Project C.A.F.R

Chapters

Introductions:
Negotiations:
Affections and Unsure Orientations:
Deviations and Explorations:
Investigations and Penile Experimentations
Questions and Corrections:
Fear, Plans and Interrogations:
Politics and Legal Deliberations
Fights and Attempted Assassinations:
Rationalization and Intoxication
Coups and Coronations:

Introductions:

Cadance sat on her throne, her legs crossed, fingers tapping rhythmically at the ends of the armrests; betraying a tincture of anxiety and excitement. The reason for her candor was the talk of the empire, at least amongst the more politically minded. Dignitaries were visiting the Crystal Empire… special dignitaries, exotic and foreign, handsome and striped.

Well, ‘handsome’ was an adage that Cadance couldn’t help but compulsively include herself whenever they were brought up. Zebras, for anyone who has ever picked up a particularly risque novel, exploring the fetishistic and beyond-obscene knew a thing or two about zebras. The taboo memoirs and stories exploring a romance with the species - primarily only ones of carnality and lust - painted a uniform image of them. Big, burly hunks, often more muscle than brains, knowing every intimate facet of sex and pleasure. Unmatched in virility, possessing endowments that would make even the most renowned model in Playmare turn green with envy. It was no wonder that any mare - or particularly self-loathing stallion - would have an almost deific view of this strange and enigmatic race…

Cadance was one such mare.

It started as one purchase, a book bought during the drought in her and Shining’s love life during the late stage of her pregnancy. And, after reading the book and fucking her husband shortly after the birth, she found that he no longer spread her taut cunt quite as far as he used to. So she brought more of the stories. She became consumed by the images created by her imagination when reading. A big, striped hunk tossing the story’s protagonist on the bed, dominating every hole that could fit his abnormally large cock. The more she discretely acquired, the more and more the lucky mare in the story was replaced with the image of herself. She neglected Shining to live in the fantasies she created, molded by the uncountable number of stories she read. She wanted to be bred, striped as the illicit novels had put it. Her self degradation and need had boiled to the point where the oversized phalluses she would cram into her twat no longer satisfied her. She was all too willing cheating on her husband to fulfil her deranged fantasy, even disguising herself and venturing to the less savory parts of the capital to find the striped stallion of her dreams. Unfortunately for the alicorn, zebras were not quite as common as the myriad stories implied. They were reclusive and rarely left their nation to the far South, and their fractured states would make justifying an official visit impossible. The alicorn continued to stew in her ever-warming lust, debasing herself mentally, her books and stories dogeared with relentless use. That was until an opportunity emerged. And his name was To’Achuu.

She gave a glance to Shining, who was standing next to the throne. His face was plastered with an innocent smile; cordial and polite, diplomatic and so wonderfully naive. Cadance smiled, imagining him on his knees, cock locked up in a pitiful cage as he was forced to watch as a big, zebra stud pistoned in and out of a part of her that no longer belonged to him. It didn’t matter what hole, they would just no longer be his anymore. Just like the stories when the abusive, angry stallion who restricted his wife or girlfriend was given catharsis in the end, unable to compete with their wife’s new zebra lover. Of course, Shining was neither abusive or restrictive, but there was one grievous sin above all others he committed for which he was guilty: he left her unsatisfied.

She focused her sights back forwards, eyeing the grand doors with a subdued smile. Several guards stood dutifully in the room, flanking the doors, throne and lining the walls; spears held at the ready. Cadance imagined them trying to stop the zebras as they marched forward with the intent of claiming her royal cunt before all their eyes, but being too afraid of the blatantly superior specimens of masculinity to even try to stop them. She imagined her guards watching with rage, shame and envy as they pinned her arms to the rests, tearing away her clothing and stuffing her pink twitchy clam with their dicks until they had asserted their dominance by filling her fallopian tubes with jizz!

Calm yourself, Cadance, she thought to herself, awkwardly uncrossing and recrossing her legs; her pink face tinged with red.

After what felt like an eternity of waiting, the grand doors finally opened. She had to stop herself from leaning forwards, impatient after waiting so long. She was going to see her first zebra - the first piece of delicious and forbidden fruit she had spread the legs of her empire to take inside. It was going to be a day to remember, and she mentally prepared herself to take an internal snapshot to remember the first striped frame she looked upon, and… it was… it was... not was she expected.

A lithe, striped thing walked in, bordering the line between mare and stallion. However, Cadance knew the zebra could not have been a mare for none travelled with To’Achuu, at least that’s what he told her in the letter. The disappointing first example of zebradom walked with a confident if somewhat shaky stride to the middle of the throne room. A closer look afforded Cadance the chance to see the slight hint of pink filling the white lines on his cheeks, and the fact his nipples were erect, not accustomed to the cold. He wore only wore a humble loincloth, showing off as much of his body as it was possible. However it didn’t come across as confident and cocky decision, more so one of humility. Even the stoic guardsmen were thrown off by the site, some looking sideways just to take in more of the curious sight. He was flat chest and light on muscle and tone - all of his fat gathered in his thighs and ass. Cadance’s mouth flapped open and close, unsure of what to say to him, whether to greet him or ask if she was at the receiving end of a joke. He must have been a teenager, barely, or an example of his kind who had yet to blossom into his naturally hunky self. This didn’t stop Cadance from stealing a look downwards, lingering, wondering if such a small zebra was packing a mighty large package.

“Go on,” Shining’s voice sounded from beside her, his tone encouraging, his smile warm. “You can do it.”

Cadance glanced from the stocky unicorn to the zebra in question, brows furrowed. Apparently her eyes directed too low to have noticed the zebras timid expression, a sweat threatening to break out despite the cold. His arms shook as they were stretched outwards, unfurling a piece of yellow parchment. A glance to Shining seemed to embolden him after his prior words, and he spoke.

“A-announcing the arrival of To’achuu! Holder of u-uncountable titles! R-ruler of the Bukkichia Clan, strongest of the Z-Zebra tribes and the most powerful amongst us!” the waifish zebra announced, his voice silvery and feminine, littered with stutters.

He then refurled the scroll, offering a look to Cadance and a smile to Shining, leaving the room backwards with his head lowered submissively. Following right after, a large group of Zebras marched in, beckoned by the meek stallion’s call. Whilst all heads turned to look upon the striped guests, only Cadance allowed her jaw to fall at the sight. They were of varying shapes and sizes, all striped of course but wearing mismatched pieces of clothing and attire that Cadance could not quite see the pattern too. Some of the stallions, both big and small, were resigned to wearing loincloths and, much to her disappointment, not a single one was ineffectual. However, for the rest she offered on a glance, it was who lead them that made her heart pound and her quim quiver with a longing ache.

Leading the group at its head was an impressively tall stallion, a living image of the one who had only resided in her fantasies. He stood a full two heads taller than anyone else in the room, horns included. His chiseled torso was bared, each muscle impressively molded and shaped to envious perfection. She followed down to his abs, then let her eyes drift lower, and much to her disappointment, he wasn’t clad in a loincloth like some of those who surrounded him. A pair of libido crushing blue silk trousers with excess baggage. She couldn’t make out a thing, much to her chagrin. Finally, she looked at his face. His black and white mane was shorter than some of his peers, coming at most to his cheek with some strands tied up back into a loosely gathered knot behind his head; his forehead was also lined with a multicolored band of red, orange, yellow and blue. His brows were furrowed, an expression of suspicion and wariness - no doubt provoked by the numerous spears that surrounded him. Cadance was the last thing his eyes fell upon, his amber hues failing to exude any particular emotion - perhaps indifference. Of course, Cadance perceived such a look with an internal masochistic glee. He barely noticed her - a princess! In her own castle too!

Following behind him was around a baker’s dozen of striped stallions. They did not hold the alicorn’s attention for too long even though there were a few choice specimens to ogle, primarily closer to the front of the proverbial herd. A few were visibly taller than many of the guards in the room, even her husband, who was himself taller than most of the soldiers in the barracks. However, the thing that continued to confound her somewhat, and probably some of the more intrigued eyes in the room was the apparent… inconsistency. Seven, including the hunk at the front, wore more modest garments on her legs, both tall and not-tall. Six were all but nude in loincloths, similarly afflicting the muscled and lean. The only pattern that Cadance could see that it was only the stallions in clothing that wielded the obsidian tipped weaponry - both lithe and ripped. Cadance would have been fascinated with their social structure if her mind could focus on anything else than the potential pythons hidden away between their legs.

They approached the throne in a slow march, stopping a good distance away, the one who lead them crossed an arm over his stomach and bowed deeply. Although the gesture was short-lived, his back straightening right after to its rigid, martial posture.

“Welcome To’achuu,” Cadance greeted before he could even speak, letting a hint of her impatience slip, “to the Crystal Empire. It is an honor to have you he-”

“I am not To’achuu,” the tall one interrupted, raising a palm; his voice deep and melodic - fruity. “I am his second, Hajaa.”

Cadance blinked. He was completely serious. “Then where is he?” Cadance asked, perhaps skipping over some etiquette in doing so. Her heart however managed to skip a beat. If this demigod was only second in command, who was first?

He looked at her, brows furrowed, head tilted. “He is right here,” he answered, taking one step sideways, revealing a zebra hidden by the dozen who flocked around him.

Out he walked, humming a melodious song, hands held together behind his back. He was short, but not the shortest amongst them, practically average in height. Unlike those who had surrounded him, he wore a shirt, albeit ill-fitting - his perfectly flat stomach on display. There was no excess of fat on his body, and if his peers were anything to go by, he was toned in all the places that mattered. His mane was somewhat long, styled with both dreadlocks and braids, some of the locks intertwined with jewelry, such as gold rings weaved within or rings that simply slipped tight around the numerous locks. Around his neck, he wore two necklaces, one which held a platinum pendant lodged with a polished piece of obsidian. The second? A chain made out of lavender. Due to a lack of flesh on display, Cadance had no choice but to direct her sights to his face. She almost flinched at his smile, deep and sincere, one he shared with various onlookers in the room - longest with the prince who stood beside her. He possessed a youthful face, whose cheeks took on a tint of a blooming red rose the closer he got to the throne. When he neared the throne, crossing an arm over his belly to bow courteously, she saw a bracelet of sparkling stones - none of which she recognized from a glance. She was so flabbergasted by his appearance, that she failed to speak up after he finished bowing.

The smile remained on his face, even when the alicorn forgot herself “Greetings. It is an honor to finally meet the famed Crystal Princess of Love,” he greeted smoothly, finishing with a wink that brought a blush to her face. Hunk or not, he was smooth. “Your pictures do not do you justice. Your visage is near enough to bring a sweet tear to my eye up close.”

Cadance bit the corner of her lip. Already, he was flirting with her, and in the presence of Shining no less! She could feel the butterflies in her stomach going erratic. If she had toes, she would have curled them. “I, too, did not expect your flattery to extend beyond your letters,” she riposted, her grin hard to read as anything else but sultry. A quick glance to Shining afforded her the sight of a disapproving leer, the slight peek of a frown - he was also confused. She couldn’t wait to see it evolve into hatred, sorrow, lust, and then acceptance. She stood, feeling her arousal reach its peak. “I welcome you to the Crystal Empire, Chief To’Achuu. I think I speak for all of us when I say that we look forward to your stay with us over the next couple days. If it is alright with you, I would enjoy a... personal meeting with just you, and your guards, if that’s all right with you?”

To’achuu shot a glance to Hajaa, who crossed his arms over his chest and nodded. To’Achuu looked back to Cadance, smile persisting. “Of course.”

Cadance stepped down from her throne, compensating for her weak knees by moving with the most rigid steps possible, absolutely giddy at the prospect of having a taste before finalizing her deal with the gathering of striped stallion. To’Achuu Hajaa walked alongside her, all 12 of their company trailing behind...

Unbeknownst to her, whilst her mind was in the proverbial gutter, thinking of all the ways they could ruin her every orifice, Hajaa and To’Achuu gave each other tired but knowing looks.

Step 1 was completed…

Author's Note

This is co-authored by Jackelope, best author I know.

Enjoy. The smexy times will come in later chapters.

Negotiations:

It was so close now, her dream, her perfect slice of rapture. Bliss had a name, and it was Hajaa, walking slab of striped muscle and brawn. Although the scandalous temptation to cling to him in her husband’s eyes burned in her mind just before leaving the throne room, she didn’t want to make it too obvious to him. Not yet at least. She wanted him to stew in doubt, battle with paranoia, before having all of his reservations crash right down before him. For eyes which didn’t belong to her husband? It would be obvious.

Their entire walk was accompanied by swoons and squeezes, caress and clinginess from her part. She had her arms wrapped around Hajaa's waist, pressing her ample breasts against his side whilst she chattered to him - his ears unlistening. She made sure to connect eyes with the doubters as she passed them, the staff and guests, the visiting nobles. She wanted them to know, deep down, how much of a slut she was becoming. To her delight, the zebras seemed to join in, in their own way. She caught them sneaking looks with the burly guards as they passed by them, or the noble stallions or butlers. No doubt imparting with them a wordless declaration of their superiority - no matter their rank or station, they couldn’t compare! However, she was much too enamored with the stallion in her arms to pay any more attention than that.

She must have done a full dance around Hajaa by the time the group arrived at the grand doors of the meeting room. The princess-turned-harlot reluctantly released the large stallion, rushing towards the doors and throwing them open; herding the Zebras inside. As soon as the last one entered, she closed them shut, her horn shimmering with pale cornflower light as the room became enshrouded with a noise-cancellation spell. She had practiced for this day many times in advance, and not once in her imagination, could she picture herself not screaming out in repeated choruses of bliss. And, as much as she would enjoy allowing the palace to know how low their princess had sunk - drunk on zebra musk and cum - such a public display would have to be saved for the future - a future that was rapidly incoming. So, for the time being, a quick gangbang would have to do! Just release all of her pent up lust and desire. And, if her stories were to be believed, every zebra in the room would be positively aching down there. If was just as much for them as it was for her...

She turned around, smile carnal and eager… only for it to fall from her face seconds after. Instead of already baring themselves to her, a wall of naked, rock hard studs, just about ready to throw her to the ground and take turns smashing their hips into every hole; breeding her into mindless putty... they had simply taken their seats, each planting an expectant eye upon her. If anything she wanted her nostrils to become congested with the raw smell of their emissions and musk, but instead, her sense of smell was graced with the pleasant aroma of lavender and soap.

"Princess Cadance, please, sit down. Let's talk business," To'Achuu proposed, gesturing towards her heaving form with an open palm. “We have much to discuss.”

"Wh-what?" Cadance asked, voice meek, face downtrodden. "But I thought… with the studs and the… thing..."

To'Achuu answered her mumbling and barely coherent speaking with a warm, cordial smile. "Trust me Princess, we know what it is you desire from us. All of us,” he began, a knowing glint in his eye. “Your desires were perfectly clear in your letters," he elaborated, glancing to Hajaa, who placed a rolled piece of parchment of the table before the gathering of striped stallions. “We were also flattered by the… attachments.”

Again, Hajaa reached down someplace below the table, pulling out a large binding of photographs which is passively tossed atop the parchment. A few scattered out. Pictures of herself, her bared breasts and spread thighs. In some, her legs were scrawled with self-degrading remarks. Words and arrows pointing to her soaked cunt, informing onlookers it belonged to - and only to - zebras. A few others she marked her cheeks with black and white lines, however the most poignant, and placed at the top, was a rather tame picture of her naked breasts. Below it, written in her own words were: ‘these are yours if you cum to me.'

"We know you want our... superior bodies, right? We will make that happen, if you give us something in return…" To'Achuu said quietly.

"Oh.." Cadance said sitting down, "What is it? I swear, I will give you anything you want!"

“Feel free to refuse-”

“Just tell me what it is!” she interrupted, already desperate. They were supposed to be ruining her holes already!

To'Achuu glanced at Hajaa with a surprised face, looking back to Cadance right after with a wary grin. "You made it quite clear in your letters. You were prepared to surrender all you were for us. So I want only one thing from you... your throne…?”

"Yes!" Cadance cried slamming her hands on the table, overtaken by her libido and lust. "Take it! Take it all! My throne, my palace, my country - even my marital bed! It all means nothing to me without your superior cocks! It’s all I’ve wanted. Just to be yours, to belong to you! Please, make me your zebra cum-slave! Forever!"

At her outburst, there were a few faces that struggled to remain stoic in the face of such… devotion? Hajaa raised an eyebrow and turned to To'Achuu, who only wore a smile and nothing else. Cadance followed the larger zebra specimen as he leant down towards the chief, whispering something into his ear. The chieftain laughed in response to elusive words the stud had to say. Cadance couldn’t imagine it to involve anything else but her. Her outburst had heightened her breathing to the brink of hyperventilation. She could only imagine what degrading words he had whispered about her. Maybe he had called dibs on her pussy first? Or maybe he wanted to fuck such a dirty mare in the most filthy way imaginable. She was wet before, now she was soaking.

"Oh ho, we will make you a slave alright. Such a filthy example of a creature as you deserve nothing less. But… it won't be quite as easy as simply... handing everything over to us, you realize? You have to help us take it." To'Achuu spoke with restrained eagerness. "We need a plan to if we are to take over. We need everypony to accept our rule, to willingly go along with out-”

“Why do they need to be willing?” Cadance interrupted, still drunk on her own fantasies. “Dominate them. Show them your superior cocks. Make mares flock to you on their hands and knees, just for a taste of your meat. Once the stallions have seen how easy it was to control the mares they’ll have no choice but to submit to your superiority.” she reasoned, sultry and horny, talking with fluttered eyes. “You see, our stallions are weak and useless really, and they deserve nothing more than to have their so-called ‘stallionhoods’ locked up. Not that they could use them effectively anyway. If I had known any better, I would never have my husband touch me with that… thing of his,” she then sighed. “It’s a shame Flurry will always remind me of my mistake-”

“Cafer,” Hajaa remarked at her suddenly, his muzzle wrinkled and eyes narrowed.

“Hajaa!” To’Achuu exclaimed suddenly, his eyes widened at the larger stallion.

“C...Cafer? What’s that?” she inquired.

“It’s the, uh… an acronym,” he answered smoothly, his face relaxing. “I was just surprised that he would reveal our secret plan so freely. He must really trust you to do that,” he continued, giving a pointed stare at Hajaa.

“How is it spelt?” she asked, her brows furrowing a little.

“The letters don’t exist in your alphabet, but an approximation would be… C.A.F.R,” he answered, smiling suavely at her.

“Oh,” she gave a nod of understanding, even if she entirely didn’t. She was taken by his grin, and the fact she didn’t really need to know anything at all. “How can I help you with that plan of yours? If can cement your rule quicker, the better.”

To’achuu’s next breath was an exhale, recomposing himself in the chair. "First, I want a list of every important male you have in the castle. They may try to… resist our attempts to prove our superiority,” he spoke after giving himself a moment to pause, giving her a large toothy grin. “I know then who we need to be… intimate with, I need to capture and enslave…" he said, flexing two fingers on each hand. Curiously, he earned a few snickers from that. "Then, after they have been sieved, I shall scatter the rest of my tribe through the castle to get a few more conversions. We need more than just you oriented to our point of view"

Cadance wondered why they would seek the stallions over the mares, but then again, who was she to doubt such superior specimens? "There is my… ugh, ‘husband’ Shining Armor,” she spoke her former beloved’s name with contempt; To’Achuu’s eyes steeled at his mention “He’s in charge of all of the guards in the city. If you made him realize the error of his beliefs, it would demoralize the soldiers. Then, there is Sunburst. He’s the court wizard and crystaller of my daughter. He’s not much of a… threat, but he might be foolish enough to get a message out to my auntie. She would be the only mare capable of resisting you, at least at first,” she added demurely, “but she could do so long enough to stop you. Then there is Thorax. A changeling who lives in the palace with us. Not a threat, but he could do something far more horrific than the rest by becoming a pale imitation of your shape. He could look like any of you in all but name. No mare deserves a false imitation of a real stallion. And I suppose there’s Spike. He’s a dragon, but not a particularly big one. If you keep him locked in a small cage and out of range of paper, he won’t be any trouble," she explained, finishing with a smarmy, self-satisfied grin. She had just sold out every one of her former friends, and she couldn’t care less.

To'Achuu blinked, his face totally unchanged, betraying neither shock or awe at her in-depth description. She countered herself fortunate that his total lack of visible care only fanned her flames hotter.

“H-how small is he? S-spike?” a zebra leaned forwards to ask her. She met his sparkly, hopeful gaze with the faintest hint of remembrance - it was the androgynous stallion who greeted her first.

“Not the time, Dansar,” To’Achuu raised a palm, quieting the overeager stallion, who then sulked back into his chair. He then reaffixed his gaze on Cadance, his cheek tugging back into a smile. “Thank you. That information is invaluable to us.”

Apathy, praise, it didn’t matter which - Cadance’s heart fluttered like the wings of a fly. “G-glad to be of service to you… master,” she beamed at him.

To'Achuu shifted in his seat, the smile he wore threatening to waver for some reason. "Errr.. Thanks...?"

“Is there anything else?” she asked, expectant, almost hopeful for more.

“Erm, no,” he replied, pushing the chair back before standing - the rest of his retinue following. “Are our rooms and accommodation ready?”

She stood also after they had, nodding, smiling at the mention thought of a bedroom with a zebra in it. “Yes! I spent a great deal of bits to provide luxury for you all!” she was happy to admit, although when the words left her mouth, a niggling thought entered her head. “Although, and I’m sorry if I’m speaking out of turn, or if I offend you saying this, but...”

The zebras began to exchange looks when she trailed off. Worried looks. Hajaa focused his gaze on To’Achuu, the lithe chieftain adorning a relaxed simper, which he directed at Cadance. “What is it?”

“Your tribe… they number around a thousand, right?” she queried warily.

He nodded.

“So... why do you need only six hundred beds?”

Silence reigned thereafter, a quiet of the awkward sort. Cadance scanned each of the clueless faces, blushes coming onto the faces of the more androgynous examples, but even a few of the relative giants appeared anxious at her question. She recentered her gaze on To’Achuu, whose Adam's apple moved up and down in time with a gulp. His eyes shifted to Hajaa, who rolled his own in turn.

“Fine,” Hajaa sighed, crossing his arms, his expression becoming hard. “I’ll do it.”

A chorus of relieved sighs came from the rest of the eleven or so zebras before they started to scamper from the meeting room. Cadance watched them all leave, wondering where her delicious striped studs were disappearing to. Hajaa remained rooted in place, his firm amber gaze keeping her similarly still. To’Achuu was the slowest to leave, and she turned to watch him do so. He pivoted on his hoof outside the room, the last smile she saw him give was a sultry one, and he winked, slamming shut the doors.

Do what? Cadance, thought. When she turned back around, her muzzle bumped into a wall, or something as hard as one at least. She recoiled backwards, her vision naught but stripes and muscle. She looked up, her heart skipping a beat as she met his eyes. They were those of a conqueror. When he huffed out of his nostrils, like a bull in rut, she gasped, her legs beginning to tremble, threatening to give out in the presence of such raw masculinity…

She barely had time to act swoon or drool when the stud grabbed her by the neck. His thick, strong fingers raised her from the ground, asphyxiating her and leaving her hooves kicking. Even as tears began to come down her cheeks, her teeth were bared into a large, euphoric beam. She squealed when he began to take lumbering steps forward, pushing her back against the wall where his other hand hoisted up her dress. She began to chew on her lip, sniffling down air as his thick fingers glided up her thigh. Her next exhale tremored as his fingers grazed her quim through her panties, so close yet so far.

He snorted, ignoring the soft, think barrier as pushed a long thick digit against her garment. She wanted to release a pleasured cry, but she expelled far too much air to do that. Instead, she let out an unflattering grunt as a long, thick finger pushed against her knickers, the sound of snapping followed and right after that same finger was stuffed into her quivering twat. She would have thrown her head back to scream, feeling her walls spread apart by another stallion brought her more pleasure than any toy could. This was it! Everything she ever wanted! His rigid digit swirled her insides, staining his fur with her clear musky nectar. She let out a strangled scream when a second finger joined the first, clawing and pushing against her velveteen walls, tickling her most intimate nerves. Despite his brutish size, she would dare say he dancing inside of her, his delving thick digits.

Her mind arrived at one singular conclusion, an answer as to why they didn’t run a train on her as soon as they arrived: she wasn’t ready yet. She had to prepare, be stretched out. He was making her pathetically small hole large enough for his godly dick to fit. He was working to make her ‘flower’ blossom into a whorish bloom.

"Ah! Ah! Yes! Yes!" she croaked and moaned, a bitch in heat. Right after a third finger forced its way inside of her, enhancing the wonderful sensation of fullness as was forced even further apart. She squeezed around his swishing fingers, her quivering mess of a cunt forcing them to push against a certain cluster of nerves within her needy quim. Yet despite everything, she remained on the bring, requiring just that final push. "Please, please! Rub my clit! I’m so close!” she pleaded.

“I don’t know where that is,” he grunted.

“Please!” she begged, unbelieving him. ”Just once! I won’t ask anything of you ever again!”

“Shut up!” he snapped, his fingers plunging into and out of her flushed pussy.

His vitriol made her pussy tense around him, provoking a leer from him. “You’re nothing but a whore,” he censured, his fingers tightening around her throat. “You disgust me, slut! I can’t wait to see you reduced to nothing...”

That pushed her over the edge. His words were like the plucks on a violin string that caused her to scream out in crescendo, the strangled shriek that of a common whore. Her pussy spewed clear sticky femcum all over his hand, the copious liquid the pent up lust of a mare depriving herself for months. She watched as Hajaa’s expression became a sneer - disgusted - and he recoiled his stained fingers from her twat, his firm fingers unwrapping from her throat; letting the princess fall into a quivering heap to the floor.

Despite the fresh orgasm, Cadance felt unsatiated. Her tired eyes looked up at her living fantasy, her hand rising. “Your dick… I need… dick,” she panted, reaching a fatigued limp towards his crotch. “So… long…”

Hajaa seemed more focused on his hand then the mare longing for him. His disinterest only made her more aroused. He tried flicking his hand, trying to remove the slick honey that coated it, the mare feeling speckles of her own juices splash on her cheeks. He grimaced. He finally looked at her again after what seemed like forever. He dropped his hand, letting it hang limply in front of her face. "Clean up your mess. Now."

Cadance looked up at him in awe. His command to her was that of a god in the striped flesh. He had completely dominated and degraded her, yet she felt as she was rewarded. Her tongue lolled from out of her mouth, and leaned forwards, dutifully wrapping her lips around his digits, sucking and licked them clean one by one. She tasted her own, unmitigated lust on all of them. She could taste her own liquid reverence, her pure carnality and libido. Her thighs squeezed together whilst she performed her task, her duty, in serving him. When the final digit left her mouth with a pop, she was panting, already approaching the brink of orgasm once again.

“Can I… can I…” she was unable to finish her sentence, vocalize her most primal need to his ears.

He wiped his hand down the side of his leg, drying it of royal saliva. He didn’t say anything, his expression stoic and directed. “You’ll get what you deserve once the throne is ours,” he pledged.

Right after, he left her a crumpled heap on the floor, her thighs a mess of feminine essence and her face half-locked into an expression of sluttish ecstasy and desperate need. Her cheek tugged at the corners of her lips.

She was going to get what she was owed.

"And then I lifted the scepter up into the air, and became the Dragon Lord!" Spike exclaimed, raising his stubby little arm triumphantly, mimicking the action from his story. No matter how many times he reiterated the story, the lithe changeling was eager to listen each and every time.

"Woah!" Thorax mouthed, his face warmed into a mixture of awe and disbelief. The two turned a corner, then the changeling cast an eye down to Spike, his brows meeting. "You could have become the lord of all dragons, but you gave it up. Why?"

"Because it wasn’t meant for me," Spike answered right away, a sincere smile on his face.

“How do you know?”

The pudgy little dragonling went silent, stroking his chin; going deep into thought. Thorax never tore sight his away from him, wondering what nugget of wisdom he was about to receive. A moment passed, then two, at the end of the third, Spike finally shrugged. “I dunno.”

Thorax felt his shoulder sag, a bemused smile taking the place of anticipation. “Oh.”

“Eh, don’t sweat it,” Spike raised and waved his clawed hand assuredly. “Not everyone is suited to leadership. And those that are? Well, sometimes they don’t know it themselves.”

The changeling curled his lip, nodding appreciatively at the dragon’s sage advice. “You really are a dragon.”

Spike blinked, looking up at the changeling. “What did you say?”

Thorax grinned, this time it was his hand that waved, dismissing the dragon’s concern. “Nothing important.”

“Hey!” a voice, ill-fitted for loudness, stole their attentions from each other.

Before them stood a mare- no wait, a stallion. His wardrobe of only a loincloth provoked a flush of light blue to appear on the changeling’s cheeks, whilst Spike’s brow was raised higher than it ever had been. A zebra, a sight not foreign to Spike’s eyes but assuredly to Thorax, stood with a trembling pair of legs half a dozen feet in front of them. He was similar in shape to Thorax, more androgynous and easily mistaken for the fairer sex. His plump hips carried a large succulent derriere, that was just as visible from the front as it was the back. Whilst Thorax was taken by what was below the neck, Spike tilted his head at the above. The zebra’s lips trembled with some unknown emotion, although Spike had seen the look in his eye many a time through the years. Twilight with an exceptionally big book, Rainbow Dash just before a competition, and his own face in the shiny reflection of a colossal jewel: determination.

"Are y-you S-Spike?” the small zebra inquired, his hands clenched at his sides.

Spike smiled, proud. It would appear that his fame extended beyond the boundaries of Equestria. "You must be one of the zebras that arrived in the envoy," he surmised, unable to wipe the grin off his face.

"Y-yeah…" the zebra confirmed, his lips pursing shut right after.

Spike and Thorax simply looked at him, awaiting more from the meek zebra. However, the longer the zebra remained quiet, the redder his cheeks became. Spike’s smile gradually faltered, wondering if the stallion was shy or had simply forgotten to breathe. “Want me to show you around?” Spike offered, hasty in both tone the re-adorning of his welcoming smile.

Rather than say anything, the zebra simply nodded, both meek and grateful; his head dipping a little lower as the stout dragon approached him.

"You know, if you represent zebras, and I represent dragons, I guess I’m something of an envoy myself…" Spike reasoned, his smile empathetic as he looked up at the frowny faced zebra. The striped stallion’s lips tightened, the flush on his face simply refusing to budge. "Maybe we could share stories as I show you the sights? Boy, do I have some doozies!”

The dragon’s enthusiasm was contagious, and Spike was inwardly elated to see the most subtle of tugs at the zebra’s cheek. There was a nod, which Spike grinned at. Twilight would be proud of him for extending his hand like that.

“Catch ya later, Thorax?” Spike looked over his shoulder, the changeling ironically bug-eyed, still taken aback by the zebra’s appearance.

“Whu- oh! Yeah, sure thing,” Thorax affirmed, awkwardly raising a thumb at the short dragon - a wordless blessing for him to leave. “See ya.”

The changeling’s thumb gradually deflated and fell like a balloon the further away Spike went until his arm and hand fell limply down his side. He sighed, when the dragonling marched around a corner, the words he was sharing the new zebra indiscernible. Now, what was he going to do with himself? Mentally shrugging, resolving to find something, he turned where he stood and took an immediate step forward…

Then he was on the floor.

How did he end up there?

The Changeling rubbed his head, wondering if he had accidentally slammed face first into a wall. He looked up, blinking away his disorientation. His assumption seemed to have been proven correct, the vague striped shape standing over him was as wide as he was tall. The more discernible the ‘wall’ became the stranger the rhythm became in his chest.

“Apologies,” the wall spoke, reaching down for the insect with a large open paw which Thorax was all too eager to accept.

“Don’t be…” Thorax protested, his voice barely louder than a mutter, even in his own ears. The zebra brought Thorax up to his hooves with remarkable ease, the changeling relying on the zebra for balance as he regained his bearing; the stallion ensuring the bug’s safety by wrapping an arm around his back. Thorax was continuously amazed by the stallion, displaying strength, toughness and care all within the span of a few seconds. He was even inspired to awe by the zebra’s height, having to crane his head back just to look up into the zebra’s orange irises…

And what eyes they were.

When Thorax met them he didn’t fight himself over the fact he was unable to look away. The changeling didn’t know what he saw in those amber hues. Curiosity. Intrigue. Desire. The stallion’s apologetic simper deepened into something more at the changeling’s unexpected response.

"You'll do," he remarked cryptically, chuckling to himself before releasing the changeling and striding right past.

Thorax remained still, even when the zebra was long gone, completely mystified…

That night, Shining Armor ate alone in the dining hall. He dined on something spartan, vegetable soup and biscuits. It wasn’t very palatable but he didn’t feel deserving of something tastier. Occasionally his cerulean eyes drifted over to an empty chair, one just adjacent to him. It was the place where Cadance used to sit, emphasis on ’used to’. The memories of how she was once upon a time left him forlorn, unsurprisingly. His free hand tapped and fidgeted on the table. The empty spaces between his fingers longed to be filled by hers again. They used to reach out to one another, even as they ate, just to feel the trust, love and security that was afforded by such a simple gesture…

What happened?

The unicorn was torn from his mind at the sound of creaking doors. He glanced over, not expecting anyone of note, and he was passed the point of holding onto hope that it would be Cadance. Instead, the figure who did enter was enough to provoke a curious cock of his brow.

The slim, flamboyantly dressed zebra chief sauntered in, his pearly whites bared into a grand exuberant beam. Unfortunately, Shining didn’t find his mood brightening despite how much warmth the chieftain exuded, even as he got closer, heading down his side of the table.

"What are you doing-” Shining began, stopping himself when he realized the harshness of his voice. Clearing his throat he started to stand, “Greetings Chief, how are you?”

“Excellent, now that I’m in better company,” the zebra answered suavely, raising a hand right after, “and please, remain seated. No one should stand on my account, especially Shining Armour.”

Shining was almost taken aback by the zebra’s reply, although from his tone of voice he didn’t quite believe the stallion’s humility entirely - still, he was flattered. “Alright then,” he complied, plopping his firm ass back in the chair.

Shining’s eyes remained glued to him, To’Achuu approaching with a seamless grace in his movements. The striped stallion reached the seat beside him, his fingers loosely gripping the top, looking to Shining for confirmation.

“Uh, sure,” Shining allowed, "don't see why not."

"Thank you," To'Achuu gave a deep nod before pulling out the chair, turning it sideways, sitting towards the unicorn. Shining couldn’t help but notice the chaste way in which he sat, with his legs tightly closed, his fists rested atop his clothed thighs. “

“You made quite an entrance,” Shining remarked, trying his best to sound cordial, even if he felt somewhat compelled to inject some venom into his words. The last time he saw Cadance today, she had disappeared with this very stallion, so it was difficult to remain withdrawn. “You’re not a very… prude sort, are you?”

“It’s a tradition for the Chieftain of a tribe to be surrounded by only his champions and their… well, there is certainly a lot on display, I must admit,” he giggled, raising his hand to hide his mouth behind it before continuing. “I imagine you were quite taken aback.”

Shining noticed the sudden change in the zebra’s destination. ‘Their’ what? However, the question was too tempting to ask, so the unicorn suppressed his urge to ask it; glancing sideways. “It was. Although, I am curious about one thing.”

“Yes?” the zebra leaned towards him, an expectant simper on his muzzle.

“Your clothes. Not just yours, but the others, or their lack thereof. What’s with that?” he asked, bordering the line between diplomatic and casual, trying to get a read on the stallion adjacent to him.

He gave a one-sided shrug, wearing a grin as he leaned back in his chair. “Their purpose is not all that dissimilar to your kind and... uniforms. The more a stallion wears, the stronger is his position in the tribe.”

“Is hierarchy decided on wealth?” he queried, placing his fork down, turning to face the zebra.

The zebra shook his head. “No, although I wouldn’t blame you for thinking that. Their position on the ‘ladder’, so to speak, can influence how much they can have.”

Shining leaned back in his chair, brow cocking. “And what decides their position? It isn’t wealth. It isn’t strength, I can tell that much by your entourage,” he remarked, distinctly recalling relative giants with loincloths and below average pygmies with luxurious lilac colored shirts. “So what is it?”

At that, To’Achuu for the first time since sitting looked uncomfortable. Shining was close to rescinding his question. Perhaps the topic was particularly delicate, or controversial. “I wouldn’t really expect a pony to quite understand our ways.”

“Try me,” he offered, crossing his arms.

The zebra took a breath before speaking. “In our culture, rank is determined by things… quite outside your control,” he began, the cryptic manner in which he spoke making the ivory unicorn furrow his brows low in confusion. “Their position is decided upon adulthood.”

“A caste system?” Shining asked, a hint of disapproval in his voice.

The zebra gave a pained smile, scratching his lithe neck. “Those were the old ways, although some, even the young amongst us, cling to them. It’s for that reason I’m in charge,” he professed, his delicate palm pressing against his flat chest.

Shining arched a brow at him, his lip curling slightly. “You dodging the question, aren’t you?”

“You could tell?” To’Achuu smirked, visible anxiety in his golden irises. “I can tell you, but you have to promise not to think of me any differently.”

Shining rolled his eyes, releasing a sigh. “That’d be hard to do,” he said, half jesting but also painfully blunt. “But fine, I promise.”

The zebra seemed relieved at this, nodding. "Okay, so how do I explain this..." To'Achuu began, stroking his soft rounded chin. "It’s rather simple. The status of a zebra is decided by… his size."

Shining’s brows met, giving the Chief a quick scan. The zebra wasn’t exactly the largest example of a stallion he had seen, and he didn’t make up for his lack of height in brawn either, the zebra’s body akin to a teen colt rather than a grown man; toned and thin. “Size? Like… height?”

The zebra chuckled nervously, his cheeks beginning to glow a soft pink. "Not that kind of size. What I refer to is the size belonging to a more… intimate nature," he revealed, his head lowered slightly.

"Intimate?” Shining echoed, leaning forwards. “Something personal then?”

“Very,” he stressed, giving the unicorn a pointed stare.

Shining’s features tightened. Exactly ‘what’ was beginning to formulate in his mind but he didn’t want to believe it. A smile, both disbelieving and humored, began to form at the end of his muzzle. “You don’t mean... surely you don’t mean...“

A third color appeared on the zebra’s face: pink. He nodded, grinning. “Yes, it’s exactly what you think it is.”

“Asses?” Shining chortled, suddenly taken with immaturity. “When I saw you walking with Cadance, I couldn’t help but notice you gave my wife a run for her money.”

“Well, I’m flattered,” To’Achuu giggled demurely, the back of his palm going to his mouth, “but no. Other side.”

“Other side? Then…” the unicorn trailed off, the goofy grin plastered to his face quickly lessened into something awkward, and meek. He placed his hands on his lap, trying to counteract his own rising feelings of inadequacy by trying to appear nonplussed about the realization. “Ah. I see… y-you must be popular with the ladies then," Shining tried to shatter the uncomfortable air with a compliment, fighting off the urge to glance downwards.

“So must you,” the zebra riposted, his smile more warm than smarmy as Shining expected. “It’s only a shame you’re already taken. And, from just looking at you, I suspect that our cultures share… similarities, in certain regards.”

Shining blinked, too taken aback to feel jealousy. “Um… thank you,” he accepted the compliment, also appreciating the zebra’s intended - or untended - easement of his worries. Although a new one arose in his head. Did he just get flirted with?

“You’re likely the first pony outside of our homelands to know of this custom,” To’Achuu informed him, a sincere smile following right after. “I hope we can know each other long enough for you to learn more.”

“Uh, me too?” Shining said, attempting to mimic the sentiment, straightening his posture. With his recent suspicion in mind, the unicorn realized something about the zebra’s company. Although a few of them were androgynous, the brazen baring of their chests meant that their sex was blatant. “Actually, there was another thing I wanted to ask about.”

“Ask away,” To’Achuu gestured, smiling eagerly. “Happy to answer.”

Shining folded his arms, his jaw tightening with uncertainty. “I didn’t see any mares in your… troupe, so...”

“Yes, there are no mares in our tribe,” he disclosed directly, no hesitation in his deliverance.

“Oh… right…”

“I can see that you’re perplexed,” To’Achuu observed, chuckling. “Don’t be. We segregate ourselves from the females, just as they segregate themselves away from us.”

“Are all tribes like that? I imagine it makes… difficult,” Shining commented cryptically, unsure himself if it was in reference to sustainability or… something else.

“Yes,” he confirmed. “It has been this way for thousands of years. The tradition predates even your sun princess and her ascension.”

