The Luxury Lotus Health and Beauty Spa Follies starring Twilight Sparkle and a special guest star

“Welcome to ze Lotus Health and Beauty Spa, Mees Sparkle!” said the pink-maned earth pony at the front desk as Twilight walked in. “Are you here for your yooshual treatment?”

The unicorn pony looked about shyly. “Uh, yes... yes please Bubbly.”

Ever since the time when Fluttershy had become a model and Twilight had been stuck juggling secrets between her and Rarity, she’d gained a taste for visiting the spa – but she was worried that she would be teased by her friends after all those “Beauty is more than skin deep” lectures she’d given them

And anyway, just because I love books and reading and history and magic and all that sort of thing doesn’t mean I can take some time off for a make-over, does it? she thought to herself. No, of course it doesn’t!

Twilight sighed. Juggling those secrets had been a total nightmare! But by far the worst thing had been... She glanced nervously at the large mirror in the foyer as she waited for Bubbly Lotus to collect some towels and oil and other items for her to use in the bath.  No Pinkie! She exhaled in relief. Sometimes that little pink pony scared her!

“Thees way Mees Sparkle!” After helping her to put on her spa robe, Bubbly led Twilight down a long corridor decorated with gorgeous photos of tranquil scenes: mountain glades in the Swayback Mountains, leaf-strewn paths in the Whitetail Woods, skies peppered with lazy little cotton-ball clouds, and all the while the soft tones of flute and shamisen music shimmered through the air. Twilight found herself relaxing at once, each hoof-step lighter than the one before it, the tightness in her chest from leaning over books for hours starting to dissolve away. She never used to be one for beauty treatments – she did like long baths, though, but only if she had a good book to read while she was lying in the tub. Each time she came to the spa she tossed up whether or not to smuggle in a book which she hadn’t quite finished yet (this time it had been a book of Old Eqquish poetry) but each time she’d decided not to: she had to drag herself away from her books sometime, and a visit to the spa was an ideal excuse. Besides, she was nervous that the other spa-goers would laugh at her.

Soon they came to the sliding doors that led to the common bath – but Bubbly led her past it towards the part of the spa where the private suites were located.

“Oh, but I didn’t...” Twilight started to say, but Bubbly turned to her and smiled. “Oh Mees Sparkle – you are a regular now, so please accept a private bath suite compliments of the Lotus Spa.” She lowered her blue eyes shyly. “We all appreciate the great deeds you haf performed for Ponyville. Oh, I remember that evening you defeated ze fearsome Ursa! Think of thees as jost a little thank-you!”

Twilight smiled back at her, blushing. “Thank you,” she said. She’d thought that nopony remembered the Ursa Minor incident! It had happened in her first week in Ponyville and like most things in this strange little town it had been forgotten as soon as the next threat had come along – wait, had it been the sleeping dragon or the parasprite infestation that had come next? Or had it been...

But Bubbly was already opening the door to a private suite open for Twilight. The unicorn pony had never been in one before, and as Bubbly led her inside she took in the low, square bath in one corner lit by a multitude of gently flickering tea-candles, the lotus flowers floating on its surface visible through thin tendrils of steam, the round mud bath on the other side of the room, filled with refreshing purple mineral-rich clay, the gorgeous fleece-covered massage couch, another massage mat resting next to it on the floor... it was all so, well – simply luxurioooos!

Bubbly gestured towards the bath that was sending out tendrils of steam. Oh, everything smelled so heavenly! Twilight slipped out of her bathrobe and put a testing fore-hoof into the water.  It was boiling hot and she gasped initially, but kept her hoof in, swirling it about until she adjusted to the temperature. Then she eased the rest of her body in, the lotus blossoms fleeing from her as her lavender body slid into the water. The scent of ginger and lemongrass fluttered up to her muzzle and she sighed again. She glanced over to where Bubbly was busying herself at a small table arranging the towels she’d brought and sorting through a number of vials of facial and body cream and bottles of massage oil, and when she noticed Twilight looking at her the spa pony smiled back at her sweetly.

Twilight lay back fully and closed her eyes. The water felt so good! She scrunched all four hooves and swished her legs around in the water, which flowed about them in a most fascinating pattern. She marvelled at how the water reacted, flowing and swirling about her invisibly – it was certainly some complicated magic! Her fringe soon grew moist in the rising steam, lying on her forehead in strings, so she brushed it back past her horn and slid still deeper into the bath.

Twilight sighed again and let her body go totally limp, allowing the hot water to lift her up and support her weight. As always happens when one sense is removed, the others became stronger for Twilight. Floating in the black world behind her closed eyelids she listened to the swish of the hot water against the edges of the tiled bath, the soft burbling of fresh water pouring from the ever-running faucets. Over to the left of her, Twilight could hear the clink of bottles and the shuffle of material as the spa pony continued dutifully in her preparations for the massage and facial treatment she would be giving her later.

After what seemed a blissful eternity, Bubbly’s voice wafted over to her. “Are you ready for ze massage, Mees Sparkle?”

“Mmmm?” Twilight had dozed off deep in that wonderful universe of steam, water and fragrant bubbles. She opened her eyes and got out of the water with yet another sigh – but when Bubbly took it upon herself to help her dry her coat, Twilight had to stifle a giggle. She’d always thought it felt a little strange to have somepony else dry her coat – it was like being a child again! But Bubbly smiled at her reassuringly, her touch gentle and sensitive, and Twilight was soon murmuring in pleasure.

Finally the spa pony indicated that she should lie down on the massage table. Twilight lay down, sighing as she rested her muzzle on the soft, fleecy surface. She’d almost dozed off again when she heard Bubbly open a bottle and she gasped when she felt a sudden flood of cool liquid onto the small of her back.

“Oh, pleese excoos me, Mees Sparkle!” said Bubbly, distraught. Twilight shook her head, but then she gasped a second time when she felt the spa pony’s hooves touch her coat. They dipped gingerly into the little pool of oil, spreading it all over her back and down onto her rump as well – and she found herself blushed hot against the fleece.

Bubbly hummed to herself as she drew her soft but firm hooves across Twilight’s back. She started at the unicorn pony’s neck, squeezing away the pinches that had developed there after so many hours of pouring over books. Then the spa pony worked her way down Twilight’s shoulders and withers, her hooves digging into the knots that had bunched everywhere there, and, already loosened by the hot bath, she eased them back into supple flesh.

Bubbly suddenly stopped humming. “Dos that feel good, Mees Sparkle?” she asked.

Twilight murmured in the affirmative, licking her lips to stop the drool that had pooled at the corners of her mouth from dripping onto the fleece.

Bubbly, obviously pleased by her lack of coherent answer, continued to hum. Twilight suddenly realised that she recognised the tune from somewhere, but where had she heard it? It wasn’t so much a melody as some sort of fanfare...

“Would you like me to crack your spine for you, Mees Sparkle?” the spa pony asked.

Twilight nodded. Why not? But she gasped when she felt Bubbly reposition her body and nimbly climb onto the table on top of her. Hind legs on either side of Twilight’s rump, she leaned forward and started to work on either side of Twilight’s spine and with gentle but powerful pumps of her fore-hooves she made it crack.

Twilight’s eyes flashed open. It felt amazing! And it wasn’t just the pleasure from the cracking that she was feeling – for every time Bubbly leaned forward the spa pony would lift her own rump and haunches with every pump, and then she’d sit back down again on the small of Twilight’s back and the base of her rump once it had cracked. Bubbly’s coat felt so warm and soft against her own! Twilight soon found herself panting with pleasure.

“Are you enjoying that, Twilight Sparkle?” the spa pony asked in a strangely self-satisfied tone.

“Oh yes! Celestia, yes!” Twilight gasped with involuntary heat.

“Then perhaps you will also enjoy ze body slide?” Having finished with the cracking of Twilight’s back, Bubbly was resting her haunches on the unicorn pony’s rump.

“A body slide?” What in Equestria was a body slide? Twilight wondered. But since it was courtesy of the spa, she muttered yes. It couldn’t hurt, could it?

Bubbly climbed off the table and taking Twilight’s hoof in her own she led her to the mat lying nearby.

Twilight looked at the mat nervously. “Uh, what should I do? I’ve never... I’ve never had a body slide before...”

Bubbly smiled. “Oh, it ees simplicity itself, Mees Twilight! All you need to do is lie down on your tommy. I shall do ze rest!”

Twilight lay down as directed, and then she turned her head about to see what Bubbly was doing. The spa pony was standing on her hind legs and was in the middle of pouring massage oil from a bottle down the front of her body.  She laughed at the shocked look on Twilight’s face. “No peeping pleese, Mees Sparkle! I’ll be ready soon. Pleese jos relax yourself for ze moment!”

