The Dark Apprentice

Dear Princess Celestia,

That was about all Twilight had gotten done in two hours.

The sun shone through the library windows, but she didn’t feel at all tired. In fact, she felt quite the opposite—she was positively brimming with energy. Everywhere Twilight went, from the walk back from the forest to a simple trip to the bathroom, she couldn’t help the spring in her step.

It wasn’t just the magic that came with her dark tutelage. It was the sex. The glorious, wonderful sex that she’d never experienced before in her life. The birds sang, and Twilight could have sung with them. Last night had been amazing.

All the while, another part of her scorned her for feeling good about what she’d done. She’d given herself over to Princess Luna with—had it really only been a single day’s thought? How unlike her. But then, being indecisive wasn’t something to be proud of. The way she saw it, taking charge and making an informed decision was.

But then Luna had trained her in kissing and kept her on the edge of arousal for six hours. The ache had been unbearable. What had been the point? Did Luna actually want to teach Twilight anything, like she claimed, or did she just like being in control? Surely it couldn’t be the latter.

In that case, Twilight had overreacted. So Luna had strange ways of doing things—Celestia’s lessons were anything but orthodox, and they certainly did their job. Twilight had snapped at her for testing Twilight’s limits—something that seemed reasonable from an outside viewpoint, provided the limits in question had nothing to do with sex.

Why is sex so much different from everything else? And if she was okay with how everything had turned out so far, why would she want to write to Princess Celestia?

Because she’s Princess Celestia, duh. You tell her everything. In a way, Celestia was Twilight’s oldest friend. And Twilight had just slept with her sister.

Dear Princess Celestia,

So I slept with your sister last night and it gave me magical powers...

No, that wouldn’t do. Twilight frowned. She really needed to get the letter done. She had to pick up Spike—though he’d probably want to sleep in, and Pinkie Pie might even let him. There were a dozen things to do around the library, a couple books she’d like to read on transluminal spellcraft theory, and also the books that Luna had given her.

The books that Luna had given her. The corners of Twilight’s mouth curled upward into an involuntary smile. Naughty books, and not just the sexy naughty, either. There was magic that ponykind frowned upon. There was magic that they’d forgotten about. With the appropriate safety measures and a sense of caution, she could really have a blast. She pulled a book from the pile, opened to the first page, and settled in. Maybe some studying would help her clear her head.

* * *

Two hours later, Twilight was giving the book before her the most unamused look she could muster. True, the book could not see her, but it was the thought that counted. There was something to be said for a book over a thousand years old, and A Study in Ecstasy was exactly that.

Prithee, once thou holdest thy spell within thy consioussnesse, thou muste envisionne the shape of thy pleshure...

Twilight winced, remembering that a thousand years ago there was no such thing as standardized spelling. She’d read old books before, but typically they were updated versions, or came with annotations. This was absurd.

...Perhappes thine pleshure taketh the form of a well-endowed stallion. Perhappes thine pleshure taketh the form of a manticore, or perhappes thou turnest to more elephantine means...

(The most large and exotique molds are presented for thy perusal in yonder mal draconis catalogue, p. 224)

Twilight was debating whether or not she dared look at the catalogue when the library door banged open on its hinges, sending her scrambling to hide Luna’s books from view. She stuffed them into drawers, pushed them behind the desk, and hid them under other books, all the while cursing herself for the treatment she was giving the ancient tomes.

“Twiley?”

Twilight got up from her desk, turning to face the open doorway. She immediately forgot about her books, and her face became a look of abject confusion. “Shining?”

Her brother stood in the doorway, out of uniform, appraising the library. “So you live here now,” he observed, stepping inside and wiping his feet.

Twilight’s mind was still reeling with the shock of seeing him in the library. “What—Shining! Why are you here?”

Shining lifted an eyebrow. “I can’t pay my little sister a visit?”

“Not when you work for a living. It’s nine AM on a Wednesday. Aren’t you supposed to be at the castle?”

Shining cleared his throat. “I, uh, got the day off.”

Now it was Twilight’s turn to arch an eyebrow. “So you’ve had a day off for—what do you need, two weeks notice—and you decided to come see me without letting me know first?”

“Well, I, uh, didn’t exactly need to give two weeks notice.”

Twilight’s eyes narrowed. “You took a sick day without being sick?”

“I was given a holiday.” Shining Armor pawed at the floor with a hoof.

“But you’re the captain! The only pony who could just give you a holiday—” Twilight’s eyes widened.

“Princess Celestia,” Shining Armor said. “She gave me the day off so that I could come speak with you.”

