What the hell... what the hell is this... darkness?

Everything I feel as of this moment is almost a faint sensation, with just the fraction of the supposed pleasure taking place as of this moment. The actions I'm performing continue to make less and less sense by the second, and all it's replaced by is the well-known intent to keep going. It's not my intent, but it's holding my body hostage.

"That's it, right there, pet!"

She's got me hunched over her frame, consuming her body with my own. She's so enraptured by my repeated intrusions, her grasp on my collar increases with every moment her legs start to give under my weight. The pink irises that pierce the smoky haze of the room have grown all the more greedy, pleading only for me. They seek not intimacy, but long for an emptiness to remain filled, replacing what seems to not be given so often. The muzzle over my snout only reminds me of the painful subjugation I'm in at the moment, the subjugation to Zenobia and her royal cravings. It shows that even royalty knows the carnality that devolves us into feral creatures.

And yet... I feel so out of place.

"You... fucking prick!"

The belts and buckles that seal my jaw tight are loosened, freeing me from that prison, only to be locked away to yet another cell. Her lips find me well, her tongue discover the depth of my throat, her control of self is temporarily lost. A warmth sprays the bottom of my loins and coat the inside of my thighs. It gushes repeatedly upon every thrust, her legs give way at last. She seems to stress greatly while I press onward, unceasing. My strokes slow, but show impressive depth, my claws grasp at her neck, holding her jaw to mine. My tongue climbs down her maw, she battles in vain to overpower mine.

I don't even feel it occurring, but the space I occupy within her is expanding, lubricating more and more with each deepened shove. Not long after, my inner thighs become sticky... and creamy. We don't stop, even after I've bred her into a stupor, she doesn't care for the mess of her tail being in the way, her magic only pulls at my collar, urging me to carry on as though we've just started.

Our lips separate, our pants slightly out of sync, but hauntingly matching a tempo. Her strength wavers not in her magic, but her body, she pulls me down on top of her as my hips slowly regain a little speed. Her hooves scrape against the wrinkled silk sheets of her bed, my feet claim anchor and pushes her body even further into her pillows. She releases a monstrous grunt. The buckles of my muzzle are refastened and she brings me back to the nape of her neck. Whimpers and shudders are what's left of her rapidly devolving dialog, singing a contorted melody to the rhythm of our amply audible, velcro-like collisions.

...But I'm doing more than what I can to hold back an increasing sickness.

The shame, the embarrassment, the humiliation I both endured and provided, being both sides of the same coin this imperial princess flipped at her leisure. Insatiable, greedy, manipulative... selfish. My mind screams throughout the madness, but muted by the repeated impacts.

This darkness... is this what it's like to truly lose one's innocence?

A gruesome display that haunts the recesses my mind replays ad nauseum, the hurtful expressions showing on Twilight's face as she's forced to watch me submit my body to whatever malice that stirs with each and every moment the collar is yanked on my neck, the seconds where my nostrils pick up the mystifying miasma of the nape of her neck. My adoptive sibling seeing every inch of me, sinking deep into the mare that taunted her. What discomposure I suffered then is only amplified now. And the worst thing is that I can't even bring myself to say it, the miasma forbids it.

Even now, I envision the seven heads of my kindred, their faces mostly resigned to misery, and a depressing content, they hunger for the life they no longer have, the light stricken from their eyes while they listlessly leer to me. Voices I'll never know, faces I'll forever remember, bodies I've never seen, memories I'll never shed. And yet... the only thing that seems to distract me from that terror is the muted sensation of my sex warmly embraced by the mare who calls me nothing more than her pet.

Is this what you've really felt, all those years ago?

Meanwhile in Canterlot Castle...

The throne room of the castle remains dimly lit, as it is long after the hours of visitation and business. The time grows closer towards midnight, and the many guards who had the day shift have long since checked out and gone home. Only a few remain now to guard the room as a trio of equines position themselves near the throne.

One of those equines happen to be the high princess, who's pacing back and forth with a lot on her mind. The other two are helpless in stopping her trot. She's far too angry to be halted, but Solemn offers words to the indignant mare. "Your highness, pacing back and forth is not going to resolve the issue of his ensnarement."

"You don't understand, Solemn." Twilight replies with a scowl on her face. "I sent him to that assignment, I thought he would be able to handle this. It's one thing that I know the realm is notorious for dragon-hunting, but I didn't anticipate him being hypnotized to serve a princess for her fetishistic endeavors!"

