"Wake up!"
The whispered order is accompanied by my body jerking upwards without any input from my brain. Opening my eyes proves to be a bad idea, because it only allows dark spots dancing in front of me to make me sick again. Thankfully, somepony must have taken my helmet off, as I am now breathing heavily, messy and sweaty brown mane glued to my muzzle.
"Blrbl- urk!" I smell of vomit. Putting a hoof to my mouth to keep at least something of my long-forgotten breakfast inside me only serves to put me off balance. My slow fall to the side is stopped by an invisible grasp of magic. I barely have enough strength to raise my head up to see a black horn casting soft, pink glow reflecting off my armor.
The horn belongs to an alicorn mare of black coat, not the darkness of refined ink, but the kind of black of clothes washed too many times. Still, black is black, even if slightly shabby. The portrait of a bad fairy tale villain is enforced even further by a pair of glowing red eyes with slit pupils of a batpony, and both mane and tail bearing a darker shade of the same. She is a little smaller than princesses Luna or Twilight, which means just two heads taller than me, but where the moon princess is slim and the archmage slightly chubby, this alicorn could easily pass for a well-trained guardsmare. Her cutie mark makes me gulp. On the first glance it looks like a red rose with detailed black lines of the blossom, the real liquid dripping down the "petals" assures me that it is no flower, and that the delicate insides are what I've longed for and never gotten most of my life.
It is quite clear that she is the one holding me up.
I don't know how long I was out, but a quick look around shows Bastion shaking the remains of the mess I made out of my helmet, so it can't have been more than a minute. My heavily protesting body agrees.
"Sorry," I croak, barely able to make a sound. It really is a lovely helmet.
Sadly, said "quick look around" forces another, much slower look around followed by Discord-grade confusion and disbelief.
Ponies and Corrupted are around, either mating, cuddling, or generally chilling out. Granted, even the most innocent gestures like a pair of stallions, one corrupted and one pegasus, holding hooves nearby are accompanied by the black one's raging hard-on and the pegasus' rock-stiff wingboner. Still, while the living ponies look like they are in a dream, they don't present any characteristics of oncoming corruption, and the Corrupted, some buried balls-deep in their pony counterparts don't seem overly keen on spreading their curse. A cuddling mare and a stallion, both completely normal, are spooning each other while chuckling at Bastion's attempts at cleaning the piece of armor.
Aaah yes, the final little detail my mind tried to delay as long as ponily possible.
The entire large cavern's circumference is made of dragon. A weird expression, but the giant, winged lizard is coiled around to fit inside comfortably without bothering anypony. He is the only non-Corrupted who bears clear signs of the taint, but not to any major extent. His golden scales are covered with veins of darkness, he looks curious and amused, however, not wild.
"Ya awake?" I hear the alicorn mare ask, voice slightly screechy and playful.
Oh yes, along with the batpony eyes, she also has membranous wings. One couldn't look more over-the-top if they tried. Although, working among Nightguards for so long, I recognize the harmonics of her voice as true, and not as if somepony just tried to look bat-ish.
"Good," her tone grows deeper, "I love new blood to play with."
Now that I can focus a little more, her voice makes me shiver and pant as my whole body reacts to the hidden message of being drenched in sweat and drowning in sweet agony of endless rutting. I move towards her like a zombie, fatigue forgotten and tongue lolling out.
Bastions's quiet growling makes no difference to me. I need her.
My unbidden telekinesis unbuckling each piece of my armor while I walk answers to my instincts rather than mind, and I can feel the growth between my hind legs. She is the mare of my wettest dreams, the one who could use me... use me... and use me... over and over like a living sex toy... robbed of any will... just serving for her pleasure.
"Will you introduce me to your Hex Guard mates?"
"I like you more as a friend."
"Thanks for the drink, but I really have to go."
"You need to be at least THIS tall to get on my ride, if you know what I mean."
"With you? Not on your life."
"Keep dreaming, loser."
And what then?
She's an alicorn, for stars' sake! She won't even feel me inside her if we try anything. What can I do, eat her out for hours? Then she'll get bored with me like every mare ever. I don't even want sex! I am a unicorn, I have magic to touch myself in a way other ponies can't... I just don't want to be alone.
