"Where's Celestia?" Sunset asks, eyes glued to the door as Twilight sat down next to her.

"Don't worry." the princess replies, smiling. "She's off negotiating with the Saddle Arabians again. Luna's attending a harvest festival in Detrot, and my friends are in Ponyville, including Spike. It's just us."

Sighing, Sunset leans back, pressing a hoof to her forehead.

"I'm sorry to trouble you like this, Twilight." she said. "I just..."

"I get it." Twilight says, giving Sunset a calm smile. "Or, at least I get as much as you told me. Honestly, 'check me for hypnotic commands' is pretty vague."

"I don't want to say too much." Sunset's eyes are still glued to the door. "In case this is all just an overreaction. If it isn't, I'll tell you everything."

"If it isn't," Twilight raises an eyebrow. "I'm sure you won't need to."

Gesturing to the door, Twilight sighs.

"Are you really that afraid of talking to Celestia?" Her voice is soft. "I'm sure she's forgiven you."

"Twi," Sunset gives her friend a flat look. "I could not give less of a sh-"

A cough from the alicorn cuts her off, and Sunset rolls her eyes.

"Less of a crap about making up with Celestia. I'm over it, she's over it, and I'd love to meet her again someday and have tea and talk about things and be friends again. But right now I'm here for a specific reason, and - in case I'm right - I can't stay long; my girlfriend'll know something's up."

"Well..." Twilight says after a long silence. "Relax, Sunset. Lay down on the couch and focus on breathing in and out, deep and relaxed..."

"Twilight," Sunset sighs. "That isn't going to work... I don't think I'll be able to go under the normal way."

Twilight nods, sighing as well, before her face brightens.

"That's actually good!" she chirps, hopping from her chair. "Cause I've got something here we can test..." With a grunt of effort, Twilight's horn flares, and a ruby pendant appears with a 'pop', landing gently on Twilight's outstretched hoof.

"Put it on." Twilight says, and Sunset obliges, her turquoise magic taking the pendant from Twilight's grasp and placing the item around her neck.

"What's the deal with it?" Sunset cocks her head as she examines the jewel. It seems to pull on her eyes, leading her down a spiral of facets into the middle of the gem, drawing her deeper, deeper, deeper-

With a grunt of effort, Sunset manages to avert her gaze,

"Whew." she breathes, giving the gem a glance. "That's powerful."

"That's not the main purpose of the pendant, though." Twilight taps the thing with a hoof. "It's enchanted; anypony wearing it - heck, anypony touching it - will have a trigger implanted in them that lasts as long as they're touching the gem."

"And the trigger does..."

"Essentially, as long as you're touching it, I should be able to put you under with a single word."

"Well, what are you-"

And then everything ceases to exist.

Sunset is adrift, floating in a sea of emptiness, waiting for The Voice. The Voice was everything. It was truth. It was absolute reality.

"Sunset." The Voice calls, and Sunset is the thing that answers.

"Yes?" she says, the words drifting off into she cared not where.

"Sunset, has anyone placed a block on any of your memories?"

The voice rings through her body, making Sunset's very soul vibrate like a tuning fork.

"Yes." the words glide smoothly from her lips as she feels the blocks in her mind, shuttered doors cutting off access to parts of her consciousness.

"Any blocks previously placed on your mind are gone." The Voice says, and it is so.

"Any blocks placed on my mind are gone." Sunset echoes, confirming The Voice's words as the concrete fact they were.

"Sunset, I want you to tell me every command that has been issued to you while you were in trance." The Voice says.

And Sunset speaks.

"Deeper..." Rainbow mumbles, her hand slowly making its way down.

"That's right." Fluttershy coos, her voice slow, smooth; a mother consoling a child, a lover embracing another. "And as your hand sinks down more and more, you'll find that it's just so easy to relax..."
Rainbow sighs deeply, her arm lowering inch by inch, making its way to the sheets of the bed. At last, it lands, and Fluttershy smiles as her friend's breathing grows deep, smooth, and even; a textbook trance.

"Rainbow..." Fluttershy murmurs. "Have you seen Sunset around?"

Slowly, the rainbow-haired girl nods, and Fluttershy quietly pumps a fist. Sunset had been missing for days, and her friends knew - she knew they knew - where she'd gone. They'd been avoiding her all week, giving her strange looks. Finally, she'd managed to corner Dash by inviting her over to Sunset's house to 'look for clues'.

"Where is Sunset Shimmer?" Fluttershy asks, deciding to get straight to the point.

"In Equestria..." Rainbow answers, her voice a breathy murmur. "She left a few days ago..."

"Why?"

