A Misty Dream

Soothing Mist trotted through the Ponyville marketplace, bits jingling in her saddlebags. The pale blue unicorn paused in the middle of the market, took a deep breath of fresh morning air, and looked around. Even though it was early, the market was in full swing. Ponies walked to and fro, swinging from one stall to the next, buying food, cloth, books, and everything in between. Mist smiled. She loved the market in the morning. She made a beeline for her chosen stall: the strawberry stall. She had just run out of her favorite food, and she was eager for more. As she approached, she realized that the friendly red mare that usually ran the stall was gone, replaced by a bored-looking, cherry-colored stallion. Perhaps a relative?

Mist reached the front of the stall. "Oh, hello sir," she said, in her usual gentle whisper. "One carton of strawberries, please." Her horn glowed with a cool blue light as she levitated four bits from her saddlebags to the counter. They made a happy little clink as they hit the wood.

The stallion gave Mist a once-over. He was a brute of an Earth Pony, with a cutie mark of a juicer crushing an apple. His muscles bulged under his fur, distorted and unnatural, his eyes small and the color of ink.  "It's eight bits per carton," he said harshly.

Mist felt her smile slide off her face. "Eight? But its always been four per carton."

The pony smirked. "Well, today it's eight." He muttered an add-on under his breath. "And it's always eight for stick-heads."

Mist's eyes widened at the slur. Stick heads was, of course, the crudest way to refer to a unicorn; this pony must have obviously just moved to Ponyville. The ponies here were much nicer. He must be from some farther-out town. Still, even rude ponies refrained from calling unicorns that word, even in private.

Mist narrowed her eyes. Another chance, she thought to herself. Doing her best to look small and hurt, she hid slightly behind her wavy blue-and-purple mane. "I'm sorry, sir," she said waveringly. "But why did you change it today?"

The stallion frowned. "Did I stutter? It doesn't matter why I changed it; it's still eight bits!" He slammed a hoof on the counter, sweeping the four bits away with it. "And I get these four as a bonus," he added smugly.

Mist's patience cracked. This new stallion was being completely unreasonable. She hated it when ponies were unreasonable. However, maybe she could still make him see reason without...making him see reason.

She looked the stallion dead in the eye with the most hurt, saddened look she could muster. He met her gaze with a smug grin, holding out a dirty hoof mockingly. "Eight bits," he chuckled.

Mist felt the last of her patience melt like ice.

She had had it with this pony.

"Give. Me. My. Bits." she said, then, without giving him a chance to reply, her horn glowed, and she unleashed her magic upon him.

The stallion was too busy smirking to realize what the unicorn was doing until it was too late. An instant later, a force like a lightning strike slammed into his mind, leaving him frozen, wide-eyed and slack jawed, pupils reduced to pinpricks. Mist allowed herself a satisfied grin, before speaking to the stunned stallion under her breath.

"Now, I think two bits is a fair price, don't you?"

Meanwhile, a certain golden, blond-maned mare had caught sight of the scene happening at the strawberry stand, and was all too aware of what was unfolding. The mare in question went by the name of Dream Searcher, the local hypnotherapist of the town. She blew a strand of her mane out of her eyes and took in the scene, her grin on her face widening with every passing second.

What ponies didn't know about her was the fact that Dream was an evil overlord in her spare time... or, that she loved to call herself an evil overlord. The blonde unicorn had but one desire in life: To take over the world but turning everypony into her loyal and mindless slaves and ruling them with an iron hoof. But of course, it was easier said than done, because while she did make mind control devices, she had yet to find a suitable ally in this whole endeavor. Life is better with friends...she had often thought this very quote to herself, although she had very little luck in achieving it. But today, it seemed, was the day she had finally found one. Gleefully, she noted the mare's cutie mark: a muggy patch of mist arranged in a faint, hazy spiral. Perfect.

Dream could hear the unicorn  talking to the stallion and decided to just listen closely to her. She needed to know if this mare had an aptitude for evil, or if she would have to tinker with her mind a little so that she would become the perfect little sidekick. Eagerly, she listened to the stallion's response.

