Chapter One: Sleepy Ponyville
It was the place Twilight Sparkle had come to call ‘home’: shelves of tomes, neither dusty nor old, stood in tightly-packed rows and near obsessive order. A pleasant near-quiet filled the hollow tree, only disrupted by the noises of Ponyville’s hustle and bustle, like Canterlot in slow-motion with the volume turned down. The comparison was particularly clear in the unicorn’s head, having returned from a particularly wild and emotionally-frantic trip to the capital of ponykind.
If she closed her eyes, she could still imagine it, even if her memories had a dream-like absurdity to them. Had the princess not assured her during daylight hours, she would’ve thought it all a dream. Perhaps, just to be sure, I should send the princess-
A disruptively-loud belch accompanied a sudden gout of emerald flame bursting from Spike’s mouth, sending green light and rapidly-coalescing smoke pouring in through the doorway. “Hey, Twilight, you’ve got mail!” With his tiny legs working fast, he ran back into the library holding a neat little square of red paper.
“A letter? Celestia usually sends scrolls,” Twilight Sparkle wondered aloud as she looked up from an old, worn-looking book, its well-eared pages showing years of dedicated reading and re-reading. “I guess reliving Daring Do’s adventures can wait for a few more minutes.” A momentary examination of the envelope revealed very few details - it was unaddressed and lacked any noticeable seal. Still, if it’d come through Spike, it was obviously important enough to-
The envelope, having settled on the open pages of Twilight’s book, suddenly warped, folding itself as if molested by a master of origami. When it finally stopped, the startled unicorn found herself staring at what looked to be a mare’s snout and mouth, constructed entirely from paper.
“Oh, Spike! It’s a Howler, just like in the Far Spotter stories! I didn’t even know that kind of magic really existed!” Twilight Sparkle almost bounced with excitement.
“What’s a Howler?”
“It’s a special, magical letter that- uh oh-”
The mouth sprang to life, paper lips spreading wide to spew forth a sudden shockwave of sound, sending a rain of literature cascading from the bookshelves; “Twilight Sparkle! How dare ye write such perverted filth regarding the royal alicorn of the sun! Has the world lost all sense of proper courtship during Our thousand-year absence?! Nay, I do not know how thine quillwork ensnared Our sister’s attention, but let me tell thee: Thou shalt prove thyself worthy before-”
Pinned to one of the now nigh-empty bookcases, eyes streaming and cheeks flapping, Twilight Sparkle struggled against the thunderous roar of Princess Luna’s further-amplified Canterlot voice with little success. “Burn it! Get rid of it!” she shouted to the tiny dragon clinging to the edge of the table, who was hanging on for dear life as the hurricane-force voice tried to tear him from his perch.
Spike couldn’t possibly have heard Twilight’s command over the bedlam, but the aural assault nonetheless suddenly stopped as the mass of paper went up in smoke and flame. “Good thing Owloysius taught me how to read lips.”
* * *
“-thy receives permission to plunge thine lustful tongue between the royal thighs! We know thou cravest this act most wantonly, and since the laws regarding lesbia-” A gold-clad hoof smashed down on the screaming letter, grinding the increasingly-mangled piece of paper into the carpet moments before a flash of powerful solar magic charred the remains into blackened ash.
“Ah,” Princess Celestia began, face slightly flushed as she turned her attention to the rest of the courtroom and the various stunned dignitaries now staring at the dirty patch at Celestia’s forehooves, “I’m sure we can all agree that absolutely nothing of any interest happened in court today, can’t we?”
* * *
“Well, this day sure proved interesting.” Twilight Sparkle rubbed at her ear, trying to get rid of the persistent tinnitus that’d been haunting her for the last two hours. Her right ear cleared up quite quickly, her left, not so much, which is why the young student neither heard the window open, nor noticed her guest until she announced her presence; “Twilight Sparkle, We would like a moment of thine time.”
“Princess Luna?” Twilight Sparkle whirled around to find the princess of the night standing no more than a ponylength behind her, clad, for some reason, in saddlebags and thick-rimmed glasses. “That letter-”
“-was very unmoderate. We are aware of this, and apologize.” Luna lowered her head, sending the empty frames tumbling from her snout. “We were feeling possessive of our big sister and did not think our actions through. It has made things... awkward at Canterlot Castle.”
“Don’t worry, princess Luna. I understand you’re still having a little trouble with how we do things in Equestria these days. From what I understand, in your time, writing fiction of the princesses was grounds for punishm- ah-” Twilight Sparkle coughed. “-how did you end up finding out about... ehm...”
“It is true, in mine time, your quillwork would have been grounds for beheading, but we agree that it is better this way: we would not like to see our saviour with her neck cropped short. As for how we came to read it; Celestia was quite insistent we read thine friendship reports. We believed we had absorbed them all... but then we found thine tale secreted within a scrollcase of intricate inlay in a place not normally associated with friendship reports. Our curiosity as to why our dear sister would give any report such special treatment, we could not contain it. Thine writings have resulted in some... misunderstandings.” There was a pregnant pause there, before Luna continued, “Which is why we must ask a favor of thine, Twilight Sparkle. We would prefer to stay... discreet for a modest time, away from Canterlot. We wish thee to fashion us a disguise of magickal nature. We would do it ourselves, but our sister will be sure to detect such an extravagant use of our royal alicorn magick.”
“You... wish me to use magic to hide your identity, princess?” Twilight Sparkle considered the option, then shook her head, “No, I’m sorry. Whatever it is you did, you should be brave and face up to the consequences, even if Princess Celestia is angry at you. My lessons in friendship taught me that. So, no. There is no way you could convince me to-”
“Wouldst thou do it for a book?” The flap on one of the moon-princess’ saddlebags opened, and with a minor magical flourish, the alicorn drew forth a hardback novel with a brightly-shaded cover.
Twilight Sparkle’s mouth fell open, “D-daring Do and The Crystal Horn?! I... how did you- That one’s not even- I never heard of-... no!” The little purple unicorn shook her head frantically, “You won’t tempt me to keep secrets from Celestia, even if it is a whole new fantastic adventure of Daring... Do...”
“Then perchance thou wouldst do it for... two books?” A second book, shrouded in Luna’s levitation spell, came up to hover right next to the first, its cover adorned with a lightning bolt-marked unicorn stallion.
