Yawning, Twilight stirred under the covers with delicious laziness. She was mostly still asleep, and just awake enough to know it, wonderfully comfortable and relaxed. The feeling of other warm bodies pressing up against hers was becoming as familiar as sleeping by herself ever had, and it was almost strange to remember how recent all of the changes in her life had been.

A matter of mere months had transformed everything. Her relationship with her friends, her mentor, how she thought about herself... at times it was hard to believe it had ever happened, that she hadn't confused some incredibly perverse dream with reality.

Still, if she really had grown uncertain, she would have been reassured by the presence of a naked dragon in her bed.

Ember had twisted the covers around herself, cocooning her body. Fortunately, the quilts of the huge bed were more than ample enough to let her roll herself up while still providing plenty for the rest of them. Luna was fast asleep, no doubt tired from her warding of the night, while Trixie lay between her and Twilight, on her back. A wonderful surge of warmth and happiness filled Twilight's heart as she gazed at their sleeping faces, and she sighed contentedly.

Very carefully, not wanting to disturb any of them, Twilight slowly wriggled up the bed, pushing herself into a sitting position and letting the covers settle around her waist. Now, how was she going to get out of bed without waking Ember? Glancing down at herself, she absently rubbed the back of her hand over one bare breast.

A lot of changes. Good changes.

It took a second for Twilight to fully register the click-clack of the door handle turning, and the catch disengaging.

The door opened. A mint green unicorn pushed a small, rattling trolley into the room, her slim body clad in the uniform of the castle maids, and her orange mane crowned with a little black and lace cap. "Good morning, Princess! Seeing as you didn't come out, I've brought you your... breakfast..."

She trailed off, staring at Twilight, who stared back at her, too startled to move. For a second, the frozen tableau held, then Twilight abruptly jerked the covers up over her chest with a strangled yelp.

"I - I'm so sorry!" blurted the maid, her cheeks flushing crimson. "I didn't expect to-"

"Why can't the slutty and obedient Trixie sleep?" grumbled Trixie, pushing back the covers, and stopping dead as she registered the maid.

"I, I see, I didn't realise you had company, I'll just-"

With an enormous sigh of annoyance, Ember kicked her way out of the blanket, sitting up and squinting against the morning light. "What's all the fuss about?"

"A-Ambassador! I didn't - I thought you were still in the guest rooms!" squeaked the maid.

With the inevitability of the sunrise - or the moonrise - Luna groaned in her sleep and propped herself up on one elbow, asking groggily, "Twilight?"

The maid met Luna's eyes. Then, her mouth opening and shutting, she took a step backwards. "S-so sorry to have disturbed your... rest," she managed, in a strangled squeak. "P-please excuse me... Princess, Princess, Ambassador and, uh... Ma'am," she added feebly, and fled backwards, slamming the door behind her. Her abandoned trolley rolled forward a few inches, then came to a halt.

Yanking back the covers, Twilight sprung over Ember's prone body to land on the floor. Her smile was a rictus. "I think we should do something about that, don't you?"

Ember shrugged. "Doesn't bother me if ponies see me in bed with you."

"The Great and Powerful Trixie always likes to be seen to serve you, Mistress."

"I have been long prepared for our relationship to become public knowledge, as it must eventually be," Luna finished calmly.

Twilight's wide eyes flicked from pony to pony to dragon. Momentarily lost for words, flapping her hands, she protested inarticulately, "Naked orgy!"

"That an offer?" asked Ember lazily.

"I have to go stop her before she tells everypony!" squeaked Twilight, lunging for the door. If she hurried, she might be able to catch the pony - Misty Morning - and do something to defuse the situation before her unconventional living arrangements - okay, call them what they were, her harem - became public knowledge. Whatever Luna said, she was brand new to being a public figure, not at all used to being on a pedestal in front of all Equestria, and she could barely stand the weight of being stared at as it was. If anypony learned what a pervert she was being, she'd never be able to go outside again!

Luna's voice interrupted her frantically accelerating spiral of panic. As Twilight grabbed at the door handle, the Princess of Dreams inquired lightly, "Will you not require clothes, my Mistress?"

Oh. Yes. She was naked.

Throwing up her arms in frustration, Twilight ducked back towards the wardrobe and pulled out the first dress she came to, an overly Princessy gown in white silk, with delicately puffed shoulders and short sleeves. Wriggling into it, heedless of the fact that it sat kind of crookedly on her, she ran for the door again, and yanked it open.

"I'm going to fix this, and then - I don't know what then! Stay there!"

Painfully aware that she didn't actually have a plan for fixing this, Twilight dashed out into the hallway, letting the door bang closed behind her, and looked hastily around herself. The trolley had left twin tracks in the thick, soft carpet, and Twilight followed them backwards, frantically searching every obvious hidey-hole.

Misty Morning was a maid that Twilight had taken a personal interest in. She'd been placed under the power of the charm by Trixie before Twilight's second, decisive confrontation with Celestia, and ordered to chalk the defensive rune circle on the wooden floorboards of Celestia's audience room, below the rugs. Once her task was done, of course, her memory of contributing to Celestia's downfall was excised. She had no idea of the way her loyalties had been temporarily overwritten. All the same, Twilight had wanted to keep Misty Morning close by, on her personal staff.

She was now somewhat regretting that decision.

"Misty? Misty!" she called, tugging at her dress to straighten it. Barefoot, she scurried through the antechamber - a room in her suite that she barely knew, and didn't intend to have much use for - tugging back curtains and peering behind large objects of furniture. No sign of her. Trying a side door, Twilight emerged into a smaller chamber, decorated with unfamiliar ornaments.

Misty Morning was leaning against the wall, hyperventilating into her hands. Her head shot up as Twilight stepped in, and her gaze reflexively flicked down the alicorn's body to check she wasn't still naked before she managed weakly, "I'm so, so sorry Princess. I thought you were - it doesn't matter what I thought, I should have knocked."

Twilight hesitated, her own cheeks growing red as she imagined what the scene must have looked like to the maid. What could she say? Yes, you absolutely should have knocked? That probably wasn't going to make things any better at this point. "Misty-"

"You know my name?" squeaked Misty Morning.

"...yes?" Twilight paused. Should she try to pretend she knew all of the maids by name? "...Misty, I need to talk to you about... what you saw. In there. In my bedroom."

"Y-yes? I didn't see anything! Certainly not - not a bed full of mares! Naked! And if I did, that could have been anything! No one said anything about royal debauchery!" Misty's grin was wide and sickly, and she pressed herself a little flatter against the wall.

Twilight buried her face in her hand. Okay. This was easy to fix. All she had to do was get Misty to come back to her bedroom - scratch that, she wouldn't want to go back in there. All she had to do was to get Misty to stay somewhere where she wouldn't talk to anyone else, and get Trixie to come and trigger the charm and make her forget she'd ever seen it. Problem solved.

Or, part of her pointed out, she could try communicating with the maid. And trusting her. Didn't Misty deserve it, after having been used as Twilight's pawn in the first place?

"...Misty, I'm going to tell you what you saw."

"Yes, yes, I saw nothing, that's exactly what I was going to say, I saw nothing, and-"

"No," Twilight contradicted her gently. "You saw Luna, Ember and Trixie in my bed. It's exactly what you think it is."

Misty's mouth opened and closed. "Buh, but, but she's, and you're, and they're-"

Twilight smiled wryly, waiting for Misty's broken half-sentences to coalesce into something that made sense. She couldn't really blame the maid for being so stunned. If, before she'd discovered the charm, she'd walked in on Celestia, Luna and Cadance together, she'd have been shocked into incoherence too.

"But she's a dragon! And an Ambassador! And she only arrived yesterday! And Princess Luna is - is Princess Luna! She'd never-"

That was probably enough, Twilight decided. "Misty, please. Will you listen?"

"...yes, Princess," Misty agreed meekly, winding down.

Taking a deep breath, Twilight squared her shoulders. "Okay. I'm dating Princess Luna. And other ponies, too. You've heard of herd relationships? It's something like that. It's complicated." Really complicated. "But the only thing that matters is that we're really happy."

The maid nodded mutely, her eyes wide.

"The thing is..." Twilight took a deep breath, "I'm really not ready for other ponies to know about all this, or what that would mean for the ponies I care about. I might never be ready. I'm so new to being an alicorn; it's terrifying standing in front of crowds and having everypony stare at me, and if they were talking about this, it'd be much harder. So - please, Misty, don't say anything about it. I know it's going to be really tempting to tell just one pony, or two ponies, your friends, but if you do, it'll get out eventually. Can you do this for me?"

"Of course, Princess!" Misty burst out. "All of us are ready to keep secrets for you, and the Princesses. That's part of working at the Castle. Sometimes we see things, like letters left on tables and things, that it would be better that we didn't see. Sometimes the Princesses get sick, and grumpy, and yell at ponies, but we'd never tell anypony." She managed a nervously proud smile. "I was approached twice by the Hoof Gazette about the couch story, and I wouldn't tell them anything at all."

Twilight's shoulders slumped with relief, and she let out a breath she hadn't realised she was holding. "Thank you, Misty. You don't know how much it means to me to hear you say that." Otherwise, I'd have to take over your mind and make certain of it. With a wry smile, she added, "But yes, please do knock next time. It might be better to leave the breakfast tray in the antechamber outside, knock and call through, and leave it there."

"...Princess? Can I maybe - ask some questions?" Misty took a step forward, leaving the shelter of the wall behind. Her hands clasped together, fidgeting.

Twilight paused, then turned to one side and sat down in a chair. Her dress hiked up a little, and she tugged it back into place quickly, suddenly aware that she wasn't wearing anything beneath it. "Okay," she replied gently, trying not to wonder whether the shadows of her nipples were visible through the white cloth.

Moving tentatively, as though she were an animal that might be spooked into fleeing at a sudden movement, Misty took the chair opposite where Twilight sat. "Princess, I know it's none of my business, but I couldn't help noticing, and I wanted to know what the- the big red thing was for. The cross." Her green cheeks flushed pink.

"It's for restraining ponies," Twilight replied. She felt a calmness settle over her. Misty had already seen enough to be real trouble, so telling her more wouldn't make things any worse, and as hard as she was trying not to lean on the charm, it was always there as the final resort. In the meantime... it was kind of fun to talk about the things she'd done to a new audience. "I like tying ponies up," she added, beginning to enjoy herself.

Misty's cheeks burned crimson. "You - you do?" she breathed, leaning forward.

"Oh, yes. In fact, you caught me disciplining Trixie once before."

The maid blinked, looking at Twilight questioningly.

"A few weeks ago, you remember walking in on two maids in Celestia's chambers, and one of them was spanking the other?" Twilight grinned at the memory. Trixie had lied in the middle of their mission to steal Celestia's magical signature, and needed to be punished. "You ran off before I could say anything. Well, that was Trixie and I. We were under disguise magic at the time; it's complicated."

Misty Morning stared at Twilight. For just a moment, she looked blankly confused, before she gasped, "That was you, Princess?"

Twilight blushed, nodding with a mixture of sheepish embarrassment and pride. "If you hadn't left, I don't know what I would have done. I wasn't supposed to be in Celestia's chambers just then. Thank you for not telling anyone."

