"I'd like to join!"
The words cut through Starlight Glimmer's senses like a hot knife through butter. She had gone through this process many times before with so many ponies. The ones who were actually willing to give her their cutie marks often didn't need any indoctrination at all. Some heard the logic in her words and were more than willing to join her fair little town and become equal. The majority, however, needed to be taught that her way was right and their former way of thinking was wrong, and that was where this particular cottage and its speaker system came in. Typically, ponies would spend roughly a week in there before they submitted to her tactics and welcomed the joy of equality under her rule into their lives. Even the weakest willed, though, would last at least two or three days before becoming dull and happy to be so. One night was completely out of the question.
Starlight smiled her usual smile at the yellow pegasus standing before her. In truth, she had been speaking very fondly of the town and its inhabitants ever since she'd first laid eyes on her. It was also fairly evident from Fluttershy's interactions with her friends that she was more timid than the rest. Perhaps she really was a first in this quaint little town. Perhaps her willpower really was so weak that it only took twelve hours without a cutie mark and under the verbal assault of her little indoctrination chamber for her to crack and accept that being talentless was the right way to live her life.
Perhaps so, but still, Starlight wasn't born yesterday. It would take more than a quick claim of acceptance to prove to her that she really did succumb. She glared at Twilight Sparkle as she spoke out against Fluttershy's actions. Something about the way she spoke didn't quite sit right with her. Her words were just a bit too insincere for her tastes. As she listened to Fluttershy explain her reasoning, she stayed silent, concocting her plan. If Fluttershy really could be trusted, then she'd pass this test with ease. If she couldn't...well, she had her own ways of dealing with the situation.
"We have a new friend, everypony!" Starlight exclaimed to the delight of the townsfolk. "Now, there's one more order of business..."
Starlight couldn't help but smirk as she watched Fluttershy listen to her. Even if she was trying to deceive her, the girl was clearly quite a bit of a doormat. Breaking her would be easy as pie if the need were to arise.
"It seems some in our midst might be...dissatisfied with the village life!" She played up the drama in those last words, knowing that her ponies would hang on her every word. Sure enough, a gasp spread throughout the crowd. She had them right where she wanted them. Not that this was any surprise.
"Unfortunately, it's all too true, my friends!" Starlight continued. She moved up to Fluttershy, now nose-to-nose with her. It was testing time. "Would you kindly tell us the names of those friends who so desperately miss their cutie marks that they would...sneak around in the shadows, talking to strangers about it? Just so we could be sure your intentions are, indeed, pure."
"Um..." Fluttershy stammered. "I don't know who they were! Um, I'm sorry...I don't know your names and faces yet."
Starlight gave Fluttershy a bemused stare as she stumbled around revealing the names of the ponies whom she'd already unconsciously looked straight at upon the question's consummation. That was all she needed to hear. If she'd really submitted to the indoctrination, then pointing out those who were guilty wouldn't be a problem at all. Those ponies had stepped up against equality, and one so recently brainwashed would have been more than happy to out them. Starlight decided to toy a bit more with Fluttershy before making her final steps to ensure that she would hold true to her word of joining their town for good.
"Nonsense!" Starlight sang, grinning a devilish little grin. "Obviously these ponies must have asked you directly. Kindly point them out." She delighted in watching the nervousness in Fluttershy's face. As much as she liked equality in her citizens, varying facial expressions was something that she occasionally missed.
"It was me!" Party Favor suddenly shouted. "It was only me! But I only wanted it back for a little while!"
Starlight rolled her eyes with a smile, taking her attention off of Fluttershy for now to deal with the other dissenter. It was only once she had him locked up with the other five that she turned her attention back to Fluttershy. The pegasus must not have noticed Starlight's eyes settle back on her, because the sadness in her face at Party Favor's punishment clearly did not reflect the angry looks of the other citizens. If this was her idea of pretending to conform and fit in, then she was doing a rather pitiful job of it. It didn't matter in the long run, though. Starlight would take care of her, just like the others whose loyalty upon conversion came into question.
"Come," Starlight said as she led her newest citizen down the road. "All new friends stay with me until their cottage is completed. Let's get you settled, and then you can enjoy all that out little village has to offer." Starlight grinned a conniving little grin as she led Fluttershy inside. Clearly, this one was a special case. Clearly, she needed just a bit more convincing to truly join the fold. And with what Starlight had planned for her, she would surely be putty in her hooves by the next morning.