Solemn continues to play as the voice of reason. "It is unfortunate, your majesty. Perhaps the escort could be of some assistance for the time being."

The princess throws her hooves up in objective helplessness. "That's the problem! The imperial guard don't allow for them to even leave the airship, much less go after Spike!"

"Do we know this for certain?" The third figure questions from the shadows behind the throne.

"They get violent every time even just one or two try to leave the ship to relay a message!" The princess loudly unleashes a stressed groan into the hall. "This is devolving faster than I ever imagined it would."

"It seems to me that this is more than a country being territorial." Solemn concludes. "It feels like a trap. And it's one that Sir Spike is currently caught in by his ankles."

"I don't know what direction to take at this point." Answers the purple princess.

Solemn also adds. "It's also putting one of our specialists into harms way. I can't imagine that Kalimba is in any better of a position."

"But the difference between her and Spike is that she might be able to get out of it. She's resourceful and savvy, Spike's barely able to get out of a jam with some underground thugs, much less a well-organized militia of forces specifically tailored to subdue and exterminate dragons!" Twilight makes her way to her throne, sitting in dismay over what has transpired. "I made a terrible mistake."

The unicorn figure comes from behind the throne, his face finally coming to light as he speaks a much-less restrained dialog with her. "Well, sadly we can't do much on our own. We don't have the resources to be able to go halfway across the world for a recovery mission. This ain't the U.S., we ain't got the tech, the fuel, or the hardware to pull off an extraction of that difficulty." Stanton replies.

"And it's not like you can do what the captain can do, not to compare you to your brother." Solemn says, directing her comment towards the transformed stallion.

"No, you're not wrong." He shrugs. "I can stay a specialist under cover, that's not hard on me at all. But the one thing I can't do is do my brother's crazy ass shit. I ain't went through that process of putting up with it, nor do I even want to."

"And I hate that's the only thought I can come up with." Says the current captain. "It sucks that I had to come behind that force of nature when he retired, much less trying to plan for something of this magnitude. If he were here, he'd already come up with something."

"That or bullshit his way to start things up." Stanton adds with a slight chuckle. "I know it's a bit farfetched, but can we try the element bearers?"

Twilight stares at the stallion. "You're not serious, I know you're not."

"Not a great idea to start with." Solemn cosigns with the princess. "It would be one thing if we were sending a group of ponies to make that trip, but a changeling and a dragon both are included in that group, and they say no to the risk."

"Yeah, but they do have a thing for Spike. Maybe they'd be pretty driven to make things shake." Stanton thinks aloud. "You don't feel those two would want to make the trek for his sake?"

Solemn shakes her head. "I'm sure they would. But endangering those two would seriously put all of Equestria at grave risk should there be something significant in our future we'd need to tackle."

"And that's not something I'm willing to sign off on. The last time was a complete PR nightmare for the one who tried to sneak it through. And that guy threw himself out of a window not too long after that." Twilight reminds the stallion.

"Oh yeah, Count." He mulls to himself quietly. "Head went splat."

While the group is still sparse on ideas, Solemn continues to keep the fires of urgency under the current conversation. "Well either way, we can't just let this happen. There needs to be some sort of action taking place."

Stanton gives a quick retort to the captain. "Yeah, but what do you suggest we do? Call the only asshole capable of pulling it off out of his retirement? His wife would blow a fuse, and I don't know if we want to blow the fuse of a being that's still very capable of controlling the sun."

"I think former Princess Luna might be able to pull it off, provided that she's willing to come from retirement to assist." Solemn suggests.

"Nah, she ain't going for it." Stanton quickly shoots down the suggestion.

"How do you know that for certain?" Twilight asks.

"Trust me, she's not gonna budge."

The pair of mares continue to knock their horns together for ideas, Solemn being the first to propose an alternative. "So what about former Princess Celestia?"

"You'd probably have a better chance of her doing it, but she's definitely not going to do that." Twilight counters. "She's always been firm on trying to stay retired."

Solemn brings up another possibility. "Prince Blueblood?"

The stallion takes a brief moment to ponder the idea before shooting it down. "Mr. Family Man... Hmm... I don't think he's got the time to pull that off with him wanting to be involved in everything his kids are doing. And then we have the council of his wives to go through to get that approval. That ain't gonna happen there either."

Twilight brings up another possibility, but shoots it down in the same breath. "Shining and Cadance are tied up dealing with the cultists in the north. Flurry's much too young to get involved."

