“Good afternoon, gentlecolts,” Princess Celestia said, as she poured out three measures of tea into waiting gold and ivory tea cups. “You said you had something important to talk to me about. A possible way to guarantee that Nightmare Moon will never rise again, you said.”

“Yes, your Highness,” Flam replied nervously, unsure if he should take the tea now or wait till after his absolute monarch took a sip.

An uncomfortable silence settled onto the sitting room while Celestia sat there, waiting for the business pony to finish his sentence.

“What my brother means to say,” Flim interjected, after nearly a full minute of silence had passed, “is that we may have found a way to permanently anchor Princess Luna’s mind fully to the reality of her being your sister, and not Nightmare Moon.”

“Keeping my sister under control and through her, Nightmare Moon, is my highest priority,” Celestia commented, taking a gentle sip of her tea. “It's why I’ve poured the riches of Equestria into your firm and let the two of you operate almost completely unchecked.”

“And we hope that we’ve provided some return on that investment already,” said Flam, taking a gulp of his tea now that Celestia had drunk some herself.

“Your containment suits have certainly done an excellent job of keeping my sister’s powers under control, and controlling any pony that might help that demon inside of her from breaking free and running amok,” Celestia replied in a motherly manner, before a frown marred that gentle expression. “Not too mention dealing with any pony who dared question the necessity of doing absolutely everything possible in that regard.”

“Which is where Control comes into play,” Flim added, leaving his own cup undisturbed.

“Control? You mean my former student, Sunset Shimmer. Correct?” Celestia asked, knowing the question was rhetorical.

“Correct, Princess,” Flam confirmed, before calling out, “Control, please come in.”

The lean-bodied form of Sunset Shimmer practically stomped into the room, her eyes burning with an anger suppressed only through sheer force of will, and the knowledge of what could happen if she decided to let her own inner demon off its chain.

“Princess Celestia,” Sunset said, through teeth that were almost gritted. The unicorn stopped the precise amount required before bowing to show her submission to the Crown.

“Sunset Shimmer, it’s good to see you again,” Celestia said, her voice still in that warm, motherly voice. Only someone who knew her well would have noticed the tightness around her eyes or the subtle shift of her wings. “How is professional life treating you?”

“Well enough, your Highness,” Sunset replied, noting the conversational thrust before making a riposte of her own. “I go by ‘Control’ now. My old name didn’t feel right after so long under your… wings.”

“Indeed,” Celestia noted, relaxing slightly. “Your employers said you’ve come up with something important?”

“Yes, your Highness,” Sunset stated, relaxing herself as she launched into her explanation. “Recently we acquired a rather unique asset, and we decided to convert them into a productive unit in a somewhat different way than our usual methods of breaking their dangerous mindset of personal freedom. Instead, we harnessed their own inner drives and needs, so that they made themselves both safe and useful to all of Equestria.”

“How so?” Celestia asked, intrigued.

“The second most important desire a pony has is to procreate,” Sunset continued, moving slightly toward the door she had entered through. “We discovered that it can be used to make an individual obedient, biddable and thinking only the thoughts we want to be there. All we have to do, is control their sexuality in the right ways.”

“Luna isn't just a pony,” countered Celestia. “My sister is an alicorn, which is a large part of why she continues to think for herself, and as long as she does, she is a danger to herself and all of Equestria.”

“True,” Sunset tossed back, obedience to protocol flying out the window. “But what if there was a way to engage Luna’s sexuality? What if there was a way to put her in foal? If we can do either of those things we can either render her safe, or make it so that acting against you means acting against her own child.”

“But for that we would need—” Celestia began.

“An alicorn stallion,” Sunset interrupted, drawing a small gasp from the guards in the room at the mare's rudeness. “248, this is Control. Enter the room and come to me.”

Celestia hummed in appreciation as the sleek body of 248 entered the room. A few months of regular meals and exercise had filled in the hollows acquired during his journey, while keeping him trim and fit. As well, Control had made sure that her tool for breaking Luna had been impeccably groomed as the shimmering waves of his mane and tail attested too.

“Wait, are those wings?” Celestia demanded, her amazement growing as she noted the bound ebony shapes along 248's back. “He’s an alicorn? An alicorn stallion?”

“Indeed he is, your Highness,” Flim responded, bowing low as Celestia got off the divan she had been resting on and approached 248.

“I’ve searched for somepony like him for years… centuries,” the ruler of all Equestria said, running a hoof over 248’s back to trace the pockets that securely held his wings. “He’s absolutely gorgeous.”

