The Rise of Passion

Double Diamond approached the palace nervously. Starlight had told him to come visit her here, and he was aware that she was the acting regent, but could he really just walk right in?

There were guards at the door, watching him as he came up to them. They looked angry. "Can we help you?" one growled.

"I've been asked to see the Lady Regent, Starlight Glimmer," he said, his heart pounding. "I'm Double Diamond, if that helps. Can I come in?"

"The palace is closed to visitors at this hour, unless otherwise specified." The guard reached into the gatehouse and pulled out a clipboard. "Double Diamond, you said?"

He nodded. "She asked me to come by, tonight. It wasn't a formal invitation, just a verbal communication. I don't know if I'm going to be on the list. I can leave if you--"

"Double Diamond," interrupted the guard. "You were supposed to be here twenty minutes ago. An informal meeting in the Regent's suite. We will have to pat you down, and for some reason, there's a special order on here that we have to inspect your testicles."

The other guard crinkled his nose. "What's wrong with your testicles?"

"Nothing..." replied Diamond. "They're not damaged or diseased or anything. They're perfectly normal. Do you have to inspect them?"

"If you want to go in," answered the guard with the clipboard. "Put your hooves on the wall and spread your back legs."

Double Diamond placed himself against the stone wall and let the guards check him. They were a little rough, but that was okay. It was when they came to his balls that he let his feelings be known, squealing and wriggling as they patted, squeezed and tugged. He couldn't help it; his tip began to poke out of his sheathe.

"You're clean," said the guard, giving his rump a firm pat. "You might want to put away that erection, though. You don't want to arrive only to be thrown out for indecent exposure."

"I'm sure it'll go down by then," assured Double Diamond. "Where are we going?"

The guard led him up the stairs to the suites, specifically to the one where Starlight was waiting for him. She looked up from her book as they entered and smiled. Turning to the guard, she nodded, and he left the room, returning to the gate.

"You're late."

"You didn't specify a time, mistre-- Lady Regent."

She chuckled. "So I didn't. At least you made it, and I didn't have to have you brought in."

"Is there a reason you told them to check my testicles, ma'am?"

Starlight waved him over and lifted his leg, inspecting them herself. "I wanted to make sure that cheater didn't wrestle you to the ground and force you into another chastity cage."

"Oh. Yeah, he left right after turning over his funds. He was really pissed about being found out, especially since he'd been using his winnings to bribe the others, and none of them were content with giving the bribes back and staying quiet about his cheating, so he's desperate to put the money together to pay off his debts. You hit him really hard with that."

"I did, yes. Victory must be earned through hard work, with a small element of luck. He wanted to buy his victory, so I told him the market price for winning. He couldn't afford it."

Double Diamond nodded. "You know, you're a lot different than how you used to be, mistr-- Miss Starlight."

"You can call me mistress, if it makes you feel better," smirked Starlight.

"Thank you, Mistress."

"Is there a reason why you want to refer to me as such?"

He blushed. "I've thought about you a lot since we split up. I know I seemed to rush after you with that whole thing, but... There was a part of me that liked having you in control."

Starlight raised her eyebrows. "Really?"

"Yeah. It wasn't active at first, and then, as you issued your commands, it grew and grew until it covered up everything else that was me. When Twilight set us free, the rest of me was so starved that it took over as those aspects of my personality gobbled up the attention ravenously, but after a few weeks, I began to crave orders again. At least, when I was in your cult, it felt like I was contributing to something bigger. I just..." He trailed off. "Sorry. I don't mean to bring that up. It's probably still a sore subject."

It was a very sore subject for Starlight. She was going after that same subject matter now, wanting a town to rule over where nopony could say no to her. She was almost there, she just had to accomplish her secondary goal of rubbing Twilight's big, fat nose in it.

Still, she smiled. There was a glimmer of hope in his words. "So, did you find anything to fulfil that need?"

He swallowed. "I hate to say it, but..."

"What?"

His face was beet-red. "I kinda liked the chastity cage... kinda..."

Starlight's eyes opened wide. "You... liked that?"

"I said "kinda.""

She pulled it out of the box she'd put it in. She was going to keep it to use as some form of punishment, like locking up Shining Armor if Cozy was straying from the plan. Of course, they had to wait for Trixie to report back before they could plan further, but having something to focus Cozy Glow on taking down Twilight was good for throughput.

"So, you're telling me that if I were to lock you in here and keep the key, so that you have to come to me in order to have sex, you'd enjoy that?"

He didn't answer but for a slap as his cock hardened so fast at the very thought of it that it had struck his belly.

"I'll take that as a yes..."

"There's actually a, umm..." he paused, then shook his head. "Nevermind."

"No, no, go ahead."

He swallowed hard. "Would it be too much trouble, mistress... I mean, would it stir up unpleasant memories... How would you feel if I said..."

He was clearly uncomfortable with asking, so Starlight hazarded a guess. "Do you want me to take away your cutie mark agai--"

"Yes!" He cleared his throat and nodded, having jumped forward. "Y-yes, mistress. If it's not too much trouble, that is..."