Prisoners of War : A Beatrix Belladonna Tale

The brush of soft, supple breasts on Beatrix's back from the princess reminded her of Oona. Oh, how she longed to be safely enveloped by her teacher’s loving embrace. Probably why the witch was extra needy when it came to her libido.

Partially submerged in the tranquil river, she swam behind Cerise, let the reddish-hot pink pigtails down, then splashed them too, as she washed her loose locks and hummed one of the gentle hymns she'd heard Oona croon before.

Her horn lit up, and her aura wrapped around various toiletries in Cerise's rucksack; shampoo and a bar of soap floated over to Beatrix, which she liberally applied to the princess' smooth contours. "That tickles," giggled Cerise, who squirmed to pause her sways to the hymn.

"You should be used to this by now, princess," teased Beatrix. "What, with all the handmaidens looking after you~!" The dancer simply nodded and relaxed under her touch, as soap suds oozed down skin. It made Beatrix also miss the twin maids, Wet Nurse and Foal-Bearer...the mansion wouldn't be the same without their catering.

Cerise's head bowed when she said, "Thanks, Bea. I hope Midnight spends some quality time with Moonlight, like I asked. You'd better take some time for yourself, too!" She spun to face her, droplets left to roll down her curves. "Isn't it about time you tackled your next lesson?"

"Ugh. Don't remind me," grumbled Beatrix. One of Cerise's bat wings flung some water at the witch, playfully splashing her until the violet unicorn was on her way. Waving her friend off, the dark princess clambered back onto the shore with a swish of her cute hips and butt. She could use a little alone time to practice her own magic!

Hopeful she still had some time, Beatrix swam to a more private section of the river, partly hidden and shaded by the thick trees overhead. She spotted Kyube perching on a low-hanging branch, having moved from the rock to play a few experimental tunes on his bamboo flute.

Realizing he was oblivious to her presence, a mischievous grin spread Beatrix's maw. Faster than he realized, she seized him in her aura and yanked him down. With a yelp, Kyube flipped and hit the waters in a splash.

When he resurfaced, his eyes narrowed at the cheeky mare. “I was warned about you,” he said while climbing out, shaking droplets out of his orange fur. “‘Don’t let her body fool you,' they said. ‘She’s got the mind of a child!’”

"Part of my charm,” she replied with a wink. "But since you’re already wet, like me teehee, why not shed off those troublesome clothes~?”

Kyube gave a soft sigh before relenting, tossing his soaked gi and pants piece by piece, removing his drenched costume. Beatrix nibbled on her bottom lip, drinking in the vulpine’s lean musculature and the fuzzy sheath between his thighs before dissolving into the river once more. Beatrix approached him, the water rippling with every sway she gestured.

“Ermm, actually, before we begin,” he started, a rosy glow over his cheeks. “There's something I’d like to discuss with you. You briefly mentioned another group, one that also has a Kitsune?”

“Yeah, what of it?” she asked, tilting her head slightly.

“I believe we’ve encountered one another before,” explained the fox man. “A few nights ago, I saw a vixen with copper hair reflected in the waters. She'd apparently gone for a swim. Given the startled expression upon staring back, I reckon she could see me too.”

"Copper hair? Definitely sounds like Kitsune,” she confirmed before teasingly poking his belly. “Didn't take you for the voyeur type, you little peeper~!”

“I-it wasn’t like that,” insisted Kyube, his ears dropping. “Though I will admit, she was beautiful...!”

“N’aww, cute! I’ll gladly help you guys meet,” Beatrix offered with a sultry smile. “Hmm, mirror view into other dimensions, huh? The first time I’m hearing about this! But it's probably due to all the fluctuations happening here."

The fox bandit nodded. "My thoughts exactly. It makes sense, given all the worlds pulled from their respective time zones here.”

“Mhmm. Speaking of time…~” Beatrix waded closer to him until they almost touched, her erect nipples almost visible above water. With half-lidded eyes, she cooed, "I think it’s time you help me with a certain itch that’s been bothering me." One hand stroked his chest while the other traced down to grope the canine-shaped cock, which, to her delight, was already out of its sheath. “Awfully rude to keep a girl waiting~.”

Kyube chuckled, his voice dipping into a husky tone as he replied, "Well, I wouldn't want to disappoint."

He leaned in to meet her snout, pressing against her wet, supple body. Beatrix's moan muffled into his kiss, feeling that red hot rod throb against her belly, the veiny knot swelling at the bottom. His bushy tail intertwined with her own, her breasts squished into his furred chest as they continued to make out and feel each other up.

"Mmm~," she moaned as his palms encircled and kneaded her doughy buttocks. Then she gasped when another pair of paws seized her tits from behind, an equally endowed cock rubbing between her spread cheeks. A third fox bandit took her hand to have her stroke him off. The witch then realized Kyube was using his yokai tricks to molest her buxom body on all fronts.

And she absolutely loved it!

Beatrix whimpered under their combined touch, rubbing her heated marehood against the front of Kyube’s shaft. The vulpine behind her pinched and twisted her nipples while rolling her milk bags in circles. The sly fox even lapped and nibbled at her shoulder, causing her to quiver. Their cocks throbbed against her inflamed slit, which winked out her nectar, ready to receive them all.

