In a story already fraught with risks, this chapter is taking the biggest one of all. It's going to a place I can pretty much promise has NEVER been gone before, yet it seemed like this was where it needed to go. I worked very long and hard on it, trying to make it right for the sake of not just the M-rated moments, but the worldbuilding and character development. You be the judge on whether it works, and I’ll have a lot more to say in the ending author’s notes, but do keep in mind that we're going to explore the aftereffects in the chapters to come. There is method to my madness, even if it doesn’t always seem like it!

Please note this IS is a clop chapter, and I'm placing the content warning behind the spoiler tags. If you want to be surprised, don’t read it! If not... human/pony F/F action ahead!

—Firesight

Music: It’s All Out of Order

Wha…What the HELL?! What just HAPPENED here?! How… Why… I don’t… I can’t… Phoenix Wright was at a complete loss.

This isn’t right… this is just… not… right… was all he could think over and over as he fell backwards into the grass and beheld the results of their latest lovemaking session gone wrong.

Twilight was in front of him, pulling herself shakily to her hooves. But for the first time all trip, Phoenix had no eyes for her, his gaze fixed on his… newly enhanced equipment. Though still vaguely human, it had grown by his rough reckoning nearly two inches wider and three inches longer than normal; even gaining hints of a flared head and medial ridge. His balls had likewise swelled up and gotten darker to the point that his anatomy didn’t look much like his own anymore, transformed into what he could only describe as a very disconcerting equine/human amalgam, one he was sure he wasn’t going to be able to easily stuff back into his pants.

“Ph-Phoenix?” Twilight called back, but he didn’t reply immediately, unable to do anything but stare down at his lap. “Are you okay…?”

Her words barely registered, still lost in a state of shock. From unexpectedly taking her beneath the tail to suddenly finding himself with altered anatomy, he didn’t know what to make of it, or what it all meant. Did… did she use magic on me? WITHOUT TELLING ME?! Came the panicked thought. She swore she wouldn’t! But… she also said she could turn me into a pony. Is this just the START of it? He felt a sudden chill, his erect, now-ten inch member still fully rigid as he hurriedly checked his hands and feet, finding neither had turned into hooves, patting himself down and finding only his usual bare skin, no fur.

“Phoenix, please… t-talk to me…” she begged him, her fears growing as took his continued silence and for revulsion and shame at the act they had just performed; her magic still in its post-coital refractory period, leaving her unable to illuminate the scene or see what he was staring at in the deepening dusk. It was shame she felt too, believing that no decent mare ever did something like that. Worse, it had felt like her own magic had brought it about, the courtroom roleplay leaving her so desperate to have him inside her that, acting of its own accord, it had all but pulled him in, driving their act to completion and leaving them both unable to stop…

And worst of all, she couldn’t deny the truth: that despite the unexpected intrusion and initial pain, she had loved it, and was still feeling a ghost of him inside of her. But… how the BUCK could I LOVE something like THAT?!?! she reeled, praying Pinkie would not be able to divine this act, one she would never share with any of her friends if she could at all help it. N-Never mind my friends, what would the PRINCESS think? “Phoenix.. I… I’m sorry…” she tried again. She was still having trouble standing, her entire body trembling, still experiencing an echo of the sensations the act had imparted, part of her already ready and eager for more.

Phoenix was in scarcely better shape, his oversized organ still tingling and stubbornly refusing to subside. “Twilight…” he eventually spoke, her voice finally registering on his consciousness. “What… happened?” was all he could immediately ask.

It was a question she had no immediate answer for. “I don’t know… th-that’s never happened before! I’m sorry… I just… lost control of my magic, Phoenix…” her ears drooped hard in renewed shame and embarrassment. I can’t let ANYPONY find out! It’s just so wrong and indecent… I-I mean, wh-what kind of mare could EVER like doing it that way…?! she berated herself again.

“Then… you didn’t mean this?” Phoenix’s voice was in disbelief.

“G-Going under the tail? NO!” she exclaimed vehemently, trying to dispell the remembered sensations. “It just… happened…”

There was a pause. It didn’t seem like a nice pause. For the first time, Phoenix looked up at her from where he sat back in the grass, his legs wide. “And did this just happen too?” He motioned down at his lap. Her magic starting to return, she was finally able to light up her horn and manage a slightly stumbling walk over to him where she beheld…

“Oh no. No no no no no no no…” she stumbled backwards in shock, sitting back hard on her haunches, realizing the import instantly—that she had just broken a sworn oath to Phoenix, and as a result a bad situation had just gotten potentially far worse.

Phoenix stared at her again. “Did you do this to me, Twilight?” he asked her in a voice that said he knew full well she had. “You promised me no magic without permission!”

“No! NO! I swear! I never… I didn’t mean to…” she stammered. Her ears had drooped yet her fur was on end. “Phoenix, I swear… I didn’t know I was doing it!” she could only offer weakly, realizing instantly how it sounded.

Even without a magatama, Phoenix sensed she was telling the truth, but still in shock and scared, he couldn’t yet accept it. “‘Didn’t know’?” He echoed in a tone reserved for accusing a witness in a courtroom, only this time he wasn’t just acting a scene. “You said earlier you fantasized about turning me into a pony, Twilight. So is that what you did here? Is this just the start?” He pointed at her.

“No! I…” she trailed off with the sudden realization that she really didn’t know—that if her magic could act on its own like that, then it might have in other ways and she had no idea what else it might have done to him. “B-b-but transformative magic is always temporary! You won’t stay that way!” she remembered, half frantically.

Her hesitation was not long on Phoenix, recognizing it from long experience as borne of doubt and uncertainty. “And is that supposed to make me feel better?” He clutched his head hard. “You know how I feel about magic being used on me without my permission, Twilight! You swore you wouldn’t after that last time in Equestria! And I trusted you!”

“Phoenix, please…” Twilight was starting to cry as she sensed her human mate’s feelings of betrayal… and feared that he was fully justified in them. “I’m so sorry… I swear, my magic just got away from me! I didn’t know it was happening!” she plead with him.

Far from being reassured, Phoenix was only more appalled. “So you’re saying you didn’t will it? That you don’t have control of it?” He gaped at her, causing Twilight to cringe, her mind immediately dredging up nightmare scenarios of what else her magic might do if she lost control, suddenly having vivid flashbacks to her entrance exam to Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns. Though he didn’t know of that particular incident, Phoenix was having much the same thoughts. “Do you have any idea how dangerous that is? Just what else has your magic been doing to me?” He demanded to know, suddenly wondering if he was going to sprout wings or a horn.

Lacking answers and certain she had just lost him or worse, irrevocably hurt him, Twilight broke down completely, falling to the ground and sobbing.

Despite his fear and panic, and despite everything that had just happened, Phoenix’s anger faded as he beheld Twilight completely broken and beside herself, realizing only then that she was just as scared and bewildered at what had happened as he was… and in some ways even more so given she was now on an alien world far away from her friends and home, with no refuge and nowhere to retreat to if he suddenly wouldn’t accept her. Taking several deep breaths to steady himself, and noting in passing that his phallus had finally softened while he’d been yelling at her, he went over to her and knelt beside her, putting a hand on her withers.

“Twilight…” he called to her, more gently. “I’m sorry. I… I panicked.”

Twilight’s only response was another sharp sob, so Phoenix gently picked her up and pulled her into an embrace, letting her cry herself out on his shoulder. “I’m s-sorry…” she told him again at some length, in a very small voice. “I’m so sorry… please b-believe me… I didn’t do any of it on purpose…”

“Ssshhh….” he soothed. “I don’t need my Magatama to know you’re telling the truth. You really didn’t mean any of this, did you?” It was more statement than question.

She shook her head sharply. “No! Or d-do what we did. I s-swear…” she managed another choked sob. “I lost control. I gave you my word and I broke it. And I’m so ashamed…” she crumpled into tears anew.