"I... well, I thought that was... I didn't want to get anypony in trouble. It was pretty embarrassing to walk in on you, like that, so..." She paused, then covered her face with one hand. "I've walked in on you twice. I'm so sorry, Princess. I'm never opening a door without knocking again. If you want to reassign me somewhere else, it's - that's understandable."

"Of course I wouldn't do that," responded Twilight instinctively, shaking her head. Reaching out to touch Misty's shoulder, she added, "I'd like you to stay. As my maid, I mean. I've been keeping an eye on you, since you walked in on us, but that's not the only reason I wanted you to be looking after my rooms. You never told anypony what you'd seen, and you didn't have any reason to keep that secret. I knew I could trust you not to say anything, if you ever... saw something more than I meant to reveal."

Nodding jerkily, Misty pushed her little cap back into place atop her ginger mane, and replied after a second's hesitation, "I'm - I have questions. Um. Quite a lot of questions, Princess. I should get back to the kitchen, but maybe you could... talk to me, when I'm not on duty?"

"I'd be glad to talk to you whenever you like, Misty. I'm sure there's much I could teach you." Even as she said the words, Twilight knew that she was suggesting more than just satisfying the maid's curiosity. Bad Twilight, she scolded herself. This has to stop!

Misty's eyes widened, and she nodded twice, jerkily, as if her head was on a string. "T-thank you, Princess! I'll just - I'll go and - um. Enjoy your breakfast!" She slipped out from between Twilight and the wall, all but dashing to the door, then hesitated. "I'll - send up more food! To the antechamber! Please excuse me!"

Twilight reached out as Misty ducked around the doorframe and disappeared, then let her hand fall. In the sudden silence, she heard her own breathing, deep and quick, her breasts rising and falling against the confines of her dress. Her hand trailed up her own body, slowly, finding the twin peaks of her nipples thrusting against the delicate cloth with a little shiver of sudden sensation. "Oh, no, Twilight", she breathed out loud. "You're going to make more bad decisions. Don't charm Misty. Don't have Trixie trigger her. You have enough ponies! Just because you could train her... just because she's so corruptible..."

Gripping the edge of a table until her fingernails went white, Twilight sucked in a few quick breaths. "Okay. Do I have to count to ten? Every time I want to enslave a pony and make her an eager, horny, obedient sextoy, I count to ten. And if that doesn't work, I count to ten again, and remember all the really, really good reasons not to do it."

You are a good pony, Twilight Sparkle, she told herself. You have to stop collecting ponies just because it's hot. No Diorite, no Spitfire, no Cheerilee, no Nurse Redheart, no Vinyl Scratch, no...

In fact, no more lists like that one, either.

Absently combing her mane back into shape with her fingers, she went back to her room.

Ember wasn't there.

In fact, Luna was sprawled across her bed, her long body outlined beneath the covers. Trixie sat naked in front of a mirror, applying makeup from a tiny bag of accessories, though she immediately lowered the powder brush in her hand when the door opened. Of Ember, there was no sign at all.

"Trixie? Where's Ember?" Twilight glanced down at the trolley. Some of the dish covers had been lifted up, and food taken.

"The dragon has returned to her own rooms," Trixie replied, "though she would like you to see her later. Should you have time for such a paltry waste of time as indulging her curiosity about ponykind. Princess Luna is asleep. She was awake most of the day, and most of the night. She would like to sleep in your bed, of course, since it holds your essence. The sensual, slutty slave Trixie is the only pony ready and willing to serve your needs, as she always is. How may she place her beauty and talents at your disposal, Mistress?" She flicked her fall of pale blue hair back over her shoulder, in a manner plainly calculated to show off her breasts to their best advantage.

Despite the increasing familiarity of Trixie's body, Twilight felt a stir of arousal trickle up her spine. Still... "I should have guessed she'd leave, once I wasn't here. But if she wants to see me later, I'm sure it'll be okay. Talk a little more softly, please, I wouldn't want to wake Luna."

"Trixie could tapdance across the room banging a big drum and Princess Night Owl wouldn't wake up," Trixie replied indifferently, but more quietly, as she was instructed. Lifting the brush again, she dusted a subtle highlight onto each cheek, then set down the brush entirely and rose to her feet, turning to her Mistress.

Sliding her hands behind her, Trixie arched her back and thrust out her chest, parting her legs. Her modest breasts shown to their best possible advantage, her tail swishing from side to side, and her shaven sex on full display, she raised her head proudly. "Your obedient fucktoy Trixie is ready to serve you, Mistress. Ready to lend you her genius, or give to you her body in any way you desire. Caress her perfect tits, fuck her glistening cunt, make her bathe your body with her tongue. Trixie is your obedient slave, horny and eager for you. She exists to obey your every word."

Twilight's breath caught. "Um. Wow," she murmured. "You really know how to - that's good." A secret part of her especially enjoyed Trixie's lavish display, knowing that the showpony had once wanted to destroy her so badly. It wasn't a part of her she was proud of, but it seemed to have a distressingly direct connection to her own arousal.

It was a part of her that also relished the thought of punishing a certain royal pony that richly deserved it.

"Fetch me a piece of parchment, Trixie. I have an urgent project, and you're going to help me carry it out."

The morning session of the day court was at an end, and it couldn't have come too soon. Centuries of practice had left Celestia with a self-possession that you could bend iron around, but behind her ageless, immutable smile, she'd been just about ready to start chewing her mane with impatience.

Twilight didn't know - couldn't have known - that each evening, she was in the habit of lazily masturbating in her bed until the stresses of the day leaked away, and she slipped smoothly into sleep, relaxed and satiated. Being forbidden from indulging herself had made her awareness of her own body all the more intense, each little movement of her body shifting against the smooth, soft sheets sparking little tingles of sensation from her tender thighs and round breasts.

She hadn't been forced to obey Twilight's command - there was no charm-compulsion keeping her from caressing her own body - but Twilight was her Mistress now, and while Celestia was more than happy to misbehave, that wasn't the same as disobeying a direct order. Especially for selfish reasons. What had made it even more difficult to comply was knowing that Luna, wonderful, beautiful Luna, was at that moment being fucked senseless by the second most important pony in Celestia's life. Their familiar bodies danced through her thoughts, in a thousand different combinations, stiffening her nipples and heating her sex, and she couldn't touch herself. At all.

Cheated arousal was, behind the impenetrable barriers of her mind, eroding even her famous patience. All in all, Twilight's punishment was actually hitting her far harder than she'd expected.

Her attention was drawn by a soft knock at the door of the antechamber where she rested, away from the eyes of the public. "Please, come in," she invited warmly, her own troubles pushed aside by an ancient reflex.

A liveried pony trotted in, his back straight, and held out his hands. A red-bound scroll lay across his palms. "Your pardon, Princess. A message for you, from Princess Twilight."

Celestia inclined her head, despite her inward flicker of surprise. "Thank you for bringing it to me," she said warmly. It looked a lot like a friendship report, and she felt a touch of nostalgia as she stroked the seal. Nonetheless, drawn by increasing curiosity, she broke the seal and unrolled the parchment, bringing it closer to the light.

Dear slave Celestia,

Today I learned that sometimes, a naughty slave might like to make her Empress think an 'adult' dragon is coming to Canterlot. She might like to tease, and mock, and generally make herself an enormous nuisance.

Princess Celestia paused. This probably wasn't going to go to a good place. Nonetheless, she continued reading.

I think that it's very important, when you're training a pet, to make sure that when they misbehave, you punish them appropriately. Even if it's hard to punish a pet that you love very much, it's for their own good.

That's why I'm going to punish my slave. I'm going to empty out her head, and punish her cunt, and her ass, and her big, white tits. I'm going to punish her until she begs for mercy, and then I'm going to punish her some more. I'm going to turn her into a panting, drooling, whimpering, desperate mess. And that's just what I'm going to do today. I think that for punishment to feel consistent, I'm going to have to apply it regularly until her behaviour improves.

So, slave Celestia, please clear your schedule for the rest of the day. I have a friendship lesson for you that I simply won't allow you to miss.

Your Empress,

Twilight Sparkle

Celestia's hand rose to her lips, and a pleasant little shiver of nervous anticipation ran through her. "Oh dear," she murmured. "I may have pushed her too far."

"Celestia." Twilight's voice was calm, and level.

Celestia stiffened. She was entirely naked, stood rigidly at attention, her hands bound behind her. There was a distinct threat in the flatness of Twilight's tone. "Yes, Twi-

Crack. The sharp sound of skin striking skin rang out, and a handprint began to redden on Celestia's tender breast.

"Ahh!" Celestia yelped, before adding quickly, "Yes, Empress?"

A predatory smile touched Twilight's lips. "Where do you keep your lubricant?"

"Ah'm telling you, she'll want you to let us in!" Applejack said louder, hitching her backpack higher. "Ah get that she's a Princess'n all, but we're her friends f'r goshsakes."

The bat-winged guard stiffened further, her back rigid, wings tightly furled. "I'm sorry! Princess Twilight gave strict orders that she was not to be disturbed for any reason."

Rainbow pushed her hand through her messy, mutlicoloured mane, mussing it further. "Just go in there and ask her!"

"My orders are to stay outside, Ma'am! I cannot do as you request!" Obscura was perspiring under her purple helmet. Clearly when she took a role as Twilight's guard, she hadn't anticipated having to stand in the way of the collected Element-Bearers of Harmony. Her slit-pupilled gaze danced from pony to pony as they crowded angrily around her.

A door opened down the corridor, and a purple-armoured earth pony emerged. "Alright, what's going on out here?"

"Captain Diorite! The Element-Bearers insist upon access to the Princess's suite, but her orders were to-" Obscura began in a rush, her words tumbling over each other in haste.

Applejack turned, and gave the new pony a hard look. "So you're the captain, huh? Now you listen here, missy, we've come all the way from Ponyville to see Twilight, and we're not going to kick our heels in some darn waiting room just because-"

"Yeah! This is stupid! Twilight doesn't want to lock us out, what kind of stupid-" Rainbow spoke over Applejack, flapping up a few feet to hover above the crowd.

"Applejack, Rainbow, please!" Rarity said sharply. She was even more immaculate than usual, wearing an intricate purple gown that flattered the colour of her mane and tail. Turning to Diorite, she said with dignity, "Guard Captain, I apologise for the rudeness of my companions."

"Well, I sure wasn't going to apologise..." muttered Rainbow.

Ignoring Rainbow's contribution, Rarity continued, "I'm aware that Twilight has asked not to be disturbed, by visitors, or by yourselves. However, she wasn't aware that we were coming. If she hasn't left instructions to admit us, it is clearly a trivial oversight. We are her closest confidantes, after all. I would hope that you can exercise your discretion in this matter."

"Please?" added Fluttershy meekly.

Diorite folded her arms across her armoured chest, sweeping her gaze over the collected group. Applejack tried not to bristle at the assessing stare. It wasn't like they were trying to burst in to see Celestia or Luna; this was Twilight! Their closest friend! And, well, their lover and Mistress, too. Not that the guards could be expected to know that, but this was just insulting. The urge to just buck the guards out of the way was an itch in the back of her mind.