“F-far Spotter! A-and Daring Do. And Far Spotter. A- I...” Twilight Sparkle’s tongue glued itself to the roof of her mouth, lips quivering as she tried to find either voice or words. Left with neither, the unicorn could do naught but bob her head frantically and hold out her forelegs as if planning to hug a lover. The similarity did not end there, as Twilight Sparkle found herself clutching the tomes to her chest, rubbing her cheek across their cool, papery covers and filling her nostrils with the scent of fresh print. “A-alright. I’ll do it. And I won’t tell anypony.”
The glow of Twilight Sparkle’s horn filled the room with an ever-intensifying light, first to neatly tuck her ill-gained adventure stories away for safekeeping, then to channel her full power into dark mare before her. Soon, the entire room was a sea of white light, pulsing with barely-constrained arcane might. “Hold on to your horn!” What followed might well have been described as a soundless, forceless explosion had there been any witnesses.
A small gasp escaped Celestia’s less-than-entirely-faithful student as the last bit of the spell squirted from her horn. Rising on suddenly-wobbly legs and opening tired, bleary eyes, Twilight Sparkle forced her wavering gaze back to the now-altered princess...
“Twilight Sparkle! Is this thine idea of joviality?! We remain exactly the... wait.” Luna demanded, realizing halfway through that her voice had suddenly acquired a warm rumble; like a civilized, velvet-coated thunder boiling up from within Luna’s chest. The alicorn was still an alicorn, dark of shade and slender-legged, but the princess’ proportions had shifted, her mane and tail had gone sleek and black like a starless night...
...but perhaps most notably, Luna found herself - or rather - himself more ‘Prince’ than ‘Princess’. “This is not quite what we had in mind, Twilight Sparkle.”
“Oh, I couldn’t really hide your wings or your horn. I mean - I tried, but the spells wouldn’t hold, so I sortof... improvised. It worked, didn’t it? Celestia’ll likely ignore any rumors of a male alicorn walking around, right? After all, gender spells are known to be, well, impossible.” The purple unicorn coughed, “But if you want to be sure, you could... change your behaviour a bit. The way you speak does kind-of stand out a bit.”
“We suppose we could make this work for us. Hmmm... We remember a stallion of ages past whose behaviour we could adopt. He had quite the crush on my sister, if we remember it well, to the broken hearts of many a mare - alas, from what we heard, he never did manage to tell her of his love. Or at least, my sister never did mention him since our return.” Luna shifted her- nay, his stance slightly, and coughed once. “Lady Twilight Sparkle, my gratitude would be boundless should you be willing to grant me your knowledge of the environs.”
A dark, starry aura of magic enveloped the door, and opened it to unveil the world outside awash in the fiery oranges of evening.
* * *
The familiar rhythmic rattle of the sewing machine echoed rapid counterpoint to the steady ticking of the clock, a symphony of clicks both entrancing and horrifyingly boring. Rarity, caught in thoughts that drew her attention to places far from her art, never even noticed. The last few days’d been quite the distraction, first the artistic effort of crafting her purple unicorn friend a suitable pyjama for a Canterlot slumber party - and now Twilight Sparkle’s mysterious behaviour since her return to Ponyville. Oh, but Twilight wasn’t as good at keeping secrets as she thought she was; Rarity recognized well enough that saucy little extra sway to the bookworm’s hips. There was no doubt of it in the fashionista’s mind: Twilight Sparkle had found herself a coltfriend.
Now, she was well aware it was impolite to spy, but it wouldn’t be inappropriate for the hard-working unicorn to just happen to be sitting at the window that gave the best view of Twilight Sparkle’s library home, now would it?
And perhaps... perhaps she would just happen to glance in that old tree’s direction when Twilight Sparkle’s suitor came knocking.
But for days, naught hide nor hair was seen other than the occasional guest to the library. No mysterious strangers, no furtive glances. The increasingly dreary days of fall left the dirt outside a muddy mess, and there hadn’t been a single guest to the library today. With a sigh, Rarity set her work aside and walked to the window, magic blossoming from her horn to grasp and close the curtains. “Perhaps I was wrong. For all I know, she was simply excited over some old book she found.”
That’s when the library door opened; A dark, masculine snout appeared first, led only by an impressive length of fluted horn and followed by a luxurious, flowing mane. Rarity’s mouth fell open at the sight, “Oh dear. Is that..? Could that be..? Oh my, Twilight sure knows how to pick them. That’s quite an impressive specimen of-” Powerful, yet well-kept hooves stepped out onto the dirt, and turned with precise steps to expose the little bookworm following him. A wing, feathers gleaming like polished blue velvet, swept out to gently bring the librarian to a halt before she stepped in a mud-puddle.
“- a-alicorn? R-royal blood? T-true royal blood? Why didn’t I know about this? W-why wasn’t I informed?!”
For a moment, the stallion spoke to his unicorn companion, too far away for Rarity to make out, and stepped into the puddle. Sweeping out his wings wide, he lowered them until their edges lay on dry land. Twilight hesitated, but took her next stride onto the silken feathers. Muscles flexed and rolled under the stallion’s skin to catch the sudden weight, but his wings barely trembled as Twilight Sparkle made her way across the feathered bridge, and to the other end of the puddle.
“So... so chivalrous. It’s...” Rarity’s eyes widened and shone brighter with every one of Twilight Sparkle’s steps, until the purple unicorn finally met dry ground, and turned to meet the alicorn’s graceful bow. “H-how - I -” A familiar light-headedness swept in and drew the strength from her legs. For a moment, all went black, but determination and more than a hint of anger sent new power to her limbs. “H-how could she? How could she keep a treasure like that for herself? She knows it’s my dream to marry a stallion like- No! No time to swoon again! As Celestia is my witness, I, Rarity, will not squander this chance!”
The arcane glow of the fashionista’s magic drew forth a swarm of grooming tools. Perfume, brush and currycomb swarmed around her like busy bees as she half-galloped to the door, “Nay! My chance of joy will not escape me! Twilight Sparkle will tell me!”
With the experience of years of daily preening, the white unicorn rushed through her primping routine without even so much as slowing down and half-cantered to the library, where her new rival (now sans mysterious stranger) had just settled in to start reading.
“Twilight Sparkle!” The library door struck the inner wall with an audible boom, “Why did you not tell me your coltfriend was an alicorn?! Do I mean so little to you? How could you keep such a thing a secret? How could you!”
