End of an Era: The Upheaval

Queen Zafire Heart watched the invaders continually pour into the Crystal Empire from a distance, as they took what shelter they could find in the plains. “We're too late. Look.” The waved at a fissure in the torn up earth, where the swarm had emerged, with more pits marked all over the land. “I assume craters are all over the area for miles. My Amazons, keep a constant watchful eye.”

The centaur trotted up as Chezka asked, “What's our next move, my queen?”

Panna, the fawn, inquired, “Should we back them up? Or pick off the drones from a distance?”

“Neither,” decided Zafira. “At least, not yelp. Every Amazon is worth a dozen drones in battle, yet our numbers are far too low. No, the minotaurs have a civilization not far from here. We'll seek an audience with them, and hopefully, form an alliance to help retake the Crystal Empire. Follow me.”

They set out on another march. More holes were passed on their way there.

Bows were kept trained around the plains, while they moved under the cover of darkness, the shroud broken at times by the pale moon that peaked from the dark clouds. At least the rain hadn't reached them, but a small drizzle continued to weep all over the Crystal Empire. However, when they neared closer to minotaur territory, a slurry of mud filled some of the pits ahead.

Chezka cursed when a hoof slid in the mud. “There are swamps ahead. The minotaurs use them to help keep intruders out. We'll either have to pass them, or take a detour that will cost time.”

Cerise shuddered. “H-how deep are these swamps?”

Bellatrix smiled thinly. “Afraid to dirty yourself, princess? I could always carry you.”

“Maybe I can freeze the mud,” offered Beatrix, who took a stride forward. “Everyone, stay back!” With a wave of a hand and a lit up unicorn horn, she released a cold snap over the swampy lake ahead. The temperature dropped, the muck froze over, crystallized into a shiny, reflective surface.

She took the first, tentative step on a heel...and slipped with a yelp, as her mostly bare butt slid across the surface. “Ouch, ouch, ouch! Cold, cold, cold!” She rose to her knees, thankful for her boots. With a blush she admitted, “Guess I really didn't think ahead, heehee!”

“We'll have to move slowly,” said Zafire, undeterred.

Chezka hunched down and offered, “Climb aboard, princess. You too, Panna.”

“Thank you,” said Cerise with a bow, as she and the fawn mounted the centaur. Usually, she only allowed her closest companions to 'ride' her since anyone else was considered an insult to her race, but she reasoned the princess wasn't used to all this physical labor and took pity on her.

They were forced to cross slowly, so no one slipped. Bellatrix offered her shoulder for support, the she-devil's claws able to stab into the ice to maintain her balance. Most of the Amazons wore boots, which provided them traction. Chezka kept her bow ready, and her pointed ears twitched, aware that were a swarm to locate and assail them, they would be rendered vulnerable.

Step-by-step, they inched their way closer to the other side. Bellatrix estimated that the muck went over a couple dozen feet down at the deepest point, where they would've been forced to swim in it. Keen eyes were able to make out a few bones far below, where other travelers had drowned.

“Almost there,” murmured Cerise, who stared ahead.

“Let's hope no one waits on the other side,” said Panna, who sat behind her. The fawn wished she could play her ocarina to ease the tensions, but she dared not risk enemies would be drawn to them. A crescent moon-shaped hairpiece reflected the moon's rays as her sharp ears twitched.

Chezka sensed it, too, and stopped. She hissed under her breath, “Someone's at the bank.”

“Demons,” snarled Bellatrix, who also spotted drones that had been warped by the dark arts into monstrosities, reduced to little more than feral mutants. They started to skitter at the frozen lake, whereupon the she-demon summoned hellfire and brimstone, while the Amazon archers fired.

“Behind me,” shouted Zafire, whose own horn lit as she summoned up a wide sword taller than her.

Drones shrieked when they tanked dozens of arrows. A few of them fell, but a mass swarm poured out from a crater far up ahead, a black mass that threatened to swarm onto the ice swamp and overwhelm them. Worse still, Beatrix realized, is that their combined weight would likely shatter the ice, and sink them into the mud that hadn't frozen below, where they'd be trapped and picked off. With help from the unicorn horn wand, she helped blast away the invasion force.

“Too many,” she shouted. “I spent lots of my reserves on that ice stunt! I'm still too weak!”

Bellatrix sailed above the swarm, rained hellfire and brimstone down on the masses, in her attempt to draw attention to her instead. Unfortunately, the drones were a hivemind, dead set on the Amazons which they sensed could be bred with. Over-and-over, she desperately torched them.

Fractures spread when insects poured onto the surface. Audible cracks sounded.

