Chapter 1: Princess Cadence Provides Attention
“It’s just so great to have you here!” Twilight Sparkle, archmage turned novice goddess of friendship, multiple-time savior of worlds, and all-around lovable nerd had been unsurprisingly enthusiastic about getting a visit from her former foal-sitter and current sister-in-law. She had also subtly inquired at Fluttershy’s to see if Discord was up to anything, but this time around, it looked like Cadence’s visit was going to be reasonably quiet.
Well, perhaps not too quiet. Cadence had expressed some boredom with her administrative duties up North. Briefly, Twilight considered the possibility of taking the older alicorn on some sort of short adventure.
“I’m always happy to see you, Twilight. Though maybe next time, I’ll stay in the Crystal Empire so Shining can take the time to visit. He misses you just as much as I do.” For this particular visit though, it had to be Cadence. She loved Shining, but… he was not quite as qualified to have a certain discussion as she was.
The conversation was delightful. The flight around Ponyville’s surroundings was enjoyable. The pastry stop at the Sugarcube Corner was lovely.
But eventually, they got back to the privacy of Twilight’s castle. Which meant it was time for Cadence to have that conversation.
That, of course, was a daunting prospect. However, delaying it any further would do no good. She’d just end up having to rush the entire thing, which would be doing Twilight a disservice. And so, she brought her hoof to her chest, and exhaled as she extended it forward, imagining throwing her stress away.
“Twilight… as fun as this day has been so far, there’s something we need to talk about.”
“Oh?” The younger alicorn raised an eyebrow. “What is it?”
“It’s like this,” said Cadence. “Do you remember the parasprite attack on Ponyville a few years back?”
“How could I forget?” Twilight shuddered. “It took an entire week of repairs before the town stopped looking like a disaster zone.”
“Right. But parasprites usually only eat food, not wooden structures.”
Twilight immediately took that embarrassed look of a genius pony being reminded of a stupid mistake. Which, in a way, made it easier for Cadence - knowing the other party felt embarrassed actually made what was to come feel less awkward. “Eh-heh. Well, OK, that was my fault. I thought using magic to make them stop eating food would solve the problem, but I was rushed, and I didn’t think it through.”
“All right, but there’s more to it,” said Cadence. “Do you remember the incident with the Want-It-Need-It spell?”
At that, Twilight took a downcast look. “I… I know I failed badly that day.”
“That’s not what I mean, Twilight. I’m not here to rub your old failures in your face. You’ve come a long way since then, and your actual former mentor is rightfully proud of you.” She gave her sister-in-law a reassuring hug. “However, I’m going somewhere with this. My point is, you were desperately looking for a solution, and you turned to a mind-control spell, again.”
The purple alicorn nodded. “...What about it?”
“It seems to be a consistent tendency,” Cadence explained. “You tried to use mind-control spells on Discord. You used them on the vampire fruit bats.” She paused. “What I find telling is that you seem to favor this type of approach despite the fact that it has never worked out well for you. Usually, you learn from this sort of mistake and move on.”
Twilight now looked puzzled herself. “I hadn’t really thought about it that way.”
“I’ve also read your official reports about the human world,” Cadence added, “and, well… you go into a lot of detail about Sunset Shimmer and the Sirens’ use of mind control. In fact, your descriptions of those things was more detailed than anything else in the report.”
Once again, Twilight was looking nervous. “You… You think I have some kind of unhealthy interest in mind-control?”
“I think you have an interest in it. I think that interest is subconsciously biasing you toward using it as a solution to problems. I think, Twilight, that you might need healthier ways to explore that interest.”
“What would that even mean?” said Twilight. “I suppose there are books on the subject, but I’m not sure if I’m even really interested in mind-control, although it is a fascinating subject, and did you know that Hearts and Hooves Day originally came from…” She paused. “I’m sorry… Did you have something in mind?”
“Well, mostly, I was trying to determine the exact nature of your interest,” said Cadence. “In hindsight, I remember that even as a filly, you had a penchant for stories of love potions, evil hypnotists, memory-altering spells and the such. What do you think it is, precisely, that makes you interested in mind-control?”
“I’m not sure I’m…” Twilight paused, allowing herself a moment to think. “Well… It is a fascinating subject, right? I mean, our mind is who we are. If an external factor starts controlling that, then it raises all sorts of interesting questions about the nature of self!”
Cadence struggled to keep the amusement out of her smile. “True, but I think there’s more to it, Twilight. To better understand it… well, think back to the Sirens. Now, use your imagination a bit. Imagine yourself in their hooves.” Twilight nodded.
“Imagine that you are one of the Sirens. You have a hypnotic voice. When you sing, you can touch the minds of others. You can control what they think. You can change how they feel. You can enchant them, make them your loving, devoted thralls.” It would not have been entirely correct to call Cadence’s tone seductive - that would have felt all kinds of wrong with Twilight, whom she still caught herself thinking of as her baby sister - but there was something enticing about it, lulling Twilight into the fantasy. And Twilight was only too happy to follow. “You have chosen someone to influence. It doesn’t matter if it’s as part of a plan, or simply because they have caught your eye - you want to mesmerize this person. You begin singing, and they briefly take notice as your power entrances them, leaving them helpless in your power. You mold their mind like soft clay, making them your servant, your slave, your pet. They are under your control, and they are yours.”
