> Emperor Spike
>  by Deergenerate
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Prologue: Emperor Spike and His Favored Pets
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Crystal Empire had gone through many changes in the past couple months, perhaps the largest of these was the rather new inclusion of a massive statue of Spike which dwarfed the Crystal Palace. 

Garble stared at the statue from a balcony of said palace with a smile on his face. Who'd of thought that the squirt would actually be the greatest leader the dragons ever saw? Garble personally liked to pin that on him being a good teacher. Or well, maybe Spike was just naturally that good, and Garble was a setting off point or something. Admittedly, one of Spike's first orders was to have all the other teenage dragons beat the crap out of him.

'Eh, I deserved it.' Garble thought to himself as he turned around a marched towards the door to Spike's new throne room.

He found himself passing a series of statues which only added to his pride at Spike. Lining the hall, were the petrified and frozen forms of the Elements of Harmony, the Prince and Princesses of Equestria, and Discord the Spirit of Chaos, each of them stared forwards with looks of betrayal and fear, which Garble found objectively hilarious. Shows them right.

Garble threw open the throne room doors when he arrived at them, and marched forwards, his head held low until he practically at the foot of the throne. "My Dragonlord, I bring word from the front, the Changeling Hive is on the verge of surrender. Upon their surrender, every inch of this world will be under our control."

Garble raised his head to stare at his Lord. Sitting on the Throne was Emperor Spike, who was now larger than Garble by several feet. It was almost staggering how quickly Spike had grown in fact. Adding to his new rather intimidating appearance was a suit of black armor and glowing green eyes, with red pupils. Even now those things caused Garble to shiver.

To his left was Ember. The former princess was lying on her side in a rather sexy looking see-through outfit, her arms curled around one of Spike's legs, and a smug smile on her face. 

To Spike's right was a rather new addition to the Empire, the chitinous black form of the changeling known as Thorax, who dutifully and obediently kneeled next to the throne, his hands in his lap and his head held low. He wore a very similar outfit.

"Excellent news Garble." Spike darkly spoke. The Emperor brought his gauntleted hand over to Thorax's head and rubbed along the changeling's head fin, which caused the Changeling to lovingly coo. "Thorax's information has proved incredibly useful has it not?"

"Indeed my Emperor. The beast you found has proved instrumental in our campaign against Chrysalis." Garble said rising up and clasping a fist in front of his chest.

The Emperor's glowing eyes narrowed darkly in response. "Insult my pet again Garble, and I will take your hand off."

Garble instinctively flinched in response. He had seen Spike do that before, and much worse. "M-my apologies, my Emperor. I have just been fighting Changelings so long and-"

"Enough with your impudence Garble. Begone. I need to relieve myself of all the pent up aggression you have given me." Spike spoke simply as he continued stroking the back of his favored coltservant's head.

"O-Of course my lord." Garble said as he quickly stood up with another bow, and left the room.

Spike gave a deep sigh as he sank in to his throne.

"Why do you keep that idiot around my Emperor?" Ember said with a coy smile as she pulled herself up. 

Spike rolled his eyes. "Watch yourself Ember."

"Maybe I don't want to?" Ember said as she stood up next to the throne and brought her face closer to his. 

"Y-you shouldn't stand on the same level as the Emperor. I-it's not proper of a slave." Thorax bashfully said as he raised his head slightly.

"Oh come on now Thorax, lighten up." Ember said as she sat down on the Throne's armrest and wrapped an arm around Spike's shoulder. "So long as we don't misbehave in public, Spike won't lay a hand on us. Isn't that right Spikey-Wikey." 

Spike sighed and shook his head. "Maybe I should start doing that. You are way to loose these days."

"Hey, you wouldn't be wearing that crown if it weren't for me, so maybe I should get a little compensation every now and then." Ember whispered into Spike's ear. "It's been too many weeks since the Emperor shared his almighty scepter with his needy slaves if you ask me."

Spike shuddered slightly in response to her words. Even after casting down Equestria and defeating Discord and the Princesses in combat, Ember's words still made him quake. She was right however. He hadn't enjoyed the pleasures of his slaves in a while. In fact, he hadn't even used Thorax yet. That was a wrong he needed fixed stat.

The Dragon Lord smiled to himself and stood up from his throne. "You are very right Ember. You too have been getting the raw end of the stick recently haven't you."

Spike turned and began to walk towards a side door, leading to his personal chambers. "Ember, Thorax, Come along please." 

Ember smirked as she went after her king while Thorax nervously stood up and followed with his head submissively pointed downwards. 

Spike threw the doors open revealing a dimly lit room with a large velvet and silk bed in the center, large enough to fit all three of them comfortably, with room to spare. Spike very quickly removed his armor and pulled himself onto the center of the bed, getting comfortable before spreading his legs so that his servants may ogle at his rapidly hardening pillar of draconic flesh. A full 8 Inches base to top, clearly one of the largest tools the draconic race had at their disposal.

Ember wasted no time in crawling up onto the bed a going to work in-between his legs, her tongue lulling out as she closed in. The blue dragon ran her tongue along the bottom of the king's rod, base to tip in a repeating movement which earned a smirk from the king as he brought his arms behind his head. 

Thorax was much more hesitant as he stared down at his lord. Spike had for the past few weeks provided him with plenty of love in the form of his affectionate words and pats, but he had never done something like this before, certainly. Soon enough however, the love and lust the two dragons were radiating drew the changeling in like a moth to flame. 

The male slave crawled next to Ember, his forked tongue joining hers in pleasuring their shared love. Spike smiled down at his two most loyal servants and admired their faces, Ember's stoic and salacious, staring up at him with flirtatious eyes, while Thorax seemed to be in heaven, his face glazed over as he enjoyed the taste of his master.

Emperor Spike brought his hands forwards and cupped his two most loyal follower's chins. Ember kept the same smug look on her face and locked eyes with him while Thorax obediently leaned into Spike's hand and lovingly rubbed himself against it. Spike loved them, as they were responsible for what he was now. 

Ember, who was responsible for his rise to power and was his closest confidant, and Thorax who saved his life and gave him the means to crush what remained of the world's opposition. He treasured them, because that is what they were. Treasures. 

"So, which one of you would like to enjoy me first?" Spike asked shaking his hips a tad. 

Thorax, ever the timid and obedient pet, nervously tensed up, allowing Ember to practically push him aside. "Me first!" She shouted as she pulled her self up and hovered over Spike's twitching and slickened manhood. 

Spike smiled up at her as she went about slowly impaling herself onto the king's rod. 

"Gnnn." Ember grunted slightly placing her hands on Spike's scaled chest. "Y-your so much bigger than last time!"

"Last time Twilight stunted my growth." Spike said as he brought a hand to either side of Ember's hips. 

"I-I noticed!" Ember said before she yelped as Spike forced her down, taking in the King's entire length in one big go.

"Aw, don't be like that. Is the big strong Ember struggling with my little prince?" Spike taunted as he rubbed his hands up, cupping her abdomen's sensitive sides. "Here I was thinking you were tough~" 

"Give me time to adjust you dick!" Ember grunted back, which she instantly regretted when Spike delivered a firm disciplinary spank on her posterior. 

Ember barely had time to react before Spike grabbed her sides and harshly thrusted forwards, burying himself further into her. The former dragon princess threw her head back and practically screamed in pure ecstasy, her tongue lulling out. 

Then he pulled back, and did it again, and again and again. He slowly picked up the tempo with each thrust and movement, until Ember was but useless putty in his claws. It was a struggle for her to even hold herself up on his chest, and not simply collapse on top of him. 

"Come now Ember! Behave like a good pet and don't make me do all the work myself!" Spike growled as he slowed down a bit, giving her the incentive to put in a little work.

Ember wasted no time in weakly grinding her hips as she rode the King's scepter, finding herself unable to do much more in her bliss and ecstasy. Spike smiled up at her before he noticed Thorax out of the corner of his eye. The poor little changeling was staring at the two of them, shaking. 

It was, like the changeling, adorable. 

"Thorax. Come here please." Spike said with a small smile on his face as he continued to ravage Ember.

Thorax stared at his lord quietly before gulping and approaching slowly. Spike smiled as his pet pulled himself closer and sat down next to him. His slave had stripped allowing Spike to get a wonderful view of his plaything's member, not ever half as long as his own. 

"Adorable." The Dragon lord said before he ripped his hand from Ember and grabbed Thorax. The changeling let out a week 'Meep!' before Spike forced him on top of him. The Emperor's long forked tongue dove inside of his plaything's back door, causing the changeling to let out a long, drawn out moan as his lord played with his sensitive interior.

Thorax and Ember locked eyes with each other, their faces mirroring their unending pleasure. Both of their eyes glazed, their tongue's lulling out and their mouths drooling.

Thorax, being a virgin in the hands of his lord, was the first to clench up and arc his back. "M-Master!" He cried as his smaller prick twitched before shooting white rope after white rope onto Spike's chest. 

Spike let go of the changeling, and Thorax limply slid forwards onto the Emperor's muscled chest, too tired to even move.

Spike smiled at his weaker pet before with one final thrust his hips quivered as he emptied his load into his other pet's inner wall. Ember clamped down around him as she let out a scream, smoke shooting from her nostrils as she was driven to orgasm by her master's spunk. 

"Excellent work my pets." Spike said as Ember weakly pulled herself off of him and collapsed to his side. "We may have to work on your endurance Thorax, and Ember, you most definitely need to work on tending to me before yourself."

"Y-yes master." They both weakly repeated back in unison.

Spike stood up, Thorax weakly falling to the side next to Ember. "I need to clean the mess you made Thorax, then I will be back for round two. Please keep each other entertained while I am gone."

Ember seemed to instantly revitalize at that order for some reason. She almost instantly wrapped her arms around the weaker changeling causing him to squeak. The dragon started shamelessly fellating the changeling who squirmed in response. 

Wrapping her thighs around the changeling's head, she forced his snout against her lower lips. Thorax only needed one whiff to notice the enticing smell of both Ember and Spike's cum before he dove his tongue inside her almost ravenously.

Spike smiled at his 69ing slaves before glancing over to the corner to the petrified form of Rarity, a previous crush of his. He chuckled at the statue, forced to forever watch as Spike enjoyed his toys in the future, and turned to walk out of the room.

"All hail me." He darkly stated.
> Chapter 1: Broken Mirrors and Bad Luck
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Twilight was positively giddy today, and for good reason! Today she was finally going to follow in the footsteps of the single greatest magician to ever live, Starswirl the Bearded, and create her own magic portal to another universe.

She had wanted to do something like this since the first day she had been to the Human World, but her studies on how to do this had always come up short, mostly because she alone never had the magical power to punch through the fabric of reality. Now though, her apprentice Starlight Glimmer had just enough ability after saving Equestria from the changelings, that the two of them would be able to do it. Easily in fact!

While Celestia, Luna, and Cadance were always too busy to help her, Starlight was more than willing to chip even. She was even stoked about it!

The two had went out and bought a mirror earlier that day, and were now waiting eagerly while Spike set it up.

"Are you almost done with it Spike?" Twilight excitedly exclaimed, prancing in place. Spike gave a deep sigh.

"I'm almost done with it." Spike said, annoyance in his voice as he screwed the final strut into the mirror's sand and with a deep grunt pushed the heavy mirror back, standing it up. "You know, it would have been a lot quicker and easier if you just used your levitation or something to do it."

"Yeah we know." Starlight said with a roll of her eyes, "but as we already explained, we don't want to leave any residual magic on it." 

"Otherwise it could explode." Twilight explained.

"Or create a blackhole." Starlight continued.

"Or punch a hole so deep in the fabric of reality that it could destroy the multiverse!" Twilight shouted, her hands coming to the sides of her head. Spike and Starlight were quiet for a couple moments.

"I'm uhhh… Not so sure about that last one." Starlight replied quietly.

"Yeah, now that I think about it, that was a bit of an overreaction," Twilight replied with a blush.

Starlight chuckled at her Alicorn friend/mentor, "You ready?"

"Yes ma'am." Twilight replied as the two turned to the mirror and charged their horns. With narrowed eyes, the two of them enveloped the mirror with a shared energy, cerulean and violet energies dancing with each other on the surface of the mirror.

"Are you ready for this?" Twilight asked, locking eyes with her student.

"Are you kidding? I haven't been this ready for anything since me and Trixie were about to fu-" Starlight shouted before twilight cleared her throat and gestured to Spike, who was sitting in the corner of the room watching them.

"Fuuuund a charity event?" Starlight slowly corrected herself.

"You can just say fuck. It's not like I haven't heard of it before." Spike rolled his eyes.

"Yes, but you are still a baby dragon." Twilight said back to him in a scolding manner.

"I'm eighteen. That is legally an adult in Equestria." Spike grunted back.

"Not in Dragon years."

"Yeah, with them I'd be a teen, I am the same age as Ember." 

"Then uhh… Why are you so short?" Starlight interjected.

"Ix-nay on the ort-shay." Twilight replied in a panic.

Spike harrumphed and crossed his arms over his chest, looking away from them and deeply frowning.

"Sorry." Starlight replied as Twilight sighed. 

"Let's get back to the experiment." Twilight exclaimed before she closed her eyes and focused on the spell, Starlight joining in. 

The two collectively fired a laser at the mirror, which joined in the aura they had collectively wrapped it in. Spike saw the two start to visibly sweat as the mirror slightly lifted off the ground and rattle, shaking so violently that the reflections within blurred. 

No one noticed the screw Spike put in shake loose. 

A flash of energy shot out of the mirror and bathed the room in light, before dimming down and allowing a rainbow of colors to flash across the polished glass of the mirror and settle back to a reflection. 

"D... Did it work?" Starlight asked. Twilight smiled back to her. 

"Only one way to find out." Twilight said as the two set it down. Just then, the stand of the mirror snapped off and it tumbled backwards. Twilight and Starlight, in a panic fumbled the levitation spell to catch it, and it fell onto it's back.

The mirror cracked, and for a moment nothing happened. Then a whirlwind of energy shot out of it and into the air. Spike managed to grab onto a bookshelf, but Starlight and Twilight had nothing to hold onto in the middle of the room.

They both screamed, before they lost their footing and were drawn in by the mirror's magical suction. The votex died down as soon as they entered, dropping books, furniture and Spike to the ground. The dragon pulled himself up and looked down at the shattered mirror.

"Twilight?"





The very first thing both of them felt, was dirt. Coarse, rough and irritating dirt. Starlight was the first to rouse herself into action. She slowly pulled herself up and opened her eyes to find she was in Our Town, but it was strangely different. All of the buildings were decorated with green and purple banners next to their front doors, and the street was strangely absent of people.

Twilight grunted and pulled herself up soon after and glanced around as well. "Where are we? What happened?" She asked Starlight.

"No idea." Replied the Unicorn. She was suddenly silenced when she heard the unsheathing of a sword behind her. They both turned around to see a massing of ponies in purple armor and green mohawks gathered behind them.

Standing at the front of them was a large dark grey dragon with two white horns, who lowered a sword, the tip pointed towards Twilight's face.

"On your feet." The dragon hissed. 





Spike threw open the doors to his chamber after a rather quick wipe down to clean himself off. Sure enough, Ember and Thorax were still in the middle of toying with each other.

Spike always liked letting his slaves play with each other. It was good for bonding, and exercise. It also let his pets form a mood of healthy competition. Seeing which one of them were better at pleasing Spike, for instance. 

Spike cleared his throat and the two separated slightly, staring up at their Emperor with needy eyes, arms still firmly wrapped around each other.

"Ember, would you be a dear and help me with breaking our favorite Changeling in? The poor boy hasn't been yet introduced to the wonder's of his Emperor's scepter has he?" Spike asked as he stood at the side of the bed. 

A fire burst into Ember's eyes and a smile graced her beautiful and perfect face. She turned to stare at the other slave, his shining compact eyes cutely stared at both of them sheepishly, as he let out that cute whimper, the one only he could produce. It simply melted their hearts every time he did it. 

Ember wasted no time in tightening her grip around the changeling and realigning him so he was on his back perpendicular to Spike who still stood at the side of the bed. 

Spike bent down slowly, putting a hand on either side of Thorax's face as he drew him in for a loving kiss. Thorax would have wrapped his arms around Spike's midriff, if Ember were not pinning them above his head.

Slowly, Spike separated himself from Thorax. While he pulled back into a standing pose, the Emperor ran his hands down the sides of the Changeling's abdomen, admiring his exotic and girlish body, and smiling at all the squirms he gave.  

It was said that in the olden days, before Celestia banned all the fun things like slavery, harems and sentient pets, that pony nobles would often use Changeling sex slaves as status symbols. They were right to do that of course. Changelings were hard to catch and even harder to break. It was only right that Spike followed in their footsteps now that he was creating a perfect society.

Spike really lucked out when he got his hands on Thorax. Or well, Spike really lucked out when Thorax caught him and painstakingly dragged the larger heavier drake when he slipped over the edge of that ravine wall back when they first met. Otherwise his reign would have met a very sudden and nasty end. 

Curse not having wings. He would need to ask Ember when they were supposed to come in. Spike was a really late bloomer thanks to Twilight.

Spike arrived at Thorax's hooves as he finished that thought. The Emperor gripped them and slowly, teasingly raised them up and spread them, giving him access to his pets virgin hole. Spike obviously took the liberty of lubing up before coming back in, he wasn't a monster! (At least not totally.) 

"Don't worry. You're going to love this so much. I promise." Ember whispered tenderly to Thorax as she took one of his hands into hers. Thorax tightly gripped her hand as he shook, staring down at the absolute monster he was about to be split in half by. 

Spike smiled at his slaves' bond as he slowly and gently slid his hips forwards, slowly pushing himself into his changeling's quivering boy box. The changeling's back arched as he cried out, tightening his grip on Ember's hand.

Spike grit his teeth. It hurt him so much to have to damage his slave like this, but there was no way to make this any less painful. It only made sense for the master to be the one to take the slave's virginity. Thorax couldn't transform himself any wider either, because that wouldn't be the real him which was something Thorax always struggled with.

It was why Spike had permanently fit his horn with a magic inhibiter ring. Thorax struggled to realize that Ember and Spike loved him for him.

Spike soon hilted inside the changeling's rather overstuffed hole, which left him a quivering panting mess. "Shhh shh shh. You're over the initial hump Thorax," Ember said to him stroking the Changeling's face. "taking it at first always hurts the most. It'll feel much better from hear on out."

Spike illustrated the point by giving a few slight shakes of the hips which caused Thorax to buck his hips weakly and moan.

When the dragon lord felt Thorax was properly adjusted he pulled back from the warm and inviting confines of his pet's rear, before thrusting back in. Thorax's eyes shot open and he screamed in adoration. 

Spike smiled at his pet's tenacity. He'd become a needy buttslut yet. 

Spike continued to slowly pull out and quickly shove back in a couple more times before gradually picking up the pace. In and out, again and again, until he had reached a comfortable pace that kept Thorax screaming his joy to the world constantly.

"M-master! I-I love you!" Thorax suddenly cried out after one particularly harsh thrust that had shook the entire bed. "Yes! Yes! Fill me with your love!"

Thorax's begging only served to rouse the Dragon further. Licking his lips, Spike picked up the pace further, seemingly shaking the entire room with the intensity of his abuse of the changeling's poor, poor prostate. 

Thorax once again arched his back and screamed in primal pleasure as his entire body tensed up. His small rod, spewed out his cum with such intensity that it splattered all over both his and Ember's chest and face.

But it paled in comparison to Spikes. Thorax's mind simply went blank when Spike's body clenched up and he buried himself inside of his rear. Spike's superior rod pulsed once, then twice, then unleashed it's load, painting the changeling's insides white. 

Spike unleashed his tide with a dignified grunt and collapsed forwards slightly, catching himself with his arms before he crushed the changeling. He let out several deep exhales before looking up to his two slaves, each of them covered in splotches of white.

"Perhaps I was a little too pent up." He said with a smile. Ember giggled, but Thorax was to exhausted to even hear him. 

Spike pulled himself up, some of his seed falling out of the changeling and onto the floor. Reaching down, he picked up the changeling bridle style. Spike carried him over to the head of the bed and delicately tucked the changeling into the velvet sheets. Thorax had fallen asleep in his arms. 

The dragon rubbed the back of his hand down the side of the Changeling's face lovingly before turning over to Ember. "Ruling the world has it's perks, but you and Thorax beat all of them." Spike quietly said to her, which caused her to simply beam.

The door to their room was suddenly thrown open by Garble. 

"MY LORD!" The Red Drake suddenly shouted. The simultaneous roars of anger he received from both dragons caused him to visibly flinch. 

Spike was quick to rise from the bed and close the distance between them. The Emperor grabbed the general by the throat and lifted him off the ground, his green glowing eyes narrowed. "This had better be pretty fucking important or I WILL snap your neck right here, right now."

Garble clawed at his master's wrist, chocking loudly. "M-my lord," Garble wheezed deeply. "A p-p-portal opened up in Our Town. Charcoal reported seeing Twilight Sparkle and Starlight Glimmer falling out of it."

Spike's eyes suddenly widened, before filling up with anger. The Emperor violently threw Garble to the ground and roared in anger. 

"Capture them!" He shouted in primal rage, loud enough to shake the palace. "CAPTURE THEM!"
> Chapter 2: Captured
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Starlight and Twilight stared quietly at the entourage of armored ponies and their dragon leader, who growled deeply.

"Are you two deaf? Get on your feet and put your hands in the air." The black dragon hissed.

"Maybe they are confused by your terminology sir. Even though ponies walk on two legs, we have hooves sir." One of the pony guards to the left of the dragon said.

"I know that!" The dragon shouted lowering his sword and turning to the guard. "It's just a lot easier to say get on your feet than get on your hooves!"

Starlight slowly pulled herself up and gestured for Twilight to follow her as they started slowly sneaking away.

"Is it though? I mean, they have the same amount of syllables." Another guard to the right said.

"Do they?!? Fe-et. Hoo-ves. Fe-et. Hoo-" A female guard in the back shouted before he was interrupted by the dragon.

"SHUT UP!" The dragon commanded before bringing a hand to his face and sighing. "Ok, trying again."

He raised his sword again at Starlight and Twilight. "Get on your hooves you tw-" he started before turning his head to notice that neither of them were there anymore. His mouth fell open as he simply stared at the empty space.

"They got away sir." The guard who started the initial debate said before the dragon brought his hand back and wacked the guard directly in the face slamming him into the guard next to him.

"FIND THEM!" The dragon hissed. 

"Yes sir!" The pony guards shouted in salute before quickly splitting up to search the town.

Starlight and Twilight meanwhile watched the preceding events while hiding behind barrels in a nearby alley. "That's weird... Are we in like... the future or something?" Starlight asked.

"I don't think so. The mirror we used to create an interdimensional portal broke and caused a vortex of limbotic energies which drew us into another universe on the polar opposite end of the dimensional flux." Twilight babbled in science-y gibberish. 

"E-Equish please?" Starlight asked nervously. 

"We are in another universe. Obviously." Twilight said with a sigh, before she smiled. "That does make getting home a lot easier than if we were in the future though. All we need is a mirror." 

Starlight cringed a little and sucked in air through clenched teeth. "That's gonna be a problem." 

"Why?" Twilight returned.

"Because I outlawed all mirrors in Our Town." Starlight mumbled quietly.

"Why'd you do that?!?" Twilight shouted before clasping her hands over her mouth and turning back to the street. A guard looked in their direction for a couple seconds before shrugging and walking away.

"Because everypony was supposed to be equal. The other ponies were supposed to be your mirror." Starlight said with a deep shame tinging her voice.

"That makes no sense!" Twilight whisper yelled.

"I know." Starlight returned with a sigh. "The only place I can think of where we can reliably get a mirror is my old house." 

The two of them peeked out of the alley to see a burnt down house atop a hill at the end of the town street. "Nevermind." Starlight said. 

"Nevermind what?" A third voice said. Both Starlight and turned to see a pink mare in a chefs outfit and magenta hair behind them.

The two of them instantly charged up their horns and glared at her. The unicorn mare, Sugar Belle, jumped back and raised her horns. "Woah." She started before she finally got a good look at the two of them

"Princess Twilight? Starlight? Is that you? T-the Emperor said you were dead." Sugar Belle said causing the two fugitives to raise their eyebrows and depower their horns.

"Emperor? What Emperor?" They both asked in unison.

"By order of Emperor Spike the Brave and Glorious," The black dragon shouted from the center of the town. Twilight and Starlight both gasped when they heard the name. "the inhabitants of Our Town will hand over the fugitives known as Twilight Sparkle and Starlight Glimmer or we will burn your houses and the ponies within them to ash!" 

"E-Emperor Spike?" They both asked, in shock, seconds before they were each shot in the back by paralysis spells. 

Sugar Belle grabbed the both of them by the collar of their shirts and started dragging them into the street, tossing them at the feet of the black dragon.

"Here they are, Charcoal sir." Sugar Belle said with a salute. 

"Good filly. When a new batch of slaves has finished training you will be the first pony of this town to get one." Charcoal said with a dark smile. He brought his hand up to give her a pat on the shoulder.

Starlight and Twilight could do nothing but stare up at the mare, who beamed in response. "Much obliged, my lord." 

Charcoal snapped his fingers alerting two of his nearby guards. "Pick these two up and load them into a cart. We make way to the Crystal City!" 

"Yes sir!" The guards shouted in unison.





Emperor Spike sat on his throne, his hands clasped in front of him and anger in his glowing eyes. He was positively steaming. 

"What's wrong my Emperor?" Ember asked as she walked towards him from his bed room. She kneeled down at his side and stared up at him with a cocked head.

"C-call me Spike please. Just for now I want to talk to you as a friend, rather than a master." Spike sighed, bringing his hands to his face.

Ember put a hand on his leg and smiled warmly up at him. "Of course Spike." 

Spike sighed once more before slightly smiling and placing his gauntleted hand against hers. "I don't think I can face Twilight again..."

"Why not?" Ember asked in confusion. "You did it before..." 

"I know, and it took everything I had to do it." Spike said, his head hung low. "As much as I hate the things she did to me, I can't bring myself to hate her."

Ember brought a hand up to his face, gently turning his chin to look into her eyes. "Spike. Twilight treated you as her slave. She used you and was going to throw you away the moment you became two much trouble for her. We both know this, no matter how many times she lied to you. Why do you think she kept you so small."

"Y-yes. She did." Spike said rage dancing across his face. It always made sense when Ember said this. (Mostly because she was just repeating things he had previously said to her.)

"You are better than her. You care for your property. You love them." Ember asked bringing her face closer. "When you became Dragon Lord, I thought you would become no better than her. How wrong I was. You are the perfect dragon, from your spines to your toes."

Spike smiled once more, reinvigorated by her words. 

"Not to mention, your the best fuck I've ever had." Ember said licking her lips.

Spike laughed in response before wrapping his arms around her and pulling her onto his laps. He grouped her shapely rear and licked his lips. "Come here you." He growled lovingly before he locked lips with her, their forked tongues dancing with each other inside Ember's mouth.

Garble slammed open the door to the throne room, interrupting them for the second time that day. 

Spike growled as he separated from Ember. "One more time..." He hissed below his breath.

"My lord." Garbles started as he smiled darkly. "We have them."
> Chapter 3: Meeting The Emperor and an Unlikely Rescue
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Twilight and Starlight were loaded into the back of a cart pulled by pegasi after their capture at the hands of Charcoal and Sugar Belle. The paralysis spells wore off just as they were bound in shackles and fitted with inhibitor rings.

They dully felt the cart they were in lift off the ground and take to the air northwards. "Where are we going?" Starlight asked Twilight nervously, turning left to right anxiously, expecting the worst.

"They said something about an Emperor Spike... That probably means we are heading to the Crystal Empire. Spike loves that place." Twilight replied, acting oddly calm. 

"How are you so relaxed right now?" Starlight asked in a mild panic, before Twilight silenced her with a finger to the mouth.

"Shh, don't worry. Clearly you haven't read any bad sci-fi novels before. We are obviously in some kind of alternate universe where everyone who is good is evil, and everyone evil is good. That is the most cliché alternate dimension story in existence. We are probably going to be saved last minute by a rag tag group of all our previous villains who are now heroes or something." Twilight said idly waving her hand through the air like it was no big deal. 

Starlight barely noticed the sweat beading on her forehead and the slight quiver in her voice.

"We're gonna be fine." 

Starlight opened her mouth to interject before she was interrupted by the loud banging of a hoof against the front of the cart. "Be quiet back there!"

The two ponies followed the request and quieted down. There were no windows in the cart. The only indication that they were moving was when they noticed the temperature drop slowly until they couldn't stop from shivering.

Just before they had to worry they might catch the flu or something, they were greeted by an overwhealming sense of warmth, signaling that they had arrived at their destination. The Crystal City.

The cart landed rather harshly on a crystalline roads of the empire, skidding to a halt slowly. The two of them were alone in the still back of the cart for a couple minutes before the doors at the back of the cart was harshly pulled open by a red dragon, Garble, who hissed at them.

"Good job Charcoal." Garble growled as he stared at them with narrow eyes.

"I captured them all by myself. Clearly The Emperor will give me a promotion!" Charcoal shouted.

"Bleh, you don't want to get a promotion. He can kinda be a dick when you work close to him. He threatened to take off my hand earlier." Garble said as he reached into the cart and grabbed Starlight by the wrist. The unicorn knew not to struggle for risk of the dragon breaking it.

"What'd you do?" Charcoal asked as he did the same to Twilight. 

"I called his changeling pet a beast." Garble said which earned a gasp from Charcoal.

"You did what?!? You realize the Emperor claimed he would behand anyone who even touched one of his slave right? The fact that you got off calling one of them an animal definitely shows favoritism on the Emperor's part!" Charcoal said as he began to drag Twilight out of the cart.

Twilight threw a glance to Starlight before she saw where they were. The center of the Crystal City, just outside the plaza which contained the Crystal Heart. It was still there, but was contained behind a massive transparent wall and guarded by dozens of dragons and ponies. 

Starlight was soon pulled out next to her mentor as the two began to be rather harshly dragged towards the closest entrance to the castle on stilts. 

"Says you, The Emperor also choked me out when I told him about these two bitches." Garble said as he grouped Starlight's rear. Starlight tensed up and gasped in response but again, couldn't really do anything without her magic. She and Twilight were not the strong ones of their group.

"Unf, I hope the Emperor doesn't turn these ones to stone, I would really like to hear how they scream." Garble darkly whispered before running a forked tongue along the side of Starlight's face. 

"Leave her alone you bastard!" Twilight shouted. She  was quickly silenced when Charcoal twisted her arm behind her back. 

"Shut it." He hissed. 

The two soon found themselves inside the castle proper. One major change really caught their attention first. There were a lot of slaves in the castle. The only bit of clothing they all wore were metal collars around their necks signifying their status.

The slaves were of all races on Equestria, barring Yaks and dragons, but the vast majority of them were ponies, clearly showing the class and racial divide of the new Equestria.

Some lined the walls of the hallways, their heads dutifully lowering and hands behind them, forced to show off their bodies to their masters. Others were being pulled along by leashes, either standing up right or shoved onto all fours, their tails either raised or tied up. 

Twilight averted her eyes while Starlight only cringed as they passed a dragon shamelessly holding a slave down and fucking them for the whole castle to see.

Perhaps one of the most disturbing things was that it wasn't just dragons who owned slaves. They saw plenty of ponies treating their fellow creatures as playthings. One thing they saw which made both of them visibly upset was the glimpse of Sunburst forcing Flash Sentry on his knees in a room they passed. 

Garble shoved Starlight into Charcoal's grasp when they arrived at the entrance to the Throne room. "Wait out here. I will alert the Emperor." 

The Dragon pushed open the gate, allowing the two of them to breifly see the petrified forms of the alternate universe selves and friends. Garble closed the door behind him and Charcoal grinned. 

"I really hope The Emperor allows me to use you two first..." He darkly whispered to them which caused them to freeze up. Twilight held her breath as she looked around the room for some means of escape.

Her eyes came across two massive dark grey plaques pinned to the wall. They were two rather long lists of rules.

The first one a rule list for slaves, and the second one for their masters. Twilight was rather sickened as she the propaganda of this new regime;



Rules for Slaves:

-You are property nothing more. Being property is not a bad thing. No freewill, means no stress, sadness or hardships again. Enjoy your new privileges. 

-Your tail must always be raised to show your master your assets.

-Your master is the only thing left in your life. Love them, for they own you. You are a servant and a plaything.

-Never take off your collar, or you will be disciplined. 

-If you are a magic user, never take off your inhibiter, or you will be disciplined.

Rules for Masters:

-Your slaves are yours to do with as you wish, however keep the Emperor's caste system in mind. Changelings are to be used solely for pleasure and Yaks for physical labor. Other races are fair game. Only the Emperor may own a dragon.

-Magical build up will harm slaves wearing inhibitors. Make sure to give biweekly horn jobs to expunge the build up.

-Any lasting or permanent damage done to your slaves will be done to the master as well. Pain is not to be encouraged.



Twilight shook her head. At the very least the slaves were not allowed to be harmed much. It was still horrible. Were they really trying to convince creatures that being owned was a good thing?

Also, what was this mention of a caste system? Was this universes Spike insane or something?

She locked eyes with Starlight who had just finished reading the list as well. Something was definitely wrong.

The doors to the throne room opened and guards quickly walked passed them leaving the room alongside Garble. 

"The Emperor wants to speak to them alone." Garble told Charcoal who nodded and tossed the two into the room, slamming the doors behind them. 

The two of them took a couple seconds to re-orientate themselves before slowing pulling themselves up and stared passed the statues in the room and at the Throne.

Sitting on one of the throne's arms was an otherwise nude Ember, baring a metal collar. A dark smile was on her face as she kept her arms wrapped around the dragon sitting next to her.

In said throne however, sat Spike the Dragon. Except he was much taller and bulkier than their Spike. He wore a suit of dark grey armor and a black crown. His eyes glowed a light green, with red pupils in the middle. 

"Welcome. I've been expect-" Spike started in a deep voice before he was rather rudely interrupted.

"AHA!" Starlight yelled, standing up and pointing at Spike who raised an eyebrow at her, glancing to Ember. "I knew that Spike couldn't have done this! That is obviously Sombra using his body!" She shouted to Twilight.

Twilight's eyes widened. "EXACTLY!" She screamed standing up as well. "Let Spike go Sombra!"

Spike and Ember's mouths fell agape, glancing from each other to them several times for a couple moments. Then they started to break down in laughter, Ember falling off the throne, and Spike bringing a claw to his face slapping his armored knee.

Twilight and Starlight awkwardly deflated in confusion. "W-what?" they both asked. 

Spike was the first to calm down wiping a tear from his eye and standing up. "Heh, That was actually really funny. To think I was originally scared of you two." Spike said as he started to walk towards one of the statues. 