Twilight swallowed nervously, but she did as she was told. Her heart was pounding as she heard the clip-clop of Bubbly’s hoof-fall on the floor as she came up and lay down full length on top of her, and she gasped at the sensation of the spa pony’s oil-covered coat touching her own. It was so soft and yielding, yet behind it the firmness of Bubbly’s beautifully toned figure pressed down on her, and Twilight felt like she was being covered and enveloped in an impossibly luxurious pillow.

But then Bubbly slowly began to ease herself up and down Twilight’s back, smearing the oil between them. With each slide the spa pony’s hot breath trailed up and down from Twilight’s neck to her rump and she bit her lip to stop herself from moaning with pleasure. The sensations going through her body were incredible! Why hadn’t Rarity ever suggested they get a body slide? Was it too expensive? She’d have to check the spa menu later...

Soon Bubbly switched positions, turning herself around so that her haunches were on either side of Twilight’s withers and she lay her forelegs along the unicorn pony’s hind legs, reaching down to rub the oil over the sensitive soles of Twilight’s hooves, all the while still sliding her oil-slick body all over her.

But this wasn’t relaxing at all! In fact, Twilight was getting tight in the chest and her whole body felt like it had caught fire from the oil and the heat of the spa pony’s rubbing. But it was nothing compared to the feelings that coursed through her body when Bubbly ran her fore-hooves over her rump and the inner part of her haunches. The slipperiness of the oil, the heat of the breath that was coming out of Bubbly’s mouth in pants now, the feeling of the spa pony’s haunches squeezing against her withers, the heady narcotic scent of the oil mixed with the sharp scent of Bubbly’s coat  - as the sensations enveloped her, Twilight’s senses reeled.

“Oh! Oh! Bubbly!” she gasped. “I.... oh, I think you... you should stop! I’m... uhh, I’m...” It took all of Twilight’s concentration to get the words out of her mouth as her mind was flooded with exquisite jolts of pleasure. Her horn, lit by the pooling of magical energy that was seeping uncontrolled throughout her body, started to sparkle of its own accord.

But Bubbly didn’t reply. She was panting as well, and she gave no indication that she was going to stop – but then she got off and with oily hooves she flipped Twilight onto her back and lay on top of her again so that she was sitting with her haunches on either side of the unicorn pony’s own. Twilight looked up at her and saw that Bubbly’s face was now one of ecstatic abandon, her chest slick with oil, her pink mane sticky with perspiration, her mouth open, her face blushing a deep red. And at the sight Twilight’s horn glowed ever brighter.

As Bubbly started to slide the front of her body against Twilight’s, she rested on her elbows on either side of the unicorn pony’s shoulders and brought her face down towards her.  Twilight was in ecstasy now, and she barely struggled when the spa pony brought their lips together and kissed her. She found herself hugging Bubbly around the chest with her forelegs, involuntarily drawing her body closely against her own, and her hooves slipped up and down the spa pony’s body as she continued to slide against her. Their haunches, so close together, seemed to be fusing together by the blistering sensations that were coursing through them, and Twilight was now so given over to the pleasure pulsing through her that she didn’t notice that the purple glow flowing down her own horn had been joined by a similar lambent glow from the centre of the spa pony’s own forehead.

Suddenly Bubbly’s rubbing increased in intensity, and Twilight moaned against the spa pony’s panting mouth as she felt herself peaking. And the taste and scent of the hot breath coming from Bubbly’s mouth drove her over the edge, and she cried out in sheer ecstasy – and at the same precise moment the spa pony did as well, arching her back and crying out “Oh Twilight Sparkle!”

Twilight’s world was enveloped in purple light as the magic that had been condensing in her horn suddenly exploded out in a flash of brilliant energy, and Twilight felt the waves of pleasure joined with waves of magic spraying out in every direction. Her eyes glowed white hot as she lost herself in the magical ecstasy that she had only experienced two times in her life – once when she had been a filly taking her entrance exam and again when she had fought Nightmare Moon with the Elements of Harmony. But as the pleasure ebbed away, leaving a warm, satisfied glow in her body, so did the magical energy – and when she could see again, she saw that the appearance of the pony lying on top of her had dramatically changed. No longer was she a pink-maned earth pony – her blue coat had become paler, her waterfall of a pink mane shrinking back to a single, arrogant wave of silver, and a horn had appeared on her forehead, still glowing with the last purple ebbs of magical energy. But the expression on Twilight’s partner’s face was still one of ecstasy, her mouth open, tongue partly extended as she panted in pleasure... but when she at last looked down at Twilight and saw the look of shock on her face, her own purple eyes went wide in confusion.

“Trixie!?!” Twilight cried in horror, slipping her body out from under the blue-coated unicorn pony’s.

Trixie looked at her forelegs and swept her tail in front of her – and as soon as she saw it was silver-blue instead of Bubbly’s pink, she yelped as well and scrambled backwards off the massage table.

“What... what were you trying to do to me?” Twilight demanded in a whisper. She stepped back onto all fours, face to face with the still confused Trixie, her horn glowing ready against the magical onslaught she was sure would come.

 

But Trixie’s look of confusion was quickly replaced by one of haughty indifference. She reared onto her hind legs but made no move to prepare for battle, but instead began to fastidiously wipe the oil from her chest and forelegs with her hooves. At last she deigned to look at Twilight and grinned, her eyes glittering in derisive humour.

“So it seems that you have seen through the Great and Powerful Trixie’s intricate illusion, Twilight Sparkle!” Trixie smirked. “It took you long enough to do so! Perhaps the much-vaunted magical ability of the heroine of Ponyville is slipping?”

“Wh... what in Equestria are you talking about, Trixie?” demanded Twilight through narrowed eyes. “Where’s the real Bubbly?”

“Oh, she’s quite safe,” replied Trixie, a bored tone in her voice. “You might say she’s all tied up at the moment!” She laughed. “But enough of such mundane trivialities! It is time for the Great and Powerful Trixie to exact her long-awaited revenge!” She fell back down onto four legs, her horn beginning to glow as well.

“Revenge?” asked Twilight. “Revenge for what? I’ve never...”

Trixie’s face suddenly darkened in anger. “Have you forgotten? Revenge for the humiliation that you wrought upon the Great and Powerful Trixie of course!” Her lip curled in a disdainful smirk. “For upstaging her in front of all those slack-jawed yokels! She has never forgotten how you stole the limelight from her, Twilight Sparkle, with your flashy and artless telekinesis! So Trixie has been biding her time since then, watching your every move and waiting for the ideal moment to strike!”

“To strike? You mean, give me a massage?” Twilight wanted to laugh, but she was too busy trying to suppress the blush that threatened to turn her face crimson - she’d almost said body-slide, and she felt ashamed of the memory of the intense pleasure that Trixie had made her feel.

 

Trixie looked at Twilight as if she had slapped her in the face. “The... the Great and Powerful Trixie is multi-talented!” she cried, shaking her head. “Not only is she an expert in every kind of magic and illusion, but she is also a master stage performer who can sing, and dance, and...”

“... give massages?” This time Twilight couldn’t suppress the mischievous smile that sprang onto her face.

Trixie glared at her. “Yes – and give massages as well!” She sniffed and turned her face away, her muzzle high in the air.  “It is merely another feather in the most talented pony in Equestria’s cap!” She suddenly turned back to Twilight and grinned haughtily. “Were you not brought to the screaming heights of pleasure by the firm and sensual hooves of the Great and Powerful Trixie, Twilight Sparkle?”

Twilight suddenly blushed. “Well, I... uhh.” But then she shook her head and glared back at Trixie. “That’s not what we’re talking about here, Trixie.” She sighed. “Look... I’m sorry, it’s just that this must be the most ridiculous plan of revenge I’ve ever heard of!”

“Silence, lavender unicorn!” Trixie glowered in annoyance. “Just because your amateurish mind cannot conceive of the brilliant machinations of the Great and Powerful Trixie’s superior intellect does not mean her plan was ridiculous! It is painfully simple, Twilight Sparkle,” she sighed, looking down at the sole of a fore-hoof. “Trixie shall try and explain it in terms that even one as ignorant as you can understand! When the Great and Powerful Trixie learned of your habit of frequenting this...” She looked about the suite with a sneer. “...third-rate establishment, she realised that this was the perfect setting for her ultimate revenge!”

“So let me see if I’ve got this straight,” Twilight lay back on her haunches and rubbed her forehead with a hoof as if she had a headache. Her horn had stopped glowing. “The Great and Powerful Trixie has been watching my every move, waiting for when I was at my most vulnerable so that she could... give me a massage?”

“It was no mere massage!” Trixie spat. “The Great and Powerful Trixie lulled you into a state of absolute defencelessness and had she not outdone herself with the most sensual of body slides, then she would have struck!” The silver-maned unicorn threw her fore-hooves into the air. “For once she has defeated you, the Great and Powerful Trixie shall parade you in abject humiliation before the gawking peasants of this minuscule town and her vengeance shall be complete!”  Her exultant laugh echoed through the suite.

