Projection
by Scarlet Ribbon
I can only pray for forgiveness for this atrocity.
Chapter 1: With a Sister
Cadance whipped her pen around dramatically, her signature ratifying yet another amendment to the byzantine laws of the Crystal Empire. Then, she bound it up with her seal, and handed it to Spike, who dutifully bathed it in dragonfire, sending it all the way back to the Crystal Empire. Cadance smiled; just one more step toward simplifying a complex system.
"Thank you, Spike." Working from her sister-in-law's home wasn't the worst thing in the world, as Spike certainly facilitated quick correspondence between herself and the Empire. Sunburst and Starlight could handle most of the day-to-day governance of the Crystal Empire when needed—something Cadance was taking advantage of at the moment.
She glanced at the modest stack of legislative proposals sitting on the desk and sighed. It didn't all need to be done before she returned—indeed, there really wasn't an expectation that she do any of it, but she felt a sense of obligation to her citizens.
The sound of the door opening drew her attention away. She looked up as Shining stepped into the guest bedroom. His ever-present aura of love was particularly powerful tonight, even moreso than it usually was around his family.
"Oh, hey Spike," he blurted.
"Hey," Spike replied, grinning.
"Papa!" Flurry burbled, scattering her toys and lifting her hooves toward him. Cadance smiled as the loving aura around Shining grew even brighter.
"Hey, there Flur!" Shining replied, scooping up the tiny filly in his magic and giving her a quick kiss before placing Flurry Heart on his back. "Wanna ride around the castle?"
"Ride!" Flurry shouted happily.
"Ooh, yeah!" Spike shouted, bounding up to ride behind Flurry—and help make sure she didn't fall off. Shining turned to the door, both of his passengers giggling.
Cadance raised a hoof to stop him; he'd ignored her. "Shiny?" The powerful aura of love about him seemed to flicker and dim just a little bit as he looked at her.
"Yeah?"
Doubt suddenly plagued her. What was that flicker? Why would it have flickered when he looked at her, his wife? She stared at him, dread growing in her chest.
"What's up, Cadie?"
Cadance couldn't help but notice his mane and tail were wet. Did he take a bath? "N-nothing," she said, turning back to her paperwork. "Just don't spoil her too much, okay?"
"Nonsense, Cadance, we're on vacation! This is the perfect time to spoil her!" The door clicked shut behind him, and the sound of excited foal giggles, draconic shouts, and galloping hooves echoed from beyond the door.
Cadance stood up. The room was swimming in blurry tears as she trotted toward the bathroom.
Why would his love for her be wavering? Why had he bathed? Was there another mare...? And then, if so, who? ... And did she really want to know?
Cadance stared at herself in the full-body mirror. She had taken a bath and done her mane up into braided fairy crown, just the way he liked it. Garters, leggings, lingerie; she had even put in the nipple and clit rings linked by golden chains that he loved to toy with so much. Right now, there wasn't a single thing she wouldn't do to look as sexy and enticing as possible for her husband. She looked damn good as she examined herself in the mirror.
Would it be enough?
She was probably just overthinking things. Maybe she'd just imagined that flicker, but in her heart she couldn't accept that explanation. She couldn't stop herself from worrying about it.
Taking a deep breath, she stepped back into the bedroom and climbed up onto the bed, laying down in the sexiest pose she could, and simply waited.
Shining returned about five minutes later, with neither Spike nor Flurry Heart. There were no concerns there, as there were at least a dozen ponies in the castle that were more than qualified to keep an eye on the little princess, but the aura about him...
He looked at her. The aura flickered again, confirming her fears. She tried not to let it show on her face.
"Flurry Heart wanted to sleep with Spike," Shining explained awkwardly.
"That works well for what I'm planning," Cadance purred. "Come here, stud." She lifted her leg, revealing her teats. The chain made the slight clinking as it shifted.
Shining gazed upon her form and climbed up on the bed, a big smile on his face. The aura brightened just a little bit. "Love, I appreciate you so much." He kissed her. She closed her eyes, kissing him back passionately.
Normally, this was the part where he would play with her teats, or hoof her marehood, or touch her beneath her wings in those oh-so-sensitive spots... She prepared herself for the sensation.
But it didn't come. Shining pulled away from the kiss unexpectedly, gazing into her eyes—No, he couldn't even hold eye contact. Instead, he yawned and turned his back to her, sliding back to snuggle into her—she was always the big spoon thanks to her alicorn size. "I really do appreciate what you're trying to do, but I'm wiped. I'd like to get some sleep."
