The Bewitching Hour

Returning to her homeworld always filled Cerise Silhouette with ambivalence. The princess missed the time spent with her people and, more importantly, her family. But it was also a reminder of how much she needed to learn.

The bluish-white portal hummed and flickered behind her as Cerise and her companions stepped into the dusty streets. The charcoal mare's neon pink eyes lit up, matching a mane done up in twin tails. Leathery bat wings hung at her back, and a fang peeked from her maw.

Immediately hit by jaunty music from the marketplace, the thestral mare raised her slender arms, closed her eyes, and began to sway along to the beat. Shapely curves were barely contained by her scanty top and booty shorts, her girly contours playfully jiggling to the rattle of tambourines. Tiny bells on her costume jingled.

“Ahh! Glad to see things are still lively!” Cerise giggled, casting her gaze towards Beatrix while rolling her womanly hips. “You sure you don’t wanna stick around, Bea?”

“Love to, but can’t,” the witch answered with a shy grin. “Got my own cute lover to get back to~.”

“Awww, what a shame!” The sun bore down on the sandy capital, framed by a pyramid that loomed over it. Her lips curled over the thought of how close the Fallen One, Zeloph, had come to destroying this region, with innumerable lives lost. If Cerise ever saw that overzealous asshole again, she’d make him suffer for his atrocities!

The disturbed look on the charcoal dancer’s face caught Beatrix off guard. “Whoa there! Quite the scary face you're making. Maybe I should stick around a little longer, after all...?”

“O-oh no! It's nothing to do with you,” assured Cerise, shaking her ill expression away and continued to swivel her wide hips and shake what her momma blessed her with. “Just a little troubled by stuff that's happened. That’s all!”

“We’ve got her covered,” Moonlight insisted, her clawed hand tightly clasping the blue pegasus soldier’s. “Isn’t that right, Middy?”

Midnight shot them all a boyish smirk. “Sure will!” He saluted, the pair of soldiers dressed in more casual attire. Trying to blend in, they momentarily adopted the more skimpy clothing most here wore, his barrel chest and most of his legs bared.

“Damn…. Still can’t believe I’m part of your herd now,” Moonlight muttered to herself, eying her childhood friend’s abdominals while brushing through her crescent-shaped hair. She wore a tied top and skirt-like bottom, one leg bared, like him a pair of sandals tied around her ankles.

The married couple had invited the batmare into their marriage since Midnight Blitzer was a hyper-stallion, a rare stud who required constant sexual gratification to survive, one mare unusually unable to sate him. Thankfully, the arrangement satisfied all parties in happy polyamory.

“Good! I suspect there will be plenty of things uncovered,” Beatrix mused, winking at the trio. “Welp, I’m off! I'll come back to pick you up once you're ready! Don't worry, Bellatrix can keep in contact with the manor if you need us!” She cast them a playful wave then stepped back into the oval that closed behind her with a crackle. Their return waves slowed as the traveler vanished back to her home in the mansion.

“Alright! Let’s mingle,” said Midnight, who took his wife's hand while she continued to shimmy at his side. Then, hand-in-hand, the three ventured further, through the crowded market and past stalls that hawked various wares and foods.

Cerise smiled and waved back at her citizens. She was the princess, after all, even though she'd surrendered all rights to any lands to maintain her freedom as a dancer. Instead, her two younger brothers had accepted those duties. So she decided to visit them, along with her parents. Plus, it was a chance to let her husband and herdmate become more familiar with her world.

Her thoughts were interrupted by sudden shouts in the distance. A mob had gathered, and she spotted two merchants who were practically at their rival's throat, flanked by their personal guards. The local soldiers struggled to restrain them, air suddenly thick with a threat of violence.

A bare-chested soldier protectively stepped into Cerise's path when she approached, his face drawn. “Please stay back, princess.”

“It’s fine! I can take care of myself,” she insisted with more confidence than she felt, determined to show them she was more than a pretty face! Sure, she had been pampered and protected her entire life, especially by her mother, but she was determined to prove her lineage worthy!

Taking flight, she beat her leather wingspan and landed in the center of the chaos, pressing her palms out to push apart the merchants who spat as they shouted. “That’s enough!” She ordered, causing the angry sellers to pause and bow their heads, recognizing King Sombra’s daughter.

“Look, if there’s a problem here, we can settle this dispute without causing a commotion in public. Now come with me to the pyramid, and we’ll handle this peacefully, I promise!”

Despite the aggressive gestures they continued to give each other, no one wanted to oppose the daughter of darkness. Her father had inadvertently blessed her with a portion of his dark power the moment her conception arrived, a mutation that caused her to awaken into a thestral. As a result her earth pony strengths had been enhanced. Yet even she strained under the surge of the rowdy, sweaty crowds around her.

