"Are you sure you're feeling okay, Twilight?  You look a little bit...  Darker than usual."  Pinkie Pie did her best not to stare, but was absolutely horrible at it.  She was scanning over Twilight's various outstanding features with her quick, darting blue eyes.

"I'm fine, Pinkie, really, can you please just get the pancakes?"  Twilight had gotten to the point where she couldn't tell the difference between her annoyed voice and her everyday speaking tone.  From the outside looking in, however, this comment definitely projected the strain being put on her nerves.

"O-Okie dokey lokey, Twilight.  Need anything else?"

"No."

"Milk or syrup or butter or--"

"No, Pinkie."

"A-actually butter and syrup would be good..."  Spike's meager little voice rose from the bar stool he was sitting at, catching Twilight's 'practical' request off guard.

"Alright, fine, butter and syrup too, just please make it quick, I haven't got all night."  As Twilight snapped orders at the confused and somewhat saddened pink pony Spike just dropped his head onto his arms.  The little dragon could always pick up on the general surrounding emotions of his friends, which made him constantly irritable and depressed whenever he was caught around Twilight.  Pinkie Pie, on the other hand, just didn't understand what she'd done wrong to deserve being berated like that.  She went about her job, though, and cooked up Spike's favorite recipe of blueberry pancakes as quickly as she could.

About ten minutes passed before Pinkie Pie returned with an obscene stack of plate-sized blueberry pancakes.  Twilight had been tapping her hoof repeatedly and staring out the window, watching as the sun gradually sunk towards the mountainous horizon with each passing tick of the clock.  Spike's eyes lit up as soon as he saw the pancakes, however, and he briefly forgot just how 'off' Twilight's mood had been.  Pinkie Pie, who had been balancing the stack on her nose all the way in like a circus seal, dropped the huge mound of pancakes with butter and syrup liberally drizzled onto them right in front of Spike.

"About time...  How much do I owe you?"  Twilight felt around in her saddlebag for a few of the coins she had brought along for the various expenses that she had anticipated.

"Oh they're on the house, Twilight.  I figured since you've been so barky-darkie-warkie I'd do a little somethin' nice for you and Spike."  Pinkie glanced down at the purple mound of teeth and claws as he quite literally dug into the massive stack.  "And hey!  Whenever I'm feeling like a grump I just think about this little ditty and I'm right back to my old self.  Whenever lif--"  Just as soon as the music would have started to take over the ambient background, Pinkie was interrupted with Twilight's hoof in her mouth.

"I swear on my mother's life, Pinkie, if you start singing I'll rip out your tongue and staple it to your forehead."  The aggressive tone in Twilight's voice was certainly present regardless of the fact that her speech was calm and collected and her facial expression remained relaxed.  She brought her hoof slowly down and away from the pink pony's lips and set it back down to the ground, watching as her mouth stayed slacked open and her eyes started to well up with tears.  "I don't have time for this nonsense anyway...  Spike, I need to go.  Finish your pancakes and then head on home, I'll meet you back there later."

"Where are you going?"  Spike asked through a mouthful of pancake.  The fluffy morsel brought his words out in a series of muffled consonants, but Twilight understood what he asked well enough.

"Just out and about, I'll be back later.  Oh and Pinkie?"  Twilight shifted her gaze back over to Pinkie Pie.  She was still a little shocked at the comment and hadn't moved whatsoever, though the ends of her hair had straightened out in parallel to her immediate drop in mood.  "You should wear your hair down more often, it's a good look for you."  And with a smirk, Twilight turned to leave, shutting the door behind her with a resounding thud before either of them had a chance to say anything.

"W-w-why would she sa-ay that?"  Pinkie Pie asked nobody in particular through her early-stage sobbing.

"I don't know, she's been acting really weird these past few weeks.  I'm starting to think she's really just not herself anymore."

"I want the old Twilight back."  Pinkie sat down and curled her tail around to her front, lightly hugging it to her chest: a comforting action she had done when she felt sad and lonely as a little filly.

"I do too...  I think Rainbow Dash said this once, but she might have just added a little too much 'bitch' to her coffee this morning."  This comment made Pinkie Pie crack a smile, though it didn't quite bring her completely out of her mood.

"Spike?"