~~~~~~~~~~
Fluttershy had spent the rest of the day torn. On one hoof, she had to figure out a way to retrieve the cutie marks for herself and her friends. On the other hoof, she couldn't look too suspicious. Her behavior had to be believable or else her whole plan would be for naught. As such, she soon found herself going about town and checking out what it had to offer. The more she did so, the more she gained a measure of appreciation for the little town and its inhabitants. As much as she wanted to help her friends and herself, she couldn't help but admit, as she had been earlier, that it really was a nice little town. Everypony she met was so pleasant, even more so than they had been when she and the others had first arrived in town. Perhaps it was because they saw her as a new citizen and friend now, she figured.
Her ruse must have really been believable, because it wasn't just the other townsponies who were treating her so nicely. She found herself running into Starlight quite a few times in her limited travels, and Starlight had treated her so kindly each time they saw each other. It was like she was a completely different pony from the one that had stolen her cutie mark the previous day. Fluttershy hadn't realized quite how successful she'd been at pretending to fit in and want to join the town, but it must have been very convincing if even Starlight didn't assume a thing. She felt bad for her deception; she wasn't normally a deceptive pony by any means. But this was a special circumstance. Lying to and deceiving just about any other pony would have been nigh unthinkable, but when it came to the pony who'd taken the special talents away from her and her friends, sometimes desperate times called for desperate measures.
Oddly enough, Fluttershy found herself being more and more swayed by the town and its inhabitants. The muffins the baker sold her were quite dry and bland, albeit with a pinch of cinnamon, but she began to think that perhaps dry and bland wasn't such a bad thing. The baker was doing her best, and she supposed that it made sense that she wasn't such a great baker. After all, if she was a better baker than Fluttershy was, then they wouldn't be equal, and they had to be equal if—
Fluttershy quickly shook her head out. She couldn't let thoughts like that creep into her head. She felt her new cutie mark glow as she had that thought, and she took a breath to steel herself. Perhaps she wasn't the most willful of ponies, but she would not let Starlight's magic win. She was her own unique self. She wouldn't fail her friends. She wouldn't let her face fade into the crowd. She had to resist the temptation that was trying to break her.
And the temptations kept coming. The shawls being sold by the tailor were looking increasingly pleasing, even though it was clear from Rarity's earlier comment that they were of a substandard design. Even that thought started to feel odd to her. If they were supposed to be equal, then Rarity shouldn't know better than her about clothing, and she thought they were just fine. The feel of another glow from her new cutie mark convinced her to quickly bring her thoughts someplace else. That someplace else happened to be the site of what looked to be the cottage that was being built for her. It looked like a nice little place...even though the construction workers didn't seem to be quite as skilled as she would have expected. But those workers were quickly joined by other workers, and despite their equal skill level, the effort of all of them together was getting the job done. Fluttershy couldn't help but think it nice that all of them were able to get around their inadequacies by working together. It was only the feeling of another glow on her rump and the steeling of the willpower she had left that drove her away from thinking like that.
Fluttershy looked up at the sky as it began to fade into nighttime. It was as good an excuse as any to head back to Starlight's cottage and spend some alone time thinking up a plan. The trip around town sure hadn't been conducive to such thought processes.
~~~~~~~~~~
Starlight glanced up at the clock. She'd been waiting all day for this time to arrive, and it finally had. She so enjoyed when one of her new citizens needed this extra bit of convincing. It made everything that much more fun. Sure, some ponies might have been frustrated at having to put more effort into breaking a pony, but it didn't matter to her. Once she had their cutie marks, they were as good as hers. No matter how much of a fuss they put up, they would succumb eventually. Some just required different tactics than others.
Starlight made her way over to Fluttershy's room, humming lightly to herself as she walked. Had Fluttershy caught her tune, she might have heard it as an elegy of sorts. To her, it might have signified the death of her independence. To Starlight, it was a song of success, of welcoming, of a lifetime of equality and happiness. Of course, she was no musical expert.
