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!