“So as you can see Princess Twilight, with this very modest sum we can begin construction within the month and create hundreds of jobs for ponies everywhere. Furthermore, the very marginal increase to the bit tax can easily be made up for in-”

A purple hoof was suddenly raised into the air, cutting the speaker short. On a throne constructed from a twisting curving tree sat the Alicorn Twilight, a bored look on her face, her horn glowing softly as she levitated a thick sheaf of papers near her head. “You can stop now, I've finished reading your report,” she said, levitating it back to the noble pony.

“You finished all of it?” he asked with a gasp.

“It was either that or fall asleep listening to your droning voice,” came the sarcastic reply. “The answer is no.”

“W-what? B-but the charts! And the graphs-”

“Are absolutely meaningless or otherwise grossly simplified. First, you're not going to evict anyone, even with compensation. Second, I am not going to raise the tax on the goods of your competitors. Third, the import tax is universal and exceptions are not going to be made for the sake of one business or any other and fourth...” At this the Alicorn practically threw the stack of papers at the cowering pony in front of her, “If you ever throw a huge stack of papers at me and expect me to read them, curb your pathetic tendency of repetition, punctuate properly, and put in some page numbers and a table of contents!”

Her horn glowed a bright violet and the door to her library slammed open, the earth pony quickly taking the invitation to turn tail and run.

“Geez Twilight, why didn't you just blast him and save some time?” said Spike with a chuckle. “Who was that pony anyways?”

“Another one of Blueblood's lackeys,” came the grumbled response. “I'd recognize his style over substance approach anywhere.”

“Again? That's like the fourth one this week!”

Twilight shifted, stretching her stiff wings as she moved off of her makeshift throne. Even two years hadn't gotten her anywhere close to being comfortable with them. “It's part of his political game. He'll have different ponies represent him, appeal at different angles and try to wear down resolve until he can get a compromise or a concession.”

Spike yawned and rolled up the scroll he had been taking notes on during the court and sent them off to Celestia for the official records. “I still say you should have just blasted him.”

Twilight giggled and gave the dragon a rub with her hoof. “Maybe you're right.” Levitating the fatigued dragon onto her back, Twilight took him upstairs to his bed before returning to her library. With a quick application of magic the wooden throne slid back into the body of the tree and several dozen books slid out from the shelves.

“Every faith in me huh Celestia?” she said as she began to pore over the law books once again. “Just couldn't wait to cut the hours of your court and foist your subjects onto me, could you?”

Despite her grumbling, there was no malice in it. It was very touching that her long time mentor and friend trusted her with a piece of her kingdom but she had much preferred it when her duties as a princess merely consisted of driving back whatever ancient evil was going on a rampage that week. Dealing with these nobles on a daily basis practically made her miss Chrysalis and Sombra.

Looking up from her pile of books, Twilight saw an equally large stack of books that remained untouched. Her own personal reading had been falling behind in service to the kingdom and every day it seemed like the leisure time she'd been having with her friends was being pushed to the side for more royal duties. It was only thanks to her organizing skills that she'd been able to squeeze in time for everyone as it was.

Being a princess sounded cute to little ponies but the reality was a sea full of monotony punctuated by brief moments of panic whenever a catastrophe showed up, and after a year Twilight was ready for a break.

“No vacation time, no leave of absence...going anywhere outside the borders causes hell for everyone,” she mumbled, looking over the text again. “Is it even possible to get a princess off the throne?”

Curiously her books were absent of those particular laws. Celestia had been a kind and just ruler for as long as anypony could remember so the issue of succession probably never came up. Well, at least not in her era.

“But what about the really old laws?” mused the purple Alicorn as she let her mind wander. It browsed through the Canterlot library, going back to dusty corners and old books but ultimately coming up empty. No, if she wanted to find old and ancient laws she had to go back even further. And that just left one place. “The castle of the two sisters,” she said aloud.

Her mind immediately rebelled at the thought. The Everfree Forest was bad enough during the day, but at night it was something else altogether. Still, her cutie mark wasn't just for decoration. Sitting down in the center of her library, Twilight closed her eyes and began to focus on her destination, picturing the castle in her mind while cutting off the outside world. Minutes passed and from the outside one might have assumed the Alicorn had gone to sleep. Suddenly though her eyes opened, showing a pure white light. Magic filled the room and in a bright flash, Twilight was gone.

Swaying around unsteadily after the long distance teleport, Twilight was thankful she had forgone dinner that evening. Taking a moment to regain her bearings, the Alicorn smiled as she found herself standing in the midst of the library, having hit her destination perfectly. It didn't take long to narrow down her search to the law books, most of them having remained untouched despite the expeditions to the castle to recover the lost literature.

Horn glowing softly, Twilight began to build a promising stack of books, pulling out several titles from the shelf and sorting them by apparent usefulness. As the stack grew and Twilight realized she was in for a long night, the glow from her horn expanded outwards, lighting the various lamps before she sat down to read.

Finding stupid laws didn't take long. According to these texts, eating daffodils on a Tuesday could net you prison time, and apparently there was a fine given to ponies who tried to perform exorcisms without a proper license, but nothing was forthcoming about her problem. An hour or two passed and the lights dimmed slightly as the magic began to fade. Much of the material was simply old versions of more current laws that had been revised and the nonstop reading marathon was beginning to make her head lull. Despite her drive and passion, there was only so much law a pony could take in one sitting.

After what seemed like an age and a half, a promising text appeared. Even with the magic put in place to preserve the tomes this one looked incredibly old and worn. Two minutes later and she had the solution in her hooves, though as she read through it, numerous questions sprang into her mind. Who in the heck had implemented this law? Had Celestia really approved it? The date of transcription and ratification put it only a couple years after Luna's banishment so it might have been a possible attempt to dethrone Celestia while she was emotionally weak and vulnerable.

