A flash of orange and pink magic, and the basket was gone. Pumpkin Cake wasn’t sure how she should be feeling as she simply stared where the basket she, her brother, and Pinkie Pie had been working on yesterday had rested. It had been the returned party pony’s idea to send Flurry a care package, as the orange-maned unicorn didn’t want to waste the opportunity to send her best friend a message. But what she had written in that message, exposing feelings she’d kept hidden for years, even from her brother, it made the blue-eyed mare feel unsettled.

What if she…? She shook her head, immediately banishing the thought. As she wrote, if she was going to be any kind of friend to Flurry, she needed to support her no matter what. Her mood was lifted slightly with a big side-on hug from Pinkie Pie. Matched with a warm smile that was mirrored across the palace kitchen bench from Sunburst, the unicorn felt a little better. “Thanks for helping us, Sunburst.”

“Oh, it’s no trouble, Pumpkin.” The bearded stallion responded, sparing a moment to produce a tissue from his robe to pat away the sweat from the teleportation spell. With Starlight still recovering in their bedroom, he required the restored party pony’s help in getting the basket to the princess. “Honestly, I’m a little embarrassed it’s taken this long for us to send her something like this.”

“Aw, you two worry too much.” Pinkie giggled, the pink pony/changeling hybrid beaming as she bounced in excitement. Sunburst, for his part, averted his eyes from the bouncing assets contained within a tight white shirt, small blue jacket, and lavender skirt. Rarity had worked diligently in making her and their friends new outfits to reclaim their decency, but the exuberant Pie was testing the fabric’s magic-enhanced limits with her chest bouncing separately to her.

“Besides, it’s not like we’re in dang-” Suddenly, mid-bounce, Pinkie froze in place. Pumpkin and Sunburst looked in confusion as her whole body suddenly started shaking and flopping around before dropping back to the ground.

“Pinkie? Are you okay?” the young Cake knelt beside her former foal-sitter, concern re-emerging from moments before. “What was that?”

“Oh… that’s just my Pinkie Sense.” The pony-changeling hybrid responded as she stood back up, the Cake daughter noting the uncertainty in the Pie’s voice.

“…And that means?” Sunburst asked, sharing Pumpkin’s confusion.

“Well, my Pinkie Sense lets me know when things will happen. Like when my ears twitch, that means something’s gonna fall from the sky.” The joyful expression during this explanation soured into confusion, much like the other two ponies in the room. “But this one was a doozy. I haven’t had one of those in forever. Whatever it means, it’s gonna be big.”

“Is it Flurry?” Pumpkin asked, her mind racing immediately to the worst-case scenario and gripping Pinkie’s arms. “You’re saying she’s in trouble?”

“I don’t know,” the party pony replied. “There’s no way of knowing what it means until-”

The answer was cut off by a sound growing from outside the palace. The sound of a rapidly ringing bell. While Pinkie Pie tilted her head in confusion, both Pumpkin Cake and Sunburst tensed up, the former Crystaler’s eyes widening.

“Hey, what’s with the ringing?” Pinkie asked. Even her voice took a more concerned tone, the party pony recognising how seriously the other two were reacting.

“We’re under attack.” Sunburst murmured. The next instant his starry cloak billowed behind him as the bearded unicorn raced out of the kitchen and into the palace halls, with Pinkie and Pumpkin hot on his tail. He paid no heed to the soldiers of the Crystal Guard hurrying to their stations, instead racing up the stairs and through the corridors until he reached the bedroom he shared with Starlight and Trixie.

Inside the spacious room he found both of his unicorn brides, as well as Twilight Sparkle. The recently-returned alicorn “stood” beside the bed, kept decent by a magical yellow dress that Rarity had fashioned to accommodate her four head-sized breasts. On the bed were his wives; the pregnant Trixie showing concern as she held onto Starlight Glimmer’s arm. The mage remained in place on the bed, due entirely to the huge N cup breasts she was afflicted with. At the very least, the reformation treatment Twilight had volunteered had shown results, with both the constant stream of milk from Starlight’s nipples, and the areola-based vaginas had been restored to their original forms. The effort had clearly taken some effort, as Twilight was panting slightly, but she seemed okay nonetheless.

“Sunburst, what’s happening?” Twilight asked, gesturing to the noise outside and the nervous shaking of the blue unicorn on the bed.

“W-We’re under attack, that’s what!” Trixie replied, one hand subconsciously drifting down to cradle her occupied womb while the other tightly gripped the arm of her wife.

“Twilight.” Starlight spoke up, that tell-tale determination in the unicorn’s eyes. “Fix me up again so I can help stop this.”

“No!” Trixie shouted, overcoming her fear to angrily stare down her oldest friend-turned-lover. “We just gotten you back, I’m not risking losing you again.”

“Trixie’s right,” Sunburst chimed in. “Besides, you’re in no condition to fight.”

“That’s why I need Twilight to get rid of these.” The defiant mage gestured to the orbs sitting on her lap.