I don't need a goddess who could make the entire world drool. I just want some pervy mare to cuddle with and experiment from time to time...
The memory of me falling asleep on Mana Burn's shoulder surfaces, and I breathe out a sad and slow sigh.
...and it doesn't even have to be a mare.
All desire and lust evaporate under the crushing weight of the knowledge that I betrayed everything my parents might have wanted by having a normal foal. Thank stars none of them got to live to see their son realize he is into both mares and stallions, but feels more comfortable about a colt.
"Anything stupid enough to want to stay with me would be fine..." I whisper to myself and sniffle.
As the grasp of telekinesis around me fades, I look up again to see I am not the only one about to cry. The alicorn is standing with her mouth open and eyes glowing, all that while shaking slightly at the sight of me.
"Not that my stupid wish matters," I mutter under my breath and curse my moment of weakness. It was easier to deal with this in the silence of the library. Now, however, surrounded by others, it comes down like a hammer, "Not even a Corrupted would touch me willingly."
"Ha... hahahah... haha," the alicorn starts laughing, but it feels like despair given physical form, "I am really shit at my job, aren't I, Vert?"
"You leave a lot to be desired, indeed," the gold dragon rumbles in answer, corners of his mouth curling up, "However, each one of us bears heavy and painful memories."
The alicorn leans down to me sitting down and feeling sorry for myself.
"You remind me of a... good friend. Do you know what he needed?" she puts a hoof under my chin and makes me look upwards, "A good rutting!"
I look at my crotch, still ready to go despite me not feeling like it in the slightest.
"Do you really want something like this, ma'am?" I am below average, that is all there is to say.
"I think I can find a better... partner for you," her horn flashes brightly, making shadows dance all around the cavern, "BASTION, GIVE IN TO YOUR DESIRE!"
I am grabbed, roughly pushed down, and entered from behind. Tears streak down my eyes from the pain of being stretched like never before. I can barely breathe with one muscular leg tightly wrapped around my neck, and Bastion's teeth are biting the back of my neck so hard I gasp in agony. I am just a sleeve for the Corrupted, something to be filled. It doesn't take long for me to push back against his thrusts, and turn my head to start sucking his three tentacle-tongues wriggling down my throat. I couldn't be happier.
So... this is what I was missing. Somepony truly wants me.
Corruption be damned, pain be damned, this is worth it!
Waves of heat fill me from behind and the front, choking me as I try to gulp down everything Bastion releases. Surviving the tide without drowning seems to take forever, but just a while later I am once again lying on the carpet, strong legs and wings wrapping me in a tight cocoon with Bastion gripping my neck with his teeth.
I should fall asleep, spent after a day of complete stupidity. My head, however, decides that this is a good time to finally start thinking. Maybe it is the lightened load of no more self-loathing or worries. I found somepony who wants me, and it won't take long before I am a crazy beast locked in eternal submission to him. I feel lighter than ever before...
...and there still is a me who can feel all this.
My mind is working just fine, better than ever, actually.
"Hmmmm," I examine what I can, careful not to unwrap myself from Bastion's tight hug. Nothing has changed, and the only signs of corruption are what I suffered after meeting the Breeder.
"Grwrrr..." Bastion grumbles at my movement.
"Oh shush," I can't help smiling to myself.
"I feel like this is a good time to talk," the alicorn mare sits nearby, giving me a good look at her wide and toned rump, "How about it?"
"Anything, ma'am. Can I ask something first, though?" she nods, "How did you know I was... weird?"
"You mean bisexual with heavy preference for stallions?" this time I nod shyly, "I can see into the darkest wishes of ponies, and your inner self screamed for help."
"Thank you, ma'am."
"Forget the titles, my name is Joy, the giant but cuddly gold dragon is Vertradict, and the ponies are the Cult of Lust, my little fanclub. The Corrupted get here from time to time too, but they have no real power here, so I let them and the ponies mingle. None of them really want to leave. How about ya?"
"Bound Tome, ma- miss Joy," my curiosity goes through the roof, "If you don't mind me saying, I thought the only alicorns were princesses Luna and Twilight Sparkle. Queen Chrysalis comes close, but she doesn't count."
She scowls at the mention of princess Luna.
