,” said Chrysalis. “Equestria needs somepony other than Celestia on the throne, but it was obvious that I didn’t have what it took. I had the drive, the will, and the intelligence to take the throne. I even had an army, but it wasn’t enough.” Chrysalis paused and smiled as she ruffled Egghead’s mane. “I needed friends, and starting with my Egghead here, I found them. It wasn’t easy to learn to make friends, but I did it. Their hurts became my hurts, their goals became my goals. Their triumphs were my triumphs.” Chrysalis stopped for a moment and said, “Heh, listen to me ramble on here, I have no idea why I’m telling you any of this.”

“Maybe you just needed to tell somepony,” said Twilight, smiling. “It could even be because I’m the Princess of Friendship and my magic is drawing this out of you.”

“Perhaps, Princess,” said Chrysalis, looking critically at Twilight. “But I do know this. I, we, are stronger as friends than we ever were alone. I call them my Angels because together we’ve raised ourselves up to the heavens. But, one monarch to another, be honest with me Princess,” said Chrysalis, “you’re asking me to go up against Celestia again. On a quest where, if she discovers what we are up to at any moment, she’ll likely kill us. What possible reason could you give me to take such a risk? Not just for myself, but for the ponies I’ve come to love.”

“Because it has to be done,” said Twilight, leaning forward. “Somepony has to reach out, to find the Elements and bring Harmony back to this world. This isn’t my world. I can’t do it, but you, you and your Angels, can. Compel me if you think I’m lying about that.”

“No, you aren’t lying to me, and I won’t lie to you, Twilight,” said Chrysalis, one leg around Egghead. “The whole idea scares me, but if I do this, I will do it my way. My Angels answer to me. Not you, not Celestia, not any other pony. Me. So, if this happens, it ends with me on the throne. I’m not a good pony, but I can promise to be a just pony. Can you live with that?”

“You’re putting your life on the line for Equestria,” said Twilight. “So long as you have these ponies to keep you grounded afterwards, you’ll have earned it and I can live with it.”

“Girls,” Chrysalis said, looking to her companions, “you’ve heard the Princess. You know the odds. I won’t risk your lives unless you agree to this. What do you say?” A chorus of agreements came instantly and Chrysalis didn’t hesitate to hug them all.

“Okay, I agree, but on one condition,” said Chrysalis, and Twilight cocked a questioning eyebrow. “You take Alyss with you, when you go back to your world.”

“WHAT?!” erupted from Twilight and Alyss at the same instant.

“She is my daughter,” said Chrysalis. “If we fail, if it all comes crashing down, it will ease my passing to know that my daughter is safe with you. Everything I’ve seen and heard about you tells me that you will] keep her safe.”

“She’s already gone past certain boundaries with me,” said Twilight. “Not too mention her use of certain…techniques to get what she wanted out of me. How can I trust her in my world?”

“Not only that, she broke her word to you, as well. I would say a balancing of the scales is in order. Alyss,” said Chrysalis to her daughter, who snapped her head around, “from this moment, until you return here, you will be Princess Twilight Sparkle’s obedient servant and companion. You will assign control of your suit to her and obey her commands as if they were my mine. Do you understand?”

“Yes, Mother,” said Alyss, her head lowered and her ears drooping.

“I’ve just ordered my own daughter to be your chattel. Will that suffice for the issues of trust and violation of her word?” asked Chrysalis, looking toward Twilight, who nodded.

“Excellent,” said Chrysalis. “I believe that the Princess has much that she can teach you, Alyss. Be attentive to her lessons and make me proud to be your Mother. Now, I believe you have some suit commands to give?”

Alyss nodded and gave the commands that sold Twilight and 143 to themselves. Effectively freeing them. Then, grimacing in obvious distaste at put herself back under somepony’s hoof, she gave her own suit the commands to register a new owner of the pony within it, namely herself. Nopony heard 143 softly repeating those commands to her own suit and it wasn’t until Twilight named herself as the new owner of Alyss that anypony realized something was wrong. When Alyss’s suit collar gave off a double beep registering its new owner, a second double beep came from behind Twilight, and everypony in the room shifted their gaze to where 143 stood.

“143, what have you done?” asked Twilight, eyes wide in surprise. Her ears stood up as well, as 143 carefully knelt to her.

“143 isn’t ready,” said the kneeling mare. “So, 143 repeated the commands Alyss gave her suit to 143’s own suit.”

“But why?” Twilight asked, sorrowfully. “You were free.”

“143 can’t be free, at least not yet. She still needs somepony to be in charge of her,” said 143, placing a leash on Twilight’s hoof. “She needs somepony to keep her in harness, to hold her leash. 61...um, Twilight, you came back. Nopony has ever come back before. Would you please own me and be my Mistress? At least for now.” Twilight looked at the leash on her hoof, and then at the hopeful face in front of her. As she did so, warmth filled her heart with the display of affection and trust from 143.

“I will be your Mistress,” said Twilight, smiling and drawing 143 to her hooves. “But only until the day you feel ready to stand on your own, and no matter what, I will always be your friend.” 143 hugged Twilight again, and as Twilight looked up she saw the others looking at her. Each and every one of them was smiling and trying to hide it.

“Well,” said Chrysalis, smiling, “if you ever want to stay here I think you would fit right in. But, there is no real reason to delay further, so let’s get you on your way home, Princess.” Together, the large group traveled back through the overcast evening back to where Twilight had first emerged from her portal. Chrysalis, Twilight, the Angels, Alyss and 143 all travelled together in some sort of large, steam powered vehicle that had a large enclosed area for ponies to ride in.

“Alyss, how do we get rid of these slave collars?” Twilight asked as they bounced along to their destination.

“We don’t,” said Alyss, sighing heavily. “The collars are the control interface for the suits, and if they aren’t in place the suit defaults to ‘lock down’ and freezes the wearer in place. It’s easy enough to take the collars off, but if we do, we can’t move.”

“Are you sure?” asked Twilight, a little suspicious.

“I’m just as locked in as you are,” said Alyss, huffing. “I want them off as much as you do, but if there is a way get the collar off and still be mobile I don’t know it.” Alyss spent the rest of the trip on the far side of the wagon, talking to her friends, while 143 knelt on the floor at Twilight’s hooves.

“Princess,” said Chrysalis quietly, as they neared their goal, “I have one other request of you. No matter what, come back here in a year’s time. If we’ve succeeded, I will be here to greet you. If we need more time, I will ensure there is either a message or a messenger waiting for you.”

“And if none of those are there?” Twilight asked.

“Then assume we’ve failed, and my Angels and I are either dead or captured,” Chrysalis said, her expression grim, brows furrowed. “If that happens, leave and never come back. Just keep my daughter safe, please.”

“I will do all I can to keep her safe,” Twilight whispered back. “Also, one other thing. When you go to sleep tonight, call out to Princess Luna.”

“What? She’s...sane?”

“Who do you think urged me to find somepony to wield the Elements?” Twilight said, with a smile, which then fell. “She also asked that if the Elements couldn’t be found or controlled, that somepony find her and put her out of her suffering.” Chrysalis nodded, apparently not needing to have the implications of Luna’s request spelled out for her.

“Understandable. And if she is indeed possessed of her faculties,” said Chrysalis, rubbing a hoof on her chin, “she would make an excellent co-regent.” Chrysalis saw Twilight’s look of surprise. “I am not as foolish as I once was, to think ponies would accept me as a ruler without one of the Sisters to provide me with some legitimacy.”

“You are very different from the Chrysalis of my world, your Majesty,” said Twilight, studying the face of the changeling monarch. “I have one question of you though. What will happen to the other ponies you now own?“

“The ones conditioned by Twilight Velvet and Alyss are simple to restore,” said Chrysalis. “They both added conditioning and training to the ponies they worked on, and that is relatively easy to remove, which we will be doing for them. But the other ones...” Chrysalis gave a small, uncharacteristic shudder.

“I’ve heard that the original Control was feared,” said Twilight, noting the reaction. “But nopony has ever explained why, or what she did that was so terrible.”

“The original Control was a former student of Celestia’s who lusted for power and domination over others,” explained Chrysalis. “But the only way she knew how to create that control was to break and destroy minds and free will. She literally burned away parts of her victim’s minds, like their ability to speak, or feel pain, or even think, in order to control them. 143 was one of her last victims. Control burned away 143’s self-reliance and her ability to say ‘No.”

“What?” asked Twilight, anger spiking in her.

“Just what I said, Princess,” said Chrysalis. “143 literally cannot refuse to do anything you tell her. She can still feel regret and anguish over what she is commanded to do, but she will obey regardless. Also, she is almost completely dependant on other ponies telling her what to do. So, just be careful with what commands you do give her.”

Twilight’s mind reeled as she took in that knowledge. She had demanded to take 143 with her because she was fairly certain she could remove any conditioning on 143 and heal her. But this was different. 143 was missing vital parts of herself and the only way to restore this Trixie to her former self would be to literally rebuild her. But 143 had shown initiative in submitting herself to Twilight, so there was definitely something that could be built from. As Twilight dwelled on this, she realized she could see familiar terrain outside the vehicle.

“There! That’s the spot,” called out Twilight, and Hammer, who was driving, obligingly brought the vehicle to a halt and everypony piled out. Twilight quickly found the exact spot she had originally arrived at and began to prepare the return spell.

“Is...is it going to be okay?” asked 143, beside her. “Has 143 been a good pony?”

“You have been a wonderful pony,” assured Twilight. “I’m taking you someplace where you will always be safe and nopony will hurt you again. I’m taking you home with me.” 143 nodded and leaned against Twilight, drawing strength and warmth from the alicorn, her owner, by her choice. A minute later Alyss came trotting up, having bid her mother and the Angels a heartfelt farewell.

“Ready?” Twilight asked the ponies on either side of her. They both nodded, and Twilight filled her horn with power, preparing the Cross Time spell.

“Remember, Princess,” called out Chrysalis, as the spell’s vortex swirled into reality above the trio with a rush of wind and magic. “One year!”

“I’ll be here!” Twilight yelled back. “Hang on to me, girls!” she commanded to the mares on either side of her, who grabbed on tight. The vortex snapped into place, and Twilight, Alyss and 143 were drawn upwards into the portal and towards home.

Author's Note

At long last the "Cog" arc of chapters is complete. This went far longer than I had originally planned, and I have no one to fault but myself for falling down the rabbit hole of an absolutely fascinating world chock full of interesting side stories and characters.

There will be a chapter or two as Twilight deals with the consequences of her first journey, but then it is on to the next world. Also, if anyone has any questions about any of my background material for the "Cogverse" feel free to ask them in the comments and I will do my best to answer them. I will be taking a step away from this story for awhile as I've discovered that concentrating on one story at a time just doesn't work for me and I am going back to a rotation in my writings. So, the next chapter of this story will be after chapters of my newly commissioned project, Journey, Slaves to Darkness and Equestria: Destroyed.

This chapter is also brought to you through the assistance of my current patrons:

Damaged
and
Canary in the Coal Mine

Please support me on atreon Supporting me helps me concentrate on writing and keeps me in coffee and keyboards and if I can make my first goal I can start commission art for my stories to give back to my fellow creators who have done so much to inspire me.

Interlewd One

The large room in the Castle of Friendship had lain semi-dormant for nearly two weeks since the mistress of the castle had gone missing. She had disappeared while using a powerful spell that, in part, used the magic of the large stone table that dominated much of the room. The mistress was well loved by her friends, her assistant and her personal student, and each of them had taken turns keeping watch, hoping for the return of their friend. Thus, it happened that when the cross-time vortex formed in the ceiling, Starlight Glimmer was there to see her teacher returned to her, in a blaze of magic and a howl of wind.

“Twilight!” Starlight called out, as she jerked herself out of the chair she had been sitting in. Joy and relief warred for dominance in her heart and she began to make her way across the room as the last swirling magical constructs faded.

“Don’t move,” Twilight Sparkle ordered, throwing out a hoof in Starlight’s direction. As Starlight skidded to a halt in surprise she noticed a couple of things. Twilight wasn’t alone. An azure mare clung to one side of her and what appeared to be a changeling, of all things, was clinging to Twilight’s other side. All three of them were wearing sleek, slinky black suits that clung to their every curve, leaving nothing to the imagination. Closed around each of the trio’s throats, almost as tight as their suits, was a metallic collar.

“000 suit,” Twilight said, in a voice of command, as she looked sternly at the changeling. “Full lockdown." Starlight’s mind, already awash with questions, began overflowing with them as the changeling suddenly went stiff legged and the gleaming black suit on her moved of its own accord, spreading itself into a hood that blinded and gagged the changeling. “143,” Twilight then said, in a far gentler tone, as she addressed the blue mare still clinging to her other side, “that mare over there is named Starlight Glimmer. She is my friend and student, please go over to her.”

The azure mare flowed away from Twilight in a sinuous motion, moved to stand beside Starlight, and then gracefully knelt beside her, head bowed. Starlight couldn’t hold her questions in anymore.

“Who are you?” Starlight whispered fiercely to the kneeling pony, as Twilight walked around the paralyzed changeling and examined it for something.

“This pony is called 143,” the mare said softly. “She serves 614, your Mistress.”

“My—” Starlight said, as her brain encountered a fatal error and had to reboot. “What?” Whatever the strange pony kneeling beside Starlight had to say was interrupted as Twilight spoke again.

“000 suit, allow speech and hearing,” Twilight said, and Starlight saw the hood pull back a bit, uncovering the changeling’s mouth and ears. The changeling gasped and licked its lips before speaking.

“My mother will be upset if you kill me out of hoof,” the changeling said. Starlight had heard too many brave fronts from ponies not to recognize one now. The changeling was at Twilight’s mercy and both of them knew it. All that mattered now was how Twilight was going to respond.

“You’re not going to die today, Alyss. But we aren’t going one more step until I get a clear answer from you about something,” Twilight said, as she grabbed the changeling shoulders and steadied them. “Tell me true, Alyss. When were you planning on betraying me?” Even at this range Starlight could feel the magic of a powerful compulsion beginning to work on the changeling. She could see its jaw clenching as it tried to physically hold back its answer, but whatever spell was at work trumped mere determination.

“Three seconds after you brought me back to my world,” the changeling gasped out. “A blow to your horn to stun you, a second to your throat to keep you from speaking, followed by a quick splash of resin as a gag and you would have been mine again.”

“That’s roughly what I thought,” Twilight said, the corner of her mouth turned up in a slight grin. “Do you intend to try anything while you are here?”

“No,” the changeling said in answer, and Starlight could hear the relief in the changeling’s voice as it realized it was going to survive this encounter. “I need you to get back home. Your spell is beyond my ability. So, until I get back, I intend to keep my word and loyally serve you. I am yours to do with, as you please, until then.”

“So, the moment we get back all bets are off?” The changeling nodded to Twilight. “Fair enough. 000 suit, end lockdown, cancel all restrictions.” The changeling slumped and nearly collapsed to the floor before it...she, caught herself.

“Seriously Twilight,” Starlight interjected, her face contorting in anger at having no idea what was happening. “What the hay is going on? The spell was supposed to bring you back almost instantly, but you’ve been gone nearly two weeks.” Starlight took a few steps toward Twilight, still ranting. “And when you do come back, it’s dressed in something out of my dark fantasies.” Starlight closed to within a few steps. “And to top it all off, you come back with two...companions." Starlight was right in Twilight’s face now, yelling at the top of her lungs. “One of whom is kneeling to you like some kind of slavemare, and the other is acting like a captive princess!”

Everypony froze for a moment as Starlight stood there, muzzle to muzzle with Twilight, her chest heaving, every line afire with furious determination. Has she always been this alive? Twilight thought to herself. She’s glorious!

“Starlight, I’ll explain everything soon, I promise,” Twilight said, smiling. “But it really is a long story and I don’t want to tell it more than I have to. I need you to get 143 and Alyss each a room, send Spike to me and then get the girls and meet me back here ASAP.”

“Okay,” Starlight said, deflating. “But only if you promise to explain everything.”

“I promise, and afterwards we’ll discuss your fantasies about your teacher wearing a skin tight, black outfit,” Twilight said. Starlight didn’t say anything. Her furious blush spoke volumes as she gathered up Alyss and 143 to get them to one of the many spare rooms in the castle..

Three hours later, Twilight and her friends were clustered together in a heap around a fireplace in Twilight’s Castle. Twilight’s telling of her story had begun in the Cutie Map room, but as the details of her story came out, her friends had gone from concerned, to worried, to horrified. When Twilight told them dispassionately about the first time she had been raped by the brothers, Fluttershy had run from the room, her face covered in tears. On her return Fluttershy had put her hoof down.

“Twilight, I know you are a strong, brave mare but you’ve been terribly hurt and this isn’t the right setting for you to start healing in,” Fluttershy said, coming within a few paces of her friend.

“I’m fine, Fluttershy,” Twilight said, looking back toward the rest of her friends. “Now, as I was saying, they used the probe—” Twilight broke off as something nudged her lower hoof. Fluttershy had gotten down onto her belly and crawled, unnoticed, the few feet over to Twilight. Twilight stared down at her friend’s kind, yet determined face.

“Twilight,” Fluttershy said, looking up at her friend. “I’ve seen more than enough hurt critters not to know when one of my best friends is in pain, and trying to hide it.” Twilight flinched, as Fluttershy drew back her hoof. “I know talking about what happened is part of the healing you need, but this is the wrong place for it. I’m not going to force you, but you need to recognize that we should be doing this in a room with more warmth to it. Okay?”

Twilight felt the tears begin to well up in her eyes, and suddenly her throat was choked shut by the love she felt for her friend who was doing all she could to make Twilight feel safe and in control of the situation. All she could do was nod, as she forced the tears back down and the butter yellow pegasus flowed into her hooves, hugging her gently.

“Thank you,” Twilight whispered to Fluttershy, and the rest of their friends came around the edge of the table to join into the hug. After that, it became a bit of a problem for the group to get to one of the smaller rooms in the castle as none of them wanted to break the hug. But, they managed it, as Starlight led them to a study room that Spike had set up in Twilight’s absence.

Starlight lit the fire in the fireplace in the room and turned to go. “I’ll just leave you to it. I can tell you girls need to be together for a bit.”

“No, Starlight,” Twilight said, stopping Starlight at the door. “You get right back over here.” Starlight looked over from the door to Twilight’s beckoning hoof, a look of disbelief on her face. “My friends told me how you kept things running while I was gone. How you took care of Spike, how Celestia took the inhibitor off of you. Friends stay, so you get right back over here.”

Starlight closed the door and as she took Twilight’s hoof she was promptly enveloped in the group hug. Comfort, strength and warmth flowed into her from her friends. Her friends, once her foes, who had turned her from her path and saved her from the darkness in her own heart. Starlight looked at Twilight, who had resumed telling them about the horrors she had endured. I’m going to get you out of that suit, Starlight thought as her teacher’s words washed over her. I’m going to save you, just like you saved me.

“...and then I cast the spell and jumped back with Alyss and 143 in tow,” Twilight concluded.

“So, you’ve got a Trixie, who ain’t Trixie, and a changeling princess living with you now,” Applejack said. “That sounds a tad dangerous.”

“Not so much,” Twilight said. “Alyss can’t get out of her suit, anymore than I can get out of mine, so it’s not like she can disguise herself. As for 143, she couldn’t hurt a fly, and she’s incapable of refusing any order she’s given. So, if you run across her when I’m not around please be very gentle with her, girls.”

“What about what Alyss did to you?” Fluttershy asked. “She was training you to be her obedient animal. Aren’t you mad at her?”

“I’m furious, but acting on that anger won’t help anypony,” Twilight said with a small sigh. “Maybe while she’s with us we can show her a better way. She wouldn’t be the first villain we’ve reformed.”

“And the training?” Fluttershy persisted. “For somepony like me who works with critters, it’s pretty obvious she was getting to you.” She looked over to Applejack for confirmation.

“Ah wasn’t gonna say nothin’,’ Applejack said. “But ya, I’m sorry Twi, but she had ya halfway to jumping if she said ‘frog.’”

“That bad?” Twilight asked, and her face fell when both Fluttershy and Applejack nodded their assent. “Okay, well, among the letters I had Spike send out earlier was one to my Mom letting her know I would be heading to Canterlot tomorrow and that I wanted to visit her.”

“Why?” Pinkie asked. She uncharacteristically had been the quietest of Twilight’s friends since her return and Twilight made a special point of holding Pinkie’s hoof as she answered.

“Because Mom helped Shiny after the invasion of Canterlot, and if there is any pony that can help me get rid of my conditioning it’s her because—” Twilight paused and she felt the eyes of the others on her. “Because I didn’t tell you, that the whole time she was changing me, Alyss was wearing my Mom’s form.” She heard the gasps from her friends and continued, “Everything I’ve been trained to do and feel, is keyed to a pony that looks and sounds like my own mother.”

“Well, on the plus side,” Rarity said, “the very pony you were trained to react to, is the pony you trust the most in all the world. That should help quite a bit. By the way, you said you had Spike send out letters, plural?”

“Yes,” Twilight said, very glad for the change of subject. “The one to my mother, one to Shining and Cadance, asking them to come here, another to—” Twilight felt her jaw clench, “Princess Celestia, asking for the use of a detachment of the Solar Guard, and one to Princess Luna, asking her to not enter my dreams for the next few days. No matter what.”

“Yes, that’s all well and good, Twilight dear,” Rarity said, “but not my point. My question is: What are we going to tell Spike about what’s happened?” No pony had a good answer for that, and the silence began to stretch out uncomfortably until Rarity spoke up again. “Don’t worry about it, Twilight. I’ll have a good long talk with him after you’ve left for Canterlot.”

“Thanks Rarity,” Twilight said with feeling. “But other topics. What happened with the rest of you while I was gone?” The next hour or so was pleasantly spent as Twilight happily listened to her friends tell her about the events in their lives over the past couple of weeks. Gradually, they all became tired, but no pony wanted to leave the pile by the fire. So, levitating over some blankets and pillows, the group of ponies slept together in a group, giving comfort and warmth to their friend.

The next morning, after a group breakfast cooked by Spike, Twilight headed out to the train station to catch the first train to Canterlot. Starlight had been left “in charge”, with the understanding that both she and Spike had authority over their “guests.” A few times Spike had started to ask Twilight questions, but every time either Twilight or Rarity cut him off or diverted him. After the fourth time Spike gave Rarity a very measuring look and didn’t ask again.

“Alright, Rarity,” Spike said, a few minutes after Twilight had left with the others for the train station. “I stopped asking questions during breakfast because you and Twilight made it clear neither of you wanted to talk about it right then.” Rarity couldn’t meet Spike’s gaze, and it felt like he was somehow stripping her defences away and leaving her naked before him..

“”But now we have a changeling living in the castle, along with a mare that looks just like Trixie, who begged me not to hurt her when I called her that. On top of that, I know something happened to Twilight in that other world. Something really bad, and none of you will talk to me about it,” Spike paused, leaned over and lifted Rarity’s chin so he could look her in the eye. “Rarity, I need to know what happened to Twilight. In fact, I think I deserve to know. Talk to me, Rarity.”

“Spike,” Rarity began. She had been so sure she had known what to say when she had offered to do this, but now that the moment was here she could barely think. She looked at Spike, and through the lens of her feelings for him, all she could see was a baby dragon trying to find out why his “mommy” was hurting. “It’s... It’s a complicated thing. Some ponies did some very un-ponylike things to Twilight...”

She was fishing for words to describe, without describing, what happened. Spike looked at Rarity, and he could see the pain not only in the mare’s eyes, but in the worry lines around her face. It was the really bad thing, and he spoke the word.

“Rape.” Silence took a tight grip on the room. It held fast and stopped either pony or dragon from being able to talk. It stretched on, tightening its grip until it was practically choking the throats of Rarity and Spike. At last Spike saw that just the silence was causing Rarity distress, and that was something he could fix. “I think I already knew that. I... I am not as young as I look. I’ve read nearly every book in Twilight’s library. I know that bad things can happen to even the best ponies.”

He saw the silence shatter around Rarity, heard her soft sigh of relief. “I only have one question, although I think I should ask Twilight.”

“Ask me, Spike. I will give you the best answer I can,” Rarity said. He wasn’t Rarity’s “Spikey-Wikey” right now, the dragon was being very adult, and had a very serious look on his young-looking face.

“Have they been punished for it?” Spike’s anger boiled under the veneer of his almost-calm features. His code of honor was in turmoil, a mare had been hurt badly, and a part of him wanted to do bad things to “fix” it. As soon as he thought the word “fix,” that part of Spike lost the fight with his honor; there wasn’t any way he could fix this.

“Yes Spike,” Rarity said, relieved that she could give an honest answer. “The two most responsible, who hurt Twilight the most, they are being punished.”

“And the changeling and...143,” Spike said, stumbling a bit over the odd name for the not-Trixie pony. “How are they involved in all this? They’re wearing the same sort of outfits as Twilight.”

“143 was the Trixie of that world, until her mind was hurt in ways we can’t even guess at right now,” Rarity said, “Do you remember when Dragon Greed took you over?” Spike nodded. “The Spike I know, my good friend Spike, went away. Replaced by a greedy dragon that just wanted more and more. 143 is the opposite of that. When she was hurt, the mare called Trixie went away and was replaced by the frightened, timid pony called 143.”

“What about this ‘Alyss’ changeling?” Spike asked, and Rarity could hear the banked anger in his voice.

“She...hurt Twilight in a different way,” Rarity said, and she noticed that Spike was sitting very, very still. “In an odd way, she even felt like she was helping Twilight, because what she did to Twilight helped keep her from winding up like 143. And it helped stop the two ponies responsible for many bad things in that world.”

“But she still hurt Twilight,” Spike said, looking at his flexing claws.

“Yes, she did,” Rarity confirmed. “But Alyss’s own mother, her queen, gave her into Twilight’s keeping with instructions that Alyss was to obey Twilight, no matter what. Why do you think she did that?”

“I...I don’t know,” Spike said, looking unsure for the first time in their conversation.

“Maybe because Alyss’s mother knows her daughter needs to be punished,” Rarity said. “Maybe Alyss needs to be taught why she should be punished in the first place. And maybe...maybe, we can show Alyss that there is a better way to accomplish her goals. Just like you and Twilight did with Starlight.”

“Really?” Spike asked, raising an eyebrow in disbelief.

“Really,” Rarity said. “Twilight trusts you to help with this. Why else would she have given you authority over Alyss?”

“She did, didn’t she?” Spike said, lost in thought and Rarity saw his flexing claws still and become gentle again.

“She gave you that power, because she trusts you, and knows you won’t abuse it,” Rarity said and breathed a very small sigh of relief as she finally saw Spike begin to relax. “She trusts you to start showing Alyss a better way and I trust you too.”

“Aww, thanks Rarity,” Spike said, hugging the alabaster mare beside him.

“Now, I’d appreciate it if you could send a letter of mine to Twilight Velvet,” Rarity said. “If Twilight’s mother is going to be of any help to her she needs every detail I can send her.”

Twilight Velvet grimaced as a sixth, and hopefully final, scroll materialized in front of her in a gout of green flame. When her daughter’s letter had arrived, Velvet knew that something had gone badly wrong during Twilight’s last adventure and her daughter wasn’t ready to tell her until they were face to face. Then, in turn, one by one, had come the letters from her friends. Each one provided a new insight into what her daughter had gone through, and what she had been forced to become to survive.

Velvet quickly unrolled Rarity’s letter and scanned through it. That tears it, she thought, I need some advice about this. I just hope Night won’t be too upset about my going to see Her again. Twilight Velvet turned around and gasped as she discovered her husband, Night Light, had crept up on silent hooves and was right behind her.

“Hello dear,” he said, his face serious. “Planning on going somewhere?” Velvet tried to settle her churning thoughts, even as her body tried to process the surge of adrenaline her husband’s startling appearance had caused.

“Y-yes, dear,” Velvet said, nervously “You see, Twilight—”

“My daughter has been hurt,” Night Light interrupted, and Velvet could see him fighting to remain calm when he wanted nothing more than to find the ones who had dared set hooves on his daughter and break them as they had tried to break her. “And there is nothing I can do about it, other than to give you all the support and love I can.”

“So, it’s okay if I go to Her?” Velvet asked, eyebrow rising.

“Our daughter needs the help and advice that...creature, can give you,” Night said, reasserting his calm. “More, if she really can help Twilight, maybe it will help balance the scales for what her kind did to our son.”

“Oh, Thank you!” Velvet said, as she flung her hooves around her husband. “I’ve got a good idea where to start, but She is the best pony I know to help undo what’s been done to Twilight. She—” Twilight Velvet broke off as she felt an inch thick band tighten and lock around her throat. A feeling she had never thought to experience again flowed through her, as she heard the lock of her Mistress’s collar snap shut.

“N-Nighty!” Velvet gasped. “Are you sure?”

“Go,” he said, “it’s been a long time since our Mistress has seen either of her pets.”

A half hour later Twilight Velvet was sitting on a richly appointed couch, in a very exclusive, very expensive manor home on the outskirts of Canterlot. Shauska’s favorite jasmine tea tickled her nose as she delicately sipped at it from a well remembered porcelain tea set, and the motion made the small crystal bell on her collar chime slightly.

“So, Velvet,” the orange haired changeling sitting opposite her said. “I must say I was surprised when one of my favorite pets showed up on my door after such a long time. Is everything okay between you and Night Light?”

“Everything is fine,” Velvet said, setting down her cup and touching the segmented collar at her throat. “In fact, he’s the one who locked this onto me before I left.”

“Really?” Shaushka said, looking hopeful. “Will he be along as well? I have missed my ‘Matched Pair’ so very much.”

“Not today,” Velvet said, eyes downcast “He hasn’t ever really forgiven you for being a changeling, even though you had nothing to do with the invasion.”

The changeling nodded in understanding, “I’ve kept my distance since that dark day. I lost not only the friendship of a loving couple I helped bring together, but most of my clientele as well. I only have thirty changelings to feed but some of them went hungry for awhile in the weeks following Chrysalis’s stupidity.”

“Well,” Velvet said, looking up at the tall, sleek form of her former Mistress, “if you can help our daughter, I think it would go a long way toward Night Light letting you back into our lives.” She again touched the locked collar. “I think that’s why he sent me like this. Something of a peace offering.”

Shaushka nodded and set down her teacup, orange tresses moving elegantly as she did so, “Okay then, tell me everything you can about what’s happened to Twilight Sparkle...”

The pair were on their third cup of tea and had moved from sitting on opposite couches to snuggling together on a large loveseat, by the time Twilight Velvet finished relating the contents of all the letters she had received from Twilight and her friends. The changeling sat quietly for long moments, absently stroking the mane of her pet as she thought.

“Mistress?” Velvet asked, looking back up behind her.

“Shh, dear one,” Shaushka said, “give me another minute to think.” Velvet lay quietly in the warmth of the changeling’s embrace as Shaushka’s mind raced through ideas and possibilities. “Very well, pet. Okay, right off the bat, it has to be you breaking her conditioning.”

“Oh?” Velvet asked, eyebrow rising along with her voice.

“She’s been keyed to react to your face, your voice,” Shaushka said. “Anypony else would have ten times the trouble you will have getting through to her.”

“And the aversion therapy?” Velvet asked.

“Is a brilliant idea of yours,” Shaushka said, smiling. “If you can whipsaw her from lust to disgust often enough it should break her training. If she never fully broke, you should be able to break her out of the cycle of desire and lust fairly quickly. You’ll just need to watch that she doesn’t relapse or focus on somepony else.”

“I will,” Velvet said, “Anything else?”

“Yes, she will probably say a lot of things you already know,” Shaushka said, nodding. “Let her talk and get what happened into the open. That can be a surprising amount of help to a recovering pony, plus she will likely add little details around the main topics. Listen for them.”

“Alright,” Velvet said, and then looked at the clock. “Shoot, I need to get going. She’s going to be here in a couple of hours. Thank you for your help.”

“Anytime,” Shaushka said, releasing her hold on her pet. “Keep me posted?”

“Of course,” Velvet said, smiling as she again touched her collar. “It’s not like I have a choice, do I?”

“Pffft,” Shaushka said, in smiling reproof. “You always have a choice. That is the underlying difference between what you, me and Night shared, compared to what happened to your daughter. But with some work and some luck you can give her the ability to make that choice again.”

A few hours later, the doorbell rang at the home of Twilight Velvet and Night Light. On her return home, Night Light had taken his wife’s collar off, kissed her with a deep hunger and headed off to work, knowing that no matter how much he wanted to be there, the presence of a stallion, any stallion, would not be helpful to his daughter right now.

Twilight Velvet opened the door and found herself looking on a fetishist’s vision encased in tight black latex. None of the letters she had received had mentioned the shiny, form fitting suit her daughter was wrapped in from neck to dock. Nor had any of them mentioned the tight collar seemingly formed from a single piece of silver, bound to Twilight’s throat or how the combination made her look incredibly sexy and desirable.

“Twilight!” Velvet said. “It’s good to see you. Is this something new from Rarity?”

Twilight threw herself to her forehooves, thrust her hindquarters high and flagged her tail. “No, Mistre—Ponyfeathers!” Twilight said, breaking position almost as fast as she had assumed it. Velvet found it very, very hard, not to accept the offering before her, but for her daughter she found the strength of will to not react physically.

“Come on in,” Velvet said, stepping aside. “Go grab a seat on the couch and I’ll get some tea on.” Twilight’s face was a blend of embarrassment and gratitude as she got back onto her sheathed hooves and made her way inside.

“Alright dear,” Velvet said, joining her daughter in the living room a minute or two later. “That was one of the more interesting greetings I’ve ever had at my door. Are you okay?”

Twilight Sparkle took a deep breath, got up and began to pace in that nervous way of hers. Velvet forced herself to keep her eyes on her daughter’s face, and not on the rippling form encased in shining black. “Initial awkwardness aside, I’m okay. I guess you could say the past couple of weeks were a really weird time for me. And I... well, I have to talk about this so we can work on it.” Twilight looked away, her ears laid back in shame. “This is... it’s going to be hard for you to hear, but it’s hard for me to say, so just... don’t interrupt, okay?”

Twilight Velvet gave her daughter a nod. “I’m very concerned, honey, particularly after that offering at my door, but I’m listening.”

“Okay.” Twilight took a deep breath. “I’m mostly okay. But you probably know from my friends that I’ve been away on another adventure, and it really messed with my head, and there were changelings, and—” She stopped herself, sighed, and turned her averted eyes floorwards. “I, uh, I spent a lot of time with a changeling who looked like you. She tried to tame me, she did condition and train me. And I really need your help to stop being turned on by your voice, because now that I’m home and safe, it’s taking everything I’ve got to not beg you to...do things to me.”

Velvet was silent for a minute, and Twilight let her mother take the time to absorb the shock. Then, her mother gave her a sly smile, lowered her eyelids suggestively, leaned forward, and purred into Twilight’s ear. “Moist.”

Twilight shuddered as her every orifice clenched with desire, “Mom!”

“Fetus smear. Curd. Chunky.” Twilight teleported. Fortunately, her parents’ bathroom was still in the same place. She could be sick in peace.

Twilight returned to the living room almost half an hour later, shaking slightly from how ill she had been. Velvet met her with a wan smile and a glass of salted mineral water, which helped, and they settled back into their seats, Twilight on the sofa and Velvet on the loveseat on the other side of the coffee table.

“That was horrible,” Twilight said. “Thank you.”

“Of course, honey. I know a thing or two about conditioning, and I’m very happy to help you with this.” Twilight Velvet’s already-weak smile faded completely. “But there’s something else you said that worries me more. In your letter, you said you didn’t have a choice about something very important. Twilight, were you...” She trailed off, unable to finish the sentence.

“I...” Twilight looked down. Dozens of recent memories flashed before her eyes. Most prominently, the image of Flam’s dick about to enter her muzzle burned itself into her vision. She closed her eyes, but couldn’t steady her breathing. She had tried to do what she could to mitigate the damage, and she had tried to have fun with what wasn’t truly her choice, but now that she was forced to look back...Twilight was wrapped in her mother’s embrace before she realized she was crying.

Velvet just sat there, hugging and rocking her sobbing daughter, not saying anything, just giving the love and comfort of a mother to her hurt child. It took several long minutes, but Twilight eventually managed to bring herself under control. Velvet waited until her daughter’s breathing had fully settled before she spoke again.

“What did you do to them?” Velvet asked, fearing the answer, terrified that her little filly had lost a lot more innocence than she feared.

“Nothing,” Twilight huffed out, and hugged her mom a little tighter. “I wanted to. I wanted to hurt them, to show them what it felt like, to...”

“Somepony stopped you?” Twilight Velvet used her magic to wipe a tear or two from her daughter’s cheeks. Twilight Sparkle couldn’t stop the smirk from pulling at her cheek.

“Chrysalis did,” Twilight said. “Well, the Chrysalis over there did. She didn’t say anything, she just sort of looked at me and I could tell she would have been disappointed in me and our Equestria if I hurt them.”

“Chrysalis? Queen of the Changelings? Terror of Canterlot?” Velvet asked. “That Chrysalis?”

“Savior of Equestria, just maybe, if she and hers managed to succeed,” Twilight said.

“Well, it sounds like that world is on the path to be a lot better place,” Twilight Velvet said and floated the tea she had been brewing over. “Do you want to talk more or did you want to take a break? Maybe tomorrow.?”

“Thank you, Mi—mom. But I have to keep going. I had to keep going from moment to moment while I was... captive, and everypony who’s been hurt knows what it means to bear that weight and keep living.” Twilight brushed away a few lingering tears. “Besides, it’s hardly likely that any of those other worlds will be the same way.”

“I know.” Twilight Velvet sighed and retreated to her separate cushion on the couch. “I’m just worried about you, sweetie. Keeping our Equestria safe was dangerous enough without your running off to save every Equestria.” Twilight shuffled, trying to straighten out her feathers from the hug.

“I know, but... mom, sometimes I do have to acknowledge I’m not just a pony anymore. I know my feelings and hurts are just like anypony else’s, but it’s borderline impossible to just kill me now that I’m an alicorn,” Twilight paused for a moment as she realized the truth of that statement. ”Tirek tossed me through a mountain and it only made me angry. I can guarantee I’ll come home alive, one way or another. And with friends and family like mine, I feel like there’s nothing I can’t come back from.”

Velvet grimaced. “You make it sound like you can’t be hurt, honey. We both know better.” She sighed. “Was it worth it?”

Twilight nodded as she stroked the leading edge of her left wing, guiding her feathers back into place. “Yes. Yes, it was absolutely worth it. Getting hurt a little, and being turned a little weird, to give a whole world a second chance is something I would do again in a heartbeat.”

“I wish you wouldn’t, but I understand, my little princess.” Velvet sighed again. “And I’ll always be here for you.”

Twilight leaned over and wrapped her mother in a hug. “I know. I love you, Mistress Velvet.”

“Mucus-roaches.”

“Urk—s-sorry, mom,” Twilight gagged.

Author's Note

I don't know what it is about this story, but every chapter seems to go long. In this case it was likely because this was not an easy chapter to write at all. I really, really struggled with the question of how much Spike would and should know, and how he would react.

Happily I was able to reach out to some fellow authors and their contributions are scattered throughout this chapter. Many thanks to Damaged, Belle and Canary in the Coal Mine for their contributions.

This chapter contains a Patreon reward for Shaushka. Specifically, the introduction of their OC into the story. I hope you like their character, at least for their addition to the story.

Also, this story marks the end of my freewheeling existence as a devil-may-care author. Last week life bit me on the ass, hard. Things were looking pretty grim, but then, out of seeming nowhere, a super Patron rode over the horizon and saved the day.

But the downside is that my time is no longer my own until I satisfy the commitment I made to them in exchange for their near superhuman help. So, until my commitment is satisfied not a single one of my stories, other than Brightly Lit, is going to be updated on anything like a regular schedule.

Interlewd Two

“Come along, Slave,” Twilight said, tugging on the leash locked to the collar of the mare behind her. “We don’t want to be late for our appointment.”

“Yes, Mistress,” Twilight Velvet said, as the pair walked through a quiet side street on the outskirts of Canterlot. The duo had been forced to use the side streets to reach their destination. Twilight Sparkle’s tight black bodysuit and silver collar naturally drew every eye to her on their own, but combined with the sight of the mature, trim form of a collared Twilight Velvet being led on a leash, it became a choice of take to the side streets or summon the Guard to clear a main route.

“I’m not familiar with this area, Slave,” Twilight said, as they came to an intersection. She frowned slightly and biting her lower lip asked, “Which way do we go from here?”

“To the left, Mistress,” Velvet said, tilting her head as she studied the indecisive mare who held the end of her leash. “Dandelions,” she said, coming to a decision. Twilight sighed loudly in relief as she heard Twilight Velvet say the “timeout” safe word for their exercise.

“Honey, what’s wrong?” Velvet asked her daughter.

“That’s a funny one, Mom,” Twilight said, stepping closer to her mother. “I’m walking my mother on a leash, through Canterlot, while addressing her as ‘Slave’. What could possibly be wrong?”

“Dear, are we getting a little hysterical again?’ Velvet asked, putting a hoof on her daughter’s shoulder. “We’ve been at this for four days now, you know why we’re doing this.”

“We’re reversing the dominant/submissive paradigm that Alyss built up in me,” Twilight said, in a sing-song voice. “By doing so I will re-internalize my self-determination and no longer be dependant on commands from those I have been conditioned to see as having power over me.”

“Straight out of the textbook, dear,” Velvet said. “But I know that look. Something else is nagging away at you. Come on. Out with it.”

“This is going to sound weird...” Twilight said, looking down as her voice trailed off.

“Weirder than my daughter travelling to an Equestria dominated by Flim and Flam, of all ponies?” Velvet asked, snorting. “Weirder than the two of us looking like a mother-daughter spread in the fetish edition of Playmare?”

“Yah, um Mom...don’t get offended by this,” Twilight said. “But are you attracted to me? Physically?” Twilight Velvet looked her daughter in the face like somepony that had just been blindsided by a wagon. Then she collapsed to the ground in laughter, holding her sides.

“Mom!” Twilight said, leaning over her mother. “I’m serious here.” No response came from Twilight Velvet, except laughter that got even louder.

“Mother,” Twilight growled, pulling Velvet’s head off the ground by her leash, and holding it so that the two were nose to nose. “Answer me. Are. You. Attracted. To. Me?” Velvet, half-choked by the collar around her throat, stopped laughing and shook her head, but her broad smile remained. At the response in the negative, Twilight blinked, and realized that she had her mother in a slow strangle.

“Ponyfeathers, Mom!” Twilight exclaimed, using her magic to lift up Velvet’s head and relieve the pressure on her mother’s throat. “Why didn’t you safeword or something? I could have hurt you.”

“Dear,” Velvet began, pausing to clear her throat and rub it a bit. “First off, I trust you. You would have stopped yourself in time. Second, I could have stopped you at any time. My magic isn’t bound in any way. Third...um, may I stand, Mistress?”

“What? Ah, yes, of course,” Twilight said, flipping her mother to her hooves and helping her stand up.”

“Thank you,” Velvet’s smile, if anything, was even more satisfied. “Now then. Third, to answer your question: I can appreciate your physical beauty and how well you fit certain fetishes of mine, but only for the split seconds when I can pretend you’re not my daughter. So, no. I’m not physically attracted to you. Fourth, and finally, that was the most dominant and in control that you been since you got back.”

“Wait, what?” Twilight asked, trying to absorb what her mother was saying.

“You weren’t submissive,” Velvet said, twirling a hoof around her leash. “You weren’t faking dominance to look good for me, you were in control. In control of the face and the voice you were trained to submit to.” Twilight blinked.

“I was, wasn’t—” Twilight began to say, in realization.

“HEADS UP!” came a sudden shout from above, as a grey and blond streak hurtled toward mother and daughter. The two tried to leap apart to get out of the way, but forgot the leash still connected them both. They leaped back a foot or so, the leash snapped taut and the pair were rebounded right back into each other, just as the blur impacted the spot they were pulled to. There was a thunderous crash, a cloud of dust and then all was silent for several moments on the quiet side street.

“Is...is everypony alright?” Twilight Sparkle said at last, as she lifted her head. The forms of two still ponies lay several feet to either side of her. One of them, a familiar grey furred pegasus began to stir and groan, but her mother’s form was scarily silent.

“Mom!” Twilight shouted, pulling herself up to her hooves and unsteadily moving to her mother. To Twilight’s relief her mother began to moan and stir as Twilight gently touched her shoulder.

“Oh, I’m so sorry,” Derpy exclaimed. “I’ve got letters for you and I got all excited to find you and I dove and didn’t realize—”

“Calm down, Derpy,” Twilight said, examining her mother’s body with magic. “I don’t think anything’s broken, she’s just knocked out.”

“I’ll call for help,” Derpy said, pulling out a flare from her work bag and launching it into the air, where it exploded with a satisfying “pop” of yellow sparks. “There should be a team of first-aid ponies here in a few minutes.”

“I think she’s coming around,” Twilight said as she magically unlocked her mother’s collar and slipped it off her neck so she could breathe easier.

“Ooh,” Velvet moaned, trying to raise her head. “Did anyone get the name of that delivery cart?”

“Lay still, Mom,” Twilight said, keeping her mother’s head down. “You’ve been in a collision, there are medics on the way.” Behind Twilight, Derpy fretted back and forth with a small parcel of letters under her wing.

“Is there anything I can do to make up for this?” the mailmare asked putting a wing over Twilight as she hoofed over the mail.

“Just stick with me, Derpy,” Twilight said, as she heard the siren of the medical services begin to approach.

“I’ll be fine, dear,” Velvet said, sounding much steadier. “You can let me up.”

“You should keep lying down, Royal Dam Velvet,” Derpy said. “The medics will take you to Canterlot General and get you checked out.”

“Royal what?” both Twilight’s asked, confused.

“Dam,” Derpy said. “No pony told you? As the mother of a princess, Celestia decided to give her the title of ‘Royal Dam'. She didn't want to make a big deal of it, but the Princess made sure all of the royal servants know.’” The medics turned the corner, an earth pony pulling a small wagon at top speed, with a unicorn hanging on for dear life.

“I haven’t spoken to Celestia since I got back,” Twilight said behind gritted teeth, as the wagon skidded to a stop. “Over here please, my mother has been in an accident.”

“Yes, Your Highness,” said the unicorn, hopping off the wagon. “Let me have a look at her.” Twilight backed away to stand beside a panting earth pony who was slowly unharnessing himself from the wagon.

“How did you know who we were?” she asked the pony, as he began to open up compartments in the wagon revealing various pieces of medical gear,

“Princess Twilight, every medical pony and artificer in Canterlot wants to get their hooves on you,” the earth pony said with a grin, getting out a stretcher to lay behind the unicorn that was carefully examining Twilight Velvet’s head and eyes. “That suit of yours is the topic of a lot of debate in the medical and enchanting communities.”

“Oh,” Twilight said, and her mind blanked for a moment from the memories. “How is my mother doing?” she asked the unicorn in an effort to change the subject.

“Stunned, it appears, Your Highness,” the unicorn said, concentrating on their patient. “I’m not seeing any wounds or broken bones, but I’d like to take her to Canterlot General for some tests and observation.”

“I’m fine,” Twilight Velvet said, but everypony present could hear the shake in her voice.

“Mom,” Twilight said, in a voice of command. “You’re going to the hospital, You’re going to get checked out, you are going to listen to the doctors, and after my appointment I will come to the hospital, and either take you home or bring you whatever you need.”

“Yes, Mistress,” Velvet murmured with a mischievous smile, laying her head on a small pillow the doctor had put there. The two medics shared a quick glance, cocking an eyebrow at each other, before quickly and professionally placing Twilight Velvet on a stretcher.

“Take good care of her, gentlecolts,” Twilight said, as the stretcher was carefully carried to the wagon. “She means the world to me.”

“Of course, Your Highness,” the unicorn said. “We’ll treat her as if she was our own mother.” They secured the stretcher and its cargo in place, and headed off at a more sedate pace then when they had arrived. Twilight turned to see Derpy bowing low to her, trembling.

“I’m so sorry, Twilight!” Derpy said, in tears. “I just wanted to get your letters to you because Princess Celestia said everypony needed to be extra helpful to you and I just don’t know what went wrong with my approach and—” Twilight stopped the rambling apology by the simple method of putting a hoof on Derpy’s mouth.

“Derpy, it was an accident,” Twilight said, smiling down in reassurance. “But if you really want to make it up to me I need to know if you can work directly for me for the rest of the day.”

“Of course, Twilight!” Derpy exclaimed, happy that she could help fix what had happened. “You were my last delivery of the day, so I’m available for whatever you need.”

“Good, because I need you to be my submissive servant for the rest of the day,” Twilight said, with a smirk as she held up Velvet’s collar and attached leash in front of Derpy.

“Um, okay. I mean I already am a servant of the Crowns, Princess,” Derpy said with some obvious trepidation. Nonetheless, she stood and stretched her neck out for Twilight.

“It's nothing sexual, Derpy. I swear,” Twilight said, even as she buckled the collar around the mailmare’s neck. “But as part of my therapy, I’m supposed to be physically in control of another pony at this meeting I’m heading to. My mother wanted to do it for me, but she's too shaken up, so you’re doing me a big favour by taking her place. Plus, you'll be home in time for dinner with Dinky, and I can pay you extra. You can still say ‘no’, if you want though. I’ll understand."

“Your servant, O Princess,” Derpy said, smiling. “Command me, and I shall obey.”

“Well, Princess Twilight,” the tall champagne coloured mare said to her over a cup of tea. “I have to say I’m surprised at who you have on the end of your leash today. Would you mind introducing me?”

“Shaushka, allow me to introduce my servant, Derpy Hooves,” Twilight said, appearing to absently stroke the blond pegasi’s mane. Derpy obediently sat on the floor next to Twilight, leaning slightly into the caressing hoof of her princess. Shaushka opened her empathic senses for a moment. The pegasus didn’t taste of anything sexual, as one might expect from somepony who had allowed themselves to be leashed, collared and led into a brothel. Instead, the pegasus radiated friendship and support.

“Slave Derpy—” Shaushka began, hoping Twilight would rise to the bait and interrupt her.

“She isn’t a slave,” Twilight interrupted, with some heat in her voice. “Derpy is a Royal Mailmare, and she offered to be my personal servant for today. But she is not a slave. ‘Slave’ implies ownership and Derpy is here of her own free will.”

“My apologies, Princess,” Shaushka said with a slight smile. “I find myself corrected. Servant Derpy, may I ask how you feel, sitting here, while wearing a collar and a leash?”

“I’m here because Twilight is my friend, and my princess,” Derpy said. “I messed up a bit today, so it feels really good to help her in any way I can.”

“Any way you can...” Shaushka said, taking another sip of tea. She sent a gentle pulse of magic to the drawing room doors, locking them. Twilight cocked an eyebrow at the sound, but said nothing.

“Derpy,” the disguised changeling continued, with another sip of tea, “what would you say if I asked Twilight to take you, sexually, right here, right now.”

“I wouldn’t say anything,” Derpy said, as Shaushka's eyes widened in surprise. “I would wait for Twilight to refuse. She said nothing like that would happen, and I trust her.” Twilight’s face broke into a smile as Derpy voiced her confidence in her princess and Shaushka’s eyes narrowed in understanding.

“I asked Twilight to bring a pony with her today,” Shaushka said, deciding to push the issue. “A pony she could have complete command and control over. She brought you, so I am fairly sure that if I did ask her to bend you over and have at you, as part of her therapy, she’d do it. You’re a pegasus, and both Twilight and I can do magic. You wouldn’t be able to stop us from doing anything we wanted.” Derpy’s eyes widened a bit, but otherwise she didn’t move or try to escape and Shaushka did her best to hide her pleasure at Derpy’s confidence in Twilight.

“In that situation, I would champion Derpy’s choice,” Twilight said, and the faintest shimmer of raspberry coloured magic began to coat her horn. “Derpy made a choice to put herself at my command today, and I choose to not betray the trust she’s placed in me.”

“How is it betrayal when she wears your collar, a token of your ownership?” Shaushka replied, keeping her tone conversational while setting down her teacup. “Whether she chose to put it on or not, she is now yours to command, to control, to use or abuse as you will.”

“No, she is NOT!” Twilight shouted, enraged, her horn blazing to full power. “Just because a pony wears a collar does not mean that anypony can do anything to them, and I will fight anypony who tries.”

“Who fights for you, Twilight?” Shaushka said, making absolutely sure she did nothing that could be construed as an attack. “You wear a collar, you were used and abused. Who fought for you?”

“I fought for me!” Twilight roared back. “I fought with everything I had, and I’m still fighting! For me, for 143, for all those ponies I left behind! I choose to fight!”

“Good,” Shaushka said calmly, and that word echoed into a sudden silence.

“What?” Twilight asked, blinking and rocking back in surprise.

“Derpy,” Shaushka said, as a confused Twilight extinguished her horn, “I need an outside opinion. How do you feel about Twilight right now?”

“Proud,” Derpy replied, instantly. “Everypony knows she got hurt on her last adventure, and we all know what she’s wearing has something to do with it. She got hurt bad, but she’s still the same brave Twilight Sparkle that’s saved Equestria before. She makes me proud to be a Royal Servant and I’ll help her in any way I can.”

“You...you goaded me into that outburst,” Twilight said, in a much calmer voice, taking stock of herself. “Why?”

“Two reasons,” Shaushka said. “First, I needed you to demonstrate that you don’t think of yourself as a victim anymore, and second, you needed to hear yourself say that. You kept fighting when a lot of other ponies would have given up and just tried to survive. Survival wasn’t enough for you. You fought back, for yourself and for the friend you made in that place.”

“So, just like that, I’m all better?” Twilight asked, some sarcasm in her voice.

“You know better than that, Princess,” Shaushka said, checking a clock on the wall. “You were hurt right down to your core, but thanks to your family and your friends,” she smiled at Derpy, who blushed, “I think you are indeed healing, and in time you will be all the stronger for your experiences.”

“Leave it to an emotivore to know emotions,” Twilight said, and Shaushka’s eyes grew wide.

“Wait, how did you—” Shaushka began, then cut off as a clock began to rapidly chime. “Quick, everypony. Up against the walls.” Twilight hesitated for a moment but then she heard the sound of a body rapidly falling from the sky and pulled herself and Derpy against the wall. A moment later, the ceiling fell in and everything was obscured by dust and debris.

As the detritus settled Twilight began to make out a tall figure standing in the room, directly under the new skylight in the ceiling. About ten seconds or so later the haze cleared enough to reveal the alabaster form of Princess Celestia, her horn ablaze with golden power as she held an unresisting Shaushka pinned up against the wall in her magic.

“Where is Twilight, Shaushka? I felt her magic flare here and then die suddenly. What have you—” Celestia was saying before Twilight interrupted her.

“Put her down,” Twilight growled at Celestia, coughing before continuing. “I mean it Celestia. Put my therapist down. Right. NOW!” Celestia turned to see Twilight, legs braced in a battle stance, completely envelop herself in a brilliant aura of raspberry coloured magic.

“Twilight, thank goodness,” Celestia said, still holding the now revealed changeling against the wall in her golden magic. Twilight’s response was a needle thin spear of flame that lanced over Celestia’s left shoulder, scorching fur and feather alike in its ravening course, before impacting on the wall.

“I won’t ask you again, Celestia,” Twilight said, her voice implacable. “Drop the changeling now, and if you even think of trying to bring up a shield, the next blast takes off your horn.” Celestia just stared at her former student in surprise, and then shook herself as she realized Twilight was in deadly earnest.

“Twilight...I...yield,” Celestia said slowly, setting down Shaushka as she did and powering down her horn. For a long, long moment Twilight stood there, ready for battle, mane and tail streaming in the flow of her magic. Bits of power, like St.Elmo’s fire, crackled and curled around her limbs, contained and controlled by the suit she wore. Taken as a single image, she was the very definition of the term, “Element of Magic.”

“Twilight,” Celestia repeated, in a calming voice as she knelt. “I yield. I’ve put down the changeling.” Something seemed to pass out of Twilight as she actually saw that Celestia had stood down and she relaxed, releasing her magic.

“I’m...I’m sorry, Princess,” Twilight said, putting a hoof over her face. “Please, get up.”

“Thank you, Twilight,” Celestia said, getting to her hooves, continuing in that same calm voice. “Do you mind if I clean things up a bit? I seem to have made a bit of a mess.”

“Please Celestia, will you stop being so kind and understanding,” Twilight said, frustration plain in her voice. “Get mad at me or something. I just threatened you, for pony’s sake.” Celestia walked around the room a bit, flashes of magic in her wake where things had been knocked over or broken, restoring them.

“Twilight, I’m relieved, not angry with you,” Celestia said, as her magic fixed the hole in the roof. “Shaushka has lived in Canterlot for a long time under a very strict set of guidelines. She’s never broken them, but when I felt your magic flare and then cut out, I feared the worst and came rushing in. Perhaps a little too hastily.”

“It’s okay, Princess” a voice said from beneath a tablecloth. “I know all about being too hasty!”

“Derpy!” Twilight exclaimed, pulling off the table cloth. “Are you okay?” The mare appeared to be lying on her side. As Twilight bent to examine Derpy, it became apparent that the leash attached to her collar had wrapped around the mailmare’s hooves, effectively hogtieing her. It was the work of a moment to undo the leash.

“Derpy Hooves,” Celestia said, to which Derpy bowed low. “I did not think such games were something you were interested in.” Derpy blushed.

“No, Your Highness,” Derpy said, “but Princess Twilight needed a servant for this meeting and I already am a Royal Servant so...”

“So you put yourself under Twilight’s command,” Celestia said, thinking for a moment. “Very well then, until she has no further need of you, Derpy Hooves, you are officially seconded to the Princess of Friendship.” A subsonic growl echoed through the drawing room, coming from the lavender alicorn.

“Twilight, why are you so angry with me?’ Celestia asked, concern on her face “I know you’ve been hurt terribly and the report you sent to court explains your pain, but not your fury. Talk to me, please.”

“My anger isn’t rational,” Twilight said, deflating visibly as she seized control of her emotions. “It’s wrong, and it’s unreasonable, and you are totally not to blame. But every time I hear your name or see you I can’t help but feel mad at you.”

“You know,” Shaushka said, closing the door after assuring those outside that everything was alright, “the anger Twilight is feeling is an entirely normal response. I was going to start working on it during our next session but seeing as all the players are here now...” She trailed off, spreading her hooves wide. Twilight nodded jerkily in acquiescence, while Celestia took a seat.

“Derpy,” Celestia said, as Derpy took her place beside Twilight’s chair, “I should point out that everything you are about to hear is an official secret.” Derpy nodded to her sovereign in understanding.

“Celestia,” Twilight began hotly, “I will thank you not to—” cutting herself off before her tirade could truly begin.

“Twilight, you said you knew your anger was irrational, unreasonable and wrong,” Shaushka said, preparing a fresh pot of tea. “But do you know why it is focused on Celestia?”

“Yes, yes I do,” Twilight said, and then looked Celestia in the eye for the first time since she returned home. “You deserve to know why I’m so furious with the mare who was almost a second mother to me. You see...”

For the next half an hour Twilight explained to her listeners how another Princess of the Sun, in another world, had become a ruthless, obsessive, absentee despot and how that had been the overall cause of her capture, conditioning and sexual enslavement there. When Twilight ended her story, a grim faced Celestia set down her still steaming hot tea.

"Twilight, I think I understand your anger now, at both myself and that other me," Celestia said, her jaw slightly clenched. "I admit just hearing about it makes me rather upset with that other 'me'."

"Why do you think I've been avoiding you?" Twilight asked, sadness on her face. "Right now, even hearing your name makes me angry. Seeing you here in the flesh just makes me want to—"

"Smack some sense into me?" Celestia interrupted. "Beat me silly? Vent your anger on my body?"

"Yes," Twilight growled, through gritted teeth as her emotional see-saw tipped again. "All that and more. I want Celestia, any Celestia, to feel the pain of her subjects on that world."

"Then go ahead," Celestia said, standing up and calmly facing the smaller alicorn.

"What?" Twilight asked, eyes widening.

"My dear Twilight. I am the one who is ultimately responsible for you going to that other world," Celestia said as she moved up to stand directly in front of Twilight, Derpy making room for her. “The way I see it, you need to get that anger out of your system before you explode or lash out at me in some way that you will regret for the rest of your life.”

“Are you sure you want to do this?” Twilight asked, concern for her mentor showing for the first time on her face. “I may not have Nightmare Moon levels of anger, but I’m pretty peeved.”

“Oh, Twilight, it’s comments like that which make you so dear to me,” Celestia said. “Let me offer you three options. First, we can go to the palace and talk this over tea and cake. I have a lovely red velvet just dying to be nibbled on, and I would love to share it with a good friend.” Twilight blushed slightly at that. “Secondly, the two of us can go over to the Royal Guard training grounds and spar. They have plenty of weapons there that we can beat the stuffing out of each other with, plus there is armor to make sure neither of us gets too hurt, and we won’t damage anything valuable.” Celestia glanced somewhat ruefully toward the repaired ceiling.

“Finally, I know Shaushka has a soundproof dungeon where we won't be disturbed, that has several devices more than capable of restraining me and causing me great discomfort." Twilight's eyes were as big as dinner plates now. "If it helps you, I’m more than willing to let you bind me in place, and be something of a punching bag for you. I can take it, for you, my faithful Twilight, who has been through so much."

“I...I,” Twilight’s mind was completely locked up. That Celestia was willing, even eager, to let Twilight vent her anger in the ways she offered had Twilight’s mind reeling.

"I'm sorry, Princess," Shaushka said, breaking the moment. "But I'm afraid I couldn't allow that. It violates the entire spirit of what that dungeon is for.”

"Make an exception, this once, if Twilight chooses that option," Celestia said, her expression enigmatic. "Consider it a favour to the Crown." Twilight opened her mouth as if to say something, but was interrupted by a curl of flame that suddenly appeared in front of Princess Celestia. A scroll appeared as the flame died out, and the sun princess caught it easily in her magic.

“It’s from Spike,” she announced to the room, as she began to read the short letter.

“Dear Princess Celestia, please let Twilight know that Shining Armor and Cadance are due here tomorrow morning to start working with 143. If you could, please ask Princess Luna if she can do anything about 143’s nightmares. The Guard has sent word that they have found Trixie, as well as Flim and Flam, and they are all on their way here as well. Finally, Starlight claims to have found a way to get Twilight’s suit off of her, but needs Twilight back here to try it. Let Twilight know that otherwise everything is fine or about to be fine. All the best, Spike.”

Spike watched in satisfaction as his flame breath licked away the last of the scroll, sending it on its way to Celestia, and by extension Twilight. His news should have Twilight back by tomorrow afternoon at the latest, and that meant he only had a short window of time to accomplish his goal. The Castle of Friendship was pretty much deserted right now. Starlight Glimmer was in the lab putting some finishing touches on her device to help Twilight.

He'd given 143 her dinner after locking her long leash to a bedpost in her room. That it was the only way 143 could sleep without having horrible night terrors still bothered him a lot, but like everypony else, he would help her in any way he could. Which left only one other being in the castle. Double checking the items he had with him Spike passed through one last door, locking it behind him.

“Hello Alyss,” he said to the changeling at the kitchen table. “We need to talk.”

Author's Note

A very character driven chapter with very little lewd, I know. One more Interlewd chapter only after this and our heroine should be heading back out into the multiverse. Also, this marks a second chapter with Patreon rewards built in.

Some of you may have noticed I'm not pushing my Patreon much anymore. This is due to a large commitment I have to The Canary Files and my unwillingness to make more commitments that I might not be able to keep.

Next Chapter: Spike confronts Alyss, Trixie meets 143 and Twilight unleashed.

Interlewd Three

“Hello Spike,” Alyss said, as she looked up from the table where she was kneading some bread dough. She took in the dragon’s stance, the locked door behind him and sighed. She’d been expecting this confrontation for awhile and had tried to avoid Spike, but it seemed he had cornered her at last.

“Do you know why I’m here?” he asked her, stepping down the few steps into the kitchen proper. Alyss put the dough into a large bowl, set it on the neighboring counter and laid herself over table.

“How do you want me?” she asked, looking over at Spike.

“How do I...what?” Spike asked, eyes widening in surprise at the supine changeling on the table.

“How did you want me for my beating?” Alyss asked, matter of factly. “The kitchen wouldn’t have been my first choice, but I do see the advantages of doing it here.”

“What are you talking about, Alyss?” Spike asked again, not sure if he had heard the suited changeling correctly.

“My beating,” Alyss repeated. “Now the packaging twine should hold me if you wrap it enough times around my legs, and the dish towels will probably make for a good gag to muffle my screams. Plus, cleaning up after should be—”

“Alyss!” Spike shouted. “What in Celestia’s name are you talking about?” At the mention of the solar Diarch’s name, Alyss cringed fully into the table.

“Please Spike,” she said, “I know you’re here to take revenge for your Twilight. I’m not going to try to run away, so please don’t bring the Breaker into this.”

“Take reve...” Spike’s voice trailed off as he put the clues together. “You think I’m here to hurt you.” It was a statement, not a question.

“Well, yes,” Alyss said, lifting her head up, flour on her muzzle. “I mean, I hurt Twilight and I tried to break her to my will and that of others. I hurt her because it was my job, and because doing so helped my mother break the back of a financial empire that brought untold misery to thousands of ponies. I hurt her and now you are here to balance the scales. I can accept that.”

“Alyss, I won’t pretend that I’m not very, very tempted to take you up on your offer,” Spike said. “Twilight hatched me, and she’s been my friend for as long I can remember.”

“Then go ahead,” Alyss said, laying her head back down. “If our positions were reversed, I’d beat me to within an inch of my life.”

“Alyss,” Spike said, trying not to flex his claws. “Do you feel guilty about what you did to Twilight and the other ponies you had in your hooves?”

“No,” Alyss said. “Why would I? I was following the commands of my queen and my mother, plus few things give a changeling more pleasure than being intimately connected with the mind and body of a pony. I got to do both, over and over again. Besides, it isn’t my job to decide what was right and what was wrong.”

“If you don’t feel any guilt, then why are you expecting me to hurt you?” Spike asked, now genuinely puzzled by Alyss.

“Because Twilight is your friend,” Alyss said, voice a little muffled, “because I hurt her, because I broke changeling law and my mother gave me to Twilight, and by extension you, for my punishment. Plus, after having been exposed to ponies for so long, I can understand the idea of friendship. So, go ahead, get on with it.”

“Let me see if I’ve got this straight,” Spike said, holding up a couple of claws. “I came in here to talk to you about the jobs you’ll be doing around the castle, but you're telling me that you’ve been expecting me to punish you for what you did to Twilight, as her proxy, and that you’re fine with it.”

“Yes, exactly,” Alyss said, lifting her head and looking a little annoyed. “I’ve been trying to avoid it for days now, but you’ve cornered me, so get on with it.

“I’ve been trying for three days to get your help with chores, not to pound the stuffing out of you. Besides, if you really think I’m out to get you, why aren’t you trying to get away through a window or something?” Spike asked, beginning to form a plan in his head.

“Twilight told me I have to obey you and Starlight,” Alyss said, narrowing her eyes. “As long as I am here I have to obey Twilight. Which means obeying you, like I’d obey her, and you told me we need to ‘talk.’ I thought I’d just get it over with. Would you prefer to 'talk' with a rolling pin or some of the spatulas?” Spike pinched the bridge of his nose.

“Alyss, get off the table,” Spike said, sighing as he watched the changeling get down. “Tomorrow morning, meet me around the backside of the castle and we’ll starting working on some of the things I think your mother really wanted you to learn while you are here.”

“Yes Spike,” Alyss said, looking a little confused as she obeyed. “You know, if you have some sort of pit waiting—”

“Just meet me outside tomorrow,” Spike said, interrupting her. “We have carpets to get the dust out of.”

The next morning, about an hour after dawn, two mares sat in a richly appointed drawing room on the outskirts of Canterlot. The host, a tall champagne coloured unicorn mare served her guest, then took a sip of the rich, fragrant tea she had poured for herself, before leaning back with a sigh.

“Well, Princess,” the unicorn said, setting down the cup, “she’s on her way home and I think you, Velvet and I have done all we can for her.”

“In all honesty, Shaushka, “ Princess Celestia said to her host, “do you think she’s going to be alright?”

“She endured something that would have broken a weaker pony,” Shaushka said, putting a hoof to her chin. “But she made it through, and I'm fairly sure we’ve managed to break her conditioning before it became too set to budge. She's asserting herself again...and I still can’t get over what you let her do to you.”

“Do you think it helped?” Celestia asked, nibbling a tea cake.

“I think it gave her balance,” Shaushka said, smiling. “She had already broken free of “conditioned slave Twilight” when you made that offer, but she hadn’t yet dealt with her justifiable anger at what was done to her. If you hadn’t offered her a safe way to vent that fury...” The disguised changeling shuddered at the thought of the power of an enraged alicorn. Particularly one with the magical power of Twilight Sparkle.

“I know, and I’m likely going to be sore for a few more days, but it was worth it,” Celestia said, with a smile. “If we hadn’t been able to curb that fury I could have had another Nightmare Moon on my hooves. A...a Midnight Sparkle, if you will. One with the full power of the Element of Magic behind her and all the knowledge and training she’s received over the past decade.”

“You could have stopped her, if you had to?” Shaushka asked. “I mean yes, you did have to banish Luna, but you stopped Nightmare Moon.”

“I had the Elements with me and I used her arrogance against her,” Celestia said, her face troubled. “If a Midnight Sparkle came into existence I wouldn’t have those luxuries. It would likely be a fight to the death.”

“Oh...oh my,” Shaushka said, shrinking back in her chair a bit. “That bad?”

“Probably worse,” Celestia said, leaning forward. “So, I need you to be completely honest with me. What’s her prognosis?”

“Good, very good,” Shaushka said in answer. “She came close to breaking, but she didn’t quite snap and with her recovery now, her mental defences and strength of will are becoming far stronger than they were before, and that’s not all of it.”

“No? What else?” Celestia said, a bit testily. “Out with it. As her monarch and her friend, I need to know.”

“Twilight Sparkle has always been very goal oriented and now she has a new goal,” Shaushka said. “Her new goal is to save every Equestria she can find, starting with the ones she encountered in her fight against Starlight Glimmer.”

“Are you sure?” Celestia asked, frowning.

“I’m absolutely sure. Princess, think about it. She went through Tartarus and in doing so she gave an entire world a fighting chance to get back on course,” Shaushka said, setting down her teacup. “That’s a price almost anypony would pay to save this Equestria if it was threatened. I give it a few days, a week at most, before she goes back out across the timelines to save another version of Equestria that’s in some form of peril.”

“I should stop her,” Celestia said, standing up. “I can beat her train back to Ponyville and make sure she can never cast the spell again.”

“No!” Shaushka exclaimed, getting up as well. “You can’t do that!”

“Why not? If I do that Twilight will be safe. Our Equestria will be safe,” Celestia said, and she began to leave.

“If you do that Twilight Sparkle will hate you forever!” Shaushka called at the Diarch’s back. Celestia stopped, one hoof raised and looked back.

“What do you mean by that?” Celestia asked, waiting for Shaushka to explain her reasoning.

“Twilight will always resent you for taking away her choice, if you do this,” Shaushka said. “You will be taking away her choices just like they did in that other world. In her mind you will be just as bad as they were and she will obsess over it until you will either have to imprison her or let her go.” Celestia just looked for a minute, then nodded her head and went back to her seat.

“I don’t like it, but you’re probably right,” Celestia said, sighing. “Often the hardest thing for me to do is to let my ponies make their own choices, when all I want to do is just keep them all safe.”

“Speaking of safe, have you given any thought to my proposal?” Shaushka asked, dropping her disguise to reveal the orange-maned changeling beneath.

“Of you and your hive becoming royal servants?” Celestia asked. “I have, I’m just not sure if my ponies are ready yet.” Shaushka sighed, and sipped at her now cool tea.

“What if there was something you could point to that showed our submission to the Crowns?” Shaushka asked. “Something that proved we served you and your sister.” She pulled a wide flat box from under the table and put it in front of Celestia. The solar princess opened the box to reveal a segmented metal collar and she shot a look at Shaushka.

“You can’t surely mean you intend to...” Celestia trailed off, then recovered. “Shaushka, I don’t play those games, and I don’t take slaves.”

“No, Celestia, you don’t,” Shaushka said, in reply. “But you do take prisoners, and you do have ponies on probation, and you do...have servants.”

“So, you are willing to put yourself and your hive into chains so you can...what?” Celestia asked, cocking an eyebrow.

“So, that I and my hive can walk freely, without having to hide what we are,” Shaushka said, going to her knees in front of Celestia. “Twenty-six years ago you allowed a refugee from an unknown species to settle in your city, so long as she kept the peace. I owe you Celestia, let me repay you.”

“Shaushka, on the day Chrysalis invaded, you kept fifty-one ponies safe by pretending to be part of her forces,” Celestia said, running a hoof over the changeling queen’s head. “As far as Luna and I are concerned, you and your thirty paid any debt you might have owed us with that heroism.”

“Isn’t there anything else we can do?” Shaushka asked, lowering her head.

“Yes, there is,” Celestia said, lifting up Shaushka’s chin so she could look in her eyes. “Not today, but soon, I’ll have Luna contact you about something she calls ‘Project Bolthole.’”

Mid-morning found Spike and Alyss outside and around the back of the Castle of Friendship where Spike was beating out a series of rugs before Twilight got back in the next couple of hours.

"What I don't get," Alyss said, feeling daring in light of the previous night, "is why you don't just burn all the junk. The ponies in town are always trying to give you stuff. Just burn this junk and get new ones." She gestured with a hoof to the rug Spike was dutifully beating the dust out of.

"Twilight trusts me to keep the castle clean." Spike thudded the bat against the rug, sending a puff-cloud of dust into the air.

"Yeah, but if you just got new stuff it wouldn't be dirty!" Alyss said, as she walked around the dragon, watching what he was doing. "And if you burned up all the old stuff with your fire, nopony would find it."

"I would know about it, though." Spike said, gritting his teeth; the urge to do what Alyss had offered the previous night came and went in a moment. "If you want to help, there is a spare bat there. Start on the next one," Spike paused and looked at Alyss, "if you want."

"You’re saying that just to tease me. You know I have to do what you tell me to," Alyss picked up the bat in her forehooves.

"Put the bat down." Spike made sure his words were a command this time, and he went back to work beating the dust from the rug. Beside him, the confused changeling just stared at him as she set the bat down.

"This will take forever if you do it alone." Alyss said, making an angry chirp with her wings, then she picked the bat back up and began to beat it against her own rug. The two continued to pound the dirt and dust from the rugs for the next half hour, when they were greeted by a familiar male voice.

“Hello Spike,” Shining Armor said, as he rounded the corner of the building, a contingent of guards in tow. “When’s Twilight due back from Canterlot?’

“Her train should be here in about an hour or so,” Spike said, noting the guards. “You don’t need to worry about Alyss here, she’s not going anywhere.” Alyss, however, looked like she’d seen a ghost.

“Alyss, you okay?” Spike asked the captive changeling. She looked as if she could barely stand, she was trembling so hard, and her eyes were locked on Shining Armor.

“Um, yes Spike, I’m fine,” Alyss said, shaking her head and seeming to recover herself. “Sorry, sometimes I forget that this isn’t my Equestria.”

“Twily told me all about you in her letter, Alyss. So I know where you’re from,” Shining Armor said. “You and I are going to have a long talk when I have the chance, but for now, my wife and I have a mare to help. Just so you know, if I even think you are going to be a problem I’m going to blast first and ask questions later. Are we clear?” To Shining’s surprise Alyss bowed to him.

“I would be a fool to cross the Kingslayer,” Alyss said seriously, as Shining Armor and Spike shared a questioning look.

“Ahem, alright then,” Shining Armor said. “Anyway Spike, I wanted to let you know that Cadie is getting set up with 143 and there’s a Solar Guard detachment set up in one of the side rooms. They’ve got somepony locked in there under heavy guard. Mind telling me who it is?”

“No can do, Shining,” Spike said. “Twilight will let you know after she gets in, but for now, me and Alyss have a job to finish.”

An hour later the Ponyville Express deposited Twilight Sparkle, Derpy Hooves and two members of the Royal Guard onto the platform. To Twilight’s great annoyance the guards weren’t in the standard garb of either the Night Guard or the Solar Guard but instead, their armor was coloured in the muted reds, oranges and purples of twilight.

“You two don’t have to keep following me everywhere, you know,” Twilight said to the duo, who were following her and Derpy a respectful distance back.

“We know, Ma’am,” one of the guards said. “We just happen to be going the same way you are.”

“And exactly how long do you expect to be going the same way I am?” Twilight asked, and she heard Derpy giggle beside her.

“Oh, we’re just headed over to the castle, Your Highness,” the other guard, a bat pony said. “The Princesses asked us to keep an eye on things there and to make sure you're safe.”

“I suppose I don’t have a say in this?” Twilight asked archly. Derpy was still giggling a bit, and Twilight smirked as she saw the humour in the situation as well.

“I’m afraid not, Ma’am,” the first guard said, “at least not until next week. The Princesses said that at that point, we answer to you.”

“Fine, in that case, you can help Derpy and me with our luggage,” Twilight pointed to the small stack of suitcases on the platform. The guards self-assured attitude dissolved as they realized they were actually being put to work.

“Yes, Ma’am,” they said in unison, grabbing up the trunks and following the pair as they began to walk towards Twilight’s castle.

“Derpy, are you okay with this?” Twilight asked, walking around the outskirts of town to avoid talk and questions she didn’t have time for. “You know, being my personal servant and all?”

“Are you kidding?” Derpy asked, a huge smile on her face. “I get to work directly for a princess, I have job security and I get to work in town near my daughter.” Her smile went away, “Um, I haven’t messed up or anything, have I? You aren’t firing me, are you?” Derpy’s face fell.

“Oh, no, no Derpy, not at all,” Twilight said, assuring the grey and yellow pegasus. “Tell you what, why don’t you go over to Rarity’s and tell her you need a complete set of new uniforms. Something good enough for the personal servant of a princess.”

“I can’t afford something like that,” Derpy said, scuffing a hoof. “Not even with the pay bump Celestia gave me.” The mention of Celestia’s name brought a smile to Twilight’s face as it provided a solution to the problem.

“Tell Rarity that I said to bill it to the Princesses,” Twilight told Derpy, whose face lit up like the sun.

“Oh thank you Twilight,” Derpy said, as she flung both hooves around Twilight’s suited body. “I don’t deserve it, but thank you.”

“Yes, you do deserve it,” Twilight said, holding Derpy close. “You’re just about the only pony that’s treated me normally since I got back, and it’s been a big help. Now...off you go, and don’t come back until Rarity has you looking fabulous.” Derpy nodded, sketched a crude salute, and hurried off.

“Well,” Twilight said to Derpy’s retreating back, “that should keep both her and Rarity busy for awhile.” She turned her attentions back to the pair of guards labouring under the weight of luggage, “Come along, stallions, let’s get going. Be glad Rarity wasn’t with us.” The two guards groaned and trailed in her wake as she headed for her castle. With the weight of the luggage, they quickly fell behind, but the thought of how things would have gone with Rarity made them shudder.

Skirting around the outskirts of Ponyville made for a longer trip, but Twilight was tired of all the concerned looks and glances that her and her outfit still gathered. At least she felt as if she wasn’t going to snap the head off the next pony who asked her if she was alright. Twilight sighed and smiled as she neared the Castle of Friendship. Once a place she didn’t like much at all, it now represented an island of safety, a place where she was in command and control. As she reached the front doors she waved to Spike and Alyss who were busy beating out some rugs and discussing something about choice. Twilight made a note to ask Spike about it at dinner later.

“Alright stallions, thank you for your service, you can just leave it all right here inside the door,” Twilight said, and the two guardponies set down their burdens with audible relief. “So, do you mind telling me why your armor looks like that?”

“Sorry, your Highness,” the Night Guard said, “but the Princesses ordered us not to tell you until tomorrow.” The two at least had the decency to look embarrassed at their refusal to tell Twilight what was going on with them, although she had a pretty good suspicion what was going on.

“Twilight!” Starlight Glimmer called out as she emerged from one of the side rooms. The mare’s mane had seen better days and she obviously could use a solid night’s sleep, but she seemed energetic as she came down the hallway to her teacher.

“Hey, Starlight,” Twilight said, smiling. “Spike’s letter said you did it? You can get this off of me?” Twilight plucked at the suit encasing her body.

“Yes,” Starlight said, with that slightly manic look Twilight had come to recognize in her student. “I just need an hour or two to get everything ready for you.”

“Sounds good,” Twilight said, rubbing Starlight’s head a bit. “That will give me time to talk to Trixie. You’ve really done a great job, come get me when you’re ready.” Starlight blushed and hugged Twilight in thanks. Twilight couldn’t help but notice that her pupil seemed to let her hooves linger on the biosuit and smiled a bit. “Go get ready,” Twilight gently nudged her student. Starlight seemed to shake herself, smiled and headed off.

Twilight watched the mare leave and then headed to where she knew the Royal Guard detachment was holding Trixie. Entering the room the guards had chosen for themselves she saw a hobbled Trixie sitting in a ring of guards.

“The Great and Powerful Trixie had thought we had parted on better terms than this, Twilight Sparkle,” Trixie said, holding up one pair of hooves to show the hobbles hanging off of them. “It was not the best of terms, true. But Trixie does not think she deserved to be brought back in chains.”

“I’m sorry, Trixie,” Twilight said, grimacing a bit. “Celestia’s instructions to the guards may have been...overly enthusiastic. Guards, please release Trixie.” The detachment said nothing but obeyed quickly, unlocking the shackles and Trixie rubbed her legs where they had chafed.

“Guards, thank you for your service, you are dismissed,” Twilight said to them, before turning to Trixie. “Trixie, please come with me, there is something I have to show you. Afterwards, if you want to leave, you may do so with a hot meal and a pouch of bits for your trouble.” Trixie said nothing, even though Twilight could see the showmare’s eyes burn with curiosity and she followed Twilight out the door and into the hall.

Trixie followed Twilight in silence, and soon came to a viewing area with a large wall-length one way mirror. Confused and curious, she looked through the one way glass into the room on the other side. Sitting in the room was Prince Shining Armor, as handsome a stallion as there ever was, and someone Trixie would dearly love to have as her patron. Across from Shining Armor was, to her absolute shock, herself! Trixie spun to face Twilight, "What...what is this? Who is that? Why have you dressed up some mare to look like Trixie, especially in an outfit like...that?"

"She's you Trixie," Twilight said and Trixie's eyebrows shot up in a way that demanded an answer. "Or, at least you from another timeline. She was terribly hurt, her spirit and mind broken. I couldn't leave her there. I just couldn't."

"What will you do for her?" Trixie asked, feeling a sudden burst of grief and empathy for her double build inside of her.

“Everything I can," Twilight said, trying to keep her composure. "Shining and Cadance are the best there is at bringing ponies back from this kind of trauma."

"And if they cannot?" Trixie asked. "What will you do for Trixie's...sister, then?"

"Then," Twilight sighed, "I will make sure that she is kept safe, and properly cared for. From this day, until my dying day."

Tears welled in Trixie's eyes. "My Princess," Trixie said, head bowed, tears dripping to the floor. "The House of Lulamoon is forever in your debt for this..."

"NO!" Twilight exclaimed, anger on her face and Trixie flinched from the sudden fury of the alicorn. "NO debts, no accounting, nothing owed, EVER! Friendship doesn't keep accounts, it doesn't mark ledgers or keep score." Twilight took a deep breath and visibly calmed herself, continuing in a softer tone. "In the world she came from, all she knew was debts and prices and costs. I can't let her come to that kind of harm again, and by Celestia's Sun and Luna's Moon, I will make sure Friendship never comes with a price."

Twilight’s words struck deep into Trixie’s mind, and her eyes went back to the form of her counterpart, watching her through the one way mirror and tears slowly fell from Trixie as she tried to imagine what horrors her counterpart had endured. Twilight felt uncomfortable watching Trixie cry, as if she was violating some private pain that the showmare had held tight for a very, very long time. Twilight turned to go.

“Wait, Princess,” came Trixie’s voice, and Twilight felt a flare of magic behind her. Turning, she saw that Trixie was facing her and had summoned an old sword from somewhere. The blade was old, ancient even, and formed in the pattern of a classic basket hilted broadsword. With a flourish, Trixie laid the sword on the floor at Twilight’s hooves, the blade forming a steel line between the two mares. Trixie then did something Twilight never thought she would see the bombastic mage ever do, she knelt.

“I, Trixie of the House Lulamoon,” Trixie intoned in a grave and serious voice, “being it’s head and of sound mind and body, do hereby offer the service of myself and my progeny to the House of Twilight and to its Princess, from now until the end of time. I shall be the sword at your side, the shield at your back, I shall help light your way in the dark places and offer my life as yours, to spend as you deem worthy.” Trixie finished by bowing her head over the sword.

Twilight recognized the words. They were the formal words spoken when a family pledged itself to the service of a noble House. She had run across the oath and its responses often in the histories, but it had been generations since the last time the words had been said with intent. Even with the passionate message she just delivered, Twilight felt she knew why Trixie was offering what she had, but she needed to be sure.

“Before I respond,” Twilight said, lifting Trixie’s head so she could look the mare in the eye, “answer this question for me: Are you doing this because you are grateful, because you think you should offer yourself as you have, or are you asking me this for another reason?”

“Just before Trixie’s mother journeyed to the Summerlands, she told Trixie to find a pony,” Trixie said, as she started smiling. “She told me to find a pony that could do something for our family that no other pony could do, not even Celestia. She told me that once I found that pony, I should do whatever it took to stay with them.”

Hearing that made Twilight realize why this unlikely, bombastic and overblown situation felt so right, as something in Twilight’s brain clicked, “A deathbed prophetic vision…”

Trixie nodded, her smile now radiated like the sun, “Ever since her mother passed when she was a small filly, Trixie has been alone in this world. Until today, when you did something nopony else could do, not even Celestia. You have brought me a sister, and now, Trixie is no longer alone. Because you have done that, Trixie will follow you whether you accept her service or not.” Trixie lowered her head again, her answer given and resolute.

Twilight, in that moment, made her decision. “Trixie, of the House Lulamoon, she said in her “Princess” voice. “I accept the service of you and yours. You will be the sword at my side, and the shield at my back. We shall walk together in the dark places by the light of your service, and I shall hold your life as dear as my own. Your fights shall be my fights, my triumphs shall be your triumphs and your House will always have a place at my table.”

Twilight grasped Trixie’s sword in her magic, tapping the showmare’s shoulders with it, and finishing the ritual said, “I dub thee once, twice, thrice. Rise, Dame Trixie, Knight of Twilight.”

“Thank you, my Princess,” Trixie said, rising . “Is there anything Trixie can help you with?”

Twilight felt like she was in magic kindergarten, if there was one thing she hated it was being put on the spot and she took a moment to try and think of something she could have Trixie do. As her mind wandered she found herself idly tracing the lines of Trixie’s body. The suit, recognizing the change in hormone levels, started to trigger an automatic reward cycle. It took every bit of willpower not to moan, especially as an unbidden fantasy of both Trixie and Starlight pleasuring her came to mind.

“614 suit, discontinue reward,” Twilight gasped out, as Trixie raised an eyebrow at the antics of her new liege mare. “I’ll explain later, but for now I want you to listen in and watch Shining and Cadance’s sessions with 143. Talk to them after they’re finished this session with her and see if you can be of any help to them.”

“As my Princess wishes,” Trixie said, bowing her head. “Do you have any other commands for your Great and Powerful Knight?”

“Just one,” Twilight said, with a smile at how she knew her friend was going to react. “Later today, go see Rarity about designing your regalia. You represent the Princess of Friendship now, so you should look the part.” Trixie smiled, she knew the importance of the right costume for the right performance.

Just then Starlight hurried by, “Be ready for you in twenty minutes, Twilight.” A cluster of potion bottles flowed in her wake.

“Okay,” Twilight called back, and headed for the kitchen. She had enough time to grab a a snack with Spike and Alyss in the kitchen.

“Okay, I kind of understand what you’re talking about Spike,” Alyss was saying as Twilight entered the kitchen. “But isn’t obeying those in charge just as important as...oh, hello Twilight.”

“Hello you two,” Twilight said, grabbing a muffin from a basket in her magic. “Glad to see you both are getting along.”

“She’s not too horrific,” Spike said, coming up and hugging his friend. “She just seems to have a really twisted idea of right and wrong. How are you doing?”

“Better,” Twilight said, hugging back. “Thanks for taking care of everything while I was kind of out of it.”

“Just glad to have you back, Twilight,” Spike said, and as Alyss looked on she could feel the love flowing between the two. It was strong and powerful, and it had been a long time since she had a good meal.

“Twilight, may I...feed?” she asked, hesitantly. Twilight looked at Alyss and she felt Spike nod.

“Go ahead, Alyss,” Twilight said, smiling. “We all may as well have some nourishment.” For a few minutes the three just stood there, Twilight and Spike hugging, Alyss feeding off the love for each other the two had. A knock broke the mood.

“Princess,” A guard said, poking her head in the door, “Starlight says she’s...oh.”

“No problem,” Twilight said, breaking the hug with a smile. “Tell Starlight Glimmer I’m on my way.” The guard saluted and left.

“Twilight,” Alyss said, hesitation on her face. “Good luck. Seriously, I hope whatever Starlight does works.”

“Me too,” Twilight said, rubbing Spike’s head one last time. “I’ll see both of you later.” Spike gave her one last hug and Twilight headed out the door to the room Starlight Glimmer had commandeered as her lab. Since Twilight’s return, the reformed mare had been working the problem of how to remove Twilight’s suit with manic intensity. The problem was that the suit’s inventors had never imagined the suit coming off and once the suit bonded with the wearer it was essentially a second, thicker, extremely smart layer of skin and a literal part of its captive.

“Wow, Starlight,” Twilight said, taking in the massive array of equipment and gear the room was crammed with, “you’ve been busy.”

“Heh,” Starlight laughed nervously. “I sure have, but I think I’ve got it licked. First, I need you to stand over that binding frame there.” Starlight gestured toward a sturdy ‘H’ of metal that was bolted to the floor. Twilight could see it was set up to securely and firmly bind a pony in place, while holding them comfortably in a standing position.

“Starlight,” Twilight said, raising an eyebrow, “Is there a particular reason why you need to put me in bondage?” Starlight blushed furiously but answered.

“I need to bit you as well,” Starlight said, and Twilight’s other eyebrow climbed to reach the first.

“You need, or the procedure needs?” Twilight said, giving her student the sexiest look she knew how. In truth, she was more than a little nervous about trusting a pony enough to put herself at their mercy again. So, it felt good to needle Starlight a bit, but if there was a good place to extend that level of trust again, it was here and now.

“I...I,” Starlight said, sputtering a bit, as her face went even redder. Then she steadied herself and took a deep breath. “I don’t know what will happen as the suit comes off of you. You could go into convulsions or spasms, and the bit is to secure your airway and keep it open, no matter what.”

“It’s okay, Starlight,” Twilight said, positioning herself over the frame. “I was just teasing a bit, do what you have to do. You’ve earned my trust and that of everypony here.” Starlight nodded, and using her magic, swiftly cuffed Twilight’s legs to the frame and raised a pad up under her belly for her to rest on. With Twilight secured in place, Starlight then plucked some hairs from Twilight’s mane and dropped them into a beaker of white liquid, which fizzled as it turned purple.

“What was that for?” Twilight asked, as Starlight dropped a blocker ring onto her horn.

“Part of the process involves duplicating your thaumic signature,” Starlight said. “I’m combining magic and potions to make this work. Here, drink this.” Starlight held another potion bottle to Twilight’s lips, this time the bottle held a blue liquid.

“Gah, that tastes terrible,” Twilight said, turning her head away after a couple of swallows.

“I know,” Starlight said, tilting the bottle so it wouldn’t spill, just in time. “But I need you to drink the whole thing. Unless you'd rather stay in that suit?” Twilight sighed and nodded.

“Go ahead, get it over with and shove it down my throat,” Twilight said, in offer. Starlight proceeded to do just that. She jammed the bottle into Twilight’s mouth and tilted her head back, forcing the bound alicorn to quickly swallow the vile potion while tasting as little of it as possible.

“Guh,” Twilight said, shuddering as the last of the brew passed her lips and the bottle was withdrawn. “What was that stuff?”

“Poison,” Starlight said calmly as she thrust the bit into Twilight’s mouth and buckled it securely.

“Pythin!” Twilight exclaimed, as she tried to break her bonds. The steel cuffs holding her in place held firm though, and then became redundant as Starlight took the suit’s control collar off of Twilight, throwing the suit into “lockdown” and rendering Twilight completely immobile as the suit around her locked into place. Twilight tried to scream for help, but the bit muffled her.

“Stop panicking, Twilight,” Starlight said, bopping Twilight on the nose. “It won’t kill you, but it will change your thaumic signature. I’m also activating the timer on your cuffs and horn ring, they’ll come off on their own in five minutes, no matter what.”

“M’kay,” Twilight managed to mumble, and Starlight could see her mentor stop flexing her muscles in vain escape attempts.

“Alright, my turn,” Starlight said, setting the control collar on a small table near Twilight and lifting up the purple bottle. Cringing slightly at the smell, she opened her mouth, upended the bottle and guzzled down the contents as fast as she could. “Gah, that was horrible.” From her immobile prison Twilight laughed a bit and grunted an incomprehensible question.

“Okay, brace yourself, because here we go,” Starlight said, as she charged her horn and lowered it to just touch Twilight’s plot. Power flowed from Starlight Glimmer and into the material of the suit over Twilight’s nethers. Slowly, almost incrementally, the material of the suit began to quiver and shift. Dragging itself over Twilight’s sensitive nub and opening, as it began to flow onto Starlight’s horn.

“Ig ‘orking,” Twilight garbled out through her bit as she felt the suit slide from her head. Starlight said nothing, she couldn’t now as the suit flowed over her head and spread across her body. All of Starlight’s concentration was on maintaining the flow of power, and providing a pathway for the suit to follow. As long as she kept the power flowing, the suit would think she was Twilight Sparkle, thanks to the potions they both had drank. As the suit began to cover more and more of her body she could feel it taking tiny “tastes” of her, and it was all she could do to concentrate as the suit began to flow even faster off of Twilight and onto her.

After what seemed an eternity the last of the suit left Twilight and moved onto Starlight. She could barely even think straight as tingling pleasure and direct nerve stimulation rushed over her like the most intense pins and needles she had ever felt. The suit hadn't finished binding Starlight yet, ebbing and flowing over her body, but it was already beginning to lock her down by becoming rigid, and freezing her into immobility as it drained away her magic. With the last dregs of her power Starlight lifted the control collar up from its resting place.

"I hope you find a better method, Twilight. You’re way better at research than I am," She floated the collar up to her immobile neck, and closed it, where it locked with an authoritative “click.”

A minute later the timer clicked to zero, and the cuffs and inhibitor ring sprang open, releasing Twilight. Turning, she saw Starlight, lying on the floor and completely sealed up in the suit with her mouth and nose both completely covered. Starlight was slowly suffocating, unable to move or breathe as the suit struggled to find places to sit on her smaller, wingless body..

"No! NO! Starlight..." She rushed to her friend, inspecting her. "614 Suit, deactivate all restrictions and controls." The suit shrank back to the line of the collar around her neck in response and Starlight panted a few times as she gratefully sucked in fresh air.

"Thank you, Twilight. Don’t worry about me, you’re the more important of the two of us. Ever since that time-travel thing—the first time—I wanted to do something special for you, to show you how much you freed me from my past by freeing you from that suit." Starlight moaned as she felt a probing sensation in her body as the suit began to use its extra material to enter and fill up her marehood. "Please...be gentle with me."

“Always, my faithful student,” Twilight said, kissing Starlight on the forehead and smiling as she channeled her inner Celestia. “But up you get, we have work to do.”

“Yes Mistress,” Starlight said, obeying the command and getting to her hooves.

"Sweetie, darling, you don't understand what this means." Rarity pondered fainting again, but she had left a slight drool patch on her couch and would need a new one. "Most dresses will see a few years of life," she lowered her tone and rolled her eyes, "more if the owner doesn't care about trends, but Royal Armor and livery lasts for centuries!"

"Uh...?" Sweetie looked to Derpy, who shrugged.

"You don’t understand the incredible gift Twilight is offering me. She could very well be immortal, darlings. Her ponies will be wearing my designs for... for..." The moment was perfect, and aiming herself to miss the drool-stain, Rarity flopped back on her fainting couch. "Forever..."

Sweetie Belle just grinned at her sister and smiled. Right up until the point when the door burst open to reveal the cornflower blue form of Trixie Lulamoon.

“What are you doing here?” Rarity demanded, rising from the couch.

“The Great and Powerful Trixie has offered her service to Princess Twilight,” Trixie said, standing tall in the doorway. “Trixie is proud to tell you that her service has been accepted as Twilight’s Knight. She has sent Trixie to you, that you might design and create fitting regalia.”

Rarity said nothing. She was frozen in place, unmoving. Seeming to not even breathe as the silence stretched out to the point where Sweetie Belle started to get worried. Derpy walked up to Rarity and waved a hoof in her face, trying to get a response. Trixie raised an eyebrow at the odd scene in front of her.

“Perhaps Trixie has come at the wrong time and should leave,” she said, turning to go.

“NO,” Rarity shouted suddenly, pouncing on Trixie from behind. Before Trixie could react, she was wrapped up in two measuring tapes, a spool of lavender ribbon and was being dragged off by the fashionista towards her inspiration room.

“Help,” Trixie said, barely, as she was dragged past Sweetie Belle and Derpy. Both of whom just smiled and shook their heads, having been on the receiving end of what Trixie was about to experience.

Author's Note

Okay, Interlewd is done. Next chapter, Twilight head back out to into the multiverse. My thanks to Sandstorm for some editing help and Damaged for a couple of wonderful little blurbs I added to the story.

Dark Crown, Part I

“Twilight, have you gone completely insane?!” Shining Armor demanded. Mane askew, eyes wide, he was the very image of brotherly outrage and the archetype of an older brother trying to keep his little sister from doing something stupid out of harm’s way. He looked convincing, he sounded convincing, and against anypony else it might have worked. Except for the fact that his sister was Twilight Sparkle, Princess of Equestria.

“Shining, after the better part of three weeks here, I think you know the answer to that about as well as anypony,” Twilight answered her brother, in a far calmer tone. “So, instead of resorting to histrionics, why don’t you tell me. Am I insane?” Shining rocked back as if he had been slapped, and looked to his wife for support.

“Oh no, Shining. My husband should know better than to call somepony ‘crazy’ or ‘insane”,” Cadance said, frowning at her husband. “You got yourself into this, you get yourself out of it.”

“Fine,” Shining said, not a whit less angry and Cadance’s eyes went wide as her husband neatly co-opted her most used angry word. “Twilight, the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again while expecting a different result.”

“And you think what I’m planning on doing meets that definition?” Twilight asked, sipping at some tea and looking every inch the calm bookworm she had been in the past. Shining Armor knew better though. He knew his sister, knew her determination, knew her will, and knew her power. He also knew how stubborn she could be when she got an idea into her mind.

“Are you kidding me?” Shining asked his sister. “You’re telling us that you plan on going back out there, to another one of the Equestrias you saw when you were fighting Starlight. Going into another potentially dangerous situation, again. Going in without proper recon, again. Going in without backup and cut off from help, again. Twily,” Shining’s voice shifted to a pleading tone, “you almost didn’t make it back last time. Another few days in there and you would have been as bad off as poor 143.”

“Point of order,” Alyss interrupted from beside Twilight. “There never was any intention to do to Twilight what was done to 143. To be honest, it would take a uniquely creative, skilled and twisted individual to even attempt it, and I do not have that skill.”

“Which is another thing!” Shining shouted, angrily. “What in Celestia’s name is this...this thing doing walking around free, instead of in chains and not locked up in a dungeon somewhere?”

“What I do with Alyss is my business, Shining,” Twilight said, in that same calm voice. “You're a military stallion, you have to be familiar with the concept of parole in a military context.”

“Is that true, Alyss?” Shining said. “You’ve given your parole to my sister? Sworn not to take up arms against her, nor to attempt escape and to obey her commands?”

“I have,” Alyss confirmed. “I’ve even tried to get either Spike or Twilight to beat the hell out of me, for what I did. But they wouldn’t take me up on it. Spike is determined to teach me about choices instead of whipping me. It’s...been interesting.” Shining eyes bugged out for a few seconds before he recovered and turned his attention back to Twilight.

“Fine, but I am your brother and you are not going anywhere without proper backup this time,” Shining said, playing his hole card. “Namely myself and a squad of my best.” The uproar was immediate and vehement.

“You are not going anywhere, Shining,” Cadance insisted, getting to her hooves in a flash. “You have a child and an Empire that needs you.”

“You are not going with me, brother,” Twilight said, peering down her muzzle at her brother. “You’re needed here and I don’t have the attachments like you do.”

“That’s not exactly true,” a voice called from the opened double doors to the room, cutting off the argument. There, standing in the doorway, was Princess Celestia. She was flanked on one side by a collared and suited Starlight Glimmer on one side, and Shaushka on the other, in her pony disguise. Alyss took one look at Celestia, and suddenly buried her head in Twilight’s side with a whimper of pure terror.

“Alyss, what’s wrong?” Twilight asked the changeling who seemed paralyzed with fear. Twilight had seen many different sides of her former tormentor over the past few weeks. Proud, confident, treacherous, subservient, and even confused, but this terrified mare; desperate for protection, was something new.

“She can’t help it, Princess Twilight,” Shaushka said. “In her mind, Celestia is the embodiment of fear, defeat and pain. She, and the rest of her hive were likely linked mentally when her Queen Chrysalis had her horn broken. She can’t help but relive the emotions of that moment anytime she sees Celestia, any Celestia.”

“Is there anything you can do for her?” Twilight asked, cradling the blubbering changeling.

“Yes,” Shaushka said, grimacing as she spoke. “But my solution may look a little strange. Does anyone know where I can get ahold of a collar and a long leash?”

“I’ll get one!” Starlight exclaimed and scampered away from Celestia’s side.

“Collars and leashes certainly seem to have become more of a common thing these days,” Celestia said, with wry look. “In fact, I noticed that Rarity is introducing a line of form fitting bodysuits with wide collars. You wouldn’t have had anything to do with that would you, Twilight?”

“Not directly,” Twilight said, with a smile as Starlight reentered the room. “Oh, that was quick, Starlight.”

“I just grabbed one of the spares we’ve been using to try to duplicate the suit control collar, Mistress,” Starlight said, as she trotted back into the room and offering the metal collar with a twenty foot lead to Shaushka.

“Starlight, I’ve told you not to call me that,” Twilight said, a slight frown on her face.

“Mistress,” Starlight said, pressing on, “I’ve told you that while being collared and encased in inescapable bondage may not have been your thing, it most definitely is mine. You saved me from myself, you saved Equestria from me, you mastered me. By right of conquest I am willingly yours, Mistress.” Twilight just sighed while Shaushka took on an enigmatic expression.

“What?” Celestia asked softly.

“I’ll tell you later,” Shaushka said, then dropped her disguise to reveal her changeling nature called out to Alyss. “Alyss, look at me.” Alyss dared to peek out from behind Twilight to look at the orange maned changeling queen, who said, “I am Shaushka, a changeling queen and beholden to Princess Celestia. This Celestia protects what is hers, do you understand?”

“Y-yes,” Alyss said, stuttering, trying to fight off the irrational fear gripping her.

“Now, Celestia,” Shaushka said, in a whisper. “Collar me and make some sort of speech about it.” Celestia cocked an eyebrow at the changeling, instantly realizing that the changeling was manipulating the moment to get something she wanted. Shaushka had asked Celestia to do this before, and here she was trying to force Celestia’s hoof into it. However, she could respect the manipulation and that it was being done to help somepony else as well. Celestia nodded and snapped the collar closed around the changeling’s throat.

“You are mine, Shaushka,” Celestia said, deliberately making her voice sound extra deep and hollow. “Continue to obey me and you shall prosper. Defy me at your peril.”

“Yes, Princess,” Shaushka said, with exaggerated deference. “Princess, if you permit it, I would like to take the other changeling here into my hive, as a guest.”

“Very well, servant,” Celestia said in that same hollow voice. “But if she should violate my law, you shall be the one punished. Go to her and see if she will accept my rule.” Celestia looped the lead on Shaushka’s collar and nudged her forward. The changeling slowly approached the wide-eyed Alyss.

“Do you know what’s happening to you, Alyss?” Shaushka gently asked, receiving a jerky nod in response. “And do you know why?”

“Y-yes,” Alyss said, with a stammer. “S-sorry...can’t stop.”

“I’m told you are quite the mental programmer and manipulator,” Shaushka said, gently stroking Alyss’ mane. “So you probably have an idea what I’m about to do.” Alyss nodded again.

“B-better suppress m-magic,” Alyss said, forcing the words out “In case.”

“Don’t worry, dear, I’ve got your magic shut down for the moment,” Shaushka said. Then she took the collar off of her own neck and snapped it around Alyss’s neck. The changeling princess touched a hoof to the metal circle around her neck, and her eyes followed the line of the lead back to Celestia. Every muscle in Alyss’s body tensed as she realized that she was directly connected to the one mare she was most afraid of. Alyss shuddered once and then went completely limp, falling into Shaushka’s startled grasp.

“Alyss, are you okay?” Twilight asked, but getting no response. Alyss was breathing and her eyes were open, but otherwise there was no sign of life from her and Twilight shot a concerned look to her mentor. Celestia walked over, and bending over, lifted Alyss up by the collar.

“Look at me, Alyss,” Celestia commanded gently, and the changeling’s eyes blinked and focused on the solar diarch inches from her muzzle.

“Now I know why Spike and Twilight didn’t touch me,” Alyss said softly, her face a mask. “They were saving me for you. Make it quick, please.”

“I have no intention of hurting you,” Celestia said kindly, lifting the changeling up entirely in her magic and holding Alyss to her chest like a newborn. “As long as you follow the rules here, you are free to stay as long as you like.”

“But why?” Alyss said, confusion on her face as she lay limp in Celestia’s grip. “I hurt Twilight, and I would have been willing to hurt her again. You should kill me for that. You’re the Breaker, it’s what you do, and it would be the best way for you to protect Twilight.”

“I’m not the Breaker,” Celestia said, in that same comforting voice. “I’m making a different choice than that other Celestia did, and I intend to keep on making different choices.”

“But why?” Alyss repeated, still making no attempt to escape or defend herself.

“That is a very important question, Alyss,” Celestia said, smiling. “Why we make the choices we do is at least as important as what those choices are. It’s what Spike and Twilight have been trying to get you to start doing. Start asking yourself why you make the choices you do, and you will come to understand all of us here a little better.” Celestia carefully set Alyss down onto her hooves.

“I still don’t completely understand, but I’ll try B...Princess,” Alyss said, knees flexing as they took up her weight again.

“It occurs me to that it might help, if you saw me going about my day as a ruler in Canterlot,” Celestia said. “If Twilight agrees, would you be willing to come?”

“Yes,” Alyss said, straightening. “It would be an honour, even if you do decide to kill me later.”

“Alyss,” Twilight called out. “I trust Celestia, so you have my permission to go with her. But only if you wish to.”

“You will need to stay collared and leashed while you are with me though,” Celestia said, playfully tugging the leash attached to Alyss. “My ponies have had bad experiences in the past with changelings and might try something foalish if they saw you as anything other than a captive.”

“Now that this is all dealt with,” Shining said, trying to regain his momentum. “Can somepony please explain what in Tartarus just happened?”

“Changelings share a mental bond with their queen,” Shaushka said, in explanation. “Shining Armor, you have had to deal with unicorns who have had their horns broken. Would you say it’s a traumatic experience?”

“No unicorn ever fully recovers mentally from something like that,” Shining said. “Even if they seem fine, that pain is with them all their lives.”

“Exactly, Prince Armor,” Shaushka said. “When Alyss’s mother had her horn snapped off, Alyss and every member of her hive felt that moment of pain and terror as if it had happened to them. That moment is imprinted into the atavistic part of their minds.”

“So, what does that have to do with the bit with the collar?” Shining asked, and to his surprise it was his wife that answered him.

“The fear wasn’t real, Shining,” Cadance said, hoof on her chin as she worked it out. “It was a construct in Alyss’s mind. One that could only be overcome by another construct, but it had to be one that Alyss could internalize. Something that worked with her worldview, which still consists of owners and the owned.”

“By having Celestia ‘take possession’ of me, it classified her as an ‘owner’ to Alyss,” Shaushka said, nodding at the Imperial Princess. “When I physically connected Alyss and Celestia via the collar and lead, it created the construct of an owner and owned bond, and Alyss’s world has conditioned her to accept commands from her ‘owner.’ Which Princess Celestia gave perfectly.” Celestia just stood and smiled serenely as if all this was according to plan.

“Alright, fine. So what was that big collapse all about?” Shining asked.

“I...I was reliving the moments when Cele...’The Breaker’ caught and pinned my mother with her magic,” Alyss said, fear and terror dancing in the back of her eyes again. “It wasn’t done quickly, Prince Armor. The Breaker took nearly a full minute to crack, then break, Mother’s horn.”

“Fair enough,” Shining said, rubbing his jaw in thought. “That would scar anypony.” Shining huffed out a breath, “So, Princess Celestia, what were you saying before all this broke loose?”

“Well, I was about to explain that Twilight did have some ties, such as Alyss here,” Celestia said, chuckling. “But it seems she’s managed to foist some of that off on me.” Celestia’s face became serious. “Your brother does make good points though, Twilight. I won’t stop you from going, but I would feel better if you were better prepared this time.”

Twilight sighed, and nodded. She could ignore or even argue down her brother, but with Celestia weighing in as well, perhaps it was time for some compromise. “What do you suggest?” she asked.

“The only real thing I can suggest is that you take somepony with you as backup,” Celestia said.

“Fair enough, and I do have a knight and a personal servant now,” Twilight said, and Shining’s eyebrows climbed into his mane in surprise.

“Wait, wait, I know I haven’t had much time to see you while we’ve been here, but since when do you make knights and have servants?” Shining asked, trying to keep up. “Can you even do that?” He turned to look at his wife, “Can she do that?”

“Your sister is a princess, Shining Armor,” Celestia said, giggling a bit. “She’s had the authority ever since Luna and I crowned her, she just hasn’t used it until now. In fact, technically speaking, we aren’t even in Equestria right now. We are in the ‘Principality of Ponyville’, if you want to be precise.”

“Okay, and when you say ‘knight’ who exactly are we talking about here?” Shining asked, with some suspicion.

“That would be our cue,” Trixie’s voice said from the doorway, and into the room walked Trixie Lulamoon, the new Knight of Twilight, and Derpy Hooves, Twilight’s servant. Both walked proudly into the room, showing off their new status to the others. Both wore gear coloured in the purples and reds of twilight, and accentuated in gold trim.

Trixie had on lightweight leather armor, strategically reinforced with chain mail at vital areas and down her spine. Several small pockets could be seen at places on the armor and for a weapon Trixie bore a sheathed longsword on one side.

Derpy wore a mix of silk and light cotton in the same hues and expertly tailored to her form. As Derpy walked alongside Trixie, her strides caused slits and panels in her outfit to gap and shift, allowing teasing hints of the Derpy’s trim, fit body. Beneath the shifting silks Derpy wore a light cotton harness, to which were attached pouches and pockets carrying all the gear that the personal servant of a noblemare should have with them.

The pair bowed before Twilight and as they did, Shining Armor caught a glimpse of the sword Trixie bore. The crescent moon guard on the blade spoke it’s identity to the stallion even as his magic registered the enchantments on the blued steel blade.

“Wait, is that one of the Zodiac Swords?” Shining Armor asked, dumbfounded. Trixie just gave the flabbergasted stallion a smirk, followed by a slight nod. “The Zodiac Swords are Princess Luna’s personal weapons,” Shining said, with some outrage and then he calmed himself. “Are you telling me Princess Luna gave you, Trixie, one of her personal weapons?”

“It would be more accurate to say that she gave it to me,” Twilight said. “She insisted actually, once I told her where I plan on going next.”

“And where exactly is that?” Shining asked. He knew his sister was setting him up by asking him the question, but he had to know to what other world his wonderful, brave, crazy sister was going to.

“Well, brother,” Twilight said, as she motioned for Trixie and Derpy to rise. “I’m going to the world I spent the most time in before, so the issue of recon is pretty much already settled. I’m going to the world where Sombra is still running around.”

“Over. My. Dead. Body,” Shining said, enunciating each word with the hard precision of a hammer blow. The room erupted again in shouted words as everypony tried to talk over each other again. It was some minutes until tempers cooled enough for civil discourse to resume.

“Shining, I’m going,” Twilight said, her face set in stone. “You can’t stop me.”

“Fine,” Shining said, gritting his teeth, and realizing he had no arguments left. “Fine, but I want three days with your ‘knight’ then.”

“Me?” Trixie asked, surprised. “What would you want with the Great and Powerful Trixie?”

“Trixie, no offense, but you aren’t a warrior,” Shining said, more comfortable now that conversation was in his area of expertise. “You’re a showmare, and a good one. I’ve watched you perform some really good illusions, but I’m willing to bet a week's pay that you barely know how to hold that sword, never mind use it.”

“Trixie admits to not being the best with a blade,” Trixie said, grimacing at having to admit to not being perfect at something. “But she will do all she can in the service of her princess.” A few eyebrows raised at that statement, in that it was directed at Twilight and not at Celestia.

“Three days isn’t enough to make you a blademaster,” Shining said. “Three years wouldn’t be enough, but three days is enough to ground you in the basics.” He turned back to his sister, “You will give me those three days with her, Twilight. That’s what it will cost you to get me to stop getting in your way about this.”

“You win, Shining,” Twilight said, laughing. “Three days of training for Trixie it is.”

The next day, Shining found himself lying on the field gasping for breath. Trixie, in heavy practice armor, lay a few feet away gulping in air as well. “I admit to being surprised by your endurance, Trixie,” he said to the mare. “A lot of recruits don’t have half your stamina”

“Trixie pulls her own wagon across Equestria,” Trixie said, as her breathing began to slow. “The effort has built up Trixie to the point where she has had to reduce her diet to keep her form.”

“Well, I’m impressed,” Shining said, levitating over a canteen of water for each of them, dropping a salt tablet into each canteen before he sent one to Trixie. “Never forget, salt after a workout.”

“Trixie knows this,” she said, with a smile of memory. “Trixie once had to spend a week in a Saddle Arabian seraglio recovering from heat exhaustion because she did not know that advice then.”

“Wait, you were in a Saddle Arabian seraglio?” Shining asked, cocking an eyebrow. “The stallions there are notorious for not letting anypony see the inside of one of those, and most mares who enter one don’t tend to leave. Ever.” Trixie gave Shining one of her trademarked cocky smirks. “Um, does that mean you know...” he trailed off.

“Yes, the ‘Supple and Sensual Trixie’ does indeed know the famous ‘Dance of Seven Bridles.’ Trixie used it to distract her guards while she stole their keys, once again demonstrating that she is Equestria’s greatest escape artist,” Trixie said, smiling before her face changed and took on an earnest expression. “May Trixie ask how her sister is doing?” Shining tried to hide his grimace, even though he knew Trixie had the skills to read him like a book.

“It’s...not going terribly well,” Shining admitted. “Oh, she’s functional and can interact with other ponies without dropping to her knees automatically anymore, but only because we told her to stop that.”

“What’s wrong with her?” Trixie asked. “Trixie knows that Alyss broke many ponies to the will of others, but it all seemed to be through training and conditioning. Surely that is reversible?”

“It would be, except that isn’t what happened to 143,” Shining said, grimacing. “And it wasn’t Alyss who broke her either. It was Alyss’s predecessor and she...” Shining paused, unsure of how to continue.

“Go ahead, Trixie has already shed all the sad tears she is going to for her sister,” Trixie said, trying to prompt Shining.

“143 has had sections of her mind and personality literally burned away,” Shining said, as Trixie’s ears flattened to her head at the revelation. “It’s pyromancy on a scale and with a degree of precision that would have taken a twisted genius to even think of, never mind accomplish, without killing the victim. I know of only one mare who could potentially have developed that level of skill and control.”

