Rarity let out a sighing breath, looking over her handiwork with an eye for any unanticipated complications. The crystal envelope was a stretched teardrop enclosing the blurred forms held within. Behind the facets of their container Vinyl and Octavia slumbered, though slumber wasn’t perhaps the best definition for their status. Held in a profound form of healing stasis, their entwined bodies rotated weightlessly, casting little scintillations of light off the facets of their prison.
The devil gave a short huff at her own morbid turn of thought. Prison indeed! Still, there were few more effective ways to contain a pony. And sadly, Vinyl was in need of some modest amount of containment right now. The state of the poor Dj’s lover had further unhinged her, never in her wildest imagination had she thought anyone would ever take Octavia’s music from her. The nightmarish realization had broken the last bulwark against her hate.
Rarity gave a little shiver, she had been keeping a gentle touch on both their minds when she had reunited them, and the wave of agonized hate, of revulsion that had rolled off the unicorn had turned the devils short lived sense of victory to ashes in her mouth. Vinyl had broken, crying, screaming mutely, unable to be comforted, though her lover had tried, until Rarity had at last brought an end to their shared misery and given them sleep.
And now she gazed at the conundrum before her, Two damaged, shattered halves of a whole that must be repaired. Biting her lip as she pondered the hows. Vinyl’s physical injuries were fresh, and the stasis would heal them with nary a scar to show their existence. Octavia’s physical wounds… weren’t so easy. They were old, long healed and scarred wounds, left to heal twisted and warped on purpose. Probing the injuries showed the residue of unicorn magic. Some sadistic fucker had broken her hooves with telekinesis, had used manipulation magic to bring agony to her, and all but crushed her cannon and long pastern bones into powder.
Octavia seemed emotionally the stronger of the two, but that wasn’t saying much. Yet seeing her hold the distraught unicorn to her barrel, heedless of her own hideous deformities, caring only for easing her loves pain… Rarity blinked suddenly, damn the dust in here! Octavia must be made whole… and that presented challenges. The damage was such that conventional treatments wouldn’t work very well, and half measures were NOT useful here. It would take powerful transformation magic to correct those flaws now.
Healing her injuries would hopefully quell some of Vinyl’s agony, make it tractable to reason. Unicorns were such fragile things, and yet could wield such magical might. Sensitive hearts and vulnerable minds, blessed with the power of the cosmos, and nothing to challenge their primacy of it…
Nothing to humble them when necessary, to teach them the folly of their excesses…
Nothing to put them.. in… their place.
A fierce fanged smile split the devilish fashionista’s muzzle...
Ideeeeeeeeea!
********************************
Celestia sighed, her breakfast had long since been consumed, barely tasted, though her belly appreciated the sustenance. As it turned out, her chain was just long enough for her to sit comfortably in her favorite chair next to the window. There she sat, eyes gazing out at her city, the city that would all too soon be hers no longer.
There was a twinge, a definite twinge to the thought. She had been here when it was built, and now, watching it fall to demons from tartarus, she wondered if she was watching it die. And she was powerless to stop it. More powerless than just the loss of her magic accounted for if she was honest with herself. Who wanted her here? The unicorns had wrested the City of Unicorns from her, banished her into her own Sun, and turned her beautiful crown city into a sprawling, pollution choked hellhole that served only to house and propagate more such ill equipped souls. Their vision was short, and it wouldn’t have been much longer before the city had been rendered unlivable by their ‘progress’.
And that was all before the population counts included DEMONS!
Celestia closed her eyes, blotting out the sight of the ailing-in-so-many-ways sprawl of city, and took a short, calming breath. For what possible reason was she here? Demons might have many uses for one such as herself, though corruption was so difficult as to be virtually impossible for alico- her thoughts ground to a halt, eyes going glassy with tears. Had she forgotten so quickly? The two leading this invasion had been alicorns once. Minor Alicorns certainly, not the solar and lunar goddesses, but alicorns… the first new ones in millennia. Both of her hopes for a glorious future of her kind had been torn from the paths set for them, and now were twisted into parodies of themselves. Cadance the depraved Archdemon of Lust. And her poor, beautiful, dearest in her heart… her Twilight… now the Archdevil of Power. Love and Magic had been taken from Equestria, and twisted and coarsened into mockeries of their purity.