"Fluttershy!" Starlight called as she knocked gently on the bedroom door. She was certain she heard a faint scuffling of hooves and wings following her call. The girl was likely trying to escape. This might have perturbed her before, but it didn't matter to her now. Her fate was already sealed. A thwarted escape plan only strengthened her resolve to break the pegasus's will.
"Yes, Starlight?" Fluttershy said quietly as she opened the door. Starlight couldn't help a light smile. The poor, misguided soul hadn't even thought to fix her mane from the attempted escape. Starlight figured that now was a good time to take a bit of control.
"Oh, friend, that manestyle just won't do," Starlight said with a smile. "You don't mind if I fix it a bit, do you?" She watched Fluttershy's face carefully, noting the brief look of uncertainty. The silly little pony seemed so positive that her little ruse was working, she didn't even realize how much she was giving herself away.
"O-of course I don't mind," Fluttershy responded. Starlight chuckled lightly. She might not have been good at her act, but at least she was dedicated to it. She took great pleasure in lighting up her horn, pulling at the sides of Fluttershy's long mane gently and twisting them into tight braids. She was certain that she saw a wince from Fluttershy, but if she had, she was quick on correcting it.
"You're looking more and more like a citizen with each passing moment, Fluttershy!" Starlight said, admiring her work. "We'll get the rest of this mane cut down tomorrow to help you fit in better. Can't have all of that long, flowing mane when the others don't, can you? That wouldn't be equal at all." She watched with joy as Fluttershy's new mark glowed in compliance, also taking note of the unsure look that was as quick to disappear from Fluttershy's face as it was to appear.
"Of course," Fluttershy said softly. "We wouldn't want that..." Starlight so enjoyed watching the pegasus struggle to keep her act up. If breaking her as soon as possible wasn't so necessary, she would have considered letting her keep the act up a bit longer.
"Now then, Fluttershy," Starlight said, keeping her tone gentle. "I'd like you to join me in my room. I've got a special little greeting that I like to give my townspeople on their first night."
"A special greeting...?" Fluttershy asked, doing her best to not sound nervous about it.
"Yes, a special greeting," Starlight repeated. "Everypony who joins our town receives my special greeting. You wouldn't want to be...different from the others, would you?" She watched the equal sign on Fluttershy's flank glow once more.
"Of course not," Fluttershy said with a weak little smile. "I'm...just the same as everypony else." Her mark glowed again with that statement, and Starlight's smile grew larger. At this rate, she probably wouldn't even have to bring out the big guns...although she probably still would. Just to be safe.
"Come then," Starlight said, heading towards her own bedroom. She heard the clip-clop of Fluttershy's hooves as she followed her, and couldn't help but notice that they were walking nearly in unison. Either Fluttershy was really dedicated to her ruse or things were getting to her faster than she'd anticipated.
Starlight opened her bedroom door, allowing Fluttershy to enter first. Unsurprisingly, her room was furnished exactly as the guest room had been; cozy, but not fancy. A plain, unassuming bed sat by an ordinary stone wall. As dedicated as Fluttershy was to her ruse, Starlight was also dedicated to hers. As much as she would have liked a bedroom of decadence, she could not allow such a thing to be seen by her citizens.
"What a...nice room," Fluttershy said softly. Starlight chuckled lightly and nodded to the bed.
"Go on and sit down, Fluttershy," Starlight said in a gentle, singsongy tone. "And we can get your special greeting underway." She watched as Fluttershy had a seat on the mattress. As soon as Fluttershy noticed Starlight staring, her uncertain look quickly turned to a forced smile.
"Now then," Starlight said, approaching the bed. "You wouldn't object to a little bit of a test, right?"
"Test?" Fluttershy asked. Starlight decided not to bring up the fact that she would have said yes without question if she were really serious about joining the fold. At this juncture, it was better to let her believe that she was in control of the situation. That way, she wouldn't suspect that control was about to be taken away.
"Test," Starlight responded, sitting down next to her on the bed. "Now, you're aware that while everypony in our town is equal, I am in charge of running the town, correct?"
"Oh, um, yes, I understand that," Fluttershy said quietly.
"Good!" Starlight said. "That doesn't make me any better than you or the other townspeople, mind you. We're all equal, right?"
"R-right," Fluttershy said, her sign glowing gently as she did.
