The Dark Apprentice

The night was still.

The sky was perfectly cloudless, laid bare above them even despite the light of the city below. Luna had the moon shining bright and full, naturally, and its face glowed like a beacon, drifting slowly toward the apex of its journey across the sky. The only thing that reached Twilight’s ears was the silence itself, a lack of sound that made her feel bare and open atop the tower, like a babe without a blanket.

The night was still, and the tower was still with it. No candles burned this night, no books lay splain on the tabletop. Luna’s small assortment of possessions seemed even more spartan than before. The polished black surface of the tower reflected only the night sky.

The only movement, the only sound, came from the princess. Her ethereal mane drifted around her face and shoulders, its faint luminescence magnified by the lack of nearby light. Her chest stirred slowly with her breath as she observed the sky above, moving just enough to make Twilight catch notice. And when she spoke, her voice was quiet, but no less firm and controlled.

“What do you know of rituals, Twilight Sparkle?”

Twilight didn’t hesitate to answer, dipping into her expansive knowledge of magic. “Rituals are some of the oldest forms of magic,” she said. “In truth, ritual magic isn’t fundamentally different from say, a unicorn’s everyday variety.” Of course, if you went deep enough, nothing was very different from anything. Or at least in Twilight’s century, that was the dominant school of scientific thought.

“Not different at all, in theory,” Luna said. “Instead of shaping magic with thought and horn or wings or hooves, rituals use other prompts. In practice, they can be extraordinarily convoluted and impossible to fully understand. Did you know that a group of ponies telling stories around a campfire is a ritual?”

“It is?”

Luna nodded. “One of our oldest. There is magic in stories, and in warmth and light. A properly trained mind can harness it, shape it. The best storytellers of ancient times mastered the rite without even realizing it. But I digress. Rituals are part of my portfolio, Twilight Sparkle, and you will learn their ways.”

For a moment, Twilight completely forgot her reason for coming. Ritual magic was scorned as ridiculous by some unicorns and condemned as dangerous by the others. It wasn’t something that ponykind did anymore. And here was an opportunity to learn from a master. If Luna was telling the truth, they could erase centuries of misconceptions about a millennia old school of magic.

Luna stood and turned to face Twilight, and her turquoise eyes seemed to glow with inner light. Twilight suppressed a shiver.

“This ritual is very specific, Twilight Sparkle. The strongest ones always are. But there is also room for the care and attention that you deserve. If ever you want anything, you must tell me. Promise.”

“I...” Luna was offering Twilight an out, anytime she wanted. Just what exactly did this involve other than sex? “I promise.”

Luna smiled a small smile, then took a step forward and faced Twilight across her tiny table. “Twilight Sparkle, I ask you now for the first time: will you be my student?”

Twilight nodded. “Yes.”

Luna took another step, and her horn glowed. The table between them melted into shadows that sank to the tower floor and dissolved. It wasn’t like any spell Twilight had ever seen before. Luna continued to approach, her motions slow and smooth.

“I am the moon and the stars, and the infinite blackness between them. I am the devi of shadows and the asura of war. I am the lady of secrets and the goddess of sex. I ask you for the second time, Twilight Sparkle: will you accept my gifts and become my ward?

“Yes.” Luna was only feet away, now. Twilight could have counted the stars in her mane.

“Then I ask you for the third and final time, Twilight Sparkle,” Luna said as she came even closer. “Will you seize the secrets of the dark? Will you bring joy to my allies and woe to my enemies? Will you supplicate yourself before me, body and mind?”

She leaned in, and Twilight trembled as she felt Luna’s breath leave a light trail along the side of her face and into her ear.

“Will you be the Dark Apprentice?” Luna whispered.

Twilight allowed a little silence to sit between them before answering, “Yes,” for the third and final time.

Rituals were certainly something else. Definitely different from unicorn magic.

Luna moved to Twilight’s side, and their coats meshed as she draped a heavy wing over Twilight and gently guided her downward. They sat, Twilight’s heart racing at the feel of Luna’s cool body against hers.

“Other protocols will need to be observed,” Luna said. “But I will be the one to observe them. Now you need only relax, Twilight Sparkle. Do not concern yourself with the ritual, or with me. There are no expectations of you on this night. Merely clear your mind and do as you will.”

“But I thought I was your student?”

Luna’s eyes flashed. “Make no mistake, Twilight Sparkle. You will learn on this night.”

Another tremor of excitement ran through Twilight’s body. When did they begin? Had they already begun?