After a few seconds that felt longer than they were, Diorite nodded at Rarity. "Princess Twilight has told me previously that you are all to be granted access to her suites without restriction. Her orders today go against that. I will allow you entry. However, show your appreciation by entering quietly, and if she seems occupied upon duties of state, please leave without disturbing her."

"Oh, sure," replied Rainbow sarcastically, "we'll just tiptoe in, in case we're disturbing her majesty."

"Rainbow," Rarity said in a warning tone, then added to Diorite, "Thank you for allowing us in. If Twilight seems occupied, we will give her the space to carry out her duties."

Applejack huffed a breath, blowing a wisp of hair out of her face. "Yeah, thanks," she said, in a less than gracious tone.

Obscura stood aside, and Pinkie leapt at the door, grabbing the handle. "It's Twilight time!" she sang out, then hunched her shoulders and ducked her head, adopting a stereotypical sneaky pose. "Whoops! I mean - it's Twilight time," she whispered intensely, and eased the door open soundlessly. With exaggerated movements, she crept through the doorway and into the suite beyond, her feet soundless on the thick rug.

Applejack sighed, shook her head, and followed. She'd gotten herself all worked up on the train-ride there, ready to leap on Twilight and force her to do something with them, and just when she was at the peak of her excitement, she'd had an argument with a guard that left her tense and frustrated. Now Twilight was probably having some kind of state meeting that they'd be intruding on. Maybe interviewing volunteers for these magic hunters she was apparently getting together; flyers inviting volunteers for 'Princess Twilight's Seekers' had reached as far as Ponyville, but when ponies had asked Applejack what it meant, all she could say was that Twilight had never talked about it with her. Never even mentioned it in her company.

As a friend, a lover, and a Mistress, Twilight had never felt so far away.

The doors closed behind them with a soft click, Zecora pushing it closed behind her. Rarity paused, looking around herself at the lavish chamber. "I'm not sure where to go from here," she confessed. "I'm sure this room didn't look like this the last time we were here."

Rainbow swooped across the room with a few beats of her wings, the downdraft making ornaments tremble on the shelves. "It's this one!" she declared, yanking a door open and sticking her head through. With an irritated snort, she pulled back and shut the door again. "Or not."

"Guess it must be over here, then. And like she said, hush, Rainbow," Applejack chided gently. It was lucky that the doors in the castle were so thick. Padding over to a pair of double doors set into the far wall, Applejack turned the handles and paused. The others crowded around her, pressing in close. Raising a finger to her lips, Applejack pushed the doors inwards.

She'd intended the doors to open only a fraction. The pressure of the other mares crowding in to see through the crack instantly wrote an end to that plan, bumping into the doors and knocking the handles from her hands. Both swung wide open on oiled hinges, offering a clear and unobstructed view of what lay beyond.

There was Celestia's ass, for a start.

The Princess was on her knees, facing away from the door, her gasped moans thick in the air. Her hands were bound behind her back, her wrists roped together tightly. Her upturned ass was a pink-red, the colour of somepony spanked or flogged until she squealed. The flat, rounded bases of a pair of enchanted vibrators stuck out of her ass and dripping cunt, humming in delicious synchronised stimulation. Wet slobbering sounds mingled with her groans, as she slavishly licked and sucked at Twilight's bare toes.

Twilight herself was naked, save for her peaked cap, lounging back in a broad chair and lazily stroking her own breasts. Trixie stood beside her, holding a wide paddle in one hand, wearing nothing but a small skirt. With her free hand, the showpony was openly masturbating, reaching under her skimpy excuse for clothing to firmly finger herself.

Twilight's voice carried. "-the taste of my feet, slut? These are much more appropriate duties for a big-mouthed Princess that doesn't know how to show respect."

Celestia whimpered, her mouth too full to reply.

Applejack's jaw dropped. Matters of state, huh? If this was what the volunteering flyers had been about, then sign her up! No wonder Twilight didn't want anypony walking in on this!

With Twilight gazing down at Celestia, and Celestia herself far too occupied to notice anything, it was left to Trixie to notice the doors swinging soundlessly open, revealing the multicoloured crowd of ponies beyond. Her widening eyes met Applejack's gaze, and her hand stilled between her legs. "Wha- why- Mistress!" Trixie burst out.

"Is something the matter, my little fuckpony?" Twilight asked playfully, looking up.

Like Trixie, her eyes met Applejack's with a shock of surprise, before flickering rapidly over the rest of her slaves crowded into the doorway. Twilight's hand rose to her mouth, and a crimson blush flared into life across her cheeks. "I - h-hello, everypony," she stammered, in a very different tone from the casual purr of command she'd used a moment before.

Rarity's cultured voice was laden with disbelief. "...Princess Celestia?"

"Yes," Twilight replied, a shade defensively. "It's not the first time you've seen me do something like this with her."

Recovering her voice from the far-off lands it had fled to, Applejack replied slowly, "Well - yeah, Ah guess so. Jest been a while, and she wasn't quite like... this."

Rainbow flapped forward a little, her eyes flicking to the paddle in Trixie's hands. "Can I have a go with that?" she blurted.

"Rainbow!" Rarity chastised.

"What? If Trixie gets to smack the Princess's ass, I want a go too," replied Rainbow with a shrug.

"I want a go at being paddled! That looks fun!" Pinkie declared cheerfully, swinging around on the spot and wiggling her well-padded ass towards Twilight.

Twilight glanced down to the floor. Her cheeks still visibly hot, she added more softly, "Celestia, um. Stop. That's enough. Stand up and greet the others, please."

With a small shudder, Celestia released Twilight's bare foot from her mouth, looking up at her pleadingly. A small quiver running through her, she gathered her legs under her and turned around. She was a mess. Her flowing mane was dishevelled, and her large, prominent breasts were spattered with drips of saliva, just as reddened as her ass. Her soft lips were damp with drool, and a glazed, desperate look was in her pink eyes, almost animal in its intensity.

Applejack felt a shock of arousal race through her. Part of her was jealous, and envious, and desperately wanted to feel what Celestia was so obviously feeling, but even so, she felt her nipples stiffen into tight points, and the kindling of a heat between her thighs.

"Say hello, Celestia," Twilight commanded again, her voice growing firmer.

Celestia tugged a little at the bonds holding her wrists tightly together behind her back. "This impertinent slut needs to be punished. This impertinent slut needs to be punished," she gasped.

Applejack felt her mouth go dry, her chest tightening. Her own breathing was loud in her ears. "...oh, mah stars..." she whispered.

"What's your name, Celestia?" asked Twilight rhetorically, from behind the impossibly arousing figure of the Princess. "Tell them."

Swallowing, Celestia managed, "This impertinent slut needs to be punished." The Princess's voice twanged things in Applejack, that divine voice of absolute authority brought down to a humiliated whisper.

"Fuck me..." Rainbow murmured reverentially, in tones of faint disbelief.

Visibly recovering from her surprise, Twilight's smile was growing predatory again. "Celestia? If you can convince them to let you have what you want, I'll show some mercy."

Celestia whimpered aloud, her arms briefly straining at her bonds. A little wobbly on her legs, she moved towards the doorway where the six of them stood, breathing heavily. Wetness slicked her thighs, a droplet running down her silky white skin as she moved, and the humming of the twin vibrators buried in her grew more intense as she got closer. Her breasts swayed with every step, reddened and marked with hand prints and paddle marks, her nipples jutting stiffly. Her tongue flickered over her lips, and there was a desperate look in her eyes.

"This impertinent slut needs to be punished. This impertinent slut needs to be punished. This impertinent slut needs to be punished," she pleaded.

"Oooh! Do you need more spanking? Is that it?" Pinkie squealed cheerfully.

"This impertinent slut needs to be punished! This impertinent slut needs to be punished!" Celestia gasped, shaking her head. She had a ring over her horn, Applejack noticed suddenly.

Breathing heavily, Zecora stepped forwards, her eyes locked on Celestia. One hand crept up under her skimpy brown top, massaging her own breast roughly as she gazed at the Princess. Her voice was breathy with lust. "That is not what she seeks to convey, but those degrading words are all she can say. She begs for her torment to cease, to be granted her release."

Leaning forward, her arms straining against her bonds once again, Celestia nodded urgently. "This impertinent slut needs to be punished!" she moaned, her thighs squeezing together, hips futilely bucking.

"Ah'll be... jest how long have you kept her like this?" Applejack breathed, her eyes flicking to Twilight, then back to Celestia.

"Not long. A few hours. Keeping her at the edge of cumming, but she can't, not without me telling her to," Twilight replied with pleasant cheeriness. Celestia quivered, a wordless groan of protest escaping her trembling lips.

"The slutty and sensual Trixie has been spanking her," Trixie added smugly. "Trixie's perfect, glorious Mistress asked her if she thought that Celestia had earned the right to cum yet. She said no. Princess Celestia has been teasing Twilight awfully. She deserves this."

A shivery, feverish heat churned at the centre of Applejack's chest, and she heard the little tremor in her own voice as she breathed, "So this is punishment f'r misbehaving, huh?" Obviously, she needed to misbehave more often herself.

Rarity's cheeks were red, her thighs rubbing together, and she looked like she might faint, almost unable to cope with seeing her divine ruler degraded and humiliated so totally. Rainbow's face was full of hunger, Pinkie was dancing from foot to foot with excitement, and Zecora was visibly wrapped in a haze of lust, her eyes unfocused and her hands roaming over her own body. Fluttershy was - Applejack's gaze flicked towards Twilight and spotted the yellow pegasus - already naked, her clothes lying in a heap by the door, and she was actually ignoring the incredible spectacle in favour of crawling on all fours up to her Mistress, lowering her head to take Celestia's place lapping at Twilight's feet.

"Celestia has been trying my patience," Twilight agreed with a happy sigh, stretching her leg out and resting her foot between Fluttershy's massive breasts for the submissive pony to obediently lap at. "Though, you know, I am a nice pony, so maybe it's time to be merciful."

"This impertinent slut needs to be punished," Celestia gasped, twisting back towards Twilight so fast her tail whipped out behind her, and nodding urgently.

"She really does," agreed Trixie smugly, and lashed out with the paddle. The broad, flat paddle cracked against Celestia's breast, and the Princess gasped again, head tilting back.

Applejack's eyes squeezed closed briefly. Oh, stars above, she wanted to be in Celestia's place. Tied up, spanked, humiliated, forced down to lick Twilight's feet, desperate to cum, whimpering, panting. "Please, Ma'am. Please let her cum," she breathed, tugging at the open neck of her shirt. "Ah want to see her cum her brains out!"

"Mmmmh!" moaned Celestia in agreement, her hips jerking. "This impertinent slut-"

"Keyword: cum," Twilight interrupted calmly.

A whole body shudder wracked Celestia's body, her eyelids fluttering as a wordless cry broke from her lips, ringing out around the chamber. She was surrounded by a ring of ponies, bright, fascinated eyes drinking her in as she convulsed, breasts swaying and the shafts buried in her humming loudly, as the Princess of the Sun writhed in uncontrollable ecstasy. Finally, Celestia's ragged moans began to settle, and she straightened a little, chest heaving with her breathing.