Still, the law was perfect for her needs if perhaps a bit unorthodox. Celestia and Luna would most definitely strike it down within the year, and with King Sombra's near reincarnation fresh in everypony's minds no one was going to defend it save for the ones who held a grudge against her personally. Even better it would serve as a black mark against the very ponies who tried to enforce it.

A dozen pieces of parchment and quills flew from her saddlebags and spread out on a table. One set began writing a personal letter in neat, elegant script. The other set was transcribing the ancient law. The library filled with the sounds of scratching quills while Twilight concentrated at the center, focused on keeping everything moving.

Thirty minutes later and the task was done, the messages rolled up and tied with neat little bows, each one addressed to a specific noble pony. While there were plenty of intelligent ponies who played political games on a daily basis with Celestia and Luna, there were also plenty of hotheaded idiots who would jump at the chance to kick her off the throne for however briefly the law would stick.

“And maybe in a year or so I'll actually be ready for this mess Celestia threw into my lap,” she said to the empty library, stifling a yawn. Packing her saddlebags, Twilight prepared her long distance teleportation spell once again, aiming straight for her soft, warm bed.

The ground seemed to tremble slightly beneath the hooves of the guards stationed just outside Celestia's sleeping quarters. There was barely time for the two to share a nervous glance before the door burst open. With a furious look in her eyes and her mane slightly tangled, Luna stood before the two guards, radiating fury and making the air hum with barely restrained magic, a faint blue aura surrounding her. “I will speak with my sister!”

Her voice seemed to shake the walls ever so slightly. The guards couldn't have stood aside faster if the ground had been on fire. Flinging the doors open, Luna strode inside, a grim look on her face just visible to the guards before the door slammed shut.

In the next moment a muffled sound was heard behind the door that could only have been described as a wail. “Sister! They're trying to take Twilight away from us!”

Celestia's eyes snapped open at her sister's panicked voice, her horn glowing and activating the lights in the room, illuminating the lunar mare who appeared to be trembling with rage.

“Luna, what on Equestria is the matter?” said Celestia calmly, doing an impressive job of maintaining her composure despite having just woken up. Pushing off her covers and rising to her hooves, the sun princess nearly stumbled backwards as a thick scroll was shoved at her face.

“This was delivered to us not even an hour past,” explained Luna as Celestia unrolled it and began to read while using small applications of magic to make herself more presentable. “I had hoped it was merely a jest, but they referenced the appropriate texts and I've confirmed myself that there has been no revisions to the law since its creation!”

Celestia's look shifted from mild confusion and concern to one of disbelief before developing a very slight but noticeable twitch. “How in the name of Equestria did they find out about this?”

“So it is true?” asked Luna, her voice rising in pitch. “How did a law like this ever pass?”

Celestia sighed. “It was one of many attempts pushed forward by the nobility at the time to try and remove me from power...shortly after I had banished Nightmare Moon.”

“And you let it go?”

“Fulfilling the law back in those days was a fairly simple task, especially for a powerful and beautiful Alicorn like myself,” she replied with the hint of a smile. “Finding twenty ponies to dedicate their lives to me was not a challenge, so I let the law slide as to allow my focus to be maintained elsewhere.”

“But after all this time why does it remain?”

“You of all ponies should know just how hard changing a law can be, even one as flawed as this. It was more convenient to simply let it fade into obscurity since there was no reason to enact it...at least until Twilight.”

“And yet they've found out regardless,” said Luna mournfully. “What are we to do sister? You and I could easily fulfill these requirements but Twilight is...well...she's-”

“Twilight,” finished Celestia flatly, getting a glum nod from her sister. “Please do not worry yourself Luna, this law would only see her dethroned for a year or two at most while we worked to remove it. In the meantime though we can do our best to help Twilight meet the requirements.”

There was a moment of hesitance before Luna spoke again. “Could I be of assistance in this endeavor?”

Celestia blinked, briefly floored by the question. “I don't think you can be numbered among the twenty, but it might do my old student good to have some...royal guidance all the same.”

Taking that as her sister's blessing, Luna unfurled her wings and sped off to prepare while Celestia looked over the noble's letter once again. “This has your hoofprints all over it my old student,” she said with some amusement. It was remarkably devious for her, using her own political foes predictable habits to her own ends. “But what sort of friend would I be if I let my fellow princess fall from her throne?”

Twilight's accession and taking on of royal duties had been a breath of fresh air to her. Banishing herself into the sun was preferable to letting Twilight slip away that easily. Pulling out a golden quill, Celestia began to write out a message. “It's a good thing you have so many understanding friends willing to help out in such a trying time.”

Beside her on several blank pieces of paper, the same message began to appear, addressed to five particular ponies.

To my dear subject Rarity,

First allow me to give you my deepest thanks for being such a good friend to Twilight. Her letters during her first year as a princess have contained no small praise for the help you have provided her.

Unfortunately, any pony in politics has their dissenters and Twilight Sparkle is no different. Enclosed within this message is an excerpt of the law certain ponies are trying to enforce upon her and while in time I will be able to strike it down, I would greatly prefer it if it is avoided altogether.

Naturally, I would never force anypony into such a task, but any help you can provide in this matter would be greatly appreciated.

Sincerely,

Princess Celestia

Concern rising, Rarity unrolled the other scroll and began to read through the law. “Let's see here, twenty members...mares or stallions...species not defined...intimate binding...slave collars? Oh my...”

The scroll wasn't a long read but Rarity took several minutes to read through it multiple times. “This can't be a real law,” she said finally. If it was though, Twilight's dethronement was almost a certainty. “Well, perhaps a certainty if we leave her to handle it on her own,” she corrected aloud.