“That’s quite some plan...” Twilight looked at her slyly though narrowed eyes. “If I didn’t know the Great and Powerful Trixie better, I’d have thought that she had a crush on me!”

“Silence!” Trixie’s eyes blazed with sudden rage. “The only pony the Great and Powerful Trixie has a crush on is the Great and Powerful Trixie herself! But she tires of talk – defend yourself, Twilight Sparkle, against the mighty spells of Trixie!” Her horn glowed suddenly brighter.

Twilight sighed. “OK – let’s get this over and done with then, Trixie.” And with that her own horn started to shimmer again.

Trixie struck first. Levitating the towels that she had so carefully arranged at the small table near the door to the suite, she flung them at Twilight – one wrapping itself around her face like a shroud, the others knotting together and twisting about her legs.

Trixie laughed in triumph – but it was short lived, for Twilight shook the towel from her head and floating a bottle of massage oil up into the air above her, she tipped it over so that the oil coated her from ear to tail – and with the extra lubrication she slithered out of the knotted towels, a smile on her face.

“A spa isn’t the best place to try something like that, Trixie!” she smiled. And with that she lifted the mat from beside the massage table, rolled it up and floated it behind Trixie. The silver-maned unicorn pony tried to gallop out of the way, but Twilight was too quick – she swatted Trixie on the rump with it and she went sliding across the floor of the suite, landing face-first into the mud bath with a yelp. She vanished under the purple-grey surface and disappeared for a heart beat – but then bubbles appeared and she surfaced, now completely covered with mud. Her once-proud mane was sticky with the purple-grey ooze, hanging down and dripping, and the only parts of her that were recognisable were the horn that stuck up through the mud and her wide purple eyes that burned with rage and humiliation.

“You, you... how dare you!” Trixie cried, distraught. “My... my lustrous mane! My... my beautiful coat!” She shook herself all over, but although some of the mud flew off and splattered against the walls and the floor around the bath, most of it stuck fast, and she gasped in despair.

Twilight couldn’t help but laugh at the sight, and Trixie scowled at her as the silver-maned unicorn pony struggled to wade through the mud. Every time she lifted her legs, the sucking clay tried to draw them back down into the mire, and she slipped and fell twice, falling flat on her face and coating her muzzle with more of the thick, gluey substance. But at last she reached the edge of the bath and clambered out, slipping onto the floor on her stomach and sliding a short distance, leaving a trail of purple-grey mud smeared on the previously pristine blue tiles.

At the sight of Trixie floundering on the floor and trying to lift her dripping, mud-coated body with yelps and gasps of breathless annoyance, Twilight’s chuckling turned into open laughter, and she doubled over in mirth – but this gave Trixie the perfect opportunity for a surprise attack. With a loud cry she leaped at the lavender-coated unicorn pony and fell on top of her, splattering her with the grey-purple mud that still clung to her. Twilight was driven back onto her rump, and Trixie fell on top of her, pinning her down, and as the haughty stage-magician looked down at the now equally mud-smeared Twilight with malicious humour, the purple-grey sludge dripped down from her face in thick strands, bespattering Twilight’s face and mane as she struggled to escape.

Her face now splattered with mud, Twilight gasped in shock and anger, and with a blast of magical energy she pushed Trixie off her and slid on top of her, pinning her down. But Twilight’s victory was short lived as Trixie kicked her legs from under her and turned the lavender-coated unicorn pony onto her stomach and straddled her, squeezing her hind legs together with her knees and locking her fore-legs with her own.

“Do you yield, Twilight Sparkle!?” cried Trixie. “The Great and Powerful Trixie has you in her power and there is no way you can escape! Yield, or else...”

“Or else what?” Twilight muttered. “Or else you’ll give me another bodyslide?”

Trixie blushed crimson under the rapidly drying coat of mud on her face, and Twilight, sensing that she was distracted, bucked her off her back and again leaped on top of her.

And so the two unicorn ponies continued to wrestle, gasping and snorting as they rolled about on the tiled floor, each desperate to get the upper hand. The walls of the luxurious suite and all of its gorgeous furnishings were soon bespattered with blobs of mud, and wherever Trixie and Twilight rolled they left behind a thick trail of sticky purple sludge.

At last Trixie managed to pin an exhausted Twilight to the floor and, putting her whole weight on her, she gloated down at her, her face an ecstasy of victory obvious even through the layer of drying mud.

“Piece of cake!” she laughed. “I won’t be falling for one of your tricks again, Twilight Sparkle!” She brought her smirking face down closer. “Well then, Twilight Sparkle – do you yield? Or must the Great and Powerful Trixie continue to demonstrate how she is an equine superior to you in every way?”

Twilight was exhausted, but she had one trick left up her sleeve.  “I... yield,” she answered with a sigh of resignation. “But... but before you parade me before the rest of Ponyville, I just want to say one thing...” She looked up at Trixie, her glistening violet eyes helpless.

Trixie’s eyes flashed and she grinned in satisfaction. “Very well! The Great and Powerful Trixie is nothing if not merciful! She agrees to your pleas. What is it that you have to say, Twilight Sparkle?”

“I just... I just want you to know that....” Twilight lowered her gaze, a blush spreading across her cheeks. “I... I have a crush on the Great and Powerful Trixie.” Twilight quickly lifted her muzzle and kissed the silver-maned unicorn pony firmly on the lips.

The change on Trixie’s face was remarkable. Her look of arrogant victory melted away almost immediately into one of soppy infatuation: her ears went back as her own cheeks flushed red, and her wide purple eyes glistened with the beginning of tears. “You... you have a crush on m... on Trixie?” she asked, her voice soft and thick with emotion.

Twilight nodded shyly. “It’s just that she... I mean, you... well, you are so great and powerful, after all.  And...” She blushed deeply. “I... I’ve never had anypony make me feel like you did today – with your massage and your....” She swallowed, and her eyes glittered at the memory. “... your bodyslide.”

Trixie looked down at Twilight, a blissful smile on her face. “You... you really feel that way about Trixie, Twilight Sparkle?”

“I do, Trixie,” Twilight replied, but then her face turned suddenly anxious. “Do... do you think that you could ever be with... somepony like me? A pony much less great and powerful than yourself?”

Trixie nodded, wiping the tears that had started to run down her cheeks with a still-muddy hoof that left a smear of purple in its wake. “Of course Trixie could. That would make Trixie... happier than she has ever felt before in her life.” She climbed off Twilight and helped her up off the muddy tiles. “You see, Twilight Sparkle... the truth is, is that Trixie...” She lowered her face, but looked up with glistening eyes, her cheeks turning red. “Ever since that day Trixie saw your amazing magical power, she hasn’t been able to forget about you.” Her eyes flashed open in adoration. “The way you defeated that Ursa Major..!”

“Ursa Minor,” corrected Twilight gently.

Trixie nodded. “The Ursa Minor she means... it was magnificent! No, it was more than magnificent – it was spectacular!” She threw her hooves up into the air, and Twilight ducked to avoid the mud splatter that resulted. “Oh, Twilight Sparkle! Such heroism, such bravery, such drama! In that moment, you reminded the Great and Powerful Trixie of herself and...” Trixie looked at Twilight with glistening eyes. “...and so that is why she... she...”

Twilight brought a hoof to Trixie’s face. The silver-maned unicorn pony’s tears had started anew, and they cut little rivulets in the caked mud all over her face, revealing the blue coat beneath. “Shhhh.....” she said, bringing her face close to Trixie’s. “Twilight understands your feelings Trixie, and she shares them...”

Twilight’s horn had started to glow, and the silver-maned unicorn pony’s horn lit up as well, as if fire had leapt between them. And then their lips met, and as they did their horns touched as well, and magic sparked and flowed all over the two of them in waves of cold purple fire.

Trixie gasped at the intensity of Twilight’s kiss, and one of her hind legs lifted up involuntarily – and so she was totally unprepared for what happened next. There was a sudden burst of magical power from Twilight’s horn which blossomed forth in an almost  pure white light, and it quickly surrounded Trixie... and with her eyes still closed, and her mouth still open and trailing the thinnest thread of their mixed saliva she was lifted clean up into the air.

Trixie’s eyes flashed open, and realising what had happened she screamed.

“What ... what are you doing Twilight Sparkle?” she cried, all four legs kicking helplessly in the air. She looked down to see the lavender-coated unicorn pony doubled over in laughter.

“How does it feel, Trixie?” laughed Twilight. “You don’t feel so great and powerful now, do you?” She clapped her fore-hooves together in glee. “I did it! I did it! I outsmarted the Great and Powerful Trixie! Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes!”

Trixie’s face collapsed, her expression twisting into one of rage. “Release the Great and Powerful Trixie at once, Twilight!” she shouted. “Now!” But tears still welled at the corners of her wide purple eyes, and behind her arrogant commands she choked back a sob.