She gritted her teeth until they squeaked as they ground together, trying to fight the pain, t-the rage that welled up in her heart. Th-those u-unicorns! She wanted their heads, and their hearts! She wanted to burn them to ash atom by atom and then crush the remains into a gem to adorn her neck. Those blighted, base born, jumped up b-bastards who had called themselves Nobles while ripping apart the very meaning for the word in the process. Celestia wrapped her forelegs around her belly, curling into her chair as a whimper of pain escaped the clench of her tormented teeth.
No.
No.
P-pull it b-back. Find you c-center. B-be at peace.
She forced herself to draw in a ragged breath, then another. Blowing them out in a long, slow exhalation, she tried to purge the anger, the pain, t-the hatred, into that shaky breath. Slowly she drew in another long breath, focussing on keeping this one steady and even. There is no need for anger, it will only cloud your thoughts. Let that breath out, trying to keep it equally slow and even, a difficult enough goal with her body shaking as it was. She dragged another deep, lung expanding breath into her barrel. There is no hatred, it will only betray you in thought and deed.
Another long slow exhalation.
You are the bright light of the world.
You are above such base urges.
You are a beacon to which all life will be drawn.
You are to be an example of what pure hearts can attain.
She drew in a soft, easy breath.
Breathed out a slow, steady exhale.
You are the Alicorn of the Sun.
You-
Her ear twitched as she heard the click of the door, a soft, easy smile slipping over her countenance as she turned towards the sound.
-have a visitor!
The sky blue pegasus that entered the room was not whom she had most hoped to see, but she was a clear second if the moment she had seen with Twilight before Cadance had taken her away was anything to go by.
“Hello Rainbow Dash, can I help you?” She was pleased that she had calmed herself enough to respond so smoothly.
Only to be surprised by the piercing eyes and small frown which the pegasus wore only three paces into the room. Without a word Rainbow lifted a hind leg and swiftly closed the door behind her. Clicking it gently closed before proceeding further into the room, her eyes never leaving Celestia’s.
The alicorn swallowed incrementally, confused at her behaviour, blinking as she heard the audible deep inhalation through the mare’s nose. The connection becoming clear in a blinding insight as she automatically lifted her horn to cast a cleansing cantrip, only to have an audible pop of emerald light draw a yelp from her and making her rub at her forehead to dispel the sensation.
Right… suppressor. Which means…
She looked back into Rainbows eyes, seeing certainty there.
… oh dear.
“Who are you angry at? Is it us? If so, tell me, so we can work it out.”
“W-what?” Celestia blinked, trying to collect some of her fractured poise from the suppressor zap.
“Don’t play dumb, please. I can smell the rage in here. It was like licking a spearpoint the moment I walked in the room. Anger, pain, loss… You get to know the scent of emotions in Tartarus. I’ve smelled them all, coming off myself and from each and every one of my friends. So I damn well know what they smell like.” Dash paced a little bit, her head low, hackles lifted. The sight of a borderline threat display from the pegasus brought the metallic tang of fear to Celestia’s mouth. “And I’d hazard a guess that little jolt of yours was an unthinking attempt to clear the air before I was sure of what my nose was telling me.”
Celestia swallowed again, blinking her eyes rapidly, unable to hold Rainbow’s gaze and finally breaking contact to look away.
“It’s not for you.” She whispered finally. The admission grated its way out of her mouth, her teeth clicking shut behind it as if desiring to catch its tail and drag it back.
“Well, that’s nice. Doesn’t answer my first question, does it? I asked, ‘Who are you angry at’?”
The sharp, brittle quality of Rainbow’s voice told Celestia that she wasn’t going to let this go.
“T-the Nobles.” She felt the sick feeling in her stomach, the emotions she had just purged being fed by voicing that hated name. “F-for what they did to you. To me… Luna.. m-my city.” She bit back any more, clenching down on the growing void moving from her belly into her chest. Eyes shut tightly as she forced it back down. There is no anger. There is no hatred.
No anger.
No hatred.
To then feel a pair of strong forelegs wrap around her. To feel a pair of wings enfold her as a gentle forehoof brought her head to a warm shoulder.
It was as if time stopped. Her breath frozen in her throat.
“Don’t hide it.”
Her breath sucked in as a hiss of fear, tensing within the comforting embrace.
No anger.No hate.No anger.No hate.No anger.No hate.No anger.No hate.
“Hiding it only hurts you.”
No anger!No hate!No anger!No hate!No anger!No hate!No anger!No hate!
