Author's Note

After more than a year, welcome back to Nightmare Night, folks! And I see I have a year’s worth of comments on this story I neglected to answer.

My apologies to all who left them. This chapter has been a long time coming, with not one but two major sequences I’ve been planning for a while. It’s a little light on clop, but there is some, so you are warned that the chapter has the usual futa action, Sunset gaining a (literal) pair to go with her figurative ones, a brief but nearly-successful seduction of Delta Requiem, and one well-earned swear word from our favorite fiery former bad girl.

There will be one more chapter possible before I have to finish off the remainder of Midnight Rising in order to set up the Nightmare Night climax. If you haven’t been following my blog, I’ve been rewriting that story chapter by chapter with a lot of new content, and the last two chapters in particular will have direct bearing on what happens in the climactic chapters of Nightmare Night. And for further enticement, the latest two chapters of it are very Nightmare Night-esque, involving Midnight discovering the Griffon Kingdom. Look out!

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Special thanks go to AJ_Aficionado and Silentwoodfire for checking this chapter carefully and spotting a couple major issues I needed to fix. Thanks as well go to Leo Archon, who came back to check out what was up with Delta Requiem, and Silverblade5, who had a good time in the comments. This chapter met with their enthusiastic approval, and hopefully yours as well.

Nothing else to say except Happy Halloween, folks! 🎃Hopefully this chapter will be both a Trick *and* a Treat!

—Firesight

37: Scion of the Sun

Standing in front of a curse-consumed Twilight Sparkle while surrounded by hundreds more equally corrupted ponies, all of whom had been turned by the same unholy magical mixture to hybrid and very hypersexualized nightmare creatures who wanted only to rut, Sunset Shimmer knew she was in grave danger.

Not only of succumbing to that corruption herself if she wasn’t careful, but of being overpowered and sexually subjugated by a pony she called friend—an insane alicorn stripped of all inhibition and honor no less than Midnight Sparkle had been.

And yet, she found she didn’t care, looking forward to what she expected was an epic battle of magic and wits to come. I should be scared, but I’m really not. In fact, it feels like I finally found a purpose and meaning for everything I did and went through back in the day of being Celestia’s student. Just think—all those old arcane spells and forbidden magic I learned to usurp Celly with might finally be useful for saving her and everyone else!

She could appreciate the irony of her situation as she sipped at her brandy—to Twilight’s credit, she had developed a good taste in human liquor—knowing perfectly well what her old self would have said to using her attained abilities in some way other than selfishly.

“So tell me, Sunset Shimmer, what brings you before me now?” the self-proclaimed Queen Eclipse asked easily, though Sunset could hear the undertone of her voice that suggested she not only knew, but scarcely believe her greatest quarry had just delivered herself on a platter.

“Well, I wish I could say this was just a social call, but it’s not,” Sunset told her, throwing back the remainder of the brandy—she hadn’t detected any traces of spellcasting on it or the goblet aside from a chilling charm. Looking around her, she saw a magically restrained Starlight Glimmer presented on a pedestal trussed up like a Thanksgiving turkey, still uncorrupted and unclaimed by the curse.

Sunset guessed that was only because Twilight was planning something for her later, and she gave the other mare a nod of acknowledgement and wink. But Starlight only stared at her in disbelief. She then closed her eyes and slumped, leaving Sunset guessing she thought all was lost.

Just hang in there, filly. I didn’t come here without a plan! Sunset mentally told the other mare, who she knew was not only an exceptionally powerful unicorn in her own right, but an excellent tactician.

And what does it say about this version of Twilight that Starlight Glimmer was so easily overcome? Sunset couldn’t help but wonder as she took in the Map Room’s altered surroundings, which looked like a badly clashing amalgam of Steedgyptian and Coltic décor she knew the human Rarity would throw a fit at seeing.

“I see you’ve been doing a little redecorating and changing your fashion sense, Twilight. And while I’m glad that you’re finally cutting loose and letting your mane down a bit, I can’t let this go on. I’m sorry to say, I’ve come here to bring down the curtain on this little party of yours.”

“Have you, now?” Twilight seemed amused by the statement, and so did many of the corrupted half-pony creatures around her. “And how do you plan to do that, Sunset Shimmer, when you know perfectly well that my alicorn power dwarfs yours as a unicorn?”

Sunset recognized it for the probe that it was, though she took it as a good sign that not even Twilight could penetrate her reinforced mental defenses. She couldn’t sense if Sci-Twi and Delta Requiem were close, which was a testament to the latter’s stealth and skill as a spellsinger. But she imagined the latter was taking extra care to slip them in unseen. She just hoped it would be enough to overcome the arcane energy detection abilities of The Nightmare’s former host, who she was surprised to see was the pony Rarity.

Have to say, that new look strangely suits her… Sunset inwardly conceded, wondering what the human Rarity would think of both that, and the fact that pony Rarity wanted nothing to do with dragons given they had become her human counterpart’s favorite creatures and partners on the other side of the portal.

Would sure be fun to watch the fireworks fly if THOSE two ever got together! She couldn’t help but grin at the image.

“Well, I suppose if I was the supervillain you’ve become, I’d stand here monologuing about it, reciting a rehearsed speech while loving the sound of my own voice. But I figured that before I tried outright taking you down, I’d do what friendship requires first by attempting to reason with—”

“Athena Cykes!”Twilight suddenly exclaimed, pointing at Sunset with a hoof. Her words earned some startled and confused looks from the other corrupted ponies, except for the Cyberponies, who grinned and nodded. “I knew that outfit looked familiar! I take it that was your Nightmare Night costume—or as humans call it, Halloween?” she asked with a cocked head and a wide grin.

Sunset blinked, looking down at herself to realize she was still wearing the white blouse, yellow skirt and blazer, altered black glove, blue tie, black nylons, white hind boots and mood-reflecting pendant of her Athena costume, which took on a surprised face with a circular mouth.

“Oh. Uh, yeah. There was a post-football Halloween party at CHS with Crystal Prep, since they were there as the away team. The school heads—and you’ll be interested to know that Dean Cadance is now Principal Cadance—offered a series of prizes for the best costume themes among all the school bands and teams. As I’m sure you can guess, ours was Ace Attorney.” She didn’t mind striking up a conversation on an unrelated topic, as that gave Delta and Sci-Twi more time to infiltrate the castle.

“Attorney?” Nightmarity spoke up from the other side of the room, looking Sunset over from head to toe. “With that outfit? A horrid combination of colors paired with an untucked blouse and a sloppily knotted tie? You would surely be found in contempt if you showed up in an Equestrian court with such a short skirt and slovenly attire!”

She turned up her nose even as she lay at the center of attention from half a dozen Timberponies. They included two figures who appeared to be the pony equivalents of Applejack and Big Macintosh, who seemingly didn’t mind in the least servicing Rarity’s sex, new grapefruit-sized apples and impressive deep blue stallionhood with their long canine tongues.

Sunset stared at her, finding her uncannily like the human world’s Rarity for a moment. I wonder if she can play a keytar? “For the record, you just insulted your human counterpart, given she was the one who dressed me up like this?”

“She did?” The Nightmare-infused pony Rarity looked horrified for a moment. “Well, I will simply have to have a chat with her for that and many other affronts to our shared name! Not the least of which I am told is her unconscionable interest in dragons!”

“Now, now, Nightmarity. Don’t be too hard on her or Sunset here, given the portrayal is an impressively accurate one. If you don’t believe me, see for yourself.” She nodded over at Cyber Belle, who grinned and projected an image of the real character into the air.

“Hmph! Then I will simply have to take it up with the game designers! Especially if all the costumes are so improperly revealing or garish…”

“Actually, they’re not—okay, save one or two. And as for ‘Athena’ here, I admit she’s a surprisingly complex and sympathetic character in an interesting and entertaining series of human video games, even if it presents a completely unrealistic view of the human and pony justice systems. So I grant you have a good taste in characters, Sunset Shimmer. Though I cannot say the same for my human counterpart, who I presume dressed up as Phoenix Wright?” she guessed in some visible distaste.

