The Art of Seduction

“Twiliiight, are you sure I have to go? I don’t even wanna go! The last time I went to Canterlot on Royal Business it was one of the worst, most boring things I ever had to sit through.”

Spike folded his arms and pouted, trying to make a firm point on his stance.

Twilight tutted at him. “Spike, please, you’re summoned there on only the most important of conferences from leaders around the planet-”

“I send messages back and forth to the ones who don’t show up,” said Spike bitterly. “All I do is sit on a cushion and burp.”

“Oooh,” the purple alicorn felt the tips of her primary feathers grazing the floor. It was something she was still getting used to. The wings attached to her sides were tied to her mood somehow, flaring out when surprised or tightening against her sides when worried. Right now, her assistant’s attitude towards another visit was making her feel a little down, so that’s where her wings went.

“Princess Celestia needs you, Spike. You are important to her,” Twilight levitated his sleepover knapsack next to the front door. “After all, you are the only messenger dragon in Equestria... that isn’t intent on eating anypony.”

Spike harrumphed. “Last time I left you had a sleepover with Rarity.”

Twilight bit her lip. “Well... I didn’t plan it, Spike. It just sort of happened.”

“How come it happens when I leave for 3 days!”

“Applejack was there too, y’know,” mentioned Twilight, trying to move the conversation away from Rarity. “I spent a lot of time not having fun either. They were too busy fighting.”

Spike frowned. “Fighting? Over what?”

“Uh... not over anything. They just weren’t particularly friendly at that time,” Twilight recalled just how unfriendly the two ponies had been, and gritted her teeth at how more than three quarters of her first fun sleepover had been spent trying to ignore their antics.

“Twilight?”

“Yes Spike?”

“If I leave, do you promise not to have another sleepover with Rarity?”

Spike looked up at Twilight with a face carved dead set serious.

“Well... alright. No sleepovers. I know how much you’d want to be present for one of those, and it would be mean of me to hold another sleepover without you.”

Though it’s what he wanted to hear, Spike didn’t answer at first. One of the Pegasus guards glanced through the library window and gave the recently coronated Princess a courtesy nod, followed by a stern glance at Spike.

“There’s no problems for sleepovers involving my other friends, right, Spike?”

“Nope,” Spike’s demeanor brightened a little. “But the next time Rarity’s there, let me know. I want to be there for it!”

“Glad to hear that, Spike,” Twilight swept Spike up and flew into the air, giving her assistant a warm hug. “Now, head out to the carriage and try to have a good time in Canterlot. “

“I’ll try,” muttered Spike, dropping down to the floor and walking out the door. “See you Monday!”

The front door shut with a bang, and Twilight drifted to the window, seeing Spike off as he disappeared into the clouds. While foreign affairs were something she was keen on being a part of at least once, Princess Celestia had recommended she take a month or so to finish up any projects or experiments that had been otherwise put aside for whatever reason. Royal duties would interfere with her normally freed up schedule for experimentation, and Twilight happily agreed.

There were a few things on her list that she just had to try, and with her amplified power, she was sure they could be achieved.

Twilight’s horn buzzed to life, grabbing a copy of Trials of Transmogrification and a plate of cookies Spike had prepared for her before his departure, heading downstairs to the basement- this time remembering to fold her wings so as to not bruise the bones on the doorway again.

It was going to be a fun few days.

***

“I’m jus’ tellin’ ya, it’s not somethin’ ya have to do every single time ya see her!”

Rarity rolled her lovely blue eyes at Applejack. “It’s customary to bow to royalty twice in their presence; once when you first approach them and once more at your departure. We’ve always bent our forelegs at Celestia’s presence, her younger sister as well. Why should Princess Twilight Sparkle be any different?”

“Mostly ‘cause she politely asked us not to,” scoffed Applejack.

“Be that as it may, it’s still proper tradition to bow.”

Applejack raised an eyebrow. “She told you twice if I remember correctly, a bit more sternly than the rest of us.”

“She’s still royalty and I will treat her as such,” said Rarity stubbornly.

“Rarity, she doesn’t want that. Quit the bowing and treat her like regular old Twilight Sparkle. For her sake. You don’t want the Princess to see you as annoying now, do ya?”

That statement struck a chord with the uptight unicorn, and Rarity sighed in defeat.

“Oh... I suppose you are right after all,” said Rarity, a small smile creasing her lips. “You have a knack for seeing situations clearly, something I lack occasionally.”

“Hush now, ya’ll just tend to focus on one aspect too closely. Sorta blocks out the rest of your sensibilities sometimes.”