Cadance couldn't even bring herself to reply. She wrapped her hooves around him and hugged him close, and he didn't object, but...
Now that he was this close, it was unmistakable. He hadn't done a good job of washing up, and Cadance could smell her on him. Jealousy welled up in her heart. What mare had he been with?
And yet, even if he had been with her, he had come back to her bed. Of course he did, she was his wife. But the thought of him being with another mare was extremely upsetting to her.
... And for some reason, that only made her even more horny.
Shining Armor,
I'm sorry I didn't wake you, but you seemed very tired last night and I wanted to let you sleep. You seem like you're having fun in Ponyville, so I didn't want to cut your vacation short.
Something has come up, and I am taking Flurry Heart with me and leaving on the first train back to the Crystal Empire. By the time you read this, I will probably already be halfway there.
Introduce me to her soon.
With Love, Your Wife,
Princess Mi Amore Cadenza
Shining stared at the letter held in his magic, his hooves shaking. Cadance was beyond mad. And while she obviously didn't know the subject of his tryst, she'd obviously figured out that it happened. Attempting to deny it at this point would end poorly. But how in the wide, wide world of Equestria could he explain...
There was a knock at the door. Shining looked over at the door, which wasn't even closed.
"Hey, Twilight," Shining said, scratching the back of his head with a hoof nervously.
Twilight frowned. "Breakfast is ready." In classic Sparkle-family fashion, a late Breakfast was nearly a tradition. And unlike Shining, who had castle staff to maintain a proper sense of normalcy to meal schedules, Twilight had little to no responsibilities as a ruler and was prone to staying up late with Spike on whatever strange projects she'd dreamed up. With nopony else to kick her out of bed in the morning, things tended to run late.
"Where's Cadance?" Twilight asked.
"She, um..." Shining tried to force a smile. "She left early. I'm pretty sure she knows."
Twilight's frowned deepened. "She left without even saying goodbye?" Shining was flabbergasted that she didn't seem to care that Cadance might know.
"Yeah... like I said, I think she knows."
Twilight cocked an eyebrow. "Okay, well, I'll be at the breakfast table." She disappeared back down the hallway. Shining followed behind her.
The breakfast table was set with a lot of Shining's favorite things, including a massive plate of blueberry pancakes that was far more than necessary for just the two of them.
"That's a lot of pancakes," he mumbled.
"Well, Spike expected he would be feeding five ponies, not two," Twilight chided him.
"Five?"
"Rarity was supposed to come visit this morning, but Sweetie Belle ruined another one of her dresses and called it off. Spike went over to the Boutique when he was done with the pancakes to see if she needed any help.
Shining nodded. "I see."
Twilight levelled her gaze at him. "So, you're acting pretty guilty. Why did Cadance leave in such a hurry?"
"I'm pretty sure she figured out what we did last night."
"Last night?" she asked. "What about last night?"
"You know..." Shining said, not wanting to just blurt it out loud. He glanced around, unsure if they were truly alone. "I just want you to know that I want to do it again. What we did underneath the castle."
"After dinner, I went to Sugarcube Corner for a bachelorette party with the girls and didn't get back until late, remember?"
"Uhh..." If that was the story she wanted to run with, who was he to argue? But a nagging doubt surfaced in his mind. What if she wasn't lying?
He took several more bites of his pancakes, trying to decide how to approach the imminent discussion.
Twilight spoke up first. "You said we." He looked up to see she had a look of genuine bewilderment on her face. "Did you see me under the castle last night?"
Shining nodded feebly.
"There must be a Changeling down there... Oh no! What if it's Chrysalis?! I need to warn Celestia!" She turned toward one of the doors. "SPIKE!?"
Shining's mouth suddenly felt very dry, vivid memories of what Chrysalis had done to him and his wife racing through his memory. What if she was right—what if it was a Changeling? "Spike... uh... left, remember?"
"Oh, ponyfeathers!" Twilight cursed. "What about you? Are you okay? She didn't do anything to you, did she?"
The memory of what Twilight had done to him the night before came roaring back. "N...not really..." It wasn't the same as what Chrysalis had done, even if there were superficial similarities.
"Not really?" Twilight shouted. "Did she, or didn't she?"
"I—I thought it was you!" Shining Armor shouted in return. "I never even considered it might be a changeling. The changelings are all reformed!"