Those arms tightening around her rail stiff body.
“Cadance did this very same thing, you know.”
No Ang-
“W-what?”
********************************
Twilight gave a soft sigh, enjoying the near boneless relaxation she was achieving. Before now she had hurt too much in body to permit such rest, but her recent… acquisitions... had done much to speed the healing of her physical injuries. The burning pain running through her horns and through the back of her mind was a different matter, but easier to attend to with her body at long last ceasing its complaints.
She smiled softly at Fleetfoot shifted, tucking her muzzle against Twilight’s flank and murmuring in her sleep. The larger devil was hemmed in by slumbering pegasi, a delicious experience. Pegasi were such tactile creatures, the brush of a nose, a wing, the curl of a foreleg to pull closer. A simple, uncomplicated yet deeply restful interlude. Dash had always been a clingy sleeper, and Twilight found it satisfying and comforting to be nestled to by so many dear pets now.
The sense in the bed changed abruptly as the door creaked slowly open. Several sets of glowing purple eyes winking open in the near darkness to home in on the sound, and the creature who made it.
Rarity made no move to enter the room, though her smile only broadened at the baleful scrutiny she was under. “ Ahem, if you all would prefer it to, say… ripping my limb from limb… I have come to check on our mistress.” She responded with playful condescension, keeping her voice light. By the looks of it, all four of the pegasi were quite deep in their post corruption fugues, most likely they barely understood her words, focussing more on tone in their addled state.
Twilight chuckled softly, feeling a certain thrill at finding herself shielded from view by several broad now-functional wings, aggressive pegasus bodies interposed between her and the door with barely a second's warning of an intruder. The display of such loyalty from her darlings, and so soon after their own torments ended! It brought a certain giddy joy to her heart. Her gaze falling on the youngest of her… protectors.
Scootaloo wasn’t part of her shielding bulwark, but was crouched low, undersized wings flared, body coiled for a springing pounce that was altogether not an equine tactic, even amongst the pegasi. Had Twilight not seen Dash assume a similar posture hundreds of times, she’d have been surprised to see the young pegasus coiled to kill were it necessary. Her scrutiny drew Scootaloo’s attention, soft purple eyes shifting to gaze at her mistress. Yet she did not leave her whipcord pose, even as her eyes queried Twilight’s wishes. the glimmer of real, returning intelligence in them speaking volumes for the young pegasus’ development.
“Mmmhmmmhmmm, relax everyone, I doubt Rarity is here to stick a knife in me.” Twilight clapped her hooves together and the tension in the room melted as four tense pegasi slowly relaxed. Wings furling, postures going from aggression to cautious. Four pegasi deftly rearranging to flank their mistress instead of shield her. Twilight extending a wing to wrap about Scoots, dropping a warm kiss on the blushing filly’s head as she cuddled her close.
“Heeeee. Oh my how very apropos… in point of fact, I am looking to stick something in you.. but definitely not for nefarious reasons… well.. not nefarious against you at least, Darling.” Rarity chuckled, displaying the glass syringe with its glittering steel needle. Holding it out in her magic for the benefit of all as she approached the bed. With a space cleared, she hopped lightly onto the bed, to settle comfortably before the lounging Archdevil. “First things first though…” She murmured brightly, setting the syringe aside, her blue magical field reaching out to brush Twilight’s horns gently, a weak flare of purple washing out to bat the blue field away. “Ahhhh, not so shaky as before… and a good deal twitchier!”
********************************
Celestia felt shock replace the acid feeling in her belly. Shock and a perverse curiosity for offered knowledge of what Cadance suffered.
Dash gently released her, giving her shoulder a comforting stroke before settling to her haunches before the Solar Monarch (deposed). “Yeah, when we first got to Tartarus. We were scattered at first. The banishment was all wonky because of what Cadance did to the Archmage while he was banishing us. He was trying to send us to Wrath. Instead we ended up flying sideways over Lust. Too fast to fly, to try to even slow our descent.”
The pegasus eyes were glazed, almost sightless as she continued, her story perhaps more eagerly received than she knew. “We lost AJ first… spun out of our grip, thrown down into the outskirts of Asphodel, the jungles. We kept a better grip on Pinkie and Fluttershy, but they were torn out of our hooves by the winds. I almost went after Fluttershy, but Rarity pushed me and Twilight into Cadance and f-flung herself after them.”