Phoenix gave her another squeeze, trying to reassure her her quivering form, trying not to think again of the implications of her losing control had. “You don’t need to be. Nobody has to know about this. Maybe we just got a little carried away there between playing out that scene and everything else. So for now, let’s just step back and figure out what happened before we do anything else, okay?”

Twilight was scarcely able to believe there would ever be anything else after what had just happened—do I dare trust my own magic again? Do I dare even be WITH him again?—but she nodded jerkily, feeling a little better.

“Do you know how it happened?” he asked, but Twilight didn’t answer right away.

At least, not his question. “Phoenix… I feel s-so cold… I’m sorry…. just please… hold me…” she spoke in a badly broken voice. Despite all her talent and knowledge, the Element of Magic found herself at a complete loss, suddenly afraid of her own power and what it could do, in desperate need of something—and someone—to lean upon, terrified she was about to lose her new human lover right when she needed him the most.

Music: Don’t You Dare Let Go

Responding to her request immediately, Phoenix scooped Twilight up in his arms fully and pulled her into a tight embrace. He stroked down her back, in a desperate attempt to ease her pain. Her sobbing kept up the pace, but she seemed to be relaxing, bit by bit.

“It’s okay, Twilight…” he told her even though he still wasn’t sure it was at that moment as he rocked her back and forth, cuddling her trembling form. Phoenix knew that despite all her abilities and how tough Twilight tried to be, to say nothing of all the things he already knew she’d faced, there were still some things capable of shattering her resolve entirely. And losing her first-ever lover and mate would be pretty high on the list… “I’m here. Just talk when you’re ready.”

It was some time before she was, gulping down air and clinging to Phoenix with all of the strength she could muster. “Phoenix… I think I might know what’s happened… but…” She trailed off and shivered again, squeezing her still-watery eyes shut tightly.

Her inability to immediately spit it out was not lost on him. “But what?” he prodded as gently as he could.

Twilight swallowed hard. “I have a theory… but I’m n-not sure you’ll like it…” she warned him.

“Tell me.” Phoenix implored her despite the clenching of his guts, reminding himself that he was never one to shy from the truth.

Twilight kept shivering, making Phoenix hold her tighter. Despite her status as a fire elemental and the warm lavender fur that covered her, Phoenix found she had gone cold and clammy to the touch as they lay together in the small patch of grass.

“Well… I think it was m-most likely my mating magic,” she began. “It’s something that all unicorns possess that… well, it’s basically the pink aura I told you about before,” she began, gathering herself carefully.

“You did. You said it was to help turn a partner on and generally smooth the way. So you’re saying it was a reflex action?” he suggested gently, continuing to gently stroke down her back even as he didn’t find he thought particularly reassuring. But she didn’t say it could do anything like… THAT! He couldn’t see down his belly with Twilight in the way, but it felt like his organ had shrank back considerably now.

She nodded jerkily. “Yes. L-Like I told you before, the pink aura is a magical pheromone meant to increase arousal, attraction, and virility. It’s p-probably why you can go so often, in case you wondered,” she managed a wan smile. “Coming from a mage as a strong as me, I’m s-sure its effects are particularly strong, and I c-can’t turn it off. If I’m aroused, it’s automatic. Th-that’s why I was reluctant to mate with you as a unicorn earlier, for f-fear of how it would affect you.”

That’s right. She did… Phoenix remembered, all remaining doubts that she’d somehow planned or knew about this ebbing. That was just a few days ago, but it already seems like forever… “I guessed as much. But you didn’t say that extended to making me… bigger!”

“Because I didn’t know!” she exclaimed fearfully, then took a sharp, shuddering breath, choosing her next words carefully. “All I-I can think of is that… s-since part of its purpose is to increase compatibility and desirability, it tried to make you more… physically compatible with me as a pony,” she cringed as she finally voiced her theory. “And if that’s it, I swear to the sun itself, Phoenix….I didn’t know it could do that!” The magical prodigy, for once, was truly out of her field—there were certainly spells out there to enhance sexual attributes, but she’d never read or heard anything that suggested they could happen automatically!

Understanding dawned on Phoenix as several pieces of the puzzle fell into place at once, just as neatly as when he had finally discerned the truth behind Ace Swift’s death months earlier. It makes sense… he realized, mentally testing her theory as he did a story in court and finding it valid. It never happened when she was human because in that state, we were already compatible. And… his brow furrowed as focused on some elusive memories, half-buried in the remembered haze of pleasure.

And looking back, I don’t think this is the first time it happened, either! I remember when I first took her, she felt just a little loose and then really tight after her aura took hold of me, and later when she was riding my lap, she had a lot more range of motion on me that I thought was normal, so I had to have been bigger then too! he catalogued in turn. But I didn’t stay that way afterwards… so that means… it IS only temporary; every time we’ve had sex when she’s been a pony, her magic’s been enhancing me to give us BOTH more compatibility and pleasure! His thoughts came rapidly, followed by relief and acceptance of her explanation. Wait… so that means… I CAN’T satisfy Twilight on my own? His shoulders slumped at the thought and he couldn’t help but voice the thought aloud.

Twilight’s eyes went wide again, now fearful she’d just insulted his manhood itself. “No! No! That’s not what it means!” She quickly reassured him, reminding him of all he’d done with his hands and mouth; things ponies, even unicorns were either generally incapable of or unwilling to do. “In truth, as a human you’re just an inch or so smaller than the pony norm; I think it was just that…” she trailed off for a her moment before she slumped again, then admitted the truth. “I think it was just that my magic added a little fantasy to the mix because of all those romance novels I read where the stallions always have these oversized organs…” she hung her head in renewed shame.

Phoenix actually smiled at her admission. Well, for the lengths she’s been willing to go to meet me halfway in all this, I guess the least I can do is deal with being hung like a proverbial horse… it’s every guy’s fantasy anyway, right? “Ssshhh…it’s okay…” Phoenix gave her a kiss on the forehead, trying to stem the remaining flow of her tears. “Let’s go back to the house, okay? We can talk about this more there,” he suggested.

“S-sure…” Twilight immediately agreed, triggering a teleport with a thought and large burst of magic. Lacking answers, she just hoped that whatever Maya and Celestia had been doing the previous day that they didn’t want to talk about, they were now having a far better night than her and Phoenix.

Twenty Hours Earlier

Celestia was growing increasingly concerned about Maya.

She’d removed her from the nightclub, teleporting them both all the way back to her penthouse suite at the Gatewater, dispersing the magical effects on the young girl as best she could. That had been easy enough. The problem was, she couldn’t remove her memories of what Maya had felt—a strong echo of Twilight and Phoenix’s lovemaking in her own body—from what she guessed from long experience was the result of Twilight’s magic resonating and mixing with her mystic power.

It was the kind of interaction Twilight herself would love to study, but it didn’t do much for the young mystic at that moment, who was curled up in a fetal position on the couch, still sleepless two hours after their arrival and watched over with increasing concern by the sun princess. Then again, Maya would probably not even let her study it; when it came down to it Celestia sensed she still didn’t fully trust Twilight. And after this, she might well have reason not to…

Celestia decided to speak up from beside her, having given up the idea of sleep as well. “I must admit, I haven’t seen so much… sensitivity… to, well… any kind of magical influence before, let alone magic in its entirety. This is one instance where your mystic powers may indeed be worsening matters.” Maya couldn’t exactly sleep either, so she had no problem listening. Despite this, she chose to remain staring up silently at the ceiling to the room.

The silence might have lasted for about a few seconds or a few minutes. Neither party could tell exactly. The river of time had come up against a dam and it was quite a while before the young mystic finally spoke.

“P-Princess?” She finally called out in a very frightened voice.