"...Reformed? You..." Twilight froze. "Did she do something that you would have considered differently if they weren't?"
"No, I'm just saying I thought it was you! And... and I don't think it was Chrysalis. She's in Canterlot, encased in stone. You wouldn't be finding that out through me."
"You're probably right, but we're going to get to the bottom of this! We're going to go visit Thorax. He should be able to help us track a rogue changeling down!"
It had required a quick run to Rarity's Boutique, but once Spike had delivered the letter, all Twilight could do is wait. Shining had stayed behind at the castle; something about double-checking that the basement was secure. Twilight had made him promise to trust nopony while he was down there, and to run away if somepony showed up.
By the time Twilight returned to her castle, a piercing cry shattered the peaceful morning air. Twilight turned and looked up just in time to see a falcon divebombing toward her. Just before it hit her, it erupted into emerald fire. When the flames and smoke cleared, Thorax, King of the Changelings, was hovering before her.
He smiled at Twilight, tilting his head inquisitively. "Hi, Twilight! You called for my help?"
"Shining Armor saw a Changeling pretending to be me underneath my castle. Can you help me find it?"
"A rogue Changeling?" Thorax asked, confused. "Do you mean a Changeling that hasn't discovered love yet, or do you mean it's just my brother being a dick again?"
Twilight deflated. "I... I don't know. I didn't see the Changeling myself. But Shining Armor said he saw me in the caverns below the castle, and there's no way it was me! I need you to help me find it!"
Thorax shrugged. "You do know the whole hive-mind thing isn't real, right?"
"Y—yes," Twilight conceded. "It just would be super convenient if it was."
"If you can take me to where it happened, I might be able to detect traces of Changeling magic."
"Sure!"
"It was right here." Shining Armor gestured to the rock in the middle of the sparkling pond. "She was sitting on the rock there."
"Give me a moment." Thorax closed his eyes and concentrated, focusing on the environment around him. There was something that was powerful in the air around them, but it wasn't Changeling magic, it was...
He inhaled deeply, trying to place the flavor. It was... familiar, but distant. A taste that hadn't touched his tongue in quite some time. It was...
His eyes snapped open as he remembered that taste. A taste that hadn't touched his palate since before the Great Reformation.
The taste of a pony's Familial Lust.
"Uh... Prince Armor..." Thorax said aloud. "There's um... a strange taste in the air here."
"What?" both siblings asked in unison.
"It's... um..." He didn't really want to be the cause of a conflict here, but it had to be said. "It's lust."
"LUST?!" Twilight spun around to glare at Shining Armor. "Shiny, what were you doing down here, exactly?"
"Let me explain!" Shining said, raising his hooves. "She... uh... she threw herself at me..."
Shining Armor looked behind him, where the stone wall was rough and natural. The cave system had been largely linear—a passageway that lead straight back to safety. More specifically, it lead to his sister's castle.
That was the entire reason he was here: Apparently, having your basement wall collapse without warning, revealing a giant cave system, is 'alarming'. Since Shining Armor was already visiting, he had volunteered to investigate.
Ahead of him, the cavern opened up into a much larger chamber. The walls still sparkled with the crystalline formations that his sister's castle was known for—nothing unusual for the Prince of the Crystal Empire, where such formations were not rare, but entirely expected—but definitely not normal for underneath Ponyville. The floor, however, remained rough stone.
There was a modestly large pool in the middle of the chamber, glowing with a soft blue light. A stone boulder sat in the middle of the lake, like a tiny raised island in an ocean of blue. And on that boulder sat... his sister.
Shining did a double-take. He was almost certain he had been alone just moments before. Of course, his sister was entirely capable of high-level teleportation, but why would she meet him here?
"I called you here," Twilight said flatly, answering his unspoken question, her wide eyes gazing at him. "For a reason." Her body seemed almost radiant, glowing in the blue light reflecting off of the pool.
"You did?" he replied, confused.
"I did," Twilight replied. Her wings extended, and she flew effortlessly over to the side of the pool, closing the distance between them. "Because I know the truth."
"The truth?" Shining said, tilting his head in confusion. "What truth?"
Twilight smiled. It wasn't a wide smile, but it wasn't a smirk, either. It seemed entirely neutral, like she was trying to mask her emotions. "I know your true desires," she replied. "And I know that your hearts desire is to have intercourse with me."