“She did,” Sunset conceded, wondering what Sci-Twi would think to hear that. Or maybe she’s already here? she hoped, uncertain of how much longer she’d have to stall. “How’d you know?”

“Simply because he would have been the absolute last character I would have wanted to portray, given his ugly win-at-all-costs attitude, complete inability to plan ahead and willingness to accuse the innocent to cover for his many mistakes,” she replied with something approaching a sneer as she magically refilled her goblet and took another sip.

“I would have chosen the character of Mia Fey instead, who was the embodiment of loyalty and honorably fought to not only free her clients, but right the wrongs done to them.”

“Interesting…” Sunset said as she looked around again. It was only then she noticed the crystalline statue of Celestia off to the side and for the first time, her eyes went wide, seeing her former mentor frozen in gemstone wearing an expression of total shock and disbelief. She had apparently been caught rearing up given her slightly elevated forequarters showed off an enormous stallion erection, so big it reached all the way to her chest. “Is that—”

“It is indeed,” Twilight confirmed, looking down into her drink with a visible moment of regret. “Understand, she was converted too soon. I had no choice but to activate my anti-alicorn failsafe when she stormed in here looking for Discord, and then announced she would rule this world as a tyrant queen. I will release her from her crystal prison once I can cleanse her of her inner darkness, which I suspect is left over from fighting her sister during the long-ago war with The Nightmare. And speaking of whom…”

Sunset was just able to sense a whisper in the ether of several portal passages out of sight behind couches and curtains. One even occurred in the roots of Twilight’s old treehouse above the map table, which was dark except for the intangible map of Equestria and Beyond it displayed.

She was surprised when a flat-haired Pinkie Pie and all three of her sisters suddenly stepped into view from their entry points, with Pinkie herself dropping out of the treehouse to land like a cat on all fours before them. “Hey, Queenie. We’re back.”

“Greetings, Pinkamena. I assume from your satisfied faces that your mission was successful?”

Pinkie gave a malicious grin Sunset had never seen on her face before. “Sure was, Queenie. We got her! After three thousand years, she’s dead and buried,” she said coldly with a lick of her blade. Her blue eyes then fell on Sunset with a sly smile, who couldn’t help but shiver at not just the intensity but the sheer mercilessness of her gaze.

“Oh. Hey, Sunny.” She twirled a knife on the tip of her hoof as she spoke. “Didn’t expect to see you here. Have to say, you make a nice-looking mare. When you get back, tell the pony Pinkie that it’s time to switch places again. I don’t want to get too far behind on my homework, after all. Oh, and ask her if she’d be willing to let her sisters swap places, too,” she added with a nod at her siblings, who nodded back eagerly.

“Uh… sure, Pinkie. But you said she’s dead?” Sunset was surprised to feel a chill, and not just at the realization that her hunch had been right that the two Pinkies were trading worlds. “Who’s dead?”

“The Nightmare.” Twilight’s eyes narrowed, causing Sunset’s to go wide. “After Rarity expelled her but kept her powers, she fled through the dreamscape, so I dispatched Pinkamena and her sisters to hunt her down. They were well-suited to the task, given their enhanced abilities meant that they could traverse the dream realms along with Hammerspace,” she explained shortly, then frowned at Sunset’s shocked expression.

“And don’t you dare act aghast or have any sympathy for her, Sunset Shimmer. She lived far too long and destroyed countless lives in her pursuit of not so much power as parental acceptance, including the many thousands of ponies lost during the Celestial War. So kindly spare me any sentimental blather about sparing her. She had no qualms about killing and did so on a mass scale. She’s had it coming for over three thousand years, and nopony should mourn her.”

“Then you really have changed,” Sunset realized with a shiver, only then understanding between hearing Twilight’s words and seeing Pinkie Pie’s altered state just how strong the curse’s corruptive influence truly was. “And not for the better if you would so casually imprison your own mentor. Or callously condemn another being without even the benefit of a trial.”

“Sorry, but not sorry, Sunny,” Pinkamena said, taking her seat at the map table and putting her hind hooves up on top of it, to a disapproving glower from Rarity. Or was she now called Nightmarity? “Not for that, and definitely not for catching this wonderfully sexy virus. You wouldn’t believe how free my sisters and I feel now! And how much we can do.”

She began openly stroking her erection, though Sunset knew that just like in her own case, Pinkie had gotten it at the end of the Friendship Games; a mark of magical maturity that allowed her and the rest of her friends to feed Sunset enough Friendship magic to ascend and ultimately defeat Midnight Sparkle.

But only after she’d sexually corrupted two student bodies, three school heads, a pair of dragon clans and the entire capital city of the Gryphon Kingdom! Eclipse hasn’t even come close to that tally, and yet… here and now, I’m almost thinking that between her and an equally insane Sci-Twi? MIDNIGHT was the more reasonable one! She couldn’t help but think to see her now.

“What she said!” Limestone broke into her thoughts as she turned to Marble and started making out passionately with her, the pair rubbing their new phalluses together as they reared up. “After being stuck on a bucking rock farm for all my life, this is the most fun I’ve ever had! I don’t ever want to give it up!”

“Agreed. This has been the greatest night of my life,” Maud added in a monotone as she began to back her rear into Celestia’s erect crystalline cock. “And I don’t ever want it to end…” she further added as it slipped inside her slit with a wet slurp and she began to slowly hump it, doing her best to work it in deeper.

“You heard them. And that, more than anything else, is what this wondrous magic has done for us, Sunset Shimmer. It is also what I now offer you.” Twilight stepped forth, backed by hundreds of grinning, nodding ponies, all wearing leering looks.

“With you at my side, the Human Element bearers can be quickly captured and converted as well, thus extending both their influence and that of this evolutionary enchantment to the human realm! Just think of the possibilities after that!”

“I’m afraid I already have. Because I’ve seen them once before,” Sunset rejoined easily. Anytime, Delta… she mentally called out, only to realize she’d asked for ten minutes and by her internal reckoning, only eight were up. “And for as fun as it was, it’s ultimately destructive. Sex alone is no basis for a society or civilization, Twilight.”

“She’s Queen Eclipse!” a series of mixed voices instantly corrected her, punctuated by timberwolf growls and dragonpony hisses, leaving Sunset amazed at how many ponies Spike must have screwed to produce such a large clan.

Sunset closed her eyes, then opened them again. “Fine, Queen. But allow me to list a few things you might not have thought of with regards to this new erotic empire you plan to rule…” She began to circle Twilight, who grinned and did the same back, the crowd instantly withdrawing to a respectful distance.

“First, just because you’re always horny doesn’t mean you don’t need to eat, sleep, or rest. It doesn’t mean you still don’t need fresh food, clean drinking water, and magical maintenance of everything from dams to streetlamps to roof shingles. It doesn’t mean you don’t need factories, hospitals, healers, grocery stores, craftsponies, and weather control. So, tell me, Queen—just how do you intend to grow crops, treat diseases and repair so much as a wagon wheel when all anyone ever wants to do is rut each other’s brains out?”

Though she had hoped her words would give at least a few of the corrupted creatures pause, Sunset’s warning was greeted by nothing more than a few smirks and snickers. The cyberponies looked especially amused at the suggestion, who Sunset had to inwardly admit looked far more sleek and technologically advanced than any movie or comic depiction of pony robots she’d ever seen.

For her part, Midnight just laughed. “Oh, please, Sunset Shimmer. Do you really think I haven’t considered those questions while I was waiting here for my orders to be carried out? Nothing changes because of this curse, my soon-to-be satrap. Our society does not crumble because of this, it simply evolves to use different currencies in exchange for services. So going in order of your points…”

She glanced over at a mare Sunset recognized as a youthful version of Granny Smith, who grinned, her eyes glowing green.

“Annie Smith now has not just the plant-controlling Timberponies under her command, but all the wild packs of the Everfree as well, meaning she can use them to grow all the food we will ever need throughout the entirety of the forest. The only question then becomes one of transport, and to borrow a phrase, our new abilities will leave it even easier to make the trains run on time.”