Moving to a corner of her kitchen, the mare pulled aside a red curtain. Behind was a glass case with a magically preserved cupcake inside coated with delicious looking frosting and sprinkles that seemed to glitter against the sun. Pulling out a golden key, Rarity opened the case and slowly lifted the glass covering, wincing as an unearthly amount of pure, concentrated sugar seemed to fill her senses and slowly permeate everything in her shop. Mentally beginning a countdown from five, she had just gotten to three before the door to her home crashed open.

“I smell a cupcake!”

Rolling her eyes, Rarity tossed the cupcake into the air with her magic and watched as a pink blur devoured it in an instant, the party pony letting out a shudder as the sweetness infused her body. “Ahhh...it's like sugar in the shape of a cupcake,” she said with glee. “Oh hey Rarity! What am I doing in your shop?”

“I need you to call together the others except Twilight and bring them here. This is an emergency.”

Pinkie looked surprisingly serious. “How bad?”

Rarity thought about that for a second. “As bad as decaf.”

Pinkie's eyes widened impossibly large as she sucked in a breath. “I'll get right on it!”

“Yes, do that, but remember, no Twilight!”

It took less than ten minutes for Pinkie to find the others and bring them to order for the decaf level crisis, and by that time Rarity had fixed up a few small snacks for everyone and had pulled together a small bulletin and presentation. “Thank you all for coming so quickly,” said Rarity, floating each pony their own parchment and quill. Anypony walking in might have thought that a board meeting was ongoing.

“Ya'll can't tell me this law is real, can ya?” said Applejack, holding up a copy of Celestia's letter. “Slavery ain't been legal fer...I don' even know how long! Long as Celestia's been on the throne!”

“Wait, slaves? That's what this is about?” asked Rainbow Dash in shock. “I just thought it was some stupid legal jargon.”

“T-that's just terrible, how could Celestia allow something like this?” said Fluttershy with no small amount of concern.

“It's not...quite slavery,” said Rarity carefully tiptoeing around the word. “But just so we're all clear about the situation, let's go over what needs to be done in order for Twilight to stay a princess.” The page on her poster board flipped over to a new page with several bullet points on it. “In two months time, if Twilight is unable to put together a harem consisting of no less than twenty members, she will lose both her throne and her title.”

“So why can't twenty ponies just pretend to be part of it?” asked Applejack. “Ah mean, just how much of a commitment is this?”

“So glad you asked Applejack,” said the designer, flipping over the page that showed off the title 'How to Join' in big bold letters. “First, Twilight has to construct a special collar and infuse it with her magic before placing it around a willing pony's neck. Second, the recipient must repeat the binding oath, chosen by Twilight. Lastly, the contract becomes magically and legally binding once...um...” Rarity hesitated at this, looking for words that wouldn't come. “Lastly Twilight must er...consummate the relationship and bind the other pony to her with the...energy of her release.”

There was silence around the table. Rainbow was the first to break it. “Meaning...what exactly?”

Beside her, Applejack facehooved. “Sex, Rainbow. They have to have sex.”

“Ohhh...yeah, Twilight is doomed then.”

“Rainbow!”

“What? Have any of you even seen her date another pony before?”

“Well there was that one handsome stallion who was part of the royal guard...Flash, was it?”

“That idiot ended up with a concussion and a dozen bruised ribs within the first five minutes of that 'date'. Are we really counting that one?”

“She did say it went better than her previous dates though,” protested the white mare weakly.

“She's still doomed and you know it.”

“Not if we help her as Celestia asked,” corrected Rarity. “I'll admit though, some of the other conditions of this law might be hard for other ponies to accept.”

“Like what?” asked Rainbow curiously.

“Well...any pony who becomes a part of Twilight's...harem would also be giving her control over all their possessions too.”

Applejack gave a low whistle at that. “Whoo wee, that's a tough sell. I mean, Twilight wouldn't abuse somethin' like that, but aside from us, who could we convince?”

“W-what? We're all joining?” came a soft squeak from Fluttershy. There was a silence as every pony at the table gave her a look. “I...I mean of course we're joining.”

“Maybe Twilight is only the second hardest pony to pull this off for,” said Pinkie with a grin and a nudge with her hoof.

“Well regardless, we'll need to find ponies who are open about sex and willing to be in an open relationship,” said Rarity finally.

“And really really kinky!” added Pinkie

Silence dominated the table for a little while until...

“Why is everypony looking at me?” grumbled Rainbow Dash.

Rarity gave a polite cough. “Well, you have impressed upon us certain stories about...various exploits you've done in the past.”

“And there are several dozen rumors about how you're never lonely on a Friday night...” added Applejack.

“And there was that one time at flight camp-”

Fluttershy suddenly found a cyan hoof covering her mouth. “We agreed not to speak of that Fluttershy,” came a low growl.

“The point is Rainbow, you seem like the type who would-”

“Not a chance!” came the sharp reply as Rainbow suddenly slammed all four hooves onto the table, making the dishes rattle.

Rarity was taken aback. “What? But I thought-”

“This is Twilight we're talking about! Do you think she deserves the type of pony you can find in a bar looking for a one night stand?”

“Well, when you put it like that...” murmured Applejack hesitantly.

“Our princess, our Twilight deserves the very best ponies for her harem! None of these status seekers or ladder climbers or people just looking to get with an Alicorn...Twilight needs a harem that reflects the awesome pony that she is!”

Rarity's eyes were positively shining by this point. “My goodness Rainbow, you're absolutely right. Nothing sub-standard for her!”

“Damn straight Rainbow!”

“We're going to get Twilight the sexiest ponies ever!” squealed Pinkie.

“Um...yaaaay...”

“Rarity, start making a list!” ordered the pegasus, the white unicorn quickly flipping to a blank sheet on her bulletin board. “I wanna hear the best ponies you can think of and our plans to convince them! Every pony you can think of! No pony is too awesome for Twilight!”

“Wow Dash, you're really excited about this!” said Pinkie with admiration.

“Well she never did get to go to that flight camp orgy-”

“Fluttershy!”