Luna’s mane licked at Twilight’s neck and face as the princess turned her head to Twilight and pressed her lips against Twilight’s neck. Twilight felt the cool lips brush against her skin, then the moist press of her tongue. They’d certainly begun now.

“One thing you will spend time learning, my Dark Apprentice,” Luna murmured against Twilight’s neck, “is to relinquish the stigma and taboo placed on sex. It is a part of us, and we should never be afraid of who we are. No matter your tastes, or your desires, you are still a pony, and you should not be ashamed.”

Luna breathed a line of soft kisses down Twilight’s neck, brushing her mane away with a hoof. “Sex can only ever have as much meaning as we give it. Some ponies only ever make love, and some have sex as often and as much as it pleases them with no care. For some it is always a secret, and for others it is always a thing to be boasted of. We must respect these things, Twilight Sparkle. Always.”

Luna lifted her muzzle and placed it in Twilight’s ear. “You are too tense, my Dark Apprentice. Relax.”

Tense. Right. Ponies couldn’t have sex if they were rigid as a board, Twilight needed to relax! She needed to—

“Ahhh...” The press of Luna’s magic worked along her neck, back, and haunches in a massage that was instantaneously gratifying. “Wow,” Twilight said, their situation momentarily forgotten. She needed to know this spell.

“Will you be screaming, Twilight Sparkle?” Luna’s voice had taken on a heavier tone. “Will you keep this a secret or tell all your friends? Will you prefer my lips against yours, or my muzzle buried between your legs? These things are all yours to decide. And tonight you will decide them.”

Luna’s words shocked Twilight back into the moment. The princess was going to take her to bed. Here, tonight. Her wing was still folded over Twilight’s back, and their bodies still pressed together, the space where they met slowly grower warmer.

It wasn’t the only thing getting warmer, Twilight thought with a blush as she felt the rush of blood to her nethers. She couldn’t help it; everything about Luna turned her on. Her sleek form, that ethereal mane, her iron voice whispering into Twilight’s ears...

“Kiss me,” Luna said.

Twilight turned to the princess and found their muzzles only millimetres apart, and their eyes locked. Luna’s lips parted...

Every rational and irrational fear that Twilight possessed, every ounce of hesitation, was ignored as soon as she saw those lips open, felt Luna’s cool breath on her face. The effect was almost magnetic, and she couldn’t have stopped it even if she tried. Of course, she didn’t want to.

Their lips met softly, finding purchase against one another as Twilight leaned in. She drank in the feel of Princess Luna as she tried to remember how to kiss properly, but it didn’t seem to matter. Soon Luna had her working her mouth in slow circles, drinking in the Princess’s breath.

Twilight poked her tongue out, past the threshold and into Luna’s mouth, and the princess responded in kind. Luna’s tongue ran along her own as it travelled into her mouth, so careful and controlled that Twilight’s chest tightened with the thrill of it.

They shared the air from their lungs as well as their saliva, and Twilight’s kissing became ever more urgent. Luna’s kiss was nothing like Pinkie Pie’s. It was slow and controlled. It was powerful. Electrifying. Intoxicating.

It wasn’t enough. Twilight felt the thrill consume her, and the warmth between her legs became a fire. She needed more than just kisses. She needed Princess Luna, every inch of her. She wanted to do everything that two mares could do together, right now.

She leaned against Luna, wrapping her forelegs around the princess’s neck and pressing even harder with her tongue.

Luna pulled away, and a thin string of saliva trailed between their lips, then broke over Luna’s muzzle. Twilight’s mouth felt suddenly cold and empty.

“Shall I take you to bed, Twilight Sparkle?” Luna asked.

Twilight once again found herself staring into those turquoise eyes. “Take me,” she said.

Luna gave a smoldering smile, then moved forward, put her forelegs under Twilight, and picked her up without any apparent effort. She lifted them gently into the air with her wings.

“Truthfully,” Luna said, “sex can be had anywhere. But for you, tonight, we will do things traditionally.” She floated them over to the soft collection of sheets and pillows and gently placed Twilight down, laying her belly up with her legs splayed out at either end.

Twilight opened her mouth to speak, and Luna shushed her by holding a hoof to her lips. “It is important, my Dark Apprentice, that you last as long as possible. When the fires within threaten to overwhelm you, stay yourself. When you ache for release and the pleasure dulls, only to return again, don’t go over the edge.”

She leaned in and breathed in Twilight’s ear. “Do this for me, my Dark Apprentice, and you will experience more than you would otherwise.”

