A Misty Dream

The sky above Ponyville had darkened considerably when Mist found herself outside the door to Dream's house. Anxiety gnawing at the pit of her stomach, Mist shuddered slightly and read the sign hung on the door. Dream Searcher: Hypnotherapist.

Nothing to be scared of, Mist, The unicorn thought to herself, although she lacked conviction. If asked, Mist would not have been able to describe what it was about Dream that had her so on edge. It might have been the hungry, superior way she talked when discussing her profession, or the predatory way she had looked at Mist. Either way, there was something here that Mist didn't like, something that made her skin crawl.

Sighing, Mist pushed aside her doubt and lifted a hoof to knock on the door. There was no reason to panic. She could leave whenever she wanted to, and Dream had seemed genuinely nice. She would hear the other unicorn out. Who knows? Maybe she would make a new friend.

She had only knocked once when the door swung open, revealing Dream, a huge grin on her face.

"Miss Mist!" Dream said, nodding her head courteously at the still-nervous blue unicorn. "So wonderful that you could be here this evening!" Using her magic, she flung open the door, turned, and starting walking down the hall, before facing Mist and gesturing with a hoof. "Please, come in! We have-" she flashed the other mare a toothy grin, "-so much to discuss."

Mist gulped and nodded, stepping into the hall. Dream's grin widened. Mist jumped as the door shut behind her, giving a very loud and very final-sounding slam. She took a deep breath to calm herself, and managed to give Dream a feeble smile. "A pleasure to be here, Miss Searcher," she said politely, albeit shakily .

Dream gave a warm laugh. "Oh, please, do call me Dream," she said, smiling fondly. She turned and started down the hall again. "Please, follow me!" she called. "We have a lot to talk about."

Mist followed, although not as enthusiastically as Dream. "Oh, alright Mi-Dream," she said, correcting herself.

After following Dream through the rest of the house, Mist found herself in a large, spacious office. In the center, there was a polished wooden desk, with two chairs set across from it. In a corner was a comfortable-looking davenport, the kind meant for stretching out on. The walls were decorated with large, beautiful pictures of sunlit beaches and golden, rose-tinged sunsets. The whole room was warm, cozy, and filled with a heavy, exotic scent. Incense, perhaps? Whatever it was, Mist found that it helped her to calm down slightly, which was welcome.

Dream gestured to the couch. "Please, have a seat," she said, using her magic to lift a chair next to the couch and settling down in it.

Mist gulped. There was a tiny part of her that was practically begging her to politely decline and pull up a chair. However, she silenced that part, not wanting to be rude. She sighed deeply and settled down on the couch. It was comfortable, she would give Dream that.

Was it her imagination, or did Dream grin smugly as she sat down?

"So," Dream began, using her most polite, gentle tone when speaking to the nervous blue unicorn. It seemed that Mist had had some inhibitions about arriving, and Dream didn't want her tense and on edge throughout their conversation. "One of the many reasons I invited you here, Mist, is because I wanted to talk about some plans I've had most of my life." Dream made a grand gesture of looking from side to side, then leaning in close and cupping her mouth with a hoof. "World domination." She savored the words as they left her mouth.

She may as well have slapped Mist for the reaction she got. The blue unicorn sat there, stunned, eyes wide, pupils tiny. Her left ear began to twitch. She gulped. "I'm sorry, did you say...world domination?" Her voice was barely the softest of whispers.

Dream nodded, a huge, satisfied grin on her face. "Yes indeed. Taking control of this wretched marshmallow of a world and ruling with an iron hoof. With the help of hypnosis and some of my...fancier inventions, everypony would bow to me... and love it." Her grin grew practically malicious. "And I brought you here to ask...would you join me?" She held out a hoof in a friendly gesture.

Mist gulped again, ignoring the hoof. "I-I'm sorry, but... why me?" She gestured a hoof to her chest.

Dream chuckled and withdrew her hoof. Sweet Celestia, this mare was naive! "I saw that exemplary display of hypnosis in the market this morning," she said. "That buffoon never knew what hit him. I must admit, I was quite impressed...Even I can't entrance unwilling ponies that quickly. As you may guess, that trait would be perfect for a partnership." The mare placed a hoof on Mist's shoulder, causing the blue mare to flinch away. "So, what do you say? Would you join me and help rule Equestria?"

Mist shook her head emphatically. "I couldn't. What you have planned is just...evil!" She seemed to gain a little more confidence. "That's downright evil, and it would never work! The princesses would stop you!"

Dream sighed. She was almost upset at the unicorn's blatant refusal-the best partnerships came naturally, of course-but there was nothing that could be done. "I was worried about this. It seems I will need to liberate that evilness in you... with the help of hypnosis."