Softly, Cerise hopped off the centaur's back and touched down on her tippy-toe. “I-I have an idea! It's far-fetched, but trust me! You'll have to protect me until I'm finished!” With a deep blush, she closed her eyes, raised her arms, and started to dance across the icy lake surface.

Chezka pulled arrows from her quiver and fired into the skulls of drones. “Are you mad?”

“Wait,” said Panna, who hurled knives into the swarm, a few bodies bunched up which the creatures climbed over. “I can sense a certain...mysticism she's attuned to? Look at her cutie mark!”

The heart-shaped, half-eclipsed cutie mark was partially visible from Cerise's booty shorts. It shimmered when she drew upon its power, and deftly weaved amidst her dance steps. Eyes all over were drawn to her, the swarm included, whose movements started to slow when, in Cerise's own take on 'The Dance of a Thousand Veils' she'd read about, started to remove her top.

In a whirl of her hot pink mane, she let her charcoal-colored, medium-sized breasts flop out, each topped by wide pink nipples. Lost in a trance when she worked her special power, she then shimmied her hips, and scooted down her booty shorts, as she bared the rest of herself to them.

“Don't look,” tried to warn Beatrix, but she too found herself entranced by her movements, and even the swarm had come to a complete stop, as they drooled over her bared flesh with alien chirps.

Bella couldn't turn a blind eye, either. “How does she do that?”

Zafira, more ancient and iron-willed than even Bellatrix was the only one present that found herself able to resist the trance, despite how delectable she found the denuded princess. Her movements were nonetheless sluggish, but she made forced strides forward, her two-handed sword at the ready, determined to strike down every last drone before the icy lake caved in around them.

Instead, when she reached near Cerise, she felt an unnatural pull towards her. The alicorn Amazon Queen had a secret unknown to outsiders from the tribe, and under a loincloth that draped to her nakles, she felt her horsecock stiffen and bob, already slick as on instinct, she dropped her blade and tore off her attire, to reveal a toned yet shapely mare, statuesque, her testicles also heavy.

“I want you,” she snarled at the princess, lost in unheard music as her breasts and buttocks swayed.

Cerise couldn't hear her, like she was trapped in another world. No one else found themselves able to move, entranced, but sleepily she opened her soulful, hot pink eyes as her lashes fluttered. Her own instincts drew her to the virile 'stud' of a mare, as she crushed her supple body to her.

“I-I can't stop,” murmured the princess sleepily. “Or the monsters will overtake us...”

“I can handle any monster,” snarled Zafira, as one of her firm palms cupped Cerise's black buttock, squeeze around the flesh that pinched between her fingers when she sank into a heart-shaped ass where a cutie mark continued to shimmer, while her maw latched onto a titty and suckled hard.

“A-Ah...~!” Cerise cast back her head with a moan and felt Zafira's cock slap on her belly. Both of them driven by a rut-lust after the dance, she desperately wanted the oversized tool deep inside her!

Unfortunately, the distraction slowly allowed the swarm to reawaken by the moment.

Zafire Heart found herself blinded by instinct, as the trance awakened a part of herself she usually kept contained. “I used to be able to awaken hidden powers in those I sexually claimed,” she whispered huskily, as she continued to play with the princess' buttcheeks and melons. “Maybe I can enhance your power, once I've claimed you! Or at least put a foal in you! You're royalty! Worthy!”

With hazy eyes Cerise's pussy winked wetly, her nipples stiff. “Y-yes! Take me, please...!” Joyful tears dripped from her eyes, as she wrapped her limbs around Zafire, ready to be mounted and bred. She squealed happily when the oversized tip probed at her squishy slit. “Hurry, put your foals in me...!”

Grunts escaped Zafire when she reared back, thrust, and impaled the smaller mare on her horsecock. The first push pierced past her cervix, into her womb, which she claimed with a hiss of satisfaction. A bulge appeared across Cerise's belly when the Amazon Queen started to fuck her, with slow humps at first, then faster, as Cerise's arced her breasts, emphasized as pinkt-ipped orbs bounced wildly.

Bellatrix shouted, “Wake up!” Yet she, too, found her movements still impaired. Like they were all still entrance even after the princess halted her dance, the drones included. She found herself forced to land, and almost crashed into one of the trees ahead on her way down to the bank.

Web-like tendrils fired from the open maws of the pony-insect mutants, which wrapped around the Amazons, and were dragged from the frozen riverbed onto the shore. None of them were able to resist the pull, the drones, who'd been on the attack, now lost to their need to mate.

Beatrix's head swam as she, too, was bound up and drawn by thick, malleable strands. She comforted herself with the idea that they wouldn't eat them in this state...but there was always a chance they'd fuck them to death, which made her shiver as a drone peeled her costume away. Her buxom breasts bounced out, each titty latched onto by drones which sucked hard on them.