“Which is why we think it can be the tool to make sure that Luna will never become Nightmare Moon again,” Control stated, moving to directly confront the princess. “Either 248 will get a foal on her and you can control her through that, or 248’s… attentions, will be the engine that drives the process of removing any independent or rebellious thoughts out of her head.”

There was a moment of tension again as the two mares locked eyes with each other. Flim and Flam knew there was some sort of conflict between the two, but Celestia had never hinted at what the problem had been, and Control had become almost violent the one time Flam had tried to press her for details.

“Which is why you asked me to bring my sister to this meeting,” Celestia replied, and a small frown crossed the sun princess’s face like a passing cloud. “You forget your place, my former student.”

“My humble apologies, your Highness,” Control responded, bowing low in submission, though there was nothing at all submissive in her voice. “Your subject begs your forgiveness.”

“Hmmm,” Celestia noncommittally replied, returning her attention to the stallion holding statue still before her. “Does he know what to do? Is he capable of doing what needs to be done.”

“It has been extensively trained, your Highness,” answered Control, backing away slowly from her closeness to the Solar Presence. “What’s more, 248 has been held in chastity to ensure its work will be perfect.”

“Excellent,” Celestia said, removing her hoof from the stallion with obvious reluctance. “Guards, bring in my sister!”

The door was flung open and two Royal Guards walked in. Each of them were wearing pulling harnesses over their armor, from which extended chain leads leading back to the bridle locked onto a latex clad Prussian blue alicorn mare. That guards continued to move forward, the chains keeping Luna within a few steps of her guards and ensuring she kept her head up. Two armed guards entered the room behind Luna and shut the door.

“Hello Luna, today we are going to try a new therapy,” Celestia informed her sister. “One you just might enjoy.”

“Forgive me if I withhold my enthusiasm,” Luna replied, rolling her eyes. “In truth, thou are the one in need of therapy. We have told thee time and time again that We are cleansed of the Nightmare and that We are loyal to thee and thy rule. We have pledged this to thee and still We are kept bound in this living prison thou hast foisted upon Us.”

“All things that the Nightmare would say to get me to lower my guard,” Celestia replied, shaking her head. “Gentlecolts, if you would.”

At the cue Flim and Flam opened the trunks they had brought with them and began assembling a sturdy looking device from lengths of square tube steel. Luna shifted her gaze in dull horror from the metal frame that was in mid-assembly over to 248.

“Thou hast found an alicorn stallion? What means this?” Luna’s gaze flipped back over to the metal contraption as various restraints were added to it. “Thou cannot mean to… Thou intends to have me BRED? As if We were but brutish livestock??”

“Suit One,” Control commanded. “Add a ring gag to the bridle.”

In the space of a single heartbeat a pseudo tentacle of latex had found its way across the mouth of the lunar alicorn and forced it open in an “O” shape.

“My apologies again, for the presumption,” Control added, bowing again to the elder sister. “But this will go easier for everypony with the gag in, and it will ensure her Highness has sufficient air for what is to come.”

“No apology necessary, my former student,” Celestia replied, wincing slightly as Luna bombarded all present with inarticulate curses. “This just proves to me that the Nightmare is still inside of her, waiting for a chance to strike.”

“All finished, Princess Celestia,” Flam stated, stepping away from the frame as his magic pressed a final anchor bolt into the floor.

Luna’s response was an outraged whinny, and rearing, she attempted to break away from her chains and the stallions holding her. However, Celestia herself had forged the chains binding her sister and the guards had been chosen for both their strength and their weight. That, combined with the mechanical advantage their harnesses gave them, allowed the guards to drag Luna into place where Celestia herself fastened the bindings.

“Guards, you may go,” Celestia commanded, waiting until the four guards had left to cast what Control recognized as a privacy spell over the room itself.

“With your permission?” Control asked, as she checked the various bindings that were keeping the lunar alicorn held in place, despite her continuing struggles.

“Have your tool be as gentle as possible with her,” Celestia stated, in a voice of utter authority. “Even though part of her wants to destroy us all, I’d rather not have my sister brutalized.”

“I can guarantee you that the process will be as pleasurable as possible for her, your Highness,” Control replied, nodding to herself as she confirmed that all was in readiness. “In fact, for this to have any effect at all, Princess Luna needs to enjoy this.”

“Oh my,” was all Celestia managed to say, as Control noted a slight blush on the cheeks of the solar alicorn.

