King Sombra's Harem Conquest

A few days after this fateful decision, Tempest Shadow lead Twilight, the four masked stallions and the egg that one of them was carrying through the Crystal Empire's castle.

Their plan had gone without a hitch! Twilight doing her own reconnaisance meant, that nopony would've been surprised! And with Celestia's heightened interest in her safety, the additional ponies and provisions also didn't appear strange. She and Tempest then just had to stir the chariot towards the premediated ambush spot and, as the guards made ready to defend them, the two mares had used Tempest Shadow's amulette to control their minds and have them don helmets!

It'd been almost too easy! Ah, the looks on the guards' faces when they realized that Twilight was about to use a mind control spell on them, when they'd turned around in utter shock and disbelief! For a momeant, she'd had a flicker of doubt... but then, there'd been only certainty! The certainty, that she'd made the correct choice!

Especially when at least some of Tempest's claims were proven correct once they'd gotten further away from the frontlines! The mind control helmet use reduced more and more, though a similar model without enchantmeant was used by guard units all the way to the capital, and ponies seemed generally happy and content... the hints of eldritch magic around their eyes not withstanding.

Over all, the ponies seemed well fed and living in decent enough conditions, with many depriations attributable to the needs of war, rather than maliciousness by Sombra and his troops. Some pillaging and looting aside, but that accompanied too many armies as to put too much blame on the king.

The guards in the capital meanwhile didn't even wear those helmets. Instead, they wore a far nicer looking replacemeant that didn't make them look like something straight out of a nightmare! The city, in general looked nice and clean and surprisingly peaceful.

Twilight was torn from her thoughts as they came to a hold in front of a large door, flanked by guards, obviously the entrance to the throne room. "Guards! Open the door!" Tempest ordered them. "I am bringing a present for His Majesty!"

"Yes, ma'am!" The guards replied in unison while saluting. Quickly, they opened the two massive doors and the throne room revealed itself to Twilight. Guards lined the the walls to the left and right and, at the end, there was a dais with two thrones, again flanked by guards.

For the first time in her life, Twilight Sparkle gazed upon King Sombra. To his right, in the other throne, sat a heliotrop colored unicorn mare with arctic blue mane, a diadem on her head. That had to be Radiant Hope, Sombra's consort! Though even without the throne or diadem that wouldn't have been hard to figure out, considering how she stretched over her throne over to Sombra and cuddled herself against his arm.

King Sombra himself was, as much as Twilight could tell from his slouched posture on the throne, huge, probably nearly rivalring Princess Celestia. He obviously was well built, muscular, nearly brutish looking, betraying the fiendishly sharp mind housed in this body. Yet he didn't quite look as buff as a bodybuilder might. Despite all of his mass, there still was a certain... sleekness to his build as well.

His legs were protected by armored boots and greaves and his chest by a beautifully crafted cuirass. All pieces of armor were made from dark gray steel. His arms were unarmored, only covered by wine red sleeves, possibly part of a tunic, that was visible also underneath the breast plate. His groin might've been armored, however it was covered by a sort of... loin cloth? Tabbard? Fashion wasn't Twilight's field of expertise at all! Even the quality of the fabric was hard to judge, but it probably was very expensive.

Over his shoulders, she saw what probably was a red cape with a white fur trimming with black spots. Missing gauntlets and arm protection aside, he was the very picture of the evil overlord and looked exactly how anypony in Equestria would imagine him. Especially with the baleful green magic oozing from his eyes.

However, unlike how he looked in many of the publications in Equestria, his face wasn't all that cruel and monstrous, the fangs aside! He actually looked quite... handsome?

The king's dark red, curved horn proudly portruded from his forehead, topped by a circlet of iron, his crown as ruler of the Crystal Empire! His dark face looked surprisingly young for a being over a thousand years old, but then again, so did Celestia. It was framed by short, black sideburns that went down to around the height of his eyes. Next to his fangs, those, of course, were the most tell-tale sign of his nature. Red eyes, with little to no mercy to give, the eldritch green glow and the purple streaks of magic oozing from them. Something she'd seen, in varying levels of intensity, on every pony in the conquered areas.

In any case, his build did cause Twilight to get a bit... worked up. And why shouldn't she? He looked like somepony from the cover of a cheap romance novel, a picture of virility and strength! From a purely logical standpoint, physically alone, he'd make a great donor of genetic material, then add his undeniable intelligence and, especially for a mare with her brains and talents, and they'd probably produce highly gifted foals! And his physique and achievemeants also promised more than adequate pleasure while the... donation was being processed.

Their steps echoing through the hall, despite them being muffled by the carpet, King Sombra looked up at them, just before one guard announced: "TEMPEST SHADOW, CAPTAIN OF THE ROYAL GUARD, HAS RETURNED FROM HER MISSION!"

They were still too far away from the thrones to accurately see it, but Twilight had the feeling that Sombra just rolled his eyes at the procclamation. He obviously had seen it already...