“No.” The response silenced all three as they, as well as Pinkie Pie and Pumpkin Cake, turned to look at the Princess of Friendship. “Starlight, you need to rest. Your family needs you.” That last line gave Starlight’s incoming retort pause and, looking back to both her husband and wife, she sighed and agreed.

“Alright Twilight.” She admitted. “B-But who’ll help lead the defence of the Empire? Usually that’d be Spike’s job, but…” All in the room fell silent given the sense of dread Twilight had experienced and subsequently explained. Despite this, the snake-tailed alicorn shook away her doubts. For nearly two decades she had abetted in repressing and dominating Equestria. It was about time she got back to saving it.

“I’ll do it.” She announced, flaring her wings for added effect. “If there’s one pony in all Equestria that’s suited to organisation, it’s me. I mean, I helped organise the mess that was Ponyville’s Winter Wrap-Up, after all. I’ve got this.” This brought a reassured grin to the rest of the room and, following assenting nods from Starlight and Sunburst, the alicorn hurried out into the halls of the palace. “Pinkie, Pumpkin Cake, with me!”

“Okey dokey, Twilight!” The former Element Bearer responded, shooting her younger friend a cheerful wink as they hurried after the princess.

Pound, Pumpkin mentally called out as she followed. Please be safe.

Pound Cake took what had to have been the hundredth calming breath in the last ten minutes.

Upon hearing the alarm bell he, like many other volunteers as well as the soldiers of the Crystal Guard, had hurried to the southern side of the capital. There, the emergency wall of solid, metre-thick crystal had been raised from below ground, and armoured ponies now manned it in the face of the oncoming threat. Pound, however, wasn’t up there with him. Instead, the young pegasus stallion stood in a large group before the sealed gates of the wall. His mission would be to serve as a soldier on the front line; to charge headlong into the enemy after a salvo of magical artillery attacks had softened up the army.

Despite the numbers, however, nervousness permeated the group. There were seasoned soldiers and other volunteers with him; each armoured and armed with various weapons as they waited. Finally, at the head of this gathering, stood Applejack, her lupine son Cortland, and the entire pack of wolfmen that had accompanied them from Appleloosa. While having a former Element Bearer leading the attack instilled some small flicker of hope, it was all Pound could do then and there to keep control of his breathing, tighten his grip upon his large Warhammer, and pray to Princess Celestia that his training had prepared him for this. Even from within the wall, he could hear the distant war-horns and monstrous cries from the horde coming to invade his home. Murmurings from the guards whispered this was the largest force yet sent, and Pound wished Spike were here to help calm the ponies gathered.

“FIRE!”

The shout from Flash Sentry echoed out from atop the wall, and the unicorns stationed up there unleashed a salvo of magical bombardment. A few seconds passed before explosions could be heard beyond the wall, yet the arcane assault didn’t relent. The ponies up there cast spell after spell, doing everything they could to either halt or slow the enemy’s advance. Ballistas and trebuchets fired from within the walls’ boundaries; sending large spears and giant hunks of crystal into the air and hopefully into the enemy.

Again, nerves threatened to overcome Pound, but he closed his eyes tightly and focused his thoughts on Flurry Heart. His friend. She’d bee fighting horrors like these for a little over two weeks now. How could he stand beside her as a friend if he wasn’t willing to fight this foe also? The question strengthened his resolve, and he expanded his mental scope to include his family. His sister, and their recently returned parents. Were he and the others to fail, they would be put at risk of capture, or worse. Anger at that fuelled his determination and buried his doubts. No, no monster would set hideous foot inside the wall of he could help it.

“Alright y’all!” Applejack yelled to the group, her voice loud to garner attention over the din of the magical onslaught from those on the wall. “Ah know yer used t’ Spike leadin’ these things, but today y’all have me an’ the pack. Ah won’t lie t’ ya, this’ll be rough. But if y’all remember yer trainin’, protect each other, and remember what y’all’re fightin’ for, then we’ll send these yellow-bellied demons runnin’ home with their tails between their legs! Let’s get this done! For Equestria!”

“FOR EQUESTRIA!” The ponies yelled, Pound adding his voice to the roar of defiance. The Apple matriarch grinned at the now motivated soldiers. Yet her keen eye still saw a seed of fear in the eyes of some. She understood. Given the situation, it’d be insane to not feel some measure of fear. Hers wasn’t for her own survival, though, as she turned to Cortland standing beside her. The black-furred lycanthrope stood ready; a sheathed sword at his hip and a crystalline shoulder pauldron on his left. Without a word, she brought him in and gave her son a tight hug. She thanked Celestia Rarity had fashioned her a fitting top; a white and green crop top that exposed her toned abs, and came complete with nursing pads in her specially-designed bra in case cider were to escape.

“You be careful out there, ya hear?” She stated, looking him in eye for any sign of dishonesty and proud to find none.