“What? I...” The startled student forcibly pulled her nose from the book’s spine, “Who? Oh, ehm... I see, you saw that? Well, I’m not actually his fillyfriend, s- he’s just a friend.”
“Just a friend? You didn’t snag him while you were in Canterlot? You know a royal alicorn stallion and he’s ‘just a friend’? Wait, does that mean... he’s available?” Rarity wobbled for a moment on suddenly-unsteady legs. “So the- the nightwear I made, it wasn’t for his benefit? Do you think he’d like it? S-say, speaking of said nightwear, could I, ah, have it back now? I mean, I made it for you, but since there was no payment involved and...”
Twilight Sparkle’s cheeks flushed visibly as she rose to her hooves, eyes lingering on one of the books, “Well, Rarity, I, well... I’m sorry, I lost it. It got thrown into the crowd and I think one of the ponies I slept with now has it.”
“One of the ponies - Twilight Sparkle, I hope I don’t come across as unforgivably-rude, but how many ponies did you sleep with on your trip to Canterlot, exactly?”
“I don’t know exactly. Twenty-five, maybe thirty-five, I didn’t count.”
Rarity could feel one of her eyes begin twitching. “One after the other?”
“No, silly! I only had one night in Canterlot, after all. I slept with all of them at once!”
“I... I...” The fashionista’s train of thought was skipping its rails faster than the poor lady could keep up with.
“Oh, I was so nervous at first,” Twilight Sparkle cheerfully announced, clapping her forehooves together. “Can you imagine, me sleeping with a whole roomful of strangers?”
“I must confess, the thought had never occurred to me before,” Rarity admitted, “but now I can imagine it quite vividly, thankyouverymuch. Very, very vividly. I guess there’s some truth in the whole ‘It’s always the quiet ones’ thing.”
Twilight Sparkle frowned and rubbed her still-buzzing ear, a little unsure if she’d heard that correctly. “Oh, don’t be silly, Rarity. You don’t need to be any particular kind of pony to enjoy a night in Canterlot. In fact, Fluttershy is a lot more quiet than me, and she’d probably outperform me by an order of magnitude. If she ever gets over being shy, I’m sure every single pony there will thoroughly love her.”
The poor white unicorn’s imagination took a sudden ninety-degree turn off of ‘hedonistically deviant’ straight down into ‘unprintably depraved’. “I guess that I won’t be getting my innoc- I mean the pyjamas back. That’s a shame, I was rather proud of the design.” Rarity inhaled deeply and shook her head, taking a moment to gather her mental bearings. “Let’s get back to the matter at hoof, shall we? This alicorn stallion, tell me all about him!”
“Rarity, I... I promised the prin- ah, I promised I wouldn’t tell anypony, Rarity. He’d rather not cause a fuss right now.” Twilight sighed, “I’m sorry. But if it’ll make you feel any better, I suggested he head to the Carousel Boutique to get some clothes fitted for his time here in Ponyville.”
Rarity squeaked. “I knew it: He -is- a prince!
…Wait, you mean I missed him?! Oh dear! Sorry Twilight, got to run!”
* * *
Bathed in the resplendent gold of the sun’s last fading light, the mystery prince stood like a velvet shadow at the Carousel Boutique’s door, apparently patiently waiting. As Rarity slowed her hurried trot to a steady walk in order to arrive with the appearance of a casual approach, he turned turned to face her. The sun at his back cast a halo around his head and struck gleaming highlights off his coat, even as an ethereal breeze toyed gently with his flowing mane. “Lady, if I am correct, this establishment is thine, is it not? It is an honor to meet you. I hope I have not come at an inopportune time.”
“I - Yes, I’m Rarity, and of course it’s not an imposition. Come right in, prince...” Rarity trailed off politely, giving the prince a moment to fix his minor faux-pas.
“Ah! I apologize. I’m...” A momentary hesitation, but the dark prince quickly recovered, “Prince Midnight Rendezvous, would’st thou be so understanding as to keep my presence here discrete, it would find my favor.” The dark prince glanced away from Rarity’s face, “...Ladies first?”
Did he..? The fashionista found herself wondering what he’d meant, momentarily bemused by the hint of uncertainty, only to be distracted by the steady glow of unicorn magic smoothly opening the Boutique’s door for her.
It took but a few hurried moments to fill the boutique with the warm glow of oil-lamps, flickering flames sending gleaming echoes of light dancing across the prince’ coat. “Prince Midnight Rendezvous, if you would please be so kind as to stand on the podium? I can start taking your measurements while we discuss your new clothes.”
“Of course, Lady Rarity. And please, call upon me as ‘Midnight’ if it is your pleasure. My full name, ‘tis long on the tongue.” the alicorn replied, closing the door with a gentle click before stepping onto the platform. Rarity could almost hear the capitalization of the word ‘lady’.
“So, discrete? Then how about something dapper, yet capable of concealing your wings?” the fashionista suggested as she levitated her tape-measure to the barrel of his chest. Curiosity, or perhaps her heart, clawed at her throat like a feral fiend as she held back her questions, slowly, almost sensually trailing her measure along the length of the prince’ spine.
“That sounds like an admirable suggestion, Lady Rarity. ‘Twould be remiss of me to understate your fashion sense - I’ve been told it is impeccable.” The words sent a pleasant little tingle down Rarity’s spine, settling in her dock just as she started measuring his. The prince stood still as she measured his forelegs, the girth of his surprisingly-elegant neck, the width of his shoulders - only when she began measuring his head and snout did he turn his gaze to her for a moment, flashing a slightly-nervous-seeming smile.
Down his back again, along the smooth curves of his sides, to his flanks, his hindquarters, tape-measure lightly brushing through the prince’ coat. With a hint of trepidation, Rarity set about measuring Prince Midnight Rendezvous’ inseam, resting her measure against the inside of his hindleg. After a worried glance at the seemingly-distracted prince to ensure he wasn’t looking, Rarity could not keep herself from sneaking a peek. What she saw pulled her breath from her;
So... refined. Perfect, not too large, not too small - and so clean, it’s almost as if it’s actually new. I- No, Rarity. Now is not the time to even hint at impropriety, and tongue-bathing a stranger’s testicles might, under some rare-and-unusual circumstances, be misinterpreted as inappropriate.