"Yeah, Pinkie?"

"You wanna have a party?  Just the two of us?"

"Sure, Pinkie, I'd like that."

When Twilight left Sugar Cube Corner she immediately turned west and headed off into some lesser-known parts of Ponyville.  Walking west allowed her to watch the sun intently, almost as if she were having a staring contest with it and forcing a very, very slow blink in her opponent.  Twilight even thought of the sun as Celestia's eye, seeing as how it served much of the same purpose.  The big floating orb hovered over everything, making them feel watched and dominated, and only once night fell did the chaff of society feel safe to wander the streets.

The cobblestone beneath Twilight's hooves began to darken as the light-giving orb descended behind the mountains, slowly allowing the shadow of the whole world to rise up along Twilight's dark, elegant form.  She nearly blended with the shadows themselves, disappearing against the slowly degrading quality of the road and the crumbling cornerstones of buildings and alleyways.  The sky still glowed as though a fire were set in the heavens, but the ground was amidst deepest night and the lone unicorn felt the same resounding shiver run up her back as a deep pleasure that had just washed over her.  The very concept of twilight: that space between darkness and light as one fades into the other, slowly becoming either night or day, drove the same-named unicorn forward in her desires.  Tonight, she decided, she would be the night itself, not just Twilight.

Ponyville was an entirely different beast at night: the quiet parts of town where she normally resided in became so stagnant that one might think them abandoned, while the outskirts and seedier parts of the little agricultural town (the bits that weren't often patrolled by law enforcement) almost immediately sprang to life like a nocturnal flower.  Establishments selling liquor illegally, brothels, drug dens, all unmarked but all active and apparently well known to the locals started to open their doors and welcome the 'early' customers.  Many of the ponies heading into these establishments resembled almost a group of stereotypes connected to the various vices hidden behind the doors: gamblers seemed distressed and tired, as if they just got finished with a long day, perverts were obviously ashamed (though a few were unabashed and possibly throwing parties), while junkies and drunks were scratching, shifting and pushing their way towards their next fix.  Twilight was looking forward to this.

Before you go about this, Twilight, may I have a word with you?  Iago made sure to grab Twilight's attention away from the flickering lights from inside this filthy looking portion of town before she got too far.

Of course, Iago, what can I do for you?  Twilight, having her mood completely elevated by such a "good" situation, responded in kind.

Step into that alleyway over there before we do, I think you'll appreciate this idea.  Twilight followed the request and stepped away into a dirty, narrow cobblestone alley to her immediate right.  A group of rats quickly scattered as soon as the sound of Twilight's hooves echoed down the grimy hall of stone and all that was left was a single, burned out garbage can and some kind of large piece of glass off at the end.  That old windowpane, there, look into it for me.

I know what I look like, Iago...  Twilight still obeyed the command, but didn't exactly project any kind of enjoyment of the subject.  Aided by the moonlight, Twilight saw her marvelously sinister face staring right back at her, and as soon as she did Iago chimed right back in.

You won't in a second.  Regardless of whether or not you've met these ponies they could recognize you.  You're a famous entity, Twilight, having saved the world twice, been the personal student of the Princess and being family with the captain of her royal guard and all, so I figure a temporary change in appearance would do this night well.

Heh, I never thought you'd be the one to suggest hiding my identity from other ponies.  Twilight tilted her head back and forth in the makeshift mirror, looking herself over and realizing just how sublime her body had really become.

Not that I don't enjoy a good show of power, but considering your plans and what you've left to accomplish I can't say that I condone flaunting your might around and daring the royalty to come down and solve everyone's problems.  Hold still.  As soon as Iago completed his thought, Twilight both felt and watched as several changes to her body took place.  Her irises shifted from the deep purple that she'd been born with to thin, dazzling rings of gold that seemed to reflect and sparkle every single speck of light that hit them, while her coat darkened to a near black sheen.  Her mane darkened much further than her coat, turning raven black and only retaining color in her highlights: deep royal purple and an almost auburn streak to compliment it.  Her coat still shone with the familiar plum color whenever light reflected from it, but in darkness it was simply black.  To complete the shift, her mane and tail grew out a bit as well.  Her tail nearly swept along the ground while her mane fell over one eye and extended past her chin; neither her mane nor her tail retained the perfectly trimmed edge, either, getting uneven in length to appear jagged and slightly unkempt.  In all Twilight was satisfied with the transformation; she shifted to the side to get a better look at her body, finding the cherry on top of everything: her cutie mark had changed from the six pointed star design into a small, purple flower with yellow stamens reaching out radially from the center.

