The Princess's Apprentice

Chapters

Calling All Plot Devices
Who Are These Ponies and Why Are They Calling Me 'Sir'?
Interviews 1: An Itch That Needs Vinyl-ing. ...wait.
Interviews 2: Fleur Your Entertainment

Calling All Plot Devices

The Princess’s Apprentice

Chapter One: Calling All Plot Devices

Twilight Sparkle was not the type to take to boredom easily. Of course, when one’s favorite thing is books, and one live in a library, this is normally a very easily addressed issue. One would just walk up, pick a book off the shelf, and let several hours disappear. Off into some brilliant fantasy one would go, having wonderful adventures with beautiful ponies across vibrant landscapes. In a world of such wonderful prose and immersion that the real world just melted away.

Twilight was trying another method of making the real world melt away recently: staring at a wall until she spontaneously developed heat vision, which hadn’t happened yet. So she did the only other thing she could do.

“Next!”

She sat upright in her rather modest throne, waiting for the next citizen to approach her with whatever issue they felt required near-divine intervention. At first Twilight had been excited to help so many ponies address real-world problems in a setting that she actually had influence in. Unfortunately...

“You have got to teach those ruffians some common courtesy! Honestly, how can anypony be expected to sleep properly under such conditions?!” screeched the rather pompous-looking mare before her. She was familiar to Twilight, of course, but not for any kind of previous contact prior to having become royalty. No, this mare had only ever expressed interest in taking her personal matters straight to the highest possible authority. Or Twilight Sparkle, whoever was stupid enough to let her in. “I can’t believe the volume at which they play their music! It’s unbearable!”

Twilight massaged her temples with her hooves, feeling another one of her heads coming on. Were alicorns prone to aneurysms? This sounded like a great topic to research. Later. When ponies weren’t wailing at her. “Miss Society, please. It’s a music club. They play music at all hours because they’re open at all hours and have permits to do so. I have looked into this extensively. I’ve even had a few drinks there. They’re doing nothing illegal, and thus I have no power over their activities. Now please, if you have a legitimate legal claim to make, I can once again show you where and what forms you need to fill out and leave you to pursue the issue legally.”

High Society looked ready to glare at the Princess of Magic, but thought better of it. Especially considering the fact that she’d done so on one or more previous occasions and the guards on either side of Twilight’s throne were just waiting for an excuse to kick her out of the room. Again. Twilight swore she even saw the unicorn on her right smile slightly.

’I really hope he doesn’t go overboard this time. I really don’t like filling out paperwork in triplicate that includes the phrase “And he was laughing maniacally the entire time.’ Fortunately for her sanity and the safety of the occupants of the room, High decided now was a good moment to “leave and pursue the issue legally.” Especially after she, too, seemed to have caught the stallion’s anticipatory grin. Without a word, she turned on her hind hoof and left, her head high in the air.

Not waiting for another “loyal subject” to enter, she motioned for the guards on the far side of the room to close the doors. One of the few things she enjoyed about her required time with the citizenry was that there weren’t actually any listed number of hours she had to do so. Any and all legislation requiring her to listen to the meanderings and whining voices of the over-privileged populace only ever stated “hours must be set aside to... yadda yadda yadda.” Watching the doors close with a satisfyingly loud thud, Twilight hopped down from her throne and stretched her legs.

Walking around the room, she thought about what it could use. Bookshelves, obviously. Her throne room was horribly under-booked. Really, the only decorations were the carpet from the door to her throne, the banners and royal symbols behind it, and the drapes. There were a couple of candle stands here and there for when it was dark, but that was about it. Of course, this train of thought was only a distraction from her current worries.

“I’m so bucking bored! What’s the point in being a Princess if you can’t entertain yourself all day!” she whined, looking for something to kick over. She reconsidered, because actually doing so would be rather unladylike, which, she reminded herself, she was never very good at.

She also had guards watching her. A thought that led to her considering her current company. She glanced about, eyeing the four stallions in the room. There was the unicorn she’d grown to associate with wanton destruction in the name of protecting his charge. The two by the doors were both pegasi, built for speed to prevent anypony from rushing through the door and charging the princess. They’d had little occasion to do more than open and close the doors for her, and they always looked bored. The fourth, another unicorn, was a size bigger than his over-eagerly defensive partner, and significantly more stoic.

All in all, they were handsome stallions, and if any of them had been mares she’d totally have rutted them. Or, at least, she would have, had a chance drunken encounter with a hoofmaiden in which she'd “propositioned” said member of the staff. The answer had been “no” and a stern reprimand from Celestia about sexual harassment and drinking too much at parties.

Now, Twilight Sparkle wasn’t exactly a debaucherous mare, but with the acquisition of a royal title and the move into her own personal castle in Canterlot, she had been of the assumption that her mare in shining armor (a phrase she abhorred for obvious reasons), would have arrived well before now to sweep her off her hooves. So far, her life in the true lap of luxury had been little more than meetings, royal duties, curtsies from ponies she didn’t know, and an endless stream of boredom.

Even Spike had been left with little to do but read, because all of the household chores and the care-taking of her private library had been left to her servants. Thus they had enrolled him in a private school not far from castle grounds.

Twilight looked at the clock in anticipation, wondering just how long until her number one assistant would be set free and she could have somepony nice to talk to. Seeing it to be a couple of hours yet, she looked about the room one last time. She’d tried talking to the guards, but all they were allowed to do was respond to orders. Fraternization was forbidden, or, at least, highly frowned upon. None of the hoofmaidens spent a great deal of time around her because they were busy actually doing their jobs.

She climbed back on her throne to think some more, for it was at least comfortable. She had at least some paperwork to... no, that had been finished this morning, the first time she got bored. She could visit one of the other Princesses... no, not that either. They were either across the country, asleep, or busy with their own responsibilities.God forbid she try to have a conversation with any of the non-alicorn members of the family. She’d been hopeful Prince Blueblood had simply been a bad apple at the bottom of a yet-unspoiled barrel, but her hopes were dashed when most, if not all of the royal family (as small as it was), had proven to be just as up themselves as the snotty elites she tried her best not to cater to every day.

She needed somepony to talk to. Somepony who could keep her occupied. Somepony intellectually engaging, and maybe a little bit malleable. She’d had that in Spike, but the little she saw of him now meant there was a small void in her everyday life. Even Owlowiscious had taken to sleeping the days away properly, and only really kept her company during the evening or early morning. In short, she was lonely.

Twilight pined for attention, for interaction, for... something that kept her stimulated and engaged and that she could look forward to. Even if it wasn’t a romantic pursuit of some kind, she needed... company.

But what could she do about it?

“An apprentice?” Celestia asked quizzically, giving her former student a curious look. Twilight looked up from her dinner plate to return the gaze. “Whatever for?”

“Yeah, Twilight,” said a rather sad and tiny male voice from beside her. A dejected Spike stole glances over his dinner plate at his best friend. “What do you need an apprentice for, you have me.”

The lavender alicorn shook her mane. “Not like that, Spike. An assistant and an apprentice are two different things. You help me with all my paperwork and housework and cooking, and are supportive and trustworthy. I’m not looking for an apprentice to do any of that,” she said reassuringly, patting a hoof on Spike’s back. She turned her attentions to the Solar Princess as she continued to explain, “No, I’m looking for somepony to share my knowledge with, like you have with me. Somepony who I can teach the fundamentals of more advanced magic, who can help me develop new and more interesting, and possibly more helpful, spells and incantations to further the scientific and arcane advancements of Equestria. I’ve got quite a lot of free time and not a lot of contribution around here. I mean, I’m not exactly responsible for half the ecosystem, as it were.” ’Not to mention somepony to keep me entertained all damn day.’

Celestia smiled knowingly. “I see. Being the Princess and Element of Magic, you want to actually help progress and monitor it’s advancement. An admirable cause, Twilight. But do you really need an apprentice to help you?”

Twilight nodded. “Think about it this way. Do you want me experimenting with powerful and untested arcane arts in the middle of castle grounds without somepony there who knows enough to say ‘stop’?” Or whatever their safe word might be.

Spike and Celestia traded glances, and shuddered. Twilight learning new magic was one thing, and they had all experienced the pitfalls of the little bookworm biting off more than she could chew. Creating magic from scratch and researching advancements in technology and the mystic arts that could affect all of Equestria? Without supervision? “Twilight, you make a solid argument. Of course, it will be entirely on you to organize this program. If you are looking to take on more responsibility for yourself, and somepony else, then I think it important that nopony hold your hoof in the process.”

Spike smiled widely and patted Twilight on the back with an eager claw. “Yeah, good luck with all that! There’s no way on Equis you could get me to sit through all that magic mumbo-jumbo all day, on top of school!”

Twilight’s expression was flat and hardly amused, but she was glad the tiny dragon no longer felt threatened by the proposition of a new body in the castle taking up his friend’s time. “Well, Princess, I can understand you wanting to leave me to my own devices. But there is one thing I’d like to ask you before I begin.”