“And how do you figure that?” Sunset challenged, not immediately seeing what she was getting at.

“Just look around you, Sunset Shimmer. Armed with the infinite data of the human internet and all the various arcane texts I had uploaded to my cellphone, the cyberponies have the full and complete knowledge of both worlds at their disposal, meaning we will never lack for expertise in everything from magic to mail delivery to repairing steam engines or even building a brand-new castle. I might even have them build human-style structures and vehicles—minus the pollutants, of course.”

Sunset stared at her. “And you really think that they would—”

“I do, Sunset Shimmer. And I could go on. The creation of the Siren ponies were admittedly a surprise, and one of the very few things I would thank the late and otherwise unlamented Nightmare for. They make superb entertainers and psychiatrists who can calm passions and settle potential squabbles quickly with their soothing voices alone. Thus, their very presence makes strife unlikely.”

“Unlikely, but not impossible. Which means—“

“Which means I might need peacekeepers or even outright soldiers as well. That role can be fulfilled primarily by the dragon ponies, who are not only exceptionally tough and powerful but fiercely loyal to their Lord, who has already sworn allegiance to me,” she said as they thumped their tails and vented flame in appreciation.

“But their usefulness does not end there. They can not only detect and dig up all the gems we need, but will make excellent farmers, metalworkers and foot soldiers,” Eclipse added with a nod and loving look over at a much larger and more menacing-looking Spike, who smiled back. He was surrounded by the corrupted pony versions of the Destiny Seeking Teenagers, one of whom—was that Scootaloo? —appeared to have gained what Sunset could only describe as a Phoenix form with fiery feathers and an avian tail.

And yet, despite his far more predatory appearance, Spike’s formerly baby dragon eyes remained as friendly and gentle as ever; he also had what appeared to be an unaltered griffon tiercel on his lap, who he was cuddling and kissing like a beloved foal.

“Not bad. But you’d still need a lot more than fifty of them for all that,” Sunset pointed out.

“I agree. But Spike and his new clan will no doubt see to creating more of their kind soon enough. Once they have been made even more numerous, they can serve as our army alongside the cyberponies and bat-ponies, which given their varied abilities, will make for an incredibly formidable force. Though given their charms and nearly invulnerable bodies, I don’t expect we’ll need to conquer anyone except through sensual means,” she replied easily. “Fortunately, they’re all very good at that, too.”

“All well and good,” Sunset conceded. “But that still doesn’t—”

“And last but hardly least, there are the newly created bat-ponies, which include myself. We possess the enhanced abilities and advantages of both thestrals and pegasi—plus one bat-griffon who I have already promised a lead role in the coming conquest of the Griffon Kingdom,” she acknowledged with a nod at Night Owl next. Her twin phalluses throbbed hard beneath her four protruding belly breasts as she bowed low before her new Queen; they were even bigger than the ones Sunset had seen on griffons back during Midnight’s corruption of the griffon capital city of Arnau during the Friendship Games.

“Not only can we control the weather with ease, but our internal magic is now boosted to the point that we don’t even require the weather factory to create new clouds, able to easily mold them out of the air itself.

“And from the thestral side of our lineage, we are practically invisible to magical awareness while gaining an enhanced version of our own. This makes us perfect spies and infiltrators, though now we would take out enemy sentries and soldiers with sudden sex instead of slashed throats.” She closed her eyes at what Sunset suspected was not so much the image of it as great satisfaction at her own turn of phrase.

“So, to make a long story very short, be assured that our ascensions make the tasks of maintaining society and defending it far easier, not less,” Eclipse pronounced with complete certainty to the grins and nods of her new subjects, leaving Sunset momentarily unable to come up with a retort.

“If you think about it, all that changes is that instead of trading bits and gems for services, we will offer up our bodies instead. Instead of settling disputes through harsh words or force of arms, we will simply seduce our potential enemies and thus turn them into our friends and lovers. Or perhaps concubines if some form of punishment is needed, but I doubt it will come to that in most cases.”

“Then I admit, Queen Eclipse, that maybe I didn’t give you or your altered form enough credit,” Sunset granted, though she was starting to wonder why Eclipse hadn’t tried to attack or overcome her yet, continuing to slowly circle her while doing nothing but bathing her in mating auras and magical pheromones. It wasn’t that they didn’t affect her, but she had ample experience resisting them from the occasional encounter with Midnight, who was a source of them even more powerful than the corrupted Twilight.

She did, however, grant herself at least one point of indulgence in allowing the futahood she’d acquired at the Friendship Games to sprout and grow, to an approving nod from Twilight and some lustful growls from the other corrupted ponies. “You clearly maintain your ability to reason just fine. But for all that, there’s still a couple potentially fatal flaws in your thinking, Queenie. Or actually, three.”

“Enlighten me, Sunset Shimmer,” Twilight invited, though Sunset was surprised to realize that she was now thinking of this altered version of her friend less as Twilight and more as her chosen moniker—Eclipse.

“Fine. Firstly, you assume that enough discipline will exist for any of this to happen. But here and now, I see very little of it,” she said with a glance around her, earning a frown from not just Eclipse herself, but Annie Smith.

“I grant that you can do what you claim. But whether it gets done is another matter entirely. Within days, I foresee deadlines missed and routine maintenance neglected because everypony only wants to rut. Within weeks, I see crops unwatered and fields untended because everyone was too distracted by thoughts of sex to tend them, resulting in failed harvests and food rotting in their fields. In just a month or two, I see vital infrastructure crumbling and supply chains failing because repairs and shipments took a back seat to satisfying sensual demands, which, near as I can tell, this curse makes unending.”

“I see,” Eclipse said easily, though she never lost her grin. “And is there anything else?”

For the first time, Sunset was starting to get the distinct impression that it was Eclipse trying to stall her instead of the other way around. I’m not sure what she’s doing right now, but it certainly works in our favor if it gives Delta and Sci-Twi more time to make it in unnoticed!

“Yes, there is. The second issue is that you speak of exchange through sex as currency? Well, here’s the problem with that: basic economics says that currency gains value through scarcity. But if sex is freely offered, it loses value until it can purchase nothing, leaving those buying with nothing to offer those selling. At which point there is no point in producing or selling anything, and you’re left with a barter-based economy that can’t sustain you.

“And thirdly, you speak of military strength as a matter of simple numbers. But if you studied the writings of the Sun Master like Celestia made me do, then you should know better than anypony that it’s not that simple. Forces have to train together, which becomes difficult to impossible when you can’t think about anything except sex,” she pointed out.

“Just as before, I see your armies too concerned with rutting to carry out orders effectively, and I might also add that there is no guarantee that those you see as loyal will remain that way forever,” Sunset pointed out, looking around again and gratified to recognize at least one or two worried looks on the faces of the Cyberponies. “Not when you can no longer offer them greater power, lest they usurp your authority.”

“They wouldn’t dare!” Eclipse tried to claim, but Sunset simply shook her head.

“No? Take it from someone who learned the hard way, Twilight—you cannot compel obedience among those you can no longer cow or otherwise offer enough pay or basic necessities to. In other words, your new Empire won’t last very long simply because it can’t—because the curse’s compulsion to mate as a means to infect others is so all-consuming that it can’t provide for itself,” she told not just Eclipse, but them all.

“The only way it can sustain itself is through aggressive expansion, but the territory you can conquer is finite. This means you eventually run out of new lands, hosts and supplies you can seize, at which point you’re doomed. In that sense, this erotic empire you propose is ultimately no different than any other imperial power that requires constant conquest to survive. And if so, it will suffer the same ugly fate as all of them,” she said, her confidence growing.

“So even if you succeed in spreading this curse through both realms, the end result would almost assuredly be mass starvation and strife. And that’s why I have to defeat and cure you, Twilight. For the survival of not just Equestria, but two entire worlds are at stake in stopping the spread of this thing.”

But once again, Eclipse dismissed her with a laugh and wave of a hoof. “Well-reasoned, but still pointless worries. Your concerns are noted but unwarranted, Sunset Shimmer, simply because the most intense urges of this magnificent magic will wane over time, even if they don’t disappear entirely.”