Stanton mumbles to himself. "Honestly, she could be able to pull that off."

Both of the mares shout back at him. "No!"

"I'm not saying she should, I'm saying she could!" He reiterates in his defense. "That girl's got some insane magic potential."

"And there's no way Emperor Shining Armor would sign off on that." Solemn adds. "Sending his daughter overseas on a risky recovery assignment in a land where violence against dragons is a celebrated practice. You're just signing the poor filly up for a lifetime of emotional trauma, especially if the worst is to happen."

"So we're straight thin on options... damn." Stanton says before he blurts out another idea. "Twilight, I know you don't want to─"

"Will never even try it, you mean." She interrupts.

"I was about to say 'go after him yourself'." He concludes, surprising the princess. "You said it yourself. One of the imperial princesses is using Spike as a dragon sex toy. And it's not too farfetched to believe that once she gets tired of him, he'll be treated like every other dragon out that way."

"I know it's probably a difficult choice for you to make, especially given your schedule, princess. But we can either choose to maintain our current pursuit of good relations, or we save one of the ones who has helped put a crucial alliance on the table for Equestria's sake." Solemn suggests. "Without him, the dragons may reconsider their allegiance. And when they find out where he's been sent off to under your instruction─"

"Shit gets real." Stanton concludes. "Can't get anymore real than those guys showing off heads as a message to your administration. And if they catch him lacking, which he is at this point, I feel like that will be their 'thank you' gift for sending that one guy back."

The stressed princess grimaces over the situation, thinking aloud. "So my only choices are to either abandon diplomacy with an enclave of creatures who are highly destructive and deadly, or abandon diplomacy with an enclave of creatures who are highly destructive and deadly. And it took us four years to get the arimaspi to even speak with us. Dammit, if I could split myself in two and make this work, I would."

Stanton mulls another possibility, but it only proves to be a small light in a sea of chaos. "I trust Kali to get Spike out of there herself. The only thing against their chances at this point is how they'll respond. Realistically speaking, I don't think that airship's gonna make it back across the sea in one piece. You see what they're doing now, and if I'm any bit of a villain, I'm keeping them corralled in one place just to remove that escape option at my leisure."

"Showing them that the option is still there, then removing it before they make the decision to take it is a pretty soul-crushing gambit. If they did that, there would be no question that it would open the doors to international conflict. I would say they make that decision only if they know they can win a skirmish." Solemn adds.

"And we don't know what weapons they have specifically. We do know the airship is surrounded by guards with an unusual abundance of spears. Their airships are far more powerful than the one we've sent, we know that much. But as far as their real capabilities are concerned, there's no reference we have to go on." Twilight taps her chin in pondering. "If only I could get in contact with Kali."

"But all that 'shoulda, coulda, woulda' don't mean nothing." Stanton bluntly answers.

The royal mare ears fall as she sighs in resignation. "...I said to myself I wouldn't dare think of it, just out of respect... Maybe I can get in contact with Alex."

"Options are few at this point, your highness." Solemn replies. "Maybe going this route will lead us down a dark path of destruction, but it will get the job done. Perhaps a rental could be in the works."

"You know that Alex won't sell any weapons to you." Stanton adamantly states. "Both he and Nondis made a promise that we won't go down that path, no matter how lucrative the situation may be. Hell, at this point..."

Stanton takes a deep breath before pulling out his phone. Twilight looks over his shoulder with disapproval as she reads the name at the top of the screen. "What are you doing?"

"Going to the nuclear option, the one you don't want to take."

The princess chides the stallion. "Are you nuts!?"

Before Stanton can answer, the dial tone cuts away to the voice of the intended party. "Yyyyello?"

"Hey bro, what you got goin' on?" He asks the man on the other end.

The voice happily responds. "Man... I'm making dinner for the wife, and I know she's gonna flip when she tastes it. I'm doing a lemon pepper salmon, with a side of buttery mashed potatoes, homemade bread rolls from scratch, and sauteed asparagus. She's gonna eat it, and we're probably going to make love on the dining room table shortly after. And then that itis is gonna hit us like a ton of bricks and we're gonna go right to bed."

"Yeah, sounds like fun." Stanton answers with hesitation in his voice. "So, I might need a little bit of a favor. Just a little one, maybe involve some travel, might need to load the yacht for this one."