With the sudden urge properly throttled, suppressed and disciplined, Rarity managed to pull her eyes off of the prince’ intimates, and straight to his eyes. “Is everything well, Lady Rarity?”
Rarity quickly jerked the tape-measure from where it was tucked between the prince’ stifles, “O-of course, prince. Why wouldn’t it be? I mean, I’m almost done.”
“Thank you.” The slightly-awkward silence stretched as the prince turned his gaze away again, eyes trailing the nearby shelves while the pearly unicorn sought to finish (and record) her measurements. “It would seem you have many books of romance, Lady Rarity.” the prince finally remarked, tracing the covers of a few of her less well-hidden pleasures.
“I do enjoy a bit of reading, majesty. A mare is surely permitted her little distractions, isn’t she?”
“I meant no offense, Lady Rarity. In truth, I find it rather admirable. I’ve recently found that skilled wordsmithing can often conquer a pony’s heart like no army can. It’s a shame our- ah, my attempts at such have met with... limited success..”
“A-at writing?”
“At ro- ah, at writing, yes. Perhaps...” there was a hesitation there, “...if she were willing, the Lady Rarity would be so kind as to make some suggestions as to the better novels?”
Rarity went silent for a moment; Romance. He was going to say romance. Why, any pony who’d miss out on the prince’ eager heart wouldn’t know romance if it gently caressed their cutie-marks! I, however... With her voice fading to a hopeful near-whisper, the fashionista suggested, “I could... teach you..?”
“I would enjoy that. Should I prepare some kind of pay-” Prince Midnight Rendezvous found himself shushed by the white unicorn, her hoof mere inch or so from his lips.
“It’s on me, please.”
* * *
The heavy chair barely moved as Daring Do jerked her legs against the rigid bonds. “You’ll never get away with this, Bellcock!”
Bellcock laughed, a surprisingly-pleasant sound had it not come from the stallion who shamelessly stole credit for several of Daring Do’s discoveries. “But Daring Do, I haven’t done anything! Well, at least, not yet.” Leaning unsettlingly-close, the tan stallion slowly ran his hoof along the crystalline length jutting from the heroine’s forehead. “It’s a good thing my... friends caught you before you got on the train. The Crystal Horn would’ve been wasted languishing in some dusty old museum somewhere, especially when it’s power can be mine.”
Twilight Sparkle hesitated. Did the world-famous author of the entire Daring Do series, an author probably aided by a small army of editors, just make an its/it’s error? “This... is probably an unedited preview copy! No wonder Princess Luna got one so soon. I wonder if I should even be reading this...”
“It’s a shame you had to go do something so foolish as to merge the horn with your own skull,” the earth pony continued, “and while it does bring out the stars in your eyes quite nicely, it’ll be naught but ornamental without the ancient ritual to empower it. And that will never happen without my help.”
“I don’t care,” Daring Do spat at her tormentor, “I don’t need any powers to defeat you.”
“Defeat me? Oh, I’m afraid that particular option is off the table. I’ll either simply saw the horn from your head... or you will join me.”
“What?! Never! How can you even think I would-”
“Ah! Don’t be too hasty now. The thought of becoming the mightiest unicorn of the world sounds rather pleasant, and I won’t hesitate to end you if that’s my best option. But I still have a better one; why become a unicorn... if I can own an alicorn?” The earth pony’s hoof slowly ran down the length of Daring Do’s body, across her chest, down her side, to come rest directly upon her cutiemark, “I’ll let you in on a little secret, Daring Do. You’ve run away from me so often, won so often, that I’ve rather come to admire your spunk, your daring, and above all, your beautiful, magnificent moon.” He slowly began to knead at the naked flesh, distorting Daring Do’s cutiemark with every press of his forelimb. “I know you’ll say ‘no’ now, but after I’m done with you...”
“We doth not know that of which you speak!”
“Then let me show thee.” Bellcock’s hot breath washed across the sensitive skin of prin Daring Do’s throat, lightly nibbling his way down the length of her neck as the heroine fought the sudden surge of heat in her cheeks. The nibbles soon became kisses, akin to those delivered ‘pon a betrothed of a marriage pact. The alicorn writhed lusciously within the uncompromising bonds--
Twilight Sparkle burst out laughing, “Oh! This is terrible! I never realized just how much editors have to clean up the Daring Do books before publishing them. This is almost pornography! I really shouldn’t be reading this.
...well, maybe a few more pages wouldn’t hurt. Since I’m already this far in.”
An hour later, Owloysious used a dexterous talon to twist a knob on the nearly-empty oil-lantern, plunging the room in darkness. With a quick fluff of his wings and a wiggle of his tail, he settled in for a boring, but relaxing night watching his bossmare quietly snore, cuddled up to a book as usual.
* * *
Large eyes opened to a radiant dawn, blinking blearily as the shade of a feathered wing pulled away. A tiny little beak yawned wide, exposing an equally-tiny little tongue within. Sleepily, she nuzzled into the mass of feathers of the white form next to her, trying to coax the warming maternal wing back across her body for a few more dozy minutes in the morning sun.
Great golden talons lightly combed through the purple gryphlet’s fluffy head-down. “Good morning, Twilight Sparkle. Rise and shine,” the large, nearly-luminescent white gryphoness churred to her gryphlet in a voice so familiar the tiny purple thing immediately jerked to full awareness.
“P-princess Celestia?” Tiny claws scrabbled at the cliff-perched mass of twigs and branches that made up their nest. “Why are you a gryphon?!” little Twilight Sparkle squeaked, before making an even more startling discovery; “Why am I a baby gryphon?!”
“You’re dreaming, my faithful little student,” Celestia replied with a little laugh, making a wide gesture to the horizon and the rippling waters of the still, gold-dappled sea far beneath the cliff’s edge. “You’ve always had such a lovely imagination,” the princess-gryphoness said as she turned her attention back to the downy little gryphlet in her nest, “It doesn’t surprise me your dreams are too.”
“But princess, you’re an alicorn! You’re a princess! You shouldn’t be a gryphone--”, Twilight Sparkle’s confused little wail came to a sudden halt as the princess’ golden talon pressed against Twilight’s little beak.
“It shouldn’t matter what we are, only who we are,” Celestia interrupted, “Besides, this opens up many options otherwise closed to us.”