“248,” Control ordered. “You will commence Breeding Protocol Four on the pony in the frame. Do you understand?”

“248 understands,” replied the stallion, speaking and becoming animated for the first time since he had entered.

With slow care the stallion moved toward the captive princess, who bucked and thrashed in a final, desperate attempt to free herself.

“Don’t be afraid,” 248 said, stroking the side of Luna’s face as he moved into her restricted field of vision. “248 will be gentle with you. 248 will give you pleasure, and then you will be obedient like 248. Obedience is pleasure. Pleasure is obedience.”

Luna tried to shake her head in the negative, but the reins of her bridle kept her head firmly in place.

“UH! UH!” she shouted, trying to deny 248, and for a moment she saw a brief moment of hesitation in the stallion’s eyes. However, the moment passed and the stallion moved back around to Luna’s rear, and sensing what was coming she tried to lower her tail, only to find that her dock was held in place.

248 took a moment to sniff gently at the inviting lower lips of the lunar princess, drinking in her scent before ever so gently nuzzling the crease between them with the tip of his nose. A whole body shudder rippled through Luna’s body as nerve clusters not used in over a millennium began to fire back into life.

“Suit 248,” Control began, addressing the control collar around 248’s throat. “Release all chastity restrictions. Begin breeding protocol.”

Though 248’s mind was almost completely subsumed by his programming, the pony under the living latex sheathe couldn’t help but sound a multi-toned nicker as his suit began to rub and tug at his sheathe, encouraging the growth of the remorselessly teased and caged stallionhood along his belly.

Any stallion not as thoroughly under control or as trained as 248 had been would likely have mounted the princess then and there, driving themselves forward in the ancient ritual of rut, but 248 had been trained. He was utterly under the control of the pony of the same name, and as such, he obeyed his programming.

Moving ever so carefully forward, 248’s nose parted the dark blue folds to slide along the line of pink flesh beneath, drawing another pleasurable shudder from the captive princess. A shudder that turned into a full jerk at her bindings as 248 ran his tongue along the inner entrance to Luna’s treasure.

As 248 continued to slide his tongue up and down along Luna’s inner folds, the female alicorn’s motions began to shift from abrupt attempts to escape, to rolling motions of her hips as her body began to respond to the attention, moving not against the stallion’s attentions, but with them. A startled gasp burst out from the ring gag as 248’s lips then fastened around Luna’s growing nub, suckling at it as if he was dying of thirst and it was the only source of water.

Indeed, liquid began to flow moments later as the mare’s body responded to the stallion’s attentions by producing copious amounts of natural lubricant. The musky smell of a mare’s arousal filled the room, and Control noted that not only did Flim and Flam’s nostrils flare wide to pull in the scent, but so too did Celestia’s.

The solar alicorn’s eyes were locked onto the scene being played out before her as if it was the most important thing in the world. Control watched as Celestia’s forehoof began gliding lower and lower down her body as Luna whinnied and stamped like a wanton while 248 pressed his muzzle into her soft passage, spreading it wide for what was to come.

All present could see the rippling along 248’s muzzle as his tongue began to lick and thrust his tongue back and forth inside of Luna, causing her to begin to rock back and forth as much as she was able, her thoughts of resistance beginning to fade like a fog against a hot sun. Celestia’s hoof began to touch her own teats, but a sudden flash of awareness made her look up and across the backs of the captive couple, there to lock eyes with Control.

The two mares shared a look. The eyes of Control were filled with calculation and assessment, while Celestia’s look shifted from embarrassment, through anger, to awareness of what her former student might be thinking of at that moment. Celestia’s expression shifted to one of calm observance, and only one who knew her well would have been able to divine the deeper emotions running through the senior princess.

Control knew Celestia very well.

Several minutes passed as 248 continued his oral assault on Luna’s soft flesh. The cries of a mare being driven to the heights of passion pressed against the privacy spell, but it held firm. Liquid began to drip to the floor, in spite of 248’s licking and sucking for all he was worth, and as the stallion made tool pulled back for a moment all present bore witness to his sodden face.

248 reared up, and placing his latex clad forehooves against the inner curve of Luna’s hips, began to mount the bound mare properly. With gentle, but insistent force, 248’s fully flared cockhead parted Luna’s outer lips and the stallion stopped there for a moment, as his protocols bade him to wait for the mare beneath him to adjust to what was about to happen.

