Hivemind Control

Chapters

Chapter the First: Just a Scratch
Chapter the Second: One Castle to Another
Chapter the Third: It Starts With a Spark
Chapter the Fourth: Fuel to the Fire
Chapter the Sixth: Open Invitation
Chapter the Seventh: Dinner Conversation
Chapter the Eighth: Dessert
Chapter the Ninth: Fancy Pants
Chapter the Tenth: Interruptions
Chapter the Eleventh: Spotted Dick
Chapter the Twelfth: Behind Closed Doors
Chapter the Thirteenth: Breakfast to Follow
Chapter the Fourteenth: Unnerved
Chapter the Fifteenth: Wiggle Worm
Chapter the Seventeenth: Poolside
Chapter the Eighteenth: Adult Swim
Chapter the Nineteenth: Sploosh
Chapter the Twentieth: Washing Off
Chapter the Twenty-First: Recovery
Chapter the Twenty-Second: Repayment
Chapter the Twenty-Third: Devolution
Chapter the Twenty-Fourth: Sharing is Caring
Chapter the Twenty-Fifth: Report to the Top
Chapter the Twenty-Sixth: Marriage Counseling
Chapter the Twenty-Seventh: Tea with a Titan
Chapter the Twenty-Eighth: Under Wraps
Chapter the Twenty-Ninth: Scarring
Chapter the Thirtieth: Cold Shoulders
Chapter the Thirty-Second: Remote Manipulation
Chapter the Thirty-Third: Dipping Out
Chapter the Thirty-Fourth: Tampering
Chapter the Thirty-Fifth: Unnatural Attraction
Chapter the Thirty-Sixth: Broken Mask
Chapter the Thirty-Seventh: Open Invitation
Chapter the Thirty-Eighth: The Final Straw
Chapter the Thirty-Ninth: Under the Skin
Chapter the Fortieth: Gleaming Shield
Chapter the Forty-First: Solitude
Chapter the Forty-Second: Long Road
Chapter the Forty-Third: Tensions Arise
Chapter the Forty-Fourth: Inadequate
Chapter the Forty-Fifth: Uneasy
Chapter the Forty-Sixth: The Last One to Fall
Chapter the Forty-Seventh: Welcome to the Hive
Chapter the Forty-Eighth: New Home
Chapter the Fiftieth: Those Who Falter
Chapter the Fifty-First: Audience with the Queen
Chapter the Fifty-Second: Wedded Anguish
Chapter the Fifty-Third: First Strike
Chapter the Fifty-Fourth: Pristine
Chapter the Fifty-Fifth: Retribution
Chapter the Fifty-Sixth: Comforting
Chapter the Fifty-Seventh: Complacent
Chapter the Fifty-Eighth: Bound
Chapter the Fifty-Ninth: Brotherly Love
Chapter the Sixtieth: Denial
Chapter the Sixty-First: Cercus Returns
Chapter the Sixty-Second: Longing
Chapter the Sixty-Third: Open to Negotiation
Chapter the Sixty-Fourth: Due Process
Chapter the Sixty-Fifth: Submission
Chapter the Sixty-Sixth: Adjusting
Chapter the Sixty-Seventh: Changes
Chapter the Sixty-Ninth: Giving In
Chapter the Seventieth: The Final Day
Chapter the Fifth: Hot and Bothered
Chapter the Sixteenth: Soaking Respite
Chapter the Thirty-First: Stretched Thin
Chapter the Forty-Ninth: The Pink Room
Chapter the Sixty-Eighth: Bonding Through Shared Trauma

Chapter the First: Just a Scratch

"I really appreciate you coming out on such short notice. I don't know what we would have done without you." Golden Glint walked along the road, her rippling silver mane drifting listlessly behind her. Her short yellow coat had been rubbed with wax to help it glisten in the sunlight, though there was nopony around to see it at this location.

"I believe that you could have made do with what you had," answered Princess Luna. "I have faith in your capabilities, as well as your ingenuity. Still, I believe it is a good sign that you feel no shame in asking for help when you feel you are overwhelmed. That said, I must wonder why you asked for me, specifically?"

Golden Glint reached up and rubbed her neck. "Honestly, I thought Princess Celestia might be too busy. Everypony seems to invite her to events, and you come along as a 'plus one.' I can't tell you how many newspaper headlines I've seen that mention 'Princess Celestia and her sister.' I thought you might relish the opportunity to be the focus of an event, for a change."

Luna smiled. "I see. It is good that you didn't want me to feel as if nopony cared. I appreciate it. While I cannot cast my vote in the upcoming election, due to not being a citizen of your town, I will tell you, and this is between you, me, and the trees, that I endorse your campaign, and will support your election."

Golden gasped. "That means so much to me! Thank you!" She bowed as deeply as she could, lowering her nose into the dirt.

"Think nothing of it," chuckled Luna, waving for her to keep going. "It's not as though I can give you a public endorsement. That would be an unethical conflict of..." She trailed off, her face immediately flushed of the mirth it had displayed mere seconds ago. She looked around at the trees along the side of the road, and flattened her ears. She narrowed her eyes, glancing from bush to bush. "Do you hear that?"

Golden rubbed her ears and cupped them in the direction Luna was looking. She listened hard, but the world was silent. "I don't hear anything."

Luna spent another minute or so looking to the bushes. She knew something was in the wooded area, but she couldn't trace it. "Who lives in these woods?"

"Deer, mostly. A few coyotes, some bobcats, but no ponies, as far as I know."

"Any bandits?"

"None that I've had reported to me."

Luna kept a wary eye on the trees as she turned back to the road. "Come along. We must make it to the safety of the next town."

As they picked up the pace, Golden began to look worried. "Are you sure it's bandits? It might just be a pair of stags, fighting over which of them is allowed to pick a mate."

"No," answered Luna authoritatively. "There's no rattle from their antlers, no bleating out in dominion, and more importantly, no birdsong. Somepony is in there, and they're giving off an unfriendly aura."

"Perhaps it's just a hermit?" smiled Golden nervously. "Please?"

"A hermit wouldn't be chasing us, and likely wouldn't be so close to the road. They also would have called out to us that they were not a group of bandits."

"Fine," came a masculine voice from behind them as a bush rustled. Luna and Golden stopped and turned to face their pursuer, Golden moving closer to Luna for her own safety. He wore a long cloak and boots, and a wide-brimmed hat covered the sections of his face unguarded by a mask, hiding all but his blue eyes. "You seem to be a smart cookie, princess. Yes, we're here to make off with your valuables to enrich ourselves. We had planned to shake you down a bit further, but I'll tell you what we're going to do instead. You hand over those jeweled shoes of yours, and we'll forget this whole thing. Nopony will be harmed, and you'll receive safe passage along our road."

Luna scowled at the highwaypony. "How dare you," she growled, her voice booming enough to cause to local wildlife that had not fled the bandits to rush off for their own protection. "This is an Equestrian road, to be used by Equestrian citizens free of charge. It is to be a safe place, removed of your kind."

"Now, now, there's no need to shout," chuckled the robber, soon joined by others. "If you don't want to just leave them here, I'm sure you and your young ward there would be happy to be escorted back to our camp where we can negotiate a more fair price."

"And you're going to swallow it," added another bandit, licking his teeth as he stepped out of the trees.

"Over my dead body," snorted Luna, her horn glowing as icy black tendrils sprouted from between her wings.

"As you wish," shrugged the bandit as the group all drew their weapons.

With a shriek of fear, Golden Glint dove into the trees, prompting a smirk from Luna. With her out of the way, Luna could swing more easily, with more confidence that she wasn't hurting somepony innocent.

The first three bandits all ran at her at once, thrusting their spears at her chest. With a well-timed wave of her hoof, she knocked the spears aside, letting them slide past her before blasting their carriers back with a black burst from her horn.

Just as she returned to her resting stance, she had to block a wave of swords swinging at her, only able to kick away one of the assailants before needing to block her other side as the spearponies returned. With a subtle redirection, she managed to let the other sword wielder's slice follow through and cut the head off of one of the spears behind her back.

The lustful dreg from before had slunk around behind her, his hooves grappling with Luna's wings, pinning them down and biting her. With a shout of pain, she bucked, flinging him up into the air and kicking him hard in the throat as he came back down, knocking him out of commission entirely.

As she was fighting off the ponies that surrounded her, she didn't notice the spokespony for the bandits approaching with a curved dagger, fang-like in appearance. As her attention was once more drawn to the swordsponies, he ran up next to her and drove his blade deep into her shoulder.

With a cry of pain, Luna stopped holding back. Her magic, which had this far been set do disable and disarm, was now set to kill, and with a few quick lashes, two of the bandits lay dead on the ground, with the rest running away in utter terror.

"Are you alright?" asked Golden Glint, stepping out of the bushes. "I'm sorry I ran, I jus--"

"Don't blame yourself," interrupted Luna. "As princess, it is my duty to ensure the safety of my subjects. Did they hurt you at all?"

Golden shook her head. "No, I'm not hurt. But you, you have a knife in your shoulder!"

Luna nodded. "Leave it in for now. Let my pulled-out feathers and cut hair rest where they lie, and keep your eyes peeled and ears open. I will call for an escort when we come into town."

Chapter the Second: One Castle to Another

"What in Equestria came over you?!"

Luna sat on the edge of her bed, waiting patiently for her sister to calm down. She wore two bandages, one on her shoulder and the other around her waist where she'd been bitten. Other than the bite and the stab, she was uninjured, and didn't need additional medical care.

"What you did was reckless, selfish, and could very easily have caused the death of your companion, or worse, your own!"

It was a shame the doctor that had patched her up didn't preemptively bandage her ears for this yelling fit. That was the only part that still hurt, and hadn't started hurting until a minute ago, after her bedroom door closed.

"Hell's bells, what were you thinking?! No, don't answer that; I know what you were thinking! You weren't thinking! You didn't consider how any of this would effect me, Canterlot, or Equestria as a whole! You were only thinking of yourself!"

Luna had not spoken since the door closed. She didn't need to just yet. If any of this was important, it would be repeated slower and less loudly after she managed to scream it all out of her system. And with the way she was shaking and panting, that was to come soon.

"I can't lose you again, Luna. It was painful enough sending you away for a thousand years. That was excruciating. I don't know what I'd do if you died."

Luna nodded, stood up, and approached her sister. "I know, Tia. And I'm sorry that I ended up putting myself in harm's way. It was not my intent to worry you or make you upset. Nor was it my intent to come to harm."

Celestia wrapped her chin around Luna's neck. Tears were streaming down her cheeks as she sniffled and sobbed.

"I'm fine," smiled Luna, wrapping her leg around her sister's shoulders, gently stroking her back. "I appreciate your concern, but if I felt overwhelmed at any time, I'm smart enough to flee. I didn't even bother pursuing them back to their camp to take them out. We have platoons of guards for that. My first and foremost concern was protecting my charge."

"But look at what happened to your shoulder!" squeaked Celestia. "You're wearing two different bandages for two different wounds!"

"The bite was a bit of a shock. He was just a pony, but I was given a rabies shot regardless. As for my shoulder, yeah, that was an oversight on my part, and I should have avoided it. I was just unlucky."

"And what happens the next time you're unlucky?" demanded Celestia. "What would have happened if one of those spears plunged through your chest, or one of those swords sliced your head off? We may not age like everypony else, but our skin is not impervious to being cut or punctured."

"I was focusing on the swords and spears. I saw the knife, too, I just couldn't move out of the way in time. And it's not as though I went looking for them. They found us."

"Just..." Celestia paused, pulled her head back, and sternly looked her sister dead in the eyes. "I want you to promise me, Lulu. Promise me that you won't do anything that stupid and reckless again. I need you. I don't want to lose you again."

It was Luna's turn to tear up. "I promise," she said, leaning in and hugging her sister tightly. "I don't want to be without you, either."

Cercus took a deep breath and knocked on the door. "Come in," came a sultry voice. Steeling himself for what he might see, he opened the door and walked in.

He wasn't fond of the new palace. As it had yet to take on the will of its owners, it was very static. The walls did not move, and doors required you to actually open them by yourself. While the room was sparsely decorated, it was the nicest one in the network they'd spent the last two years building. The roots of plants wove their way across the ceiling, with little bulbous fungi hanging off, providing the room with a bioluminescent light. The walls were perfectly carved from the stone surrounding it, and the floor was covered in a mossy carpet, save for the few spots where the owner had worn holes into it. At the far end sat the only bed. Everyone else was sleeping on grass mats or unsupported old mattresses.

"Cercus. You've returned." Lying on the bed in a splayed-out position was a buxom young mare, who brought a hoof gingerly up to her lip. "Before we go over the details of your mission, what do you think? Don't I look ravishing?"

"If I were a pony, I'd have tackled you before you could ask."

"That's right. Now, take off that mask, we have work to discuss."

In a flash of green, the mare's body shifted and contorted, growing larger and darker, until she once again held the form of the changeling queen. In a presently following flash, Cercus shifted, as well, though he shrank down from a decently tall pony into a changeling of moderate size.

"Now, then, what do you have to report?" asked Chrysalis, examining her hoof.

"It's not exactly the best news," started Cercus. "While your protective enchantment did neutralize her spells, we did end up sustaining casualties. Two dead, and Mandible is going to be out of commission until his neck heals."

"What happened to his neck?"

Cercus reached up and rubbed the back of his own neck. "Princess Luna, well..."

"Spit it out!"

"She sort of, broke it. She kicked him in the throat. I consider it a miracle he made it all the way back here."

Chrysalis scowled. "All the way back here? Why didn't you utilize our target's free healthcare? Spend their tax bits?!"

"He... hasn't been able to hold his form for very long. He kept changing the whole way back. Do you know how much the carry weight of a camel is, or how hard it is to keep a giraffe's neck straight?"

Chrysalis sighed. "Did you attract any attention?"

"No."

"Then I suppose you did the right thing. We're less than a thousand strong. We can't afford to be wasting soldiers if we can help it. Anything else?"

Cercus scratched his chin. "I think that's everything." As he turned around, he found himself being pulled back.

"There is at least one more thing you need to tell me," hissed Chrysalis. "Aside from the casualties, what was the outcome of your mission?"

"Right," chuckled Cercus nervously. "Successful."

"Are you certain?"

Cercus smirked, his blue eyes glinting in the underground light. "I stabbed her myself."

Chrysalis let out a deep chuckle. "Very good. Now we wait. We watch. And we ready ourselves for step two. On that note, Let's give you some new orders."

Chapter the Third: It Starts With a Spark

For the next week, everything seemed to be going just fine, or even good by certain standards. Luna's injuries healed surprisingly quickly, and even more surprising, the stab wound left no scar. She was up and walking around and socializing in small groups as if the event had never occurred; laughing, smiling, and playing shuffleboard as if nothing had happened.

And yet, there was something different. Not in the way she acted, or in the way she spoke, or even in the subtle way that she carried herself. It was how she felt that had changed. She felt warmer, as if sitting in a room with a roaring fireplace. She felt a warmer mood, too, as she suddenly felt that the lords and counts, and other stallions she was forced to entertain as part of her duties, were less straining and more pleasant. Their words and actions had not changed, and her opinions on their stances had not changed, but she felt more inclined to listen, as if their tongues had been dipped in silvermint.

A scheduled Saturday event had her at a dinner party hosted by Jet Set and Upper Crust, two lower-ranking nobles that, while wealthy, were clearly legacy nobles; only rich because their parents were rich, and had very little culture between them, sniggering and chastising those less fortunate. While the more well-mannered nobility would see an agrarian abode and refer to it as a "quaint, rustic and cozy condition," these two would refer to the same space as a "ghastly garden shed." Luna was not fond of their elitist and demeaning attitude, and had been dreading the event for days.

However, upon striking up a conversation with her host, an action she only began as a formality, she found his viewpoint to be very engaging. He was obviously wrong, and she needed to hear him out regardless, but she found herself hanging on his every word, short-sighted and repugnant as they may be. She just couldn't tear herself away.

"I mean, after all, we pay them to protect us," he snorted, taking a puff from his cigar and coughing. "If they no longer do their job, why should we continue to pay them? Besides, Equestria hasn't been at war in ages. There's not really much of a job for them to do, is there?"

Luna waved the smoke away from her face. "While I will acquiesce that the role of actually guarding us is greatly diminished as peacetime drags ever onward, I have led battles in the past where having our forces lined up against our foe, and comparing the size of each side's respective strength was enough to cause our enemies to surrender. It is very important that we provide our retired forces with incentive to replace their roles by encouraging their children to enlist."

"Surely, we don't need that many soldiers, though? And the more we have that are unnecessary, the more money we waste on them."

"Having as many soldiers as we could possibly want is a massive boon," retorts Luna. "If the next generation are told that joining the royal guard is not going to help them in the future, they won't want to join, and then we have to start conscripting again. Which, if we were currently using a conscription system and a war broke out and we were low on soldiers, you'd find yourself one of the richest stallions on the front lines."

"Surely you're joking."

"One stallion from every family, minimum. Your father is almost seventy, and therefore it would be ill-advised to send him out to the front. On top of that, you have no male heir, meaning you're the only pony in your family capable of using a lance without breaking a hip."

Jet fidgeted nervously. "What about Upper Crust's brother? He can take my place."

"You mean Frag? Being well-versed in fireworks displays, we'd probably recognize his prior skill and either have him as an explosives engineer or a communications officer. Furthermore, he doesn't count as your family, but hers."

Jet Set swallowed hard. He was just expecting, at worst, a disagreement, but this dressing down had upset him. "I think I should go see how dinner's coming along." He snuffed his cigar and left the room, to the comfort of a few of his other guests.

"Quite the clever turn you gave him," smiled a stallion Luna did not know. "Cosmic Crash, Cosmo to my friends. I don't bother with the titles, as I don't feel I've quite lived up to mine."

"Understandable."

"I just don't feel like a baron, you know? It almost feels empty, like I should have an achievement behind it, but instead, I'm riding my grandfather's coattails. He sent his own band of mercenaries to protect shipments to the front in the Mulial incursion. At best, I play piano and have planted a small orchard that I sometimes tend to."

Luna raised her eyebrow. "Baron Wheelwright?"

"My mother's father, yes."

"That would be why I don't recognize you."

"New to the game. I thought I might have a go at a noble party. Mother couldn't stand them, and father was always working. I must say, I agree with mother."

"They're not all this..." she cleared her throat, "divisive. You should come to a Fancy Pants party if given the chance, though there is a possibility that our hosts for tonight may latch on. Terribly sorry, but I really must stop by the water closet before dinner. Would you excuse me, please?"

"Certainly," smiled Cosmo, stepping aside and indicating the direction of the manor's nearest lavatory. With an apologetic nod, Luna gracefully made her way out of the room and down the hall, doing her best to keep her head high and her thoughts in check.

It was only after she reached the lavatory, locked the door and soundproofed the room that she let her tension release. She turned around and presented her hind end to the mirror, lifting her tail lightly. Sticky strands of excitement stretched out, glistening behind her. But how? How could she be in heat? Her cycle, much like her sister's, was only active once a year, six months apart from each other. She wasn't supposed to go into heat until December.

No matter. She'd been excited before, she just had to make it through the night. She grabbed a wad of toilet tissue and wiped herself dry, but every touch set her off a bit more, and she just kept leaking. She couldn't go out like this. She had to calm it down. And with everything being as eager as it was, there was only one way to do that.

Chapter the Fourth: Fuel to the Fire

Luna scrubbed her hooves vigorously in the sink, washing away the last evidence of her indiscretion. She was ashamed of herself for performing such an act in somepony else's house, especially somepony she wasn't particularly fond of. She was glad that the bathroom door locked, and also that she had been able to tame herself quickly and seamlessly, leading to an easy cleanup. It would have been quite the scandal if she had squirted all over her host's walls. They likely employed a maid, and she didn't want to cause their help any additional stress.

With everything cleared by the mirror; her mane neat and tidy and her form clear of any blemishes or splatter, she turned and exited the lavatory, coming face to face with Upper Crust.

"Pardon me," smiled Princess Luna, stepping out of the way. "Go right in."

"Actually, Princess," smirked the hostess, "I was just coming to collect you for dinner. Would you come with me to the dining hall?"

With a nod, Luna followed her into the dining hall, where the table was extravagantly decorated with gaudy baubles of every make. The colours clashed, and the pieces were mostly arranged by size, with the biggest in the middle and slowly tapering out. This was not a terrible design philosophy, but it did seem a bit too big. A guest sitting in the middle of the table would find it easier to kick the shins of the pony sitting across from them than to carry on a conversation.

Luckily, her seat was near one of the ends, at Jet Set's immediate right. He would be at one end, and his wife would be at the other, something that would make more sense at a shorter table. At a length such as this, it would be best for the host and hostess to be close enough to speak, five chairs away at most.

Still, the other guests nearby weren't horrible. Fancy Pants sat next to her with a pleasant enough smile, and on the other side of the table, two chairs down, Cosmo smiled and bowed his head to her. As her gaze met his oceanic eyes, she could feel her loins stirring up again, despite the fact that she'd just relieved herself.

As the last few guests took their seats, a small jingle of a bell rang out. Luna thought it might be somepony playing with the Hearth's Warming decorations in the middle of the table, despite the fact that it was July, but it was actually Upper Crust, unable to be seen from her position, calling for the catering servers to bring out the appetizers.

"Lovely long time since we last spoke," chimed Fancy as he waited his turn in the serving process. "How are you, Princess?"

"Quite well, under the circumstances," admitted Luna, immediately biting her tongue. She hadn't meant to add her qualifier.

"Ah, yes, I had heard you were attacked last week," nodded Fancy. "I had wondered to myself if you would show up tonight with your shoulder injury, but it seems as though you've made a swift recovery. Your physician must be phenomenal."

"I do not recall his name," shrugged Luna. "At the time, he was just some surgeon in Shireton, and I didn't go back and read the charts. Now that you mention it, though, I should send him a thank-you gift."

"Hm, yes. I would also like to apologize for my lateness. The charity auction funding the new soup kitchen I'm sponsoring ran longer than expected, and I forgot to account for the time it would take to close everything down. A shame we couldn't socialize more before our meal."

"I'm certain she would have been ecstatic if you had showed up earlier," chuckled Cosmo. "I have the distinct impression that she would have had a more diverse range of topics to choose from."

Luna chuckled as she was served a small platter of hummus-covered club crackers with pomegranate seeds on top. A simple, yet mildly flavourful start, though not particularly a good opening to a meal. This was better suited to being carried by servers before the meal.

"Fancy Pants, have you met Cosmic Crash?"

"I have not had the pleasure," he smiled. "I would shake your hoof, were we not so far apart, Mr. Crash."

"No matter," waved Cosmo. "And just Cosmo is fine. I hear you host spectacular events. Part of me wishes that I had attended your auction."

"Nonsense. Both of us would have been late."

The three of them carried on their conversation through the appetizer and the first course, a ratatouille. During their second course, a stuffed zucchini with marinara drizzle, Jet Set felt the need to interject as they hadn't said a word to him since they'd sat down to eat. "How are you all enjoying your meal?"

"It's a fine-tasting meal," offered Luna in response, smiling almost condescendingly, but holding onto her display of pleasantness.

"It's very clear that the chef you called in this time is better than the one you hired last," added Fancy, nodding along. "Their understanding of the relationship between the tomato and the zucchini squash is well-developed and clear. Certainly, they know much of their garden."

"Yes, I made sure to hire a catering company that was well-equipped this time," bragged Jet. "I'd had enough of hiring bad catering, so I called on my cousin, who actually runs the company I hired this time. You can always count on the high-end companies to craft the finest meals."

"It's just too bad they don't know how to string the courses together," blurted out Cosmo. "Other than the hummus biscuits, the flavours here have been remarkably similar. Do they have any dishes beyond tomato and zucchini?"

Fancy pants had to pretend to cough to keep himself from laughing, and Luna wiped her face with a napkin to hide her smile. While what had just been said would be seen as rude and uncouth at any other party, the bragging before had turned it back on the braggart. This would be further amplified if Jet stood his ground. Everypony knew that the catering company didn't pick the dishes, and Fancy Pants was aware that Jet didn't have a cousin in catering. One ran a meadery, and the other had gone into archaeology.

It was then that Jet made the smartest decision he'd made all day. Rather than raise a big stink or retaliate, he sheathed his tongue and kept his mouth shut. This led to a quieter, happier evening for the guests, culminating in a dessert of a rather tasty zucchini spice cake, which may have been more welcome if it hadn't been for the dishes that preceded it.

Chapter the Sixth: Open Invitation

A few days passed in relative comfort. Aside from sending her surgeon a fruit bouquet with a thank-you card, Luna had been to see her own physician about the unexpected heat wave that had crashed over her. It had not returned after that night, but the suddenness of it, coupled with it being out of sync, had prompted her to ask Celestia if there had ever been an instance like this before. Celestia wondered if it might have something to do with the bite, but had no definitive answers. Chalking it up as a fluke, watching and waiting to see if it happened again, Luna had been going about her business as usual.

On Thursday, her duties took her out of town, and on the way back, she just happened to look out the window while scheduling the next few days. As it so happened, they were passing by the exact orchard that Cosmo had planted. This was unplanned, as it was just the shortest path back, and Luna had travelled this road a good many times and seen the orchard, but had never stopped to inspect it. Today was different. Today, Cosmo was in one of the trees with a large satchel over his shoulder.

"Stop the carriage," commanded Luna. "Find a place nearby and park."

"Is something wrong, princess?" asked her assistant, concerned. "Is it the folio from San Palomino?"

"No, nothing is wrong," answered Luna. "I've decided that now would be a good time to drop in on this orchard on our right. I was invited, you see."

The assistant nodded. "Do you need me with you for this?"

Luna shook her head. "Come along if you like, but don't feel obligated. If you want to finish some of this paperwork, you can enjoy the smooth ride of a stationary carriage. I won't be too terribly long."

With a nod from her aide, Luna disembarked the carriage and made her way over to the orchard, walking up to the tree Cosmo was climbing down from. As promised, he was wearing a similar shirt, with the sleeves permanently rolled up out of the way. "Good afternoon, Princess," he smiled, disembarking the ladder. "You'll have to excuse my mane and tail. I wasn't expecting company today."

"Don't worry about it," waved Luna. "This was an unscheduled, informal stop. We finished all but our paperwork for the day, and just happened to be passing by on our way back to Canterlot. If I'm being bothersome, I can come by some other time."

"No, not at all," smiled Cosmo. "I just have a few trees left to look over myself, and then I'll be done for the day. Would you care to join me? We can talk as I finish up."

"I would love to."

Cosmo grabbed the ladder and moved it over to the next tree, leaning it up against the trunk and dropping his bag to the ground. "So what sort of business were you conducting that made this your route back home?"

"Clerical stuff. Somepony wants a statue approved for repairs, so you have to bring in stonemasons and assure their quality, look over the old statue to figure out whether it would be worth repairing or if it would be better to just replace it with a new one, and of course there's somepony else that wants to just have the statue and its sisters cleared from the square for a completely new pavilion. And after all of that, the mayor is running for reelection, and feels that he doesn't want to risk upsetting the voters by making the wrong decision, so he goes a step up to the governor for the district, who goes up another step, and another, until it comes directly to my attention."

"So what are you going to do?"

"My decision was to hire a more skilled mason, take down all four statues, and put new ones in their place made of stronger stone, and depicting something nicer. The earth pony on display was cast in a negative light."

"How so?"

"They looked hurt. Insulted, even, to not have wings or a horn. I called for a new one that displays only three statues, all depicting the great achievements of the three most populous races. Unicorns with arcane magics, Pegasi with their wind magics, and earth ponies with their earth magics."

Cosmo looked down from his ladder. "Earth ponies have magics?"

"Most are gifted either great strength, or an affinity for plants and things. It's not just that they like to work with the earth more than others; the earth likes to work with them more. If you were a pegasus or a unicorn, for example, you would have had a harder time growing this many trees. It would still be possible, but it would feel like more work, as you'd be grinding your gears harder."

"Huh. I guess I never made the connection. I thought I just liked doing it."

"Why can't both be true?"

Cosmo chuckled. "Well, I guess you learn something new all the time. Would you grab my nut sack for me?"

"Of course." Luna reached up and cupped Cosmo's testicles. They were just as heavy as she'd imagined. Perhaps a bit heavier, actually. Either way, they were impressive.

"I, uh..." Cosmo shifted and pointed to the ground. "I meant that satchel next to the foot of ladder."

In sudden realization of what she'd done, Luna ripped her hoof away. She gingerly picked up his bag and offered it up to him, unable to form any words. Her face was incredibly hot, and it would not surprise her in the slightest if everything above her shoulders was a vibrant red. In tucking her tail between her legs, she'd realized that she was once again soaked. She'd been so engrossed in their conversation that she'd forgotten to keep track of her arousal.

"Thank you," smiled Cosmo uncomfortably, taking the bag and plucking a few walnuts from the tree. "Is that a common thing to be misunderstood?"

Luna shook her head vehemently.

"Then how about we forget that this just happened, and we can work our way towards trying again from the beginning? Would you like to have dinner with me tomorrow?"

Luna nodded sheepishly.

"Excellent." He turned around on the ladder and pointed to a white farmhouse at the corner of the orchard. The head of his penis was poking out of its sheathe, presumably in response to her touch. His testicles were obscured by his tail, which couldn't quite reach his dick. "Tomorrow, just after sunset, meet me in that farmhouse. That's where I like to spend a lot of my off time. Sound good?"

Luna nodded again, taking a few steps back and straining to keep her gaze on the ground. With everything decided, she backed away until he turned back to his tree, allowing her to sprint back to the carriage and take off with all due haste.

Chapter the Seventh: Dinner Conversation

Luna showed up right on schedule, in a semi-formal evening dress. It was maroon with black accents. It was incomplete for it's intended purpose, as there was a large red peacock fan accessory that was supposed to be attached to the back, a black face mask, and tan boots. She'd worn none of that, just the gown tonight. She wasn't trying to impress an entire crowd with her resemblance to a cardinal at a grand masquerade, she was trying to look nice for a dinner date.

She rapped her hoof against the door and stepped back, waiting for an answer. In a few moments, the door swung open, and there stood Cosmo. He was wearing a white apron over his light green embroidered vest and blue silk shirt. The apron was a bit spattered, meaning he was actually working in the kitchen. "I wasn't expecting you to bring guests," he chuckled.

Luna glanced back at her two guard escorts. "You don't need to worry about them. They've already been fed, and they don't need to be too involved in tonight's events. More of a precaution, really."

Cosmo raised his eyebrow. "Do you distrust me so?"

"My sister has not met you, and is concerned for my safety. The former of which I plan to remedy at some point."

As Cosmo nodded in understanding, a loud sizzle was heard from the kitchen. "Come in and make yourselves at home!" he shouted as he rushed back to quiet the mess in the kitchen.

Luna and her guards walked into the front room of the farmhouse. It was a charming little cottage, sparsely decorated and mildly rugged. The most loud object in the room was the rightmost cushion for the couch. The rest of it was a dark brown affair, but the green plaid cushion seemed to be pulled from another couch entirely. Judging by the wear on the middle cushion, this was likely due to a fair bit of use making the missing piece unusable, perhaps going so far as to be beyond repair.

"Supper is just about ready!" Cosmo called from the kitchen. "I was held up at the grocer, and was late coming home to begin! I was planning to be done twenty minutes ago, but it should only be another five!"

"No problem," replied Luna. "Take your time."

She peered into the next room, a dining area with a desk on the north wall. While the desk was covered in books, papers and an ink spill, the table and chairs were spotless. Drag marks against the wood floor indicated that the table was more often against the west wall, where more books were stacked up against some equipment Luna didn't recognize. It was obvious that the chairs had been in storage and the table had been used as storage as of yesterday. He probably didn't bring a lot of company here for dinner, as this location was more for work than leisure.

Cosmo entered the room and peeled off his apron. "All done now. Whenever you're ready to begin eating, just let me know."

"How about now?" suggested Luna. "You spent all this time cooking it, the best time to eat would be while it's still warm, right?"

"Certainly, Princess." He disappeared into the kitchen, and returned right away with platters with bowls, taking a moment to set out the silverware. He also pulled out her chair for her before returning to the kitchen. When he next returned, he carried a pumpkin with no top and char marks along the bottom. As he set it down, Luna could see that it was full of soup, which had likely been cooked inside of the pumpkin. With all of the deftness one could come to expect from an earth pony, he ladled out two bowls, looking to the guards to be absolutely certain that they wouldn't be needing a place setting. He'd made enough soup, but not enough of everything else.

"So, you were considering introducing me to your sister?" asks Cosmo, sitting down in his chair opposite Luna. "Is she as caring as the rumours say?"

"She is," answered Luna, examining the soup. There were some chunks, but they were soft enough to be split with her spoon. "As you may have guessed by my companions' presence, she cares enough about me to be concerned for my safety, and she has worked to keep all of her citizens safe besides. What of your family?"

"Well, my mother, the baroness, was not too fond of socializing, opting instead to oversee the training of the security company she inherited from my grandfather. As she said, it's not safe to display all of your wealth and show how easily you can be brought down. My father was not a noble, but rather an enemy soldier that bested her in combat twice. She didn't like him at first, but the more they fought, the more they came to understand and respect each other, and when neither of them was being paid to fight each other, he left his own military to come to Equestria. That was the drake incursion in Course. Four months later, they were married, and two months after that, I was born."

Luna furrowed her brow. "That's only six months total."

"I was conceived the fourth time she captured his unit. Despite the fact that he was tied to a tree at the time, he did consent to it."

"Great soup, by the way," smiled Luna, taking in another spoonful. "Very sweet, but still savoury."

"Thank you. It's my brother's recipe. I think he took it from his girlfriend. I'm glad you're enjoying it, and will pass along your thoughts."

After the soup was eaten, the second course came out, which was half of a poblano pepper for each of them, with a seasoned stuffing.

"You had said on our first departure that you wanted to have a taste of my... produce. The soup, while good, was mainly a filler. This is more akin to what I have to offer."

Taking her first bite of the stuffing, she could taste among the croutons a distinct richness, and a firm, but not crunchy texture. These were very soft pecans, the kind of thing that would roast over nicely and practically melt on your mouth. These were top-quality nuts, and she would love to be on his list of recipients over the holidays.

"These are simply divine," she proclaimed, forgoing her manners for a moment a really digging into the meal. "You, sir, are a master of your craft."

Chapter the Eighth: Dessert

It's commonly stated by most ponies that fruitcake is not very good. It tends to be a very niche dessert that only shows up around Hearth's Warming, and the few ponies that like it will eat it while everypony else just sends it on down to their neighbor, until it is eventually regifted to the original purchaser. This may be because a standard store-bought fruitcake is made with candied cherries, pineapple chunks, and golden raisins. Three different flavours, and three different textures that all clash.

This one was a vast departure from them. Having the same texture and a similar taste, apples and pears go into fruitcake with excellent cohesion, but are not quite enough on their own. That's why the dry batter for this had been mixed to include cinnamon, clove and nutmeg, to make the fruitcake taste of a cider. A cider that had a selection of piped pearls of cream cheese icing on top, but that was beside the point. Finally, it had been coated up the sides with crushed walnuts.

"It's very strange to me that you would select dishes with nuts in them and not have the nuts themselves be more prominent," observed Luna. "Don't misunderstand, it's delicious, but most would come out with their own line of products screaming front and center."

Cosmo shrugged. "There is a humility in the nut. While it could be front and center, as a baklava makes very aware, their inclusion in most things is as an accoutrement. Rather than fighting for a chance in the spotlight, it widens the spotlight to show more of what makes something good. Even if it is oft cast aside, its involvement would be better used to elevate a dish beyond what it would be otherwise. It's like having a band play during your dinner. Unnecessary, but it adds to the experience."

"I suppose you're right. It is very tasty, though."

It wasn't long before the meal was finished. Luna had eaten more tonight than she had at the dinner party almost a week ago now. It helped that the dishes were varied to include a multitude of flavours, but she felt that the company she kept had something to do with it, as well.

"I'm a bit ashamed to admit this, but it's been quite some time since my last date night," revealed Cosmo. "And as it was short notice, I had only gone so far as to plan out dinner. I had not set aside any after-dinner activities."

"That's fine," smiled Luna. "I have something in mind."

As she stood up from her chair, Cosmo and the guards were hit with the scent of arousal she'd been holding in since she sat down. The guards were turned on, but had been trained not to advance on the princesses during their heat unless specifically invited. They did, however murmur amongst themselves about something being out of season.

"I would like you to show me your bedroom," smiled Luna. "If you don't mind, that is."

"N-not at all," stammered Cosmo, taken aback by the forwardness. He stood up and hurried to the back of the room. "Right this way."

Luna and the guards followed him to the bedroom. Upon arrival, Luna peeled off her panties. An absorbent pad had been added to keep her from ruining his furniture, but it was near capacity. She quickly tossed it into the wastebasket, and noted that she would need to apply a new one before leaving.

But that would have to wait. She flopped down on her back and spread her legs as far open as they would go. "Forgive my forwardness, but I'm very much in need right now. I need a stallion inside of me right away, and that stallion is you."

While he was a bit shocked at how fast she was moving, Cosmo was not the type to ignore a mare in need, and if Princess Luna wanted his dick, who was he to deny her? He tore off his vest and shirt, tossing them onto a nearby chair. He did not immediately mount her, opting instead to simply climb over the top of her, and excite her a bit more with a kiss.

It was agonizing how slowly he retracted the zipper that held her dress together, with the biggest thing keeping her from voicing the complaint being his tongue in her mouth. It still tasted of the cake they'd just eaten, and she sucked on it, hoping that his cock was equally delicious.

Finally, her dress came off, and he was ready. Placing his tip at her entrance, he slid in with ease. She was so very slick already that no lubrication was needed, which was good, considering he hadn't picked any up. He also had no protection, but as he made it just over halfway, one of the guards pulled him back and gave him a rubber. With a roll of his eyes, he put it on, with Luna imploring him to hurry up already.

Within a minute, he was back inside of her, and comfortably so. Her flesh was very hot, and she clamped down on him as tightly as she could. She was already very sensitive, and every movement was easing her aches. Every pump brought her one step closer to bliss.

She was the first to reach her climax, taking less than two minutes once her dress came off. She did not stop him, or encourage him to slow down, as she wasn't yet completely satisfied. She could definitely enjoy another round for as long as he could last. He just felt so amazing, even through the polyurethane sleeve.

He didn't try anything particularly unique, opting to simply focus on the sex. Despite the vanilla flavour, Luna found herself enjoying it more than any sex she'd had in a very long time. Perhaps that could be attributed to her hormones running wild, but whether that was true or not, she was happy with her decision.

"That was great," she smiled, turning her head to look at him.

"Was it?" he panted, having done most of the work. "I don't have a point of reference. This was my first time."

Luna leaned up, concern on her face. "Your first?"

"Yeah. But I hope not my last, because I certainly had fun."

Luna furrowed her brow. "I'm sorry. I didn't know. If I had been aware, I would have held back a bit."

Cosmo just waved it off. "Don't worry about it. I've tried to have a first time multiple times in the past. I'm glad it's over, because now I can start trying it other ways, if you'll still have me."

With a soft sigh, Luna smiled and kissed him. "Of course I'll still have you."

Chapter the Ninth: Fancy Pants

Over the next four days, Luna couldn't stop thinking about her time with Cosmo. They hadn't spoken since that night, as they'd both been busy. Luna had been so busy that she hadn't had the opportunity to stay the night with him. But she recalled every centimetre of his dick, and while it was smaller than some of her toys, she just couldn't find release with them anymore. The last two mornings, she'd gone to bed panting and exhausted, trying desperately to calm herself but with no such luck.

By now, Luna's worries were known to every guard, every maid and every physician in the castle, and even a few outside as well. Word was travelling fast of Luna's new perverse side, all in hushed whispers. It had become so open at this point that she was considering being absent from Fancy Pants' dinner party tonight. But one thought kept her from cancelling. It wasn't her reputation being tarnished, or an attempt of trying to quash the rumour, true as it may be. No, what drew her to the party was the promise that Cosmo would be there.

The dress code was semi-formal, as Fancy often dictated. His wife always overdressed for the occasion, but on principle, he wanted his guests to be comfortable, meaning simple and elegant garments were in order. Luna's choice was a shiny black and grey gown with a crescent moon design.

She showed up early, hoping that Cosmo would do the same. Unfortunately, he did not, and she was left talking to other ponies. She still felt compelled to listen to stallions, but it wasn't the same as it was with Cosmo. Still, talking about him with Fancy Pants was keeping her hooves steady.

"Agrarian tendencies, you say?" inquired Fancy, aerating his red wine reduction. "I've taken a few opportunities to look into how the food I serve is grown, but I am chagrined to state that I have never personally dabbled in the artistry that is required to grow my own. No judgement from me, mind you. I respect that he has the wherewithal. In fact, if we were to know each other better, I may ask him to aid me in growing one of my own out back. Perhaps not a whole orchard; a single tree would suffice."

"I have come to know him better," smiled Luna knowingly. "And I must say, I greatly appreciate what our relationship has become since. I was pleasantly surprised at how well-endowed his... orchard is."

Hearing her pause, Fancy turned his attention even more closely to her. "Now, princess, I have heard rumblings from below that you've been a bit under the weather lately," he whispered. "While I am glad that you put on a brave face, I would feel terrible if you thought that you were forced to come. This party does not rest on your shoulders. If you do not feel comfortable, I can send you a false message that will allow you to leave the party with no shame. I would rather have a happy and healthy princess than one who has pushed herself to exhaustion."

Luna shook her head. "You are very kind to offer, and I may feel inclined to do so later in the night if necessary. However, at this juncture, it is unneeded, though not unheeded. Thank you for the offer."

"As long as you're sure," he nodded. "It is a horrible host that makes his guests uncomfortable, and that is the last thing I intend. Now, how well-acquainted are you with our latest addition to the scene?"

"I've had dinner with him," answered Luna.

"Well, we both have," retorted Fancy. "You and I sat right next to each other."

"I mean in private. Just he and I at his farmhouse. He's actually a skilled cook. It's a cozy little place, but warm and inviting. It has this feeling to it that just makes you want to let him cum inside."

As she spoke, one of the serving staff dropped their tray, drawing Fancy's attention. "I'm sorry, my dear. What was that last part, again?"

"His home is welcoming, and it makes you want to come inside."

"That is what I thought you said."

As the time of scheduled arrival drew nearer, Luna and Fancy soon found themselves surrounded by guests. It was a smaller affair than that of last week, partially because it was on a Wednesday, and partially because the list of invited guests was significantly shorter. Of course, there were a few guests that were not on the guest list, but had showed up regardless. While a few of them were invited in, more were given some extra food items that, while safe to eat, were unworthy to be served to his guests. Non-uniform trimmings from tiny sandwiches, cutoffs from sheet cakes where the frosting hadn't been beautifully combed, oddly-shaped carrots and broken crackers. In most cases, the party crashers were just there for the free food, so a disposable bowl full of tasty trimmings was enough to convince them to leave. Besides, if they didn't eat it, it would end up in the compost.

It wasn't until much later that Cosmo arrived, in a grey-blue shirt and green jacket, with the same sleeve cut as his shirt. He'd combed his mane and tail with mousse, and had a small bandage on his foreleg.

"I'm so glad you could make it," smiled Luna, rushing forward to meet him. "I'm glad you made it."

"There you are," smiled Fancy, trotting up to them. "Cosmo, was it?"

"Yes," nodded Cosmo. "And you would be Fancy Pants, if I recall correctly."

"You do so, good sir. Princess Luna has been talking my ear off about you all night. I know you've only just arrived, but would you mind joining me out back in the garden? I have something I'd like to ask your opinion on before we direct any further guests out there."

Cosmo nodded. "Certainly. I'll have you lead the way."

As they started toward the back, one of the servers approached and stopped them, whispering something into Fancy's ear.

"Are you certain?"

She nodded in response.

"Well, thank you for telling me." He turned to Luna. "It appears Fleur is in need of some assistance. Princess, would you be a dear and help her out? It won't take but a minute, I swear."

"Of course," nodded Luna.

As Cosmo disappeared out the back door, Luna couldn't take her eyes off of him. She could swear that just beneath his tail, she could see his balls swinging with every step. She bit her lower lip to keep herself quiet, as at that moment, she could feel her heart racing, her blood boiling, and all she wanted was to bury her face in his scrotum.

Chapter the Tenth: Interruptions

As it so happens, Fleur's issues upstairs were a bit more intense than originally stated. She'd been wearing a beautiful salmon silk dress, which was now ruined by a large splotch of sticky red wine. It had soaked through to her coat, and she was now completely nude, scrubbing down her shoulder in an attempt to clean it of all of the wine.

She turned as soon as Luna came in, scowling. But as soon as she saw who it was, her face softened, and she bowed. "Princess Luna. Please, forgive my indecency."