“You too, Ma.” Cortland replied; stepping back, and rolling his neck and shoulders in preparation. Applejack performed the quickest stretches she could without swinging her fleshy cider tanks too much, then looked up to see Flash Sentry and give him the nod. He gave one in response before shouting his order to the troops below.

“Open the gates! Maintain fire! Create a corridor for the assault team to charge through!” The crystal pony soldiers saluted and pulled the doors of the massive gate open. Applejack bounced on her hooves, punching the gem-coated knuckles of her new gauntlets together to hype herself up for the scrap ahead. With the gap in the gate widening, the group got their first glimpses at the enemy. A varied collection of every conceivable monster awaited them outside, charging at the wall. Those in the centre of the formation wore onyx armour with gold trim, while those at the front wore tattered rags, or even nothing at all.

T' think Ah used to like bein’ a’ part o’ that… Applejack thought sourly, the disgust finding its way onto her face as she took the initiative and charged.

“Rip an’ tear, boys!” Cortland roared at his pack as they followed his mother out beyond the walls, their howls and hollering showing they didn’t care about the odds they faced. This, in turn, helped inspire the ponies that followed behind them; Pound one of the loudest as he took flight to gain both speed and an eagle eye of the battlefield.

The horde was far larger than Pound imagined. The front of bodies charging towards the Crystal Empire had to have been a few kilometres wide, dwarfing the attack group he flew above. It stretched even further south past the front lines, with dragon-sized monsters plodding along. As they drew closer, the monsters took flight as well, and the Cake son, as well as the other pegasi volunteers that had taken to the sky, readied their weapons. Time seemed to slow for Pound as the distance between the groups closed. He could see the simultaneously horrifying and alluring shapes of the foe in greater detail, and saw the bloodlust in their eyes as they readied serrated or spiked weapons.

The battle began in earnest as Pound dodged to the left to avoid getting skewered by the spear of a gargoyle-looking beast. Flying on instinct, he spun around to build up momentum as he closed in and swung his hammer. The blow made contact, audibly shattering bones and sending the monster tumbling to an unfortunate demise. Pound wasn’t given a moment to breathe or process the life he had just taken, the first such time he’d ever done so, as another winged horror charged at him from below with its knife-like teeth bared. Leaning back, the brown-maned stallion flipped in place before bringing the hammer down on his foe. Another monster corpse fell to the earth, but this time Pound dove as well; seeking to join his allies on the ground.

The earth-bound forces clashed with a thunderous clash of steel on crystal. Applejack, at the forefront of the defenders, landed a powerful punch to the first beast that tried her; pummelling it into the ground with enough force to create cracks in the soil. Another monster was ready to capitalise on her position, likely thinking her expansive rack would make it difficult for her to dodge. Instead, Applejack stayed down, letting her back be the perfect springboard for Cortland to leap of and gouge four red scars across its throat. Drawing his crystal shortsword, the lupine Apple slashed and clawed his way through the enemy, much like his pack of loyal wolves. A new monster, this one a spike-covered succubus, looked set to pierce the black-furred leader. Without conversing, Cortland rolled to the side; dodging the claws of the fiend and giving his mother a clear path at her. The honest earth farmer, nothing but contempt in her emerald eyes for the demoness, twisted to the side and delivered a mighty thrust kick. Her hoof contacted such force that not only did the succubus’ body go flying, but her head soared even further on its own.

“Keep pushin’!” Applejack ordered, breaking the face of another warrior with one punch before breaking a neck with an armoured backhand. “Make ‘em regret ever comin’ here!”

“FOR EQUESTRIA!” The attack group bellowed in response, amid a chorus of haunting howls and the sounds of fierce battle.

Nodabba frowned, understanding her mothers’ frustration at the incompetence of their soldiers.

The assault had been ongoing for a good half an hour, yet little progress had been made. Their central forces had been halted, even pushed back at times, by the vanguard force that had charged out to meet them from the Crystal Empire. Her minions had tried encircling them, but that had been hampered by the pegasi amongst their number, as well as pinpoint magical strikes from the Empire’s walls. Although those soldiers had whittled down the number of combatants, scores more from her ranks were losing their lives in return. The flanks of her army had pushed forward, at least closing the distance to the defensive fortifications. But their gains were slowly being stymied by precision arrows, crossbow bolts, and spell craft. The demonic princess was tempted to order an all-out charge, but with the re-enforcements the Empire had received in the former Element Bearers, who knew what kind of traps that wench Twilight Sparkle had planned.

“Enough of this.” Nodabba sighed frustratedly, the action of taking flight straight up above her reserve forces causing the wolf pelt on her shoulders to flutter. “Behemoths! Take off and descend upon the Crystal Empire! All reserve forces, concentrate on eliminating these pests amidst our ranks!”

With her orders bellowed, the orange-coated princess lifted the clawed gauntlet encompassing her right hand and channelled her magic. A sphere of dark magic, glowing purple at its edges, and growing larger and larger with each moment. One pegasus, a blue-coated stallion, tried to head off her plan by charging her. His reward for such bravery was Nodabba venting the slightest amount of the gathering magic, resulting in a bolt of purple lightning arcing out and smiting him from the sky.