Shining leaned sideways, resting his head on his elbow, utterly intrigued. “But if you don’t live together, how are there even any zebras left at all?”

“Well, once a year, our tribes intermix for the spring…”

“And what, do you find dates or something?” he asked, innocently.

“Oh no, nothing so inefficient,” To’Achuu guffawed, crossing his arms over his chest. “We have an orgy of course.”

If Shining had a mouthful of water, he would have spat it out. “R-really?”

“Yes. The entirety of both tribes partakes in aphrodisiacs. A stallion can’t get attached to the mother or their foal if they can’t be certain they’re the father.”

That stung Shining harsher than any bee. As a father, his connection to Flurry was his greatest bonds. His jaw ironed. “What happens to the foals after they’re born?”

“The daughters remain with their mothers, in their tribe. The sons are sent to the males to be communally raised and eventually… measured.”

“That’s… that’s...” Shining stammered, getting worked up.

“Barbaric? Unfair and unjust?” he offered to finish for him, frowning slightly in sympathy.

“And everyone just agrees to this?” Shining frowned, his body sagging somewhat, knowing it was pointless to gather rage.

The zebra nodded solemnly. “Most do. They’ve lived too long under it to accept anything else, and others are simply too content to feel any differently.”

“And what if someone does feel differently?” Shining queried.

“Exile,” he said promptly.

“Just like that?”

“Just like that,” he affirmed, gesturing. “Every zebra outside the homeland is an exile.”

“None leave willingly?” Shining was incredulous to that. “I find that hard to believe.”

“I see why you would be skeptical, but you know little of the homeland. You see, our lands are described by few outsiders that visit as a paradise. They rarely want to leave. We have no need for currency; everything grows in excess and we are neither too hot or too cold. All are taught to be polite, and selfishness is a fictional concept to us… it’s a utopia, not to brag,” he ended with a confident grin, his golden eyes yearning for the words that left his mouth.

“Who would want to leave paradise?”

The Chieftain became visibly sombre at the question, a far cry from his prior mood, even averting his eyes - the difference was night and day. “To some, the reasons are numerous. Mothers may flee with their sons, young mares who don’t want to be the subject of dozens of stallions will be forced to way for the border. During Spring, prior to the ceremony, love may bloom. Stallions who wish not to partake for… their preferences, may also get banished. I have known a few who disliked the status afforded by their… endowment, and sought a better future in Equestria.”

“That’s horrible.”

“I agree. I have for as long as I have been able,” he agreed, glum.

Shining didn’t like that expression. He nodded in concurrence. Still, something didn’t sit quite right with him. “No zebras leave willingly… so why are you here?”

To’Achuu’s melancholic countenance softened, showing some teeth as a small, knowing grin was directed at the unicorn. He reached out an open hand. “Thank you... for the company.”

It wasn’t a deft dodge, but he didn’t want to delve further, not if he didn’t want to. Shining reached for the hand, gripping it firmly. The zebra’s hold was delicate, an oddly inviting softness in his palms, a pleasant warmth. “Likewise. It was nice talking to you, illuminating. You weren’t what I imagine-”

The unicorn found himself silenced by a pair of lips pressing softly against his cheek, and his hand enveloped by a second, his grip fading entirely as he was cuddled by the chieftain’s soft feelers. His vision was obscured by the zebra’s stripy cheek. The moment was but the instant of a second but to Shining it was prolonged by a combination of confusion… and pleasantness.

Shining, stunned, remained still as the Chieftain slid languidly from his hold. He rose up on his lithe legs, striding away from the prince. If Shining didn’t know any better, he would have thought the swinging sway the zebra had in steps was deliberate. His eyes didn’t linger long on the zebra’s fat ass, and soon he shot them upwards, catching the golden iris of the Chieftain looking back. The zebra held his gaze until he left the dining hall, leaving him alone once again. He thought himself asking the same question as before, the warmth still lingering on his cheek from the zebra’s kiss…

What happened?

Affections and Unsure Orientations:

Shining was hollow, an empty shell of the stallion he used to me. He stared up at a familiar high-ceiling, wondering how many times prior had he done the exact same thing most evenings when the space beside him on the bed was unoccupied by his wife. And, whilst that fact remained true, he wasn’t alone on the bed. In the place of Cadance was To'Achuu, who laid on his side, propping his head up on a fist as he stared at the unicorn with a sad smile.

“You haven’t said a word,” the zebra remarked, pursing his lips. “And even though I didn’t want it, I also expected you to put up more of a fight, especially when I tied you up."

At that remark, Shining gently tugged at the ropes around his wrists. He supposed it was better than chains and irons, and his own bedroom was better than a cell. Still, the unicorn saw little reason in why the zebra bound his arms and legs to each of the bedposts, only considering that maybe the zebra wanted him to be comfortable whilst languishing in imprisonment.

"I… I don't know what to say." Shining replied, continuing to stare up at the ceiling.

“Nothing? Not even about the fact I took over your country. What about your wife?” To’Achuu asked.

Shining glanced at him, trying to discern if the zebra was trying to provoke him. He only saw worry and care in his eyes, the zebra’s eyes gently furrowed. He was listening. "I… I loved her,” he answered after a short pause, the admittance provoking the phantom of his wife’s hand to tighten around his heart; forcing his eyes shut..

The chieftain said nothing at first. Then, after a few moments, Shining felt the zebra’s hand plant down on his chest, the touch light and tender. "She may have loved you once. But those in love don’t lie and betray one another like she did to you…"

Shining didn't respond to that, only because doing so would be an acknowledgement of the truth. Yes, Cadance no longer loved him, no amount of desperate wails and crocodile tears could prove otherwise. He stared back up at the ceiling, To'Achuu's hand somewhat comforting… although he wouldn’t admit to that too.

As the zebra started drawing circles on his chest, so too did he ask a question, "Did you notice anything about the new couples that had popped up during our time here?"

Shining snorted, glancing down at him. “They’re all… gay?”

To'Achuu rolled his eyes and continued. "True, but that’s not all. I left out a very important part of male zebra culture during our talks. Something that was the cornerstone of our society."

"Besides who has the bigger dick?"

To’Achuu half shrugged, smirking. "It relates but there are names for those who are bigger and those who are smaller. Irrass and Jalas."

Shining raised an eyebrow, his curiosity unexpectedly piqued. He had heard To'Achuu use those words several times yesterday.

"They function a lot like your cultures' marriages, although… admittedly it is a lot more explicit in nature," To continued, seeing the interest in Shining's eyes. "When two zebras find themselves interested in one another, they will meet and… well… you know how zebra society works. The bigger of the two, even if they are short in stature or more androgynous, will take the place as Irra. They become the dominant one, whose role is the guide, protect and… provide for the Jala. The Jala, be they burly and tall or weak and short, becomes the subservient, whose role is to pleasure, dote upon and take what the Irra is all too willing to provide."

Shining blinked. "Like a husband and wife?"

“Like I said, they’re similar. Although compared to your society, our roles are a little less flexible. When two zebras love each other, the Irra becomes the dominant top, and the Jala becomes the submissive bottom," To’Achuu elaborated.

"Oh…" Shining Armor blushed, the distinct and overt sexuality inferred by the two roles wasn’t lost on him. Although he was straight, he was familiar enough with the terminology.

"Looking at your acquaintances from earlier, I believe it is safe to say that your bug friend is on his way to becoming Hajaa's Jala, while the orange unicorn is being groomed to be an Irra for my friend Qaruu. The dragon and Dansaar, well, that would be hard to say.." To'Achuu continued, his fingers continuing to lightly dance on the unicorn’s chest.

"Yeah," he replied passively, barely interested.

“What do you think you would be?”

Shining blinked, looking down, meeting the zebra’s intrigued gaze. “Huh?”

“If we were to become a couple, which role do you think would best suit you?” To’Achuu clarified.

If the chieftain was amused by that question Shining didn’t read any on his face. “It’s p-pointless to answer,” Shining rebuked, glaring back at the ceiling.

“Why?” he asked, innocent.

“I’m not gay… a-and I we would never become a thing, even if I was. You took everything from me,” Shining answered heatedly, looking at To’Achuu with disbelief.

“What have I taken exactly? You’re still a prince, you still own a castle and your daughter is well-kept. All I’ve taken from you is your mobility for the time being,” he reasoned, smiling. “All your missing is a Princess, and trust me, even if I was given the chance - which I was - I would not have taken her.”

Shining huffed from his nostrils, looking back up. There were a few moments, a pause…

“Jala,” he admitted directly, although his eyes remained glued to the ceiling.

“Oh, that’s interesting,” To’Achuu commented, tugging at one of Shining’s shirt buttons. “Why do you think that?”

Shining tightened his jaw. “I don’t want to keep playing this game.”

“Come on. Humour me,” he implored, smiling coyly.

He sighed. “It’s obvious, isn’t it?”

“I see…” he said, vague and sly. “Tell me: do you have a big cock?”

“Y-yes…” he answered, his pride not allowing him to say anything else.

“Is it massive? Does it prompt envy from other stallions, and make mares shiver at the mere thought of holding it in their hands? Does your girth spill through the gaps in pony’s hands? Does your length stretch them so thoroughly that they’re incapable of walking?”

The imagery he touted was too vivid for Shining to ignore. His adam’s apple moved up and down his throat as he swallowed back the lewd images, trying to subdue the increasing heartbeat in his chest. “I th-think that’s an exaggeration-””

“If you were possessing such, I doubt your wife could truly satisfy you…” he mused, popping Shining’s collar. “Not unless she was truly devoted. You would need someone capable of revering you, giving you the affections you truly deserve…”

Shining tightened his jaw. He didn’t know why he remained silent, even as the zebra deftly and seamlessly began to pop every button. Perhaps he didn’t want to risk the possibility of attracting the zebra’s ire, or maybe, just maybe, some of what the striped stallion was saying was too tempting for Shining to ignore.

“A-and who could do th-that?” Shining inquired; his ivory cheeks burning red. The question was asked just as To’Achuu’s fingers popped the final button.

“Me… you have such a lovely strong body, yet you keep hidden under so many layers…” To’Achuu remarked casually, his eyes centred on the unicorn’s chiseled torso. By now, Shining’s shirt was wide open, giving To’Achuu all the eye candy he desired.

“Y-you?” Shining stammered, disbelieving and embarrassed by what the zebra was proposing. “I-I’m not… I’m not-”

“Shh,” To’Achuu silenced him, his finger pressing softly into Shining’s lips. When he pulled away, Shining found himself complying, mouth pursed in compliant silence…

To’Achuu leaned forwards, a sight Shining had seen once before. He knew that his lips were the zebra’s target but despite knowing this, Shining didn’t try to back away - not that he had much room to do so. Shining closed his eyes to avoid looking, and after what felt like minutes he finally felt the familiar softness of the zebra’s lips pressing against his own. A few seconds passed and already this was the longest the two had been in contact like this. Oddly, Shining didn’t feel disgust, revulsion or hate for the zebra at that moment. He didn’t know what to feel. He could only acknowledge the facts. The zebra’s touch was delicate, and his lips were soft. Those things in essence were… good. It felt good, sincere, kind… Shining missed the feeling. He missed it so much. He felt To’Achuu’s tongue prod and poke against his lips, asking for entry…

Shining parted his jaw.

He soon felt the zebra’s tongue exploring his mouth whilst his hand rose to caress his cheek. Shining remained limp, not wanting to reciprocate but not wishing to stop it either. He forgot what a truly affectionate kiss felt like. The way To’Achuu squeezed his cheek, hugged into his side, even the careful ministrations of his tongue - all exhibited a care and tenderness he hadn’t long since experienced. He tightened his eyes, trying to step the creeping wetness that was beginning to emerge in their corners. He couldn’t help himself, unable to keep his emotional baggage repressed any longer. He began to move his tongue against To’Achuu’s, his larger muscle far different in feel from a mare but not wholly alien. As tears began to run down his cheeks he kissed the zebra back, pushing back against his lips and allowing his pent up passion to flow just as freely as his tears. He was too paralysed to do anything else as the zebra broke the kiss, rubbing a thumb over his wettened cheek. Shining opened his eyes, meeting the golden hues of To’Achuu’s; a tight, lopsided smile on the zebra’s muzzle.

“Let me be yours…” he whispered, before planting a kiss on his cheek, delivering another right after on the crook of his neck.

Shining said nothing, closing his eyes, every affectionate peck a smouldering blow of tender adoration. He was kissed on the collar, the chest, then his stomach - each one delivered with more softness and affection than the last. Shining was sure at this point that the zebra would devote himself to kissing every inch of his body if the time was afforded to him. Where his lips weren’t kissing, his hands were caressing and squeezing parts of his body, a wordless admiring of his marble-carved body.

However, To’Achuu did not appear content with just worshipping the unicorn’s torso. Shining felt him go lower, kissing over his belly button, then his lower abdomen, then… he stopped. Shining opened his eyes, looking down to meet To’Achuu. The zebra was laid suggestively between his legs, his fingers hooking under his belt. There was no expression on the striped stallion’s face, To’Achuu clearly waiting for something but what? Shining considered for a few moments, torn up on the inside. He could feel his heart accelerating. There would be no going back, no way to undo the act which he suspected To’Achuu was seeking permission to do. Shining felt guilt. No over how reluctant he felt but rather, how little he was against the idea.

Shining swallowed the pit in his throat… and nodded.

Immediately, To’Achuu unclasped his belt, pulling it from the hoops before tossing it to the rest of Shining’s discarded clothing. Shining was taken aback by the swiftness but before he could fully register that, the zebra was already working on his pants. A clasp was undone, a zipper was pulled all the way down, then Shining felt… a breeze.

Revealed to both his own and To’Achuu’s eyes was the conspicuous shape of his bulge. It was a miracle that his cock hadn’t already begun to pour out of it, although the size of his sheath and adjoining nuts left very little suspicion regarding the prince’s size. He couldn’t help but feel a tincture of chaste embarrassment at the zebra’s gaze. It was the way the chieftain’s smile grew even more sultry and lustful than before, speaking a thousand words without uttering

Then, without warning, the zebra’s fingers began to prod and squeeze at his colt-parts, trying to coax his partially reluctant member to life. Even through the material, the zebra’s fingers were like magic. The soft touch he had felt on his face and body was not lost on his most intimate area; somehow knowing just where to touch to bring out a moan from Shining’s throat. Not too long after the zebra started did the unicorn feel himself grow, his broad tip spilling from his sheath into his all too restrictive underwear - something To’Achuu fixed right away.

In a deft movement, To’Achuu’s fingers yanked down on the hem of the pony’s undergarments, revealing to his wondrous eyes the first few inches of Shining’s mottled meat. Shining was already panting by this point but upon the zebra’s first contact with his cock he let loose a gasp.

The chieftain couldn’t help himself, his soft lips reaching forwards to plant a quick wet kiss on Shining’s hardening meat. It wasn’t an overly erotic kiss but it still triggered a pleasured jolt within the unicorn, his immense sack clenching in time with the flex of his dick, a few more turgid inches leaving the sheath.

The zebra giggled, adding with a purr. “I still have yet to kiss this part of you…”

Shining scrunched up his face and closed his eyes, attempting to suppress further groans as more of the zebra’s kisses followed right after. There were no salacious licks or eager laps from the chieftain’s tongue to accompany; ust subdued, little pecks. Shining didn’t know if he was being teased or not, yet the soft touch of To’Achuu’s lips were enough to make his hips instinctually buck and drive himself against them - kept in place only by the bindings around his wrists and ankles.

After what felt like several torturous minutes - which was only a few more seconds - Shining heard a whistle sound from between his legs. “I think you might even be bigger than Hajaa! I truly have no idea what your wife was even thinking!”

Shining cracked open an eye at the zebra’s compliment, his pillar of fuckflesh standing tall between him and the chieftain. Shining was almost taken aback himself, almost wincing from how hard he felt. His dick throbbed and pulsated with an awoken need, the network of veins that covered it bulged obscenely thick with piping hot blood. Shining couldn’t remember the last time his dick had been seen by eyes other than Cadance, so To’Achuu’s reaction came as a surprise to him. Even more so when the zebra tried to wrap his fingers around the unicorn’s girth - keyword: tried. His thumb barely able to scrape against his own fingers, his beating fuckstick making the meeting very difficult.

“T-thanks, I guess…” Shining stuttered, red in the face. He felt his pride throb as it was complimented, a sticky glob of pre squeezing from the indented tip as the Zebra masterfully handled his rod of flesh. To’Achuu’s fingers began to lightly pump up and down his cock at the base, his fingers glancing off his medial ring, adding fire to his lust and pleasure.

“I must admit,” To’Achuu began salaciously, a buttery tone to his voice, “This is the first time I have ever seen a Unicorn’s pride. It looks more like a Zebra rod than I thought it would be.”

Shining looked down at the Zebra, almost worried. “What did you think it would look like?”

To’Achuu half-smiled, looking at Shining with suspicious eyes. “I thought it would be all spiralled. Like your horn.”

Shining opened his mouth to say something, his brows furrowing a little in confusion. All this display did was prompt an eye roll from To’Achuu, he broke Shining’s confused cycle with a swiftly delivered lick of the tongue; the tip gliding up the glistening trail of Shining’s precum..

To’Achuu smacked his lips together right after, savouring the taste before continuing. “I’m kidding,” he chuckled. “You should lighten up a little.”

Shining prepared to retort, but once again was shut down by the Zebra tongue. To’Achuu began tracing his tongue around the flare, his hand continuing to pump up and down as his head circled around Shining’s stallionhood. His tongue was slow, moving neither down the rest of Shining’s impressive column or moving up to lap at the drooling urethra. Just as Shining was an expert with a sword, To’Achuu was justly so with his tongue. Shining knew every movement the chieftain made was precice, creating the exact reaction within him it was meant to. It’s why Shining had to bite down - hard - on his lower lip. His cock in a state of constant twitch from To’Achuu’s ministrations - already on the edge of bursting his load right then and there, merely from the act of being licked. At least he wasn’t alone in enjoying himself. Every time a bead of his translucent pre spurted from his flare he heard the Zebra moan soon after, lapping up each and every droplet of the unicorn’s essence.

Although he didn’t know how long To’Achuu kept at it for, it still felt all too soon when his tongue stopped. He couldn’t help but let out a whine. “W-why’d you stop?”

“Because I pictured you looking cute when you get flustered... I was right,” To’Achuu said with a cheeky grin. “I hope this isn’t the last time I see you pull this face.”

Shining’s muzzle wrinkled, annoyed he felt his long-sought release move further and further away, his mottled pipe twitching with desperation. “Please, let me f-finish.”

“I bet you never thought there would come a day when you begged a stallion to cum, hmm?” To’Achuu asking teasingly, the hand at his base continuing its slow strokes. “I bet you can’t wait to fire a piping hot load down my throat.”

Shining winced, both at the language and the undeniable truth the Zebra was espousing. He could feel the heat of the stallion’s breaths against his cock, ensuring Shining couldn’t hide from the facts in his own head. He wasn’t hard for a mare, he was hard for To’Achuu. Everything he experienced from the stallion’s plump black lips upon his own to the nimble digits running down his chest provoked his heart to beat faster...

I want To’Ahuu-

His thoughts were cut short when he felt the flare of his piping hot barrel get encompassed by the warm, inviting mouth of To’Achuu. Shining let loose a pent up moan, his back arching as his cocktip was suckled on by plump hungry lips. Their softness pressed into his shaft, forming a vacuum for To’Achuu to suck him dry of every droplet of pre that escaped his fat mottled column.

Not long after the Zebra’s tongue went to work, dancing across his tip with quick little licks, lapping up the pre-cum which freely oozed from his swollen prick. Shining’s thighs flexed and quivered as the Zebra masterfully utilised his tongue, giving Shining the gift of a brand new experience as sincere devotion was put into the simple act. Between quick licks Shining felt his tongue brush across him in broad strokes, smearing an excess of spittle and pre across the crown of the member.

The reason for this was made clear soon after. To’Achuu began to descend a few inches down his cock. Just as slow as his pumps, his head moved up and down in a slow rhythm, his tongue making up for his sluggishness by swirling and glazing every possible inch of cock he could get into his mouth. Despite his girth, Shining didn’t even feel teeth scrape his sensitive flesh, only the moist tongue and lips working overtime to please his pent up member. To’Achuu continued to descend down Shining’s impressive cum hose, until the tip of his impressive shaft made contact with the back of his throat. Shining clenched the sheets when he felt the Zebra’s attempts to push further, to swallow more of his python like a… python. However, To’Achuu forfeited this endeavour, pulling back to his lips before falling back down as quick as he rose, fellating Shining to the bed of his ability - both of his hands clasping the shaft to make up for the lack of mouth coverage.

Shining found himself overwhelmed, writhing on his back as He could do nothing more than moan. To’Achuu’s delicate yet firm fingers did a good job of milking his hog, trying to encourage his clenching balls to unleash their entire payload down the Zebra’s fellating maw.

“Oh, umph. To, I’m g-gonna cum. T-To?” he moaned each of his words and the Zebra’s name before he looked down. For a split second, his eyes locked with the Zebra’s golden hues. To’Achuu stared at him with warm eyes, even as his face fell up and down Shining’s meat. He saw nothing but affection, reassurance and longing in those eyes…

That’s what pushed him over the edge.

Shining cried out as his rod pulsed once, twice, then swelling as it erupted his thick sticky load down To’Achuu’s throat. The Zebra swallowed audibly, his throat visibly thickening with every rope that coursed down his gullet. His flared cocktip meant that the striped stallion had no choice in the matter but from the Zebra’s grumbling throat, it was clear he didn’t mind. Every drop of Shining’s batter was consumed enthusiastically, each pulse of Shining’s rod and every clench of his full balls was met with a delighted hum from To’Achuu. Even when the unicorn’s balls were sufficiently emptied, his tip unflared, To’Achuu continued to slurp - ensuring Shining’s fleshy pipe was cleaned of every last drop...

Shining fell limp, panting, in a state unique to him until then: satisfaction. Whilst he had heard the saying before, uttered from the mouth of a queer-icon on the back of a magazine he glanced at, he never believed it until now.

It takes a stallion to please a stallion.

When To’Achuu pulled his head back, off Shining’s softening cock, he looked up at the stallion with a fatigued smile. Wordlessly, following his trail of kisses, he climbed back up the pony, until his head was laying down on his chest.

“That felt good, didn’t it?” To’Achuu asked, nuzzling into Shining’s chest.

Shining said nothing at first. Against his side he could feel something warm, long and cylindrical pressing against him. To’Achuu clearly didn’t achieve climax yet, the unicorn was at the forefront of his interest. The last time he climaxed before a lover, he received a stern scolding. That last time also happened to be when he lost his virginity. He swallowed. “I-it was okay.”

To’Achuu smirked. “I’ll aim for ‘great’ next time, yes?”

Shining’s eyes widened. “N-next time?”

“Of course. If you want it. There’ll be no bindings next time, Jala,” he clicked his tongue, leaving a kiss on the underside of Shining’s jaw.

Shining felt as though he should have said ‘no’ or leave a way out of what the Zebra was proposing. However, he couldn’t force himself to do so. And, the idea of having no bindings didn’t make his mind flash with an image of freedom, or a way for him to get help from his sister abroad. In actuality, the only reason Shining desired freedom from bondage was so that he could wrap his arms around the stallion hugging into his chest. The thought at one time or another may have repulsed him or made him uncomfortable. However, now, in the present, it would have felt… right.

After a few minutes of calming quiet, the zebra’s hardness softened, retracting back into its black wrinkled sheath. It was then the Zebra piped in again. “I have a favor to ask you.”

“What’s that?” Shining slurred, drowsy.

“I’m going to need your help in running this Empire. It’s quite a step-up from a tribe of a thousand, and I don’t think many would take too kindly to having their beloved princess supplanted - deserving or no,” he explained, lazily drawing a circle on Shining’s chest..

“Really? You always seem so in control of things, at least to me,” Shining replied, looking down at the striped stallion. .

“I cannot appear weak before my tribe. As the leader, it is the rule to be strong and cunning. I try my best to live up to both of those things. In doing so, I have made many risks, many stupid ones, just to get us this far. Each time I made one, I could not appear uneasy or afraid of what I had just done or else they would lose faith in me. Their confidence in me is what keeps me at ease but now, I have much more than just my tribe to care for,” To’Achuu spoke with quiet thoughtfulness. His brows furrowed, looking up to meet Shining’s concerned look. “There is no one I can appear vulnerable to, no one… except you.”

Shining couldn’t suppress the small smile that came to his face. “I’ll help you the best I can, To’Achuu. So long as you’re as kind a ruler as you are to me.”

“Promise,” To’Achuu spoke sincerely, his cheek tugging back into a smile as he reached up to plant a tender kiss on Shining’s waiting lips. After a brief brush, he retreated, laying his head back on Shining’s chest.

Afterwards, there was quiet, as the two stallions simply enjoyed the warmth of each other’s company. Then, To’Achuu’s brows lowered, his lips tightened as a thought came to him.

“Shining?”

“Yes?”

“What’s income tax?”

Deviations and Explorations:

Thorax landed on Hajaa’s bed with a bounce, the lilac sheets comfortable against his exposed, soft chitin. He rolled immediately onto his back, cheeks blushing a deep blue. His compact eyes were glued to the striped hunk standing over him, his smile a mix of shy and excitement. He wasn’t so naive that he didn’t know what was coming next. Still, anxiety plagued him. Despite being believed to be nothing more than a love-sucking parasite by some, he admittedly he had never reached this stage in a relationship.

He resisted the urge to flinch when Hajaa’s hand reached for his face, only slightly tightening up half of his expression before the stallion’s striped hand cupped his cheek. In contrast to his chitin, the touch was warm, provoking Thorax to lean into it instinctually; the touch absent from his face all too soon as the fingers glided down his jaw and neck, the fingers hooking under the hem of his shirt. Thorax started to raise his arms, expecting Hajaa to peel his shirt off over his head. Instead, and suddenly, the zebra with one strong upwards yank, tore it off of the changeling’s lithe torso.

Thorax could do nought but gasp at the feral move, his shirt now nothing more than two pieces of tattered fabric; Hajaa’s hand grasping one piece, the changeling laying on a torso-shaped outline of the other. Hajaa was prompt in throwing the tattered cloth aside, his freed hand now coming up to stroke his chin, openly admiring the changeling’s smooth hairless chest and flat stomach. Thorax shrunk into himself, quickly forgetting Hajaa’s passionate vandalism. He was always self-conscious about his looks, possessing neither the model body of Shining nor some of Spike’s somewhat enviable plumpness. Yet Hajaa’s scanning ambers did a great deal in assuaging some of his fears, his heart quickening. He really didn’t know why he was so nervous about being shirtless. Hajaa had been without one from the very beginning, his large, toned torso further kindling the fire growing within the changeling.

In Hajaa’s eyes, the changeling’s chest was scrumptiously flat, noticeably lacking nipples on his pecs - which made sense, he wasn’t a mammal yet Hajaa could picture himself pinching and licking his chest all the same. Below that was his stomach, which was deliciously toned and well-built and, strangely, lacking a belly button. This gave the changeling a torso largely devoid of features aside from muscle definition but despite this, Hajaa still found himself easily attracted to his shapely upper half. If Hajaa found only one complaint it would be that he was somewhat emaciated; akin to some zebra Jalas who were too fearful about their figure enough to go several days without eating. However, this didn’t worry Hajaa too much. From what he knew about changelings, it wouldn’t be too difficult to put a little meat on his bones.… metaphorically speaking. Hajaa was unsure if he even had those.

Just as quickly as Hajaa stopped to admire the deep black torso of his Jala did he reach for the changeling’s pants. Thorax pursed his lips, already expecting what was to come next. Haphazardly, Hajaa utilised both hands to rip and tear off his pants, throwing them over his shoulder much like the remnants of his shirt. This time he didn't just admire with prying eyes, his hands resting on the smooth, plump thighs of his quarry, grinning at the sight of the changeling’s exposed lower-half. Hajaa’s thumbs rubbed appreciative circles on the surprisingly plush chitin, Thorax wincing at the Zebra’s electric touch. Eventually, Hajaa’s eyes eventually fell on the changeling’s bright green briefs, the legs of which pinched slightly into his feminine thighs. However, the true prize was outlined just below his waist, the shapely bulge of a sheath and balls - Hajaa was unspokenly curious about those, having never seen the anatomy of such an exotic creature before.

Without a second thought, Hajaa reached for the conspicuous bulge that outlined in the changeling’s green briefs. However, just as his palm grazed over the hidden fruits, his large fingers hooking around the hem, Thorax couldn’t help but release a timid squeak as his own clenched hands darted down to cover his pronounced pride, inadvertently swatting Hajaa’s away in the process.

Hajaa looked up at him with a furrowed brow, his gaze flat. In the homeland, defiance was an unexpected trait to find in a Jala. Back home, such defiance rarely mattered in the minds of many - rank and standing in the tribe above all…

He was glad to leave that behind but there were a few things he still needed to learn about the Equestrian way of life.

In his first act of Equestrian politeness, he exhaled slowly from his nostrils. Whilst he had no intent to go one without the changeling’s say-so, he was still irked to have been stopped so close to unwrapping his prize. “I’m not going to hurt you. Move your hands,” he ordered softly, trying to wipe away from his face his hardened features.

Thorax looked up at Hajaa, squeamishly pursing his lips before giving a singular and slow nod. He apprehensively removed his hands from his briefs, bringing them back to his chest just as Hajaa worked on removing his underwear. Thankfully, he was more delicate in that procedure, peeling them down from his wide waist and flared hips, the plump thighs before finally pulling them from his hooves - tossing them with the rest of the useless rags.

Hajaa smiled, bemused at what he saw between Thorax’s clenched thighs. Unlike his own, Thorax’s compact cock wasn’t housed within a sheath, even if its shape was familiar to any other equine. And, despite his lack of experience with such anatomy, it didn’t require much education to see that the lithe lovebug was hard. His black cock twitched and throbbed needily, the smooth, veinless flesh of the turgid organ clearly in desperate need of relief. Towards the broad cap of the changeling’s humble sceptre, the flesh took on a hue of dull green. Hajaa suspected that the size was the cause of his defiance. It was below average by equine standards, however, when Hajaa took the rest of the changeling into consideration, his rod was neither too long nor too short. It was the perfect size for the changeling, resting over a small wrinkled coin purse containing testes no larger than large grapes. There was no doubt he was bigger, much bigger, but confirmation that he was, indeed, the Irra was welcome.

Hajaa smirked. “It’s cute. Just like the rest of you,” he assured.

“T-thank you,” Thorax stuttered, a small smile coming to his blushing features. He didn’t expect to top but he was thankful the sight didn’t revulse his crush.

After the exchange Hajaa left the changeling’s thighs, standing and offering his hand. “Stand up - I need access to all of you.”

Thorax blinked, raising a brow. He expected things to go differently now that he was naked. “What’s this about?” he asked warily as he took his hand; Hajaa squeezing his fingers made his heart do a somersault.

Hajaa’s initial quiet made Thorax gulp as he pulled up to stand and pulled a few steps away from the bed, made to stand on his ruined clothes. After his hand was released he momentarily fought with himself whether or not to hide his still rigid penis as Hajaa began to walk circles around him. Unlike before, he wasn’t looked upon with admiration or lust but rather, a sculptor’s eye. Under this gaze, Thorax didn’t feel naked anymore. It was as though he was a blank canvas or a chunk of stone, ready to become formed into something else entirely - a masterpiece hopefully. Regardless, Thorax felt even more exposed, his cheeks continuing to burn.

After a few minutes of awkward silence, his erection deflating, Thorax probed the circling zebra. “Do you want me to s-shapeshift for you or-”

“That would defeat the purpose of what I’m about to do to you,” Hajaa cut him off bluntly, still peering closely. He stopped in front of him, his eyes narrowed. “Raise your arms.”

“R-right!” Thorax acquiesced immediately, his svelt arms raised, giving him the look of a large black ‘T’.

With his arms raised Hajaa wrapped one hand at the wrist before his other followed the contour of his outstretched limb to follow down his side. On the way, his fingers provoked a few helpless spasms in Thorax, who couldn’t stop a giggle to sound from his fanged maw.

“I’m ticklish!” he revealed, his stomach clenching with helpless laughter.

“Good to know…” Hajaa remarked, a hint of a smile appearing on his face before his lips were straightened just like the changeling’s arm.“Make your other arm like this, open your palms and keep them flat - also, stay still.“

“Okay,” Thorax listened to each command. He didn’t know what to expect but he was intrigued mightily, especially when he took into consideration some of the emotions he started to sense in the stallion.

At hearing his acceptance Hajaa stepped away, circling him once more in a quick inspection before he approached the nightstand. Even though his movements were relaxed, Thorax could sense a feeling of… nervousness in the striped stallion. On his approach to the drawer, Thorax saw him clenching his hands open and closed. Opening the drawer, he reached inside, pulling what was inside out with extreme carefulness. Even Thorax was beginning to feel anxious about what Hajaa held softly between his fingers. When he finally turned around, he was prepared for a big reveal. So, Thorax was understandably surprised by how small it was.

It was a little glass vial, not more than four inches tall and about an inch wide. Inside the vial was a pure white substance which Thorax couldn’t make heads or tails of. His first presumption was that it was a potion of sorts, the striped equines renowned for alchemy and shamanism outside their homelands. However, a potion failed to answer why he needed to bare himself so boldly.

“What is that? I-if you don’t mind me asking!” Thorax gushed, smiling sheepishly.

Hajaa approached, stopping right before the changeling before he removed the cap, holding both it and the vial in his left. “In my language, it’s mallattoo, but in yours: paint,” he answered, before dipping his right index finger in the mouth of the vial, barely wetting the tip of his finger before continuing. “I’m going to brand you,” he answered directly, before softly pressing his finger to the changeling’s effeminate chest.

“‘B-brand me’?” Thorax echoed, confused. The only thing that stopped him from feeling fear or worry was the lack of malevolence in the zebra. “Why?”

Hajaa’s finger moved precisely diagonal down the changeling’s torso, stopping only to dip his finger once again. “To mark you as mine.”

“Uhh….” Thorax trailed off, his eyes widening. The implications weren’t exactly pleasing to him.

Hajaa sensed this, his finger stopping at the abdomen, assuring Thorax with a look. “It sounds a lot worse than it is. It’s not the bondage of servitude I tie you to, it’s, as you would say: marriage.”

Whilst that answer was a lot more assuring than slavery, Thorax almost turned white at the alternative. “M-m-marriage?! But we-”

“Again,” he interrupted, a pained grin coming to his face. “Not as serious as I made it out to be. Whilst it’s certainly a commitment, it’s, ah, not as strong. Our version of a marriage ceremony is extremely different,” he elaborated, an expression akin to amusement on his face. “What you are to me now in my culture is a Jala. There isn’t really a direct translation but the closest word I’d pick is… bottom.”

Thorax, whose blush has subsided from a while ago, came back in full force. “That’s a little… o-obvious.”

Hajaa curled his lip. “Maybe… but it’s apt, no?”

Thorax couldn’t deny that, pursing his lips in embarrassed silence. Hajaa continued to streak him meanwhile, leaving the changeling ever more curious about what he’d look like after he was done. Whilst, in theory, he could shapeshift to assume any form her wanted, alterations to his base body was an entirely new idea to him. He had never once entertained a tattoo or a piercing, yet there he was getting a full-body brand from someone he had sparsely conversed with.

After a few more minutes, when the zebra was beginning to work on his arms, he got curious about something else. “Do I get to leave a mark on you?” he asked quizzically, glancing sideways at the stallion.

Hajaa smirked, amused. “It’s a little early for marriage proposals, Thorax,” he replied, chuckling heartily as he continued striping the changeling’s chitin.”But yes. After a time, you can leave your own mark on your Irra. It would signify my commitment to you and solely you.”

Whilst he was flustered by what amounted to an accidental proposal, Thorax still felt his intrigue gnawing at him. Just as he finished the changeling’s other arm, he decided to ask. “Why can’t I mark you now?”

Who looked visibly uncomfortable at the question, so much so, in fact, Thorax considered retracting it. Hajja wore that face, maintaining his quiet until he disappeared behind the changeling’s back, striping his back. “In my society, Irras are decided by the size of their genitals. Unconventional and foreign, yes, but it’s our culture. The bigger, the more powerful their position in the tribe. With power comes privilege. They can have anything they desire; be it resources, land… lovers.”

Thorax felt his finger stop at his side, just below his rib. After he finished he taste sadness in the air, melancholy from the stud behind him. “So an Irra could brand multiple Jala if he wanted?”

The question snapped Hajaa out of his reverie, his finger arching back from his side, angled towards his jiggly tush. “Yes - although the practice is uncommon. Despite how obscene this may seem to you, we’re a rather monogamous culture. Most remain committed to one and only one.”

Desperate to waft away the tincture of sadness that remained, Thorax pushed his questioning elsewhere. “What exactly are you covering me with anyway?”

Hajaa had begun laying down the runway of white on the changeling’s ass when the question was asked, almost absorbed by how plump the changeling’s derriere was despite the lack of fat elsewhere.“It’s a product of simple yet dedicated alchemy. There are three main ingredients. Whilst the first two were easy to acquire, the third is a rarity - both to ponies and zebras,” he began, his brush with the changeling’s taint provoking a few surprising but inoffensive shivers. “The first couple of ingredients are optional but I went with chalk and crushed up white seashells. You would be hard-pressed to find chalk in my homeland - my nation not abundant in white cliffs or powdery stone. Here? I find it boxes by the dozen. Seashells are in abundance, just as our beaches. But those aren’t enough by themselves, you need something to bond them together. That’s what you need Aldawa for.”

“Aldawa?” Thorax repeated, furrowing his brows. The ingredient was totally enigmatic to the changeling.

“It’s a flower,” Hajaa answered, vague. “When used to bind the ingredients, it enhances its permanence. It won’t flake or come off unless very, very intensely scrubbed, or a cleaning solution is concocted,” Hajaa said as his finger crossed the hanging border of his ass to streak down his outer thigh.“The ingredient itself doesn’t possess many qualities. The value and importance come from its meaning and in the desert scarcity. Just as it is resilient on the body, so too is it resilient to grow amongst the sands and rock of my homeland.”

“If the ingredients for it are so rare and expensive where you come from, why not just use white paint whilst you’re here? Apply it at the beginning of a new day,” the changeling pondered, just as the zebra reached the back of his knee.

Hajaa suppressed the urge to roll his eyes, just as he moved onto the left asscheek. “Barring the fact that regular paint takes hours to dry, it defeats the entire purpose. The process of creating the mixture is one part effort, another... sentiment. You have to display as much commitment in creating it with the same level of commitment as is expected of you as a Jala. In order to mix Aldawa without it fully dissolving away, you must keep the temperature precise and perfect, manually checking on concoction every two hours to ensure it is cooking properly. You need to give up sleep just ensure that you even have a chance of collecting some. An automated oven cannot do the job either, for the Aldawa requires whispers from the mixer to keep active. Then, after the third day, you’ll have a pittance of what is left of the original ingredients - barely able to fill this vial.”

Thorax listened, enthralled by the zebra’s explanation, appreciating the effort that went into such an endeavour. He certainly had a raised opinion for the network of growing white stripes on his contrasting black chitinous body.

“That seems rather… intense,” he remarked, looking down as Hajaa began applying stripes to his calves, circling the rims of the few small holes in the bug's legs. Thorax noticed that his head was noticeably level with his cock, although the zebra’s attention was more closely squared on his calves.

“Yes, it requires a lot of effort. And not everyone can be bothered to do it. I almost gave up on it myself. I had had to rely on Achuu’s help just to get the Aldawa,” he elaborated, gliding over his knee. “I was fortunate that he was preparing a batch as well.”

“Then… Wh-what if an Irra and Jala… break up?” he asked out of curiosity sake, a break-up between them at this stage beyond premature.

“Other than the unfathomable number of hours required to scrub it off, nothing much beyond that unless you count hurt feelings. However in certain places in my homeland many punishments could be levied against Jalas who would refuse an Irra. If an Irra broke from his Jala in these places, there was merely a stigma attached to the bottom. For a Jala to break from an Irra is typically seen as an offence to the natural way of things. Whilst not universal, there are tribes who will begin to shun such the offending Jala. They become forbidden from removing their Irra’s brand. It will become a mark of disobedience and shame at worst, and a mark of dissatisfaction at best. That’s how several members of the tribe ended up with us,” Hajaa spoke casually, although his tone betrayed an inflection of anger behind it.

