//------------------------------// // Seduction of the Innocent // Story: Wings Against the Sun // by sentinel28a //------------------------------// Twilight Sparkle held up the dress she had bought in Flankfurt’s market, for a price that she was sure would singlehoofedly spur Germaneigh’s economy. It was not for her, but for Rarity. Now, she thought, how do I keep Rarity from finding out I got this for her? A fashionista she may be, but she’s not too bad at spying… There was a knock at the door. Twilight set the dress on the bed and trotted over to the door. She opened it, and nearly leapt backwards a few feet. It was Ironwing. The griffin seemed not to notice her discomfiture. “Greetings, Princess Twilight Sparkle. I tried to reach you at the embassy, but they said you had gone back to the hotel. May I come in?” Twilight was torn between three choices: flee out the window and trust her newfound wings to glide her safely down ten stories, scream and slam the door in Ironwing’s face, or invite the Emperor of the Griffin Empire into her room. She calmed herself down and realized that the diplomatic thing to do would be the third option. “Um…sure.” “Thank you.” Ironwing walked into the room in the curious shuffling gait of griffins, shutting the door behind him with a flick of his tail. He looked around. “For a nation supposedly on the brink of bankruptcy, Equestria does well for its princesses.” Twilight did not know how to respond to that, so she said nothing. The silence began to be uncomfortable. Ironwing was staring at her as if he anticipated some action, at least, but at last he smiled. “My apologies. I forget you're not used to this sort of thing, Twilight—may I call you Twilight? You may call me Ironwing, if it pleases you. Truly, all these titles and ‘Your Highnesses’ does get rather old.” Truth to be told, Twilight was rather tired of it as well. Back in Ponyville, everyone still called her Twilight. “Can…can I get you anything?” She had no idea what exactly she was supposed to get him. “Ah, no thank you. I just ate.” After a pace around the room, Ironwing sat on an ornate rug and motioned for Twilight to do the same. “Given your relative inexperience in the formalities of diplomacy, and my own distaste for them, I shall get to the point.” Twilight nodded. The realization dawned on her that Luna and Golden Lily were still at the Plains of Abraham, and, if Ironwing was here, it meant he had somehow gotten past the guards in the wing of the hotel assigned to them. She was alone. Unconsciously, she spread her hooves a little, getting into a fighting stance. Ironwing recognized it and laughed. “Please, my dear Twilight! I’m not here to fight or attempt to harm you.” “That’s rich coming from you,” Twilight snapped, forgetting the diplomatic niceties. “Given that you’ve been trying to kill Golden Lily for the past day.” “How so?” Ironwing looked as guileless as a foal. Twilight was momentarily taken aback at his temerity. “Well, let’s see. Dark Storm tore our chariot apart—“ “An accident, as Luna mentioned.” “Daggerclaw sicced that carnivorous butterfly on Lily today—“ “My dear, the only thing Daggerclaw sicced today was the wine.” “And Celestia only knows what Whitemane is planning!” “A long recovery.” Ironwing sighed. “It seems Whitemane stepped on something the Flankfurters call a ‘land mine.’ All four legs broken with internal injuries. She was careless, nothing more.” Ironwing’s expression was that Whitemane’s near death was neither bothersome nor particularly surprising. “In any case, Twilight, I am not here about Golden Lily.” “But…Princess Luna said you were trying to stop the loan!” Ironwing shook his head. “Oh, I will admit that the thought occurred to me. A bankrupt Equestria would leave many opportunities for my realm. But think for a moment, Twilight. Will anyone in the known world truly deny Celestia money that she needs? Celestia is remarkably generous for a ruler of her stature. She has written off more loans to needy beings than she has ever collected. I could stop this loan, but she would find it simple to get another realm to send her the money. Or she would find another way. Celestia’s rather good at that. In any case, I am not here to stop the loan or kill Golden Lily, and certainly not you or Luna.” His smile widened to a smirk. “If you don’t believe me, cast a truth spell.” Twilight decided to call Ironwing’s bluff. She concentrated and her horn glowed purple. Ironwing merely sat and waited. Her eyes widened when her probe revealed that Ironwing was indeed not lying. No amount of magic could fool a truth spell; there were ways to get around it, but only if the pony believed the lie themselves. “But Luna…” “Luna is paranoid. Understandably so.” Ironwing shrugged his wings. “I will not lie, Twilight. I do enjoy tweaking the muzzles of Celestia and Luna. They need it, now and then. My father was too subservient to the ponies—no insult intended—and it’s something I want to redress. It is not fair for Equestria to be the only nation in the sun, as it were. We griffins want to be seen as equals. We also want our place in the sun." “Celestia sees you as an equal,” Twilight reassured him. “Possibly. But she also sees me as a threat, which is why the Royal Equestrian Army has triple