Applejack broke into a laugh at Rarity’s huffy expression, but otherwise kept quiet as the flustered unicorn composed herself.

“I suppose you even have a clever farm related analogy that you’d like to bestow upon me as well?” Rarity asked.

“Nah, seems like ya got me quick enough.”

Rarity simply tilted her head expectantly.

“Well alright...” Applejack blushed. “A golden apple is still an apple.”

Rarity broke into a titter. “I swear Applejack, one day you must collect all these sayings of yours into a book of sorts. They are simply delightful!”

The pair of ponies rounded the corner to Sugarcube Corner. It was nearly noon and as scheduled until the seven o’clock thunderstorm, there were clear skies all around. Rarity broke into a brisk trot once the castle was in sight.

“So what’re ya’ll returning to Twilight anyways?”

“Just a romance novel I’ve rented for myself,” Rarity’s horn buzzed, and said novel flew out of her cutie mark embroidered saddlebag into Applejack’s view.

“Wild Willows?” Applejack read aloud, eyeing the flowery embroidered title with unfamiliarity. There was a handsome dark unicorn stallion on the front and a slim, white pegasus with brown curly locks of hair pressing herself against his chest and kissing him deeply. “What kind of book is this again?”

“High romance,” Rarity levitated the novel back into her saddlebags. “Willow is the pegasus mare on the cover with that handsome stallion prince in her wings. There were many, many mares vying for Roebuck’s attention, but it was this ordinary looking mare in particular who managed to woo him.”

“She does strike me as a plain Jane,” commented Applejack.

“Yes, the writing is superb and the imagery magnificent,” Rarity sighed, recalling some of the more colorful scenes spun by the author. “Unfortunately it’s a wholly unrealistic outcome for dear Willow.

Applejack cocked her head and thought for a moment. “Why is that?”

“Because out of all Roebucks admirers and options he did end up choosing this… very regular and plain mare,” a small smile graced Rarity’s face. “That’s something that just doesn’t happen.”

“Really now?” Applejack stopped in her tracks. Rarity paused as well and shot her friend a quizzical look. Unperturbed, Applejack continued. “How’s it unrealistic? In real life stallions and mares get hitched all the time without worrying willy nilly about how they present themselves.”

“Not in my experience,” said Rarity briskly.

“Excuse me?”

“To be perfectly clear, when there’s a slew of choices between any number of mares, a stallion will find himself attracted to the one who catches his eye the most. Namely, the one who chooses to wear the right mix of fashion coupled with charm,” Rarity swished her curly purple mane, “being simple simply does not net one what they want.”

“Maybe the reason this Roebuck is interested because he’s lookin’ past the make up on the other mares, and is instead focusin’ on their qualities as a pony,” Applejack harrumphed, stamping a hoof in the dirt. “Or their lack of ‘em.”

“Perhaps,” Rarity said, continuing towards Twilight’s abode. Although Rarity had more to say on the matter, she felt the dirt trail leading back to the local library was not a suitable location for her to delve into the intricacy of literary romance. Applejack silently resumed trotting next to her. The normally talkative workhorse seemed to be thinking about their recent conversation. Rarity found her easy to read, since Applejack didn’t really keep much bottled away.

***

Rarity knocked delicately on the castle front door. It usually wasn’t locked during the day.

“Do y’all think she’s not home?” suggested Applejack. The shades were all down on the bottom floor windows. The top ones were not, though, and the balcony doors were open as well.

“Trust me, Applejack. If Twilight Sparkle were wandering around town I’m sure that we would have noticed her. Or the small crowd of ponies following her…” Rarity furrowed her brow. Since Twilight’s status change, she had attracted the attention of the many local ponies eager to flock towards the newest sensation in Ponyville. The last one had been Fluttershy and her modeling career. Fluttershy could make herself invisible if she wanted, but Twilight had gained four inches of height plus a wingspan that put the yellow Pegasus to shame.

“Ya think she wants her privacy? Since her coronation she’s gotten an awful lot of attention. Most of it unwanted,” noted Applejack.

“I was just mulling over the same idea, darling.” Rarity rapped against the door. “I’ll hold off on returning my novel if she- OH! Hello, Twilight!”

The library door creaked open and Twilight Sparkle peered out at them. “Hello, girls. I wasn’t going to answer at first. I’m not feeling quite myself at the moment.”

Applejack gasped. “Y’all aren’t coming down with feather flu, are ya? Now that you’ve got wings that’s somethin’ to worry about.