Hajaa’s lowered head meant that he couldn’t see the slight frown on the changeling’s face. Although Thorax knew he should’ve dropped the topic, his curiosity got the best of him. “H-how does your tribe treat Jalas?”

To the changeling’s surprise, his question wrought some feelings of happiness from the zebra; who remained stoic despite them. “Right.”

That was all the changeling needed to be satisfied enough to turn his frown upside down.

Unfortunately, his fall into a happy mood just about put him into a state of unpreparedness for what happened next. Suddenly, whilst applying a particularly long stripe, Hajaa brushed up against his inner thigh, just about grazing his precious black stones with the sides of his fingers.

“Ah!” he yelped in surprise, caught off guard by the unexpected brush. His back plate shot open, and his wings fluttered rapidly with a quick buzz, Hajaa’s attention suddenly stolen away from his painting.

Hajaa connected the stripe on Thorax’s thigh to another before standing, brows furrowed in bemusement. “Huh? I should have noticed that. I knew I was forgetting something about your kind whilst I was on your back,” he mentioned idly, circling back around to the otherside of the changeling.

“H-hey!” Thorax cried, his face turning a deep blue again as his buzzing wings settled down.

“Hey! Keep that open, I will need to stripe your actual back as well,” Hajaa ordered firmly, reapplying a fresh layer to his finger.

“P-please don’t. That place is really really s-sensitive…” Thorax fought meekly as Hajaa stood behind him; unable to move lest he ruined the paint job on his body. Despite his reluctance, he did keep the plate parted, unable to refuse Hajaa outright.

“And?” Hajaa asked as he went to work on applying the mixture.

Thorax struggled to keep a straight face as Hajaa dragged his finger sideways across his exposed back. For a non-changeling the sensation was hard to describe. The sensitivity of his wingspace fell somewhere between painful and… pleasant. He knew that the only other species to experience such quaintness were pegasi - their wing joints notorious for their tenderness, the massaging of such delicate joints a trope in many examples of erotica at this point. It’s thanks to the relative obscurity of changeling biology that such an erogenous zone was known only by the species in question and a few maverick researchers.

It was for that reason Thorax knew his slight annoyance with the zebra was misplaced, although that didn’t stop him from also swearing that his extra slow pace was deliberate. His brushing finger gentle yet producing a pleasurable friction against his back. His slow pace was to avoid damaging the very thin, delicate wings of the love bug, unknowingly just sending wave after constant wave of ecstasy down the changeling’s back like a deep piercing thunderbolt. Every miniscule movement against Thorax’s sensitive inner back provoked a full-body wave of bliss, each one Thorax had to force his mouth tightly shut just to choke back an errant whimper or moan. The start of each new line was the cycle starting anew, his body tensing under Hajaa’s finger and glacial pace. Between his legs the whip cracks of pleasure prompted his black-green mast to rise and swell, twitching needily and eager for stimuli. Now erect, by the time Hajaa started his third line the onyx member throbbed at the base, eventually coming to squeeze out a clear bead of precum from his bug-cock.

“Mmmmph! Hurry up and finish, please!” he croaked out in desperation, trying not to let his body pleasure overcome him with spasms.

Hajaa finally noticed the effects of his actions with a cursory glance over the bug’s shoulder, his humble dick shamelessly twitching under his gaze.

Hajaa chuckled, resuming his painting despite the new knowledge. “It’s good to know where you’re sensitive,” he hunk purred as he finished the last stripe, his lip curling as he withdrew his finger.

“Are you done?” The changeling whimpered, his eyes following Hajaa as he circled back to his front.

“Just one or two finishing touches,” Hajaa answered, his eyes already in open admiration of his handiwork.

The vial was almost empty now. Still, covering his fingertip he reached for the changeling’s flushed countenance, unable to suppress a smile at such a cute expression. With three precise movements, the zebra added a few stripes to his face. His finger traced just under his eye, two stripes across his cheek before doing the same on the opposing side. Finally, Hajaa drew a long line going from the base of his curved horn to the tip of his snout.

When Hajaa’s finger left his snout, Thorax wrinkled his nose, letting out a cute sneeze; inciting Hajaa to snicker in retort.

“Now?” The changeling inquired, reminiscent of an impatient foal.

“Not quite. Just need to add the very last marking. Then, you shall truly be mine,” Hajaa answered, allowing a contented if somewhat premature grin to come to his face.

He lowered to a knee, at which Thorax could only feel shame - the zebra now in line with his helplessly throbbing erection. Thorax couldn’t look as Hajaa reached his hand out, a perverse part of him hoping to feel the larger stallion’s fingers to coil around his eager bughood. However, to his relief - and disappointment - the familiar sensation of Hajaa sketching digit was felt on the smooth, hairless mound just above his base. The area that Hajaa covered reached from his dick to where his belly button would be, clearly drawing something more complex than just lines..

Thorax could feel Hajaa drawing a row of lines before tracing some triangle-like shapes on the outside. Whenever Hajaa traced across his lower abdomen he couldn’t help but let out a bug like chittering at the feeling, his chitin sensitive to tickles.

“All done. That wasn’t too bad now, was it?” he asked rhetorically as he stood back up - the vial in his left hand now entirely empty.

Thorax almost flinched when the zebra placed a hand on his shoulder, fearing that all of Hajaa’s work was about to be undone.

“What’re you-”

“Already dried, now c’mere,” Hajaa pressured, dragging the changeling along with a series of firm but unharming tugs towards a mirror conveniently standing in the room’s corner.

Thorax, changeling or no, noticed the out of place giddiness in the large zebra, allowing himself to be pulled by the sheer surrealness of the sight alone. He barely had time to balance himself before Hajaa looked at him expectantly, grinning.

“Tell me, what do you think?”

What did he think? Thorax couldn’t imagine what insight he could offer him before directing his eyes to the mirror…

“Wow…” he muttered, in sincere awe of his new look.

The notion was simple: covered in stripes. But there were few things offered by nature or biology that could compete with the passion of a driven designer. Were it not for his eyes, fangs and lack of mammalian features, Thorax would have believed himself as having transformed into a disguise. He looked believable as a full-on zebra, simply with his colours inverted. He raised his arms, inspected his sides, his own hands absentmindedly traced some of the white lines, in open admiration of the artwork now emblazoned into his chitin. Hajaa had turned his blank black canvas of a body into something truly spectacular. He didn’t need to say a single thing to get across to Hajaa that what he thought of the work was no less than perfect!

“Hmph, I think you have proven once and for all that zebras are black with white stripes,” Hajaa quipped, smirking triumphantly.

Thorax hardly was listening, transfixed on himself. After following as many of the lines as he could his sights finally settled on the more complex design just above his half-flaccid dick. After noticing it he was pulled from his excited stupor, smiling shyly at the effective brand in the mirror. “That makes me y-yours…”

Hajaa nodded, crossing his arms. “Yes, it does.”

“What is it? If you don’t mind me asking,” Thorax added hastily, his eyes stealing a shy look at the zebra.

The ‘brand’ itself wasn’t too complex in essence. The series of lines Thorax felt made the shape of a square, just without a border or points. And the triangles circled the said square, creating an image that Thorax could only surmise to be the sun.

“Oh, that,” Hajaa let loose a sparse chuckle, “that’s my marking. What the ponies would refer to as a ‘cutie mark’. I’ve never been fond of the name myself,” Hajaa commented as he turned sideways towards the changeling, cocking his hip slightly as he tugged down on his trousers. In the place where his cutie mark would be, was instead, just more stripes.

Thorax met his brows. “Where is it?”

Hajaa tugged his pants back up, that same, taciturn sadness from before yet again lingered on the air. “I’m forbidden from wearing it anymore… most of our tribe is. However, it still represents all I am - and now you wear it,” he explained, smiling sadly at the changeling.

Thorax nodded, trying to counter the sadness with a smile of his own. “I’m honoured to be yours, Hajaa,” he spoke kindly, giving a singular nod.

After he turned slightly, raising his arm to give his back a once over. Whilst he was wary now in the presence of Hajaa, he split his wing casing to get a look at his handiwork there, his elytra unfurling down the slight curve of his back.

“Hmph. Looks like I missed a spot,” Hajaa suddenly said, causing Thorax to raise an eyebrow.

Thorax, confused, looked at him. “You did?”

“Just below your tail. Follow me, I’ll get that spot… filled in, right away,” he spoke with a hard-to-hide slyness.

Thorax followed the zebra. If the blatant lust in his tone was the first red flag the second was when he was led past the pile of rags back to the bed. Hajaa looked at him knowingly, the changeling pursing his lips as he nodded, stepping forwards, leaning on the bed; his ample posterior popping out towards the zebra and his ravenous eyes.

Thorax clenched his hands around the soft lilac covers as the zebra planted his whole hand on his lower back, his eyes clenching as he tried his best to slow his beating heart. The hand moved down in a straight line, swerving right at his tail dock to slide over and rest on Thorax’s right asscheek. Hajaa squeezed the plump mound, the juicy cheek earning a grunt of approval from the tall zebra. If Thorax had his doubts that the zebra was merely finishing his work they were completely solidified when his left hand - now empty of the vial - mirrored his other and joined in on massaging his large black buns. Thorax never placed much value in his booty, his plump black peach was probably responsible for more curious glances than the fact he was a changeling. The longer Hajaa played with his badonkadonk the bluer his face became with a blush, his tightening grip around the covers doing extremely little to stop his little drone from rising up for a third time that afternoon.

“W-what are you doing?’ he asked anxiously, keeping eyes focused forwards.

“Playing,” Hajaa answered bluntly, pressing the soft chitin under his fingertips.

Thorax pursed his lips. He already knew that. Hajaa wasn't ‘playing’ roughly but his fascination with his derriere left him perplexed. Hajaa neither pushed in too deeply as to cause pain nor were his fingers shallow in his black smooth shell. Thorax sighed. “With my butt?”

“Oh, not just your butt,” he replied.

Right after Thorax’s eyes shot wide open, his body tensing as the zebra’s right hand began to fondle his precious black stones. His thumb brushed across the wrinkled flesh, the adorable pair of walnut-sized testes a sight only a few eyes had ever had the privilege to look upon. A changeling’s reproductive organs were just as elusive as their owners were, rarely seen absent of a disguise.

“Also these.”

“I-I see…” he stammered. Despite the brawn behind those fingers, Hajaa was commendable in his gentleness, inspecting each churning ball with an intrigued smile. Thorax liked that he was a soft touch - considerate, considering a curious ball fondling wouldn’t be the only thing he was expecting to experience for the first time in his intimate encounter with the zeeb stud.

However, Thorax was so focused on what the zebra was doing with his right, he never noticed that his left was no longer touching his body. Whilst Hajaa toyed with his sack, he brought his fingers to his mouth, slipping his middle past his lips and coating it thoroughly with spit. When it left his maw, he wore a toying smile as it headed towards its only destination...

“Aaah~” Thorax half-moaned, half-screamed as his body lurched forwards as though brought to a sudden halt after a quick gallop.

Hajaa’s finger slipped inside his plush wrinkled ponut with resistance, aided by ample spit, Hajaa shoved his finger in deep, brushing against the changeling’s thankfully present p-spot. The black-green cock flexed at the sudden intruder, a thin string of precum already leaking from his indented tip; his puffy asshole instinctually squeezing around Hajaa’s probing digit.

“W-what are you-”

“Hush.” Hajaa interrupted, growling lustily as he continued to feel and wiggle around in the changeling’s tight black ass.

His hole was remarkably tight and if Hajaa didn’t know any better, unused. In any capacity. That intrigued him, but not as much as its remarkable softness - his finger hugged on all sides by the silk-soft innards of the bug’s bouncing booty. Rather than the hole’s typical attribute of forcing out unwanted intruders, it seemed to possess a natural suction, as though it wanted to be filled. Were it not for the fact Hajaa was staring right at the changeling’s wrinkled flower, he would have thought he was going knuckle deep into a twat - the comparison of which provoked a near-wretch inducing memory of his one-on-one with the so-called ‘Princess of Love’.

Thorax cried out as the finger slowly forced its way in. The unexpected tide of pleasure made his arms buckle under the weight of his own bliss - the only thing stopping him from landing face-first into the sheets was Hajaa’s arm coiling around his stomach.

“Relax,” The zebra assured, although his voice carried across that casual application of authority Thorax had heard before. When the changeling looked back at him, he was met with two words. “Trust me.”

At the reassurance Thorax found himself relaxing inexplicably, his clenching he-cunt loosening, the zebra’s thick finger submerging deeper inside.

“Hmmph, I must say, I’m surprised you’re as tight as you are.. Are you a virgin, or by design?” he asked casually, just as a second digit slowly began to prod and tease at the changeling’s taut entrance. .

Thorax was in partial awe that he was able to make casual conversation despite the intimateness of the moment. Still, he forced air in through his nostrils, despite having no lungs to breathe into, speaking on the exhale. “Hah… ah… According to my - umm - DNA, I’m s- hnng - s-supposed to be a s-sexual love m-m-magnet. But that’s not -unf- me,” the changeling answered between constant moans and pleasured groans, the zebra half-listening to him as the second finger slipped inside, spreading him even further apart.

“Then consider it my highest honor to be the one to deflower this black rose...” Hajaa chuckled, smiling darkly, the lust burning in his eyes roaring even hotter.

After that, Thorax found himself clinging to Hajaa’s arm for dear life as he began to slide his twin digits in and out of his tail-hole. The pace started off nice and brisk, gliding in and out seamlessly, aided by the generous helping of Hajaa’s spit combined with the unique properties of Thorax’s box. Hajaa made sure to curl his fingers, apply pressure to the changeling’s pulsing prostate, making sure to milk it for all he could of the slender bug’s pleasurable mewls.

However, as nice as the predictable and slow pace was, Thorax felt harder times ahead when a third finger started to ease its way into him. He braced and braced but nothing could have prepared his virgin colt-hole from stretching of three large fingers, all pushing down on his nut-sized g-spot. His back arched and his wings involuntarily buzzed with each firm thrust of Hajaa’s striped fingers..

But steadfast still, Hajaa kept his arm tight around Thorax, even as his elytra wisped across his chiselled chest. Thorax felt him tighten his coil around his belly, almost wanting to moan out an apology. However, it wasn’t his pleasured squirming that motivated Hajaa. Almost imperceptibly, the pace of his digits began to quicken, spreading themselves even further apart to take as much room as they could. Thorax noticed his hole being spread, the pain that came with such was nothing compared to the ecstasy of it, his prick a non-stop trickle of pre. However, Hajaa continued to pick up the pace, going faster and faster until he was blasting the changeling’s poor hole. His fingers reappeared as fast as they disappeared, plunging deep to his knuckle until Thorax ceased moaning; instead, drooling from his fanged maw as the zebra left him functionary breathless with bliss...

“That should do it.”

With those words Thorax felt the fingers yank themselves from his butt, leaving his hole clenching for their fullness again longingly. Thorax felt weakened after the experience but things were clearly only getting started. Clarity pulled him from his blissful stupor as his body was lifted up by Hajaa’s powerful arms, his body being deposited on the bed, the feeling of being dropped triggered a sense of deja vu. He found it humorous that just a few moments ago he was clothed and decent, now? Covered in stripes, naked, with his backdoor having been violated and his cock twitching against the sheets. He would have laughed if he weren’t so helplessly turned on.

When he turned onto his back, he found himself reinvigorated when he saw Hajaa’s fingers curling the hem of his loose purple trousers. He fought with the compulsion to look away, reminding himself of the situation. Hajaa had seen him at his most intimate, now it was his turn...

Hajaa smirked at his eager face. Although Hajaa resisted the attempts of hollow cuteness by other Irra, there was something particularly arousing about Thorax’s failure to hide his desire when he was so intent on doing so before. Maybe the openness of other Irras got to him but seeing someone try so hard to be chaste but fail utterly turned him on like nothing else. This arousal was put on display when he allowed his trousers to drop, baring himself to the changeling’s cyan hues…

“W-woah…”

The changeling’s eyes became saucers when they laid themselves for the first time on Hajaa’s naked lower half. Whilst his legs were equally chiselled as his torso he was sick of pretending all else mattered when the zebra’s pulsing black rod was exposed for the first time, swinging upwards before resting slightly downwards when it flopped free of its silky constraints. It was like a monarch’s sceptre - long and hard, without blemish with the exception of a few thick veins snaking the surface. It was a true symbol of his authority in that bedroom, twitchy and heavy, filled with barely enough piping blood to sustain its own impressive girth. And below Hajaa’s impressive fuckmeat, adjoined to the long onyx column, were a pair of peach-sized nuts. The large, fertile pair were practically audible with roiling seed, the bountiful nuts visibly heavy and pendulous under the weight of their sloshy white contents.

Thorax was broken from his almost hypnotic gaze when the zebra advanced towards him, his cock swaying, beleaguered under its own weight. Hajaa climbed onto the bed, his hands coming to grip his striped calves as he forced them to spread, the changeling not resisting in the slightest. He continued forwards until he occupied the empty space between his legs, his massive cock and balls plopped down on the changeling’s own equipment. Thorax whimpered behind his closed lips, the slight bit of friction causing his twitchy dong to throb against the zebra’s fuckstick, leaving a dot of pre on its soft spongy underside - a penile smooch. Hajaa fell forwards, his own muscular chest grazing against Thorax, staring down into the changeling’s compound eyes. He said nothing as he brought his mouth down, locked lips with the changeling. Before Thorax could comprehend that a kiss was finally happening, Hajaa forced his tongue inside. Hajaa almost winced in pain from scratching his slippery muscle against one of Thorax’s fangs but he was too eager to do any such thing; his tongue easily dominating Thorax’s mouth and forked tongue, filling up his smaller mouth and bulging his black cheeks out with his large tongue and excess spittle.

Hajaa pulled his head back after a short while, his breathing noticeably heavy as he looked down at the mystified changeling, whose face was now almost entirely blue as he met his gaze. Hajaa recognised the look on his expression: shame but also want. He grinned despite himself, his hips shifting and rearing back, the spongy tip of his large black erection trailing over the bug’s average sack and taint before pressing against the changeling’s taboo hole.

“T-this is actually happening,” Thorax stammered, in partial disbelief of the entire situation. He could feel that… thing throbbing against his hole, the scolding hot pipe of the zebra’s impressive sex.

“I hope you’re ready, Thorax. .I don’t go easy on Jalas...” Hajaa warned, his bestial meat smearing globs of his clear sticky juices against Thorax’s colt-puss.

Thorax opened his mouth to ask what he meant by that. However just as his jaw parted open, as did his tender hole, the zebra easing his hips into changeling’s fuckhole. He gasped, his hole enveloping just the mere crown of the zebra’s fuck-sceptre was enough to leave him physically full, the sheer girth already pushing against his p-spot with greater force than fingers ever could. Thereafter, Thorax expected for the fuck barrel to be slowly fed into his butt, to be taken like as a lover should…

Although he came quickly to understand the striped stallions’ warning.

Thorax’s eyes bugged open wide, as Hajaa speared half of his humongous cock into his clenching ass, the rod stretched him to his absolute limits; the slab of dick growing slightly thicker the further down it you went. Absolute pleasure joined with pain as he was effectively torn in two by the zebra’s huge cock. Although no leverage could really help him take the large ebony column, his fingers dug into the bedsheets, trying to release his pain through the tight grip he had around lilac covers as Hajaa slowly fed more of his deep black python into his Jala’s butthole; only giving him a moment to relax once he was fully hilted inside - although ‘relax’ was certainly a stretch, almost as much as he was stretching the bug’s sphincter.

Hajaa looked down to observe the spectacle, seeing his entire shaft buried to the root was as almost as hot as the sensation that surrounded it. Having his entire cock embraced like that made his hips tremble with impatience, his entire dick pulsating with bliss as what felt like a million tongues lapped at every turgid inch of his deep black hog. He was so wrapped up in the euphoria that he almost failed to acknowledge the lack of a bulge in his Jala’s belly. It did feel he was pushing against something within the bug’s deepest depths and if he placed his hand over where his cock ended, he would undoubtedly have found it someplace under his stomach. Maybe the chitin did not offer as much stretch as his own would give. Hajaa smiled at the realisation. It was probably, alongside being a virgin, that made his cock feel so snug within him.

Meanwhile, Thorax was too consumed with the cascades of sensation to spend much of his mental power on thought. Every throb of the zebra’s dick only served to push against his p-spot, his pleasure button being pushed with every involuntary twitch of the striped stallion’s dick. Meanwhile, his own rod was crushed under Hajaa’s muscled stomach, painfully hard and crying tears of pleasured joy. Hajaa chuckled at him, slightly gyrating his hips from side to side, purposefully trying to milk more bliss from the bug’s p-spot.

This worked, obviously. Thorax threw his head back to release a pleasured scream that was half-stopped by his hands covering his own mouth. He did this to stop the advancing tide of throaty moans and whorish groans that emerged as Hajaa ground himself inside of him. Hajaa hadn’t even begun thrusting in and out of him in earnest yet and he was already mewling like a harlot. What didn’t help was the fact his feelings of shame provoked even more lust from Hajaa, whose meaty stick pumped more slick pre into his vice-like canal. It wasn’t too long after Thorax tried to silence his moaning that Hajaa grabbed him by the wrists, forcibly pulling his hands away before pinning them above his head.

“Stop,” Hajaa ordered, looking him dead in the eyes, something primal behind his pupils. “Let me hear you moan. The best Jalas are the ones who are loud.”

Thorax was panting as he was commanded, his lack of lungs making the gesture entirely mental as bliss travelled in his veins. He couldn’t summon the strength to voice himself, only exhaling and the beginning of mewls fell from his gullet. He could only look up at the hunk and nod.

The zebra smiled, proud with himself before he started his work. The zebra reared his hips back, slowly withdrawing himself, making sure to drag every fat inch of his meat against the bug’s virgin prostate as much as he could. Thorax’s writhed in place, not sure what to do as pleasure crashed into him with every inch. His hands clenched themselves into fists, held in place by the pin Hajaa had him in. He allowed his pleasured cries and mewls to flow from his mouth as Hajaa played with him, the zebra’s cock completing a circuit within him that connected his body to indescribable pleasure. He became putty beneath him, clenching his boy pussy around Hajaa as his own hips tried in futility to thrust against the zebra’s stomach. He thought he heard Hajaa chuckle at his expense at one point but he couldn’t be sure, deafened by his own bliss.

When Hajaa had withdrawn all of himself except his cocktip, he tightened his grip on Thorax’s wrists, resolving to use his quarry as leverage. His still implanted tip continued to lubricate the non-twat with his essence whilst still ensuring the zebra’s swift and easy entry. Then, without warning, Hajaa slammed his hips against the plump ass, impaling the changeling fully with his great black partisan, his huge balls colliding with a meaty and sloshy slap against his tush. The impaling made Thorax arch with a howl as his ass was completely filled once again, although this time, he knew Hajaa wasn’t going to give him any respite.

Hajaa, up until this point, was practising a great level of patience. Going slow wasn’t his style. His instincts were screaming at him to breed the love bug, so that’s what he was going to do. As quickly as he had plunged deep into the soft, endless depths of the changeling’s ass he began to retreat. His hips glided his great black shaft from the clenching he-cunt, now wet and sticky gossamer-like with pre. With an accompanying grunt, he lanced himself back inside, snorting as the accompanying wave of pleasure that accompanied it. Like the feral beast he became, he didn’t need to spare much thought to the act, his hips acting on autopilot as he ravaged Thorax’s behind.

Similar to Hajaa, Thorax felt his own instincts drive him. His spread legs wrapped themselves around Hajaa’s waist as he began his thrust hard within him, his earnest fucking awakening something within Thorax thought numbed as his lover drove himself deep into his obscene, makeshift cock-sheath. His primaeval instincts as a changeling desired him to drain every droplet of cum from the zebra’s heavy sack, the thick creamy load that awaited him, the heavy nuts practically calling out to him; the nut butter roiling and impatient to spill out and fill his guts. However, while his thighs quivered and his cock tensed whilst Hajaa rammed his meat-ram into him, there was a feeling of unease in his chest. The pleasure of the moment was screaming out loud in his ears but below it, just beneath the surface, Thorax felt pain. His stretched and abused hole played two simultaneous crescendos - pleasure and pain. Hajaa was rough, a little too rough for his sensible tastes. It didn’t feel like making love. It was pure, carnal fucking, done for nothing more than the pursual of pleasure. Yet, it could devolve into something even baser than that, something Thorax was loath to admit when he felt so good: he was being used...

Whilst Thorax bathed in his bliss and pain, Hajaa only increased his pace as his pleasure escalated, the sound of his hips and balls slapping against Thorax’s soft chitinous rear filling the room. Fortunately for the bug, his carapace was quite firm despite its deceptive softness, otherwise the speed and hardness of Hajaa’s thrusts would’ve left him quite blue on the tush.

As the relentless fucking continued, their noses were clogged by the dense smell of each other's musk and pheromones. Thorax could feel sweat begin to slicken his chest, all of it coming from the friction he and Hajaa created from their chests rubbing. Hajaa’s grip around his wrists tightened with his quickening pace, threatening to crack the carapace and break his wrists. This was only a small worry to the changeling, his brain far too addled with lust, alongside the affection in the air, which wafted off the zebra in waves. He was intoxicated by his lover’s emissions.

His attention was consumed by the zebra breeding him that he was completely caught off guard by one particularly harsh thrust. It was as though he was struck by thunder, his moans ceasing as he was rendered inert mentally - his hole instinctually flexing around the zebra’s fat pulsing cock. His vision was consumed by white and black as a pleasured yet hollow scream came from his throat. It twitched and throbbed within him, flaring inside of him and his cock swelled almost a quarter of the size thicker. His eyes closing as his penis pulsed once, then twice, before firing a few impressive strings of semen between his and Hajaa’s belly.

Meanwhile, Hajaa’s orgasm was a little less grandiose, almost as blunt and beastly as the cock that he had driven deep into his Jala’s fuckhole. Fully hilted inside, he practically rearranged the changeling’s guts, his hole warped and melded to fit around every veiny inch of the colossal meat. His dick was milked by the changeling’s spasming insides, balls clenched, flexing time and time again to try and feed enough jizz into Hajaa’s cum cannon. The first volley was loaded and fired deep into Thorax’s belly, rope after rope of potent white spunk began to paint his insides messily. Some spilt out onto the sheets beneath them, it was so voluminous. Hajaa wouldn’t have been able to keep count of the number of long thick and virile ropes that fired from his dick, unsure of how much pent up seed he was carrying out in his large, full nuts.

After what felt like minutes, and probably was, Hajaa grunted, his cock becoming limp and soft, making it tenable to finally withdraw such a huge girth from the bug’s still clenching hole. When the still trickling tip was pulled free, a small gush of excess cum leaked from the bug’s rawhide, the jizz covered and gaping hole struggled to stop the tide of zebra semen from messing up the sheets. With a satisfied groan, Hajaa flopped onto his side next to Thorax, fatigued after the long bout of fucking.

Thorax was frozen, still riding the high of his recent orgasm, not entirely sure if he would be capable of moving again. His ass ached with a dull pain that hurt good, although he would have preferred it not hurt at all. He flopped his head onto his cheek, meeting Hajaa’s impressed eye.

“You did good,” he complimented, reaching out for the bug’s other shoulder.

“All I did was lay there though…” Thorax replied, just as Hajaa pulled him into his chest, his warm sweaty body putting him in an odd sense of ease.

“And still, you did that very well to take me. I’m the second largest in the tribe and this is your first time - commendable.” His arms tightened around the changeling’s body, trying to share some of his own bodily warmth with the otherwise cool insect. He smiled, purring. “I almost cannot wait for next time.”

“Next time?! I-I mean: g-good,” Thorax chirped, snuggling against Hajaa’s muscled chest. “I do have a r-request though...”

Hajaa raised an eyebrow, despite his closed eyes. “Which is?”

Thorax settled in place, finally allowing himself to relax, his desire to rest growing ever stronger. “If you want to be that rough with me again... I want you to take me somewhere nice on our first date.”

Hajaa opened his eyes just as the changeling closed his. There was a pause, then two, before he mouthed a question silently towards the ceiling.

“...What’s a date?”

Investigations and Penile Experimentations

Spike paced back and forth with a furrowed brow, the furious pitter-patter of his scaly feet on the tiled floor of his chamber the only audible sound in his room. He made sure that his determination was far more palpable than his anxiety, hoping that the svelt zebra sitting on his oversized bed did not hear the cogs going haywire in his head. So much had happened in the past hour that it was almost enough to give him vertigo, from the discovery of his latent attraction to the bubble-bootied stallion on the bed, the true reasons for the zebras being here, Cadance’s unexpected betrayal and the fact the leader of tribe - To’Achuu - was now the effective despot of the entire Crystal Empire.

Every so often he threw a sideways glance to Dansaar, the feminine stallion having not uttered a single word since Spike began his pacing. Spike was partially happy that the zebra allowed him to think, at the very least, he did not insult his intelligence to presume Spike’s frantic back and forth was merely an act like some did.. However, Spike was also panicked by the fact he did not have a singular out. Whilst he often put his own ingenuity on a pedestal, absolutely nothing came to the drake’s head at that moment that seemed viable. He supposed he could stage a counter-coup? The idea of waving the flag for liberty and freedom seemed all well and good. However, a small issue: Spike had no idea how to plan one - he didn’t exactly have access to a stockpile of pamphlets and flags. He also supposed he could ask the guards for help, however, recent developments made that… untenable. Every guard - the ones in the castle at least - seemed to be on their side now, and those that weren’t would have been converted by the display put on by Princess Cadance. Jeesh, Spike almost was as well. He had to remind himself constantly that he wasn’t working towards her freedom or retribution in her name but rather, for Shining, for Flurry and for the potential others who could potentially have found themselves thrown into the dungeon. Get the word out? Possibly. He knew they would believe him but Spike worried that a country full of angry citizens would cause even more damage than the zebras would. Even Sombra kept the place relatively intact aside from the cold. Then, Twilight entered his mind, bringing him to a stop.

That wasn’t a half-bad idea. A quick letter, a spurt of dragonfire, and before they would know it they’d have an alicorn tapping their hoof at the front door. However, something about that plan worried him. He couldn’t place it but it seemed… absolute. It would work, for sure but… but… what would she do to them? They were all complicit, they all knew - they wanted this! What would… what would she do to Dansaar? In the zebra, Spike - and his pride would never allow him to admit it out loud - saw a bit of himself. He saw someone who desperately wanted to rise above their station, to be recognised and acknowledged. Spike had gotten that. The ponies in the empire adored him, he had the trust of the Equestrian princesses and many friends who cared for him. Ever since Dansaar arrived here, he had spent every waking hour with one another. And, whilst Spike received nods of recognition or warm smiles thrown in his direction, Dansaar seemed almost invisible to his own tribe. And what would Twilight do when she got a hold of him? Lock him away and throw away the key? Turn him into stone? Send him back home, far, far, far away? Away from him, from Spike? His hardened features softened into a look of worry he fixated at the floor...

“Are you ok, Spike? You’ve been like this for a while now…” Dansaar said suddenly. Despite the softness of his voice, Spike still snapped his head to the zebra in surprise before darting his sharp irises to the clock on the wall. He was right, it had been an hour since the coup d'etat.

Spike didn’t usually let time escape him. “I’m just, uh…” Spike turned to the sitting stallion, scratching the side of his chin as he hurried his mind for an answer... he eventually clicked his fingers before pointing at Dansaar with a grin. “Coming up with a genius plan to save the day!”

Dansaar blinked, his brows meeting. “Save the day?” Dansaar said quizzically as he cocked one of his brows.

“I have to save the Crystal Empire of course! Like I did from Sombra, I have to save it yet again,” Spike said triumphantly, looking off somewhere with a clenched fist. The silence that lingered thereafter prompted his quick look back to the zebra sitting on his bed. He saw his face scrunched up in a cute but ultimately angry frown, his arms crossed over his flat chest. “W-well obviously not from you.”

“From who then?” Dansaar asked with a raised eyebrow.

“The boss.”

“Boss?”

“Your boss - the girly dude in the parachute pants,” Spike said, gesturing to his thick thighs to emphasise his point.

“Wha? To’Achuu? Why does this place need saving from him?" Dansaar asked with actual confusion in his voice.

“You said it yourself. To’Achuu was only half responsible. But now that Cadance is out of the picture, only he’s left, ergo making him fully responsible. And besides, he even radiates bad guy vibes, don’tcha think? He’s got a prince and princess hostage - a classic, old school bad guy move. He’s also secretly in control of the country - shadow government, an intelligent bad guy. He even has his evil minions converting ponies to do his bidding! I don’t know how he does it, but I suspect it has something to do with mind control!” Spike said with determination, tapping into his knowledge of comic books.

“Uh…” Dansaar trailed off and Spike could visibly see the cogs turning in the femcolt’s head.

“Okay, forget all that,” he suggested, swatting his palms about, metaphorically clearing the air. “I think I might have a way to put things back to normal but I’ll need your help to do it!” Spike asserted firmly, pointing at Dansaar with a sense of strength and power in his voice.

“W-whu-what? My help?” Dansaar flinched back in recoil from Spike’s authoritative digit.

“Yep. This To’Achuu guy, he infiltrated the castle because he had someone on the inside. So, what better to fight an infiltrator with some infiltration of my own... I’m in need of a stallion on the inside…" The dragon said with a smirk.

“And you want that to be me?” Dansaar asked, looking rather scared at the prospect of secret agent-ing.

“Of course! He had you introduce him when he first arrived. You must be pretty important… Right?” Spike asked, hopeful as a tinge of doubt came to the Zebra's face.

“Um…” Dansaar said, a blush coming to his face.

Spike winced, only managing to keep one eye open. “W-what?”

“That was all fake. All of it,” he admitted, smiling sheepishly.

Like that, Spike’s plans seemed to shatter all around him. He mentally punched himself in the face for not assuming that possibility but then again, an uncountable number of ice-cream and gem induced tummy aches revealed his lack of foresight.

“A-all of it?” he stammered after taking the moment to digest.

“Yes. For one, we aren't the strongest Zebra tribe. By far. We are actually really really tiny…" Dansaar mumbled, not quite ashamed but more forlorn in tone.

“But there’s a thousand of you,” Spike rebuked, his brows meeting.

“Out of millions of millions," Dansaar extrapolated, forcing a smile. "In truth, we’re all exiles.”

“Exiles?" Spike asked stepping forwards, concern tinged with a bit of caution in his tone. "F-for what? Are you criminals?"

“Defying traditions, disagreement with the status quo, and our desire for large-scale societal reform.” Dansaar answered directly, his tone flat.

The pair upheld an awkward pause whilst they maintained eye contact, battling their meagre wills.

“That doesn’t sound very badguy-like,” mumbled Spike, the first to glance away, feeling a tad guilty for his assumption.

“When were we the bad guys?” Dansaar asked sitting up.

“When you stole an entire empire!” Spike rebutted, remaining firm in his footing as his gaze shot towards the zebra once again.

“It’s not theft when it was given to us!” Dansaar returned at the same volume.

Spike grumbled in response to that, crossing his scaly little arms. "Sheesh, I remember when you were quiet and scared. What happened to that zebra?"

"You are no longer dealing with the average Jala anymore. Now, I am an Irra! The powerful one! The one in charge! I am the one who will wear the pants in this relationship... Literally!” he declared, loud and proud, his chest inflating… before it sagged, an anxious smile coming to his face. "Plus your bug friend was really scary…"

"What? Thorax?" Spike asked, scratching his head. "But he is like a giant kitten!"

"Kittens can be scary! Especially giant ones, what with their pointed teeth and claws…" Dansaar asserted, baring his teeth as he put his hands out in front of him, mimicking talons.

Spike rolled his eyes, wearing a wry smile. “Well anyway - maybe we could use the fact you’re an Irra to our advantage.”

Dansaar blinked before he piqued a curious brow. “Advantage?”

“Think about it. You’re confident now. And if an Irra is as important as you say, then you can be my guy on the inside!”

“I-Inside? Inside who? Who do I have to be inside of?” Dansaar gushed, his cheeks blazing a deep red.

“The government body! We can smash the new regime and replace it with one of our own - like good guys do!” Spike’s voice was enthusiastic, the voice of a hero whose plan was coming together.

“Uhh, I dunno…” Dansaar trailed off looking away.

“Hey, believe me, doing it this way is going to be a heck of a lot better than it Twilight, Celestia - or gods forbid - Luna get wind of this.” Spike flinched at that. The thought of anything bad happening to Dansaar making him sick.

“What’s so bad about that?” Dansaar asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Well…” Without elaborating, Spike dragged his thumb across his neck before allowing it to fall limply to the side, his tongue lolled out in exaggerated fashion as a fake death gurgle sound from his throat.

Dansaar’s eyes widened for a moment in horror, curling his fingers at his side. “O-oh…”

“So if we can put Shining back in charge,” Spike began, intentionally leaving absent Cadance, “then they’ll go easy on you, I just know it!”

Dansaar didn’t reply immediately. His lips pursed tight, glancing away for a moment, pensive, before setting his eyes back on Spike. “W-will they make us go back?”

Spike was prepared to fire back with a ‘no’ but instead, his jaw hung limply open, his reply trapped in his voice box. He couldn’t predict the intentions of Shining, the Princesses or even the citizens. However, one answer, the one he was most certain of, rose to the surface...

“They won’t. Not if I want you to stay… The zebras. If I want the zebras to stay,” he clarified with an uncertain, embarrassed and not entirely honest grin. “I never abandon my friends.”

A flush came to Dansaar’s cheeks although his face remained unchanged for a moment until the subtlest of smiles came to his face. “Okay, Spike. I trust you.”

Spike beamed, his fists clenching before him in triumph. “So you’ll help me overthrow your boss?

“N-no, I won’t betray To’Achuu... But if there is a way I can convince him to step down and promise a better future for our people, then… I’ll do it. For a better future for everybody,” he clarified, a tiny smile appearing at the end of his feminal muzzle.

Although it wasn’t quite the answer he was expecting, Spike still found elation at his reply; his chest becoming warm with something beside dragonfire. “Great! This makes us partners then.”

“Partners…” Dansaar echoed, his smile enlarging. “I like that.”

Spike thrust his hand up towards Dansaar, his open palm beckoning the embrace of another. Dansaar stared at the extended limb for a few moments, his smile fading before it returned in understanding. The zebra knelt down slightly to reach the dragon’s stubby limb, grasping the scaly hand and shaking it, both smiling as they solidified their partnership before breaking it - pact solidified.

Spike, satisfied, let loose a breath - safe in the knowledge there was at least one other he could depend on to try and put things back to normal… until Dansaar stood and immediately started fumbling with the string of his loincloth.

“Uh, what are you doing?” asked the dragon with inflamed cheeks, stepping back as the zebra began sheepishly untying the knot on his loincloth.

“I was going to wait but now seemed like the right time,” he answered casually, the simple brown length of cloth falling gracefully from his waist to the floor at his hooves.

Spike wasn’t so naive as to not know the direction Dansaar was going to take things, and he’d be remiss if he was going to deny himself the chance but a virgin’s sexual confidence directly correlates with experience… which was none at all. ”But i-isn’t this sudden? What about dating, commitments - romance!” he spluttered, raising his hands, unsure whether to hide his eyes or not; opting to turn his head completely.

“Romance comes when I brand you with the Mallatoo. But, for the first time in my life, I want to be an Irra,” he insisted, wearing a mirthful smile - his legs jittering nervously as he gripped his arm, his knees touching. “This is me.”

Spike resisted his urge to look at first. Even though Dansaar’s attire left very little to the imagination before, the prospect of seeing all of Dansaar was too good to pass up, so Spike’s attempts to resist staring proved futile she slowly set his gazes back on the zebra to greedily drink in the sight of him.

His loincloth never did a good job of covering anything but his more intimate parts, but Spike couldn't help himself from taking it all in with a new, entirely sexual, light. His feminine chest was the first thing he latched onto. Smooth and flat, his pecs capped with small black nipples which Spike could vividly picture running his tongue over. Despite his lithe frame, he was enviously lean, his muscles defined, a chiselled example of masculine beauty. That being said, his hips were unusually wide for a stallion, remarkably fertile looking. Even from behind, Spike could still see Dansaar’s pair of large slappable asscheeks, and downward glance afforded him a look at his quivering legs - his thighs deliciously plump.