"Let me hear you say it, Fluttershy," Starlight whispered. "Say, 'We're all equal' for me."
There was a brief moment of hesitation from Fluttershy, one which Starlight again chose not to bring up to her. Her willpower and her conscience were at war, wanting to keep the charade up for her friends but not wanting to admit such a thing. In the end, the concern for her friends won out.
"We're all equal," Fluttershy finally repeated. Starlight watched for the sign to glow. When it did, she suddenly lurched forward, planting a kiss on the surprised Fluttershy's lips. She held the kiss for a scant few seconds, her eyes watching the glow. When it faded, so too did the kiss.
"Wh...what are you—" Fluttershy began.
"Shhhh," Starlight hushed her gently. "This is the greeting that all of the new townspeople get. You wouldn't want to be treated any differently from them, now, would you?" She could practically see the inner turmoil going on behind Fluttershy's eyes as she pondered this. She had to speak up again. She couldn't give Fluttershy too much room to question it, or she risked her plan failing.
"You're the same as them, right?" Starlight asked, her hoof dragging along the bedspread and in Fluttershy's direction. "Say it for me."
"I'm the same as them," Fluttershy said, a slight stutter in her voice. As her equal sign glowed, Starlight's hoof sprang into action, darting between Fluttershy's legs and gently caressing her inner thigh. She looked up at Fluttershy's face to drink in her expression, currently a mix of nervousness and pleasure that she didn't want to admit to. But as soon as the glowing stopped, she removed her hoof, leaving Fluttershy breathing a little heavier.
"Yes you are!" Starlight said with a smile. "It's so good to hear you say that, Fluttershy. I'll admit, for a short time I was worried that you and your friends wouldn't see things my way. I'm glad to see that isn't the case." She knew instantly that making reference to Fluttershy's friends might not have been the best idea as she watched a bit of fire spring back into her eyes. She made note to stay away from that line of conversation for the rest of the process.
"That makes me happy, Fluttershy," Starlight said, leaning in to make sure her hot breath tickled Fluttershy's ear. "And since we're all equal, when I'm happy, I like to make my citizens happy. Do you want to be equally happy?" Perhaps such a direct line might have been too soon for some ponies, but Starlight could tell that Fluttershy was the quiet type. Despite her pretending, her will would be broken much more easily than the others.
"I...I want to be happy," Fluttershy repeated. Starlight began to move her hoof towards the pegasus again, but stopped just inches away from her.
"Equally happy?" Starlight asked, twirling her hoof on the bedspread, just close enough for Fluttershy to feel the heat from its proximity.
"E-equally happy," Fluttershy responded, hesitant but with the slightest bit of compliance. The mark glowed once more, and this time, Starlight's hoof went for broke, diving between Fluttershy's legs and rubbing right up against her marehood. She watched Fluttershy let out a squeak of pleasure, and part of her wanted to keep this treatment going, but this had to be done exactly right. As such, she rescinded her hoof as soon as the mark stopped glowing, surreptitiously bringing it up to her nose for a brief sniff.
"Such a good citizen," Starlight cooed. "I want to make you feel wonderful, Fluttershy, and the most wonderful feeling in the world is to give in and accept what I and our town have to offer you." She grinned a little grin, taking the hoof that had just nestled itself between Fluttershy's hind legs and dragging it just under her nose, letting her breath her own scent in. "You'd like that, right?" She lowered that hoof again, slowly beginning to approach its destination once more. When the pegasus didn't answer immediately, Starlight removed her hoof from her body completely. She'd only teased her a bit, but she could already see the longing in Fluttershy's eyes for more pleasure.
"You're no better than anypony else in town, Fluttershy," Starlight said, keeping eye contact with her. "And the sooner you fully accept that, the better you'll feel about it." She shifted positions, moving until her lower half was hanging off of the bed. Her face was now resting between Fluttershy's hind legs, and she stared up at her from her new vantage point. "Maybe if you're very good about accepting your new role, I'll even let you make me feel good, too. After all, that would only be fair, right? We're equals." She allowed the last word to let out a breath of warm air onto Fluttershy's needy marehood.