Twilight shivered. “W-what if I can’t?” she asked. She’d be the first to admit that her experience with these things was... minimal.

“You can,” Luna whispered. “I won’t push you harder than you can bear. Believe me, Twilight Sparkle. I will make you come when I want you to.”

Twilight trembled as she felt her stomach tightening. Luna leaned in, softy drawing a hoof over one of Twilight’s forelegs, and their lips against one another. She pulled herself closer, allowing more of their bodies to touch, as her mouth moved ever downward.

She kissed against Twilight’s throat, along her collar, over her chest. Each time her tongue would press out against Twilight’s flesh, leaving her coat damp with Luna’s passage.

Twilight leaned out and very lightly bit against the foreleg Luna was using to hold her to the soft mattress. Her sex was burning, wanting, growing wetter by the second.

As if sensing her need, Luna’s free foreleg drifted down across Twilight’s belly, over one of her hind legs, and onto her inner thigh. The Princess began to kiss her way back up Twilight’s belly, as her hoof stood, poised.

“Do it,” Twilight said, screwing her eyes shut. “Please.”

Luna obliged, sliding her hoof up Twilight thigh as her muzzle moved back up to Twilight’s neck. She stroked the edge of her hoof across Twilight’s love, and Twilight couldn’t help but let out a tight moan. How was it that this felt so much different than when she had touched herself?

Luna kept going, sliding her hoof along Twilight’s sex, and warmth surged through Twilight’s body. Her back arched, and her lips parted as she cried out.

Luna’s lips found Twilight’s, and their kiss was forceful and fast, lips and tongues wrestling against one another at a frantic pace. Twilight reached up with her forelegs and wrapped them around Luna’s neck, feeling the thick muscle beneath her princess’s soft skin.

Luna pressed Twilight’s head back into the mattress, then moved her free foreleg up to Twilight’s face, holding Twilight by the cheek just as the edge of her hoof found Twilight’s nub.

This time, Twilight’s moan was anything but high pitched. It was deep, throaty sound, made around Luna’s tongue as it worked itself against the inside of Twilight’s mouth.

As if in response to Twilight’s moan of pleasure, Luna broke away and moved upward, dragging her body across Twilight’s. Then she ran her tongue over Twilight’s horn, from the base to the tip.

“Ah!” Twilight’s surprise was audible in the short gasp of enjoyment she let escape her lips. She knew that unicorn horns were supposed to become a means of sexual stimulation when aroused, but she didn’t know that it would feel like that.

Luna kept going, running her tongue along Twilight’s horn in long, wet licks that covered it in saliva from the base to the tip. As she did so, Twilight started to feel a cold wind blowing against her skin. She looked up, past Luna, at clouds that were just beginning to gather around the full moon.

“Stay still, my Dark Apprentice,” Luna said as Twilight’s body gave an involuntary spasm. She leaned down to whisper into Twilight’s ear. “Or I won’t be able to fit it all into my mouth.”

Twilight gasped as Luna took the whole length of her horn, the wet and warm insides of her mouth sucking against it in a way that made Twilight moan. It was her horn. It was for magic. Her special talent. And here Luna was using it for... this. Was there a part of her that couldn’t be used for sex?

She felt the pleasure building behind her nethers, and a spot just above her groin began to feel strained and tight. It built and built, threatening to overwhelm her, and it was all she could do to cling to the edge.

Luna stopped just as Twilight was about to let go, and Twilight collapsed, an ache spreading out from between her legs as the pleasure ebbed. “I...” Twilight gasped. “That was...”

“Be still, my Dark Apprentice. We are not finished yet.”

Luna’s mane licked at Twilight’s chest as the Princess began to kiss her way down Twilight’s body once more. The warmth of her mouth was a welcome contrast to the near freezing temperature atop the tower.

Wait. Near freezing? It was true; the winds that had ruffled Twilight’s mane before were now causing it to billow, and they carried the chill of winter. Above her, clouds churned around the full moon. Strangely, Twilight didn’t find the temperature all that uncomfortable.

“Do you feel it, Twilight Sparkle?” Luna glanced at her, and Twilight saw her eyes gleam. “The night is cold.” She placed another kiss further down along Twilight’s belly.

It was freezing, colder by far than the air around Twilight. Her back arched as the sweat clinging to her coat froze around Luna’s lips. Again, Twilight felt no pain or discomfort at the sensation. If the warmth had been sensual, this was stimulating. Her mind was pulled out of its erotic stupor.