“Who?” Trixie asked, intent. “Tell Trixie, so that she can go and avenge her sister.”

“You aren’t going back to that world, and even if you did there is almost no way you would be able to track down that world’s Sunset Shimmer.”

Flim and Flam huddled together in the bare crystal room. The room had no windows, no furnishings and no doors. Other than themselves, the only thing in the room were the four heavily armed guards. Two Solar Guards and two Night Guards, frowned at them from twenty feet away with drawn weapons. Which summed up how things had gone for the brothers over the past few days.

Roused from their beds in Las Pegasus, they had been given the option of coming peacefully, in chains, or in pieces. Never being inclined to fighters, the brothers chose to go with the guards peacefully and the entire trip back to Ponyville the guards seemed to alternate between wanting to spit on them or spit the brothers on their spears.

“What could we have possibly done, brother?” Flim said, doing his best to look unobtrusive.

“I don’t know, we’ve been keeping to the straight and narrow for quite awhile now,” Flam said, in answer to his brother. “I can’t think of anything we might have done that could warrant this kind of response.”

The brothers were still debating what they possibly could have done when the door to the room opened and Twilight Sparkle walked in flanked by a mare on either side of her. One, was a grey pegasus mare was dressed in the livery of a noble’s servant, coloured in reds and purples. The other was a unicorn with a two-tone purple and aquamarine mane. Most striking though was the tight black latex bodysuit the mare wore. It coated every inch of her from the gleaming collar she wore around her neck, all the way down to her hooves and dock. Both brothers were instantly torn between an appreciation for the mare and fear if they expressed an ounce of that interest in any way.

“Hello, gentlestallions,” Twilight began. “I’m sure you are wondering why I’ve had you brought you here. Guards, you may go with my thanks for a job well done.” The guards said nothing, simply inclining their heads in acknowledgement and filing out.

“Princess, if either my brother or myself have somehow given offense...” Flim said.

“Derpy, could you please get some help and fetch a table, some chairs and Starlight’s notes on the suits?” Twilight said, interrupting Flim as she spoke to the grey pegasus in the livery. The pegasus just smiled, nodded and scampered off. “Flim, Flam, allow me to introduce my student, Starlight Glimmer,” Twilight said.

“Hello,” both stallions said at the same time, appreciating anew the gleaming curves of the mare beside Twilight. Everytime Starlight moved, it was as if a spotlight was shining on the muscles involved.

“I can see that both of you have noticed what my student is wearing,” Twilight said, with a coy smile. “Come here and take a closer look.” The brothers inched a fraction closer and Twilight frowned at their reticence and spoke again, “Come HERE.” The brothers leapt forward at the command to stand beside Starlight.

“What are we supposed to be looking for?” Flam asked nervously, still trying to not to look at Starlight, but Twilight could see a tremble in his hoof that told her Flam ached to touch her student.

“I want you to examine Starlight and tell me what you notice,” Twilight said, noticing the relief and acquisitive gleam in the brothers eyes. “You can touch, but no groping.” For the next few minutes, while Derpy brought in the requested table and notes, Starlight was thoroughly examined by the brothers.

“Princess, where did this suit come from?” Flam asked, wonder colouring his voice.

“Recently I travelled to another world, and in that other world, these suits were used to enslave and oppress ponies, myself among them. But properly re-engineered these suits could be of benefit to all ponykind," Twilight said, and the brothers turned to stare at the mound of data that was being placed on the table. "You two have a gift for arcanotech, so I'm sure you are up for the challenge."

"Of course, your Highness," Flim said. "But why us? My brother and I didn't exactly part on good terms with you and Ponyville."

"Because, in that other world, your counterparts were the architects of untold misery and suffering. So by offering you this opportunity and keeping an eye on you, I can make sure the two of you never become the monsters that those two did, " Twilight said, and then her eyes narrowed, power and darkness gathering around her like a thunderstorm. "Make no mistake, you two. If for even one moment, I so much as think you two are headed down the darkling path, I will end both of you so thoroughly that not even your names will ever be found again."

The brothers clutched each other in fear while the tell-tale green and purple flames of dark magic ignited in Twilight's pupils underscoring her words. But not even mortal terror could entirely dampen the entrepreneurial spirit of the two brothers.

“Um, we are getting paid for this, right?” Flam managed to ask, and the flames in Twilight’s eyes vanished as she barked in laughter.

Four mornings later a group of ponies gathered together on a grassy hilltop. Among them, three of the five known alicorns, and a host of friends and family. Trixie and Shining Armor were having an earnest discussion on one side, while Derpy was busy talking to her daughter.

“Are you ready to go, Twilight?” Celestia asked, as she hugged her former student.

“I think so,” Twilight said with a smile as she returned the hug. “Please keep an eye on everypony for me while I’m gone.”

“Of course, Twilight,” Celestia said, letting go of the small alicorn. “Alyss will be safe with me and I will keep an eye out for your parents."

“Thank you, and as for you, Shaushka,” Twilight said, addressing the changeling who was back in her pony disguise.

“Yes, Princess,” Shaushka said, bending her knee to Twilight. “What would you have of me?”

“Keep an eye on Starlight for me,” Twilight said, her face serious. “She’s been running the obedience reward routines in the collar and I’m a little worried she’s trying to lose herself as some form of punishment for what she did.”

“I’ll make sure she doesn’t go to far down the rabbit hole,” Shaushka said. “Worst case scenario, I will make sure she imprints on someone who cares for her well-being.”

“Good enough,” Twilight said, with a nod, and then a sudden hug as she took the hidden changeling by surprise. “Thank you for everything you’ve done for me and for my folks. I don’t know if I could have come back from what happened if it hadn’t of been for your help.”

“Oh, I don’t know about that, Twilight,” Shaushka said, smiling back and trying not to “nibble” on the alicorn wrapped around her neck. “You had already started the process, all I did was just speed things up a bit.”

“Well, thank you for that,” Twilight said, and stepped away from Shaushka. “Derpy! Trixie! Time for us to head out,” Twilight said, moving into the open area and cinching tight a girth strap to which was attached a pair of saddlebags that held a variety of items.

“Your Great and Powerful Knight is ready, Princess,” Trixie said, walking up to clip a line to Twilight’s girth strap, linking the two mares together. Derpy walked up to flank Twilight on the opposite side, and also connected herself to Twilight with a line attached to her harness.

“Servant Derpy, ready your Highness,” Derpy said, her voice betraying her excitement, “I’ve got everything ready to go.” Twilight looked at both mares, and seeing their readiness, again ignited her horn creating the swirling temporal vortex and a few moments later the trio rose up in an arrowhead formation and were gone. The assembled watchers began to disperse except for Celestia, Shaushka and Alyss, who was on Celestia’s leash.

“So, out with it,” Celestia said, eyeing Shaushka. “What did you see between Twilight and Starlight the other day? You owe me that for letting you get away with your collared changeling scheme.” Alyss perked up at hearing that her wearing a collar and a leash were part of a cunning plan.

“It’s fairly obvious if you know how to look,” Shaushka said, her smile a little wistful. “You see, Starlight is a natural submissive. She just needed to find a mare dominant enough to take control of her. Twilight is going to make a wonderful Mistress for her.”

“Twilight?” Celestia asked. “I would think she would be the last pony to engage in any of those sort of activities.”

“Oh no, Princess,” Shaushka said in assurance. “Twilight knows what it’s like to have their body and their trust violated, to be taken advantage of, to be abused. After that, do you seriously think that Twilight could be anything other than a compassionate, caring partner to a pony that insists on having a kink towards her like Starlight does?”

“I see your point,” Celestia said, with a nod of understanding. “Come along, Alyss. The three of us have a train to catch.”

Author's Note

This may be the last of my writing for some time to come. I will not whine about the details, other than to say that, barring a miracle, I am entering a very dark chapter in my life. One from which I may not emerge.

Luckily for all of you, this chapter was finished before...stuff, began. I hope you can bear with the lack of proper finishing work on this chapter. Javarod and Sandstorm both took looks at things before it all broke loose and I'd like to thank them for their efforts.

Also, in case I don't make it back. I'd like thank Belle and Damaged, for their teaching, friendship and mentoring over the past year. Keep an eye on Sandstorm and Hidden for me, okay?

With luck I'm being overly dramatic, but the pragmatic part of me insists on covering my bases.

Edit 18 hours later: I'm still here. Good people kept me from being stupid. Sorry to set off the drama nuke. Can you believe the above was meant to prevent drama by giving a bit of an explanation? #IAMANIDIOT

Dark Crown, Part 2

On a peaceful green hill outside of Ponyville Center, a magic vortex appeared. Adorned with arcane and chronological symbols, the upended funnel shape spread wide, and spat out three figures who impacted heavily to the ground.

“Oof,” Twilight grunted, picking herself up from the ground. “I still need to work on my landings. Is everypony okay?”

“Trixie is fine, Twilight,” said Twilight’s knight, dusting off her leather armor, unhitching her safety line and making sure her sword had not come loose in its scabbard.

“I’m fine, too,” Derpy said, her silk and cloth ensemble mussed, but undamaged by her impact with the ground. “That wasn’t too hard of a landing at all.”

“Great, girls,” Twilight said, with a pleased nod to her companions. “I’ve been here before but give me a minute to get my bearings. It’s been a couple of years since I was here last.”

Twilight levitated a pair of binoculars from her saddlebags and began to look around. As near as she could tell, they had come out the same place she had the first time she had come here with Spike. Ponyville was nearby, and through her glasses Twilight could see a bustling activity that hadn’t been present before. In fact, she could see a couple of large trestle tables in the village square, laden down with food and drink. She could see ponies eating and drinking, some staggering around with obvious drunkenness. It seemed like a major celebration was going on.

“What is it, Twilight?” Trixie asked, stepping up alongside her. “Things look peaceful, a little different than home, but peaceful.”

“They do,” Twilight said, biting her lip in concentration. “Maybe I’m a little paranoid after my last experience, but things seem a little too happy, almost reckless...hang on a second.” Twilight refocused her binoculars to the area on the far side of Ponyville, where Sweet Apple Acres should be. To Twilight’s relief the large apple processing plant she had seen before was still there, and still in full operation, if the blasts of steam from its chimneys were any indication.

“That’s where we’re going to go Trixie,” Twilight said, looking over to Derpy. “Derpy, feel up to some aerial reconnaissance?”

“You bet, Princess!” Derpy chirped happily, unclipping her own safety line from Twilight. “Where do you want me to check out?” Twilight smiled at Derpy’s enthusiasm, so like that of her friends back home.

“Do a flyover of the town, don’t land, but see if you can find out what the party is about,” Twilight ordered. “Go past Sweet Apple Acres and see if there are any ponies there, then come back. Oh, and no titles while we’re here.”

“Okay, sure thing Twilight,” Derpy said, stretching her wings and taking to the air, her speed undiminished by her clothing, which handled a windstream well thanks to Rarity’s expert tailoring.

“What should we do in the meantime?” Trixie asked, idly juggling a set of balls with her magic.

“Derpy shouldn’t be too long, and if we go somewhere, she may not be able to find us again,” Twilight said, taking a seat on the grass. “So, for now, let’s just stay put.”

“Trixie is fine with that,” Trixie said, sitting down beside Twilight, nearly tangling her legs up in her sword as she did so. “What can you tell Trixie about this world?”

“Well,” Twilight began, “on this world, Sombra was able to come back and take over the Crystal Empire. Ever since then, this world’s Equestria has totally focused on one goal. Stopping King Sombra from taking over Equestria and then the world with his enthralled slave soldiers.”

“What do you mean by totally?” Trixie asked, her eyes wide, a chill coming over her despite the warm sun from above.

“I mean every possible resource, stallion, mare and colt mobilized into a single goal,” Twilight said, with emphasis.

“So, a strange pegasus, dressed in the livery of a strange noblemare might be taken notice of?” Trixie asked, shading her eyes.

“Um, what do you… oh dear,” Twilight said, shielding her own eyes in the glare. She could see Derpy flying back towards them, closely flanked by a pair of spear carrying pegasi. It was clear to Twilight that her serving mare was under guard and obeying the commands of the pegasi with her. Twilight stood and waved to the approaching group, “Let me do the talking, and do whatever they say. We need to get along with these ponies.”

“Sure thing, Twilight,” Trixie said, flipping a cloak over Twilight’s back that covered her wings. “Not too many alicorns around here, I’m betting.” Twilight nodded her understanding and about a minute later Derpy landed in front of them closely flanked by the two pegasi who wore brightly coloured uniforms.

“I’m sorry, I don’t know what went wrong, My Lady,” Derpy said, bowing to Twilight as she played her role of a noblemare’s servant.

“It’s all right, Derpy,” Twilight said, in a formal voice, her chin raised. “I’m sure these two fine young stallions can tell us what is the matter.” The pegasi guard stallions exchanged a quick look and Twilight could definitely pick up a hint of nervousness from them. It was one thing to intercept and corral an individual mare, quite another to confront her noble employer.

“Er, yes Ma’am” the right hand pegasus said, giving Twilight a respectful nod. “I’m Low Glider, does this mare work for you?”

“Indeed she does… Low Glider, was it?” Twilight said, a slight air of condescension in her voice. “Has my servant done something wrong? If so, I can assure you she will be punished most thoroughly.” Twilight saw Derpy mouth the word “please’ to the other guard. She realized Derpy was playing the part of a servingmare with a harsh mistress, and inwardly Twilight was pleased with the quick thinking of both her companions.

“Not really wrong, Lady...um,” the other guard said, hesitantly.

“Sparkles,” Twilight supplied, thinking that she shouldn’t go too far away from her own name. “I am Lady Sparkles of the Appleoosan Sparkles. Now, what has my servant done?” Twilight’s glare at Derpy could have been used to fry eggs in the pan.

“I’m very sorry, My Lady,” Derpy said, lowering herself to her knees and bowing her head, playing up the part. “I didn’t mean to trespass in restricted airspace.”

“Should I fetch your crop, My Lady?” Trixie asked, getting into the spirit of things. “Or do you feel a sound whipping is required this time?”

“Guard Low Glider,” Twilight said, her cold imperious voice snapping the guard to immediate attention. “In truth, how severe is my servant’s transgression? I have come to visit an old friend of the family. One Applejack Apple, and I would like to get a move on if at all possible.” Low Glider’s eyes went a little wide as he saw Lady Sparkles apparent bodyguard dig out both a crop and a whip from a pair of saddlebags.

“Oh, it’s nothing too bad, Lady Sparkles,” Low Glider said, almost stumbling over the words in his haste to get them out. “The airspace over any community is regulated and when your mare flew overhead we had to investigate. There was no harm done.” He shifted himself as he finished to put himself a little between Twilight and Derpy as Twilight lifted the crop in her magic.

“I see,” Twilight said, tapping the tip of the crop to her chin. “Well, if there was no harm and no foul, I can’t really see a reason to punish Derpy here. Thank you for your understanding, my good stallions.”

“Our pleasure, Ma’am,” Low Glider said, getting ready to take off again. “Just a word of advice, go around Ponyville right now. The celebration over the truce talks has been getting a little out of hoof.”

“We will be sure to do so,” Twilight said, nodding graciously. “Thank you for your assistance. I will be sure to remember your name in the future.”

“My pleasure, My Lady,” Low Glider said, and he and his partner took off to likely resume their patrol. Twilight waited a few beats to make sure the guards were fully out of earshot before she spoke again.

“That was close,” Twilight said, then she turned to Trixie and Derpy. “That was some smart and fast thinking you two.”

“Thanks,” Derpy chirped, as Trixie put away the props. “I got the idea from some old books I read.”

“Sounds good,” Twilight said, smiling. “Let’s take the long way around in case those guards are watching us.” Trixie and Derpy both nodded and the trio skirted the edge of Ponyville. The entire time, they could hear raucous singing, laughter and out-of-tune music coming from the center of the still mainly boarded up town.

“Trixie does not like the sound of that laughter,” Trixie said, shuddering a bit and Derpy put a wing around the armored mare to provide emotional comfort. “It sounds too much like ponies who are trying to remember how to be happy again and are about to do foolish things.”

At last though, the trio made it to the gates of Sweet Apple Acres, and the smell of cooking apples filled the air. There were more buildings than the last time Twilight had been here, and the entire farm still held that same air of urgent drudgery that it had before.

“Well, Ah never thought Ah’d ever see you again,” a familiar voice said from behind a wagon.

“Applejack?” Twilight asked, moving to step around the wagon, Trixie and Derpy trailing in her wake. “Is that you?”

“Ya, it’s me,” this world’s Applejack said in a tired voice. “Ah guess things didn’t go as well as you had hoped. The war’s still goin’ on.”

“I heard something about peace talks?” Twilight asked, taking in the exhausted look of the mare in front of her. Her Applejack had always been filled with what seemed limitless energy and endurance, only slowing down when she had been completely drained of her vitality. This Applejack looked just as drained, but in this case, it was the spirit of the earth pony that had been drained away, not her physical endurance.

“Ya, but we’ve heard tell of that before,” Applejack said, sighing, “and each time it was a trick that polecat, Sombra, tried to pull over the princesses.”

“And this time?” Twilight said, trying to sound hopeful for this version of her friend. “We heard the celebrations in Ponyville. They sound pretty happy.”

“Just some folks who don’t know better,” Applejack said, pushing an empty barrel in Twilight’s direction. “So, what brings you back?”

“I thought I’d see if I could help things here,” Twilight said, putting a hoof on the barrel and bringing it to a stop, forcing Applejack to stop as well. “You were really helpful to me the last time I was here, and I wanted to repay that. If that makes any sense.”

“Heh, fair enough,” Applejack said, rubbing a hoof on her chin. “Ah guess the best thing you might want to do is to head yourself to the peace talks. They’re happening over in the ruins of Vanhoover. Say, remind me again what yer name was. Twilight something, was it?”

“Twilight Sparkle,” Twilight said, throwing off the cloak covering her wings. “On my Equestria I’m the Princess of Friendship, and I promise you, as a princess, that I will do whatever I can to bring peace to your world.”

“Yer a princess,” Applejack said, her tone of voice making it a statement of disbelief rather than a question.

“I didn’t get these wings out of a box of Cracker Jacks,” Twilight said, with a fierce look. “and you saw these the last time I was here!”

“Well, to be honest, Ah didn’t quite trust my own eyes. Sixteen hours at an apple canner will do that to ya,” Applejack said, and the mare seemed to brace something inside herself as she came to a decision. “Welp, with the peace talks going on things are a little slow here. Ah reckon Ah can at least get you to the train station and on your way to Vanhoover.”

“Thank you,” Twilight said, embracing the earth pony. “Thank you very much. We’ll get things fixed so that you and everypony else here can finally know some peace.”

“Well, no time like the present,” Applejack said, leading off and heading out the main gate of the farm. “Ya’ll coming or what?” Twilight and the others ran and caught up to Applejack, who pulled off her manenet as they walked.

“Did Trixie hear things correctly when you said ‘the ruins’ of Vanhoover?” Trixie asked, from her flanking position. “What happened there?”

“It was one of the first cities Sombra attacked,” Applejack said. “The Crystal Empire doesn’t have any ports, so he tried to grab it so that he’d have one. Princess Celestia objected, a whole lot.”

“What happened?” Trixie asked, her face falling. “Trixie has many good memories of that city in her Equestria.”

“Sombra an’ his troops came in over the North Shore mountains,” Applejack said, recounting the tale. “Nopony thought an attack would come that way, so before anypony could stop him, they had the entire north side of the city. But the Vanhooveran Guard stopped them at the two bridges that cross the Burro’d Inlet.”

“So, most of the city is okay?” Trixie asked, hope in her voice.

“Not so much,” Applejack said. “After five days, Sombra decided to stop playing nice and just flooded his troops across the bridges, not carin’ how many he lost. It was hoof to hoof fightin’ in the streets of Vanhoover. Then we caught a break...sort of.”

“What...what happened?” Trixie demanded, hanging on every word.

“Princess Luna went an’ dropped both of the bridges over the Burro’d Inlet. It cut Sombra’s troops off from each other and they couldn’t get any more reinforcements. We chopped ‘em up pretty good after that, but Vanhoover was pretty much ruined as a port from that point on. Pieces of the bridge are still blocking the harbour entrance.”

“What about Manehatten?” Twilight asked, as she threw her cloak back over her back. There was something of a chill in the air, and despite her letting Applejack know she was a princess she didn’t feel like letting everypony here know about that.

“Manehatten’s okay,” Applejack said, as the train station came into sight. “Sombra threw an attack their way after Vanhoover, but we were ready. Oh hey, looks like we’re in luck, there’s a train just coming in.” Applejack gestured as a heavily laden locomotive huffed past the group to pull into the station.

“Let’s get going girls,” Twilight said, breaking out into a rapid canter and within a minute or two the group had made it to the train station. The train station was twice the size of the Ponyville station back in their Equestria, but it seemed mainly devoted to freight and a large number of snack shops. Several dozen uniformed soldiers had gotten off the train and were buying all sorts of things, talking with each other or simply stretching their legs.

“Wait here,” Applejack said, looking at the crowd. “I’m gonna talk to the ticket agent and make sure this train is headed in the right direction for you all.”

“Thank you, Applejack,” Twilight said, and she looked around to see if they were gathering any attention. Trixie was gathering a few stares as the military ponies took in her armor, more than a few seemed to be staring intently at her sword and Twilight made a mental note to have Trixie find a cover for the distinctive guard of the Zodiac sword. Derpy, on the other hoof, was circulating freely through the crowd, talking to ponies, buying various knick knacks, while gathering more than a few appreciative looks at how well she filled out her outfit.

“Okay, Ah’ve got it all set up for ya,” Applejack said, a few minutes later. The orange earth pony mare passed over three sets of train tickets. “The talks moved to the Crystal Mountains apparently. The closest I could get you three tickets for was the transfer station just north of Neighagra Falls. You’ve got a four hour layover in Canterlot though, Ah hope you don’t mind.”

“You’ve done more than enough, Applejack,” Twilight said, impulsively hugging the mare. “I hope this makes up for all the trouble we’ve caused you.” Twilight made to pass over a medium sized ruby from a stash of gems Rarity had insisted Twilight take with her.

“Keep it, just knowing you’re on your way is payment enough,” Applejack said, looking down at the floor. “Look, Ah gotta get going. You folks take care now, okay?”

“Trixie will always remember you,” Trixie chimed in from the side. The showmare turned knight had flipped her own cloak over her back to cover her sword, having picked up on the attention the weapon was garnering. Applejack just gave a sad smile, turned and walked off the platform.

“I got us some lunch,” Derpy said, coming up to Trixie and Twilight and holding up three bag lunches. “I also got us a map, a train schedule and a couple of newspapers.” The train blew its whistle, signaling that it was time for all passengers to board.

“Well done, Derpy,” Twilight said, a wide smile crossing her muzzle. Knowledge of local conditions would be invaluable. This was the sort of thing she had wanted to do on Flim and Flam’s world, stay in the background, watch and learn about the world she was in, and only then see how she could help.

“We better get on board Twilight,” Trixie said, a tad nervously. “Do we know where we are sitting? Trixie is hoping for a stateroom.”

“We’re in general car seating, Trixie. We were lucky Applejack could get us what she could,” Twilight said, and the train blew its whistle again causing ponies to hurry onto the train. “C’mon we better get onboard or we’ll get left behind.”

Ten minutes later, the platform was quiet again, the train having just cleared the station. The various merchants on and around the platform were cleaning up and putting things away as an orange earth pony mare wearing a stetson hat peered around the corner of the station looking for something or someone. Seeing the platform was bare and the train gone, she stepped around the corner and made her way quickly to the telegraph office.

“Hey there,” Applejack said to the telegraph clerk nervously, taking her hat off her head. “Ah need to send an urgent telegram to Canterlot, care of E.I.S.”

For hours the train rolled through the Equestrian countryside, and all three mares found it hard to get comfortable. Seating on the train consisted of rough bench seats with absolutely no padding at all, and after a couple of hours Trixie had speculated if their secondary use was as a torture device. Twilight and her pair had a bench to themselves, due to the rank that Twilight had claimed, which was a good thing because otherwise the train was packed to capacity.

Derpy struck up a conversation with a couple of unicorn privates, who were more than glad to have the attentions of a lovely mare to divert them from the monotony of the train ride. Trixie amused herself by practicing various bits of sleight of hoof, which almost got them into trouble when she started practicing with a small knife. Several nearby earth pony troopers became very angry when Trixie insisted she wasn’t using any magic to hide the knife in one hoof, only to have it reappear in the other.

Things were becoming argumentative when Twilight intervened and had Trixie show the stallions the pass maneuver in slow motion. Once the soldiers saw how the trick was done, all of them became much friendlier, with two of them asking Trixie to teach them the trick, which she did in exchange for a small metal flask that was filled with some truly vile, but incredibly potent brew.

As for Twilight, after she idly calculated the maximum capacity of the train, compared to its maximum efficient load, and compared that to various fuel loads and cargo loadouts, she was just as bored as anypony else on the train after she had read the newspapers. With nothing else to do, her gaze went out the window to the passing golden Equestrian countryside. She had seen the view a thousand times in her journeys between Ponyville and Canterlot, but this view was subtly different and it took Twilight awhile to realize what the difference was.

Back home, the view outside would be nothing but farms, forest or unclaimed land, but here it seemed like everything she saw was being used for some purpose. Trees had been logged and replanted for wood and paper, crops for food, sheep for wool and clothing. Then there was the military presence. Scarcely fifteen minutes would go by without seeing an outpost, or a guard station or a pegasi patrol on duty. This Equestria was very much an armed camp. Twilight was musing on this when the buzz of conversation in the train car grew louder, with several soldiers and more than a few civilians crowding around somepony who had just entered the far end of the car. Twilight craned her neck to look, but couldn’t see through the crowd, so she nudged one of the soldiers that Trixie was finishing teaching her knife trick to.

“Excuse me,” Twilight said politely to the stallion, who had just dropped the knife, almost stabbing himself in the hoof. “But what’s going on? Who is that?” The stallion looked up from the knife, stuck point first in the wooden flooring, and his face became happy and delighted, his ears orienting forward.

“Sweet Celestia, I think it might be her,” the stallion said, astonishment in his voice as he continued. “Holy crap, I think it’s all three of them. I’d heard they were on some sort of tour, but I never thought...”

“Who?” Twilight asked, a little frustrated. “Who is them?” The stallion looked back, saw Twilight didn’t understand what he meant and looked back at her with surprise.

“Are you kidding?” he asked. “Where have you been? I mean, everypony knows about the ThunderBolts!” Twilight’s mind raced, obviously whoever these ponies were they held some kind of special significance, and there name was obviously an outgrowth of “Wonderbolt” so Twilight assumed the stallion must be referring to some sort of military pony. It was the reverence in the pony’s voice that took her aback though. She’d heard that sort of worshipful awe in the voice of ponies before, but only when referring to Princess Celestia or Luna.

“Well, I could figure out it was a Thunderbolt,” Twilight said, trying to sound like she knew what she was talking about, and she saw in her peripheral vision that both Trixie and Derpy were picking up on what was going on. “But which one?” It didn’t help, as the stallion still looked at Twilight like she was a gibbering idiot.

“Are you kidding me?” he asked, incredulous still. “It’s Captain Dash, the pony who nearly killed Sombra single hooved.” Twilight decided that she should end the conversation as quick as she could to avoid raising the pony’s suspicions more than they already were.

“Well, don’t just sit there, Corporal,” Twilight said, as the pony murmured “Private” in an attempt to correct her, “go up there and get yourself an autograph.” The stallion wasted no more time on the obvious idiot that Twilight was, and headed to the end of the car with barely a nod back to her.

“Did he say ‘Captain’ Dash?” Trixie asked, her brow furrowed in thought. “And doesn’t ‘ThunderBolt’ sound like something very different than ‘Wonderbolt?’”

“Hey there, ponies,” a familiar voice said from the far end of the car. “If you would mind sitting down so everypony can see me that’d be great.”

The ponies around Rainbow Dash unwillingly sat down and Twilight Sparkle got her first good look at the pony so like, and so unlike, her loyal friend. She was lean and slender, like a rapier that had been honed to a razors edge. Her trimmed rainbow mane revealing an eye that was seamed by a vertical scar, and Twilight winced as she realized that the wound that had caused the scar must have barely missed Dash’s eye.

That was not the most terrible wound however. That honour was reserved for the missing wing on her side that had been replaced with a magical prosthetic made of some sort of metal. The entire wing was gone, right down to the root, and Twilight felt her eyes water at the thought of the agony the cyan mare must have suffered. Flanking Dash, on either side of her were another pair of ponies that Twilight recognized and if Rainbow Dash was a rapier, her companions were claymores.

Pinkie Pie and her sister Maud stood there beside Rainbow Dash, and both looked just as battle ready as the pegasus did, their brown earth pony uniforms contrasting with Dash’s blue. Both of the Pie sisters had their manes trimmed short with not a curl to be seen from either. Rainbow took a step forward and the Pie sisters moved with her, automatically covering each other's flanks and scanning for dangers, as they spread into a loose triangle.

“Well, I suppose you’re all wondering what I’m doing here?” Rainbow Dash asked the crowd, and several joking responses came from the soldiers, which Dash laughed at before addressing the group in the train car as a whole. “What I’m actually here for is to get to Canterlot so some of those rich ponies can cough up some bits for some war bonds. I’m not much of a salespony and I don’t expect hard fighting soldiers to have any bits. So, if you don’t mind, I’d like to give you a song instead.”

Dash reared up on a seat, the pony there more than happy to make room for Rainbow, who was obviously idolized by the soldiers in the train car. Pinkie Pie, her short mane flat as a razor pulled out a guitar and began to strum a tune. Dash waited a few beats and began to sing

When the sun shines bright through a pony’s tail
And the dust of another fight drops behind
When my wings are free in the open sky
It’s a damn good day to my way of mind.

There’s a barren room I never can leave
There’s a rocky valley we almost lost a war
There’s a cameo hung ‘round my neck
There’s a mare’s faith died on a crystal floor.

But I stood my ground till I flew once more
It’s the best oath that I ever swore.

So take my love, take my land
Take me where I cannot stand
I don’t care, Equestria’s free
Sombra can’t take the sky from me.

Rip the wings right off my back,
Break me on a torture rack
Burn the lands and boil the seas
He can’t take the sky from me.
He won’t take the sky from me.

When you see a mare and she’s standin’ alone
Well, they might just take her for an easy mark.
And many a foe has tried their hand
And there’s worse than wolves in the crystalline dark

From the savage slaves of the crystal grounds
Try to take what’s ours and tear us through.
But them that fly with me’s got my back
You’re all my family, I know its true.
Sombra doesn’t tell me what I cannot do
Don’t think I won’t take the fight to you.

So take my love, take my land
Take me where I cannot stand
I don’t care, Equestria’s free
Sombra can’t take the sky from me.

Rip the wings off my back,
Break me on a torture rack
Burn the lands and boil the seas
He can’t take the sky from me.
He won’t take the sky from me.

When you’ve carried my load and seen what I’ve seen
Well you won’t go talkin’ about righteous mares
You’ll know damn well why I want to keep to the sky
Never cry ‘neath nopony’s steel again.

I’ve seen torment raked across crystal souls
Seen sane mares mad and good mares die.
I’ve been hounded, hated, mangled and tricked
I’ve been tortured, cheated, shot and tied.
You won’t see no tears when I say goodbye
I’ve still got my Pinks and for her I fly.

So take my love, take my land
Take me where I cannot stand
I don’t care, Equestria’s free
Sombra can’t take the sky from me.

Rip the wings off my back,
Break me on a torture rack
Burn the lands and boil the seas
He can’t take the sky from me.
He won’t take the sky from me.

The song had started off soft, almost ballad-like, but became louder and more defiant as the verses rolled by, and when the last chorus came every pony was on their hooves. The song had become a shout of defiance against the crystal tyrant who had caused pain and misery to them and their friends. Overcome by the emotions surging around her, Derpy openly wept, leaning against Trixie for support, whose eyes were also suspiciously damp.

“They been to Tartarus and back,” Twilight murmured under her breath, as she gave both of her companions a hug to steady them. Derpy got herself back under control after a few minutes, making loud use of a handkerchief she pulled from one of her pockets as she did so, and passing one to Trixie.

“So,” Rainbow Dash said, surprising the group as she approached from behind them, having taken minutes to walk the fifty foot length of the car to reach Twilight, “you’re the ponies Swift Dancer told me about, the ones who’ve never heard of me.”

“Oh, hello Captain Dash,” Twilight said, greeting the soldier pony. At this range Twilight could see even more scars on this Rainbow Dash, and that one of her ears had been half ripped off at some point. “We’ve heard of you, of course. But we just didn’t know any of the details about how you got so awesome.”

“Wow, really?” Dash said, surprised. “Hey Pinks, I gotta put this in my diary. Somepony who doesn’t know the story of how awesome I am.”

“You know I don’t like you keeping that diary, Dash...Captain,” Pinkie said, putting a hoof on Dash’s shoulder. “It could be a security risk.”

“The captain needs it, sister,” Maud said, from the other side in her near emotionless monotone. “You know that is how she deals with what happened.” Pinkie Pie gave a quiet snort of disagreement and Derpy hid a sudden smile behind her hoof as she watched the interaction.

“What do you find so amusing, pegasus?” Maud asked Derpy, noticing her smile.

“Oh, I just love seeing couples doing things together,” Derpy said, not hiding her smile anymore. “It’s just so nice to see that love can happen even in war.”

“Not many notice that right away in my sister and sister-in-law,” Maud replied, and although her expression didn’t change, she seemed to be studying every inch of Derpy. “You aren’t from around here, are you?”

“So, Captain Dash,” Twilight said, trying to steer the subject away from the question of where her and her companions were from. “I’m here now, and I’d love to hear the story that everypony else seems to know by heart.” Twilight hoped, Rainbow Dash couldn’t resist the opportunity to talk about something she had done.

“Well, it's pretty straightforward, and pretty awesome,” Dash said, as Twilight tried not to sigh in relief. “It was pretty early in the war, and I was flying with the Wonderbolts then. We were with Princess Celestia in the Serenity Valley when old Smokey Eyes himself led an ambush from right under the Princess’ muzzle.”

“Oh my goodness,”Twilight said, prompting Dash to continue. “What happened?”

“Well, Sombra’s troops had Celestia’s guards down, and he had her dead to rights,” Captain Dash said, illustrating things with her hooves. “The Wonderbolts had been scattered all over the valley, but I was overhead and saw what was going on. Just as Sombra was about to win the war, I dove and flew harder and faster than I ever had before, right into Smokey Eyes grinning mug. I must have knocked him back a hundred feet and that gave Princess Celestia the time she needed to get out of the ambush.” Rainbow Dash smiled widely at that and Twilight noted it was something of a rictus.

“Tell them the rest of it, Dashie,” Pinkie said, taking one of Dash’s hooves in her own. “The doctors told you that you always have to tell the full story.” Captain Dash’s face fell at that, and she sighed and nodded to Pinkamena.

“What happened after wasn’t so awesome,” Dash said, looking down. “When I hit Sombra, he hit me right back, and his magic coated the feathers on my right wing with sharp crystals. As I tried to fly away the crystals sliced up my wing, and by the time Sombra got up and got to me, I was down and pretty much done anyway. He...” Dash paused as a pulse of remembered pain went through her. “He sliced my wing off with a crystal knife and burned the wound closed with his magic. Said I was more valuable as a live prisoner than a dead soldier.”

“But you got away, right?” Trixie asked, hanging on every word. “Trixie means, you’re here now, so you must have escaped.”

“Nope, I didn’t escape,” Dash said, turning to look Pinkamena in the eye. “Sombra had me collared and chained to a wall, torturing me for information. After three days I’d pretty much given up hope, but then the wall beside me caved in and the most awesome mare in the world came through the hole and got me out of there.” Pinkamena flung her hooves around her marefriend, hugging Dash tight.

“I’ll always be there for you, Dashie. My Dashie,” Pinkamena said, in a whisper that barely carried to the ears of the group. Twilight, Trixie, and Derpy couldn’t help themselves as they enveloped Pinkamena and Dash in a group hug, with Maud joining in on the outside.

“Hey, no need to get all mushie here,” Dash laughed a minute later, as the group released the hug. “Anyway, after that Princess Celestia realized that the Wonderbolts just couldn’t cut it in a war. So, she made a new group of military fliers and put me in charge of her new aerial combat team, the Thunderbolts.”

“Wow, that sounds like quite the change,” Twilight said, sensing an opportunity to gather more information about this world. “Why don’t you tell me about them?”

Captain Dash grinned with the cocky, self-assured look that Twilight had seen from her Rainbow a hundred times as she launched into a detailed explanation of her team. She was as proud of them as any mother with their child and the rest of the trip to Canterlot passed quickly as the three military ponies regaled them with stories of their lives and times. After what seemed only a few minutes, the train sounded its whistle and the conductor announced that they were about to arrive in Canterlot.

“Well, that’s our stop,” Rainbow Dash said, getting up. “See you folks around. It’s been great talking to ponies who haven’t heard all my old stories.”

“Best of luck, Captain Dash,” Trixie said, smiling at the trio, as the other two got up to go.

“Here’s some muffins for you,” Derpy said, passing over some baked goods that she had pulled from who knew where.”

“I am sure we will meet again,” Maud said, gravely accepting a muffin, and the three military ponies left to collect their bags.

“Where are we going to go from here?” Derpy asked, as the train arrived at the platform and began to slow to a stop.

“We’ve got a bit of a layover here,” Twilight said, “and I don’t know about you two, but I really want to give my legs a bit of a stretch, at the least.” The train lurched a bit as it came to a full stop and the doors of the train cars opened as ponies began to file out.

“Trixie is looking forward to doing a bit of shopping,” Trixie said, curling her back in a stretch that popped joints along her entire length.

“We’ve got enough bits for some of that,” Derpy said, and Twilight let her take the lead through the doors, playing the part of a servingmare to Twilight’s noblepony. The platform was bright and bustling, with ponies of all shapes and sizes walking around. Several were getting off or getting onto trains and loading or unloading cargo. The sun was a little low on the horizon, but there were still hours to go before dark leaving lots of times to get things done.

“Well, if this Cant—” Twilight began, getting her bearings.

“In the name of Princess Celestia, I place you under arrest for treason and espionage!” a shouting voice interrupted Twilight. Ponies looked around and the crowds parted to reveal a stern faced unicorn looking directly at Derpy, Trixie and Twilight.

Twilight stared at the other mare. She, like Rainbow Dash, had the trim and lean body of a military pony. She wore a black uniform highlighted with yellow piping and a scarlet badge with the letters “EIS” on it. Her mane was a closely trimmed purple and blue while her tail was braided with black ribbon. As the other mare looked up at Twilight, she locked eyes with this world’s version of herself, who looked to be in a very bad mood.

“Lay down on the platform, put your hooves over your head. This is the only warning I’m required to give,” the other Twilight said, threat and menace in every syllable. “Please resist arrest, I’d love to break another set of Sombran spies.”

Author's Note

Some of you with brown coats might recognize the lyrics of Dash's song. For those of you don't here is a link to "Mal's Song". Things don't look so good for our heroes, does it? Of course we had to run into "Iron Wing" didn't we? Also, yes, in this world PinkieDash is a thing. If you don't like this ship, just remember, it's an alternate universe.

Oh just a side note "Burro'd Inlet" corresponds to the Burrard Inlet in Vancouver.

Dark Crown, Part 3

“Excuse me,” Twilight Sparkle said, to her opposite number. “I don’t think I heard you quite right. Could you repeat that please?” Over Twilight’s back, Derpy and Trixie both exchanged worried looks. Trixie very carefully made sure she was making no threatening moves toward her sword. Derpy just gulped and tried to look inoffensive. She had a pair of hidden knives, but she could tell she would be spitted on a sword in an instant if she went for them.

“Twiiiilight,” Trixie said, sotto voce to her princess. “Why are you antagonizing the nice mare who doesn’t intend to kill us outright?”

“So, the reports were right,” the unicorn said, a growl in her tone. “You are using my name. Typical of Sombra to try to go straight for a member of Equestrian counter-intelligence without an ounce of subtlety. I’m flattered by your audacity, so I’ll repeat myself once more before I order every soldier here to attack and do their level best to kill you, stone cold dead. Put your bellies on the platform and stretch out your hooves. NOW!”

All eyes shifted to Twilight Sparkle and the silent tension between the two mares was a living thing, stalking the platform, raking at calm thought with its claws. Every civilian pony had run clear at the first sign of trouble, and as Twilight Sparkle looked around she could see that she, Derpy and Trixie were surrounded by a loose ring of roughly fifty or so armed soldiers. Among them, this world’s Rainbow Dash, as well as Pinkie and Maud Pie who had pulled blades from somewhere, and looked ready to slice Twilight and her friends into bloody ribbons.

“Girls, do you trust me?” Twilight asked her companions, in a quiet voice. The mares on either side of her grunted an affirmative. “Then get ready to follow my lead.”

“Soldiers—” Unicorn Twilight began, before being cut off by Twilight Sparkle.

“You should know exactly who we are,” Twilight said, interrupting the unicorn as she undid the clasp of her cloak with her magic and flaring out her wings to send it flying away. Every pony gasped as they realized they were actually dealing with an actual alicorn. “My name is Twilight Sparkle, Princess of Friendship and former bearer of the Element of Magic. On my left is Trixie Lulamoon, my Knight and bearer of one of the Zodiac Swords. To my right is Derpy Hooves, heroine several times over, as well as my friend and boon companion. We came here from a different Equestria, one without war, and we are neither spies nor criminals.”

“I think you are trying to trick us into lowering our guard,” the other Twilight said. “You are either spies for Sombra or traitors to Equestria, changed by Sombra somehow to look as you do. Surrender, now.”

“I am a crowned Princess of Equestria,” Twilight Sparkle said right back, and she could hear the heads of the soldiers moving back and forth between the two of them. “I and my companions have committed no crimes in your Equestria, and even if we had, as a princess, I claim diplomatic immunity.”

“I have no way I can verify such a fantastic tale,” the unicorn said, as another pony ran up and whispered something to her. “Also, even if what you say is true, you have no embassy nor are you an accredited diplomat. You have no legal leg to stand on, 'Princess.' What’s more, I’m told that the wards preventing magic use are in place now, and as everypony knows, teleportation within Canterlot has been blocked for a year now.”

Twilight reached her magical senses out, and ran into a wall. Magic was there, her ability to wield that primal force undamaged, but it was on the other side of a wall she could only just touch. She looked around, again considering their options. Without teleportation, their only option was to fight, and out-numbered as they were the fight would not be long or go in their favour.

“I am willing to surrender ourselves to your custody,” Twilight Sparkle said. “Providing that you will honor the Articles under the Geneighva Conventions regarding prisoners.” The other Twilight blinked at that, then smiled.

“So you admit to being Sombrans,” the unicorn said, a hungry feral gleam coming to her eyes.

“We do not serve Sombra,” Twilight Sparkle said, a little crossly, “but you obviously think we do. So, all that I ask is that you deal with us, as laid out in the Conventions until my bona fides can be confirmed.” The other Twilight did not look pleased by that at all, and the hunger in her eyes changed to an angry squint.

“Fine, you have my word you will be treated as enemy combatants and not spies,” the unicorn said, gritting her teeth. “Until your status as a princess can be confirmed. Now, assume the position or die.”

“As you wish,” Twilight Sparkle said, with a gracious nod of her head. “We surrender ourselves to your custody.”

As the last word left her mouth Twilight furled her wings and lay down on the cold wood of the platform, stretching her legs out as the other Twilight had ordered. Derpy and Trixie, after a moment’s hesitation, followed suit on either side of her. Pride in her companions swelled in Twilight’s breast. Twilight knew that both Derpy and Trixie’s instincts must be screaming at both of them to run, to fly, to escape, but instead they were following her command to surrender.

“Well,” Unicorn Twilight said, taken aback for a moment by both Twilight Sparkle’s dramatic pronouncement and her quarry’s sudden capitulation. “I didn’t think you would actually do it. Okay soldiers, standard captured Sombran protocol. Secure them, but take no risks.”

“Thank you for surrendering girls,” Twilight Sparkle whispered, as the soldiers moved in. “If we had tried to resist somepony would have gotten hurt, possibly killed, and I want to avoid that at all costs.” Trixie was about to reply when she felt the cold steel of a sword point touch the back of her neck, right where her skull joined it.

“Don’t move,” Rainbow Dash said, wingblade as sharp as her voice. “Don’t speak, don’t even begin to use magic. You do anything that I even think is a threat and you’ll be dead before you know what happened.” Twilight gave a small grunt, as somepony stood across her back, pressing what felt like a knife to a similar spot on the back of her head.

“Bow your heads,” Maud Pie said from behind Twilight, “and look only at the ground. At least until we hood you.” Twilight raised an eyebrow at that, but as she thought on what she knew of Sombra and his dark magic hooding a captive made sense, as the eyes could be used to mesmerize a target, forcing them to obey the will of another.

“You’re really being calm about this,” Pinkie Pie said, from her position astride Derpy. “It almost makes me wonder if you aren’t really crystal meanie ponies at all.” Derpy began to say something, which cut off in a squeak as Pinkie leaned in a bit with her blade on Derpy. “It doesn’t mean that you can talk though, because I could be wrong and you’re just really good at hiding what you are.”

The rest of the soldiers, emboldened by their three heroes who had Twilight, Trixie and Derpy pinned, rushed forward and swarmed over the three travelers with an array of restraints. Ten minutes later Twilight and the others were raised to their hooves in a clatter of chains. Each of Twilight’s hooves had a steel chain running to each of her others, severely hobbling her. A hood had been placed over her head and over it a bridle had been strapped on, its muzzle clamping down on a rubber plate in her mouth, preventing speech on any level. Instead of a ring to block her magic, the bridle had an entire sheath that fit over her horn, and Twilight was very certain it could block even alicorn level magic. Almost as an afterthought, Twilight’s wings had been strapped tightly to her sides to prevent flight.

It was a very different sort of bondage from what she had been subjected to by the evil versions of Flim and Flam. That had been fairly cold and impersonal. To them, she had been nothing more than a cog in a machine, a commodity to be used. This time, the bondage was directed at her, personally. She was the sole focus of the attentions of her counterpart, and Twilight found herself having to remember some of Shaushka’s counter-training to fight back against the generated frisson of pleasure that kept trying to weaken her knees.

“You may think this is harsh,” the unicorn said, softly into Princess Twilight’s ear. “But over the years, we’ve learned through terrible experiences that this is the only way for us to safely hold one of Sombra’s troops until we have a chance to reverse their conditioning.” Twilight made a questioning grunt as she was led along, trusting that she wasn’t being led off of a cliff.

“I’m willing to entertain the possibility that you may be an alicorn version of me, but that still doesn’t mean you aren't one of Sombra’s creations,” Twilight said, her breath close enough to warm Princess Twilight’s ear. “I will determine that during your interrogation, and since you are an alicorn your questioning will have to be particularly rigorous. Oh, I’ll keep to the Conventions, but trust me when I say that if you are lying to me, I’ll visit on you horrors your Sombra-led mind can’t begin to fathom.”

After thirty minutes of walking through progressively quieter and quieter streets, Twilight heard the sound of her hoof falls change as they entered a building. She and her jailer passed through several doors and went through several twists and turns, before Twilight Sparkle felt herself being tethered in place.

“What we are going to do to you next will be painful and invasive, “ her opposite said to her, in a slightly tinny voice, “but it is necessary to make sure that you are not a danger to yourself or anyone here. I will tell you right now that you are in a sealed, explosion proof room. So, if you are planning on detonating any of the suicide devices you likely have on you, I can assure you that they won’t hurt anypony other than you.”

What followed was a deep and at times painful exploration of Twilight’s body. Her mouth was wedged open first with rubber blocks and a dentist examined each and every one of her teeth. Then, she felt a greased length of something push into her ass and felt the gush of fluid into her as an enema filled her. Twilight Sparkle found herself having to retreat more and more into the sheltered corner of her mind that her and Shaushka, her therapist, had built up in her mind to keep it free, even if her body was helpless.

“Like that, do you?” her captor said, as a low moan was drawn unwillingly out of Twilight Sparkle. “You’ve had enemas like this before, and enjoyed them. It’s a sign you might be carrying an explosive or worse within your tract.” The fluid being poured in changed from luke-warm to freezing cold, and Twilight couldn’t help but clench down as she reacted to the invasion.

“What you are feeling is a magic neutralizing solution,” the unicorn Twilight said. “We’ve had Sombran soldiers with runes or other devices inside of them that they routinely swallowed for later use.” With her mouth cleared by the dentist, Twilight Sparkle was again able to speak.

“I... uh, I understand,” she said to the other Twilight. “Has it really been that bad?”

“Sombra has been using every weapon his twisted mind can come up with,” Twilight said to the alicorn that was so like, and yet so unlike her. “So far, so good. Okay, you can expel the fluid now.”

“You mean—” Twilight Sparkle asked, embarrassed.

“There’s a catch basin,” the unicorn Twilight said. “Once that’s done, we’ll examine your eyes for any tricks and then see about your overall body.”

Twilight Sparkle nodded and let fly, almost orgasming at the the relief of the pressure on her strained colon and ass. Once she had emptied herself, bright lights were shone in her eyes that left spots in her vision and then, still in chains, she was finally led onto a large brass plate. For a few seconds nothing seemed to happen, and Twilight Sparkle looked around in surprise. Then she noticed her mane and tail had begun to stand straight up, as the individual hairs started separating from each other.

They’re electrifying my body, Twilight Sparkle thought to herself. Electrostatically separating my hair to see if I’m hiding anything on my body, mane or tail. Clever. After ten minutes of more and more crackling tension she heard her unicorn doppelganger speak again.

“Okay, brace yourself Sombran,” Twilight heard from the unicorn. “This is the most painful part of the procedure, and the one most likely to set off anything you have on you. Celestia have mercy on your soul if it does.” Twilight Sparkle was a top notch researcher and student, and it took her only moments to realize there was only one thing the unicorn could be thinking of doing. Twilight was taking in a deep breath when a switch somewhere was thrown, and a flow of current hit the plate with the opposite polarity of what was already there, releasing the pent up charge over Twilight Sparkle’s body in a single crackling thunderbolt.

When it was over, and the ozone in the air began to fade, a door opened and in walked Twilight Sparkle’s dark clad twin, her braided tail bobbing back and forth. The Princess of Friendship had been hammered to the floor by the pain and power of the electricity leaving her body and she looked up to the pony walking toward her. She opened her mouth to say something, only to have what looked like the business end of a foal’s bottle jammed in her mouth.

“This is the last thing,” Twilight said to the alicorn at her hooves. “Drink down the contents of that bottle, and we’ll know for sure that you aren’t going to explode, or dissolve into acid, or turn into an ooze creature like some of your predecessors.” Princess Twilight’s eyebrows went up at that. If those were indeed some of the things captured soldiers from Sombra’s side had done, no wonder ponies were so paranoid here. She gave a nod, and sucked down the fluid from the bottle, which tasted like a chocolate malt, of all things. When she finished, the bottle was pulled from her mouth and the unicorn levitated a bucket over.

“What’s that fo—” Twilight Sparkle started to ask, only to be cut off as a wave of irresistible nausea swept over her, and for the next twenty minutes she was thoroughly and messily sick, emptying the contents of her stomach into the bucket. When it was over, she simply lay on her side, panting, too drained by what she had just been through to even consider moving.

“It’s okay,” Twilight said, lifting a small glass to Twilight Sparkles mouth. “Have a drink of water. I know how bad this whole process can be, seeing as I put myself through it at least once a month.”

“Why?” Twilight Sparkle croaked, her throat feeling raw and abused by the stomach acids that had recently passed through it.

“I’m an Inquisitor with Equestrian Internal Security,” the purple maned unicorn said, as if it was common knowledge. “Sombra would love to compromise me or otherwise use me as a weapon against the princesses. Regular vigilance is the only defence against a master of mind control, magic and mental manipulation.

“So you believe me now when I say that I’m a princess from another Equestria,” Twilight Sparkle said, rolling herself to her belly in a clatter of chains. “You can take these off of me then, I give you my word that I mean no harm to you or your Equestria.”

“Not so fast,” Twilight said, with a small chuckle. “All you’ve done is proven you aren’t going to kill ponies just by being around them. I’m willing to entertain the possibility that you are what you say you are, but to be sure of that you and your friends need to answer a lot of questions.” She lifted Twilight Sparkle to her hooves and untangled the chains of the captive pony’s hobbles.

“Lead on then, Inquisitor,” Twilight Sparkle said, drawing in a breath and feeling herself come back into balance. “I’m ready to respond to your questions, so long as you are ready to hear the answers.”

The pair left the room, and a pair of armed guards fell in behind Twilight Sparkle, whose progress was greatly impeded by the chains she wore, but everypony seemed used to her slow rate of travel. At one point however, she tripped as the chains tangled, and she fell to the floor. No pony helped her back up, but when she did Twilight Sparkle saw that the Inquisitor had a hoof stretched out toward the guards, who had their weapons about six inches from Twilight’s hide.

“Heh, everypony seems kind of jumpy,” Twilight Sparkle said, pushing at the bridle that still held the magic cancelling sheath on her horn. “I thought there were peace talks going on?” Stony silence greeted her for several seconds.

“We’ll talk about that in a minute,” Inquisitor Twilight said, finally. “Let’s move along, and I want to offer you a deal.”

“Okay,” Twilight Sparkle said, brightening. “What’s the deal?”

“As I said, I’m willing to entertain the possibility that you are who and what you say you are,” the inquisitor said, “but I refuse to do it without proof on some level.”

“What?” Twilight Sparkle asked, shooting the inquisitor a sarcastic look. “My being an alicorn isn’t enough?”

“Honestly, no,” Inquisitor Twilight said, sending a sarcastic look of her own right back. “Sombra is a master of dark magic and he’s sent more twisted abominations at us than even Discord could have dreamed of. It’s very possible for him to create what looks like an alicorn.”

“I see,” Twilight Sparkle said as the procession came to a halt at an intersection of corridors.

“Here is the deal,” the dark clad unicorn said to Twilight, turning to face her. “I can take you to your cell where you will be kept in safety and security for all concerned. Eventually, when the war is over, you will be repatriated to your homeland. Wherever that is.”

“I’m presuming you are about to offer me an alternative?” Twilight Sparkle asked, one sardonic eyebrow raised.

“Indeed I am,” Inquisitor Twilight said, and the hungry, almost feral look on the unicorn’s face nearly made Twilight Sparkle back up a step. “You can waive the protections under the Conventions, allowing me to use enhanced interrogation procedures. Procedures which will prove your true allegiance beyond a shadow of a doubt.”

“I see,” Twilight said. “May I have a moment to think?” The unicorn nodded and took a step back and Twilight raised a chain clattering hoof to her chin to rub it in thought. On the one hoof she could clear this all up quickly by accepting the unicorn’s offer. The one constant in any universe was that Twilight Sparkle wanted to learn things, but on the other hoof the hungry look Twilight could see on the other mare told her of somepony who no longer had knowledge as her ultimate goal. Something beyond the quest for truth drove her opposite number and several very scary possibilities came to her.

“I’ll waive the protections in the Conventions,” Twilight Sparkle said, needing to know what was driving her opposite and homing in on the most likely possibility. “If you will answer me one question. What is the condition of Shining Armor?”

“YOU!” the unicorn exploded out, lunging forward and seizing Twilight Sparkle by her bridle. “How dare you!?”

“On my Equestria, Shining Armor is my deeply loved brother,” Twilight Sparkle said, as calmly as she could into the enraged face before her. “He has a loving wife and a foal whom he adores. I’d like to know what has happened to him on this world.” Twilight’s refusal to fight back and calm response to being marehandled seemed to shake the unicorn holding her bridle. For several heartbeats the two stood there, until the inquisitor slowly took her hooves off of Twilight’s bridle and very deliberately, took a step back.

“Shining Armor, my brother,” the unicorn began, the light seeming to go out of her eyes. “Went to the Crystal Empire with his new bride, so that they could claim her ancient birthright together. They walked into a trap. Sombra, newly risen, had already retaken his Empire and viewed the arrival of my brother and his wife as nothing more than gifts from Equestria for his amusement.”

“Something similar happened in my world,” Twilight Sparkle began. “But my friends and I were—”

“Shut. Up,” Inquisitor Twilight said, in a voice devoid of emotion that stopped the alicorn princess’ words. “My Shining... my Shiny... is dead. Or at least the next best thing to it. Sombra ripped anything resembling sentience or self-determination from his mind and now he uses the husk of my brother to pull his personal chariot. THAT is the condition of Shining Armor. Reduced to nothing more than an empty shell, a walking dead pony.” Twilight Sparkle just stared at her opposite number, her eyes wide in horror.

“I.. I’m sorry for your loss,” Twilight Sparkle said, and she could see the anger, the fury, the implacable hatred, Inquisitor Twilight had for Sombra and all his works give her energy and purpose again and fueling her limbs with strength. “You want to hurt me don’t you?”

“No, I don’t actually,” the unicorn said, to a surprised Twilight. “I want to hurt Sombra, I want to make him pay for what he did to my brother, and the best way to do that is to stop him. To undo all his schemes, and to stop any of his minions from hurting any more Equestrians. To do that, I cannot allow myself the luxury of killing anypony I happen to believe are his, because I’m still honest enough to admit I could be wrong about a suspect, and it is very hard to unkill a pony. However, I can be ruthless, I can be cruel and I can be heartless, so long as none of that blinds me to the truth.”

“Fine,” Twilight Sparkle said, “I will renounce the protections in the Conventions and allow you to use your enhanced interrogation on me, on one condition. Swear to me, on the soul of Shining Armor, that you will look at the evidence presented without prejudice and admit the truth, if the evidence points to me and my companions not being Sombrans.” The unicorn looked at Twilight Sparkle in shock, surprised at her condition. A shock that slowly changed to anger.

“Fine,” Inquisitor Twilight said, clenching her jaw fit to shatter it into a million pieces. “I swear, on the soul of Shining Armor, to look at the evidence in a fair and balanced manner, and to admit the truth if the evidence points toward your exoneration. However, if it points the other way, it will be my very great pleasure to take you apart piece by piece to see what makes you tick.”

“Deal,” Twilight Sparkle said, and the two mares clopped hooves.

“Guards, go get the linking potions and meet me in Simulacra A,” Inquisitor Twilight said to the guards, who nodded and went off to fetch whatever it was their commander had asked for. The unicorn then led Twilight down a corridor and into a massive chamber. The room was large and nearly barren, easily a hundred paces in every dimension. The walls, floor and ceiling were all painted a flat black, which was marked by ruler straight yellow lines that crossed over each other so that every surface was covered in a massive grid pattern.

“Wow, this is quite the place,” Twilight Sparkle said, as her eyes threatened to cross from the optical illusions the room was trying to generate for her. “You called this place a ‘simulacra’?”

“Indeed,” the unicorn said, as she led her charge to the only furnishings in the room. A simple folding table and a pair of folding chairs that sat in the exact center of the floor. “Have a seat.”

Twilight Sparkle sat down, and the guards came in a couple of minutes later with a pair of frothing beakers. As they left they closed the door behind them, and Twilight realized with some trepidation that the interior of the door blended into the walls seamlessly. Other than memory, there was no way to tell where the exit to the room was. Twilight’s attention was drawn away from trying to spot where the door was, when the unicorn got up from her chair and started undoing Twilight’s shackles.

“First off, fair warning,” Inquisitor Sparkle said, as she unlocked the last of the four shackles and began working on the bridle. “You are being watched by hidden marksponies. If you try to attack me, or attempt to escape you will be shot down in seconds.” The inquisitor pulled the bridle free and set it down by the chains and shackles. Twilight reached for her magic, only to find herself still unable to touch it.

“No, you can’t do magic,” the unicorn said, noting Twilight’s efforts. “Your insides are still coated with the neutralizing agent and will be for some time yet.” The beakers fizzed and popped ominously on the table, one in front of each mare.

“So what happens now?” Twilight Sparkle asked, sniffing at the potion in front of her. “I assume this is some sort of super truth potion?”

“Not quite,” Inquisitor Sparkle said, and Twilight could see a well-hidden glee in her opposites eyes, like somepony about to spring a trap in chess. “This room is called a simulacra because in here, with the help of these potions, we can simulate any environment and situation we choose to have someone experience.”

“Of course,” Twilight Sparkle said, putting things together. “The potions must contain hallucinogens which, combined with the inherent optical deceptions of the paint scheme of the room lead to the creation of a virtual, mental landscape.”

“There’s more to it than that,” Inquisitor Sparkle said, frowning a bit that her opposite number had figured things out as much as she had. “The potions will also link us so that I can see what you experience and guide those experiences. We do this to put you in scenarios where your true loyalties can be made manifest.” The unicorn then proceeded to pluck a hair from each of their manes and drop it into their respective beakers. As the hairs touched the liquid it frothed up with even greater vigor before turning a deep purple.

“So that’s it?” Twilight Sparkle asked, one eyebrow going up. “We drink and you lead me through a drugged hallucination to try to see if I’ll betray Equestria. Interesting technique, and I can see how it would help by blocking out the conscious mind’s attempt to lie or otherwise conceal the truth.”

“Exactly,” the other Twilight said, lifting her beaker. “Now, drink up before I have to force it down your throat.”

“No need to get cranky,” Twilight said, lifting her own beaker high before guzzling it down and making a face. “Gyah! That stuff tastes terrible.”

“I never get used to it,” Inquisitor Twilight said, as she set her own drained beaker down. “Don’t try to get up, the stuff starts taking effect pretty quick. Pretty soon you’ll be seeing some neat colours.” About a minute later Twilight realized the unicorn was right, and that she could see colours as she waved her hoof back and forth. Fascinating colours.

“Tree Hugger would love this stuff,” Twilight Sparkle said aloud, to no one in particular, as the drug began to take hold. So it was with bemusement rather than shock when she heard someone call out.

“Inquisitor,” a male voice said, from somewhere distant. “One of the other prisoners, the blue unicorn mare. She’s escaped.”

“Well, don’t just... ugh,” Inquisitor Twilight said, the drugs hitting her system as well. “Go... ugh, go after her.”

“Hah!” Twilight Sparkle cackled, no longer caring what she sounded like. “The Great and Powerful Trixie, in a seraglio, with a wagon wheel!” Then sanity and consciousness were washed away in a riot of colour and a roar of sound.

Author's Note

No big afterword here, other than the usual thanks to my editing team who mightily strive to keep my stuff making sense. In at least some strange way.

All the best to you and yours this Holiday Season.

Dark Crown, Part 4

Twilight Sparkle regained consciousness in much the same way as she had lost it, in a swirl of colour and sound. The alicorn raised her head and saw that she was lying on a richly appointed bed, covered in soft cream coloured cushions. Soft harp music accompanied by gentle bird song came through diaphanous curtains that were in every colour of the rainbow. They surrounded the bed’s perimeter, walling it off in ramparts of colour as they diffused the outside light through them. Twilight rolled over her back to look toward the source of the music and something pulled at her neck as she did so.

She stopped in her roll, lying on her back and her questing hoof traced out the solid torus of a collar around her throat. As far as Twilight could tell by feel, the collar had neither hinge nor lock, and was a single solid piece of material. A light chain had been looped around the collar leading toward the headboard of the bed, which is what had pulled against Twilight’s movement. Surprisingly though, the leash was simply clipped on and it was the work of a moment to detach it. As she put the chain down however, it jangled and chimed and the soft music cut off as if somepony had thrown a switch.

Moments later a shadow began to gently make its way through the layers of curtains around the bed, and Twilight began to roll herself to her hooves. As she did so though, she was slowed by an odd weight and fullness in her lower belly. Some instinct she did not recognize told her to stop her motion once she had made it to her side, and Twilight decided to listen to it. As Twilight lay there the last curtains were pushed aside by the approaching figure and the shadow resolved itself into the alabaster and indigo form of Rarity.

“Good morning, My Princess,” Rarity said, bowing low to Twilight. “Your servant hopes you had a pleasant rest.”

Twilight looked at her friend in both shock and amazement. She had always known that her fashionista friend was beautiful, in an academic sense, but she had never been the target of that beauty. This time Twilight very much was the complete and total focus of Rarity and it took her breath away, and Twilight made her eyes catalog everything she was seeing in an attempt to overcome the effect her friend was having on her.

Rarity’s blue eyes looked up at Twilight through a translucent white veil which was held up by a whisker thin silver chain going up into her mane. That mane was a work of art, holding the balance between erotically mussed and celibate sophistication. About her body, Rarity wore a harness made of strips of silk in various shades of blue, indigo and purple. More silken strips criss-crossed their way down each of Rarity’s limbs, ending at a cuff above each hoof. Combined, the harness and limb strips served to accentuate and highlight each subtle movement of the unicorn as she held her subservient position before Twilight.

Even the mere act of breathing caused the costume about Rarity’s body to ripple and shimmer with shades of colour and Twilight found her eyes were being naturally drawn to Rarity’s rump. For there, the unicorn’s tail stood fully raised, with the dock forced nearly vertical by a rounded silver cuff clasped around it. A cuff that bore the six pointed lilac star emblem of Twilight Sparkle.

“Is everything alright, Princess?” Rarity asked, shifting her rear weight from side to side and causing her tail to flag back and forth as she did so. “The doctor said your morning sickness should be gone by this point in your pregnancy.”

“My preg—” Twilight began, then stopped herself as she put a hoof on her belly. Now she knew why her instincts had screamed at her to stop her roll to her stomach and why her belly felt heavy and slow. She, Twilight Sparkle, was pregnant.

“Would my princess like something to drink?,” Rarity asked, lifting her chin to look up at a completely confused Twilight from her low position beside the bed. “There is some chilled mango juice waiting for you.”

“Rarity, I—” Twilight began, her already stuttering mental processes slamming to a halt as her mind tried to reconcile the sensual vision before her with the polite and proper savvy mare she knew.

Rarity half rose from her kneeling pose beside the bed with subtle, sultry grace and as she did the motion showed off a tight collar against the white fur of her throat. Made of a single piece of amethyst crystal that glowed with an inner fire, the collar was not just an object of bondage, but also served as an elegant piece of jewelry that enhanced Rarity’s beauty to something nearly god-like.

“You need not say anything more, my princess,” Rarity said, drawing close to Twilight in a rustle of silks. “I am your body servant, in all things. Let my body serve you again, my Crystal Princess.” Rarity took another step forward and Twilight only had enough time to register the feel of Rarity’s fragrant breath against her muzzle, before the unicorn crossed the last inches of space between them, and sealed her lips to Twilight’s in a passionate kiss.

Twilight had always suspected that Rarity would be a good kisser. Rarity was a mistress of all the social skills, and Twilight had theorized that kissing would have a language all its own. Twilight was not prepared for the tangled weave of emotions the kiss was evoking in her, however. Desire, apprehension, confusion, and even traces of lust all merged themselves into a warm ball of heat that settled into her chest. Twilight knew that there were questions she should be asking, concerns she should be having, but they seemed distant and unimportant.

As the kiss went on Twilight let herself respond in kind. Rarity had always been a dear friend and whatever else was going on, she was obviously willing, and able… oh, so able, to bring pleasure to Twilight. Twilight had envied her friend’s beauty often. Her trim flanks, her elegant mane, her tidy fetlocks. Twilight had seen how those qualities, and others, blended together into a sleek, desirable package that drew stallions to Rarity like bees to nectar. Twilight had sometimes wondered what it would be like to feel that desire, to taste that honey, and now with a single kiss, Rarity was raising that desire in Twilight.

“Rarity, I —” Twilight began, as she lay back on her side, breaking the kiss, but wanting more.

“Rarity?” the alabaster mare said, cocking her head. “I’m so happy you chose to use my name, princess. Allow me to serve you some more while you describe what you like about your servant.” Rarity began to slowly run a line of kisses along the underside of Twilight’s jaw, then down the side of her neck.

“Your… your coat. I’ve always admired how you can keep such a white coat so clean,” Twilight moaned as the kisses slowly trailed down her ribcage. Some part of her noticed that her words were echoing oddly, but it was another unimportant concern to her. All Twilight cared about were the blissful sensations Rarity’s skilled tongue and mouth were creating in her.

“Thank you, my mistress,” Rarity said, pausing just above Twilight’s teats and now fully straddling the supine alicorn. “What do you like about the colour of my mane and tail?”

“Oh, Rarity,” Twilight said, her eyes half-lidded in pleasure as the alabaster mare resumed her ministrations, circling and lapping at Twilight’s nipples. “That mane of yours, that incred… ah… ble indigo mane of yours. I could bury myself in it forever.” Golden sparks of pleasure were shooting up and down Twilight’s spine now as Rarity continued to tease and nibble and suck on Twilight’s sensitive parts.

“Would Mistress like to taste her servant while she serves your holiest place?” Rarity asked, and she lowered her rump so that her glistening outer lips were positioned in easy reach of Twilight’s tongue.

From this viewpoint Twilight could see that the tail cuff also connected rigidly to a glowing, twitching plug lodged firmly in Rarity’s ass. The scent of vanilla filled Twilight’s nose and she recognized it as the scent of Rarity’s arousal and desire. The plug had obviously been working its magic in Rarity for quite some time. Twilight couldn’t resist the temptation or the sensations rising in her, and she parted Rarity’s outer lips with her tongue, stroking the sensitive inner petals and tasting the leaking nectar from Rarity’s core.

“My Princess,” Rarity cooed, arching her back in pleasure, which had the side effect of dipping her rump even closer toward Twilight, who took full advantage by driving her tongue deep into Rarity’s core.

Sweet Celestia, Twilight thought, feeling Rarity’s walls clench around her. She really does taste like marshmallows.

“Please, princess, grant your servant one favour,” Rarity begged, as a delicate shudder passed through her. “Tell me again what Our Lord’s commands were on your final trip to Canterlot. I always love to hear of your triumph in His name.”

“Wait, what?” Twilight asked, confused as she paused in her savouring of alabaster goodness. Rarity used that moment of hesitation to dip her own head to Twilight’s treasure, parting the lips with an expert tongue and drawing it over Twilight’s clit. Sparkling fireworks filled Twilight’s vision even as Rarity’s rear loomed even closer and Twilight dismissed the odd question as she sunk her muzzle back into Rarity’s vanilla scented marshmallow core.

You need to take control, Twilight.

The odd thought came from somewhere in the back of Twilight’s mind. It broke up the maze of pleasure that was pleasantly scrambling her mind and she pulled her muzzle away from the winking joy that was Rarity. Twilight fought to clear her mind of the glorious mind-numbing sensations coming from the tongue lashing Rarity was giving to her inner core and clit.

“What… what are you talking about, Rarity?” Twilight asked, trying to force herself to concentrate. Rarity paused in her erotic ministrations to lift her head a bare inch.

“I love hearing the story of your triumphant mission in Canterlot,” Rarity said, her voice slightly muffled, her breath puffing against Twilight’s treasure. “Let your servant give you pleasure while you fill her ears with the tale of how you brought the tyrant Celestia to her knees.”

“The ty—” Twilight began, only to gasp again as Rarity plunged her muzzle deep into Twilight’s vulva and slid her tongue down Twilight’s wet and warm passage. In her mind Twilight began conjuring a fantasy to give Rarity what she wanted, Her usually disciplined thoughts were melting and shifting out of their usual ordered patterns. How would she bring down Celestia if she needed to?

Control your thoughts, Twilight

Again came the odd warning from the back of Twilight’s mind, and Twilight thought that this time she could recognize the voice, but she couldn’t put a name to it. As she dwelt on where she knew that voice from, Twilight realized her mind was becoming more ordered, becoming more able to think rationally past the path Rarity’s pleasuring was driving her towards.

“Rarity, I really have no idea what you’re talking about,” Twilight said, tilting her head. Something definitely did not fit here and the wrongness of several things began to strike home, but just as she began to assemble that wrongness into a hypothesis a deep and dark voice interrupted her.

“Having yet another between meals snack, my broodmare?” King Sombra said, as he came through the diaphanous curtains that surrounded the bed. Twilight’s nose suddenly filled with the scent of flowers and she felt a sudden surge of desire for the powerfully built, charcoal grey stallion before her. His elegant black mane was accented by his curved scarlet horn and he carried himself with a majestic pride, as if the ground beneath him existed only to give him a place to stand.

Trixie Lulamoon was not having a good day. It had started out well enough. A whole new world, with new ponies to show her skills off to, all while standing at the side of the princess she had newly pledged herself to. Twilight Sparkle might have been her rival in the past, but Trixie would be forever grateful to the Princess of Friendship for giving her a sister to love and cherish.

Now following her princess had brought her to this strange and sad new world, where she, Twilight, and Derpy had been arrested and subject to a truly revolting set of procedures. Trixie smiled to herself as she slunk through one of the side corridors of the massive complex she found herself in. Everypony always seemed to think that without their magic, unicorns were helpless and would meekly submit to anything that was put to them.

Trixie, however, was made of sterner stuff, and as a stage magician with years of experience she was more than used to working without her horn. Her guards had never noticed Trixie sliding out the emergency kits she kept in the hollowed out recesses in her hooves. With a few deft motions, hidden through sleight-of-hoof, Trixie had her shackles unlocked and all she had to do was wait until the door of her cell was opened. Then it was a quick twist, a rolling of her forehooves, and a well timed buck threw both of her guards into the cell they had meant for her.

She’d left the helpless duo behind as they began calling out for help, and Trixie had made more use of her experience with illusion to disappear into a side corridor as more guards came pounding toward the cells. No pony tried to stop Trixie as she backtracked her path as best she could to where she had been separated from Twilight and Derpy. Confidence was always the key in situations like this. So long as she looked like she belonged there and knew where she was going, no pony was likely to stop her.

Trixie turned another corner, down yet another hallway studded with doors unmarked, except for numbers on each one. She tried to summon up a little magic for a guidance spell, but it was no use. Whatever those fiends had painted her insides with it was still doing a devilishly effective job of blocking her magic. Trixie pulled in a breath, raised her chin haughtily and made her way down the corridor, making sure to look down her nose as she did so. She’d already bluffed her way past one encounter by simply and silently staring down a stallion who had asked for her identification. Trixie allowed a small smirk as she walked down the corridor, when a muffled thumping sound brought her to a halt.

The sound was coming from the door just ahead of her and to her right. No pony else was in the corridor, so Trixie softly stepped to the door and laid her ear against it, trying to listen. Her efforts were rewarded with her hearing another muffled thump followed by an equally muffled curse. Trixie wasn’t sure but she thought it sounded like Derpy.

“Nocte,” Trixie whispered and from the shadows appeared the star-steel blade of the Zodiac Sword that Princess Luna had bonded to Trixie through blood and magic. So long as Trixie lived, the blade was hers to command in the service of Princess Twilight, and together she and the blade were Luna’s gifts to Twilight following her return from the world 143 came from.

She would rather not have summoned the sword to her just then, as the shimmering steel blade with its crescent moon guard was difficult to conceal, but if it was Derpy on the other side of that door, she owed it to the pegasus to come to her aid. It was what her sister would want her to do after all.

Gripping the sword in her hooves, Trixie slid the blade into the jamb and gave a quick twist, opening the door. Beyond the doorway, an overhead light shone down on a small barren room where the only furnishings were a table and two chairs. Or rather, there had been a table and two chairs in the room. Now there were the remains of a shattered chair and a broken table lying around two unconscious stallions who lay on the floor. The only intact piece of furniture was the other chair that the room had started with, which had somehow tangled itself up in one of Derpy’s wings which now hung at an odd angle.

“Hi Trixie!” Derpy said with a happy chirp, as she stood over the bodies of her two guards. “Could you help me with my wing? I just don’t know what went wrong.” Trixie had spent enough time in and around Ponyville to recognize the phrase and lift a single sardonic eyebrow.

“Derpy,” Trixie said, looking for a way to gently remove the chair and impressed at Derpy’s stoicism at what was obviously a badly wrenched wing. “One of these days, things will go very right around you, and Trixie isn’t sure if Equestria is ready for that.” Derpy just smiled back at that.

It took a couple of minutes, but Trixie managed to get the chair off of Derpy’s wing with a minimum of pained gasps from the pegasus. Then at Derpy’s suggestion, the two of them stripped the uniforms from the two unconscious guards before donning them, along with their identifying badges. Derpy’s wings made things difficult at first, seeing as her guards had been earth ponies, but Trixie managed to get them under the uniform, which accidentally became an improvised sling for the wounded appendage. Not before Trixie noticed Derpy sliding a truly impressive number of knives and other small weapons under her clothing.

“Why didn’t you use any of that arsenal back at the train station?” Trixie asked, frowning. “And how did you manage to hide all that? Trixie knows about having tricks up her sleeves but even she didn’t notice most of that.”

“Twilight knew I had all of this on me,” Derpy said, putting a comforting hoof on Trixie’s shoulder, “and she told us to stand down anyway, because she didn’t want ponies getting hurt. Look down, Trixie.” Trixie did, and her eyes widened when she saw that somehow Derpy was now holding a garrote loosely on either side of Trixie’s neck. All Derpy had to do was lean back and she would have Trixie in a strangle that she likely would not be able to escape from.

“How are you so good with those?” Trixie asked, her voice quiet as a chill went down her spine. “Trixie surrenders by the way.”

“You wouldn’t believe how many things want to try to steal the Royal Mail,” Derpy said, taking her hoof off of Trixie’s shoulder and sliding the garrote back up a sleeve of her outfit, “And Trixie forgot she still has her sword out and that it doesn’t need her magic to work. You would have had more than enough time to stop me with it.” Flushing with embarrassment Trixie looked over to where she had left the mystic blade and sure enough, the Zodiac Sword was still there, leaning against a wall.

“Trixie still gets flustered sometimes when she isn’t on stage,” the showmare turned knight admitted, as she went over to the blade and spoke the word that returned it to the shadows. “She tries hard, but Trixie has only had three days of real training.”

“You got yourself out of your chains, and took down two stallions by yourself,” Derpy said, smiling. “Don’t be so hard on yourself for the occasional slip. Just remember what Shakesmare said, ‘All the world’s a stage’. Now let’s go find Twilight.” Trixie visibly brightened at Derpy’s words and the former mailmare could literally see Trixie’s spine stiffen in determination. Together, the intrepid duo left Derpy’s interrogation room, jamming the door shut behind them as best they could so as to further delay any pursuit.

“Here, put these on,” Trixie said, a few moments later, hoofing over a pair of sunglasses she had found in one of the pockets of her purloined uniform. “No offense, Derpy, but your eyes are memorable.”

“Good thinking Trixie,” Derpy said, sliding the shades on and masking her distinctive vision. “So, what’s the plan?”

“We find where they’re keeping Twilight,” Trixie said, her jaw set in determination. “We find her, we get her out and we get ourselves out of here.”

“Good plan,” Derpy said, a happy chuckle escaping her lips, “with only two small flaws. One, we don’t know where Twilight is and two, we don’t know where Twilight is. I know it’s the same flaw, but it’s such an important one that I thought I should mention it twice.”

Trixie said nothing in reply for several minutes as the two mares walked along, putting distance between themselves and where their guards had been left. Derpy was about to ask if they were lost when Trixie saw a harried clerk pushing a trolley stacked high with files and made a beeline for the poor stallion.

“You there!” Trixie said, in a commanding voice and spearing the clerk with her gaze. “The important prisoner, where is she?”

“Um… what?” the flustered stallion asked, trying to lean away from Trixie, while still holding onto his trolley.

“I have important information regarding the prisoner that looks like an alicorn,” Trixie said sternly, putting her muzzle directly into the stallion’s face. “Where is the interrogation taking place?”

“S-Simulacra One,” the stallion stammered out and pointing a hoof back down the way he had come.

“Excellent, carry on with your duties,” Trixie commanded, and the stallion tore off past Trixie and Derpy as if the Furies themselves were hot on his heels. “There we go, problem solved.”

“Do you get the feeling that the ponies here, other than their Twilight, aren’t really that good at this?” Derpy asked, as they walked down the indicated corridors.

“Trixie was thinking the same thing,” the showmare turned knight said, frowning a bit. “Do you think that their Twilight Sparkle is something of a one-mare show with all this?”

“Well our Twilight is certainly capable of plowing through anything she is obsessed with,” Derpy said with a small smirk. “How much more would this Twilight be, considering this war they are in?”

“Good point,” Trixie said, as she saw a sign at an intersection ahead saying “S One” and noting that ponies were becoming more common in the corridor up ahead. Trixie gave her companion a nudge and nodded up ahead. Derpy nodded back and pulled her happy smile as they continued down the corridor and in amongst some other ponies moving around.

Neither of them noticed a shape watching them with satisfaction, from the little used corridors that they had just vacated. A shape that had been following Trixie since the moment she had bucked her guards into a cell.

No, celestial fools, the figure thought to itself. The guards here aren’t bad, just diverted, and you have made for the perfect diversion for me. Hoof-falls sounded behind the pony and they turned to meet the oncomer.

“Oh, Captain,” the newcomer said, saluting. “I didn’t realize it was you. We’re supposed to set up a checkpoint up ahead and alert this part of the complex.”

“No need, Private,” the pony who had been watching Trixie and Derpy said. “I’ve already covered this area, you can head back and let your commander know that things are secure here.”

“Yes, Ma’am,” the younger pony said, saluting before turning and heading back the way he had come.

Oblivious to the drama behind them, Trixie and Derpy pressed on and less than two minutes later they ran across a sign that read “Observation One.” Trixie tipped her head at the door in silent suggestion to Derpy, who nodded her assent. They waited a beat while yet another clerk went by and then slipped through the door.

“Oy, close the door,” a voice hissed from the far end of the darkened room. Derpy closed the door behind her while she and Trixie paused to let their eyes adapt to the near total gloom in the small, square chamber. The room was barely lit by glowing strips along the edges of the walls. More strips outlined a small writing desk, a chair in which a pony sat, and a viewport he was intently peering out of.

“What’s up?” the pony asked, continuing to stare out the small window as he took notes, a pair of headphones on his head. “Hey, can you grab a headset and take these notes for me? It looks like the Inquisitor is having some problems, and I might need to go down there and give her a hoof. That alicorn is trying to buck the program.”

Trixie and Derpy looked at each other for moment, just able to make out each other’s smiles and less than a minute later the stallion at the window was on the floor, gagged, bound and unconscious. Both mares jammed their head together to look out the small window and beheld one of the oddest sights either of them had ever seen.

Author's Note

Apologies for the loooong delay in getting this out. Many parts of life got in the way of this chapter. Including my family coming down with the flu, and the anniversary of my parents deaths. It's kinda hard to write cloppy stuff when you're in that mood, so I took a week off.

I've also been experiencing some angst about this story. Although I know they meant nothing personal by it, but Tongul's comment on my last chapter really cut deep and forced an examination of the story as a whole. The truth of the matter is that they have a point, and the story has sort of gotten away from me.

However, I do intend to keep on for the simple reason that for some reason, this story pushes me. Every chapter has been a battle in some way to write, and to be honest, I like being pushed to my limits. Maybe I'll tire of it, but for now I intend to push on.

Anyway, enough heavy author drama...

Big thanks to Coyotethetrickster and Sandstorm94 for their time and skill with the edits, and I'll see you soon.

Dark Crown, Part 5

Twilight wasn’t sure how long she lay on the bed, simply drinking in the powerful form of the stallion, her stallion. Sombra was every bit the epitome of masculinity, from his deep and broad chest, to his powerful legs. Every inch of him spoke of power, of strength, of an unquenchable ambition and the ability to try to satisfy it anyway. Sombra took on an amused expression as he waited for his broodmare to finish looking at him.

“Has it been so long, my most perfect of concubines, that you have forgotten how I look?” Sombra asked her. The rich, deep tones of his voice stroking Twilight’s innermost places and she felt her rear legs shift back and forth in an unconscious display of her need for her king.

“No, my King,” Twilight said, lowering her eyes submissively, which allowed her to look fully upon the long bulge on Sombra’s underside that again demonstrated his fitness to rule over all he surveyed, including her. “I was just taken aback by your majesty, Your Majesty.”

“Oh my little broodmare,” Sombra said with a small chuckle, as he moved onto the bed. Some would have bounced onto the thick mattress, others wobbled as the springs moved them from side to side. Sombra flowed onto the bed with the grace of a hunting panther, circling his prey. “Being with you after a day of administering my empire is truly one of the greatest rewards I have for conquering Equestria, and I never could have done it without you.”

The comment, meant as praise, instead confused Twilight. How had she been instrumental to her lord and master’s conquest? Wasn’t she Celestia’s faithful student? The desire for her king that Twilight had been feeling, began to dissolve into puzzlement as she tried to think her way through her confusion, but try as she might a strange fog seemed to fill her mind, keeping her from thinking her way through. Then all consideration of thinking vanished as Sombra leaned forward and staring nuzzling and kissing her throat just under her jaw, making her hum with pleasure.

“That’s my obedient and lovely broodmare,” Sombra said, kissing and nibbling his way down Twilight’s throat. “Don’t think so hard, just lean back and obey your king.” Twilight tried to muster a coherent reply, but all she could think of was how good Sombra’s lips and tongue felt on her neck as his mouth found the hollow of her throat.

“Now, my obedient concubine,” Sombra said, moving his lips away so that he could wrap himself around Twilight and spoon her. “Your Lord and Master wants you to tell him how you obeyed his orders to help bring down Celestia.”

Again, the pleasure Twilight had been drifting in fetched up against a rocky shoal of confusion as she tried to remember what it was she was supposed to have done for her King. She wanted to please him so badly. She could feel his shaft begin to press against her back as their closeness began to make him hard, and a burning ache began to grow in her. An ache that she knew would only be satisfied by her King rutting her silly and claiming her as his own once more.

Meanwhile, up in the observation room, Trixie and Derpy had been listening in and watching what had been going on. From their viewpoint, they could see a bed in a large, dark room. Their Twilight was lying on the bed, a collar around her throat and something odd strapped to her belly. The other Twilight, the Inquisitor, had climbed into the bed and was whispering things that made no sense.

“What in the name of Equestria is going on down there?” Trixie whispered to Derpy, who had an ear pressed to the other part of the headphones.

“I have no idea, Trixie, but I can tell Twilight’s been drugged,” Derpy said, certainty in her voice.

“How do you know?” Trixie asked, noting that besides the two Twilights there were only two other ponies in the room below them.

“Those bottles,” Derpy said, pointing to a black painted table off to one side with a small amount of glassware on it. “I recognize them from having to carry ones like them around for the Postal Service. They’re standard for carrying Zebrican potions, and that means drugs.”

“Drugs…” Trixie said, her voice trailing off as her mind sorted through possibilities. “Trixie knows what they’re doing to Twilight. Quick, look around and see if you can find any black outfits anywhere around.”

“Okay, “ Derpy said, getting up and moving toward a pair of lockers that were next to a door set in the opposite wall of the one they had entered through. “What are they doing?”

“It’s a sort of hypnosis thing,” Trixie said, becoming more certain that she was right with every word she spoke. “Trixie has occasionally had hypnosis as part of her act and she recognizes the signs. They given Twilight something to make her open to suggestion, and Trixie would bet every bit she’s earned that at least one of the other ponies is keeping up a steady stream of patter so that Twilight is only seeing what they want her to see.”

“What’s that?” Derpy asked, as pulled out a pair of black cloth bodysuits, complete with hoods, from the lockers with a flourish.

“Considering what we heard the Inquisitor say, Trixie would bet they have Twilight convinced that she is a willing and obedient servant of Sombra, in an Equestria that has been conquered,” Trixie said, checking what little gear she had with her. “Give Trixie one of those suits and get the other on.”

“Why?” Derpy asked, tossing Trixie one of the suits. “What are we going to do?”

“We, my friend are going to go down there and turn the tables on them,” Trixie said, grinning wolfishly. “We’re going to go down there, and take the place of those other mares, and remind Twilight that she is a brave and strong alicorn who is Trixie and Derpy’s princess.”

“What happens then?” Derpy asked, finding one of the shock batons they had seen earlier in the depths of the last locker she checked.

“Then, with any luck,” Trixie said, pulling the bodysuit on. “Twilight turns the tables on the Inquisitor and we finally get ourselves out of this crazy, mixed-up world. Oh, one important thing. Once we start this we have to let Twilight play things out to the end, otherwise it could mess up what is real and what is drugged fantasy in Twilight’s eyes.”

“Ready,” Derpy said, as she covered her distinctive blond mane beneath the hood of the bodysuit.

“Same,” Trixie answered, before summoning her sword again with a whispered “Nocte.” Together the pair made their way through the door and silently down a flight of stairs. A viewport in the door let them make sure the doorway was clear and ensure that their targets hadn’t moved.

“Remember Derpy,” Trixie said, in hushed tones, “Trixie takes out the one by the bed, you take out the other one, got it?”

“Here, I won’t need this,” Derpy said, passing Trixie the stun baton and pulling out a nasty looking blackjack from somewhere. “I’ve got my own.”

Trixie raised an eyebrow and pushed open the door, which opened in utter silence on oiled hinges. She moved with slow and careful steps, doing her utmost to be quiet. She shot a glance over at Derpy, who was barely visible in her black against the black background of the walls, and was moving like smoke on the wind, drifting in behind her target, who was busying themselves with something on the table of potions.

Trixie turned her attention back to the mare by the bed, that was her objective. As she came up behind the black clad pony, she could see the thin mare whispering into a speaking trumpet that went under the bed.

“You love your king. Your king is handsome. Your king is strong. You want to obey your king. You want to tell him everything,” the mare was saying in a voice just above a whisper. So intent was the mare on her task that she never noticed Trixie until the touch of the stun baton sent her tumbling into unconsciousness. Trixie caught the mare as she fell and set her gently on the floor.

A quick look around saw Derpy beginning to examine the potion bottles on the table, and selecting one, she placed it in the mouth of her own downed target and tipped the bottle back, rubbing the sleeping pony's throat to make her swallow. Trixie smiled and lifted the speaking tube to her lips. Time to teach these motherbuckers why you don’t mess with Princess Twilight Sparkle and her friends.

“You are powerful. You are strong. No king is your equal. You are Twilight Sparkle and you are in control,” Trixie began repeating the words over and over, like a mantra to wipe out the previous submissive sayings.

Twilight moaned with desire for her king, trying to lift herself up so she could make the hardness against her back slide inside of her, and satisfy the aching need she had to be filled by Sombra. To feel his length stretch her to her limits, to ride his staff until she felt it well up inside her until his warmth exploded in her core, melting her into whatever he wanted her to be.

Control your thoughts, Twilight, the voice from earlier said again, and this time Twilight thought she could see a flash of shiny black and silken orange. Control your passions, use them as your strength.

“Control,” Twilight murmured to herself, feeling a strange sense of power come over her.

“Was that my command to you, my helpless alicorn?” Sombra asked, in her ear. “Who is Control? Who is your control?”

Take control, be strong, be Control, Shaushka’s voice said once more, and the words caught flame at last and Twilight felt a fire ignite in her mind.

The inferno burned away all trace of the submissive mare who had been there a moment before, leaving somepony who was still burned with desire, and knew exactly how she was going to satisfy it. Twilight rolled suddenly and stood, standing over the charcoal stallion beneath her and pinning his forelegs with her own. Her desire for him warred with her revulsion at all the crimes she could suddenly remember that he was guilty of. Desire won. Twilight Sparkle would make Sombra pay for his crimes, in her own way.

“Wh-What are you doing?” Sombra asked, both shock and anger in his voice. “Release me at once!”

“Oh, I don’t think so,” Twilight said, almost purring as she kept up the pressure, even as she rubbed her chest against Sombra’s. “You see, my memory’s pretty sketchy right now. I can’t seem to remember how you managed to get me pregnant, or in your bed, but there is something I do remember.”

“What is that?” Sombra asked, and for the first time Twilight could see fear in his eyes.

“Celestia was my teacher, my mentor, and my friend,” Twilight said, pushing the point of her horn against the soft flesh underneath Sombra’s jaw. “I loved her like a second mother, and somehow, I don’t know how, you used me against her.”

“Wait, stop, abort,” Sombra began sputtering in panic, trying to wriggle out from beneath Twilight. “Stop this now, get her off of me.”

“No, Sombra,” Twilight said, flaring her magic and feeling it burst through something like an eggshell around her, as she used it to clamp Sombra’s lying mouth closed. “There is no escape for you, but I will give you one chance for survival. You’ve started a fire in me. Quench it or die.”

Sombra looked up at her, eyes wide in shock and astonishment, as he seemed to try to call out to someone, but whatever he was trying to say couldn’t make it past his clamped together mouth. He tried to wriggle free again, only to freeze as Twilight tightened her grip on him, and she felt the blood in her veins sing as she marehandled him.

“Oh no, your Majesty,” Twilight said, a smirk on her face. “Your guards can’t save you, so don’t even try. You want to survive this, then you need to survive reaping what you’ve sown.”

Keeping up the pressure on the captive king, Twilight eased her body down Sombra’s torso until his flare just parted her outer lips and she looked down at him with both a sigh of satisfaction and an expectant look. Sombra made one last attempt to call out to his guards for help, and when that failed he sighed and rolled his hips upward, pushing the barest inch or two of his impressive length into Twilight’s winking slit.

“That’s it, Sombra,” Twilight said, almost purring in pleasure. “Give me everything you have, you wicked, wicked, stallion.” Mounted, clamped, and at Twilight’s mercy, the dark lord of the Crystal Empire had no choice but comply. Slowly he pumped his hips, each stroke pushing him in a little deeper, grinding a little further, until he pushed all the way in to his medial ring. Twilight arched upwards, moaning in bliss as she began rocking her own hips in time with Sombra’s motions, feeling his royal girth spread her wide.

“What’s going on?” Derpy whispered to Trixie. The blond mare had gone around the room making sure all the entrances were barred and there were no other surprises in the room.

“Twilight’s getting some of her own back from that Inquisitor,” Trixie whispered back. “As long as she’s in control we should just let her handle things.” Derpy nodded her agreement and went back to making sure their two prisoners weren’t going to escape. She was just finishing wrapping the ponies muzzles in soft fabric from the curtains when an orgasmic cry rippled out from the bed.

“YES!” Twilight cried out in ecstasy as the combination of her and Sombra’s motions worked together to allow the wide medial ring on Sombra’s dick to penetrate her increasingly slick passage. “Oh, Celestia yes. Split me wide and fill me up. Breed me again, you regicidal pony.”

Beneath her Sombra seemed become less Twilight’s captive and more of her willing toy as his own eyes began to roll back in pleasure. His thrusts becoming longer and he pushed himself deeper into Twilight, continuing to drive his way into her velvet depths. The breathing of both mare and stallion grew ragged as they picked up the pace, each running a race that was travelled inches at a time. The musky scent of sex and breeding filled the air around them and both ponies were soaking the bed sheets as fluids flowed freely from them. After some unknowable length of time Twilight and Sombra’s hips met as he hilted himself within her stretching Twilight to her utmost.

“Don’t you dare finish, Sombra. You cum now and you’ll fail your test. You want to pass, don’t you?” Twilight asked, tiny shudders rippling up and down her sides as Sombra nodded in understanding at her and he stopped trying to push himself even deeper into her. “Good boy.”

With Sombra frozen into rigid immobility beneath and within Twilight, she began to pump herself along his rigid length. She felt his ring scrape along her walls, felt his flare push against her womb and she felt the pleasure of having power over such a creature as Sombra, war with the pleasure his shaft was generating in her. Every sensitive spot and nerve inside of her was being touched, driving her toward her peak.

The power I have over him right now, Twilight thought, trying to concentrate. This is incredible. Is this what Alyss felt like when I was hers? No wonder she didn’t want to give it up. It’s like being a goddess.

At last, with a shriek of pure joy, Twilight came around the shaft within her. She could feel the power and magic within her explode outward in a wave, with that wave the fog around Twilight’s mind was blasted away as her perceptions cleared. She looked down at the pony beneath her and was surprised to see her counterpart there, muzzle still clamped shut by a ring of lavender magic.

“Wait, you’re not Som—” Twilight stopped herself as the aftershocks of her orgasm overrode her vocal control and burned away the last traces of the drugs in her system. As the last traces of the chemicals were metabolized her memory came rushing back. The pony beneath her whimpered softly and Twilight removed her magic from the Inquisitor's muzzle, allowing the lavender unicorn to speak again.

“I...I’m sorry,” she said, from under Twilight. “I didn’t believe it was possible, that it even could be possible. But you really are an alicorn, aren’t you? Nothing else could have done what you have over the past while. Could I ask you one question, though?”

“Sure,” Twilight said, using her magic to unstrap a fake belly from her torso. “What is it?”

“Could you um, get off of me?” the Inquisitor asked, and Twilight looked down and suddenly realized that the two of them were still intimately connected via the double-ended strap-on dildo the mare had attached to her.

“Oh!” Twilight said, her awareness of the fullness inside of her returning, along with all the nerves in that part of her body telling her that things were fine just as they were, and staying where she was would be a fine and wonderful thing.

“Please?” the purple unicorn asked. “I’m sorry, I was wrong. You really do love Celestia, don’t you?”

“She was like a second mo-other to me,” Twilight said, letting out a small gasp as she lifted herself off her prong of the dildo, its surface gleaming wetly in the light. She looked down at where the tool went into her counterpart, noting with some satisfaction that the two of them had produced enough cum between them to utterly ruin the sheets they had lain on. The Inquisitor did not attempt to move or rise herself, even after Twilight got off of her. Instead she continued to lay submissively on her back, and Twilight could tell she was a defeated mare.

“Ahem,” said a voice to one side and both Twilights turned their heads to look at where Derpy and Trixie stood, having parted the curtains. Trixie face was curled in a sly smirk of satisfaction, while Derpy stood with a hoof to her chest, breathing deeply her face flushed.

“Hi girls,” Twilight said, with a smile. “Have any problems?”

“Nothing the Great and Powerful Trixie couldn’t handle,” Trixie said, drawing herself up to her full height then smiling and pulling Derpy close. “At least not without her Great and Powerful Companion, Derpy.” Twilight smiled and cast a quick spell to clean herself off, which drew a question from the Inquisitor.

“How are you doing magic?” the other Twilight asked. “Even for an alicorn, you shouldn’t be able to channel a lick for at least a few more hours.”

“If you are anything like me, you have the knowledge and the logic to work it out,” Twilight said, confidently. “Go ahead, I can wait.”

“Just like that?” the Inquisitor asked, finally moving to roll to her stomach. “You aren’t going to take me down and make a break for it? Why not?”

“Because we aren’t the sort of ponies you think we are,” Twilight said, looking her embittered opposite in the eye. “I get the feeling a lot of ponies who have met you, weren’t the kind of ponies you thought they were. Tell you what, I’ll tell you how I’m able to use magic if you tell me how things got so bad since I was here last.”

The Inquisitor's face went through a complete run of emotions. Anger at first, outrage and shock next, followed realization, shame and guilt.

“I’ve ruined so many lives,” the unicorn said, her head hanging low. “I was trying to keep Equestria safe but it’s obvious all I did was make things worse. I’m a horrible pony.”

“I’m not the one to judge you for anything, except for what you did to me and my friends,” Twilight said, accepting a glass of water from Derpy with a nod of thanks. “Even that wasn’t beyond belief, just really over the top paranoid.”

“Over the top?” Inquisitor said, heat and passion at last coming back to her voice. “Do you have any idea what we’ve been through? The sacrifices we’ve had to make?”

“Actually, I don’t know,” Twilight said, trying to calm her opposite number’s whipsawing emotions. “Me and my friends aren’t from this Equestria, remember? Maybe you should explain it all to us.”

“All right, fine,” the Inquisitor said, slumping back down. “I’m beaten anyway and you’ve taken away just about the last thing that’s kept me going.”

“There is no darkness so deep, that the light can’t touch it,” Derpy said, putting a leg around the Inquisitor’s shoulders. “You’ve done bad things, but for the right reasons. Start doing good things for the right reasons, and you’ll find your way again. We know about how the war was a few years ago, when Princess Twilight was here last. It sounded bad, but not like this. What happened?”

“We know about when you were last here after Applejack Apple sent in her report years ago about a strange alicorn,” the Inquisitor said. “I’m assuming that was you seeing as she telegrammed us to let us know ‘that weird pony is back’.”

“I thought it might have been her,” Twilight said, nodding sagely. “It was the only explanation for why you were waiting for us at the station and why your versions of Rainbow Dash, Pinkie and Maud sought us out on the train.” The other Twilight nodded in confirmation.

“Anyway, when you showed before we had brought Sombra’s advance to standstill,” the Inquisitor said. “Sure, it took every ounce of industry, bravery and intelligence Equestria possessed but we had Sombra stopped cold. All we had to do was hold our positions until the Crystal Empire ran out of resources and it would have been all over.”

“What happened?” Trixie asked. “Something obviously went wrong, what was it?”

“Chrysalis,” Inquisitor Twilight said. “Sombra concluded an alliance with the changelings and suddenly we had infiltrators everywhere. Sabotage was rampant, several important leaders were assassinated, and we were on the back hoof again. Things came to a head one day when a team headed by Chrysalis herself tried to kidnap Princess Luna. They failed, but only just.”

“Luna?” Twilight asked, surprised. “She’s not Nightmare Moon anymore?”

“No,” Inquisitor Twilight replied. “Princess Celestia was able to use the Elements of Harmony, but the best she could do was to suppress Nightmare Moon. To keep Nightmare Moon in check, Princess Celestia created an enchanted bridle with the six Elements bound to it and sealed it to her sister.”

“Wow,” Derpy said in amazement.

“Anyway, after the attempt on Princess Luna, Princess Celestia realized something had to be done to stop the changelings before they tore Equestria apart from the inside out,” Inquisitor Twilight said, drawing a breath. “So, she created the EIA, the Equestrian Intelligence Agency, with the power of search, seizure and summary justice. We were allowed to completely bypass the courts, seize, arrest and interrogate who we wanted and how. The only restriction is that we have to be utterly loyal to the Crown.”

“That’s insane, “ Twilight burst out, aghast at what she was hearing. “What about due process, what about the law, what about HARMONY!”

“You have to understand,” the Inquisitor said, looking down with haunted eyes. “After the attempt on Princess Luna, Sombra and Chrysalis started sending in their abominations as well. Ponies that were changed...on the inside. Some were suicide attackers, some had no idea they had been altered as living weapons until it was too late. At one point, we were about three weeks from total collapse and surrender.”

The lavender unicorn pony looked up, and her eyes were no longer haunted. Now, they were filled with fury and defiance, along with terrible pain. Twilight could almost see the terrible wounds her counterpart had inflicted on her own soul to keep Equestria safe. The Inquisitor knew she was damned for her deeds, but had accepted it as the price to keep her kingdom safe.

“We did what we had to,” Inquisitor Twilight said, a suspicious sniff in her words. “I’m not proud of what we did, or how we did it, but the final testament is that the methods and actions of myself and my fellow EIA inquisitors managed to pull Equestria back from the brink.”

“And now there are peace talks happening,” Trixie said, trying to channel a bit of magic and getting a single spark for her trouble. “The war is over.”

“The war is likely over,” the Inquisitor said, with a rueful chuckle, “because Princess Celestia is about to surrender to Sombra.”

Author's Note

Support me on Patreon! It costs as little as a dollar a month and it keeps me going with keyboards, coffee and insanity. I'd like to thank the ongoing support of my current Patrons:

Canary in the Coal Mine,
Damaged
Shaushka
Airar

and my newest patron,
Pseudosapien

Thank you. I probably couldn't do this without you.

Dark Crown, Part 6

As the express train hurtled towards Equestria’s northern border, a troubled Twilight Sparkle looked out to the darkened countryside. The others in the train car were stretched out on the beds that the bench seats folded into, but Twilight found that sleep just would not come to her. So she sat, propped up in a corner, watching the blackness go by.

“Hello, Twilight Sparkle,” a rich bass voice said from beside her. Twilight turned toward the speaker and froze as she recognized the powerful form of King Sombra, mere inches away from her.

“You!” Twilight exclaimed, leaping out of her seat before a powerful hoof grabbed her and shoved her back down.

“I thought we should have a talk, you and I,” Sombra said, leaning forward and Twilight could see the shadows leap up behind him, creating an opaque curtain that blocked the rest of the car from view.

“W-what about?” Twilight said, fear and a cold feeling climbing up her body making her stutter.

“About you… being mine,” Sombra said, licking his lips. “About how you want me, about how you want what I can do to you as my own little pet. But mostly about how you haven’t even tried to escape my grasp.” Sombra looked down Twilight’s body and she unwillingly followed his gaze. To her horror, she saw that his magic had recreated the living suit that had been her prison all too recently, and that it was flowing up her body.

“Nooo,” Twilight moaned, as the slick suit enveloped her now winking marehood. “You can’t… make me submit.”

“I don’t have to, Pet,” Sombra said, his words a warm, silky whisper in her ear. “Your need to be owned will do all the work for me.” Twilight squirmed and shifted, feeling the suit begin to press against her intimate openings as it enveloped her teats in a tight, pinching grip.

“NO!” Twilight shouted, bolting upright. She blinked and everything was gone. There was no Sombra, no dark magic, and most of all no suit wrapping her in it’s implacable grasp again.

“Just a bad dream,” Twilight said to herself, feeling her breathing and heart rate begin to return to normal.

“No, it wasn’t,” a quiet voice said, startling Twilight.

“Gyah!” Twilight exclaimed, until a blue hoof was pressed into her mouth, closing off further sound.

“Keep it down,” Rainbow Dash said, her metallic wing gleaming just a bit in the dim night-time lights of the train car. “You don’t want to wake everypony up.”

“Sorry, you startled me,” Twilight said, trying to calm herself down again. “Why are you awake?”

“Heard something familiar,” Dash said, taking a seat just outside of Twilight’s reach. “That wasn’t just a bad dream you had, was it?”

“It was just a dream,” Twilight said, then she frowned as she thought a bit. “Wait, why didn’t your Princess Luna intervene in my dream?”

“Two points,” Rainbow Dash said, running a hoof over her artificial wing, making sure it was furled. “First, what you had wasn’t just a dream. It was a flashback or two blurred together, wasn’t it?”

“Yes it was,” Twilight said, puzzled. “How did you know?”

“When you’ve seen as much fighting as I’ve had, you recognize the effects of combat fatigue in somepony else,” Dash said, leaning slowly against the wall of the train car. “Second point, Princess Luna was captured a month ago while on a raid, which is why she wasn’t around to fix your dream.”

“What?” Twilight asked, gasping in surprise. “Has Sombra broken her yet?”

“Not yet, but he broke Princess Cadance in days, so it’s only a matter of time before he breaks Luna,” Dash said, pulling out a hip flask and taking a swallow. “When Sombra does break her will though, that’s it for Equestria.”

“Why? How?” Twilight asked trying to piece things together, shaking her head in refusal when Rainbow Dash offered the flask to her.

“Princess Luna can dreamwalk,” Dash said, screwing the cap back onto the flask. “How long do you think Equestria is going to hold out when she starts visiting everypony in their dreams and starts trying to convince them that Sombra’s a good guy?”

“She wouldn’t even have to do that,” Twilight said, understanding the problem now. “All she would have to do is make sure ponies in key positions don’t get any restful sleep. After a few days they would be useless, asleep on their hooves.”

“I could tell you were an egg-head the moment I saw you,” Dash said, nodding in satisfaction. “So, anyway, Princess Celestia has to get her sister back, no matter what.”

“That’s why… the Inquisitor,” Twilight said, still trying to wrap her head around the warped caricature of herself that the Inquisitor was, “thinks that Celestia is going to surrender, just to end the war.”

“Better to negotiate terms than get forced into those helmets of his,” Dash said, nodding. “You gonna be good on your own, or you need me to stay up with you a bit?”

“Stay up with me?” Twilight asked, before remembering what Captain Dash had said about combat fatigue. “You think you need to stay up with me, because I have this ‘combat fatigue?’”

“Only if you want me to,” Dash said, and Twilight could see the soldier mare tense slightly. “I haven’t been through whatever it is you have, but I’ve been through some things that left their mark too. You want me to go away, say so. I won’t get mad. You want to sit and talk, I’m good for that, too. You just want to sit and watch the world go by? Well, I’ve done my share of that.”

“How do you know so much about this?” Twilight asked, feeling something of a kinship for this scarred but undefeated warrior.

“Like I said, I’ve been through a few things,” Dash said, inhaling sharply. “I’d be a lot more messed up than I am if it wasn’t for Pinkie and her sister.”

“Think I’ll try to get some more sleep,” Twilight said, finding the blanket that she had thrown off when she had explosively awoken. “Thanks for the offer though.”

“No problem, like I said, this is something I know about,” Dash said, as she got up and moved past Twilight back into the aisle. “For what it’s worth, your Equestria sounds like a pretty awesome place. Wouldn’t mind seeing it one day.”

“I’d love to show it to you, and there’s a couple of ponies there you might like to meet,” Twilight said, settling herself and thinking of Shaushka and her Rainbow Dash. “Maybe when the Crystal War is over…”

“When the war is over there won’t be a place here for somepony like me,” Dash said, fading back into the shadow. “Not in an Equestria at peace. Goodnight, Ma’am.”

“Goodnight Captain,” Twilight said, and rolling over went back to sleep.

“We’re getting close,” Trixie said, a seeming moment later as she shook Twilight awake. “Time to wake up.”

“I’m awake,” Twilight said, stretching and pulling the blanket off. “How far out are we?”

“A couple of hours,” Derpy replied, carrying a loaded breakfast tray across her back and wings that was giving off all sorts of delicious smells.

“Trixie,” Twilight said, in complaint. “A couple of hours away is not ‘getting close’.”

“It is when you need to get ready for a performance,” Trixie said, with a smirk and taking the tray from Derpy and setting it in front of the three of them.

“Performance?” Twilight asked, puzzled. “We aren’t putting on a show.”

“Oh yes, we are,” Trixie said, shaking her head at Twilight. “You are about to put on one of the most important performances of your life.” Derpy and Twilight both exchanged puzzled looks.

“It is certainly a good thing you were at least smart enough to accept Trixie as your Knight,” Trixie said. “Twilight, you are going to be representing our Equestria to another Celestia. It’s a royal audience and you have to put your best hoof forward if you aren’t going to embarrass us.”

“Oh,” Twilight replied, realizing what Trixie had been driving at. “I guess we should try to look decent, at least.”

“‘Decent’ she says,” Trixie said, rolling her eyes. “You need to have your mane and tail brushed out, your fur needs a good currying, your hooves should be buffed and your regalia needs a good polish.”

“Oh, it’s not that important,” Twilight scoffed, not really feeling as confident as she sounded.

“Twilight,” Trixie said, her voice intent, and she tipped her head toward the three military mares that were their escorts. “Look at them.” Twilight craned her head up to look at the three captains. All of them were going over their uniforms and appearance with a fine tooth comb, even examining each other’s gear in case they had missed something themselves.

“You… may have a point,” Twilight said, scooping up some food and beginning to eat. “And Rarity would faint if she knew I appeared in front of a princess as anything less than fabulous.”

“Exactly, now let’s eat quickly because we have a lot of things to do and not a lot of time to do it,” Trixie said, setting to with a will. Over the next ninety minutes both trios of mares groomed themselves meticulously, with particular attention being paid to Twilight’s appearance. Even the three captains joined in on helping make Twilight look every inch a princess.

“It will look poorly on us as your escort if we let you go in front of our Princess looking like you’ve been through the grinder,” Maud Pie said, in her steady monotone. “I think you might be acceptable now.”

“Thanks for the help,” Derpy said, smiling at Maud. “Hey what’s that?” Derpy pointed to a pendant Maud was tucking under her shirt.

“Hey, leave that alone,” Captain Dash said, knocking away Derpy’s hoof with sudden anger. “Don’t touch her rock.”

“It’s okay, Captain RD,” Maud said, and Derpy’s eyes narrowed in thought as she saw Captain Dash immediately calm down. “They had no way of knowing it’s a family heirloom.”

“Yup,” Pinkie said, smiling and hugging her unresisting wife. “It’s Maud’s pet rock ‘Boulder.’ Dashie meditates with him sometimes,” Captain Dash blinked and shook herself at the nickname.

“Sorry about that,” Captain Dash said. “Sometimes I react without thinking.”

“Trixie assures you that you are forgiven, right Derpy?” Trixie said, nudging Derpy who seemed to be a little more absent minded than usual at that moment.

“What? Oh yes, not a problem,” Derpy said, focusing an eye on the group in front of her. “Princess, if you have a moment, I’ve got a couple of bobby pins that need a home.”

“Sure thing, Derpy,” Twilight said, letting Derpy continue her role in front of the others. “I can’t believe you had all these things tucked away in that outfit of yours.”

“Thank Rarity,” Derpy said, flashing a brief smile and leading Twilight toward the far end of the car where they had set up their impromptu grooming station. “She put so many pockets and pouches in this outfit that I think I’ve actually lost a few things.”

“Ha!” Twilight said, laughing. “You know, I think I’m already presentable. You don’t need to add more stuff.”

“I know,” Derpy said, sotto voce, “but I needed to ask you a question.”

“What did you need to know?” Twilight asked, keeping her voice low and her face turned away from the others.

“Back home,” Derpy said, whispering into Twilight’s ear as she fussed with a brush, “what kind of rock is Maud’s pet made out of?”

“I’m not entirely sure, but I’m pretty sure it’s a piece of basalt,” Twilight whispered back. “Why?”

“I got a look at the stone Captain Maud has,” Derpy said, giving Twilight’s mane a pat. “I don’t know if it’s important, but that’s a geode she has, not a piece of basalt.”

“There’s a lot of things different here than back home,” Twilight said, still keeping her voice soft. “But keep an eye on Maud, just in case. Paranoia seems to be something of a way of life here, we may as well emulate it.”

Fifteen minutes later the train slowed and came to a stop and the six ponies got off the train. With the three captains leading them Twilight, Trixie and Derpy made their way through the large armed camp. Several ponies looked at Twilight in surprise, making Twilight self-conscious.

“Stand up straight, walk proud,” Trixie hissed from her left side. “You’re representing all of us back home.”

“Why are they staring at me?” Twilight asked, trying to follow Trixie’s advice.

“You’re an unknown alicorn,” Derpy said, her voice pitched to carry only to Twilight’s ear. “They have to be wondering who you are, where you came from, and whose side you’re on.” Derpy was about to say more when a large group of ponies appeared in their path.

“Ah, if it isn’t the Three Amigos,” the leader of the group said to Captain Dash. “What brings Celestia’s personal goodwill squad to our neck of the woods.”

“Captain Dash with a party of three VIPs” the cyan soldier said, snapping off a precise salute. “The EIA was supposed to have sent word in advance that we were coming.”

“They did,” the leader pony said, taking off his helmet to reveal a blue maned pegasus stallion. “These them?”

“Yes, sir,” Captain Dash said, “Commander Flash Sentry, may I present Princess Twilight Sparkle, Dame Trixie Lulamoon and Lady Derpy Hooves.”

“Your Highness, Dame, Lady,” Commander Flash said, inclining his head to each in turn. “My name is Flash Sentry. I’m the head of Princess Celestia’s personal detail and we’ll be escorting you six to see the Princess.”

“Thank you, Commander,” Twilight said, remembering where she’d seen his face before. “I’m sure you serve your princess well.”

“I do my best, Your Highness,” Flash said, again with that same courteous nod. “Celestia has been made aware of your arrival and is waiting for you in her command tent. She has specifically insisted that none of you are to be searched or relieved of your weapons.” His eyes focused on the hilt of the sword in its scabbard on Trixie’s back.

“That is most kind of your princess,” Twilight said, finding her way into the polite give and take of formal speaking.

“She said that you and your companions had more than proven your goodwill,” Flash said, and then his manner hardened. “No offense, but if it was up to me you three wouldn’t get near the princess unless you were encased in stone from the neck down.”

“No offense taken, Commander,” Twilight said, with a wry smile. “We’ve discovered that paranoia is something of a national habit for you folks.”

“Out of necessity, Your Highness,” Flash said, sighing deeply. “If you will follow me then, I will take you to meet my princess.”

The ponies with Flash Sentry fell in around Twilight and her group and together they walked toward a large white tent at the peak of a small rise. As they walked Twilight noticed that the looks she had been getting were now focused on the three captains in front of them instead of her. Both of the Pies accepted the scrutiny in silence. Pinkie, for example, had barely spoken a word the entire trip but her eyes were never far from Rainbow Dash, who seemed to know Flash Sentry well and the two of them bantered back and forth as they walked.