“N-nnaah~! Q-quit teasing me,” she whined. “I-I need it!”

The prime Kyube chuckled and huskily asked, “Need what?”

“Your cocks~!”

“To do..?” The second fox man whispered into her ear.

Her cheeks flushed. “T-to fuck all my holes~!!”

The third vulpine added. “Liiiike~?”

“Grngh! Like a whore! Like a common fucking whore! Whatever you like, you damn dirty bandit! Now hurry up and fuck me! Please!!”

All three snickered. “Well, since you asked so nicely…~”

“You furry bastarraaaahh~!”

Beatrix yelped as they lifted her up and shuffled onto the river bed. The fox bandit laid down while his clones helped straddle the horny mare onto his lap, lining his moist cock with her winking cunt. She released a loud sigh upon entry, her pussy squeezing down on the thick canine-shaped member filling up her love tunnel.

Another sharp gasp sounded when he smacked and squeezed the unicorn’s rump apart, allowing his second clone to poke and rub his dick against her exposed asshole. Her tail flagged up, giving the scoundrel more access once he pushed inside. Beatrix chewed on her lip, almost cumming from having her back orifices deeply penetrated. But she still had one more fox cock to tend to after the final decoy took to her front. His pulsating prick brushed her snout, smearing her nose with his musk and precum.

Gazing at him lustfully, Beatrix opened her mouth and stuck out her tongue, giving him full consent to stuff her throat. With all her foxy lovers set, they wasted little time pounding their palpable playtoy.

The violet witch clenched around the pair claiming her pussy and tail hole, thrusting in off-sync rhythms. More fem juice leaked just feeling those swollen knots bump into her holes, threatening to push fully in. The thought of being knotted worked Beatrix up more than she wanted to admit, remembering Iclyn calling her a ‘filthy monster fucker’.

But for the moment, Beatrix relished her licentious reputation, happily suckling Kyube’s red rod while giving him her best pair of ‘fuck me’ eyes, complete with spittle dripping down her chin. This apparently riled him and his clones further, feeling his cocks expand slightly in size. They each growled and groaned before picking up the pace and impaling her on their bulbous pricks from all sides without mercy.

Her moans muffled around the shaft fucking her throat, feeling the Kyube beneath her latch onto one of her swaying tits, nibbling and tugging on her hard nipples. The fox man behind her clapped her wobbling asscheeks with one paw, while the other wrapped around the base of her tail to pull her ass into his pummelling thrusts, skewering her puckered asshole harder.

Beatrix’s violet eyes glazed over, the pleasure overwhelming her senses. Try as she might to bob her head or wiggle her hips, the witch couldn’t keep up with the fox bandit nor his clones. They pounded her with relentless vigor, and all she could do was take their tapered dicks like the sex-hungry slut she was.

Her hands managed to secure Kyube’s hips, squeezing his rump while he humped her face. Precum splattered across her tongue, her pussy and asshole similarly slathered in his minor releases to prime the witch before he filled her up.

Finally, the vulpine pulled off her breasts once he clamped up, warning, "I-I'm close!"

The one in her maw attempted to withdraw, but Beatrix clasped behind his butt and held him there. She playfully glared at him, letting them know they weren’t going anywhere until she got what she wanted.

And, with climax mere thrusts away, the foxy trio had little choice but to push fully inside her tight holes, finally locking their knotted shafts into her ass and pussy. Beatrix’s snout kissed Kyube’s scrotum, lightly gagging on the dick lodged down her throat before all three foxes let out a howl, firing their creamy load all at once.

Nirvanic pleasure hit Beatrix like a truck once she felt his hot cum paint the insides of her sphincter, the slippery walls of her womb, and finally sloshed about her tummy. She made loud gulping noises while drinking his salty seed, her belly slightly ballooning thanks to the knot keeping all his spunk trapped inside her.

Tears filled the corners of her watery eyes as the masochistic side of the mare took hold, half afraid she would choke on his cock and pass out before she reached the best part. She winked and contracted harder around the buried bulbous dicks, eyelashes fluttering to remain conscious.

Drenched in the unicorn's nectar, the fox men in her lower holes remained locked balls deep inside by knots while the one in her mouth strained to withdraw. A loud ‘pop’ sounded when he exited, Beatrix left to huff once his shaft slapped onto her face, still heated and slimy.

Kyube asked through heavy pants, "Are you okay? Can you breathe?"

"O-ooooh y-yeah," slurred Beatrix, cum dribbling down her dopey grin, simultaneously thankful and disappointed she could breathe again. Her face still burned, leaning in to lap the cum staining his shaft before swishing his leftovers in her mouth. Gulping her mouthful down, the witch sighed with satisfaction, pleasantly full. "Just what mama needed~!"

The clones dissolved into mystical light, leaving her gaping asshole to ooze out his sperm. Gently Kyube popped his flaccid dick out of her vagina, his loins splashed by their combined love juices. The witch rolled onto her back beside him; her heavy breasts left to continually to rise and fall when she licked some residue off her fingers.

“Holy fuck, that felt good!” She giggled tiredly, scooping more spunk to play with. “Haven’t been skewered like that in a while. Didn’t know you had it in you, foxy~!”

Once he caught his breath, he replied, “I don’t normally indulge in such things with Chisana around, but there have been times I’ve had to ‘improvise’ my thefts with a little help from wealthy maidens. I even escaped from the Itachi Twins with a similar distraction~.”

