Every Prince Deserves a Princess

"How does she do it? Answer me!"

"Go to hell, you witch!"

A scream rang out, cuing me awake as let out a groan. My vision was blurry, my eyes barely beginning to open as they revealed a fuzzy, orange and black field before me. The sounds of a sharp crack, several intakes of breath, and a desperate struggle filled my ears, followed by an awful, resounding hiss.

"I'm... not telling you... shit!"

"You will! You must!" The shrill voice, overbearing in its volume, echoed through the cavern and made my ears ring as Shining Armor screamed again, his outcry accompanied by a disturbing, squishy sound. The outlines of the pair finally came into view- a distorted vision of a bound stallion, secured to a boulder with his hooves spread, and back to the rock as the devil-mare stood just before him her hoof inside of his stomach, formed into a sharp, needle-like protrusion. As my vision finally came into focus, I saw that Shining was bleeding badly from multiple wounds, his breaths sharp and labored as he closed his eyes in an attempt to cope with the pain. I couldn't bear to watch, instead moving my eyes to the fire pit at the center of the room, what looked suspiciously like a pile of bodies providing fuel for the hungry flames.

"You're... not going to break me... I've been tortured before, and my duty, my allegiance, is s-"

Instar unhinged her jaw once again, hissing a foul breath into Shining's face as she screamed, withdrawing her limb from the small wound just above the stallion's hips. Shining allowed his head to droop, looking down to the floor as he cried tears of pain while the demoness backed away, but only just. She began to pace back and forth in front of him as I silently watched, outright praying that she wouldn't notice my awakened state.

"Your allegiance. Your duty. To what? Your gilded halls? Your people? I have a duty as well! I need her! You selfish, arrogant ponies, with your damned morals, your cushy hovels, and your idealism! You cannot understand what it is to suffer, until you stare the harsh reality of survival in the face! What I do, I do with reason. It does not have to be this way, though if it is, I'm going to enjoy it!"

The sleek, overlarge bug metamorphed her forehoof into a blunt cudgel, one of her bones poking through the skin to form a deadly looking point, and moved again toward Shining with a wicked, sadistic smile. I could take no more of it, and began to struggle against the purple, almost black, slimy bonds holding my hooves to the cavern's wall, my body positioned as Shining's was.

"Stop!" I cried, my throat dry and voice cracking. Instar's smile widened as she held the tip of her improvised bone dagger right up to Shining's eye, the limb dripping a rich, azure blood down onto the rocky floor below.

"Excuse me, Duke," Instar said with a smile as she lowered the scythe-like bone, instead dragging it across Shining's cheek and leaving a wide, reddened gash on the side opposite his Bloodlet injury. "It seems my lover is awake. I'm obligated to comfort him."

It took all of my strength not to soil myself again as I watched the changeling begin to move toward me, her twisted, sleek skin rippling into tentacles as her hoof reformed into its natural shape. The way that she transitioned from a shrill, angry hiss into her sultry, alluring voice, dripping with false sweetness and seduction was utterly terrifying. I had been present at Shining's wedding, cowering within the audience as this creature's supposed mother had fought Celestia, and though alien, Instar's mother lacked the sadistic, wicked glint that this monster had within her eyes. As Instar moved to stand just before me, she took my chin in her hoof, her wings buzzing briefly as she scattered a violet powder about her body.

That scent.

"Hello, Prince," she sang in a saccharine tone, apparently her natural speaking voice. The cadence of her words oozed with lust, as though seduction was her occupation, and one that she treated as an art. Given recent events... it likely was.

"M-moss..." I choked out, trying as hard as I could to avoid her brilliant, slitted, glowing eyes. I was naturally drawn to her, whether it be her skill, my experiences with her other body, or something else... I couldn't put my hoof on it.

"If that makes you feel better, then by all means." Instar ran a gentle hoof through my hair, her light, freezing touch caressing against my cheek as she spoke, in complete calm. "I need some information. If you give it to me, I might even set you free. Doesn't that sound easy?" she asked, the last few words sounding almost perky. This beast was manipulative, and made it easy to lose track of one's focus as she subtly moved, a gentle, almost dance-like quality to her motions. I did my best to stay focused on the matter at hoof, fighting her little game as best I could.

"...suppose... I agreed. What would happen to Shining...?" I asked, my eyes locked upon hers. She didn't flinch, barely ever blinked, unless it was carefully placed and part of her little routine. It was creepy...

"The Duke? Mmm..." she paused, running a hoof down my chest as I felt myself slowly becoming aroused. I cursed my body's noncompliance with the situation as she trailed the hoof downward, stopping it at my cutie mark and expertly avoiding the situation as she held my gaze, unblinking. "We could negotiate. I'm at the advantage, here. I see no reason to make guarantees."

"Vlad, don't you god damned tell that witch anything!" Shining yelled from across the room, desperately struggling to get himself free. It was very apparent that his right foreleg was barely broken, and moving unnaturally against the binds. The sticky arcs holding his hooves and mine to the stone walls seemed more potent than the strongest glue, and nearly impossible to move against, let alone break. I took a deep breath, and decided to take matters into my own hooves. Shining wasn't going to be able to save me.

"I-Instar... is it?"

"Yes," she hissed, her deep blue tongues twisting around each other within her maw as she playfully drew out the word.

"...what is it that you want to know?"

"Blueblood! You coward!"

I ignored Shining's angered yelling, doing my best to block him out. As I looked down at my own body, I took notice that I had no injuries at all, save for the throbbing in the back of my skull from being slammed into the rock. Just what were her intentions with me...?