“Ow! You're supposed to start slow!” Yet her wet pussy offered an enthusiastic, masochistic wink.

“Goddamn...monster...!” Chezka felt one climb onto her back and force her down while it mounted her. Multiple mandibles unlatched her armor, torn away to let her own heavy set of breasts sway loose, while its bizarre, stallion-insect hybrid cock forced itself deep into her horsey cunt.

Pinned beneath it, she blushed and panted while her tone, voluminous horsecheeks were clapped. Its tool was oversized compared to most females here, yet suited a centaur perfectly.

Panna found cobwebs swirled around her deer hooves, the fawn pulled upside-down over a tree limb. The mantis-like hybrid scythe into her outfit, stripped her bare as her suspended, medium-sized breasts spilled free with a bounce, as it forced its alien cock down her filled throat.

She closed her eyes with a muffled cry when she nearly choked on its shaft, while another drone flew up, and drove its own member into her puffy cunt, where it started to pump in-and-out.

Part of the frozen swamp cratered with a loud crash. A few over-eager drones sank into the muck below, some of them unable to wiggle free as they drifted to the bottom, where they'd soon suffocate as some of them breathed through holes in their limbs which were now filled with muck, but others drew more Amazons to the shores, where they too were stripped and ravished.

Bellatrix tried to call on her hellfire, with no results. She hissed when a number of the swarm surrounded her, betrayed by her body as their presence and the effect of the dance left her overwhelmed with a sex demon's lust. She resisted her instincts, as her statuesque beauty submitted on its own, her scanty leather bikini torn away by her claws as she presented herself on all fours.

A sharp, furious cry was cut off then three of them took her at once, their monstrous cocks slammed deep into all her fuckable holes. Clammy spittle ran down her back as they took her.

One of the few upsides were that Zafira's and Cerise's union were momentarily overlooked by the swarm, who contented themselves with the breedable numbers of Amazons. The Amazon Queen now pounded the princess sideways, then after a while bent her over, to clap those charcoal buns.

Cerise raised her hot pink tail in submission, soaked by her slit in her lustful excretions. Her breasts swung below with each thrust, one of them fondled by Zafira, who snarled while she railed her. All the while, the princess moaned and mewled, as she smacked back her bouncy ass to meet her humps.

With what awareness still remained, Beatrix tried to work another spell, which fizzled out on her horn while she found all her holes stuffed. Would they pump them full of eggs? Just fill them with cum like most creatures? She shuddered to think what the results would be when they finished!

Her question was answered when the first loads were fired off deep inside them. From what she knew, usually the queen produced the clutches, which these drones were meant to inseminate?

Cerise cried out and squirted on Zafira's crotch when she too pumped her full, until the princess felt her stomach swell beneath her, like the way her breasts were suspended. A number of the Amazons and her friends came to, pumped full of chemicals by the drones that erupted into their cores.

“D-don't stop,” pleaded Cerise in a murmur. “I want more~!” Her cutie mark's power continued to spiral out-of-control, everyone partially entranced while Zafire kissed and fucked her some more.

Beatrix yelped when she was pulled towards a pit, and rolled in with a number of other denuded Amazons, Panna and Chezka included, as cumshots started to rain down on them. Numbers from the swarm reared up, and stroked themselves off with multiple limbs as they pulsed and cummed.

Thick dollops of spunk sluiced into the fissure, the stacked and partially paralyzed Amazons forced to bathe in it. Beatrix tried to make sense of it, her eyes widened with realization, which she was forced to close when thick spunk spattered all over her face and dripped into her open mouth.

They wanted to make sure they were all inseminated! To bathe and practically drown them in cum! More-and-more cum rained into the hole, Beatrix surprised at how much each drone contained!

Chezka and panna choked and vomited up an excess of cum. The centaur bitterly snarled, “Is this how the proud Amazons are about to die? Throw into some pit, where we drown in our enemy's seed?” By now, she practically had to wade into the payloads that drenched her heavy titties.

“N-not until I find my brother,” lamented Panna, as more payloads slapped in her hair and all over her face. She tried to wipe it away, but only smeared it into her skin as they were painted head-to-toe. The fissure constantly filled with more dollops of cum, until they all but swam in a cumpool.

Bellatrix strained between the three drones that triple-penetrated her, reminded of another lifetime spent inside the Necronomicon, with its infinite dimensions where she'd been little more than a wild animal while she'd battled demons daily to survive. Whenever she'd lost, they'd forced themselves on her...yet she'd risen up more powerful as a result, slain and eaten them to survive!

She'd been freed from the dark tome by the Sombra of Beatrix's Equestria, the succubus brainwashed into his servant and lover. But Beatrix freed her from that fate, adopted her like a sister and made her self-aware, and for that, Bellatrix was forever loyal to her. She had to save her...!