Twilight smiled up at her in victory. “Not until she admits that I’ve defeated her fair and square!”

Trixie’s eyes flickered in... sadness?  But she turned her face away so quickly that Twilight was never able to tell if she had just imagined it, and when she turned back her expression had returned to that of her usual haughty disdain, but now mixed with an anger kept barely under control. “Very well. You... win, Twilight Sparkle.” The words came through gritted teeth. “Congratulations.  You’ve defeated the Great and Powerful Trixie. Now let her down. She no longer wishes to endure this... humiliation.”

Twilight slowly floated the silver-maned unicorn pony to the floor and loosened her telekinetic grip. “Now remember, Trixie – you promised...” she began.

But Twilight never finished the sentence – for Trixie had reared onto her hind legs and with a disdainful laugh she cried: “You haven’t won, Twilight Sparkle! Nopony can ever defeat the Great and Powerful Trixie! All they may hope to achieve is a draw, as you have done!”

And as Twilight stared at her open-mouthed, there was a sudden explosion of smoke and fireworks, and when it dissipated away, leaving the lavender-coated unicorn pony coughing and wiping the smoke from her eyes, Trixie was gone, the door to the private suite flapping madly at her hasty exit.

Twilight slumped onto the cold floor of the suite and for a long time she watched the door until it stopped flapping at last. She half-heartedly wiped the mixture of mud and oil from her face, and then she touched her lips at the memory of Trixie’s kiss. There were some things you just couldn’t fake.

“Oh Trixie,” Twilight sighed. She drew her muddy hoof across the tiles in front of her, absent-mindedly marking the shape of a love-heart. “If only I knew how you really felt about me. But your life is just one, big magic act, isn’t it? And I...I don’t think I can ever trust you enough to love you.”

To be continued

---

The Mistress of Midnight Castle starring Twilight, Trixie and special guest-stars the Diamond Dogs

“Delivery for Miss Twilight Sparkle!”

At the sound of the doorbell, Twilight clopped her hooves together in joy. “Yes, yes, yes, yes, YES!” she cried. “It’s finally here!!” She galloped to the door and opened it – but the delivery pony had already left, and sitting on the doorstep to the Library was a small box stamped with the radiant sun symbol that indicated it had come all the way from Canterlot.

Twilight stifled a cry of delight and quickly floated it inside with her magic, undoing the string as she did so, and as soon as the box touched the floor it fell open, spilling out a small amount of wood-shavings – and with them a little purple velvet bag tied up with gold lace.

Twilight giggled and dusted the wood-shaving from the pouch with her nose and then took it up in her mouth, sneaking a quick sniff of its sweet scent which emanated even through the pouch’s material. She quickly carried it over to the kitchen counter, using her magic to float her favourite teapot over to her and put the kettle on at the same time. Then Twilight’s horn glowed even brighter and the lace on the little pouch undid itself and the pouch opened, disgorging more of the sweet scent.  She levitated it over the teapot, tipping it so that the sweetly-scented dried leaves and petals flowed out.

Every month the pouch of sunrise poppy tea she ordered from that little tea-shop she’d found near the markets in Canterlot cost a substantial part of her allowance, but it was always absolutely worth it! The sunrise poppy made one of the most perfumed and subtly delectable teas in all of Equestria, but it was extremely expensive. The poppy wasn’t rare exactly, but it grew on the precipitous cliffs of the mountainside above Canterlot Castle which were only accessible by air, and it required both Pegasus and unicorn ponies to harvest it – and it was a difficult and time-consuming job. The unicorn ponies would locate the best flowers just at the perfect stage of blossoming, while the Pegasus ponies would fly them to the inhospitable spots where they preferred to grow.

Soon a shrill whistle indicated that the water had boiled, and Twilight levitated the kettle over to her teapot, filling it with the piping hot water. The Library’s musty air immediately came alive with delicate sweetness, and Twilight could barely wait for the tea to steep.

But soon it was ready. She poured a cup and sat down on the couch to drink it – and with the first sip she felt all her cares slip away. It was the magic of the sunrise poppy that it brought calm and gentle elation to those who drank the tea made of its leaves and flowers – and two cups was usually more than enough for Twilight to start relaxing and actually become quite giggly. Celestia had first prescribed it for her as a student at the Academy, when she’d was so worked up and stressed by her exams that she’d suffered from terrible insomnia – and the Princess with a wink had told Twilight that it would be a perfect cure for her student’s famed grouchiness as well.

The warmth of the tea and its gentle flavour infused Twilight’s body and she felt herself unwinding. The muscles in the back of her neck, which had seized up after several hours of being bent over her lectern unknotted of their own accord and she sighed.

“This is certainly good tea!” she giggled. It usually took three or more cups to make her feel as good as she did now! She quickly polished off the first cup and had just got up to pour a second when she suddenly felt dizzy.

“I think I got up too quickly... I’d better –”She yawned hugely, “–lie down before I fall over or...some... th...” But as she moved back towards the couch, she suddenly slumped to the ground, unconscious, the teacup dropping from where her magic had held it floating in the air and smashing on the floor.

Moments later, one of the Library windows opened up a crack, and a rough, grey-blue paw appeared – and then another beside it – and soon they were joined by a squat head with sharp ears and narrow almond-shaped eyes, the pupils of which flashed left and right as it surveyed the inside of the library.

“Good!” said the Diamond Dog. “No baby dragon!” He turned back to where his two compatriots were digging themselves out of the ground. “Quick! You two! Go in and get the pony!”

At the sharp cajoling of the boss Dog, the other two Diamond Dogs followed him in through the window and soon they were encircling the comatose Twilight. But as the boss Dog looked down at her and rubbed his paws together, he suddenly noticed the larger of his companions sniffing about the bookcase and knocking over the books with a hungry and inquisitive paw, and he turned and slapped him across his wide head.

“No!” he snarled. “Forget the books! Get the pony!” At the barked orders of their boss, the bigger and smaller Dog each grabbed Twilight at one end and carried her out through the window with much pulling and pushing and muttering.  “Quick! Before the baby dragon comes home! Or worse, the whining white pony!” He cringed at the memory, and leapt out through the window just as his companions were drawing Twilight down under the earth and into the tunnels they had sprung from.  And then with a shower of dirt they were gone.

*        *        *

When Twilight woke up she had a splitting headache and she could barely open her eyes, they felt so heavy – but she forced them open all the same when she realised she was lying on cold stone and was no longer in the Library. Bust just where in Equestria was she?

As she looked about at her surroundings, she had a sudden attack of vertigo and felt sick to her stomach – but she closed her eyes until the nausea passed, and when she opened her eyes her wavering double vision had resolved itself. The first thing she saw was a grey stone wall and along it torches burning in sconces producing a fitful, flickering orange light. But when she turned her head in the other direction, she saw something that made her clamber to her feet in a panic and stumble back against the wall behind her. A Diamond Dog! And there was another! They were holding spears and leered at her from under their armoured helmets, and between them were visible the bottom steps of a lofty staircase cut from the rock – and as Twilight painfully lifted her throbbing head to bring her gaze to its top, an arrogant and sneering voice she knew all too well resounded throughout the cavernous chamber.

“So... you’ve awoken at long last!” laughed the silver-maned unicorn pony lounging on the throne at the top of the staircase. On either side of her an armoured Diamond Dog guard stood to attention, a vicious-looking spear clutched in his paw.

“Trixie!?” cried Twilight. “What...!? ” With her mouth still dry from the drugging she found it difficult to get the words out. “What’s the meaning of this!? Why have you brought me here?”

“Welcome to my lair, Twilight Sparkle!” laughed Trixie. “The Great and Powerful Trixie must apologise for the roughness of her guards – but she was sure you wouldn’t accept a more formal invitation!”

Twilight made no reply, but steadying her wobbling legs, she lowered her head and pointed her horn up at the silver-maned unicorn. “Let me go, Trixie,” she cried, as loudly as her drug-dry throat would let her. “And nopony – or Dog –gets hurt!”

Trixie laughed uproariously and the Diamond Dog guards stationed everywhere throughout the throne room joined in with their own harsh barking laughter. “Oh, my darling Twilight,” She got up from her throne and starting to step gracefully down the staircase. “Trixie has not brought you here to harm you. Besides, using your magic at this particular juncture would be exceedingly foolish.”

“What...what do you mean?” The look of arrogant confidence on Trixie’s grinning face made Twilight’s heart skip a beat.

Trixie laughed again. She had reached the bottom of the steps now. “You shall understand everything soon enough, my darling Twilight Sparkle! But please, look around you! Don’t you recognise this place?” She reared up and threw her forelegs out expansively. “Of course you do! Welcome to Midnight Castle!”

“Midnight... Castle!?” Twilight took another step backwards. Surely Trixie was joking! “But... it’s forbidden for anypony to even come within sight  of Midnight Castle – by royal edict of Princess Celestia herself!”