"I am the alicorn of Lust and Desire. There should be several more of us, but aside from your 'princesses' we don't appear in public much. Especially these days, what with most ponies being long gone."
"How come there aren't more ponies asking for refuge, this close to Canterlot? Or, you know, Corrupted trying to transform them. The old city is completely lost to us."
Her pointing hoof encircles the cavern.
"This place isn't real. It takes the location of an empty cavern on top of Canterlot mountain, but is a pocket dimension with fewer entrances. The two of ya got shot through one of them."
A little dimension where rules are as its owner wants them to be, a feat of magic not even the legendary Starswirl the Bearded could perform. It must be something to do with the inherent power of an alicorn. As I stare around in wonder and amazment, Joy continues:
"Speaking of which, why were ya pretending to be a shot bullet?"
"You don't know what is going on in Canterlot?"
"Not really, Luna can go eat a shit biscuit for all I care. She took what mattered to me, so why should I give a damn when her world falls apart?" she stares at me defiantly. Strangely, I can feel she is trying to persuade herself more than anything.
I recount what has happened to me on this bad, very, very bad day. Sadly, Joy says she can neither decipher the journal for me nor get me to Ponyville.
"I know very little about complex magic, I just have a lot of power," she says, "You probably know more than I do."
"Heh," I smile bitterly, "I doubt I know anything that would impress and alicorn."
She leans to my ears, and rips one with her sharp fang. A shiver of pleasure mixes with the pain as I relive a second of the "roughhousing with Bastion" memory.
"Even the tiniest bit of love for oneself goes a long way," she whispers, "Trust me, I knew a pony who believed the same things you do."
"Ehm," Vertradict coughs, waking up several of the sleeping ponies, "If Luna is still resisting, we might offer assistance. Ponies losing another one of their ancient leaders would-"
"No," Joy says icily, "She brought this on herself. She could have moved to Ponyville colony, or whatever it is, and worked from there. Instead, she put hundreds of ponies into mortal danger by not pulling her head out of her stretched anus and pretending that Equestria still exists!"
Mentioning ponies in danger makes me shove Bastion's legs and wings aside, and groggily stand up, levitating all the bits of the plate armor I took off before.
"What are ya doing?" Joy raises an eyebrow.
"If I can't save princess Luna, then I need to get the journal to Ponyville. The Canterlot Queen and her hive are crazy strong, and the book is supposed to have some clue to dealing with organized Corrupted. They might be marching down the Ponyville tunnel already," I poke the purple, snoring Protector, "Bastion, up for some more running?"
"I believe saving Luna would be the wisest-" the gold dragon starts.
"VERT!" Joy barks at him.
"Joy... I believe I know you fairly well, and I know that by refusing a request for help you are hurting yourself rather than vindicating. I am going, whether you want it or not."
"So..." Joy hisses, "I'm going to lose another close one due to her."
"No, this time you can be there yourself to help, a chance you did not have then. Do you really hate the princess's past deeds, or is the issue within your own inability to stop her."
I'm not sure who would win the fight between a gold dragon and an alicorn, but Joy's murderous glare tells me I might have a chance to find out soon.
Head, solutions, now!
Finished with putting my armor back on, I bow to Joy.
"I want to thank you for giving us sanctuary for a while, miss Joy, and I won't ask you to help the princess you so clearly hold a grudge against," a big mouth bites my neck playfully, "And I think Bastion thanks you as well."
Joy lets out a frustrated screech, and then growls at Vertradict:
"FINE... but only because a world of Corrupted would be boring beyond belief."
"Of course," Vertradict snickers, "Of course."
Never, EVER, would I expect to fly down the Canterlot mountain on a dragon's back alongside a Corrupted Protector and the alicorn of Lust, no matter the last one's annoyed grumbling.
It is a bumpy ride to say the least, though. Tendrils of flytraps shoot from the ground over and over in attempts to entangle Vertradict and drag him down. The dragon, however, seems adept at burning them with his breath before they can reach. Joy is busy shooting down those which temporarily succeed.
The gates of the castle are in shattered pieces, all protective magic drained away from the lower floors. Most of the Corrupted still have to be inside, but the wild ones inhabiting the wide castle courtyard first rush to us, and then quickly run away after a burst of Vertradict's flames turns a couple of them into charred lumps.