Twilight only had only processed half the sentence before she blurted, “Luna, too.” At Shining’s befuddled look, she added: “Luna has the authority to grant you a day off. But—wait! Celestia wanted you to speak with me?”

Shining nodded, then stepped further into the library. “Look, Twilight, we have to talk about something.”

“That’s it? You came all the way to Ponyville on Celestia’s orders to talk to me?”

“Not on her orders,” Shining said. “She just gave me a day off.”

“And you decided to come here of your own volition,” Twilight said.

Shining Armor looked at her for a few moments. “Twiley...” he said, “aren’t you happy to see me?”

Just like that, Twilight’s suspicion fractured and fell away like a pane of glass. Here was her brother, come to see her in Ponyville, and she was interrogating him while he was barely through the door.

You’re way too on edge.

Well, maybe it was time to relax.

“Shining!” Twilight rushed forward and jumped her brother for a patented BBBFF bear hug. He caught her in his forelegs and rocked backward—she had, admittedly, been a bit smaller the last time she did this.

“Of course I’m happy to see you! You should have told me you were coming by and I could have made plans for us—”

Her brother made an incomprehensible squeaking noise.

“Huh?” Twilight asked. Another wheeze, almost like a word. “What’s that?”

“Crushing... me.”

Twilight released him immediately. “Oh!”

Shining pulled away, gasping. “Uh... wow, Twilight. No need to lay on the magic like that.” He rubbed his neck where she’d squeezed him.

Twilight gave a little “Heh,” flashing her brother what she hoped looked like an embarrassed smile. She’d have to work on controlling her new strength.

“So Celestia gave you a day off?” Twilight asked. “I was just writing her a letter, actually.”

“Oh?” Shining asked, “What about?”

I’m banging her sister.

“You know, odds and ends. Life in Ponyville is never dull!”

“So I’ve been told,” Shining Armor said. Then his expression grew serious. “Listen, Twilight. I’m just going to be forward here. It’s about the Dark Apprentice.”

Twilight’s blood froze. “W-w-what?” she said, stepping away from him. “You know about... about the Dark Apprentice?”

“Wait,” Shining said. “You know about the Dark Apprentice?”

“I—wait. How do you know about the Dark Apprentice?”

“Celestia told me,” Shining said.

“Okay,” Twilight said. “And what exactly did Celestia tell you?”

“Well,” Shining said. Then he frowned. “We should probably sit down. You still haven’t offered me a drink. I’m your guest. Didn’t mom teach you any manners?”

Twilight rolled her eyes. “Welcome to my humble abode, dear brother. Can I get you some coffee or tea?”

* * *

“Okay Twiley,” Shining said, his hooves wrapped around a mug of cocoa (Cadance wanted him to quit caffeine, he claimed,) “the Dark Apprentice.”

“The Dark Apprentice,” Twilight said.

Shining shifted in his chair at her kitchen table, then nodded. “The Dark Apprentice.”

“Can we stop saying that?”

“Right,” Shining said. “The point is, you’re the Faithful Student, right? Actually wait, you don’t know that.”

“Sure I am,” Twilight said. “Celestia’s most faithful student. She calls me that all the time.”

“No no, Twilight, it’s a title. You are the Faithful Student. Celestia never did anything magical to you, and she never had anypony recognize the title, but she also never had you perform any duties.”

“The Faithful Student,” Twilight said softly. The information clicked. Twilight wasn’t stupid. “I’ve been Celestia’s underling for years now.”

Why hadn’t Luna told her that when she’d been offered a position as Luna’s student? Why hadn’t Celestia told her that when she’d gotten her cutie mark?

Come to think of it, Celestia hadn’t told her anything at all. Nothing about the Faithful Student, or the Dark Apprentice, or their supposed duties. Twilight remembered the words she’d spoken during the ritual. Luna didn’t seem too keen on holding her to them, and Celestia obviously wasn’t, but why keep Twilight out of the know concerning something so serious?

“So I’m the Faithful Student,” Twilight said. And also the Dark Apprentice. Maybe it’s time to break out the blatant lies. “So what? That doesn’t change anything, right?”

“Twilight, Luna chose a new Dark Apprentice last night.”

Twilight swallowed. Obviously he didn’t know who the Dark Apprentice was, which meant that Celestia didn’t know... but she was Princess Celestia. She was probably the smartest pony alive—Twilight didn’t see how she could hide her identity from the Princess even if she tried.

And you aren’t supposed to be trying. You’re supposed to be writing her that letter.

With Shining Armor, she’d keep feigning ignorance. “So Luna has a Dark Apprentice. That’s like, my counterpart, right? Maybe I’ll get to meet them.”

“No!” Shining shouted. “Twilight, the Dark Apprentice is... dangerous.”