Coming to a halt at the bottom of the stairs to the dais, Tempest dropped to one knee and Twilight and her companions emulated her. "Your Highness?"

"Yes, Tempest Shadow?" King Sombra bent forward, supporting his face on one fist as he replied to her. His voice was deep and booming, but in a surprisingly pleasant way. It was that kind of voice that, depending on the way one spoke, could be be reassuring, calming, kind... or auhoritarian and oppressive. It also had something hypnotically calming to it. Maybe it was because of the magic that was constantly emitted from him, but it might've just as well been a natural side effect of it

"As you can see, I have returned and fullfilled my mission. This is Twilight Sparkle, former chief of staff to none other than Princess Celestia herself!" Tempest told him and asshe looked up, she saw him give her a short nod of acknowledgmeant. It was all she needed. Tempest hushed a short "Your turn!" to Twilight.

Twilight swalloed hard. She'd been thinking about what to say, and how to say it, all the time on the way here. Now, as she knealt before King Sombra however, she stuttered from nervosity. "Y-your H-highness! King Sombra! I am Twilight Sparkle, colonel in the equestrian army... formerly. I-I have come to s-serve you!"

"Rise!" He told her.

"Yes, your Highness!" She snapped, military reflex kicking in. Next, she tried to tell him about what she could offer him, "I... I am... I have expertise in logistics, tactics and strategic planning! I also am learned in magic and history..."

She was interrupted by a wave of his hand. Sombra didn't need to hear it. He already knew more than enough about her, Tempest having sent many reports. He knew what an asset she would be... But first, her convinction needed to be tested, her loyalty steeled, bonds forged. Magical bonds. "Tell me. Why did you decide to betray your Princess?"

"Because... because..." She steadied herself, and as she now began, pent up frustrations began to gush out of her mouth! "Because I have been working my ass off in her service! I have given her my best and in return I got nothing but scorn from the ponies of Equestria! For any defeat, any setback I got the blame! For every victory, she got the credit!"

She took a deep breath before she continued, "My brother and sister-in-law both are adored heroes, while I..." The unicorn swallowed what she'd wanted to say there, but the bitterness had been audible in her voice. Instead, she changed changed her angle a bit. "Also, the last few years, Equestria faced, not including the war with you, King Sombra, an attack by Nightmare Moon, who turned out to be be Celestia's own sister, Luna!" She took a deep breath and continued... "Then, barely a year after that, we got terrorized by Discord, the spirit of chaos they'd sealed away a thousand years ago! And after that Queen Chrysalis and her changelings! Their invasion occured during my brothers wedding no less! She'd kidnapped his bride, took her place, hypnotized Shining Armor and nearly got me to kill Cadence!"

Twilight felt actual anger creeping into her voice now! It was nothing but the truth. In less than what? Three years? Equestria had faced three existential threats and was fighting the fourth one! "Each time, the attack was beaten back only by mane's breadth... And with how the war with the Crystal Empire is going, this one might the fight Celestia can't win! I want to bring order, stability and peace back to Equestria, and if that means turning my back on Celestia and serving you instead, your Highness, so be it! I believe that you are capable of bringing these things back to Equestria and to keep it save!" And, with grim determination, she also added: "After all... who would dare to stand against the great King Sombra once Princess Celestia is defeated? Chrysalis? Maybe, but with the combined might of the Crystal Empire and Equestria, even her hive should fall in the end!"

All of that was true! And with newfound determination and a calm, steady voice full of conviction, she finished: "I, Twilight Sparkle, swear to serve you, King Sombra, with every fibre of my body. I promise to further your goals with every breath I take, to be loyal to you for as long as I live!"

She saw how his lips parted in a satisfied grin, saw the white sparkling teeth and fangs in his mouth. "Twilight Sparkle..." Sombra's voice echoed through the throne room, surprising Twilight by having a certain warmth to it. "I accept you into my services! However... I want to test how far your loyalty actually goes..."

The turncoat swalloed hard, dreading what it might be! Maybe she'd have to kill one or more of her escort? She would go through with it, but it might still be a tough thing to do, she'd known them for quite a while now... Then again, it wouldn't be a test of loyalty if it was easy for her...

His command was a single, simple word: "Strip!"

"What?" The request had utterly surprised Twilight. It even took a few momeants for her to really understand what he just had told her. When the coin dropped, she repeated her previous question... just far more shocked! "WHAT?!"

"Strip!" Sombra repeated and, on a whim, decided to tell her why! "How could I trust somepony who, after swearing to do EVERYTHING to further my goals, is unable to comply with such a trifle?"

Radiant Hope giggled. Ah, Sombra... you and your libido! It was good that she had made plans to find suitable candidates for a royal harem...

Twilight blushed heavily as she began to take off her uniform, but she did so with the speed of a soldier following an order. First, her boots went, quickly followed by her fatigues and finally her underwear. Now, she stood there, naked, in front of King Sombra!

He looked her body up and down. Certainly not unattractive, but awfully bland... Well, luckily there were ways to fix this. "Come closer, Twilight Sparkle!"