"My, my. It seems helping you toward earning your title might not have been a waste of time after all," she cooed. "I like a victim that treats me with respect, be it from fear, or common sense. You might last quite a while, if you keep it up." Instar snaked her hoof around to pat at my flank, to which I could only whimper in reply as she brushed an airy strand of mane from her face. "I want to know how 'Cadenza' does what she does, with regards to love. Nothing more."

I mulled over the question, wracking my brains for any hidden knowledge I might have on the subject. To give her an answer would be to gain my freedom, assuming she was being honest, and then, I could sort out liberating Shining. My mind flew backward through all of the conversations with Cadenza that I could remember, any talk at all of love magic, or her methods. Scraps of information, none of them useful, came to light, as I remembered sitting with her beside the fireplace on cold winter nights while Shining was on tour, talking about anything and everything, from restaurants to clothing. How I missed those days...

"...I know little. She was apparently born with the talent, an... affinity to sense, even measure levels of affection, passion, desire within a pony. Cadenza has some influence over such things, when she casts her signature spells. I don't know how she does it. I only know why, and what she is capable of."

Shining shook his head, his breaths raspy and weak as he glared at the ground as though he was trying to carve a hole into the rock. Instar kept her attention fixated on me while I spoke, never once interrupting as she listened, keeping even her wings still in the silence that lingered afterward.

"I see. I don't care why she does it, only how. You didn't tell me much I didn't know, but at least you're cooperating. This won't be all bad for you, little prince." The changeling leaned forward, pressing her lips to mine and forcing my mouth open with expert skill. Her twin tongues danced into my mouth, caressing my own as she increased the amount of her pheromones within the air around us. I eventually give in, kissing her back and hoping the action would win me some points within this 'game'. Her mouth and saliva tasted sweet, almost like a rich honey, and her hoof rubbed along my cheek as she twisted her head, pouring greedy lust into our oral embrace. Without warning, she sank her razor sharp fangs into my lower lip, causing my eyes to widen as she ripped two holes into the soft membranes. Instar pulled back with a low chuckle, taking her fill of my blood with her tongues as she rolled the tendrils back into her mouth. "Delicious."

I whimpered, wanting to cry out, but resisting. It was quite evident that pissing Instar off was exactly the opposite of productive in that moment, and at least, so far as I could tell- she was somewhat pleased with me. As she turned back toward Shining Armor, I foolishly lit my horn and tugged upon her wispy tail, trying to draw her attention back to me. The idea worked as she turned, a brow raised at the action.

"...bold..." she replied with a fangy half-smile.

"Don't hurt him any more. I... I won't tell you anything if you do."

Instar laughed, a high, haughty laugh as she covered her mouth with a perforated hoof. "Oh, you're adorable! I think I'm going to keep you, when this is all over. I don't plan on touching your brother," she mocked. "At least... not until it's necessary. For now, I have some damage control to take care of. It's time to lead the royal guard on a merry little chase."

As Instar spoke, her facial structure began to contort and twist, her skin blanching as she grew a thin, sleek coating of fur. Her mane turned to intermixed strands of azure and teal, her legs shortening and becoming more muscular as she transformed into an exact copy of Shining Armor. The entire process took only seconds before a duplicate of my so-called 'bro' was standing before me, still wearing Instar's wicked smile. With a subtle shift, the evil grin turned into a much more believable, stoic expression. She had Shining down to a 'T'.

"Don't go too far, you two. I'll admit, though... I'd be damned impressed if you made it anywhere at all."

Without another word, Instar-Shining turned upon his hoof, and left the chamber, leaving me alone with a very upset unicorn in an unfamiliar location.

"...I'm sorry. At least she's gone, and you're not dying. You are alright, yes?"

Shining lifted his head, sporting a black eye, several cuts upon his face, and various other wounds across his body. The broken limb was especially obvious, a bit of bone poking out of his skin from below the knee. "...no, I'm not, but I'll live. You shouldn't have told her anything, but... whatever. We need to focus on getting out of here and warning Celestia. You didn't see what she's really like. You didn't see what she did to me..."

I struggled against my binds, lighting my horn to look up at the purple, blue, or black... some dark colored slime that was holding my hooves to the rock wall. "How, exactly, are we going to get free?"

"Ask nicely, and I might be able to help."

Shining and I both turned our attention to the tunnel opposite the one Instar had left from, to behold a silhouette. The speaker was taller, taller than even our tormentor, and gracefully walked with purpose toward the fire pit that illuminated the room, up to our bodies. A tall, dark changeling came into view, her mane a dull, dark blue, to the point that it was almost grey. A set of faded, fragile, partially torn blue wings rested upon her back, attached to a green carapace. Shining went rigid as the familiar figure walked up to him, pausing mere feet away.

"You..."

"Don't sound so disappointed, my former lover," she replied, her voice tired and lacking the energy and conviction that it had held during her attack on Canterlot nearly half a decade ago. "Let's get to work on your binds."

Shining struggled as the changeling queen coated her horn in a soft, green aura, before sticking it beneath the slime that Instar had coated his hoof with. She moved the protrusion backward, using the bladed edge to cut Shining's left forehoof free, and all that either of us could think to do was look at each other, dumbfounded by her actions. The queen took Shining's free hoof in her own, keeping a gentle grip upon him as she cut the other, broken limb free, and moved to catch the stallion's upper body upon her back as he fell forward. Shining shivered, looking relieved, disgusted, confused, and wary as the changeling leaned down and cut his left hind leg free, before helping pull him free from the right shackle.

"But... why?"

"We don't have time for that right now. Help me free the other unicorn, and then, we need to get you two home."

Shining slipped off of the queen's back, before slowly limping toward me, his unlikely ally at his side and his broken leg curled under his body. The tall mare offered me a sad smile, her expression apologetic as she began to cut my forelimbs free of their binds.

"I don't believe we've met. Hold still, and you'll get your answers soon."