“This is the fault of our incompetent rulers,” cried an unseen bystander from the mass of bodies.

“That's not-” Began Cerise, who yelped once a stone bounced off her skull and shook her, but she managed to keep her footing. Blood oozed from the cut, and her vision reddened.

She winced and squeezed out a couple of small tears, wiped her face on the back of her hand, and snarled with a hiss, her wingspan unfurled.

An all-out brawl broke out between the masses. Despite the heat that built within Cerise's breast, she called, “Wait! Don't kill anyone! Just knock them out! Listen to your princess!” She screamed her commands, supported by the cluster of soldiers who formed a circle to protect her.

“Yikes! This is bad,” yelled Moonlight, thankful she and Midnight came armed as her spear butt slammed into a foe and knocked him to the dirt.

“Don’t worry. I won’t let anyone harm you!” assured Midnight, who shot into the sky beside Moonlight to support her better. Swiftly the lovers dive-bombed the masses, broke them apart in beats of wings, and swooped past rocks and all sorts of objects hurled in their direction.

Another cry escaped Cerise once a wild blow that probably wasn't even aimed at her collided with her face. She nearly lost her balance, hooked the arm, and used her grace to toss the stallion over with a thud, where he landed winded in a cloud of dust. “Alright, that's it! You wanna act like wild animals? Fine, let’s get wild then!!” She flew back up to meet her partners in the sky.

Quickly she whispered her plan, and the pair nodded. The three landed in a clearing, protecting both sides of her flank, positioned in combative stances with spears held at the ready and snouts drawn in case someone dared attack her. Their bodies shielded her from anything tossed their way, whereupon the princess blushed, then raised her slender arms skyward.

Cerise had her costume made easily removable, a simple tug at the strings that comfortably clung around her figure. Her top was first to fall loose once she started to shimmy, and her modest tits were freed with a robust series of bounces, their circumference lined in wide neon pink areolas.

Next came the bottom portion, her wide bottom bared, alongside her tight snatch. While the first ability she had acquired didn't require her to be naked, she had discovered it boosted its potency many times over. Her bat ears twitched as she closed her eyes and danced to an unheard song. Her ample ass and breasts bounced and shook uninhibited to a silent beat as she beamed.

Usually, she preferred to use this power in the comfort of shadows. As if in answer, a miracle answered her prayers, cries of shock heard all over when an eclipse started to settle over the sun, the entire capital blanketed in darkness.

A series of neon lights appeared over her sloped contours, rolled over them, accentuated the bat mare, who resembled a nude silhouette who teased the onlookers when her curves bounced and wobbled. Gradually those who turned her way glazed over, dropped their weapons and lowered their fists, drawn into a trance as they admired the perfection of their lovely princess.

Midnight and Moonlight closed their eyes, but their ears also flicked as they listened to Cerise's pleasant singing. They badly wanted to watch, but reminded themselves the three of them could always make up for that later in the bedroom!

Thankfully reinforcements marched in their direction. General White Shadow Penumbra, and his wife, Lieutenant Lily Longsocks, headed into the capital with a small army. Her brother was resplendent in his white turban and tunic, the pegasus ready with a hand rested over the hilt of his sheathed rune-lined saber. His Amazon-like wife had already drawn her heavy blade.

“Wait,” he stated and placed a hand over hers. “We should try and minimize violence.”

“Of course,” replied Lily despite how hotly her blood burned once she frowned at the crushed stalls and scattered debris. Goods were tossed everywhere and ruined, blood lined the dusty roads, but thankfully there were no casualties.

“Brother! Sister-in-law!” Cerise halted her dance and ran up stark naked to meet them. She practically tackled the pair, hugged them tightly, and nuzzled them, then blushed even brighter as she pulled back slightly, her arms still wrapped around them. "Oh, uh, I've missed you so bad!"

“Good to see you too,” he said with a small smile. “Not bad at all, sister! A little more initiative, and you may be able to maintain order on your own.”

“Sorry about this,” said Moonlight, baring her own fangs when she grinned and arrived with Cerise's costume. The dancer hastily slipped back into it while the General and Lieutenant hurried to help restore order. Despite what had happened, few arrests were made, reserved for only the most violent rioters and looters, who were chained up and taken away by carts they were piled into.

“This won't bode well for father's reputation,” murmured Penumbra, aware of his Sombra's history as a tyrant. After the world had fallen to invaders called the Eldritch, many of the survivors were unaware King Sombra had once been one of the most terrible villains the planet had ever faced. But there were still rumors about his horrid past that had started to spread recently.