“Huh? What do you mean? What are you going to do?” Twilight Sparkle’s looked on with confusion, eyes trying to follow Celestia’s golden talons as they encircled her tiny, fluffy body, and lifted her to her pearly-white chest.
“What every gryphoness mother is love-bound to do, my faithful little student.” Great white wings spread wide, stretching to their very trembling limits. “I’m going to teach you to fly.” With a boom of displaced air, Celestia launched herself over the cliff’s edge, sending the ground spiraling away in a dizzying rush.
Twilight’s terrified scream came out as a long, distressed peep, little foretalons pressed to her eyes as she felt the wind pulling at her face.
...and then nothing. Cautiously, Twilight peeked through two of her little talonfingers, only to find herself no closer to the water’s dancing surface than before. Celestia’s talons gently embraced her body, leaving her hanging beneath the white gryphoness’ chest, great wings spread wide as they soared over a seemingly-endless sea. “Don’t worry, my little student. I won’t let go until you’re ready.”
“I’m... I’m flying.” A giggle rippled through Twilight Sparkle’s little, downy belly, eyes wide, beak gaping slightly in a smile.
Celestia looked down at her student with a vaguely bemused expression, “You’ve never had a flying dream before..?”
“I... I was always too afraid of falling to fly. But... with you here... I trust you.”
The white gryphoness smiled, turning her gaze to the horizon once again. “Nothing will harm you, my little student. Not while I’m around. Especially not here. Besides... you have wings here too, Twilight Sparkle. Remember, gryphon?”
Twilight blinked, then turned her head to look down the length of her spine. She could feel her blush even under her feathers, “Oh, I... heh, oops.” The little wings twitched, then spread, instinctively catching the air. “I can move them too!”
“Now, faithful student; eyes front, and fly!” Slowly, almost unnoticeably, Celestia began loosening her claws, first gripping, then cradling the little purple gryphlet soaring beneath her, watching the tiny wings pump whenever she showed signs of slowing.
And then her claws were gone, and Twilight Sparkle, for the first time, was truly flying. “I’m doing it! I’m doing it!” The little gryphlet’s peeping laughter became a squeal of joy as the great white gryphoness came to fly at her side, smiling proudly.
“Then come, fly with me,” the princess said, banking into a sudden dive.
“Celestia, wait for me!” Twilight squealed, suddenly panicking as she plunged in after her teacher. A pearly-white feather fluttered past the gryphlet as she raced down in gravity’s embrace, followed by another, and another, escaping from Celestia’s plumage in an ever-thickening cloud. In time, the white feathers were joined with purple down, molting away from Twilight Sparkle’s tiny frame, lingering behind her in a fluffy wake as near-fell through the blizzard of white...
...only to be caught by a familiar yellow glow. As the wind caught the loose feathers and pulled them from her vision, she found herself face-to-face with Celestia again, rainbow-maned and golden-shod. “Princess! You’re an alicorn again!”
“As are you, my little student.”
The little purple alicorn blinked, quickly looking back to see the steadily-beating pegasus wings sprouting from either side of her pony spine. “I’m an alicorn! Why am I an alicorn?”
“I don’t know, Twilight Sparkle. This is your dream, after all.” Celestia laughed, her magic drawing her little student up against her body. Her warm breath mingled with the fragrant sea air as she exhaled across Twilight’s face, lightly pressing her nose to her student’s. “My faithful little lover...” The kiss was sweet, gentle, slow, a meeting of lips and snout, followed by a whisper; “Are you familiar with the sea-ponies?”
Blushing and a little confused by the sudden change in topic, Twilight Sparkle’s response was little more eloquent than ‘Huh?’. “I... I guess I read a little?”
Long, elegant forelegs embraced the purple alicorn and brought a royal snout to her ear, “You’re about to meet them.”
As they fell the shrinking distance to the water’s surface, the world filled up with sea...
Waking up from a pleasant dream was always nice, and waking up with one’s face plastered to the pages of a book had its own particular benefits. The main upside involved that you could continue right where you left off - in Twilight Sparkle’s case, at a point where the story was taking a turn for the even-steamier. With Spike still asleep, perhaps she could sneak a hoof down under the covers and-
BURRRR~!
-and she could get a letter from princess Celestia belched in her face from the still-comatose Spike.
My faithful student Twilight Sparkle,
It has almost been a year since you and your friends joined me at the Grand Galloping Gala, and the memory is still a source of comedy to this very day. As I write this, I must admit some temptation to plague the local social climbers with another comedy of disasters, but alas, I fear the palace cleaning staff will find offense if we were to have a repeat of last year.
So I hereby grant you, and you specifically, a single ticket to the Grand Galloping Gala, and this time I’ve included a few activities that take us away from welcoming duties.
Included one (1) Grand Galloping Gala ticket.
Princess Celestia
PS. On a vaguely-related note, it has recently come to my attention that I may have been neglecting my task as personal tutor somewhat. While I’m sure Ponyville has been a wellspring of lessons in regards to friendship, a more personal touch may be required. I’ve managed to clear my royal schedule somewhat, in the hope you have the time and inclination to join me, either today or tomorrow, in a private, personal session. Please send a message in advance.
Twilight Sparkle couldn’t quite figure out how Celestia made those tickets just ‘pop out’ like that whenever the reader finished, but it mattered little to the suddenly-cheerful little pony. By the time she’d finished reading the postscript, she barely remembered any of the preceding text.
It was the resulting ‘squee’ that finally dragged Spike from the velvet abyss of sleep. Eyes thick-lidded and crusty with lingering sleep, the little dragon dragged himself out of his comfortable basket. “Bwah. Twilight, you need to fix that alarm-clock. It’s sounding worse each day.”
“No time for alarmclocks, Spike. Take a letter.”
The dragon groaned as he slowly forced his way out of the comfort of his basket, eyes gummed up . “You’re not going to start sending the princess dream-logs every morning, are you?”
“Well, that’s actually a rather goo-”
“No.”
“-just a letter then. Ehem. Dear Princess Celestia...”
* * *
The persistent light of dawn had long since dipped into Ponyville’s many residences. Through windows and curtains, it had coaxed them awake, one after the other, and set them grumbling on their early morning tasks. Be it breakfast or labor, Ponyville had sprung to life in that languid, rural fashion.