"Oh Iago, you know me so well it's almost frightening..."  Twilight spoke aloud as she continued to examine her new look, loving every inch of her body's mysterious visage and letting her words trail off at the end.

I'm glad you approve, now go have your fun so that we can return to your education, I'm getting a little impatient up here.

This isn't just a leisure stroll, Iago, I plan on gaining a little bit more experience with that necromancy you taught me.  Just watch and see.  Twilight smiled big and turned to leave, feeling the unfamiliar caress of her long mane swipe along her muzzle and neck.  She briefly considered letting her actual mane grow out a little more because of the grace in which it sat on her.

Whatever your motives, I'll leave you to them.  I've got some thinking to do, so just enjoy yourself.

Oh you won't have to worry about that, this'll be educational and fun.

Twilight trotted with her head held high out of the alleyway, glancing around for a popular looking place to crash.  One building in particular stood out fairly well, appearing to be an old hotel re-purposed for some other use, so Twilight immediately went over to investigate.  Her suspicions were confirmed the instant she joined the short queue line of ponies heading inside by the overwhelming male population and harsh sounding music coming from inside; this building was obviously a whorehouse.

The line moved in quickly enough since there wasn't any charge at the door, and the familiar smells of hormones and pheromones flooded the air so most of the guys walking in wanted to move fairly quickly.  Alcohol, sharp dancing music, and a minority of sultry fillies standing just out of reach of the growing mob of stallions (and even the occasional mare in the crowd) were all this place was made to hold; dignity, honor, bashfulness and general moderation of any kind were left at the door.  It wasn't long after Twilight made her entrance that a stallion had taken notice of her, and by the time she had gotten situated inside to a more or less comfortable location he had snuck up behind her and set his hoof on her withers, slowly stroking it down her back toward her tail.  "Well hello there, you wouldn't happen to be one of the employees now would ya?"

Twilight was more annoyed by this action than creeped out, so she turned to look the stallion in the eye with a bitter cold stare.  "If you want to keep that hoof, you'll take it off of me right this instant."

"Ooohh a feisty one, I like feisty...  Do you want payment up front or someth--"  The stallion's sentence was cut short by a brutal pain in his foreleg.  He wasn't quite sure where it was coming from, but it felt almost as if the entire limb were being stabbed at from the inside out by millions of invisible knives.  He would have dropped to his knees, but some strange force kept him from moving at all.

"Three things, sweetheart."  Twilight turned around to face the stallion fully, removing his hoof from her body with a brush of her own foreleg and letting him stand there and cringe.  Her annunciation held the venomous overtone of sarcasm very prominently.  "One, as you can see, I'm a unicorn, and that means I have the ability to use magic."  As she said this her horn glowed very softly just to show it off a little bit.  "Two, I've got the bone of your leg wrapped up in a magical wire, to put it in layman's terms.  That means that even as I do absolutely nothing to you, just the pulse of your heartbeat moves it away from the muscles enough to hurt as bad as it does now."  The stallion's eyes were already wide open from the pain, but now the panic started to really hook into his mind.  He started to hyperventilate a little bit but otherwise didn't say a single word.  "Three, I can pull on those bones any time I want, which will hurt...  A whole lot.  Do you understand me?"  Twilight gave a little tug to get the point across, but didn't pull hard enough to cause any damage.  The stallion stifled a loud yelp and just nodded as fast as he could.  "Good, now if you touch me again I'll pull every single bone out of your body.  I'll pull them all out and watch what's left of you twitch on the ground in the most blinding agony you've ever experienced until you bleed to death from the open wounds a full ninety seconds later, all the while making your skeleton dance around you like a puppet.  You don't want that, do you?"

"Shit!  No.  No no no no fuck no!"  The stallion struggled and tried to get away, but just pulling back caused a huge jolt of pain to shoot into his shoulder.  