Celestia nodded, not seeing much harm in answering a simple question. “Of course, my faithful Princess.”

Sheepishly, and with a slight blush, Twilight asked, “Where do I start?”

The white alicorn smiled gently and said simply, “Advertise, Twilight Sparkle. Advertise.”

The flyers were all over town the next morning. On the sides of businesses, on light posts, and on walls all across the great City of Canterlot:

Looking for a world of adventure in the field of magical study?

Tired of your everyday life filled with the same ins and outs?

Want to help advance the progress of magic and science all throughout Equestria, and seal your name in the history books forever?

Not afraid of explosions, abrasions, transmutation, transmogrification, parallel worlds, elder beasts, and copious amounts of chickens?

Then look no further! Her Highness, Princess Twilight Sparkle, is seeking applicants for an apprenticeship in the field of arcane study and scientific research! Apply today at the Royal Palace!

Ask for Spike or Princess Twilight Sparkle.

Nopony was sure where they had come from, and even fewer seemed to care. Those who stopped to read them almost never got farther than the words “transmutation, transmogrification, parallel worlds, elder beasts...” before they decided rather quickly that they had much more important things to do. One rather hopeful mint-green unicorn, however, did get as far as “copious amounts of chickens” before she ran screaming the other way.

Of course, Vinyl Scratch was not most people. And she sure as hell wasn’t some namby-pamby mint green lyricist with a chicken phobia. Leaving her mark on history forever? Blowing shit up and inventing new magic in the name of scientific progress? Spending hour after hour in the immediate vicinity of a particularly sexy purple alicorn?

“Awww, hell yeah.”

A delicate hoof wove its way through a luxurious mane of light pink hair as purple eyes scanned the flyer carefully. They narrowed in anticipation as a sly smile spread across delicate lips.

“So, the Princess is looking for an apprentice, is she? What an... influential position. Who knows what I could learn from this... mare,” Fleur Dis Lee purred, eying the advertisement with great intensity. She barely noticed as many a passerby caught sight of her, quickly losing interest in whatever it was they were doing. The sounds of carts crashing, ponies falling down and/or running into things, and the scattering of miscellaneous materials lost in the grips of their distracted owners surrounded the stunning model as she plucked the piece of paper off of its lamppost with an elegant pink sheen of magic.

She rolled it up delicately, and slid it into her saddle bag. Giving it a small, affectionate tap to secure its place, she looked up at the top of the hill, where the Royal Palace loomed over the city of Canterlot. “Twilight Sparkle, I hope you’re ready.”

The Great and Powerful Trixie could not believe her eyes. She had returned to the great city of Canterlot only days before, and the first viable job opportunity she could find was to work for that conceited, self-important, showy, delicious, curvy, luxuriously graceful mare that had ruined her life and occupied every wet dream she’d had in the last several months?

Her entire body quivered with anger and need as she gripped the flyer somepony had callously stuck on the side of her carriage. How dare they blight the face of her beautiful stage/mobile home with the arrogant, uptight, beautiful and incredibly sexy visage of the one and only Twilight Sparkle!

Oh, she would apply for that apprenticeship, alright! She would apply, and she would get the job! And then Twilight would have no choice but to acknowledge how much more talented, and superior, and important she was! She would make that “Princess” beg on her knees for her approval! Beg, and crawl closer... to the edge of the bed... wearing that little maid’s outfit she just so happened to have held onto for a lonely summer’s night...

“...fuck,” Trixie grumbled, and crawled back into her carriage, putting up a “Do Not Disturb” sign as she slammed the door.

Rarity was having quite a normal morning, as mornings go. She would even go so far as to say that it was a great morning. She was in Canterlot, staying in a rather swanky hotel (courtesy of her ties to royalty), and had been spending her weekend shopping for new materials to make even grander dresses with. Really, being the best friend and personal tailor of a Princess was the best thing to ever happen to her career! And her social status. Bless Twilight Sparkle.

She was busy mentally praising her newly alicorned friend, until she heard her little sister screaming in joy from the other room: “Sis, Sis! I’m gonna be an apprentice!”

More than a little confused, and slightly alarmed, Rarity strolled into the bedroom, where her little sister Sweetie Belle was jumping up and down on the bed, holding a piece of paper. “Now Sweetie, what- could you please- you’re not supposed to-” finally, with an angry growl, she tugged the paper free from her sister’s grasp, the distraction sending the small white filly tumbling over herself on the bed.

Floating the flyer over to herself, Rarity read it quietly. Word by word, her expression changed, as did her faith and joyful disposition toward a certain purple librarian princess know-it-all egghead. “Ooooh, Twilight Sparkle!”

Who Are These Ponies and Why Are They Calling Me 'Sir'?

Chapter 2: Who Are These Ponies and Why Do They Call Me ‘Sir’?

“So, how many applicants do we have so far, Spike?” Twilight asked over her shoulder. Her scaly assistant, fresh out of school for the day, had taken up his usual post by her side. They walked together down the broad hallways leading to her throne room, where the applicants had been asked to convene.

“Well, I don’t know how many you’ve talked to, Twilight, but I’ve got four waiting for you in the up ahead. And you might be... surprised,” he explained, smiling mischievously behind her back.

Twilight could sense something in his voice, though. “What do you mean, surprised?”

Spike shrugged. “Oh, nothing. It’s just that you’ve been all over Canterlot, and Ponyville, and you might recognize some of them.” He hopped onto her back to allow himself to focus on a small checklist he’d brought out from behind him.

“I’ll take your word for it. Well, I don’t have anypony to add to that list, so it looks like today’s interviews are going to be short and sweet,” the alicorn mused aloud, as they reached the door to her throne room. She leaned a hoof on the massive wooden portal, then paused for a moment. “Well, here goes nothing.”

As soon as she swung the door open, , her ears were assaulted with various iterations of her name.

“Hey, Twilight!”

“Twilight Sparkle!”

“Miss Twilight!”

“Twilight, darling!”

“Your Highness!”

The small explosion of sound caught the princess off guard, as her mane blew back and her face adopted the expression of one just recently exposed to high velocities. Her eyes darted back and forth even as the rest of her stood perfectly still, taking in the sight before her. It wasn’t exactly what she was expecting, but then again, she wasn’t sure what that had been in the first place.

The line in front of her was comprised entirely of familiar faces. Some she knew personally, some she knew professionally, and some just in passing. She took a moment to regain her composure. ’Ok, you can do this. They’re all familiar faces, let’s just do some introductions and explain things.’ She turned her attention to the two-toned unicorn DJ on the far left.

“Hello again, Vinyl. It’s good to see you again,” she offered, holding out her hoof in welcome.

Vinyl took it, and performed some weird, over-complicated hoofshake that Twilight wasn’t sure whether or not she should feel dirty after completing. “He-hey, Princess Twi, how’s it hangin’? Haven’t seen you since your bro’s wedding!” Scratch was all cheer and familiarity. Apparently her irrepressible sense of ‘awesome’ was even immune to the presence of royalty. Twilight gave her an appraising look. ’Hmm, not bad. I’ve seen her use magic before, and some of the technology she’s utilized and created could lend a great deal to scientific advancement. If I can convince her that electronics have a setting outside of ‘wub’ we might get somewhere.’ Her eyes rolled over the white unicorns body slowly, taking in the mare’s form inch by inch. Not exactly skinny, but not fat. Sort of athletic. But I guess that’s what happens when you party so hard. Hmm, a party girl. She might know a thing or two about... ‘getting down.’ Yes, she’ll do just fine.’

“I’m glad you’re here. It’s good to see you have such an interest in the arcane arts,” Twilight tried her best to keep her tone professional and even, something she’d had quite a bit of practice in as of late.

“Aww, come on. With a kick-ass flyer like that who could say no?” The DJ smiled as she spoke and Twilight got a sense of why she and Pinkie were such good friends.

Moving along, she caught up with Rarity and Sweetie Belle, standing side-by-side, or rather, almost on top of each other. “Rarity! Sweetie! What are you girls doing here?” she asked, her voice much lighter and enthusiastic upon seeing her friends. She gave them a warm hug, and looked between them both for an answer.

Sweetie piped up first. “I’m gonna be an apprentice!” her voice squeaked in excitement. Twilight heard chuckles from up and down the row, some in adoration of the adorable spectacle, some in scorn of such a young little upstart. Twilight herself looked up to Rarity in slight alarm.

The fashionista only sighed and gave her an apologetic look. “I know, and I told her you were most likely looking for someone much more experienced in magic, but she said she wanted to try. And I figured it would be a nice excuse to say hello,” she offered.

Twilight’s expression softened, and she smiled and nodded. “Ok,” she said, turning her attention to the young Crusader. “I’ll tell you what, Sweetie. Once I’m done saying hello to everypony, we’re going to do some interviews. I’ll see what you’ve got then, ok?”