Twilight nodded. “I remember the tornado event. Over a dozen ponies came down with it. But I’ve thoroughly researched the symptoms… I am one hundred percent this isn’t feather flu beca-”

Twilight coughed, her wings flapping with each one, and then when it had passed cleared her throat.

“Because I did this to myself. For science.”

Applejack cocked her head, but didn’t say anything. Rarity studied Twilight curiously and asked “May we step in for a bit so that you may… offer us an explanation?”

There was a tense few seconds of silence as Twilight went through a strenuous internal debate as to whether or not allow her two close friends entrance to her library. The magic of friendship and trust was ultimately victorious and the door swung open, granting the two mares access.

***

With all the shades down the castle library was quite dim. Light still brimmed at the sides, but otherwise only enough to provide a frame of light around the windows. Twilight Sparkle was at the far end of the room already, her worktable lit by a single candle. There were books open everywhere, some of them piled high with bookmarks sticking out of the sides. More were levitating around the room bathed in Twilight;s magical energy, pages flipping back and forth as if she were reading them through her magic alone.

“So this scientific experiment of yours demands a greater need for privacy, darling?” Rarity said, her question rhetorical. “Where is Spike? He’s usually the second to greet me inside the library.”

“Spike is away at Canterlot. He’ll return in a few days.” Twilight was standing by a roll of parchment and scribbling away. One of her purple feathers was floating right beside where Twilight stood, a ruler hovering next to it. “While this experiment is something I’ve been wanting to attempt, I’ve had no great stretch of time or opportunity to do it since my coronation. All my other experiments and attempts at magic have been, well…”

“Put on hold?” offered Applejack.

“Completed!” Twilight groaned. “All of my then current studies went from being challenging to foal’s play literally overnight! My magical abilities have multiplied tenfold! I couldn’t do a single alicorn level spell a few months ago. Now I can juggle three of them while eating lunch without breaking a sweat!”

“I can see why this would distress you,” Rarity said, peering at Twilight from the entryway. There were scraps of paper lying on the floor that she would have been sorting if it weren’t for Twilight’s appearance. The alicorn looked off to her in a way she couldn’t quite place, and it irked her.

“Nothing I’ve covered before is a challenge anymore. The greatest ones were spells I wasn’t mentally capable of handling. Now they’re all a breeze! So I’ve taken it upon myself to attempt creating spells myself, as well as modifying existing ones. It’s the only thing that’s kept me occupied when I’ve had the time to spend on it,” Twilight coughed again, rapidly shaking her head from side to side. “Of course some of them require intense concentration and privacy. Which is why I’ve waited until earlier today when he’d left to cast them. I wouldn’t dream of using him as a test subject, and I doubt there’s anypony around who would volunteer, so I cast it upon myself.”

Rarity eyed Twilight up and down, trying to figure out what was different about her friend. “What spell in particular is this? Is it dangerous?”

“Well...no, it’s a bit of a mental strain, and a physical one,” Twilight closed her book and all the others in the room closed with it. Candles lit themselves around the room as Twilight approached. With the better lighting, Rarity could start seeing the minor changes in the alicorn Princess’ face and features. Even more startling was that, once she had approached close enough, she was looking up at Twilight more than she had a day ago. Twilight had become taller!

“Jus’ what is the nature of this spell you say you’ve altered and cast on yourself?” asked Applejack tentatively.

“It’s one of the high level alicorn spells we pretended to cast in order to fool Trixie into removing her alicorn amulet,” a smile creased Twilight’s face, “the spell that turns a mare into a stallion.”

Rarity gasped. Applejack stared at Twilight like how a cow stares at an oncoming train.

“Well…” Twilight began to explain, her ears flattening, “it’s a very high level spell that I was working on modifying to make it easier to cast, so that instead of putting all that strain on making it happen instantaneously, it would happen over a period of a few hours.”

Rarity was the first to break her silence, “So I’ve noticed… that you do indeed look different.”

Applejack scratched her mane, feeling oddly uncomfortable. “Right… turning into a stallion. Why this one spell in particular, Twi?”

Twilight cleared her throat again. “Well from the options I had available to me, it was this spell, and the age spell, that seemed most susceptible to being reworked to be cast at an easier level.”

“So why didn’tcha pick the other one?”

“The age spell?” Twilight crinkled her nose. “I was worried that my magical energy would regress overall and leave me too weak to reverse it. Or that it would affect me very incrementally. Alicorns might only just get taller and more graceful as they age. Also, while I was very magically adept at a young age, I was still a foal. It’s a very real possibility that I would have experienced some mental regression in terms of maturity and responses to my surroundings.”