Twilight rose unhurriedly from her chair, stroking Fluttershy's pink mane as she passed, naked, completely self-possessed, her purple nipples standing out stiffly from the rounded slopes of her breasts. "Keyword, cum," she repeated, a cruel smile playing about her lips.

For just an instant, Celestia's eyes widened in shock before the command struck home and she doubled over, a fresh cry squeezed from her.

"Is something wrong, Celestia? You've been begging to be allowed to cum for hours. Isn't this what you want?" Twilight said pleasantly, over the Princess's breathless, gasped moans. "But two isn't really enough, don't you think?"

Struggling for breath, Celestia managed to shake her head mutely, in denial rather than answer.

"That's what I thought," Twilight said with satisfaction. "Keyword, cum. Keyword, cum."

"Nnngh!" Celestia collapsed to her knees, her legs giving way beneath her, her hips helplessly jerking back and forth in a futile effort to fuck herself against the toys buried in her, a tangled, sweat-coated mess.

Twilight leaned forward, reaching down to caress Celestia's cheek. "Keyword, cum," she breathed, and her smile widened at the despairing moan from her captive slave. Celestia collapsed forward, her heavy breasts crushed beneath her against the floor and her reddened ass in the air, head resting against the rug. Her glazed eyes were half-open, her eyelids flickering now and then, drool leaking from the corner of her lips and her thighs coated in fragrant wetness.

With complete self-possession, Twilight strolled around her and sat down on Celestia's upturned ass like a stool, idly rubbing a hand back and forth across the sunburst marking her thigh. "It's wonderful to see you all," she said, as if nothing was unusual. "I wasn't expecting you today."

Applejack's lips parted, soundlessly. She was hotly aroused, her skin prickling, urging her to strip off her clothes and be naked before her Mistress, but more than that, she was actually feeling intimidated by Twilight. Silence hung in the air, coloured by Zecora's small grunts and gasps as her hand worked frantically under her skirt.

"Hot dang," Applejack finally breathed.

"Can you do that to me?" blurted Pinkie eagerly, bouncing forward on her toes. Her eyes were wide and sparkling, her breasts bouncing under her tight sweater, and her hard nipples showed through the fabric. "That was so, so cool, the way you just - and she fell over, and - I want to try!"

Naked, her ass wriggling as she crawled, Fluttershy sidled up to Twilight's legs again, gently bumping her pink mane against her owner's knee. After a moment, her soft voice murmured diffidently from within her curtain of hair, "That looked... a little intense, for me, I think. Um. Ruff."

Giggling, Twilight reached down and tickled Fluttershy under the chin, making the submissive yellow pony wriggle with delight. "I'd love to. All I need is a little time to make sure you have the right commands, and then I can do it to all of you. I've been thinking of so many things I can do with you all! I'm really glad you're here. I've missed you."

Oh, now this wasn't fair. Applejack felt her iron determination to take Twilight to task for ignoring them wilting, undermined by the treacherous happiness and yearning she felt every time Twilight smiled at her. Scolding herself for letting herself be derailed by such a simple thing as Princess Celestia, ruler of all pony-kind, being magically forced to orgasm until she collapsed into a naked heap on the floor, she opened her mouth to tell Twilight off.

Rarity beat her to it. "Twilight, I'd like you to refrain from using any magic on me at the moment. I want to talk to you. We all want to talk to you."

"We could fit in a quick fuck, then talk," Rainbow murmured, her eyes still on the fallen figure of Celestia that Twilight was using as a stool. "I can do a lot in a few minutes."

"No, Rainbow dear, we cannot. No distractions." Rarity lifted her head, her eyes flicking down to Celestia, then back up to Twilight, obviously doing her best to ignore the fact that Zecora had sunk onto a chair and was urgently masturbating, her whimpers growing louder and louder. "Twilight, we're here today unannounced because we're not happy with the way things have been of late."

Twilight blinked, drawing back slightly with a puzzled frown, before realisation broke guiltily across her features. Leaning forward a little, she replied softly, "Oh. I think I understand."

"Twilight, you've turned our lives upside down, all of them." Rarity paused, her gaze shifting down towards the Princess again before she recovered her focus on Twilight, and continued determinedly, "I'm not saying that I wish things had gone another way, even if you have made some very serious errors of judgement, which you and I and Zecora are all very aware of, but now that you've changed certain parts of my life, and the lives of our friends, and..." she trailed off as her gaze was inexorably drawn downwards, then hesitated before forging on, "The point is that you are now a very large part of our lives, not that you weren't before, of course, but now you have a responsibility to be-"

Rarity stopped, then closed her eyes and burst out, "Twilight, will you please stop sitting on the ruler of all Equestria's ass while she drools naked into the carpet?! I can't focus like this!"

Despite herself, Applejack sniggered. Ducking her head slightly as Rarity flashed a sharp look at her, Applejack agreed hastily, "Well, yeah, she is pretty darn distracting down there. The whole darn show was pretty distracting, to tell the truth."

"In my case, this certainly true," panted Zecora, her mohawk quivering as a fresh shudder ran through her. "She is distracting me from - from you!" The last words were gasped, and Zecora's thighs squeezed together in an unmistakable show of pleasurable release, her top in disarray from twisting her ring-pierced nipples, and the wrap of cloth around her waist marked with dampness.

"Oh, I'm sorry," apologised Twilight. She pushed herself to her feet, and turned to Trixie. "Trixie, could you?" she asked, gesturing across the room.

"Of course, Mistress! The eager and obedient fucktoy Trixie obeys!"

Trixie turned, striking an unnecessary pose to show off her near-naked body, then crossed the room, putting a distinct wriggle into her hips and swaying her tail back and forth as she walked. Pulling a folded dust sheet off a shelf, she trotted back to Twilight with it presented before her like a tray, making sure her blue breasts rested atop it. "As you wished, Mistress."

"Thank you, Trixie," Twilight replied approvingly, stroking Trixie's head like a pet animal. "That was just what I wanted."

"Trixie understands your desires better than anypony, Mistress," Trixie replied with unnecessary emphasis, sneakily poking out her tongue at the rest of Twilight's slaves.

Shaking out the dust sheet, Twilight turned around and let it neatly settle. Celestia managed to protest feebly, "...this impertinent..." before the sheet settled over her, rendering her an anonymous footstool beneath the white linen.

Twilight sat back down and smiled at Rarity. The expression was almost a familiar one, almost her same old friendly, enthusiastic smile, but there was a spark of playfully sadistic humour lurking at the edges. "So, Rarity, you were saying?"

Rarity looked at Twilight with her mouth open. "You... can't," she protested feebly. "You can't treat Princess Celestia like common furniture!"

"Well, I think I can," replied Twilight thoughtfully, crossing one long, bare leg over the other. "Let me check, please. Celestia, keyword: release mantra. Can I do this to you?"

From beneath the linen, Celestia's voice floated out, breathy and exhausted. "It seems... you can, Empress."

"Mm. I thought I could." Twilight nodded. "Princess, would you say that you deserve it?"

"...yes, Empress."

"Yes, you do. So Rarity-"

"Empress, the... the vibrating shafts?" Celestia's voice asked huskily.

"Oh, you're right. I wouldn't want you to think I'm forgetting about them. I suppose you're ready for them to come out, now." Twilight patted the anonymous shape beneath the sheet, somewhere in the region of Celestia's head. Applejack was expecting the edge of the sheet to peel back, and the sex toys to float out, but instead, with an escalating hum, the sound of their vibration simply grew a little more intense. The Princess groaned beneath the linen, half despairingly, as Twilight finished thoughtfully, "But no, I don't think I'm done with them yet."

Applejack glanced at Rarity, who had speechlessly buried both hands in her mane. Yeah, she wasn't going to be capable of putting together a whole sentence for a while. Doing her best to keep focused, Applejack said carefully, "Twilight, Ma'am, what Rarity's trying t'say is that you've kind've been neglecting us. Ah've missed you, a whole lot, and Ah know we've all been feeling that way. It'd be one thing if we knew you were up here, missing us right back and wanting to come home as soon as your Princessy stuff lets you, but - well."

Gesturing at the shrouded shape of Celestia, Applejack finished more diffidently, "Well, you're having sex with, and Ah can barely believe it still, Princess Celestia and Luna. Makes us feel kind've less important."

"She's having sex with the glorious Trixie, too!" the showpony interjected quickly. Drawing herself up, she added in more grandiose tones, "Poor, foolish backwater ponies, trying to compete with Trixie's delicious ass and perfect tits! No pony can challenge Trixie's place in Mistress's heart. Trixie doesn't need anypony but Twilight or to go anywhere without her Mistress, so she gets to stay in Twilight's bed every night and have sex with her whenever she wants."

The stew of arousal, insecurity, love and frustration that seethed within Applejack's chest was complicated enough even before Trixie opened her mouth. But Trixie just wouldn't be Trixie without making everything worse with her big yap, would she? Applejack gritted her teeth, and hung onto her patience. Twilight had previously asked her to be nice to Trixie, to make her feel welcome, and Applejack hadn't forgotten just how lonely she seemed to be, under the rude, obnoxious, in-your-face bravado. After all, what she'd really just said was-

"So what you're saying is, you can trail after Twilight all the time because you never do anything useful and you have no friends," Rainbow retorted.

Applejack winced. Alright, put that bluntly, it seemed a little hard on the girl. Trust Rainbow to blurt out the first thought in her head. It might have been Applejack's imagination, but it seemed to her like Trixie's lower lip trembled slightly, before she lifted her head imperiously.

"You have the body of a teenage colt, and you wouldn't know what it was like to have actual breasts if you were smothered to death by them," Trixie snapped. "No wonder Mistress isn't interested. Why don't you go chase some clouds, and show off your best feature - your ability to go far, far away as fast as possible."

Oh, dangit, Applejack thought. She was going to have to do something to stop this from getting out of hand. Reaching out, she squeezed Rainbow's shoulder. "Hold on, sugarcube. No call to be nasty, alright?"

Rainbow tried to pull away from Applejack's grip, protesting, "You heard her! She was saying Twilight likes her better than us!"

"You know better'n that, and you know better'n to rise to it when she talks like that," Applejack scolded gently.

"Trixie." Twilight's single word was gentle, with only a hint of warning.

The effect was immediate. Lowering her head, Trixie replied contritely, "Sorry, Mistress," without a single hint of resentment or resistance. "Trixie didn't mean to displease you."

Applejack exchanged a glance with Rarity. Trixie sure was quick to obey these days. Rainbow's fluffed up feathers settled down at the sight.

"Aw, you don't have to worry!" Pinkie broke the momentary quiet, bouncing over on her toes to grab Trixie's arm and hug it, pulling it close against her chest. Her large eyes bright, she said earnestly, "We're not here to take Twilight away from you, silly. We can all play together! I know you've been a meanie before, but everypony makes mistakes. Let's be friends, okay?"

Frig. There was a moment there where Trixie's face was an open book. She was definitely afraid they were there to take Twilight away. Applejack stepped forward slowly, her gaze darting over Trixie's face, trying to put aside all of their history, the instinctive dislike and distrust she felt for the obnoxious showpony, and instead see what was really in front of her.