Hope swelled in her heart when a war horn sounded. Bootsteps trampled the earth, which quaked.

A war hammer smashed a drone to a pulp. An axe lopped off the head of another.

Sanity returned to the Amazon Queen, who dropped the cum-filled princess. “Minotaurs,” whispered Zafira, as the cutie mark on Cerise's haunches finally went dormant. She squatted beside Cerise and murmured, “You bought us time until they arrived. Thank you.” She patted her bare butt. Cerise mewled in appreciation, her face a deep red while she continued to ooze out her seed.

“Form on me,” ordered Moon Hammer. “Don't let any of the swarm escape!”

“Understood,” shouted his men, his second-in-command Redrum included. The bull in question carved his axe into more of the enemies, their colorless blood a contrast to the usual red kind which once stained the older war veteran and had earned him the name he currently went by.

A stampede of bull warriors, most in heavy armor, rushed onto the battlefield. The hivemind of the swarm rendered them disoriented, and easy to pick off, as they were offered no quarter.

Zafire was back on her feet, as was Bellatrix, while they carved up and torched the monstrosities. These mutants were so infused with the dark arts that their minds were lost forever. “Fire appears to be very effective,” noted Bellatrix, as she torched their foes and watched them blacken and curl up.

The Amazon Queen nodded, as her horn launched its own fireballs which enveloped and roasted drones, while a broadsword that stood taller than her arced down with both toned arms and split the monstrosity in half. Gushes of colorless blood exploded from its ruptured frame.

Cerise recovered her scant clothes, took up her spear, and helped down the drones, which she told herself were no more than monsters, that she didn't need to feel bad about what they had to do. Likewise, with a hand wave Beatrix removed the cum that soaked her and the closest Amazons to her, Chezka and Panna included, as they too recovered their weapons and entered the fray.

When Beatrix noticed all her allies had escaped the frozen swamp, this time with the aid of the unicorn wand left in her care she unleashed a barrage of furious flame from the instrument, which shined and heated up in her palm. She treated it like a flamethrower, sweeped back-and-forth, as the inferno melted the lake and set the mud aflame, as it swallowed up a ton of their enemies.

“Owie! Hot-hot-hot!” She tossed the horn aside, which radiated a deep red.

“It's over,” said Redrum, while they finished off the last of the monsters. “Any casualties?”

“Only a few minor wounds,” said Moon Hammer. “We were lucky. Are you the Amazon Queen?”

“I am,” replied Zafire Heart. “We came to seek temporary sanctuary in your territory, and to seek an alliance. But we should discuss that later. Can we follow you back to your home?”

Moon Hammer nodded and said, “I'll lead the way. Men, support the wounded.” He added in a muted whisper, “But remember the Amazons have their pride, so don't condescend to them.”

“I can hear you,” teased Chezka with a twitch of her sharp ear and a thin smile. More bitterly she added, “We'd better not be knocked up. Surely our potions can counter their seed?”

“I'll brew us up lots of potions,” said Panna as they walked. “Plenty of materials out in the wild.” Since she also served as a medicine woman for the tribe, she collected more herbs in her pouch.

Cadance blushed and looked away from the Amazon Queen when they walked the path home. “Let's pretend that didn't happen, please? I'm already promised to someone I hope to wed!”

“Neither of us were in our right state of mind,” answered Zafira with a chuckle. “But I wouldn't mind another round with you, cupcake, if you're future husband's ever up for it.” She delivered a playful, farewell swat on Cerise's bottom, which made her squeak as she was sent ahead on the path.

While they headed there, and Beatrix stared at her cooled down wand, she noticed cracks in it.

“I can probably fix that,” offered Moon Hammer helpfully.

“Thanks! Um, Moon Hammer, do you remember me?” She perked up hopefully.

The minotaur's brow furrowed. “I'm afraid not. But some of our memories were scrambled when we crossed over to this Equestria, so I suppose it's possible we've met before, miss...?”

“Beatrix Belladonna.” She shook his hand. What she didn't share was another theory, that like with Zafire Heart, they'd met out-of-order due to whatever affected her portal. She tried not to dwell on it, fearful that she'd cause a series of paradoxes that compounded into a full-on disaster!

Cerise tried to add helpfully, “Bea invited you to my wedding, which was supposed to be soon!”

“Doesn't ring a bell,” he replied with a shrug of heavy shoulders. “But congratulations, I'm sure your the future husband is a lucky stallion. We can talk about it when we're home, rested, and well-fed.”

“I'll provide the drinks. Redrum,” introduced the bull to them. “On the house, of course, to celebrate.” Cheers erupted from the other minotaurs around the red-furred warrior.