Mist jumped. "H-hypnosis?" She gulped, her eyes darting around wildly, looking like a cornered animal.

"Yes, hypnosis." The blonde mare nodded, already levitating over a pocket watch from her desk. "You see, you have evil inside you, and I'm sure that you also know that yourself, don't you? But, unfortunately, it also seems that you are just a little bit too... scared, that's the best term, scared to actually unleash that evil. So, in order to advance... mostly my goals, I shall make you evil. Do not worry, everything will be fine. It won't hurt a bit, and trust me, life is so much better when you start thinking for yourself and not others." Dream had learned that long ago.

Mist gulped once again. "I-I have to go." She almost managed to jump off the couch, but then a sudden force of magic held her down. "H-hey!"

"Now now, we can't have you running away, now can we?" Dream asked her, horn glowing, her best evil grin lighting up her face. What could she say, resistance made the next part even more fun. "There's no escape for you, but there is a choice."

Dream stood up and made sure that her magic would hold down Mist before she walked to her desk. Almost lazily, she rummaged through the drawers and cabinets, noting Mist's increasingly wild struggles as she did so. Honestly, some ponies didn't realize when you were trying to help.

Finally, Dream found what she was looking for. Giant grin on her face, she removed it from a cabinet and walked back to the couch,  a metal helmet in her hooves. The helmet itself was rather plain-smooth metal, one tiny light on the top, and a hole just big enough for a unicorn's horn. However, the bottom was a different story- an elaborate set of metal locks twisted around the bottom, giving the helmet the look of some ancient torture device. Dream placed the helmet on the ground and nodded at it.

"You either get hypnotized by the watch or you get mind controlled by the helmet. Your choice, take your pick."

Mist was almost in tears. Dream was still staring at her with that wide, toothy grin, and by Luna's moon, it scared the daylights out of her. What should she do? Now was as good a time as any to try and use her talent. The question was, could she pull it off quick enough? Mist could see Dream's eyes darting from her face to her horn, and she knew that the first sign of a glow would lead to trouble.

Mist steeled herself. She had to do this. She wouldn't become evil and help this...this monster!

She took a deep breathe and focused. She would have to do this quickly. One quick flash, then knock this pony out and gallop to the nearest police station. Easy enough.

Just as Mist prepared to launch her mental attack, something flew from the desk behind her and around her horn. Instantly, her connection to her magic was severed- a horn blocker ring.

Mist yelped. Dream chuckled. "Oh, did you honestly think I was going to let you have even a chance of entrancing me?" she mused. She shook her head, almost pityingly. "The way your face went from terrified to focused was pretty obvious. It's a shame, I guess the helmet is a must. Any pony with limited acting skills can fake a trance, and unfortunately, my brand of hypnosis magic can only be used on the willing. I was hoping you'd see reason and take the more pleasant route, but to each their own."

To Mist's horror, Dream grinned and lifted the helmet over her head. The terrified blue unicorn desperately tried to force magic through her horn, but absolutely nothing happened. Since magic failed, she began to thrash, but Dream was able to keep a good grip on her with her own magic.

"Please! Let me go!" Mist begged, tears beginning to trickle down her face. "I-I promise, I won't tell anypony! Just let me go!"

Dream completely ignored her. Mist was forced to watch as the ominous helmet loomed closer and closer. She gave one last bid for freedom; throwing herself away from the couch with all her might. She barely budged.

The helmet lowered over Mist's head, her horn protruding through a hole in the top. It was a bit big for her-the front drooped over her eyes, cutting off her vision. Her breathing sped up as the metal links twisted under her chin, painfully tight, and snapped shut with a final-sounding click. This thing was stuck on her head now.

There was a series of beeps and whirling noises, and Dream said, "Well, here you go. When this helmet comes off, I promise, you will thank me."

And then, the inside if the helmet flashed a pure, searing white, and Mist knew nothing else.

Darkness. That was the first thing that Mist registered.

There was no light, and the resulting darkness was thick enough to chew. Mist blinked several times, unsure of what had happened. She appeared to be floating in this vast, dark space, for there was nothing that she could feel beneath her hooves. It was cold, too-Mist shivered, feeling a bitter chill bite into her skin. She tried to move, but it was like she had frozen: her limbs refused to respond.

She could have floated there for hours, seconds, or years. However, after an immeasurable amount of time, Mist became aware of the sound of hoofsteps approaching her. She peered ahead and was just able to make out a shape-a blue, pony shaped blur, getting closer and closer.

Mist opened her mouth and tried to call out, but the words seemed to stick in her throat. Frozen, mute, and helpless, she watched the figure get closer and closer until, as abruptly as if it had teleported, they appeared in front of her in shocking detail.