They noticed the statue of Celestia had the bloodstone scepter in her petrified hands, except, for some reason, the Scepter had a rainbow pattern in it's central gem rather than being a solid red.

"You know what this thing is?" He asked as he pulled the scepter out and twirled it as he walked back towards his throne.

"The b-bloodstone scepter?" Twilight Sparkle said with uncertainty in her voice.

"That's what it used to be before I gave it a little upgrade. Now it's called the Scepter of Domination. Let me show you what it does." He smugly said before quickly whipping around and firing a rainbow colored laser from the tip of the scepter. 

Starlight quickly tackled Twilight out of the way of the laser, which turned the crystal floor it hit into a grey white stone. 

"What?" The two asked as they stared at the now stone ground. 

"Y-you're using the elements of Harmony!" Twilight shouted in fear. "H-how is that even possible?" 

Spike deeply sighed. "Great, I missed and now I need to explain my plan to you so you have time to escape." He grunted with an eye roll before smiling. "Not!" 

Once again he fired the laser. They weren't as lucky this time, and the laser clipped one of Starlight's hooves, turning it to stone and immobilizing her in place, and trapping her. Twilight ran up to her, realizing too late that she had just made herself a prime target.

Spike smiled darkly as he lowered the scepter one more time, pointing it at the both of them. "I think I'm going to have you two turned into fountains." He darkly hissed before he was suddenly shot in the side of the head by a light green beam of magic.

The Emperor collapsed, paralyzed by a spell he quickly realized. Ember screamed in a panic and rushed to his side to make sure he was alright.

Twilight and Starlight stared at Spike for a couple minutes before a wall to the room exploded inwards and a dark purple mist seeped into the room. The mist subsided to show armored forms of the Former King Sombra, and a changeling with purple eyes and a red headfin and tail standing before them.

The changeling unsheathed a sword and slowly turned towards Ember and Spike. "You get those two out of here. I'm going to finish this." He said in a gruff voice.

"No!" Sombra shouted to him as he crouched next to Starlight, his horn glowing. The stone trapping Starlight's hoof started to slowly flake and fall off like ruined concrete. "Help me get the stone off her leg!" 

The Changeling didn't listen as he approached Spike. Ember stood up and roared at him, she charged at the changeling but was quickly paralyzed as well by another spell from the changeling. She collapsed backwards and fell into Spike's throne.

"Ember!" The paralyzed Emperor shouted in concern before the shadow of the Changeling fell over him. 

He raised his blade into the air and prepared to bring it down on Spike's head. "This is for my brother."

"P-pharynx?" They all heard from the side of the room. 

Standing in the door frame to a bed room on shaky legs was Thorax. He, like Ember, was nude, but wore a similar metal collar. 

"Thorax?" Pharynx said taking a couple steps towards Thorax. "Wh-what did he do to you?!?" 

Pharynx didn't notice his spell wear off. Just as Pharynx was about to make a move towards his brother, Spike rose up with a roar and punched Pharynx as hard as he could in the chest.

Pharynx had the wind knocked out of him as he was thrown across the room landing next to Sombra. 

"Damn it!" The dark king shouted before the throne room door suddenly burst open and Garble, Charcoal and several guards started to rush in. 

"Arrest them!" Garble shouted as Spike picked up his scepter again.

The dark king frowned, before turning into smoke. He picked up Pharynx and Twilight in the smoke and rushed out of the room, narrowly avoiding a blast from the Scepter of Domination.

Starlight found herself the only pony in the room as Spike stood up and checked on Ember.

"They got away sir." Charcoal said quietly as Ember was roused from paralysis. She pulled herself up as Thorax shakingly pulled himself up next to her and wrapped her in a weak hug which she reciprocated.

"I am aware Captain." Spike said as he held the staff up. The stone in the room, barring that on the statues and Starlight's leg started to slowly liquify and flow through the air back to the crystal tip of the staff. 

"They won't be gone for long though." He said staring at Starlight.
> Interlude 1: Claiming The Throne
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Spike struggled as he ripped the Bloodstone Scepter from it's red crystal perch, letting out a miniature roar as it broke loose. The tiny drake raised it into the air just as the other dragons of the Fire Gaunlet rushed into the room. 

There was a flash as Twilight and Rarity teleported near them, throwing their hands into the air and cheering, not caring that the other drakes saw them, as they were all too shocked to see Spike of all dragons get the Scepter. 

"Whoo! Go Spikey Wikey!" Rarity cheered but Spike ignored her. She seemed to only care about him when he did something she could brag about, he suddenly found him realizing.

Spike found his gaze shifting to Twilight, who he saw simply cheering. No hint of pride on her face. Only relief. 

'It's obvious.' A voice deep inside of him hissed slowly. 'She only cares that her slave now controls the Dragonlands. That is all you are to her.'

Spike slowly brought the Bloodstone Scepter to his face and stared directly at his reflection inside of it. How was this only making sense now? He had been a slave, his entire life, born into servitude to one of Equestria's nobility. Used for nothing but menial labor, cleaning and fawning over a Alicorn who at best gave him the bare minimum attention and a unicorn who turned him into a pincushion. Not even his supposed closest pony friends treated him as anything more than a door mat. A sidekick. A pet. A... slave.

Even the magical mirror reflected this, by showing him as nothing him as nothing more than a mere puppy. Twilight's pet. He had always just accepted it, but now the blistering emotions bubbled to the surface. He was the same age as Ember and the other dragons in this room, but he didn't even come up to most of their knees. 

Twilight had kept him small so he was easy to control, and he couldn't do a thing about it, until now of an entire race at his disposal. A race that couldn't be stopped.

"Spike? Are you... ok?" Rarity asked taking a slow step towards the dragon.

Ember shot a glance from Spike, to the two ponies as Twilight lit up her horn.

"Ok Spike, maybe we should get this thing away from you." The Princess hesitant said wrapping the Scepter in a spell. She was shocked when Spike very suddenly pulled it from her grip. 

His thoughts were confirmed! She didn't want to loose her slave to the dragons! It all made sense now! Spike pulled back, his eyes suddenly turning green, two red irises locked directly with Twilight and Rarity who gasped.

The dragon almost instantly shot up several inches, tearing the clothes he wore, which Rarity had made for him, into scraps which loosely hung from his body. The drake pointed the tip of the scepter directly at both of them and let out a guttural hiss, his voice several layers deeper than what it was before.

"Capture them!" He roared to his new subject.

Twilight and Rarity's eyes widened as the dragons behind them, even Ember, lowered down and smiled as they started closing in on them. 

Just are one was about to tackle them, Twilight lit up her horn and teleported the two of them back to Ponyvile. 

Spike marched down from his perch passed the confused dragons, who parted to allow him passed, even if after his growth he still only came up to their hips.

"Where'd they go?" Hissed a Dragon. 

"Don't worry. They'll be back with the help of their Princesses, and Elements. We just have to crush them when they get here." Spike calmly spoke as he walked forwards. The new Dragonlord ripped what remained of his clothes off with a single claw, leaving him nude, not that any of the dragons really cared since they rarely wore clothes baring armor.

"Way to go Spike!" Garble roared in some faux-pride. Spike merely walked passed Garble and pointed a thumb at him over his shoulder. 

"Kick the shit out of him." The Dragonlord said emotionlessly. Garble merely had time to widen his eyes before he was set upon by a gang of larger drakes. 

Spike grabbed Ember by the hand as he passed her, staring up at her. She actually had reason to be smiling down at him, positively beaming with pride. Spike smiled back at her. 

"Let's go talk to your father shall we?" Spike asked darkly. 





Torch yawned as he sat on his Throne before catching a glimpse of a large parade of smaller dragons approaching him. The very fist thing to catch his eye was who exactly was carrying the Bloodstone Scepter.

"You?" He roared in confusion. The ancient wyrm craned his neck as he brought his head mere inches from the new Dragonlord. "You're the new dragonlord? The pipsqueak who said he wanted to leave?"

"Myes, do we have a problem?" Spike said with no hint of fear in his voice. 

"Hmph. I guess not. I did say anydrake could get become dragonlord, Anydrake except-" He was cut off when he noticed who was standing next to Spike.

"EMBER!" He roared suddenly narrowing his eyes in rage. "What did I tell you! No wonder this pathetic excuse for a drake won when he was running against you. 

Ember lowered her head in sadness before Spike growled.

"Oh. Oh. So it looks like we do have a problem." Spike roared back at Torch. The Dragonlord snapped his fingers.

Without warning, a dragon equal in size to Torch flew in and tackled him off to the side. The two behemoths clashed for a couple seconds, before Torch found himself pinned to the ground as two more massive drakes landed next to the two, clearly on Spike's side. The Dragon pinning him grabbed Torch by the throat, pushing him even further down.

Spike slowly stalked towards the four as Ember and the other drakes were merely frozen in place. Spike soon stood right in front of the pinned Torch, polishing a large diamond that he had scooped up off the ground on his chest. 

"You know, you really should lighten up on poor Ember. She only wants belonging." Spike said as he took a bite of the diamond like it was an apple.

"Fuck you!" Torch wheezed which only earned his throat more pressure from the claw around it.

"I thought you'd say that. Don't worry about your daughter anymore though my poor Torch, she belongs to me now." Spike hissed darkly. "Take him away girls. Chain him to the side of a mountain or something. He's yours now."

"As you wish my Dragonlord." One of the Dragons, a female, said seductively. "I think I am going to enjoy him quite a lot."

Ember rushed to Spikes side as the three massive dragonesses, hoisted Torch up as he roared and screamed in rage. He was soon carried over the horizon in flight, spewing fire in Spike's direction which did almost nothing.

Spike cringed in an overdramatized motion as he turned to Ember. "Sorry about that. He didn't really give me a choice. You might also end up getting a couple siblings soon." 

Ember rolled her eyes "He was a mother fucker anyway." She grunted. "Literally. I preferred my mom."

Spike snickered at her joke before he gestured to the massive throne of the Dragonlands. "Would you kindly carry me up there?"

"Definitely." Ember said with a smile as she grabbed him and lifted him into the air.

Soon enough the two arrived at the top of the Throne. Spike chuckled darkly as he sat down on the edge. 

He was finally... Free.
> Chapter 4: The Emperor's New Slave
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Starlight stared up at Spike's throne as the Emperor glared down at her, a smile on his face. She certainly couldn't run, your hoof being turned to stone tended to do that to ponies.

Spike eyes widened as he remembered something, quickly turning on his heel he rushed over to Ember and placed a hand on her chin. Gently, he forced her face up, staring directly into her eyes. Like a helicopter parent or something, Spike checked over every inch of her face for any kind of damage or blemish upon her perfect features. Then he checked over her chest, back, arms, legs, and wasn't satisfied until he saw that every inch of her was still fine and untouched.

Spike gave a deep hiss as he let her slip back into his throne, not caring that she was sitting on the king's property.

"I want the changeling who harmed my Ember found and executed in the most painful way you can think of Garble." Spike said looking over his shoulder at the Dragon Commander.

"It will be done my Emp-" Garble started before being cut off.

"No! No no no please don't hurt him!" Thorax suddenly cried out from beside the throne before clasping his hands over his mouth.

Spike turned to the slave and narrowed his eyes darkly. "It's not the place of the slave to raise their voice to deny their master, Thorax."

Thorax lowered his hands to his sides and stared down sullenly. Starlight noticed that he was shaking, and that his eyes were watering up.

"Y-yes master." Thorax stuttered.

"Out of Curiosity," Spike started, grabbing Thorax by the chin and forced him to look up, making eye contact with The Emperor. Thorax knew that was something a slave should never do. He tried to move his head to avert eye contact but Spike kept him still.

"Why don't you want him hurt." Spike hissed at Thorax who suddenly started hyperventilating.

"H-h-he's m-my Brother." Thorax finally let out, his voice shaky and quiet. 

Almost as soon as the last word left his mouth, Spike's hand on his chin shifted to his throat. Spike lifted the Changeling up by the throat, his eyes narrowed with rage, and slammed him against the back wall of the throne room. 

"And why didn't you think it prudent to warn me about him!" Spike roared as he held Thorax up who grabbed at Spike wrist, tears flowing down his cheeks. "Ember could have been hurt, because of you!" 

The poor changeling let out a raspy cry as Spike tightened his grip around his throat.

The Dragon Guards in the room gasped and shared glances. Starlight loudly cried out as she instinctively tried to claw towards the two in a panic, not even budging. 

"Spike! That's enough!" Roared Ember as she hopped out of the throne and rushed towards the two. Spike's eyes widened, having been snapped out of his violent rage by Ember's voice. 

Spike let go of Thorax who tumbled to the floor with all the grace of a corpse. Spike took a couple heavy breaths and stepped away from the changeling who curled up into a ball loudly crying and sobbing.

Ember slid down next to Thorax and placed a hand on his back, a large and rather nasty crack had formed on his elytra. 

"I'm s-s-sorry!" The slave cried out between sobs. "I'm a failure of a s-slave. I don't deserve you as a master! Please d-don't send me back!" 

Spike stared down at the claw he had used to hurt his changeling. It was shaking, just like him.

"Get out! Now!" Spike roared, punching the wall in front oh him with enough force to crack it. The guards in the room turned and ran out as quickly as possible, a couple of them tripping over each other and even Starlight. The dragons slammed the door behind them in a panic.

Starlight watched in confusion as Spike bent down next to Thorax. Spike felt Ember's eyes burning into the side of his face, he would clearly be hearing a lot from her later.

Spike felt bile rush to his throat when Thorax flinched as he reached his hand towards him. Spike sighed deeply, picking Thorax up into a hug, one arm wrapped firmly around him, and the other pressed to the back of his head.

"I'm not going to send you back Thorax." Spike said as he lovingly ran a claw down Thorax's head fin. "You mean to much far to me. I am so sorry."

Spike kept stroking the back of his slave's head until his sobs turned into whimpers, and his whimpers turned into calm and quiet breaths. He had fallen asleep. The poor thing must have still been exhausted from the rather intense drilling he got earlier.

Spike stood up, still keeping Thorax close to his chest and turned to Ember, who had also pulled herself up. 

"Take him to our room, and put him into bed. We will talk about this later." Spike said as he handed the changeling over to her. 

Ember nodded at him, a deep frown on his face. The two were certainly going to have words later. Easily taking the Changeling, Ember flew towards the door thorax had previously emerged from and retreated within.

Spike turned away from them and walked over to it, sitting down with his face in hand. "What is wrong with me?" He asked himself.

For several minutes Spike sat there before looking up, seeing Starlight Glimmer sitting in the middle of the room. His eyes widened and his face flushed red. He very quickly cleared his throat and stood up.

"Oh that's right. I captured you earlier didn't I?" Spike said, embarrassment easily audible in his voice. 

"Yes, you did." Starlight grunted back.

Spike stepped down from his throne and stalked towards her with a dark glare in his eyes. "Good. You, are my ticket to capturing Sombra and your friend. Now then, you are going to tell me everything about where you came from." 

"And why should I do that." Starlight asked with narrowed eyes.

"Simple." Spike said walking in a circle around her. She dully heard her grab something when he was behind her. As soon as he was in front of her, he bent down and snapped a collar around her neck.

"I own you now."
> Chapter 5: The Resistance
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Twilight found herself inside of a cloud of smoke for what felt like hours, only being able to tell what direction they were going. Southwards, based on how much the air around them heated up.

Possibilities of what was going on ran through her head. Perhaps they were indeed in a universe where everyone good was evil and vice versa. It would explain why Sombra and an unreformed changeling of all people were rescuing them. That didn't explain the statues Spike had in this throne room, though.

Maybe Spike turned on his former allies and turned them to stone. Yeah, that was a very villainous thing to do. 

Eventually, after what seemed like hours of flying, Twilight was tossed to the ground as the shadow's dissipated. Her eyes needed a couple seconds to adjust before she saw where she was. The Changeling Hive. More specifically however, it was Chrysalis's throne room, and sitting on the throne was the bug queen herself. 

The Queen was wearing a long, flowing green translucent dress which did little to hide her supple curves and succubus like appearance. In fact, if anything, it only served to highlight them. It made sense, Twilight supposed. She did feed on love and lust.

"What happened?" Chrysalis asked as she stepped down from her throne, several drones flying up to her to form a staircase which she rather harshly marched down. 

"I failed to save both of them. The Starlight that arrived had one of her hooves turned to stone, and was caught. I only managed to save the Twilight." Sombra said as he and Pharynx walked up to her. "I would have been able to save both of them if it wasn't for the Prince here."

"What did Pharynx do?" Chysalis questioned with narrow eyes.

"He tried to kill The Emperor, and in doing so only made him angry which allowed her to be caught." Sombra hissed.

"Wait, I can expla-" Pharynx started before he was violently backhanded by his mother, sending him to the ground where he skidded along the stone flooring. Twilight gasped and covered her mouth with her hands at that. Maybe an evil elements universe wasn't the case at all.

"Idiot! You had one simple job!" Chrysalis cried out, charging up her horn. 

"W-wait stop! Mother!" Pharynx started as green magic grabbed at his wings and started to rather harshly pull at them. "I know how he found the hive! I know how he knows about out weaknesses now!"

Chrysalis's horn depowered as she cocked her head to the side. "Then speak. If this isn't good I won't hesitate to get rid of you like the failure you are."

"T-Thorax. Thorax is his personal slave now. He's forcing him to tell him everything." Pharynx said in a slight panic.

Chrysalis snarled darkly. "Figures. That weakling would break at the slightest of prods." Chrysalis said turning away and crossing her arms. "Fine Pharynx, that is good news. I won't kill you."

Twilight and Pharynx both let out audible exhales. 

"Take her to the pony resistance then come back here. I will give you a more fitting punishment then." Chrysalis said darkly, staring down at him like he was trash.

Pharynx gave a deep exhale. "Very well mother." Pharynx said as he walked over to Twilight, grabbing her by the wrist and pulling her to her hooves.

"Come with me." He said as he started to escort her out of the room.

As soon as the two were out of eye sight, Chrysalis sighed and flew back up to her throne. Sombra appeared besides her in a puff of black smoke. 

"How are you holding up." Sombra asked. He received an answer when the Queen's stomach grumbled. 

"Hungry." She said dejectedly. 

Sombra smiled her and very quickly pulled her into a deep kiss. She barely had time to react when he separated from her and smiled like a predator on the hunt. 

"Turn around and get on your knees bitch." he growled playfully, and Chrysalis was all to happy to comply. The Queen plopped forwards onto her hands and knees, and raised her tail, which knocked her translucent dress out of the way. Like a true seductress, she wore no clothes underneath her dress, allowing Sombra to catch a glimpse of her already winking clit and quivering lower lips.

"Unf, you really are hungry aren't you?" Sombra asked as he stripped himself of his armor and the clothes he wore underneath.

"I've taken to only feeding on you nowadays. Oh, real quick, on the topic, can you not pull out this time? I am really in the need of a new son. The other two are complete failures." Chrysalis purred back to him. 

"Of course my Queen." Sombra said before rather harshly thrusting his 6 inch rod into her mare hood. The Queen's wing casing opened and gave a rather sensual buzz in response. "Although, to do that we might have to go at it several times. To ensure the best possible outcome...."

"Oh yes! Yes! Take me you shadowy stud!" Chrysalis moaned as Sombra started to gyrate his hips, pistoning in and out of her queenly organ. 

Sombra felt her obviously clench up every time he tried pulling himself out of her, which was an all to obvious reaction. She was a changeling queen after all, cum was a very pure form of love and she instinctively wanted to make sure it oozed it's way inside her. 

Sombra chuckled as Chrysalis's arms gave out and she pressed her ass up farther into the air as her front collapsed. He picked up the pace, thrusting deeper and harsher, he knew she could take it. He found himself encouraged to thrust even harder as she started to mewl like a virgin during their first time. 

Sombra always was good at bringing her to this state.

Chrysalis found herself tensing up she found herself brought to the very edge of a blissful orgasm before Sombra slowed down. 

"Ah ah ah. I'm not letting you cum just yet." Sombra said as two shadowy tendrils seeped from his backside, the ends forming into hands. 

"Stop teasing me you asshole!" Chrysalis grunted before she felt the two tendrils seep passed her dress and start going to town, tweaking and playing with her sensitive nipples, causing her to visibly start to squirm, just before Sombra pinned her arms down with his powerful hands.

"I can do whatever I want. If you've never played chess, the King is more important than the Queen, yes?" Sombra hissed as he brought his head forwards. The dark king started to lick his forked tongue along Chrysalis's bladed horn, causing her eyes to roll back.

Sombra continued this torment of the Queen for several more minutes before, with one final thrust, his entire body flexed as he emptied a load deep inside of her. Chrysalis didn't last much longer after that as her entire body convulsed, her lower lips squirting out what seemed like a stream of femcum which soon mixed with Sombra's white batter.

Sombra collapsed forwards onto her back and further pinned her to the throne. The two sat there, deeply breathing for a couple more minutes before Sombra popped a question.

"Again?"

"Fuck yes!" 





Pharynx lead Twilight through the winding halls of the Changeling hive, which she only vaguely remembered from her last visit. 

Eventually, after what felt like hours, passing both guards and drones scurrying through the dimly lit passages, the two arrived at a large window on the side massive structure. 

Three things caught her eyes immediately.

Number one, there was a massive neon green bubble surrounding the hive and the lands around it, and by the look of the color, it was obviously Sombra's doing. 

Number two, the hive looked to be under siege, as on the other side of the shield there was an army of massive dragons, regiments of ponies and smaller drakes in purple and green armor, siege engines of all sizes and a city of purple and green tents.

And Number Three, there was a much smaller grouping of tents inside the shield at the foot of the hive, and ponies in Equestrian armor walked about in the camp, alongside a couple changelings, gryphons, and a singular yak. 

'What could that be about?' Twilight asked, before being jolted from her thoughts when Pharynx grabbed the ring around her horn a pulled it off.

"That's the Resistance camp. Either fly down there or teleport. I don't care. I need some alone time." The Changeling Elite grumbled before opening his elytra and flying off. 

Twilight nodded in his direction before lighting her horn and teleporting to the center of the camp in a flash of magenta. Almost as soon as her spell dissipated she found herself surrounded by awestruck ponies.

"It's the Princess! She's returned!" One of the ponies in the crowd shouted, which earned her a roar of applause and cheering. 

"H-hey! Settle down everypony." Twilight said raising her hands into the air which earned several glances and odd looks from the ponies.

"I'm the Twilight of another universe." She said simply. She saw a slight deflation in the crowd, but they were very obviously still happy to hear her voice, and still very optimistic. 

"Are the rest of the Elements with you?!? Can you save us?" Another pony in the crowd asked which earned a series of loud murmurings and whispers to emanate from the crowd. 

Twilight sighed and shook her head. "I really wish they were." She said dishearteningly. It broke her heart slightly when the ponies in the crowd were crushed by the news.

Twilight suddenly gave a warm smile and straightened up. "But I think I can still help." She said with a smile. "Tell me where your leader is."

The ponies of the crowd smiled before one particularly large red earth pony in golden armor pushed through the crowd. 

"Big Mac!" Twilight said with a smile as she saw the stallion. It was good to know he was safe, and on the good side. 

"Eyup, It's good ta see you Princess." The Earth pony said in his stereotypical accent. "If you follow me, I'll take you to the Prince." Twilight found herself a little odded out by the situation. She hadn't actually heard Big Mac say that many words before.

"Prince?" She asked. That was a great sign. It must mean that Shining Armor was in charge of this 'Resistance.' 

Following behind the large stallion she looked around the camp, seeing the motely crew of ponies. She recognized a few faces in the crowd. 

Mr. and Mrs. Cake were off working a makeshift cooking tent, Soarin was training a small squad of Equestrian soldiers, and she could of sworn she saw a teenage stallion in armor talking to a yak she vaguely recognized. Sandbar, she thought his name was. 

Soon enough the two arrived at a large tent in the middle of the camp, which obviously belonged to the head of the Resistance. She found herself praying it was Shining Armor and not Prince Rutherford in charge. She needed to know her brother was safe.

Big Mac took up a position next to another guard outside the tent. Twilight gulped and, with a firm breath, pushed passed the tent's flaps and entered.

In the center of the room was a map of Equestria on top of a large table. Sitting at the table was Zecora, Spitfire, and the literal last pony she ever thought she would see in any position of power. If he had a drink right now, she would have preformed a rather large spit take at the situation.

"Blueblood!?!" Twilight suddenly cried out.
> Chapter 6: The Leaders of the Resistance
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ember sat on the side of the velvet bed that she, Spike and Thorax called their own. The dragon instinctively ran a loving claw down the sleeping face of Thorax, who was comfortably wrapped in the best blankets in the Empire. While doing so, Ember easily saw the dozens, if not hundreds of small cracks and dents in his carapace. 

As angry as she was at Spike right now, she knew they weren't from him. Thorax had a hard life, harder than hers, and as much as he would deny it, much harder than Spike's. Ember shook her head and stood up. She cracked her knuckles as she took a step towards the door to the Throne Room. Spike was about to get a piece of her mind to say the least. 

She found herself stopping at the door when she heard a whimper from behind her. Looking back, Ember noticed that Thorax was very visibly shivering.

The Dragon looked at him, then back to the door, then finally back to him. She sighed as she let go of the door handle and walked over to him. She lifted the blankets and crawled into bed next to him, wrapping one of her strong arms around the small black changelings protectively. A warm grin grew on her face as he snuggled up next to her, and smiled. 





Blueblood cleared his throat after Twilight's rather rude and loud scream. He brought a hand up and rubbed one of his ringing ears and sighed. "Myes, that is correct. Blueblood is my name. Would you please take a seat?" 

Twilight's mouth opened and closed a couple times before she shook her head and took her seat. "I am so sorry, I am just shocked. In my universe you are... well... The last person I'd expect to do this kind of thing..."

"Oh no that is the same here, my friend." Blueblood replied simply, clasping his hands together in front of him. "In this universe I am the same entitled, spoiled brat as I presumably am in your universe." 

Twilight felt her jaw drop again. "B-but..." She started before being silenced by Blueblood.

"So, tell me. If you and the princesses were completely defeated in battle, and then a villain went around eliminating any threats or potential revolutionary heads, who is the last person they'd expect to be a good leader for a rebellion? Be honest." Blueblood asked. 

"W-well you? You were kind of a dick in my universe." Twilight mumbled under her breath.

"Exactly. A necessary sacrifice I assure you. You see, I am one of Celestia's many contingent plans. If all else fails. I take over. Have you ever wondered WHY we kept a passive aggressive incompetent prick in her inner circle?" Blueblood explained with a smug smile on his face. Twilight wanted to say something but it honestly made sense to her. Why else would she keep him around?

Blueblood cleared his throat and continued. "Now then, if your done being flabbergasted, would you like me to explain the situation?" 

Twilight shook her head and nodded. "Please. I need to know what's happening, I need to save Starlight so I can get home."

Zecora raised an eyebrow. "Is that all you're after?" The Zebra asked.

"Of course not. I just think that saving Starlight would also save all of-" Twilight stopped mid-sentence and her head snapped over to Zecora, her jaw dropping for what felt like the thousandth time that day. "You didn't rhyme!?!" She cried in shock.

"What? Why would I rhyme? That's ridiculous!" The Zebra answered in confusion, before being silenced by Blueblood.

"Let's focus everypony. Please. This is important business." Blueblood said as he tapped the map on the table a couple times. It was entirely purple, aside from a small deep green section near the maps equator, which she realized was the changeling lands.

"This is Equestria's current political landscape, Twilight. Spike's Dragon Empire takes up the entire planet, aside from the changeling lands which are currently held together by Sombra and Chrysalis's shield. If that shield falls for even a minute, we are going to be swarmed by the enemy, which puts us, the resistance, in a bit of a pickle." Blueblood said as he clasped his hands together in front of his face, idly tapping the palms together.

"We originally came to the hive to pick up supplies from Spike's only remaining enemy but now we are trapped. Not to mention, Chrysalis and Sombra don't like us, and we don't like them. This alliance is temporary at best, and the second Spike is beaten they will turn on us." Spitfire continued.

"Wait what? Why is Sombra even on our side? Isn't Spike his puppet or something?" Twilight asked in confusion.

"Not in the slightest." Blueblood said with a shaky voice. "When Sombra was about to loose for the first time three years ago, he detached a piece of his darkness which attached itself to the nearest living thing. Which was Spike. It waited until Spike was at his strongest before doing anything, and that was when Spike got his hands on the Bloodstone Scepter. Then it took over. While this entire situation is Sombra's fault, that... thing ruling over Equestria... make no mistake, that is Spike."

Twilight's entire face went pale. She was glad that she was already sitting, otherwise she would have toppled to the ground. She couldn't even speak.

"It being Spike is a bit false." Zecora said shaking her head. Twilight felt the slightest bit of hope shoot into her heart at that. "While yes, it is Spike that is being evil, he is being defined purely by his darker memories. 'Emperor' Spike only remembers the bad times he shared with you and the elements, none of the good you did together. He is only half of Spike."

Twilight smiled slightly at that. That was a good thing. It first and foremost meant that the Spike of her Universe wouldn't end up like that... hopefully. The Alicorn then shot a glance back to the map and sighed.

"I just don't get it." Twilight said as she brought a hand to her face. "How did Spike even get so powerful? Why does he even have ponies serving him?" She asked as she looked at the map. The ponies she had seen in Spike's army seemed almost... happy even." 

"Simple." Blueblood answered with a sigh. "He told them the truth."

"Which is?" 

"That Celestia was actively ignoring threats, threats which actually put millions of lives at risk, to give her student challenges to overcome." Zecora explained in response. Blueblood and Spitfire looked away, wanting to avoid eye contact with Twilight.

"Wh-what?" Twilight asked in very legitimate shock. 

"Did it never strike you as odd that Celestia knew about almost every threat that Equestria was going to face, but never raised a finger to do anything? Didn't mobilize the guard when Luna attacked? Didn't even warn anyone when Discord escaped? Didn't even raise a finger to stop Sombra? Spike didn't need to tell a single lie to spin Celestia's actions in his favor. He offered Ponykind safety and security permanently." Blueblood continued. 

"The Ponies of Equestria were still on the Resistances side, at least somewhat. Until..." Spitfire continued shaking her head.

"Until what?" Twilight asked standing up, expecting some kind of atrocity. 

"Until he actually stopped an invasion of Equestria, almost single-handily in fact." Blueblood responded. "The Changelings tried to launch some kind of secret take over of Equestria. They replaced every pony of every political standing. I don't know how, but he knew EVERY pony they were planning on replacing, and tracked the changelings down and either killed or enslaved them... and..."

"Almost overnight the entire resistance shattered. Over 90% of our numbers simply stopped fighting and joined Spike's Empire. We are all that's left." Zecora said shaking her head. "We don't know how but Spike somehow knows almost everything about Changeling strategy. He knows their weaknesses, their strengths, their tactics, even the hive's location. We had to race to get here in time."

"I think I know how." Twilight replied. "He has Thorax with him. And he was wearing a slave collar when I saw him." 

All three of the resistance leaders gasped at once. 

"Y-you mean Prince Thorax? H-he went missing months ago according to Chrysalis. If Spike has him..." Zecora started.

"Then the changelings are doomed. We need to escape the hive. Asap." Blueblood said leaning back in his chair and crossing his arms over his chest. "But how?"

"Wait... wait... I have one more question." Twilight exclaimed. 

"Which is?" Spitfire asked.

"Why are ponies loyal to him, even if he is practicing slavery." Twilight asked.

Blueblood simply looked dejected and shook his head and Spitfire once again looked away. 

"The Gryphon, Yak, and Changeling slaves are forced into chains yes, but the ponies?" Zecora said staring Twilight directly in the eyes, "The Pony slaves are completely willing."
> Chapter 7: Enslaved
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Pharynx found himself completely dejected as he tore open the door to his room and marched inside, slamming it behind him with enough force to shake the entire room. 

He found himself red with rage, so much so in fact, that he couldn't help but punch the nearest wall with enough force to put a hole into it. 

"Damn it!" he cried out his frustration before dropping back onto his bed. Pharynx turned over towards his end table with a glare, only to stop when he saw what he had resting atop it. 

A picture of him and Thorax, disguised of course, at a large pony amusement park. The two were young, having only barely matured out of the grub stage of changeling life. Thorax, in the form of a light blue pony with a deep grey mane, was smiling sheepishly while Pharynx himself was in a black form with red hair, an arm wrapped around his brother, giving him a loving noogie. 

The picture was actually from the first infiltration mission of their lives. They were supposed to be out hunting down information on a way to conquer Equestria but they had decided to ditch their duties for a couple hours to go have a little fun. Chrysalis sure was pissy at the time, but it was worth it in the end.

Chrysalis had decided that Thorax was a bad influence on her eldest son. That he was making Pharynx weak. She always kept them separated from then on out, or at least tried to. When Pharynx had grown up fully, Chrysalis made it a habit of sending him out alone, away from the hive.

That meant Thorax was alone back at the hive, and when Thorax was alone, that meant he was a target, and the other changelings made sure to...

Pharynx decided not to think about that as he reached over to grab the picture, holding it close to his chest. 

"Mom said you were dead. Thorax... why did I see you there? What did that bastard do to you?" He hissed. 





Starlight looked up at Spike, fear in her eyes and pain in her chest. Spike stared back at her, a dark grin on his face.

"S-so is this the part where you have your way with me?" Starlight whimpered, which caused Spike's eyes to widen and his grin to disappear. 

"What? No! Why would I ever do that? That is just... Gross!" Spike cried out as he recoiled in disgust.

Starlight raised an eyebrow. That was the honest to Celestia last thing she expected to hear. Wasn't she his slave now?

"Why would I ever go after a pony? You guys are the worst!" Spike shouted at her as he straightened his back and growled. 

'There we go.' She thought rolling her eyes.

"God, you ponies are so... furry! It's gross! You guys get so matted and patchy after sex. Not to mention the stink bleh. I think dragons and changelings are much better for dicking in general. For one, they don't sweat as easily." Spike hissed, "I already wasted six years of my life chasing after one of your kind. She used me as a pin cushion." 

"Well they why even keep me as a slave if that's the case," Starlight said back to him with a glare.

"Simple." Spike explained darkly as he leaned down, wrapping a hand around the front of her collar and pulling her into a seating position, his head an inch away from hers. "I'm using you as bait. No other reason. You are going to lure in Sombra and Twilight and I'll be able to deal with two of my problems at once."

Starlight looked up at Spike and whimpered which earned a 'feh' from the Draconic Emperor. 

"Besides," Spike started as he pulled her into a standing position. The Emperor turned around and started to walk back towards his throne as he continued. "I am pretty sure I can win you over to my side of thinking." The stone around her hoof shattered, leaving her able to move again, not that she did. She didn't want to die. 

That line completely stumped Starlight and left her motionless in the middle of the room. "Wait what?" 

"I mean, I managed to do the same with my universe's version of you. Did you not notice that there isn't a statue of you in here?" Spike said as he plopped down onto his throne casually. "You used to be a prominent member of the resistance against me, but after I went ahead and stopped that changeling invasion a couple months back you switched sides, hard." 

