<br/>He knew the futility of those words as soon as they came out, of course. As almost every time since he had thrust his horn through the wizard's chest, the alicorn must have realized it too late -- or maybe he had known all along, somewhere deep within himself. There was something in Midnight's expression that went beyond hatred or defiance at that point in time, a shade of stubborness that rode him harder than anyone ever could.<br/><br/>When he saw the cane, his nostrils flared and air hissed through them in a quiet shrill sound, yet he didn't back away as a sane beast might have. Midnight stood his place instead, staring up to the male reared in front of him. He could handle the pain and knew it, with every fiber of his being up until now. He readied himself for it, steading his back and bracing his arms in a lock in front of himself.<br/><br/><em>Let's put an end to this.</em><br/><br/>What he wasn't expecting, however, was the power of a lightning strike to course through him, nor anything he could do in this form to harness or avoid it. The shaking that accompanied it was telling enough, a convulsive motion that made every muscle in his human-like body contracting violently under the skin the very second before they relaxed again and sent him square to the floor, face first. The pain was almost as intense as the relief that coursed through him when it stopped, leaving the dark shape sprawled on the ground and unable to bring together any cohesive thought.<br/><br/>It was so very easy to turn him over right then, a boneless doll made out of alicorn flesh, dressed still in Bryn's best finery while trying to figure out while the ground disappeared from under him and the ceiling was crushing his back. A back without wings, that couldn't fight the pressure. Not escape. Serve. The words echoed in his ears over and over again as the wizard spread his legs and settled between them, in a haze that slowly disappeared as the beast in man form recovered some control of his limbs.<br/><br/><em>Say it again. <br/><br/>Say what?</em><br/><br/>The hand on his hair was the last trigger, turning the room around and sliding each piece of the puzzle into place. The alicorn balked at the very thought of it, his own words coming back to haunt him as he arched his neck back to ease some of the pressure to come when he reached up to shove the male away from him. Or try to, anyway. The clothing he wore was suddenly too thin, the position one he would never have allowed were he in the position to allow anything, the wizard's frame too close, the song too beautiful, the threat a promise.<br/><br/><em>Why the fuck am I so hard?</em><br/><br/>There was no time to answer that question, and Midnight had no intention of trying whatsoever: that was certainly not happening. He pushed the thought away instead, as he did those of Taskill and Lyra watching nearby, and focused on his captor's eye as his lips moved to form another word.<br/><br/><em>Kill me already.</em><br/><br/>"No."<br/>