“Twilight, there's a letter from Celestia!”

The pony in question groaned as she turned over in her bed. She'd returned home rather early this morning and with two long distance teleportations added to that, the princess wanted nothing more than to curl up and stay asleep for another several hours. “It can wait,” she grumbled, already having a good idea what the letter contained.

The fur on her back rose as she felt the young dragon staring at her. “Oh no, it's that hay fever that's been going around, isn't it?”

Twilight blinked, the last vestiges of sleep escaping her as she suddenly felt the baby dragon's weight on the bed. “Wha-”

“Is it a magical curse?” came the panicked voice, a claw gently resting against her forehead right below her horn. “One of Zecora's potions? Did something traumatize you?”

Sleep fled in a hurry as Twilight recognized genuine panic in his voice. “What? No! Spike, I'm fine!” she finally got out, kicking off the covers and shaking off the warm blanket of sleep.

“But...you've never waited to read a letter from Celestia!” he accused. “You're a changeling aren't you?”

“Ughh...give me that!” she snapped, pulling the scroll from Spike's claw and sending him tumbling off the bed. Silently she read through the letter. The first part read out exactly like she expected, with Celestia explaining the situation and about the law itself, a smile working its way over her face as she read that Celestia was already working to overturn the law. The first part of the plan was coming to fruition.

The smile died a slow death as she read the second part.

In the meantime we should work to rectify what has happened. I shall be sending my sister along shortly with the supplies you'll need. I am also entrusting her with the task of instructing you in the finer points of developing and maintaining a harem. Lastly, I have given you access to the royal treasury to help you care for each pony's needs. I have every confidence that this task will be well within your ability and perhaps even an excellent learning experience.

Sincerely,

Princess Celestia

Twilight read the last part of the letter several times just to be sure she hadn't missed anything. “She actually expects me to go through with this?” she said aloud.

“With what exactly?” came Spike's voice as he peeked at the letter. “Twilight, what's a harem?”

Deciding that she didn't want to have this conversation right now or even years from now, Twilight quickly rolled up the letter and tucked it away. “I'll tell you when you're older. Much older. Right now I think we're going to be having-”

“Princess Twilight, it is I, Princess Luna!”

“-Princess Luna over in a bit,” she finished with a groan. “Could you put on some coffee?” The library didn't have a doorbell so Luna had improvised with her royal voice. Yawning and stretching her wings, Twilight began the long journey to the front door.

“I have come at the behest of my sister to instruct thee in the ways of perversion and pony pleasure!”

The Alicorn's eyes widened as Luna's voice rang loud enough for half of Ponyville to hear. Abandoning her leisurely pace, Twilight galloped to the library door and flung it open. “Luna! Inside voice!” she snapped with clear embarrassment.

The moon princess simply smiled at her. “Good morning to you as well Twilight Sparkle, I bring a gift from my sister.” An ornately carved box floated inside after Luna as she entered the library, the pair of lunar guards outside giving Twilight a nod before closing the door behind her.

Opening the box the young princess' eyes widened as she saw a set of twenty golden chokers, each one gleaming in the sunlight and set with three star-shaped amethyst stones in the pattern of her cutie mark. “Celestia made these herself?” asked Twilight with a bit of awe.

“Of course. She helped create them the moment the news of this reached her. You will still have to put the binding enchantments on yourself though.”

Closing the box, Twilight gathered her thoughts and pulled out her best diplomacy skills. “Look, Luna, I appreciate you and Celestia helping me with this, but I'm not really comfortable with the thought of 'owning' another pony and I don't think any pony would be comfortable being owned either...well, at least not any ponies I know.”

To her surprise, Luna chuckled, one of her hooves coming up to lightly stroke her back. “That innate respect you have for other ponies feelings is already a good sign that you'll fill this role wonderfully.”

“Um...thanks but I really don't see a plausible positive outcome from this,” she tried weakly. “I really think it would be best to just get the law repealed-”

Luna's hoof pushed softly against her muzzle, silencing her. “Allowing the nobles to even consider dethroning you is an even worse idea. It would set a precedent for them to perhaps try it against myself or Celestia in the future.”

Twilight had nothing to say to that so Luna took the opportunity to continue.

“Now, Celestia gave me a list of your traits and many of the fetishes you enjoy,” she said, pulling out a scroll.

“What? How could she possibly know that?” squeaked the younger Alicorn.

“The 'hiding a book inside a book' trick was old even when Celestia first came to the throne. Beyond that though, we're going to have to work on your submissive tendencies-”

“Submissive...what?” she deadpanned.

“-and your habit of shying away from affectionate contact.”

“I do not!” Her words were caught in her throat as she noticed Luna's sudden smile and almost predatory look.

“Oh really?” Luna stepped forward and Twilight found herself taking a step back. “Then kiss me.” Another step forward and Twilight found her back legs touching against one of the shelves.

“Luna, you can't just ask a pony something like that out of nowhere!”

The lunar mare chuckled as she stepped forward again, her muzzle nearly touching against Twilight's. “I believe my point has been proven, wouldn't you agree?”

Twilight groaned and slumped backwards onto her flank. “F-fine, maybe it's a little true.”

“Excellent! Now then, I have prepared a lecture for you with the help of my sister on the certain advantages Alicorns possess during intimacy.” Wrapped in the soft blue color of her magic, a poster board appeared along with a stand were set up while a pair of sharp spectacles appeared over her eyes.

“Where were you keeping all that?”

“Please hold your questions until after the lecture,” came the sharp reply, “and be sure to take good notes. Now then, let's start with foreplay and erogenous zones.”

Twilight twitched slightly but her quill was already starting to take notes automatically. 'It's only a couple months. Sixty days. Just make the effort, fail heroically, and then you're free for a couple years,' she told herself as Luna launched into her lecture with an almost worrying level of excitement.