"W-we're equals," Fluttershy repeated softly, accepting the prompt. Her sign glowed again, and with that Starlight dove in, pushing her muzzle against Fluttershy's slit. Fluttershy let out a loud moan as Starlight's tongue poked and prodded at her, but just when the tongue was about to dig in, Starlight noticed the mark's glow fading. She was admittedly becoming a tiny bit frustrated herself, wanting to continue to go at this, but she had to make the pleasure coincide with the mark's magic, so she pulled away with a little sigh. It was time to really get things moving.
"Fluttershy, I want you to do something for me," Starlight said, resting her chin on the belly of the pegasus, who had now chosen to lie on her back.
"Wh...what is it?" Fluttershy panted, still getting over those moments of pure pleasure.
"It's very simple, my friend," Starlight whispered. "I want you to repeat something for me, over and over again. It's something that everypony does during this greeting."
"O-oh?" Fluttershy responded. Starlight could tell from the subtle movements and the alluring scent that Fluttershy was already itching for some more of that contact. She was more than willing to oblige, provided she followed the rules.
"I want to hear you say, 'Equality equals happiness,' over and over again," Starlight said with a grin. "And as long as you keep saying that..." She let another breath of warm air out onto Fluttershy's privates. "I'll make sure you feel that happiness."
Fluttershy remained silent for a few seconds, long enough to worry Starlight and make her think she'd lost her.
"You do want to be a happy member of our town, right?" Starlight asked. "That's what you said. And I do hope you weren't lying." As she said those last words, she began to pull away from Fluttershy's body. She could already feel Fluttershy's light squirming. Much as she wanted to go on, denial was an important part of the process too. Fluttershy had to know that if she were to fight against the idea, then the pleasure would go away and be replaced with something far less pleasant.
"Please don't make me do this, Fluttershy," Starlight said, lighting her horn up. "All you have to do is repeat those words and this will stop." She smiled malevolently as her magic began pulling at Fluttershy, Without a cutie mark to remove, all the spell would do was cause the same discomfort that it had when removing them. It wasn't a great deal of discomfort, but it certainly was a stark contrast to the pleasure she was receiving prior to it. She didn't like to see the poor pegasus in pain, but such things were necessary if it meant succeeding in her goal.
"N-nooo..." Fluttershy whimpered through her discomfort. She bit her lip, trying to tough it out, but her desire for the previous feeling was too strong. "E...equality equals happiness."
Within an instant, Starlight released her from the spell and dove back between her legs, nuzzling at her marehood as her mark glowed. Fluttershy let out a little cry, one of relief mixed with pleasure. Starlight grinned to herself, glad it was the quiet, shy one that the group had sent to try and fool her. The shy ones were much easier to condition.
"Equality e-equals happiness," Fluttershy repeated once more, and was again met with a feeling of pleasure as Starlight's tongue began dancing around her labia.
"Nothing feels better than to accept equality into your life, Fluttershy!" Starlight exclaimed. She waited for Fluttershy to repeat her mantra once more, then pushed her tongue between her folds, sampling the tastes of her insides. The cry of joy she heard escape Fluttershy's lips was like music to her ears, as was the way that she returned to repeating her mantra afterwards. Things were going along quite nicely at the moment, and Starlight was more than happy to continue making her feel good as long as that mark kept glowing.
"Mmm..." Starlight murmured, making sure to move a hoof in to replace her mouth so the pleasure wouldn't stop. "I do hope your friends decide to join us and be happy and equal as well."
Fluttershy's eyes snapped open at the mention of her friends, and she cut her chanting short. This wasn't right. Nothing about this was right. She had to help her friends. She couldn't stay here with Starlight and accept her ideas, not when her friends needed her the most.
Fluttershy's stopping had not gone unnoticed by Starlight, who quickly pulled away to stop the feelings of pleasure. She mentally smacked herself for bringing Fluttershy's friends back into this despite vowing not to, but she couldn't help being caught in the moment.
"What's wrong, Fluttershy?" Starlight asked, sitting up.
"I...I have to—" Fluttershy began. Before she could continue, Starlight lit her horn up once again.
"You're not behaving properly," Starlight said, zapping Fluttershy once again. "I don't want to hurt you. I would never want to hurt you. But you have to learn. All you have to do is accept your new role as a member of our town, and I'll make sure you're never uncomfortable or unhappy again. You'll be just as happy as the rest of the town. Remember how good you felt when you accepted it?"