It was Twilight herself who almost looked entranced, lost in the fantasy Cadence’s words were weaving. Finally, the long lull in the pink alicorn’s words brought her out of it. “Um, yes? And then?”
“And then,” said Cadence, “how does that make you feel? Twilight, I apologize in advance for how awkward this conversation is going to get, but, I know a thing or two about the signs of arousal in ponies, and it’s pretty obvious that this has been making you very horny.”
*Goddess_Of_Magic.exe has performed an illegal operation and must shut down*
“Twilight? Twilight, are you alright?”
Twilight, all-around lovable nerd with a mind-control kink, stood frozen in place, her mouth open wide enough to swallow Trixie’s ego whole.
“Twilight? Can you-”
“ABAGADABILUPLUKLIK!” Twilight strongly asserted, before reverting to panic. “That’s not… I’m not… I don’t… Why would… It’s not…”
Cadence put a reassuring hoof on her shoulder. “Twilight, to better understand this, you need to let me tell you a little story.”
Twilight nodded in silence, her jaw muscles tight, as Cadence spoke: “Once upon a time, the ants decided to kill the elephant. They swarmed all over him - thousands of ants covering the elephant, biting at this hide. But the elephant shook himself, and the ants fell to the ground.
“The ants looked up, and saw the elephant - and they saw that a single, solitary ant was still holding on to his neck.
“And all the ants began cheering: ‘Go Jim! Strangle him! Go, Jim! Strangle him!’”
Twilight blinked. Then she snorted. Then she laughed for a bit. “...OK, but how does that relate to…”
“I said it would help you understand. You understand better when you’re not panicking, don’t you?” Cadence winked.
“Right… Giggle at the ghosties,” said Twilight. She then took a deep breath, mimicking throwing her stress away like Cadence had taught her. “All right. I’m listening.”
The pink alicorn smiled. It always made her proud to see how Twilight had grown, even if Celestia had played a far greater part than her. “Twilight, it is extremely common for ponies to have ‘fetishes’ - things that, whether or not they are themselves related to sex, feel extremely sexual to them. Some ponies only feel attraction toward someone wearing a Wonderbolt uniform. For others, it’s socks. Some have a wing fetish, some get aroused by their own physical pain of all things, some by the scent of lavender… I suspect everything is someone’s fetish. And, yes, there’s a fetish for mind-control and hypnosis, sometimes referred to as ‘hypnofetish’ for short.”
“Hypnosis isn’t mind-control,” said Twilight. “It’s true that post-hypnotic suggestions can have a strong effect on the mind, but only to the extent that the subject’s subconscious allows it. Now, if you somehow enchanted the subject to fully cooperate, or drugged them to remove resistance, or made them believe so hard that your hypnosis controlled them that it became true via the placebo effect, then I suppose hypnosis might be used as a mind-control tool to some-” She paused. “...I may have thought about this sort of things a lot over the years. Whiiiich I’m now starting to think wasn’t just innocent curiosity.”
“Celestia once told me, ‘innocence is less important than wisdom’,” Cadence quoted. “This hypnofetish, if I can call it that, is part of you, and that means you need to understand it.”
“But…” the nervousness was quickly returning to Twilight, “But it’s wrong! Mind-controlling ponies… it’s evil! It’s mind-rape, which is just as bad as regular rape! It’s what villains do, and I’ve gone and done it, several times, because I’m some kind of pervert!” Yup, there was that distinct Twilight-ish panic. “Oh Celestia, what’s wrong with me?!”
Once again, the comforting hoof-on-shoulder came to the rescue. “Twilight, there is nothing wrong with you. You’re one of the best ponies I know. That was true yesterday, it’s true today, and it’ll be true tomorrow.”
Twilight nodded silently.
“You are not some kind of pervert. Like I said, fetishes are extremely common. Yours is not even remotely the weirdest I’ve encountered… and believe me, there are fetishes centered around much worse things.”
“...I have trouble imagining,” Twilight admitted.
“Don’t even try,” Cadence shuddered. Some things she almost wished she could scrub from her memories. “Now, don’t get me wrong. What Discord did to ponies using mind-control was monstrous. What the Sirens did was evil. And if somepony cast the Want-It-Need-It spell on themselves, then entered someone’s house and ravished them while they couldn’t refuse, that would be wrong.
“There is nothing wrong, however, with thinking it’s sexy,” she went on. “There’s no accounting for taste. What you feel, what you like, is neither good nor evil - only your actions are. And as long as your actions don’t hurt people, there is no problem.”
Twilight considered. “So having a hypnofetish doesn’t make me a bad pony or anything, I just need to avoid indulging it.”