It was a mare, a unicorn at that, with a coat the icy blue color of a clear winter sky. Her mane was a touch darker than her coat, shot through with veins of royal purple, and long enough to frame both sides of her face, which was oddly cruel. Mist realized, with a jolt, that this pony was her. Her, but colder, crueler.

The other Mist grinned, bearing white, fang-like teeth.

Mist gulped shakily and managed to force out some words. "W-what...are you?" the terrified unicorn croaked.

The other Mist was silent, continuing to smirk as she loomed over Mist. In fact, she seemed to be rising, higher and higher...

Or, Mist realized suddenly, I'm sinking.

And indeed she was. Mist found herself twirling down into icy blackness, like a stone in a winter pond. Panicking, she struggled to flail her limbs and move to the surface; and for a moment, they twitched in response. However, she was instantly washed with a wave of cold that ripped through her like needles. Mist gasped in pain.

As the agony faded, the mare was filled with a deep, exhausting numbness. A sudden desire to stop fighting and just sleep overwhelmed her. She tried to fight, but fighting hurt. She didn't want to hurt. She wanted to sleep.

With heavy eyes, Mist looked up one last time. The other Mist was staring down at her, still grinning, eyes full of evil.

And then Mist drifted off, giving herself over to floating in an icy haze.

By the time that Mist woke up, the sun had already set and it seemed to be pretty late at night. Dream wasn't sitting at the sofa anymore. Instead, she was now just sitting on her desk, working on what seemed to be some sort of map.

Mist gave a small frown, moving her right and left forearms in turn, noticing that her fur seemed to have turned a paler shade then before. She also realized she wasn't being held down anymore. Slowly, she lifted up her hooves and fumbled the metal latch under her chin. After some initial struggles, it came undone, and she was able to slide the helmet off.

"Ugh, what happened?" The mare softly asked in a rather raspy and tired voice. She wobbled to her hooves and lifted a hoof to rub her head.

This, of course, got the attention of the blonde working mare and she looked up, turning her head to look into the direction of Mist. "Ah, you're awake." Dream said softly, putting down her pencil and standing up. She walked over to the sofa and took away the helmet, getting it out of Mist's reach in case the mare wasn't fully brainwashed. Though, the hypnotherapist doubted that her device hadn't worked. "I know, the fallout can be disorienting at first. How do you feel?"

Mist blinked again, looking at the yellow mare next to her as if she was seeing her for the first time. Suddenly, things in her mind began to make sense. How Dream wanted to take control of everypony. How Dream wanted her to join and how she used the helmet on her to make her evil. Mist took stock of her own feelings. She probably should feel angry, even scared of the pony next to her. Yet, somehow, she the feelings wouldn't come. A small grin began to form on her face as she realized any inhibitions she used to have about her talent were gone. In fact, what Dream had said earlier sounded great.

Mist giggled. "I feel amazing!" she said, jumping into the air and giving a frankly maniacal cackle. "I don't have to worry about other ponies anymore! I'm not nervous!" The unicorn came back to the ground. "I feel-" her breath caught "-so alive." She chuckled again, a dark sound, much different from her usual quiet demeanor.

This made it clear that her helmet had done the deed and Dream grinned a lot at this. "Good, very good. You're way better than the old Mist, that's for sure. However, we both know what will happen when you betray me, of course. I hear the life of a slave is a lovely one."

Mist gave a rather cynical laugh that didn't suit her. "Of course," she said, giving a mock bow. "Even though you did say that my talent is much better for unwilling subjects. I wouldn't dream of it."

Dream felt a twinge of worry, then saw Mist's eyes sparkling with amusement, and realized she was jesting. "Good." She stood up and started to walk over to the desk again, using a hoof to motion Mist to follow her back. "While you were transformed into your new self, Mist, I took the liberty to  come up with a plan." She saw Mist follow her, still a bit wobbly, but curious. "Right now, I think we need to focus our hypnosis on the Elements of Harmony, and I believe that the really crucial pony in this is Rainbow Dash."

However, when Mist heard this, she began to frown. "Rainbow Dash? But isn't she the Element of Loyalty?"

"Exactly." Dream nodded. "And that's an Element we could really corrupt. Not like Discord and make her all grey and gloomy, but while she is loyal to her friends, we need to try and change that. We need to project that loyalty to us and increase it tenfold, into slavish devotion. What do you think?"

Mist tilted her head. 'I'm not sure," she muttered. "She seems like a headstrong first target. If she were able to escape, our plan would be to the Princesses before we could leave."

Dream tsked. "You underestimate our talents, Mist," she said smugly. "As well as my plan. It won't be as simple as going up to her and abducting her; we'll be smart about it. In fact, I already know how we can...convince her to join us." She told Mist her plan. As she spoke, the other mare's expression turned from doubt to a sly grin. Once Dream finished, she laughed and spoke.

"That's perfect."