Dash’s eyes widened, glossy with tears at an ancient memory of impotence. “Cadance wrapped us both in her wings, clutching us to her chest. She was whispering something to Twilight. I couldn’t hear much, I was screaming too loud for her to let me go. So I could go save our friends… then we hit the bluffs.”
Celestia winced, able to conjecture how fast they would have been travelling with a misguided banishment spell propelling them across the skies.
“I woke up later, with Twilight and Cadance standing over me. Twilight was wearing an invisibility enchantment, but had keyed it to let us see her faintly. I wouldn’t find out why until much, much later. Cadance had decided that Twilight was our delicate package for our stay in Tartarus. If we kept her free, and the demons unaware she was there, she might have a chance to get us out.”
The words were pouring out of Rainbow Dash now, no urging needed to get her to continue. It was as if reliving the memory had to happen in its entirety. She could not stop, lost in the telling.
“It took us weeks to gather everyone but AJ. Her trail went cold and we couldn’t find it again. All through that time Cadance shielded us from what threats she could. She’d been to Tartarus once, with you I think she said, a very short visit, but one in which you imparted much knowledge of the shattered realms of the underworld. So of course we followed her orders.”
“Sometimes she forced us to run and hide and wait for her to come find us. We didn’t learn until later how many of those times had her facing threats she could not overcome. How many times she was beaten, broken, more often than not raped by sadistic demons. How many times her prolonged absences were from having to piece herself back together, over and over and over again….”
Celestia felt her eyes pricking again, but she could not bring herself to interrupt the whisper soft voice of the pegasus as she spoke. Eyes far away, Rainbow Dash was lost in memories of some of the darkest days of her life. Before with a blink she trailed off and came back to the now, eyes sharpening as she gazed up into Celestia’s.
“She kept us safe, and ignorant, for as long as she could. She never explained to us what corruption was or how it worked. As time passed she became more and more withdrawn, less and less talkative. Told us she was just tired, which she obviously had every right to be. It wasn’t until the night she woke in a lust fugue and tried to rape Twilight that we learned the truth.”
Celestia’s heart stopped in her chest at those chill words. Her mouth falling open, lips working as she tried to say something… anything to dispel the import of that single statement.
“Oh she came to herself and stopped before anything happened, but seeing her like that, we would no longer accept her soothing, easy lies. The questions became a debate, that escalated into an argument. Finally she broke down, hemmed in by ponies who wanted answers she was refusing to give. She explained everything. How slim a chance there was that we could escape. How Tartarus changes those who end up there still in a physical body. How her repeated battles regardless of whether victorious or not were accelerating her decline.”
Celestia found her hoof pressed to her mouth, the urge to sob resisted by main strength alone.
Oh my dear Cadance, to be so strong in that terrible place…
“She was trying to hold onto her mind, she didn’t care what happened to her body, her goal was to remain sane. And it was now clear she was losing that fight. She wouldn’t be able to stay with us much longer, before it would happen again, and she might not be able to stop herself.”
Dash took a slow breath, letting it out in a sharp huff, giving her head a shake to try and clear the memory of the emotions surrounding that night.
“It was Pinkie Pie that took her off to another cave that night. Over the next week the rest of us took our share of the burden. Everyone but Twilight. Even me. Oh Twilight wasn’t my mistress then of course. She was my best friend… and we always hovered on the edge of being more for each other. But she understood. She was our lifeline, and if the rest of us bedding Cadance kept her sane... We all knew it was a worthwhile sacrifice.”
A soft whimper drew her attention, and Celestia realized with a wrench that it was coming from her. “H-how did any of you stay y-yourselves in that hellish place?” She wheezed, rubbing at her tearstained cheeks irritably. “Many have found their way into Tartarus, and all that I know of were devoured by that awful realm. And yet here you sit, apparently still yourself… h-how?”
Dash rose to her feet, lifting her head to be snoot to snoot with the Solar Alicorn. “Oh, none of us are quite what we were before. Me? I became a slave to Twilight. Her pet.” The proud fanged grin that crossed her face at that term was both like Dash and yet not. “I sacrificed a lot in there… we all did. But we also had each other. First as friends, later as lovers. Sometimes you have to cling to someone else and let yourself fall apart. And accept help in picking up the pieces. Not easy for me, or Cadance. Though I think Rarity and Twilight had it worse when their times came. But they knew the value of the group by that point, and in their own ways they gave themselves into our hooves, trusting that we wouldn’t let them shatter.”