“AH! OHHHH!” Luna cried out in protest. A protest that was cut off as a voice whispered in her ears.

“Obedience is pleasure. Pleasure is obedience,” said the hushed voice of Control. “Stop fighting. Stop thinking. Thinking only brings pain. Let go, obey, and be rewarded.”

“OH! Ooooooo,” Luna tried to respond, only to have that response trail off in a groan of pure lust as her own suit followed its directives, by starting to vibrate and pulse against her now fully engorged nub.

Feeling the vibrations of Luna’s suit against the underside of his cock, 248 started the next phase of his assault against Luna’s sex by rocking his hips back and forth, driving his wide cockhead and girthy shaft down into her cunt. However, 248’s instructions were to have Luna enjoy the process as much as possible, and so he did not simply slam himself into her like a battering ram at the gates of a fortress.

Breeding Protocol Four specified foreplay, gentle arousal, and a firm but steady penetration, and while 248 had not been allowed to climax during his months of programming and training the drone had accepted his lessons well and demonstrated them as he inched his way deeper and deeper into Luna.

For her part, Luna could feel her mind starting to become overwhelmed for the first time since Celestia had trapped her in the latex symbiote Flim and Flam had created to contain and constrain her. It had been so long since she had experienced the attentions of either a stallion or mare in the bedchamber, and while 248 might have just been carrying out his programming, he was hitting all the right spots to drive her mad with pleasure and desire.

“Obedience is pleasure. Pleasure is obedience,” continued the mantra in her ears. “Don’t think, just obey.”

The mantra began to take hold in Luna’s mind, and as the broad rim of 248’s medial ring pressed against her entrance, Luna found herself pressing back against it, doing her best to spear herself on 248’s cock. Her mind began to drift along the waves of orgasmic joy that 248 was filling her mind with, even as his length began to fill her body. The joyful sounds coming from her throat seemed so distant, as if they belonged to somepony else, and a part of Luna realized that this stallion might just be the key to opening the lock of her mind for Celestia.

Both ponies cried out as after long minutes, 248’s steady advance culminated with his hilting himself fully within 001. 248 paused for a few moments, gathering himself for the final push against 001’s ultimate treasure even as her body rippled and kneaded at his length in a vain attempt to force him to climax before the protocol was complete.

Unfortunately for 001, 248 had been too well programmed and trained for this moment, and not a drop of his precious seed was spilled before its time. Grabbing the mare’s hips even harder, 248 began to thrust with intent, battering his way against 001’s deepest depths.

“Obedience is pleasure. Pleasure is obedience,” continued to sound in 001’s ears. “Don’t think, just obey.”

There was no thought of escaping now. No consideration of how to break free, of how to strip the suit from her body, or how to flee. There was only a stallion above and on her. Taking her in the ancient ways, making her his mare, even as she drove back against him to accept his greatest gift.

Despite their earlier attempts at decorum, the other four ponies in the room began to find themselves overwhelmed by the smells and sounds of mating and it was with herd instinct that Flim and Flam began to look toward Celestia and Control with hungry eyes, their own shafts lengthening and starting to emerge from their sheathes.

That is until Control dumped a pitcher of water over their heads.

“Perhaps another time, gentlecolts,” Celestia murmured, turning her eyes back to the two ponies in the center of the room.

Time passed as 248 and 001 thrust against each other, until with a final cry 248 reared up even higher and poured his essence into 001, filling every inch of her with his creamy white seed. 001’s body milked 248’s cock for all it was worth, drawing out every last drop of cum it could from the male’s body, before exhausted, the stallion fell away from her.

Control noted with satisfaction that 001’s suit almost immediately blocked the entrance of the bound mare’s pussy with a flexible latex plug, trapping the potent stallion’s semen inside of her to maximize the odds of conception. Even more satisfying was the glazed look in 001’s eyes. The look of a pony whose mind had been broken through a combination of mnemonic mantras pressed forward during a time of hormonal mindlessness.

“Did… did it work?” Celestia asked, also noting the lack of expression on her sister’s face.

“One way to find out,” Control replied, before clearing her throat and ordering, “Suit 001, remove bit and ring gag.”

Celestia stepped forward as the suit obeyed, clearing 001’s mouth of any obstructions.

“Are you finally ready to obey me, Sister?” Celestia asked, leaning close. “Obey me, silence the Nightmare forever, and you can have this every day.”

Frustration rose in Control’s breast as she saw the active, able, and thinking mind of Princess Luna return to the fore.