Shining took a step back, quickly glancing around to ensure they really were alone. Twilight continued staring at him, unblinking. It seemed almost predatory. Then, she smiled ever so slightly, stepping toward him.
"So you know?!" he shouted, taking a step back instinctively. "Who told you?" There wasn't a soul in the entire world that knew of his lust for his sister; not even his wife..
"I know more than you think I do," Twilight replied evenly, continuing to advance. "I know a lot about many things. Some might say I know everything."
"That doesn't answer the question!" Shining snapped, still stepping backwards.
"You do not wonder why I would call you down here? This is a place where nopony will see. A place where nopony will bother us."
Her flat demeanor suggested she was trying to subdue her emotions. She was probably suppressing a lot of rage at learning how much he lusted for her. "You're going to imprison me down here?" he guessed. Shining's back side hit the wall, cutting off his ability to continue retreating. "Or kill me?"
"No," Twilight replied flatly. She stopped advancing on him, then, she turned to face away from him, putting her head down and her ass up. Her tail slapped him across the muzzle as it flagged. "I want you to fulfill your desires."
"My desires?" Shining could feel his arousal rapidly building—his sister was presenting to him! This only happened in his fantasies, and yet here was his sister, in flesh and blood, presenting herself to him! Was it even real!? Unless...
Unless he was asleep, and this was all a prank of Princess Luna?
"You wish to breed with me, do you not?" Twilight asked. The strange luminescence of the cave seemed to intensify and the odd glow about her flared up, highlighting all of her private parts. Her supple teats below, coming together to highlight her slickened vulva. Even her asshole seemed to be twitching in anticipation. "Many years have passed as I have waited for the right opportunity to do this."
"Luna," Shining called out, his voice reverberating off the walls of the cavern. "If this is some sort of sick joke, it's not funny!"
Twilight scooted herself a step backward. "I assure you, Shining Armor, you are not sleeping. This is real. Just touch me and see for yourself." Her clit winked out at him, like a period at the end of her sentence.
Shining couldn't help but stare at the purple pussy right in front of his face. She was showing a remarkable amount of control over her emotions if this was truly something she desired, but even if her verbal demeanor was subdued, her body was clearly aroused and ready, excited for the main event. "A-a-are you sure?" he stuttered, his willpower weakening as her pussy drooled ever so slightly with the lubrication of a horny mare.
"Yes, Shining Armor. I wish to breed with you as well," Twilight affirmed. "I have wanted to do this with you for a long time, but it was never the right time. Now, down here, there is no risk of being caught."
Shining Armor tore his eyes away from her folds and looked around. Twilight was right—there was absolutely no way anypony would find out about this... A part of him screamed that he shouldn't go forward with this. That his wife would never approve...
It wouldn't be the first time he disappointed his wife when it came to matters of sex.
Without any further hesitation, Shining stepped forward and inhaled deeply of her scent. It was as if the smell of heaven itself mixed with the earthen scent of arousal. Heaven and earth. The two things he would move for her just to have this opportunity. He'd longed to taste this far so long...
His tongue touched lightly against her folds, just above her clit, licking slowly along the pink gash between her scintillating lips. "Ooh!" Twilight gasped, "that feels even better than I'd hoped!" Despite her words, she seemed to stiffen up.
Shining was certain that she was nervous. Her positive verbal reaction conflicted with body language that suggested she was inexperienced in matters of love. Which meant it was his responsibility to make sure that it was a positive experience for her. He returned to her clit and flicked his tongue against it, teasing her, before licking up her cleft again.
"That feels really good..." Twilight mumbled. Was her stoic demeanor finally cracking? "I always dreamed of doing this. I've always loved you, Shining. I was so jealous of Cadance..."
Shining pulled away so that her winking clit was just inches from his muzzle. It seemed to beg for him to return to it. "Twily... I never thought you would..." His horn ignited with power as he lifted her up and laid her on her back, gently assuring that her wings wouldn't be bent awkwardly behind her.
"What?" Twilight asked, confused. She peered up at him, eyes wide in confusion—or perhaps curiosity; Shining wasn't entirely sure. "Why?"
"If we're going to do this, I want to do it as lovers. Not horny young ponies desperately trying to get in a quick buck before our parents get home." His hoof touched her hind leg, just on the inside of her thigh.
Twilight peered down herself at him. "I see." Her flat intonation again. His sister was weird, Shining knew that. She was probably trying to focus on analyzing what they were doing so she could write a report later.