"Of course," answered Luna nonchalantly. "I'm here to help, after all. Your husband is seeing to the guests. How can I assist?"

Fleur gestured to a wardrobe on the far wall. "I need a new dress. The one I was wearing is ruined. Could you pick something for me? It would really save me some time."

Luna made her way over to the wardrobe and started flipping through the dresses. It was no wonder that Fleur always overdressed for these things; all of her dresses were grand, bombastic, and made to draw the eye. There were dresses that likened her to a seapony, dresses that compared her to various birds, and even one that was decorated with real antlers. But nothing small and simple. It was as if her wardrobe had been purpose-built to draw all eyes to her.

"These are lovely," marveled Luna, "But I don't see anything that can fit with the low-energy theme for this event."

"I know," replied Fleur. "I can't help myself. No less than thirty times, I've gone shopping with the express purpose of purchasing something small and easy and simple, but then I see the next big thing, and I just have to have it. The dress I was going to wear tonight, the one that's now covered in a wine stain, I was so happy to have, because for once I wouldn't feel like a spotlight hog."

Luna turns around as Fleur sniffles. As she's patting her shoulder with a towel to dry it, a line of mascara is running down either cheek. She was actually hurt that her new low-profile dress was destroyed.

Luna walked over and placed her hoof on Fleur's shoulder. "It'll be alright. You go fix your makeup real quick, and I'll handle the dress."

With a nod from Fleur, Luna returned to the wardrobe. There had to be something in here that she could simplify. After flicking through the selection twice, she decided to take out the bluejay dress, and began removing accessories en masse. Fleur could not see exactly what was happening, but did as Luna had asked. Just as she was finishing up her contouring, Luna pulled out her new dress. It wasn't as well-suited to the occasion as the salmon dress had been, and the lack of accoutrements meant that it didn't blend as well with her mane, but it was the best she could do on short notice.

After slipping it on, Luna helped with the zipper, and Fleur bowed deeply for her aid. "Thank you so much, princess. I don't know what I'd do if you weren't here."

"Please, think nothing of it," smiled Luna, helping her up. "We've kept our stallions waiting long enough."

With a nod, the two of them made their way back downstairs to the party. Fancy and Cosmo had returned from the back garden, and were chatting by the backdoor. They quieted as the mares approached.

"You look spectacular," Fancy smiled, taking his wife's hoof and kissing it.

"Elegant," she corrected. "For once, I'm not sucking up all of the attention. Such a relief."

Fancy smiled and turned to Luna. "I was right to ask for your help. You have helped in a significant way."

As the couple strolled off to socialize, Cosmo and Luna were left in the doorway. She could smell his musk, despite it being buried under a big spritz of cedar scent. He looked to her with a gleam in his eye. "And how have you been?" he asked.

"Much better now that you're here," admitted Luna. "When you've had your fill of the night, I would like for us to leave together. There's something I want you to see."

"Oh?" asked Cosmo coyly. "Whatever could it be?"

"You'll see," she smirked. She did her best to keep her voice level and her emotions in check, but having him so close was akin to having rolled around in a field of poison ivy, then extracting the oils and using them to slather a masturbatory aid that was stick inside of her and set to buzz quietly, and he was holding the itch cream and the remote. A part of her, larger than she would like to admit, wanted to take Fancy's offer, and just go home, dragging Cosmo along with her. And yet, she was able to exercise some amount of restraint. At least for now. "So, what was it you two talked about?"

"He wanted my opinion as to what sort of tree he could grow in his garden that would produce some kind of fruit or nut."

"And?"

"I offered that a good many trees are low-maintenance, then suggested that the Sakura Cherry trees turn pink in the spring, and would be a real eye-catch. Much like you are tonight."

Luna blushed. "Oh, come now, this dress isn't that big of a stand-out."

"Then why can't I look away?"

Luna turned to face Cosmo. His eyes were locked on hers, and now, she couldn't break away. She felt light-headed and woozy, like she might fall over with the slightest breeze. Every pang she had felt being close to him was now tripled. She couldn't take another moment, letting out a tiny moan. She couldn't wait any longer. She had to have him, now.

"Come with me," she commanded, grabbing his hoof and rushing to the nearest bathroom. He let out every so often a confused protest, insisting that she tell him where they were going, but she had only one thing on her mind, and she needed it now.

The bathroom door closed and locked. It was a comfortable half-bath, meant for guest use. As before, Luna cast a spell that would sound-proof the entire room. Panting too much to be a result of the short jaunt, she turned to face him once more, stepped forward, and dug her tongue into his mouth. Her eyes fluttered shut as she ran her hooves over his shoulders, chest and neck.

"I need you."

Chapter the Eleventh: Spotted Dick

With all the fervor and zeal of a mare on a mission, Luna pulled Cosmo across the room and sat him down on the toilet, groping at his balls and eyeing his cock with a hunger that only comes from such desperation as she had felt. As her lips separated from his again, she kneeled down between his legs to look more closely at the appendage that had caused her so many sleepless nights recently. It was a strange feeling, wanting more of the thing that was destroying her life, but she couldn't think rationally anymore.

"Is this what you wanted to show me?" moaned Cosmo through heavy breaths. "I love it already."

"No, but it's related." Luna pressed her nose against his balls and took a deep sniff. She felt more intoxicated through that than she had through the wine. Her head was swimming as she pulled back to admire it.

His dark green testicles were covered in a light layer of fuzz, barely noticeable unless you were looking for it. Just above them, a scabbard was now fully retracted, commonly keeping the offending tool tucked away, but now itself tucked away as the tool was ready for use. Halfway up the shaft, there was a bulbous skin flap, a ridge that Luna remembered feeling a few nights prior. On the second half of the rod, the dark colour stopped and began to speckle in little pink dots, slowly growing larger and larger until the speckles were the same dark green in a field of pink. The flared tip was completely pink.

She started with his balls. Days of sitting without release had engorged them, giving them a strong, heavy feel. Using only her tongue, she lifted one, then let it slide back down against her lip. When it was hanging once more, she scooped up the other and sucked he whole thing into her mouth, running her tongue all around it and tugging on the skin just enough to pull his dick down to rest on her forehead. She lit up her horn, letting the magic tickle whichever section was rubbing her horn, and drooled over his flavour.

With an audible pop, she retracted from his testes, running her tongue up his shaft, kissing the tip as she reached it, then opening her lips to take the entire flare into her mouth. It had a very rich, savoury flavour, with nutty undertones. A drip of sweet, salty precum dribbled out of him, and she lapped it up as if it were the waters of life.

"Ah!" moaned Cosmo, leaning back and resting his hoof on her cheek. "P-princess, I--"

"You don't have to say anything," countered Luna. "Right now, it's just you and me. Nothing else matters."

She opened her throat and brought her tongue back to his testicles. This time, though, his rod was not against her horn. Rather, it was inside her mouth, the tip slipping into her throat. She held there for a bit, letting her mouth adjust to his shape, taking in his taste, and fantasizing about what she was planning to do after they left the party. As she pulled away to allow herself a moment to breathe, she created as much suction as she could, prompting a loud moan from him.

"Are you enjoying it?" she asked, licking her lips, trying to take in any spilled precum. "Do you want me to keep going?"

"Very much," breathed Cosmo, his leg twitching in tension. "I love it."

Taking his cock back into her mouth, Luna began to bob her head back and forth, occasionally twisting it to the side. When advancing, she opened wide and let in as much as she could, but on the retreat, she clamped down tightly and sucked hard as she pulled back, almost dragging him off the toilet were he not holding onto the seat.

She was unstoppable at this point. Before the door locked, he could have said no, walked out, and had a conversation with somepony else. Now that she had tasted him, he had no option but to wait for her to finish with him. Not that he minded, of course.

This only lasted a few more minutes, and with a high-pitched squeal, he grabbed her by the horn, held her down, and fired spurt after ropey spurt right down her throat, until his balls were empty, and his cock began to soften and retract. He let go and slumped over, and she licked him clean, swallowing every single drop that she could reach. Though their breathing was heavy, they came together for a kiss, holding each other close. Luna was feeling much better, and felt stable enough to last through the rest of the dinner party, perhaps even healthy enough to stay for a bit of conversation in the garden after.

As the door opened, a small crowd of guests had gathered around and were whispering in hushed tones amongst themselves, falling Silent as Luna and Cosmo stepped out of the toilet together. A few in the back giggled lasciviously, prompting a glare from Cosmo as Fancy Pants arrived on the scene. "What's the meaning of this?" he asked. "We have other lavatories, you know."

"I have a medical condition," lied Cosmo. "Princess Luna and I had spoken of it before, meaning she knew of it. She was helping me to take my medication to avoid causing a scene, but it appears we made one, regardless."

Fancy raised his eyebrow. "Is that so?"

"It is."

Fancy looked to Luna, staring her right in the eye. Her demeanor told him everything he needed to know. With a soft sigh, he turned to the crowd of guests. "Everyone, it is time to adjourn to the dining hall. If you're not going to use the water closet, make your way there. Princess Luna, Cosmic Crash, would you two please come with me?"

Luna and Cosmo followed Fancy to the study, where he turned around to face them, locking and sound-proofing the room. He glanced between the two of them, then opened his mouth to speak.

"Now, Princess, I made sure to offer you an opportunity to duck out if something were to happen. I am aware that I have been lied to, and it's not hard to guess why. Princess Luna, you've been fidgeting all night, and now you're not. It was not you trying to help Cosmo, but rather him helping you. And again, falling on the sword to preserve your dignity. I'm not sure what it is he gave you, but it seems you are in need of something. I know you are the princess, but this is my home, and I do not tolerate drug use within these walls."

"There were no drugs," admitted Cosmo. "If I may speak candidly, most of what you inferred is accurate, but there were no drugs. We were engaging in a physical therapy session, as she revealed to me that a muscle in her abdomen had seized up, and I thought to ply my capabilities to the problem, resulting in it being temporarily treated. She will need a deeper, more intimate massage later, and I plan to aid her in that after we leave here, but I have done enough now to keep her calm through dinner."

Fancy turned around and looked out the window. He took a deep breath and paused for a minute or two. "In that case, I will be preparing a carriage for you."

Luna stepped forward. "Fancy Pants, I--"

"I stand by my statement at the beginning of the night, Princess. If you are feeling under the weather, I will send you away to recover. As Cosmo seems to know what ails you and how to fix it, I'm sending him with you. I would not have a princess of Equestria fall ill on my watch. For your health, I must insist that you seek care immediately, and I will not take 'no' for an answer. I will meet you both out on the front steps in ten minutes."

True to his word, ten minutes later, he had prepared two meals to go and a carriage to take them to the castle. To aid in their attempt to save face, he would be telling the rest of the guests that Cosmo had fallen ill, and that the ailment was not contagious or even threatening. It was seen as being not a big deal, and Luna and Cosmo were granted their meals early, culminating in a dessert of a steamed bread pudding with currants, topped with a simple custard, colloquially called by another name.

Chapter the Twelfth: Behind Closed Doors

The carriage stopped at the castle gates and the door swung open. Cosmo stepped out first, and taking Luna's hoof, helped her to the ground. As expected, she was still stable, not shaky or wobbly at all. Her treatment in the bathroom had allowed her to hold onto her mind for a bit longer, and she was feeling spectacular.

"So this is the castle," smirked Cosmo. "I've never been quite this close before. Never really needed to, and I had yet to witness your beauty, so that couldn't draw me here."

Luna let out a coquettish chuckle. "You're such a charmer. Come, I'll show you around a bit."

A short tour isn't exactly what Luna had in mind, but with her nerves having calmed a bit, she wanted to give Cosmo all the time he needed to be ready again. After all, stallions had a refractory period that they needed to pass before becoming intimate, so killing a few minutes would make it easier for him to do what she needed.

Despite needing to wait, the tour was rushed, and didn't really show that much. First was the dining hall, which was not in use at the moment. It was oft only used in events, as simple dinners were often just brought straight to the princesses. This was especially true in the event that they were busy or in conferences, so they could continue with their business without needing to stop.

Next was the throne room, currently empty as Celestia was in one of the conference rooms, combing over an incident that had the potential to upend a treaty between the Zebrican Empire and the city-state of Griffinstone. She was acting as a mediator, as any war between them would end up on Equestrian soil. It was therefore in her best interest to see it solved quickly.

By this time, Luna was beginning to lose her edge again, so she skipped a few spots on the tour, leading him right to the end: her bedchambers. She pushed the door open and ushered him in, locking the door behind her. The lock was on the inside, so he could still leave, but nopony could come in without the key.

"And here we have the most important room," smiled Luna, walking over to the bed. "You don't have anywhere to be tomorrow, right?"

"I have to tend to my orchard, but that should only take two hours," he answered. "And I should probably talk to Fancy Pants again about his tree, too."

"But nothing in the morning?"

"Nothing in the morning, no."

"Good." Luna pulled off her dress and tossed it aside. Climbing up on the bed, she spread her hind legs and pressed her chest against the bedspread. "Then you'll have no qualms about falling asleep inside of me." She whipped her tail up over her back, letting it fall between her wings. She was absolutely dripping. "Now ditch the clothes and come fuck me!"

Cosmo didn't need to be told twice. His shirt and vest were draped over the back of a chair, and he climbed up as commanded. Rubbing his shaft along her slit to better lubricate it, he chuckled at her needy whimpers. "You need this so very badly, don't you?" he asked.

"Yes!" shouted Luna, her mind going crazy at the thought of having his dick inside of her. She no longer cared if she would ever return to what she had been a month ago, she only knew that the only thing that could make her feel good again was dangling between her legs, teasing her. "Please!"

"How badly?"

Luna's breathing quickened. "Very badly!" She shifted her hips forward and tried to impale herself, but to no avail. "Put it in already!!"

"Would you do anything for it?"

"Yes!!"

"Would you be willing to demean yourself for it?"

"Yes!!!"

"Would you worship it as a deity, and drink down everything that came out of it whenever I ask?"

"YES!!!"

Pleased with himself, he lined himself up and pushed inside in a single thrust. At the very instant that his testicles hit her clitoris, the orgasm she'd been denied for several days was granted, and all that she had just agreed to was cemented in her mind as the key to this indescribable pleasure. Her mind shut off and was filled with nothing but thoughts of his cock and how to please it. In half a second, it had melted away all of her turmoil, and she was filled with so much happiness that she couldn't form words anymore.

"Enjoying yourself, Luna?" asked Cosmo. "How does it feel?"

"Aaghaahaaa!!"

"Doesn't it feel good to submit to my cock?" He began to thrust, slowly at first. "In a manner, I've fallen for you, Luna. If you were to beg me to stay with you every single night, I would. If you want to suck my cock, or take it inside of your pussy, all you have to do is make it worth my time." He began to thrust faster. "You will bow to me, and doing so will bring you such anticipation that you can't resist my words. I can take your troubles away."

Luna moaned in intense pleasure. She couldn't comprehend a word of what he was saying, she just loved hearing his voice. She had been compelled to listen to other stallions, but she couldn't hear enough of Cosmo's words. Just the fact that he was talking to her made her pleasure spike, pushing her right back to the edge much faster than usual.

With a second intense discharge, she melted down onto the bed. Her head was nothing but mush. She couldn't focus on anything, but knew very well that she would be sleeping very well tonight. As she drifted off into slumber, she could taste him, but something was off about the shape. It was easier to swallow, and the flavour was far more pungent.

A part of her thought to question this, but it was only a small piece. Most of her was too wrapped up in bliss to care. She needed Cosmo, and now she had him. She could call him up to her chambers whenever. If she wanted his cock, all she needed was to beg; to prostrate herself to him, and he would grant her all of her wishes.

When she woke the next morning, she was covered head to hoof in semen, as was Cosmo next to her. The head of his dick was still in her arse, but not for long. She pulled it out and slurped the whole thing into her mouth. He was her new sex toy, and was all kinds of fun. She would do just about anything to keep him around. After all, he alone held the key to her happiness.

Chapter the Thirteenth: Breakfast to Follow

Celestia strolled down the hallway, considering what she might have for breakfast this morning. It had been an early turn-in last night, as the delegates from both sides had come to blows and needed to be separated, so she'd had them confined to their bedrooms for the night to cool off. The sooner this argument was resolved, the better, but violence within the castle was strictly forbidden, especially near the princesses.

As she slipped into the kitchen to have her meal prepared, she was met with somepony she didn't recognize. "Who are you?" she asked, apprehensive and ready to summon the guards. "What has brought you into Canterlot Castle today?"

"You are Celestia?" he asked, prompting a nod from her. "Then it is your sister that brings me here. We arrived yesterday evening, and she insisted that I stay for breakfast."

Celestia nodded again. "Where is she now?"

"Over here," called Luna, stepping into the room with two plates of breakfast lasagne. "I see you've met Cosmo. I trust you're becoming better acquainted?"

Celestia turned to the stallion and sat down across from him. "So you're the infamous Cosmo of which Luna speaks. It's about time we met."

Cosmo nodded but did not speak. His mouth was full of noodles, eggs and cream sauce.

"I think I'll have some waffles," nodded Celestia. "With sliced fruit on top. Luna, could you go make them?"

Luna furrowed her brow. "We have cooks. Even if we didn't, you know how to use the waffle iron better than I do, and besides, I just sat down with my own breakfast. It'll be cold by the time I come back."

Celestia, without pulling her eyes away from Cosmo, pulled a cloche off the wall. These had been enchanted to keep the food inside at a constant temperature, even if there was a temperature gradient in the food itself. Under one of these cloches, a slice of peach pie would remain piping hot while the scoop of coffee ice cream on top would remain freezing cold for a good hour, at least. They came in handy, especially if it would take half an hour to transport food from one end of the castle to the other. She placed it soundly over Luna's plate. "There. Your food won't go cold on you. Off you go."

Grumbling, Luna left the room. Cosmo looked a bit nervous as Celestia kept her eyes locked on him. He swallowed hard.

"You've probably heard tales of my gentleness and caring," began Celestia. "Despite your current interpretation, they're true. This is not an instance of my gentleness, but rather, my devotion. I only have one sister, and it is imperative that she not come to harm. I find it very odd that her mental health has suffered since meeting you, and I have to wonder if that is perhaps not an accident."

Cosmo swallowed his food. "I don't follow?"

"I find that hard to believe. She was perfectly fine until she met you, then began to deteriorate the very night you met."

"Couldn't it just be that she fell for me? Love at first sight, and so forth?"

Celestia scowled. "What have you done to my sister?"

Cosmo began to shake. Celestia could be absolutely terrifying. "A-all we've done is talk to each other and have sex, I swear!"

"And you would be willing to swear to that in a court of law?"

"Yeah."

"Yes or no. Don't 'yeah' me."

"Y-yes, your majesty!"

Celestia sat back in her seat. She'd leaned forward to be more intimidating, but that was no longer necessary. "What have you spoken of?"

"I don't recall."

"What do you mean, you don't recall? Was there nothing important in your conversations?"

Cosmo shook his head. "We've talked about so very many things. Hours upon hours of discussions taking place over weeks. I don't remember all of them. We talked about our jobs, our families, our living arrangements, and so many other topics that I can't remember."

Celestia closed her eyes and nodded. "That is an acceptable answer. And what of the sex? What goes on between you in the bedroom?"

"Don't answer that," barked Luna, walking in with a plate of waffles. "Tia, I love you dearly, but this interrogation is over. Here's your breakfast."

With one last distrustful glare at Cosmo, Celestia took her plate and set it in front of her. As she took a bite, her face scrunched up. "These are not the same as usual."

"No," responded Luna. "I added a few ingredients to aid you in healing your colon."

"What does that mean? What did you add?"

"Prunes for the fruit, yogurt instead of milk for the batter, and apple and pear chunks mixed into it. You know, laxatives."

Celestia furrowed her brow. "Why would you give me laxatives?"

"To help you with that bug up your butt."

Cosmo was barely able to cover his mouth in time. He was able to control his outburst of laughter, but a bit of noodle was now dangling from his left nostril. He quickly wiped his face, disposing of the noodle into his napkin, then looking up between the princesses sheepishly. "It was a spicy ricotta," he chuckled, trying to save face.

Celestia rolled her eyes, picked up her plate, and left the room. She wasn't happy with Cosmo, but she had to admit that Luna's reaction was justified. On reflection, Celestia wondered if she was being overprotective. She found Cosmo to be suspicious, but every time Luna had spent time with him, she'd mentioned feeling happy and refreshed the next morning. Perhaps he was actually good for her sister, and she was just being stubborn.

Regardless, she found her way to the conference room she would be using today. She finished her meal there, and while it still tasted a little bit different than what Luna had described, it may have all been in her head. After all, this conference was causing her no end of stress, and worrying about Luna was not helping her to relax. When this was all over, she needed to calm herself. Perhaps a hot bath with Luna would give them both some time to reconnect and speak their minds to each other in a guiltless environment.

With her breakfast done and dusted, she called in the delegates, having them sit at opposite ends of the table. Four Equestrian guards, two for each, surrounded the guests, to make sure they didn't start fighting again. Everyone had been fed, had been given time to sleep, and should have been in amicable moods.

Chapter the Fourteenth: Unnerved

Celestia looked down into the clear water lapping at the steps. She'd intended to have a bath with Luna, but by the time she'd found an open gap in her schedule, Luna had to be out of town. It would be another three days before she was back, and she'd made sure to keep her schedule open for that time.

"Something bothering you, Princess?" asked a mare. She was the wife of the host for this party, a small gathering with no more than a dozen ponies. Celestia had been invited by virtue of being there at the time that invitations were being distributed. The host, an earl, had just won a distance swimming event, and as she had come to congratulate him on his victory, he'd invited her along, as well. She was actually the only one there that wasn't either directly related to him or directly involved in competitive swimming.

"I'm fine," answered Celestia, looking up. "Just thinking about something that's been troubling me lately."

The mare scratched the back of her neck. "I may just be a stonemason's daughter, but if I may be so bold, might I suggest that you turn your thoughts to enjoying yourself? We have wine, and there's going to be cake later."

Celestia nodded. "Just give me a moment. I need to clear my head. I'll be right with you."

With a nod, the mare stepped back inside, not pressing the issue.

Celestia turned back to the pool and splashed away a bit of water. It was warm and comforting. It would feel kind of like a bath, without the bubbles and soap. Still, it was not her pool, and with nopony else in it, it would be rude to just dive in.

With a deep breath that smelled lightly of chlorine, she moved back inside. For a gathering this small, only two servers, a stallion and a mare, were needed. The stallion was moving drinks around, while the mare was carrying hors d'oeuvres. As promised, there was wine, but only the mares were drinking it. The stallions were varying their drinks, with the host having bourbon, his manager with tequila, the bronze medalist a whiskey, and the silver medalist's manager just grapefruit juice, citing the need to remain completely sober as part of their parole. There was also an untouched rum and cola next to an empty chair.

"Honestly, it wouldn't surprise me at all if you were half otter," chuckled the silver medalist. "The way your body just glides through the water almost seems beastly or supernatural."

The host shook his head. "No, both parents were pegasi. How I ended up an earth pony is beyond me, but I guarantee that it's all hard work and determination that led to my win today."

"You sure it's not an invisible pair of wings gliding you through the water?" chuckled his manager. The company all shared a laugh as Celestia joined them in the lounge. "Hard to believe you're still kicking this hard at your age."

"Oh, come now," smiled the host. "You make it sound like I'm in my eighties; as if I should be investing in a walker and hiring a live-in nurse. I'm only fifty-eight. Plenty of time left on my clock."

"Still, that's quite a ways up there in years," nodded his manager. "Your kid's an adult. How long do you think it'll be before he can outswim you?"

"Not long at all," came a voice from the doorway. A young stallion entered the room, his dark brown mane still dripping a bit into his robe. He'd squeezed out a lot of the water, but more kept dripping out. "I'm already outpacing him in sprints. Why do you think he stopped competing in that field?"

"There you are, Quick Dip," smiled the host, raising his glass. "We were just talking about you; come, have a seat."

Dip made his way to the empty chair and picked up the untouched drink. "I suppose I may as well," he reasoned. "Odds are, you'll all be competing with me next year."

"That's right," nodded the manager of the bronze medalist. "You just turned twenty-five. You're now eligible to compete in the next season."

"I look forward to seeing that," chimed Celestia.

Dip looked shocked to see Celestia, as if he hadn't expected her to be there. In his defense, he was absent from the event during which she had been invited, so he might not have known that she was going to be there. The moment their eyes met, Celestia felt something stir in her gut. It made no noise, and wasn't particularly bothersome, but she felt it.

"My apologies for not greeting you before, princess," bowed Dip. "Such an unimportant event as this I thought would be far below your sensibilities."

"Unimportant?" scoffed Celestia. "Your father has just taken the gold medal in the regional competition. He's being sent to represent Central Equestria in the national championship. That's quite an accomplishment on its own. That lists him among the top ten in his field for all of Equestria. I don't think this is quite so unimportant as indicated."

Dip bowed once again. "My apologies, Princess. I was unaware that you felt so strongly about this."

"I don't," admitted Celestia. "But you should. If you are to join the circuit next year, and you are as skilled as you say, this could very well be your father's last hurrah before retirement."

The room fell silent. The host, his wife and his manager all turned their attention to their drinks, staring at their glasses. The tension had suddenly gone much higher than it had needed to be.

"I guess there's not really a call to hide it anymore," sighed the host's wife. "This really is his last season. Win, lose or draw, he's pulling out of the game and taking up coaching, helping others to reach the same goal as he had."

"I may not be out of it just yet," admitted the host, "And I don't need help moving around, but I can feel it in my bones. It's time." He swirled his bourbon around his glass and took a sip. "However, I'm not going out without a fight. I'm not going to just coast to a stop. Unless something horrible happens between now and next month, I'm going to that championship, and I will be on that podium."

"I'll drink to that!" proclaimed the silver medalist. "How dare you beat me in regionals and then slack off at the championship? You'd make me look like a shitty athlete if you're that terrible and I still couldn't beat you. Top three or bust!"

Celestia was a bit shocked that what sounded like an insult was met with a cheer and smiles, but perhaps that was how it worked in this sport. She wasn't the strongest swimmer, herself, so she didn't know.

Chapter the Fifteenth: Wiggle Worm

The conversation carried on for awhile after the revelation, almost ignoring the fact that the Central Equestrian champion distance swimmer was about to retire from the sport. Celestia had since relaxed, but the feeling in her gut had not gone away; not even three glasses of wine had cleared it.

Some of the guests had gone home, leaving only two. Only Celestia and the manager were still around, aside from the residents of the manor. Things were winding down, and Celestia was planning to leave as soon as she finished her wine. She didn't want to overstay her welcome, after all.

"You have a manager lined up for next year, Dip?"

Dip just shook his head. "Just a coach."

The manager smirked. "Tell ya what, I'm short a client next season. There'll be an opening for you. I'd give you my card, but I don't have one on me right now."

"I've been to your office a hundred times. I know where to find you."

The manager chuckled. "How's about a preview of what I'll be working with? Come on, let's see your moves."

Dip and his father looked to each other and smirked. Setting their drinks down, they stood up simultaneously and tossed their robes aside. Underneath, they were both wearing their swimming gear, and after a quick adjustment to tuck away their manes and tails, they brought themselves out to the pool.

Seeing Dip disrobe sent shivers down Celestia's spine. Arguably, he was more clothed now than he was a moment ago, as more of his body was covered, but with the form-fitting outfit, her imagination was running wild, and her mind went blank.

She was brought back to her senses as the host put his hoof on her shoulder. "Come on, you can be the judge."

"O-okay," stammered Celestia, setting down her wine glass and following everypony out to the pool. Everypony was gathered at the end closest to the door, with Dip and his father stretching and limbering up. They both had strong, muscular bodies, and seemed to be the very picture of health, exactly what one would expect from world-class athletes. Celestia was given a whistle as the swimmers took their positions.

"Okay, now standard competition rules apply," instructed the manager. "At the moment the whistle sounds, you both dive in and swim to the other side. Then you turn and come back. That's one lap. We'll have five laps in total, and the first one to touch back here at the end of five laps is the winner. Stay in your lane, no fighting, no cheating. Ready?"

"Ready," sounded the stallions in unison.

Celestia blew into the whistle and the two dove into the water. They were neck and neck as they rushed down to the other side. There had been a lot more splashing at the competition earlier, but perhaps that was from the other contestants. These two seemed to cut through the water with ease and grace, even sometimes diving below the surface entirely for smoother movement. As they came back, however, Dip was half a head behind.

As the second lap began, Celestia couldn't take her eyes off of Dip. His body, contorting and contracting, writhing and stretching, had transfixed her, and every movement of his muscles caused the feeling in her gut to return and amplify. It almost felt like there was something moving in there, brought on by her thoughts. As ridiculous as that sounded, that's what it felt like. But it wasn't a bad feeling. It actually felt kind of... arousing.

"That's three," nodded Celestia as he returned.

"Begging your pardon, but that's four," corrected the manager. "This is the last lap."

Celestia thought back. She didn't remember the third lap ending. Dip had finished a head behind on the first, a head and a half for the second, she'd watched his butt scrunch up as he rolled beneath her, and now he'd just finished the fourth. Where had the third lap ended? She should have remembered, but she couldn't place it.

It seemed as though Dip was going to lose at the final turn. He was a good second and a half behind his father reaching the opposing wall. They didn't look like they were holding back, either, so to be this close to his father was a feat on its own. suddenly, Dip took a deep breath, kicked off the far wall, and with his hooves clenched together as if he was diving again, he skidded across the water, splashing significantly more than he had previously, as was his father. The final stretch had turned from a trial of endurance to a sprint, and that was allegedly Dip's specialty. So much so that, despite being more than a body length behind at the halfway point, Celestia couldn't tell who won. Their hooves seemed to touch the wall at the exact same time.

The manager pulled the host out of the water and wrapped him in a towel. "Boy wasn't kidding when he said he was a good sprinter. That last dash was a knockout!"

The host's wife stepped up to hug her husband. "Swim like that at nationals, and you'll be going out on a high note."

Celestia offered her hoof to Dip to pull him out of the pool. "You were fantastic."

Dip grabbed her hoof and pulled himself out. "I need a bit more work. I can't start my career by losing like that."

"I couldn't tell who won," admitted Celestia. "Looked like a tie to me."

"I was about a quarter second behind," grumbled Dip. "I heard his hoof hit just before mine."

"Still, it was a close call," chuckled the manager. "You swim like that, you'll be taking your daddy's place in the rankings for sure. Unless some new upstart decides to make a fool of everypony, but that's not something you plan for. You're gonna be a real winner, kid; it's in your blood."

Dip nodded and turned to Celestia. As he looked into her eyes, the intensity of her gut-wrenching arousal intensified, and she found her back legs tensing up. "I'll try to increase my stamina," he said, locking his gaze with hers. "At my current levels, I can go fast or last a long time. If I keep pushing, though, I'm sure I can penetrate that barrier and keep a solid pace for longer."

Celestia could do no more than nod. While what he said was expressly about his ability to swim, her mind had putrefied his words into a sexual fantasy. She couldn't let him know what she was thinking.

"That's my boy," smiled the host, breaking the tension. "He's going to surpass me, and I'm going to help him do it. Just you watch."

Celestia nodded again. She certainly wouldn't be opposed to watching him.

Chapter the Seventeenth: Poolside

Celestia walked into the natatorium. She'd been to Dip's home once again to ask his mother where he was training, and she'd said he was here, and would be for the next few hours. As promised, he was sitting on a bench at the far end of the lap pool, drinking something out of a metal canteen. He was taking a break, which meant that now was the perfect opportunity to go talk to him.

She made her way around the pool and sat down near him. "Quick Dip, right?"

He looked up and very nearly spat his drink all over her. He quickly dropped to one of his knees. "Your highness! What brings you here today?"

"I'm here to gather some intel on competition swimming," she chuckled. "I'm regularly filled in on the rules and regulations before an event, but as of last week, I've been thinking on all of the regulations that I tend to forget. I was wondering if you had some time to talk on the subject? Perhaps we could clear up a few of my questions."

"I will gladly answer any question you have." He looked into her eyes, and she felt her gut churning once more. Anypony else might compare it to butterflies in their stomach, but she was certainly feeling as if hers were caterpillars. Really long caterpillars. "Ask me anything."

Embarrassing as it was, Celestia took a deep breath. She was supposed to display outward confidence, and act as if she knew what she was doing. She wasn't supposed to be flustered and second-guessing herself, at least not in public view like this. She turned around, looking to make sure nopony else saw her. Thankfully, only six ponies were here, and they were caught up in their own events. And why not? It was the middle of the morning. Most ponies were either at work or at school.

"So, first, I'd like to know about the rule that says that you're not allowed to wear outfits that are not approved by the league. What does that mean?"

"Well, that's an old rule. I saw it enforced once when I was little more than a colt. You see, pegasus contestants are not allowed open-backed swimsuits due to the fact that using their wings to propel themselves through water gives them an unfair advantage. Likewise, unicorns have their magic limited. This pegasus, the one I saw, wore an olde-timey full-body suit. Very baggy. He was approved, but once he dipped into the water, his wings came out. He won the race by a pretty wide margin, but he was immediately disqualified because he'd listed himself as an earth pony on the paperwork and kept his wings hidden."

"So any wardrobe that would give you an advantage?"

"No, no." He stood up and adjusted his uniform into the proper position. "Being a pegasus, I have to wear a suit that covers my back and keeps my wings down, because I'd be cheating, otherwise. But this suit also has other features that are helpful. Since it has to cover my back, I had it extend up to my head and cover my mane. Otherwise, it would create drag, and slow me down." He turned around and wiggled his tight butt for her. "Likewise, my tail would create drag, so I keep it short and tucked away against my leg. Any body part that isn't adding to propulsion or steering is to be tucked away, else it would just create drag."

"Is that why a lot of swimmers wear the skin-tight briefs?"

Dip nodded and sat down, spreading his legs a bit. "You might not think it, but having flapping bits of fabric create drag. Not only that, but the water rushing by outside creates this kind of vacuum that tries to pull you backward. And then there's the wardrobe malfunctions. When your muscles are pulling you forward, and the water is pushing your swim trunks backward, there's always a chance that they'll slip off. Full body suits like mine keep the minimized drag of the suit mainly on our heads and shoulders. That said, you will find some earth pony competitors in just briefs and swim caps, though. They're some of the toughest competition out there."

Celestia stared at his bulge. The tension in the material allowed her to see every protrusion that pressed against it. She couldn't see everything, and there was little context. He was completely flaccid, with just his head poking out of the sheathe. His testicles were pressed firmly against his body, and with how long he'd been out of the water, he was probably cold by now. It was possible, perhaps even likely, that he was bigger than he seemed

"Something wrong, Princess?"

"What?" she looked up to his face, her own flushing a bit. She reached up and rubbed her cheeks, trying to hide her blush a bit. "No, not at all," she smiled. "I was just admiring the fabric. It's quite a marvel, I find. It's not very absorbent, meaning it doesn't become heavier when wet, and it's breathable, but still keeps you covered in a way that conforms to our standards of modesty. That's fantastic engineering. Whoever came up with the idea did a magnificent job."

Dip just shrugged. "It's just polyester to me. Did you have any other questions about rules and reg?"

Celestia shook her head. "I think your suit's starting to dry. I should probably let you return to practising."

"Okay. Did you want to join me? I'll go slow; I remember you saying you weren't much of a competitive swimmer."

Celestia would have loved to dive right in and join him in the water. She didn't have a suit, but she wouldn't have minded. However, a piece of her stayed her hooves. Now was not the time. She would find a private pool, one where they wouldn't be interrupted, and then they could swim together. She just had to wait.

Holding onto her dignity for the time being, she just smiled at him. "Thanks, but I'll just watch from the side. I wouldn't want to slow you down or anything."

"Suit yourself," he shrugged, diving into the water. He stayed below the surface a lot, keeping her view of him from being blocked by the splash. She watched him dreamily, not paying any attention to the world around her until one of the lifeguards placed a hoof on her shoulder.

"Are you okay?" Snapping back to reality, Celestia nodded. "Look, I know you're a princess, but could you perhaps wait to do that until after you leave?"

As he offered her a towel, she looked down. She hadn't realized it, but while she'd been watching Dip swim, she'd been rubbing herself. Thankfully, only the lifeguard had seen her, but still, this was harrowing.

Chapter the Eighteenth: Adult Swim

Once again, Celestia walked into the natatorium, this time finding it almost completely empty. That was ideal, because that's what she requested and paid for. The only one left was the lifeguard, doing his final pass before locking up for the night. Rather, that's what he normally did. Tonight was different. Tonight, he was locking up the regular pool, the whirlpool, and the sauna, leaving the lap pool open as per her want.

"Now, Princess, I want to make things perfectly clear," he said, walking up to her. "This isn't the first time we've loaned the pool out to a private party after dark. We usually only do daytime events, but with nopony else around but a mare and a stallion, I feel the need to tell you that..." He paused for a moment, scratching his neck. "Let's put it this way. The easier it is to clean up a mess, the less time we have to spend on it, and the less likely we are to bar entry. One of our previous private patrons filled the whirlpool with dried grape juice concentrate, and we had to drain the pool and scrub it clean. He's not allowed back in. Nor is the mare who urinated in the rocks in the sauna and stunk up the whole building. We aren't going to need to lock you out, are we?"

Celestia smiled and shook her head. "You have nothing to worry about. This is, I'm told, his favourite training spot, so having the place closed for cleaning would be a damper on his mood. As for me, I have a reputation to uphold. Word that I've shown some interest in the aquatic racing circuit is fine, but I'd hate for a story to spread that paints me as an uncaring beast. We will try not to cause you any grief, you have my word. It is not our intent to cause any damage to your facilities."

"Right. In that case, complimentary towels are over there," he pointed to a shelf filled with them, and an empty hamper next to it. "Just leave any used ones in the hamper and we'll add them to the morning rotation. Remember to shower when you're completely finished to wash off any remaining chlorine, and don't worry about being locked in. You can leave through the one-way exit when you're done."

With a nod from Celestia, the lifeguard finished locking up the last of the equipment. Now the only available options were the benches, the lap pool, and the locker rooms. Now completely alone, Celestia slipped into the mares' locker room and removed her regal attire, slipping into a swimsuit that met the regulations put forward by the Equestrian Swim League. Hers was a non-standard piece that needed to be custom-made and rushed, as there weren't a lot of alicorns that competed in athletic sports, especially not in her size.

When she returned to the pool, Dip was already there. He had a pool bag over his shoulder, but nothing else. Celestia had never seen so much of his coat before. She'd assumed that his wings, much like his coat, were light brown. With his suit off, she could finally see that they had bright red tips, with a gradient fading back to his shoulders. His cutie mark, also hidden by his suit, seemed to first be a pair of wings, but a closer look indicated it to be wake, presumably a result of his speed. And of course, his deep blue eyes had always been hidden behind his goggles.

He slicked back his mane as he approached. As he'd said, that and his tail were cut short, though unlike his dark brown mane, his tail was a soft blue-grey. "I'm flattered, Princess," he beamed. "When I explained the regulations regarding suits today, I wasn't expecting you to pick one up."

"I actually had it tailor-made," smiled Celestia, turning around to show it off. It kept her wings bound and stopped her from casting spells. "If I'm going to be joining you in the water, I thought it best that I had regulated gear. Are you about ready?"

"Well, I still have to change into my suit, but I'll be ready after that. I'll be right back." As he placed his hoof on the locker room door, he turned around. "Unless you're okay with me being out of regulation gear. I won't be using my wings, and the extra drag from my mane and tail would help slow me down and level the playing field."

The thought of being in the water with him being nude made Celestia's body tingle. As much as she wanted it, though, it was too early. "You go ahead and change. I'll be acclimating to the water out here."

With a nod, Dip dipped into the stallions' locker room. Celestia took a deep breath and tried to relax. She'd been so confident when dealing with the lifeguard, but with Dip, she'd felt her façade faltering. She felt noticeably weaker when he was around, especially when he looked directly at her. Just the short conversation had aroused her, which was the other reason she wanted into the pool. She didn't want to have a drip that he could see.

The water was warmer than she expected. She was used to pools being cold, but between this and the one at his home, she'd found two pools with very warm water. It was comfortable, admittedly, and perhaps that's what caused her to sink. She tried to push her wings out, but due to the restrictions from the suit, she could neither spread her wings nor cast a spell to increase buoyancy. She actually had to tread water to keep herself afloat.

Dip returned in his suit and saw that she was having some difficulty. He quickly dove in and swam over to her. "You need a bit of help there?"

"I think I'm starting to grasp the concept a little better," she said, still bobbing around a bit as she tried to stabilize herself. "I'm handling it."

As she began a rather sharp drop that took her jawline below the water, she felt a hoof against the base of her chest, pushing her back up to the surface. Despite the fact that her heart began to beat faster, she was calming down.

"Relax," instructed Dip. "Relax and breathe. It may be better for you to learn how to run before you can stand, metaphorically speaking. You're obviously having trouble without your wings, so let's start with something easy. I'm going to have you swim down to the other side of the pool. I'll be right beside you the whole way. Are you ready?"

Chapter the Nineteenth: Sploosh

"That's it, that's it," smiled Dip. "You're almost there. Only another twenty metres."

Celestia felt about ready to burst. She'd swum upwards of ten laps in a single session before, but she'd never done it without wings or magic. Swimming had never been quite this hard. Through a combination of only being able to use her hooves and her body being stricken by a sudden shockwave of pleasure every time her chest sank low enough to touch his hoof beneath her, this fifth lap was riddled with panic about not being able to make it.

"Ten more, you can do it."

It was Dip's words of encouragement that kept her going. If it were anypony else, she probably would have stopped at three, but at his request, she'd taken two more laps. She didn't know why, but she wanted to impress him. It was a strange feeling that she didn't quite understand.

"Watch your hooves, it's right in front of you."

As Celestia's hooves touched the wall, she pulled her whole body against the side. She'd never been so happy to have a stable connection with the edge of the pool. She clung to it, panting and sore. "How was that?"

Dip paused for a moment, considering how best to put it. Celestia knew she hadn't done a good job, but he couldn't tell the princess that she had no career in the water. "As this was your first time in regulation gear, you did a fantastic job. With some practice, you could do it even easier."

She certainly hoped it would be easier in the future, or she was screwed. But she could feel that he was holding back. "Please, be honest with me."

"You want the truth? There are schoolcolts that train here after school that can outpace you. But you tried, and that's what matters most."

She turned away from him and looked out the tinted window. Twilight had handled the sunset exquisitely with Luna's guidance, and the moon was out in full force. "It's a beautiful night," she remarked. "I'm sorry to have chosen tonight for your help. It would have been a phenomenal night for a date with your marefriend."

"I don't have a marefriend."

Celestia had to hide her excitement. She wasn't done yet. "You prefer stallions, is it?"

"No, I don't have a problem with mares, I've just been so focused on being a better swimmer than my dad that I spend all of my time in training or preparing for contests. I'm not against the idea of stallions, either, by the way. Just wanting to put that out there."

"I find that a little hard to believe."

"No, really, I would probably be okay with dating a stallion. I don't know if I'd sleep with one, but I would have no problem with a platonic and healthy relationship."

"That's not what I meant." Celestia turned around and moved closer. "I find it hard to believe that nopony has snatched up a stud like you. I thought for sure that you'd have your pick of the litter, but it seems not. It's baffling."

"I mean..." Dip scratched the back of his head and blushed. "I might, and I just haven't met a pony I liked. Even then, I'd want them to show me some kind of interest, first, to let me know that they're wanting to start something."

"What kind of show?"

"You know, normal stuff. Showing an interest in my hobbies, wanting to spend time together, especially alone time. After that, perhaps some physical contact would be preferred. Something that's not quite sexual, but shows a definitive and indisputable attraction. But nopony's done that sin--"

He was cut off as Celestia grabbed his shoulder and pressed her lips against his. He was shocked at first, but as the surprise died down, he began to enjoy the kiss, even going to far as to reciprocate. It didn't last long, as both of them tasted lightly of chlorine. As they pulled apart, Celestia smirked and flashed her bedroom eyes. "Let's say that there's a mare that's interested enough to do all of those things. Are you an item now?"

Dip sheepishly nodded. "If she wants to be, yeah."

"She does."

He leans in to kiss her again, just a quick peck this time. "I suppose we should become better acquainted," he chuckled. "We should move to the benches to make ourselves more comfortable. I know you've been having trouble with staying afloat."

"Do you want to stay in the water?"

He scratched the back of his neck again. "I mean, I like being in the water, but--"

"Wait here." Taking a deep breath, Celestia submerged. Dip watched and she rolled and kicked a few times, then rose back to the surface, her suit removed and her wings spread out. She tossed her soaking wet suit up on the rim of the pool. "Much better. Now we can both be comfortable."

Dip was resisting the urge to look down. Celestia had just declared them as being together and he didn't want it to end as quickly as it had begun. Still, knowing that she was completely nude right next to him was creating strain on the fabric of his suit. "So, uh... What now?"