“I’m here, Maya,” Celestia told her quickly.

“P-please help me… I-I don’t know what to do…!”

“What’s wrong?” Celestia asked gently, laying a comforting hand on her shoulder only to have her jerk away. “Tell me what you feel.”

With effort, she did so. “I d-don’t know. I feel… lost. It’s hard to describe. My head is spinning… I feel hot and cold shivers… s-something’s not right…” she clutched herself more tightly as Celestia magically pulled up another blanket over her. She thought of tapping her power to try and warm the young girl, but decided against it—magic seemed to be the cause of her distress just then, and she was worried that introducing more, no more how well-meaning, might only make matters worse.

Still, she felt she had do something, feeling at least partially responsible for the young girl’s discomfort. “Is there anything I can help with? Anything you need? I do not like seeing anyone suffer, least of all a new friend.”

Maya responded desperately. “Can you just… please… take away these… these feelings I’ve got?” She kept shuffling her body in awkward, seemingly restless movements at least partially pertaining to her nether regions, rubbing her thighs together, making Celestia nervous. “I don’t want them.”

Celestia chose her next words carefully, finally recognizing the exact source of the young mystic’s distress—she had apparently absorbed more than merely a passing echo of Twilight and Phoenix’s pleasure; she’d absorbed some of Twilight’s magically-boosted desires as well. “To do that would merely mask the problem, young Maya… which would then reemerge even worse later. In order to determine the correct course of action, we must first determine how and why this is happening. I’m guessing it’s at least partially due to your spirit medium abilities. This mystical energy of yours seems at least peripherally related to Equestrian magic, making you more sensitive to the latter’s effects.”

“Shouldn’t it have passed by now? Or maybe soon?” The young medium asked hopefully, keeping her eyes fixed on the ceiling.

“Perhaps…” Celestia’s brow furrowed at that, needing more information. And the only way to get it… “Miss Maya. Do you mind if I run a magical… ‘scan’ of sorts on you? I promise it will not hurt or affect you.”

“Sure… if it’ll help,” Maya said neutrally in response, though there was a slight tremor to her voice that suggested to Celestia she very much hoped it would. She really wanted these awkward urges to be gone.

But they weren't going away. If anything, they were steadily getting worse, even despite Celestia’s earlier interventions. The sun princess had already helped to try and cool her off, practically and magically, but apparently even her powers had limits… or at least, there was only so much she was willing to do. Please… just make it stop… she silently begged the spirits themselves, wishing for her sister or anyone else to do so, only to realize that if the princess herself couldn’t help, nobody could.

She lay still as Celestia’s ethereal horn glowed and her aura lightly washed over her body. Despite her promise that it would not affect her, the passage of her aura left tingling sensations in its wake and causing her to bite her lip; seemingly every touch, both physical and magical now turned sexual. She balled her hands into fists to keep them from trying to self-pleasure, though the urge was at least temporarily alleviated by a sudden gasp of surprise from Celestia that set off alarm bells in her head.

“Princess? Wh-what’s wrong?” she froze as Celestia’s aura withdrew, leaving her body bereft of touch again to her mingled disappointment and relief.

“My… most sincere apologies, Miss Maya. I fear I should have anticipated this sooner, considering Twilight’s earlier broadcasting and how her control over her magic isn’t as strong as mine…” Celestia said, speaking as much to herself as to Maya.

“Huh? What?” Maya questioned, not at all liking the tone of voice she heard. “Princess? What’s happening to me?”

There was a hesitation before she spoke. “You…. seem to have absorbed a great deal of Twilight’s mating magic from her earlier broadcasting into your body.” Celestia replied with slight alarm in her voice. “It has found a home within you and is trying to act through you. That is the source of your distress.” I’m so sorry, Miss Maya…

“Mating magic…?” The revelation hit Maya Fey like a ton of bricks, leading to Celestia quickly explaining what she believed to be happening, trying to do so in terms that didn’t involve Canterlot Academy-level magic courses.

“You have absorbed Twilight’s magic, in a manner similar to radiation, into your body. It will do you no physical harm, but could affect you in... various ways,” the sun princess explained carefully. “It is not all bad, though. Just as it does for ponies, even borrowed magic can boost your talents and abilities, such as your spirit channeling,” Celestia offered, trying to paint a brighter picture. “However, since this particular magic was meant for mating, it is also boosting that part of you as well…” she trailed off uncertainly. “I fear with regards to that matter, Twilight’s magic has found resonance within you, Miss Maya.”

“Resonance?” she repeated, her eyes darting back and forth. “I… I don’t understand…” she added, trying desperately to focus on the Princess’s words and not her surging desires, her cheeks now badly flushed.

In response, the humanized sun princess gave Maya the first lesson she’d given all her students over the centuries. “Magic is a living force, Miss Maya. It seeks expression, and to fill voids where it does not exist. For just as nature abhors a vacuum, magic flows automatically into places that lack it, seeking suitable hosts for itself. In this case, it found one… in you,” she explained, almost cryptically. “Part of it is likely due to your affinity for these mysterious mystical energies you tap, but part of it…” she trailed off, visibly hesitating.

“Part of it what?” she demanded to know.

Celestia closed her eyes as she spoke her next words, knowing full well they would likely not be taken well. “But the bulk of it… is likely due to the fact that it sensed you had desires of your own in concert with its intended purpose and could wield it to that end, and was thus attracted to you like a magnet,” she carefully used a more human analogy she knew Maya would understand. “Magic knows its purpose, and the purpose of the magic you gained… was to mate… with Phoenix Wright,” she explained. But it would not be affecting you like this unless you had a preexisting desire to mate with Phoenix as well… she couldn’t yet say.

Whether she said it or not, Maya wasn’t dumb. She read between the lines and sensed Celestia’s full meaning, even if she couldn’t yet accept it. I… want… NICK? was the only dumbfounded thought she immediately had, followed by an immediate surge of excitement from inside her, reflected in her still-growing arousal; she couldn’t remember the last time she felt so desperately needy.

“What… what can I do?” she asked, unwilling to indulge even fantasies of the thoughts that kept trying to suggest themselves. I am NOT interested in screwing NICK! I… am… NOT! she swore to herself again, only to have the sensations she’d received from the pair apparently 69’ing echo within her again, her mind automatically substituting herself for Sparkle.

Celestia already knew the answer—self-pleasuring to whatever fantasies she was entertaining would go a long way towards relieving the magical and physical tension she was feeling—but she also knew from long experience that the young mystic was nowhere near ready to hear that. And thus, she decided to buy time instead. “Proper training will help. I can give you lessons in meditation and magical awareness that can teach you to mentally screen out these effects in some ways.

“Once you master them, you will be able to block such unwanted magical influences on your mind and body.” To a point, she didn’t add, knowing that when you were talking about a mage as strong as Twilight, the best she could generally hope for was to take the edge off. “We should probably head away from the city so we can practice in solitude, and to give you some distance in case Twilight broadcasts again. You wouldn’t mind, would you?” she asked. “Burgers are on me if we do!” the sun princess added, almost brightly.

Maya wondered if Celestia added that last one in as some kind of attempt to lighten her mood… as if I have any mood to even RAISE! “I w-wouldn’t mind at all… If your student can’t learn any self-control, I-I’ll need it…” she clutched herself and shivered again, wondering if she could even make it until morning.

Celestia nodded gravely. “Then it’s settled. As for tonight… to help you with your immediate problems, I’ll give you a sleeping spell, then we train in the morning. And also… I hate to ask, but… have you picked up any additional… feelings, or desires?” she probed gently. She already knew the answer, but thought it might be a way to start Maya at least considering their source…

And some long-buried part of her was genuinely curious as to the answer as well.