"I don't know..."

Sighing, Fluttershy gazes at Rainbow Dash. This was strange. It wasn't like Sunset to just up and leave, let alone when she was in the middle of putting a plan into motion. With another sigh, Fluttershy turns to Rainbow Dash, still peacefully in trance.

"Rainbow, we looked for clues, but we didn't find anything."

"We looked for clues... Didn't find anything."

"You got fed up and decided to leave."

"I got fed up... Left..."

"When I snap my fingers, you'll grab your stuff and go. The instant the front door closes behind you, you'll wake from your trance, with no memory of me hypnotizing you."

Before Rainbow could repeat the words, Fluttershy snaps her fingers, and the speedster rises, mechanically grabbing her keys and her helmet before opening the front door.

As the 'slam' of the door echoes through the house, Fluttershy lays back on Sunset's bed, staring up at the ceiling. Why on earth would she leave, and why now?

Suddenly, a vibration from under the pillow catches her attention. Sliding a hand under the thing, her fingers meet a spine, then a cover. The magical notebook.
Slowly, she draws it out, opening the book to the latest page.

Human Fluttershy,

By now, you're probably wondering where Sunset is. Well, I'll tell you.
She's staying with me in Ponyville. She'll be staying with me for a while.
After all, dealing with betrayal is hard, and she needs friends - real friends; i.e, not you - to be there for her.
I don't know what led you to do what you did, but be assured; Sunset will not forget what you've done to her, not again. And I don't think I'll be able to forgive you.
Please don't reply to this letter. Don't try and come through the portal.
I know what you did, what you made her do. I know all the commands you sealed in her head, all the ways you, you... screwed with her mind.
The game's up; it's over.
Goodbye, Fluttershy.

As cordially as a furious alicorn can be,
Princess Twilight Sparkle.

Slowly, silently, Fluttershy closes the journal, sliding it back under the pillow, and turns, lying face-up on Sunset's bed.

She stays there for a minute. Two minutes. Five. Ten.
At last, Fluttershy places a hand to her head, muttering quietly.

"Shit."

"So..." Rainbow Dash says, her voice raised to carry over the sound of sobbing.

"So." Applejack replies, her expression even.

"We're... We're first up on damage control." Dash replies, gesturing to the door of Sunset's room. "Should you go in first, or should I?"

"Don't much matter."

"Well... you go first, then."

"Why?"

"I thought you said it didn't matter."

"It don't. Ah just wanna know why you're so keen on havin' me go first is all."

"W-Well, I just... I..." Rainbow Dash sighs. "I don't like being alone with crying ponies, okay? It's really awkward, and it makes me feel... Un-cool."

Applejack raises an eyebrow.

"W-What!? I told you, it..." Rainbow trails off, before huffing. "F-Fine. I'm a bit - teeny, tiny little bit - of a sympathetic crier. When a pony starts crying, I tear up. And I don't like that. Are you happy? Any other deep secrets you want me to confess, or can-"

Applejack interrupts her with a motion, opening the door and striding through it, giving the Pegasus a look.

"Sunset!" Applejack cries, giving the mare in the room a smile. "Wow! It's sure nice meetin'-"

A pillow arcs through the air, sailing towards Applejack's head. In an instant, the mare ducks, and Rainbow takes the impact, sailing down the hall with a cry of surprise.

"Welp." Applejack mutters, gazing at the veritable whirlwind of bedclothes forming in front of her. "Ah get the feelin' we're gonna have a bad time..."

"I'm just glad we finally got her to stop crying." Dash says, as the two of them exit Sunset's room, hours later. Applejack nods, giving Dash a smile.

"Seems like the next shift's arrivin'." she says, and, sure enough, Rarity and Pinkie Pie come into view, trotting slowly through the hallway. The two pairs wave at each other as they pass, and, as Rarity and Pinkie approach Sunset's door, Applejack and Rainbow Dash turn the corner.

"Run, now." the farmer says. "Before Pinkie sets Sunset off again."

The two break into a gallop, managing to get to the end of the hallway before the sound of crying emanates from behind them again.

Sunset lies in her room, facedown on her bed. It had been a long day. First Applejack and Rainbow Dash, then Rarity and Pinkie... It was obvious they were trying to comfort her... So why wasn't it working? Some part of her insisted that, like Rarity had said, matters of the heart were much more damaging than any physical wound... But the rest of her gave that part a flat look and a flatter 'no'.

Suddenly, a hoof makes contact with her back. Sunset turns her head, horn glowing...
Fluttershy sits there, slowly rubbing Sunset's back with a hoof.