"I wouldn't mind watching you swim some more," she admitted. "Have you ever done any synchronized swimming or water ballet?"

"I'm afraid not, princess."

"Just Celestia's fine when we're alone. That's alright, I just thought you might be able to show me some elegance and grace alongside your speed and power."

"I'm sorry, but it's not something I know."

Celestia waved her hoof, as if to tell him not to worry about it, but being in the pool, she splashes some water on his face. "Oops," she chuckled.

Gaining a mischievous grin, he splashed back at her. This quickly devolved into a harmless, giggly splash fight between the two, with Dip having the advantage of being able to submerge all but his front hooves below the surface for protection. When it finally came to a close with Celestia admitting defeat, they swam up to each other, looked deeply into one another's eyes as Dip pulled off his goggles, and kissed one more time. This one was more drawn out, their bodies firmly pressed together.

Chapter the Twentieth: Washing Off

After swimming around for a bit longer, the two decided that it was time to call it a night, and separated into their respective locker rooms, each taking a complimentary towel. It was just before midnight, and as they were alone in the building, there was more than enough hot water for each of them.

About halfway through her shower, with all of the chlorine washed from her mane and tail, Celestia realized that she'd left her suit on the side of the pool. Shutting off the shower, she walked back out, picked up the suit, and returned to the locker room. She was shocked when she first walked in, seeing Dip stripped down and scrubbing his chest. Double-checking the door, she realized she'd returned to the wrong locker room.

Before she could leave, though, he turned sideways and she saw his cock bobbing beneath him. It was long and slender, with thick veins running its entire length. Thinking back, she'd been completely nude next to him for two hours. She'd swum away from him a few times during those two hours, meaning he'd have been given a full view of her slit. She'd been blue-balling him all night.

He reached down and began to scrub it with his loofah. The soapy suds obscured him briefly, then were washed off by the water. The same applied to his balls, which were bigger and hung lower than the tight polyester had indicated or even allowed. He was quite a specimen.

Once the soap was washed off his balls, though, he hung the loofah on a wall hook near his suit and just kept rubbing his genitals. Slowly at first, pressing his head to the wall so he could use his other hoof to cup his testicles. He moaned softly, whispering Celestia's name every few strokes.

Celestia didn't know what to do. On one hoof, public masturbation was illegal, something she had personally taken an interest in enforcing with harsh penalties. Granted, she'd chosen to do that because it was harmful to the colts and fillies that might see it, but it was still a crime. On the other hoof, she was responsible for building up his need for release, and he'd be in almost as much trouble walking back home with his rod at full extension like that. Besides, she'd done the exact same thing earlier today, not even ten metres from where she now stood. She had no moral leg to stand on, here. It's possible that he had thought to take the opportunity of being alone to rub one out in the privacy of a locked down building's shower, dumping the evidence down the drain and not risking being caught. Unfortunately, he had been caught, and by the very monarch who'd signed the law he was breaking in.

Rather than bursting into the room and shouting "Stop! You violated the law!" she sauntered in slowly, stepping softly so as not to alert him until she was ready. He was so distracted that he didn't notice a thing. Using her wings for stability, she slid up over the top of him , blocking off his water and wrapping her hooves around his chest. "I take it you're imagining me down there?"

She could feel his heart pounding in his chest. She hoped he hadn't washed his tail yet, as her excitement at rubbing her breasts against his flank had caused her to leak all over it. He didn't say a word, he just froze in place, too scared to advance.

"You don't have to imagine it," she smirked, lowering her hooves down between his legs. "Let me show you how I would do it."

As her hooves took the positions his had been in, he dropped from the wall to stabilize his hooves against the floor. Though she wasn't doing much more than he had, but he was moaning significantly louder. His testicles gently swayed back and forth as if she were rolling a pair of heavy round dice. She could feel his pulse in his shaft, meaning he wasn't going to last very long. If he'd been flaccid when she'd seen him, she'd be disappointed, but after sporting an erection for over two hours, she couldn't blame him for being about ready to pop already.

She slid back along his body, dropping down to her elbows when she reached his butt. Under his short tail, his moist testicles were lightly twitching. She quickly pulled his penis back between his legs and sucked the head into her mouth. With a soft yelp, he came into her mouth, twitching and tensing up the muscles in his legs.

When he was finally finished, he slumped down to the floor, panting heavily. "That... was..." He shook his head. "I can't even describe it."

"Well, I couldn't let you just fire it down the drain, silly. It could clog up the pipes. Much safer to fire it off into my mouth. Tasty, too." She licked her lips. "I'm really glad you washed off the chlorine."

Dip rolled onto his back and sat up. "I'm not really experienced with returning that favour. Is that okay?"

"Do you at least know how?"

He shook his head. "Not really, no."

Celestia nodded as she watched his softening cock return to its sheathe. She was disappointed that she couldn't find her release tonight with Dip. Sure, she'd been given the opportunity to taste his little swimmers, but he couldn't help her in the same way. She'd just have to try again later. "Do you have any plans this weekend?"

"No."

"You do now. You're coming to the castle for dinner on Saturday. You, me, a candelabra and some minestrone. Sound good?"

He nodded.

"Good." Celestia turned to leave, picking up her suit at the door. "If you can behave yourself through dinner, I might invite you to eat something else. I know I'll be looking forward to dessert."

With that quip, she left the room, rushing into the locker room she'd originally come from. She very quickly rubbed her way to completion, discharging down the drain and hurriedly washing the rest of her body, drying with the given towel and throwing her regal everyday wear back on so she could be seen by the common citizens without need for extra gawking.

They shared one final kiss before walking out the door together and parting ways. Celestia felt as giddy as a schoolfilly as she returned to the castle. She had a big smile on her face as she anticipated how good her weekend was going to be.

Chapter the Twenty-First: Recovery

Celestia laid the tablecloth across the table. She would be in a conference room for her date with Dip tonight, as she didn't need a grand dining hall for a one-on-one. While she didn't need to personally be the one setting the table, she wanted to tell him that she'd at least done something.

"Are you going to allow me to meet him?" smiled Luna, setting out some flatware. "He sounds like a bit of a hunk, the way you describe him."

"Keep your hooves to yourself," smirked Celestia. "You have your own."

"Yeah, but he's out of town tonight. Trying to upscale his orchard."

Celestia looked up as Luna was distributing the silverware. "Careful with those knives. You have enough problems with your legs, I don't want you coming to any more harm."

Luna's rash had spread over the last week. On her right front leg, it was just past her elbow. To her left, it was almost to her shoulder. It was also starting to form near her knees and hips. She'd taken off her bandages to show Celestia yesterday, and the boils were grotesque. They seemed to be following the rash, but the bad ones on her hooves had decreased in size. a few of them had completely cleared out, leaving small cavities where they had been.

It had been missed the first time due to her dark coat masking it, but around the edges of the boils, disappearing or not, there were dark rings, almost black. They were hard to see against the midnight blue of her coat, but under a bright surgical light, they'd appeared. Luna admitted to the surgeon that the area felt very tender, but not painful.

"I know, Tia," nodded Luna. "I'll be using that new topical medication tonight to see if it actually does anything."

"Let me help you," said Celestia, setting the last of the candles on the table. "I still have some time before Dip is supposed to arrive."

With a nod, the two adjourned to Luna's room, where a fresh bowl of herbal ointment was sitting on a bedside table, along with a clean roll of bandages. Luna sat down and unspooled her current bandages, revealing that two more boils had popped and were sinking into her flesh.

First came a rag with some hot, soapy water. The area needed to be cleaned thoroughly. As she was dabbing at the boils, Celestia found that the darkened skin was very hard, almost solid, but where the boils had been had left the flesh very soft. The doctor had called this a compaction brought on by the boils pressing against each other, pushing the skin together outside and stretching it thin on the inside.

"At least some of these seem to be healing," confirms Celestia. "Hopefully, this won't last too long."

"It's only been a week and a half. Give the medicines some time to work."

"The first one didn't work."

"We didn't know that it wouldn't, yet."

"We don't know if this one's going to work, either."

Luna rolled her eyes. "And we won't if you don't apply it already. Did you want to help, or not?"

With Luna's leg now clean, Celestia scooped up a gob of ointment in her hoof and began to slather it on. She hadn't applied it yet, and hadn't directly touched Luna's skin. It was only through a rag or bandage so far. She expected it to be scaly, as it appeared to be, but it was actually very smooth. The compacted skin felt like polished wood that was somehow still kind of flexible. It only felt scaly at her joints, where the movement had kept her skin from becoming too hard.

She wasn't quite sure if it was the ointment against her own hoof, or perhaps some secretion from Luna's boils, but Celestia's hooves began to tingle on contact with her sister. It wasn't an uncomfortable feeling, but she was mildly disturbed that she couldn't quite place the feeling. She'd felt it before, but wasn't sure where.

After the ointment was firmly rubbed on, Celestia wrapped Luna's leg in a bandage, tying it off at the shoulder. She then started on the other leg. "I'm sorry your stallion of choice is away, Lulu. I know I've been flaunting mine all week, and that's not the best behaviour I could be displaying. When does he come back?"

"Cosmo should be back tomorrow afternoon, barring any delays. Why?"

"I want to invite him to dinner. To put aside my animosity and apologize. I see you suffering an unknown rash, and you look to be stressed. If he can make you happy, I want him here as soon as possible. Perhaps the lack of stress could slow the rash."

Luna smiled. "That's very kind of you, Tia." Wrapping her bandaged hoof around Celestia's shoulder, she pulled her into a half-hug.

"Of course, if he makes your rash worse, I'll have to separate you two."

Luna burst into a laugh. "There's the overprotective sister I know and love."

With both hooves slathered and wrapped, Celestia moved to Luna's hips. These were a bit awkward to do, as Luna had to stand and Celestia had to be behind her. If Luna had applied it herself, she would have started there, before her hooves were bandaged. She'd had a nurse to help her with it, earlier.

Celestia washed the ointment off of her hooves, sealing the bowl with a lid to ensure that the solution didn't dry out. She opened her mouth to speak, but a knock at the door interrupted her. She walked over and opened it, and there stood Dip, wearing a short-sleeved blouse and minimalist vest. The price tag had been removed from the vest, but the little plastic pin that held it on was still there, as was one of the stickers on his shirt displaying the size. He obviously hadn't worn these clothes before.

"One of the guards said you were in here," he said, glancing around. "Is this your bedroom?"

"You weren't kidding about him being a hunk," smiled Luna, licking her lips. "Though his wardrobe needs work. Let's take off that shirt and fi--"

Celestia pushed Luna back, stepped into the hall and closed the door. "Not a word to anyone about what my sister just said to you," she scowled. "She's suffering from an illness that's affecting her mind. You're to keep quiet about that, too."

Dip nodded. "I mean, I'd heard something about her being ill, but I've suddenly forgotten. Do you even have a sister?"

Celestia patted his cheek. "Good boy." As she drew her hoof away, she noted that the tingling in her hooves was still there.

Chapter the Twenty-Second: Repayment

"Tasty stuff," smiled Dip, leaning back and rubbing his stomach. "I'm not usually fond of chickpeas, but that was a good soup."

Celestia raised an eyebrow. "You don't like garbanzo beans?"

"I just think there are better beans. I liked the kidney beans, for example."

"Any particular reason?"

Dip looked up at the ceiling. "As you can imagine, being an athlete, a high protein diet has had me trying a large assortment of beans and legumes. Helps build muscle mass and all that. Likewise, very little fats and sugars. Natural sugars, like honey, carrot and onion are fine, but that's because they come with all kinds of other beneficial things."

"That's why I chose minestrone," admitted Celestia. "It's a high-protein meal."

"Yeah, but when I have my mom make it, she doubles the kidney beans and doesn't add any chickpeas. Just a personal preference. My dad doesn't like them, either."

"I like beans," smirked Celestia. "They have a very nice texture, warm and soft with a rich flavour. Placing them on my tongue and pressing them against the roof of my mouth is just a spectacular feeling."

Dip looked to Celestia, raising his eyebrow. "I... guess?"

"And then sucking on them until that thick, creamy paste comes out to grace my tongue with its churned up insides..." she licked her lips slowly.

Dip looked down at his bowl, then up at Celestia. "We're not talking about the food anymore, are we?"

"Nope." Celestia stood up, walked around the table, and placed her hoof under Dip's chin, raising him from his seat. His lips met hers, and his hoof stroked her neck. "It's time I felt your touch."

"Shouldn't we move to a bedroom, or something?"

With a blinding flash of light, the conference room disappeared. Celestia grabbed Dip by the shoulders and pulled him on top of her, falling backward onto bed that materialized under her. He was not expecting that, as evidenced by his collapsing into her chest.

She was soaking wet by now, having spent the entirety of dinner looking forward to this, trying very hard and failing to keep from rubbing herself. She reached between his legs, grabbed his budding erection, and placed it at the entrance of her vagina. A more clear invitation she could not give.

As he pushed his way into her, her mind closed off. All she wanted, all she cared about, was having his cock inside of her. It was magical, beyond anything she'd ever felt from her myriad previous partners. Thousands of stallions had been with her over the centuries, but none of them compared to this. Her loins were on fire, and his cock was there to douse the flames in its cooling liquid.

Once inside, he began to stiffen even more as his thrusts picked up in speed and power. Soon, he settled into a groove, pumping rhythmically into her as if he were a machine. He had the core strength to control his movements, training to help him breathe and to keep himself going at a natural pace, and the stamina to keep active without stopping for a long, long time.

What he did not have was the ability to hold off his own orgasm. Less than five minutes in, he fired his first load into her womb. Normally, this would be a disappointing turn of events, but his semen sent waves of pleasure crashing through her body, such an intense pleasure she couldn't believe she'd never felt before. She needed more. Much, much more.

As he pulled out and began to shrink down, she hungrily swallowed the softening flesh, trying desperately to skip the refractory period. She was certain that she'd do it, too, as the remnants of his seed were still stuck to his shaft, prompting her to fervently devour him.

After a few minutes, he was reinflated and ready to go again. She climbed up on top of him and prepared to ride him, but then he grabbed her by the hips and began to buck. She didn't mind, as he had the control and stamina to keep her satisfied for a long time, assuming he could also last.

The second bout lasted much longer than the first, as did the third, fourth, and fifth. He was so drained by that point that he'd passed out twice, not due to exhaustion, but dehydration. When Celestia finally had her fill and fell asleep still holding his cock in her mouth, Luna had already had Twilight raise the sun.

It was several hours before Dip woke up again. With a significant limp, he walked out of the bedroom, making his way down to the kitchen. He didn't need a lot of cleanup, as Celestia had swallowed everything, but he did need something to reenergize him. He started with a pint of grapefruit juice to restore his lost electrolytes, then asked the kitchen staff to prepare some lunch for Celestia and himself, which he would then bring to her. Not having any plans today, he didn't feel the need to leave the castle, and likely wouldn't, unless Celestia asked.

"Well, well," came Luna's voice from the doorway. "If it isn't Tia's new boy toy."

Dip cocked his head to the side. "I'm sorry?"

"I managed to catch some of her dreams," smirked Luna, folding her arms as she sat across the table from Dip. "Very graphic stuff."

Dip looked around. Nopony else was there. "I'm... sorry?"

"Don't be. Ever since her first date with you, she's been wet enough that you'd think she fell into the ocean. And you... You're a boat, floating in that ocean, with a big, triangular sail made from a fine cloth."

"I... thanks, I think?"

"Do take it as a compliment," smiled Luna. "After all, there's something that a big cloth sail would indicate."

"Oh? What's tha-hah-Ah--!"

He was cut off as Luna's hind hoof reached under the table and began massaging his cock. He was still tender from last night, and had yet to regain all of his energy.

"A sail that big can only be held so high by a long, sturdy mast, like this one here."

Dip shuddered and moaned, unable to hide his reaction. He could neither leave, nor deny her advances. "Th-thank you for your k-k-kind w-words, princess."

"Don't mention it," smiled Luna. "What you can mention is that I'm open to the idea of having a double date. You will tell Celestia, won't you?"

"Hah-ah!" he squeaked, firing off a pitiful load that stuck to the underside of the table.

"Good boy. Run along, now."

Dip stood up and grabbed the food cart that had just come for Celestia and himself. He rushed out of the room, having second thoughts as to how far he'd gone down this rabbit hole.

Chapter the Twenty-Third: Devolution

Celestia had been rubbing her wrist out of mild discomfort all day. It was starting to leave a big red blotch on her skin. She felt upset, as though something horrible was going to happen the moment that Cosmo came in. The churning in her gut was almost unbearable. He was just an earth pony. Why was she so desperately nervous?

Dip had left due to needing to practise, but promised he would be back tonight if he wasn't too sore. She was glad that she wasn't dragging him away from his goal of being an exceptional swimmer, but she wished he would have been around for dinner, at least. He was a comfort. And she could always just reach under the table and fondle him for the extra comfort his balls gave her.

Suddenly, she realized that she hadn't been listening to the conversation in front of her, and all eyes were on her. She didn't know what to do or say, but she was pretty sure she'd been asked a question. "Could you repeat that?"

"We need your decision on whether or not they owe me for my cabbages," repeated the vendor. "Who is supposed to pay for all of this?"

"Did you give them the cabbages?"

"No."

"Then they don't have to pay for them."

The vendor's jaw dropped, and he fell back in his seat. The two stallions at the other table looked at each other incredulously, then quickly bowed. "Thank you, princess!" they shouted in unison as they quickly gathered up their things and hurried away.

Celestia packed up and left, too. Cosmo was supposed to be arriving soon, and that meant that she should prepare for their dinner. Whether it was for three or four was yet to be decided.

"Are you sure about that decision?" asked one of the guards, catching her before she left the room. "Not to tell you how to do your job, but we were all pretty sure that case was going to go the other way."

"I stand by my decision," answered Celestia. "If he didn't deliver the goods to them, they don't have to pay for the goods."

"I understand basic contracts, but he had a license to vend produce, and they made off with a wagonload of his stock without paying. It just doesn't seem right to me. But I guess that's why I'm not the princess..."

Celestia stopped in her tracks. She knew she should have delayed the trial for another day. "Call them back in tomorrow. The trial isn't over yet, and I still have to put forward a more complete ruling."

With a nod, the guard moved over to the vendor, who was still devastated. The two began talking as Celestia made her way out of the room. She was on her way down to the kitchens when she rounded a bend and spotted Cosmo.

Something was off about him, though. Last time they'd spoken, she'd found him to be repulsive, and had laid into him. This time, his face seemed to glisten and sparkle, and he seemed to be exceptionally alluring. She knew he was seeing Luna, but all of a sudden, she wanted him. She needed him.

"Cosmo."

He turned to look at her. She felt weak wherever his eyes rested on her body. "Princess Celestia. I was told that you wanted to see me. I'm a bit early, I know, but I didn't want to risk being too late."

"Don't let me stop you," smirked Celestia, sauntering up to him. "You can cum whenever it feels right."

"Well, that's good to know. I was actually pretty worried about what would happen tonight. You and I didn't exactly part on the best terms. I wanted to say that--"

"I'm sorry," interrupted Celestia. "I was acting like a jerk, something that I've been struggling with lately. That's why I wanted you here tonight. I wanted to apologize for my behaviour."

Cosmo looked to his sides. "Well, I... I'm not going to refuse an apology from a princess. Of course I forgive you. After all, you just wanted to protect your sister."

"Yes. That's exactly right."

"I saw what's been happening to her hooves, too. I hope her condition improves soon. Do we know what caused it yet?"

"A part of me thought it might have been you, but now I'm not so sure. That's something else I wanted to apologize for; blaming you for what happened to her. You probably had nothing to do with it, and even if you did, I'd believe you if you said it was an accident."

"That's... I don't even know what to say to that. I don't want to see Princess Luna come to harm, and if I was involved in doing so, I'll do everything in my power to see it resolved. You have my word."

"Is she bullying you again?" came Luna's voice from around the corner. Luna stepped out a moment later, all dressed up fancy. "Tia, you're supposed to be apologizing to him, not accusing him."

"I wasn't," snapped Celestia. "I was telling him that I had dropped my suspicion of his involvement, thank you very much."

"I told you he didn't do it."

"And now I believe you. I can see it in his eyes." Celestia took Cosmo by the jaw and looked deeply into his eyes. She felt that she could fall into them and find herself lost, and that would be alright. She made a move to kiss him, but Luna pushed her aside.

"You wouldn't want to upset that athlete you've been seeing, would you?" she sneered, planting a kiss on Cosmo's cheek.

"He really wouldn't mind. He said he was okay with having a stallion in his bed," retorted Celestia, pulling Cosmo over to her.

"That's because you're not enough to satisfy him," snapped Luna, pulling Cosmo back toward her.

"I'm so satisfying that he can't take all of the joy I have to give!"

Suddenly, there was a loud ripping noise as the sleeve of Cosmo's shirt slipped off his arm and the three of them collapsed, with Cosmo falling between Celestia's legs. He quickly stood up, retrieved his sleeve from Luna, and took off his now wet shirt and vest.

"Now, majesties, I know I'm just a lowly son of a baroness, but I don't like all of this fighting. Might I suggest that we find a common ground on which we can all stand?"

Luna and Celestia exchanged glances before standing up. "You're right," said Celestia. "Come, let's show you our common ground."

Chapter the Twenty-Fourth: Sharing is Caring

Two large carts, loaded with enough food for four ponies, sat forgotten outside of Celestia's bedchambers. A single guard had taken the duty of watching them to ensure that they remained safe, but had no intention of moving either of them until directed otherwise. Luna and Celestia had dragged a stallion into the room and asked not to be disturbed unless another stallion by the name of Dip showed up. No such stallion had appeared.

The guard let out a sigh. It was not his place to question orders from his superiors, but he didn't like seeing food go to waste. His mother had a delicatessen in his hometown, and she had told him that seeing her hard work in the trash was an insult to her craft. It would take seconds to toss the remainder of the meal into a paper bag to take home, and ponies still decided to toss an uneaten sandwich in the rubbish bin. He didn't like to see her angry, which is why watching the food go untouched for the last forty-five minutes after its arrival had upset him so.

But on the other side of the door, nopony cared if the food went to waste. It's possible that Cosmo was the only one who remembered that they were supposed to be having dinner, as the princesses were busy trying to wrestle his cock out of each others' mouths and into their own. He was about to blow again, and was holding it for Luna, as Celestia had taken the first. He'd wanted to give it to Luna, as he was more fond of her, but her frenetic movements in milking it out of him had caused him to spray her face, and Celestia had licked it up with Luna not having more than a taste. He wanted her to have it all this time.

Unfortunately, Celestia was being a little piggy, and wouldn't let Luna in to receive his second wave. He fired a thick rope right down her throat. He tried to pull her off by the horn, but she was too heavy, and her suction was too strong. He had no chance of prying her away. By the time Luna had fought her off, he was already starting to shrink down.

"Again, Tia?!" she groused. "Why don't you leave any for me?"

"You can have the next one."

"You said that last time!"

"You did say that last time," confirmed Cosmo.

"This doesn't concern you," barked Celestia.

"It's his dick!" shouted Luna. "It concerns him enough!"

"You're just saying that because he took your side. If he'd taken my side, would you have made a big deal about what he wanted?"

"No! I just want him to feel good, and if he wants to ejaculate all over me, I support his decision!"

Cosmo couldn't believe his ears. They were fighting over him as children would over a stuffed doll. It was belittling to be treated as an object, even if most stallions would kill to be in his position. Shaking his head, he shifted his body to be closer to the center of the bed. "Princess Celestia, for this next one, you're going to it on my face. Grab the headboard."

"I told you he liked me best," smirked Celestia, sticking out her tongue at Luna. She looked hurt, until she realised that Cosmo had chosen for Celestia to face the headboard because it would leave his dick open for her to enjoy at her own leisure. Not that it could do much while it was all floppy like this.

Luna really appreciated the gesture. To show her gratitude, she dug her nose under his balls and began tonguing his arsehole. It had gone unappreciated, and she wanted to give him something special. After all, he had ensured that she would take the next nut.

Meanwhile, Celestia was enjoying a stallion who knew how to use his tongue properly. She swayed her hips against his mouth, complimenting his movements. "See this, Luna? This is how you utilize a stallion. He's a real keeper. The moment you begin to bore him, he's mine."

"Mm-hmm," grunted Luna, not pulling her lips from his sphincter. He was beginning to inflate once more, his mighty lance finding the will to fight once more. She turned her attention to it, sucking her way up the shaft, kissing the tip as she crested the top.

She wanted to make this special. If she just swallowed his load, she'd be feeling hungry for another. She straddled him, directing his turgid piece into her wet slit, sliding down and engulfing him. She clamped down as she rose back up, slamming back down onto his hips every few seconds.

Feeling the bounce from Luna and hearing the wet slaps, Celestia turns in place to see what's happened. "No fair!" she shouts, trying to push Luna off. "You can ride him anytime! Now it's my turn!"

The ensuing scuffle throws the girls all across the bed. Luna tried not to disembark from Cosmo's cock, but Celestia pushed her aside and tried to swallow it whole again. Luna pushed her away and tackled her, pinning her to the bed.

Not wanting to try and break up the fight again, Cosmo gathered up his torn shirt and bolted from the room, tripping over one of the food carts, resulting in a hot carrot going up his butt. He immediately declined aid from the guard, just pointing back to the open door, through which the guard entered just as the fight turned to magic use.

Even with Cosmo summoning more guards for backup, it took a considerable amount of effort to pull the two apart. By the time they were separated, they'd torn out clumps of mane and tail, and were covered horn to hoof in mild scrapes and small bruises. Some of Luna's boils under her bandages had burst, and were leaking some kind of pus-like fluid.

"Princesses," breathed Twilight, having arrived as soon as she'd heard, having been conveniently nearby. "I know you've been having problems with stallions lately, but fighting over one is not the way to solve this. I don't think that this is something that should be shared between you, as you made clear this evening. You both have a unique, very special somepony for each of you, and you can't be fighting over them."

"I was winning," huffed Celestia.

"He was mine to begin with," huffed Luna.

"And now he's left the castle because the two of you couldn't keep your hooves to yourselves," spat Twilight. "I don't care who was seeing whom. It's not important. Both of you are to stick to just the one stallion you originally had, and to not interfere with the other's love life. If I have to come back, I will separate you. Don't make me do that."

She was interrupted by a knock at the door. All eyes turned to see Dip standing at the entrance. "Am I interrupting something important?"

"No," smiled Luna avariciously. "In fact, why don't you and I take a quick walk while I bring you up to speed?"

Chapter the Twenty-Fifth: Report to the Top

The door handle rattled in Cercus' hoof. Unable to undo the latch, he pounded on the door. He waited outside the door for a minute before the locks on the door began to click open. The door swung open, and a busty mare opened the door. "My, my, what a scary face you have," she mused. "Are you gonna take all of that animosity out on li'l ol' me?"

"You know why I'm here," grumbled Cercus. "Can we just move this along?"

The mare took a few steps back and collapsed to the bed, spreading her legs. "Oh, no, the big bad bug is going to have his way with me! Hope he doesn't lay eggs in my butt."

The royal chamber had improved significantly since the last time he'd been here. The walls were no longer fully exposed, but tucked away behind mycelium bricks. The chamber was deeper, too, resembling more the bedchambers of Luna and Celestia, with multiple rooms separated by doorways. Unlike with Canterlot castle, however, the new hive had branching roots supporting the frames, rather than cut timbres merely decorating the frame.

"Will you take this seriously? This is important."

"Ugh. Fine." In a flash of green, the mare reverted to Chrysalis, rolled out of bed, and moved over to the vanity. "Call it practise for you disguising yourself as a pony, and you failed to convince me."

"You can tell the difference regardless; you have..." He stopped and took a deep breath. "Luna and Celestia are being separated and sent to opposite ends of Equestria."

All levity instantly drained from Chrysalis' face as she rounded on Cercus. "Why didn't you tell me?! That's a very bad turn of events!"

"I know," growled Cercus through his gritted teeth. "Why do you think I came here instead of waiting for your messenger? Did you really think I was here to see your interpretation of a whore?"

"Hold your tongue!" commanded Chysalis, standing and pacing. "Let me think, let me think."

As she paced around the room, Cercus scowled at her. "This was your plan from the beginning. How do you not know the next step?"

"This was supposed to be two more steps down the line!" barked Chrysalis. "Things are happening out of order, and faster than I accounted for. We don't even have that little slut that I had to dress up as, yet. We were supposed to begin on her before we pulled them all apart." She turned to him. "You're the one who's been inside of their heads. You're supposed to be the one in control. How did you fuck this up?!"

"By following your orders," he snapped. "You demanded that I cut Luna with a poisoned dagger. I did. You demanded that I ensure that the poison takes. I did. You demanded I minimise her recovery. I did so far. You commanded that I poison Celestia, too, but she wouldn't let me close. I had to convince Luna to slip the eggs directly into her breakfast, so Celestia has the wiggleworms excreting the toxins into her bloodstream on a daily basis. If you asked me, I'd say that the problem was cause when you se--"

"No one asked you!" Chrysalis leaned up and rubbed her temple. "How long ago did you give her the eggs?"

"A week ago. At the time I left, they were nowhere near pupating."

"Then we probably still have time. But you're not going to be working alone anymore. While it's true that you have yet to be discovered, this is too much for your capabilities."

"Yeah, I know. That's the problem. I can't be on both ends of Equestria at the same time. I need to have a ring that I can call on when things go south."

"If things go south."

"When things go south. They already have, or I would be requesting it, not demanding it. They're bound to blow up in our faces if we don't do something. If I have to hold this whole operation together alone, it will break me. The spirit is willing, but... Look at this!" He stood up on his hind legs. There were arse-shaped bruises on his gut and hips. His testicles were shriveled from overuse. "I can hide it from the princesses, but you have no idea how much impact force I've sustained! They're too much for me alone!"

"Fine. You can select three more changelings to aid you in your journey. You and one other of my choice will be permanent fixtures for one of the princesses each. Your current messenger will join the other three, plus two more of my choosing, in swapping out status updates twice a week. Sundays and Wednesdays, you will be alone. Do not blow it again. Do I make myself clear?"

"As a crystal pony." Though he was agreeing, Cercus was really hoping for some time to recover. At the very least, he would be reduced to just dealing with Luna. "If you'll excuse me, I have some orders to distribute."

As he walked out of the royal tunnel, he made his way to the main pillar. Several flights of shiftstone stairs had been added, making it feel more like home. As much as Cercus wanted to aid in the construction and help build it up, he had to wait. It wouldn't be too much longer, he hoped, before he could link up with his fellow changelings and just rest. He'd taken on so much already, doing everything he could to give them hope, but now he felt that he needed it more than they did.

He made his way up to the pinnacle of the tower. The stairs continued upward beyond this, but they didn't lead anywhere. This was the highest habitable section of the new hive. A few of the more durable changelings were up here, working their way up, as was the way changelings built their hives.

"I need some volunteers," he called out. "Able of body and sturdy enough to take a beating. In exchange, all you can eat."

"What's the job?" asked one.

"Glad you asked," smiled Cercus, shifting into Dip. "You've probably had a taste of this one. Tell our dearest queen that you would be willing to keep Celestia of Equestria occupied. As long as one of you keeps this form at all times, you're set. I'll also need three more to act as messengers."

"Is this having to do with that mission where we dealt with Luna?" called another voice.

"Yes."

Mandible stepped forward from the crowd. His neck was looking much better, almost completely healed. He sounded different, too. "I owe her some payback. Anything I can do to help, I'm in."

Chapter the Twenty-Sixth: Marriage Counseling

"You won't outlast me," grunted Shining, straining against his bonds. "I can be here all day!"

"I can be here into the night," growled Cadance in response. "You won't best me!"

In truth, Cadance had bitten off more than she could chew this time, and Shining was winning. They were both full of bluster, as neither of them felt confident that they'd last the next ten minutes, much less until nightfall. They hadn't even had lunch yet.

"You're bluffing, Cady," smirked Shining, sweating as he struggled. "I can see it written all over your face."

"My f-face, huh? Let's talk about what's written on your face: You want your balls grabbed. Now, Creamy!"

With a panicked yelp from Shining, the unicorn licking his arsehole grabbed him by the testicles and squeezed, causing the prince to fire off his load across the room, splattering on the marble floor.

"Yes!" shouted Cadance. "I w-- Ah!" Her head rolled back as she reached her climax, discharge splashing everywhere.

The attendants quickly removed the royals from their racks, lowering them to the floor and stabilizing them on their hooves. Hot, damp towels were distributed to clean up their bodies, and a mop was deployed to clean up the floor.

"That was dirty, Cadance," groused Shining.

"But fun," she beamed back. "You know I wouldn't cheat in earnest. Only when it doesn't matter who wins or loses."

Shining smiled as he kissed the mare that had lost him the game. "Come on, let's go see if there's anyone who needs us."

Just as the door swung open, They found themselves facing a messenger primed to knock. He took a step back and bowed. "Princess Mi Amore Cadenza. Prince Shining Armor. I come bearing urgent news from Princess Twilight." He held up a long scroll.

Cadance grabbed the scroll and unfurled it. "My dearest brother and sister, I need your help. Celestia and Luna are fighting again, and I don't want to see either of them banished from Equestria. The two have come to blows over which of them is to..."

Shining cocked his head to the side, and approached to read the letter. As he read, his eyes opened wide. "Wow. Good for them, I guess, but do they really need to fight like that?"

"I don't want them to keep fighting, but I don't know what to do to stop them," continued Cadance. "They seem to want to share their stallions, but only to the extent that they insist that the other give them leave to sleep with them. To clarify, both sisters wish to have both stallions, but do not wish for their sister to have any say in the matter, preferably out of the room. I have sent them to separate forts on opposite ends of Equestria. I sent their stallion escorts after them, to keep them placated, but I want them to see eye to eye again.

"That's why I've called on the two of you. Cadance, with her propensity to spread love everywhere she goes, and Shiny with his aptitude at problem-solving and desire for harmony, are the perfect ponies to stop this relationship from falling apart, and even if not, you both know how to restore it to a healthy state. If you accept my request, Cadance should go to Fort Phalanx near Las Pegasus, and Shiny should report to Ponigsburg. I feel that Shiny should be with Luna, as she also has medical issues, and may need somepony strong enough to carry her if things go too far."

"Medical issues?" asked Shining. "I didn't know she was sick."

"I heard it was some kind of rot on her legs," chimed one of the playroom attendants. "My cousin told me she has to wear bandages all the time. That's why we don't see her anymore."

"So much for keeping that quiet," huffed Cadance, rolling her eyes. "I guess there's no point in hiding it anymore. Yes, Luna was struck by a blade thought to be carrying a disease transmitted through blood. It started with boils, progressing to compaction and rash. We don't know what it is; we're still testing fluids and such, but we're doing everything we can to ease her suffering. I do think, Shiny, that you would be best suited to catch her if she falls. I'll try to help Aunt Celestia."

She turned back to the letter and kept reading. "If you accept or decline, let me know through a messenger. The one I sent will do if you you act quickly, as he is to return right away, regardless." She nodded to the messenger, who had internalised her decision already. "If you wish to discuss the matter further before deciding, please come directly to Canterlot Castle. Time is of the essence, here. I do not mean to come across as rude or pushy, and I apologise if that is the case. I am worried for the princesses, and I wish to see them happy and healthy again as soon as possible. Hoping you are well, your sister, Twilight Sparkle."

"What about the Crystal Empire?" asked Shining. "If both of us are gone, who's going to look after the crystal ponies? We can't just leave them unprotected."

"We can't leave the princesses in this state, either," argued Cadance. "I don't like it, but we don't have a lot of options, here."

Silence hung in the air as they considered their position. With everything on the line, failure was not an option. Letting either the empire or the princesses fall would spell disaster for all of Equestria.

Shining took a deep breath and wrapped a hoof around Cadance's shoulder. "You go help Celestia. I'm going to go see Twilight. Together, we'll figure out some way of keeping everyone safe. She's really smart. She'll come up with something. After I've made sure that the Empire is safe, I promise, Luna's health will be the first and foremost thing on my mind."

Cadance smiled and hugged her husband. "Thanks, Shiny." They kissed, and as they pulled away, she turned to face the group. "Not a word of this to anypony. Not until Princess Twilight gives the all-clear. We don't want to stir up unrest, so until we return or by command of either ourselves or Princess Twilight, the empire is temporarily under the command of..." She brought her hoof to her chin. She hadn't considered who would be left in charge.

"Lieutenant Colonel Pyrrhic Victory," finished Shining Armor. "He outranks me, anyway. He is charged with keeping the Empire safe until our return."

"Then it's settled," nodded Cadance. "We leave in twenty minutes."

Chapter the Twenty-Seventh: Tea with a Titan

Cadance stepped out of the carriage, looking around the fortress to take in the layout. She'd been here once before, only briefly, so she knew where some things were, but it was a lot busier now than it had been then. When she'd been here before, less than fifty soldiers were present.

A captain approached with two escorts. "Welcome to Fort Phalanx, Princess Mi Amore Cadenza," he bowed. "Were there any difficulties on your trip?"

"No, and Princess Cadance is fine. Is Celestia here already?"

The captain blushed as he looked away. "She's, ah... She's here, but she's... entertaining a stallion right now. She has been all day. I don't know if right now is--"

"It's nothing I haven't seen before," answered Cadance, cutting him off. "It may take time for me to recover from seeing my aunt in such a position, but this is more important than my comfort."

"If you say so," nodded the captain slowly. "This way, please."

The captain turned and led Cadance through the rooms of the fort, briefly going over some of the amenities that she might avail herself of. At some junctions, he simply pointed down hallways, explaining that the rooms he was indicating were not going to be shown because they would take some time and weren't en route to where Celestia was. Cadance had a limited mental map by the time they reached a small door that rattled in its hinges as if some kind of draft were on the other side. A muffled moaning could be heard, as well, and the soldier guarding the door was red in the face, trying to hide his erection from Cadance.

"This is the fort commander's bedchambers. It was where I slept, but with the princess being here, I have abdicated for her comfort. We have also cobbled the map room into a bedroom for you, for the duration of your stay. It's just down the hall, and you can proceed there when ready. Any of my soldiers can lead you there; just ask." As he reached up to knock on the door, his trepidation was accented by calls of pleasure from beyond the door. "We can still come back later, if you prefer."

With a deep breath, Cadance grabbed the handle and entered, not even bothering to knock. She was immediately greeted with the sight of her aunt bouncing up and down on the bed, her tongue hanging out of her mouth and her eyes rolled back in pleasure. Her thighs were soaked in a mixture of ejaculate. Beneath her, a pegasus stallion lay on the bed, just barely keeping alert.

"Princess Celestia," she announced, "I have come to speak with you. At your next climax, please disembark the stallion."

"So you can take him?" scoffed Celestia. "Not a chance."

"I promise, I will not be taking away your partner," she swore. She turned to the captain, who was looking anywhere that wasn't Celestia. "Bring me a large kettle of tea and two quarts of orange juice."

"Right away, Majesty," nodded the captain, eager for an excuse to leave the room. As the door closed, Cadance made her way over to a small dining table, sat down in a high-back chair, crossed her legs, and looked disapprovingly at Celestia. While it seemed to do nothing at first, by the time the captain knocked on the door with the drinks, Celestia had slowed to a grind. Without looking away or blinking, Cadance poured a cup of tea for herself, with a squirt of honey, and took a sip.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" grumbled Celestia. "You're looking at me in a way that a parent looks at a child who doesn't listen."

"How apt," said Cadance in a morose tone. "You're acting like a child who will not play nice with her siblings."

Celestia's hips fell flat. Cadance had successfully halted her libido. As she pulled herself off the bed, the cock that had been inside of her fell with a splat into the puddle around his hips, completely flaccid and only barely able to keep its form. With a sigh, Celestia moved over to the table and sat down. "So what is it you want?"

"I want you to end this feud with Luna," answered Cadance. "You only have one sister. It would be a real shame if the two of you never spoke again. I'm here to ensure that you do. No stallion is worth the pain of being cut off from your family."

Celestia poured herself a cup of tea with a squeeze of lemon. "She tried to steal Cosmo from me. What kind of sister does that?"

"I'm not saying what she did was right. It wasn't. You were both wrong. It takes two parties to fight, and you both need to simmer down and apologize to each other. You can still share stallions if you can refrain from fighting. Does that sound fair? Both of you receiving a beneficial outcome?"

"Are you sure Luna will agree to this?" asked Celestia. "She's not exactly the most well-versed in the art of lovemaking. She may try to steal him away from me again."

"As long as nopony is hurt, you two can share dozens of stallions. Shining Armor and I each have a long string of lovers, but at the end of the day, no matter how many dicks we've taken, we always crawl into bed with each other, because our relationship is what really matters. Cocks will turn flaccid, vaginas will loosen, arseholes will lose their grip and breasts will sag, but as long as his heart beats, mine will find it. I love him. Do you love your sister?"

Celestia took a deep breath. "I do. But that doesn't mean she can take my stallion."

The stallion on the bed groaned as he flopped to the floor. As he slowly ambled over to the table, Cadance offered him a quart of orange juice, which he downed half of in a single draught. He wobbled into a chair and sat down, not quite ready to join the conversation yet, but Cadance was more than happy to wait.

"Glad you could join us. I look forward to hearing what your thoughts in all of this are, Cosmo."

"My name's Dip."

Cadance blinked a few times, then shook her head. "I thought you said Luna was trying to steal Cosmo from you?"

"She was," answered Celestia. "And Dip, too."

Cadance took a deep breath. There was a lot more to sort through here than she originally planned on. Releasing her breath, she clapped her front hooves together. "Let's start at the very beginning."

Chapter the Twenty-Eighth: Under Wraps

Shining Armor rubbed his hooves together nervously. He trusted that Twilight would hold to her word and send reinforcements to the Empire. He hoped that would be enough to protect it, but he had a bad feeling about this whole situation. Some feeling in the pit of his stomach screamed at him to bow out of the mission and return to the Crystal Keep, call Cadance back home, and fortify. While he trusted his gut most times, he would not break his word here.

Ponigsburg was not very far from the Crystal Empire. In his worst-case scenario, he told himself that he could bolt back home in a day, fortifying as he went. It was a bit chilly, but living in the Crystal Empire had helped him acclimate. He was in his element, he had an escape plan, and yet he was still terrified. He had this horrible sense that he was walking into a trap.

He took a deep breath. If he was walking into a dangerous situation, that meant that Luna was already in a dangerous situation. Before he was a prince, he had been a captain of the royal guard. His life was devoted to the protection of Equestria and its rulers. He had sworn an oath, and he had to adhere to it. Even if it was uncomfortable, he vowed to keep Luna safe.

After arriving in Ponigsburg, Shining disembarked the carriage. While he had expected somepony to greet him, he was in an unmarked carriage, and not royal by birth, and was not very surprised by the fact that nopony had come to escort him. On top of that, Ponigsburg was more than just a fortress. It encompassed a small town, with civilians running businesses and living their lives within the walls.

It wasn't until he reached the keep that he was greeted with more than a passing wave. The gate guard reached out and shook his hoof as he approached. "Good to see you again, Prince Shining Armor," he smiled. "We weren't expecting you until tomorrow. You'll have to forgive us, we've been a little busy today."

"It's fine," nodded Shining. "Is Princess Luna here?"

"She is," answered the other guard. "We set her up in the Don Jon, but she insisted on something lower to the ground. She's in one of the larger cells of the dungeon. Not behind a locked door, mind you. She can change rooms whenever she likes, but that's where she insisted on being."

Shining nodded knowingly. "I think I can relate. I'm going to go talk to her. I presume I have the clearance to do that?"

"Of course. Go on through, we just need you to document your entrance."

Shining walked through the front door and signed his name on the record book that kept track of all ponies entering and exiting the keep. Luna had exited this morning, and returned an hour and forty-eight minutes later, according to the log. Not particularly noteworthy, but it did confirm that she should be here.

He made his way to the prison, a short jaunt down a set of stairs, and found Luna fairly quickly. For a prison cell, it was incredibly comforting. A row of nocturnal flowers sat on a shelf made from the bed opposite the one she was sitting on, seemingly healthy, but tucked away in their planter to await the chill of the moon. Next to those, a large trunk sat under a blanket. The shower and toilet were partitioned off so as not to be seen from the hallway. Luna sat against the right wall, her shoulders hunched as she stared at the floor, hugging a pillow.

"May I come in?" asked Shining, poking his head through the doorway. Luna nodded and moved to one side, giving him plenty of room to lie down, let alone sit next to her. Shining sat down and took a deep breath. "Is your stallion friend nearby?"

"I asked to be left to my thoughts," she replied. "As much a comfort as I find him, I feel like I'm just using him. On top of all of the events preceding what led here, I'm afraid he may leave me."

"Have you told him that?"

"I can't tell him that. It's like asking your spouse if they're cheating on you, or asking a depressed pony if they're harming themselves. It's a painful conversation, and you don't want to harm them any more than you already have."