“The night,” Luna said, “is dark.” She drew her mane across Twilight’s chest, and it flowed over her body like liquid, drawing goosebumps wherever it touched. She kissed just above Twilight’s navel, and her mouth was warm once more. Twilight’s stomach tightened at how hot Luna’s mouth felt in the frozen air.

“The night is mine,” Luna breathed, her breath misting against Twilight’s sex. “And I am giving you a piece of it, my Dark Apprentice.”

Her muzzle lowered, and Twilight couldn’t contain the groan of pleasure that came with Luna’s tongue sliding its way between her lips. The Princess ran it up the length of her slit almost tentatively, as though savoring Twilight as she went. Then she did it again. And again.

Each time, Twilight moaned. She reached out with her hooves, grasping Luna’s head, her hooves pushing the princess’s ears away. She bit her lip, and her noises became muffled and subdued.

Luna moved upward, and her focus shifted as she drew Twilight’s nub into her mouth, sucking it between her lips and running her tongue across it.

Twilight’s eyes rolled back as she let out another deep, throaty moan, and she began to feel the pressure built once more. Every motion of Luna’s tongue was a wave, crashing against her meagre measure of willpower, daring her, begging her to come.

“Luna,” Twilight gasped. A bead of sweat ran down her face, leaving behind it a trail of frost. “Luna, I can’t... I don’t...”

Luna raised her muzzle, and Twilight looked to see that her eyes weren’t just reflecting the moonlight; they were glowing, thin rings of luminescence backlighting her turquoise irises like a light at the heart of a glacier.

Luna placed a foreleg down and pulled herself above Twilight, and a thin trail of fluid ran from her open mouth. The sight alone was almost enough to push Twilight over the edge. “Do you feel it, Twilight Sparkle? Midnight approaches, and with it the conclusion of the night’s oldest ritual.”

Above them, dark clouds obscured everything but the moon, which had moved to sit directly above Luna’s tower. The wind tossed Twilight’s mane in different directions, as if it couldn’t decide which way to blow.

“Do it,” Twilight said breathlessly. She gripped Luna’s coat as the princess moved over her. “Do it! Please, Princess, make me come!”

“Twilight Sparkle,” Luna whispered. She sat up, then grabbed Twilight’s hind legs and pushed them apart. “I claim you.”

She mounted Twilight, throwing a hind leg over Twilight’s belly and thrusting their sexes together. Luna began to move, and Twilight could feel their lips sliding against one another, over each other. She cried out again.

“I claim you by the light of the full moon in the dark of midnight,” Luna grabbed Twilight by the hips and flapped her wings, pushing them backwards along the tower. “I claim you by the winds of the storm and the frost of winter.”

A second beat of her wings pushed Twilight’s head over the edge of the tower. Twilight threw her head back and was overwhelmed by a sense of vertigo as Canterlot came into view below her. She pulled her head back up to look at the princess, who shot her a wicked grin. “I claim you by your will and my desire. You are mine, Twilight Sparkle.”

Her horn glowed, and pleasure surged through Twilight as Luna rubbed their marehoods together. It was a surreal kind of sensation, a jolt of magic that surged through her body and made her willpower melt.

Without her having ever been told the words, they came to Twilight. “Princess Luna. I—” she cut off to let out an involuntary moan, “I s-supplicate myself before you, body and mind. I will bring woe to our enemies and joy to our allies.” Twilight bit her lip to muffle a scream as Luna ground them together again. “I will seize the secrets of the dark!” she gasped.

Twilight didn’t realize how close she was, how much effort she’d been putting into holding back the storm, until she stopped.

Luna looked down at Twilight. Her voice boomed. “Then you are mine.”

Twilight’s orgasm was pure and total release from all the effort she’d put into keeping it at bay, coupled with an onslaught of pleasure like Twilight had never felt before. It was ecstasy delivered in waves that spread from her love to the tips of her hooves. She began to scream.

“Mine!” Luna bellowed.

Shards of ice chipped off of Twilight’s coat and were carried away by gale force winds, but Twilight ignored them in the throes of euphoria. Luna’s eyes were glowing, now, and Twilight’s breath came to her in great, heaving gasps between her screams.

“Mine!”

She came down from her orgasm staring up at Luna. The Princess was looking at Twilight with satisfaction, her wings spread. As Twilight’s panting became less intense, Luna leaned in, pressing their bodies together and running a hoof over the side of Twilight’s face. Her voice came slow, and subdued:

“My. Dark. Apprentice.”