Starlight was completely speechless. How was that possible? What was wrong with her?

"Yeah, you practically begged me to take you in. I did, I am a merciful Emperor after all. I even let you settle down in Twilight's old Castle as Regional Governor of Ponyville. Haven't talked to ya in a couple months but last I heard you had used your wacky mind control powers to make your girlfriend think she was a dog." Spike said tapping the side of his head to simulate said powers. 

"Pretty freakin hot if you ask me. Next time Starlight comes over I should ask if she could do the same to Thorax and Ember for a little. I would LOVE to see that." He mumbled to himself, as he reached around the back of his throne pulling out a hidden parchment and a quill. 

Starlight felt like she was actually going to vomit. That sounded so sick! "W-why would I do that to Trixie! That is sickening! You're lying! I know it!" She cried out to him, somewhat tear-y eyed. Spike rolled his eyes and started writing. 

"I assure you, it was completely consensual. Trixie is actually a pretty kinky slut, but I am sure you already knew that." Spike said as he finished and blew away the letter in a puff of green fire. "And you'll know if I was lying, which I am not."

Spike then stood up and started walking towards her. "And I'll have proof to back up my claim, because I just invited her over." 

Starlight's jaw dropped. "You didn't..." She hissed at him. 

"She'll be here in three days." Spike chucked before grabbing her by the throat and lifting her off the ground. 

Starlight gasped and started clawing at the hand around her throat, which slowly tightened. "Let me get something perfectly clear." Spike growled menacingly. "You are here because I have decided you are a valuable resource. You displease me, you die. You wander too far away from me, you die. You touch Ember or Thorax? You will die and I will make it EXTREMELY painful. Capiche?" 

Starlight rapidly bobbed her head in fright, which caused Spike to give a chipper smile and drop her to the ground. 

"Good!" Spike said with a smile before gesturing for her to follow. "I want you in seeing distance at all times, and I am going to find a contingent of guards to keep an eye on the both of us at all times. That, and I am also going to need some servants to set you up a bed in my quarters, because I know your kind, and you will always find a way to sneak out unless I am always in the same room as you. Don't try any sneaky business either, no knives can pierce a dragons scales and you trying to kill me would be embarrassing for both of us."

Starlight meekly nodded. Spike knew all the tricks it seemed. She really was in a hopeless scenario. 

Spike smiled back at her as he opened the door to his bedroom and pushed her inside rather harshly. "Mi casa, es tu casa." He hissed before noticing as Ember pulled herself out of bed and stalk towards him. Starlight saw that she actually seemed to struggle pulling herself off of Thorax.

"Oh, hey Ember, we do still need to talk huh... Here, let's take this outside and leave Starlight here wi-" He started before being silenced when the blue drake punched him in the face.
> Chapter 8: A Day Off
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Two days. 

Starlight had spent two days so far as Spike's slave, and had noticed a bit of a pattern for the 'mad' Emperor, which was actually really odd considering he was supposed to be completely evil.

First and foremost, he seemed to be completely willing to accept all comers into his Throne room to voice any and all concerns they had with his rule. One came in to complain that taxes were too high, and another came in to moan and groan about the pegasi making it rain too early on his house and ruining his garden. Starlight found everypony that came in immensely annoying and she wasn't even dealing with them, so it was only obvious that she expected Spike to explode on every single one of them. 

She was unbelievably surprised when Spike gave each and everyone of them the time of day, and had rather long conversations with them explaining the situation. He even left a couple of them with smiles on their faces as they left the room, which left Starlight completely flabbergasted. 

Throughout the entire meetings however, Spike always kept Thorax and Ember at his side. Starlight noticed something odd about the two. Spike seemed to use them as a combination of advisors, sex toys, lovers, and all manners in between. It was like they were his second in commands, which made very little sense to her. They were supposed to be slaves. Last time she checked slaves weren't meant to have a hand in ruling the kingdom. 

Then again, Ember did get away practically scot free after punching Spike in the face the day before yesterday, so she guessed they were something a little more important then mere slaves. The gossip that Spike would behand anyone who touched either of them laid more credence to that than anything else. 

Something else that had confused her was the fact that the Sun and Moon were still orbiting Equestria, at a regular time scale, which she didn't even think was possible, what with Celestia and Luna being reduced to not but mere decorations. Perhaps she could chalk it up to the fact that the Celestia Statue always had the Staff of Domination in her stone hands. Maybe the staff was controlling both of the celestial bodies now. 

Spike gave a deep yawn in his throne as he stretched. "Sheesh, sitting in that Throne 24/7 really hurts my back. You'd think Cadence would want a more comfy throne, what with her being a filthy weakling." The Emperor said as he stood up, his spines which were previously crushed against the crystal surface snapping straight again. "I really should hire someone to replace it. Maybe the Quills and Sofa guy. I really liked his couches. When Starlight comes I'll see if he's still available."

Spike pointed at one of the dragon guards which stood at attention along the walls of the room. "Fume, would you be so kind as to postpone the rest of the meetings I have on the schedule today. I think I'm going to take the rest of the day off."

The dragon guard snapped into a salute. "Of course sir. You've earned it if you ask me."

Ember rolled her eyes as she stood up. "Nobody likes a brownnoser Fume." She grumbled. 

"I dunno about that. I tend to like it when you and Thorax do it." The Dragonlord hissed with a sly grin, which earned him a light punch on the shoulder. 

The Dragonlord turned and shot Starlight a glance through the corner of his eye. She was standing right behind Thorax, who was doing his usual act of kneeling next to the throne obediently. Thorax was being a really good slave, as always. Her, not so much, but honestly he really didn't want her to be. She'd be acting in that case. And Starlight acting usually meant an escape attempt. He was happy to see her quiet, and still. 

A rather sadistic thought graced his mind, but first he decided to give her a little relaxation before crushing her spirit even more. Heaven knows she needed at least a little time off before she meet her alternate self and had her reality shattered by it. He'd want the same to be honest. 

"Come along you two." He said after snapping his fingers to get the attentions of her and Thorax. "Ember and you are getting a little too dull in my opinion."

Starlight had no idea what that meant, but it made Thorax stand up and walk up to his master, head held low. Starlight decided to follow after him. She still didn't want to be crushed. Or immolated. Or stabbed. By any dragons. At all. 

Spike lead the three of them through the winding halls of the Crystal Palace, occasionally stopping to give a concise order to a guard or reprimand a slacking slave. 

Soon enough, the party had arrived at a large door solid crystal door, which Spike pushed open like it was nothing. On the other side of the door, was a.... Spa?

Starlight Glimmer was incredibly confused. 

The spa consisted of a very large, almost pond shaped sauna full of waist deep warm water in the center of the room, a series of massage tables and chairs lining the walls, and slaves pampering to their masters. It was something straight out of some kind of pleasure magazine. The kind Rarity would absolutely find her self gushing over. Her jaw dropped as Spike walked inside, a swagger in his steps as Thorax and Ember followed close behind. 

Two slaves walked up to Spike. Two slaves she recognized as the twins who owned the Spa where she met Trixie. The two gave deep bows, rising back up with smiles on their faces. "Greetings, my Emperor!" They said happily in unison.

Starlight hoped it was an act. 

"Lotus, Aloe. Good to see you. I hope you are doing well." Spike said as he put a hand on Thorax's back and gently pushed him towards them. Thorax looked between them and Spike a couple times and visibly shrank, apprehension filling his face. He looked like a dog about to be handed over to the vet.

Starlight expected the worst. Some kind of torture or brainwashing.

"Give Thorax the usual please. Ember will be up next when she feels like it." Spike said as he wrapped an arm around Ember's shoulder and started walking towards the room spanning hot tub. 

Ember stepped into the pull and sat down with a content sigh on a bench along the tub's edge. Spike joined her after several slaves stripped him of all his armor. The two shot an expecting glare over to Starlight, who stared back at them with apprehension. 

On one hand, the hot tub looked really nice, and she could use a couple moments to relax. Especially because she had been on edge non-stop for the passed day and a half. On the other hand, it could be a trick, and she didn't exactly have an extra set of clothes. 

She decided to risk it. Removing her shirt, shoes, socks and pants, but keeping her bra and underwear on, Starlight slowly and apprehensively walked forwards and stepped into the pool. She noticed more than a couple pairs of eyes on her, mostly from ponies, but not from Spike at all, which was nice she guessed. He was a massive sex addicted pervert in this universe yes, but at least he wasn't perving over her. 

She sat across from Ember and Spike in a rather narrow section of the pool. She felt herself shuddering at how nice the water felt. As if it had been enchanted to be as soothing and nice as possible. Knowing that magic was a thing, that was probably the case. 

She shook her head suddenly. 'No. Stay alert. He's just trying to get into your head.' She thought. Starlight shot her eyes back to Spike but quickly averted them when he saw what he and Ember were doing. 

Spike was directly looking at her while Ember was unashamedly giving him a hand job under the water. "You know, you really should loosen up a bit Starlight. I've done a lot of work over the past two days trying to prove to you I am not a total dick. I'm not Sombra. I'm not going to just attack you while your guard is down. Besides, I don't want to ruin the relaxation of my subjects. What kind of ruler would ever do  that?"

Starlight brought her eyes back to him, staring him directly in the eyes. Half to show she wasn't backing down.

Half so she wasn't looking at his dick and strong body, which was actually pretty hot. His abs looked like they could crush diamonds. 

"Well, how do I know this isn't some kind of torture Spa?" She hissed at him. Her suspicions were confirmed when she heard the sound of some kind of whirring machine behind her, alongside the loud whimper. 

She spun around quickly to see Thorax clenching his fists and arching his back while laying on his front, as Aloe was using what looked like an electric polisher on his back plate, while Lotus was using a wet rag to shine his carapace along his legs. He looked a lot more... uncomfortable than in pain. Like it was nothing more than an overly forceful back massage. 

"Oh look. Torture." Spike said in a sarcastic voice. Starlight looked from the scene playing before her to Spike and then back several times. So that is what Spike meant by dull.

"Don't worry about those two. They are the only two in the entire Empire I trust to touch Thorax." Spike said as Starlight grumbled and slouched down defeated. "Mostly because they're gentle."

Starlight noticed that Ember was no where to be seen above the waterline. Before she could look around for her though, Spike's body flexed and he gave a forceful grunt, his hands rocketing into the water with a splash. A second or two later, Ember's head emerged from the water with a gasp for air. She took a couple breaths before smiling up at Spike slyly.

"How the hell can you even hold your breath for that long?" Spike asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Trade secret." She replied.

Starlight resisted the urge to vomit.
> Chapter 9: A New Face in the Resistance
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Over the passed two days, Twilight had settled into her life in the resistance, at least somewhat. She definitely found herself missing her bed. The best she had right now was a sleeping bag on top of a small pile of hay. At the very least though she didn't have to deal with any snakes or mice or anything crawling into her tent. For some reason there was no wildlife at all around the changeling lands. 

It could've been because of the massive domed shield surrounding the hive, or maybe the fact that changelings devoured the emotions of everything around them, but it honestly left her rather disturbed. Aside from the buzzing of drones, the shimmering of the shield, and the busy chatter of the resistance camp there was just... nothing around them. No birds chirping, no frogs croaking. 

It made her even more eager to finally escape Sombra's shield. And the resistance had a plan to do it. The shield had, in all it's good graces, a somewhat fatal flaw in it's design. That flaw being, that the dome shield couldn't penetrate the ground, and that it had interconnected with a massive cave network at the very edge of the barrier. The cave network stretched on for hundreds upon hundreds miles before eventually connecting with the crystal mines of Canterlot.

The Changelings had dug this network about 4 years ago during their invasion of the city. It's how they managed to move their entire army above the city without being detected. It was very unlikely Spike's Empire currently knew this cave network existed, Chrysalis having kept her youngest son in the dark about it, for fear of him being captured during the invasion. This was their ticket out. 

Now all they needed was a high ranking changeling who had been involved with the creation of the network to be their guide out. That part was a bit tricky.

"I'm not sure if this is a good idea." Spitfire said as she gazed over a map of Canterlot. "Even if we get through the caves to Canterlot, it will be almost impossible for us to escape the city. It's one of Spike's most heavily defended citadels." 

"We have little other options of escape." Blueblood replied. "Besides, you're with a pony who knows the inner workings of the city like the back of my hand. I know of several secret passages through the city that were designed centuries ago that will give us enough paths to get at least most of us out." 

"It's the most part that bothers me. What will happen to those we are forced to leave behind?" Zecora said, before Twilight rose from her seat and spread her wings. 

"If I have anything to say about it. Nothing will." Twilight exclaimed raising her head and powering her horn. "I am an Alicorn, and the only thing Spike has that could possibly stop me is all the way in the Crystal Empire. I will make sure not a thing happens to anypony." 

"An admirable goal yes. A believable one too, but we cannot rule out Spike not being at Canterlot either. Not to mention the new Regional Governor of Ponyville. We don't know who it is, but she is rumored to be equal to Alicorns in power. She is merely a hop skip and a jump away from Canterlot." Blueblood said. 

Twilight deflated as plans rushed through her head. One question stuck though. Who was this mystery Governor anyway?

"We're not going to get anywhere near Canterlot without a guide anywhere. Those damn bugs design their tunnels like mazes." Spitfire hissed. Just then, the flap to the tent opened and a rather small yellowish-greenish stallion in guard armor and a slightly bigger yak in a leather hauberk stepped in.

"Excuse me My Prince. My Princess. I uhhh, think you might want to see this." Sandbar, at least that's what Twilight thought his name was, said while gesturing over his shoulder. The four resistance leaders looked at each other before getting out of their seats and following the two out of the planning tent. 

A large crowd of gryphons and ponies had gathered in front of the tent, except they weren't staring at them. They were staring at the creature slowly limping towards them.

It was the changeling who had been with Sombra during Twilight's rescue. He was wounded. That much was obvious. A huge gash was across his chest, and it looked like he had a new hole in his leg, which seemed like it had been pierced by either a spear or a very harsh bite with a very pointy tooth. He wore a suit of rather torn armor, and had a helmet in his hand as he continued to limp towards Twilight. His leg gave out just as he almost reached the four, which sent him toppling to the ground.

"Prince Pharynx?!?" Blueblood cried out as he rushed forwards, catching him just inches from faceplanting into the dirt. "What happened to you? Did the shield fall? Are the dragons inside?"

"N-No... No they aren't." Pharynx said weakly as Blueblood gently lowered him to the ground. "C-Chrysalis did this to me." The changeling gave a hiss as Blueblood placed a hand against his leg to stop the bleeding. 

"This is bad..." Blueblood said as he pointed at Zecora. "I need potions and bandages, stat." 

"Right on it." The Zebra said before rushing away as Spitfire kneeled down next to the changeling.

"Sweet Celestia… His own mother did this to him." The former Wonderbolt exclaimed as she brushed a hand over Pharynx's chest wound. 

Twilight was still. Silent as a rock as she watched the changeling smack Spitfire's hand away before coughing rather loudly. The crowd gathered around them started to murmur loudly as Blueblood hoisted the changeling's arm over his shoulder and brought him to his feet. 

Twilight had never actually seen blood before. What was in front of her looked... horrible. 

"Why are you here Pharynx?" Twilight asked as Blueblood started to carry him into their tent, Twilight following slightly behind him.

"I... I want into the resistance."





Starlight felt herself relieved as she followed after Spike, Ember and Thorax, who had just finished up their 'spa day'. 

Ember confidently strode ahead of Spike, her scales glistening and shining in the hallway, attracting more than a couple draconic eyes, which quickly averted themselves when Spike glared at them. Starlight found herself actually rather fascinated by the shimmering diamond like quality of the drakes skin. It was indeed quiet beautiful.

Although, she did have to admit Ember was rather drowned out by Thorax, who was shyly hiding behind Spike. His carapace was absolutely stunning right now. It was shinned to such a level that Starlight could see her reflection on him. When she had first seen him like this, the unicorn couldn't help but drop her jaw, which only closed when Spike growled at her like an over possessive beast. 

Starlight shook her head as the four continued down the halls of the Crystal Castle. It didn't dawn on her that they weren't heading to the throne room until Spike stopped in front of a seemingly random door. 

"Wh-why are we stopping here?" Starlight asked timidly before Spike smiled at her. It certainly wasn't a friendly smile.

"To talk to a friend." He hissed. "I'm sure you are going to find this quite eye opening." 

Spike opened the door and entered the room, Ember and Thorax following after him obediently. 

Starlight gulped before she too entered the room, to find herself in a very large library. It wasn't as big as the one back in Twilight's castle, but it was certainly amazing, but something told her she wasn't here to enter the library. Particularly the distant sound of moaning coming from behind a door deeper in.

Spike gave a deep sigh. "I tell him to do research and I find him balls deep in his guard. Not a good look." He grunted, which caused Starlight to glance between Spike and the door several times. She had a hunch what was behind it, but she chose not to believe it.

Spike marched forwards and ripped the door open. What Starlight saw on the other side made her heart sink. Staring at the four of them, mid thrust into the bent over form of Flash Sentry, was Sunburst, who wore nothing but his cape. 

"Sunburst. I could have sworn I told you to research for me." Spike said disappointingly as he crossed his arms over his chest.

"S-sorry my lord." Sunburst said as he quickly pulled out of Flash, which earned a rather loud groan of disappointment from the Pegasus. The unicorn mage corrected his glasses. "I was just distracted by my..." He paused as if searching for a word.

"Your slave?" Spike answered for him. Only then did Starlight notice the golden collar around flash's neck.

"Yes sir. My slave. I apologize." Sunburst said before walking passed the Dragonlord and into the library. Starlight was shocked that he didn't seem to notice her. "Funny you should come here actually. I had just made a breakthrough. That's why me and Flash were celebrating."

"You can call what you were doing celebrating, yes." Spike said with a smile as he pulled Ember and Thorax closer to him. "A breakthrough on which process. The immortality, the growth blocker or..." 

"The hybridization one." Sunburst said as he grabbed a potion from a table in the center of the room. "Merely give this to your slave during next changeling estrus cycle, make him turn into a female and boom. You'll have an egg." 

Thorax gave a loud whimper when Sunburst finished talking. Starlight could see exactly why. That plan sounded insane to say the least. Actually, insane was an understatement. It sounded batshit crazy. 

"Excellent." Spike said as he took the potion. "I honestly can't decide which of my slaves I want to make an heir with. So I'm just going to do both. That all right with both of you?" 

"I was wondering when you were going to knock me up." Ember chuckled. Thorax didn't say anything. 

Only then did Sunburst seem to notice Starlight. "Oh my, I heard the rumors but I didn't actually think they were true. You're the alternate Starlight right?" 

Starlight didn't say anything. She was too shaken to. This had to be a dream.

"Hmmm. I should have expected something like this to happen. The Universe seems to have a way of always summoning Dues Ex Machina's to stop anyone who dares to threaten the princess's perfect society. I am glad you caught her my Emperor. I couldn't stand to see your rule come to an end." Sunburst said pressing a hand to his chest and giving a deep bow. 

That is what sent Starlight over the edge. She rushed forwards and grabbed Sunburst by the shoulder, slamming him against a book case. "Listen to yourself! What is wrong with you! How could you support that fucking tyrant!?!"

"Myes hello, I'm still here." Spike exclaimed with a wave.

"He is a murderer! He is enslaving entire races! He is treating ponies like nothing more than expendable animals and here you are supporting him! What is wrong with you!" The Unicorn cried out, as she raised a first. She was about to strike her former friend in the face before she was suddenly tackled from the side and pinned down by the stronger form of Flash Sentry, who twisted her army behind her back very harshly.

"Don't you ever hurt my master again, bitch." Flash hissed.

Sunburst corrected his glasses again and stood up straighter. "Contrary to popular belief, some ponies like slavery. Not to mention. You're princesses did far worse." The unicorn said, but Starlight wasn't listening.

How could she?
> Chapter 10: Governor Starlight Glimmer
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Starlight stood next to Spike's throne, unable to get over what happened yesterday. She found herself unable to think of anything but Sunburst's betrayal. How could he do something like this? How could he sign himself over to Spike?

Speaking of Spike, the Emperor was pacing back and forth in the middle of the throne room, while Ember lounged in Spike's throne. Thorax knelt on the ground next to Ember, his head following Spike as he walked back and forth. 

Thorax blinked twice as he turned to Ember. "What is our Emperor so worried about?" The Changeling asked sheepishly.

"I dunno. Something about a Governor visiting. I tend to ignore politics and junk." Ember said picking at something between her teeth with a pinkie claw. Spike suddenly perked up and gestured to the two. 

"She's here." Spike said as he cleared his throat. "Thorax, Ember. Over here, quick please. Starlight.... You do whatever." 

Thorax and Ember were quick to get onto their feet/hooves and rush over to Spike, who put an arm on either of their shoulders and pulled them close to him. Starlight didn't move. She knew what was about to enter the throne room. 

The throne room doors glowed a deep turquoise, before slamming open and two ponies walked in. Well, one walked, and one crawled. 

"Hello my Emperor!" Starlight Glimmer cried out with a large wave, attached to her hand via a leash was the nude form of Trixie who was on her hands and knees. Starlight's face turned green when she barked.

"Starlight. It is great to see you." Spike said walking forwards and clasped hands with her. "Truly wonderful to have you here." 

"And it is wonderful to be here." Starlight 2 said with a smile. 

Spike leaned down and whispered into her ear. "Before we get to the main attraction I was wondering if you could..." Spike rolled his hand, searching for the words before giving up and just gesturing to Ember and Thorax, who shot a confused glance to each other. 

Starlight 2 chuckled. "Of course I can. I am very use to slave owners asking me to do that. I'm guessing temporarily?" Her horn glowed a rather chilling turquoise, a color Starlight was all too common with.

Spike smiled and nodded down at her. Ember opened her mouth to say something before both Ember and Thorax's eyes turned a solid blue and they both tensed up. The two stood still for a couple seconds as the Governor worked her magic until her horn stopped and they dropped to the ground. 

The Emperor walked up to Thorax, mainly because he was closer and kneeled down next to him, a mix of excitement and worry on his face. He trusted Starlight to not cause any damage rooting around in their heads, but one cannot always shake the slight concern at seeing your slaves fall to the ground.

Thorax slowly came to and pulled himself onto his hands and knees, looking up at Spike for a couple seconds.

"A... Arf?" The little changeling barked up at Spike. 

Both Starlight's felt their ears might have betrayed them when the Emperor practically squealed. "Aww! He's so adorable!" The Emperor said before clearing his throat and blushing.

"Ehem, I mean... Good work Starlight. I can always count on you." He corrected himself while running a hand down Thorax's back, who tried to wag his trail in response, it was sort of tied up to prevent it from moving though.

The changeling flopped onto his back to give the Emperor access to his belly, which Spike rubbed affectionately. The Emperor's gruff exterior shattered again. "Awww who's a good boy? Who's a good boy?" The dragon repeated, which caused the changeling's leg to kick the air. 

Spike laughed at the cute pants and high pitched barks his pet was making. He opened his mouth to say something before being tackled by the blue form of Ember. The dragoness pinned her master down and stared down at him. Before Spike could even react he found him self assaulted by a rather viscous stream of face licks. 

Thorax gave a couple whimpers after having Ember steal Spike away from him, but felt content to not really. She was, in his mind at least, the beta to his omega. 

"Argh! Ooof! Ember! Bad! No jumping!" Spike cried but that really didn't do anything to stop her. "Go play with Thorax or something!" 

Ember pulled back after her attack on Spike, and slowly turned over to her fellow slave. Despite the fact that he now believed he was a dog, Thorax was still very much a scaredy-cat. The changeling shirked back and would have run away if Ember hadn't already pounced towards him. Thorax failed to escape her in time and was pinned by the much stronger dragoness, her reptilian tail wagging behind her. 

Starlight 2 reached down and pulled Spike into a standing position. Trixie's leash was grabbed out of Starlight's hand by magic, dragging the slave away and tying her to one of the statues in the room, that of Fluttershy. 

The Governor laughed as Spike rubbed his face clean. "Don't worry, that sort of thing is very common when I do my mind magic. No need to be embarrassed."

"I'm not." Spike said as he looked over to his slaves. Ember was attacking Thorax this time with face licks. A very precious sight to him. "They are just so cute." 

Spike stared at them for a couple seconds, a warm smile on his face before perking up. "Anyway! Onto the main attraction." 

Spike made a heel turn and locked eyes with Starlight 1, marching in her direction. "Governor Starlight. Allow me to introduce you to Starlight Glimmer." 

Governor Starlight walked directly up to her counterpart and looked her up and down, a hand on her chin. Starlight 1 stared back at her. The Governor was wearing what looked like a purple tuxedo, with a neon green tie and a white undershirt. Her hair style was the same, but she had tattoo on her cheek, which looked like the wing of a dragon. She wore two rather tall jackboots and an arm band which featured the insignia of the Dragon Empire. 

"Hmph. I expected her to be taller." Governor Starlight said flicking her counterpart in the horn. 

The other Starlight growled at her. "How could you do that to Trixie?" 

The Governor chuckled. "How could you not? She loves this! Don't you Trixie?" She called back to her slave on the other side of the room. The blue unicorn gave an affirming bark in response.

"She does not! You're just manipulating her!" Starlight shouted.

The Governor laughed in her face. "Bitch, she asked me to do it to her." Starlight clenched her fists, but she knew not to act. 

"Why... Why would you betray Equestria? Your friends!?!" 

"I didn't. Equestria betrayed it's own people. And my 'friends' did nothing but perpetrate that betrayal. Equestria never cared about anyone but it's 6 special snowflakes and it's leaders. It was a broken fucking nation that did nothing to help the people that had their lives ruined and destroyed by Celestia's little plot to turn her student into an Alicorn." The Governor said before grabbing her counterpart by the collar and pulling her face closer to hers. 

"Get this through your thick skull before you try anything." The Governor hissed. "I am not you. I am better than you in everyway. Capiche?" 

Starlight didn't say anything. She just frowned. The Governor scoffed, before she pushed her counterpart and slammed her against the room's back wall. "Typical vermin." 

Spike was quiet for a couple seconds, as Starlight 2 brushed some dust off her uniform. 

"Well anyway!" Starlight said turning towards her ruler. "I'm here for the next couple days. I left Spoiled Rich and Filthy Rich behind to manage Ponyvile while I am up here. So I am up for doing anything. Anything at all." 

Spike rubbed his chin for a couple minutes before turning to Starlight. "Have you ever played Ogres & Oubliettes? My old partner for the game went ahead and joined the resistance, and I've been meaning to get back into it..."
> Chapter 11: Imperial Games
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

After snapping Ember and Thorax out of their trances, Spike had been quick to bring the two of them, Starlight, Starlight 2 and Trixie through a door connected to the throne room across from Spike's sleeping chamber. 

Inside was a very cozy looking living room. A magical fireplace roared alongside a wall making the room nice a toasty. A couple book cases lined the walls, alongside a couple of busts of Spike's head. A group of picture frames sat on a small wardrobe next to a shelf directly across from the door. The middle of the room was empty, barring a large Diamond Dog rug, which sat in front of the fireplace.

One would think that meant the rug was made by Diamond Dogs. No. A Diamond Dog had very legitimately been made into a rug on the floor. Like one of the bear rugs which were always in cabins for some reason. 

Starlight forced her eyes away from it. Perhaps it was fake fur. Or it was a collectors item that was hundreds of years old and made by someone other than Spike. That was something she would much rather believe. 

Spike walked up to the shelf along the wall, Thorax and Ember following after him, although the two certainly looked very confused. She couldn't blame them. They were dogs when Spike explained what he wanted to do. "Hey, Starlight. Would you go get Sunburst and Flash for me? I think they'd be into this sort of thing." 

Starlight stood firm, she refused to do what Spike told her to. She would never-

"Of course my Emperor." Starlight Two said with a salute. The Governor turned and left the room, leaving Starlight alone with Trixie and the usual ensemble of the Emperor and his slaves. 

'Of course he was talking to her.' Starlight thought as she mentally slapped her self in the face. She sighed and dragged her hooves as she walked towards the Emperor. She noticed the alternate Trixie curl up on the rug in front of the fireplace. She didn't imagine the unicorn joining in on the game they were about to play. 

Spike was rooting through the shelf. It had dozens of small crystals scattered around it's compartments. Starlight didn't know what they were for, so she decided to look at the pictures on the drawer instead. 

One had Spike sitting on Torch's massive old throne. He was about half as tall in the picture as he was now. Probably due to a lack of greed growth yet. One next to it had Spike sweeping Ember off her feet and locking lips with her, behind him were the statued forms of the Elements of Harmony, Discord, and the Princesses. 

A third picture had Spike as he was now. He had a hand on the back of Thorax's head as the two of them laid on a bed together. Thorax was resting his head on the Emperor's chest and nuzzling it lovingly. A final picture was of Ember and Thorax. The two were looking at the camera, their arms wrapped around each other. 

The pride jewel of this collection was a painting which sat against the wall. Spike was sitting in his throne, his member erect and a crown on his head. Sitting on one of the arms of the throne was Ember, a smile on her face as she looked down at her lords rod. Spike had an arm on her shoulder. Kneeling next to the throne was the feminine form of Thorax, who had the Emperor's hand on his head. 

It was a rather lovely painting, even if she didn't like what was in it. Spike certainly seemed to cherish his time with the two, as they seemed to take priority over his conquests. He had only one picture of himself and four of them after all. 

She was ripped out of her thoughts when Spike shouted. "Aha!" He cried out as he picked up a crystal. He haphazardly threw the crystal over his shoulder. It landed in the middle of the room, and with a big boom and a flash of light, a table and five chairs appeared in the middle of the room. 

"Compacted furniture." Spike said with a smile as he walked up and took a seat. "An invention from my wonderful court wizard Sunburst. Makes setting up for events a breeze. Only downside is that Sunburst has to rely on other unicorns to make it but ehhhh, only liars and annoying asshats are good at everything." 

Ember took a seat directly to the right of Spike and brushed up against him with a smile, while Thorax hesitantly pulled into a seat next to him, confused as to why they were being allowed to sit at the same table as their master. 

Starlight was terrified as she thought of what kind of torture was about to occur.





Chrysalis lounged in her throne idly, clawing at something between her teeth with a fingernail. She must have not chewed that grub she had earlier well enough. 

Sombra was sitting at a table in front of her with three of her changeling generals as the four of them studied a map, trying to think of something they could use to gain an advantage over Spike. 

"What about his slave, Ember?" Chrysalis asked as she laid onto her back and kicked up her hooves. "He seems to have a massive amount of love for her. If we killed her or captured her, we could manipulate him could we not?" 

Sombra placed a hand on his chin and hummed as he thought it over. "It could work, but Ember is a fighter, and has been all her life. She would be a difficult target. But let's put a pin in that..."

One of the Generals perked up. "Wait! Our infiltrators have told us the he has two, and Pharynx mentioned that Thorax was one of his personal slaves! He must be the second one!" 

Chrysalis quickly stood up with a smile. "That's it! We'll use him!" 

Sombra cackled. "Yes... he would be easy to break... Chrysalis, ready your men. I will be back with our new prey in a couple days!"

Chrysalis chuckled as she opened her wings and flew over to Sombra. "I am way ahead of you."

The evil king and queen locked lips as Sombra's hooves started to turn into a black mist. Soon the entirety of him had transformed into a black cloud which rocketed out of the room. It was heading northwards. 





Starlight had expected a lot of things, but this was not one of them.

"Introducing, Lord Garbunkle, level 35 Wizard King of unrivaled magical power!" Spike said as he presented a small token for his character, which featured a piece of paper sticking out of the top. On the piece of construction paper was a drawing of Spike, who was wearing solid golden armor, lightning shooting out of his eyes. "He shall conquer this world as I have conquered ours! Bow before him mortals!" 

The group broke into laughter, even the timid Thorax giggled a little. 

Starlight Two was next, "I have Lady... uh.... Sunshimmer…" She said after a pause.

"Sunshimmer?" Flash Sentry asked after a couple chuckles. "Those are literally just synonyms for Starlight."

"I'm not good with names ok!" Starlight shouted back which earned yet another bout of laughter from the table.

"Anyway, uh, she's a spellsword." 

Sunburst presented his character token, it was an orange dragon in yellow armor. "Citrine, Dragon Paladin who has graciously offered his services to the true lord of this land, King Garbunkle!" He was trying to sound intimidating, but he wasn't very good at it. 

"Much appreciated!" Spike shouted back. He however, was great at being intimidating. 

"Flame Warden." Flash Sentry said presenting his character art. Starlight was surprised by it. It looked good enough that it could be a page in a comic book or something. The detail and shading was amazing. "A unicorn fighter in the noble service as a squire to Citrine!"

"You're a little more than my squire, aren't you?" Sunburst whispered to Flash salaciously, causing the Pegasus to blush and giggle slightly.

Ember put down her character piece. The paper that showed her art was very crumpled to say the least and featured a scribble that if you squinted at it, vaguely resembled a dragon. 

"This is Cinder... Uh.... She's a person." The dragoness said scratching the side of her head. 

Spike shook his head and tsked before he and everyone else in the room turned to Thorax who hadn't presented yet. The changeling was shaking a little before he gulped and showed his character.

"T-t-t-this is Thicket... H-he's a deer rogue." The changeling finally stammered out after a couple seconds of timid quivering. 

Spike grinned down at him and patted the Changeling on the back. "I'm proud of you for presenting him." The Emperor said to him lovingly, and the changeling beamed.

"Awww, that's precious." Starlight said, patting her neighbor Sunburst on the back.. 

"Gnn, y-yeah." Sunburst stammered out. Starlight noticed Flash's head was now under the table, and that he had a raging wing boner. Indicating that he and Sunburst were involved in a game of their own right now. Starlight hated it. "Oh sweet Emperor you're good at that Flashy!" 

Starlight averted her eyes. 





The caves that lead from the Changeling Hive to Canterlot were dark and confusing, but Twilight had to suppose that made sense. They were supposed to be made in a way that any potential army sent to invade the hive would be hopelessly lost underneath the winding tunnels and maze like halls. 

The resistance members knew that if they lost sight of their guide, they would most likely die down here, so a large group of them had taken to tying themselves together in a big line so they wouldn't be separated. Blueblood had been the one to suggest this, and he was safely at the front, directly behind Twilight.

She had to give him this. Even if Blueblood was a massive dick in her universe, his skills as a leader could by no means be overlooked. He knew what he was doing, at least a lot better than Twilight did. She was not even close to a military leader. If anything, right now she was more of a symbol than anything close to in charge. 

She supposed it was good like this.

Speaking of supposing, Twilight found herself supposing just what was going through the head of Pharynx as he stood at the front of the resistance caravan. He limped forwards as if he didn't even feel the hole in his leg. He held a torch a loft in front of him it being the only light in the cave, baring the one or two flash lights that were carried by the resistance members behind them.