“Even that is a bit extreme,” said Cadence. “Completely repressing a side of yourself is unhealthy. You just need to indulge it in ways that don’t hurt others.”
The purple alicorn’s face took a confused expression. “How would I indulge that without hurting ponies?”
“There are ways!” Cadence chuckled. “There are ponies with far more problematic fetishes who live perfectly fine lives. You can fantasize about mind-control. You can read stories, even write your own… including some stories that are, ah, not for little fillies,” she blushed even as she smiled coyly; “I could help you locate some, discreetly. If you get a coltfriend or a fillyfriend, they might be willing to indulge your fetish by pretending to let you mind-control them. And finally… just as you have a fetish for mind-controlling others, there are ponies with a fetish for being mind-controlled. If you get together with one, and you both agree in advance on what you do, and you’re very careful and don’t abuse their trust… then you might both be able to get what you need.”
Twilight took a while to digest it all. “That’s… a lot to take in. But you’re right, I need to analyze this rationally instead of panicking. You say there are other ponies with a hypnofetish? How common is it?”
Cadence remained silent for a moment.
Cadence backed away, stopping with the bed at her back, giving her best impression of a fearful whimper. “Shining Armor? You’re acting so strangely. And when did your magic turn green?”
Shining Armor, giving his best impression of a wicked grin, used his (still pink-colored) magic to cast a basic illusion spell, giving himself an appearance that looked like a cross between a stallion and a changeling. “It is not Shining Armor that you address, little filly, but King Metamorphosis!”
“You monster! Where is my Shining Armor?”
“All in due time, pet. For now, gaze into my eyes, and feel your thoughts drain away!”
“Ooooh…” She gave a soft whimper, letting him gently push her onto the bed.
“Such an obedient little filly,” he caressed her cheek. “Feeling my magic emptying your mind, filling it with devotion and obedience to your new king!”
“Yes… Master…”
She briefly glanced at his impressive erection. This role-playing always got him hot and bothered faster than anything else they’d tried in the bedroom. She had originally suggested it because she’d hoped it would help him get over the trauma of what Queen Chrysalis had done to him… but as she had quickly come to realize, Shiny actually loved the mind-control scenario, as long as he was the one in control. It gave his lovemaking a rare enthusiastic quality.
Besides, going along with his kinks seemed entirely fair, considering how he went out of his way to go along with hers. Even the one about the threesome with the hunk from the jousting team.
“...More common than you’d think,” Cadence finally said. The “It must run in the family” muttering remained silent in her mind. “It’s the sort of fetish that seems rare, because ponies are afraid to talk about it, but you’d be surprised how many have it. In fact, several ponies you know share it to some degree or another.”
Once again, the budding goddess of friendship stared in shock. “Wait, really?”
“Absolutely.”
A moment of hesitation, and then… “Who?”
Cadence took a deep breath. “Well, for starters, take Rainbow Dash.”
Twilight blinked rapidly. “Rainbow Dash has fantasies about mind-controlling ponies?”
Cadence chuckled. “Goodness, no! Rainbow Dash has fantasies about ponies mind-controlling her.”
The purple alicorn paused. “...That makes no sense. Rainbow Dash is… she’s brash. She’s bold. She takes charge of situations easily. I don’t think she’s the type to like being told what to do.”
“Twilight, being dominant or submissive in the bedroom is completely different from being dominant or submissive in general life,” said Cadence. “There are shy, introverted people who couldn’t bark orders in their daily life if they wanted to, but find the idea of controlling their sexual partners incredibly hot. Conversely, there are people who love to be in charge most of the time, but also love being helpless and in someone’s power in bed. Kinks are not dictated by personality.”
“All right,” Twilight nodded, “it still seems hard to believe, but… wait, how do you even know that?”
“I… have my sources,” Cadence shiftily looked away. While Luna rarely discussed ponies’ dreams with Equestria’s mortals, she seemed to love mining them for conversation material whenever she and Cadence hanged out.
Twilight relented. “Very well. So, Rainbow Dash. That’s one. Anyone else I know?”
“Well, Fluttershy is pretty much Rainbow Dash’s opposite. As meek as she is, she has secret fantasies of turning attractive ponies into her pets. Of course, she’s too shy to act on them - in fact, she might even be too shy to fantasize most of the time - but the desire is there.”
“...Should anything surprise me at this point?”
“Not really,” she chuckled. “And finally… Rarity herself seems to be a switch.”
“A what?”
“Oh, sorry. It means, someone who can be dominant or submissive, depending on the context. I think she enjoys acting dominant toward those she considers her social inferiors, and wants to submit to those she considers her social superiors.”
Twilight paused. “She didn’t seem very submissive with Prince Bluebl- no, I suppose bad graces would turn Rarity off no matter what. Er, how would she feel dating an equal, then?”
“I couldn’t tell you. But just in case you forgot, Twilight… you’re a Princess,” Cadence winked. “I know you don’t consider yourself above any of your friends, but in the social construct that Rarity uses, you’re very much her superior.”