The light took a little longer to reach Rarity, draped across the sewing table as she was: That being on her back, snoring quietly and drooling on her face. As a classy lady, she did even that with a poise and grace that raised the bar for ponies everywhere. Alas, considering the face-drooling, it was not a particularly high bar to begin with.
But awaken her, it did, stirring from exhaustion as she blearily blinked her eyes and wrung herself around until she finally found her hooves beneath her. The podium was bare, her prince charming evaporated from existence as if it were merely a dream. It wouldn’t have surprised Rarity, romantic dreams were not uncommon fare for her, but the signs of his presence still lingered; carefully-annotated measurements on her notepad, the scraps of cloth, the early designs, it all lay splayed out before her. The lamps still held oil, and the pillow that previously lay tucked under her face clearly showed he’d taken some care before he left.
A tall, dark alicorn prince, mysterious and noble, who disappeared in the morn.
It was like he came straight from one of her more private collection of romance novels, like the ones about --
C-could he be a vampony? Would he want to drink my blood? Would he kiss me gently along my neck, before sinking his gleaming fangs into my veins and making me his vampony bride? She idly made a note to design herself a scarf that would look fashionable yet cover up any unsightly puncture marks on her neck.
It would totally be worth it.
There was a knock at the door.
“Now what kind of pony would show up at my doorstep at this hour?” Rarity scraped her throat with a soft little ‘ehem’ and called out, “Please wait a moment, I’ll be right over.”
What followed was a rushed, but magically-assisted session of clean-up-the-incriminating-evidence, sending designs and pieces of cloth into hurriedly-opened drawers.
Finally, after a quick check to make sure she was presentable, she approached the door. “Alright, now let’s find out what pony would be crazy enough to- Oh, hello Twilight Sparkle. I had expected Pinkie Pie, to be honest.”
The purple unicorn, burdened by a pair of matching saddlebags and tittering with excitement, bounced from hoof to hoof to hoof to hoof in that exact order. “Hi, Rarity! I was wondering if you had any schoolfilly outfits that would fit me? I’ll pay!”
“Ehm, no, I don’t think I tend to stock those, although I suppose I could make one to-”
“How about sexy lingerie? You’ve got that, right? Don’t worry, I’ll pick something out.” With a flare of purple magic, Rarity found herself staring at the empty space in front of her door. Hoofbeats rattled through her boutique, before rushing up the back stairs. The poor bemused fashionista just barely caught a glimpse of Twilight Sparkle’s tail as it flashed out of sight.
“I’ll take these!” came the magic student’s wall-muffled cry, running back down the stairs with a mass of sheer cloth, straps and buckles. Coins clattered to the wooden floor at Rarity’s hooves in a hastily discarded cascade of gold, and Twilight Sparkle was gone before the poor pearly unicorn could so much get a whine in crosswise.
“But... those were locked in my bedside drawer...” It was nothing more than a whimper cast after the retreating hindquarters of a unicorn on a direct path to the trainstation.
* *
Said hindquarters found a seat on the trainstation platform only minutes later, where the faithful student found herself facing an excruciating five-minute wait. What little the wait did to dampen her spirits couldn’t stand up to the sheer burst of eagerness that came when she finally got to board and the train left the station.
Twilight Sparkle was practically vibrating in her seat with excitement, and it wasn’t just the steady thump of the train on its journey along the track. She just couldn’t find it in her to sit still: Celestia was going to tutor her again, one-on-one, like she used to! And maybe, just maybe, she and Celestia would - Twilight could feel her cheeks warming at the thought.
Well, it was probably just a one-time thi-
“Young miss!” The voice cut through her thoughts like a blade, snapping her attention to the somewhat well-aged mare standing next to her, grey mane in a tight bun and equipped with an even tighter expression. “You may think you’re being subtle, but let me assure you, you are not. You should be ashamed to go out in public with something like that in you.” A swift snap of her hoof had her gesturing at Twilight’s vibrating back-end. “You had better clean your seat after you leave, young little trollop!” With a ‘humph!’, the mare continued on, leaving a red-faced unicorn in her wake.
She was still red-faced by the time the palace gate-guards greeted her in passing, Twilight's usual countergreeting reduced to a few stammering questions and a request for directions.
* * *
This wasn’t quite the room Twilight Sparkle’d expected to meet her mentor in. Light swept in through strangely-familiar crimson curtains, filling the room with warm, pleasing shades and striking highlights from the smooth, polished wooden floor. The momentary sense of disturbing recognition was swept away by Twilight’s eyes catching sight of her beloved princess, Celestia herself, standing tall and serene, her mane flowing down her shoulders like a red-shifted rainbow.
“Princess!” With swift and eager hooves, Twilight lunged forth to meet with her idol again, only to suddenly find herself blocked by a purple shape. For a fraction of a second, violet eyes met violet eyes, followed by a much-more-prolonged contact between two purple snouts as the unicorn found herself brought to a sudden stop by a nose-scrunching solidity that left her rump momentarily airborne, hindlegs kicking and her saddlebags sliding up her withers until the straps laid against the back of her neck.
“Twilight Sparkle, I never figured you for a narcissist!” Laughter bubbled up through the princess’ voice as she came up behind her faithful student, reaching out with a hoof to gently untangle the unfortunate little unicorn.
After a moment’s confusion, Twilight Sparkle spotted the fatty noseprint on the wall-length mirror’s glass, and blushed, giggling. “Well, I-”
“Don’t worry about it, Twilight Sparkle. I’m sure every single pony has run into a room to kiss her mirror reflection with such passion at least once in her life.” Celestia couldn’t help add a joking little bite to the otherwise calming line before adding, with a bit more concern, “You didn’t hurt your nose, did you?”
“Ah, it... did look a little silly, didn’t it? My nose is alright, I think.” Twilight Sparkle wiggled her snout just to be sure, touching it with a hoof. “Yes, nothing’s hurt, at least.”
“In that case, perhaps we should start, hmm? I’ve brought some music,” Celestia said as she gestured to an idling record player not far behind her, before levitating forth a paperclad package in the gentle golden glow of her magic, “and this book-”.
The feeling of recognition came back with a sudden, harsh flash, followed by a horrifying realisation: Red curtains, low sun shining in, me and Celestia and a book and - this room’s a lot like in my story! What if she-
“-about dancing.” Celestia finished, tearing the paper off with a swift flick of her magic.
Oh, nevermind. Wait, what? “This isn’t a magic lesson, princess? Or a...” The purple unicorn blushed. “You know... ‘concentration lesson’?”