"Sure thing, miss..." The stallion droned, placing the two golden coins on the counter and depositing the rest into the money basket without so much as a twitch.

Dream, having heard this,  hummed softly. This unicorn would make a good ally, though she would need some push into the perfect evil direction. At the moment, she seemed a bit soft. If she were that mare right now, she would have turned the stallion into a slave right then and there. Or, at the very least, have gotten the strawberries for nothing.

Then again, she realized, having a market full of ponies nearby as a hypnotized slave swore allegiance was never good for your cover. So this mare was smart, too.

"Hmmm, good, very good." She said softly, having come up within hearing distance of the blue unicorn. "I didn't know somepony else was gifted in the art of hypnosis beside myself."  This would surely get the mare's attention.

Mist gave a squeal of fright and jumped at the voice behind her. She turned, coming face-to-face with a golden unicorn mare. The unicorn's hair was a sun-bleached variety of blond that was slightly lighter than her coat. Her cutie mark was that of a golden pocket watch, frozen mid-swing. She looked at Mist with a disturbingly hungry gleam in her eye. "Yes," the mare continued lazily. "It is nice to know there's another pony that shares my particular talent."

Mist gave a little cough. "Um, I'm sorry miss," she said timidly. "I think you're a little confused."

The golden mare laughed. "Oh, do stop playing," she scolded. He voice lowered. "I recognize a fellow hypnotist when I see one. Don't worry, though-" she winked. "-Your secret's safe with me." She extended a hoof. "Dream Searcher, Ponyville's resident hypnotherapist, at your service."

Mist relaxed slightly, although she eyed Dream's offer of a hoofshake warily. "Soothing Mist. Pleasure to meet you," she said cautiously. "It's funny, I never knew there was a hypnotherapist in town." The blue mare suddenly seemed to remember what she had been doing prior. Her cheeks flushed red, and she put a hoof to her mouth. "Oh, goodness!" she squeaked. "Y-you heard how this stallion was acting, right? I know I shouldn't have done that, he was being so cruel, and I j-"

"Shh," shushed Dream, putting a hoof up over Mist's mouth. "I'm sure you had a good reason to do this. And besides," she continued. "I actually enjoyed seeing you grab control like that. Isn't it... exhilarating? To feel that power you have over his mind, knowing that you can make him do and believe whatever you want him to?" Mist fidgeted slightly, but it did not escape Dream's notice. "I personally like it, but do you?" she asked softly, careful to keep her voice low, so as not to be overheard by the other shoppers.

She was trailing around Mist, almost like a predator would do to its prey, and while she did see the young mare as prey, just a little, she also knew that she had potential. If Dream just made sure that she was guided well, (and of course, the unicorn would love to teach the other unicorn all about grabbing power and control), she would be the perfect partner for her plans of conquest.

"But, don't tell me just yet, dear. Instead, if you want to know more about the true potential of your talent, visit me tonight at my office. Then, we shall see what you are truly made of." And thus, with a huge grin on her face, Dream trotted away, leaving Mist standing there in confusion, the still-dazed stallion staring ahead as well.

Mist blinked several times, staring at the golden pony's retreating back. She shook her head a little, then turned to look at the frozen red stallion. She sighed heavily, lifting a basket of strawberries from behind him. "Thank you, sir," she said, tucking the carton of berries in her saddlebags and leaving. He would snap out of his daze as soon as she got far away, with no memory of what had occurred. Mist liked it that way.

Try as she might, she simply couldn't get Dream's offer out of her head. How had she known, so quickly, the way Mist felt about her talent? Sighing, she looked back at her cutie mark. A swirling patch of mist, representing her ability to take control of the stubbornest ponies, then disappear without a trace. She had always liked that.

I suppose, she thought, it couldn't hurt to stop by, could it? Who knows, this could be good for me. After all, if Dream could make a living as a hypnotherapist, maybe she could to? It would certainly beat her current position at the local cafe.

Alright, then. I'll swing by later.