Sweetie saluted like a soldier, her hoof set at just slightly the wrong angle. “Yes, ma’am!” she barked, standing at attention.

Twilight chuckled to herself as she moved on to the next ‘applicant’. She stopped in her tracks, however, when she saw who it was. “Trixie?!”

The showmare scoffed lightly at the address, flipping her hair. “Of course! You didn’t think somepony posting an ad for a magical Apprentice could do without the mystical wonders of The Great and Powerful Trixie, did you?” The blue unicorn looked on with a prideful expression, expecting to see either surprise or, at least, indignation on the princess’s face. What she got, however, was much more... complicated.

Twilight looked absolutely overjoyed to see her. She barreled forth and tackled her in a hug, almost knocking them over. “I can’t believe it! How are you? I haven’t seen you since our duel! Are you ok? What have you been doing?” the lavender mare prattled on as Trixie’s face was stricken with a mixture of utter confusion and almost erotic joy.

Oh my stars she’s hugging me! She’s... happy to see me! Oh, thank you, Sweet Celestia!’

The words that came out of her mouth, however, were much less intelligible. “Aberrfur comin here brrrr apprentiship...” she almost drooled, her self-respect and motor skills fading fast. She stopped herself in a moment, however, and wriggled free of her snuggly assailant. “I’ve come here to apply for your ‘apprenticeship’, of course. Why else would I be here?” Oh please, Dear Luna, make her hug me again!'

Twilight nodded happily. “I can’t wait to see what you’ve learned! This should be great!” she cheered. She thought about hugging her ‘friend’ again, but collected herself and moved on to the next mare in line.

And all at once, her faculties came screeching to a halt. Upon laying eyes on the mare, Twilight’s brain not only stopped moving, but seemed to have developed a completely new ability: temporal paralysis. As if all time had stopped moving, or at least slowed, Twilight found herself unable to move as the beautiful mare in front of her approached her, slowly but surely.

A gorgeous, tenderly cared for mane flowed in brilliant, soft pink locks down a slender neck, coming to rest on a back just slightly arched in poise. Trim, elegant limbs carried the vision of beauty forward, where brilliant purple eyes met hers, eyelids drooping suggestively as she spoke. “It’s a delight to meet you, Your Highness,” the model bowed, and kissed each of Twilight’s hooves. She could feel a slight tingle where the soft white uncorn’s lips met her fetlocks. “My name is Fleur Dis Lee. I look forward to...” she paused, and leaned in to whisper into Twilight’s ear. “Working with you.” She nipped slightly at Twilight’s ear tip, leaning back slowly and giving her a suggestive smile.

Twilight was stunned. Had the room gone hot, or was it just Fleur? All the rest of the room seemed to melt away as she stared at the stunning beauty before her, and her faculties made absolutely no attempt to respond.

That is, until a scroll found it’s way across the back of her head. “Twilight!” Spike barked. “Come on, you gotta explain the job to these girls,” he huffed, turning around and walking back to stand next to the throne.

It was then that Twilight became very aware of everypony in the room that wasn’t her or Fleur. The other applicants seemed to be giving her or Fleur somewhat scathing or disapproving looks, Rarity was waggling her eyebrows at her, and the guards... well they were just standing there. One of them gave a hoof-bump to Spike as the baby dragon moved to lean against the big chair, though.

Twilight coughed, and took to the air, flying over to her throne to avoid walking past any of the mares before her. “Right, ok. Ok,” she said, steadying herself. She could still feel some of the residual heat in her nethers from her brief exchange with the fashion model, but made a valiant effort to stand tall and address them as a group. “Alright, ladies. It looks for now like you are the only applicants. This doesn’t change anything except how much time it will take to interview everypony and make evaluations. We’re going to do this in three steps, and there will be a scoring system. I will be going over details of steps two and three once step one is done. So, allow me to explain step one.

“The first thing we do is individual interviews. I will be talking to each of you in private, for no set period of time, and evaluating your immediate knowledge and previous experience in magic, as well as your intent towards the Apprenticeship program and your overall attitude, personality, and demeanor. These interviews will be happening over the next few days. I will interview one applicant a day, each at Three O’Clock. If this conflicts with any of your immediate schedules, please let me know. I will not be telling you who I am interviewing on what day until noon that day, so speak up now if this will cause problems.” Twilight paused for a moment, and the mares looked about themselves, seeing if anypony had any issues.

The princess nodded, and looked over at the wall clock to check the time. “Good. Seeing as I had you all meet me here at noon today, I will announce the first interviewee now, and the rest may go home and wait to be notified by royal post midday over the next three days.

“First up: Sweetie Belle.”

The adolescent unicorn jumped up and down, excited at going first. “Yay!”

The rest of the girls looked slightly put-out, but seemed to be at least a little relieved to be given at least some kind of chance to prepare a battle plan. They bowed in turn to Twilight, who nodded her head and politely gestured them out.

When it was just Sweetie, Rarity, and Twilight left, the unicorn hopped down from the throne, and nodded over to a door in the corner. "Come on, Sweetie, let’s talk.”

Rarity made to follow her sister into the smaller room, but Twilight held up a hoof. “Sorry, Rarity. She’s gotta be able to do this herself. I can’t let anypony but me or her in there til the interview’s over.” When Rarity gave a pout, and looked ready to complain, Twilight added, “It’s ok. I’ll treat her just like any other applicant, and see what she knows, and what she wants to do here, stuff like that. She’ll be fine. If anything else, think of it as her first job interview.”

The fashionista seemed a bit upset, but conceded. “Alright, Twilight, I trust you.”

“So, Sweetie, what do you know about magic?” Twilight asked, leaning across the large wooden table in the middle of the room. The ‘smaller room’ off to the side had turned out to be a reading room, for when Twilight was not required to stand in court and listen to citizens' concerns.

“I know a whole bunch!” Sweetie assured her. “I’ve been reading lots of books and stuff! Miss Cheerilee says she got her cutie mark by studying and figuring out what she really wanted, just by seeing what interested her when she read it!”

Thanks, Cheerilee. At least somepony’s getting these kids to read. “That’s great. So, can you do any actual magic?”

At this question, all the air seemed to deflate out of the tiny unicorn. “Well, not really. I can make stuff float around, but that’s about it. Rarity says it’s got something to do with how long I’ve been practicing and stuff.”

Twilight nodded, thinking this would be a short conversation indeed. “Well, that’s to be expected in foals your age-”

“But I think it might have something to do with Starswirl’s theories that the equine body can only produce a certain amount of mana in proportion to the amount of alicium in a mare’s horn. I tried to do a test on mine as outlined by Chorus the Crazy’s Component Analysis spell, but I wasn’t able to generate enough energy to fully analyze my horn. So I asked Zecora if she had any kind of mana enhancement potions at her house, and she said something like ‘If it is mana that you lack, then practice is your best attack’, which makes sense in a way, because consistent mana usage encourages the unicorn body to produce more alicium as the body develops, but I told her I was looking for a way to measure how much I had right now. So she put together some kind of alchemical brew that I saw was consistent with the Second Law of Magical Analysis that states that any potion or arcane ritual must require at least as much mana as the material being analyzed has squared. Cause she was using some Everfree grass seeds which are basically saturated in natural mana as a buffer along with some ingredients that I didn’t recognize but seemed like they tied in with the somatic and verbal components of CC’s Analysis spell, so when that was done she told me that she’d have to take a little while to translate the results into numbers I could understand, but I did some of the calculations in my head and as it turns out I’ve only got about ten grams of alicium in my horn as compared to the national average of 15-20 for foals my age, so I’ve been doing a bunch of exercises for increasing that amount, including some basic telekinesis exersises and stuff. I thought about trying some of those unicorn supplements, but they don’t actually increase alicium production as much as they do just dump a bunch of temporary alicium into your blood stream that your body draws on which is really bad for you because that means your cortex will start trying to draw on your cardiovascular system instead of your skeletal system for alicium and mana which can cause all kinds of damage to your nervous system and your heart and also stunts alicium growth. So I thought I’d become your apprentice so I could practice magic a lot more and do some studying to see if there were more reliably natural ways to up my alicium count cause I wanna be a really good magic user when I grow up. Plus I think there’s a lot of false information about unicorn magic on the market and even in schools and I think somepony should do something about that.”

Twilight was floored. Not only was Sweetie talking a mile a minute, but everything she said was... right. There was no way she’d have come up with any of that information without studying like, well, Twilight did, or trying it out herself. She’d ask Zecora to back up her story later, but all in all, it seemed...

“...well, Sweetie, I’d say you just passed round one.”

“YAY!”

Oh dear Celestia help me I’ve gone deaf.

Author's Note

Don't worry, the clop will be soon.

The next three chapters, in fact. Why do you think the interviews are one at a time?

Interviews 1: An Itch That Needs Vinyl-ing. ...wait.

Chapter 3: An Itch That Needs Vinyl-ing. ...wait.

Melody “Octavia” Scratch was used to a great many things. Loud music. Late nights. Fighting with her sister.