She was jolted from her thoughts when she felt a hand on her shoulder. 

"Do you think Pharynx can be trusted?" Spitfire whispered into her ear. "He could be leading us into a trap."

"I don't think so. What would he have to gain from it? We are supposed to be allies." Twilight grunted back to her as she pulled her arm away. She found herself rubbing it. Spitfire's grip was more than a little harsh. 

"You know what they say about changelings." Spitfire said. "They are untrustworthy. Pharynx will probably sell us out to his queen at the earliest convenience." 

Twilight rolled her eyes. "I didn't expect the leader of the wonder bolts to be a speciest." The Pegasus was about to say something in her defense, before she was cut off by Zecora joining the conversation.

"We should not assume the Changeling is our enemy. Spike is a far greater enemy to us than Chrysalis could ever be." Zecora spoke simply. "One can only imagine what cruelties he is enacting at this very second."





"NAT 20!" The entire table roared in response to Thorax's roll, which sent a stream of rocks falling down onto a swarm of skeletons which destroyed them utterly. 

Spike grabbed the Changeling, gently of course, and hoisted him onto his shoulders. "Go Thorax!" The Dragonlord shouted. 

The small changelings, aside from his massive blush, looked absolutely giddy. Over the passed couple hours, the bug had really come out of his shell, and he was having just as much fun as the rest of them. 

After the revelry had died down Spike found himself sniffing the air for a couple seconds. He turned over to see that Ember's chair was empty, and he smelt something coming from his bed room.

The Dragon Lord sighed deeply as he pulled Thorax off of him and set him back in his chair. "Damn it, she's doing it again. Am I going to have to get chastity belts for you two? Because I really don't want."

"W-why would I get one if she's the one misbehaving?" Thorax whimpered before Spike shushed him with a hand on his chin. 

"Now now Thorax. Every single inch of you, and every single sensation you feel is mine. When either of you do that kind of thing without my permission, you're stealing from me." Spike said in a disciplinary voice. "Does a good slave steal from their master?"

"N-no sir. Only bad slaves steal." Thorax replied back submissively.

"Are you a bad slave?"

"No s-sir."

"Good. Stay here with Sunburst and the Starlights. I'll be back in 10 or 20 minutes after giving Ember a good drilling." Spike said as he turned to the door and marched out.

Starlight starred at Spike as he left before she turned her attention back to the changeling slave. The second he left, Starlight noticed a massive shift in his behavior.

The changeling very quickly curled up into a ball and started shaking. His eyes darted every which way. He started shaking and hyperventilating as his eyes teared up. Starlight stared at him with concern.

He looked so... scared. 

The unicorn looked between him and the door several times before reaching towards him. Inches away from him, she felt her hand get burnt and shocked. A beam of turquoise energy had struck her. She pulled her hand back quickly and cringed. That hurt. 

She turned to the direction it had come to see Starlight Two glaring at her. The alternate Starlight shook her head and growled at her. 

She got the message quickly.
> Interlude 2: Claiming Ember
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Emperor Spike, or rather Dragon Lord Spike, marched through the ash covered grounds surrounding the former Lord Torch's throne. Well... perhaps marched wasn't the right word. He was pacing. Contemplating a way to secure his victory over the Elements and the Princesses. 

There was no mistake. They would be here soon, and they would be out for blood. Well... blood was also not the right word. They would pop in, blast him with a rainbow, and turn him back into a weak submissive slave that Twilight could order around again. It was disgusting. The idea that they considered that a happy ending. 

On top of that, Spike was struggling with a second problem. What was he going to do about Ember? She was loyal, yes, but over the passed couple days in the Dragon Lands, he had begun to notice a distinct theme. Namely, equal relations were seen by Dragons as weakness. There was only ever possessor, and possession. 

This put Spike into a bit of a pickle. He really liked Ember, and he wanted to keep her close, but he wasn't sure if he was comfortable owning her, like how he had been owned by Twilight. He was unsure if he wanted to subject Ember to that kind of treatment. 

As it stood however, he didn't know if he had a choice in the matter. A weak Dragon Lord was always deposed quickly. 





Ember sat quietly in her sleeping cave, atop a large mound of gems and gold coins. Her mind was a buzz with worries about the future. She knew the policy of the Dragon Lands. She wasn't Princess anymore, and that made her a target. As much as she tried to deny it, she knew she wasn't as strong as the other dragons, and sooner or later, one would come to assert his dominance over her. 

That is always what happened. The Princess who did not claim the scepter was violated again and again by stronger dragons, and she had heard that they tended to be overly rough when doing it. Infact, apparently the last Princess who didn't claim the rod was passed around as a public slave to every member of the dragon race before being killed. Actually she heard conflicting stories about that part. She was either killed, died due to injuries, or flew off in shame.

Either way, it sounded terrible.

Ember jumped when a shadow fell over her. Someone was standing in front of the cave's entrance. Ember leaped off of her hoard and raised her fists in a combat position. She would NOT go down without a fight. 

In front of her stood Spike. In one hand was the Bloodstone Scepter. She couldn't tell what was in the other because he had it behind his back. 

Ember relaxed and lowered her claws. "Sorry. I was... expecting someone else." She said with a sigh.

"What's got you down?" Spike said as he walked into the room. He was only half as tall as her now, but she could tell he was going to be taller than her in a month or two. He was growing now, exponentially quickly. Wouldn't be long until he was up to his proper height for his age.

Ember gave a deep, long sigh. "Nothing its... Nothing." She mumbled as she sat down on her hoard. 

"You were expecting another dragon to come and claim you weren't you?" Spike said as he sat down next to her. 

"Unfortunately that's how it works in the Dragon Lands. For some reason the son or daughter of the Dragon Lord is one of the weakest of that generation, and if they can't claim the Bloodstone Scepter..." Ember stopped and gulped. "They are usually killed after being..." 

Spike stopped her. "I will protect you Ember." He said firmly. "I won't let a single drake touch you." 

Ember curled up into a ball on top of the hoard. "T-that's sweet and all," She said quietly. "But what can you do to stop them?"

"Simple." Spike started, before standing up. Ember suddenly felt something cold and metal latch around her neck. Ember brought her hands up in a panic and clawed at the silver collar that was now around her neck.

"W-what the hell?" She cried out, fear in her normally strong voice. 

Spike grabbed her by the wrists and pulled them away from the collar. The blue dragon struggled, but Spike kept a firm hand. He didn't even flinch when she breathed violet fire directly into his face. 

"If I claim you, no dragon will dare touch you." He said calmly, quietly and reassuringly. Ember stopped struggling and looked him dead in the eyes. "I promise I won't do anything you don't want. This is only so I can protect you." 

Ember's jaw dropped as she stared at the purple drake. She blushed, deeply. "W-why? Why aren't you trying to-" She was immediately cut off by Spike growling. 

"That is barbaric. You helped me free myself from Twilight. Why would I, for one second, treat you like my personal cum dump?" Spike said as he let go of her wrists. "I can not in good conscious let anyone hurt you. At all."

Spike turned and started to leave the cave.

"T-take me." He head behind him. Spike tensed up and slowly turned around. 

"What was that?" He asked, shock in his voice.

"You heard me." Ember said as she laid back and spread her legs, giving Spike a wonderful view of her lower lips. "I want you to take me." 

Spike was quiet as he started at her. His legs quivered and his breath felt shaky. Ember smiled at him, which caused his entire face to flush red. "A-are you sure?" He shakily asked. 

"Of course. You are the only dragon I have met who would do something like this for me." Ember said quietly, her tail swinging invitingly between her legs.

Spike gulped and slowly stalked towards her. "Just so you know, I have never done anything l-like this before." He stammered out, his rod already fully erect. So erect in fact it almost hurt. He held onto her thighs as he hovered his member ever so slightly away from her.

"Neither have I." Ember said with a reassuring smile. Spike smiled back at her, and slowly inched himself into her. 

Ember visibly tensed up and bit her lips. "Unf." She whimpered as Spike finally hilted inside her. 

"I'm not hurting you am I?" Spike asked as he looked up at her. 

"N-no. It just feels really w-weird." Ember groaned as she stared down at her abdomen, a slight bulge having formed on it. "G-good weird though." 

Spike smiled back and started to gently rock his hips back and forth. Ember tensed up and arched her back. 

"Ahh, mmm. Shit that feels good." She moaned as Spike started to slowly pick up the pace, going in and out faster and faster.

Spike clenched his jaw as he felt her interior muscles rhythmically pulse, tightening and loosening around him with each thrust. It felt good. Really good. 

Ember pulled herself up and wrapped her arms around Spike as he dropped any pretense of taking things slow. He decided he wanted to go fast now. She bit down on his shoulder as his member brushed up against a particular spot in her inner walls which sent shocks up and down her body. 

Ember cried out as she felt her lower walls flex and tighten around the rod, spasming as she felt her first orgasm. "Ahhh, Spike!" She cried out. 

The spasming and shaking of her cunt was enough to milk Spike dry as he too came, shooting rope after rope into his Ember. 

The two held onto each other, panting and groaning as they both wound down from their blissful euphoria. 

"N-not bad for a first time right?" Spike asked slowly. 

"Certainly not." Ember smiled back to him. 

"G-good. Because I think I am exhausted. Mind if I crash in here tonight?"

"It would be my pleasure."
> Chapter 12: Escape Plans and Loss
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Twilight was brought to a stop when Pharynx raised his hand. The Resistance followed behind her, coming to a stop. 

"We're here." The changeling said as he turned his head every which way looking around. 

"Thank Celestia, we have been in here for months." Groaned Spitfire.

"More like a couple days," Blueblood said as he slowly strode forwards, standing next to Pharynx. "I think I recognize these tunnels. Did we loose anyone?"

"Everyone is accounted for sir!" Soarin said back with a salute. 

"Good." Blueblood said turning around and dragging a boulder along the ground to form as a makeshift table as the Resistance formed a circle around him. The Unicorn stallion put a map of the sewers and tunnel systems of the pony capital onto the boulder. 

"We will have to split into four groups to minimize our chances of capture." Blueblood pointed out a rather straight tunnel that intersected with the winding crystal caverns. "Spitfire. Take the gryphons, pegasi, and anyone else who can fly to this tunnel here. It exits half way down the cliff Canterlot sits on. The Imperials won't be able to see you flying the rest of the way down."

Spitfire gave a nod and saluted. "Yes sir." The pegasi and gryphons around soon separated from the group and started checking their equipment, sharpening blades and putting on their armor. 

Blueblood pointed back at the map and turned to Zecora. "Zecora, I am going to need you to brew up as many invisibility potions as you can, then you and anyone else incapable of magic follow this tunnel." The unicorn traced along a zig-zaging tunnel. "Take the potions as soon as you reach the end, then climb out of the sewers and you should be right in front of the Canterlot city gates. You only need to avoid making any sound as one of you opens the gates, then make your way out of the city." 

Zecora gave a nod and quickly turned away, being followed by a couple ponies as they set up a makeshift brewing station. Twilight noticed that one of those ponies was Apple Bloom. She smiled. It was good to know she was ok. 

"Twilight." Blueblood exclaimed next which caused her to jump our of her thoughts. She quickly turned to him and nodded. 

The unicorn prince pulled out four necklaces, each with a purple crystal as a pendent. "These are communication necklaces. It will allow the wearer to talk to anyone else wearing one as if they are in the same room as them." Blueblood's horn glowed a deep blue and all four of them were wrapped in magic and placed around the necks of one of the resistance leaders. 

"Should one of our groups face any trouble, they need to call Twilight, who will teleport to their location and aide them with her magic. It is safe to say that as the most powerful member of the group, she will be best used for this situation." The resistance leader said turning his head to stare at ever member of the group, who nodded in agreement.

"Should no problems arise, wait in this cave until everyone escapes, then teleport to the rendezvous location." Blueblood said as he turned to Big Mac.

"Which is Sweet Apple Acres." The large stallion answered. 

"I'll be staying with Twilight." A voice claimed. The group turned to see Pharynx propped up against a stalagmite as he checked his equipment. He was in the armor he had worn when he saved Twilight from the Emperor, as he sharpened a black and green longsword with a whetstone. 

"And what makes you say that?" Spitfire said, her eyes narrowed in suspicion. 

"Simple." The changeling said as he stood up and walked towards her, his limp that had plagued him for the past couple hours completely gone. Twilight was confused. Usually a hole that big in someone's leg crippled them for life.

Pharynx stopped directly in front of her his eyes narrowed as he stared directly into her eyes. "Your princess hasn't killed anyone before." The changeling raised his blade. "I have." 

Blueblood quickly stepped in-between them before a fight broke out and separated the two. "A good point Pharynx. You probably have the most combat experience out of anyone in the resistance right now. You should stay with Twilight." He mediated, watching as Spitfire growled and turned away. 

"So, what are you doing Blueblood." Soarin asked as he stood up and gave his blue and yellow sword an experimental swing. 

"Simple." Blueblood said as he put three pieces of paper on top of the map on the table. There was a flash of blue, and the contents of the original map was copied onto the other pieces, which he quickly handed out. "I will be sneaking into the castle, and I am going to kill the dragon who is currently sitting on my Aunties throne. Any unicorns who would like to volunteer with me, feel free to step forwards. Otherwise you will be accompanying Zecora."

A murmur went through the crowd. 

"Wh-what do you mean my Prince? That sounds like a suicide mission." Mrs. Cake claimed as she stepped forwards timidly. 

The prince was already putting on a suit of golden armor. "I know it does. And it just might be, but the thought of a dragon sitting on a throne that was meant for an Alicorn is something I cannot stand. If I succeed, I will be teleporting to the rendezvous. If not," 

Blueblood turned to Twilight. "She is in charge."

"What?" But, I c-" Twilight was cut off when Blueblood turned back to the crowd. 

"Now then, who's with me?" 

Three Unicorns suddenly stepped forwards. Lyra, Moondancer, and Stellar Flare. Twilight opened and closed her mouth a couple times. Not one of them were good at combat spells. 

"Let's go then." Blueblood said as he turned and left, the three following him. 

The Pegasi and gryphons quickly left afterwards, following Spitfire. The rest of the resistance stayed behind as they waited on Zecora to finish her potions. 

"Well." Pharynx  said. Twilight turned to him as he stared after Blueblood. "Looks like we already know who is going to be calling for help."





Starlight stood next to Spike's throne like always as he stared at a large map that was on a table set up in front of his throne. Small figurines had been set up on the table representing armies and the like, with most of them being set up in the south around a green circle on an otherwise mostly purple map. 

"We have made significant progress in spreading the Empire recently." A white dragon in purple armor said twirling a crystal cane idly. "We recently discovered a tribe of silent creatures known as Kirin, which we have begun subjugating. They can't even put up a fight. No communication does that to you, especially when they can only fight by summoning vines or randomly shooting flames at us. They clearly don't know we are fireproof." 

"A dragon leviathan recently stumbled upon an odd wooden and clay city in the desert to the south. They wanted to capture him for some reason. He responded by burning the town to the ground, we are shifting through the ashes for any valuables and survivors."  

The white dragon chuckled. "Let's see... what else... ah yes, A scouting force recently came under attack by a small fleet of airships recently. The scouting force made incredibly short work of them, and we expect to begin subjugating their race as well when we finish interrogating the only survivor of the fleet. It looks like some kind of white bipedal ape thing, from what I understand. It claims to be a soldier of the, quote on quote, 'Storm Empire.'"

Spike gave a deep hmmm at this information. "Gather any spare forces we have in the north who are on leave and have them gather near where this fleet was. I expect that this Storm Empire will attempt to launch an attack soon and I want none of their ships to even see our border, then move in to conquer them."

"Very good sir." The white dragon said with a bow.

"You have done well Colonel Fizzle, we have recently received a new shipment of gryphon slaves from our holdings in Gryphonstone. Take your pick." Spike said with an idle gesture of his claw. 

The white drake nodded and snapped his claw. Two dragon guards in the room walked up to the table and carried it our of the room after him as he left. 

Spike sat back in his throne and tapped his claws together. "What do you make of this?" Spike asked as he turned to Governor Starlight who was running her hand along the pedestal that the statue of Twilight Sparkle sat on. 

"I don't think too much of it. I expect this Storm Empire will be no harder to crush than anything else we have encountered." Starlight 2 said as she walked away from the statue of Twilight and stood across from Spike. 

"I agree. The only thing that could pose any threat to us at this point is Chrysalis and Sombra, although thanks to Thorax," Spike said as he reached down and grabbed the kneeling changeling, picking him up and placing him on his lap. "They are no more threatening to us than a bag of drowned puppies." 

Thorax gave a whimper as Spike rubbed along his wing casing. "You know Thorax, I don't think I rewarded you for how behaved you were last night."

Starlight 2 and Ember looked at each other and grinned. 

Spike licked his lips as he took off his loin cloth. Thorax looked down and gulped. Starlight's breath caught in her throat as she stared at Thorax. Why was he so hesitant? Why were there so many wounds on him? Only one explanation seemed to exist in her mind, reinforced by what she saw the first day she had arrived in this world. Spike was responsible for them. 

Spike ran his hands down Thorax's sides. The changeling arced his back and gave a light moan. The dragon stopped at his hips and gripped them tightly as he shoved his rod into his changeling. Thorax arched his back and cried out, wrapping his arms around Spike's neck weakly, clinging on for dear life as Spike started pivoting his hips. 

"Unf, you like that don't you, you dirty changeling?" Spike asked as he picked up the pace, thrusting in and out of him without a care in the world. 

"Yes!" Thorax cried out as his eyes rolled into the back of his head. The changeling collapsed onto Spike's chest, mewling and crying out with each thrust of the drakes powerful hips. His wing's cases snapped open and his insectoid wings shot out, buzzing and twitching. 

Spike looked down and smiled as Thorax's smaller rod twitched and spurted white rope after white rope of changeling spunk onto his scaled abs. Spike pulled his hips back, intent on giving his pet one last powerful thrust and emptying himself inside of him. 

Instead, when Spike was almost all the way out, he felt Thorax grabbed and harshly pulled off him. 

"What the-?" Spike asked as he opened his eyes and stared ahead. Starlight 2 gave a deep gasp and Ember rose to her feet and hissed viscously. 

Starlight stood with her arms wrapped around an almost unconscious Thorax, using him as a human shield. In her mind, Thorax was a victim of abuse at the hands of Spike, and what was happening was simply disgusting. She felt she needed to separate them, somehow. 

"What do you think, you are doing?" Spike hissed angrily as he stood up.

Starlight didn't say anything as she continued to back away from Spike, still holding onto Thorax. 

Spike curled his hands into fists as his vision went red. How dare she?

"Kill her." Spike ordered, facing Starlight 2 and his guards. 

Starlight 2 stepped forwards with a growl, her horn glowing turquoise. A solid beam shot out of her horn, aimed squarely at her alternate self. 

Luckily, this was part of Starlight's plan. She just hoped she could pull it off. Just as the beam was about to hit her, she ducked down, the beam striking the ring around her horn. There was a flash of light, as the ring turned to dust. 

"No!" Spike shouted as he rushed towards Starlight and Thorax. He pounced them, just as they disappeared in a turquoise burst of light. 

He landed on his hand and knees. He didn't catch them. He had just lost his Thorax. Ember gave a deep gasp and covered his mouth with her claws as Starlight 2 took a couple fearful steps back.

"No.... no..." Spike said slowly as he clawed at the crystal floor. His guards were quick to rush out of the room as rage boiled in the purple dragon. 

"NO!!!!!" He roared, spewing fire into the air from his mouth as his scream of anger and desperation echoed throughout the entire Crystal City.
> Chapter 13: Safety and Brothers
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Starlight Glimmer appeared in the birch forest of White Tail Woods with a flash. While they weren't as thick and good for cover as the Everfree, they were definitely more safe, at least she hoped. In her arms, was the semi-unconscious form of Thorax. 

The unicorn gently set the changeling down before she started to pace and think up a plan. Any kind of plan. 

It was daytime, she had no idea where Twilight was, she couldn't pull off anymore long distance teleports for fear of attracting her alternate self, and she couldn't do any long distance conventual travel effectively with Thorax with her. Turning to Thorax she gave an uncomfortable sigh. 

Especially since he wasn't transformed into a pony and was naked. 

Honestly though, she had been in worse straits before. Like the time she had no magic and was up against an army of changelings with just four creatures. That was a struggle but she succeeded. Well, Thorax succeeded, but she helped him. 

Speaking of Thorax, Starlight couldn't help but notice how different this universe's Thorax was from hers. Sure her Thorax was a little bit of a wuss, but not this much. This universe's Thorax was jumpy, frightened, as if he was expecting to be attacked any moment. It was common for victims of abuse to be like this, and he looked like an abuse victim. 

Spike must have beaten him constantly to have him this broken, to the point that he seemed to only feel safe in his presence. 

Starlight flashed her horn and shot a beam at the changeling, covering his naked body in something resembling clothes, instead the spell simply put him in a cyan harem outfit of some kind. 

Probably because the spell she used simply clothed someone in the clothes of their profession, and he was a sex slave. She gave another sigh and sat down on a nearby rock. It was better than nothing.

Starlight didn't notice two green and red eyes staring at her from the tree line. 





Twilight uncomfortably fidgeted with her wings as she sat down on a cold stone rock in front of a small fire she had set up in the cave. 

Pharynx was sitting across from her on a second rock. He was still sharpening his blade in front of her. In fact, he hadn't stopped ever since the rest of the resistance left a couple hours ago. She didn't know much about combat or anything, but she was sure you didn't need to do that kind of thing for that long. 

He stopped suddenly and looked up at her. "I would appreciate it if you didn't stare at me." He growled up at her. 

"R-right sorry." Twilight said quickly, looking back into the fire. The sound of stone grinding on metal didn't stop. 

Twilight gulped. She had a question that she wanted to ask him for a long time, and now might was well be the time for it.

"May I ask why you decided to join the Resistance?" Twilight asked as non-confrontationally as she could. Pharynx glanced up at her. "I mean, you don't really seem to care all that much about what happens to the rest of us... No offense."

"Offense taken." Pharynx growled slightly and went back to what he was doing. 

Well that's not what she was after. The Alicorn gave a deep sigh and went back to mindlessly poking at the fire with a stick. 

"My brother." Pharynx said after a deep sigh. 

"What?" Twilight asked looking up at him.

"My brother. Did you know him? In your universe?" Pharynx asked looking up at her and setting his sword and whetstone aside.

Everything suddenly clicked in her head. "Thorax is your brother isn't he?" She asked. He nodded sadly. 

Twilight sighed. "Well, I do know him. A little. He was very close to Spike in my universe. One of his closest friends." 

Pharynx's eyes narrowed. "I am going to assume your Spike is the same small dragon pet still."

Twilight looked up at him with a frown. "Spike is not a 'pet'!" She growled at him. 

"Then he's a slave. Or an indentured servant. That's how the Emperor described his former life, and I think a first person point of view greatly outweighs your words." Pharynx said with a roll of his eyes. 

"That is just not true." Twilight growled. "Besides, Spike is possessed by part of Sombra's consciousness or his darkness or whatever it is. He isn't thinking clearly." 

"Would someone not thinking clearly be able to conquer a planet?" Pharynx said as he turned back to his sword. "And you didn't answer my question. What is my brother like in your universe?"

Twilight sighed. She didn't want to argue with Pharynx. "He's... nice. One of the nicest stallions I have ever met in my life. Timid too."

Pharynx gave a deep chuckle. "Yep. That sounds like my brother alright. Or at least… It did before..." Pharynx stopped, he shook his head and went back to scraping his whet stone across his sword. 

"Before what?" Twilight asked, leaning forwards. 

Pharynx let out a deep sigh, before looking at her. "How do changelings get the holes in their legs in your universe?" He asked suddenly, out of nowhere.

Twilight looked up at him and raised an eyebrow. "Well uh... in my universe I am pretty sure they are born with them."

"Not here." Pharynx said, as he reached down and removed the bandage that was covering the hole he had stabbed through his leg by Chrysalis when the group first left the hive. 

It looked identical to the others in her legs. "Oh no... you d-don't mean." Twilight said, bringing a hand up to her mouth. 

"Every time a Changeling does something to upset the queen, failing a mission, getting spotted while infiltrating, even speaking out of turn, Chrysalis punches a hole through their leg with a spear. Every one of these holes is a reminder that I failed by Queen. Now then, apply that realization to my little brother." He said.

Twilight could barely stomach the thought of someone as weak and sensitive having a spear shoved through their leg, never mind several. It made her feel sick. 

"I remember my brother's first hole." Pharynx said as he balled his hands into fists, the one around the sword digging into the hilt with such force it threatened to crack. 

"We were in a military meeting, me, Thorax, the Hive's generals and royal guard and my mother. Chrysalis brought up a plan to invade a nearby village of ponies. To kidnap every single person and drain them entirely of their love. Thorax suddenly stood up. He said that it was wrong. That there was no reason changelings had to treat the ponies like prey. That the two races could work together." Pharynx retold the story. Twilight noticed his eyes start to water. 

"She didn't even waste a beat. My own mother grabbed my baby brother with her magic, and impaled him through the hoof. I remember how loud he screamed in pain, I remember him frantically trying to pull the spear out, only for Chrysalis to grab it and spin it until he passed out from shock." Pharynx's palms started to bleed from how hard he was pressing his fingernails into them.

"A week later, when he was better. I... I violated orders. I took Thorax on his first infiltration mission. I brought him to a pony amusement park. We spent the entire day together. For the first time in my life, I wasn't afraid what Chrysalis would do to me if I stepped out of line. I wasn't afraid of what would happen to Thorax. I was just... happy." A small smile graced his lips, before he shook his head, a small trail of tears leaking from his eyes.

"It didn't last long. We were forced to return to the hive and... Chrysalis knew what we did. She wasted no time in giving either of us another hole, and immediately went into a rant about how 'Thorax was corrupting her only good son.' and then... I never saw him again. Chrysalis made sure to always keep us apart from then on, and I wasn't there to protect him. The other changelings in the hive brutalized him. He was under attack every moment of every day for the rest of his life. If he ever let his guard down, the other changelings would pounce on him, and leave him so broken he could barely walk for weeks at a time. For fourteen years Thorax went through this, and I wasn't there to protect him. I just know that BITCH put them up to it." Pharynx stood up suddenly, pure rage in his eyes. 

"You wanna know why I joined your little resistance? I joined so I can find my brother, and do what I was supposed to do as his big brother for years! I joined to find him and make sure he is never hurt ever again!" He shouted angrily. 

Twilight stared up at him, and smiled. She stood up gingerly and walked forwards, slowly placing an arm on either side of his shoulder. Pharynx stared at her arms before turning to look at her face with a glare. 

"I promise I will stop at nothing to help you find Thorax. You have my word as princess of Equestria." Twilight said in a calm and kind voice.

Pharynx stared at her, before a slight smile formed on his lips. "Thank you." He exclaimed after a long period of silence. Twilight nodded at him. 

Suddenly a voice came out of nowhere. 

"Twilight, can you hear me?" Blueblood asked from the communication necklace. Twilight took a step back and grabbed the amulet at the end of the necklace.

"I can hear you Blueblood. What's wrong?" She asked, concern obvious in her voice.

"We are pinned down, I don't know how, but the Regional Governor's guards saw us enter the palace. We need you and Pharynx, now." Blueblood said desperately.

"We are on our way." 

Twilight turned to Pharynx. "Are you ready?"

The changeling stood up and twirled his sword. "Ready as I'll ever be."
> Chapter 14: Battle in the Palace
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Starlight was torn from her thoughts when she heard the stirring of Thorax behind her. She turned around, to see the changeling she had 'liberated' start to wake up, pulling himself up slowly. He put a hand on the side of his head and gave it a small shake. 

His cyan compact eyes blinked open, as he started to look around. Starlight noticed him start to shake. His breathing became rapid as his body quivered and shook. She took a step towards him her arms raised non-threateningly.

"Spike!" He squeaked, his voice a mix of panic and shock. "Where is Spike?!?"

"It's ok... It's ok... I got you away from Spike." Starlight said as she reached him, gently reaching down to him. "You are far away from the Crystal Empire now, he won't find you." 

Thorax's eyes widened to the size of dinner plates. He tried to scramble to his feet as his hyperventilating only got more and more violent. He scanned the wood line, as his entire body shook. 

"No! No no no!" Thorax cried as he started fearfully thrashing, his hands digging into the dirt he was lying it. "You have to take me back! You have to take me back!!!!" 

"Spike can't hurt you anymore." Starlight said with a slight frown, grabbing him by the wrists to prevent him from hurting himself. "You are safe now."

"No I'm no-ho-hot!" He cried loudly between loud sobs, trying his hardest to pull himself free of her grasp. He wasn't very strong.

"What... what do you mean by that?" Starlight asked hesitantly. 

"He is right you know." A third, deep and dark voice said. Starlight and Thorax spun around to see an armored unicorn walk up to them. He was dark grey, with smoky black hair and two green and red eyes, a deep smile on his face, showing off his fangs.

"Sombra…" Starlight said, he brows furrowing slightly.





Blueblood narrowly avoided a magical beam aimed for his head, ducking back into cover. It sailed over his head, burning the tops of his mane. 

He popped his head back over the rim of the cart he was hiding behind, returning fire. A beam of blue magic shot forth, and struck the unicorn firing at them, a former royal guard in purple armor who was perched on top of one of the palace walls. His bolt went straight through his head and he tumbled backwards, falling off the wall out of his sight. 

He and the three other members of his squad were pinned down in the palace court yard. Stellar Flare and Lyra were taking cover inside a drained and shattered fountain, returning passionate but ultimately inaccurate beams of magic at their assailants, a squad of Imperial Unicorns who had surrounded them, standing atop the palace walls or spires, raining down fire upon them. Moondancer was taking cover behind a cart, right next to him, frantically reading a map while keeping her self covered by a bubble shield.

Blueblood jerked his head to the side in time to avoid a second beam of magic fired from a flanking position. A smoking hole was burned into the cart right above his right shoulder. He fired back, taking out another guard.

"I really hope you know a way out of this!" Blueblood shouted at her.

"Your maps are out of date! Not much I can do to fix that!" Moondancer shouted back, as yet another beam struck her shield and bounced off it at a random angle. 

There was a banging noise which caused Blueblood to peek his head over the side of the cart again. Two large, bulky dragons in purple armor were now approaching them from the ground, the banging being them landing in the court yard. He hoped Twilight and Pharynx got here soon. He didn't know what he would be able to do against those. 

"You really aren't that good at this are you?" A feminine voice taunted. He looked up to where it came from with a snarl. 

An orange dragoness in a purple tuxedo stood atop a balcony of the palace proper, a smug smirk on her face. She wore jackboots and an arm band around her right arm showing the symbol of Spike's Empire. Two gryphons wearing nothing but loincloths knelt at he feet, arms wrapped around their master's legs. One was a blue male, and the other was a grey female. 

Smolder was her name, the regional governor of Canterlot and brother to General Garble, the head of the Empire's military. 

"Should I call off half my guards and make this a fair fight? You look like you could really use the help!" She chuckled as yet more dragon and pony guards started to flood into the courtyard and atop the surrounding walls. 

Her smug smile didn't go away when he shot a beam at her. A dragon guard threw himself in front of her, and the beam uselessly pinged off his armor, like a flashlight's cone of light reflecting off a mirror.

There was a sudden flash of purple and white light.  Blueblood felt his eyes were deceiving him when a cheetah suddenly darted across the courtyard towards the two dragons who had been steadily approaching Blueblood's team.

The Dragons were equally taken aback and barely had time to react when it leaped at one of them. In a flash of green fire, the cheetah turned into the armored form of Pharynx.

Pharynx pulled his arm back and shoved his longsword into the dragon guard's head, before pulling it out and jumping back as the dragon fell to the ground, having been instantly killed by his attack. The other dragon roared and swung his weapon down at Pharynx, who simply stepped aside to avoid the attack. 

The changeling, with one thrust of his blade, dug it into the dragons chest. The guard cried out and doubled over in pain, allowing Pharynx to easily dispatch him with another blow to the head. He then stepped away from the two dead soldiers, and twirled his blade, staring directly at Smolder. 

The dragoness took a nervous step back. "D-don't just stand there! Shoot him!" She shouted as she grabbed both her slaves by the collars and stood them up. The guards opened fire, rapidly firing beam after beam towards him, but the changeling expertly dodged almost every beam, and those he could not dodge were merely blocked by his swords.

One beam came closer than any to actually hurting him, so after blocking it, he fired a beam of his own which stuck the unicorn guard closest to Smolder between the eyes, killing her. Smolder looked at the guard as they fell to the ground and clicked her tongue. 

"On second thought... Gallus, Gabby, come. The battlefield is not a place for a lady and her concubines." She started speed walking away, and the two obediently followed her, as the dragon guards escorting her took to the air and made a beeline directly towards Pharynx, charging through the air towards him.

"Damn it!" Blueblood hissed, standing up and firing one last beam at her as she made her way towards the door to enter the palace.

He dug his hoof into the ground and stood up. His horn glowed a deathly black as purple mist emerged from it. Similar purple mist emerged from his eyes as they turned a deep neon green, his pupils becoming red. 

He fired a deathly black beam which sailed through the air and struck Smolder directly in the shoulder. She screamed and fell to her knees, grasping at the hole which had pierced clean through her. 

"NO!" Gallus and Gabby cried out in unison as they dropped down next to their master. Gallus covered her wound with a hand to stop the bleeding while Gabby took her hand into her own, to try and help her with the pain. 

Twilight watched the scene playing out before her. She had never seen someone get killed before. She had never seen such violence before from anyone, villain or otherwise, and she had certainly never seen someone attempt a murder using dark magic before. She growled and balled her hands into fists.

"ENOUGH!" She shouted as a pulse of magic shot out from her horn. Everyone in the courtyard was knocked off their feet to the ground and with another final flash of magic, She, Pharynx, Blueblood and his team disappeared. 





"What do you mean, he's not safe here Sombra?" Starlight Glimmer asked tentatively as she approached the Dark King. She didn't know if she should trust him or not. He did try to save her earlier, but he was apparently one of the most evil people in Equestrian history. She resolved to play it cautious for now.

"I mean it's not safe for a changeling like him to be so far away from the hive, isn't that right Thorax?" He said with a genuine smile. Thorax didn't respond, he merely started at the dark king with doe like eyes and a terrified expression. 

"What do you mean?" Starlight said taking a step towards him.

"I mean, I am going to offer you a trade. You give me Thorax so I can take him back to the hive, and I'll take you to your friend, Twilight Sparkle. A fair deal if you ask me. Everypony wins!" He said, no hint of malice in his voice.

"What? You don't seem to be getting anything out of the deal..." Starlight said with narrowed eyes. "Seems a little suspicious to me..." 

Sombra's smile faltered for a second. 