A sigh comes from the other end of the line. "Stats, c'mon man. You know my wife will lose her shit if you got me doing some crazy-ass stunt work."

"...Well... sorry?"

There's a clatter on the other side, indicating some frustration and cooking ware present. "Ah hell, man. What's going on, what are you trying to get me to do?"

The stallion replies with pursed lips. "So get this, like it's crazy, but here's the deal... Spike's in Ponyland..."

A sigh sounds on the other end. "And how the hell did he get there?"

"Twi sent him over for a goodwill mission. It's not coming out well."

"Ah yeah, a 'goodwill' mission. I'll ask the previous Arimaspi chief how that went for us the last time we met." He replies with monotoned sarcasm.

"Didn't you kill that guy, along with the griffon that was helping him?" Stanton asks his brother.

"Uh, yeah... the griffon almost killed me."

"No. Your heart stopped beating when you got put on the table. You were a goner by a lot of standards. Mel made sure to tell us that without going into a complete mental breakdown. Twilight just zapped you to keep your brain from shutting down, and wouldn't stop yelling at you to come back. Mel took over from there, and now you're missing about three to five feet of small intestine."

"Yeah, not the only thing I missed out on. I was told I had to relearn how to walk, Twi broke up with me immediately after that." He recalls, causing the princess to lower her head with regret.

But the princess' ears doesn't stay pinned back with shame for too long, she hails out to the human on the other end. "I did that for your advantage, last I checked."

"Yeah, I'll admit the ugliness of it all worked out in my favor."

The princess proceeds to skip all formalities and gives him a bitter perspective to hopefully get the retired captain moving. "I know you're happy with your wife, and I know I'm bound to get some heat for it, but I need you to go get Spike. They just paraded seven dragon corpses by our airship, presented their heads to Spike, and now he's caught in some hypnotism spell by some lunatic princess. Kali's there, but I don't know if she can manage it alone."

"You let Kali go with him?" The retired guard expresses shock over the situation.

"And she's the one no one's heard from." The princess adds.

"...You know what, let me move the menu to this fucking yacht real quick so I can really say what I wanna say."

Midnight Castle...

Throughout the day, I've been in and out of Zenobia's room. Her inexplicable sex drive continues to be the primary factor of our interactions. But as the time goes along, I've started a subconscious effort to take note of what's being done to me. I do know that each and every time she calls for me, the collar alone has the effect of making me obey her. And every time I'm drawn into her neck, I get unabashedly aroused. And from that point, I'm doing a myriad of things to make her happy in that regard.

But it's moments like this when I'm finally alone to myself, I get the sense of reality rushing at me like the waters of a flooded river in a rainstorm. The foundations of my sanity are washed out from under me and I'm back to puking my guts out over the things that happened yesterday. It's because of those instances I've yet to eat since, the only thing I'm going on at this point is a cherry tart I was issued by the chance of Amor's fulfilled request. Since that moment, I've probably either digested it or threw it back up. Either way, I haven't eaten breakfast because Zenobia keeps me working, nor lunch because Zenobia keeps me away from her brothers, who are looking to add me to their stockpile of corpses.

Even now, the hours are growing sparse, my stomach aches from lack of nourishment, I'm nauseous from both that and yesterday, and I'm far too scared to leave this room for anything other than Zenobia dragging me out of here to tote over to her room for the sole purpose of being an disposable play toy for my own sake.

A knock sounds at the door, a light feminine voice hails out. "Sir guest?"

By now, I've learned not to leave this room for any other pony aside from Zenobia. She's the only one who can guarantee my safety. So I feign sickness. "Please, not now."

"Sir, are you alright?"

"I'm feeling quite ill. I'm sorry." Now that I think on it, is it feigning ill when I truly feel like it deep down inside?

"Her majesty requested you'd show for the evening banquet. I shall inform her that you are unwell."

"Thank you."

The mare walks away, I hear her hoofsteps slowly fade from the doorway. But then there's a loud squeaking noise that eeks nearer and nearer until it comes to a stop. I don't pay it any mind, probably just one of the other maids looking to offer cleaning services for my room. They even knock on my door with a polite measure.

"Who is it?" I call to the door.

There's no answer. So I go back to minding my own business, recounting my thoughts in preparation for my next encounter with Zenobia, at least thinking of some way I can resist the gambit she's got me in.

But instead, there's a harsh banging at my door, incessant and unwavering. It's far too loud to ignore, far too forceful to be anything like the maid from earlier. "I'm not feeling well, please go away!" I urge.