That was his sister: The one pony he loved more than his wife or daughter. If this was how she wanted it... then he would give it to her. Maybe once she had the report done, she would be less formal about it the next time.
He trailed upwards along her thigh until his hoof made contact with her sparkling vulva. The wet fur catching the strange blue luminescence of their surroundings seemed to sear the vision of her marehood into his mind as he rubbed softly along her folds, teasing the edge of his hoof into her warm crevasse.
His other hoof explored the rest of her body. Her teats, firmer than he'd expected, sported some of the stiffest nipples he'd ever touched. Gazing into her wide eyes, Shining smiled softly down at the sister turned lover.
Twilight gazed at him with those wide eyes. "Please, hurry," she begged. "I need your seed before anypony comes looking." Shining nearly giggled aloud at how clinical she sounded about it all, but her words underlined...
Foals. Shining wasn't an idiot, he could read between the lines. She wanted his foals. And nothing could have prepared his dick for how stiff it became at the thought of knocking up the hottest mare in Equestria.
It wouldn't be the passionate lovemaking he wanted to give her, but it at least they would be face to face. He could feel how wet she was with his probing hoof, and she was certainly aroused enough to skip over the foreplay.
"Okay," Shining nodded. He shuffled himself over the top of her, bringing his stallionhood to rest against her marehood. "...Are you absolutely sure about this?" He would never forgive himself if he wasn't certain she was consenting.
The black pools of Twilight's gorgeous eyes focused on him, giving him the sensation that she was peering into his very soul. "More than anything else in Equestria, Shining Armor. I need you to breed me!" He didn't need to be told twice.
Slowly pushing into her folds, the firey warmth of her aroused loins wrapped around his member. Cadance had become an experienced mare, and the two had made love so many times that Cadance knew exactly what to do to give Shining just the right pleasure as he impaled her. But Twilight?
Twilight didn't even need to do anything. As he slid deeper, her pussy was crushingly tight upon his cock, just shy of painfully so. He gazed down to make sure she wasn't hurt, but Twilight only smiled up at him, seemingly undistressed. It spurred him to press onward.
But first, he needed to pull out. Her pussy's firm grip on his cock seemed to squeeze even tighter as he withdrew, desperately trying to hold him in place. A primal need to feel a mare clenching down on him flared up, and he slammed into her, plumbing her depths just slightly deeper than before.
Developing a rhythm, Shining began grunting with each thrust, her tightness gripping him desperately. It was like the times where he'd stroked himself with his magic, squeezing it as tightly as he could to maximize the pressure and pleasure, only instead of the strange tingling of his magic, it was the warm, wet depths of a mare.
"Yes..." Twilight intoned. "Just like that. More. Climax for me! Fill me up with your seed!" Shining was already too lost in his task to argue with her; every part of his being wanted to cream in her cooch.
Her horn suddenly ignited, lifting them both up. Before Shining could protest, he found himself on his back, with Twilight straddling him and taking control instead. She began slowly grinding upon his shaft, taking charge of the situation.
His eyes trailed up from where their bodies were connected. Her teats bounced softly up and down before him as she rose and fell on his turgid cock, her wings spread out wide as she rode him.
Her wet coat and feathers still sparkled with the blue luminesence of their surroundings, giving her an almost ethereal glow as she brought him closer and closer to climax. She's an angel, Shining thought to himself. This is the closest I have ever been to fucking the divine.
...No, he realized. Fucking the divine... Celestia was likely amazing in bed, but... he would pass on any opportunity to be with her holy visage if it meant he could re-experience what he was experiencing right now.
And this 'angel', his own sister, wanted to be knocked up with his foals. As her pussy spasmed around his cock, the thought brought him nearly to climax. "Twilight, I'm close," he cried out.
"That is my intent," Twilight replied curtly, slamming her hips down on his member and holding in place. Shining wasn't certain what she was doing, but it was obvious she'd been practicing her kegels as she clenched down on him and started grinding hard against him.
A wave of bliss shot through him as he felt his cock flare out inside of her, increasing the already incredible pressure even further. He closed his eyes, basking in the chemical bliss as his cock spasmed inside of her. His orgasm rocked him to his core, spewing copious amounts of his cum deep inside of his little sister, more than he'd ever cum in his entire life.
Shining felt himself coming down from his orgasmic delirium, realizing that Twilight hadn't cum yet. He sighed happily and peered up at her. "Thank you for planting your seed," she said, leaning down to kiss him—a quick peck on the lips. "Equestria may need your services again some day."