"Ah you caught me." He said with a dark smirk and a deep chuckle. "Ok, to be honest, I couldn't really care less about him, but his mother, the woman I love, misses him dearly, and I can't stand to see her sad. So, I want to take him home and reunite the two, and in exchange for letting me do that, I will take you to your friend, Twilight. Deal?" 

Starlight looked down at him as he outstretched a hand. She looked up at him, then to Thorax, then back to Sombra.

"You did try to save me earlier... and sending Thorax back to the hive seems like a much safer option than keeping him out here where Spike can get his claws on him again..." She mumbled. 

"No... please..." Thorax begged, but his throat was too dry for it to come out as anything more that a pathetic whine.

"Is it a deal then?" Sombra said with a friendly tone.

Starlight hesitated, before raising a hand and taking it, giving it a firm shake.

"It's a deal."
> Interlude 3: Claiming Thorax
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Spike sat on the throne of the Crystal Empire with a gleeful smile on his face. He stared down the set of stairs which lead up to his grandiose chair at the many dragon workers rushing throughout the room placing the statues of his former friends in nice locations around the room. Ember was sitting on the floor next to him, her arms curled around his leg lovingly. 

"Move Celestia a little to the right please, I don't want her being blocked by Discord," Spike said with a dark smile as the Dragon carrying the sun princess followed his order and moved a tad to the side. "Perfect." 

Spike laid back in his throne with a content smile. People waiting on your every request? Living in a palace made of Crystal? Having the hottest dragon alive as a personal concubine? Not having to rearrange a shelf every ten seconds? This was heaven as far as he was concerned!

He snapped his fingers and leaned back. "Amethyst," He demanded then opened his mouth. A crystal pony next to his throne smiled and bowed before reaching into a bowl she held in front of her and placed it in the drake mouth. He chewed down on it and smiled. 

"Ahhh... this is the life," He claimed. "Which kind of gem is your favorite Ember? I personally have to say Amythest. I love the way they crunch."

"Sapphires. I like their color," Ember replied with a slight smile as she curled up further against his legs. 

Spike smiled down at her. "I should have guessed," He laughed. 

Then the throne room doors slammed open and a panicked crystal pony ran in. 

"My Emperor!" He cried, fear tinging his voice. The Dragon Guards in the room quickly rushed in front of him, weapons at the ready. 

Spike held up a hand and stopped them as he stood up. "What is the issue?" He asked gently as he stood up and walked down the stairs that lead up to his throne. "Is the Resistance mounting another offensive?" 

"N-no my lord!" As the towering form of Spike closed in on him. "A changeling was spotted nearby! One of the dragon guards saw him enter a cave just outside of the city and cornered him inside!" 

Spike hissed. He should have known Chrysalis would try to capitalize on his conquest! The changeling was obviously one of her scouts.  "Ember, I want you to stay in the palace." 

The former princess opened her mouth to object but closed it and sighed. "Whatever you wish, my Emperor." 

The Emperor turned to his guards. "I want half of you guarding me, and the other half to protect the palace and Ember. I am going to deal with this creature personally." 

The guards nodded. "Would you like to take the Scepter of Domination with you, my Emperor?" One asked with a salute.

The Dragon punched his claw into his hand and cracked his knuckles. "No, I think I'll deal with that thing with my bare hands."





Spike growled when he arrived at the cave entrance. A variable army of pony and dragon guards stood at the entrance, weapons at the ready. 

Garble, who stood closest to the entrance, turned when Spike approached. He gave a salute. "We have him cornered inside my lord. He cannot escape." 

"Good job General. I am going alone," Spike said as he walked past him. 

Garble initially smiled when he heard his Emperor's praise, before his smile dropped and he looked at his lord with confusion. 

"A-are you sure? What if it tries to attack you sir?" Garble asked, taking a step forwards. 

Spike glared at him and walked past. "Then I will defend myself. Contrary to popular belief, I am no longer a pathetic weakling who can no longer defend himself."

Garble saluted and stepped aside. Spike marched past him into the cavern entrance. There was a small slope which lead into a small ice cavern with a large rift like crack going down the middle. Rocks sat around the edge of the rift. 

Yet, there was no sign of any changelings. Spike carefully walks down the slope, careful to not slip, then he looked around again. He jumped and took a step back when he saw something tall, armored and purple in front of him. He let out a deep sigh when it turned out that it was just his reflection. 

He lowered his arms. "Looking good Spike," He said with faux confidence, before turning and taking a step towards the rift, looking over the edge. Maybe the changeling was down there? 

There was a sudden crash behind him. He quickly spun around to see his reflection had slipped on the ice and fallen onto his back. It pulled itself up and shook its head before looking up at him and cringed. There was a burst of cold green fire, and in Spike's place, was the black form of a changeling. 

"You!" Spike said raising his fists to fight, taking one last step back. That was one too many, and he felt his foot touch nothing but open air.

He cried out as he felt himself slip over the edge of the crack. His claws dug through the air trying to catch the wall of the canyon, to prevent himself from falling, but it was too late. He tumbled over the edge. 

"Graaaaah!!!!" He shouted. So this is how it ended? Escaping Twilight, only to fall to his death, in an ice cavern where his body would likely never be found? 

His hand was suddenly grabbed and his descent stopped. Spike looked up to see the changeling, his hands wrapped around Spike's claw as his wings buzzed ferociously. His body shook as his face scrunched up. It was obvious that Spike was too heavy for the bug. 

"Wh-what are you doing?" He asked as the changeling started to slowly pull him towards the edge of the ice wall that made up the rift. 

The changeling didn't answer. He merely let out a high-pitched roar as he struggled to keep the fully armored Emperor in the air. The two reached the edge of the crack, which allowed Spike to dig his claws into the ice and scamper over the side. Spike gave out a large exhale as he flopped onto his back panting.

"Oh sweet dragon god. I almost died..." He said to himself clutching his chest. His heart was pounding against his chest. That was bad. Very bad. 

Spike heard a thud to his side. He looked over to see the changeling on his knees. The changeling's eyes rolled into the back of his head and he collapsed onto his chest. He didn't move, aside from dangerously slow breaths, which appeared more like wheezes. 

Spike's eyes widened in concern as he stood up and approached the bug, kneeling down next to him. This was the first time he got a good look at him. 

He was thin, ghastly thin, as if he hadn't eaten in weeks. His body was covered in cracks and barely healed cuts, some of which looked as if they had been reopened while he was saving him. They slowly leaked cyan blood as the changeling could do nothing but look up at Spike. 

It didn't take a genius to realize he was on death's door. 

Spike raised a hand, he hesitated before placing it on the back of its head, gently rubbing along his head fin. 

"You sacrificed yourself to save me, didn't you?" He asked gently. It didn't respond. He sighed and lowered his head, not stopping the slow rubs of the back of its head. 

He noticed something then. As he rubbed, there was a very very slight bulging of the creature's thin frame. His eyes widened. He could save the changeling. 

Spike took his other hand and reached around to the belt of his red loincloth, he grabbed something and held it up. A small metal collar. He had it with him in case he could have captured the changeling instead of killing it, back when he still thought it was a threat.

He gently placed the collar around the changeling's neck, making sure it wasn't too tight. Spike smiled down at the changeling and gently lifted him up, bridle style, and pulled him against his chest. 

"Don't worry," He said consolingly down to the changeling. "I will keep you safe." 

Spike turned and started to walk towards the exit.
> Chapter 15: Sweet Apple Acres
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Spike sat in his throne positively fuming. He was angry. No, he was much more than angry. He was furious. His hands dug into the arms of his throne, looking down at his commanders who were standing around a map set up in front of him.

"M'lord, we have begun our search for your changeling," Garble said, standing directly on the other side of the map from him with a salute. "Our search is beginning in Ponyvile, the most likely location of Starlight's escape path. When we are finished searching every nook and cranny of that village, we will branch out."

"Do you have any leads yet?" Spike asked glaring at Garble. 

"N-no my lord." Fizzle said looking to Garble. Garble gulped.

Spike growled, his claws clenching down, shattering the arms of his seat. He stood up. 

"Then get out there and find him!" Spike roared. The Dragons saluted and quickly shuffled out of the room. 

Spike inhaled and exhaled to calm himself as he marched down from his throne and placed his hands on the table staring down at the map. His eyes scanned the parchment as if he could find Thorax just by looking at the map. The longer he looked at the size of his empire, the more he realized how almost impossible it would be to find them in an acceptable amount of time. 

His claws dug into the table as he started hyperventilating. He suddenly roared and grabbed the table, throwing it against the wall where it shattered into splinters. A couple of guards scattered to avoid the table and wooden shards. One of the statues, that of Luna, tumbled off its pedestal, hitting the ground with a massive thud. 

Spike panted, staring at it for a couple of seconds, expecting the stone to shatter, either leaving him with a dead princess or a free princess.  He let out a calm exhale when nothing happened. 

He turned with a sigh to sulk back to his throne but stopped when he saw Ember standing between him and his chair. She had her arms crossed over her chest and looked at him, concern and empathy in her eyes. 

"They didn't find him yet, I take it?" She asked taking a couple of steps forwards. 

"No, they didn't..." Spike mumbled, looking away from her in shame. 

"It's not your fault," Ember replied, placing a hand on his shoulder. "And don't worry, we have the single largest empire in all of recorded history, with loyal soldiers stationed in every city, town, village, and hamlet from here to the edge of the known world. We will find him. It is only a matter of time until that happens."

"It is my fault Ember." Spike said placing a claw on his forehead, clenching it into a fist, letting his sharp nails dig into his forehead. He took the pain as catharsis for his misdeed. 

"If I had just killed her when she first got here or turned her into stone immediately she wouldn't have taken my Tho-" He was cut off by a slap to the face from Ember. 

The guards in the room gasped and looked to each other. Spike blinked a couple of times, too shocked to react to the whispering of his warriors. He turned his head and looked at her with mouth agape. 

"Shut up." She hissed at him. "If you think for one second I would let you bad mouth my Emperor, you are dead wrong." 

She stepped forwards, grabbing him by the collar of his armor and pulling his face an inch away from hers. "You have no one to blame but that vile bitch. So grab your damn scepter, help me get my damn armor on, and let's go get our Thorax back together."

Spike blinked several times as she pushed him back upright and walked towards their bedroom. He couldn't help but give a light smile. 

"Yes Ma'am!" He said with a smile, snatching the Scepter of Domination from the Statue of Celestia's hands. He turned to follow after Ember, who was already halfway to the bedroom when they were both stopped by someone clearing their throat.

They both stopped and turned to see Governor Starlight walking towards them, one hand on her hip and another holding a rolled-up scroll. 

"That is a wonderful goal of yours, and I would be more than happy to aide the both of you in finding your catamite, but we have a bit of a situation that will temporarily delay that." She said, before tossing the scroll to Spike, who deftly caught it with a growl.

"This had better be important." He hissed as he unrolled it, reading it with growing concern. 

"Cantlerlot was just attacked by the resistance. Smolder was wounded by some kind of dark magic, and the guards reported that Twilight Sparkle was seen alongside the leader of the Resistance during the combat." 

Spike clenched his fist, crumpling up the scroll. 

"Ember." He said turning to her. "Get your armor on. We're going to Canterlot." 





In a clearing in the Everfree, just at the edge of the forest close to Sweet Apple Acres, there was a flash of light. Pharynx, Twilight, Blueblood, and his compatriots appeared in the center of the clearing. 

Twilight inhaled and exhaled a couple of times, putting a hand to her head, cringing at the throbbing headache which pierced through her skull. Teleporting so many people in such quick succession was bad on the mind.

"Where are we?" Moondancer said looking around at the clearing. 

"J-just outside Sweet Apple Acres. I thought it would be safer than just teleporting directly into the orchards or barn." Twilight said, sitting down on a nearby tree stump. She glanced over to Pharynx, who wiped the blood off his blade before stopping and sniffing the air. 

He sheathed his sword and started stalking towards the edge of the clearing. Lyra and Stellar Flare locked eyes with each other, before shrugging and following after him. 

Moondancer simply sat down and pulled out several maps, reading through them. Twilight assumed that with her book smarts and ability to read rather well, she made quite a cartographer.

Her attention was stolen when Blueblood grabbed her by the shirt and pulled her into a standing position, pure rage on his face. 

"What do you think you doing?" He roared at her. "I had her! I could have killed her right then and there!" 

Twilight glared at him and pushed him off of her. "You used dark magic! That is not ok! What would your aunt have said! Dark magic is evil, using it makes you no better than Spike or Sombra!" She shouted in reply.

Blueblood stomped his hoof and clenched his hands into fists. "I am not using my magic to overthrow Equestria! I am using it to bring it back!"

Twilight opened her mouth to reply but was shut up by a sudden voice. 

"Would you two shut the hell up?" Pharynx shouted. They both turned to him. He was at the edge of the clearing with Lyra and Stellar. They had parted a couple of bushes, allowing them to see outside the Everfree to the Apple Orchards they were going. 

"We have a situation." Stellar said looking to Blueblood. 

"We'll continue this later." Blueblood seethed through clenched teeth before the two approached the group and knelt next to them.

What Twilight saw made her bring a hand to her mouth to stifle a gasp. 

Sweet Apple Acres was completely different than how she remembered it. The Trees, which had previously been in a seemingly random, natural placement, making the Orchards look like an apple tree forest.

Now they had a large grid-like appearance, cobblestone paths crisscrossing each other around small patches of dirt where the apple trees rested. Pony and the occasional dragon guard in purple armor patrolled the paths, one hand on their sheathed weapons, and another clutching riding crops and whips. 

What made her gasp however, were who were working in the field. Gryphons flew through the trees grabbing apples and tossing them down to Kirin, donkeys or mules who sorted them out and put them into large barrels, which yaks or buffalos would pick up and haul. 

They all wore nothing but tattered rags or in some cases nothing at all but a loincloth, and metal collars around their necks. They all look worn down and hopeless. She barely caught a glance of a kirin attempting an escape before being cornered by a pony guard, who preceded to draw back their whip. She looked away before they brought it down with a crack. 

"This is horrible..." Stellar Flare said a hand covering her mouth. 

"Spike's Empire treats those nations and races who refused to simply roll over and bow down without a fight as chattel and slave fodder. They don't get the benefits 'willing' slaves get." Pharynx said with a snarl. "I suppose you made a good choice to not teleport us directly into the middle of the orchard."

"W-what do you think we should do?" Twilight asked glancing over to Blueblood. 

"We wait until everypony else gets here. Then we free the slaves." He said with a sigh, sitting down. "It would be good for a burst of numbers."

Twilight nodded at him.

"Oh sweet Celestia," Lyra said, piquing her interest. "Of course it's those two." 

Twilight turned over to see two ponies which made bile rush to her throat. 

Two unicorns with red manes and yellow fur. Flim and Flam. They each wore red and white striped suits as they sat in lounge chairs near the edge of the plantation, a gryphon slave on either side of them, holding up a drink on a platter for them, or fanning them with those massive stereotypical stick fans or whatever they were called.  

Flim was currently talking to a guard, while flam was reading a newspaper nonchalantly. Twilight growled.

"Of course those two would try to take over Applejack's farm. What the hay is their prob-" She was cut off when, with a flash of turquoise light, Starlight Glimmer appeared in front of the two unicorns. 

All eyes in the orchard suddenly turned to her. 





Sombra smirked when Starlight took his hand. As soon as the shake ended, black shadowy tendrils emerged from his back and quickly shot towards Thorax and wrapped around him.

They dragged the changeling, who weakly tried to resist their pull, towards the dark king. As soon as he was close, Sombra grabbed him by the shoulder and pulled him, rather harshly, against his chest, in a feign protective way.

"Your friends are at Sweet Apple Acres in Ponyvile, that is the resistances rendezvous location." He said with a genuine smile. 

Starlight nodded in thanks before her horn glowed and she disappeared in a flash. No sooner had she left, then was Thorax knocked out of his fear-based paralysis. He started weakly trying to pull himself free of Sombra's grasp. His clenched fists beat at Sombra's armored chest as he screamed and thrashed in his firm grip.

"Let go of me!" he screamed as he tried his hardest to get free. Sombra merely grabbed him by the back of the head and pulled Thorax closer to him, their faces an inch away from each other. He tapped his red horn to Thorax's and gazed directly into his eyes. 

"Relax." He hissed in a velvety smooth, yet undoubtedly vile and dark voice. A spark of magic transferred from his horn to the changelings, and Thorax's eyelids suddenly felt heavy as his eyes rolled back into his head. The changeling went limp,  completely unconcious. 

"Good," Sombra said as he slowly started to turn into a cloud of black smoke, levitating his prey into the air with him. "Sleep now. Enjoy your last couple of hours of peace. Your mother will most certainly not let you rest in between the torture she has planned for you..." 

Sombra chuckled, running a hand down Thorax's cheek before he turned completely into smoke, and rocketed off into the sky towards the changeling hive, carrying Thorax with him.
> Chapter 16: Battle for Sweet Apple Acres
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Starlight happily looked around, expecting herself to directly in the middle of a resistance camp, with Twilight, finally able to go back home!

Instead, she found herself surrounded by dragons and ponies in purple armor, two unicorns in white suits and dozens of slaves. The thought briefly came to her head that she had been double-crossed by Sombra when a dragon pointed at her. 

"That's not the governor! Arrest the imposter!" He shouted. The guards quickly rushed towards her. She barely had time to put a turquoise bubble shield around herself before one breathed fire at her. 

She cried out in struggle when one dragon suddenly reared back and slammed a massive warhammer into her defense. Ripples of energy shot through the shield, and it cracked. Badly. Starlight was forced to shrink it to keep it from outright shattering. 

When another dragon struck it, it cracked even more and she needed to shrink it more. 

She grunted in pain when fire once again burst against the shield. Was she going to die here?





"We have to help her!" Twilight said, rising up and spreading her wings. Blueblood stopped her with a hand on her shoulder. 

"Wait. It could be a trick." Blueblood said coldly, observing as Flim and Flam suddenly rose from their chairs and booked it towards the farm house, leaving the guards to deal with everything.

"How could it be a trick!?" Twilight cried in exacerbation. 

"You need to remember, Spike has a changeling in his inner circle," Blueblood claimed, ignoring the growl that came from Pharynx. "We need to consider our options carefully. Moondancer, how many enemies do you count."

Moondancer opened her mouth to talk but was cut off.

"I count ten dragons and forty pony guards. " Pharynx said standing up and walking through the brush towards the Orchard. "I will deal with the dragons if you five deal with the ponies and those two unicorns. There are likely also a couple of guards out of sight in the barn or farmhouse. I'll deal with them after I down the dragons."

"Did you not hear me?" Blueblood snapped in sudden anger. "I told you that we need to consider our options!" 

"I did," Pharynx responded. He pointed his sword in the direction of Canterlot. "The rest of the resistance is likely on their way here right now and they don't know that this orchard is a hotspot of enemy activity. They are likely going to run face-first into a horde of Imperial Soldiers who are already prepared for a battle. It will be a slaughter. One you don't want."

Blueblood opened his mouth and closed it several times before sighing and nodding. "You are right. We need to move. Now." 

Twilight nodded before taking to the air, followed closely by Pharynx as Blueblood and the other unicorns approached by land. 

She was scared she had to admit, but also more than a little excited to see Starlight again. She had so much to tell her!

Pharynx interrupted her thoughts when he reeled back suddenly and, with an intense amount of strength, threw his sword, which went spiraling towards one of the dragon guards. 





Starlight collapsed to her knees as her shield came collapsing around her, magical turquoise shards falling to the ground before disintegrating into nothingness. 

Starlight gulped as she looked up at one of the dragons who slowly approached her with a grin as he readied his warhammer.

"Hey mates! Do you suppose this is the mare Emperor Spike sent that letter about? The one who took his changeling!?" He claimed, looking to the other dragons.

"I do think she is!" One hissed with a dark glare, licking its lips. 

"Sweet! I think I am going to get a new pair of boots out of this, alongside a raise!" The one wielding the warhammer roared, raising it into the air. 

Starlight cringed and looked away, expecting a blow to the head and a quick end to her story. Instead there was suddenly a loud crack and nothing else. Starlight turned back to the dragon, to see a sword sticking out of the side of the drake's head. 

The guards, both pony, and dragon gasped in shock as he collapsed to the ground, cold and unmoving. 

"Wh-what the-"Another dragon started, before, in a black blur, the sword was ripped out of the soldier's head, and thrusting into his chest, killing him mid-sentence. 

All eyes fell on the changeling standing atop his body. He idly twirled his sword before slowly dragging the tip through the air, pointing at the crowd. 

"Since I have joined the Resistance and am now playing nice, I am going to give all of you a chance to surrender." Pharynx said. Starlight instantly recognized him as the changeling that helped Twilight escaped days ago. Maybe Sombra didn't set her up?

There was a pause. Nothing happened for a couple of seconds.

"Kill him!" A dragon roared. The pony guards quickly rushed forwards only to be stopped by a flurry of magical beams which stopped them in their tracks. Several dropped to the ground, either dead or unconscious. 

The same dragon growled as he scanned the Orchard. The slaves were scattering as four unicorns rushed into sight, Twilight Sparkle following them from the air. 

"Equines!" He said gesturing to the pony guards. 

"Deal with those five! Dragons with me. Let's crush this little bu-" The drake started turning back to Pharynx just in time to get a kick to the face.

He fell onto his back, Pharynx landing on his hooves on top of the drake's chest. He brought his sword into the air, one hand on the pommel, and brought it down in a stapping motion towards the drake's head. The dragon raised a gauntleted hand, just in time for it to stop the blow, only barely. 

The sword went clean through armor, scales and bone, coming out the other side and stopping a mere inch away from the drake's face. The drake roared in pain, kicking his legs and clenching his hands into fists. 

"Holy fuck! What is that sword even made of!?" He cried as he looked up at Pharynx.

"Black steel," Pharynx responded in a disturbingly monotone voice. He then brought a hoof up, and stomped on the drake's arm, sending the hand downwards. 

The blade came with it and impaled into the drakes head, killing it instantly. 

Pharynx stepped off the body, taking his sword out of the drake's face. 

"I recommend you get up and join your fellow ponies now." Pharynx said glancing at Starlight as the rest of the dragons charged at him. "They could use the help."

"R-right." Starlight said standing up and rushing towards Twilight, who was now engaged in a magical shoot out with more than a fourth of the enemy guards. 

Pharynx turned back to the dragons, they were much closer now. He brought his arm back and once again threw his sword. It flew true and dug into another dragon's shoulder, causing them to stop their charge. 

"Oh for fu- Stop throwing things you son of a bitch!" The Dragon roared as they collapsed to their knees and started pulling at the sword, but it didn't budge. 

Pharynx pointed at them. "Only I am allowed to call Chrysalis a bitch! But fine, I won't throw anything." 

The Drakes were mere feet away from him now. He smiled and spread his arms into the air. There was a massive blast of green fire and the dragons stopped in their place. 

Standing in front of them was now a twenty-foot tall six-legged monster. Five dark purple eyes slowly focussed on them. It then reared back and roared at them and, with one sweep of one of its massive claws, knocked them all off their feet. 





Twilight weaved through the air, dodging several lasers before she returned fire with one massive beam. It slowly snaked across the ground, engulfing several Imperial soldiers, instantly dropping them to the ground. Even brushing a pinky finger against the beam would knock even an Ursa Major unconscious, so it was the perfect weapon in this situation. 

As soon as the beam dissipated, she dropped to the ground, landing and indiscriminately fired beams in the vague direction of Imperial Soldiers. Initially, the soldiers didn't even try to take cover, believing the princess's inaccurate fire could never hit them.

Their tune changed quickly when the beams suddenly curved in the air, changing direction even as much as to form 90 degree angles, and always got perfect headshots. Twilight smiled as more guards were put to sleep near her. 

A sudden pain shot through her arm, she gasped and looked down so see a whip wrapped around her wrist. She hissed in pain as it was tugged behind her. She turned to see a unicorn guard wielding it, their horn suddenly glowed as they readied a beam to strike at the incapacitated Alicorn. 

Twilight merely channeled magic into her horn. Arcane lightning suddenly shot into the whip, traveling down it like electricity through a wire. It blasted into the guard who cried in pain and dropped to the guard, out like a light. 

The purple alicorn let out a held breath and looked around, tallying her count so far. She had knocked out 19 guards so far. A good number. She used the slight respite in attackers to reach down and start untying the whip that had wrapped around her wrist. She didn't notice another Unicorn slowly sneak up on her, charging their horn. 

Twilight heard the sound of a beam being fired just in time to jerk out of the way of a golden beam that was going to go straight into the back of her head. It did, however, strike her in the wing, sending a burning pain coursing through her body. She quickly turned around and fired a beam of her own while tumbling to the ground. 

She realized too late that she put far too much energy into it. She gasped, covering her mouth with her hands when the beam struck the unicorn in the chest and went through it, leaving a burning hole. She quickly scrambled to her hooves when the enemy unicorn clawed at her chest as they collapsed to her knees.

Twilight rushed to the unicorn's side, catching her before she hit the ground and trying her best to heal the wound with her magic. It was a hollow gesture. She knew she had hit a lung. The unicorn would suffocate before her spell would do any meaningful healing. 

Twilight grunted as she covered the wound with her hands to stop any bleeding as her spell slowly sealed it up. "Come on, hold in there." 

The Alicorn grabbed the unicorn's helmet, pulling it off to reveal the blue fur and white and navy hair of Colgate, a unicorn she had known since she moved to Ponyvile from Canterlot all those years ago. She didn't know her well, but she did consider her an acquaintance. An acquaintance she might well have just killed. 

Colgate reached a hand up towards Twilight before exhaling and going limp.

Twilight looked up, turning her head left to right in shock, looking for something she could use to revive her, but it was too late. She was dead. 

Twilight Sparkle had just killed a pony. 

"Oh sweet Celestia... What have I done..." 





Lyra watched as Pharynx bit a dragon in half with ruthless efficiency before spitting said dragons upper body out and impaling another. It was pretty damn freaky. Luckily her time in the resistance managed to acclimate her to blood. 

"Sheesh, that guy is good," Lyra said, before looking up and firing a magical attack which hit a flying pegasus stallion, taking him out of the air. His body fell and ended up getting stuck in the upper branches of a tree. 

"You're pretty good yourself, I can barely hit anypony!" Stellar Flare joked as she fired a bolt of her own, which struck an Imperial in the leg. They cried out as they fell to the ground, a hole in their shin. "See? I was aiming for the guy next to him." 

Moondancer suddenly put a bubble shield around them, just in time to block a volley of beams, she dropped it when the last beam hit, allowing the three to return fire. 

"Cut the chatter you guys!" Moondancer cried, her beam veering way off course and hitting a tree. "You're throwing off my aim!"

"R-right!" Lyra replied. "Sorr-"

She was silenced by a punch to the face. She fell onto her back as an earth pony in purple armor stood over her. Stellar barely had time to react to him before she too was knocked off her feet, this time by a powerful kick to her stomach. 

Moondancer raised another shield around herself just in time to stop a sword strike, which sent cracks rippling across her shield. 

"Filthy traitor!" The earth pony hissed, applying more pressure to his stab. The cracks got worse. 

Moondancer felt a massive headache flare up as it took all of her might and concentration to keep the Imperial from breaking her defense. 

"I'm going to enjoy killing you!" The earth pony growled. 

Just as Moondancer thought he was going to break the shield and stab her however, a spear soared through the air and stabbed him clean in the stomach. He gasped in pain and took a couple of steps away from her, allowing her to drop the shield and collapse to the ground in exhaustion.

She looked up at the Imperial soldier, who glared down at her before turning just in time to see an ax embed itself into his chest. He collapsed as an extremely pale green earth pony and female yak rushed to help Lyra, Stellar and Moondancer to their feet. 

"You throw spears nice!" Yona chuckled to Sandbar as she helped both Lyra and Stellar to their hooves. 

Sandbar giggled as he pulled Moondancer up. "Not as well as you use your axes."

"You guys might want to hold your breaths." Another earth pony by the name of Braeburn said as several vials were tossed over their heads. 

The five ponies and one yak followed the trajectory of the vials until they hit the ground right in the middle of the Imperial ranks. The Imperials watched in confusion as a massive cloud of blue gas shot into the air. 

They heard coughing as ponies tried to rush out of the cloud, a couple falling to the ground after leaving the cloud.

"D-did we just use poison gas to kill ponies?" Lyra asked in shock.

"Worry not." A deep feminine voice said behind them. Zecora suddenly walked out of the brush with a smirk on her head. "It is just mostly harmless sleeping gas. They will be fine." 

Zecora strode into the middle of the Orchard just as Pharynx finished off the last dragon with a roar. She smiled as she turned to look at the many slaves, who were huddled together at the very edge of the orchard, far away from the fighting. 

"Worry not my friends! You are all safe now! The resistance is here!" She triumphantly cried. 





Flim and Flam were standing on the patio of the Apple Farmhouse with concern in their eyes as they watched their last guard fall. 

"Well this went rather poorly didn't it brother?" Flam said stroking his mustache.

"Oh yes indeed. I do believe we should beat a heated retreat and contact the Emperor. He must know about this." Flim replied. The two nodded to each other and turned, preparing to quickly rush out the back door, metaphorically of course. They were already outside!

As soon as they turned, a red first punched Flam in the face, knocking him to the ground. 

Flim turned to his brother before a yellow hoof kicked him directly in the unmentionables. He fell to his knees, clutching his stallionhood in visible pain.

"Aw, shoot. Why in Celestia's name did you-" He said looking up, seeing a small yellow filly and a massive red stallion, both glaring at him. Big Mac and Applebloom, respectively. Instantly the pain he felt in between his legs became an afterthought. 

"Ah, y-yes. It's you two. Look, I am sorry it seems like the two of us took over your place just now... ya see, we were just watching over it for you! Yes! You see me and my brother here are secret spies for the resistance! We are on your side ya see. No hard feelings right?" He said with a wavering smile, looking up at the both of them, sweat simply pouring from his brow. 

Applebloom merely brought a fist back and punched him right in the jaw. "Get off our farm!" She cried.
> Chapter 17: Healing and Return
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Spike marched through the palace of Canterlot, flanked on either side by Ember, who was dressed in her suit of golden armor, and Governor Starlight. Behind the three of them was a General Garble at the head of a small squad of six dragon guards, each in purple armor. 

The ponies and dragons in the hallways cleared for him as he walked forwards, pure hatred in his eyes. This was a detour he did not have the time to spare. His fists clenched tightly around the Scepter of Domination. He was lucky that the scepter was practically unbreakable, otherwise, he might have shattered it in half. 

Spike eventually found his way to Governor Smolder's bedroom, the previous quarter of Princess Celestia. A white earth pony with pink hair stood outside with concern on her face. She wore a nurse's outfit, but Spike really had no idea why. She was apparently a doctor after all.

"Redheart," Spike grunted as he approached her. "Tell me, what is going on with the Governor." 

'Nurse' Redheart turned to him in a mild panic. She quickly rushed to his side.

"We don't know sire. The wound shows no sign of closing. It was just a single bolt into her shoulder but it is killing her!" Red Heart explained as Spike walked towards Smolder's bedroom doors. 

"It's dark magic. Science can't explain what it does to creatures." Spike hissed as he threw open the doors and strode in.

Smolder was sitting up in bed, cringing in pain. Her concubines, Gallus and Gabby, stood off to the side of the room staring at their master with pure fear and dread on their faces. They clearly expected the worse. Gabby had covered her beak with her hands when Spike came in, while Gallus shrunk under his stare and took a step back, shamefully looking to the ground. 

They must have blamed themselves for what happened to Smolder. Spike had no doubts in his mind that if either of them saw the bolt of dark magic coming at them, they would have jumped in the way to shield Smolder. Spike gave them a slight reassuring smile and nod, letting them know everything would be alright. He noticed Gabby relax slightly, but Gallus remained tense to say the least.

Spike then turned back to Smolder. She hissed through clenched teeth as a nurse removed a cloth bandage from her shoulder, revealing her wound. Purple blood leaked from the hole burned clean through her body. Black veins slowly seemed to grow out of the wound, like cracks coming out of a break in a window.

"Unf gods above am I not doing that good right now," Smolder said as she turned to look at it. Spike grunted at what he saw. 

"Yeah, that is definitely not good," He said as he stepped forwards to the side of her bed.

"Luckily, I have the cure," Spike smirked as he raised the Scepter of Domination into the air and hovered the tip over Smolder's wound. "Not going to lie though, this is probably going to hurt like hell."

"Hey, better to be hurt than be killed." Smolder joked as Gallus and Gabby came forwards and took Smolder's hand into their own.  Smolder smiled at them. "Do it."

Spike nodded. With a rainbow of light, he pressed the crystal tip of the Scepter to Smolder's shoulder. Smolder hissed and bit her tongue to stop a cry of pain. Her hand curled into a fist, gripping Gabby and Gallus's hands tightly. 

Spike pulled the Scepter back, revealing the wound again. Her blood had returned to a healthy red color and the black veins had completely disappeared. It had even shown signs of resealing. A nurse quickly rushed in and recovered the wound with bandages. Gabby and Gallus let out sighs of relief as Smolder pulled herself up again. 

"Fuck that hurt," Smolder hissed as she let out an exhale. "Thanks boss. I really needed that." 

"I take care of my followers," Spike exclaimed as he took a step back. "You are probably not going to be able to use your arm again for a month or two, but then everything will be fixed. Now then, may I asked who did this? Was it Twilight? Sombra?"

"N-no. It was the white one with blond hair... uh... what was his name?" Smolder responded, snapping her fingers as she searched for the name. "Blueblood! That's the one." 

"Blueblood?" Spike asked with a raised eyebrow. "I honestly didn't think he had the magical capacity to do that kind of thing."

"Well it was him. I'd recognize that entitled sense of importance anywhere." Smolder chuckled. That's when Garble and Starlight stepped into the room.

"You ok sis?" The General said walking in. 

"Gar Gar!" Smolder said happily as the drake took his place by her bed. "Glad to see the Emperor hasn't killed you yet for incompetence."

Garble let out a rowdy laugh. "What can I say? Guess I am just too valuable!" 

Spike rolled his eyes as he turned to leave. "Whatever you say general." He started walking out but stopped at the exit next to Ember when she cleared his throat.

"Oh yes, before I forget. Ember and I are going to hunt for the alternate Starlight and Thorax now. Until we return, I am putting Garble in command of all military operations and Starlight in command of all civil and government duties. When I return I will reassume direct command. The resistance can't have gotten far from Canterlot. Search the surrounding regions first." He ordered looking his followers directly in the eyes. "Any objections?"

"None here my lord," Garble said with a salute. 

"I will try my best to emulate your style of rulership sire," Starlight agreed with a slight bow. 

"Good." Spike turned to the door. 

"Wait, before you go." Smolder cried out to him. "I heard about what happened to Thorax. I can only imagine how that feels. I don't know what I would be able to do with myself if Gallus or Gabby were taken." 

Spike nodded to her. "I appreciate your condolences."