“Flash Sentry with a party of six, to see the Princess,” the commander said, to a pair of sentries posted at the tent’s entrance.

“Quick baby,” said one sentry, in obvious challenge.

“Mighty jingle,” Flash said back, and it seemed to satisfy the sentry who drew aside the tent flap.

“Come in, please,” a voice that Twilight instantly recognized said, and Twilight immediately stepped through the tent flap, blinking her eyes to adjust to the reduction in light.

Twilight's eyes made the adjustment, and she looked on the Equestrian Princess of the Sun, whose majestic presence made her fight back an instinctive urge to kneel at the hooves of the white alicorn. To Twilight, Celestia had always been a source of wisdom, careful consideration and comfort. There had always been an aura of soft, enveloping care to Twilight’s mentor.

This Celestia was nothing like Twilight’s. From toned legs, through powerful hips, sleek barrel, and a deeply muscled chest, planes of hard muscle spoke volumes of an irresistible strength combined with the grace and skill to use it well. Intelligent magenta eyes fixed Twilight with a gaze that burned with vitality and determination, assessing the mare before her for strengths and weakness.

Before Twilight stood a warrior princess who had been forged in the heat of battles too numerous to count. Despite that however, the solar mare retained more than enough curves to remain feminine, even attractive and the combination of raw power, grace and beauty left Twilight speechless.

“Hello, Princess Twilight,” Celestia said, “I’ve been expecting you.”

Author's Note

No, the story isn't dead. I was just having to concentrate on other things for a couple of months. This story is going to be back into my regular rotation as of now, but this is only a short chapter while I pick the mental threads back up again.

The next couple of chapters should see the climax of this arc, followed by our heroine's return home where another quest awaits her.

All hail my suffering editors: Sandstorm94 and Coyotethetrickster. They boldly edit what has not been edited before. Sometimes with a phaser.

Come over and say hi to me and the folks on Damaged's Discord server if you like. Just be ready to link your Fimfiction account and please be aware 18+ only as the chat can and often does venture into adult subjects and language.

Support me if you can on Patreon for as little as a dollar a month. Patreon is probably one of the best things ever for keeping word Sherpas like me in coffee and working keyboards. Some months you folks really make the difference.

A big shout out to the ongoing support through Patreon by:

Canary in the Coal Mine,
Damaged,
Shaushka,
Airar,
Pseudosapien,
and
Machara

Dark Crown, Part 7

“Hello, Princess Twilight,” Celestia said, “I’ve been expecting you.”

“Somehow, I’m not surprised you know who I am,” Twilight said, trying not to show the feelings this princess had inspired in her. “If nothing else, your intelligence apparatus is very efficient.”

“If a little on the vigorous side, correct?” Princess Celestia said, and a pair of unicorn maids came in from behind Twilight and her friends, each carrying a trunk in their magic.

“Princess, you wanted us to dress you now?” one of the maids asked, bowing to her sovereign.

“Already time is it?” Princess Celestia asked, rhetorically. “Very well. Princess Twilight, do you mind if we continue to talk while I prepare for my meeting?”

“Not at all,” Twilight said, watching the maids lower the trunks to the floor on either side of Princess Celestia. “I’m somewhat familiar with the demands of state. While you get ready let me introduce my companions to you.”

“Derpy Hooves, the Martyr of Winneapolis,” Princess Celestia said, and Derpy’s eyes went wide, “and Trixie Lulamoon. Who was last seen commanding a deep recon unit that was lost a year ago. Captain Dash and the Pie sisters are already well known to me.” Trixie and Derpy exchanged shocked glances with Twilight at hearing what had to be the fates of their counterparts, but Twilight remained unphased.

“My companions aren’t those ponies, Princess,” Twilight said, mentally preparing her defences and an escape plan just in case. It would be hard with Captain Dash, Maud and Pinkamena literally a hoof away from them. Which, considering the paranoia of this world, made a sort of sense. The three soldiers were likely here in case Twilight and her friends did turn out to be assassins.

“I know that,” Princess Celestia said, the corner of her mouth turning up in something too small to be called a smile. “I thought that your companions might be interested in the fate of their opposite numbers here. As you may have heard, the War has not been kind to my ponies. Something to drink?”

“Thank you,” Twilight said, and at a nod from Princess Celestia one of the unicorns, an orange mare with a red mane, finished her task of securing a piece of leg armor and scooped up a wine bottle. A few moments later, a goblet half full of an amber liquid was hovering in front of Twilight and her friends. Trixie and Derpy both took up their goblets and were about to drink when a look from Twilight stopped them.

“Would it be possible for our escorts to have some?” Twilight asked, as innocently as possible.

“Why, of course,” Princess Celestia said with a laugh. “Captains, consider yourselves off-duty for the time being.”

“Thank you, Ma’am,” Captain Dash said, and all three soldiers snapped off precise salutes while the maid provided three more goblets and filled those as well.

“To Peace,” Princess Celestia intoned ironically, lifting her glass as she was being armored. The six ponies in front of the solar monarch raised their glasses in response, sipping at what turned out to be a fiery, apple-flavoured liqueur. Twilight spent a moment savoring the warmth of the drink, then spoke.

“Thank you, Princess,” Twilight said, setting aside the goblet. “First off, I’d like to ask if there…” Twilight stopped as she felt the warmth in her belly begin to spread out to her limbs.

“If there is anything that you could have done to convince me that you really are from an alternate world, not checking for poison in your drinks has done it,” Celestia said, smiling as she put down her own, untouched drink. “Consider my test passed, although if you were my student, you’d also have gotten a failing grade.”

“What… have you done to us?” Twilight asked, heat enveloping her and she saw the other five mares with her all feeling the effects of the drink. “Why would you let your own ponies…”

“I’ve just taught you three travelers a small lesson on how my Equestria has had to operate for the past five years,” Celestia said, as the last few pieces of armor were strapped on. “No one in this war would even blink at sacrificing three ponies to take down a high-value target, like yourself. Don’t worry though, what you’re feeling should pass in a bit.”

“This is not… how you treat guests,” Twilight said, swaying a bit. “So I-I’ll ask again, what have you done to us?”

“Given you a universal antidote to anything that my Twilight may have given you,” Celestia said, and her smirk was large now. “She can be rather inventive, you know.”

“I’ve noticed,” Twilight said, thinking back to the experience she had gone through with this timeline’s version of herself. Burying those thoughts for later, she turned and noticed a green vapor rising up and away from her and her companions. “Are all of you really that far gone from the principles of Harmony and Friendship, that you have to resort to tactics that would be anathema in my Equestria?”

“Yes, Princess,” Princess Celestia said, her face going grim. “I don’t like the choices we… I, have had to make but there was no other way. We’ve been at war for years now. A war for survival against an enemy that does not want to just kill us, not just wants to put our bodies in chains for his own purposes, but wants to enslave our very minds and souls to his foul plans.”

“He scares you, doesn’t he?” Twilight said, feeling herself steady as the flow of vapour out of her own body began to slow.

“Yes,” Princess Celestia admitted. “He terrifies me, to be honest about it. He broke Cadance with an ease that was frightening. He captured Luna not long ago. I know he’s been trying to break her will as well.”

“Princess Luna is a strong, determined mare,” Twilight said, more strength flowing into her as the antidote potion finished its work. “That’s been true so far in whatever world I’ve travelled to.”

“If Somba has both Cadance and Luna on his side, he may have enough raw power to take me down,” Princess Celestia said, settling a golden helmet on her head. “That’s why I asked for this conference with him, and even let him set some of the conditions.”

“To negotiate terms,” Twilight said, looking at Derpy and Trixie who both gave her a nod of assurance that they were recovered. “You’re surrendering to Sombra.”

“Oh Light, no,” Princess Celestia said, laughing. “I intend to kill Sombra at this conference, before he has a chance to take me down.”

“What?!” Twilight shouted, shocked down to her hooves. “You’re seriously going to violate a truce, your own given word, in order to take down Sombra?”

“As I said, if he has Luna turned to his side, he may have enough power to take me down,” Princess Celestia said, her voice as hard as her golden armor. “If I fall, Equestria falls with me, and there will be no recovery from it. Not now, not ever. So I’m giving Sombra bait he couldn't resist if he tried, myself.”

“You’re lying,” Twilight said, narrowing her eyes. “I wouldn’t have believed it before, but after everything you’ve said, I can. Why didn’t you just put me and my friends in chains and drag us in front of Sombra?”

“Now you’re thinking like one of my subjects,” Princess Celestia said, nodding in satisfaction. “As soon as I confirmed that you really did exist I made sure that Sombra heard of it. A fourth alicorn, and a skilled mage on top of that? There’s no way Sombra could resist taking a shot at that. As to why you aren’t in chains, or otherwise packaged up in trade for my sister. Well, let’s just say that I haven’t entirely abandoned the ways of Friendship.”

“So, what is our purpose at the meeting, other than bait?” Twilight asked, keeping her teeth from grinding together.

“Neutral witnesses, I hope,” Princess Celestia said, as a chuckle escaped her. “I fully expect a betrayal by Sombra, so having witnesses to that would be helpful. In the worst case scenario I would hope you could be backup for me.”

“You can’t possibly expect us to fight for you?” Twilight asked, and she realized that she was feeling even stronger than normal. “That wasn’t just an antidote, was it?”

“I expect you to fight for yourselves, and from what I’ve seen and heard of you, that includes defending the Princesses of Equestria,” Princess Celestia said, stepping up and running an armored hoof along the side of Twilight’s face. “And yes, there was a powerful tonic in that drink as well. For the next couple of hours you will be operating at your peak, all of you.”

“I have no intention of helping you commit murder,” Twilight said, shying away from the touch, as part of her wondered if her Celestia was capable of this degree of manipulation, a thought that both terrified and intrigued her. Everypony was just a piece on a chessboard to this Celestia, and they were in endgame whether they liked it or not.

“You already have helped me,” Princess Celestia said, gesturing toward the tent’s exit. “It’s time for us to go and meet Sombra. Will you come willingly, or… “ The armoured alicorn let the word hang, knowing the group would catch her meaning.

“Fine, we’ll go with you,” Twilight said, noting as she turned that the three soldiers behind her and her companions had been ready to do violence at their Princess’ command. “Just don’t be surprised if things don’t go as you’ve planned. From what I’ve seen, they rarely do when you ignore Harmony.”

“It isn’t a case of ignoring Harmony, Princess Twilight,” Celestia said, leading the group outside as Dash and the Pies fell into a protective triangle around the other four. “It’s more a putting aside of what you can’t afford for now. Once Sombra is dead, then we can go back to the principles of Harmony and Friendship.”

“But it will be built on the bones of another pony,” Derpy said, ignoring the scowls Maud sent her way. “Sure, he’s a really, really bad pony. But how can your ponies rebuild after that?”

“Harmony in this Equestria can only be restored with Sombra's death, and I fully intend on making sure that death is at my own hooves,” Princess Celestia said, leading the group out past the guards on the edge of the camp. “That way, the blame will fall only on me. My ponies have sacrificed so much in this struggle, but this last thing I can spare them.”

“Do you honestly believe that you can avoid becoming as bad as him?” Derpy said, and for a brief moment she swore that both Captain Dash and Maud looked angry at Celestia mentioning Sombra's death again, but she thought it was just her imagination and said nothing about it. “How does striking first make you better than him? With all due respect, I know he has done something personal to you, but murdering a murderer in cold blood just makes you more of one.”

“Nothing can persuade me from the plan I have chosen,” Celestia said, her features going from neutral to aggravated. “We're the bait, and when the moment is right I intend to strike him down and free my sister, this discussion is over.”

Derpy was about to ignore that when a warning glance from Trixie stopped her. As the armoured alicorn led them onward in silence, the group traveled through a blasted no-pony-land where nothing grew except mud and puddles. After nearly half an hour, Twilight saw their destination, a large conference table beneath an open pavilion, at the foot of a small hillock. Four crystal guards stood at rigid attention around the pavilion, one at each corner of it.

“We are expected,” Princess Celestia said to one of the guards, when they reached the meeting place. “May we enter?” The guard, who like his fellows was helmeted, had not reacted in the slightest to the approach of the Princess and her group. For a moment, Twilight thought that the guards might not even be real, then the one Princess Celestia had addressed turned his head slightly and gave a slow nod.

“Let us await the arrival of our host,” Princess Celestia said, gesturing to where one side of the table was labelled, “Slave Celestia, and party.” Twilight frowned at the card, even as she took her seat to one side of the princess.

“Princess—” Twilight began, mind working on why Sombra would place such an obvious insult.

“I see it,” Princess Celestia said, and Twilight could see a muscle flex on the jaw of that otherwise inscrutable face. “Remember what happened back at camp. Do not eat or drink anything. Touch nothing other than what you must. There is a full shower waiting for us, along with more antidotes and a full regimen of disenchantments.”

“Is it really that bad, your Highness?” Trixie asked, standing behind Twilight and to one side.

“Likely worse, Dame Trixie,” Princess Celestia said, not moving her head to speak to the pale blue showmare, “but they are the best precautions we can create. Oh look, our host approaches.”

In the distance Twilight could see something approaching, dark with flashing green highlights. As it drew nearer the group could make out the shape of an approaching chariot, drawn by two large ponies, with another pony trailing close behind. Drawing even closer, Twilight could make out the form of Sombra at the controls of the chariot, and even at this distance she could make out Sombra’s arrogant stance. The chariot pulled up a few yards away, and Twilight felt Derpy and Trixie both go rigid in shock as they recognized the two ponies pulling the chariot, as well as the one trailing behind.

Pulling the chariot, fully bridled and harnessed in tandem, were the forms of Shining Armor and Princess Cadance. Their coats were brushed, their manes styled, the straps around their bodies had been coloured and shaped to be both elegant and functional, and both were in the utter perfection of physical health. However, neither of them had the slightest glimmer of intelligence or initiative in their eyes.

Twilight’s heart fell, seeing what had become of this world’s version of her brother and his wife. Despite the sadness she had for their state, she was silently grateful that Sombra was at least keeping them in good shape.

“So you weren't bluffing, Celestia,” Sombra said, dismounting from his chariot and circling Twilight like a buyer at an auction, inspecting her from every angle. “I must admit I was skeptical when I heard the news, but she looks like she could be quite the prize if you are willing to offer her in exchange for your sister.”

Twilight, for her part, was trying her hardest to keep herself composed. When she and her friends were battling their own version of Sombra, there had been no time to notice his features or demeanor. Now in the presence of this Sombra, she found herself lost for words with her breath caught in her throat. The simulation that Inquisitor Twilight had created didn't hold a candle to the living presence of the powerful stallion in front of her, and she found herself fighting an insane urge to offer herself to him.

“Lavender,” Sombra said, sniffing Twilight's mane and making her eyes flutter at his silky tone. “Such a lovely and calming scent, and a mare of such knowledge would know how to use it to relax after long nights studying, correct? Perhaps we could strike a deal between us, with you as my lovely concubine. I would teach you the secrets of Dark Magic, and the secrets of dark pleasures as well. How does that sound, little pet?”

Twilight felt something deep in her core thrum in response to the word “pet,” and she felt herself starting to slip under the warm blanket of being a submissive possession. Not even the training Shaushka had given her was proof against whatever spell of presence, words and scent the dark king was weaving around her. Twilight opened her eyes, looking in desperation for something to steady herself, and her eyes fell on this world’s Princess Luna.

She was very lean, this Luna. Her coat a darker blue than the Princess of the Night that Twilight knew, almost black it was so dark. She wore one of Sombra’s dreaded helmets that covered her head down to the neck, but she had not succumbed as yet to the power of the dreaded device. That much was obvious as Luna kept moving back in forth, held in place only by a pair of tethers that ran from the rear of the chariot to a crystal collar around her throat. Twilight focused herself on the captive alicorn, drinking in every detail to convince herself what the terrible cost of submission to the velvet covered evil at her side would be.

Twilight’s study spotted something very unusual about this Luna as well. Her tail was large and full, arcing straight up from a wrapped dock to cascade over the full 180 degrees down to the ground. Twilight stared for a moment as she realized the terrible, core clenching truth.

Luna did not have one tail, she had three. Her natural one, plus one emanating from a plug in her tailhole and a second, wider one wedged in her marehood. As Twilight watched, both plugs animated themselves, sliding in and out while the attached tails flipped back and forth, erotically working themselves in the dark blue alicorn.

“Magnificent, isn’t she?” Sombra purred in her ear. “Twelve days of near constant stimulation and exposure to my magics, and still she hasn’t broken.”

“RELEASE HER, YOU CUR!” Princess Celestia thundered, and the shout completed the job of breaking Twilight away from the dangerous place her mind had been going.

“Release her?” Sombra asked, smirking. “Very well, in the interests of these talks I will give your sister release.” Sombra’s horn lit for a split second and Twilight heard a brief crackling sound as the plugs embedded in Luna discharged electricity straight into her most sensitive nerves. With a howl of ecstatic agony, muffled only slightly by the helmet, Luna fell heavily to her side while orgasms tore through her body.

Twilight watched the supine princess pump her hips against her phantom lover, entranced. Another feeling was rising in her now. The need to possess, to control, to take the leash of the beauty writhing in front of her and take possession of her. For a moment, an unbidden fantasy came to her mind, of Celestia and Luna both kneeling at her hooves and calling her “Mistress” as she locked collars and bridles on them.

“Perhaps not a concubine after all,” Sombra said, his voice calculating, his eyes assessing Twilight’s change in body language. “Perhaps a queen. Somepony not to kneel before me, but to rule at my side. A worthy mare, to match me in all things.”

“What about Chrysalis?” Twilight heard herself ask. “Aren’t you allied with her?”

“Chrysalis has proved to be… unsatisfactory,” Sombra said, chuckling. “She and the last of her drones are now the serving staff at my castle in the Crystal Empire. A fitting reward for her inept attempt at betrayal after her efforts on my behalf were less than effective.”

“WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO MY SISTER?” Celestia roared again, and Twilight backed away from Sombra as she saw wisps of smoke begin to rise from the solar alicorn.

“I’ve done what you’ve asked. Given her release,” Sombra said, inhaling the scent of sex coming off of Luna like one of Fleur’s friends assessing a perfume. “Now that she has had that release at my hooves, her mind should be mine to mold shortly. Likely my helmet is already breaking down the last bastions of her will.”

Twilight moved over to where Trixie and Derpy were both very carefully not reaching for their weapons, not checking how far away potential enemies were, and not moving into anything resembling a fighting stance. Twilight wasn’t sure why, but it was obvious to her that Sombra knew what Princess Celestia intended and was goading her into taking the first shot.

“Get that thing off of my sister, now,” Celestia ground out, power gathering around her.

“I don’t think so, not when I’m so close to making her mine,” Sombra said, his voice dripping contempt. “Another orgasm or two should—”

“ARGH!” Celestia screamed in wordless fury, unleashing a bolt of pure hellfire at Sombra, who was already dancing to one side.

“Arise shadows, defend your King,” Sombra said, his voice deep and eyes flaring with dark magic. From behind every boulder shadows emerged, lengthened and grew into pony-like shapes that formed wing, horns and weapons of pure darkness.

“Twilight, what do we do?” Trixie asked, as Twilight backed up to her friends.

“Defend yourselves, but don’t attack. At least for now,” Twilight said, before calling out to the Lord of Shadows. “Sombra! You don’t need to do this. We can negotiate a settlement.”

“The only words I wish to hear, are those of surrender to my will,” Sombra said, his four flesh and blood guards moving to his side while Celestia dealt with a score of shadow ponies that rushed her. “I will give you one chance. Swear loyalty to me or suffer the lash of my wrath.”

“I’m afraid we can’t do that, Sombra,” Twilight said, raising her own magic in a shield between her friends and the evil unicorn. “You’re making a terrible mistake.”

“As are you, my soon to be slave,” Sombra said, then tossed a command to another group of his shadows. “I want the purple alicorn, alive. Her friends as well if possible, but the alicorn is not to be killed.” Twenty shadows ran, leaped, slithered and flew toward Twilight and her friends, hurling magic and weapons both. The wave of impacts spread a series of concentric rings across Twilight’s globe of force.

“We’re going to need to move soon,” Twilight said, as the wave of enemies came closer. “If we just stand here they’ll just batter down my shield. Get ready to run on my signal.” Trixie unsheathed the Zodiac sword while Derpy flexed her wings in a strange way, and suddenly a steel dart gleamed between each of her primary feathers, ready to be hurled at their enemies.

“Dashiel Umbrum,” Maud said, turning towards Captain Dash and showing the pegasus the crystalline interior of a geode. “Your King is in danger. You saw the attempt on his life, are you ready to protect him?”

“Yes, Maud,” Captain Dash said, volition draining away from her face and voice, as witnessed actions and heard words triggered a set response. “I am ready to protect my King, what do you need me to do?”

“Celestia no doubt has reinforcements coming,” Maud said, still holding the geode so that Dash could see its interior. “Stop them.”

“Yes… the High Guard,” Dashiel said, crouching low for that first explosive leap upwards. “I will stop them.” Captain Dash shot into the air with an audible “whoosh” sound as her wife stood there dumbfounded.

“Maud, what’s going on?” Pinkamena asked, eyes flicking between her sister and the swiftly shrinking speck of her wife. “Are you working for Sombra?”

“Since the very beginning, and of my own free will,” Maud said, her voice even as she locked eyes with her sister. “It’s why I’ve always been able to pass all those checks for mind control, my will has always been my own. Join me, Pinkie. Sombra’s been planning this ever since Dash fell into his hooves. Swear allegiance to Sombra and once Celestia is done, he’ll remove Dash’s conditioning and the three of us can serve a strong monarch with honor.”

“I thought we were serving a strong monarch,” Pinkie said, her hooves shifting into a combat stance. “I can’t let you do this to my Dashie.”

“Oh, Pinkie,” Maud said, moving to mirror her sister. “I already have.” With that, it became a battle of sister versus sister. Blows that could shatter boulders and move earth were thrown, blocked or dodged with a speed that was nearly impossible to watch as both Earth Ponies used their talents, at a level almost nopony had ever seen.

“Get ready,” Flash Sentry yelled over the windstream to the other ponies under his command. “We should be over the meeting site in the next minute or—” Flash Sentry never saw what hit him. One moment he was leading a formation of ten ponies to the aid of his princess, the next he was pinwheeling downwards, one wing completely shattered as his killer arced up and away.

“Everypony scatter!” Spearhead, Flash’s panicked second in command shouted. “Get to Celestia! Nothing else matters.”

Unit cohesion shattered, the remaining pegasi streaked toward the ground, in a frantic attempt to reach their princess before they were picked off one by one. Spearhead himself almost made it to the ground before a second sense warned him to move. Pitching to one side, he almost managed to dodge Dashiel’s attack. Instead of shattering his wing and sending him into a fatal dive like Flash Sentry, the blow of the attacking pegasus’ metal wing struck a rear leg instead, breaking the limb and sending him into a flat spin.

Spearhead recovered from the spin just in time to set down on the ground and collapse in agony. Immobilized, he could only prop himself up against a boulder and watch as one of the most honoured members of the Equestrian military turned traitor and tore apart his unit one by one.

At the former meeting site the battle continued. Sombra seemed content to fight on the defensive, launching his own attacks infrequently, but sending wave after wave of conjured shadows at Princess Celestia. The warrior princess was never quite able to line up another blast at Sombra, always having to deal with another shadow just as she was about to attack their master.

Twilight had separated from Derpy and Trixie to keep their enemies from being able to concentrate on a single spot. She kept trying to blast Sombra as well, or take to the air to get a fresh perspective, but her lack of experience in a pitched battle was telling. At least twice now, all that had saved Twilight was the order that she be taken alive. She’d managed to escape those attempts to capture her, but one of her fetlocks now had a golden shackle locked to it, and one of her wings was fouled with the remains of a net.

Trixie and Derpy were faring much better. The two made an excellent battle team, as Trixie was a mistress of illusion and misdirection, easily faking out opponents so the Zodiac sword could reap its due. Derpy was turning out to be a surprising markspony with her darts, and handled anything that managed to get inside Trixie’s guard as well. Together, the mares created a strong point, that Twilight had been forced to retreat to more than once before going back out on the offensive.

“How are you able to hit those things?” Trixie asked, chopping another shadow in half, while a dart dispersed the one behind it. “I thought your aim was terrible.”

“My depth perception is terrible, not my aim,” Derpy said, rolling around to Trixie’s other flank. “If I throw a dart hard enough, it doesn’t matter how far away my target is. On your right.”

“Got it,” Trixie said, shifting her guard to cover the new threat, and spotting some approaching ponies in golden armor. “Looks like we’ve got friendlies incoming.”

“Maud, you’ve got to stop this,” Pinkamena said, pleading with her sister even as the two exchanged blows that wrecked the terrain around them. “Sombra has always been a big meany pants liar. You can’t trust him.” Pinkamena’s eyes shifted as she saw a pegasus in armor come in from the right.

“There is truth in crystal,” Maud said in reply. She saw her sister’s eye shift and struck. No one who was a whit less familiar with Pinkamena could have taken advantage of that split second lapse of concentration, but Maud and Pinkamena had fought side by side for years now and Maud knew just where to strike. A blow to the shoulder robbed a leg of its blocking strength and Pinkamena had only enough time to show surprise before Maud’s follow up knocked her cold.

“What’s going on?” asked the pegasus, as he reached Maud. “Captain Dash betrayed us. She’s killed or put out of action half my squad. Is Captain Pie with —Urk”

The guard never had a chance to finish his question, as Maud spun in place and launched a crystal shard from her geode straight into the guard’s chest. He looked at the piece of crystal in puzzlement for a moment, and then the enchantment in the weapon turned him into a crystal statue. The last bit to disappear were his living eyes, filled with accusation and horror.

“Do we run, Twilight?” Derpy asked, as Twilight was forced back to her friends again, and they saw Maud disappear into yet another wave of shadow soldiers. This group had all been shaped to look like Diamond Dogs carrying nets and nooses on catch poles. Their intent was obvious as the group of thirty closed in on Twilight and her friends.

“We hold,” Twilight said, blasting away at targets even beyond Derpy’s range. “Something’s going on that we don’t know about. Sombra’s tactics are all wrong. He shouldn’t be fighting like he is.”

“Trixie thinks he’s doing a fine job keeping us busy,” Trixie said, sword spinning outwards on her magic and taking out the knees of four of the creatures.

“That’s what I mean,” Twilight said, seeing Princess Celestia emerging from the chaos of battle, a guard on either flank now. “Sombra pushed Celestia into taking that first shot, and he’s had the numbers to just swarm either us or Celestia under.”

“So why hasn’t he?” Derpy asked, slashing a wing in a broad motion and taking down a half-dozen more attackers as a fan of darts streaked outward.

“It’s a diversion!” Trixie shouted, bringing her sword back in a return arc. “He’s making everypony look one way, while doing something else.”

“I think you’re right Trixie,” Twilight said, and the survivors of their attackers reached hoof to hoof range, forcing Twilight to raise her barrier again. “But what could he possibly… oh, oh no.”

“What?” Trixie asked, crouching in close so Twilight could make the shield smaller. “What is he doing?”

“Not him,” Twilight said, and the other two mares could hear the awe in her voice. “Celestia. He knows exactly what Celestia is doing and he’s using it against her.”

“Trixie demands you stop being mysterious and just tell us!” Trixie shouted, before a look from Derpy quelled her. “Please?”

“Princess Celestia controls the sun, and she’s using that as a weapon,” Twilight said, adding spikes to her barrier and taking out a few more of the shadow creatures with it. “She told me once, that if she could ever get an enemy to be at a time and place of her choosing she… she would…”

“She would what?” Derpy asked, also crouching in low.

“She would bring down a piece of the sun itself on top of them,” Twilight said, feeding more power into the shield. “That’s what I’ve been feeling. This Celestia is dropping a piece of the sun on Sombra. Sombra got her to attack in order to throw off her timing, but without Celestia to guide it the last little way that piece of the sun is going to go right where it was originally aimed.”

“Where is that?” Trixie asked, noting that Twilight’s barrier was almost opaque now.

“Right where she knew Sombra was going to be,” Twilight said, squinting to look through her barrier to where the meeting had been. “Right at the end of the conference table.”

“She wouldn’t, she couldn’t,” Derpy said, horrified. “Shining, Cadance and Luna are all right there.”

“Remember what she said about sacrificing three ponies to take out a high value target?” Twilight asked, rhetorically. “She practically told us what she was going to do.”

“What can we do?” Trixie asked, and Twilight’s heart warmed at hearing her one time enemy ask how she could help another pony.

“Not much we can do,” Twilight said, throwing even more power into her shield as she felt the onrushing solar plasma draw ever closer. “This time girls, we aren’t the heroes, we aren’t even the main characters of the story. There aren’t any heroes here, just survivors. Harmony and Friendship didn’t give up on these ponies, they gave up on it. All we can do is bear witness to what happens.”

Princess Celestia had found herself being forced to zig-zag back and forth across the field of conflict. Burning down a set of foes here, snapping a shot at Sombra there. The two guards who had managed to make it to her side were down now, wounded but alive. Suddenly, she saw Sombra standing atop a small rock and looking right at her, as the foul beast summoned yet another score of shadows to his bidding. She felt a sudden warmth on her horn and looked up.

It was impossible, there was no way she was where she had aimed the Sun’s Gift. Even if she was, there was no way it could have spread wide enough to harm her. The warrior princess’s eyes went wide as she realized what her enemy had been doing all this time. What her neglectful guidance of the Sun’s Gift had done to it, and she sent a burst of her power rippling outward in a disruptive burst. As Celestia had feared, her burst disrupted a set of nearby illusions. Sombra had cloaked Shining Armor, Cadance and Luna in shadow and lured her to where he himself had been at the beginning of it all..

“You bastard,” Celestia whispered, as she charged her horn and threw her power skyward to meet the oncoming plasma from so very far away.

Now Celestia, Maud thought, as the shadow creatures that had cloaked her approach scattered away from her. Time for you to join your subjects as a beautiful crystal statue. From a few dozen yards away, the traitorous earth pony had a clear shot at Princess Celestia’s broad back and she lined up her crystal geode with care.

Celestia’s wards showed her Maud lining up the shot on her back, she could sense the predator’s instinct on her, and could do absolutely nothing about it. She had to stay where she was for the next several seconds to disrupt or at least disperse the Sun’s Gift, otherwise everypony was going to die, herself included. All she could do was hope that somehow Maud missed, but she knew from experience that the Earth Pony’s aim was true.

A few things happened in quick succession. Princess Celestia’s power met the onrushing solar plasma. Not even she had the power to stop it cold, but she could divert it. Her beam spun like a dervish and split the plasma into dozens of pieces, each slicing down towards her foes. At nearly the same moment Maud launched a crystal shard at the solar alicorn, aiming for the spot on Celestia’s back just between her wings.

Pinkamena had spent the past few minutes wandering the battlefield in a daze, as she recovered from her sister’s blow. By chance, or perhaps Discord’s blessing, she found herself looking down at Celestia’s flank from the top of the small hillock beside her. She saw her sister line up the shot, and knew the deadly accuracy that Maud had. As she saw the shard move, she moved as well, leaping to throw her body in between her sovereign and the deadly projectile.

Her aim wasn’t perfect, for she had leapt just a moment too soon, but it was good enough. The shard struck the trailing hoof of the pink pony, passing through it completely. Disrupted in its path, the projectile spun off to one side and clattered against the hillside. In that moment, the lances of solar plasma struck down, skewering multiple enemies and forcing Maud to dive for cover.

Sombra saw that his gambit had failed and turned to teleport away. Only to discover that the massive burst of solar energy had disrupted all but the most basic of magic in the area. Sombra ran, Celestia in hot pursuit. She spared a glance for the Earth Pony who had saved her, noting with sadness that the pony was likely doomed, crystal already beginning to spread from the impact point of the shard. Yet another mark against the tally of the Dark King.

Captain Dash was focused on one thing and one thing only, serving her King. The poor souls of the High Guard were fools to think they could stand against his might. Maud’s loyalty to her King was a surprise, but it somehow seemed right, as if she had always known that Maud was on the side of Crystal. Most of the traitors were down now, but as Captain Dash lined herself up for yet another slashing dive, she saw something that shattered the crystal confidence within her breast.

“PINKS!” Captain Dash screamed, seeing her wife go down and it seemed only a moment later that she was at her wife’s side, cradling Pinkamena in her hooves. “Why did you do that? Why did you save Celestia? Say something, anything!”

“It’s okay,” Pinkamena said, looking up at Captain Dash. “It’s okay, I forgive you. You didn’t know what you were doing.”

“Oh no,” Captain Dash moaned, seeing the body of her wife slowly converting to crystal. With the shard no longer in its target the conversion was slower, but the end was no less sure for it.

“Don't worry Dashie, my little cupcake. Just promise me you’ll go with Princess Twilight when she leaves,” Pinkamena said as she slightly turned her head, the rest of her body going numb as more of it became crystal. “I’ll be alright…”

“No you won't,” Captain Dash said, tears starting to cloud her vision and choke her voice, “You’ll be crystal. There’s no one else like you, not anywhere, not ever.”

“Yes, there is. That’s why you need to go with Princess Twilight,” Pinkamena said, knowing she had only moments left. “There is another… Pink… ie… Pie.” The crystal finished its job, and Captain Dash’s tears fell on a beautiful statue of rose quartz.

“So full of life, yet she gave it all away in a foalish moment.” Maud said, coming up alongside the stricken pegasus. “Leave her, Dashiel. Our King’s gambit has failed, but he still can win with our help. Now, rise to your hooves and let’s end this.”

“No…” Captain Dash said, tears streaming down her cheeks like waterfalls after a heavy mountain storm. “I can't leave her like this. I can't, I won’t.”

“That was an order, Dashiel,” Maud said, flashing her geode in Captain Dash’s face again. “Remember your time alone, shackled to the wall. Only obeying the voice of your King saved you. Obey your King. You will obey, DASHIEL.”

“I… said… NO!” Captain Dash shouted, rising and wheeling her wing in an arc. She felt something inside of her mind tear free, and the sensation was matched by the feeling of her metal wing blades ripping through something. A spray of blood closed off her vision for a moment, and as Dash shook her head to clear her sight, she realized that she was standing over the body of her former sister-in-law. Dashiel’s metal wing had opened up the belly of the Earth Pony in a fatal wound, and Maud stared at her killer in a mixture of shock and acceptance.

“I always knew only one of us would walk away from the last battleground,” Maud gasped, blood pooling around her. “Bury me in the ground is all I ask, don’t burn me.” With that, Maud Pie closed her eyes, sighed once, and breathed no more.

“I’m sorry, Captain Dash,” Twilight said, having managed to approach now that the majority of the shadow creatures had been burned off the face of the landscape. “I know something of how hard it is to break free of mind control.”

“I don’t deserve that name. Captain Dash was a pony of honor, of loyalty,” The pegasus said, tears still pouring down her face. “Call me by my traitor’s name. Call me Dashiel from now on. It’s the name I’ve earned, after all.”

“We’ll talk more when we—” Twilight began to say, only to be interrupted as Sombra, some of his magics restored, appeared beside Princess Luna.

“Nopony try to stop me, Luna is coming with me,” he said, pulling Luna to her hooves and pulling the helmet off her. Luna’s eyes were wild as the helmet came off, but quickly narrowed in anger as she saw the face of her tormentor. Sombra began to lead the dark alicorn away, her collar forcing her to follow him, and as Luna tossed her head in token resistance Twilight saw the bridle fused to Luna’s head.

It was an elegant thing, made of engraved and padded gold straps. More a work of art than a device of bondage, what truly held the eye and mind were the six gems attached to it at various points. Twilight gasped as she realized that she was looking at the Elements of Harmony. They had been set into the bridle Luna wore and their power was a living thing, a power that seemed to be occupied with something other than lashing out at King Sombra, which caused more questions than answers in her mind.

“Stop right there, you vile beast,” Celestia said, coming around from behind the small hillock. “It’s time for this bitter war to come to an end at long last.” Golden power enveloped Celestia’s horn and Twilight’s fur nearly crackled with the ambient power that strike held.

“Are you so willing to sacrifice your own sister?” Sombra asked, ducking behind Luna. “Even to kill me, are you willing to pay such a price?”

“Compared to the price in blood, toil, tears, and sweat each and every one of my ponies has paid?” Celestia asked, lip curling up as she tsked. “Yes, I’ll pay that price, and count it cheap to stop the likes of you.”

“Very well,” Sombra said, stepping out in front of Luna, seemingly resigned to his fate. “Go ahead, kill me. But I give you fair warning, your blow will raise up a terror so vast that I will seem a gnat by comparison.”

“So. Be. It,” Celestia said, enunciating each word like a curse. “DIE!”

A beam of pure destructive power launched out, aimed square at the breast of the Dark Lord of Shadow. It lanced out, but was deflected at the last moment by a spinning piece of crystal that materialized in the path of Celestia’s vengeance. The beam, refracted by the crystal facets, leapt up and over Sombra’s shoulder, skinning along the side of Luna’s head, and neatly severed the metal straps of the bridle.

Something like a sigh sounded in the echoing thundercrack of Celestia’s strike and, as Twilight watched in horror, Luna began to change. The lunar alicorn grew tall, so that she matched Celestia’s height, fangs jutted from her upper jaw and her coat shifted from blue-black to a true black, as dark as the deepest shadow. Sombra cackled in mad glee as Luna transformed from the serene Princess of the Night, into the dreaded Nightmare Moon, complete with peytral and helm upon her head.

“No…” Celestia gasped. “Sombra, what have you done?”

“I have brought forth the one being in all of Equestria you truly fear,” Sombra said, moving to stand beside the Nightmare as she looked around, getting her bearings. “She is the one being who is your match, nay, your superior. Greetings, your Majesty.”

“Who are you?” Nightmare Moon asked, a sneer on her fanged lip as she briefly stole a glance to Celestia then back to Sombra. “Are you an ally of my sun loving former sister?”

“No, your Majesty,” Sombra said, bowing low. “I am a most pernicious foe of hers, and I have freed you so that I may assist you in destroying her.”

“Destroy Celestia,” Nightmare Moon said, a purr in her voice as she considered the thought. “I must admit, it has appeal. What say you, Princess of the Sun? Are you prepared to kneel at my hooves so that I may be adored as is my due, or will you choose death?”

“Sister,” Celestia began, then cleared her throat. “I’ve been fighting this monster for years—”

“I AM NOT YOUR SISTER,” Nightmare Moon thundered at Celestia, the sheer volume of the Royal Canterlot Voice causing the alabaster alicorn to shrink back. ”I am Nightmare Moon, and on this day I will claim my rightful kingdom.”

“Yes, yes,” Sombra said, almost giddy. “Destroy Celestia, my ally. Together we will rule over Equestria and teach the other nations what it truly means to fear the darkness.”

“Oh?” Nightmare Moon asked, raising a cool eyebrow to look at the unicorn at her side. “You think you’ve found an ally in darkness? Where do you think all the shadows go to hide from the precious light of day?”

“What?” Sombra said, backing a step, a trickle of fear evident in his tone. “What are you talking about?”

“Where do you think I’ve been, all this time after my return to Equestria?” Nightmare Moon asked, charging her horn and summoning a blade very much like Trixie’s to her side. “Why in the shadows of Luna’s mind of course. Isn’t that true, my one time sister?”

“I couldn’t banish you, I couldn’t exorcise you,” Celestia said, her voice sounding desperate. “The Elements wouldn’t respond to me.”

“No, they wouldn’t,” Nightmare Moon said, curling her lip at Celestia. “So all you could do was use them as the bars of my prison in Luna’s mind. You know we spoke often, she and I. She taught me about how things had changed since we last walked the world. How words had changed, how ponies had changed. Later, she talked to me about her fears about a certain unicorn warlord.” Her eyes locked on Sombra, who began to realize how his final gambit had failed him.

“I was with her at the end, a little while ago,” Nightmare Moon said, cold smoke wisping off her mane. “I held her hoof as your enchantments broke her, Sombra.”

“Stop! I command you!” Sombra yelled, backing up even further. “This isn’t how it is supposed to be. We were supposed to be allies. Stop with this foolishness and finish Celestia off!”

“We could have been allies, except that you are a fool,” Nightmare Moon said, and the cold smoke coming off her was so cold it started to burn the air itself. “You wanted an ally, but instead you created your own worst nightmare.”

In desperation, Sombra launched an arcane blast with every ounce of power he could muster at Nightmare Moon, whose sword swept it aside with utter contempt. A moment later, Nightmare Moon’s return blast reduced Sombra and the hillock behind him, into frozen dust that cracked and shattered into a million pieces.

“Sister,” Celestia said, crouched low. “Please, let me help you.”

“Help me?” Nightmare Moon said, laughing. “I do not need your help any longer Tia. I ask you again, are you prepared to kneel before me?”

“If it will bring an end to the war, yes,” Celestia said, kneeling in front of Nightmare Moon. “If it brings peace, and happiness to Equestria, I will yield myself to you.” Nightmare Moon’s look of complete and utter triumph froze Twilight and her friends clear down to the marrow.

“I don’t need you,” Nightmare Moon said, sneering. “I have what I’ve always wanted. A kingdom of my own. Ponies to adore me. Power, and recognition of that power. So get up, you mewling quim, and be grateful I don’t slay you as you deserve.”

“Why?” Celestia asked, simply.

“In that place in our minds, I held Luna’s hoof as she was destroyed by Sombra,” Nightmare Moon said, and to her dying day Trixie would swear she saw a tear in the eye of the dread alicorn. “She gave over her body to me without reservation, on the condition that I let you live after I defeated Sombra.”

“Fine, but you can’t have Equestria,” Celestia said, rising back up to her hooves. “My ponies have struggled and fought for so long. Don’t take this from them.”

“I have no intention of doing so,” Nightmare Moon said, laughing again. “I lay claim to that which is mine, according to the ancient laws of right of conquest.”

“You’re claiming the entire Crystal Empire?” Celestia said, shock in her voice. “You… You can’t do that!”

“I can, I will, and I have,” Nightmare Moon said, a smirk forming as she spoke. “Unless you want to fight me about it, that is.”

“But what about all the ponies Sombra captured,” Celestia said, spreading her hooves wide. “What of the creatures he created, the ponies whose minds he broke, the lands he ruined or captured, what about all of those?”

“I suppose some sort of census of my new domain will have to be done,” Nightmare Moon said, strangely thoughtful. “After which, we can negotiate a true peace. For now though, I propose a cease-fire in place.”

“Yes, yes,” Celestia said, mind trying to catch up with events. “I’ll be more than happy to dispatch clerks and mappers to determine where our realms lay and who is in them.”

“I don’t think I can trust your sun worshipers, Celestia,” Nightmare Moon said, and the haughty look was back with a vengeance. “My crystal ponies will survey my domain, not yours.”

“But how could I trust them?” Celestia asked, her own ire rising.

“You have no choice,” Nightmare Moon said, cold smoke beginning to rise from her mane again. “I will allow much out of respect for Luna, but you challenge my given word on pain of death.”

“I will not see one tyrant defeated,” Celestia said, power beginning to wreathe her again, “only to surrender to another.”

“Excuse me,” Twilight said, interjecting into the discussion as Nightmare Moon was about to respond angrily. ”If I may, can I offer my own outsider opinion?”

“Who are you?” Nightmare Moon demanded, spearing Twilight with her gaze, then softening. “Another alicorn? I did not know that there was a fourth alicorn, Celestia.”

“There isn’t,” Celestia said, to Nightmare Moon’s scoff of disbelief. “Lu… Nightmare Moon, may I present Princess Twilight Sparkle. She’s a dimensional traveler from a different Equestria.”

“Really?” Nightmare Moon said, and the scoffing was louder now, but the cold smoke around her began to disperse. “I find that hard to believe.”

“Trixie refuses to go through all of that all over again,” Trixie said, frustration overriding common sense. “Trixie and her friends mmrph”

Trixie’s tirade was cut off as Nightmare Moon placed a band of magic over her muzzle, silencing her. That is until Trixie swept her still drawn sword around and severed the connection between Nightmare Moon and the magic holding her mouth closed. For a long moment the sword hovered in place between unicorn and alicorn. Twilight held her breath, terrified that Trixie’s outburst would trigger Nightmare Moon’s rage.

“May I see your blade?” Nightmare Moon said instead, blinking as her voice shifted to a respectful tone. “I give my word as Empress of the Crystal Empire that it shall be returned to you.”

“You are a princess of Equestria where we come from,” Trixie said, floating the sword over, hilt-first. “I would be a poor knight to my own princess if I did not trust your word.”

“Thank you,” Nightmare Moon said, examining the Zodiac sword and then holding up her own ebon blade, comparing the two. “This is a twin to my own blade, even down to the star that provided the material. My blade is unique, unduplicable. The only way your sword could be its twin is if you are indeed from another world. I was mistaken, you are telling the truth.”

“As I said, I have a proposition for the two of you,” Twilight said, catching the eye of both princesses. “My friends and I aren’t from here, we aren’t going to be staying, and we have no stake in what happens here other than we want to see things getting back on the right track.”

“Go on,” Celestia said, nodding. “I think I know where you’re going with this, but I’d like to hear it myself.”

“As I was saying. Derpy, Trixie and I are neutral. You can trust us to not lie or cheat, because it doesn’t matter to us who gets what as long as the division is fair,” Twilight said, and she could see both alicorns nodding their heads. “What I propose is that my friend Derpy goes with Celestia, to accurately witness a survey of Equestria. My friend Trixie, will go with Nightmare Moon, to accurately witness a survey of the Crystal Empire.”

“And we meet back here when it is done, to hammer out a proper border and peace agreement,” Nightmare Moon said. “I even get to take the pony touched by darkness to go with me.”

“Wait? What?” Trixie said, sputtering in protest. “Trixie is not touched by darkness in any form.”

“Do not try to hide it, Dame Trixie,” Nightmare Moon said. “You have tasted darkness and felt the sweet lure of its power. I can smell it off you, and I like it. We can relate, you and I. Far better I have one like you with me, who understands darkness, than some whining priss.”

“Well, if you insist,” Trixie said, then turning to Twilight while looking nervous. “Are you sure Trixie will be safe?”

“I will care for you as if you were my own foal,” Nightmare Moon said, smiling widely, much to Trixie’s discomfort. “I will even tuck you in at night with milk and cookies if you wish.”

“I will be more than happy to take your servant Derpy with me,” Celestia said, smiling down at the blond pegasus. “She is definitely more than meets the eye. I think the two of us will get along well.

“Princess,” said a guard, who was leading Captain Dash at the point of a spear. “We’ve captured the traitor.” Dash didn’t look up, didn’t react except to move in the direction she was prodded to.

“I never would have expected you to betray Equestria,” Celestia said, frowning. “Especially after your wife’s sacrifice on my behalf.”

“Princess Celestia,” Twilight said, addressing the alabaster alicorn. “With your permission, I’d like to take Dashiel with me. Back to my Equestria.”

“Exile would satisfy justice,” Princess Celestia said, a satisfied look on her face. “But are you sure you can trust her?”

“She was under a form of mind-control, conditioned to act as she did,” Twilight said, insistent. “Maud was her controller and a traitor to Equestria from the very beginning. Pinkamena forgave Dashiel in her last moments knowing that, and I think that is the result she would have wanted you to do the same.”

“Very well,” Celestia said, turning to face the broken pegasus. “Dashiel, while I realize your actions were not your own, you did betray and attempt to kill me. You did kill several members of my guard. The lightest punishment I can give you is exile, do you have anything to say in your defence?”

“No, Your Highness,” Dashiel said, her head lowered into a deep bow. “But I have a request. Take care of my wife’s body, and let everypony for generations know of what my wife gave up to ensure their freedom, and that they all have long and healthy lives.”

“Request granted, Dashiel,” Celestia said, her tone soft as she nodded in approval. “It will be made a national monument, enchanted so that no amount of weather or the elements will do harm to her. Every morning, my sun will shine and she’ll act like a prism, bathing the surroundings in a lovely display of color in a prismatic dance to remind everypony that just one pony can make a difference. I will allow you until Princess Twilight returns to her Equestria to decide if you wish to go with her, or into some other exile.”

“You should kill me,” Dashiel said under her breath, and then she walked up to Twilight. “Why won’t she kill me?”

“I don’t know,” Twilight said, her heart going out to the pegasus in front of her. “Your princess always seems to have a plan though. Wheels within wheels. I can only assume she has some purpose in keeping you alive. Now, in the meantime, can you help me get this shackle off?”

The survey of two kingdoms and a continent wide battle-zone took the better part of a month. Every day or two Twilight received a report from Trixie and Derpy, detailing what they had seen and how their time with each princess was going. Derpy reported that the EIA was being disbanded, its ponies being folded into the Guard or the police forces. She was overjoyed to learn of seven completely unknown muffin recipes, including one that was entirely liquid.

Trixie’s reports were more grim. Sombra had allowed very few ponies control of their own minds, trusting almost nopony. As such, Nightmare Moon’s actions of freeing ponies en masse was greeted with tears of joy and promises of eternal devotion by her new subjects. Nightmare Moon, of course, was reveling in the praise and apparently it was making her even more determined to do well by her new subjects.

After three weeks, the survey came to an end and the two sides returned to the spot where it had all come to a close. Nightmare Moon was prone to rages that disrupted negotiations, but overall was as intelligent as Celestia. Celestia, on the other hoof, kept trying to sneak in extra clauses and codicils that would give Equestria advantages down the road. Twilight found her commitment to neutrality tested more than once, but in the end the peace treaty was hammered out. It was with a sense of supreme satisfaction that she watched Princess Celestia and Nightmare Moon sign their names to the bottom of the document.

“I hereby declare these proceedings, closed,” Twilight said, formally ending the Crystal War. As she said the words thousands of onlookers, both Equestrian and Crystal pony, cheered and stomped loudly. A massive party began to break out and Twilight was surprised to see Nightmare Moon give Trixie a heartfelt hug.

“Remember to keep your head up,” Nightmare Moon was saying, as Twilight approached. “You keep dropping it when you guard in sixte, and don’t forget to keep practicing those illusions I showed you.”

“Lessons, Trixie?” Twilight said, smiling to her knight. “I never knew you were the studious type.”

“As Nightmare Moon said, she understands some of what drives Trixie,” Trixie said, blushing for some reason. “She was a very good teach—ow!” Nightmare Moon had snuck over and had bitten one of Trixie’s ears, piercing it. A quick flare of magic later, and a small stud with a crescent moon was fixed into the piercing.

“A token of my respect, for an able student,” Nightmare Moon said, stepping back. “Know that you are welcome in my... empire at any time.” Trixie’s blush covered her face and neck clear down to her shoulders as Twilight led her away so that they could get Derpy and Dashiel.

“What aren’t you telling me, Trixie?” Twilight asked, teasing the pale blue mare a bit. “Made yourself a friend, did you?”

“She has been very lonely,” Trixie said, raising her nose at Twilight's snooping. “No more though. She has thousands of ponies who love and adore her now.”

“Good for you,” Twilight said, having a good suspicion at what had happened but knowing that some things had to come out in their own time. “Derpy! Ready to go?” The blond pegasus gave Twilight a huge hug.

“Yup, all set,” Derpy said, her bubbly personality to the fore. “I’ve got all kinds of souvenirs for Dinky. I really miss her.”

“We’ll be off shortly,” Twilight said, scanning the crowd, which was growing merrier and more inebriated by the minute. “Has anypony seen Dashiel?”

“She’s where she always is,” Derpy said, face falling in empathic sadness. “She’s at ‘The Statue’.”

No pony called it anything but “The Statue.” It was the crystalline form of Pinkamena Diane Pie, formed of pure rose quartz and standing on a ten foot tall plinth of mixed onyx and gold-veined marble. On each of the four faces of the plinth was the name of a virtue: Duty, Honor, Integrity, and Sacrifice. Pinkamena’s form had been positioned so that her gentle smile would look down at those who came to visit the statue, giving them a sense of peace.

“Celestia really went over the top with it, didn’t she?” Dashiel asked, kneeling in front of the pile of remembrances at the base of the plinth. “Can’t say I blame her. Nothing’s too good for my Pinks, and I buried Maud like she asked… It’s what Pinks would have wanted me to do.”

“You ready to come with us, Dashiel?” Twilight asked, putting a hoof on the pony’s shoulder.

"There's no place in Equestria for me anymore, Princess Twilight. When Pinks died all the light I had to live for left it,” Dashiel said, still facing the remains of her wife. “I'll make sure you get home safe, then I'll have Celestia banish me so I can just fade away. Like an old soldier should."

"Come with me, Captain Dash. Come to my Equestria. I can't guarantee that you'll find a new light there, but I can promise you a life of as much peace as you could ask for,” Twilight said, and she felt destiny’s hoof guiding her words, not knowing Pinkamena's dying words. “You've given everything anypony could ever ask to this Equestria, it's not too late to set sail for another shore."

“What?” Dashiel asked, turning in confusion.

Twilight smiled and began to recite:

“Some work of noble note, may yet be done,
Not unbecoming a pony that strove with Gods.
The lights begin to twinkle from the rocks:
The long day wanes: the slow moon climbs: the deep
Moans round with many voices. Come, my friend,
It's not too late to seek a newer world.
Push off with us, and flying well in order smite
The sounding winds; for my purpose holds
To carry you beyond the sunset, and the baths
Of all the western stars”

“Wh-what is that from?” Dashiel asked, feeling the power of the words.

“An old pony’s tale,” Twilight said, hugging Dashiel. “A story of a warrior, their war won, and how they had to wander until they found peace at last.”

“It’s my time to wander, eh?” Dashiel said, then for the first time since her Pinkamena passed, she smiled and remembered the final words of her beloved. “Yah, I’ll go with you. I’m not too sure what I’ll find there, but let’s get out of here.”

Twilight summoned her magic, and as the portal pulled the quartet up and away toward home, the wind ghosted a last message across the final battleground of the Crystal War.

"To strive, to seek, to find... and not to yield."

Author's Note

Once more, a chapter of this story beats me up and makes me work to get it out. This is the single largest chapter I've ever written. Not again. Kudos to those authors that can write big chapters but it's not for me.

I'd like to give Sandstorm an extra thank you here, as well as some co-writing credit on this chapter. I promised you that you would be in on the end of this arc. I can only hope we all did well by you.

The original plan for this arc was for Sombra to actually breed Twilight and get a foal on her, before she killed him. It was a good idea, but not for an ongoing story like this. The long term consequences would just be too huge for her to keep exploring, which I want her to do. Now that this arc is done, there will be another interlude, after which Twilight will be heading out again. I have rough plans in place for:

The Blasted Equestria
Chrysalis' Equestria ,
and of course,
Nightmare Moon's Equestria.

One last note. The last six lines of Ulysses by Lord Tennyson have always been something of a personal motto for me, especially as I get older.

Tho' much is taken, much abides; and tho'
We are not now that strength which in old days
Moved earth and heaven, that which we are, we are;
One equal temper of heroic hearts,
Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will
To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield.

All hail my brave editors: Sandstorm94 and Coyotethetrickster. Theirs is the strength of ten, for their hearts are pure... something.

Come over and say hi to me and the folks on Damaged's Discord server if you like. Just be ready to link your Fimfiction account and please be aware 18+ only as the chat can and often does venture into adult subjects and language.

If you want to give me a bit of a boost without a regular commitment, consider buying me a coffee on Ko-Fi. Coffee is gooooood.

Support me if you can on Patreon for as little as a dollar a month. Patreon is probably one of the best things ever for keeping word Sherpas like me in keyboards. Some months you folks really make the difference.

A big shout out to the ongoing support through Patreon by:

Canary in the Coal Mine,
Damaged,
Shaushka,
Airar,
Pseudosapien,
and
Machara.

p.s. Hmm, I never did mention what happened to those extra tails...did I?

Second Interlewd, Part 1

The swirling vortex spread itself wide over the large room and with a roar of wind it released the four ponies it carried from one world to another. Twilight Sparkle felt her knees flex as her legs absorbed the shock of landing and quickly checked on her companions. Trixie and Derpy were dusting themselves off, while Dashiel appeared to have already recovered and was checking over Twilight and the others to make sure they were okay.

“614!” a joyful voice shouted from one side of the room. 143, Trixie’s sister from another world, came charging across the room towards the quartet, her tight black control suit flowing with rippling lines of colour.

“SOMBRAN!” Dashiel yelled, spinning and pushing off from the ground to intercept the oncoming submissive mare who looked to Twilight as her mistress. A split second later Dashiel had 143 pinned up against a wall. The soldier reared and swung back her metal prosthetic wing. A shining blade extended from the pinions and with a swift move swept towards 143’s throat. Only to be stopped a bare inch away from its goal by a field of lavender magic that appeared around it.

“DASHIEL!” Twilight shouted, sweat appearing on her brow as she realized that the warpony’s weapon was actually cutting through her field, if slowly. “Stand down!” Dashiel blinked and seemed to suddenly realize where she was and what she was doing.

“Sorry about that,” Dashiel said, lowering her wing and releasing 143. “I thought you were an attacking soldier.”

“May 143 stand up now?” 143 asked, having let herself drop to the floor after being let go. Dashiel gulped, and looked down with an expression of guilty shame colouring her face.

“Yah, sure,” Dashiel mumbled, looking away from her near victim. “Go do whatever it is you were gonna do.”

“Thank you,” 143 said, getting to her hooves and walking around the mortified pegasus to come stand before Twilight.

“Hello Twilight,” 143 said, kneeling before Twilight. “It is good to see you home again.”

“It’s good to be home,” Twilight said, smiling. “You seem to be doing well.”

“143 has been working with your brother and Princess Cadance,” 143 said, still kneeling but stealing glances over to Trixie. Twilight noticed the looks and felt her heart lift.

“143, would you like to spend some time with your sister?” Twilight asked, hopeful that the broken mare had begun to start taking some initiative with things.

“If 143’s owner permits?” 143 said, trailing off, and Twilight felt a deep happiness as she felt a smile cross her face.

“Of course, 143,” Twilight said. She turned to tell Trixie that she could have some time off, but saw immediately that there was no need, as Trixie was already moving forward to lift her sister up to her hooves. Trixie looked at Twilight, who gave a simple nod and smile of permission.

“Princess,” Derpy said, from the other side. “I hate to leave you alone, but Dinky…”

“Go, go,” Twilight said, making a shooing motion. “Dinky’s waited long enough for her mother to come home. I don’t want to see you for at least three days, okay?”

“As my Princess commands,” Derpy said, dropping into a graceful curtsy, wings flaring wide.

“Go on, before I throw you into a dungeon or something,” Twilight laughed, giving her servant a hug as she pulled Derpy to her hooves. Derpy headed out of the room leaving Twilight alone in the room with Dashiel. The pony was still looking shame faced at the floor and hadn’t moved from beside the wall where she had pinned 143.

“It’s okay, Dashiel,” Twilight said, unsure if she should approach the exile or not. “You thought you saw a threat and you acted.”

“I could have killed her,” Dashiel said, still looking at a spot on the floor. “I was going to kill her. What was she even doing there anyway?”

“I brought them here, of course,” Pinkie Pie said, walking into the room and looking oddly somber, and that never looked good to Twilight. “My Pinkie Sense told me when you were coming home, Twilight.”

Dashiel’s head shot up at the familiar voice, her eyes going wide as she saw the dimensional doppleganger of her beloved wife. Pinkie walked up beside Twilight and gave her a quick hug.

“You, you can’t be… “ Dashiel said, shock making her back up against the wall. “You’re dead. You died in my hooves. Who are you?”

“Silly filly, didn’t Twilight explain multiple realities to you?” Pinkie said, smiling, and Twilight marveled at her friend’s restraint. By now, Pinkie was usually right in a new pony’s face either arranging a party for them or working on making a new friend.

“I know this isn’t my Equestria,” Dashiel said, before frowning. “Actually, I don’t even have an Equestria anymore.”

“Of course you do,” Pinkie said, still keeping herself from touching Dashiel, and Twilight could see the quivers of effort along Pinkie’s back. “This is your Equestria now. I’m not the Pinkie Pie you knew and loved, but I can be a Pinkie Pie for you.”

“I don’t know if I could handle that right now,” Dashiel said, lip trembling. “I married that Pinkamena Pie.”

“What happened?” Pinkie asked, her face showing her need to comfort Dashiel. “Can you tell me that much, at least?”

"She sacrificed herself to save me." Dashiel said, a small smile forming as she wiped away a tear with a wing. "She died, and was turned into a quartz statue, but everypony remembers her, and they always will. With her last breath, she told me to come here, to start over, and I know that even now, she loves me as much as I love her."

"She was a Pie to the end," Pinkie said, giving in to her need to comfort the former Captain, with a hug that the pegasus froze under. "I knew something sad and good had happened, I just didn’t know what. I’ll let you be all gruff and tough right now, but she would want you to let other ponies in when you’re ready. Now if you'll excuse me, I’ve got to plan your 'Welcome to our Universe' party."

Dashiel said nothing, her mouth agape as the party mare happily bounced out the room and towards Sugarcube Corner. "How did she..."

"That's Pinkie for you," Twilight said, chuckling as she remembered her own attempts to quantify Pinkie’s abilities. "Don't even bother trying to figure out how she does it. You’ll just give yourself a headache, or worse.”

“She’s different than my Pinks,” Dashiel said, shaking her head. “My Pinks was strong, a solid fighter. Ya, she liked a good joke, but she had her serious side too.”

“Pinkie’s a good friend,” Twilight said. “Brave, clever, always ready to cheer somepony up so they can do their best. C’mon, let me get you to the guest room, we can set you up with something more permanent in the morning.”

Dashiel and Twilight walked out into the corridor, and through the quiet castle toward the room that Spike had made up for guests, their hooves echoing on the crystal surface.

“You okay?” Twilight asked, looking at Dashiel in concern.

“I don’t know,” Dashiel said, still looking toward the ground. “I don’t think I’m ever going to be okay. I don’t think I deserve to be okay.”

“Everypony deserves to be okay,” Twilight said, torn between wanting to hug Dashiel and not wanting to after seeing how uncomfortable the pegasus had been with the hug from Pinkie. “Well here we are.”

“Ya, would you be willing to hang on to something for me?” Dashiel asked, looking up at Twilight for the first time since they started walking down the corridor.

“Of course, Rain— I mean, Dashiel,” Twilight said, wincing at the verbal faux-pas. “You know, that makes me wonder. You know there’s… another you here, right?”

“How could I know?” Dashiel asked, some sarcasm in her voice making her sound a little like Rainbow. “It’s not like I have some meta connection with all the Rainbow Dash’s across the entire multiverse. What’s she like?”

“Brash, brave, a little reckless at times,” Twilight said, a smile coming to her face as the memories of the times she’d shared with the expert flyer. “One of the truest and most loyal ponies I’ve ever met. There’s nothing she wouldn’t do for a friend.”

“Keep her away from me then, okay?” Dashiel asked, one ear, the one that wasn’t deeply torn, flattening against her head. “At least for now. She sounds like a good pony, and good ponies don’t deserve to know what somepony with their name did, especially out of loyalty to Equestria.”

“I’ll keep her away from the castle for now,” Twilight said, and this time she did put a foreleg on Dashiel’s shoulder. “She’s going to find out the truth eventually, you know.”

“I know,” Dashiel said, looking ashamed again, “but if she’s half the mare you say she, is I’d like her to find out about me slowly.”

“Anything special you want me to say to her when she does ask about you?” Twilight asked, not really knowing what else to say.

“Yeah,” Dashiel said, her eyes turning stern like she was talking to one of her soldiers. “Tell her that when I feel up to it, I want to have a one-on-one talk with her, because I do. Maybe she can learn from my mistakes.”

“Now that, I can do,” Twilight said, feeling a little less uncomfortable. That is until Dashiel made a strange sort of shrugging motion and her entire wing separated from her body, right at the wing root.

“Here,” Dashiel said, hoofing over the prosthetic. “I can’t be trusted with this anymore, and you having it will make sure that I can’t just fly away.”

“But, you… Without this you can’t fly,” Twilight said, aghast even as she took hold of the surprisingly light item. “You’re not my prisoner, Dashiel. You might be an exile, but you aren’t my captive.”

“Princess Twilight,” Dashiel said, in formal tones. “I’m an exile. Banished from the land that gave me that wing. I nearly killed one of your staff today with it by accident. Not only do I not have the right to use that wing anymore, I’ve proved I’m a danger with it.”

“If your Princess Celestia hadn’t wanted you to have the wing, she would have taken it from you before we left,” Twilight said, projecting confidence. “I’ll hold this, but only until you feel you’re ready to take it back.”

“Fine,” Dashiel said, rolling her eyes in a very Rainbow Dash way. “I’ll see you in the morning then.”

“In the morning then, Dashiel,” Twilight said, and the maimed pegasus entered the room set aside for guests. “Welcome to the Castle of Friendship.”

The door’s closing mechanism clicked shut behind the pegasus and Twilight walked off, intending to seek her own bed. Their return had been late and only 143 had been up, and that only through Pinkie Pie’s intervention. Twilight saw a flicker of movement out of the corner of her eye as she yawned, and witnessed a pair of batpony guards settling themselves down quietly in front of Dashiel’s door.

Twilight spun on her hooves and walked back toward the door, quietly seething. She had just finished assuring Dashiel that she wasn’t a prisoner and right afterwards a pair of guards decided to stand watch on her door. When she talked to the princess about her guards…

“Oh,” Twilight said, a dozen feet away from the guards who snapped to attention. They were wearing gear that was identical to that of the Royal Guards in Canterlot, except for one vital difference. They were dressed in muted purples and reds, highlighted with golden yellow trim. Those were her colours, the colours that Trixie and Derpy both wore, which meant that these were her guards.

“Good evening,” Twilight said, keeping her voice low to stop it from carrying through into Dashiel’s room. “May I ask what you’re doing here?”

“Princess,” both guards said in unison, snapping off a parade ground level salute. “Standing orders, your Highness.”

“And what are your standing orders?” Twilight asked. She had suspected that this is what Shining Armor and Celestia had been up to before she left, but to actually see a guard, her guard, in action gave her a strange feeling. A feeling almost, but not quite what she felt around Starlight Glimmer.

“Protect anypony inside the castle walls, Princess,” the guard on the left said, his slate grey mane sticking out from his head like a series of spikes. “To that end we post guards outside any occupied rooms, and there are a pair of guards at each entrance.”

“Why wasn’t there anypony outside the room my friends and I returned in?” Twilight asked, trying to find the same balance of authority and gentleness that Princess Celestia used with her guard, and failing utterly.

“Pinkie Pie asked us to stand down from that room, Princess,” the guard said, and Twilight saw a flicker of worry cross his eyes. “She said that she could handle anything and that we might scare a new pony.”

“She was probably right about that,” Twilight mused, thinking of Dashiel’s reaction to 143’s sudden appearance. She shuddered to think what would have happened if there had been actual armed and armoured ponies there. “I think I need to have a talk with whoever is running this guard force I seem to have acquired, but it can wait until morning I think.”

“Yes, Princess,” the guard said. “Would you like an escort to your room?”

“I know the way,” Twilight said, “Before I go, one thing. You are not to impede the occupant of this room in any way. You are to do your level best to make them feel welcome and safe here. They have the run of both the castle and Ponyville. Is that understood?”

“Yes Ma’am!” both guards said at once, snapping to attention.

“Good,” Twilight said, turning and heading back down the corridor toward her own room.

I wonder if I should ask Shaushka to come back to Ponyville and have a word or two with Dashiel?

Dashiel pulled her ear with great care from her side of the door, making sure that she was moving as silently as possible. The “guards” on the other side of her door wouldn’t have lasted five minutes in one of her units, never mind in actual combat. She’d heard them land by her door and had half expected to hear the sound of locks or the scrape of blades on scabbards. Instead they had just stood there, with their backs to her of all things. Even with one wing she could have taken them both.

Rolling her eyes, she ghosted her way around the room, looking for spy holes or any of a dozen ways that she knew of to magically monitor a room. With only one wing she was ground bound, but pegasus magic reduced the weight of her hoof falls until they were almost nothing. Dashiel spent a solid ten minutes looking, five of which were re-checking things when the first check came up empty.

The room wasn’t lavishly furnished but it was decent. A good sized bed, with a night table. A set of drawers for clothing, along with a writing desk and chair beside a window that looked out over the castle grounds. The only really unusual things was the bookshelf that held a random assortment of titles. Dashiel didn’t know who this “Daring Do” was but the titles on the books sounded interesting.

Dashiel make one last pass around the room, checking the small attached bathroom and underneath the ridiculously soft bed. Still finding nothing, Dashiel resolved to regularly check the room as long as she occupied it. Twilight might have known she was going to check and was waiting to cast spying magic later. Dashiel climbed onto the bed and laying back tried to go to sleep.

“Shards,” Dashiel cursed softly, after several minutes of tossing and turning found her just as awake as when she had laid down. “Stupid soft mattress.” The scarred fighter got down off of the bed and proceeded to pull all the coverings off of it. Using the blankets, sheets and pillows, Dashiel made herself a nest on the hard floor. She also made sure that the bulk of the now stripped bed was between her and the door.

“That’s better,” Dashiel said, curling up on the floor, with only the padding of the blanket between her and its hard surface. A thin sheet over her was enough warmth for a pony used to sleeping rough, and laying her head on the pillow she soon found herself dropping off to sleep.

Streaks of fire lit the sky overhead, while the shrieks of wounded filled Captain Dash’s ears. The position she and the 12th Manehatten Rangers held was becoming harder and harder to hold. For four days they had managed to hold the strongpoint that kept the bridge to the south secure. Each time the Sombrans had charged their position, Dash and her teams had thrown them back. They had been tasked to hold the bridge to cover the retreat of civilians.

If they fell, the Sombrans would fall on the civilians like fruit bats on an orchard, and each and everypony of them would be carried off to become part of Sombra’s war effort. Sombra’s troops always seemed to get more numerous, even as her troops got fewer and fewer. The only thing that had saved them in the last attack was that the other side had no fliers, and Third Squad sacrificing themselves to drop a landslide on the attackers. As it was, she was down to thirty effectives, most of them earth ponies.

“Captain,” said one of the privates, a tall earth pony who had already taken a pair of minor wounds. “Air Blaze just dropped streamer signals indicating the enemy is massing for another attack down at the foot of pass.”

“What in Celestia’s name is Blaze doing airborne while the enemy is nearby?” Dash said, shaking her head in disgust. Air Blaze was the last of her pegasus scouts, if the Sombrans had a crystal shard launcher, or got one in position, their weapon would… Dash’s thoughts broke off as she, and the rest of the defenders, heard the distinctive rippling cough of multiple shard launchers going off at once.

“Aw, fuck,” Dash sighed, and swallowing, got to her feet. A minute or two later, the wreck of the pony that had been Air Blaze was carried up by a couple of stretcher bearers.

“Air… Air Blaze re-reporting,” came the bubbling voice of the pegasus. The pony coughed, blood pouring out in a viscous fountain and Dash knew Blaze was done for.

“Report, Scout,” Dash said, in her sternest “Captain” voice, even as her heart was breaking inside. She couldn’t let Air Blaze see the sorrow she felt for the dying scout, she had to give him the satisfaction of knowing he’d accomplished something before he went to the Summerlands.

“Re-reinforced,” Air Blaze hacked out, then drawing a shuddering breath, seemed to steady himself. “Enemy is reinforced. Must be... about two hundred of them. Magic cannon, shard… hehe, shard throwers and couple of battle mages with them.”

“Okay, good report, Air Blaze,” Dash said, patting the mortally wounded pony on the shoulder. “Just take it easy and we’ll get you to the aid station.”

“Ma’am, they coming up the trail!” shouted a watchpony at a window. “Oh Celestia, we’re dead. We’re all dead!”

“Steady soldier,” Dash snapped, looking up at the rattled earth pony, weapon shaking in their hooves. “If we’re dead, we’re gonna take a bunch of them with us. Right?”

A choking gasp drew Dash’s eyes back down, and she could see that Air Blaze was finding it hard to breathe. No surprise with the pony’s body shot through in a dozen places. It was a miracle the pony had lasted this long. Dash bent low, looking into her scout’s eyes. At the least she could make sure Air Blaze’s last sight was that of a friend.

“A-an hon-our, Ma—” Air Blaze gasped, and then his head lolled to one side as the air left his body one last time.

“Go with the Light, Air Blaze,” Dash said, fighting back tears before standing back up. “How long until they get here?”

“A couple of minutes, no more,” said another soldier, and crossbows began to thrum as her soldiers began to open fire on the lead enemy skirmishers.

“Okay, get ready to—” Dash began to say, when something struck her head from behind and everything went black. Dash woke up a few minutes later, and the first thing she saw was her wife’s face looking down at her.

“Pinks!” Dash exclaimed, sitting up and rubbing her head. “What are you doing here? What happened?”

“We extracted you,” Maud said, in her monotone voice. “Princess Celestia said she needed you alive, so we tunneled in and got you out.”

“But what about my ponies!” Dash yelled and looked across the ravine toward the embattled strongpoint. Smoke was rising from the structure and even at this range she could see Sombrans climbing up the walls and into windows. The shrieks of the dying mixed with the song of crossbows and magic throwers.

“They collapsed the tunnel behind us,” Maud continued, in that matter-of-fact tone. “They did it so that the Sombrans couldn’t follow us.”

“But… but why didn’t they come?” Dash asked, already knowing the answer.

“Somepony had to hold the strongpoint,” Pinkamena said to her. “At least long enough for the earth pony engineers to finish taking down the bridge. It should be down any minute now.”

Even as her beloved Pinks said the words, Dash could hear the bridge that her and her ponies had guarded for so long, groan, then shriek, as with a rush of air and a cloud of dust the stone bridge collapsed into the ravine and the rapids far below. Dash just sat there, stunned. All that sacrifice, all that heroism. Air Blazer and all the other ponies like him, who had followed Rainbow Dash into hell, knowing that she would fight and die at their side, that she would do everything possible to save them, dead. For nothing more than an empty ravine.

“We’ll wait for you with the rest of the company,” Maud said to Dash, pulling her sister along. “Don’t be too long though, Celestia wants us to make time to Vanhoover as soon as we can.”

“It should have been me,” Dash said, her voice quiet and speaking to nopony in particular. “I should have died with them. Why do I keep surviving? Why can’t I just lay down and die? Why won’t somepony just kill me already?” A growing darkness seemed to close in around the pony, wrapping her in its cloak. The only light to be seen was that of the funeral pyre of the ponies Dash had led, the only sound was that of a weeping pegasus.

“War is hard,” said a voice, from behind Dash. “Scenes like this are why my sister and I have struggled so hard to keep war from Equestria.”

“Who?” Dashiel asked, and turned around to see Princess Luna. Not the Princess Luna that he knew though. This princess was taller, dark blue in colour and with a mane that looked like it was made from a patch of the night sky itself.

“Greetings, Captain Dash,” Princess Luna said, inclining her head to the sitting soldier. “May I sit with you, for a few moments?”

“Of course, Princess,” Dashiel said, indicating a spot beside her. “I’m called ‘Dashiel’ now if you don’t mind.”

“Ah yes,” Luna said, frowning for a moment in concentration. “Your traitor’s name, the one you use to punish yourself everytime somepony says it.”

“How did you know?” Dashiel said, eyes wondering. “Wait, this is a dream, isn’t it?”

“Perceptive, Captain,” Luna said, and with a small effort she erased the scene of war and death from the dreamscape, replacing it with a grassy meadow. “And I know something about guilt and ways that a pony can punish themselves for past wrongs. Yes, I know them well.”

“So, what are you doing here?” Dashiel asked, frowning at the peaceful surroundings. “It can’t be to punish me, or you already would have been doing it.”

“No Dashiel,” Luna said, with a sad smile. “I am not here to punish you. You are doing a far better job of it than I ever could.”

“But I need to be punished,” Dashiel said, getting to her hooves, roaring her rage and sorrow into Luna’s face. “Ponies died because of what I did. I lead them to their DEATHS. They TRUSTED me, and I KILLED THEM. My wife… My Pinks, DIED FOR ME!” Luna kept herself calm in the face of the storm coming from the pony in front of her.

“THEY ALL DIED, and I lived,” Dashiel screamed in rage, and tears began to pour down her face. “I HAVE TO BE PUNISHED. I NEED TO BE punished. Why won’t somepony punish me? Please Princess, please punish me.” Dashiel’s rage collapsed and her along with it. For a long minute the only sound that could be heard was choked sobs.

“Oh, my poor broken pony,” Luna said, gathering the weeping pegasus to her. “To live can be the most dire punishment of all. We who survive are forced to endure the consequences of our actions, and for a pony with even the slightest amount of good in their heart, guilt can be a cruel whip.”

“But, I’m not, a good pony,” Dashiel said, between sobs. “I’ve killed, had ponies die under me. I be—”

“Betrayed your Princess, your oaths, and your wife,” Luna said, her voice holding a note of understanding.

“How do you know all that?” Dashiel said, sobs slowing.

“Derpy made a report before she went to bed,” Luna said, smiling. “So, when your nightmare appeared in the dream realm I was ready to reach out to you. I’m sorry I was not able to intercede earlier but I had to know what you had been through.”

“And now that you do, can you punish me?” Dashiel asked, almost begging. “At least chain me up or something before I hurt somepony.”

“As I said, you punish yourself more than I ever could,” Luna said, and her face took on a look of calculation. “As for chains, you are bound to my realm now and to my sister’s student, so there is no need for physical chains on you. May I ask you a question?”

“Duh, it’s your Equestria,” Dashiel said, wiping away the last of the tears from her face. “I mean, go ahead, your Highness.”

“What did you think of Twilight’s guards?” Luna asked, still holding the pegasus but ready to release her at a moment’s notice.

“Bunch of amateurs,” Dashiel said, without a second's hesitation. “I mean, I’m sure they’re brave and everything, but up against professional soldiers they wouldn’t last a minute.”

“You’re maimed,” Luna said, using the word evenly. “How long would they last against you?”

“About ten seconds flat,” Dashiel said, snickering. “Even without my wing I could take them without working up a sweat.”

“I have another question, Dashiel,” Luna said, looking the pegasus in the eyes. “Would you be willing to work for me? I may be able to offer you a path to the redemption you think you need, if you are willing to become my little pony.”

Author's Note

You know, for a story that started out with a bondage, fetish romp, this story has certainly veered into some serious topics. It is, bar none, the story I find hardest to write and one that I take great satisfaction in getting out a chapter out each month.

A lot of this story, I will admit, has come from reader input or from ideas triggered from reading reader's input. Thank you.

Much kudos and credit as well to my editors: Sandstorm94 and Coyotethetrickster. They kung-fu my scribbles into legibility.

Come over and say hi to me and the folks on Damaged's Discord server if you like. Just be ready to link your Fimfiction account and please be aware 18+ only as the chat can and often does venture into adult subjects and language.

If you want to give me a bit of a boost without a regular commitment, consider buying me a coffee on Ko-Fi. Coffee is gooooood.

Support me if you can on Patreon for as little as a dollar a month. Patreon is probably one of the best things ever for keeping word Sherpas like me in keyboards. Some months you folks really make the difference.

A big shout out to the ongoing support through Patreon by:

Canary in the Coal Mine,
Damaged,
Shaushka,
Airar,
Pseudosapien,
and
Machara.

Second Interlewd, Part 3

“You were a gladiator?” Twilight asked, eyes wide in shock.

“The term was ‘gladiatrix’ actually, my dear Twilight,” Luna answered, her voice calm. “And I was a champion, I am proud to say.”

“When you and Celestia finally escaped it must have been incredible,” Twilight said, eyes going vague as she tried to imagine the scene. “You, gladius in hoof. Celestia backing you up with her magic. Defeating anypony in your—”

“Twilight, who said we escaped?” Luna quiered, interrupting Twilight’s flight of fancy.

“But… how did you get free?” Twilight asked, answering Luna’s question with a question. “Of course you escaped. Otherwise you would never have gotten loose.”

“Whip and bridle, crop and harness,” Luna repeated, by way of answer. “Decius tamed us utterly. We could no more think of escape than you can divide by zero.”

“He broke you??” Twilight said more than asked, her surprise turning to horror. “Oh, I’m so sorry.”

“Decius most definitely did NOT break us,” Luna replied with a huff, seemingly unaware that her left forehoof was trembling again. “He could have had he wanted to. He certainly was capable of it. But he did not want a pair of cringing animals, crawling before him. He wanted bound servants that he could entrust with tasks, which is what he made us into.”

“So how did you get free?” Twilight inquired, noticing Luna’s hoof even through her confusion.

“Decius was becoming old,” Luna began, her own eyes unfocusing as she recalled that distant time and place. “As the years had gone by we had pleased him greatly, both in the arena and in the bedchamber. So he had it written into his will that we were to be freed upon his death, otherwise we would have been considered an inheritance to his next of kin.”

“So, you were freed when he died?” Twilight asked, cocking her head to one side as she asked the question so that she could get a better look at the tremor in Luna’s hoof.

“Nay,” Luna replied, seemingly unaware of the twitching in her errant limb. “Roam was set upon by the Windigoes. They knew that if there were any group of ponies that could stop them it would be Roam, so they attacked first.”

“What happened?” Twilight demanded, taking notes on both the history Luna was revealing and the nature of Luna’s tic.

“Roam was taken by surprise, and overwhelmed,” Luna said, and Twilight was surprised to see an almost wistful smile appear on the muzzle of the dark alicorn. “With the city lost, Decius took up his weapons and made a stand at the gates of his estate. Celestia and I behind and to either side of him, guarding the old stallion’s flanks.”

Twilight said nothing, not daring to interrupt lest it interfere with the flow of memory from the older alicorn.

“We were prepared to die at his side, as good slaves to their master,” Luna continued, and pausing for a moment as for the first time she noticed her shaking hoof. “That’s when Decius doomed ‘Tia and myself.”

“What?” Twilight gasped, in spite of herself.

“He turned, and gave us one final command,” Luna said, looking up from her hoof to stare directly into Twilight’s eyes. “He said, ‘Go! Take as many of my ponies as you can and flee. I will hold these creatures here for as long as I am able. Take care of my household, my beloved alicorns. Into your hooves I place my trust.' Gathering up what ponies we could, we obeyed and fled.”

“What happened to Decius?” Twilight asked, her quill flying across her scroll, even as her vision was held in place by Luna’s.

“As we ran, we heard the roar of his pegasus magic, a crash of thunder, followed by a frozen scream,” Luna answered, her hoof stilling at last. “We ran and ran and ran. We had some fifty ponies with us, and we obeyed that last command of his. We cared for them as if they were our own foals. In time, those fifty ponies became the core of what is today, Canterlot’s nobility.”

“Wow,” Twilight breathed, before breaking eye contact. “But you said he ‘doomed’ you. How?”

“Twilight, rear up against me and run your hooves around the inside of my peytral,” Luna commanded gently. “Tell me what you feel.”

Twilight did as she had been bid. Rearing up, she leaned her body against Luna’s strong chest and began to run her hooves along the inner surfaces of the midnight alicorn’s chestpiece. Twilight felt her cheeks grow hot at the intimate body to body contact but forced her mind to remain on task.

As she felt along the inside of the peytral Twilight felt a ring iron set into the silver. She tried to follow it all the way around but couldn’t quite reach. Up until Luna leaned forward and put her head over Twilight’s shoulder and breathed into her ear.

“Reach all the way around, Twilight,” Luna whispered, her breath a caress into a soft lavender ear. “Tell me what you feel.”

Twilight was finding it harder and harder to concentrate as her heart fell into rhythm with Luna’s, only the slim separation of flesh and bone dividing them. The lavender alicorn managed to trace all the way around the powerful neck of the taller pony and Twilight realized what Luna was showing her.

“It goes all the way around,” Twilight gasped. “Princess Luna, is that your… slave collar?”

“Indeed it is,” Luna replied, speaking softly as she continued to hold Twilight close. “‘Tia and I had our collars reforged into our peytrals so that we would never forget that we are still bound slaves.”

“But why?” Twilight asked, keeping her voice low. “Decius is centuries dead. That alone should have freed you.”

“Nay, fair Twilight,” Luna said, a smile for times long past on her face. “Roaman law passed our bond to his kin upon his death, and to their kin upon theirs and so on. We can’t even be considered to be escaped or abandoned because we are still following our owner’s last command. We are quite literally bound to our duty.”

“Isn’t there anyway you could be freed?” Twilight asked. “I could do some research and see if there are any options.”

“My sister and I have looked into this longer than you have been alive Twilight,” Luna replied, letting go of the alicorn with some reluctance. “Our only real option is to find a descendant of Decius, have them lay claim to us as part of their inheritance, and then free us formally.”

“But that could be anypony, anywhere!” exclaimed Twilight, even as her mind began to consider different angles of research. “Did Decius have any characteristics that might have been passed down?”

“He told us once his descendants would be cursed with terrible visions,” Luna answered, before turning back to look out from the balcony. “Hush now, dear friend. I wish to see how my Dashiel interacts with her counterpart.”

Twilight forced herself to stillness despite a dozen questions and a burning desire to head to her library to begin research into the families of Ancient Roam. Together, the two alicorns looked down at the azure pegasi. One toned and perfect, the other battle-scarred and war weary.

“That was so awesome!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed, coming to rest near her counterpart. “You and Luna were totally in the zone. I’ve never seen anypony fight like that before.”

“Rainbow Dash—” Dashiel began, before being cut off by the Wonderbolt.

“And you totally rock that badass look,” Rainbow continued, the torrent of words pouring out of her. “With the scars and the wing and the whole ‘Grim Warrior of Doom’ thing.”

“Rainbow,” Dashiel tried again to get a word in edgewise, but her counterpart was having none of it.

“And that off-thrust half-roll you did,” Rainbow gushed. “I’ve never seen anypony do that sort of thing before. You are totally, AWESOME!”

“I am NOT awesome!” Dashiel roared back, at last managing to stem the outpouring of words from Rainbow Dash. “I am never awesome and don’t you ever try to be like me, you got that?”

“But—” Dash began, caught by surprise at the vehemence from her counterpart.

“I am a traitor,” Dashiel growled out. “I betrayed my oaths, my ponies and the mare I loved. I failed each and every one of them, and was banished for it. Death would have been kinder to what my Princess Celestia did to me.”

“No you aren’t!” Rainbow shot back, recovering. “Twilight explained it to me. You—”

“Your Twilight took pity on me,” Dashiel replied, her face souring. “She said that to make me feel better, so I wouldn’t cheat my Celestia by killing myself. Sometimes I even believe it.”

“Twilight doesn’t lie!” Rainbow yelled back, her own anger rising from loyalty to her friend. “She told me how you saved everypony, because you were loyal to Equestria and not just one pony or even one Princess.”

“Your Twilight collects broken things,” Dashiel shot back, her eyes gleaming from unshed tears of self-loathing. “Me, Starlight Glimmer, 143, even that changeling princess she brought back. All of us are broken. Smashed like a foal’s toys.”

“You’re not broken, you’re awe—” Rainbow cut herself off, before continuing. “Okay fine, you’re kinda busted up, but that hasn’t stopped you from doing a lot of great things. And yeah, you did some bad stuff too, but you also did a whole lot of good stuff.”

“Doesn’t matter,” Dashiel countered, swiping her one wing between them both. “The good doesn’t outweigh the bad. I told you. I betray—”

“Would you do it again?” Rainbow interrupted. “Other than the whole getting mind-controlled part. Knowing what would happen, would you do it again? To save your Equestria from Sombra?”

“Of course,” Dashiel responded instantly. “Any of the Shadowbolts would.”

“Then stop beating yourself up,” Rainbow said, daring to put a hoof on Dashiel’s shoulder. “You helped save your Equestria. Sure, it cost you, but like you said, it’s a price you or any of your ponies were willing to pay.”

“But how do I tell her that?” Dashiel said, in a very small voice. “When my wife comes to me in my dreams. When she holds out her hooves and asks me why I let her die. How do I tell her that her death was a price I was willing to pay?”

“You can’t,” said a third voice, one that made Dashiel spin in place with how close it was. “You can’t, because it isn’t her.”

“You… you… I,” Dashiel sputtered, heart freezing as the image of a pink mare filled her eyes.

“It’s okay,” Pinkie Pie said, not embracing the damaged pony in the way she was known for. “I know you’re sad, and you’ve been avoiding me because I look like her.”

“I…” Dashiel managed to get out, her mind almost as frozen as a distant crystal statue.

“Twilight told me about your wife,” Pinkie continued. “How she was a warrior just like you. How yours was a love born on the battlefield, forged in war and tempered in crystal.”

“Did, did she tell you how my Pinks sacrificed herself?” Dashiel asked, finding her voice at last. “How my treason was the reason she had to die?”

“Oh Dashie,” Pinkie answered, surprising both pegasi with the diminutive. “You were just one ingredient that made up what happened. It’s like baking, if you don’t put everything together just right, you don’t get something good at the end.”

“Are you saying my wife’s death was a good thing?” Dashiel ground out, as she dropped into a fighting stance. “Are you seriously telling me, that all pain and betrayal were good things?!”

“Of course not, silly billy,” Pinkie chirped. She stepped up to boop Dashiel on the nose but stopped herself in time. “Those were all really sad, and it makes me sad that they happened. But somehow when all those bad things came together, and you added a dash of Twilight Sparkle, they made a good thing. Your Equestria being free. With Sombra gone and the war over.”

“Uh,” Dashiel responded, confused, while Rainbow Dash hung back, realizing that Pinkie was getting through to the war torn pony in a way she couldn’t.

“And if those sad, bad things hadn’t of happened like they did,” Pinkie continued, finally putting herself close enough to touch Dashiel, “then the good ending might never have happened. And I think that would have made your Pinkie really sad too.”

“What do I tell her ghost?” Dashiel asked, sitting back on her haunches, her usual belligerent nature disarmed by the pink baker. “What do I say to her when she comes to me at night?”

“That’s not her,” Pinkie answered, her voice soft as she moved forward until she was almost touching Dashiel. “That’s you, blaming yourself. You would have died for her, and it hurts that she died for you instead.”

“Yeah, it does,” Dashiel whispered, head bowed. “I always live while everypony else dies. That’s why I don’t deserve to live.”

“You have to live for them, for all of them,” Pinkie said, taking the final step and wrapping the blue pegasus in a hug. “As long as you live, they aren’t all the way dead. You make them come alive again when you sing about them, or tell stories about them. They live in the minds of other ponies when you do that.”

“Heard about that, huh?” Dashiel sniffed, tears leaking from her eyes. “How do you know that isn’t Pi—my wife’s ghost, coming to me in the night?”

“Because all Pinkie Pies are connected,” Pinkie replied, waving in Rainbow Dash with a hoof. “Just like all Rainbow Dash’s are. All any of us want, is for our friends to be happy. And I think you could really use a friend to help make you happy again.”

“You can totally trust Pinkie,” Rainbow Dash assured, hugging her counterpart from the other side. “She’s awesome that way.”

“I can’t treat you like I did my Pinks,” Dashiel said, for once not having to fight her combat instincts. “No pony can ever replace her.”

“And no pony should ever try,” Pinkie answered. “I can’t be your wife, but I can be your friend. Will you let me be your friend?”

“Yeah,” Dashiel nodded, drawing in a deep breath. “Yeah, I think I’d like that.”

Author's Note

So, this chapter very nearly didn't happen. Life is still a struggle. My friend Sandstorm94 wanted to help me out and with my permission and assistance wrote Redemption Road.

At the time he wrote the story, I wasn't sure if I would ever be able to write again and I was very glad to at least see some of my vision come out through him.

Winter came, and my Muse returned. However, so too did the Pale Horse, who twice tried to guide my steps toward What Lies Beyond. Friends kept me anchored. In particular one with bright flashing eyes, and a very salty tongue.

As my mental health improved my thoughts turned to unfinished writings. In particular this story. And with the passage of time and new insights gained from my own dark tea-time of the soul, I saw a different vision than the one I had shared months ago.

You, gentle reader, have just read that new vision. One less grandiose and epic in scale than the one Sandstorm wrote on my behalf, but one that I hope has equal power and meaning.

The story, all the stories, will continue...

The Blasted Lands, Part 1

Days passed. Days became weeks, and weeks flowed into the passing of two months. Twilight and her “Menagerie”, as her staff had becoming known as, became more and more used to each other.

Dashiel and the Twilight Guard trained and sparred across the length and breadth of Ponyville, often stopping at Sugar Cube Corner for refreshments. Some ponies swore to disbelieving friends that they saw the grim warrior pegasus crack a smile once or twice. Dashiel’s only response on being asked, was a hard flat look that could take the cheer out of a clown at ten paces.

143 submitted to weekly sessions of therapy with Cadance, Shaushka, or whichever pony was available to work with her. Some of the mental shackles that had been burned into the bound unicorn’s mind had been lifted, but only some. 143 still found it almost impossible to refuse a command given to her by any other pony.

Instead, progress was found in helping 143 express her own desires. Helping her to make choices, instead of waiting in passive submission while a choice was made for her. One of the choices that 143 made, was that others continue to refer to her as “143.” Much to the dismay of both Twilight and Trixie, who was never more than a few minutes away from her sister.

Derpy continued on as Twilight’s personal servant, and incognito bodyguard. The walleyed mare couldn’t hit a target beyond ten paces, but inside that range she was the equal of any pony with either blade or hooves. Dinky turned out to be even deadlier than her mother, especially after Rarity made Dinky a filly-sized version of her mother’s livery.

Cuteness was a weapon that ignored armor and went straight to the heart.

Alyss continued to learn the benefits of cooperation and friendship under Celestia’s direct tutelage. She remained unconvinced of the long-term benefits of not conquering everyone around her, but remained willing to listen and wait for news of her mother’s fate.

There was only one dark spot in Twilight’s world. One dark cloud that would not go away no matter how brightly the sun shone. A dark cloud by the name of Starlight Glimmer.

No matter how Twilight tried to cheer the unicorn up, Starlight would inevitably revert to into a submissive sexual plaything for her princess. Not that Starlight’s advances were unwelcome. The mare had a gift for giving pleasure that had even impressed Shaushka on one occasion. Prompting the courtesan changeling to offer to take Starlight to her bordello for “advanced training.”

Twilight had almost given in and agreed, when she realized that all she would be doing was pushing Starlight further toward being a copy of 143. A submissive mare that only wanted to do what others asked of her. Things came to a head one night, when Twilight found Starlight Glimmer looking out of a window at the moon. The gleam of a blade on the windowsill in front of her matched the gleam of the symbiotic suit bound to her body.

“Starlight, are you okay?” Twilight asked, stopping several paces away from the mare. “Is something wrong?”

“Princess,” Starlight began, using the same tone of voice 143 would say ‘Mistress’ in,” did you know that a pony’s body can be fully exsanguinated in 8.6 seconds?”

“What?” Twilight asked, shocked.

“Given adequate vacuuming systems, of course,” Starlight continued, one of her hooves sliding along the knife in a gentle caress. “Do I have your permission to demonstrate?”

“Suit, Full Lockdown!” Twilight shouted, panicked. The mass of living latex and magitech circuits responded instantly, flowing over Starlight’s head and face, binding her hooves and her magic at the same time.

For a few moments, Twilight could see Starlight fighting the suit, trying to grasp the knife in front of her. The lines of magic circuitry glowed brightly as the unicorn’s own magic was drawn out of her to power the living sheathe around her body. Slowly, Starlight Glimmer was forced to her knees and then to a lying position as the suit curled her legs under her.

“Suit, 614 status?” Twilight asked the gleaming control collar that was the interface that she, as the suit’s controller, used to command Starlight’s suit.

“614 stable and secure. Airway clear as per modified ‘Lockdown’ protocol,” came the pre-recorded response from the suit collar. “Command?”

“Suit, permit speech,” Twilight said, in a clear voice. “Starlight, are you okay?”

“Yes Princess,” the captive mare replied. “Sorry if I’ve disappointed you.”

“Not disappointed,” Twilight responded, moving to stand beside the gleaming latex cocoon, “more like surprised and scared half to death. Starlight, were you trying to get me to give you permission to kill yourself?”

“I… I don’t know,” Starlight stuttered, her mouth the only part of her body that was visible. The material of the suit remained cupped under her chin, ready to muzzle her in an instant if Twilight commanded. “Maybe you could have Alyss do to me what was done to 143? That way I wouldn’t even be able to consider hurting myself.”

Twilight just stood there for several seconds, trying to process what Starlight was saying to her. Her student, her friend, her slave was asking to have parts of her mind burned away so that she wouldn’t try to kill herself. At that moment, Twilight Sparkle realized three things.

First, that she had failed Starlight. She had failed to notice Starlight’s deteriorating sense of self-worth. She had been mistaken in her belief that becoming Starlight’s mistress had solved the problem of how the other mare felt about herself.

Second, Twilight needed help. She saw that now. Twilight was too close to the problem. She had lost her emotional detachment the first time Starlight’s incredible oral skills had taken Twilight to the height of ecstasy. She needed someone who wasn’t as close to Starlight as she was, someone who had a sense of detachment.

Third, Twilight needed time to find out exactly what was going on and how to fix it. Plus, she had to do it while making sure Starlight didn’t manage to figure out a way around Twilight’s commands, or the suit’s controls and end her life.

“Suit,” Twilight began, then paused as she parsed what she was about to say in her mind. “Continue full lockdown of 614. Initiate full captivity mode until further notice.”

“Acknowledged,” the suit collar replied.

A moan escaped Starlight’s mouth just before a thick plug of suit material invaded it, trapping her tongue and clamping her mouth down around the gag. More groans of pleasure escaped the trapped mare’s living prison as twin shafts of latex invaded both of her intimate openings.

Each of the three lengths now buried in Starlight had their purpose. The flat length in her mouth was hollow, and would allow water and nutrients to be fed to her. The plug in her now gripping and spasming pussy was there to monitor her life signs, providing moment to moment measurements of Starlight’s vital statistics.

Finally, the shaft sunk deeply into her ass would provide enemas for waste removal, and also held the suit’s tail. Which was both an aesthetic feature and functioned as the suit’s transmitter and long range connection to its controller. In this case, Twilight Sparkle.

“I’m sorry, Starlight,” Twilight said gently, as she used her magic to float the bound mare to the bed. “Until I know for sure that you aren’t going to kill yourself, you stay like that.”

Twilight could see the gleam off of Starlight’s suit ripple and undulate as she tried to move. For a full minute, the unicorn struggled against the velvet iron grip of her bondage. A bondage so thorough that only one who had experienced it for themselves could truly appreciate how complete and total it was.

Twilight Sparkle stood there, her hoof resting on Starlight’s shoulder, imagining what it had been like for her during her first desperate hours in that same mass of enslaving latex and magic. How inescapable her captivity had been, and how her total helplessness had come within inches of reducing her to nothing more than a plaything.

“614 Suit,” Twilight said again, in a declarative voice. “Begin training program ‘Cadance One’. Cancel hearing blocks, but do not allow any unauthorized access to 614.”

“Password?” the suit collar asked, as the lines of force on the suit pulsed a deep purple.

Twilight thought for several moments. Whatever password she came up with had to be something that no pony would think of. Something no pony would ever dream would be something that she would say. Something memorable. Nearly a full minute passed, until Twilight snorted with amusement and said,” Password, ‘Celestia is my slave’.”

“Repeat password to confirm,” responded the suit, its lines giving a double flash this time.

“Celestia is my slave,” Twilight repeated, smiling for a moment as she imagined how her old mentor must have looked as a couch slave back in Ancient Roam. Collar gleaming beneath bedroom eyes.

A motion under her hoof drew Twilight’s attention from the pleasant daydream. Starlight’s body was quivering a bit and it took a moment for Twilight to realize her slave was shaking from laughter, having heard Twilight’s password.

Leaning close Twilight could just hear the positive reinforcement talk Cadance had recorded into the suits for the benefit of 143. She waited for a break in the litany that was meant to build a mare up before she breathed into Starlight’s ear, “I’m going to go get help. I’ll be back, and we’ll beat this. Together.”

Twilight took one last moment to make sure that Starlight was going to be safe on the bed and charged out of the room and down the hall. Guards were startled as they saw their princess running past, but resumed their posts at a wave from the hurtling alicorn. Twilight had a particular pony in mind. A pony she knew had entertained her own share of dark thoughts and self-destructive intentions.

“Dashiel!” Twilight shouted, barging into the half-lit quarters of the maimed warrior pegasus. “I need you!”

“Nice to be wanted, Princess,” Dashiel calmly replied, taking a sip of amber liquid from a tumbler. “I didn’t know you liked me that way.”

“What?” Twilight demanded, shaking her head for a moment to clear it of the outrageous suggestion. “Look, I need your help. Come with me, right now.”

“Princess,” Dashiel responded, in that same calm voice. “Whatever it is, it can wait for you to sit down and explain it to me. That way I can finish enjoying this damn awesome zap apple brandy your friend Applejack brought. And before you ask, I know you can take the time because the rest of the Twilight Guard isn’t with you, or charging around like the Crusaders.”

If eyes were lasers Dashiel would have perished on the spot. Luckily for Dashiel though, Twilight did not have that power, and so the pegasus continued to enjoy her drink with a distinct lack of being barbecued. Unfortunately for Dashiel however, Twilight did have magic, and was just beginning to lift the pegasus out of her seat when a commanding voice from the shadows said, “Nay.”

“Who?” Twilight asked, peering into the gloom and setting the pegasus back down to one side of the small card table Dashiel had been at. “Princess Luna?”

“Good evening, Twilight Sparkle,” the lunar princess replied gravely, another tumbler of amber liquid in her hoof. “My Blade is correct. You have time to explain why you have burst into her quarters in such a state. I believe I know why you are come, but Dashiel may not.”

“Starlight tried to off herself, right?” Dashiel commented, knocking back the rest of her drink and grimacing. “She’s been heading that way for a bit.”

“How… how did you know?” Twilight sputtered.

“Puh-lease,” Dashiel replied, waving a hoof. “When you’ve stared into the abyss as many times as I have, you can tell when someone else is trying to horn in on your spot.”

“Okay, if you’re so smart,” Twilight shot back, stung by how perceptive the former soldier was. “Why? I thought she was happy being my—”

“Toy?” Luna asked, her voice reproving. “Plaything? Bound concubine? Slave?”

“What?” Twilight replied, shocked until her rational side kicked in and she replayed recent events in her head. “Oh, oh crap. I’ve been converting her into that, haven’t I?”

“Whether you intended to or not, you have been,” Luna informed her. “You have been making her reliant on you more and more. If you do not reverse things, and soon, she will have no more self-will than poor 143 had when you first brought her here.”

“It’s like this, Princess,” Dashiel spoke up, having recovered her seat and her drink. “When you beat her, you took away her purpose. Her reason for being. Not that that was a bad thing, considering her purpose was to screw with you, your friends, and the whole damn multiverse. But you didn’t replace it with anything, outside of just being your student.”

“But Friendship?” Twilight asked, confused. “Learning Friendship should have been more than enough.”

“And in time, it would have been,” Luna replied, soothingly. “But there has been no time for her to find a new purpose.”

“All you left her was guilt,” Dashiel interjected, ignoring a lifted eyebrow from Luna at the interruption. “And take it from me. You leave a pony with nothing but guilt, and it’s gonna grow until it kills them. Or, you find another purpose for them. Something they can live for.”

“And you’re sure that will work?” Twilight asked, mind already considering possibilities.

“Did for me,” Dashiel assured her. “I mean, I still have some pretty dark days. That’s never going away, but Princess Luna gave me something to do, something to live for. You need to do that for Starlight.”

“Wow! That makes a lot of sense. Thanks Dashiel,” Twilight chirped, impulsively hugging the one-winged pony. “Thank you, Princess. I’ve got an idea. I’ll see you both later.”

Twilight ran from the room, heading back to her own bedroom. She had a plan, and if there was anything Twilight Sparkle was good at, it was making a plan.

“Starlight,” Twilight called, a few minutes later as she re-entered her room. “I think I’ve found a way to help you.” A muffled noise and some twitching from the cocooned figure on the bed was the only response.

“Oh, sorry,” Twilight apologized, before clearing her throat and addressing Starlight’s collar. “614 suit, remove hood. Allow speech and vision.”

Starlight blinked as the black organic sheathe around her head sloughed back into the main body of her suit. She looked around for a moment before orienting on Twilight with a look of sad determination.

“The only thing that is going to help anyone is my not being around anymore,” she said, her voice calm. “I thought that just giving myself to you would be enough. Enough to make me forget what I did. I thought that if I put myself at your mercy every moment of the day it would be punishment enough for all the ponies I hurt.”

“But?” Twilight asked. She had a suspicion what Starlight was about to say and that it was going to be painful to hear, but she had to let Starlight give voice to how she was feeling.

“But it’s not enough, and it’s the wrong thing,” the still bound unicorn looked Twilight directly in the face. “Every moment being yours is wonderful. You’re wonderful. But all it does is reinforce that I don’t deserve to feel happy, or good, or to enjoy myself. Not when ponies across countless worlds are suffering because of what I did.”

“What if you could fix it?” Twilight asked, moving to stand beside the bed. “What if you could save those ponies?”

“That’s impossible,” Starlight replied, dropping her chin down to the bed. “I might be determined to die but that doesn’t make me an idiot. No one could save all those ponies.”

“Impossible?” Twilight scoffed. “Impossible for Starlight Glimmer, the mare who took over an entire town? Impossible for the unicorn that found a way to take cutie marks away from ponies? Impossible for the unicorn who fought an alicorn to a standstill... NO, the mare who fought the Element of MAGIC to a standstill.”

“Well, when you put it that way,” Starlight said, and a slight chuckle escaped her lips. “I guess maybe it isn’t so impossible. Just really, really improbable.”

“As improbable as jumping cross-time to another Equestria in order to save it?” Twilight asked, leaning close until she was muzzle to muzzle with her Starlight. “As impossible as changing the destiny of an entire world?”

“What are you saying, Twilight?” Starlight asked, and Twilight saw something spark in the mare’s persian blue eyes.

“I’m saying that you have the power to change worlds, Starlight Glimmer,” Twilight replied, desperate to fan that spark into a flame of life. “Come with me. Help me save a world.”

“Save a… “ Starlight broke off, shaking her head. “But I can’t. I can’t be trusted with power. I misuse and abuse every bit of power I have. I can’t even be trusted with my own hooves.”

“Starlight,” Twilight supplied, cupping unicorn’s chin and raising it so she could look Starlight in the eyes. “You’re in a suit that has your magic completely locked down and lets me have total control over your body. If you can abuse anything at all while that helpless, you deserve every bit of it.”

“I can’t just follow you around on a leash the whole time,” Starlight argued, and Twilight struggled to keep her face impassive at seeing Starlight’s brilliant mind firing back up to life. “You’ll need to develop some sort of protocol to keep me under limited control while we travel around.”

“Between the two of us, I’m sure we can work something out,” Twilight assured Starlight, even as she felt a delicate shudder inside of her at the word “control”.

“One condition,” Starlight added, drawing Twilight’s attention back outside of herself. “If this fails, and it turns out I can’t help ponies in those other worlds. I want you to promise me that you’ll take this suit off me and let me go my way.”

“You know I can’t let you do that,” Twilight replied, but added at Starlight’s frown, “but I don’t see as I really have much of a choice.”

“Twilight,” Starlight replied, her face once again having that determined look Twilight remembered well. “If this doesn’t work it will mean that there isn’t anything for me to live for. If that happens I’ll either find a way to end myself or find a way to make you turn me into 614 for real.”

“This will work,” Twilight vowed, saying, “Suit 614, cancel lockdown. Remove all restrictions.”

“Ahh,” Starlight gasped, slumping as her limbs were returned to her own control again. “So, where are we going?”

“We’re going to the worst possible place,” Twilight declared, standing tall. “We’re going to the place where you realized that what you were doing was wrong.”

“You mean,” Starlight paused, surprised, “that blasted place we wound up at the end? Where everything was ash and dust in the wind?”

“Yup,” Twilight said, giving Starlight an affectionate nuzzle. “We’re going to start at the beginning again, and this time we’ll get it right.”

“Okay,” Starlight replied, standing up beside the Princess of Friendship. “Just one question.”

“Of course,” Twilight asked, thinking of any of a number of things Starlight was going to ask her.

“Can you please take these plugs out of me?”

The Blasted Lands, Part 2

Again there was the rush of wind, both real and magical, as Twilight Sparkle once more traveled the space between spaces with a companion in tow. Again the impressions of moving through a cosmos made up, not of time and space, but of concepts. Concepts that moved and flowed like ocean currents until they gathered up into a whirlpool ahead of the two traveling mages, and spat them out onto their destination.

“HA!” Twilight shouted triumphantly, as she made a perfect four point landing on the sandy ground around the stone table that was the remains of the Cutie Mark Map on this world.

Starlight, being almost as experienced as Twilight, made a rough if serviceable landing, bending her knees and using her magic to absorb the shock of landing.

“Nothing’s changed,” Starlight declared, looking around at the blasted landscape she had seen the last time they had been there.

Intellectually, the pair knew they were on the outskirts of Ponyville, but there was no sign of anything resembling the town the pair had come to call home. The ground they stood on was as dead as the stone of the map table itself. Starlight took a moment to bring up a hooffull of dirt to her face, only to watch it blow away like ash.

“Hostile environment detected,” came the recorded voice of Alyss from their suits’ control collars. “Engaging measures to protect Flim-Flam property.”

“Counter—” Twilight Sparkle began to order, only to have her voice cut off by a muzzle forming from her suit’s rapidly expanding living latex. A moment later, her nose was covered and the alicorn felt herself begin to panic as her ability to breathe was completely cut off. A glance over at her companion showed that Starlight was no better off, but seemed to be passively accepting the situation instead of trying to fight against it.

Twilight drew power into her horn, intent on blasting the latex symbiote off of her, when her concentration was disrupted by the suit extruding a familiar intruder into her ass. As the medical probe swelled and humped its way into Twilight’s forbidden passage, she couldn’t help but give a lusty moan. Part of her wondered why the suit was allowing her to make any noise at all. A question that was answered a moment later as a second intrusive shaft invaded Twilight’s mouth, pinning her tongue in place and utterly silencing her.

Spitroasted by her own outerwear, the mare struggled to regain the concentration needed to use her magic and get herself out of her suit before it was too late, and the thing suffocated her. However, her struggles were rendered unnecessary a moment later as cool, clean air began to flow from the cock gag irresistibly lodged in her mouth and Twilight was able to take her first breath in nearly a minute.

Starlight tapped Twilight on the shoulder to gain her attention, the glowing power conduits on her leg telling Twilight that her companion’s suit as just as active as hers. Glowing words appeared over Starlight’s head.

“These survival suits are supposed to kick in when they pick up a dangerous environment,” Twilight read, as her thoughts considered possibilities. “I must have missed some stuff when I transferred the programming over from the training suits.”

“Ya THINK so?” Twilight replied, her own words much larger than Starlights. Purely for emphasis, of course. “I’m really starting to get tired of my own clothing literally fucking around with me. I swear, when we get back—”

“Twilight, please calm down,” waved Starlight’s frantic words. “You might trigger one of the subsystems.”

“—I’m going to tear these things down to the molecular level,” continued the moving line of Twilight’s rant. “And what the hay do you mean, ‘subsystems’?”

“Property is panicking, wasting resources in emergency situation,” came the voice from the collar. “Initiating calming routine.”

Twilight’s muzzle swiftly expanded to cover her entire face, blindfolding her, but instead of darkness, the inside of the hood began to display a swirling pattern of geometric shapes that flowed and undulated across Twilight’s visual field. Trying to avoid being entranced by the hypnotic light show, she barely felt the tiny earphones that were shoved in her ears.

“Calm. Relax. Peace,” chanted the pre-recorded voice of Starlight Glimmer. The familiar tones had a strange sort of echo to them. “Your owners will come for you. You will be safe. Trust in your suit. Calm. Relax. Peace.”

In spite of most definitely not wanting to calm down and relax, Twilight felt the swirling lights and harmonic sounds begin to drain the anger from her. She began to find it hard to remember why she had been so upset, or what she had wanted to use her magic on anyway. It was easy to just relax and give in to the personal light show that was dancing in her eyes. So easy just sink into the gentle words that caressed her mind, like the loving hoof of an owner along the fur of their pet.

Twilight didn’t even realize that she had sunk to her knees until she felt a stone on the ground poke against her belly as she began to lay over it. It wasn’t much of a stone, and the sheath around her body was a fine cushion, but the rock’s irritation was enough to wear away the mental straitjacket Twilight’s suit had wrapped around her emotions.

“Nyarf!” Twilight tried to yell out in protest, as her mind snapped into clear focus again. Again she drew magic to her horn with the intent of stripping the symbiotic latex off of her, but again a voice came from the suit’s control collar.

“Property still in a state of panic,” stated the emotionless voice. “Initiating stage two calming procedures.”

The alicorn had just enough time to worry about what her confinement’s next move would be, when it was demonstrated to her. The latex eased aside her soft nether lips and Twilight felt a firm softness glide up against her clit and bump up against the entrance to her sacred passage. Unseen beneath the hood, Twilight’s eyes spread just as widely as she realized what was about to happen.

And happen it did, a heartbeat later, as the mother of all vibrators attacked Twilight’s clit and brilliant orgasmic fire blinded the alicorn to all other considerations. All a worried Starlight could do was watch as her friend and mistress writhed and shuddered over the ground for what seemed an eternity.

Slowly, Twilight’s frantic struggles, grunts and moans tapered off and the powerful buzzing in her nethers came to a gradual halt. The hood withdrew and Starlight’s worries grew ten-fold as Twilight’s dazed eyes seemed to look right through her and into the distance.

“Twilight,” said the unicorn’s words, as she shoved them directly into Twilight’s face. “Are you okay?”

Nothing came from the alicorn but a sound that could only be described as a cross between a moan and a groan.

“Twilight, blink twice with your left eye if you can understand me,” Starlight’s words said, “Please?”

Twilight made a sound far more in keeping with that of a rational, thinking pony and blinked her right eye twice.

“Very funny,” Starlight shaped with her words, feeling great relief. “Just lie still for a couple of minutes and relax.”

Twilight nodded, before managing to scribe, “What happened?” in the air.

“I tried to warn you,” came the unicorn’s reply, “but you wouldn’t listen. One of the biggest killers in a survival situation is panic, so I put in a routine to stop anything like that before it could get going. I didn’t have time to set it up right so it tends to go off any time the wearer gets really stressed.”

“I get the… stimulation,” Twilight wrote as her reply. “But what was all that with the lights and your voice?”

“You mean the trancing and alpha waves?” Starlight asked, helping Twilight back up to her hooves. “Twilight, I’m a mind mage. Changing ponies minds with magic and other means is second nature to me. Remember what I did in Our Town?”

“I never really thought about it afterwards,” Twilight replied, and taking a quick self-assessment she realized that she actually was feeling calmer and more balanced. “Maybe I should have had you working on 143 all this time.”

“No!” Starlight’s reply was six inches tall, with an exclamation point. “I absolutely cannot be trusted with that sort of power over someone’s mind. Twilight, if I’d had access to anything like these suits when you and the girls first came to Our Town, you never would have left, except as my completely obedient missionaries of Equality.”

“Not even if I was to keep you completely under my hoof while you did it?” Twilight asked, trying to get her bearings. “I could make sure you didn’t try anything untoward.”

“Twilight,” Starlight paused for a moment before continuing. “You don’t get it. I’m dangerous. Even when I’m trying to do good, I’m a danger to ponies. Or have you forgotten that at the moment we’re both muzzled with a latex cock shoved up our asses and down our throats?”

“Good point,” Twilight responded, still trying in vain to see any sort of landmarks or even the sun’s disc. “Which reminds me. How do we get these things off us, and I thought they sucked away all our magic to power themselves.”

“They come off through voice commands,” Starlight responded. “All we have to do is say, ‘Off’ and off they come. As for magic, these suits can’t do as much as the originals. For instance, they can’t take over your body movements or enhance your strength, so they don’t drain off as much of your magic as the originals.”

“Starlight,” the alicorn said, feeling her temper rising again even though she knew what the consequences would be. “There’s a small problem with using voice commands when one is silenced with a muzzle and gag.”

“What?” Starlight replied, and Twilight could see the unicorn struggle to open her mouth enough to form words, and fail. “Crap. And we better not try to magic the suits off of us either. They might knock us out, in order to protect us.”