the number of troops on my borders as they do other realms. Why, the Griffins haven’t attacked an Equestrian village since the Shadowbolt Rebellion, and that was due to my doltish grandmother. Just last year the Buffalo Tribes attacked Appleloosa, and Celestia didn’t send so much as a regiment to defend the town or punish the buffalo!” “I was at Appleloosa,” Twilight said. “It was just a misunderstanding.” “I’m sure. But wars can start through misunderstanding.” Ironwing met her eyes. “Which is why I’m here in this room, Twilight Sparkle. I want to defuse this…misunderstanding with Celestia, and you can help me.” Twilight felt her heart leap in spite of herself. This was something she could do. As Celestia’s student, she would make a trustworthy courier between the nations. If the Griffin Empire and Equestria could be friends, it would solve a lot of problems. “Certainly, Your High—Ironwing,” she corrected. “What can I do?” He ducked his head, and she was surprised to see that he actually seemed nervous. After another long pause, he said quietly, “Marry me, Twilight Sparkle.” Twilight could not suppress a gasp. In fact, it was all she could do to breathe. In her wildest dreams (or nightmares) about Emperor Ironwing, marriage was not one of them. “Ah…um…” He waited patiently until she got her breath and senses back. “Why?” she blurted. Ironwing chuckled. “Again, I will not lie. I do not love you—not yet. However, a marriage would cement an alliance between the Griffin Empire and Equestria. You are a rather attractive mare, so I do not think a marriage would be so onerous.” Twilight felt the blush bloom in her cheeks. No stallion had ever called her pretty before, except her father and brother, and that did not really count. “As for myself, yes, I am a griffin of course, but my people do count me as somewhat handsome.” He ruffled out his wings for her benefit. She knew from study that that was part of a courtship ritual; pegasi did something similar, according to Rainbow Dash. Ironwing’s span was triple that of any pegasi Twilight had ever seen. She had to admit that he was not hard on the eyes. There was something exotic about him, like the smell of juniper or a spicy radish sandwich. Twilight realized abruptly that she had to steady herself. Her vision swam for a moment. Her heart was thudding in her chest, and it was not just from shock at Ironwing’s sudden offer. Ironwing got up and stepped closer. He was the same size as Celestia, and much more muscular. Twilight felt her mouth go dry, and it was once more getting hard to breathe. Ironwing leaned in and, without warning, licked her muzzle. An electric shock went from Twilight’s horn to her rear hooves, and her wings decided at that point to unfurl themselves. Ironwing saw it and gave a low, laughing growl. “Our children would be beautiful, Twilight.” “C-children…?” “Of course. Ponies and griffin can breed. It’s not easy, but it's certainly possible.” He nuzzled her neck, and Twilight swallowed nervously. “But if friendship is magic, then love should be even more so, yes?” Now he was preening her mane. She felt the undeniable urge to do the same. “What do you say, Twilight Sparkle?” Twilight could barely think. She wanted to say yes, not just to marriage, but to everything. Ironwing was awakening thoughts and desires she did not know she had. Twilight was a young mare, but she was no filly; she knew what mating was and all it entailed. She did not just want to marry Ironwing, she wanted him to take her, now, on the floor if necessary. Ironwing sensed it, picked her up, and carried her towards the bed. “I’ll take that as a yes, then.” “No…n-no…” Twilight struggled futilely as she felt her back touch the soft bedsheets. She couldn’t stop this, she didn’t want to stop this. Celestia would understand, wouldn’t she? “Celestia…” “Celestia doesn’t rule here, Twilight.” He smiled down at her, his eyes glowing. “Her magic is not more powerful than this. Our children shall be more powerful than even her.” Yes, it was magical, Twilight had to admit, but as Ironwing bent down to kiss at her again, that single word—magic—was what made her half-lidded eyes suddenly fly open as wide as they could. “Magic,” she said. “Yes, it is,” Ironwing confirmed. “Stop it.” Her voice firmed up and she reached out her hooves, placing them against Ironwing’s broad chest. “Stop this.” He laughed softly. “Trust me, Twilight, you will enjoy this.” His kissing became more intimate. “No!” Twilight shouted. She gathered her hooves under her and kicked as hard as she could. It was a kick Applejack would be proud of: Ironwing, taken by surprise, was thrown across the room. He got his paws and talons down and skidded to a halt, rolling up the carpet. Twilight dropped to the floor and got to her hooves. “I said no, Ironwing.” “You weren’t saying no a moment ago,” he hissed. “I didn’t realize you were using magic a moment ago either.” Twilight shook her head free of the magical cobwebs. “You cast a spell, Ironwing. You fogged up my mind, made it so I couldn’t think.” Ironwing spat. “The sages call that lust, my little pony. You want me as much as I want you.” “No. You made me want you. Maybe you think that’s the same as actually wanting to love a pony, but it’s not!” Twilight gritted her