Maya’s eyes glazed. “I’m not sure, but I feel I should mention… I’ve seen Nick shirtless. He’s… actually got a real nice build going for him. And he’s carried me, and it feels so comforting when he does that, like he did the other night after I was tired from channeling Firefly…” she recalled, her thoughts now picking up momentum. “And when he hugs you… oh my… he may not be a hunk, or some kind of sixpack-toting-bodybuilder, but he sure has some big mu-GAH! What the hell is wrong with me!?” Maya blurted out without thinking, to her disturbance, clutching her head between her hands. I don’t believe it… I’m being turned on… by HIM…?! she cast about mentally for something else to think about, only to remember Vinyl and the night of the party, which brought to the fore one other method she might use to quash her internal fire…

It took several uncomfortable moments before she realized how she was staring at Celestia, who realized instantly what thoughts were going through the young girl’s head, and felt herself respond to it. I could… relieve her tension myself… the thought came unbidden, causing her human attributes to immediately arouse. What? NO! she took an involuntary step back as, the spell broken, Maya shivered and jerked her gaze away, giving a soft whimper, curling up and facing away from the humanized alicorn.

“Princess, I…” she sounded on the verge of tears as all her desires were suddenly shifted to a new target and Twilight’s borrowed magic worked towards that end, perhaps remembering its original master’s earlier near-encounter with the sun princess, causing the young mystic’s robe to start to slip open in Celestia’s presence as her chest swelled noticeably beneath it, wisps of Twilight’s aura mixed with mystical energy starting to tug at the sun princess as well, trying to undress her and bring her closer to the young mystic before her.

Realizing in a moment of panic where things were heading, Celestia reverted back to her Alicorn form, trying to take a form that wouldn’t tempt the young human girl before her. Her? What about ME? The sun princess thought in some panic. Not helping matters was that Maya was exactly the kind of the girl that would have tempted her back in those long-ago days of her century-long lustful phase—young but on the cusp of maturity, vulnerable and needy, all but in heat and in need of a mentor in the sensual arts that back then she was only too ready to provide. “Do you wish me to perform a sleeping spell on you, Miss Maya?” she asked gently, trying to keep that side of her at bay.

“Pl-please…” she all but begged, clutching herself more tightly and awaiting at least a momentary escape from her torment that a forced slumber would provide, but not before she had one last worried thought.

If this just happened to me, then what about Nick? What has HE been absorbing all this time? I mean, if Twilight’s been giving these waves off and it affected me at long range… then what on earth is happening to HIM!?

If only Celestia had heard that. “Rest, Miss Maya,” she told her, trying to keep a sudden tremor from her voice as she cast the spell upon her. She had transformed due to Maya’s unknowingly lustful gaze upon Celestia’s human body, wanting to keep her inner succubus hidden firmly under a million sheets of whatever the mental and magical equivalent was to titanium.

And yet, in some ways that only made her temptation worse, by taking the sun princess back towards that time in her distant past when she had far less inhibition and had few qualms about seducing everyone from her soldiers to simple castle maids. She knew what she was still capable of and she feared it, not just for the deleterious effects on the young girl before her, but more than anything she feared the wrath of a particular Phoenix… to say nothing of the otherworldly rage of Maya’s big sister.

I am not that pony anymore, I am not that pony anymore… she told herself over and over as she levitated Maya onto one side of the large bed, and settled onto the other side of it careful to leave separation between them. She considered casting a sleep spell on herself to make sure she, too, would not be tempted, but that struck her as dangerous in case Maya suffered some additional form of magical distress during the night or worse, started sleepwalking. Part of her warned that staying in the same bed with the young girl was temptation enough, but she overrode it—Maya was her responsibility at that moment and she wouldn’t shirk it.

What am I going to tell Phoenix about this…? she suddenly wondered, finding no easy answers to the question. Or Twilight? She’ll feel very guilty over this… but in truth… it’s my fault. I assumed the rules that applied to me would also to her, given my greater power, but I neglected the question of control. I should have foreseen this… told Twilight to apply her precautions to both forms… she fretted, feeling helpless except for actions she was not about to take, leaving her unable to do anything more but keep watch on the young girl as she entered a fitful slumber.

To Celestia’s great worry, Maya awoke in even worse shape than she went to sleep, looking barely rested.

For her bleary eyes and flushed cheeks, she might as well not have slept at all; despite the slumber spell she’d been tossing and turning all night, lost in dreams she clearly did not want to share. Not helping was the fact that after nodding off herself, Celestia had awoken to find the young girl snuggled up against her tightly, having moved all the way over from the other side of the King-sized bed she’d left her on. The realization had caused her wings to go aroused and erect in a display that would have mortified any pegasus, but was doubly embarrassing to her; she’d barely been able to disentangle herself and get herself back under control before the young girl had awoken.

“Good morning, Miss Maya. Do you feel any better…?” she asked cautiously.

“No…” the young mystic replied after a short pause. “If anything, it’s worse.”

Celestia had barely slept as well, and her own arousal was growing the more time she spent in Maya’s presence, either due to Twilight’s magic or her own triggered desires, still trying to claw free. Another hour and I might not be able to restrain myself. And if it is to come to THAT, then perhaps I had best discuss it with the one who knows young Maya best…

“Miss Maya,” Celestia said. “I need you to channel your sister. I wish to speak with her to discuss your… condition,” was all she would immediately say.

Maya’s eyes went wide. “Oh, my God! I’m dying, aren’t I?!”

Celestia blinked. “No! No. It’s just… I need to discuss certain… options… with her.”

She gave the alicorn an askance look. “Wh-why not with me?”

Because I don’t trust your answers, or my own right now… “Please, Miss Maya. I do this for your sake.” And for mine…

“I d-don’t understand, but… okay…” she finally acceded, though Celestia guessed it was perhaps only for the chance to escape her growing torment.

It took longer than usual, but ten seconds later, Mia Fey stood where Maya once did and immediately frowned. “Princess?” she recognized Celestia in her alicorn form, then felt the state her borrowed body was in, her cheeks almost instantly flushing. “What in…”

Celestia swallowed—if she thought being out of Maya’s presence would help matters, her larger and far curvier sister proved otherwise, doubly so as Maya’s absorbed magic instantly affected her as well, her cheeks flushing and human teats hardening noticeably beneath the open lapels of Maya’s too-small kimono, drawing the alicorn’s eyes right to them. “Apologies, Mia Fey. I asked Maya to summon you,” Celestia bowed low to the spirit of Maya’s sister as she would before few living creatures, ripping her eyes away and trying with all her considerable will to keep her aura from going pink.

Despite her state, Mia was instantly suspicious, pinning the sun princess with a stare. “She’s horny as hell. Did you do this to her?”

Despite her great age, her great power and all the battles she fought over her long life, facing down everyone from dragons to gryphon generals to Nightmare Moon herself, Celestia found herself intimidated by the other woman’s withering gaze, wondering how those she had interrogated in court had fared beneath it. Not well, I’m sure… “No. I did not,” she swore, praying the other woman could see the truth of her statement in her eyes. “Twilight did. By accident.”

Mia crossed her arms. “Explain,” she ordered in the same sharp tone of voice she once reserved for the courtroom.

The sun princess did, quite quickly, detailing their earlier dinner and visit to the nightclub, followed by the wave of magic that had overtaken and settled in Maya.

When the story was complete, Mia walked over to the window and looked out it, her arms still crossed and tapping her forearm with a finger. She was just as aroused as Maya was, but clearly had more discipline as befit her status as a former lawyer and law firm head.

“Your student really needs to learn some self-control,” she said simply, echoing Maya’s own words. “I can feel what this did to her. And I have half a mind to march over there and show her why she needs it…”

Celestia felt compelled to speak up for her student. “She has control. She just didn’t realize she had to use it in human form.” And neither did I… Celestia shook her head, wondering why she’d never had that issue herself. “I told her afterwards, and there’s been no further episodes since. But… I fear that doesn’t help Maya now.”