“You'll restore honor to your family's name,” Lily insisted with a pat on his shoulder.

"Thank you." He held her hand.

Within the hour, the marketplace was cleared and shut down until it could be repaired. Penumbra promised the merchants they would be compensated, that he would listen to their pleas, and take them straight to his father if necessary.

Cerise pouted. Her brother was busy with his duties like usual, and she couldn't afford to monopolize his attention when there was so much at stake. So instead, she allowed the guards to offer her a ride in a cart back to the pyramid.

As quickly as the eclipse had arrived, it also receded, the dancer uncertain if she was somehow responsible for the phenomena.

There was still so much Cerise didn't know about her powers, and her father couldn't provide any clear answers, either. That darkness was part of her soul, fused to it, a taint that would have corrupted most creatures, appparently balanced out entirely due to the mare's innate innocence.

She rested her head in her husband's lap while he and their partner tended to her wounds in the back of the cabin, troubled by her thoughts.

*****

Later on they arrived, headed inside down corridors lined in hieroglyphics, and Cerise directed them back to the private baths, which were closer to an expansive pool. Guards were bare-chested and stoic, perfect specimens of masculinity handpicked by her father.

Likewise, the maids were epitomes of feminine beauty, dressed in transparent wisps of silk that left their breasts bared, chosen by her mother.

Torchlight split the shadows of the interior, flickered over chiseled muscles and plush curves, nipples erect in the cool air. Midnight couldn't help but admire the stallions and mares alike, however any lust was reserved for his partners.

“And here I thought you were asexual,” teased Moonlight, nudging his ribs with a snicker.

“Cerise helped me have a little awakening.” He watched his lovers strip by the steamy bath, and tossed his own clothes aside in a pile too. He pulled them to his broad chest by the waist, rested a palm on each of their sloped bottoms, and kissed both to remind them how important they were to him. “Ready to take a little swim?”

“Race you,” teased Moonlight, who broke away in a wobble of breasts and buns, then dove into the pool with a splash quicker than they could follow.

Midnight frowned once he met his wife's face in the dimmed light, which brought out the nasty cut on her scalp that might scar, not to mention a bruise over one eye. “You okay? You took quite a blow out there! We're both worried about you.”

“I'm fine. Just because I'm a princess doesn't mean I have to be soft all the time,” she assured him with a toothy smirk. "At least not all over!" Giggles escaped when she grabbed him by the arm, dragged him into the water with her, where they burst into laughter while she nuzzled him.

She released his hand, broke away, and swam off with a cheeky smile, his emerald eyes pinned on her heart-shaped ass. He kicked off the side and spread his massive wings to keep up, overcompensated his shot forward, and his muzzle buried itself against her crotch, pitched until they crashed into Moonlight. More laughter burst from the three lovers who untangled their limbs and pressed close, thoroughly soaked.

Noticing the heat on Cerise's face and unwilling to leave her hanging, he lifted up his wife by the waist, set her on edge, and buried his snout back between her thighs. She cast back her head and arched her back with a moan as he licked her slit.

“Oh~” She rested a hand on his skull, felt his tongue press into her snatch, spread it wide open when it penetrated her. Her heart-shaped, hot pink clitoris peeked from its hood, as his muscle started to swish about and clean her warm, moist interior. “D-don't neglect Moonlight,” she murmured while her thick eyelashes fluttered and her pink eyes rolled into her head, in heaven.

He placed his wife's lower legs to rest on his shoulders once he climbed out and continued to devour her tight pussy. Water dripped from their bodies, and before he could try and tend to Moonlight, she knelt before him and took the stallion's massive dark blue shaft into her maw. She spat on his vein-lined cock, slathered it and his heavy balls in saliva as she sucked him off.

Instinct threatened to overwhelm the hyper-stud. His eyes turned stark white when his muscular hips bucked into her hot mouth. Their cunts milked in response and drooled, eyes hazed over, a desire to be bred appropriately threatened to overwhelm them as they breathed in his musk.

Cerise squealed and curled her toes. Messy squirts filled his mouth, dribbled down his chin, splashed onto Moonlight's face and tits below, while the female soldier bobbed her head faster and faster whe she felt his shaft start to pulse.

The hyper-stallion came with such force and volume Moonlight's cheeks immediately ballooned up. She desperately tried to swallow down the first surge of his load, felt hot seed fill her belly, more explode out her burning nostrils.

She coughed and popped free of his drenched cock, closed her eyes when more stray blasts slapped over her entire face. Then she stuck out her tongue to catch more of his excessive semen, which smacked over her features and glazed her titties. She stroked him off with both hands, determined to make sure she squeezed out the last droplets from his swelled-up nuts.