Twilight blinked. “Uh, right. Er… Should you really be telling me any of this?”
Cadence winced. “Normally, no. I should respect other ponies’ privacy.” The situation with Luna was a bit more complicated; the older alicorn’s dream patrol was a practical necessity, and Luna needed someone to talk to about that part of her life. “But at the same time, what better option is there? It’s not like there’s a dating service for hypnofetishists. Almost no way for ponies who share this kink to find each other, since so few are willing to discuss it. So it’s a bit of a moral gray area.”
Twilight paused. “Huh. You know, there was this thing in the human dimension called the World Wide Web… It’s a lot less sinister than it sounds… Sorry, I’m getting off-topic.” She took a deep breath. “Cadence… You’ve given me a lot to think about. I’ll probably want to talk to you some more after I’ve given it some thought. But… thank you, for all your help.”
“Anything for my favorite sister,” Cadence hugged her. Twilight returned it eagerly.
There was some more talking, and then they resumed the schedule Twilight had originally set for Cadence’s visit. Eventually, the time came for the goddess of love to return to the Crystal Empire, and for the goddess of friendship to return to her books… and to swirling new thoughts.
Rainbow Dash, huh?
Chapter 2: Rainbow Dash at Full Attention
“Hey Twilight.” Rainbow Dash’s work was done for the day - clearing the skies had taken nine-and-a-half seconds - and when Twilight had asked her the previous day to come over and help with a project, she’d accepted without giving it much thought. Now that she was here, though… “So, whatcha need help with? Is it flight-related?” She dared hope. Twilight had proven a capable flier since getting her wings, but she was an alicorn; Rainbow hoped to see great aerial feats from her buddy given time.
“Not exactly,” Twilight said, looking a bit nervous for some reason. “There’s several spells I want to study, and I’m going to need an assistant for them.”
“...You want me to be your assistant? Shouldn’t that be Spike’s job?” said the confused pegasus.
“Normally, yes, but I think you’ll be better suited for this,” said Twilight. “These are mind-control charms I’m trying to study, and I’ll probably learn more if I try them on a pony with a strong will like yours!”
Rainbow Dash’s lower jaw didn’t fall all the way, but fall it did. “Wha… mind-control…” She quickly shook her head. “Um, Twilight, are you sure this is safe?”
“As long as we follow safety procedures!” the brainy alicorn declared cheerfully as she pulled a stack of paper sheets. “Safety Procedures” was clearly labeled on several of them. “Besides, I will describe what each spell does to you in detail before you decide if you’ll let me cast it on you!”
The pegasus blushed. This entire situation… She’d had dreams like it. Terribly embarrassing, non-badass dreams that, for some reason, were insanely hot. Part of her wanted to run away screaming. Another part wanted to jump right in. Another part remembered that she’d promised Twilight to help, but now she was wondering what she’d gotten herself into. “Um, what… What sort of spells did you have in mind?” It wouldn’t hurt to hear about it, right? There was nothing wimpy about being curious.
“Several things!” said Twilight. “I figured I’d start with the simplest charms, and work my way up to more advanced ones. The first is Bigby’s Lullaby. It’s really just a sleep spell. It enchants the caster’s voice to give it a sleep-inducing quality.”
“All you need for that is a boring lecture,” Rainbow said… but part of her was joking to mask her own nervousness. “All… All right, I guess. Sounds safe enough.”
Twilight smiled, and Rainbow watched in fascination as her horn shimmered. Some purple light travelled from the horn to the alicorn’s throat. And then…
“Hush now, quiet now, it’s time to lay your sleepy head
“Hush now, quiet now, it’s time to go to bed…”
Part of Rainbow Dash wanted to laugh at Twilight singing a lullaby, but… that voice… It was getting in her head. Pouring over it like warm syrup. Making it feel nice, and fuzzy, and foggy, and hard to think, and ohmygosh it was working and she couldn’t keep her eyes open and…
Gently, she sank to the floor and closed her eyes. Then she knew no more.
Twilight, bug-eyed, looked at her sleeping friend. Hesitantly, she stepped forward and gently nudged her. No response.
Which all fit how the spell was described. It would be a reasonably deep sleep, induced in short order (Rainbow Dash had lasted about twenty verses before sinking). No surprise there.
No, far more interesting were the signs of arousal Rainbow Dash had been displaying. It would appear that Cadence’s intel was good.
It had been less than three weeks since that conversation with Cadence. Three weeks that had included some intense research. Into pony sexuality and romance. Into mind-control magic. Into pony psychology (To be fair, several of these subjects were not exactly new to Twilight). Of looking into certain smutty works. Of exploring her own fantasies with greater awareness of what they actually were.
In hindsight, yes, Cadence had been right - those desires has always been there. Becoming aware of their existence, however, had lit a fire in her. And with it, she had started looking at Rainbow Dash differently.