Not even savouring the kill, Nodabba pointed her talons at the Crystal Empire and let loose the power. The magic shot forth in a beam of purple death; aiming to eviscerate the defiant fiefdom. But the princess’ ambitions were thwarted, as a dome of light-blue hexagonal; shields materialised and formed around the Empire, protecting the city from her wrath but shattering once the energy was dispersed. Nodabba frowned, and was about to charge up for another blast when she saw a pinprick of purple light on the walls. Her instincts screamed she dodge, and she dropped in the air to avoid a powerful beam of magic; this purple ray bright compared to her darkened attack.

“Twilight Sparkle…” she growled, thinking out loud the only possible option for such an attack. Spreading her bat wings wide, she leaned forward to charge at the former arch mage with the aim of bringing her severed head to her mother. Sure, Talvira wanted the leaders alive, but this was personal.

Her thoughts of cleaving the former Princess of Friendship in two were halted, however, when something snared itself around her ankle. The next moment, Nodabba was pulled backwards and down through the air, landing on the ground amid the battle with a cratering crash. She was rolling out of the way before the dust settled. A wise move, for something landed with force where she had been moments earlier. The royal fiend’s magic teleported the thing around her ankle off, a lassoed rope, and summoned her spiked maul in her left hand; swinging and snapping the neck of a wolf that tried jumping her. Through all of this, her swaying H cup breasts didn’t hinder her movement at all and, given her lack of sexual excitement, her cock was well contained in its sheath, meaning there was one less distraction on the battlefield.

Something shot from the dust at her, and Nodabba raised her claw to summon a shield of magic to block her attacker. That lack of sexual interest was challenged when she saw her opponent. Like her, Applejack was packing H cups packed tightly within her top, and they didn’t seem to be giving the literal cow-pony any issues either. Nodabba shattered the shield, pushing the farmpony back and swung down with her maul. Applejack crossed her arms and let the gauntlets take the blow, the ground below her hooves cratering from the force. The princess seized on this; grabbing both gauntlets with her claw and forcing the strong Element Bearer down to the ground. She pressed in to ensure Applejack couldn’t kick her off, their equal busts pillowing up against one another and helping blood begin to flow to Nodabba’s member.

“Long time no see, Bad Apple.” She mused darkly, her confidence growing like her cock as took in the cowpony’s frustration. “You’re a long way from Appleloosa, aren’t you? That goes against your agreement with the Empress.”

“Ah don’t give two shits ‘bout what yer monster o’ a mother thinks!” Applejack shot back sternly, fury smouldering in her emerald eyes as they looked deep into those blue-on-black of the demonic royal. “An’ Ah swear, if you’ve hurt one hair o’ Royal Gala’s mane, I’ll-”

“Oh, don’t worry about her.” Nodabba interrupted with an annoyed expression. “She sadly inherited your stubbornness and didn’t want anything to do with me. Besides, I found a better bride than her anyway. As for you and your treachery, I think you deserve a reminder of what you left behind.” The princess stood up, yet a dark purple magical aura kept Applejack pinned to the ground regardless of her struggles. Her eyes widened at the sight of the fiend’s horse cock standing at full mast; her foes’ intentions clear.

“MA!”

Before the fatal blow could be struck, a mass of black fur tackled Nodabba to the ground from the side. She swiftly threw it off, revealing Cortland with his crystal sword drawn in one hand, and the other clutching the grey pelt now no longer upon the fiends’ shoulders. Annoyed, Nodabba launched forwards, her left arm wound back aiming to eviscerate the traitorous lycanthrope with her maul. Cortland ducked the swing, throwing the pelt to distract her before taking his sword in both hands to impale Nodabba. The crystal blade tore clean through the pelt, but drew no blood. A second later, Nodabba teleported behind him and swung with the maul once more. Only Cortland’s swift reflexes prevented his decapitation, but it wasn’t without cost. He raised his left arm to block the blow; saving his skull but making it easier to hear the shattering of the bones in his arm. The force of the blow sent him tumbling, only stopping when he knocked into another monster, who was swiftly slain by one of Cortland’s packmates.

“CORTLAND!” Applejack screamed, terror filling her heart for her oldest son, but a shadow brought that concern to her own wellbeing. Nodabba stomped down on the farmer’s back, pinning her to the ground once again; the pressure squeezing the cider out of her compressed breasts.

“Anything you’d like to say before I rut you back into compliance?” Nodabba asked, hooking her maul onto her belt so she could massage her schlong in anticipation.

“Yeah. Do you need a sick bag?” The question caught both earth pony and demon by surprise, oddly pausing amid the battle. “Because you’ve got a bumpy flight coming up!”