“Then what does?” Mia demanded to know, concerned for her sister. “Surely for all your power you can help her, Princess.”

Celestia’s hesitation did not bode well. “The nature of magic is such that it knows its purpose and seeks a target or host to wield it for that purpose. In Maya’s case, the magic she absorbed… was meant to be used for sensual purposes. Thus she ended up in this… state.” she closed her eyes as she said her last words, knowing well how it would sound.

Lawyer that she was, Mia instantly spotted the problem with that statement, pointing an accusing finger at Celestia. “Then why wasn’t anyone else affected like that? Why just Maya? And why is it hitting her so hard?”

“For two reasons…” Celestia answered carefully, suddenly feeling like she was witness being cross-examined in court—a very odd turn of events, given she sometimes presided as judge over important cases herself. “First—and this is just a guess—her mystical power gives her an affinity for magic. As a Kurain practitioner, she seems predisposed to be able to wield it, unlike most. Magic tends to gravitate to hosts that can best wield it, like your sister. And second…” she gathered herself carefully, knowing how her next words would likely be taken.

“I believe in this case, the magic sought her because it found a certain… resonance… with its intended purpose within her. As the spell upon her was originally cast to help Twilight mate with Phoenix, it was attracted to her because it recognized that she had the same internal desire… and thus, the will to express and use it. And please understand… I cannot take that away from her. Not without doing severe damage to her psyche.”

Mia stared at her for a moment. “So… what are you saying? That she has to have sex with Phoenix? That would cause severe damage to both their psyches!”

“I agree. But no, that is not necessary. What is necessary is that she grant that magic… expression. Accept it and fulfill its purpose. And that in turn means…” she couldn’t go on, her cheeks flushing. There was a time I wouldn’t even have hesitated…

Mia gave the sun princess a deadpan stare. “And that means, that she has to find release somehow…?” The exact means were left unspoken.

“It means she has to accept and express those feelings, via self-pleasure or otherwise, yes.” She bit her tongue to keep from suggesting herself as a surrogate. But it MIGHT work, given Twilight’s earlier intent towards me as well… part of her suggested hopefully, only to be quickly and ruthlessly quashed. “That would in effect complete the spell’s work, and its effects would then leave her.” I hope.

“I see…” Mia stared out the window again. “Unfortunately, I know my sister. She’d have a very hard time acknowledging any feelings for Phoenix, let alone fantasizing about him. And in truth, whether or not she is interested in him, I don’t believe she’s ready to be. And certainly, he wouldn’t be either,” she mused, her mind turning, leaving Celestia at least somewhat relieved that she now understood her sister’s predicament and had lost her ire.

“Could you write her a letter?” Celestia suggested. “Or I could record you giving a speech, then play it back to her. My magic can do that, at least.”

“She still wouldn’t believe it,” Mia shook her head in some disgust. “Trust me. That girl is every bit as stubborn as me when it comes down to it. The only way she’ll listen is if I talk to her directly.”

“Should we send for young Pearly, then, so she can channel you instead?” Celestia asked.

“Unless you can teleport her, it’ll take her half the day to get here,” Mia pointed out, not surprised when the sun princess shook her head, explaining that even as an alicorn, the low magic levels of earth meant she could only teleport twenty miles, not two hundred. “Didn’t think so. And it feels like she’s going to melt if she waits any longer…” She shook her head, then looked back up at Celestia. “Would it help if I relieved her tension while in her body…?”

Though sorely tempted to say yes, Celestia was forced to explain that since the inherited magic did not now belong to her, it would not work. “It might grant her some momentary relief, but that’s all it would be. It would come back just as strong if not stronger afterwards,” she shook her head. “So she needs to someone she trusts to listen to, someone who can be in the same place with her and talk with her… who can be there with her to help her through this. But who…”

Abruptly, they looked up at each other, realizing the answer instantly.

Music: Only One Way

The arrangements were made swiftly. Celestia sent a message to Spike via her magic, asking him to immediately find and retrieve Vinyl Scratch.

A brief explanation she hoped was safe for his young ears resulted in another exchange of messages that included a small red crystal and accompanying instructions. The princess was very surprised to learn about the new mirror spells that Rarity had developed in until she tried it herself and was shocked to realize they could be used to talk through mirrors instantly even across different dimensions, finding herself staring directly at Spike and a retrieved Vinyl in Twilight’s basement lab.

The ramifications of it aside—it could well be one of the most monumental inventions in Equestrian history for what it would do for communication!—she was grateful for it, as it made her instructions much more easily delivered.

“Whoa! Princess?” Vinyl was a little bleary-eyed and messy-haired after a late night, staring in some surprise into the mirror before remembering to bow. “Spike says you asked for me. What’cha need?”

Celestia would have found her informality refreshing if it the situation wasn’t so serious. “We need your help, Ms. Scratch,” she responded simply, stepping aside slightly to allow Mia to enter the picture. “Or more appropriately, Miss Maya does…”

“Huh?” Vinyl blinked at the unfamiliar human, flicking up her glasses to stare. Even Celestia had trouble looking at her deep red eyes, wondering not for the first time if given her coat and eye colors, the unicorn mare was actually an albino. “Whoa… don’t know who you are, lady, but you’re wearing Maya’s clothes, and I swear you look just like an older version of her…” she studied the older human from head to toe, taking some time to admire her more mature human curves. Human mares really do have their charms… she couldn’t help but note.

Mia smiled wanly, crossing her arms in front of the mirror and lowering her head. “That’s because in some ways, I am, Miss Scratch. I’m Mia Fey, Maya’s older sister. She’s channeling me right now.”

Vinyl blinked again, hard, her slightly sluggish mind a second or two slow in grasping the implications. “Whoa. Channeling? So you mean you’re a channeled spirit?” She gaped for a moment, then grinned. “That is so cool!”

“Yes well…” Mia shared a glance with Celestia. “I understand that you and my sister became rather… close… during her stay in Equestria.”

Vinyl’s smile dropped fractionally. “Well, uh… yeah, we did, if not entirely voluntarily…” she glanced back and forth between the two, suddenly wide awake and wondering… “Am I in trouble?”

“No. But Miss Maya is…” Celestia spoke up and proceeded to quickly explain what had happened… and what was needed.

“Wow…” was all the pony DJ could immediately think to say as she processed it all. “So you need me to…?” She gave the mirror an askance look.

The pair looked at each other again. “I need you to help her accept what she feels and… express it, so she can free herself of the magic that now grips her,” Mia explained, leaving Celestia infinitely glad that she hadn’t had to say those words herself. “She trusts you and I’m asking you to talk to her and do whatever is necessary to help her,” she added, then pinned the unicorn mare with a glare. “That said, Ms. Scratch… you are to remember that she is my sister, that she is very vulnerable right now, and I understand from the Princess that you have a bit of a… reputation. Whatever you do with her, I will be watching. So tread very carefully.” She leaned in close to the mirror and pinned the mare with a glare as she spoke.

Vinyl actually took on an offended air, pulling herself up straighter. “Hey now, sister. Maya’s your sibling, but she’s my friend. Dunno how much you know about us ponies, but friendship means everything to us. I’d never hurt her,” she promised, raising her hoof to her chest and flicking up her glasses again, meeting the human woman’s probing gaze evenly.

Whatever Mia saw in them, she nodded, satisfied. “I do know. And I will hold you to that,” she announced, then without further word, departed Maya’s body, leaving the teenaged mystic behind and shivering again. “Wait… what?” She found herself looking through a portal directly into Equestria. “V-Vinyl?”

“Hey Maya,” she called out, putting her hoof against the surface of the mirror. “I’m coming over and I’m gonna help you, okay?”