She had always been aware of Rainbow Dash’s beauty. She may not have had Rarity’s refined elegance nor the natural gorgeousness that had led Fluttershy through the modelling circuits, but Rainbow was well-built, athletic… She possessed a certain androgynous beauty. But Twilight had never paid it much mind.
Now, however… when she thought about brainwashing the tomboyish pegasus, her physical assets became fascinating. When her mind-control fetish was involved, her friend’s beauty turned into attractiveness. It had been a startling revelation to Twilight that she had never truly experienced sexual attraction before.
She had thought back to Flash Sentry. Had her crush on him been self-delusion? ...No. Her feelings had been, if not all that deep, still real. So she had tried to imagine brainwashing him. This time, attraction had flared… but it had been weaker than with Rainbow Dash.
So, she’d started experimenting with her own fantasies, taking notes and making observations. It had come out from those experiments that, with mind-control involved, she started finding mares highly attractive, and stallions somewhat attractive. At the same time, while she could imagine falling in love with stallions, her imagination stalled when she tried to consider having such feelings for a mare.
Her research into sexuality had suggested that this was normal. There were ponies (and donkeys, and cows, and griphons, and other sapient beings) who were attracted to one gender, both genders in equal measure, both genders in unequal measure, or neither. The same applied for romantic feelings. Interestingly, romantic feelings and sexual attraction were not always targeted at the same genders. Her own research had thus led her to classify herself as a heteroromantic bisexual with homosexual leanings and fetish-exclusive sexuality.
Being Twilight, of course, she had found that the ability to measure and label these things gave her a much-needed sense of control. It had been that, perhaps, which had driven her to try for something more. To see if, with Rainbow Dash, she might be able to achieve more than just fantasy.
Again, being Twilight, she had immediately started researching. She had found a book on seduction, started reading it… and closed it in disgust upon realizing the author didn’t treat other ponies as sapient beings, suggesting instead a manipulative approach that tried cynically pushing what buttons it was assumed they all had, aiming to obtain the seducer’s desire with no regard for the wishes of the “target”. Thinking of the varied personalities of her friends, she was fairly certain those approaches would have failed catastrophically if anypony had been enough of a jerk to even try.
So, instead, she’d had to come up with her own strategy for seducing Rainbow Dash. One which involved gradually probing for interest, presenting her with more and more layers of control, and seeing if she actually liked it.
And, judging from the signs of arousal - signs that her recent readings had taught her to detect - Twilight felt things were off to a good start.
And so, she nudged her friend again, more firmly this time.
Rainbow Dash opened her eyes, looking up to see Twilight standing before her, looking down.
In a different situation, her position - lying down on her stomach before a princess - would not have struck her as “submissive”. In her current mindset, it certainly did. She jumped back to her feet and flew up, only narrowly avoiding a collision with the ceiling.
“AEUGH! I’m up! I’m up!”
“Rainbow Dash, are you all right?” Twilight asked with concern.
“I…” She paused, then blushed as she landed. “Yyyeah, I am. Um. Guess that spell works as advertised?”
“Good!” Switching back to geeky excitement, her friend clapped her hooves. “Can you describe how you felt while the spell was being cast on your mind?”
Her blush did not lessen one bit. “Um. Well… It kinda felt like your voice was giving my brain a warm bath in a fog.”
“Fascinating!” Twilight moved various scrolls around. “Well, if it’s OK with you, I’d like to move on to the next spell.”
She gulped nervously. “Um, which one is that?”
“It’s called Salina’s Focal Desire Maximization Charm, or more informally the Want-It-Need-It spell. It’s actually not cast directly on a pony - it works on an object instead, glamouring it so that it appears immensely desirable, vital even, to anypony who looks at it.”
Rainbow Dash took a moment to parse the sentence. “...Twilight, isn’t that the spell you almost destroyed Ponyville with?” That day, she had only felt the spell’s influence for the briefest moment before Twilight had pulled her out of it. A small, treacherous part of her had felt cheated about that. “Is that safe?”
“Oh, don’t worry. We’re the only ponies in the room, the caster is unaffected, the doors are locked so nopony will barge in, and I’ve practiced casting the counterspell. It’s as safe as it gets!”
“All… right,” she gulped. “Um, what are you going to cast it on?”
“I figured, to keep things simple, I’d cast it on something you already like.” With that, Twilight levitated a book.
Rainbow glanced at it. “Daring Do and the Skull from the Crystal Empire? OK, I like it and all, and I know it’s underrated, but I already own a copy.”
“Right, so you won’t be naturally consumed by an overwhelming desire for it!” said Twilight. “I want to see what happens when the spell changes that. If it’s fine with you…?”
She swallowed nervously. “Um, s-sure, go ahead, Twilight.”
The alicorn’s horn glowed once more, and…
...Oh Celestia, that book was awesome! How had she not been able to see it before?
“Whoaaa.” Not really aware of the awestruck smile on her face, she stepped toward that amazing, incredible book. “I love this thing!” She grabbed it like it was the last meal available in Equestria - no, even that didn’t properly convey how badly she needed it. That book was the most important thing in the world. She clutched it tightly, feeling so happy to have the most precious thing in the world in her possession.