The next moment, Nodabba’s world lurched to the side and an explosion of pain engulfed her mid-section. She tumbled end over end into the air before finally righting herself with her ebony bat wings. She would only have a second to breathe, however, as a pink flash materialised a grinning Pinkie Pie before her; a giant crystal mallet in both hands. Nodabba summoned a shield of solidified magic before her as the hyperactive pink pony brought her weapon down in an overhead swing. The force of the blow surprised the fiendish noble, however, and she was shot back down to the ground.

The demoness landed on her feet, crushing an unfortunate soldier of her own forces beneath her. Looking up, she saw Pinkie Pie was moments away from another hammer swing, but this time she was prepared. The strike was backhanded away by the bronze-clawed gauntlet, followed by a swing from the maul. The retaliatory attack never landed, however, with Pinkie disappearing in a flash of pink light. Within seconds of her vanishing, another hammer blow hit Nodabba square in the back; staggering her a few steps forward. But it didn’t have the same force as Pinkie’s other attacks, and she turned to see a brown-maned pegasus stallion charging her with a large crystalline hammer of his own. The princess caught it with her claws, the swung her maul behind her on instinct to block Pinkie’s next surprise attack.

“Enough of this!” She growled, her talons digging into and cracking the head of Pound Cake’s weapon before he was swung into Pinkie. The pair of bakers tumbled to the ground, with the changeling/pony hybrid looking back up to see Nodabba readying a magical blast from her gauntlet. Thinking quickly, Pinkie summoned a spherical shield to protect Pound from harm just as the purple blast was launched. The power of the attack drove the pink orb backwards a dozen metres or so, leaving a big trail in the dirt. Releasing an annoyed sigh, the fiend moved to continue the pummelling, only to catch an armoured fist square in the jaw. Staggered, she caught the next punch on instinct with her claw as she spat out black demonic blood. Applejack went to swing with her free hand, but Nodabba deflected the blow upwards with her maul, leaving the farmer’s abdomen exposed. A knee thrust to the stomach forced the air out of Applejack’s lungs, before she was swung over her opponent and back into the ground.

The orange mare fought to both regain her breath and move, knowing the fight wasn’t over yet. A field of purple tinted her vision and immobilised her, however, as she was levitated before the vile princess. Applejack couldn’t help but grow scared at Nodabba’s resiliency. Though the blows she and Pinkie Pie had landed were already beginning to bruise, and a trail of black blood escaped the corner of her mouth, the demon otherwise appeared unfazed. In her field of view, she spied Pinkie and Pound Cake huddling in her domed shield, Nodabba’s minions pounding away at her friend’s barrier. Cortland was alive, though on the ground and cradling what had to have been a broken arm while his pack protected him ferociously. She couldn’t see the other members of their vanguard group, fearing the worst. Off in the distance, the horde army had reached the walls, with the frantic magical blasts from the defenders above aimed down at the invaders; meaning there was no more long-range fire support for those few that remained out in the thick of it.

“You know,” Nodabba spoke nonchalantly as she pulled her captive’s gauntlets off. “You’re rather lucky the Empress wanted all the leaders alive. But…” she smiled a devilish grin as she once more pressed her bust into the farmers,’ her erect dick sandwiching itself between those toned thighs just below the jean-covered crotch.

“She didn’t say I couldn’t have a little fun with you first.”

Applejack was thrown to the ground, the magic locking her in place also shredding her clothes and revealing her cider-dribbling melons. Nodabba zeroed in on the two large targets first, suckling on the naturally-produced beverage and eliciting gasps from the pinned Apple. This wasn’t helped by the warm schlong being pressed against her body, forcing her to fight against years of excessive experiences accepting such pleasures. While the fiends’ mouth extracted as much as cider as possible, the other leaking teat was fondled by one of Nodabba’s hands; rolled and kneaded like pliant dough.

Nodabba released the nipple with a loud pop, leaning back to present her rigid member for more fun. A flash of pink caught the corner of her vision, however. Looking over, she saw Pinkie Pie and her stallion friend had teleported into the sky just before her shield was broken. The pegasus was teleported again before the former bug monster also vanished. She reappeared the next instant on the ground behind Noddaba, with the princess’ instincts the only thing allowing her to dodge Pinkie’s hammer swing. The pink Element Bearer kept up the charge, but came to a screeching halt when the demoness levitated Applejack up as a living shield. That moment of indecision cost Pinkie, with Nodabba dashing arounf her prisoner and delivering a forceful gauntleted punch to the party pony’s midsection. Pinkie doubled over in pain before she too was bound by magic, levitated up, and stripped; revealing her G-cup breasts with miscoloured, inverted nipples.

“There. Free of those pesky clothes.” Nodabba stated with a cruel glee. The pair of earth ponies tried struggling towards freedom but every attempt, be it through brute strength or magic, was stifled with an application of magic to the pairs’ nipples. A crowd of Talvira’s monster had gathered around them, completely isolating the heroines from their allies, assuming they were still alive.

“All of you,” Nodabba spoke to her troops, not taking her blue-on-black eyes off the pair of prisoners. “Join the rest of the army in sieging the Empire. Remember; the leaders are to be taken alive. Kill the rest.”