“Come over… how… how can you…” was all she could immediately say, her mind having trouble processing everything.

“So how do I cross over?” The unicorn DJ asked Celestia.

“Leave that to me,” the sun princess replied, closing her large eyes and concentrating her magic on the mirror. Whatever she did took the better part of a minute, turning the mirror into a shimmering oval portal wreathed in orange glow. “That should do it. Just step through,” she instructed, keeping the full force of her magic on it. “Quickly!” she added with surprising urgency when Vinyl didn’t move immediately, her voice sounding strained, and though surprised, the unicorn mare obeyed immediately, passing through with no resistance and suddenly finding herself in Celestia’s hotel room.

“Wow, cool…” was all the pony DJ said, taking in her new and very opulent human surroundings fully, then watching the mirror behind her fade back to her own reflection. “Wait, what…?”

Celestia looked uncharacteristically tired as her beam cut off and the mirror glow faded, her eyelids drooping and head falling onto her chest, even her flowing mane seemed more limp and still. “Apologies. Opening a two-way mirror portal between dimensions severely taxes even my abilities, and it can’t stay open for long. I fear I am rather drained now…” she realized, some part of her noting her state wasn’t helped by the fact she’d barely slept as well. “I leave this in your hooves, Ms. Scratch. Please remember Mia’s words.” She allowed the barest hint of admonishment into her voice.

“No prob, Princess. I got this.” Vinyl promised, testing her aura and realizing that unlike her previous visit she did keep some of her magic in her unicorn form, allowing her to cast at least some minor spells, even in the magic-poor environment of Maya’s world. She waited until Celestia had departed to the other room and closed the door behind her, sensing a magical barrier go up on the other side—a privacy screen.

Huh. Wonder if Celly’s doing it for us, or for her? Vinyl briefly wondered, but put the question aside for later. Not wanting to make Maya uncomfortable with her presence, she slid a chair across the floor with her aura and hopped on it, keeping a respectful distance from her human friend as Maya sat on the edge of the bed, wringing her hands and shivering.

The pony DJ frowned at what she saw, taking off her shades and setting them aside on a nearby table. “By the moon, filly, you really are in bad shape!” she instantly realized, feeling the heat coming off her friend’s body, her nose picking up the distinctive scent of human arousal she’d only sampled once before. “So what’s the problem? Why you just stewing like this? Why haven’t you relieved it?” she asked earnestly. If it was me, I’d either grabbing a toy or be pouncing the first stallion or mare I SAW!

“I… I don’t wanna relieve it! I just want it to stop!” Maya gritted her teeth.

The corner of Vinyl’s mouth crooked up briefly. “Maya, getting it to stop is easy. The way you’re feeling right now is just like being a mare in heat. You want relief, all you have to do… is indulge it. Doesn’t even have to be with him; you can just get yourself off. I’ll even help if you want!” She offered eagerly.

“Vinyl!” Maya shouted, clamping her hands over her ears. “I can’t do it with you! Or even in front of you! And certainly not to… to thoughts of him!” She shifted to clutching her head.

Vinyl looked honestly puzzled. “Uh… why not? Not like we didn’t before!” She reminded her.

Maya recoiled slightly, finding for the first time that flashes of memory of that night were starting to return to her, memories of making out and… more. “But… but… that was just the party! The music and that drink and… I wasn’t me…” She insisted, desperately resisting the temptation to loosen her kimono to try to cool herself off, a thin sheen of sweat now covering her.

Vinyl raised an eyeridge, suppressing a smile. She knew Maya wouldn’t appreciate it, but she was just so adorable like that. “Wasn’t you, huh? Could’ve fooled me, Maya. From what I remember, you were having a blast… the music, the punch, getting to DJ and seeing how much everypony liked your songs… and now you’re saying you weren’t enjoying yourself?” She challenged. “If you’re gonna say no, then I’m calling horseapples on you, fillyfriend. You were having the time of your life that night, and us ending up in the sack together was part of that. So what did we do that was so bad?”

Maya wasn’t any more ready to talk about that than she was about Phoenix. “I don’t know what we did! I don’t remember!” She exclaimed a little harder than she meant to, half-frantically, afraid of losing a friend—perhaps the only friend she had at that moment. “But… whatever it was, I wouldn’t have done it unless it was for all that. Whatever we did… I w-wasn’t ready for it… and I’m not… n-not into p-ponies or girls…” She told her Equestrian friend, her voice wavering repeatedly.

“No buts, Maya,” Vinyl waggled a hoof at her. “We spent a lotta time together, made each other’s music better, had fun together, and ended up intimate for all of it! As AJ would say, ‘there ain’t nothin’ more natural than that!’” She pulled off a decent impression of the country mare’s voice. “Truth be told, I don’t remember it all either, but that’s the only thing I regret about it. And if it’s the girl or species thing that’s gettin’ ya, my answer to that is real simple, and something I figured out a long time ago for myself—you’re like me, Maya. You’re not into girls, you’re into people—” she just caught herself before she said ponies ”—and that’s your orientation. You like people you make connections with. And girl, we did connect that night!”

Either due to her increasingly horny state, or lack of sleep, Maya was having a hard time thinking of ways to refute her arguments. Or is that because she’s RIGHT? “But… but… you’re a pony!” She could only offer weakly before wincing, worried how it sounded.

Far from being offended, Vinyl’s grin got broader. “And you’re a hairless ape who walks upright and can’t use magic. So what?” For the first time, the pony DJ chanced leaning forward and putting a hoof on her knee. “You know, the last time I got that line was from a griffin, so I’ll tell you the same thing I told him—we’re friends, Maya. And one of the things I learned a long time ago was that friendship doesn’t respect species or gender boundaries, and neither do the things that may spring from it. We got swept up in the moment, yeah. But if ya ask me, that’s what those moments are for, and it still takes two to tango, filly,” she took on a knowing grin. “Drink or no, we had the connection. Drink or no, deep down, we chose to….” she told her with surety, “And whether Sparks’ magic got you or not, it’s pretty clear you’ve got a connection with The Phoenix there too.”

Maya was speechless for a moment, processing everything her friend had said. It all rang true to her, even if she still wasn’t ready to accept it. “I… I didn’t mean to offend you, sorry.” Tears welled in her eyes, not wanting to lose her best—and at that moment, only—friend. “It’s just… really hard for me to accept… being with you… or the idea I’d want to be with him.”

Vinyl tilted her head to the side. “I don’t follow. Why would any of that be so bad?” Vinyl asked, moving a bit closer. “Me, I’ve fantasized about everything from dragons to Celly herself. Doesn’t mean I’d ever act on it, but it’s there. And I can see perfectly well why you might be interested in ‘Nick’. He’s a good guy and you’ve been through some real rough times together. And if you think it’s weird because of age difference or outlook or whatever, remind me to tell you how me and Octy met sometime.” She grinned and closed her eyes at the memories.

“But it’s different here…” Maya balled up her hands into fists again, Vinyl’s words increasingly having an effect on her, starting to at least half-convince her that she was right and thinking about Nick in such a way was okay. “Nick’s not my boyfriend or lover! He’s my… my…” she suddenly was at a loss for words.

“Your what?” Vinyl cocked her head, still keeping a respectful distance.

“My… goofy big brother. And my friend.” She shook her head hard to not speak the other words that were trying to suggest themselves. “I don’t want him to be any more than that! I’m not interested in him like that! Or at least, I wouldn’t be except for this freaky magic Sparkle put into me!” She tried to insist again.

Vinyl stared at her. Guess denial ain’t just a river in Steedgypt… she could only shake her head. “Maya, I’m sorry, but… magic doesn’t work that way. It’s like that party punch of Pinkie’s—it can make you excited, maybe loosen you up a bit or cause temporary feelings of infatuation, sure, but it can’t ultimately change who you are or what you desire. The princess is right—what happened is ‘cause you do have feelings for him deep down, real strong ones at that. That magic of Twi’s wouldn’t have latched onto you like this unless you do. And unless you admit to those feelings and give them voice… it’s just going to get worse.”