Twilight dismounted from him without giving him a chance to protest. Was she really just going to... leave things like this? Was she really just going to buck and run?! It was prepostorous to imagine that Twilight, of all ponies, would do that. "Wait!" he called as she stepped back toward the sparkling pool.
Her hoofsteps continued their pace as she turned her neck to face him. "We need to wash up. Nopony can know what we've done here, after all."
"R-right, but—" Before he could protest further, she lifted him with her magic and heaved him into the pool. There was a tremendous splash as he sank below the surface, and he floundered for a moment as he found himself fully submerged in the pool. Flailing his hooves, he dragged himself back to the surface and gasped for air.
"Twily!" he shouted. "What did you do that for?!" The sound of his voice echoed back to him, but he received no other reply. Looking around, his sister, Twilight Sparkle, was nowhere to be found.
"Twi...?" he repeated, somewhat taken aback at her sudden absence. There was no response.
After cleaning up in the pool, Shining returned to his sister's castle, his mind swimming with a myriad of thoughts. The cave system below the castle was a security concern in the long term, but after exploring the caverns, there didn't seem to be any immediate threats. Indeed, it really did seem as if Twilight had somehow concocted a bizarre scheme to fuck him in the guise of...
Penetration testing?
He groaned loudly to himself, surveying the basement for something to block off the hole to the caverns. Levitating a bookshelf over to mask it, he knew it wouldn't provide much protection from a determined invader, but at least it might prevent vermin from accessing the castle until they could survey the cavern properly to figure exactly where the cave system led, if anywhere. Then, some masonry could block it off, if needed.
With the immediate concern addressed, he began a slow, plodding ascent to the ground floor of the castle, pondering how he should approach discussing matters with Twilight... or his wife, for that matter.
Chapter 2: With a Brother
"It looked like me!" Twilight shouted.
Shining took a defensive step back. "I thought itwas you!"
"THEN WHY IN TARTARUS DID YOU HAVE SEX WITH IT?!"
"Um, Princess, we can't be absolutely sure it was a Changeling—" Thorax tried to interject, but Twilight carried on without paying him any mind.
"Because I love you!" Shining Armor shouted. "I love you in a way no brother should, and I for just a moment, I thought maybe... maybe you loved me back!"
Twilight shrank back. "I do love you, Shining... but you need to go," Twilight mumbled, pointing a hoof back in the direction of the castle. "Please leave. I don't want to see you right now."
"B-but..." Shining tried to protest. "Let me—"
Twilight's horn illuminated brilliantly, and with a familiar burst of magical energies, Shining Armor was gone.
"That... wasn't necessary," Thorax chastised. "Where did you send him, anyway?"
"Back to his wife," Twilight hissed, anger flaring up again momentarily, before her shoulders suddenly sagged, and she sat back on her haunches. She took a deep breath and then screamed at the air around her.
One of the disadvantaged of being a Changeling was the intimate familiarity with all of the emotions of other beings, and this was no exception as the air around him began to fill with the taste of despair... with a powerful flavor of love added. And the ringing of tinnitus in his ears.
Twilight's head drooped as she ran out of air, bracing herself from falling forward with her hooves. Thorax wasn't the best at providing comfort, but he wasn't even sure what to say. Without any further ideas, he simply approached her and put his hooves around her, pulling her in for a hug.
She buried her face in his chitinous chest; Thorax immediately transformed into a much more suitable form: a bear. Burying her face in his fur, she cried.
And cried.
And then she suddenly stopped, pulling her face away from his chest. She looked up into Thorax's eyes. "He told me he wanted to do it again!" she wailed, and buried her face into his chest. She cried some more.
After a while, she pulled away from him, wiping tears from her face with the back of a hoof. "Wait... what... what did you mean, it wasn't a Changeling?"
"It doesn't matter now, does it?"
"It does!" Twilight shouted. "Thorax, I want to know the truth!"
Thorax was taken aback; Twilight had never been so forceful with him before. "It...it might have been a Changeling. But I couldn't find any signs of Changeling magic of any kind. No transformation. No teleportation. No kinesis. If this happened only last night, I should be able to detect the residue from the spells... There's just no way it could have been a Changeling, unless that Changeling did all of it's transformations elsewhere and... got here without magic."
Twilight sat back, wiping snot from her nose. "Then, what... could it have been?"