Rarity's place was a mess, though surprisingly not one made up of fabrics and fashions. A single wall had been covered by a large sheet of paper with various pictures on it connected by strings to six ponies that made up the center of the diagram. Notes about various favors and angles of approach were prominent as well. At the table, five of those six ponies continued to work diligently through a huge stack of folders and photographs of potential members.

“Ah still can't believe ya had all this stuff just lying around Pinkie,” said Applejack as she set her stack aside.

“Well how else am I supposed to remember everypony's birthday, anniversary, work picnic party, and favorite party favors without them?”

“Honestly Ah thought you had all that memorized.”

“Oh I do! This is just the backup in case I suffer amnesia due to sugar overload!”

The ponies around the table briefly looked up from their work to try and comprehend just how much sugar that would take. “Not enough sugar in Ponyville,” said Rarity at last, the others making sounds of agreement.

“That's the last of them,” said Rainbow Dash, letting the last stack of folders hit the table with a thump. “How many do we have?”

“Nine, not including us,” said Fluttershy, flying in front of the board. “At least nine we all approve of,” she added. There was a large stack of folders that had been put into the 'maybe' pile, having been contested by one or more of the ponies.

“Well at the very least we have a place to start now. Does everypony have their assignment?” asked Rarity, pointedly looking at Fluttershy. There was a general murmur of agreement and a squeak from the shy pegasus. “Good, now let's help Pinkie get this stuff back to her place. I'm sure everypony will sleep better at night if they never see it.”

With the help of Applejack and a cart, the five of them managed to get the information that would have made Celestia's spymaster green with envy hidden away once again. A few goodbyes later and the others departed, leaving Rarity and Rainbow Dash alone to mull over the three folders they had selected for their first assignment.

“I must say, this is a rather ambitious choice even for the standards we set. Do you really think they'll go for this?”

“Are you kidding me? After those killer outfits the two of you put together there's no way they'll refuse. And really, how much more awesome can you get than the Wonderbolts?”

Rarity couldn't help but chuckle. “Not very much I suppose. Especially not since they're wearing my outfits.”

“Yours and Twilight's,” corrected Rainbow with a playful nudge of her hoof. “You never did tell me how you made them.”

“That's because it's a trade secret now,” teased the white mare.

“Aww...c'mon Rarity!”

“But since you're a terrible hoof with a needle and thread, I suppose it couldn't hurt to let you in on the secret.”

Several months earlier...

“Magical outfits?” asked a confused Twilight as she looked at Rainbow Dash from her seat on the throne. The normally brash pegasus seemed unusually nervous in front of her right now, a clear sign that she wanted something from 'Princess' Twilight rather than normal Twilight.

“Yeah, for like aerial acrobatics and high speed maneuvers.”

The Alicorn considered the question for a bit. “Have you tried a Wonderbolts uniform? They come specially made with materials and enchantments for lessening wind resistance, thread durability, and-”

“I destroyed it.”

“You what?”

Rainbow Dash groaned, clearly embarrassed. “I got to try one of those uniforms on recently and I went for a spin. It was awesome and all but then I tried a sonic rainboom...”

Twilight sighed. “Completely shredded it?”

“Like you wouldn't believe. Seriously though, the rainboom is my signature move! How am I supposed to be a Wonderbolt if I can't wear the uniform and pull it off without ripping it apart?”

Twilight puzzled over the problem. Wonderbolt uniforms were already a seriously complex piece of magic and Rainbow's sheer speed seemed to defy the laws of nature and physics as it was.

“It's not just my problem either. All of the Wonderbolts go through their outfits pretty fast. I've heard Spitfire and Fleetfoot complain that they can't really cut loose either.”

The Alicorn's eyes narrowed slightly as she picked up the subtle signs of her friend's nervous twitches. She could tell Rainbow was slightly embarrassed to ask this of her. It had probably taken her some time, agonizing over her pride before she'd worked up the courage to ask. “Alright Rainbow, I can help you,” said the Princess with a nod

Her head perked up. “Really?”

“Yes, really...hopefully,” she corrected. Hopping off her throne, Rainbow watched with interest as Twilight went into full princess mode. “Crimson, Stalwart, go tell the ponies outside that court is closing early today. If any of them are not nobles, offer them free room and board at the local inn until court resumes.”

Twilight's two personal guards snapped off a salute and moved to do just that. “Spike, take a letter. Ask Celestia if she would be kind enough to forward me the relevant texts on the Wonderbolt uniforms and potential enchantments for such clothing.”

Spike looked uncomfortable. “Ugh, Twilight you know how my stomach gets when Celestia sends whole books over.”

“Did I mention that there's ice cream in it for you?”

Spike's claw practically flew as he wrote out the message and sent it away in a flash of fire. “Done and done.”

“Rainbow Dash!”

The pegasus practically snapped to attention as she spoke. “Yes Princess?” The address, not unlike how Rainbow Dash spoke to her superiors at the Wonderbolts academy made Twilight giggle.

“Find Rarity and tell her to bring her A-Game.”

“Wait, why are we going over this part? I was there for that!”

“It's for completion's sake dear, now hush and let me finish the story.”

Barely able to contain her excitement, Rainbow snapped off a salute and flew from the library. Fetching the unicorn took some time though, as even at her fastest there were many things to gather and being prepared was more important than being punctual in this case, no matter how much Rainbow insisted otherwise.

Upon finally getting back to Twilight's place, Rainbow saw the throne room had been morphed into a study. Several volumes had been put into a stack, and in the corner Spike groaned quietly while nursing his stomach.

“I came as quickly as I could Twilight,” said Rarity, ignoring Rainbow's snort. “What is all this fuss about?”

“Your biggest break ever,” said Twilight with a grin, handing Rarity a scroll with Celestia's seal on it.