A short trip later, and they arrived at the villa, where the chieftain welcomed them inside.

*****

“....quite a story,” confessed Moon Hammer, who'd taken them to Redrum's local bar. “I know it's not much, but feel free to settle in. I'll have beds prepared for everyone. Naturally, some of you will have to double up, since space here is limited and I can't ask my people to put themselves out. They're already upset we're trapped here.” He nodded to Redrum to refill his tankard.

Redrum, in his bartender attire, went around the tables and refilled drinks. “Excuse the lack of better hospitality. I usually don't have this many customers in this cozy little villa.”

“The accommodations are fine,” reassured Zafira, who drank her fill. “And I can't complain about the entertainment, either.” She listened to a record that played, and watched holstaurs pass by the windows and peek in, curious, the Amazon Queen's eyes drawn to their bikini-clad assets.

In particular, she took in Creamy Canyons and Milky Mountains, who volunteered to help play barmaids for their visitors. The interior was absolutely packed, and drowned out by chatter all around them. While Beatrix explained much about them, she decided to keep a few cards close.

Like Zafire Heart, she'd first encountered Moon Hammer on that nudist paradise planet, Eden. Were her suspicions true, to reach Eden one needed to die first. Was this Equestria doomed?

She was an exception, of course, since she'd accidentally traveled there by way of her portals!

“...an alliance would indeed benefit us both,” admitted Moon Hammer while they all talked.

Zafira read between the lines. “But your numbers are limited. I understand. It's a dilemma we Amazons also face. However, for the moment we're all trapped here, and Queen Chrysalis won't stop until we're all wiped out. Better, I think, to back the Crystal Empire now rather than later.”

With another drink, Moon Hammer then said, “You'll have an answer when dawn breaks.”

Redrum called from behind the bar counter, “What he means is relax and drink up. Creamy, Milky, maybe you can put on a dance for everyone? Since we have limited options for entertainment.”

Zafira turned to Cerise. “Princess, will you also dance for us?”

“M-me? Well, I do love to dance, but...” Cerise blushed darkly, reminded that a couple hours before most of them had seen her completely naked. “Eer, I don't mind, but I don't have a costume!”

“That's no problem,” teased Creamy, who fetched a spare cow print bikini.

Cerise quirked an eyebrow. “Seriously? It's not even anywhere near my size! How am I supposed-”

“We can shrink it,” added Milky cheerily. “What are your measurements?”

“Um...” Cerise whispered her sizes into their ears. The two cow women nodded, and hurried off to make adjustments in the back. The princess took a breather as she sat back and exhaled. “Bea, I don't really understand how my powers work. Just that I want to be useful to you.”

“You have been,” said Beatrix with a wink.

Cerise rested on her arms across the table. “Don't Patronize me. I have a lot to learn.”

“I'll help out with that,” reassured Bellatrix. “We'll need everyone's help to survive this mess.”

A short time later, Creamy and Milky returned with a modified cow print bikini, which matched Cerise's medium-sized breasts and a similar set of hips and butt to match. Reluctantly, she took the costume, but turned her nose up at the collar with a cowbell and a hairband with cow horns. “No way! Uh-uh! No offense, but I'm a mare, not a cow! My breasts aren't even full of, um...”

“Milk?” A titter escaped Milky. “You're about to be married soon, yes? Then you can have a baby!”

“I doubt she's planned that far ahead,” replied Creamy. “Come on, please wear them all? It'll make all the boys happy, trust me, honey. Maybe we can find some way to make it worth your while?”

Groans escaped Cerise when she stood and took the other pieces. “Fine, I'll do it! Lead me to the back so I can slip into this, okay?” She followed the pair of holstaurs into the backrooms.

Another short while later they returned. Cerise took tentative steps out into the open, her head bowed, and a collar with a cowbell around her neck, which matched an incredibly slim cow print bikini that left most of her exposed. She muttered, “I'd almost prefer to dance naked. Almost.”

“You look cute as always,” teased Bea with another wink.

“Indeed,” said Bellatrix sincerely. “How about a dance on the bar counter? Or a table?”

“Sure,” said Cerise, who perked up. “But first, I'll need some suitable music to set the mood!” While she didn't know any of the tracks on the record, she set it to the most upbeat piece she could find.

She looked to Redrum for permission, and after he nodded, the dancing princess hopped onto the bar counter and started moving to the rhythm. Glasses were raised and cheers resounded, as Creamy and Milky also climbed atop tables to dance, albeit they were more amateurish by comparison.

Beatrix whistled and called, “Whoohoo~!”