Somepony that was desperately insecure, almost quivering with it, and putting on a brave face.

Applejack sighed aloud. "Aw, Trixie. Don't you know that going off like that never gets you anyplace?" She took Trixie's free hand and squeezed it. By Applejack's feet, Fluttershy glanced up at her for reassurance, her cheeks growing darker pink, then let her side press against Trixie's legs gently.

Rarity shot Applejack a look, conveying in a single glance her reservations about embracing Trixie's presence. Nonetheless, she moved forward to join them, stroking Fluttershy's head soothingly with one hand as she addressed the increasingly surrounded Trixie.

"Darling, insults have never helped ponies to grow closer." Rarity paused for an instant, then added with a faint touch of exasperation, "Nearly never. Going to bed with somepony just because you've spent all night arguing with them and have drunk two bottles of wine doesn't count. And that wasn't me. In any case, you don't have to defend your position with Twilight that way."

Rainbow crossed her arms and huffed. "No way am I being part of this."

Flushed, her mane slightly dishevelled, but with a warm smile on her lips, Zecora shook her head gently, rising from her chair to stand by Rainbow's side. "You will be happier if you put the past behind you. Can you not see she is a slave too?"

Looking slightly hunted, Trixie pulled back from the ponies around her. "Trixie - Trixie doesn't need your pity!"

Twilight rose to her feet, resting one hand on the anonymous, sheet-draped shape she'd been sitting on. "It's not pity, Trixie," she said gently. "These are good ponies. I know things haven't always been well between you and them, but give them a chance - and let them give you a chance - and things can be better. They can be your friends too."

Well, there is a bit of pity in there, thought Applejack, her lips quirking wryly. A fair bit, actually. But it's a start.

Trixie moved closer to Twilight for reassurance, her fingers brushing Twilight's arm, before she straightened. "If... that's what you want, Mistress, then your obedient fucktoy Trixie will try to tolerate these mediocre ponies."

There was an indignant snort from Rarity. Rainbow was already scowling.

Twilight paused, then sighed, shaking her head with a wry smile. "I know you can be nicer than that, if you try, but I'm not going to order you. If you want to be friends with the ponies I care about, you must decide to do it yourself."

Not only was she not going to order Trixie, Twilight wasn't going to use the charm to force a change in Trixie's behaviour either, Applejack noticed. That was pretty interesting.

Gathering Trixie against her side with one arm, Twilight smiled at the six of her friends, sparing an extra-special smile and a gentle pat for Fluttershy, who meekly sat at Twilight's feet, her eyes downcast. Speaking more quietly, Twilight began, "Everypony - I'm sorry. You're right. I'm really sorry; I've been so busy working on my new magic, and trying to organise everything here, I haven't come back to Ponyville. I haven't even had time for some of my own projects. I know you all have your own lives to live, but I'm a big part of that, and you're a huge part of my life, and - I'm sorry. I really am. I want to be close to you, all of you, every day."

Her gaze met Applejack's, and the farmpony felt a shiver of warmth run through her that brought a sheen of tears to her eyes. "Ah've missed you," she heard herself say huskily. "Never realised what a gap there was in mah life before Ah had you to fill it."

"With a strap-on," Rainbow muttered to Pinkie, who giggled aloud.

"Y'all say something, Maid Dash?" Applejack retorted over her shoulder. "You want Twilight to dress you up, get Rarity to show you how t'be a proper slutty servant gal for the Mistress?"

Rainbow's cheeks flushed crimson as she visibly pictured the image, her eyes flicking towards Rarity, before she stammered, "N-no! I don't like all that - stuff."

"Trixie thinks that Rainbow needs to be forced to tell the truth or get spanked," Trixie observed with a smug grin.

Beneath the sheet, Celestia had rolled onto her side and made herself more comfortable as they'd been talking. Now, she wriggled partly out from under the sheet as best she could with her arms still tied behind her back, exposing her face. Her hair was a multicoloured swirl against the rug. Looking up, she remarked playfully, "I thought you were quite a good maid, Rainbow Dash. You seem to have a talent for it. I'd certainly have accepted you for a position in my personal staff if you'd asked in that Prench accent-"

"Keyword, cum," Twilight replied pleasantly without even looking down.

"No - nnngggh!" groaned Celestia, her body shuddering under the pristine sheet. Her breasts heaved beneath the thin linen, her breaths coming in panted, ragged moans. Little by little, the rigid arch of her back relaxed as her moans softened into murmurs, and her eyes slid shut, her lips barely parted.

"That's better. I'm sorry about the interruption, Rarity," Twilight said with a smile, lifting one bare foot and resting it on the sheet-shrouded curve of Celestia's hip. "Was that distracting too?"

"Ah... no, my Lady. Of course not," Rarity murmured, seemingly unable to look away from the flushed face of the Princess. "You must discipline as you see fit."

"Yes, I must," Twilight agreed, and Applejack felt a little frisson of nervous anticipation at the tone of calm confidence in her Mistress's voice. Squeezing Trixie, Twilight went on, "I've been having a lot of trouble controlling my magic. Trixie's been really helpful in getting it back under control. It's been really unsettling, not being able to cast spells and charms the way I'm used to."

"I could be your magic!" piped up Pinkie. "I could be all whoosh, zoom, get the thing you wanted and bring it to you! I could carry you from place to place when you wanted to teleport, too."

"Uh. Reckon you'd better leave that to me," Applejack muttered, trying to resist the blush that advanced across her cheeks. "If'n anyone's going to be carrying Twilight around like her steed, reckon Ah'll do it. Ah've got the muscles to pulls carts and such."

"Yeah, but you're slow," chipped in Rainbow.

Bristling, Applejack replied indignantly, "Ah ran your pants off you during the running of the leaves!"

Lounging against a chair, Rainbow rolled her eyes. "If you call nearly coming in a tie with me-"

"It was a tie!"

"I wasn't even using my wings. Besides. if you'd got my pants off me back then, things would have gone way differently." Rainbow's grin was lecherous.

"Well. I actually feel rather better knowing that you've been working on your magic, Twilight. While the thought of you spending all your time here because you've forgotten about me is completely intolerable, I am well aware how you can become absorbed into your little... projects," Rarity said carefully. "All the same, I doubt there is any concrete reason why you cannot take whatever reference materials you need from the Canterlot library, and practise the precise form of the charms you will be using in the comfort of your own home."

"...you're right," confessed Twilight after a moment. "It's hard not to think about the Princesses - my Princesses - and want to stay around Canterlot. But I have taken out enough reference books to be going on with, and there are actually some useful texts in my library that are either not present on the stacks here, or secretly locked in some huge doom vault. Would it be okay if I came back with you all to Ponyville for a while?"

"Yes, Ma'am!" Applejack blurted in relief, the others joining her in an instant chorus of enthusiastic approval.

Celestia's eyes opened slowly. Her voice considerably more calm and regal than might have been expected of a mare lying dishevelled on the floor, she said quietly, "If that's what you would like to do, Twilight, I can make arrangements."

The tone of Celestia's voice seemed to take Twilight by surprise, but she smiled, shaking her head. Leaning down and dropping to one knee to stroke Celestia's face, she said fondly, "Don't put on the Princess voice with me, Celestia. You're coming too."

Celestia blinked. "Twilight, while that would be lovely, I cannot spare the time. I have duties to perform, daily." She managed to sit up, despite her bound arms, and Applejack couldn't help but stare as the movement caused the white sheet to slide off her chest, baring her magnificent breasts, still decorated liberally with deep pink paddle marks. A small shiver ran through the Princess's body as the change in position shifted the double shafts still buzzing softly within her, but she didn't let it show in her voice as she finished, "There is simply too much to do."

"Hm," murmured Twilight, thoughtfully. Leaning forward, she reached behind Celestia, gripped one end of the rope, and tugged. With a few swift pulls, the knots unbound, and she was able to work the remaining loops off the Princess's wrists.

"Not bad," Applejack remarked to herself. Twilight had clearly been practising her knots. Just not on her, which was frankly pretty darn unfair. Feeling a fresh surge of frustration, she didn't notice for a moment that Twilight was beckoning to her and Zecora behind Celestia's back. With a puzzled frown, Applejack stepped forward.

"Thank you, Twilight," Celestia said pleasantly, rubbing her wrists and stretching her arms. "If you'll excuse me?"

"Celestia, you really are an awfully silly pony sometimes," Twilight told her affectionately. Picking up a corner of the sheet that still lay across the Princess's legs, Twilight clicked her tongue and beckoned Fluttershy, giving the corner to her to bite down on. "Pull, girl! Pull it away! Zecora, Applejack, pin her arms! Pinkie, Rainbow, legs!"

With a joyous 'Rrf!', Fluttershy bit the sheet and tugged backwards on all fours, yanking it away. Catching Zecora's eye and grinning with sudden understanding, Applejack seized hold of Celestia's left wrist and yanked her arm out straight from her body as Zecora did the same, before they shoved her down hard against the floor. Applejack swung her legs over Celestia's arm, straddling it, and used her weight to pin it immovably. She hadn't grown up wrestling Big Mac for nothing!

Pinkie leapt across the room with a joyful cry of excitement as the sheet was tugged off Celestia's legs, pulling on her left ankle and spreading the divine pony's smooth thighs. Rainbow did the same, pouncing on the fallen Princess and gleefully grinding her shorts-clad sex against Celestia's leg as she straddled it. The flat ends of the toys buried in the Princess's cunt and ass were fully on display, completely unmistakable.

"Twilight!" protested Celestia, making a half-hearted attempt to pull her arms free. Her horn sparked as the ring upon it grounded an instinctive attempt at using magic.

Applejack watched the fond smile spread across Twilight's lips, and for a moment felt a touch of wistfulness for the time when it just been the two of them, before turning her attention back to her appointed task. Gripping Celestia's arm with both hands and her thighs, she put her back into holding the divine pony down. Even when she was hardly trying, Celestia was strong. All the same, pinning her was actually pretty fun. There was a thrill of the forbidden in roughly handling the pony that they'd all looked up to for so long.

"Celestia," replied Twilight warmly, "I don't think you understand the position you're in. This isn't a game, my Princess. If I tell you that I am going to drag your fluffy white butt to Ponyville and use you like a repeatedly-orgasming writing desk, that's what's going to happen. Luna can handle the urgent things, and the rest can wait."

"...I understand my position, my Empress," Celestia said slowly, her hips squirming slightly. "But you must understand that I have responsibilities. I trust my sister implicitly, but there are diplomatic tasks to which she isn't suited, and it would be unfair to place certain burdens upon her in addition to her own duties. She-"

"I think Luna is capable of doing a lot more than you think, Celestia, and it's time to find out." Twilight shook her head as Celestia opened her mouth again, and ordered, "Cover her mouth. Rarity, come here, please."

Before Applejack could even persuade herself to move, Zecora leaned forward, her expression filled with blissful happiness, and covered Celestia's mouth with one hand. "As my Mistress commands, I shall obey, and you will have nothing more to say," she murmured to the captive mare.