They held each other together… and were shaped by each others hooves. Their environment alone did not have its way with them…
The thought was stunning. In the end, was it really so simple a solution as friendship to stay the timeless decay of the infernal regions?
“My point with telling you this is simple. We never knew our true strength until we set aside those pleasant well intentioned little falsehoods we set between ourselves and the rest. Cadance was the first to start discarding them. I had to learn the lesson more harshly. In the end we stopped filtering our thoughts, screening out the impulses we were ashamed of. Sometimes those subtle cues were all we had to help someone through a breakdown. We all lost our sense of false modesty, even Rarity, bless her raunchy little heart. We were what we were, and one and all we accepted each other.”
“Oh, Twilight was surprised I still had this after all this time.” The pegasus gently pulled a battered, worn journal from under one wing, offering it to Celestia. The alicorn took it gingerly, it looked ancient. The cover had once been grey, she thought, now it was browned at the edges and faded where it creased. But embossed in the center of the cover was the worn imprint of Twilight’s cutie mark. Even as her eyes widened she felt Dash reach up and poke at her horn, or more precisely, the vicious little ring at it’s base. Even as she started from the unexpected prod, she felt a strange tingle washing down her spine, and grunted a bit in surprise. “There, can’t turn it down much, but that should give you some telekinesis if you focus.”
Celestia drew breath to speak, only to have Dash’s hoof silence her with a soft touch against her lips. “This was Twilight’s journal, from maybe day two in Tartarus until her fight with the Archdevil of Power. I think we’re all hoping it helps you see our side of things a little better.” The alicorns gaze dropped to the now doubly precious object resting in her hooves.
Rainbow Dash gave a short, cleansing sigh. “Well, that was way more of a lecture than I wanted to have when I came in here. You’re way smarter than me, so I’m sure you’ve heard these things before now.” With a little shake that roused all of her feathers and fur and left her looking for a split second like the most soft, adorable pony Celestia had ever seen, she turned towards the door, her sleekness returning. “Got tons still to do today, so I’ll come back and check on you when I can. I’m to see Luna next, boy has she been giving the staff a hard time!”
“Wait!” Celestia cried out, shrinking in on herself a bit at the force of her voice as Dash turned to look at her, one eyebrow arched in amused query. “Umm.. H-how is Twilight? I mean.. for real? Is she okay?” The last word came out in a squeak that would have done Fluttershy proud and Celestia felt her cheeks heating up at it.
The stony look that crossed Dash’s face made her fear the worst, before the pegasus relaxed a little, honest fatigue in her eyes.
“She’ll live. She burned out a lot of her thamaturgical pathways doing what she did. We’re keeping her comfortable, and as entertained as we can… but, well.. you know Twilight.. I have to sit on her to remind her *not* to do magic. So she’s a terrible patient when it comes to recovery.”
Somehow, hearing those descriptions from Dash painted a more optimistic impression than all of Honey Dew’s more cheerful positivism could. Twilight was badly wounded, but well enough to be a difficult patient. She couldn’t stop the relieved smile that cross her lips, a knot of pain deep in her guts coming loose just a little.
“Thank you, Rainbow Dash… I.. I appreciate knowing she’s improving. Please, let her know I want to see her when she’s better. I think we have a lot to talk about.”
The pegasus came to a smarmy stiff attention, knocking her forehead with one forehoof in a snarky little salute. “You got it Princess. Oops. I mean Celestia.” She replied with a saucy wink, turning and trotting out of the room. Her final comment echoing into the room as the door closed behind her. “Dayum that’s a fine plot!”
Celestia froze up at that parting shot. One eye twitching alarmingly for a moment before her cheeks spontaneously combusted.
********************************
Applebloom awoke with a faint groan bubbling from deep within her chest- followed by an equally deep growl from her stomach. Her body felt drained. Sucked dry, even. Peering blearily down at herself, she was… laying on a little hill? Surrounded by trees and bushes… huh. Applebloom shifted experimentally and was surprised to find that her wounds were gone. Even her old scars from applebucking, faded away. Her fur was shining richly in the bright sunlight, and the bone-deep soreness from the ragged labor every day for the past few years was gone. She was just so damned hungry!
“G’mornin’, Applebloom.”
No way.