“NO!” Applejack roared, struggling even harder at the mere thought of these monsters getting to Jonagold, to Ambrosia, to Apple Bloom. Yet her struggles were quashed with another knee to the mid-section from Nodabba as the monsters began moving out.

“Don’t worry,” she said soothingly, though her expression had the opposite effect. “The only thing you two have to look forward to is the fun we’re about to have, and whatever punishment the Empress has in store for you.”

The ponies were levitated down onto their knees before Nodabba, facing one another. Against their will, Applejack and Pinkie Pie raised their arms to squeeze their boobs together, and then against one another. Both mares gasped in shocked before moaning and squirming, as Applejacks’ cider-spilling nubs found their way inside Pinkie’s inverted ones. The latter’s expression became more frantic and concerned, the knowledge her nipples contain what little remained of her mother and sister Limestone only fuelling her despair. This was only worsened when Nodabba forced her erect horse cock up in-between those orange and pink pillows.

“Ah, now this is more natural for two old sluts like yourselves, isn’t it?” The princess asked mockingly, enjoying watching the jiggle of those melons as she forced the two to draw them up and down her dick, the sound of skin slapping against skin… the all too clear sound of skin on skin. The oddity of it brought Nodabba out of her lust as she realised she wasn’t hearing as many magical explosions from the defenders. There were still some, but none anywhere near the force of previous blasts.

“YOUR HIGHNESS! LOOK OUT!”

The shout from one of her soldiers was all the warning Nodabba got, but it was enough to teleport her and her captives away. When she returned to reality a second later and nearly fifty metres away, she witnessed a magenta blast of magic rain down on her previous position, resulting in a large explosion of dust. The ground around her was littered with the charred remains of all her soldiers that were nearby; those that had defied her orders to watch her play with the prisoners. The next instant brought with it the revelation that said two prisoners were nowhere to be seen. She was sure she pulled them with her on the jump. The only possible way they couldn’t be with her was if someone had stolen them away from her mid-jump. There were currently only two beings in all of Equestria that could manage such a precise teleportation spell; her mother Talvira, and…

“Midnight Sparkle…”

The growl escaped Nodabba’s throat as she looked above the cloud of dust, seeing the reformed former arch mage hovering in place in the air. Applejack was held in the lavender snake pony’s magical aura, while Pinkie Pie had taken flight with her own insectoid wings. The simple yellow dress she wore fluttered in the wind, yet still couldn’t hide the shape of a second pair of F cup breasts. Those purple eyes looked down at the more demonic princess; harbouring multiple emotions of animosity, determination and… remorse?

“Nodabba,” Twilight called out as she and her friends returned to the ground. “Call off this attack. Instead of wasting your soldiers’ lives here, you need to take them back to Canterlot immediately.”

“And why should I do that?” Nodabba asked sarcastically. “To stage a coup like you did?” The wince of regret Twilight gave away filled the demoness with a hint of satisfaction; one she intended to experience more off as she resummoned her maul in her left hand. “No. I know where my loyalties lay, you slithering slut. And I only hope the punishment Mother has in store for you is excruciatingly painful.”

“No, Nodabba, you’ve got to listen to me.” Twilight pleaded, doing her best to put aside any past and present animosity between the two to speak from a place of honesty. “Talvira’s in danger. I wasn’t the mastermind of the coup attempt. It was-”

“No more lies, bitch!” Nodabba roared her interruption, pointing her weapon at the alicorn and following it with a lethal gaze. “My orders are to bring you three back to serve as examples to all those who betray the Empress. Now get down on your knees like good little sluts and maybe I won’t rough you up past the point of recognition.”

“Sugarcube,” Applejack spoke up, ignoring her nudity for a moment to rest a hand on Twilight’s shoulder. “Ya know she ain’t gonna back down.”

“I know,” the pony princess sighed as she met Nodabba’s murderous glare once more, her own expression hardening. “You two head back and aid in the Empire’s defence. I’ll handle her.”

“Twilight, wait!” Pinkie called out, but it was too late. Twilight vanished in a flash of magenta light, only to reappear in the air just above Nodabba. The fiend jumped back, just avoiding being crushed by alicorn’s serpentine tail. Twilight reared up to her full height and fired off a ray of magic. Her demonic peer swatted it aside with her maul before returning fire with dark fireballs from her clawed gauntlet.

Twilight unleashed another teleport spell, returning to reality tens of metres in the air. Only this time Nodabba was brought along for the ride as well; appearing disorientated just below her. Twilight seized on the moment her foe took to get her bearings to swoop in and launch another tail strike. This one found it’s mark in Nodabba’s back, knocking her down towards the ground. The alicorn followed up with another blast from her horn, but the demonic princess knocked the attack away with her gauntlet and teleported out of sight. Twilight quickly spun around and summoned a shield to defend herself as Nodabba swung down with her maul. The force of the blow was enough to break the barrier and knock Twilight downwards, but claws dug into her tail. She cried out in pain as she was teleported mid-swing and landed with a jarring thud to the ground. Twilight desperately tried returning air to her lungs as she recovered from the blow, ignoring the pain in her tail that drew blood. Blood that now stained Nodabba’s clawed right hand. She raised it again, the look in her eyes clearly telling Twilight she intended to defy Talvira’s orders just to settle their grudge.