“And what makes you say that?” Sunset was starting to wonder how much more time she had to stall, glancing around to see Nightmarity’s eyes closed in concentration, and Sunset was starting to worry that it wasn’t just to enjoy the tongues bathing her large ebon balls.

“Very simple.” Noticing her gaze, Eclipse glanced over at Nightmarity herself, only to receive a quick shake of her dark-furred head. “So tell me, Sunset Shimmer—that superb stallionhood I see beneath your belly. Have you used it since gaining it?”

Sunset stared at her, then smiled, feeling her engorged organ twitch once in appreciation at all the sex she could scent in the air and magical mating auras acting upon her. “Not that it’s any of your business, but yes. Even so, I don’t use it to screw everything I see. I only indulge it with proper partners at appropriate times.”

“Exactly,” Eclipse grinned, showing off her pointed thestral fangs. “In other words, you continued to live your life much as before, if with a few more ways to enjoy it. In gaining it, you neither neglected your studies nor your chores, nor even your duties as Element Bearer,” she reminded Sunset, causing her to blink.

“But that’s not the—” she tried to protest, but Eclipse cut her off.

“It is exactly the same, considering how you gained it was no less powerful and all-consuming than this! And therein lies my point. Acquiring it did not mean you were overcome by it and endlessly rutted everything before you, though I can well imagine you wanted to when you first received it. But did it last? Did becoming a full ‘futa’, as humans call it, mean that you were consumed by the presence of your new phallus and the urge to rut?” Eclipse asked pointedly.

“Or as the days and weeks passed, were you able to accept and control your urges, only indulging them at opportune times?” she further challenged, and this time, Sunset couldn’t immediately come up with a retort. “Don’t bother denying it, given you already admitted the answer. And it will ultimately be no different for us as the initial overwhelming urges of our evolved forms pass, allowing our minds and bodies to reach a new equilibrium with our desires.”

For the first time, Sunset felt herself given pause. The curse-corrupted Twilight’s words rang at least somewhat true, but with it came a sharp reminder that not only was there no guarantee that the curse urges would ever ebb, but that she had come dangerously close to fully surrendering to her own before. Not so much to the equine phallus she had acquired at the Friendship Games, but to Midnight Sparkle herself, who had attempted to establish an erotic empire whose insanity and scope exceeded even this one.

And at the time, she wasn’t even interested in ruling it; just creating it and then throwing races together to see what would happen!

Eclipse smiled as for the first time, she saw Sunset hesitate. “You know I’m right, Sunset Shimmer. And you also know that as the former Princess of Friendship and new Queen of Equestria, I can make this work. So why not aid me? As you already have experience with this level of desire, you could help us establish our improved society and deal with any of the issues that may arise.

“And thus, I make you this offer: surrender yourself to me and accept your evolution. Realize your full sensual potential…” Her voice dropped to a whisper as she intensified her mating aura further, making Sunset’s fur fiercely tingle and her marehood involuntarily wink. Anticipating its touch, her tail swished aside for a moment as she sensed the approach of Twilight’s aura to her sensitive surfaces, and worse, she found herself welcoming it.

Her will faltered for a moment, finding temptation trying to take hold of her. But swiftly reasserting her will, she closed her eyes and shook her head hard to remind herself sharply of why she couldn’t give in, finding solace and strength in the remembered faces of her friends back home.

Friends who were counting on her.

Friends who needed to be saved by her, and who only awaited the opportunity to assist her.

It’s been over ten minutes, Delta… where the hell ARE you? she wondered again, noticing Nightmarity suddenly cock her head to the side. “I’m sorry, but I can’t, even if I wanted to. Never mind the inevitable societal collapse this would cause and the fact that what ultimately makes sex special is its rarity—please pardon the term, Nightmarity—but you of all ponies should remember who I once was, Twilight,” she recalled somewhat painfully.

“And what about it?” Eclipse asked dismissively.

“What about it? Don’t you see? If I allow this curse to strip me of all inhibitions, then there’s a chance I could become that ugly, power-hungry she-demon again! If Celestia succumbed to her inner darkness, then I could, too. Believe me when I say that you do not want the old me as an enemy. And definitely not wielding the powers I do now.”

“I’ll take my chances.” Eclipse grinned, showing her teeth again. “Your words ring false, given you already admitted to me during a visit to Earth how much you enjoyed what happened at the Friendship Games—so you do like the idea of freely having sex and indeed participated in it!”

“Yeah. As a fantasy or a very rare indulgence, not an all-consuming reality! What happened at the Friendship Games was only under severe magical compulsion, and it was a one-time thing!” Sunset said vehemently.

“Believe what you wish, if it makes you feel better. I’m sure you wouldn’t mind doing that all over again if you got the chance, but whatever the answer, your true desires will be revealed soon enough. And you’ll forgive me for doubting that you would be much of a challenge if even Starlight Glimmer or The Nightmare weren’t,” Eclipse answered in some amusement.

“Your overconfidence may be your downfall, Queenie,” Sunset warned with a smirk.

“And yours as well, ‘Sunny’. When I first met you on Earth, I didn’t have my alicorn aura available in human form without the Elements of Harmony activating. That isn’t the case here, and you now face my full strength, which dwarfs even the most potent of unicorn power.”

“And I didn’t have the arsenal of arcane spells and forbidden magic I’d learned behind Celly’s back during my time as her student,” Sunset replied instantly, motioning up with her eyes to her horn. “You underestimate my power, Twilight, which could be a fatal mistake. Even as only a unicorn, I’m not even remotely a pushover, and if the curse boosts my magic further? Then I could potentially challenge you.”

“Which only motivates me to convert you more, if you would give me a good match,” Twilight instantly rejoined with a hopeful grin, then glanced over at Rarity again, who gave a slight nod and motioned across the room with her eyes.

“For what use is power if there’s nopony to test it? But as fun as this conversation has been, it’s time to end it. I’m perfectly aware you’re stalling for the arrival of your friends, Sunset Shimmer. As it happens, so was I, because I wanted to catch them! But now that they’re here, their capture is assured and the failure of your easily-discerned plan is complete. So if you will do the honors, my lovely and generous Nightmarity…?”

“That would be my greatest pleasure, darling.” The corrupted Fashionista’s alicorn-length horn glowed as she zapped a point in the air with intense violent energy that caused a sudden crackling like breaking glass, followed by the area imploding into a swirling vortex that began violently sucking the air out of the chamber.

The area in front of it shimmered to reveal the forms of the human Twilight and Delta Requiem. They were struggling desperately on the strength of Sci-Twi’s faltering magic to not be sucked into what Sunset instantly recognized as a netherworld vortex, and worse, the vacuum effect prevented Delta from casting a defensive spell, unable as she was to draw breath to sing it.

“No!” Sunset shouted as she started to ready a rift dispersion counterspell—knowing that the thousand-year banishment of Nightmare Moon would be up by the time she was an adult and planned to be ruling Equestria, she had studied Steedgyptian magic to learn what dark powers her likely adversary would wield and how to defeat them—only to find it blocked by Eclipse. She also prevented Sunset from aiding them as the Nightmare’s former host swiftly ensnared them with her power, wrapping Delta’s throat and mouth with a blue-glowing bind that kept her from speaking, silencing her spellsinging.

An equally shocked Sci-Twi was restrained far more conventionally by snaring her limbs with a series of magical tendrils. Nightmarity blocked her speech and spellcasting with a hex around the base of her horn, causing the siphon the human Twilight had been levitating and ready to apply to her corrupted counterpart to fall in a clatter to the ground.

Their capture complete, Nightmarity sealed off the vortex and lowered them to the floor. “It is done, darling.”

“So I see, my good friend and most amorous of advisors! You have clearly already assimilated The Nightmare’s memories and magic well to use them so effectively. Though as for you, my lesser half, it disgusts me to see you wearing the garb of Phoenix Wright.” She plucked the siphon Twilight had intended to use on her off the ground and then crushed it in her grasp, somehow bypassing its magic-absorbing abilities.