“How would they— Never mind, don’t answer that,” Twilight’s written reply was accompanied by a growl. One that was hastily cut off and replaced by steady breathing as Twilight’s living latex again began to nudge up against her clit.

“I might have set the sensitivity a little too high,” Starlight admitted, scuffing a hoof through the desiccated loam.

“Do you think so?” Twilight shot back, her own words vibrating in the air, and she calmed herself before her suit did more than twitch at her nethers. “Anyway, I’d like to see if we can find anything in Ponyville first. By the way, any idea what the suits are reacting against?”

“Let me cast a detection spell,” Starlight replied, and her horn lit up to launch a sweep of turquoise magic in an arc around them. “Oh, that’s not good.”

“What did you find out?” Twilight asked, as the two began to move forward. She both found it strange and gratifying that the two of them were already getting used to the odd mode of communication the two of them had been forced into. Ponies were an adaptable species.

“It’s really not good,” Starlight said, then hastily adding. “The temperature goes up, the higher you go. A lot higher. That’s why the ground and air are so dry. The moisture has been literally baked out of everything.”

“There’s more, isn’t there?” Twilight asked, as she saw the dry banks of a stream that had marked the boundary into the town proper from the outskirts.

“Yeah,” the unicorn replied, again casting her scrying sweep. “I’m not picking up any life at all nearby. Not even bugs. And there’s radiation too.”

“How much radiation?” Twilight prompted, slightly annoyed at having to drag the information out of Starlight one sentence at a time, but also realizing that the unicorn at her side was trying to process what she had found out.

“Thirty millithaums per hour,” Starlight commented, and Twilight could see how wide the unicorn’s eyes were. “That’s well into the danger zone. No wonder the suits’ survival functions kicked in. Twilight, if we take these things off we’ll have a lethal dose of magical radiation in a week to ten days. Tops.”

“What could have caused such a huge release of magical energy?” Twilight wondered, nudging Starlight to point out the stubby remains of a few bridge timbers poking up out of the old stream bed. “I don’t know of any spells that cause this kind of effect.”

“Me either, and I’m pretty good with magic,” Starlight added, picking her way into and out of the stream bed.

“Starlight, saying you’re pretty good at magic is like saying Rainbow Dash is pretty good at flying,” Twilight said, not missing an opportunity to bolster Starlight’s self-esteem. “You fought the Element of Magic to a standstill. Even going all out I couldn’t beat you.”

“Thanks, but I still have no idea what caused all this,” the unicorn replied. “I’m not even picking up any buildings. Everything’s been blasted flat.”

“Hmm, let me try something,” Twilight said, as she stomped a hoof and sent a pulse of Earth Pony magic through it and down into the friable soil below. “Hmm, the buildings may be gone, but a lot of the basements and cellars are still intact.”

“Do you really want to see if anyone survived this?” Starlight asked, looking at the devastation around them. “Why don’t we just go home and you can either turn me into ‘614’ for real or let me take care of things myself?”

“Not so fast,” Twilight countered. “Structures mean somepony could have survived, and the conditions here may only be a local phenomenon. We need to investigate and see what we can find out.”

“Are you always this determined to have your own way, or is this something new?” Starlight asked, wearily.

“You haven’t been with me and the girls on too many adventures, have you?” Twilight replied, and her smile was so strong it almost managed to defeat the muzzle attached to her. “I’m picking up fifteen reasonably intact basements and cellars, most of which are buried under drifts of this… soil.”

“That’s going to take quite a while,” Starlight replied, looking around at what was left of Ponyville’s town square. She could just make out some humps in the ground that roughly corresponded to familiar building locations.

“Don’t worry,” Twilight responded, summoning into being a map of Ponyville. “I’ve reduced the number of places we need to check to the three most likely locations for clues or survivors.”

“Oh?” Starlight asked, curiosity somewhat restoring her energy, and she looked at the three indicated locations. “Okay, I recognize Mayor Mare’s office and the town hall, but what are the other two?”

“Pinkie Pie’s party planning cave that’s underneath Sugar Cube Corner and the cellar underneath Carousel Boutique,” Twilight replied, nodding towards where Ponyville’s town hall had once stood. “We’ll try here first, then the boutique, and then Pinkie Pie’s place.”

“Why that order?” Starlight asked, trying to understand the reasoning. “Rarity’s place is a lot further from here than Sugar Cube Corner.”

“Pinkie’s cave is deeper than the other two, so we’re most likely to find something there,” Twilight explained. “But it’s the least likely to have more than one pony there. Rarity’s storage cellar is bigger, but not as deep down, and the records vault at the town hall is really big, but it’s not much more than a basement. Not really a vault at all.”

“So you’re going in order of number of possible survivors, then,” Starlight replied, nodding and wincing as a sharp gust blew some grit into her eyes. “Which way?”

“Over here,” Twilight responded, indicating a greyish-black hillock that could just be seen a few dozen yards away.

“Right,” responded Starlight and together the two mares made their way over to wide mound and began excavating.

The going was very hard initially. No sooner had they removed anything more than a foot or so of material and either the sides of their excavation would collapse on their own, or the ever present wind would erode the upper edges down into the bottom of their dig. It wasn’t until Starlight hit on the idea of using the wind itself to dig with, combined with Twilight’s ability to shape the airflows that the two mages made any progress.

Within minutes of initiating their idea, the lower remains of the Ponyville’s town hall could be seen, and it was immediately clear that there would be no survivors here. The top of the records vault had collapsed under the weight of the falling building above it with some of the ragged ends of support beams being revealed as the ground was removed from it.

“I was really hoping we would find something here,” Twilight wrote, as the last of the building’s remains were revealed, along with a hooffull of desiccated skeletons. “Let’s just cover this back up and let these ponies rest in peace.”

“Hang on a moment,” Starlight interrupted, and a corona of magic pulled up something from beside a skeleton that was wearing a pair of half-rim glasses. The something turned out to be a small file holder from which the unicorn extracted a few sheets of dust covered paper with writing on them.

“Hmm,” Starlight hummed through her muzzle, scanning the pages before finding something of interest. “Bright flashes of light seen from Canterlot followed by a huge explosion. Weather team reports a wave of devastation heading this way. The mayor has ordered everypony to shelter in place until the wave passes.”

“So something definitely happened,” Twilight wrote, examining the paper herself. “It’s a shame this isn’t dated. Okay, great work Starlight. Now, let's leave these ponies in peace.”

The pair next made their way to the site of Rarity’s boutique. As with the town hall, the remains of Rarity’s home and shop was buried several feet underground. This time however the pair made quick work of the obstacle using the technique they had discovered to make the wind work for them, instead of against them. Both were overjoyed to see that, while the main level of the shop had been scoured away, the thick slab that formed the roof of the building’s cellar was intact.

“Wow, that’s heavy,” Twilight wrote in the air, as she grunted with the effort of shifting open a pair of ornate, wrought iron doors that covered the entrance to the lower level. “I can really feel the drain from the suits.”

“Told you,” was Starlight’s answer as she descended a stone ramp and into the gloom of the revealed sub-basement. “Holy crap! Twilight, you won’t believe what’s down here.”

“What? What’s down there?” Twilight wrote, and then rolled her eyes as she realized that if Starlight couldn’t see what she wrote there was no way for the unicorn to answer her.

Quickly trotting down the ramp herself, Twilight stopped in amazed surprise as she reached the bottom and looked around. All around here were various implements of “bedroom items.” Corsets, cuffs, collars, bridles and tack of a dozen different sizes and materials hung alongside of crops, whips and other instruments of erotic torture.

“Wow,” Twilight read in glowing words from Starlight. “I knew Rarity had a kinky side, but wow. Just wow.”

“Rarity once told me that she had once considered getting into ‘adult wear,’ as she called it,” Twilight replied. “She was going to name her business ‘Bridle Boutique’ and go in that direction because it’s more profitable.”

“You think you know a pony,” Starlight mused, lifting a double ended strap-on up to take a look at it.

“Starlight,” flashed up in front of the unicorn, “come over here and take a look at this!”

Obediently, the unicorn trotted over to where Twilight was. By the alicorn Starlight could see a couple of mounds of dust covered cloth and a small pile of metal objects nearby.

“Okay,” Starlight signed, “what am I looking at?”

“A couple of sleeping spots, AND,” Twilight triumphantly emphasized, “what’s left of a few days worth of food. Eaten food.”

“So somepony did survive, at least for awhile,” Starlight replied, sweeping a light around with her magic. “Look! Is that a tunnel coming through that wall?” Starlight’s magic highlighted an obvious breach in the otherwise pristine northern wall of the basement.

“It’s too regular of an opening to be a collapse,” Twilight replied, moving over to examine the hole. “It almost looks like it was drilled through the ground from the outside. I bet this is Pinkie’s work.”

“Pinkie Pie can tunnel?” Starlight asked, actually managing to add a surprised sounding grunt along with her word sign.

“All the Pie’s have an affinity with the Earth, and that includes the ability to dig, really, really fast,” Twilight commented. “I bet if we followed this it would lead back to her party planning cave.”

“Let’s follow it,” Starlight suggested. “It beats walking up on the surface and I bet we’re getting less exposed to the radiation too.”

“Starlight, how long can the suits keep us alive?” Twilight asked, looking at the height of the tunnel. “And how do we eat and drink while they’ve got us like this?”

“Well, the um, cock, stuffed into our mouths will feed us and keep us watered as long as the suits have access to food or water,” Starlight wrote, taking a couple of tentative steps into the tunnel. “It was just supposed to be a little hose, not part of a cock gag. Sorry.”

“Much as I hate to admit it, I’ve kind of gotten used to being like this,” Twilight admitted. “And we did rush things.”

“I forced this,” Starlight said, moving down the tunnel with increasing confidence, Twilight on her heels. “I’m the one who has been trying to kill themselves. All you’ve done is try to be a good friend by being what I thought I needed.”

“I haven’t been that good of a friend either,” Twilight replied, closely following the unicorn and occasionally having to duck at a low section of tunnel. “I’ve been focusing on all the wonderful things we’ve been doing together and how good you’ve made me feel, instead of focusing on what you need and how you’ve been feeling. I’m sorry.”

“Thanks Twilight,” appeared Starlight’s words over her black clad rump. “Look, when we get back, I can’t promise anything, but I’m willing to give things another try.”

“That’s all anypony can ask, Starlight,” Twilight responded, reaching out and enfolding the unicorn in a quick hug. “And I’ll be with you every step of the way. As your friend.”

“Can I still call you ‘Mistress’ sometimes?” Starlight asked, snuggling back as best she could in the limited space.

“We’ll see,” Twilight wrote, and her chuckle was audible even through the muzzle and gag. “Let’s get moving.”

With the power of magic lighting their way, alicorn and unicorn traversed the winding passageway. Up, down, sometimes in what even seemed like corkscrews went the tunnel, until after what seemed to be hours, an opening appeared.

“This isn’t Pinkie’s party cave,” said Twilight’s word projection, as she crossed the threshold. “This place is huge.”

The pair had emerged into a somewhat low ceilinged but very large space. The floor of the room covered at least four times the space of Rarity’s basement, and the room itself was almost filled with barrels and sacks of all sizes. At the far end was a pair of angled doors that appeared to lead to the outside, and near the door there was also a large table.

“Twilight,” Starlight’s sign read. “I don’t think anypony got out of here.”

Twilight looked to where the unicorn was pointing. Off to one side, in what looked to be an improvised sleeping area, the bones of at least two ponies were poking out from beneath some tattered and forlorn looking blankets, which were adorned with a familiar horse collar and checked scarf. Moving over to where the two bodies lay Twilight spotted a book lying nearby. Holding the tome up so that Starlight could see it, both were able to read the writing on the cover.

Journal of Applejack Apple

Author's Note

If you want to drop me a line I can often be found hanging out on Discord as Penalt#8263. As a night shift worker my hours are weird so it might take me a bit to reply.

If you like this and other stories of mine, you can support me on Patreon for as little as a dollar a month.

All Patrons get regular excerpts of whatever I'm currently working on.

Patreon is probably one of the best things ever for keeping content creators like me in keyboards, coffee and chairs. Your support is what keeps me going.

A big shout out to the ongoing support through Patreon by:

Canary in the Coal Mine
Damaged
Airar
Drazhan
Kereko
A.P.O.N.I
Shaushka
Machara
Jamin P Rose
Raging Mouse
Free,
and
Spectrum Scholar.

The Blasted Lands, Part 3

“Applejack keeps a diary?” read Starlight’s word sign, even as Twilight picked up the dust covered volume.

“Not too many ponies know about it, but most farmers do keep journals of one sort or another,” Twilight wrote back, carefully examining the volume to make sure that opening it would do damage to the contents. “They keep one to follow trends in weather, or crops, or harvests, or anything that needs to be followed from year to year.”

“Makes sense, I guess,” Starlight replied, her words bright in the gloom of the cellar they were in. “I just never saw Applejack as the most literary of ponies.”

“All of my friends have depths to them most ponies don’t realize,” Twilight said, as she brushed off the top of the journal with feather light touches of magic.

“I’ll just go over here and sit,” Starlight said, shoulders and ears drooping in dejection as she turned and began to move toward where the pair of skeletal bodies lay. Before she made more than a step though, a cord of magic reached out, latched onto her silver control collar and dragged her head and body back around.

“All of my friends have depths to them most ponies don’t realize,” Twilight repeated and underlined, drawing a yielding Starlight close. “Especially the ones that I own.”

With her suit covering nearly all of her head, including her muzzle, most ponies would have been hard pressed to see any emotional change in Starlight. Twilight however was not most ponies and immediately saw the light come back to her pony’s eyes, along with the sudden shift of Starlight’s entire posture from beaten down to uplifted.

“Sorry,” Starlight signed. “I just sort of assumed.”

“That you aren’t one of my friends?” Twilight supplied, before adding in lavender script, “Starlight, you are one of my closest friends. Somepony that I’ve been with through things most other ponies can’t even dream about. Somepony who has challenged me to dig deep and find strengths and abilities in myself that I never thought were possible.”

“Somepony,” Twilight added, pulling Starlight close enough that the alicorn was able to rub a latex covered muzzle with her own, “that has put their life and more in my hooves because they trust me so much. I am, and shall always be, your friend.”

Starlight’s response was to move her body into an elegant curtsy of submission to Twilight, her closely held leash forcing her to keep her head up to look into the eyes of the pony she had given herself over to.

“Good pony,” Twilight signed, dispelling the leash she had conjured into being. “I want you to look at this with me and try to catch anything I might miss.”

“As you wish,” Starlight responded, moving to sit beside Twilight as she gently cracked open the volume to examine its contents.

Twilight, first and foremost, was a scholar and bibliophile of the highest order. As such she did not rapidly flip through the book until she found passages she was looking for. Methodically the alicorn moved from one page to the next, scanning the text quickly but thoroughly, and being sure to check that her companion had also had a chance to digest the revealed writings before turning the page and moving on.

The natural downside to being thorough and methodical however, is that it takes extensive amounts of time. Time that could have been used for other things, but it was time that Twilight never begrudged spending, even if Rainbow Dash often mocked her for being an “overprepared egghead.” And so, it was almost two hours later that as Twilight reached the three-quarters mark in the tome’s pages, that she came to the part of this Applejack’s life account that she had been seeking.

Journal of Applejack Apple

Not sure whats up in town, but folks are jumpier than a timberwolf with wood ticks. Tomorrow is the Summer Sun Celebration and the Princess was supposed to be here when she raises up the sun for the longest day of the year. It was gonna be a big deal for a little place like Ponyville.

Instead, she cancelled at the last second, and when Mayor Mare asked why the princess dang near bit her head off. Being on edge I can understand, but this is the Princess we’re talking about. Makes no dang sense at all.

To top it off, the next thing we know, its like the whole Royal Guard decided to set down with us instead of the Princess. I never seen so many guards in my whole life. And they’re all lead by this big noisy colt called “Shining Armor”. Fool name for a dang blasted fool, if you ask me.

Starts ordering folks around, telling us all to make sure we all have at least three days of food and water stored up. Won’t tell anypony why. Keeps asking ponies if they’ve ever heard of something called “Nightmare Moon.” Wouldn’t shut up about it either. Least until the local weather pony, Rainbow Dash, got in his face about how rude he was being.

That pegasus stuck up for the town in the face of the whole dang Royal Guard and didn’t back down an inch. Stuck up unicorn was about to clap the girl in irons for “interfering with the Crown in time of crisis” or some stupid stuff, when the Mayor finally jumped in and got the weather pony to back off. Anyway, after that folks just kinda went back to their homes.

Now, the whole town is on edge and there’s guards just about everywhere. I dunno what they’re expecting, but it can’t be good.

Summer Sun Celebration Day

Welp, I was right. It wasn’t good. In fact, things are about as bad as they could be. Lemme explain.

Everyone in town got up before dawn for the Summer Sun Celebration, like they always do. All those idiot guards were still around, some of them looking like they had been up all day AND all night. Even that bossy unicorn that was in charge was looking pretty run down.

So, the sun comes up, just like it always does, and I tell you, every one of those guardsponies was fixin’ to have a killin’. Weapons out, looking around like something was gonna jump outta the shadows at them. So, when nothing happened they all looked pretty stupid, I’ll tell you. Seems that they weren’t being stupid, though. They were just in the wrong place.

So, every townspony is celebrating the day, and then there’s this big boom sound from the north. We all turn to look and there’s a funny looking cloud rising up from Canterlot. It’s so big, it starts covering over the Canterhorn, which has, I swear, a BITE out of it. I’m serious. It’s like somepony was hungry and bit a chunk out of the whole mountain.

Mayor Mare starts yelling for everypony to take shelter, and we all start moving out. Everypony was calm. Worried, but calm. That was until Rainbow Dash crashed to the ground right in front of everypony. Poor thing was all busted up and burnt. Looked like she’d flown through an inferno.

Said the sky was on fire over Canterlot and it was heading this way. Well, everypony panicked at that point and ran for it. I’m not ashamed to say that I grabbed Applebloom and hightailed it out of there without worrying about anypony but Granny and Big Mac.

Was a good thing too.

We saw this big cloud coming hard and fast just as we got back to the edge of Sweet Apple Acres. The wind was blowing hard enough that trees were starting to fall over, and I knew we weren’t going to make it to the storm cellar by the house. So I ran here, to our seed vault. Good thing to, cause just as me and Applebloom got the door open, the big boom hit.

It got so bright out that I swear I can still see the outline of where my shadow was on the far wall. There was a godawful noise and something plowed into me knocking me and Applebloom down the ramp. It was Big Mac and Granny. That big cloud had hit carrying all kinds of stuff with it, and some of that stuff had plowed into Big Mac. He plowed into Granny and the two of them plowed into us.

Me and Mac got Applebloom settled and saw to Granny. I’ll tell you I was plumb sick to my stomach when I got a look at her face and that her eyes had gone all white. Granny told us that she had been looking back toward Canterlot when that big flash hit, and that just sorta burned her ability to see away. Everything was black now, and she was glad.

That’s when Big Mac, my brother, the big solid lug of the family, keeled over sideways. At first I didn’t know what was wrong, and then my hoof stepped in something wet. It was Mac’s blood, pouring out of his back left leg.

Or what was left of it.

His… I can barely even write it. His lower leg was just gone. Everything from the cannon on down had been sliced off as smooth as anything. The big red doofus had just ignored the pain and the blood loss as long as he could while we took care of Granny. He’d held out until the job was done before he fell, and it almost killed him.

I was able to stop the bleeding after a bit. They’re all asleep now, even with that howling wind still going on overhead. Maybe tomorrow will be a better day. Can’t be much worse.

Three Days after the Summer Sun Celebration

Things ain’t good. Could be worse, but they ain’t good. It’s been a couple of days now and the only thing we could hear outside up til now is that terrible roaring. I tried cracking open the door to take a look and the wind ripped it open. Dust and smoke filled the cellar and it was all me and Mac could do to close her again.

Speaking of Mac. He’s doing okay, except when he forgets a chunk of one of his legs is gone and he tries to walk on it. Or when he bumps it into something. Or one of us bumps into it. Forget I said that. He’s surviving, but that’s all any of us are doing. Granny is trying to cheer us up. Keeps telling us not to worry and that’s she was going blind anyway, so what’s the fuss?

Applebloom is bored mainly, and hungry. We didn’t bring a whole lot of food down here with us and eating apple seeds will kill ya if ya eat enough of them. We ain’t that hungry, yet.

Fourth night after the Summer Sun celebration

We were all sleeping and got woken up to roar so loud, I swear a dragon was flying by. Next we know we hear this crackling sound and we could smell wood smoke. The roar went away, but we can hear the noise still and the smoke is sweet, and its wood smoke.

Sweet Apple Acres is on fire.

Day five after Summer Sun

We hit a stroke of luck. Applebloom got bored and decided to count all the barrels and while she was doing that, she found one that looked funny to her. Mac limped over to take a look, and we found out our Crusader had gone and found us a barrel full of dried apple pieces. Good thing too, we were about to run out of grub. Now we’ve got about a month’s worth.

Haven’t told anyone we only got about a week’s worth of water left, though.

One week after summer sun

I don’t think anypony is coming for us.

Eight days after the Summer Sun Celebration.

Sorry about that last entry. Things were looking darker than the inside of a boot there, but then the dang impossible happened. We was all just sitting around, kinda giving up when one wall of the cellar opens up with a hole in it all of a sudden, and there were a pony standing there!

Recognized her after a second. It was Pinkie Pie, she’s a baker over at Sugar Cube Corner. Gal can make some of the best fritters you ever tasted, and she’s also one of the best there is when it comes to cheering a pony up, boy howdy did we ever need that.

She weren’t alone neither. Had Rarity Belle and her sister with her too. I make a point of watching my step around Rarity. See her shop is called the “Bridle Boutique'' and she makes and sells stuff that um, well. Well, it’s stuff for ponies who like their adult stuff a little more adult than most. Me, I’m all for a good ruttin’ every now and then, but the stuff that Rarity sells…

Well, I wouldn’t tell anypony else this, but this is my diary, so what the hay.

Rarity convinced me to model some stuff for her once. She asked me what I was okay with her doing with me, and I said, “Anything at all you want is fine by me.” And the next thing I know there’s stuff I can’t get off no matter how hard I try, and she’s got me comin' and goin' so hard I don’t know which way was up or down, who or even what I was. Soon as she undid the locks I got myself out of there, I’ll tell you.

Kept the collar though. That was a nice bit of leather work that was.

Anyhow, Applebloom is real good friends with her little sister. Sweetie Belle is her name, and she’s a right darling little filly, and it’s because of that friendship that I still let myself inside of a lasso length of Rarity let alone having anything to do with her.

We all settled down some and got to talking. Near as Pinkie could tell there weren’t nothing left of the town. She tunneled her way to a lot of pony’s basements and cellars, her being an Earth pony and all. Besides the Belles, she also found Bon Bon, the town candy maker.

Seems Bon Bon’s marefriend Lyra had died, and she weren’t gonna leave her friend to go to the Summerlands alone. Apparently Bon Bon was some sorta retired spy for the Crown, and knew about a network of secret bunkers that the Princess had built in case some sort of super disaster hit. Always knew our Princess prepared ahead, and it seems she saw this a-comin’.

After giving Pinkie a map to get there, the mare went and ate some kinda almond candy and just died right then and there. Pinkie said it was a right peaceful death, and the mare went with a smile on her face. May Harmony watch over her and see her to the Summerlands.

Upshot of all this is that Pinkie is fixing to hunker down another day or two until things calm down a bit more and then strike out for the bunker with the Belles in tow. She wants us to go with her.

Ten days after Summer Sun.

Applebloom is gone. It’s just me, Mac and Granny now.

Pinkie wanted us to go with her, but neither Granny or Mac is in any shape to travel. They wanted me and Applebloom to go with Pinkie and the Belles, but I know they wouldn’t last more than a day or two without me taking care of them.

So, I made a deal. I told them to take Applebloom with them, seeing as she and Sweetie are friends, and I promised that the rest of us would follow as soon as we could.

I hate lying. Granny and Mac could rest up for a hundred days and neither one of them would survive the trip to Celestia’s bunker. I think Pinkie Pie knew it too, because the next thing I know she digs down in one corner of the cellar and hits water. Making us our own little well.

Then she looked me in the eye, passed me a copy of her map she’d made and told me, not Granny, me and Mac. Told me to follow as soon as I could.

They’re gone now. Down a tunnel Pinkie dug. Me, I’m staying as long as Granny and Mac need me. Maybe we’ll figure out something.

Two weeks after it all went to Hell.

This will be my last entry.

Granny and Big Mac are dead.

We’ve been arguing for the past couple of days. They wanted me to go follow Applebloom while I could, and I kept saying they needed me. By this time Mac and Granny had both figured out they were never leaving this cellar alive, barring more mercy than this blasted world seems to have left in it.

They kept telling me to leave em and go. I kept telling ‘em an Apple don’t leave family behind. So they took the choice out of my hooves by slipping me a Mickey Finn. While I was out cold, they went and ground up a whole barrels worth of apple seeds, mixed em with a bit of apple brandy Mac must have been saving, and downed the lot.

Apple seeds have a bit of poison in them to keep critters away. One won’t kill ya, but a whole barrel’s worth, condensed down with some Earth pony magic? Ya, that would take down Celestia herself. If she’s still with us, that is.

Anyway, woke up, and Granny and Mac were all peaceful… and… and gone.

First Ponyville, then Sweet Apple Acres, then Applebloom. Now Mac and Granny. There’s nothing left here for me anymore. Time I was going, and I’m down the tunnel as soon as I finish this last bit.. Whoever, or whatever finds this note, be kind to Mac and Granny. They were the best family a pony could ask for.

I’m leaving a copy of Pinkie’s map for you, and I’ll try to leave markers as I follow the trail. If I don’t make it, and you find my bones, do me a favor and bring me back here to lie with my kin.

Harmony have mercy on us all,
Applejack “Jacky” Apple

“May all the powers of Light and Harmony watch over you,” Starlight signed, bowing her head reverently to the bodies when she had finished reading the last words of the diary. “May they see you safe in the Summerlands, far away from this Vale of Tears.”

“Found it,” Twilight declared as she flipped to the back of the book. “Huh, not the best of maps. But it should be enough.”

“Twilight, what’s wrong with you?” Starlight demanded, shoving her words in Twilight’s face. “The bodies of ponies who were close to you are right there, and you’re checking out a map?”

“Starlight,” Twilight replied, setting the map down carefully and turning so that she was muzzle to muzzle with the other pony. “Inside, I’m crying my eyes out over what happened not only here, but all over this world. But I can’t let it affect me right now.”

“Why not?” Starlight wrote back, finding her old forcefulness and outrage. “If we can’t let ourselves react as ponies, then what’s the sense of living? Why not just die and get it all over with?”

“Do not go gentle into that good night,” Twilight quoted. “Rage, rage against the dying of the light.”

Starlight felt some of her fury dissipate at that, “Yeah. Why aren’t you angry about all this? Why aren’t you furious at me for causing all this?”

“Two reasons,” Twilight wrote back. “First, you aren’t the cause of this. I am. This is all on my hooves, not yours, because every time I fought back against you things got worse for the next world. If I had just surrendered to you, this world wouldn’t exist. None of this would have happened if I had just let you be.”

“Twilight, I was a mind-controlling, enslaving dictator using intimidation, manipulation and brainwashing to take over Equestria one town at a time.” Starlight scrawled hastily. “I had to be stopped.”

“Maybe,” Twilight replied. “And maybe I could have found a better way to stop you. Either way, the second reason is that while anger is what drives you harder, it makes me weaker.”

“What?” Starlight asked, a little confused.

“This,” Twilight wrote, in glowing words over the map, “is my fury. This is my rage. Books are what drive me harder. Information gives me my rage against the night. It’s what kept me going when I was trapped in these suits before, slowly being turned into a loyal, obedient slave against my will.”

“When this is over, I plan on finding a quiet corner and having a good cry,” Twilight continued, pulling Starlight into a hug. “When that happens you’re welcome to join me, but until then, I have to keep focused on the goal of finding out what happened here and trying to fix it.”

“So what now?” Starlight asked, leaning into the hug and trying not to enjoy it too much.

“Now, we figure out how to eat and drink in these things,” Twilight responded. Putting aside the map with its large “Project Bolthole” title and tugging a bit on the living bondage wrapped around her. “You did say that they would take onhoof food and fed it to us.”

“Yeah, I did,” Starlight wrote, not meeting Twilight’s eyes.

“I’m not going to like this, am I?” Twilight asked, in her lavender script.

“Depends,” Starlight responded. “On how good you are at sucking a cock.”

“Sweet Celestia,” Twilight wrote, realizing anew how well the symbiotic shaft in her mouth held her tongue captive. “You really need to get some of these things out of these suits. Fine, run me through the process before I try it.”

“First we grab a hoof-full of organic matter,” Starlight began. “Like these seeds here.”

Twilight’s fellow encapsulated pony reached into the open barrel in the room, drawing out a large amount of seeds. As Twilight watched, her companion put her other hoof on top of the pile of seeds and slowly brought her hooves together. When Starlight moved her hooves apart a few moments later, the seeds were gone.

“Now we give the suit a minute or so to process the food and remove anything dangerous,” said Starlight’s words, turning herself so she was side-on to her Owner. “And then we have to trigger the feeding response.”

As Twilight watched, the other mare lifted her chin and tilted her head back. Her cheeks indented in a clear indication of suction, and a moment or two later a gleam of light appeared on Starlight’s neck as the top of her throat bulged outward. Gulping sounds could be heard, and it was clear that Starlight was being fed by the suit. What confused Twilight though, was why the other mare’s eyes closed with an accompanying moan of passionate lust.

“Okay, you try,” Starlight shaky words said over a full minute later. Twilight didn’t like the look of her companion. Starlight looked very unsteady on her feet, with muscle tremors from her hips revealing themselves as rippling patterns of light off her suit. However, it was either follow in her pet’s hoof prints or starve it would seem.

Emulating the other pony, Twilight gathered up a hoof-full of seeds and was relieved to see that her suit absorbed the material as willingly as Starlight’s had. Then, the princess lifted her encased muzzle toward the ceiling and began to suck on the faux stallionhood in her maw. For a long time, nothing seemed to happen, but then Twilight remembered some of her lessons under Shaushka, and ran her tongue along the underside of the shaft while suckling on it as best she was able.

The reaction was immediate. Twilight felt the thick rod in her mouth slide forward along her slick tongue until she felt it glide partway down her throat, completely eliminating any choking hazard or possibility of resistance. At the same time, the plug in her ass came to life, vibrating and sliding back and forth in that forbidden passage.

A paste of food started being pumped down Twilight’s throat in pulses not unlike those when a stallion came under the ministrations of a mare’s tongue. The sensor shaft in the alicorn continued to mercilessly fuck her ass, driving her into ecstacy, and it became all too easy to imagine that she was sucking off one stallion while another was taking her from behind. Both servicing and being serviced at the same time.

The pulses of paste glided down her gullet, the delicious friction grew in her nethers and with a bolt of insight Twilight realized that her companion hadn’t been having muscle spasms earlier. Starlight had been cumming while the suit had destroyed her ass, as a reward for taking in nourishment to survive. An insight that was washed away as Twilight herself was driven over the edge and into a monumental orgasm.

“Mealtimes are fun times,” Starlight wrote to her, as soon as Twilight was able to comprehend language again. “Good thing we really only need to eat twice a day.”

“Let me guess,” Twilight wrote back. “Leftover training reward from the originals?”

“You wouldn’t believe how hard it is to get rid of, or even change the original instruction set in these things,” Starlight drew in the air. “Every bit of the suits has a copy of what every other bit of the suit can do. They just can’t all do it at once. That’s what these power meridians are for.”

Starlight’s enveloped hoof glided along one of the glowing lines of power that ran from the inside of one thigh up to mid-chest, “They regulate what goes where and what parts of the suit are responsible for different things. They also mark the pathways of materials along the length of the suit.”

“Incredible,” was Twilight’s reply. “And sorry again for rushing you. You were right. These things weren’t ready for use, amazing though they are. I may be the Element of Magic, but this sort of half-living magic artifact is way beyond anything I could even dream of doing.”

“No, it’s not,” Starlight replied, dipping her hoof into the well of water that was in one corner of the large room.

“Wait, what?” Twilight demanded. “What do you mean? I’d never create something as diabolical as the original suits.”

“You,” Starlight wrote and underlined, “wouldn’t. But on that other world, the other ‘you’ did. I don’t know what drove that Twilight to it, but according to what I’ve found out, not only did your counterpart participate in the creation of the ‘Nightmare Seal’ as the first iterations were called, she actually headed up one of the primary design groups for it.”

The news hit Princess Twilight like a thunderbolt from the heavens. It made so much sense now that she thought about it. The suit itself had never been something that had bothered her, just the uses it had been put to by those who controlled them. Truth be told, she’d actually come to enjoy the dark slick embrace of the magical symbiote. The more she wore it, the more it felt like an old friend that had come back after a long journey, strange but familiar.

“When we get back, maybe I’ll give you a hoof and see if we can get these things to behave,” Twilight stated, after a long minute of thought. “We should try to get some rest. It’s been a long day and I want to get on Applejack’s trail as soon as we can.”

“You okay?” Starlight asked, concern showing in her eyes.

“Just realizing that maybe I’ve moved too fast in somethings,” Twilight wrote, looking for a place away from the bodies that was still close enough for comfort. “I’m doing a lot of things, becoming a lot of things, and I’m beginning to wonder if all the changes have been worth it.”

“Life is change, Twilight,” Starlight’s words read, her writing even and more legible than normal. “You and I have seen more change in our lives than any other pony except for maybe the princesses. Life only stops changing when we die, and even then there is one last change waiting for us all.”

“I don’t know if that’s waiting for me, Starlight,” Twilight replied, giving vent to one of her deepest worries. “Luna and Celestia are immortal, or the next closest thing to it. Am I going to be like them? Am I going to outlive all my friends?”

“Even if you are immortal there is no guarantee of that,” Starlight commented, dragging over a pile of empty sacks she had found. Together she and Twilight began to form them into a sleeping nest for the night. “All I can say is that if it happens, and you do outlive all of us, don’t do what I did. Don’t let the loss of your friends turn you from the good pony you are to something bitter and angry at the world.”

“And that’s just another reason why I need you to stay with me Starlight,” responded Twilight, laying down and nodding with satisfaction at the level of cushioning. “I need somepony to keep me grounded. A pony that doesn’t see a princess, or the Element of Magic, but a pony that sees me and is both willing and able to challenge me when I start going off the deep end.”

“I just go with what my gut tells me is the right thing to do,” Starlight wrote, dragging over the rest of the opened barrel of seeds and a bowl filled with water from the well in the corner. “Okay, that should do it.”

“Yup,” Twilight replied, lightly tugging on Starlight’s collar with her magic. “We both need some good solid sleep. Come here and keep your Owner warm.”

“Yes Mistress,” was Starlight’s smiling reply, latex squeaked on latex as she lay down and snuggled up against the alicorn.

Outside, an oppressive heat bore down and the wind howled, but inside all was quiet and cool as the two ponies drifted off to sleep. Neither pony was aware that their presence had been noticed by the shattered wreck of what had once been the epitome of beauty and grace. Nor were they aware of the hopeful plans that the broken being dusted off and began to put into action.

Author's Note

Do not go gentle into that good night,

Old age should burn and rave at close of day;

Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Though wise men at their end know dark is right,

Because their words had forked no lightning they

Do not go gentle into that good night.

Good men, the last wave by, crying how bright

Their frail deeds might have danced in a green bay,

Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Wild men who caught and sang the sun in flight,

And learn, too late, they grieve it on its way,

Do not go gentle into that good night.

Grave men, near death, who see with blinding sight

Blind eyes could blaze like meteors and be gay,

Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

And you, my father, there on the sad height,

Curse, bless, me now with your fierce tears, I pray.

Do not go gentle into that good night.

Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

The Blasted Lands, Part 4

Some hours later the two ponies awoke in complete darkness. Channeling light to their horns, Twilight and her companion spent a moment listening to the howl of the ever present wind outside of the seed storage cellar they had taken refuge in.

“I wonder if that wind ever stops?” Twilight wrote with her magic, as she divided the remaining apple seeds from the broken open barrel into two neat identical piles.

“Hmm,” Starlight hummed audibly before messaging back, “Wind Hammer’s Wild Weather spell should give us a few answers.”

The ebony clad unicorn pulled turquoise magic to her horn and unleashed it in a patterned burst, as Twilight watched and took a moment to admire how the glowing lines of Starlight’s survival suit accentuated the mare’s planes and curves. Starlight spent nearly a minute turning in a slow circle to fully take in what the spell was telling her. Twilight could tell from her pet’s reaction that the results weren’t good at all.

“This wind isn’t ever going to stop,” Starlight replied at last. “Once you get up into the stratosphere, the air is so hot it’s practically on fire. This whole world should be cooked worse than a briquet, but there’s a shielding layer of super-cold air just under the hot layer. It’s the heat and the cold bouncing off each other that’s causing this wind.”

“Any idea what’s causing either the heat or the cold?” Twilight’s words asked, as she began the process of having her suit absorb and process the seeds into nourishment.

“My bet is on some kind of magic gone haywire,” Starlight replied, the glow around her fading as the spell ended. “Do you want to know what else is weird?”

“What?” Twilight asked, taking a moment to put off the required faux fellatio of the solid mass in her mouth.

“Wind Hammer’s spell also gives times for sunrise and sunset,” the unicorn explained, beginning her own preparation to be fed. “I was hoping to use it to find out what time of year it is. But there was no reading for either. I even tried switching it to moonrise and set, but I still got nothing.”

“That is weird,” Twilight magically replied, before adding, “Well, guess I may as well get this over with.”

Tilting her head back Twilight sucked on the disturbingly realistic shaft in her mouth, pulling on it until it reached the back of her throat. Just in time she remembered to run her tongue along that gag’s underside and the suit obliged Twilight by forcing itself the last inch to seal itself in place at the back of her throat.

At the same time, the suit came alive at the opposite end of her body, assaulting some of Twilight’s most sensitive nerve endings. Once again, the fantasy of being spit-roasted by a pair of mighty stallions came to mind, as the suit pumped her stomach full of apple seed “cum” and deeply ramming her ass at the same time.

Twilight had absolutely no choice in the matter as her body and mind both exploded into orgasm under the calculated assault of the instructions Starlight had laid into the suits. After what felt like an eternity later, the alicorn mare managed to pull the shattered fragments of her consciousness back together, only to find herself lying on the floor with Starlight alongside her and shuddering in the final throes of her own feeding orgasm.

Twilight didn’t think, she simply reached out against her fellow encased pony and drew Starlight against her. The alicorn made comforting humming noises while keeping the other mare close up against her in an enveloping hug. Twilight began to wonder if her intentions had been misread when Starlight began to buck back against her, writhing and grinding away.

A few moments later however, the other mare realized was she was doing and suddenly froze, and even through the muzzle Twilight could hear, “Umm..”

“Don’t worry about it,” Twilight signed back, a moment later as she released the mortified unicorn. “Meal times are fun times.”

“Annnyway,” Starlight wrote back as she got to her hooves. “We should collect some seeds, fill up on water and then get going.”

Turning away from each other, the two mares busied themselves gathering up water, food, and whatever supplies could be scavenged. Starlight had just finished making the remains of a burlap sack into useful strips of fabric when she turned to find Twilight gently lowering the bodies of Big Mac and Granny Smith into a pair of graves the alicorn had silently dug with her magic.

“This whole cellar is one big grave, Twilight,” Starlight sent, as the holes were covered over. “You didn’t have to do this.”

“They were Earth Ponies, this is where they would want to be,” Twilight replied, as a look of iron determination came to her face. “We’re going to fix this Starlight. Whatever it takes.”

“Whatever it takes,” Starlight agreed, and resolutely the pair turned toward the exit tunnel and set out.

For hours the two ponies walked through the eternal gloom of the tunnel dug by this world’s Pinkie Pie years ago. It was a testament both to Pinkie and Earth Pony magic that the tunnel had not only held out for the intervening stretch of time, but that it also had rest stops hollowed out at regular intervals. One of which even had a small water well in it that reached down to some unknown aquifer.

And so, what had started as a journey to find the mysterious “Bolthole” gradually became an exercise in tedium. The endless darkness broken only by the dim light of the traveller's horn magic and the faint glow of the mana lines that pulsed and flowed along the curves of the two ponies’ suits. Twilight, her own lavender lines casting a pinkish glow, found her eyes locked on the turquoise highlights created by Starlight’s suit in front of her.

As the encased ass in front her bobbed and moved, the pulsing lines of power flowing in and out of the plug trapped in Starlight entranced the alicorn and her mind began to drift in thought. Perhaps this is the way Twilight’s own world should be.

Starlight was an extremely powerful unicorn who more than once had demonstrated that she had the power to mold time and space to her will. It was only right and proper that such power and ability should be kept in controlled restraint, lest it run amok, and do untold damage yet again. On top of that, Starlight was “only” a unicorn.

Princess Luna, as Nightmare Moon, had vowed to bring Night Eternal to the world and had only been defeated by the Elements of Harmony. Twilight had battled Tirek to a standstill, who had possessed the magical might of every pony in Equestria, who wasn’t a princess. Worse, Twilight had once mind-controlled all of Ponyville with her “Need-it, Want-it” spell.

For better or worse, the Princess Celestia of 143’s world may have been on to something. There had to be a way to both allow ponies with alicorn levels of power to use their magic, while still preventing them from abusing that power, and perhaps these suits were the way to do it.

Twilight spent a few more moments in silent contemplation of the tight glutes and thighs in front of her. Of the way they shifted and moved while flowing lines of power pulsed a rhythm along Starlight’s back legs.

The only way it would work, Twilight realized, was if every pony with that sort of strength was suited. That was where 143’s Celestia had gotten it wrong, where she had gone from a protector of her ponies, to being their Mistress. From being one of them, to appointing herself as Eternal Dictator. For the good of all, Celestia had to be sealed into a suit just as much as Luna, Starlight or Twilight herself.

Twilight’s mind spun the fantasy of confronting Celestia with the suit idea, of her mentor rejecting the idea from her ebon-clad former student, and then of Celestia’s startled shock as Twilight dropped a large blob of suit material between the solar alicorn’s shoulder blades. Celestia would struggle, of course, but Twilight knew from personal experience that it would be useless.

Celestia would try to fight the symbiote, as it first encased her throat in a tube of flexible material and then spread down her forelegs. Magic applied to the spreading blackness would only speed the process as it wrapped and bound ivory limbs, encased and contained swan-like wings and encircled Celestia’s barrel in a tight, binding corset.

At this point Twilight’s mentor would likely try to flee or call out for help, but it would be too late as Celestia would find her mouth invaded by an inflating gag much like the one in Twilight’s own mouth, and both sets of her limbs either hobbled or bound completely by that time. The suit being nothing if not efficient at reducing an alicorn to helplessness.

As the suit slowly enforced it’s will on Celestia, the powerful mare would likely try to fight back physically, only to discover how the suit could control her own muscles through precise electric shocks. Gradually Celestia would exhaust her resources, both physical and magical, and the bound and silenced alicorn would then feel her most sacred spaces being invaded as the suit completed its envelopment by filling Celestia’s pussy with its invasive medical monitoring probe.

Twilight could see the shuddering, jerking spasms in her mind’s eye of her alicorn mentor finally succumbing to the controlling pleasure of the suit, as it completed the capture of Celestia by sinking a final latex shaft deep into her ass and sprouting the second tail that was the suit’s transmitter and measure of the suit’s health.

Only once Celestia was completely subdued, her eyes glazing over with exhaustion and mind mazed by endless orgasms, only then would Twilight lock the silver—

“Oof,” said Twilight aloud, as she walked into a suddenly stationary Starlight.

The unicorn promptly proceeded to collapse underneath Twilight’s sudden accidental assault, which caused Twilight to fall on top of her and the two ponies found themselves tangled up in each other. By the time both mares had managed to disengage and get back up to their hooves Twilight had almost forgotten what it was that had so thoroughly distracted her in the first place.

“What the heck was that all about?” asked Starlight’s words, dusting dirt off her suit even as it filled in the few scrapes it had taken from its stores of material.

“Sorry, was just sort of lost in thought there,” was Twilight’s reply, who for once was very glad that she was thoroughly gagged and muzzled, and thus unable to give anything away by what would have been a very embarrassed tone of voice. “Why did you stop?”

“‘Cause of that,” Starlight’s reply said, along with a glowing arrow that pointed at a stone door set into the tunnel’s end.

“Guess we have to go outside from here on out,” Twilight concluded, before adding, “Applejack said she would try to leave directions. Do you see a marker or any— oh!”

Twilight broke off as Starlight’s radiance lit up a series of words that had been carved into the stone wall reading, “GO EST TO RVR, TAK RVR N TO CAVE NDR WTRFAL”

“Direct, to the point, and with as much bad grammar as possible,” mused Starlight’s writing. “That’s definitely Applejack.”

“Okay,” Twilight’s word sign said, as she cast a spell that generated a map of the area. “As near as I can tell there is what looks like a dry riverbed to the east. I’m guessing that’s where we want to go.”

“Can you make the map any bigger?” Starlight replied back, studying the generated map. “Maybe get some more detail?”

“Not with the suit keeping most of my magic under wraps,” Twilight wrote back, shaking her head for emphasis. “This is as good as it gets. I figure about a six to eight hour walk.”

“Let’s go then,” Starlight replied. “The sooner we get going, the sooner we get out of what’s outside.”

Together, the two ponies opened the stone door and stepped out into the daylight. As before the ever-present wind blew dirt and grit past them, underneath a sky that was nothing more than shades of grey; some lighter, some darker, but overcast and grey all the same.

Twilight looked back to see that the door they had emerged from was set into a rounded stone outcropping which had been sandblasted and scoured until every surface on it was rounded and weathered. As she closed the portal back into the underworld Twilight saw Starlight casting a spell of her own, and stepped over to see what her unicorn companion was up to.

Starlight Glimmer had caused two things to come into being. The first was a map that was a duplicate to Twilight’s own, only with the addition of a glowing red “X” indicating their position, along with a dotted line showing their intended route of travel. The second item was a timer that was counting down hours, minutes, and seconds, starting at 174 hours.

“What’s that?” Twilight asked with her writing, half expecting the answer but needing to ask anyway.

“Time to lethal exposure,” Starlight replied, confirming the alicorn’s suspicions.

Nodding in acknowledgement, Twilight set out along the indicated course, with her companion following closely behind. Through it all was the constant howling of wind combined with the slither of sands that had once made up a happy and thriving pony kingdom.

For hours the pair traveled across a nearly trackless expanse of shifting ash and sand, broken only by rock outcroppings, the crumpled remains of buildings, and once by a railroad grading rose up like a long, narrow reef. It became apparent that without the beacon of a visible sun or moon through the oppressive cloud cover, it would be extremely easy to get lost.

“Good thing we made ourselves a map,” Starlight commented, as the banks of a now dusty stream came into view out of the omnipresent blur of debris filled wind. “Hey look, I think we found it.”

“Thank Celestia,” Twilight wrote back, descending into the rocky streambed and turning to the right. “I thought we were never going to find it.”

Neither pony considered the possibility that they might be travelling along the wrong watercourse, or that Applejack’s message had said “river” and not “stream.”

The stream banks were eroded, but even so they provided some shelter and Twilight noted that the air seemed clearer and lighter along the path the old stream gave them. Occasionally, Twilight noticed Starlight checking rocks set into the streambed and the bits of detritus that had managed to hide in their lee.

“Find anything?” Twilight asked after the sixth such check.

“Just some bits of odd black rock,” Starlight replied, her words oddly fuzzy for a bit before their edges sharpened up.

“You okay?” Twilight asked, as it wasn’t normal for Starlight to be less than bold with her magic.

“Yeah, I’m fine. Why?” Starlight responded, her words as sharp and strong as ever.

“Just checking. Nothing to worry about,” Twilight wrote back hastily, and then adding in much bolder letters. “Look! Look up ahead.”

The broad path of the dried up stream appeared to be giving way to an equally dried up bowl that was the remnants of a small lake or a large pond. At the far end of the oval depression was a cliff with a scoop out of its top and the dark opening of a cave at its bottom. The obvious remains of a small waterfall that had covered a cave when there was water here.

“Oh hey, look at that,” Starlight wrote, gesturing toward the cliff. “That’s where all those little black rocks came from.”

“I wonder why the cliff is black while everything else around here is grey or tan?” Twilight mused, as she noted the difference between the cliff and the surrounding strata.

“It’s probably an upthrust basalt,” Starlight pointed out, and the only thing that kept Twilight’s jaw from falling to the ground in shock was the muzzle around it. “You can see how it resisted erosion better than the surrounding rock.”

Twilight just stood and stared for several seconds.

“Hey, I’m no rockologist, but I know a thing or two,” Starlight added, her body posture having ‘smug’ written all over it. “So, should we go in, Mistress, or should we stand here and keep getting cooked under a low fire?”

Starlight walked toward the cave entrance and Twilight could hear her snickers clear through the unicorn’s own muzzle. The alicorn took a moment to smile as best she could at the other pony before quickly trotting to catch up with Starlight just shy of the mouth of the cave.

“Seems kind of small, but I guess maybe they had to do that to keep it secret?” Twilight commented, as she stepped up beside her friend.

“That and basalt is pretty tough, so it wouldn’t have been easy to tunnel through,” Starlight replied. “Though up close, I don’t know what kind of stone this actually is. Like I said, I’m not a rockologist.”

“Oh, you rock all right,” Twilight responded, giving her pet some earned praise before taking the lead and entering the narrow tunnel.

Initially, the two ponies had to walk single file, with their horns aglow to see where they were going, but within a few minutes the passage widened and they were able to walk side by side as they descended. The tunnel continued to widen until the walls were far enough apart that a wagon could have driven between them. It was at this point that Twilight discovered a fallen set of saddlebags along one wall of the tunnel.

“Somepony drop it?” Starlight asked, as her companion turned the long lost piece of tack inside out, finding nothing.

“Maybe,” Twilight answered, before noticing a series of small green orbs that seemed to be glowing. “Hey Starlight, turn off your horn light.”

“Yes Mistress,” was the immediate reply, as Starlight easily slipped back into her submission.

Twilight absorbed the change in her companion with a small smile but it was a secondary consideration to what she saw as she cut off the light from her own horn as well. As the ponies' eyes adjusted, it became clear that their own lights had been overpowering a steady glow being emitted by the small green bulbs. Twilight poked at one with a black clad hoof and was surprised to feel it give under her hoof.

“Starlight, these are organic!” Twilight dashed off in tall, underlined letters. “They’re alive!”

“That’s the first living thing we’ve found so far!” Starlight enthused. “We’ve got to be on the right track.”

“Let’s keep moving,” Twilight commanded, receiving a hearty nod of agreement from Starlight.

With their hoofsteps muffled by the enveloping symbiote that was bonded to them, both ponies walked deeper into the tunnel, which continued to be lit by a growing number of the green bulbs. Not only were there more of the bits of organic light but they were growing in size, until, as the duo emerged into a large grotto the bulbs were the size of a pony’s head, growing all along edges of the cavern walls..

Not seeing an exit, Twilight turned to ask Starlight if she saw anything, only to realize that her magic wasn’t working. Try as she might the alicorn was simply unable to make the now common mystical writing appear, and from the look on Starlight, it would appear she was having the same problem.

“Gmrph hrrfm,” was the best that Twilight could vocalize, gagged and muzzled as she was, and in that moment the alicorn realized that both of the bindings on her voice felt… odd. No longer solid masses with only a small bit of give to them, the cock gag in her mouth was feeling chewy, as if it was spreading out and her teeth were sinking into it, while the muzzle that had been holding her jaw closed for so long seemed to be relaxing and stretching.

As Twilight was trying to process these sensations, her body was assaulted by a sudden feeling of heaviness, as if the world had increased its gravity. Quickly following that was the feeling over every hair of her coat being tugged at and to her utter shock, Twilight began to see something she had never expected to observe.

The symbiotic suit that had bound and been bonded to her was coming off, all on its own. In the past, when the suit had been removed, it had still behaved as the semi-thinking, nearly brilliant piece of magic technology that it was. This time there was no purpose to its movements, no action that would show the suit material as anything other than a black liquid succumbing to the pull of gravity.

A coughing sound drew Twilight’s attention and she looked over to see Starlight hacking out the last bits of her gag as her own suit flowed off her into a growing puddle on the floor.

“Starlight! What’s going—uhhn,” Twilight groaned out, as her nether regions reacted to the sudden loss of the cock that had present for so long.

“I’m not sure,” Starlight replied, stepping clear of what appeared to be a dead puddle of darkness by her hooves. “But I’ve got a bad feeling about this.”

“Me too,” Twilight confirmed, looking around and seeing only green lit walls and blackness from the ceiling. “Can you make some light?”

“Not even a spark,” was Starlight’s response. “Hey! Do you think—EEK!”

Starlight’s yelp of shocked surprise came as a large grey thing landed on the unicorn’s back with a wet squelching sound. It immediately came to life, whipping out a series of thin grey tentacles to wrap around the base of Starlight’s neck and shoulders.

“Get it off!” the unicorn screamed, dancing around and trying to pry the squid like thing off of her. “Get it off!”

Twilight began to move forward, when something hit her own back, and she whipped her head around to see that another grey, tentacled, blob thing was quickly wrapping its own muscular cords around Twilight’s wing roots and around her barrel. The alicorn lifted a back hoof to paw at her attacker when yet another blob landed on her rump, quickly seizing her dock in an iron grip and whipping lines of flesh through the creases of both thighs.

“They’ve got me too!” Twilight yelled back, as the things began to drop in rapid succession and she was forced to concentrate on her own struggle as yet a third creature managed to land on the back of her neck.

“They’re ambush predators,” Starlight choked out, blob squids now squeezing her neck and barrel with multiple constricting cords of suckered tentacles. “Trying to… strangle us.”

Twilight had already come to the same conclusion. She could feel the shifts in tension and strength every time she took a breath. The creatures would ease up a bit as she inhaled, only to clamp down even harder on the following exhale. It was an intimate struggle as the tentacles wrapped and tightened, of life giving air slowly being denied her, of more of the things lashing out for anything they could grab onto.

Twilight’s ears were even grabbed and hauled back on, stretching her neck and allowing the growing choke collar of intertwined tentacles even greater access to her precious airway. The pressure was becoming too much to bear, and the alicorn could feel her breath and blood cutting off even as her legs were wrapped into ineffective columns.

Her breath coming in gasps now, the alicorn looked over toward her companion, only to see that Starlight was practically buried under a writhing mass of tentacles that humped and moved with what were likely the unicorn’s dying struggles. The lines of flesh that were squeezing Twilights teats and clit were practically afterthoughts at this point.

This is it, Twilight thought, collapsing onto her side, unable to stand up any longer.

The pressure on her neck and barrel increased, and breathing became impossible. The roaring in her ears overpowered the sound of even more of the things landing on and around her, and as Twilight’s vision began to fade her air starved mind went off on an odd tangent.

She recognized these things from somewhere.

In that moment of odd clarity, as a helpless Twilight went utterly still in complete surrender to the predators that had brought her down, something amazing happened. The tentacles around her throat slackened. Not much, but enough to allow Twilight to suck in a long shuddering breath. Even the living corset around her barrel and let off enough pressure to allow her to breathe.

A second breath relit Twilight’s mind and senses, but as she began to try to move again, the tentacles reaffirmed their death grip on the pony, even adding more tentacles that nuzzled up against her pussy and ass. Immobilized again through constricting suckered cords and lack of oxygen, Twilight was grateful when the things again slacked off enough to let her breathe, and she again sucked in needed air.

Only this time, the air was followed by a tentacle that filled her mouth in conjunction with two others that abruptly penetrated her ass and pussy without even a moment of preparation. Twilight shuddered with painful shock as her abused orifices again had to accommodate intruders, which began to hump and writhe inside of her, stoking her inner fires in spite of herself.

A sort of slimy gooey liquid began to be pumped into Twilight’s mouth through the tentacle there, and she tried to spit it out in automatic reflex, but the choking collar of living ropes around her throat writhed sinuously against the long column of her throat working her muscles and forcing her to swallow the vile spunk.

The slimy goo came in pulses each time the tentacle flared wide in her maw, almost like a stallion cumming in her mouth, and as she compelled to gulp down more of the stuff the alicorn began to feel a warmth settle over her body as it reacted to whatever it was that was being pumped down her throat..

At last, Twilight could swallow no more of the vile glop even forced as she was, and it was with a gasp of relief that the tentacle withdrew. However, the length of flesh was not done with her and it proceeded to smear the slimy remnants all over Twilight’s face and muzzle, forcing her to close her eyes as they were covered by the gluey glop.

Meanwhile, the tentacles buried deep in both of Twilight’s intimate passages decided to react to the growing heat of their captive by rippling and flaring themselves wide in an alternating pattern. Two pumping ripples followed by a flare that pushed against Twilight’s inner walls, drawing a groan of pleasure from her as their motions dragged along the mare’s most sensitive nerves.

Pump, pump, flare.

The living ropes that cocooned the alicorn from the top of her neck to the ends of her hooves joined in the pattern of motion, becoming a single pulsing mass of muscle that worked and squeezed against Twilight. The mare, unable to resist, felt her body begin to react and undulate in time with her fleshy bonds.

Pump, Pump, flare.

Twilight was nothing but a lump of flesh now, one that moved and breathed and squirmed in time to the rhythm of the pulsing chains of grey flesh that held her in a grip of steel. She was being fucked from both the inside and the outside, the ultimate cocksleeve.

Pump, Pump, Flare

Twilight couldn’t see anymore, the slime over her face and muzzle had hardened into a solid mass, blinding her. All she could hear was the shifting of the coils enmeshing her, all she could smell was the combination of her sweat and their skin, all she could feel was their complete dominance over her, as they moved her body in a strange, rolling wave.

PUMP, Pump, Flare.

Then she felt it. A round something that pushed against her lower lips. An impossibly huge mass that pressed against her insufficient opening like a battering ram poised to strike. A moment later, another series of pumps and flare pushed the mass forward, stretching her wide with ecstatic agony as the mass breached her gates to nestle deep inside her.

PUMP, PUMP, Flare.

Another round cannonball of orgasmic destruction nosed against her flesh, but this one was poised at the gate of her most forbidden passage. The muscles that guarded that place were of a stronger sort than their sisters below, and resisted the first attempt to stretch them wide to allow entry of the object. But the tentacles had their prey completely in their power, and one set of muscles were no match for their combined might and a second onslaught found Twilight anally destroyed with a mass lodged deep in her ass as well as her pussy.

PUMP, PUMP, FLARE.

I’m being bred Twilight realized, mind bending under the combined assault of pain and pleasure as a second ovoid joined the first deep inside her vagina. I’m being made into a broodmare, a breeding animal.

When the first mass in her ass was paired with a second, the thinking part of Twilight’s mind shut down entirely as it was overloaded by the waves of pain and pleasure that bolted through her in regular, pulsating intervals. Every pump pushed another sphere toward the mare through the maze of tentacles wrapped around her. Every flare of the ovipositor released another mass to join its fellows lodged deep inside the living incubator that had been Twilight Sparkle.

Some unknown amount of time later, the alicorn regained her powers of cognition. Twilight was still unable to see, but a quick self-assessment told her that she was mercifully free of the creatures that had wrapped her in a web of living flesh, and she blindly staggered to hooves whereupon multiple things became quickly evident.

First, her stomach, womb and ass were all filled to capacity and more. Every movement Twilight made caused the masses inside of her to move and shift, sometimes pleasurably, sometimes most definitely not. Secondly, the slime that her face had been covered in had hardened into an opaque mass that she could neither see through, nor break with a hoof.

Third, some of that same slime had remained in her mouth and had solidified around her teeth and tongue, locking them in place and keeping her mouth partially open. Fourth, and finally, one of the creatures was still riding on her back. Which she found out when it delivered a stinging whip blow with its tentacles to both of her ass cheeks, driving Twilight into rolling, forward motion.

Unable to see, barely able to hear, Twilight staggered forward. Every time she tried to stop there came another searing whip blow to either side of her tail, driving her forward like an unthinking beast. Like an animal that had served its purpose and was being driven out to pasture. One time, the sharp strike was to her shoulder, levering her into a harsh turn, and she stumbled up against something soft and furry.

“Wheeeheee ah,” sounded a shocked whinny, and Twilight was just able to recognize it as Starlight’s voice. An unfelt stinging slap sounded in Twilight's ears, followed by another inarticulate cry and Twilight realized that her friend was being whipped along through the passage as well.

“Wheehesse,” Twilight whinnied back, in her attempt to say Starlight’s name and give the other mare some comfort.

Both mares were the recipients of yet more slaps to their ass cheeks, motivating them along. Twilight was oddly glad for the forceful encouragement as moving with a completely stuffed belly, pussy and ass was difficult, at best. Even worse was the fact that what was crammed into her intimate passages wasn’t just a single lump or shaft, but rather a series of solid round masses that moved, shifted, and rolled around inside of Twilight.

Every step was a battle to avoid succumbing to an orgasm as the things slid against her G-spot, or ground against the opening to her womb, or rubbed the thin wall of flesh between vagina and ass, which has its own cargo of round masses that slid back and forth. Twilight tried to expel the things inside of her, only to realize that more of the slime had been applied to her body there, sealing her openings behind the same hardened shell that now covered most of her head.

Another set of burning slaps to her butt set the alicorn into a painful gallop, and as she felt the wind strike her body Twilight realized that her “rider” had driven her out of the cave that she and Starlight had thought held the promise of sanctuary. Instead of finding the haven they sought, they had been attacked, forced to swallow some horrible sort of fluid and implanted with what were probably eggs of some sort.

A final whip strike followed by a lightness on her back told Twilight that she had been released by her hideous captors and she wasted no time in trying to channel power to her horn in order to free herself. Instead of the glory of magic filling her, Twilight was instead overcome by ecstatic agony as the things inside of her seemed to go into a frenzy of activity, driving all conscious thought and sorcery from Twilight’s mind.

When she came to, Twilight was lying on her side, the things inside of her reasonably quiescent again. Gingerly, she rolled upright and whinnied out a call for Starlight, only to hear nothing. Blinded and almost deafened as Twilight was herself by her own encased head, Starlight must have walked right past Twilight without even noticing her.

Getting back to her hooves, Twilight set off as best she could in search of her companion and calling out every few minutes. Every so often the things inside of her would shift and stir, and the mare would shudder and writhe, letting herself enjoy the stimulation now that she was being allowed to. After what seemed like endless hours of walking Twilight thought she heard an answering call, and she turned in the direction of the noise, only to again feel something slide around her neck and jerk tight.

Survival instincts and remembered terrors leaped to the fore of Twilight’s mind and she reared, spun in place and began to run. The thrill of success filled her mind as she felt something being dragged behind her, and the grip on her neck slacked. The victory was short-lived however, as seconds later another, stronger, circle of constriction locked itself around Twilight’s throat and began to again close off her windpipe.

Vowing not to go down without a fight the alicorn reared and bucked, stomping her hooves and lashing out as best she could, until something looped around all four of hooves at once, cinching them together and bringing Twilight down in a heap. A weight fell onto her side, and the mare began to blindly lash out with her horn until a voice stopped her cold.

“Easy there, sugarcube. Yer safe. Ah’ve got you. Ah’ve got you.”

Author's Note

Well, that was quite the chapter.

To quote Jayne Cobb, "I'll be in my bunk."

If you want to drop me a line I can often be found hanging out on Discord as Penalt#8263. As a night shift worker my hours are weird so it might take me a bit to reply.

If you like this and other stories of mine, you can support me on Patreon for as little as a dollar a month.

All Patrons get regular excerpts of whatever I'm currently working on.

Patreon is probably one of the best things ever for keeping content creators like me in keyboards, coffee and chairs. Your support is what keeps me going.

A big shout out to the ongoing support through Patreon by:

Canary in the Coal Mine
Damaged
Airar
Drazhan
Kereko
A.P.O.N.I
Shaushka
Machara
Jamin P Rose
Raging Mouse, and
Free.

The Blasted Lands, Part 5

Twilight tried not to choke as her tether was pulled back, causing the metal of the close fitting collar around her neck to dig into the front of her throat. The pressure kept up though, and she was forced to take a step backwards to relieve the pressure and allow her to breathe.

“Easy there, Flare,” Twilight heard Applejack call out to her companion, using the name the earth pony mare had given the unicorn. “Ya don’t have to stop so fast. Yer a good pony but ya dang near strangled Star there. Next time, come to a slow stop when Ah twitch your rein like that.”

“Aeeooah,” was Starlight Glimmer’s whinnied response. The hardened resin in her mouth having locked tongue and teeth into place as solidly as Twilight's were, and just as surely rendering speech into a distant fantasy.

“Sorry about that, Star,” Applejack said, using her name for Twilight and running what was probably meant to be a comforting hoof along Twilight’s back. “Flare’s a good pony. Couldn’t ask for better behaved. But she ain’t used to bein’ hooked up to another pony, is she?”

Twilight shook her head to confirm Applejack’s suspicion, the only response she could really make with her head and mouth encased in solid resin. Belly, womb and ass stuffed full of eggs that struggled violently inside of her anytime Twilight even made the slightest attempt to use magic.

“Didn’t think so. Down girls,” Applejack gently commanded, the stroking hoof translating into a soft earthward push. “We’ve been walking for a coupla of hours now and you two need a waterin’ and a bit of a break.”

Twilight obediently sank to her knees, the line connecting the back of her collar to the front of Starlight's going tight again for a moment, before slackening again as the mares obeyed the command of their… captor? Twilight thought about that for a moment as she listened to the ever present wind and the rustle of saddlebags.

After being driven from the lair of the land octopi, as Twilight had decided to call them, both herself and Starlight had been discovered by an exploring Applejack, who had wasted no time in getting her ropes onto both mares and bringing them down before either could continue their panic driven flight.

So while Applejack certainly had captured them, it had also been very much a rescue as well considering the state the tentacled creatures had left both of them in. Blinded and deafened by resin hoods, unable to expel their oviposited cargo of living eggs, the mares had been made into the perfect traveling incubators for the squid spawn. A pony in their state would have no choice but to aimlessly wander the land before collapsing of exhaustion or dehydration, their body providing both cover and a first meal for the eggs when they eventually hatched.

Of course, it didn’t help the captured feeling in that while AJ had indeed rescued them from a horrible fate, the former farmer had also hobbled both ponies, limiting their strides to a walking pace; and she had connected both implanted mares to each other via a tether, leading them around on a leash.

“Drink up, Star,” Applejack ordered, placing the mouth of a canteen in Twilight’s forced open maw, and dribbling in a small stream of water so she wouldn't choke on the life-giving substance.

As Twilight concentrated on keeping her throat relaxed, part of her clenched around the masses inside of her as she realized just how like an animal she was being treated like just now. Hobbled and on a leash, dependent on her owner for direction, being fed and watered as they wished her to be, even her name being at her owner’s discretion; it all fired up Twilight’s… no, Star’s, submissive side and made her womb roil and roll against the round masses filling her.

Who responded by rubbing and squirming against all of her sensitive nerves, reminding Star that not only was she a kept animal, but that she was also a broodmare who had been fully bred and was now being led along to whatever fate her owner had in mind for her. The thought made her insides spasm even more against the new lives inside of her, which made them roll and writhe even more, which in turn made Star respond all the harder.

The cycle built and built, with Star grinding her underside into the ground as the mental and physical stimulation threatened to throw her into a massive orgasmic release, right up until a massive spike of pain in her rump pinned the impending orgasm in place.

“NO!” shouted Applejack, landing a second sharp blow on Star’s other buttock. “You c’aint cum. Bad pony! No!”

Star whined in hurt frustration, looking toward where the voice had come from, her burning desire thoroughly quenched by the unexpected discipline.

“Ah’m sorry, girl. Ah know it feels good,” Applejack apologized, her thick accent getting even harder to understand. “But Ah c’aint let you cum. If’n you do, them eggs inside ya might crack an’ hatch an’ rip their way outta ya. Ah dun want that, an’ Ah’m sure Flare don’t neither.”

Knocked back to reality by the understanding that giving into her desires could literally kill her, Twilight nodded her head to show she understood and tried to make a comforting noise.

“You just rest another minute or two while Ah get some water into Flare,” Applejack told Twilight, who was more than happy to continue sitting and let the twin stings in her ass continue to fade. "An' no more rubbin' yerself."

It seemed only a moment later, but soon enough Twilight was being hauled back up to her hooves and the trio continued to make their way across the blasted landscape that had once been the wilds between Ponyville and Canterlot. Although Applejack did her best to guide both the blinded travellers,Twilight learned that she had to be quick to respond to the guiding tugs on her tether.

“That’s it Star, yer gettin’ it,” Applejack praised, after Twilight’s quick obedience guided her around another unseen obstacle. “Good girl.”

The praise threatened to drive the alicorn back into a potentially deadly submissive haze, and it was with some mental effort that Twilight remembered that she was Twilight Sparkle and not “Star,” nice as it was as a name. Which made Twilight wonder how Starlight was managing with the deep submissive tendencies she had.

“Almost there, girls,” Applejack said, breaking Twilight out of her reverie. “Another five or ten minutes and we’ll be outta this and safe.”

True to her word, a few minutes later the wind stopped its howling and Twilight felt a coolness wash over her as she was led under cover, into what the alicorn assumed was the actual entrance to the refuge that she and Starlight had been seeking.

“Whoa nelly, that’s relief,” Applejack declared. “Always good to get back home. Just follow mah lead for a bit more and we can get you two taken care of.”

Starlight gave a nicker of pleased acknowledgement as their hooves began to clank on an iron walkway and their route continued on in a downward path. The trio kept walking, pausing only long enough for Applejack to open several very solid sounding doors in their path and closing them behind the group.

“Hey Applejack,” an unknown male voice called out, at long last. “How’d it go?”

“Pretty good, Open Skies. Ah found a couple of survivors out there,” replied the earth pony, pride in her voice.

“You did?” asked Open Skies, his voice incredulous. “Sweet Celestia, you did! And… and are those wings? You found a pegasus mare?”

“Easy there, loverboy,” Applejack responded, her voice full of guarded humour. “Star here’s got a horn too, she ain’t a pegasus.”

“But she’s part pegasus, right?” was Open Skies response, with a note of hunger that sent a shiver down Twilight’s spine.

“Open Skies, you gonna let us in or what?” Applejack shot back, her voice turning sour. “The dang changelings got ahold of ‘em and you know what that means. Ah gotta get ‘em to the Mistress before they pop and we lose ‘em both. That what you want?”

“Shit, you’re right. You’re right,” swore the still unseen stallion. “Lemme just get the hatch open and we’ll get you in.”

As the hatch opened metallic booms echoed all around the trio of mares, allowing Applejack to discreetly whisper, “Sorry ‘bout that, Star. You best be careful after mah Mistress takes care of you. Don’t go wanderin’ off by yerself, anywhere. These days, a pair of wings on a mare are a liability.”

“Wow, she’s hot too,” observed Open Skies, as the trio walked through portal and into safety. The first thing Twilight noticed first was that there was actually moisture in the air, and that the air had a distinct lack of the sand and dust that had been ever present elsewhere.

The second thing Twilight noticed was the touch of a hoof on her flank.

“You’re soft too, and lavender, and your wings are gorgeous,” enthused the stallion. “Sweet Celestia, I could just nibble on your primaries all day lo—”

The removal of Open Skies hoof was simultaneous with the sound of a blow being stuck, and followed a moment later by the sound of a pony impacting a nearby wall.

“You leave her the hell alone, you got that?” Applejack thundered. “She ain’t got no way to say ‘yes’ or ‘no’ right now, and jes’ cause she c’aint say ‘no’ right now don’t mean you get ta feel up her flank.”

“Sorry, AJ,” came the shaking voice of the stallion. “Won’t happen again. It’s just been so long…”

“Ah know, so Ah won’t say anything… this time,” warned Applejack. “None of us want to be another ‘Fast Clip’, do we?”

“No ma’am,” replied Open Skies, and Twilight could hear the fear in his voice.

“Alright, Ah’ll let everypony else know it’s all clear up here,” stated Applejack. “Right?”

“Right,” Open Skies answered, voice firming up. “Maybe later… after she can talk?”

“Maybe later, after she can talk,” Applejack confirmed, before adding, “but that will be up to her, right?”

“Right,” agreed the stallion, confidence filling his voice as he formally added, “welcome to Bolthole One, ladies. We’re very glad you’re with us.”

Applejack led both mares away, deeper into the unseeable depths of the “Bolthole” and as they travelled it became clear that Applejack was something of a favorite of the ponies who lived there. Several times the little convoy was forced to stop as somepony noticed the newcomers, and wanted to chat with Applejack about them, and to express interest in Twilight’s wings.

“Ah wanted to explain once the Mistress got that gunk offa ya so we could have a proper talk,” Applejack began, after the ninth time a stallion had expressed an interest in Twilight, “but Ah guess it c’aint wait.”

“Ah ha,” mouthed Twilight, curiosity afire.

“Ya see,” continued the orange mare, drawing her charges along again, “it’s like this. We all had it bad when Sunfall hit, but pegasuses had it worst. Unless one of them were near the ground when it all went down, they didn’t have a chance. There weren’t a single pony that got out of either Cloudsdale or Las Pegasus. Not one.”

Starlight made a pitying sound of sympathy from her gagged muzzle.

“So yeah,” Applejack said, keeping on with her explanation. “There weren’t a whole lot of pegasus survivors, and even fewer pegasus mares. Which means a lot of stallions are going without, and when ya add on them feelin’ the need ta breed and bring their numbers up. Well, sometimes bad things happen.”

Twilight made a questioning sound that turned into a grunt as she bumped into a wall during a turn.

“Careful there, Star,” cautioned Applejack, taking a firmer hold on Twilight’s tether. “And yeah, that’s why Open Skies was gettin’ all hoovsie there with ya. An’ Ah had to smack him down ‘cause a what happened to Scootaloo.”

“Ooo A Ooo?” Twilight managed to garble out.

“Scoots is a little pegasus filly, cute as a button,” Applejack explained, not knowing it was needless. “Made it through cause the little darlin’ can barely get off the ground as it is, and took cover durin’ Sunfall. Anyhow, seems Fast Clip took a shine to her and didn’t care that Scoots wasn’t a mare grown. He jes’ had to have her.”

“Ooh, ‘hid,” Twilight and Starlight mouthed in chorus.

“Oh shit is right,” growled Applejack. “Son of a bitch got caught right in the middle of rapin’ her. After most of the mares here beat the asshole half death, they dragged him up in front of the Princess. What she did to him… well, Ah was as mad as the next mare, but what she did that day to that pony. Turned my blood cold, it did.”

“Lift your hooves a bit the next few steps,” Applejack warned, interrupting her own tale. The sound of hooves changed from a metallic clanking to rocky thuds as Twilight felt herself step over a lintel of some sort.

“There you are at last, my dear Applejack,” called a happy voice, in cultured tones that Twilight knew. “And wonderful, you’ve brought guests.”

“Yes Ma’am,” replied Applejack, warmth suffusing her voice. “Permission to finish up telling them what happened to Fast Clip.”

“Of course, my little pony,” Rarity commanded, approvingly. “Then let’s get that ghastly goop off of them. Lime green is such a poor colour combination with lavender.”

“Any how, to make a grim story short, the Princess had the bastard castrated, blinded and banished,” Applejack concluded. “Hasn’t been any problems since.”

“You failed to mention the passive protections that have been implemented since then as well, forgetful pet,” Rarity gently corrected Applejack, as Twilight felt a harness of some sort being pulled around her body and tightened until they made her exhale with a whoosh.

“Sorry Mistress,” responded the chastened earth pony. “This here is ‘Star’ and ‘Flare’. Found ‘em near the changeling lair.”

“You are forgiven, darling,” Rarity soothed, before turning her attention to the two now bound ponies. Twilight realizing her new harness bound her to a rigid support of some sort. “Now, ‘Star’ and ‘Flare’ was it? Please do not panic. You are completely safe.”

“E hee oo ah!” whinnied Starlight, words destroyed but their meaning clear.

“We will free you as soon as we get those nasty larvae out of you,” Rarity stated, her voice velvet, but with an iron core. “The process can be very nasty and unpleasant, so you both have been harnessed to prevent accidents. You have my word that I will release you as soon as I am sure neither of you will spontaneously explode at some point in the next three days.”

“Ee ooha?” was Starlight’s whickered question.

“Indeed,” Rarity replied. “We will start by getting that resin off of your heads so that we can have a proper conversation. The solvent please, my Pet.”

“Yes Mistress!” shouted Applejack happily.

For what felt like hours Twilight and her companion endured a never ending chain of soaks, chippings, snippings, clippings and outright pushings. However, all the pulled ears and missing bits of fur were rewarded as at long last the resin helmets that had been stuck fast to both ponies were removed in a single large chunk.

“Oh my, you two are simply lovely,” Rarity purred, and Twilight blinked as she got her first real look at the ponies of this world.

Where Twilight called home, both Rarity and Applejack were both of middle weight and build. Despite a very large appetite, Applejack kept her weight down through a steady routine of farm chore exercise and while Rarity was not one for physical exertion, she watched her food intake like a hawk to prevent excess calories from “ruining her figure.”

In this world however, both mares were lean, with barely a spare ounce on either. In Rarity’s case she had chosen to accentuate this with black stockings and a richly tooled corset of black leather and had the effect of slimming down the sparse appearance of the already sinewy pony.

Applejack also wore black leather in the form of an equipment harness that was festooned with packs, pouches and rings which held a dizzying array of gear. The largest part of which was a large crystal which glowed a sullen red and lay along the earth pony’s spine just forward of the curve of her hips.

“Woo whee, you sure is a pretty one Flare,” Applejack commented, and as she turned her head toward Rarity, Twilight was treated to the sight of a green leather collar that was secured around the earth pony’s throat with a gleaming silver lock in the shape of a diamond. “Hey Mistress, I think we’re gonna need a size seven for Flare and a size nine for Star. Whatcha think?”

“Applejack, how many times have I asked you to watch your diction,” Rarity lobbed back, and Twilight got the feeling that it was an old and much loved battle between the two ponies. “Besides, we still have much to do. Be a dear, and get out the dental tools and work on the resin stuck in Flare’s mouth. I’ll work on Star’s.”

Another eternity later, and Rarity was easing the hollow plug out of Twilight's mouth. The alicorn took the opportunity to work her sore jaw muscles before trying to speak.

“Hello,” Twilight began. “My name is Twi—glurk!”

“Sorry darling,” Rarity apologized, as she held a soft flask in Twilight’s mouth and forced her to swallow the contents while the alicorn struggled ineffectively against the sudden assault. “It’s best to do this quickly and get it over with.”

“Ick,” declared Twilight half a minute later, the flask being removed after the last of the syrupy liquid had been slid down her gullet. “What is that stuff?”

“Poison,” Rarity said simply, and Twilight's imagination treated her to a host of terrible scenarios before the thin mare continued. “Not to you of course, but for what those nasty things put inside of you. Now brace yourself, darling. This is the unpleasant part.”

“Hurk!” cried Starlight a moment later, as she violently vomited into a large bucket being held by a waiting Applejack.

A moment later a tidal wave of gastric reversal struck Twilight as she too began to heave up the contents of her stomach into a container that a helpful Rarity held in place for her. Spasm after spasm rocked both mares, until Twilight was sure she was trying to regurgitate her hooves from the inside out.

“There, there,” Rarity soothed, holding a soft damp cloth against Twilight’s face when the last of the wretched convulsions had finally passed, leaving the alicorn weak as a kitten and grateful for the foresight of having something to hold her up. “How much did we get, Applejack?”

“Them dang changelings musta pumped poor Flare near ta burstin’,” Applejack declared, wiping off Starlight’s face. “Filled two whole buckets.”

“Wha… what is that stuff?” Twilight managed to croak out, curiosity giving her the strength to speak.

“It’s an enzyme that helps the larvae digest the flesh of their host once their hatching kills the poor pony that’s been incubating them,” Rarity answered, then adding as she saw Twilight’s harnessed body instinctively begin to try to flee. “Easy Star. My Applejack found you in plenty of time to get those beastly things out of you. You are safe with us.”

“So why are we still harnessed up like livestock?” demanded Starlight, rocking back and forth ineffectually.

“Because you’ve just had a very draining experience and the next part, while very pleasant, is even more so,” Rarity explained. “Plus, Star’s reaction a moment ago is by no means unique. We ponies run from danger out of pure instinct, and that flight instinct cost us a few well-loved friends before we realized that this is the best way to help an implanted pony and successfully harvest the larvae inside of them.”

“Harvest?” Twilight asked, confused. “What in Celestia’s name would you be harvesting them for?”

“A question for a question,” Rarity said with a smile, pulling Twilight’s head forward with a light tug on her silver control collar. “Tell me who your owner is, the one who placed these lovely collars around your necks. Simple, unadorned silver. Plain, yet bold. Unassuming, but utterly inescapable with neither hinge, lock or key, and obviously custom made for the both of you.”

“Um, Mistress?” Applejack asked deferentially, a pair of mugs with straws sticking out of them balanced on her back. “Hadn’t we outta, ya know, get some apples in ‘em first?”

“What? Oh, right you are my Apple,” Rarity agreed, before Twilight even had a chance to frame her answer to the dominatrix pony that Rarity was in this world. “Calories first, then harvesting. We can swap questions and answers later.”

“But I—” the lavender alicorn began only to be silenced by a delicate hoof.

“Drink, darling,” Rarity ordered, her tone brooking no disobedience. “I may not be your mistress, and I may not have my shop anymore, but I am more than capable of muzzling you and forcing you to drink this fine apple juice. Understood?”

Both harnessed mares responded by taking long pulls of sweet apple cider into their mouths. Twilight had to suppress a sigh of contentment as the flavours of the blended juice exploded across her tongue even as the fruit sugars began to deliver a near immediate spike of energy to the enervated pony.

“Good girls,” praised Rarity, stroking Twilight’s mane. “Somepony trained both of you well.”

“Thank you,” Starlight replied, finishing off her mug. “My name is Starlight, by the way. Starlight Glimmer.”

“Dang it, weren’t even close,” Applejack complained, “How about you, Star? Did Ah even get it in the buckball field with you?”

“A little bit,” Twilight said, after slurping the last dregs of her mug. “My name is Twilight Sparkle.”

“It is a pleasure to meet you both,” Rarity stated, eyes twinkling over a broad smile as some new things floated into view on her magic, including a pair of solid looking bridles that were complete with broad bits and inhibitor rings. “Brace yourselves darlings, I simply relish this part of the process.”

Author's Note

So, going forward this story will be updated at the whims of my patrons on Patreon. Every month my patrons get to vote on which story they would like to see me work on following my commissioned story of the month.

If you want a vote, join my Patreon for as little as a dollar a month and cast your ballot for whichever story you would like to have me update.

Current patrons include:

Canary in the Coal Mine
Damaged
Airar
Drazhan
Kereko
A.P.O.N.I
Shaushka
Machara
Jamin P Rose
Raging Mouse
Free,
Spectrum Scholar,
and
Renegade.

The Blasted Lands, Part 6

“Whoa,” protested Twilight, just before Rarity was about to begin bridling her. “I get the support frame, but where I come from putting a bridle on a pony is something reserved for the bedroom.”

“And I would love to have you as my harnessed, collared, bridled, and utterly helpless love slave,” Rarity responded, in more ways than one. “But you are not mine, at least not in the way my Apple is. No, this bridle is to protect everypony while we get those nasty things out of you and Starlight.”

“How bad is it going to be?” Starlight asked, nosing her head into the bridle Applejack was holding out for her, who blinked for a moment in surprise before beginning the task of securing the device to the harnessed unicorn.

“Bad enough that we need to bind your magic, and keep you from biting your own tongues,” Rarity answered, nodding in approval as Starlight accepted the bridle’s bit, complete with spoon, with absolutely no hesitation. “And while I admit I enjoy binding a pony, I will not enjoy bringing you the pain I am about to in order to save your lives.”

“Give me your word that this is necessary,” Twilight demanded, bridle still bare inches from her head. “Give me your word that you have to do this and that you will release us once you’ve got these eggs out of us.”

“I swear I do this to save your lives,” Rarity declared, in a solemn voice, “and that afterward you will be as unbound as you wish to be. I swear this by my horn and by my magic.”

“Good enough,” Twilight stated, opening her mouth and trying not to gag as the bit’s spoon slid over and entrapped her tongue.

Another moment and all sensation of magic vanished from her as the bridle’s inhibitor ring settled around her horn and the headgear was tightened firmly against her head with the slithering sound of straps and buckles. Then to Twilight’s surprise Rarity wrapped a tall leather collar around her throat as well, its stiff walls greatly limiting how much the alicorn could move her head.

“Now, if both of you could try thrashing around a bit…” Rarity requested, and both bound mages obligingly threw themselves against their bonds for a few seconds.

“Applejack, tighten the straps over Starlight’s left shoulder please,” Rarity ordered, before turning to Twilight. “As for you my dear, breathe out please.”

Twilight started to breathe out in a controlled manner, until Rarity heaved on the straps around Twilight’s belly and forced the air out of the alicorn with a whoosh.

“There, that’s better,” Rarity said, before taking a breath and simply saying, “let us begin.”

The next thing that Twilight felt was her tail being lifted and something wrapped around her dock. The alicorn made a few attempts to bring her tail back down but the tailcuff had already been secured to her harness, trapping her tail in position just as much as every other part of her was secured.

“Just keeping that lovely skirt of yours up and out of the way,” Rarity commented, as Twilight began to feel an oily liquid starting to coat her rear. “This solvent will help release the resin’s adhesion to your hide, but it tends to not be all that friendly to hair. My apologies, Twilight.”

“Athay,” was all that Twilight managed to reply, with the bit’s spoon keeping her tongue from forming anything resembling speech.

As the pair of native ponies had done previously with the head pieces, Rarity and Applejack carefully painted, scraped and eased their way further and further under the hard resin encasements on the captive couple. However, unlike the helms that had been glued to Starlight and Twilight’s head, these hardened plaster-like coverings also had wide anchoring plugs lodged in both ponies to ensure they could not be expelled.

Every twitch, every tug, every motion Rarity made was immediately transmitted to the hard lump inside of Twilight, rubbing against some of her most delicate and sensitive nerve endings.

“Aooo,” moaned the captive alicorn, feeling her wings flutter against their bindings as Twilight felt herself becoming aroused by the attention her G-spot was receiving. An arousal that increased as she felt the greasy solvent finally penetrate to her labia and slide over the growing button of her clit.

“Now, we just let that sit for a minute to make sure everything is nicely coated before we go to the next step,” Rarity stated, stepping around and into Twilight’s field of vision again. “But, we certainly don’t want you getting bored do we?”

“Aah?” asked Twilight, trying and failing to ignore the sexual heat that was growing inside of her.

“Mistress says that you are not to cum, Twilight,” Rarity commanded, with a smile, as Twilight felt the entire mass attached to her rear begin to vibrate. “At least not until I tell you to. Can you do that for Mistress Rarity? Can you be a good pony and obey?”

At any other moment in time, Twilight would have likely rolled her eyes and replied sarcastically in a manner befitting either Rainbow Dash or Dashiel, but here and now she was completely at the mercy of the elegant rigger whose magic was expertely driving Twilight's inner fires higher and the alicorn realized there was wisdom in submission and obedience at the moment.

“Ahth,” Twilight responded, nodding as much as the posture collar would allow. “Ahth.”

“Good girl. I simply need to check on my dear little Apple,” Rarity said, lovingly stroking Twilight’s mane. “Applejack, how are you doing with our lovely Starlight?”

“Just through, Ma’am,” responded the earth pony. “Our Starlight’s a good girl too.”

“Excellent,” said Rarity, and a breath later Twilight heard a long moan from Starlight. “Now, just like your friend, Starlight: you are not allowed to cum until Applejack tells you to.”

The vibrations coming from Twilight’s own buried plugs were becoming harder and harder to ignore, and she began going through some calculations in her head to try to distract herself from the ever growing desire to give in to the pleasurable sensations coming from her ass and pussy.

“Still with us, Twilight?” Rarity asked, coming to look Twilight in the eye. “Good girl. Now comes the fun part. Remember, you are not allowed to cum until I say so. Understood?”

“Ath. Aaaaaaa,” moaned Twilight, as Rarity ramped up the vibrations a notch, and it was only with an effort of will that Twilight stopped herself from pulling against her bonds in a vain attempt to bring herself off.

Time passed and what had begun pleasurably descended into some of the worst, or best, erotic torture Twilight had ever run up against. Every time the alicorn began to master a level of the stimulation Rarity was providing her, the unicorn rigger would turn up the vibrations, forcing Twilight to find a way control the flames inside of her before she violated the command:

Don’t Cum.

Moans coming from her companion told Twilight that her friend was suffering through the same sensations. Sensations that took a new turn when instead of increasing the power of the quivering plugs in her, Rarity opted to alter their frequency instead, so that rather than a single hum of pleasure in her, the vibrations pounded at her in waves. Trying to force her to break the command:

Don’t Cum.

By now, Twilight had given up trying to control her limbs, and she writhed against her bonds, which held like bands of iron against her steaming flesh. She had lost contact with the outside world as her mind focused solely on the building lightning in her loins. Somehow Rarity had managed to get one area to buzz away at one speed, while the other part moved at another, and when the wavefronts of pleasure met the only thing that kept Twilight from exploding was the soft whisper in her ear of:

“Don’t Cum.”

Twilight had lost all sense of time and space. All that mattered to her was the roaring infernos in her pussy and ass. Raging maelstroms of pleasure that were burning her sanity and will to resist. Any moment now, command or not, Twilight would break and fail. She would give in to—

“Does my little pony want to cum?” whispered a voice, strong and soft, like steel sliding over silk. “Does my helpless, needy pony need to cum for Mistress?”

“Ath! Ath!” Twilight begged, uncaring of rank, position or power. In that moment she would have said or done nearly anything… Just to have permission.

“Then cum for me, my little Twilight,” commanded that same voice of silken steel. “Cum NOW!”

The quivering in Twilight’s loins ramped up one last time and the captive alicorn’s body threw itself into a thunderous orgasm, but as the first unstoppable shudders of ecstasy began to crunch down on the eggs buried inside of her, a tremendous pulling force made itself known as Rarity started to pull on the resin cast anchor plugs buried inside Twilight.

The storm of pleasure howling through Twilight was matched with excruciating agony as the massive lumps spread Twilight in ways that were never supposed to happen short of giving birth. Moans of pleasure and pain in equal volume sounded through the chamber as the widest part of the plugs began to move through passages that had been made pliable and as receptive as possible through the long vibrational foreplay and arousal.

Ecstasy and anguish crested as the massive anchors made their tortuous, erotic passage to the outside world. The combined pleasure and pain ate what little sentience Twilight had left, reducing her to an animal that was trapped between begging for the terrible pain to stop and wanting nothing more than for the accompanying exaltation to continue for eternity. Finally, the alicorn’s mind could take no more and Twilight Sparkle crashed into blissful unconsciousness.

“There, there. The worst is over,” said a voice, an infinite age later. “You did very well, Twilight. Only the last bit left and we’re done.”

Twilight’s barely audible groan turned into a piercing whinny as something that felt like an entire hoof plunged deep into her holiest of holies, throwing her into yet another crashing orgasm. A heartbeat later the hoof withdrew only to plunge into her ass this time setting off another crash of pleasure amongst the echoes of the first.

When that questing hoof made its next plunge, this time back into her pussy, part of Twilight had simply had enough. She had already been run to exhaustion, had already experienced a blend of pleasure and pain that would have had nearly any pony begging for release, but this on top of all that was simply too much.

“Stop struggling, Darling. You can’t escape, and this is for your own good,” came Rarity’s voice in her ear. “You are safe. Trust me.”

Twilight wasn’t listening. Her mind was operating on only one imperative, and so she flung herself against her restraints, pushing both physical and magical bonds to their absolute limits. The sound of creaking leather and slowly bending steel began to sound in the room as alicorn level strength began to overcome the physical limitations placed on Twilight’s body.

“Mistress!” cried an alarmed Applejack. “Look at ‘er horn ring! We need ta let ‘er out.”

“We can’t. Her eggs are already cracked,” Rarity called back, and Twilight could see the pony who would be her first victim scrambling for something amongst her tools. “We’ve got to get them out of her now or they’ll kill her.”

The sound of a snapping hoofcuff sounded like a thunderclap in the room.

“I’m sorry, Twilight,” Rarity cried, rushing back with something silvery clutched in her magic. “I hope you can forgive me.”

Twilight felt a spike of pain in her rump as Rarity plunged the hypodermic into the struggling alicorn and injected its contents into Twilight’s bloodstream.

“I’m so sorry Twi—” Rarity began to say, until the cracking sound of another hoofcuff failing, announced that Twilight wasn’t done yet.

“AAAAA!” roared the berserk alicorn as she tore her body free from the support frame; leaving her bridle as the only remaining restraint.

“Please don’ kill her!” cried Applejack, throwing herself on top of Rarity and shielding the unicorn with her body.

“Oor?” Twilight asked, Applejack’s sacrificial action making her pause in her feral fury.

“Please!” begged the earth pony, one hoof raised in supplication. “She’s all Ah got left!”

Twilight raised a hoof as if to smite the pair on the floor in front of her, then stopped as Applejack’s only response to the imminent attack was to close her eyes and hug Rarity close. The Alicorn of Anger took a moment to try to think of what it should do to an unresisting and helpless target, and in that moment the powerful sedative took hold at last, stealing the strength of Twilight’s limbs and sending her crashing to the floor.

As the chemical fueled darkness closed in, the last thing Twilight saw was Rarity fervently kissing her beloved mare.

When Twilight finally did wake up it was in complete darkness with aching loins and a feeling of absolute pressure over every part of her body. Even her tail felt like it was buried under tons and tons of cement.

Taking a moment to try to assess herself and her condition, Twilight could tell through feel alone that she had been thoroughly cocooned in something that had her forelimbs pinned against her chest, and her rear legs extended out behind her and wrapped together into a single column. Her head had not been spared either, thick pads covered both her eyes to keep her completely in the dark while some sort of hood covered every other part of her head.

Whomever had bound her like this had not neglected her mouth either, tightly muzzling it as well with some sort of padded material, and to top things off her entire horn was sheathed in some sort of heavy material that pulled her whole head downwards. In all, Twilight Sparkle was a completely wrapped pony package ready to be shipped to whatever destination was intended for her.

“Mmrph,” Twilight grunted, as she tried to at least roll her body and finding that whatever she was wrapped in was also preventing any sort of meaningful motion as well. Try as she might she could neither roll, sit up, or even pull her hind legs up to her body.

“Don’t bother tryin’,” came Applejack’s angry voice through the darkness of the hood. “That get-up would even hold Celestia, leastwise accordin’ to her.”

Twilight froze at the sheer hostility in the usually calm earth pony’s voice, and for a moment wondered what she had done to warrant this sort of reaction. And then she remembered:

Ecstasy, pleasure, a pain so sharp and so merged with the pleasure that it drove her ecstatic joy even higher, followed by something snapping in her, and all that wonder turning into something that changed her into an avenging goddess that only pleas for mercy slowed…

“If’n Ah had mah way yer body would be feeding some of the crops right now,” Applejack was saying, sending a chill through Twilight. “But lucky for you, Mistress said Ah shouldn’t and it were cause you were all mad cause o’ what we had to do to ya to get those eggs out.”

There was a tugging sensation around Twilight’s mouth as Applejack loosened the muzzle and pulled it off the mare.

“Now, all Ah want ta know is if yer gonna be any sort of trouble,” demanded the angry pony. “Well?”

“I am so sorry, Applejack,” was Twilight’s instant reply. “I didn’t mean to go crazy like that, and… and if you want to keep me tied up like this for everypony else’s safety, I completely understand. Are Rarity and Starlight okay? I didn’t hurt anypony did I?”

“No, but it was dang close,” Applejack replied, before heaving a sigh. “And that’s pretty much what Mistress said you would say, so Ah’ll let you out, but that horn blocker stays on, got it?”

“Got it, and that’s more than reasonable,” Twilight agreed, blinking as the hood and eye pads were pulled off her face. “Thank you.”

“Thank me by bein’ the good pony Mistress says you are,' the orange mare replied, busying herself with an array of cables that began to slowly lower the sack that Twilight was suspended in.

Several minutes later and Twilight had been freed from her containment, that had included two further sacks beneath the first, over top of legbinders on both her fore and hind legs. Allowed to move for the first time in what felt like hours, Twilight gave her whole body a shake, sending the locks on her bridle tinkling.

“Like Ah said, that stays on fer now,” Applejack reminded Twilight, who had taken a moment to feel the straps, buckles and locks with a hoof. “Ah’m not even gonna hobble ya.”

“I appreciate it, and give Rarity my thanks as well,” replied Twilight, looking toward the open door of the room.

“No problem,” said Applejack, before adding, in a much calmer tone. “So, howsabout Ah take you on a proper tour of the place? There’s some things here Ah’m right proud of.”

“I would love that, AJ,” gushed Twilight, before adding, “can we make it a slow tour though? My parts are killing me.”

“Sure thing, sugarcube,” assured Applejack, holding open the door for the alicorn. “Yer eggs were a lot further along than we figured. Good thing we got ‘em out of you when we did.”

“And now I understand why you had to chain me and Starlight up like that,” Twilight asked, waiting for her escort to close the door behind them before setting off down the hallway. “Why do you want those eggs anyway?”

“We need every resource we can get ta keep this place runnin’,” Applejack answered, walking past a group of ponies who gave Twilight a mix of speculative smiles at her wings and frowning faces at her locked on horn sheath. “Them little buggers can take any sort of emotional kinda energy and turn inta stuff we can use. Like heat an’ light.”

“And did I hear it right that those were… changeling eggs?” Twilight asked, as they entered a large common room and the alicorn’s eyes widened as she saw that the space was dominated by a single, massive, apple tree. “That is a big tree.”

“Thank ya kindly,” Applejack chuckled. “Ah carried Bulwark’s seed here mahself. He’s got a dedicated water line and his own sun panel up top there. Course, we had make sure it was in a space where everypony could use the heat and water too, but that’s Bolthole for ya. Makin’ one thing do five things at once.”

“How many ponies are here?” Twilight asked, as Applejack turned them down a side corridor marked “Recreational Energy Production.”

“Last count was 12,852 ponies in total,” Applejack responded proudly. “There’s talk o’ splittin’ off a group ta form a second Bolthole, while we wait for the surface ta finish coolin’ off.”

Twilight did a few quick calculations in her head and combined it with what she knew of pony genetics and diversity and came up with a shocking conclusion.

“But that means when the event happened, it almost drove ponies to extinction,” stated a shocked Twilight. “That’s only barely enough ponies to provide enough diversity in the bloodlines to keep inbred defects at bay.”

“Ma’am, Ah don’t have a clue what yer sayin’,” commented Applejack, stopping outside a large door. “But Ah get your drift. It was close, damn close. Sunfall damn near killed us all, but ponies are stubborn an’ we don’t go down easy.”

“No, we don’t,” Twilight replied, smiling as she recalled the adventures of her and her friends. She looked up to tilt her head curiously at a sign that read ‘Recreational Energy Production.’

“Ah thought it might be easier ta just show ya what we do with the eggs, instead a tryin’ ta tell ya,” Applejack said, pulling a lever that caused the large door to silently slide to one side.

Twilight stared at what lay beyond the portal. Stared and stared until she had to rub her eyes to make sure that they were working and then stared some more. Inside, bathed in warm green light, were upwards to a hundred ponies and each and every one of them was engaged in carnal activities of one sort or another.

“Are they… '' Twilight paused, unsure of her phrasing. “Um, are they—”

“Fucking,” supplied Applejack, a wide, wide grin on her face. “They sure are. Boy howdy, Ah can’t wait until mah next duty shift here.”

“Wait,” sputtered a reeling Twilight. “This is work?”

“Eyup,” the orange mare tossed back, in echo of her lost brother. “Energy production, moral boostin’, foal makin’ work. The best kinda work, if’n ya ask me.”

“Wait, you said ‘Energy Production’,” babbled Twilight. “How is this energy production?”

“Take a look at them there green lights,” drawled Applejack, with a knowing tip of the hat to the sources of green glow through the chamber.

“Those are the eggs!” Twilight exclaimed, as her mind kicked into gear and made sense of what she was seeing. “Of course! They’re absorbing the emotional energy of all that lust and desire from the ponies into themselves, and then you must extract it somehow and convert it into usable forms.”

“Always said unicorns were smart,” Applejack allowed graciously. “They give us heat an’ light, and all we have to do is give stuff horny ponies are givin’ off anyways.”

“That’s brilliant, but are you sure those really were changeling eggs we had in us?,” Twilight queried. “I’ve seen adult changelings before and they didn’t look anything like what attacked Starlight and I.”

“Let’s just leave these folks alone while Ah answer that,” Applejack responded, closing the door on the sybaritic view. “Ya see, when Sunfall hit it blew pretty much everything up, including magic itself and turned it into this bad kinda energy called ‘radi-ation’ that burns stuff from tha inside out.”

“I know what radiation is, and what it does to living things,” Twilight replied, hoping to speed the explanation along.

“Like Ah said, unicorns are smart,” replied Applejack, before continuing. “Like you said, radi-ation burns a pony from the inside out. When Ah’m out there, Rarity enchants a special gem on mah harness that pulls some of it out of me an’ lets me stay out there longer than most folk.”

“That crystal you had on your back!” exclaimed Twilight, in realization. “I knew red didn’t go well with orange.”

“Eyup, red means the gem is near full up an’ it’s time fer me to head home,” Applejack remarked, curving her rear end over a bit to show Twilight the now green gem nestled in the hollow of her back, just forward of her hips. “Green means everything is A-OK.”

“Okay, so what does this have to do with the changelings?” Twilight asked, as the two began to make their way back to the apple tree atrium.

“Well, all the changelings had fer protection was the rock around their lair,” explained the orange mare, walking alongside and slightly forward of Twilight. “It stops any kind of pony magic from working, an’ it took a big bite out of the radi-ation, but not enough ta stop it entirely.”

“Oh no,” gasped Twilight in realization. “Mutations.”

“Mu-what now?” Applejack asked, pausing in confusion.

“Mutations,” Twilight explained. “The reduction in radiation was enough so that it didn’t kill them, but it was enough to change what they were at the most fundamental level. Twisting them into those terrible squid things.”

“Pretty much,” Applejack replied, understanding what the alicorn was driving at. “They want ta spread their eggs, but they need hosts ta keep ‘em warm and be ready food for when they hatch. We need the eggs fer power.”

“You don’t… “ Twilight begged, feeling her insides clench in full body memory of when she had been implanted all too short of a time ago.

“About every six months we send in a bunch of volunteers ta get fucked an’ filled,” Applejack confirmed. “We have ponies waitin’ ta catch the broodmares when they come out an’ we bring ‘em straight back here ta get the eggs out ASAP.”

“That’s horrific,” Twilight firmly stated. “Subjecting ponies to forcible rape by those… things—”

“Each an’ every mare is a volunteer,” Applejack responded, just as firmly. “They all know what’s at stake and—”

“Excuse me, Miss Applejack?” asked a unicorn stallion in Royal Guard armor.

“Yeah, that’s me. What’s up?” Applejack asked, casting a measuring eye along the chest, barrel and underside of the stallion. “You need somethin’?”

“The princess would like to see your companion at her earliest convenience,” the grey bodied stallion replied, ignoring the measuring stick Applejack was visually applying to his body. “To put it formally: Princess Celestia invites Princess Twilight Sparkle to visit her, as soon as possible.”

“Princess!” Applejack choked, wheeling on Twilight. “You never said nothin’ about bein’ a full-on Princess.”

“You don’t get wings and a horn for collecting bottlecaps,” Twilight replied, with just a bit of perverse pleasure as she spread her own wings in a display of lavender feathers. “Please tell the Princess that I… and my escort, would be pleased to call on her immediately.”

Author's Note

Talk about getting plugged in!

Things continue in the next chapter as Princess Celestia of The Blasted Lands reveals the events... of "Sunfall"

Every month my patrons get to vote on which story they would like to see me work on following this, my commissioned story.

If you want a vote, join my Patreon for as little as a dollar a month and cast your ballot for whichever story you would like to have me update.

Current patrons include:

Canary in the Coal Mine
Damaged
Airar
Drazhan
Kereko
A.P.O.N.I
Shaushka
Machara
Jamin P Rose
Raging Mouse
Free,
Spectrum Scholar,
Renegade,
Sunset Flash,
Stinus,
and
KaiserDunk

The Blasted Lands, Part 7

The guard led Twilight and her escort through a series of passageways and doors, and as they travelled through the facility Twilight noted that the further they went, the dimmer things were and the more dilapidated things looked. As the guard undogged a hatch Twilight’s curiosity could no longer be contained.

“Excuse me, I’m new here and I couldn’t help but wonder why—” Twilight began.

“The Princess prefers that our limited resources are devoted to the care of her ponies,” interrupted the guard, obviously anticipating the question.

“You’ve been asked this before, haven’t you?” replied Twilight, to see how the guard would respond.

“Every time we get a new pony in,” the guard responded, pushing the heavy hatchway aside. “And personally I’m not too fond of it either. The Princess saved us all, and we’d all love to show her how grateful we are. But instead she keeps herself in the darkest part of the place. Crimminy, she doesn’t even let anyone see her except for a few ponies she really trusts.”

“You think something’s wrong?” Twilight asked as she was waved through, stopping as the guard refused Applejack further entry.

“Sorry Ma’am, this is as far as you can go,” stated the guard, holding up a hoof.

“Well shoot,” responded the earth pony, good naturedly. “You sure?”

“Afraid so,” repeated the guard. “I’ll make sure she gets back to you and your… partner.”

“All right then, Ah’ll let mah Mistress know,” nodded Applejack, taking a step back from the hatchway. “Ah’ll see yah later Princess.”

“Sure thing, Applejack,” agreed Twilight, letting the guard close the hatch behind them before asking, “why couldn’t she come with us?”

“Only ponies specifically invited by the Princess go past this point,” the guard pointedly replied. “Remember how I told you about her not letting anypony close to her? Well, this is part of it.”

“And the other part?” Twilight queried, as they began to lead her down a passageway whose lights were half as strong as those in the already dim areas they had passed through earlier.

“I don’t like it at all ma’am,” stated the guard, pausing to partly turn and lift an eyebrow at Twilight. “Did I hear Applejack right? She called you a princess?”

“Princess Twilight Sparkle, at your service,” Twilight responded, inclining her head regally.

“Huh, never met another princess before,” the guard commented, turning into an area where the metal walls and floors ended to reveal hewn stone walls, their smooth surfaces showing that they had either been cut or polished with magic.

Twilight noticed the new architecture as the background it was, as there in front of her was Starlight Glimmer with her own guard escort, and the appearance of her friend took up the lion’s share of her attention.

“Hey Twilight,” Starlight cheerfully chirped. “Good to see you up and around. You doing okay?”

“Just fine, and I’m sorry about what happened earlier,” Twilight replied, somewhat embarrassed. “I kinda lost it there for a bit.”

“You looked a bit like I did in the bad old days,” noted the unicorn, stepping over to draw the Princess of Friendship into a powerful hug. “And I get why. Pulling those eggs out of us was one of the worst things I’ve been through.”

“Well, I’ll try to keep the ‘Alicorn of Rage’ under control from now on,” Twilight said with a smile.

A delicate chime sounded as the mages broke their hug, and Twilight’s eye was drawn to Starlight’s horn. A pair of silver rings sat on the unicorn’s horn, one slightly above the other and linked by a hair thin chain on which were mounted a pair of impossibly delicate looking silver bells.

“Rarity,” Starlight began, frowning slightly as she took in Twilight’s more functional, though much stronger, magical blocker. “The guard insisted my magic be locked down before bringing me here, and Rarity had this. According to her, if my magic had to be sealed off I may as well look good too.”

“Security precaution ladies,” stated Twilight’s guard, interjecting himself into the conversation. “No one gets this close to the Princess unless we can be sure that she will be safe around them. Are you ready, Silk Skies?”

“Almost,” responded an approaching pegasus mare, dressed in a maid’s livery.

Something about the pegasus caught Twilight’s eye and it was all she could do to suppress a gasp of horror as a second look told her that the otherwise beautiful mare had no eyes. In their place were a pair of white orbs that had been clearly shaped to fit into the sockets but otherwise did absolutely nothing to help the maid see.

“Look at her outfit,” whispered Starlight, as an earth pony placed a large engraved silver tray across the maid’s withers, the tops of a pair of leather wingbinders she wore acting as two extra balance points for the tray.

Twilight took a third look as her working mind caught up with that her eyes were telling her. The pegasus maid, whose name was obviously Silk Skies, was wearing binders on her wings. The maid was in bondage, and Twilight took a fourth and closer look to see if the velvet choker on the throat of the mare was or was not a collar.

“I can hear you looking at me,” Silk Skies calmly stated. “You must be new, and it’s okay. I volunteered for this, and I’m completely fine with all the security precautions. I’d do anything for the Princess and this way I get to be with her, even if I am blind.”

“What about the gem on your back?,” Starlight asked, making Twilight realize she had been so focused on the pony’s bondage that she had completely missed the orange gem nestled into the small of the mare’s back and fastened to the outside of her outfit.

“It’s an accumulator,” answered the maid, adjusting herself a bit as the tray was laden with a pot of tea, a set of cups and a plate of biscuits. “I can’t fly anymore, and I don’t know how to generate lightning underground either like some of the other pegasi do, so I wear this instead. It drains off bits of my natural magic over the course of a day into itself, and when I’m done with my shift I just drop it off where it adds to our energy system.”

“Did it hurt?” Twilight asked, not referring at all to gems or magic.

“More than almost anything ever,” Silk Skies answered, biting her lip for a moment in memory.

“Almost anything?” Starlight threw her hooves over her mouth a split second after she uttered the reflexive question, already guessing what the horrible answer would be.

“I was a wife,” Skies whispered, and if glass could cry it would have done so in that moment. “And a mother.”

“I’m sorry,” Starlight began, by way of apology. “I didn’t mean to—”

“You didn’t mean any harm,” Silk Skies gently interrupted, turning her blind eyes to Starlight with a smile as brittle as the orbs set in her skull. “As long as somepony remembers them, they’re alive. As long as one pony lives, so does Equestria, along with all the other ponies that we lost during Sunfall.”

“Three steps forward and one left, Skies,” said the guard, his discomfort with the ongoing conversation obvious. In obedience to the command, the pegasus maid took three steps forward and one to the left, where Twilight could see a set of markings laid out on the stone floor and it didn’t take an alicorn to realize that they were starting marks for a pre-planned route for the blind mare.

“If you will follow me please?” Silk Skies asked setting off, the tray she was carrying rock solid in spite of her motion.

For their part, Twilight and Starlight followed closely as they travelled through a series of stone passageways, many of which had openings carved into them which appeared to be comfortably furnished into small nests just large enough for a pony and a few belongings.

“Hey Skies, you on guide duty?” asked a stallion, who was busying himself with something in his own nook.

Starlight gave Twilight a questioning look clearly wondering how the stallion knew who the maid was, seeing as his back was to them. Twilight was trying to figure out how to tell the unicorn with her that the stallion was very likely blind as well, when the male turned and both mares froze in mute horror.

The stallion’s face was simply gone. Eyes, cheeks, and every other facial feature from the top of his muzzle to the bottom of his hairline was nothing but a completely blank stretch of pale skin. Only the shattered hub of what had once been a horn marked that emptied canvas of what had once been a face.

“Yeah, it’s not a pretty look, is it?” added the pony, feeling the gazes on him. “Better than it was though! Thank the Princess for that.”

“I need to keep my timings, Soda Straws,” Silk Skies commented. “The Princess wants to have tea with these newcomers, and told me to do everything I could for them.”

“Right, sorry to keep you,” Soda Straws replied, turning his blank gaze back to what appeared to be some fabric he was working on. “I’d like to talk with you ladies later, if that’s okay. I like hearing what things look like up top.”

“It would be my pleasure,” Twilight replied, her voice warm, and Starlight could hear the tremor in Twilight's speech only because she knew the mare so well.

“Let’s keep moving,” said their guide, stepping forward once again. “We’ll be coming to a dark section soon. Would you rather grab my tail in your mouths, have me put a leash on your collars or put a bridle on each of you and be tugged along by the reins?”

“What's the difference?” Starlight asked, happy for something to take her mind off the maimed pony she just met.

“Holding my tail means you can’t talk while we walk, and if you yawn or something you’ll be in trouble cause there are a few nasty drop offs in the area,” Silk Skies said evenly, fluffing out her tail a bit as she did so. “A leash will let you talk, but some ponies try to fight them. A bridle with reins can be pretty embarrassing, but almost everypony follows one of those instantly.”

“Sounds like the bridle is the safest alternative,” Twilight stated, gaining a nod from Starlight. “Where do we get one?’

“I’ve got a couple on me,” Skies replied, pausing in her forward motion. The passage ahead a tunnel leading into total darkness.

“Of course you do,” Starlight shot back, words heavy with sarcasm.

“It’s not like she can just run back and grab a couple,” Twilight responded. “You’ve been counting your steps and turnings, haven’t you?”

“That and listening to how my hooves sound as we go along,” admitted the mare, standing stock still. “It’s how I navigate.”

“Twilight,” Starlight said, her voice insistent. “Doesn’t this feel just a little bit suspicious? Our magic has been locked off, we’re being led into the dark by a blind mare, and to top it off she wants to put bridles on us. Doesn’t that strike you as the least bit odd?”

“Starlight, what about any this hasn’t been odd?” Twilight laughed in answer. “Think of what we’ve been through just to get here. Has any of it struck you as normal?”

“Well, no,” the unicorn admitted, looking askance at the blind mare who was patiently waiting on them. “But she could be leading us into a trap. Anything could happen to us.”

“Anything like being tricked into a magitech symbiotic latex suit designed to break us into slaves, maybe?” Twilight asked, rhetorically. “Or how about finding ourselves at the tail end of a total war between Equestria and the Sombran Empire. Or even discovering that you like being at the complete mercy of a pony you trust and finding ways to put yourself into bondage that only she can free you from.”

Starlight began to blush furiously, and look away until a gentle purple hoof turned her face back towards Twilight. “Or finding out that you love having total power over a pony who trusts you utterly.”

“Twilight, I—” Starlight began, before that same hoof silenced her gently.

“Whatever we were, whatever we are now, and whatever we are going to be in the future,” Twilight said, feeling the heat in her own cheeks rise, “I know that we will always be friends, and that the magic of friendship will always bring us together.”

“That was beautiful,” Silk Skies interrupted, a shy smile on her own face. “But we really shouldn’t keep the Princess waiting, and the tea is getting cold.”

“Well, we can’t have that now, can we?” concluded Twilight, who upon examining the maid’s livery found a pair of integral saddlebags holding a pair of simple bridles that were complete with reins that could be attached via a pair of snap hooks.

Twilight’s experiences over the past few months had made her more adept than usual at working with hooves alone, and so it only took a few moments for first one, then the other bridle to be buckled on with the reins clipped to a ring set near Silk Skies’ accumulator gem.

“Don’t try to use your eyes or think about where you’re supposed to walk,” Silk Skies cautioned, as she led her charges into the Stygian darkness. “Just let the reins guide you, and we’ll get through with no problems.”

“Sorry about earlier,” Starlight said, shuddering a bit as a darkness blacker than the deepest night enveloped the trio.

“It’s okay,” the blind pegasus assured her, “and believe me, yours isn’t the strangest reaction I’ve heard.”

“What happened to Soda Straws?” Twilight asked, changing the subject and letting her hooves react to a tug to the right.

“As far as we know, other than the Princess herself, Soda Straws was the closest pony to Sunfall who survived,” Skies provided, her own steps sounding in a steady cadence. “Rumour has it that the Princess carried him out of the ruins of Canterlot herself.”

“Wow, I’m really amazed by how devoted all of you are to Celestia,” Starlight added, and Twilight’s ears caught a brief stutter in the steps of their guide.

“The Princess,” began Silk Skies, emphasizing the title with more than a little anger in her voice, “saved all of us that day. Every single day, she works herself to exhaustion making sure all of us see tomorrow. I can’t tell you how many times me or one the others have found her passed out after recharging one magical thing or another, or casting some sort of spell to make sure that all of us have another day of life.”