Last but certainly not least, Spike centered his gaze on what was hiding under the stallion’s loincloth. Hanging semi-limp from his wrinkled black sheath was Dansaar’s stallionhood. Spike had seen the wrist-thick cocks of various stallions of numerous stallions from his secret magazines back home, and although the size of the tool before him was nowhere close, the real life perspective afforded to it gave the ebony length a very distinct charm of its own. Under Spike’s gaze it twitched rather lewdly, the above-average length as cute as its wielder, although Spike wouldn’t openly admit to that. The pose in which Dansaar displayed himself was rather odd, trying to both cover up his bared cock and show it off at the same time, which led to him awkwardly standing there with his knees pressed together, his black sack looking tight and rounded on his thick thighs.

“Y-you’re… you’re so hot,” Spike said, at a loss for words. He tried to summon more, but it just resulted in his mouth opening and closing itself, his face turned a deeper and deeper shade of red with every passing second.

Dansaar’s gaze shied away, blushing bright pink. “T-thank you. You’re quite, a, um… hot temperature yourself.”

“T-technically I’m cold blooded,” he corrected, grinning sheepishly. He might have been ‘cold blooded’, but that didn’t mean that blood flowing to his cock wasn’t as hot as magma, his libido kickstarted by the jaw-dropping sight of the zebra before him. Just as the focused sight encouraged the zebra’s cock to gradually harden, so too did his cock begin to peak from its genital slit…

“Are you getting… h-hard?” Dansaar asked tentatively, his widened eyes falling to the curious sight of a dragon’s growing erection; the black shaft throbbing visibly harder at the sight.

“S-so are you!” Spike retorted, grinning sheepishly, his hands clenched furtively at his sides as his pointed cocktip emerged from between his thighs.

Spike’s cock tip broke the surface and, with every inch it grew, Spike noticed Dansaar’s face slowly get more and more hopeless. Spike winced, unlooking.. He was always somewhat self-conscious of his endowment. Being the only dragon in an overwhelming community of ponies left him feeling a little squeamish on what the eventual reaction to his cock would be. The tapered tip, the ridges along the underside and the knotty base was quite alien to the rather simplistic flared column of a stallionhood in comparison. Jutting forward from Spike’s waist, the weight of the pink organ caused it to sway and hang but a few inches from the ground, preemptively drooling a small stream of precum beneath it.

Spike, up until his cock had fully left its slit, had shied his gaze away from the zebra, not quite ready to take in Dansaar’s reaction to his foreign instrument. When he summoned the courage to settle his eyes back on the zebra, he was crestfallen to see Dansaar’s eagerness shatter into a million pieces. The crushed expression on his face was akin to the feeling Spike felt in his chest, the crestfallen zebra almost enough to crush his ego.

“N-no, it can’t be!” Dansaar uttered his disbelief, his legs quivering under the weight of the discovery. “But y-you’re… you’re…”

Spike didn’t know what face to wear at Dansaar’s reaction.Should he be sad or angry? He didn’t know, his face settling for neutral. “What’s wrong?” he asked, monotone.

Dansaar looked on the verge of tears. "I’m… smaller."

“Huh?” Spike cocked a brow, looking down to his cock in reaction. He was a few heads smaller than the zebra, so the impressive size of his appendage was somewhat accentuated by that, which Spike already knew. Admittedly, Spike knew next to nothing about his own member, other than its shape, that it felt good to touch and that Twilight’s red-faced and stuttering reply of its ‘average’ size left him content knowledge-wise regarding it. He had attempted some comparisons with the dicks in the magazine, but a cock-to-page comparison wasn’t exactly ‘accurate’ by any means. A quick glance to the above-average length of the zebra adjacent to him and then his own again, allowed him to deduce that he was almost double the length, the thickness of the two rods were not even close. Spike’s cheeks became red once again, trying to bat down his pride and raised his palm up in assurance. "Hey, that doesn’t matter to me! And besides, haven’t you heard the saying? It’s not the size that matters, it’s how use-"

“No, you don’t understand! I’m not an Irra, not when my chosen is more… endowed, than I am,” he revealed with a bite of his lip, looking back down at the pink, ridged and knotty organ. Now, fully erect, Dansaar’s black length twitched before Spike, eager despite the owner’s worry.

"Uh… what?" Spike crossed his arms over his scaly chest, his serious pose undercut by the elephantine organ throbbing between his legs.

“You’re huge.” Dansaar’s voice was flat, not at all happy about the fact.

Even though Spike’s cock pulsed mightily at the remark, swelling a bit thicker, Spike wore an unsure expression as he allowed himself to accept the compliment. “Uh… thanks?”

“That’s not a good thing! It’s bad, very bad! Especially for me.”

“Why?”

"Because in our society, when your… thingis smaller than your bonded, it means you are the lesser of the two. The submissive one. The… inferior. That’s what I meant before when I said our position was dictated by size," he explained, frowning.

"But... I don't think you are inferior…" “And besides,

"I thought I could escape my role here. But you can’t escape what you are..." As Dansaar spoke, the heaviness behind his words almost permeated as a weight on his shoulders, causing him to fall back to the bed, landing on his plush rear; his cock softening a little under the stress; which made Spike feel awkward, considering he was still solid as rock. “I’ll never be an Irra.”

"W-well, you're the only guy around who knows I’m the biggest between us,” he pointed out, his still throbbing erection jutting out before him like an obscene limb.

“Yeah, so?” Dansaar piqued a brow, failing to see what the dragon was getting at.

"Why don't you just be the Irra anyway? I mean, you won’t be hearing any complaints from me.” He shrugged his shoulders.

Spike’s casual reply was heavily contrasted with the wide-eyed stare and sharp gasp from the zebra, his eyes looking upon Spike as though he was insane, perhaps a genius - or both. "B-but that goes against every tradition of my homeland!"

"Eh, I don’t see sand around here - do you?" replied Spike, waggling his eyebrows.

Dansaar tightened his lips, speaking quietly soon after. “N-no…”

“Because it’s not your homeland. This is Equestria - we have a chaos god chillin it in a cottage filled with animals; we solve ethnic and territorial disputes with pie fights and we build cities on the clouds. You’d be an outsider if you didn’t do things differently!” Spike spoke with visible pride, puffing out his chest and nodding firmly with each example.

“Y-you’re… you’re not wrong.” Dansaar blushed at Spike’s enthusiasm, smiling bashfully. “But you would do that? There’s a lot to be a Jala in public. Y-you might get ridiculed by others in the tribe.”

“‘Course I would,” Spike answered, clicking his fingers. Whilst that did sound bad, he was much more focused on the short-over-long term. Regardless, he looked triumphant as he gave the zebra an encouraging smile, seeing a modicum of happiness return to his face. “Then say it out loud: What are ya?”

“An Irra…” he responded quietly, a teeny smile appearing on his muzzle.

Spike, pretending not to hear, directed his ear towards him. “I’m sorry, what was that?”

“I am an Irra,” he confirmed, a little more resolved but not fully committed.

“Huh?” Spike learned towards him, cupping his ear playfully.

“I am an Irra!” Dansaar declared, loud and proud as he stood back up, his humble cock re-engorging with hot blood.

Spike licked his lips at the sight, rubbing his hands together. The above-average black mast elongated back to its prior length, the veins pushing to the surface of the turgid black skin as not only did the fires of his confidence rekindled - as did his arousal. Since it was the first cock his virginal eyes had seen in the flesh, it immediately shot the shortlist in his mind of the greatest things he had ever seen. His own ‘humble’ length throbbed eagerly, his eyes glancing upwards expectantly at the fired-up zebra.

“Is this the part where we sex now?” Spike could feel his heart hitting his ribcage, his stubby legs jittering with excitement.

“Yes!” Dansaar’s compliance left his mouth like a bullet, his clenching tight as he met the dragon’s fiery gaze with one of his own…

Dansaar and Spike lay in bed together, shoulder to shoulder, awkwardly looking to the ceiling of the room. Their erections still stood tall at the junction of their thighs, pointing straight up towards the same ceiling they were both staring at.

“So… what are we supposed to do now?” Spike asked suddenly, breaking the lingering silence. “I’ve uhh… never done this before.”

“Me neither,” admitted Dansaar, chewing the inside of his cheek. “I know the b-basics. I’ve… w-watched. I know that you start with foreplay, but what do you do before that?”

"Whatever comes natural to ya, I think..." Spike returned, prepared to roll onto his side and look at the zebra directly before realising it would just result in his wrist-thick cock slapping into his friend’s thigh. Although, at this point, ‘friend’ didn't adequately describe their new relationship.

After Spike said his piece, the awkward silence returned to smother them both. It felt inescapable for them both. Occasionally their skewed glances would steal the looks of each other’s still persisting erection, continuing to inflame their own libidos and thus keeping them rock-hard. However, just as they would steal another look, their eyes would accidentally meet and they would immediately shoot their gazes back to the ceiling. The unforeseen side effect of this however was that it only made their throbbing members even harder.

Dansaar swallowed, determined to end the torturous cycle. "So… what do you know about… the, uhh…” he trailed off, not entirely sure what he was going to ask and not sure why he spoke at all, cringing internally.

"Sex?” Spike finished, much to Dansaar’s relief. “Not much. I mean, I have a bunch of mags at home… but Twilight always tells me that kinda stuff sets ‘unrealistic expectations’, whatever that’s supposed to mean. Plus, they’re just pin-ups, they don't really show me how it uhh… works," he explained, looking at Dansaar with a lopsided grin.

"Mags? What are mags?" Dansaar asked, raising his brow.

"Uh, ‘mags’ is short for magazines,” informed Spike.

“Oh, magazines! As in reading material?”

“Ha, if anyone who says they read those things just for the articles is full of it!” Spike retorted, snorting. “I mean, there are some words, sure. But if your eyes are focused on them instead of what’s next to them, something’s wrong with you.”

“Oh. So what’s exactly in these so-called ‘mags’?” Dansaar asked, sincerely interested.

“Pictures. A ton of ‘em. And just any pictures, but-” Spike lowered his voice to a whisper, leaning towards Dansaar, “-lewd pictures.”

“Lewd… pictures? I don’t understand.”

“Well, they’re pictures you can whack-it to - uh, masturbate,” Spike clarified, glancing to see Dansaar’s blush intensify, his eyes momentarily flicking to the still throbbing erection sprouting between Spike’s thighs. “A-and there’s plenty to choose from!” Spike exclaimed, stealing back the zebra’s attention from his thick dick. “I’ve got one full of unicorn mares, one full of dragons, one all about the princesses using changeling models-”

“Like Thorax!” Dansaar interjected, smiling at remembrance.

“Uh, um…” Spike felt his cheeks burn at his friend’s name, a momentary flash of the changeling in question posing as provocatively as one of the models in his memory, one second disguised as one of the princesses, and another undisguised.

Shaking his head for a second to clear his head of his sexy friend, he raised a hand, starting to count off examples on his claws. “Anyway, there’s another dragon one, one that is just a drawing of Rarity which I… probably need to burn now. I’ve got one with deer - and before you ask, yes, the bucks are better than the hinds,” Spike clarified despite being unprompted, not noticing Dansaar’s bemused smile. “I got one that has yaks. One full of Pegasi twinks-" Spike meandered on, continuing on the other hand before coming back to the old as he kept listing them off. He kept talking for what seemed like minutes on end each recollection prompting his cock to pulse at the memory, his mind thinking back to the many poses and alluring gestures on each and every page. The sight of his twitching tubesteak kept Dansaar rigid, his attention split between the dragon’s eager dick and Spike’s recounting.

Seeing Spike’s dick react to the trove of smut in his mind got him understandably curious, his mouth becoming noticeably dry. “S-so what exactly do they, uh, do in these pictures?”

“One with a footlong do-” Spike interrupted himself as a blush appeared on his cheeks. Suddenly bashful, he averted his face away from the zebra beside him. “Oh, you know. Poses and stuff. Ass down, face up. Parted thighs, hands around their dick, that kinda thing.”

“I s-see…” Dansaar replied, a blush quickly coming to his face as lewd thoughts appeared in his head.

“But if there’s more than one…” Spike trailed off, quickly silenced as his entire face turned from purple to a deep red.

“More than one?” The zebra asked, mystified.

“Yeah, sometimes they might have more than one model on the page - a double feature! But uh-”

“What do they do?”

“Well, ya know… stuff.”

“Can you… show me?”

Spike gulped, his lips pursing. He knew constant masturbation and porno-mag reading would pay off eventually! “W-well, usually, they start by kissing.”

“K-kissing?”

“Y-yeah. You can usually see their tongues and stuff.”

“S-should we… kiss?” Dansaar’s reply was slow and full of uncertainty.

Spike gulped again, realising just how dry his throat was. Looking to Dansaar, he saw wetted lips, a place to slake his parchedness. There was something of a wordless agreement between them as their hands met, joining them together at the slight gap that existed between them. Spike’s hand was a smidge too small to perfectly interlock with Dansaar’s own, resorting to simply hooking index fingers as they looked fondly into each other’s eyes. Spike was the first to turn onto his side, the tip of his erection scraping across Dansaar’s smooth stomach, smearing a bead of his a liquid bead of musk across the zebra who followed suit at the same time. Despite the awkwardness that was prevalent before, so long as they maintained eye contact, they could ignore how close each of their stiff organs were from making lewd contact with one another.

A pause lingered for a moment but the tide of passion carried Spike’s next moves. With all the grace of a trout on land, Spike crawled - or rather flopped - over towards Dansaar whilst keeping their digits interlocked. Spike found his way onto Dansaar’s chest, his smaller frame as noticeable as a feather on the zebra’s ribcage.

“You feel warm… and smooth,” Dansaar remarked, cracking a nervous grin.

“I can feel your heartbeat… it’s fast,” replied Spike, smiling shyly.

The two looked deeply into one another’s eyes for a few lingering moments. They differed in colour, the emerald green of Spike clashing with the amethyst purple of Dansaar, yet they shared one yet very important thing in common: the passionate fire that grew behind them both. Their single finger interlock tightened as the inevitable neared.

“I’m going to kiss you now.” Spike was direct, unwavering despite the fluttering of butterflies in his belly.

“A-and I’m ready to receive you, J-Jala,” Dansaar replied, swallowing. Spike might have been almost half his size and a self-ascribed inferior, but looming over him as he did, he was a colossus.

Slowly, Spike lowered his head down to Dansaar’s. Their lips smooshed together, an innocent kiss… at first. But soon after their lips parted, and they locked lips. Their tongues were slow to meet to begin with, like snakes exploring a new habitat, they flinched away from one another. Soon enough though, the dragon’s forked tongue slithered past Dansaar’s lips, meeting the zebra’s tongue and engaging in a friendly duel. At first, Spike’s tongue managed to easily force dominance over the zebra’s wider, more flat muscle. However, in a surprising twist bolstered by arousal or his duty as an Irra, Dansaar began fighting back with much more intensity; forcing Spike’s tongue to back off, taking the battle to the dragon’s maw instead.

Their chests stayed together as they continued to battle with mouths, but that did not discount the opening of other fronts. Spike’s hips moved on their own, reangling his draconic cock as he ground it against Dansaar’s coat. His pulsing dragon-cock felt piping hot against the zebra’s body, the salacious organ spurting an excess of the eager dragon’s liquid-musk against his coat. From Spike alone, the strong aroma of sex began to waft in the air but he wasn’t alone. Dansaar’s black bulb stained the dragon’s scales with sticky-wet spots, the alien sensation of his cock against the warm scales provoked a throaty yet pleasured moan down Spike’s throat.

However, just like their tongues, the aching hardness of each soon met against one another in a pleasurable friction. Both stopped their fighting tongues to let out a pleasured howl down each other’s gullets. Spike took that as a sign to keep going of course, gyrating his hips downwards against the twitching rod of Dansaar, his comparatively larger and ridged organ smothering the smaller black cock with a thick slab of pink dickmeat. The cocks pulsed against one another, for whilst the battle raged in their mouths, the twin dicks had achieved a peace treaty of softs - roughly yet slowly grinding over one another in a pleasurable back and forth.

Rather than explore with hands or eyes, learning of the other’s endowment through their own was a unique experience. Spike could feel that Dansaar’s flesh was turgid, rough yet soft like divine black velvet. However, in contrast, Dansaar noticed that Spike’s cock was smooth, the surface soft like silk yet when they pressed he knew right away that the soft flesh was hiding a hard steel rod beneath. Somehow, despite the massive differences in appearance, their two organs seemed to near meld against one another perfectly. Whilst Spike’s knot ran over the plump circumference of Dansaar’s stallionhood, the sensitive flare of Dansaar’s veiny shaft bumped over the dick ridges - both males climbing ever closer to the peak of their ecstasy.

Fueled by their bliss, the pair felt less anxious about sending their - free - hand to roam. Whilst Spike was a bit more limited, he sent his hand to grasp the zebra’s shoulder for more leverage, liking the feeling of the stallion’s soft coat under his fingers. Meanwhile, in a surprisingly forward move, Dansaar’s hand trailed down Spike’s back. Without seeing, Dansaar soon realised where his fingers were, sinking them into the dragon’s soft, scaly butt. Whilst not as bodacious as his own, the dragon’s plush booty planted the seed for possible ideas for the future. However, with Spike’s added leverage, Dansaar couldn’t dwell on the thought for long. With added control, Spike managed to thrust his hips back and forward, digging into some instinctual part of him that told him what he was doing was right. With the increased pace, their musky pre started to pool together, mixing into a dense obscene cocktail over the zebra’s stomach and chest.

Spike and Dansaar held onto each other for dear life as they moved against each other, the added pre making their organs slick and slippery, removing all friction but allowing them to go much faster. The ridges, knots and medial rings alone were enough to strike at each other’s pleasure centres, the pangs of ecstasy putting each of them on the edge of orgasm. In the throes of their pleasure race, Spike yanked his head back, taking a couple deep breaths, even as his hips continued pistoning back and forth. He stared down Dansaar, who looked up at him with a tired, meek smile, panting through his parted lips. His face so red Spike couldn’t even see the stripes, and that expression was far hotter than any magazine pin-up. On that thought alone, Spike smashed his lips back with Dansaar’s, passionately fencing their tongues once again as Spike determinedly pushed them closer to ecstasy.

Dansaar was first to seize up unsurprisingly, his scream of ecstasy muffled only by Spike’s lips. An untold amount of a zebra jizz was pent up within his nuts, the taut pair of latex wrapped eggs flexed in time to the pulses of his cock. The first rope of his thick seed spurted against the underside of Spike’s still grinding shaft, the second and third rapidly following. The feel of the warm, creamy load against his dick was what pushed Spike over the edge, the shoulder grasping hand sliding into a hug as he pulled Dansaar into a deep, almost possessive kiss. He refused to let go, his dick pulsing strongly against the zebra’s smaller organ before blasting his thick ropes over their chests and bellies, the weakest spurts covering the zebra’s cock in a few white strings.

It was only when they both crashed down from the peak of the climax did they both fall limp in each other’s holds, Spike releasing an uncharacteristic purr when their lips to breath and refusing to end their hug. Dansaar soon mimicked the dragon, raising his squeezing hand from Spike’s ass to similarly embrace him with a single arm. For several minutes they laid there like that, panting and holding each other tight. With the other hand, they still kept contact with the other, too fatigued to notice that Spike’s fingers were now able to fit into the empty spaces between Dansaar’s own…

“That was great.” Dansaar commented, still recapturing his breath, voice quiet.

“You were great,” Spike laundered with a grin, exposing one fang as he did so to the zebra’s blushing countenance. He let out a yawn soon after, pressing his cheek down dotingly on the zebra’s chest, letting out a contented sigh. “Okay… nap time.”

“Oh ho, no you don’t!” Dansaar exclaimed, pushing the sticky dragon off his similarly sticky chest.

“W-what? We’re not gonna conserve our energy after that? We don’t live forever ya know,” Spike started groggily, rubbing one eye as the zebra enthusiastically clambered off the bed.

“C’mooooon.” The zebra jibed in a manner hard not to find cute, tugging at the dragon's feet to try and make him rise. “We have to go somewhere.”

“To where?” Spike asked as Dansaar’s furious tugging pulled him to the edge of the bed.

“Well, I’m an Irra now, and we just consummate that fact!” he answered cheerily, wrapping his hand around the dragon’s ankle.

“Uh… So?” Spike didn’t want to go but he was also too weak to combat the zebra’s surge of energy, being limply pulled closer to the bed’s edge by his ankles.

“Soooo... I wanna s-show off my Jala!” Dansaar cried as he came closer and close to bringing the dragon to his feet by pulling at his hands.

Spike sighed as his legs hung over the edge of the bed. He had seen this before. Well, not personally, but Rarity’s numerous recounts of how her wealthy ‘marefriends’ showed off their ‘trophy colts’ certainly sparked a thought of familiarity. Still, he felt his chest flush. Dansaar just wanted to show off his new coltfriend, and that touching fact combined with Spike’s admittedly existent ego meant that he simply couldn’t refuse. “Urg, fine. Let me clean up first, “ he mumbled, sliding off the bed to stand up..

However, upon standing, he flinched at the same time Dansaar did. Spike’s brows furrowed as the zebra looked him over as though he were a stranger, cupping his own chin after a few moments.

“What?” Spike asked, crossing his arms.

“Did… d-did you get taller?”

Author's Note

Sorry this took so long ;(

Pwease forgive us

👉👈

Questions and Corrections:

It had been a week since the Zebra ‘coup’, and things in the Empire were still, somehow, stable. To’Achuu had, in a rather cutthroat maneuver, banned any and all palace staff from reporting on what had happened with Cadance to the outside world as he formulated a way to make it go over better with the ponies he now ruled.

Through the halls of the crystal palace strode Shining Armor. He looked downtrodden and glum, but that was to be expected after what had happened. But, as time went on, he found himself less and less apprehensive about what had happened just a week before. The dawning realization that little had actually changed had become more and more apparent as the days dragged on. He was still the Crystal Empire’s second in command, his daughter was still the Heir, and his people still looked to him with respect and admiration. All that had changed was who he was sleeping with at night.

To’Achuu. Admittedly, Shining Armor had found himself growing more and more attached to the zebra chieftain, even though he seemed to become more and more awkward with every day they were together. After the first night, there had been no more coitus, ruling an Empire was hard work, especially when you had to learn how to do it practically from scratch. As such, To’Achuu had been forced to sequester himself in his office or their bedroom for hours at a time.

Shining had noticed since their first night together that the zebra was becoming more and more withdrawn whenever they talked. Avoiding the unicorn's gaze, or changing the topics of conversation often whenever a question of the zebra’s past came up. Though, unlike when Cadance had done it, this time he knew something was up. Though, it seemingly wasn’t malicious, which put the unicorn at ease.

Shining furrowed his brows together. Something was up with that zebra, and he’d figure out what. And to do that, he’d go to the one zebra who he knew for a fact was close enough to To’Achuu to answer his questions. Hajaa, the second in command.

The unicorn wore a stoic face as he marched through the halls, trying not to make eye contact with any of the other stallions he passed. So much had changed in the past week. Love - or whatever it could be called - permeated the halls of the castle far more than they had before the zebra’s arrival. He saw stallions pushed against the wall with their lips locked in brutal skirmishes with their Jala or Irra, others simply walked the halls with their fingers intertwined. He passed by doors, his ears picking up either conversations or the unmuted sounds of sex that not even five-inch thick doors could completely muffle.

As far as he knew, such open displays of affection went beyond the walls of the castle, although the decency laws prevented them from being too intimate. Whilst he was sure most ponies thought it strange, there wasn’t yet a mob marching down on the castle so the secret of who was really pulling the city’s strings was still in the shadows. Cadance’s disappearance from the limelight was rather easy to hide, all things considered. Ironically, it was his own silence that helped to assuage things. If he wasn’t panicking about the whereabouts of his wife, why should they?

Still, it wasn’t only love that blossomed in the halls, and he had to give some thanks to that as to why secrecy was maintained. Friendship, the echoed result of harmony flowered between much of the city’s populace and the tribe. Lust and love wasn't the only thing that permeated themselves in the air. As it turned out, despite being off-limits bedroom-wise, an amicable bond was slowly but surely being formed between the zebras and castle’s inhabitants, both those in the know of what happened to their princess and those who were left in the dark. The bonds of friendship. They weren’t as loud as the couplings, possessing a tad more subtlety than was expected of open adore. He saw a few on his way to Hajaa’s room.

He saw a female member of staff and a zebra stallion, arms locked as they laughed about something known only to them. After that he passed by a small mixture of stallions, both zebra and pony, proving that the words ‘platonic’ and ‘straight’ still existed within the local vocabulary as they conversed amongst themselves. The thought that every stallion the zebras encountered would immediately alter their preferences was an idea on par with the depraved fantasies of the deposed Princess. Although he would never admit it aloud, the sight of such bonhomous bonds gave him some relief. If he pushed his worry deep down, he allowed himself to adorn a very small and very subdued smile. Maybe things would be better without Cadance. Maybe things would return to some sense of normalcy eventually.

Shining suddenly became aware of the pitter-patter of feet behind him, which tore him from his thoughts. He quickly stepped aside as a pair of purple scaly legs passed by, delicately balancing a rather large pile of objects that hid the one carrying them. Excessive amounts of cloth, the glint of various needles, a whole ball of string, and a large bucket of black paint. He instantly recognized them as Spike, but something pretty odd caught his attention. Spike looked taller. Way taller. Just a week ago the young drake only came up to Shining’s chest, but now he looked almost equal to the stallion in height. It was actually rather disconcerting.

Shining pursed his lips as he let the dragon pass him by. He didn’t want to interrupt whatever the drake had planned or distract him and make him spill what he was carrying all over the floor. The cleaning staff would never forgive him for letting that much paint spill everywhere…

Shining let out a sigh and shook his head as the dragon turned a corner. No doubt Spike was up to something. He’d probably have to have a chat with him later.

When he arrived at Hajaa’s door, he paused to take a breath, his hand balling into a fist. He steeled himself before he knocked. A minute passed. Then another. No response. He knew Hajaa was in there, the light was on and he saw shadows moving under the door handle. He sighed as he grabbed the door handle.

The zebra probably wouldn’t mind if he just entered, right?

That thought was instantly squashed the second he stepped inside the room. Hajaa was standing at the foot of the bed, holding Thorax up by his legs in a full nelson position. They were both completely nude, Hajaa’s rod firmly hilted within the changeling’s boy box. Said changeling was also full mast, sufficiently coated in pre-cum, his arms tied behind his back so that he was completely at his Irra’s mercy. His face was entirely an extremely deep shade of blue, and his mouth sat open, panting.

Then the two of them noticed him. Thorax let out a rather high-pitched squeal as he desperately tried to slam his legs closed to hide his shame, squirming and writhing. Hajaa by contrast just stared at Shining with a look of pure annoyance. He noticeably didn't try to hide anything, let go of his Jala or even pull out.

“Sweet Celestia!” Shining said, covering his eyes and turning his head away from the two.

“Did it not cross your mind at all that we were busy when we didn’t answer your knocks?” Hajaa hissed as he tightened his grip on the writhing changeling, forcing his legs open again. Thorax let out a whimper of embarrassment as his rod was uncovered as his thighs were spread by Hajaa’s powerful arms. Hajaa ground his hips from side to side as he adjusted his stance, causing Thorax to bite his bottom lip and flatten his ears against his head. The ling closed his eyes and looked away from Shining, a stifled moan escaping his gritted teeth. Hajaa couldn’t help but smirk as he watched the display in the mirror in the room’s corner.

“I am so sorry, I’ll leave!” Shining blurted as he made his way towards the door; stopped by Hajaa’s pointed groan.

“You’ve already forced yourself in,” Hajaa hissed as he started to slowly buck his hips in and out of his Jala, who only shivered and shook, his head rolling from side to side as he did. “Might as well stay. Besides, only an insecure Irra is afraid to be seen pleasuring his Jala.”

Thorax’s eyes widened in alarm, and he tried to speak between his pants, looking back over his shoulder. “W-wait. What abou-”

Hajaa stopped him by running his tongue up his blade-like horn causing the ‘ling’s eyes to roll back into his head as his entire body tensed up in rhythm with the movements of the zebra’s tongue.

“Hush,” Hajaa ordered with a whisper shortly after he retracted his tongue into his mouth. “I want to see how you ‘perform’ with an audience.”

His voice only made Thorax shiver and moan, pressing his back into the zebra’s chest. The closeness it afforded was all he needed to bring his heartbeat down and tune Shining out… after all, what kind of Jala was embarrassed to be seen with their Irra?

Shining grit his teeth, inhaled then exhaled, and closed the door to the room, straightening up and lowering his hand. If zebras were apparently so open during sex, he might as well get used to seeing it right? He turned over to look at the two as Hajaa kept up his slow purposeful thrusts. He couldn’t help but bite his lips as he looked the shy and timid changeling he thoughthe knew up and down.

This was honestly the first time he had seen him in a week. The first thing that caught his eyes were the white stripes that covered the ‘ling from head to toe. They almost made him look like a zebra… just one that was black with black stripes instead of the other way around… and had bug eyes, vampire-like fangs, and a sharply curved horn.

Next, he noticed that the changeling had gained some weight since the last time he had seen him. While before the ‘ling had had sunken cheeks, a pale glint to his carapace and visible ribs underneath his somewhat stretchy carapace, now he was completely absent of all signs of his previous fate as an outcast. He hadn’t gained enough weight to look pudgy, but he did indeed look more full, with thicker thighs, for one.

And what thighs they were… Shining found himself inexplicably drawn to the sight of the small ‘ling being so thoroughly dominated. He felt his heart jump with every one of the zebra’s slow, powerful thrusts. Thrusts that made the entire ling’s body quiver and shake every time the two touched ass to hips. His eyes followed the contours of the ling’s stomach up to his flat chest before locking with the Jala’s.

Thorax looked like he was in rapture, his eyes rapidly focusing then unfocusing, barely paying attention to Shining, as if he was only vaguely aware the unicorn was there. Nothing in the world mattered to him right now, only that he was with his Irra and that his Irra loved him. The aroma of it emanated off the zebra like a thick cloud forcing its way into his nostrils, blinding him to everything except for the pleasure he felt being held so closely. And bred so assiduously.

Then finally Shining’s eyes raised slightly higher, locking with Hajaa’s amber gems. The zebra stared back at him, a smug, prideful, smile on his face. Shining could almost hear Irra’s thoughts. It was as if he was saying to him; ‘Yeah, that’s right. He’s mine.’ Shining felt like his pants were about to fly open on their own…

“Clearly you didn’t come here to silently watch,” Hajaa said with a laugh, breaking Shining out of his lust-fueled thoughts. “And you ponies are far too straight-laced to ask to join in. Not that I’d let you. I want to keep my Jala to myself… for now.”

Shining instantly straightened up, clearing his throat. “Oh... urm… yes. Sorry I was just…”

Hajaa chuckled as he suddenly stopped his thrusts mid-way - an act which made Thorax let out a high-pitched whine, shaking his hips from side to side. “Staring, yes I know. You should be thankful I am not from one of the southern tribes. They are very picky about no one looking upon their Jalas. Now then, what is it you want?” His voice was somewhat stern, but Shining could tell otherwise. Hajaa loved every second of what was happening.

“W-well I had a question I thought you could answer,” the unicorn started, nodding his head slightly. “But… well… Let’s just say I have more than one now.”

“Oh? Well then ask away. Not like a couple of questions will harm anyone.” Hajaa curtly responded as he resumed his thrusts, an act which made his Jala moan in appreciation, pressing himself even more against the zebra’s chest.

Shining inhaled. Though it was rather hard to think given his current… predicament, he thought it best to start with the least harmless of his questions and work up from there. He didn’t know much about zebra culture, so he didn’t know what was offensive or not to them. Better to err on the side of caution, probably best not to offend the seven-foot-something slab of muscle that was Hajaa…

“Is this all you two have been doing for the past week?” He asked, looking the two up and down again. With how easily Hajaa was slipping out of the changeling’s quivering hole, it wasn’t hard to guess that was the case…

“Of course not!” Hajaa replied with an almost offended tone, a frown forming on his face. “We are not animals, we have taken frequent breaks to hydrate and bathe. And I have made sure that it doesn’t cut into our sleeping.” Shining let out a silent gasp as Hajaa made a particularly hard thrust that made Thorax throw his head back, letting out a silent scream of ecstasy. The unicorn bit his lip once more as the changeling’s hips squirmed to and fro, his dick bouncing up and down and his chest heaving.

“A-gain Hajaa!” Thorax slurred in a loud and desperate tone, shaking like an addict mid withdrawal. “P-please do that again!”

The changeling suddenly took it upon himself to throw his hips back, impaling himself upon Hajaa’s mast. The zebra suddenly braced himself, tightening his grip around the Jala's legs and putting a forceful stop to his every movement.

“Look what you made me do! I was trying to maintain a consistent rhythm,” he hissed, turning his gaze to Shining, who was merely watching with a red face, his legs pressed together to hide his erection. Hajaa chuckled, rolling his eyes.

“We have admittedly been doing this quite a lot this week,” Hajaa started with a smile. “I have just wanted to explore every single inch of my Jala. Find out how I can best drive him feral. If you think he’s into it now, you should see how he acts when I hogtie him down and stick my tongue in his-”

“Arg! No no no!” Shining suddenly covered his ears. “My picture of Thorax as an innocent and pure changeling has already been shattered by the past few minutes, please let me at least keep a tiny portion of it intact,” he cried. Hajaa looked at him with a smirk before rolling his eyes.

“Your loss,” Hajaa responded dryly. “But if you stick around for too long I am going to show you exactly what I mean.”

Shining Armor shuddered. He decided he should probably change the subject and fast. He quickly straightened up, looking Thorax over once more, his eyes quickly locking on the changeling’s new stripes.

“So, what’s with the stripes?” He asked, rubbing the back of his head.

“I branded Thorax to mark him as mine,” Hajaa explained as ran his gaze along one of the changeling’s white lines. “I believe in time, To’Achuu will do the same to you if the two of you are going to be staying together.”

Shining Armor blushed. He looked Thorax up and down once more, only now noticing that the stripes that covered Thorax weren’t a transformation. They had the consistency and texture of paint. His face became redder as he thought it over, the idea of being striped… sounded nice all things considered…

Just then Thorax let out another squeal as Hajaa firmly embedded himself in the ling’s boybox.

“Just one more question,” Hajaa hissed between gritted teeth. “I’ve put off giving my Thorax my fullest attention for too long. Any longer and I’m afraid I am going to drive the poor bug insane.”

“R-right,” Shining said with a nod, inhaling deeply. “Sorry for taking up so much of your time.”

“It’s not me you should be apologizing too,” Hajaa responded. “You owe my Jala’s near saintly patience that you were allowed to ask these questions. At some point, I am going to have to ask you to pay him back for this.”

Shining did a double-take. “And what would that entail?”

Hajaa merely replied with a smug, mischievous grin.

Shining sighed and shook his head. “Of course…”

Not that he was against the idea of course. Watching the ‘ling get dicked down for minutes on end like he had, had given him a newfound appreciation for the bug’s more feminine features. He couldn’t help but look forward to it.
Still, he had questions that needed answering.

“How did you and To’Achuu meet?” He asked, simply. “And why were you two exiled?”

Hajaa instantly froze his thrusts, causing Thorax to once again whine. This time, Hajaa took no joy in toying with his Jala. He pursed his lips, closing his eyes.

“How did you-”

Shining sighed. “It’s pretty obvious. And I need to know why, so I can help your tribe stay here.” He said simply, shaking his head and putting his hands in his pockets.

Hajaa kept still for a second before he pulled Thorax off of him.

“Nohohohoh!” Thorax whimpered, shivering and shaking. He desperately tried to wrest himself free from Hajaa’s grasp, so he could return to being so close to the Zebra, but it didn’t work. “I was so close!”

“I will be right back.” Hajaa barked, setting the changeling down on the bed, face down, ass up. Shining pursed his lips and shuddered slightly when he saw the changeling’s gape, winking hungrily. Begging to be filled.

He was dragged from his thoughts when Hajaa pulled his pants on and gestured for the unicorn to follow him out of the room.

Shining glanced one last time at the ling, who was desperately trying to pull himself up to follow after his Irra, but with his arms bound behind his back, he could only squirm uselessly. Finally, he shook his head and followed Hajaa.

The zebra closed the door behind them, crossing his arms over his chest, and finally let out a long drawn-out sigh.

“I’m sorry. I just didn’t want my Thorax to hear this…” Hajaa said nervously. This was the first time Shining had ever seen the striped giant without the same confident and stern look. It was honestly rather disconcerting.

Silence reigned for a couple of seconds before he continued to speak.

“What did To’Achuu tell you about our homeland?” He said finally, staring down at Shining.

Shining was quick to respond. “Not much. Only that it was a temperate paradise for the most part. Oh, and that the Stallions and Mares are heavily segregated.”

Hajaa nodded. “Yes, dare I say that there are many stallions who have never even laid eyes on a mare before.” He said. Then he shook his head. “But it is not a paradise.”

Shining paused for a second. “It isn’t? But To’Achuu said…”

"The locale is close, I will admit - in fact, it's quite similar to Equestria in a number of ways, but the zebras are what taint it," Hajaa solemnly noted. "Some tribes, those large and strong enough, tend to settle down to form villages, yet most of my people are nomadic. The benefit of our homeland is that, due to the low population, there's no conflict over land - that said, they war over something else..."

Shining held his breath, waiting for the adonis to continue, and only spoke after a tense moment passed. "What do you mean?"

"People," Hajaa murmured, "they make war over people. If a stallion tribe ever tried to war against or conquer a female tribe, or vice versa, it is said the gods themselves would strike them down for their heresy. Not to mention the fact that every other tribe in existence, male and female, would likely gang up at once to punish them for their blasphemy.” Hajaa stated, turning his head to look away from him. “No, instead the tribes war to absorb the other’s members… by force.”

“Y-you mean slavery?” Shining asked, jaw dropping.

Hajaa was silent. “Many tribes simply absorb the conquered members as full members of the tribe. As family members. Others treat them like indentured servants, who can earn their freedom with work. But yes, some tribes treat the conquered members as chattel slavery. The stronger members become physical labor and the weaker ones…”

Hajaa paused, bringing a hand to his face.

“I was from one such tribe. Though in truth it was more like a kingdom. Qwarhe.” Hajaa said, running the hand down his head. It was obvious to Shining that these memories were still fresh in the zebra’s mind.

“We were the strongest stallion tribe in the west of Zebrica, spread across numerous villages, towns, and even cities, close to a million members in fact. I was young… and stupid. Like all other zebras we measured our status off of our size, and I was one of the largest. In the top one hundred, dare I say.” Hajaa spoke, staring blankly down the hall as he did, ignoring the unicorn in front of him. “As such, I thought I was invincible, a legend among my people who could do no wrong. So when I heard our Inkosi, or king in your language, was putting together a warband to battle a weak tribe near our borders, I signed on immediately, taking up a spear to follow.”

“I wanted glory and status. Power and fame. I thought battle would allow me to take my place at the top. I wasn’t told just who we were going to war with though.” Shining watched as a wave of primal anger started to boil in Hajaa’s eyes. “When battle was joined, I managed to lay my eyes upon our enemies. I was made to believe we were attacking a band of savage raiders who had been pillaging our villages. Instead, I was met with a band of hungry and thin scavengers, who barely looked like they knew which side to hold their spears.”

“The battle was short… and brutal. It was several thousand trained warriors, going against maybe a hundred novices. And then we moved on to the village they were trying to protect.” Hajaa suddenly looked down at his hooves. Shining noticed as he started to shake.

“The Inkosi had us round up every last villager in the center of town and line them up. They were hungry, scared, and terrified. Not a single one looked like a threat, not a single one raised their hands to resist us. They merely stared in terror as we ransacked their homes and dragged them to their fate. The Inkosi then separated them into two groups. The main villagers… and…” Hajaa trailed off as he struggled to inhale. “And every single Jala of the tribe, under the age of 30. He made it clear to the tribe that they were conquered now, and that they must either pay tribute to Qwarhe or die. Do you know what he demanded as a tribute?”

Shining was pale. He knew exactly what was asked. He merely stayed silent.

“The Jala’s were taken to the center of the village. Their hands were tied to the tops of posts, and they were completely stripped of all clothing. Then, the rest of the village was forced to watch as, in groups, the warriors took their turns taming the Jalas.” Hajaa struggled to get that word out. Hajaa’s breathing visibly became labored as he spoke, rage billowing up inside of him. “Zebra tribes are close, close enough as to see each other as one large family. So imagine how they felt seeing their friends and loved ones broken into subservience. Broken into obedient pets for their new conquerors.”