Fires in her house should not be on that list. She pondered this for a moment while she watched the flowers in her favorite vase in the middle of the coffee table burst into flames. No rhyme. No reason. Just foof. She tilted her head curiously at this development, as the mildly self-contained blaze came and went, leaving her favorite roses absolutely decimated by green flames.

“...Well, then. Time to get the Abusing Stick. Oh Vinyl~,” she crooned in her ‘nice voice’, getting up off the couch. She hadn’t made it halfway to the stairs, though, before she heard a soft ‘plop’ behind her. Turning to observe the source of the noise in the same world-weary manner she’d watched her centerpiece immolate, she raised an eyebrow in curiosity as a small scroll with a Royal Seal on it rolled to a stop near the edge of the table. “Oh. Well then. The Princess sent me a letter and set fire to my roses. ...I must admit that’s a new one.”

She heard from behind her, in a rather timid voice, “O-Octavia? Are you ok? You sounded upset.”

Octavia turned to glare at Vinyl, but decided against it as she reminded herself that her sister was not to blame for the loss of her flowers. “Oh, nothing. Just a knee-jerk reaction. We seem to have Royal Post,” she explained, waving a hoof to the small letter sitting on the table. “What exactly did you do this time?”

Vinyl had to think for a moment. Then, like many a time before, all the dogs started barking upstairs all at once, as realization crossed her face. “Oh! That must be a letter telling me about my interview today! Sweet!” Octavia heard the light hum of magic behind her and the brief shuffling of parchment as Vinyl levitated the notice across the room, unrolling it and reading it eagerly. “Cool, I got like, an hour to get there. Better get moving.” The white unicorn looked to her sister, who appeared for all the world like somepony had just smacked a dead fish across her face. “What?”

“You... you have a job interview?” the grey mare asked hesitantly. “At the castle? How?”

Vinyl smiled smugly, posing with an air of superiority as she explained, “I applied for an Apprenticeship with Her Highness Princess Twilight Sparkle! Not bad, huh?”

Octavia stopped thinking for a moment, completely lost in the series of words she’d just been presented with. “Eeeeehhhhhhhhh?!” she exclaimed, half her face going slack in confusion. “How did- what- I don’t- fuckin- HOW?!”

“Yeah, I had some free time and figured that setting myself up the cushiest job on the market would be a great time-sink. See ya later, sis! Also,” she added, pointing a hoof at Octavia’s twitching eyebrow, “You really should get that tick looked at. It’s kinda weirding me out.” She smiled and nodded goodbye as she slammed the door behind her.

Octavia stood in place for a moment as the entirety of the conversation finally sunk in. “WHAT THE FUCK?!”

Vinyl had been to the castle many times, and to be perfectly honest, she didn’t really see what everypony else thought was such a big deal. Yes, she understood the concept of priceless antiques, royal artwork, and the grand importance of where she was and who’s presence she was in. The reality of it, at least to her, was much less impressive; somepony had to rule the country, and it just so happened they’d been around for-fucking-ever. What really impressed her about the Princesses and their positions were what they actually did. Vinyl was never one to be impressed by titles.

Princess Celestia? Ran all of Equestria by herself for a thousand years, not to mention all the shit that goes with protecting it. Princess Luna? Ran it beforehoof, alongside her sister. Helped knock down Discord, Sombra, and a bunch of other baddies. Has a holiday named after her pure potential for pants-wetting badassery. Princess Cadence? Well, she wasn’t around Canterlot a whole bunch, but she did help kick in Sombra’s teeth that one time, and cuntpunt Crysalis halfway across the free world. She was also the Princess of Love, and was railing the Captain of the guard.

Props were to be had.

Princess Twilight, Vinyl mused with a smile, had done quite a lot in the time she’d been Princess, and the time before that. She’d saved both the leaders of the free world in like, a day, from a thousand-year-old chaos spell, re-unearthed the origins of ancient magic, and that wasn’t even touching on all the crazy shit she took care of before she went full alicorn.

And Vinyl was on her way to becoming her apprentice. Oh, fuck yeah.

The blue-maned musician trotted down the halls in what would appear to anypony else to be an aimless canter, but she knew where she was going. Whether or not she was paying attention was another story, as evidenced by her running full-on into something small, spiky, and male.

They both hit the ground with a collective “Oof.” Shaking her head and standing upright, she looked down at the dazed dragon kid and smiled. Pulling him up to a standing position with a quick levitation, she brushed the back of his head off a little. “Sorry, dude, got lost in thought. Whatcha doin’ out here?”

Spike smacked the side of his head to keep his eyes from spinning. “Ooh... I’ve been waiting for you. Well, I was about to, anyway. You’re here early Vinyl.”

The unicorn shrugged. “Not like I have anything better to do than an interview with the Princess, right? Besides, I think I remember somepony saying showing up early was a good first impression, or something. So anyway, is she ready? Or is there someplace I can sit and wait around?”

Spike was about to answer when the large door behind him swung open just enough for Twilight to poke her head out into the hall. “Oh, Spike, don’t forget to tell- Vinyl! Oh, nevermind! Come on in,” she said happily, swinging the door the rest of the way open, and ushering the white mare inside.

Vinyl smiled and waved hello as she walked into the throne room she’d been in earlier. She barely took notice of the guards on either side of the door, only remembering they were there by virtue of spotting the two next to the actual throne. “So what’s it like having guards all the time?” she asked casually.

Twilight walked past her as Vinyl stopped in the middle of the room, sitting on her haunches just in front of the throne. “Not as much fun as you’d think. We’re not allowed to 'fraternize'.” She emphasized the last word with air quotes, and punctuated the sentence with a heavy sigh. “Well, it’s good to see you show up early, at least. Thanks for coming.”

Oh, I’ll fraternize your horn off, baby, Vinyl thought to herself, making an attempt to hide a devilish grin. The Princess didn’t seem to notice. “Hey, thanks for having me. I know this ‘Apprenticeship’ thing is a little outside my area of expertise, but I’m still really glad you let me apply.”

Twilight chuckled at Vinyl’s eagerness. “Oh, don’t thank me yet. We still have an interview to do, you know. So, before that, is there anything you’d like to say in regards to your application? Some opening statements, as it were?”

Vinyl tapped her chin with her forehoof thoughtfully. “Hmm. I guess I should say that, even with all the awesome stuff on that flyer, my big interest is in scientific progress. I make a habit of tinkering with arcane technology for both work and pleasure, and I’ve seen it do some amazing stuff. I’d really like to be able to make something that useful available to everyone, and maybe start working on some devices that really level the tribal playing field.”

That last sentence caught the alicorn off guard. “What do you mean, ‘level the playing field?’ Are you concerned about tribal equality?”

Vinyl shook her head. “Not in a political sense, no. I don’t see a lot of tribalism or specieist types around, and those I do see get put in their place pretty quickly by anypony that cares. No, I’m more worried about stuff like making flying machines for non-pegasi, or devises that can do simple spells or magically mundane tasks that even an Earth pony could use. Like most of my sound systems, which can be run by basically anypony. I just have to make sure they’ve got some kind of magical charge, or give ‘em a good zap of electricity, and off they go. I just think that there are things in life you shouldn’t have to miss out on just because you weren’t born with the right parts.”

The smile on Twilight’s face was nothing short of approving, and radiant. “That, Vinyl, is a rather inspiring motivation. I’d still like to talk to you about what kind of background in magic and technology you have, and what some of your ideas are, of course. If you don’t mind?” she asked, motioning to the back room that she’d interviewed Sweetie in.

Vinyl nodded. “Ready when you are.”

An hour or so had passed in the study where Twilight and Vinyl were talking. “So, if you take some of the aether-optic cords used for lighting decorations for holidays, and widen them a bit, you can actually run magical currents through your devices?” Twilight asked curiously.

Vinyl nodded, pointing to one of many books they’d laid out on the table. “Exactly. It’s literally the exact same principle as the lighting fixtures, except you put frequency crystals at certain intervals to act as nodes that interpret different parts of the spell. Like here,” she pointed to a large blueprint she’d brought with her, indicating a specific part of the design. “If you run your typical mana current through this cord from here to here, it’s just gonna pour more energy into what it’s already doing, possibly causing an overload. But if you have a frequency node here,” she tapped another section, “that you can adjust physically to intersect the spell by making a physical connection with that expanse of optic cord, and that node has a predetermined spell matrix attached to it, the mana you’re running to here will actually deliver the effects of an entirely different spell. You can also use these nodes, and small optic cord splitters at certain intervals, to add or subtract power from different parts of the device.”

Twilight was particularly amazed at such intricate uses of such basic principles. Using a crystal as a spell focus was an old-school method used to help students cast spells they weren’t normal supposed to know, without teaching them knowledge beyond their years. But using said crystals to change the function of a device? “What, exactly, does this device do, anyway?”