Cerise smiled back at her, and winked at the crowd as her hot pink mane and tail whirled around her with each pirouette. Her assets shook in her scanty attire like the cow women, and threatened to fall out while she whirled faster-and-faster with deft steps to the cheery, fast-paced music.

Seated by her sister, Bellatrix mused, “She's matured quite a bit in a short time.”

“All thanks to me,” said Beatrix with a titter.

“Mmmm,” replied Bella dubiously. “Perhaps she can help you mature a little, too.”

“Hey! You don't have to be honest!” Beatrix usually wasn't one to drink, but she downed another cup of tea mixed with some liquor. “Makes me wanna stand up and dance, too!”

“Go for it. I'm sure all the beefcakes here wouldn't mind.” Bella sipped at her own teacup.

As an illusionist, Beatrix had learned many spells from her mother Trixie, who'd trained her from foalhood to help with their shows on the road. With a hand wave, she altered her malleable costume at will, and mimicked a cow print bikini of her own complete with a collar, cowbell, and a hairband with tiny cow horns in place of the usual witch hat she'd received from her mom.

Yet she kept her usual fingerless gloves that came to her upper arms, and high-thighed heeled boots, albeit also with a cow-spotted pattern when she, too, leaped onto the counter by Cerise. She playfully hip checked her, and the princess returned the favor to more claps and whistles.

That night, the inns would be packed to the brim, until morning came and choices were made.

*****

Chrysalis led the rest of her amassed invasion force into the Crystal Empire. Alongside them were the cult, who constantly bombarded the barrier with beams from unicorn horn wands, the shield shrank over time under the constant impacts. “At last,” she announced with a stride of her wide hips. “They're all trapped like vermin in the Crystal Palace! We can tunnel our way inside!”

Trixie floated next to her and reminded, “That will take hours, to break apart solid rock!”

The queen planted a hand on her hip. “You have a better idea?”

“Actually, I do. We can mutate more hybrids built specifically for this purpose,” boasted Trixie, as Lavender and Fuchsia nodded beside the robed witch. “Think creatures similar to rhinoceros beetles, dumb brutes that will labor endlessly until they expire! Of course, it requires sacrifice-”

“Acceptable losses,” dismissed Chrysalis with a hand wave. “Get it done.”

“Mistress,” said the three mares with a shared bow of deference, before they headed off.

Chrysalis curled her lip. She hadn't heard from Ocellus in some time. Had her betrayal been uncovered? Was she still alive? Did it matter, now that her part had been played in this drama?

Several minutes later, the trio of witches returned with the hulk-like rhinoceros beetles, their bodies warped and expanded by the blackest of magics. “Pulverize the earth and dig us a tunnel into the palace!” Grunts answered the queen's orders, as their pinchers slammed into the marble.

“They can only follow simple commands,” reminded Trixie. Jackhammer-like sounds and vibrations that shook the area filled the air around them, as the beetles were a blur as they tore apart marble.

The four of them wandered away from the noise as Fuchsia added, “We can turn your minions into all kinds of hybrids! Think of any insect or arachnid, and it can be weaponized!”

“The sole downside is they'll be dim-witted and have short lifespans,” explained Lavender.

“A useful trade off,” mused Chrysalis. “Are these hybrids able to breed?”

“Yes,” said Trixie. “But their spawn will also be retarded and have limited lifespans. And since whatever an incubator births from these creatures will be oversized, they may not survive!”

“A shame,” replied the queen, lost in thought. “I prefer to leave the mares alive, so they can continue to pump out more of my swarm until they're no longer able. My army may be able to conquer this continent, but I'll need many times more to take the rest of Equestria!”

Part of her wanted to tear down the Crystal Palace, a symbol of Cadance's hubris, where she could build a hive atop the Crystal Empire. Instead, she would rule over it, like the usurper Sombra had, and her mind already raced with all the possibilities, once she stamped the queen under her heel!

Over time, the beetles tunneled ever deeper, able to sense their destination while they worked in the darkness. They burrowed through the weakest points in the roads, into the sealed off sewage systems below, where the sewers connected with the Crystal Palace. Rocks and marble crumbled to dust amidst the rapid vibrations of pinchers, as dense dust clouds trailed behind the shelled beasts.

In their thick, natural armor, they were nearly impenetrable, and took not notice when sections caved in and smashed harmlessly off the metallic sheen of their surfaces. Nor did they mind the stink of the sewage, even when they were forced to swim through it. Eventually, the half-a-dozen of the mutant hulks carved their way into the very bottom of the Crystal Palace...the royal crypt.

The area had been sealed off, but was still a mess since Fiery and his men were busy with more pressing concerns, the interior still drenched in bloodstains, with chopped off pieces of corpses scattered about and a few blackened burn marks. The rhino beetles skittered towards the door.