Dimly, she became aware of Twilight talking. “...Dash? Can you hear me?”
“Sure, sure.” She didn’t look away from the book. Whatever Twilight wanted was less important.
“How do you feel?”
“Awesome,” she replied truthfully. Why wouldn’t she feel awesome? She had the book!
“And how do you feel about the book now?”
“It’s great! It’s fantastic! It’s the coolest darn thing in Equestria!”
“Aaaaand why do you feel that way?”
“How else could I feel? Look at this thing!” She held the book up. “It’s perfect! Perfect hardback cover. Perfect dynamic illustration. Perfect book smell. Perfect everything!”
“Don’t you think you feel that way because of the spell I just cast?”
“That’s…” she paused. Twilight had just cast that spell on the book. She hadn’t felt that way about the book before that, had she? And now she was feeling exactly the way the spell supposedly made ponies feel. When you put it that way, it sure sounded like her feelings were artificial.
...But the idea that the book wasn’t all that awesome was preposterous. It was crazy-talk. “No way. Forget that stupid spell, Twi.”
“Fascinating. Now, do you just want to hold the book, or do you actually want to read it?”
“Of course I want to read it!” She eagerly opened the book… then stalled. “But… I don’t want to risk tearing the pages… But I gotta read it!”
She was devouring the first page when the light of Twilight’s magic shimmered in the corner of her vision.
And then, her mind cleared.
It was a great book, sure… but no book was that great. Twilight had been right, of course… She had felt that way because of the spell. She turned around, looking at Twilight, feeling more than a little embarrassed at how easily the magic had controlled her thoughts.
Embarrassed. And… more than that.
“Rainbow Dash? How do you feel now?”
“Ah, a little awkward? That spell packs one heckuva punch.”
Twilight nodded. “When you were under the spell’s power, were you really unaware of the spell itself?”
She felt herself blushing even deeper. “Well, no, it’s… When you mentioned it, sure, I could tell it made sense I was feeling that way because of the magic. But I couldn’t accept that the book wasn’t as awesome as it looked,” she admitted.
She hoped all this testing would end soon - she needed a cold shower.
“I see,” Twilight nodded. “With that said, how do you feel now? I hope you’re not too tired or anything? I still have a few tests to perform, but we can stop now if you aren’t comfortable.”
Aaaand now she was conflicted. On one hoof, having her mind at the mercy of Twilight’s magic felt decidedly un-badass. On the other hoof, for some reason, she wanted to keep going.
And on the final hoof, she didn’t want to be a wimp and give up. “I’m fine. What’s next?”
“Well,” said Twilight, “the next test also involves the Want-It-Need-It spell. This time, instead of casting it on an object, I’ll be casting it on a pony.”
*Athletic_Tomboy.exe has performed an illegal operation and must be shut down*
“Will that be all right with you, Rainbow Dash?”
The pegasus shook herself out of it. “Um, who are you going to cast it on?”
“Well, myself. Seems like the simplest approach! But, only if you’re comfortable with it. We can skip this test if you aren’t.”
Celestia damn it all. She gazed at the alicorn, apprehension and eagerness clashing. All of a sudden, she was becoming extremely aware of Twilight as an attractive mare rather than just a friend. ...Well, a reasonably attractive mare; Twilight certainly wasn’t ugly. But now, in this context... If that was just the effect of anticipation, how would the actual spell feel? And as terrified of the answer as she was… she still wanted that answer.
“Um, go ahead, Twilight.”
There was the briefest sigh of relief on Twilight’s part, then another glow of the horn. And…
Rainbow Dash’s eyes went wide as saucers. Her jaw fell. Her cheeks reddened. Her wing muscles tensed.
The alicorn princess before her was glorious perfection. “Reasonably attractive?” Had she been blind? Twilight was the sexiest thing on legs, more heartbreakingly beautiful than Princess Celestia herself!
“You’re… amazing…” she whispered as she moved forward in an adoring haze, a big dumb smile pasted to her face.
Twilight’s perfect colors were not worsened in the least as she blushed. “Um, Rainbow Dash? F-for the sake of science, how are you feeling?”
“Awesome…” she replied in a haze - as angelically beautiful as Twilight’s voice was, she wanted to focus on the physical as she got close enough to wrap her hooves around Twilight. Holding perfection… She had never been happier in her life.
Twilight made some sounds that were almost certainly not words. Not that she needed words with such an amazing voice as hers.
And then Rainbow Dash, who had always been nothing if not bold, started licking Twilight’s face. Naturally, the taste was heavenly.
Twilight began making a very high-pitched sound, which might have sounded unpleasant coming from a less perfect mare. The pegasus was happy enough to keep licking.
The high-pitched sound only ended once Twilight started gasping for air, after which she reverted back to words. “Rainbow Dash! I need you to answer a few questions!”