A howl comes from the inside, and I know the main horde will be coming soon.
"Princess Luna was being held in the throne room," I tell Joy.
"Then let me lure the army onto myself," Vert smiles, "I need a good exercise after the years of lounging around."
"Just be ready to come when I call," Joy pats one of his claws, "This can turn ugly fast."
We briefly spot the Corrupted streaming out of the main gate towards the dragon. We are crawling through the bushes under the first floor windows, however, and they don't go looking for us as they have enough of their own problems.
Joy leads the way, reassuring me again that she had to be around Canterlot castle for quite some time. Sneaking so close to one another, my muzzle is inches from her behind. She is doing that on purpose. I know it, and she knows that I know. A wet breath reaching MY behind tells me Bastion doesn't like me ogling the alicorn too much.
Bastion breaks the window I point at, and we jump inside. Luna is sitting in a meditating pose, blue flames of her barrier separating her from the Queen and the four Corruptors who have to be her bodyguards. Our entrance doesn't go unnoticed by both the Corrupted and princess Luna, whose eyes go wide with shock...
...and her divine shield fades as her concentration breaks.
The Queen's front splits again to engulf the princess. Bastion moves so fast that chunks of the floor shoot off his legs, and charges at her. Three alicorn-like Corruptors wrap him mid-run with tentacles coming from the floor, and surround him. I can't get to the princess in the armor fast enough.
I don't have to.
A see-through image of Nightguard armor appears on Joy's body, twin blades come out of each of her horseshoes, and she teleports between the Queen and Luna.
"Miss Dar-" Luna breathes out, still obviously not believing the situation.
"It's Joy now... Luna. Try not to fuck up again, you've taken far too much from me already."
Sadly, I can't listen anymore. The last Corruptor decides to have fun with me, and I doubt even this armor can protect me from his teeth, talons, acid, and tentacles. Too bad I can't use magic now that he considers me a danger. A brief moment of focusing my power is all it would take for a threatened Corruptor to part with a bit of his power to inflict horn rot on me. All I can do is dodge his blows, barely and only so often, survive, and occupy his attention.
The familiar drain of magic followed by pleasant shiver coming down my horn makes me drop on the floor and roll away, expecting to be a target of horn rot.
It's not me, however, but Joy.
The enraged Queen's black spit lands on Joy's head. The alicorn's eyes roll back, a squirt of liquid splashes on the floor behind her, and she screams in all-consuming ecstasy.
Aaaand now her horn is going to melt, she's going to go crazy, and the Queen will have a control over a corrupted alicorn.
"Huh?" I roll poorly, and the Corruptor kicks me towards the others.
"Trying to break the alicorn of Lust with pleasure? Ya gotta try waaaaaay harder, girl," Joy cackles like a madpony.
Bastion roars as tentacles of three Corruptors spear him from all sides. He doesn't relent in returning blows, though.
The Queen snarls, spitting black goo everywhere as Joy punches her, leaving two deep quickly-healing scars in the liquid-like face.
I notice something Joy must have overlooked. While the Queen seems to need a little time to recover from using the anti-mage disease, she is nowhere exhausted enough to prevent her from doing it again. This time on Luna, though, who is still recovering from her loss of concentration. Then she will have an alicorn to either command or devour for sure, and we will all become black milkshakes.
Intelligence is something allowing us to go against instinct. Horn rot is an instinctive defense against big concentrations of magic.
I am a unicorn.
"SHIELD YOUR EYES!" I scream.
The Queen turns her head to me just as I set off a magical flare, completely non-lethal, but filled with all magic I have left to be as bright as possible. The Queen's plans go up in flames as her body works against her to get rid of me in the best way it can.
Recoiling as her spit hits my forehead, I hope that two uses of horn rot will weaken the Queen enough to be destroyed.
That is my last coherent thought before all nerves in my body light up with paralyzing agony mixed with pleasure, and my magic melts my horn along with all control I have. My armor clanks on the floor again.
It is not enough.
Joy is kicking the Queen's ass, but Luna is too weak, and Bastion cannot handle three Corruptors for much longer, especially after the one toying with me joins in.
"VERTRADICT!" Joy suddenly screams, raises her horseshoe blade, and slits her throat.