The trinity of Umbra bound to the shadows here spotted their chance. Usually, they required flesh similar to their own to possess or the subject they took hold of could expire, and possibly scatter their consciousness to the ether with them, but they could sense the darkness in these brutes...

Clouds of inky black wisps swirled into the orifices of three beetles, which shook and lurched awkwardly. Shadow Haze, Shadow Bane, and Shadow Gloom struggled to adjust to these new, clumsy forms, broken from the hive mind as the other three rhinoceros beetles smashed into the reinforced doors. Shadow Haze was the first able to force broken words from the primitive vocal cords of his possessed mutant. “Noise...will call...reinforcements...must hide...brothers...”

Shadow Bane replied, “What...do...? Stand and fight...?”

With a twitch of his pincers Shadow Gloom said, “Too many...do as Haze says...”

The moment the walls collapsed amidst a small earthquake, the three beetles ahead swarmed into the palace, where they were immediately met with resistance by the soldiers nearby. Blades harmlessly deflected in showers of sparks off metallic carapaces, the stallions barely able to voice screams before the rapid-speed vibrations of pinchers reduced them to bloody mush on the walls.

Haze, Bane, and Gloom used the distraction bought by the other mutants to scurry away from the scene. Unfortunately, wherever they looked, more soldiers and maids awaited them.

With no clear place to hide, Haze was almost tempted to doubleback and follow the tunnels made by the other beasts, but knew that would lead them directly into the army outside.

Instead, after a slow, methodical search later, the trio found a place which appeared to be empty, the locker rooms which the maids used. They barreled their way inside, into the shower rooms where their steps echoed amidst multiple limbs, which they used to turn on the shower heads.

Steamy water washed away the sewer stink, which drizzled down the drains.

Haze twitched his antenna and told them, “Must..practice...master...new bodies...”

His brothers nodded. While the war efforts above carried on, the three of them would seek to refine their slurred speech, and the bumble of their movements, aware from what they'd seen from their fellow mutants that they could tank most of what was thrown at them.

However, Shadow Haze theorized things like magic would still be a problem, since it could bend the rules of reality, and possibly pierce even these harder-than-steel hides were the mystics that wielded it suitably potent. He decided it better not to test that, until they uncovered their limitations.

Bane stroked himself, a massive, mutant member in one mandible. “Equipment...still works...”

“Too risky,” said Gloom, aware of what he had in mind, but Bane already stalked off. While this section was usually empty, he knew a maid would likely come eventually to use the toilets.

Twenty minutes later, and his patience was answered. A crystal earth pony mare wandered alone, with tentative steps, as she called to a guardstallion around the corner, “I'll only be a few minutes! I need to freshen up, we can catch up then!” She was a pale shade of blue, with violet locks that ended in curls, and a fairly plush frame in her uniform which made Bane drool in anticipation.

With a click of heels, she neared the locker rooms, blissfully unaware of what awaited.

The moment she entered the interior, Bane lurched at the mare and seized her in his mandibles. She screamed bloody murder, as one of the limbs closed over her mouth. “Quiet...or kill...” Tears leaked down her cheeks, and she nodded rapidly, but her screech carried down the hallway.

Boots stomped on the reflective floors, the armored stallion's sword already drawn and his face drawn in concern. “Autumn Gem? I'm on my way, hold on my sweet! I'll save you~!”

The would-be hero rounded into the locker room...only for pinchers to snap closed around his head. Autumn, splattered in blood as her would-be lover's head toppled off before, screamed even louder than before as she went pale and fainted into the mandibles of Bane. The stallion's headless body crumpled, but Bane paid little attention, as his mandibles impatiently tore off her uniform.

Haze stomped past them and checked the hallway. “All clear...the couple were alone...”

“Must share...” Gloom drooled at their prize, breasts freed with a pendulous swing when her bra was torn off, and likewise her sizable ass and taut pussy when her panties were shredded, too.

With no time to waste, the brothers took the unconscious mare here. They were forced to drive themselves into her holes slowly, so they wouldn't rupture her with their bulks, Autumn Gem sandwiched between them like a soft, pliable marshmallow while they drove into her.

“Careful,” said Gloom, as the use of their vocal cords became more natural. “No harm. Bear foals.” His mandibles spread her buttcheeks, as he couldn't probe too deeply into her asshole.

Bane had staked his claim on her cunt, which had already been wet with anticipation of when she and the stallion he'd killed would make love, whereupon he asked, “We compatible?”

“Find out,” said Haze, who also only dared push so far into her mouth. It was far from the most satisfaction they'd felt, since they needed to take extra care not to cripple the mare between them, but they found a slow, steady rhythm, as they sucked on her tits and played with her buttocks.