“Well, I’m sure Kitsune will be extra pleased once you two get together,” Beatrix teased with a wink. “And if not, I’m always down for another round~!"

"Heh! We’ll see," he replied with a wink, sitting up to stretch his limbs. "I think it's about time I wake Chisana. And you should start your lessons."

"Yeah, yeah." Beatrix pursed her snout, realizing the sun was fully up and she was likely late. As the two stood up, Kyube collected his damp clothes and waved her off… but not before smacking her ass with his tail, much like how Cerise had sent her on the way.

With a last, wistful look back, Beatrix inhaled and waved her hand as her horn lit. First, she cast a spell while she walked to dry herself off and remove any trace of what she'd done. Then, with another wave, she summoned her costume back onto her while she followed the trail.

But upon passing a tree, she paused and flicked an ear. With a slight grin, she said, “… Y’know, if you wanted to join me, I wouldn’t say no~.”

“And end up smelling like a wet dog? Pass,” scoffed Iclyn, who pushed herself off the tree trunk she had been hiding behind. “As if I’d stoop to your level.”

Beatrix turned to face the sour deer, hands planted on her wide hips. “Oh, so spying on me like a lecher isn’t on my level?”

"I'm not the one who tried to skip out on my lessons," the doe reminded. “Be thankful I didn't cut your climax short, you insatiable floozy."

"Hey! I wasn’t planning to skip out! I had an itch to scratch so I could focus," defended Beatrix. “I never asked for a high libido…”

“Hence why I allowed it,” answered the familiar masculine accent of Arcanum Folklore, who leaned on another tree and savored his smoke, half-empty bottle in hand. After exhaling an acrid cloud, he continued. "These next lessons are gonna be tough, Bea. Best to let it all out now."

Beatrix felt scrutinized under their eyes and defensively explained, "It's not like I asked to be this way! These powers? It may look fun, but it's caused me and others nothing but pain! Not to mention it can really suck to be a nympho at times! Lots of heartbreak, jealousy, shame, and-"

"Oi, take it easy. I’m not here to judge you," argued back Arcanum as he tossed his finished cigarette on the dirt and stamped it out beneath a boot. "Hell, I used to work with a mare kinda like you.”

The deighdyr turned to him with a raised brow. “You have?”

A rare smile stretched his scruffy snout. “Bloody Merry was many things. Strong, determined, insufferably stubborn, and a real demon in the sack. But she’d always have your back, no matter what. I might not even be here today if not for her.” He sighed in remembrance, a rare smile on his scruffy face. “Heaven an’ hell knows I've made my fair share of mistakes. But that’s why I’m hard on ya. All I want is to make sure we fix this mess, pronto."

Iclyn folded her arms and nodded. “The sooner this gets resolved, the quicker we can part ways. So we expect you to work your butt off, Belladonna. In fact, we’ve already prepared how the next lesson shall go.”

“Aye. So let's head in and hurry it up."

"...sure." Beatrix's shoulders slumped when she followed them like a scolded puppy. She could tell this day wasn’t going to be fun.

*****

The next session occurred in the open, where the rest of the party watched Beatrix straining to keep up with her teachers. Since her craft often came more from intuition and instinct, she could barely apply the discipline she required to
match them, despite her most arduous attempts.

While she mimicked the spells Iclyn and Arcanum showed her, dazzled by the display of refined pyrotechnics the warlock worked and the complete elegance of the deighdyr’s cryomancy, the rest of her companions also trained. Once they were satisfied with Beatrix's work, they decided they would move on, back to the trail.

“The best way to keep control is to maintain focus even while walking,” informed Iclyn, surrounded by snowflakes. “So until I say stop, you’re to maintain that sphere’s shape perfectly. If the form unravels, I’ll freeze you for thirty seconds until you get it right. So don’t slip up!”

“Yeah, no pressure or anything!” Beatrix said through clenched teeth, doing her damnedest to keep the levitating water as a ball. It was a simple exercise. It was also mind-numbingly boring. But she dared not go against her mentor’s instructions, lest she be turned into a glacial statue.

Her pout deepened when she detected Cerise snickering at her expense.

Arcanum noticed Chisana marching up ahead and approached her. He gave the tiny tanuki a slight pat to get her attention. “Here, love,” he offered the half-finished bottle of sake she gave him the other night. “Stuff just wasn’t hitting me. But I’m sure your brother will want his-“

“Arigato!” She beamed, swiping the bottle before downing the rest of the drink herself, ending with a loud burp. The erenn unicorn stared flabbergasted, then turned to Kyube. “Erm… ain’t it a wee bit careless to let a minor near alcohol?”

“Chisana isn’t actually a child,” elaborated the fox bandit. “She prefers that appearance since it helps fool unsuspecting dolts for their valuables.”

The raccoon dog let out a hiccup as her walking became sluggish, swaying side to side with each stumbled step.

“Unfortunately, she never learns her limits,” the fox man sighed, darting ahead to scoop the already drunken yokai into his arms.

Folklore could only respond with, “Bloody hell…”

Kyube looked around, noticing a few familiar trees. "I recognized this part of the woods. Just a couple more miles, and we’ll be out!”