“Acting like how you look, ya mean.” Applejack noted.

“Correct!” replied Twilight. “This experiment would allow me to retain my current levels of intellect and attitude with no impact on my being as a pony. A male brain is not that different from a female brain.”

“The body is quite something else, darling,” Rarity trotted over to the window to open it up. “Has there ever been a male alicorn before?”

“I… think so?” Twilight bit her lip. “I mean, there are depictions and stories but nothing concrete. Princess Celestia and Luna make no mention of such a pony. If there isn’t, then my spell could potentially be a breakthrough on the nature of alicorns!”

Twilight Sparkle sneezed twice in quick succession.

“Are you feeling under the weather?” Rarity asked, producing an embroidered ivory handkerchief.

“It’s just energy diffusion. A temporary side effect of an altered magical spell on a magical being,” Twilight said plainly, blowing her nose. “They should wear off as my body adjusts.”

“Ah, okay then. That’s quite good to hear,” Rarity magically cleaned off her hanky and put it away. “So! This spell that you’ve... re-written, when will you publish it? I assume you have a dearth of information waiting to be compiled and edited,” Rarity caught a smirk from Applejack, who stifled a chuckle, “before it becomes your own spell book!”

“Rarity, I just don’t think the general populace is ready for this kind of easily available anatomical alteration,” said Twilight breathlessly. “High level spells like this one that I’m re-working... maybe they were high level for a good reason. I’m not entirely sure-”

“Now hold up one cotton pickin’ minute there!”

Applejack raised her hoof up for emphasis, then let it drop. “Are ya’ll saying this here magic spell you’re mussin’ about with is somethin’ you won’t let anypony else use?”

Twilight nodded with a slow uncertainty.

“Alright lemme get this straight. So you, you only, are whippin’ up a spell, that lets any average unicorn change from one gender t’the other, and ya’ll are hoggin’ it for yourself?! Twilight, that just ain’t right.”

“Not everypony is happy with their naturally assigned gender, darling” quipped Rarity, inspecting her hoof of imaginary soil. “Have you any idea how many confused young stallions pay me to try on pretty dresses and saddles after hours in my boutique? You wouldn’t because it is a very private affair that most who aren’t flamboyant about it keep it secret. Because society has deemed it ‘not right’ in Equestria.”

“It’s a real shame for ya to bottle something like this up,” commented Applejack. “And when you are the only pony to use that spell fer yerself? Jeez! Ya’ll oughta check your privilege, Princess.”

Twilight gaped at her friends unsure of what to say.

Applejack busted out laughing a second later. “I’m only pullin’ your leg. What you’re sayin’ makes sense to me. Untested stuff can be pretty dangerous.”

“Oh… okay.” Twilight wiped her brow. “I couldn’t tell if you were serious.”

They both gave Rarity a pointed look.

“...Yes?” she said innocently.

“Is that true about the stallions and all?” Applejack asked flatly.

“Of course it isn’t! Hahaha!” Rarity grinned and flicked her tail. “It was a silly comment at your expense, Twilight. Nothing more.”

Twilight sneezed again, seemingly disinterested in their banter. “Well… if you girls would excuse me, I am going to head upstairs really quickly to grab a box of tissues. You can leave that book anywhere you feel like. I’ll put it away when I get a chance.”

With that, Twilight exited through the doors at the opposite end of the room. Rarity watched her friends flanks with interest up until the last trace of purple tail had vanished.

“Why doesn’t she just teleport herself up into the room?” Applejack said aloud.

“Same reason she prefers walking to flying I would assume. It’s important for a unicorn to keep in shape. We don’t have the muscle or the metabolism that an Earth pony or Pegasus has,” Rarity noted idly, putting the book away in the fiction section on the shelf.

“But she’s an alicorn now, not a unicorn,” added Applejack.

“Yes but she’s still thinking like a unicorn.”

“Oh… right. I guess I jus’ didn’t think it like that way. Was a bit side-tracked with that bit about her turning into a stallion.”

An awkward silence filled the air.

“What do you reckon she’d look like as a stallion?” Applejack pondered aloud.

“Tall, purple, strong, sexy,” Rarity tapped her chin. “I’d imagine she’d be built like her brother but bigger overall.”

“Sexy?” Applejack snorted, “Y’all got the hots for Twilight now?”