Twilight raised an eyebrow. “Dangerous. Do you know who it is?”

Her brother looked down at his cocoa. “Well, no, but they’re Luna’s apprentice, Twi.”

“So they learn about the moon and stuff. I like stargazing, remember? We’d probably get along fine.”

“They also learn dark magic, Twilight.”

Twilight shrugged. “I’m a magical consequentialist, Shining. You know that. Magic isn’t inherently good or bad, that’s up to the pony who uses it.”

Shining sighed and muttered something under his breath.

“Was that something about deontological ethics?” Twilight asked, narrowing her eyes.

Shining shook his head as if he was clearing his thoughts. “Look, it’s not just the dark magic. It’s, well, Twilight... the Dark Apprentice learns about... you know...”

Your brother is about to talk to you about sex. Mayday, Mayday!

“Seh-eh-ex,” Shining said, doing his best to look anywhere but at the mollified Twilight.

“Sex.”

“Yeah,” her brother said. “The Dark Apprentice gets trained to have sex with other ponies, Twilight. Taught how to seduce. And they always have some kind of relationship with the Faithful Student.”

I wonder if actually being the Faithful Student counts.

“You’re saying I’m in danger of being seduced by a pony I’ve never even met?” Twilight asked.

“You don’t seem to be taking this very seriously,” Shining accused.

“Why would I? It’s ridiculous.” Twilight got up from the table.

“Twilight, this is serious!” Shining said, standing up himself. “You could be... you could...”

“Have sex?” Twilight shot back over her shoulder as she moved into the library proper. “That seems like the worst thing that could happen. How horrible. I’m not thirteen anymore, Shining. I’m allowed to have sex if I want to.”

Shining stopped in his tracks. “Wait. Have you?”

Twilight spun to face him, mouth open. “None of your business!” she shouted.

“So no,” Shining said. “Look, Twilight, when you sleep with somepony it should be somepony you love and who loves you back. I just... I don’t want to see you get hurt by some pony who doesn’t care about you.”

Twilight gritted her teeth. “When I sleep with somepony it’ll be on my terms, not yours! What if I don’t want to be a romantic? What if I can actually take care of myself? Did you even consider that?”

Shining gave a sigh of exasperation and rubbed his temple. “Look, Twiley, I’m trying not to upset you here—”

“You’re failing.”

Shining ignored her and pressed on. “—But I’m just looking out for what’s best for you. I just want to be a good big brother here. And Celestia said Luna always picks a whore, so...”

Twilight practically snorted. “No she didn’t.”

Shining cocked his head. “Uh... yes she did?”

“Celestia called somepony a whore,” Twilight said. “Celestia. Really now.”

“Twilight,” Shining said, meeting her eyes. “She was pretty serious about this. I am too.”

Twilight looked at him and saw the honesty in his eyes. He wasn’t lying. “Celestia called the Dark Apprentice a whore?” she asked in a tiny voice.

“Yeah. Weird, right?”

Celestia thinks you’re a whore.

No, Celestia thought a random pony she’d never met before was a whore. So she hadn’t told Twilight what it meant to be the Faithful Student—Twilight had barely taken up the title anyway. Celestia loved Twilight. With all her heart.

Until she finds out you’re the Dark Apprentice, that is.

Twilight swallowed as she felt a heaviness in her chest.

“Anyway, maybe we should just get off this subject,” Shining said. “I’d hate to spoil a whole day with my little sis!” He ruffled her mane with a hoof. “What should we do, Twiley?”

Twilight shook her head to draw herself back into the present. “Uh... Spike!” she said. “I have to go get Spike from Pinkie Pie’s. Come with me?”

“Sure,” Shining said. “Don’t you have to finish your letter to Celestia first?”

Twilight looked back across the library at her desk, where the unfolded paper sat with only the words Dear Princess Celestia written across the top.

“No,” she said. “The letter can wait. What I had to tell her wasn’t all that important anyway.”

* * *

“Pinkie!” Twilight shouted as she pushed her way through the door to Sugar Cube Corner. “I’m here for Spike!” To her brother, she added, “You have to try their cupcakes. Or their strudels. Or just anything, really. Everything here is delicious.”

“Will do,” Shining said, eying the snacks on display. “All I’ve had today is breakfast.”

“Twiiiiiiliiiiiight!” Pinkie Pie appeared at the top of the stairs, then leapt atop the banister and slid down it with a grin. She hit the ground, rolled to her hooves, and pulled Twilight into a hug that Twilight was careful to ensure did not crush her friend to death.