“Oh?” Trixie chuckled. She was standing right before Twilight now and was considering her with an amused look. “And can you tell Trixie why it’s forbidden by your beloved Princess, Twilight Sparkle? Perhaps you’ve read about it in one of those books you so adore?”

Twilight replied, her voice tinged with fear and anger. “You know as well as I do, Trixie. Midnight Castle was the lair of the evil being known as Tirac – and the last known resting place of the Rainbow of Darkness!”

“Very good, Twilight Sparkle,” smirked Trixie. “It seems that you remember your lessons from Canterlot Academy as well as Trixie does...”

“But Trixie,” Twilight’s eyes flashed left and right, rapidly scanning for an exit – but even though there were a number of darkened archways leading out of the great throne room, they were all guarded by Diamond Dogs. “The Rainbow of Darkness is dangerous! It has the power to...”

Trixie’s eyes flashed, and her smile fell suddenly away. “Do not lecture me on what is dangerous and what is not, Twilight Sparkle!” she cried, turning around and waving an expansive hoof about the throne room hoof and all the assembled Dogs. “The Great and Powerful Trixie is different from all other ponies, and the rules of your beloved Princess do not apply to her. It is the Great and Powerful Trixie who is now the Mistress of Midnight Castle – and soon she will hold the power of the Rainbow of Darkness as well!”

Twilight saw the look of megalomania in the silver-maned unicorn’s eyes as she surveyed her domain and her heart sank. This was no longer the Trixie who had travelled Equestria as an arrogant stage-magician, but somepony else – somepony frightening.

When Trixie turned back to Twilight, she was again wearing a supercilious grin – and she lifted a forehoof to the lavender-coated unicorn’s face, drawing it lovingly across her cheek and down along her neck – and Twilight, her mouth open in surprise at Trixie’s touch, suddenly realised she was wearing some kind of collar around her neck.

“What... what is this?” whispered Twilight, bringing her own forehoof up to her neck. Trixie intercepted it with her own, and drew it to her mouth and kissed it – but at the touch of her lips, Twilight jerked the hoof away, her face a confusion of fear and embarrassment.

“Oh, the choker is just a little present from the Great and Powerful Trixie!” said Trixie. “And she must say that you look most fetching in it – the dark gem in its centre is the perfect counterpoint to your gorgeous violet eyes. But perhaps more importantly, it is also insurance, my dearest Twilight – for that gem has trapped within it a sliver of the Rainbow of Darkness!”

At Trixie’s words, Twilight’s hoof jerked away from the cold gemstone she could feel set in the choker’s centre. “A... a sliver of the Rainbow of Darkness? But...”

Trixie raised an eyebrow. “And do you know what happens if magic is used in the proximity of even a very small fragment of the Rainbow of Darkness, Twilight Sparkle?” she asked with a gleam in her purple eyes.

Twilight swallowed. “It... it grows stronger.”

Trixie chuckled. “Oh, Twilight Sparkle! You really are a clever pony – not in the same league as the Great and Powerful Trixie, but clever nonetheless! So she need not tell you what can occur to one who is exposed to the Rainbow of Darkness?”  She grinned. “All sort of grotesque transformations! Why, who knows?” She indicated the Dog guards nearest to them with a sweep of a foreleg. “You might even end up turning into a Diamond Dog – and what a terrible fate that would be for such a beautiful pony!”

She laughed again, and the Dogs joined in, although some of the smarter Dogs put back their ears and started to whine, hurt by their mistress’s insult.

Trixie turned on them and snapped “Oh quiet, you curs!” Then she clopped her hooves together and the three Dogs who had kidnapped Twilight appeared from one of the darkened archways.

“Yes, Mistress?” asked the boss Dog, bowing low with his long, simian forearms.

Trixie turned and smiled at Twilight, whose face had drained of all its colour at the revelations she had just heard. “Have Trixie’s guest prepared and taken to my chamber – the Great and Powerful Trixie shall deal with her later.”

The boss Dog snapped his claws together and the other two grabbed the squirming and struggling Twilight, lifted her onto their backs and carried her from the hall.

As she was taken away she heard Trixie’s voice as she spoke to the boss Dog who had remained behind. “Have you found the rest of the Rainbow of Darkness yet?” she demanded.

“No Mistress,” he answered.

“You worthless mutts!” Trixie shouted. “Redouble your efforts! There must be a larger piece somewhere beneath the castle. And once she has it, all of Equestria shall kneel before the hooves of the Great and Powerful Trixie!”

She laughed, and her laughter reverberated down the corridor Twilight was being carried down and she screamed back “Trixie! No! You don’t know what the Rainbow of Darkness is capable of!”

*        *        *

As Twilight was carried along the corridor by the two Diamond Dogs, at first she fought back but in her drug-weakened state the blows of her hooves and the squirming of her legs did nothing but make the Dogs carrying her snigger in their coarse voices and so she gave up and let herself go slack, allowing herself to be carried without any further struggle.

Soon after, however, she’d decided to risk trying a little magic, just to check if Trixie had been telling the truth – but as soon as she began to feel the magical energy welling up within her heart and begin to travel up to her horn, there was a sharp and distinctly unpleasant sensation of prickling and burning around her neck and under the choker, centred upon the gemstone, so she immediately stopped.

So Trixie wasn’t bluffing!

Twilight fought back the panic she suddenly felt at her predicament, and lay back to conserve her energy and calm down – there wasn’t much more she could do now, but sooner or later there was sure to be an opportunity for escape. After all, she and her friends had outsmarted the Diamond Dogs before – she could surely do it again!

The Dogs carried her down a seemingly never-ending series of tunnels roughly dug out of the earth, and the farther they travelled the hotter it got. At last they came to the end of the tunnel where hot steam was billowing out of an arched doorway and they halted. The Dogs dumped Twilight on the ground and motioned for her to go inside.

“What... what is this place?” she asked fearfully. They weren’t going to throw her into molten lava were they?

“This is the mistress’s bathroom,” explained the larger Dog.  “The mistress said ‘The Great and Powerful Trixie is no mangy Dog! The Great and Powerful Trixie needs a bathroom to keep herself fresh and beautiful!’”

The smaller Dog continued the story. “So we dug until we found hot water, and made bathroom!”

Twilight sighed. It seemed that Trixie had the Dogs totally under her hoof!

“Go, pony!” said the larger of the two, becoming steadily exasperated at her hesitation. “Wash yourself! The Mistress wills it!”

“Yes, the Mistress wills it!” repeated the smaller Dog.

Twilight got up off the ground. Her coat was covered in dirt and... surely they couldn’t be fleas that were crawling on her? She shivered and then shook herself to dislodge the dirt and whatever else there was in her coat and scowled at the Dogs. “Why are you Diamond Dogs working for Trixie?” she demanded.

“The Mistress is all powerful!” said the smaller Dog.

“The Mistress promises us gold and jewels!” said the larger one.

Ha! Empty promises no doubt! “But has she given you any jewels yet?” asked Twilight, a surreptitious smile on her face.

The two Dogs looked at each other. “Well, not yet…” they admitted.

“Then why do you believe her?” Twilight pressed. This might just be the wedge she could drive between Trixie and her new allies!

“The Mistress is very, very persuasive,” explained the larger Dog with a shrug.

“The Boss has seen the jewels,” said the smaller Dog. “He said the Mistress showed him rubies and emeralds and sapphires and diamonds and rubies!”

“You already said ‘rubies’, you fool!” said the larger Dog, cuffing the smaller one.

Twilight nodded seriously – but inside she was leaping up and down in triumph. Maybe it wouldn’t be so hard to outsmart the Dogs after all. No doubt Trixie was using some kind of illusion to trick them. Well, she’d put an end to that as soon as she could!

“Hurry pony!” said the larger Dog.  “Wash! The Mistress does not like delays!”

Twilight sighed and looked towards the doorway – well, the steam certainly was refreshing! And her coat felt filthy and crawled after being carried by the Dogs for so long through the dirt-filled tunnels. “Very well,” she sniffed. She might as well have a bath while she worked out the best way to make use of her newly acquired knowledge!

Walking into the billowing clouds of moist steam, Twilight immediately found herself in a small natural cavern of what appeared to be limestone with a single oval-shaped pool in its centre ringed by a circlet of large, river-polished rocks. The water in it bubbled up continuously from an underground volcanic spring, and thick steam rose from the pool’s surface, tinged by the soft blue-green light of the glow-worms hanging from the ceiling.  Small patches of crystal poked from the walls and made a labyrinth of the reflections of the gently lapping water that flowed across the walls.

Twilight stood in awe at the eerie beauty of Trixie’s bath for several moments, but then she trotted up to the pool and dipped a forehoof in to test the waters. It was hot, but not too hot, and she straight away slipped down into the water and relaxed. Twilight smiled – one thing you could say for Trixie - the mare knew how to live in style even in the bowels of the dreaded Midnight Castle!