"Then you should take the point," replied Penumbra with a nod. By now, the afternoon sun bore down, their skin and fur tickled by the subdued breeze that whistled over them. Beatrix nearly tripped on a stray root but managed not to spill a drop of her aqua sphere.

“You’re doing great,” Cerise encouraged with a smile. "Sorry, I didn't mean to mock you!"

“I wish I was doing anything else,” Beatrix muttered, ensuring Iclyn wasn’t within hearing distance.

“Training’s never supposed to be easy,” offered Moonlight. “Drill sergeants were the same way with us. Ain’t that right, Middy?”

But the blue pegasus didn’t answer, instead looking around the trees with a suspicious glare.

“Honey, is something wrong?” the dark dancer asked as she raced to her husband's side.

“This place… familiar…” he mumbled, eyebrows furrowing. Moonlight did the same, holding her forehead at the sharp pain. "Like...like...!"

"Oh no,” Kyube called from the clearing, peering down a slope ahead. Below awaited a desolate landscape devoid of all life. Rocky craters depressed in spots, ominous magenta light beckoning from hollowed holes that made the fox man suck in a heavy breath.

Midnight raced up through the air and landed next to them. “H-hah! I knew it! This is a changeling hive… Gaagh!!" He seized his head, assaulted by another wave of memories of things he’d never witnessed. Flashbacks that buzzed about his skull so loudly he knelt down to one knee. Growls thundered from his belly, his conflicting past pushing to the surface. "Mother...father...sister...." He tried to maintain his focus on familiar faces.

"A...ah," cried Moonlight when she too arrived and spotted the hive, supported by Cerise at her side. "I-I'll be okay. It's much worse for him," she said sympathetically about their stallion.

"At least it's not as bad this time," said Cerise as she attempted to comfort them. "What should we do? Find another way around the hive?"

"It would be suicide to deal with this by our lonesome," stated Penumbra.

"We've survived worse odds," quipped Beatrix with a smirk, then dropped the smile when Iclyn and Arcanum stared her down. "But uh, maybe discretion is the better part of valor here?"

“This is bad,” Arcanum said. "What a time to lack me usual support! I'd be calling in O.S.S. were I able to. Who knows how many of 'em are down there? Hundreds...possibly thousands?”

“Either way, we’re not equipped to handle an entire swarm,” surmised Iclyn, narrowing her gaze. “Better to slip around and-"

Before they could decide further, the earth trembled around them with an audible shudder. They scurried to take shelter back in the dense woods as rock split and the earth yawned open like a mouth to the underworld. A cacophony of buzzing vibrated from the black mass below.

Blues skies were shrouded in darkness that eclipsed the sun when swarms rose out by the dozen, each drone in an obsidian exoskeleton with compound eyes. Kyube covered Chisana's mouth to swallow her scream, not that it would be heard under the terrible droning.

Yet while the swarm moved by the dozens, they paid no attention to the travelers as each member took shelter in the maze of trees. Instead, the drones desperately flew to escape something in the giant chasm.

A strange amalgamation of changeling, pony, mammal, and tree crawled from the hole, haphazardly fused into a mountainous abomination. Its exoskeleton was brightly pale, contrasting its obsidian brethren. Dead leaves and rotting vegetation sprouted from its head, spine, and limbs, filling the holes. It moved erratically quick, which belied its misshaped appearance, and scooped a drone from the air to tackle it to the dirt.

The stray changeling squirmed and screeched under the abomination. Jaws opened wide and drooled a cascade of vomit across its prisoner's face, the drone's maw forced open to swallow some of the eldritch black ooze. Within moments, the drone started to twist and transmute into the monster’s corpse-like appearance.

"What the fuck is that..?!” Beatrix whispered, observing with disgust.

“Some sort of alien virus," reasoned Arcanum, ducked into the shadows. The monstrosity and its new minion immediately moved to spread its infection further, with other variants swarming underneath. “Rather than sucking love, these things give living death!”

Iclyn curled her snout. "Great! So no matter who wins, we still lose."

"I say we let them pick each other off," cut in Midnight, as his headache finally settled, a fist wrapped around his lance. "Thin out the hive, then we rush in and finish the rest of them!"

"Nah, mate. That’s too risky," the erenn stallion dejected. "We should slip away while we still have the-" A hiss behind the warlock made him spin. His horn lit, a Kurdish dagger slid from his overcoat into his grasp, and he buried the blade into the drone’s throat. The monster slacked dead and crumpled at his muddied boots.

Yet that was merely the first, since another part of the swarm sniffed them out and buzzed their way. Iclyn instantly flash-froze a couple more. “Too late! We’re surrounded!”

“Then let them come,” Midnight called back, "I'll slay every last one of them!" He speared another changeling on his lance, surprised that drones died as quickly as any pony, for all their ferocity.

Cerise felt sick from the stench of the slain insectoids as she, Moonlight, and Penumbra backed him up. Beatrix looked to the icy doe with desperate eyes before she nodded her head. Dropping her water orb, the spell caster joined her mentor in firing off projectiles, the air alight with a magical aura. The bandits supported their allies, redirecting the shooter drone’s aim at themselves, dodging sticky webbing. Despite her drunken state, Chisana proved unpredictable, giving Kyube and his clones opportunities to knock out the aerial drones.