But while Pinkie Pie slid down the banister, a newly awakened part of Twilight’s mind observed her, noting her cute bubble-flank pressing against the railing, the springy curl of her mane against her forehead, the dimples her grin pressed into her cheeks.

When Pinkie hugged her, Twilight felt a thrill ripple through her body and remembered what it had been like to kiss her only a day ago. The attraction came easily to her now, as natural as wanting to ask Pinkie Pie how her day was.

You totally want to have sex with Pinkie Pie. Twilight wasn’t sure exactly how she felt about the realization.

“And Shining Armor!” Pinkie Pie said, breaking the contact to hug Twilight’s brother. “We met at the wedding. Remember we met at the wedding?”

“How could I forget?” Shining said with a smile.

They began to chat, and Twilight, assuming Spike was still asleep, observed. Pinkie Pie had offered to sleep with her just yesterday, why would that offer be gone now? Pinkie apparently slept with loads of ponies. Pinkie would forgive Twilight’s inexperience, maybe even teach her a few things...

An image flashed through her mind, an image that was not at all unwelcome: Twilight, belly-up and clutching at pink bedsheets, as a wild mane bobbed between her hind legs. She was panting, sweating, her back arching for the inevitable moment where she would throw her head back and scream—

* * *

“Pinkie Pie,” Twilight said. “I’m going to have sex with Pinkie Pie.”

Luna smiled. “That did not take you long at all, my Dark Apprentice. Swell into twist.”

Swell into twist. Twilight leaned forward to cross the distance between her and Luna and pressed their lips together. It was slow and subdued at first, until Twilight’s lips opened like the petals of a blooming flower, and her tongue slid forward to swell against Luna’s, soft and wet. She leaned into the kiss, reveling in the intimacy before tilting her head to the side to deepen their contact.

Twilight pulled away breathless, careful to pull a tiny string of shared saliva with her and watch it break between them. It was hard to keep her focus when she was with Princess Luna. What had they been talking about? Ah yes, Pinkie Pie.

“Yes,” Twilight said. “Pinkie Pie.”

“And how do you plan on seducing her? Intent to kiss into whisper into nibble.”

Twilight was getting better at giving Luna the look. There was no shame in letting her features settle into that smoldering gaze, no hesitation before she quirked her eyebrows. She couldn’t match the intensity in Luna’s eyes—really, who in Equestria could—but that wasn’t to say her gaze wasn’t without force. The fact that she wanted to kiss Luna only helped things along.

It was painfully slow, the whisper, but then that was the point. It was a kiss that built tensions and expectations, a kiss that made the eventual peak all the higher. There was no skill or sensuality in just ravaging your partner like you were animals, just like there was no pleasure in skipping to the end of a good novel. As Twilight was beginning to understand, every part of sex needed the right amount of precedent.

As her lips moved closer to Luna’s, she became painfully aware of the tiny sliver of space between them, but slowed down nonetheless. The whisper wasn’t about releasing physical desire, it was about keeping it contained. She brushed her lips over Luna’s with a touch as light as a pegasus feather—then darted forward and tugged on the princess’s lip with her teeth, giving it a little nibble.

It would, Twilight thought, be an effective combination to use as an opening. She’d have to remember it. Twilight pulled away, slowly, and realized she still had to answer Luna’s question.

“Seducing her?” Twilight said. “Well, er... she propositioned me a day ago.”

Luna raised an eyebrow. “I see that you are setting the bar high.”

Twilight frowned. “It’s not about challenging myself. I’d just planned to sleep with a pony who wants to sleep with me. Build my knowledge base.” Twilight narrowed her eyes. “And I’m not sure that full-on seducing somepony just because I want them is ethical.”

“Ethics,” Luna said, nodding, as though she were speaking of a brand of cereal she didn’t care for. “So you’re going to take a friend of yours to bed. Tread carefully, Twilight Sparkle. Some ponies will let sex complicate things and ruin friendships. Make sure that both of you know exactly what you’re... in for.”

“I... thank you, mistress.”

“Will you be requiring a night off?” Luna asked.

Twilight considered this for a moment, then shrugged. “I hadn’t really planned a date. I mean, I figured I’d just talk to her about it and we’d come up with something. The Cakes are in the house with her, and they have two foals, so it’s not like I could just pop in for a... well, you know.”

Luna stood suddenly, and a ripple ran through her mane at the upset. “That is exactly what it is like, Twilight Sparkle.”

Twilight rose also. It seemed to her that for the moment, at least, their lessons were suspended. What was Luna talking about? “It’s not like I can just boot them out of the house because I want to sleep with their surrogate daughter.”