“TWILIGHT!”

As those two voices rung out, Twilight witnessed her momentary salvation as if it was occurring in slow motion. The down swing of Nodabba’s claw was redirected by Applejack’s hoofed thrust kick, the force of which turning the younger princess around entirely. The left her open to a crystal hammer uppercut from Pinkie Pie, but before she could fly too high from the impact Applejack grabbed her by the ankle and slammed her into the ground. The orange farmer then lifted her back up, only to receive another hammer blow to the midsection and be sent tumbling end over end across the battlefield.

“Twilight! You okay?” Time sped back up for the Princess of Friendship, seeing her two friends looking concernedly down at her. In that instant, Twilight couldn’t help but let her minds’ eye be swallowed by a memory. But instead of one of the past two decades, this one was from well before the evils of Talvira ever graced Equestria. It was her, standing in the ruins in the Everfree Forest, with Nightmare Moon towering over her, only for five mares she had known for only a day to come to her aid. Mares that would then grow to become her dearest friends.

Snapping back to reality, Twilight smiled and nodded in response, accepting the outstretched hands of Pinkie and Applejack to stand back up. The three turned to see Nodabba had staggered to her feet as well; clearly not expecting those attacks. The demon princess charged, but saw a flash of magenta spirit both Twilight Sparkle and Pinkie Pie away; leaving only Applejack. Unfazed by this, Nodabba continued her charge at the honest Apple, but faltered when the ground beneath her erupted upwards. Bizarrely using her usually poofy mane as a drill, the pink pony/changeling hybrid didn’t attack, but giggled and blew a giant raspberry at the orange demoness.

Frustrated by this, Nodabba swung with her claw, but struck air when Pinkie poofed away with a burst of pink magic. This left her ill-prepared for Applejack appearing from behind where Pinkie Pie had just been, on her hands and rearing back with her hoofed legs to deliver a forceful buck to the fiends’ repeatedly-targeted midsection. Still trying to recover her breath from that surprise attack, another found her when Pinkie’s hammer collided at significant speed into her back. This shot a pain through the demon’s wings, but that pain was then dwarfed by Applejack, who flipped back upright to spin and connect with a jumping uppercut.

The force behind t was immense, literally shooting Nodabba into the sky. She only just got her wits together after fighting through the pain, to see hovering above her were both Twilight Sparkle and Pinkie Pie charging magic. The former did so in a large sphere of magenta light above her, while the latter cradled hers in a crouched posture hidden behind herself. As one, the duo unleashed their arcane fury, the pink beam swirling around the magenta like a drill. Nodabba barely had enough time to summon a purple shield and put all her power into it before the surging magic made contact. The force of such a blast propelled her down to the ground, but she landed on her feet and maintained her shield; struggling to hold the prolonged blast at bay. Nodabba could feel the strain wearing on both her mind and body as she fought to stay standing. All of her focus was dedicated to keeping this beam from crushing her further into the crater her landing had created.

Yet this tunnelled focus cost the orange-coated princess. A familiar feeling wrapped itself around her ankle, and a split-second glance revealed Applejack had reclaimed her lasso. With a mighty tug, the rope pulled taut and Nodabba was flipped off her feet, only to be immediately slammed into the ground by the sheer power of the magic attack from above. Her scream of pain was lost under the roar of the beam and the rumble of the concussive explosion that resulted from it. To the side, Twilight and Pinkie landed beside Applejack, the two magic users needing to sit down for a moment to catch their breath. The attack had taken their all to pull off, Twilight only hoped it would be enough.

After a few seemingly endless moments, however, those hopes would be dashed. Nodabba survived, but it was clear that barrage of attacks had left their mark on Talvira’s progeny. Her black bat wings hung limply from her back, and her left arm was in a similar state; unable to hold her maul. There was severe bruising on her stomach and small burns all over her body, her limited clothing having been burned to ash by the blast. One of her eyes was swollen shut and she was taking deep, haggard breaths as she staggered out of the crater towards the trio of former Element Bearers.

“N-Nodabba,” Twilight called out, still exhausted from the effort expended earlier. “This… This has to stop. You can’t keep going like this.”

“…N-No…” The demonic princess stuttered, still shuffling forward. “I… I have to… Have to prove… T-that I’m better… Better than you…”

Though the tone was defiant, a hitch of sorrow and a tear trailing down from her one good eye betrayed Nodabba. She knew she was done, but her pride, as well as fear of reprisals from the Empress, refused to let her accept defeat. That feeling was driven also by her hatred of the former arch mage, her petty, banished foe. For her to beat her like this, in an arguably weaker state than before? It shouldn’t happen, it couldn’t. But as Nodabba fell painfully to her knees, the cold reality was finally sinking in. For the first time in combat, the first princess had lost.