I leave my response at that, not even dignifying myself to approach the door. Instead, the lock clicks, and the knob turns, the door is flung open as a very vengeful alicorn stares at me from the doorway. "Oh, am I disturbing you?"

Much like his actions during our chess marathon, he corners me into the room at one of my more fatigued moments. There's a cold glint in his eyes as his horn shows a red glow. "I'm not feeling too great for anything right now."

"Well that's pitiful." He says without an ounce of remorse or pity. "It has come to my attention that your 'illness' may stem from yesterday. It's unfortunate that you would be so stricken over something so common in these parts. Surely you knew this is what you signed up for when you entered our borders, so don't take it personally that the crowd cheers for you to endure a gruesome demise."

"Please, I don't want trouble." I ask as he wheels in a wooden box. As soon as it's brought into the room, I can immediately smell the putrid odor of decay.

"I can understand you not wanting to see trouble, but you should've known that from the moment you crossed into our lands that trouble is all you've asked for. Now I know you're not 'feeling well' and normally I couldn't be bothered to care, but I'll be generous today. I've even brought you a little pick-me-up, a gift to show how much you mean to me."

He levitates what appears to be a hilt with a number of chains attached to it. I swiftly turn away before he opens the lid to unveil to me what he wants me to see. Next I hear the sound of dull impacts landing to the floor. I look down to the ground beside me, seeing the shadows of seven heads affixed to chains. I glance away, not wanting to see in full view the horror he's concocted. But I sternly make a demand of him. "You put them back where they came from."

"Aw, what gave it away?" He asks with a sinister chuckle. "Oh, guess it's the smell."

"Leave me alone, please." I request.

"Oh no no no." He says as he walks closer to me. "You don't get to run from this, get to hide from it like it's some sort of bad dream."

"I said get away from me!" I shout this time, looking to lock myself in the bathroom. But instead, he yanks me by my tail and use his magic to trip me. I land on my stomach as he glides over me, giving me a soul-crushing view of the seven victims from the parade, each affixed to a bit impaled into their cheekbones. The smell causes me to wretch and hold my mouth, as I can't afford to vomit and give Xerxes an opening.

"No. I insist. I insist because you carry on with no care for what you do to my family's image." He slings the chained flail, ushering all seven to be crudely smacked down in front of me. "For these past few days, I have endured much shame at the behest of your meddling. I have not only lost my dignity with you fornicating with my sister, but I have lost the time with my brother because of my father sending me off to do other remedial tasks. I've missed on the things that would've made me content! But look at you, you get to parade around our streets like you aren't walking with a large target on your back! I merely had to remind you where you are, and what place you have in these borders!"

"Those dragons did nothing to you!" I angrily and nauseously plead with him.

"They didn't, but you did!" He screams. "There isn't a century in this castle who hasn't spoke my sister's name with your mention not following shortly after! My pureblood heritage has been tainted because of your malfeasance! While she exploits you of her own will, I have had to bear that mark in the eyes of my guild these past few days!"

I try to get up, scrambling for the window, but his magic is far too much for me to overwhelm. I'm flung into the stone wall with the back of my head bouncing from the impact. I slump down with my newly acquired concussion.

He gingerly walks towards me with a faux smile. "Usually, it takes a day or two to hunt down one dragon. So would you imagine the great lengths it took for me to acquire seven dragon heads? Allow me to show you how special you are." He raises them before my eyes, making me come face to face with their expressions and their putrid odor. "Look at them! They all beg you to join them! They beg you to share the little warmth you have left." He also lifts an eight extension from the flail, allowing me to see the one bit that has yet to be used. "There's a special place for you, dragon. In this mace of mine, there's an eighth harness. You'll join them soon enough, and there will be little my sister can do to stop me from bringing you that hon─"

"PET!" The shrill of Zenobia's voice startles the both of us. The alicorn princess darts into the room to see both me and her younger brother, not to mention his gruesome offering to me. Her eyes narrow sharply and she grows incensed her younger sibling. "What! The fuck! Are you doing, Xerxes!?"

"What? I just thought that he wanted to talk with his fellow dragons, if he knew any of them."

She firmly calls to me with her horn glowing a fiery pink. "Come here." My body doesn't seem to mind the fact that it's still undergoing concussion recovery, acting on it's own accord by walking to her. As I stand by her side, her horn crackles and gives sparks while her head lowers to indicate her readiness to engage. "He knows better than to hurt what's mine."