Recent, fuzzy memories began to burn into the forefront of the mare’s mind, even as a deeply familiar scent washed over her senses, immediately bringing tears to Applebloom’s eyes. Tawny-colored, powerful legs wrapped around her barrel and crushed her into the fluffy chest of another pony. One Applebloom had been sure was lost to her forever. Peeking up slowly, Applebloom stared up in awe at the glimmering green eyes of her big sister, a soft, almost-teasing smile on the elder pony.
She couldn’t speak. There had been so much Applebloom had been wanting to say… to yell at AJ for leaving her without a word. For indirectly causing Big Mac to get taken to jail, for Applebloom getting yanked from her home… To beg her forgiveness for those thoughts immediately after. To plead with her sister to never, ever leave again. Applebloom’s heart strained with a flurry of emotions she could scarcely comprehend, and she opened her mouth to say… something!
Only for a thick, juicy fruit to be stuffed inside, and for AJ’s hoof to force her jaw closed on it. The crisp crackling crunch the fruit made between her teeth was like apples from her foalhood; not like the fruit of the last five years, wizened and soft even freshly picked. Juice filled Applebloom’s mouth in an instant, and a muffled moan bubbled out immediately, some of the juice dribbling down her muzzle. It tasted exactly like the family cider! The hard stuff too, the kind Big Mac had let her try once at a family reunion. She swallowed down the “meat” of the fruit, panting faintly.
“A-appleja- mmph!”
Again, a fruit was stuffed into Applebloom’s mouth, and she let out a slightly indignant squeak. Dangit AJ! She was trying to talk things out! But… mmph, damnit the fruit was good. Rolling her eyes, Applebloom carefully chewed and swallowed the fruit, smiling faintly after a moment at the heat blooming in her chest. Her muscles, for the first time in ages, were truly relaxing. She didn't protest the third, or fourth odd fruit stuffed into her maw and simply ate them immediately. A soft blush rising over her cheeks, Applebloom nuzzled her way closer to Applejack’s chest, giving a small whine.
Her whole world smelled and tasted of apples. Apples from her foalhood, sweet and crisp, blushing reds and buttery yellows, melting on her tongue, fresh and canned, pies and fritters... It all swept over her in a rush, bringing tears to her eyes. It was like coming home. Closing her eyes for a moment, Applebloom basked in the sensations, a wide, goofy smile on her muzzle before she again bit down into one of the strange fruits. She tucked her muzzle into Applejack’s fluffy chest, taking in a slow breath. For many long minutes, she just relaxed, content to rest against her sister, one of her sibling’s forelegs clutched around her back.
“One more, AB,” Applejack whispered quietly, a little smile on her muzzle as Applebloom peeked up at her and the strange little fruit in her hoof.
Somewhere in the back of her muddled mind, Applebloom knew that… something with her sister, that there was something off in her eyes, in the wide, almost predatory smile. Still… Stretching up, Applebloom bit into half of the fruit, eyes widening faintly as Applejack closed the distance in a flash, biting through the other half. Juice drenched lips brushed over each other, and Applebloom couldn’t help but shudder as she swallowed the fruit. She should… definitely move… Somewhat stunned at her own thoughts, old memories rose up in her mind. Summers and summers ago, long days and sleepovers in the clubhouse. Staring up at a blushing Scootaloo as the two practiced kissing. One special night with Rumble, the year-older colt smiling shyly as he kissed at Applebloom, their hooves entwined. The feeling of his lips on her own…
With a soft mmph, she lunged lightly forward, mashing her lips to Applejack’s, shivering. A soft chuckle bubbled out of Applejack’s muzzle, and a hoof softly stroked down the younger mare’s cheek. Clumsily, Applebloom’s tongue traced at Applejack’s lips, and was eagerly received, the older mare’s tongue playfully wrestling with Applebloom’s. Her mouth tasted like the strange apples they had been eating. The feel of soft lips, of closeness and comfort drowned out the little voice in her head that was shrieking at her to stop.
Gently pushing at Applejack’s chest, Applebloom rolled the grinning, compliant mare onto her back, suckling gently at her tongue and running her hooves against her chest fluff. Her mind was a whirlwind, soft whimpers working out every few moments.
“I missed you s-so much,” she whispered huskily, darting back to kiss Applejack’s still-grinning lips, “I...I…”
Darkness swam at the edges of the young mare’s vision, and she slowly reached up to cup Applejack’s cheek. Tears blurred what was left of her eyesight. A blush slowly filled her cheeks, a strange clarity coming over her thoughts as she stared at Applejack… and realized just who she was kissing with such fervency. Her own sister...