“For he is anything but worthy of being an attorney, or of us! I see you also wear a magically active pendant around your neck. To restrain your second self, I presume?” she suggested with a smirk, to which a mute and shaking Twilight could only nod once.

“I thought so. Perhaps I should destroy it as well to set her loose! For even though a goddess she most assuredly is not, her delusions of being a deity might be amusing to behold before I imprison her again,” she suggested easily, causing Sci-Twi to start trembling and pleadingly shake her head as her worn pendant was moved fractionally up from her chest.

Seeing her fear, Eclipse let it fall back into her costume with a smirk. “But I will not indulge in that potential pleasure now, and I have no intention of sullying myself by converting you. I will leave that to any of my subjects who wish it. Just know, so-called Midnight Sparkle, that there is only one Monarch of Magic, and it is most assuredly not you!”

Sci-Twi felt a dark and roiling anger building within her, only to just as abruptly ebb and be replaced by what she felt to be a sullen sense of biding time. But she didn’t know what Midnight could be waiting for and couldn’t consider it as the corrupted Twilight turned to Delta Requiem next.

“And as for you, Lady Requiem, as fun as it might be to see you subjugated by several of my new soldiers at once, I will tease you but otherwise preserve you, because I can think of another pony who might wish to claim you for herself,” she said casually, toying with the older mare by using creeping lines of flames to consume her cape and clasp.

She did so by casting an incineration charm that didn’t burn Delta but seemed to set the flesh beneath alive with pleasure as she was slowly stripped, causing the defenseless bard to shiver. Grinning at the reaction, Eclipse then increased the tease by drawing a tendril of aura charged with enhancement and sensitivity spells down the other mare’s body to brush each of her instantly erect teats in turn, causing them to plump into larger melon-sized mounds as it passed.

“I learned some time ago that you and Juniper Neptune were lovers before her ascension to High Priestess, and I sense that some part of you still desires her to this day. As such, I’m sure that once fully evolved, she will be more than happy to do the job and impart you her Highborne attributes, including that impressive never-flaccid phallus of hers,” she suggested idly, causing Delta’s eyes to go wide and her cheeks to flush.

“Ah, so you do like that idea. Perhaps I will even offer you to her as an enticement to join us of her own accord?” she said with a wink as her tendril of aura briefly flicked over Delta’s clit and was then drawn upwards across the cleft of the Bard’s marehood lips, to which Lady Requiem flushed harder and shivered, fighting the urge to push back into the contact and almost painfully pleasurable magic.

“Then again, for as much as you seem to enjoy this, perhaps I have it backwards. For as badly as you clearly want her, maybe you should be the one to surrender to me, and then once ascended, your power will be able to overcome hers!” Eclipse then slyly suggested, punctuating her words by giving the other sorely aroused mare one final and nearly fatal tease by inserting the tip of her aura into the now-loosening anal opening directly beneath her tail.

No sound escaped her with Nightmarity’s binds in place, but for a single terrifying moment, Sunset thought that Delta Requiem would indeed surrender when her gaze glazed and tail involuntarily rose, flagging itself aside in invitation to further intrusion.

But then her eyes, which had been partially closed in seeming fantasy, snapped open. She shook her head hard and clamped her tail back down, using one of her preexisting wards to eject the corrupted Twilight’s aura from her body and deliver at least a weak magical feedback shock to her.

Eclipse looked stung, but only momentarily as she withdrew her aura. “And for a second, I actually thought I had you, Delta. But no matter—I can tell that you’re weakened and you’ll give in with just a little more effort on my part. Breaking you down should be very fun, but unfortunately, I don’t have the time to give you the attention you deserve just yet.” She then turned back to Sunset, who was watching her warily.

“Well. That takes care of your friends, and your ill-thought plan to drain me of my power, Sunset Shimmer. For the record, it was easy enough to guess who was involved in your plot, given I sensed two portal passages and the only one who understood magic enough to be useful against me was my lesser self,” she explained easily.

“As The Nightmare had already detected the presence of Delta Requiem, I knew she was here and that she was the logical choice to try to infiltrate the castle. I further suspected that you were going to use her to get ‘Sci-Twi’ here close enough to drain me with those accursed siphons while you teleported the portal back in, hoping the human bearers could cleanse us through it…?” she suggested with a smug look, causing Sunset’s jaw to clench.

Eclipse grinned triumphantly. “I thought as much. In truth, I was considering just letting you do it so I could get the portal back, but why risk it? You’ll give up its location quite willingly once you’re converted, after all.”

“If I’m ‘converted’, you lose it forever,” a now-worried Sunset quickly countered, her mind racing as she struggled to come up with a new strategy. “If there was one thing I was good at before, it was making plans, and I didn’t come in here without contingencies. If you infect me, you lose the portal. I made sure that only my unaltered unicorn magic can activate its retrieval spell, not a curse-corrupted one. The instant my aura is altered, it gets sent to someplace you can never enter. And at least Earth is safe.”

She smiled when she saw Eclipse given at least momentary pause, ordering her approaching soldiers to stop. “So you used an imprint incantation, most likely of Neighponese origin? Interesting. The best of those are almost impossible to crack and very difficult to master, but I have no doubt you did so. With individual unicorn auras as unique as human fingerprints, there is no way for anypony to precisely mimic them.”

“Exactly,” Sunset said triumphantly. “So it would seem we’re at an impasse, Queenie.”

“I wouldn’t say that.” Eclipse’s grin returned. “I could think of several ways around your trap, including a simple search. I know the strength of your aura and thus, how far you could conceivably teleport something of the portal’s size and mass. I also know what ley lines lead from here, which are the most likely directions you sent it,” she mused as Sunset’s expression started to drop.

“That means there is only a finite area in which it could be, and with my entire army working together? I’m sure we could find it within a week, particularly given its distinct magical signature that thestrals like myself are now far more readily able to detect. But in truth, none of that is necessary.” She started circling Sunset again.

“Oh? And why not?” Just keep her talking… need to buy time to think of something else!

“Simple. Why should I bother with all that when I can still just use your own retrieval spell? Maybe a pony can’t mimic your aura exactly, but I’m certain that a converted and power-boosted Changeling could. So I’ll be moving up my operations against Queen Chrysalis, and given Nightmarity already knows their location and can open a portal directly into their hive, we’ll have them converted in under an hour,” she announced to cheers and eager grins from the soldiers of her new army, whose varied phalluses started throbbing and drooling in eager anticipation.

“Though I must preserve you for now to keep your aura unaltered, your friends will be joining the effort, Sunset Shimmer. I look forward to seeing them in action, fighting and rutting at our side.”

Crap. She’s right! Sunset realized with a sudden trickle of sweat. Dammit… I didn’t even consider that the Changelings could be used against me! “I see…” She turned downcast and set her jaw. Guess this is it, then, and there’s only one way to keep Earth safe…

“Then I’m sorry, Twilight—you leave me no choice.” She cast her failsafe spell to pull the portal to a sealed Steedgyptian tomb, only for the magic to rebound hard off the walls of the castle and never leave the map room; the feedback shock causing her to cry out and sending her to her knees.

“Nor do you, my beautiful and magically adept friend. Unfortunately, I already made sure wards were in place that mean you can neither teleport away from here nor broadcast any spells.” she said smugly, her smile turning gleeful. “It’s over, Sunset Shimmer! You lose, but you really shouldn’t see this as a defeat. For it will result in you gaining more power than you could ever know!”

Her horn ignited again, and this time Sunset sensed from the imminent spellcasting that Eclipse’s intention was to restrain her enough to allow her to be put into a stasis spell, preserving her uncorrupted form long enough to allow a Changeling to meet and mimic her. And after that...?

Then her sexual subjugation would unfold, followed quickly by her conversion to a corrupted version of herself. And though more than slightly tempted to find out what that would be, Sunset was too strong-willed to allow it.

“It’s not… over… yet!” Suppressing a moment of panic, the former student of Princess Celestia cast a powerful protection spell that encased her in a shimmering bubble barely more than two body lengths wide, causing Twilight to instantly retract her threatened spell when it recoiled from the magical boundary.