"Good, then I guess you'd better leave, hmm?"  Twilight let him go and watched him fall to the ground, immediately hearing a third voice over her shoulder call out to her.

"This guy givin' you trouble?"  The soft but still scratchy voice of a mare reached Twilight, bringing her attention around to see what was obviously one of the establishment's 'attractions.'

"Oh no, we resolved the issue.  I believe he was just leaving, isn't that right?"  Twilight turned her head to look at the collapsed stallion.  He clumsily picked himself up and backed up through the crowd, bumping into several other ponies on the way and even tripping a few times.  It didn't take long for him to disappear out the door, however.  "Thank you, though, and you are?"

"Sandy Shores, a pleasure to meet you, miss?"  Twilight held out her hoof to the mare, who promptly touched it with her own and stepped down off of the slight stage above.

"Umbra Noctis.  The pleasure's all mine."  Twilight thought up a rather appropriate pseudonym on the spot, ending up rather proud of herself.

"Pretty name.  Mind if I ask what brings such a soft lookin' pony like you to a place like this?"

"Oh, I'd be lying if I said I didn't have a little 'experimentation' in mind."  Twilight flashed a wink to Sandy, though she meant her statement a little more literally than she hoped it would be taken.

"Well I suppose it's a good place for that.  Though I'm sure I could recommend more reputable institutions."

"This place isn't so bad...  Maybe not the classiest joint ever but certainly not the trashiest..."  The corner of Twilight's eye caught a pair of mares onstage thoroughly making out and captivating the attention of a huge portion of the crowd.  "By the way, you said your surname was 'Shores' right?  Any relation to Sapphire Shores?"

"Hah!  I wish, naw that's just a coincidence.  Though I'll admit that I've...  Pretended it was true to make a sale once or twice."

"Can't begrudge you one bit for that, gotta do what you gotta do, right?"  Twilight was enjoying the passion and honesty in Sandy's voice, especially the sincerity with which she spoke.  Clearly she was a mare that had seen a lot of ponies and grown just jaded enough to not care what they thought, but still retained enough of her own passions and opinions to have an upright, strong willed personality.  Twilight loved a challenge.  "So...  I've never done this before... paying for it I mean...  O-or even with another mare.  Do you tell me your rates or..?"  Twilight had to refrain from just asking her how much it'd be for a night, figuring the false innocence role would be slightly easier to pull on this one.

"Well, normally I'd give you my card, we'd work out a deal and then go about our business.  Buuuut...  Well I've never seen you around here.  Whaddya say I comp you a round?  Just don't tell my manager."

"Awwh, well I couldn't do that if it might get you in trouble!"  Any more energy and Twilight would be pushing the realm of 'sarcastic whore' voice intonation.

"Don't worry about it.  Just don't tell anyone and you won't get in trouble.  It's kinda like you... being here."  Sandy Shores walked off, beckoning for Twilight to follow her around the crowd.  Twilight happily obliged, rapidly sifting through her memory of the runes that needed to be carved for a bound spirit.

The bedrooms were all located upstairs.  Sandy had gone ahead and explained on the way up that the building was once a hotel for various travelers on their way to Canterlot from the northern villages.  That the mares there only occupied the first floor because the owners refused to refinish the rooms above.  All information that Twilight would freely forget as soon as she could.

"All right...  This is the place.  Sorry it's not much to look at."  Sandy stood in her doorway and beckoned Twilight inside.  The distinct smell of old must beneath a lavender scented candle gave the impression of a very thick-aired room.  The light from the hallway was more intense than the fuzzy red glow from downstairs, so Twilight got a good look at Sandy Shores for the first time.  She was a pretty little earth pony, wearing a relatively short-cut auburn mane and tail with a single tan streak running through the both of them, backed by a slightly darker beige coat and what appeared to be a clam shell cutie mark.  One could only assume she came from the coast.

Twilight, or rather "Umbra" stepped quietly into the dim little room, though Sandy quickly lit a tiny candelabra in the corner to set the ambiance.  The lavender scent started to get a little more refined and pungent after this, and Sandy Shores made rightly sure to close the door and lock it.

"There you have it, just you and me all alone, so did you have anything at all in mind?"  Sandy kept a very sultry look on her face as she meandered back toward Twilight.  The unicorn was still getting used to the long hair covering up one of her eyes and so kept flicking it aside routinely, all the while maintaining an incredibly calm posture.