“I… I can’t…” she clutched herself and shivered harder.

“Can’t what?” she cocked her head again.

She spelled it out. “I… can’t… sleep with him!”

Vinyl threw up her hooves, feeling at least some small measure of exasperation. “Nopony’s saying ya have to!” Are all humans this repressed? “Just enjoy the fantasy is all you gotta do, fillyfriend. Get yourself off to it. I’ll even help ya if ya want!” she suggested again, though made no move towards her, awaiting Maya’s word and very conscious of the fact that not only was Celestia in the other room but somehow, somewhere, Maya’s big sister was watching her from the great beyond. But hay, no pressure, right? Least I’ve never gotten stage fright… “Least I can do for a friend.”

Despite her fears, Maya was now wavering hard. “Th-that’s a bit more than just being a friend, V-jay.” She used her nickname for her.

Vinyl shrugged. “Maybe it is. But that ain’t an issue for most ponies. In Equestria, it’s not uncommon at all for mares to help each other out with stuff like this. Happens all the time!” She added, almost wistfully. “Though in this case, I’ll admit I really wanna help you and would love to be with you again. I like you, Maya, and I hate seeing you suffer like this. Especially when you don’t have to. Especially when I can help.” She offered, restraining her aura with everything she had. “The choice is yours. I’ll leave or I’ll stay, and it’s all your call. So you either can do it yourself, or…?” The rest went unspoken.

As frightening as the thought was to Maya of having Vinyl there to witness what she increasingly accepted she had to do, it was somehow even more scary for her not to be. If… if I do this, I sure as hell don’t want to be by myself after… she realized, dreading the thought of being alone with the knowledge of her act the most.

“Here…” Vinyl brought out a green crystal. “This is one of my new music crystals—the one you gave me the idea for?” she reminded her human friend, then zapped it once with her aura, causing it to start glowing and playing. “And that’s one of the songs we worked on together, remember…?” Vinyl grinned, not mentioning the fact it was playing at the party when they started making out for the first time.

She didn’t have to, however, as Maya recognized that fact instantly, her cheeks flushing further as more memories started to stream back to her. “Th-that’s…”

“See? Ya do remember…” Vinyl grinned, gratified, starting to get back some additional recollections of her own. Whoa. Did we really go THAT far…? “And was it really so bad…?”

This time, Maya’s denial stuck in her throat as she recalled her friend’s warm embrace, soft fur… and the touch of her aura slipping inside her clothes, exploring her unfamiliar body from within them, her magic and the moment itself only enhanced by the music. “N-no…” she finally acknowledged. “I… I liked it…” she all but squeaked even as she went downcast, feeling her body and will slide ever closer to the edge with her admission. She just… wants… to help me… part of her insisted even as another, still scared part tried to suggest that Vinyl only wanted to help herself… only to be vehemently rejected.

NO! She’s not like that! She never was! She shook her head violently, remembering their friendship and all the good times they’d shared, even without the night of the party. She’s… my friend… she didn’t take advantage of me… and she knew I was uncomfortable and never tried anything else after that night… Maya mentally recited.

Unaware of her thoughts, Vinyl’s grin got more pronounced, the unicorn mare feeling the first tugs of excitement on her own body as she finally heard her friend’s confession, one she’d wanted to hear for a very long time. “There. Now was that so hard?” The pony DJ asked, gently but happily. One confession down, one to go… “Well, for the record… I liked it too. And I’d love to do it again, especially if it means helping you… but it’s gotta be your choice, fillyfriend. I ain’t gonna do anything you don’t want me to. Ask me to leave, and I will,” she promised.

Maya’s eyes went wide. “No! Don’t leave!” She begged, holding up her hands in what Vinyl recognized as a halting motion. “I can’t… I need…” she was fumbling for words again.

“I’m right here, Maya.” Vinyl didn’t move, awaiting her friend’s next words, recognizing the struggle it was for her to say them. Been there myself, years ago… she reminded herself, gratified she was finally going to be able to return the favor of that long-ago day by helping another through the same emotional ordeal. Come on, Maya… you’re a strong girl and I know you can do this… she silently urged.

Gathering all her courage, Maya raised her brown eyes to friend’s larger red ones, and said the final, fateful words. “V-jay… please… help me…” tears welling in her eyes as she made the request, surrendering herself to her friend.

That’s my girl! “All you ever had do was ask,” she grinned, finally allowing her aura to go pink.

Despite the request, Vinyl didn’t move right away, recognizing the dangers of doing too much too quickly, just bathing her friend in her mating aura for a bit, trying to let it work on her for a bit, hopefully smoothing the way for them both. “So… what do I do…?” Maya asked, her voice shaky, making no move of her own, her hands still covering her chest defensively.

“Nothing…” Vinyl grinned, reaching out with her aura for the first time to gently but insistently tug her human friend’s hands away from where they were crossed over her chest. “You just remember that I’m here to help you, and that if I do something you don’t like, you tell me immediately,” she said softly, gently. “Now what do you want me to do…?” the pony DJ asked.

Maya’s mind fell blank, filled with images too numerous to catalog, thoughts and fantasies of Phoenix, the princess, and now Vinyl herself wrapped up into one confusing jumble. “Just… help me…” she didn’t know what else to say.

Vinyl just found that even more adorable. “Okay. Then the first thing we’re going to do…” she noted Maya’s sweaty body, “… is get you out of those clothes and cool you off…” her aura tugged at the already-loosened sash of Maya’s belt, which fell open with surprising ease, followed quickly by the lapels of her short-skirt kimono, revealing her glistening midsection and a patch of very wet cloth over her human marehood—’panties’, Vinyl remembered the name of the undergarment was—and used her magic to hit a wall switch and turn on the overhead fan, causing a refreshing breeze to blow right down on the bed.

Maya’s breath caught but she made no effort to resist it, the sudden breeze feeling deliciously cool and sensual against her bare and sweaty skin as she sat on the edge of the bed.

“Feels good, huh?” Vinyl grinned, then remembered what she was here for and what Maya needed. She might not like this, but I got to start her thinking about him if this is gonna work… “And just imagine it was Nick doing it…?” She gave her friend a sideways look and grin, watching her reaction carefully.

Maya’s eyes went wide and she gave a visible shudder, a not-entirely-unpleasant one to Vinyl’s eyes as she suddenly imagined Phoenix undressing her, his strong hands passing over her just as her pony friend’s aura was, now pushing her robe off her shoulders. “That’s… n-not… f-fair…” she managed to protest, but still did not resist.

“Well, as AJ would say, all’s fair in love and friendship, Maya…” Vinyl replied evenly, already thoroughly enjoying herself, thinking she’d have to tell the country mare about all this later. If Pinkie hasn’t already told everyone! “And I bet ya also wish he was groping your ‘boobs’ like he did to Sparkle that first night we came…” she suggested next, watching her friend’s reaction carefully.

Maya gave another sharp intake of breath, instantly seeing herself in Sparkle’s place, his hands beneath her kimono groping her, making her squirm, her breasts swelling and teats hardening further at the uncomfortably alluring thought, driven home further when Vinyl turned her aura into facsimiles of human hands reaching around her from behind, and began using them work her flesh beneath her bra. She couldn’t help but clutch them to her, ethereal though they were, the magic energies causing her flesh to tingle and swell further, increasingly their size and sensitivity yet more. She tried to object again, but all she could manage was a slightly pained nod and whimper.