Hajaa suddenly let out a growl. “In truth, it was no different than what Cadance wanted to do to you,” he said, slowly trying to calm himself.

Hajaa shook his head. “I hated it. I hated every second I was forced to watch alongside the people who were supposed to be my enemies. Then my eyes locked on another zebra, a year younger than myself. As he was under 18, he was not yet an adult, and as such he wasn’t taken to be broken like the rest… but I knew he would be when my tribe returned the next year for more tribute… and so I simply blanked out. All I remember next was running away from the village, bringing him with me. We ran together for miles, then I carried him on my back for several more.”

“That night, as he sat around a fireplace together in the wilderness, I asked him who he was. He told me his name was Achuu, and that he was, in fact, next in line to become the chieftain of his tribe. He knew he could not go back… and neither could I. We were now exiles, tribeless. For we had abandoned our place the second we turned to run. Now, all we had were each other. The last thing we did that horrible night -” Hajaa turned and lowered his pants slightly, exposing his cutie mark-less thigh. “ - was remove each other's marks.”

Shining stayed quiet as Hajaa let out yet another sigh, staring up into the sky. “It was just us together in the end. We lived together in the woods as exiles for years, scavenging for food and water. Eventually, we met other exiles. Other zebras scattered to the wind by war, poverty, or worse. Escaped Jala slaves, Irras fleeing with their partners, sick elders, and wounded warriors abandoned by their tribes. As time went on, Achuu became a chief in his own right, a leader of a tribe of exiles. He took on a new title, To’Achuu. Though we often went hungry and thirsty, we had made a new tribe. A new family for those cast out.”

“As time went on, Qwarhe, alongside other tribes, started to see us as a threat. They sent bands of warriors into the wilds to hunt us down. Qwarhe wanted their escaped slaves back, and to kill the rest of us. We were forced to flee. Though we tried as best as we could to make sure no one was left behind, we lost… many. I can’t imagine what happened to those they caught.” Shining almost did a double-take when he saw Hajaa’s eyes start to water slightly. “Finally they caught us, cornering us on the border between Zebrica and the disparate Gryphon Kingdoms. The Gryphons sent armored knights to stop us from fleeing into their land, and the Zebra warriors were closing in on us.”

“It was our darkest hour, and just before they closed in on us, the gods themselves stepped in to save us,” Hajaa spoke simply, his head turning in the direction of the Crystal Empire’s dungeon. “Your wife sent us a letter, containing her official seal, alongside some rather unsavory photos. She wanted us to come to the Crystal Empire. All of us.”

“With her seal in hand, the Gryphons begrudgingly let us past and blocked the warriors instead. It was a long journey north, but eventually, we made it. With a little help from your trains and magic so we didn’t freeze to death up here, because might I say this place is freezing.” Hajaa shook his head wiping his eyes with his thumb and index finger. “You know what happened next.”

Shining sighed. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know,” he finally responded, scratching his neck. “You guys have had a hard time, huh?”

“Worry not. It honestly feels good to share this,” Hajaa said, recrossing his arms. “But I have to make this clear. There is nowhere left for us. If you can’t negotiate something to let us stay in Equestria…”

“Yeah, I know… a lot of pressure on me for that huh?” Shining asked, rubbing the back of his head.

“Sorry. If I could help I would,” Hajaa replied, shaking his head. “I doubt your princesses would listen to the word of one of the zebra’s most responsible for all of this.”

Shining shook his head. “What would happen if you were sent back to your homeland?”

Hajaa sighed. “To’Achuu and I would likely be killed immediately. Alongside many others in the tribe. Weaker members of the tribe, and escaped Jalas, like Dansaar and Qaruu, would be… tamed, just like the Jalas of To’Achuu’s previous tribe,” he explained, visibly starting to grind his teeth. “Not to mention the fact that many of your own subjects and friends would likely want to follow us. Qwarhe makes no distinction based on race for their slaves. Your people would likely have the same fate.”

Shining sighed. “I don’t know if Celestia would allow any of them to go with you,” he replied, shaking his head.

“Many would find a way… My Jala for instance.” Hajaa explained looking back into his room.

“Would you let him go with you?”

“No,” Hajaa replied instantly, seemingly not even thinking about it.

“Just the mere thought of seeing my Thorax tied to one of the taming poles, abused until he is broken and then taken as some raider’s trophy...” He growled, bawling his hands into fists. Shining watched as the zebra grit his teeth, a primal rage filling his amber eyes. It almost made the unicorn shudder.

Shining reached an arm up to grasp Hajaa by the shoulder. The unicorn merely gave him a silent nod. “Don’t worry. I won’t let that happen.”

Hajaa nodded down at the unicorn, gaze steeling. “I’ll hold you to that.”

There was a quiet pause before Hajaa straightened up and turned back to his room. “Now then, if that is all finished up, I have a Jala to get back to.”

Shining couldn’t help but blush again. He almost forgot that Thorax was waiting on them. “Ah yes, right. Please don’t let me keep you.”

Hajaa nodded and turned back and re-entered his room, closing the door behind him. Shining waited around for a second, fighting the urge to re-enter the room and watch before he shook his head and turned to walk away. He had more important business to attend to.

Shining groaned as he perched his head up on a table. He was in his office, trying desperately to rack his brain on what to do next. The only one who could possibly convince the people of the Crystal Empire to accept that Cadance had gone crazy and needed to be deposed was one of the other princesses, and there was no way any of them would accept that either.

Celestia was too attached to her niece to accept, for even the slightest second, that she might have gone crazy. She would assume that Shining had betrayed her and gone over to the dark side. Luna on the other hand had a habit of being paranoid and going gung ho into certain situations. She by contrast would probably assume the zebras, as alchemists, had sneaked some kind of mind control potion into the Crystal Empire’s water supply and then come in guns blazing.

He was caught in an unwinnable scenario.

There was one princess left. His sister. She would likely trust him, but at the same time, he had already been mind-controlled by someone trying to take him away from Cadance once before. Would she assume the same thing again? Then again, he had Spike, Sunburst, and Thorax to back up his story, alongside every other pony that had been in the throne room when Cadance had made her rant about zebra supremacy. It wasn’t just going to be his word against hers.

But at the same time, Twilight might assume that they had brainwashed Cadance to make her go on that rant. Shining paused for a second. For the briefest moment, he considered that possibility, but he instantly discarded it. Though he only knew To’Achuu and the other zebras for a couple of weeks now, at most, there was no way he could think for even a second that they were capable of something like that.

Shining Armor cleared his throat and lowered his gaze back to the blank sheet of paper in front of him. He paused for a second before he dipped his quill into its inkwell. He took a deep breath before he started writing. There was only one singular thing he could do to ensure the safety of his zebra friends… and zebra lover.

“Dear Sis,” he spoke aloud as he wrote. “Things in the empire have hit a snag. We have had a bit of a refugee issue involving a tribe of zebras, and I need you to come to Equestria at your earliest possible convenience. There is no rush, but something happened with Cadence. Flurry and I are alright, but I need a princess like yourself to sort things out. Take Care; your BBBFF.”

He paused for a second before he wrote one last addendum at the bottom of the page. He knew Twilight had a tendency to panic over stuff like that.

“P.S. Please don’t freak out when you get here. The issue is urgent, but it isn't the end of Equestria level.”

Shining silently gazed down at the letter, frowning. He couldn’t give out all the details yet, otherwise Twilight would go right to the other princesses, which would have defeated the purpose of the letter in the first place. No, he had to lay everything out to her when she got there in person. Shining took a second to check for any grammatical errors or missing punctuation or anything of that caliber, before he rolled the letter up into a scroll, hammered a wax seal onto it, and then stood up. He turned and started to make his way out of his office, a mix of fear and hope tugging at his chest. He gulped, then he opened his door.

Standing on the other side, with an arm raised to knock, was Flash Sentry, wearing a full suit of guard armor. The pegasus was quiet for a second before he cleared his throat.

“Sir, can I have a word?” he said matter of factly, back straight. Shining Armor was quiet for a second before he nodded.

“Uh, yes, come in soldier,” Shining replied, stepping aside and letting the pegasus in, who took a seat across him where he had previously been sitting. Shining cleared his throat then resumed his place.

“I have a couple of concerns, sir,” the pegasus spoke simply. “Well… not so much concerns... but things have been bothering me.”

Shining clasped his hands, a grimace coming to his face. “Speak freely, soldier, and drop the formality.”

Flash Sentry was silent for a second before he nodded. “I think there is something up with those zebras sir.”

Shining raised an eyebrow. “And what would that be?”

“I don’t know sir, I just think there is something going on,” Flash said, rubbing the back of his head. “Have you seen how many stallions have turned gay recently? I think there is something in the water of the palace…”

Shining’s eyes widened for a second, and then he sniggered. “Flash…” He sighed, rubbing his brow. “For one, not everypony is turning gay. Bisexuality is a thing. Not to mention, have you seen how many of these new relationships are just platonic?”

“It didn’t look that way, sir…” Flash said, nervously tapping his hoof. “I mean, did you see the way Cadance talked about them last week! There is no way she would turn her back on you, they totally did some brainwashing stuff to her!”

Shining’s good mood instantly evaporated and he sighed, looking down. He went quiet for a while, before he looked up towards the ceiling, quietly.

“Cadance and I have been having problems ever since Flurry Heart was born.” He said simply, shaking his head. “Trust me, that wasn’t some sudden change, I just deluded myself into thinking everything was fine until now. That this was normal. The zebras arriving only accelerated what was probably already going to happen. I don’t know what made her go crazy, but To’Achuu and the zebras taking over was a symptom, not a cause.”

He was speaking to himself, just as much as he was to Flash right now.

“To’Achuu had ample opportunities to violate our trust and take over, and he hasn’t so far. Not much has changed, correct?” Shining continued, lowering his gaze to make eye contact with the stallion.

Flash slowly nodded, grimacing.

“If they have some kind of sinister motive, I doubt they would have waited until now to spring it.” Shining stood up, crossing his arms over his chest. “Do you trust me, Flash?”

The pegasus instantly nodded, standing up too.

“Then I want you to trust To’Achuu, ok?” Shining said as he turned to leave, heading towards the room’s door. “In fact, I am giving you a special mission. I want you to find a zebra, any zebra, and try making friends with them. That is the Equestrian way, after all, and I think that will help alleviate your concerns better than anything else, ok?”

Flash gulped, nodding as Shining opened the door. “Yes sir!” he saluted, before he quickly rushed out of the room, his previous look of nervousness and fear gone. He looked determined now.

Shining smiled, nodding slightly. He was ready now.

Shining strode through the halls of the Crystal Palace with a newly regained confidence. He had the letter, and now he was going to the one person he trusted to send it. Spike.

He couldn’t help but smile goofily as he approached the dragon’s room. This was honestly the first time he felt like he was doing something important in months. He was barely paying attention to his surroundings as he did, ignoring the sights and sounds he paid attention to last time he was walking the halls. Namely, the sounds of sex behind closed doors.

Eventually, he arrived at Spike's door, which was emboldened with the words 'Spike the Brave and Glorious’s room'. Shining rolled his eyes with a smile. “I wonder where that dragon gets his ego…” he said to himself before.

Shining took a second to breathe before he opened the door and stepped inside. “Spike, I need you to send a letter,” he said. Then his eyes locked on Spike. More specifically, the position Spike was in with his zebra ‘friend’, Dansaar.

Dansaar was lying on top of Spike’s front, staring up at Shining with a red face, the top half of the dragon's knotted rod still rooted firmly inside the zebra’s mouth. He had stopped all mouth movements, just staring up at Shining with a look of near terror while shaking his hips and trying to pull himself up. Spike, in the meanwhile, kept Dansaar pinned on top of him with his hands, pushing the zebra down as he worked his mouth up and down on the zebra’s own dick, hungrily and greedily suckling and licking.

The zebra squeezed his legs against either side of the dragon’s head as he desperately tried to pull his head off, letting out muffled sounds that were undoubtedly telling Spike to stop for a second. Spike either didn’t hear him or didn’t care.

Eventually, Dansaar’s lack of movements and ministrations prompted Spike to pull his head back and sit up slightly, still keeping the zebra’s stomach and groin pressed firmly against his neck and chest, but giving him the chance to pull his head off and free his mouth.

“Dansaar? What’s wrong, why’d you go still all of a sudden-” Spike started, but the words caught in his mouth with a gasp when he saw Shining staring at them.

Then he let out a squeal of embarrassment, which was mirrored by Dansaar as the two quickly tried to separate. Shining in the meanwhile averted his eyes and sighed. He was equally parts embarrassed and annoyed. Twice in one day…

“Oh come on, you guys too!” Shining cried as he suddenly averted his eyes, letting the two quickly part and cover themselves, before he turned his gaze back to them. Spike was using a pillow to cover his shame, while Dansaar merely used his hands. He stared for a second, a glare on his face.

“Sorry, S-Shining we didn’t expect you to come by,” Spike said, his face red. He leaned over towards Dansaar whispering into his Irra’s ear;

“I thought you locked the door?”

“I told you I don’t know how,” Dansaar whined back, full volume, which only made Shining’s glare deepen.

The unicorn sighed, his frown disappeared as he rubbed his forehead. “Sorry, I probably shouldn’t be so shocked, I did enter your room without knocking,” he said, with a sigh. “Besides, it’s nothing I haven’t seen before.”
“What’s that supposed to mean,” Spike said, a slight frown coming to his face. Shining instantly turned back to them with a deadpan.

“I have only ever once seen you wear clothes in my life,” Shining said, crossing his arms over his chin, prompting Spike’s face to turn even redder. Then Shining turned his gaze over to Dansaar. “And not to be rude or anything, but a loincloth is the last thing you want to wear if you are embarrassed by people staring at you.”

The two of them merely looked down meekly while Shining rolled his eyes. “Sorry if I am being rude, just a little ticked off that this happened again.” He said crossing his arms and covering half his face with a hand.

“It’s fine…” They both answered in unison.

Shining sighed for a second, and turned his gaze over to Spike, looking up and down for a second. He couldn’t help but raise a brow at what he saw. His eyes weren’t lying when he saw him in the hallway. Spike certainly had grown in the past week. Before, the dragon usually only stood at around the level of Shining Armor’s belly button. Now if the dragon were to stand up, he’d be equal in height to the unicorn, maybe even taller. Add onto that the fact that Spike had very visibly shorn away much of his previous baby fat. Now he looked extremely thin and lean. Not bulky or burly, but obviously muscular. If Shining couldn’t tell any better, it almost looked like the dragon had started gaining a six-pack…

Shining blinked twice before he shook his head. “Uh, Spike… I couldn’t help but notice you are gaining… uh… you know… height.” He said, waving a hand to try to accentuate a point.

“Oh uh… that,” Spike said, looking down at himself. “I dunno, that just sorta started after I started hanging out with Dansaar.”

“And by hanging out you mean…” Shining responded, cocking his head to the side and crossing his arms over his chest. Spike and Dansaar’s faces both turned red.

“Yeah…” Spike responded with a gulp.

Shining shook his head with a sigh. “I just need you to send a letter at your earliest convenience, ok? Then you can get back to what you were doing.”

“Sorry, Shining,” Spike responded, reaching out a hand to take the letter. Shining handed it off and turned to leave.

Shining turned to leave but before he reached the door, he heard Spike clear his throat. He turned back to look at them as Spike stared at him.

“Uh, could you do me a favor? Or… two actually. One sparkle to another?” Spike asked, nervously rubbing the back of his head.

Shining sighed and rolled his eyes. “Sure, how can I help you Spike the brave and glorious?”

“Well, could you uh… not mention what you saw to anyone else?” Spike said, his face turning even redder.

Shining frowned. “I wouldn’t worry about anyone else figuring out that you and Dansaar are doing it. At least you two had the decency to stop when I came in.” He said with a slight chuckle.

“No uh… not that,” Spike responded, growing even redder. Dansaar by contrast looked mortified. “Uh, I mean about my size.”

Shining did a double-take for a second. “I mean, I could try, but I think people are going to notice how tall you got.”

“N-not that either I mean…” Spike hesitated for a second before finally, Dansaar finished for him.

“C-could you not tell anyone about the size of m-my… thingie… when compared to his…” The zebra said with a gulp. Shining was confused for a second before he frowned slightly.

“What?” Shining said, his frown returning full force. “First of all, I am not a himbo, so why would I even care about comparing those things.”

He crossed his arms and leaned forwards. “And secondly, why not? I mean, who cares if people know one of you is bigger than the other?”

“We care…” Dansaar responded quietly. “I-I don’t want to be a Jala anymore…”

Shining opened his mouth to speak, then he paused, thinking back to what Hajaa had said. He sighed and nodded slightly. “Ok Dansaar… don’t worry. I won’t say a word or anything. As far as I am concerned, you’re the biggest stallion I ever saw.” Then he opened the room’s door and started to step out into the hall.

“And uh… could you lock the door before you leave,” Spike said quickly afterward. Shining turned back, catching a glimpse of a bulge rapidly forming in the pillow the drake was using to cover himself. “That was my second favor…” he sheepishly finished.

“Yeah sure.” the unicorn said, locking the door with his magic as he closed the door, no doubt relieving a large amount of tension off the two’s shoulders as he did. He paused for a second, waiting outside and pressing his head against the door, listening in.

He heard the sound of Spike breathing fire and the sound of paper burning, which signified that Spike had done his duty, relieving Shining’s own stressful situation. Now he was completely free to talk to To’Achuu, no obligations attached. Just before he walked away, however, he heard something that gave him pause.

“There we go, now that that’s done, we can get back to business.” He heard the muffled, squeaky, voice of Dansaar say in a new primal tone. “Now lay back down, I’m not finished with you yet Jala.”

“Y-yes, sir!” Spike replied, then he heard the bed in the room squeak, no doubt from Spike doing as he was told.

Shining’s eyes were wide for a second, then he rapidly backed off, and walked away.

To’Achuu let out a sigh as he read over several documents. He was honestly having trouble wrapping his head around many of the things he was reading. Property taxes, business permits, a letter from a rich realtor promising him a hundred thousand bits if he was allowed to bulldoze a ‘protected forest’ to make some suburbs, arrest warrants, bills of ownership and other normal, totally legal, ruler things.

He grabbed the sides of his temple and shook his head. Going from a chieftain of a group of a thousand tribal exiles to the leader of one of the largest cities on the planet, which happened to be the capital of one of the richest, most developed, countries on the planet, which was in and of itself only a protectorate of the actual richest and most developed country on the planet was… difficult to say the least.

To say that he was having problems with all of this was an understatement. He was admittedly way out of his depth. Even more so when he considered that he hadn’t even touched the documents that regarded outside diplomacy. As it stood he had no idea how to grasp how the people within the Empire would react to the zebras taking over, never mind how the dragons or gryphons or yaks would react to this new change in leadership. Even if, for some reason, the alicorns and the ponies of the Empire accepted zebra rule, would the other rulers of the world not assume this was some kind of trick?

He balled his hands into fists and instantly turned his gaze back down to his work. He had to focus. No time for worrying about hypotheticals when he had to focus on the here and now. Before he could get back to reading, he heard a knock at the door. He quickly turned towards the door and his eyes widened. The only person who would bother knocking to disturb him while he was working would be Shining. Basically everyone else would just barge in.

He smiled slightly, sitting up. Shining was exactly the stallion he needed to see right now. To’Achuu sat up, adjusted his clothing, and nodded.

“Come in,” he spoke plainly.

The unicorn was quick to open the door and step inside their mutual bedroom, which had had a corner of the room converted into a mini-office for the time being. Shining cleared his throat and closed the door behind them, making sure to lock it.

“We need to talk, To.” Shining said as he crossed his arms over his chest. The stallion towered over him for a second before sighing and shaking his head, quickly moving over to the bed and sitting down.

To’Achuu was silent for a second before he swiveled around in his office chair, looking the unicorn dead in the eye. “What about, Shining?”

Shining sighed. “Well… I sent a letter to one of the princesses. My sister Twilight. She is going to be on her way to the Empire soon.”

To’Achuu’s throat went dry. For the briefest of seconds, Shining saw the zebra’s face go white before he regained his composure. The zebra pulled himself up and clenched the handlebars of his seat.

“I knew it would come to this, no point in putting it off any longer,” the zebra said in a calm tone. “What, may I ask, did you tell her?”

“Nothing yet. Only that there was a problem in the Empire, and that she should come here at her earliest convenience.” Shining explained, rubbing the back of his hand. “The way I see it, we now have a time limit to figure out what we can say when she gets here. I give us two… maybe three days.”

To’Achuu nodded. “Excellent, do you have any ideas?”

“I have one…” Shining said. There was a pause before the unicorn inhaled. “Hajaa told me everything.”

Shining watched To’Achuu’s breath hitch in his throat. The zebra’s eyes were widened for a second with fear before he visibly hunched over. Shining saw, in a single second, all of the confidence and bravado he had seen in the zebra since he arrived evaporate in an instant.

“He did… didn’t he?” To’Achuu was quiet, then he shook his head.

“Why didn’t you tell me yourself?” Shining said, sitting up. The unicorn pursed his lips as To’Achuu sighed, slightly.

“Well… to be frank, I made it no secret that we were exiles to you, from the very beginning,” To’Achuu said, shaking his head. “But… the reason for my exile has been something I have never been proud of. For years the only ones who knew were me and Hajaa. I didn’t want you to know either?”

Shining leaned forwards. “Why? I trusted you, so why didn’t you trust me?”

“I… I thought you would think less of me.” To’Achuu shook his head. “I thought you would think of me as a dishonorable knave, who would abandon you to the wolves, just as your wife tried to abandon you.”

“Why would you ever think that?” Shining said, a frown instantly came to his face.

“Because I betrayed my old tribe. I was next in line to become their chieftain. I was supposed to lead them, and instead, when I saw our conquerors taking what they wanted, I ran.” To’Achuu explained rubbing his brow. Shining could tell he was becoming visibly exhausted. “I suppose I have redeemed myself at least in the eyes of my people, by leading them here. But for the longest time, every time I closed my eyes, I saw the zebras of my old tribe, crying out in pain as they were used by their conquerors, desperately trying to escape their bindings. I failed them, and I was afraid that you would think I would fail you too. That I used you as a stepping stone to escape from those memories.”

Shining frowned. “Well, I don’t.” The unicorn sat up, crossing his arms over his chest. “From what Hajaa has told me, you care about your new tribe just as much. And I am going to make sure you don’t fail them either. I’m here with you, every step of the way until I can make sure neither you nor your tribe, go back to Zebrica. Understand?”

The zebra stared up at him for a second before a smile came to his face. “I understand Shining.” There was a pause before the zebra chuckled slightly. “You do have quite the way with words, my prince.”

Shining was quiet for a second. “Am I still even a prince? Pretty sure that title went out the window when Cadance tried to have me deposed.” He chuckled, shaking his head.

“Well, I suppose I am a king now.” To’Achuu sat up walking towards him. “So I can give you that title back.”

Shining smiled as he stood up to meet the zebra. “I like that.” He said as he wrapped arms around him. “King To’Achuu and Prince Shining Armor… I don’t know, I think it might have a nice ring.”

To’Achuu, though he was an inch or two shorter than the unicorn, quickly attempted to take control, darting his head forwards and locking lips with the other stallion. Shining’s eyes widened as the force of To’Achuu practically tackling him knocked him over. He landed on his back, pressing into the cover, though that didn’t stop To’Achuu from pressing his chest against him, pinning him down. The zebra didn’t stop his kiss as he ran his hooves down his sides, moaning into Shining’s mouth as he did.

The two paused their frantic make-out to pull themselves up onto the bed. Shining paused to remove his shirt, ripping it above his head as To’Achuu did the same with his vest. Then the two instantly resumed their passionate kiss, pressing their bare chests together even harder. After what felt like hours the two parted, panting as they did. There was a pause before To’Achuu smirked.

“You know, we still never figured out who among us is the Jala, and who is the Irra.” the zebra said, with a smirk.

“Oh yeah?” Shining chuckled. “To be honest, I don’t care which of us is which.”

To’Achuu laughed. “Good. Neither do I.”

And then To’Achuu reached down and removed his pants. Instantly Shining gasped. The zebra was already erect, meaning he didn’t even have time to adjust to the sight. It was easily the longest rod he had ever seen, and he had seen many in locker rooms during his time at the academy. It was about as thick as a soda can, and as long as four stacked on top of each other, with two baseball-sized rocks swinging freely underneath them. He hesitated to even call it a dick, it was more like a treasured artifact. A royal’s scepter. A symbol of pure power.

Shining’s jaw dropped. No wonder To’Achuu was a chieftain, to be honest, Shining felt as though he was unworthy to even be looking at it.

To’Achuu could only smirk at the stallion’s reaction. “Well, even if you didn’t care before, I suppose you don’t mind being the Jala, yes?”

Shining could only nod slightly.

To’Achuu rolled his eyes. “To be frank, I think such binary titles are beneath us respectable stallions. Why only be a Jala or an Irra, when we could do both, yes?”

Shining shook his head to clear his mind. “Y-yeah. I agree.”

To’Achuu laughed slightly. “Good. Because between you and me, I don’t think you are prepared to take this.” The zebra said, giving his rod a slight smack. Shining’s eyes followed the rod as it hypnotically swung back and forth. “Not enough stretching. As such…”

The zebra - rather awkwardly - repositioned himself on the bed. Facedown, ass up, with a head propped up on a pillow.

“I am going to have to ask you to be gentle, mind you. I, unfortunately, haven’t been fucked in a long, long while. I am usually the one doing the thrusting.” To’Achuu spoke simply with a smile.

Shining felt the cold grasp of disappointment grab at his heart, but the unicorn sucked it up. Next time.

He would probably have to buy some… toys… in order to train himself to be able to take something so girthy, but he would save those purchases - and the embarrassment that came with them - for future Shining Armor to worry about.

Shining Armor frantically ripped his pants off and quickly, like a fish out of water, dragged himself up the bed to reach To’Achuu. Shining wasted no time in opening a drawer on the nearby nightstand, where he and Cadance used to keep the lube, back in the old days when they were feeling adventurous… not that he could remember the last time that happened.

Shining Armor opened the lube, quickly spreading it over his first three fingers, and applying a rather liberal amount onto To’Achuu’s winking pucker.

“Careful not to add too much Shining,” To’Achuu chuckled. “I still want to feel it after all.”

Shining nodded, quickly set aside the bottle. Careful not to get much on the sheets, Shining reached his lubed up fingers towards To’Achuu’s rear. First, he inserted his index finger, earning a rather sultry moan and a shake of the zebra’s hips.

Shining grit his teeth and shuddered as he felt To’Achuu clench around him, eager to feel the same feeling around his rod, but he knew to wait. Foreplay was always the most important part. The stallion felt around for a second, looking for the zebra’s most sensitive part before he found the walnut-sized bump that signified a prostate.

Shining gave the hole an experimental press that made the zebra below him purr. Once again Shining shuddered. He clenched his free hand around the bedding below him as he slowly inserted his second finger. He made sure to wiggle the two around inside for a second before he went back to pressing and kneading the zebra’s pleasure button. Shining had no idea how To’Achuu managed to keep his composure as he did his work. The zebra was still as a board, save for the occasional slight shake whenever Shining’s ministrations became too intense.

The zebra merely stared up at him with a smirk when Shining inserted his last finger. “Not much of a fan of fisting, so I’d ask you stop with those two.” The zeeb said with a laugh.

Shining nodded. Then the unicorn grit his teeth. It took all of his patience to continue his fingering, the subconscious urge to rip his fingers out and start breeding was growing in intensity every microsecond the two were together like this.

Shining couldn’t take it any longer. He spread all three of his fingers out, making To’Achuu arch his back slightly before he went to work. Pulling his fingers out, the unicorn quickly flopped forwards. He rubbed his lubed-up hand on his rod, applying what remained of it to his dick before he grabbed To’Achuu by the hips.

His fingers sunk into the zebra’s fur and tender flesh before he pulled his own back and thrust forwards. To’Achuu let out a groan as the unicorn’s rock-hard rod sunk in between his cheeks and into his awaiting boy box. The thrust was powerful, knocking the zebra off his knees and pushing the two stallions into a flatiron position.

“Oof,” the zebra moaned. “I’ll remind you that I am a little out of practice. Would you be gentle for a little while I get back into the swing of things?

“Right, sorry.” Shining sheepishly replied. He had actually forgotten he was far bulkier than the zebra.

Shining inhaled slowly, continuing his thrust slowly but surely, feeding himself into the zebra’s hole inch by inch until he was buried inside of him like the sword of Excalibur. Shining was still for a second, then he took a moment to shake his hips from side to side. To’Achuu was silent for a second, a pillow lodged firmly between his teeth.

The zebra let go of his comfort pillow and sighed, looking back to Shining. “Ok, more like way out of practice,” he chuckled. Shining’s eyes widened slightly as he felt To’Achuu clench around him. “But if you go slowly I should be able to take a few thrusts.”

Shining nodded down at him, before he slowly but surely pulled his hips back, unintentionally grinding the bottom of his dick over To’Achuu’s aching prostate. Once again Shining heard him purr which made the unicorn smirk.

As soon as it was only his tip inside of the zebra, he reversed his movements, slowly thrusting back inside. The unicorn held his breath as he did, just as before, his instincts were calling out to him, begging him to drop the idea of being slow and just let loose, but he knew better than to do something that could hurt To’Achuu.

The slow and sensual thrusts continued as Shining reached his hands down, snaking in between the zebra and the bed below him, before he wrapped the zebra up into a hug, pulling him close to his chest as he did. The unicorn let out a deep exhale as he did. Finally, after what felt like an eternity of mental struggle, To’Achuu finally spoke.

“Ok… I think I can take it now.”

Shining needed no further encouragement. Instantly, the gentle pace he had been doing instantly evaporated as Shining began his thrusts in earnest. Pistoning himself in and out like a jackhammer. To’Achuu whimpered as his p-spot was smashed by waves upon waves of pleasure as if it was a beach during a hurricane.

The zebra held his breath in between moans and gasps, clenching the pillows tightly as he did. The unicorn by contrast was panting like a dog. His thrusts rapidly started to become more and more irregular and stuttery.

The unicorn steeled himself and looked up, sweat pouring from his brow as he tried to hold back his explosion. He shook his head, it was an uphill battle, he couldn’t hold it forever.

“To… I’m gonna…” Shining started, but a call from To’Achuu stopped him.

“Don’t hold it back. Let me have you Shining!” The zebra called up to him with a moan.

And with that, the dam walls collapsed. Like a roar of rushing water, pleasure-filled every inch of Shining, washing away his fears, his reservations, and whatever last minuscule specks of regret he had for siding with the zebras over his wife that remained. His sack flexed and then, with a single word, white spunks shot out of him like a cannonball into To’Achuu’s waiting rear.

“Cumming!” He howled.

To’Achuu didn’t last much longer either. His own orgasm was far less extravagant, only painting the bed and his stomach white with only a groan of pleasure to join him. Together, still embraced, the two panted and moaned as they rode their aftermaths to their conclusions. Shining stayed hilted inside of To’Achuu as he smiled down at him.

“T… that was amazing…” he said between pants. “I haven’t had sex like that since before Flurry was born.”

“Get used to it,” To’Achuu said with a smirk. “Because I plan on having something like this as often as possible.”

Shining’s eyes widened for a second. After a pause, his own face mirrored the zebra’s smile.

“Thank you, To. For everything.” He said, pulling the zebra even closer to his chest.

Then it happened. Instantly both of the stallions gasped in horror and their eyes widened in fear as a purple and white flash filled the center of the room. A purple alicorn appeared next to the bed, frantically waving a piece of paper as she did.

“Shining!” Twilight cried as she scanned the room. “I got your letter and-”

Then her eyes fell on Shining Armor, still lying on top of, and hilted within, To… She stared at them wide-eyed and jaw dropped. The same face of shock mirrored on their faces as well.

“I swear to Celestia I can explain.”

Fear, Plans and Interrogations:

Hajaa’s eyes snapped open. He quickly sat up in bed, looking around. His room was empty. No sign of Thorax at all. The Zebra frowned deeply… it wasn’t like him to scurry off like that. The zebra was quick to get out of bed and pull his pants on. The changeling was probably in the bathroom or something, but it wouldn’t hurt to investigate, right?

The zebra walked towards the door, gripping the handle, but he was pulled from his thoughts when he heard a cry of panic. He knew that voice. It was his Jala’s voice. Hajaa instantly slammed the door open, rushing into what he thought was going to be the hallway. Instead, outside of his room were the grasslands of his home. Zebrica.

Hajaa looked around for a second until his eyes finally locked on Thorax, several feet away from him. The changeling was wearing nothing but a loincloth, but that wasn’t what caught his attention. No, it was the pole his back was pressed into.

The changeling’s wrists were tied at the top of the pole with thick ropes and a metal band sat around his waist keeping his elytra shut and his wings useless, but his legs were free. Hajaa immediately knew what it was. His suspicions were reinforced when an all-black figure with white stripes formed from shadows in front of his Jala. The figure wore an elaborately carved bronze chest plate, a bronze full helmet with golden spikes that resembled a crown, but nothing else. In one quick motion, the armored shadow grabbed the ‘ling’s loincloth and violently ripped it off, exposing his shame to the world.

Then the shadow reached a hand forwards, cupping Thorax by the chin and forcing him to lock eyes with it. Slowly, an all-white smile formed across its face. Panic’s icy fingers gripped the zebra’s heart as he instantly tried sprinting towards the ‘ling. The second he made hoof fall, however, the ground below him turned to sand, swallowing his leg up to the knee. The zebra immediately lost his balance, falling to his hands and knees, both of which were similarly submerged in the near liquid sand. His eyes shot up, staring up at his changeling.

The shadow grabbed Thorax by the legs, lifting them up and pressing him even further against the pole until the two were in something similar to a stand and carry pose. Then it brought its hips back and thrust forwards. Hajaa’s breath caught in his throat when he heard Thorax cry out in pain as tears started pouring from his eyes.

The zebra started hyperventilating, before he let out a roar of rage, instantly standing up and kicking the sand off him. Then he started to wade forwards through it like it was nothing but deep water, but the closer he got, the more he sank. He was up to his chest when suddenly, Thorax’s cries of pain turned into saddened moans and whimpers. Tears still poured from the ‘ling’s eyes, but Hajaa watched as, in real-time, the ‘ling’s gaze turned from one of pain to one of empty sorrow.

Hajaa’s eyes widened, Thorax’s look making him stall, for just long enough for tendrils made of sand to whip up from underneath him, wrapping around his wrists, chest, and neck, pulling him downwards. The zebra hissed and roared, trying his hardest to fight them off, but more and more kept coming, slowly dragging him into the dark.

Hajaa’s roars ceased when Thorax let out a cry… one that was equal parts agony, and ecstasy. His eyes instantly snapped to the ‘ling. He watched with weak breath as Thorax threw his head back, eyes closed. Slowly, a wave of pure black darkness slowly spread from where his rear met the shadow’s rod, consuming him. First, it covered Hajaa’s mark, then it covered the stripes on his hips, then it covered his legs and chest.

Thorax’s head shook from side to side, the ‘ling cried out in pure panic, trying not to give in… but he was always weak… The darkness soon covered his head, leaving not a single one of Hajaa’s stripes on him. All that was left of Thorax was an all-black silhouette. Slowly he opened his glowing cyan eyes, but they were empty and hollow. Broken.

The shadow laughed, turning its gaze to Hajaa. Only the zebra’s head was above the sand now, allowing it to savor his look of betrayal and despair. The last thing Hajaa heard before he was pulled into the darkness was its voice.

“He’s mine now.”

And then he was in darkness. He couldn’t breathe. He couldn’t move. He couldn’t cry.

Then everything started to shake…

Hajaa sat up instantly with a gasp. He was back in bed, in his room in the Crystal Empire. The zebra’s breathing was quick and shaky, he could barely focus… it took him almost a minute to notice the pair of hands on his shoulders. Slowly he turned to see who was holding him.

His fears instantly disappeared when he saw Thorax, staring down at him wide-eyed. “A-are you ok? You were having a nightmare.”

Hajaa stared up at him before his eyes started to water slightly. The zebra nodded. In a slow movement, he wrapped his arms around his Jala and pulled him against his chest, like a giant teddy bear.

“I am now…” He said quietly as he laid back down, keeping Thorax pressed against his chest. The changeling let out a pleasant chitter as the two lay there for what felt like an eternity. The quiet moment ended when Thorax looked up at Hajaa and spoke up.

“What was the nightmare about?” Thorax said in a quiet voice. “I tasted so much fear, more than I’ve ever felt in my life before…”

“You tasted it?” Hajaa said, raising an eyebrow. “I thought you only ate love…”

Thorax nodded. “We changelings can taste emotions. All emotions but love is the only one we can eat.” He explained.

Hajaa was quiet for a second then shook his head. “It was about you.” He said. Instantly, a look of dejection formed on Thorax’s face.

The changeling averted his gaze. “I see…”

“No, nothing like that,” Hajaa said, a firm tone filling his voice. “I just… I dreamt I lost you.”

The look on Thorax’s face instantly disappeared, replaced by one of surprise… and wonder.

“R-really?” He replied, bringing his gaze back to the zebra.

Hajaa nodded, pulling Thorax even closer to his chest. His response was simple. “Yes.”

Thorax silently stared at him, before he brought his head closer to Hajaa’s, and the two instantly locked lips. Hajaa’s eyes widened for a second before he closed them and gave into the changeling’s unexpected advance.

The zebra was quick to dominate the ling’s tongue with his own, battering it into submission, then he forced his way into his Jala’s mouth, exploring it with wild abandon. All the while, he brought his hands up, grabbing the ling by his sides. Slowly and sensually, he ran his hands downwards, sending thunderbolts up and down the weak ling’s spine.

Thorax seemed to melt on top of him, going limp when his hands arrived at his supple rear, cupping and kneading his tender spots like a master baker. It rapidly became apparent to them that neither of them had bothered to get dressed the night before, as their rock-hard rods pressed against one another, causing them to both buck their hips against their lover.

Hajaa was just about to flip over, pinning the changeling to the bed, when the door slammed open again, causing Thorax to let out a quick cry and flop off of the zebra onto the bed, trying to hide both behind the zebra and under the covers.

Hajaa growled, sitting up. “I swear to the gods Shining Armor, if you just want to ask a bunch of questions again I am going to-” He was stopped when he saw a squad of three Crystal Guards. Their faces were locked in looks of stern discipline, but Hajaa could tell they were scared… and not of him.

“The Princess wants to see you.” They spoke simply.

“Cadance? Isn’t she in the dungeon?” He said, his look of annoyance replaced by a slight amount of fear. He really didn’t want to have to entertain her again…

“Not Cadance.” One of the guards said, then the guard gulped. “T-Twilight Sparkle.”

That fear suddenly turned from a spark into a raging wildfire. Instantly Hajaa shot up and he turned to kick the covers off himself and get up. “R-right. Allow me to get dressed and I will be there shortly.”

The lead guard held up a hand. “We’re sorry sir. We weren’t talking to you. The Princess wants to see Thorax.” Hajaa blinked twice, then he turned to the changeling.

Thorax was quiet for a second, similarly confused, until he let out a truly pathetic whine.

“Are you sure about this?” Spike said as he looked himself over in the mirror of the room. “I mean, I’ve never really ever worn clothes before.”

To say clothes, however, would be pushing it. It was a tan loincloth that left little to the imagination. Not that anything about Spike left room to the imagination before of course. As he previously said, the drake never wore clothes before. The drake let out a sigh as he turned one way than the other, looking himself over. The loincloth at least hid his slit, so he supposed it was a little more modest than before.

“Of course!” Dansaar cheered, clapping his hands together. The zebra was currently in the nude, he was going to get dressed for his new role as an Irra as soon as Spike was done hogging the mirror. “Jalas are supposed to wear as little as possible to show themselves off, at least back in my old tribe. It’s to make other Irras jealous of the fact that they won’t have you… or something.” He explained with a laugh.

“Is that how it is in all Zebra tribes?” Spike asked, looking over to Dansaar with a cocked eyebrow. “Besides, wasn’t I already showing as much as possible before?”

“I think?” Dansaar said, rubbing the back of his head. “I dunno all of the northern tribes make the Jalas wear loincloths… Except for Qwarhe, they make the Jalas wear collars and something called a bedlah. I want to do things traditionally though, which means loincloths.”

“What about the southern tribes?” Spike responded, stepping aside so Dansaar could take his place.