Vinyl smiled, happy to answer the question. “Well, you see this flat panel here?” Twilight nodded. “That’s actually a micro-lattice of thousands of tiny photocrystals. Basically really really tiny versions of Heart’s Warming lights. All these tiny tiny cords are set to deliver specific mana currents at regular, and ridiculously fast, intervals, to change the color of each crystal in the panel, which is actually the display. I’m working on a partner device that’s still wayyy in the alpha stages that is designed to capture live pictures of real-time events, translate those images into a series of color-coding spells, and transmit that information to the base control node here,” another tap on the blueprint, “which will be responsible for the distribution of steady and regulated mana bursts that correlate with the signal you get from the other device, and thus display it on the micro-lattice. I call it Spectravision. Still kinda working on the name,” she added sheepishly, realizing it sounded much cooler in her head.

Twilight was amazed at the detail and progress Vinyl had made in her concepts for such a useful device. “Do you have a working prototype?” she asked hopefully.

Vinyl laughed shortly. “Ha! Yeah, no. This is so far from actually building the thing it’s crazy. Right now all I have is a bunch of theories and concepts. It sounds really good and looks decent on paper, but I’ve done some of the really heavy research on putting that many spell matrices that close together and running that many aether-optic cables together that closely with that much power, and lets just say if I built it the way it’s designed right now it’d be considered a threat to national security.”

Twilight looked disheartened at not having a physical device to observe and tinker with, but another part of her was very hopeful. “Well, Vinyl, I can honestly say you’ve got the mind for the work, and your drive and initiative on doing all of this yourself is extremely impressive. I’d love to have you back for the next part of the application process.”

Vinyl grinned widely, and gave herself a small cheer. “Yesss,” she hissed, sitting on her haunches and pumping her hoof in the air. She looked up to see Twilight levitating all the books off the table, getting ready to put them away. Vinyl, seeing a few she’d missed, and her blueprint, made to do the same. It was as she was picking up her blueprint, however, that something happened. Twilight, either not seeing Vinyl’s move to help, or trying to gather up her applicant/guests materials for them as a polite gesture, made to levitate the large sheet of paper at the same time.

Their auras met, at the middle, as bright violet met pale white, and each let loose a small gasp as the overlapping magic sparked. They could each feel the feedback from one another’s spells, and both dropped the drawing at the same time, letting it bounce harmlessly back onto the table. Gracefully, Twilight had kept hold of all the books she’d been already carrying.

Vinyl did not. The tomes fell into a small pile around her, and she flinched as they hit the ground with large thuds. “I-sorry. Didn’t see you were goin’ for it,” she apologized, taking a moment to catch her breath before picking up the books again.

Twilight smiled, her cheeks slightly flushed. “Oh, no, it’s ok. I wasn’t paying attention, just grabbing stuff up. You ok?”

The white unicorn, despite having taken a moment to calm down, was still slightly breathless. The spark of magic meeting magic had been... exhilarating. “Huh? Oh, yeah. I’ll be fine.” Wow. She’s... potent. She looked up to see Twilight setting the last of her books away. Apparently she’d lost herself in thought long enough for the purple alicorn to do most of her work. Just as Twilight was getting ready to leave, however, Vinyl found the rest of her voice. “H-Hey, Twilight! Oh, shi- I mean, Princess!”

Twilight turned around, raising an eyebrow at the musician. “Yes Vinyl?”

“You... uh... you said earlier that you weren’t allowed to like, fraternize with the guards, or whatever. Do you... I don’t know... wanna fraternize with me?” ...that is the stupidest fucking thing I’ve ever said.

The princess looked taken aback for a moment, at first because she didn’t understand what she was being asked, then once more when the realization hit her. “Well... Vinyl...” she sighed as a thought struck her. “Listen, if you’re looking to get a step ahead of the competition, that’s not the way to do it.”

Vinyl shook her head, setting the books down in a pile on the desk. She jogged up to Twilight, holding out a hoof for her to stop. “No, that’s not what... Ok, I can see where it looks like that. Yeah, it looks really suspicious. But I honestly wouldn’t forgive me if I lowered myself to sleeping around to get a better job.”

Twilight raised an eyebrow. “Ok, I can understand that. So why...” she trailed off, leaving the obvious question in the air.

Vinyl returned the confused expression. “Um, how about, ‘You’re really hot?’ or ‘I’ve kind of been staring at your flank since you moved to Ponyville two years ago?’ or ‘That magical spark thing back there was a major turn on?’ Look, I get my timing sucks. It usually does. My sister seems to love reminding me of that. But I mean, how often am I going to get an opportunity like this? Alone with the freakin’ Princess of Magic in her private study? I’m not dumb enough to think this Apprenticeship is a sure thing, and to be honest, I’d rather go through the whole application and lose knowing I’d at least asked then go a whole year working with you and not saying a word.”

Twilight was taken aback yet again, and at somewhat of a loss for words. “Vinyl...”

“No, I get it. I’m totally impulsive, and being really inappropriate asking you to sleep with me out of the blue like that. It... happens more than you think. But now I’ve at least asked you, so if you don’t want to, can we at least pretend we didn’t have this conversation?” Vinyl ranted, growing more nervous by the moment.

“Vinyl-”

“I mean, I know it’s totally a bad idea to proposition a Princess, in her own study, when you’re asking for a job. That’s like, three strikes of stupid. But I really think-”

“VINYL!” Twilight barked, desperate to get a word in edgewise.

“...yeah?” the white mare asked.

Twilight sighed, and looked around the room, as if to reconfirm the presence of only the two of them. “Can I tell you a small secret?”

Not sure where she was going with this, Scratch just nodded.

The princess took a moment to compose herself, then took a few steps towards the musician, until they were a breath away. She looked Vinyl in the eyes for a moment....

And flung her hooves around the other mare’s neck. “Oh thank youuuuuuu,” she cried, squeezing Vinyl around the neck until the blue-maned minstrel thought she would pass out. “I have been positively aching for somepony to roll around in the hay with! Do you have any idea how annoying it is when somepony tells you ‘Oh, hey, we’re giving you this round-the-clock guard unit of really attractive and muscular stallions that all have like, years of endurance and strength training, but you can’t touch or flirt with any of them!” Twilight had foregone choking Vinyl, and instead took to standing right in front of her and ranting. “I’m not gonna lie, half of this apprenticeship thingy was so I could find somepony smart enough to keep me on my toes and sexy enough to sweep me off them. And no,” she added quickly, “I didn’t do anything with Sweetie Belle. She just came in here, set off a damn brain bomb, and walked off. Kid’s like... Raincolt or something, I dunno. But you!” Twilight punctuated her sentence by draping herself over a now extremely confused Vinyl’s neck. “Ooh, I saw you yesterday and remembered you from Ponyville. Ooh, the things I wanna do to that flank!”

Vinyl Scratch was a pony that rarely had nothing to say to any given situation. Now was no exception. “So, the short and skinny of it is...” she said slyly, once her brain had caught up to the present.

Twilight hugged her closer, and pressed her muzzle firmly against Vinyl’s. Their lips met and neither one of them wasted time in opening their mouths to let their tongues explore the other mare’s. Finally getting caught up with her current... predicament, the musician returned the embrace, tucking a hoof behind Twilight’s head and tilting it slightly to guide the kiss, and deepen it.

Moments passed where the only sounds in the room were the breathless, muffled sighs of the two mares and the soft, wet slurping noises of their oral exchange. Then, pulling back just enough to break free, Twilight caught Vinyl with a seductive stare. The musician mewled in anticipation of what would happen next.

“The short and skinny of it is,” Twilight answered, “get over here and fuck me."

It was all the motivation the white unicorn needed. She lifted the Princess off her feet in a sweep of levitation, and planted the nonresistant alicorn in a library chair. Twilight looked up with an expectant, half-lidded smile as Vinyl pulled herself up to straddle the purple mare in the chair.

From her vantage point, Vinyl could literally feel the beginning of heat radiating from Twilight’s crotch. The spreading warmth to match her own slowly building arousal left a light fog in her head, as she leaned forward and let the full weight of her chest lean in on Twilight’s sturdier frame. Vinyl brought her lips down on the other mare’s again as she leaned heavily into her embrace.

Twilight pulled the musician even closer, if that were possible, gripping the mare’s flanks firmly in her hooves and lifting herself up to grind slowly against the DJ’s whole body. She moaned blissfully into the other mare’s mouth as her wings unconsciously wrapped themselves around her partner. A slight shift in gravity made her aware of the precocious position of the chair, so she absentmindedly set a small spell in place to glue the infernally teetering seat to the floor. Returning her full attention to Vinyl, she noticed just what her wings had been doing without her noticing, and an idea struck.

Moving the tips of her wings farther down Vinyl’s back, she loosened their grip on her body just enough that the tips of her feathers drew tickling patterns up and down the other mare’s flank.

