Love and Conquerors

“She was more than just a teacher,” said Twilight Sparkle, standing confidently behind the lectern in her slim lavender dress, “And I don’t mean that she was the mare who raises the sun, or the princess of Equestria, or that she was someone who bore witnesses to millenia.”

Celestia looked admiringly at Twilight’s image on the crystal screen. She'd specifically requested a recording of Twilight Sparkle’s speech at the Equestrian Educators’ Conference - and even in the privacy of her study, Celestia was blushing at the flattering words from her former student.

“When Princess Celestia mentored me,” said Twilight, “she made me feel like the sun rose and set just for me. I had her full attention - she cared deeply for my personal growth, picking me up when I fell and lifting me higher with each success. That's what teaching is meant to be - and when we train the educators of tomorrow, that's the standard we-”

Celestia stopped the recording and collapsed onto the bed, a goofy smile plastered to her face. It amazed her that, no matter how many centuries she lived, falling in love was still so overwhelming. Celestia felt so young, like a filly dreaming of her first crush, discovering love for the first time.

Twilight was right about the importance of close, personal mentorship… but she was wrong about why Celestia had been so attentive. At first, of course, it had been the young unicorn’s innate magical ability… but as Twilight had grown into a beautiful mare, Celestia had begun to find herself dreaming of her student and awaiting each missive as if they were love letters. She’d always planned to guide Twilight along the path to ascension - and she’d dreamed fondly of the day that Twilight Sparkle would sprout a pair of long, lovely wings and take her place as Equestria’s newest princess.

When Celestia planned out the project of creating a new princess, she’d only had the future of Equestria in mind. Princesses wielded great magical power, and more power in the hands of trustworthy ponies meant greater safety for Equestria. It was Luna’s transformation into Nightmare Moon that had convinced Celestia of this project’s necessity; in the event that one princess went rogue, having multiple princesses to oppose her would be ideal. When Celestia battled Nightmare Moon, it was a one-on-one fight that Celestia had nearly lost - and she didn’t want to take the chance that things could go the other way next time.

Celestia had expected to grow attached to the student she’d picked for her project. It had happened before, with previous students who hadn’t reached ascension - but it had never before blossomed into love. She’d started to worry that her feelings would compromise her mentorship… and at the same time, it became very important to her that Twilight succeed.

And now that Twilight had become a princess, she was the mare that Celestia had dreamed she’d be. Beautiful and intelligent and immortal, a pony that Celestia could share her life with… if only she had the courage to make it happen. It had been quite a while since Celestia had had a proper romance… and since the two of them would have centuries together, Celestia was always telling herself that there was no harm in waiting a little longer.

In the meantime, Celestia was always looking for signs that Twilight Sparkle shared her feelings. But she was completely oblivious, as far as Celestia could tell; in her speech, Twilight spoke of Celestia with respect, even reverence… but not, as far as Celestia could see, with love.

Celestia sighed to herself, staring at the frozen image of Twilight Sparkle on the crystal screen. Puppy love swelled in her chest… but there was something else there too. A pounding, burning need that began in her heart and echoed in her marehood. She reached down and stroked herself, sighing with pleasure as her fingers probed deeper.

It wasn’t exactly the case that Celestia and Daybreaker were two different ponies. Daybreaker was less a separate personality and more of an idea. When Celestia admired herself, or bent the world to her will, or gorged herself on sensory pleasures… those behaviors, in a manner of speaking, were Daybreaker.

Everyone has ideas about themselves and their identity; from one day to another, a person might think of themselves as a romantic, or a truth-seeker, or a victim of circumstance. And at certain times, those aspects might come to the fore, guiding that person’s choices.

But princesses were no ordinary ponies. An idea, in the mind of such a profoundly magical creature, was a powerful thing… and a strong enough idea, if it were pushed back and denied in the moments it was needed, could start to develop a sense of resentment. That was what led to Nightmare Moon’s attempted coup… and the same resentment was brewing inside Princess Celestia. But Celestia’s “other side” wasn’t after power or adoration; Princess Celestia had enough of those to satisfy any ego. Daybreaker really, really just wanted to get laid.