The alicorn prince seems frustrated that his sister intervened, even more so with the fact that she's assuming a more combative role. It's the first time I've seen him have second thoughts on any encounter. However, he continues to antagonize me for my need of being protected. "Claim your safety all you want. There will be a moment where I'll find you alone again." He warns, rattling his chains all the while. "I will have yours as my newest trophy."

The wooden crate he wheeled along with him is slammed into his side, knocking him over. He lands beside the decomposing corpse remnants, landing him in a foul circumstance. As he raises up, he finds much of their stench on his body. "Take your shit-smelling funbox with you." She commands with a disgusted expression. "I don't need you stinking up the halls with your shitty hobbies again."

Having suffered the embarrassment of being knocked into his gruesome claim, now having to wear the stench, he places the victims back in the crate and hurriedly closes the lid. The prince walks away with no eye contact made towards the both of us, just a grumbling set of words passing by as the putrid stench of his shame following him. "Every. Moment... Dragon."

Zenobia checks in on me, seeing that I'm hardly in any mood to be bothered, the magic of her possession wanes and my body crumples to the ground in both physical discomfort and mental grief. She wraps her hooves around my head as he holds me close. "Poor pet. He's not going to hurt you, I promise he won't. I'll look after you."

I clench my eyes, trying to shake off the horror I've just witnessed. My failure only mounts more and more despair. "Why am I still here? Am I just going to suffer like them." Zenobia takes note of my verbalized thoughts and lifts me in her magic, holding me up to her as though I am some puppy.

"I know you're scared. But you can't stay in here. C'mon, let's get you showered, upright, and proper fed."

Meanwhile in Canterlot Castle...

It's well before the hours of the rising sun. Shifts are just about to undergo their respective changes. Solemn also enters into her shift for the first time of the morning. As she's often in charge of the wake-up detail, she's the first to enter into the princess' bedroom. More like than not, she's also one of the ones to wake her royal majesty.

Instead, she simply greets the wide-awake princess. "Your highness, you're awake?"

"I've been awake." Twilight replies with a dejected sigh. "I'm just expecting it at any moment now."

"Expecting what?" Solemn questions.

The princess looks out to the darkened sky out on the horizon, waiting for the moment where she can raise the sun beyond the horizon. "Both you and I know what's coming."

It doesn't take long for the guardsmare's synapsis to flare up and tie all of it together. "Your highness, I'm not sure if you're expecting bad news or a refusal at this point."

Twilight mutters to herself. "I know that by now she's probably─"

♪IIIIIIIIII'm.... gonna soak up the suuuun, I'm gonna tell everyoooone tooooo liiiiighteeeen uuuup!♫

Twilight drops her head as she summons her phone by her side, knowing exactly who the caller is by the ringtone she has set. "And here we go." She winces at the screen as she quietly answers the phone. "Hello?"

"Twilight Sparkle, it's always a privilege to get a hold of you."

The purple mare chuckles nervously. "Hey Celestia, how's the evening been yesterday?"

"Well I would say that I'm quite satisfied with how it was. But as you can tell by my sudden calling in, this morning hasn't been nearly as great..."

"I have a feeling I might know why." The purple alicorn sheepishly replies.

"Oh Twilight, it's almost as though you can read my mind."

"I trust there's a lot more than a few words on your mind?" The former protege asks her retired mentor.

"Why yes. Several." She answers with a sweet demeanor.

The princess immediately turns her speaker on as she walks towards the balcony. "I'm sorry, It wasn't like I was trying to go to this option, but... Stanton made the call for me."

The former princess takes note of Twilight's diminishing presence and asks to the room. "Am I on speaker?"

"Yes ma'am, you are." Solemn replies. "Her majesty is about to raise the sun."

"Well that's great, then I won't be doing this for naught then." The former princess clears her throat and shouts though the phone at her loudest volume, the receiver distorting her overwhelmingly powerful voice. "PONYLAND, TWILIGHT!? YOU SENT SPIKE TO PONYLAND!? REALLY!?"

Twilight doesn't even seem the least bit pressured, mainly because all of her efforts are now being turned to lifting the bright celestial object beyond it's point of pre-dawn twilight. "It was to return a prince back to his homeland! He was sneaking around Equestria with absolutely no permissions or correspondence to his family! And then he had the nerve to get abducted here in Canterlot!"

Solemn proudly serves as the former ruler's nagging presence, levitating the phone next to the occupied current. "Ugh... what am I going to do with you?"

"It's not my fault that he has a case of the googly eyes for me! I didn't even want him!"

"Wait a second. A Ponyland prince likes you?"

"Crushing a little too hard, frankly." Twilight answers as she strains over raising the heavy celestial body.

"So let me get this straight. A Ponyland prince has found favor to seek you. And you did what in response?"

"I sent him back home! I'm not going to start a relationship with some guy I don't even know, much less of that religious preference!"

"YOU SENT SPIKE OVER THERE!" Celestia shouts in response before calming herself. "Okay, I get it. I understand that your concerns and decision was for the good of the country at large considering the circumstances, but you've risked an international incident to appease that misogynistic despot of an emperor Basileus Apollo!"

"If I had kept that prince here, it would've turned into a possible war!"

"Again, I understand. But sending a dragon envoy to a land that hunts dragons for sport is not my idea of a mission of goodwill! You've basically given them a sacrifice to start your trade deal!"

"Specialist Kalimba is also there to look after Spike, but we've received no response." Solemn adds, much to the dismay of the current princess in power.

"YOU SENT KALI!?" The former ruler exclaims.

"Yup, she did that too." Her husband confirms in the background of the call.

"TWILIGHT, THAT HAS TO BE THE MOST BLINDSIDED JUDGEMENT CALL YOU'VE EVER MADE!"

"She was our best specialist for the assignment! I didn't know who else to send that would be as tactical as her!" The princess says in her own defense.

"Tempest, Blue, Stanton, your brother, your dad, Solemn, Moondancer, Starlight, Sunburst, just naming a few I remember from my tenure who are magically gifted and situationally adaptable." Celestia points out. "Hell, even if you wanted to really ensure his protection, you could've sent out Flurry with how overprotective she is of him!"

"I'm not sending my niece out to some foreign land!" Twilight rebuts.

"And with that logic, you sent SPIKE!? He grew up with you, a whole adopted brother, you clearly didn't mind sending him out!"

The sun reaches it's starting point for the day's journey, allowing the purple alicorn mare to finally give her mentor her undivided attention. "Okay, I only sent him because they requested a representation of my level, or another high-ranking equivalent. If I'm away on business, which I'm likely to be in the coming days with the trip to Arimpaspi Mountain for diplomatic talks, I'll need for my second in command to deal with that. I knew that it would be dangerous, so I sent him a specialist and forty other guards and mechanics to make sure nothing goes wrong."

"So what you're telling me now is that it's all gone downhill, those forty creatures you've sent out with them are currently surrounded, and now both Kali and Spike are in hot water." Celestia briefly summarizes. "When was the last time you talked to either of them?"

"I haven't talked to Kali yet. As for Spike... I'm sure he's keeping a certain princess' bed awfully warm these days."

"That's a pretty hefty accusation, to say that he's undergoing premarital negotiations with a figure of privilege. Have you confirmed this?" Celestia asks.

Twilight thinks back to the transmission from the night's past. Her ears start to redden with the images running through her mind. "She... did him... in front of me, over an orb transmission."

"Well did you enjoy the show?"

Her ears flick up and her cheeks run crimson as her former mentor delves into more adulterous waters. "Celestia!"

"I'm sorry if I'm a little confrontational right now. My husband dragged me on our yacht having me think that we're in for a lovely dinner out at sea. By the time I wake up, we're in international waters, headed due northwest, 52 knots cruising. It could be five days before we even come close to a port in that direction. I'm supposed to be enjoying my retirement, and here I am about to break his goddamn neck for stepping into international affairs for Equestria's sake. And if he has to unretire, I have to unretire myself just to keep him on a leash. Now here we are trying to get to Ponyland, pick up Spike, and head back home, that's if we even have the fuel to get back to Silver Shoals at this point!"

Her husband calls out to the former royal. "We'll be fine getting there, hun!"

"I'm still not talking to you, Mr. Haines!"

The husband scoffs in the background. "Sure you aren't."

"So yes, I'm quite pissed! And more so at the fact that my husband decided to reach over me and do this, than I am at you getting Spike in this situation in the first place!"

"I'd be mad at me too." Twilight murmurs.