The effect was immediate. Vinyl broke the kiss with a loud gasp, and groaned pleasantly as she arched her back into the soft, graceful touch of the alicorn’s wings. “Ooh, hell yeah,” she moaned, pressing her pelvis further into Twilight’s hips as downy wingtips played mercilessly with the skin around her Cutie Mark. She looked down with a lustful expression at the alicorn. “You got anything -softer- to play on?” she asked huskily.

Twilight didn’t hesitate. In a second she teleported them both to her bedroom, far removed from the study and well and tightly locked. Of course, she took the opportunity presented to put herself on top when the two of them reappeared. She smiled down at the breathless musician with that same half-lidded expression, dropping down to kiss her roughly and all but push her farther into the silk sheets.

Vinyl wasn’t complaining, instead moving her arms from around Twilight’s neck to explore the rest of her body. Her hooves stopped as she brushed the base of the purple mare’s wings, and a gasp escaped the amorous mare as a new sensation stole her attention. “Oh! I didn’t know they were so... sensitive...” she trailed off, almost gasping for air, as she looked from her now fully-extended wings to the mischievously grinning Ms. Scratch.

“Oh they are, are they?” Vinyl teased, pressing softly on the muscle tissue at the base of Twilight’s wing joint. Another gasp escaped the bookworm as she arched her back, grinding herself slowly against Vinyl’s soft fur. The gesture only invigorated Vinyl’s attentions, as well as bring to mind the now radiant heat from both of their nether regions. The unicorn shuffled her lower extremities a bit, wiggling one hind leg between Twilight’s, arching the limb to press firmly into her partner’s slit.

Each tender motion or amorous gesture elicited squeaks, moans, and excited gasps from the Princess. Vinyl worked the muscled in Twilight’s wing joints, pulled her body flush against the soft-well, tended fur of the alicorn, and pressed her thigh firmly into her ‘victim’s’ crotch. Overcome by the sexy assault, Twilight could only move and grind according to the guiding gestures of the much more experienced party-girl. “Ah, I didn’t know you could... hah... do that with a wing...” she panted.

“Oh, I’m not done yet,” Vinyl jeered, moving her hooves from the base of Twilight’s wings to her rounded flanks, massaging the alicorn’s cutie mark tenderly. Twilight barely noticed as Vinyl’s horn began to glow, and didn’t even pay attention to the magical aura surrounding her wings until she felt the warmth of the spell flow over her feathers and joints.

“Wait, what are you... hah...” her words were lost in lustful panting as Vinyl sent soft pulses of vibration through Twilight’s wings. Unused to any kind of stimulation in her new limbs, let alone the relentlessly pleasant pulsing of Vinyl’s massage spell, her back arched and she ground her crotch into Vinyl’s leg so hard she thought she would bruise. Or, the thought would come to mind, if not for the soft pink haze slowly settling over her thoughts. She had enough presence of mind, though, to tense the muscles in her hind leg, namely the one settled between Vinyl’s thighs, and press firmly forward, using the involuntary arch of her back to guide the slender limb back and forth across Vinyl’s lips.

“Whoa... hey... that’s not...” Vinyl gasped, taken aback by the stimulation. She leaned forward, foregoing the flank massage in favor of gripping Twilight’s ass and pulling the two of them as close together as it was possible for two ponies to be.

The sounds of gasping and moaning filled the room as the two mares’ focus was reduced to lustfully grinding against each other, as what little of Vinyl’s focus remained was put towards surrounding the both of them with the massage spell, and turning it up a few dozen notches. Heavy, measured pulses of warm pressure worked their way up and down the two mares’ bodies as they mindlessly pressed themselves together in rhythmic thrusts.

It didn’t take long for either of them to break after that, as the warmth and vibrations of the spell and each other’s bodies eroded all resistance and focus. Twilight and Vinyl cried out one at a time as their bodies gave in to nearly explosive orgasms, clenching each other tightly as the muscles all across their bodies spasmed in satisfaction. Twilight even went so far as to clamp her mouth down on Vinyl’s neck, stifling her screams as her body all but abused itself in spasmodic bliss.

Once they had both settled down, they laid beside each other, their breath coming in shallow, ragged gasps. Weak, sloppy grins plastered on their faces, they simply laid there and stared at each other for a while.

After a few almost-silent moments, Vinyl asked, “So, boss, about round two?”

Twilight’s eyes lit up as she stretched playfully. “Oh hell yes round two,” she exclaimed, wrapping her hooves around the white mare’s neck.

Vinyl laughed. “Uh, I meant the application?”

Twilight caught herself, and laughed along with Vinyl. “Yes, that too,” she said, planting a small kiss on Vinyl’s cheek.

Author's Note

I have officially lost my clop-writing virginity. I'm no stranger to writing smut, however, but I await the scathing abusive words from my over-expectant and over-entitled readers.

Love you guys.

Interviews 2: Fleur Your Entertainment

Chapter 4
Interviews 2: Fleur Your Entertainment

Fleur Dee Lis laid about her house with a well-practiced air of nonchalance. Gazing lazily about her living room from her position on the couch, she waited with nay an observable care in the world. Her eyes rolled slowly across the many decorations she had acquired; some of them gifts from past lovers, others charitable donations from lusting hopefuls, and still more pieces she had acquired herself for some reason or another.

All in all she truly despised the place, and needed rather desperately to redecorate. Nothing matched, at all. It was almost criminal.

She waved a noncommittal hoof in the air, barely visible from the other side of couch she’d sprawled herself over. In an instant, a row of ponies appeared before her: butler, maid, and somepony in a suit she honestly couldn’t remembered if she’d fired or not. Or merely intended to. Or maybe that was his brother?

“Yes, m’lady,” said the maid. The other two stayed perfectly quiet. It was an unspoken rule and no small matter that males in her household did not speak unless spoken to. Considering the types she’d... “brought home” in the past, regardless of motivation, Fleur was very adamant that there be as little chatter from the menfolk as possible. Not that she denied them any other rights. They were treated as equals in every other respect.

She just didn’t want to hear them talk. “Yes, Featherduster, I have some rather important business for you,” Fleur said loftily, her gaze landing on the other two ponies to let them know she was, in fact, addressing all of them.

The maid bowed prettily, and the men dipped their heads. “Yes, Miss Fleur. How can we be of service?”

“As you know, I am to be called upon by the Princess either this afternoon or the next. While I am gone, on either day, I want you to go through this room... nay, the entire house, and dustbin absolutely all of these tacky decorations.”

Featherduster, returning her gaze to her mistress, raised an eyebrow. “All of them?” she asked with a knowing smile.

Fleur sat up a little, and nodded. “Well, I trust you’ll know which ones to keep. The rest... do whatever. Give Chef something to beat his cooks around the head with. Just get them off my walls. If anypony on staff wants to keep any of the gaudy things, I say let them. And when I get back, I am hiring an interior decorator and we are going to make this house glow. I may be having the Princess as company sometime soon, after all.”

Featherduster gave Fleur her utmost attention, nodding in all the right places and smiling happily. She had basically been given free reign to loot, burn, or repurpose almost every decoration in the house. And of course she knew which ones to keep. She cleaned the place daily. “Of course, I look forward to it, Miss.”

Fleur returned her maid’s now mischievous grin. “I know you do.”

Just then, there was a soft flash of green fire just above the table, doing well away with an “unfortunately” flammable ornate wooden doll from North Zebrica. In all honesty Fleur couldn’t even remember where she got it. A small scroll rolled about in the dust, which Fleur floated to her and read hungrily, her expression turning from lazy and amused to hungry and full of anticipation.

Featherduster and the two silent stallions looked about, not sure what to do with the sudden tiny arson they’d just witnessed. A small cough from their mistress diverted their attention before they could ponder to thoroughly on the subject. “It seems you’ll have the afternoon to have your way with my decor, Feather,” Fleur explained. Her grin grew wider, her eyelids drooping in what could only be construed as barely-concealed lust. “It’s time for me to go to work.”

Watching Dee Lis stroll out of the house, Feather turned to her coworkers. “Alright, boys. Let’s have ourselves a firesale.”

Fleur chuckled to herself as she heard the raucous cheers and crashing from the other side of her front door.

“And that,” Twilight explained, as she closed a rather large book in front of her, “is the basic outline of the Apprenticeship program. Curriculum, duties, and expectations. Did you have any other questions, Miss Dee Lis?” The alicorn looked up expectantly at the pearlescent mare across the table from her. Much of her initial shock and awe at the unicorn’s delightful appearance had worn off since the start of their conversation. Of course, Spike had had to poke her several times to keep her from drooling on the floor. More than she was, anyway.

Fleur looked thoughtfully at the book, and the last fizzles of magic faded away from her horn as she set her quill down on the parchment she’d been taking notes on. Taping one elegant hoof to her chin, she smiled. “Yes, in fact. Do you mind?” Her tone was soft and considerate, with just a hint of curiosity.

Twilight smiled and shook her head slightly. “Not at all, in fact I encourage it. Curiosity and inquisition are the foundations of a good researcher, after all.”