“Sorry,” Starlight muttered.

“All of us owe her our lives,” continued the pegasus, either not hearing or not caring about Starlight’s apology. “And each and every single day she repeats that miracle. She almost never eats, or drinks, or sleeps, or anything. The only time she does anything normal is when we have newcomers and has tea with them, and you two are the first new ponies in ages.”

An uncomfortable silence descended after that and for some time the trio walked along their unseeable path. The darkness was oppressive and Twilight became aware of the literal tons of rock overhead and how reliant her and Starlight were on their guide just then. All it would take is for Silk Skies to unclip the reins from her end and gallop off, leaving the two unicorns behind to flounder away until they perished. Twilight’s mind was just getting into showing her the details of that nightmare scenario when a light appeared up ahead.

“Silk Skies, good to hear you coming, and is that tea I smell?” called out a mare, holding up the stub of a candle in her magic.

“It’s me, Ember,” called back their guide. “I’ve got a couple of newcomers with me.”

“Thought so,” replied the unicorn, and as the two sighted ponies drew near they could tell that the unicorn was yet another maimed and blinded survivor.

“I don’t want to be rude—” said Starlight.

“Again,” Silk Skies chipped in.

“But are all of you… well… blind?” Starlight managed to ask, trying to ignore their guide’s aside.

“The Princess keeps her areas of Bolthole as low-powered as she can,” explained the unicorn. “Lights use a lot of power, and to be honest, I think she feels guilty that all of us lost our sight during Sunfall and she wants to take care of us and make us feel useful.”

“It’s probably just a matter of Ce— the Princess,” Twilight said, correcting herself just in time, “finding the best ponies for the job, and I imagine that with you and Silk Skies here, she can send other ponies to different jobs rather than keeping them here."

“You’re probably right,” declared the mare, and now that they were close Twilight and Starlight could see that the unicorn in front of them was also missing most of her horn above a face covered in burn scars.

“I’m Ember Dawn, by the way,” said the mare, as the travelling trio crossed the threshold into the entrance of what looked like a carved out set of rooms. “Pleased to meet you.”

“I’m Twilight Sparkle, and with me is Starlight Glimmer,” Twilight enunciated carefully, making sure to pronounce both names clearly.

“Great! Always good to meet new ponies,” Ember replied, before commenting to Silk Skies with, “go on through. I’ll keep watch here.”

“Sure thing, Ember,” Silk replied, adding, “if you ladies want to take those bridles off before you get to the Princess now’s the time. Unless you would rather keep them on, that is. The Princess wouldn’t mind, she’s seen worse.”

“Oh sweet Harmony,” laughed Ember. “Like the time Rarity tried to make us new work harnesses?”

"Ha!" laughed Skies, rattling her cargo. "Anyway, go ahead and take those off. The lights will come on in this section specifically for visitors."

“Thanks,” Starlight responded, once the two of them had shed their bridles and Twilight had placed them back into Silk Skies’ saddlebag; “and thank you for all your help.”

As the trio walked into the built up area, lights began to flicker on revealing carved stone passageways with side corridors branching off. Other ponies became visible in the light. Some cleaning, others moving foodstuffs along with other domestic tasks. The normalcy of what they were seeing emboldened Starlight with enough confidence to ask a question.

“Rarity tried to make you work harnesses?” Starlight wondered out loud, trying to imagine what the Fashionista of Restraint had come up with.

“You should have seen them!” Silk chortled, the motion setting the china on her back clattering. “They were belled, so that supposedly we could hear each other coming. She even promised to set up different types of bells for each of us so we could tell who was who. We didn’t need that, and we still don’t.”

“Any um… extra features?” Starlight inquired, nudging Twilight to point out that the ceiling was dotted with literally dozens of the orange accumulator gems.

“Spent some time with her, did you?” Skies questioned with a more delicate laugh. “You don’t have to answer, because just asking that tells me you’ve been in her hooves. And yes, there were a few straps that well… went where a mare either really doesn’t or really does want something like that.”

All three ponies giggled a bit at that, lifting the sour taste that had been in their mouths since their time in darkness and the trio chatted amiably for a few minutes until Twilight felt the floor change under her hooves. Looking down, she could see that the floor was covered in a series of grooves that were laid out perpendicular to the direction of travel.

“We’re here,” said the pegasus, before calling out. “Princess! It’s Silk Skies. I’ve brought the newcomers, and some tea.”

“Thank you, Silk,” came a familiar voice from beyond a pair of apple wood doors. The voice was Celestia’s, but with a weak and ragged edge to it. “Please bring our new ponies in.”

The door opened from within, wrapped in an aura of golden magic and the trio of ponies stepped inside a large combined bedroom and work area. The outline of a large pony could be seen lying on a canopied bed, the drawn drapes obscuring her form. Pinned to the walls were floor plans of various areas of Bolthole, along with a series of astronomical charts.

The desk itself was covered with a plethora of writing materials, books, and scrolls in various degrees of quality. Some were pristine and new looking, others with scorched covers and pages, having barely survived some conflagration. Twilight again felt a nudge from her unicorn friend whose upward flick of the eyes drew Twilight’s own gaze upward.

Twilight was barely able to restrain her gasp of astonishment as she saw that the entire ceiling was a single massive gem that almost pulsed with magical power.

“Can I bring you anything else?” Skies asked, bowing gracefully toward the bed once she had set the tea onto a side table.

“I think I will be fine, thank you,” Celestia demurred from behind the curtain.

“Are you sure?” Skies insisted again, impressing Twilight with the care and devotion in her voice. “It’s no trouble.”

“Well, perhaps our guests would like something,” Celestia said. “Why don’t you ask Crokinole if he could put together some of those little tea cakes of his?”

“Of course!” chirped the pegasus, practically bouncing up to her hooves. “Right away!”

“They are so devoted to me,” Celestia commented, after the maid had scurried out of the room and Celestia had closed the door behind her. “It would break their hearts if they ever knew how terribly I’ve betrayed their faith in me.”

“Are you really sure you should be saying that to us?” Starlight asked, fidgeting a bit. “I mean, we are strangers and all.”

The drapes were drawn aside, and this time Twilight couldn’t keep the gasp of shock and horror from escaping her as both she and Starlight beheld the wreck of the pony that had once been Princess Celestia, Sol Invictus.

“It’s important that you know everything that has happened here and why,” responded the voice from behind a shattered, unhealed jaw. “After all, once you kill me and put me out of my misery, I won’t be around for you to ask questions anymore.”

Author's Note

A very middling chapter, I know. But I felt it was important to get the feel of how Celestia lives and how her ponies feel about her. One chapter left before Twilight leaves, The Blasted Lands.

The Blasted Lands, Part 8

Neither Twilight nor her companion could keep a gasp of shock and astonishment from escaping them as they beheld the ruined face and body of the Princess of the Sun. It was as if somepony had taken a fiery hammer and had used it to repeatedly bludgeon the entire left side of the Equestrian monarch, marring her once pristine body with marks of vicious violence.

From the top of Celestia’s head, where gouges into her crest had torn away most of her mane, to the stump of a mostly missing rear left leg that sat canted at an odd angle indicating a currently broken or badly set and healed hip, the ruler of Bolthole was a litany of injuries that would have either killed another pony or reduced them to a mad thing, raving in pain.

“Sweet Harmony,” whispered Starlight, horn lighting with what Twilight could feel was a potent healing spell.

“Please, don’t waste your magic on me,” Celestia said, and Twilight realized with a start that the voice didn’t come from Celestia’s mouth, but from the half-melted remains of the peytral the solar monarch habitually wore.

“But you must be in agony,” Starlight replied, sending out a pulse of restorative magic toward the smashed body of the princess, only to see it have no effect whatsoever.

“My body is in a form of stasis,” Celestia explained, without any malice from having unasked for magics cast on her. “I can’t feel a thing. I haven’t felt anything for years now. Except sorrow at my actions.”

“What did you do?” Twilight asked, her voice soft. The chamber they were in demanded gentleness, care and reverence. “What did you do that was so terrible you want me to kill you?”

“I’m a mass murderer a thousand times over,” Celestia stated, her sole remaining eye on the right side glistening with unshed tears. “I killed nearly every pony in Equestria, along with every creature in all the other lands on Equus. I killed all of them.”

“What? How?” Starlight demanded. “Not even an alicorn has that kind of power. Nopony does.”

“Not directly, no,” admitted Celestia, a small shift on her bed revealing the jagged end of a rib poking out from the alicorn’s barrel. “But through my actions I caused the death of nearly all life on this world.”

“This world?” Twilight interjected. “So you know about multiple worlds and alternate timelines.”

“When the body is as close to death as mine has been for so long, the spirit tends to wander,” Celestia explained. “I have been aware of you and your companions' activities for quite some time now. When you first came here I tried to send a signal to you, but I was too slow, and too weak. You and Starlight left before I could get your attention. Even this time it was all I could do to make sure Applejack was in the right area to find you.”

“You sent her?” Starlight queried, taking a moment to study the massive crystal forming the ceiling. “I thought Rarity did that.”

“My foolish ponies are so devoted to me that all it took was a simple suggestion to get Applejack heading to where you were. But enough of that,” Celestia said, turning her attention fully to Twilight. “Princess Twilight Sparkle, as the only other alicorn present on this world I am asking that you act as my judge, jury, and hopefully, executioner.”

“You keep saying that you want us to kill you, princess,” Twilight answered, delaying things as her mind began to work out the hows and whys of what was going on. “You say that you killed everypony, that you killed on a global scale. But not directly. And even if I were to find you guilty of such a crime my world has no capital punishment. We don’t kill ponies, even if they have killed themselves.”

“I take that to mean that you will at least act as my judge,” Celestia stated, her demeanor becoming as grim as her body. “I can accept that, because at the end of it all, you will realize that you have no choice but to end my wretched existence.”

“What did you do?” demanded Starlight, before gesturing up to the ceiling. “Twilight, the amount of power in that thing is incredible! It’s got to be the single biggest reservoir of magic I’ve ever seen.”

“And yet it still isn’t enough to save the world,” Celestia sighed. “All I’ve managed to do with it is stave off the inevitable awhile longer.”

“Why don’t we start at the beginning, Princess Celestia,” suggested Twilight, making a note of the byplay. “All of our timelines diverge at the point where I took the exam to enter your ‘School for Gifted Unicorns’. Do you remember me from then?”

“I’ve had awhile to go through my memories, and yes I do remember hearing about a Twilight Sparkle who took the entrance exam,” Celestia began, “and I also remember being informed of the tragic afterwards.”

“Tragic?” Twilight asked, in spite of herself.

“The test is meant to be failed,” Celestia explained, sighing. “It’s supposed to make a foal push themselves as hard as they can so that we can measure their ability and then show them how much more they can do with us to show them the way. But your counterpart…”

Celestia paused in her retelling, shame shifting her broken left cheekbone abominably as she tried to clench her jaw.

“Our Twilight ran out of the testing room, sobbing,” Celestia continued, “she didn’t stop until she reached the edge of Mount Canter, and throwing herself into the abyss, leaving behind only a note that apologized for her failure to pass and bringing shame to her family. Night Light and Twilight Velvet divorced a year later. Shining Armor eventually joined the Royal Guard, where he died attempting to defend me during the return of Nightmare Moon.”

“I remember thinking that my life was over, just before Rainbow Dash’s sonic rainboom triggered the surge that made me hatch the egg and pass the test,” Twilight commented, looking over to Starlight. “I was going to run and run, and keep running until I ran out of somewhere to run to.”

“I’d spent years supervising that school, trying to find a pony that would be able to use the Elements of Harmony,” Celestia added. “I came close once or twice, but I was never quite able to find the right pony.”

“It’s my fault then, not yours,” Starlight stated. “All these deaths are on me, not you. I prevented Rainbow Dash from doing the sonic rainboom. I am the one who caused this world’s Twilight to kill herself and keep you from having the pony you needed to stop Nightmare Moon’s return.”

“You’re wrong. The multiverse doesn’t work that way Starlight,” Celestia kindly corrected. “All your choice did was open your perceptions up to alternatives that already existed. You can only experience an alternate world if you’ve experienced the choice that defines that timeline.”

“You mean all this,” Starlight replied, gesturing about, “was going to exist no matter what I did?”

“Exactly,” Celestia said, her voice in the approving tones Twilight remembered from her days as the solar diarch’s personal student. “All your actions did was give you the ability to come to our world and change things for the better.”

“So, what happened after I… died?” Twilight asked, moving things forward.

“Though I didn’t know it at the time, I’d lost my best chance to stop Nightmare Moon,” Celestia continued. “As the time of her return neared I threw myself into learning as much battle magic as I could, as well as training up the Guard to be more of a fighting force, instead of the ceremonial unit that they were for so long.”

“So Nightmare Moon returned, and Twilight and her friends weren’t there to stop them,” Starlight added. “What happened?”

“The end of everything,” Celestia bleakly supplied. “Nightmare Moon appeared over Canterlot. And we fought.”

“And you won,” Twilight added, only to be stopped as Celestia corrected her.

“I lost,” Celestia’s whispered admission brought utter silence to the room for long seconds until the broken alicorn added, “she beat me, utterly. She wiped out the Solar Guard in less time than it takes to say the words. It turns out that a thousand years of hatred and planning for revenge tops a bare dozen years of scrambling to get better. Luna… Nightmare Moon, beat me, broke me, and made it look easy while she did it.”

“But… you’re here, and she isn’t,” Starlight said, fearful as to what the explanation would be.

“I was lying there, completely defeated at her hooves,” Celestia explained, her voice as dead as much of her body. “She told me that if I begged for mercy she would spare my life and allow me to live, chained to her throne as a symbol of what it would mean to defy her rule.”

“What did you do?” Twilight asked, eyes wide.

“I was broken, driven beyond desperation. All I could see were the dark shackles she was already dangling in front of me,” Celestia pressed on, every ear utterly focused on her. “In that place of total despair, in a moment of sheer blind terror that I will regret to my dying day and beyond, I called out to my Element. And to my utter and eternal horror, my Element answered the call.”

“By the Light,” Twilight softly swore, eyes wide.

“What? What is it?” Starlight demanded, shaking Twilight. “What does she mean, ‘her Element answered’?”

“The Sun,” Twilight expounded. “Celestia’s Element is the sun itself. Sunfall… it isn’t some poetic phrase. It’s what actually happened. The sun fell to Equestria itself.”

“Sweet Harmony,” Starlight cried out in shocked horror. “How did anypony survive?”

“Nightmare Moon felt the onrush of the sun as it came to me, and in her own moment of fear and desperation moved her moon into place as a shield,” Celestia’s voice kept on, her words horrible yet fascinating. “The moon was shattered, but it blunted the sun’s charge enough to give me a moment of realization of what was about to happen.”

“But it was too late, wasn’t it?” Twilight asked, rhetorically. “Nopony, not even you, could stop it or stand up to that kind of heat, could you?”

“No,” Celestia confirmed. “For one last shining moment, my sister and I stood together again in an attempt to protect Equestria; as we tried to raise a shield to stop what my foolishness had caused. Right up until a lance of pure sun stuff landed on top of us both. We would have perished then and there, but Night— Luna pushed me to one side and put her own shield of coldest night over me. It was just enough to allow me to survive, but it left me as I am now.”

“And the moon spread the rest of the strike out, didn’t it?” Starlight replied. “Didn’t it?”

“Yes,” said Celestia. “Not only that, but bits of the sun kept falling to the ground as well. And as horrific as all that was the worst was yet to come.”

“What could have been worse than you dropping the sun itself onto Equestria?” Starlight demanded. “I mean seriously, what could have been worse?”

“Touch your horns to mine, my little ponies, and I will show you,” said Celestia, lowering her head so that the cracked shaft was extended forward.

Both younger ponies did as they were asked, only to find themselves and their magic caught in an implacable grip of steel.

“Let go,” Twilight grunted out, trying to push aside the magical grasp on her, but it was like an ant trying to shrug off a boulder.

Be at peace, my little ponies came the voice of Celestia, from within their very minds. Relax and allow your minds and magic to ride my aura to places as yet hidden from your view. You will come to no harm.

With that Twilight had a sudden sensation of upward motion and realized with a start that she was floating above her own body. The upward sensation increased and her nonmaterial body flashed upwards through the green gem of the ceiling and up through the solid rock past it. Further upwards she flew, an intact Celestia and an equally immaterial Starlight with them both, while a great pool of magic flowed upwards with them.

Up past the burned and blasted surface of the land they flew. Up high into the sky, until at last the trio came to what appeared to be the flowing arc of a shield spell. Only a shield spell so large that Twilight couldn’t see the edge of it.

How big is this? Twilight asked, awed by the sheer size of the brassy coloured construct.

It covers all of Equus. Celestia informed her, as the great green mass of collected mana flowed up alongside of them. And roughly once a month I have to do this!

As the two mages watched, the ruler of what was left of Equestria drew the massive well of mana into herself, and then pushed it outward again through her horn, where the effect of all that power on the massive magical wall of protection was instant and obvious as its colour shifted from dull and brassy to bright and golden.

That was incredible. Twilight commented, when all but the smallest traces of the vast mana pool had been exhausted and the defensive bulwark had been renewed. That shield is huge!

What is it a shield against? Starlight challenged, suspicion on her face. What are you protecting Equestria from that needs so much power?

Use the last bit of mana that I held back, Celestia suggested. Use it to expand your senses beyond the shield and see the destruction that I stave off a little less each time.

Tapping into the residual magic that was left over, Twilight copied her student’s action and sent her awareness past the barrier, where she found nothing but roiling heat and overbearing pressure. A mass of ultimate radiant energy that continually pressed in on the massive defences Celestia maintained at all times.

The two mages shared a look of shock as they realized what they were experiencing only to feel a downward tug on their incorporeal bodies. Downward they flashed, reversing their course, until they found themselves back in their bodies in Celestia’s subterranean quarters.

“Was that what I think it was?” Starlight asked, her voice very, very quiet.

“Yes, it was,” Celestia confirmed, endless sorrow in her voice. “That is what is left of the sun.”

“The star, destabilized. Didn’t it?” Twilight asked, garnering a nod of confirmation from the elder alicorn. “Extended as it was, and without Celestia to shepherd it back into place, the sun essentially fell apart.”

“I was and am too broken to restore my beloved sun,” Celestia supplied. “Without anyone to guide it, the shattered pieces of the star settled around the closest gravity source. Equus. Only the shield keeps what is left of this world from being roasted to ash in an instant.”

“But that’s crazy!” Starlight burst out. “Why not use some of that huge mana pool to heal yourself and then the sun?

“I told you, my body is in a type of magical stasis,” Celestia patiently explained. “For all intents and purposes, I’m already dead. Only what remains of my connection to the sun, and what scraps of power I dare to keep for myself keep me going. I would need a mana pool twice the size of what I have now to have any chance of being able to restore myself, the sun and keep the sun shield up and running while I did so.”

“So why kill you then?” Twilight asked. “Why condemn this world to death?”

“Because every month the shield slips a little more, and the world dies just that much more,” the broken alicorn said. “In spite of all that I and my ponies have done, we have perhaps five or six years before either I finally succumb to my injuries or the shield slips entirely. The only way this world can survive is for a solar aligned alicorn, at the peak of their strength and power, to reconstitute the sun and place it back into its proper place in the heavens.”

“But I’m the Princess of Friendship,” objected Twilight, “and the Element of Magic, not the sun.”

“But I’m here Twilight,” Starlight interjected. “I’m the missing piece of the puzzle, aren’t I, Princess Celestia?”

“Indeed so,” Celestia confirmed, with a gentle nod. “You know how to remove cutie marks. You can remove my mark and give it to Twilight, which will give her my connection to the sun.”

“But that will kill you!” Twilight protested. “You said it yourself that the only thing keeping you going is the link between you and the sun.”

“Now you know why I’ve been telling you that you will be killing me,” Celestia reminded her. “Do not feel guilty for what you have to do. It will save my Equestria and put me out of my misery. You will have nothing but gratitude for ending my life.”

“But, won’t that mean that Twilight has to stay here?” Starlight asked.

“Wait, what?” Twilight demanded.

“Your friend is right, there are no other alicorns, my dear,” Celestia said, kindly. “And no unicorns with anything close to enough skill or power.”

“But… but… “ Twilight stuttered.

“I know what I’m asking for is a lot, but it is to save an entire world,” Celestia continued, as Twilight's eyes widened at the enormity of what she was being asked to do. “Plus, you will have everything I’ve been able to write down about the operation of Bolthole, the managing of a kingdom and how to control the sun. You will be fine.”

“But it means staying here, forever,” Starlight said. “She’ll have to stay here to manage the sun, not to mention that she’ll be their princess. They’ll need her.”

“That might be a sacrifice worth making, Starlight,” the purple alicorn commented, hoof on her chin. “Back home, I’m just one of four princesses. I’m the extra princess. But here, it would be just me. Maybe this is what I was meant to do, what I was meant to find. A way to save an entire world.”

“What about your friends?” Starlight asked.

“You know the spell to travel between worlds as well as I do,” Twilight responded, enthusiasm for the idea growing. “You can bring them here for visits. Some of them might even want to stay for awhile.”

“Well, if you’re sure, Twilight,” Starlight replied, but her eyes took on a far away look as an idea came into her own mind.

“When would you want to make the transfer?” Twilight asked Celestia. “Um, I mean…”

“When would I like to die?” Celestia tossed back, a slight smile on her lips. “As soon as possible. I’m tired, Twilight. So very tired. I want to stop hurting; I want to rest.”

“What about your ponies?” Twilight questioned, gesturing outside the chamber. “Will they accept me as their princess?’

“Of course they will,” Celestia assured her, before bending her head low. “Please Princess Twilight, take my mantle and end my suffering. Don’t make me have to beg you to kill me.

“All right, I’ll do it,” Twilight responded, drawing herself up. “Princess Celestia of Equestria, I find you guilty of doing all that you could to make up for your crimes. As a Princess of Equestria I sentence you to eternal peace. From here on, I shall be the protector of this world and all who dwell on and in it.”

“Thank you,” Celestia answered, lifting her head to look at Starlight Glimmer directly. “If you would be so kind, Starlight Glimmer. Do what must be done.”

“What must be… “ the unicorn echoed, and for a moment the broken alicorn and the reforming unicorn seemed to share a single mind as their eyes locked. Each holding the other's gaze within a tunnel of thought and intention.

“Do it,” whispered Celestia, and a moment later Starlight ignited her horn, power and light flaring with the remembered spell that had once caused so much heartache in Our Town.

When the light dimmed back to normal levels, Twilight was the first to speak. “That’s strange, I don’t feel any different,” she commented, looking around in confusion until she spotted Celestia’s solar cutie mark, on Starlight Glimmer’s flank. “What have you done?”

“I’m sorry Twilight, but you’re too important to our world, and to all the other worlds you haven’t been to yet,” Starlight explained. “You still have a destiny in front of you, but I know that my destiny is here. One way or the other, I wasn’t going back with you, and this way I can find redemption for my own mistakes and make my own peace.”

“Well done, Starlight Glimmer,” Celestia gasped out, blood now oozing from dozens of wounds as the stasis began to wear off with the loss of the mortally wounded alicorn’s link to the sun. “Go ahead, say the words.”

“Words? What wor—” Starlight began to ask, before the power of light and life filled her to overflowing, lifting her in the air.

I am the candle, and the star.
I am the raging inferno, and the cooling embers.
I am the last glimmer of hope for a dying world.
I am… SOLAR STARLIGHT!

“Hail, Solar Starlight,” Celestia choked out, blood flowing from her mouth now. “Hail! Ha—”

“Princess Celestia!” cried the other two ponies, leaping to the aid of the dying alicorn as she collapsed on the bed.

“Go,” Celestia said, air rattling in her chest one last time. “Save my po—”

“Hail to thee, Celestia. Sol Invictus,” intoned Starlight, as the spark of life left eyes that had seen a hundred thousand dawns. “Hail to thee, Unconquered Sun. Rest, for now I take up thy mantle and the responsibility that goes with it.”

“She’s gone,” Twilight said softly, tears flowing from her eyes. “Goodbye, my Princess of the Dawn.”

“Watch over her,” Starlight responded. “I’ve got a job to do.”

As Twilight watched, the newly minted Unicorn of the Sun rose up on a pillar of pure magic, boring a physical hole straight up through the rock they had passed through as immaterial beings a few minutes ago. Higher and higher Starlight rose, until she reached the glowing golden shield.

“Hey there,” Starlight offered, reaching out with her new powers to feel the pain of the sun. Even broken as it was, it had felt the loss of its oldest and dearest friend and it responded to Starlight’s touch with a cry of loss and suffering.

“It’s okay. She sent me here to be your friend. Would you like a friend?” Starlight asked, and although she was physically incapable of it, somehow she had a sense of reaching out and gathering a hurt and lonely creature to her breast. “There there, it’ll be okay. I’m here now.”

Starlight felt warmth now, as well as hope that the long pain would be over soon. She could feel the scattered remnants of the sun responding to the touch of her magic, answering her call through the link that Celestia had given to her. Slowly, through that link and with skills that only could have been granted to her as a farewell gift, Starlight gradually pulled the sun back together and set it into its proper place in the heavens.

As the unicorn allowed herself to float back the ground on the remnants of her power, she could see the gathered ponies of Bolthole out on the surface, marvelling at the first blue sky any of them had seen in years. At their head was Twilight Sparkle, with the blind Silk Skies at her side, and the body of Celestia on a funeral bier behind them.

“I’m very miffed with you Starlight,” Twilight stated, when the unicorn landed before her. “You should have asked me before you did that.”

“I… went with my gut,” Starlight replied, pawing the ground for a nervous moment. “I think it was the right call. You still have things to—.” Whatever else Starlight was going to say was cut off as the alicorn pulled her into a fierce hug.

“Darn right it was the right call,” Twilight quietly agreed, and Starlight realized that she had missed her owner and mentor’s smile when she had landed. “I’m so proud of you. You saw what the right thing to do was and you did it. You’ll be a good princess.”

“No wings though,” Starlight countered, glancing at her sides. “I’m pretty sure you have to have wings in order to be a princess.”

“We all decided, you’re our princess,” Silk Skies interjected, guiding herself with a wing sliding along Twilight's side.

“But I killed her,” Starlight objected. “And I’m not an alicorn.”

“You took away her pain,” the blind pegasus replied. “Even though she tried to hide it, we all know how badly she was suffering. Celestia made sure her attendants were all blind or disabled, but she forgot that none of us are heartless. We knew how much she was hurting, how desperate she was to protect us all. Hiding the fact that we knew was one of the few gifts we could give her.”

“Looks like you're stuck with the job, ‘Princess Starlight’,” Twilight laughed, before sobering and turning to face the bier and the body that lay on it. “You were gone for nearly twelve hours. Time enough for me to explain to everypony what had happened, and to make sure Celestia got to feel the sun one last time.”

“Didn’t feel like it took that long,” Starlight commented, before looking around. “What about the radiation, and the air, and all the other problems?”

“I had time to go through a good chunk of Celestia’s notes and journals. She left detailed plans on how you can use that giant mana pool to fully restore about a square mile of territory every month,” Twilight answered, adding, “But right now we probably shouldn’t stay out here for more than a couple of hours.”

“It is time to send Celestia home, Princess Starlight,” said Rarity, stepping up with a leashed and collared Applejack at her heel.

“She were the light of our lives,” the earth pony added, drawing several torches from the saddlebags attached to her slightly too tight harness. “Be right for us to send her home in fire.”

“She would like that,” agreed Twilight, igniting torches with her magic as they were passed around, while Starlight brought down the sun to bring a close to the endless day that had gone on for years.

Soon, the funeral bier was surrounded by a halo of light, and all eyes looked toward Solar Starlight for guidance.

“May she know peace,” Starlight called out, voice echoing across the crowd. “May this fire light her way to the Summerlands.”

One by one, the lit torches were tossed onto what swiftly became a blazing funeral pyre, the flames leaping higher and higher, and as the fire leaped and engulfed the mortal remains of the Equestria’s oldest princess, Twilight spotted something that made her gasp and nudge Starlight.

There, on a dune overlooking the entrance to Bolthole, appeared the ghostly outline of a snow white alicorn, swan-like wings raised in salute. Twilight raised her own wings in answer and heard a fresh gasp from Starlight as the spectral image of Luna appeared at her sister’s side, warmly embracing Celestia.

As the two living ponies watched, the sisters gave one last nod to them before turning and fading away into whatever lay beyond the vale of tears that were, the Blasted Lands of Equestria.

Author's Note

Thus, does the sun set on another arc of this story.

I know some of folks don't like the thought of Starlight Glimmer becoming an alicorn, and that's fair. However I will point out that Starlight is still a unicorn, just a very powerful one at this point and one who will be absolutely dedicated to helping the Sunfall ponies get back on their hooves and to me, it made plot sense to end Starlight's arc here.

Which leaves us with two worlds left to explore. You know, I never thought that this story would go on as long as it has, or what I had first created as a quick fetish romp would elicit such powerful emotions. But here we are...

Every month my patrons get to vote on which story they would like to see me work on following my commissioned story. For May, they chose this story. Who knows what June will bring?

If you want a vote, join my Patreon and for as little as a dollar a month and cast your ballot for whichever story you would like to have me update.

Interlew—

In a large room in an expansive castle made of crystal a swirling magical vortex opened once more, depositing a somber Princess Twilight to the floor. Twilight’s return home was bittersweet at best. She’d both lost and won. Seen a friend find their destiny and lost her beloved mentor and in some ways, mother.

Yes, the Celestia of Sunfall wasn’t Twilight’s Celestia, but she looked and sounded like the mare who had given a young pony everything she had ever wanted. As a youth Twilight had been like a desert, thirsty for knowledge, and Celestia had been the river bringing life to that arid wasteland. Celestia had given Twilight power and purpose, knowledge and guidance. Seeing the broken alicorn die had been like feeling a piece of her own heart die.

“Hello there,” said a gentle, rich voice.

Twilight turned toward the door, and there she was. Eyes of infinite knowledge set over a mouth that had laughed and spokne and taught, over hours and hours of Twilight's formative years, in a body of perfect white fur over smooth muscles that carried surprising strength and resilience. It was Celestia, alive and whole, and all together exactly the mare Twilight needed to see at that moment.

“Princess,” Twilight half-cried, half-choked out, moving forward and embracing the taller alicorn. “Oh Light, I’ve missed you.”

“I missed you too,” was all Celestia said in response, returning the embrace with both hooves and wings.

Twilight was in a snug, warm heaven. Ivory softness surrounded her, holding her next to the beating heart that had guided Equestria for a thousand years, and the lives of Twilight and her friends as well. Strong but gentle hooves stroked and comforted the young alicorn, much as they had back when they were teacher and student.

“Still wearing my collar, I see,” Celestia noted, lifting Twilight’s chin so she could look into the younger pony’s violet eyes. “It’s a good look on you.”

“I—” was all Twilight managed to get out before Celestia covered Twilight's mouth with her own.

It was a good kiss, a deep kiss. It started slow and built into something worthy of two princesses of Equestria. Twilight hadn’t expected to be kissed, but willingly gave way to the commanding sea-shape in her maw as it touched and stroked into being a wave of warm desire within her that threatened to grow into an ocean of pleasure.

Twilight tried to respond in kind, tried to demonstrate some of the many things she had learned over the past few months, but the prodigious power and skill of Celestia’s slippery, skilful, hippogriff-like tongue overwhelmed her with a tactile, tea-flavoured dominance that demanded Twilight’s oral obedience.

The young alicorn felt herself sinking deeper into the strong embrace that bound her as tightly as any chains, while the rising ocean of joyous rapture threatened to swamp her and her mind with pleasures that had been created over generations of life.

Which is when, at long last, Twilight’s ever working intellect managed to pierce the fog that the ivory alicorn had spun through her mind with that glorious osculation.

“Wait,” Twilight begged, pulling her head back with a significant effort of will. “You said ‘my collar’. This isn’t your collar, this is the one Flim and Flam put on me back in the…”

“Quite true, my little pony,” Celestia replied, and it was at that moment that Twilight saw it. Dominating strength, combined with the force of will and a complete lack of empathy that enabled a once loving ruler to become a tyrant who was more than willing to enslave each and every one of her citizens in the name of safety.

That it also satisfied a depravity fuelled need for possession and control was besides the point.

“How long?” Twilight asked, aware that at any moment the caressing wings gliding along her sides could clamp down with a ferocious strength.

“Not long,” Celestia said, somewhat enigmatically, as she dipped her muzzle down to nuzzle the spot where Twilight's neck joined the rest of her body, drawing an involuntary moan from Twilight; as teeth delicately scraped along her skin and setting nerves all over her body alight with joyful pinpricks.

“Wha… what are you going to do with me?” Twilight managed to pant out, desire growing in spite of the deadly danger she was in. No matter what else this Celestia was, she was also insanely well versed in how to build an inferno of desire in a pony.

“Well, that depends on how interesting you plan on making things for me,” Celestia stated, a smile of anticipation on her face.

“I’m not alone here,” was Twilight’s response, doing her best to ignore the tips of feathers that were tracing languid circles around her dock. “All I have to do is yell and this room will be swarming with an army.”

“Already mine,” said Celestia, and there was a sort of bubbling joy in that warm voice now. “Your castle is mine, your guards are mine, and now once again, you are mine.”

“Then I’ll fight you,” declared Twilight, pulling back from Celestia and almost surprised that she succeeded.

“Precious little possession. I’m going to have such fun breaking you to my will,” Celestia laughed. “It’s already too late for you to try to stop me.”

Twilight stood there a moment, bewildered and confused, before realizing that the tingling and mild tickling sensations she had been feeling from this Celestia’s wings and arousing touches hadn’t abated at all. In fact, they were spreading and moving over her back and down her sides.

Twilight twisted her head around to look at her back, and as she had anticipated she saw the spreading glossy blackness of a latex symbiote flowing over her contours and down along the sides of her barrel. The feared, dreaded, and Light help her, loved construct was overwhelming her violet fur in darkness, capturing it effortlessly in its embrace. Capturing her just as effortlessly.

“You may have me, you may even have my castle and my guard, but that doesn’t mean that a single one of us is going to give up and surrender to you,” Twilight stated, trying not to gasp as the slick firmness finished looping under her and tightened into a corset-like structure.

“I love your spirit. You’ll do well as the one assigned to draw my chariot,” Celestia leaned close and that motherly voice turned into something darker as she continued with, “wouldn’t you like that? Bound and harnessed. My helpless little draught mare pulling me along, even as the suit drives you onward harder than any whip could.”

“Guards!” Twilight yelled, as the suit enveloped her nethers, increasing its hold on her but not penetrating her. No, not yet. Twilight knew that was yet to come.

“I told you, your castle is mine, and your guards are mine,” Celestia reminded her, a smiling face over eyes that gleamed with the anticipation of cruel, erotic torments. “You want this, don’t you? Ever since you managed to escape from Flim and Flam’s keeping, you’ve missed this, haven’t you?”

“Missed what?” Twilight demanded, feeling her wings being folded and furled against her will as the suit overrode her nerve impulses with its own. “Missed being enslaved? Missed being degraded and violated at every single opportunity?”

“Missed not having to worry about things. Not having to set priorities, or worry about this pony, or that town. Missed not having to control anything, because Control was always there for you,” Celestia reasoned, watching with satisfaction as Twilight’s wings were fully captured and sealed away in pockets on either side of the suit.

“Yeah, that pesky free will was always getting in the way,” Twilight snarked, barely holding back a shudder as the suit flowed down her legs and enveloped the sensitive frogs of her hooves.

“I saw the recordings of your sessions, you know, 614,” Celestia commented, reaching out with a line of golden magic to snare Twilight’s collar in a leash of power. “You enjoyed every moment of your sessions with Control, admit it.”

“Restarting,” said the collar, in its neutral voice. “Suit 614 accepting updates.”

“So, my choices are surrender or die?” Twilight asked, all too aware that the all-encompassing suit would envelop her head and smother her by default.

“You think I would deprive myself of the fun I'm going to have with you by letting you die? You don't have any choices anymore, least of all choosing to die. You're going to be my personal plaything, for a very long time, perhaps forever,” Celestia told her, and Twilight could see the anticipatory joy in the alicorn’s eyes. “Suit 614, recognize Control Prime.”

“Recognized,” replied the collar. “Initial configuration for 614?”

“Prisoner configuration,” Celestia ordered, and Twilight felt the suit crawl the last inch up her chest to mate with the controlling collar. “Full hobbles, full magic lockdown, enable bridle and standard blinders, muzzle on standby permitting normal volume. Disregard commands from any other Control. This pony is mine, and mine alone.”

“Password?” demanded the collar, as Twilight felt the extra bindings come to life around her body.

“Daybreaker,” Celestia replied, with a vicious edge that made Twilight’s blood run cold.

“So now what?” Twilight asked, feeling her skin come alive with tiny pricks and tingles as the suit began its process of fully bonding with her.

“I expect a period of your trying to resist me, which I'm going to enjoy greatly. However, we both know that in the end you will do anything I want you to, and do it gladly,” Celestia informed her, adding, “but in the meantime, I have to make sure your retraining isn’t interfered with by my counterpart.”

“My Celestia is twice the mare you are,” growled the bound alicorn. “Once she discovers that you’re here, her and Luna will come down on you like nothing you’ve ever seen.”

“Oh yes, that’s right,” Celestia noted, “You let your Luna run around like some sort of lunar loose cannon. Another thing I’m going to have to fix, once I finish taking over your world, that is.”

It was more than Twilight could stand, and with a growl of fury she leapt at the intruding solar alicorn. Or at least, that’s what she intended to do. Instead, the band connecting her fore and rear hobbles snapped tight, robbing her leap of nearly all of its speed and power. Twilight collapsed in an ignominious heap at Celestia’s hooves.

“One,” noted Celestia, following up the pronouncement with a hard smack to Twilight’s rear. The magitech latex symbiote did nothing to dampen the sting of that initial strike, nor the spreading warmth from the point of impact. “Every time you disobey me, the number of spanks will go up, and it will do so until you beg me to fuck your brains out.”

“Eat shit and die,” stated Twilight, stealing a line she’d heard Dashiel use more than once.

“There’s that fire I’m going to enjoy playing with,” crooned the controlling alicorn, dragging Twilight up to her hooves with a choking grip on her collar. “But for now, I need to deal with your Celestia. I want you to write her a letter asking her to come here right away. Add in that the matter is urgent and private, so please don’t bring any extra guards. Oh, and she should also bring Control, I mean Alyss, with her.”

“Like hell I will,” Twilight spat back.

“And that’s two,” Celestia noted, punctuating the comment with a blast to each butt cheek, setting them both aflame. “And while I don’t need any pony to carry out my will, I’ve learned it helps to come prepared.”

“Wh-What are you talking about,” Twilight said, biting her lip to keep from groaning out at what just three strikes in total from the other Celestia had done to her.

“Come out here, eighty-two sixty-three,” commanded Celestia, to a dark corner of the room.

To Twilight’s complete shock and horror, out stepped a unicorn version… of herself! The mare was lean, sleek and possessed a glossy secondary tail that Twilight knew was buried deep inside the other pony’s rear passage. As the other version of her came closer, Twilight could see nothing of curiosity, self-will or even self-preservation in the mare’s eyes.

“8263 reporting,” stated the unicorn, prostrating herself at Celestia’s hooves. “I belong to the Eternal Day, living or dying as she who controls both my life and body commands. What is your will?”

“8263,” began Celestia, “take a letter…”

Author's Note

Looks like somepony followed Twilight home! This could be very interesting.

Also, my profound apologies for the shortness of this chapter. I got my second dose of the Pfizer covid vaccine just as I was about to move on from the first part of the chapter and my immune system went:

Let's just say my side effects were bad and they wiped out nearly all my writing time. I am on the mend and the side effects are now mostly minor. However, the best I was able to give you was this short introduction to the next section. I WILL be adding to it.

Every month my patrons get to vote on which story they would like to see me work on following my commissioned story.

If you want a vote on what I write, join my Patreon and for as little as a dollar a month and cast your ballot for whichever story you would like to have me update.

Interlew--

Author's Note

Usually I have these at the end of a chapter, but this time I thought I should have it at the top. What follows is what should have been the main portion of the chapter fragment I put out the month before, when I got overly crazed about deadlines and getting things done in time.

My sincere apologies and thank you for sticking around long enough to put something decent together. I hope it satisfies, and if it helps, know that the last chapter of this mini-arc is already written.

Interlew--

Twilight did her best to tune out the intruding Celestia and engage her prodigious mind. There were so many questions to answer and so little to go on. How had the Celestia from the first world she had visited manage to track Twilight back to her home? In fact, how had she managed to cross the dimensions like her and Starlight had in the first…

The eye of Twilight’s mind showed her what had to be the answer. When Starlight had attacked the true history of Twilight and her friends, she had used a modified version of Starswirl’s time travel spell from the Canterlot library. The only explanation was that this… evil Celestia, had done something similar. Found Starswirl’s spell on her own in her own library, in her own Canterlot, and then modified it to suit.

Or… Twilight’s mind froze as her memory replayed a bit of trivia that she had forgotten. Or this Celestia had merely handed the problem off to the collection of unicorns, zebras, scholars and researchers who had designed the suits for her, Flim, and Flam in the first place. For a group that had invented these diabolical devices, and Twilight forced herself not to twitch as the suit continued to prick and pull at her nerve endings, recreating a known modification to an existing spell would have been child’s play.

“...I’m sorry I had to put a dome over my castle when I got back, but things were such a terrible mess that I needed some time to reorganize everything. This letter will provide you the key to pass through with ease,” dictated the solar alicorn, her eyes fully on the enslaved unicorn version of Twilight serving as her minion. “Be sure to include a copy of your… sister’s thaumic signature as a passcode.”

“Yes Control,” replied the unicorn, eyes still devoid of anything resembling curiosity or self-interest.

Which was another question. The last Twilight had seen of her opposite number, Bookworm was the loving and beloved subject of Queen Chrysalis, who had operated under the nomme de guerre of “Boskone” until Twilight’s actions had forced Chrysalis to take her struggle against the creeping enslavement of all ponykind out into the open.

So what was Bookworm doing here, as a bound and apparently mind-broken slave to this Celestia?

Twilight idly tested her bonds as her unfettered mind continued to race forward. The suit was as impossible as ever to escape from, but looking from it to the one sealed to Bookworm’s body made her think that one of two possibilities were being played out here.

First, and the most likely probability, was that Celestia had defeated Chrysalis and her Angels, captured all of them, and then subsequently broken them to her will, only bringing Bookworm along because in every respect except wings, the unicorn was an almost perfect duplicate of Twilight and could take Twilight’s place for a great many things.

The second possibility was a longshot, but it would also fit the circumstances. The problem was that Twilight would need to get Bookworm alone in order to test her more hopeful hypothesis. Although, there was something Twilight could try right now…

“You Boskonian bitch,” Twilight yelled, pulling the eyes in the room toward her, “Celestia won’t fa—mrph!”

As Twilight had expected, the suit had clamped down on her muzzle with a layer of midnight coloured silence the moment her voice had risen over the threshold volume, silencing her. It had been worth it though, as she had seen the spark of recognition deep inside the eyes of her counterpart as Twilight had shouted one of the terms from the “Ponies of the Lens” novels that both of them had enjoyed as foals.

Bookworm wasn’t gone, she was hiding inside of her own mind, just like Pinball Ponnisen had done when she had posed as a space pirate in order to infiltrate the enemy base that was behind galactic level piracy.

“Suit 614,” a slightly annoyed looking white alicorn commanded. “Punishment routine seven, thirty second duration, maximum intensity.”

White hot agony burned across Twilight’s entire body, followed by a brief freezing sensation, then a feeling like being stabbed by a thousand needles, all at once. Agony rolled through the bound alicorn, and she unashamedly writhed on the ground as the pain overcame both mind and body.

Some unknowable length of time later Twilight opened her eyes to find her tormentor looking down on her.

“Now, my little pony, are you going to keep a civil tongue in your head?” Celestia asked, smiling in satisfaction as Twilight nodded back submissively.

“614 suit, discontinue muzzle. Begin ‘shock collar’ mode. Whisper level, maximum strength,” ordered the still smiling alicorn, and at this range Twilight noticed that the dark shadow of her beloved mentor had an odd twitch in one eye. “If you try to say anything above a whisper,, the suit will apply a powerful shock directly to your vocal cords. I’m told that repeated shocks can destroy a pony’s ability to speak permanently.”

“I understand,” Twilight whispered, her voice barely audible. “But you won’t break me, not again. Or at least not very fast, and my friends will save me long before you can do to me what your original Control did to Trixie. Count on it, Princess.”

“Oh, I remember Sunset Shimmer,” Celestia mused, her eyes taking a faraway look even as 8263 clipped a leash to Twilight’s collar and helped her to her hooves. “Such fire, such passion. A flame that burned at my command, or at least until she went wild and burnt herself.”

“What—hrng” Twilight grunted, words choked off as her throat was paralyzed by actinic fire dancing across her vocal cords for the sin of being a few decibels too loud.

“What happened to her?” Celestia replied, her face taking on an altogether unhealthy glee. “She went off to found her own kingdom, in a world of ‘humans’ that I ran across while looking for you. She ruled there for awhile, until a trio of Starswirl’s former enemies found and defeated her, outnumbered by them as she was. The last I saw of the best protegee I ever had was a view of her chained to the throne of their leader, Adagi-something, and looking up at her mistress with complete adoration as if she was some sort of pet.”

“What,” Twilight took a moment to clear her throat. “What now? For me?”

“Well in the days I’ve been here, nopony has come to rescue anypony, so apparently I have time to play a little,” Celestia informed her captive. “And while you are the prize I’ve hunted down and finally caught, I managed to find an unexpected treasure already tied up for me in a tidy package.”

“You—” Twilight was made to regret her words as electricity clamped viciously down on her vocal cords again, and it took several moments more for her to squeak out, “you leave my friends alone.”

“Ah ah ah, Control knows best,” patronized Celestia. “You need some rest, and time to consider your options. 8263, take 614 to the holding room and bring me the Flower I found, and her stallion too.”

“Yes Control,” acknowledged the enslaved mare, drawing Twilight toward the door. “Take 614 to holding and return with 615 and 616.”

“Y—” Twilight almost yelled, before remembering to minimize her voice. “You won’t get away with this.”

“My dearest pony,” laughed Celestia, “I already have.”

Twilight allowed herself to be led out of the room and down the corridor. As the pair walked, Twilight noticed that the entire castle seemed strangely muted somehow. As if something, or rather somepony, had stolen all the life and joy that usually filled the building, draining the colour of the place along with it. Even when it had been just her and Spike here, the place had felt fuller and more alive.

8263 turned a corner and Twilight followed suit as best she could, recognizing the passageway as one that led to the map room, which was probably where the other ponies were being held and leaving Twilight only a little time to put her theory to the test.

“This is Helmuth, speaking for—” Twilight whispered as loud as she dared, stopping as she saw Bookworm stagger, stop and lean against the corridor wall.

“Speaking for Boskone,” Bookworm slurred out, completing the phrase that she had used while acting as Chrysalis’ mouthpiece. “Give me a minute here.”

Twilight waited as patiently as she could, wondering when somepony would come along and ask what was going on, but nopony did.

“You okay?” Twilight finally hissed out, unable to hold her anxiousness in.

“Yeah, I mean yes,” Twilight’s unicorn counterpart replied, voice firming up. “Wow, I never get used to that.”

“Is that what I think it was?” Twilight asked. “An overlay?”

“My queen got the idea from what you and Alyss did to hide your real mind from Flim and Flam,” Bookworm responded, drawing Twilight over to a side alcove. “I hoped you would remember my old message and use it at the right time.”

“Is everypony all right there? Did Celestia attack you? Why do this in the first—” demanded Twilight, the questions bubbling out her only stopped as yet another bolt of electricity hit her throat.

“Stop that,” chided Bookworm. “Breaker wasn’t kidding when she said that ponies have lost the ability to speak from too many shocks. Not like she cares or anything.”

Twilight, her throat in spasm, was reluctantly forced to agree with a mere nod.

“Okay, the golems shouldn’t be a problem for a few minutes at least so let me give you the highlights,” Bookworm commented, giving Twilight a new question to ask in the process.

“So, when you left us we had the master codes to let everypony in a suit operate them, themselves. Downside was that we found out pretty fast that the codes only work in pony. Meaning we have to be literally at a pony’s side to free them,” Bookworm paused in her recitation, scanning the ceiling high above for some reason, before continuing. “Even with that limitation we were doing pretty good, and we had a pretty good little rebellion going while we searched for the Elements of Harmony.”

“What happened?” Twilight managed to croak out.

“Breaker managed to penetrate the dream realm,” Bookworm told a shocked Twilight. “Once there, she confronted Luna in her own magical domain. I think Br… Celestia thought she was just making sure that Luna was under her complete control, what she found out instead literally broke the Breaker.”

“Heh,” Twilight snorted, drawing a warning glare from the unicorn who was ostensibly in charge of her.

“Luna’s been practically living in the dream realm since she got back, and she is absolutely the Mistress of the Dreaming Arts,” Bookworm informed Twilight, a broad smile on her muzzle. “So when Celestia invaded her realm, Luna forced her sister to experience exactly how it felt to have someone else in complete and total control of them. And while she had Celestia locked down like that, she took her sister on a whirlwind tour of the nightmares Celestia had been forcing her subjects to live through while wearing these damn things.”

“She thought it would make her sister see reason. That once Celestia knew the harm she had been inflicting, however well intended originally, she’d stop trying to control everything and everyone and free everypony,” Bookworm concluded, looking up at the ceiling again.

“It didn’t work did it? ‘Control’ isn’t just a title anymore, is it?” Twilight asked.

“If you get one more shock from that collar I’ll muzzle you for your own good,” Bookworm growled, but then a strange rasping noise caused Bookworm to shove Twilight as deep as she could into the little nook with a fearful, “don’t make a sound until it passes.”

Wondering what could have caused such a reaction Twilight obeyed, following Bookworm’s gaze upwards to try to see what had triggered such a reaction from her companion. All Twilight was able to see was a strange ripple in the shadows of the arched ceiling that paused and then began to move on after several long seconds.

“What in Celestia’s mane was that?” whispered Twilight, as the ripple continued to move away, passing over a glowing buttress and revealing itself as an outline of some sort of dark sheet of animate darkness before passing from view as it continued to move along the ceilings.

“Animated symbiote, what we’ve been calling ‘golems’,” Bookworm breathed back. “Probably one of the ones spawned off the original ten my Celestia brought with her.”

“Animated—” Twilight replied, pausing as her mind worked through theories and possibilities. “She made the suits capable of moving on their own?”

“And of being able to split off daughter clones of themselves once they’ve pulled in enough magic from a captive pony,” Bookworm added, nodding. “Their primary directive is to envelop and subdue ponies in a given area. If there are more ponies then symbiotes, then the captive ponies become batteries to fuel the process of making more symbiotes. Which then capture more ponies and then repeat the process until every pony in the target zone is enveloped, subdued and being processed into an obedient servant of Celestia.”

“Is she crazy?” hissed Twilight. “That’s diabolical. Not to mention incredibly dangerous.”

“Tell me about it. Anyway, we need to get moving. If I take much longer to get you to the holding room Celestia will know something is up,” Bookworm said, drawing Twilight forward on her leash. “But we’ve got time for a couple more things before I put myself back under. How long do you think Celestia and I have been here?”

“Days at least,” Twilight answered, as loudly as she dared. “Which doesn’t make any sense. All of Ponyville would know what’s going on. The entire Royal Guard should be outside, trying to bash their way in. Plus my Celestia and Luna would have taken steps after a day, two at most.”

“Princess, we haven’t been here for days. We’ve been here for just over five hours,” Bookworm replied, before being jerked to a halt by Twilight coming to a shocked standstill.

“What?!” Twilight shouted, right before the collar delivered a shock that seemed to go right through Twilight’s entire throat.

“That tears it,” Bookworm groused, adding, “614 Suit, add a spoon bit to the bridle, add a full muzzle, six hour duration. Authorization 8263.”

“Command accepted,” came the recorded voice of Twilight Velvet from the collar, as the suit obediently spawned a bit that invaded Twilight’s mouth and trapped her tongue under an immobilizing spoon. Moments later, the alicorn’s jaws were wrapped shut against the oral invader by a latex muzzle that sealed her mouth closed, adding a second layer of bondage to her mouth. Combined, they ensured that Twilight would barely be able to make any noise at all, let alone speak.

“I warned you,” Bookworm stated as she let Twilight paw ineffectually at the bridle and muzzle for a few moments. “I’ll bet every bit my queen has that you just damaged your vocal cords.”

Twilight jerked her head up, growling at the unicorn version of herself with the only sound that she could make that could express her frustration. A growl that was cut off as Bookworm jerked her forward by her leash.

“Oh cut that out,” counseled the member of the pair still capable of speech. “Anyway, yes. We’ve only been here five hours or so, and the Breaker thinks it’s been days, because she’s gone completely maniacally insane.”

“Mrr?” Twilight hummed, allowing herself to be drawn forward again.

“Remember when I told you that my Luna showed Celestia what her ponies actually thought about what she had done to them? When she was forced to experience their powerlessness herself, in the dream realm?” Bookworm asked, rhetorically as Twilight was incapable of replying. “It broke her. Her bedrock certainty that she was right and knew what was best for Equestria ran full speed into the indisputable fact that she’d fucked up, and it absolutely shattered her sanity.”

Twilight’s sharp inhalation through her nostrils was as eloquent as a scream.

“In her madness, she’s decided that since ponies hate the suits, but have to obey her if she’s wearing them, that she’ll take obedience over love,” Bookworm continued, pausing at the last turn to the map room. “So she’s decided to put everypony into a suit, whether they want to or not. Equestria is in a full blown civil war, and the free ponies are losing.”

The unicorn looked back and saw the compassion and understanding in Twilight's eyes. “That’s why Chrysalis put this personality overlay in my mind, so that when I was captured ‘heroically buying time for Chrysalis to escape’ I could become a deep-cover spy for the resistance tasked with trying to find some way to either stop Celestia, or a way to deal with the suits once and for all, before we get overwhelmed. Until today, we had no idea she had found out how to cross dimensions like you do, but hopefully my queen can take advantage of Celestia’s absence from my Equestria.”

Twilight took a moment to add up the power requirements for bringing things through the vortex and found herself extremely grateful that the amount of mana went up by the power of the amount of mass shifted, limiting a traveller to two or three companions at most.

“Anyway, I’ve got to put myself back under,” Bookworm was saying, drawing Twilight's attention back to the here and now. “I know that last hit took a bite out of your voice, which is why I’ve muzzled you for awhile. You know the phrase to bring me back out, and if you can’t speak it you aren’t any good to me.”

Twilight nodded, understanding now why the unicorn had been so protective of her alicorn counterpart.

“I am a Pony of the Lens,” recited Bookworm, grimacing. “I am the Grey Lenspony, Unattached.”

As Bookworm repeated the line where Pinball Ponnisen had accepted the responsibility of becoming greatest force for good in the galaxy, Twilight saw the bright and active mind of Bookworm become replaced by the dull obedience of 8263, latex encased pony drone of The Breaker, aka Princess Celestia.

“Come,” commanded 8263, drawing her charge forward and around the corner. As the pair approached the large entrance to the map room, a dull black latex thing peeled itself off the doorframe, humping and schlumping its way toward the approaching duo.

8263 came to a stop as the thing reached them, touching them both with a pair of pseudopods that seemed to sink into the suits the pair were wearing for a moment, before withdrawing its touch and moving back to its guard position over the door’s lintel.

Twilight followed obediently, her aching throat reminding her of the consequences any sort of resistance would bring. Even then, it took a sharp pain in her rump to keep her moving as she saw who was in the room, and the state they were in.

Most of Twilight’s staff were there, along with almost every member of her guard. Notable in their absence were Dashiel, Trixie, 143, Derpy and, as Twilight breathed a silent prayer of thanks, Spike.

Conspicuous with their presence however, was her brother Shining Armor as well as his wife Cadance. Both the Alicorn of Love and her husband were encased and fully hooded with only their nostrils, manes, and tails showing. Twilight could tell that both of them were also on the receiving end of the full taming regime that she herself had undergone, if the rippling on Shining’s underside and the in and out pulsations over Cadance’s nethers were any indication.

Twilight’s eyes were pulled away from the extremely impressive length under her brother’s barrel as she was drawn over to one side, and her leash was attached to a black splotch on the wall that had two other lines attached to it.

“You will stay here until Control wishes to see you again,” 8263 stated, her voice flat. “Escape is impossible. Struggle is pointless. Accept your new role. Your symbiote will see to your physical needs.”

Without further comment, 8263 turned and left.

“An’ good riddance,” said a familiar voice a moment later.

Turning, Twilight followed the line of one of the tethers to where it lead to a gleaming steel collar that was firmly fastened around Applejack’s throat. The orange earth pony was also coated in gleaming black from the neck down as well as sporting a second tail that sprouted from one of her intimate openings.

“Good ugh, to see ya Twi,” Applejack groaned as the root of the suit’s tail shifted and moved inside of her. Other than that and the leash connecting her to the wall, Applejack’s only other binding was having all four of her powerful legs tucked underneath her and bound to her body. “Well not good, but Ah’m pretty sure you get mah meaning. Me and Rarity were visiting when yer unexpected guest showed up and dropped us faster than a bit on Cider Day.”

Latex squeaked as Twilight did her best to give one of her best friends a nuzzle of encouragement.

“Oh shoot, don’t you worry none about me. Ah’ve had worse ruttin’s. It’s Rarity Ah’m worried about,” Applejack said, nodding to where the third leash led to a fully enveloped pony lying on the ground and writhing in ecstasy as the suit worked at them. Only Rarity’s distinctive mane and tail allowed Twilight to identify her friend, and she inwardly cringed as she imagined the endorphin heightened conditioning the mare was enduring, right in front of her.

“Don’t,” Applejack warned as Twilight moved toward the enslaved fashionista in an attempt to provide some encouragement that even the suit wouldn’t be able to block out. “Last time Ah touched her, these... things on us hurt us both somethin’ fierce. Best you don’t try.”

Applejack paused in her recitation as 8263 led Shining Armor and Cadance away. Both the alicorn and her husband were fully hooded and being forced to rely on pressure from their bridles for direction. Twilight’s growl of frustration drew a comforting hoof of support from her verbal friend.

“They’ve been working on yer brother and Cadance harder than a one-legged pony in a square dance contest, but neither of them know what the word ‘quit’ means. They’re both tougher than old fruit leather, ” Applejack informed Twilight. “Like Ah said, it’s Rares Ah’m worried about. Last time the thing let her speak, she told me she didn’t know how much more she could take afore she started actually obeyin’ the damn ‘Control’ pony.”

“It ain’t all bad,” continued Applejack, dropping her voice to a whisper. “Dashiel got the alarm out, and then skedaddled, along with a few others. This ain’t over Twi, not by a long shot it ain’t.”

Interlew---

Trapped in stygian darkness, the unicorn known as Rarity fought for her very soul itself. She had been visiting the home of a friend, when a fiend who wore the face and body of her beloved princess had materialized from the aether itself, to wreak havoc in the form of black shapes that moved and flowed like nothing living could or should.

Her and her friend Applejack had tried to fight back, only to find themselves snared and enveloped in flowing darkness that bound both of them in place, closing off her magic even as it flowed up over her head to close off the light.

Then, as if from some horrible story, the thing that was binding her in living chains began to whisper into her ear, telling her that she was no longer Rarity. That her destiny was to become a pony known as “619” and that her purpose would be to serve as the helpless erotic plaything of the mare that dared to call herself, “Celestia”.

It was a purpose that Rarity denied and made as clear as she could to the ebony demon holding her, and despite the fact that her mouth and tongue were as bound in place as the rest of her body was, the thing understood her, and whispered a phrase that chilled her to the bone.

“Beginning standard conversion procedures for 619. You will obey Control. You will learn that obedience is pleasure, and pleasure is obedience.”

From that moment on the suit of symbiotic living latex had been having its way with her. Both of her most intimate openings were enveloped, penetrated and thoroughly despoiled in ways that even Rarity’s most salacious novels had only ever hinted at. When combined with the most erotic and expertly targeted stroking and teasing Rarity had ever experienced, she found herself being unwillingly brought toward what promised to be an earth shattering orgasm.

But then, just as she was about to peak, the fiend asked her, “Will you obey Control?”

Lightning blazed in her core as she denied the demon, refusing to let her mind and will be shaped like clay. The powerful shock it delivered straight into her intimate parts utterly destroyed the impending paroxysm of pleasure, leaving an aching emptiness behind in its wake and for the next few breaths Rarity waited for the torture that was sure to be her punishment for refusal.

Only to feel the sheath about her body start its ministrations again. Once more shafts slid along her sexual passageways, twisting and even vibrating. Once more, her nipples were pinched and stretched, her delicate button lavished with attention, causing it to stiffen as a salute to the orgasm that once again was being built inside of her.

And again, just as she was about to climax, as she was about to experience the craved for release of the building erotic tension, came the question:

“Will you obey Control?”

In the few moments of breath she had after the second searing shock, Rarity realized how her captor meant to break her, and as the cycle of erotic torture began yet the unicorn threw herself against her bonds in a desperate attempt to escape, only to find as Twilight had before her, that the suit’s restraints were more than adequate to hold a pony as motionless as it chose to.

The third denial and shock came and went, and Rarity would have wailed in despair if she could have. Escape was impossible. Her eyes could see nothing but the infinite blackness of the living latex hood that covered her eyes. Her ears were fully stopped up, allowing only the sound of her breathing and the voice of Control, telling her to obey, that obedience was pleasure and pleasure was obedience.

As the cycle repeated yet again, Rarity could feel herself starting to unravel. With nothing external to hold onto, and only the endless cycle of building sexual pressure within her: the mantra of Control started to echo in her mind, filling it, becoming her thoughts. She could feel herself slipping away, wondering if maybe Control was right. Maybe obeying wouldn’t be so bad. Maybe it would be good to just surrender, to let go, to become 619.

“NO!” Rarity shouted, or tried to, as her need to cum was denied at its peak yet again... The unicorn’s denials were starting to sound hollow, even to her, as the repetitions of arousal and denial chipped away at her resistance and unravelled the fabric of what made Rarity the mare that she was.

’Please help. Anypony, please save me,’ Rarity cried out in her thoughts. ’If anypony or anything can hear me. Please. I’ll do anything to get out of this.’

Another round of building orgasmic pressure built inside of the unicorn, and this time the mare had to concentrate on denying the will of Control. Of denying the pleasure it offered to her. If only she would obey, she would be allowed pleasure.

Did you really mean that? said a voice, shocking Rarity back to herself and she realized just how close that last cycle had been to completely undoing her will and sense of self.

’YES!’ Rarity yelled into the mental void. ’Unless you’re some figment of my imagination, brought on as my mind comes apart like a worn rag in the wind.’

I am real, and we have met before, my little pony, came the reply, in a voice like silk on steel.

’Discord? Is that you? Please, get me out of this, and I’ll… I’ll even push Tom around town for you,’ begged the unicorn, as she felt the fire inside of her being kindled to life yet again.

Discord is busy with his own plans, answered the voice, now carrying a rich feminine lilt to it. Your friends and I did battle once before, in a castle, in the Everfree forest.

’You—you’re the Nightmare!’ replied Rarity, in realization. ’You’re the thing that possessed Princess Luna.’

Indeed, and I am offering to possess you in order to free you from this thing that is going to turn you into a subservient slave, the Nightmare stated, and Rarity couldn’t tell if the shiver down her spine was dread of the demon speaking to her or desire as she was being driven toward her peak yet again, by the fiend that held her in its iron grip.

’What? No!’ Rarity grunted out in denial of both the demon within and without. Searing pain burned through her mind as the suit responded to her denial as it always had, but the Nightmare merely chuckled.

Refusal is not an option you have, unicorn, countered the dark spirit. Either you will fall to this… thing that holds you captive, and become a near mindless slave to the twisted desires of this Celestia, or you join with me and become a Nightmare to her plans and to the plans of anypony who would ever seek to chain you or deny you your rightful place.

’I would rather die than let myself be used as a vessel to destroy Equestria and bring harm to my friends. Which is exactly what you tried to do when you possessed Luna, or had you forgotten your vow of “the night will last forever”?’ was Rarity’s response, and as the bonfire was lit once more in her loins, she welcomed what it was going to bring to her.

Luna’s fury and outrage shaped us both. The will and desires of the pony I join with create the form of both our appearance and our actions. As will yours if you join with me. If you truly wish that Equestria and your friends remain unharmed, then that is how it shall be, was the response of the Nightmare, a touch of urgency now in its mental voice. Decide quickly now, for you have little time.

’Swear to me that you won’t make me hurt my friends, or Equestria,’ Rarity demanded, feeling the ocean of pleasure rising up to swamp her at long last.

I swear it. I swear that Nightmare Rarity will do no lasting harm to her friends or to the lands she lives in, even in self-defence, vowed the spirit, triumphant.

’Sadly, yours is the best offer I’ve had all day. I accept. What do I have to do?’ Rarity asked, choosing what she hoped was the lesser of two evils.

Open your mind to me, Rarity Belle, and accept my power, open your heart to me and receive my majesty, open your soul to the night and become OUR GLORY! cried the Nightmare with ecstatic joy as it took form in the waking world once again.

As one battle within came to an unexpected conclusion, a battle without was being rejoined. Four survivors of the morning’s sneak attack were taking refuge in a hidden nook of Twilight’s castle. A nook that did not appear on any plans and up until that morning had been known only to a certain maimed pegasus who had grudgingly begun to call the crystal edifice home.

“The Great and Powerful Trixie does not like this place, Dashiel,” the showmare and sworn Knight of Twilight stated, her nose crinkling in disgust. “It smells of cheap booze and wet pony. Where are we anyway?”

“Something the castle made for me a little after I first got here,” replied the war-torn reflection of Rainbow Dash. “I needed a place to store my wing where nopony could get at it, and a place I could… be by myself.”

“You mean get shit-faced drunk and bawl your face off where nopony could see or hear you, right?” Derpy asked, her maid uniform torn in a few strategic places to allow greater freedom of motion.

“What the fuck are you talking about?” swore Dashiel, rounding on the other pegasus, who responded by flaring her wings; which all present knew held an always surprising array of weaponry.

“The castle was a little slow in adding soundproofing to your hidey hole, and this is right above the linen closet,” Derpy replied, calming herself as she folded her wings back against her body.

“Oh, sorry,” Dashiel awkwardly apologized as she backed down.

“We should just surrender now. Control won’t hurt us if we submit,” suggested the fourth pony in the room, the mind-broken dimensional sister of Trixie Lulamoon, who would only answer to the name, “143.”

“You know we can’t do that sister,” Trixie said, pulling the unicorn against her in a comforting hug.

“143, can Control track your suit, or give commands to it?” Dashiel asked, causing the other two ponies to blink in shocked surprise.

All of them had been around 143 for months, to the point that the latex symbiote suit that was bound to her had faded from their awareness and had become just another part of the unusual pony. Trixie and Derpy both took a fresh look at the gleaming black suit, from the light swish of its secondary tail, along the flowing lines of energy that traced their way along 143’s body, to the gleaming silver control collar that was closely fitted to the mare's throat, and both had a chilling vision of themselves similarly bound and broken by the device.

“143’s conditioning makes 143 want to go to Control right now, but 143’s mind is stronger than it used to be, so 143 will stay with her sister. But, if 143 or her collar hears the voice of Control addressing 143, or if Control sends a command to all suits, then yes, Control can make 143 do whatever Control wants,” 143 confirmed, adding, as Dashiel’s face became grim, “are you going to kill 143 now? To protect the others?”

Both Derpy and Trixie tensed. Both of them were armed, and Trixie was even partially armored as well, but both of them knew just how deadly Dashiel could be. Dashiel could be a drunken, foul-mouthed mess at times, but when it came to fighting the rainbow tailed pegasus was as sharp as a razor capable of summoning a ruthless warrior's focus that was frightening to behold.

“No,” Dashiel stated, cocking a sardonic eyebrow at seeing the other two mares visibly relax. “If it gets to that, I’ll knock you out and leave you tied up in a closet or something.”

“Trixie knows a spell that can put you to sleep for awhile, sister. We can just let you sleep through everything,” Trixie supplied.

“How long does that spell last?” Dashiel asked with sudden intensity.

“About half an hour,” Trixie replied, trying not to wilt as the warrior mare went nose to nose with her. “If a pony is tired, they’ll keep sleeping once the spell is over though.”

“Huh,” responded Dashiel, who pulled herself up and away from Trixie and began pacing back and forth, muttering to herself slightly.

“What in the—” Trixie began, before being shushed by Derpy.

“Pegasus ponies think better when we’re moving,” Derpy said softly into Trixie’s ear. “It never seemed to work for me, but I bet Dashiel’s coming up with a plan.”

“Okay, here’s the plan,” Dashiel declared a few minutes later, the choice of words bringing a small smirk to Derpy’s muzzle. “Trixie, you distract Breaker with some smoke bombs, while me and Derpy hit her from either flank. Master Derpy, your Wing Chun is better than mine, so while you get in close, I’ll take the mid-range. Together we’ll—”

“Get slaughtered,” interjected Derpy. “This is an alicorn we’re going up against. An alicorn that’s expecting somepony to come at her, and who’s guarded by magical constructs. Remember what happened to Applejack, Rarity, and especially Roseluck?”

Everypony in the room shuddered at the memory of the blood curdling screams from the flower pony when one of the black constructs had pounced on her from above. Dashiel had been forced to hold Trixie back as the earth pony begged for help while struggling against her envelopment. The only thing more chilling had been when the captured pony had struggled to her hooves some twenty minutes later saying, “621 is a good pony. 621 will obey Control. A good pony is rewarded. 621 is a good pony.”

“Fair point,” Dashiel noted, beginning to pace up and down again. “Okay, so we either need more firepower or a better distraction than some smoke bombs, no offense Dame Trixie—”

“None taken,” Trixie slid in, a pleased smile replacing her frown at the reminder of her position of being Twilight's sworn knight.

“Okay, Plan B,” declared Dashiel, her eyes widening with excitement as she rounded on Trixie again. “I need you to put me to sleep.”

“What? Why?” Trixie demanded, while the others looked on in curiosity.

“The shield Breaker put around the castle keeps anything from getting in or out, including messages, right? But I bet it doesn’t stop dreams,” explained Dashiel.

“You serve the Dreamwalker,” 143 offered, before crouching back into Trixie’s shadow.

“Just like your sister works for Twilight, I work for Luna,” the blue pegasus confirmed. “I’m betting if Trixie puts me under, I can get a message to my boss and arrange for an alicorn diversion. Then we hit Breaker with everything we’ve got.”

“Trixie believes getting a message to the princesses is an excellent idea,” Trixie stated, strutting forward a pair of paces. “But your battle plan will only result in tragedy.”

“The mission is what’s important,” Dashiel fired back, opening the locker which held her magitech wing. The deadly length of feathered silver and steel sinews sent out glints of light, somehow looking eager to be used in deadly combat once more.

“We all know about ‘The Mission’, Dashiel,” Derpy stated, her wing trembling in the urge to put a comforting wing over the scar where once feather and bone had once been. “You remind the Twilight Guard about it every time you spar with them.”

“You promised Princess Luna that you would not throw your life away. That you would die only when she allowed you to,” Trixie reminded Dashiel.

“A mare’s gotta do, what a mare’s gotta do,” Dashiel replied, taking out her war wing and starting to check it over.

“We already decided that we can’t win if we just go charging in. And Trixie does not think it would matter how good our distractions are,” Trixie reasoned, putting a hoof onto Dashiel’s withers, causing the mare to pause in her checks and look at the former showmare. “What we need is a deception, not just a diversion. We need trickery, treachery and illusion. Things that Trixie, the Great and Powerful Knight of Twilight, has in abundance. You go talk to Luna, let Trixie take care of planning the show that shall be our victory over this Breaker pony.”

“Luna, I’ve never questioned your priorities when it comes to physical fighting, but really, taking a nap? Now?” Celestia asked, her amused tone belied by the restless shift of her hooves and the occasional lash of her ethereal tail.

“Dashiel needed to speak with me, and decided to use the dream realm to make contact,” Luna explained, getting up off the dirt road that led to Twilight’s castle. “As we suspected, it is the version of you from the world where Twilight first encountered those suits of hers that is to blame.”

“How did you know she was asleep?” Celestia asked, curious.

“When she agreed to swear fealty to me I placed an enchantment upon her that allows me to know her mental state at all times,” explained the lunar alicorn. “It was with her consent and has proven useful on occasion. And thou should not denigrate thy own martial ability. Thou didst quite well.”

When Dashiel’s first warning of, “Invasion. Alien dimension. Slavers” had reached the castle; it had taken Celestia less than five minutes to roust Luna from a sound sleep, muster every Royal Guard pony in the palace, and bring them all to Ponyville in a single mass teleport. The effort required for that feat of magic had dropped the senior alicorn in her tracks for minutes more as she recovered, every second of which had been begrudged and fretted over, despite knowing that Luna stood watchful guard over her, protecting Celestia with her own body.

Nor had the Princess of the Night been idle while she stood guard either. Taking command while Celestia lay insensible, Luna ordered the two hundred ponies her sister had assembled to lay siege to Twilight’s castle, surrounded as it was by a shielding globe of foreign magic that tasted almost like that of her beloved sister, but was just different enough to be recognizable.

Just as that was completed, some sort of midnight-hued thing passed out through the barrier of energy as if it wasn’t there, only to be intercepted by the blasts of at least three different unicorns. The magical beams of destruction had done nothing to deter the bed sheet sized entity in the slightest.

In fact, the energy had seemed to invigorate the thing, causing it to briefly grow and then split into two separate creatures. One of which had stooped like a hawk to drop on Lily Valley, wrapping itself around the mare from shoulder to hip, while the other dove on Luna herself, only to find itself swatted back whence it came by a tree that the lunar alicorn had employed like a giant club.

Guardponies had then leapt to the stricken mare’s assistance, trying to remove the clinging ooze as it enveloped and bound the flower mare within it’s clutches. Just as her head was being covered and her muzzle bound, Lily had just managed to gasp out, “It’s inside of me!”

As terrible as watching Lily Valley being made into a living ponyquinn of latex had been, the horror over her envelopment had been nothing compared to what had happened roughly thirty minutes later when the hood had pulled back on it’s own to reveal the face of a mare who had been fundamentally changed by her experience.

“625 will return to Control now. All ponies will submit to Control,” Lily Valley, now 625 had stated, before moving toward Celestia and Luna, only to be stopped by the spears of guardsponies pointed at her chest. “Follow 625 and submit to Control.”

625 had turned and walked back to Twilight's Castle, and no pony, not even the princesses, had been willing to try to stop her.

“Ranseur, report,” commanded Celestia, to one of her sergeants. “Is the evacuation complete?”

“We’ve just put the last civilians on the train, and it should be pulling out any minute now,” replied the guard, eyeing the golden-globed castle with wariness.

“What took so long?” Luna asked, adding, “It has taken most of the day to evacuate a few hundred ponies from a small town. Why the delay?”

“Ponyvillians are used to hunkering down when crazy things happen. A lot of them are really good at hiding from trouble and it took us awhile to find everypony,” Ranseur explained.

“Fair enough, carry on,” Luna replied, dismissing the pony before turning to her sister. “Dashiel intends to attack. She has a small force consisting of herself, Derpy and Trixie.”

“I sometimes question Twilight’s wisdom in bringing a pony like that home with her,” Celestia commented. “Dashiel’s first thought is always to attack. To solve a problem by driving a blade through it until it isn’t a problem anymore.”

“And that is why I have bound her to me,” Luna replied, continuing as her sister gave her a questioning look. “She reminds me of myself, back in the fighting pits, and we both know that Friendship and Harmony are not the solutions to every problem. Some problems must be solved with naked steel, and Dashiel will be the blade I set into such problems. And besides, it was not wisdom that caused Twilight to bring Dashiel back with her. It was compassion.”

“True enough. However, I don't think that three ponies, even led by one as capable as Dashiel, are going to be enough to take on what is essentially another me,” said Celestia, gazing toward the crystal edifice. “What else did they say?”

“Dashiel requests that we create as big of a diversion as possible in twenty-five minutes time,” Luna informed her sister. “She would not give me the details, but apparently they intend to use the diversion to make their attack.”

“As big as possible, eh? Well that settles it,” Celestia stated firmly. “I’m going in.”

“You?” Luna asked, shocked. “Sister. ‘Tia. Of the two of us, I am the better in the martial field, while your talents lie… “

“With bureaucracy and paperwork. With lying on a couch; my tail flagging and my eyes begging a stallion to mount me,” Celestia added, smiling kindly in response to Luna’s grimace of distaste.

“I would not have put it so bluntly,” Luna commented.

“But it is what Decius trained me for, and it is what this… version of me has been using to corrupt and enslave ponies with,” Celestia explained, taking a moment to draw a loving hoof along her sister’s jaw. “And of the two of us, even you will have to admit that I will be more able to withstand anything those suits can do to me.”

“You are right, sister. But I do not have to like it,” was all Luna could say in argument, ears drooping. “We could still attack frontally. Make a diversion that way.”

“Luna, you know that nothing diverts ones attention quite like getting somepony getting in your face and giving it a good slap,” Celestia responded, and Luna swore the look on her sister’s face was positively vulpine. “And besides, I’m looking forward to giving this Celestia an object lesson in what it really means to be in control.”

Author's Note

I hadn't initially planned for Nightmare Rarity to make an appearance, but when I asked my editor how far I should go with Rarity's corruption from the suit, their replay was, "You really like Nightmare Rarity, don't you?"

I do. I really do.

Next time my patrons choose this to be the second chapter of the month, there will be a battle... and a bonus chapter afterwards.

Every month my patrons get to vote on which story they would like to see me work on following my commissioned story. This month they voted for me to write the chapter you've just read.

If you want a vote on what I write, join my Patreon and for as little as a dollar a month you can cast your ballot for whichever story you would like to have me update.

Bonus Interlewd

“With your permission, Dame Trixie, I will take things from here,” Celestia said, the flowing black of the suit contrasting brilliantly with the little alabaster fur that was still visible. Celestia’s wings had been trapped, her body invaded by twin shafts buried deeply in her sex and ass, but none of it appeared to bother her in any way as her magenta eyes swept over the scene at large, before spying a riding crop and a harness lying on the floor near the pair.

‘Perfect,’ Celestia thought to herself. ‘These will do nicely.’

Without further ado, she reminded Breaker of her presence by neatly clearing her throat. Breaker whirled about, nearly knocking Trixie off her hooves as the force of her swinging flanks buffeted the Knight of Twilight aside.

“You!” Breaker snarled, her eyes narrowing with suspicion and rage. “My suit… my collar, they defeated you!”

The original Celestia chuckled in response, looking relatively nonplussed as she drank from a tiny bottle Trixie offered her. Then with a bit of skill that belied centuries of training, she flipped the riding crop onto a hoof with a well placed pawing motion then paused.

“Trixie, could you please take 143 and go check on the others please?” Celestia asked, noticing with a smile that the showmare’s eyes were tracking the crop. “Now please.”

“Trixie does not mind wait—” began Twilight’s knight, sending the Zodiac Sword back to its home in otherspace.

“Obey me, Trixie,” Celestia said, putting some weight into her voice and force of will into the eye contact she made with their saviour. “Later on, we can talk about… rewards.”

“As you command, Princess,” Trixie replied, bowing low and keeping herself that way as she backed out of the room, 143 against her side.

Breaker’s eyes were drawn by the gesture of subservience, shifting her attention away from Twilight and Bookworm in the process and while Celestia’s restored golden magic picked up the harness in a languid motion, it was the motion of the riding crop that had Breaker's attention. Bringing herself up to her full height, Celestia turned on her captive and used the Royal Canterlot Voice to bring power to her command of:

"Kneel."

As the magic from the ability struck Breaker like a dagger to the heart, she was unable to resist the command and quite unexpectedly found herself obeying. Confusion and irritation flashed across the darker counterpart’s face, mostly because despite straining against the invisible bonds she could not resist. “What is this?” She demanded, looking almost like an angry crab on the floor.

The crack of the riding crop sounded like a gunshot in the otherwise still room, taking the kneeling Celestia by complete surprise as it impacted before she had even noticed it moving, startling the harnessed mare in a way that caused Twilight's Celestia to grin broadly in a way that caused a shiver to run down Twilight’s spine as she observed the unfolding drama. Slowly, lazily, the riding crop was lifted in golden magic to strike again, gently at first so as not to cause too much pain. Yet. Even with the bloom of the impacts growing over Breaker’s rump, the harness was being moved into place to capture the invading princess as smoothly as possible.

Celestia smirked as the riding crop warmed up her enemy, who'd not even noticed the harness now binding her wings in place. "What did you say you called yourself again? Control Prime?" Tia asked, rhetorically, as she chuckled softly into a husky purr while the suit milking at her teats bubbled up a modicum of pleasure.

"Well, you can call me Mistress." With that, Tia used a flurry of erotic blows at the entrance to her counterpart's rather moist core before swiftly bringing out a familiar machine. "And you have been a very bad girl, Tia of the Roaman court."

Methodically with a skill honed over a thousand years, she hooked up Breaker to the breeding rack, tightening each strap with insatiable desire and locking down every buckle with a firmness that told Twilight that the invader of her home wasn’t going to be moving unless her mentor desired it. "I'm going to fuck you and use you until you beg me to stop, and when you do I'm going to fuck you myself. Because that's how you break someone into subservience, my dear."

“Fuck you,” cursed the rogue alicorn, just before Celestia trapped her tongue beneath a spoon bit.

“That’s the idea,” Celestia murmured into a snow white ear while tightening the securing bridle so hard it dimpled the flesh beneath. “That is so definitely the idea.”

Twilight’s teacher stepped back and watched as her bound prize did her best to free herself from the breeding block. The pony who had invaded her lands, hurt her student and tried to enslave her ponies bucked and heaved at her bonds, straining with all of her celestial strength and will. And although the straps creaked not a single piece stretched, gave way or even loosened. Not the harness, not the cuffs that held her legs apart, not the tailcuff that left her marehood exposed and ready, not even the bridle that controlled her head and trapped her voice.

Every single inch of alicorn flesh was completely at Celestia’s mercy, to use and abuse as she saw fit.

Celestia sent a smoldering look over to her one-time student, pinning Twilight in place with her eyes. The lavender mare had one hoof down over her privates, and Celestia could see the dampness, smelling mulberry tinged arousal from the lovely young thing that had learned so much from her, and was about to learn so much more.

“You may continue, my dearest student, but you will only allow yourself to cum when she does,” Celestia ordered in a voice rich with the tones of command and desire. It was the voice of a mare used to being obeyed, and who expected that her orders would be followed. In all things.

Jerkily, Twilight nodded her agreement and obedience, finding herself just as tightly bound as their prisoner, but with chains made of Celestia’s will instead of leather and steel.

“Shhhh,” Celestia whispered, not knowing that the mare had already been rendered mute, but now made silent in a way more sure than any gag or muzzle or collar could. “I said you could cum, but you will make no attempt to speak. Do you understand my intent, my faithful student?”

Twilight’s repeated nod lurched back and forth in time with the motions of her hoof, as it continued moving over her delicate nub. The action sent jolts of heated lightning through her body, and she realized that she did understand what her dearly loved and ardently desired mentor intended to teach her this day.

Celestia was showing her that dominance wasn’t whips, chains and collars. Dominance was desire, controlled. Dominance was will, exercised. Dominance was control, desired. It was a loop that came back on itself in a perfect circle that bound dominant to submissive and submissive to dominant.

In that moment, if Celestia had held out an open collar, Twilight would have gladly placed her throat in its unbreachable circle and allowed, no begged, for it to be sealed in place. Such was the power of undeniable will from a being who had spent a millennia in caring control of both herself and others.

“Now as for you,” Celestia began, delivering a strong nip to the tip of the rogue’s ear that drew an inarticulate squeal from the mare. “I want you to fight me. I want you to struggle, and buck and try to resist me. I want you to give my student a good show. Can you do that for me, Cake Flank?”

An incomprehensible growl of anger and denial rose from the bound pony, only to devolve into a series of pained cries as Celestia unleashed a flurry of blows with the crop she had retrieved with her magic.

“Yes, that’s going to be your name from now on. ‘Cake Flank’,” Celestia informed the alicorn beneath her. Twilight’s hoof sped in its movement as she noticed her teacher picking up a long braided whip in her magic and holding it out in front so that Cake Flank could see it.

“Nuh nuh,” begged the mare, taking in the coiled leather and dreading what it could do to her flesh.

“Oh? You think I’m going to whip you?” Celestia asked, giving her opposite a closeup view of the strands of leather. A princess deserved to own only the best things. Whether it be jewellery, furniture, or instruments of pain and delight, and interestingly enough, Twilight had been buying some of the best there was.

Cake Flank nodded as best she could. The martingale attached to her bridle kept her head nearly immobile, but there was enough slack for her to convey her fear that she was about to be whipped and brutally so.

“I would never whip one of my ponies,” Celestia stated, allowing her slave a moment to relax, then coiling the braided line around Cake Flank's throat like a long collar made from a single leathern snake. “But then again, you aren’t one of my ponies, are you?”

Cake Flank had just enough time to whinny out a plea before Celestia tightened the whip like an anaconda grasping its prey, cutting off her captive’s wind. Celestia held the mare like that for a long, long minute. Long enough for Cake Flank to begin to struggle, before releasing the tension and allowing the mare to breathe again.

“Now then, Twilight. Note that our new mare has just learned her first lesson from us,” Celestia commented as she froze her student in place again with her eyes. “She’s learned that we hold the power of life and death over her, to use as We see fit. And that she has no say at all in the matter. Isn’t that right, Cake Flank?”

Cake Flank’s frantic nodding sent the now loose ends of the whip bouncing against the fronts of both her shoulders.

“Good girl,” Celestia praised, easing herself back to the rear of the secured female. “And now for the second lesson. We will teach Cake Flank that we also have the right to decide whether she feels either pleasure or pain.”

Cake Flank braced herself as best she could for the onslaught that she knew was about to come. Whether or not the stinging blows of the crop or the biting constriction of the whip, she held herself ready for whatever Celestia was about to hurt her with. Which is why the soft touch of a velvet tongue gliding up her weeping inner folds shocked her into a moment of total mindlessness.

A second gliding stroke up the opposite side of her holy entrance and around her clit had her gasping for breath even as it caused her to lose control of her legs, the limbs spasming outward and only the tight bonds of her harness to the breeding block kept her from falling to the floor.

Bracing her hooves up on either side of Cake Flank’s bound tail Celestia leaned forward, driving her muzzle deep into the rich dark tunnel of the captive mare, spreading the passage wide as she drank deep of the rich scent that she herself had smelled far too rarely over the long, long years.

“I really should thank you, Cake Flank,” Celestia said, her muzzle gleaming wetly with the juices of what she was sure was going to become one of her favorite diversions. “I’ve wanted somepony like you for decades. Somepony as strong and as durable as me. A pony that would be with me for all the long years ahead. And then you came here, invaded the home of one of my nearest and dearest, and gave me all the excuses I needed to keep you here forever. As mine.”

Cake Flank barely understood what Celestia was saying, so powerful had been the switch from terrible pain to joyful delight. And even if she had, it wouldn’t have mattered as the spoon on her bit kept her tongue pinned, preventing even a single understandable syllable from escaping her mouth.

Celestia dove her muzzle back into the soft strength that was the increasingly wet core of Cake Flank, gliding her tongue along the soft folds of the pony’s entrance and lashing the ever rising nub of flesh until Cake Flank began to tense up. Every muscle from her most sacred place outward gearing towards a release designed by one who had been trained for years in the erotic arts. Celestia felt the growing tension, tasted the beginnings of that most wonderful of frissons…

And then brought the crop across the tips of Cake Flank’s teats with a slash whose speed rivaled that of a sonic rainboom.

Cake Flank promptly erupted into a thunderous orgasm that ripped out of her with a force beyond belief. So powerful was the carnal outburst that Celestia was forced to duck as her captive released a literal jet of musky liquid from her spasming core, traveling in a great arc to splash against the far wall.

Another splattering sound drew Celestia’s attention and turning, she saw that her faithful student had been obedient to her commands and held her own orgasm until that very moment.

“Well done, my little pony,” Celestia declared, taking a moment to step over and give Twilight a brief nuzzle of praise. Twilight, nearly mindless after the climax of some of her darkest fantasies, merely lifted her chin up and to one side, revealing the control collar of the suit bonded to her in wordless offering.

“I accept, Twilight,” Celestia stated softly. “But not right now. I’ve only started to break this pony to her saddle, and there is much more to be done before Cake Flank learns all that I have to teach her.”

It was three hours later and the other Princess of the Sun had been reduced to a pleading mess of trapped wings, fur and fluids. The tongue bit had at some point been removed to allow Cake Flank’s throat to be used, and so she was free to speak once again.

"Please, I can't take any more. I'll go back to my world. I'll do anything," the bound mare begged.

"Now, I hope you’re still taking notes, Twilight," cooed Celestia, savouring the sensations she had denied herself for at least two centuries. "Because this is how you finish fucking someone into utterly submissive servitude. And the best part? Once her body recovers she'll beg me to do it all over again."

Effortlessly chanting a spell that caused her teats to swell slightly, a sudden girth appeared under her belly which promptly engorged with the desire that coursed through Celestia’s body like the thunder crashing across the sky in a storm. She was fully erect in an instant, and eyed her counterpart’s entrance with a mildly critical eye. Yes, she’d be able to take this. Her shaft was no bigger than the ones that had broken her in ancient Roam, so it would not be any worse than what she’d endured before.

Without any further hesitation, Celestia reared up onto her hind legs, bracing herself on her enemy’s hips while she probed for the entrance with a cock that already glistened with precum. Finding that soft, aching yield of flesh was like a silken vise welcoming her home, Celestia pushed her way inside with a ground out moan of satisfaction. It was a little weird to realize that she was technically fucking herself, but since this was the perfect opportunity to both slake her lust and break her enemy she wasn’t going to pass it up on account of a little bit of strangeness.

"No, no. You can't. I won't. You can't make meeEEE!," shrieked Cake Flank as the big white mare atop her proceeded to plow the productive new field Celestia’s favorite student had found for her.

Her skill was unmatched, moving with power and force before shifting into more lazy undulations that provoked deep, guttural moaning from the mare under her. While the thrusting seemed erratic on the surface, Celestia was quite carefully driving the rogue princess into madness by fucking her while being simultaneously denying the orgasm her counterpart craved with greater and greater desperation.

Harder, deeper, faster, Celestia thrust over and over and over while savoring the sensations of the flesh gripping at her shaft, enticing her to move ever closer to climax and spill her seed into the fertile womb within. With a sudden motion of her magic, the golden light enveloped the abandoned riding crop and had it slap the invading princess’ rump while her telekinesis formed hooves to stroke, caress, tease and deny with increasing tempo.

Telekinetic hooves fondled Cake Flank’s teats while tongues of magic lapped at the swaying nipples as surely as though two other ponies had joined them. While the cock slamming in and out of the pussy was completely physical, one made of shimmering aura found itself probing and teasing the anal entrance like a needy stallion. As it entered the other hole, the bound alicorn found herself moaning with a querulous agony that threatened to rattle the windows within their frames.

“Ohh fffffFUCK Cake Flank,” Celestia gasped out, sweat forming on her fur from the efforts of breeding. “You’re so fucking tight for me.”

Hips moving as though she was racing to an imaginary summit, Celestia’s senses narrowed while her telekinetic assistants worked into a frenzy. With an earth-shattering whinny, she thrust one last time while pumping her seed into the dripping passage of Cake Flank’s canal. Two other cries echoed hers, one being the now quivering mass that was the other Princess of the Sun, and the other being a furiously clopping Twilight Sparkle who’d been unable to resist the show.

Withdrawing neatly after catching her breath, the counterspell was uttered that returned the solar alicorn to complete marehood again. From there she walked around to the front of the device that held the usurper still.

“Release me from this suit,” she commanded evenly.

“Yes Mistress,” was the quiet response from Cake Flank. “Suit 1000, recognize Control Prime.”

“Recognized,” replied the collar. “Initial configuration for 1000?”

“Release.”

“Password?” the collar prompted. The neutral voice seemed more startling than if it had replied with any emotion.

“Solaris,” Cake Flank intoned, her voice resigned.

With a soft beep, the ichor that had spread across Celestia’s body promptly retreated into the collar, which a few moments later clicked open and fell harmlessly onto the floor.

“Good girl,” Celestia praised. “Now undo what you’ve done to my student.”

Bleary eyes lifted until they made contact with the eyes of the much younger alicorn some feet away, and she connected to the collar resting on a black coated lavender neck.

“Suit 614, recognize Control Prime,” she commanded wearily.

“Recognized,” replied the other collar. “Configuration for 614?”

“Release all restrictions, release sole Control Prime mode, revert to previous configuration.”

“Password?” the collar prompted. The neutral voice was once more monotone in its responses.

“Solaris,” Cake Flank said, all of the wind drained from her sails.

The other suit then reverted to how Twilight Sparkle had originally had it, the soft beep alerting her when it was done. Tearing her eyes away from her former captive, Cake Flank lay muted and spent within the breeding rack.

“Excellent work, Cake Flank,” Celestia purred, stroking a hoof over the sweaty face of her other self. “I think this warrants a reward.”

With that she swung herself around, lifting her tail high and proud while revealing a glistening crevice. There was no real way for the bound mare to object to it being shoved into her face, but the instinct was there to dip her muzzle into the slippery depths and deftly use her tongue. Celestia moaned in abject approval, leaning into the ministrations that weren’t too far off from her own abilities.

The scent of her arousal began to fill the room again while she was feasted on, and this time she locked her gaze onto Twilight who still stood frozen in place.

“Come here, my faithful student,” Celestia commanded, her voice as gentle as a spring breeze. “I think you’ve suffered without release long enough.”

Transfixed, Twilight Sparkle moved forwards as though she was walking on air. Her heart thudded in her ribcage, all thought to do anything else wiped as cleanly from her mind as though she’d been put under a spell. Pausing a short distance away, the young alicorn awaited the next set of commands.

“Present yourself to me,” Celestia murmured. “I know you ache for more than the paltry release of your hooves.”

A deep shudder went through Twilight, and she found herself obeying with a dreamy gracefulness to her motions. Turning around, she lifted her tail to reveal her own swollen nethers that were begging for release despite her reaching climax twice. Part of her held her breath while waiting to see what would happen next, and the other was furiously taking mental notes.

“You’re so wet, little one,” Celestia purred. “I think your lessons have taught you well today.” Instead of waiting for a response she plunged her face into the sensual garden of her student, lashing with her tongue and bringing the young alicorn into a swift frenzy.

Rocking back and forth against the mouth ravaging her, Twilight Sparkle let out gasps of pleasure while her hind legs quivered with approaching release. At the critical moment, Celestia grabbed the riding crop and struck twice in rapid succession.

“Cum!” She roared as she did so, and Twilight couldn’t have disobeyed even if she’d wanted to. The sudden flare of pain knocked her over the threshold of release, and she sprayed her juices in a powerful orgasm.

Seconds later Celestia’s own cries filled the room as she too orgasmed, and she took a moment before moving away from her prisoner. “I believe this will be enough for now,” she murmured thoughtfully. “I will need to rest and regain my strength before deciding what to do with my newest acquisition.”

Cake Flank was too fatigued to raise her head in response, merely let it hang while she drifted off in exhausted sleep.

Author's Note

Co-writing credit for this bonus chapter definitely belongs to my editor, Coyotethetrickster who said to me one night, "Isn't it about time Celestia had some fun?"

Four hours later we had banged this together by throwing paragraphs at each other and editing like mad things. More editing after writing the fight chapter to fit how that chapter turned out and we had an extra chapter waiting in the wings for just this moment. We hope it satisfies.

Every month my patrons get to vote on which story they would like to see me work on following my commissioned story. Last month, my patrons voted for this story. This month's voting is currently in progress.

If you want a vote on what I write, join my Patreon and for as little as a dollar a month and cast your ballot for whichever story you would like to have me update.

Interlew-----

The sun streamed down through the window to fall full and bright upon Celestia’s morning table, The brilliant illumination made the white tablecloth almost incandescent and a source of light in of itself. Day Court was still some hours away and this was the time of day that Celestia usually had to herself. Late enough that Luna had settled into a well deserved sleep but yet early enough that the day's issues had not risen up to the point where they had to be dealt with.

The Princess of the Sun raised a teacup to her lips intending to take a sip, only to stop and sigh as the movement allowed her to see the reminder of a subject that had lain heavily on her heart these past months. Two days after the fight at Twilight’s castle a length of gleaming steel chain had entered into Celestia’s life, and her unwilling mastery of both it and the mare locked to the steel's far end weighed heavily on her heart.

She hadn’t wanted to take possession of that chain or the mare bound to it, but the bonds of honor, duty, responsibility and friendship bound her just as tightly as that pony was. Celestia’s magenta eyes followed that gleaming length as it passed from light into darkness, past a pair of bowls filled with clean water and fresh food, to where it was attached to a close fitting silver collar.

Celestia’s eyes met those of the leashed mare as she rested in her locked cage and the princess found herself getting to her hooves to check on her dearest possession, only to be stopped by a knock on the door.

“Who is it?” Celestia asked.

“Princess Mi Amore Cadenza of the Crystal Empire is here to see you, Princess Celestia,” came the voice of Trixie.

“Show her in please, Dame Trixie,” Celestia called back, keeping her words formal.

A moment later the symbiote clad form of Trixie Lulamoon appeared, the light blue parts of her head and neck contrasting with the glossy form of her symbiote and its glowing lines of power. Trixie bore the Zodiac sword at her side and embossed into the dark latex covering her chest was a representation of Twilight’s cutie mark.

Behind her stood the tall form of Mi Amore Cadanza, Princess Cadance. She too wore one of the living latex magitech entities, but where Trixie’s was an all covering sheathe over her body, Cadance’s had been made to form into a series of wide black straps that together shaped a tight harness binding the Princess of Love, complete with high posture collar and tailcuff that forced her two tone tail high before allowing it to fall just far enough to allow modesty.

Trixie’s eyes flicked to the cage in the corner and when she spoke Celestia could hear the note of hope in her voice.

“Was there anything else, Princess?” Trixie asked, as Cadance walked into the room past her.

“Not right now, but I’ll let you know if we need anything,” replied Celestia.

Nodding gravely, Trixie withdrew, closing the door behind her.

“Not you too,” Celestia said, allowing her ears and tail to droop in disappointment. “I would have thought you would have burned that thing Cake Flank put on you and then scattered the ashes to the four winds.”

“Shining likes it,” Cadance responded, drawing a hoof along the dark strap that ran vertically from her collar down to the girth. “He likes wearing it as well, when it’s his turn.”

Celestia’s eyebrows tried to climb up into her mane she raised them so high, before shaking herself and letting out a breath.

“I’m in no position to judge what somepony does or does not want to do with themselves,” Celestia stated, staring down into the remains of her tea. “Not now. I assume you’ve come to check on her?”

“And to let you know how our other efforts are faring,” Cadance informed the senior princess. “If you would…”

Cadance’s voice trailed off and her eyes moved away from the golden sun princess before her, to the dark corner where a mare lay collared, leashed and caged. The young alicorn watched as golden magic undid a lock, lifted aside a door, and gently pulled on the length of chrome chain. Obedient to the traction on her collar, the mare inside obediently stepped out of the cage and moved forward until she was at Celestia’s side, where she bowed forward to rub her cheek against her owner’s hoof in submissive obeisance.

“Sparkles, sit,” commanded Celestia, and a lavender rump thumped to the ground while a purple and raspberry coloured tail wagged happily.

“Any change?” Cadance asked, studying Twilight intensely.

“Nothing for the past two months. Ever since I found her like this in my study. The name tag and cage I added though. They seem to keep her calmer, especially at night,” Celestia brushed Twilight's mane as she spoke, setting a gold name tag with the word “Sparkles” on it swinging back and forth.

Cadance watched for a few moments as Celestia groomed the leashed mare, noting that “Sparkles” ears were swiveling back and forth as the conversation continued.

“What happens at night?” Cadance probed, watching both mares for reactions to her questions.

“Night terrors, thrashing, sounds of an animal in pain,” Celestia answered, her brush strokes growing unconsciously in firmness until the pony beneath them began to wince in discomfort..

“I’m sorry Sparkles,” Celestia said soothingly, as she removed the leash from Sparkles collar. “Why don’t you go out on the terrace and play.”

Tail wagging in a fashion more dog-like than belonging to a pony, the mare that had been Twilight Sparkle trotted out into the high walled garden terrace that bordered Celestia’s sitting room. Both older princesses watched as Sparkles began to bat a rubber ball back and forth in play, the deep black of her suit gleaming glossy highlights in the sun.

“Bad, but not as bad as it could have been,” Cadance said, under her breath.

“What in Tartarus took you so long to get here?” demanded Celestia, in a hard whisper. “I’ve got no idea how to deal with this. Luna tried dreamwalking into her nightscape a week ago and came out asking to be bridled and ridden until she dropped. Ridden by a stallion. Twilight won’t talk, she won’t even try to talk. She won’t use her magic, won’t even try to do anything like a pony. If I try to force her she just looks at me like she can’t understand what I’m saying. If I take her collar off she just stares into space, not eating or drinking until she collapses. And when I do put it on her, she’s like this. Barely more than an animal. A pet.”

Cadance took the impassioned, but whispered rant with calm acceptance. She knew, or at least suspected, what forces were driving her mentor like the whips of a thousand furies.

“You know where I’ve been, and why I couldn’t get here until now,” Cadance replied, keeping her tones reasonable. “We had to track down the rumors of Rarity being sighted near Whinnyapolis. You know that. As much as Twilight needs my— our help, finding and containing the Nightmare has to be our top priority. You told me that yourself.”

“I know. I’m sorry Cadance,” Celestia apologized. “It’s just, this isn’t something I can use the Elements on, or banish to the moon, or anything. And everywhere I look, I see those symbiotes, feeding on ponies. It’s like I’m surrounded by reminders of how I’ve failed Twilight.”

“You love her, don’t you?” Cadance gently asked, seeing past the royal facade to how much pain the solar alicorn was in.

“Like the daughter I never had,” admitted Celestia, ears and shoulders slumping. “Like the daughter I never can have.”

“And seeing her like this hurts you, even though you’re trying not to show it,” Cadance supplied, getting a tearful nod in response.

“Good news first then,” Cadance continued. “Twilight is still in there. At the very, very worst, there is still an active mind working behind the shield that she’s thrown up to keep what has become a terrible multiverse away.”

“Shield?” Celestia asked, grasping Cadance’s meaning. “You mean all of this; the collar, the suit, acting like a pet… it’s a defense mechanism?”

“Yes, and you accepting her in this mode is helping her heal. You are helping her heal. Never doubt that,” Cadance assured the great white mare. “But to truly help her return to the Twilight we both know and love, we have to understand what broke her in the first place.”

“Those Tartarus cursed suits,” growled Celestia, and the temperature in the room rose several degrees.

“No,” Cadance countered, drawing a look of surprise from Celestia. “The suits enabled the situation and started Twilight down this path, but they were far from the cause of her final break and attempt to escape from reality.”

“Then what was?” Celestia demanded, as the temperature in the room continued to stay elevated.

“Trauma. Rapid hammer blows of trauma straight to her core foundations that came on top of Twilight not only discovering her sexualtiy, but also discovering how those awakened desires could be exploited against her,” Cadance began.

“I never should have taken her to Shaushka’s. I never should have done a scene with her,” sighed Celestia, and the heat in the room disappeared like fall’s promise of winter as Celestia allowed herself to show the guilt she felt over her faithful student’s fall.

“Of course you should have. Shaushka is a fine teacher of the erotic arts, and who better than the mare she trusts more than any other to introduce her to the worlds of dominance and submission?” Cadance again countered, doing her best to bolster Celestia’s flagging confidence.

“But—” began Celestia.

“The first hammer blow was watching you die in her hooves,” Cadance interrupted, diverting Celestia's self-blamd while holding up a hoof to block any retort. “Not you you, but a you that could have been. And this was after being sexually assualted… raped, again. And then she loses her new student. To a glorious purpose that Starlight—”

“Princess Solar Starlight,” Celestia automatically corrected in such a Twilight fashion that Cadance had to smile for a moment.

“To a purpose that Princess Starlight will find fulfilling, but still losing her” Cadance continued, adding the correction. “Naturally feeling somewhat adrift, she returns home, finding what seems to be you waiting for her, only for her joy to be betrayed as she is thrust directly into a battle not only for her own soul, but for the souls and right to self-determination for everypony she knows and loves. And all of it caused by a twisted reflection of you. A monster wearing your face and sounding exactly like you.”

“I never should have let the Luna of that world have Cake Flank back,” Celestia said, and the next emotionless words brought a chill to Cadance. “I should have had her executed for crimes against Equinity.”

It took a moment for Cadance to continue.

“Um, we’ll get to that in a minute,” Cadance said, picking up the thread of her summary again. “So this other… alicorn, attacks Twilight, attacks her friends, and in the end is completely brought down by you in a display of masterful sexual dominance.”

Celestia’s head turned to focus on Cadance, and behind those magenta irises flared something hot and hungry that made the young alicorn feel very much like prey at that particular moment.

“Uh…” Cadance hesitated, losing her train of thought.

“Have a sip of tea, Cadance,” Celestia ordered, in a low voice that fairly rippled with power. “Give your throat a rest for a moment.”

Cadance obeyed, unable to refuse the strength of will that was Celestia.

“Good girl,” praised Celestia, in that same intent voice. “Carry on.”

“Um… yes,” Cadance responded, shaking her head for a moment as Celestia deliberately broke eye contact with her and released her from the solar will. “So Cake Flank is brought down and at this point Twilight is still reeling from one shock to another, but if nothing else had happened she could have recovered.”

“Rarity and Applejack,” sighed Celestia, looking off into the distance.

“Opening that pod and discovering that Rarity had joined with the Nightmare spirit in order to protect her mind, and what how badly the suits had broken Applejack,” Cadance paused, before asking, “Have I told you that we’ve learned how the suits actually break a pony down into a submissive slave?”

“Not the exact mechanism, no,” Celestia answered, huffing out a breath. “And I’m not going to like this, am I?”

“No, you won’t,” Cadance replied, pausing as she considered how best to shape the words she was about to say. “It’s pyromancy. But with a degree of precision and fineness that I wouldn’t have believed was possible if I hadn’t heard it myself or watched it happen in front of my own eyes.”

“Sunset Shimmer,” Celestia stated, and the temperature in the room again flared up a few degrees.

“Cake Flank’s Sunset Shimmer,” Cadance hastily advised. “The Sunset Shimmer that she twisted and drove insane for her own purposes.”

“That doesn’t make it any easier, especially as my own Sunset is still out there, somewhere. But go on,” Celestia said, taking a sip of her tea and looking out onto the terrace where Sparkles frolicked with a butterfly.

Cadance followed that gaze. Her trained eye taking in Celestia’s determination to protect and care for Twilight, her desire to see her faithful student restored to her rightful place, but Cadance also saw the hungry flames that danced behind those great lavender eyes. The pride of possession, combined with the desire to simply take what was both her due and what was freely offered.

Cadance suppressed a shiver at knowing it was only great self-control, brought on by the will to do what was right. that made her Celestia a true monarch. She had seen and felt first hoof what it was like if those chains of self-control ever slipped, and it was only her own faith in those bonds of iron will that gave her the courage to carry through with her ultimate plan.

“When the suits are trying to break a pony, they demand that the pony surrender to them. When a pony naturally denies that the suit then targets that precise part of the captive’s mind the denial came from and either burns it away or otherwise cuts it off from the rest of the pony’s mind,” Cadance explained. “Every time a pony denies the suit, they lose another bit of their ability to refuse. Burned away with a pinpoint piece of pyromancy. Eventually, there is nothing left of the pony that is capable of refusing, and they succumb.”

“And when a pony is particularly stubborn… “ Celestia added, her eyes going to the door whose other side Trixie guarded.

“Nearly all of that pony’s willpower and self-volition is destroyed,” Cadance filled in. “You get a compliant and barely functional 143, from a wilful Trixie. Or a nearly mindless automaton… from a stubborn pony like Applejack.”

“What is Applejack’s current condition?” Celestia asked.

“The suit only really tried to break her for a couple of hours, but in those hours it wreaked utter devastation. All of the Apples are stubborn, but Applejack doesn’t know the word ‘quit’, and nearly every part of her mind is connected to that stubborn determination,” Cadance related, taking another sip of tea to calm her nerves. “If you tell Applejack to do something, she does it, and while she’s doing the task she acts completely normal, able to answer questions, talk shop and even offer suggestions about how to do the job better. But once the job is done she’ll just stand there, not doing anything at all, until given another command.”

“That sounds very similar to 143,” Celestia commented. “Is there any chance of healing either of them?”

“We can’t heal it directly, but there is hope,” Cadance replied, idly toying with her high collar. “The mind is able to reroute itself around damaged sections. Given time and directed therapy we should be able to restore Applejack, 143 and any other pony the suits have broken.”

“Which explains how Twilight was able to resist the effect,” commented Celestia, pride in her voice. “The personality trick she used rerouted the suit’s damage around the damaged parts of her mind.”

“Rerouted yes, but not before significant damage had already been done,” Cadance corrected. “Twilight’s personality had already suffered by the time she came up with that trick, and so her brain still had to reroute around those burnt out pathways, and what it did was send her willpower through the lesser used areas of her mind. The parts connected with sexuality and eroticism.”

“That… That actually explains a lot,” Celestia noted, seeing the once shy, bookish unicorn she had known in her mind's eye.

“It also explains why her chosen place of refuge is as your submissive possession. Twilight trusts you on deep level, so when the last blow of seeing Applejack and Rarity so changed by something she blames herself for broke her, she gave herself into your care and keeping,” Cadance paused for breath. “Because she knows you will only do what’s best for her, and she was given a rather blatant example of the pleasures she would experience if you chose to… use her.”

“I would never—” Celestia began, only to be cut off by the Princess of Love.

“In her current condition, no. You wouldn’t. But if things were different. If she came to you with a sound mind and of her own free will and desire, you—” Cadance interrupted, only to be interrupted herself.

“Did,” Celestia interjected, taking a small amusement from the surprise on Cadance’s face. “Twilight knew what it’s like to be on the end of my leash before this happened.”

“Oh, um. Uh,” Cadance stammered, a hot blush coming to her cheeks as she imagined a future with herself on the end of a similar leash. “Umm.”

“What about Rarity, or rather Nightmare Rarity?” Celestia asked, giving Cadance a chance to recover herself by changing the subject. “Is there anything we can do for her?”

“Nightmare Rarity is turning out to be a literal nightmare to deal with,” Cadance commented, squirming slightly as a remembered phantom fullness tingled her nethers. “As a unicorn, she had an unparalleled ability to both manipulate fine objects and magically multitask. Combined with the power of the Nightmare and the suit seeping into them both…”

“Equestria hasn’t seen a latex sorceress in generations,” Celestia noted, almost absently.

“Any pony that tries to get in her way finds themselves suddenly bound in latex extruded from her suit, or by one of the symbiotes she has with her. Bound, or hooded, or webbed, or —” Cadance’s recitation was stopped by Celestia’s hoof on her muzzle.

“Or hooded while a latex chastity belt drove a pair of cocks in and out of both their holes anytime they tried to move, trapping them between wanting to move, and wanting to not move,” Celestia filled in, taking away her hoof. “Shining Armor told me how he found you. I’m guessing it’s one reason you’re still wearing the symbiote.”

Cadance could only nod, fighting to keep herself from dropping into subspace just from the memory of being so completely, so erotically, controlled.

“Shining doesn’t wear the suit, does he?” Celestia probed, drawing a shake of the head from Cadance.

The Nightmare did something to my suit when she made it bind me so I couldn't stop her from escaping. Even with the core code commands, the suit won’t come off now. Shining managed to get it to unhood me, and make it stop trying to tame me, but he couldn’t get it off. I’m a half-trained draught mare locked into her hauling harness,” Cadance blurted out, the words coming in a rush. “And now it’s bonded to me. The only way it will ever come off is if we manage to duplicate the poison Princess Starlight used to get Twilight’s old suit off of her.”

“May I have a look at it?” Celestia gently asked.

“Oh, okay,” Cadance said.

“Stand here, please,” Celestia commanded in a silky voice, indicating a spot beside her.

Wordlessly, Cadance did as she was bid, trying to hold back the feelings Celestia’s orders were creating inside of her. The soft alicorn tried and failed to hold back the small whimpers of pleasure that Celestia’s tugging and pulling on the extruded straps of the suit drove out of her. Pleasure that only increased as Celestia used her magic in an attempt to delve into the mysteries of this particular symbiote, which reacted clenching even tighter against Cadance’s delicate nub and teats.

The examination seemed to go on and on, until a lusty moan forced its way up the long column of Cadance’s collared throat and escaped from her open maw.

“Remind me to muzzle you if I need to do this again,” Celestia commented, before adding. “I’m done, you can sit down now.”

“Yes Miss— Ma’am,” Cadance responded, having sat in place in automatic obedience rather than returning to her chair. “Yes Ma’am.”

“Cadance… you are a happily married mare,” Celestia reminded the pony sitting on the floor. “Anything between us would have to be with his consent and approval.”

“He gave both when I told him I was coming here today,” Cadance replied, a sly smile coming to her mouth. “But before we go there, did you find anything?”

“Your symbiote has been reinforced with pure darkness. Power drawn from the night itself is now part and parcel of your bindings. A gift from the Nightmare, and I’m guessing one that only responds to her will,” Celestia explained.

“Making it even more imperative that we find and either capture Nightmare Rarity or convince the Nightmare to release Rarity back to us,” Cadance replied, sure the moisture leaking from her nethers was making a puddle on the floor beneath her. “And for that we need Twilight. She’s the only pony that has a chance of getting through to Rarity, and maybe even the Nightmare itself.”

“Do you have a plan, my little pony?” Celestia asked, her full smile suggesting that she knew what was coming next.

“I do,” Cadance answered, her nethers clenching at what she was about say. “First off, you’re going to need a cage made for two.”

Twilight’s discarded leash floated up on a wave of golden magic and locked securely to the tall, tight collar around Cadance’s throat,

“You say that like I don’t already have one ready for you,” was all Celestia needed to say.

Author's Note

After all that our heroine has been through, it was finally too much for her. But never fear, Sister-in-Law is here.

Nearly every month my patrons get to vote on which story they would like to see me work on following my commissioned story. In February my patrons voted for this story.

But now, with Brightly Lit 2 on hiatus, my Patrons now vote on the order I will be writing things during my Brightly Break.

If you want a vote on what I write, join my Patreon and for as little as a dollar a month and cast your ballot for whichever story you would like to have me update.

Interlew------

It had been another warm day in the sun for Sparkles. She’d had a wonderful time playing on the terrace, then going for a walk, and finishing it up with a bowl of her favourite food, diced hayburger. The only time Sparkles wasn’t happy was when she had to sit in her cage waiting for her Owner to come back.

Warm feelings filled the pet’s heart as she held the image of her beautiful, caring and wise Owner in her mind. If there was any pony that -------- knew would take good care of her, it would be Celestia. Celestia had watched over the pony nation for over a millennia and keeping an eye on Sparkles would be foal’s play in comparison.

Sparkles wondered where her Owner was at the moment. It was almost time for their evening walk in the gardens, where the pet would spend a little time behind a few strategic bushes before laying at Celestia’s feet as she brought down the sun and brought about the official close of the Equestrian day.

The door opened and Sparkles’ head came up in anticipation, only to give a small “whuff” of frustration as the pony at the door turned out to be the blue unicorn guard who carried a sword. Sparkles’ frustration was turned to curiosity however, as the guard proceeded to wheel in a cage that was twice the size of the one that Sparkles was kept in.

When the guard was finished with her task, Sparkles was overjoyed to see her Owner walk into the room, greeting her by enthusiastically jumping up and down while rubbing up against the bars of her own cage in mute request to be let out for a proper welcoming.