"Y-yes, my King!" She answered as she slowly, uncertainly moved towards the throne. When she reached it, she came to a hold directly in front of Sombra, and from close up, he seemed even larger! He was only half a head shorter than Celestia... if that! And then, the king revealed that no, his groin wasn't covered by armor as he flipped back the fabric that had hidden it. His stallionhood was on proud display, and that pride had good reason.

Twilight stared at the obsidian-colored flesh pillar between Sombra's legs and it was easils the largest she'd ever seen. Well, some drawn or animated internet porn aside, but the large stuff there usually was more silly than anything else! And she could feel something else... He looked like a unicorn, but there was something... Off... Like, he wasn't truly a pony?

She looked over at Radiant Hope, her body not too dissimilar to Twilight's. Rather slight over all. Certainly didn't look like she could take a dick like Sombra's, so maybe, there was something more going on here than just pure physical size... Maybe some sort of magic?

The king looked at Twilight. "Tempest Shadow told me that you are rather... frustrated? I do reward good service, and to test your committmeant as well as an advanced paymeant..."

"You... you are offering me to... to..." Twilight's pussy was drenched already at the thought of it. So long she'd supressed her body's needs as much as possible, or any relief she could give it to it was unsatisfactory! But now? Now this prime specimen of a stallion, a true stud, offered himself to her, as test, and reward, for her services? "Offering me to service you with my body?"

"Yes."

Her eyes transfixed on his gential, Twilight breathed her reply. "Thank you, my king!" and began, for the first time, to service somepony with her mouth. The few times she had had sex had been solely to quench the heat-caused lust. No foreplay, just a quick rut. But now? She had to make it good for her sovereign!

It was very obvious that she was inexpierenced, starting with the first, tentative kisses on shaft and flare, but the enthusiasm was there. However, that wasn't what Sombra wanted. "Stop the foreplay. I see that you yourself are more than ready! Come, climb into my lap!"

Twilight did as she was told. Sitting in Sombra's lap, and if she ignored his cock between her ass cheeks, somehow reminded her of when she was younger... But why would she want to ignore the feeling of that hot, hard piece of meat?

A large, dark hand waved in front of her face as Sombra told her "You may begin!"

"Yes, your highness!" That came out with more excited eagerness than she'd expected! Twilight raised herself up and placed Sombra's flare at the entrance of her pussy and then, she lowered herself. Slowly, she felt the king's rod push into her and was her earlier assumption was proven correct: There was some sort of magic at work! His cock, despite its size, slipped in with little additional pressure needed and filled her out perfectly! It stretched her out enough to make her feel full, but not so much as to hurt!

Twilight had lowered herself far enough to feel his medial ring press against her labia. Already, she had a rather demeanted grin on her face, teeth gritted and eyes mad with ecstasy.

Letting out a lusty giggle she bottomed out, feeling his tip pressing against her womb! "That... that's certainly a... cock worthy of a king!" Twilight panted, her hand running over her abdomen, feeling it bulge out slightly from the size inside of her. Then, she slowly started to move.

Sombra smiled. No! He grinned! It was a very satisfied grin and then, his horn started to glow in a baleful light. Twilight felt his magic hit her, felt it encase her own horn and seep into her body and very soul.. And it felt good!

As this had gone on, Radiant Hope had done nothing but observe, a small smile on her lips, but now, she too had something to say. "You may be wondering what the king is doing right now? My beloved has found out that his magic produces a far superior effect when done during states of heightened excitemeant and arousal. It digs far deeper into the recipient!"

But Twilight barely paid attention. Every time she rose and let herself fall down she called out one part of a sentence. "I! AM! YOURS! KING SOMBRA! MY HEART!! BODY! AND SOUL!"

Radiant suddenly rose from her throne and let out a pearly laugh as she told Twilight, "You are a keeper!" She turned to her husband and ran a finger along his cheek. Sombra turned to look at her, and the two kissed. "Come on, honey! Finish her!"

Sombra returned her prior gesture, his own finger running over Hope's cheek and then her mouth. His other hand, meanwhile, grabbed Twilight's head and pulled her towards him, her chest pressing against the breast plate of his armor.

There was a common expectation that evil overlords didn't care for banalities like "kissing", but only about getting off and, maybe, driving their partners to climax as a show of potency. Sombra however considered sex something to be sampled. Why rush it? Of course, quickies could be fun in their own ways, but way rush it when you had all the time you wanted to? Why not sample a pair of luscious lips? No! Sex was something that should savoured to him!

And so, Twilight found her face right in front to King Sombra's, a situation that a short time ago she would've seen as nearly impossible at best and her worst nightmare at worst! And now, she was turned on like never before! Slowly, Sombra's face closed the little gap between them and, before she knew, their lips met. Her eyes closed as she got more and more into the kiss, as Sombra's tongue pushed into her mouth and dominated her own.