Shining placed a hoof on her shoulder. "I know it hurts, but you have to talk to him about it. Relationships are built best on trust. I trust Cadance to look after your sister, I trust Twilight to look after Equestria and the Crystal Empire, and I trust you to push past this upset in your life. You're going to find a way forward. I know you will."

Luna nods and takes a deep breath. "Will you help me?"

"My loyalty is to Equestria and her citizens. I will stand beside you until I draw my final breath."

"I meant with my bandages." She shifted her wings and the blanket she was huddled under slipped off. After hearing of her legs rotting on her, he was expecting some kind of bandages on her hooves. He was not expecting them to run from her wrists all the way up to her shoulders before turning to her wings. Some of her feathers had fallen out, and he hadn't noticed until now that they had fallen to the floor and bench. Whatever this was, it would likely leave her forever changed.

He swallowed hard and slowly nodded. "You'll have to talk me through it. I don't know what I'm doing."

"I do," came a voice from the hallway. Cosmo stepped into view, a big smile on his face. "I'll gladly help you, princess."

"That'll be just fine," answered Luna, blushing slightly. "I actually have a few things to talk to you about, Cosmo."

Shining Armor's heart rate had spiked. He couldn't place it, but something about this stallion didn't seem right. He'd only met him this very moment, and had only heard good things about him thus far, but in this instant of seeing him, a cacophony of alarm bells were ringing in his head. His words, though sounding genuine and caring to his ears, felt as though they were laced with a poison, dripping from his mouth in anticipation of tasting his prey.

"I hope you don't mind if I watch," he managed to say through a fake smile. "Just in case. We wouldn't want our princess to end up even worse for wear, do we?"

Chapter the Twenty-Ninth: Scarring

After teatime, Cadance left Celestia to her stallion while she familiarized herself with the fort. She had enlisted the stallion who had been hiding his erection, as he had been relieved of duty within a minute of her exit, to show her around. He had lost his chub after about ten minutes, but by then had showed it to multiple other guards, and was quite embarrassed by the end.

"This is the-- was the map room. It's where you'll be sleeping, unless you have somewhere else you would rather sleep."

"I'm sure it'll be just fine," smiled Cadance. "I don't intend to be here for too terribly long. How long did you take to set it up?

As the door opened, she saw that not much had been done. It still looked like a map room, but with the far wall cleared and replaced with a queen-sized boxspring and mattress with a basic sheet set on top. A folded wool blanket and quilt sat at the foot of the bed as optional accoutrements. Several maps classified as high priority had been moved to a separate room, and the whole room had been cleaned.

"We were given the orders this morning to prepare a room for you in the event that you would be joining us. I can personally guarantee that the table was scrubbed clean early this morning. Do be careful of that table, though. It can leave splinters if you're not careful." The guard held up his right front hoof, and sure enough, there were a few very minor punctures. "I know it's not my place to tell you what to do, but I would recommend that you eat in the dining hall. You may be oggled by the guards, but I'd rather that than a trip to the infirmary."

"Couldn't we just replace the table?" asked Cadance.

"It's a really big table. It'd take a few weeks to build a new one."

Cadance looked over the table. It was huge. The bed she had at the Crystal Palace wasn't as big as this table, and it had been large enough and sturdy enough to support eight fully-grown ponies mid-orgy. The table being even larger than that meant that it would certainly be difficult to replace.

"Dining hall it is, then," she nodded. "Is that it for you tonight? Are you off duty?"

"Unfortunately, no," he said, looking up at a wall clock. "I have about five minutes left of my break, and then I'm off to scrub the toilets. After that, I shower, and then I can clock out for the night."

"You were a good sport today, letting me parade you around. Come back here after your shower, and I'll make it up to you."

The blush has mostly faded from his face during the tour, but now it was back in force. "I, uh..." the sound of flesh on flesh rang out beneath his abdomen. "I should go clean up those toilets really fast, huh?"

"And don't you dare rub one out in the shower," Cadance smirked. "Off you go, then."

As the guard bolted out the door, more excited than ever to handle a mop full of piss splatter, Cadance made her way back to Celestia's room. They'd made dinner plans to talk more after Celestia had cleaned up, but judging by the noises emanating from beyond the door, she hadn't stopped long enough to shower. The guard had confirmed it, as well, that this had been ongoing for the last two hours without stop.

Cadance returned half an hour later with a food cart, finding the room silent. Opening the door, she found Dip sitting on the edge of the bed. He looked up as she entered. "She's in the shower," he wheezed. "I think I need a break, and I think she needs some sleep. Please don't tell her I said that."

"I think you'll be needing this, too," chuckled Cadance, pouring him a tall glass of pineapple juice. "How do you stay up for so long without injury?"

"I don't know," he admitted. "It doesn't feel very good, though."

"I think you should go to the infirmary after dinner," nodded Cadance. "Just don't tell Celestia that was my idea."

Dip slipped his hoof across his lips as the water in the shower turned off. Seconds later, Celestia walked out with a towel around her head. "You want to go one more round before dinner?" she asked, using the wall as a guide to the wardrobe.

"No, we're half an hour late as it is," answered Cadance.

Celestia stopped and lowered the towel, glancing up at the clock. "That late already?"

"Time flies when you're on the cock," answered Cadance. "Temperance. I know what it's like to always be horny. It's hard, but you have to control yourself."

"Like you did when you were thirteen?" smirked Celestia.

"You mean like you do now?" snapped Cadance. "I overcame that. You have yet to."

"Fine," grunted Celestia. "Let's sit down and talk, then."

"You two go on without me," said Dip, his joints popping loudly as he hoisted himself up. "I'm all sticky. I'll be out soon."

As he disappeared into the private bathroom, Celestia tossed her towel aside. She'd had her hooves decorated with her shoes when Cadance had come by earlier, and until this exact moment, they'd been covered with the towel on her current visit. Now, fully exposed, Cadance could see the rash running up her legs from her wrist. Her hooves were very dark, with a boil growing on the back of her left hoof. As they climbed her legs, just past where her shoes has blocked the view, her milky white, creamy smooth skin was red and inflamed.

"What in Equestria did you do to your hooves?!" shouted Cadance. "How long has this been here?"

Celestia looked down at her hooves. Her eyes shot open as she stumbled backward, falling against the stone wall and sliding down to a sitting position. She muttered something illegible under her breath as Cadance approached.

"How long have they been like this?" she asked again, trying to remain calm. She was no use to her aunt if they were both in a panic. "It looks like what Luna has, but not as bad," she reasoned. "Were there any treatments that worked on her? If we act fast, we can slow it down quickly."

Celestia did not answer, just staring at her hooves.

Taking a deep breath in and out, Cadance steeled herself and threw open the door. "You!" she barked at the door guard. "Go fetch me the lead medic, the captain, four extra guards, a roll of parchment and a pen! On the double!"

"Yes, ma'am!" he saluted, running off down the hall as fast as his legs would take him.

Chapter the Thirtieth: Cold Shoulders

Shining had not dismissed his doubts of Cosmo. If anything, his gut was even more vocal about him. He still couldn't place it, even after spending the whole day watching him, but something was very very wrong with him. Shining was convinced that this earth pony stallion had something to do with Luna's condition and the fight with Celestia.

He even had a plausible argument in his favour. After gathering some history on him, he'd found that Cosmo had come out of nowhere right before Luna began to change, had been interacting with Luna quite often before the rash had begun, and had been the focal point between the royal sisters' argument. He even had a firsthoof point of reference, as he'd seen Luna's demeanor change as soon as he'd showed up.

What he was lacking was proof. He had no evidence that Cosmo had done anything, merely that he had been in convenient places at convenient times, and had plenty of unsupervised contact with Luna, perhaps even with Celestia. That was to end right away. Any time Luna was with Cosmo, Shining would either be in attendance, or have a trusted member of the guard tailing them, listening closely and watching.

To that end, he sat with them through dinner, having one of the guards bring the food from the kitchen. He didn't want Luna and Cosmo alone, but he was not about to trust Cosmo with his food, either. Not that he would say that out loud, as he still had his fake smile on, but he did manage to convince Luna to let him stay under the intent of seeing if there was anything between her and Cosmo that could help to rekindle her relationship with Celestia.

"So we've been over how the two of you met," nodded Shining, accepting the bowl of noodles he was given, "and we've looked at how you found yourselves attracted to each other. We've discussed the first time you went to bed together, and how Celestia acted when you first met. Now I want to hear about this incident that separated you."

"Well," began Cosmo, "I'd been away from Canterlot for about a week and a half, tending to my business. I had some positive cashflow, and wanted to expand my orchard to cover more ground with trees. Luna helped me see that I wasn't living up to my potential."

As Shining brought his noodles up to his mouth, he noticed that they had a strange smell, almost acrid. "Hold for a moment," he commanded, taking their food and smelling it. They seemed normal.

"Something wrong?" asked Luna.

Shining rifled through his bowl again. Something was very off, but he couldn't place it. If he were to guess, he might say it was poisoned, but with what, he couldn't tell. "I saw a maggot in my bowl," he lied. "I'm going to have the kitchens scrubbed, but I think we might want to go out to eat. Take in some fresh air and put my questions on hold until tomorrow. Sound good?"

Hearing that there was a possibility that there was a bug in her food, Luna pushed her plate of pan-fried greens away. "I like the idea of fresh air right now, actually."

"If you're sure," shrugged Cosmo, taking a single bite of his own noodles before setting it down. "I'm sure it was just a mistake."

Shining could swear that he saw Cosmo sneer as he passed. He wasn't sure how, but he had to wonder if Cosmo had just tried to poison his food. The smell was rancid, and had only appeared in his own bowl. That was no coincidence.

He took a deep breath as he followed the two of them. He'd been with them the whole time, and Cosmo was not a unicorn that could cast a spell on the kitchen equipment to add something to his meal. Perhaps he was being paranoid, but he couldn't help himself.

After lodging a complaint with the fort's commander, causing her to scramble the troops and scrub that kitchen clean for Luna's safety, the trio made their way into Ponigsburg, signing out at the front gate. The town was all lit up as ponies young and old rushed to eateries of all variety. It would be a difficult task finding a place that could seat three without forcing somepony else to vacate their table.

"Where do we want to go?" asked Luna. "I'm not picky."

"Pinto Grill?" suggested Shining. "Since we just had a scare from tainted food, how about something they prepare right in front of you?"

"Not a bad idea," smiled Luna. "Let's see if we can find a place."

Cosmo was ultimately the one who found a place that had three open seats. Unfortunately, they weren't right next to each other, and one of them needed to sit on the other side of the bar. While he would have liked for Cosmo to be the one gone from the group, Shining offered to eat separate. He did think that the seating arrangement was not really an issue, and that those seated probably wouldn't mind moving down one chair, but doing so might ruin his ruse of being amenable.

They sat down, and Luna and Cosmo immediately struck up a quiet conversation that Shining couldn't hear. They were whispering, and one of the ponies between them was a schoolfilly who was talking rather loudly about how she had just passed her spelling test, despite almost tripping on the word "grandmother." Not just to her parents, but to the friendly chef preparing her food. He didn't mind not being able to hear, though, because he could read Luna's lips. Meanwhile, he kept an eye on everything he could, watching everypony move, but paying the most attention to Luna and Cosmo.

"He's not so bad as that," mouthed Luna. "I promise, he's just concerned for my safety." They were talking about him. It seemed that Cosmo was suspicious of him, as well. "Well, sure, he could have been lying, but what if he wasn't? That meal was made with me in mind, and this is definitely safer. The chefs here weren't expecting us, after all."

"Are you ready to order?" asked the chef in front of Shining.

"Noodles," answered Shining curtly, not taking his eyes off Luna. "Something simple. Surprise me."

"If you really think so, we can always meet after dark," smiled Luna. "I know he likes to go to bed early. I've seen his dreams."

Shining sighed. This was not going to be easy for him.

Chapter the Thirty-Second: Remote Manipulation

On returning to the keep, Luna asked Shining for some alone time with Cosmo. While he had the authority to refuse, Shining had a lot of paperwork that needed to be filled out. He bade her good night and let her leave, but pulled aside a guard and gave him orders to sit in the next cell and listen to everything that happened and report back to him in the morning.

In the meantime, he had some orders to write. He made his way up to the room that had been prepared for him in haste. It wasn't much, barely more than the office he held as a captain. There was a large desk with a swivel chair, and a cot with a wool blanket off to the side. A placard on the desk designated him as "Advance Quarterly, Financial Administrator." With a chuckle, Shining pulled out a pen and some parchment and began writing.

Dearest Twilight,

I have arrived safely in Ponigsburg and met with Princess Luna and her paramour. After speaking with them both, I believe I know what is causing the princesses to fight with each other. I have no proof or any semblance of evidence, but I can't collect any from here.

I need your help, in a way that I know you will enjoy to no end: I need you to do research.

Specifically, I need to know where Cosmo came from. I know you said he just showed up out of nowhere, but I need you to find that nowhere. Any and all information you can dig up. Where was he born, where did he go to school, who sold or gave him the land for his orchard, stuff like that. Contact his family members, write out a warrant to search his home, et cetera.

I realize that this may be regarded as an invasion of privacy. I understand that he has a right to his privacy and that right should not be violated. However, as he is spending so much time with Luna, especially as his arrival marked her falling ill, this is a matter concerning her safety. I fear that he has done something to her that has caused this harm. I feel it in my bones.

You know I wouldn't be causing such a fuss about this if it wasn't important. I know that Princess Luna likes him and she seems to have a good relationship with him. I'm not trying to ruin her happiness or his. This isn't some petty dick measuring contest where I just want to prove that I'm superior to him. You know I'm not doing this just for the fun of it. I really do think he's dangerous.

Love you, Twily.
Shining Armor

After that, he wrote a quick message to his wife and to the lieutenant colonel he'd left in charge of the Crystal Empire, affirming his safe landing and an update on Luna's health. Sealing them up, he stepped out of the office and dropped them into the outgoing mail slot to be delivered. When he returned to his room, he locked the door and pressed a spare file cabinet against the knob. Even if anypony had a spare key, they would still have a hard time opening the door. Only then did he lie down on the cot and go to bed.

He woke up in the middle of the night to the sound of metal scraping against stone. Bolting upright, he saw the file cabinet being pushed away from the door, which somepony had tried to open. He immediately jumped to his hooves and drew his short sword, sliding the cabinet out of the way and throwing the door open. Nopony was there, but the sound of hooves disappearing down the hall drew him closer. Unfortunately, the hall was empty when he reached it, and he had no indication of which way the attempted intruder had fled.

The next morning, as Shining was about to go to breakfast, the door was unlocked from the outside again, and the sound of metal on stone echoed though the room. Shining prepared his weapon again as the fort commander stepped through with two guards in tow, as well as a small, bookish stallion who was visibly shaking. Immediately, Shining's gut coiled into a knot at seeing the stallion. Whatever was upsetting about Cosmo, this one had the same feel.

The commander looked at the cabinet in front of the door and the prince brandishing a short sword and lowered her head into one of her hooves. "This!" she shouted. "This is why I tell you arseholes to document everything!" Her horn lit up, and moments later, a whiteboard map flew through the door. "You told me, and confirmed, that Prince Shining Armor was on the third floor!" She waved around a signed statement that confirmed it. "Why is he sleeping down here?!"

"There must have been a mix-up," suggested one of the guards.

"Bullshit!" She sighed and shook her head. "I'll sort this out myself. You two, go!" At her command, the guards left the room, and the commander turned to Shining. "I'm sorry about this. You were supposed to be sleeping in a different room."

"I gathered," nodded Shining, sheathing his blade.

"I'm sorry if you were awoken last night," continued the commander. "Had I known you were in here, I never would have sent Vance in." She took a deep breath, then turned and glared at him. "But that does not excuse your behaviour. You may be a prince of Equestria, but I do not tolerate death threats against my staff."

Shining was shocked. "Death threats? I did no such thing. I would never."

The stallion held up a tape recorder and pressed play. "This is my office, though," came a voice through the speaker. "Can I just--"

"No!" shouted a recording of Shining's voice. "You're going to leave right now, or so help me I will send you to the gallows!"

"Death by gallows has been outlawed for decades. It was deemed too cruel."

"I am Prince Shining Armor of Equestria! How dare you tell me what I can and cannot do!" The sound of a door slamming ended the recording.

Shining took a deep breath. He no longer thought he was right; he knew it. Something fishy was going on, and he was dead set on finding out exactly what. "I see. I shall refrain from doing so again." He turned to the stallion. "My sincerest apologies. I was not myself last night."

"About last night," butted in the commander. "We scrubbed that kitchen ceiling to floor and found absolutely nothing. Furthermore, we checked your food and found it to be clean and free of all insects. Do you enjoy wasting our staff's time?"

Shining ushered the stallion out of the room and closed the door, soundproofing it. "What I'm about to say does not leave this room." He waited for a response, but after a few seconds of silence, he looked her right in the eye. "There was no bug."

"I knew it," she smirked. "You wanted us to scramble for no reason."

Shining shook his head. "I didn't want to cause a big panic in Luna, but I had to ensure that you searched that kitchen. My food was poisoned. Just mine. And I'm pretty sure I know who did it."

Chapter the Thirty-Third: Dipping Out

Cadance awoke the next morning feeling a bit cold. She was used to waking up surrounded by stallions and mares, but today, it was just her and the softly snoring stallion behind her. She smiled, rolled over and kissed his nose, stirring him from slumber. "Good morning, sleepyhead," she smiled, wrapping her hooves around his waist. "Sleep well?"

"I did," murmured the guard. "You were very comfortable."

"I certainly try to be," moaned Cadance, running a hoof down his sternum. "When does your shift start?"

"At ten," he answered. "I guard Celestia's door until six, then whatever else is on my schedule."

"We have time, then," smiled Cadance, glancing at the clock. With a deep kiss, she pushed him onto his back, rubbing his abdomen against her crotch. "What say we take care of something we neglected last night?" The guard nodded emphatically, his tip poking her lower back. As she leaned forward to line him up, they were startled by a knock at the door. "Hold that thought for just a moment," she smiled, standing up and moving to the door.

As the stallion covered himself to avoid punishment in the event that the visitor was his commanding officer, Cadance made her way to the door and pulled it open. Outside stood Dip, looking around. "Did I wake you?"

"Not really. I was already in the process of waking up. Was there something you needed?"

"I wanted to invite you to breakfast," smiled Dip. "Princess Celestia's still asleep, so I wanted the opportunity to talk to you alone. Rather, not alone, but without her listening." The smile faded from his face as he leaned in. "The door guards tell me she was acting a little strange last night."

"She was," nodded Cadance. "I would love to join you for breakfast. Give me half an hour to prepare, would you?"

"Certainly," answered Dip. "I'll be right here."

Cadance closed the door and returned to the bed. "Now, where were we?" She pulled back the covers and gently grasped his weakening erection. "Oh, yes. You were about to feel what it's like to be inside of a princess." Her words immediately reinforced his erection, bringing him back to full mast. With a chuckle, she raised herself up and pressed his tip against her pussy lips.

There was another knock at the door. Letting out a grunt of frustration, she disembarked him once more and made her way to the door. As she pulled it open, she was met with Dip again, who had a cart of food in front of him. "I thought it might be a lot faster if I just brought the food to you," he said. "It also makes it easier to ensure that our conversation is not overheard by prying ears."

Cadance pulled the cart into the room, but pushed Dip back into the hall. "That's fine, but you need to let me set up for the day, which I need to do on my own. I can't have you watching, now can I?"

"Oh, I don't mind."

"But I do. Now scoot." As she closed the door, she let out an exasperated sigh. "Are you still up for it?"

The guard looked to the door, then back to Cadance. He wasn't sure, but he was going to try. He gently stroked himself, trying to firm up again. He was ready by the time Cadance climbed on top of him. As she lined up and was about to slide him in, they both looked to the door, almost expecting another interruption. They froze for a few seconds, then turned back to each other. With a guide from her hoof, the tip slipped through her lips as she let out a satisfied breath.

There was another knock at the door. "Son of a bitch!" shouted Cadance. "All I wanted this morning was a good dicking to calm my nerves!" She stormed over to the door and threw it open. "What?!"

Dip held out a folding privacy curtain. "I found this in one of the closets. I thought it might help make you more comfortable if you knew I couldn't see you."

Without a word, Cadance yanked the partition inside and slammed the door. She sat down on the side of the bed, grabbed her pillow, and mashed it into her face, letting out an irritated growl.

The guard placed a hoof on her shoulder. "As much as I'd like to help you with your needs, I can't really handle the up and down, off and on stuff. I can come back tonight, if you're still interested."

Cadance lowered the pillow and rubbed her temples. "I appreciate it. I really do. And while I'm sure I'd benefit, I'm too aggravated to make a sound decision right now. Perhaps after I've eaten something, I can give you an answer, but right now, I'm a flustered mess."

Sliding up behind her, the guard began to rub her shoulders, just the way Shining always did. "My duty is to you, princess. If you are stressed, I can try to bring in a masseur, or something. Chocolates, perhaps?"

With a snort and smirk, she pulled him in and kissed him. "You're sweet. Come on back tonight, and we'll see just how far we can make it. How's that sound?"

"Hopefully, we can make it all the way, with no further interruptions."

"Hopefully."

After a few minutes of uninterrupted privacy, the guard picked up his shirt off the floor, leaving the bouquet on the table. After Cadance brushed her mane and tail, she opened the door and excused the guard, inviting Dip in with mild annoyance.

"I apologise for my incessant knocking," he said, setting out the meals on the table. "I'm just really worried about Celestia. I really want to know what happened. The guards aren't being descriptive, and they won't let me in without her permission or yours. What's going on?"

"I really can't tell you," answered Cadance, biting into her crumpet. There was a freshly-opened jar of spiced jelly, her personal favourite, that had a very tasty savoury blend. "We're still waiting for the results. We haven't even heard back from Luna's original physician."

As Dip watched Cadance take another bite of crumpet, he let out an irritated sigh. "So we don't know anything?"

"Nothing yet. That said, we could go down and check the mail after breakfast. It should be arriving any time now."

Dip's face lit up, and he immediately began scarfing down his meal. He was in a hurry, so Cadance would oblige him and hurry along, as well. The faster she made it to the postmaster, the better.

Chapter the Thirty-Fourth: Tampering

Shining and the fort commander stepped out of the room sneering at each other. The guards outside the door wondered if something had gone horribly wrong, but Vance was worried for a different reason. He could immediately tell that something wasn't right with this situation.

"I want you moved out of there and into your own room by noon," growled the commander, storming off.

"I don't plan to stick around for very long, anyway," growled Shining in response, taking off in the opposite direction. As soon as he was out of view, he smirked. The commander had come up with the idea to fake a beef with him to allow the two of them to investigate on their own, then disappear together behind a locked, soundproofed door to "fight" with each other. It was a clever move, one that Shining wished he had come up with.

Moving his room was easy. He'd taken his personal effects with him, all that needed to move was the cot, unless his new room was missing a writing desk. That was an imperative piece of equipment, especially since he needed to remain in contact with Twilight and Cadance.

Speaking of maintaining contact, he made his way to the post office and checked to see if his letter had left yet. To his utter shock, not only had it gone, but there was already a response from Twilight waiting for him. He knew she was fast, but this seemed a bit too convenient. He popped it open and made it halfway through the first paragraph before closing it.

To Prince Shining Armor of the Crystal Empire:

This is Princess Twilight Sparkle of Equestria speaking. While I appreciate your attempt to protect Princess Luna, there is absolutely nothing suspicious about Cosmic Crash. He is a normal, albeit ruggedly handsome, earth pony stallion. As per your request, I looked into his history. He was born to normal parents, went to a normal school, and has a normal job.

I sent you there to keep Luna safe, but if you can't do that, I'll have to find somepony who can. Put your arse in gear, or I will put it in the dungeon. This is a direct order: drop the investigation into Cosmo and let him go about his business.

Princess Twilight Sparkle of Equestria.

Whoever was behind this operation had made three things perfectly clear. One, they had never seen how he and Twilight spoke to each other, and had not taken the time to sift through the intricacies in the letter he'd sent to figure it out. Two, they were protecting Cosmo in a very barebones methodology, meaning that he was definitely guilty, and likely not the one who had written this, as he would have known the cover story he'd given to Luna, Twilight, Celestia and himself. The only reason to be vague was if they didn't know. Third and finally, they had no problem committing mail fraud, meaning they wanted to go to prison for a very, very long time. And who was he to say no to that?

He went to collect his breakfast. Down in the kitchen, he once again felt the intense aura that had radiated off of both Vance and Cosmo. Unfortunately, as it was already in the room when he arrived, he was unable to pinpoint it. He couldn't even tell if it was emanating from somepony's gaze on him, as all eyes fell on him the moment he entered the room. Several ponies had stood up to salute him, all of whom he put at ease.

Since he couldn't tell which of them was giving off the feeling of dread, he didn't want to risk his food being tampered with again. Grabbing an MRE from the storeroom, he walked out of the kitchen and made his way to a dining area to eat. It wasn't a very good meal, but it was safe to eat, which was good enough for him. A very crunchy barbecue scrambled eggs that was safe tasted better to him than a poisoned tiramisu.

After breakfast, he made his way down to the cell where the guard he had stationed to listen was hiding. He wasn't hiding particularly well, as stepping into the cell immediately revealed him, but he had a low enough profile that it was hard to see him from the hallway. In silence, Shining called him into a cell further away to give his report.

"So, they didn't say anything particularly noteworthy," reported the guard. "I think they're just trying to have a kid together."

"Really?"

"Yeah. They talked for a bit about how relieved they were to finally be alone, then another guy came in and told them that there was a problem. It was on paper, and the one Luna was with told the other to take care of it. Guy had a strange voice, too. Then you came in and had an argument with him, and you both left."

"Did I sound threatening?"

"You sounded like you were about to kill him, and he said that the prison cell was his office? I'm really confused about what's going on here."

Shining placed a hoof on the soldier's shoulder. "You're doing great. What happened next?"

"They had sex. Lots of sex. Like an hour and a half. And as they finished, he said something about being ready to do this again without needing protection. That's what lead me to believe that they're trying for a kid."

"I don't know if that's what's happening, but you did a good job. Actually, could you go report what you heard to the fort commander? Do that, and you can call it a day."

As the guard left the dungeon, Shining returned to Luna's cell. She and Cosmo had eaten their breakfast already, with the cart having gone by while Shining was discussing the night prior with the guard. "Good morning," he smiled, donning his façade. "Did the two of you sleep well last night?"

"Better than you did," answered Cosmo. "I heard you had a fight with somepony."

"Yeah, there was a mixup with the rooms," he chuckled. "I was accidentally told the wrong room. They had me sleeping in an office, rather than a bedroom."

"Perhaps you should move to one of these cells," nodded Cosmo. "You may find that the prison is far more comfortable than the alternative."

Chapter the Thirty-Fifth: Unnatural Attraction

Cadance and Dip made their way down to the postmaster in charge of Fort Phalanx. While the princesses could send correspondence back and forth in an instant, and Spike had an optional extra node on that network, everypony else was using the mail system to communicate long-distance. That included the royal physician, unless he took it to Twilight or Spike to send it. It's possible that, if he didn't want to risk sharing that information with them, for some reason, the postal system would take care of it.

Luckily, the report was in the mail, just waiting for her to pick it up. It was marked as urgent. It was also exceptionally heavy, indicating a lot of information about Luna's state leading up to the rash, the data from her samples, treatments given and their results, and peer-reviewed observations. Knowing that she was not trained in medicine, she went straight to the doctor to find out if he had learned anything about Celestia's condition. He'd had all night to look into it, he must have come up with something.

When they arrived, he was passed out on a half-written form at a lab table, with two vials in a centrifuge next to him. He snored softly, clearly in the middle of his sleep. While she wanted answers as soon as possible, she didn't want to overwork him. He was her only hope, after all.

Dip, however, didn't have that aversion. "Wake up!" he shouted, slamming his hoof down on the table. The doctor woke with such a jolt that he fell out of his chair, collapsing to the ground. Cadance bolted in the direction he was falling and barely managed to catch him by the shoulders before his head hit the ground.

"What was that for?!" shouted the doctor as Cadance helped him to his hooves. "Just shaking my shoulder would have worked just fine."

"We can't afford to waste time," said Dip, scowling. "Celestia could be dying, and you're down here napping instead of working on a cure!"

While Cadance found his words to be harsh and crude, she could not bring herself to chastise him for his actions. Perhaps it was her compassion shining through, or her desire to see Celestia recover, but she was somehow finding herself in agreement with Dip. Perhaps he truly loved her, and she was feeling that.

"While I can't agree with his methods of waking you, Dip has a point," she smiled, giving the doctor the file. "We need our princess back, and with your help, we can at least start off on the right hoof. I know you need your sleep, but since you're already up, can we have you compare Luna's notes with Celestia's? It would be a lot of help if you could. Pretty please?"

The doctor took a deep breath in, then yawned it back out. "I suppose I should, but I'll need to go to bed early tonight as a result. I'm the only physician here, and you don't want me falling asleep during surgery."

"Thank you, doctor," smiled Cadance, patting him on the shoulder and kissing his cheek. "You're a credit to your profession."

"And make it fast," warned Dip. "If you can't figure out what's wrong, we can't save her in time."

After Dip made his exit, Cadance excused herself to follow him. "Well, we've done all we can to save her," she sighed. "Nothing to do now but wait."

"I suppose that's all we can ask for," concluded Dip. "I suppose we should pass the time. Any suggestions?"

"How do you normally pass the time?"

"Anymore? Celestia climbs on top of me and uses my--"

"No, no," interrupted Cadance. "What did you do before that?"

"I swam a lot."

"Why don't you do that?"

"No pool."

Cadance put her hoof to her chin. It wouldn't do to let his glistening, well-toned muscles atrophy. All of these guards were doing something to keep in shape. She just had to find out how they were doing it. "Wait here." She galloped over to one of the guards, asked him a few questions, then came back. "I know exactly what we can do to pass the time."

Leading Dip down through the hallways, she took him to a gymnasium where a fair few off-duty guards were training. Weight sets, treadmills, exercise bikes, and all manner of other equipment Cadance couldn't name lined the walls and half-walls, most of them occupied by guards. There were a few still open, notably a resistance machine and a treadmill.

"If you don't have a preference, I should work on my cardio," reasoned Dip. "My stamina needs work."

"That's a real shame," smirked Cadance. "You would be better suited with more longevity."

Dip raised his eyebrow. "Was that... did you just flirt with me?"

"Maybe," she smirked. "What are you going to do about it?"

Dip smirked back. "I'm going to show you just what you're missing. Keep your eyes on this tail, and you'll see exactly what drew your aunt to me in the first place." He hopped on the treadmill and set off at a full gallop, not even taking the time to warm up. Cadance sat down on the resistance machine behind him and set it to something easy. If she was going to be watching him for awhile, she wanted to be able to make it seem as if she were actually working on something.

As she watched his tight arse expand and contract twice per second, she reflected on the morning so far, most notably her opinion of Dip, and how rapidly it had changed. She'd been so upset with him for interrupting her intercourse, but already she was thinking of dragging him back to her room to show him exactly what he had intruded upon. She'd made the same leap before with other stallions, but usually over the course of a week, not in the span of a single morning.

Well, no matter. He had a cute butt. She could almost see why Luna was hitting on Celestia's stallion, as she was guilty of the very same. If Cosmo had a similar charisma, she could potentially see herself competing with both of them for the right to both stallions. The difference was, she knew how to share.

Chapter the Thirty-Sixth: Broken Mask

Shining took a deep breath. He was keeping his cards close to his chest, hiding his emotions and putting out an external air of being helpful. On the inside, he was panicking. Cosmo had a strong grip on Luna, and as he conducted his investigation, he noted that she kept deferring to him whenever the question applied to both of them, inferring that he was the one making all of the decisions.

But there was something else that bothered Shining even more than having Luna deferring most of her answers, and that was the confidence with which Cosmo spoke today. Yesterday, he'd been very cautious, trying very hard to not give himself away. Now, he was behaving as if he was untouchable, as though he had read the fake note from Twilight. That, or he could sense his fear.

"Let us say that this illness is cured," continued Shining, genuinely still trying to stabilize the relationship between the princesses. "Let's say the rash goes away, the boils fade, and your skin returns to its unblemished state. If that happens, what happens then?"

"That's a very vague question," retorted Cosmo. "And she can't really answer it because of that. The method of being cured does matter, because it may indicate how she came to be diseased in the first place. All we know about the stallion that stabbed her with the knife before she started to change was that he had blue eyes. We've done all manner of tests. Unless you have information that we don't, I hardly think you're going to be the one to find a cure."

Shining locked eyes with Cosmo. He was a stallion with blue eyes and no history until he had inserted himself into Luna's life. As much as Shining wanted to accuse him now, he was willing to wait for the right moment. "As you have been involved in this for over a month, I'm certain that you know quite a bit more about this disease than I do," he reasoned, his piercing gaze visibly causing Cosmo to twitch, "but I'm catching up. Soon, I will have all of the information I need. Mark me, I will not stop until I find a solution, even if that solution comes from somepony else."

"You have blue eyes," spat back Cosmo. "How do we know that it wasn't you who stabbed her?" Luna's eyes shot open as she glanced from Cosmo to Shining. "You've elevated quite some distance, Prince Shining Armor. You were just a regular unicorn, once upon a time. Since then, you've become a military leader, then a pseudo-royal. That's quite a lust for power you have. How do we know you're not trying to usurp the Equestrian throne?"

Shining had an intense, white hot fury burning behind his smile and his cool, calculating eyes. "Aren't you also a stallion with blue eyes trying to become exceptionally close with one of the princesses of Equestria?" he asked, already knowing the answer. "In fact, let me rephrase that. Did you or did you not have intercourse with both of the longest-running princesses of Equestria?"

"That's not a fair statement!" shouted Cosmo. "They invited me into their beds. That was entirely their idea. I just went along with it. Are you prepared to tell me that if two beautiful mares invited you for sex, you would decline?"

"I'm quite prepared to tell you that I would not," answered Shining. "In fact, I'm prepared to tell you that the mare I'm currently with would not become jealous that I was seeing somepony else on the side, nor would she start a fight over which of them would go in which order. More importantly, your refusal to answer whether or not you even remotely look like the most basic description of the guilty party is very telling. I was trying to relay to you that a great many stallions have blue eyes. Based on a census taken two years ago, if you and I are the only stallions with blue eyes, we can count on Equestria's population to be... about fifty ponies total."

Cosmo narrowed his eyes. "Just what is it you're accusing me of?"

"Deflecting," answered Shining. "I am saying that you were very quick to accuse me with the most basic of evidence."

"You were accusing me!"

"I don't throw around baseless speculation," smirked Shining. "I'll only accuse you of a crime if I'm sure you're guilty. An innocent stallion needs not fear me. Unless, that is, you have something you wish to confess?"

The cell fell silent as the two stallions stared daggers at each other. Shining's emotions had run up and down all over him today, and it was still morning. However, despite his exhaustion, he was beginning to see through Cosmo's defenses. Whatever he was hiding, it would be out in the open very soon, and he would have a better chance of helping Luna.

"Let's move on to the next question," said Luna, breaking the silence. "Or even better, let's take a break. It's obvious that there's still a lot of tension between the two of you, so let's break for tea."

"A splendid idea," smiled Cosmo. "You two wait here. I'll go fetch it."

As Cosmo left the room, he whispered something to the guard at the door, whom Shining had not felt anything from. He could not help but wonder if this was evidence of some sort of conspiracy, but when the guard turned and stepped through the door, he just looked confused. Confused was a good sign; it meant that he wasn't in on the plan, and was just a normal, likely trustworthy, royal guard.

"Now, princess, I wan--" Shining's appeal was immediately cut off by the guard. "What's wrong?"

"I was asked by the other guy to not let you two discuss things until he came back."

"With all due respect, specialist, I believe that it is the princess who decides that."

The guard, unsure of what to do and just trying to follow his instructions, turned to Luna. "Your orders, princess?"

Luna took a deep breath and pursed her lips. "I suppose there's nothing truly stopping our conversation. As you said, Shining, we are the royalty, and we give the orders. If we wanted to, we could carry on a whole conversation. However, Cosmo should be right back, and it would be disrespectful to do so. I think we should wait. What's the worst that could happen?"

"I could hazard a few guesses," huffed Shining under his breath.

Chapter the Thirty-Seventh: Open Invitation

The great thing about cocks was that they came in all variety of shapes, sizes and colours. Sometimes, they matched the colour of the stallion's coat, acting as an extension of his body. Other times, they were their own colour, acting as a point of contrast against the stallion's belly. Others still were multi-tonal, either with a mild gradient or a straight line, often around the medial ridge.

And that was just colour. There was so much variety to be found in the shape. Certainly, stallions judged each other based on length, whereas mares were more concerned with the girth, but nopony ever talked openly about the curvature. Some were tapered down to the tip, usually considered slender, others became wider in the middle. Some curved up, some curved down, and most of them were twisted a small turn to the left.

Then there was something that most ponies didn't have a wide interpretation of. Only those who had actively sought out a wide array had an appreciation for the taste. While many would call out the taste of the semen, each cock had its own flavour independent of what came out of it. The base flavour was a very rich taste, with a slightly salty finish, but depending on activity, soap use, and any damages to the skin, the more subtle distinctions would shine through. Bitter spots where there used to be blemishes, spicy spots where there were friction burns, and a practised tongue could even tell you what kind of herbal soap the stallion used to wash his genitals.

All of this was to say that Cadance was absolutely certain that she knew how Dip would perform this afternoon. He had the core strength, the stamina, and a quick shower and meal after his workout would have him refreshed and rejuvenated enough for a romp. She felt a little bit guilty about stealing her Aunt's toy, but she had a good reason in mind. If Celestia could share with her, she would have no problem sharing with Luna.

As soon as Dip stepped off the treadmill, Cadance let go of the resistance machine, letting the tension bars retract. "That certainly was something to behold," she smiled, swatting his flank. "You remind me of this one athlete from a few years ago. He was a swimmer, too. He taught me a few things about swimming, though not enough to pass his class."

"A shame you failed. Nopony likes retaking courses."

"Who says I had to retake the course?" she chuckled. "I didn't fail the course, I just had to find a less conventional way to convince him to let me through."

"Oh?"

"Yeah. I just let him cum on my breasts."

The whole room suddenly fell silent and all eyes fell on the duo. A fair few of the guards were fully aware of Cadance's proclivities and fun-loving side, but none of them had been expecting her to just come out and say something so lewd out in the open.

Dip swallowed hard as he turned around. "And then you reported him, right?"

"Why would I do that?" asked Cadance, walking right past him. "We had an agreement. I would let him fire a hot load of jizz on my tits, and he would sign my completion paperwork. I had what I wanted, he had what he wanted, and there was nothing more to it."

"But what if he took advantage of another mare?" reasoned Dip. "You could be held accountable."

"What happened between he and I was legal, consensual, enjoyable and entirely my idea," noted Cadance. "With the exception of not being a proficient swimmer at the time, a fact which has changed since, it was all on the up-and-up. If he has taken advantage of a mare, she should come forward and say so. I'm not going to pretend that everypony should do what I did. But I will not condemn them just for that. Now come along, you smell like perspiration."

Cadance led Dip to the shower room attached to the gym. There was only one. While Equestria had both mare and stallion soldiers, they were typically stationed at different locations unless they had requested otherwise and been similarly approved by the fort commander or relevant authority. This would prevent mares and stallions from needing separate showers, separate barracks, and all manner of other things. Not needing to build more rooms with more fixtures meant the forts could be just as effective at a smaller size. That's why it was a shock to some of the soldiers that Cadance had entered. Given that it was Cadance, they weren't too shocked, but it was still a surprise.

"Take this," commanded Cadance, giving Dip a bar of soap. "It's honey and clove scented. And flavoured."

Dip looked at the bar. "Why would I eat it? It's soap."

"It's not for you to eat," smirked Cadance. "It's for whoever tastes you next."

"So, Celestia?"

"Perhaps. Perhaps not." Cadance moved under a showerhead and turned on the water, saturating herself before pulling out another bar of soap. "This one's spearmint and lavender. It's a special treat for the next stallion to taste me. Or mare, but probably a stallion."

Dip shrugged and turned on his own showerhead next to her. As he began to lather up, he noticed that she was watching him. "What is it?"

"Just making sure you don't miss anything important," she smirked. "Just make sure you go nice and slow. We don't want to rush things."

Dip just nodded and started soaping up. He started with his head, washing his face and mane and then rinsing to allow him to see the rest of the process. Then his neck and shoulders, then his barrel and front legs. When he reached his hips, he felt a hoof on his thigh. He turned, and noticed Cadance right next to him.

"You were a good boy, going slow for me, but now that I'm done, I can help you finish up here."

"I'm sure it would be no problem," he blushed. "You don't have to trouble yourself."

"No trouble at all," moaned Cadance, wrapping herself around his waist. "I don't at all mind helping you out."

Using a soft rag to absorb a bit of his soap, she began to lather his flank. Rather than simply using her magic, she was very hooves-on, rubbing every muscle, massaging deep into his thighs, quickly running over his tail and ankles, then coming up to rinse.

As Dip moved to turn the water off, she stopped him. "Ah, ah. You missed a spot."

"Really? Where?"

Cadance didn't tell him where. She didn't need to. She just lathered up the rag once more, and after running it twice along his arsehole, she began to scrub his balls.

Chapter the Thirty-Eighth: The Final Straw

The moment Cosmo was back in the room, Shining could smell that something was off. The same acrid, burnt smell that had been emanating from his food was now piping out of the tea kettle. It wasn't quite as strong, but he could still detect it out of the other aromas that were meant to cover it up.

"What kind of tea did you choose?" asked Shining. "So many choices out there, it's hard to make a decision sometimes."

"I don't do the whole 'premade' thing," replied Cosmo. "Anypony who drinks tea regularly knows that the only way to do it right is to blend your own herbs. Do you not do that, Prince Shining Armor?"

Shining chuckled. He did handle his own blends, usually in big batches every two months or so at a local tea shop in the Crystal Empire. It was a normal thing to do, no matter your class, as it didn't take much to combine dried leaves and hot water. The fact that it was seen as fancy was fallacious.

"I actually trust my herbalist," he admitted. "She's been brewing tea longer than I've been alive. I tell her what I want from my brew, and she uses her expertise to come up with something I would like. She's never disappointed me yet."

"You should give it a try," smiled Cosmo. "It's very rewarding. Picking your own flavours means it's never a shock, and you eliminate the need to rely on somepony else for your tea. Sometimes, ponies go missing."

"And what flavours did you choose for this particular kettle? I'm detecting already mulberry and rosemary."

"An astute observation. There's a few other flavours in there as well; all tasty stuff." Cosmo poured three cups, passing one to Luna first. Before he could say anything, Shining saw her take a big swallow. If Cosmo had been trying to poison him, he'd probably have gone about it slowly, which meant that whatever she was drinking down was slow acting, which likely accounted for why she was still alive. It would likely cause his body to fester and rot away like hers. He would not be held down like that.

As Cosmo handed him his teacup, their hooves grazed against each other. Cosmo's hoof felt... wrong. Like part of it was missing. It looked like everything was right where it was supposed to be, with firm callouses from hard work. It looked that way, but it didn't feel the same. It felt hard and hairless, as if his entire hoof had been coated in resin. More accurately, it felt like there was hoof everywhere, even where there should have been flesh.

"You look frightened," leered Cosmo, taking a sip. "Something wrong?"

"Just thinking to myself," nodded Shining, trying to keep his face firm. He didn't intend to let his fear shine through, and had thought that he had done a good job hiding it, but if he could read his emotions so easily, there was nothing for it. "So much information from the both of you these last two days. It's a lot to take in, and I was just taking a moment to reflect on it all."

"What part has you so on edge?"

Shining leaned back and looked up at the ceiling. He couldn't answer that question honestly. Instead, he picked the third most concerning thing. "I'm worried about Celestia and Luna not being able to make up with each other."

"We want to make up," stated Luna. "It would be best if we were once again together."

"I disagree," said Cosmo. "I think it's best if you stay apart for the time being."

"Of course, you're right," muttered Luna, once again deferring to his choice. "But perhaps eventually?"

"Perhaps. I don't want to be caught in the middle of the two of you again."

"Okay."

There it was. This was what Shining was so upset about. Cosmo was actively controlling Luna in front of him, when it should have been the other way around. Certainly, he knew how important it was to keep your private affairs and professional business separate, and even knew that mares that were quiet and submissive on the job could very easily tie him to the bed and whip him until he begged to be fucked with a strap-on. It was reasonable to guess that Luna, a ruling body of authority, could be sexually into being told what to do, but this was a step too far. She needed to be able to find a middle ground with Celestia.

"Perhaps right away," suggested Shining. "No stallions between you, just a few mares to make sure that you don't fight?"