Twilight must have fallen asleep, probably due to exhaustion and the lingering effect of the drug, for she was awoken by the harshly barked order of the larger Dog. “Get out, pony! Enough bath! Get dry!”

A fluffy towel was thrown to her, and grabbing it in her mouth she stepped regretfully out of the pool and dried herself – which was difficult, since she couldn’t use her telekinetic powers like she was used to. Once done, she abandoned the sopping towel on one of the steaming rocks and stepped towards the archway – and something else was thrown at her, and she caught it this time in her fore-hooves. It was a robe.

“Get dressed! The Mistress waits for you!” said the smaller Dog.

“In this?” Twilight turned the almost-transparent robe silver-blue robe over in her hooves. It wasn’t the sort of thing she usually wore! It was… well, sumptuous and elegant and… a little too frilly for her tastes. And it was made out of silk or some other gorgeous material and made her coat tingle when she touched it.

Twilight stared at the robe. What in Equestria could Trixie be thinking? Twilight was her prisoner – but weren’t there supposed to be dank dungeons and clanking chains involved, rather than hot baths and beautiful robes? It made no sense whatsoever!

But then Twilight saw the impatience of the  two Dogs – obviously they were afraid of The Mistress’s temper – and she sighed and put the robe on, following the larger Dog as he led her back the way they had come, with the smaller guarding the rear.

With every step Twilight took, the whispery robe fluttered about her, rubbing all the way along her coat from her withers to her rump, and since she didn’t usually wear clothes it felt maddeningly ticklish, especially when the material brushed against her sensitive cutie-mark. She blushed, and closing her eyes she tried to concentrate on blocking out the tingling feelings that the rubbing was generating in her. But it wasn’t so bad, she decided finally. The robe was absolutely gorgeous after all, and after a while she got used to how it felt against her coat.

For a long while they walked back the way they had come, but then they took a different path and started an upward journey, and soon their path changed from a tunnel that had been dug from the earth to a stone-walled corridor like those she had seen when they had first left the throne room. Here they were joined by several more armoured Dog-guards, who fell in behind as an escort as the passage led inexorably upwards. And now they were no longer travelling along the rough-hewn passages beneath the Castle, but along the stone-clad corridors of the castle proper. Twilight looked at the old rusted remnants of chains and weapon-racks on the walls, and she shivered as she remembered what she had read in those old books at the Academy.

Legend had it that Midnight Castle had been the lair of an evil being called Tirac. Tirac – Twilight shook her head. Why did villains always have such harsh-sounding names, she wondered. Were they born with them, and then decided to enter upon a career of evil based on how scary their names sounded? What if you were born as Summer Blossom and went into the business of evil later in life – were you obligated to take on a new name? Twilight decided that that was probably what happened – after all, nopony could take The Dark Lord Summer Blossom seriously, could they?

Well, this Tirac had been the Master of Midnight Castle – and of the Rainbow of Darkness – but after his defeat by the legendary pony heroes of Dream Valley, the Rainbow had been lost. Trixie had obviously read the same book of legends that Twilight had. But trying to find it was insanity! Trixie would have to be stopped before she found it. There was no way she could control such an evil elemental power, and the repercussions to her and to everypony else involved would likely be deadly.

But what if she could control it? Twilight wondered. Was Equestria prepared for the Devious and Diabolical Trixie?  She shivered at the thought.

For the last five minutes they had climbed up winding stairs, passing by a series of windows that looked out over the crater-lake that the Castle was situated in, ringed by vicious rocks and the ceaseless surge of white-topped waves that crashed against them, whipped up by the perpetual storm that hung overhead. They were clearly high up in the towers of the castle itself now.

And at last they reached their ultimate destination in one of the upper towers of the castle. The bigger Dog knocked on a huge door emblazoned with the magic wand and trailing fairy-dust of Trixie’s cutie mark and said hesitantly “Mistress?”

“At last! Bring her in!” came Trixie’s voice from the other side of the door – and the Dog turned the doorknob and pushed open the door as his smaller companion ushered Twilight inside.

A sumptuously decorated room was revealed to Twilight’s eyes. Thick tapestries hung on the stone walls while furs carpeted the stone-flagged floors. Various antique cabinets and wardrobes lined the walls, and each was fronted by a huge mirror that made multiple copies of the room, until it looked as if you were standing in the epicentre of a score of different dimensions. But the room itself was dominated by a huge four-poster bed covered with a luxurious crimson coverlet on which the Great and Powerful Trixie herself was lying, gazing into a hand mirror held between her forehooves and eating chocolates from a large, open box beside her.

“Good evening, Twilight Sparkle!” she said as she took another chocolate in her mouth, her eyes never leaving the mirror before her, while in every other reflected surface a dozen Trixie-doppelgangers mimicked her motions. “Won’t you join me?”

Twilight blushed and stepped into the room – and as soon as she did the Dogs closed the door behind her.  She looked about the room – and everywhere she looked, other Twilights looked back at her with a mixture of bemusement and confusion on their faces. These Twilights, dressed in gorgeous silver blue robes that seemed to accentuate every curve of her body, were completely alien to her, but they moved with her motions, and as her eyes grew large in amazement, theirs did too.

Meanwhile, Trixie had turned from considering herself in the mirror and was looking Twilight up and down appraisingly. “Twilight Sparkle, it must be admitted that with a bath and some proper attire, you are a most attractive mare.” But then she sniffed. “If only it weren’t for that most unfetching mane-cut! Why you wear your mane that way, the Great and Powerful Trixie has absolutely no idea.”

Twilight had been blushing under her gaze, but Trixie’s disparagement of her mane made her react in annoyance. “What’s wrong with my mane?” she demanded.

“The fringe is far too straight,” sniffed Trixie. “It’s like that of a school-filly whose mother still cuts her mane for her. You should wear it the way the Great and Powerful Trixie does… with a graceful and feminine wave.” She tossed her own and grinned. “Don’t you see? Such a style is really most fetching – especially on unicorns of great beauty such as ourselves!”

Twilight found herself annoyed and flattered at the same time, and she shook her head. Trixie was making absolutely no sense! “Trixie, you’ve got to give up this search for the Rainbow of Darkness. There’s no way you’ll be able to control it...”

Trixie sighed and then she pouted. “Twilight Sparkle, why must you ruin this moment? You seem totally unable to read the mood of a situation. Although your naivety is charming,” Trixie and all her sister reflections shook their heads, and then the real Trixie hopped off the bed and came close to Twilight, a gentle smile playing along her lips. “Trixie just knew this robe would suit you, Twilight Sparkle. Not only is the Great and Powerful Trixie a unicorn of almost limitless power, but also one of the most exquisite taste!”

Twilight felt Trixie’s gaze as well as the hot breath from her nostrils on her coat as she looked her up and down and she blushed. “I... I’ve been meaning to ask you about the robe – why do you want me to wear it?”

“Ssshh,” said Trixie, touching a hoof to Twilight’s mouth. “It’s just a present. The companion of the Great and Powerful Trixie must never want for everything.”

“Companion? Now, wait just a...”

But Trixie fixed her with a sharp gaze. “Are you already questioning your mistress?” she demanded. The gentleness Twilight had seen earlier had dissolved away in a split second, and her purple eyes flashed dangerously.

But Twilight was angry herself. “You drug me, kidnap me, threaten me and imprison me, and now you want me to be your companion? What in Equestria do you mean by that?” shouted Twilight. “Trixie, you’re absolutely INSANE!”

Trixie’s face turned black with barely-suppressed rage. “Silence, Twilight!” she cried. “You seem to forget you are wearing a fragment of the Rainbow of Darkness about your neck. Shall I remind you?” At once Trixie’s horn began to glow with blue light. “Can you feel it, Twilight? The itching? The burning and prickling?” she demanded, her purple eyes wide and a sardonic smile on her lips.

Twilight could. She yelped in pain and fear, pawing at her neck with her forehooves as she tried desperately to pry the choker off – but it was no use, and she collapsed onto the floor, panting, as Trixie’s horn ceased to glow and the sensations faded away.

The itching and burning had been much stronger this time, and it left Twilight lying on her stomach, exhausted. When she finally managed to weakly raise her head, she saw Trixie gazing down at her, a deep and terrible pity in her purple eyes.

“My sweet darling Twilight Sparkle,” Trixie whispered as she reached down with both forehooves and gently cradled Twilight’s head. “The Great and Powerful Trixie does not want to harm you,” Her eyes began to glisten. “She just... she just does not want to lose you ever again. Her heart could not take it. So she must take precautions.”

As Twilight looked up at Trixie, a sick sense of powerlessness spread through her. “You... you want me to be your... slave?” she whispered.