Fluttershy bit her lip, trying to resist. She was her own pony. She couldn't just become like the rest of the town. As she thought about that, though, her mark responded to the thought of being like the rest of the town and glowed once more. This time, Fluttershy felt a bit of happiness find its way into her mind as the mark glowed. Confused, she tried to think of what might have triggered it, going back over her thoughts. When she thought of equality came up again, the mark glowed and the unpleasantness dulled, replaced with a dull feeling of happiness and acceptance.
"There we go," Starlight said gently as she watched Fluttershy's resistance slowly begin to fade. "See? Isn't it so nice to accept what I'm trying to show you? You don't have to fight it. The other townsfolk wouldn't fight, and you want to be just like the other townsfolk, right?" She watched as Fluttershy's mark glowed again, and with it came a gentle smile from the pegasus.
"J...just like the others..." Fluttershy said softly, feeling a nice little bit of happiness and compliance sprout in her mind. Starlight quickly rewarded this, lying down and licking at Fluttershy's marehood once more, eliciting a squeak.
"Equality equals happiness," Starlight told her.
"Equality equals happiness..." Fluttershy repeated, sighing a pleasured sigh as Starlight and the magic of the mark rewarded her.
"What does equality equal?" Starlight asked.
"Happiness," Fluttershy droned. Once again, she was encouraged as her mark glowed and Starlight nibbled at her winking nub.
"Keep going," Starlight told her, not worried over how much this sounded like a demand. Fluttershy was in no state to question her tone.
"Equality equals happiness," Fluttershy repeated over and over. Her mind wasn't letting her think of much more to say at the moment. Both her mind and her body wanted the pleasure she was receiving to continue, and if this was what she had to do to make that happen, then she'd do it. With each repetition, her senses and her resistance dulled more and more. If this was what it felt like to give up her special talents and individuality, then she couldn't think of anything she wanted more. Her repetitions were getting harder and harder for either pony to hear between Fluttershy's lustful moans.
Starlight grinned triumphantly as she continued to work Fluttershy with her mouth. This one would be all hers in moments. One hoof found its way to the equal sign on Fluttershy's left flank and began rubbing it, while the other snaked up to rub the pegasus' teat. She was beginning to get quite worked up herself. Once Fluttershy was fully broken, she would have to remember to have her return the favor.
Fluttershy bit her lip, her resolve weakening the closer she got. By this point, her mantra was ingrained into her mind. The more she said it, the more her mark glowed, and the more Starlight worked her. Before she knew it, she was screaming at the top of her lungs, her mind-blowing orgasm wracking her body with delight and shattering any tiny bit of resistance she had left. It was almost too much for the normally-timid pegasus to handle, and she was soon left limp on the mattress, basking in the afterglow of the most intense orgasm she'd ever experienced.
Starlight rested her chin on Fluttershy's belly, smiling warmly at the exhausted pegasus. She was positive that this was enough to break her, but she had to ask one more thing just to make sure.
"There we go, Fluttershy," Starlight said. "Now, if you wouldn't mind, I'd very much like you to return the favor."
"O...of course," Fluttershy responded, her smile as large and eager as those of her fellow townsfolk. "Equal treatment is only fair..."
Starlight smiled and repositioned her on the bed. This was going to be a good night.
~~~~~~~~~~
The girls had done their hardest to ignore the constant voice projecting through the loudspeakers throughout the night. Only two things were keeping them sane: their determination to stay strong and the knowledge that Fluttershy would be able to save them from the fate that Starlight had planned for them. They watched as the door to their prison opened, watching with disappointment as Party Favor, whom they had been hoping to win over, bolted outside to apologize profusely for his behavior the previous day.
Twilight stepped out onto the dirt road, scanning the crowd. Her eyes stopped on Fluttershy, expecting to see her give some sort of sign to them. Instead, she was met with an unnervingly eager smile from her friend. Fluttershy was not this good an actor.
"F...Fluttershy?" Twilight asked.
"Hello, Twilight," Fluttershy said with a smile. "I do hope today is the day that you join us!"
"As do I!" Starlight chimed in, giving Twilight and her friends a knowing look. "After all, we have ways of making sure you'll never want to leave."