“No.” huffed Rarity, shooting Applejack a sharp look. “But as a stallion I imagine she would be. After all, you’ve met Shining Armor and you can’t tell me that he doesn’t stir something inside of you. He’s simply a prime example of a stallion. It must run in the family.”

“Well y’all won’t have to imagine it for long,” Applejack said, adjusting her hat. “That spell she’s cast on herself’s gonna make her a stallion pretty soon I reckon. I can already tell she’s shot up another coupla inches.”

“I noticed as well,” said Rarity. “I’m going to have to steer clear of Twilight on the off chance she is unable to resist my feminine wiles.”

Applejack visibly flinched.

“Your WHAT?!”

“All of this,” Rarity swiveled on the spot and flicked her hair. “Honestly, Applejack, she won’t be able to keep her hooves off me! You know stallions love me.”

“Except Trenderhoof,” Applejack said coolly.

“An exception to the norm,” Rarity said a little more bitterly than she intended. “Nevertheless, you’ve got nothing to worry about on your end.”

Applejack stamped her hoof. “If you’re implyin’ that-” she paused, looked around and lowered her voice “that she’d pick your prissy little butt over my prime hide you’ve got another thing comin’. Stallions love them a strong farmpony mare and y’all only ever noticed one ‘cause you’re busy noticin’ yourself.”

“Please, darling, she’d never go for you over me,” challenged Rarity with a bat of her long lashes. “Why, I bet by the end of the night I can woo Twilight with minimal effort and if I offered to keep her company tonight, she’d accept in a heartbeat.

“Your trashy ruttin’ fantasy novels aren’t the end all be all of how the world works, you even said it yerself!” hissed Applejack. “Y’aint’ve got a chance against my moves.”

“You’re on!” Rarity locked eyes with Applejack. “Whomever can successfully woo the soon to be Prince Twilight by the night’s end is the winner!”

“Deal,” snarled Applejack, her eyes blazing at the promise of victory. “And the loser?”

Rarity smiled devilishly. “I wager the stinging humiliation of defeat is punishment enough for losing this bet… don’t you agree?”

Applejack was about to growl something back when what sounded like a boat horn going off came from upstairs. They recoiled from the sound.

“Oh, sorry girls, I was gone for a bit longer than I expected,” Twilight said with much more clarity than before. In fact, it sounded as though her voice had dropped an octave. She descended the staircase briskly. “I was blowing my nose upstairs and felt the spell trigger to change my body again so I needed to take measurements and log the transmogrification. Notice anything new?”

“Besides yer sniffles clearing up I’d say you look pretty good!” Applejack said brightly.

Twilight made it to the bottom step and spread her wings, raising an eyebrow.

“Oh my stars, darling, I believe you grew another couple of inches!” Rarity said with alacrity. She approached Twilight leisurely, noting how her eyes were now level to just below her chin. Her eyes drifted a little further south. “Your body seems to be packing on some muscle as well! You’re beginning to look buff!”

Applejack scanned Twilight’s body with interest. Sure enough, where there was once a slender unicorn body with springy limbs there was now lean, supple muscle rippling underneath her coat. Not as buff as Big Macintosh, but strong for sure.

“Good eye!” beamed Twilight with a wing flutter. “I noticed it earlier but now it’s really starting to show. I feel so… physically capable now!” Twilight punctuated with a light flex of her foreleg and admired the muscle that appeared. “I wonder if I could match Rainbow Dash in some way!”

Rarity felt her heart flutter at the display. “Well, since you seem to have recovered fully from your magical sneezing side-effects, there was something Applejack and I wanted to float by you.”

“Oh?” Twilight tilted her head. “What’s that?”

“Care to join us for dinner tonight, Princess?” Applejack cut in, her eyes half-lidded.

Twilight bent her wing and brought a feather to her chin. “Hmmm. I could log the spells changes on the go… and my body does need fuel to grow… with Spike gone I would have had to prepare my meals on my own when I could be spending valuable time writing…”

“Me an’ Rarity will split the bill!” Offered Applejack.

“Okay great! I’ll go!” Twilight gave her wings an excited flap and smiled. “Six O’ clock sounds like a good time to meet, so I’ll see you girls there! Which restaurant?”

“I suggest the Pone Chateau for dinner tonight,” Rarity said. “It’s a big restaurant on the edge of town that no doubt will offer our party more private seating in the back upon seeing you, Twilight, in case you were feeling self conscious about your spell.”

“Excellent! I’m going upstairs to freshen up. I’ll see you girls later!” Twilight bounded up the stairs like a foal heading to the toy store.

Applejack and Rarity exited the castle side by side and trotted off to their homes.