Luna's eyes opened wide, and for a moment, Shining could see joy on her face. "We could do that."

"No, we can't," retorted Cosmo. "It's too early. They were separated to recover from what's been taking their minds apart. If we joined them together right now, you'd just cause them to drift even further apart. I will not let you make them hate each other!"

All of the rapturous happiness that had flooded Luna's face at the thought of seeing her sister again suddenly drained away. She looked down at the floor and folded her front legs, like a filly being told she couldn't have cake on her birthday. "If you think that's best."

Shining couldn't believe what he was seeing. This was not a fun bedroom dynamic or a codependent relationship. Luna was a puppet being controlled by Cosmo. "That's not your decision to make. It's hers."

"You weren't there," growled Cosmo in response. "You didn't see what happened."

"Keeping them apart will not heal their relationship," scowled Shining. "They need to work this out, and as soon as Luna's ready to go, I'm going to arrange it."

"Good luck convincing the princesses not to fight with each other," barked Cosmo. "They're going to come to blows again, mark my words!"

"Not if I have anything to say about it!"

"What, you're going to convince them not to fight? You can't even convince your own sister to let you investigate me!" The room fell silent as Cosmo and Shining glared at each other. After a minute, Cosmo smirked and began clapping slowly. "Almost. I was so close. You just had to press, didn't you?" He took a deep breath and chuckled. "Perhaps I have been sloppy. Oh, well. No matter now."

He kicked the door shut, letting the lock fall into place. The guard outside the door looked down at the lock and, realizing that he didn't have the key, ran off to the front office. As he was no longer around, Cosmo jumped to his hooves, and dropped his disguise. After a quick smirk, he shifted once more, taking the form of Shining Armor himself. "I will not let you harm Princess Luna any further, you foul creature!"

Chapter the Thirty-Ninth: Under the Skin

Cadance flopped down on the bed and pulled her back legs open. A second later, Dip climbed up on top of her and pressed his lips to hers. She immediately sucked his tongue into her mouth and tried to swallow it, digging her own into his. Running her hooves all over his body, she squeezed his muscles and felt their tone. She was usually horny, but for the fifth time in her life, it had become overwhelming. But unlike the previous times, when any dick would do, for some reason, she only wanted him this time. Not even an entourage of half a dozen stallions. Him and him alone.

As he began to press against her opening, he found that he couldn't enter. He was hard and she had opened up for him, but she was dripping everywhere, and far too slippery for her own good. No matter how little resistance she had, it was still more than zero, meaning that her discharge would always try to redirect him into the open air. The flared head of his cock was simply too wide to slip into her.

With a practised set of hooves, Cadance directed him in. While she was exceptionally eager to begin, hundreds of stallions had experienced issues of similar nature with her. Some had been nervous or excited, and were shaking too much to establish a connection. Some were overzealous, and kept slipping out because they pulled back too hard and tried to reenter with every thrust. Others still were having second thoughts, and while she did not push them into unions they were not comfortable with, she did her best to be a comfort to them, and to calm their nerves. Then, there were situations like this, where the two could not find purchase due to too much lubrication. All manner of things could lead to the same result, but she had never chastised them. Some stallions needed help, and that was okay.

A wave of satisfaction rippled through her body, emanating from inside her vagina. It was a familiar feeling, one she'd felt countless times before. She had just had her first orgasm of the session, just from his insertion. To experience it this early was very odd, though. It had happened only once before, on her wedding night with Shining.

She quickly dismissed the thought as Dip began to move. Who cared if she came early? She was a mare, and thus had no refractory. She was ready to go in the next instant, with no downtime. She'd known a few stallions that hadn't even made it all the way in before firing off, and they had been very apologetic and tried very hard to make the second round count.

When he had pulled back almost to the collar, Dip slammed back in. Cadance was slick enough, loose enough and deep enough that he could very easily go all the way in, his balls making a wet slap as they slammed against her arsehole. He pulled back and drove in again, once more hilting her with an audible clap. He begins to pick up speed, working himself into a steady rhythm.

For the first time, their lips separated. As Cadance moaned loudly in pleasure, her voice echoed down the halls through the still-open door, alerting everypony to what was going on. After a few minutes, some of the more curious guards poked their heads in to watch. With no hesitation, she waved them in and conjured a bench for them to sit on and watch from a better viewpoint. She was no stranger to exhibitionism. As they filtered in, though, Dip began to slow down.

"What are you doing?" asked Cadance, gripping his hips with her hooves. "Don't quit on me, now."

Dip looked nervously at the audience. "Do they have to watch?"

"You have nothing to be ashamed of," assured Cadance. "They want to watch because you're a legend to them. Such a handsome stud that he nailed two princesses. Almost three, even. Every one of them wishes they were you right now."

Several of the guards nodded enthusiastically, whether it was true or not. For those who were lying, they just wanted to see what was so special about Dip, likely so that they could compare notes and have a better chance with mares of their own. A few, however, just shrugged. They weren't here to see Dip or wish they were him. They were either here to watch Cadance's body, or call dibs on the next round.

"See? They're here to support you. Now show them what a real athlete's body is capable of."

Dip closed his eyes and focused on his efforts, but every time he looked back to his audience, he slowed. It always seemed to happen just as Cadance was nearing her next climax, only to have it torn away by his performance anxiety. This was not something he was comfortable with, and in an effort to finally let him finish, she excused the guards from the room. The results were immediate as soon as Dip heard the door close, and he began to pound his hips hard against hers, soon cumming inside of her.

The filling sent her over the edge, waves of pleasure crashing over her body. While she could normally recover from these better than most and be walking around in minutes, these were insanely powerful, and she felt herself drifting away, as if she was going to sleep.

But she wasn't going to sleep. She was internally aware of everything around her, but unable to act on anything. She tried to raise her hoof to his shoulder, but it wouldn't move. She considered that she had succumbed to exhaustion and that her body just needed to rest, but then she saw her other hoof move to caress his face.

In that moment, she knew that something was wrong; that something was acting on her behalf. Her body was moving, but her mind was unable to pick her actions. This was quite a shock to her, but not wholly terrible. Whatever was influencing her didn't seem to have a lot of control, as her intent was being carried out, regardless. She reasoned that as soon as she had her energy back, she would regain control.

She watched as Dip clasped her hoof in his, and looking at it, he smiled. Something about that smile didn't sit right with her. Something about it seemed malicious. This was doubly so because the hoof he was smiling at had some webbed bruising, not dissimilar from Luna's compactions. "Looks like you're already started," he chuckled. "It won't be long before you're just a baby factory for the queen."

Then something happened that she did not intend. She opened her mouth and uttered a sentence she did not mean to say. "I live to serve my mistress."

Chapter the Fortieth: Gleaming Shield

Shining Armor did not dare draw his shortsword. As big as the cell was, it was still very small. It was made to hold a maximum capacity of two, and there were currently three ponies in there. It was cramped enough with that many bodies that every swing would need a fine amount of control not to hit Luna.

Luckily, he didn't need to fight that hard. If he stalled for long enough, the guard would come back with the keys, and probably reinforcements. They would see two of him and immediately his claim that the other was a changeling would be called into question. Of course, that would mean he would be subject to investigation, as well, but that was okay. Luna would be safer, and that was what mattered.

"Cosmo" threw the first punch. While Shining was able to duck out of the way and avoid the blow, he immediately felt his back against the wall. There was no room to maneuver. When the next blow came, there was no dodging, and he had to block it. As he deflected his own hoof, he could feel every crack and crevice in the changeling flesh. It was astounding to him that Luna hadn't felt it. It was hard and scratchy, and had scraped off a bit of his epidermis with the impact.

It was time to go on the offensive. Backed against the wall, he had no room, but if he swung a few hooves, he would either knock this changeling out or cause him to back up a few steps. Either case was good for him. He focused on low swings. They may have been easier blocks, but the only way to dodge them was backward, and after a few swipes at the air, Shining had taken two steps forward.

He suddenly switched up his maneuver and threw a quick jab, smashing his hoof right into the changeling's nose, earning him a third step forward as his foe stumbled back. It was a critical blow in Shining's favour.

He jabbed again, but this time was not so lucky, as a simple duck to the side was enough to avoid the blow. Before he could retract, Shining was hit by a rogue swing colliding with his ribcage. The off-center blow was something he was not prepared for, and forced him to stumble to the left and recenter himself.

He had more forward and backward maneuverability in this position. The cell was deeper than it was wide, but he considered his new position to be just as narrow. His current stance put him between the changeling and Luna, and that was a good position to be in. He just had to hold his ground.

That proved fairly easy, as he could stay on the offensive, throwing his hooves and then pulling back into a guard position. He would not allow the changeling to sidestep him this time. He was unwilling to dodge, though, as he would not give any ground. He had to block or redirect any blows.

As the changeling swung a particularly wide hook, Shining grabbed him by the wrist and pulled him to the ground. Not wanting to miss this advantage, Shining followed him down, rolling him onto his chest and pinning his arms behind his back. Shining could feel the fluttering of the invisible wings against his thighs as the changeling struggled to break his grip.

"I knew from the moment we met that you were trouble," huffed Shining. "What say we make this easy and you return to normal?"

"What say I don't?" grunted Cercus, struggling just enough to ensure that Shining had to focus on him. "I don't give up so easy as that."

"Give up?" grunted Shining. "Just admit that you lost. You'll be found out soon enough, just make it faster and less strenuous on your part, and you won't suffer as long."

"I haven't lost yet..."

As Shining cocked his head to the side, he felt a sharp sting in his back. He turned, and standing behind him was Luna, a small, curved knife in her right hoof and a clear bottle of thick, green liquid in her left. A bit of green and red fluid dripped from the blade. Just where his halfplate gave way to flesh, there was a trickle of blood.

Immediately, Shining began to grow faint. After a few seconds, as the world around him began to spin, Cercus wrenched a leg free and managed to toss Shining to the ground and pin him down just as Luna wiped the knife clean and hid the bottle. "Did I do good?" she asked.

"Very good, my pet. Now keep quiet."

As the guard came back with a key, Shining found that he could not move. He was tied up, but more than that, he couldn't speak. When the door opened and seven guards came in, he couldn't say anything to defend himself. A muscle paralyzer had stopped his voluntary movement. He felt sluggish, and for a moment, he wondered if his heart would fail, but if it did, there was nothing he could do to stop it.

"This is a changeling," informed Cercus. "He was impersonating Luna's stallion companion, and after I caught him, he turned into me to fool you."

"How do we know it's not you that's impersonating him?" asked one of the guards. "What if you're the one trying to fool us?"

Shining felt a burst of pride. He had known that the guards would take them both in for investigation, and only he, being an actual unicorn, would pass scrutiny. A letter to Cadance telling her to come and decide would even be able to yield immediate results. However, his mood changed to immediate dread.

"I saw the transformations," said Luna. "The one on the ground is the changeling, and Shining Armor was very brave in tying him down."

With that, his fate was sealed. Having Princess Luna as an eyewitness could, and likely would, put a stop to the investigation. He desperately hoped that somepony, anypony, would run the tests and find out the truth, but as he was carried up the stairs and loaded into a carriage with the changeling impersonating him, he could feel that the carriage driver was also a changeling. He was being carted off to who knows where, by creatures that intended to devour him.

"I hope you're comfortable," smiled Cercus, kicking him in the gut. "I told you that I hadn't lost yet. I had plenty of room left. Sure, I'll have to keep away from Luna for a few days while you're in transition, but it'll all be worth it when you're serving me breakfast."

Chapter the Forty-First: Solitude

There was a knock at the door that drew Twilight away from her task. In the hopes that it was a messenger with good news, she bolted to the door and threw it open. "Spike?"

"I know what you're planning," he said, brushing past her and walking in. He had a backpack absolutely loaded with gear. "I'm not going to let you do this alone. I'm coming with you."

"No, Spike, you're staying here."

"Fat chance of that. Come on, Twilight. You know two pairs of eyes are more likely to find something important. Take me along and I guarantee we'll find them twice as fast. That's an argument grounded in science and logic."

"This also requires that we not be caught," argued Twilight. "Whatever's happened to the three princesses and my brother, it's powerful. Strong enough to take down three alicorns and one of the most hardy unicorns to ever walk Equestria. The only hope we have is if I'm not caught, and if it manages to take you, too, I'd never forgive myself."

"And you think I could? If you fall victim to it, you'll need all the help you can muster. I'm not letting you go alone!"

Twilight took a deep breath, sat down on her bed, and patted the mattress next to her. Spike immediately dropped his bag and climbed up next to her. "I know you want to help, Spike," she began. "I know that this whole thing is just as damaging to you as it is to me. The princesses are like family to me. Shining is family to me. And so are you." She wrapped a leg around his shoulders and gave him a small squeeze. "I know they would be just as happy to see you out there trying to find them. They'd appreciate the effort, I would appreciate the effort, but the reverse is true, too. They would want to know that you're safe."

"They'd want you to be safe, too. You're the only princess left."

"I know. This wasn't an easy decision, and I have no idea if it's the right one."

Spike began to tear up. "I don't want to lose you, too," he said, his voice cracking. "What if you don't come back?"

Twilight took a deep breath and pulled Spike into a tight hug. Her hooves were shaking as she gently rubbed his back. "I made you a promise, Spike. I swore I would never send you away. I promised that we would always have each other, and that we would always come to each other's aid. I would give up my wings, my horn, my crown, and all the books I own to have you beside me for this. But I will not put you in danger like that. I don't want to risk losing you, either."

The two sat in silence for a few minutes, trying desperately to come up with some other solution, hoping against hope that a guard would poke a head through the door and deliver news of the princess' whereabouts, but no news came.

"So, what do you propose I do?" asked Spike. "If I can't come with you, I outright refuse to sit around with my thumb up my arse doing nothing."

"Spike! Language!" scolded Twilight.

"What do you expect?" grumbled Spike. "This is a terrible situation, and I'm really upset. You're off to who knows where to fight some unknown force that overpowered the most powerful beings we know. You could die. You can't expect me to not be upset."

Twilight sighed. "I guess you're right. I do actually have something that you can help with while I'm gone. However, I need you to keep your language clean to do it. Can I count on you?"

Spike leaped to his claws, clapped his heels together, and saluted. "You can always depend on me. I will never let you down."

"Good." Twilight jumped to the floor and continued packing. "Equestria is going to need leadership. If I'm not here, then somepony else needs to lead."

"And you want me to find a suitable replacement?"

Twilight shook her head. "You are my replacement. I can think of no creature more trustworthy and capable than my number one assistant. You've been by my side from the beginning, and therefore you're privy to a lot of the information I hold. Nopony else do I trust as much as you."

Spike's jaw dropped. How could he respond to that? She trusted him enough to look after all of Equestria and the Crystal Empire, a task she had needed multiple aides to pull off. "H-how long do you think you'll b-be... gone?"

"Only as long as I need to be. I don't have specifics, but the moment I have any leads to work from, I'll be back. Why don't you start by familiarizing yourself with some of the advisors?"

"Yes, ma'am." Grabbing a paper bag from his discarded backpack, Spike began taking deep breaths. He didn't feel ready for this, but if Twilight was putting all of her faith in him, he wasn't allowed to fail.

The next morning, as Twilight was on her way out, she stopped by the throne room to see how Spike was doing. As she approached the throne, she saw him talking with the minister of justice, whom he dismissed when he saw Twilight approaching.

"You didn't think I would leave without a hug, did you?" she smiled, extending a leg.

Spike ran up and hugged her. "I was really hoping you would stop in before leaving. I have something to give you, to help keep you safe on your journey."

Twilight raised her eyebrows. She hadn't expected him to do this, let alone so quickly. He snapped his claws and a door at the end of the room swung open. Through it walked Pinkie, Rarity, Applejack, and Fluttershy. Rainbow bolted through the air, skidding to a stop next to Twilight. All of them were equipped with saddlebags for the journey.

"Spike, I told you this required stealth. I can't endanger their lives."

"Nice try, Twilight," snapped Rainbow, looping her elbow around her neck. "But we're not going to let you do this alone. You're way too squishy and fragi-- whoa!"

Applejack had yanked Rainbows tail and pulled her to the ground. "She's just worried about you bein' hurt, Twi. We all are, frankly. You're not much of a fighter. You need somepony who can take a lickin' and keep on tickin'."

"Somepony who can keep you ready to keep going even when the going turns tough," added Pinkie.

"If this is meant to be a stealthy mission, you stand out like a sore thumb," smiled Rarity, plopping a camouflage hat over Twilight's head.

"And if it is the work of some creature, well..." Fluttershy scratched the back of her neck. "You don't exactly have the best track record of convincing animals to help you, is all."

"You won't let me help you," sighed Spike. "If I can't be there to make sure you're alright, then I have to send somepony to watch your back. We all want you to make it back safe. Let us try, would you?"

Twilight's eyes welled up with tears. "My friends." She took a deep breath and hugged Spike tightly. "Thanks, Spike. I don't know what I'd do without you." She turned to her friends and waved her hoof. "Let's go."

"Bring her back safe!" called Spike as they left. He had his orders, which he would follow, but there was something else he'd come up with for while Twilight was away. He was going to look over the reports and do some research to find out if there was anything Twilight would need. Even if he couldn't be by her side, he was still going to find a way to aid her.

Chapter the Forty-Second: Long Road

Rainbow grunted in frustration. "This is gonna take forever if we keep going so slow. Can't we go any faster?"

Twilight shook her head. "All we know for certain is that the princesses both took this path. We don't know where they diverged other than beyond the line of sight, which is most of the path. We have to first find the point where they went off the road, then follow them from there. We have to be meticulous."

"Every detail matters," agreed Rarity. "As much as I would love to have this over and done with as quickly as possible, this is a task in which missing a vital detail early on could cost us in the long run. A stitch in time saves nine, as it were."

"We're not sewing together a poncho, we're looking for the princesses," retorted Applejack. "What Twilight means is 'measure twice, cut once.'"

"But that doesn't make any sense," huffed Pinkie. "You're supposed to measure all the ingredients, not just two. And you really should cut the cake into more than two pieces. That's a lot of calories."

"Yeah, right," chuckled Rainbow. "Like you would know how to count calories."

"Hey!"

"We've all seen you eat a cake whole, Pink," agreed Applejack. "How you can stomach that much sugar is beyond me."

"Um, girls?" muttered Fluttershy, a fair few steps behind the group.

"Now's not the time to be fighting," grunted Twilight. "Especially not so loud. If it was some kind of creature that spirited the princesses away, we'll never sneak up on it like this."

"Then we should be making more noise!" shouted Rainbow. "We draw it out of hiding and force it to tell us where the princesses are!"

"If'n you're right, I'd be right behind ya," agreed Applejack. "But what if it were bandits? They'd hear us comin' and know we're lookin'. All they'd hafta do is hide from us and we'd miss 'em."

"We don't know what happened to them, that's the point," argued Rarity. "It's no use speculating, we just need to follow the trail and look for clues."

"Actually, we're--" started Fluttershy.

"That's not even counting the fact that they could be just fine," smiled Pinkie. "Always with the negativity. We haven't even considered the fact that they might have just walked away."

"They wouldn't just walk away," dismissed Twilight. "The princesses wouldn't just abandon Equestria like that."

"Well, not normally," agreed Rarity, "but consider that Luna and Celestia haven't been themselves. If you consider their bizarre behaviour, the two of them might have run off in a fit. I think that, following such an event, Cadance and Shining Armor would do their utmost to ensure their safety. Doesn't that sound more likely than 'they all just went crazy and ran off?'"

Twilight sighed and hung her head. "At this point, I'd be happy just to know that they're safe. It's agony, thinking they might be hurt, or worse. Any indication that they're alright would be so soothing right now."

"At least we know we're goin' the right way," smiled Applejack, putting a hoof on Twilight's shoulder.

"No, we're not," called Fluttershy from the back. Everypony stopped and turned around to look at her, causing her to shrink down. "At least, I'm pretty sure we're not."

"What makes ya think that, Sugarcube?"

Fluttershy turned to one side. Sitting atop her shoulders was a very large crow, its feathers glistening blue in the afternoon sun. As it cawed, Fluttershy translated. "He said that a few days ago, he saw Celestia's carriage come through with Cadance pulling it." The crow cawed again and pecked at the back of her head. "Excuse me, an ornate white carriage with a royal seal on the door pulled by a pink alicorn with purple wingtips and a tiara. My mistake. Anyway, it turned left at the fork rather than going straight forward."

"And how do we know that he saw it?" scowled Rainbow, flying down to look him in the eye. "He might just be saying that to knock us off course."

The crow bit Rainbow's nose and flew up into a nearby tree, stopping at a nest that was filled with his own feathers, along with a few other belongings. The nest had a perfect view of the fork in the road.

Rainbow flew up to the nest and pointed her hoof at the crow. "You win this round, but if we have to come back here, it's going to be ugly." The crow simply bit her hoof, staring at her until she flew back to the others. "So what's the plan? Are we splitting up?"

Twilight took a deep breath. "Do you think he's a trustworthy source, Fluttershy?"

"I do," she nodded. "If anything, I think he exactly described Celestia's carriage and Cadance pulling it, and the guards at Fort Phalanx said that was how they left. If he is lying, he's really, really good at making things up that align with recorded truth. It would either be a really impressive lie or a simple truth."

"Occam's razor," nodded Twilight. "It would make more sense that he saw it. They were supposed to pass by here, regardless. Does he know anything about Luna's carriage?"

"No. At least, he didn't say anything."

"It might not have made it this far," sighed Applejack. "If it did pass this way, it probably would have been spotted from the fort, and they didn't see nothin'."

"At any rate, we don't know whether or not they did go off course, but we do know that the guards that were sent after them didn't find anything," reasoned Rarity. "It stands to reason that if the guards couldn't find anything, they may have been looking in the wrong spot. At the very least, it couldn't hurt to check."

"No, I suppose not," smiled Twilight. "Okay, then. Onwards we go."

Backtracking to the intersection, the group took the new path as indicated by the crow. While the path they had been taking opened up into flat prairie, their new path took them into a woodland with tall trees all around. It wasn't the darkest place, but it was certainly a path less often traveled, more cut off from the heavier traffic of the main road. While this road could have led to Ponigsburg, it was a less direct path. They would need to keep their eyes peeled and their wits about them.

Chapter the Forty-Third: Tensions Arise

When Twilight awoke the next morning, Applejack had already relit the campfire and was cooking up breakfast with Rainbow, chatting quietly amongst themselves. Pinkie was snoring audibly from inside the tent she'd shared with Applejack, with the tent flap gently swaying along with her breath. Fluttershy and Rarity's tent was silent.

"Good morning," groaned Twilight, pulling herself out of the tent she'd shared with Rainbow. Groggily, she wobbled over to the fire and took a seat. "Sleep well?"

"Like a log," beamed Applejack, still in a bit of a hushed tone so as not to wake the others. "You?"

"I think I had a twig in my back," grunted Twilight. "Camping without a ground cover was a bad idea."

"I told you we should have slept in the clouds," shrugged Rainbow. "Much more comfortable."

"You also said it would be cold," huffed Twilight. "I don't want to be cold, but I also don't want to sleep with a rock as my pillow."

"Have ya considered using a bedroll?"

Twilight slowly turned to face Applejack. "I was using a sleeping bag."

Applejack smirked and shook her head. She grabbed Rainbow's hoof and slapped a wooden spatula into her grip. "Don't let it burn," she said, tilting her head toward the cast-iron skillet over the fire where some chopped up potatoes were sizzling. She stood up and dipped into her tent, coming out a moment later with a large blocky pad, being careful to keep the balloons Pinkie had inflated to make the night more fun from floating away. "This here's a bedroll. I have an extra, so don't worry about takin' this one. Ya put it under your sleeping bag and it protects ya from the ground. Anything small won't be a problem, so just find a flat enough spot."

Twilight looked over the folding frame. It looked like the bottom of an egg carton. "You're sure it won't be a problem if I take one?"

"The other one's a really old one, a deer hide. This new one's synthetic, and it seems ta work just fine. I was testin' it out last night, ta see if it would serve as a good replacement."

"And?"

"I think I prefer the old way, ta be honest."

Twilight nodded and tucked the block into her tent. She'd pack it up with the rest of her gear when they left. She came back to see Applejack scolding Rainbow as the potatoes were beginning to burn. She quickly dumped in some chopped-up onions, as well, along with a bit of salt.

Soon, breakfast was ready to come off the fire. As soon as it did, Applejack replaced it with a metal kettle full of water. Not wanting anypony to miss out on breakfast, as they wouldn't stop to eat again until nightfall, Twilight decided to start with Pinkie. Moving into the tent, careful not to let the balloons out, she gently shook her awake. "Pinkie? Pinkie? It's time for breakfast."

Pinkie lifted her head and shook her mane into the right amount of poofiness. "Can we do pancakes with whipped cream?"

"No, but Applejack made some skillet potatoes that smell delicious."

Pinkie sighed. "Oh, well. There's always tomorrow."

As Pinkie began packing away her balloons and streamers, Twilight made her way to the last tent. "Fluttershy? Rarity? Are you up yet?" Hearing no answer, she assumed that they were still asleep and poked her head in. What she saw was not what she expected.

"Fluttershy and Rarity are missing," she said, returning to the center of camp. "They're not in their tent. They're gone."

"I'm on it!" called Rainbow, bolting into the air and flying around in wide circles.

"They probably didn't wander too far," reasoned Applejack. "Fluttershy, perhaps, if she was sidetracked by some ornery varmint, but Rarity wouldn't venture too far out into the wild on her own. And I reckon that if they're not close by, It's more likely 'n not that they're together."

As if on cue, Rainbow dove down into the trees and came out with Rarity in tow, dropping her at camp before wordlessly dashing back into the sky to find Fluttershy.

"There's one," smiled Applejack. "Fluttershy'll probably be close. Best eat up now, before it all turns cold on us."

"Where did you go, Rarity?" asked Twilight. "We were worried about you."

"Not that worried," argued Applejack. "We didn't know you were gone until a minute ago."

"If you must know," huffed Rarity, "I had to visit the little fillies' room. Since there is no actual room, I thought to just find a secluded spot, but these squirrels kept chasing me from place to place and watching me. Such reprehensible behaviour."

"Was Fluttershy with you?"

"If she was, she could have convinced the squirrels to look somewhere else."

"So you don't know where she is?"

"She was gone when I woke up. I guessed that she was availing herself of all of this woodland to solve the same issue. By your line of questioning, I would now guess that she has yet to return."

"I still think she's off fraternizin' with some critter. I choose to believe that she's askin' the birds and squirrels and lizards and stuff if they seen any fancy wheeled boxes bein' pulled by a pink alicorn," smirked Applejack, pulling the kettle off the fire. "Who wants coffee, and who wants tea?"

"Coffee!!" shouted Pinkie, bouncing up and down.

"Just tea," smiled Rarity.

"Tea's fine," nodded Twilight.

Applejack added tea leaves to two cups and coffee grounds to two others, all strained through a filter, and poured the boiling water over the top. The filters were biodegradable, so they could just be chucked into the ash pit when they cleaned up camp with no repercussions. Two cups remained for when Rainbow returned with Fluttershy. Before giving Pinkie hers, though, Applejack had to put a hoof on her shoulder and make her promise not to bounce. It was, after all, boiling temperature water. With her assurance, they all took their cups and began eating breakfast. As Applejack suggested, it wasn't more than a few minutes before Rainbow returned with Fluttershy.

"Good news," smiled Rainbow, fixing herself a cup of coffee. "Tell 'em what you heard, Fluttershy."

"I spent the sunrise chatting with an eagle," she began. "Such a nice young thing. She was raised in the area and is very interested in--"

"Yeah, yeah, just cut to the chase, already."

"She saw the princess's carriage pass this way. She watched it for awhile, but lost interest and decided to hunt something more appetizing. Setting out the way we were going, it's left, left, right, and after that, we'll have to start guessing again, but we at least know where to start."

"See, Twi?" smiled Applejack. "I told ya she was cavortin' with critters."

Chapter the Forty-Fourth: Inadequate

The day had gone about as expected, but with a few drawbacks. Fluttershy seemed to have a harder time chattering with the animals than usual, either being unable to draw their attention or unable to stop their gossiping. It wasn't a simple as asking if they'd seen the carriage and receiving an answer. They either didn't want to talk to her, or would not stop talking after revealing the correct direction. Usually, Fluttershy had a firm handle on the situation, but now, not so much. She could not control the local animals, either attesting to their unfriendliness or general apathy. Fluttershy couldn't explain the change in behaviour, but they were at least able to determine which direction they were supposed to be going.

Further problems arose when they set up their camp for the night. Due to improper storage, Applejack and Pinkie's tent had rolled aside and dragged along the ground, wearing a bit of a hole into it. Normally, this would have been a problem, but for the fact that Rarity was there. Having a skilled seamstress nearby should have resulted in a swift and painless patch job.

Alas, the carefully constructed plans of mice and mares often go awry. Despite her wealth of experience and expertly packed equipment, Rarity was having a hard time sewing the patch onto the tent. Twilight hadn't seen so many pricks in one hoof since she accidentally stumbled upon Cadance's personal erotic photo album. Fluttershy wasn't much help, either, despite her knowledge on the subject of sewing.

"D'y'all think there was somethin' off about them two today?" whispered Applejack, specifically addressing the other three. "Their behaviour this mornin' was a little weird."

"It's not nice to talk about ponies behind their backs," pouted Pinkie, "but yeah, something seems different about them."

"You don't seriously think they had something to do with the princesses' disappearances, do you?" scowled Rainbow. "Fluttershy wouldn't even think of doing something that dangerous, and Rarity wouldn't want her precious reputation to be tarnished. They're not behind this."

"What if they're imposter's though?" questioned Twilight. "That would explain their shift in abilities."

Applejack shook her head. "I ain't sayin' they're different ponies, I'm just thinkin' that p'r'aps they're feelin' a mite too stressed, is all. While I appreciate them puttin' forth the effort, I can't help but wonder if this upset has grabbed ahold of 'em in a bad way."

"Oh," smiled Pinkie. "If it's a morale boost you needed, I'm totally on it! I'll swap places with Fluttershy tonight, and make sure Rarity is treated to the restful sleep she deserves."

"I'll swap with Applejack, then," added Rainbow. "No offense, AJ, but Fluttershy requires a light touch. You're not exactly known for being particularly gentle."

"I'm gentle as a lamb," retorted Applejack. "I been raisin' animals of all varities for decades. Me 'n Fluttershy have a rapport."

"And I've been her best friend since flight school," replied Rainbow. "We slept right next to each other back then, and we can do the same thing now."

"You're both close friends with her," sighed Twilight. "I don't care which of you comforts her. I just want her to feel better. The sooner we can find the princesses and go back home, the sooner we can all return to normal. Just make a decision."

Looking each other in the eye, Rainbow and Applejack threw themselves on the ground and grasped each other's hooves. with a countdown from three, courtesy of Pinkie Pie, they immediately began grunting, their elbows digging holes in the dirt as their bodies tried to wrench the other's wrist to the ground.

Pinkie stayed to watch and judge the winner while Twilight made her way to the other two. The patch was slow going, but almost done. "How's it coming along?"

"Just about finished," smiled Rarity. "I have the hang of this, now."

"Now? You're a seamstress. You make dresses."

"Yes, but the material here is very different than what I'm used to. How often, really, am I stitching two slats of glue-soaked polyester onto a wax-infused canvas using leatherworking tools?"

"By lanternlight, no less," added Fluttershy.

"Why didn't you just use your horn?" asked Twilight.

"I needed to devote my full attention to the stitching. Rest assured, dear, Pinkie will be completely safe from the elements if it rains tonight."

"Well, she would have been, anyway. We were talking by the fire, and we think that there should be a few switches in the sleeping arrangements. Pinkie's moving to your tent, Rarity."

"And Applejack's moving to yours?" she smiled. "Perish the thought. There will be no need to reshuffle everypony, as we have all of the tents. See?" Putting away her sewing supplies in her kit, she displayed the patch, with the stitching becoming more uniform the further it went around the edge. "We can have it in place in five minutes, before Rainbow and Applejack finish their competition for... whatever it is they're fighting over."

"Right," sighed Twilight. "We're reshuffling anyway. It's just to calm everypony's nerves. Pinkie will be with you, and Fluttershy is to stay with one of them. Whichever one wins, I'm guessing."

"And whoever loses is sharing your tent," nodded Fluttershy. "Do you have a preference?"

"Not really, no. How about you?"

"Between them, I was kind of hoping for Rainbow," admitted Fluttershy, blushing. "There's more of a history there than with Applejack, though not by much."

Nodding, Twilight returned to the others, still struggling against each other. "Okay, girls, time for an announcement."

"Make it quick," grunted Rainbow. "I'm winning!"

"Like hay, you are!" growled Applejack back. "You're goin' down!"

"There's hardly been any movement," whispered Pinkie. "Turns out they're pretty evenly matched." As they struggled, Rainbow suddenly rolled twice over, kicking up a large chunk of dirt and grunting as her body slammed against the ground. "Applejack wins!" cried Pinkie, bouncing up and down.

"That was an unfair victory," grunted Rainbow.

"Look at it this way," grunted Applejack, picking her up. "The way I see it, ya didn't lose. It weren't your hoof that gave out, but the ground. Consider us square."

"Then who--" wheezed Rainbow, turning into a cough as the sudden shift in elevation coupled with the impact caused her to lose her breath and stumble.

"I'll share with Rainbow," said Fluttershy, pitching the patched tent. "I know you wanted to compete over it, but I'd rather we didn't fight."

"I agree," nodded Twilight. "Let's all settle down for the night and rest. We need to resume our work in the morning, so... Good night."

Chapter the Forty-Fifth: Uneasy

Twilight was awoken the next morning by a blast of cold air washing across her body. The sudden cold caused her so much discomfort that she shivered, pulling her sleeping bag tighter around her to no avail. As she sat upright to see the source, she noticed that Applejack was gone, and the tent flap was half open.

Poking her head out, she could see that it wasn't yet time to raise the sun. Applejack was over the firepit, mucking about with some of last night's unused firewood. A few sparks kicked up, and the camp began to glow softly as the fire started.

"Starting breakfast?" groaned Twilight, hobbling over.

"Did I wake ya?"

"Yeah."

Applejack scratched the back of her neck. "Sorry 'bout that. If ya want, you can go on back to bed. It'll be a bit before breakfast is ready."

Twilight waved her hoof. "I'm already up. Pinkie said something yesterday about pancakes. Can we do that for her?"

Applejack looked at her stock of ingredients. "If she's okay with nonfat dairy solids instead of milk, I suppose. Not as good, but we didn't really bring a cow with us on this excursion."

Twilight sat down next to the fire and extended her hooves toward it. "I guess that means no whipped cream."

"I'll make her some brown sugar syrup. Pretty sure that'll make her happy enough."

After a few more minutes by the fire, Applejack pulled a few of the logs out to serve as coals, over which she would cook breakfast. Her cast iron grill from last night, flipped over, was a large griddle that would do a fantastic job of making pancakes. She also pulled out a mixing bowl and several dry ingredients, along with water and eggs. "Ya know, If Pinkie had said somethin' about pancakes yesterday, I'd'a made her a bannoch."

"She did say it yesterday."

"Not to me."

"Well, better late than never."

As Applejack began mixing up the dry ingredients, Twilight looked into the fire. They'd been out here for two full days, now, and were about to start their third. Even if they weren't going very fast, they were way off the original path. The way they were going, they'd need to do some serious backtracking to end up at Ponigsburg. The only thing keeping her from calling off this whole thing and returning to examine the original road more closely were her trust in her friends, and the fact that the princesses had yet to be found.

Applejack quietly hummed a tune as she poured little puddles of thick batter onto the griddle. As they quietly opened up across the hot metal, Twilight smiled. She had to remember to thank Spike for this when she made it back to Canterlot. Had she been out here on her own, she wouldn't even have made it this far, much less had the expanded cuisine. Fruit leather was fine, but it was nothing compared to the hazelnut apple butter it was made from.

After raising the sun, Twilight went to wake up Fluttershy and Rainbow. Fluttershy was once again missing, but Rainbow seemed well-rested, and recovered from last night's incident. "Morning already?"

"I figured you'd be up by now," smiled Twilight. "I take it you're feeling better?"

"Yeah." Rainbow stretched out and popped her various joints. "Just needed to rest for a bit and my back was all fixed up."

"Really?"

"Well, don't tell anypony," she whispered, "but Fluttershy gave me a massage last night that really helped."

"Where is she, anyway?"

"She said something about going to find a bird or something. Probably planning out our next move. Like yesterday. She'll be back by the time breakfast is ready."

"Breakfast is ready."

With a soft chuckle, Rainbow followed Twilight out of the tent and into the main clearing. As she sat down, Pinkie and Rarity made their way out of the tent. Pinkie's hair was especially poofy this morning. "And the longer you leave them in, the more they'll try to hold their form," smiled Rarity. "They were all the rage a few decades ago."

"I can't believe that it does my mane while I'm sleeping!" giggled Pinkie. "That's so coo-- PANCAKES!!" In a flash of pink, Pinkie zipped over to Applejack with her plate and fork at the ready, her eyes wide as saucers as the first two flopped onto it, only to be smothered seconds later in brown sugar syrup.

"Now then," sighed Applejack, turning to the others. "How are we feelin' today?"

"Much better than yesterday," smiled Rarity. "I know I wasn't quite myself, but now I am. Just feeling a bit of pressure, which has since been alleviated."

"I'm feeling better, too," smiled Fluttershy landing nearby. "It took so much effort to glean anything from the locals yesterday. This morning, a badger gave me some spectacular news. Well, not so spectacular for him, but great for us, and he wasn't hurt, just scared."

"What'd he say?" asked Rainbow.

"A little over a week ago, he saw a dark blue carriage pulled by a big white unicorn headed that way." She pointed southwest, the direction they were going. "The very next day, he was almost run over by an identical carriage, but white, pulled by a pink alicorn. Both Luna and Celestia came this way, and we're still following their path."

"That is spectacular news!" smiled Twilight. "We may not be catching up, but at least we know we're going the right way."

"Unfortunately," continued Fluttershy, "I was unable to discern whether or not they made any turns, as the badger didn't follow them. They aren't known to be the fastest runners, especially compared to ponies. He actually didn't think anything of it until I asked."

"You did great, Fluttershy," smiled Twilight. "Even if you didn't find all the information, we know more now than we did an hour ago. Presuming that your badger friend is accurate, we should be on the right path."

She couldn't be relieved completely; not yet. She would not let herself stop until she found out what happened. But knowing she was making progress was a comfort she would allow herself to feel. She knew all too well that it was too soon to start celebrating, but having a lead that she could follow was a source of hope. That was enough to keep her moving.

Chapter the Forty-Sixth: The Last One to Fall

Twilight had to wonder if she was actually the one going crazy. If she was going loony, she wouldn't be able to tell because she was going mental. What if the princesses were fine, and she went off on this insane quest because she had made it up? What if Spike was in on it? Even worse, what if she had been misinforming Spike so he would think something was wrong, but it was really just her own mind? What if she'd lied to her friends to convince them to go on this bizzare adventure just to placate her own imaginings? What if she wasn't even a princess and had just gone crazy from reading too many books years ago?

Seeing her whipping herself into a panic, Applejack placed a hoof on her shoulder. "You overthinkin' things again, Sugarcube?"

Twilight took a deep breath. "You'd tell me if this whole mess was just made up by me, right?"

Applejack looked up to the clouds above. "Pretty sure I would, if I could tell. Did ya make it all up?"

Twilight shook her head. "I don't think I did, but... Maybe I'm wrong."

"I don't think you'd make this up," she assured. "If ya did make it all up, ya did a dern fine job. Ya convinced all these animals to lie to Fluttershy, convinced all the guards at the castle to lie to Equestria, and had the newspapers print very convincin' lies. If your goal was ta pull the wool over my eyes, congratulations. I truly do think something went horribly wrong. But if you're tellin' us the truth, then all the evidence is agreein' with ya. And I find that it's easy to believe a claim with evidentiary support."

Twilight took a deep breath. "Are you sure?"

"Sure as the day is long. But I will admit that I, too, have been noticing some weird behaviour as of late." She leaned in close and whispered, "You're talkin' 'bout Rainbow, right? She seems lazier today, if that's even possible."

Twilight also looked up. Rainbow had, previously, thought to cover a wider area, and in response to the slower movement of everypony else, had flown in wide circles overhead for a repeating scan of the area. Today, she hovered just over the ground, with her eyes mostly on her hushed conversation with Pinkie, going just as slow as the rest of them. Certainly, she'd injured herself last night, but if she was in too much pain to fly overhead, she shouldn't be flying low to the ground, either.

And Pinkies change in behaviour, while not as drastic or strange, was still troubling. While it was normal for Pinkie to walk, she was inclined to bounce and skip, as well. Perhaps this was not as strange as one might guess, but as Twilight was actively worrying about her friends acting weird, this was a red flag. A small one, but still noticeable.

"It feels awful, accusing your friends of not taking your worries seriously. I don't want to believe that they're taking this lackadaisically, but I can't help it. I just want everypony to be back home and safe. Is that so much to ask?"

"I don't think so," smiled Applejack. "That's what we all want, and what we're all tryin' ta do."

Twilight nodded, lightly weeping. "Thanks, Applejack. You truly are one of the most dependable ponies I know. I'm sorry for leaning on you so heavily for this."

"Oh, stop," she chuckled. "What are friends for, anyhow?"

Twilight was awoken from her nightmare that night by pained shouts and fleshy impacts. She rushed out of the tent she shared with Applejack only to find her in the middle of the camp, illuminated by the creatures she was fighting, whose bodies seemed to have an otherworldly glow.

"Back, you devils!" shouted AJ, bucking one in the chest while trying to hold onto one she'd lassoed. One was already hogtied next to Rarity and Pinkie's tent, likely a quick job from AJ.

Twilight dashed to Rainbow And Fluttershy's tent. AJ couldn't last forever. Either Rainbow would help her smack them down, or Fluttershy would help her convince them to leave. Both were good options.

Unfortunately, the tent was empty when she threw the flaps open. Rainbow and Fluttershy's sleeping bags had been thrown open from the inside, and were still warm, meaning they'd left in a hurry, and recently. While Fluttershy might have rushed off to hide, Rainbow would likely have stayed and helped Applejack.

Turning back to the action, Twilight cast a bright light over the site, illuminating everything so she could see. "Where's Rainbow?!" she called to Applejack.

"Tied up by the tent!" called Applejack in response. With more light on her, Twilight could see that Applejack was not winning. She was only just holding her ground against the three creatures that had jumped her, and not doing a particularly good job. She had a few cuts, and more than a few bruises. But it was the bite marks that really showed her struggle.

A quick glance at the figure Applejack had indicated told Twilight everything she needed to know. The body tied up next to the tent was not Rainbow Dash, at least not right now. It was a changeling. The other three fighting Applejack, also changelings, lightly luminesced in the moonlight. Those were the sources for the strange behaviour of Pinkie, Rarity, and Fluttershy. The only one of her friends to remain constant during this was Applejack, and now she saw why.

As she prepared a spell to blast the changelings off of AJ, a hard blow landed against her back, dropping her to the ground. Whatever it was pinned her wings to the ground, grabbed ahold of her mane, and pressed something sharp and cold against her neck, likely a knife.

"Surrender!" came a changeling voice from behind her. "Drop your hooves and your last remaining princess lives! Keep fighting, and she may find out what the afterlife is like."

Two of the changelings took a step back from Applejack, the third unable to as she'd latched her leg around its neck.

"Let him go, and your precious pony princess is preserved."

Applejack narrowed her eyes. "How do I know you won't just plunge the knife in as soon as I do?"

The changeling behind Twilight chuckled. "What say we both kill our hostages? Equestria loses a princess, and the hive loses a single guard." His grip tightened, and a small trickle of blood ran down the blade of the knife. "We can recoup our losses. You cannot."

Applejack paused for a moment. "If I let him go, can you promise she'll go free?"

"I can."

Taking a deep breath, Applejack released her grip and the changeling scurried away, allowing the other two to approach her and tie her up with her own lasso. "I released your friend. Now, release mine."

"I said I would," chuckled the changeling. "But unlike you, I'm good at lying."

Twilight felt a hard low to the back of her head, and the world turned black.

Chapter the Forty-Seventh: Welcome to the Hive

Twilight's head was throbbing when next she woke. As she tried to move, she found that all of her joints were stiff, and as she opened her eyes, the dull grey-green light illuminated the room and told her that what had happened last night was not a dream.

"Hello?" she called out. Her voice was dry and scratchy, but it didn't echo off the walls as expected. When no immediate answer came, she tried to sit up. Other than stiffness and pain in her joints making her sluggish, there was nothing restraining her, something she found to be very odd. If she was their prisoner, shouldn't she be tied up or something?