Slowly she pulled back, gasping for breath. Applejack let her withdraw, though the smiling apricot pony didn’t let her go completely… Applebloom gave her muzzy head a gentle shake, trying to clear the bleariness from her eyes. Some crazy part of her annoyed that she’d stopped the make out session just as it was getting good.
“W-wanna… go home,” she murmured, breath hitching as her legs gave out, her body flopping out atop Applejack’s as with a shudder, she sank once more into sleep. Applejack’s forelegs squeezing the slumbering pony tightly, her lower half dispersed into vines digging into the slope beneath her. The dryad chuckled softly to herself, licking her lips, enjoying the taste of her sister upon them. That was incredibly hot… having Applebloom making out with her like that. She bit her lower lip and resisted the urge to enjoy her further. Mmmmh, no, she’d wait for her to wake up before their fun continued.
********************************
It took the better part of an hour for the magical exam to conclude. The final assessment having Rarity sweating in an unladylike fashion, her slim white horns bound between Twilights larger rack as she gritted her teeth and hissed in discomfort. Purple energy roaring around her as Twilight, fangs equally bared, grunted at the resistance the paler devil was providing. Twilight held the contest for a moment longer, before easing back and dipping her head to unbind the fashionista's horns from hers.
“Oh… huh...huff… n-not as ragged as I expected. O-oh dear… just let me catch my… breath.” Rarity flopped to the bed, barrel heaving as she waited for the room to decide to stop spinning. Very soon, and she would again be unable to provide a meaningful challenge to the Archdevil’s might. That in itself was a fine indicator of Twilight’s recovery, and both of them were intimately aware of the gulf between their powers.
It took a certain amount of trust for Rarity to ‘plug herself in’ to the Archdevil circuit… one overstrong pulse and she would burn spectacularly in demonic fires she had no hope of withstanding. It spoke to the intimacy of their long relationship, that neither of them held a moment's concern for that outcome anymore.
Twilight studied the panting devil, giving her a moment to recover. “Rarity.”
“M-mistress?” The response came immediately, and without hesitation.
“Are you in control, Rarity?” Her query delivered in the cool, firm voice that reminded Rarity that some assessments were far less pleasant than others. Her ears tucking flat to her head as she lowered her eyes to rest on her forehooves.
“I am, Mistress. Have I caused you to d-doubt?”
“Your behaviour at the mansion, your coercion of the guards there, those are dangerous decisions. You’ve taken risks, and I must be sure.” Rarity closed her eyes and gulped, trying not to hear the chill in the voice of her mistress, the soft, but implicit threat that she knew even now lingered in those eyes.
“I-I had no time… I needed the distraction… it was done hastily, yes. B-but I took no chance beyond t-the gaze. J-just the one use, and then spreading that to the rest who submitted. I was in control the w-whole time, Mistress.” She gritted her teeth, aware only as they fell of the tears running down her cheeks. “I-if it had been different, I would tell you Mistress.”
“Rarity.”
“Y-yes, M-mistress?”
“Look at me.”
Rarity bit her lip, lifting her gaze to meet Twilight’s, knowing what she would find. The slitted orbs blazing with arcane power, her muscles freezing… unable to look away, unable to do anything but let out a tiny sob, tears continuing to drip down her cheeks.
And then the power flowed into her, washing out of those remorseless eyes to drown her. Had she command of her body, she would have screamed.
Several stunned and confused pegasus huddled together on the other side of the bed, purple light washing over them in intensifying waves as the white devil spasmed in a grasp she could not fight.
Rarity came to herself sobbing, snorting raggedly against a purple furred neck. It felt like someone had taken her eyes out, rolled them in glass, and stuffed them into their sockets backwards. A soft hiccup escaped her and she felt strong forelegs clutch her even closer. Her own forelegs wrapped around Twilight’s barrel as she struggled to recover.
“You know I had to check.” Soft lips moving in her mane, the points of delicate fangs brushing her ear, drawing a shiver from her, a tender reminder of other embraces shared, helping to ease the harshness of this one.
“Y-yes… mistress.” she managed, through lips that felt stuffed with cotton. “I… ahem… I think n-now is probably the best time to discuss another sensitive matter.”