Joy's blood floats unnaturally through the air, forming a barrier of red mist around her and Luna, and the wound closes.
"It seems that all alicorns of Lust have high affinity for dark magic," Luna chuckles weakly.
Bloody tendrils drag me and Bastion inside the barrier just as the gold dragon presses his big mouth against the nearest window.
"With pleasure," the dragon rumbles and takes a deep breath.
The fiery inferno turns the room of white marble into black conflagration of cracking masonry and melting golden decorations. The bushes outside turn into ash heaps in seconds. The Queen's scream is cut off with all oxygen around being burned away.
I lie there in the black pool of goo - the only remains of my unicorn pride. Princess Luna's hoof closes my eyes.
Voices, headache, leg-ache, everything-ache.
"Ouch..." I open my eyes, which is accompanied by several sets of hoofsteps coming closer.
"Now, that is quite the sight," says a voice I recognize as Nightshade's, making me turn my head.
This white, soft, and comfortable place has to be the Ponyville infirmary. Either that, or the afterlife is a definite upgrade from normal life. Princess Luna is lying on the next bed, waving at me weakly.
"She wanted to stay in the same room to see if you... when you wake up," Nightshade explains, "I think you impressed her quite a lot."
The Queen of Ponyville hive is accompanied by Chilly. A deep grumbled "Hmph!" nearby brings my attention to a statuesque Protector standing on watch by my bedside.
Wait, I knew he was there all the time. That's why I didn't go grasping for him in panic.
Bastion?
He looks at me and salutes.
"Having more minds in one head takes a bit of getting used to," Nightshade smiles at me, "But I think that if somepony can manage then it is you."
"So... thirsty..." I croak, throat feeling as if swallowing sandpaper.
Luckily, there is a glass of water on the bedside table, so I levitate-
"Damn..." I curse, recalling I am not a unicorn anymore, just basically a weak earthpony.
Umm... why is everypony staring at me?
The desired glass of water is being held by black tendrils coming from a nearby wall. Ignoring the pain in my everything, I slap my forehead, hitting a horn. The mirror on the wall shows... a shiny, black protrusion coming from my forehead.
I stare.
The tentacles bring me my glass.
I stare harder.
"We..." Nightshade starts, stops, and just shrugs, "You know what? No freaking clue. As far as we know, this has never happened before."
"The journal?" I ask about the final thing.
"Princess Twilight is taking a look at it, and when princess Luna recovers, they will start deciphering it."
"Can I... Can I go back to being in the library?" I return to the only stable point of my existence.
"We are retaking Canterlot castle and the grounds around it. The Hex Guard can now do it, since Nightshade's hive is keeping Ponyville safe-ish instead. When the order is restored, then I see no reason why not," princess Luna's weak and tired voice makes me sorry for making her talk, "I see you have your own library guard now."
Bastion chuckles.
Nightshare walks around him, and then turns to Luna.
"Are you sure you know him?"
"I remember all thestrals under my wing, Nightshade, just as you know your Corrupted. I patrol their dreams and fight against their fears while they sleep. He might have changed, but general Bastion was my stalwart Nightguard during my sister Celestia's campaign against Corrupted. He was... one of my best, if not the best. All I wonder about is how he got to Canterlot."
"Then, will you allow me to look into his mind?"
"Don't ask me," the princess smiles.
Nightshade turns to me.
Are you okay with it, Bastion?
A slight feeling of worry drowned by a great sense of duty flows through me. I nod to Nightshade.
Her eyes go wide, smile growing on her muzzle.
"Back when you still knew little about the Corrupted and did not let semi-corrupted ponies to live with the others, he was not allowed to return to Canterlot. He survived out there for years on his own, with his final duty as the light protecting him from turning into a wild beast, and when Canterlot fell he got inside through one of the secret tunnels. Nightguards chased him off, and he didn't want to hurt them, so he retreated... and eventually forgot anything outside of him being tasked to protect Canterlot and the journal," Nightshade bows deeply to Luna, "Your Highness, we in the Hex Guard don't joke in vain about your batponies being 'batshit insane' fanatics, but this... I bow to you for raising and training the best of the best."
For some reason, Luna looks at me and says:
"I know."
Silly princess.