Cerise slipped from her husband's hold and hurried to support their shared lover. She dropped behind Moonlight, pressed her breasts into her back when she started to toy with one of River's luscious tits, and drove her fingers up into her wet, winking twat. Immediately she was rewarded with a gush that washed over her hand as she buried herself wrist deep to fist her cunt.

“Oh shit,” shrilly cried Moonlight who gulped down more of his seed after his dense emissions slowed. Then finally, her lower holes clenched, her pussy closed around the fist that invaded it, filled her almost to the fullness the hyper-stud could, and she dripped down Cerise's slick arm.

Cerise rolled her fist, pumped it in and out, and was rewarded by moist squelches and spatters of pussy honey. She leaned into a passionate threeway kiss with their herd partner, shared her husband's tasty seed with her, where they chewed on and savored it. She bent down and cleaned Moonlight's stained breasts, too, the ample flesh and its purplish-gray fur coat matted.

“Ah. You too are wonderful,” said Midnight between pants once the whiteness of his eyes receded. “I wasn't too frisky, was I Moonie?”

Moonlight licked her lips. “I like it a bit rough. At least when it's from the stallion I love~.” She grinned up at him, while Cerise squashed up by her side and helped clean his crotch with labored, playful licks that smoothed down his wetted fur.

“Glad to hear it!” He pulled them close to cuddle him in his arms and fluffy plume, until the three of them submerged themselves back in the steamy pool. “Your home world's a wonderful place, for the most part, despite what happened to it! Reminds me a little of our world.”

Moonlight nodded. “It's weird. Our world, Cerise's, Beatrix's...all survived the brink of disaster! I mean, how likely is that?”

Cerise snuggled up to them and couldn't help but worry that maybe Shadow Scythe's claims had a hint of truth. Despite what Beatrix believed, she was somehow indirectly responsible for all this, due to her connection to the Necronomicon.

Perhaps several worlds needed to be doomed to maintain some cosmic balance...and those which Beatrix traveled to were often picked from an almost infinite number of possibilities.

Was it too selfish of her to sometimes wish this terrible fate on some other universe...?

Her ruminations were interrupted when someone cleared his throat. She spotted her parents who entered, King Sombra resplendent in his silver armor and crown. Queen Inky Rose likewise in her own tiara and sheer black silks.

“Mind if we join you?” His daughter nodded, and he smiled back when the mature but still handsome couple disrobed.

“You all look so cute together,” said Inky, who tittered once they slid into the waters.

“Thank you,” answered Moonlight, who shyly stared at her reflection in the shimmery pool.

“No need to be reserved,” mused the dark stallion who rested an arm around his wife's midsection. “We maintain a very open society here. But unfortunately, it sometimes leads to...complications, as you saw upon your arrival.”

“There, there. Our eldest and his wife handled themselves well, I'm told,” assured Inky, who brushed his cheek.

“About that,” cut in Cerise who frowned. “Has my other brother been around lately?”

The ruler shook his head. “Ashen Dune's away, like always. Determined to further expand our territories, making deals with other races, and smaller settlements. He's also made us proud.”

Cerise shot up tall with a splash and blurted out, “I wanna head out and meet up with him!”

The older couple exchanged a troubled look. “You know how dangerous it is out in the desert,” answered Inky, who exhaled sharply while she washed her womanly form, still trim but shapelier after she bore her husband's children. “But I suppose I can trust these two to look after you. We did promise you could help Beatrix on her travels, and this honestly may be less risky...”

Sombra nodded then added, “But we insist you let White Shadow Penumbra and his squadron guide you to the borders, at the least.”

“Deal,” replied Cerise, who beamed wider at her parents. She waded over, embraced them, and waved her lovers over to huddle with them, too.

Arms and unfurled plumes encircled the family, who savored the moment when they drew in, reminded of what they had, and what was lost.

The Eldritch invaders had taken so much from them. Cerise's birth mother, Pacific Glow, slain in the conflict, Inky Rose forced to cut the baby from her dearest friend's womb to save her. She had raised the foal like her own, only to learn later Cerise was a partial reincarnation of Pacific.

The souls of mother and child were tethered into one by the the former tyrant, who passed part of his darkness onto her when he fathered Cerise, conceived with Pacific Glow in a fit of passion.

With aid from the Dragon Lord Spike, his apprentice Beatrix, Somnambula, and so many other heroes, a broken world had been saved.

Although doubts still ate at Cerise's heavy heart, the budding young ruler would find a way to finally prove herself a force to be taken seriously!