“Oh? As in, your previous request to give me a poke?” The archdevil teased the still shaking devil gently, keeping her pressed close, until the tremors eased as they always did.
“Mmmmph… c-considering what I just went through… you might not want to trust me with a needle just yet.” The pale devil huffed, and clung tighter to her mistress, burying her face against that warm neck, feeling the fur draw the last tears of pain from her cheeks. Twilight’s warm, understanding chuckle was accompanied by a tender kiss against Rarity’s horn bases.
“Tell me then, what you need my blood for.”
********************************
The dungeons of Canterlot Castle were labyrinthine. And they were full. They had been expanded twice, new sections of the caverns under the castle converted into additional stone and bars housing for prisoners, malcontents, those not important enough or strategic enough to be useful anywhere else. And the dungeons were full, had been full for nearly 6 years.
With the change of authority, demons had begun wading through the masses of chained and jailed ponies. Determining their crimes and whether there was somewhere, anywhere else that they could serve their sentences. It was a daunting, incredibly slow process. Because the cells were full, and had been for years.
They hadn’t yet made it to the black level. And from what little they knew, they could take their time with that one. Steel reinforced doors painted black on every cramped stone cell. It was the final home for the worst of the worst. Murderers, rapists, those who were gleeful in the performance of hideous crimes. Crimes that even death seemed a pitiful balance to. Once a day a guard brought buckets of slop to feed them, ignoring the howls and jeers and cackles of his charges.
He preferred the quiet ones. Like cell 37. The tiny slot opening, letting him dump the fetid muck in his pail into the trough. And not a peep from the occupant beyond the shifting of a heavy chain telling him he or she was still alive. He didn’t know any of the specific crimes of those who were buried here so far from the light and forgotten, nor did he really care to know. Being a black level inmate was analogous to being forgotten, and for good sane reasons.
Sliding the slot shut, he moved to the next one, a mad babbler. Ignoring the insane jabber directed at him as he mechanically performed the actions he repeated at each and every cell before he could lock the door and forget these wretches for another day.
Behind him, prisoner 37 turned vacant eyes on the disgusting slop that had been her meals for… however long she had been in here. One lost track of time, down here in the dark. In any case, she wasn’t hungry at the moment. She returned to gazing at the floor about six inches in front of her filthy forehooves, unshorn fetlocks, cracked and uneven hooves. Ratty and matted mane and tail. She was a wreck of a mare, who in better times would have likely contemplated death if reduced to such a state.
But now there was nothing to bother her about her appearance as she gazed through the matted curtain of once blueish silver mane. Dull violet eyes gazing vacantly at the floor before her.
“Light the horn, build the charge, think of sparks and cheers. Let the magic flow, Whistler’s Shimmering Rocket Po-nnngh!” The suppressor on her horn did what it was meant to do, what it was made to do. It bled the magic out of the spell, letting a residual amount of the power feedback in proportion to the charge being produced. A warning to not try to cast magic with it in place. “Light the horn, build the charge, think of sparks and cheers. Let the magic flow, Whistler’s Shimmering Rocket Po-ngh!”
Again the spell fizzled, and the mare began to rock slowly side to side. “Light the horn, build the charge, think of sparks and cheers. Let the magic flow, Whistler’s Shimmering Rocket Po-nrgh! Th-thank y-you mares and g-gentlestallions… I’ll.. I’ll be here all night… L-light the horn, build the charge, think of sparks and cheers. Let the m-magic flow, Whistler’s Shimmering Rocket Po-hngh! D-don’t be alarmed… i-it’s all part of the act.”
Her swaying increased, eyes falling half closed, seeing something else all around her. The crowds, the smiles, the bright eyes of foals.. “Light the horn, build the charge, think of sparks and cheers. Let the magic flow, Whistler’s Shimmering Rocket Po-ugh!” A single spark from the feedback dropping before her face, momentarily lighting it before winking out, the dim light shining on filthy, tear stained cheeks. “T-the Great and P-powerful Trixie.. w-will show y-you things beyond.. I-imagination.” She hissed out softly, breath hitching in her throat..
“Light the horn, build the charge, think of sparks and cheers. Let the magic flow, Whistler’s Shimmering Rocket Po-nnngh!”
“L-light the horn, build the charge, think of sparks and cheers. Let the magic flow, Whistler’s Shimmering Rocket Po-nnngh!”
“Light the horn, build the ch-charge, think of sparks and ch-cheers. Let the magic flow…”