"I might have a lead for you. However minor it is." 

"Oh?"

"There was a changeling with Twilight and Blueblood." She said as she stood up, despite the objections of Nurse Redheart and the other doctors. "He had purple eyes and a red headfin. Was kind of a badass. Took out two dragon guards singlehandedly" 

Spike and Ember immediately locked eyes with each other. "Pharynx!" They both cried in unison. 

Spike quickly rushed to Smolder his face an inch away from hers, desperation obvious on his features. 

"Tell me everything!"





Twilight walked through the new makeshift base the resistance had set up. She smiled as she watched the resistance remove the collars of the newly liberated slaves. 

She was particularly happy when she watched four yaks run-up to Yona. Two adults and two young children.

"Yona!" They cried as they practically tackled her to the ground. Sandbar had to literally dive out of the way to avoid being trampled. 

"Mom! Dad! Brothers!" She roared happily. 

Twilight giggled as Yona introduced her family to a rather frazzled Sandbar, who was quickly dragged into another group hug. She felt bad for the earth ponies spine.

She turned just in time to be hugged by Starlight.

"Twilight!" The unicorn shouted. 

"Starlight!" Twilight replied happily as she hugged her friend back. 

"Oh you have no idea how happy I am to see you," Starlight said as she stepped back. "Now we can go home!" 

"What? No. Starlight we can't go home yet." Twilight said looking to the side. "I... I promised everypony here that we'd help them." 

Starlight let her jaw drop. "B-but... what about everypony back home! They need us!" 

"Well, I think they need us here a little more. Besides, I owe Pharynx my life. If it weren't for him both of us would be fountains by now..." Twilight guiltily claimed as she looked over to the changeling.

Pharynx was slowly walking into the center of the camp, still in his combat form. Blood dripped from his massive monstrous maw and his claws. The crowd fearfully parted for him as with a flash of fire he returned to his changeling form. He idly walked to the dragon who had his sword embedded in their chest and ripped it out before skulking off to clean it. 

"He's very... violent isn't he?" Starlight said before shaking his head and turning back to Twilight.

That's when Twilight noticed the collar around her neck.

"Oh sweet Celestia!" Twilight said in shock, grabbing Starlight by the collar and pulling her towards her horn. With a spark the collar broke. "Did he-?"

"N-no. He didn't I was actually pretty shocked by that..." Starlight said rubbing her neck. Starlight gulped and turned to Blueblood as he approached them flanked by Spitfire and Zecora.

"Are you sure about staying?" Starlight asked with a sigh.

"Yes... I'm sorry." Twilight responded with a sigh. 

Starlight suddenly smiled. "Don't be. I'm actually kind of glad we are staying."

Twilight giggled just as Blueblood stepped in front of them. 

"We need to figure out our next move."





Thorax found himself in an extremely dark room. He could tell by the unsmoothed stone and the dull green light streaming in from small holes in the walls that he was back in the hive, locked in a prison cell. 

He tried to control his breathing. To show that he wasn't scared, but it was a fool's errand. The little changeling found himself hyperventilating uncontrollably. 

He had no idea how long he had been in the dark. Hours? Days? It was hard to say. 

He screamed as he was knocked out of his thoughts when the wall opened, revealing...

"Spike!" He suddenly cried standing up. He couldn't help but shoot into the air on his wings and fly towards the dragon slamming into him and wrapping him into a hug. 

Spike chuckled. "Now's not the time for that Thorax. We need to get you out of here." 

Thorax looked up at him with a smile as Spike grabbed him by the hand and started to lead him through the dark halls of the hive. 

He didn't notice the fact that there were no guards in the halls, dragon or otherwise. He didn't notice the fact that Spike had an odd knowledge of the chaotic maze-like layout of the hive. He didn't notice that Spike wasn't leading him towards an exit. All he could think of was the fact that Spike had come to save him. 

Spike eventually found himself at the end of the line. What Thorax could only think of as the exist to the hive. The doors flew open and Thorax turned to leave the hive. Expecting himself to run into a dragon army. 

Instead, he found himself in the Throneroom. Chrysalis was sitting on the throne, a smirk on her face. Thousands of sets of flowing cyan eyes were on from the darkness of the room. 

Thorax felt all the color drain from his face. He turned to run but found himself held in place by the hand of Spike. Thorax tugged and tugged but Spike didn't budge. That's when everything snapped into place. 

'Spike' slowly turned to him, a smirk on his face as a changeling flew down and handed the tall form of Spike a burning hot branding iron. The white-hot word 'Traitor' stared Thorax in the face. 

"You let your guard down again Thorax." He said as his eyes flashed green. That's when he thrust the Iron against Thorax's chest. 

His scream echoed throughout the entire hive.
> Chapter 18: Traitor
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

It was the night after the battle of Sweet Apple Acres. The resistance had settled into the Everfree a sizable distance away from the Orchard, dragging their more important prisoners in tow. 

With Twilight and Zecora guiding them, the resistance made their way to the old abandoned Castle of the Two Sisters. The Resistance had set up a base camp there, campfires blazed as freedom fighters drank and shared stories, happy to finally be free of the oppressive looming tower of the Changeling Hive and the buzzing of dark magic. It certainly helped that they had just struck a blow to the empire today, however minor. 

Freedom Fighters drank and roared happily, dancing around the fire as the newly liberated slaves celebrated their freedom alongside them. The Imperial Soldiers they had captured were tied up to poles in the middle of the camp, the more... passionate resistance members tormenting them. 

"Traitors! The lot of you!" Spitfire hissed "Scum like you should be shoved into Tartarus! You're lucky I haven't killed you right here, right now!"

"We are the traitors?!?  You turned your back on the rest of Equestria!" One of the soldiers, a grey unicorn, shouted back at her. Twilight recognized him vaguely. He was one of the Royal Guard. More specifically a guard from Canterlot Palace. 

"The Emperor provides unity and stability, something those princesses you are oh so loyal to never did!" The guard hissed.

"Stability eh? I got your stability right here!" Spitfire said with a smirk before she brought her fist back and punched him directly in the face as hard as she could. Her cronies laughed, jeered, and whooped as Twilight turned away and cleared her throat. 

She and Starlight sat in the center of the camp with Zecora, Blueblood, and Pharynx. The five of them sat on ceremonial rugs weaved for them by Yona's family in thanks for their liberation and reunion with their daughter. Twilight found herself pleasantly surprised at how quickly they had weaved the rugs!

Twilight watched the revelry pick up as Big Mac slammed a big barrel into the center of a crowd and ripped off the top revealing an entire reservoir of apple cider. Twilight quickly rose to her feet to try to get herself a mug before it was all gone, but she was stopped by Blueblood. 

"Come with me please. We need to have words, you, Starlight, and I." He said with a hand on her shoulder. He looked to Starlight who nodded and stood up. Blueblood soon lead them away from the party, up a long-unused stairway to a half-collapsed but ultimately stable parapet overlooking the quiet forest. 

Blueblood crossed his arms over his chest and spent a couple of moments looking over the forest, observing for torchlight gleaming through the Everfree's dark canopy, or the massive shadows cast by Draconic Leviathans but nothing came. He finally sighed turning and looking squarely at Starlight. 

"What can you tell me of your time with the Emperor?" He asked, suddenly staring her dead in the eyes. His own pale blue hues narrowed suspiciously. "And how did you escape?"

Twilight suddenly stepped forwards with a start. "Excuse me? Are you accusing her of something?" 

Blueblood snapped at her just as unexpectedly. "I have had hundreds of friends betray me and side with the Emperor since this resistance began. Excuse me if I am suspicious of a pony I have never met who spent days right at Spike's side!" 

Twilight took a step back, glaring at him. She opened her mouth to speak again but she was silenced by Starlight.

"It's ok Twilight." She said stepping up and looking at the prince. "I was kept by the Emperor's side while in his captivity. He was going to keep me as bait to get you guys to walk into a trap. He didn't reveal anything to me unfortunately."

Blueblood raised an eyebrow and stared her down. "And your escape happened because...?" 

"I..." Starlight said before gulping. "I used one of his slaves as a shield to protect me while I teleported away..." 

Twilight's eyes widened, her sight quickly snapping to her apprentice. She found herself in shock. How could she have done such a thing? She supposed it was no worse than what she had done though. She was a murderer.

Blueblood's eyes widened. "Did the slave teleport with you? Which one was it?"

"Yes. It was... Thorax. The changeling." Starlight said with a small nod. 

Blueblood suddenly smirked. He turned his hands behind his back. "Excellent! We can use him as a shield against Spike. On top of that, he will allow us to put Pharynx permanently under our control. Where did you leave him?"

Twilight suddenly stepped forwards, shutting up Starlight. "What did you just say?" She hissed with narrowed eyes.

Blueblood took a step back in initial shock. He was quick to steal himself and step forwards locking eyes with Twilight. "What I need to win this war." He replied, his voice cold and calm.

Twilight balled her hands into fists. "You just talked about using someone as a hostage to force one of our allies into compliance." 

"Pharynx is a changeling. His kind are creatures of deception. The only way we can make sure to secure his obedience is to use his brother. Otherwise he will betray us to his mother at the drop of a hat." Blueblood growled. Twilight was quick to notice his sclera turn a neon green as his eyes turn a deep red. Dark purple mist started leaking from his eyes.

Twilight tsked. "Look at you. You're using dark magic. You are no better than Spike and Sombra." She said, pitty in her voice. "Not morally at least." 

Blueblood stomped forwards grabbing her by the collar of her shirt. Twilight's horn instinctively sparked to life, her eyes turning a pure white, a sign of the powerful spells she was readying. "Back off! You know nothing about me or this world!"

"Shut up! Both of you!" Starlight suddenly shouted. Both of the royals turned to her. Their horns and eyes ceased to glow. 

"I don't have Thorax anymore." Starlight said with a furrowed brow. "I traded him with Sombra for the location of the Resistance."

She smirked at Blueblood, not noticing Twilight's face turn a pale shade of white. "Sorry to say 'prince' but he is safe back with his people at the hive."

Starlight felt her smirk slowly die as Twilight approached her, numbly placing a hand on her shoulder. "You did what?"





Pharynx sat in the center of the camp, a slight smile coming to his face as he saw a pale green earth pony pulled away by a Yak to sit at a campfire with her family. She giggled as he awkwardly shuffled to sit down on one of the Yaks rugs in a faux traditional way, only to be knocked to the ground when the Yak patriarch laughed and gave him a firm pat on the back. 

His compact eyes scanned the revelry of the camp, he saw three pony fillies, one orange, one white and one yellow happily singing together around the campfire, wearing old red capes that looked a couple of sizes too small for them. He saw two Gryphon Resistance members happily and drunkenly lock lips before shambling off to a quiet part of the camp. He saw Soarin take to the air and dazzle several of the younger members of the camp with a quick, dazzling display. 

And through it all, his smile never faltered. What he was thinking went against all of his instincts as a changeling but... it felt good to be bringing families together, instead of ripping them apart for food. He could only chuckle at the irony. 

"Well, isn't that interesting." Zecora suddenly said with a chuckle. Pharynx turned to her with a raised eyebrow. She was staring intently at him.

"What is?" Pharynx questioned with a grunt.  

"I never thought Mr. Tall Dark and Violent was capable of smiling." She chuckled. Pharynx rolled his eyes in response.

"I am... I just haven't had a lot to feel good about recently." He replied. Neither noticed a Resistance member approach them nor did they notice that there was actually two of this particular member in the camp.

"Well, suffice to say it is glad to see even you are enjoying the festivities. I guess that means we Equestrians are still capable of having a good time, even without Pinkie-" Zecora started but was cut off by a flash of green light. The entire celebration came to an abrupt end as all eyes were suddenly locked on the changeling that stood above Pharynx and Zecora. 

"Pharynx! The Queen would like to know why you chose to desert your post, as well as why you are among the prey." The changeling loudly asked and an arrogant smirk. Pharynx recognized him, and it made his blood start to boil. His name was Cornicle. He was one of the many changelings who made it their personal mission to torment his brother at every opportunity they had. 

He rose to his feet and stared down the other changeling. The two started to slowly circle each other, like two apex predators sizing each other up before a fight over territory or a mate. Pharynx noticed out of the corner of his eye as Twilight, Starlight, and Blueblood came barreling out of a tower with pure panic in their eyes, which was only heightened when they saw the changeling. 

"I am on a mission to save my brother from the Emperor. One of Chrysalis's two only sons. That is a worthy enough goal to abandon my post." Pharynx hissed, baring his fangs. He expected a fight, Cornicle was always one to try to take him on. To prove he was the superior changeling. 

"Oh ho ho. There's the thing." Cornicle laughed coming to a stop. "We already got Thorax back. He was delivered to the hive by Sombra just a couple hours ago." 

Pharynx came to a stop to. His worst fears had come true. Chrysalis had him again. "W-what?"

"Yes. As it turns out, Thorax had willingly given up the location and plans of the Queen to Spike. Suffice to say he has been branded and given a bunch of new holes. Apparently his torture is only just starting! How does that make you feel Prince-y? That your brother is a filthy traitor?" Cornicle giggled prancing around Pharynx as the warrior remained still in place, processing what was being said with a hollow look in his eyes. 

"You know, I am not even here to get you actually! I was sent here by Queen Chrysalis to give my thanks actually!" Cornicle laughed before turning to Starlight Glimmer with an overexaggerated bow. "We must give our most sincere thanks Mrs. Glimmer! Without your help, we would never have been able to ca-" 

Cornicle was silenced with a sickening crack. The crack of carapace being broken. He looked down to see a black blade pierced directly through his chest, green blood coating it from base to tip. He grasped at his chest in shock as the sword was ripped from his chest. 

A hand on his shoulder turned him around, and he found himself face to face with Pharynx, his features contorted into a pure, unadulterated rage. He barely had time to open his mouth, to attempt to beg for mercy, before Pharynx shoved his blade into his again chest. 

Pharynx ripped it out and stabbed again, and again, and again. His violent grunts being the only sound in the castle as the rest of the Resistance silently and fearfully watched him disembowel Cornicle. 

Soon his blades frequent stabs found nothing but air, the entirety of Cornicles chest being reduced to one single rapidly bleeding stab wound. 

Pharynx dropped the changeling's corpse to the ground and slowly turned, his vision red with rage and his body coated green. He madly stared into the crowd until his vision locked onto Starlight Glimmer. 

"You..." He growled madly, taking a shaky step towards her. 

Starlight stepped back and raised her hands. "P-please Pharynx. It was an accident. I didn't know."

He suddenly lunged at her and slashed his sword vertically downwards intent on cutting her in half. Only an incredibly quick shield from Twilight saved her life, the blade digging into the shield and getting stuck like an ax into a chopping block. 

Pharynx madly pulled at his sword, trying to dislodge it. "I'll kill you! I'll kill you!" He roared, as he bit at the air and clawed at the shield like a rabid animal. 

He felt his arms suddenly grabbed as the two Yak adults they had saved from the orchard pulled him off the shield and pinned him down. 

"Calm down bug pony!" One roared, but it didn't stop him his eyes still locked on Starlight. He was going to rip her apart, even if it meant he had to kill everyone here. 

There was a massive flash of green fire, both of the Yaks cried out in pain, their arms singed by magical fire. They retreated just in time to see a massive six-legged monster rise to its feet. With a violent slash, it struck the shield, cracks emanating from the place he hit like a shattered mirror. His sword, which had been still embedded in the shield snapped in half from the force he hit it with. 

Two more strikes. Two more strikes and the bitch would die. He raised his claw again, preparing to bring it down, but a black bolt suddenly hit him in the chest. His form dropped and he stumbled back. There was now a hole going straight through his chest. 

He looked up to see Blueblood's horn emanating mist, his eyes glowing green. Just like how he looked when he shot Smolder. 

Thoughts raced through Pharynx's mind. He was going to bleed out now. He was going to die. That meant he had only one chance to save his brother. He wasn't going to waste it on revenge. 

He stumbled back, coughing up blood before he took to the air. Leaving the camp behind. Twilight called back after him but he didn't listen. He was going to the one person he knew could help Thorax.





It was night time in Cantlerlot Palace. Emperor Spike stood in the throne room of said palace, looking over a map of Canterlot and the surrounding regions with Smolder, Garble, Ember, and Starlight.

The throneroom had gone through significant changes since Smolder had taken over. All busts and stain glass windows depicting Celestia or the Elements of Harmony had been torn down and replaced by ones depicting Smolder in larger than life poses. The many reds and golds of the room had been replaced by purple and greens, the colors of the empire. The throne itself had been tossed out a window and replaced by a large dark grey and orange one, which had a built-in flamethrower which spewed fire out of the top. 

Smolder claimed it looked really cool, and she was right. 

Spike knew for now that a potential lead, however tiny, to Thorax's location was currently with the Resistance. They needed to be found. Now. 

"Any ideas as to where they might be?" Spike asked his loyal council. 

"Hmmm. I will send a letter to Flim and Flam at Sweet Apple Acres. Reports claim that prominent members of the Apple family are with the Resistance. They might try to go there." Starlight exclaimed as she circled the Orchard on the map with a quill. 

"And I will alert all military garrisons from here to Gryphonstone and Yakyakistan to report all sightings of the Resistance before engaging. This should make tracking them easier." Garble said with a nod.

"Good. That should make things somewhat easier at least." Ember said with a slight smile. She turned to Spike, hope in her eyes. Spike returned the look. 

All eyes suddenly snapped to the entrance to the room, as the throneroom's double doors slammed open. Spike hissed in anger.

"I ordered not to be... disturbed...." His anger pattered off as a dragon guard limped into the room, a hole going through his chest which leaked black blood. 

The guard stumbled in, collapsing several times but he always scampered to his feet as the frozen Emperor watched him. "S-Spike... Emperor Spike..." he hissed in pain until he finally collapsed at the Dragonlord's feet. 

"S-soldier? What happened to you? Are you alright?" Spike asked in concern. He kneeled down and placed a hand delicately on the soldier's shoulder. 

The guard slowly raised his head and stared into Spike's eyes. The soldier suddenly burst into flame. Spike fearfully retracted his hand. Ember cried out in surprise and lowered into a defensive pose, Smolder took a step back and Garble started to rush to Spike's side and 

In the place of the soldier was a changeling. He expected a sudden knife strike that would end his life, but nothing came. 

Instead the changeling stayed still. Spike raised a hand stopping Garble. On second look Spike realized that this was the changeling he was after! On top of that, he was still injured. The hole was not an illusion, and it was identical to the one Smolder had been given. He was hurt. Badly.

The changeling then opened his mouth to speak. His voice was weak, obviously from his injury, but it still carried hints of a gruff military personality. 

"I... I know how to save Thorax..."
> Chapter 19: The Imperial Army
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Spike stood in Smolder's throne room, pacing back and forth. He nervously gulped, turning to Ember who was sitting on Smolder's throne while Smolder and Starlight were leaned over the map. Garble had since been deployed to round up some soldiers. The Imperial Army was needed for the upcoming operation. 

"Is he awake yet?" Spike asked Ember, a concerned look easily discernable on his face. 

Ember sat up. "You just healed him thirty minutes ago. Give him some time to-" She was cut off when the doors of the throne room burst open. Pharynx pushed himself inside, stumbling to his knees for a second. The Changeling breathed heavily and stood up as if there was nothing wrong, approaching Spike and Smolder at the planning table. 

"He had a hole in his chest and he is already up? By the gods what is this guy made of?" Smolder asked as she looked up at the changeling.

Spike noted the two pony guards he had assigned to him were missing. "Where are you're guards?" He asked.

"I gave them the slip. But that doesn't matter. At all." Pharynx stumbled forwards and slammed his hands on the table. "What matters, is my brother Thorax."

Spike grimaced before nodding. "Very well. I do feel the urge to ask, however..." 

Spike stomped forwards, towering over Pharynx. "If this is a trick, I will smash your head like a pumpkin." He growled. 

Pharynx looked up at him, with no fear on his face. "This isn't a trick." 

Spike nodded down at him in response. There was no hint of decrepit in his voice or on his face. Not to mention, Thorax was his brother.

"Very well, what are your terms?" Spike asked with a raised eyebrow. 

"Terms?"

"Yes. Terms." Spike asked with a sigh of annoyance. "What do you want in return for the information you are going to give me."

Pharynx looked up at him with a look of pure determination on his face. "I want nothing other than the safety of my brother. Promise me nothing, not so much as a scratch, will come to him."

Spike looked down at him and smirked. "Then our goals are one and the same. Now then, how are we going to save him?"

Pharynx turned to the map, setting his finger down right next to Canterlot. "There is a series of tunnels underneath Canterlot."

Spike nodded. "Indeed, I remember that from the wedding." 

"Well, what you probably don't remember," Pharynx said, dragging his finger across the map, from Canterlot to the Changeling hive. "Is that there are tunnels that connect to them, they are winding and confusing but the lead out directly inside the shield around the hive, which would allow soldiers to move in and shut the shield down from the inside."

Spike's eyes widened at that. That was it! That was how changelings seemed to be able to move through his empire unopposed despite Sombra never lowering his shield. Spike's hands clenched into fists. They had been moving under his very nose this entire time. 

"Excellent. Give us a map of the tunnels and we will move out asap." Spike said turned and beginning to march a door which led to a balcony.

"Who said anything about a map?" Pharynx asked, standing up. 

Spike looked back to him with a raised eyebrow. 

"I am going to lead you there, even if it kills me." The changeling stood up and followed after Spike. 

Spike looked the changeling up and down before smirking. "Well then, welcome to the Draconic Empire, Captain."

"Captain?" Pharynx asked. Smolder and Starlight looked at each other.

"Myes, Captain. You have proven yourself to be a proficient soldier and strategist. However, I do not believe you have earned enough trust to reach anything higher in rank for now. Now then, Ember, would you be so kind as to join me for a bit of a... speech."

Ember smirked as she rose from Smolder's throne and joined Spike and Pharynx as they stepped out onto the balcony. Instantly Pharynx's eyes widened at what he saw. 

He had made the mistake of assuming the entire Imperial Army, save some small garrisons acting as guards around the Empire. He had never been so wrong. A sea of purple armor-clad soldiers filled the streets and plazas of Canterlot. Every alley, road, and clearing had soldiers standing information within, their eyes on Spike's balcony. There were too many to count, but Pharynx's tactical knowledge let him know that there were between 400,000 up to 500,000 soldiers standing before him.

Giant dragons, the variety that could destroy entire cities singlehandedly flew in the air above Canterlot, circling the city by the hundred. They kept their eyes on Spike though. Even they were loyal to their Emperor. 

Brazzers burned at every street corner, illuminating the army in the crisp night air. The light allowed Pharynx easy vision of the banners they held aloft alongside their pikes and spears. It was that of a purple dragon on a green background.

Spike, with a smirk, outstretched his arm, as a microphone was handed to him by Garble as the general landed at his side. His smile widened as he looked over his forces. It was good to rule. 

"My soldiers!" He shouted at them. "For the first time in all of recorded history, shall the known world be united under one stable, force. We shall have, for the first time in our history, unity, security, and peace, as all races shall be united by one singular banner, and it is all thanks to my newest recruit!"

Spike suddenly grabbed Pharnyx's hand and raised it into the air. "This is the eldest son of Queen Chrysalis, and thanks to him we will be able to bring down the shield around the changeling hive, bringing the last hint of resistance under our rule! Our empire shall stretch from Yakyakistan in the north to the vast deserts to the south and everything in between. I have one question for you, however."

Spike let go of Pharynx's hand and stepped forwards, to the very edge of the balcony. He spread his arm through the air, addressing the crowd. 

"I ask you one question. Once we conquer the hive, shall we end our conquests? Shall we demilitarize and leave ourselves open to conquest from outside forces?" Spike asked with a smirk. 

A deafening 'No!' came from the crowd, pony and dragon alike raising their fists and weapons. 

"Or, shall we take our conquests further? Past the maps of the known and into the unknown? Shall we conquer every inch of this world, and bring about a world of peace and prosperity? A world where nothing shall ever threaten us again!?!"

Roars of approval and joy ripped through the air, as an entire army cheered their loyalty and support. Dragons reared back and shot fire into the air, a rainbow of flames bursting into the sky, and through it all, Spike watched on with an ever-widening smile. 

"Go now! The first step in our global conquest begins with Chrysalis and Sombra's heads on pikes!"

In one movement, the entire army turned and began marching out of the city, banners proudly raised and weapons at the ready. 

"Spike is so good at working a crowd isn't he?" Ember whispered to Pharynx as Spike stepped back and dropped his microphone to the ground. 

Pharynx wasn't listening. Only one thing was going through his brain right now. He chose the right side. 

Spike turned back to them arms behind his back. 

"Garble. Ready the Draconian Guard. We are going cave diving!"
> Chapter 20: Rules of Nature
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Spike and Pharynx stood in front of the entrance to a massive cave system. The aptly named Crystal Caves of Canterlot. Spike stood with his arms crossed behind his back in thought. He wore his combat armor rather than his normal ruling uniform, which also happened to be armor. 

It was day time now. The morning after he had deployed his army. Today was the day. Today was the day he destroyed Chrysalis and Sombra.

His combat armor was a full suit of black plate armor, which covered all but his face. His glowing eyes and snarling snout being the only things uncovered by the plate. The winged symbol of the Draconic Empire was engraved into the rounded pauldrons of the armor. A massive two handed great-sword rested comfortably on his back while he gripped the Scepter of Domination in his left hand. He was thankful that it was practically indestructible, or his firm grip would have snapped it in half. 

Ember stood to his right. She was wearing her golden armor, the same uniform she had met the first day she met him, though it had been given a bit of decor in the form of the insignia of the Empire on her chest plate, alongside her armor's pauldrons. She held a warhammer in either hand and looked equally ready to charge into the caves as Spike. 

To his left stood Pharynx, who wore a new suit of purple armor, the standard uniform of the Draconic Empire. He clutched a new sword in his hand, as he eyed the cave ready to move in. His compound eyes didn't give Spike any insight into the Changelings mindset, but he imagined him to be eager to move out to save his brother. That, or he was preparing to betray him. 

Spike cleared his throat. "Before we move in, I want you to tell me something Pharynx."

Pharynx turned to him and looked him dead in the eyes, ready for anything.

"You were with the resistance earlier yes?" Spike asked a raised eyebrow.

"Yes... my lord." Pharynx said, adding the 'my lord' after a slight stumble in words. 

"When you last saw them, where were they camped?" Spike asked darkly, his eyes narrowing. 

"The Castle of the Two Sisters in the center of the Everfree forest. They may have moved on now, but they have prisoners with them, I doubt they would get far." Pharynx said without hesitating. 

Spike was taken aback for a second. He was not expecting him to sell out his former allies so quickly. He then chuckled to himself. Perhaps he could trust this bug. No further than he could throw him though. Considering his size compared to Spike however, that might actually be quite far. That saying never made sense to him anyway. 

Spike turned around and smirked. 

In front of him, staring dutifully back at him, were one hundred dragons of the elite Draconian Guard. The most competent, skilled warriors of his Empire. They each wore a different suit of armor wielding a specialized weapon. Like the Knights of old, each one had a different Insignia on their armor which was joined by the Insignia of the Empire. 

Behind them stood three Draconic Leviathans who towered over everything else near them, even buildings. Thankfully, Pharynx had insisted that they could fit into the caverns if they squeezed through enough. The caves were used to transport an army after all.

This was the Draconian Guard. Spike's most loyal and elite soldiers. When not in combat, each Guardsman was given their own mansion and tract of land to do with as they pleased, alongside first pick of any slaves the Empire claimed. This was not to say they were lazy or entitled. Far from it. They earned their place upon the bones of the many enemies of the Empire. 

Spike looked up at one of the Leviathans, a black one covered in a massive suit of armor. There was enough steel in that suit of armor to build a dozen skyscrapers at least. It was worth it though. It made his Leviathans of the Draconian guard even more powerful. 

"Soot. Move to the Castle of the Two Sisters. Find the Resistance and destroy them. Let's be rid of two threats today." He ordered. 

A smile came to the dragon's massive maw, glistening rows of pony sized teeth glinting in the light as it spread it's wings into the air. 

"Yes my lord." It's voice boomed. With a roar it kicked off the ground and shoot into the air, leaving a crater behind him. In three flaps of his massive wings he was high enough in the air that his shadow covered the entire district of the city the Draconian Guard were within. Then he shot off towards the Everfree forest. 

Spike turned back to the cave entrance with an exaggerated movement. He pointed the Scepter of Domination directly towards the entrance. "Move out! Today is the day Chrysalis dies!"

Pharynx was the first to move in, followed by Ember. Then the Draconian guard started marching after them, the Leviathans the last to start moving. Spike suddenly reached out, placing a claw on the shoulder of one of his men. 

"Keep track of our movements in the cave. I don't want Pharynx to move us into a trap. I still don't have reason to completely trust him." He quietly told the soldier. They nodded in response and marched past.

Spike followed after him and stepped foot into the cave. 





There was a bit of a panic in the Resistance Camp. Perhaps it was a bad idea to spend the night in the Castle of the Two Sisters was a bad idea, but moving in the Everfree at night was an even worse idea. There was a mad scramble in the camp as ponies, gryphons, kirin, buffalo and Yak alike rushed through the camp packing up their belongings and preparing to move out. 

It didn't take a genius to tell that Pharynx probably rushed out to join the Empire, meaning that he probably alerted Spike to their location. 

Blueblood directed them as they went about chaotically tearing down the camp, Twilight next to him as she used her magic to make things easier for the resistance. Lifting heavy things and packing up tents from afar. That sort of thing. 

Starlight was with Sandbar and Yona's family as they went about cleaning their own part of camp. She was slow and quiet about it, clearly thinking about things. Guilt was evident on her features. Twilight didn't know what to say to her. She didn't know about Sombra and Chrysalis but...

"This is a nightmare." Blueblood suddenly said, snapping her out of her thoughts. "Any minute now a legion of Imperial Soldiers will be upon us. Or worse."

"Worse? What do you mean by w-" Twilight started. She was interrupted by a loud, earth shaking boom. The ground quaked, and she almost lost her footing. Many others were not so lucky, falling to the ground as the earth shook around them. Several already unstable parts of the ruin collapsed, including a section of the ceiling which fell down directly towards the prisoners the Resistance had captured from the Orchard. 

Thankfully, Twilight noticed it in time to grab it, and several other collapsing bricks and statues in her magic, gently lowering them to the ground in places that wouldn't smash anyone flat. As soon as the shaking stopped a sense of panic immediately followed, some immediately began running towards Blueblood and Twilight.

Most others, however were frozen in place, there eyes locked on the wall on the other side of where the echoing noise came from. The wall was the one where the thrones of Luna and Celestia had once stood a thousand years ago, on the opposite side of the castle to Blueblood and Twilight. 

It was quiet for the next couple of minutes but that didn't stop the all encompassing feeling a dread the Resistance felt. 

"M-maybe..." Zecora, who was standing off to the side near Blueblood and Twilight, suddenly said. "Maybe it was only a section of the castle falling off?" 

The second she finished speaking, the castle wall exploded inwards, flinging shard of broken stained glass, stone brick, boulders and shattered statues directly at the resistance. Those close to unicorns had the luck of being protected by bubble shield, but those without that luxury had to struggle to dodge the pieces of shrapnel. Twilight noticed more than a couple of the resistance members taken out by falling rubble. She hoped they were just injured.

A cloud of dust emanated from the shattered wall, covering what ever just smashed it down. All anyone could see was a massive black shape. The shape rose in size, as if it was rising to it's full height, though it stood on four legs. The ceiling above it collapsed as it's head and long neck smashed though it, leading to another rain of rubble. Thankfully it was much easier to dodge for the people below this time. 

Slowly the dust settled as the creature became easier to see. A massive armored dragon, the biggest one Twilight had ever seen in her life. Even Torch wasn't as large as this one. 

"Leviathan!" A Resistance member cried out in terror, before the dragon raised a claw and brought it down on them, smashing them flat like a bug. A panic very quickly set in. 





Starlight watched as members of the Resistance scattered in every direction. Some of the more brave members tried their hardest to hammer it with spells or arrows from bows and bolts from crossbows but nothing even scratched it's armor, never mind the scales beneath. 

Starlight could only helplessly watch as, the armor on the dragon's chest suddenly turned red hot, glowing vibrantly as steam shot out. The armor looked like it was on the verge of melting. Then, slowly, the metal on his neck started to glow the same way, slowly snaking up it's long neck until it reached the chin of the armor. 

"Watch out!" Was all Starlight could cry before fire burst out of the creatures maw, shooting out with enough force to smash aside the castle's wall, instantly incinerating everything it touched. The Dragon first shot it along the castle's upper floor, devastating those Resistance members who had ran up their in a panic, before it slowly snaked down towards the main camp in the center of the bottom floor. 

Thankfully, before the fires struck the resistance, which would have likely turned more than half of them in to piles of ash, a purple shield suddenly appeared between the dragon's mouth and the camp. The fire struck it, cracks slowly forming in the shield, spreading through it. 

Starlight's eyes turned to Twilight who struggled to stand up as he horn glowed.

"Everypony! Run! Quickly!" She shouted before falling to her knees, sweat pouring from the brow as the shield continued to crack, coming closer and closer to shattering. 

There was a mini stampede as everyone rushed toward's the castle exit which was behind Twilight and Blueblood. Several stayed behind though, like Starlight, Sandbar and Yona, who quickly shepherded the Yak's family towards the exit. 

The dragon suddenly stopped spewing fire stepping back. With an angry roar, it brought it's massive whip like tail back, and brought it down onto the shield. It easily smashed through it, causing Twilight to collapse to the ground. The tail continued coming down, smashing into a low hanging chandelier, which was sent flying to the ground, directly towards one of Yona's little brothers. 

Yona shouted in panic, but Sandbar suddenly rushed forwards, tackling the small Yak out of the way as the metal chandelier struck the ground shattering. Yona tried to rush towards them, but was stopped when the tail struck the ground between them, separating them by a wall of metal and scales. 

"Sandbar! Brother!" She cried ramming into tail with all her might. That was a bad idea, as with a rumble they quickly felt as though they were bring watched by something.

Starlight and Yona looked up to see that the eyes of the Leviathan were locked on them, a smile slowly coming to it's face. It lowered its head, slowly, mouth opening, preparing to devour them both with one bite. Suddenly, a loud crack shot through the air. Electricity suddenly shot through it's armor. It roared it very obvious pain as it shook in place. The lightning soon went away and it panted heavily before roaring once more, bringing it's tail into the air and slamming it into a wall, collapsing it as it turned to see what had happened. 

Several pegasi, lead by Spitfire and Soarin, had gathered as many clouds as they could and were now hammering the dragon with lightning bolt after lighting bolt. The dragon roared time and time again as each bolt struck it directly in the armor. 