Rarity read it over in silence, her eyes slowly widening. “Wonderbolt outfits? Those would be seen all over Equestria! Oh my...this is...” she trailed off, feeling a bout of dizziness, but before she could faint backwards the warm comforting tingle of Twilight's magic enveloped her and kept her upright.

“Pass out later Rarity, I need some help with this right now.” Quickly composing herself, the mare nodded and joined Twilight at the table.

The conversation quickly went over Rainbow's head but she got the general gist of it as Twilight laid out the problem and the exact calculations of how much force the clothing would have to stand, along with the necessary magical retention the fabric would need as well.

“My, that is quite a challenging problem. Really it all comes down to the materials and the tools though.”

“What about the materials you have on hand?”

“I can't imagine I would possess something that a royal commissioner would not. From what I've studied it would be difficult to improve upon them without more exotic materials.”

“How exotic are we talking? Dragon scales?”

“Good heavens no. Dragon scales are naturally resistant to magic and while they're certainly strong and lightweight, they just don't have the flexibility of fabrics for precise movement. And that's before even considering how ornery dragons can get about their scales to begin with.”

“Looks like you're safe for now Spike,” teased Twilight. The dragon only groaned in response. “So give me some ideas then. Don't worry about how hard they are to acquire, just tell me what will work.”

The two mares began to brainstorm and the list began to fill. Furs of various animals were present, though most would likely be rejected outright later due to the difficulty and morally gray area they rested at in terms of fashion. Other types of scales were suggested too, or at least Rainbow thought a Quetzalcoatl was a scaly thing, but she didn't recognize half the things on the list.

Once they'd filled out a sheet between them they began to strike off potential targets. Twilight pointed out the creatures that were merely myths and legends with too little information to go on while Rarity struck things based on the difficulty of crafting and encumbrance on a Pegasus. Soon the list was down to a single entry that fit all of the requirements.

“Everfree spiders...ugh, I knew it was going to come to this,” said the unicorn with a moan.

“Well they are the most logical option. Strong as steel under the right conditions, able to hold enchantments, accessible to us in large quantities...it fits perfectly.”

“But...spiders! Are you sure we shouldn't go with the Quetzalcoatl?”

“Rarity...”

“Alright, alright! Spiders it is,” she lamented with a full body shiver, “but I'm not going to like it!”

“Well honestly Rarity if you don't want to go you don't have to. I can just bring Stalwart and Crimson along and collect the materials we need.”

“No, I couldn't do that. I'll need to assess the quality of the silk and I won't know the exact quantity I'll need until I've practiced with it a bit. I know the theory behind working it, but this will be my first practical application.”

Pulling out a few books from the stack, Twilight levitated them to Rarity. “There's a few sections on spider silk in those you can look at if you'd like. I'll need to send out a few messages to make sure I don't cause a panic while I'm gone.”

Rarity chuckled and placed the books in her bags. “Not as easy to drop everything and go on an adventure when you're a princess is it?”

“Only when the danger is right in your face,” she grumbled. “And it's not an adventure, it's a diplomatic mission...of sorts. At least that's what I'll be telling Celestia. Spike?”

Another groan, though it was less pained this time.

“Take another ten minutes,” she said, correcting herself in mid-thought. “I've got a list to make.”

“That reminds me, what happened to you while Twilight and I were speaking?” asked Rarity, briefly pausing in the recount of her tale.

Rainbow chuckled nervously. “I uh...kinda split while you guys were going over the monsters. I had an early shift the day after and it's not like you two needed my help.”

“Well I suppose I can't blame you for that,” said Rarity, surprising the pegasus. “She's quite passionate about her research, sometimes exhaustively so. It took me a while to even skim through the reading material she gave me.”

“Right, right, I get it. Now about those spiders-”

The unicorn sighed. “Yes, of course. Well, you remember when we traveled through the Appaloosan Mountain Range to get to the Changeling Kingdom?”

Rainbow groaned. “Ugh, don't remind me...wait, you mean you actually went after those giant spiders in the old gem mine? Twilight couldn't even make a dent in them last time!”

Rarity simply smirked. “Twilight Sparkle may have had some trouble with them, yes. Princess Twilight on the other hand...”

“Was...all of this...really necessary?” huffed Crimson as he and his fellow guard pulled a wooden cart behind them laden with Rarity's brightly colored bags.

“No, in fact I'd say about eighty percent of it won't be used. However, we're also not sure what twenty percent we need either so we're bringing a hundred percent, got it?”

“Yes Princess, my apologies,” said Crimson quickly, fighting back a groan as he and Stalwart continued over the uneven road.

“Twilight dear, I don't mean to presume but how exactly do you plan on dealing with these spiders? Our last encounter with them did not go terribly well.”

“Oh I've learned a few things since then,” said Twilight with a grin. “A couple spells, a few tricks here and there, you don't need to worry.”

“Dear me Twilight, it almost sounds like you're looking forward to some payback.”

Putting on her best accent Twilight brushed her mane aside and scoffed. “Me? Stoop to such things as petty payback? Never. I merely came here to negotiate...with a certain level of menace.”

Behind them Stalwart and Crimson looked on as they struggled with the cart. “It's like looking at a younger version of Celestia,” remarked the first.

“Nnhh...maybe, but even Celestia doesn't pack this much,” he groaned.

“I still say it beats standing at attention all day.”

“Can't argue with that. The last time someone actually tried to attack Celestia she was so eager for a break in the tedium she took care of things herself and gave the throne room a new sunroof.”

“And now our youngest princess is about to go do battle with giant spiders. She really is Celestia's student.”

“If you two have breath to talk, use it to pull faster,” came Twilight's sing-song voice.

“Yes princess,” came two grumbled replies.

Despite their complaints, the party of four continued at a steady pace, moving across the plains which were slowly turning into a wooded area that ended abruptly at the foot of the ominous cave. It looked no less imposing than last time, and the mouth now had an addition to it from princess Twilight herself placed at the foot of the gigantic diamond dog statues that rested on either side of the entrance.