At this momeant, she knew that she'd do everything King Sombra would ask from her, and do it gladly! She finally had a chance to gain recognition, he could satisfy her for the first time, she felt the spell increase her magical power and ensure her loyalty to him.

When her eyes next opened, the same baleful glow that was seen on Sombra's other servants was in them. And then, she screamed as her orgasm roled over her. A momeant later, Sombra came as well, his cum filling her womb

As she panted heavily, basking in the after-glow or her orgasm, she didn't notice Sombra making a hand gesture to one of the guards behind his throne. The pony stepped forward and handed something to him. He bend forward and placed it around Twilight's neck.

She looked down at herself and saw, above her breasts, an amulette showing a black amulette inlaid with red gems. It had the shape of a triangular shield with an alicorn on top, but, strangely, it seemed to have been put in chains... "What... what is this?"

"This is the alicorn amulette! A powerful magical artifact that will amplify your might! To allow you to be a better servant for me!"

Radiant Hope also chimed in, "However, it's been enchanted to reduce its power, for multiple reasons!"

"Those would be?" Twilight asked automatically, her actual attention still firmly fixed on the necklace.

"Well..." Hope started, tapping her cheek with her index finger, "We aren't stupid enough to give you enough power to challenge the king! But also, the alicorn amulette has the somewhat nasty side effect of driving its wearer mad with power! Forgetting the motivation that got them to put on the amulette in the first place, underestimating their opponents, proceeding to use utterly disproportional retribution... That sort of stuff! The spell put on it, the chains you see on it, does not only limit the power, but also reduces that effect!"

Sombra placed a large hand on her ass, groping and squeezing it. As his other hand grabbed his wife's ass, he spoke again. "It will also intensify the loyalty spell that I've put on you! And if you try to betray me... you won't like what it'll do to you!" Here, a foreboding chuckle escaped his throat "However, it won't keep you from plotting, only from enacting those plots! You may wonder why, but the answer is easy: Some of the ideas you come up with might be useful for my purposes!"

By now, Twilight felt the amulette's magic seep into her, felt how it changed her body.. She felt her body lengthen, her breasts and hips grow! She felt her musculature strengthen and began to approach the size of Tempest's! And then, a pair of dark, narrow wings with a line that glowed faintly blue on their upper side, sprouted from her back. Twilight had turned into a sort of pseudo-alicorn! A very self-satisfied smirk crossed her lips...

Slowly, still a bit unsatisfied, she climbed off of her new overlord and nearly fell to her knees when her hooves hit the ground. Her knees were shaky after orgasm, and she was unused to her new height and proportions!

She also felt a steady trickle of cum running down her legs. Twilight catched some of the spunk runnning out of her cunt and licked her hand clean. "Your majesty.... you are delicious!"

Sombra turned his head to her. "This is not the only present have for you! In her reports, Tempest-" The mare seemed to show a hint of pride AND embarassmeant on her face as the king apparently saw her choice in Twilight to have been a good one, -"told me that she believes that you have a lot of potential, and from what I have seen in you, that's been confirmed. I took the liberty to order a new set of clothes to be made for you, more fit to my new court mage!"

Again he gestured to the guards behind the throne, again a guard approached, carrying a quite small bundle of clothes. Twilight took it, hastily looked it over and put it on.

It certainly was emphasizing her her new body nicely! A pair of short boots made out of soft, purple leather and gold covered her calves, her legs otherwise bare. Around her hip was a metal belt, the front holding a strip of purple cloth, covered in golden embroidery that kept her private parts from undeserving eyes. In the back there was a sort of half-skirt that reached nearly to the ground.

Greaves of purple leather and gold covered her forearms, and something similar also protected her upper arms. Covering her neck and shoulders were similary looking leather plates, forming a sort of cross between collar and pauldron. And her breast was "covered" by a pseudo bra of similar style, two plates strapped to her body by being tied to her upper arm coverage and her shoulder guards, as well as on her back. And probably magic, since the cups weren't connected on the front.

Twilight looked down at herself, wishing there'd been a mirror nearby... "Just momeants ago, I never would've dreamed to wear something like this... too revealing, too unfitting for my former body... But now? It feels like the only thing to do with a body, and powers, like mine! Showing everypony what I have and they will only get if I want them too! The things that are the propery of you, your highness!"

Sombra smirked as Twilight was just about to turn around and walk back to her group, when suddenly Radiand Hope spoke to her teasingly: "Didn't you forget something? Maybe... to thank somepony for allowing you to fuck her husbands fat cock?"

"Of course! I'm so sorry, your highness! I'm truly, truly grateful for your generosity to share his Highness with but a humble servant!" A startled Twilight hastily added, internally scolding herself for not showing her queen the proper respect.

As Twilight turned to walk down the stairs from the dais, Radiant gave her a playful slap across her backside. "Good girl!" She cheered, watching as Twilight walked away.

Twilight looke d over her shoulder, smiling back at the queen. "Thank you, your majesty! I am glad you approve of me!"