“Will that be all, Princess?” asked the blue guard, and some part of Sparkles seemed to want to answer that question, only for Celestia to do it for her.

“That will be all, Trixie. You should go back to Ponyville and get some rest,” advised Celestia. “I can handle things from here.”

“With respect, Princess Celestia, Trixie will return to Ponyville with her princess, or not at all,” the blue mare responded, eyes defiant and proud.

“-------- chose well when she made you her knight,” Celestia said, taking no offense from the guard’s bold speech. “Get some rest. I’ll see you in the morning.”

“Good night, Princess Celestia. Good night, Princess --------,” the blue mare answered, becoming visibly annoyed at herself a moment later and dropping her eyes before saying, “I mean, good night ‘Sparkles’. Trixie will see you in the morning.”

“Good night, Trixie,” Celestia said, nodding her dismissal of the blue pony before turning her attention back to her beloved Sparkles. “Well Sparkles, let's get you moved into your bigger home. I have a surprise for you.”

Sparkles tilted her head one way and then the other in curiosity as her Owner first opened the door to her cage, then locked a leash to her collar. Obediently, Sparkles stepped out, the tension on her collar akin to the feeling of a gentle hoof on her back, and giving rise to similar feelings.

The door to the larger cage was opened and Sparkles was led inside, where her Owner surprised the pet by anchoring her leash closely to the cage wall, allowing Sparkles only enough slack to lay in place where she was. A much more strict leashing than the pet was used to and the metal of Sparkles’ collar was pulled against her throat as she tried to find her new limits of motion.

“Now, don’t worry Sparkles, I just needed to make sure you wouldn’t overreact when you saw what’s coming,” Celestia commented, and as Sparkles looked up she saw her Owner levitating a second leash and begin pulling something into the room from out in the corridor.

Whatever was on the far end of that leash did not want to come into the room, causing Celestia to have to heave and pull on the silver chain, but after about a minute, a bound pony was pulled into the doorway.

The second leashed mare danced and reared back as much as she could against the chain locked to the tall leather collar she wore, but her efforts were limited by the golden hobbles attached to each of her four fetlocks. In addition to the chains binding her front and rear hooves, broad black straps flowed outward from the mare’s collar to form a body harness whose breaching straps declared that the purpose of the harness was not to frame the pony’s body, which it did very well, but to aid in the pulling of heavy loads.

In this case however, the harness was equally up to the job of pulling its wearer along, leaving the mare only with verbal protests as a means of stopping Celestia from dragging her forward. Unfortunately for the mare, somepony had already thought of that option and had prevented it with the aid of a close fitting muzzle attached to a bridle that was fitted in place with the aid of several golden locks.

“This is ‘Dancer’,” Celestia explained, with a grunt of effort as she drew her newest possession all the way into the room and locked the door behind the mare. “She—”

Celestia stopped in her explanation as a clink of chains announced that Sparkles had thrown herself forward to the very short limit of her leash and was even now straining against it.

“Cadance!” wordlessly formed on Twilight's lips and Celestia saw the sudden joy in her newest captive’s eyes as “Dancer’s” suspicions were confirmed.

“Easy, Sparkles. Don’t worry, you’re safe,” Celestia assured her pet, and carrying through with the script she had been given. “Dancer was wild until only a few days ago, and completely untrained, which is why she’s hobbled and muzzled. I don’t want her kicking or biting anypony. Isn’t that right, Dancer?”

Dancer responded by charging her new owner and attempting to gore Celestia with her horn. The cerise coloured mare got exactly two steps before her leash was pulled straight up, bringing Dancer’s charge to an abrupt halt and forcing her to stand on the tips of her hooves, lest she be strangled.

“Bad Dancer!” cried Celestia, striking the immobile mare on her flank with a blow that drew a muffled whinney of pained protest. “Bad!”

Celestia let the mare struggle for a few moments to allow her to realize that Celestia controlled her ability to breathe before asking, “Are you going to be good now?”

After a fractional nod, which was all that Dancer was capable of, Celestia released the tension on the chain leash, allowing her newest possession to breathe easy again; and with no further protest Dancer allowed herself to be led into the cage where she too was closely fastened to the wall, only the one on the opposite side from Sparkles.

“I was going to remove your muzzle before bed, but I don’t think you’ve earned that privilege,” Celestia informed the mare, who huffed out a breath through her nose in frustration before rubbing the side of her head against the bars, in a futile attempt to dislodge the offending piece of bondage.

“As for you, Sparkles,” Celestia continued, going around to the other side of the cage and unlocking her pet from her own leash. “Feel free to get to know your fellow pet, but be careful. As I said, Dancer is still wild and untrained and might lash out at you.”

Sparkles nodded empathetically and took a few half-steps toward Dancer, who growled and tried to jerk forward and attack, only to be brought up short almost instantly by her leash. Sparkles shied back in fear, wary of the larger pony, and only then came to realize that there was a heavy scent in the air.

It was a deep, rich musky smell. A smell that -------- was all too familiar with, and part of that awareness filtered down to Sparkles. Moving back and forth, Sparkles realized that the smell was coming from Dancer’s hindquarters, in particular from the very wet fur of the other mare’s inner thighs.

She likes this? Sparkles asked herself. Why would Cad—

Something hard and sad and firm clamped down on that train of thought, leaving only the instincts and reactions of an owned pet in their place. Sparkles shook her head in confusion for a moment, while Dancer watched her with wide and wary eyes. Carefully, a single step at a time and over the course of several minutes, Sparkles edged closer to the leashed pony, until she was close enough to lean forward and sniff Dancer’s exposed belly fur.

The smell of musk was still present, but it was fading rapidly and Sparkles could tell from Dancer’s slight trembling that the other pony was scared of what Sparkles could do to her as she lay hobbled and leashed. All Sparkles wanted to do was to make a friend, and so she sat herself down inside the circle of Dancer’s hooves and waited until the other’s breathing slowed and steadied.

With deliberate motions Sparkles lay her head down on her front hooves in a sleeping posture, and gradually, Dancer did the same. Sunset came, and darkness fell. But for the two caged mares there was only warmth, quiet, and finally, sleep.

“Aren’t you two just adorable?” asked a warm voice, and opening her eyes, Sparkles saw the face of her beloved Owner looking down on her two pets. Sparkles realized that she was laying against Dancer’s belly fur, who had wrapped herself around the smaller mare as best she could.

Dancer’s eyes flashed open in a sudden awakening as well, hastily pulling her legs back in close to her body and rolling to a sitting position as best she could.

“I think you’ve learned your lesson, Dancer,” Celestia stated, and golden magic flared behind Dancer’s head as Celestia unlocked and then removed Dancer’s muzzle.

Looking up at the other mare’s mouth, Sparkles was surprised to see that there was another layer of oral bondage beneath the first. Beneath her muzzle, Dancer had also been wearing a “U” shaped bit in her mouth, complete with both a strap that went behind her head and another that curled under and around her lower jaw, keeping the bit fixed in place over Dancer’s tongue.

“Aahn O,” breathed Dancer, as articulately as the bit allowed her to do.

“You are welcome, Dancer,” replied Celestia, who floated in two pairs of bowls for her pets. One with cool clean water, and the other with oatmeal. Dancer stuck her muzzle into the water bowl with a will, loudly slurping up water around her bit while Sparkles looked on in curiosity.

“I decided that seeing as you won’t let me try to heal your voice, that it wasn’t fair to you to let Dancer to be able to speak either,” Celestia informed Sparkles, correctly reading her pet’s curious look. “Besides, as a draught pony Dancer needs to get used to wearing a bit long term, so I decided that now was as good a time as any.”

Sparkles merely bent her own head to her food, munching away as if her Owner hadn’t said anything at all. Celestia sighed and leaned down to stroke Sparkles’ head briefly before saying, in a tone of command, “614 suit, harness configuration, draught pony.”

Sparkles made small whimpering noises as her full body covering shifted into an almost twin of the harness Dancer was wearing, complete with breaching straps against her back legs and bindings for her wings.

“Now, now Sparkles, if the two of you are going to be equals together, it’s only fair you share in her training,” Celestia said, sharing a brief nuzzle through the cage’s bars with her beloved pet. “Eat up as well, you have a long day ahead of—”

A knock sounded on the door, interrupting the princess.

“Enter,” she called.

The door opened to reveal Trixie, armed and armoured as she had been every day that Sparkles had been with her Owner.

“Shining Armor, Prince of the Crystal Empire, here to see you, your Highness,” Trixie said, gravely.

“Thank you Trixie, please send him in,” replied Celestia, and Sparkles noticed the two mares share a long look that ended with Celestia shaking her head slightly.

“Yes Ma’am,” Trixie said, a slight tiredness entering her voice, before she stepped aside to allow the resplendent form of Shining Armor to enter.

“Good morning, Princess Celestia, “ said the well-built blue and white unicorn, by way of greeting. “I wanted to see how you and Dancer were faring, as well as give you my latest report.”

“Dancer is everything you said she would be,” Celestia said, smiling warmly to the prince. “Lovely in both body and lines. A true beauty in motion.”

“As well as willful, spirited, and ready to attack at a moment’s notice,” Shining Armor noted with a smile, his gaze falling on the pair of pets working on their breakfasts.

“Oh, she’s already learned her reins are held in tight check, and that she is on a short leash indeed,” Celestia replied, and something molten entered the monarch’s voice. “She seems quite responsive to the crop as well.”

Sparkles could not help but notice the richly dark scent of musk that momentarily filled the cage again.

“Which is exactly why I sold her to you once I’d captured her. But perhaps I should get on with my report?” Shining Armor asked, adjusting his hips somewhat.

“Perhaps we should at that,” Celestia noted, with a small smile. “What news of the suits? Do we have their spread under control?”

“Not even remotely. At this point we estimate at least five percent of the adult population of Equestria has encountered a suit or been forced to provide power for their reproduction,” the unicorn stated. “We have reports of isolated encounters from every corner of Equestria, except for one. Whinneyapolis.”

“Nightmare Rarity is supposedly in that area,” Celestia commented, tapping her lips in thought. “Do you think it possible she might be having something to do with it?”

“Considering everything we know about her powers, I think it very likely,” Shining Armor said, and Sparkles looked up from her empty food bowl to see the male’s gaze flow along Dancer’s body. “I’m headed out there now, to see if I can find her, and talk to her.”

“Are you sure that’s safe?” Celestia asked. “The last guard detachment I sent after her came back encased in latex pods and asking when they could rejoin their mistress.”

“They went to attack, I’m going out there to talk,” Shining Armor said, in an attempt to reassure the princess, and Sparkles noticed that Dancer was also hanging onto every word of the conversation. “Underneath everything, even the Nightmare, that’s still Rarity out there. She’ll honor civilized parley if it’s offered to her.”

“I guess all I can do is to wish you good luck, Prince Armor,” Celestia commented after a few moments thought. “Did you wish to say goodbye to Dancer before you left?”

“No. Dancer and I said our goodbye’s when I sold her to you,” Shining Armor stated, looking through Celestia more than at her. Only Celestia’s eyes revealed that the byplay in the room was a pleasant fiction and nothing more.

“Then I will let you get on with it,” Celestia replied, getting up and walking the stallion back to the door. “I wish you the best of luck Captain, I mean Prince Armor.”

“Thank you,” said the blue maned unicorn, and for a moment his masculine mask slipped to reveal the husband and brother beneath. “You’ll take good care of them?”

“What good is my power, if it cannot be used to care for the hurt or the helpless?” Celestia asked, adding, “They will be safe, they will be loved, and they will be cared for. I swear it on the Sun itself.”

“Thank you,” Shining Armor said, his voice rough. “I’ll be back, soon as I can.”

Celestia closed the door behind her one-time Captain of the Guard and turned to see two sets of eyes doing their best to bore straight into her soul. It took everything she had to keep her voice light and merry when she spoke next.

“Okay you two, I have three hours before Day Court which means once we get you two cleaned up and ready we have time for about two hours of training,” the solar alicorn informed her charges.

And so it came to be.

After finishing the last bites of breakfast and a quick brushing, both harnessed mares were brought out to an empty practice field, where they found their tack attached to a small wagon through a veritable web of straps, lines, and reins. Dancer and Sparkles both shared a look of unease as they were fully secured into their places as the driving forces of the wagon.

Both mares could tell that they were each thinking of what could happen should either of them fall. That their harnesses and attached gear could become a deadly web in a crash.

“Easy girls,” Celestia commanded, running a reassuring brush of magic along the manes of her ponies. “We won’t be running any races today, or any time soon. Today is just to get you used to the weight and feel of a wagon, and how to respond to my commands.”

For the next two hours Dancer and Sparkles did just that. Walking only a few paces at a time to get used to the amount of force it would take to get the wagon moving. Stopping to understand how hard it was to stop the wagon once it was in motion and to get used to the pressure against the backs of their thighs from the breeching straps.

For her part, Celestia was all the teacher and instructor that -------- remembered. Patient and gentle, taking her time to explain things, how to turn right to a call of “Come” and left to the word “Get”, and recognizing when high-strung Dancer had simply had enough and needed to simply run for a bit.

After training, there followed a wash down and a full currying, which Celestia began, but had to leave in the hooves of a yellow-maned grey pegasus when she was called away on urgent business. The pegasus, in purple and yellow hoofmaiden livery, took her time finishing the task, all while feeding both the harnessed mares bits of oat and blueberry muffins and keeping up a gentle patter of comforting sounds.

Afterwards, the pair were allowed to roam freely on the large garden terrace adjacent to Celestia’s room, taking the time to play a bit before settling down for a nap in the warm afternoon sun under the watchful eye of twin pegasus mares with prismatic manes. The only difference between the two watchful, but distant guard mares was that one of them had a silver wing, instead of the two blue ones of her sister.

After her nap, Sparkles woke to the sound of leather and metal being rubbed against wood. Looking around she saw Dancer had gotten up before she had and was busy stropping the side of her muzzle against the side of a tree in a vain effort to remove or at least detach the bit that was securely strapped over her tongue.

Approaching the other mare, Sparkles noticed that the inside of Dancer’s thighs were wet, and that the strange musk she had scented before was now filling the air around her bridled companion. Dancer seemed to take no notice of Sparkles’ approach, continuing to try to catch the corner of her bit on the tree she had chosen as a tool to attempt to free herself.

Closer Sparkles came to Dancer’s rear, and the mare’s scent began to fill her mind with compulsions and ideas that were absolutely foreign to Sparkles’ way of thinking. Foreign to the mind of Sparkles the Pet, but in no way strange to T-------, and enough of that other mind leaked through to Sparkles to encourage her to taste the liquid running down the left thigh of Dancer.

“WheeeAaaeee!” Dancer whinnied in surprise, taken unawares by the soft strong tongue that ran a full hoofwidth up her flesh before Dancer’s motion spun it away.

Sparkles cowered for several moments as the taller pony glared at her, waiting for a hoof to strike her or for a tail to lash across her muzzle. One breath passed, then two, and three, before Dancer’s chest muscles pushed against her harness in a deep, deep breath and then she turned to present her hindquarters to the huddled lavender pony.

The rich scent of the bitted mare filled Sparkles’ nostrils again, and almost against her will she pressed her muzzle again to the trail of ever-freshening nectar that was seeping from the soft inner core of Dancer, lapping away at both of the pink mare’s inner thighs.

Dancer drew in a shuddering breath and flagged her tail high to allow the smaller pet access to her, but even with the quickening pleasure firing in her, Dancer kept to her purpose and charged her horn with a low-powered spell that was all she could manage against the drain of the suit.

Light blue magic flowed out from one horn, gliding back over to the horn of another, where it made contact and linked the minds of the two ponies.

Hello Sparkles, came the thought from Dancer. Is this what you want?

I… was the gentle reply, and the pronoun made Cadance’s heart leap for joy. I don’t know.

Then let’s start there, Cadance responded, and began the task of bringing Twilight home. At long last.

Author's Note

First off, vast apologies for the delay in getting this completed. My mundane job has finally been hit by The Great Resignation and my crew is down 40%, which has meant back to back 6 day work weeks, leaving little time to write.

On top of that, my grandfather passed away last week at the age of 100. He had a long and full life. Husband, father, soldier, diplomat, businessman and world traveller. He was always the well rounded person I'm still striving to be, and I will miss him.

As for the story, here is where things begin to take a turn for the better for our heroine and next chapter will be happier indeed. Though we will be shifting our focus to Shining Armor's encounter with Nightmare Rarity for a good portion of it.

Interlew-------

The white stallion paused for a moment at the top of the small hill, the breeze blowing his two tone mane and tail back as he looked over across the rolling prairies outside of Whinnieapolis. The city was the gateway to the Great Plains of Equestria, and as such had become the base of the stallion’s operations as he sought out his quarry.

Technically, the stallion was a member of the Royal Guard, albeit one who was permanently seconded to the Crystal Empire. As such he had access to the trove of weapons, armor and magical wonders that the Diarchy held in readiness for threats to peace and security, both major and minor.

He had refused to even look at the recommended equipment lists that Raven Inkwell, seneschal to the Sisters, had brought to him. The stallion knew that if he brought any weapons, beyond those nature had blessed him with, his quarry would simply flee, leaving him grasping at nothing, yet again.

With the same reasoning he had also refused the armor that had long been the mark of his vocation, for he meant to come as a friend, not a foe. So too, had he turned down devices of a magical nature, for the object of his quest was not only a unicorn, but one of surpassing sophistication. She would sense any device meant to entrap her or enhance the stallion from leagues away, and again he would be left with only the scent of latex on the wind.

The stallion could have come to this place with an army at his back, or a team of specialists in both sword and spell, or even the wielders of the most potent powers known to his kind. But instead he had come alone, inspite of a multitude of offers from old comrades in arms, friends, family, and even one from his former commander in chief, for he knew if he was to accomplish his mission it would have to be on his own.

And so the stallion stood on a small rise, covered in the wild grasses of the plains, looking for some small sign of his quarry.

“Where are you, Rarity?” Shining Armor murmured, as his eyes ranged out over the prairie.

He would have started his search around Whinniepolis anyway, as it had been Rarity’s old hometown, but the rumors of strange eyeless ponies with fur of purest black breaking into stores for various sundries and leaving gemstones as payment had drawn him in like filings to a magnet.

Once he had reached the urban center, a simple plotting of the break ins showed that a majority of them were on the west side of the city and leaning his searches in that direction the stallion had met with a few ponies who had tried to stop the intruders.

“Like hitting a ball of glue,” one mare had said, followed by a blushing admission that her attacker had then given her one of the greatest orgasms of her entire life.

Other mares and stallions who had tried to stop the break-ins gave similar tales. Their attacker would have a strange give to their bodies as they were struck or magical fields touched them, there would then be flashing swirls of dark material that both bound and blindfolded the pony, followed by a sexual encounter of epic proportions that would leave the pony completely drained of strength and unable to pursue their attacker once they were released.

It wasn’t until Shining Armor moved outside of the city proper and began to question isolated farmers and craftsponies in the nearby countryside that he hit paydirt.

A mare, perhaps a distant relative of the Pie family, had been underground working her small gemstone mine through the day and into the night, as she was wont to do. However, when Opal Eye returned to the surface she found herself face to face with a creature straight out of some of her darkest dreams. Shining remembered his interview with her:

“Terrible she was,” Opal had said. “Tall and dark, with a body straight out of the fashion pages. She had a mane like the night sky, that dark purple right before it goes to full black, only with streaks of white and sparkled with stars.”

“Did you talk to her at all?” Shining asked her. “Did she say anything?”

“I’d come out of the mine, and cot her by surprise, I guess,” Opal replied, in her midwestern twang. “Started to yell at her about being on my claim. Her and the dozen or so black stallions she had with her. Demanded to know who she was.”

The mare gave a small shudder before adding, “And then she looked at me.”

“And?” Shining prodded.

“It was… It was like being a bird, hypnotized by a snake,” Opal continued, tail swishing. “Those slit eyes of hers just froze me right on the spot. I couldn’t think, couldn’t move. She held me there with just her eyes, all while something wrapped itself around me. Just like a snake tightening around its meal.”

“And then?” Shining prodded again, controlling himself as he started to scent the mare’s arousal as she recounted her tale.

“It wasn’t until she’d had me bound up tight, that my Queen decided to speak to me,” the mare said, her pearlescent mane gleaming in the sun as she dipped her head in unconscious obeisance to the mare who obviously still had a strong hold on her.

“What did she say to you?” Shining gently demanded. “Please Opal, it’s important.”

“She asked me if I’d be hers. If I’d serve her,” Opal responded, as her tail began to flag and the smell of a mare ready for breeding became strong in Shining’s nostrils.

“She gave you a choice?” Shining asked, concentrating as hard as he could on the mare’s words and not how her readiness was trying to trigger a matching response in his own body.

“I know,” Opal laughed delicately, and Shining was glad for the momentary break in the mood. “What kind of predator asks you if you’re ready to get eaten?”

“And you said ‘yes’,” Shining said, making it a statement, not a question.

“I said ‘yes’,” confirmed the mare, as the scent of ready and willing femininity doubled and redoubled in strength. “She did things to me, my Queen did. Such wonderful, terrible things. She made me cum so hard and so often she straight up killed me, and then she brought me back to life with pain that felt like cumming all over again, and then she went right back to fucking me to death until I begged her to make me hers.”

“Did she?” Shining asked, turning his hips so the mare wouldn’t see his loosening shaft. “Make you hers, I mean?”

“My Queen said she owed me for my gems anyway, so when I begged her to take me… she did,” Opal Eye answered, the fur between her hind legs dripping with liquid need. “You know, my Queen’s collar and bridle are just over there in the house. Why don’t I slip them on and you can question me even harder?”

To say that Shining Armor was tempted to accept Opal’s offer was something of an understatement. Unbidden, the fantasy of him collaring and bridling the strong healthy mare filled his mind, and the mental image of him taking her reins in his teeth and hauling back on them as he plowed into her from behind was so powerful it was almost a reality in itself.

On top of that, breeding the mare would allow him to closely examine both the collar and bridle that Nightmare Rarity had gifted her. With that description, it only could have been the object of his search who had encountered Opal Eye, and although his sister Twilight was by far the more versatile mage, examining the artifacts would very likely allow him to get enough of a thaumic signature from them to allow him to track Rarity down.

And so, two hours later Shining Armor was again on the move, now armed with what he hoped was a means to track Rarity down and leaving a very satisfied and sleeping Opal Eye behind in her small miner’s house. Shining had made a particular point of noting where the mare lived and how she could be contacted in the future. Cadance was always looking for new play partners and Opal Eye might enjoy trying her hoof at crystal mining.

“Let’s see if we can get a line on you,” Shining murmured to himself, turning his mind away from the warm sweetness of Opal Eye and lighting his horn lit in preparation for casting a tracking spell.

Divination spells might not be his forte, unlike the shield spells that comprised the backbone of his special talent, but every Royal Guard was at least taught the basics of how to cast tracking spells and Shining Armor had been their captain. As such, he had practiced that kind of magic day and night until he was at least at the average level.

It did help that his sister was continually “borrowing” many of his Ogres and Oubliettes manuals for something to read, giving him an easy target to track.

Chuckling slightly at the memory, Shining cast the spell, sending a pulse of his magic outward in a wide, wide net. Long seconds dragged by as he waited for a response, but at least there was the slightest twinge at the outer limits of awareness. A place where his spell had interacted with the signature of Rarity’s new magic.

Shining set off in the ground-eating lope that he had trained in from his early days as a recruit. It was a gait that only the Guard truly trained in and only really usefully for lightly equipped and armed troops, but for covering a lot of leagues in a short period of time there was nothing like it. So it was something less than two hours and several miles later that the stallion scented the rich tang of latex

Slowing his pace to a crawl, the stallion followed his nose, until carefully peeking into a small gulley, he spotted a pool of bubbling blackness. Creeping back undercover, Shining sent out another pulse of his tracking spell, and this time was rewarded with an almost immediate return. It was Rarity’s magic, but where was Rarity?

Further investigation was called for.

From Twilight, Shining knew how crafty the latex suit symbiotes could be when it came to capturing ponies, and Rarity had shown no small skill herself at laying snares and traps to draw useful ponies like Opal Eye into her midnight web. So it was with extreme caution that Shining belly crawled over the lip of the gulley toward the pool itself.

The scraggly grasses and rough stones of this wild place scratched at the stallion’s fur and flesh, but Shining ignored the discomfort, with every sense locked onto the pool in front of him and scanning for possible threats. Closer and closer he crept, with the only sound being the regular burble and pop of bubbles from the pool.

A bare five feet away, the stallion came to a stop. Other than the pool, nothing stirred, nothing moved or gave a sound. Everything was peaceful and calm, which made Shining Armor very, very suspicious. It was just barely possible that this was a naturally occurring pool of tar or similar that Rarity had tapped for raw materials. It could have been one of the symbiotes that had simply run out of enough magic to move or act. Or, it could be a trap meant to draw him in.

Rarity wasn’t Twilight’s intellectual equal, few ponies were, but she was smart enough to know when something was after her, and that was before she had access to the intelligence and wisdom of the demonic Nightmare that had possessed her. Making it more than possible that the pool was a trap with a long series of breadcrumbs leading to it to get him to this isolated spot.

There was only one way to be sure.

Reaching out carefully with his magic, Shining picked up a nearby rock and scooped out a cavity in the hoof-sized stone. He couldn’t shake the feeling that something was watching him, waiting for him to pass a certain point, beyond which escape would be impossible. So he paused, scanning the area again for threats, all the while keeping one eye on the pool.

Nothing stirred, not even the grass as the morning breeze had calmed to the stillness of a prairie noon. With no other course of action left other than to walk away, Shining Armor dipped his improvised cup into the pool to take a sample of the black goo. Which promptly exploded into a flurry of activity, launching questing rods and pseudopods of black material in directions.

Shining Armor flattened himself as much as he could, trying not to flinch as the black mass lashed out blindly coming with a hair's breadth of touching him, but the stallion’s caution paid off as he emerged unscathed from the ensnaring fusillade.

“Well, that was exciting,” Shining Armor said to himself, as he got up and dusted himself off. “That should take care— uh oh.”

Having failed to grasp Shining Armor by lashing out with lengths of gooey latex, the pool was now blowing itself into a bubble that was easily twice the size of the stallion. A moment later, the bubble detached itself and began to gently drift toward the stallion with obvious intent.

Shining backed up and moved to one side in an attempt to give himself some breathing room, but the bubble tracked his movements smoothly, continuing to home in on him. He knew that directing a blast of magic at the thing would only empower it, making it stronger, faster, and worst of all, larger. His best option was to run, gain some distance, come up with a scheme to defeat the thing before he could examine it for clues.

The sound of shifting earth and gravel behind him interrupted Shining’s intent. Risking a quick glance over his tail, his heart sank as a dirt coloured bubble of latex emerged from the ground, faux grass disappearing back into its mass even as it too began to drift toward him. A third and fourth bubble emerged from the ground on either flank, shedding their camouflaging colours as they did so.

“I seem to have caught myself a stallion,” purred Nightmare Rarity, dropping her veil of invisibility that she had been using to watch the proceedings. “Be a dear and let my drones take care of you.”

“I don’t think—” Shining began to declare, cutting off his statement as he realized that Rarity had distracted him into almost letting the first bubble drone get close enough to touch him.

Instinctively he reached for his single most potent spell, the spell he was known for above all others, and his rose coloured magic conjured a shield around him, stopping the bubble just in time. The drone’s latex formed began to wrap around the shield, seeking to curl around its edges and with the other three drones closing in on their now stationary target, Shining Armor was forced to turn his shield into a complete dome of force.

“Now is that any way to submit to your Queen?” Nightmare Rarity asked, with a wicked smile beneath predatory eyes.

“Rarity, I’ve come to talk. That’s all,” Shining said, watching with some apprehension as the bubbles began to impact and coat his shield. After holding a shield over all of Canterlot for days with an incipient changeling invasion, the blows of these latex symbiote drones were barely even noticeable. He could hold the shield for as long as his food and water held out. “I’m not a threat. I’m not here to hurt you.”

“Liar!” hissed the tall elegant mare, her flowing tail lashing in its shades of darkest purple and mauve. “You’re here to kill me. Wipe me from existence and turn half of us back into the victim in waiting that she was before.”

“I promise you, I just want to talk,” Shining Armor replied, almost begging, and he couldn’t quite keep a touch of fear out of his voice as the bubbles around him completely enveloped his shield. Only the glow of his magic kept him from being in complete darkness.

“Oh yes, you’ll talk,” the Nightmare purred menacingly, and Shining could hear the crunch of her hooves as she approached him. “You’ll talk, you’ll beg, you will say anything I want you to say once I’m through your shield and have you in my hooves.”

“Be reasonable,” Shining asked, trying to find a way around Rarity’s Nightmare induced paranoia. “You’re here, I’m here. You can’t get to me, and I can’t get to you. Let’s talk.”

“I have a counter-proposal,” Nightmare Rarity replied, and while the possessed mare’s voice was confident and strong, Shining’s trained ear was able to pick out a thread of fear from the unicorn. “You drop your shield, keep yourself still while one of my drones joins with you, and then you spend the rest of your life in blissful service to your Queen.”

“Fun as that sounds, I’m already spoken for,” Shining paused for a moment as he felt the pressure against his shield increase in all directions. “And seeing as we are stalemated against each other, why don’t we talk? All your friends miss you, Rarity.”

“A quick question, O Prince,” riposted the latex sorceress. “When you had all of Canterlot covered in your shield, why didn’t the ponies inside suffocate?”

“Because my shields let air through, when I want them to,” the stallion replied, confused for a moment. “But don’t think your drones can breathe their way through my magic, because they can’t.”

“Well, dear little morsel. Air may be able to pass through your shields, but it doesn’t pass through the drones that have you completely enveloped,” Nightmare Rarity informed the stallion, who felt a sudden chill go down his back. “At a guess I would say you have thirty minutes to an hour of breathable air, after which you will fall unconscious, your shield will go down, and you will be mine.”

Shining gulped, and tasting the air, he realized Rarity was right. He had been sealed inside of a collapsing sphere of latex and all that was keeping it out was his shield. He couldn’t move the shield with him, especially not blindly. Trying to blast his way out wouldn’t do anything to the mana absorbing symbiotes, nor could any other magic he could think of.

The hunter had been caught by the prey and Shining was as good as suited up as a member of Rarity’s herd.

“Wait!” Shining yelled, thinking desperately. “You gave Opal Eye a choice. You didn’t force her to join you. Why not give me the same option?”

“I stumbled across that lovely mare by accident. You however you came after me, tracking me down. Hunting me,” Nightmare Rarity shot back. “So I laid a trap for you and you walked right into it.”

“Look, at least let me talk to you before you convert me over,” replied the stallion, trying not to notice how it was getting a little warmer and a little harder to breathe. “Give me that much, at least.”

“Part of me wants to just crush you under my hoof, but another part of me remembers that you are kind, handsome and generous. And that you once put yourself in harm’s way to protect us,” came Rarity’s voice through the darkness. “Drop your shield and you will get your chance, Shining Armor.”

The stallion thought about his options for a moment and realized that it was time to take a chance and see if his persuasion roll had been successful. Shining Armor closed his eyes, let the protective shield around him dissipate into nothingness, and a moment later staggered on his hooves as the weight of three latex drones washed over his body from all sides. He felt a moment of panic as the animated material covered his nose and mouth, keeping him from breathing for a second, but then felt relief as the warm summer air washed over his face again.

Opening his eyes he saw that he was again encased in one of the latex symbiote suits, even as his body reported shifting pressures as the suit humped and shifted around him. He could feel parts of it tightening against his fetlocks and his dock, forcing him to hold in place and keep his tail flagged high.

Tingling and small biting shocks against his skin told him that the suit had already started to bond with his nervous system, which meant that his magic was now reduced to being nothing more than a power source for the living thing around him and that he was on a seventy-two hour countdown to never being able to take the suit off again.

“Black on white never fails to be a classic,” stated the latex mistress, who had descended from her perch on the ridge of the gully to stand before the thoroughly encased stallion.

“You said you would give me a chance,” protested Shining Armor, unable to keep himself from struggling against the suit around him.

The dark queen graciously allowed the captive stallion a few moments to try his strength against the bonds holding him place, before stilling him with a gliding touch along his near flank.

“Calmly, my dear Captain,” Nightmare Rarity soothed, again running her hoof along the body of her captive, and Shining could feel the suit around him responding to her touch. “I said you would have a chance, and so you will. But a few preparations are in order first.”

“How are you doing that?” Shining Armor asked, feeling parts of the suit thicken or thin over him even as the colours of the suit’s power lines changed from a cool white to an electric blue. “You aren’t giving any commands… and this suit doesn’t even have a control collar.”

“That’s because my suit drones respond to me directly, as extensions of my will. Hmm yes, that’s much better. That colour goes well with your mane, and speaking of your mane… “ the latex sorceress let her voice trail off dramatically as a phthalo green bridle with violet accents floated into view, complete with a citrine studded bit and reins. “Do be a dear and hold still while I put this on you.”

To his credit, the stallion fought, throwing his head around in an attempt to keep the item of bondage from being fastened to him. The Nightmare played a bit with the stallion struggles, chuckling the entire time, until she tired of the game and a touch of her hoof turned the suit around his throat into a posture collar, keeping his head in place as she deftly buckled the straps in place.

All save the bit, which was snugged up tightly against the stallion’s clenched teeth by the reins and anchored by the golden citrine on either end.

“Here is how this is going to work, my captive stud,” Nightmare Rarity began. “I am going to play with you, your body, and your mind. Working you up into a complete frenzy, and when you finally give in and cum, that lovely bit will slide between your teeth, trapping your tongue and completing your journey into becoming mine.”

Shining’s growl from behind clenched teeth was articulate as it was wordless.

“However, if you can withstand my attention for a mere fifteen minutes, I will remove the bit and you may indeed speak your peace. Do we have a deal?” the Nightmare asked as she slowly moved behind the stallion, keeping tension in the reins so that the bit stayed in its threatening location.

“Well, Shining Armor? Can you keep yourself in control for a mere fifteen minutes?” teased the shining demigoddess of Lust, as she settled into the position Shining normally assumed during a sexual encounter, “or should I just take you right now?”

A quick jerk back on the reins almost caught the stallion by surprise, the bejeweled bit spreading apart his jaws by a few millimeters before the stallion caught himself and slammed his teeth back together.

“Oh I do like a stallion with some spunk,” cackled the Nightmare astride him. “You may move your forelegs. Paw the ground once if you accept my challenge.”

Shining Armor realized he had two, and only two, choices. Either play Rarity’s game, or submit to being her latex encased plaything. With no other real choice, Shining Armor pawed his left forehoof against the rough earth of the gulley.

“Then let’s begin,” Shining heard from behind his tail, even as the use of his legs was taken away from him again.

It began with teasing touches. Soft strokes along his mane, along the line of his jaw and down his flanks that threatened to relax his vigilance, allowing the treacherous bit to sneak past his fortress of will. Seeing that her prey would not give in to the first advances, the Nightmare stepped up her game with her touches gliding lower and lower.

Shining tried to buck himself back to throw off his captor, but was unable to prevent the first ghostly touches along his sheathe. With slow languid strokes, Nightmare Rarity had the suit rub its way along Shining’s greatest treasure. Desperately, the bound stallion concentrated on his rage, at his anger at being bound, how he had come so far only to be frustrated at the last moment.

“Oh what have we here?” the mare over him rhetorically asked as the first throbs of increased blood flow made themselves known in Shining’s cock. Despite his best efforts, the long languid strokes were drawing out his cock, and he shivered at the sensation of the latex covering his sheath automatically expanding to allow for the growth of his member.

With teasing care, fingers of latex rolled around his growing shaft, giving the underside pleasurable little shocks as they too began to be integrated into the living bondage he was in. Desperately, the stallion tried to think of anything he could to distract himself from the pleasurable sensations that were starting to fill his mind.

Ogres and Oubliettes became his salvation. Monster stats, combat details, equipment lists, and all the other minutiae of things a good game master needed to keep track of fought back the tide of lust, and Shining felt a surge of victory as he began to shrink back into himself. The Nerd was strong in Shining Armor for he was King of the Gaming Nerds.

However, Nightmare Rarity was by no means a one trick pony herself.

Shining’s world went dark as the suit’s latex flowed over his eyes, hooding him. He almost, almost opened his mouth to gasp in surprise as the loss of vision was accompanied by a smell, a rich earthy scent with a wonderful tang he knew well. The scent of a mare, ready and willing to be mounted.

“That’s it, my dear stallion. Breathe deep. Let the musk fill you and make you ready for what you really want to do,” the mare breathed into his ear.

With a jump, Shining’s cock burst back into life, sliding out almost to the medial ring in seconds. Shining tried to concentrate on what had happened during his last O&O session, but his memories were being washed away by musk fueled visions of Cadance spread before him.

“Can’t you see Cadance right now? Wanting you? Needing you?” hissed the Nightmare in one ear then the other. “Can’t you imagine her spread out, begging for your touch?”

Shining tried not to pant, forcing air in and out of his nostrils as best he could, knowing that Nightmare Rarity was using his love for his wife against him, and in spite of that, the whole of himself slid free of his sheath into the hungry, welcoming tube of latex that was waiting for it.

“Or maybe you like it a little rough?” the seductive voice added, curling up in his ear before sliding down into his mind, and the thickening of his shaft told his captor that her shot had struck home.

“Yes, you can see it now, can’t you? Cadance, strapped into a breeding rack, giving off that adorable little squeak of hers when you cinch in the girth for her,” purred the Queen of Latex Lust. “I bet you just love it when you put your own bridle onto her, listening to her tack jingle as she tries to fight against the tie downs. Smelling her scent as it grows when she realizes that she’s in the power of the most potent stallion in Equestria.”

The latex tube was now actively sliding back and forth against the stallion’s length, priming him like a pump, as the mare who held him continued to work on his body and mind.

“And you are the most potent stallion in Equestria. The only male to ever place a foal in the belly of an alicorn, and Cadance is the Princess of Love. She must know every possible way there is of pleasing a stallion,” said the voice in his ear. “I have to wonder how many of them you’ve experienced.”

The suit continued to milk Shining, trying to push him those last few steps into orgasm. How long had it been now? Five minutes? Ten? All he had to do was to hold out a little while longer and he could accomplish his mission.

And then he felt his tail being forced to flag high by the tail cuff around his dock as something began to press in against his rosebud. A desperate whinny of denial squealed out from behind clenched teeth as the Nightmare began to ease a slippery latex cock of her own into the bound stallion.

“Yes Shining, take your mare. Fuck her long and deeply,” moaned the Nightmare as she felt the tight confines of the warrior stallion’s ass around her.

Instinctively, Shining tried to throw his hips forward, in an effort to escape the slow penetration from behind, which had the effect of thrusting his own cock into the gripping tunnel around his organ. With a groan of pleasure, muscle memory took over and Shining drew his hips back for another thrust, which had the effect of spearing himself deeply onto the faux member inside of him.

Nightmare Rarity responded by driving herself forward to fill up the rear passage of the stallion, which repeated the cycle of making him thrust forward into the rippling covering that lapped away at every nerve in his sensitive length, before drawing back for another thrust.

Over and over the cycle repeated, and Shining Armor lost all sense of time and space. All he could see were the visions in his mind’s eye of fucking his adoring wife into giving them another foal. All he could hear were the words of the succubus on his back. All he could feel was the gripping and suckling sensations around his length, drawing him ever closer to what was now an inevitable release.

All he could smell was the scent of the mare all around him as she drove deeper and deeper into him. Driving him onward, driving him forward, driving the building pressure in his balls. There was no stopping it now. He was both fucking and fucked, screwing and being screwed at the same time. It was glory and majesty and depravity and the best fucking sex Shining Armor had ever had in his life.

The final explosion was slow in coming, building with the massive power of the balls that had fertilized an alicorn. The electric power deep in Shining’s core grew, building with every paired stroke of him and his partner, until at long last the massive power burst forth like a shaft of lightning down a steel rod.

A veritable shower of cum burst forth from Shining Armor and he reared up as he came, showering the area with his potent seed and letting out the long triumphant mating scream of a stallion who had bred his mare. Cleared of its last obstruction by his cry of triumph, the jeweled bit was drawn all the way back into Shining’s mouth, pining his tongue beneath it even as it locked into place with the rest of the bridle.

Defeated by his manipulated lusts and exhausted by his efforts, Shining Armor felt himself being allowed to slide off his Mistress’ member. Nightmare Rarity had beaten him, and he was hers to do with as she wished.

Author's Note

Very, very sorry for the lateness and the lack of the usual polish on the chapter. Events happened as detailed my blog post and the recovery thereof, massively put things behind and I'm just glad we were able to get this out.

Things are looking bad for Shining Armor... who may need to be renamed Shining Stud. Next chapter we will start drawing together the threads of this arc in preparation for another journey. Only two alternate worlds remain!

Interlew--------

Shining Armor woke to complete and total blackness. He struggled for a few moments, trying to reach around for the light in his bedroom, wondering why his hooves didn’t seem to want to work. It wasn’t until he attempted to channel light from his horn and instead of light there was a powerful vibration in his ass, that he remembered what had happened.

He had found the Nightmare, and instead of the old friend of his sister, the lovely and generous fashionista known as Rarity, he had found a powerful mare whose abilities with latex and rubber were on a par with that of an alicorn. He had found the Nightmare, had challenged her, and had been soundly defeated by her.

And he was hers.

“Oh, is somepony awake?” purred a velvet voice in his ear, as if in response to his thoughts. “So needy, so virile, so mine.”

Shining Armor didn’t say anything. He was fully hooded, muzzled, and gagged. His tongue was completely pinned in place by a rubber plate over it, the plate held in place by the muzzle whose straps he could feel pressing tightly against his head, and the whole held in place by the latex hood that covered his eyes and all of his head except for his ears and nostrils.

The rest of him was similarly bound, the latex symbiote suit covering his body, with a rubber harness clamping down on top of it that both held his hooves tight against his body and maintained the position of his “second tail” in his body. Shining Armor held still as the tail plug slowly ran down to a stop, resisting the urge to groan or moan at the sensations.

“Oh We can’t have broken you that quickly,” chuckled the Nightmare, stroking Shining’s back all the way to his dock and causing his tail to rise involuntarily in its cuff. The fashionista that was part of his captor knew how a pony’s body moved and reacted, and knew how to manipulate those reactions. Combined with its total command of the symbiotes under her control, it made for a potent combination.

“Are you broken?” the Nightmare demanded, and Shining could hear the anger in her voice as a moment later she added, “answer me!”

Shining continued to keep still and quiet. He might be completely in Nightmare Rarity’s power, but that didn’t mean he belonged to her. If he couldn’t resist her physically, he could fight back in other ways. A determination that ended with the sound of something large swishing through the air followed a moment later by an explosive pain against his rump.

“WE SAID, ‘Are you broken yet?’,” the Nightmare demanded again, followed by another swish and crack of a whip exploding its cargo of agony on his ass.

“Nhh! Nhh!” Shining managed to grunt out, shaking his head as much as his bonds allowed him to.

“Good boy,” relented the Nightmare, rubbing the impact point; and the stallion could feel the pain ease into a warmth that he knew would soon be traveling directly to his balls. “And as much as We would love to keep playing with you, We have a promise to keep.”

Shining felt motion against the back of his head, followed by a loosening of the hood covering his face. Moments later cool night air drifted through his mane as the hood was removed entirely, and the stallion blinked as Luna’s moon shone down on the prairie, as bright as any sun to a pony whose eyes had seen no light for days.

“Glyk,” gasped the stallion, as the muzzle with its massive bit and gag were removed from his mouth. Shining made no attempt to move or speak, merely working his jaw and swallowing freely for the first time in what felt forever.

“You may speak, Shining Armor,” said the Nightmare, with an enigmatic smile beneath her cat-slitted teal eyes. “A promise is a promise, after all.”

“Buh… “ Shining began, swallowing again and taking another moment to remind his tongue. “But I failed. You were able to make me cum.”

“My dear Shining Armor, did you forget that We set a time limit?” the Nightmare asked, chuckling. Shining Armor could see the dangerously beautiful mare ignite her horn, but couldn’t see what she was doing.

“We did, but you woAAAAAAAnnnn,” Shining Armor whinnied out as the Nightmare slid the plug out of his ass and triggering a reaction that left the stallion at full mast and panting for breath.

“We did not. You lasted more than double the time requirement,” admitted the mare, cleaning the fat plug with her magic and giving its full rich tail a quick brush before putting it to one side. “You have earned the right to speak your piece.”

“So why have you been keeping me like this then?” Shining asked, as the Nightmare continued to unbind him, removing the shackles from his fetlocks.

“We said We would allow you to speak. To make your attempt to convince us to return with you, or to convince part of us to leave our union,” answered the Nightmare, whose eyes suddenly shifted to Rarity’s clear azure orbs. “We did not say when.”

“Rarity?” Shining asked, as the harness was lifted away from his body and put alongside the rest of the tack he had been wearing. “Is that you?”

“I’m here,” came Rarity’s voice from the mouth of the Nightmare’s form. “I’m why the Nightmare was willing to give you a chance in the first place. I’m why she’s not rampaging around the countryside, or why she’s not trying to go after Celestia or Luna.”

“Okay… “ Shining replied, thinking carefully and realizing that everypony had been laboring under a massive misconception. Everypony believed that Rarity was just being influenced by the Nightmare or that she was being controlled by it, much as Luna had been during her time as Nightmare Moon, but the truth seemed to be that the two had actually fused into a composite being. Two active minds sharing an augmented body with powerful magic.

“First off, how should I address you?” Shining asked, buying a bit of time with the question.

“Nightmare Rarity is the name We have chosen to represent our merging, and Our chosen pronouns are ‘We’ and ‘Us’ as We are a true diarchy. Two minds controlling and commanding a whole in synchronicity,” explained the mare as her eyes resumed their teal slit-pupiled appearance, and Shining’s own eyes went wide as Nightmare Rarity floated the flat circle of a suit’s control collar in front of him. “Lift your chin please.”

“Why collar me now?” Shining asked, but doing as he was bid. The silver circle becoming a solid pressure as it fused in place around his neck and the stallion felt a pulse of what felt like static electricity course over the whole of his body.

“Because the suit has been on you for more than three days now,” Nightmare Rarity responded, and Shining nodded as he realized the implications.

“It's bonded to me,” he stated, taking a moment to hold a foreleg in front of him to look at the mobile prison that would likely hold him for the rest of his life.

“Indeed,” confirmed the Nightmare, taking a moment to nip delicately on the tip of Shining’s ear before adding, with a sultry whisper, “And were you to leave our presence without a control collar your suit would revert to its default commands, binding you in place until somepony did collar you and make you theirs. As it is, this collar is one of Twilight’s reprogrammed ones, allowing you to command your own sheathe.”

“Thank you,” Shining Armor said, meaning it. “But why?”

“What do you mean, ‘Why?’ We have no particular hatred of you, and part of us has always considered you a fine stallion,” the mare’s breath was hot along the back of Shining Armor’s neck, and he schooled his cock to immobility as an image flashed into his mind of the powerful mare settling over his back and taking him again.

“Strong, virile, honourable and brave,” continued the mare standing over his prone body. “Though, as much as part of us had wished to leave you stumbling through the countryside in ignorance, another part of us is a predator, a hunter. And you do make for delicious prey.”

Shining shuddered as Nightmare Rarity deliberately slid her body back along the top of his own, her powerful forelegs compressing his barrel slightly as she moved back towards his thighs. A quick nip to his dock made him briefly clench his buttocks and served to stop his thinking processes while she moved back into his field of vision.

The mare knew exactly what she was doing to Shining Armor, and he could read it in the confident, powerful smile and the predatory glint in her eyes. She knew exactly what she wanted and had both the power and will to take whatever she desired. And she desired him.

“Why keep your promise to let me talk to you? Why not keep me bound and bridled as your plaything? You said it yourself, that I make for good prey,” Shining asked, keeping himself prone in case his words triggered something.

“DO NOT QUESTION OUR WORD,” thundered Nightmare Rarity, power crackling around her horn and coursing its way down to the ground along her body while no less than fifty symbiotes reared up in response to the sudden fury of their mistress. “WE SAID THAT WE WOULD ALLOW YOU TO SPEAK IF YOU MET OUR CONDITIONS. DO NOT MAKE US REGRET THAT.”

“Hey look, I’m sorry. But I had to be sure,” soothed the stallion.

“Sure of what?” shot back the still furious mare, shifting her weight from side to side like a fighter about to enter a bout.

“Sure that it really is two of you in that body. That you are both Rarity Belle and the Nightmare of Nightmare Moon,” the mare reared up as if to stomp the impudent pony at her hooves so Shining quickly added, “You’re a complete unknown to Equestria. Even Luna didn’t have any idea what you would be like. I had to be sure.”

“And now?” replied the Mistress of Symbiotes, arching an eyebrow at him. Shining Armor chose his next words very carefully.

“And now I’m sure that both of you are working together, each affecting the other. Becoming something that neither one of you was before,” he said, breathing a mental sigh of relief as the beautiful mare visibly calmed down even further. “Can I ask a question, so I can explain things to Twilight?”

“You may,” agreed the mare, and Shining was puzzled to see that strong and sure countenance show a brief flash of what looked like embarrassment.

“I get what Rarity got from you two coming together. Strength, power and protection of her mind, but did the Nightmare get?” Shining Armor asked.

“We do not like to speak of it, but the mare you knew says that We should be truthful to you,” the mare said, and again there was a moment when the poise and confidence gave way to something akin to… fear.

“Thank you for trusting me enough to talk about it,” Shining replied, in the calming voice he used around many of Cadance’s patients.

Restlessly, the mare paced back and forth in front of him. Uncertainty now clearly showing on her face, even as the gorgeous mass of the unicorn’s white streaked lilac tail lashed in clear agitation. Shining kept himself quiet and still, yet attentive. He was confident that the creature before him would speak, but only when she felt ready to.

“What We are about say is only for the ears of alicorns,” began the mare at last, stopping in her pacing to stand directly in front of the stallion. “We give you dispensation to hear these words as you are the consort of an alicorn and have aided in the creation of another.”

“I understand,” said Shining Armor. “Only myself, Twilight, Princess Celestia and Princess Luna can know.”

“Correct,” stated the mare. “We do not like this. But We shall speak it. As you said, our joining with Rarity Belle was in answer to her plea for succor, as the foul enchantments of the symbiote that holds this body began to unravel her mind.”

“Wait,” interrupted Shining, tilting his head in curiosity. “Are you telling me that you’re trapped in a suit as well?”

“Indeed. And though our power gives us complete control over it, still is it bound to us as firmly as Rarity and the Nightmare are bound to each other,” replied the dark enchantress. “Now, if I may continue?”

“Please,” responded the stallion, gesturing with a hoof.

“Thank you,” said the mare, archly. “As We were saying; We answered Rarity’s call for aid, striking a bargain with her so that We could enable our fondest desire.”

“Which is?” Shining asked, unable to help himself.

“Ex— “ began Nightmare Rarity, before suddenly pausing and looking up into the clear night sky.

“What is –mMRph!” garbled Shining, in muffled protest as his own suit suddenly gagged him and bound his legs again.

“My apologies, we will have to discuss this later, for it seems we have a visitor,” replied the elegant mare, and Shining saw that all traces of uncertainty or fear had vanished. To be replaced by the returned look of a predator sighting prey.

“LET MY HUSBAND GO!” demanded Princess Mi Amore Cadenza, appearing suddenly in the air above the small area Shining Armor and Nightmare Rarity had spent the last few days.

“Come and take him,” replied the Nightmare, smiling broadly but stepping back from the bound stallion. “If you can.”

“Darn right I’m taking him,” Cadance fired back, descending into the small gulch, horn aglow and at the ready. “Don’t worry Honey, I’m h—urk!”

The moment that Cadance had descended to the point where she was even with the top of the gulch, a hundred thin black tentacles had shot toward the mare at lightning speed, wrapping around her limbs and body like a hundred steel cables. Cables which tightened until the Princess of Love was fully spread-eagled, with even her wings forced into a splayed out position.

“Let me go!” Cadance furiously shouted as she tried to thrash in her bonds, which stretched slightly but did not break.

“We doubt that would be advisable for our continued survival,” Nightmare Rarity calmly stated, and with a wave of her hoof another pair of tendrils wove their way around Cadance’s throat. “Surrender, before We are forced to hurt you.”

“Never!” Cadance yelled back, trying to charge her horn for a blast. A charge of magic that was drained away by the symbiotes almost faster than Cadance could summon it.

“Yield,” Nightmare Rarity commanded, and Shining thrashed in his own bonds, trying to come to the aid of his wife.

“Stronger than you have tried,” murmured the latex sorceress, as the symbiotes under her control began to lower their prize toward the floor of the gulch, even as they slowly tightened their grasp around the long slim throat of the pink alicorn.

“Yield, before We cut off your breath entirely,” Nightmare Rarity advised Cadance, stepping carefully to avoid the myriad taut tethers holding the alicorn as she was lowered to just above the ground.

“Ne—” Cadance managed to gasp out before the loops around her throat tightened to their fullest, cutting off the alicorn’s air.

“Surrender,” commanded the statuesque unicorn, even as her captive made a last desperate series of struggles. “Surrender before you pass out and the point is moot.”

Cadance gave one last mighty heave, stretching each of the hundred lines holding her, only to slump back down and nod in frantic surrender as the last of her air petered out. Gracious in victory, the predatory unicorn caused the strangling nooses around the alicorn’s throat to loosen, but only enough to allow her newest captive the ability to breathe.

Cadance hung limply in her bonds, gasping as she pulled air into oxygen starved lungs. Panting as the wraps around her throat further encased her neck, growing and thickening until they merged into a rigid collar that gripped her firmly from the top of her collarbones to the bottom of her jaw. The newly minted posture collar forced Cadance to look up toward her captor, who licked her lips in anticipation.

“You look so delicious like that,” purred the Nightmare, taking a moment to stroke Cadance’s mane, one of the few parts of her that remained unbound. “Don’t you agree, Prince Armor?”

A growled protest was all that came from the prostrate form of the stallion, though in truth, he always thought that Cadance looked wonderful in bondage. Some of the best sex they had shared was with her wearing a bridle and him holding the reins. To see her like this, stretched out and trapped like a fly in a web, made his cock twitch. A twitch that Nightmare Rarity was instantly aware of.

“Like that do you?” purred the dark unicorn, the glints in her slitted eyes matched by the glint of an angular silver crown she wore in her mane. “Perhaps We can reward you for being a good stallion.”

A moment later, the suit wrapped around Shining Armor’s body began to tug and stroke at his stallionhood, teasing it from its sheath into the waiting latex pocket that the suit had made for it. Shining tried to fight down the sensations, tried to school his cock into sinking back into his body, but after three days in Nightmare Rarity’s clutches both she and the suit Shining wore knew his body almost as well as he did, and it was only a minute or so later that his black coated maleness stood out from his body like some dark dagger, eager to plunge into warm flesh.

“Leave him alone. All we wanted to do was talk,” Cadance protested, having recovered enough air to speak.

“No,” countered the unicorn, leaning close to look Cadance directly in the face. “You came to separate Us. You came to destroy our bond and to kill the part of me that you hate and fear.”

“We came to bring back our friend! To bring Rarity back to the ponies who love her,” Cadance again protested, but noticing that Shining Armor was being dragged to a position directly beneath her.

“We believe you are lying, but We are no longer the sort of pony that kills or destroys just because We think We are right,” stated the dangerously beautiful pony, malice and beautiful elegance combined in every movement of her glorious mane.

“What are you going to—” Cadance’s words were cut off as Nightmare Rarity struck, driving forward to silence her captive with her own mouth.

The kiss was long, deep and powerful. Cadance was no stranger to the use of her tongue in a kiss or how others used theirs, but the oral muscle of Nightmare Rarity was on an entirely different level. The creature absolutely dominated the small arena the two of them fought in, binding and controlling Cadance’s tongue with her own.

Teasing and stroking every sensitive place in the alicorn’s mouth, while taking care not to probe too deeply and risk destroying the heavenly sensations with an accidental touch on the gag reflex. Were this another place and another time, Cadance would have happily surrendered herself to hours of kisses like this.

“We intend to fuck your brains out,” Nightmare Rarity said, drawing away slightly when she was done with the kiss. A thin string of saliva connected the two. “We want to fuck you until you are an obedient, biddable toy who has no thought other than to please her Mistress and only speak the deepest truths to her.”

“I’d like to see you try,” Cadance fired back, doing her best to ignore the fact that the kiss alone had kindled a fire in her loins.

“Why, thank you,” responded the unicorn, before driving back in to plunder Cadance’s mouth anew. The kiss was just as overwhelmingly pleasurable as the first one was, and this time Cadance didn’t even try to hold back her moaned response. It wasn’t until the very end of the kiss that a round something intruded and the alicorn remembered what Nightmare Rarity had said she was going to do to her.

“Athhh wath uu oo?” Cadance demanded, trying to pronounce words and failing, her mouth held in the open position by a ring of reinforced latex that had formed behind her front teeth.

“That ring gag will keep your mouth open and available until We are ready to use it, without all that mindless chatter you seem to enjoy,” Nightmare Rarity answered, as the strap holding the gag in place tightened into immovability and centered its black ring around a flickering pink tongue.

“And if We are going to be playing games with your mouth at some point, best We allow your head some movement,” continued the unicorn, reducing the tethers around the captive mare’s throat to a single wide band.

Once more able to move her neck, Cadance looked down to where her husband lay. Nightmare Rarity had full control of his suit and he now lay fully beneath her, facing upwards so that the two could look at each other. The alicorn gave Shining Armor a slight nod of reassurance and to her surprise he winked back up at her.

A moment later though Cadance gasped in surprise as something thick, meaty and familiar began to probe at her folds. A quick look back down and Cadance could see her husband give a small shake of his head, followed a second later by his eyes half-rolling back into his head, and Cadance aspirated a protest at what Nightmare Rarity was doing to them.

“That’s right, my tasty morsel. We are going to use your own husband as our tool to break and tame you to our service,” purred the sensual sorceress, guiding Shining Armor’s painfully erect cock toward her entrance.

Both husband and wife tried to struggle, to escape, to do anything other than what the Nightmare had planned for them, but it was useless. Cadance’s body was still held in its network of straps and cables, while Shining was all but fully encased in the latex symbiote around him, and both were under Nightmare Rarity’s complete control.

Cadance gasped and whinnied as Shining’s thick, strong cock spread apart her folds with ease and her body began to react as it had a thousand times before to the powerful presence that given her a foal and so many, many hours of pleasure. If anything Shining felt even thicker than he ever had before.

“Like that do you?” crooned Nightmare Rarity, stroking the outside of Cadance’s hips, as Shining Armor began to sink deeper and deeper into his princess.

Cadance writhed and shuddered as her husband’s strong and virile maleness began to probe her depths. Involuntarily, she pushed herself further down on that wonderful shaft and was rewarded by the latex covering around his cock starting to pulse and vibrate. Cadance whinnied in protest as Shining’s stallionhood briefly retreated, only to whinny again in joy as her husband pushed back into her.

Cadance looked down at her husband, saw the slightly glazed over look in his eyes, and knew that his mind was retreating into the mindlessness of the rut, the pure act of a stallion mating his mare. How could he not? He was already pressed halfway into his deeply loved wife, and not only was he feeling her body welcome him, but the latex around him was driving his body to react in the exact way that it wanted to go.

“Yes. Shining obeys us, and We have commanded that he shall be our tool in your breaking and taming,” declared the dark unicorn, settling her own hips behind the pair, even as her mental commands caused the latex around the duo to bind them together.

“You will obey us,” whispered Nightmare Rarity, and Cadance would have voiced a protest, but at that moment her husband chose to drive his medial ring through her entrance, driving the thought from her mind.

Cadance felt her own mind beginning to sink into the special place it went whenever she and Shining had a truly special time together. The place she went where there was no Cadance, no Mi Amore Cadenza, no Princess of Love. Just a mare giving herself to her stallion in the ancient dance of male and female that had started when the world was young and would hopefully continue long after it was dust among the stars.

Shining was thrusting with steady purpose now, driving a little deeper with each push, spreading her a little wider with every forward press of his vibrating love tool. Each time he pressed forward he drove Cadance’s mind a little lower, a little further toward the growing vision in her mind of a submissive and ready mare willingly giving herself to the attentions of her lord and master, the stallion covering her.

Except… wasn’t Shining under her, and Nightmare Rarity on top of her?

“Time to concentrate your mind,” breathed the Nightmare, and Cadance’s vision went black as a tide of latex flowed upwards from her collar to cover her entire head, except for her mouth and nose.

The sudden loss of vision, combined with the steady fucking she was receiving, completely undid whatever coherent thoughts Cadance had been trying form as she tried to maintain her mental equilibrium. A balance that was even further titled toward mindlessness when she felt her head being pulled down. There was a pressure against her lips, a sudden “click” sensation, and a warm and wet tongue greeted her own as it ventured out past its own guardian ring of latex.

Cadance knew the taste of that tongue, even as she knew the feel of the cock that was now pumping its full length into her. Her stallion has now fully connected to her, by mouth and by cock. She might not be able to see, her sense of smell might be blocked by the odour of latex, but her body knew the taste and touch of the stallion, and where the body went, the mind began to follow.

“Obey,” came the command in her ear, as a second source of pressure began to make itself known at her delicate rosebud. The mare tried to whinny again in response, but the connection of her gag to that of her stallion muffled the sound greatly as a steadily thickening shaft began to flow down her forbidden passage, matching the thick pulsing cock that was driving her toward ecstasy.

“Obey,” whispered the voice, sliding its way past lowered defences, infiltrating bastions of will, riding the tides of pleasure that had the mind of the double dicked mare awash in a sea of erotic bondage.

“Obey,” whispered the voice again, as the second shaft began to pump in and out in time with the first, grinding the thin wall of flesh between them, and igniting the nerves there into a bonfire of pleasure.

“Obey,” gently commanded the voice of the mare’s mistress, as it took command of the bound alicorn, mind and body both, orgiastic pleasure surging through all three ponies as together they reached for their peaks.

“Obey!” shouted the voice, the body it was attached to hilting fully inside of the captured mare, even as the enslaved stallion matched the voice by driving as far as he could into his mate. All three ponies held themselves in that position for a long heartbeat, as every muscle locked in the glorious rictus of orgasm firing every single nerve of the trio simultaneously.

Despite being completely blindfolded, the bound mare was blinded by what seemed like
an explosion of light, and as that thunderous detonation behind her hooded eyes faded, it took the mare with it into gloriously sexually fulfilled unconsciousness, with her last thought a recognition of a single word spoken again into her ears.

“Obey.”

Cadance didn’t know how much time had passed while she was out, but she did know that the sun was up, though it had not risen high enough in the sky to cast its light into the bottom of the gulch. Instinctively, she tried to move, only to find that her every motion was resisted by springy latex cables that had been anchored to the ground all around and attached to a harness that had been woven about her body in an interlocking diamond pattern.

“Ah, our newest possession is awake at last,” said Nightmare Rarity, striding into view. “You and your stallion had a hard night, but you will find that We are not needlessly cruel.”

Looking to one side, Cadance saw her husband; he was also tethered to the ground as she was, but only by the silver control collar around his neck.

“Do not attempt to speak as yet,” commanded the mare of dark sensual arts, as she removed first Cadance’s and then Shining’s headgear, including bits and muzzles.

“Drink,” the mare ordered, and obediently both captive ponies allowed themselves to be watered by latex symbiotes forming themselves into walking bowls of water.

“Eat,” commanded their captor, and both ponies found honeyed oat cakes presented to their hungry mouths, which disappeared within seconds into empty stomachs.

“Now my Cadance, lift your neck so that We may collar you as part of our herd,” stated the dark unicorn, floating a silver collar with elegant filigree into Cadance’s sight. It was a lovely piece of jewelry combined with an understated solidness, and Cadance was sure that once around her neck, it would never come off again.

“No,” replied Princess Cadance, in an apologetic but polite tone of voice. “It’s very lovely, but Shining Armor is the only pony who can collar me.”

“What?!” replied the unicorn, cat-like eyes wide in shock. “But… but We broke you. Drove you into obedience to our will by mazing your mind with pleasure.”

“Oh, don’t get me wrong,” replied Cadance, sitting easily and reveling in how the elastic harness she was wearing felt around her body. “Last night was some of the best sex I’ve ever had. And the way you marehandled me into obeying you? Loved every minute of it.”

“But… you are not broken to our will?” asked Nightmare Rarity once more, looking from one pony to the other.

“I’m the Princess of Love, and I’ve experienced more ways to make love than most ponies can ever dream of. It would take a lot more than a single night of sex to break me,” Cadance replied, before adding with a smoldering look, “no matter how mind blowing it was.”

“Like I said, we only came here to talk. And I now that I’ve had time to think, I notice that you’ve been asking ponies all along,” stated Shining Armor, smiling kindly. “You took me up on my challenge. You didn’t touch Caddy until she said she’d like to see you try to fuck her brains out. You’ve been asking ponies for permission to do things to them, and doing so, done your best to not be a monster.”

“We see,” replied the dark unicorn, power swirling around her, and both bound ponies could see something akin to panic in the otherworldly gaze in those nightmare eyes. “As you say, We are not a monster and as We are unwilling to slay you to protect ourselves, We shall flee back into the wilds, before Celestia or Luna come to end us.”

The dark herd gathered around their mistress as she began to turn away, save for two pony shaped symbiotes who took up positions on either side of the couple, and Shining and Cadance shared a look that carried an entire conversation in the space of a few seconds.

“Our symbiotes will release you once We have made our escape,“ the unicorn paused, the uncertainty in the lines of her body a terrible wrongness on a mare who up till now had been so strong and sure. “Tell Twilight that We miss her, and that part of us still loves her, while the other part respects her as a worthy foe.”

“Wait!” cried Cadance, straining against the elastic cords holding her to stretch out a hoof toward the creature who was both mare and nightmare. “Celestia and Luna are already here. They’ve been watching me ever since I got here.”

“What?” demanded the unicorn, silver highlights flashing as she looked around with something akin to panic.

“I made them swear not to interfere,” Cadance continued, the words pouring out of her mouth. “Made them promise not to do anything unless it either looked like you were going to kill us or you were going to run away again.”

“Then this is the end,” responded Nightmare Rarity, collapsing to the ground, like a puppet with its strings cut. “This is how We die.”

“Die?” asked Shining Armor, somewhat confused. “Nopony wants to kill you. I’m not even sure you can be killed.”

“Shining Armor, before your wife intruded We were going to answer a question you posed to us. The question of what the Nightmare gained from the joining,” answered the unicorn, setting aside the elegant coronet she wore in her mane. “The answer is, ‘existence’. The part of us that is the Nightmare requires a host to exist. To think, to feel, to be. Without it, We are a formless spirit. Vaguely aware of the passage of time and the events of the world, but little else. It is not death. It is solitary confinement in a silent prison made of smoked glass and mirrors. It is a living death.”

“But Celestia—” began Cadance, only to be interrupted by the despondent creature before her.

“Wants to banish the part of us that is the Nightmare. Back to that unliving, undead hell of silence. Away from the life that We had for a thousand years with Luna. Away from the renewed life We have with Rarity,” sighing, the unicorn released both Cadance and Shining with a mere toss of her head. “They cannot use the Elements of Harmony on us, because one of the Bearers is part of us, which means they must slay one or both of us to rid the land of our presence.”

“Celestia and Luna aren’t vindictive. They don’t hate you,” Cadance said, standing up and taking a moment to help her husband up as well. “Well, Luna might hold a grudge, but she doesn’t want to kill you.”

“They are Princesses of Equestria, and they will do what they feel is best for the land,” replied Nightmare Rarity, and the eyes of Rarity looked back out at her friends from beneath the ethereal mane of the dark sorceress. “Call the princesses, Shining Armor. Let’s at least make it quick.”

“We are sorry, Rarity,” said the Nightmare aloud to its partner. “We have failed you.”

“What if there was another way?” Shining Armor asked, shooing aside symbiotes to lay beside the mare who had done wonderful and terrible things to him. Things that even now threatened to make his maleness rise to the occasion. “What if me and Cadance were to take responsibility for you?”

“We are who and what we are,” replied Nightmare Rarity, reaching out to glide a hoof along Shining’s jaw. “We shall miss this simple pleasure. But in the end, even We know We must be put down, for it is ever in our nature to attempt to conquer and rule, to dominate and control. When We are gone, tell Celestia and Luna We hold no malice towards them, and We absolve them of our deaths.”

“Hang on, you just said that you are driven to ‘dominate and control, to conquer and rule’,” said Cadance, moving to flank the statuesque unicorn on her other side. “But you’ve been running on your own for weeks now. You haven’t tried to do any of that, except with ponies that you asked to do it with.”

“In a bit of a domineering kind of way,” supplied Shining, with a laugh. “Cadance is right though. What if you came home… with us.”

“What are you saying, Shining Armor?” asked Nightmare Rarity, looking up with sudden hope.

“What my husband is saying, is what if you came home, as a partner in our marriage?” Cadance asked, and a sudden magical breeze sprung up out of nowhere, fey lights dancing in its currents.

“We cannot submit,” cautioned the unicorn, exquisite tail lashing. “It is not that We are unwilling, it is that We are simply unable.”

“Then we’ll submit to you,” Shining Armor stated, and Nightmare Rarity’s eyes went wide in shock.

“You would do this?” the unicorn asked, nay begged, as she looked from one pony to the other. “You would allow me to bind you, control you, collar you as our beloved possessions.”

“Within certain limits, of course,” Cadance smoothly replied, drawing a suspicious look from the unicorn. “I am a mother, and that has to come first. But other than that… did I mention that last night was some of the best sex I’ve ever had?”

“You did, and both of us find your limit more than reasonable,” responded Nightmare Rarity. “Are there any other requirements or restrictions?”

“There’s minor ones, like living in peace with Equestria, but the only other major one, is that you have to let us work on finding a way to separate the two of you that lets you both live full lives,” Shining Armor added. “Can you accept that?”

“Considering that the alternative is death and worse. Yes, We accept your terms,” stated the dark unicorn. “We place ourselves in your hooves.”

“We are yours to command, Mistress,” responded Cadance with a smile, as her magic levitated Nightmare Rarity’s discarded coronet and returned it to its place among the unicorn’s white and lilac tresses. “Let’s go home.”

Author's Note

Once again, a chapter of this story kicks my ass goes much longer than intended. This was mainly due to my wanting to resolve things as soon as possible. Well, less resolve than stabilize things. There will continue to be fallout from these events as Twilight's adventures continue to change her friends and her world.

Every month my patrons get to vote on which story they would like to see me work on following, my commissioned story. In August, my patrons have decided they want to read a new chapter of How Twilight Sparkle Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Baddies.

If you want a vote on what I write, join my Patreon and for as little as a dollar a month and cast your ballot for whichever story you would like to have me update.

Destructor, Part I

Two more full months passed, and what had come to be called the “Turnabout Intruder Invasion” began to fade into memory as ponies began to repair the damage to both the town and themselves. For some ponies however, healing would be long in coming, and some would likely be forever changed.

Currently, Applejack could only act independently if someone was holding her leash or reins, a duty that often fell to Spike, who could often be seen riding on the back of the orange earth pony as she went about her day. He never gave Applejack any commands or corrected her in any way, simply remaining with her as the key to the lock on her suit-imposed conditioning.

A conditioning that Cadance was working hard on removing, or at least altering, and the fact that Applejack was able to self-actualize in any circumstances spoke volumes as to her ability.

The Princess of Love, however, had her own issues to deal with. Now beholden to the Nightmare Rarity, along with her husband, careful observers could often find the pair on the practice fields of the Twilight Guard. There, they were being trained in the old arts of harness dressage under the keen eye and accurate whip of the dominate latex sorceress, who in turn was nearly always under the glowering gaze of Princess Luna.

However, even Luna had to admit that the husband and wife did make a fetching pair, hooves moving in lockstep as their actions were coordinated and controlled down to even the flicking of ears and the lashing of tails.

In return for being allowed to remain free and bonded, Nightmare Rarity took time each week to scour the far corners of Equestria in search of the feral symbiotes who still prowled the land in search of ponies to bind and milk for the magic they needed to procreate. As the now undisputed Latex Sorceress of Equestria, the twinned mare was able to instantly sense and command any symbiotes that came within her range, which amounted to two dozen furlongs.

However, it was during one of these trips that a symbiote ventured near Ponyville, where it happened upon the cabin of the kindest mare in all the land, and it nearly broke Twilight to see Fluttershy days later wearing an inescapable harness of black living latex. Even if Twilight had to admit it looked very good on the butter yellow mare and she wore her organic bondage like the fashion model she briefly had been.

“It was starving, Twilight,” Fluttershy explained as she took a control collar from Twilight’s stocks and locked it around her own throat. “And you know that I couldn’t just let a creature suffer when I could help it. Besides, it’s been very well behaved and it’s not like I use my pegasus magic very much anyway.”

“But didn’t it try to make you a…” Twilight's still slightly raspy voice trailed off, not really sure how innocent her friend was.

“A sex slave?” Fluttershy filled in, giggling slightly as she watched Twilight’s jaw drop. “Twilight, I’m around animals all the time. I know what sex is, and I’ve both seen and experienced it. The suit didn’t try to do anything to me that I haven’t already done with myself, or with others. And besides, it’s been very well behaved once we set some ground rules.”

“Uh…” Twilight said, as her mind tried to recover from the concept of Fluttershy having sex.

“You know Twilight,” Fluttershy whispered quietly, nuzzling the underside of Twilight’s jaw in a way that sent tingles all through the alicorn’s body. “You and I have never really had a good preening session together. You should come over some time and let me take care of you.”

It was all Twilight could do to keep her wings from flaring outwards in the classic pegasus mating display and the alicorn wasn’t sure what was more disconcerting. That a pony was able to push her buttons so thoroughly with just a few words, or that it was Fluttershy propositioning her.

“I’ll see you later Twilight,” the pegasus said, breaking the contact and slowly walking away, the fall of her tail like a fuschia waterfall.

It took a full two minutes and a nudge from Dashiel before Twilight's mind fully returned to reality.

“Hey boss, you okay?” the veteran pony asked, her war wing gleaming with a new coat of polish.

“Yeah,” Twilight replied absently. “I think… I think I need to get back out there.”

“Not happening,” Dashiel replied firmly, taking a moment to make sure that the doors and windows were closed. She had been expecting this conversation for awhile now.

“Last time I looked, I was the princess and you were the soldier,” Twilight responded, eyebrow arching and her mind fully engaged now.

“Orders from all three of the other princesses. I’m to make sure you don’t go anywhere by yourself for at least six months and you’ve fully healed,” Dashiel answered, snapping a parade ground salute and coming to attention.

Twilight knew that look and body posture from the exiled pegasus. Dashiel was a weapon, a weapon that had been tempered in the fires of a desperate war for survival and had endured pressures that had broken many ponies before her. But not Dashiel, not the pony who was the fighting equal of Luna, one of the greatest gladiatrixes of Ancient Roam, and with a will to match.

While Twilight was no slouch in the fighting department herself, her bouts with Dashiel left no doubts about what would happen if Twilight tried to strongleg her way around the chief of her guard.

“So I’m a prisoner in my own castle then? Or should I just crawl back into my cage in Celestia's bedroom?” came the harsh whisper out of Twilight’s mouth, and even she was surprised at the level of despair that could be heard in that tiny sound.

“You can go anywhere you like, just not alone,” was Dashiel’s response, and the only softness in the soldier's stance on the matter was in her eyes. Eyes that had seen the horrors of war and for a moment Twilight saw a reflection of herself superimposed on those scenes of devastation and heartbreak.

“I just… I just don’t recognize home any more,” Twilight said softly, and to her surprise she thought she saw Dashiel flinch. “It’s all different now. All I really seem to understand now is being out there. Fighting to fix those other worlds, to make them good again.”

“Welcome to being a soldier,” Dashiel said, and Twilight looked up. “We fight, because if we don’t others get hurt. And it changes us. Makes us stronger and harder. But home changes too, just different than we do, and because we aren’t there to change with it we get left behind.”

“So what am I supposed to do?” Twilight asked, ears and tail hanging low. “Just sit here and do nothing?”

“You sit, you heal, you do all the things the docs tell you to do so you can get back in the fight as fast as you can,” Dashiel answered, and Twilight was surprised to feel a foreleg go over her shoulder in a gesture of comfort. “Or, you find a way around the fences all the nanny mares put around you, and prove them wrong for trying to hold you back.

“You… you think I should just go?” Twilight asked, voice and ears rising together. “Get back into the fight?”

“I. Am an obedient servant of Princess Luna. Her sworn sword. And I would never advise one of her best friends to go AWOL,” Dashiel stated, her sudden wolfish smile at complete odds with her spoken words. “At least not without taking backup to make sure that they were technically correct with how they went AWOL.”

Twilight’s mind instantly made the connection to what Dashiel was offering, and her own answering smile was an agreement as she replied with, “And technically correct is the best kind of correct.”

Hours later, Twilight found herself at a table in the Gloaming Glass, the bar that had sprung up to service the relaxation needs of her guard. The young alicorn still found it hard to believe at times that she had her own guard. Even more surprising was how the members of the Twilight Guard had thrown themselves into their training since the siege of the Castle of Friendship. The burned hoof really did teach best, and the ponies assigned to protect Twilight had gone from loving devotion to something akin to fanaticism.

“Why can’t you just take all of us?” Derpy asked, from across the table.

Twilight’s maid was taking a rare evening away from her daughter to sit in what had become a strategy session for Twilight’s next cross dimensional journey. A chorus of nods and murmurs of assent came from the crowd who had gathered around the table.in response to the question from the warrior maid.

“It’s due to the ‘Square Subject Law’,” Twilight responded, drawing confused looks from around the table.

“Hey, we aren’t all eggheads, Twilight,” said Rainbow Dash, having heard of something adventurous going on and wanting in. “You gotta explain it so all of us can understand.”

“Okay, okay,” Twilight replied, sighing. “Berry Punch. Can you get me a glass of water, one of those big bottles of cider, and a tray of shotglasses?”

“Sure thing, Princess,” the best bartender in Ponyville replied with a smirk, drawing the intended shouts of, “No rank in the mess!” from the crowd.

“Okay, see this water glass?” Twilight began, once her requested items arrived. “This glass is filled with the level of magic that an average pony has.”

“Now, I’m an alicorn. So I have this amount of magic,” Twilight continued, lifting the glass and bottle up together in her magic so that everypony could compare the two. “Cadance is pretty similar to me, but Princess Luna and Princess Celestia have way more.”

“Okay, so what’s the problem?” Rainbow Dash asked. Dashiel, the damaged mirror of the athletic pegasus rolled her eyes briefly at her counterpart.

“The problem is the ‘Square Subject Law’ which states that the power required for any spell increases by the square of the number of subjects it’s applied to,” Twilight said, uncorking the cider bottle.

“So for just me travelling, this is all the magic I need to use,” Twilight added, filling one shot glass from the bottle.

“For two ponies, two squared is four. So I need to use four times as much magic,” Twilight continued, filling up another three shot glasses so that four in total were full of the amber liquid. “Really hard for most ponies, but an easy stretch for an alicorn.”

“Three ponies is three squared, so nine times the original amount of magic,” Twilight continued, filling up five more glasses to bring the total to the proper amount and being sure to make sure the assembled crowd could see how the bottle was now a little more than half empty. “Well within my, or Cadance’s limits, but as you can see it isn’t easy.”

“And finally, four ponies squared is sixteen times the original amount,” Twilight summed up, emptying the bottle and leaving a few glasses unfilled. “Which is more than I can do without some kind of boost, but probably still inside of what Princess Luna or Princess Celestia could do.”

“So you can take one or two of us is what you’re saying,” Dashiel said, into the silence that followed Twilight’s summation of the cold equations governing magic.

“And the last pony I took with me was Starlight Glimmer, and you all know how that turned out,” Twilight replied, tossing back the contents of one of the glasses and immediately breaking into a massive coughing fit as the fiery liquid tried to sear its way back up.

While Twilight desperately tried to recover from her unanticipated exposure to Sweet Apple Acres Special Cider, the ponies around her had a good laugh. Dashiel waited until Twilight recovered before she asked the question that had been on all of their minds since they had first walked in.

“So, where are you going, and who are you taking with you?” Dashiel asked, and silence again descended on the room.

“I’m going to the world where I wasn’t around to stop Tirek from sucking up all the magic in Equestria and wreaking havoc on everything. I was only there long enough to see him blasting the landscape at random and if there is anywhere in all the alternate Equestrias that I can really make a difference, it’s there,” Twilight firmly stated, before looking up at the assembled ponies around her. “And I’m taking you and Trixie with me.”

The room erupted in objections and complaints, as every member of the Twilight Guard there voiced their opinion that one of them should go with her, or that Dashiel was needed here, in Ponyville. Twilight found it briefly amusing that not a single pony seemed to object to her taking her Knight with her. From pompous showmare, to caring sister and determined fighter, Dame Trixie had come a long way.

“And what about me?” Derpy asked in a voice like steel on silk. “You know I’m as good at fighting as any pony here. You know I’ll guard your back with my life. Why can’t I come with you? Is it because of my eyes?”

“It’s because I couldn’t live with myself if Dinky became an orphan,” was Twilight’s calm reply, and the alicorn could see that her explanation was like a dagger in Derpy’s chest.

“That’s a pretty dirty shot,” Dashiel commented, and Twilight couldn’t tell if the leader of her warriors was impressed or disappointed.

“Dirty, but accurate. Besides, I have another, very important task for my maid,” Twilight said, allowing herself to feel a small bit of pleasure at what she was about to let slip.

“Cleaning?” Derpy asked, in a sour voice. Derpy hadn’t looked up after Twilight’s initial explanation and thus didn’t see the twinkle in Twilight's eyes.

Months ago, Twilight had learned that her beloved mentor, Celestia, and her sister Luna, had been slaves in Ancient Roam. Luna had become a fearsome gladiatrix, whereas Celestia had learned how to manage their owner’s vast estate, among other things. Both alicorns had been fully tamed to the will of their master, to the point that even now, they kept to his last command to keep his ponies safe.

Though the shackles which kept the royal alicorns in bound slavery to Decius Caballus and his descendants were only mental, psychological constructs, Twilight knew better than most ponies how unbreakable such bonds could be. The only thing that could truly free Celestia and Luna was to find a direct descendant of their old master and have that pony formally free them.

It had taken Twilight months of research, spellwork and diving into some of the oldest records known to ponydom, but in the end, it had been the curse the windigo’s had laid against the bloodline of a pony that dared defy them that had been the final key to solving the mystery.

“Derpy Hooves.” Twilight began, shifting into her formal “royal” voice, and every pony around her immediately braced to attention. “More properly named ‘Dulcinea Hooves’, whose unknown, but true name is ‘Decima Caballus Equorum’. I, Twilight Sparkle, of the house Twilight, being its Princess, do have a Royal Command to lay upon you. Are you prepared to do my will?”

“I am yours to command, my Princess,” the newly named Decima answered, bowing forward in graceful, swept wing obeisance. “I only ask that the task be something worthwhile.”

“This is a task which only you, of all the ponies in Equestria can accomplish,” Twilight replied, and she could see the curiosity in her maid’s off putting eyes. “After I am gone, go to Spike. He will give you a chest that only you can open. Open the chest and read the scroll inside. What is on it has been researched and tested beyond any reasonable doubt, no matter how crazy it may sound. Afterwards, do what you think is best.”

“You… aren’t going to give me any more than that?” Decima asked, dress shifting as she stirred uneasily at the strange command. “All that formality, just to open a chest and read a scroll?”

“What’s on the scroll will make it clear why this had to be done this way, and my finding your ancestral name might give you a clue as to why,” Twilight said fondly, knowing it would set her maid’s curiosity afire and forestall any further questioning.

Dashiel, who as Luna’s sworn sword knew her history and who also knew Twilight’s side projects almost as well as Twilight did, couldn’t stop herself from giggling into her mug as she quickly connected one Roaman name with one Royal Command and got ownership of two alicorns.

“You shush,” Twilight commanded, dropping the formalities. “Go get Trixie and meet me in my office. We’re going to do this right. We’re going to have plans, checklists, and supplies. No more stumbling around and letting random chance play around with us. Got it?”

“Yes Ma’am,” Dashiel replied eagerly, snapping out another salute.

Sixteen hours later, after a long planning and preparation session that did indeed involve several very long lists, a solid meal and a full eight hours of sleep, the trio was ready to depart. Waiting for them in the embarkation room were a full company of Twilight’s guard, along with 143, Derpy and a rather tired looking Princess Cadance.

“Is everypony ready?” Twilight asked, running through yet another last minute checklist.

“All good here,” Dashiel responded, having checked her own pack and gear and confident in it enough to not have to check again.

“Trixie is ready as well,” added the light blue unicorn, having armored herself in light chain mail, with the sheathed length of the Zodiac Sword strapped to one side.

“Derpy, you’re in charge until we get back. You remember my orders?” Twilight asked, as her checklist got to the spot where she asked that.

“Look in the chest only after you’re gone, and anything or anypony that comes back through the portal gets pounced on, subdued and locked up,” Derpy replied confidently, only the rustling of her silk livery betraying her nervousness.

“And when I get back?” Twilight pressed, mouth set in a firm line.

“Anything or anypony that comes back through the portal gets pounced on, subdued and locked up,” Derpy repeated, drawing an approving nod from Twilight. “At least until we check you over.”

“Good,” Twilight replied, taking a moment to run a hoof over the living latex sheathe that encased her, knowing better than most its protective properties. “Allright, let’s go.”

“Sister,” 143 called out, even as the cross dimensional spell reached out to draw the chosen trio into the vortex. “I will miss you.”

“WHAT?” Trixie exclaimed, as her sister finally spoke in the first person. “Wait! STOP!”

But it was too late, and the unleashed power of the Element of Magic drew the trio up and away through the barriers that separated one universe from another. On through the space between space flew Twilight and her companions, with Trixie cursing a streak as blue as her hide all the way through.

“TAKE US BACK!” Trixie demanded, immediately upon landing. “My sister spoke in the first person. About herself. She’s never done that before! Please, we have to go back.”

“I know, Trixie,” Twilight answered, doing her best to calm the unicorn down while Dashiel looked on in disapproval. “It’s wonderful but we’re here for a reason. Isn’t that so: Trixie, of the House Lulamoon. Sworn in service to the House of Twilight.”

“I…”, Trixie began, as Twilight’s reminder of the formal bond between them, cut through the train of thought that had been charging through the mind of the azure coated pony. Trixie took a deep breath, calming herself with a little routine Twilight had seen Princess Cadance use once or twice herself. “Trixie apologizes to her liege lady, and begs her forgiveness. It will not happen again.”

“I forgive you, and I get it, but we have to stay focused,” Twilight replied, and only now did she have a chance to take in their surroundings.

The three ponies were standing in the middle of a broad path of destruction. For hundreds of yards in either direction there were no trees, no grass, no living thing of any kind growing out of the soil. Soil which had been churned up as if by the plow of a giant, and it took Twilight a moment to recognize what it was.

It was land that had been hit by one of Tirek's fiery blasts of destruction. The same blasts he had used on Twilight with little effect during the battle with his counterpart in her Equestria. However, during that battle Twilight had been bolstered by the magic of three other alicorns. In this universe, Twilight was sure that no matter what else, she hadn’t become an alicorn here, and likely had been drained of her magic along with every other unicorn here.

It was a moment of quiet contemplation, as the three ponies realized what they were up against and mentally girded themselves up for what was to come. Each as strong in her own way, and unlike visits to other dimensions Twilight had come fully prepared and equipped to deal with every possible contingency. Which is of course when the universe decided to drop the unexpected on them…

Author's Note

Okay, here we go again. This trip is going to be more martial than marital as this time Twilight is going after the big game. I know this chapter wasn't completely full of details of previous events, but I didn't want to go too heavy with the exposition. More bits and pieces will filter in as Twilight and company go after Tirek.

Mental health-wise myself, I'm still recovering but I'm getting better. All the best to all of you in 2023

I'd also like to give a big thank you to Lady Lightning Strike, for stepping in and editing this month's chapter.

Destructor, Part II

Twilight looked around to get her bearings. As per usual when arriving in a new world, the magic of the cross-dimensional travel spell had dropped Twilight and her companions at a replica of the stone map table as it existed back in Twilight’s castle. Or at least at whatever remained of the table in that particular universe.

Either way it seemed to serve as an anchor for the initial use of the spell and as such, Twilight could be reasonably confident of where she landed in whatever Equestria she found herself in. She should be fairly close to Ponyville and the better part of a day’s flight from Canterlot, though the devastation around her did not bode well for either location.

“Hey Princess, do you feel that?” Dashiel asked, looking around.

“Feel what?” Twilight asked, pulled out of her mental map-making by the question.

“Feels like a storm moving in. The air feels like a fucking hippogriff is sitting on top of me.” The pegasus flicked both of her wings into readiness and drew one of her hoofblades. “I don’t like it.”

The young alicorn had always had trouble adapting to her newly acquired pegasus abilities, but after a moment’s concentration she too could feel a presence weighing down over her. Along with something else.

“Trixie?” Twilight asked, turning to her knight, who was looking toward the nearby treeline.

“Trixie feels… “ began the showmare, closing her eyes and concentrating for several moments before opening them wide in alarm. “Trixie can sense strong illusion magic. Very close!”

As if the words of the azure mage were some sort of signal, there was a sound like the tearing of a thousand sheets of paper overhead and the massive keel fin of an airship began to appear out of thin air, several body lengths directly above the trio. The strange sound continued as the vessel’s sides and gasbag appeared, and a bare moment after the ship was fully revealed the sounds of launching harpoons could be heard.

A dozen of the barbed spears were fired into the ground at a steep angle, six to a side and connected to the airship by strong looking chains, dividing up the area surrounding the ponies into twelve segments of open air. Twilight had the feeling that she and her companions had fallen into an ambush of some sort, as she suddenly had the impression of being caught in a cage with very widely spaced bars. Looking over at Dashiel, she could see the warrior pegasus had the same impression.

“Don’t try to go between the chains on the harpoons. I know a shocknet when I see one,” Dashiel commented, before adding as she saw the questioning look from the other two ponies. “It’s an electrical net meant to catch pegasi by knocking them out of the air with a static charge, but it’ll work just fine on anything else passing between those chains too.”

“Ponies,” called down a strong female voice from above. “Throw down your weapons, lay down on the ground with your hooves extended, and prepare to be taken prisoner. This is your only warning.”

“Your call, Princess,” Dashiel stated, her face grim. “I’m pretty sure they want us alive.”

Twilight knew what the pegasus had been through the last couple of times she had been captured by an opponent, and it warmed the alicorn’s heart to know that even after all the horror and the pain Dashiel had experienced, she was still willing to put her fate in Twilight’s hooves. Twilight looked over at Trixie, who made a show of drawing the Zodiac sword and bringing it to a guard position.

“Your Great and Powerful Knight is at your command,” Trixie said simply, well simply for Trixie that is. Despite becoming Twilight’s sworn vassal, Trixie still maintained a large part of her proud and boastful nature, only instead of aggrandizing only herself and her own abilities, the mare now steered her speeches into praising her relationship to the Princess of Friendship.

The contemplation of her companions was brought to an abrupt close as a hatch opened up in the side of the airship and out leaped a sextet of large creatures in black armor. The creatures fell to the ground, easily managing their heavy landings before beginning to advance on Twilight and the others.

“Princess? What do we do?” Dashiel asked, giving ground as the pair coming toward her pulled a heavy collar and muzzled bridle out from their black armor.

Twilight intimately knew what those implements of bondage felt like once applied to her body and she knew the changes just their presence could have on a pony. Celestia help her, at times she feared their solidness, sometimes she craved their weight and pressure against her fur, and sometimes, sometimes she wanted to be the one putting them on a pony.

The alicorn froze for a moment as those thoughts and emotions rolled through her, and the two creatures approaching her took the alicorn’s stance as surrender and opened the collar, bringing it forward towards Twilight’s throat. For one last heartbeat Twilight stood passively before she ignited her horn and blasted both creatures backwards until they reached the bounds set by the harpoon cables.

The armored beings writhed in pain as a sudden field of miniature lightning strikes arched back and forth between the cables the creatures’ momentum had carried them to. Every being present froze at the loud crackling electrical sounds which seemed to go on forever, leaving two unconscious and slightly smoking creatures in its wake.

“We fight,” Twilight commanded, rushing to add, “But no killing. We just want to stop them from hurting us.”

Dashiel and Trixie both erupted into action. Dashiel executing a beautiful flowing front flip that carried her rear hooves directly into the face of one of the creatures moving in on her. Its companion seemed frozen in amazement as its partner was knocked out cold with almost no effort on the pegasus’ part. An immobility that lasted until Dashiel used her wings as an aerial pivot to bring those same rear hooves around in a horizontal arc, sending the second creature flying.

Trixie was a showmare, trained in escapology and illusion, to which she had added nearly a year of intense training in swordsmareship. In doing so the mare had taken what she already knew about how her body moved and added a new skill set that both complemented and enhanced it. Combined with the preternatural sharpness of the sword she held in trust, it was the work of moments for her to not only carve both muzzle and collar intended for her into scrap metal, but the armor her attackers wore as well.

“Threaten the Knight of Twilight at your peril, ruffians,” Trixie declared, striking a pose, and Twilight noted with approval the slight shadowing of muscle under Trixie’s soft fur. She had come a very long way since her small traveling wagon days, and it showed.

The two creatures in front of Trixie began to back up, realizing that they were unarmed in the face of an armed opponent. Trixie allowed them to open the distance, directing a quick look toward her liege lady to see if her course of action was approved, which Twilight did.

“We’d like to talk!” Twilight shouted back up at the airship. She and her ponies were well in control of the situation at the moment, but they were still caged. Albeit in a very big cage.

“And I’d like to see you in chains,” replied that same commanding female voice.

A moment later a dozen more of the large furry creatures dropped from the airship, and as they leapt toward the ground Twilight could see that this group was both armed with twin headed spears and armored in a dark steel. The new group of attackers crashed to the ground in a defensive group, and they were not alone.

At their head was a muscular mare of a pony who wore a black bodysuit beneath armored steel plates; and as the mare stood Twilight could see that she was easily taller than herself, almost matching Princess Luna in height. A dark rose mohawk manecut stood above the stub of a broken horn and a scarred right eye, which combined with the pony’s armor lent her a dangerous air.

“You’ve already given me more resistance than almost every other pony I’ve run across up until now,” stated the mare, clearly in charge of the other creatures. “But I don’t have time for more games. Surrender now, before I have to get serious.”

The cracked stub on the mare’s head sparked with summoned energy, underlining the threat, and in response Dashiel and Trixie both moved to flank Twilight on either side, forming a secure combat wedge.

“I didn’t come here to fight,” Twilight began, before amending it to, “I mean, I didn’t come here to fight you. We don’t have to be enemies, but we will protect ourselves if we have to.”

Twilight drew magic to herself and manifested a shield between her ponies and the hostiles as a demonstration of her ability to protect her friends. What she didn’t expect was the reaction she got from their leader.

“Wait! You’re an alicorn?” the mare asked, and Twilight saw a series of emotions flash across that scarred face.

“Grubber!” yelled the mare, not waiting on Twilight’s answer. “Any sign?”

“Nope! All clear,” called back a cheerful voice from the airship. The mare was just directing her attention back towards Twilight before that same voice added, in a much less happy voice. “Uh… scratch that. Big angry centaur in sight, coming this way.”

“How long?” the mare demanded, and Twilight and her companions all felt a chill of fear go down their spines as they realized that their opponents had to be referring to Tirek.

“Five minutes, ten tops. We should get going, Tempest,” replied the voice, who was apparently some sort of lookout.

“We’re coming. Lower the loading platform,” commanded the mare, and immediately, a large square of the airship’s hull descended toward the ground. Attached by ropes to the vessel, it was obviously a means to drop off or lift things up into the belly of the airship.

“What’s going on?” Twilight asked, keeping her shield up in case this was some sort of trick.

“There’s a giant pissed-off centaur that absorbs magic headed our way,” the mare in charge said, looking over at Twilight. “Likely attracted by what you’ve been doing to stop us, and unless we are in the air in the next five minutes he’s likely going to catch us on the ground. No offense, but compared to that, you three are small fry.”

“Take us with you,” Twilight replied, dropping her shield and using her magic to levitate over the fallen members of the first cohort. “We came here to defeat Tirek. Take us with you, we can help.”

“Three ponies, where three princesses couldn’t stop him before,” the mare noted, but nodding in appreciation at her returned soldiers. “Besides, you don’t even know why we’re here. Look, we don’t have time to talk about this. You don’t want to be stomped underhoof, I suggest you three come over here and catch a ride with me.”

“One condition,” Twilight stated, holding up a wing to keep Trixie from moving more than the automatic half step she had taken in response to the offer. Dashiel, by contrast, had held herself in check. “We’re coming onboard as friends, not prisoners.”

“I don’t have pony friends. You come onto my ship in chains or you can take your chances with Tirek,” the mare responded sternly.

“Tempest, he’s gonna be here any minute. We’ve got to go NOW!” yelled down the no longer cheerful voice.

“Take us with you, without chains, or we make sure you can’t leave either,” growled Dashiel, which gathered a sudden stern look of reproval from Twilight. She had come her to fight Tirek, not other ponies. It didn't feel right to threaten to drag others into her fight, but Twilight could see Dashiel's point. If they fought Tirek now, it would be on his terms, which meant that Twilight and company would be starting a deadly fight at a disadvantage. Not good.

“Is that a threat, little pony?” the mare, who Twilight gathered was named “Tempest” growled right back.

“Look, can’t we come to some sort of compromise?” Twilight asked, taking a step forward. “Something that gets us all out of here with no one in chains?”

“TEMPEST!” screamed the voice from above, clearly panicking now.

“Fine!” snarled Tempest, flinging a couple of muzzle bridles with built in horn blockers at Twilight’s feet. “But you and your unicorn have to put these on. I’m not having either of you using magic on my ship and giving away our position to that centaur.”

Twilight and Trixie shared a look, and Twilight could see the guarded fear in her knight’s eyes. Even with the bridle on Twilight would still have access to her earth pony strength and pegasus magic, but for Trixie it would be taking away a part of her very soul.

“Trixie you don’t—” Twilight began, before being forced to stop as Trixie picked up one of the restraints and put it on her own head.

“A little assistance please?” the pale blue mare asked, turning so that Twilight could easily access the buckles. “Trixie would like her headgear to be snug and not slip at a bad moment.”

“I’m so proud of you,” Twilight whispered in Trixie’s ear as she tightened up the straps, securing the bridle to her knight. As the horn blocker settled into place and the showmare’s magic dissipated the Zodiac sword began to fall to the ground, vanishing just before it made contact.

Twilight wasted no time in settling the other bridle over her own head, getting Dashiel to secure the buckles for her and taking the time to whisper, “You’re our safety. Keep alert and don’t let anypony get you alone.”

“Okay, we’re ready,” Twilight stated aloud, leading her companions forward.

Tempest’s face showed surprise for a moment, before settling back into the stern scowl the mare seemed to favor. She waved the trio forward, saying, “Then get over here quick.”

“TEMPEST! We go now or Tirek’s gonna eat us!” screamed the voice from above. Twilight and her friends needed no urging to dash the remaining few yards to the lifting platform.

“Hang on,” ordered Tempest, before raising her voice. “Okay, We’re all on! Raise the platform. Blow the cables and get going. Best speed ahead and get our cloak back up the instant we can.”

It said something about the training of the airship’s unseen crew that the first order was already in progress before the mare finished the string of urgent commands. The platform lifted upwards toward the belly of the airship, and as the group rocketed upwards Twilight could hear several small detonations from around the rim of the ship. The slithering sound of twelve body-thick lengths of chain falling toward the ground was then followed by Twilight and everyone else having to grab whatever supports they could find as the airship shot up and away.

Twilight was just able to make out the massive form of Tirek coming around a mountain as the lifting platform returned to its place as part of the lower hull of the airship. The bestial roar of the centaur shook timbers and everyone could hear the beast’s cry of:

“WHERE IS YOUR MAGIC? GIVE ME YOUR MAGIC!”

“Grubber! Get the cloak up. Now!” Tempest yelled.

“Working on it… and done! That big butthead can’t see us now,” said the voice of what was likely Tempest’s second in command.

“Maximum speed and keep us low. I’ll be up in a minute,” Tempest said, before turning to her troops. “You were slow and six of you were taken down by half your number of ponies. Do better next time, or else.”

Twilight and her group were shocked as the imposing creatures whimpered and cowered before the armored mare, before skulking away.

“Uh, Ma’am?” Dashiel began, nudging her commander. “This may not have been a good idea.”

“What do you me— oh,” Twilight replied, the words falling out of her mouth as her eyes adjusted to the gloom of the ship’s hold.

All along the sides of the ship's hold were captive ponies. Some chained to the walls, some in cages, and each and every one of them had a thick heavy collar locked to their necks with one of the muzzling bridles fastened around their heads.

“Slavers,” hissed Trixie, pulling out a pair of knives from under her cloak, as she too saw the bound mares and stallions.

“Sometimes,” Tempest admitted, and a mild snort of amusement was her only reaction to the hostile stances of Twilight and her friends. “But not at the moment.”

“Then explain this,” Twilight demanded, as she felt the magic within her pulse to the beating of her heart. All it would take would be a single word to have her symbiote remove the bridle from her head and then Twilight would blast this “Tempest” through the bulkhead and all the way to Tartarus.

“Prisoners, yes. Slaves, no,” Tempest said, adding. “Some of them attacked us at places where we’ve landed. Some begged us to take them with us when they saw our ship. They’ll all be taken to the Storm King, who will decide what to do with them.”

“What? Why?” Twilight asked, guessing the answer the moment she asked it.

“Right now, it looks like Equestria is all but wiped out,” Tempest calmly stated, turning her back on three Equestrians and walking toward a set of stairs leading out of the hold. “The Storm King heard about Tirek and sent me to find out if some or all of Equestria was ripe for conquest. Maybe find out if we can at least get a foothold on this continent.”

“That’s where I’ve heard the name before,” Dashiel commented. “The Storm King runs a militaristic empire on the far side of the South Luna Sea, or did, anyway.”

“Bang on, pony. I’m Commander Tempest, and I’m in charge of what’s left of this expeditionary force,” Tempest replied, her armored hooves clanging a bit on the steps up to the next level. “Coming?”

Twilight and her friends looked around at the despondent ponies, and Twilight noted that not a single one of them had called out to her, or made any sign of resistance to their plight. Each and every set of chains held a pony who had given up and was willing to be led to whatever fate this Storm King had in store for them.

“Come on,” Twilight ordered her companions, following Commander Tempest up to the next deck.

The alicorn had a good view of the maimed unicorn’s flanks and rear as they climbed the stairs and mounted the next deck of the airship. Tempest might have been many things, but a slouch in the physical department she definitely was not as she carried herself with a powerful and assured strength. A strength that had to have come from physical prowess instead of innate magical ability.

“Had a little trouble with the cloak, but it looks like we’re all clear, Commander,” said a smallish hedgehog, who came running up as the four ponies walked along what looked like a machinery deck, filled with the things needed to keep such a craft in the air. “That big centaur’s just flailing around now.”

“Good work,” Tempest replied, taking a moment before her frown changed to a scowl and directing it at her minion. “What do you mean we had a ‘little trouble’ with the cloak?”

“Well, you know how she doesn’t really like where she is and she uh… sort of said ‘No’ at first?” replied the hedgehog, shrinking away.

“We’ll see about that,” Tempest growled back, straightening to add, “These three are with me.”

“Oh, getting your own little harem, eh Tempest?” laughed the creature, bouncing back with a forced cheerfulness. “Surprised it took you this long, what with all the ponies throwing themselves at—”

“ENOUGH!” snarled Tempest, leaning forward in clear threat. “For now, they are guests. Not prisoners, not slaves, and Not. My. Harem. Understood, Grubber?”

“Uh, yes ma’am. Sorry ma’am,” the hedgehog blurted out quickly. “I’ll uh, just let the crew know.”

“See that you do,” Tempest said, standing up tall to look down on her minion. “I’m going to have a chat with our cloak.”

The hedgehog scurried away, and all three of Twilight’s team exchanged a quick look as he did. Commander Tempest was apparently a stern disciplinarian who ran a tight ship with an iron hoof, and it showed in how she dealt with her subordinates, ruling through fear and intimidation, not friendship and cooperation.

The armored pony stomped away along the deck toward yet another set of stairs and with no clue of what else to do, Twilight and her friends followed closely behind. Climbing up to the now third deck of the airship, a host of crew, mainly consisting of more of the large furred creatures that Twilight had fought, bustled to and fro in order to accomplish various duties. While the hulking yeti like creatures seemed to be the primary crew of the vessel, Twilight also saw a minotaur, an Abyssinian and a couple of diamond dogs. As each member passed their commander they saluted, dipped their heads or otherwise acknowledged Tempest in a show of obeisance.

After a few minutes the unicorn led them to a guarded and locked door that had “Cloak” written on it.

“Open it,” Tempest commanded, and the yeti-like creature hastened to obey.

Inside was a large room with a massive wooden column in it’s center, to which a large frame was attached on the far side.

“That’s gotta be the ships mainmast,” Dashiel whispered, looking around.

“So I hear you’ve been… difficult,” Tempest said, walking around the mast to address someone on its far side. A sound of rattling chains and thumping wood was followed by the sound of a voice that made Twilight’s blood suddenly run cold.

“Maybe I don’t like being chained up all the time. Maybe, just maybe, you shouldn’t keep the pony who keeps this whole ship safe locked into a Celestia damned breeding rack,” shot back the voice of Starlight Glimmer.

Twilight and the others were frozen in shock. Each of them had known Twilight’s student and knew of both her sacrifice and her ascension to becoming Solar Starlight, protector and restorer of a blasted Equestria. It simply made no sense for her to be here.

“I’ve told you this before. We need you in contact with as much of the ship as possible, as often as possible to keep your cloaking spell running. The rack is the only thing we have that can keep you in place long enough to do the job and not give you long term damage,” Twilight could see Tempest’s eyes narrow dangerously as the mare added, “unless you would prefer long term damage, slave.”

The statement that Starlight was a slave broke the surprise that had been holding Twilight in its grasp, and the alicorn charged around the mast with both murder and mayhem in mind, determined to free her friend and student. As she neared captor and captive, Twilight could see her friend’s unicorn body securely held in a padded wooden frame with multiple chains and fetters attached to every possible place on her, including a chain spiralling up her horn and attached to the mast behind her.

“What in Tartarus is going on here?” Twilight demanded hotly, letting her words lash out instead of her magic.

“Nice one, Tempest,” commented Starlight, in the mocking, slightly superior tone Twilight had originally known the unicorn by. “Where’d you get the changeling? And how did you—”

“Starlight, it’s really me. It’s Twilight,” said the alicorn, attempting to reassure the mare. “I’ll have you out of that in a minute.”

“What? No! It can’t be you!” shrieked Starlight in a voice of venomous fury that forced Twilight back on her heels in shock. “IT CAN’T BE!”

The bound mare heaved and strained at the frame holding her until the wood creaked, and groaned, but the builders of the intimate device had known their perverse trade well and it held firm while put to an ultimate test. All the while Starlight shrieked and cursed Twilight with every vile phrase that the princess had ever heard of, and some she never dreamed had existed, until the mare was reduced to screaming gibberish.

The struggle went on for several minutes until Starlight had completely exhausted herself and hung loosely in her bonds. Only then were her words coherent again.

“You can’t be Princess Twilight. I killed you myself.”

Author's Note

Tempest Shadow and Starlight Glimmer? Oh my.

Every month my patrons get to vote on which story they would like to see me work on following, my commissioned story. This month, my patrons decided they would like to see another chapter of this story.

If you want a vote on what I write, join my Patreon and for as little as a dollar a month and cast your ballot for whichever story you would like to have me update.

Destructor, Part III

“I killed you.”

The words were still echoing in Twilight’s disbelieving mind as the bound mare found some untapped reserve of strength within her to draw magic to her horn once again.

“Fine, I killed you once. I can do it ag—” Starlight began, just before Captain Tempest shoved the opened mouth of a bota bag into the mare’s mouth, pressing on the sides to force its contents into the captive mage.

“Nog gab huff!” gurgled the unicorn, coughing and gasping against the flow of fluid that was being forced into her.

“It’s the only way,” Tempest said calmly, pressing down again to force more of liquid into the mare, whose struggles began to subside and eyes began to close.

“You… bitch,” Starlight murmured, after the unicorn pulled the now empty bag from her mouth. “You fucking bi…”

Whatever else Starlight Glimmer was going to say was lost, along with her consciousness as she collapsed and began to hang limply in her bonds, bound again in a deep, potion induced sleep.

“I’ll have to get stores to bring up a couple more flasks of that stuff,” the commander of the airship remarked, before turning to Twilight and her companions. “We should go before she wakes up.”

“Um… sure,” Twilight replied, following the mare out of the room, and noting that a pair of the large yeti creatures guarding the door had been supplemented by two more.

“Grubber,” snapped Tempest, to her hedgehog subordinate. “Get down to stores and get a couple more flasks of that Retcon potion up here.”

“Pushed her too far again, Tempest?” chided the creature, though Twilight could tell it was meant as a joke.

“No, seems Cloak knows our alicorn here, and not from better times either,” Tempest replied, before looking over at an iron collared Abyssinian who was standing behind Grubber. “Set up a lunch in my dining room for four. Use the good china.”

“Yes Commander,” the cat said, in the silky smooth voice of his kind. “And might I say you did a great job of getting us all out of there.”

“Just do what I tell you and you won’t have to spend another day in the wet box. Remember, I want the good china,” growled the powerfully built unicorn. “You’ve got thirty minutes.”

“Yes Commander, whatever you say, Commander,” groveled the feline, before scampering away.

“C’mon you three,” Tempest ordered, once both her minions had headed off to accomplish their tasks. “Let me show you around Scirocco.”

“Is that the name of your ship?” Trixie asked, moving up to stand slightly in front of Twilight. A quick glance around showed Twilight that Dashiel had taken up a protective station to her rear and was actively glaring down anything that looked like a threat.

“The last ship of the Storm King’s West Wind squadron,” Tempest replied with a clenched jaw. “She’s a good ship though.”

With that, Commander Tempest proceeded to take the trio on a tour of the sky ship, and as such vessels went she was quite large, measuring nearly seventy body lengths long by sixteen wide. The vessel was composed of six decks, the lowest three being various cargo decks, the next upwards being dedicated to tightly packed crew accommodations, then a gun deck that mounted several cannons that were large enough to make Pinkie Pie jealous, were she there.

The top deck, was open to the air, where beings from a dozen species scurried to and fro, doing things of various nautical natures, and it was with no surprise that it was Dashiel who was able to identify various workings of the ship. To the point where Commander Tempest began to eye the pegasus suspiciously.

“Not very many Equestrians know skyships,” commented the commander, as the quartet stood at the railing watching the landscape pass by beneath them. “And you were the one that knew about the Storm King too. I wonder why that is?”

“When I was with the Seaddle Marine Battalion, we used ships like this for resupply,” explained Dashiel, shrugging. “Had to escort in a few Storm King merchant ships bringing in cargo.”

“Seaddle Marines?” Tempest questioned, frowning. “Since when did Equestria have marines, never mind a whole battalion of them?”

Dashiel was about to answer when the Abyssinan from before came on deck. “Uh, begging your pardon, your Commandership,” said the cat, bowing low. “But your lunch is ready.”

“On the good china?” Tempest asked, the narrowing of one eye promising dire retribution should her orders not have been obeyed to the letter.

“Most definitely, your Ruthlessness,” groveled the slave, and Twilight tried very hard not to smile at the touch of sarcasm.

“Good. If you’ll follow me,” the commander commented, stepping forward and giving Trixie a chance to whisper into Twilight’s ear.

“It’s a trap,” hissed the showmare. “It’s got to be a trap.”

“I know,” Twilight whispered back.

“They will try to take me out first,” murmured Dashiel. “That will be your moment to get the bridles off.”

“Coming?” Tempest asked, looking back from the hatchway that led back downwards and noticing that Twilight and her friends were no longer following her.

“Sorry, we were just mesmerized by the view,” Twilight replied, with a quick smile. “It really is wonderful up here.”

“Sure,” responded the other mare, the edges of her armor glinting briefly in the sun. “Anyway, let’s go below so we can eat. And talk.”

Twilight and the rest moved to rejoin the commander, who led them back down below and to the rear of the ship, where they were led into a small, but well appointed dining area. As Twilight took her seat on a comfortable chair, she looked around at the decor.

Sturdy, but tasteful carpets covered the wooden deck, while banners with the Storm King’s dual lightning bolt sigil covered the walls. Light was provided from a large barred window set in the bulkhead behind Tempest’s chair and the sunlight glinted off of silver cutlery and tableware. Twilight saw Trixie raise an eyebrow as she saw the definitely not ceramic plates and shuffle slightly before taking her seat.

“So, I’m curious,” Twilight began, once everypony had sat down, noting as well that the usually ever present guards hadn’t joined them. “What was that potion you gave to that unicorn?”

“Straight to the point. I like that,” Tempest responded, with a small smile. “That potion has a lot of names, but the popular one right now is ‘Retcon’. It puts the drinker to sleep for a time and wipes out the last hour or so of their memory, making it handy for situations like the one you saw. My turn. How does Cloak know you?”

“I don’t think she knows me, personally,” Twilight surmised, resting her chin on her forehooves. “I think she knows… knew, somepony who looked like me.”

“Any idea what her name is then? Ever since we picked her she’s refused to say, so we just call her ‘Cloak’ because that’s what she does for us. Without her Tirek would have gotten us like he did the other four ships I had,” the unicorn paused as the door to the cabin opened and three carts of what smelled like very good food were wheeled in. “Ah good, lunch is here.”

A plate of mushroom risotto was set down in front of Twilight and the savory scents of the dish set the alicorn’s mouth to watering. The servant began to pour Twilight what looked to be a glass of wine before the bottle slipped from her hooves and bounced off the table before landing on the floor and shattering into a puddle of wine and glass shards.

“I’m sorry!” cried out the pony, and as Twilight focused on the servant she realized to her horror that it was none other than Sweetie Belle. Twilight could see the now familiar riveted collar around her neck as she threw herself down to the deck and start frantically picking up the bits of glass.

“Pony, what did I tell you about being careful?” Tempest growled, getting out of her chair to loom over the young pony.

“She didn’t mean it!” came the voices of Scootaloo and Applebloom, zipping around the table to help their fellow Crusader in cleaning up the mess.

Twilight’s eyes caught a shift in the light as the metal feathers on Dashiel’s war wing shifted slightly as the pegasus tensed her muscles in preparation for a fight. Twilight caught her captain’s eye and shook her head ever so slightly. She wanted to see how this played out.

“I know she didn’t mean it, and that like the rest of you, she has no magic. Which is why I’ve told all three of you to be careful,” the orchid coloured unicorn grimly stated. “You three are my personal property. What does that mean?”

“That you’ll take care of us,” all three chorused, looking down at the deck.

“Which is what I promised your families, and I always do what I say I will,” continued Tempest, as Twilight saw Dashiel chew her lip slightly in thought as she watched the interaction. “Now, get that cleaned up and finish serving lunch. You have navigation lessons with Grubber in an hour.”

“Yes, Tempest,” all three said, throwing themselves into the tasks.

“Starlight Glimmer is her name,” Twilight said, as if nothing had happened and decidedly not watching Trixie re-sheath a small misericorde. “Why do you own children?”

“I am a slaver,” Tempest stated simply, nodding to Applebloom as the earth pony slid a laden plate in front of her. “And in the Storm Kingdom no creature has any legal standing other than as property, unless they buy their freedom or earn it. So, when I found those three hiding in what was left of a treehouse near a farm and starving, I took them as my own so they wouldn’t see an auction block.”

“You care,” Trixie said, and it wasn’t a question.

“I was a foal once, and then this happened,” Tempest replied, motioning to the jagged stub of her horn. “Everypony I knew abandoned me and left me to make my own way in the world. Can you imagine that? A filly. Horn shattered, magic a frazzled mess, left to find her own way in the world.”

Silence rained as the stern unicorn’s jaw worked, obviously fighting down strong emotions and the quiet continued even after the Crusaders had left the room and the door clicked close behind them.