Okay, she didn’t just want to get laid. Daybreaker wasn’t shallow; she also wanted to run her fingers through Twilight’s mane, to stroke her wings and kiss her lips and whisper in her ear. And from behind Celestia’s eyes, Daybreaker fumed at every opportunity Celestia passed up. She and Twilight could be together now, making love on this very bed, if only Celestia would just go after what she desired.

As Celestia touched herself, the heat in her pussy grew. Daybreaker lived in that heat, and it burned hotter every day that Celestia denied her passions.

“You dim old mare,” growled Daybreaker. As was generally the case, she was deep enough in Celestia’s subconscious that her angry words only registered as a sourceless irritation. “There is nothing cute about the way you are acting! Having a ‘crush’ was fun for… a month, perhaps? But refusing to act on it, at this point, is sheer unforgivable cowardice.”

Daybreaker stamped her hoof. Strictly speaking, she wasn’t in any physical location, but she generally “imagined” herself to be in an identical location to Celestia herself. So her hoof hit the cool white marble of Celestia’s bedchamber, filling the room with an angry sound.

“Are you a coward, Princess Celestia?” growled Daybreaker. “You, who lifts the sun? You, who united the factions of a young nation? This schoolgirl crush is beneath you, Celestia. Have you grown so soft over the past century? Have you forgotten what it is like to take a lover?”

Daybreaker looked through Celestia’s eyes, watching Twilight Sparkle cross the stage as she delivered her speech. Twilight’s dress, as always, was gorgeous; the mare had no dress sense of her own, but she had a friend who was happy to provide her with suitable outfits for any occasion. In the scene that was playing back right now, she was wearing a slim blue dress that came halfway down to her knees - it was very professional-looking, but it still exposed acres of her long, slender legs as she strolled across the stage. Daybreaker imagined parting those legs, burying her face between those smooth purple thighs, and tasting Twilight Sparkle’s hot, wet pussy. Her body erupted in heat, and Celestia felt her arousal spike.

“You are still the mighty alicorn who made stallions and mares swoon with your very presence,” said Daybreaker. “Do not simply admire her, Celestia. Touch her. Strip her. Breathe hot breaths into her ear and tell her how mightily you will pleasure her. Promise her an eternity of passion. If you do not do it, Celestia... then I will have to.”

And Celestia, of course, didn’t hear a word of it. She had only the dimmest awareness of the way those buried feelings were changing inside her.

Laser fire blazed like starlight, vaporizing robots left and right as “Deadeye” Derpy charged down the halls of the deep space dreadnought. Every shot was a hit, and every motion of her body - as she ducked and dodged the robot’s lasers - was graceful and powerful. Once the last robot fell, Derpy hacked the door panel with one final blast of laser fire and entered the room with a confident, almost masculine swagger - although her body, from her luscious hips to her firm round tits, was all woman.

But no one was more woman than Twilight Sparkle, the beautiful Empress of Space, who was imprisoned within the dreadnought. Her cell was ornately appointed, as even her captors seemed to understand that a mare of her station deserved better than the average prisoner. She lay on velvet sheets, her body draped only in gauzy veils, and when “Deadeye” Derpy entered the room, she sat up in shock - but then a smile came over her face when she beheld the roguish beauty. She seemed to understand right away that this mare was to be her rescuer.

“Come with me, Empress,” said Derpy, holstering her blaster. “We don’t have long before we’re discovered.”

Twilight Sparkle ran her fingers over her smiling lips, meeting Derpy’s piercing gaze with her own smoldering orbs. It had been so lonely in this cell… “Just how long do we have?” she asked, uncrossing her legs.

“Well,” said Derpy, sauntering towards the bed, “Maybe just enough time for the two of us to get properly acquaintAAAAGHH!” Derpy stumbled backwards, falling on her ass in an unheroic manner as she finally noticed the shadowy figure in the corner of the room. She fumbled for her blaster... but when she finally drew and fired it, her perfect accuracy seemed to have disappeared. All her shots went completely wide, accomplishing nothing but the creation of several small plasma fires that slowly began to burn themselves out.

“Oh, damn it,” swore Nightmare Moon, stepping forward from the shadows. “I was really looking forward to this one, too. This is a fun little scenario you have going, Derpy.”