Thorax shook his head. "I don't know. I honestly do not know." A question burned in the back of his mind, and he had to get it out. "Why... why exactly are you so upset about this? I'm sorry, but I cannot help but taste your emotions, and this response, it... it isn't normal."
Twilight stared at the stone floor, seemingly lost in thought for several minues, sniffling occasionally, and wiping her tears away. "I've been so mad at him," she finally said. "I've been mad at him for years. I've always wanted Shining to love me that way, but I knew it was wrong."
Her eyes finally met his as she continued talking. "I kept those feelings locked up, deep inside of me. I knew nopony would ever consider me normal if they found out I lusted for my own brother. So for many years now, I've been shoving my own desires away. But even though I couldn't bring myself to admit it to anypony, I turned down so many stallions because deep down inside, I knew I wanted my BBBFF. And I also knew that I was doomed to be unhappy and alone. There was no way he would return my love."
"And now?" Thorax asked.
"And now, it seems I was wrong. But it's too late, now. He's married Cadance. I was too little, too late."
But in listening to Twilight's story, Thorax found himself dwelling on a story from his own misery. "I... I think I can relate," he replied. "I... I love my broodmother. I wish to breed with her, and expand the hive."
"Uh... You mean Chrysalis?"
Thorax nodded quietly. "We Changelings didn't understand or embrace love back then, but it was always there, in some limited capacity. Now that I understand love even more, I can recognize it for what it was. We Changelings loved our Queen, but she could not find it in herself to do the same."
"I... I see." Twilight pulled away from Thorax, and Thorax shifted back into his normal form.
"Even though she did not return my love, I truly wished that she would choose me as her next breeding drone," Thorax continued. "But now... I would not want to build a hive from my broodmother's selfishness. And it no longer matters what I desire; she is stuck in stone. And if Equestria is to survive, she will remain there for eternity." It was his turn to get misty-eyed and emotional, it seemed.
"I struggle in silence every night," Thorax said, shaking. "Desiring the love of a Changeling who will never love me back."
"Isn't that... really weird?" Twilight wondered.
The question was so unexpected that Thorax did a double-take. "Weird? What do you mean?"
"Well, you want to breed with your own mother. That's very... unorthodox."
"Oh, not at all," Thorax explained. "Changeling reproduction is quite odd, you see."
"I haven't had the courage to ask about it," Twilight confessed. "But I do admit to being curious."
"Having sex with our mothers... it's strange to you ponies, but for Changelings, it is essential to the survival of our species. We mate with our broodmother, and each other, because if we didn't, we wouldn't survive.
"Your siblings?" Twilight asked, cautiously.
"Oh, yes. Every Changeling in a hive is descended from the same mother—or sometimes the mother before her, though that's less common. Which makes us all siblings. I suppose in pony terms, it would make us half-siblings, but all of our fathers are also related to us; if not as siblings, as uncles—so the whole thing is heavily interwoven."
"Why, exactly, are you all born to the Hive Queen?" Twilight asked, confused. "Surely some other females—"
"Nymphs."
"—Nymphs would have their own children?"
Thorax shook his head. "Nymphs—females that are not Queens—have no womb to incubate eggs. They are capable of carrying a fertilized egg within their genital pouch for a short period, but as the egg matures and grows, they are incapable of continuing to carry it. So a drone places the egg inside the broodmother."
Twilight stared at Thorax with a puzzled expression. "I think... maybe we need to go back to basics. How exactly do Changelings reproduce?"
"Ah, umm... well, it's a bit more complicated than ponies, but the processes individually are similar. A male 'drone' Changeling, like myself, has an ovipositor. It functions mostly like a penis, except... well, it is designed for the transfer of eggs. The drone finds a receptive nymph, and they engage in... erm... reproductive behavior."
Twilight frowned. "You make that sound dirty."
"Well, it's just very strange by pony standards. You see, the nymph will release an egg during copulation, and the male's ovipositor will latch onto the egg, and our actual penis—a tiny, needle-like penis—penetrates the egg and deposits a single sperm cell."
"That sounds unpleasant," Twilight said, wincing.
"It's not. The whole process is rather enjoyable, much like pony reproduction. Once the egg is fertilized, the ovipostor opens up and the tip of the penis flares outward before retreating into the ovipositor. This hooks the egg and drags it all the way back through the ovipositor and into the drone's body. Then, if the Broodmother is receptive, we copulate with her and deposit the fertilized egg into her womb, where the eggs grow until they are too large for her to carry."