The pale unicorn raised a subtle eyebrow at the opportunity to make a “curiosity” remark, but moved along, “I was wondering what your basis for theory is. I understand you are an avid pupil of Starswirl the Bearded’s works?”

The Princess’s head bobbed up and down avidly in agreement. “Oh, yes! His work on morphic spell structures and mana fluidity are simply divine in their ease and efficiency! Are you also a fan?”

Fleur rolled her shoulders in a silky shrug. “I respect his work and it’s applications, certainly. But I’m actually more keen on the less simplistic and more dynamic structures and formulae of Lady Spelldust. I find I have a predisposition for the kind of magic she describes.”

Twilight shrank away in hesitation. “Wasn’t... wasn’t she the countess who ground up dead unicorn’s horns and mixed them with dragon’s blood for her... more debasing rituals?”

Fleur waved off the alicorn’s concerns with a smile. “Yes, that much is true, but I was referring more to her work on alicium development techniques. She was a student of Chorus the Crazy, after all. They’ve both done some rather fascinating studies in the field of meditation and spellcrafting. I try not to focus on her... less savory deeds, when she’d done some rather remarkably practical work.”

Twilight seemed pleased with that answer, returning to her original position. “I will admit Spelldust had made quite a difference in how we understand alicium. But I always found her formulae and techniques too complicated in proportion to the work you’re trying to accomplish. I always found it a tad impractical.”

Not one to be outdone so easily, Fleur adopted a more studious pose, settling in for what could be a long verbal exchange. “Yes, but that’s because she was replacing physical components with somatic and verbal. While it does make for much longer casting times, there are many techniques that can shorten or even eliminate those components in small doses. Speaking long-term, Spelldust’s approach is just more... frugal.”

Twilight gave a small, thoughtful “hmm.” “I can understand taking the opportunity where it lies to save money on spell components. If you don’t have the resources to acquire them naturally, buying them outright can be rather expensive. And I imagine you don’t get all of that money by spending it, right?” She asked playfully.

Fleur nodded and smiled in agreement. “Exactly. And all that practice with more complicated methods makes the simpler ones an absolute breeze. I’d say something like, ‘You can’t imagine the kind of time you save with the everyday tasks that way,’ but I mean, let’s be honest. Look who I’m talking to,” she added, waving a hoof in Twilight’s direction.

The purple mare smiled and blushed at the flattery. “Well, I do know what you mean. Now then, it seems you have the kind of practical knowledge I’m looking for, and you do come with some rather impressive letters of recommendation,” she noted, leafing through a small stack of papers to her left. Along with Fleur’s resume, there were several recommendations, and some showcasing of her charity work and public service. “Although I am surprised you had this all ready on such short notice.”

“You can’t exactly be ‘well-connected’ if all those connections drag their hooves." A light, magical hum of telekinesis could be heard as Fleur drew out of her bag a small ornamental piece. Fragile-looking, and comprised of gold and various jewels, Twilight recognized it instantly.

“Is that a crystal lattice? It looks rather delicate. What’s it for?” she asked, leaning across the table in curiosity. The piece looked much like a small crown or circlet, save for the metal workings in the middle of the circle leading to a central crystal that Twilight saw was a small ruby.

“It’s a design of my own making that I thought I would bring with me as a small demonstration. Considering my... competition,” she said thoughtfully, as if considering the word, “I thought it best to have some kind of physical evidence of my work. It’s an illusion spell that I use rather often when communicating with far-away friends and associates. It’s basically a tape-recorder, to put it crudely.” She laid it gently on the table, and leaned forward, hovering her horn above the crystal. Before she tapped it, however, she sat back, and looked at the Princess with an earnest expression. “However, the spell in this lattice is... unique. And there is something I would like to ask you before I activate it, in the spirit of honesty.”

Her curiosity piqued, Twilight nodded for her to continue.

“Twilight, what is your opinion on... hypnosis?” Fleur asked.

The Princess looked at her carefully. “...it depends. I know there are many kinds. There’s hypnosis that is... voluntary, for lack of a better word. As in it only works if the subject wants it too, and is comfortable with the suggestions. The kind that can’t make you do anything you don’t want to. Then there’s special kinds of mental magic, that can force a pony to do just about anything against their will. It’s rare, powerful, and atrocious.” The alicorn’s eyes slanted as she asked, “Why are you asking me this now?”

Fleur took a breath. “Because the spell in this lattice is one designed for, as you called it, voluntary hypnosis. It’s used for meditation, relaxation, and a few more... creative applications. But I didn’t want to activate it without first telling you what it was. Nor did I want to do so before you had given me an answer as to whether or not I was a viable candidate for your Apprenticeship. I pride myself on getting where I am based on hard work and intelligence. Manipulation is for less intelligent ponies of ill intent.”

Twilight shuffled in her seat, a little uncomfortable. Finally, she straightened herself. “Well. I appreciate your honesty, Fleur. I can understand well the allure of using less... favorable means to get what you want. So, since you’ve been honest with me, I should return the favor.” Inhaling softly, she elaborated, “I am happy to consider you for the Apprenticeship, and will have you through to the next round. As for your earlier question, about my opinion on hypnosis... I didn’t exactly answer it, did I?”

A soft smile graced the pearl mare’s features. “No, you didn’t,” she answered, her voice gentle and patient.

Twilight looked around, as if expecting to see somepony else in the room. “I... am aware of some of it’s other applications. The trouble with it, I find, lies in finding someone you believe to be trustworthy enough to... relinquish yourself to. It can be quite fun, I think,” she mused, a small smirk tugging at the corners of her muzzle, “If you have somepony who knows what they’re doing. So, I should ask, what is it you were planning on doing with that lattice, anyway?”

The apprentice hopeful tapped the middle crystal with her horn, and the lattice came alive. Gentle motes of light sprung forth from the various crystals, in all sorts of colors like the gems they sprouted from. The ruby in the middle pulsed softly as it drew the motes into the center in a light spiral. “I was originally intending to just show you the interweaving illusion spells. But I knew you’d recognize the pattern for what it was, a hypnotic focus, and I thought it best to let you know ahead of time.”

Twilight’s gaze settled on the gentle swirling pattern. “That was certainly a good idea...” she trailed off, her voice relaxed as she leaned forward.

Fleur tapped a sharp note on the table with her hoof, and Twilight sprung to attention. Looking about her in a light daze, Fleur apologized, “Forgive me, your Highness, but I thought it best to keep you... attentive while I explained things. If you would like me to demonstrate...” Fleur let the sentence hang in the air, a suggestive grin playing at her lips.

Twilight entertained the thought, more than intrigued, and for a variety of reasons. Erotic hypnosis was always something she’d wanted to try, given the opportunity. And finding somepony willing to do as... tricky. It wasn’t exactly a topic for polite conversation. She considered the mare in front of her, the pearlescent female that she was obviously attracted to. Who had more than enough sense and decency to prelude the offer with what amounted to a disclaimer and an honest request for employment. She could easily have just let Twilight sink into the pattern, and planted the idea of spending more time with her into the alicorn’s subconscious, spurring on her decision to allow her the opportunity to become her apprentice. Instead, she had addressed the issue head-on, and saved the opportunity for hypnotic play as an afterthought.

All of which was great justification for Twilight to let the mare in front of her have her less-than-polite way with the eager alicorn. “I think,” she added, adopting a thoughtful pose, “That I would like to try. Very much.” She returned her gaze to the other mare, who smiled knowingly, with more than a little mischief playing at the corners of her mouth.

“I’m glad to hear it,” she said softly, the smallest hint of a laugh in her voice. She gestured back to the lattice, guiding Twilight’s gaze back to the gentle spiral. Almost at once Twilight’s expression relaxed, her eyes slowly rotating as she found a color she liked and followed it. Fleur noticed her interest, and asked gently, “Did you see something you like?”

Twilight nodded. “There’s... a small trace of yellow. My favorite color. I’m just watching it,” she said matter-of-factly, as if she was less being entranced and more studying a textbook. Of course, to the studious ex-librarian, there wasn’t much of a difference.

Fleur filed the tidbit away for future use. “I’m glad. Although it seems to be moving rather slowly. Do you want me to make it go faster?” she offered, her horn glowing slightly as the pattern picked up speed.

Twilight frowned gently as her eyes moved faster. “No... it’s too quick. Making me dizzy. Slow it down a little,” she asked. Her voice was quieter than before, as she put less effort into talking. The unicorn obliged, her horn’s glow pulsing gently as the pattern slowed its pace. Soon enough it returned to its normal speed, and Twilight’s expression once again relaxed as she sighed contentedly. “Thank you.”

Her head jerked slightly as Fleur almost nodded, then realized the purple mare couldn’t see her, and so the gesture would be pointless. Instead, she opted to wait for a few moments while Twilight stared at the lattice for a time. Normally, she would guide her “subject” with gentle prompts and suggestions, asking them leading questions and giving soft encouragement. Instead, she decided to remain quiet, waiting until Twilight led herself into a more comfortable state of mind.