Of course. Twilight was always intellectually curious. She was so smart - just another way she was perfect. “Fire away, Twilight!” she replied enthusiastically.
Twilight remained silent for a moment before finally speaking. “Um, uh, why are you licking my face?!”
“Because you’re awesome, and I want to!” she said. “You’re the hottest mare in Equestria! No way I’d pass this up!”
“Um, what if I told you to stop?”
“Well, maybe I would.” She considered. The shimmer of Twilight’s coat… she wanted it. She needed it. “Eh, but not for long!”
“But, um… Rainbow Dash, don’t you think it’s the spell making you feel this way?”
Her first instinct was to reject the ridiculous notion that Twilight wasn’t as awesome as she looked, but… well, that had been her instinct with that book earlier too, hadn’t it? “Eh… I guess. Don’t care.”
She was about to resume her furious licking when Twilight’s horn glowed anew. And all of a sudden, instead of Rainbow Dash holding and tasting perfection, she was entangled in an awkward embrace with her nerdy friend whom she had been licking like a lollipop without permission.
This time, it was not Twilight who shrieked at an insanely high pitch.
“Rainbow Dash? Are you OK?”
Twilight stared at her rainbow-maned friend - the one shivering on the ground in the corner of the room, and generally not looking OK.
She cringed internally. Darn it… What was I expecting to happen? Well, not this, but… She sighed. The plan for seducing Rainbow Dash was to gradually introduce more mind-control and heat into the situation, until it could be made entirely clear to Rainbow Dash that she And Twilight had a shared hypnofetish. Not a bad plan on paper… but, ironically enough, things were apparently moving too fast for Rainbow. And… perhaps she was less comfortable with it than Twilight?
“Rainbow Dash? I’m sorry things got a bit out of hoof there. I apologize if I have hurt your feelings or made you uncomfortable.”
The pegasus’s expression remained fearful, but at least she stopped shaking and silently made eye contact.
Let’s see… What would Cadence Do? “So, um, do you need anything?” asked Twilight. “Glass of water? Fresh air? Awkward hug?” Her own smile was fairly awkward, after all. “Um, I’m going to step closer. Just shake your head if you want more space.”
Still awkwardly, she stepped next to Rainbow Dash, placing a comforting hoof on her shoulder. “Rainbow Dash, I’m sorry. I let this experiment go out of control, and I’ve made you feel uncomfortable. That’s the last thing I wanted.”
Slowly, her friend seemed to relax a bit. “It’s… It’s OK, Twi, it’s… Um. I’m sorry too. About, er, the licking.”
“Reaaaally not your fault,” she said. “You were under a mind-control charm. The Want-It-Need-It spell severely impairs judgment.” She paused. “And, well, no real harm done, so you really have nothing to apologize for. I’m the one responsible for this mess.”
Her friend took a deep breath, then promptly got up. “OK! Let’s stop making a mountain out of this dumb molehill!” she declared with gusto, as if she hadn’t been shaking like a leaf a minute earlier. “So! Are there any other parts to your experiment, or are we done here?”
“Uh… Well, there are a few more spells to go through, but do you want to?”
This time, her friend paused, looking torn. “Uh… I don’t know, Twi. What did you have in mind?”
She sighed. Was her approach overly manipulative? Should she have been more direct? Less direct? Perhaps that element of harmony, honesty, was called for.
“There are several spells I’d love to try, Rainbow Dash… but before we decide on anything, I think I need to be honest with you.” She took a deep breath. “Back there, when you are all over me?” She looked to the side, blushing deeply. “Sure, it was awkward and made me all panicky, but on some level, I really loved it.”
Rainbow Dash blinked in surprise, then rubbed the back of her head. “Heh, OK, I guess I am pretty hot…”
“You are,” Twilight’s blushing did not abate in the least, “but that wasn’t the reason. The reason I liked it so much, was because it was my spell making you act that way.”
Rainbow Dash’s jaw fell.
“I know how bad it sounds,” she went on, “and I would never try to control ponies against their will! But at the same time… I think when my magic changes the way you think or act… it’s… attractive.” She was looking at the floor now. “I’d love to continue experimenting, but, if you feel creeped out and want to stop right now, I’ll understand.”
“Li’l bit,” Rainbow Dash admitted, looking calmer now. “Seriously, when did that start?”
“I think it was always there and I just didn’t notice until very recently.”
“Wait,” Rainbow Dash said. “So, when you invited me here… Was the science just an excuse to hypno-hit on me?”
“Not just an excuse! I am taking scientific notes!" Twilight protested defensively. “But, er, I did want to see if mind-control turned you on the way it turns me on.”
Rainbow Dash backed away a bit, eyes darting sideways. “Um, why? Does it look like this sort of stuff turns me on?”