“The only nightmare We see here is thee,” Luna spat, her face turning into a mask of fury. “For only a nightmarish monster could council such things be done to ponies such as the poor stallion you forced into mounting me. Only a monster could order such things done to their own flesh and blood. Call us not ‘sister’ again, for this day we declare enmity between Us and thee. If it takes another thousand years we shall see thee—”

“Suit 001, full muzzle,” Control ordered, cutting off Luna’s tirade, but all that did was reduce the alicorn to grunts and growls that still made her intentions crystal clear.

“You failed me, Sunset,” Celestia stated, turning a blazing gaze on Control. “You raised my hopes and dashed them. Give me one good—”

“We didn’t fail,” Control interjected, cutting off another Equestrian princess.

“My sister is now even more determined to fight against me than she was this morning, and you are telling me you didn’t fail?” the solar princess demanded.

“It worked. 248 was able to put her into a receptive state of complete obedience, it just wasn’t permanent,” Control desperately explained, trying to cool the ire of a mare who could incinerate her on the spot. “All we need to do is repeat what happened today. Each repetition will push Princess Luna’s rebellion deeper and deeper until her only conscious thoughts are the ones you want there.”

“Hmm, you may have a point there,” Celestia replied, her anger receding into thought. The other ponies in the room held their breath while their absolute monarch mulled things over. “Very well, but I’d like you to bring 248 to my rooms tonight. I want to… inspect it thoroughly.”

There wasn’t a pony in the room who didn’t understand what sort of “inspection” Celestia intended to conduct that night, and despite her close call Control seem to have no fear when it came to interrupting authority.

“248 will need at least two or three days to properly recover from today’s exertions,” Control stated, with a calm demeanour that even took Celestia a bit by surprise. “That is if you want a complete inspection.”

“Very well, in three days time then,” Celestia replied, with a gracious nod. Lighting her horn, the solar alicorn cleared the privacy spell and the air with a single burst of her magic.

“Guards!” Celestia called out, pausing until the quartet of Royal Guards had re-entered the room. “Return Princess Luna to her room. I will be along shortly to ensure she is fed and watered. Flim, Flam, Control, you may go. I will see you in three days, along with 248.”

“Yes, your Highness,” chorused Celestia’s subjects, as they moved to obey the royal commands

Late in the night, that same day

“You did well today, 248,” Control praised, going over the stallion’s physical well being. The sensors in 248’s tail plug had provided her with a wealth of data on the performance of her tool, and she had been examining it in depth ever since their return from the palace. Control frowned slightly as she realized 248 had made no attempt to reply to her as he usually did.

In fact, other than obeying her commands, the stallion hadn’t reacted to anything at all, nor had he spoken, other than to reply to direct questions.

“248, how are you feeling?” Control asked, eyebrow raised in curiosity.

“248 has no feelings other than what Control orders there to be,” the pony replied, in an almost mechanical voice. “248 appears to be functioning as requested.”

“Huh,” Control commented, sitting back on her haunches. “You may have almost broken Luna, but she definitely broke you.”

There was no reply, and Control simply returned to checking her data with an amused snort as she returned to analyzing the data to see if there was a better way to undermine Luna’s willpower. Or Celestia’s, for that matter. If one alicorn could be subverted and controlled through pleasure, why not two?

Control began to idly muse about how the arrogant and presumptuous solar princess would look as a symbiote began to spread over those cake filled white flanks of hers. Control longed to see the panic on that smug ageless face as her body was enveloped, hear the strangled cry as a bit was slipped between her…

The pleasant dream was cut off by the sudden sensation of Control losing all contact with the magic that was her birthright, as a ring of red-veined black stone slipped over her horn. Whirling, Control reached for an alarm switch, only to stop short as the point of a spear pressed against her throat.

“Bad pony,” commented a smug sounding voice. “Turn around. Slowly.”

To move forward was to impale herself on a leaf shaped point of steel, so Control chose life and obeyed the voice. Turning slowly as commanded, she saw an alicorn sized, pony shaped, bug creature looking back at her, one that she recognized from her time in the Royal Archives.

“Changeling,” she hissed.

“I told you she would recognize your species, Queen Chrysalis,” said a suited lavender unicorn, standing behind and to one side of the larger creature. “She’s smart, if twisted.”

“Twilight… Sparkle, isn’t it?” Control asked, trying to work out what was going on. “You were the pony who invented the suits.”