With a touch of nervousness, Rarity stole closer, her eyes flicking down to Celestia's naked, reddened body. "I... yes, my Lady? Don't you think that you should listen to the Princess? She is very experienced in matters of state, after all. I, ah, wouldn't have thought her judgement is to be questioned."

Twilight leaned up, and whispered something into Rarity's ear. Applejack couldn't hear it, but the effect was obvious. Rarity's shoulders slumped, her lips parting, and her gaze became glassy and unfocused. "This slave obeys," she breathed, in an empty, distant tone, and only Twilight's hands catching her arms stopped her folding to the ground in a kneel.

"That's right," Twilight told her approvingly. Lowering her voice, Twilight added something softly. Applejack strained to hear, but could only make out, "...anything, just listen ... pictured that, haven't you? So you'll ... as degrading as you can, you'll ... everything, you can't stop yourself until I tell you to. I am satisfied." A wicked smile flashing across her face, Twilight added pleasantly, "Zecora, you can let go, now."

Rarity jerked slightly as animation returned to her face, and for a moment, she simply looked confused. Then, with an expression of distinct surprise, her hands moved under her skirt by themselves and tugged her delicate underwear down her legs. Stepping out of it with one foot, the lacy scrap dangled from her other ankle as she unfastened her skirt with smooth, automatic motions, and tossed it aside. Her bare ass was revealed, her jewelled thighs long and perfect, her sex naked.

"Twiliiiight?" Rarity gasped on a rising note as she found herself stepping over to where Celestia lay, planting a foot either side of her head.

"You're really far too nervous around Celestia, you know," Twilight remarked amusedly. "I think that it will really help if you break some of the barriers between you."

"Of course I'm nervous! She's the pinnacle of Equestria! The ruler of the day! The highest and most noble of all nobility!" Rarity protested, then gasped again as she found her knees bending. "You can't be serious, Twilight!"

Celestia gave Twilight a wryly resigned look. "Twilight, I really do have to talk to you-" she managed, before she was smothered by Rarity's sex, her head trapped between the other mare's milky thighs.

"Nnnh!" groaned Rarity as her body shifted to a kneeling position, pressing her bare cunt against Celestia's mouth. Leaning forward to find a better angle on the prone woman, Rarity's chest brushed the Sun Princess's bare breasts. "Twilight, please! I can't possibly- Princess, stop squirming and start licking! I'm not ramming my cunt in your face to get bored."

The look of shock on Rarity's face was almost comical, her hand covering her mouth, her eyes wide. "I didn't say that!" she gasped, the words muffled by her hand.

Twilight giggled. "Yes, you did. Part of you really likes the idea of being the most superior pony around. I'm just helping you be honest!"

Rarity's cheeks went crimson. "I would never!" Without a change in tone, she went on, "Stop just lying there and lick my cunt, you pink-eyed bitch!" Propping herself up with one hand, she smacked the side of Celestia's bare chest, her handprint overlaying an existing pink print of Twilight's fingers. Speaking hurriedly, even as her hand drew back for another blow, Rarity blurted, "Princess, I'm so sorry, it's not me, it's- oh! Ohh!"

Celestia's head had begun moving beneath her. The wet sound of sloppy, messy licking was just audible, and Applejack caught a glimpse of the Princess's pink tongue lapping between Rarity's legs.

Swallowing, her throat dry, Applejack's gaze flicked over to Zecora. The zebra was urgently grinding her sex against Celestia's arm, humping it more than restraining it, her waist wrap pulled aside. Her pierced nipples stood out rigidly through her skimpy brown top, and the mare was panting thickly with arousal, her eyes fixed on Rarity as the fashionista struggled with the compulsion Twilight had planted within her.

Pinkie and Rainbow were doing much the same, gripping Celestia's thighs with both hands as they rubbed themselves against her legs. Rainbow had yanked off her top, baring her small, compact breasts, and Pinkie's clothes were in disarray, her pants pulled down to bare her generous ass. Even as Applejack watched, Pinkie let go with one hand to turn Rainbow's head towards her, and the two of them began kissing hard and hungrily, grinding back and forth in unison.

"Stop trying to talk, you impertinent slut! I haven't pinned you to the floor just so you can waste my time with your opinions!" Rarity groaned, her hands roughly squeezing handfuls of Celestia's breasts and her hips grinding roughly back and forth against the Princess's face, managing to add with a shuddering gasp, "I'm so sorry about this, Princess!" as she smeared her glistening juices across the divine pony's mouth and chin.

"Oh, damn, that's hot," Applejack whispered, barely recognising she'd even spoken. It probably wasn't what Rarity had expected, when she'd demanded they all go and see Twilight, but darned if it wasn't an incredible sight to see her riding Celestia's face like a troublesome steer at the rodeo. Without taking her eyes off her friend, Applejack shrugged one shoulder, then the other, out of her braces. Her fingers worked their way down her shirt, holding her breath for a moment as she tugged the fastenings free, then yanked it open. Fuck, she needed to touch herself so bad. Her body felt like it was on fire, her nipples throbbing, her cunt sparking every time she roughly ground herself against Celestia's trapped arm through her denim jeans.

She tossed her bra aside carelessly, and swept her hands up to cup her bare breasts. "Mmmhh..." she moaned, her bright green eyes half-closing. Damn, but it felt good. Her freckled boobs filled her hands with familiar warmth, her callused fingers kneading roughly. All around her, feminine moans were colouring the air as they worked their way out of their clothes. Zecora was hunched forward, sucking on Celestia's breast, Pinkie and Rainbow had their hands all over each other, Rarity was a spectacle all of her own, Fluttershy was obediently lapping at Twilight's bare cunt while Trixie, at Twilight's command, was rubbing herself gently against Fluttershy's back.

It was a scene of dizzying depravity. It couldn't possibly be happening. A part of her, the Applejack that hadn't really caught up with all the changes in her life, was locked in stunned disbelief at the sight of it all. The rest of her, more than happy to give herself over fully to it, drove her to squirm out of her damp shorts, baring her tingling, shaven sex to the cool air. Without hesitation, she went back to humping Celestia's arm, painting her skin with glistening wetness. "That's it, Rarity sugar," Applejack groaned, her eyelids fluttering. "Oh, mah darn stars. Ride 'er. Hard, jest like that."

"Oh, Princess, oh, oh, Princess..." moaned Rarity deliriously, her eyes rolled up and her hips jerking roughly back and forth, sending quivers through her body. Her elegant top was crumpled, shoved up above her chest, and the delicate, translucent lace encasing her breasts did nothing to hide them, bouncing heavily with the movement of her body. "Stick your tongue deeper in my cunt, you low-class bitch! Are you trying to bore me? Stop squirming and put some effort into it!"

Applejack shuddered helplessly. She wanted more! More of this, more of Twilight, more of nakedness, and obedience, and feeling all her cares and worries blow out of her head, until there was nothing but yielding warmth left. No decisions. No responsibilities. Oh, fuck, she was so wet, so horny. She looked up longingly at Twilight, and felt a little shock race up her spine as her Mistress looked back at her.

...no, Twilight was looking behind her.

Placing a hand on Fluttershy's head and urging her more firmly against her cunt, Twilight said lightly, "Good afternoon, Ember. I was sorry when I came back and you'd gone back to your room."

"So these are the element bearers. Right. Oh, and that's Celestia under there too, isn't it." The voice was unfamiliar, filled with wryly resigned amusement, and Applejack twisted around in shock to see a tall, fully nude dragon entering the room from one of the inner doors, her body coloured in shades of deep blue. With a flash of a smile, Ember added, "Didn't expect this, even after last night. Definitely not what I thought would happen when I made myself ambassador."

Twisting to one side, Rarity gaped at the sight of Ember, whimpering in shock, "Ambassador? I... this isn't what it seems! If this stupid cunt was any good at licking out my pussy, I'd have finished already and got off her face!" As the compulsive words poured out, her face reddened further and further.

"Not Ambassador," Twilight corrected. Smiling at Ember, with only a small, breathy gasp breaking up the flow of her words, she went on, "I don't think Ambassador Ember has any place in the middle of an orgy like this. So, I guess that Ambassador Ember should go... or Ember could stay. There's so much more to learn. Always more to learn."

Applejack blinked. This dragon, whoever she was, was an Ambassador? From the Dragon Lands? And the way Twilight was talking, why, it almost sounded like-

"Yeah, okay. Got to admit, I can't imagine just walking off from this and back to my room, knowing what you're doing in here. So I guess I'm all yours for a little longer... Mistress." The words were casual, but Ember's deep blue nipples stood out stiffly from her rounded breasts.

From beneath Rarity's grinding hips, there was a muffled sound. It sounded rather like Celestia's voice, saying something like, "Mfftrefff?" Zecora half-drowned the exclamation, breaking out in another quick series of gasping wails as the idea of Twilight having conquered another woman pushed her over the edge. Of all the ponies in the room, only Trixie seemed smug rather than surprised.

Applejack didn't know what to think. Twilight had charmed another slave, a dragon? The haze of submissive arousal filling her head was making it hard to form a clear thought.

Twilight's gaze touched Applejack, this time for real, and she smiled. "Ember, this is-"

"Applejack, I know. Did my research. Uh, Mistress."

"Would you play with her beautiful freckled tits for me? I'm occupied with Fluttershy, but I've really missed touching them."

There wasn't really much time to react. Before the surprise had worn off, Ember's aqua-blue arms had wrapped themselves around her from behind, and her slender talons cradled her breasts. A warm, surprisingly soft and smooth body was pressing into her from behind, and a tongue flickered in her ear.

"That Twilight's really something," Ember confided intimately, her breath tingling against Applejack's skin. "Persuaded me to join in with her games, and right now... I want to please her. So I'll do whatever she wants me to do. To. You." The last few words were accompanied by kisses to the side of Applejack's neck, and she felt herself quiver, relaxing back against the dragon whether she wanted to or not.

"Oh, haystacks..." Applejack sighed breathily, unable to focus the will to protest. "Feel so... want to... obey, obey, obey..."

A shiver ran through the dragon embracing her, and Applejack felt her push a little closer. "Yeah, that's... pretty hot," Ember murmured.

With a fresh thrill, Applejack closed her eyes and began grinding back and forth slowly against Celestia's arm, ignoring Rarity's fresh, uncontrolled insults of the Princess eating her out. Letting her firm, muscled ass press back against Ember, she breathed, "See, Ah always knew that Ah wanted something like this. A strong hand, to guide me. Tie me up. Make me jest give up, all mah strength taken away, no responsibility, jest... do what Ah'm told. Feel it. Feel what Ah'm given to feel, so darn strong, feel it so hard that there's nothing else in mah head. Never thought it'd be Twilight. Never thought she had it in her."

A husky note of arousal coloured her words as she breathed, "Oh, but she does. Didn't believe it. Can't believe it. But she's cruel in a way that Ah can't resist, so darn hot Ah can't stand it. Jest being with her, seeing her, hearing that way she talks when she isn't asking me to do something... can't resist it. Ah want to obey her. Have to. Doesn't matter what it is anymore. Pussy's all hot'n bothered, boobs are tingling, and... Ah want to be forced to mah knees and let her pull mah hair, let her rough me up, do anything she darn well wants. Oh, oh fuck but do I want that, so bad, so bad Ah can taste it..."