“Aagh! At this rate, we’ll never make it out!” cried Moonlight, using her metal bat wings to bat away the growing swarm.

"No way out," warned Arcanum, shooting a fireball from his hand to set one changeling ablaze. "We have to make a stand here!"

A drone lurched forward...only for its skull to be crushed to a pulpy paste beneath a war hammer. The minotaur stalked onto the scene, his muscles hidden beneath heavy armor crafted by his own hands. Moon Hammer spun and slammed his weapon into another creature's thorax.

The drone splattered across the trunk, which cracked and split under the impact. The felled tree collapsed with a thud and smashed more of the swarm to paste under its mass. “You folks look like you could use a hand," stated Moon Hammer, whose muscles rippled under his armor every time he slammed the hammer home.

"You’ve got no idea, big guy," beamed Cerise as she encased several drones in crystal shards to immobilize them while the rest of her friends finished them off. "But can we turn the tide?"

As if to answer her question, a war horn sounded across the battlefield. Another army thundered up from a distance, many of them crystal ponies. The sun reflected off crystalline coats and armor when they rushed to their aid. At the head stood a pegasus whose face was half-burned.

Midnight instantly recognized him and cried, "Fiery Kickstart He'll turn this around!"

"Route the swarm," commanded Fiery, his sword raised. "Let no changeling leave here alive!"

"Oho! Now they're screwed," crowed Moonlight, relieved to see a familiar face here. Her claws ripped into one of the crystal-trapped drones, which went slack under her stabs to its vitals.

From between her bat wings were hurled dozens of darts tipped in her particular toxins, which sailed into more changelings, immediately paralyzed by the high dosage of poison before they asphyxiated. "Don't hold back princess," she warned Cerise. "It's kill or be killed!"

"I-I know!" Cerise unleashed more shards from the earth that trapped their foes.

“Aww fuck… that’s gonna be a problem,” Arcanum called, observing one changeling carcass slowly mutating, its carapace growing paler, shrubs poking out its exposed innards.

“This is like those demonic robot zombies during the battle with the Burning King,” Penumbra sneered, the scene reminding him of the insidious Vice Lord who'd taken his arm.

“Nah,” the scruffy detective said, shaking his head. “This is way worse.”

The pale pegasus stared at him skeptically. “You’ve seen this before?”

"In a way.” Arcanum blasted another fire spell at the mutating corpse before explaining. "These changelings are being tainted by eldritch energies! O.S.S calls it ‘Mi-Go,’ where even as practical husks, they won’t stop until everything's been infected. Think cordyceps, but bigger!"

“You mean to tell me this is all caused by a parasitic fungus?!” strained Beatrix, weaving her spells, which had surprisingly gotten sharper in casting. It appeared carrying the aqua orb helped improve her accuracy, at least!

Arcanum replied, “Whatever the source is, we need to find it and cut it out. Before the virus can mutate and start infecting us!” The beam he fired from his palm seared into the wave before them.

"I'll carve us an escape path," offered Penumbra, soaring above as his saber danced and carved the head from his nearest opponent, before he immediately turned his blade to the next.

"Stay behind me," Beatrix gently asked Chisana as she joined Kyube and his copies. Together, they conjured a series of illusions to further confuse the horde. She couldn't mimic smells, but with all the scents that surrounded the swarm, the drones strained to realize reality from falsehood.

Yet Chisana refused to be passive, as she too worked her yokai magic to aid them, parts of the forest now ablaze and swathed in smoke.

The appearance of Fiery and his forces had clearly turned the tide, all the changelings divided and scattered. Their attention turned to the bizarre hybrid at the center of the madness, thrashing as numerous arrows unloaded from crossbows fired into it. Javelins lanced from the airborne crystal ponies to further pin the abomination down. "Torch it," commanded Fiery with a hefty wave of his flaming white sword.

Fire bombs were tossed from all directions onto the mutant. It shrieked in a multitude of alien voices, a black silhouette swallowed up in a blaze as it helplessly quivered. More shafts were fired into it to make sure, as for minutes the creature smoked, cooked, and smoldered to ash.

"The hive too," commanded Fiery, aware it was impossible to hunt down every last drone...nor would it be wise, since any taken soldier, especially the mares, could become a new incubator. More bombs were tossed deep into the dark abyss of the hole, the hive set ablaze.

His half-burned face turned to the blue pegasus and bat mare, gasping in alarm upon recognition. “I don’t believe it...!” With the battle mostly over, the commander landed next to the group, calling, "Midnight Blitzer and Moonlight River! Report!"

"S-Sir!" Both approached him, took a rigid stance at attention, and offered up a clipped salute.

The sub commander slowly stalked around them, the fire on his sword doused so he could sheathe it, his burn-marked hands clasped behind his armored form. "You deserted your posts, cadets. The entire milieu believes you’re dead!”

Moonlight swallowed hard. "Sir, we-"

"No excuses! I outta reprimand and demote you right now for insubordination. But…” his hardened glare softened. “… help is hard to find these days. And I’m sure you had your reasons. We can discuss that later. At ease.”

The former cadets relaxed under his scrutiny, while his attention instead turned to their companions that approached. "I'm impressed, outsiders! You handled yourselves well."

Beatrix smiled and started, “Thanks, we-“

"Especially you soldier," Fiery cuts off, his gaze meeting Penumbra. "Your name?"