She pushed herself up to a standing position. The walls were made of white bricks, the ceiling a collection of woven roots bound together under tension. She had been in a bed, which, despite the lack of a blanket, was very soft. The only other furniture in the room was a plush-looking chair with what looked to be a plush green fabric over it. At the far end of the room, there was an archway, leading out into what looked to be a hallway. There wasn't even a door, just an archway.

She wasn't looking this gift horse in the mouth. She was unrestrained, unguarded and uninterested in staying any longer. Her biggest hangup was that her friends and the princesses were still here. However, not knowing where they were, loitering around here was excessively dangerous. She'd rendezvous with Spike and lead the combined ranks of Equestria and her allies down onto this changeling hive and rescue them later. On her own, she didn't stand a chance. She would have to come back for them. They just had to hold out until she could.

As she reached the doorway, a pair of bidents crossed in front of her, barring her exit. Two armoured changelings held those bidents, blocking the door nonchalantly. They didn't seem to be particularly active, and likely wouldn't be unless she did something drastic. She tried to duck under the bidents, but they just moved along with her. She ducked even lower, then suddenly jumped, leaping over the shafts.

As she turned to sprint away, she suddenly found herself pinned to the wall by one of them, with the other walking over. The two of them grabbed her by the wings and dragged her back to her room, tossing her to the floor. "Why didn't you say anything?!" she scolded. They didn't answer, just disappeared from the doorframe, probably just taking their places in the hallway.

On closer inspection, what she'd thought was carpet was actually just moss. It was very springy and soft. The same material covered the chair. Come to think of it, the brick wall she'd collided with felt soft, too. Walking over to her own, she pressed her hoof against it. While not as hard and brittle as the clay bricks she was used to, they were still incredibly sturdy.

"Is she awake yet?" came a voice from outside the door.

"She tried to run off," confirmed one of the guards. "Are you ready for her now?"

Twilight turned toward the door and lowered her head. The moment the changeling here to collect her entered, she'd blast him with a spell and run. This time, she knew she'd be tackled, and that gave her the advantage. She knew right where to dodge.

As the changeling entered, a smug grin on his face, she fired. Rather, she grunted. No spell came out. She tried again, and still nothing. The third time wasn't the charm, either. She couldn't cast her spells.

"That's really cute," smiled the changeling. "Good for you, still trying to fight back. Your brother would be so proud."

Realizing that her spells wouldn't work, Twilight charged at him. If her horn couldn't cast spells, it was still pointy enough to hurt. Just as she was coming close, he spat something from his own horn that bound her front hooves together, tripping her.

"Feisty, feisty. And so very violent. I thought for sure that you'd try to talk your way out of this, first. You're clearly in over your head."

"I already tried talking," Twilight snarled, picking herself back up as best she could. "Your guards wouldn't speak."

"They were ordered not to," smiled the changeling. "Now, are you going to behave yourself, or do we need to bind your hooves and wings?"

Twilight narrowed her eyes. She didn't want to just drop to her knees and give them everything they wanted, but she was at their mercy. If she tried to run now, she'd never make it out. She sat back and held up her stuck-together hooves. "Are you going to let me go if I cooperate?"

With a chuckle, he severed the bindings that held her hooves together. "Now, I know you have some questions, like 'where are my friends?' and 'where are the princesses?' and 'how do I defeat you all and bust out of here with them?' All fair questions to have. Two of them, you'll even have answers to by the end of the day, if you're lucky. As for escape, if you do manage it, you'll just be captured and brought back. Any further questions that aren't going to be answered on the tour?"

"What tour?"

"I'm to show you around the place as soon as I deem you well enough. I do now dub thee well enough to walk around with my aid."

"How can I possibly know what answers are going to be given on the tour?"

The changeling clapped his hooves together. "You've won! You've come up with a question that I have no answer for! You're free to go!"

"R-really?"

"No!" he cackled slyly. "Ask your questions. Or don't. I'm only obligated to give you certain answers, anyway."

"Then why even bother giving me the option?" she spat, slumping down. "If you're allowed to refuse my questions, what's the point of asking?"

Without missing a beat, the changeling asked, "How many stallions have you had anal sex with in the past month?"

"I'm not answering that!" Twilight shouted, disgusted.

"Why not?"

"Because that's information only I need to know!"

"But I am allowed to know 'why not.' That's why you're allowed questions. Some of them have answers you can be given. I'm allowed to tell you the time, what you'll be having for lunch, my name, and a few other, marginally consequential things."

Twilight stood up and made her way to the door. "I think I'll save my questions for after the tour. Let's be on our way, changeling."

The changeling smirked and made his way into the hallway, keeping his eye on her at all times. "It's Cercus, by the way."

Chapter the Forty-Eighth: New Home

"How did you find your room?" asked Cercus, tethering her to his body with a chest harness.

"I woke up, and there I was," answered Twilight. "It's not as though I went looking for it."

"You know what I meant."

"Considering it's nothing more than a prison cell, I would call it tight and restrictive."

Cercus chuckled as he began pulling her down the hallway. Not wanting to cause the line to go tight, Twilight followed closely. What was most important right now was that she acted as though she was willing to cooperate. It would be easier to plan an escape after seeing the place, and knowing right where her friends would be, along with the princesses. She would be given a wealth of information on this tour, and she had to remember all of it.

As they reached the end of the corridor, the line went taut. Twilight had stopped to take in the view, and, having not seen much of it due to excursions, Cercus decided to join her in gazing.

The main chamber was huge. Despite being lit exclusively by bioluminescent mushrooms, Twilight could see the whole way up to the ceiling, which was taller than the highest tower in Canterlot Castle. It was a circular room, widest at what she guessed was the central floor, then tapering down at the top and bottom. At the center was a massive pillar, with a wide stairwell surrounding it. Large bridges extended from the pillar to the walls, supported by arches that covered the bridges beneath them, which were supported by arches beneath them. One could see right through the wall of bridges, and truly take in the massive scale of the place.

"Not bad for a few months' work," smiled Cercus, placing a gnarled hoof on Twilight's shoulder. She pulled away and gave him a dirty look. "I know, I know. We're all disgusting bugs that can't have possibly created something so beautiful as this. Or perhaps not so beautiful. Just look at those evil buttresses; those sinister collumns; that horrifying stairwell of doom. It's all so frightening, is it not?"

Twilight didn't speak for a moment. Both sides of his statement were true. As beautiful as it was, it was still her prison, and she could not feel that it was as grand as she had initially thought. Without that context, she would have loved spending time here. "Just... Don't touch me."

"As the princess commands," bowed Cercus, a mocking smile on his face. "This way."

The two crossed their bridge to the central pillar. From the outside wall, the pillar had looked like the axle for a wheel, with the bridges serving as spokes. From the central column, it more resembled a spiral, as if the walls has twisted on their crossing.

"The bridges and stairs are mostly for structural support," explained Cercus, making his way up the stairs. "We, the changelings, have designed the stacks for easy flights up and down, as well as across. Walking is optional for us. For you, not so much."

"I can fly."

"Not in here, you can't. Pegasus flight has been restricted."

Twilight flapped her wings, but the air beneath her just slipped through her feathers. No horn, no wings. Even if she could fly in here, she was still tethered to Cercus. He could fly against her and slow her down, all the while calling for other changelings to aid him. At least she had that information now, and didn't stumble onto it during an escape attempt. It was a long way to the bottom.

Four levels above where she'd been sleeping, they crossed another bridge. "This is a path you'll want to learn well," continued Cercus. "For your first stretch of time with us, you'll be doing what we say, when we say it. With good behaviour, you'll be allowed to walk here of your own accord."

"Why would I want to do that?"

Cercus didn't answer, instead just opening the door at the end of the bridge. Through it, Twilight found a large room with several ponies and changelings inside, or perhaps all changelings, with some in disguise. They sat at long tables with short benches, with a long covered table at the far wall. The ponies all looked up from their trays and fell silent as Twilight walked in. Many of them looked ragged, though not all of them. Most notably, an orange mare just on the other side of the covered table was waving a ladle.

"Applejack!" called Twilight, bounding forward. She made it two and a half leaps before the cable went taut, and her harness halted her forward movement in midair, collapsing her to the floor on her back.

"No running," scolded Cercus, offering to help her up. She pushed his hoof away and stood up on her own, walking briskly over to where Applejack was.

"That looked like it hurt," said Applejack when Twilight was close enough. "You alright?"

"I'll be fine," assured Twilight. "How are you?"

Applejack sighed. "I'll be honest, I'm a little miffed about bein' tied to the table, but I'm glad you're not hurt too badly. How's your head?"

"Swollen and throbbing. How are your injuries?"

Applejack turned and showed her bruising. Her cuts and bites were bandaged up. "I'll be alright. Pinkie and I've been labelled as important, so we're not bein' treated the same as the others."

"Where is Pinkie?"

"One of the dorm rooms, I think."

"You'll see her soon enough," nodded Cercus. "A quick explanation for how this one works: Applejack and Pinkie Pie are keeping the ponies happy. If they stay happy, they taste better for us changelings. More nourishing, too. In return for their efforts, they are not to be fed upon or altered, so long as we have no need to do so."

Twilight looked back to Applejack, who turned her face down in reservation. "Is that true?"

"Sorry, Twi. I know it's aiding the changelings, but I can't just let the ponies they're feeding from suffer. It ain't right. If feeding them well will help them suffer less, I'm not just going to sit idly by. I really am sorry."

Twilight took a deep breath. "I can't fault you for that, AJ. If I was the one in your shoes, I can't imagine letting them suffer if I could change it."

"This is touching and all," interjected Cercus, "but we have a schedule to make." He gave Twilight's leash a tug. "Come along, princess. We can come back during your free time."

Chapter the Fiftieth: Those Who Falter

The room was quite large, and necessarily so. Hanging from the ceiling and walls were several green globules, sticky and transparent. Each was about half the size of a pony. Inside each of them were four more dense sections, sometimes floating around, but more often than not clustered in the center.

As odd as that was, however, the most noteworthy thing in the room was at the very center. Two changeling drones were tending to a much larger female changeling, who was grunting loudly, seemingly in pain. Suddenly, her vagina began to spread wide open as a green blob, just as the globs that hung from the wall, began to squeeze out. It seemed to be a membrane filling with liquid. Every few gallons, a dense clump would clog her, then gush out into the membrane with a firm push. Once all four were out, the remainder squelched out into the waiting arms of a changeling drone, who carried it up to the ceiling, found a cozy spot for it, and secured it to the wall with goop.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" smiled Cercus. "All these eggs. We have lost a good number of our hive, and this is but one of the many steps we have taken to counteract that."

"So you can lay a few eggs," said Twilight, covering her mouth and nose. "Do I really need to see how it all works?"

"Oh, yes, most definitely. You'll be bearing our eggs soon enough; you'd do well to see the process."

Twilight shook her head. "You're trying to give me a lesson on the anatomy of changelings, so let me do you the courtesy of giving you a lesson on the anatomy of ponies: Ponies do not lay eggs. We have a completely different phylogeny, despite our similar appearance. We give live birth. Nice try, though."

Cercus chuckled. "Well, you're right, in a way. But also, sadly, wrong in another. There are ways of making a pony lay eggs."

"And how is that?"

"With unicorns and earth ponies, you're absolutely right. They do not lay eggs under any circumstances. Even pegasi, as close as they can be to the birds, are incapable of laying eggs. But ah, with alicorns, there's an extra variable. You see, I've looked into the history of ponykind, and there's much more to it than just those three races. Since you mention phylogeny, you should know that there are other kinds of ponies."

"Crystal ponies and hippogriffs. I am well aware."

"Also bat ponies, kirin, stonies, and all manner of countless others. Most notably, lamiaquines, seaquines, and a few others are known to lay eggs. And like all other variations of ponykind, the latent capabilities can be found in alicorns. Which means, you are perfectly capable of laying eggs."

Twilight nodded. "I suppose you have a point, but eggs created from the union of these creatures with an alicorn will always produce a creature that is the same species as the father. On top of that, even changelings that have shifted to look like ponies are not capable of creating a viable pregnancy. No matter how much intercourse we have, I will never bear your children."

Cercus smiled widely. Behind his teeth, there was clearly malicious intent. Without a word, he pulled Twilight to the other side of the mare that had just laid the eggs. From the holes in her hooves to her ragged tail, the carapace on her chest to the membranous wings on her back, she looked to be a changeling queen. Even her mane, draped over the table, looked no different from Chrysalis' mane. However, looking past the neck, Twilight could see that the hardened shell of the changeling transitioned to the soft, supple flesh of a pony.

"Luna?" Twilight was visibly shaken by seeing Luna's face attached to the changeling body. Her eyes had gone almost completely blue, and her tongue was beginning to fork. Twilight cursed herself for not seeing earlier that the compactions and fissures in her legs were actually morphing her into something resembling a changeling, albeit slowly.

"And there's more," added Cercus, directing Twilight's attention to the door. As Luna picked herself up off the table, a very bloated Celestia entered the room. She had the same rot on her hooves that Luna had, and, given the new context, was very clearly turning into a changeling. It had climbed up her back legs and wrapped around her hips, and was way more noticeable on her alabaster coat than it had been on Luna.

"And there's even more," continued Cercus. "Let's go see Cadance. She's progressed even faster. She's almost as far along as Luna now."

"No," demanded Twilight. "I don't need to see every single one to know what's going on. How did you manage to change their bodies? More importantly, what have you done that's going to change mine?" She looked closely at her hoof. "I think I can already feel it."

"Weren't you paying attention when we visited Fluttershy?" smirked Cercus, clearly mocking her. "She's been working very hard to make sure that we're not causing any harm to the symbiotes that we've employed, and you just ignored her. Some friend you are."

"Some tour guide you are for skipping over things you know I would ask about," scolded Twilight. She sighed heavily. "Are we done? I want to go back to my room now."

"Almost," nodded Cercus. "We have one more stop to make, unless you want to go ask Fluttershy about the parasites and their venom. But really, we should do that on our way back."

"So that's what it is," sighed Twilight. "You've poisoned them by injecting venom into them, and now you've injected me."

"You have yet to be administered," admitted Cercus. "The decision of when to do that falls to me, and I'm in no hurry just yet."

Twilight narrowed her eyes. "Why not?"

"Would you rather I just stick you now and be done with it? Be nothing more than they are?" He gestured to Celestia, who was lying on her back, a changeling rubbing her cunt with oil while the other began preparing an area for the new egg sac. "I can make you into a brainless bimbo, but that would mean that I forgo my reward, and you lose out on any and all chances of stopping me. Is that what you really want?"

Chapter the Fifty-First: Audience with the Queen

Through a very ordinary door near the center of the hive, Chrysalis enjoyed her bath. Her throne room was very nearly finished, but not quite yet. As she was the most important, she would be enthroned at the very top of the tower, and as a result, the whole tower needed to be completed, first. Until such a time as her throne was completed, now mere days away, she was ruling from a large bedroom, one of the first created. It was fancier than most of the other rooms, and would go to her most decorated commander after she moved up to the top of the tower.

"A little higher," she commanded, lifting her leg. "Up near my knee; you missed a spot."

"Yes, mistress," responded her thrall, raising his head and licking her thigh. He had fought particularly hard against her, a trait that would usually result in her relegating the task to one of her subordinates, but he was special. They had tangled before, and he'd grown a resistance to her charms.

She was about to dismiss him and call for dinner, when there was a familiar knock at the door. She could always tell when it was Cercus, anymore. She shifted into a young mare and pulled her stallion toy up on top of her to make it look as though she was losing a fight. "Come in," she called, certain that, while he wouldn't appreciate the joke, she'd at least enjoy it marginally.

The door swung open, and who should enter but Twilight Sparkle. Sure, Cercus entered after her, but given the situation she was in, now was not the best time for a jape.

"Shiny?!" called Twilight, rushing forward. Once more, the line pulling taut threw her to the ground on her back. "What have you done to my brother, you monster?!" she wheezed, standing up.

With a chuckle, Chrysalis reverted to her normal form and sat up, pushing Shining back to the floor. "I've done the same thing to him now as I had last time. While I had tried to do so slowly and carefully, he was very resistant to the idea. Now he belongs to the hive, and has been adjusting to his new life quite well. Isn't that right?"

"Yes, mistress," said Shining, blank-faced as he licked her hooves.

"I take it you've seen the others?" chuckled Chrysalis, pushing him aside to make her way to a desk across the room.

"I've seen enough," growled Twilight. "And I won't let it continue."

"You say that as if you have a choice in the matter. You do not. Letting you interfere with my plans is not on the itinerary today." She picked up a binder and flipped through it, starting about two thirds of the way through. "In fact, letting you stop me doesn't seem to be anywhere in here. It must not be part of the plan."

"The plan to destroy Equestria?"

Chrysalis threw her head back and laughed deeply. "What good would that do? I told you at the wedding: Equestria has more love within its borders than anywhere else in the world. I do not want to destroy Equestria. I intend to farm it. To draw out the love and feed my army of changelings. It is the same reason you don't raze that orchard in Ponyville; Apple Street Bakery, was it?"

Twilight narrowed her eyes. "If harvesting from Equestria was your goal, why did you take away the princesses?"

"Don't ask stupid questions, Twilight," sneered Chrysalis. "I know you're smart enough to have figured that out." She slid the binder back into the desk and closed the door. "Cercus, did you show her?"

"I did," answered Cercus. "We arrived just in time to watch Luna lay a fresh clutch."

"There was a second reason," shrugged Chrysalis. "Since you're playing dumb, I'll go ahead and say it: Alicorns are very powerful. If there was anypony who could stop me, it would make sense if I took them out of the equation. To let your foes run free is a bad idea. Surely, you would know that?"

Twilight said nothing, just turned her head away. As she sat down, her eyes were drawn to Shining, kneeling next to the bed.

"I'm going to call this the end of the tour," said Cercus, leaning against the wall. "Anything else you want to ask before you go back to the room you'll be staying in?"

Twilight took a deep breath. "Are the princesses in any pain?"

"Are you kidding?" chuckled Chrysalis. "With the venom flowing through them, they love every touch from every changeling. They're in ecstacy. Even laying their eggs is a simple task for them, much moreso than live birth would be. In fact, they walked in here of their own choice after being given the command. We didn't have to collect them, and in fact, you will note, if you look at the carriages, that they were opened from the interior with no evidence of tampering."

"What about my friends?"

"Most of them will remain unharmed," answered Cercus. "Applejack, Pinkie and Fluttershy for certain, as they have jobs to do here. Rarity, well... Not much use for a seamstress right now, but she may be more valuable in the future. As for Rainbow Dash, she's actually doing a lot more damage to herself than we are. That back injury a few nights ago was more than she could take."

Twilight was about to ask what was going to happen to Spike, but not knowing how much the changelings knew about the current situation regarding the ruling of Equestria, she didn't want to risk them going after him, next. She just had to hope that he could hold out, and that she could return to him with this information. Instead, she asked something else. "What's going to happen to me?"

Slowly, the corners of Chrysalis' lips curled up. "That's an excellent question. I've actually decided not to be the one who assigns your fate. We have three other princesses laying eggs for us, so as long as you don't interfere with any of our plans, I don't actually care what happens to you."

"Does that mean I can go free?"

"Not at all. You're still going to stay in the hive, but I'm not going to do anything to you."

Twilight breathed a sigh of relief.

"Cercus is going to."

Twilight spun and looked from Cercus to Chrysalis, then back to Cercus. "I... You mean..."

"Oh, don't worry, Twilight," smirked Chrysalis. "I'm sure your new husband would be more than happy to let us play together. Just be warned, I bite."

Chapter the Fifty-Second: Wedded Anguish

There was a feeling of numbness as Twilight descended the stairs. Today had been a significant amount of stress for her, and her mind was reeling from all of this new information. Certainly, while serving as the only princess in Equestria, she'd had some aggravating days, but those were nothing compared to this. In the royal courts, she could recess the case until the next day if it became too much, and she had the comfort in that her decision would be carried out. This time, the decision was not hers, and rather than recalling old information, she was being filled with new information that she was unable to work with. She'd wanted to learn what was going on, but what information did she learn today that would help her escape? Only where to find Applejack and Pinkie Pie, and that the princesses would be needing some type of antivenom that she could not name. She didn't even know where the door leading outside was, or if there even was a door.

She barely noticed the tug against her lead when it was time to cross her bridge. The level was the same as she had awoken from, so she was returning to her bedroom without going to see Fluttershy. Perhaps it was for the best. She wasn't in any mood to learn more today. Or... tonight. Being underground with the only light being from the mushrooms meant that she had no idea what time it was. She hadn't seen a clock for the entire tour, so the only indication for the time she had was that she was tired, hungry, thirsty and sore. Those might indicate any time of day, but right now, it told her to find a bed and sleep. Being directed to a bedroom, she did not fight back. She had neither the energy nor drive.

The room was exactly as she had left it, save for one of the guards outside having a slightly different face. It was likely a second changeling on a different rotation. They were chatting nonchalantly amongst themselves until Twilight and Cercus approached, at which point they stood at attention.

As soon as they were in the room, Cercus took off Twilight's harness, letting her walk free from him. She moved across the room and flopped down on the bed. As tired as she was, she wasn't quite in a state where she could fall asleep. Her mind was buzzing with a dull hum as she tried to piece together all she had learned today. There was a lot to unpack.

Suddenly, the bed moved, tilting as a new source of weight lay down on the other side of the mossy mattress. "What do you think you're doing?" she asked, turning and glaring at Cercus.

"There's something I have yet to mention," said Cercus, laying one hoof across his abdomen and tucking the other beneath his head. "You and I are sharing a bedroom. Moreover, we will be sharing a bed."

Twilight sneered. "Don't you have your own room to sleep in?"

"I do."

"Then why don't you go there?"

"I am already here." He turned to look at Twilight. "I am not in your room. You are in mine."

Twilight looked around the room once again. It was just a bed and a chair. "Well, you don't do a very good job decorating it, do you?"

"No, I don't. I spend my days outside of it, doing work. I come back to sleep in it, and that's only if I'm near enough to justify coming back. It's two and a half days to Canterlot with no breaks, and that's assuming I'm not spotted, so having a temporary house in town was crucial. By the way, thank you ever so much for securing my lodging in Ponigsburg."

Twilight sat up. "I never sent you to Ponigsburg."

"Oh no?" Cercus quickly shifted into the form of an earth pony, slender with broad shoulders and a dark green coat. His orange and red mane was slicked back, and his eyes had changed shape, but were still blue. "You certainly wouldn't let me tend to my nuts for fear of upsetting Luna."

Twilight's eyes went wide. "You're Cosmo," she realized.

"Actually," smirked Cercus, shifting once more to a pegasus, his short dark brown mane drifting just to his neck and no further. "My little swimmers have taken stops in half of all princesses. All except you and Cadance." As he smiled, he shifted from Dip back into his changeling form. "Mind you, none of the eggs in the hatchery are mine. After escorting Luna here, my focus was entirely on watching you, and waiting for the right time to strike. And of course, I couldn't let your little friends pose a threat, so they had to go, too. Finally, after knocking you out, I brought you here, and, let's be honest, this will be the first time I've actually slept here since before you separated the princesses."

Twilight huffed. "You've been right under my nose this entire time?"

"The whole time, yes. Ever since this place was only a few layers tall. I was even the one who orchestrated the original ambush on Luna. All I needed was a tiny prick with a blade, but to avoid suspicion, I staged the whole thing as a bandit attack."

"But Celestia was never stabbed," argued Twilight.

"Too true. But the poison is excreted by a parasite, so if we can, say, disguise it as spice and let it grow and multiply inside her intestines, her body will absorb the toxin just as easily. The eggs look like ground nutmeg, allegedly taste of clove, and can easily be hidden in a plate of waffles for Celestia, or spiced jelly for Cadance. And while I wasn't present for Cadance's transition, I did convince Luna to poison Celestia."

"How?" demanded Twilight. "Why?"

"Celestia was distrustful of me. I had to have Luna do it because she wouldn't trust any food I gave her, and poisoning a member of the kitchen staff to help me only complicates the matter. A quick shake into the batter, a stir, and all is taken care of."

"Again, how did you convince Luna to do this?"

Cercus smirked. "The venom of a wiggleworm makes the victim susceptible to changeling pheromones. Combined with the seminal fluid of a changeling, it heightens the desire to please them. It also makes their love less flavourful, but if its an alicorn, you can accept that loss in exchange for the ability to lay eggs."

"Is that what you're going to do to me?"

"All answers in good time," he smiled. "For now, you should rest. You look tired."

Chapter the Fifty-Third: First Strike

Twilight woke the next... morning? Was it morning? She couldn't tell. She was still groggy, likely a result of her sleep being under the glowing lights of the mushrooms. The fact that there was always a light on her, despite its very dim glow, had likely hindered her ability to enter a proper REM cycle.

At least she'd found comfort in the bed itself. The moss was springy and soft, and not as cold as she might have assumed. Even better, there weren't any small bugs crawling around in it. Just big ones. She rolled over to look at Cercus, who was still in her bed. He had no problem sleeping in these conditions, it seemed. He'd made himself comfortable, even going so far as to wrap his left leg around her while she slept.

She rolled out of the bed and kicked him in the gut. In her mind, it was about him being able to sleep soundly while she was incapable, but that would not be the reason she gave. "I told you not to touch me!"

As the door guards rushed in with their weapons ready to eviscerate her, Cercus stood up. The blow had knocked him to the floor, but he casually waved the guards away, rubbing his gut. "That's quite a way to wake somepony, princess," he groaned. "I would recommend against it, though. Most of the hive, if you were to wake them in such a manner, they may not stop the guards."

Twilight scowled. "I told you not to touch me."

"That you did," nodded Cercus. "That you did. But I suspect you'll change your tune. Before long, you'll be begging for my gentle caress."

"That's not going to happen," growled Twilight. "And since I now know your plan, I'm not going to let you achieve it."

"Oh, I don't think you have a choice," chuckled Cercus. "You will find that I have complete control over the situation. And even if I were to lose control of it, it's not like we needed you in one piece."

"Is that a threat?"

"No, rather a warning. If you do as we ask, this will be a lot less harmful. Fighting back is only going to worsen your situation."

Twilight glared through her eyebrows. "I'm not going to be one of your sex slaves."

"I'm not asking you to be. The amount of chafing and swelling I've experienced, I need a break from the sex. I'll be using you for... other things."

"Like what?"

Cercus made his way to the foot of the bed. From beneath it, he slid out a footlocker, and pulled from it a hairbrush. "First, we can't have you looking like an unwashed tramp. I'm going to brush your mane and tail."

"I'm perfectly capable of brushing my own mane and tail," spat Twilight. "I'm not incompetent."

"I know," smiled Cercus. "I do not intend to imply that you are an imbecile. But at the moment, I am disallowing you to brush your own mane and tail. That is for me to do. Sit."

Twilight held out her hoof. "Give me the brush. I'll do it myself."

Cercus sighed. For a moment, his horn glowed softly, and Twilight found that her front hoof was now stuck to the floor with changeling goop. As she lowered her other hoof to try pulling out, it too was stuck. "You're not going to weasel your way out of this," said Cercus. "Your choices are to either sit down and let me brush your mane and tail, or I can force you down, tie you up, and then brush your mane and tail. If you sit on your own, I will not bind you to the floor."

"I know what you really want," she snarled. After a few seconds, however, she lowered her hips to the floor and sat down. "You have a very kickable face. Remember that."

Cercus shifted just his head and voice to match Shining Armor. "How's this for a face?" he chuckled as he moved behind her.

"Don't push your luck," she growled. As his perforated hoof gently brushed past her ear, she shivered. He wasn't causing her any pain, just discomfort. What she really needed right now was a bath, but who knew if there was even a place to do that here in the hive. There was a high probability that there was plumbing, as it was a necessity to the ponies living there, but a bathtub was significantly less likely.

"You are absolutely tangled," chuckled Cercus, his hoof rubbing against her neck as he removed some of the knots. "It's good that you're having it brushed out now. If you tried to go back to Canterlot with all of this, you'd need to shave this all off."

"If you come anywhere near my mane with scissors, you'll learn just how sharp they can be," growled Twilight. In truth, she rather enjoyed having somepony else brush her mane for her, but only with full consent. Rarity, for example, was very soothing when she was doing something with her mane, and there was always the guarantee that it would come out stunning. With Cercus, he did not ask for permission, and his hoof was very disconcerting.

Still, he wasn't doing a terrible job. Despite not having his own mane and tail, Cercus seemed perfectly suited to the task. It was quite possible, even a bit likely, that he'd done this for another pony, or had attempted it while shifted into a pony form. She hoped it was the latter, though the former seemed more likely. So lost was she in her thoughts that she even seemed to forget who was brushing her mane and just enjoyed the clean feeling once again. But then, he ruined it by speaking again.

"Stand."

She wrapped her tail tightly around her leg. "You have what you wanted," she reasoned. "You touched my neck. Let me do my own tail."

"You have nothing to worry about," said Cercus. "In fact, I make a promise to you now: Until you beg for it, no changeling will penetrate your perfectly pristine purple pony pussy. I will ensure it personally. Now stand."

"You've lied to me before," groused Twilight. "I can't trust a promise from you."

"This one is true," said Cercus, "but I suppose you're right. Stand up, anyway."

Twilight remained sitting until Cercus grabbed her hip with his left hoof. As she stood up to kick him, he secured her back hooves to the ground, locking her in a standing position, unless she decided to lower her body all at once, or just her front end. She started flapping her wings wildly to try hitting him or blowing him away, but he kept a tight hold on her tail, brushing it in spite of her pulling away. He'd given her the choice, and she had opted for the hard way.

Chapter the Fifty-Fourth: Pristine

After having her mane and tail brushed, Twilight was released from the floor and brought back to the dining room to eat. She'd been on edge for the whole morning, and having something in her stomach definitely set her at ease. Applejack had been right yesterday, and she likely would have felt better if she had taken the time for a quick snack before continuing the tour.

Speaking of Applejack, she wasn't around this time. Twilight had asked the pony who'd made her breakfast, and he'd said to just let her sleep. Reasoning that she'd see her at lunch, Twilight ate her breakfast in silence, with Cercus smiling condescendingly at her as he drew his sustenance from somepony else not too far away.

"How do you feel now?" he asked as they exited from the dining hall. "I mean, I already know, because I can feel it radiating off of you, but I want you to tell me, anyway."

"A bit better," admitted Twilight, knowing there was no use in lying. "But that doesn't mean I'm happy with you. Don't misunderstand, I still have no love for you or your kind."

"That's fine," chuckled Cercus. "I didn't expect a short stack of flapjacks to undo the invasion of Canterlot. That would be unreasonable."

"The invasion itself was unreasonable," groused Twilight.

"Perhaps," nodded Cercus. "So what say we do something reasonable now?"

"What are you talking about?"

"Let me show you." Rather than turning back downstairs to the bedroom, Cercus led Twilight up, passing Pinkie's dorm room, to where some ponies were being escorted. A few levels beyond that, they crossed a bridge that led to a very large bathroom with several tubs. To one side, a large communal bath was blocked off for exclusive use by the changelings and had a pleasant herbal aroma. On the other side, multiple shower heads lined the wall. In the middle, several smaller tubs of various sizes were evenly distributed.

Cercus stopped at the entrance to the room. A small desk was set up with one changeling handling the administration, and several ponies acting as attendants under her command. "Size two," he ordered, "herbal, with soap and an attendant." The administrator nodded and gave him a sachet of herbs to hang under the spout. He led Twilight to a tub that was big for a casual bathroom, but small for a spa. Inside were two seats.

As the water filtered through the herbs, Twilight turned to Cercus. "You don't really expect me to wash you, do you? I thought you said this was going to be reasonable."

"No, I don't expect you to wash me."

"You want to wash me?"

"If you insist," smiled Cercus, reaching out only to have her jump away. He chuckled. "No, I had enough trouble convincing you to let me brush your mane and tail, and you didn't even really let that happen. What makes you think I'd reward that behaviour with a personalized lathering? I called for an attendant to scrub us down."

"Oh." Twilight had been to the Ponyville Spa countless times with her friends, as well as at least three in Canterlot. She knew that some ponies were given bathing attendants for an extra fee to help them scrub, especially those who had a harder time, such as the elderly or disabled. For them, Twilight was okay with the service, but being perfectly capable of scrubbing herself with a long-handled loofah, she didn't ever consider the service necessary.

With the tub now filled with a pale green fluid, Cercus climbed in and sat down in one of the seats, taking a deep, relaxed breath. "Well?" he smirked, turning to Twilight. "Are you coming in?"

Twilight furrowed her brow. "No, I don't think I will. I don't want to bathe if you're going to be there, too."

"Oh, come now, Twilight. It's only a bath. It's not as though I'm asking you to let me shove a pineapple up your arse. I don't want to have to bind your hooves and tie you to the chair. Are you going to force my hoof?"

Twilight sighed and looked to the empty seat. She really didn't enjoy being tethered to the floor for half the morning, and really didn't want a repeat of that performance. Not to mention the fact that, if she was bound, any and all skin under the bindings could not be washed, and parts of her coat would still be filthy when she stepped out of the tub. "Keep your hooves to yourself," she snarled, slipping into the water.

"I'm sorry," came the small voice of a unicorn mare. "I didn't mean to offend." She had her mane cut short and tied back behind a bandana. On her back, she had a basket loaded with equipment for bathing a pony. There were some things that Twilight did not know the use for, likely tools meant for cleaning a changeling's carapace, as chitin was dissimilar to a pony's coat.

"Nonsense," smiled Cercus, waving her over. "Why don't you begin with me, and Twilight can be scrubbed after."

"Yes, sir," nodded the mare, placing the basket on the floor. She pulled out a rounded bristle brush, similar to something Twilight had seen before, resembling a scrubber for cups, or perhaps a toilet brush. She watched as the mare pulled out a terrycloth rag, lathered it up with soap and water from the tub, and wrapped it around the brush, gently soaping up the cavities in Cercus' legs. She was methodical, but not slow, making short work of the interior and detaching the rag to clean the outside of his leg.

With no notable issues, she scrubbed and rinsed each of his hooves, then pulled out a small hoof brush to scrub his body, which she did beneath the water's surface, which was now opaque with soap bubbles. It was easy to tell when she reached his groin, because he became mildly vocal and leaned his hips into her movement. After that came his back, including his dorsal membrane, and with that rinsed, he leaned back to let her scrub his chest.

"You see how easy this can be, Twilight?" he smiled. "All this time spent fighting would be better used in growing accustomed to your new home in the hive. It would be so easy to just lean back and let it happen."

As he leaned forward to unlatch her harness to allow a more complete scrub of her body, Twilight punched him in the balls and bolted toward the door, unhindered by the lead end energized by her breakfast. She was leaving, and she wasn't going to let him stop her.

Chapter the Fifty-Fifth: Retribution

The level of distress Twilight was feeling at this moment was growing with every second. For the first twenty minutes in this position, she was laughing it off as a joke. How could this be considered a real punishment? Her back legs were pinned to the wall, her back was pressed to the ground and stuck in place with changeling goo, and a trickle of cold water dribbled onto her horn every minute or so. She wasn't laughing anymore. Her horn had gone numb an hour ago, but every drop of water sent shivers down her spine. Her entire body was shaking constantly.

The door swung open. Twilight couldn't move her head very much, as it was glued to the floor with changeling goo, but she could shift a little bit and move her eyes. In the pale light of the mushrooms, the forms of Chrysalis and Cercus made their way across the room and stood over her. Cercus had a stern scowl on his face, but Chrysalis had a malicious smile.

"My, my, my, Twilight," she said, walking up to the bound princess. "I must admit, that was a bold move you pulled. I didn't think you had it in you. Very well done."

A burst of cold water across her forehead caused Twilight's muscles to contract and pull against the wall.

"It is a shame, though," Chrysalis continued. "I was under the impression that you were smart. Did you really think that we wouldn't catch you before you could find the exit? There were a lot of stairs to reach that point, and you weren't even close."

"There's a fine line between being brave and being foolish," added Cercus. "That line is bordered on both sides by fear and understanding. You have fallen on the wrong side of the line."

"Please," begged Twilight through chattering teeth. "I w-won't do it ag-g-gain, I swear!"

Cercus pulled the water applicator away, ceasing its function. "How can we be so certain of that? If you are quite so violently against the simple act of bathing with company, how can we trust that you have every intent of doing as you are told in the future?"

"I don't know," answered Twilight. "I'm sorry. Please let me out of here."

Cercus and Chrysalis looked at each other. "What do you think?" he asked.

"She's your responsibility," said Chyrsalis. "The decision of what to do with her is yours to make. If it were me, I'd demand a display of fealty."

"Yes," answered Twilight. "I swear, whatever it takes!"

Chrysalis smiled and turned to Cercus. "A thought occurs to me," she smiled. "I am aware of a tradition in Equestria, and while it applies almost exclusively to foals, I think it may be prudent here." she walked over to where Twilight lay, lowered her face to glare into Twilight's eyes, and chuckled. "A kiss to the hurt body part will make it all better."

Twilight's eyes went wide with shock. She found herself unable to form words in objection to this.

"Are you truly remorseful for your actions, Twilight?" asked Cercus.

"Y-yes?"

"You don't sound so sure," observed Chrysalis. She moved out of Twilight's view and came back with a long whip. "Let us set some parameters to ensure that we understand each other. If you bite, you will feel the sting of a leather lash, and we'll turn the water back on for the whole night."

As Cercus positioned himself over Twilight's head, she gazed up at his genitals. She had left a nasty blue bruise at the base of his dick. She was given a very clear view as it gently lowered to just above her face. She could feel the goo securing her head dissolve away, giving her the ability to move everything above her shoulders. She took a deep breath, moved her head into place, and, stretching out her lips as far as they would go, delivered a tiny peck to his nut sack.

"I'm not buying it," scolded Chrysalis. "That was pitiful, and you know it. Do it right."

Twilight looked back to the balls dangling over her face. Holding her breath, she leaned up and pressed her lips against the skin. After a few seconds, she separated and lowered her head to the ground. She'd done it.

"We can stay here all night, Twilight," came Chrysalis' condescension. "Until Cercus's hips are tired of squatting, anyway. I want to see your remorse; to taste your recompense. If you keep giving poor apologies, you're just going to need to keep remaking them. If you really want to be kept here overnight, we can have that arranged, but if you want this to just be over, I suggest that you stop wasting time and give him a proper kiss."

With a quick adjustment to his hips from Chrysalis, Cercus' balls were now resting on Twilight's upper lip. She would be unable to breathe without inhaling his scent. She really didn't want to be stuck like this all night. Perhaps it was best to just be done with it right away.

She stuck out her tongue and pulled his left testicle, her right, into her mouth. The whole thing wouldn't fit, so she begin lightly suckling the skin, her tongue caressing the orb inside. To her surprise, the taste was not terrible. It was not dirty or sweaty, or even particularly salty. As she switched to the other testicle, she recalled that it had just been scrubbed earlier today, and had likely been under great care after she had struck it. As his tip was just about to poke out of its sheathe, she knew she had done well, and hoped that it was good enough.

As Cercus lifted his hips and moved away from her, he nodded to Chrysalis. "I'm satisfied with that," he said, walking to the door. "I'm going to go prepare another bath for her. This time, I'll be the one doing the scrubbing. Warm her up and bring her down when you're ready."

As soon as they were alone, Chrysalis shook her head. "He's so soft. Entirely too forgiving. Although, perhaps he was afraid you'd bite down on his balls. I do not forgive so easily. Keep that in mind as you proceed: he's going easy on you. When your antics piss him off enough that he gives up on you, I won't hesitate to leave you here for days, or even weeks at a time." She lowered her hips over Twilight's face. The smell was much worse. "Now, give us an apologetic kiss, and convince us to bring you to your bath."

Chapter the Fifty-Sixth: Comforting

Entering the bathroom on wobbly hooves, Twilight found herself longing for the harness Cercus used. It was degrading, certainly, but Chrysalis had Twilight's mane wrapped around her hoof and was pulling her along faster than she was comfortable with. At least with the harness, there was slack, and any tightness was applied to her shoulders. With her mane being held, there was no room for slack, and she could no longer lower her head.

Cercus was standing next to a bathtub that was half the size of the one she'd jumped out of this morning. Rather than the dull green of that bathwater, this one was clear. There was no sachet of herbs hanging under the faucet, so this was just straight water. As she readied herself to climb in, Cercus waved Chrysalis away, and to Twilight's surprise, she actually left the room.

"She sat on my face after you left," said Twilight, slipping into the water. The thermal shock caused her skin to contract, but after a few moments, her body adjusted to the warmth, and she began to relax.

"That doesn't surprise me," came Cercus' answer as he secured her back hooves in place. "It shouldn't surprise you very much, either. She is the queen, after all. Her word is law around here, and she can do as she wants for as long as those who stand in the next row down are not complaining. Of course, they have to watch those under them, and they have those beneath them. The opinions of a prisoner, even a notable prisoner, are not going to stop her. I can, and a few others can, but why would we? We benefit the most from her rulings, so the only reason we would have for treason is if we think there's a better deal, and I don't think it's worth the risk right now."

Twilight nodded along as her body began to warm up. She wasn't listening very hard, and could feel herself falling asleep. That suddenly came to a halt as Cercus pushed her forward and began rubbing a wet bristle brush up and down her back. Soap suds began to flow down around her shoulders as he scrubbed between her wings. She could feel his breath on her neck, but as much as she wanted to reach back and break his nose, she wouldn't be unstuck from that tub without aid from him, or another changeling, and she'd had enough torture for one day. Whatever would warm her up and dry her off was most preferable.

After her back came her shoulders and neck, and she was quite pleased to find that he was both thorough and gentle. Not quite as diligent as Aloe and Lotus, but still more thorough than when she bathed herself. He even used a small brush to clean the crevices under her hoof when he made it to her front legs. He even took the liberty of washing out her mane. Her horn fit neatly into a cavity in his hoof, and while it was still numb, she could feel his warmth in her forehead as he lightly scrubbed her scalp and brushed the soap from the roots to the tips. "You've taken very good care of your mane."

"Th-thank you." While she was still uncomfortable with the situation, she was growing more accustomed to his company. Perhaps he wasn't so bad, especially compared to Chrysalis. Sure, he was still a changeling, and he had been the one to seduce Luna and Celestia, but he wasn't treating her poorly. Perhaps it was the new level of care she felt, but thanking him for the compliment felt right, and was not much of an inconvenience for her.

"Deep breath, close your eyes."

Twilight did as she was told as he dunked her momentarily underwater. He had to hold her down to let her mane rinse, but after a few seconds, she came back up. She looked down into the water, and it was murky enough to not show her hooves at the bottom. She'd been covered in dirt.

As he began to scrub her chest with terrycloth, she began to feel uncomfortable. Her breasts were not too far away from his hoof, and he would soon be down there, touching them. He'd already made her lick his balls. What was he going to do to her when he found those?

As his hoof drifted lower and lower, she could feel it rubbing her teats. In an instant, she saw images of what she could do. She could bite his ear; it was right in front of her. She could say her leg hurt and convince him to release her and run again. Her front hooves were free; she could push his head under the water and drown him if she was that desperate. No other changelings or ponies were in the room. She could probably do it.

"Stand up and put your front hooves on the rim."

Twilight opened her eyes. He was done already. He hadn't fondled her or groped, he'd simply cleaned her breasts for her. She did as she was told, with her front hooves being secured and her back hooves released. He proceeded to apply the same level of care and cleaning to her back legs and tail as he had to her front legs and mane, respectively. As per his promise this morning, he did not move his hoof anywhere inside of her labia, only grazing the outside to ensure it was clean.

As the water drained out of the tub, he gave her a towel to dry herself off. Using a nozzle, he sprayed down the sides of the tub, rinsing away any trace of soap scum, mud, and any loose hair she'd lost in the brushing. He did not secure her to anything, but she wasn't going to try running this time. When he was done, he dried his hoof with her towel and tossed it into a hamper on the way out into the main chamber. Once more, the stairwell was mostly abandoned, and there was nothing standing between her and his bed, and now, she didn't care whether he was in it or not. Any comfort at this point was welcome.

Chapter the Fifty-Seventh: Complacent

Over the next few days, Twilight grew more accustomed to Cercus' touch. Every morning, she would wake up with his leg draped over her middle. She made a fuss the first day, but after speaking to Fluttershy about the worms, she lost enough of her fight to just let it happen. After a week, she didn't seem to notice anymore. She was still tethered to the lead as they moved through the hive, but she didn't feel like running anymore. She'd even been in a few instances where he would undo the tether as long as she stayed in view, typically in rooms that had only one exit.

He hadn't asked her for sex or forced it on her since she had been made to lick his balls, but he had run his hooves all over her multiple times. At first, it was just in the bath every other morning, but he'd also groped her in bed a few times, though he wasn't particularly forceful. True to his word, not a single changeling had penetrated her. One had tried, but Cercus had struck him across the jaw.