It suddenly leaped into the air towards, them, taking a swipe with one of his massive claws, but he missed as the pegasi dodged out of the way. He landed almost a mile away, flattening trees and kicking up an explosion of dirt. The pegasi followed after him to cover the Resistance's retreat, not ceasing in their fire of lightning bolts. 

Starlight watched this before turning and rushing after Yona. She watched as the larger yak hugged her little brother who was thankfully unscathed.

The same couldn't be said for Sandbar. After a slight wheezing whimper, they both turned to see Sandbar. Tears were in his eyes as he panted, his hands shaking as they grabbed onto a metal pole impaled into his stomach, which had broken off of the chandelier when it hit the ground.

Yona gasped and covered her brother's eyes, pure terror in hers. "S-sandbar..." She whimpered, her eyes watering. Starlight's face when white. There was so much blood. It covered the young pony's arms, chest, legs and it was quickly pooling around him. 

Starlight rushed to his side. "D-don't worry! I know some healing magic. I j... I just need to take the pole out before I do anything." She said placing a hand on his chest.

The pony looked up at her in horror, but slowly nodded. "D-d-do it..." He said his voice weak and shaky. 

Starlight nodded as she grabbed onto the pole. "Don't look at it." She whimpered before, with a firm, hard and fast tug she pulled it out. The young pony screamed out in pain, and didn't stop screaming until Starlight's magic had completely healed the hole in his stomach.

Through it all, Starlight could only think one thing;

'This is all my fault.'
> Chapter 21: Beauty of Annihilation
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Lightning coursed through the Leviathan's armor once again, causing him to scream in pain and thrash back and forth. Spitfire watched as it's armor on it's belly and neck heated up once again. 

"Everyone get out of the way!" Soarin cried to the many gryphons and pegasi surrounding them. They all barely had time to scatter in all directions before with a ear drum shattering roar, the Leviathan threw it's head into the air and blasted seemingly unending stream of flame directly upwards. 

Those fortunate enough to not be swallowed by the fire did not have time to celebrate however, as the dragon spread it's wings and took to the air, the wind kicked up from a mere flap of his wing was enough to knock many of the flying resistance fighters to the ground. 

The dragon shot up into the air, coming to a stop above the clouds the resistance had managed to gather to hammer it with lightning. It stopped in the air for a couple seconds, a smile coming to it's face. 

Spitfire knew what was going to happen almost instantly. 

The dragon's breath came forth as an unending tsunami of flame and smoke that soared past the pegasi and gryphons in the air, slamming into the forest floor like a deluge of napalm. The dragon turned it's head the fire stream following it, burning a path through the Everfree towards the castle. 

"We need to stop it! Asap!" Spitfire called to Soarin. "No way are the ponies on the ground going to be fast enough to avoid that!" 

"Right." Soarin said with a nod, before the two of them took off through the air, towards the dragon at top speed, leaving everyone else behind them.





Twilight stepped out of the castle of the two sisters and looked across the horizon in front of her, jaw dropped. 

There was fire. Fire as far as she could see. Burning trees and shrubbery filled her nose, alongside the vastly more unpleasant smell of burning flesh, be that from the animals of the forest or the resistance fighters who were unfortunately caught in the initial attack by the creature. 

Her eyes first turned downwards as she saw the monsters of the Everfree that had previously brought her nothing but fear, manticores, cockatrices, chupacabras and more, pitifully scattering like ants before the fury of the Draconic Empire, some even on fire. 

Her eyes turned upwards as she saw those monsters who could fly taking to the air and escaping. They were probably going to be the only things who would survive this.

Especially when she considered the wall of fire slowly approaching the castle. 

Finally Twilight's eyes locked on the dragon who had caused all this destruction, just in time for her to see two streaks soar through the air and slam into it's chest at high speed. A crash echoed through the air, as the dragon flinched, it's flaming breath coming to a cease as if the air had been knocked out of it's lungs. That was likely exactly what had happened.

The dragon stopped in the air trying to catch it's breath as the who streaks of speed which she realized were Soarin and Spitfire, flew in a circle around it, hammering it with blows and attacks that seemed to do nothing but annoy it. With a roar and a whip of it's it tail it hit both of the pegasi with on attack, knocking them from the air and sending them spiraling to the flaming forest floor below. 

Twilight clenched her fists, a sudden fury overwhelming her. Her breath became shaky and fury filled. This... monster had destroyed so much and killed so many. She had always thought that it was bad to kill. It was terrible to lash out with violence. That second chances were a thing that she should strive to. Everyone was redeemable.

She threw he head back with a roar, her eyes white and a massive beam of pure purple blasting out of her horn directly towards the Dragon. The beam struck the dragon in the wing and sent it careening towards the ground at high speeds, a deafening roar of pain filling the forest, followed by a earthshaking boom.

Twilight dropped onto one knee, panting. That spell certainly took a lot out of her. She hadn't done something that strong since she fought Tirek with the power of Cadance, Luna and Celestia. 

"Woah!" Twilight heard from behind her, turning to see Scootaloo and the other crusaders. She couldn't help but breath a sigh of relief. At least they had made it out.

"You took 'im down with a single beam!" Applebloom cried a smile on her face.

"He's not down for the count yet." Twilight said standing up, gulping as she saw the dragon stand up throwing his head up with a furious roar. I don't know if we have anything that's big enough to take that thing down... unless..."

A smile came to her face as she spread her wings, she turned her head to the three fillies.

"You girls need to help with the evacuation. I'll take care of the dragon."

"Yes Ma'am!" The three said with a salute before Twilight took to the air, going towards the unburned section of the forest. She had an old 'friend' to say hello to.





Soot threw his head back with a furious roar. He was laying in a massive crater, which had been formed when he hit the ground after being shot from the air by a vile pony. How dare she? How dare that insect damage him!

As he stood up, his armor, shattered from his impact, slid off and broke into pieces, completely useless now. 

He roared in anger. That armor costed him thousands of gems. He spread his wings and leaped in the air to track down the purple alicorn but he merely fell to the ground instead of flying no matter how hard he flapped his wings. He turned, only to see that his left wing, the one that had been struck, had a massive hole burned clean through it. 

He let out yet another violent, earth shaking roar. How dare they? 

There was a sudden boom behind him, causing him to rapidly spin around. What he saw caused his eyes to widen. A massive purple, translucent bear, with stars glittering across it's fur. It was easily one of the biggest creatures he had ever seen. It was even bigger than him!

A second, much smaller blue bear stood with it, hissing and roaring up at the dragon. However, what really caught the dragons eye, was the purple alicorn standing on the larger bear's back. 

"You!" Soot roared, rushing forwards in a blind rage, mouth open wide. He jumped towards the bear, but was suddenly hit directly in the face by one of it's powerful paws. He was knocked back landing on his back with a crash, a massive gash now on his face. He watched as the bear stood back onto it's hind legs and, with a roar, it brought them down onto the leviathan's chest, stomping on it. He cried out in pain twisting his body one way then the other as the beat continued stomping it's massive weight onto his chest, it's claws digging into him. 

He threw his head back and with a roar, shot a stream of fire directly towards the bear's face. It was almost immediately blocked by a purple force field, but he kept firing. It did nothing. He didn't stop until he felt an extremely painful punch on his throat, which instantly silenced him, cutting off his stream of fire. He looked down at what was latched around his wind pipe to see the smaller beat had bit him on his serpentine neck. He responded with a his, one of his claws coming up and bating it away. 

The larger bear didn't take kindly to that, letting out an earthshattering roar, so loud that it dwarfed every shout he had previously made. Soot barely had time to react before the larger beat brought it's mouth downwards, latching against his throat causing him to let out a surprisingly pathetic whimper. It pulled itself off him, and whipped it's head to the side, throwing the dragon over it's shoulder like he weighed nothing. The dragon let out another pitiful cry as he landed amongst the burning trees, rolling for several hundred feet before coming to a stop, a sea of blood pouring from massive cuts along his body. 

He tried to stand up, but his body wouldn't move. He tried to cry out in defiance or breath out fire, but all that emerged was a pathetic wheeze. He could only react with a twitch when the larger beat approached him and, in one movement, stomped on his serpentine neck, smashing his airway and putting an end to the dragon's centuries long life.
> Chapter 22: A New Course
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Twilight let out a long, exhausted sigh when she finally set herself down in front of the resistance commanders. They were still in the Castle of the Two Sisters, sitting in one of the few towers that had not been torn apart in the battle. A window to her left allowed her to stare out down below to see the remainder of the resistance going about attempting to heal the wounded and regather their supplies.

The battle with the Leviathan had unfortunately derailed any hope of an organized movement away from the castle for the time being, so they would need to spend some time to gather everyone up again. Casualties were high, almost a tenth of the resistance had been on the upper levels when the Dragon destroyed it. She was thankful that at the very least it was no one she knew. 

Blueblood was sitting across from her, eyes closed and hands clasped in front of his face. He was visibly shaking. Sitting to his left and right were Spitfire and Zecora respectively. They looked positively frazzled, Spitfire more so, as being knocked out of the air at supersonic speeds tended to do that to you. 

Starlight Glimmer sat next to Twilight, her lips sealed and her eyes locked on the map spread out in front of them. 

"So Twilight," Zecora said with a somewhat lighter tone then she was expecting. "How ever did you manage to ally with that Ursa Major. I had heard that those things are quite unruly and dangerous?"

Twilight eyed her with confusion. She definitely was not suspecting that question in particular. She was actually expecting someone to start yelling.

"Oh..." She started in a rather perplexed tone before clearing her throat. "Well, before me and Starlight accidently ended up here, I was working on a spell to allow me to properly speak to animals so I could help Fluttershy at her cottage. I never actually managed get very far with it though, it only allowed me to get across very simple phrases. Thankfully, the Ursa Major understood me when I said; 'Help, fire lizard burn forest.'"

Zecora smiled and nodded her head in response. "We are extremely thankful for your smart thinking. I don't think we would have been able to take that thing down on our-" She started but she was silenced by Spitfire slamming her fists on the table and standing up. 

"That thing wouldn't have attacked us in the first place if it weren't for that traitor Pharynx." She hissed. Zecora did nothing but furrow her brows in response.

Twilight was taken aback, she stood up herself. "We don't know that it was Pharynx who revealed our location. Maybe Spike has some kind of spell that let's him-" Spitfire silenced her with another slam of her fist.

"Shut your mouth, right now! That naivety is what got Equestria into this situation in the first place. Open your eyes, who else could have told him exactly where we were?" Spitfire roared staring down with all the rage of a rabid dog. "And he never would have betrayed us if it weren't for you!" 

Spitfire turned her rage on Starlight Glimmer, who's shoulders only sagged farther she didn't dare deny it. Twilight felt anger rapidly burn up in her chest as she opened her mouth to shout at the pegasus who dare talk like that to her student. Instead Blueblood stood up.

"Silence, all of you." He demanded in a deep voice, which was tinged with a... dark tone. All eyes around the table turned to him, a flash of neon green and red filling his eyes before he sighed and sat down.

"Now is not the time for blame and discourse. Now is the time for action." He explained as he sat down again. "Right now, our current location is beyond compromised and we have no fallback points or bases to make our own. We are, unfortunately, without many options. We need a plan, and fast."

All eyes turned back to the map as Spitfire grumbled and sat back down. 

"Hmph, perhaps we could flee to Zebrica?" Spitfire asked as she crossed her arms over her chest and snarled slightly.

"Zebrica is much to far away, and with the Changeling hive nearing conquest, Zebrica will likely be the empire's next target." Zecora said, a flash of discomfort and sadness coming to her face.

"Maybe we could push for Gryphonstone? If we liberated the city we could probably use it as a springboard for more rebellions?" Twilight asked, as her eyes locked on the formerly grand gryphon city. She had always wanted to see it, even if Rainbow Dash had told her it had been reduced to ruins since the loss of the Idol of Boreas.

"We don't have the resources for such an endeavor, and without a proper dedicated Head Quarters I doubt we could organize a guerilla operation of any kind. And due to us being on the run, a stationary HQ would be disastrous, as the Leviathan proved." Blueblood said, his brow furrowing and a discomforted sneer coming to his face.

"If only there was a way to have a mobile HQ..." Starlight said as she looked up at the map, the first words she had said during the meeting. 

Blueblood's head quickly snapped to her before his eyes widened.

"Say... that idea isn't half bad..." He said, scratching his chin with a hand.





Chrysalis and Sombra stood together overlooking a map of the Changeling Empire. Small colored squares placed around a large green circle represented the locations of draconic empire battalions and forces. The number of soldiers had almost tripled since they had stolen Thorax away from the Emperor. To anyone else it looked like a hopeless situation, but they had a way.

"So.... what are you going to do with your son?" Sombra asked with a raised eyebrow as he looked up from the map at the queen. 

"Hmmm... You know... I didn't think this far ahead to be honest," Chrysalis said bringing a hand to her chin. "Perhaps we can ransom him back to the Emperor in exchange for his armies pulling back?"

"That is... unlikely to work to say the least. I doubt he would stay true to his word and will order the armies back into place the second we handed him over." Sombra said with a sneer. "Granted, we probably wouldn't stay true to our words either but... ehhh?" 

"Well, do you have any ideas then?" Chrysalis asked with a angry pout. 

"As a matter of fact I do." Sombra replied, a dark smile replacing his sneer. "However, it's a surprise."

"A surprise you can't even share with your co-ruler?" Chrysalis hissed. Sombra shook his head in disagreement. 

"Well then, I suppose it had better be goo-" Chrysalis started but she was interrupted by a changeling rushing into the room. 

"My queen!" The soldier cried, "The shield, it's been breached!"

"What?!?" Chrysalis and Sombra cried out in unison. They quickly rushed after the changeling as it lead them to the supposed place of the breach.

The three arrived at a small balcony build into the side of the hive, which was swarming with dozens of changeling all eyes turned towards the ground.

Chrysalis pushed her way through the crowd angrily before arriving at the edge of the balcony, slamming her hooves down on the stoney, hole filled railing.

Standing directly outside of a hole inside of the shielding, staring directly up at her, was the Emperor in his black armor, his green and red eyes sending a chill down her 'spine'. In his claw he clenched the Scepter of Domination, a snarl on his face. 

To his right was the dragoness Ember. She wore a suit of golden armor, her claws rapidly balling into fists then unballing, smoke and cinders slowly escaping her maw, her teeth barred in anger. To his left however, was a sight that made her blood truly boil. Pharynx stood in purple armor, one of his hands clasped around the hilt of a sword which still sat in it's scabbard. Chrysalis locked eyes with her eldest son, and let out an inhuman snarl. 

"Soldiers! Prepare to move in and swarm them. They made the mistake of coming alone! Capture them! Kill the-" She roared, but an even louder roar cut her off. Cracks appeared in the ground around the hole behind the Emperor and his companions. 

With an ear shattering roar, the ground exploded outwards as a dragon leviathan threw it's head back into the air, spewing fire towards the sky, which struck the top of the shield and curved around it. A massive claw ripped out of the ground flinging boulders into the air, before slamming to the ground near the Emperor, a smirk coming to his face. 

The dragon slowly started to rise out of the hole, widening it as, suddenly, a legion of dragon soldiers rushed outside weapons in hand. Spike smirked and stepped forwards aiming the Scepter of Domination at the top of the inside of the shield. 

A rainbow of magic, the scepter fired, a beam flying forwards before striking the very vertex of the shield. Cracks quickly formed, snaking to every inch of the shield until, with a boom, it shattered.
> Chapter 23: The End of the Hive
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------



AN: Just as a forewarning, this chapter is DARK. If you can't stand torture, mentions of genocide or stuff like that, I would recommend you give this one a pass, everything that happened in it will be explained next chapter. Otherwise, please enjoy the long-awaited chapter 23 of Emperor Spike!







The loss of the shield meant the loss of the Hive's most prolific defense, and the destruction of the tunnels that lead to Canterlot also meant the loss of the Hive's primary evacuation plans. A panic quickly gripped the hive as soldiers were rapidly dispatched, and sent to all possible entrances and exits. Drones quickly scattered to collect supplies, gather up eggs and move the nymphs to designated safe zones. Chrysalis herself had quickly made her way to her Throneroom with Sombra and locked herself inside, with the Hive's most elite soldiers standing outside to keep her safe. 

The dragons and ponies of the empire set upon the main entrance like a tide, slamming into the poorly equipped and prepared changelings. Pike-wielding ponies formed a frontline that stabbed and eviscerated any changelings who were by themselves, picking those that attempted to fly over them with crossbows and spells. Those that attempted to form together to make shield walls or more defensive positions were instead immolated by the dragons, their flamethrower-like breath turning enemy formations to ash and screaming, burning bodies in seconds. 

To say the changelings didn't have a chance was an understatement. There was no chance of victory, and they knew it. They were outmatched, outnumbered, outmaneuvered, and unprepared, which was perhaps the most damning fact of them all. All they could hope to do was stall the Draconic Empire's storming of the hive for long enough to escape. 

Spike himself was well aware of this, so he knew he had to smash aside their forces as quickly as possible, and get soldiers to every possible avenue of escape. Due to the duplicitous nature of changelings, it was obvious that most, if not all but the main entrance, would be hidden. Therefore, the best way to reach them would be to head through the hive to reach them.

"Garble!" Spike shouted after, with but a single slash of his greatsword, he cut down a Changeling who had transformed into a bear, "Order your men to track down every entrance and exit and cut them off. We must cauterize all passages to this hive before any changelings can escape!"

Garble stomped his foot down on the skull of a wounded changeling with a bestial grunt before calling back. "Yes my Emperor!" He called back, before taking to flight to relay the Emperor's orders. 

"Ember, on me." He roared as, with a shoulder charge, he pushed his way through the already thinning changeling lines towards the main hallways of the hive. "Pharynx, lead us to either the throne room or the prisons. Now."

"Right. Follow me." Pharynx said, rushing past Spike and Ember, the blueish-greenish blood of dozens already staining his armor. 





Chrysalis stood in her throne room, nervously biting her hand. This was it. The end of the hive. She cleared her throat as she stared down at several of her attendants, who were busy running about collecting supplies for her flight away from the battle. Sombra stood near the entrance, a grim expression on his face. He knew what was coming. 

"I don't believe there is a way for both of us to escape, my dear. The Emperor is cutting his way through your subjects directly towards us. He will not stop until he catches one of us. Ergo, someone has to be left behind." Sombra exclaimed grimly as he walked towards the Queen's throne. 

"I thank you for your sacrifice, my love," Chrysalis said with a saddened tone standing up on her throne. She quickly took to the air with her wings, landing before Sombra. "I will be certain to kill Thorax before I leave, as vengeance for bringing the Emperor's wrath down upon us."

"Au contraire, my dear," Sombra suddenly said darkly, before with narrowed eyes, he thrust his hand forwards and Chrysalis felt something thrust into her side. It burned and stung, like nothing she had ever felt before. She wanted to scream, but all the air had been forced out of her lungs, and all that came out was a pathetic wheeze. "Thorax is important to the next phase of my plan, however, you are not." 

Sombra pulled up his leg, placed it upon her stomach, and kicked. His blade came free as Chrysalis tumbled to the ground, a pool of blue-green blood slowly pooling on the ground around her. Her attendants gasped and rushed towards their queen, but were all disintegrated in seconds as neon green bolts of magic struck them from Sombra's horn. 

"The wound is non-fatal. It will likely take you a day to bleed out from it. Plenty of time for Spike and his soldiers to find you. Though, it will restrict your movements and keep you from flying." Sombra said with a smirk as he slowly walked in a circle around her. "It's nothing personal, I assure you. I just can't have you messing up my plots, and I can't have Spike coming after me if we both escaped together, I hope you understand." 

He was about to make his escape when he heard the sound of sobbing. Turning down to Chrysalis, who was curled in the fetal position, covering her wound with her arms, he saw her staring up at him with tears in her eyes. "I-I thought we had s-something." She whimpered weakly. 

"Oh shh shh shh," Sombra said, wrapping a comforting hand around her chin as he knelt down at her side. An evil smirk slowly formed on her face. "You of all people should know what it's like to use people. Now then, try not to talk too much while losing as much blood as you are, or you'll run out of oxygen. Can't have you die before Spike finds you now can I?"

The unicorn stood up and turned away from the Queen, not even remotely phased in the slightest. "Now then, tah tah."

With a flash of black smoke, he was gone, leaving Chrysalis alone.





With a single slash, Pharynx slashed the throats of two changelings, leaving them to gasp and sputter on the ground. The changeling rather harshly kicked one of the now downed guards, forcing him to spin over onto his back, still gurgling on his own blood as he desperately tried to breathe.

The changeling captain ignored him, merely reaching down and grabbing a keyring off his belt.  He quickly turned around to Spike, tossing him the keys. The Emperor caught them without even looking, striding forwards into the hive's prison block, Ember and Garble at his sides. 

Spike stomped forwards, uncaring of the blood pooling around him as his soldiers ruthlessly cut down the changeling prison guards who tried to stop them. Periodically, the Emperor would stop, slamming open a cell door to check for his Thorax, but he repeatedly either only found empty cells or chained up Imperial Soldiers or citizens, captured in raids past.

Of course, he ordered his men to save them, they were his subjects and it was only right, but he was only barely paying attention to them. 

Eventually, he came across the last cell in the prison. He stood in front of it, his breath caught in his throat. "This is the last one. If he isn't in here..."

Ember growled slightly. "Don't talk like that. Of course, he's in there." She snarled.  Spike couldn't tell if she was to reassure him, or herself. 

Spike slowly reached forwards and unlocked the door. He paused before opening it, turning to Pharynx. "Be honest with me Pharynx. If he is in here, what am I going to find? How poorly would they have treated my changeling." He snarled slightly. 

Pharynx merely remained quiet, staring up at him. If Spike didn't know any better, he could have sworn he could see Pharynx's eyes water slightly. 

The emperor gulped before he forced the door open and strode inside. He scanned the dark room for a moment, before his eyes finally settled on Thorax, laying on the ground in the middle of the room, curled up in the fetal position.

"Thorax!" Spike roared, rushing to the ling's side. He collapsed onto his knees, pulling the 'ling against his chest, cupping the back of his head as he did. Ember was quick to join him on her knees, grabbing Thorax's hand as she did. She was quick to notice the new holes in his legs, some of which were still leaking the occasional droplet of blood. New cracks covered the ling's body, many of which were covered in dried ichor. Whip marks covered his carapace, deep slashes that only looked barely healed, though any quick movements would very obviously open them up again.

Ember's breath caught in her throat when she noticed the new branding on Thorax's chest. The word traitor permanently burned into his carapace. She retracted her hand from his, to stop herself from breaking it as she balled her fists, her vision going red. 

Spike's breathing was slow but heavy. He gently brought his hand up, brushing one of his treasure's cheeks. "Thorax. Speak to me... please..." He quietly said.

Slowly, Thorax's eyes cracked open. They were tired, barely conscious, yet they still filled with fear. "N-no please... no more... please don't hurt me anymore..." Thorax whimpered between quiet sobs before his head went limp again.

Spike was quiet as he stared down at Thorax. His breath was slow. Garble and his troops nervously stared down at Spike, expecting him to explode at any second. Pharynx however merely kept his eyes glued to his brother, his vision going soft.

After what felt like an eternity he spoke up, his rage barely contained. 

"Garble. I want you to kill every single changeling you come across that shows even the slightest hint of resistance in the most painful way possible. Then I want any who surrender peacefully bound and thrown to the troops once the battle is over to do with as they please." Spike said, his tone vicious. "Now get out of my sight."

Garble and the few soldiers Spike had brought with him to the prison were quick to salute before running away as quickly as their legs could carry them. 

Spike turned to Ember next, placing his free hand on her shoulder. "Ember. I need you to get Thorax out of here. You're the only one who can."

Ember looked up at him and nodded. Part of her wanted to come with him and rip Chyrsalis apart limb by limb, but she knew better. She knew she had to get Thorax out of here and to medical care stat. The dragoness nodded up at Spike as she reached her hands under the changeling. She very gently scooped Thorax into her arms as she stood up and made her way slowly towards the exit. 

Spike's heavy breathing only intensified as he stared down at his hands, coated in Thorax's cyan blood. He sniffled slightly, shaking his head before he stood up, turning back towards Pharynx. The captain stared up at him as the two locked eyes. Silence reigned for a minute before Spike nodded. 

"Take me to the throne room. I think it's time for the two of us to have some well-deserved revenge." He hissed darkly. 





Ember grunted as she ducked under a collapsing pillar. The hive was like a maze, twisting and turning every which way. Her attempt to find her way out back the way she and Spike came had left her lost, no doubt due to taking the wrong hallway. And now said hallway had just collapsed behind her, leaving her trapped in the middle of a massive firefight.

Imperial soldiers on one side, changelings on the other. Two balconies sat above them, which were covered in Imperial archers and changeling warriors who were each taking potshots at one another, arrows and bolts of magic raining down on the soldiers below and towards each other. It was pure chaos, especially when the Imperial Dragons broke ranks and charged directly into the center of the changeling line in a chevron formation, breaking apart their desperate shield wall and leading into a rather nasty and chaotic scrap. 

Ember grunted, her only way out was on the other side of the room, past all the screaming and bodies. She looked up, going through the air was a no-go, too many ranged soldiers on either side, one side of which were likely more than willing to take pot shots at her. 

The dragon let in a deep inhale as she looked down at Thorax in her arms. He was completely limp, her previously golden armor was now stained a greenish-blue. Her hasty move to dodge the collapsing roof had definitely opened more than a couple of old wounds. She had to get him somewhere safe, and quick. 

Ember took in a couple of breaths, trying to psyche herself up before she took the plunge. Rushing forwards like a quarterback, she dove into the combat. She ran, head down, narrowly avoiding falling bodies and arrows from above. 

She came to a screeching halt when a spray of cyan blood exploded out in front of her, absolutely coating her. She stumbled forwards slightly, blinded by the ichor now covering her face. Her current state left her unable to dodge a sword slash from a 'ling soldier, which dug into her left thigh, forcing her leg to buckle. 

She collapsed onto one knee, with a cry of pain, before a small group of changelings pounced on top of her. The dragoness arched herself downwards, shielding Thorax with her body as the enemy squad started hammering her back with blow after blow. She grit her teeth, smoke pouring out of her nose as she let fire build up in her mouth. 

She quickly spun around, blasting amethyst-colored flame from her mouth, which almost instantly incinerated one of the changeling attackers to nothing.  She didn't have time to do the same to others as one of the other changelings struck her in the side of the head with a heavy war hammer. Ember fell to the ground, positioning herself at an awkward angle to stop herself from landing directly on the injured Thorax, which would have only exacerbated his state. 

Ember saw stars as she felt blood pour out of the side of her head like a waterfall. She struggled to pick herself up, her hands digging into the dirt. She felt one of the changeling slam a hoof down on her tail in an attempt to trap her. Big mistake. In an instant she spun around, blasting him with flame as well. Just then the other two who had been attacking her pounced, one of them trying to pin her to the ground as the other drew a dagger, aiming it towards her throat. 

Neither had a chance to make it through with their threat before a pair of javelins struck them, one going through one of the ling's eyes, and the other embedding into the other one's chest. 

Two pony soldiers rushed up to Ember, clad in purple and green armor. 

"My lady, hold still, we'll get you out of here." One of them shouted as he crouched down next to her, slinging an arm over his shoulder. 

Ember panted, turning her eye to Thorax, who the other guard threw over his shoulder, instantly recognizing him as someone important. Ember's breathing became wheezing as the soldier started carrying her toward her desired exit, the other following after with Thorax as the Imperial battleline rapidly shifted to keep the four of them safe. 

Ember frequently stumbled, barely able to keep herself up even while using the soldier next to her as a crutch. She couldn't put any weight on her left knee, giving her no choice but to awkwardly limp, her vision still blurry and full of stars. The edges of her sight were frequently consumed by darkness, signs that she was possibly about to lose consciousness, but through it all, she could only think one thing.

"D-damn it..." She quietly said, ignoring the confused look of her new companion. "I'm still... still too weak..." 





Chrysalis flinched as the doors to the throneroom exploded inwards, falling off their hinges as Spike and Pharynx slowly walked in, the same look of murder written on both of their faces. 

She was currently desperately trying to brace herself on her throne, a desperate attempt to stand so she could try some kind... any kind of escape. A pool of blood led from where she currently stood all the way to where she had been stabbed initially, painting a rather nasty picture. 

Spike stomped forwards, gazing at the blood before his eyes returned to her. His face rapidly contorted into a snarl as he closed the distance. 

"No w-wait. Please..." She said, holding up one of her hands, the other applying pressure to her stab wound. 

It was a futile effort. Instantly, she felt a cold metal gauntlet wrap around her windpipe, lifting her into the air. She desperately gasped for air, her hands both shooting up to grasp at Spike's armor, smearing her blood against his arm plates. Spike's snarl only widened before he brought a knee up, kicking her directly in the stab wound. A cry of pure agony escaped her mouth before it was silenced by Spike tightening his grip. 

Her vision started to go dark as she felt her lungs burn before Spike rapidly spun around and tossed Chrysalis to the ground at Pharynx's hooves. She felt her son stomp down on her stab wound, causing her vision to go white and her ears to ring. Still, she could hear Spike's voice rather clearly through it all.

"You know. Looking back on things, I really didn't mind you controlling your Hive all that much. You provided me with an outside enemy I could use to keep everyone else in line. Better to focus on the enemies outside than your own oppression inside, a tactic I'm sure you used quite often while you ruled the Changelings. Am I right Pharynx?" Spike hissed, as he stopped towards her, rapidly clenching and unclenching his fists. 

Pharynx didn't respond, only grinding his hoof, only making Chrysalis's searing pain all the more intense. 

"But no, you couldn't be content with that. You just had to keep pushing and prodding. I'll admit, I could deal with the niggling little annoyances you shoved in my face. If not because you inadvertently helped keep me in power, then because I felt bad at the thought of the mass rape and death of your subjects. I'm not a monster you should know." Spike said, kneeling down once he arrived at her side. Then she noticed what the dragon was holding in his free hand. It was a branding iron, the very same one she had used on Thorax.

"Then you decided to make things personal," Spike said as he brought the iron up to his mouth, breathing a wave of fire on it, rapidly heating it up. Spike paused for a second, looking down at his handy work, idly spinning the brand this way and that. "You stole my property. You hurt my Thorax. And for that, me and your son here are going to do what you did to him a thousand times over to you. We are going to torture you, and then we are going to kill you."

Chrysalis felt her eyes water slightly, rapidly becoming aware of the irony of her current situation. How many times... how many times had she been in Spike's position, towering over a captured pony, about to torment them in a similar way. How she ignored their cries and begging. Yet... she still couldn't stop herself from doing the same thing.

"P-please..." She wheezed, slowly holding up a hand towards Spike. "Please no..."

Spike merely stared down at her emotionlessly before turning his gaze up to Pharynx, who merely nodded down at him. 

"We are far past that point, bitch." Spike said coldly before in a quick movement he shoved the burning iron directly toward Chrysalis's eyes. 

This time, it was her turn for her screams to echo throughout the hive's corridors.
> Chapter 24: Aftermath
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"What do you mean you're keeping him?" Ember hissed, snarling slightly as she watched Spike gently run a hand down the cheek of his newest slave. They were standing in one of the Crystal Palace's many guestrooms, the unconscious bug Spike had just dragged in from the wastes laying in the bed, eyes closed and breath uneven.

The Emperor sighed. "Ember-" he started, but she cut him off with a snarl.

"You told me I was going to be the only one. That no one else did anything for you." She growled, stomping towards him with her arms crossed over her chest. "What, are you just going to abandon me and move on to a new slave? You're gonna leave me for everyone else 'cause I'm not good enough?"

Spike's eyes widened. "What?! Of course not!" Spike shouted back, eyes widened and hands raised defensively. "You are still the only dragoness for me, but he's different."

"Different how?" She snarled. 

"Ember. He saved my life." Spike sighed, shaking his head. "And... he's going to die if I don't do this. I can't let that happen. From now on he's going to be joining you as a concubine. End of discussion." 

Ember clenched her jaw, and balled her hands into fists. She thought she was going to be the only one... She shifted her vision from Spike to the newcomer. Her glare softened slightly as she observed his state. What little of him she could see was covered in bandages, particularly his left arm which had been joined by a sling wrapped in a sling. Apparently lifting the heavy form of Spike out of the ravine he had fallen into had dislocated one of the poor bug's arms. 

Her features only softened more as Spike returned his hand to his cheek, rubbing the carapace gently. "Please Ember... between you and me... I don't think the poor guy has anywhere else left to go." 

She closed her eyes, letting out a slight sigh. "Fine... but if you think I'm going to like him you're dead wrong." She said calmly, shaking her head. 

"Thank you... that's all I can ask." Spike said, a weak smile coming to his face, which she mirrored.





Ember grunted as she collapsed to her knees, the guard holding her up being brought down with her. The other stopped, turning to her as she panted, her breath heavy. The blood pooling from the side of her head only prompted the both of them to panic slightly. They were in a dark hallway, the battle just behind them still raging, judging from the sound of clanging metal.

"The Emperor is going to kill us," Double Diamond said, turning to his friend as he desperately tried to pull Ember up into a standing position. 

"Why?" Feather Bangs asked, cringing slightly at the thought. 

"His personal slave got hurt on our watch, and the only way we could save her was to touch her! And the other one! Don't you know he behands anyone who touches his slaves?!" Diamond cried, gritting his teeth. "But if we put them down and just run he's going to double kill us!" 

Feather Bangs cringed slightly, letting out a sigh. "Catch 22." He said, shaking his head. "Best we can do is hope that he doesn't punish us too harshly."

"T-Thorax..." Ember grunted, raising her head to stare up at Feather Bangs. The pony flinched at the sound of her voice, staring down at her wide-eyed. 

"Is he... ok?" She quietly said between pants.

Feather Bangs nodded. "Y-yes ma'am. I have him right here. We need to get him to a doctor though, quickly. And you as well."

Ember grit her teeth, growling as she forced herself to stand up. Her muscles burned, every instinct in her body screaming at her to just lay down, but she knew she couldn't. 

"Fine... Let's g-go." She said, taking a shaky step forwards. Double Diamond and Feather both looked at each other before nodding. They knew their fears would have to wait. 





Garble wrinkled his nose at the strong smell of copper emanating from the Hive's throne room. The source became evident once he stepped inside and was greeted by a rather brutal sight. The corpse of Chrysalis was crucified from her throne, burn marks surrounding her now empty eyesockets and her body covered in countless slashes. 

Garble shuddered slightly but shook his head. "She probably deserved it," he said quietly to himself as he began walking further into the room. He paused as he turned back for a second before tugging at the leash in his hand, causing the one attached to him via a collar to stumble into the room blindly.

It was the nude form of a female changeling, her arms bound behind her back, her mouth shut by a bridle, and her eyes covered by a blindfold. He chuckled as he watched her struggle to regain balance after that particularly hard tug, not to mention the vibrator currently buzzing away in her snatch keeping her constantly shaking and bouncing from one leg to another. 