“Impressive. That’s the Aegis of Athena shield incantation,” Eclipse instantly recognized, though she never lost her smirk. “How apt, given your current dress. There aren’t many places you can learn that from nowadays, short of visiting the half-excavated volcanic ruins of Ponypei in Ancient Roam. Though a potent protective spell, it’s an exercise in futility and nothing more than an attempt to buy time,” she said with a knowing nod.

“I admit it’s impervious to penetration unless I want to deploy a magical megaspell against it, but that’s unnecessary given it also possesses two critical flaws. First, it only lasts so long as the caster can sustain it, and second, it’s so solid that it doesn’t even let air in or out,” she recited.

“Even at your power level, I give it about five minutes before your magic is spent and it fails. Or less than that if you finally pass out from lack of oxygen. And once you do… game over, Sunset Shimmer! When that shield falls, you are mine! Mind, body, and soul.” She stretched out her hindquarters to show off her organ, which had started oozing in anticipation.

“Sorry again, Twilight. But been there, done that,” Sunset said in a slightly distant and echoing voice like she was calling up from the bottom of a ravine. Even as she worked up some attitude and an accompanying smirk, Sunset felt her stiff and throbbing stallionhood twitch in desire for a moment, suddenly and quite vividly fantasizing about her marehood or tail filled to the brim with Eclipse’s phallic flesh.

But she suppressed the urge to surrender just as strongly as she had at the Friendship Games while she considered her options, finding only one. And even that one was so desperate with the odds of success so far against it that she would likely be sacrificing herself for nothing.

“You have not done me. You stand alone, Sunset Shimmer. I now know your plan from reading the memory of my lesser self, which I grant could have worked—though I sincerely doubt that the Harmonic Resonance needed to create such a powerful counterspell could be generated by the students of CHS alone,” she mused.

“Regardless, the opportunity to use such a plan has passed, so be assured there is no human cavalry coming. Your cause is lost, so I again offer you the chance to surrender and give up the location of the portal. If for no other reason than for you to gain the power to challenge me properly?” she suggested slyly. “From what you say, perhaps your ascended form could take me. So why not chance it?”

“You know perfectly well why not,” Sunset said, her mind still scrambling for an answer, feeling the slow but steady drain on her power that the shield offered. My kingdom for an infinite supply of ether potions and oxygen bottles! Could really use a save point, too… she managed a weak joke.

“Come now, Sunset Shimmer! Or rather, you can come now or come later! As I am far better at reading individual desires in my evolved form, I know you’re still attracted to pure power, and that is what I can offer you! Imagine your magic boosted tenfold. Imagine even being able to do this!” She ignited her coat and mane in a display of elemental fire.

Despite her failed plan and the danger she was in, Sunset smiled. “Not impressed, Queenie. I would have thought my cutie mark and coat colors were a dead giveaway, but…” She tapped her own internal fire and ignited her fur and mane just as Twilight had, incinerating her costume. It left them as two pillars of elemental flame facing off in the room, to winces from the Timberwolves and awestruck expressions of the dragon ponies and Spike, who licked their lips and began stroking their enormous organs to the sight.

Sunset at least had the satisfaction of seeing Twilight startled. “Surprised, Queenie? You shouldn’t be. Why do you think Celly wanted me as her student? She recognized my great power and hoped to teach me to control it. I’m sorry to say I wasn’t interested and only used her to gain more strength.” Her point made, she extinguished her flames to keep it from consuming all the oxygen in the bubble. And sorry about the costume, Rarity…

“An impressive display of strength, Sunset Shimmer. Your elemental fire is almost as powerful as mine was as a unicorn. But even though it may boost your power temporarily, it won’t be anywhere near enough to defeat me.”

“You’re right. It won’t. And that’s the reason I didn’t use it, because I knew it from the start.” Sunset closed her eyes as she reviewed her options for a second time, only to again come to the conclusion that she only had one left that might even begin to give her a fighting chance in battle against Eclipse.

And even that was a longshot; an attempt at a special form of alicorn ascension she had failed badly once before. Even if in the incredibly unlikely event I pull it off, I might not be able to sustain it for very long. So if I can’t put Eclipse down quickly with it… She shook her head at the certainty that it might end up being only another stall for time, in which case her sole hope was that she could break Delta and Sci-Twi free long enough for either to conjure a miracle.

A miracle… she repeated to herself, then had to stifle a not-entirely fearful shiver at the idea that suddenly occurred to her. You know, we might not have an angel available to take on Queen Eclipse, but we DO have a devil. But that’s an absolute last resort, and only if I can’t take Twilight down myself!

It took but seconds for her to decide on her course of action, even though she knew how completely desperate and dangerous it was. Well, if it doesn’t work, then at least I go out in a literal blaze of glory! “Hey. Delta?” Sunset called over to the magically bound and silenced Bard of the Royal Court.

Unable to speak, the older mare looked up at her, her cheeks still flushed but her eyes dull and defeated. “Listen to me carefully. Do you remember all those years ago in the Everfree when I tried that spell? You know the one. You not only had to save me from it, but after it nearly killed me, you blocked my memory of it to make sure I’d never attempt it again.”

All Delta could do was nod as the human Twilight cowered and shivered, her eyes glistening as she awaited her now-certain corruption to come. Starlight Glimmer was also watching but looked even more resigned, knowing that once Sunset’s shield failed, she would fall and then they were all as good as converted.

“Well. Desperate times call for desperate measures. If we succumb to the curse, that’s it for everything. I can’t take Twilight as I am and this shield is only going to last another couple minutes. I’ve got no other options, so I’m casting it here and now.”

The muted bard’s eyes went wide as she understood Sunset’s intentions, shaking her head violently in a silent plea as Eclipse frowned and Sci-Twi looked both afraid and confused.

“I know, Delta. But at this point, it’s the only chance we have. I couldn’t do it back then; not with my teenage level of power and lack of personal discipline. And definitely not in the middle of the Everfree, where the wild magic of the woods made it even more overwhelming and uncontrollable. But now, as an adult with a mature mindset and aura who’s a lot more aware of her limits and in control of her emotions…”

Eclipse glanced back and forth between them in confusion. Finding that Sci-Twi had no knowledge of what was being discussed, Sunset grinned when she recognized her former friend trying but failing to penetrate Delta’s mental defenses instead; her probes deflected by the Royal Bard’s earlier-cast spellsongs that she couldn’t immediately overcome. “And just what is this about? What are you talking about, Sunset Shimmer? And why would you risk telling Delta Requiem in my presence?”

“Because she deserves to know what I’m about to try, and even if you knew it, you wouldn’t be able to stop it. I’m talking about how I’m going to beat you, filly.” Sunset raised her right hoof to her head inside her Aegis shield bubble, hoping she wasn’t already lightheaded enough to lose the intense focus and sheer strength of will that she would need.

“I’m truly sorry, Delta. And not just for this, but for everything I did and put you through growing up. I guess you won’t be able to save me from it this time, but hopefully you won’t have to. I promise that I’ll do my best not to die.”

“Die?” An uncertain Eclipse asked as Sunset touched her forehead, causing her eyes to glow bright as she used her memory recovery powers on herself, digging out the deeply buried knowledge to which Delta had applied her strongest wards.

Even with the potent geode-granted abilities she had gained at Camp Everfree, it took considerable effort and more than a little pain to dig out the spellsinger-sealed memories. But she persevered, and within seconds, she had completely recovered the arcane and very complex incantation her fourteen-year-old self had once spent over a year researching, piecing the myriad individual spells it required together from old libraries and ancient texts she had found the world over.

Sunset smiled as Delta slumped, seemingly unable to watch; she could well imagine that the middle-aged mare was uttering a prayer. Nice to know that after everything I put her through, she actually CARES for me!

“It’s done. Okay, Queenie. You want a fight? A duel for the ages?” She raised her head, her blueish-green eyes starting to glitter. “I’ll not only give you one, but I’ll risk everything to take you down.”

Finally, it was Eclipse given pause by not just the offer, but the odd and dangerous gleam she saw in Sunset’s eyes, which some still-sane part of her could last recall had been on her face when she’d been about to attain her she-demon ascension.