"And then they are born?" Twilight wondered.
"No, no, then she lays the eggs, which must be protected until they hatch. The broodmother and the other nymphs can secrete a gooey green that sustains the growing Changeling inside until they hatch a few months later."
Twilight sat back, seemingly lost in thought for a few minutes. Thorax looked around the cavern, inhaling deeply of the fresh air, still tainted by the lust from the night before, and Twilight's earlier outpouring of despair. The flavor of lust, however, seemed... fresher?
"Thorax?"
"Yes?"
"Who is the current Broodmother?"
Thorax sighed. "We don't have one."
"Then how are you going to survive as a species!?"
Thorax looked around the room, hoping that something would derail this conversation now that it was heading this direction. "We need to—No. I need to... choose a mate. There is a reason I am called a King. Every hive has a few King drones. We're given special treatment by the hive and I hated it. That's why I ran away."
"Because you didn't want to be a King?"
"A King is special. We're actually nursed by a Queen directly as we grow up; she gives us our Royal Jelly, and it causes our gonads to develop slightly differently: our sperm, when implanted into an egg, will grow a new Queen. We're protected by the hive, because if all of the Kings were to die, and the Queen died without producing another one... the hive can't continue. In that regard, we're even more irreplacable than the Queen, even though there's more of us."
"I see. But you said only Queens have a womb. Without a Queen, even if you were to... breed... how will your species continue?"
Thorax closed his eyes. There was no way he could just tell her that... right?
... But, no. He'd come this far. And she was always voraciously pursuing knowledge. If he didn't tell her now, she'd pry the information out of someling at some point.
"We... use a surrogate womb. Usually a womb from a pony. And usually a mare that has been fooled by a fake husband who is actually a King. The King mates with a Nymph, and then the pony, and then the hive will kidnap the pony, keeping her safe until it is time to lay the egg.
"How have I never heard anything about this? Surely she would tell somepony after she returns?"
"They... they don't, um... return."
Twilight faltered. "They... don't..." A flash of recognition. "Oh... the process is fatal, then?"
"Oh, no, nothing like that," Thorax laughed. "But... Changelings secrete a substance to feed the growing egg, as the mare is not a Changeling and cannot produce it herself. It requires... repeated copulation. And it has a slightly... intoxicating effect on ponies."
"They get drunk?"
"And it's addictive. They... they don't want to leave. Once the egg hatches, they attain a sort of special status within the hive: The Matriarch. The Mother of the Queen. It is... a somewhat pitiful existence, though. They want nothing more than to be bred, repeatedly."
The taste of lust in the air intensified, and Thorax eyed the Princess warily. "How are you being aroused by this?"
Twilight's purple cheeks turned a deep shade of crimson. "I... uh..." She shuffled her hooves, pawing at the stone awkwardly. "Would... would you judge a pony for wanting to have sex with a facsimile of her sibling?"
Thorax laughed loudly. "Princess Sparkle, surely you realize how silly that question is? I already told you, we almost exclusively breed with our siblings or other close relatives. And there's no shortage of Changelings who have chosen to make their living in this new Changeling reality by selling their bodies to make such fantasies real."
"And you need... you need a pony who can establish a new hive for you. To birth a new Queen for the Hive?" she asked. "If I were willing, would you let me... with... him?"
"As Shining Armor?" Thorax replied. "Princess, you cannot afford to become addicted to..."
"I'll be fine," Twilight replied. "We'll... we'll research it. I'll find a way to negate the addictive properties. Just... promise me... nopony can ever know about this.
"Well... one ling will need to know. But... I have already chosen the Nymph that will bring our hive back. That's why I chose Ocellus for your school. I wanted her to have a positive relationship with ponies. We need to build new hives. We need more than one Queen, or else a single rogue Queen might once again try to consolidate their power."
"You have to start somewhere," Twilight insisted. "I promise. Please... I... I need to feel him. Let me help the Changelings to grow again."
The taste of lust in the air was nearly intoxicating to Thorax already. It was getting difficult to deny her. "We'll need Ocellus first," he said simply.
"Where is she?"
He told her. They both flashed out of existence.
Twilight Sparkle watched at a distance as the other Twilight Sparkle and the Changeling King disappeared from sight. She rubbed her belly with a hoof.
The seed had been planted. And now it could grow.