Trixie shook her head. “Companion, Twilight Sparkle. Trixie wishes you to be her companion.” She turned and looked in a mirror, and the silver-maned unicorn inside it turned to look back at her with lonely eyes. “It is lonely at the summit of all equine creation – and you are the only pony Trixie has ever met who has shown herself worthy of being granted the great honour of being her companion...” Her purple eyes were glistening as she turned back to Twilight. “I... the Great and Powerful Trixie was not lying when she said that you had impressed her with the magical prowess you displayed when you defeated the Ursa in Ponyville.”

“Uh, Trixie, I....” Twilight knew now that something very strange was going on inside Trixie – the silver-maned unicorn wasn’t making any sense, and as her prisoner, Twilight was in an untenable situation. Without her magic, the only option she had was to play along with Trixie’s delusions and bide her time. So she looked up at her with softened eyes and said simply “Thank you, Trixie.”

Trixie’s face changed immediately, a bright smile breaking out across her face. “Oh, Trixie knew you would come around to her way of thinking, Twilight Sparkle!” She darted forward and kissed Twilight on the cheek, and the lavender-coated pony looked at her in shock, bringing a forehoof to the spot where her lips had touched her. “You are, after all, a highly intelligent pony, second only to the Great and Powerful Trixie herself, of course. Now come,” Trixie hopped up onto the bed, and putting the little mirror in between her forehooves she began to gaze into it again. “The Great and Powerful Trixie tires of picking up her own chocolates and she requests that you do it for her, Twilight Sparkle.”

Twilight scowled, but when Trixie patted the bed next to her with a hoof, she made herself smile sweetly and climbed up next to her. When Trixie gestured towards the box of chocolates absently with a sideways nod of her head, Twilight furrowed her brow and asked “But how can I, Trixie? I can’t use my magic with this choker and...”

“Why, it is simplicity itself, Twilight Sparkle!” chuckled Trixie. “Just pick them up with your mouth and feed them to Trixie!”

“With my...?” This time Twilight did roll her eyes. Part of her wanted to laugh out loud at the ludicrous request, but then she decided to play along with this ridiculous game. Where was the harm in it? “Oh, whatever you wish, Great and Powerful Trixie!” she replied, with cloying obsequiousness.

Twilight bent down and picked up a piece of chocolate gingerly in her teeth and, rolling her eyes, she brought it across to where Trixie was still closely examining her face in the mirror and murmuring in appreciation.

“Hmmm… completely flawless – of course!” Trixie turned her head and brought her mouth up against Twilight’s and took the chocolate from her, and as she did their lips met. Trixie looked into Twilight’s eyes and the lavender-coated pony let go of the chocolate and turned away, blushing, as Trixie ate the chocolate.

“Delicious,” she said as she chewed daintily. “Quite delicious. Thank you, Twilight Sparkle!”

Twilight shook her head in bemusement –Trixie’s behaviour was really becoming too much! Maybe it would have been better to be chained up in one of Midnight Castle’s dungeon instead – at least that way she would be spared Trixie’s sideshow antics!

It took a long time for Trixie to become bored of looking at her reflection, and soon, with Twilight’s help and many stolen kisses, she’d eaten the whole box of chocolates as well. With Twilight was starting to feel hungry herself, and as she passed the last piece to Trixie, her stomach grumbled.

Trixie had just begun chewing on the chocolate, and she looked at Twilight and raised her eyebrows. “Oh, are you hungry Twilight Sparkle?” she asked. “Very well – you have been a most pleasing companion!” She moved her face against Twilight’s and kissed her – and as she did she passed the half-chewed chocolate between their joined mouths.

Twilight was too surprised by the feeling of Trixie’s tongue slipping into her mouth to struggle, and she took the chocolate and ate it.

“Delicious, yes?” Trixie chuckled. “Well, of course – it WAS coated with the scrumptious saliva of the Delicious and Delectable Trixie after all!”

I wonder how much more of this torment I can stand, thought Twilight, swallowing the last of the chocolate. The windows that she’d seen earlier, looking out over the precipitous drop to the rocky crags beneath Midnight Castle, had started to look like a viable, if terminal, escape route.

But feeding Trixie chocolates was not the only job her “companion” was expected to perform for her. Twilight also had to brush her mane– but since she was unable to use her magic she had to hold the brush in her mouth rather than via telekinesis as she was used to, and Trixie demanded that every strand of hair be brushed at least one hundred times, so that it would have “a shine suitably stunning for the Great and Powerful Trixie”.

After that Trixie asked her to hold her hoof-mirror for her so that she could admire the back of her mane, and it had taken Trixie forever to get bored of looking at it. And the backrubs! Oh, it seemed that Trixie had an endless appetite for backrubs. Yet of all the jobs she was called upon to do, Twilight found this one the least objectionable.  As she ran her forehooves across the silver-maned unicorn’s back, she soon learned how to elicited murmurs of appreciation, and often sighs, from her mistress – and as she rubbed, Twilight would watch Trixie’s face in the mirror at the other side of the bed, noticing how her eyes would close and her head would slump to one side as if she was falling asleep, and how, whenever Twilight made her feel especially good, the tip of her tongue would slip out from between her lips. Twilight couldn’t help but find the mare in such a position adorable. Without her arrogance and narcissism apparent, Trixie really was a most gorgeous mare!

Oh Trixie – if only you weren’t such an insufferable braggart! 

But by far the most taxing task Twilight received was giving Trixie a hooficure. To start with, the silver-maned unicorn sat on the edge of the bed while she had Twilight file her hooves for her. And once again, it was all the more difficult since, without recourse to telekinesis, she had to hold the file in her mouth.

“Mmm!” Trixie murmured as she watched Twilight on all-fours hard at work shaping her hoof. The silver-maned pony’s gaze strayed up along the length of Twilight’s body as she worked, from her pretty face, her violet eyes intensely focussed as she concentrated on her filing, to her wonderfully rounded rump, slowly revealed as the silver-blue robe slipped down and bunched up around her waist as she moved her head back and forth with the file in her mouth, her rump wiggling back and forth in unison as she did.

Once she was finished with the filing, Trixie lifted her hoof and turned it about, her eyes flicking about to examine the multiple copies of it at every angle in the mirrors that surrounded her bed.

“Not a bad effort at all, Twilight Sparkle,” muttered Trixie. “It seems that you have untapped potential as a companion. It will be most pleasurable for Trixie to train you to fulfil her every need!”

Twilight sighed. She was exhausted – her neck and her knees and her mouth ached, and as she had tended to Trixie’s every whim the silver-maned unicorn was becoming more and more her usual, supercilious self. Twilight started to get up off her knees when Trixie suddenly put a hoof on her shoulder and pushed her back down.

“Wait a moment, Twilight Sparkle,” she said, a mocking smile on her lips.  “You’re not quite finished yet!”

“Oh, what now?” muttered Twilight in exasperation.

“First, Trixie requires a hot towel,” demanded Trixie. “ – and then she requests that you give her a hoof massage!”

“A hoof massage?” Twilight’s curled her lips in disbelief.

 ‘It is most taxing to run a diabolical operation such as this one,” Trixie sighed. “The Great and Powerful Trixie is on her hooves all day, making sure that those worthless curs keep digging, and the cold stone floors of this castle are appalling on her soft and luxurious hoof-pads!”

Twilight looked at the hoof being waved in her face. Trixie was completely vain, but it was a most attractive hoof. The cannon leading down to it was long and slender, the fetlocks soft and feminine and the shape of the hoof’s crown a perfect crescent.

As Twilight admired the hoof, she caught sight of something from the corner of her eye. The file! In her eagerness for a hoof-massage, Trixie had obviously forgotten about it. This was just the chance Twilight needed. So all those hours hadn’t been in vain!

But how could she get it without Trixie noticing? And then Twilight realised that maybe, if she gave Trixie a good enough massage, she could hide the file somewhere while she was distracted.

“Very well, Oh Great and Powerful Trixie,” said Twilight, lifting the elegant leg before her and running her forehooves along the cannon, down to the just-smoothed hoof. “One hoof massage, coming right up!”

“Oh, do be careful Twilight Sparkle!” gasped Trixie. “The gorgeous hooves of Trixie are exquisitely sensitive and require an extremely gentle touch when you rub them…”

“Oh, I will be most careful, Great and Powerful Trixie,” Twilight smiled up at her sweetly.

“Hmmm… very good then,” muttered Trixie, laying back and looking up at the ceiling. There was another mirror there, and this way she could look at herself and at Twilight’s body as she tended to her.  “You may begin, Twilight Sparkle. But before you start, you should know that the sole of the Great and Powerful Trixie’s hoof is her favourite place to be stroked.”

“Do you mean here?” asked Twilight, running her hooves over the sole with a soft and feathery touch.

“Ah!” Trixie yelped. “Yes, that is most… uh!.... most satisfactory, Twilight… Sparkle!”

Although she was really just playing along, Twilight was surprised to find how exciting it was to make Trixie gasp with just the touch of her hooves. She squeezed the toe of her hoof first, gently worked her way around the whole crown, and then went back to working the sole, especially the tiara and heel which felt extremely tense.