She looked up and noticed Twilight Sparkle saw it too. But rather than satisfaction or victory in her purple eyes, Nodabba saw only remorse. The snake-tailed alicorn stood and slithered slowly towards her fellow princess. Applejack was about to speak up when Pinkie Pie stopped her with a hand on her shoulder and a shake of her head. Twilight stopped before her wounded foe and, with an understanding smile, she offered a hand to Nodabba. The fiend’s one open eye went wide in shock. Her foe, one who had every reason to hate her guts for everything she had said about her previously, was offering her mercy? And without a shred of pity to boot? Internally a war waged over what to do. She shouldn’t accept such an offer. The Empress would’ve rather died, and a part of Nodabba shared that sentiment. But the more dominant inner voice wasn’t ready to leave this world yet, and surely Talvira wouldn’t slay the heir to her throne, right? Tentatively, the clawed gauntlet of Nodabba rose, seeking to accept Twilight Sparkle’s offer.

An offer she would be denied.

A sharp sting burst into life from her spine, spreading before numbing the all-encompassing pain she was suffering. Nodabba tried looking over her shoulder before her eyelids grew too heavy and the exhaustion overtook her. Before unconsciousness took her, her thoughts drifted to her parents, hoping this failure wouldn’t belittle her in their eyes.

Mothers… Forgive me…

Twilight, Applejack and Pinkie watched as the dark princess fell back, to be caught by the newcomer. The horror for the three friends only grew when they saw a blank, expressionless face staring back. The being holding Nodabba’s unconscious form resembled one of Rarity’s mannequins for dress making, its otherwise featureless form broken only by the needle retracting back into its wrist; no doubt injecting something into its master. The surface of this monster then rippled and shifted until its form now resembled a draconic warrior wearing the onyx and gold armour of the invaders. Grinning a fanged smile at the ponies, it took flight and let out a perfect horn call from its mouth.

“Princess Nodabba has fallen! Fall back! I repeat, Princess Nodabba has fallen! Fall Back!”

The beast then circled around and flew south, back towards the rest of Equestria. Similar horn signals sounded out as the message filtered through the army and soon the invaders did indeed retreat. Twilight, Applejack and Pinkie Pie took flight to avoid being in the hordes’ path, the earth pony being levitated by Twilight’s magic, and saw the defences Flash Sentry had orchestrated had held firm. There were large blast marks upon the crystal walls of the Empire, and signs of battle atop it, but the city beyond thankfully remained inviolate. The three landed on the wall above the gates, and Applejack felt immense relief as she saw Cortland alive and having his arm treated while surrounded by what remained of his pack. She raced down to embrace him, while Pound Cake flew up from the ground to hug Pinkie.

“Pinkie, you’re okay!” He nearly cheered, smiling wide as he nuzzled under her chin. Quickly realising he was pressing up against her naked body, he released her and forced himself to look her in the eye; a furious blush colouring his face and causing the party pony to giggle.

“Yep!” She chirped. “Thanks to you sending Twilight to help us out, we made it out of there safe as can be. Right Twilight?” The response Pinkie was waiting for never arrived, as she saw her magically-talented friend simply staring out at the now retreating army. “Uh… Twilight? Are you okay?”

“Huh? Oh, y-yeah, I’m fine, Pinkie.” Twilight stuttered, turning back to face the pink pony with a pensive expression. “But… Nodabba…” Pinkie’s mood dropped a little at that, evidenced by her poofy mane deflating slightly.

“I think I know who sent that... creature here,” the alicorn went on, her features shifting from sadness to concerned determination as she looked back out over the walls towards Equestria. “And if I’m right, and for once I hope I’m wrong, then Flurry Heart, and all of Equestria, are in big trouble.”

Author's Note

Apologies for the length absence and lack of updates. After recovering from surgery, I wasn't feeling the motivation to get back into writing and decided to take some time off, taking a bit of a holiday.
Also, writing the Meanwhile chapters always proves a little difficult for me, given I don't plan them out as thoroughly as I do the main chapters. But I felt I needed to get something done before I head back to work next week, and so I've managed to snowball enough momentum to hammer this one out.

So, in an edit to my original upload, Nodabba's still alive, but is now captured. We'll just have to see how she factors into the future of the story. I've been looking forward to this battle for ages, ever since Twilight got reformed. Hopefully the combat didn't disappoint. Also, for the final beam attack, I'm not sure I described it accurately, but I was imagining Pinkie's charging up like she was about to use the Kamehameha.

I won't give a timetable on how long it'll be until the next chapter because I'll be hampered by returning to work next week and I've become rather shit at sticking to a schedule when writing this story, but hopefully this entry is enough evidence to show this story's not dead yet.
...Unlike Nodabba...

Anyways, until next time, thank you for reading, and I'll hopefully see you in the next chapter.