“Well, I never actually went down south, but apparently they make the Jalas wear these weird black robes called burqas.” Dansaar replied thinking back. “Maybe cause it’s a desert and you have to shield yourself from the sun, or maybe they don’t like people looking at them, I don’t know why, you’d have to ask one of the southern exiles in our tribe, we have a couple of them.”

“Wait a second,” Spike said, what Dansaar had claimed earlier suddenly hitting him like a brick. “If you want to do things traditionally, why did you get me to make you a suit!”

Dansaar paused, looking up at Spike, then he looked down to the clothes he was about to dress in. A two-piece suit Spike had sewn for him. Apparently the - not so little anymore - dragon was actually quite good with his hands, something about being friends with a professional seamstress. The dragon had made him stay still and model for several hours, constantly having to redo his measurements due to a lack of experience in sewing for dudes - again, because of said seamstress - but he had managed to churn out a rather decent suit… though he hadn’t tried it on yet, so he really didn’t know for sure…

“Urm… because…” Dansaar struggled to find an explanation. Spike crossed his arms over his chest.

“You just wanted to see someone else in a loincloth instead of you huh?” Spike said a slight glare coming to his face.

Dansaar blushed, his ears going flat against his head. “Maybe?” He chuckled slightly.

Spike rolled his eyes, chuckling slightly. “Fine… I guess I’ll humor you.” he exclaimed in a fake angry voice.

Dansaar nodded, then he turned to the mirror. “So… could you help me get this on? I have no idea how pony clothes work…” He said, looking at himself, then the suit. He suddenly pointed to the buttons running up and down the white undershirt. “These are for hanging jewelry off right?”

Spike shook his head. “Uh, no they are for making sure the shirt stays on. And stuff…” He said, shrugging. “Honestly, it's kinda hard to describe it.”

Dansaar nodded as Spike approached him. He took the suit from his grasp, setting them aside, except for underwear and the white undershirt. Dansaar understood how one of those worked so he quickly slid it on when Spike tossed him said tighty whities.

“Hold your arms up like this,” Spike said, making a T-pose. Dansaar nodded, doing as instructed. Spike started with the right arm first, slowly sliding it on.

Dansaar shivered slightly as Spike helped him out, a pleasant tingle going up his spine. The zebra stared into the mirror, flexing his free arm like a bodybuilder. “You know, having you dress me like this… it kinda makes me feel like an Inkosi!”

Spike raised an eyebrow.

“T-that means king…” Dansaar sheepishly explained.

Spike smirked and rolled his eyes. As he did, though, he remembered a different kind of ruler that he knew. He paused and went quiet for a second. “So, since I sent that note, Twilight is probably coming to the Empire…”

Dansaar shrugged, almost knocking the one shirt arm he had off his shoulder. “She’s an alicorn right?”

Spike nodded as he went around to Dansaar’s left side, sliding on the left arm as well.

“Then she can’t be that bad,” Dansaar laughed, “We beat Cadance. They’re similar right?”

Spike rapidly started shaking his head. “Nohoho… No. Nope. Not at all,” He said, turning white slightly. “Besides, you didn’t really beat Cadance.”

“Yeah, we did!” Dansaar said as the dragon stood up and walked around to his front. “Why else would she be in the dungeon?”

“No, you tricked her,” Spike said, rolling his eyes for what felt like the hundredth time that day. “That kind of thing happens in comics all the time. The powerless underdog beats and captures the super-powered villain because they trick them into putting on a ring or necklace that saps their power away or something. Now hold still for a second.”

Spike knelt down and started buttoning up Dansaar’s shirt from the bottom up. He suddenly felt something hard pressed against his neck. He looked down slightly, to see Dansaar’s hard rod tenting his underpants.

“Sorry… force of habit…” Dansaar said, an even larger blush coming to his face.

“It’s fine, I have been in this position a lot this past week.” Spike laughed as he ignored the rod, though it took a rather large amount of willpower. He decided he had better return the conversation to the important topic. “And before you ask, no, I don’t think you’d be able to trick Twilight too.”

“Why not?” Dansaar asked as Spike moved to buttoning over his stomach, then his chest.

“Well, Twilight is the smartest pony I know,” Spike said as one of his claws brushed over Dansaar’s deliciously flat chest. This time it was his turn to tent his undergarment. “Plus, if To’Achuu captured her as well, Celestia and Luna would one hundred percent get suspicious and come to investigate themselves. And that would not end well for you guys.”

Spike suddenly frowned a very very dark frown, which made Dansaar shiver slightly. “Not to mention, I’d get very, very angry if anyone did anything to her.” And considering how much he had grown over the past week, well, things probably wouldn’t have ended well for his ‘enemies’. He was now almost Garble-sized after all.

“Well,” Dansaar trailed off as Spike went off to fetch the suit’s navy blue coat and navy blue dress pants. “You mentioned you had a plan to make it uh… not end as bad?”

“Not really a plan, more an idea…” Spike said, rubbing along the spines on his neck. “Remember that thing I mentioned the first night we… became Irru and Jela?”

“Irra and Jala,” Dansaar corrected. “And yeah. Something about To’Achuu putting Shining Armor in charge instead of himself?”

Spike instantly nodded as he stepped behind the zebra. “Yeah, if we could convince To’Achuu to agree to that, maybe Twilight can talk down Celestia and Luna from kicking all of you Zebras to the moon.”

Dansaar chuckled slightly. “That’s a funny allegory.” He said. His smile instantly disappeared when he saw Spike’s deadpan look in the mirror.

“No, they could actually send you guys to the moon,” Spike said before he held up the coat. “More likely they’d just send you back to Zebrica though…”

Dansaar instantly flinched. “I don’t want to go back to Zebrica…”

Spike’s face filled with determination as he gently slid the coat onto the zebra. “And I won’t let them send you back. I promise.”

Dansaar smiled, nodding up at the dragon’s reflection. “Right.” He said straightening up with a newfound sense of confidence. “You know, I look great in this! You did a great job!”

Spike nodded down at him. “Yep, only the pants left to put on and you can finally walk through the Crystal Castle as a full-on out Irru!”

Dansaar frowned slightly. “Irra.” he corrected one last time.

“Right.”

Just then, there was a knock at the door. The two quickly turned as it opened and a crystal guard stepped inside. Spike was quick to try to cover the fact that he was wearing a loincloth with his hands, but Dansaar did little to hide his bare legs. He was actually wearing more than normal.

“Spike the Brave and Glorious,” The guard exclaimed in a harsh voice. “Princess Twilight Sparkle is here, and she has requested your presence.”

Spike gasped so hard he hurt his throat. The dragon braced himself against the wall as he rather violently coughed. As soon as he was done, the dragon took off in a sprint towards the door.

“I’ll be right back Dansaar!” Spike roared as he almost tackled the guard over and rushed down the hall.

Dansaar merely cried back a simple phrase. “Wait! I don’t know how to put on pants!” There was no answer in return.

It suddenly dawned on Shining Armor that he had never sat on this side of his desk before in his life. Usually, a recruit was in his place being dressed down by him. This time, however, he was the one being scolded.

“I don’t even know where to begin with all of this,” Twilight said, rubbing her brow with her index finger and thumb. Sitting across from her, were the previously mentioned prince, Spike, Sunburst and Thorax.

Thorax and Spike were both wearing nothing except loincloths, and Thorax’s new signature stripes. Sunburst and Shining by contrast had gotten dressed in their usual attire for this meeting, though Shining looked rather disheveled.

It had taken him several hours to actually convince her not to disintegrate To’Achuu, and several hours more to convince her that he wasn’t, in fact, a changeling. Then came the additional hour of scanning him for every type of magical mind altering spell in existence, then checking his dietary and blood systems for any and all aphrodisiacs and/or drugs. All in all, it had been an exhausting night.

Twilight lowered her hand and sighed, looking over the four of them.

Shining Armor was a mess, with visible bags under his eyes, and she knew no one was to blame but herself. On the opposite end of the spectrum, Spike looked like he was a second away from either jumping up to dump a massive amount of exposition on her or running out of the room like a kid running from their parents. Thorax was obviously terrified, visibly shaking, whimpering, and flinching every time her gaze passed over him. Sunburst was the only one who had any degree of calmness on his features, merely looking at her with pursed lips.

Silence reigned for several more minutes, the quiet whimpering of the changeling, Spike nervously tapping his foot and the ticking of a clock on the wall were the only noises seemingly in existence.

Shining Armor broke the silence first. “Well… I did say it wasn’t an emergency.” He said. It instantly became apparent to him as soon as the words left his mouth that that was the wrong thing to say.

Twilight gawked, her jaw slamming open. “Wasn’t an emergency! The entire Crystal Empire government was just deposed by a potentially radical foreigner we know next to nothing about, Cadance is currently locked up in its jail, half of the ponies in the palace are doing everything the zebras are telling them to, and the four of you are-”

“Ok, ok I get it,” Shining responded, raising his hands in surrender. “I meant that like… compared to the normal disasters you guys face, this doesn’t seem so bad.”

“Honestly, I think I’d rather that happened instead.” Twilight sighed, bringing her index and thumb back to her brow.

After another several minutes of awkward silence, she finally spoke up again. “Ok… Ok ok ok. We need to figure out what to do.” She exclaimed. She put her hands behind her back and started to pace back and forth behind the desk. “First things first, we need to talk about Cadance.”

Shining felt the bags under his eyes double in size at the mere mention of his former wife’s name.

“First and foremost, I need to go down to the dungeon to check her for any mind control spells or anything like that.” She said, turning towards the door. Shining stopped her by raising a palm.

“Don’t even bother. She isn’t under any mind control,” he coldly exclaimed, sitting up in his chair. “I know my wife, and we’ve been drifting apart for months now. There is no way the zebras could have gotten to her months ago.”

“And how are you sure of that?” Twilight asked in response. This time Spike spoke up.

“They are an exiled tribe, Twilight. They don’t have the resources or anything like that to possibly plan that far ahead.” Spike said, crossing his arms over his chest.

“And you believe that?” Twilight said, spinning on her hooves to stare him dead in the eyes. “We know next to nothing about zebra culture or society. The only zebra I’ve known up until recently was Zecora, and she never brought up any of the things you are claiming are an important part of their culture. You’d imagine that would come up wouldn’t you?”

“Forgive me if I am speaking out of turn…” Sunburst spoke up. “But Zecora is a mare. If zebra society is as heavily segregated as they claim it is, it stands to reason that mares and stallions would have different cultures.”

“I just… Cadence couldn’t have acted like that out of nowhere. She’s the princess of love for Celestia’s sake!” Twilight cried, bringing the hands to the sides of her head. These had to be something going on.

“And Princess Luna was the Princess of the Night, one of the two alicorns most responsible for keeping the world in balance, and she almost destroyed the planet out of nowhere.” Shining countered.

“Twice!” Spike chimed in.

“W-well… what if that isn’t Cadance down there,” Twilight sighed, rubbing her forehead. “This kind of thing has happened before. Cadence starts acting weird out of nowhere. It could be Chrysalis again.”

Shining shook his head. “There is no way Chrysalis would get herself caught so stupidly like that.”

Sunburst sat up, eyes wide. “No… she might be right. Changelings obviously have an adverse relationship to lust, I mean, look at Thorax here. Only one week in and his lust has driven him to completely adopt zebra culture.” Said changeling shrunk under everyone else’s gaze.

Spike stood up, glaring daggers at Sunburst. “Hey, whose side are you on here! Do you know what could happen if we don’t manage to convince Twilight to let them stay!?”

“Yes, the princesses will send them back to Zebrica. Which is something I obviously don’t want.” Sunburst said, sitting up. “But I am merely trying to give credence to both sides of the argument. Unlike our new friends, this isn’t a black and white issue right now.”

Spike growled slightly as Shining put a hand on his shoulder, gesturing for him to sit down.

“Lust or not, you both heard what she said in the throne room,” Shining said, turning his gaze to Twilight. “She was… obsessed. She wanted the zebras to… to enslave her. To rape her and every other mare in the empire. To drive ponies into extinction. Chrysalis doesn’t act like that.”

“But, how can you be sure?” Twilight responded. Suddenly, Thorax piped up, his voice quiet and squeaky.

“I-it wasn’t Chrysalis.” He said, nervously tapping his hoof and slouching in his chair. “I w-would have been able to tell if it was. Changelings can’t taste the emotions of other changelings, but I could taste hers.”

Twilight was quiet for a second, then she sat down across from them. “And? What did you taste?”

Thorax gulped and sat up straight before he started speaking. “I tasted lust. Obviously, like Shining said, she was driven crazy by it. But… whenever she looked at Shining Armor, all I could feel was… disgust. Hatred. Regret. And not regret because of what she was doing. Regret over ever… marrying him.” He spoke simply. His words cut like a knife, directly into Shining and Twilight’s hearts. The two of them looked down at their hooves, Twilight’s eyes watering.

Thorax’s lips quivered as if he was expecting to be yelled at for saying something wrong. Instead, Shining merely set a hand on his shoulder.

“This doesn’t make any sense. Back in Canterlot, during the wedding-” She started, but Shining interrupted her.

“Real life never makes sense.” He said, shaking his head.

Twilight covered her eyes for a second. There was another moment of silence before she leaned back in her chair and looked up at the ceiling. “Even if I wanted to help the zebras, I don’t know if I can.” She sighed.

“What? But you’re a princess! You totally could!” Spike said, standing up and putting his hands on the desk.

“I’m one of four princesses Spike,” She said, shaking her head. “And if Celestia and Luna decide to hear out Cadance, it’s going to be her word against yours. And even if we did convince them you weren’t brainwashed by the zebras, you are still very obviously under their influence, meaning anything you say to them could be instantly thrown out and ignored.”

“But-”

“Not even mentioning the Equestrian Noble Houses, who might see Shining as committing treason for siding against the crown, and use their influence to remove him from his post and declare the Crystal Empire a rogue state,” Twilight said, shaking her head. “And what about the ponies of the Empire? Do you think they are going to side with the zebras against the princess who helped save them from Sombra? I can’t wave a magic staff around and make them all change their minds and follow the zebras instead.”

“But I am equally loved by the Crystal Ponies, not even mentioning Spike the Brave and Glorious.” Shining Armor said, sitting up. “Surely that would count for something.”

“Celebrity status only gets you so far when dealing with ponies, Shining.” She responded. “Especially considering you aren’t the ruler of the Empire right now. To’Achuu is.”

Silence once again returned. Spike opened his mouth to speak, but Twilight stopped him by clearing her throat.

“Sunburst, you are excused.” The unicorn nodded. He stood up and started walking towards the exit.

“Sorry I wasn’t more helpful.” He said just before he stepped into the hallway.

“You three. I understand you’ve all taken zebras as… partners.” She said, staring at the remaining stallions.

When the three of them blushed and sheepishly nodded she straightened up.

“Go get them. I want to talk to them.”

The pony, changeling, and dragon Twilight had been replaced by three zebras. She knew the one in the middle, To’Achuu. She still couldn’t look him in the eye after their… introduction. The other two, she hadn't yet met. On To’Achuu’s right was a sheer giant of a stallion. Almost 7’ tall standing up, with bulging muscles and rippling abs. When he first came in she had to look away with a blush, it didn’t feel right being turned on by these zebras… especially considering she knew their… orientation.

The zebra on his left, by contrast, was a rather lithe and curvaceous figure, wearing a suit - the pants of which were backward. He was small, only about 5’2 or so, with a short mane and overall feminine qualities. This was Spike’s partner if she had to guess, she had seen his… ahem… magazine collection back home and rapidly figured out his type.

Twilight shook her head. Now wasn’t the time to be distracted, now was the time to act. She put her elbows on Shining’s desk and clasped her hands in front of her face.

“What’s your angle?” She got right to the point.

“Angle?” To’Achuu said, raising an eyebrow.

“Yes,” Twilight responded, eyes narrowing. “You overthrow the princess of the empire in a matter of days on arrival to the Empire, you seat yourself as absolute ruler, and you manage to wind everypony in the palace around your little finger. You’re plotting something.”

To’Achuu shook his head. “I am not plotting anything, and I am not an absolute ruler. I have kept your niece as my heir, and Shining’s position as second remained intact. All I did was replace Cadance.” he spoke calmly.

“Cadance was clearly not in her right mind then. You played her along instead of getting her help so you could put yourself in charge.” Twilight replied. “You were clearly planning this for a long time. How else could you have pulled it off? What did you do to her?”

To’Achuu’s eyes widened slightly. He opened his mouth to talk, but was stopped by Hajaa slamming a fist on the desk. The stallion stood up, towering over Twilight.

“We did nothing to her,” Hajaa said, eyes narrowing in rage. “And I will not sit back for a second and allow you to claim otherwise. That… bitch hated her own daughter because of Shining Armor. She wanted us to act like the dogs of Qwarhe, and every second of it made me feel sick, but it was our only option.”

“No matter what Shining says, I know Cadance.” Twilight sat up two, her wings flaring and horn igniting. “There is no way she started acting like this until after you zebras arrived!”

“She invited us!” Hajaa said, not backing down even in the face of a near goddess. “And we have the letters to prove it!”

“Stop.” To’Achuu said, putting a hand on Hajaa’s arm. The other zebra looked down at his chief for a second, before growling and sitting down. Twilight was silent for a second, before she let her wings fold against her back and horn dim.

To’Achuu cleared his throat as she sat back down. “He is right. We have these.” He said, sitting down and placing the folder containing Cadance’s many letters and pictures down on the table. Twilight instantly snatched it up, reading it top to bottom. The three zebras watched in real-time as Twilight’s stern face turned to one of horror, then despair, then finally acceptance.

“T-there is no way this is…” She trailed off.

“I know it is hard to accept, I trust you have known her for a very long time.” To exclaimed, sitting up. “But this would have likely happened eventually. We understand this empire was once ruled by a king of darkness. Sombra. If he had shown up while she was suffering like this… well… better us than him.”

Twilight growled. “Stop.” She hissed through clenched teeth. “Being the lesser of two evils doesn’t make you good.”

To’Achuu nodded. “I will admit… what I just said was somewhat manipulative…” He sheepishly said.

Twilight turned around in her office chair, showing her back to the zebras. She paused for a second, thinking.

“You said you were exiled from your homeland. What would happen if you were sent back.” She said quietly, prompting both Hajaa and Dansaar to gasp. To’Achuu remained calm, however, though… Twilight could tell there was a distinct shake in his voice.

“Hajaa and I, alongside every Stallion strong enough to defend himself, will be put to death,” He said quietly. “And those like Dansaar here will likely be… enslaved.”

Twilight felt her throat go dry. “Do you have anywhere else you could possibly go?”

“No.”

The alicorn’s hands tightened their clasp. “Then we are at an impasse. Because as things currently stand, there is no way I can convince Celestia and Luna to let you remain in the Empire.”

And then, Dansaar spoke up, the first time he had since arriving in the room. “What if To’Achuu were to give up his throne to Shining Armor, and put him in charge?”

Instantly Twilight whirred around in her chair, eyes wide. Similarly, Hajaa and To’Achuu looked at him, jaws dropped.

Twilight was quiet for a second before she brought a hand to her chin. “That might actually work…”

“Really?” Dansaar said, picking himself up slightly, a smile coming to his face. “Because I and Spike were thinking about that exact scenario.”

Twilight stood up and started to pace. “Well… it isn’t a foolproof plan, Celestia and Luna might still think you are using him as a puppet, but it could potentially help convince them that you aren’t a tyrant… and that Cadance really has gone crazy.”

To’Achuu straightened up. “If it allows my tribe to stay in the empire, I will accept this.” He said simply.

Twilight nodded slightly, sighing. “Fine… I’ll draft up a document giving Shining control of the Empire, and you will sign it. But I want to make this absolutely clear.”

Twilight’s horn ignited once again, a deep frown coming to her face. “I am doing this for my friends, and for your tribe. Not for you. Understand?”

To’Achuu calmly nodded. Twilight glared down at him for a second before sighing and turning away from him.

“I am going to have to do a lot of explaining to Celestia and Luna…”

Author's Note

I went fast with this chapter update huh? XD

Politics and Legal Deliberations

A dark figure loomed on a tower overlooking the Crystal Palace, out of sight and out of mind to all of the crystal ponies going about their day. The figure gazed up at the sky as two pegasi guards flew overhead, on the lookout for petty crimes and making sure everything below stayed nice and friendly.

The second they were out of sight, the figure stepped out of the shadows and knelt at the edge of the tower. He wore a dark cloak to cover his lithe, almost feminine frame. A suit of dark leather armor sat under it, with a black bronze cuirass covering his chest. A belt sat wrapped around his waist, a scabbard containing a curved sword, - a shamshir as they were called - a group of several daggers, a telescope hanging from a ring, a quiver of arrows, and a short bow.

He slowly brought his hand down to his belt, before drawing the telescope. Using the scope, he stared down towards the stilted palace’s first floor, his vision locking onto a window near the palace’s left-wing. He got the vague view of an office, and sitting at it were three zebras. He watched in silence as the largest of the three stood up and slammed his fist on the table, shouting about something.

His gaze instead moved to another zebra. To’Achuu. The figure kept the gaze locked on the chieftain for a second, before moving to the one the three of them were talking with. An alicorn. A powerful one at that.

The figure returned his telescope to his belt, then fixed a bronze mask to his face. Without the slightest bit of hesitation, he lept towards the ground. Just before hitting the ground, he drew one of his daggers, stabbing it into the side of the tower. Using the knife and his hooves, he slowed his descent, leaving a large gash in the crystal, coming to a stop only a couple feet from the ground. With the same ease of motion, he ripped his knife from the wall, returned it to his belt, and started a slow walk, heading directly towards the Crystal Palace.

Twilight sighed as she finished dotting her Is and underlining her new document, one that officially gave the Crystal Empire from its current ruler, To’Achuu, to its new one, Shining Armor.

Initially, she had gone over the documents giving control from Cadance to To’Achuu with a fine comb, looking for further evidence of manipulation or mental degradation from Cadance, but no, the documents were all written up almost perfectly, little to no spelling errors, grammatical mistakes or secret code to indicate Cadance had been held hostage, suffered some kind of brain damage, or something of that manner. For all intents and purposes, Cadance was herself when writing this… and completely sane. Which, per the laws of Equestria, meant she was doing this knowledgeably.

Which meant the document was legal in every way. Twilight shook her head.

She would be going down to the dungeon shortly, but first, she had to go to the throne room and have both Shining Armor and To’Achuu sign the letter. The alicorn’s horn ignited as she picked up one of the candles igniting Shining Armor’s office, a red one, and then poured the molten wax from the candle onto a small blotch on the bottom of the parchment, then pressed a small seal into it.

The alicorn turned to leave, walking up to the door. She opened it and stepped outside. Twilight sighed one more time as she closed the door behind her, shaking her head from side to side. Just then she noticed a large black and white shape leaning against the hall wall, with arms crossed across his chest. Hajaa.

The zebra noticed her stare immediately and stood up approaching her. The taller zebra towered over her for a second, being at least a foot or two taller than the 5’9 Alicorn. Then he leaned down slowly so that the two were face to face.

“I would just like to apologize for my actions earlier,” Hajaa said calmly, his tone neutral. “I wanted to make it apparent that I know the tone I took had been absolutely reprehensible.”

Twilight was shocked for a second, blinking twice. Then she steeled herself. “And are you apologizing because you are frightened of me, as an alicorn, or because you want to make your tribe look better?” She questioned, a slight grimace coming to her face.

“Because I acted like a child,” Hajaa explained. “Neither of those things have anything to do with this.”

Twilight’s grimace fell, her gaze locking with Hajaa’s. Then she sighed and nodded back to him. “I suppose it’s water under the bridge.” She chuckled. “But I would recommend against getting that aggressive with Celestia or Luna if they decide to visit. Especially Luna.”

Hajaa silently nodded, closing his eyes slightly as he did. “I acquiesce, you know better about dealing with alicorns than I.”

Twilight shook her head. “Don’t worry about it.” She said with a shrug. “So long as you're respectful and keep your head down, I doubt you’ll have any problems with either of them. Now come on, I have to get this to Shining and To’Achuu. Are they still in the throne room?”

“Yes,” Hajaa replied as the two started walking down the hall.

“I’m telling you guys,” Flash Sentry said with a deep frown. “I talked to Shining earlier and he was totally brainwashed!”

All he earned from that was a groan of disappointment from the others.

The pegasus, and three other guards, were all standing in the courtyard/plaza underneath the Crystal Palace, on guard duty. The four of them, however, were obviously slaking. Instead of actually standing at their posts, they were huddled together in the middle of the clearing chatting.

“And how do you know he was brainwashed?” Another guard, another pegasus by the name of Stalwart Shield, piped up.

“Because he said he wasn’t brainwashed!” Flash cried, pointing to his head. “That means whatever spell he’s under has him convinced he isn’t really mind controlled!”

Stalwart’s jaw dropped. “So… you think he’s brainwashed, because he said he isn’t brainwashed.”

Flash nodded.

“Are you a schizophrenic or something?” Stalwart asked, agasp at what he was hearing.

“No, I am totally rational!” Flash cried. “Those zebras are totally still up to something!”

Another guard, a unicorn named Golden Spear, spoke up. “Oh hey, Sharp Pike, you’re with a zebra now right? Are they plotting something?”

Said guard, a unicorn, suddenly sprung up, blinking twice.

“Who? What? Where?” he said, looking around. Then the guard groaned, bringing a hand to his head. “Oh man… I feel like I’ve been under some kinda… spell or something.”

“Really?” Flash asked, eyes wide in shock.

The other three guards stared at him for a second, before they all broke out in laughter.

“No you freaking idiot. That was so obvious!” Pike laughed.

Flash blushed, stammering for a second. “Hey wait, that’s not fair how-” Stalwart put a hand on his shoulder, and shushed everyone else with a quick finger on his lips.

“Shut up for a sec.” He said, looking behind Flash Sentry. The rest of the guards followed suit, their eyes locking on an approaching figure, who was wearing a black cloak and a bronze mask.

The four guards slowly spread out and readied their spears as they closed in on the figure as he headed towards one of the four castle doors, grabbing one of the handles. Before he could enter, Golden Spear grabbed him by the shoulder.

“Sorry pal, but visitation hours are over. Princess Cadance is currently indisposed, as is her husband.” Golden Spear lied as the other guards surrounded him. “If you have important business we will be able to schedule you an appointment.”

The black-cloaked stallion merely let go of the handle and took a step away from the door. The guards breathed sighs of relief and started to step back. Then in a single movement, the stallion drew his shamshir and swung it directly at Golden Shield. The unicorn barely had time to raise his spear in a defensive position before it caught him.

The bronze sword easily cleaved through the wooden spear, like it was nothing, leaving a nasty gash in the guard's crystalline armor and sending Golden Spear to the ground with a crash. The guard barely had time to pull his head off the ground before the cloaked stallion lept into the air, doing a front flip before landing directly on the unicorn’s head, hammering it into the crystal pavement.

The other three guards could barely react, stepping back to get space as he lowered himself into a near crouch, and charged directly towards Stalwart Shield, sword held close to his chest. The pegasus panickedly tried to stab out with his spear, but the masked stallion merely grabbed the spear and pulled it from his grasp, dropping into a slide that knocked the unicorn off his hooves, dropping him to the ground. He was similarly dispatched by a kick to the head as the stallion rose to his hooves.

A bolt of magic struck the cloaked figure in the chest plate, causing him to stumble slightly, before turning his attention to the rest of his enemies. Pike’s horn was glowing as he readied his spear.

“Flank him, I’ll keep him busy!” Pike shouted as he fired off another bolt of magic. The figure merely grabbed the side of his cloak and raised it like a shield. The magical beam struck the cape, fizzling out the second it touched the fabric, not leaving even the slightest hint of damage.

Pike’s eyes widened in confusion as Flash Sentry took to the air flying in a wide arch around the plaza towards his foe. The masked stallion saw this, quickly spinning around, his cloak blocking another bolt of magic as he drew his short bow and dropped to one knee. He quickly loaded a blunt-tipped arrow. With a quick movement, the figure pulled back and fired it towards Flash Sentry.

With deft accuracy, it struck Flash in the forehead. His helmet blocked the shot, but it was heavily dented and knocked from his head. Flash hit the ground with a crash. He was conscious but stunned. He tried to pull himself up, but he barely had time to look at the cloaked stallion before a second arrow struck him in the exact same spot, knocking him out cold.

Pike was all that was left, and now the figure was focusing on him. Pike growled and raised a bubble shield before dropping onto one knee to charge his horn. If weak spells weren’t getting through that guy's cloak, surely a charged spell would.

He didn’t have time to test that hypothesis as before he could do anything else, the figure whipped around and loaded and fired another arrow. This one was a sharp-headed arrow, with some kind of gray silk covering the tip like a fishnet. With no difficulty at all, the arrow pierced his shield like a hot knife through butter. Pike barely had time to gasp before it struck him directly on the horn.

There was a zap of magic as the arrow bounced off, leaving a nasty crack. Pike dropped to the ground the last thing he felt before passing out was his horn go completely and utterly numb.

With the last guard down, the figure stood up and gazed around the plaza. He knew Crystal Ponies were a skittish easily frightened bunch. It was more than likely that some had seen him dispatch the guards, but most likely they would have rushed into their homes and barricaded the doors than approached the castle to warn anyone. Still, it was likely that one or two of them would eventually muster up the courage to flag down a guard in town. Not to mention other soldiers coming upon the unconscious bodies on the ground.

That meant now he was on a time limit. He quickly sheathed his bow in its holster on his belt, and entered the castle through the same door he intended on.

“So you convinced Twilight to agree to this?” Spike asked, a beaming smile coming to his face as he stared down at Dansaar. The two of them were in the castle throne room, alongside Shining, Thorax, To’Achuu, and a whole squad of guards, both zebra, and pony alike.

Dansaar smiled up at his drake jala. “Yep! I even told her it was your idea!” He beamed.

Spike felt the urge to laugh, almost scooping Dansaar off his hooves. “I think we did it!”

“Did what, Spike?” The two heard. Spike and Dansaar turned their heads to see Thorax approaching. The ling looked lost, without Hajaa around to keep him company he was sorta stuck with a bunch of strangers on his side of the room. So it only made sense that he join the company of one of his few friends in the Empire.

Dansaar whimpered, hiding behind Spike slightly. He was still rather put off by Thorax’s appearance. Mostly the giant vampire-like fangs.

“Oh hey, Thorax! Dansaar here managed to convince Twilight to agree to my plan. To’Achuu is going to give the throne to Shining and the zebras will be allowed to stay!” Spike grinned. He paused for a second, breathing on his claws before polishing them on his chest. “Not to brag or anything, but the two of us might have just saved the lives of a thousand zebras.”

Thorax cocked his head to the side, a goofy smile on his face. “Oh, so that’s why we are all in the throne room?” he snickered slightly.

Spike chuckled back. “You know I’m just realizing, I came to the Empire last week so we could hang out in the first place, and we have barely talked since the zebras got here.” He said, crossing his arms over his chest.

“Well, we have both been pretty busy this last week,” Thorax said blushing. “I’m assuming you’ve been…” He trailed off, but Spike caught his meaning pretty quickly.

The dragon smirked, raising his eyebrows. “Oh yeah. Almost every day.”

“And I’m gonna assume you’re the Irra? You are looking a lot stronger and taller these days,” Thorax asked, looking Spike over from feet to spines.

“Nope! I’m the Jela.” Spike laughed.

“Jala.” Dansaar hissed with a whisper from behind Spike.

“Really?!?” Thorax cried, jaw-dropping.

Spike nodded back at him. “Yep! Dansaar here had me beat by an inch or two.” He lied.

Thorax blinked twice, scratching the side of his head. “Well… good to know the two of us have the same role,” he said, his voice betraying how flabbergasted he was.

“Yep.” Spike laughed. “So how are you dealing with being a Jala?”

Thorax blushed, his face turning a deep blue. “Well… I won’t lie… I am kinda enjoying being on the bottom… Hajaa and I did something I never thought I’d like yesterday…” He said, biting his lip slightly.

“Oh? Give me the spicy details.” Spike hissed, smirking.

“You know how I hate being stared at?” Thorax said, scratching the back of his head.

Spike nodded. It only made sense to him that a race of shape changers didn’t like being looked at.

“Shin- I mean… Someone came into our room last night while Hajaa and I were together and… hnng…” Thorax visibly pressed his legs together as his loincloth started to tent. “I don’t know, it just felt good being watched while I was so... helpless.” The ling shivered, his voice taking on a higher pitch as he spoke.

Spike bit his lower lip. He had to admit, the idea of seeing his friend in such a vulnerable position… was certainly doing something to him. The dragon was suddenly happy he was wearing a loincloth. If he was nude like normal, he’d probably be getting some disgusted stares right about now.

“That does sound nice.” Spike laughed. “If you ever want to be in that position again well…” He similarly trailed off.

The two friend’s faces turned red and blue respectively. There was a moment of salacious silence before Spike cleared his throat and straightened up, Thorax doing the same.

“Sorry about that… I’ve just been a lot more open-minded this week.” Spike chuckled awkwardly. Thorax merely shook his head.

“Don’t be… it kinda feels nice to be open about this kind of thing. Back at the hive I probably would have gotten in a bunch of trouble for… well… actually liking someone. Chrysalis didn’t want us changelings developing feelings for anyone. Apparently, it made us stronger or… something.” The changeling sighed. The longer he was away from his old home, the more he realized how awful the place was.

“Yikes… that sounds harsh,” Spike grunted, gritting his teeth.

“Yeah…” Thorax said, looking towards a window.

The two were quiet for a second before Spike figured he should change the topic.

“So,” The drake stepped aside, causing Dansaar to meep now that he was face to face with Thorax. “Have you met my Irru yet?”

The smaller zebra looked up at Spike, lips pursed and cheeks red. Spike sniggered down at him. It might have sounded cruel, it was kinda fun to see his Irra squirm, though he knew Dansaar would probably get him back for this.

“D-Dansaar,” The zebra said, shakingly reaching a hand up for Thorax to take. His eyes were locked on the changeling’s wickedly sharp fangs. He flinched slightly when Thorax tried to give him a friendly smile - literally smelling the zebra’s fear - showing off his dagger-like teeth.

“Thorax.” The changeling said, taking his hand and gently shaking it. The ling went quiet for a second as Dansaar kept his eyes on the ling, gulping.

Thorax furrowed his brows before widening his eyes in understanding. He looked down at his mouth for a second, before his horn glowed. There was a flash of fire and in a second, his black carapace, fangs, and horn were gone.

Dansaar averted his eyes for a second, but then looked back to see a cyan pony covered in white stripes with curly hair. It still had the same friendly smile Thorax had, but it was a totally different person. Neither of them noticed Spike furrow his brows slightly.

Dansaar’s jaw dropped in an instant, his previous fears gone. “T-Thorax?” he asked. The ling turned pony nodded back at him.

“Yep!” he answered back. “Sorry, I should have realized that I was making you uncomfortable sooner and transformed, I’m so used to being in my natural form around ponies that I didn’t realize it can be rather spooky looking.”

Dansaar was quiet for a second, staring at him mesmerized. Finally, he spoke up, saying something that caught both Spike and Thorax off guard.

“C… can you turn into Spike for me for a second?”

The dragon and ling locked eyes for a second. Spike hesitantly nodded at him and with a burst of fire, standing in the ling’s place was a six-foot-tall purple dragon with green spines, still covered in white stripes.

Dansaar looked from one Spike to the other, pressing his legs together as he did. “I… I might ask Hajaa if I can borrow you at some point…”

Two crystal pony servants went about casually cleaning a hallway on the Crystal Palace’s third floor, the same floor as the throne room. One was a strapping young stallion, white with a jet black mane, while the other was an older type, middle-aged and grey with a greying mane.

“Slow day today, ey Prudence?” The younger stallion said polishing one of the walls. The elder rolled his eyes.

“It’s been slow for a week.” He grunted sweeping up some dirt into a dustpan.

Just then, a high-pitched voice called out, causing both of them to turn their attention down the hall.

“Pristine!” A lithe, short and feminine zebra called out, rushing to the younger stallion, almost tackling him with a hug. The stallion almost tipped over before he returned the zebra’s hug.

“Yaraa!” The stallion laughed, straightening up and lifting the zebra off his hooves. “I still have another half hour on my shift, I wasn’t expecting you here.”

The zebra merely looked up at him with a smile. “I got lonely. I wanted to see you.” He beamed. Pristine stared down at him matching his smile.

“Blech.” Prudence said, returning to his work. The other stallion and his zebra jala stared at him for a second before Pristine laughed.

“Always a party pooper eh Prudence?” Pristine laughed.

“Ain’t natural I say.” the elder hissed, rolling his eyes. “Not only is it a stallion with a stallion, but it’s also with a non-pony of all things. Damn near bestiality.”

“Yikes. Way to tell us how you really feel.” Pristine said, a frown rapidly forming on his face.

“The only I ain’t gone ahead and reported these zebras to the public is because Cadance wanted to have one of them rape my wife,” Prudence replied. “Not to mention those photos they passed out of the princess. Sealed the deal, those things.”

Yaraa moaned in annoyance. “Come on Pristine, can’t we get away from this guy? I’ll do that thing you like…”

Pristine shivered slightly… Yaraa was so convincing when he wanted to be.

“C-can you wait for just a little? I’m sure the boss wouldn’t mind if I go home 15 minutes early if I get everything done in advance.” The stallion replied. Prudence growled again, but before any of them could respond or do anything else, the sound of hooves walking on crystal caught their attention.

Yaraa let out a loud gasp, shaking like a newborn fawn in his Irra’s arms as a cloaked figure turned the corner, the eyes of its mask locking on the zebra.

In an instant zebra ripped himself free from Pristine’s hooves and started running down the hall, not even taking a second to explain what was happening.

“W-wait! Yaraa! What’s wrong?” Pristine called after him, quickly rushing after his jala, leaving Prudence alone with the figure.

Prudence grunted, stepping in front of the individual. The crystal pony was a head taller than him, at least. Prudence crossed his arms over his chest.

“I don’t know how you got in here, but the palace is closed to visitors. Kindly turn around and leave right now before I get the - Grk!” the stallion was cut off as he was grabbed by the throat and slammed into the wall next to him.

He gasped, trying to grab at the arm holding his windpipe but couldn’t get a good grip. He almost passed out from a lack of oxygen before the figure let go of him. He gasped, desperately trying to straighten up and run, but his legs were barely responding.

The last thing he saw was the cloaked figure raise a fist and smash it into his face before he dropped to the ground.

Twilight cleared her throat as she entered the throne room, her eyes locking on the padded royal seat where her sister-in-law had once sat. Now, standing near it were Shining Armor and To’Achuu, both of which were staring back at her expectantly.

She grit her teeth slightly. She had never expected Shining Armor of all stallions to be the type to go after stallions. Not that she minded of course. No, it was just the type of stallion he was bedding that made her purse her lips. She scanned the room for a second. Spike, Thorax, and Dansaar were standing over by the right wall of the room, hands behind their backs. Her eyes returned to the throne as Hajaa jogged ahead and joined Shining by his chief’s side.

All eyes were on her, though she supposed that made sense. She was about to determine the fate of an entire tribe of people. Twilight straightened her back.

“Leave us,” she ordered the guards in the room. They all reluctantly nodded before they turned and, in unison, marched out of the room.

Twilight exhaled as the last guard left. She closed her eyes and breathed in, then approached the throne. The alicorn flared her wings as she did, her horn glowing as she straightened her back regally.

“I, Princess Twilight of Ponyvile, Princess of Magic officially bear witness to the transferring of power over the throne of the Crystal Empire from To’Achuu to Shining Armor. As soon as this decree is signed, Captain Shining Armor shall officially be the Prince of the Crystal Empire, and all its surrounding holdings, effective immediately.” She said, her voice carrying a regal tone as she levitated the scroll carrying her seal over to the two stallions in question. She honestly didn’t know why she was being so formal about this, but she supposed that a moment of this severity required some ritual.

The two stallions across from her nodded as she also levitated an inkwell with two quills towards them, setting it on one of the armrests of the throne. They both hesitated as they in unison glanced from it to the decree, then to one another.

“Are you sure you want to do this?” Shining asked, frowning slightly. “I mean… you’re a king now, are you sure you want to give that all away on my account?”

To’achuu frowned. Without another second of debate, he reached down, grabbed the quill closest to him, and signed his name. Shining’s eyes widened for a second as he turned to him.

“I wasn’t cut out for ruling an empire of this scale,” To’achuu said with a smile. “Besides, I still have my tribe… and you.”

Shining inhaled, his gaze softening as he stared at his zebra companion. Closing his eyes, he took a second of pause, before he too signed the document.