"I'm sorry." she murmurs. "I know... I know the other me hurt you... But I can't just stand by and watch somepony be sad like this."

Sunset sighs... With a resigned nod, she lies down again, letting Fluttershy rub her back. Slowly, the mare becomes more bold, moving from a back rub to a full-on massage, hitting all the knots in Sunset's body and working them loose with gentle, yet powerful, presses of her soft, warm hooves. Sunset lets out a sigh as she relaxes more. Fluttershy was whispering something...

"What was that?" Sunset asks, voice a tad bleary.

"I just... I wanted to know why... What did she do to you that made you hurt this much?"

Sunset feels the tears begin to flow... But they don't feel so bad this time. Taking a deep, shuddering breath, she speaks.

"I don't know." she whimpers. "I... I guess... I guess just finding out that three years of my life... All of it was fake, all of it was just her controlling me... I thought I trusted her..."

As Fluttershy's massage grows even stronger, pressing on all those knots deep inside, Sunset finally breaks down completely, sobbing into the pillow under her head.

"I thought... I thought she loved me..." she chokes out. Fluttershy leans in, murmuring softly.

"It's okay..." she coos. "I'm here. You can let all of that out. Let it all out... Let everything out, and just fall... So relaxed...

Sunset was so relaxed... It felt so good to just let everything drift away... Fluttershy stops massaging her, then, and moves into Sunset's field of view. the mare was wearing a wonderful pendant... It sparkled in the light, drawing Sunset's gaze deeper... And deeper...

"I'm here." she says softly. "Look at me. It's okay. Just let everything go..."

Fluttershy... There was something off about her... Something...

"Where're your cutie marks?" Sunset asks blearily, her eyelids fluttering. Fluttershy runs a hoof along Sunset's face, smiling.

"It's okay. Don't worry about that. Doesn't it feel so good, so relaxing? Don't you just want to-"

"Sleep!"

The voice rings out, loud and sharp, as Fluttershy's eyes roll up in her head and she slumps to the ground. Sunset looks up, bleary-eyed...
Twilight stands in the doorway, another Fluttershy almost hiding behind the mare, tears springing to her eyes.

In an instant, Sunset realizes, and she shoots up from the bed with a yelp of surprise.

"That..." she says. "That lying, conniving, back-stabbing little bi-"Twilight coughs, motioning behind her at the other Fluttershy, who squeaks and shrinks even more, her body hidden behind Twilight's.

"You can go now." Twilight says softly to the other yellow mare. "I just wanted to make sure. Thank you for this." With a nod and a squeak Sunset-ward, the other Fluttershy dashes off.

"When Fluttershy came in, asking to see you... I didn't want to let her." Twilight says, sitting down on the bed next to Sunset, gazing at the entranced mare below them. "But she insisted... She looked so earnest, so sincere... I didn't notice she'd taken the pendant until a few minutes later."

Sunset nods, gazing at Fluttershy.

"I don't understand..." she whispers. "Why? Why did she do all of this? Why?"

Twilight raises an eyebrow, giving Sunset a tiny smile.

"Well... We could always ask her." Turning to Fluttershy, Twilight speaks in a firm, commanding tone.

"Stand, Fluttershy." the mare stands, gazing at the two of them with glazed, empty eyes.

"Fluttershy, you will tell me why you did this." Twilight says. "You will tell me why you hypnotized Sunset, why you hypnotized every one of your friends."

Slowly, Fluttershy takes in a deep breath. "It... It had to be done." she murmurs, her voice a breathy monotone. "I needed to do it. To every one of my friends. I needed to bring them under."

"Why?" Sunset asks, and Twilight echoes the question.

"I... Just needed to. I needed to hypnotize all of them, to get them ready..."

Twilight raises an eyebrow.

"Fluttershy... Every hypnotic command placed on you is now gone. Every single one. You are free. When I tell you to, you will awaken from your trance and tell us what you were getting your friends 'ready' for."

Slowly, Fluttershy repeats the commands, and Twilight looks at Sunset. They both nod... And Twilight, with a word, releases Fluttershy.
She slumps to the ground again. This time, however, she curls up into a ball, sobbing, taking shuddering breaths as she wails.

"Adagio Dazzle." she finally chokes out, before collapsing again.

Twilight and Sunset look at each other for a long while.

"Now?" Sunset finally asks.

"I'd like to join you, if you'll let me."

Sunset nods, and, as one, the two ponies let out a loud curse.

Author's Note

I'm not dead, I swear!

Seriously, though... A three-month gap between updates, only to release a non-clop chapter? I'm sorry, guys. Don't worry, though; the next update will come sooner than three months. I promise.