That’s my girl! Vinyl was gratified. “And just think of how things would have gone if we hadn’t interrupted them…” the white unicorn mare went on, recognizing she was on the right track, climbing onto the bed with her and sitting on the wonderfully comfortably mattress behind her friend, gently pulling her body back against her, now cooing softly in her ear. “Maybe he would have done… this?” She dropped one of the hands down her friend’s body, trailing it with tantalizing slowness towards or overheated marehood, the fabric covering it soaked through, slipping it inside the waistband and giving her the barest of brushes, running her magic through the short dark fur that covered her swollen lips, causing Maya’s hips to buck hard.

“Y-yes…” the human girl all but croaked as she felt waves of intense sensation radiate outwards from her still-virgin entrance. Her pony friend’s aura wasn’t probing deep at all, and she couldn’t quite duplicate the motions of fingers, but for the sake of fantasy and in the state Maya was in, it served its purpose well enough. “And th-then…” she started to say but caught herself, part of her still resisting going down that path even as she sensed she was now on a very slippery slope, sliding down it with increasing speed.

“And then…?” Vinyl prompted her again, offering her the chance to fill in the next part of the fantasy for herself.

Unbidden, it came. “He would have f-finished undressing me…” she told her pony friend, who immediately helped the fantasy along by doing the job herself, ethereal hands pulling up her bra over her head and then pushing her panties down over legs, taking great pains to stroke and caress her flesh as they did so, causing Maya to moan as she suddenly found herself completely exposed and naked, her kimono falling with a soft whisper of fabric to her sides. “And th-then he would have… p-picked me up…” she abruptly remembered him doing just that several nights earlier after she had channeled Firefly, her own hand finally snaking between her legs, reaching for her fiery flesh; Vinyl displayed her aura to let her do it and wrapped her magic around her hand, charging it further and allowing it to give herself even more pleasure for it. “And t-taken me to my bed… laid me in it… and sat beside me…”

“Sounds good so far…” Vinyl said approvingly, gently laying her back on the bed and slipping a pillow under her head before laying out beside her, in reach but not touching her except with her aura. “Just sit?”

Maya realized she was rehashing the events of that night in a much different matter, but was now completely beyond caring. “He’d t-tell me how much I meant to him. How much I’d h-helped him, and that he’d n-never leave me…” she said with surprising force. “That he’d always be there for me, and that I meant everything to him…”

Vinyl smiled, recognizing the fantasy as one borne by a girl who just needed to know she was wanted and wouldn’t be abandoned. As such, her next words came easily, all the more so for knowing they were true. “Well, guess what, fillyfriend? He will and you do…” she promised, now laying beside her, watching her pleasure herself, her aura now indulging herself as much as Maya, marveling again at the feel of her skin and human curves, so pleasing and prominent, completely unlike pony ones... and the response of her human body to her touch. Okay, I DEFINITELY want to try rutting as a human mare now! “And Sparkle doesn’t change that. Doesn’t change any of his feelings towards you,” she promised.

Maya moaned in response again, wanting desperately to believe her friend, knowing Phoenix himself had said as much, and yet…. “Vinyl…” she called out. “I’m sc-scared…” she told her. “Scared that’s you’re wrong. Scared of him leaving me. Scared that he doesn’t like me!” She finally voiced her greatest fear.

“Maya…” Vinyl called out, feeling her heart melt in spite of herself. “I’m lookin at you right now, and all I can think is… how could he not like you? You’re beautiful, fillyfriend, inside and out…” she promised her, causing tears to well in her friend’s eyes. “Fun, dedicated and devoted… a bit young yet, but still every stallion’s fantasy made real—to say nothing of this mare’s! And no, I ain’t just saying that…” she moved a little closer and rested a hoof on Maya’s arm, sensing the penultimate moment approach. “I mean every word of it. So how would Phoenix prove that to you…?”

“He’d…” Maya’s mind and body immediately filled with remembered images and sensations of Nick mating with Sparkle, the pair performing the pony ‘swirl’ on each other as she now recalled doing herself with Vinyl before, demonstrating their love and devotion to each other in the deepest, most intimate manner possible.

A way that could not be explained or ignored; a way that, at that moment, she would very happily do with him as well, worshipping his essence as she did the same to him in turn.”He’d…” she still couldn’t say it, knowing that this was going to be what pushed her over the edge if she allowed it to… and increasingly, she had less say in the matter as Twilight’s magic, created during just such an event, now kicked in full force remembering it, driving her to the very brink. “Vinyl… h-hold me…” she abruptly begged as her body began tensing hard, clutching at her friend’s hoof.

In response, Vinyl immediately swept her closer, bathing her with aura, her mood and magic fueled not just by Maya but by the music that was still playing, warm and reassuring, stimulating and cooling all at the same time. “I’m here, Maya. There’s nothing to be scared of. Just let go…” the pony DJ implored her human friend again, speaking in soft whispers. “I’ve got you. It’s okay. There’s no shame, and there’s nothing wrong with what you’re doing. You’re almost there. All you have to do… is accept it… ” she cooed softly. “All you have to do… is say it…”

Maya felt her remaining resistance quickly crumbling under Vinyl’s words and very practiced magic, the touch and stroke of her aura combined with the carefully woven fantasy of Nick finally sending her past the point of no return. “I… I…” she took a sharp, shuddering breath.

“Say it, filly…” Vinyl repeated added more magic to the equation, trying to give her friend as powerful a release as possible not just for the purposes of pleasure, but in order to purge as much of Twilight’s magic as she could. “Say it loud and proud.”

As they wave of climax finally broke over her, Maya couldn’t hold it back any longer, the words finally torn from her very soul.

“I WANT NICK TO DO ME LIKE SPARKLE!!!!!”

She came harder than she had in her life.

Author's Notes:

I want it said, folks... this has been by FAR the hardest chapter to write and make work... and I’m not even entirely certain it did. It went surprising places (to say the least!) and I had a very hard time at times figuring out what to do with it, knowing I had not one but two major plot threads that needed addressing.

This was very risky writing, but hopefully it worked. My reasoning was that things couldn’t remain status quo with Phoenix and Twilight after what happened in the previous chapter; there had to be consequences for it as suddenly the question of whether all this is truly real or magically-induced comes back to the forefront. Be assured there is NOT going to be a bad ending to this, but there are things the two will have to work through for it. So for those of you who thought Phoenix and Twilight were too perfect and wanted to see some character conflict... you now have it.

As for Maya, it was finally time for her to come to terms with her feelings for Nick and what happened back in Equestria. But for it to happen believably... she needed the proper setup, scene and partner, and this sequence with Vinyl is what I came up with. My biggest worry was making it both sweet and sensual and making sure Vinyl came off well, as genuinely wanting to help Maya and not just help herself. As always, you be the judge whether or not I succeeded.

You see surprisingly few F/F human/pony scenes in fimfiction. I know of only two others. This is my contribution to such sparse pickings, and hope you enjoyed it! And as Vinyl’s now going to be sticking around, no promise there won’t be more...

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Special thanks goes to James Cyberlink, who wrote an initial draft of the first three sections that, even if I didn’t use it all, at least gave me a good starting point and got me thinking about what worked and what didn’t; how the chapter needed to be. There was a lot of back and forth over this one, deservedly. Thanks also goes to AJ_Aficionado, Leo Archon and SilentWoodFire as well for prereads and feedback.

This story is funny, folks. I get people who downvote for the ship alone, people who say the ship is too perfect, some who want more clop and less story, others that want more story and less clop, or only particular kinds of clop. Well, there’s no way I can fully satisfy all that, so I’ll simply satisfy myself with the knowledge that if it’s provoking such a large range of wants and desires, it’s well-written and has good cross-interest appeal.

Needless to say, looks like the story will be extended a couple more chapters for the latest events. Oh well! I plan to keep my focus on this now, so you won’t want have to wait more than a couple weeks for the next chapter. In the meantime, hope you enjoyed!