Project Starburst

"Now stay close." Greyhoof said, as the three ponies advanced on the manor. "Remember the plan. I'll try to distract them long enough for you two to slip inside. Once you're inside, Spiral, find Angel Grace and try to-"

Cloud Prism covered Greyhoof's mouth, pointing. Following the pointing hoof, Spiral Dream and Greyhoof would see a maid standing outside a side door, sweeping the steps. She seemed to be rather distracted; in fact, as the three of them crept up on her, she merely kept on humming and sweeping.

Glancing at each other, the three ponies shrugged, slipping into the door single file. Not a one of them seemed to want to question their luck by drawing attention to it, so they just moved down the hallway. A pattering of hooves got their attention, and they ducked into a side room just in time for another maid to go by.

"Geez, how many maids does one guy need?" Cloud Prism asked in a low tone, once the maid was clear.

Spiral couldn't help but chuckle a bit. "If I had the kind of power Dancing Strings did, I'd probably have enough maids to maintain three manors. ...well, maids and butlers. You know...where are you going?" she asked, as the two stallions moved away quickly and quietly, motioning for her to follow.

"You remember the way to his study?" Greyhoof asked Cloud, who nodded, leading them through the winding corridors. For several minutes, they traveled in silence, occasionally ducking into a corner or another room to avoid a passing maid. Just as they were arriving, they heard a distant sound that sent them scurrying again, and a good thing, too.

"...can't imagine what that maid was thinking." Dancing Strings was saying, Angel Grace trotting along beside him. "Wasted time, a diversion from a remarkably pleasant taming. Nonetheless, we can pick up where we left off."

All it took for the three ponies to make their plan was a glance at one another and a shared nod. As Dancing Strings led Angel into the room, they followed behind him, quickly closing and bolting the door.

Naturally, such an action didn't go unnoticed, and Dancing Strings turned around, a smile spreading across his face. "Oh, there you are. Well, most of you. You got rid of that mare I can't control, that's nice of you." his horn glowed for a moment, but he quickly had to stop as Greyhoof fired a spell at him.

"Such violence? Are you sure you want to put your friend at risk?" Dancing Strings asked with a chuckle. His horn lit again, and when Greyhoof's did, Angel jumped between them, a determined look on her face.

"Now, Spiral!" Cloud Prism said, making a beeline for the puppetmaster.

Spiral Dream stepped in, her horn glowing as she focused on Angel Grace. "I've never done this before...please let it work..."
Just reach into the mind, take a hold, and pull free.
Closing her eyes, Spiral started her spell. "Angel Grace...I want you to just relax. Let everything else fall away. All other thoughts, all other sensations. Follow the sound of my voice..."

Angel blinked for a moment, her body relaxing. A slight shimmer surrounded her, and Dancing Strings growled.

"Get off of me!" he said, shoving Cloud Prism back; the puppet control reformed in his hoof. "You will obey, Puppet! You can not resist the strings!" he held out the puppet control, and Spiral Dream let out a gasp.

"He's...ugh, that control, it's stronger than my magic..." she dug in her hooves, her horn glowing bright. "Relax, Angel Grace. Slip...slip down..."

"It's pointless." Dancing crowed, swinging the control over to point at Spiral. "But your skills with hypnotism are impressive. With you as my puppet..." he laughed. "No one will be able to stop me!" strings shot out of the control, right towards Spiral Dream...

And wrapped around Golden Luck. Like before, they shuddered before breaking and fading away. A moment later, the unicorn jumped Dancing Strings, wresting the control from his grasp.

"I was wondering how you did that." Golden Luck said, looking down at the cross in the green aura of her magic. "If I had to guess, I'd say this thing amplified your abilities?" she cast a glance over at Spiral. "Should be able to get Angel back now."

Spiral Dream nodded, focusing on Angel again. "Feel yourself waking up...all those bindings slipping away. Floating back to the surface."

Angel Grace gasped out, then fell forward into Spirals hooves. "Y-you guys...you came back for me after all..." she murmured, her eyes lidded.

Spiral Dream patted Angel, then looked up at Dancing Strings, who was clearly starting to panic.

"L-look...it's not like I was trying to take over Equestria or anything, right? Just a little harmless fun...there's no need to..."

Greyhoof stomped his hoof. "Golden Luck. With that out of his grasp, are the guards free?"