“I headed the design team, yes,” Twilight replied, brushing a hoof over the pulsing mana lines in her own sheathe, “And my reward was to be the first test subject in the bonding process, and then left to rot when they realized the link is permanent.”

“Enough blabbering,” interjected the changeling. “We’re here for the alicorn, my little pet Angel. Though maybe we should take this ‘Control’ with us as well. Podding her might be a mercy, considering what’s in store for her.”

“What’s in store for me?” Control asked, confused. Particularly as to why a changeling was here to steal her alicorn stallion.

“Read for yourself,” Chrysalis said, tossing a scroll bearing Celestia’s seal at Control’s hooves.

To: Flim and Flam

Gentlestallions,

It has come to my attention that the pony known as ‘Control,’ aka my former student Sunset Shimmer, has begun to acquire far more power than should be placed in the hooves of a single pony. What’s more, it has become apparent that she has designs on both my person and power rivaling that of the Nightmare. To that end I require her to be fitted with a containment suit as soon as possible.

By my hoof and Seal, Celestia.

“And here is what led us to that letter, when we were in my former bosses office,” Twilight added, tossing over a second scroll as Sunset looked up in shock. “Their reply…”

To: HRH Celestia

It will probably take six to eight weeks for us to make sure that all of Control’s work is duplicated elsewhere and to make sure we have somepony to replace her. Once that is done, your command will be carried out and she will take her place in our facility, or in Canterlot Castle, as you choose.

Your loyal subjects, Flim and Flam.

“I’m fucked,” Control groaned, drawing a hoof over her face. The princess knew Control had seen Celestia behaving just like any other pony, and that made her a possible threat to the alicorn or the image of perfection she had maintained since defeating Nightmare Moon a few years ago.

Either way, Control was destined for a cell or a suit, or both. “I am completely and utterly fucked,” she groaned.

“You could always join my little Angel here,” Chrysalis offered, not unkindly. “I’m staging something of a rebellion against power mad alicorns and your help could be useful.”

“I spent years at Celestia’s side. She knows my thaumic signature like her own hoof,” sighed Control. “With that alone she could track me down across half the planet, never mind the Royal Guard. Anypony helping me would just wind up here, being turned into another cog in the machine.”

“What if you weren’t in Equestria, or even on Equus for that matter?” Twilight asked, continuing as she saw the interest on Control’s face. “There’s a mirror, deep in the castle. It’s actually a portal to an entirely different world that Celestia knows nothing about. You could hide there.”

“Hide there… and build an army so I can come back and crush that smug face under my hoof,” growled Control, nodding in agreement as the idea took hold. “Okay, tell me where this mirror is and I’ll give you whatever you want...”

It was only an hour before dawn, when a changeling queen and her unicorn companion led an alicorn into the cover of a camouflaged and warded cave.

“Do you think she’ll go for it, my Queen?” Twilight asked, drawing their stallion a little further into the cave.

“I keep telling you that you don’t have to call me that,” Chrysalis replied. “You aren’t one of my drones, and yes, with the information on the mirror for escape and the promise of one of my children to take her place next week; I’m more than certain she’ll give us all of Flim and Flam’s records and passcodes.”

“You rescued me, like you did him. So you deserve it,” Twilight replied, adding, “Why did we go after 248 anyway?”

“If Celestia ever gets access to the dream realm we’re all doomed,” Chrysalis explained, as she began to power up a circle of runes inscribed in the floor of the cave. “Taking 248 away from her, and hopefully restoring his personality, will stop her from breaking Luna’s mind, at least in the short term. Long term, if we can bring back his mind, even a bit, having an alicorn on our side would do a lot to even the odds. With some luck, maybe we can find out where he came from and maybe his ponies will ally with us. We could use a place to work out of, other than the hive.”

“Sun’s almost up,” Twilight commented, as the moon began to set. “We should get going.”

“Stand close to me,” Chrysalis ordered, as she prepared to teleport the three of them to the distant Badlands. “One day, night will fall on Celestia’s rule for the last time, and a free day will rise in its place.”

Author's Note

Writing this story was a lot of fun, and I enjoyed revisiting the Cog arc of How Twilight Learned. So much so, that with the permission of the story's commissioner, I've decided to add this to the canon of that story as an official prequel.

Cue the obligatory promotion of my Patreon. You can join for as little as a dollar a month and get regular sneak peaks into what I'm writing and be on the priority queue for commissions.

Until next chapter, be safe and remember not to sass any princesses with a penchant for putting people in symbiotic latex suits.