As she came to a halt next to Tempest, noticing how, despite their mind control, the guards she'd brought with her were getting hard, Twilight did a 180° turn to face Sombra again. Again, his voice echoed through the hall. "And now, I have one last gift for you, General Twilight Sparkle!"

General? That had such a nice ring to her ears! Finally! FINALLY she got what she'd been denied for so long!

Another guard moved up from behind the throne and handed the gift to Twilight: It was a staff and she could see that it too was a powerful magical artifact.

Made out of a dark, nearly black wood, inlaid with silver, its top crowned by a large, polished amethyst "grabbed" by four prongs emerging from the staff it certainly looked like something one would expect from an evil sorcerer!

Twilight took it in her hands and slammed the bottom end onto the floor. The echo in the throne room was supported by a flare of magic coming from the gem! Oh yes, this was certainly powerful! Staff and amulette together might even amplify her strength to approach the levels of King Sombra and Princess Celestia! And in any case, the staff certainly was solid, and heavy, enough to bash someponies head in.

"I..." She struggled to find words to express her gratitude, "I am truly honored, your majesty! In less than an hour of serving you, I have received more recognition than in my entire service for Equestria! Please, let me present my own presents for you!"

Stretching out her arm and pointing at her "escort", Twilight procclaimed, "These four stallions had been made to accompany me on reconnaisance trips by Princess Celestia herself. When I defected, Tempest and I put them under the mind-control spell. Do with them as you like!"

Sombra scratched his chin. More soldiers, even in small numbers, certainly always were welcome, however there probably was a better use for those four guys than to put them into his army... Of course! "I'll allow you to keep them, as your personal guard. As a matter of fact, you may choose some of the guards in the throne room to add to them as well!"

Twilight's eyes fell on an orange pegasus. Well, one choice was certain already. And five more, to keep it a nice, round number... Yes. Him, then another stallion and four of the mares...

She walked up to the pegasus and barked at him, "Guard! What is your name?!"

"Flash Sentry, ma'am!" He replied, snapping to salute.

"Good..." Her hand started to rub his thights and then moved up from there. "Oh my... Flash! Your balls feel so heavy... You haven't gotten off lately, have you?"

Flash swallowed hard. "N-no, ma'am!"

"How long has it been since your last time?" A sultry tone that surpirsed Twilight herself entered her voice.

"G-giving, or receiving?" He asked.

The pseudo-alicorn's eyes widened, "Receiving? You mean..."

"His, nnh.." The pegasus groaned as Twilight fondled his balls, "His Majesty sometimes.... sometimes uses... uses whatever pony strikes his fancy for the momeant to relive himself of his load..."

"So his Highness fucked your slutty ass?" She teased him, "Ravaged that tight hole of yours? Pumped his royal load into your anus?

"Yes..." Flash answered, feeling how his cock stiffened at what she was doing.

Twilight further prodded him, "How long ago?"

His answer sounded a bit uncertain, "A few weeks, maybe? And... while I was allowed to orgasm, he used magic to keep me from... relieving the pressure!"

"Oh, Flashy~" She cooed into his ear. "You're going to be a good colt for me, yes?" Slowly starting to jerk his half-stiffened cock as she asked him that.

"Y-yes, ma'am..."

"I'm so going to edge you..." Twilight whispered into his hear in a husky tone as she intensified her movemeants along his shaft. "You and three others! And you will be allowed to cum only once a month, to give me a nice, large... thick load! Unless his Highness decides to have his way with me, then that might be delayed! Then you'll have to wait a while longer..."

Somewhat surpirsingly, his answer came with firmer voice now, more decisive! "Yes, ma'am!" Maybe he found that he wanted to be her plaything? Then again, how would that be surprising, now that she had a body that would give many stallions an errection just by looking at her? The allure of power, sex-appeal and danger, some of the benefits of her new appearance...

"Good..." She nodded, more to herself than anything. Pointing at a few other ponies, she said: "I also want him, him, her, her and her! Form up with the others!"

The ponies she'd called out formed up behind the original four guards, when... "And my other present! Show him!" She snapped at one of the guards she'd brought with her. He stepped forward and presented the egg. "It is a dragon's egg!"

Sombra was actually suprised by that claim! Curious, he leaned forward, his chin cupped by his right hand. That certainly was something! If they could hatch the egg, a dragon would be a most useful asset! Flying, fire breathing bricks with claws like spears and teeth like daggers!

"Princess Celestia has had it for years! It was my entrance test for her school... I have no idea why she kept it around, especially in the military camp. Maybe, she had hoped that some day a pony would come along that might hatch it?"

Radiant Hope raised an eyebrow! "So, it was in her possession for nearly two decades at least and the egg hasn't hatched?"

Twilight shrugged. "I Maybe this egg needs just the right kind of magical input to hatch? Would explain why she wanted me to use magic to hatch it in the first place!"