Twilight was allowed to go almost anyplace in the hive as long as he was escorting her, and it wasn't often that he barred her from going wherever she wanted. There were, of course, exceptions and limits on where she was allowed to go, but he was pretty liberal with most of it. He'd even taken her outside at one point, and she'd stretched out her wings to take in the sunlight that Celestia was once more in control of.

One morning, however, she woke up to find that her side was cold. She reached up to touch it, and found that Cercus had not draped himself over her, and a quick rollover revealed that she was alone in bed. In fact, the room was completely empty. No Cercus, no cleaners, not even a guard.

She moved over to the door and peered out into the hallway. A single guard was in a chair outside the door, gently snoring. He was asleep, and there was nopony else around. If she wanted to, she could sneak out. She remembered exactly where the door was, she wasn't tied to a changeling, and the stairwell was pretty empty this time of day. If she was careful, perhaps she could even slip past the guards at the main entrance.

She grabbed the guard's shoulder and gently shook him awake. As soon as he woke, he pointed his blade in her general direction. "You're not supposed to leave your room," he growled.

"And you're not supposed to be sleeping on the job," spat Twilight back. "What would your supervisor say if I'd just walked right out the front door while you were snoozing?"

He rolled his eyes. "Fine, what do you want?"

"I want to know where Cercus is."

"He left. He's not here. He was given orders to check on something elsewhere."

"Where?"

"That's classified information. Go back to bed."

"When will he be back?" asked Twilight, not moving from that spot.

"That's also classified information. Your temporary chaperone is supposed to be here in less than an hour, so you need to return to your room."

With a short sigh, Twilight turned and made her way back to her room, feinting a rush for the grand hall to push enough adrenaline through the guard's veins to keep him from falling back asleep so easily.

She wondered who the replacement would be. She didn't know any other changelings by name, save for Chrysalis, so her list of possible candidates was exceptionally small. It would make the most sense for Pinkie to come watch her, if a pony was selected. As she was in charge of keeping everypony else compliant and calm, it would be little effort to add Twilight onto that roster for a few days, if that long at all. Even a week would be little issue.

As she thought about it, she considered what Cercus had said when they'd first laid down together. He spent most of his time outside of the room, either working on the hive, or outside of it doing site work. He'd since revealed that a month and a half of his time was spent in Canterlot, unable to return to the hive for more than a day because he didn't have the time. How long could he be this time?

Her contemplation came to a stop as a changeling entered the room. "You are Twilight Sparkle?"

"Yes, that's me. And you?"

"I'm your new chaperone." He walked in, sat down on the chair, and just stared blankly at her. He did not say or do anything else, just sat in Cercus' chair, staring at her.

For a minute, Twilight stared back, then looked to the door, and finally, down at her hooves. Nothing was happening. "So, what's your name?"

The changeling just blinked. He had spoken previously, so she knew he was capable, but not a word came out.

"You do have a name, don't you?"

He continued to stare, as if he hadn't heard the question.

"I guess I can just call you Whatever, then. Have you ever worked with any of the other princesses, Whatever?"

"That's very rude," the changeling said, scowling.

"But it drew a reaction out of you," smirked Twilight. "That means I win the first round. Now, if yo--"

Twilight was pushed back as a lump of changeling goo covered her mouth. She was sitting on the bed, so even if she had been knocked all the way onto her back, she would have landed comfortably, but she was able to catch herself.

"Looks like I won all subsequent rounds," sneered the changeling. "I'm no more happy about this than you are, so just sit there quietly and don't move. Time will pass a lot quicker if you cooperate."

Twilight couldn't argue with that statement. She might have argued that a deck of cards would pass the time even quicker, or a trip to the dorms to talk with some other ponies, but she was unable to articulate this notion. She was silent as she leaned back in bed and just stared at the ceiling. There was nothing for her to do but sit back and wait for Cercus to come and let her out. At the very least, she might be able to keep her mouth open after lunch.

Chapter the Fifty-Eighth: Bound

Twilight wasn't sure what the rules for her were anymore. At lunchtime, as she'd skipped breakfast, she hopped out of bed and began to make her way to the door, only to have her hoof bound to the floor. She couldn't protest or explain her actions, either, as her mouth was still sealed. She tried to mime a spoon rotating in front of her mouth in the hopes that doing so would make clear her intent, but no such luck. Unable to return to the bed, she just stood there. She tried to sit down, but her back hoof was unable to bend, so her rear end had to stay upright. She wasn't about to drop just her shoulders to the floor, so standing it would have to be.

This was worse than any cell in any dungeon she'd ever assigned. With those cells, she could at least move around, and would have been given three meals a day. Here, she'd inadvertently lost her right to speak, to sit, and had been denied breakfast and now lunch. The only sound she'd made since having her mouth covered was her stomach growling, and the changeling hadn't stopped staring at her. He'd said nothing in hours, had not moved from the chair, and had barely blinked.

As afternoon rolled around, another changeling entered the room. "I'm your relief," he said to the one sitting in a chair.

"Good. She's been very ill-behaved today, I warn you."

As the first changeling walked out of the room, the new one grabbed Twilight by the mane and brought her over near the chair. "Sit," he bade, and she complied, only to have her front hooves bound to the floor. He did, however, unbind her jaw so she could speak once more. "Now, tell me what you've done wrong today."

"I asked the other changeling what his name was. When he didn't answer, I guessed."

"Carapace doesn't have a sense of humor," explained the new one. "I'm Mandible, by the by."

"Mandible," smiled Twilight. "I'm Princess Twilight Sparkle. I'd shake your hoof, but..."

"Yes, I'm well aware of who you are, Twilight. Cercus has spoken about you at length."

"Do you know where he went?"

Mandible leaned back. "I'm not supposed to tell you that," he said, then glancing at the door, he waved for her to lean in close. "But it's not like you can do anything about it, anyway, so what's the point in hiding it?" he whispered. "He's in Canterlot, setting up for the next stage of the plan. Once he returns, it's my job to go out and finish what he started."

Twilight took a deep breath. "What is the next stage?"

"Oh, no. I really can't tell you that one. He'd have my hide."

"Okay, okay," grumbled Twilight. "Have you met any of the other princesses?"

"The first time I met Princess Luna, she very nearly killed me," he chuckled. "She crushed my trachea, and my spine was all out of use for weeks. Then Shining Armor pulled a sword on me. We've met."

"Yeah, that sounds about right." Twilight lowered her head. "Do you know if they're doing okay?"

Mandible leaned back and rubbed his chin. "Celestia was just fine yesterday, and Luna didn't seem to have any issues about. Cadance was sleeping when I saw her, so whatever she was feeling at the time, I doubt it was agonizing pain."

"And my brother?"

"Haven't seen him in days. Shall we go look for him?"

Twilight stood up, unable to move to the door with her hooves stuck. With a gentle nod, Mandible removed her hooves from the floor and harnessed her up. The lead was shorter than Cercus usually bothered with anymore, reminiscent of her first day in the hive.

She couldn't believe the joy she was feeling, though. Perhaps being stuck to the floor all day had conditioned her to that state, and even the simplicity of being able to leave the room, to talk, even, was all she needed to flood her brain with happiness. She didn't even mind the short leash, as she was at least going somewhere.

They made their way up to where Chrysalis' room was, and there in the corner sat Shining Armor, awaiting orders. No orders would come, as Chrysalis was not in the room at this moment, but Twilight's heart soared when she saw that he was still sitting upright. She walked over to him, as close as Mandible would allow with the lead. She knew not to overstep, but she just wanted to hug him.

"I miss you, Shiny," she said, sitting down as close as she was allowed to go. "I know I didn't visit as often as you'd have liked. I would have come over more often if I'd had the time. Now we're both here, in one place, and all I want for you is to be back in the Crystal Empire, a day's train ride from Ponyville, where I'd need to take several days off just to come see you.

"I know you were scared. I was scared, too. You put on a brave face and went to take care of my problem, hoping that I would... That I could help you with yours. It's harrowing to know that the last thing you ever said to me was 'Stay safe,' and I was unable. I wish... I just wish everything would go back to the way it was."

Mandible walked up to Twilight and put a hoof on her shoulder. "You know he can't hear you, right?"

Twilight wiped a tear from her eye. "Even so, even if he can't hear it, I needed to say it. Not just for him, but for myself. Even if I can't help him, I want to try."

At the door, a malicious chuckle rang out. Chrysalis had arrived. "My, my. First, Carapace tells me you insulted him, and now I find you snooping about my belongings. Is there no low to which you will not sink, Twilight Sparkle?"

Twilight lowered her head, remembering her last encounter with the queen. "I just wanted to check on him."

Chrysalis moved over and brushed Shining's back with her hoof. "I'm afraid you will find that he will not respond to you. he is now my toy, and exists solely for my pleasure. However, I am not as cruel as you may think." Her horn glowed, and the harness disappeared. The door closed and locked as Chrysalis took a seat in a chair similar to Cercus'. "I can share my toy. Come, let's play with your brother."

Chapter the Fifty-Ninth: Brotherly Love

Shining Armor picked himself up off the floor and made his way over to Twilight. His eyes were no more than green swirls at this point, denoting clearly his lack of control. He had no emotion, no will if his own, no desire, save for serving his mistress. He lived to do as she said, and he could not fathom any other life anymore.

As he wrapped his hooves around Twilight's shoulders, she began to cry, hugging him back. He may not have been capable of recognizing her anymore, but she knew it was him. It wasn't just his face, either. She remembered the feel of his muscles, the way his hooves traced along her shoulders, the smell of his skin, and of course, the battle scars that she knew were there. This truly was her bother, and not some poor changeling who'd drawn the short straw.

As she pulled away from the hug, he suddenly grabbed her by the shoulders, pressed her back into him, and kissed her full on the mouth. Twilight was not expecting this, and tried to push him off, but he was much stronger than she was, and his grip tightened the more she struggled. He was going to kiss her, no matter what she wanted, because his mistress desired it.

When she finally pulled away, she shouted, "What are you doing, Shiny?!"

"Whatever I want him to," chuckled Chrysalis, leaning back in her soft-looking chair. "And I want him to show me exactly how much love he had for you."

Twilight's eyes went wide as Shining picked her up, dragging her over to the bed in the middle of the room, kicking and protesting the entire way. She knew that he was her brother, and she didn't really want to hurt him, but she knew that he would have forgiven her any damage she did in this instance. He would have wanted her to protect herself. He would have wanted her to be safe. He loved her dearly, and wanted to ensure that she lived a safe, happy life.

Unfortunately for Twilight, he wasn't calling the shots, and Chrysalis was not glad to see the fighting between siblings. As soon as Shining's husk dropped her on the bed, the changeling queen was quick to secure her hooves to it. "I said you could play with my toy," she hissed. "I did not say you were allowed to break him. Let me show you how this is supposed to work."

After one more deep kiss from Shining, he moved down Twilight's body, from her neck to her chest, then her abdomen and breasts. He stopped at her groin. Desperately, she tried to pull her knees together, but the glue that tethered her to the bed was too strong. She couldn't close her legs, wiggle out of the way, or pull away and run. She was helpless.

She gasped out in shock as Shining's tongue forced its way between her lips. She tried to squeeze him out, or at least make it difficult for him to go any further, but with how far apart her legs were, she couldn't push hard enough to stop him. He was worming his way in, and with the fervor he was showing, she was only encouraging him.

Thankfully, his kiss didn't last particularly long, and as he moved his head up, a strand of fluid stretched between her vagina and his chin. "Cercus... promised me... that wouldn't happen," gasped Twilight, already winded. She scowled at Chrysalis. "And Shining... wouldn't do that!"

Chrysalis just laughed. "I'm not bound by Cercus' promises," she grinned. "I can supercede his word, especially when he's not around to argue. Furthermore, I'm not breaking his bond at all. He promised that no changeling would do so. His intent with excluding ponies was to keep you from shoving your own hoof up there and voiding his statement, coupled with allowing it to be cleaned properly, but I can think of much more fun things. Shiny, if you would?"

Twilight had been so engrossed in arguing with Chrysalis that she hadn't been watching her brother. Rather than just sitting there with a blank look on his face as she'd expected, he'd been preparing himself as per Chrysalis' desires. With her command, he pressed the flat of his flared tip against her slit and, after a few rubs to slicken himself, pushed into her until he hilted, with Twilight unable to form words of protest. He'd never been this deep before, always stopping when she said it was too much. She couldn't believe that she'd taken the whole thing.

She wished this whole thing was different. That this entire situation had not happened, and that she was able to travel to the Crystal Empire to see her brother and sister-in-law, sit down for dinner, discuss how busy she was, and then they'd all go to bed and wake up the next morning, sore but satisfied, and in need of a good shower. She wished that she could tell her brother that she loved him, and even moreso, she wished that he could say it to her in turn.

Alas, as his cock began to pump its way in and out of her vagina, no amount of wishing could change the situation. At the very least, his behaviours were virtually untouched, and the way that his hips gyrated as he fucked her felt the same from a tactile standpoint. His front hooves crossed beneath her shoulders, and he kissed her just the way he always had. He even tasted similar, though his mouth had been tainted by what Chrysalis had used him for.

For that, however, Twilight was thankful. As much as she wanted to appreciate Shining's taut, muscular body, having a constant reminder that this was Chrysalis' doing and exactly what she wanted set off her defiance. This wasn't what he wanted, and he was being forced into it just as much as she was, and that kept Twilight fighting. Not for herself, but for her brother. She glowered at the queen, her disdain clear. Even as Shining's penis was pressing all of her most sensitive walls, even as his balls slapped against her arsehole, and even as he sucked her tongue into his mouth, Twilight kept that fire burning brightly. She swore she would have him back, no matter how impossible that was at this point.

Chapter the Sixtieth: Denial

Had it not been forced on her, Twilight would have absolutely enjoyed this. Shining was very good at sex, and especially good at knowing right where all of her weakest points were. From the countless times they'd lain in bed together, he'd touched nearly every part of her body, and knew every erogenous zone she had. On top of that, being married to Cadance granted him the experience necessary to refine his craft. And of course, his time as a captain of the guard kept him in peak physical condition and his awareness sharp. Of course, none of that mattered as much anymore. Being stuck in a room and having his mind controlled had diminished his abilities significantly over the last month. He was a shell of his former self, but still capable for the time being.

Just as Twilight was beginning to approach her edge, Shining suddenly stopped and pulled out. A rush of ambivalence ran through Twilight's head. On one hoof, she was glad to have not succumbed to Chrysalis' desires, but on the other hoof, her pussy ached for release now, as she was primed for her climax.

"I don't think you've been your best today, princess," smiled Chrysalis. She was still in her chair, her back leg hiked up and her hoof rubbing her crotch. "I don't reward bad behaviour."

"You're doing so right now," argued Twilight. "Forcing two ponies to fuck against their will is what I would call bad behaviour."

Chrysalis mocked a wince, obviously pretending that Twilight's words were hurtful. "Such foul language you're using; most unbecoming for a princess." She stood up from the chair, walking over to the bed, leaving sticky prints from the hoof she'd been using to pleasure herself on the floor as she walked. "So many better ways to utilize that tongue of yours."

Twilight narrowed her eyes. "Don't you dare."

"I'm just saying, if you want to have a filthy mouth, I can help expedite the process." She climbed up on the bed and straddled Twilight's head. "I'm sure you remember what to do with this."

Twilight clamped her lips shut. The smell was bad enough; she didn't want a taste. Even as Chrysalis rubbed her lips over Twilight's nose, she held her breath, not wanting to snort the juices that were dripping into her nasal cavity.

That plan was ruined as Shining slid back into Twilight's pussy, causing her to gasp again. Chrysalis pressed down, mashing her thighs against Twilight's cheeks. As much as Twilight was against the idea, her jaw was not as powerful as Chrysalis' pelvis.

"That's good, Twilight," chuckled Chrysalis. "Eat up. That's what we call good behaviour, and that can be rewarded."

As she spoke, Shining began to caress her insides with his flare. Certainly, that would have worked as a reward, if she had wanted it this way, but as of now, all it was doing was conditioning her to the concept that having sex with Shining Armor, a pleasurable and happy instance, was the same as being subservient to Chrysalis. While those were not the same, that's what she was going to think going forward, and that was a harrowing thought.

Giving up the fight, Twilight pressed her tongue against Chrysalis' labia. There wasn't really much point in fighting back anymore. Shining couldn't protect her in his current state, she couldn't protect herself, and Cercus wasn't around to put a stop to it. It was a losing battle, and she knew it. It would be easier to just put up with it until Cercus came back.

It tasted a little bit better today than it had last time. She'd washed recently, but also, something familiar was there. She couldn't quite place it, but there was something calming mixed in, something that she couldn't place. Whatever it was, it made her feel better, and as it leaked out, she was eager to lap up the fluid. It was only as Shining flooded her with his seed that she recognized the taste. It was his. Twilight wasn't the first one to be filled with his seed today.

As she reveled in the flavour and felt herself filling up, Twilight succumbed to the pleasure and let herself feel release for the first time since leaving Canterlot. She began to suck her brother's seed out of Chrysalis' pussy, savouring the flavour of Shining that she'd been missing for so long. It had been too much time since she'd tasted him, and even if it was diluted, it was a pleasant memory that could not be tainted.

Or so she thought. As she gulped it down, a new, acrid flavour forced its way across her tongue. It gushed with a fair degree of pressure, washing away the pleasant taste of her brother. Nor did it taste anywhere near the vaginal discharge of Cadance. It was not salty, sweet or sour, just bitter.

Twilight immediately pulled her tongue away and clamped her mouth as tightly as she could. Changeling urine streamed down her face, stray spurts rushing up her nose, but most of it flushing across her eyes and splitting its path around her horn, dripping through her mane.

"Oh, come now," chuckled Chrysalis. "The way you were lapping at my loins, I would have thought you were thirsty?"

Twilight shook her head as best she could while stuck to the bed. She kept her mouth and eyes shut tight, not daring to open them until she was sure Chrysalis had nothing left in her.

"You can play with your brother for the rest of the day," she laughed, disembarking the bed. "I only came back to collect him, anyway. I doubt I'll be coming back here very much from this point forward, so feel free to sleep in that puddle of yours." She turned to Mandible, who had been watching from the corner of the room the entire time. "Keep her here until he's done with her. Feel free to use her as you see fit."

"Yes, majesty," he answered as she walked out and closed the door. He stood and walked over to the bed, wiping Twilight's face off. "There's something I've been wanting from you for a long time," he smirked.

Chapter the Sixty-First: Cercus Returns

The next week was absolutely brutal for Twilight. She had shifted from sleeping at night to through the mornings. Carapace wouldn't let her move or talk, but he never complained about her snoring. It wasn't just for him, either. It turned out that Cercus had only selected Mandible to watch her during the day, but Chrysalis had taken that back to just afternoons and evenings, and assigned Carapace and another changeling to watch her in their own eight-hour shifts. The one that watched her at night, whose name she didn't ask for fear of a repeat of her first day being bound to the floor, didn't like her being allowed to sleep while he had to stand guard, and kept poking her with the butt of his spear whenever she looked too comfortable.

Chrysalis was no better. Twice, she had called Twilight to the throne room for entertainment. The first time, she'd had to pleasure herself in front of an audience of changelings, and then she was made to recite verse with half a dozen grapes in her mouth while wearing a saucy outfit. The second time, she thought was reasonable at first, as she just had to peel a zucchini to her preferred size. She didn't peel off very much, leaving most of it intact. This was something she came to regret as it was then shoved up her arsehole and sealed in place with changeling goo. She had to walk around like that for hours, at first just doing random chores for Chrysalis, but one of the court guards wanted to see her dance with it stuck up there, so she had to do that next.

She was very nearly at the point where she would go to Fluttershy and demand the wiggleworm toxin to end this torment and let her mind run blank. As horrible as that fate was, to be mindless and without critical thought; to ensure Equestria's defeat via complete loss of leadership, a smouldering ash of hope stayed her hoof. The ponies of Equestria needed her. Shining needed her. The princesses needed her. Her friends needed her.

But she needed Cercus. He could give her reprieve from this hell. He was the only changeling that would treat her with any dignity, and with him gone for so long, she was fighting a losing battle. If she had to put up with Chrysalis' tasks one more time...

"Good morning." Twilight's ears perked up. She sat up on the bed and turned to the door. There, dropping a large pack from his shoulders, was Cercus, looking right at her. "Did you miss me?"

"Cercus!" Twilight bolted to the door and tackled him, knocking him back a step. She squeezed him tightly and cried into his shoulder. "What took you so long?"

"I'll take that as a 'yes.'" With a soft chuckle, he walked her into his new bedroom, the one she'd shared with Shining. "That dragon friend of yours is quite the talker. Every time I tried to end a conversation, he'd just move right into the next topic of discussion."

Twilight looked up. "You're not going to hurt him, are you?"

"Probably not. We're not barbarians." He turned to look at Carapace. "Most of us are not barbarians," he rephrased. "There's a good chance he won't be harmed, and to demonstrate that, you can have this."

Reaching into his pack, he pulled out a small scroll addressed to Twilight. She took it, pulled it open and began reading.

Twilight

Cosmic Crash assures me that you're alright. The fact that the sun and moon are still circulating in the sky tells me all I need to know about that. I'm glad you're safe, and that you've found Celestia and Luna.

I don't understand why you don't just come back. I know you want to help the gryphons protect their holy site from the zebra armies, but surely you can do that more easily with the Equestrian army. Having all five of you might be a very powerful force to be reckoned with, but surely you must understand it's risky?

I'm not judging you or questioning your wisdom. If there is a reason you all have to be there, I understand. I wish I understood why, but I suppose it is best to defer to you. You're the smartest pony I know, and if anypony could figure out a way to make sure all of you come back safely, it's you.

Equestria stands shakily right now. Everypony knew that the other princesses had disappeared, but news of your leaving has caused an unexpected upheaval. I'm doing my very best to keep everypony calm, but I'm only one dragon. Equestria needs her princesses back.

I look forward to hearing of your casualty-free victorious defense.

Interim Princess Spike the Dragon

Twilight wiped a tear from her eye. Spike was doing his best, and all he asked in return was her safety. He truly was the best Equestria had to offer. It was just too bad that he wasn't enough.

"What's this about a Gryphon holy site?"

"I had to tell him something to explain where you are," replied Cercus. "Now, have you spoken with Mandible?"

"At length," Twilight nodded. "He's been the best of my caretakers while you were gone."

"He was supposed to be the only one," Cercus scowled.

"Orders from Chrysalis," answered Carapace. "It's my job right now."

"Actually, it's mine," replied Cercus. "You are dismissed, Carapace."

As soon as he was out of earshot, Twilight let loose. "He was horrible," she started, trying to avoid sitting down. "He was very rude, and he kept telling Chrysalis that I was acting up and being bad. I mostly slept when he was around because it was the only way to stay out of trouble. That, and the night shift chaperone kept hitting me. Mandible was okay, but he kept taking me to Chrysalis every few days, and yesterday, she shoved a fruit up my butt and the night shift guard was supposed to take it out so I could sleep but he wouldn't, and Carapace would have stuck my mouth shut and just le-- AH!!"

With a flash of his horn, the goo dispersed, and Twilight's colon shot the zucchini across the room. It bounced once on the bed, then fell to the ground, as did Twilight. "Thank you," she said, gasping for air. "Warn me next time?"

Chapter the Sixty-Second: Longing

Twilight was back in Cercus' capable hooves once more. She'd taken a bath after every trip to the throne room except the last one, but this one, she knew she would enjoy. In fact, Cercus even made sure to make it an herbal bath in a double tub, meaning he would be bathing with her this afternoon.

As similar as this was to her first time, it would not be the same. This time, she was well-adjusted and ready to be bathed by an attendant, or even Cercus, if he wanted to be more hooves-on with his care. He'd washed her enough that she'd become accustomed to his doing so, but this last week without him, she'd been more chummy with the attendants, who were very friendly; certainly moreso than her other company.

As it so happened, Cercus did call over an assistant to aid in his own scrubbing. The reason he gave was that he wanted to hear Twilight talk about what had happened, but Twilight suspected that he just wanted to let a pony handle his junk. Not that she minded, of course. She was used to it by now, as she'd had to watch Mandible visit the princesses and enjoy their bodies, and he'd even had her suck him off while she was glued to the bed. Changeling genitals had become part of her routine.

As she went over all of the details of what had gone down the previous week, he kept closing his eyes and nodding along. As Twilight was very succinct and exhaustive, he wasn't required to ask any questions, as she pretty much answered the ones he was going to ask without him even needing to push. When she came to the part where he walked in, he just held up his hoof. He knew what happened next.

"Sounds like you had an eventful week," he said coolly.

"Please, don't make me go through that again," she huffed, the attendant scrubbing her shoulders. "How was your week?"

"A lot of talking," he nodded. "As I said, Spike is a chatty character, very open to sharing information with somepony carrying a letter from you. I'd have been back sooner, but he kept coming up with questions that needed answering, concerns that needed addressing, he mentioned that he sent your favourite manebrush out for repair... So much stuff that wasn't important, but I still had to answer his questions to be able to move on."

"Did he ask about me?"

"At least thrice daily."

Twilight smiled. "That's just how I imagined he'd be."

"Then you may enjoy this good news: He may be able to take a break soon. We're going to begin returning the princesses to the castle."

Twilight's jaw dropped. "R-really?"

"Yeah, it should be about two weeks until Luna can go back to Canterlot," Cercus nodded. "A bit slower than expected, but all part of the plan, regardless."

Twilight thought back to the last time she'd seen Luna, the day before yesterday. She was completely changed, to the point where she could shift patches of her skin into other colours. So close was she to being one with the changelings that she could almost take the form of an alicorn again, though her anatomical structure would remain as it had become, as would her mind.

"Mandible will be going to replace the royal physician, who will have a sudden epiphany on how to fix the disease that has been plaguing the princesses, have a courier carry 'the cure' to her, and voilà. She can start healing and come home with most of the disease gone. Cadance will come next, along with a changeling posing as Shining, and finally Celestia."

Twilight furrowed her brow. "What about me?"

"You're not quite ready," said Cercus. "We'll send a facsimile with Celestia when she returns, but you can't even take a changeling's seed yet. We can't send you home as you are, you're still a risk."

"So, in order to leave here, I have to change myself into a changeling and let them all use me whenever?"

Cercus shook his head. "Not at all, though that is one way to do it. We could enthrall you, bind you to me, suck out all of your capabilities... or, if we wait long enough, it won't matter. Once we're harvesting Equestria and growing ponies for our consumption, you'd be unable to do anything even if we let you go. I wager five years. Five years from now, you'll be incapable of defeating us because we'll be so ingrained into your home."

Twilight sighed and rinsed out her mane in the herbal water. As the rosemary-scented mud poured down the drain, she weighed her options. If she waited, it would be years of putting up with whatever Chrysalis wanted to do to her, but she would leave with her will intact, to a broken Equestria that she would not know as home. To leave right away, she could let go of her very being, lose her mind, and succumb to the same fate as the other princesses, laying eggs every week to bolster the hive's numbers. She'd be out, and able to see Spike, but would she even be capable of recognising him?

Her thoughts weighed heavily on her as she and Cercus went to dinner. He didn't bother her or ask what she was thinking about. She'd tell him if it was important to her. Even as Applejack came over, she did more talking to Cercus about Twilight than actually talking to Twilight. She had been around long enough to know when the princess was concentrating on something, or at least was able to tell the difference between her being focused and upset.

After an early dinner, they returned to their room. Mandible, hearing about Cercus' return from Carapace, had sent a stallion to clean it before leaving, especially the bed. As Twilight walked in, seeing the zucchini in his gear with two bites taken out of it called her back to reality. If only he'd known where it had been, he'd not have bitten into it. Or perhaps he would. She didn't know whether or not he was that perverted.

She laid down on the bed and curled up. It hadn't been a long day, and she had been excited to finally be up and moving around, but now it was time to think. She had a lot to consider. She sighed as Cercus crawled into bed behind her and laid beside her. Despite the bigger bed, he was no further from her than he had been previously. He was still smelling her mane, though now it smelled of rosemary. She could still feel his exhale on the back of her neck. And as she reached behind her and pulled his wrist around to her chest, she could feel his embrace.

Chapter the Sixty-Third: Open to Negotiation

Cercus was still asleep when Twilight woke up. It was quite early in the morning, which was reasonable. They'd gone to bed early, and she'd made a habit of sleeping lightly at night recently. That she felt rested at all was a boon in her eyes. Of course, that may have also had something to do with her bed being warmer with something to wrap around her, even if it was just Cercus' body.

His front legs were both wrapped around her middle. She'd placed his left there, but during the night, he'd wiggled underneath her and pulled her back against his chest. Not that she minded very much. His body was comfortable against hers, and he'd not done anything untoward to her, at least without warning. The worst thing he'd really done to her was abduct her, and that was under orders. After that, he'd bathed her, which was not as bad as she'd anticipated, left her alone with Chrysalis, which was out of his hooves, and lied to her about his identity, par for the course as far as changelings were concerned. He was worse than most stallions, but as far as changelings were concerned, Cercus was the gold standard.

She sat up and stretched, moving the bed just enough to pull Cercus from his slumber. "Good morning," he yawned, rolling onto his back and letting his joints pop into place. "Sleep well?"

Twilight ignored the question. "You said yesterday that there were ways to let me leave here early, right?"

"That's right."

"What were those ways, again?"

Cercus sat up. "You can turn yourself into breeding stock, become a thrall, wait until Equestria is completely bent to our will, or..."

"Or I become bound to you."

"That's right."

Twilight took a deep breath. She didn't like any of those options, but there was one that she wasn't sure that she understood fully. "What do you mean by binding us together?"

"It's not vastly different from how you live now," answered Cercus. "There are some notable differences, though. First, you'd have to do whatever I tell you without question. No more would you have a chance to refuse or postpone something."

"That's not so different from how it is now."

"I said it wasn't a vast departure. As of right now, I could demand that you pleasure me, and if you tried to run, I'd just have to pin you down and force you to do it. If we're bound, you won't even be able to run. The moment I told you to do anything, you'd be compelled."

"Isn't that the same as enthrallment?"

"Not quite. In enthrallment, you do so without thought. As a thrall, if I asked your opinion on how my tail looks, you'd just tell me what you think I'd want to hear. Thralls cannot think above their station, and their only desire is to please their master. That is what happened to your brother. If you're bound to me, you can say things like "That sweater doesn't match your trousers, wear this one, instead." If you're mine, you can introduce me to your parents, have lunch with your friends, read books and make decisions. Just as long as those decisions don't stand in the way of following my orders."

Twilight took another deep breath. "Can a thrall be unenthralled?"

"A thrall can't think for themselves enough to want to be unenthralled."

"No, not for me. I want my brother back."

Cercus looked up at the ceiling. "I've never heard of it happening, but it might be possible. Even if it is, that's not my decision to make, even if I had the ability."

Twilight closed her eyes as her body tensed up. "I'd have to talk to Chrysalis about that, wouldn't I?"

"He is her pet, after all."

That didn't bode well. Convincing Chrysalis to let him go would be a monumental task on its own, let alone finding out if there was even a possibility of return Shining's mind to him. Even if he could come back, what then? Just reaching that point, she may not have any desire for him left.

"Is that all that would change?"

"There would be a few physical changes, as well, mostly internal. You'd be capable of laying changeling eggs, you'd gain the same ability to shift your pelt and mane colour that Luna is learning over the next few days, and of course, you'd be capable of flight and magic again because your body will have adjusted to the hive entirely."

That certainly was a notable change. Being able to use her magic and wings once more would be huge.

"And also, you'd be able to see Spike again, recognize him, and still feel joy at the feel of his claws around your shoulders. Unless I told you to feel something else, of course."

A twinge of fear ran through Twilight's whole body. "You wouldn't..."

"No, I wouldn't. But I could."

Twilight reeked of fear. She couldn't believe she'd considered doing this. "Any changeling could just stop me on the street and tell me how to feel? That's--"

"No, no, just me."

That was not what Twilight had been thinking. In her eyes, submitting to Cercus had meant submitting to the hive. He'd set her rules and limits for so long now, and had allowed other changelings to follow in his wake that she had assumed that anything he was capable of doing would apply to every other changeling. "So, if I go through with it, I only have to listen to you? No other changeling can make demands of me?"

"They can make demands, but you don't have to listen."

"I can just ignore Chrysalis?"

"Well, she'll probably order me to order you to do things, so there's no reprieve there, but no, she can't order you directly. And I'll make sure she knows that you are exclusively my property. If she wants orders carried out across Equestria, she still has Luna, Celestia and Cadance, so it's not as though she needs you that badly."

Twilight released her breath that she didn't realize she'd been holding. "So, let me see if I have this right. If I bind myself to you, I become your servant, doing whatever you tell me to do, feeling whatever you tell me to feel, but otherwise I'd be free to do as I wished. I'd still have my thoughts and emotions, I'd just have to obey every order you gave. If I refused, I'd be..."

"You would be physically incapable of refusing."

"Can my friends come with me?"

"Only if they're also my property."

Twilight took another deep breath. "I have a few conditions."

"You know I can just agree to them now and ignore them later, right?"

Twilight smiled "I don't think you will."

Chapter the Sixty-Fourth: Due Process

"Are you certain about this?"

"Positive."

Twilight lowered her hoof to the back of a wiggleworm. For the first time, she'd been allowed to move around inside the hive with no escort at all. Cercus had, of course, left instructions at all entrances not to let her out, but she had expected that. She wasn't going to the exits, though. She had come down to see Fluttershy. "Don't you have anything smaller?"

"Of course I do," said Fluttershy. "A new clutch just hatched over here, but they've already been cleaned up, and that means there's no toxin in them at the moment. Then there are the adolescent ones, but they were all milked yesterday, and it'll be several days before any of them produce any more toxin. This is the only one that can produce as much as you need."

"But it's so big! How am I supposed to ingest this thing? I can't even open my mouth that wide, and I doubt my gag reflex would allow me to not bite down on it."

"You'd be surprised," smiled Fluttershy. "They're squishier than they look, and while those mandibles and cerci look sharp and dangerous, they're retractable."

"I still don't think I could swallow it. I'd choke for sure."

Fluttershy picked up the wiggleworm and gently stroked it. "I could try to siphon some of its toxin away, but the changelings that come to collect it are pretty mean-looking. If they didn't receive all that I had, they'd start to think I was doing something with it, and having a bottle unaccounted for is not going to make them happy."

"I understand," nodded Twilight.

"Why did you need it, anyway? It doesn't have the same effect on changelings as it has on ponies. Even if you were to dump the toxin into one of the changelings' mouths while they slept, you wouldn't suddenly be able to control them."

"It's not for that, no," admitted Twilight. "Honestly, I..." She waved Fluttershy in close and whispered, "I think I'd be able to do more to protect Equestria from outside the hive, and this is one of the best ways to leave it."

Fluttershy also dropped her voice to a whisper. "Doesn't it suck out your will and make you just another egg carrier for the hive?"

"There's a process. Cercus says that if we do it properly, I can keep part of myself intact. Enough so that I can continue to make my own decisions."

"Do you think he's telling the truth?"

"I don't know. But I do know that if I sit in here and wait for them to let me out, they'll devour all of Equestria. If I just submit entirely to them, they'll devour all of Equestria. If he's lying to me, then that's the same as submitting. But if he's telling the truth, then maybe, just maybe, I can provide some kind of buffer to slow the process down. It's not going to stop them; that would take a miracle at this point, but there's a chance that I can slow it down and give that miracle more time to happen.

Fluttershy nodded in agreement. "Well, if you're sure about this, then I believe in you." She hoisted up the worm and placed it in a box, which she then placed on Twilight's back. "If you're unable to swallow him, he can burrow in somewhere else. I know it'll be uncomfortable, but try to just let him do his thing. He knows what he's doing."

"Don't you need him back to keep up your quota?"

"Of course. But right now, Equestria needs you more than I need this wiggleworm."

With a hug for Fluttershy, Twilight returned to her bedroom with the wiggleworm on her back. It was actually more akin to a grub than any worm she'd ever seen, but she wasn't the one who had named it. This thing was massive, seven and a half centimetres wide and just over thirty long. Long, pointed barbs at one end served as mandibles, and a slightly smaller set at the other end made up the cerci.

Cercus returned to the room a few minutes after she did. "Did you pick up a bottle?" he asked, bringing his own box to the dresser.

"They took it all away yesterday," said Twilight. "There wasn't any down there."

Cercus turned around. "You know, that's just going up a few more flights at this point, right? It's being used to aid in the production of changeling eggs. It won't be leaving the hive at all until Luna is properly seated in Canterlot Castle."

Twilight blinked a few times. "I did not know that. I don't think Fluttershy knew that, either." She picked up the wiggleworm out of the box. "However, she did give me this. She said he emits the stuff we needed?"

"Well, that's certainly an option. Faster than drinking the stuff, but not as fast as injecting it right into your veins."

"I still don't think I can swallow him, though."

"That's okay." Cercus sat down next to her and took her hoof in his. "Once we start, there's no easy way to reverse this. If you find that you're scared and start bowing out halfway through, you'll end up exactly as the princesses are. Keeping your mind can be stopped. Changing your body cannot. If you want to just wait until Equestria is ours, you don't have to change, but this is your last chance to consider it. Once we start, it's permanent. Are you sure you want to go through with this?"

Twilight took a deep breath. "What I want is no longer an option. What I have as options are not ideal, but of all of them, being bound to you is very much the least bad. I'm going through with this."

Cercus nodded. "Then lean back and spread your legs."

Twilight did as she was told, and felt Cercus securing her down. She couldn't thank him for what he was about to do to her, but she knew it was for the best. It would all be worth it to see Spike again. First, he spread her lips apart to allow access. Slowly but surely, the wiggleworm crawled up inside of her, causing her to squirm and writhe as the big bug crawled up her vagina and into her womb. Here is where it would stay until her body was transformed. Once it was in a place where she couldn't remove it, there was nothing more to do but let her body absorb the chemicals. Alas, there were two more things that needed to be done daily to ensure that the binding took properly.

Chapter the Sixty-Fifth: Submission

Twilight stood up slowly. The wiggleworm was now properly situated inside of her, meaning that she could no longer feel it. Even pressing her hoof against her abdomen, she couldn't feel anything there. It was as if it had disappeared entirely. She turned around to look at Cercus, and as her eyes fell on him, her vision began to blur at the periphery while her focus on him became much sharper.

He looked different, somehow. His jaw was wider, he was taller, and his chest had taken on the shape of two barrel lids. She couldn't believe how good he looked. He walked over to the box he'd brought in. She enjoyed watching him walk. As he pulled out a bottle, she gladly accepted it and took a drink. How could she say no to him?

The moment the bottle was empty, everything shifted back to the way it had been before the worm had worked its way in. Cercus was the same as he'd always been, but her perception of him had changed. For a moment, she'd wanted to do whatever he asked, within reason, of course. But would she have been able to discern what was and was not reasonable? At any rate, she now understood why the other princesses had changed their minds so suddenly. If she hadn't drank from that bottle, she'd have shared their fate. The one she was needing to take was a different path.

Cercus sat down in his chair and beckoned her over to him. She immediately put up a resistance, as she still needed a moment to collect her thoughts. He beckoned again, and this time, she felt a slight twinge in her muscles, almost commanding her legs to approach. Now was not the time to test how far she could flex away from the rules, so she walked over and sat down in front of him.

"Now, there are a few rules to that potion I gave you," explained Cercus. "It will neutralize the neurotoxin that eats away at your memories, but it also strengthens the one that attacks your decision-making and motor function. We need to tweak that, or the end result will be that you are capable of thought, but unable to resist any command. Not just from changelings, either. If left as it is, you will have to perform any task you can understand. To interrupt that, you need to take in my excretions shortly after or shortly before drinking that potion. Within an hour, to be exact. During that time, you will be highly susceptible to that biological reencoding, so during that time, you're not allowed to take in the excretions of any other changeling or pony. If you break this rule, then you will find yourself unable to resist their commands, either. In this way, Chrysalis could control you if you eat her out within an hour of taking the potion. Do I make myself clear?"

Twilight nodded. The fewer in number changelings she had controlling her, the more freedom she would be able to experience. Two hours of monoamory per day was an agreeable rule to follow, especially if she wasn't planning to have any sex that day, regardless.

Cercus reached down between his legs and extended his cock. Twilight didn't need a command to know what to do with it. She had to swallow whatever came out of the tip. She had another fifty-five minutes to draw something out of it and into her. Whether his load went up her arse, into her pussy, or down her throat was entirely her decision.

It was perhaps best to start with the easy solution. She'd drank the potion, and she'd never had much issue drinking other fluids, and she'd also already tasted changeling cock by way of Mandible. It was something she was already prepared to do.

She narrowly opened her mouth and stuck out her tongue near the base. He was only partially exposed, not fully extended and definitely not hard. She began to lick him gently, noting a much cleaner taste than she remembered from Mandible. His cock was just the same as his balls had been when she'd been made to lick those, and that made sense. Both times, he'd washed recently, though it was less recently this time, leaving a slightly saltier flavour.

Before long, he was at full extension. As her lips wrapped around his glowing tip, his hoof brushed her mane back around her ear and rubbed her cheek encouragingly, guiding her head as she bobbed up and down his shaft. She wasn't exclusively trying to pleasure him, more akin to drawing out the climax as fast as possible. That did mean pleasuring him, but only as a means to her end.

She took in as much as she could, deepthroating him as best she was able. The more contact she had to his junk, the faster he would cum for her, and the faster she could remove him from her mouth. Not that he tasted that bad. He was not too dissimilar to Shining, once the thin layer of skin oil had been washed away by her saliva. If she closed her eyes, perhaps she could even imagine that it was her brother coaxing her to continue.

As she imagined herself back in Canterlot, on those cold nights where she would steal away under Shining's comforter, memories of better times came flooding back. She slipped a hoof between her legs and began to rub, moaning softly as she swallowed the phantom dick of her dear brother. Their parents would be away all night, meaning she just had to wake him up and have him warm her up in his loving embrace.

So wrapped up in the memory was she that when Cercus fired his seed down her throat, she buried his cock deep as it could go, then slowly pulled away, slurping up any and all traces of fluid and drying him completely before opening her eyes and remembering who she was with.

"Very good, Twilight," smiled Cercus. "By how sticky your hoof sounds, I'd say you enjoyed that, too. Which is good, because you'll need to do something similar every single day for the next several months. I'm glad to know that you found it so agreeable."

Chapter the Sixty-Sixth: Adjusting

"Just a little higher, darling!" called Rarity. "This is the last one!"

Rainbow and Twilight flapped their wings in sync, making their final lap around the inside of the hive for the day. Rainbow had fought back against the Changelings so hard that she'd nearly shattered her spine, and strapping her down so tightly that she couldn't move had caused some of her muscles to atrophy. She would fly again, and probably even go back to full power, but first, she needed to go through physical therapy. Twilight was helping Rainbow work out while she was still recovering.

Twilight was adjusting well to the body-morphing effects of the toxin. Her mind was still hers after a few weeks, and her front hooves were slowly shifting to their changeling forms. She was progressing faster than Celestia and Luna had, which made sense, as she was helping the toxin along, but not as fast as Cadance had. Then again, the wiggleworms fed on lust, and Cadance had that in spades.

When they landed, Rarity walked briskly to them and gently rubbed their shoulders. "Very well done, girls. We'll be through this in no time."

"Thanks, Rarity," huffed Twilight. "I'd almost forgotten how good it feels to fly."

"I'll never forget the feeling," smiled Rainbow. "I hope I never lose it again."

"Come along, you two," chuckled Rarity. "You're both very sweaty, and it's time you had a bath."

The trio made their way to the bathroom, called for a double tub, and Rainbow and Twilight settled in for a light soak while Rarity scrubbed them. "I can't believe we're on our way out of here," said Rainbow as Rarity rubbed her down with a rag. "Especially leaving the other three when we go. We should all be able to leave."

"Cercus is working on it," assured Twilight. "Since he has to convince Chrysalis to let him make any big changes to the hive, I'm amazed he's not leaving you two behind."

"Well, if there is one thing that working in pony care has taught me, it's that it's a great place to listen to gossip and rumours," said Rarity. "I have my hoof on the pulse up there, and according to the scuttlebutt, the only reason I'm not a regular servant is because Cercus said to keep me as I am. I wasn't told why, though. As for Rainbow, she's seen as more of a liability than an asset. Keeping her here is more trouble than it's worth."

"Ha!" spat Rainbow. "I guess nopony told them that I'm untamable. The rumours there are definitely true. I'd cause more damage sticking around here than I would going back to Ponyville. They'll be glad that I'm gone."

"I bet they will," smiled Twilight. "I'll certainly feel better with you two at my side."

"We'd never leave ya hangin'," smirked Rainbow, wrapping a hoof around Twilight's shoulders. "Not by choice, anyway."

Twilight shuffled in her seat. "You don't think the price we paid is too high, do you?"