It was when she noticed the alicorn’s eyelids start to flutter that she reengaged herself. “Twilight?” she asked in a quiet tone, so as not to startle the other mare and shake her out of her almost-trance.

“Hmm?” the Princess asked, not looking up. She was putting minimal effort into talking now, letting herself relax fully. It was apparent that she was very eager to let herself go, something that Fleur found both interesting and exciting. not to mention it would make the initial stages of hypnosis much easier.

“I’m going to walk around the table Twilight, and stand next to you. I don’t want you to be surprised, ok?” she explained, as Twilight nodded her acknowledgment. “In fact, I’m going to walk slowly, steadily around the table. I want you to focus on the sound of my hooves, ok? Just relax, and don’t move. Just think about the sound my hooves make while I walk, ok?”

“O... ok,” Twilight murmured. ‘She’ll give up verbalizing entirely unless I ask her too, soon enough, Fleur thought, slightly amused. She gently lowered herself from her chair, and set her hooves down on the ground. Once she was on all fours, she stepped, carefully and evenly, forward. Keeping her tempo even, she craned her neck to watch Twilight as she moved gently around the long table in the middle of the room. She made a point to step heavier the farther she got, just enough to not let the sound fade to terribly across the study room. She noticed Twilight’s ears twitch with each step, as her eyelids fluttered slightly. Coming around the other side of the table, she saw that even the alicorn’s breath had slowed to match her steady pace. Which is just what she wanted.

Arriving next to Twilight, she addressed her “subject” again. “Twilight,” she said simply, waiting for acknowledgment. The purple mare nodded. “Good. I want you to keep breathing like that, ok?” she asked politely. Another nod. “Good. It’s easy, isn’t it? Just sitting there, staring at the light.” Nod. “Would you mind if I touched your back?”

Twilight nodded once more, a small smile tugging at her otherwise blank expression. Fleur raised a graceful hoof to hover above Twilight’s wing joints. “Thank you,” she breathed. She laid her hoof gently at the nape of Twilight’s neck. Almost at once, she felt a slight shudder. At first she was afraid Twilight would snap out of it, but instead she just craned her neck slightly, giving a soft hum. Fleur took it as a green light to continue. Watching the gentle rise and fall, in and out of Twilight’s breathing, she paced gentle strokes across the alicorn’s back to match the tempo of inhale, exhale. Each teasing brush of her hoof across the mare’s fur caused Twilight to raise her neck, or arch her back just slightly. Eventually, her wings started to twitch, and the unicorn got an idea.

“Twilight,” she addressed the mare again.

“Hmmmm,” she purred, both recognizing her name and an invitation.

“I would like to ask you a question. Ok?” Another small nod. “Would you like me to massage your wings?”

Twilight’s feathers quivered in anticipation as she breathed her answer. “Yes,” she said huskily, not raising her eyes from the lattice. Fleur noticed she wasn’t following the color anymore, just staring hungrily into the pattern. She smiled. “Thank you,” she said softly, removing her hoof from Twilight’s back, and tucking it under the alicorn’s wing. It was limp and relaxed in her hoof, as Twilight awaited whatever it was she was going to do. “Now Twilight, like before, I want you to focus on my hooves. But instead of the sound, I want you to focus on my touch, alright?”

“Mm-hmm,” her voice grew louder, more excited. Fleur caught a whiff of anticipation from her nethers.

Gently stroking along the edges of the wing, Fleur hummed softly. She pressed gently into the joints and the indent at the top of the wing, where the feathers met the fur. After a few measured strokes, she addressed Twilight again. “Now, Twilight. I want you to imagine for me. Every time I stroke your wing, you’re going to feel something, undertand? Your body is going to relax, slowly going numb. You won’t fall over, no. But the more I stroke your wing, the less you’ll be able to move, ok?” with each question, Twilight nodded, indicating she understood. “Good, I’m also going to count, ok? But you don’t need to focus on that. Just let yourself relax and enjoy, just focus on your wings.”

Beginning to massage the Princess’s wings again, the pearl mare pressed firmly but gently into the tender flesh underneath the feathers. “One,” she whispered, giving a slow, steady stroke. “Two. Three. Four.” With each number, she saw Twilight’s body relax, give in, slowly droop into the table. She leaned herself steadily into the edge of the wood, until she was just lazily staring at the lattice, her whole body limp and almost unmoving, save for her deep, steady breaths. “Good, Twilight. Now, can you move?”

The unicorn felt the slightest twitch underneath her hooves. “No...” Twilight said, the slightest lilt of concern in her voice.

Fleur addressed the potential concern. “Well, do you want to move?”

Twilight sighed, a small smile playing on her lips. “Not... really...”

“Good. Now, I want you to imagine something else. I’m just going to keep stroking your wing. But instead of your wing, I want you to focus on your nethers. Imagine, with each stroke, a gentle brush across your lips. It can be as rough or as soft as you want. Just think about that, ok?” Twilight’s head bobbed slightly as her lazy smile grew into a sloppy grin. She hummed in agreement. “Good. Now, relax, and enjoy. One...” she said slowly, pressing more firmly into the wing, careful to keep the edges of her hoof at bay, and press with the broader surface. One small scratch, or jolt of pain, and Twilight could snap right out of it. And that would be no fun. “Two...” she felt Twilight shiver pleasantly, her hind legs twitching against each other. The smell grew more prominent as Twilight’s arousal intensified.

“Three...” another leg twitch, this time accompanied by a groan.

“Four... five... six...” with each stroke, Twilight’s quiet groans and twitches turned into moans and shakes, as her scent permeated the air and her thighs pressed against each other.

“Mmm, faster,” the alicorn pleaded, her voice rich and husky.

Fleur was happy to oblige. “Seven. Eight. Nine,” she counted out loud, her voice rising steadily as she moved from broad, slow strokes to shorter kneading motions, right around her wing joint. Just where the wing met Twilight’s back, she rolled her hoof along the tender flesh.

“Ooh... there... please...” Twilight moaned, her voice rising as she all but ground herself against the chair. Her frustration in being unable to move was apparent, but she had already submitted herself to her immobility.

Fleur forewent counting in favor of verbal encouragement. “That’s good, Twilight. You’re almost there. Just a little more. You like it here, don’t you?” she asked, her voice no longer a gentle whisper, instead an insistent egging tone to match Twilight’s louder and louder pleas.

“Yes, oh, Goddess, yes... Please! Ooh...”

Fleur leaned her muzzle in to hover just above Twilight’s back, where she had been massaging the entranced mare. Dropping her hoof, she wasted no time in replacing the grinding motions of her massage with firm bites and licks along the joint.

Twilight responded eagerly, crying loudly into the nigh-empty room as her imagination replaced the corners of her wing with her lower lips and clit. Her imagination took over her consciousness as she felt each stroke, lick, and nibble right where she wanted it.

With the smell of both mare’s arousal permeating the room, it was soon to much for the inexperienced Princess, as her whole body tensed all at once. Unable to flex or move herself into any position to brace against the waves of pleasure all but brow-beating her consciousness, her relaxed and pliable form took the full brunt of her orgasm. She yelled unintelligibly to the sky as her inner walls clenched unconsciously, spasming relentlessly even as Fleur continued to bite and lick and massage the joint that Twilight could no longer differentiate from her own privates.

With one last tensing motion, Twilight remained paralyzed in pleasure as, finally, her captor relaxed her ministrations, and let the alicorn relax once more.

Finally out of her orgasmic trance, Twilight had made a point to clean up the chair she’d soiled. And the floor. And the corner of the desk. Finally mopping up the last of the evidence of her orgasm, she turned an inquisitive stare on Fleur, who had taken to putting away the books and papers they’d forgotten about completely. The lattice was tucked away safely in her bag, to be used at a later date. “So, you seem to be rather practiced at that. Where did you learn something like erotic hypnosis for pegasi?”

The pearlescent mare shrugged and smiled wickedly. “Like I said. I’m well-connected. I have a pony for everything.”

Featherduster was just getting ready to send a rather gaudy-awful piece of Old Victorian decor, whatever the Tartarus it was supposed to be, tumbling to it’s death over the staircase. Then, as the final blow was about to be dealt, she felt a tickle in her nose. “Ha-achoo!” she sneezed cutely. The involuntary spasm sent the decoration flying, and crashing into fragile pieces against a far wall.

The pegasus maid grinned to herself. “Ohoh, talking about me again, Mistress?”

Author's Note

I've actually been looking forward to this scene, and am really happy the way it turned out. I had another idea for it, but it would make Fleur more of a manipulative bitch, and I actually really like this character, what little I've seen of her, and read. So I wanted to make her out to be a decent, dependable, and sexually devious pony. Of course she has her own agenda, but then, so do the other three. It's all about motivation.

And yes, for those of you who noticed, I am an Adam Lambert fan. I love him.

Maybe a little too much. :raritywink: