A young Unicorn with a turquoise coat and pink mane sporting a cutie mark of a trashcan with a dollar sign on it stood amongst the aisles of a thrift store dusting the shelves full of second hand junk. She looked up after hearing the door open.
“Hello, and welcome to Thrifty’s Trash to Treasures,” Thrifty said, greeting the unicorn that entered.
The unicorn eyed the place with purpose, her green eyes seemingly scanning every shelf in sight. She had a purplish grey coat and her long blonde mane hung down the back of her head in long looping curls. Her tail was similarly fashioned. Her cutie mark appeared to be a strange coin tied to a string to Thrifty’s eyes.
“Thank you,” the unicorn said, “I was hoping you could help me.”
“Of course,” Thrifty said, walking over to the unicorn, “Ms…..”
“Spira…Spira Trance,” Spira said, “I’ve heard a rumor that your store recently acquired a rather unique object.”
“Oh, what’s that?” Thifty said, her curiosity piqued.
“A rare dodecahedronal cut pair of rubies.”
“Oh yes, those. They were amazing,” Thrifty said, “I acquired them at an estate sale. They were hidden away in a small decorative box.”
“Can I see them?” Spira asked.
“I’m sorry but I sold them a few days ago,” Thifty said.
“You WHAT?!” Spira shouted. Her outburst causing Thrifty to back away a few steps, “And to whom did you sell them to?”
“Uh um, I’m sorry I can’t tell you. I’ve sworn the Thrift Store owner’s Oath. We can divulge any information about where we acquired an item, but none when it comes to who purchased them.”
“I see,” Spira said, “Now then I’m sorry about my outburst earlier. I didn’t mean to stress you out.”
“Don’t worry about it,” Thifty said, still a little weary of Spira.
“Oh, but I should. Perhaps there’s a way I can help relieve your stress and help you relax,” Spira said, her horn taking on a green glow as she raised a pendant, made from a round gold coin with a hole cut out of the middle, a simple brown string was attached to it.
“What are you…I mean that’s not necessary,” Thrifty said, growing nervous.
“There’s no need to worry. Just calm down, relax and focus your attention on my pendant,” Spira said, as she began to magically swing the pendant in front of Thrifty’s eyes, “Just relax and watch it swing. Relax and listen to my words.”
“Yessss….I must listen,” Thrifty said, her eyes locking onto the pendant.
“Very good. Relax. Relax and let my voice envelop your mind. Let my words become your thoughts and my will become your will. You are feeling sleepy. So tired. So relaxed. Feel a wave of relaxation spread over your body. You like this feeling don’t you?”
“Yessss….I do.” Thrifty responded, her voice growing quiet.
“You want to continue feeling like this. In order to do so you must drop any remaining restraint and resistance and give into my spell. Let me take control as you grow even sleepier. So sleepy. So relaxed. Let your eyelids close as you drift off into a deep hypnotized sleep for me.”
Thrifty’s eyes followed the pendant for a few more passes before they ultimately locked shut.
“Can you hear me?” Spira asked, putting the pendant away.
“Yes….I can,” Thrifty replied.
“Very good. You are now hypnotized and you must obey me. I am your Mistress and you must serve me. That means your loyalty to your so called “Thrift Store Owner’s Oath” no longer exists. So please tell me, who purchased the rubies?”
“Yes Mistress, I will obey,” Thrifty said, “I sold them to a unicorn from Ponyville. She came in from the rain one day and after a few seconds seemed to know exactly where the rubies were. She immediately purchased them.”
“And what was her name?”
“Rarity.”
“Thank you. You have served me well,” Spira said, “Now then, I’m a little light on funds. Would you mind if I borrowed some bits from the register to help finance my trip to Ponyville?”
“Not at all Mistress. Help yourself.”
Spira walked over to the register and nudged the ‘no sale’ key causing the drawer to pop open with a ding. Seeing all the bits a smile formed on her face. She quickly magically levitated a shopping bag and emptied its contents into it.
“Now then my good little slave,” Spira said, “When I leave you will wake up from your trance. You will forget seeing me or being hypnotized. You will however remember being robbed by a duo of Diamond Dogs and a Changeling. They demanded your money and damaged your store until you complied.” Spira proceeded to magically fling a whole entire shelve’s contents to the ground before knocking over the shelf itself, “Do you understand?”
“Yes Mistress.”
“Very good. Goodbye for now my helpful slave,” Spira said, as she turned and left the store.
Once she was gone Thrifty’s eyes blinked open and she looked around the store in horror.
“That was terrifying!” she shouted, “I need to call the police right now!”
Several days later Rarity was busily working on three dresses at once at the Carousel Boutique when Spira entered.
“Good afternoon dear, can I help you?” she asked.
“Yes, I heard a rumor that you recently acquired some rather unique gems.”
“You’ll have to be more specific Ms…”
“Spira Trance.”
“….Ms Trance,” Rarity continued, “I come across so many amazing finds it’s hard to pin down which specific ones would be considered unique.”
“A pair of dodecahedronal cut rubies,” Spira said.
“Oh I wouldn’t consider those unique Darling. I would consider them the find of the century!” Rarity said excitedly.
“Can I see them?” Spira asked.
“Sadly no, I no longer have them,” Rarity said.
Oh come on, Spira thought.
“Yes I turned them into earrings for a very special client.”
“And who might that be?” Spira asked.
“Sorry I cannot say,” Rarity said, “I was sworn to secrecy since they will be worn at a very important event.”
Again with secrets, Spira thought, Oh well, I know the secret to the secrets now. Hypnosis!
“I see. Well I’m sorry my timing was off. Say would you like to see another unique piece?”
“Of course,” Rarity said, always eager to see something that might inspire a new fashion trend.
Spira’s horn glowed green again as she produced her pendant and let it dangle in front of Rarity’s eyes.
“Sorry to disappoint you dear, but that’s not exactly a unique piece. It’s just a one uma coin that’s been turned into a pendant.”
“Oh but it is unique,” Spira said, as she began swinging the pendant, “You just need to focus your attention on it. Focus as it swings back and forth. Back and forth. Feel your eyes locking onto it. You’re finding it a lot more unique now aren’t you Rarity?”
“Yes…Yes I believe I am,” Rarity said, her eyes following the pendant.
“Yes. Just watch it and listen. Feel yourself growing sleepy. Very sleepy. Let the constant back and forth motion of the pendant relax you. Back and forth. Sleepier. Back and forth. So sleepy. Back and forth….and sleep!”
At Spira’s loud declaration of ‘sleep’ Rarity’s eyes to immediately slammed shut as she fell under her spell.
“Now then Rarity you are in a hypnotic trance,” Spira said, “Which means I am in control of your mind. So now any oaths, vows, swears of secrecy, etc, etc, etc. are now null and void. You are only loyal to one thing, ME. Now then please tell me where the rubies are.”
“Yes Mistress Spira,” Rarity said, “Of course it would be a disservice to the beauty and rarity of those rubies without telling you the whole story.”
“What?” Spira said in both shock and annoyance.
“It all started a few days ago in downtown Canterlot when I ducked into that thrift store. Normally I wouldn’t set hoof in a place like that, but the Pegasuses were doing their job and a raging storm was brewing and since umbrellas were declared unfashionable this year I had to get shelter somewhere. Once inside my gem detecting magic fired right up and led me to the rubies. That poor shop keeper didn’t know what in the world she had and I generously paid her twenty times more then what she was asking. It wasn’t the king’s ransom they’re really worth but still. When I returned to Ponyville I was approached by a pony requesting I make a special one of a kind item for a secret client. Naturally for such a job I chose the rubies, turning them into the most amazing and refined pair of earrings. Later I was surprised when Vulcana Starlight herself came to pick them up. The pony that commissioned them was her agent and they wanted her to have a unique outfit to wear at her latest premier. One made in secret that the paparazzi couldn’t find out about or other actresses could copy. She loved them so much she asked me to make her a dress to wear to the premier as well. So to answer your question the dodecahedronal cut rubies are with Vulcana Starlight.”
“Well that was a waste of time,” Spira said, before the gravity of Rarity’s answer hit her, “Wait…so you’re telling me that the rubies are in possession of Vulcana Starlight, the up and coming actress who became a millionaire practically overnight?”
“Yes Mistress.”
“Ugh, this is a nightmare!” Spira shouted, burying her head in her hooves, she brightened up when she realized something, “Wait did you say you could “detect” precious gems?”
“Yes Mistress. I can detect them as well as magically deduce the contents of rocks and soil. Twilight calls it geomancy.”
“I see,” Spira said, “Now then Rarity when I leave you will come out of your trance. You will remember being hypnotized. You will also remember you really enjoyed the experience of being hypnotized, which is why I will be coming back later on tonight to hypnotize you again. You won’t tell anypony about this, it’ll be our little secret. Do you understand?”
“Yes Mistress,” Rarity said.
“Very good. See you tonight,” Spira said, as she exited.
Once she was gone Rarity was freed from her hypnotic control.
“Oh my, that was certainly interesting,” Rarity said, after her eyes blinked open, “And very very pleasant. I can’t wait till she comes back.”
Later on that night Rarity was quick to open the door when Spira knocked on it.
“Darling it’s so great to see you again,” Rarity said, “I’ve been looking forward to having another session with you all day.”
“Me too,” Spira said with a smile.
“Being hypnotized was simply wonderful. I felt so relaxed and comfortable. All the stresses in my life were simply gone. Sure I was enslaved to your will, but the positives certainly outweigh that one little negative,” Rarity said.
“I’m glad you think so,” Spira said, as she pulled out her pendant again, “Are you ready to get started?”
“Of course,” Rarity said, her eyes already locking on the pendant.
“Wonderful,” Spira said, as she began swinging the pendant, “Now just relax and watch the pendant. Watch it swing back and forth. Back and forth. Just let all your attention focus on it. Let it become your world. Just relax. Take a nice deep breath in and relax. And out and relax. Just let everything else fade away. No distractions. Nothing else is important. Just the pendant and my voice as your feel your mind begin to grow quiet. All thoughts. All worries. They fade away into nothingness as you relax even more for me. Feeling so tired now. So sleepy. Your eyelids are growing heavy. So heavy in fact that when I count from three to zero they will lock shut and you will drift off into a deep hypnotized sleep. Three, still focusing on the pendant. Two, so very sleepy. One, so ready to be deeply hypnotized. Zero, now sleep.”
At Spira’s count of zero Rarity’s eyes once again blinked shut as she fell back under Spira’s hypnotic spell.
“Now then Rarity you are deeply hypnotized once more. You must obey all my suggestions and commands. You are my hypnotized slave. Do you understand?”
“Yes Mistress Spira. I understand,” Rarity said.
“Very good. Now then since you were so keen to tell me your story about the dodecahedronal cut rubies it is only fitting I now tell you mine. You see long ago my family was one of the richest in all of Equestria. My great great grandfather being rather greedy decided to increase the family fortune by creating bottled clouds. With these, farmers could bring a little extra rain to their fields when the Pegasus weather crews weren’t providing enough. Naturally they were a big hit and my family grew even richer. With this expanded wealth they acquired The Royal Nine. Nine of the most valuable jewels, art, and other treasures known to pony kind. Of course this was short lived since it was later discovered my great great grandfather had been using changling swamp water for the portable clouds and they were slowly poisoning the farmers’ crops over time. Naturally they were quite angry. And with that our family’s wealth that was once thought to be infinite was reduced to nothing thanks to all the fines, restitutions, fees they needed to pay. And if that wasn’t enough before the Royal Nine were distributed to other ponies a spell was placed on them. From that point on they would emit a magic field that would extend out further depending on how wealthy their current owner was causing intense pain to any member of my bloodline if we were to encounter it. Of course this would be nullified if somepony were to sell or give one of the Royal Nine back to us. I thought it would be simple to acquire the rubies from the store or yourself since I felt the field would be smaller and much more manageable. But with Volcana Starlight now in possession of them I can’t go within a thousand feet of them without experiencing crippling pain. However there is a loophole in the spell that they never counted on. If somepony were to steal one of the Royal Nine that would count as a transfer of ownership and thus the thief could sell/give me the treasure back quite easily. And that my little hypno servant is where you and your wonderful gem finding ability come into play. But first tell me about yourself.”
“Yes Mistress. I am Rarity, owner, operator and head seamstress of the Carousel Boutique. I am Sweetie Belle’s older sister, and I am the Element of Harmony of Generosity,” Rarity said.
“Fascinating,” Spira said, “However until I say so you are no longer any of those things. You are instead Rarity: The Shadow Thief. Ponyville’s classiest cat burglar who specializes in jewelry heists thanks to your unique gem finding magic. And your goal tonight is to steal the dodecahedronal cut rubies from Volcana Starlight’s mansion for me. Do you understand?”
“Yes Mistress I understand. You can count on a master thief like me,” Rarity said, her voice taking on a more playful and seductive tone.
“Wonderful,” Spira said, using her magic to bring a large mirror over and positioning it in front of Rarity, “Now open your eyes but remain deeply hypnotized.”
Rarity’s eyes blinked open revealing they had turned into silver and gold spirals.
“Now what do you see?”
“Myself, but with an amazing new set of eyes,” Rarity said.
“Yes, all my hypnosis subjects get them. It’s a way to tell who is under the influence of my hypno magic. However there is an interesting by product to go along with it. A small bit of residual hypno magic is within your eyes for a short period of time. So for the next few hours if you look directly into another pony’s eyes you can hypnotize them and place them under your control. I feel this will serve you well on your mission tonight.”
“Oh, it certainly will,” Rarity said with a smile, “And why stop at just the rubies. I can look any pony in the eyes and I’ll be swimming in treasures they ‘willingly’ give me in no time.”
“No. Only use this power if absolutely necessary. This is not about drawing attention to yourself. Now get going.”
“Yes Mistress,” Rarity said, pouting a little over not being able to abuse her temporary hypnosis powers. She then ran behind a changing screen.
“What….what are you doing?”
“Getting ready,” Rarity said, emerging from behind it. She was now wearing an all black ninja-eque outfit. Though given the fact that Rarity had made it, it was quite refined. A dark blue sash like belt and a matching headband (complete with hole for her horn) completed the ensemble, “As Ponyville’s classiest cat burglar I can’t just go out without looking perfect. Fortunately I had this outfit at the ready.”
Spira immediately face hoofed.
“Just….just go,” Spira said.
A short while later Rarity found herself on the outskirts of Ponyville surveying the vast wall surrounding the Volcana Starlight Estate.
“Hmmmm large slabs of granite held together with a mortar made with crushed quartz and pyrophyllite,” she said quietly to herself, as she analyzed the geological makeup of the wall with her magic, “It would look gorgeous in the sunlight but unfortunately it is quite…weak.”
Rarity was quick to demonstrate this by easily tearing a large chunk of granite slab from the wall. She casually walked through the large hole before replacing the slab. Looking around the empty courtyard she stealthily made her way towards the mansion.
Hmmmm security is light….no make that nonexistent. Darn, and here I was hoping to place some cute security ponies under my hypnotic spell, she thought to herself as she made her way towards the back of the mansion.
Stopping at the backdoor she analyzed the contents of the mansion.
The rubies are in the lower level. Getting to them will be difficult the mansion is much more reinforced then the wall. Perhaps I could cut a window with a diamond….wait what’s that, she thought, walking over to the flower bed by the backdoor and looking at the small rocks spread all over it, These are all junk rocks. Except that one. It’s not junk, it’s not even real.
Lifting the artificial rock with her magic she turned it over revealing a hide-a-key.
“All too easy,” she said quietly, as she unlocked the door and stepped inside.
Finding the security within the house as nonexistent as outside of it; she made her way down to the basement in a matter of minutes.
Looks like they’re in there, she thought, eying a large safe.
She pressed her ear against it and began turning the dial. After the fifth failed attempt she let out an annoyed sigh before declaring, “I have no idea what I’m doing. Perhaps I should find somepony who does.”
Upstairs in the kitchen a young unicorn with a red coat magically lifted a box of cereal from the pantry. Her wild and free flowing orange mane with black highlights made it almost look like a lava flow was going down her neck. Her cutie mark of a volcano erupting up stars failed to deter the image.
“You can’t eat that Volcana, it’s too fattening. How are audiences going to find your changling fighting skills credible if you weigh one extra ounce meh meh meehhhhh,” Volcana Starlight said, mockingly as she poured herself a bowl of Hay-ohs, “One bowl of cereal is not going to instantly make me no longer be an action hero.”
“I’m proud of your darling,” Rarity said, stepping out of the shadows.
“Gah!” Volcana shouted sending the contents of her spoon flying everywhere, “Miss Rarity you startled me….wait….why are you here? How are you here?”
“Shhhh, there’s no need to worry about that,” Rarity said, walking over to Volcana as the spirals in her eyes gave off a slight glow, “Why don’t you just relax and look into my eyes.”
“What….what’s going on,” Volcana said, locking eyes with Rarity.
“It’s like I said, you just need to relax and look into my eyes. Focus on their beauty. Let the gold and silver spirals draw you in. It’s like staring at an amazing treasure. You’re intrigued by them. Enticed by them….Entranced by them.”
“Yessssss I am….” Volcana said, her voice growing quiet.
“That’s it my dear. Just relax and fall under my spell. It feels so good let yourself go and be hypnotized.”
“Yes….hypnotized,” Volcana said, as her yellow eyes faded to gold and silver spirals, “How may I serve you Mistress Rarity.”
“All you need to do is give me the combination to the safe my cute little slave,” Rarity said, smiling, “After that you can enjoy your cereal and go back to bed. Forgetting all about this encounter.”
“Yes Mistress Rarity. I must obey. It’s 4 to the left. 8 to the right. 15 to the left. 16 to the right. 23 to the right. 42 to the left.”
“Thank you very much,” Rarity said, as she walked away, “Though it was brief, hypnotizing you was quite a bit of fun.”
A small smile spread across Volcana’s face after she heard the compliment before she began eating her Hay-ohs.
Rarity quickly returned to the safe and entered the combination. The huge steel door swung open freely and she instantly identified the jewelry box with the rubies inside.
“As you can see you were wise to use the services of Rarity: The Shadow Thief,” Rarity said, a short while later back at the Carousel Boutique to Spira, “Now please accept these magnificent gems as a gift.”
“Thank you,” Spira said as she took the rubies from Rarity, the pain she had feeling from being in close proximity to the rubies fading the second the transfer of ownership was announced.
“It’s a shame this power will fade,” Rarity said, looking at her spiral eyed visage in the mirror, “I quite liked being a hypno thief.”
“I bet you did,” Spira said, “But now it’s time for you to retire. I want you to get out of ridiculous outfit and go to bed. When you wake up in the morning you will no longer be hypnotized and will return to your old self. You will forget having ever met me or being hypnotized by me. Do you understand?”
“Yes Mistress,” Rarity said, as she removed the headband.
“Very good,” Spira said, as she turned and left.
Walking down the deserted streets of Ponyville she pulled out the rubies. Not caring for Rarity’s handy work she quickly pulled off the studs and other accents she had applied to them. Putting the plane dodecahedronal cut rubies back in the box she placed it in her saddle bag.
That’s two down, seven to go. She thought to herself.
Author's Note
Hope you enjoyed Spira's Spell. It was an entry in the deviant art MLP hypno group's mascot contest to celebrate Spira Trance becoming our new mascot. With the Contest now over I thought I'd share it with the citizens of fimfiction.net
It went through several revisions in my head. All of them involved Rarity getting hypnotized ;) Though I think Rarity the Shadow Thief was the best out come.
fun fact: Since Spira's pendant resembles the yen coin style pendant I named it an uma coin after the Japanese word for horse since I'm pretty sure Japan doesn't exist in Equestria....and if it does it's name is probably a horse pun.