Her nipples were like rocks, and the rough way Ember was tugging and twisting them was shooting electric sparks up her spine. She knew she was being watched, witnessed by all of them, even Celestia couldn't possibly be ignorant of the way Applejack was grinding against her, and it felt so, so good. Oh, she'd missed this.

"Please," she begged breathlessly, though she didn't know what she was even begging for anymore. Then Ember's touch moved down between her legs, teasing her clit, and all of a sudden she knew exactly what she was begging for. More, and more, and more, and...

She came in a burst of shuddering, wailing release, jerking as the strange dragon's talons toyed with her, tormenting her, drawing out the moment. The world spun dizzily, until she found herself slumped backwards against Ember, her head tilted back and resting against the other woman's shoulder.

In a diffident, breathy tone, Ember murmured, "That was something else... you're really something, Applejack. She's lucky. You all are."

"It's, uh... nice to meet you, too," Applejack managed weakly. "Wheeew." Her eyes flickered open, slowly focusing.

Rarity had slipped off Celestia's face and was lying sideways on the floor, panting for breath. Celestia lay prone, breathing deeply, the twin shafts no longer buzzing. Zecora lay beside her, holding the captive pony's hand in both of hers and lazily sucking on the Princess's fingers one after the other. Rainbow and Pinkie were still rolling around on the floor together, giggling and gasping, their duty of pinning Celestia's legs seemingly forgotten. Fluttershy was hiding her face against Twilight's leg, her face pink with embarrassment and her thighs damp with her juices, while Trixie was hugging her Mistress's other leg, looking up with a mixture of adoration and smug satisfaction.

And Twilight... Twilight was looking at her approvingly. A complicated knot of joy and happiness and envy and love lit in Applejack's heart, feeling a harder beat quiver in her chest.

"You did so, so well," Twilight told her warmly, her hands occupied in fussing Fluttershy and Trixie, ruffling their manes. "I loved to listen to you. That was really hot. I kind of wish I'd had you write it down, so I could keep it and look at it again whenever I wanted to."

"...Twilight," managed Celestia. Her face was flushed, her lips and chin shiny with Rarity's wetness. "I understand that you'd like to punish me at length. But there are matters of state that I can't forswear for the sake of my own desires."

"Luna will handle them. She'll be happy to take care of anything that can't be delayed," Twilight said with gentle insistence. "Really, Princess, you're being a very slow learner. You don't have a choice. You're my fucktoy, and I'm going to treat you that way."

"You may find that Luna is less than pleased-"

"I asked her several hours ago," Twilight interrupted calmly. "The schedule has already been rearranged. Really, Celestia, did you think I was going to let you wriggle out of this?"

The naked demigoddess parted her soft lips, and looked up at Twilight. Applejack felt Celestia's body tense beneath her, a visibly conflicted expression on the Princess's face. Then, all at once, Celestia relaxed, and smiled ruefully. "How many times have I reminded myself not to underestimate you?"

"Obviously, not enough. Maybe you'll do better next time," Twilight replied playfully, then nodded towards Rarity. "Now thank Rarity for letting you stick your tongue inside her," she told Celestia. "A slutty fucktoy like you doesn't deserve it, after all."

Rarity jerked at Twilight's words, pushing herself into a half-sitting position. Struggling to regain her composure, her face crimson, she managed, "Princess, please, there's really no need. No need at all. I'm just a pony from Ponyville after all. I'm sorry for being so, ah, rough in my encouragement. I wouldn't have normally said such things."

Applejack carefully shifted her weight to the side, letting Celestia withdraw her imprisoned hand. Zecora reluctantly did the same, with a final kiss to the Princess's fingers, and sat back to watch as Celestia drew her legs underneath herself, her long limbs quivering slightly. The Princess shifted into a kneeling position, and for a moment, her smile was the gentle, calm smile of the royal pony they had all admired from afar.

Then she bowed down before Rarity, her arms outstretched before her, head lowered. Her glorious mane spread out across her back, floating in shifting curtains either side of her face, and her tail was a fountain of colour draped across the broad curves of her reddened ass.

"Thank you for allowing this unworthy slut to touch your beautiful pussy with her dirty tongue," Celestia breathed. "She is a depraved, horny cunt, fit only for being used and abused by those her Mistress permits. Thank you for spanking her stupid fat tits to encourage her when she failed you, my Lady. Thank you for abusing her, and demanding she try harder. Thank you for feeding this depraved whore your glorious cum."

For a minute, Applejack genuinely wasn't sure if Rarity would faint. The white mare wobbled, then pressed a hand to her chest and sucked in a deep breath. "Ah, thank you. Princess," she managed, with only a small tremor in her voice.

The farmpony was distracted by the feeling of Ember's talons stroking lightly through her blonde tail, brushing and lightly scratching the firm curves of her muscular ass. Addressing Twilight, with a nod down at Celestia, still prone on the floor, Ember remarked, "Talking about underestimating you. I really did. Thought you were just this naive little..." she trailed off as she searched for a word.

"Pony?" suggested Twilight lightly.

"Sure. But you, you're running this whole country. You're the Queen."

"No, I'm not," Twilight said, with a wry smile. "Celestia and Luna are the rulers of Equestria, though Celestia does carry out more of the day to day ruling." She paused, then grinned to herself at the unintentional joke.

Ember's hand paused in its caressing motions, prompting Applejack to gently push back against her talons until the dragon absent-mindedly resumed stroking her ass. "She is the Queen. Celestia. The pony on the floor. Seriously?"

Nodding, Twilight gave the ponies cuddling up either side of her a pat, then moved over to crouch by Celestia's side. Gently stroking the elder mare's flowing mane, she replied, "Oh, yes. She's my mentor. She taught me everything I know, but there's still a lot more I have to learn. I'd never want to rule. I'm happy just being with the ponies I care about, and helping anypony that needs it."

"Did she teach you this?" Ember asked, gesturing loosely at the half-naked ponies draped all over the floor.

"Well, kind of. There's a book, and I didn't know it at the time, but she made sure that I got to read it. It gave me a lot of ideas that I wanted to try out. I think it was maybe like a seed; I read it years ago, and this is all pretty new. I didn't really expect to want this as much as I do," Twilight confessed, running the backs of her fingers along Celestia's lips. "But just because I do this with Celestia and Luna, and my friends, it doesn't mean that I rule Equestria."

Ember gestured wordlessly, then protested, "Yes, it does! She's not your ruler if you can command her to get down on the floor naked and lick you out! If she's running Equestria, that's only because you're letting her in your name."

"No, I really don't think that's true. If Celestia told me that something was important, then I'd accept her judgement on it, of course. I really don't want to be in charge of anything. Other than - well, like this." As Twilight spoke, Fluttershy came crawling around her legs and laid her head in Rarity's lap, who stroked her pink mane distractedly. Little by little, the other mares were moving closer to Twilight, forming a little ring of scandalously undressed, dishevelled ponies around her feet.

Applejack considered moving over there, and perhaps giving Trixie a little affection - the showmare looked a touch uncomfortable to be ringed around by ponies that she hadn't usually had the best of relationships with - but the gentle scratch and caress of Ember's talons across her back and ass hadn't relented, and it almost felt rude to pull away from her touch. Besides, she was honestly interested in what the dragon would say next.

Celestia raised her head, sitting up in a more comfortable position and letting her long legs slide out to the side. "If I told you that I had many tasks to do, and that they were important? I've done just that, Twilight." Her voice was light, and without recrimination. "Ember is right. If I am your slave, then you rule through me, even if you let me rule as I think best. Even if Princess isn't your preferred title-" and here, her tone grew teasing, "-you are in charge of my sister and I, and so Equestria. And all of its ponies. And the movements of the Sun and the Moon, which drive the seasons."

Twilight blinked, twice. Her expression was frozen in the characteristic faint smile which traditionally covered her episodes of total, brain-melting panic. "Oh."

Not wanting to make it worse, but finding herself unwilling to hold her tongue, Applejack added, "She's right, Twi. Ma'am. Ah do a lot of work around the farm, and Ah make the decisions about a lot've things, but Ah know that if Granny says otherwise, then that's what's going to happen. She runs the farm, even when Ah'm deciding what needs doing and how to do it. That's jest how it is."

Ember glanced down at Applejack, then back at Twilight, whose expression hadn't moved. With a wry grin on her muzzle, the dragon shook her head. "I was right about you the first time, wasn't I. You really are that innocent. Not with all this," she added, gesturing around with her free hand, "but when it comes to being a ruler, you're still trying to be that innocent student that Celestia's been teaching all your life."

Her face growing red, Twilight stammered, "W-well, what's so wrong with that?"

Applejack sighed, but happily. It was incredibly reassuring to see her friend emerge from behind the perfect, effortlessly controlling dominatrix. "Not a thing, far as Ah'm concerned. No pony said you have to run Equestria if y'don't want to, and honestly, Ah don't want to see you disappear into your royal duties and such any more than y'have done already."

There was a chorus of assent from the ponies around Twilight's feet, though Trixie's expression looked a lot more thoughtful suddenly. Applejack wrinkled her nose. Even if Trixie was apparently trying to be a better pony, that hunger for being on top of the heap was probably never going to go away.

Coughing once, and trying to regain her composure, Twilight switched topics. "I'm not sure if you heard - I was planning to take my friends and go back to Ponyville for a few days?"

"If 'friends' means naked sex slaves, I guess that makes you the Princess of Friendship," muttered Rainbow from around calf height.

Tilting back her head to see Ember's reaction, Applejack saw a flicker of hesitancy on her face. "I don't know. A village? That's not really why I came here."

"Well, I'll be there, and you can see where I live. You can stay with me, if you'd like that, and if that would be too much, I can arrange somewhere you can stay instead. And then you could meet Spike, too. He's a dragon, but a really young one." Twilight grew a little sheepish as she finished the sentence.

Ember blinked. "You live with a dragon? But you don't seem to know anything about us!"

"Well..." Twilight trailed off, then finished hesitantly, "I hatched him. From an egg. So he's kind of grown up around ponies."

Applejack wasn't entirely sure, but the way Ember's long jaw sagged seemed to telegraph blank surprise in pretty much the same way that ponies did.

"You're his mother?" she all but squeaked.

"No, no, not his mother!" Twilight replied quickly, waving her hands frantically. "Just - like his big sister! I was pretty young when it happened, I'm really not old enough to be his mother."

Slowly, gracefully, Celestia rose. She was an incredibly impressive sight, her milky-white skin marked with fading red and pink, her lips and chin still bearing traces of Rarity's juices, and the stilled vibrators buried in both holes. She was a degrading spectacle of herself, and yet, when she held herself in the right way, and began to speak, she radiated the effortless calm and authority of ages.

"An abandoned egg was found, and my inquiries could find no trace of its mother. Nor could I find any dragon wishing to take and raise an egg that was not their own, in the short time I had to search. My own magic would not quicken it. I hoped that a younger pony, one whose magic was still malleable, might be able to bring the spark of magic necessary to awaken the child within, and so I allowed prospective students to try. I doubted it would be sufficient, but I did not yet know of Twilight's potential."

