Alicorn. Chapter Seventeen. (Patreon)

Chapter Seventeen.The dinner, in theory, was a celebration of victory. Tonight, my magnum opus would be brought to life, and Providence would be the branch to witness its birth into the world.In reality, the cult aligned nobility of Paris simply seemed the type to use any excuse to throw a lavish party, and had simply seen an opportunity to call forth a particularly spectacular one.The celebration was certainly a grandiose one, including frivolous entertainments like open balcony fireworks, foreign cuisine taken from distant lands, jousts (however such a thing worked without riders) from a few self proclaimed ‘knights’ within a designated arena track on the floor beneath the one we were currently on, pegasi cloud dancers, magically tuned unicorn musicians, and an almost excessive number of prostitutes, with a number of the aforementioned cloud dancers appearing to be among their number.

All in all, while high society events, particularly Prench ones, weren’t exactly something I was too familiar with, and the sheer amount of revelry was verging on overwhelming, the core bones of the concept weren’t all that hard to grasp, and the right mixture of acting and compartmentalisation was enough to get me fairly far in the party I had been dragged away from my lovely lab to attend.Really, all a pony truly needed to do was look fancy, eat costly food and drink expensive wine, schmooze with their fellow rich idiots and try to pick up on gossip without making a scandal of themselves. Perhaps even harass and abuse the common pony staff, if one was feeling up to it. Not my particular cup of tea, but the locals seemed to enjoy it a decent amount.Of course, that was all before one introduced secret society dynamics into the mix.“And the princess to come, blessed be her future reign, she will be…amenable, to the advice given by her elders, sponsors and benefactors?”I gave a non-committal hum coupled with a coy look to the older, fatter looking stallion currently soliciting me for information, one that perhaps implied an answer, but said nothing in truth.Whatever my fellow unicorn deduced from the sound, he seemed pleased by it, offering me a winning smile somewhat ruined by the greedy gleam in his eyes before turning off to go interact with one of the more conversational groups.Standing at the edge of the Sabot ballroom in a tailored white dress, I felt and no doubt looked more than a little out of place, but as always the depths of my mind proved a worthy retreat from the bores and rigours of reality, something rich and sweet meeting my lips as I actually pondered the question I had been given while slowly draining the glass held aloft by my magic.Obedience? There were surely a number of ways to ensure it, yes. But as of yet the Fallen Fang hadn’t truly given me any direct orders to the effect of chaining their Goddess-to-be. An ideological rift between them and Providence, perhaps. From what I could tell, the former sought true divinity to lead them in their crusade against Harmony, while the latter were likely content with simply replacing Equis’ resident solarmancer with someone more aligned with their economic ambitions.It was all the same to me regardless. The fact remained that I mostly just wanted to see if I could make an artificial equivalent to the mysterious alicorn ascension process. Anything that happened afterwards wasn’t really any of my business, unless it proved interesting in some way or form.“Quite the show, hm?”Blinking at the abrupt presence of a mare at my side, I turned my head slightly to take her in, using the cover of drinking to give myself a moment to think up a response.The pegasus held a stark contrast to many of the white furred unicorn nobility thanks to her dark crimson, almost black coat, with a silver mane that perhaps might have lent the cloud dancer an exotic air to some stuffy Prench lord who had never seen a pony beyond the servants within his palace walls.A cutie mark of a heart with four black wings held my attention for an instant, before I found myself looking back up into a pair of gleaming green eyes..Rather…beautiful eyes at that. Had it always been this hot in here?Shaking my head to clear the strange sensation, I gulped down the wine and finally nodded, a smile coming to my lips.“Indeed. Though it is my first time, the Prench have certainly made an impression.”The words drew a light giggle from my counterpart, and I found myself leaning forward to better listen to the soft, airy sound despite myself, even as she leaned close, a smile further enhancing her already enchanting features.“I’m very glad, it isn’t often outsiders are brought in to attend such events. Ah, but perhaps I might offer to enrich your experience, my lady?”Heavens above her scent was intoxicating, I…Didn’t find pegasi attractive. Or ponies in general.With an unseen lurch that felt like liquid nitrogen pouring through my veins, I pulled my aroused body back under my control, even as my mind continued to fill my thoughts with scenes depicting me and the mare in front of me in countless less than appropriate poses.“I would be most agreeable, miss…?”“Lovestruck. Please, follow me…”The blush on my cheeks was genuine, as I followed the cloud dancer away from the main party and out into the nearby hall, with my eyes glued to her swaying rear as we made our way to one of the countless guest bedrooms, a number of its counterparts already emanating noises not fit for a foal’s ears.As I was guided into a shaded chamber that stank of perfume and roses, I waited near a pile of cushions until my counterpart gently kicked the door shut behind her, before turning around with an eager grin.The mare had all of two seconds to smile back before the silver bolt shot forth from my horn and impacted with her face, freezing it in place before the paralysis spell began to spread to the rest of the body.Panting slightly in slowly fading want as the now frozen mare’s pupils rapidly darted about in panic, I made to speak, only to go quiet as green flames abruptly engulfed her frozen form, burning away flesh and fur and replacing it with…Oh…oh now that was interesting!Stepping forward until my muzzle was practically pressing against the black carapace covered creature’s own snout, I allowed a breathy exhale to pour across the occasionally twitching creature’s face, a note of wonder intermixing with the artificial lust that had been forced upon me.“Illusion magic coupled with mind spells that induce arousal…incredible. What are you?”The panic in the pony shaped insect’s opaque eyes increased as my horn lit up, the comforting shape of a scalpel shooting out from the confines of my dress while a second quick application of telekinesis twisted the key within the door, locking it with a quiet click.“Nevermind, don’t try to answer. I think I like it more this way.”A renewed shot of magically induced paralysis kept the deliciously alien bug from so much as inching away, let alone speaking.And then, with a renewed blush marring my blue cheeks, I got to work.Honestly, what an exciting surprise to an otherwise boring party! Who could have known that the Prench kept shapeshifting insectoids on retainer?!