"White Shadow Penumbra, sir. Grand General of King Sombra's court, from a realm far beyond this one. I realize it's difficult to explain, but surely you've seen the evidence of other worlds?"

"I have," snorted Fiery with a blunt nod. “But Grand General, really! You hardly look over twenty! Not a case of favoritism, I hope.”

Penumbra chuckled as he explained, “None at all. Our world suffered tremendous losses from an invasion. And, like anyone, I started from the bottom, excelled, and was promoted quickly since we lacked suitable commanders. This is my sister, Cerise Silhouette, wife to Midnight Blitzer."

"Aha, I see,” Fiery smirked, eying the beautiful princess. “You’ve got an eye for mares, cadet. I take it this means you’ve formed a herd?"

"Y-yes, sir," answered Midnight, who wrapped his strong arms around the waists of Cerise and Moonlight to draw them in close. "Turns out, Cerise's world has some similar laws to our own!"

"Fascinating! While I’m eager to hear all the details, lingering here is not safe. We’re on a mission to locate a particular hive of changelings. Although…” Fiery Kickstart stroked his chin in consideration. “… the supreme commander will definitely want to know about this. Sargent?”

The stallion replied, “Sir?”

“I leave you with half my men to complete the mission. The rest will stay with me and escort our new friends back to the Crystal Empire!”

“Sir, yes, sir!” He saluted before marching off to explain the situation.

Behind the party were scattered the slain remains of a swarm, some frozen, afire, trapped by shards, or cut into pieces. Beatrix held Cerise from her free side to help support the princess, reminded that she'd only taken the lives of demons and monsters before. This felt different.

"I...I'll be okay," assured Cerise, as her hands shook. "I'm no soldier, not like them."

"You've really learned to work those powers well!" Beatrix booped her snout.

The charcoal mare smiled slightly and leaned on her. "One of the few good things to come out from being hijacked by Doppia...that and Rheneas. She helped me unlock a part of myself I wanted to hide away! I'd always worried it would corrupt me, but...I feel fine, so far."

Cerise tried not to think about the darkness in her. Of the brutal tyrant her father had once been. Yet despite his ruthless reputation, he'd only ever shown her love and kindness.

"I used to worry about the same," assured Penumbra. "I'm proud of you, dear sister."

"I think it’s time we moved on," ushered Iclyn as she waved them to follow Fiery and his men. The army split in half at Fiery's instructions after the party followed after him, onto the trail ahead.

*****

Waking up in cold perspiration that layered her nude flesh and fur, Lightning Spark tossed the sheet that clung to her aside and sat up. She twisted to peek up at the top bunk, only to find Equinox absent and a note left on the pillow addressed to her. She unfolded and scanned it.

"A recon mission for Shining Armor, huh? Guess I overslept." The light blue pegasus noticed many rations were left for her, to tide her over and 'fatten her up' like Equinox would put it, since she was still skinny after her time in the hive. She tore one open and devoured the contents.

"Blegh! Gross. Should've finished those pancakes!" Her mouth watered at the memory, and her belly rumbled. Soon, several emptied ration packets were left at her feet.

Lightning smacked her lips, then slipped into a white tank top and short shorts. That familiar heat crept back into her loins, but she brushed it aside and wandered out of the bunk, hopeful she'd be allowed to travel the military encampment of a palace without an escort.

Thankfully, there was a map on the corridor wall, and each room was marked. Lightning Spark located the laboratories and headed that way as her feet softly padded down the dark hallways.

When she reached the doors, she swallowed hard and softly rapped on metal. "H-hello?"

After a moment, the doors slid open, and Web Spinner faced her. He seemed even more tired looking than before!

“Had a feeling I’d see you bright and early,” he commented with a half smile. "Come on in.” The unicorn stepped aside to allow Lightning entrance. After the doors closed behind her, he asked, "Couldn't sleep?"

She failed to stifle a wide yawn. "Overslept, actually. The time zone here must be different!"

"It is," he replied and led her further in, where his equipment, schematics, and half-finished inventions were on display. "So many realms are in flux, pulled towards here. You could walk from one area to the next, and watch it turn from day to night right before your eyes." He poured them both a cup of coffee that steamed and took a seat across her at a table before he took a sip.

"Another all-nighter, huh?" She giggled and added dollops of cream and sugar to her drink before she sipped at the rich drink.

“Yeah, I’m a bit of a night owl,” Web Spinner admitted, taking another sip. “I try not to work myself to exhaustion. You never know when something unexpected will show up. I take it you wanted me for some particular reason?”

"A-actually..." Her face turned red, legs squishing together once she squirmed in her seat. "I wanted you to perform an, um, full body examination? You can do that for me, can't you?"

"Yes. I've had to acquire a number of skills in the war effort. Indeed, we don't know exactly what the hive did to you. But your enhanced estrus could become a problem to your health." He took another drink before he stood and waved an arm to an examination chair stationed further in.

"I understand," she said and headed over. Shyly she raised the tank top over her plume, which was pressed to her back, then tossed the article onto a desk and let her modest breasts free. Her nipples were perky in the cool air. She reminded herself Spinner was a professional and drew down her short shorts, her butt and marehood bared to him once she reclined onto the chair.