“Is that why you brought a saddlebag full of books, a saddlebag full of balls and... what looks to be something made out of straps, buckles and sheer cloth?”
Twilight Sparkle’s faded blush returned with a vengeance, “Eh-heh... no, of course not?” With a quick telekinetic shove, the unicorn swept the offending articles off of the floor (recently spread there by a pony-to-mirror collision) and out of the door, shutting the door in question for good measure. “I’m ready, Princess! I’ll make you proud!”
“Alright then, Twilight Sparkle. How about you show me your moves before we start?” Celestia turned her attention to the record-player, setting it buzzing with a little lick of her golden magic.
The music was cheerful, bouncy, and after a few false starts, so was Twilight Sparkle. Eyes clenched, the dedicated young mare put her everything into impressing Celestia with her slick bootyshaking - that is, until she opened her eyes and saw herself in the large wall-mirror. For a few seconds, Twilight Sparkle simply couldn’t recognise the purple pony having a horrifying epileptic seizure, but when she did, her face paled, her hooves slowed, her mouth fell open, “I... Oh, Celestia.”
Even the princess looked aghast. “I... hadn’t quite expected that much-” The multi-millennia-old alicorn stumbled to a halt as her vocabulary failed her, “- much... ah...”
“-of a disaster.” Twilight Sparkle finished for her mentor with a sigh.
“Well, I wouldn’t quite call it that, dear Twilight Sparkle. You have tal-, ski-, enthusiasm, which is something we can work with. I’ve seen much, much worse.” Celestia hid a wince, setting the book of dances aside to approach her unicorn student personally. “Perhaps we should start with the basics, then.”
Twilight Sparkle, ears no longer flattened to her skull in embarrassment, nodded quickly, “I’ll try. Just... please don’t expect too much, princess.”
“I understand. Now this-” The celestial alicorn extended a hoof, “- is a leg. It ends in a hoof. If at any point of time either of these parts of you end up inside another pony, you’re likely not dancing. In this case, it’s my left foreleg, this one over here is my right foreleg. If you were a two-legged creature, that would be the end of it, but there are two more legs that need co-ordinating...”
Twilight Sparkle managed to coordinate her hoof to her face quite effectively, however, “How about something a little less basic?”
“How about a little motivation then?" Celestia suggested, laughter lingering in her voice, "I wanted to suggest that, if you learn, we dance together at the Gala. How would you feel about that?”
***
Strings thrummed, the soft hum of violins weeping music filled the air around them, but the instrument leading the song, to Twilight Sparkle, was the steady, comforting thump of Celestia’s heart. Eyes closed, she laid her cheek against the delicate arch of the princess’ throat, the warmth against her cheek more reward than the dance as she followed every small step her princess made just to stay close. The unicorn’s forelegs lay close, clamped to the princess chest, hindlegs straining to keep her standing tall. The growing burn in her muscles mattered not, as they danced, letting her longing sweep her into Celestia’s wake as the violins carried them across the dance floor. The sun princess’ breath washed across the little unicorn’s back, through her hair, across her withers, down her tail, the flowing rainbow mane occasionally brought closer by the sway of their steps, shrouding her in a rainbow cascade of color she could see even through her eyelids like the sun upon her face. If only it could’ve lasted forever...
...but alas, a trembling hindleg gave way, and unceremoniously snapped the unicorn out of her dream by dumping her on the rigid wood of the floor.
“Oh, Twilight! Are you-”
“I’m... I’m sorry Princess,” Twilight Sparkle whimpered as the hard landing viciously introduced her to the overtaxed muscles in her hindquarters. “It’s.. We can’t dance like normal ponies, you’re tall and to reach I need to stand so I can... I’m just not strong enough.”
“My faithful, faithful, dear student, don’t worry. We’ve tried. It’s no problem. We’ll just have one really short little dance instead of a long one at the Gala.” Celestia seemed to be as comforting as she ever was, but Twilight’d caught the quick flash of disappointment on the princess’ face. The purple unicorn’s eyes glistened with growing moisture as she responded;
“I-I understa*hic*nd, princess. I’ll.. I’ll just. I...” The next hiccup became a little sob.
...that sob was buried against the princess’ chest as those powerful, long forelegs gathered Twilight to her.
“...I wan- wanted to-to dance with you at the Gala, Celestia. I r-really do. But I can’t. I-I’m too weak. I’m so, so s-sor- sorry for ruining your Gala plans. You should let s-somepony else...”
“Ssssh. Don’t worry, Twilight. If you can’t dance with me, I’ll just stand in my usual spot. Let the other ponies dance. We can just sit, talk, and greet the guests.”
“B-but I wanted to dance,” the little unicorn whimpered into Celestia’s chest. “I wanted to dance wi*hic* with you.”
Celestia slowly ran her leg across the top of her student’s head, and down her back, steady, slow strokes that slowly swept the trembling and the hiccups from Twilight’s body. “Ssshhh. I’m sure we’ll find a way, somehow, someday.”
Twilight’s voice was soft, barely a whisper, but so close to Celestia’s ear there was no way she could miss it; “I wanted to fly with you again.”
A little jolt of surprise snapped through the princess’ body. “Twilight Sparkle, what did you mean by- oh.” The shock made way for warm smile as she looked down at her student’s relaxed, serene expression. “You look adorable when you sleep, don’t you? I’ll get you a pillow...
...as soon as I can untangle myself from you.”
* * *
The steady rattle of the sewing machine filled the room, cloth rolling smoothly under Rarity’s hooves. Curtains held back what little sun remained, the warm glow of the oil lamps illuminating her ponikins and their new clothes, including the lingerie she’d been forced to replace thanks to Twilight Sparkle. Work on her latest creation was beginning to stall, however, as her focus repeatedly wandered to the silvery sliver of her machine’s needle, plunging deeply into the cloth with rhythmic precision, sliding in and out, each thrust of the steel-hard length piercing deeply into the eagerly-surrendering material, leaving trails of pearly white thread in its wake. Faster and faster it began to piston as Rarity drove the pedal down with a quiet whimper, building up to a blurring crescendo that-
-with a loud rattle from the machine and a frustrated shout from the fashionista, the cloth bunched up into a large, stitched-up mass of midnight blue.