“Um... oh yes, just there,” murmured Trixie as Twilight kneaded the tired muscles. They grew soft and yielded under her touch, and Trixie’s head fell on its side. “Oh, that spot is so sensitive! Dear Twilight Sparkle, do take care!”

Twilight was so engrossed in the massage now that she’d forgotten her original plan – it was fun to elicit noises of pleasure from the silver-maned mare, and as she continued to massage Trixie’s hoof she started to tease her, tantalising her by rubbing her most sensitive spots, but never staying there enough for her to feel the full extent of the potential pleasure.

But then Twilight grew bored of teasing her, and started to rub her sole in earnest, paying particular attention to the spot just near the tiara, where the greatest tension was, and soon Trixie was tossing her mane from side to side, gasping with pleasure.

“Oh, OH!” she cried. “Oh, Twilight Sparkle! There – right there! Please... please don’t stop!”

As Twilight held her leg, she could feel her cannon getting tight, so she ran her own hoof along its underside. Twilight was starting to feel good herself – there was a delightful warmth and a tingle she knew well teasing her between the haunches, just as if an invisible pony was giving her a different kind of massage there. She hadn’t noticed it, but she had parted her hind legs  instinctively at the sensation, and the movement of her tail, which was twitching back and forth and brushing against her, made her scrunch up her nose in pleasure.

But then she suddenly remembered the file, and with her free forehoof she stepped on it and slid it back to her hind-hoof, and then kicked it back so that it ended up under the wardrobe, just out of sight. And not a moment too soon! Trixie suddenly pulled her hoof out of Twilight’s grasp and sat up.

“What’s the matter?” asked Twilight. Just when she’d started to get good at it!

Trixie looked at her with disdain. “Your touch is a completely lacking in the necessary finesse, Twilight Sparkle. That is enough pawing at my hooves for one day!”

Twilight muttered in annoyance. She hadn’t been that bad, had she? Trixie had certainly seemed to have been enjoying herself! “But I’ve never given a hoof massage before and you seemed…”

“There are no excuses for incompetence,” snapped Trixie. “The real problem is that your hooves felt far too rough against the soft and sensitive hooves of Trixie.” And then a sardonic smile flashed onto her face. “But maybe your tongue won’t!”

Twilight’s jaw dropped. “My… tongue?”

Trixie nodded. “Yes, your tongue. As Trixie’s companion, you are required to offer any part of your body to her service, Twilight Sparkle. And it has been Trixie’s experience that your tongue is quite a deal more skilled than your hooves!”

Trixie was wagging her hoof back and forth in Twilight’s face as she taunted her. Twilight was repulsed by even the idea of licking Trixie’s hooves – it was such a submissive act!  But for some reason the idea didn’t just repulse her – it made her feel almost impossibly tingly and melty inside at the same time. Well, why not just do it? mused Twilight, and the thought of actually going ahead with it made her heart leap. But... wasn’t she being forced to do all this? She had no choice, right? If she didn’t, Trixie would just use her magic and make the choker torture her until she gave in and did it anyway. At least this way, she could avoid the pain and lull Trixie into a false sense of security. Yes, decided Twilight, it was better to do as the Great and Powerful Trixie demanded, and...

She took a deep breath and taking Trixie’s hoof in her forehooves, she brought it close to her face.

Trixie was looking down at her now, her purple eyes widening, seemingly in surprise that Twilight was actually going to go ahead with her “request” – and then a gentle smile, half-mocking, half-affectionate, sprang onto her face.

“Be a good girl, Twilight Sparkle,” said Trixie. “And lick my hoof.”

Twilight sniffed at the hoof discretely – she’d been worried that it would stink, but the smell was clean and fresh, just the scent of Trixie herself. Twilight was surprised that she could recognise the silver-maned mare’s scent now, and the thought took her memory right back to the body slide, and the tingling between her haunches returned in a flush of pleasure. Then she brought her lips to the crown of Trixie’s hoof, kissing it - and as soon as they touched skin, a burst of electricity flooded up her and she felt the heat and moistness between her haunches increase.

“Why does... why does she do this to me? I’m...” Twilight felt ashamed, but the shame brought with it an almost unbearable pleasure that shot up along her spine, and with each jolt she felt herself getting hotter and more swollen, the tension in her chest growing stronger as well. And then Twilight could bear it no longer.

She stuck out her tongue and licked.

“OH!” At the touch of Twilight’s tongue, Trixie’s eyes had flashed open and she’d gasped.  But soon after, she closed them again, and her tongue flicked out, licking her lips – and as Twilight lifted her eyes to look up at the mirror on the ceiling, she saw herself with her lips against Trixie’s hoof, and at the humiliating sight she felt herself gush all of a sudden, blisteringly hot and wet between her haunches.

Twilight was confronted with the strong musky scent of her own excitement, and she flushed red in even greater humiliation – but she continued to lick. And as she licked, her tongue drew a path around the crown of Trixie’s hoof, across the sensitive sole and then down along the tiara to her most sensitive spot, and soon her scent was mixed with another’s – and again Twilight’s mind was taken back to the events of the Lotus Spa. The smell of Trixie’s erotic scent was thick and strong – and it filled Twilight’s senses, making her wetter still.

She went back to licking the crown of the hoof, only occasionally now flicking down to the soft and sensitive sole and making Trixie pant with pleasure, and when she grazed it with her teeth the silver-maned pony cried out in ecstasy – and she suddenly jerked her hoof away from Twilight’s mouth.

But she had learned Trixie’s little game. Every time Twilight had begun to make her feel too good, she would stop her. But why would she do that? Why was she afraid of letting Twilight make her feel too good?  Twilight filed the piece of information away for later use. Maybe she wouldn’t need to escape from Trixie after all, if she could learn how to... and Twilight smiled at the thought. Maybe it was she who was Devious and Diabolical!

“It seems that hoof licking was a bit too great a challenge too soon,” sighed Trixie. “But no matter, Twilight Sparkle. Perhaps it would be better to start with the basics.” The silver-maned unicorn slid up until her rump was away from the edge of the bed and she lay back and parted her hind legs so that the area between her haunches was exposed.

“The... the basics?” asked Twilight, her eyes glued to the perverse sight of Trixie splayed out before her. She... she couldn’t mean?

Trixie smirked and beckoned her with a fore-hoof. “Come up here, Twilight Sparkle, and the Great and Powerful Trixie will show you exactly what she means....”

*        *        *

“It appears that it’s going to be a cold night,” Trixie remarked to Twilight as the lavender-coated unicorn laid out the bedclothes on the bed. “The Great and Powerful Trixie’s exquisite body is most susceptible to chills and so you will share her bed tonight.” She ran a hoof along Twilight’s cheek and down her neck. “After all, you seem capable of generating so much heat in Trixie, my dear, sweet Twilight Sparkle.”

“Thank you, mistress,” said Twilight, dropping her gaze and hiding the thin, dagger-like smile that had sprung onto her face.

Trixie climbed into bed and slid under the bedclothes, and after blowing out the candles, Twilight climbed into bed as well beside her.

“Goodnight, Twilight Sparkle,” murmured Trixie, stifling a yawn as she did so. “If Trixie requires any further services from you tonight, she will wake you. But until then, feel free to sleep.”

“Thank you Trixie,” whispered Twilight, closing her eyes.

After an hour of struggling against sleep – the exhaustion of the day’s tribulations had taken much out of Twilight, and both her body and mind had been crying out for rest the whole time – Twilight noticed that Trixie’s breathing had become slow and regular – she had fallen into a deep sleep. She opened her eyes and sat up slowly, careful not to wake her “mistress”, and taking her pillow in her mouth she brought it over Trixie’s face.  

It would be so easy to make Trixie fall unconscious, mused Twilight. If she was careful, she wouldn’t hurt her. And anyway – even if she did hurt Trixie, wasn’t it her fault? Didn’t she deserve it? Nopony would blame Twilight after the way she’d been treated – drugged kidnapped, collared, forced to wear sumptuous robes, give backrubs, foot massages... among other things.

Trixie muttered in her sleep, and Twilight moved away to give her space to toss and turn. The silver-maned pony had a deep frown on her face, and the forehead beneath her horn was crinkled as if she was in pain.

I wonder what she’s dreaming about? thought Twilight. Oh, does it matter? She moved forward again, having steeled herself for what had to be done.

Twilight was about to place the pillow gently over Trixie’s muzzle when she noticed a tear appear at the corner of one of the silver-maned pony’s eyes.

“Mother...” Trixie whispered.

Twilight pulled away. She sighed and dropped the pillow, and then slipped back into the warmth of the bed, pulling the bedclothes up to her neck, and unable to fight off exhaustion any longer she fell into a deep and dreamless sleep.

TO BE CONTINUED

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