What she heard next surprised Twilight, and basically everypony else in the throne room. Sombra rose from his throne and told them, "Let us try together, Twilight Sparkle! Let us treat this as your final test! And this time, unlike with Celestia, you will succeed! You are more experienced than when you were a filly, I have given you powerful magical artifacts to amplify your substantial abilities and... I will aid you personally!"

Suddenly, Twilight Sparkle felt insecurity rise again... She'd failed this as a filly, and now, in front of her new liege? And he'd participate in this himself?! If she failed... what would happen to her? She swallowed hard, knowing that there was no way for her to back out! It was Do... or Die!

She commanded the guard pony to place the egg a bit to the side of the throne, and thenm she began to concentrate. The egg started to be engulfed in a purple glow. So far, Sombra didn't interfere... Maybe he waited for the right momeant? Wanted to let herself try and find a good angle?

Twilight put more magic into it, the aura around the egg intensifying, a stream of magic from her horn flowing into it! She felt that something was going on inside of the egg... What she was doing actually had an effect!

She closed her eyes and ever increased her magical output, when, suddenly, she felt another kind of magic mix with her own... Slowly, Twilight looked up and saw how King Sombra had begun to help her... help her more than Celestia ever did! His dark magic poured into and mixed with her own, flooded into the egg!

And then... The egg! It cracked! It was working! Yet they didn't reduce the stream of magic! No, instead they increased it! Where there was one crack, more quickly followed! A small hole appeared and swiftly widened! And they saw movemeant between the egg shells!

A small, spade-shaped tip of a tail poked through... and started to grow! More and more of the egg got pushed away! They could see something through the holes that were created, writhing and growing!

But then, the movemeant stopped! And, for a minute, nothing happened. Twilight even began to worry that, maybe, the magic could've been too much for the organism inside? Hopefully, King Sombra would understa...

Suddenly, the intact rest of the top half of the egg burst apart, and a dragon arose from the remnants of the egg. At least as tall as Twilight herself,if not a bit taller! The dragon's scales were of green and purple, a trail of spikes ran down her spine and its physique was rather... attractive. As the dragon turned around, it became obvious to Twilight that she was a dragoness. And a pretty thicc one, with very shapely hipps!

Her upper body wasn't quite as impressive but nice to look at nonetheless, and she was certainly rather muscular, though that was difficult to judge with dragon musculature. From what little she'd read, there was a good amount of dragons were far stronger than their lithe shape would suggest!

She didn't even care for anypony in the room, instead doing some moves to... loosen up a bit? A handstand with splits, really showing off her ass, a leg raised up vertically, that sort of stuff.

Twilight and the others just watched, partially from surprise, partially from shock, partially due to enjoying the show of the nude reptile performing gymnastics! But then, it finally sunk in with Twilight! "It worked? It worked! IT ACTUALLY WORKED!!!" Twilight laughed! FINALLY! Finally, her old failure, her old shame had been corrected!"

The dragoness turned around to face them, standing at an angle to have both, Twilight and King Sombra, in her field of view. She looked from Twilight to King Sombra and back, and asked them, nonchalantly, "Sooo... what's my name?"

Both the king and Twilight were a bit taken aback at this."How about... hmm.. those Spikes on your head, back and tail... Spike does sound too masculine for you though! How about 'Barb'"? Twi cautiously suggested.

She thought about it for a momeant, then, Barb smiled broadly! "I like it!"

"Excuse the curiosity, but,-" Twilight cautiously asked, "-why... why can you talk?"

Barb looked at her in confusion! "Why shouldn I be able to talk? Do you think dragons are mindless brutes that communicate by growling at one another?"

"NO!" The pseudo-alicorn hastily replied, "I mean, because you just hatched!"

The dragon shrugged. "No Idea!" "But when you pumped all that magic into me, it did more than cause me to grow! I think that, maybe, without wanting to, your didn't only age me up and infuse me with magic, but also with your knowledge?"

That... was possible? Certainly would be somethign that should be researched! Better to change the topic! "Also... aren't you... wouldn't you prefer to wear some clothes, instead of standing around bare naked in front of everypony?"

"Well, maybe it's a sort of genetic knowledge, or a side effect of the magic or whatever, but...-" Barb paused for a momeant, her tone sounding uncertain, "-as far as I feel... know, dragons aren't all that big on clothing. Living in a hot environmeant, bathing in lava and just having steel hard scales makes it kind off superflous! I'm not opposed to it, but don't really see any need for it just now!"

Now the dragon giggled as she had a thought! "Though on the topic of nudity... Anyone up for some sex? I'm really horny!"

"What?" Twilight, Tempest, Radiant and, at least so they thought, even King Sombra, were surprised at the dragon's sudden

"I'm pretty fucking horny right now! Like, I really want to get my cunt pounded! Or eat somepony out, or have some hot cum shot down my throat, or..." She noticed how most of the ponies in the throne room stared at her. "Hey! Don't look at me like that! I mean, you were pumping me full of magic, education and what do I know what and what that stuff did to me! So I think my libido falls back on you and the king!"