Rarity shook her head. "The changelings were smacking me around in the most rude fashion imaginable. Having to take Cercus'... advances... is a small price to pay for his protection. None of the other changelings are allowed to handle me at all for two hours every day, plus I'm allowed free time to spend with you two."

"I spent the last month and a half pinned to a rack," nodded Rainbow. "A blowjob a day to be able to move freely throughout the hive is nothing."

"Yeah, but we're giving up our free will," worried Twilight.

"Just to Cercus," assured Rarity, magicking over another towel to help clean Twilight. "Applejack said it sounded like a good deal, and I trust her judgement."

Twilight shrugged. She had tried to talk to Applejack about it, but every time she started, Cercus was around. She didn't want his commentary to shift Applejack's decision, but hearing that Rarity had already had the discussion with her, and that Applejack thought they were doing the right thing put her at ease. She wasn't in the clear yet, but it was something, at least.

Before too long, they'd be doing this all again, not in the changeling bathroom, but at the Ponyville Spa and Bathhouse, or perhaps even in their own private bathrooms. They weren't going to be in the hive much longer, and the desire to be out among other ponies was rising the more that option seemed viable. They just had to wait for Cercus' command.

After their bath, Twilight bid the others farewell. Rainbow was going to the dining hall to bulk up on Applejack's cooking so she could at least try to be back on top of her game for her return to Ponyville. Rarity needed to return to her job while she was still in the hive; bathing and grooming ponies and changelings alike, be it coiffing a mane and tail or polishing a carapace. As for Twilight, she needed to go back to her bedroom and wait for Cercus to come in and administer her per diem.

She didn't have long to wait. "I see you're right on time," he noted, moving over to the dresser on popping open one of the bottles. "Are you ready to begin?"

"Actually, do you mind if I ask you something, first?"

"Go ahead."

"I was talking to my friends today, and Rarity said that she'd heard a rumour that the only reason you picked those two was because they're not contributing to the hive as much as the others."

"That's not true," answered Cercus. "I picked all five of your friends. The only reason those two are coming with us is because they're going to be of more use outside the hive than inside, but I'm currently in negotiations for the other three. In fact, I've even started laying the groundwork for bringing them back to Ponyville, though I suspect it will prove a long process."

"How long?"

"The negotiations have to be done before we leave. It's not like it's a quick run from here to Ponyville, and if I leave you for a few days without any of my excretions, you'll end up bound to all changelings, or if I have to leave you with another, you'll be bound to them as well as me. You'd have less freewill, either way. I'm sure you don't want that."

"How long until the groundwork is done?"

"A few months, I hope. If I had you already at my full command, perhaps we could rush the whole thing and be done in a month, but I'm not holding my breath. As of now, we just have to depend on Princess Luna and her handler making sure it all works out."

Twilight nodded and drank down her potion. "That's all I needed to know for now." She lowered herself to the floor and opened her mouth.

Chapter the Sixty-Seventh: Changes

Twilight waved as Luna's carriage rolled back toward the Equestrian border. Her progress had been swift, and after a few days with no vaginal sex, she'd stopped laying changeling eggs temporarily. She was now able to don a disguise as herself, and as soon as she had a designated egg chamber, she could start laying changeling eggs with her two changeling handlers.

Twilight was coming along nicely, herself. Her shoulders and hips had already been eaten away, and her wings and back were next. Cercus had even taught her a little bit about transformation, and she was almost able to change the colour of her hooves, though she was still unable to hide the holes, and she certainly wasn't ready to make them feel like real hooves yet.

Still, progress was progress, and with a command from Cercus not to pass beyond the gate, she was allowed to watch as Luna was carted off. If she arrived safely and nopony suspected a thing, Cadance would be sent back to the Crystal Empire in less than a week.

Speaking of Cadance, she looked just the way she used to, and was still as as lusty as ever. Of course, she was not allowed to undergo the same treatment Twilight was, as her love was legendary, and could potentially overpower the entire hive if left in her own care. She was especially not allowed to see Shining, as the two of them together would undoubtedly spell the end of this incursion, and potentially eliminate all of the control the changelings had accrued in the process. Underestimating them in the past had led to the changelings' defeat, and that's not a mistake they would make twice.

Twilight returned to her room. When she left for Ponyville, she definitely wouldn't miss this place. While she had come to appreciate the sturdy, yet lightweight structure and soft, easily sustainable lighting, it was dull, dull, dull. She'd mentioned several times that Cercus should decorate, and he had hung up a poor excuse for a painting, but returning to her castle in Ponyville would be a spectacular lift to her mood. Not to mention the feeling of the wind, the taste of freshly-picked apples and of course the warm greetings of happy ponies.

Almost. It would happen soon. Cercus had given his word, and he'd kept most of his promises already. Taking her back to Ponyville with some of her friends would be a breeze. She just had to wait a little longer.

She did not have to wait long for his arrival, however. He walked in with a big smile on his face, but it melted into shock when he saw her on the bed. "What are you doing here?" he asked. "I thought you wanted to see Princess Luna off?"

"She left a little early," replied Twilight. "She looked spot-on. You trained her well."

"It wasn't me."

"You as in you collectively. The changelings in general."

Cercus smirked. "I know what you meant. I was just fucking with you. Speaking of which..." Twilight opened her mouth and stuck out her tongue, but Cercus shook his head. "Mount the bed and spread your legs."

Twilight's eyes shot open as her hooves pulled against her. "You said not until I was ready!"

"It's not that, calm down," assured Cercus. "You've been on the treatment for two weeks. Your body is slowly acclimating as time goes by. You look to be past the point where you should be following orders to the letter, so let's see how well you perform. Spread those lips."

As Twilight's shoulders hit the bed, she found herself unable to stop her front hooves from reaching back and pulling apart her flesh, as if inviting him in. "Please, no..."

"Now beg me to fill you."

Twilight's jaw forced itself open, and the words she'd been dreading for the longest time escaped her lips. "P-please, Cercus... Fertilize my eggs..."

Cercus smiled and placed his hooves on Twilight's flank. "Call me Dominus."

"F-fuck my p-p-pussy, Dominus. Please..." she sobbed.

"Well, since you need it so badly... No."

Twilight looked back at him. He was rock-hard, and looked like he was about to push his way into her, but he wasn't going to. "Wh--" Twilight was shocked. "What?"

"That doesn't count as real begging; I ordered you to do it. Besides, this was just a test. I needed to see how far you would go against your will. You should be to the point where you follow my instructions without hesitation, and here you are, spreading your pussy and begging me to fuck you as I commanded. Now, let's see..."

"I can't believe you wou--"

"Be silent."

Twilight shut her mouth. She couldn't even grunt through her nose. She was definitely feeling the effects of having given over her freewill. This was terrifying.

"Be calm."

She took a deep breath. This was, after all, just a test. He hadn't broken his promise after all, he'd just frightened her a bit in trying to see how far she'd come. She hoped he was pleased with how well she was performing.

"Be glad."

It wasn't so bad, after all. Of course he'd be pleased with her. Why wouldn't he? She'd performed admirably, and there was no way he was disappointed in her.

"Feel your emotions as you naturally would. You may also speak, but no yelling."

Twilight's distress came rushing back, but now she was ready for it. "Why would you do that?" she whinged. "That was terrifying."

"I had to give you commands you really didn't want to do," answered Cercus. "It had to be something you would actively fight against. If I told you to suck me off, for example, you were going to do that, anyway. You could mock fighting back. If I'm being unreasonable, though, you would push against it, and that's what I needed to see. You of all ponies should know how important it is to collect accurate data with blind tests."

Twilight's jaw dropped. The more she thought about it, the more she knew he was right, and despite how small she felt when she lost control of her actions, she had known for weeks that something like this could happen. That's what this process was all about, after all. This had to happen for her return to Ponyville. Of course they wouldn't let her tell all of Equestria about what the changelings were going to do. They were going to demand that she act as if everything was alright. It would be stupid of them to return her to Ponyville with no way of keeping her from talking.

"Play with yourself," commanded Cercus as his now-lubricated cock worked its way up her arse. She did as she was told, still trying to come to terms with her new situation. It wasn't just her, either. Rarity and Rainbow would have to go through the same test, or at least something similar, if they were going to be going back to Ponyville. She could only imagine what kind of horror awaited them.

Chapter the Sixty-Ninth: Giving In

When Twilight and Rarity returned, it was time for Twilight's daily administration. Rarity had already had hers, given several hours before she'd come to take her test. She was also looking much better, having scrubbed all of the colourant out of her mane and tail. She was relieved to find that the bugs were all gone, returned to Fluttershy in mostly healthy condition, if a bit battered.

Rarity immediately moved over to the closet, sorting through her belongings and arranging them in such a way as not to detract from her new master. Not that she had a lot right now, regardless, as most of it was just pony care equipment she'd been assigned, but still, it was currently more than what Twilight was carrying, and even Cercus didn't have very much. He did have some very nice clothes, though.

Twilight, however, appeared disturbed, as if dreading something coming up. As Cercus popped open a fresh bottle of potion, she watched wordlessly, and when he offered it to her, she took a deep breath. "You said you had a plan for the other three. What all needs to happen for them to join us?"

Cercus set the bottle down on the dresser. "I suppose it is time for an update. I've already finished the negotiations. First, we have to make you ready to appear in Ponyville, then take you, Rarity and Rainbow back home. Temporarily, you will all be staying in the castle until I can lower your necessary doses. Your castle will be my satellite hive. Once it's properly prepared, a process you will aid in once we return to Ponyville, Applejack will be brought in and shifted accordingly. Then Pinkie, and finally Fluttershy."

"And will they have to go through the--" Twilight's mouth locked up. She'd tried to talk about the test, and had found herself unable. She tried to rephrase her wording, something she foresaw needing to do a lot of in the future. "--Through the same set of circumstances given to us?"

"In their own way, yes. Applejack will be made to lie to her family, Pinkie will be made to prepare for a party that's not fun at all, and... I'm still working on Fluttershy's test."

"What about Rainbow?"

"She's going to lose a series of races and be publicly shamed."

Twilight took a deep breath. "And that's all we have to do to return to Ponyville? Run Rainbow's-- Make her-- You know what I mean. You claim her as your own and I learn to transform? We can go home and start bringing back our friends?"

"Not quite," smiled Cercus. "One more thing."

"And what's that?" asked Rarity, coming out of the closet.

"Something she has to beg for," answered Cercus. "Which I had her do as part of her own test, but making her beg for it doesn't count. She has to beg of her own accord."

"Beg for what?" asked Rarity. "What's he talking about, Twilight?"

Twilight sighed. She was hoping Cercus had forgotten, but she was going to have to do this sooner or later. Best to strike it now, before it became the only thing left on the list. Besides, he'd already been up her arse, and experience told her that this was easier. Rather than answering Rarity's question with her words, she grabbed the potion and chugged it. With the chemical in her system, she leaned back, grabbed her ankles, and looked up at Cercus.

"I want you to fuck me. Please."

Rarity looked, wide-eyed, between Twilight and Cercus. She had no idea what was going on.

Cercus just laughed. "You call that begging? There's no desire. Just resignation."

"What do you expect?" asked Twilight. "It's not what I really want, but something I have to do."

"If I may," offered Rarity, "you can have me, instead. If it would spare Twilight the indecency, I--"

"No, this isn't something you can do for her," said Cercus, "though I appreciate the generosity of taking one for the team. This is something Twilight has to do."

Rarity thought for a moment, then she rushed over and whispered something into Twilight's ear. Cercus couldn't quite hear what she said, but Twilight nodded and pulled herself upright and to the floor, crawling under Cercus' torso and pressing her lips against his slit. With an encouraging nod from Rarity, she stuck her tongue inside, trying to coax his tip out. Her play was successful, and she quickly sucked the whole thing down her throat as soon as she could.

Rarity once more whispered something in Twilight's ear, and she quickly pulled away. "I love this thing," she moaned. "It's spectacular! Any mare in Equestria would want to have one inside of her!"

She turned around and made a show of using her tail to direct it to slide along her slit, which was still pretty dry, but beginning to slip. She was preparing for him, all the while letting out soft little moans. Twilight was making an absolute fool of herself trying to put on this act. Cercus knew it was an act, but he let her carry on anyway. She didn't really want his cock, but she wanted to want it. She was trying to crave for his touch, and that denoted the same kind of effort.

With one final cue from Rarity, Twilight pressed her chest to the bed, spread her back legs, and used her front hooves to hold her lips open, whining cutely as she began to drip. "Please, Mr. great big stallion!" she called. "Tear up my insides with your cock! I need you more than anything! Please!"

Well, now. That was certainly a call not likely to be ignored. Cercus could even feel the desire in her. Forced as it was, she was lustful, and she truly did want to be filled. Who was he to argue? He lined himself up, pressed his way in with ease, and began to fuck her, just as she had begged. She was keeping her eyes closed, meaning she was likely not paying close attention, and if he pushed just a little, he might be able to determine just what their plan was.

Thrust after thrust, he slammed into her, and he could feel her mood shift from trying to enjoy it to actual enjoyment. She was pushing back against him; he could feel it. He didn't have the capacity to last too much longer, but she wasn't very far off, either. As he picked up the pace, she tightened around him, and for the first time since she'd fallen under his control, they came together.

"That was good, Shiny," muttered Twilight, having lost herself in the fantasy. Her words were breathless as she crawled into bed, her climax having exhausted the last of her energy for the day

Rarity's jaw dropped. As Cercus tucked Twilight into bed for a nap, she rushed over. "I told her to think of somepony she truly loved!" she whispered. "That's her brother!"

"Well, we all have our secrets," he chuckled. "You're to keep that one to yourself."

Normally, Rarity wouldn't go spreading such things around, especially not without talking to Twilight about it first, but Cercus' order locked it in place. There was no way she was telling anypony.

Chapter the Seventieth: The Final Day

"Come on, Twilight!"

"You can do it!"

Twilight concentrated on her form, twisting and controlling the transformation as it coursed through her body, filling the crevices in her hooves, covering her shell with a thicker coat, and puffing up her mane and tail. With the encouragement from her friends, she fully shifted herself to her original shape and held it there. She looked just like herself again.

Cercus took a good, long look at her body, inspecting every square inch for imperfections. Of course, nopony knew Twilight's body quite like Twilight herself, but he knew the art of transformation, and that was what he needed to check for. All of the little details she may have forgotten, such as the exact placement of her cutie mark, or the image of her face. Looking in a mirror, a pony might remember something backward. However, Twilight managed to do a good job. Even the inside of her throat changed to the proper colour.

"Very well done," he smiled, tousling her mane. "Now, you are to keep this form active at all times. Under no circumstances are you to drop this form, except under direct orders from me."

"It's not like I was going to drop it, anyway," huffed Twilight. "The stigma against changelings in Equestria is still really strong. If Ponyville thought I was a changeling, which I suppose I am now in part, they certainly wouldn't accept my rule. Even if I did blow it, you'd probably have a backup plan, wouldn't you? I'm already staying in Canterlot with Celestia, aren't I?"

"That's right. You sent Spike back to Ponyville to prepare for your return."

"So that's everything, isn't it?" asked Applejack. "You three are ready to return home now?"

"I'm all packed," confirmed Rainbow. "Rarity has her stuff ready to pack up, and Twilight's belongings are ready to be packed up with Cercus' things."

"You're next," nodded Cercus to Applejack. "In about a month, if all goes well."

"I'll be packed up 'n ready to go," saluted Applejack.

"We may not be ready by then," warned Cercus. "It may be three months."

"I have faith in my friends," smiled Applejack. "They'll bring me back as soon as they can, I just know it."

"Me, too!" bounced Pinkie.

"They'll send for me when they're not busy," said Fluttershy, "if it's not too much trouble."

"As fast as we're able," promised Rainbow. "No way we're going to keep you here any longer than we have to."

They exchanged hugs, then the seven of them made their way up toward the room to pick up their belongings. On the way, Cercus selected five changelings to accompany them back to Ponyville. Two to pull the carriage, and three more to act as stand-ins for the ponies that they still could not bring. He sent them up to the surface to prepare the carriage that they'd be riding in.

As Rainbow had stated, it didn't take long to pack everything up. While neither Rarity nor Twilight was fond of the minimalist design, they had to admit that not having a lot of personal items definitely made it easier to pack. They were all cleared up and ready to go in only a few minutes. Despite being the reason it had been brought in, Twilight had asked to leave the horrible painting behind, as better ones were already waiting for her back in Ponyville, and even better, there were photographs. Those would spark much more joy.

By the time they made their way outside, with those not under command kept on leads by the gate guards, the carriage was ready, and copies of Pinkie, Fluttershy and Applejack were already waiting for them, with two Royal guardsponies pulling. With one final hug, Twilight, Rainbow and Rarity climbed into the carriage. Cercus was the last, shifting into the form of a gryphon. After all, the current story they were telling was an incursion on a gryphon holy site, so having a gryphon with them coming back was believable.

As the carriage took off toward Equestria, Twilight watched out the back window. After several minutes, she watched the distant specks that were Applejack, Pinkie and Fluttershy go back into the hive. She wondered how long it would be until they were all in one place again. Perhaps a year, perhaps less. All she knew for certain was that it would feel like an eternity before it was over.

She sat down next to Cercus. The carriage was surprisingly spacious, though she guessed it had to be. Three ponies and four changelings would be riding in it for a few days, and after they arrived in Canterlot, three more changelings would need to join them. On top of the two drivers, that made twelve total beings that would need to take part in this transport.

She sighed and rested her head on Cercus's shoulder. While she wasn't particularly fond of him, she had to keep close to him. He was the one who decided every aspect of her life from here onward, and keeping him happy was the only way to fight back. It was all she had, and she was glad just to have this little bit.

The trip back to Ponyville was uneventful and quiet. They'd stop every night, with Cercus taking the girls into one tent and leaving the other changelings to tend to themselves. Every morning, Cercus would administer Rarity's treatment in their tent, keeping her loyal to him. After lunch, he'd take Rainbow in front of everypony. She seemed to be adapting well, actively trying to make Cercus cum as much as possible, as fast as possible, as if it were some sort of competition. Perhaps it was a contest, in her eyes. If that was the case, she would probably fare the best out of the three of them, a thought that Twilight found encouraging. If she didn't have to worry about Rainbow Dash, and with Rarity helping her through the worst of it, Twilight had confidence that she would see her friends again, even if under less favourable circumstances.

Twilight's turn always came right before bed. Cercus would fill her up, give her a kiss, then fall asleep with his three concubines on top of him. Sometimes, Rarity and Rainbow would hold her hoof, reminding her in these moments that she was no longer alone. Her friends had been there when she needed them most, and they would stand by her side until the end of Eternity. It was for them that she could keep going. If she had left them behind when she went looking for the princesses, she'd have been alone in facing the hive, and she'd have long ago given up everything.

Chapter the Fifth: Hot and Bothered

The remainder of the night went on as planned. While a few of the party guests stayed behind for games and further socializing, it wasn't necessary. Fancy pants opted to stay behind, as he'd missed out on everything before dinner, but Luna had fulfilled her obligation and made an excuse to leave, citing that, as princess of the night, she needed to be available for the sunset ceremonies. Cosmo decided to join her in departing, citing personal matters to which he must attend. They both left, but not before Luna talked Fancy into inviting them both to his next dinner party, a week from Wednesday.

The evening was young, and the two walked along the road back to the castle side by side. Luna hadn't had a grand opportunity to take in Cosmo's appearance earlier, as her first interaction had been a bit rushed, and her second had him halfway hidden behind a table and its decorations. It was only now that she could see him fully, and appreciate his appearance.

He was above average height for an earth pony. Not tall, but certainly not short. He had a very slender build, but with broad shoulders that didn't fit the rest of his frame. His jawline was squared off and popped away from his neck, and his gaunt cheeks only helped to accentuate his jawline and cheekbones. He had a sleek dark green coat, a fiery slicked back mane, and dark sapphire eyes. As the dinner party was casual dress, he'd worn a long-sleeved blouse that matched his mane, with the cuffs rolled up above the elbow, and a patterned blue vest over the top to match his eyes.

"Is that what you usually wear?" asked Luna, trying to strike up a new conversation.

"The shirt is," he answered. "The sleeves were made to roll up, and then stitched in place to keep them from rolling back down. It was a design choice that I don't claim to understand, but I think it paints me in a light of being somewhat well-off, while not barring me from being able to perform tangible work. As I said, I have a small orchard that I tend to."

"Oh? What do you grow?"

"Black walnuts, a few pecan trees are mixed in there, too. I'm thinking of adding some almonds into the mix soon."

Luna shook her head. "That's not at all what I was expecting. I thought you were growing fruit trees."

"Nope. Nuts."

"Do you sell them?"

"I mostly just give them out as gifts. If you'd like, I can bring you out to the orchard sometime to have a look, maybe take a sack home to munch on."

"I'd like that," smiled Luna. "I cannot wait to taste your nuts."

As the words left her mouth, she suddenly realized that they had a second meaning she had not intended, and she quickly covered her mouth, her cheeks turning bright red in embarrassment.

Not wanting to cause her to lose face, Cosmo quickly gave her an out. "Do be careful with the shells, especially on those walnuts. They're very hard, so make sure you're using the right tool to crack them open."

Luna nodded and continued on her way, taking a few deep breaths. She wasn't prone to that sort of mishap. Could it have been tied to her sudden onslaught of unexpected heat? She had to figure out what was wrong with her before it soiled her relationship with this baron.

Soon came the point where the two would part ways. Cosmo took Luna's hoof in his own, bowed down, and kissed it. "I had a wonderful time at the party, mostly due to your intervention. I shall send you the address of my orchard soon, and we can discuss a date and time through the mail. Alternatively, you can pop in whenever I'm there, mostly in the mornings."

"I shall try to find some time soon," Luna beamed. "Good evening, Cosmic Crash."

"Good evening, Princess Luna."

As soon as they had stepped out of view of each other, Luna rushed back to the castle, up the stairs, and toward her bedroom. She locked the door behind her, to ensure that she wouldn't be disturbed. The bedrooms were enchanted to be sound-proof if the doors were closed, for any conversations that would take place therein were private matters. A knock at the door was audible, but outside of that, no voices or noises could be heard.

Immediately after flopping down on the bed, Luna's hooves shot between her legs and she began to masturbate furiously. She didn't know what it was, but she could not keep her loins in check tonight, and she needed a the sensation to go away so she could think clearly. Using only her hind legs, she pushed herself across the bed and ripped open the drawer to the nightstand, flinging open the door to the hidden compartment in the back and pulling out a gyrating dildo, which she planted firmly inside of her pussy.

The toy was meant to be capable of automatic operation. One would slide it in, flip the switch, and it would begin twisting around inside of the user. The hard core of the device had a motor and several gear shifts, but the outer silicone was soft and flexible, and would retain its form while in use, just moving around. The problem was, the batteries were dead after sitting for several months.

After banging it on the nightstand in frustration, hoping that she could intimidate the device into working, she decided to just use it lake a regular dildo, pumping it in and out of her snatch with her magic while her hooves each grabbed ahold of a breast to ease the aches in them, as well.

As she tried desperately to find release, she found herself thinking back to her night. She'd first felt the sting of arousal when she ran into Cosmo, and after her first bout of relief, when she thought she could handle herself, she felt it light right back up when she talked to him again, hiding her excitement by staying under the table and keeping her legs closed. She was practically frothing on the walk home, which had likely led to her outburst.

She couldn't believe that she'd told him, out loud and in public, that she wanted to taste his nuts. And yet, as she relived that humiliation over and over, the more she felt as though both sides of the statement were accurate. She hadn't seen them, as he had been sporting a thick tail cut, but her imagination filled in a few of the blanks. She could imagine his balls, thick and heavy, and his dick, long and swishy. Perhaps it was inaccurate, but she couldn't know for certain.

"Do you like having me inside of you?" she imagined him saying. She'd only just met him tonight, but she had paid attention to his voice, and in her thoughts, she could replicate it. "Do you feel how happy you make my cock?"

"Yes!" she shouted out, feeling her release approaching. "Yes! Fuck me!"

"Then cum for me, Luna. Soak me in your happiness."

"A-ah!" with a buck of her hips, she discharged all over her toy, soaking her sheets. Panting in ecstacy, she raised the moon from the window, and passed out. A minute or so later, the maid that had been changing the towels in the ensuite bathroom sheepishly slunk out of the room. She'd seen everything, but didn't want to risk interrupting her princess.

Chapter the Sixteenth: Soaking Respite

Celestia lowered herself into the warm water. A strong herbal smell rushed to her nose as her body was engulfed in the extracted oils. This was very relaxing, even if she still felt a bit of stress with Luna not having arrived yet.

"Don't worry, Princess," smiled Twilight. "She's here in the castle and she's agreed to join us. She's just taking a little bit of extra time in the shower, that's all."

Celestia rolled her head around to look at Twilight. "You're a princess, too, you know. Just Celestia is fine. Or Tia. We stand on equal ground, and this is not an official meeting."

"I'm sorry."

"Don't go worrying about it too much, either."

"Sorry."

"Twilight, take a deep breath."

She took a big breath in and held it, puffing out her cheeks.

"And let it out."

Slowly, Twilight exhaled. She was starting to feel a little better.

"Luna will come," affirmed Celestia. "I know she will. She was formerly a wielder of the elements of honesty and loyalty. It's not as though she would break her word. I just have to wonder what's taking so long."

After a few more minutes, the door opened and Luna walked in. Both of her front hooves were wrapped in bandages that extended up to her wrists. Trotting over to the edge of the bath, she sat down next to the basin. "You'll understand if I stay out of the water."

Celestia looked from the bandages to Luna's face. "I'm going to need you to explain yourself, Luna."

"Blisters," came Luna's response. "Nasty ones. Too much sudden strain on my hooves, according to the doctor. I don't want to risk them suddenly popping and contaminating your bathwater, so I wrapped them up nice and snug."

"What sudden strain?"

Luna lifted one of her hooves to examine the wrappings. "Apparently, it was an allergic reaction. I was unaware that I had any allergies, so this was news to me. Probably from the oil the stonemason used."

"At least we caught it early," smiled Twilight.

"Another reason I don't want to become too wet is the rash cream," continued Luna. "I just applied it, so I'll be soaking alone later."

Celestia sighed. "The reason I wanted to see you in here today is because I've been so worried about you, and I thought I might relieve some of my fears. Now we're just adding to them."

Luna reached over and placed a hoof on Celestia's shoulder. "I'm sorry, Tia. This isn't what I wanted. It's just a bad set of circumstances that led us here. All we can do now is make the best of what we have. And if these blisters and rashes don't go away soon, I may be restricted to the castle for a time. Until then, bigger shoes to hide the bandages."

Celestia rose partially from the water and hugged her sister. Luna did her best to hug back, but could only go so far as her elbows. Her hooves were still bandaged, after all.

"I'm going to see to it that this is solved," promised Celestia. "You will have the best medical care in Equestria. I swear to it."

Luna nodded, a tear running down her cheek. As she pulled away, Celestia sank back into the water. "Now, enough talk of my personal tragedy. This is meant to be a happy, healing discussion. Do either of you have any topics of joy?"

"I'm glad you asked," beamed Twilight. "I was cleaning out my laboratory and making sure I had what I needed for the next few months' worth of experiments, and I found out that the side table that I've been keeping my paperwork on was actually not a table with a tablecloth on it, but a delivery crate from last season full of extra equipment. It even came with a bottle of Sodium Pentothal, so I don't have to buy a new one to replenish my stock."

Celestia smiled at that, glad that Twilight was still the studious gatherer of knowledge that she'd always been. Her desire to understand was a shining beacon of hope for the future of Equestria.

Luna, on the other hoof, cocked her head to the side. "Why did you need barbiturates?"

"Sleep studies," answered Twilight, not missing a beat. "What about you two?"

"I've been seeing a stallion," responded Luna. "Tia has met him, though I don't think they started off on the right hoof."

Celestia sighed. "No, and I was meaning to apologize for that. I've been very defensive, perhaps a bit too much. My words that morning are no less true now. I care about you very much, Lulu. I don't like seeing you hurt. I was wrong in my actions, though. I should not have blamed him. I just can't help myself."

"I'm sure he will forgive you," smiled Luna. "And I'm sure he understands that you're only looking after my best interests."

"What about you, princess?" asked Twilight, looking to Celestia. Realizing that she'd just repeated her mistake from earlier, she shrunk down a bit. "Sorry, Celestia."

"Oh, I haven't had the stallion I'm seeing over just yet." Luna's jaw dropped. A moment after she said it, Celestia realized what she'd let slip. "No, wait, that's-- I mean, we're not seeing each other just yet. We've only met the once."

"And you already consider yourselves as seeing each other?"

"No, no, it was just a slip of the tongue. It's nothing more than a simple infatuation. Nothing more, I promise."

"Are you going to see him again?" teased Luna.

Celestia sighed. "Look, I know I have a country to run, especially with your hooves being hurt, but in all honesty, I have thought about him several times, and there's a part of me that wants to go watch him practise. Just thinking of him now has me all riled up."

Twilight smiled and placed a hoof on Celestia's shoulder. "Why not? Luna might not want to show off her hooves, but she can handle the castle from behind a desk. Plus, you have me to help. I'll gladly take a load off your shoulders if it would grant you some happiness."

Luna nodded and placed an elbow on Celestia's other shoulder. "We all deserve happiness. But you should tell him how you feel. If he's into you as well, pursue him."

A tear of happiness ran down Celestia's cheek, dripping from the corner of her smile. "You two... I could not ask anypony else to stand by my side at Equestria's rule. Thank you, both of you."

Chapter the Thirty-First: Stretched Thin

Cadance sat outside the bedroom with Dip, waiting for the examination to end. Dip had fallen asleep on her shoulder, exhausted from the day's events. He'd passed out right in the middle of eating, meaning there was half of a burrito on his thigh.

Cadance desperately hoped that Shining was doing better than she was. She hadn't sent him a message about this yet, wanting to confirm whether or not this was the same thing Luna had gone through, first. The only pony she had contacted by mail about this was the physician in Canterlot who had examined Luna, and he had not responded yet.

The door opened and the local physician stepped out. "Have you heard back yet?"

"No," answered Cadance, "Not yet. How is she doing?"

"She's stable for now, but we can't be certain if it's the same thing that has been plaguing Luna until we look at her bloodwork, as well as Luna's. For now, she needs rest."

Cadance nodded. "Is there anything I can do to assist? This is a lot, and you probably want all hooves on deck."

"She's stable," repeated the doctor. "We don't need to do any big operations, just keep an eye on her and make sure things don't go from bad to worse. We gave her a cream for the rash and drew a blood sample. We also took some scrapings from her skin to examine. I'm going to go downstairs and see if I can glean anything with my limited equipment, but if you really want to help, just watch her and let us know if anything changes."

Cadance nodded and stood up, gently picking Dip up with her. "What about him?"

"He's passed out and dehydrated," analyzed the doctor. "We can put him in a bed and give him an IV drip, but it's not necessary that he receives treatment. Let him sleep, give him orange juice when he wakes, and he'll be fine."

Cadance nodded and handed him off to a guard that had heard the instructions. There were a few spare cots in the barracks, and anypony could handle giving him a glass of juice. With him taken care of, Cadance made her way into Celestia's room. She was curled up on the bed with the remaining guards cleaning up, and the captain making his way out.

"How do you feel?" asked Cadance.

"All the joy I felt before dinner is gone," grumbled Celestia. "I can't believe Luna would be so petty as to infect me with her weird disease."

"We don't know that," reasoned Cadance. "It may be something different that presents the same way. We don't know for certain yet."

"It's almost certainly the same thing."

"Well, it probably wasn't Luna that gave it to you. It could have been something else entirely."

Celestia rolled over and scowled at Cadance. "Nopony else but Luna has this ailment in all of Equestria. Who else could have done this?!"

Probably the pony that gave it to Luna in the first place," scowled Cadance. "I have my doubts that she gave it to you, moreso that it was intentional, and even moreso that she would infect herself with something that brings her great bodily pain for the sole purpose of spreading it to you. Do you really hate your sister that much?"

Celestia curled up and huffed. "I don't want to, but I can't help it. I don't want to think ill of her, but every fibre of my being is screaming that she's behind this."

"I understand that you feel that way, but it's not true. Luna would never hurt you of her own volition. I know she wouldn't."

"She already has," answered Celestia. "Do you not recall the return of Nightmare Moon?"

Cadance took a deep breath. "I know she did that, but it was not of her own making. I know that, you know that, and most of Equestria knows that she did not come to that decision on her own."

Celestia rolled over and glared at her niece. "Are you saying that it was my fault?"

"No," answered Cadance, "I'm just saying it wasn't all Luna's fault, either. It was a moment of weakness from her that she's fought against ever since."

"I did not weaken her," growled Celestia. "I gave her everything she has, and she spat back in my face! How dare you infer that I had anything to do with that! I protected Equestria by cordoning her battle off and locking her away for a thousand years. I'm the reason Equestria wasn't destroyed!"

Cadance took a step back, as did the guards. "I'm not trying to infer that yo--"

"I don't have to put up with this!" snarled Celestia. "All of you, out!"

"Aunt Celestia, please, be reasonab--" Cadance ducked as a lamp crashed against the wall behind her. Not needing to be told again, she ducked out of the room with the guards in tow, closing the door behind her. "I think her stallion friend is right," she said to the guards in a hushed tone. "She needs some sleep. New orders: do not let her leave this room until she's had a nap, and especially don't let her go to where Luna is."

With a fervent nod from the guards, Cadance made her way to the map room and opened the door. Much to her shock, the guard she had invited back had already arrived. He had a presentable blouse, a small bouquet of flowers, and had combed his mane. She'd completely forgotten that she'd called him back, and he'd been waiting so long that he'd fallen asleep.

As she tried to move him to a more comfortable position, he yelped and fell out of bed. "I-I'm sorry, princess! I didn't mean t-to... please don't fire me!"

Cadance placed a hoof on his shoulder. "Relax. I'm not going to fire you, I called you in here to fool around. However, given the circumstances, for once, I don't feel like it. I think, for tonight, I just need a hug." The guard, not sure how to react to the whole situation, extended his front legs slowly. Seeing how nervous he was brought a smile to Cadance's face, and she wrapped her legs around him. "Would you like to sleep in here with me tonight?"

"If that's what you want."

Releasing him, she climbed into bed, lifting the sheets and inviting him in. Once he was situated, she doused the lights and drifted off in his warm embrace.

Chapter the Forty-Ninth: The Pink Room

Twilight opted out of lunch, despite Applejack's urging. She just didn't feel like eating right now. There would be time later to sate her hunger, preferably when her stomach stopped turning. Cercus, not wanting to slow the tour any further through his own actions, simply took a brief nibble of affection from a unicorn mare before continuing.

Back to the stairwell, they ascended half a floor. The rotation of the bridges around the central column provided a platform every two steps that extended eight bridges to the next floor. Sixteen steps up would place you right above where you had been, about four meters up. Despite the small difference between platforms, a full rotation was nice and wide, and felt very gradual and gentle, especially given that it was a spiral staircase.

Crossing the alternate bridge, the next room they found themselves in was lit differently. Gone was the grey-green glow, as these mushrooms had been filtered through a red cloth to emit pink light. This one had almost no changelings, just a few to make sure that all was going according to plan. What it did have was a plethora of ponies. Along the walls and in rows across the floor were triple-decker bunk beds. In the middle of the room, several tables had several ponies gathered around them. On the largest table sat several ponies, each equipped with a musical instrument that they were playing.

Right in front of them, a pink mare was simultaneously conducting the music and dancing with the crowd, doing her best to ensure their happiness. As she turned back to face the crowd, she spotted Twilight and zipped over. "Twilight? Is that really you?"

"I think so," said Twilight, among having her face and body examined. Pinkie was very hooves-on, which set Twilight at ease. It was more likely that this was the real Pinkie. But just to be sure, she asked, "Is that really you, Pinkie?"

Pinkie narrowed her eyes and pushed her face right up against Twilight's. "How can I possibly be certain?" she asked. "For all I know, I'm a changeling who's gone so deep into the history and life of the real Pinkie Pie that I can no longer tell which Pinkie is the real one and which one's a fake! Like that time with the mirror pool! What makes this Pinkie different from a fake? How do I know which me is the real me?"

"You're both real," sighed Cercus. "You're both under lockdown right now, and that means there's no reason to trick you. Pinkie, tell Twilight what you do here that makes you an asset."

Pinkie wrapped a leg around Twilight's shoulders and led her forward. "Real Pinkie or not, I have a very important role to play, here. You know how changelings feed on positive emotions, right?"

"Yeah?"

"Well, there was so much sorrow and hurt with the ponies that they were feeding off of that they were bleeding them dry. What little bits of joy these ponies could feel was immediately scraped away and used to fuel the changelings. Applejack and I, or perhaps a changeling disguised as--"

"She was real, too," interrupted Cercus.

"We noticed that the ponies were suffering greatly, and wanted to make their lives less painful. This does have the side effect that it feeds the changelings more efficiently, but look around you. Even with the changelings devouring more and more of their joy, there's still hope in these ponies' hearts. Applejack or her double will tell you the same."

"I know, Pinkie," nodded Twilight. "I've already been to see her. I think you're doing the right thing. You may be helping the changelings, but more importantly, you're helping these ponies. I can think of nothing that would make me quite as proud as in this moment."

"Thanks, possible changeling disguised as Twilight. I'll tell Twilight when she comes through that you're doing a good job acting like her." Pinkie bounced back to the center of the room and started conducting the music again, to make sure the party kept going into the afternoon. It would calm down again at night when everypony was sleeping.

As Twilight and Cercus left the room, Twilight turned to face him. "Why are you showing me this? What is it you hope to gain?"

"I never said I was gaining anything from this," denied Cercus, shaking his head. "I've already achieved my goal for today, and it's time to start working on my next one. But I can't start on that until the queen gives me the green light, so until then, I may as well pass the time by talking to you."

"A likely story," snorted Twilight. "Look, I know you're not going to tell me your real reason for doing this, but if you're going to make something up, I'd rather you just tell me that I'm not allowed to know why and be done with it."

Cercus chuckled. "I only answered one of your questions. I have nothing to gain from this. I'm just waiting to start the next stage of my plan. What I hoped to gain was that you'd be healthy enough to be considered useful. You survived the trip back, so that's my main concern. As for why I'm taking you on the tour, That's for your own benefit. Do you really want to be wandering around blindly when we can finally send you to run errands on your own? Do you want to have to ask passersby how to reach the cafeteria?"

Twilight took a deep breath. "While it may be embarrassing, I think I can manage. Can we skip ahead to the end?"

"No, we can't skip to the end. We can skip the next three stops, though. You won't be able to see Rainbow, Rarity or Fluttershy, but it's not like there's much to see. They aren't really doing anything. Well, Fluttershy is, but if you don't want to see her, I suppose we can move along. Come on, let's go see the princesses. You're definitely not going to want this to come as a surprise."

Cercus led Twilight up several flights of stairs. Twilight had been thinking about the friends she'd skipped over and lost count of exactly how many flights, but it was less than half. She'd gone from almost the bottom to just under the center. It wasn't that she wanted to avoid her friends, more along the lines of not wanting to see them suffering. Applejack and Pinkie had only mentioned each other as being deemed important, meaning it was unlikely that the others were being treated as well. Best case scenario, Pinkie was managing to keep them from losing all hope. To see them suffer would bring her no end of pain.

"Are you ready?" asked Cercus, placing his hoof on the doorknob.

"If I say no, will it make a difference?"

"No."

"Then I guess I'm ready."

As the door opened and Twilight walked in, she realized that she should have braced herself. This was something she needed to be ready for.

Chapter the Sixty-Eighth: Bonding Through Shared Trauma

Twilight sat at the corner of the bed, a smile on her face, but dread in her heart. Cercus had informed her that today, he would be testing his control over Rarity, and if it was anything like what he'd done to her, she might very well be losing one of her best friends over this, because she had been commanded to help. Her only hope right now was that her friends would forgive her for what she was about to do.

Rarity walked in right behind Cercus. Rainbow would be coming in at a later date, but for now, this is where they would start. "So this is where you've been staying," she observed, looking around. "Not exactly the most colourful place, but it's better than where I was sleeping, at any rate."

"If all goes as planned, you may be sleeping up here soon," promised Cercus. "This is just a test; a formality to make sure that you will be allowed to return to Ponyville."

"This is the first I'm hearing of there being a test," groused Rarity. "Did you know about this, Twilight?"

"I did," answered Twilight. "I've known for a few days."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"I was commanded not to tell you about it until it was time to start," she said. What she didn't say was that she wished she could have warned her. She still wished that she could warn her, tell her to run, or prepare for the worst, but she could not give any hints to what was coming next. She was under command to smile and not give away any information until it was too late to stop it.

"Well, if it will help me return to Ponyville, let's go on, already."

Cercus smiled. "That's the spirit. Go sit in the bucket in front of Twilight, facing away from her."

Rarity did what she was told, but as Cercus had stated after Twilight's test, this was a task that was so minor and miniscule that she would have done so whether she was under control or not. If she did, she would be upgraded to a nicer room, and allowed to return to Ponyville. Why would she refuse the order at this point?

"Now just sit there and don't move your head or body from that spot until Twilight is done," Cercus commanded. Again, this was nothing.

"And just what is it she'll be doing?" asked Rarity. She didn't have to wait very long to find out. Twilight had three tasks in front of her, the first of which was to dump a basket of little insects over Rarity's shoulders, filling the bottom of the bucket she was sitting in. Rarity lowered her eyes and shrieked in disgust for the creepy crawlers. Of course, none of them were venomous or even dangerous, but they were still tiny little arthropods, crawling all over her. "Why can't I move?!"

"Because I told you not to," smiled Cercus, taking a seat in his chair to watch. "You're perfectly safe, but Twilight is going to be dying your mane and tail different colours while the bugs crawl over you."

"What kind of sick test is this?" cried Rarity. "What is this supposed to show?"

Twilight began to rub a liquid substance into Rarity's mane. It was now too late to stop the colouration. "Your mane is going to be green," she said, working the dye into the roots. "Not a vibrant light green of spring, but a dull, murky green of swamp moss." She'd had to say that with a jovial voice, pretending to be happy, but she had meant it more as a warning, preparing Rarity for the moment where she would have to look in the mirror when all of this was done.

Throughout the whole process, Rarity was cringing and wincing, not at all wanting to resemble the muck that infested the most disgusting parts of Equestria. Her facial expression told Cercus all he needed to know, and if he hadn't needed to file paperwork detailing this, he might have even stopped here. Alas, he had to be thorough and see this through to the end. "Ignore the bugs," he commanded.

Immediately, Rarity's expression changed to one of mild discomfort. "Why does it have to be such a horrid shade of green?" she asked. "I quite liked it as violet, but can't we go with an indigo, or perhaps a soothing sky blue? Perhaps even midnight? How about magenta? Anything else?"

Twilight wiped down her hooves with a damp towel. It was too late to debate the colours. They had been predetermined, so even if she wanted to, Twilight could not change the colour. Besides, she was finished with Rarity's mane. It looked terrible, as had been expected.

"Lower your face down into the basin and stick your tail up so Twilight can reach it."

At Cercus' command, Rarity lowered her face into the bugs, which immediately began crawling on her. It was a good thing that Cercus had told her to ignore the bugs, as Twilight could only imagine the horrified screams that would echo through the room, otherwise.

"This is going to be orange," said Twilight, globbing the colourant around the base of her tail and stroking it back. She tried to be even in the coating, as letting it be splotchy would be even more disturbing to Rarity than a nice, smooth consistency. "Bright, fiery orange."

"Ugh," grunted Rarity. "Could you have picked colours that clash more?"

"I don't think Twilight is knowledgeable enough about mane stylings to do polka dots," chuckled Cercus. "Even if she is, I doubt you really want her doing even worse to you. Do you?"

"No," huffed Rarity. "Hurry along, Twilight. I'd just as soon put this experience behind me."

As soon as her entire tail was orange and Twilight had wiped her hooves clean, she placed a mirror in front of Rarity. The look of disgust as she saw the dye job was heartbreaking for Twilight. "I look horrid. Only in my wildest nightmares have I ever looked this bad."

"You can move again, and you can notice the bugs again," said Cercus, standing up. Rarity immediately jumped out of the basin and swatted away all of the tiny creatures, which Twilight had to pick up and return to the basin.

As soon as she was in the clear, Rarity slapped Cercus across the face. "How dare you?!"

"I dare because I must," said Cercus simply. "Now, you're not allowed to tell anypony about the test, especially Rainbow. You're to come back here tonight for your new sleeping arrangements. You are not allowed to invoke any notable degree of violence toward changelings. Now, that colour washes right out, so go take a bath and then move your personal effects up here."

No longer bound by the test, Twilight was allowed to drop the façade, and she followed Rarity out the door to try to undo the damage she'd unwillingly caused. It was the least she could do.