“Since I can’t read your mind or Delta Requiem’s, I don’t know what you’re talking about, Sunset Shimmer. But I don’t want it to kill you, so whatever insanity you’re planning in an ill-considered attempt to stop me, don’t. Because it can’t overcome me, but without knowing its nature, I might not be able to save you from it, either!”

But Sunset only smiled, feeling her heart start to race as she mentally readied herself. “Then maybe that’s the difference between us, Queen Eclipse. In your corrupted form, you’ve forgotten the purpose of friendship and the power of sacrifice—purpose and power you taught to me! Forgotten what the love for your friends can enable you to do in their defense. Congratulations on figuring out and thwarting our primary plan. So now it’s time for the backup.”

The remark earned a confused look from Sci-Twi and a sneer from Eclipse. “You’re bluffing,” the former Princess pronounced with certainty. “I can’t currently penetrate your mental defenses or those of Delta Requiem, Sunset Shimmer, but I’ve already scanned my lesser self’s memories. She doesn’t know what you mean either, which is how I know you don’t have a backup plan!”

“Not one that she knew of. Or even I did, at the time,” Sunset corrected with a lazy grin, beginning the ancient rite by casting a series of preparatory spells, whose arcane energies started swirling around her as a series of runic forms appeared in a circle on the floor beneath her. “You see, Queenie, I was once a wannabe supervillain like you who plotted the takeover of the Celestial throne, so I formed all sorts of plans to gain enough power to take Celly down. This was one of my more spectacular flameouts, but at least I know that it can work.”

“That what can work?” Eclipse demanded to know, looking frustrated that she couldn’t immediately stop Sunset through her shield spell.

“You’ll see shortly. Now if you’ll excuse me, Queenie, it’s time to take out the better part of your army with an ancient ascension rite only two ponies have ever survived performing. And once I do that, I’ll be ready to challenge you directly…” she announced as an orb of golden energy that differed in color from her usual aura suddenly formed around her horn. It swiftly began to envelop her, growing so large that it exceeded the size of her Aegis shield and dispersed it on contact.

Eclipse was startled by the sudden display, doubly so when her own attempt to disperse the unknown spellwork was not so much deflected as shattered, broken into shards of aura that then bounced around the room to be absorbed by the enchanted castle’s walls, floor and ceiling. “Don’t interfere!” Sunset warned her. “The spell won’t let you! And if you do find a way to disrupt it, it’ll kill me!”

Sunset’s eyes began to glow as her mane ignited again and this time, the fire of her form intensified, causing grimaces from the corrupted ponies. An uncomfortably hot wind began to blow around her, gusting fitfully and causing nearby corrupted creatures to start backing away; even Pinkie and her sisters looked suddenly concerned, edging towards alcoves they could use to make a quick getaway.

“Holy—want me to get a cloud to douse her?” Sunset could just hear the dark-feathered Rainbow Dash suggesting over the rising wind around her.

“No!” Eclipse exclaimed to her relief, still looking uncertain and even afraid of what was happening but also mesmerized by the magical display. “Whatever she’s doing, we can’t! That’s arcane magic of unknown effect! Until I understand its nature, she’s right! We dare not interfere…”

“You’re not wrong…” Sunset said through strained breath, struggling past the growing pain—it felt like every cell in her body was in danger of incinerating despite her elemental affinity for fire. Feeling the burning sensation build further, she suddenly recalled the agony of her earlier near-death experience of casting it as a teenager, when it got so bad she thought she had killed herself.

But this time, either because she was out of the Everfree or had a far more mature aura and patient personality to work with, she was able to regulate the energy flow, feeling her body start to stretch and swell. Even her acquired futa stallionhood was growing, approaching Celestia’s impressive stature as it began to emit globs of steaming spunk, which fell like droplets of lava onto the floor below.

Still, it was torture to undergo and her teeth gritted as she struggled to maintain the spell despite the severe pain. But she endured its agony by keeping thoughts of the friends and adopted world she loved at the forefront, knowing she was acting in their defense.

She glanced over at Delta to see she was watching in mingled fear and hope as Sunset passed the point that she’d lost control of the enormously powerful incantation previously, leaving her and Sci-Twi sensing its magic still building to its crescendo. But then she hit an internal barrier she couldn’t surmount—at least, not on the strength of her own aura.

And that’s okay! Because the entire purpose of this ascension spell is to… Struggling to keep it from slipping from her, or worse, flaring out of control to overwhelm her overtaxed aura’s ability to contain it followed by immolating her entire body in excruciating flames, she reached out with her newly boosted power towards every other fire-based creature in the room, of which there were scores.

The slitted eyes of the dragon ponies and even Spike himself went wide as they felt their flames dragged right out of their throats. It was all pulled to her to power the spell up further, quickly draining them of strength while giving Sunset everything she needed to complete the incantation and fully assimilate its effects. Multicolored gouts of dragonfire converged on her to be quickly absorbed into her trembling body, intensifying the glow of her aura as the dragons exhausted their internal reserves and collapsed to the ground hard, suffering from what was for them a form of magical withdrawal.

And it wasn’t just them, either. Kirin tail tassels were extinguished and Phoenix wings fell dark as she used her new power to absorb their myriad forms of elemental aura, adding them as fuel to her own inner fires. Gaining all the magic and heat she needed from the curse-corrupted ponies—to her relief, the imported flames did not carry the curse—she sensed they had provided her the final boost she needed to push the spell over the top.

Her heart racing and soul beginning to sing in pure joy as she realized she was accomplishing the impossible, she fully internalized their power despite the nearly-unbearable agony of it and ignited her newly imparted internal furnace, enabling her to generate a fiercely powerful fire-based aura and wings of flame not unlike the ones she wore when she ascended to the goddess form of Daydream Shimmer.

As the rapidly retreating corrupted ponies watched, her glowing body grew to Nightmare Moon size as her futahood nearly doubled in length to hang almost all the way to the ground. She even felt herself acquiring a pair of impressive balls dangling beneath her marehood, perhaps from the curse magic that had already seeped into her.

But now able to easily mitigate its influence, she didn’t care as the pain slowly turned into something approaching orgasmic pleasure, leaving her phallus throbbing hard and Sunset herself feeling ready to climax on the spot. But not about to let the curse potentially claim her, she held it back as the fierce flames of her mane and coat turned from orange and red to brilliant gold as her cutie mark glowed blindingly bright, taking on an extra color of fire in reflection of her surging elemental power.

And then, it was done.

The ancient ascension rite completed, the arcane wards that had guarded it from disruption melted away to reveal her transformed body, which no longer needed its protection. Her lingering pain finally receding along with her threatened rapture as her infused body adapted to her altered state, she flapped her newly gained wings of pure fire, sending blasts of magmatic heat over the entire room.

Her incipient inferno caused the Timberponies to whimper and withdraw further as if from the flames of a gale-fed forest-consuming firestorm; some even dove and melted into the nearest wood to escape what they feared was certain incineration while Annie Smith erected some kind of leafy shield around herself, Timbermac and Timberjack, which steamed with radiant heat.

Off to the side, a slightly frantic Nightmarity cast a powerful shield spell over herself, Discord and Flutterbat. She quickly yanked Delta, Starlight, and Sci-Twi under her protective bubble as well; looking like she was considering not just shielding but teleporting them all away as she watched agape.

The only creatures who didn’t immediately retreat from her presence were the Cyberponies, but even they could only tolerate the intense heat her body was radiating to a point. Obeying an order from Cyber Belle, they darted in just long enough to pull the drained dragons away, knowing they were in a vulnerable state.

But Sunset was only barely aware of it as she looked down at herself in amazement and delight. “I did it! By Celly’s Sun, I did it! Look at me, Delta! I really fucking did it!” She couldn’t resist using the human curse as Delta Requiem fell to her knees and teared up to see it from inside Nightmarity’s shield, who reinforced her protective wards further. She searched The Nightmare’s memory for any knowledge she had of the megaspell used and how to defeat it, only to come up empty; Sunset could sense her casting a telepathy spell to let Eclipse know.