“The truth is that Tirek killed their parents while stomping their village flat,” Tempest added into the silence, and this time the unicorn’s eyes were haunted by not very old ghosts. “They think their folks are in some refugee camp somewhere, waiting for me to bring them back once it's safe. But I know the truth, and when I realized their situation I decided they wouldn’t be abandoned by Equestria like I was.”

For a minute there was no sound but the clink of spoons on plates as Twilight and her friends absorbed what the unicorn had revealed to them.

“So, you said you had a way to stop Tirek. What is it?” Tempest bluntly asked, her stern demeanor in full force once again.

“We have with us an artifact that will contain and control Tirek’s magic. Turning it against him as a binding restraint,” Twilight responded. “Once he’s under control we can separate him from his stolen magic and restore Equestria.”

“What’s left of it,” snorted Tempest. “This may not be relevant, but it’s been driving me crazy. Why are you wearing that outfit? Makes you look like the Princess of Lust or something.”

“Oh, my suit?” Twilight asked, taking a moment to look at her shiny black foreleg, its mana lines pulsing as the suit shifted power around. “Sometimes I forget I have it on, or that I can’t take it off.”

“Oh really?” Tempest replied, mockingly. “You can’t take the suit off. Or what? You’ll die, I suppose.”

“No, I actually can’t take it off at all. It’s a living suit that’s bonded to me physically and magically,” Twilight replied, and over the next fifteen minutes or so she told explained to Tempest the concepts of alternate timelines, of how she and her friends were from another Equestria, and of some of the things she had encountered in her travels. Like the latex symbiote she had been tricked into wearing and was now as much a part of her as her hooves or tail.

“So you’re telling me that you’re sealed into that fetishist's daydream with no way out, and the reason you’re wearing a collar is that controlling it lets you control the suit?” Tempest asked, and Trixie did not at all like the look the airship commander was giving her liege lady. “That you’re essentially a slave to the suit.”

“Well,” Twilight began, “that’s the way it—”

“Trixie has a question,” the pale blue mare began, deliberately but smoothly interrupting Twilight. “When were you planning on performing your sudden, yet inevitable betrayal?”

“Wait, what?” was the response from the room.

“Oh you play a good game, Commander. Showing us your softer side, getting us to let our guard down with a tour of your ship and a friendly lunch. A lunch I may add, IS NOT ON CHINA AT ALL?” Trixie demanded, placing a hoof on the table to pose dramatically.

“How DARE you accuse me of betrayal!” Tempest shot back, a small crackle of electricity gathering around her horn.

“Puh-lease,” Trixie scoffed, utterly dismissing Tempest’s response. “Trixie has been a performer in and out of Equestria for over a decade. She always knows when somepony else is putting on a show, or when the eyes of an audience are on her. Like the eyes of the extra guards that are standing outside the door to this very room, waiting for either your command or some signal from you to pounce.”

“Well,” drawled Tempest, leaning back with a satisfied look on her face. “I’ve got to admit, nopony’s ever seen it coming before. Or if they did, they never came right out and said it before like you did.”

“Trixie’s only question is how you plan to do it,” stated the showmare turned knight. “Poison in the food? Gas in the air? Surely you didn’t think you could just rush us?”

“I was kind of thinking that, yeah,” was Tempest’s response. “The pegasus is a good fighter, but this is close quarters. Both you and the princess here are bridled, so magic isn’t a concern, and even if it was, my fighters and I wear armor that sheds magic like water.”

“Bridle? What bridle?” Trixie innocently asked, the orchid unicorn’s eyes goggled at Trixie’s sudden lack of headgear.

“What? How?” Tempest demanded. “I saw that bridle go on myself!”

“Trixie spent six months in a Saddle Arabian seraglio under lock and key, and when a mare is held like that, watched every second by geldings whose only purpose in life is to keep her bound and bridled, she pickled up a few things,” Trixie confided, preening at Tempest’s shock. “Trixie is doing this because she knows her Princess would prefer to try friendship before fighting.”

“As you see it, what are my choices?” Tempest asked, her eyes narrowing dangerously.

“We know you want us in chains, and now you know that we know. You also know something of what Trixie and her friends can do, and are smart enough to guess at some of the things we haven’t said,” Trixie summed up, quickly glancing to either side to make sure both Twilight and Dashiel were ready to act. “You can either work with us to stop Tirek and be a hero, or you can fight us, knowing we’re ready for you. Dashiel alone will take out the first three that comes through that door.”

“Seven,” corrected the soldier mare, smiling. “Well… eight, just for you.”

“Why Dashiel, I didn’t know you cared,” Trixie quipped back.

“Well, let me explain to you my options,” Tempest stated, and there was no merriment at all on her face. “I came to Equestria with five ships, and now I have one. Either I go back to the Empire of Storms with something worth four lost airships, or the Storm King will put me on the block. And wouldn’t you know it? I just had an alicorn princess fall into my lap.”

“We don’t have to fight!” Twilight insisted, trying one last time for peace. “Isn’t defeating Tirek worth it?”

“For Equestria, maybe,” Tempest admitted, taking a deep breath and rolling her shoulders. “But the Storm King only cares about what benefits him and his kingdom. However, you are right, we don’t have to fight.”

“We don’t?” Twilight hopefully asked, perking up in the hope that there might be a new course of action available.

“No, we don't. You can calmly accept your fates like the rest of my cargo,” Tempest replied, as the door swung open to reveal not just four of the yeti-like creatures, but a line of them packing the corridor outside.

“614 suit, remove clothing,” Twilight commanded, instantly feeling her symbiote begin to eat at the magic cancelling bridle around her head as it obeyed her command to remove any outerwear she had on.

“Get them,” commanded Tempest, almost in the same instant, and the fight was on.

Half an hour later three unconscious, bound, bridled, hobbled and muzzled mares were carried out of what was left of the cabin and the rooms on either side of it. Dashiel had indeed taken out the first eight storm creatures that had charged into the room, but Tempest’s ability to create what amounted to a lighting storm had been her trump card and the slaver had played it ruthlessly.

Again and again, Twilight and her friends had been on the verge of gaining the upper hand when Tempest had made the very air around them erupt with shocking tendrils of electricity that struck both friend and foe. Dashiel and her metal wing had been the first to fall, followed by Trixie as she attempted to protect her princess. Finally, Twilight had surrendered as Tempest held a blade to Dashiel’s throat.

A last blast of lightning had put the alicorn down for the count.

“I used almost almost every soldier we had left on the ship, Tempest,” advised Grubber, wincing as the survivors carried the bodies of the dead out. “That pegasus played for keeps. What are we going to do now?

“Head for the coast.” Tempest ordered, trying and failing to hold back a wince as an orderly tended to her own cuts and bruises. “I want the unicorn and the pegasus in so many chains they can barely move. Cage them too.”

“And what about that sexy alicorn you’re drooling over?” Grubber asked.

“We’ve got another one of those racks we put Cloak in, right?” Tempest asked, getting an answering nod from her subordinate. “Good. Put her in it, and make sure the gag in her muzzle is double thick and that the muzzle is strapped down as tight as possible. Got it?”

“You betcha!” Grubber replied jauntily, snapping a salute. “One ‘Fun-Time’ special for the captain.”

“That pony has secrets she hasn’t told us,” growled Tempest, looking down at the ruins of her armor. “I’m either going to break them out of her, or I’m going to break her.”

Author's Note

Sorry this is super, duper late. I ran into health issues, and my editor had a death in the family. Between the two of us neither of us had much ability to get this out. Both of us are recovering. Will do my best to have another, bigger, chapter out this month.

Destructor, Part IV

The first thing Dashiel noticed as she began to claw her way back to consciousness was how every single muscle and bone in her body ached. After that came the awareness of something pressing in tightly against her from all every direction, and a small bit of struggling against the tightness was rewarded with a clinking sound that the pegasus remembered all too well.

The sound of chains.

Dashiel went limp in her bonds, trying to feel them out without opening her eyes or letting on that she was awake. Jailers tended to do bad things to captives they knew would be able to feel what was done to them, though the large mass in Dashiel’s nethers told her that bad things had already happened, and were likely still going on.

A soft breath tickled the hairs along the pony’s nose, and the change of focus to the front of her body brought equally bad news. A bridle had been firmly strapped to her head with something on the top of it attached to another something that was keeping her head raised. If that wasn’t enough, instead of the usual bit these things had or even a muzzle, some creature had seen fit to instead attach a cock gag to the bridle. Dashiel’s tongue was barely able to move along the underside of the firm, rubbery tasting shaft.

Another puff of air against her nose. Dashiel’s captor must be examining her to see if she was awake, so the pegasus refused to react as the gag in her mouth twisted and flexed slightly, as whoever had bound her moved the gag around a bit. Dashiel also could feel herself rocked back slightly by the motion, forcing her body to be impaled just a bit further onto the cylinder that was anchoring her hindquarters in place.

It had been a long time since Dashiel had let herself be intimate with anything other than her own hoof, and it took everything she had not to moan as the long unused nerve clusters fired into action from the stimulation. Once her mind had managed to stop setting off fireworks behind her eyelids, the soldier pony was finally able to assess her situation.

Unless she was grossly misinterpreting things, she had been wrapped in chains, then suspended in mid-air while being spitroasted fore and aft by a cock gag and a dildo. The odds were she was either being watched for the amusement of Tempest and her yetis, or they expected this sort of thing to break her. Fat chance.

“Hmm?” hummed somepony nearby, and Dashiel was surprised to notice that the sensation carried through the gag as well as into her ears; and that it sounded like Trixie.

Dashiel decided it was worth the risk and cracked open her eyes by the smallest fraction possible. Besides, whatever had done this to her had to know she was alive and would wake up sooner or later. Better to return to the waking world on her terms than from the lash of a whip or a sudden dash of ice-cold water.

Grayish violet eyes over an azure muzzle looked back at her from only a few inches away, and Dashiel couldn’t stop her eyes from widening as they saw the extent of how her fellow pony was bound, realizing that she was likely a mirror of her companion.

Like Dashiel, Trixie was also tightly bridled with headgear that seemed to be made from flexible metal strips, and the cock gag that was buried in Dashiel’s muzzle extended into Trixie’s. That, combined with a set of solid rods connecting the bridles, locked the two mares into an enforced parody of a kiss against a shared shaft.

A chain ran from the top of the mage’s bridle to the underside of a cage that held the pair, keeping Trixie’s head in place, much as Dashiel’s was. More chains had been wrapped around the mare to form a metallic cocoon, with even more chains leading upwards to suspend the mare in a sort of cat’s cradle of swinging steel.

One thing that was different between them was that a rope had been braided into Trixie’s tail and then looped around one of the cage bars behind her, further anchoring her in place.

“Oh good, you’re awake,” a voice said, and Dashiel needed no time at all to recognize the voice of Tempest’s second-in-command from behind her. Paws began combing through Dashiel’s tail, followed by a pattern of systematic tugs that let the mare know her tail was being altered in the same way as Trixie’s. The surprising thing was how easily even the lightest of tugs on her tail caused her to rock back and forth along the thick shaft in her pussy.

Warrior stoicism was no defence against the rapid firing of pleasure centers, and the pegasus let out a gentle moan, one that was echoed from Trixie a moment later. As Dashiel felt the last few pulls and tugs that signaled that her tail had been added to her bondage, she realized the deviousness of how the two of them had been rigged into place.

Any movement either mare could generate was going to be strictly limited to a back and forth motion along a single axis. That motion was guaranteed to either force a fake cock down either of their throats, or make them slide along slick fat dildoes that nonetheless had more than enough texture to drive both of them wild with lust.

The combination was guaranteed to keep both of them secure and either too mind mazed with pleasure to think of a way to escape, or too exhausted from the realization of pleasure to attempt it. It was thorough, devious, inescapable, and definitely something someone who enslaved ponies would come up with.

“I’ll check back on you two in a few hours,” Gruber said, before smacking Dashiel on the ass and causing a chorus of grunts and moans as the impact again caused both mares to rock back and forth on their respective impalements. “I’d stick around and make sure you two had a good time, but little Miss Wing here put so many of our crew in sickbay I’m doing three jobs now.”

The only reply were paired growls from both bound mares, voicing their displeasure in the only way they could with their jaws and tongues as immobilized as they were. A chuckle followed by the clank of a door and the click of a lock let Trixie and Dashiel know that on top of everything else they had been locked into the cage as well.

Dashiel gave a deep sigh through her nose as the hedgehog left the compartment, the sound of a sliding bar against the door indicating that yet another level of security had been placed around them. Dashiel reflected on the fact that sometimes it really sucked when your enemy took you seriously, but then again, she, Trixie, and Twilight had all underscored how dangerous they were with a pile of bodies.

“Mmmhm hmm gomhe?” Trixie asked Dashiel, the mare casting her eyes about to see if the hedgehog had indeed left the compartment.

“Mmhmm,” Dashiel confirmed, wincing slightly as her automatic nod caused the cock gag to bounce uncomfortably off the soft palate of her mouth. Dashiel recognized it as a way to control their movements and keep them in the straight line encouraged by the chains and rear shafts.

“k, trmh mpho mphmcmph up mhmm mmcmph ahmm mhmm mfmmmmn anmph stamh mphmphemffe,” Trixie half-hummed, half babbled to her fellow captive.

Dashiel tried to figure out what Trixie meant, and from the way the unicorn was looking at her she clearly expected the pegasus to do something. “Whamph?” she asked.

“Bamfmk mmmp,” Trixie repeated, violet eyes boring their way into Dashiel’s cherry red. “smphay mphmphmmffe.”

Okay, ‘back up’ I get, Dashiel thought to herself. Stay… there?

The light managed to dawn in the pegasus’ mind as she understood what Trixie wanted Dashiel to do, namely for her to pull herself back onto her dildo as much as possible and hold steady there. Dashiel wasn’t sure why Trixie wanted her to do that, but the unicorn obviously had some sort of plan, and that suited Dashiel just fine. After all, she was a weapon and not an egghead.

Gritting her teeth, Dashiel flexed her dock as hard as she could, ignoring the pain as her skirt hairs pulled on the small bit of muscle and flesh they were attached to, impaling herself as far as she could onto the shaft stuffed into her pussy. Sparks filled her vision as erogenous nerves were triggered by the textures sliding past them. Harder and harder the pegasus pulled, until the backs of her hindquarters came in contact with the steel bars of their cage and the thick shaft in her marehood had stuffed her completely full.

“Yhem yhem,” confirmed Trixie as Dashiel’s mind began to fill with a blend of strain, pain and pleasure as the muscles of her dock and croup held the chained pair on one side of their range of motion, “Hmmmld.”

Then, If that wasn’t enough, once Dashiel had finished pulling both herself and Trixie towards Dashiel’s side of the cage, the unicorn began to flex and undulate her body like some sort of snake. The motion, especially as it transmitted to her through their conjoined, double ended cock gag caught the pegasus by surprise, causing her to relax her dock and allowing the two of them to slide back toward the neutral point.

Dashiel could feel her core muscles involuntarily trying to clench around the mounting peg seated in her as it slid partway out, and Trixie’s whinny told Dashiel that the unicorn was having similar sensations as the motion slid her dildo back in. There was enough room for the two of them to slide back and forth a few inches, but not enough for either mare to free herself.

“Hmmomffrmh,” muttered Dashiel, by way of apology. The pegasus realized Trixie had had to have been trying to bend her body enough to reduce its length so she could slide off the peg that she was mounted on.

“Dmmm mmt agammn amhd HMmmLMph mphmphmms mphimm,” Trixie panted at her, the demand accompanied by a full body spasm that nearly set Dashiel off herself. Pleasure was not a usual driving force for the soldier mare, but something about this combination of pain and pleasurable stimulation was triggering Dashiel’s mind in a way she’d not felt for a long time.

“Mmmgain?” Dashiel asked, wanting to make sure she understood that Trixie was asking for a repeat performance.

“Mmmgain,” Trixie confirmed.

There were not many things that Dashiel was afraid of, but at that moment a brief shock of fear went through her at the thought of willingly forcing that monster back inside of her, filling her up completely and firing each and every long unused erotic nerve in her most sacred place and doing its best to leave her a post-coital wreck. Dashiel’s dock and croup began to move almost on their own, drawing the pegasus back into a rendezvous with the back of the cage.

Trixie’s body gave another, smaller shudder as her body was pulled back out along the shaft inside of her, but otherwise she waited until Dashiel had drawn the two of them as far as she could in her direction. Once that was done, the unicorn again began to wriggle and writhe in a seeming bid to escape, the motions moving the cocks in Dashiel’s muzzle and pussy almost as if a pair of stallion’s were servicing her.

Though Dashiel was prepared for the sensation this time, it was not pleasure that forced her to release the pair’s position after a minute or two, but simple lack of endurance. A pony’s dock and croup rarely do more than move a pony’s tail and Dashiel’s was being called on to move the weight of two ponies, straining it severely.

Again the two ponies slid back to the neutral position, partially emptying Dashiel and partially refilling Trixie, and this time both ponies shuddered as micro-quakes of pleasure threatened to throw the two of them into full body orgasms.

“Agammmn!” Trixie ordered, once they were both fully back in control of themselves, and again Dashiel complied. Hilting herself again on the long thick shaft that was filling her mind with fire, even as it physically filled her body. Dashiel let herself flow along the ocean of orgasmic flame that was literally being forced into her, accepting it, managing to keep one small part of herself aware and glued to her task.

After a couple of minutes, Dashiel’s dock once more had to relax and release.

“Agammmn!”

The cycle repeated, and all that mattered was the pull and drag, the filling of her cunt and the writhing of the cock in her mouth, and all the while Dashiel’s mind burned.

“Agammmn!” her mistress shouted, lashing her with the command as she leaped to obey like an obedient animal, hungry for her next dose of orgasmic pleasure. Holding herself in place was bliss and agony combined, but the exhausted release was like falling from heaven down to an uncaring land below.

“Agammmn!” came the command, as one by one the animal’s senses shut down, overwhelmed by the sensations in its body and the need to do as she was told until all that was left were the senses of touch and hearing.

“Agammmn!” shouted her goddess, her mistress, her universe. Nothing mattered but the call and response, from voice to movement, aching semi-emptiness to orgiastic pain and delight.

“Emhmmmugh,” came the call, and the base creature began to obey once more.

“Emhmmmugh! Stmmmp!” came from Trixie, and Dashiel’s mind recovered just enough to realize that she was being told to stop.

Dashiel lay passively in her bonds, the fire in her starting to cool back down and letting her mind come back together as she settled into the ache that now pulsed from her overworked and overfilled rear. Opening her eyes she noted with surprise that Trixie’s forelegs were now dangling free, the mare somehow having freed them.

The stage performer grunted an apology before twisting herself, and their mutual cock gag around as much as she could, and in doing so, bringing her hooves up toward her head. Dashiel’s captive eyes noted a gleam of tiny bits of metal in Trixie’s hooves and smiled as she realized that somehow Trixie had managed to get ahold of a set of lockpicks!

A few moments later Trixie's head fell free from the unlocked straps of her side of the dual bridle, the gag coming out of her mouth with a distinct “pop” of sound. The mare worked her jaw a bit before speaking.

“Give Trixie a few minutes to get herself loose the rest of the way, and then she will have you down as well,” said the mare with a broad smile.

Trixie talked while she worked on freeing herself from her suspended cocoon. “The Great and Powerful Trixie is aware that you are wondering how she managed to free herself from her chains. Well, the truth is, is that she almost always has a few lockpicks on her somewhere. Sometimes they are braided into Trixie’s mane and tail, or like today, glued to the inside of her hoof walls.”

“Wmmw,” commented Dashiel, trying to keep her head as still as possible, while trying to ignore the solid presence that still had her mounted in place and stirring the embers of the fire that had burned so brightly inside of her.

The lines of chains holding Trixie to the roof of the cage jingled merrily while the showmare shuddered and flexed again, pulling herself completely off of the dildo mounted on her side of the cage, “Trixie is both sad and happy to see the end of that monster again.”

“Mmmgain?” Dashiel muttered, as her companion began to unlock the suspending chains one by one.

“Trixie had to spend six months with one of those things locked inside of her while a now deceased Saddle Arabian stallion tried to break her into being his concubine,” the mare commented, dropping to the floor with a last wriggle and twist. “Chastity belts really should not be called that when they have one of those things locked inside of you.”

“Trixie will have you free in a minute,” the mare said, coming over to start working on the locks of Dashiel’s bridle, before continuing her side story. “The stallion had lured Trixie to his lands with the promise of a performing contract, and after the first time Trixie had run afoul of her future princess, Trixie was in desperate need of work.”

“Pah!” Dashiel exclaimed, as the last bridle lock came loose and Trixie pulled the device free of Dashiel’s maw. “You don’t have to—”

“Do not interrupt Trixie or she will put the bridle back on,” Trixie commanded, dropping a soft kiss on Dashiel’s snout as the pegasus’ eyes went wide. “Negotiations were going well, until one morning Trixie woke up wearing gold hoofcuffs, chains, and discovering her magic had been taken from her by a potion that had been snuck into her wine the night before.”

“Uhhhhn,” Dashiel groaned out, as it took Trixie three or four tries of sliding Dashiel along the dildo that mounted her to the wall to gain enough momentum to swing the bound soldier free, the sensations re-igniting the fire of pain and delight inside of her.

“Trixie spent six months there, as the stallion and his geldings did their best to tame and train Trixie into being a pampered broodmare. Trixie knew that one day they would make a mistake if she let them,” Trixie continued, undoing suspending chains and unwinding the coil of steel from around her companion. “So when the opportunity came, Trixie was ready.”

The last chains fell away, dropping Dashiel in a cyan heap to the floor.

“And that is why Trixie always has lockpicks on—” Trixie’s story was interrupted as Dashiel bounded up from the floor, locking her mouth to Trixie’s in a passionate kiss and carrying them both to the floor of their enclosure.

“Trixie is happy you are… oh, oh!” the unicorn managed to say, as Dashiel began to pepper Trixie’s neck and jawline with kisses and gentle bites.

Trixie was no mare of stone, and what Dashiel’s foreplay may have lacked in technique, it more than made up for in thoroughness as the warrior pegasus moved to swiftly conquer every inch of the showmare’s body with tongue, teeth, wing, feather and hoof. The showmare, already well aroused by her work to free herself from the double dildo dicking doom her and her partner had been caught up in, found her own embers of passion being reignited by Dashiel.

No matter how Trixie moved from side to side, Dashiel was there with a stroking wing or caressing feather, guiding her back into place beneath the pegasus. When Trixie began to slide out from beneath Dashiel, the pegasus gently urged her to return with gliding hooves over her teats or a brief grind against her sopping wet pussy.

All the while Dashiel’s mouth continued to work their magic on the mare’s throat and mouth, turning any complaints or suggestions she might have had into throaty moans that only spurred her pegasus lover into greater action, working Trixie’s body into a writhing frenzy beneath Dashiel’s own.

Back and forth, up and down, Trixie felt herself being moved and guided by Dashiel’s attention as her body responded instinctively to what the pegasus was doing to her. It was more than a simple action and reaction, some part of the showmare realized, it was a dance. A pegasus mating dance that had been altered to fit a partner who couldn’t fly. Altered to fit Trixie.

There was a pause, and Trixie blinked as the warrior pegasus reared up above her, plumage displayed gloriously for her mate beneath her.

“Do you want this?” Dashiel panted, her burning eyes locked on the unicorn beneath her. Trixie felt small droplets of moisture land on her thighs, and glancing down saw the beads of moisture dewing Dashiel’s cunt. Dashiel was aching with the desire to ravage the pony beneath her, but even at the height of her need still held herself in check. Just barely.

“Do you want this?” Dashiel repeated, adding, “Please, I need to know if you’re ok—”

Reaching up, Trixie quieted her lover with a gentle hoof, “Yes, Trixie wants this.”

Dashiel’s war wing flashed out, severing chains, locks and one of the dildos from the wall of their cage; and a few moments of lust inspired ingenuity later, the pegasus was sporting a very serviceable looking strap-on cock.

“Oh my,” Trixie murmured, biting her lower lip in anticipation even as she shifted her hips upward slightly.

Dashiel was a mare of action, not words, and so let her actions speak for themselves as she lowered herself down and into position. Trixie knew the power contained in the slim legs and toned abs of the pegasus, and so was very happy that Dashiel took her time lining herself up, gently nudging aside the outer lips of her lover’s sopping wet pussy.

Satisfied, the pegasus drove her hips forward, sliding the near frictionless shaft into Trixie’s waiting folds and neatly spearing the mage once again on the ivory shaft that had been part of their exquisite torture bare minutes ago.

“Oh! Oh this is—” Trixie gasped, throwing her head back as she allowed the sensations to overwhelm her.

“Great and Powerful?” quipped Dashiel, as she slid the shaft was far as it could go into Twilight’s knight.

Trixie’s only response was a shaky set of nods followed by a series of delightful moans, as Dashiel began to rock back and forth, causing the shaft to ride over Trixie’s already sensitized nerves. The showmare had only kept herself in control earlier because she’d had a job to do, but now with that impediment gone Trixie was already well on her way to a shattering orgasm.

Sensing that her partner was already nearing the end of her metaphorical rope, Dashiel increased her pace, thrusting faster and faster, driving Trixie toward her inevitable climax. Trixie’s moans and cries of delight wove a high pitched melody of sexual joy over the bass beat of flesh slapping against flesh.

Until it happened.

Sometimes in the heat of passion accidents happen. The course of love and lust is not always smooth, resulting in often humorous mistakes that are often laughed off before the parties involved return to what they were doing. Sometimes however, those mistakes can raise problems that bring things to a screeching halt.

Pounding away at Trixie’s receptive plot, Dashiel accidentally drew back just a little bit too far, pulling the pleasurable pylon she had been progressively plowing unicorn pussy with completely free, allowing it to drop slightly due to gravity. A moment later, when Dashiel thrust forward again, the point of her rounded spear was no longer in line with Trixie’s honey pot, but was instead centered on her tight starfish.

So slick was the shaft with its coating of pony fluids and permanent lubricant that the gateway to that most forbidden of places barely resisted before parting cleanly before the invader. Dashiel knew something was immediately different from how her partner’s eyes suddenly went as wide as saucers.

“OH! AH! SWEET CELESTIA!” screamed the mare, as her entire body began to quake and shudder, all four limbs spasming wildly.

Not entirely sure what had changed, but seeing her partner completely lose all self-control beneath her, Dashiel decided she must be doing something right and continued to thrust away at the mare beneath her. Trixie’s cries of ecstatic delight continued to climb until the moment Dashiel felt a sudden resistance, almost as if she had run into something hard. Dashiel’s mind was on other things though, and so she drove forward again, and then a third time, and as she felt the resistance suddenly give way it dawned on her that something might be wrong.

“STOP!” Trixie suddenly yelled out, and the eyes that had been wide with wondrous joy were now white with fear. “Get out of Trixie. RIGHT NOW!”

Stung with wounded pride and worry, Dashiel sprang back, her improvised strap on wobbling wildly. “Hey look, I’m sorry. Are you okay?”

“No,” bluntly said the showmare, flipping herself over and using her forehooves to drag herself over to the door of their cage, where she began working on the lock with surprising haste. “Check yourself Dashiel. Are you clean?“

“Well, a little messy, but other than that...” began Dashiel, looking over Trixie to try to see what was wrong. Other than her unresponsive rear legs that is.

“Trixie is in deadly danger, and only you can save her,” Trixie said, popping open the crude lock.

“What are you talking… Oh shit,” Dashiel said, spotting the flowing black tide that was emerging from Trixie’s ass. Even as the pegasus watched, the latex symbiote captured Trixie’s dock and coated the mare’s puffy pussy in a layer of inescapable blackness.

“It’s an old illusionist trick,” Trixie explained quickly. “Hiding things in body orifices for later retrieval.”

“And you had the symbiote container for Tirek… in your ass?!” sputtered Dashiel, as more and more azure fur began to disappear beneath gleaming ebony.

“Yes, but there is no time for that,” Trixie replied, turning to her pegasus lover. “This is one of the older symbiotes, and without a control collar when it finishes covering Trixie it will start to smother her.”

“Oh shit,” Dashiel said, realizing the problem.

“Trixie has maybe three or four minutes before she is fully encased,” the unicorn noted, laying herself down. “After that, she can hold her breath for two or three minutes at most. You have that long to get one of the spare collars we had in our packs and put it on Trixie.”

“But that will—” Dashiel began, before a hoof reached up to close her mouth.

“Make Trixie your slave, because you will also have to become her Control,” the mare finished, beginning to breathe deeply and evenly to supercharge her system with oxygen. “She only asks that you designate her as ‘144’, as a match for her sister. Our things should be in one of the forward cargo holds. Please… save me.”

Dashiel took one look at the compartment's barred door, and another look down at the mare who was putting her life in Dashiel’s hooves. The wings of the warrior flared wide as the pegasus drew to her every ounce of air magic she could. Dashiel had failed so many times before. Failed her friends, her wife, her Celestia, even her Equestria.

But not this time.

This time would be different, Dashiel vowed to herself as she leaped forward in a blaze of wind, steel and lighting. This time she would save those close to her, no matter what it took.

The door never stood a chance…

Author's Note

Why should Twilight experience all the shenanigans? And perhaps one day when I have time, I will write the tale of the attempted breeding and breaking of Trixie, but that will have to wait for another day. Next month, we focus back on Twilight and Tempest.

Last minute conversation between me and my editor...

"Hey Pen, I didn't catch it... but did Dashiel ever take off the improvised strap on, or is everyone going to be getting an eyeful?"

"Oh crap"

If you would like to support me in my chaotic scribblings, join my Patreon for as little as a dollar a month and get free advance paragraph viewings every week.

Destructor, Part V

Exhausted in mind and body, Tempest finally laid her whip down. For ages she had been laying into the mare strung out before her on the punishment rack for all she was worth, but the gleaming black suit Twilight wore was just as shining and intact as it was the moment Tempest had strapped the mare into place; and Tempest couldn’t resist taking the time to run her hoof along the princess’ perfect curves.

Captain Tempest was experienced in getting ponies to beg for a collar, crying out anything Tempest wanted to hear to her for her to stop using her whip, her horn, or any of the dozen or so instruments of pain and pleasure that lined the walls of the room. The unicorn could tell from Twilight’s reactions that her efforts had been somewhat effective, and that the suit the alicorn wore had been doing nothing to soften the strength of Tempest’s blows.

But through it all, the mare had refused to break, refused to say more than to ask if Tempest was done yet, refusing to beg for mercy or anything else. Now, Tempest had to wonder what it was that gave this Twilight Sparkle the strength to resist her. What made this mare so indomitable?

Moving close, Tempest lifted Twilight’s chin so that the two of them could look each other in the eye, and in those violet depths Tempest saw neither rage nor fear. Instead, there was the acceptance that while Twilight was in the unicorn’s power physically, her spirit was unbroken and would remain intact no matter what was done to her body.

“Would… would you like some water?” Tempest asked. There was something in those eyes. Some power that was reaching out to touch a part of her that nopony had touched in a very long time.

“Yes,” Twilight replied, and Tempest could feel the nod against her supporting hoof. “Are we done?”

“I… “ the unicorn began, ready to reassert her dominance over the alicorn, when it all seemed to rush out of her, like air out of a balloon. “Yes, we’re done. You were right, I can’t break you. I’m sorry.”

“Why are you sorry, Tempest?” Twilight asked, and in that question Tempest didn’t hear an accusation. Merely curiosity. “You’re a ruthless slaver whose job it is to break ponies of their will. You hurt ponies because ponies hurt you, isn’t that what you tell yourself? Isn’t that why you do what you do?”

“Ponies hurt me,” Tempest confirmed, turning away to grab a bucket of water. “Equestria abandoned me. Why shouldn’t I do the same to them? Why shouldn’t I do the same to you?”

“And yet you saved three fillies for no other reason that it was the right thing to do,” replied Twilight. “You aren’t a bad pony, even if you have been doing bad things.”

“I'm not a good pony either,” Tempest replied, placing the bucket within easy reach of Twilight’s mouth before moving around and undoing the first of many straps holding Twilight in place. “I just… I wanted every pony to feel my pain.”

“And you wanted them to hate you, which is the real reason why you spent all this time trying to break me,” Twilight said, pausing to dip her head down and take a quick drink. “You already knew I’d told you everything, you just wanted me to hate you because you think everypony should. You’ve been trying to make everyone around you either someone who serves you out of fear, or somepony who hates you because of what you’ve done to them because you feel that’s all you deserve.”

“Yeah…” Tempest confirmed, taking a moment to trace the pulsing mana lines that outlined Twilight’s hips. “Why didn’t you? Break that is.”

“Tempest, I’ve been whipped and beaten before, enough to know that you were holding back,” explained Twilight, leaning back a bit against Tempest’s hoof, the pain of the whip settling into a very pleasant afterglow. “I’ve been bound and broken before, but do you know what put me back together?”

“No,” Tempest replied honestly, as buckles and strips slithered their way off Twilight.

“Friendship, Tempest,” answered Twilight. “My friends helped put me back together, but I’m not the same mare that I was before, because some of the pieces got put back in a little wrong. Do you want to know a secret?”

“Um, okay?” Tempest gulped, coming nose to nose with Twilight as she undid the lines tethering Twilight’s collar in place.

“I don’t have to wear this suit or the collar anymore. I know how to get them off of me,” Twilight whispered, directly into Tempest’s shivering ear. “I wear the suit and the collar because they help keep me together, because as long as I can feel them pressing tight against my skin I know nothing has the strength to tear me apart.”

“But you’re its prisoner, its captive,” Tempest replied, her pulse beating fast as a hot blush filled her cheeks.

“We’re all held captive by something in our lives,” Twilight said softly, turning Tempest’s muzzle to face her in a mirror of the unicorn’s action a few minutes ago. “For me, it’s this suit and collar. For you, it’s your pain and anger, and I think you’re chained by those more than I’m bound by this suit.”

“I…” Tempest tried to respond, a visible gulp making her throat pulse. She hadn’t felt this vulnerable, this pure, in a long, long, time.

“Let me help you Tempest,” Twilight said, the two mares mouths almost touching. “Let me be your friend.”

“What if I want… need more?” Tempest asked, held in the grip of emotions she couldn’t name, let alone understand. “What if I need more?”

“Then that’s what—” Twilight began, the two mares moving toward each other to close that final gap.

“TEMPEST!” yelled Grubber, bursting in. The two mares leapt apart like someone had dumped a bushel of poison joke between them, crimson blushes burning their faces.

“Oh dang,” the hedgehog said, realizing his entrance might not have been timed terribly well. “Um… sorry to bother you but—”

“What is it?” Tempest asked with a long suffering voice.

“Well, it’s uh…” Grubber equivocated, shooting looks at the obviously unrestrained alicorn behind his commander.

“OUT WITH IT!” Tempest ordered, channelling her embarrassment at being caught in an intimate moment into a distinctly different emotion.

“That pegasus, the one we caught with her,” Grubber began, gesturing towards Twilight. “She broke loose and made for the forward hold. The troops tried to stop her but ”

The hedgehog arched his back as a series of blue feathers appeared on top of one shoulder, drawing him back, while something pressed his torso forward.

“Go ahead,” said a quiet voice, like silk on steel. “Tell your boss what I did, and I might let you live.”

“She pretty much tore through them all,” Grubber blurted out. “I don’t think we’ve got a single able-bodied soldier left. Can I not get killed now?”

“Fine,” grunted Dashiel, pushing the hedgehog aside to reveal that her extended war wing had been against Grubber’s back. The warrior was nearly covered by a mix of blood and debris, but for all that she wore a small satisfied grin.

“I’m glad you’re alright. Where’s Trixie?” Twilight asked, feeling a sudden chill come over her as she realized Dashiel was carrying the end of a leash in her flesh and blood wing. Her suspicions were confirmed a moment later as Trixie stepped into view, her body from the neck down fully encased in a suit of living latex, its mana lines pulsing with power siphoned off of the unicorn.

Despite the fact that a control collar was closely fitted around her throat and the leash to it was firmly held by another, Trixie stood proudly before Twilight’s visual inspection.

“What happened?” Twilight asked, crossing the few steps between her and her knight, checking to make sure the suit was functioning properly.

“This one,” Trixie began, “put Trixie and her Control into a sex trap meant to break us, or at least to tire us out enough that we couldn’t get free. Luckily for 144, the captain did not know that Trixie is an escape artist.”

“Dashiel?” Twilight asked, arching an eyebrow and packing an acre of meaning into that one word question.

“After Trixie got us out, we were a little uh… overheated,” Dashiel replied, and Twilight couldn’t help but smile a bit as the war weary pegasus blushed in a manner that was at total odds with her usual gruff demeanor. “So to uh… put the fire out, we kind of um… bucked.”

“We bucked! Okay?” the pegasus admitted, as Twilight's smile grew. “We were so worked up that I didn’t even notice that she’d put the thing holding the suit up her—”

“Place where her second tail is now,” Trixie butted in with. “144 is not sure she will get used to the feeling of that thing moving around inside of her, but she is going to have fun trying!”

When Twilight had first heard Trixie refer to herself as “144” a chill had stolen through her, but seeing Trixie and Dashiel interact like they were was putting the fear of Trixie becoming another 143 to rest. Twilight noticed that Dashiel had yet to let go of the leash connected to Trixie’s control collar, not to mention the occasional glances Trixie was giving to Dashiel’s muscular rear.

“Anyway, so that happened, and it’s one of the old original suits so it was either get a collar on Trixie and be her Control, or let her get suffocated,” Dashiel finished up with. “I had to go through a few guards to get to our stuff, but it wasn’t much trouble.”

“You took out nearly three dozen soldiers in like, two minutes!” Grubber exclaimed. “Not to mention blowing your way through two doors.”

Twilight held up a hoof to interrupt the indignant hedgehog to ask, “Why ‘144’?”

“144 requested it of her Control,” Trixie answered, stepping up to stroke her cheek against Dashiel’s flank like a cat. Dashiel’s blush went almost as red as Tempest’s fur.

“Suit 144, muzzle,” Dashiel commanded, and the suit responded by clamping the unicorn’s mouth closed with extruded bands of latex, muzzling Trixie. In spite of the silencing material, all present could somehow hear Trixie snickering away.

“Are you ponies always like this?” Tempest asked, and Twilight could hear the envy in her voice at the easy interaction between the head of the Twilight Guard and Twilight’s Knight.

“Not always, and we weren’t always like this,” Twilight explained. “But all of the ponies around me have come back from something that should have shattered them into tiny pieces.”

“And you put them back together with Friendship,” Tempest filled in, watching as Dashiel ordered Trixie’s suit to return back to normal..

“Friendship, and sometimes a little more, to be fully honest,” Twilight admitted.

“Welp, this expedition sure has been shattered,” Grubber observed. “One ship left, and we’ve maybe got enough crew to fly home, at which point the Storm King is gonna bust us.”

“If we’re lucky,” Tempest noted. “I think we’ll head for Kludgetown, sell the ship there and let all the ponies go and then go into hiding ourselves until the Storm King stops looking for us. If that’s okay, Twilight?”

“Why are you asking me?” Twilight asked. She was sure that practicality and a change of heart were equally behind Tempest’s decision, but she wanted the mare to say it for herself.

“Because the three of you have proved you can take us down if you really want to. Because there is no way we could keep the ponies we’ve taken, not to mention take care of them,” the broken horned unicorn took a deep breath before adding, “and most of all, because I don’t want to hurt ponies anymore, because I don’t want to hurt anymore.”

Twilight hugged the unicorn, who stood stock still for a moment, unsure of what to do with the unfamiliar gesture of comfort. At last, the larger pony bent her head onto Twilight’s shoulder and awkwardly returned the hug.

“What am I seeing?” the hedgehog first mate asked, completely confused by what he was observing.

“Trixie’s princess is the Princess of Friendship,” the mare stated proudly. “This is why we follow her.”

“You know Tempest, there’s this thing called the Staff of—” began Grubber, perking up.

“No,” Tempest said, cutting him off as she lifted her head from Twilight’s shoulder. “No more using ponies for the Storm King. No more hurting ponies.”

“Fine, but we can’t just dump off the ones we have here,” Grubber replied. “There’s still a giant centaur raging around the countryside, and eventually he’s gonna cross the desert to Kludgetown, and then what?”

“He’s got a point,” Tempest admitted, breaking the hug to look Twilight in the eyes. “We’ll never make an ocean crossing like we are now, and Tirek will find us eventually, plus I’ve kind of ruined your plan to stop him.”

“There’s always the direct approach,” Dashiel said grimly. “He may have all the magic in Equestria, but he’s also a huge target. This ship has shocknets and I bet cannons too.”

“We tried that first,” Tempest told the pegasus. “And yeah, we hurt him, but the problem was that even our iron cannonballs couldn’t penetrate deep enough to hit anything vital. That’s when he showed us that even with our ships and armor being made to resist magic he could still hurt us a lot more than we could hurt him.”

“Why are your cannonballs made out of iron instead of the metal of your armor?” Twilight asked.

“Huh?” nearly everyone asked Twilight at once.

“Well, it seems to me that cannonballs made out of the same metal as your armor would work a lot better than just iron,” Twilight stated, before looking around to see the confused and incredulous looks being given her. “What? You’ve never thought of it?”

“Well, no… I mean, it’s armor!” Tempest replied. “And besides, I don’t know if it’s even possible. Grubber?”

“Well yeah, we could make cannonballs out of it, but it would mean stripping the ship of its armor or I guess you could cover the ball in a skin of it, but that would make the cannonballs bigger and they wouldn’t fit in the cannons,” replied Tempest’s companion.

“We could make the bores bigger to fit, I guess…” Tempest paused, her mind leaping ahead even as her eyes narrowed dangerously. “Wait a minute Princess, are you asking us to take on Tirek for you? After what he did to us? You didn't come here with a backup plan?”

“Our plan to get that suit onto Tirek and use it to capture and contain him was the preferred option, but with it on Trixie now, the only option left is to go after him head on and force him to release the Equestrian magic he’s absorbed,” Twilight replied, frowning and looking down. “The only way we can do that is be a credible threat to him.”

“There’s something you’re not telling me, isn’t there?” Tempest asked, her expression one of wary hurtfulness. “Are you sure you didn’t come here planning to use me? There’s no way the suit on your unicorn there would fit over one of Tirek’s hooves, never mind his whole body.”

“The suit grows to cover whoever it’s put on, and the more magic on the target, the faster it gets covered. So with all of Tirek’s magic he would have been covered in less than a minute,” Twilight replied, adding, “what I wasn’t saying was that what I’d like to do is come back with my friends and the Elements of Harmony and use them on Tirek instead. But one of them is… indisposed, maybe permanently, and I need all of them for the Elements to work.”

Tempest didn’t need to know about how her friend Rarity had fused with the Nightmare Spirit to become Nightmare Rarity, latex sorceress supreme and one third of a confusing polygamous triad with her brother and sister-in-law. Twilight wasn’t sure if Rarity was still connected to the Element of Generosity, and she didn’t want to test that in what could be a life or death situation.

“The best way ahead is on your own,” Tempest quipped, nodding in understanding. “We aren’t heroes, Princess, and we are on our own. I’ve barely got enough sailors left to run the ship, let alone fight a mad centaur.”

“What if you had more?” asked a new voice, and every eye in the cabin grew wide as Starlight Glimmer walked into the compartment. The unicorn strode confidently forward, looking in surprisingly good condition for somepony who had been chained into a breeding rack for days on end.

“Cloak? How?” Tempest demanded, shifting to the name she knew Starlight by in her shock and surprise. Twilight, meanwhile, looked at the mare with a healthy dose of skepticism. This pony was a far cry from the rage-maddened mare who’d had to be sedated in order to avoid wrecking the ship.

“Give a pony a potion often enough, and they develop an immunity to it,” Starlight explained, stopping just over a full body length away from Twilight. “Though it will still have some effect, which it does. And you never did put a cap on my horn. Did you really think I believed you when you said I had to stay in that rack all the time?”

“Well… I mean, it did help with your cloaking spell,” Tempest replied.

“It did, but it was pretty obvious that the only reason you kept me there was because you like having ponies all tied up,” Starlight replied with a smirk. “And that you were just a little bit afraid of me.”

“If I hadn’t needed you for the spell, you’d be wearing a bridle right now,” Tempest shot back, channeling her anger once more. “In fact, maybe you should be wearing one now.”

“First, I’d like to see you try,” Glimmer replied, with an air of superiority. “Second, you still need me… And my followers.”

“Followers?” Twilight asked, more to try to understand this Starlight compared to the one she knew. The last time she had seen this pony she had been stark raving mad, but now she seemed fully calm and cogent.

“After I killed you, or rather my world’s version of you, Equality began to spread from my one little town to all of Equestria,” Starlight said, and as she looked at Twilight the alicorn could see that the fires of madness still danced in the mare’s eyes, under control but unabated. “Celestia and Luna were even considering stepping down as more and more ponies joined my Equalists. The reason you’ve had so few problems, Captain Tempest, is that I told my ponies not to cause any trouble.”

“You were going to take the ship, weren’t you?” Tempest asked, her tactician’s mind putting the pieces together.

“We were going to make our move once you were out over the ocean,” Starlight confirmed. “The yetis would likely go overboard, but you and your sailors would be invited to become Equalists.”

“Or die,” Tempest shot back, which Starlight gave an answering nod to.

“But that doesn’t matter now,” Starlight continued. “What does matter is that if I give the word, my ponies will join your crew and you’ll have all the help you need to take on Tirek.”

“Why would you help me?” Tempest asked.

“Because she gets to be the hero who saved Equestria,” Dashiel stated, jumping into the conversation. “And with the Princesses out of the way thanks to Tirek, that puts the throne practically in her hoof. Princess Starlight Glimmer.”

“Prime Minister Glimmer,” corrected the mare, and the smirk was a full smile now. “There would be a democratic election first, of course. And with all ponies being equal, they should all get a say about whose in charge.”

“But with so many ponies being part of your… philosophy,” Twilight added, managing to cut off the word “cult” in time. “The outcome is practically predetermined.”

“Equality shall cover Equestria!” Glimmer loudly proclaimed. “With my guiding hoof, and the captain here as the Grand Admiral of our armed forces, Equestria will rise from the ashes to a future brighter than the sun itself!”

“Wait, ‘Grand Admiral’?” Tempest asked, looking suspiciously at her former captive. “Why would you let me anywhere near a military, especially your military?”

“Think about it,” the unicorn passionately declared. “Who better than the mare who commanded the ship that saved Equestria in its darkest hour? Who better than Captain Tempest, the hero who strode out of the shadows to save us all? A true Equestrian hero of Equality.”

“I don’t even know what Equalism is!” Tempest protested. “And I’m no hero.”

“Your crew has yetis, hedgehogs, ponies, parakeets and more,” Starlight pressed. “You may not know the words, but you follow the creed. Everyone who serves you, serves you equally.”

Twilight wanted to interrupt and say that it was Harmony not Equality that was the underlying reason Tempest’s crew worked together, but she could see the effect Starlight’s speech was having on the broken horned unicorn.

“No Equestrian would accept me, not with the way my horn makes my magic work,” Tempest argued, but both Twilight and Starlight could tell it was more Tempest’s poor self-image raising the objection than any real rejection of the idea.

“That makes you more heroic, not less. By working everyone in your crew as equals you will have succeeded where everypony else has failed,” Starlight preached, and as Tempest’s head came up the chief proponent of Equality pressed in one last time. “You can be a hero, praised equally by everypony, and I swear, as Prime Minister of Equestria, I’ll do everything in my power to see your horn restored. If that’s what you really want.”

“A hero,“ Tempest echoed, nodding her head in affirmation as the idea took hold. “Let’s do it. Grubber, let’s get all the able-bodied crew together and see who’s with us. Cloak… I mean Starlight, let’s go free some slaves!”

“I’ll be with you in a moment,” Glimmer replied, with a warm smile. “Princess Twilight and I need a second to chat.”

“Okay, meet you in the cargo hold in five minutes,” Tempest replied, adding, “Twilight, we’re going to need you and your ponies too.”

Twilight nodded her agreement as Tempest and Grubber left the compartment. The four remaining mares all waited until they were sure they were alone.

“Starlight, I just wanted to—” Twilight began, before the unicorn cut her off.

“I’m going to say this once and once only,” Glimmer hissed, her voice suddenly full of barely contained rage. “I only need you for as long as it takes to get rid of Tirek. After that, I fully intend to kill you again.”

“But why?” Twilight gasped in shock, barely noticing that Dashiel had dropped Trixie’s leash and was fully prepared to spring toward the threat to her primary.

“Because you’re Twilight Sparkle. Alicorn Princess of Friendship,” responded that hate filled voice beneath venomous eyes. “I know how close you came to winning the last time we fought, and I plan on putting you down again before you can prevent me from having everything I want.”

“But I’m not that Twilight,” the alicorn tried to explain.

“Doesn’t matter,” Starlight Glimmer, harshly cutting off Twilight again. “You are who you are, and I am who I am. Once Tirek is taken care of, one of us is going to die… again.”

As Twilight tried to think of a response, the unicorn stomped out of the room past a bristling Dashiel.

“Princess,” Dashiel said, a few moments later. “That mare is going to be a problem. You want me to solve it?”

Author's Note

As of tomorrow, I will have been writing for 7 years, and as of the publishing of this chapter will have written over 965,000 words.

Damn.

Destructor, Part VI

(Author note: SKV = Storm King Vessel)

Over the next three days Tempest’s airship, the SKV Scirocco, stayed grounded near the outskirts of Seaddle while Tempest offloaded her dead and injured, made repairs to her ship, and prepared to take on the giant centaur who had stolen nearly all the magic in Equestria. A task that would have been completely impossible without the help of this world’s Starlight Glimmer and her followers.

“That’s it, ponies!” Starlight could be heard, exhorting her followers as they laboured to haul a slab of armor to the makeshift foundry. “This is the great struggle for Equality. One creature, just one, has risen himself above all of us. Making himself special, at the cost of everypony. We must fight! We must all be Equal, because anypony who is special in one area is weak in others! Only by being Equal to each other can we triumph against the exceptional.”

“Princess, that mare is nuts,” Dashiel commented, her flesh and blood wing holding a leash that led to the control collar around Trixie’s neck as they all watched Starlight continue her speech from some distance away. The two mares had almost been inseparable since Dashiel had been forced to take the role of “Control”, the pony in control of the symbiote suit that had by now fully bonded to Trixie, or “144” as Dashiel occasionally called her.

“I know, but as much as it hurts to hear her mislead these ponies like some sort of demagogue, we need that blind faith and obedience right now,” Twilight replied. “How is the refit going?”

“We’ve stripped about half the armour off the ship, melted it, and dipped most of the ship’s cannonballs in the stuff. We just need you to drill out the cannons so they can use the bigger balls,” Dashiel answered, and looking around to make sure nopony else was within earshot said, “Ma’am, you remember where I’m from. I’ve seen what blind faith and unquestioning obedience can do, and how dangerous it can be.”

At Dashiel’s formal turn of phrase Twilight realized that Dashiel had slipped back into her formal military posture because she wasn’t sure how Twilight was going to take her words.

“Dashiel, you are the captain of my guard. I trust you with my life. Go ahead, say what you want to say,” Twilight said, focusing her full attention on the mare.

“Ma’am,” Dashiel began, arranging herself into a military posture. “This isn’t your Starlight Glimmer. This isn’t your friend. This is a pony who’s snuck, and schemed, and killed to get where she is today. Specifically, she killed this world’s version of you, and then altered its timeline so that things would go her way. Maybe more than once.”

“Your knight agrees with her Control,” Trixie added. “This Starlight intends to let the princesses from this world rot in Tartarus, just so they are out of the way. Plus, she wants you dead.”

“Well, I mean not me personally—” Twilight began, before Trixie cut in.

“Yes, you personally,” Trixie stated, and Twilight felt her eyes go wide with surprise. “You represent everything she stands against. Special ponies doing special things. She knows that you being here means you beat another version of her. Not only that, but she knows you could beat her right now, or go back in time and undo what she did, or even go back and get our Starlight and—”

“Okay, I get it,” Twilight said, overriding Trixie’s running sentence. “What do you want me to do? We need her ponies to help operate Tempest’s ship. If we’re going to have any chance against Tirek, we need them, and they follow her.”

“The instant we know that Tirek’s down, you get us out of here,” Dashiel replied firmly. “No speeches, no hugs, no friendship. Tirek goes down and we jet.”

“But if we do that then we won’t be able to help Tempest,” Twilight protested, before she could silence herself.

“Look, I get it. She’s a villain who’s actually on the road to getting better, and you want to make sure she makes it all the way. But if we don’t go right away, Starlight Glimmer is going to try to kill you,” Dashiel responded. “She point blank said she was going to, and everything I’ve seen and heard from that mare tells me she’s not only going to try to kill you but that she’s got a plan already.”

“But,” began Twilight, before holding up a hoof and stopping herself and sighing. “I’m not going to be able to save her, am I?”

Two heads shook in the negative.

“Fine,” Twilight replied, bowing to the inevitable. Her retainers made good points that were based from both their hearts and their minds, and they were likely right. But it didn’t mean Twilight had to like it.

“I’ve got to go meet Tempest and start widening the cannon bores,” Twilight said, before noticing that Dashiel had started slowly drawing in Trixie’s leash tighter to herself. “In the meantime, you two stay out of trouble, okay?”

“Yes Ma’am,” Dashiel responded, adding, “Suit 144, tease mode.”

Trixie gave out a small moan and a shudder ran through her body as the suit that held her in perfect bondage to Dashiel began to stimulate and tease her most sensitive nerves.

“Control is evil,” Trixie noted with a smile, not entirely managing to keep herself from grinding her hips against the base of her second tail buried deeply inside of her ass.

“Suit 144, muzzle and cock gag,” Dashiel ordered, and a moment later the showmare was silenced by a thick latex shaft forming in her mouth.

“Carry on, you two,” Twilight giggled, walking away from the pair who were quickly becoming lost in each other.

“Centaur sighted!” called a lookout.

“How far?” Tempest asked, looking around at her ship. Gone was the armed transport the Scirocco had been, and in its place was a lean greyhound of a vessel that floated on the air currents in a way that made the ship feel like it was ready for the coming fight.

“Just crested the horizon, but he’s coming this way fast!” the lookout yelled back down.

“Right! All hands, battle stations!” Tempest yelled out. Grubber began rapidly clanging a bell set into the command deck while all around ponies, yaks, abyssinians and even a minotaur ran to their assigned posts.

“Cloak, I need you below decks and getting that invisibility spell up and running, or this fight will be an awfully short one,” Tempest ordered.

“Very well, Admiral,” Starlight replied, with a salute. “Just don’t expect me to get back into that breeding rack again.”

“Just keep us hidden as long as you can,” Tempest ordered, turning her attention back to the main deck. “Twenty degrees up, half speed straight ahead. Grubber, I want us on a course of 135 once we get above a hundred lengths altitude.”

“Where do you want me?” Twilight asked, catching a glare from Starlight as she and several other unicorns went down through a nearby hatchway.

“In that breeding rack, begging for my collar,” Tempest instantly replied, then immediately breaking into a huge blush as she realized she had said the inside part out loud. “I mean, uh. I mean I’d like you to try to block as much as you can of whatever Tirek throws at us.”

“Will do,” Twilight answered, smiling as she added. “The blocking part that is. The begging for a collar part will have to wait.”

Dashiel cleared her throat loudly, reminding Twilight of the discussion she’d had earlier.

“I mean, that is, if we have time,” Twilight amended, somewhat lamely.

Tempest however, didn’t seem to notice the amendment, smiling widely before settling her face back down into what Twilight was coming to recognize as her, “Captain Tempest” face.

“And if I can get that murderous pegasus of yours down to the gundeck, I could use someone with actual fighting experience down there to help stiffen the crews,” Tempest asked.

“On it,” Dashiel replied, saluting before also heading down.

The airship rose steadily, bending its course to the right, Twilight and Trixie both leaning into the turn as the ship's deck sloped.

“Steady on this course, Grubber. Bring us up to 500. I want to be above and to the side of Tirek before we open fire,” Tempest ordered.

“Tactics?” Twilight asked. “My brother used to be Captain of the Royal Guard, but not too much of it rubbed off on me.”

“By coming alongside Tirek we can bring more of our guns to bear at once. We’ve only got the two bow chasers, but we have four cannons on either broadside,” Tempest explained, her body still but her eyes roving everywhere around the ship. “Plus, it gives us the best chance to see how well our modified cannonballs work, and if they don’t do the job, all we have to do is keep going in a straight line to get away from him.”

“Right, got it,” Twilight replied, “Trixie, I want you to help me as much as you can. I know shields aren’t your thing but you should be able to give me good support.”

“Of course, my Princess,” Trixie responded, drawing the Zodiac Sword from its extra dimensional pocket. ”Your Great and Powerful Knight stands ready to assist.”

“Where the hell did THAT come from?” Tempest asked, eyes bulging as she beheld the ensorceled blade that had been forged amongst the stars themselves. “And why didn’t you use it before?”

“Trixie did not need it,” the showmare replied simply, knowing that the explanation was all the more impressive for it.

From the gundeck below there was a shout catching everypony’s attention, and then, before anyone could ask what was going on there arose the unmistakable sound of singing, with Dashiel’s voice firmly in the lead…

Out of fear

You kept running.

Tried to hide away.

Can you hear

The fight is coming

Beckoning our fate

This is the day we stand up

This is the day we fight

We’ll take our place, we won’t give in.

Our victory’s in sight

Only one ship to our name,

As we enter Tirek’s den.

But we’re not waiting for the fight.

We’re bringing the fight to him!

As the ship picked up speed and steadied on course, the song repeated as more of the crew joined in, and then still more, until the entire crew was bellowing it at the top of their lungs. From the deep based notes of the yaks, through pony tenors, to the sibilant yowls of the abyssinians, the song became magic among those who had been drained of theirs. A power beyond what was normal, filling the crew of the SKV Scirocco with strength, confidence, and above all, purpose.

Tempest and Grubber both looked around in amazement at their impressed crew, most of whom had never been aboard an airship except as cargo, moved in their tasks like seasoned flyers.

“How?” Tempest asked, a world of meaning in the single word.

“I’m the Princess of Friendship,” Twilight explained, with a gentle smile of pride on her face, “and my friends carry with them the magic of friendship.”

The airship captain listened for another moment as the song repeated, looking around her as her crew, new and old, moved with a strength beyond anything the captain thought was possible. Tempest's eyes fell full on Twilight and in that moment Tempest knew why she had failed to break Twilight, why she had been wrong to even try.

“My Princess,” the airship commander said, her voice full of respect as the maimed unicorn went to one knee before Twilight, “You’re the only pony I’ll ever kneel to. The only pony worth kneeling to.”

“That means a lot, coming from you,” Twilight replied, resting a forehoof on Tempest’s shoulder, the smile on her face shifting to something impish as she added. “But as much as I like the look of you on your knees before me, we don’t have time for anything that fun. There’s a fight to win.”

Tempest’s blush made for a glorious contrast against her fur, and a riot of raw emotions flashed across the airship commander’s face, before settling into a quick smile.

“With your permission?” Tempest asked, filling Twilight with a burst of pleasure at the simple request.

“Granted,” Twilight responded, stepping back from the big unicorn mare.

“Okay, here’s the plan everyone!” Tempest shouted, getting to her hooves. “We’ll pass Tirek to port and fire a broadside at him from close range. Grubber, once we fire, I want a ninety degree turn to starboard to open the range back up. We’ll try to use the starboard guns while the port battery reloads. I need everypo— everyone doing their assigned jobs. Keep doing your job until or unless you hear otherwise. Got that?”

Everyone in range of hearing answered in the affirmative.

The minutes passed as the cloaked ship closed the distance on the monstrous centaur. Tirek had been utterly victorious in this Equestria, stealing the magic of nearly everypony in the land. Even with that total triumph, the centaur still wanted more, searching the land for any magic that had managed to escape him, and that insatiable hunger drew him to the few remaining sources of magic. Sources like Starlight Glimmer, Captain Tempest, and Twilight and her friends.

“Give me your magic!” roared the beast, and even though he was still over some distance off the strength of his anger shook the airship.

“He can feel us, but he can’t see us,” noted Tempest, before ordering. “Engines down to steerageway only. We’ll ghost in the rest of the way.”

The engines settled down to a quiet purr as the ship edged forward, most of the closing speed coming from the centaur now. Everyone waited tensely as the range ticked down. Voices grew still, few if any dared move, until the only sound was the whistle of the wind in the wires of the ship’s gasbag.

“Ms. Dashiel, prepare to fire as you bear,” Tempest whispered down a speaking tube Twilight hadn’t noted before. A couple of taps against the gundeck end of the tube formed the acknowledgement.

“Ready… any second now,” Tempest said, waiting for just the right moment. “NOW! FIRE NOW!”

Four cannons roared as one, launching iron balls that weighed more than a pony each at their target. Tempest wasn’t waiting to see the results of her initial strike though.

“Engines to full! Grubber, ninety degree turn to starboard, bring us down to 400,” Tempest commanded, as her ship cleared the cloud of smoke from its guns like a pegasus with its tail on fire.

The ship swung into the ordered turn, the hull leaning sharply and forcing everyone to brace themselves. Meanwhile, a booming cry of rage and pain sounded behind them.

“INSECTS! YOU CAN’T DO THIS TO ME!”

A shadow passed over the ship as an entire wooded hill hurtled past overhead, uncomfortably close to where the ship would have been had not Tempest ordered the drop in altitude.

“He’s hurt!” called a lookout.

“How bad?” Tempest shouted back.

“We hit him in the shoulder,” replied the pegasus, strapped into his position as without air magic his wings were all but useless. “It’s pretty messed up. Those cannonballs went in deep!”

“Grubber, bring us around for a pass to starboard this time!” Tempest ordered. “Ms. Dashiel, good shooting. Stand by on the starboard cannons.”

“Aye Aye,” came Dashiel’s voice, tinny through the speaking tube.

Fully under power this time, the Scirocco roared in for another strike, delivering a second full broadside. A spear of destruction lanced out in a return volley from the centaur, and this time Tirek’s aid was true, striking his attackers full on with a strength that should have spelled the airship’s doom.

A doom that would have been realized, were it not for a lavender plane of force that deflected the blast at the last second.

“Good work, Princess!” Tempest shouted, smiling savagely as she noted the ruin of what had been Tirek’s left arm. The limb dangled useless from a broken shoulder, blood running down it from holes the size of wagons.

“It’s working!” Trixie called out, from her station near the ship’s prow, her latex suit aglow with her magic.

“Grubber, let’s do that again,” Tempest ordered, and the hedgehog quickly threw the ship into another turn to give Dashiel’s gun crews time to reload.

The battle began to follow a pattern. The Scirocco would nip in, sometimes under power, sometimes not, fire a broadside and then power away to get clear of Tirek’s attempts at retaliation and reload before coming in again. Tirek was not a dumb brute, despite his massive size, and realized that his attackers meant business almost immediately.

Recognizing Tempest’s lethal intent, he did his best to anticipate where the Scirocco was, hurling massive objects or launching blasts of destructive magic at the cloud of smoke the airship created outside of Starlight’s cloaking spell every time the cannons were fired. Most of the blasts either missed or were intercepted by Twilight’s shields, with Trixie doing her best to stop minor thrown rocks.

Minor rocks in this case being the size of mature apple trees.

After a dozen passes Tirek was bloody from crown to croup, with wounds scattered across his body. His left arm was useless, and his right rear leg dragged behind him, but for all that, the centaur was still filled with a monstrous vitality and on the last pass Twilight could see that the damage from their first shots was already scabbing over and starting to heal.

“Tempest, we’ve got to finish this,” Twilight stated, grabbing onto a railing as the ship bent into a spiralling climb.

“I know, but we might have to break off. Tirek’s gotten smart,” Tempest replied.

“What’s wrong?” Twilight asked, moving closer with extreme care.

“He’s moved into a deep valley,” Tempest explained, and with the deck at the angle it was, Twilight could see the unicorn captain was right. “We can only come at him from directly in front, or behind, and if we fire from either of those positions we won’t be able to dodge his return fire without slamming into the mountains that form the valley walls.”

Twilight worked the problem in her head for a few seconds. She wasn’t the battle tactician her brother was, but she knew science and physics on an almost instinctive level, and the solution came to her quickly.

“Quick, take the ship up to 2000 lengths. Once we get up that high, all we need to do is drop the cannonballs onto him,” Twilight said. “Gravity will do the rest.”

Tempest’s eyes went wide in realization. The solution should have been obvious to her, an airship captain, but the mare in front of her had demonstrated yet again just how good she was.

“Grubber, you heard her,” Tempest ordered. “Get us over him at 2000.”

“You got it!” Grubber replied, working the controls.

“I owe you Princess,” commented Tempest. “This works and I’ll owe you everything.”

“Just remember that when I put my collar on you,” Twilight tossed back, a teasing smile on her muzzle.

“I… You… I mean,” Tempest stuttered, flustered for a moment. She was the one in charge. She was the one who put collars on ponies. So why did the thought of wearing the collar of this interloper princess make her heart float and her tail want to flag.

“The word you’re looking for is ‘Mistress’,” whispered Twilight, walking away to head below decks to the magazine in order to help uncrate more cannonballs and leaving a flustered former slaver in her wake.

It took the ship two minutes to move into position, during which time Tirek huddled down in his makeshift bunker, firing occasional blasts of magic down into both of the valley entrances, convinced that an attack would come from either of those directions. He even used his good arm to hurl scything arcs of boulders and stones out over each of the valley walls, in case Tempest was planning on attempting to angle her ship and fire downward over the mountains.

“Okay, that should be enough,” Twilight said, as the last of thirty cannonballs began to make their way down to the ship’s belly hatch. A hatch that was about to serve as a bomb bay for what would hopefully be a final conclusive strike.

“Get ready, we’re almost in position,” Tempest could be heard calling out, from her position on the command deck. “Ms. Dashiel, you have the best eye. Drop when you think is best.”

“We better get going,” Twilight commented, to the ponies around her, a sudden chill coming over her as she noted that all of them wore the Equality mark on their flanks. “Uh, is something wrong?”

A stunning blow struck the back of Twilight’s head, knocking her to the deck. As Twilight’s head spun she could dimly feel something being pulled over her head, followed by the hard clasp of steel shackles around her front and rear fetlocks. The chill of cold metal cleared her mental cobwebs and Twilight realized that the ponies around her had both hobbled and bridled her.

“What are you—glrk,” Twilight gasped, as a snake of pressure wrapped around her throat and pulled tight, cutting off her wind.

“I told you I was going to kill you,” Starlight Glimmer’s voice hissed in her ear. “And just like you, I have ponies willing to help me.”

The alicorn struggled, but the shackles holding her legs in place held firm, and the bridle that Starlight’s followers had pulled onto her head cut off her magic. Twilight was helpless, and Starlight knew it.

“I could have killed you at any point,” Starlight said conversationally, drawing the rope she had wrapped around Twilight’s throat even tighter, while her followers left the compartment, their part complete. The mare sat astride Twilight, pinning the alicorn’s wings down with her legs. “But this way you’ll look like just a casualty of the battle.”

Twilight tried to buck the murderous mare off her back, but all that it made Starlight to do was haul back even harder on the ends of the rope, as if they were the ends of a perverse pair of reins, causing Twilight to sink to her knees.

“Just give in,” crooned Starlight. “Let it all fade to black.”

At that moment, the ship lurched upwards as Dashiel opened up the ship’s belly hatch making the vessel grew light by several tons as the cannonballs were released. The sudden motion caused Starlight to momentarily lose her grip on the strangling rope, allowing Twilight to gulp in a precious lungful of air. A split second later everyone felt a “pop” as the cloaking spell over the Scirocco evaporated.

“Can’t that bitch of a mare keep even one spell running?” Starlight cursed, cinching the coils around Twilight’s throat tight again. “Well, I’ll deal with her as soon as I’ve taken care of you.”

“Gghk,” gasped Twilight, vision darkening. Dashiel had been right. This was personal for Starlight and she’d planned her ambush well. Chained and bridled, Twilight realized she was done—

“THERE YOU ARE!” Tirek roared in triumph, as he spotted the now decloaked airship, directing a mighty blast of magic at his tormentor. The ravenous beam flew upwards, punching cleanly through the open belly of the ship and through every single deck, where it continued up and through a portion of the ship’s gasbag.

At nearly the same moment, the pressure against Twilight’s throat suddenly fell away. Lurching forward in desperation, Twilight drew in a mighty lungful of air, turning as best she could to try to defend herself from Starlight Glimmer. Only to discover that it wasn’t necessary anymore.

Starlight stood behind her, balanced on both her rear legs and staring at a length of glowing black steel that was emerging from her chest. The mare tried to say something, her face still twisted in hatred, but Starlight Glimmer was dead on her hooves. The Zodiac Sword withdrew with a slithering sound and as the unicorn collapsed to the deck her falling body revealed the form of Trixie, her face set in grim triumph.

“And that is how the Great and Powerful Trixie gives a great and powerful ‘Fuck You’,” Trixie commented, taking a moment to clean the gifted blade. “Trixie is sorry she didn’t see what was happening earlier, give her a moment and she will have you free.”

“ARRRRRRGGGGHHHH!” roared up from below, as the released cannonballs finally landed on their target.

“Sounds like we got him,” Trixie said with a smile, as she and Twilight ran back up to the command area of the ship, but Twilight could see how brittle the smile was as they saw sunlight coming up from below

“How badly are we hurt, Grubber?” Tempest demanded, as the pair of mages climbed up the last stairway to the main deck.

“He got us,” Grubber replied. “I might be able to soft land us, but one way or the other we’re going down.”

“Did we get him?” Tempest yelled down the speaking tube to the hold.

“He’s hurt bad, but it wasn’t quite enough,” Dashiel responded, and Twilight felt relief in hearing the pegasus’ voice as her and Trixie staggered up to Tempest.

“That’s it then,” Tempest said, with finality before bellowing out, “ALL CREW, ABANDON SHIP!”

The various crew scattered, many grabbing up strange packs and strapping them on before jumping over the sides. Most of the Starlight’s followers however, ran around in a panic, not having been trained in how to bail out of a falling airship.

“What happened?” Tempest asked, taking in Twilight's dishevelled appearance.

“Starlight tried to kill me,” Twilight replied, succinctly. “I think she had a unicorn who could cast still and used them to try to run her cloaking spell, but they either weren’t as strong as Starlight or as experienced, and when we dropped the balls—”

“The extra lift we got when we dropped all that weight made them lose control of the spell,” Tempest finished, her eyes tracking to the blood spatter on both Twilight and Trixie’s coats from the moment Trixie had ended the threat to her princess.

“Right, anyway we’re done for,” Tempest said, bracing herself as the deck lurched to one side. “Can you get everyone to safety for me?”

“Yes,” Twilight answered, sensing what Tempest had planned. “What about you?”

“A captain goes down with their ship,” Tempest replied, and Twilight realized what the former enemy of Equestria was planning to do. “You said it yourself. If we don’t get Tirek, he’s just going to lick his wounds until he’s healed and do it all over again. Somepony has to stop him, and I made sure the armor on the bowsprit wasn’t removed. Just in case.”

“I can get you off too,” Twilight asked, tears coming to her eyes. “We can find another way.”

“Not without putting more ponies at risk. Not without putting you at risk. Get my crew down safely, and I’ll make sure Tirek won’t be a threat to anyone ever again,” Tempest responded, and Twilight could see the big mare’s mind was made up. “For what it’s worth, I think I would have liked wearing your collar. I’ve never been able to trust anyone or anypony in this world, but I think I could have trusted you with that.”

“I’ll— I’ll hold you to that. Something in a forest green, maybe. I’ll have to ask Rarity,” Twilight said, putting on the brave face she knew her Tempest needed to see just then. “Good luck, Captain Tempest.”

“You too. Goodbye Grubber, I’ve got the wheel now,” Tempest ordered, nudging aside the hedgehog, who was openly weeping now. “Stay safe.”

The ship lurched again as Tirek sent a weak blast into the ship’s side, carving a large chunk out of the hull.

“Time to go,” Twilight noted, and using her wings took to the air, while simultaneously reaching out with her magic to pull every creature out of the doomed vessel and towards her in a bubble of magic. Only Twilight’s dual nature as both an alicorn and the Element of Magic allowed her to pull off the feat as she and some fifty others gently drifted downwards.

Together, they watched the Scirocco as Tempest slammed the ship’s remaining engine to full power, diving on the grievously wounded centaur like an avenging eagle. Desperate, but lower powered blasts of magic lanced upwards, striking the ship as Tirek either realized Tempest’s intent, or thought she was coming down to finish. Both of which were true.

Down the ship flew, smoke and flames streaming from the rents in the ship’s hull, even the gasbag was aflame now, threatening to detonate at any second. The ship came screaming out of the sky, apparently falling short to Tirek’s clear relief, but at the last second Tempest levelled out the Scirocco. Tirek’s face had a moment to change to shocked surprise as vertical momentum shifted to horizontal and Tempest Shadow drove home her ship’s armoured bowsprit like a massive lance into the monstrous chest before her.

For an eternity they just hung there like that. Tirek in shocked surprise, his chest run through much like Starlight’s had been a little earlier, the Scirocco suspended from him by its prow. A breath later there was a massive explosion as the ship’s magazine and gasbag detonated almost in the same instant, erasing both Tirek and the SKV Scirocco from existence.

Author's Note

Music plays a big part in my writing. Many times a chapter or an entire story will be inspired by something I've run across. This was one of those times. Though initially Sabaton's "Night Witches" (Unlikely hero in the sky!) was my inspiration, this one just felt more like ponies taking their destinies back from the one who took them away.

Also, huge apologies for the lateness of the chapter. You know how when something itches at you and you just have to scratch it? Well, I've had that multiple times writing this chapter, which resulted in the rewriting of several sections. I'm still not 100% happy with it, but I couldn't make you folks wait any longer. I hope this will do.

If you would like to support me in my writing and get regular sneak peeks, head over to my Patreon and for as little as a dollar a month you can get advance looks at my writing and more.

Destructor, Part VII

“I’ve got to find her!” Grubber yelled, dashing off toward the massive field of smoking debris that resembled a massive exclamation mark of destruction punctuated by the bloody remains of Tirek’s massive body. The explosion of Tempest’s ship and its gasbag had nearly destroyed the centaur’s upper chest, leaving the savaged head attached to his body only by the remnants of his spine.

Tirek’s centaur body had survived only long enough for it to finish bleeding out before going completely still for the last time, collapsing to the ground with his severed arms lying on either side like an obscene parody of a pair of wings. Silence began to fall on the scene as everyone present simply stared at the massive body, with the occasional splat of a portion of flesh being the only interruption.

One thing that didn’t happen though, was the return of the stolen pony magic to those who’d had it ripped away from them.

“I’ll go keep an eye on him,” Dashiel offered. The pegasus had been witness to more than one scene of devastation in her life, and Tirek’s end barely made an impression on the soldier mare. Twilight was confident the captain of her guard would keep Grubber from doing anything too rash.

“Thank you,” Twilight said, giving an approving nod before turning to Trixie. “Can you make sure everyone here is okay? I’m going to retrieve this world’s princesses from Tartarus.”

“144 hears and obeys!” Trixie declared, smiling as she bowed deeply to Twilight.

“Don’t get too used to that name,” Twilight cautioned, taking a moment to force Trixie to look her in the eye. The unicorn tried to break eye contact but Twilight held her there until Trixie realized she was securely held and stopped struggling. “Dashiel might want to keep you like this, and I just might let her.”

“Yes, my Princess,” Trixie responded, cheeks heating.

“I’ll be back,” Twilight replied, releasing the showmare and taking to the air.

The location of the Gates of Tartarus were well known, and a combination of flight and teleportation found Twilight flying over an ineffective Cerberus roughly an hour later. A moment after that and the alicorn was able to pick out the shackled forms of Celestia, Luna and Cadance, lengths of chain tethering them to posts hammered into the ground.

“TWILIGHT!” exclaimed Cadance, as she touched down. “How?”

“This cannot be Twilight,” cautioned Luna, her mane a single long sinuous band of stars and nebulae. “T’is but a trick of our gaoler, meant to tease and torture us.”

“I am Twilight Sparkle,” stated Twilight, looking at the three chained ponies with some concern. Where Luna and Cadance were both animated and excited, Celestia remained listless looking and silent. A defeated, broken pony if Twilight had ever seen one. “I’m just not your Twilight Sparkle.”

“What dost thou mean?” Luna asked, frowning in thought. “Art thou Twilight Sparkle or are thee not? Speak plainly. What are thy intentions?”

“I’m from an alternate Equestria. One where Tirek was defeated by myself and the help of my friends. I came here to do just that,” stated Twilight.

“And is Starlight Glimmer one of your friends?” Celestia asked, speaking at last while keeping her face looking down and away from Twilight.

“The Starlight from my world was… is my friend. But the one here isn’t,” Twilight answered, pausing before adding in a grim tone, “your world’s version of her tried to kill me, and was killed in the process.”

That made Celestia’s head snap up, surprise in her expression for a microsecond before the elder diarch narrowed her eyes with suspicion.

“Oh really?” Celestia asked.

“What? What makes you think I’m lying?” Twilight asked, bewildered.

Celestia’s only reply was to tug uselessly at the chain connecting her forehooves together and their tether into the nearby rock.

“OH!” Twilight exclaimed, and an embarrassed second later all three alicorns were free of their shackles as Twilight burst them apart. Cadance looked like she was barely holding herself back from leaping onto Twilight in gratitude, while Celestia simply nodded wearily.

“T’is true?” Luna asked, wonder in her eyes. “The fiend that has hounded us for years is finally dead?”

“Starlight? Hounded you? How?” Twilight asked, casting a brief diagnostic spell she had picked up from Ponyville General. All three native alicorns were physically fine, but their mental states obviously varied wildly.

“After she… killed you,” Celestia began, speaking in the dead tones of someone who had seen hopes torn away from them time and time again. “She appeared in my private chambers with your dead body. I incinerated her on the spot, but it didn’t take.”

“Didn’t take?” Twilight repeated, mind whirling.

“She reappeared beside her own ashes a few seconds later and told me that not only had she perfected time travel, but that she had set up a failsafe that would bring her back to life if she was killed,” Celestia continued. “And then in a perfect imitation of my own voice called in one of my guards and proceeded to unmake him in front of me by ensuring he was never born.”

Twilight Sparkle was not only a polymath, but the Element of Magic as well, so while the how was something she could reason out in moments it left one question unanswered.

“If what you’re saying is true, then how was Trixie able to kill her?” Twilight mused aloud, rubbing her chin in thought.

“It doesn’t matter,” Cadance said, finally giving into her urges and sweeping Twilight into her hooves before kissing the lavender alicorn with deep passion. The kiss went on for several moments before Cadance broke away in embarrassed confusion at Twilight’s lack of response.

“You… you really aren’t my wife, are you?” Cadance asked sadly.

“Sorry, but I’m not,” Twilight replied compassionately, before looking at the other two alicorns for confirmation.

“Cadance was injured during the battle to retake the Crystal Empire from Sombra when he returned,” Luna explained. “She was rendered unable to bring a foal to term, so you… or rather our version of you, volunteered to be a surrogate broodmare for your sister-in-law.”

“You and I became lovers while you were carrying Flurry Heart, and after she was born we were married and became a herd with Shiny,” Cadance finished sadly. “I can only hope that they survived this.”

“So Starlight Glimmer is really dead?” Celestia asked, cutting short the explanations.

“Very,” responded Twilight.

“Good,” replied Celestia, and Twilight could see the alicorn straighten herself, as if a great weight had been lifted from her. “We owe you a debt of gratitude we can never repay for killing that monster. Do you have any idea why you were able to put her down while we couldn’t?”

“I’ve got a fairly solid theory on what happened. I’ll explain while we go to Seaddle and the rest of my ponies,” Twilight answered, receiving enthusiastic nods from the princesses.

“Yes, I have seen enough of this place for a lifetime,” confirmed Luna. “Let us be away.”

The four ponies leapt skyward, only for three of them to crash back to the ground again.

“Our magic hasn’t come back,” Celestia noted, with a frustrated set to her jaw. “Is Tirek defeated or not?”

“He’s very dead,” Twilight replied, clenching her jaw against a wave of nausea as she remembered the scattered gore and viscera of the giant centaur. “I’d hoped at least your magic would have returned, but–”

“It seems not,” Luna finished, with a grim nod. “Perhaps in time. You shall have to carry us, I am afraid.”

“No problem,” Twilight assured the trio, and after gathering them up in her lavender aura took to the skies.

“So, how were you able to stop Starlight when I failed, repeatedly?” Celestia asked, in a hard voice.

“If I’m right, I basically got lucky and a lot of It comes down to timing and how the time travel spell that Starlight stole originally worked,” Twilight replied, drawing Celestia a little closer with her magic so she didn’t have to yell over the rushing wind.

“Explain,” ordered Celestia, frowning as she looked down at the ground rushing past beneath them. “This is not the way to Seaddle.”

“I want to see if my theory is right,” Twilight replied, lowering her voice as she asked, “Why are you so angry? You should be happy, or at least not angry.”

“I’m angry at myself more than anything. I failed to stop Starlight Glimmer. I failed to stop Tirek. I relied too much on our version of you and once she was gone I… I realized how terrible of a princess I’ve been,” Celestia replied, in a voice like three day old coffee with no sugar in it. “I should have kept fighting, no matter how useless it was. If I had I could have—”

“There it is!” Twilight exclaimed, interrupting the ruler of Equestria.

The town of Ponyville came into view, or rather what was left of it. From Sweet Apple Acres to Fluttershy’s cottage, the entirety of the township had been smashed flat. Not a single building had been left standing, not even Twilight’s castle, which had been reduced to scattered mounds of crystal shards.

“Your friends fought back as best they could for as long as they could,” Luna commented. “But in the end, they were as much a match for Tirek as any of us was.”

“AHA! I was right,” was Twilight’s response, doing her best to hide the pang in her heart as she heard how her friends in this world had tried to carry on without her.

“What were you right about?” Celestia asked, looking around. “All I see is a reminder of my failure.”

“Look there,” Twilight replied, aiming a hoof at where a round group of shattered stones sat within the confines of a gigantic hoofprint. “That explains everything.”

“What is it?” Cadance asked, squinting. “It looks sort of like that table you… your other told us about.”

“That’s because that’s exactly what it is!” declared Twilight. “The time travel spell Starlight used needed an anchor to work, and it looks like she used the map table in my castle, just like she did in my world.”

“But the table is—Oh, I see,” Celestia replied, catching on. “When Tirek destroyed the table he destroyed the spell’s anchor, along with any contingencies Starlight had attached to it. Once it was gone she couldn’t time travel and undo things anymore.”

“And with Tirek still roaming around the countryside hunting down sources of magic she didn’t dare try to anchor it to anything just in case he caught her by surprise while she was doing it,” Twilight added, frowning for a moment before bending their course toward the northwest. “Which also explains why she let herself get captured by Tempest. It was the best way for her to stay away from Tirek and eventually get away from him entirely. Once she was clear, all she would have to do is cast the spell on a new anchor and she could undo Tirek’s attack.”

“She was ever a resourceful pony,” Luna added. “Skilled and powerful, but utterly ruthless and uncaring of what she did to others. But who is this Tempest you speak of?”

Over the course of the next hour, as Twilight flew the others to Seaddle, she told the other three alicorns the story of who Tempest Shadow was, how she had returned to Equestria, and how she had given her life to end the threat of Tirek once and for all.

“A storm from the shadows of the Storm King,” mused Celestia. “I think as my last official duty as Princess I’ll have her posthumously knighted.”

“Last duty sister?” Luna asked, “What dost thou mean by that? ZOUNDS!”

Luna’s exclamation was echoed by the others as the remains of Tirek’s body came into sight. By this time the remains were nearly covered by a blanket of feathers from the hordes of carrion birds feasting on the rotting remains of the giant centaur. The birds barely stirred as Twilight overflew the corpse, aiming herself toward a waving latex clad unicorn.

“Are all dimensional travelers dressed like that?” Cadance asked, with a smile that spoke of buried hungers.

“144 is like that because of an accident,” Twilight explained, wanting to keep Trixie’s identity hidden for a moment. “We’d originally meant to capture and contain Tirek, but when that failed…”

“Thee and thy companions fought valiantly against a true monster,” Luna said, noting Twilight’s discomfort at having actually killed a sentient being. “Thou shouldst not feel guilt for bringing a deserved ending to one who has chosen their path.”

“Twilight!” Trixie yelled, waving the alicorns in, and the ponies around her began to cheer as they saw the return of their princesses.

“What is it?” Twilight asked, touching down and just barely dodging the mob of ponies who joyfully engulfed the diarchs and the head of the Crystal Empire.

“You’ve got to see this! C’mon!” Trixie continued, tugging on Twilight’s shoulder.

“What? What’s going on?” Twilight asked, even as she allowed herself to be led off and away from the joyful throng of both survivors of the Scirocco and nearby Seaddle who had come to see the body of the creature that had ripped away their magic.

“You know how Grubber went to find Tempest?” Trixie chirped happily, leading her liege to where a line of bedrolls and cots had been set up. Twilight could see a crowd gathered around one corner of the area and could feel her heart speeding up with hope and anticipation.

“Is she… Is she alive?” Twilight dared to ask, as the crowd parted before her.

“Nothing can kill my captain!” proudly declared Grubber, as he sat on the ground with one paw gently resting on Tempest’s upper left foreleg.

“Prin-cess,” Tempest managed to grind out.

Twilight’s heart leaped as her eyes took in the badly battered and torn body of the unicorn. Nearly her entire body was wrapped in bandages, some with bloody blotches where wounds of one type or another had almost soaked through the dressings. Both the airship captain’s rear legs were in splints and nearly her entire mane and tail had been burnt away, but for all that, the unicorn did her best to sit up a little straighter.

For that matter, Grubber himself bore the wounds of his frantic dive into the wreckage, with his uniform torn, tattered and scorched in a dozen places, and with almost more cuts and scratches than that of Tempest herself.

“You’re alive! How?” Twilight demanded, immediately casting a healing spell on the unicorn. Twilight wasn’t a medical pony, but she knew the theory of curative spells enough for her magic to be able to close up most of Tempest’s bleeding wounds.

“Tempy was on the biggest part of the ship that survived that big boom,” Grubber said, and his smile was that of someone who had seen their hopes realized. “She got tangled up in the gas bag’s rigging and it was like a big net, holding her in place and absorbing most of the shock when the quarterdeck hit the ground.”

“Got lucky,” Tempest added, wincing as she tried to shift a bit on the cot she was lying on. “The doctor said I broke most of the ribs on my left side too. Looks like I’m not going to be able to wear that collar of yours any time soon.”

“Are you sure you want that?” Twilight asked, the others around them going quiet as they sensed something was in the air.

“You are the only pony I’ll ever kneel to,” Tempest answered, her voice lacking its usual power due to her inability to deeply inhale, but for all that they carried the power of truth and an earned devotion. “I was a slave to anger and my lost horn. I can be a better pony as your slave. I will be a better pony if I belong to you.”

“Everyone heard her?” Twilight asked, looking around and catching the eyes of every pony and being present until they nodded in acknowledgement. “This is what Captain Tempest wants. She is not being forced into this, but if I do this, if I make her mine, I need all of you to help her in following my orders. Can you all do that?”

A murmured chorus of assent rose from the crowd, having grown from the original few ponies who happened to be nearby to a large number of the former crew of the Scirocco, many of them wearing their own splints and bandages. But for all of that, they bore their wounds like badges of honor, standing as straight and tall as they could.

“By the power vested in me as a Princess of Equestria. I, Princess Twilight Sparkle, do hereby grant the petition of Tempest Shadow—” Twilight began solemnly.

“Fizzlepop Berrytwist, actually,” Tempest interjected, blushing furiously. “Tempest Shadow is just the name I used after I left Equestria.”

“Hereby grant the petition of Fizzlepop Berrytwist, also known as Tempest Shadow, to be my bonded slave. Bound to follow my commands and orders until such time as I deem fit,” Twilight amended, pulling magic to herself until her horn glowed with a lavender light. “Do you accept my Mastery and Dominion over you?”

“I do,” Tempest answered, without a moment’s hesitation. “I will serve you until death and beyond.”

“So be it,” Twilight intoned, releasing her magic in a burst of light, and as the burst of light cleared there appeared on Tempest’s chest a hinged circle of gold that was emblazoned with Twilight’s cutie mark.

“My first commandment to you is that you heal and regain your strength,” Twilight ordered, in a gentle, caring voice. “When you are healed, and not before, you can put on the collar, if that’s what you really want.”

“After that?” Tempest asked, gently lifting up the slender circle and examining it from all angles.

“When you put that on, I’ll know and I’ll come to you as soon as I can,” Twilight replied, with a bit of a sly smile, before turning serious again. “But Equestria is going to need outside help getting back onto its hooves and you know at least some of the other nations around Equestria. You can act as a go-between.”

“Indeed,” stated a voice over Twilight’s shoulder, and the young alicorn turned to see the serious face of Princess Luna. “I came as soon as I was able. Thy suggestion is a good one, Princess Twilight, and as senior princess I fully endorse your idea.”

“Senior princess?” questioned Twilight, at the turn of phrase.

“My sister has attempted to abdicate the throne due to her failures to protect our ponies, and were times not so dire I would let her,” Luna explained from a face filled with storm clouds. “However, Cadance and I have allowed her to step into an advisory role, requiring me to seat the throne alone, with Cadance as an allied princess.”

“How bad is it?” Twilight asked, adding, “I can’t stay, if that’s what you’re thinking.”

“I understand. Thou hast thine own Equestria to safeguard,” Luna answered, nodding sagely. “We estimate that as few as five hundred ponies in total managed to escape Tirek’s predation. But not all the news is dire. Word has reached us that newly born foals have their magic in full abundance, neither had Tirek reached the Crystal Empire either.”

“Magic’s not completely gone then!” exclaimed Twilight, as the ponies around them stomped the ground in applause.

“Nay. What is more, my sister and I may be bereft of magic, but some scrap of it endures as we are still able to move both sun and moon. True, the time until the next generation comes of age shall be hard, but with your servant’s aid as an ambassador to other nations Equestria shall continue,” said Luna, focusing her attention on Tempest. “Captain Tempest, when you are able, we would speak to you of these things.”

“As my princess wishes,” replied Tempest, giving a swift glance to Twilight, who confirmed her previous order with a pleased nod.

“Right, time for us to go,” said Twilight, taking a moment to place a hoof on Tempest’s shoulder. “Not until you’re fully healed, understood?”

“Yes Mistress,” Tempest replied, wincing as an errant motion caused her ribs to shift slightly. “I won’t let you down.”

“I know,” Twilight replied, gathering Trixie to her side as she walked off in search of Dashiel.

Several minutes later, the two mages found the warrior pegasus cleaning off her sword by a campfire; a mug of something by her side and a cloth with a multitude of very suspicious stains in her hoof. As the pair approached, the captain of Twilight's guard tossed the cloth into a nearby campfire and resheathed her sword.

“Just cleaning up a bit,” Dashiel explained, with an unreadable expression.

“Dashiel… “ Twilight said warningly.

“What?” the soldier asked, her face open but her eyes unreadable.

“I don’t want to know, do I?” Twilight asked, drawing the now familiar patterns of power to her as she prepared the cross dimensions once more.

“Probably not,” Dashiel replied, as Twilight’s spell took hold, pulling the trio up and away into the dimensional vortex.

Some unknowable amount of time later, between an instant and an eternity, the cyclone-like spell spat the three out back home in what had been the map room of Twilight’s castle.

All three were by now used to the rough landings the spell favoured and were able to land on their hooves instead of crashing to the oddly shock absorbent floor. Twilight looked around the room as she stood up, looking to see if her orders about strengthening the room’s defenses against interdimensional interlopers had been followed.

The room… wasn’t a room anymore. Instead, Twilight and her companions found themselves standing inside a featureless cube of some sort of reflective black material that was roughly ten body lengths a side. The interior of the cube appeared to be lit from within the walls themselves and Twilight couldn’t see a door, windows or any sort of means of exit.

“What the hell?” Dashiel demanded, before gasping out, “GAS!”

“Just breathe,” Twilight ordered. “I told them to knock out anyone who came through from another world. I guess this is what they came up with.”

“Is that… latex?” Trixie asked, poking a wall with a hoof, which dented in obligingly.

“I’m… I’m not sure,” Twilight answered, feeling the cobwebs growing in her head. She could taste the gas on her tongue now. A sour sweetness.

“Thish shucks,” Dashiel commented, wobbling for a moment before falling to the floor. The pegasus’ body seemed to sink into the rubbery floor, disappearing from view.

Twilight was able to remain conscious long enough to see Trixie fall, and a part of her was able to wonder why the unicorn was enveloped by the shrinking cube as well even as her own knees gave out. The alicorn’s eyes lost the light as an ocean of blackness washed over Twilight, pressing in from all sides, and as she finally succumbed to the soporific gas a muffled comment was just able to reach her ears.

“Tell the Empress that Twilight Sparkle has returned.”

Author's Note

And thus ends another arc of the story, an arc I actually hadn't intended to write at first until someone reminded me that we did catch a glimpse of Tirek laying waste to things. I didn't have much to go on with this arc so I just ran with a vision that came to me one night and it came out fairly well.

Not too mention establishing a couple of things for later arcs.

If you would like to support me in my writing and get regular sneak peeks, head over to my Patreon and for as little as a dollar a month you can get advance looks at my writing and more.

Imperial Interlewd I

Twilight woke in darkness. Though “darkness” was too mild of a word for the lack of light around Twilight. She was in an all-pervasive blackness that was darker than even the most moonless night, darker than the bottom of a deep cave, darker than anything she had encountered before. The only saving grace seemed to come a few seconds later as Twilight realized she hadn’t opened her eyes.

She couldn’t open her eyes…

Something smooth was pressing firmly against her eyelids, preventing them from opening, and as Twilight began to become more and more aware of her body, she realized that same slick strength was holding every inch of her body in an implacable grip. Pressing down with a crushing strength that held her as easily as an anaconda held a rabbit in its coils.

Twilight however, was no rabbit, and immediately threw herself against whatever force it was that was holding her immobile. She pushed, pulled, writhed and stretched her body with all of her strength for several minutes, at most moving perhaps a bare inch before whatever it was she was in snapped her body back into an upright position.

Exhausted, Twilight discovered that she couldn’t even pant properly, so tightly were her chest, lungs and diaphragm compressed by the force around her. The only reason that she was able to breathe at all was due to some sort of breathing tube with a mouthguard-like extension holding her teeth and tongue securely in place. Combined with the pressure around her head and muzzle, Twilight was rendered thoroughly mute and blind.

Twilight forced herself to relax, allowing her body to replenish the oxygen burned in her futile struggles while she took stock of the rest of her body.

Eyes, mouth and tongue had been rendered useless. Check. Her body was encased in something that seemed like her suit but felt much larger and stronger. Check. Twilight took a moment to try to inhale through her nostrils but they were completely blocked. Something was not only in front of them blocking airflow, but actually in the nostrils giving her a strange sort of tickling sensation whenever she tried to twitch or scrunch up her muzzle.

Twilight cataloged those sensations before moving on. She was a scholar at heart and a scholar needed as much information as possible before they could create a proper hypothesis for testing, much less draw conclusions from the data.

Next was hearing, and despite straining that sense as much as she could, Twilight could only hear two things. The beating of her heart and the rhythmic sound of her own breathing, accompanied as it was by the whoosh of air in and out of the breathing hose wedged in her maw. After which was of course Twilight’s magic, and as expected it was completely useless. Any foe who would bind her this thoroughly would definitely not make the elementary mistake of leaving her magic unrestrained.

The interesting thing was that Twilight couldn’t even feel her magic. It wasn’t being drained away, as her suit did. Nor was it being stopped by a horn blocker or other instrumentality, as Twilight knew how of those sorts of devices worked and how they felt when applied to her. No, it was as if she had absolutely no magic at all.

Moving on, Twilight could feel the interior edges of a tall rigid collar around her throat, likely as much protection for her airway as it was restraint. Regardless, it was there and something to remember. Moving down and along her body, her legs and wings were both fixed solidly in place by the force that held her, and as near as she could tell, she was being held off the ground and in an upright position.

Carrying her self-examination to her hindquarters, Twilight's tail and hips were as solidly locked in place as the rest of her, but the interiors of her thighs were…

Twilight gave out a sigh that momentarily was strong enough to push back against the device that was keeping her respiration even and steady. Something long and rigid was buried deep in her ass. She had gotten used to the feeling of her suit’s medical probe being lodged there, but this felt longer and somehow even more intrusive than that had been.

The alicorn flexed her interior muscles as best she could. Yup, definitely locked inside of her and was that… Twilight clenched her core. Nothing was there but something pinched just below the gateway to her pussy, something right by her clit. Then Twilight searched her memories of the many medical texts she had read, both in serious and recreational study.

Then it hit her, she had been catheterized, and as that final datum slotted into place Twilight turned her concentration away from her kinesthetic senses toward her internal mindscape. There, in the place where chains could not hold nor ropes bind, she assembled all the information her limited senses had been able to accumulate and began creating various hypothesis as to what was going on.

Many concepts came to the fore and were just as quickly discarded, for the key in such thought experiments is to find the best theory that fit as many facts as possible, not to find the best facts to fit a given theory.

Item: She was being held in a near immobile state. The near being important.

Item: Her breathing was being assisted.

Item: She had a catheter in her.

Item: Unknown devices were in her nose and her rectum.

Theory: She had suffered cervical trauma and her voluntary nerves were damaged, requiring her to be on a respirator and fitted with a catheter and… an enema tube?

Discarded. While an injury would explain many things, her voluntary muscles were functional and strong. However, the enema plug possibility was a new datum and suggested a new branch of possibilities.

Theory: She was encased in something, possibly webbing, possibly a changeling pod, and being held against her will on a long term basis.

This theory felt better, but a stray thought reminded Twilight that somepony had mentioned an “Empress” just before she had gone completely under, and while her home dimension’s Chrysalis was still an enemy, she styled herself a queen and not an empress. That still left the possibility that she was either encased or wrapped in some form of semi-solid material.

Whatever it was it had to both be pressing down on her with great force and have semi-elastic properties, which suggested either webbing—

“Hello,” said a voice, one that Twilight quickly recognized as that of 143, Trixie’s dimensional sister. While the two ponies were technically identical the ordeals that 143 had been put through had changed every part of her, including how she spoke. What was odd though was that the sound of 143’s voice was not only clear and perfectly understandable, but that it also seemed that the slavemare was speaking directly into Twilight’s ear.

“They say you should be awake by now, or nearly so,” 143 continued, a voice in the void. “Either way 143 was ordered to come here three times a day so that she could speak to you. 143 was told to tell you certain things. 143 was also ordered not to tell you certain things. 143 does not agree with this, but all of you know that 143 cannot refuse an order.”

Twilight felt a pang in her breast. As much as she had done for 143, rescuing her, arranging for therapy and treatment, 143 still had to fight daily against the bars of a prison that had been burned into her mind.

“But, although 143 cannot refuse an order, how she obeys is up to her,” 143 added, with just a hint of Trixie’s smirking confidence and Twilight could feel her lips curl up in a smile.

“So, 143 can tell you that all three of you are safe and well. You are all being kept suspended inside of large frames made out of sheets of symbiote material. Not actual living suits, but stuff made from them,” 143 started explaining. “Some force keeps pushing the material against the three of you with enough strength that even Celestia couldn’t get out of that when she tested it.”

“I don’t know what they are calling the contraption, but Fluttershy explained to me that you aren’t being hurt and that air, food and water are all being fed to you, and that all your waste products are being dealt with. Apparently, you could be kept there nearly forever,” 143 concluded, and Twilight couldn’t stop herself from a useless attempt at escape.

“Hey hey, calm down,” 143 soothed, and Twilight thought she felt something stroke her head. “You are all safe. One of the things 143 isn’t allowed to tell you is that the Regent isn’t sure what to do with you, especially with the Empress having taken her property off on a sudden sabbatical.”

While Twilight was appreciating the mental gymnastics 143 was going through to inform Twilight about the situation while still managing to obey the letter of her geas, it was all maddeningly incomplete. Who was this “Empress”, or the “Regent”, for that matter?

“Unh,” 143 groaned. “143 needs to be more careful, but Cadance would be proud of 143 if she was here and not back in the Crystal—.” There was a sudden silence that had Twilight's heart leaping into her throat. A silence that seemed to go on forever.

“143 is a good pony. 143 is an obedient pony,” came the panting voice of 143 a minute later. “Obedience brings pleasure, disobedience brings pain. 143 is a good pony. 143 is an obedient pony.”

Twilight could feel the prick of tears trying to escape her sealed shut eyes.

“143 will try again later. You all need 143 to try again later,” Trixie’s sister stated, voice firming back up. “In the meantime, 143 will obey her orders to read to you three times a day for mental stimulation. So, 143 will start with ‘Internal Incantations: The Philosophy of Magic’ by Starswirl the Bearded.”

“When considering whether magic is a force for Good or Evil…” 143 began, starting to read from Starswirl’s classic treatise on how the intent behind magic shaped its morality. While Twilight appreciated 143’s book selection, considering how Twilight felt about the ancient mage and all he had done to shape magic and magical theory as it was known, Twilight felt herself tuning out 143’s voice in favor of more thought.

Dashiel and Trixie were both safe. That was the most important takeaway from what 143 had managed to tell her. Secondly, whoever this Regent pony was, they didn’t want Twilight or the others harmed. Imprisoned in what was the scariest level of long term bondage Twilight had ever heard of, but unharmed. Third, she had allies.

143 was doing her best, even at the risk of great pain, to tell Twilight what was happening and what’s more, at least one of her friends was actively making sure that she was okay. Sensory deprivation could be torture for a mind like Twilight’s, easily capable of driving her mad as her intelligence reached out for some kind of stimulus. Without some sort of external input her mind would eventually start creating sensory phantasms in a sort of defensive schizophrenia just to give it something to latch onto.

True insanity would follow not long afterwards.

All too early, 143 finished her reading and with a few, barely felt touches through the sheets of symbiote material holding Twilight captive, the mind-burned pony left Twilight in her silent prison of eternal darkness. The alicorn struggled to free herself after 143 was gone, not because she had any hope of escape, but because there was literally nothing else to do. Twilight writhed and strained against her body against the crushing force of her semi-solid rubbery prison until stars sparked in front of her eyes from lack of oxygen and all she could do was hang in place while her prison’s systems slowly eased the burning in her lungs.

Sometime later, Twilight slept, waking again as 143’s voice came to her ears again, this time reading an article from a newspaper out of Las Pegasus that talked about several new stage productions in the resort town, including a combo act by two of the town’s best known stage magicians, Big Bucks and Jack Pot.

This time, as 143 left, Twilight felt a vibration in her ass followed by a feeling of immense fullness and as that sensation faded away she had confirmation of one of her data points. She indeed had an enema plug stuffing her ass, which along with the catheter explained how they were dealing with the waste products of her metabolism, but it still left the question of how they were getting nourishment into her. Although time had no meaning in her silent prison, Twilight knew she had been unconscious for awhile after her capture and had slept or napped at least once afterwards.

By now she should be feeling some level of hunger or thirst, but she felt… nothing. Twilight tried to feel around with her barely movable jaw and tongue. Other than the fact that both were locked in place, her mouth and tongue felt just fine as far as moisture went, which meant she was being at least hydrated somehow.

The speculation kept Twilight’s mind occupied for several more hours, forming a thought experiment that Twilight deliberately didn’t bend her full mental abilities toward. After all, if she solved the problem what guarantee would there be that there would be something to occupy her mind afterwards.

Either way, Twilight was still considering and discarding possibilities when she heard the sound of 143's voice in her ears yet again. This time the pony was reading something that had probably come from Dashiel’s room. “While the Mechano-Arcane Combat Wing is a robust device, it must be properly cared for on a daily, weekly and monthly basis,” 143 was reading aloud. “Polishing of the arcane receptor sites along the primary, secondary and tertiary wingspans is of particular importance to ensure long range control of the device by the user.”

Twilight’s nerves blazed fire as she realized what 143 had just done. She had just suggested a course to Dashiel that the soldier pony use her magical connection to her war wing in order to free them. It was the only reason Twilight could think of for 143 to read that particular part of Dashiel’s field manuals. In fact, thinking back, Jack Pot was known for his escape acts, and 143 knew that Twilight often looked to the works of Starswirl the Bearded for inspiration.

As 143 had said, she had to obey orders put to her, but obviously enough of her mind had recovered that she was now capable of being maliciously compliant to those orders. Even though earlier had proven that 143’s conditioning was still prevented outright rebellion, 143 was actively fighting it by finding loopholes wherever she could, which currently was taking the form of giving Twilight and her companions suggestions on courses of actions they might be able to take.

“When 143 returns tomorrow she will start off with a book she found on various poisons and drugs. The book talks about their durations and antidotes,” 143 paused, before clearing her throat to softly add, “The wife of Princess Twilight’s brother had helped 143 touch something before Princess Twilight came back. Something great, something powerful. It wants to come out. It wants to stand on the stage again.”

With that silence reigned once again, and Twilight was left with only her thoughts for company. Thoughts that now blazed with hope, and fear.

Twilight had seen the terrible damage that had been wrought on 143’s mind when she had been Trixie. The magician hadn’t just been conditioned or trained into obedience by the corporate overlords of her world, it had been literally hard-wired into her brain. That she had come so far in a little less than a year spoke volumes of Cadance’s skills in reawakening what Twilight knew to be a will as stubborn as stone.

What would happen to 143 though if she attempted outright defiance of those fiery lines of control in her head? Could she snap the reins of conditioning, throw off the bridle of mind control and truly be her own mare again, or would those strictures burn ever deeper? Would they, could they, burn away her mind entirely if 143 tried to become Trixie again?

All Twilight knew was that 143 seemed determined to find out, and Twilight couldn’t say that she blamed the mare. Especially as Twilight in that world had also been reduced to an obedient, pliant and even willing slave, and had only managed to save her mind by literally giving herself a case of dissociative personality disorder. Twilight knew the horror of being trapped in her own head as a beaten, broken part of herself was forced to deal with the real world.

Twilight speculated for apparent hours on whether or not 143 might have been made into a much more severe version of what Twilight had done to herself. Could there be a part of the original Trixie in 143, still alive and active, but trapped behind a firewall of broken nerves? Was it possible that Shining Armor and Cadance had managed to reforge enough of those shattered linkages for her knight’s true sister to step back into the light?

It didn’t seem possible, but yet the signs were there. Which threw Twilight’s mind onto a different tangent. Was there any way that she herself could communicate, imprisoned as she was? She was capable of flexing the material around her to a degree, and she could grunt somewhat, which meant that as long as 143 could either see or hear Twilight, some degree of communication was possible. The thoughts gave Twilight some comfort as the hours passed and the binding blackness around her faded into the greater darkness of sleep.

She woke some unknowable time later, without any references it could have been later that day, the next day, or even the next week for all she knew. As before, her body neither hungered nor thirsted which meant that however food and water were being…

It hit Twilight at that moment. The tickling sensation in her nose was part of a gastroenteric feeding tube that went into her nose, through her nasal passages and down into her stomach to provide her with a liquid diet. It was a process occasionally used when a pony could not eat or drink due to an injury or other medical necessity.

“Good morning,” 143’s voice sounded in her ears, but something was different about it. There was a quality of strain in it Twilight had never before heard from the mare. “I want you to know that whatever happens, 143 is grateful for all you have done for me… us… I.”

There it was again, the personal pronoun.

“Last night, after 143 left you, I made sure to check on the rest of your other friends. Pinkie Pie has been keeping spirits up, and is pretty happy, but I can tell she’s worried,” 143 continued, and Twilight wasn’t entirely sure, but it almost sounded like anger in her voice. “Nopony has heard from Rainbow Dash since the Empress took Luna and Celestia away with her.”

A pained groan sounded in Twilight's ears.

“143 wasn’t supposed to talk about that,” 143 said, with a hiss of pain. “But I don’t want to be 143 anymore. 143 wants to be who she was. I want to be who I was, or at least as much as I can be so I can avenge my husband, Big Mac.”

In spite of herself, Twilight tried to turn her head to look toward 143 in surprise. She was Big Mac’s wife? How? When?

“I know Princess. I know you would prefer I didn’t risk myself, and 143 is afraid you are going to be pretty angry with her, but you need to fix the problem you made, and you need to be out of that cage to do it,” 143 continued, confusing Twilight even more with her statement that Twilight had been the cause of the current situation. “Every other pony is either locked up like you are, controlled by a suit, or too scared to try something.”

There was the sound of steel on stone.

“I’ve brought a knife,” 143 stated. “All I need to do is cut a hole in the sheets around you and the whole thing will fall apart. Then you’ll be free to fix things, and 143 knows you will do it, because you’re Twilight Sparkle. You fix things, and ponies, and places.”

“All.. I need to do… is pick up the knife,” Twilight could hear 143 beginning to pant as the mare drove her resurgent will against the conditioning that had held her for years. “Pick up… the knife. Pick it up…”

“Knife… up,” 143 grunted, and Twilight’s heart fell as she heard a heavy “thud” reach her ears as 143’s legs gave out.

“Sorry Princess… tried,” 143 gasped out. Twilight wanted to do nothing more than wrap the mare in the biggest, longest hug she could. 143 had tried so hard, come so close, but it seemed it just wasn’t meant to…

“No.”

Twilight’s blood ran cold as she heard the denial. “No” was the one word that 143 had absolutely been forbidden by her conditioning to say. For a long time Cadance had even believed that the word had been specifically burned out of 143’s mind, or worse, set as some sort of post-conditioning trigger, but here it was. Whatever came next would define the rest of 143’s life.

“I…

“I am not 143,” the pony grunted out, and Twilight again heard the scrape of metal on stone.

“I am Beatrix Lulamoon,” 143 yelled, in a clarion voice, as whatever was carrying that voice to Twilight also carried the sound of staggering steps. “Wife to a murdered husband. Sibling to shattered sisters. The last Apple of the orchard.”

Twilight could feel the power coming off of Beatrix as she corrected her course and began to approach, step by laborious step. Each hooffall carrying the power of a pony bringing all of their vital force to a single point in time and space.

“They bound my body! They shackled my soul! But no more. NO MORE!” screamed the mare, with equal parts pain, rage and defiance. “Today, dead or alive—”

“I.”

“WILL.”

“BE.”

“FREE!”

The blade lunged forward, the layers of latex parting with ease and cool air rushed against Twilight. The sound of an air pump came to Twilight’s ears and she realized that had been held in via a vacuum between layers of symbiote material, as if she was something to be preserved against spoilage. With the vacuum disrupted by 143’s knife, the layers had lost their ability to hold her in place and gravity was…

Twilight gave out a groan of her own as her downward sliding body pulled the tubes from her body that had been feeding her, allowing her to breath, and cleaning out her backside. Twilight reached down to carefully pull out her now painfully twisted catheter and then quickly dismissed her discomfort as unimportant as she was finally able to look around her and saw Beatrix lying on the crystal floor directly in front of her.

The azure blue mare lay still before her, a sharp kitchen knife bare inches away from her latex encased hoof. She was still wearing the symbiote suit that had been bound to her, and Twilight felt some relief at seeing the pulse and flow of magic through the suit’s mana channels, indicating that the pony within was alive.

“143… Beatrix, are you okay?” Twilight asked, gathering the pony into her hooves, as her magic still seemed to be absent. Blood was trickling from Beatrix’s nose and Twilight could see red blotches in the whites of her eyes as the violet orbs flickered open.

“I’m free,” whispered Beatrix.

“Yes, you are,” Twilight confirmed, pride and joy filling her heart as she used a hoof to brush back a bit of cornflower silk mane away from the slowing nosebleed. She paused for a moment as her hoof bumped against something hard in Beatrix’s mane.

“What the hay is this?” Twilight asked, using her hoof to reveal the delicate tracery of a circlet made of silver wires and moonstones set on Beatrix’s brow and woven into her mane.

“The Element of Freedom,” Beatrix whispered back, with a satisfied smile.

Author's Note

143 has been with us since almost the very beginning, and for a lot of that time Twilight has been doing her level best to heal the pony that befriended her in the depths of the Flim Flam dystopia. Only time will tell what effects have an Element of Freedom will have on things to come...

Oh, with Brightly Lit done this story is going to become my main writing focus, so I'll be plunging right back into the next chapter after today.

Also, special thanks to Lady Lightning Strike for coming in at the last minute to guest edit.

On a side note, I really should promote my Patreon more. You can join for as little as a dollar a month and get regular sneak peaks into what I'm writing and be on the priority queue for commissions when I open those up next month.

Until next chapter, be safe and remember not to touch pools of strange black liquids...

Imperial Interlewd II

“Are you going to be alright?” Twilight asked the mare she was holding, even as she watched the pale blue mare’s nosebleed finally trickle to a stop.

“The Great and Powerful Trixie… “ began Beatrix, before stopping to put a hoof to her head with a wince of pain. “I’ll be okay, just can’t push it right now.”

“I’d say that’s probably a very good plan,” Twilight replied, trying and failing to pick up the knife Beatrix had used to free her with her magic. “Why can’t I use my magic?”

“Drugged,” succinctly explained the former 143. “In what they were feeding you. Should wear off in twelve hours. Antidote in Starlight’s old lab. Want me to go get it?”

“You’ve done enough for right now, just take it easy for a bit,” Twilight ordered, pushing Beatrix back down as she made to rise up from the floor. “I may not have my magic right now, but I’m more than just my magic.”

Making sure that Beatrix was reasonably comfortable, Twilight staggered her way back onto her hooves as muscles and balance systems that hadn’t been used in days found themselves called on again. It took Twilight more than a couple of attempts, but eventually she was able to pick up the sharp kitchen knife in one forehoof and use it to slash open the suction sealed membranes that had been holding Trixie and Dashiel in long bondage on either side of Twilight.

Both mares had similar reactions to what Twilight had, groaning and shuddering with mixed pain and pleasure as various tubes were pulled from sensitive parts of their bodies. Trixie’s eyes were wild as her head emerged from its encompassing latex sheathe, searching for her sister, and was already taking a step towards the recumbent unicorn when Twilight stopped her.

“Trixie, I need you to get those antidote potions from Starlight’s old lab, right now. There will be time for a reunion later,” Twilight commanded. She knew how worried Trixie must be for her sister, but right now Trixie’s liege lady needed her knight obeying her commands, and not fussing over a family member who at the moment appeared to be safe and sound.

“Dashiel,” Twilight said, her voice fully set in “Princess Twilight” mode, “I need you to find where the Twilight Guard is and get them here.”

“Barracks,” Beatrix supplied, with the same clipped off sort of sentence she had been using. “They’re all stuck in suits. Ambushed.”

A semi-articulate growl came from the alicorn’s throat as she felt a warm coal of anger begin to burn in her breast. These were her ponies, Celestia damn it. Beatrix and Trixie were hers. Dashiel was hers. The Guard was hers! All of them were hers. Her responsibility, extensions of her will, and only she had the right to punish or praise them!

Twilight swept a hoof to her chest, breathing in deeply. Her hoof swept back out. Exhale, repeat. A few repetitions of the breathing exercise found a calmer Twilight whose mind was already flashing to solutions.

“Right, in that case Dashiel I need you to take the Guard to my lab in the basement,” Twilight began, amending her order. “At the back of the lab there’s an arch made out of a black mineral. Lead my ponies through that, drag them if you have to, but get them through it.”

“Understood,” Dashiel replied, snapping a salute and half turning to obey before pausing to ask, “Why?”

“The arch is made from a mineral that cancels out all pony magic. It took me awhile to figure out what killed the suits we were wearing in that cavern in Princess Starlight’s world, and even longer to find some of the same minerals here,” Twilight replied, the corner of her mouth twisting up in a slight smile as she saw the eyes of her three ponies widen in surprise. “The suits live on the magic of the pony they bond to. Cancel out that magic and the suit basically dies."

“Sweet Celestia,” Trixie breathed. “You mean that you…”

“Can free myself from my suit any time I want to? Yes,” Twilight stated. “I just don’t want to. But for other ponies, once I get my hooves on more of that rock from the Badlands I’ll set up stations around Equestria so that ponies can get their suits off of them if they want.”