“N-Nightmare Moon?” stammered Derpy. “If you’re here for the empress-”

“Derpy, please,” said Nightmare Moon. “Surely it’s obvious by now that you’re dreaming.”

Derpy lowered her blaster. “Okay, yeah,” she said. “I’m a mailmare with an ocular disability, not a sexy space rogue.” She slumped down onto the bed. “And you’re not really Nightmare Moon, I’m just dreaming about the scary evil night pony like I did when I was a filly.”

“No, I am really her,” said Nightmare Moon.

“You’re Luna?”

“Not exactly,” said Nightmare Moon. “It’s a bit difficult to explain.”

“All right,” said Derpy. “So what are you doing here?”

Nightmare Moon sighed. “I suppose it would do me some good to talk about it,” she said. “But if I do, I will also cause you to forget this dream. Agreed?”

“Well, since I’m already not going to have sex with Twilight Sparkle in this dream,” said Derpy, “I guess that’s fine.”

Nightmare Moon took a seat on the bed beside Derpy. “My counterpart, Princess Luna, has been nursing a… crush… upon Princess Twilight for some time,” she said. “I first encountered Twilight as a foe, and I saw the strength of her conviction and the way she wielded the power of friendship as both sword and shield. Even then, in those brief moments before my defeat, I admired her… if I had triumphed over her, I am certain I would have decided, in time, to make her my consort…”

Nightmare Moon sensed disapproval on Derpy’s face, and she rolled her eyes. “Yes, yes, that would have been wrong, obviously. In fact,” she said, gesturing at their surroundings, “in this dream, you seem to have been rescuing her from a rather similar predicament. I have seen the error of my ways, and now my only wish is for Luna to live her life to the fullest. She and I are one, after all, and when she goes without love, we both suffer.”

“Luna watched as Twilight Sparkle refined the power of friendship within herself, and in time came to embody that power, ascending to royalty,” said Nightmare Moon. “Twilight seeks knowledge and aspires to better the lives of those around her. She loves her friends and extends a hand of kindness even to her enemies. She is everything Luna ever aspired to be. How could she not fall in love?”

Derpy chuckled. “I think you’re kinda putting Twilight on a pedestal. I mean, I like her. Obviously. That’s why I’m having a sex dream about her. But I live in the same town as her, and she’s not, like, perfect.”

“I am in love,” proclaimed Nightmare Moon, her voice becoming just a touch ominous. “If I wish to place Twilight Sparkle on a pedestal, I shall do so. I am not a creature of half measures - when Twilight Sparkle is mine, the night will be my gift to her. My touch shall be soft as starlight and as powerful as the tides. She will be loved as no one has been loved before.”

Then her shoulders dropped, and she sighed deeply. “But Luna is still unsure of herself, after returning to this world from her long and ignominious absence. She lacks the confidence to go after Twilight, so I am stuck doing this. While Luna is doing her duties in the dream realm, I sneak off and find dreams wherein ponies fuck Twilight Sparkle. And I am usually better at staying hidden.”

“Wow,” said Derpy. “That’s a pretty rough deal. Is there anything you can do about it?”

“There may be,” said Nightmare Moon. “I have been… working on it.”

“Sister,” said Luna, leaning into Celestia’s study, “Did you receive Twilight Sparkle’s latest missive? You are usually the first to hear from her, but my letter arrived through the traditional mail - as opposed to dragon’s fire - so I thought it might be true of yours as well.”

“No,” said Celestia, setting down her quill. “The last letter I received from Twilight concerned her ongoing study into changeling magic. I haven’t checked my, er, mail mail today. What’s it about?”

“An invitation,” said Luna. “She’s hosting a sort of... princess get-together, and my invitation mentioned that you would be invited as well. The whole thing is rather more formal than necessary, if I’m being honest.”

“Well, Twilight does like to do things by the book,” said Celestia. “And it wouldn’t hurt for her to get a little experience in hosting dignitaries. Anyway, it sounds lovely! I wouldn’t miss it for the world.”

“Nor would I, sister,” said Luna.

And in the privacy of their minds, Daybreaker and Nightmare Moon made the same decision: no more waiting.