"A new toy I take it?" He heard a voice say, prompting him to quickly turn his gaze over to the side of the room. Spike was standing there, facing the wall with Pharynx at his side, bloodstained arms clasped firmly behind his back. He hadn't actually looked at him yet, but he seemed to already know. 

"Her? No. She's going to be a get-well-soon gift to my sister. Ocellus, I think she said her name was. Before I stripped her bare and shoved a gag in her mouth of course." Garble laughed darkly as he dragged the helpless changeling closer to him, giving her chest a firm grope. The changeling let out a muffled screech, followed by sobs. The buzzing in her twat coupled with the rough treatment of Garble pushed her to cumming against her will. 

Spike rolled his eyes. "I wish you wouldn't be so openly abusive with your slaves around me. You know I find that... distasteful." He slowly said, turning towards Garble. 

"Eh, she's gonna learn to love it. Like all the other changelings we've captured. It's either that or starve." The general hissed darkly. "Of course, I can only speak for what the others are going to do to them. You know I prefer ponies."

Spike grimaced slightly, shaking his head. Suddenly, he stepped forwards, putting a hand on Pharynx's shoulder as he did.

"Garble, I want you to meet the new captain of my royal guard." He said firmly, looking down at the changeling. "Officially he will be under your command, but I want him to be able to act independently if you understand my meaning." 

The other dragon gave a shrug. "Hey, no skin off my back. The guy earned it if you ask me. No more changelings means more time at home with the girls for me." Garble said nonchalantly. 

Spike nodded. "Quite. How did things go invasion-wise?" The Emperor sighed, turning towards the Queen. "I definitely had some long-earned catharsis on my end." 

"Overall pretty well, casualties were minimal and we overwhelmed them in a matter of hours. Shock and awe tactics and all that. We do have a couple of small pockets of resistance in the lower reaches of the hive and unfortunately, a rather sizable majority of the Hive fought back and had to be put down, per your instructions." Garble said rather grimly as he crossed his arms over his chest. 

Pharynx grimaced slightly, turning over to Spike. "You aren't going to be driving my race extinct are you?" The changeling asked, furrowing his brow. "The vast majority of them deserved it but..." 

"I will put Governor Silverstar of Appleloosa in charge of putting together several breeding camps to insure that doesn't happen. He fancies himself a rancher so I'm sure he'll be quite proficient at that." Spike said, nodding slightly. "Make no mistake though, I will be taking steps to ensure the changelings never threaten my Empire again. You understand of course."

Pharynx immediately nodded. "I have no issue with that," Pharynx responded without hesitation.

Spike returned the nod before turning his attention back to Garble, who was very obviously gritting his teeth at something.

"I do have some news that is likely going to 100% piss you off though, so I thought I would cushion the blow first with that," he said, before noticeably gulping. "Ember and Thorax came under attack while escaping the Hive." 

Spike's eye twitched. "What?" He hissed, stomping towards him.

"I know that sounds bad, but they are both ok. Ember took some pretty bad blows, but two Imperial Soldiers stepped in and rescued the both of them and got them out of there. They are under the best medical care we have available. The medics even said if they used healing spells now Ember won't even have scars after today but-" Garble flinched when Spike raised a hand. It was quiet for a moment before Spike rather firmly put a hand on his shoulder.

"You did a good job today Garble," Spike said, with a sigh. "Take a vacation. You've earned it." 

Garble let out a deep exhale he didn't even realize he was holding after Spike walked past him and left the room. He brought a hand to his chest and panted slightly, shaking sweat from his brow. He took one last glance at the mutilated body of Chrysalis before he shuddered and walked out of the room, dragging Ocellus behind him as he did. 





Spike stomped through the Imperial war camp towards the medical tents, a crowd parting for him as he did. Pharynx stayed close behind him, aggressively eyeing all of the soldiers as he passed them, making sure they knew his place at the Emperor's side. Part of him rather rightly believed that if he did stray too far from the Emperor he would likely find himself being grabbed by a victory-drunk Imperial soldier. To poor results for them. 

The new royal guard captain took a couple of moments to observe the carnage surrounding the Hive as he walked. There were mounds of changeling bodies piled around the structure. They were currently in the process of being burned as pyres, all the while other changelings were being dragged from the Hive in chains. Thankfully most of the civilian population of the Hive, medical drones, breeders, workers, and carers, had surrendered immediately when the dragons broke down the shield and were spared from rather brutal deaths.  

That didn't spare them from the Empire's cruelty, however. His eyes caught sight of a hastily constructed raised platform in the center of the camp, where a line of changelings was being auctioned off to the soldiers who hadn't had to opportunity to capture their own changeling slave, and even more were already beginning their long march north to the center of the Empire, where they would no doubt be sold off to the empire's civilian populace for domestic matters. Thankfully, the Empire had a policy of forbidding the splitting up of families when the children were still young, so that meant any breeders would still have their grubs and nymphs when they were inevitably sold. 

However, through it all, the changeling couldn't bring himself to care that much. Every single one of the bastards now in chains had been involved in the torment of his little brother at some point. And he knew for a fact that were the tables turned the changelings wouldn't have hesitated to do the same to any ponies or dragons they got their hands on. This might even be a net positive for them. Imperial rules banned permanent damage to slaves. That likely meant the days of punching holes into the legs of changelings for the slightest of failures were over. And they'd always have food in the form of love (or lust) from their masters. No more mass starvation amongst the hive. Small blessings. 

Phayrnx turned his gaze ahead when he and the Emperor finally reached the field hospital, entering a rather large and private tent. Immediately his eyes locked onto the two Imperial soldiers inside, who were standing at attention off to the side, sweating bullets. One was an all-white earth pony and the other was a yellow and brown stallion. Spike immediately locked his eyes on them and stomped toward them. The two glanced at one another for a moment before turning back to the dragon towering over them, who was still coated in the queen's blood. 

Finally, after a couple of moments, Spike bent down and pulled the two into a rather firm hug, that looked like it was killer on their spines. The two stallions gasped as they felt the air shoved out of their lungs before Spike set them both down. "I will not forget this soldiers. Ask me for anything and I will provide it to you. Noble titles? Your own private castles? Personal harems full of the best mares and stallions available? A mere snap of a finger away." He said his gaze full of determination.

The two stallions looked absolutely flabbergasted as Spike turned away from them, stomping towards the room's other occupants. Pharynx smirked slightly before following after the Emperor. 

Two beds had been set up in the middle of the tent, surrounded by a small group of doctors. Spike was quick to push past them, followed by Pharynx of course, and rush to the side of Ember, who was sitting up in bed. The dragoness was nursing the side of her head, which was wrapped in bandages, with an icepack. A similar bandage wrap sat around her left thigh as both areas glowed with golden magic. 

Ember laughed slightly as Spike approached. "Hey Spike, I'm trying to convince the doctors here to leave the wounds alone with their freaky magic. Care to order them to stop? I think they'd leave behind some cool scars." She chuckled with a wink.

Spike instantly furrowed his brow and turned to the Doctors. "No scars. Period." He hissed. The doctors all nodded.

"W-we were aware, my Emperor." One of them quietly said with a gulp.

Spike then turned back to Ember, looking her over this way and that. "Good to know the blow to the head didn't give you brain damage at all." He sighed, rubbing his brow with his index finger and thumb. 

"Oh yeah, a helmet coupled with a thick skull. Does wonders." Ember said knocking the non-wounded side of her head with a fist. "Doctors do say I have a bit of a concussion though, so I'm probably going to need your help staying awake." 

Spike shook his head when she winked. "Only if they clear you." He said pointing a thumb at the doctors before turning his gaze to Thorax, who was currently laying on his back in the other bed, a breathing apparatus secured firmly over his face. Pharynx sat on the bed next to him, a hand wrapped around his brother's. 

Spike stepped forwards, kneeling next to the bed and taking Thorax's free hand into his own. "Do you think..." The Emperor trailed off.

"That he'll survive? Yes. My brother may not look or act it, but he's a tough son of a bitch." Pharynx responded, closing his eyes and exhaling. 

Spike nodded slightly, reaching a hand up to Thorax's chest, running it along the new branding. Spike snarled, turning to the doctors. "I want this gone, do you hear me?" 

One of them nodded, giving a salute. "Of course my Emperor, we will have the best medical spells possible at our disposal once we get him back to the Empire."

"Good." Spike hissed, shaking his head slightly. There was an attempt to stifle a laugh next to him, prompting him to turn his gaze to Pharynx who was staring at him with a slight smile. "What?"

"You're perfect for him. You know?" Pharynx said shaking his head. "He needs someone like you to take charge and keep him safe. He always has. And I wasn't there for him when he needed it most." 

"Neither was I." Spike sighed, turning to Pharynx. "But he is safe now. And I am going to make sure he doesn't ever receive so much as a tiny scratch for the rest of his life. Which, if I have my way, is probably going to be eternal."

Pharynx blinked twice, staring ahead before he decided to move on from that. "So... what now?"

"Aside from getting my Thorax and Ember back to the Crystal Palace?" Spike asked. His face darkened. "First and foremost, Sombra escaped. I am going to have to dedicate a sizable chunk of my resources to deal with that. But my main concern from now on is going to be the Resistance. I am going to rip those Celestia-loving terrorists apart piece by piece, have every last one of them branded and shoved into the most depraved form of slavery I can find, and personally torture their Starlight clone to death in the slowest way possible. And you saw first hand. When I put my mind to it, I'm actually quite good at that." 

Pharynx nodded, sighing slightly. "If your dragon hasn't already dealt with them that is," he said turning his gaze northwards. 

"I know for a fact that Twilight and Starlight escaped him, even if he did burn the rest of the resistance to ash. Those two have a pesky habit of always escaping. I was Twilight's slave for most of my life, so I've seen it all firsthand. But they won't avoid me for long." Spike snarled, his eye twitching as he spoke.

Pharynx grit his teeth slightly. "I agree with you about Starlight, I want her dead just as much as you do. But... the Twilight..."

Spike's eyes narrowed slightly. "Choose your next words carefully."

Pharynx merely shook his head in response. "Ignore me." He said tightening his grip around Thorax's hand. "She lied to me about saving my brother anyway." 

Spike nodded before reaching a hand up, delicately caressing Thorax's cheek. "Mark my words Pharynx. The resistance's days are numbered. I advise you to forget about any positive memories of them you might still be carrying."
> Chapter 25: A New 'Base' of Operations, Location Unknown
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

It had been about a day of marching through the Everfree before the Resistance arrived at their next target. Thankfully, the route was free of any perils. The destruction wrought by the Dragon Leviathan had frightened away almost all of the magical creatures within the Everfree, and they would likely be spending the coming weeks cowering in their dens until hunger brought them out to find food. 

Thanks to liberating the Yak family in Sweet Apple Acres, the Resistance had found themselves with several exceptionally adequate haulers, meaning instead of scavenging for food on the march as they had been forced to do before their retreat to the changeling hive, now they could properly bring along supplies with them with carts laden with supplies. And they certainly needed it, as the resistance had nearly doubled in number, even despite the previous encounter in the castle, which left them with another cart full of injured members. Two of which were Spitfire and Soarin, necessitating the near round-the-clock aide of Zecora.

Twilight and Starlight walked near the head of the Resistance's caravan, only Blueblood in front of them. He hadn't explained exactly where they were going, only that it was to fetch something that could, quote, bring the whole of the resistance with it. Both of the sorceresses struggled to wrap their heads around what that meant, but still, Blueblood was the only one coming up with ideas right now, even if he was an ass. 

Starlight and Twilight locked eyes as they crested a hill that finally brought them outside of the twisting woodland of the Everfree. On the other side was a sprawling prairie that ended in a desert. In the far distance, they could make out the sight of the orchards of Appleloosa, though what also caught their eyes was what appeared to be a sprawling castle, still under construction. Twilight couldn't help but frown. She hadn't given it much thought but seeing the village now filled her with a feeling of unease. 

It was quite obvious to her that the Buffalo tribe would most definitely resist the Draconic Empire, just as they resisted Equestria. And she knew that most definitely wouldn't have ended well for them. 

"Just before 'Emperor' Spike took over," Blueblood suddenly started, hands behind his back as he observed the village in the far distance. "Auntie Celestia commissioned the creation of an airship in a secret facility just south of Appleloosa. It was meant to be a surprise gift to Twilight, er, our Twilight, in regards to a future plan she had involving stepping down to give the throne to her." 

Twilight blinked twice. "Why would she do that."

Blueblood merely shrugged. "I was against the plan from the get-go, but anyway, the Airship is the largest ever created, more than enough to fit the entire Resistance aboard, and it will give us a mobile base of operations so we can always stay moving and prevent a Leviathan from catching up to us again, but the problem is Spike's sycophants probably already know where it is."

"So, what do we do then?" Twilight asked, gritting her teeth slightly. "Do we just go around Appleloosa and go to the drydock they are making the airship at?"

"No," Blueblood said, grunting slightly. "Mostly because I don't know where the drydock is. Celestia wanted to keep its location absolutely secret so the alternate you didn't stumble upon it. I'm pretty sure she spent a couple hundred thousand bits in taxpayer money just to keep its location a state secret." 

Sandbar let out a loud sigh as he and Yona approached the three. "Yep... and you wonder why Spike's managed to convince so many ponies to join him." He mumbled slightly. The poor earth pony's midriff was covered in bandages, and he was forced to use his spear as a cane, even while supported by the yak next to him.

Blueblood growled slightly, before shaking his head and sighing. "I will admit... Celestia's actions were driven by emotions far more than they were driven by pragmatism. But I digress, the only way we can be sure to figure out where it is would be to get it from the regional governor of Appleloosa, Sheriff Silverstar." 

"And how are we going to do that?" Twilight replied, crossing her arms over her chest. "It isn't like we can just go over and talk to him."

"Exactly. This requires some... espionage." Blueblood said, snapping his fingers. 

A group of ponies quickly approached, holding up a couple of bags before dropping them at the feet of the group, and unfolding them. Inside the bags was a series of suits of purple and green armor, and a purple tuxedo with a green armband. 

"When moving through Canterlot, I managed to steal one of Smolder's uniforms before we were caught in the courtyard, and these came from the soldiers we captured in Sweet Apple Acres," Blueblood said. He turned to Starlight whose eyes widened slightly.  "We are going to have you pretend to be governor Starlight Glimmer, coming to Appleloosa to trade a slave to him, and then you are going to ask about the drydock." 

Starlight grimaced slightly, turning between Twilight and Blueblood. 

"Now hold on," Twilight said. "This seems dangerous, just sending Starlight in, even with backup-"

"We are going to be the backup," Blueblood stated, turning to the imperial armor. "So long as you and I get equipped in this armor and you keep your wings hidden we will be able to sneak in mostly unnoticed. Imperial troops tend not to harass people in their uniforms, and they cover enough that only the color of your coat will be visible."

"Don't you think that would be enough to out me?" Twilight said, gritting her teeth.

"How many purple unicorns do you know Twilight? Because I know hundreds," Blueblood stated, turning around to get himself equipped.

"Ok, I'll give you that, but who will the 'slave' we are bringing in to trade be?" Starlight sighed, looking down at the imperial governor's uniform.

"Yona," Blueblood said, turning to the Yak with an emotionless expression. 

Yona's eyes widened. Sandbar, wounded as he was, was quick to step in front of her. 

"Excuse me?" The stallion asked, gritting his teeth. "And why her?"

"Simple. Silverstar fancies himself as a rancher. He has entire..." Blueblood's face filled with disgust for a moment. "'farms' dedicated to breeding buffalo slaves. The idea of figuring out a way to breed a new species by mixing buffalo and yaks together would be appealing to him."

"And you're just going to leave her there?" Sandbar hissed. 

"Of course not. We will stage a breakout as soon as we have the location of the drydock confirmed." Blueblood responded casually. Sandbar seethed for a moment before Yona placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Yona understands." The yak said before she started stripping out of her armor, showering off the rags underneath. Slave rags, Twilight noted. Almost identical to the kind her parents and siblings had been wearing in Sweet Apple Acres.

Sandbar started at the yak, uselessly working his jaw up and down before he sighed. "Fine then. But I'm coming too." The earth ponies said, removing his golden helmet and dropping it to the ground. 

"But... you're wounded. I mean, I had to pull a solid rod of metal out of your stomach just yesterday." Starlight said 

With great difficulty, the stallion bent over to pick up one of the Imperial helmets. "Yeah, and?" He grunted, glaring up at Blueblood. "No way am I leaving Yona alone to be enslaved again." 

The stallion paused for a second, looking down at the Imperial helmet in his grasp. He inhaled deeply, before placing it on his head. A shudder went up and down his spine, but he ignored it, turning to continue getting equipped.

"Sandbar..." Yona started. 

"Here, take this and hide it up your shirt sleeve." Sandbar said, removing a knife from his belt, before holding it up to the Yak.

Yona sighed as she took the knife from his hands. "Yak will be ok, you don't have to worry."

"Famous last words." The stallion grunted as he stood up, now wearing his Imperial armor. It was bulky and ill-fitting, about a size too large for him, yet he looked like he could pass for a soldier. "We just reunited you with your family, I'm not letting you get broken up again."

Twilight was quiet for a second, looking between him and the prince, who was in a similar suit of armor, before letting out a sigh and turning to get dressed too.
> Chapter 26: Appleloosa
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Twilight grimaced as she walked down the street in her brand-new suit of purple and green armor. Her wings were awkwardly jammed against her spine as she tried to keep them hidden inside the armor. The only person who looked as uncomfortable as her was Starlight, in her slightly too-large Regional Governor uniform. A small temporary tattoo of a dragon's wing was emboldened across her cheek. Starlight had assured them that she'd quickly be outed as an imposter if she didn't have that marking.

Surprisingly, Yona herself was handling things pretty well, even though she was wearing nothing but a few rags that barely covered her body, and her hands were bound in front of her. A rope trailed from her bound hands to Starlight's hand as she gave a faux act of resistance, grinding her hooves in the dirt or shouting insults in Yakkish. 

Meanwhile, Blueblood walked with a nonchalant swagger in his step as he flanked Starlight, holding up a spear in one hand. Sandbar gave the appearance of being equally confident in his stride, but every so often he threw an exceptionally nervous glance over at Yona. 

Blueblood suddenly spoke up, making both Starlight and Twilight straighten their backs. "Focus, you're both loyal followers of the Empire. You have no reason to be worried in this city." 

Starlight nodded and did her best to solidify her stance. 

The five resistance members were just now coming into Appleloosa from the desert and entered the city... and what Twilight saw almost made her sick to her stomach. The once proud Buffalo race had been reduced to mere slaves under the Draconic Empire. Massive corals surrounded the cities, with the Buffalo shoved into them, completely nude. 

She watched as a pen full of buffalo were forced to lower themselves onto their hands and knees to eat hay that had been half-hazardly thrown into their pen by a pair of pony guards, who laughed at them as they did. Still, more buffalo were almost completely bound and forced to pull carts and carriages for their masters.

Most of the buffalo were off in the distance far from the Resistance members, where they were working in the city orchards loading cartload after cartload of apples and dragging them towards a processing plant. Likely to be turned into rations for the Imperial Army's pony divisions. 

Twilight shook her head, remembering back when she and her friends had helped the Buffalos and Ponies find a compromise. Now that had blown up in her face. She once again took solace in the fact that this wasn't her Equestria. 

Appleloosa's city center itself wasn't large, with most of the population living on farms far outside of the town. That meant it wasn't hard for the four ponies to find the Governor's abode. It was a relatively small two-story castle-shaped structure in the center of town.

When they approached, they were greeted by a small circle of snickering and jeering pony guards. A single dragon stood over them, his arms crossed over his chest as he too enjoyed whatever it was they were looking at.

Twilight frowned slightly, doing her best to peer past the crowd. That's when she caught sight of it. A pair of buffalo, one male and the other female were stripped bare in the center of the circle. The female was on her back, while the male was on his knees on top of her, thrusting in and out of her. They both had tears in their eyes as they did their best to avoid eye contact.

"Come on! You wanted to be a ma and a pa didn't you?" One of the guards called out with a thick western accent. "Well, you'd best try harder then! Pick up the pace!" 

The buffalo bull let out a loud sob as he turned his sight to the sky, thrusting even harder into the cow. This made the guard laugh even harder.

Twilight growled slightly, balling her fists. She made to take a step forward towards the circle, but Sandbar stopped her with a hand on her shoulder. She turned back to him with her mouth open, but she was silenced when Sandbar grimly shook his helmeted head from side to side. 

Starlight took a shaky breath in, before she cleared her throat, staring up at the dragon. The dragon turned his head towards her, before quickly pausing and snapping to salute. The other guards were slower but before long all of them had noticed her and saluted.

"Regional Governor Starlight Glimmer! It is an honor, ma'am." The dragon started.

Starlight stared up at the dragon for a moment, before she cleared he throat and straightened her back. "The pleasure is all mine." She said simply, narrowing her eyes into a bored gaze. "Now, I have an important gift for your boss, Governor Silver Star. Behind me is a Yak who was a slave in Sweet Apple Acres. I know that Silver Star has a bit of a thing for bovines, so..." 

She trailed off and the dragon blinked twice.

"Say no more ma'am. I think I understand you. Go right ahead," the dragon said, giving a slight bow as he did. He quickly stepped aside, opening the door to allow her in. She gave the dragon a quick nod. 

"Thank you, soldier, I'll be sure to inform Silver Star about how pleasant you made this interaction," Starlight said with a slight nod before turning back to Yona.

Yona merely had her eyes locked on the two buffalo's a growing look of appreciation on her face. Starlight merely closed her eyes, flared her nostrils, and walked forward, dragging the rope behind her as she did. When Yona remained still Blueblood quickly shoved her forwards with the blunt tip of his spear. 

"Move it, slave," he ordered darkly, before striding past Twilight and Sandbar, Yona quickly doing as instructed. 

Twilight inhaled deeply. "Come on Twilight," she said quietly, hoping her helmet obfuscated her voice enough that no one could hear her. "This is what you have to do to save everyone. The needs of the many..."

Then she and Sandbar strode forward, leaving the two buffalos to their fate as the soldiers quickly got back to their game. 





The castle's interior was very medieval in style which, she felt, clashed with the rustic baubles that Silver had decorated it with. Grusome bull's horns were hung on the wall at even intervals, alongside empty gibbet cages that hung from the ceiling. Hides of creatures that patrolled the wasteland were turned into carpets here and there, with a central rug that led down the center of the main hall that had been made out of a Tatzelwurm.  

A painting of Silver Star wearing a purple uniform, an armband, a black ten-gallon hat, and a pair of jackboots dominated the end of the hallway. It was set mid-day, with Silver Star having one of his boots kicked up, pressing Chief Thunderhoof's head into the ground. A pair of dragon guards in purple armor stood behind him in the picture, one of them holding Little Strongheart by the throat. 

Staring at it made Twilight growl under her helmet, but what made it even worse was what was directly underneath the painting. It looked like a secretary's desk with two creatures chained to it. One she recognized immediately as Little Strongheart, who was wearing nothing but a skimpy rag tunic and a chief's headdress obviously intended to humiliate her. Every time she moved Twilight could hear the sound of chains rattling. 

The other, meanwhile, was Braeburn, who was wearing an imperial uniform as he slowly stamped paperwork and stapled them together, bags under his eyes. Initially, Twilight glared at the sight of him, the thought of Braeburn of all people turning on the Buffalo and helping enslave them made her sick... that was until she heard the chains moving as he worked too. 

He was just as much of a slave as Strongheart. The sight of it immediately made her glare dissipate.

The two were obviously emaciated and she could understand why. Hungry slaves were weak slaves. And weak slaves couldn't fight back.

Sandbar merely glared up at the picture of Silver Star as Starlight walked past him to Braeburn and Strongheart.

"I request a meeting with Governor Silver Star, I trust he can fit me into his schedule?" She said in an authoritative tone as she stared down at the two of them.

Braeburn merely looked up at her with hollow eyes before he spoke in a monotone. "Down the right hall, up a set of stairs, and to the left," He sighed. "It's the biggest door."

Starlight merely nodded down at him, before turning to go. Twilight watched as Strongheart turned to Braeburn with a look of sympathy, before turning away and sadly shaking her head. Twilight grimaced beneath her helmet and turned to follow after Starlight and Blueblood.

Sandbar and Yona hesitated for a moment before they marched on as well. Sandbar himself slowly turned Yona as they walked a look of pity on his face. "That... that could've been us," he said simply, shaking his head. 

"Yona know..." she mumbled back, her face going white.





Once they were out of sight of the desk, Starlight collapsed against the wall slightly, sweat pouring down her brow. Yona, Blueblood, Twilight, and Sandbar quickly formed a ring around her, just to make absolutely sure she wasn't seen.

"Calm down, now," Blueblood ordered. "You are doing so well, and we are almost done with this." 

Starlight breathed in heavily. "I know..." She sighed. "I'm just... shocked at just how well I'm doing." She whimpered slightly, shaking her head. 

She turned to Twilight. "It shouldn't be this evil to pretend to be evil, should it? What if..." 

Twilight shook her head at Starlight. "It's alright. You aren't slipping back to your old ways Starlight, just by pretending here." 

Sandbar nodded, alongside Yona.

Blueblood put a hand on her shoulder. "I know more than anyone what it means to play a character for Equestria's future. You aren't becoming your act. Now shape up. We have a governor to meet with."
> Chapter 27: The Sheriff
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Starlight gulped as she entered the governor's office.

Sitting at a large desk at the back of the room was a stallion with brown fur wearing a mirror of her current outfit, his jackboots kicked up on the surface of the table, a large wide-brimmed hat sitting on his head. The upper half of his face was covered, making it hard for Starlight to read his expression. A fireplace with what she assumed were pokers rested behind him, which she thought was odd. Appleloosa was in the middle of a desert after all. Keeping it burning during the hot days made no sense to her.

Next, she noticed the large towering wall of a buffalo standing next to him. He was stripped naked with his arms locked behind his back and a muzzle fixed around his mouth. Starlight's eyes widened. She recognized him from stories of Twilight's earlier adventures. It was Chief Thunderhoof. He stood off to the side, growling darkly with a look of pure hatred in his eyes as he stared down the stallion at the desk. 

Off to the side, sitting at a table with a game of poker spread across its surface was a group four of ponies in purple imperial armor, who were staring up at her, their game paused. She turned her head to stare at the stallions, catching sight of one of their hands. Two aces, two eights and a jack.

Starlight quickly shook her head and turned back to stare at the governor. She cleared her throat as Sandbar, Twilight, and Blueblood stepped into the room. 

"Well well well boys, look who it is." Silverstar said, sitting up in his chair and tipping his hat up revealing a smirk. His voice was cold, an obvious western accent filling his voice. "Ponyvile's esteemed governor, here to visit little old me. What could I do you for ma'am." 

Starlight knew better than to hesitate. With a harsh tug of Yona's leash, the Yak stumbled into the room, almost falling over in the process. Yona growled, opening her mouth to speak before Starlight's horn glowed and her mouth was slammed shut, a turquoise aura surrounding it.

"I am aware of your... predilection to bovines, Silverstar," Starlight said simply, staring down Yona with a faux look of disgust. "So I decided to bring you a rather... rebellious yak from my holdings, perhaps you could make some good use of it. Or you could break it for me. Both options are equally preferable."

Silverstar's smirk didn't fade, though he did turn his attention to Yona.

"Now now Mrs. Starlight. You know I'm not one for all them fancy words." Silverstar replied, removing his legs from the desk and standing up. Crossing his arms behind his back, he walked in a circle around his desk, passing Thunderhoof who growled. He came to a stop before Yona, reaching a hand to cup her by the chin. He turned her face this way, then that. His eyes narrowed slightly even as his smirk widened.

"I will say, quite the nice hunk of meat you've found here, I'd say she'd fit in quite nicely with the rest of my cows." Silverstar laughed, turning to Starlight. "And you're just... giving her to me?"

"Myes, why not? I don't have any use for her short of lobotomizing her and leaving her as a dog." Starlight responded, her eye twitching slightly. She couldn't believe those words had just come out of her mouth. "So yes, pet, slave, cow. It d-doesn't matter to me what you do to her.

Blueblood leaned in closer to Sandbar and Twilight and whispered; "She's starting to break, get ready to pounce."

Silverstar meanwhile simply rolled his eyes with a laugh and stood up, snapping his fingers. Quickly two of his guards stood up from their game, slamming their cards down in the process. Including the one whose hand Starlight had seen. They quickly approached Yona and grabbed her by the shoulders. Yona's eyes widened and she let out a muffled grunt as she was pulled towards the Silverstar's desk.

Starlight's eyes widened and she quickly let go of the yak's leash. Yona kicked and squirmed as she was quickly bent over the table, her ass in the air as Silverstar walked over to the fireplace behind his desk, retrieving a white-hot branding iron from the inferno, holding it in the air slightly. It was in the exact shape of Silverstar's cutie mark, a five-pointed star.

It was only then that Starlight noticed the black mark of a star on both of Thunderhoof's hips. Her jaw dropped.

"You wouldn't mind if I were to mark this piece of livestock as mine, do you?" Silverstar hissed darkly, staring her directly in the eyes as he did. He didn't wait for her response as he slowly approached Yona, who started to let out muffled screams as she tried her best to shake out of the grasp of her captors, her rear shaking slightly in the air. 

Starlight merely stood there frozen, staring at Silverstar with her jaw agape. She watched in horror as Silverstar arrived at Yona's side and slowly raised his branding iron. Yona's screaming stopped for a moment as she squeezed her eyes shut and then...

A spear soared through the air with a javelin's grace before it suddenly struck the soldier holding down Yona's right side directly in the head. There was a horrific crunch as the guard crumbled over, his head slamming on the desk before he slumped over limply. 

All eyes in the room instantly snapped to Sandbar, his helmet on the ground next to him as he panted, his eyes mad and locked directly on Silverstar.

The governor worked his jaw for a moment before hissing. "Just what in Spike's name do you think you are doing soldi-" He started, but he was cut off by a high-pitched scream when suddenly one of Yona's legs kicked out directly into his crotch.

The branding iron fell to the ground with a clatter as the governor fell to his knees with both hands on his crushed equipment. The other two soldiers in the room didn't fare much better as they were both quickly dropped by stunning spells courtesy of Twilight. 

Silverstar groaned pathetically as Twilight and Blueblood cast aside their helmets, Twilight approaching Thunderhoof as Blueblood stood over the governor with his eyes narrowing. Sandbar meanwhile rushed to Yona's side, cutting her out of her ropes with a dagger.

"Are you alright?" Sandbar asked as Yona's mouth was freed from Starlight's magic. 

"Yona is fine..." Yona responded with a forced smile and a shaky breath. 

Twilight went about working on Thunderhoof's restraints, while Blueblood opted to merely tower over Silverstar, his eyes narrowed. He slowly knelt down at Silverstar's side.

"Greetings, traitor," Blueblood growled. "I'm going to keep this quick. Celestia's drydock, where is it?" 

Silverstar hissed through clenched teeth, turning his gaze to look up at the prince. "I... Have no idea what you're talking about." he simply replied, a pained smile coming to his face. 

Blueblood nodded twice, a smile widening on his face. "I hoped you would respond like that." He exclaimed as he reached towards his belt. Silverstar raised an eyebrow in confusion, but the answer to his questions came quickly when Blueblood grabbed him by the wrist of his right hand. 

In a single movement, Blueblood slammed Silverstar's hand on his desk before stabbing clean through it with a dagger, pinning him to the table. Silverblood let out a pathetic scream of pain. Starlight and Twilight instantly gawked as they stared down Blueblood as he started to twist the knife. Sandbar smiled at the sight, while Yona's face remained neutral.

"Ah... damn it.... you!" Silverstar cried between gasps and clenched teeth screams. "You resistance scum! You're the real traitors!" 

"Hardly," Blueblood responded as he stared Silverstar directly in the eyes, retracting the blade. Instantly Silverstar pulled his now ruined hand back and screamed staring at the circular hole that went clean through it. "If you don't answer me, I'm going to start chopping off fingers."

To prove his point, Blueblood grabbed Silverstar's other hand with magic, holding his blade directly above one of the governor's fingers.

"Blueblood..." Twilight muttered, as Starlight merely stared on in shock.

"Fine! Fine!" Silverstar whimpered, staring the bloodied dagger down in shock. "It's to the east, bout two dozen or so miles out of town. Near the border with the old Buffalo territory. The empire's done dug it out of the ground and did away with all the secrecy Celestia had so you can't miss it!" 

Blueblood slowly pressed the blade of the dagger against Silverstar's finger. "And how can I be sure you aren't lying?"

Silverstar almost screamed; "It's the truth, honest!"

Blueblood nodded darkly before he dropped Silverstar's hand and stood up. "And that's the end of that. Now, normally this is the part where I'd slit your throat to keep you from sending people after us, but I think there is someone else in this room who would prefer the honors."

"Huh?" Silverstar asked, staring up as Thunderhoof stomped towards him, a deep frown on his face as he found his restraints removed. "Oh shit."

Thunderhoof towered over Silverstar for a moment before he turned to Twilight and gave her a nod. "Go. Get my daughter out of here. I will distract the Imperials so you can escape."

"Distract them how?" Twilight asked, as she readied her horn for teleportation, a quick teleport downstairs to grab Strongheart and Braeburn, and then another back to the resistance. 

Her question was answered when Thunderhoof quickly reached down to Silverstar, one hand wrapping around his throat while the other went for a leg.

"Now h-hold on Thunder! We can talk about th-" The governor tried to stammer, but he was interrupted when he was thrown full force against the wall of the room. There was a sickening crack as Silver's broken body smashed through the wall before sailing outside. The sun shine into the room as Silverstar let out a horrified scream, equal parts fear and pain as he fell to the ground below, two stories.

There was a crash below, that was coupled with several dozen voices crying out. Twilight decided to hazard a glance outside to see that Silverstar had landed directly in the middle of the busy streets of Appleloosa, surrounded by guards, imperial citizens and slaves alike.

"The governor is dead!" Thunderhoof cried, raising his arms in the air as he stood in the center of hole he had opened in the wall. "Throw aside your chains my tribe! For freedom!"

It didn't take long before the buffalo out in the streets let out a unified cry of defiance, pouncing at their masters and the nearest Imperial soldiers, attacking with horns, fists and hooves as the street descended into a battle, one that the Imperials weren't ready for.

Thunderhoof turned to Twilight and nodded, before he lept from the hole, landing directly on top of a dragon below, smashing him flat with his mighty frame, then he quickly joined the fight using the dragon's cast aside weapon, smashing through a line of Imperial troops.

Twilight was in shock as she watched the combat, before Blueblood grabbed her by the shoulders, shaking her slightly.

"Come on, the Buffalos won't last long against the Imperials. They're doing this to give us a chance to reach the airship, so let's take it." He roared.

Twilight nodded in response, lit her horn, and then the five of them disappeared in a flash.