“Bigger isn't always better,” lamented Bane, unsatisfied since the oversized equipment of this mutant couldn't even fit halfway into the mare's cunt, let-alone the holes his brothers claimed.

“A hole's a hole,” reminded Gloom, who could do little more than swirl his tip in her rectum.

“Already close,” said Haze, as despite the minimum stimulation they could achieve with the tenderness they were forced to treat the mare with, these creatures had never ejaculated once in their lives and proved a quickshot. “Brothers, pull out! For the mare's safety!”

With disappointment, Bane and Gloom obeyed, thankful that they had with the sudden bursts of cum the three of them absolutely doused her in. Haze feared she would've popped under the sheer pressure and volume of their loads, which instead painted her head-to-toe in warm, virile spunk.

Their mandibles spread her puffy pink pony pussy open, the walls slimy with threads of her liquid lust as her cervix pulsed while she winked, worked up by the invasions of their cocks even while she slept and the attention paid to her breasts and buns. Their limbs scooped up their cum, mashed it softly into her birth canal in a slurry mixture they hoped would inseminate their breeder.

They carried the mare to the shower room, allowed their combined seeds to settle inside her, and attempted to hide the evidence of the slain stallion. While it was a simple matter to remove the body and head, the thick streak of blood which pooled across the floor was another matter.

Bane asked, “What to do with corpse?”

Haze answered, “Share and eat. Need fuel for possible battles ahead.” The three mutants descended on the headless carcass, picked the flesh clean, and spat out pieces of metal and bone.
While their digestive systems could probably break down even the sturdiest metals, they decided not to risk their possible stomach aches, with the rest oif the stallion's blood and viscera washed down the drains. These creatures were so mutated by darkness, they felt like their natural homes.

And while all this had happened, their fellow creatures were on a rampage throughout the Crystal Palace, able to tear through any guards that dared attack them with ease as their pincers vibrated and chopped at them, but by instinct they avoided any harm to potential breeders like the mares. Fiery Kickstart, not far from the bloody scene, rushed back to support his men.

“Behind me,” the mustard-colored swordsman shouted, as he relied on a trick he'd hoped to keep secret to most, and believed now was the time. With a flick of his wrist, he set the broadsword ablaze, and torched the closest rhino beetle to him. The brute howled aline sounds, immolated, unknown to Fiery that his flame harbored mystic properties that enhanced its considerable power.

This time, instinct drove the other two mutants to retreat down a bloodied hallway.

“Leave this to me,” he demanded. “Guide bystanders to safety, and do not engage any creatures like this unless circumstances absolutely demand it! Do you understand me?” They saluted and confirmed they'd obey, while he thundered ahead, to hunt more invaders into their home.

Flames reflected off his armor and muscled physique when he sailed down the halls.

Where had they come from? Were more already on the way? He rapidly felt the loss of control, his fellow 'Swords' busy as the last possible defense should the throne room be disturbed.

All these riches, wasted on luxuries, when they should have been spent to reinforce their military!

Yet his heart raced with an appreciation for the softer side of the Crystal Empire that the twins helped awaken in him, which he believed lost after Snowy Blizzard rejected him so long ago. Foal-Bearer and Wet Nurse were beautiful, compassionate, and tender, all he desired in a mare...

Eventually, he spotted a second mutant, which tunneled at a palace wall. This one, too, he set ablaze and watched it squirm while its insides cooked, until it smoked, curled up, and perished.

Yet the damage had been done. The structure was weakened, and the moment the shield receded even a few more feet, any assault on it would cause its collapse and allow the enemy to pour in.

“Damn!” Aware he could do little here to prevent the inevitable, he instead turned and continued his hunt for the last known beetle. He found it on a level above, where more troops attempted to hold it at bay, forced into defensive tactics while it demolished columns carved of crystal.

“Keep your distance,” he shouted at them. “It's vulnerable to fire, but I'll have to smoke the place out to deal with it, so be ready!” This monster, too, he set on fire, careful to control the blaze.

Around the defeated beetle, the maids rushed in pails of water and tossed them onto the charred and blackened carpets. Fortunately, the fires couldn't spread to the mostly crystalline interior.

“That's the last one I know of,” he informed them as they moved away from the smokey area. “Men, form a search party, to make sure there aren't any more, but should you see one fetch me at once!” While he didn't understand how he was able to call on his inner flame, he'd discovered he could mentally control it to an extent with his will, which could also be used to snuff it out.

He kept a bottle of oil on his belt at all times, which he soaked his sword in to help it catch fire. The 'Second Sword' always told his men to be prepared, and tried to practice what he preached.

Still, he had to admit it was doubtful the rulers could've prepared for all of this...