Twilight watched on in awe… the more she watched the two stallions, the more she saw that they did truly love one another… and that maybe they were right. Maybe Cadance had gone off the deep end.

“So, is it all settled then?” To’Achuu asked, turning to the Princess.

Twilight was quiet for a moment, then nodded. “It is all settled.” She sighed, shaking her head.

“Good,” Hajaa spoke up, taking the reigns from To’Achuu for a moment. “Now then, I think we next have to all plan how to break this news to the public.”

Twilight nodded. “You are correct. As such, I will be staying in the Empire for the foreseeable future, so I can help make sure things happen smoothly. I may not be as popular here as Spike and Shining, but my words will carry weight as an alicorn, and I believe the three of us working together should be more than enough to convince the Crystal Ponies to accept you.”

To’Achuu clapped his hands together.

“Excellent. Then we should begin at once.” He said, turning to Shining. “My Prince, would you like me to fetch you some parchment or paper so we can begin planning things out?”

It took Shining a second to register that yes, he was now the official prince of the empire. He was still for a moment before straightening up.

“Oh yes, of course.” He said, nodding to To’Achuu. “By all means.”

To’Achuu nodded at his lover and prepared to move out. Just then, however, the door to the room slammed open, and the breaths of all three zebras caught in their throats. Standing in the doorway, Shamshir drawn was the cloaked stallion

Hajaa grit his teeth and lowered into an action pose. Dansaar let out a cry of fear, falling onto his rear as he tried to back up. To’Achuu’s face turned a pale white.

“Who are you? What are you doing in here?” Twilight asked, frowning. “This is a private meeting.”

The stallion didn’t respond, merely pointing the tip of his Shamshir at the distant To’Achuu’s throat.

Author's Note

I wonder who this figure is? Spooky right?

Hope you enjoyed this chapter! I enjoyed writing it, though tbh I can't wait to get back into the sensual bits. I might put up a poll to see what you guys would like to see first.

In fact, screw it, here we go;

https://strawpoll.com/polls/GeZANk6bEyV

Keep in mind, the smut won't start until the chapter after next at the earliest, we got an assassin of some kind to deal with first :D

Fights and Attempted Assassinations:

The ponies - and others - in the room barely had time to react before the hooded figure pounced, his shamshir at his side as he rushed towards To’Achuu.

Seeing who he was after was all it took to motivate Shining to action. In an instant, he opened fire with magical beams streaking from his horn, but his target elegantly avoided them with stunning grace. Some shots struck his cloak and were eradicated, as if they never existed at all. Others were merely dodged with jumps and side lunges.

In less than a minute, he had crossed the room and arrived at the object of his obsession. With a powerful slash, the figure attempted to bring his blade downwards to the crown of To’Achuu’s head. The zebra chieftain let out a cry of fear and closed his eyes but… there was no impact.

Shakingly, he opened his eyes to see the sword held at bay by a barrier of purple energy, cracks running through it. Slowly he and the assassin both turned to see Shining Armor’s horn glowing. A hiss escaped the masked stallion’s mouth as Shining stepped towards him.

In that moment of silence, the shock in the room dissipated. Guards quickly mobilized, rushing into the room with spears at the ready. Twilight took to the air, her horn glowing as her nostrils flared. No one threatened her subjects while she was around!

The zebras, however, had very different reactions. Hajaa wasted no time in rushing towards his jala. He practically tackled him as he threw the stunned ‘ling over his shoulder and rushed out of the room, seemingly abandoning the rest. Dansaar meanwhile could only curl up in a ball against the wall, hoping the assassin didn’t see him. Spike wasted no time in stepping in between his Irra and the figure, arms raised in a rather meek action pose.

The moment of silence ended when the unicorn guards started hammering the stallion with spells. However, due to his positioning, almost all of those spells merely struck the shield or his cloak. The stallion hissed once more as he pulled his shamshir back and sheathed it. A massive purple beam of magic fired from Twilight prompted the assassin to backflip away from his target, narrowly dodging a shot that disintegrated a not insignificant part of the ground where he had been standing.

He sailed in an arch towards the middle of the room. While in the air he drew his bow and reached for an arrow on his quiver, this one tipped with a glass vial full of a dark grey liquid instead of a sharp tip. The micro second he landed, he spun on his heel and loaded the arrow. He spun around quickly and aimed the arrow at the ground in front of the guard squad rushing him.

A massive blast of magic, once again fired by Twilight, struck him in the back. His cloak blocked it enough that all he received was a blast of kinetic force, but it was enough to make him stumble and throw off his aim for a moment. The arrow sailed away from its intended target, and instead went towards the chest of a unicorn, who raised a magical barrier to defend himself.

The arrow tip shattered the moment it touched the shield into an explosion of grey smoke that instantly downed the guard’s shield. Those caught in it started to sputter and cough before a more insidious effect took hold.

The moment they breathed the gas in, the horns of unicorns sputtered out and went numb, arcane electricity coursing through the veins of their owners. Pegasi suddenly collapsed from the air as their wings became useless, their bodies suddenly too heavy for them to carry. Earth Ponies suddenly felt a crippling burden as the weight of their armor and spears seemingly increased exponentially, their strength being sapped right out of them. It didn’t take long for the last of the crystal defenders to collapse to the ground, too weak to even move.

The figure then whipped back around, aiming another glass-tipped arrow at Twilight. He didn’t have time to release it before another bolt of magic shot from Shining Armor, piercing the wood of the bow like a hot knife through butter, cutting the rope, before striking him in the shoulder, sparking a cry of pain.

Spike, Shining, and Twilight’s eyes all widened at once as the assassin collapsed to one knee, shaking slightly. His voice… was weak and girlish, not fitting the extremely capable appearance he was giving off. He took a second to breathe before he looked down at his now useless bow, and the arrow he was still holding. With a growl, he smashed it to the ground. There was another explosion of smoke, masking him in a cloud of darkness. All was quiet for a moment, before he suddenly pounced from the smoke again, his wound not even bothering him as he charged at Shining Armor, shamshir and dagger drawn.

“Where are we going?!” Thorax cried out from Hajaa’s shoulder.

“Away. Now.” Hajaa growled as he turned a corner, sprinting past several crystal guards rapidly making their way towards the throne room.

“Why? Who was that!?” Thorax yelled down at his

“A Yanissary of Qwarhe. Elite slave soldiers trained from the Inkosi’s own harem.” Hajaa said, his voice hollow. “And after he is done with To’Achuu he is likely going to be coming for me, and I am not sticking around to let that happen.”

Hajaa let out a sudden snarl. “I told that idiot this was a bad idea. All of it!” He roared as he started rushing down a set of stairs towards one of the castle's entrances. “Not only could that entire plan of his ended up blowing up in our faces, but it also left us in one place for too long. I should have known that settling down would make it easier for them to track us!”

Thorax wrinkled his snout before, with a flash of cold fire, he disappeared and a garden snake replaced him. In a single movement, it slithered out of Hajaa’s grasp, landing on the stairs behind them and burst into fire again.

Hajaa froze, turning around to see Thorax standing over him, his arms crossed over his chest.

“You’re afraid. I get that.” Thorax sternly - or as sternly as his squeaky voice could manage - said, brow furrowing slightly. “But we can’t just abandon everyone else!”

“You don’t get it-” Hajaa started, sagging over slightly.

“Don’t I?” Thorax said his lips arching into a frown. “I’m an exile too, you know. From a kingdom that’s probably just as bad, if not worse than this Qwarhe place. If they ever found where I was, they would probably torture me for months before publically executing me. Does that mean I would ever abandon my friends if they wanted to hurt them? No!”

Hajaa’s hands balled into fists as he looked away, breathing becoming uneven.

“I know you’re scared, but you are strong. I know you are.” Thorax said quietly. “You aren’t a coward Hajaa. You told me yourself. You are a warrior. So why are you-”

“I’m not frightened of what happens to myself.” Hajaa suddenly said, looking down towards his hooves. “But… I know what Qwarhe does. I know what they are. After they were done with me, they’d come for you next.”

“W-what?” Thorax said, taking a step back.

“If the Inkosi found out that I had a jala… he wouldn’t rest until he had gotten his hands on you. He would drag you in chains to Qwarhe and break you into his obedient pet, if only to spite me.” Hajaa said, how gaze growing numb.

“B-but why would they want to spite you? You’re just To’Achuu’s second in command.” Thorax replied, brows furrowing in concern.

“I was from Qwarhe… not only that, I was rather high ranked in their Hierarchy. High enough that my running away personally upset the Inkosi. And now he wants me dead just as much as he wants To’Achuu dead.” He said silently. “And he wants to make sure I suffer.”

Thorax went quiet.

“I was selfish to take a jala… especially because I know what will be done to you when I fall… and I forced myself upon you, and I am sorry for that… in truth, I am no better than-” Hajaa started. Thorax silenced him with a growl.

“Stop it,” he said, causing Hajaa to raise his brow. “I know I’m n-not the most assertive ‘ling around, but I wanted you too. Even if I knew the risks at the time, I would have still wanted to be with you.”

“You say that now,” Hajaa sighed, shaking his head. He turned his head towards Thorax. “You really want me to fight?”

“Not fight. I want you to help keep our friends safe. It’s the right thing to do.” He said arms crossed over his chest.

Hajaa steeled himself, his gaze going through Thorax. “Fine. Then we need to get to my room. I have some things that will help there.”

And then the two took off, Thorax leading the way up the stairs.

The Yannisary narrowly avoided another bolt of magic from Shining Armor as he brought his arm back and slammed the hilt of his sword directly into the unicorn’s nose. The prince stumbled back grabbing his nose as he felt liquid pouring from it. He barely had time to do anything else before he was kicked in the chest and sent sprawling to the ground.

“Shining!” To’Achuu cried. He tried to rush to his fallen lover’s side but was stopped when the Yannisary threw the dagger in his off-hand at him. He narrowly dodged, but the blade caught his shirt, yanking him back as it stabbed deep into the wall, pinning him in place.

The Yannissary quickly attempted to rush at the chief, blade at the ready, but he was tripped up when Shining reached up from the floor, grabbing him by the leg. The Yannissary collapsed to the ground as Twilight swooped down at him and fired a massive beam of energy from her horn down directly at him.

He barely had time to spin around and cover himself with his cloak before the beam struck. There was a blast of energy before it dimmed down, showing the barely scathed stallion at the bottom of a crater in the crystal. He tried to shakingly stand up, but barely had enough time to get one hoof off the ground before Twilight hit him with another beam, causing him to sink even deeper into the ground as the crater widened.

“Your magic isn’t going to do much good!” To’achuu cried as Twilight kept the beam going, pushing him further and further into the ground, risking sending him crashing down to the floor below. “His cloak, it is made from the silk of a Haftvad Worm!”

“And what does that mean?” Twilight cried her horn only increasing its power.

“They feed off the herbs of the Zir plant of my homeland, which is notorious for canceling out all magic, alchemical or arcane!” To’Achuu grunted as he tried his hardest to pull the knife from the crystal. “Its properties are carried over to the silk of the worm!”

Twilight grunted. Of course… She had read about that particular plant at Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns. She should have realized sooner that that was what lead to the stallion’s near immunity to magic. Fortunately, she also knew the Zir plant only had an effect on direct magic.

Instantly, she stopped her beam and instead used a levitation spell to start ripping chunks of crystal out of the walls around her. Dragging them through the air towards her.

The Yannissary slowly crawled his way out of the crater, his arms shaking and his shoulders huffing with every breath. It was clear he was running out of steam. He let out a guttural growl as he pulled himself over the rim and turned to charge at Twilight.

He barely had time to get within a meter of her before a solid chunk of crystal the size of a toaster struck him in the chest bringing him to a stop and almost knocking him over. Then two more rocks came flying at him, one striking him in the cheek and the other in the stomach, causing him to keel over as the wind was knocked out of him. He collapsed onto his knees desperately trying to breathe as Twilight towered over him, a much larger rock, almost the size of a cart held over her head with no issue.

“I don’t want to hurt you any more than I have to to make you stop. Surrender and no more harm will come to you.” She said quietly, her frown deepening as she crossed her arms over her chest. The Yannissary slowly raised his head scanning the room for a second. More guards were pouring in over the squad he had already incapacitated, both zebra and pony alike. Then his eyes settled on Dansaar and Spike.

The Yannissary’s brow furrowed under his mask as he slowly stood up, clenching his shamshir. He panted a couple of times as he raised his sword, pointing the tip at Twilight’s throat as the rock she was holding slowly passed over him, casting a massive shadow on the ground around him.

The alicorn hesitated, the rock raising for a second… It was just what the stallion needed.

“Very well.” She said with a sad frown, and then she dropped it.

She was expecting a bang, and things to be over. What she wasn’t expecting, however, was for the Yannissary to dodge out of the way in a blinding burst of speed and rush towards Spike and Dansaar.

The dragon’s eyes widened as he saw him approach. Spike tried to throw a punch, but the Yannissary easily avoided it and spun around to Spike’s rear. With a strength that was ill-suited to someone of his size, he wrapped one arm around the drake’s throat, which forced him to have to bend down to not be choked out. In another quick movement, the cloaked stallion repositioned his grip, holding one of Spike’s arms painfully behind his back while bringing the blade of his Shamshir to the dragon’s throat.

Yet again, all eyes were on the Yannissary.

“Spike!” Twilight cried, her horn going numb and her magic instantly cutting out.

“Let him go, right now!” Shining hissed as he wiped the blood away from his nose, grabbing an extra spear from one of his guards. He and the other guards started to rapidly surround him, forming a half-circle with them on one side, and the wall of the throne room on the other. “I swear, if any harm comes to him at all, you are going to spend the rest of your days in a stockade, you hear me!?”

The Yannissary didn’t hesitate or flinch as he started slowly walking towards To’Achuu, his back to the wall and Spike in front of him. Of course, in so doing, he had made two fatal mistakes. He had underestimated a certain tiny zebra, and he had threatened his jala.

He didn’t see Dansaar quickly rise to his hooves until it was too late. His eyes widened under his mask as he was tackled from the side by the smaller stallion. He wasn’t prepared for it, losing grip of his shamshir and the dragon as they both sailed to the ground. The two landed in a crumpled pile, with Dansaar ontop.

“Nobody hurts my jala!” Dansaar growled as he desperately tried to hold the Yannissary down, but weak as he was, he couldn’t manage for long.

With a bestial hiss, the Yannissary freed a hand and brought it back, punching Dansaar in the face. The smaller zebra was sent to the ground. Quickly, the other stallion rolled on top of him and raised another fist, preparing a punch that would knock him out for sure.

He didn’t have time to bring it down before his wrist was grabbed by a massive purple claw. There were a couple of fearful gasps around the room as the Yannissary was lifted into the air by one arm by Spike, another claw grabbing him by the throat. The zebra’s eyes filled with fear as he watched as the dragon rapidly started gaining muscle mass and height, the Yannissary being gradually lifted higher and higher off the ground.

There was a ripping noise as the small loincloth Spike had been wearing was destroyed by his increased growth before it was drowned out by a roar only a dragon could make.

“HOW DARE YOU TOUCH MY DANSAAR!?” Spike screamed, his eyes going white with rage. In a single movement, Spike reared back and threw the Yannissary like a ragdoll. He went sailing until he was stopped by the wall on the far side of the room, close to the throne room’s only entrance. There was a massive thud as he hit the wall with enough force to crack it, a cry of pure pain escaping his lips before he collapsed to the ground.

The guards in the room wasted no time in charging toward his crumpled body, all while Spike shrunk down to his original size as he leaned down and pulled Dansaar into a hug. The small zebra looked stunned.

“Are you ok?” The dragon asked, a couple of tears forming in his eyes.

Dansaar, could barely feel the bruise on his cheek as he looked up at him with a gaze of awe and bewilderment… he could only nod up at him, a small smile coming to his face.

It took every fiber of the Yannissary’s being to stand up, every movement was agony as he struggled to keep himself steady, bracing himself on the wall to stand up. His head movements were quick and panicked as he saw the crystal guards quickly rushing towards him spears at the ready.

“Come on men! There’s no way he can escape again! We got him!” One of the pony guards roared spears at the ready.

“Death to Qwarhe!” Another, a zebra, cried as they started to rush him.

He snarled, fishing into his quiver and pulling out one last glass-tipped arrow. He was quick to raise it into the air and smash it on the ground, creating another smoke screen of toxic air, harmless to zebras, but it would shield him from vision and keep the ponies at bay.

He shakingly started to limp towards where he thought the room’s exit was as zebra charged into the smoke. He narrowly managed to avoid them as he reached the door. An all-encompassing message, one that had been forcibly drilled into his head, was screaming that he had to make it back to his master. His master would make it all better. That thought process came to an end when he saw who was waiting for him in the arch of the opened doorway.

A massive giant of a stallion, wearing a suit of bronze plate armor. Intricately carved spirals danced across the armor, alongside several symbols of a lion with bullhorns and wings, the sigil of Qwarhe, though they all looked to have been hastily scratched out by a knife or a dagger. The helmet covered the wearer’s face with a chainmail veil, but he could make out the color of the eyes on the other side. They were both a deep amber. He recognized who they belonged to just before he felt a solid bronze spear get shoved into his chest, nearly coming out the other side.

“H… Hajaa…” The Yannissary said, gazing up at him as tears formed under his mask.

The stallion gazed down at him sympathetically as he ripped the spear out. Nodding down to him as if to say… It was time to stop.

He stumbled back for a second. Turning around and taking a few shaky steps into the room. Slowly, he reached a hand out towards To’Achuu, before he collapsed to the ground, unmoving.

Author's Note

Damn, that was a fight and a half eh?

Hope I did everyone justice, yeah?

The vote is still in effect. If you have any last-minute additions, vote for them here. The winners will be in next chapter lol
https://strawpoll.com/polls/GeZANk6bEyV

Rationalization and Intoxication

Silence overtook the crowd in the throneroom as they slowly approached the downed cloaked zebra, who was lying face down on the crystal floor, clutching his chest with one hand while the other was meekly stretched out towards To’Achuu. Hesitantly, several crystal guards approached, prodding at the body with the pommels of their spears.

“Who in Celestia’s name was that?” Shining finally asked after he pushed through the crowd, to stare down at the corpse, eyes narrowing.

“That was what we were running from,” To’Achuu said as he joined his lover’s side. “A Yanissary of Qwarhe. The Inkosi’s shadows. Assassins, bodyguards… concubines… they do it all at once.”

Twilight’s face went white as she approached, hearing what To’achuu had said, all of the pony guards’ faces slowly turned green, realization hitting them like a ton of bricks.

“You mean-” She started. Her throat closed up on her when she tried to go further.

Hajaa bent down towards the body, placing a hand on the Yannissary’s back.

“The Inkosi has enslaved hundreds of Jala’s forming a harem of enslaved zebras. Sometimes, one catches his eye, so he puts them through even more vigorous breaking and training that turns them into one of these. Single-minded killers loyal only to him.” Hajaa spoke grimly as he dropped his spear and slowly rolled the body over.

“He has multiple of these things?” Twilight asked, jaw-dropping.

“Many… though it is hard to get an accurate count, he only ‘plays’ with them two at a time, and has two more standing watch to make sure nothing happens to him, though every time I entered his palace when I was younger, I could feel dozens of eyes on my back from the shadows,” Hajaa explained as he gently crossed the Yanissary’s arms over his chest. Mouth grim.

“Hajaa, he said your name,” Dansaar said as he and Spike made their way towards them. “Do you think that means…”

The crowd parted around both to allow them through, both zebra and pony alike staring at them in awe. After all, they had both managed to land hits on a guy who had cut through the best defenses in the Crystal Empire like butter.

“He’s one of ours, yes,” Hajaa said, looking down at his armored hands. “But who…”

Hesitantly, the zebra warrior reached a hand towards his mask. He stopped just before grabbing it, looking up to To’Achuu. The chieftain was quiet for a second before he nodded down at him. He slowly undid the mask’s binds before he lifted it off him.

The second it was off all the way, Hajaa fell back, the mask clattering to the ground as he did. Almost instantly all of the zebras in the room let out horrified gasps. Though she didn’t understand the full picture, Twilight at least could understand some of the shock.

It was a young zebra, he looked about 18 or 19 years old, with feminine features almost resembling Dansaar’s. His sky-blue eyes stared blankly towards the sky, the life drained from them, what little they had. His hair was short and neatly shaven, per his master’s requests most likely. His cheeks were slightly sunken, and several lines of red leaked from his mouth and nose. The final noticeable marking on his face was the branding of a horned and winged lion that had been burned onto his cheek, just below his left eye.

“C-cabaa…” Dansaar whimpered, wrapping his arms around Spike and pulling the dragon closer to him, his eyes watering. Hajaa himself was visibly shaking, staring down at his bloodied gauntlets rapidly clenching them and unclenching them. With his helmet on, it was hard to tell if it was from rage or horror.

Silence reigned once again before Twilight cleared her throat and elbowed Shining. The unicorn jumped slightly before he quickly realized what the princess wanted him to do, as the ruler of the Empire.

“Everyone, leave us for now. We will explain what happened in detail to the rest of the palace, but for now, we need to be alone to… discuss things.” Quickly the guards poured out of the room as Thorax slinked in around them. Soon the door closed leaving only those who had been inside when the Yannissary first broke into the room, and said individual’s body.

As soon as most of his tribe was out of the room, To’Achuu did something… uncharacteristic. The chieftain walked over to the Yannissary and collapsed to his knees, his jaw rapidly clenching and unclenching as he brought himself closer to the zebra’s face, his eyes watering slightly.

He didn’t flinch when Hajaa quickly stood up, slamming a hoof as he did. The zebra warrior spun on his hoof as he ripped off his helmet, staring down at its front. He rumbled for but a moment, before he suddenly let out an all-encompassing roar of rage, stepping forward and throwing his helmet against one of the crystal walls. His helmet let out a shriek of metal denting and fell to the ground, though the wall itself cracked.

“I… take it you knew him,” Twilight said quietly, her mouth going dry.

“W-we did,” Dansaar stumbled over his word, stopping to take a deep inhale to try to calm himself. “That’s Cabaa. He was one of the tribe’s highest-ranking zebras, just below To’Achuu and Hajaa. He was the third to join the tribe, just after they met.”

“T-this was my fault…” To’Achuu suddenly said, desperately trying to rally his emotions. Trying and failing. “I’m the reason he got his hands on you… I’m the reason he turned you into a monster.”

The chieftain pressed his forehead into Cabaa’s, his breath weak. Shining was quiet, staring down at him. He took a second to lower himself down, placing a hand on his lover’s shoulder.

“I’m sorry… he must have been a good stallion, but you can’t blame yourself…” He quietly exclaimed, furrowing his brows.

To’Achuu went silent, his countenance growing grim.

Hajaa suddenly shot up. He turned to Cabaa, his breath uneven. He stared the dead zebra in the eyes for but a moment and then… he turned and walked away. No one dared stop him, not even Thorax who he brushed past and left the room. Thorax could swear as he passed, however, that he saw Hajaa shaking.

Thorax turned and stared at the group for a moment before he quietly nodded at them and followed after his irra, his hands nervously clenched at his sides.

Spike and Dansaar meanwhile stared at one another before Dansaar opened his mouth to speak.

“W… we s-should go too,” the smaller zebra said, bowing his head. “I’m s-sorry chief… I…”

To’Achuu merely put on a dry smile and looked up at Dansaar. “It’s alright my friend. Please, don’t let me stop you. You two must’ve had a hard day.”

The chieftain gestured to his throat for a moment, before turning his hand towards the door. “I insist. Go, think nothing more of this… I… I will handle it.”

Spike and Dansaar both nodded and turned leaving the room. That left only To’achuu, Shining Armor, and Twilight alone.

That was when To’Achuu turned his gaze to the sky, to prevent the tears from rolling down his face.

Shining Armor held his tongue and merely walked to To’Achuu’s side. He knelt down slowly and grabbed his lover by the hand.

Twilight watched on silently as Shining then pulled To’Achuu into a hug.

It was only after Spike and Dansaar entered their room and quietly closed the door after them that they both let out breaths neither of them knew they were holding in. Spike braced himself against the door, buckling over slightly and rubbing his throat. Dansaar meanwhile sat down on the bed, breathing deeply.

“Oh by the gods… I almost died!” Dansaar cried, his voice pitiful.

“So did I!” Spike cried, panting. “And you saved my life!”

“No! You saved mine!” Dansaar cried, standing up and walking closer to Spike.

The two quickly embraced as Spike pulled Dansaar against his chest.

“Sweet Celestia…” Spike said quietly, the two taking a moment to stay together. “I love you so much…”

“You what?” Dansaar asked turning to Spike with stars in his eyes.

“Like, I know I loved you before… but now… now I really really love you.” Spike said, pulling him even closer. “I… I want you, more than ever before.”

“Y-you mean that? You aren’t just saying that to g-get me going?” Dansaar whimpered. Spike laughed, causing his heart to skip a beat.

“Of course!” Spike said with a giggle, running a hand down Dansaar’s back. “Especially because of the dragon code.”

“D-dragon code?” Dansaar said, eyebrow-raising.

“Don’t worry about it.” Spike chuckled. “But… well.”

He went silent for a second before biting his lip slightly. “D-do you want to try it now?”

“Try what?”

“It… you know…” Spike blushed for a second before he leaned in.

“Anal.” He whispered, awkwardly. “You know… do it right? All we’ve done up until now is foreplay stuff…”

Dansaar’s eyes widened for a second, blinking. He had actually been thinking of doing that for a while now, but neither of the two had actually mustered up the courage to ask. There was an all-encompassing fear between the two that neither of them would like it as much as the erotic magazines or lewd claimed they would, or that it would hurt.

But now… since Spike was offering. “Yes…” Dansaar said, a blush coming to his face. “L-let’s do it.”

“Ok then… who’s gonna be the bottom?” Spike asked, rubbing the back of his head.

“Well… I am the Irra.” The zebra giggled, causing Spike to roll his eyes.

“Only cause I let you,” He said. Dansaar was quiet for a second before Spike smiled down at him. “But sure. Remember where we keep it?”

Dansaar grinned as Spike let go of him, making his way to the bed. He was quick to lay belly-down on the bed, not having to strip due to his… earlier growth, before readjusting himself into a more visually pleasurable position.

The dragon was face down, looking at Dansaar pensively. His rear was propped up on his knees, on full display for his Irra, but he kept it covered with his tail. His emerald green eyes stared at his zebra as he quickly stripped himself to expose himself. Spike bit his lip as the last bit of clothing was ripped off of Dansaar, exposing his already rockhard rod.

Finally, after several seconds of agonizing silence, Spike lifted his tail, showing off his hole. This was the first time Dansaar had found himself properly staring at his Jala’s equipment, and it left him drooling slightly. Spike’s unused pucker looked tight and snug. It quivered slightly as if calling out to him. He almost lost himself when Spike shook it from side to side, the hypnotic movements driving him to near insanity. He almost pounced then and there, but he stopped when Spike cleared his throat.

“Oh, right.” The zebra sheepishly said, before rushing over to the bedside cabinet and slamming open a drawer. Inside, was an unopened tube of lubricant. The two had bought it several days prior but had simultaneously chickened out before they decided to use it, and instead decided to sixty-nine instead.

Dansaar quickly returned to Spike’s side, quickly lubing up his rod from base to tip… perhaps with a little too much of the gel he worried. But hey, that just meant he didn’t have to lubricate the other part.

Finally, Dansaar turned around, his slick rod standing out hard from his crotch, ready to bury itself in its new home. Dansaar quickly went to the bed, crawling onto it with all the grace of a trout on land. The zebra bit his lips as he slowly walked on his knees toward Spike, setting a hand on either of his hips and resting his rod in between the dragon’s cheeks. Both of their breaths hitched in their throats for a moment as Dansaar slowly bucked his hips back and forth, hod dogging himself between the dragon’s ass. The zebra bit his lips for a moment, feeling the underside of his rod glide over his jala’s pucker, back and forth.

Turning his gaze upwards, however, Dansaar only found himself staring at the back of Spike’s head, and a feeling of slight… disappointment gripped him. No, he didn’t want their first time to be like this… he wanted to see the dragon’s face.

“C-could you turn around?” Dansaar said with a gulp, worrying that his lover would find the request… strange.

Instead, Spike’s eyes merely widened. Looking over his shoulder at the zebra, a blush quickly came to his face. “Y-yeah… sure.”

There was a slight shifting on the bed as Spike spun around, laying on his back. He paused for a moment before spreading his legs, revealing his pucker and pecker to the zebra’s hungry gaze, who couldn’t help but smile.

Dansaar inhaled deeply as he aligned himself, his flat tip prodding at Spike’s pucker. After what felt like an eternity of waiting, Dansaar slowly pressed his hips forward, and his breath caught in his throat. Spike clenched his teeth and let out a slight hiss as Dansaar slowly but gently worked his way inside. The dragon’s legs clenched, wrapping around Dansaar’s hips. The drake’s tail whipped around, wrapping itself around one of the zebra’s legs and squeezing tight.

Spike brought a clawed hand to either of Dansaar’s shoulders and held on for dear life. With a quiet pop, the zebra’s medial ring pushed past Spike’s wall and entered his inner walls. Spike suddenly let out a whimper as he felt Dansaar’s cock grind against his pleasure button, forcing his legs to hold onto Dansaar even tighter.

After what felt like an eternity, Dansaar and Spike’s hips finally met.

“Ahn… so tight…” Dansaar whimpered, feeling his dick throb against Spike’s inner walls. It was almost a perfect fit.

“D-dansaar…” Spike whimpered in response, staring up at the zebra. Their eyes locked as Spike looked up at his Irra pleadingly.

Instinctively, the zebra knew exactly what to do. Slowly he bucked his hips back, retreating from his lover. Almost immediately his cock felt cold in the room’s naked air, begging to be back in the warm embrace of the dragon. Dansaar intended to pull back to his tip, but he only got as far as his medial ring before he let out a weak growl and thrust himself back in.

Spike let out a squeal and shuddered, which made Dansaar hungry.

“I like that noise jala…” he hissed a smirk coming to his blushing face. Quickly, he retracted his rod back to the medial ring. “I want to hear it again.”

And when he thrust his hips forward again, that’s exactly what he heard. The rhythm of slow retreats and fast advances continued like that for several minutes. Until Dansaar could take no more. Eventually, the damn wall broke and the zebra’s restraints disappeared.

He picked up the pace from there, going quicker and quicker. A loud plap plap plap echoed through the room, bouncing off the crystalline walls. The sound of Dansaar’s full stones slapping against Spike’s eagre rear.

“Spike!” Dansaar cried, his head rising on its own forcing him to look at the baseboard of the bed. “I’m gonna…”

He was stopped as with a sudden movement, Spike grabbed Dansaar by the back of the head with a free hand and forced him to look the dragon directly in the eyes. A greedy growl escaped the drake’s lips.

“Inside! Now!” Spike suddenly snarled, his legs wrapping around Dansaar even harder and forcing him down, their hips meeting.

Dansaar flew over the edge with no brakes in sight. He let out a cry and his dick throbbed harder than it ever had before. Then he came. White rope after white rope shot out of his dick like grapeshot from a canon. Spike’s insides were painted white as Dansaar stared into Spike’s eyes the entire time. His big, green, beautiful eyes.

After what felt like an eternity of the greatest pleasure imaginable, Dansaar fell forwards, his chest pressing against Spike’s as his head found a resting place in the crook of the dragon’s neck. He stared up at Spike with tired eyes as the dragon quickly pulled the Zebra into a tight and inescapable hug, a smile coming to his face.

The last thing the irra heard before drifting off to sleep was a quiet rumble from his jala;

“My Dansaar…”

Thorax hesitantly opened the door to his and Hajaa’s room, peaking inside for a moment. What he saw gave him pause.

Hajaa was still in his armor, staring down at his hooves as he sat in bed. His hands were clasped between his knees. He wasn’t moving, at all. He hadn’t even stripped out of his armor since leaving the throne room.

Thorax slowly entered the room, taking a seat beside Hajaa, who only numbly registered the movement on the bed. After a moment of quiet, the changeling finally spoke up.

“A-are you alright?” Thorax asked, putting a hand on Hajaa’s back. After a moment of quiet, Hajaa responded.

“I’m… I’m going to be. I just need to process this all.” Hajaa responded, slowly looking up, staring at the wall. “I thought Cabaa was dead. It probably would’ve been better if he was.”

“You two were close?” Thorax asked pursing his lips.

Hajaa nodded. “He was my first Jala.”

Thorax’s jaw dropped and his face went white. “I… I see… That…” He stammered.

“Don’t. I lost him years ago when he… when he was killed by Qwarhe warriors. What I met in that room was a ghost, nothing more.” Hajaa answered for him. “This has just… brought back painful memories. Nothing more.”

Thorax grimaced. The air was thick with the smell of sorrow. Hajaa might’ve been good at hiding his sadness from others, but not from a changeling.

The changeling slowly stood up, grabbing Hajaa by the hand. Slowly, the zebra turned his gaze to his jala, blinking twice.

“Come on, let’s get you out of that armor,” Thorax said quietly. Hajaa nodded in response and sighed, standing up.

Removing the armor was a two-man job, and it took more than a few minutes to take off every last piece. The last part to go was the bronze cuirass, Hajaa spent an uncomfortable amount of time staring at it after it was off, most specifically the symbol in the middle of the chest. A scratched-off lion with bullhorns and wings.

“We can go back tomorrow to get the helmet. I think I can use my magic to fix it… if you want.” Thorax said with a sigh as he sat back down on the bed. Hajaa nodded again, staring up from his armor. With a shake of his head, Hajaa unceremoniously dropped the armor to the ground and joined Thorax on the bed.

Silence reigned for another moment, until once again it was Thorax who broke the quiet.

“So… that’s what would happen to me if the Inkosi got his hands on me?” Thorax asked, his eyes turning down towards his hooves.

Hajaa closed his eyes. “You’d probably be one of his favorites too.”

Thorax went quiet before he suddenly smiled, perking up. “Well… I can’t imagine I’d make a good assassin. Have you seen me?”
Hajaa dryly laughed. “Yes… Yes I have Thorax.”

Thorax scooted down the bed closer to his Irra, wrapping his arms around his midsection. “You probably should’ve told me sooner about this whole thing sooner. I probably could’ve made you feel less worried about me.”

Hajaa raised an eyebrow before staring down at Thorax. “I’m sure you think you would, but your words aren’t much of an assuagement to the contrary, no offense.” Hajaa laughed, a smile coming to his face.

Thorax pouted up at him for a moment, before he smirked. Then he burst into flames. Hajaa’s eyes shot open and he scooted down the bed away from the changeling. Suddenly, where once was a weak effeminant little bug, sat a massive brown bear, so tall he almost reached the ceiling of the room even sitting down.

Hajaa looked up at him with his jaw dropped. The bear merely laughed before reaching down two paws and picking him up. Hajaa found himself pulled into a very literal bearhug as it opened his mouth to speak;

“I’m a changeling remember, silly?” Bearax said leaning back and falling into the bed with a crash, Hajaa pressed into his chest. “I can take care of myself.”

Hajaa blinked twice in shock before it started to wear off. Hajaa wrapped his arms around Thorax as best he could and let out a hearty laugh. “You’re right. I probably should’ve said something sooner, shouldn’t I?”

Thorax smirked as he pulled Hajaa into a deeper cuddle. He quietly made a note of something as he did. This was the first time he had ever been the big spoon.

Author's Note

Took me a while huh? The next chapter will be out soon, I work best in bursts!

Coups and Coronations:

It had been a few days since the kiss… and Shining Armor found himself unable to think of anything else.

It was surreal. He fought with himself on whether the memory was sincere or just some twisted creation of subconscious unearthing some shallow, unacknowledged desire. He could recall with perfect clarity the softness of his lips, the subtle smile on his lips, the warmth of his hand as it was embraced by the Chieftain. Something so vivid in his mind couldn’t be fake, could it? He never sought out To’Achuu to clarify why it had happened, although strangely, To’Achuu did seek out him. Shining could almost admire the lack of awkwardness from the zebra, how he could continue to talk and act as such a thing had never happened. Whilst they conversed about culture, history, even cuisine - despite the unicorn’s lack of experience - Shining could not push the act from his mind. Each time the striped stallion departed, be it in the privacy of the dinner hall after dark or the public space of the library during the day, Shining could never be sure if he would receive another peck on his cheek from the enigmatic zebra.

Despite how much time he devoted to unpacking the meaning behind the zebra’s kiss - if any were to be found - he noticed something… odd, about the guard. They looked normal, in their uniforms and wielding their spears, however more often than not they no longer stood diligently alone at their posts. Everywhere he went, be it to his chambers to retire or the barracks to take roll call, a zebra was accompanying them. Be it off or on duty, a guard would be in the company of a zebra. Some had clung to their sides one of the slimmer, more androgynous examples. Others, whilst trying to suppress their blushes, had their shoulders latched to by the larger, more domineering specimens. Sometimes it was the other way around, which had more characteristically brawny and stoic guards suddenly struggling to keep a stern expression as a zebra almost an entire foot shorter than them doted against their bicep.

What was going on?

The unicorn’s gait was hurried, his mind a flurry and farrago of questions - all without answers. He couldn’t find Cadance, but he knew where one stallion was who could at least who could possibly ease his state of mind. He approached the tea room, his face bearing the weight of a deep frown as he reached the door. This would be the first time he was the one to approach. The zebra always assured him that his door was open should they ever want to chat but the reluctance inspired by the simple kiss always stayed him from doing so, even though he, begrudgingly, came so see him as a friend.

Sighing, Shining opened the tea room door slowly, poking his head inside to check. As the zebra said, he was indeed there, sitting reservedly in a chair. sipping tea from a saucer whilst his golden eyes scanned left to right an unknown book. Flanking him were two of the larger zebras, their thick trunk-like arms crossed over their stonewall chests, glancing passively towards the unicorn with slight, impatient frowns. They visibly wanted to be elsewhere.

“H-hey, uh...” Shining started, entering the room with several uneasy steps, his fire lessening in intensity. “I was wondering if we could talk…”

To’Achuu let out a boisterous laugh as he set his saucer down. “Of course we can talk, my friend,” the zebra’s jubilance dripped from his words. He looked to his bodyguard with an assuring grin. “You can leave us. I believe you both have someone waiting for you, yes?.”

The two Zebra stallions glanced at each other, flashing knowing smirks before they marched away from their leader, passing by Shining and closing the doors behind them; leaving the unicorn alone with the zebra, a pleasant breeze coming in from the open window as sunlight fluttered through the thin, transparent curtains. Shining approached when their privacy was assured; his steps placed somewhere awkwardly between hesitant and glad, unable to keep serious when staring at a face of welcoming and elation.

“What is it you wanted to speak of?” To’Achuu asked, voice familiarly friendly, the curious glint in his eyes sincere. “We could continue our conversation about your kin. Twilight, was it? I’d quite like to meet her someday.”

Shining could only smile at such enthusiasm. He hadn’t met someone so taken with his ‘story’ since Cadance, and she was already a large part of it already considering he babysat his sister. Still, he couldn’t bring himself to be as eager as he was to talk, not with several questions burrowing in his mind. “Sorry, I’m not here to chat, uh, To.”

To’Achuu’s smile deepened at the awkward evoking of his nickname, “Then what is on your mind Shining?”

“My wife. I need your help finding her…” Shining said with a sigh. Merely asking damaged his pride. “If that’s not too much of a burden?”

The mention of Cadance caused To’Achuu’s disposition to shift. He frowned and set his tea down on a nearby end table. “Excuse me for saying this Shining, but I am not so sure-”

Shining cut him off with a raised hand. “Please. I’ve come to think of you as a friend but the last time I saw Cadance was with you,” he pointed out, his hand dropping as he crossed his arms. “She’s avoiding me. I think… I think you know why.”

To’Achuu stared at him, the pause lingered, before his shoulders sank. “She’ll be in the throne room soon. She’ll be making an... announcement.”

Shining furrowed his eyebrows. What announcement? He never even got a hint of this. To’Achuu knew before he did? He nodded, confirming he understood as his jaw tightened. “Right,” he said curtly, dropping his arms and turning towards the door.

“I’ll accompany you,” the zebra proposed, stopping the unicorn in his tracks. Shining turned in time to see him stand. There was a rigidity in his form that Shining had never seen before, normally he was fluid and relaxed in his posture.

“Why?” the unicorn inquired, some bite coming across in his volume, remaining still as the zebra approached him. “Does it have something to do with you?” he asked, almost accusingly.