Luna smiled her subdued smile at Twilight before turning and walking to the edge of her tower. Twilight followed as close as she dared—she’d prefer to forgo the vertigo that came from standing so close to the edge. Instead she stood slightly behind her mistress as Luna looked out of the sparkling city of Canterlot. The City of Magic. A city that was built upward as much as it was built outward. From on high, the twinkling lights below were like a mirror of the sky above. Twilight began to understand the appeal of living in a tower.

“You want your friend Pinkie Pie, Twilight Sparkle. Why wait to see when the time is right? If events do not align to your liking, alter them. You have every resource of mine at your disposal. Take what you want.”

“But—”

Luna cut her off with a sharply raised hoof. “You are about to give an objection based in your moral inclinations. Argue about how it is wrong for a pony to claim what they want simply because they have the power to take it. You believe, Twilight Sparkle, that it is wrong to take what you do not deserve, and take what others have earned justly away from them.”

Luna turned around, ruffling her wings as she did so, and not for the first time Twilight was taken in by her grace. It was such a pleasure just to watch the princess move. She went from one moment to the next as though her body wasn’t something she’d simply been born with and grown into, but rather something that had been made for her.

In fact, Twilight realized, that may well have been the case. Had she forgotten she was in the presence of a god?

Luna lifted Twilight’s chin and looked into her eyes, and Twilight was stricken by the intimacy of the action. In a hundred kisses, Luna had never felt so close.

“I see in your eyes that I will never be able to take this belief away from you,” Luna said. “Nor should I. And I also see a great mind. A vast mind, an engine fueled by your intellect and guided by your ideals.” She smiled, then let Twilight go. The moment passed.

“You are a smart mare, my Dark Apprentice,” Luna said as she strode back to her newly replaced bedding. “I’m certain that between Celestia’s tutelage and mine, you can think of a way to take what you want and give everypony what they deserve at the same time.”

Twilight still stood near the edge of the tower, paralyzed by awe and desire. “What do you mean?”

Luna let out a throaty chuckle as she settled back into the blankets and ruffled her wings to get comfortable. “I mean, Twilight Sparkle, that this is now an assignment. If she is willing, sleep with Pinkie Pie before midnight, Saturday.”

Sugar Cube Corner was open every through coming day, and Twilight hadn’t even approached Pinkie Pie with the idea yet. What if Pinkie had plans? What if Pinkie wasn’t interested now that Twilight wasn’t a virgin?

“But how—”

“—Are you going to do it?” Luna asked. “You’re going to do it, my Dark Apprentice, with style, subtlety, and ingenuity. I have... faith in your capabilities.”

Faith. The word seemed to hang in the air between them before Luna’s eyes took on that unnatural gleam. “Prove. Me. Right.”

* * *

This is it, Twilight thought as she slid through the door to Sugar Cube Corner. My very first field work. Sex with somepony other than Luna, if everything goes right. It was Friday morning.

Pinkie Pie was behind the counter, cleaning out the crumbs left over in the displays. She looked up as Twilight entered. “Twilight!” she cried. “It’s so awesomely great to see you! I haven’t seen you since, like...”

“Yesterday?” Twilight offered.

“Yesterday!” Pinkie clapped her hooves. Then her face fell. “Are you here for sweets? Because I just sold the last of them. I didn’t bake anything new this morning because the cakes are gone and—”

Twilight held up a hoof to stop Pinkie before she took off. “I’m not here as a customer, Pinkie. I’m just here to see you.”

Pinkie Pie grinned. “I love it when my friends come to see me!” she cried. “I was just cleaning everything up before I close.”

Now for a little harmless question...

“Why are you closing so early?” Twilight asked.

“Oh!” Pinkie said. “Well, the Cakes all won some kind of vacation or something at a resort in Fillydelphia. They don’t even know who entered the contest. Mr Cake said it had to be Mrs Cake, and Mrs Cake says it had to have been Mr Cake, but secretly I think it was Pound and Pumpkin.”

“Uh... aren’t they only a couple months old?”

Pinkie Pie’s eyes narrowed. “Yeah,” she said. “And that’s why everypony underestimates them. Anyway!” she resumed her cheerful demeanor. “They weren’t even going to go! See, because, even I can’t run the whole place by myself. But I was like ‘Hello! You can’t turn down something like this! You gotta take what you get, Cup! Carpe Diem!’”

Carpe Diem indeed.

“So they’re all on a vacation,” Twilight said. “That’s great news. They really deserved it.”

“Uhuh.” Pinkie Pie nodded.

A little innocent question...

“So,” Twilight said, “we’re alone?”

And...

“Yep!” Pinkie beamed.

SEXY TWILIGHT ACTIVATE.

Twilight smiled.