After a minute of uncomfortable silence and neither Sombra nor Twilight wanting to admit to have anything to do with Barb's sexual urges, the king cleared his throat, changing the subject. "Now then, Twilight Sparkle, after all this has been taken care off, there's one more pony you should meet..." His voice magically amplified, he called, "STARLIGHT GLIMMER!!!"

A few minutes later, another mare entered the throne room. She had a pale pink coat and purple mane with light blue highlights and wore a rather conservative dress underneath a labcoat. She gave a quick bow to Sombra. "Yes, your majesty?"

"Meet your new superior!" He told her.

For a few momeants, Starlight stared at him in shock. Then, she found her voice. "My... new... WHAT?! You're replacing me as head of Magical Research?!"

Head of Magical Research? Twilight liked the sound of that! Before the war, she'd seen some interesting theories, spells and other things which hadn't been tried, either due to a lack of ressources, participants, or, as she now mused, too many ethical concerns. But considering who her knew ruler was, those concerns might not be concerns for much longer... A dreadful shine creeped into her eyes!

"Yes! I think your replacemeant is far more suited for that job than you are!"

Starlight raised her voice to as close as a shout as was possible without actually shouting, anger and indignation clearly audible! "I was the one who did the work on improving the brainwashing spell! Spent countless hours searching through the library, reading through ancient tomes and cross-referencing and checking dozens upon dozens of all the books in the whole castle!" Clearly fuming, she continued after taking a deep breath, "I am the one who found the right combination and adjustemeants for that myriad of spells that were necessary for the spell to get where it is now! And now I'm being cast aside for your new toy?!"

"Not at all... But she is far more powerful than you, Starlight, as you should have noticed! I want you to work for her! You two probably could achieve great things together!" Sombra let out a dark chuckle, "Or, you'll resist this change in arrangemeants and suffer the consequences!"

"Are you threatening me, your Highness?!" Of course, Starlight had known that this was a chance, that she'd outlive her usefulness... She had some contingency plans, but... Enacting them now might be an issue.. She tried to appeal to him. "After all I've..."

"I wasn't talking about what I would do..." He cut her off, his voice scaringly calm, but with a hint of smug self-satisfaction. "I was talking about Twilight!"

Suddenly, Starlight felt very uneasy as she noticed the look in Twilight's eyes! As if it'd been a signlar for Twilight, she took a few steps and stood behind the other mare, seeing how Starlight's fur stood on edge!

The tone of Twilight's voice turned Starlight's guts into ice. She sounded sultry, but with a barely hidden edge to it, a threat of things to come to anypony that was to stand in her way! "We can do that the easy way... or..." She licked over Starlight's neck. "I'll turn you into my prime candidate for some experimeants I'm cooking up in my mind right now!"

Something cold ran down Sunset's spine as she heard her trail of thought. And then, Sombra joined in again. "Alternatively, you might want to share the fate of that failed traitor? What was her name again?"

"Cozy Glow!" Radiant Hope putforward and Sombra nodded in agreemeant.

Starlight Glimmer knew that objecting further would be foolish, and maybe working for her wouldn't be so bad after all! This Twilight Sparkle... It felt like there was something to her! Yes! Together, they might be able to reach unthought of heights! And in any case, if anything went wrong... the bit stopped with the boss! And then, maybe, Starlight would get her old post back! "I... I accept my new role!" And then, turning to Twilight, she added, "I hope, that our work together will bear great fruits for His Highness!"

Twilight meanwhile told her, "I hope that you and I will get to know each other very well! And that we get along great for our work!"

Again, Starlight looked at Twilight, taken aback again, but only for a momeant. It wasn't like she wasn't used to it... in her old village, well... And since she served King Sombra, the King had had his way with her a few times times... and a number of the palace guards were quite handsome! All in all, it could be worse. Much worse!

Radiant Hope cleared her throat, trying to get their attention. "Twilight, we have prepared chambers for you, near the library and the laboratories! I hope they'll suit you! They include a small lab of their own!"

Then, she turned to the dragoness. "We didn't expect you, so it will take a while to prepare a room for you, Barb. I hope that's not an issue?"

"Not at all, your Highness!" She waved her off, "I just need to find something to do to pass the time!"

"Hmm..." Twilight made herself noticed again, scratching her chin. "Maybe a dragon's resilience could be quite useful... And I guess I could use an assistant, at least as long as the king has nothing else for you to do!"

Barb's ear-fins perked up as she heard that, the suggestion of being Twilight's assistant making her strangely happy! "I'll be the best assistant you can imagine!" Somehow, Twilight found the dragons enthusiasm endearing and, having her around, happy to be her assistent, for some reason made her feel like the world was one step closer to how it should be...

Radiant rang a bell to call a servant in, telling him, "Prepare another room, one suitable for a dragon! And near the one that had been prepared this morning!"

With a quick bow, the servant quickly retreated.