Golden looked down at the wooden cross, then back up, nodding. "Should be. They'll be disoriented, and a few of them might need a couple good slaps, but everypony in town should start returning to normal now."

He nodded, looking back to Dancing Strings. "Then by the authority of Princess Twilight Sparkle of Equestria, I hereby place you under arrest for unethical use of magic. Cloud, go and retrieve a pair of guards, please."

Cloud Prism grinned. "Gladly." and flew off.

Dancing Strings hung his head, like his own strings had been cut. "I was so close...with that artifact, I was supposed to have everything I ever wanted." he muttered. "I didn't even want much...just a few mares..."

Spiral Dream took a step forward, a furious expression on her face. "Their minds were not yours to take! Those of us with the ability to use mind magic have a responsibility to use it ethically. You'll probably have plenty of time to think about that." she added, turning her back to him.

Cloud Prism soon returned with the guards, who locked Dancing Strings in a magic suppressor ring; he was transferred to the local prison until they could gather up the resources to transport him for trial.

As for the reunited ponies, they gathered in the train car, beaming at the success of their first mission...

"Angel Grace. I told you to stay lying down." Spiral scolded, as she came back into the car. "You're still recovering from a serious mental attack."

"I'm sorry. I just wanted to finish this..." Angel muttered, through the pencil in her mouth; she was writing in the Carousel File. "Greyhoof is going to be sending it to the Princess here in a few minutes and I'd hate for it to be incomplete..."

Spiral sighed, shaking her head. "Fine, but as soon as you're done, I'd like to have a hypnosis session with you." at Angel's look of surprise, she went on. "I am a hypnotherapist, you know. I just want to make sure there's no lingering effects from what Dancing Strings did. If you want to have Golden Luck sit in to make sure you're safe, I understand."

Angel shook her head, setting down the pencil. "No, I trust you, Spiral. You saved me back there; I wasn't sure how much longer I could fight his control." she sighed, looking down at the closed file. "I still don't understand why the Princess chose me for this team. Our first mission together, and I got caught..."

"You got caught because you were a grade-A idiot." Golden Luck said, leaning against the doorway of the train car. "You looked a guy in the eye who you know was controlling ponies and basically told him 'I dare you to take me'." she looked down for a moment, sighing. "But you did it because you believed in justice, and you wanted to stop him from hurting others. That, that I can respect."

"Is that why you came back, Golden?" Spiral asked, looking back at her. "I thought you didn't want anything to do with this crazy mission."

Golden Luck shrugged. "What can I say? I like a long shot. Once I had a chance to blow off some steam, I realized helping you all was the right thing to do. Anyway, you better get that to Greyhoof. It's about time for the ring to activate. I can take it you want to rest."

"Thank you." Angel Grace said, giving her the file. Golden Luck rolled it up and left the car, taking it out to Greyhoof. Angel laid back on the couch, sighing. "Once Greyhoof and the others get back, and the train gets moving, I suppose we can have that session."

Spiral Dream smiled, taking a seat across from Angel. "I look forward to it. My offer to have Golden Luck sit in is still good if you get nervous."

"No, I don't think-Greyhoof?" Angel said, sitting up slightly. At the dirty look she got from Spiral Dream, she laid back down, still staring at the door. Greyhoof was standing there, clutching a letter.

"It's a message from Princess Sparkle. We're being called to Ponyville. She says it's urgent; Cloud Prism is going to inform the driver of the change of plans."

"Gone...all gone." Dancing Strings laid back in his cell, staring at the ceiling. All of his maids, once released from the spell, had gone away; not a single townsfolk wanted to listen to him after what he did.

"It's all the fault of that damn artifact!" he slammed his hoof into the wall. "That's what made me greedy. I could have been happy with the few ponies who came to me, but once I had that control, I wanted more..."

"Please, go on." a sweet voice lilted. Dancing Strings sat up slowly, looking into the shadows. He could faintly see the outline of a mare standing there.

"H-how did you get in here? The guards..."

"Are taking a break. But do tell me more about how you got greedy...and about that artifact that made you that way." the mare's voice was soft, inviting as she shifted closer.

"It was a magical thing...I was able to use my puppet spell on many ponies...even affect their minds...but it was wrong. I got in over my head."

"Oh, so you lost the artifact and your confidence...such a shame. It's a good thing I'm here to help you help me." the mare took a step out of the shadows, her golden eyes gleaming and horn glowing. "I am a hypnotherapist, you know..."