“Why the-. Oh, Twilight, why couldn’t you discover your rampant nymphomania after I marry Prince Midnight Rendezvous? Your shameless confession of unbridled deviancy keeps impinging on my fragile, creative mind! And- Wait, unbridled? Bridles! Maybe purple, to match my mane. When a prince is at stake...” She turned her gaze to the sheer gauze draped neatly across a nearby ponikin. “...it wouldn’t be wrong for a lady to enhance her natural allure, would it not?”
The glow of her magic enveloped her creation, settling it down across her back as she tied the slender ribbon cords across the gentle slopes of her behind. Her legs were soon beribboned, her tailbase as well, with a slender band across her most intimate treasures. Her cutiemarks she left uncovered, the surrounding lacy materials only accentuating the curves of her hindquarters. “Ah, perfect fit, if I do say so myself. I don’t know why I felt worried about the design.”
Predictably, the moment she’d fully donned her gauzy delight, there was a knock on the door. The reaction came by instinct, drilled into her by years of repetition; “Welcome to Carousel Boutique, where everything is chique, unique an-”
“Greetings, Lady Rarity. ‘Tis a pleasure and an honor to see you again.” Prince Midnight Rendezvous stepped in from the evening’s glow, the rising moon at his back like a pale shadow in the still-orange skies. “It has not been long since we met, but I was trapped by a longing to see the progress thous’t laid upon my commission. I will not be free of it until your creation is complete.”
“Oh, Prince Midnight Rendezvous! Oh dear. Ah, you seem to have caught me at a bit of an inopportune moment. I apologize for my current attire. I assure you I do not normally parade around in this sort of thing outside of the privacy of the bedroom. I was merely attempting to, ehm, assure myself of the quality of my creation, not some unseemly display of flesh!”
“Nonsense! I assure you this display of cloth and flesh is quite admirable, though a bit scarce in the cloth portion and more plentiful in buckles. Is this a new trend of fashion? Thou shouldst display it on the very catwalks of Canterlot for the eager eyes of countless admirers.”
The cheek! To suggest she simply show up on the catwalks of the very highest of society wearing little more than lingerie and straps (and perhaps some reigns), the very idea..!
...If she got any wetter she’d be forced to start doggypaddling.
“Ah! Ehm... oh, no, dear. I-it’s hardly new, although this particular style of dress is slightly less subject to the whims of fashion and not, ah, not quite a suitable highlight for the kinds of shows I normally attend. But please, I’m being an ungracious host. Would you care for some tea while I finish your order?” Rarity, cheeks flushed, turned to open the kitchen door with all the grace she could muster, her arcane power already reaching within to find her most expensive blends.
The prince’ eyes, once merely admiring the detail of Rarity’s work, suddenly found themselves riveted to the delicate arches of the unicorn’s hindquarters. Forcing a little cough, the prince politely interrupted the seamstress; “Ah, Lady Rarity, if I might have a moment, I believe I may need to make use of your washroom.”
“Of course, dear. The first on the left.”
Rarity’s washroom was exactly as Prince Midnight Rendezvous expected, a flowery, plush affair, albeit more cozy than the one at Canterlot Castle. It would suffice to keep the prince from suffering any further embarrassments. Lowering his head between his foreknees, he glared down the length of his abdomen at the arcing length of flesh dangling from its home. “This is an outrage. It is well I know how to control an over-eager male.” He scraped her throat, and firmly addressed the offending member, “Return whence you came! Thine presence is not desired here!”
The length of male flesh replied with nothing more than a dismissive twitch, and brazenly continued extending from the prince’ sheath.
“This attitude is a mockery of royalty! I will give you a final warning!”
Another lazy twitch.
“Very well, then. Corporeal punishment, it is.”
Moments later, Rarity was pulled from her tea-making by a thump in her washroom, and rushed over only to find her royal prince curled up on the plush-covered floor, gasping for breath. “Oh dear! What happened?”
“I apologize, Lady Rarity. I believe I may have incidentally bumped a piece of personal anatomy and fear I may have hurt it. I w-would rather not involve official medical staff at this junction. Perhaps you would care to check for injuries?”
“Would I eve- I mean, of course the health of my guests comes first and foremost.”
* * *
The ocean swept forth, swallowing her into the depths. The chill of water nipped at her nose and bit at her hindlegs as she sank deeper into the embrace of Celestia’s forelegs. Her mane swirled behind her, but her lips never faltered from their place. The water behind them was soon tainted purple and white, a cloud swiftly fading to clarity as their dive came to a halt.
Cool blue light shone through the thick fronds around them, a forest of seaweed strands like slender trees reaching for the heavens from the impossibly-deep abyss far below. Fins fluttering, Twilight finally slipped loose from Celestia’s kiss, but the arch of her tail curled around the sun princess, anchoring herself against the nearly-nonexistent current. Eyes met eyes, the princess’ face a magnificent shadow haloed by the blue flowing through her mane. For a moment that stretched for ages, they simply curled together, sharing heat where skin touched, Twilight’s chin resting against the princess’ chest.
“I have wonderful things to show you, Twilight Sparkle.” A firm, sensual thrust of the sea-princess’ tail sent them both sliding further into the depths, the littlest of the two seaponies clinging desperately to the greater as she suddenly found the two of them sailing through the seaweed forest at a speed that left her swinging in the turbulent wake.
A familiar trembling ran through her body, fatigue swelling as her grip grew more tenuous, until with a cry, her tail lost its purchase. Her world tumbled head over fins as the wild waters battered her about. Once she'd steadied herself, Celestia’s pearlescent-white form had long since disappeared into the darkness, leaving her by herself, alone. Suddenly, the water felt so much colder.
Twilight Sparkle’s eyes opened to the sight of the landscape sliding by outside the window, shaded in the fiery orange of the setting sun. Her cheek felt cold where it lay mushed up against the glass. As she sat back the the train’s seat, the final light of day fading into the black, she could feel her eyes burning...
Author's Note
Oh, wow. Weaving individual pieces into a coherent whole - especially when you're basically trying to merge two simultaneous storylines - turns out to be a lot harder than I expected! The earlier two stories in this series involved not a single PoV shift, but now my story is full of them. I hope it doesn't disorient much; I know I always hated it when a book changes PoV just when things were getting really exciting.
Maybe I should've listened when my earliest proofreader suggested I peel the two tales apart somehow. Any suggestions?