Celestia turned her head towards Twilight, and smiled. "Knowing what she has now become makes it easier to believe what she once achieved. She produced a flare of magic across the aether spectrum, beyond the range ponies usually are capable of. Spike hatched. I know it must seem strange to you that he has grown up with my ponies, but Twilight and Spike have always been inseparable, and she has never treated him with anything but kindness."

Sensing that Ember's attention had shifted fully away from her, Applejack crawled forward towards the others, nestling up against Rainbow's side and stroking her feathers. Rainbow tilted her head back and nuzzled Applejack, and as always, there was a flash of special happiness on the flyer's face at the sight of her.

"I think it would be nice for Spike if you talked to him," Twilight added. "I'm sure he has questions about dragons, too, and he hasn't really had a lot of positive encounters with them."

Ember looked wary and slightly awkward in a way that obviously had nothing to do with the nudity of her body, or the nakedness of those around her. After a moment's pause, she replied slowly, "Okay. I'll meet him. I'm coming to keep an eye on you, though, okay?"

"That's fine," Twilight reassured her. "We can talk, about all the things you wanted to find out."

"That's not what she wants your tongue for," murmured Rainbow, just audibly.

Ember rolled her eyes. "Sure. Are you planning on leaving today? If you've promised the bearers here that you'd come back with them."

Twilight nodded. "This evening, I think we can pile onto the carriage. I can ask for my train to be made ready. Will you be ready to leave?"

"It's not like I was carrying much," snorted Ember.

"I don't believe my opinions on the subject are going to matter," Celestia replied lightly.

"Not even a little bit," Twilight told her fondly. "You're going to be my dinner table. And footstool. And all sorts of things. But first, there's something I have to do. A ceremony, actually, I've been really looking forward to it."

Applejack blinked, looking upwards at Twilight. She hated formal occasions, didn't she?

"Is it a party?" asked Pinkie brightly. "Do you need me to make a cake?"

"Well, actually... did you hear about these flyers?"

Guard Captain Diorite was an intelligent, conscientious pony that took her duties with the utmost seriousness. Her role was the protection of Princess Twilight; not simply from physical harm, but from all manner of difficulties that the royal pony might find herself in as she navigated her new world. Diorite was there to be her shield, in whatever manner the Princess needed.

When the element bearers - and the zebra - had arrived, Diorite had allowed them in. There was more to being a guard than rigidly following the most obvious interpretation of your orders. Going against those orders, however, in the name of anticipating the Princess's desires, meant that she was responsible if she was wrong. And so, quietly, Diorite had followed them into the Princess's suite, hanging back, ready to remove them if it turned out her judgement had been wrong.

That was how she'd heard things. That was how, once the bearers had been welcomed in, she'd stolen a glance into the room beyond.

That was why the gray, dappled pony was pressed up against the wall, her gauntlet stripped off, her hand frantically working between her legs. The mumble of voices from the room beyond were indistinct, but occasional words came loud enough for her to pick out. 'Slut'. 'Obey'. 'Fuck'. And the sight of Celestia, naked, skin reddened from spanking, arms tied behind her. Twilight, naked, dominating, standing over her. The bearers, wriggling out of their clothes, already touching themselves. The single glimpse was branded across the inside of her eyelids, vivid every time she closed her eyes.

It was impossible. It couldn't be true. She should do something. She couldn't imagine what. Something strange was going on. This couldn't be happening. She should do something. But right then, all she could think of were all the vivid fantasies of standing naked before Twilight, letting her touch anywhere she wanted, take anything she wanted...

With a shuddering, muffled moan, Guard Captain Diorite came.

And then, flushed with shame and embarrassment, she straightened her armour, and soundlessly left, leaving the sounds of sex behind her.

It was hard to let go of things, Twilight thought.

She had loved the idea of setting up a group of ponies to scour Equestria, seeking out lost and dangerous magic and bringing it all back to her. It was the sort of mission she'd have dearly loved to have gone on herself, and could have happily spent months, even years, in the pursuit of. Perhaps if she'd been better at making friends from the start, Celestia might have sent her out on that kind of task herself instead of sending her to Ponyville to learn how much better life could be when it was shared with other ponies.

Perhaps not. Celestia had been trying to shape her into a specific aspect, after all.

Regardless, she had high hopes for what she'd decided to call the Seekers. Her flyers had been pinned up across the length and breadth of Equestria, letting everypony know that the new Princess of Magic sought a personal cadre of ponies to hunt down magic, both lost and undiscovered. Many, many ponies had volunteered, a lot of them simply excited by the prospect of seeing her in person. Those offers had been winnowed down, mostly by clerks working under Celestia's direction, leaving only eighteen in the first group.

As Twilight had said to Trixie, the trouble was that she wanted to do, well, everything. She wanted to arrange storage space for strange magical artefacts. She wanted to arrange bookshelves for all the odd manuscripts she hoped would be found. She wanted to research magic dampening spells that she could use to build a vault for the really strange things - certainly she should have inspected the secret vault that Celestia kept deep below the castle, to see how she'd done it. She wanted to interview every volunteer, and find out who they were, and what they hoped for, and why they had stepped forward. She wanted to know each and every pony.

She had, in fact, done almost none of these things. Trixie had taken care of setting up shelf space in a former reading room - smaller than Twilight's grandiose hopes would have chosen, but they could always expand later - and she had managed not to be more than casually rude to anypony in the process. Argent had stepped up in her absence, too, organising the volunteers, interviewing them, and creating dossiers with photographs for her to read through so that she could recognise every pony under her command. At this point, he was only nominally one of her guards, having been released from his important duties of looking fierce and standing around to concentrate on getting things done.

Twilight pulled a face, feeling a stab of self-recrimination. She shouldn't make fun of her guards, even in her own head. They really cared about her, and believed in protecting her, and if their job was dull and thankless at times, it was up to her to make sure they were respected for it. Even so, Argent seemed to have a talent for organisation that was flowering under his new responsibilities, and she was very glad to make use of it.

The tall, wiry figure of Argent stepped through the curtains separating her small preparation room from the much larger audience hall outside. His snow white skin and pale grey mane and tail contrasted sharply with the deep purple armour he wore, her starburst cutie mark prominently emblazoned on the top right of the breastplate. "Princess, the volunteers are assembled. If you are ready, I will announce you," he reported crisply.

Twilight looked up from her notes to the guard pony standing in the doorway, then glanced over at Trixie. "Thank you, Argent," she replied with a quick, slightly nervous smile. "I guess it's time, then."

"Yes, Princess. Excuse me." Saluting, he turned and disappeared through the curtain again. The murmur of conversation outside faded as he began to speak.

"The Great and Powerful Trixie still thinks you should be using your charm on all of them," Trixie complained. "They'll be searching for ponies using spells to control others, and - you're doing that more than anypony! You can't risk them finding out about your slaves, Mistress!"

"I know, Trixie. I know it's a risk, I really do. And I thought about doing it." Twilight hesitated. She still had the charm instructions she had intended to read to them, and it would be the work of moments to fetch them... but no. She shouldn't. "Celestia made me realise I'm trying to solve every problem with it, Trixie. If something happens, I'll explain, that's all. We'd better get out there - come on."

On the far side of the doorway, Twilight could hear the muted murmur of ponies talking. Pausing by the door, she straightened herself up and quickly swept her fingers through her mane - how unfair that the sisters never had to worry whether their mane looked tidy for an audience - then stepped through the curtained arch.

At once, silence fell.

She stood on a low plinth, overlooking a long rectangular room. The walls were lined with bookshelves, each crowded with old, well-bound books, mostly histories of the different parts of Equestria. Small tables and chairs lay here and there around the edge of the room, leaving the central area open. An intricate rug occupied that space, inlaid with fanciful, flowing representations of Celestia and Luna as creatures of light, coiled around each other in perfect balance. It was a beautiful, welcoming room, filled with golden light that streamed from tall, arched windows, and she'd chosen it to be her personal audience chamber once Celestia had impressed upon her the necessity of having one. Not every meeting, the Princess had remarked to her with an ambiguous smile, could be carried out in Twilight's bedroom.

Eighteen ponies of varying ages were standing at the foot of the plinth, radiating nervousness. Ten of them were unicorns, but five pegasi and a trio of earth ponies rounded out the numbers. She hadn't met any of them in person before, but she'd carefully studied the files that Celestia's clerks and Argent had prepared, and each expectant face was familiar.

"Um. Hello everypony. I'm Princess Twilight Sparkle, and this is my assistant, Trixie Lulamoon."

'Um'? Can you imagine Celestia saying 'um'? Her cheeks heated, and she added quickly, "I'd like to thank you, all of you, for volunteering for my Seekers programme. I know some of you have travelled a long way, and I appreciate your willingness to help me. To help everypony, really. That's what this is for."

She was making a hash of it. She'd memorised this speech, but that wasn't the same as getting it to come out of her mouth the way she'd intended. She could feel the creeping tide of her blush of embarrassment getting ever brighter and hotter across her cheeks.

"I should probably tell you all a little about my intentions for your work. It comes in two pieces, really. The first is to seek out lost and forgotten magic, and newly created magic. Canterlot Library is one of the best magical repositories in the world, but I know there are gaps, and things that have been forgotten, and things that ponies are discovering day by day that we just don't have records of. Wouldn't it be wonderful to gather and protect all that knowledge, so that all ponies can learn from it and build on it?" Her eyes sparkled as she talked, leaning forward a little. "It's the inheritance of every pony in Equestria!"

She was interrupted by a round of applause from the ponies before her, including Argent, whose gauntlets added a metallic boom to his clapping. She coloured, happily this time, then continued, "But protecting knowledge without protecting ponies would be wrong. The second part of your duties will be to seek out magic that is being used to harm or abuse others, report it to me, and finally, to help me put a stop to it.

"I've seen good ponies make mistakes-" At her side, Trixie stiffened slightly, though in truth, Twilight was thinking of herself, "-and bad ponies that have hurt those around them because they wanted to. Somepony needs to be there to help when things go bad. I'd like that to be us. Will you help me?"

A cheer rang out from the assembled ponies. Twilight blushed. "It's wonderful to have ponies like you to help me. I'm very grateful. Tomorrow, you'll be departing in your pairs for your very first scouting missions. You'll be ranging far and wide across Equestria! Every single destination is a place that Argent and I have picked out from Celestia's reports with the potential for you to find something unusual. Be brave, be kind, be curious, and help those that you meet. Congratulations, my Seekers!"

The room broke into celebratory tumult, and several vast cakes were rolled in at the back of the chamber for the graduation party to begin. These were good ponies, she was sure of it, and she was going to make time to get to know them. When each pair came back from their first mission, she'd sit down and listen to everything they had to say. Oh, she couldn't wait to see what they'd find.

Author's Notes:

Project 'make chapters shorter' is off to a poor start.

Explaining Spike's situation to an actual dragon is kind of tricky, and involves a lot of justifying the fact that a dragon egg was being used as an entrance exam for a magic school. Oh well, back to Ponyville!

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Proofed by Djmill and Dbzordie