“A Diamond Dog mine?” asked Crimson with a trace of nervousness.

“It's long been abandoned,” said Twilight casually.

“Why?”

“It seems the Diamond Dogs dug too greedily...and too deep.”

“R-really?”

“No, the mine just stopped being profitable so they closed it down.”

“Oh...”

“Is that going to be a problem?” asked Rarity, pointing towards the sign warning of the high risk of cave-ins. “I remember the construction here being quite sturdy save for that one changeling induced cave-in.”

Twilight chuckled. “It's a bit of a fib. If we put up a sign that just said 'DANGER' it would only make ponies curious. If we mentioned giant spiders, we'd have to deal with idiotic adventurers trying to make a name for themselves. No one is going to risk a ton of rocks falling on them though. Oh, were you able to finish the gift?”

“Well, it's not my best work since I had to make it more durable than my usual fare, but yes, I did finish it.”

“Thanks Rarity, I know how you hate to work on such short notice.” With a flick of her tail and a quick bit of magic, a bright ball of light emerged from her horn and lit up the darkened cave.

The sounds of wildlife faded almost instantly as they entered, the echo of their hooves filling the stale air along with the faint hum of Twilight's magic. While the cave may have looked creepy from the outside, traveling through it was almost mundane.

“Po...nays?”

The voice made the party stop in their tracks, the two guards quickly freeing themselves from the cart as they stood beside Twilight. There was a faint rumbling as dust shook from the walls of the cave while the sound slowly got louder.

“Princess?” asked Stalwart worriedly.

“Relax,” said Twilight, her horn glowing as a large package the size of a stallion was withdrawn from the cart. “This possibility was in the top ten points on my list.”

“PO-NAYS?”

The cave shook and a few loose rocks fell from the ceiling to the ground, though any in danger of hitting the group were quickly levitated away.

“Stand down you two. Rarity? Now!”

The mare's horn glowed and the package in front of them seemed to shine with its own radiance, the unicorn stepping behind it as if it were a shield. “What is it?” asked Crimson finally.

“Tribute.”

“PONAYS!”

The cave gave a final shake and suddenly the owner of the voice appeared, a cave troll at least ten times the size of a stallion, wearing only a loincloth over his tough gray hide. His rampage was stopped quite suddenly as he saw the comparably large box, a gigantic fist reaching towards it and tearing away the top.

Inside was one of Rarity's mannequins, though heavily altered and re-purposed to allow the limbs more flexible movement and positioning. It had a full mane and tail as well made from silk threads and a very impressive set of clothes.

“Is that...a life sized pony doll?” asked Stalwart in a hushed tone as the troll looked over the gift wide eyed, moving a cautious hand towards it.

“Troll sized pony doll,” corrected Twilight as she stood easily in front of him, not shying away in the slightest.

“PONAY!” he cried out, finally grabbing the offering and brushing a thick finger through the mane. It took him a while to even look beyond his gift and the destroyed box, but he seemed to recognize the Alicorn standing there. “TWALAH!”

Very subtly, Twilight let her magic flow from her horn, gently casting a spell to tone down the bellowing words coming from the troll's mouth. “It's good to see you again Jim.”

Jim smiled, showing off a row of diamond teeth that glittered in the light of Twilight's magic while he continued to pet his new toy. “Pink ponay?” he asked inquisitively.

“I'm sorry Jim, Pinkie couldn't make it today, but your birthday is coming soon, right?” His head nodded enthusiastically. “And you know she'd never miss out on a party for a friend, right?” Another nod. “And she probably has an awesome gift planned too.” It was almost dizzying to watch his nodding head at this point.

“So what are you going to call your new pony?”

The troll seemed to give the dilemma serious thought before proudly proclaiming, “Timmeh!”

Rarity twitched. “T-Timmy? That pony is clearly a mare you rock headed idi-mmphh!”

Twilight smiled and continued to keep a hoof over Rarity's muzzle. “Well I'm sure Timmy would love to meet his new friends, wouldn't he? But before you go, can you point us to where Fwuffy is?”

“Fwuffy?” muttered Crimson under his breath.

The troll pointed the direction before happily stomping off, the rumbles slowly dying away. Twilight waited until they had faded completely before removing her hoof from Rarity's mouth. “Let it go Rarity, it's his doll after all.”

“B-but Timmy! And George-”

“Are wonderful pony names,” insisted Twilight, pulling the distraught unicorn behind her towards Fwuffy's lair, the two stunned guards grabbing the cart and following behind.

“Wait wait wait...Pinkie's throwing parties for a cave troll now? What does that even look like? Who does she invite?” asked Rainbow, mouth slightly agape.

“I believe she managed to track down his family with a little help from Twilight. Personally I've never been to one, but whatever Pinkie does seems to satisfy him.”

“You know, one of these days I'm going to stop being surprised at the stuff Pinkie pulls...”

“Now that would be the biggest surprise of all. Anyways, not long after that we finally made it to Fwuffy's lair...”

“You two can put that down now, we're here,” said Twilight finally, her relaxed posture sliding away as she moved into the more open cavern. There was a satisfied groan as the stallions did just that and let the cart rest on the ground.

“Are you sure about that? This place looks just as abandoned as the rest of the mine,” said Stalwart, stepping forward.

In response, Twilight let the ball of violet light brighten and rise into the air, illuminating a tangled weave of webs and almost thirty glowing eyes looking down at them. Most of the spiders were pony sized and smaller, but the party's eyes were immediately drawn to the largest and meanest looking of the bunch.

Almost as big as the cave troll from before, the angry red colored spider carefully slung down from the webs towards the ground. He had a pair of eye-patches across two of his four eyes. His body was scarred, showing signs of numerous conflicts and fights and his narrowed eyes made it clear he was not happy to see the princess in front of him.