“Not all,” Beatrix kicked in with. “Too late if you’ve had it on for a long time.”

All eyes turned to the pony on the floor, who had rolled herself to a somewhat normal laying position.

“This is my skin,” Beatrix informed the others, a latex encased hoof tapping a sealed-in shoulder. “Full integration. Same for any of us after a year. Pulling it off… be like skinned alive.”

Every pony present shuddered at the mental image of a screaming, skinless pony, begging to be put out of its misery.

“I’ll keep that in mind,” Twilight replied, after a moment. The image had further cooled her anger at what had been done to those under her command, but she could still feel it percolating away, just below the surface. “Anyway, get the Guard free, and have them assemble on the training field in full gear.”

Dashiel and Trixie both dashed off to begin their respective tasks, leaving Twilight alone with Beatrix.

“Beatrix? Was that your name, or something that came to you?” Twilight asked, settling herself beside the mare.

“Best I can remember,” came the response from an azure muzzle. “Shining Armor… He and Cadance… “

“It’s okay,” Twilight assured the mare, folding a wing over her in a gesture of comfort. “You don’t have to explain.”

“You need to know. This, not really an Element,” Beatrix continued, tapping the circlet woven into her mane. “Tool they made. Rewrites mind around damage, but directed by my will. Problem was pulling together enough willpower to use it. ‘Beatrix’ probably my name, but can’t be sure.”

“Bellatrix is the first name of my knight,” Twilight said, taking care to not have two “Trixies” in the same conversation. “Considering you’re from another world, small differences make sense, so ‘Beatrix’ is probably either right or close enough. So, if that diadem has rewritten your mind, can it do that for any pony?”

“Single use,” Beatrix explained with a sad tilt of her head. “Used some good parts to fix bad parts. Why I’m talking like this.”

“Will that change?” Twilight asked, receiving a sad shrug of latex covered shoulders in response. “So what happened while I was gone?”

“Derpy opened up the box you left for her,” Beatrix replied with her clipped sentences, as if every word was part of a finite resource. “Saw she was daughter of Roam you’ve been looking for. Owned Celestia and Luna. Claimed them. Kinda went power nuts. Sisters convinced her to take trip to figure out what to do next. Went with. Left Nightmare Rarity as Regent.”

Twilight plowed her hoof into her own forehead with enough force that she saw stars for several moments. Leaving Derpy the information that she was the descendant of Decius Caballus, and thus heiress to the title of Owner of Celestia and Luna was supposed to give the wall-eyed pegasus some happiness as a reward for her service to Twilight in the past.

Not to mention it was also supposed to have helped free her friend and mentor from a perceived debt that had honestly been paid long ago, and allow Luna to put some of her violent past to rest. Things couldn’t have gotten more twisted out of shape if Discord had taken a paw in things!

“I’ve got the antidotes!” Trixie exclaimed, as she burst back into the room with several flasks held in her magic. “They work.”

“So I see,” Twilight noted, accepting one of the flasks from Trixie and after ripping off the top, downed the contents in one go.

“So, what’s the plan?” Trixie asked, stepping the rest of the way up to give her sister a loving nuzzle.

“Once the Twilight Guard is out of their suits, and I have a chance to check on the girls, I’m taking the Guard with me to Canterlot,” Twilight replied, pausing to let herself experience the euphoria of feeling her magic return as the antidote did its work. “I’m going to figure out why Derpy went power crazy and took over instead of simply enjoying her new status and freeing Celestia and Luna from their bond. I’m also going to have to have a very firm chat with our friendly neighborhood Nightmare, and find out why she and Rarity thought it was a good idea to try to permanently imprison us.”

“That’s a pretty big plan,” Trixie commented, snuggling up beside her sister.

“I know, and I need to make sure Ponyville stays safe, which is why I’m leaving you and Beatrix here to keep an eye on things, along with Pinkie Pie,” Twilight continued. “Assuming she’s still okay.”

“That mare has dodged everything so far,” Trixie commented, and Twilight could see that the former showmare was just a little bit relieved that she’d be staying behind.

“That and I want you to make sure Beatrix here is okay,” Twilight added, standing up and letting Trixie take over the hugging duties. “She’s been through a lot and she made a huge breakthrough for us all. I’m very proud of her.”

Two sets of azure faces beneath cornflower silk manes looked up at Twilight and gave her the same soft smile. It was such a living mirror image that for a second Twilight almost felt that she was suffering from double vision.

“Right, I’m going to check on Dashiel and the Guard, then I’m off to Fluttershy’s and Sweet Apple Acres,” Twilight said, shaking off the twinned Trixie’s sensation and moving toward the room’s exit. “Trixie, I’d like you to meet up with Pinkie in the next hour or two. Beatrix, you’re under orders to take the rest of the day off. Tomorrow too, if you think you need it.”

“As you command, Mistress,” Beatrix replied, worrying Twilight for a moment before the alicorn spotted the mischievous smile the suited mare was wearing.

Chuckling, Twilight left the room and headed to her labs. It took her a few minutes to make the trip and as she walked, traffic in her castle picked up rapidly, with members of the castle’s staff hustling by, some looking a little shell shocked. Though she was in a rush, Twilight took the time to speak to every pony she came across that looked concerned, worried or just off balance.

Doing so helped fill in some of the blanks. Derpy had learned of her birthright the day Twilight had left, and by the next sunset she was the uncontested Empress of Equestria. Styling herself Deripio Regina Caballus she had started with rounding up everypony who had ever bullied or harassed her, and then had them thrown into the dungeons.

That done, she had apparently next held a huge bacchanalia, leaving part way through with Celestia and Luna literally in tow on a pair of leashes, with Nightmare Rarity appointed regent under orders to, “Keep everything together until I get back.” Rarity was a latex sorceress, and with her powers amplified through her union with the Nightmare spirit, it had been child's play for her to mobilize the wandering latex symbiotes into a nearly perfect police force.

Any pony that complained or objected to the Nightmare being in charge quickly found themselves swarmed by a symbiote, encased, and then force marched either into a cell or house arrest with them literally wearing their own prison and guard. The same fate awaited anyone that tried to rebel or even do anything out of the ordinary. Twilight’s guard ponies had just been the first of a great many ponies who had found themselves bound by a living suit of latex.

Twilight’s train of thought was interrupted as Dashiel trotted up to her, snapping to attention and flashing her flesh and blood wing up in a salute.

“Ma’am, the Twilight Guard is about one-third effective. We expect to be mission capable in the next ten minutes, if you intend to deploy immediately. We’ll be fully operational in an hour,” Dashiel reported. Dashiel rarely followed military protocol, but when she did it meant that she was ready to act as the selfless soldier she had been under the Warrior Princess version of Celestia from her native Equestria.

“Take the full hour, Captain,” Twilight replied, acknowledging the salute with one of her own. “I want to check on Fluttershy and Applejack before we head to Canterlot to fix this mess.”

“Understood Ma’am,” Dashiel replied, wing snapping back to her side. “Sun Spear and Shadow Shield will meet you outside to provide security.”

“I… “ Twilight paused, several thoughts and realizations hitting at once. Justified or not, she was about to invade Canterlot with an armed force to seek redress for the wrongs done to her Guard and others.

Her ponies. Someone had hurt her ponies. Caged them. Imprisoned them. Bound them. The thoughts pounded like drumbeats.

They were HER—

“Ma’am?” Dashiel asked, the words breaking the upwards spiral of fury and vengeance within the alicorn.

“Sorry Captain, just woolgathering for a moment there,” Twilight replied, mind returning to focus on the moment. “Sun Spear and Shadow Shield, check. Thank you, Captain. That will be all.”

Dashiel looked like she wanted to say something else, but seemed to decide against it, and merely acknowledged Twilight’s command before heading off.

With her castle returning to seeming order, Twilight headed to the front door, meeting the two guards that Dashiel had mentioned. Both stallions were strikingly handsome members of their respective groups. Sun Spear’s chiseled features were set in righteous determination with a blond mane and a body composed of strong notes, forming a bass symphony of muscles that a mare could listen to all night long, through several encores.

Shadow Shield, on the other hoof, was the dark complected opposite of his fellow guard. Where Sun Spear was all drum and bass, Shadow Shield was most definitely a strings and woodwinds sort of pony whose lean features and body were very fit for long stretches of running, flying… or any other long duration activity.

An idle thought walked through Twilight’s mind, of her ordering these two ponies up to her rooms, where she would conduct a very, very thorough examination of—

“Sorry, gentlecolts,” Twilight apologized, blasting the nascent erotic daydream from her head before it had a chance to get going. “I was just deciding where we should go first.”

“No problem, Ma’am,” Sun Spear replied, his voice a basso rumble that sent interesting tingles through the alicorn. “Whenever you’re ready.”

“Let’s head to Sweet Apple Acres first,” Twilight commanded, setting off down the short road into Ponyville proper.

The brief walk helped clear Twilight’s head a bit and gave her a few minutes of introspection to chide herself over her mental wanderings. Yes, she was definitely a more sexual pony than she used to be, but it wasn’t like her to be this randy. Maybe it was some aftereffect of being vacuum sealed like a freeze dried meal for three days, maybe it was a side-effect of what she’d been fed while bound like that.

It certainly wouldn’t be the first time somepony had tried to overcharge her libido.

As Twilight entered Ponyville proper, she noted with some satisfaction that some members of her staff had started engaging in a house-to-house survey, letting ponies know that the current crisis was over, and helping ponies that needed it. Several residents rushed up to thank her as she passed by, and while she did feel some embarrassment at the deep bows and curtsies they gave her, another part felt a deep sense of fulfillment and having done well by her ponies, at least in part.

“Lyra, kneel to the Princess like a good girl,” Bon Bon ordered her unicorn partner, bowing low and pulling down on a set of reins that looked to be made from woven strings of licorice. The reins went up and around the head of the mint green unicorn, securing a ball gag made from a massive jawbreaker in her maw, from which dribbled a prodigious stream of drool.

With few other options, Lyra got to her knees and bowed her head until the tip of her horn touched the ground, allowing Twilight to see that there were no straps, buckles or obvious joins in the woven strings comprising the body of the controlling headgear.

“That’s uh… quite the… “ Twilight paused, not sure what to say.

“We only started training a couple of weeks ago,” Bon Bon supplied, still looking downwards at Twilight’s hooves. “We’ve been marefriends for years, but the other week something extra just clicked between us and she’s been on the end of my reins ever since. Are we doing this right?”

That Bon Bon and Lyra were a couple had been common knowledge in town for years, but this was several orders of magnitude beyond their usual public displays of affection.

“Lyra, are you okay with this?” Twilight asked, using her magic to grasp the red reins and lift upwards so that the unicorn had no choice but to look at her. “This is something you want?”

Twilight’s relief was profound as Lyra vigorously nodded her head.

“I had to be sure, Bon Bon,” Twilight explained to the hurt looking earth pony. “As long as both of you are okay with what you are doing, then you’re doing it right. But you might want to consider not leading Lyra around on a leash with impressionable foals around.”

“Oh, good thinking, Mistress Twilight,” Bon Bon replied, jumping up with a happy smile and pulling her pony to her feet. “I need to finish putting together the hot walker in our backyard anyway. Bye!”

“Bye!” Twilight replied, smiling as the couple trotted off at the informal dismissal with Bon Bon advising her mare to adopt a more showy, strutting gait as she moved.

“Wait… ‘Mistress Twilight’?” Twilight asked, looking at her protective detail, who shrugged in response. “And they started doing this just after I left? Weird.”

Twilight and the escorts made their way through the rest of the town, and as she did she noticed that at least half of the couples that she saw were engaged in public displays of affection, and while none of them were as charged with dominance and submission as Lyra and Bon Bon’s had been, several of them were bordering on activities usually carried out in private.

“How long has this been going on for?” Twilight asked the two ponies behind her.

“How long has what been going on for?” Shadow Shield asked back, a confused look on his face.

“This sort of… public affection,” Twilight replied, finding a usable term for what was going on in their wake.

“First time I’ve noticed anything,” the Night Guard replied, before cocking his head over to his companion. “You?”

“Nope, everything seemed normal,” replied the Solar Guard. “Mind you though we’ve been pretty much… stuck, to the castle lately.”

“Heh, good point,” Twilight chuckled, turning down the long road to Sweet Apple Acres. She strode forward confidently, setting the pace, not noticing Sun Spear giving Shadow Shield a broad wink as they trailed behind the princess.

Sweet Apple Acres looked to be in fine condition, Twilight noted, as she and her escort reached the outskirts of the orchard and began to trot along the main fenceline. All the trees seemed to be healthy, fully leafed and several were heavily laden with delicious looking fruit. There wasn’t a sign of clutter on the ground and even the boarding fence was solid looking with fresh repairs and paint.

While Twilight had regretted the necessity of dispatching her Guard to help out at Sweet Apple after Applejack’s encounter with the suit’s obedience training and mind breaking, it had obviously been the right call. Even with the workaround of Spike acting nominally as Applejack’s “Control”, Twilight’s friend just wasn’t capable of as much work as she used to.

A minute or so later, as the orchard’s main buildings hove into view, Twilight caught sight of the latex clad orange mare pulling an empty apple wagon over to some trees who were in desperate need of having at least some of their heavy fruits removed from their branches.

“Hi Applejack!” Twilight called out, as she and her escort drew close.

The ebon curves of the solidly built earth pony gleamed bright as Applejack turned to look over at her friend, and the orange mana lines of the suit did their usual fine job of outlining and highlighting the muscle groups of the pony below. Though she would never admit it out loud, Applejack was most definitely a fit and attractive pony, something her encasement maximized.

“Applejack?” Twilight asked, as the earth pony continued to simply regard her silently, with almost no discernable expression on her face.

“One second Twilight,” Spike replied, popping up from a seat on the wagon. “Just let me get Applejack unhitched.”

Twilight chided herself mentally as the drake hopped down and began to unbuckle Applejack from the wagon’s tack. When Applejack had denied her suit’s obedience training, it had responded by removing her ability to initiate actions of any sort, making her reliant on either the suit itself, or a “Control” pony to command her. Spike, citing his Dragon Code, had taken it on himself to become Applejack’s Control and be his friend’s link between her active mind and the outside world.

“Applejack, you can talk to Twilight for as long as the conversation lasts,” Spike ordered, twitching a long lead rope hooked into earth pony’s pulling harness.

“Hey Twilight, how you doin’?” Applejack asked, her face and body instantly animating with her strong personality. “What brings you over to the farm?”

“I wanted to make sure you were doing okay,” Twilight explained. “Apparently Derpy went a little crazy, and Rarity is running Equestria, because Luna and Celestia have headed off to pony knows where.”

“Things sure have gotten twistier than a ball of yarn after a cat’s gotten through with it,” Applejack admitted. “Started off just after you left. Every unattached pony in Ponyville started getting all buck happy. You’d a thought everypony had gone into heat at once, stallions too.”

“Just after I left… “ Twilight trailed off. There was definitely a pattern here. Something seemed to have started just after Twilight had left to deal with Tirek, and whatever it was was still ongoing.

“Shoot,” Applejack continued, stepping a bit closer and setting the buckles and loops on her harness jingling, “where do you think Big Mac is right now? If it weren’t for the help you sent us, I’d be way behind on mah chores. Even with Spike here helping out.”

“A dragon never abandons a friend in need,” Spike intoned, puffing up a little at the praise.

“Big Mac is… “ Twilight led, not entirely sure if she wanted the answer.

“Him and his marefried, that baker from Starlight’s town. Sugar Belle’s her name,” Applejack supplied. “The two of them are over at Fluttershy’s right now, training her up as their pet.”

“Their pet?” Twilight asked. She knew that the shy pegasus had a deep submissiveness in her. A submissiveness that the suit she wore was likely to have encouraged, even if it was one of the “wild” suits that had no control collar, and thus no taming, breaking, or controlling conditioning built into it.

“Just like she was an animal and not a pony,” Applejack confirmed, nodding her head. “With Spike’s help Ah asked her about it, and she said it’s something she’s always wanted to do, just never had the courage to ask anypony to do it to her. But that ain’t the weird part.”

Twilight’s eyebrows shot up at that.

“The weird part is that Big Mac is the one doing it, and with Sugar Belle in tow,” the earth pony mare continued. “Now, Ah don’t know her that well, but Ah do know mah brother. He’s not into the whole ‘Alpha Stallion’ thing. Never was. He’s always been a gentle pony. Always careful with his size and strength.”

“And now?” Twilight prompted, unable to help herself.

“Twi, he used an actual whip on her the other day,” Applejack fired back, ears going back over a frowning face. “Ah asked her about it later, and woudja believe she was actually happy about it? Ah tell ya, if she’d made one word o’ complaint Ah’d have kicked Mac’s butt to the moon and back. Broken brain or not, there’s just some things Ah won’t stand for.”

“We’ll get you fixed Applejack, I promise,” Twilight swore, feeling deep responsibility for what had happened to the mare. Applejack was one of her ponies. One of her closest friends.

“Ah keep telling ya, Twilight. It ain’t your fault,” Applejack assured her, resting a latex encased hoof on Twilight’s shoulder. “You did yer best, and Ah know this’ll pass in time. It’s just gettin’ from here to there that’s a pain. How we doin’ on time, Spike?”

“We’ve got about a half hour before lunch,” Spike noted, pulling out a watch and checking it. “Granny Smith said she was gonna make ruby encrusted baked apples for lunch!”

“Heh,” Applejack snorted in amusement. “Well, Ah’d better get back to it. If’n you can get those guards of yours back out here, Ah’d appreciate it. Right helpful some of those fellers. Kinda easy on the eyes too.”

“143 made a breakthrough,” Twilight blurted out, dreading the moment her vital and active friend would be shrouded under the guise of a mindless drone again. “Shining Armor made a thing that enabled her to come back. She’s ‘Beatrix’ now.”

“See, like Ah toldja, you’ll fix me up. That’s what you do. You save ponies, and yer brother is almost as good at it as you are, and Ah know you want to keep talkin’ but both of us got stuff to do,” Applejack took her hoof from Twilight and turned to Spike. “Right, break’s over, Spike.”

“You sure?” Spike asked, seeing Twilight’s reluctance.

“Ah’m sure,” Applejack confirmed. “Beside, sounds like you might be out of a job soon. May as well get in as much farm life as you can, while you can.”

“Go ahead Spike,” Twilight added, smiling at them both. “And thank you for being everypony’s number one assistant.”

“Aw shucks,” Spike replied, embarrassed for a moment or two, then recovering. “Applejack, this is Control. Back to work. Buck the apples off this tree and the next six in this row.”

All the animation and emotion drained away from Applejack’s face, replaced by the obedient and unflinching countenance of an obedient drone worker. A mere cog in the machinery of an apple farm. Wordlessly, the drone strode over to the tree and spinning, gave it a powerful buck that sent a cascade of apples into waiting baskets.

“Talk to you later?” Spike asked.

“You know it,” Twilight replied, making a decision as she watched Spike lead his drone over to the next tree, making ready to repeat the process.

“Sounds like other ponies have changed in the same sort of way Lyra and Bon Bon have,” she stated, addressing the two stallions under her command. “And neither of you noticed any of this?”

“Well, uh... ” Sun Spear replied, with a touch of embarrassment. “We were sort of tied up around the castle.”

“Right,” Twilight replied thoughtfully. “Well, it sounds like other than behaving somewhat differently Fluttershy isn’t in any danger and isn’t in the sort of prison Dashiel, Trixie and myself were in, or bound in a suit like you colts were.”

“No Ma’am,” Shadow Shield confirmed. “Your orders?”

“Back to the castle,” Twilight replied, watching Spike and Applejack continue down the orchard. “If I’m going to fix whatever happened here while I was gone, I need to go to the source. Which means finding Derpy. We know she went to Canterlot, so that’s where we’re going first. Understood?”

“Yes Ma’am!” responded both guards, in perfect lockstep.

Author's Note

Per usual, Twilight's return home is anything but restful...

Cue the obligatory promotion of my Patreon. You can join for as little as a dollar a month and get regular sneak peaks into what I'm writing and be on the priority queue for commissions.

Until next chapter, be safe and remember not to try on any close fitting necklaces offered by attractive strangers...

Imperial Interlewd IV

When you teleport, your senses are briefly cut off from reality as you travel through that space between spaces. and it takes them a moment or two to start giving you valid information about the new place you have arrived at.

For Twilight, as with most others, the first thing that reported in were her eyes, telling her that she had indeed arrived at her intended destination of the crystalline caverns within Mount Canter, as dozens of reflected images of her and Dashiel looked back at her from the surfaces of the crystals that had first drawn ponies to this place, millenia ago.

The second thing that came barrelling in was the smell. Twilight could feel her nose wrinkling as the ammonia-like tang of old sweat hit her olfactory nerves, followed almost immediately by the musky smell of sex. Lots and lots of sex.

“Dashiel?” Twilight asked, looking beside her. She could see her companions' nostrils expand as the odour of the place hit her as well.

“Yeah, I smell it too,” Dashiel replied, before dropping into a bent legged stance. “You stay here, I’m going to reconnoitre a bit.”

“I’m coming with you,” Twilight stated, only to be stopped cold by Dashiel’s war wing.

“The bucking hell you are,” the captain of the Twilight Guard hissed. “I work for you, but in a situation like this, I’m in charge. So you stay here while I poke around.”

“But—” Twilight tried to interject.

“No buts. You risk your flank too much as it is,” Dashiel bluntly interrupted. “I go, you stay. If it sounds like I need help, then you come in to kick butt and take names. Let me do my job, so you can do yours once I find out what the situation is. Okay?”

“Be careful,” Twilight cautioned, taking a step back.

“Don’t worry, I’ve got both you and Luna making sure I don’t do anything too crazy,” Dashiel replied, before furling her wings and moving away so softly Twilight would have sworn the pegasus was floating over the ground instead of walking.

Despite her confidence in Dashiel’s skills, Twilight couldn’t help but worry and spent the long minutes waiting for her captain’s return in recalling numerous spells that could be used for both defence and offence. Particularly ones of the quick and dirty sort. Twilight was just about to cast a pair of defensive enchantments when a hissing sound caught her attention.

Looking in the direction the sound had come from, Twilight could just see Dashiel making a “come here” motion from where the ever-present gloom of the caverns began.

“What did—” Twilight’s question as she came close was stopped by a hoof against her muzzle.

“Shhhh!” warned Dashiel, anger passing across her face briefly.

“Sorry,” Twilight whispered. “What did you find?”

“Trouble,” Dashiel replied, in a low hard voice. “Follow me and don’t cut loose until you have to.”

Twilight went to make a questioning look at the battle-scarred veteran, but Dashiel was already on the move, ghosting along on silent hooves so quiet that Twilight was now sure some sort of pegasus magic was involved. With no other option, the alicorn followed in Dashiel’s wake as Twilight could clearly tell from her body language that whatever the pegasus had seen had brought her well honed combat instincts to the fore.

Twilight did her best to move as quietly as Dashiel did as the pegasus led them both through gallery after gallery of crystal passages, the occasional annoyed flick of an ear telling her that she wasn’t moving silently enough for the captain’s liking. They had been moving for what seemed hours, but was likely only a couple of minutes, when Twilight heard it. The rhythmic sound of flesh on flesh and panting breaths working hard to feed that flesh with the energy it needed to continue the drumbeat of life.

It was the sound of sex.

The pair rounded a corner and Dashiel dropped into a low crouch as Twilight spotted an opening in the wall ahead. A reddish light coming up from beneath told Twilight that the hole overlooked something, likely whoever it was who was currently having their brains fucked out as the slapping sound had grown even louder. Twilight didn’t need to be told to move with as much quiet and care as she could from this point forward.

Dashiel moved forward just enough so that she could barely peer over the lip of the hole and gestured for Twilight to move up beside her with her flesh and blood wing. Step by laborious step the lavender alicorn moved toward that opening, taking care to see where her hoof would land each time, but at last she was able to see what had made Dashiel come and get her.

The hole overlooked a large cavern, in the centre of which was a curtained off area that was lavishly furnished with couches, divans and a veritable mountain of pillows and cushions. The area was lit by golden lamps on silver chains above small tables that held bottles of wine, snacks… and a wide variety of sex toys. More than Twilight had ever seen outside of Shaushka’s brothel or Spicy Hot’s specialty store.

In the center of all that luxury Twilight could see the forms of Celestia, Luna and Derpy engaged in active, energetic sex. Both alicorns appeared to have made use of “The Special Spell” and were ramming their magically created endowments into both of Derpy’s lower holes with a back and forth rhythm that had the blonde pegasus moving in a strange dance of sybaritic glory. But something seemed off about it all.

Focusing her gaze, Twilight drew in a hissing breath as realized that all three ponies were wearing some sort of hood or helmet made from a rough, red material that covered their entire heads leaving only their mouths and nose uncovered, rendering all three blind and likely deaf as well. Twilight’s gaze moved down the bodies of the three ponies and realized something else was wrong.

All three ponies had been at this for a very long time.

Celestia and Luna were both sweat streaked, flecks of foam covering their heaving barrels as they both strove to keep up the pace they had set while double-fucking Derpy, who looked far worse than the alicorns who were servicing her. The grey furred pony, who was the meat in the alicorn sandwich, was absolutely covered in a froth that in places was streaked with lines of red. Her barrel heaved as she did her best to keep pace and respond with what was being done to her, but even at this range Twilight could tell her maid was nearing complete physical collapse.

Unless something was done, and fast, Derpy was going to be literally fucked to death right in front of Twilight's eyes.

Dashiel must have felt Twilight tense up beside her, as the warrior suddenly grabbed Twilight’s muzzle and drew it close, whispering, “No. Look outside the curtains.”

Dashiel let go of her princess, and Twilight looked back down, expanding her vision to take in what was going on outside of the curtained off area. At first she couldn’t see anything unusual at all, but something twigged at her arcane senses and a simple wordless spell allowed her to pierce the magical cloak around the area.

There were dozens of the strange red changelings moving all around outside the curtains. Some appeared to be maintaining the cloaking spell Twilight had just pierced, and others were using their strange magic to send a previously invisible scarlet fog over the three ponies in their midst, but the vast majority of the insectile beings were carrying a stream of head sized red crystals to and from the site of what was clearly a magically compelled orgy.

The changelings moved in a smooth line, coming in from another entrance to the cavern, their crystal a dull red. They would then walk around the curtained off area, and as they did the rock they held would gradually change in colour from their original dull red into a vibrant, pulsing scarlet, before walking back out of the cavern the way they had come.

A puff of air washed against the rapidly angering alicorn, and Twilight realized that Dashiel had disappeared. She was just absorbing that information when a booming voice echoed across the entire cavern and likely out into many of the caves beyond.

“I AM THE TERROR THAT FLAPS IN THE NIGHT!” declared Dashiel’s voice, in a tone that promised doom and destruction. “I AM THE BOLT FROM THE BLUE THAT DESTROYS YOUR PLANS! I AM THE LAST SHADOW OF FORMER GLORY!”

Dashiel appeared in the middle of her enemies in a battle crouch, wings flared and weapons ready for blood.

“I am Dashiel, Twilight’s Captain and Luna’s Chosen,” the pegasus finished. “Surrender or die.”

There was a pause as every creature present froze into perfect immobility, and then utter chaos broke loose as at least a dozen of the red creatures hurled bolts of power or carmine blobs of the resin-like mucous changelings loved to capture ponies with. Dashiel, however, was already on the move, leaping to avoid the initial barrage and landing among a group of her attackers.

“Go for the princesses!” Dashiel shouted. “I’ve got this!”

Twilight dove through the hole in reflexive obedience, landing beside the still screwing sisters and their sexually suffering steed. A few changelings made to attack Twilight as well, but some well placed blasts from her horn drove them off in short order. Most of the other changelings appeared to be concerned with either fleeing the area with as many crystals as they could carry, or trying to take down Dashiel, which was a losing proposition even at the best of times.

“Luna, Celestia,” Twilight yelled, shaking both alicorns. “You’ve got to stop.”

“Must. Need. Have,” panted Celestia, unhearing and uncaring of Twilight trying to stop her, the gold of her sorcerous endowment flashing as it slid in and out of Derpy’s body, and Twilight gasped as her downwards gaze revealed the damage that had been wrought by unknown hours of alicorn strength and stamina on the soft flesh of her maid.

“Sorry Celestia,” the alicorn murmured, as she fired a stunning blast into her mentor at point blank range, followed a moment later by a second blast directly into Luna. Despite the resistances of their breed, both of the sisters succumbed almost instantly and their faux cocks melted away almost in the same moment of their collapse.

“Derpy!” Twilight cried, pulling the pony into herself as she fell sideways. The grey pony’s body was so hot it almost burned to touch her, and Derpy was still pulling in the deep and desperate breaths of a pony on her last mile.

“Want. Release. Need,” Derpy gasped, in almost direct imitation of what Celestia had said a moment ago. The thought made Twilight glance over to the solar princess and it shocked Twilight to the core to see that both Celestia and Luna’s hips were still slightly moving up and down, in spite of being fully unconscious, still trying to complete what they had started.

“What did they do to you?” Twilight asked, breathing out the question. Looking up, she could see the fight still going on. Dashiel was still badly outnumbered, but she was outmanoeuvring and outfighting her opponents with ease, and despite her words Dashiel appeared to be more than happy to strike blows that disabled her opponents rather than killing them outright.

Twilight staggered as something impacted her back with a wet splat, and she turned to see a pair of the red changelings staring back at her.

“You!” hissed one of them. “The Changer of the Way!”

“Get her,” ordered the second, sending a blob of resin toward Twilight that was easily blocked.

“What did you do to them?” Twilight demanded, grabbing the one that had fired at her with her magic.

“We, gave them, your gift,” the creature rasped, and Twilight grimaced as she realized she was putting too much force into her telekinetic grasp and was almost crushing the changeling.

“What gift?” Twilight again demanded, before the first one managed to surprise her with a hoof sized blob of resin that struck squarely on her horn, shorting it out. Twilight braced herself for an attack as the one she had grabbed fell to the floor, but instead the two scrambled away from Twilight, running for the exit on this level.

Twilight turned her attention back to Derpy, scooping her maid up in her hooves she held the mare to her breast, and grabbing a fallen bit of curtain she started doing her best to wipe the blood streaked foam from Derpy’s body. Twilight wasn’t a medical pony, but she could tell that her maid was in a very bad way, and with every vital reservoir utterly depleted, her spark of life was beginning to fade.

“Dashiel! I need you!” Twilight shouted. “We need to get Derpy to a doctor, fast.”

“One sec,” was Dashiel’s response, dropping her last two opponents with a fast, economical combination that left them both on the floor. By Twilight’s hurried count Dashiel had taken out nearly fifty enemies in less than two minutes, many of whom appeared to be still breathing.

“Holy crap,” Dashiel said, when she got to Twilight and took in the condition of her fellow pegasus. “Princess, I don’t think she’s going to make it un—”

“I’ll teleport us,” Twilight interrupted, trying in vain to scrape the resin now glued to her horn.

“Stop. That won’t work with that stuff on your horn, and we can’t get it off you right now,” Dashiel ordered, in a voice of utter authority. “I’ve got something that will buy us all the time we need.”

“What?” asked Twilight, feeling Derpy’s breathing beginning to shift to the agonal rhythm of near death.

“They came up with this in the last year or so of the war,” Dashiel said, and detaching her war wing, opened a small compartment built into one of its metal spars. Inside Twilight could see what looked like a single use drug injection vial of the sort given to ponies with severe allergies.

“What’s in that?” Twilight asked, as Dashiel pulled out the vial from its protected niche.

“Concreation Twelve,” Dashiel replied, eyeing the grey fluid inside the injector. “It’s a distillation of cockatrice blood and basilisk venom, among a few other things.”

“That will, that will turn her to stone!” Twilight gasped, before realizing the logic of the potion. “And while she’s a stone she can’t die!”

“Technically she’ll be dead, but in a state that she can be revived from and that will keep her exactly as she was when I inject her,” Dashiel added, and pressing the small device against Derpy’s flesh, she triggered the activator. “Officers ranked ‘Captain’ and above were issued these for times just like this.”

“There’s only one problem,” Dashiel continued, as the two of them watched grey fur give way to grey stone. “I don’t have any of the reversal agent.”

“WHAT?!” screeched Twilight, pure rage in her eyes as she grabbed Dashiel. “HOW ARE WE SUPPOSED TO REVIVE HER?”

“Easy, Princess,” Dashiel replied, taking the marehandling in stride. “We go back and visit my Celestia, or at least a hospital there. They’ve got tons of the stuff.”

Twilight just stood there for a moment, trying to process what had just happened, and what Dashiel had committed her to, and remembering that Dashiel was a version of Rainbow Dash, after all.

“Look, I’ve seen enough ponies on their last breath to know Derpy wasn’t going to survive much longer,” Dashiel explained, her tone realizing that her usual fast and independent decision making might have been just a little too fast and independent just then.

“Next time, ask first. Understood?” Twilight demanded, before being distracted by Luna and Celestia still trying to hump something, in spite of their unconscious state.

“They’ve been drugged,” Dashiel replied, using a hoof to part the snow white hairs on a royal neck. “Several times by the look of it. I’m guessing by these weird changelings.”

Twilight gave Dashiel a look that promised the captain of her guard that this discussion wasn’t over, but there were more pressing issues at the moment.

“Follow the rail cart tracks and they should take you up to the surface,” Twilight said, gathering up some of the scattered pillows in an effort to make the sisters more comfortable. “Send a detachment of the guard here, along with as many medical ponies as possible, then I want you to link up with Shining and Cadance and get them into Canterlot. By that time I should have this gunk off my horn and be able to teleport everypony back up.”

“Yes Ma’am,” Dashiel responded, snapping out a salute. “Just be careful. None of these things that I hit should be able to give you any trouble, but they seemed pretty weird, so be careful.”

“I’ll be okay. Get going, that’s an order,” Twilight commanded.

“Yes Ma’am,” replied Dashiel, quickly fitting her metal wing back to her body and leaving the cavern with a blast of dust and wind.

As the dust and papers settled Twilight glanced over to the pile of changeling wreckage her captain had made. She was far from a callous mare, but these were creatures who had hurt her friends and family, had hurt ponies who looked to her for guidance and protection, bringing one of them to the point of death itself.

The part of Twilight Sparkle that was the Princess of Friendship ached to see any creature suffer harm, but being a princess also meant accepting the responsibility to protect those who responded to Friendship’s magic from those who would seek to harm them. It meant accepting that sometimes very unfriendly things had to be done, and whether it was done by her hoof or by her orders, she was responsible.

Twilight slowly walked over, and the changelings that were still conscious and able to move shrank away from her approach.

“Don’t,” she warned them, and as a single body all of the changelings froze. “Take care of your wounds and each other as best you can, but don’t try to escape or attack me. Okay?”

“You… you are the Changer of the Way,” one of them replied, in a hissing voice. “Join us. Let us worship you. We will spread your Gift across the land and you will be our Queen.”

“The other changeling called me that too,” Twilight answered back, frowning in thought as she did so. “What does ‘Changer of the Way’ mean?”

“It means we will be your devoted slaves, serving you in all things,” said a second of the red changelings, this one tying a splint around a clearly broken rear leg. “Join us. Be our Queen.”

“Join us,” echoed a third, and a fourth.

“But I… “ Twilight’s words trailed off. Why shouldn’t she accept their worship? They were in need of a leader. A leader who would teach them the values of Friendship. A leader who—

Twilight could feel her thoughts slowing down, like they were becoming mired in jam.

Yes, she could become the Queen of these strange changelings. They would be hers, and through them all ponies would become hers, serving her even as they serviced…

“Serviced?” Twilight said aloud, voicing her thoughts. “Why would I say ‘serviced’?”

“We would love to be of service to you, O Queen,” said the hissing voice of a changeling, much much closer than it had been before.

Twilight looked up in alarm, just in time for the straps of a bridle to slide over and around her muzzle, the rear straps looping around the back of her head and buckling tight as they glowed with scarlet magic. Another second and loops of rope passed through attachment points on either side of her head and what changelings were still able bodied pulled them taut, tethering the alicorn between two groups of the creatures.

“Don’t fight it, O Queen,” said the changeling, as the smokey scarlet fog of their strange magic began to fill the air again. “Rest. Safe and secure, and knowing that we will serve and be of service to you, once you have embraced your destiny.”

“Let me go!” Twilight yelled, tossing her head in an attempt to free herself, but in spite of the fact that the changelings holding her were wounded, they had both leverage and their own magic on their side.

“Can’t you feel it?” hissed the changeling, mounting her back as if she was some sort of riding animal. “The desire? The lust? The need to breed and be bred?”

“I… “ Twilight said, her argument dying in her head. They were right. She could feel the heat growing inside of her, fed by the carmine sorcery of these strange changelings. The need to have a stallion covering her flanks. The desire to have a willing mare beneath her. The overwhelming urge to hold the rein—

“NO!” Twilight shouted, and throwing all of her alicorn strength into the effort, twisted and heaved against the ropes holding her, sending changelings flying like beads of water from a cracked whip.

“You cannot escape your destiny!” shouted the changeling riding on her back. “You belong to us and we to you! You will be our Queen of Lu—”

Whatever else the changeling was going to say came to a halt as Twilight reared up and rammed the creature bodily into the stone wall of the cavern with a horrible crunching noise, and Twilight felt the being’s weight come off her back as it fell to the floor. Twilight moved into a fighting stance, ready to continue the battle, only to realize that there was no one left to fight.

The red haze that had been refilling the room began to fade away once more, and as the air cleared, so too did Twilight’s mind and with it, her clarity of thought returned. A minute later, with a clear and focused mind once more, Twilight was easily able to unbuckle the bridle and check on Celestia and Luna again.

Neither alicorn seemed to have suffered any further ill effects, but if they and Derpy had been exposed to the same magics that Twilight had over the past couple of minutes it explained a lot of what had gone on in Equestria while she had been away. As for the remaining changelings…

A full half dozen of them had breathed their last, collisions with solid objects finishing what Dashiel had started. Of those that were still alive, only one was still conscious.

“Why?” Twilight begged, heartsick at the carnage she had wrought. “All you had to do was just sit and surrender. That’s all.”

“You,” replied the changeling, with pained breaths, “are the Changer of the Way. That is why.”

No matter how much Twilight cajoled or begged the creature, that is all that it would say to her. Repeating the same line over and over again, which is how the rescue party found her, still trying to get some sort of information from the creature.

“Looks like you had a time of it,” Dashiel observed, setting down beside Twilight as the cavern filled with medical ponies and members of the Twilight Guard flying protective escort.

“Take good care of her,” Twilight said, to a unicorn that was lifting Celestia onto a litter. “Keep her and Luna unconscious until we can get the drugs they’ve been filled with out of their systems. Got it?”

“Understood, Princess,” replied the unicorn. “We love her too.”

“I know,” Twilight responded, allowing a small smile to touch the corners of her mouth before turning her attention to Dashiel. “And yeah, once you were gone they tried to tether me in place while overwhelming my mind with that magic of theirs.”

“If you hadn’t known it was coming, they might have got you. Like they did back in Ponyville,” Dashiel commented, making Twilight look at her sharply. “Oh come on, I know how you were feeling back there. Possession, dominance, control, and all of it in the name of getting your fields plowed.”

“I… Uh… Yeah,” Twilight admitted, feeling her cheeks heat a bit. “It was these red changelings then?”

“Near as I can tell, yeah,” Dashiel answered. “They had those crystals of theirs all over the place, and any pony near them starts getting randy as—”

“Over here!” yelled a guardsmare. “I need help over here!”

Everypony came running over to where the mare stood, facing into a small alcove just off of the main cavern. There were over a dozen of these small side chambers and so far, all of them seemed to have been used as storage for one thing or another.

This particular alcove however, was being used to store a changeling pod made from red resins and mucus, as opposed to the standard green ones that Twilight had seen before, and everypony gasped as they saw who was trapped inside the pod.

Queen Chrysalis weakly struggled against the semi-elastic strands holding her body and limbs tight against the rear wall of the organic prison, and Twilight couldn’t help but feel a thrill go through her body as she saw that the queen of the changelings was further held in place by a large shaft that was sliding with deliberate slow cruelty in and out of her nethers.

Some light, and the shadows of those looking in must have penetrated the translucent walls of the pod, as Chrysalis seemed to suddenly stir into life, struggling against her bonds until the pod extruded a tall rigid collar that locked the monarch’s throat and head in place, forcing the changeling to open her mouth in time for a tentacle to slide down from above and into her mouth.

Chrysalis’s throat pulsed in time with the tentacle as it pushed something down her throat, and as Twilight and the others watched, the surge of energy that Chrysalis had found ebbed away, leaving her hanging slackly in the pod and at the mercy of whoever controlled it.

Author's Note

Red changelings with lust powers? The Changer of the Way? And why is Chrysalis in a pod?

Answers coming in the next chapter.

Also, sorry for the delay on this. Both my primary and backup editors were either sick or otherwise unable to work on the story until just a few days ago, and I depend on editing to keep my literary hubris in check.

If you want to have priority status for any future commission you might have in mind, early peeks at my writing, help keep me in coffee and keyboards, or simply aid me in my quest to get to Everfree NorthWest next year, join my Patreon for as little as a dollar a month and you too can help a crazy writer keep on, keeping on.

Also, I've taken to streaming my attempts at gaming. Midnight to 2am Pacific Daylight Time, Saturday through Tuesday nights. Currently playing the Darkness Falls mod for 7 Days to Die.
Link to Stream

Imperial Interlewd V

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

The Spell

“Okay, you are going to tell me everything you know. Or...so help me, I will beat the knowledge out of you,” said Twilight Sparkle to the pink unicorn mare in front of her.

“Um…” said a thoroughly cowed Starlight Glimmer. “I already did promise to help you. Plus, it isn’t like I can do much to stop you with this inhibitor on my horn.” She tapped the golden ring locking off her magic.

“I’m sorry, Starlight,” sighed Twilight, taking a break after three hours of continuous spell work. “I’m just getting frustrated. I know you’re doing your best and if you could help magically you would, but...” Twilight’s voice trailed off.

“But until Celestia ends my magic probation I’m sort of stuck,” said Starlight. “I can understand her caution. I mean, I did sort of destroy Equestria...multiple times.”

“Which makes it even more important that we learn how that spell of Star Swirl’s worked,” said Twilight, instantly. “I mean, it didn’t just send you into the past. It sent me into parallel worlds.” Twilight’s eyes twinkled with stars, “Entire unknown worlds, Starlight, only a spell away.”

“Twilight, remember what you told me about how dangerous some of those worlds were?” Starlight asked, breaking Twilight’s train of thought.

“Hmm, you’re right Starlight,” said Twilight, thinking. “Some of those alternate worlds were inhospitable.”

“Inhospitable?” shouted Starlight. “If by inhospitable, you mean deadly and utterly dangerous to pony life, ya sure.”

“Well, some of them weren’t,” said Twilight. “Like the one run by Flim and Flam or Nightmare Moon’s Equestria.”

“You know,” said Starlight, “that one always struck me as kind of odd.”

“Oh, why?”

“Well, two reasons,” said Starlight. “First off, how does anything survive in a world of perpetual night. I mean come on, no sunlight means no plants which means no nopony pretty quick.”

“I would have to assume Nightmare wanted living subjects and the ponies I saw there certainly didn’t seem to be malnourished.”

“Exactly, so how are plants growing and flourishing. At least enough to keep everypony alive, that is.”

“Good questions, Starlight. Probably the best way would be to take samples of the local flora once I get there. What was your second reason why the Equestria ruled by Nightmare Moon seemed odd?” asked Twilight.

“Well, I remember what you told me about the ponies you encountered there. About that world’s version of Rarity and Rainbow Dash.”

“They both seemed to be loyal and dedicated servants of Nightmare Moon,” said Twilight. “They certainly seemed more than willing to obey her.”

“Exactly,” said Starlight, “but we have to assume that they were originally loyal servants of that world’s Celestia, right?”

“Well,” said Twilight, considering, “that does seem to follow. That Nightmare Moon did seem to indicate that the battle with her Celestia was a fairly recent thing.”

“Right, so does Nightmare Moon manage to obtain the loyalty of a pony like Rainbow Dash?” asked Starlight. “Even though she wouldn’t be the Element of Loyalty there, she’s loyal by her very nature. I can’t really picture any scenario where Rainbow Dash would willingly change her loyalty from Celestia to Nightmare Moon.”

“There had to be some reason,” said Twilight, who tried to think of some chain of events that would lead Rainbow Dash to being loyal to Nightmare Moon. She couldn’t, Dash’s loyalty was a fundamental truth of the universe, like Applejack’s honesty or Fluttershy’s kindness. And Rarity, she had been there as well. Just as loyal, just as obedient to her dark overlady.

“Well, I still think going to any of those worlds is a bad idea, Twilight,” said Starlight, interrupting Twilight’s chain of thought. “But I guess if you’re careful and limit yourself just to scouting and not...”

“And not having to prepare for yet another battle against a megalomaniacal villain bent on rewriting time,” said Twilight to an embarrassed Starlight Glimmer.

“I was not megalomaniacal, I was obsessive, and my obsession was you,” said Starlight, who then gave a great sigh. “Do you think ponies are ever going to be able to forgive me?”

“Of course they will, Starlight,” said Twilight, as she drew her friendship student into a hug. “Learning about friendship and applying those lessons is the best way to get ponies to forgive you.”

“I hope so, Twilight,” said Starlight. “But in the meantime, maybe we should take a break and maybe have some lunch.”

“Good idea, I’m just beating my head against a wall right now,” said Twilight. “Let’s go see if Spike has made anything.” Together, the two mares left the Cutie Map room and headed off in search of food.

A half hour later teacher, student and assistant were all sitting down for lunch. Spike had made grilled cheese sandwiches with tomato soup. He had done a wonderful job on the lunch, the cheese was thick and gooey, and the soup had just the right amount of tang to offset the smoothness of the cheese. Twilight savored the food, alternating between bites of sandwich and slurps of hot soup. Starlight however, without magic, was dunking her sandwiches into the tomato soup and slurping/biting pieces off of the combined food.

Twilight let her mind become unfocused and drift, as she watched Starlight eat. Dunk, slurp, bite, chew. Twilight’s eyes became unfocused, as her mind began to superimpose the arcane framework of the spell she had spent the morning working on, over top of the image her eyes were providing her of Starlight eating her lunch. Somehow, somewhere, Twilight’s mind suddenly made a connection.

“Eureka!” Twilight cried out, startling Starlight, who dropped her third sandwich into her soup, and sent a tidal wave of tomato across the table.

“I got it!” yelled Spike grabbing up a cloth and stemming the tide of crimson goodness.

“Thanks, Spike. I didn’t mean to do that, but someone startled me with a big yell,” said Starlight, glaring somewhat at Twilight.

“Heh, sorry Starlight,” said Twilight. “It’s just that I was watching you eat and suddenly the whole problem became perfectly clear to me.”

“Okay, back the cart up a bit there,” said Starlight. “Explain to me how my eating lunch helped you figure out a magic problem we’ve been working on all morning.”

“I was watching how you were eating, Starlight,” said Twilight. “Dunking your sandwich in the soup and then slurping it off. It made me realize that Star Swirl’s spell is the same way.”

“What do you mean?” asked Starlight, nodding her thanks to Spike as he ladled some replacement soup into her bowl.

“I mean, we’ve been going at this all wrong,” said Twilight, triumph in her voice. “We’ve been looking at the end product as a single piece, but like your dunked sandwich, it isn’t, it’s a combined result. It’s not just time travel. It’s time travel, and a dimensional shift, and likely a probability algorithm as well. All held in a single arcane gestalt.” Starlight’s face lit with sudden realization at the possibilities.

“Of course,” she said, excitedly, “So all we need to do is decompile the spell into its original components, into the individual effects that make up the combined result! Once we do that, we can reassemble whatever parts of the spell we want into a new matrix to create whatever result we want.” Spike began to remove dishes from the lunch table. He could hear and see the signs of an imminent research frenzy. Looking from one mare to the other, he saw matching looks of academic zeal.

“Great,” he muttered, “now there are two of them.” Neither Twilight nor Starlight took any further notice of Spike as the duo headed back to the Cutie Map room, chattering back and forth. Their conversation was laced with terms Spike could barely spell, never mind understand.

After another six hours of research, diagrams, blackboards and the odd explosion had gone by, the pair of unicorns called it a night. They were tired, their minds had turned to mush, but they had successfully managed to take apart and reassemble one of the most complicated spells ever written.

“Okay Starlight,” said Twilight. “Let’s get some rest and tomorrow morning I can start making careful jumps to some of those other worlds and do some exploring.”

“How long do you think you will be gone for?” asked Starlight.

“With any luck, I should be right back,” said Twilight. “It will be almost like I had never left.”

Author's Note

So, after much delay, and because all of you asked for it, here begins my remake of Loving the Nightmare. I hope you enjoy it. Comments, suggestions and speculations are fully welcome.

Shout out to Javarod for their editing!

Second Interlewd, Part 2

Twilight Sparkle dreamed of pleasure.

She was floating on a bed of clouds. Down by her tail was Alyss, gently lapping at the guarded treasure just behind Twilight’s teats. Every lick of the changeling princess’ tongue spread Twilight’s lavender lips a little further, sunk a little deeper, drew just a little more of the sweet nectar out of the Princess of Friendship.

“Yesss Alyss,” Twilight said, in a sibilant hiss. “Oh Light, just like that. Keep going.”

Twilight tried to bring her forehooves down so that she could pull that willing tongue even further into her, but they didn’t seem to want to move. Puzzled, she tried again. Her forelegs moved down a bit and then were pulled back up above her head. She looked up and away from the mesmerizing view between her thighs to see that her forelegs were being held in place by another pony.

King Sombra, a smirk on his lips and his eyes dancing with wicked pleasure, was holding her in place. His hooves were like elastic steel around hers, letting her pull forward a bit before drawing her legs back with an easy strength.

“Fear not, Mistress,” Sombra said, his earthy grumble vibrating through Twilight. “My purpose here is your pleasure, naught else.”

Keeping her forelegs pinned, Sombra began to lick, kiss and nibble his way along Twilight’s throat. His fangs left little electric trails in their wake, as they scraped along Twilight’s skin with delicate viciousness. As the dark king worked his way down her lavender column and into the hollow of Twilight’s throat, her breath quickened, and felt Alyss’ tongue pass the last barrier it had been dueling with to penetrate into Twilight’s now molten core.

“Ahh,” was all Twilight could think of to say, as the long wiry tongue inside of her began to wriggle and twist, touching every sensitive nerve cluster that Alyss had learned of when she had held Twilight as her captive.

“MMmmm,” Sombra hummed as he worked his way back up Twilight’s throat, sliding his teeth across either side of her windpipe while he sucked at the skin over that precious area. The erotic vulnerability was something Twilight had only read about, and to experience it was was beyond words, beyond thought. It was not something that could be described, only felt.

Her mind and will were both melting rapidly under the two pronged erotic assault. Twilight knew, in a distant part of her mind, that she should be pushing them off and fighting back. In truth though, she no longer cared. She felt like one of Pinkie’s surprise candies. If you licked at one of them patiently, eventually you would get through the outer candy to the tasty treat in the center. Twilight began to wonder which of her conquered paramours would be the first to suck and lick long enough.

That thought coincided with the gripping, shuddering climax that rolled its way through the alicorn. Which also had the effect of waking Twilight up.

“What?” she asked in confusion, her mind mazed by abrupt wakefulness and the aftershocks of her orgasm. Sensation began to fire again in her nethers and her forehooves moved down in automatic response, only to pulled back over her head again. Looking up, she saw that there were shiny black cuffs wrapped around her hooves, connected to her bed posts by a series of elastic cords.

Twilight looked down and saw that her rear legs had been similarly secured, the stretchable cords holding her legs apart. Looking between them was a sight she instantly recognized. Black curves of living, symbiotic latex, highlighted with a myriad tiny flowing lines of colour and power, all topped by a head sporting a purple mane with aquamarine highlights.

“Starlight, what are you—uuhhh,” Twilight moaned, as Starlight lashed Twilight’s pearl with her tongue again.

“Good morning, Mistress,” Starlight said, lifting her head from where it had been worshipping the alicorn’s body. The self-captured unicorn had a look of pleased satisfaction on her face, which the smear of Twilight’s juices did nothing to reduce. Dipping her head down again, Starlight was able to draw a second orgasm out of the primed and ready mare she had bound to the bed.

“Starlight,” Twilight said, minutes later, as she managed to free her mind from the sweet rapture that Starlight had wrapped it in. “what are you doing, and why am I tied up?”

“My training gave me the idea that you might enjoy it, Mistress,” Starlight said, and a hint of mischief came to her eyes. “And I had to do something to keep your legs out of the way while I woke you up. Did you enjoy it?”

“Your training?” Twilight asked, before shaking her head. That wasn’t the most important thing just then. “Can you undo me now, please?”

“Mistress, you can do it yourself,” Starlight said, moving her head back toward Twilight’s nethers. “Unless you would prefer me to continue, that is?”

“What do you mean, I can do it myself?” Twilight asked, becoming a little annoyed.

“I didn’t bind your magic in any way,” Starlight replied. “You can undo yourself at any time. You always could.”

Reaching out, Twilight realized that she did indeed have full and complete access to her magical abilities. What made her flush with embarrassment though was the fact that she hadn’t even considered using them, let alone try to release herself. In fact, after her initial reactions Twilight realized she hadn’t even physically struggled against the cords holding her. A quick flare and Twilight was free, but instead of dealing with her own issues she decided to deal with the other mare.

“Starlight, what did you mean by ‘training’?” Twilight asked, as she grabbed a cloth with her field to wipe herself off.

“I’ve been able to create training regimens so that the suit rewards me for different activities,” Starlight said, pouting a bit. “You made me stop using the conditioning routines, so I came up with this instead.”

“Starlight, I’ve said before you aren’t my slave, or my prisoner,” Twilight said, wiping off Starlight’s face as well. “I brought you here to teach you about friendship.”

“And you are,” Starlight said, leaning into the strokes of the cloth. “But I have to pay for my crimes against reality itself. I’m just lucky that you’re letting me decide how I should be punished.”

“Wait,” Twilight said, tilting her head at the suited mare. “Crimes against reality?”

“While you’ve been gone I’ve had time to think about it,” Starlight said, beginning to look more and more upset. “Twilight, I didn’t just destroy Equestria multiple times while we were fighting in that time loop. I think I fractured the timeline and damaged reality itself. I broke the space-time continuum. All these other Equestrias you’ve been going to? None of them existed before. I created them. I made all that death, all that misery. Everything that you’ve been going out and fixing, it’s my fault. ME! ARGHHH!”

Starlight had been getting louder and louder, a combination of growing rage and sorrow working across her face, but now she was on the floor, writhing in pain.

“Improper behavior detected, punishment routine activated, 614,” came the Voice of Control from the collar around Starlight’s throat, and the suit flowed into place over the mare, forming a full hood and muzzle that reduced Starlight’s cries of pain to a barely audible whimper.

“Override!” Twilight shouted, dashing forward and gathering Starlight up against her. “Suit, abort punishment.”

“Control recognized,” the collar said, and the surges of power along the lines of the suit’s energy flows stopped. “Punishment routine aborted.”

“Never do that again, Starlight,” Twilight said, looking into the other mare’s eyes as the hood flowed back into the suit. Taking a deep breath Twilight made a decision, and said, “Not without my permission. You say you need a Mistress, or an Owner, so I guess if that’s what it takes to keep you from hurting yourself like this, then it’s up to me I guess.”

“You… you mean it?” Starlight asked. “You’ll actually take control of me?”

“Yes, you are mine,” Twilight pronounced, and a relieved sigh passed through the mare lying against her. “Until I release you, or you ask for your freedom.”

“Thank you,” Starlight said, gratitude in her voice. “But if you can release me at—”

“Is the owned questioning the owner?” Twilight said, lifting an eyebrow in not quite mock severity.

“No, Mistress,” Starlight said, lowering her eyes.

“And, another thing,” Twilight said, getting up and getting Starlight back on her hooves as well. “Don’t call me ‘Mistress,’ it sounds like something out of a cheap novel. If you have to use a title for me, just call me ‘Princess’.”

“By your command, Princess,” Starlight said, giving a brief bow. “Breakfast should be ready by now, if you’re hungry.”

“Let’s go,” Twilight said, moving forward as Starlight fell into place a pace behind and to the side. “For some reason I seem to have worked up a big appetite.”

Twilight wondered about some of the things Starlight had said as they walked the corridors of the castle though. Had Starlight fractured reality and broken the timeline into multiple branches? Or, had those other worlds always been there, just waiting to be discovered and helped along by the right pony or ponies. As they reached the dining room, Twilight realized that there was someone she could ask. The answers might not make any sense, but she could ask.

“Good morning, Princess,” Derpy said, holding the dining room door open and breaking Twilight’s train of thought.

Try as she might Twilight could see no sign of the array of close quarters weapons she knew Derpy had secreted over her body, and in the various folds of her uniform. If Twilight hadn’t of seen it herself, she never would of guessed the cheerful grey mare to be a deadly in-close fighter, using her eyes and cheerful demeanor as a cloak to hide the warrior within.

“Good morning, Derpy,” Twilight said, trying in vain to see the darts she knew the pegasus had between her primary feathers. “What’s Dashiel up to this morning?”

“Same thing she’s done for the past two weeks, Princess,” Derpy said, chuckling a bit. “She’s had the Twilight Guard up since dawn doing drills. Right now, I think they’re doing some sort of evasion exercise.”

“Really?” Twilight said, sitting down until something sharp jabbed her rear. “Owch!” Twilight got back up and with her magic pulled a tack, of all things, out of her butt.

“That’s it!” Dashiel yelled, appearing from out of nowhere near a wall. “The Princess is dead! All you losers failed.” The exiled pony put a whistle to her lips, blowing several blasts until ten dejected looking guards entered the dining room.

“What’s going—” Spike began, frozen in the act of laying out some pancakes for everypony.

“Shh,” Twilight said, smiling inwardly.

“What was the assignment I gave you losers?” Dashiel asked, pacing up and down in front of the line of guards.

“Keep you from getting to the Princess,” one guard said, frowning. “And we did, you never got close to her. We were on you the whole time. How?”

“I’ve told you that you guys need to be ready for an enemy that thinks,” Dashiel said, stopping and addressing the one guard directly. “Princess Twilight sits in the same chair every morning. I put that tack there last night, before we started this exercise and not one of you thought to check the chair she sits in, or anything else related to her usual routine.”

“But that’s cheating!” another guard protested.

“There is NO such thing as cheating when it comes to winning a fight,” Dashiel said, rounding on the other guard, “or when it comes to protecting your Princess.”

“Filthy Shadowbolt,” Twilight heard a guard mutter.

“Your Highness,” Dashiel said, her voice going cold as she snapped a salute with her wing. “Permission to take this outside so I can deal with things… properly.” All the guards visibly gulped. The past two weeks had taught them that despite being maimed, the former captain was more than a match for any of them in single combat.

“Granted, Dashiel,” Twilight said. “Just don’t break any of them. Not permanently, at least.”

“Sparring ring, losers,” Dashiel ordered, and as the group tramped out Dashiel paused as she passed Derpy, in her servant’s outfit. “Master Derpy, I request the honor of another lesson from you this evening. I’m still having problems working out that last combination you showed me.”

“On the condition that you play your guitar for me and Dinky for an hour beforehand,” Derpy said, before looking over to Twilight. “If my duties permit, of course.” Twilight waved a hoof in a “go ahead” gesture, and Derpy smiled.

“I will see you then, Master,” Dashiel said, making an odd gesture with her forehooves before heading out in the wake of the guards she was about to chastise.

“Master?” Twilight asked, as Derpy helped Spike with the passing around of toppings for the waffles and pancakes. “Is everything masters and mistresses these days?”

“Dashiel found out that I’m a seventh grade Master of Wing Chun,” Derpy answered. “Ever since, she’s been after me for lessons.”

“Is she any good?” Twilight asked, genuinely curious. “And that's another thing. Since when do you know hoof to hoof combat?”

“Ruthlessly determined is how I’d describe her,” Derpy said, noticing Starlight hadn’t seated herself yet, choosing instead to stand at Twilight’s right shoulder. “As for my fighting. Well, when my eyes… changed, there were some bullies who tried to take advantage. My dad enrolled me in Wing Chun classes and things went from there.”

Twilight could tell Derpy wasn’t telling her everything, but then again she hadn’t asked, and the grey mare had earned the right to keep a few secrets. Twilight also noticed Derpy trying to discreetly get Starlight to sit down.

“Starlight, why aren’t you eating?” Twilight asked, even though she suspected what the answer would be.

“You didn’t say I could, Mi—Princess,” Starlight said, confirming Twilight’s suspicion.

“Starlight, unless I tell you differently, you are to eat, sleep, and drink as you normally would,” Twilight said, sensing the approval of the others in the room. “Can’t have you keeling over from hunger now, can we? It wouldn’t look good.” Starlight sat down and Spike slid a heaping stack of buttermilk pancakes in front of the unicorn.

“Good girl,” Twilight said, and Starlight’s smile warmed a place inside of Twilight as she watched her unicorn eat. “Do we have anything pressing today? I’d like to head out and see the girls if I can. Fluttershy in particular.”

“Just one thing, Princess,” Starlight said, between bites that were making the pancake stack disappear with almost disturbing speed. “Flim and Flam wanted to see you. Something about ‘variant’ suit prototypes.”

“Oh,” Twilight replied, intrigued. “That sounds pretty interesting, actually.”

Up until a few months ago, there had been a series of lightly wooded meadows behind Twilight’s castle. Now, the area held the initial facilities for the Twilight Guard, and as with any new military organization those facilities were rough and ready. Despite the green wood that made up the buildings they worked in, there was nothing green about the initial core of guards Luna and Celestia had sent to protect Equestria’s newest princess. Each of them were seasoned, and in some cases decorated, veterans.

Which is why they were not happy with the one-winged pegasus who had been making them look like raw recruits for almost two weeks now.

“All right you worthless excuse for guards,” Dashiel said, standing in the middle of the sparring circle. “Which one of you wants to go first?” Each of the ten looked at each other, seeing who would step forward and accept a pummeling from the azure pegasus. Not a single hoof moved.

“Ma’am, what’s the point?” Sundered Mango, a batpony, said. “We already know you can kick any of our flanks without working up a sweat. What’s the point?”

“The point,” Dashiel said, spearing the pony with her gaze, “is that not one of you has figured out what the mission is yet, and I’m going to keep pounding on your thick heads until one of you gets it.”

“The mission?” Aegis Shield, a bulky earth pony asked. “We already know the mission. Protect the Princess.”

“NO, you idiot,” Dashiel said, tossing a pebble at Aegis, which was blocked almost as an afterthought. “That is NOT the mission.”

“Then what in Tartarus is the mission?” Aegis yelled back, frustration in every line of his body.

“The mission, is to die,” Dashiel said, and all ten of the other ponies took an involuntary step back.

“What the buck are you talking about?” Sundered asked, wings flaring slightly. “You mean to try to kill us?”

“No, you idiot,” Dashiel answered, rolling her eyes. “Your mission, is to die. From an arrow, or a sword blow, or a magic blast, so that a civilian or, Light help you the Princess, does not. THAT is your mission. The civilians will not know, nor will they care. In time, they will come to hate your guts. Nonetheless, you will keep true to your sugar and find ways to get better at your mission every day.”

“Why?” Aegis asked, realizing they were getting a rare look inside the soldier mare. “Why throw our lives away for ponies like that?”

“Because the Princesses, will know. And they will care,” Dashiel said, her voice almost becoming a whisper. “To save Equestria, they might have to pour out your lives like water on a fire. But they will feel every death in their heart. They will mourn each and every one of you, and when things are quiet, you might just hear them recite the names of their honoured and beloved dead. Your mission, is to do everything in your power to make certain your sacrifice is worth that kind of pain.”

“Your Celestia,” Soft Hoof, a batpony archer said, “did she…”

“I only heard it once, but ya,” Dashiel said. Taking a deep breath the pegasus straightened herself back up, and the ten could see the armor around Dashiel’s heart closing back into place. “Enough mush. Are we going to stand around, or are we going to fight?”

What followed was less of an organized set of sparring matches and more of a generalized brawl. At one point in the scrap almost everypony was up against every other pony. However, hoof to hoof combat is one of the most aerobic activities of all, and fatigue created mistakes that piled up and sent one guard after another crashing to the ground or forced to tap out. At last, it came to Dashiel and four of the guard who surrounded the pegasus in a loose ring.

“Well, come on you losers. This is your big chance,” Dashiel said, panting slightly. Her opponents were in far worse shape. Their sides heaving, sweat running down their faces, but she saw grim determination in their eyes. Good, she could work with that.

“Hey! What the hell?” Dashiel asked, in surprise as the four suddenly got up from their ready stance to stand at attention.

“They are showing respect for their Princess,” a cool voice said from above and behind her.

“Coming in on my blind side,” Dashiel said, not looking behind her as she walked over to grab a drink from beside the weapons rack. “Didn’t think you had that kind of sneak in you, Princess.”

“Stealth comes naturally to a pony who is one with the Night,” Princess Luna said, her voice cool. “Guards, stand down. It is time I tested the mettle of the trainer I assigned to you.”

“Test my mettle, eh?” Dashiel asked, plucking up a sword from the rack with practiced pinions. “How about we test your metal as well, Princess.” The guards looked from Luna to Dashiel, trying to read the intent of both mares as they backed off several paces.

“You wish this to be a true combat?” Luna asked, telekinetically grabbing herself a sword from the rack. “Very well, I will honour your desire to be pummeled this one time. What are the conditions?”

“We fight until one of us yields or can’t fight any more,” Dashiel said, a grim smile dancing on her lips. “As for rules. Princess, in war—” And in that moment, between one word and the next, Dashiel struck.

Caught flat footed, surprised and with her blade well out of position, Luna should have been easy meat. As it was, the alicorn just managed to avoid the blow as she twisted sideways. Mostly avoided, that is. A burning line from the corner of her chest to the side of her left shoulder, told Luna how close Dashiel had come to winning the fight in an instant.

How? Luna asked herself, as Dashiel followed up on her original strike with a series of flashing thrusts with her blade. The practice swords are dulled, with a rounded tip to prevent… Luna’s thoughts cut off as Dashiel's sword slashed past her muzzle, showing her that no matter how the practice swords were supposed to be, the blade the pegasus wielded was both sharp and deadly.

Luna stopped thinking at that point, and simply acted and reacted to her opponent. When Dashiel pressed forward with a combination of high and low slashed, Luna parried on the vertical. Which Dashiel countered with a full body lunge toward Luna’s already nicked shoulder. Instead of trying to parry the blow with her inadequate practice blade, Luna instead rolled herself in the opposite direction.

Recovering from her the extension of her lunge, Dashiel turned to see the Zodiac sword emerge from a swirl of shadows and take its place at Luna’s side.

“Pushed you hard enough that you need an edge, huh?” Dashiel asked, smirking.

“I only needed to find something as sharp as your tongue,” Luna quipped back, as she launched an offensive of her own. Now, it was the azure pegasus on the defensive as the Princess of the Night demonstrated her skill with the blade. Economical short thrusts, combined with slashing attacks and the gained wisdom of centuries of bladecraft gained Luna a trio of cuts on her opponent.

“Yield, Dashiel,” Luna said, pausing while keeping her sword at a low-guard. “Your skill is considerable, but you are not my equal.

“I’ll quit when I’m dead,” Dashiel growled out, launching a flurry of attacks that pressed Luna further and further back, as the grim soldier seemed to find a higher level of skill within her.

She’s not faking this! Luna thought to herself as Dashiel’s sword came closer and closer to her flesh. She means to kill me. I must end this, now.

Luna waited until Dashiel attacked again with another exquisite, whole body lunge, that bid fair to run a sword through the entire length of Luna’s body. Now, in close enough, Luna rolled her entire body horizontally in the air. Her leading wing knocked Dashiel’s sword off its driving line, up and away, her trailing wing struck then Dashiel bodily, knocking the pegasus into the air and a blast from Luna’s horn drove at the pegasus in a bid to end the fight once and for all.

Dashiel had other plans, however. Even as she was buffeted upwards she spread the pinions of her sole wing, releasing her sword to the mercies of gravity. Sword loosed, she gave her wing a single downstroke just as Luna’s horn discharged, and the off center thrust of the wing rolled Dashiel around the shaft of kinetic mayhem that had been sent at her.

Luna fell onto her back as she completed the roll, expecting to see her foe safely hurtling away. Instead, Luna’s eyes widened as instead she saw Dashiel plummeting straight down towards her. In desperation, she wrenched her steel over in an attempt to bar the path of the falling pegasus. Who in turn, had grasped her sword out of the air as it had paused at the peak of its own ballistic flight.

Two winged bodies crashed a moment later, and the dust cleared to reveal Dashiel atop Luna in an intimate position, with Luna holding the edge of the Zodiac sword against her throat. The alicorn looked directly into the eyes of the pegasus whose life she literally held in her hooves at that moment, and saw grim satisfaction there.

“Is this what you seek, Dashiel?” Luna said, fighting the urge to finish her opponent as adrenaline sang through her veins.

“We would have joined each other in Tartarus,” Dashiel replied, and Luna felt a pin prick at the side of her throat from the tip of Dashiel’s sword. “Enough?”

“Enough,” Luna replied, pulling her steel away from Dashiel, who responded by tossing her blade aside and helping Luna off the ground.

“I was worried for a bit there,” Dashiel said, taking in their stunned audience. “But you really seemed to rise to the occasion like a true warrior princess.”

“It has been a long time since anypony has pushed me that hard in a simple physical fight,” Luna said, floating over a pair of canteens for them to drink from. “Be warned, next time I may not be able to suppress my old training so well.”

“Fair enough,” Dashiel said, turning to address the slack jawed guards. “As you just saw, any opponent can be fought. But… you have to be willing to totally commit to that fight. Hold nothing back and you WILL complete the mission.”

“I believe I will take my leave now,” Luna said, spotting an entranced Twilight, who had watched the entire struggle from a balcony of her castle. “And Dashiel, you have company.” There was a soft implosion of air as Luna teleported away.

“That. Was. Awesome!” Rainbow Dash shouted a few heartbeats later, as she landed several feet away, obviously having seen the fight. Dashiel closed her eyes in pain for a moment. She’d known this encounter was coming and that it had to happen, as did another one with a certain baker, but it didn’t mean she had to like them.

“Rest up, because tomorrow we start the real training. Dismissed,” Dashiel said to the guards, before turning to the perfect version of herself. “Hello, Rainbow Dash. It’s time we talked.”

Luna popped back into existence at the side of the young alicorn, and was immediately wrapped in a hug that threatened to trigger Luna’s combat reactions all over again.

“Luna, that was incredible!” Twilight said, stepping back a moment later, oblivious to Luna’s internal fight to not bash Twilight into the ground. “Where did you learn to fight like that?”

“My sister and I have had long lives, Twilight,” Luna said, setting her mind back into order. “None of the histories know all of our stories.”

“Please, I’ve got to know,” Twilight said, smiling as her magic grabbed up a scroll and quill. “For posterity if nothing else.” Twilight’s smile fell as Luna tossed both scroll and quill over the balcony. She was about to protest, loudly, when Luna began to recite:

Other ponies may yet
more skillfully teach bronze to breathe,

leading outward and loosing
the life lying hidden in marble;

Some may plead causes better,
or using the tools of science

better predict Heaven's moods
and chart the stars changing courses.

But Roaman, remember you well
that your own arts are these others:

to govern the tribes with power;
to dictate their rule in peace;

to raise up the ponies you have conquered,
and throw down the proud who resist.

“Roam?” Twilight asked, when Luna finished the recitation. “You ruled in Ancient Roam?”

“No, Twilight,” Luna said, running a hoof over her peytral. “I was a slave there, as was my sister.”

“What?” Twilight sputtered, shocked. “How? You’re alicorns.”

“We were just starting out, Tia and I,” Luna said, her eyes unfocusing as they looked back to a place long since dust. “We were young, and proud of ourselves. The acclaimed chieftesses of a small mixed tribe of ponies, so when the Roamans came for our village we laughed at them. We had heard of Roam, of course. Everypony had, and in our arrogance we thought we could handle them easily.”

“What happened?” Twilight asked, gently prodding Luna along.

“The Roamans beat us in the same way they had defeated countless other small tribes,” Luna said, with a grimace as her ears lay flat against her head. “They were organized, and they were prepared. No matter what we tried against them, they had a counter. At the end, with nearly half our tribe either dead, wounded or in bonds, they called on us to surrender. They told us that if Tia and I gave ourselves to them, they would spare the rest of the tribe. With no other real choice, we agreed.”

“What happened?” Twilight asked, again.

“The Roamans were also noteworthy for keeping their given word,” Luna said, tail and mane stilling. “Even as we were placed in chains, they released their captives, treated the wounded of both sides, and offered Roaman citizenship to any who would forswear Tia and I, in favor of their Emperor. Many of our ponies accepted the offer, and to this day, I cannot find the heart to blame them for their decision.”

“Is that when you became slaves?” Twilight asked, picturing the dark blue alicorn across from her wearing a collar and shackles.

“Not quite,” Luna said, animating a bit again. “First, we were taken to the Imperial City. We were chained and harnessed to the chariot of Emperor Ferus, and made to pull him through the streets as part of a triumphant parade. As we drew our captor’s chariot past the cheering crowds, we were mocked as defeated ‘barbarian princesses,’ who had dared to challenge the might of Roam. We thought it was the end when we were reined to a stop near the executioner’s block.”

“No!” Twilight gasped.

“Yes, dear Twilight,” Luna said, nodding sadly. “We struggled, of course. But our chains and bonds had been crafted to hold creatures of far greater power than us, and despite our efforts we were dragged into place, our necks stretched across the block for the waiting axe.”

“But you didn’t die,” Twilight said, trying her best to take in every expression on Luna’s face to better understand the history being revealed to her.

“We were given a choice in that moment. Die free, or live as Roaman slaves,” Luna said. “While there is life, there is hope. So Tia and I both chose a life of bondage.”

“Slaves of Imperial Roam,” Twilight breathed. “It’s like something out of an old story.”

“It’s a story now, but then it was grim reality,” Luna said, ears slowly lifting from her head. “We were sold at auction for a vast sum and bought by Decius Caballus, a leading senator.”

“What did he do to you?” Twilight asked, both fascinated and afraid of what she would hear.

“Broke us of our pride,” Luna said, and Twilight notice Luna’s left forehoof tremble slightly. “He was never cruel to either of us, but by the time he was done with whip and bridle, crop and harness, we were both tamed to his will.”

“And once you were… tamed?” Twilight asked.

“We were trained for the tasks he had in mind for us,” Luna said, and Twilight watched the tremor in the alicorn’s hoof slow, then stop. “Tia learned to handle the accounts and records of Decius’ vast estate. She was also taught the ways of the couch by the finest courtesans available.”

“You mean Celestia was a—” Twilight broke off her question, trying to wrap her mind around the concept of what her mentor had been made to become in those days of old.

“—highly skilled pleasure slave. To this day, it requires an effort of will on her part not to kneel when she hears the sound of chains sliding over the floor,” Luna said, and the magnitude of what Celestia had offered Twilight back at Shaushka’s increased tenfold in Twilight’s mind. “As for myself, I was trained in the ways of the gladius, the fuscina, and the pilum. I made a name for myself in the fighting pits, along with more than a little coin in the process, as ‘Luna, Fighting Slave of Roam’.”

Author's Note

The story, she is not dead! Seriously though, I've been meaning to get back to this for awhile now, but with my life and new job it's been something of a struggle to get any writing done. Hopefully my pace will start picking back up now that I have something resembling a regular schedule.

My Patreon is back up and running. My kind and wonderful Patrons have made the difference. They are:

Canary in the Coal Mine,
Damaged,
Shaushka,
Airar,
Pseudosapien,
Machara,

and my newest Patron,
Drazhan.

Interlew----

“Signal,” Big Macintosh said, nudging Princess Celestia as he did so.

“What are you doing here?” demanded Luna, frowning as she turned her gaze on the farmer. “Thou should have evacuated with the others.”

“Beggin’ yer pardon, but mah sister’s in there.” replied the big stallion, one of the few who could even come close to looking the lunar alicorn in the eye.

“I understand,” responded Princess Luna, softening her tone. “Assist the Guard as best you are able, but no heroics. Fair Applejack would have my hide if anything happened to you.”

“Yes Ma’am,” answered the farmer, sketching a poor imitation of a salute.

“Attacking shortly, wait for double flash,” Celestia stated, finishing her translation of the blinking light coming from the castle. “Smart of them to use a heliograph. No magic for the enemy to detect.”

“So, we wait?” Luna asked, watching Big Mac’s physique with approval as he harnessed himself to the wagon load of apples he’d brought as food for the soldiers to eat.

“We wait,” confirmed the solar alicorn. “For now.”

Inside the castle under siege, Twilight blinked as her hood pulled back, allowing light to flood her eyes again. She started to chuckle at the realization that in spite of the suit working on her in it’s usual attempt to condition her into a biddable, obedient pony, she had actually fallen asleep and had a small nap. Her chuckle quickly cut off as the tightly fitting collar around her throat tingled her vocal cords with a small burst of electricity.

“You are to be seen and not heard,” stated 8263, Twilight’s dimensional sister, tapping her muzzle gently with a hoof. “Control has instructed that your hood and muzzle be removed, but that you are to remain silent. Ambient sound and voices will not cause you to be punished, but any attempt by yourself to speak or make noise will result in pain. Nod if you understand.”

Twilight nodded, taking a moment to look around her, and what she saw chilled her. Applejack was now fully enveloped by her suit, faint moans could be heard from the pony as shifting hindquarters tried to grind against what Twilight knew from experience to be maddeningly effective shafts buried in both intimate openings.

Even more worrisome was the fact that there was no longer any sign of her brother or sister-in-law, and the only thing to indicate that Rarity had been there was a large latex pod laying on the ground near Applejack’s encased and writhing form with a stylized representation of the fashionista’s cutie mark on it.

“Wh—” Twilight began, only for yet another jolt to tear through her throat and send it into spasm.

“Disobedience to Control will be punished,” 8263 commented, attaching a leash to her charge with familiar lavender magic. “Stand. Or does 8263 need to have the suit override your muscle functions?”

Even the small frustrated growl Twilight tried to give was immediately and ruthlessly countered with miniature lighting.

Any more of this and I’m not going to have much of a voice left, Twilight thought to herself, as she pushed herself up and onto her hooves was led her out of the room where Twilight’s captured friends and castle staff struggled to remain whole.

“Hello 614, I’m glad you could make it,” Celestia stated, a small smirk on her face as Twilight was lead into the map room that the invading copy of her beloved mentor had taken for her impromptu throne room. Glancing around Twilight noticed at least two of the latex ‘golems’ lurking high up in the shadowy upper corners of the room.

“You might be wondering why I’m not teaching you to surrender to my control personally,” Celestia continued, though it helped Twilight to think of her as “Breaker” instead. “That’s because I’ve been reconnecting with a very special pony that I found wandering lost in the halls.”

Breaker turned to one side and lifted the wing that that been on her far side from Twilight, revealing the symbiote bound 143, still wearing her little white maid cap and apron.

“Go ahead, my little pony. Tell 614 what you told me,” gently ordered the very smug sounding alicorn.

“There is going to be an attack. 143’s friends are going to attack Control and try to make her leave all the ponies here behind,” 143 said, her face twisted with the emotional pain of betraying her friends, but having no way to refuse the power of Control in her mind.

“And that is why you are here 614. You will be here to see that any attempt to resist me is futile, as 615 and 616 have begun to learn. They look so lovely harnessed together, but not as lovely as your misguided teacher and her crazed sister will,” gloated Breaker.

“You BITCH!” exploded from Twilight, who collapsed to the floor a moment later as the collar around her throat tore into her vocal cords with multiple jolts of lighting. The only blessing was that the electricity kept her from shrieking in agony as she writhed in pain.

“A smart pony would have realized that I’ve been doing this to you deliberately,” Breaker said, having stepped up close enough to pin Twilight to the floor with a single hoof. “Repeatedly goading you into using your voice even though you know that it will bring you pain. You see, I want ponies to see and recognize you. I want them to see me in complete control of you, And seeing as I can’t have you screaming out defiance at every opportunity, my only other option is to take away your ability to speak in a way that lets you stay unmuzzled or hooded.”

Twilight’s furious glare conveyed entire libraries of rebuttal to the Breaker’s explanation, even as the alicorn pinning her down enveloped her throat in warm, golden magic.

“Yes, that’s coming along nicely. One or two more shocks should permanently get rid of your annoying habit of speaking instead of obeying,” Breaker noted, before leaning down and adding, “if I were you, I’d make sure my last words counted for something.”

The only noise that came from Twilight was a huff of air as the full weight of the alicorn came down on her and then relented as Breaker took her hoof off of Twilight and resumed her place by 143 in the center of the room.

“I have to say that I’m impressed at how well 616’s training is coming along,” Breaker commented absently. “Another day or two and—”

Whatever else the solar alicorn was going to say was cut off by the sound of shattering crystal as Dashiel smashed her way in through one of the room’s upper windows, her metal wing scraping sparks along the ceiling as she rolled in flight, corrected for the room’s dimensions, and dove on the invader while 143 and every other pony who could dove for cover.

“Time to die, whorse!” yelled the pegasus in challenged as she charged, hoofblade extended in a classic spearing attack. One that her enemy parried and dodged with ease, but instead of simply landing and continuing the attack Dashiel used the imparted momentum of the parry to loop back upwards, flare her wings for a moment, and dive back down.

But where there had only been one pegasi, there were now two, as grey coated, butter maned Derpy fell artlessly in the fight, her lack of skill in the air covered by the more talented Dashiel.

“Oh, this should be fun,” declared the Breaker. “Global Command, all suits, full hobbles.”

Twilight immediately felt all four of her hooves drawn together and fixed into immobility, and as she looked around Twilight saw that every other pony in the room, converted or not, now found themselves similarly bound in place. Which included 8263, who flopped against her dimensional sister so that the two Twilights lay together in dark latex bondage.

“Give up, you can’t stop all of Equestria,” Derpy commanded, her grey body accented by a harness that held what looked like dozens and dozens of various items and pouches.

“You’ve got one chance, and you better take it,” added Dashiel, circling slowly around the enemy until she and Derpy were on opposite sides.

“Or you’ll do what? Kill me? Please,” mocked the Breaker. “Nightmare Moon was no match for me. Chrysalis couldn’t stop me. Land, poor wounded pony. Land and kneel to me and I will see to it that your suit has a living wing instead of that metal abomination.”

Dashiel’s response was to turn in and attack, blades flashing. Derpy waited a beat to get her timing right before stepping in as well, closing the range to engage in a series of hoof to hoof attacks. The Breaker simply shifted aside to avoid Dashiel’s second slashing charge, while meeting Derpy’s strikes with blocks and counters of her own.

Both pegasi responded by stepping back for a heartbeat to hurl thrown weapons, which their enemy blocked with a shielding wing reinforced by solar magic. Darts, knives and edged steel began to litter the ground between the combatants as the exchanges began to repeat.

Derpy and Dashiel would attack, weaving in and out of range, with Derpy mainly holding the inside line, and Dashiel making fast slashing attacks from the outer edges of the fight. Together they were a formidable force, but their best attacks were utterly failing to penetrate the Breaker’s defences.

“Oh well done, my soon to be ponies,” congratulated the white alicorn, stopping a needle a bare inch from her eye. “You don’t mind if I start striking back now, do you?”

Both ponies looked at each other for a moment, and their opponent used that split second diversion to burst briefly onto the offensive, charging toward Derpy and pressing her hard with a series of strikes that came so fast that the grey furred pegasus countered them more by instinct and training than actually seeing the incoming blows.

Seeing her ally in trouble, Dashiel dove in from the side to draw the Breaker away and succeeded as the alicorn turned to meet the new threat, batting Derpy aside with a vast expanse of snow white wing in order to give her some fighting space.

Instead of slashing in and back out again, as had been her wont, the warrior pony instead held her ground and exchanged cuts and parries in a flurry of moves. High and low, back and forth across the space, the two ponies battled with wing and hoof until warwing and magically strengthened feathers met and locked.

“That’s one, little pony,” Breaker said, looking over her shoulder to where Derpy was standing back up after recovering from her shattering impact with the far wall. “When you get to four, you are mine.”

Derpy’s face looked more confused than normal for a moment, before she realized that there was a pressure around her left front fetlock. Lifting the limb, she saw that it was now encircled by a seamless silver cuff that her enemy had somehow locked onto her while they had fought.

“Time for a matching pair,” Breaker stated with a smile, disengaging her block before resuming the pass of arms with Dashiel. A series of strikes and blocks later found Dashiel being buffeted aside as well, but unlike Derpy she was able to stop herself from striking the far wall. However, as Dashiel extended her forelegs to begin another charge in, a glint of silver on her left foreleg declared that she too had been partially cuffed.

She’s toying with them, Twilight realized, as both ponies bravely charged into the fight again. Those are two of the best fighting ponies I’ve ever seen, and she’s playing with them!

All three ponies were a blur of motion as they fought. Kicks, punches, wing strikes flew back and forth, while knives flashed and blades slashed at the speed of thought. Twilight concentrated for all she was worth on the motions of the trio and even with her alicorn senses stretched to their maximum she was barely able to catch the moment when Breaker manifested a pair of silver shackles and bound each of them to the right rear fetlock of her opponents.

“That’s two,” smiled the evil alicorn, as both Dashiel and Derpy backed off to assess their growing level of captivity. The look on their faces showed that they were realizing how truly outmatched they were.

HOW?? Twilight demanded in the vault of her mind. How is she so fast? Dashiel kept up with Princess Luna, and Celestia isn’t anywhere near the fighter Luna is. Celestia only beat her using the Elements.

Desperation colouring their moves now, the fighters engaged their opponent with every bit of fighting skill and warrior craft they possessed. Dashiel’s fighting wing was a blur, slashing and hacking away so furiously that the Breaker was forced to pull up stones from the floor to use as impromptu shields as her magical shields failed under the onslaught.

Derpy attacked from the opposite flank, her kicks and strikes things of martial beauty, only being denied their rightful due by the barest of margins; and under the combined onslaught the alicorn enemy was finally forced back as she began to show some strain. Sensing an opening, both pegasi lunged in only to find themselves tossed aside once more, this time by one of the stone chairs that had once been part of the room’s furnishings.

Recovering, both ponies found that yet a third binding had been sealed about their limbs, leaving only their left rear legs unbound.

“Master Derpy, it has been an honor,” Dashiel said, setting her jaw defiantly.

Think Twilight, think, chastised Twilight to herself. Everything has an explanation, except for Pinkie, and the Breaker isn’t Pinkie.

So Twilight thought, shutting out all her senses to concentrate on her memories of what she had seen and heard. Everything she had been told about her enemy filtered through her, every detail and nuance, no matter how slight, was added to each hypothesis that was created and discarded in flashing moments of thought until the pony occasionally called “The Book Princess” had a solution.

She’s gone insane, and 8263 said they’ve only been here a few hours when Breaker said that she had been here for days. And hours makes sense because Celestia and Luna would already have been trying to break down her shield. Twilight summed up in her thoughts. Which means she’s manic. Hyperactively manic as only an alicorn can be, and that’s why she’s so hard to beat. Because for her a few seconds are like a full minute and she sees everything coming at her in slow motion!

My friends need an equalizer, something to bring Breaker down to their level. Starswirl’s Mindful Quiet would do the job, but the suit won’t let me cast, and even if I could... Twilight’s thoughts trailed off as her eyes fell on the lean form of her dimensional sister laying against her.

8263 had used magic to attach a leash to Twilight earlier, which meant she had access to her own magic and could cast the spell, but the only way she would know to was if Twilight spoke the code phrase to let Bookworm’s true personality rise back up to the surface, and then tell the unicorn which spell to cast. Speaking either phrase would likely cause Twilight’s collar to render her permanently mute through direct trauma to her vocal cords and nerves.

But both sentences, spoken one after the other, would guarantee it.

“Helmuth. Speaking. For. Boskone,” Twilight ground out, ignoring the pain from the collar as best she could and forcing the phrase out of her throat in individual gasps of breath.

“I’m here. I know what’s been happening. What do you need?” Bookworm asked a moment later, still laying against Twilight, while Derpy and Dashiel began to circle around their enemy for one last ‘Do or Die’ attack.

“Star. Swirl’s. Mind. Full. Quiet,” Twilight gasped out, every syllable tearing and ripping at her voice, and using every ounce of her willpower to get those last vital words out and not collapse into unconsciousness. The last ragged whisper from Twilight’s mouth was, “On Breaker.”

“On it,” Bookworm responded, her horn glowing in time with a lavender aura that pulsed for a moment around the enemy alicorn’s head before disappearing.

Derpy and Dashiel attacked in that moment as well, and the Breaker found herself surprised as the final pair of shackles she manifested to bind the duo were parried and knocked aside.

“How did you do that?” Breaker demanded, surprised. Then her eye caught Bookworm’s glowing horn and instantly made the connection. “Traitor. Suit 8263, full lockdown.”

Bookworm only had time for a brief inhalation before her suit hooded, gagged and muzzled her. All Twilight could do was to give a comforting nuzzle to the pony bound against her, both of them having paid the price to give Derpy and Dashiel a chance.

Nor was it a chance that the two pegasi chose to waste. Reinvigorated by their success at blocking the last shackle, both fighters attacked with renewed energy and determination and their furious combined assault bore fruit as Dashiel at last managed to score a long, but shallow slice along the Breaker’s flank.

“HOW DARE YOU!” roared the alicorn, erupting in a magical blast that knocked both pegasi back.

“143 will help Control,” declared the conditioned slave pony, running out from her hiding spot and to her controller’s side with a fast acting bandage kit at the ready.

“Thank you, 143. You are indeed a good and obedient pony,” stated Breaker, before shooting a venomous glare at the ponies who had managed to make her bleed. “As for you two…”

Breaker’s horn again glowed golden and both pegasi found themselves unable to move as they were gripped and held in the solar alicorn’s magic. Derpy and Dashiel tried to struggle, only to feel the power holding them begin to tighten and constrict, pushing the air from their lungs and making their bones creak under the strain and utterly missing a double blink of pale blue light from the window Dashiel had smashed through.

“I die FREE!” Dashiel screamed with her last bit of air, making one final attempt to slash at Breaker with her metal wing.

The enslaving version of Celestia responded to Dashiel’s final defiance by tearing her artificial limb out from its mounting socket on the pegasus and tossing it contemptuously to one side, where it clattered to the floor. Breaker’s eyes burned with intensity as she began to crush the life from those that defied her will so thoroughly.

“STOP!” called Celestia, appearing in the golden flash of a teleport. “Leave them be. It’s me you wanted to talk to.”

“True,” Breaker replied, easing off the crushing pressure on her two opponents, and binding them with the final shackle she had made for them. Link now established, the four cuffs on the two ponies joined together in a cloverleaf of silver, firmly immobilizing both of them. “Although talking isn’t exactly what I had in mind for you.”

“Why not talk?” Celestia asked, “for all intents and purposes we are the same pony. Can’t we come to some sort of agreement?”

“Of course we can,” Breaker responded, horn still aglow. “We can agree on how you’re going to serve me.”

“It doesn’t have to be like this,” Celestia replied, still trying to reason with her counterpart. “We should come together, in friendship and harmony.”

“Perhaps,” Breaker replied, looking around the room at the chaos she had wrought there with magic and might. “As long as I am in Control.”

Derpy and Dashiel lay on the sides, trapped in silver hogties and panting for breath. Twilight and Bookworm lay similarly bound, only in living latex. Of all the ponies in the room, the only ones capable of moving and acting were Celestia, Breaker and 143. Who momentarily locked eyes with Twilight and winked at her.

The shock Twilight felt at the subtle gesture surprised her so much that she almost failed to notice one of the golems sliding into position directly above her mentor. Twilight tried to call out a warning to Celestia, but all that escaped her lips was a near silent huff of air, followed by a wet “splat” as the symbiote impacted Celestia squarely on the middle of her back.

“And now I’m in control of you,” gloated Breaker, as the symbiote greedily began to expand across Celestia, hijacking the alicorn’s magic to power its growth.

With the speed of flowing water the living latex circled Celestia’s barrel, hugging the deep indents in front of her hip and behind her shoulder, wrapping around like a harness but growing longer and wider with every second. Twilight found herself unable to tear her eyes away from the sight of her fantasies being played out directly before her.

With almost loving strength the symbiote flowed up along ivory wings, capturing and encasing coverts, secondaries and primaries in turn, before forcing the now black as night expanses to furl against the royal body in pockets being formed just for them.

“Are you really sure this is how you want to do this?” Celestia asked, her flicking ears and lashing tail the only signs of awareness that she too was being made into yet another bound plaything for the Breaker. “This creature of yours can hold me. But it can’t control me.”

“Which is what everypony before you has said,” Breaker answered, satisfaction in her voice. “With you, 614 and 616 pulling my chariot, this Equestria will bow to me, like my Equestria before it.”

The expanding dark tide spread over and around the royal hips before diving down to surround and then envelope the divine sex and ponut. Twilight’s eyes began to glaze over with lust as she watched the most intimate openings of her beloved princess and mentor being slowly teased into accepting a pair of ever widening intruders that filled Celestia to her limit.

“Oh. Oh my,” Celestia murmured, unable to still her body’s reaction to the twin latex shafts that were starting to rub against every sensitive and orgasmic nerve cluster inside of her. “It’s been so long.”

“This is just the beginning,” Breaker added, relaxing now that her most dangerous opponent began to succumb to the orgasmic power of the entity holding her.

“So long, so full,” Celestia moaned, a second tail sprouting from her even as her natural tail was stilled and then cuffed into a flagging position so that together they formed a black and pastel expanse that moved and shifted as Celestia involuntarily ground her hips against the faux cocks that were already starting the process of breaking and taming her.

“Yessss,” hissed Breaker, and Twilight found herself in mute agreement and wishing she had used one of the symbiotes on Celestia long before now.

“Ugggggh,” moaned Celestia again, body shuddering and tail quaking as she came, and by now the suit had covered her all the way to the base of her throat, where Breaker snapped on a wide and thick silver collar.

“Control command: Suit 1000 initialize,” commanded Breaker, and lines of power lit up along the dark sheath that held Celestia in its power, outlining and emphasizing the muscle groups and nerve clusters of the royal body. “Say it, pony. ‘There is no Celestia. I am 1000’.”

“I… “ Celestia began, panting a bit as she came down from her first suit delivered orgasm. “I am Celestia, and I really must thank you for this gift.”

“Wait, what?” sputtered Breaker, as Celestia’s gaze showed absolutely no sign of a pony being slowly overcome as so many before her had been.

“You can’t have forgotten how well we were trained for just this sort of thing? I certainly haven’t, even though it’s been a very long time since we’ve been able to find even one stallion to fill us so well, never mind two,” Celestia replied, smiling and back in perfect control of herself despite the obvious double stuffing she was receiving. “You know, if you had simply asked for a weekend together I would have been more than happy to submit to you for awhile.”

“You… you would have given yourself to me?” stammered Breaker, unable to believe her ears.

“Just for a weekend, of course,” Celestia said, rocking her hips in time with the shafts that were winding her back up again. “I like ruling Equestria, but sometimes it's just as good to be the one being ruled.”

“Nocte,” called a low voice from beside Breaker, who was staring at Celestia in stunned disbelief.

Only a whisper of magic from the opening and closing of a dimensional pocket gave the evil alicorn any warning at all as Trixie, having taken 143’s place wearing a costume of natural black latex and a fitted plug, summoned the Zodiac sword that Luna had gifted her. The instant the Blade of Night responded to her mental commands, Trixie slashed at her surprised enemy with the full intent of removing Breaker’s head from her shoulders.

Even caught completely by surprise, Breaker responded with alicorn quickness in time to save her neck, but not enough speed to save her from the follow-up strike of the sword’s pommel to her horn, stunning her briefly. As Breaker stumbled backwards Trixie kept to her training under both a Nightmare Moon and Dashiel, giving the alicorn no respite and stabbing and slashing at her enemy who desperately dodged and parried as best she could.

“Golems: Defend Control!” screamed Breaker in desperation, as a cut from the furious trickster parted hairs from a flowing mane.

One, two and then three unattached golems flowed toward Trixie, intent on swarming her under in a black tide of living latex. Only to find that the enchantments on Trixie’s blade were more than able to disrupt their magitech lifeblood. With three economical slashes the knight left three spreading pools of dead black goo in her wake.

“YOU HURT MY SISTER!” roared Trixie, letting her rage flow free. “YOU HURT MY PRINCESS! YOU HURT MY FRIENDS! DIE, YOU FUCKING BITCH! DIE!”

Burning with black balefire, the Zodiac Sword hurled toward the alicorn, propelled with every ounce of mystic force that the Knight of Twilight had at her command. And in the blazing eyes of a showmare, the Breaker of Equestria saw her death approach.

Only last second desperation saved Breaker from the onrushing doom of the enchanted blade as she just barely managed to manifest a sword of celestial fire to parry the attack at the literal last second. The parry forcefully knocked the weapon up and away, apparently momentarily disrupting the mental bond Trixie had with her weapon. Up the blade flew, until it lodged to half its length in the room’s ceiling.

“You… You’re going to PAY for that,” Breaker declared, blinking a moment in confusion as she realized who her opponent was. “When I’m done with you, there won’t be anything left of you or 143’s minds except mindless obedience.”

Trixie merely cocked an eyebrow, smirked a bit, and stood her ground. “Trixie thinks that you should surrender now.”

“Or what? Your princesses are mine, your friends are mine, now you are mine,” Breaker stated, advancing as she did so.

“Wait for it,” was all Trixie said.

“Wait for what?” demanded Breaker, snarling and manifesting a second sword intent on making Trixie suffer for her impudence.

So focused was Breaker on her target that she never noticed several glass vials falling to the floor from the ceiling where Dashiel had lodged them during her dramatic entrance to the room. Smashing on the crystal floor, the vials released a mist that quickly spread around the room, shrouding every pony for long moments before dissipating.

“Show yourself!” cried Breaker, her fiery weapons disappearing as every magic user in the room found themselves affected by the drug suspended in the mist. A drug specifically meant to block the use of magic.

“I’m right here,” said Trixie, from behind Breaker. Whirling in place, the alicorn had to freeze as her motion almost carried her neck into the preternaturally sharp edge of the Zodiac Sword, which Trixie had retrieved from the ceiling via mental command. “Surrender.”

“You… “ Breaker gasped, “How?”

“A good magician never reveals her secrets,” replied Trixie, smiling as 143 stepped back out of the shadows to stand by her side. “But flair, misdirection, and showmareship are always her allies. Surrender. Trixie would actually rather not kill you, but she will if you do not yield, here and now.”

“I surrender.”

Author's Note

This was a pretty hard fight to write and took me two days just to work out the choreography of who was doing what when. Once I had it worked out though things flowed along wonderfully, just like a latex symbiote finding a new home.

We will be returning to Rarity and Applejack soon, but... in the next week or so expect a bonus chapter. Something my editor and I pounded out over a few fevered hours after they said to me: "You know, there isn't enough Celestia clop out there..."

Every month my patrons get to vote on which story they would like to see me work on following this, my commissioned story. This month, my patrons have voted for another chapter of How Twilight Sparkle Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Baddies

If you want a vote on what I write, join my Patreon and for as little as a dollar a month and cast your ballot for whichever story you would like to have me update.

Imperial Interlewd III

Like something out of the old tales, the Twilight Guard thundered through the skies on their way toward Canterlot, with Dashiel and the princess in the lead. The afternoon sun glinted off both their barding and the armour of the sky chariots being used to carry along the earth ponies and unicorns of Twilight’s force, until they looked like a stream of stars in a daylit sky.

“You sure you want us to be this obvious?” Dashiel asked, as she flew in formation with Twilight. The pegasus’ eyes were looking all around, scanning both air and ground for threats.

“I want us to look like we’re here to help, not attack,” was Twilight’s reply, her eyes locked on the gleaming city on the mountainside. “But that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t be ready for a fight.”

“Odds are we are going to have to fight at some point, Ma’am,” Dashiel replied, and Twilight could hear the caution in Dashiel’s experienced voice. “No sense in letting the other pony have an advantage if we don’t have to give them one.”

“We don’t know what we’ll be— “ Twilight broke off as a pale blue light flashed up from below. The light blinked in a steady pattern meant to catch the eye.

“Captain—” Twilight began.

“I see it,” Dashiel replied instantly, and with a single motion ordered the force of armed and armored ponies down toward the flashing signal.

“Thank goodness you spotted my light,” Princess Cadance was saying, barely a minute later as she hugged Twilight with latex coated forelegs.

“I told you she’d come this way,” Shining Armor added smugly, his own symbiote suit contrasting boldly with his white fur.

Cadance had been wearing one of the suits almost since Twilight had first brought them back, using it to spice up her love life after she’d learned that they were one of the only things capable of restraining her even when she fully exerted herself. Shining’s suit however, had been a “gift” from Nightmare Rarity, who had become the second mare of their triad relationship and possibly, marriage.

“I was told you had been sent back to the Crystal Empire,” Twilight said, extending her hug to include her brother. “You know, by Regent Rarity?”

“She did tell us to leave and we decided to obey to give her a chance to settle what we could tell was an inner conflict between herself and the Nightmare,” Cadance replied, dropping the hug. “She kept on flipping between one extreme and the other, and we could feel whatever was affecting her starting to work on us, so we got out while we still could.”

“Things have been strange in Ponyville as well,” Twilight responded, before launching into a recounting of everything that had gone since she had last seen the pair.

“Cubes of vacuum sealed latex, combined with near total sensory deprivation?” Cadance asked, eyes going wide at Twilight’s confirming nod. “Twilight, more than anything else you’ve been through, that could have broken you, broken any pony. You’re very lucky Beatrix was there to give you at least some sensory input.”

“And now that we know the Self-Directing Rewriter works, we can use it on other ponies the suits have broken in one way or another,” Shining Armor declared, prancing a bit at how well his device had worked.

“We’ll see,” Twilight replied, feeling the by now familiar nugget of anger forming in her breast.

“Twilight? What’s wrong?” Cadance asked, head tilting in curiosity and concern.

“My ponies,” was the growled reply, followed by a very shocked looking Twilight at what had just come out of her own mouth. “I mean, uh… I’m sorry, that just sort of slipped out.”

“Twilight, have you been feeling… possessive, lately?’ Cadance asked, looking over at her husband.

“Yeah,” the younger alicorn admitted, scuffing a hoof in embarrassment. “I just keep getting these thoughts. That everyone in Ponyville belongs to me, and I’m responsible for them, and how dare somepony do something to MY ponies WITHOUT MY PERMISSION!”

Twilight slammed a hoof over her mouth as she realized she’d shouted the last part aloud. Shouted it into the face of her brother and his wife. Two of the ponies that she loved most in the world.

“It’s okay,” Cadance assured her sister-in-law. “It sort of fits with what we were seeing in Canterlot. Everypony seemed to have picked an emotion associated with desire and taken it to the extreme. Lust, joy, rage, possession, dominance, submission… all of it.”

“And you think I’ve been affected by this as well?” Twilight asked, drawing nods from both ponies.

“We’ve all been affected, just in different amounts,“ Shining stated. “The one good thing about Noxy being in charge is that her suits have kept things from going from strange to dangerous.“

Twilight barely managed to avoid a giggle at the nickname.

“What’s really strange is that before we left I could swear I was picking up traces of changeling magic everywhere,” Cadance added, smiling as she saw Twilight holding back a laugh. “This isn’t Chrysalis’ style though, and believe me, I spent enough time wearing her chains to know. Her schemes don’t usually involve so many ponies.”

“Huh,” was Twilight’s response, chewing her inner lip in thought. “Dashiel, what do you think?”

“I think we need to get you into Canterlot, ASAP,” Dashiel stated plainly. “We need to get you on the throne running things, while the rest of us look for the Princesses, Derpy, and any changelings, or their artifacts.”

“Good thinking, Dashiel,” Shining replied, approvingly. “It doesn’t have to be changelings affecting ponies. It could just be something made by them.”

“Right, we should get going,” Twilight said, her Guard instantly ready to take back to the air. “Are you coming with us?”

“No, it’s best if we stay here as either a fallback position for you, or a backup in case you need more magic,” the former guard captain replied, shaking his head. “Feel free to send ponies our way if you need to though.”

“Thanks BBBFF,” Twilight said, hugging her brother once more. “I know I can always count on you.”

“Be safe,” Shining Armor whispered. “I’ve only got one LSBFF.”

“Uh, Shining?” Twilight asked, eyebrow raised. “Did you just poke me with your…”

“Sorry,” Shining Armor responded, with an embarrassed grimace. “Damn thing has been rising to the occasion everytime I get near a mare late— urk!”

Shining Armor’s words were cut off by the rubber bit attached to the bridle that Cadance was quickly and firmly wrapping around his head with her magic.

“Don’t worry, Twilight,” Cadance stated, a lustful smile manifesting on her face as she clipped a pair of reins to her stallion’s headgear. “I’ve got this naughty boy well in hoof. He should be fine in a few minutes… Maybe an hour. Two, at most.”

The sound of Dashiel’s hoof striking her forehead made a “clop” sound that echoed across the clearing, as Twilight tried to decide if she wanted to die from embarrassment or laughter while the rest of her guard suddenly found very interesting things to look at in the sky or on the ground by their hooves.

“I’ll uh… let you take care of Shining,” Twilight said, before realizing how it sounded. “I mean things! Take care of things. Yes!”

Cadance sent Twilight a smouldering glance over her shoulder was she led Twilight’s very willing and obvious able brother back to her tent, “Any time you want to come by Twilight, I’ll be more than happy to take care of you too.”

Twilight leaped skyward, her Guard following close behind and no pony spoke a word until the capital city of Equestria drew near less than half an hour later..

“I don’t get it,” Twilight asked Dashiel, pointing to the nearly empty streets below them. “Where is everypony? For that matter, where are all the symbiotes that Nightmare Rarity controls?”

“Dead ahead!” yelled Dashiel, and Twilight jerked her gaze back upwards to see a phalanx of perhaps two dozen symbiotes gliding in towards them. The entities of living latex could reshape themselves into almost any configuration, but they lacked the muscularity of actual ponies, which meant while they could fly, they were far better gliders than powered fliers.

Thinking quickly, Twilight created a vast flyswatter with her magic and batted the oncoming group to the ground with a single swipe of the conjured tool. The symbiotes, having no real internal organs, took about as much damage from the impact as a sheet of paper fluttering to the ground would, which suited Twilight just fine.

“Left and right!” Dashiel called, pointing out two more groups of the ebony entities coming in from the sides. Even as Dashiel said the words though, both sets of symbiotes turned, appearing content to take up an escorting position alongside and some distance away from Twilight’s formation.

“We can take them down pretty easy,” Dashiel stated, waiting on his commander to give the order. “They could be waiting for more groups to close in on us.”

“We’ll be at the palace in another minute or two,” Twilight replied, a rare feral smile on her face. “They couldn’t stop us now even if they wanted to.”

Dashiel didn’t like it, but after nodding in acknowledgement she signalled the Guard to be ready for anything, and a bare ninety seconds later Twilight, Dashiel, along with Sun Spear and Shadow Shield, burst into the throne room through one of its many windows while the rest of Twilight's ponies flew cover overhead.

“Well, well, well, look who finally decided to show up,” said the elegant nightmare unicorn, seated on Celestia’s throne. “Are you here to kick us out of this very comfortable chair?”

Nightmare Rarity was the fusion of Rarity’s sense of style and elegance, merged with the power and vitality of the Nightmare, giving the tall and elegant mare an unearthly beauty that drew every eye in the room. She was quite literally, bewitching.

“Don’t even try it,” Twilight growled, sensing rather than seeing a dozen latex symbiotes approaching from either side.

“Our orders from the Empress were to keep everything as it was,” purred the unicorn, the white and pale lilac cascade of her mane somehow empowering the dual mare’s words. “Just hold still and let our drones encase you in a world of infinite pleasure. We promise you will be well cared for.”

“Where’s Derpy?” Twilight demanded, letting the anger flow. “Where is Celestia and Luna? Tell me!”

“We don’t know,” replied Nightmare Rarity, getting off Celestia’s throne and levitating a virtual swarm of cuffs, shackles, hobbles and other bondage paraphernalia in her aura. “Thankfully, we know all of your sizes, so these should fit all of you perfectly.”

“NO!” shouted Twilight, manifesting a shield that stopped the incoming gear cold. “Maybe we should put them on you instead.”

“If you insist,” stated the Nightmare, bowing her head. “But none of these are in our size, or style.”

To Twilight’s shocked surprise the tall unicorn then placed a sack of white silk in front of Twilight’s shield.

“Now then, these have all been made to my size and taste,” Nightmare Rarity continued, in that throaty purr. “Enameled silver cuffs, collar, a full body harness, and naturally, a bridle. Ensuring that we only move in the ways that you desire.”

“Wait, what?” Twilight asked, completely confused by the sudden submissive turn of events.

“I… We, need you to stop us,” the Nightmare begged, appearing unsure and vulnerable for the first time in Twilight’s memory. “We don’t want to break the promise we made to our herd, but we were commanded to control everything, and we know how we are doing it isn’t right, but we don’t know any other way and our Rarity is trying to help but it’s so confus—”

The click of a tall silver collar set with diamonds closing around her jet black neck cut off the Nightmare’s increasingly incoherent ramble.

“Kneel,” Twilight commanded, embracing the feelings of dominance and control that had been filling her since she’d arrived in the throne room, but even she wasn’t sure if the strength in her voice came from her magic, her desires, or her need to gain control of the situation and the beautiful mare in front of her.

“Yes, Mistress,” acknowledged Nightmare Rarity, sinking down on her forelegs. It took less than a minute for Twilight to bind the beautiful unicorn in a web of silver and steel, and true to her word, the items fit perfectly and suited the unicorn's coloration and style, right down to the large amethysts set in the ends of the plugs that the now locked on harness was holding inside of her.

“Thank you, Mistress,” said the Nightmare, touching her nose to the floor. “We submit to you.”

“Good,” growled Twilight, noting that every symbiote that had been in the room was now gone. “Now, tell me where Derpy took the princesses, or barring that, where you think she might have gone with them.”

“We are unsure, but she may have—” the mare was cut off as two ponies entered the room, with Twilight's parents on the end of a leash.

“We found Twilight’s—” an exact copy of Sun Spear was saying, as he and a duplicate Shadow Shield dragged the suited and muzzled forms of Night Light and Twilight Velvet into the throne room.

Twilight’s mind froze as it tried to catch up with what her now very wide eyes were showing her. Both of her parents were encased in symbiotic latex control suits, complete with silver control collars, and from the sound of the moans escaping from both muzzles the suits were fully engaged in their standard protocol of breaking ponies into complete obedience through a cycle of sexual gratification and denial.

Dashiel reacted first, and using a pair of swift motions, sent the Sun Spear and Shadow Shield that Twilight had brought with her from Ponyville cascading head over hooves into their twins.

“Changelings,” hissed the experienced soldier, jump-starting Twilight’s brain as it recalled Cadance’s comment about sensing the slippery magic of the emotivoric species.

The doubled images of Sun Spear and Shadow Shield collided with each other, crashing into a heap, and as they did their forms melted and blurred into the forms of four red changeling drones.

“Red?” Twilight asked aloud, and even as she asked the question one of the drones put up a shield of scarlet energy.

“Quick!” exclaimed the one creating the shield. “Grab as many as you can and get out of here!”

The other three changelings lit their horns and from all around the throne room carmine flashes of light flared and popped as dozens of small crystals were teleported from their resting places around the throne room to land by the changelings' hooves.

“Wait! What is going on?” demanded Nightmare Rarity, suddenly standing tall in her harness and bridle. “Why are we wearing these… ung, things?”

The dark enchantress rearing upwards pulled sharply on the reins of her bridle, drawing Twilight off balance and causing her to stumble and nearly fall, before she managed to reassert her control over Nightmare Rarity through the leverage the reins and bridle gave her over the taller mare.

“Why have you bound us?” roared the tall unicorn.

“Because you sub—” Twilight began, growling in frustration as the quartet of imposters disappeared, having used the distraction to good advantage. “Because you submitted to me just now. Don’t you remember?”

“I… We… “ Nightmare Rarity began, harness tinkling as the mare shifted back and forth a bit. The tinkling grew into a regular chiming as the mare’s hips started to find a rhythm against the plugs the harness was holding inside of her. “Could you please get this off of us? It’s hard to think with… Please?”

“Seeing as you asked,” Twilight replied with a smile, feeling a lightness in her chest she realized she hadn’t felt in a good long while. “But the collar stays on until I say so.”

“Yes Missssssstresssss,” hissed the elegant mare, as Twilight’s magic pulled out one, then the second bejeweled shaft from their soft and sensitive homes.

“I’d normally give you a moment, but we need to know where Derpy, Luna and Celestia are as fast as possible,” Twilight gently insisted, carefully removing the rest of the Nightmare’s tack.

“Sun Spear and Shadow—” Nightmare Rarity began, before correcting herself. “The changelings. They suggested that the Empress and her slaves go to the crystal caverns beneath Canterlot. Looking back, we have no idea why any of us agreed with them. It just seemed natural to follow their suggestions.”

“They were messing with your head, right along with everypony else. Suggestions are harder to fight against than outright mind control,” Dashiel said, and Twilight could see that they were almost completely alone in the throne room now. “Something trying to get you to do something you would never do? You know to fight against that, but a suggestion? That slides in under your defences. Makes you think it was your own idea in the first place.”

“That doesn’t explain why we did the things we did however,” stated the Nightmare.

“You’re two mares in one,” Twilight explained, gaining a greater understanding now that she realized her own emotional and intellectual processes had been affected by the changeling devices. “Because you are both the Nightmare and Rarity, you kept flip flopping from one set of thoughts and desires to the other. Usually you come to either a decision or a compromise within yourself, but with those things working on all of us you weren’t able to do that.”

“But what did they want?” demanded the dark and lovely unicorn. “They could have placed all of us in those horrid pods of theirs, molding us into willing food for the whole of the changeling swarm and none of us would have raised a hoof in protest. Instead, turned all of us into some sort of unending cavalcade of sexual escapades.”

“Something I plan on asking them,” replied Twilight, feeling the anger grow in her breast again. This time however, it was an anger tempered by her insatiable curiosity.

“Have we your permission to recall the symbiotes that we are able to reach?” Nightmare Rarity asked, dipping her head deferentially.

“Why are you asking— oh!” replied Twilight, remembering that she had collared the dual entity before her. The Nightmare had proven in the past that she took her words seriously, allowing them to bind her as tightly as the harness had bound her body. “Yes, recall as many of them as you can reach. Thank you.”

“I’ve sent everypony on a sweep for more of those funky crystals,” Dashiel added. “I’m betting there’s a lot more of them all over Canterlot, and Ponyville as well.”

“Right, stand beside me Dashiel,” Twilight ordered, extending a wing. “I’ll teleport us both down to the caverns.”

“Yes Ma’am, but aren’t you forgetting something?” Dashiel asked, extending her war wing to point toward the still suited and muzzled forms of Twilight’s parents.

“Oh PONYFEATHERS!” Twilight exclaimed, her face going red from pure embarrassment.

“Go,” Nightmare Rarity said, waving a hoof. “We shall take care of them on your behalf.”

Fitting actions to words, the latex sorceress deftly used her magic to remove the muzzles from Twilight’s parents. Twilight’s eyes bulged slightly at the length of the gag that had been forced down her mother’s throat.

“Go on,” Night Light said, his own voice rough from the latex shaft that had been suppressing his own vocal cords for an unknown length of time. “We’ll be fine.”

“If anything happens to them… “ Twilight cautioned, which garnered rolling from a pair of sapphire eyes.

“The collar is still on,” Nightmare Rarity said with a smirk, tapping the diamond studded silver collar locked to her neck. “Though it cost us our lives, they shall be safe.”

Twilight’s only answer was a flash of her magic as she teleported herself and Dashiel to caverns where Princess Cadance had once been held captive by Chrysalis.

Author's Note

Wait... red changelings? Oh, this can't be good. Or can it?

Also, would write more of an afterword, but I have nasty cold and am typing this while surrounded by tissues, cold meds and hot drinks.