"I was hoping you'd be able to take the lead..."

"Well that's not a problem, sugar, I just figured I should make sure I know how fast you wanna take things, this being your introduction to this sort of thing and all."

Twilight smirked and stepped on over to the low bed in the opposite corner.  It was certainly very comfortable looking: a rather large mattress supported by four hoof-carved legs and an elaborate headboard, clad in a velvet comforter (how they kept it clean was a mystery) and fantastic silk sheets.  "Why don't we just keep it nice and natural, hm?  See where things go on their own."  Twilight sat down on the bed side-saddle, inching her body up and never looking away from Sandy in the flickering candlelight.  The little beige mare cocked her head in obvious interest and flashed back a smile, joining Twilight on the bed and resting her hooves calmly to her side.

"Hard to say no to that,"  She said, keeping her upper body at just the angle to arch her back and lean toward Twilight without being too unsubtle.  "Just tell me if I cross any lines."

The unicorn picked up on Sandy's more than obvious signals and lowered her eyelids, leaning just a little bit closer, keeping her eyes half open and tilting her head lightly to the side.  Her earth pony companion didn't hesitate too much, eventually joining muzzles and pressing their lips together in a closed-mouth kiss.

"Don't you know not to kiss a whore?"  Sandy kept her chin a little low as she spoke to Twilight, pulling away just enough to keep looking her in the eyes.

Twilight, on the other hand, saw a perfect opportunity to exploit emotions, especially since she could tell through the phantom echo behind Sandy's words that she very much enjoyed that.  "I didn't kiss a whore, Sandy, I kissed you."

"Heh...  A-aww..."  Sandy didn't quite know how to react; it was a little sudden, and very unexpected, but she could still appreciate the sincerity.  She didn't get a chance for a rebuttal, though, since Twilight hopped over and stole another kiss.  Their forelegs wrapped each other up in a tight embrace and Twilight made sure the pair was brought down onto the bed, lying side by side and continuing to lock lips.  By this time Sandy took a little initiative, intertwining her hind legs with Twilight's and pulling their hips together, bringing them as close as possible until they virtually shared every single breath.

Twilight made sure to grip onto Sandy very tight, rolling so that she lay just on top of her and never breaking the kiss.  The unicorn made sure her earth pony companion was getting plenty of attention, slowly building up her emotions and silently searching for something that she could use against her.  Sandy, all the while, was completely unaware of Twilight's evil motives.  She subscribed fully to the forward sexual nature of her actions and was indeed loving it.  To her it seemed like more than just a 'sale.'

Twilight moved her muzzle down Sandy's neck, gently biting along the tendons and soft area of flesh that stood out, coaxing a small moan from her companion and prompting Twilight to stretch out and get a little more comfortable.  Her foreleg extended well above the two of them, slipping inadvertently under the pillow and feeling something thin and smooth sitting there to greet her hoof..  Twilight sat up just a little and pulled the object out from underneath the pillow and gave it a quick glance, finding a thick leather collar dangling from her hoof that captured both ponies' attention.

"A collar?"  Twilight tilted her head down and asked with a smirk.

"What can I say?  Some clients like to be a little dominant and, well, I like to oblige them."  Sandy answered honestly, smiling back and giving a little blush.

"We'll have to try that a little later then,"  Twilight capped her sentence off by leaning down once more, nuzzling and nibbling against Sandy's neck and dropping the collar onto the bed.  To distract Sandy, she moved her hoof down between her hind legs, stimulating her with a soft rub to start with and gradually increasing her pressure and speed.  Needless to say, the earth pony was putty in Twilight's hooves, and she started to work on her other task.  Without her partner noticing, Twilight began the process of magically burning the hundreds of runes into the inside of the collar, slowly and carefully making sure each one was placed exactly where it needed to be.

After a few minutes passed, Sandy started to writhe a little bit and arch her back, growing more and more sensitive by the second from Twilight's attention to her.  The blackened unicorn made sure her runes were perfectly singed into the soft leather of the collar and sat up, holding her hooves on Sandy's shoulders so that she could stare down in a domineering fashion into her pretty brown eyes.  Twilight's thoughts wandered a little bit, bringing her to think about how beautiful and delicate this pony looked sitting beneath her, though sympathy wasn't even close to a good descriptor of Twilight's feelings.  Twilight knew what she set out to do and the manipulation had gone perfectly; it was time for the final step.