teeth. The magic he used had been powerful; three years ago, she would’ve easily been seduced—but that was before Discord, Nightmare Moon, Sombra, and the Elements of Harmony. That was before she had friends. “You don’t want me, Ironwing. You want what I represent. You want Equestria.” “And what if I do?” Ironwing worked a kink out of his wings, ruffled them again, but this time Twilight saw it for what it was, a rather pathetic attempt at impressing her. “Yes, I used magic, because you ponies won’t see sense. What is wrong with wanting to rule the greatest kingdom this world has ever seen?” “For what purpose, Ironwing?” Twilight held up a hoof. “Don’t tell me. I saw it in your face a moment ago, on the bed. You want power. You didn’t care about my feelings. You didn’t care about me. You wanted to prove how powerful you were.” It was her turn to fix him with a stare. “I don’t know if your spies told you about this, but not too long ago I went to a different world—a different dimension. I ran into a pony there who wanted the same thing. It didn’t end well for her, Ironwing. Marrying me would unite the two kingdoms, but then you’d use the united armies to conquer everything. And even that wouldn’t be enough. You’d go to this other dimension, with these humans, and try to conquer them too.” Ironwing listened to her, brushing his neck feathers with a claw. When she finished, he walked over to her. “And why not?” he asked venomously. “Why does Celestia rule, Twilight?” “Because she’s fair, honest—“ “Wrong!” Ironwing exclaimed. “Because she’s powerful. If it’s an alicorn’s destiny to rule, Twilight, then why not Luna? Why not Cadance? Why not you? I’ll tell you. Because the three of you don’t want power. Celestia does. She’s just good at lying about it, to herself and to you.” He drew himself up to his full height. “I’m not afraid to admit it, Twilight. Yes, I want power. Because it’s what powerful beings do. We rule.” He tapped her horn with a claw. “That is what I’m inviting you to do. Rule.” “No,” she said simply. Ironwing let out a splutter of frustration. “I am inviting you to help preside over a united realm the likes of which the world—any world—has ever known! This is an invitation that hundreds, thousands of ponies and griffins would kill for!” “Then ask them. I’m not interested, Ironwing. I’m sorry,” she added by way of politeness, although Twilight wasn’t in the least sorry. For a moment, she wondered if she had pushed too far. Ironwing’s eyes were aglow again, but this time it was with rage. He raised a razor-taloned paw and bared his fanged teeth. Twilight made herself look at him. I’ve faced ursa minors, I’ve faced Nightmare Moon, I’ve faced King Sombra—heck, I’ve faced the avatar of chaos itself. I’m not afraid of you, Emperor Ironwing. The claws were poised: one downward slash would probably decapitate her. “Go ahead,” Twilight heard herself say. She was not afraid, not at all, which surprised her a little. “Kill me and you’ll find out just how powerful Celestia and Equestria really are.” The claws shook with suppressed rage, then slowly lowered to the ground. Twilight watched Ironwing master himself. “I don’t understand,” he said, in a more gentle voice than Twilight could imagine. “Why don’t you want the power? Why don’t you want me?” Twilight thought about it. “Because the power would consume us, Ironwing. It would never be enough. There would always have to be more. We’d drown the world in blood.” For just a moment, it seemed her words had hit true. He looked contrite…but it only lasted a moment. “You’re wrong,” he growled. “You’re wrong, Twilight Sparkle. You will look back on this night and wished you’d given yourself to me.” He stalked towards the door. Over his shoulder, he said, “Tell Luna to meet me at the abandoned hotel at the edge of the forest, on the northern outskirts of Flankfurt. I want to finish this charade, once and for all.” “If you kill Luna—“ “I am well aware of what will happen,” Ironwing snapped. “And perhaps I want that, Twilight. Celestia’s old in the hoof. I am young. My forces are better trained and better prepared, and we don’t have to shake off the rust of a thousand years, or the softness of living in a place like Ponyville. We would win a war.” “For what?” Ironwing scowled back at her. “You’re a fool.” Then he actually looked away, and from his body language, Twilight could see that he was embarrassed. “I apologize for that, Twilight Sparkle. You are no fool.” He half-turned, held out a paw. “It doesn’t have to be this way, Twilight. Please. Marry me.” The offer was genuine. She felt no pull of magic, no exotic smells. Twilight closed her eyes, then looked back at Ironwing. She had a very Rainbow Dash thought. “Go buck yourself.” Ironwing snorted. He pushed open the door and slammed it shut, then stormed down the hallway. The guards there were slumped in sleep; a spell had taken care of them, but Twilight Sparkle it seemed was made of sterner stuff. He smiled. He liked the alicorn. Females far and wide succumbed to him, because of lust, because of his power, because of his looks, because of his reputation. None had ever insulted him to his face. He loved it. Maybe he loved her. “One day, Twilight Sparkle,” he laughed to himself. “One day, I will have you.”