As Twilight, Starlight and Barb prepared to leave, Sombra interuppted them: "Once you're done helping Twilight, Barb, report to the armory to get an armor made for you! Your scales might be tough, but If you're going to serve in battle, I want you properly equipped!"

"Yes, your Highness!" She agreed.

Twilight meanwhile turned to the mare that had brought her to the Crystal Empire! "Tempest? Could you accompany us? There's something I want to try..."

Tempest was surprised to hear that, not knowing what she might want! "What?"

"How you taste and how good YOUR tongue is... If I'm honest, I wanted to know that since the spring!" Twilight laughed!

The four walked down the hallways of the castle, Starlight leading them to the lab. Twilight's staff echoed through everytime its butt hit the ground as they chatted about random stuff. But then, Barb just had to ask them about something: "Could one of your first things to make in the lab be a potion that keeps partners in bed ready and eager for the whole night?"

"Barb..." Twilight looked at her, "You're surprisingly thirsty for someone who just hatched..."

"I was hatched by magic full of your supressed sexual desires and King Sombra!" Barb shot back with a smug grin, "Sounds pretty pot and kettle to me!

Twilight glared at her for a momeant... And then tried to change the topic, asking Starlight: "How did you come to serve His Highness?"

For a momeant, Starlight Glimmer just stared at her hooves. She sighed and started to explain: "When I was a filly, my only friend got his cutie mark... It showed that his special talent was related to magic, he'd always had a knack for it, and he ended up going to Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns. He ran out on us playing together and was off to school... Never saw him again after that..."

"Yikes! I know why I never cared about friendship..." The last part, Twilight muttered under her breath.

Barb meanwhile had harsher words for that: "What an a-" But she was cut off before she could finish.

"Don't."Starlight shot a glare at Barb. "Let me continue, please!" She took a deep breath and... "For quite a while, that left me in a very bad place meantally, twisted my view on Cutie Marks and friendship and caused me to take some rather... extreme measures!" It seemed to the others that she blushed in embarassmeant as she said that last bit.

Twilight scoffed. "Please, it can't have been anything too bad!"

Chuckling in embarassmeant, Starlight decided to explain a bit more: "Weeeeell... I gathered a group of ponies and started a cult, trying to get rid of Cutie Marks and make all ponies 'the same', because differences and stuff only tear friendships apart! We even had our own town in the middle of nowhere!"

"OK... that DOES sound a tad extreme..." Twilight had to admit!

"But... shortly after the war started, I received a letter from him... from Sunburst, my old friend... " Starlight sounded rather glum as she said this.

"What?" Tempest asked, "After what? Years?"

She nodded. ""It started by saying that, if I receive this letter, it meant that he's dead..."

The others stood there in stunned silence and after a few momeants, Starlight continued, "And, he explained what had happened: It turned out that his talent had been related to magic, but THEORETICAL magic, learning about magic, rather than applied magic. He... didn't do well in school and then ended up being so embarassed about this, that he couldn't bear meet me again... He considered himself a failure!"

Again she paused for a momeant, letting out a sigh. "When the war started, he volunteered, considering it his duty to help protect Equestria, to support Princess Celestia, wanting to proof his worth after all! And it caused him to make up his mind... if he survived, he wanted to meet me again, appologize and explain, but in the case he didn't, he wrote the letter..."

Barb swallowed heavily. "My condolences..."

"Mine as well!" Twilight agreed.

Tempest just added a heavy nod.

"The last information in the letter was that he was serving with some other magically gifted unicorns under Celestia and was soon to move out..."

"Must've been before I got promoted into command..." Twilight mused. "But... how did this lead to you joining his Highness?"

"After I read the letter, I... well, I guess you can imagine that I was in a rather bad place meantally?" The unicorn shrugged, "Sunburst never reconnected with me because he was ashamed because of his perceived failure, not because of his Cutie Mark or any reason I had imagined and here I was running an equality cult... I grew even more bitter than before, but the target of my resentmeant had changed! Now, it was Princess Celestia!

Twilight stared at her for a momeant. Maybe she wondered why? But then, Starlight continued: "And then, King Sombra lead a raiding party into Equestria and stumbled across our town... And... he offered us to come and live under his rule... Well... offered... I take that you can imagine the actual choice? Seeing my chance to take revenge on Princess Celestia for Sunburst, and having a bit of a change of my point of view, I convinced my friends to accept. We joined, I became his head-scholar... until now... Sugar Belle heads the castle's bakery, others joined the palace guard..." Then, she trailed off.

The group continued down the corridors in silence after that. At least until Barb whined "I'm hungry..."

The others were actually happy for that rather sudden and extreme change of mood, though it did give them some whiplash! "I mean, you just hatched, so I guess that makes sense?" Twi hazarded.

"Well, the castle better stack up on gems for eating, otherwise I might end up eating some of the walls! They do smell tasty!" Barb told her, licking her lips with her long tongue!

"Hmm..." Starlight had an idea! "We could stop at the bakery for a snack! I'm sure Sugar Belle has something for us, and it's next to the main kitchen in any case!"