“Stay back you two, I'll handle this,” said Twilight, stepping forward with a small, almost creepy smile on her face. “Hello Fwuffy.” The name drew a noticeable tick and the eight legs stabbed into the ground as he approached.

“I hope you and Jim have been getting along okay,” said the Alicorn, her words prodding at the sore spot of his last defeat by the cave troll. “I've come as a representative-”

Rarity couldn't help but gasp as a torrent of web shot out, the sticky mass hurtling towards the Alicorn...who suddenly disappeared in a flash of violet light before reappearing inches away from where the webbing struck.

“-of Equestria in the hopes that we can offer a trade,” finished Twilight, continuing on as though she hadn't just been attacked. This only seemed to make the spider more angry. One of his legs struck out, but Twilight was gone again, reappearing behind him this time.

“As a princess of Equestria I should warn you that any further acts of aggression is going to merit-” Another crash as the spider slammed his leg down on the teleporting pony who appeared on his back. “-serious repercussions.”

Panicked, the spider tried to roll but Twilight merely hopped off, extending her wings and floating gracefully to the ground. “Have it your way then.” Another flash and suddenly the giant spider was in a ring of Twilights.

“Dear Celestia that's one hell of an illusion,” said Stalwart, an impressed look on his face.

Flailing at the center of the ring, the spider lashed out at the images, his legs slicing through one illusion after another, but while his strikes cracked the stone beneath them, he never seemed to find the real one. An almost blinding light began to fill the cave as all of the horns began to charge, the spider's eyes widening as he placed two legs in front of his head, bracing himself.

The wave of released magical energy made all of the ponies fur stand on end and when the light faded there was only a single Twilight and a downed spider, a magical burn mark on his underside and a dazed look on his face.

“Now then, are you ready to talk civilly?” said Twilight with false sweetness as she stood over him. Despite his position of defeat, he looked away defiantly only for Twilight to magically grab both of his eye patches and pull his head back into place.

“Let me make your situation clear to you Fwuffy.” There was a bit of a growl in the Alicorn's voice now. “You are in Equestria under the sovereignty of Princess Celestia. You've attacked innocent travelers at least once that I know of, and now you've just attacked royalty. The BEST you can hope for at this point is eviction and exile...or you can do me a small favor and I might just forget about you once I leave here.”

While it wasn't quite a Fluttershy stare, it definitely seemed to have a similar effect.

“My, I've never known Twilight could be so intimidating,” said Rarity.

“She's been cooped up in that library doing Princess things for weeks,” explained Stalwart. “This was probably some great stress relief.”

Rarity paused in her retelling of the story so Rainbow could finish laughing. “Seriously? Our egghead pulled off something like that?”

“Well, she doesn't quite have the voice of Luna, but she's certainly getting there.”

“I would pay good bits to see Twilight shout someone into submission with that,” said Rainbow with a giggle, stretching her wings a bit. She'd been listening to Rarity's story for a while now and even though she itched to get back into the air, the tale was interesting enough to keep her attention.

“So what happened next?”

“The spiders were quite helpful after the fact, giving me a lot of their silk to work with. After a few hours I managed to determine the type and quantity that I needed and we had a rather uneventful trip back.”

“Wow, I never really knew how much effort you put into those things. Guess I owe you and Twilight more than I thought.”

“Nonsense. I did get a lovely commission from Celestia for my work and the opportunity to play around with a new material. Twilight even came through with a special needle designed specifically to handle the silk.”

“Cool! What's it made out of?” asked Rainbow, watching as Rarity pulled out a small plastic box from a drawer with a vaguely black colored needle inside.

“I didn't ask, but it certainly did the trick.”

Looking curiously at it, Rainbow's eyes widened. “Rarity...that's an Ursa Major claw!”

“Really? Are you sure?”

“Daring Do is never wrong about these things,” said Rainbow confidently. “She had an entire section of one of her books about having to get a claw from one to complete some sort of ancient puzzle. How did Twilight get a hold of one?”

“Well she is a Princess now, perhaps she has connections.”

“Or she did the awesome thing and beat up an Ursa Major just like Daring Do!”

Rarity rolled her eyes. “Well regardless, it worked well and afterwords she put some sort of enchantment on the outfits I couldn't even begin to recognize.”

“Well if the Wonderbolts are anything to go on, whatever she did worked. Even Celestia said that their latest shows were the best she's seen in ages.”

“You haven't tried yours out yet?” asked Rarity, slightly puzzled.

“Er...well...it just wouldn't feel right using it unless I was actually a Wonderbolt, you know?” came the sheepish reply. “I'm keeping it perfectly preserved until I've reached my goal. Something to look forward to.”

“I suppose I can understand that, though it's going to drive me crazy not knowing if it fits or not. So how do you plan on approaching the Wonderbolts?”

“Oh I think I've got an idea...”

CRASH!

The door to the Wonderbolt lounge suddenly burst open as a cascade of rainbow colors flew inside, slightly out of breath. The three pegasi who had been inside jerked to their feet.

“Spitfire! Fleetfoot! Soarin!”

“Rainbow Dash, explain yourself!” came Spitfire's sharp voice, immediately making the cyan pegasus stand to attention.

Taking a deep breath, Rainbow let it all out at once. “A bunch of stupid nobles found a stupid law and are going to take away Twilight's title of Princess unless she gets a harem of twenty mares and or stallions in sixty days and we want you to be a part of it because you're all really awesome and Twilight is awesome too...ma'am.”

There was a small silence following the torrent of words as the three front fliers of the Wonderbolts looked between themselves and nodded to one another. Finally Spitfire looked back towards Rainbow.

“Tell us more.”

Author's Note

Concept borrowed from KnightMysterio's story Twilight's Harem. Picture borrowed and altered from Chameleon55.

Comments and Critiques are greatly appreciated.