"Either way, we're currently en route to Foalsom for a stock-up, then we'll dock at Hayfling for standby. That will be another day of travel, considering possible ice floe conditions. If you're any part the bright mind I pegged you to be, you'd communicate with your party over at Midnight Castle and have them relay the message to Spike and Kalimba by any means necessary."

Solemn then adds. "One problem, the Ponyland forces are keeping them pinned to that airfield."

"Well I'm afraid one of them is going to have to make that trip. I'd probably go for somepony who can teleport or shapeshift."

Once more, the husband offers his input. "Spoiler alert: Shapeshift's your best option!"

"Mr. Haines!" The retired alicorn calls out to her husband.

The man chuckles at his wife's frustration. "Right, keeping course, your majesty."

Just a peep comes out from the previous princess, a pause of silence ensues as she processes the fact that her husband playfully calls her by her non-title. As it is a pet peeve of hers, she redirects her ire to him instead. "Twilight, I'm going to hang up this phone and give this man a stern ripping into. Relay that message while I nag my husband to near death, because lord knows it's gonna be hard to kill him."

"Love you too, sweetie." He answers back with a kiss.

"Ugh... You annoying motherfu─!" Three beeps signal the call's end.

The guardsmare issues the princess her phone with a sarcastic question. "So... good news?"

"As good as we can get it right now." She replies. "The fact that Nondis managed to get her to go along makes the chance of their recovery a lot more likely."

"Do you think they'll be able to hold on for six more days?" Solemn asks.

The high princess glances to the horizon, seeing the rising sun moving at a snail's pace along it's daily journey. "The better question is does that princess find it within herself to get bored of Spike before then."

"I'm sure she'll find something else to do with him, if that's the case."

Midnight Castle...

Be it in the morning when the dawn comes, be it in the noonday where the many are about their respective errands, or even the night when all is sitting with their loved ones and discussing their day, one truth about my place here is that I don't belong. And it shows by the passing minute. Each and every bit, I'm reminded of it until I'm brought back to Zenobia's chambers. Then her horn glows, the collar does it's work, and I'm on my knees like the first night we've met. It never stops.

I have more nightmares of this place, more terrible thoughts of my impending doom. Xerxes seems to crawl the shadows of every column in search of me, looking for the lone chance to claim my life. It's but one moment of weakness I've had on today, and he's right there to instill even more terror in my life. One gruesome image has now given way to an even more horrifying advent.

And yet the only thing that's distracting me is the tangy and briny taste on my tongue.

My eyes lock to the princess who continues to favor me for these frequent encounters. She seems very manganous in contrast to the hellspawn that his her younger sibling. In a way, I'm almost relieved that she continues to distract me in the manner that she does. The miasma, often decorating the crooks of her neck now showered between her legs, is potent. It fades many of my horrid thoughts, the memories of these past two days.

"My pet!" Her praises are a delightful distraction as well.

What once was the taste of vomit in my mouth is replaced by the numerous fragrances she wears to dress herself up. While they do well for the nose, they don't do as well for the tongue, giving a bitter aftertaste to my ministrations. Not that I care at this point, it's like the safest place I could possibly be is in between her legs. And if I have to let my tongue dance around her winking mound for hours on end, then I'll dance the day, the night, the whole week away. If I have to pump and prime myself to plug her aches, then I will fashion myself to be a saw that cuts down a mighty forest for the sake of one brimming flower.

Yet another surprise is bestowed, a gift of her unannounced climax splashes me across my face. Her pelvic muscles contract around my tongue, hungrily grasping at me to taste her inner-most feelings. What madness it is that she continues to be this insatiable, but also what joy it is to know that this is my alternative. If she were to tire of me, I'm sure she'd sooner see me released than not. "That's right, eat your fair share, my pet." Then again, I'm sure she's not planning to do that anytime soon with the rate she intervenes when I entertain the thought of leaving.

So I'll let it be, maybe I can claim it as some source of pride someday. If I gorge myself on her, she'll protect me, and I'll be safe. So I'll take on more than my fair share, even if it proves to be the only thing I can stomach these days. I'll do it for her, and keep doing it until she bores of it, and then she'll let me go. If I please her incessantly, she'll reach heights no other can hope to top. I'll be the object of her obsession, even if only for a season. Of course she'll tire of me, it's inevitable that she will. I just hope that she does so before the effects of her miasma wears thin due to my adaptability.

Because when that happens... I'm sure the nightmares will start all over again. And they'll be no stopping them.

Author's Note

I'll see you all in the next chapter!