His cheeks colored upon looking back at her, trying not to stare at her nubile form. "This is an invasive, intimate procedure. Let me know if I-“

"It's okay. I don't mind." Her bosom rose and fell in anticipation. She tried to relax her posture to welcome him, put on full display. The earth brown stallion sterilized his instruments at a sink and started to slip on a latex glove when she called, "No! I-I mean...I'd prefer you to do it by hand." She draped her head away from him.

"Are you certain? There's a risk of contamination-"

"Yes, I'm sure! I-I trust you," she admitted, driven half-mad by her estrus.

He hesitated a moment before muttering lowly to himself, “You really shouldn’t.”

Web Spinner approached her, the pegasus spreading her thighs wide open to admit him. Carefully, the disheveled specialist pushed the cool steel of a speculum into her slit, then spread it all the way open, a soft moan swallowed by her.

Glistening pretty pink blossomed from her birth canal, which dripped over his hand and her puckered asshole. With a free hand, Web shined a small flashlight into the slick tunnel, which tried to contract around the speculum that held it open. Her urethra and cervix were bared to him, interior walls tethered by thin strands of her love nectar that dripped from her slimy womb.

Lightning felt her face burn hotter. She hated to admit it, but she'd never been more turned on in her entire life. From here he breathed in her scent, the pungent musk of a mare ready to be mated by a stud. Web Spinner would be lying if he claimed he didn’t fancy the idea right now.

She chewed on her lower lip to stifle a whimper once his hand slid into her twat, reached inside, felt about her walls for abnormalities, and she almost came on the spot. "A-ahahh...ooh...ah~," she whined and squirmed, her back arched when he made a fist and twisted it to explore her.

Her eyes shot wide, and she squealed once he brushed her spongy g-spot. She lifted her ass and humped into his hand on instinct, squirting across his arm when he hit her sweetest spot.

"Don't stop," she all but demanded. The flashlight dropped from his other hand when she seized it and directed it onto one of her supple tits. Against his better judgment, Web Spinner nodded and decided to help the poor mare with her estrus. He rolled her plush titty in one palm, her erect nipple pinched and tweaked.

With a rolled up sleeve he fisted her cunt, and felt more of her love honey splatter under his thrusts as she continued to hump into him and shamelessly moan with an echo across the lab, left to ride out multiple climaxes that rippled across her entire nubile form. "Oh, shit~!"

Web was thankful that his lab was distant and muffled sounds outside, for when Lightning screamed out her pleasure at sweet release, her plume fully unfurled, all her mane and furs stood on end, and zaps of electric blue volts rippled across the air. Sparks showered around the pair.

He gasped, forced to withdraw, blown back by a stray bolt, his own fur on end. The speculum popped from her gaped cunt and slid across a pool of her lubrication, more squirted from the lusty mare. The air was filled with an electric blue light show that thundered around her. A thin bolt zapped one of his machines, which fizzled and smoked, set ablaze as an alarm kicked to life.

Immediately, Web Spinner shut the alarm down, went for the extinguisher, and smothered the small fire. "Ho-ohh shit! I'm so sorry!!!" She huffed and strained to come down from pleasure threatening to break her mind, the chair positively soaked by her feminine secretions while the electricity died away in stray pops.

"It’s fine. Don't worry about it," Web Spinner coughed assuringly once the lights died for a moment before his backup generators kicked in. "No harm done. More importantly...?"

The brown unicorn took a moment to check her over and made sure she was unharmed. His computers also confirmed that aside from her induced estrus, she was perfectly normal. The one anomaly was a pendant settled between her sweaty breasts that she refused to remove.

“Strange,” he said, surveying the results. “No surgically added organs or anything. So how are you producing those volts? Is it truly magic..?”

Lightning’s face burned with shame, noticing the hard-on clear in his pants. And from the look of it, he was packing serious heat! "Sorry I'm so selfish! You know, I-I could always help you finish-"

“No!” Web Spinner insisted, shaking his head. "I'm fine, thank you." He twitched in his pants, not sure he could force himself to turn her down the moment they breached professionalism any further. "You should see the supreme commander. I need more time to devise a solution to better sate your urges without...risks.”

Her ears and wings drooped with disappointment. Nonetheless, she cleaned herself with a towel, then redressed. With a troubled face, Web Spinner added, ”I’ll let you know when I’ve found something, okay?”

Lightning nodded, taking her leave before pausing to study a collection on display. The severed horns of unicorns captured by the enemy were transformed into wands that allowed anyone to weave simple but potent spells. A deadly, morbid abomination of a weapon that instinctually made her shudder.

After her exit, her last stop was at the supreme commander's office. She knocked on the door, and he answered a moment later.

"Lightning! Please, come in,” Shining Armor greeted, wrapping an arm around her shoulder to lead her inside. He closed the door and asked, "So, to what do I owe the pleasure?"

"I want to learn more about this world," she explained, her eyes drawn to all his displayed awards in the office. "I've missed a lot!"

"Heh. Not sure where to start." The paladin explained much of the world's recent history in broad strokes; the continuous war to route the hidden hives, the new laws implemented by Fiery Kickstart, which required each stallion to seek out at least two mares and father children from them. Every capable foal was also required to enlist if they couldn't serve the war effort in other ways. The entire world had been militarized, since numerous races were lost and the Everfree Forest spilled out of control. Worst of all, other parallel worlds were now drawn into their own.