Rather than answer, To’Achuu reached timidly for one of the unicorn’s hands, maintaining eye contact with him as he did so. Shining didn’t know why he remained still, maybe it was because he discerned no threat whatsoever from the smaller stallion, or maybe it because it was easy to become sedated by such a gaze. Much like he did a few days before, Shining’s hand was enveloped by the zebra’s own. It was almost controlling, yet there was something assuring, controlling about it. His palms were warm, yet they cooled the unicorn. Shining waited, his fire extinguisher.

When Shining’s scowl faded, the zebra’s quaint smile returned, although a sadness remained in his eyes. “You don’t look happy.”

Shining didn’t know how to reply to such a statement. It was the truth though, as Shining loathed to admit. In recent memory, the only two times his cheeks were pulled back into a simper was in the presence of Flurry, and the presence of the stallion standing right before him. “I just need to talk to Cadance...” he deflected, voice quiet.

“Then let's go together,” the zebra offered, giving the unicorn’s hand a tender squeeze. “I want to be there for you.”

“Thank you,” Shining said, unsure of what else to say in the face of such kindness. The only other thing he could do was return the smile, squeezing the zebra’s palm back in reciprocation. The pure look of delight that appeared on the zebra’s expression right after made his heart flutter inexplicably, forcing him to slide his hand free of To’Achuu’s tender hand wrap. “R-right, let’s go then.”

“Lead the way,” To’Achuu grinned, gesturing towards the door.

Shining gave a nod, his cheeks flushed for whatever reason before he turned his back on the zebra, striding forwards in rigid march as his face became perplexed.

What was going on?

For the past few days, Thorax had been consumed by an attraction. Large, brawny and striped all over, he was enamoured deeply with a stallion whose name he never even caught. He kept replaying that half-minute over and over in his head, attempting to relive the sensation of his touch in his most depraved dreaming. He’d oft daydream about being held in his arms, of being curled up in bed together. He’d oft giggle to himself at a joke the powerful hunk made while the two were at a fancy restaurant on a date. Of course, the exact joke and the exact restaurant were never made clear, not as impressively vivid as the zebra hunk in his mind, which was all that mattered. He wondered what sort of reaction that would gauge. A changeling and a zebra out in public together. More often than not he found himself nervous at the prospect of being around so many eyes, paranoid about the looks he’d receive. Yet, funnily enough, he felt no fear when he pictured himself in such a scenario with his zebra crush around. He was strong, yet from the way he had gripped the changeling, he could be delicate also.

However, such vivid images of the striped stallion weren’t all borne from their singular meeting. Day after day, Thorax had to put his inherent changeling subterfuge into action. He’d take various shapes, just so he could pass by the friendly hulk without arousing suspicion, trying to steal self-serving glances at the zebra in order to add fuel to his ever-burning desire. He’d pass by him in hallways disguised as a maid, or stride on by as a clerk. In particularly risky instances, he’d steal the form of another zebra in order to justify getting a closer look.

That afternoon, he wasn’t able to find the zebra. Or, any of the others really. It was almost like they had all upped and vanished. It was a big castle after all, so in his search, he dared to venture outside the comforting walls of the big blue spire. He went undisguised, as he was assured to many a time by Spike, Shining, Sunburst, etcetera. Still, his steps were apprehensive, even though he never ventured too far to be surrounded by many curious eyes. It was a paranoia by this point, he knew it, but he couldn’t help but imagine each sideways glance, every cursory look to hide something grim and unpleasant behind it. It was as though his peripheral vision blocked off their smiles, which he was only able to place to their face a day after he allowed himself to roil in anxiety. It was this same anxiety that kept him from approaching his crush for real. He feared rejection and possible cruelties that would follow it. A derisive laugh, a disgusted sneer, mocking leers from passing strangers who had heard the rumour that a dumb bug attempted to ask out the prime specimen that was… that was...

Thorax sank into the bench until his back was where his ass once was, groaning into his hands as he hid his face behind them. He never even learnt his crush’s name. It was a further mark on his self-image...

"To'Achuu's plan is working. I can't believe it!" a masculine voice exclaimed, stopping just a short distance away from the bench.

“He’s going to become ruler of an entire country! Are all pony mares this idiotic?” a stallion’s voice tinged with a mare-like cadence added.

"They’re both idiots you ask me," another, familiar deep voice retorted. "The Princess is a special brand of stupid, but that moron who calls himself our chief has, time and time again, almost screwed things up for us! Six hundred beds…”

“Bah, don’t be like that, Hajaa. To’Achuu has never steered us wrong before, has he?” the other masculine voice reasoned.

"He is steering us wrong now. Constantly, he keeps taking greater and greater risks, threatening to undo everything he set out for. He is going to push us back into the old ways, pairing us off like this. I thought he was supposed to be better than the chiefs of the homeland."

“You’re just mad that you had to get… intimate, with the Princess.” the feminine voice giggled, which earned a growl from Hajaa. “If you found yourself a Jala, maybe you wouldn’t be so tense all the time.”

"Shut your holster, Qaruu. I am not an Irra whore with nought but sex in my head."

"Fine then, " Qaruu replied, flippant and sassy. “I’ll have you know, I’ve already found a stallion to be my Irra already. Educated, proficient in magic with a fiery orange mane. He’d look wonderful with some stripes down his chest. I even learnt a new word: Indignant."

Hajaa grumbled. “I do still think we need to be more careful. Things are going too fast."

“Eh, I say enjoy it,” the other masculine zebra added, smirking. “Free food, free lodgings, any pick of any stallion we come across. I say we have it good for now - even if it could be temporary.”

“I hear To’Achuu has a plan to make this arrangement… permanent,” Quarru revealed cryptically.

“I was never informed of any such plan,” Hajaa replied, doubtful.

“Of course he wouldn’t tell you. You would only try to stop him.”

“And he told you?” Hajaa replied, sceptical.

“No, not directly,” Quaruu answered coyly, “but I saw the chains, and pink fur marked with desecrating stripes. You should have heard what she had to say about her own citizens...”

“We already got a taste of that on our first day,” the other stallion added drily.

“So I take it the announcement isn’t going to go as planned - figures,” Hajaa tutted, unimpressed.

“Well that’s not entirely fair. Every zebra will be in that throne room - as planned. And every Irra and Jala, big and small will be there - as planned,” Quaruu assured, “and speaking of plans, where’s your catch, and will you be needing a net to assist you?”

Hajaa snorted. “Is that a pun?”

“You’re the one who took a liking to him. And it’s you. Of course I’m going to make jokes,” the feminine-sounding stallion giggled. “I never took you for the type.”

“The ‘type’ to do what?”

“Like someone,” he answered slyly.

Thorax could hear Hajaa’s face turning red. “I don’t… he’s just a… the Princess said-!”

"Do you know where he is anyway?" The masculine voice asked, interrupting Hajaa with a worried tone. “Every stallion she spoke of has to be there.”

Hajaa sighed. “Yeah… I got an inkling…” Hajaa answered forebodingly, a small pause following. “But don’t worry about me. Go. Get your prizes.”

Thorax heard the two sets of hooves depart without question, their hooves audibly clacking against the stone road. Thorax remained frozen. Plan? Catches? A n-net? It was a lot to process, and the changeling was a hundred percent sure he had just heard something he wasn’t supposed to. He needed to tell someone, anyone!

Slinking off the bench, he fell onto his hands and knees. The stone and its unpleasant hardness and texture was nothing compared to the possible danger he and the Empire were in. He pivoted on his knees and began crawling forwards, head lowered as to keep himself looking as small as possible… until he bumped into a pair of legs.

"Hello there," a voice greeted over him, familiar and fruity.

Thorax gulped, saying nothing. If he were capable of sweating, he would have begun right then. He looked up, meeting the amber hues of the large stallion, unable to stop his heart from fluttering at his large gregarious smile.

“Aren’t you a bold one?" Hajaa remarked coyly, releasing a deep chuckle. “Spying, following- now you drop eaves. You’re an intriguing one, that’s for sure.”

"H-how did you know?" Thorax stammered, embarrassment ripe in his voice, cheeks blushing a light blue. He didn’t know what to feel. Antagonism towards a stallion who was partaking in a nefarious plot, or affection for his crush?

"Please. I may be a foreigner but, I know what a changeling is. I also know a fake Zebra when I see one. I will give you a little hint," he offered, kneeling down. "Zebras are white with black stripes. Your disguise was black with white stripes."

"I-I’m sorry… " he half-mumbled, almost forgetting how to speak - afraid. "I promise I will leave you a-alone- all of you! I w-won’t tell anyone, I swear! A-and I only followed you because I was just too s-scared to talk to you at first and… and…"

Thorax wanted to express further guilt, make further promises to guarantee his own safety- he couldn’t help it. Too many emotions conflicted within him. He was good at recognising their flavour but he was inadequately prepared to handle them all at once. Fear, attraction, self-doubt and desire. It overwhelmed him, enough so that he felt tears threaten to run down his cheeks as they welled up in the corner of his eyes. It’s why he flinched when Hajaa reached out slowly towards him, and why he was unable to summon a reaction when all he did was cup the changeling’s cheek in his large stripy paw.

"What if I didn’t want to be left alone?" Hajaa said with a deep smirk, stroking his thumb down the black cheek.

"Y-you didn't?" Thorax asked, completely dumbfounded, the tears in his eyes instantly evaporating.

"Yes. I was hoping to run into you but, you know, I didn’t want to hurt your pride by seeing through your disguises," Hajaa replied with a humoured tone, rising up; bringing Thorax to his hooves along with him. “Although now that I know you’re interested, why don’t we get more… acquainted.”

Thorax felt his heart galloping against his ribcage, which only exacerbated his condition, especially when Hajaa reached down for his hand. What was he afraid of again?

“Y-yeah,” he stuttered, unblinking as Hajaa brought him closer, wrapping his big burly arm around his own lithe limb.

“Great! We can walk and talk. Accompany me to the throne room?” Hajaa requested, his smile warm, like a summer breeze.

“Y-yeah,” Thorax stuttered in compliance, walking with uneven steps along with the zebra back towards the castle, mentally rebooting as his own lips bent into a dreamy grin.

Spike gave a deeply delighted grin as he dragged his forked tongue across the sizable mound of ice cream before him, a large dollop of blue raspberry ice cream, sprinkled with small sapphires, balanced precariously atop a large wafer cone. Between long licks, he glanced over to his new friend, Dansaar. The zebra was wholly indecisive on what to order - ‘indecision’ being a trait the young dragon was quickly growing familiar with - so he ordered for him. A vanilla swirl with thick black pieces of liquorice. Spike thought the combination was humorous, his chest swelling with pride at his own wit. Although, much to his chagrin, Dansaar’s face remained unchanged. He wasn’t offended at the lack of a smile but in his company, the zebra’s cheeks remained in perpetual flush - his cheeks a deep, crimson red. Spike had grown used to the zebra’s particular… mannerisms. It was the third day they had shared together and Spike was sure at this point it would have been more accurate to get the stallion strawberry instead of vanilla. This time, Dansaar's change in hue was provoked by his quiet ‘thank you’ after being handed the tasty treat.

That wasn't the only strange piece of behaviour the dragon observed from his stripy friend. He noticed that every long, savoury lick of his forked tongue across the large blue mound of ice cream prompted the most curious reaction from the zebra. As he licked off gems, the zebra suddenly consumed himself on the sight. Most times, Dansar could barely look at him, now he had trouble keeping his eyes away. The reason could be that Dansaar was simply in awe of the dragon’s appetite - not even fully grown stallions could complete with the small dragons’ appetite. Although, there was one other cause...

Spike wasn’t, contrary to popular belief, an innocent little baby who didn’t understand sex. For one, he was only a few years younger than Twilight. And secondly, his understanding could be described as ‘fluent’. His understanding was borne of osmosis from large numbers of magazine articles, Rarity’s ‘lost’ explicit love stories and Twilight’s regurgitated sex-ed lessons. It might have been his constant surrounding by mares but apart from one filly in his life - Rarity - his attitude towards them, especially in an arousing sense was… ambivalence. Whenever he procured one of his… magazines - he was fascinated by the articles only, of course - he found his eyes able to concentrate on both mares… and stallions. Obviously Twilight informed him that such a thing was completely natural during their talks, so Spike thought nothing more of it. The dragon wasn’t really driven by his sexuality, it was merely just a trait, an aspect of himself he regarded with apathy, like the colour of his scales or his appetite for gems.

However, this did mark the first time his sexuality gave him a firm understanding of what was going on. This provoked from Spike a short-lived fit of giggling. He was driving Dansaar positively crazy. Was this why the zebra kept following him? Attraction? Spike finally understood what Rarity must have felt like at that moment, to have someone so helplessly attracted to you that they couldn’t keep themselves away. Spike, admittedly possessing of a large ego, wasn’t aversed to the idea of being on the receiving end of such attention. Dansaar’s infatuation with him wasn’t much different than his adoring public in the Crystal Empire. It just afforded him another avenue of fun.

With this in mind, Spike punctuated the next lick of his ice cream with a deep, satisfied moan. He wasn’t one for teasing although how could he deny himself? The fork of his versatile muscle was far too flexible a sight for the imagination and if he was correct in his assertion, then there would only be one image coming to the zebra’s mind...

Splat

Dansaar, so encapsulated by Spike's pantomime, his lost sensation in his fingers. Both cone and ice cream dropped to the floor, and the zebra’s attempt to catch it only sent it flying forwards. The vanilla-liquorice treat fell to the floor with a wet, messy thud that left Dansar’s mouth ajar in rictus whilst Spike could only look at the mess with a pang of guilt and a tincture of well-earnt pride. He had only witnessed such absorbing displays of sultriness in Rarity, such displays that made him forget the pain - which made him a more than serviceable pincushion - and the entire world around him. He had done the same to Dansaar, which left him smiling inappropriately.

“Dammit,” Dansaar muttered quietly, cheeks continuing to blaze as he scowled at the splattered mess.

Spike waved his hand dismissively. “Oh, don’t worry about that, somepony will-”

Before Spike could finish Dansaar already moved forwards to sort out his mess. Spike had spent so much time walking beside the zebra that he never actually watched the fem-stallion’s saunter. His normal gait did a ludicrously good job of showing off his breeding hips, the sow-handles of a fertile broodmare bolted oddly befitting to the stallion’s waist. Spike, entranced, watched the rolling plump rump of the zebra’s posterior as he approached the white, creamy mess on the floor. If Spike thought the sight couldn’t get any better, he was proven beyond wrong with what came next. As the stallion bent over, his two striped globes jutted out towards him, swallowing some of the loincloth like a thong and giving the dragon just the faintest outline of the stallion’s black wrinkled ring. Spike quickly realised that with such a holy sight before him, the world just seemed to watch away in a tide of black and white. Not even his ice cream was so appetising in the presence of such a perfect ass. For the first time, probably in dragon history, Spike experienced a heat he couldn’t quite deal with; scorching on both of his cheeks.

“Bad idea…”

Spike agreed with one part of the sentence - bad - for as quick as the dragon was graced with the sight of heaven, it was taken away from his as the zebra stood, half turning and giving the dragon a view of his profile. The zebra’s hand was raised close to his face, frowning like an uncomprehending foal as he stared as his cream covered fingers. Before Spike could croak out any words from his suddenly dry throat, Dansaar tackled another mess. Over his striped hand, his pink tongue traced the edges of his fingers, scooping up the white melted trickles of cream with savoury delight. Spike, whose imagination was unmatched in its over activeness, very quickly conjured forth a few choice scenes at such amusing image, each one more lip-biting hot than the last.

Dansaar’s eyes opened for only a moment but when they met Spike’s, he stopped, turning towards the dragon with his arms reclusively crossed. “You d-dropped yours too?” Dansaar’s timid comment was delivered with a weak point towards the floor, the fat blue dollop by Spike’s scaly feet.

“Y-yeah, I did,” Spike confirmed pointlessly, allowing the cone to drop from his hand as he sent one to scratch the back of his head and the other to join the arm in half shrugging.

“Oi!” a shrill and aged feminine voice cried from behind them, yanking them from the moment.

The squeaky wheel of a cleaner’s cart approached. Spike was frozen, assaulted by a burgeoning lust and the surprise of the new pony. A mare, rotund and frowny faced, grey maned and brown-eyed, pushed up beside the two of them. Her cart was stacked with a menagerie of cleaning products - garbage bags, zip ties for said garbage bags, sponges and soap. She stopped her squeaky wheels beside the two of them casting harsh glares to them both.

Spike looked to his mess and then the cleaner. “Uh…”

“What do you have to say for yourself?” the mare spoke in a level voice, one which hid the emotion she evidently wore on her wrinkled countenance.

“Um… I…” Spike stammered; his head a farrago of thoughts, the images of lust battling with the framed face of the stern mare, leaving him too confused to speak.

Before she could continue to lambast him with well-deserved ire, Dansaar rushed forwards, skidding a halt as he bowed his head, obscuring his face. “Please accept my humblest apologies! On the names of my ancestors and my unborn progeny, I won’t ever make another mess ever again!”

“Y-yeah, what he said!”

Moreso taken aback by Dansaar’s impassioned apology than Spike’s pathetic tag along, the maid’s lips flapped in confused comprehension before she hardened her face once again. “Righty ho, then. And don’t let me catch you making messes ever again.”

“We won’t,” Spike hastily promised before rushing away from her, going back the way she came from; keeping his eyes straight ahead and not looking back.

He soon heard the slight pants of Dansaar as the zebra caught up to him, soon walking astride. Spike couldn’t bring himself to look at the zebra either. He dropped his ice cream because of him, a statement that went both ways, much like Spike. The dragon didn’t want to confront the implication. It wasn’t an uncomfortable or unsettling one, just one that made him slightly nervous. If Dansaar was attracted to him, and he Dansaar, does that mean… something ought to happen? Now, he was experiencing a familiar blaze in his gut that wasn’t just dragonfire.

After a few minutes, silence reigning, Spike worked up the nerve to speak; far out of sight and hearing of anyone.

“H-hey, so... am I sensing a vibe here or-”

Before Spike could finish, he heard a mouse-like squeak from the zebra. Suddenly, Spike’s world was suddenly shrouded in black, his nose filled with the smell of polyethene… now what? With his brow raised, Spike’s claws fumbled until he was able to raise the trash bag over his head

“Uh… what’re you doing?” Spike inquired, bemused.

“I-I’m… I’m…” Dansaar stammered, his face visibly pained. He was dying on the inside, until he squeezed his features even tighter - then, lazarus! For the first time, the zebra found some mettle, his features ironing. Spike had never seen such a face on him before. “I’m k-kidnapping you!”

Spike blinked, not sure how to take the news, except with scepticism. Despite his bolstering of apparent courage, the zebra kept his hands close to his chest, his cheeks continued to burn and he trembled from the neck down. “Uh…”

“Because you are my Jala, and I am your Irra!” the zebra proclaimed, resolute and for the first time unwavering in his speech. Spike would have admired the zebra finally finding the courage to speak, but…

“Huh?” the dragon raised his brow. It was almost like being on the receiving end of Twilight’s monologues. Same language, yet completely alien at the same time.

Dansaar mumbled, frowning at his incomprehension. “It is the way of the tribe! Because I am b-big, you are small, that’s why-”

“Hey, I might not be the tallest dragon around but you don’t have to make fun of height, Danse. I thought we were friends?” Spike rebuked, his brows lowered, voice betraying some degree of hurt and anger over his damaged ego. The dragon wasn’t particularly fond of sleights against his stature.

“We are!” his hands flew out from his chest, palms opening to disarm the dragon’s lit fuse. “Oh, I’m sorry- No! Dammit,” the zebra then cursed at himself, clenching his fists as he brought them back to his sides, head lowering. “I can’t do anything right.”

The dragon barely heard that last part but there was no denial that the zebra had said it. Spike was torn when he knew that he shouldn’t be. He knew that any claim of kidnapping should be met with a harsher rebuke, that he should run to a guard for assistance or, at most, send a letter to Twilight. Yet he didn’t. Something kept him rooted, looking up with skewed lips at the frowning zebra. Maybe it was the zebra’s confirmation - albeit accidental - that he viewed the dragon as a friend. Maybe it was even the freshness of his newly realised attraction to the zebra that stayed his stubby little legs. Heck, it might have been because he felt sorry for Dansaar and his admittedly pathetic attempt to kidnap the dragon. Of course, Spike denied all hypotheses that put him into a position of icky sentiment. His own claims to his stillness were curiousness, even bravery. If he fell onto the lap of a conspiracy that would destroy the empire, he was going to vanquish it. After all, saving the Empire twice meant double the potential fame.

“So, uh… why are you trying to… ya know,” he led on awkwardly, flicking the garbage bag off his tail.

“W-what?” Dansaar was withdrawn from his clenched features and sadness, looking down at the dragon with his eyebrows meeting.

Spike crossed his arms. “Kidnapping.. attempted kidnapping.”

“O-oh, that…” Dansaar acknowledged, scratching his arm anxiously. “W-we weren’t told expressly to do that, I j-just thought it’d make me look good if I brought you there… w-with force. I thought it’d make me look… strong.”

Although he would never admit it, Spike understood the sentiment. He piqued a brow, intrigued with something. “So wait, you were told to bring me?” Spike inquired, his ego experiencing a little boost. “Firstly: who wants me? Secondly: why?”

“O-oh, well it’s not just you, it’s… everybody, I think,” Dansaar answered, scratching his chin. He didn’t look entirely sure. “We were supposed to be in the throne room soon for an announcement.”

Spike’s features hardened, only a little hurt he wasn’t deemed the only real threat. “Did Toe’Achoo put you up to this?” Spike interrogated, recalling the chief’s name from an overheard conversation back to his quarters.

Dansaar pursed his lips. “I don’t know if I should tell you that.”

“Should you be telling me any of this?” Spike reasoned, wearing an unsure smile.

“Um… no,” Dansaar nervously gripped the string holding up his loincloth.

Spike felt a tincture of pity but continued on regardless. “So if the harm is already done…”

Dansaar gulped, giving a meek little nod. “It was only half his idea… P-Princess Cadance was responsible for the other half.”

Spike’s eyebrows would have flown off his head… if he had any. “Princess Cadance?” he said, his disbelief audible if not outright discernable from his expression.

“She wanted every zebra, every stallion - important or otherwise - in the throne room,” he elaborated. “To’Achuu didn’t want any spectacle but she… insisted,” he ended, shivering with a grimace on his face.

Spike didn’t want to believe the zebra. Cadance was a friend- family, even, considering his closeness to Twilight. If he was being honest, however, this held disturbing implications. Maybe too big for even him to deal with. But… what would happen to Dansaar if he got Twilight’s help? An ill-timed memory of Sombra appeared, the vanquishing of a tyrant, sundered to shadow and gone, forever. Looking at the adorably red countenance of the zebra standing over him, Spike didn’t want to envision such a fate for his new stripy friend… of course, he refused to acknowledge the sentimental underlining to his next idea. With a puff of his chest, he resolved to save the empire, even if it was by himself.

“Then do it,” Spike ordered vaguely, raising his digit in a triumph only he recognised.

Dansaar blinked. “D-do what?”

Spike crossed his arms, chin raising, he smiled with self-assurance. “Kidnap me...”

Shining arrived at the grand doors of the throne room. Even on the other side of such thick doors, Shining could pick up voices on the other side. To’Achuu met his gaze as he looked down at the zebra, his brows meeting. There was something dire about the situation but Shining couldn’t fathom what.

"Shining… you’re a good stallion," To’Achuu informed him out of the blue.

“What?”

“I just wanted to tell you that,” he answered.

Shining could only tut. This wasn’t the first time the stallion was cryptic. Wasn’t the first time he assured the unicorn of his morals either. “Right… so Cadance will be making an announcement.”

“Yes, although it’s best if-”

"I don't care how important it is, I need to speak with her," Shining interrupted as he pushed open the imposing doors; the laborious creek gave birth to countless voices on the other side.

Parted, he found himself stilled by the sight. Flocking to either side, leaving the route to the throne clear, a mass of stallions - both striped and without - filled the room. Made up of equal parts zebra and pony, Shining didn’t know what to make of such a bizarre sight. He found himself walking free of volition, looking from side to side, thankfully ignored by everyone there. He didn’t fail to notice how blatantly… intimate some of them were with one another. He recognised one of his own guards being handled like a piece of meat by a zebra of a taller stature, groping him through his shirt as the guard’s face became flushed red although still rigidly idle at his post. He also saw a butler, the situation inexplicable reversed as he peppered kisses on one of the more waifish stallion’s cheeks. What made that instance particularly odd is that he was sure that stallion was as straight as an arrow. He glanced down to To’Achuu, the zebra wearing a whimsical grin, a few seconds away from a cackle it would seem.

As Shining made his way to the throne, walking past the chattering mob of stripes and affection, Shining’s brows rose in visible surprise. He recognised every stallion before the throne, each and every one of them a close friend and confidant. That wasn’t what surprised him, however. It was their predicament. Much like the mob they were paired with a zebra too, but unlike the rest, their wrists were tied and bound behind their backs! The further heaping of surprise came in the form of their faces. Not a single one of them appeared alarmed by this.

Spike was standing in front of the first Zebra he had encountered - the feminine one who read the scroll - suspiciously but optimistically looking around the room, as the Zebra behind him looked around with a mix of exhilaration and nervousness. When Shining looked back at Spike, the dragon had the gall to wink at him!

Thorax simply looked dazed, dreamily staring over his shoulder at the large zebra who was currently and lazily tying his wrists together. Shining recognised this zebra too, the one Cadance had mistaken for the chief. His face was covered in a blush that ill-suited him, downright shy at that moment. When Hajaa - the stallion binding him - gave the changeling a smile, the little drone smiled back dopily, practically euphoric.

Sunburst was the last of the lot, eagerly talking to a zebra Shining did not recognize. The feminine stallion was much like the one lording over Spike, although he was less… reserved, in his candour. He was practically hanging off the bespectacled unicorn as the two enjoyed a conversation that he couldn't quite make out. As he neared, the smaller male said something. What exactly Shining couldn’t discern, not even by reading his lips, but whatever it was it caused Sunburst to gasp, blushing beat red.

Shining looked at To'Achuu with a face contorted several directions in shock. "What's going on?" he asked, unable to bring himself to look away.

The zebra didn’t answer.

Shining was brought before the throne, having no idea why he didn’t just bolt. He was made to line up with the others, although unlike them, he was neither bound or flanked by a zebra. His escort instead sauntered over to the throne, leaving the smell of lavender and the sound of rattling jewellery in his wake. He looked around, feeling as though the world had just stopped making any sense…

Suddenly, the room became bathed in silence. He saw every pair of eyes in the room direct themselves towards the doorway. Before he even looked for himself he saw the shock on their faces, awe and disgust, rolled into one engrossing image. He shot his eyes to the otherside of the room and he immediately understood. His heart stopped in his chest. Icy thorns coiled around his beating organ, turning all the blood in his veins to ice. It lasted only a second but it stretched into forever, for the image her saw was permanently etched into his head.

His wife, the love of his life and mother to his child, was completely naked. She looked like a debaucherous icon, her obscene form captivating as it was revolting. From her cheeks all the way down to her fetlocks, her body was covered in a criss-cross of black stripes. The cutiemark on her flared, motherly hips was crossed out with the same stripes, a forsaking of herself, of all she was. She was being led by an escort of four, visibly reluctant stallions, dragging her along by chains connected to a collar tied around her neck. Shining almost galloped forwards, wanting to save her but… she was smiling. She wore a simper he had seen before but never on her face. Chrysalis, Sombra. It reeked of a malevolent aura he couldn’t bring himself to ignore. As she got closer, his nose pricked with a scent, one familiar, one he was barely able to discern over the flooding of testosterone.

Arousal.

A glance down to her thighs revealed with every stride her matted down thighs; her clit exposing itself from the hood - a signal betraying her lust. Although from the way she smiled so brazenly, it was apparent she didn’t intend to keep her arousal a secret. This wasn’t Cadance, it couldn’t be. Shining’s mind was a motley cocktail of emotions. Anger, humiliation, sorrow and hate. This was what she was doing? This was why she invited them here?

"What… what did you do?" Shining’s voice was quiet but audible considering the lack of other voices in the room. Despite its low volume, it was merely a subdual of the pure rage that boiled in his chest. The question was as much directed at To’Achuu as it was Cadance, although his wife was the first to answer.

"This was all me, husband," Cadance answered, pure disdain dripping from her voice at his matrimonial title.

"W-what? But…" Shining started, lips flapping uselessly at the new information. “T-that can’t be, it just can’t!”

She smirked. That was all she needed to reply with to silence him. That was all she needed to do in the face of her husband to make him realise this wasn’t just some sick joke. “There was a reason I invited the Zebras to the Crystal Empire," she began, her sharp voice carrying throughout the room. She stopped just before the throne, turning her shapely ass towards her throne as she looked over all gathered. "The reason is simple: I wanted them here to replace the weak, pathetic ‘colts’ that dare call themselves stallions in my empire! Ponies are pathetic - nothing in comparison to the emasculated shrimp dicks who deserve nothing more than to be bred out of existence by superior zebra cocks!”

Shining was too stunned by what he was hearing to even try and retort. He knew everything that flew from her throat was a bold faced lie, delusion fostered by some base part of her psyche.

“And. I think no one exemplifies their superiority better than these four!" Cadance declared as she turned to face them, her handlers awkwardly shuffling along with her. She started with the smallest of the four, Spike, who met her dastardly glare with a scared, unsure look - a far cry from his confidence just a few moments prior.

"Spike. What are you exactly? Besides a failure?” she opened rhetorically, the young drake recoiling at such a vitriolic remark. “Completely atypical of an otherwise perfectly masculine and powerful race! And look at what he became after being raised by ponies. A stunted, androgynous… ]thing," her words were that of a cobra, delivered with venom and hiss. "If you ask me, we should have shattered your egg the second we found it. It would have been a mercy compared to letting you grow up into the pathetic specimen you turned out to be."

Shining watched as Spike’s jaw fell, his mouth moved as he tried to say something, anything, but the words wouldn't come out. How could Cadance say something like that to him? The look of betrayal and clarity on the drake’s face was something Shining had never hoped to see..

"Hey! Don't speak about him like that!" cried Thorax. Shining had never heard anger come from the changeling’s throat before. He had to restrain a wince as. Cadance turned on him next.

"Oh? What are you gonna do about it? Are you going to cry perhaps? Look at you. Such a useless little bug. No wonder you were abandoned by the rest of your hive. It’s hard to believe that anyone was afraid of such a miserable little creature!”

Thorax's mouth flapped open and closed uselessly before he settled on steeling his jaw shut. Shining saw a wetness begin to glaze his compact eyes, tears threatening to emerge. However, something piqued Shining’s brow. Hajaa, the lumber zebra behind him, simply rested a large hand on the changeling’s lithe shoulder, constricting slightly in what was unmistakably a comforting squeeze. The changeling then lowered his head, his tears subdued.

"And then there's you," Cadance said, directing her hatred towards the autumn-maned unicorn.

He met her gaze with connected brows, wanting to recoil but kept in place by the androgynous zebra behind him.

“You fail to even meet the minuscule high a pony can reach, an utter failure with magic. What? Do you make up for your lack of masculinity with intelligence? Psh. A big brain can’t make up for a small cock,” she spat at him, her malicious smile baring her pearly whites, which may as well have been sharpened to fine, dagger-like points she was so predatory.

“Enough!” Shining barked at her, teeth bared in anger. His clenched fists trembled at his sides. The zebras holding her chains looked at him warily before sharing looks with each other. “How could you do this? You’ve betrayed everything you stand for? What of love, our daughter, our friends-”

"Friends? Hah!" Cadance scoffed as she turned to face him, crossing her arms over her bared, stripy bosom. "Are they really? An inept scholar, stunted lizard and abandoned bug are what goes for friends nowadays? You’re as pathetic as they are, more so in fact."

Cadance stalked towards him, a maddened smile on her face. "You have never satisfied me. Our life together - if you can even call it that - was but one disappointment after the other. Trapped in a squalid cave on our wedding day, knowing you shared your bed with a harlot assuming my image. And after? I return home, to find my empire besieged by an ancient tyrant. At least life was exciting back then. Now, what did my life become? A stagnant day-to-day of mind numbing repetition. Although, each of those paled in comparison to my greatest disappointment: Flurry. I can’t believe I ever let you close enough to birth such a thing.”

Shining's mouth went dry. Not in a thousand years would he have ever been able to imagine Cadance, his wife who he had shown nothing but unconditional love for most of her marriage, to utter any of what she was saying to him. By now his nails threatened to cut into his skin he had his fists clenched so tight. His emotions bubbled over in his chest, a cauldron of simmering hate battled with the love her one held onto so tightly. He wanted to defend himself and his friends, rebuke everything so she said, everything he knew to be wrong. But he felt far beyond words at this point. She had stomped their love into the ground, showing nothing but derision towards its manifestation in their daughter. He stepped towards, his biceps tensing as he looked at her smug, deplorable expression.

He was suddenly taken out of his stupor, a hand landing on his shoulder. Delicate and small, warm and soothing, he looked to his side. To’Achuu was beside him, looking at the pink alicorn with a neutral expression. "Do you declare the secession of your powers?"

Murmurs erupted throughout the room at the question. Shining sneered, looking at the zebra’s blank expression. Was this his doing? He wanted to throw himself at the lithe zebra, deliver unto him some slim slice of his vengeance and anger. Yet, he remained still, frozen surprisingly by the zebra’s soft grip on him. It was disarming, assuring.

Cadance smiled. deep and depraved. Her legs quivered visibly with her smouldering arousal, her cheeks flushing. "I do, I do! The Crystal Empire now belongs to Prince To'Achuu. The papers are signed, my abdication to you is complete! The superior species now controls these lands!"

Shining blinked, his anger faded away to nothing, crestfallen. She was serious, wasn’t she? Flurry’s future. Security. Gone. There was no hint of remorse or hesitation on his wife’s… her face. The ensuing silence after her declaration made him uneasy, although, oddly, he wasn’t alone. Cadance’s expression dropped from a large, self-satisfied grin to a mix of bemusement and worry, looking out over the gathered stallions. Suddenly, the zebras who had their hands wrapped around her chains tightened their grips, the chains clinking as they were pulled taut.

The alicorn’s hands flew to her collar, a carnal smirk appearing on her features. “You’re not going to show me any mercy are you? Yes! Treat me like the inferior whore I am!”

Shining saw To'Achuu smile at her plea, although it was devoid of lust, unlike Cadance. He released his hand from Shining’s shoulder, looking down the aisle to the throne, Shining following his gaze after. The armoured ponies who once played the role of guarding Cadance, no longer distracted by the zebras that clung to them, wore faces of seething hatred, although their eyes weren’t directed at the zebra that appeared to have orchestrated it. Shining saw each pair of eyes aiming at the princess... former-princess.

To’Achuu stepped towards the alicorn, her hole leaking with delighted anticipation, stopping in line with the throne that was now by all accounts his. "You know, I don’t feel any different..." he mused aloud, smirking, although not arrogantly. He then directed his sights to the mare. “You’ve got the chains and guard, all that’s left is to put you in a cell.”.

The mixture of arousal and fear became warped with confusion, Cadance stared at the chieftain-now-prince with widened eyes. “W-what?”

He looked down the aisle, the guards appearing to wear faces of both confusion and joy at his remark. “What? Didn’t you hear your new prince? Take this…thing to the dungeons where it belongs."

Cadance's eyes widened at his command, her horn glowing as she instinctively attempted to summon some trickle of power to defy against the zebra’s order. However, it became clear to Shining that, in her hubris, she crippled her capabilities. The collar around her neck glowed with the same pink as her horn did, and immediately all the power she conjured fizzled away into nothingness.

Shining would have felt something when she erupted into a state of panic, trying in futility to escape. However, he only felt numb at the sight of her feared expression. The zebras held her still despite how she rattled against them, four crystal guards marching with satisfied faces as they took the chains out of the zebra’s hands. In trying to struggle free the tiara, which was nought more a mockery of her former station, fell from her bedazzled mane; rolling over to To'Achuu's hooves.

“H-Hajaa!” Cadance cried looking at the Zebra second in command, who was still latched to the changeling’s shoulder. The zebra stared at her passively, an utter lack of interest in his dull gaze. “Please! You can’t let them do this to me! You swore! After I gave everything up you’d give me-”

Hajaa silenced her with the raise of his open palm. It was then Shining saw the slimmest hint of emotion on his face. It came in that of a small yet contemptuous smile, which managed to say a million things, even if not a single word came from his throat.

Her pleading eyes scanned those around her for mercy. She scanned the crowd, the guards which latched onto her chains, even the males to whom she had just insulted their entire being. Finally, and perhaps worst of all, she finally looked at her husband.

“Shining, please!” she pleaded, trying to run to him but kept in place by the guards.

Shining didn't say anything, continuing to stare at her desperate, pitiful face with deadened eyes. Her hands reached out, trying to grab and grip onto the sanctity he could once offer… he would not give her the privilege anymore.

She was dragged away, kicking and screaming. He watched her, unable to look elsewhere than her pathetic naked and desperate form. The guards were yanking her harshly but he couldn’t even summon a shred of pity for her. All the while the spectators lobbed insults and jeers at her. Ponies and zebras alike called her ‘traitor’, ‘harlot’. He looked to others by the throne, seeing their bindings already being undone. Thorax threw himself into Hajaa’s brawny chest for comfort, whilst Spike’s companion kneeled to rub his scaly shoulder in assurance. Sunburst was quickly assuaged by the stallion’s lips, a sight which prompted the raise of one of his brows.

"Shining! Please! I'm your wife!" she cried out in desperation. "I love you!"

That made him wince. How hollow those words were now. Her pile of lies had collapsed into an avalanche that succinctly crushed their love. He couldn’t bear to look at her, his gaze averting as he closed his eyes shut, waiting until he could hear the slam of the throne room doors before opening them again.

He found himself looking at To'Achuu, unsure of what to think of his so-called ‘friend’ at that moment. The zebra simply dragged his fingers down the armrest of the throne. Despite the amount of he just came into, Shining noted that his face was entirely absent of joy. For the shortest of moments, their eyes met.

His smile came back.

When To'Achuu turned to face the mass of ponies and zebras, they erupted into cheering. The volume no doubt penetrated the thick walls of the castle. Shining was unsure what to feel at their reaction. Mixed, was apt.

Shining blotted out the zebra’s ensuing speech, eyes falling to the floor. He felt a distinct emptiness in his chest, a feeling not all too unfamiliar to the after effects of the changeling queen sapping him of his emotions. He heard clapping. A meek look up afforded him the sight of a salacious orgy of affection. Wet kisses, embracing, subtle-yet-unsubtle flirtatious whispering. And that's when everything clicked for him finally, making him feel all the more a fool for not realising it earlier. An all-male tribe? The way the zebras latched onto stallions? The kiss… He would have been reduced to hysterics if not how crumbled his psyche already was. It was obvious now. Cadance allowed them in not because they fucked her, but because Cadance thought they were going to. It should have filled him with relief but only helped hammer home Cadance’s claims of his supposed inferiority. She betrayed him, and everyone else, all on the hope she would become someone else’s.

This was the final nail in Shining's coffin.

Shining fell to his knees. Not to weep like one would in a pantomime. He was suddenly struck with exhaustion. It didn’t stop the applause but another racket took its place in his mind. A thousand thoughts, a sea of self-loathing and hate planted by his wife.

"Now go! Enjoy your delights, your Jalas and Irras This our home now! Enjoy the fruits of our labour. And to the ponies, I only ask that you feel no fear towards my rule. I’ll be every bit as gentle as a lover," he proclaimed, assuring and ordering, both cheery and commanding as he raised his arms. Cheers were prompted, the doors opened and the cohort of striped and unstriped coats left the room.

Shining saw the others by the throne follow out. Hajaa carried the blushing changeling over his shoulder, smiling both eager and timidly at once. Spike was being led by the voluptuous zebra that was flanking him, and although Shining saw that the intent was to drag the dragon, Spike had no issues with keeping up. Finally, Sunburst merely walked, striking up a new conversation with his androgynous 'friend'.

The doors slammed shut, then all was quiet except for the inside of the unicorn’s head. Not long after he felt a hand on his shoulder, the familiar warmth and softness of the grip prompted the unicorn to look up at the zebra, who wore a slight smile although worry lingered in his eyes.

"Now then..." To'Achuu started wearily, his small smile deepening into something warmer. "Let's talk..."