Twilight pulled the collar up and stretched it out, snapping the leather together a bit to punctuate her point.  This completely focused Sandy's attention on Twilight, giving her the chance to fix the little leather collar around her neck comfortably, pretending like she just wanted to try out the kink.  Sandy gleefully accepted that gesture and propped herself against the headboard, letting Twilight take complete control; too perfect.  The unicorn moved down again and embraced Sandy, pinning her lightly against the headboard and resting her chin on the earth pony's shoulder.  With a single quick movement, Twilight loosened the collar enough to get her hoof underneath it, then tightened it right back up again.  Sandy, innocent as she was (and what little that was), just thought this was a game.

It was only after Twilight pulled back and twisted her hoof that the earth pony realized what was happening; the collar tightened around her neck enough to cut off her airflow, causing her to flail a little bit and struggle futilely against the domineering unicorn.  As Twilight strangled Sandy, however, she kept her position lying on top of her, whispering a few things into her ear while she struggled to stay alive.

"You are the weakness of all living things."  Twilight's speech dribbled out of her mouth like a venomous ichor, seeming just like it to the frightened and pained earth pony.

"You are fragile as a leaf in autumn.  Brittle like sun baked sandstone."  Twilight put a little more pressure on the collar, bringing Sandy to the point where her neck felt as though it could break any second.

"You walk this earth, spending each day like a currency until you finally overdraw and wait to die."  The things Twilight was saying were ritualistic in their repetition, but Sandy didn't take too much notice; she just wanted out.

"You see the light at the end of the tunnel, you beg for sweet release, but I've taken your last days.  I've planted your bones in the soil, and I'll be the one to decide your fate."  Darkness was starting to take over Sandy's vision; she was on the verge of passing out from lack of oxygen.

"You will die here, now, at my command and by my own power.  From this death I'll harness you, bring you back, and hold you here."  Twilight had moved from a whisper to a loud, imposing speech, grinding the words into her victim's ear with a sternness that only a seasoned, ancient evil could produce.

"I will take your life then give it back, and in return you'll be my servant until I choose to release you.  Now die."  With this final statement Twilight twisted her hoof a full three hundred and sixty degrees, collapsing Sandy's windpipe and blood vessels, pushing her over the edge and causing her to lose consciousness.  Twilight only had to hold the collar in place for two more minutes before the earth pony died.

The instant her heart stopped beating (and Twilight was definitely keeping track) the collar glowed an intense violet, particularly emanating from the runes beneath.  After a quick light show Sandy took a deep breath and violently came back into the world of the living.  The breath itself, however, was entirely reflexive: she didn't need to breathe and stopped doing so after a few minutes had passed.

"Welcome back, Sandy."  Twilight sat at the foot of the bed, looking into the collared earth pony sitting horrified before her.

"W-wh-w-w-where a-am I?  Wha-at hap-p-pened?"  Sandy Shores was in a very intense state of shock and certainly didn't realize the impact of her current situation.

"You're back in your room at the brothel where you work.  Do you remember that?"

"Y-yes..."  Sandy started to calm down a little, glancing around and examining every little space that she was in.  

"Good.  You'll go about your job like nothing ever happened, and you certainly won't tell anyone about this little mishap.  You're technically not alive, not anymore, but you'll feel like you are forever, or at least until I decide to let you go.  I may call on you in the future, so be prepared, and as a reward I'll allow you to leave this earth whenever you want, but until then you just keep your adorable little mouth shut, okay?"

"Yes ma'am..."  Sandy's words were sad and forced, and she certainly didn't know why she was saying them, but she just couldn't help it.

"Good girl.  Now I need to be going, thanks for the lovely evening."  Twilight put on her most convincing false smile and kissed Sandy on the cheek before trotting out the door.  The earth pony simply sat there curled up in the fetal position, staring at her hooves and shivering a little.  She couldn't feel her heart beating in her chest and she didn't breathe...  She was dead.  Dead and trapped.