"It's...a lot to take in," she confessed.

"I know. But I can assure you, you’re safe here." He kept an arm wrapped around her shoulder; his nostrils flared when the scent of her estrus wafted around him. Her heart hammered in close proximity to him, unable to help another wet wink of her puffy pink pussy beneath her shorts.

Lightning knew her body was still unsatisfied from her ‘examination.’ Fingers and a hand could only do so much. She needed a real cock. Needed to breed. Needed her womb thoroughly filled by virile seed. She managed to find her voice and asked, "So...wh-what about you? I mean..."

"Huh? O-oh, you mean the new laws? I’ve yet to really follow them. Still in mourning after the loss of my wife and child." He turned his downcast eyes to a portrait of Cadance and Flurry Heart. "Besides, while Fiery and I are near equals, I still outrank him. The rules don't always apply to me."

"Still, it must be lonely," she replied sympathetically, drawn closer into his powerful arms. Lightning barely realized what she was doing. Neither did Shining, as his hand slid lower, down her back, over the dimples of venus until he rested a palm over her shorts-clad bottom.

She whimpered and surrendered to his touch, pressed closer when she looked up to meet his eyes, all sense momentarily torn from the pair once instinct and desire threatened to overwhelm a lonely mare and stallion.

Lightning yelped when he twisted her around and pushed her forward, where she bent over his desk. One of his hands slid under her top to seize a tit, and another snaked down her shorts over her butt. Her body shuddered to feel the old stallion press his bulge against her bare ass, unintentionally wiggling it to entice him more, as she mindlessly presented herself to the stud.

Firm palms kneaded her shapely bits. All it would take was his cock buried deep in her winky wet twat, until he hosed down her uterus in his seed, and she could finally put her estrus behind her!

Lust screamed at Shining Armor to tear off his pants and claim her. Lightning would have reciprocated for her part, desperate to finally have her need snuffed out by a stud's cock and seed. Only in the back of her mind did a moment of clarity settle in, her head turned back at him.

“W-we… we shouldn’t do this!” She whimpered, despite the rapid, slimy winks of her lovehole.

But at that moment, all the alabaster unicorn saw was Snowy Blizzard, saying the same thing the night they ravenously made love. He snorted, his eyes turned pure white by raw dominance.

Tears poured down his cheeks as his firm hands kneaded and savored her supple form. He was twice her age, old enough to be her father! But he couldn’t think properly, too driven by baser instincts when he continually inhaled her musk.

His flare throbbed beneath his pants, pressed so close she felt his shaft between her buttcheeks. Grunts rose when he encircled the cheeks in his aura, the flesh spread wide open to admit him.

“You dirty bastard,” an all too familiar voice cut in like a cold knife.

Immediately, Shining tore away from Lightning to snap his head towards Equinox, who had snuck inside. The knowing smirk on her face killed whatever arousal he felt, replaced by a raw shame swelled inside his barrel chest.

“Not even a day in, and you’re already trying to fuck the new meat!” Equinox shook her head, tsking. Shining clenched his teeth tightly, doing his damndest to suppress his bubbling rage.

“And you,” the marauder motioned at Lightning, who hastily pulled up her shorts, flustered beyond belief. “I thought I told you not to pursue stallions while in heat! All of ‘em are sleazebags, especially our dear commander~!”

Lightning wanted to break down right there, trembling like a leaf. She sniffled, “I-I… I wasn’t going to… I-I-I couldn’t-“ Unfortunately, she couldn't hide the moist spot at her crotch area.

“Ahh, save it for someone who gives a shit,” the burly thestral waved off. “We’ve got important matters to discuss!”

“What do you want, Equinox?” Shining Armor managed to say through gritted teeth.

Her grin widened. “Oh, I just thought you should know that Fiery Kickstart has returned much sooner than expected~.”

“What?! That’s impossible! The mission should have taken him days!”

“Ohoho! And that’s not even the best part. He’s come back with outsiders; two of which I think you’ll want to see~!”

Lightning's heart skipped a beat. Could it be...? She clutched her pendant and smiled wide.

Shining Armor also understood what she was implying, his eyes wide and full of shock. “Is it…” He shook it off. “Take me to him! Now!”

Nodding, the bat mare led them out of the office, using her wing to usher Lightning to her side. Equinox gave Shining one more dirty look before continuing onward. The commander said nothing, refusing to give his secret mistress any response on their way down the halls.

“I-I’m really sorry,” Lightning whispered with rosy cheeks, ashamed of what she’d almost done in a fit of estrus-induced mania.

“I know what it’s like,” assured Equinox. “It’s hard to resist that urge. But don’t worry about it. You can make it up to me when we go on our changeling patrol tonight~!”

The pegasus mare mewled softly when she felt a hand cheekily claim a handful of her bouncy ass while the trio made their way down the hall.

Footsteps echoed on their way down the reflective corners of the interior. Guards saluted the supreme commander. Maids and butlers bowed. Most of them were crystal ponies, but types from all over had been taken in after the years since civilizations fell to the swarms.

Stained glass streamed bright sunlight over them while they passed. On the way there, Lightning Spark wondered...would she finally see her twin brother and their childhood friend...?