“Wow, Sunset…” The human Twilight finally broke free of her weakened bonds enough to speak again, given Nightmarity was too intent on maintaining her protection spell to keep her secured. She stared up in awe, sensing that even Midnight was amazed at the feat—her rapidly rising stallionhood was evidence enough of that! —and very pleased to see the object of her affection ascend anew, but this time take an entirely different goddess form, rising like a Phoenix to put her corrupted pony counterpart in her place. “Did you just go Super Saiyan…?” she had to ask despite her erection, seeing her friend’s bright gold flames to go with the greenish glow of her eyes.

“Ha! Funny you should ask. I guess that in a manner of speaking, I have. And how ironic that one of my teenage plans to gain ultimate power finally comes to fruition when I no longer seek it! For I am now the ultimate embodiment of fire itself, wielding elemental power far beyond any unicorn! Power that makes me the equal of any alicorn and even able to go horn to horn with Celestia herself!”

“But how?” Sci-Twi had to ask, and she sensed Midnight desperately wanted to know the answer to that question as well. “My God, Sunset, you scared me half to death when you burst into flame! And now you’re the ultimate embodiment of fire? For all my magical research, I didn’t even know that was possible!”

“Thanks, Sci-Twi. Good to see from your boner that Middie approves as well! Sorry if this scared you, and please don’t tell Rarity that I swore! So, what do you think, Queen Eclipse?” Sunset turned back to the former Princess while speaking in a thundering voice. She suddenly felt very much like a goddess again, if an entirely different form of it than before, with all types of fire at her beck and call from simple candle flames to the internal furnace of the sun itself. But Eclipse didn’t reply, still staring at her openmouthed.

“Speechless? That’s so unlike you, Princess. But since you have taken a new title, so have I! For the record, my name is now Solar Inferno! I stand before you as the Pharaoh of Fire, courtesy of the long-forgotten alicorn ascension rite—”

“Γόνος της φωτιάς του ήλιου!”Twilight finally recognized as her agape jaw slowly shut and she settled into a delighted smile. Her thestral eyes glowed bright with reflected flames, glittering with both astonishment and eager anticipation.

“You successfully performed the mythical 'Scion of the Sunfire' ascension rite that dates back to the founding of Ancient Graze! It was so dangerous to use that its various incantations were separated and scattered across all Tellus after too many ponies died trying to cast it! Said to be impossible to pull off except for those worthy of receiving the power of the sun itself!” she recited in great glee as she stepped closer despite the intense heat around her, her armor beginning to glow.

“Right in one, Queen Eclipse,” a beaming Solar Inferno confirmed, still feeling immensely proud of herself as she reveled in not just the power it imparted, but the incredible feeling of accomplishment it gave her. “For the record, I tried it once as a teen before coming to Earth and failed badly, probably because I wasn’t worthy. In fact, the only reason I’m still alive after it killed countless others is that Delta was there to save me from myself. But now…?”

She flared her flames brighter, intense enough that even the Cyberponies had to retreat further from her presence; their internal fans and other cooling mechanisms suddenly insufficient. Acting as one through their network connections, they combined their magic to produce a powerful shield spell around the pair to contain the threatened conflagration and protect not just the fire-vulnerable Timberponies, but the drained and unconscious dragons, risking their internal systems overheating to pull and levitate them away.

“I guess this proves once and for all that I’m not the same pony I once was. For if this power can only be granted to the worthy? Then to borrow a human phrase, I just lifted Thor’s hammer!” she formed a fiery construct of one with her power as emphasis, then brought it down on the stone floor, causing the ground to shake and the enchanted rock to melt almost instantly beneath it, quickly forming a spreading pool of magma.

“By Celestia’s sacred sun itself, you certainly did…” Eclipse sounded outright giddy to Sunset, who noted her friend’s phallus throbbing hard at the sight of her ascended form. “But even this is just a distraction. So tell me, Solar Inferno—why should I fight you when I already have your friends? I could just order you to surrender if you wish to keep them uncorrupted,” she mused, causing Sci-Twi and Delta to glance at each other nervously.

“No sale. You’d corrupt them anyway and turn them on me,” Solar Inferno pointed out with a smirk. “Sorry, Twilight, but I won’t let you.”

“I’m sure you’d make it very difficult, true enough. But as I control the means of Celestia’s imprisonment, I could turn it on you as well. Or alternately, I could instead drain the Solar Princess of her aura so I can add it to my own! Not even you could stand against her power combined with mine!” she suggested almost idly even as her eyes remained fixed on the former Sunset’s fiery form, all but devouring it.

“How surprisingly sensible, Twilight. And how completely unlike you,” the newly christened Solar Inferno said as she descended to ground, her grin growing.

“I wouldn’t advise trying to imprison me like Celly, because I have some idea how you did it and might be able to turn it against you. But since I’m not completely certain, I’d rather not take the chance. And as for adding Celly’s power to your own, you could, but you don’t want to. Because in the end, you’re just like me. You don’t want power so much as a real challenge, which by your own admission, you haven’t yet received,” she recited with certainty as she presented her ascended form to Twilight, taking pains to show off her massive new apples and alicorn-sized erection for further enticement.

“I can see in your eyes that you want to test yourself against my ascended form. You want to pit your fire and magic against mine! You want to see what I can do, and what spells I can wield. Well, I promise you, filly—accept my challenge and fight me as you are with no strings attached, and I swear before our Princesses and Principals that I’ll give you a duel for the ages!”

Twilight’s giddy grin turned almost maniacal the more Solar Inferno spoke. “Oh, do you know me well, Sunset Shimmer. So be it! In that form, you can indeed match my alicorn power, and it is also clear that your arcane knowledge might even exceed my own! I can’t wait to see what other spells you know that I can add to my arsenal, and that alone means I can’t pass up this opportunity!” she decided as her scared subjects looked on from a safe distance behind Cyberpony spellcasting, several of which had also deployed various forms of human firearms and even a few Gatling guns from their backs.

They leveled them at Solar Inferno despite calculating that even enchanted bullets would be ineffective against her powerful form and flame, only standing down after receiving a direct order to do so from Cyber Belle, who they obeyed as their progenitor. But Eclipse didn’t notice, her gaze never leaving her friend’s fiery form.

“But since we’re using references to human shows, let’s see if I can come up with one of my own! I don’t particularly like Dragonball, since I find the plot far too plodding, the animation inconsistent and the characters grotesquely unbalanced,” Eclipse grinned as her own arcane energies began to swirl around her.

“No? Too bad. Because I figured you’d try to surpass me by going for Super Saiyan Blue.” The ascended Sunset found herself amazed that she could joke and banter so casually despite her surging power, realizing that the old her would have done nothing but mock and intimidate as she systematically took over Equestria on her way to challenging Celestia.

“Hardly. I have a far better-written and much more interesting animated series in mind! So by all means, let us duel for dominance! Let us determine who is the true mistress of magic and master of fire! But blue is actually a good idea. And since you probably think I’m the insane one, let me take on the proper persona…”

She transformed her attire to a stylized black robe with red trim, followed by intensifying her own internal flames enough to turn them from orange to blue. Once her change of appearance was completed to the shocked recognition of her new costume from the Cyberponies, she pointed a hoof at her ascended friend.

“Agni Kai!”

The former Sunset smiled broadly. “Nice Avatar reference. You’re on, ‘Azula’. I guess that makes me Zuko. But since there’s no way in Tartarus or the human Hell that this castle or even the entire town could contain this level of duel, care to step into the Everfree where we can have our little contest properly?”

“By all means…” Twilight granted quickly, the battle gleam and pure lust Sunset could see in her slitted pupils growing. “But let us be clear on the terms, so-called Solar Inferno! Your victory means I am vanquished, and you stop the spread of the curse. It then falls to you and your friends to ‘cure’ us—if you can.

“But if I win, I not only gain the knowledge of that spell, but you as a new Lieutenant and lover! And for further enticement, I will make you my lead general in the conversion of the other human Element Bearers and the coming conquest of Earth…”