A question with a clear answer! She could work with that! “Well, whenever the possibility of me placing you under mind-control magic comes up, your pupils dilate, your blush deepens, the slight throbbing of your jugular shows an accelerated heartbeat, your wing muscles tense in a way that makes pegasi more noticeable in the presence of an attractive potential mate, your ears perk up, your cutie mark experiences a subtle shift toward warm colors, your voice gets slightly hoarser as your mouth dries up, you sweat despite the comfortable temperature and lack of physical exertion, and you excrete lubricating fluids in your nether regions, all of which are physiological signs of arousal!” She paused. “Er, I think you’re getting wetter down there. It’s a subtle scent.”
Not for the first time that day, Rainbow Dash’s jaw fell. Then she face-hoofed. “Of course you would have a freaking list.”
“I’ve been doing research,” Twilight admitted. “My point is, Rainbow Dash, I can tell this is as much of a turn-on for you as for me, but if you aren’t comfortable with this line of discussion and want to drop it, I’ll drop it.” Which certainly wasn’t the outcome she was hoping for, but pushing her friend into a sexual situation she didn’t want was sleazy at best.
The blue pegasus did not, in fact, look comfortable. And yet… “You think being hypnotized turns me on.”
“Hypnosis isn’t…” she paused, just barely holding back the rant about the difference between hypnosis and true mind-control. “Well, yes, I think so, but why does that bother you?”
Dash crossed her front legs mid-air and looked aside. “Because I’m Rainbow Dash! I’m supposed to be the awesome, bold and brave badass who can do anything, not… some weak pushover!”
At that, Twilight smiled, gently hovering in the air toward her friend. “Rainbow Dash, I’ve seen you stand up to evil, fight monsters, and more. So even if you do enjoy being hypnotized and controlled… even if my spells end up turning you into a happy obedient pet…” Gently, she placed her hoof on the blushing pegasus’s cheek, “...I promise I will never stop thinking of you as an awesome badass.”
Dash blinked rapidly, sinking back to the floor; Twilight followed. “Um. You really don’t think it’s… kinda lame, me getting off on being controlled?”
“Rainbow Dash, I find it attractive. I’m the one ‘getting off’ on controlling. So, no, I don’t think it’s lame at all.”
“And…” the pegasus still sounded nervous, “uh, that bit about your spells turning me into a pet, is that an actual risk?”
Twilight briefly frowned at the word choice… but Rainbow clearly was struggling to reconcile submission with her self-perception, which wasn’t surprising in hindsight. “Not permanently, and not without your prior consent. But if you want to experiment, Dash… then there’s a lot of things we can do with my mind-control spells.”
Her friend gulped nervously, not quite hiding her interest. “Um, what other spells do you have?”
“Oh, several!” Twilight grinned. “I think we can skip the Pheromonal Heavenly Scent spell; it just makes a pony seem sexually irresistible. I’m a bit more interested in trying out the Reinforced Learning Focalization Charm. We were actually forbidden from using that one at the university…”
Rainbow Dash blinked. “Wait, it’s illegal?”
“Not illegal, no. Just forbidden at college. Sometimes ponies try to use it to help themselves study, and… it’s a bad idea.” She briefly pondered how to best explain it. “It’s a spell that places the subject in a state of superequine focus and fascination, while boosting their absorption of information; anything they hear enters their mind without resistance. So, some struggling students try to use it to memorize lessons, but that’s not a good idea - firstly, because it’s a pretty advanced spell that not just anypony can cast, and secondly, because learning is an active process, and using this method doesn’t really make them understand the material.”
Her friend took a moment to process the information. “So… it kinda sounds like a hypnosis spell.”
“It’s much more powerful than natural hypnosis. Regular hypnosis requires consent, and is far more limited in its potential effects. This spell is closer to how hypnosis appears in folklore than to its reality.”
“So… you could cast the spell…” she gulped, her physiological signs of arousal quite visible, “...and completely brainwash me?”
“I could, Rainbow Dash. But you’re my friend, and my goal isn’t to take advantage of you. I want to get inside your head, Dash. I want to press all the buttons, pull all the levers, and control you in every sexy way I can imagine… but I’m only going to do what you give me permission to,” she said, with what she hoped was a smoldering grin; seduction was a field she lacked practical experience in, after all.
The pegasus, for herself, seemed to still be walking on the edge of nervousness and arousal. Then, she closed her eyes, and opened them again with a bolder expression: “Ah, screw this hesitation crap! I’m Rainbow Dash! I’m totally fearless, and I don’t do things halfway!”
Unless hoof massages at the spa are involved. But twilight refrained from vocalizing the stray thought. If Dash needed to psych herself for this, Twilight wasn’t going to sabotage her.
“Now, Twilight? You’re my friend too, and I trust you. You’re, like, the most responsible pony I know except maybe Applejack. So, sure, go ahead. You’ve got my permission to cast this hypno-spell on me and do whatever you want. As long as it’s not weird. And it stays between us. And it’s not permanent.” The pegasus’s tone and body language suggested she was a bit less self-assured than she was trying to look… but then, bravado and Rainbow Dash went hoof-and-hoof.
“Are you sure?” said Twilight. “I’ll be careful, of course, but I want to make sure you’re fine with-”
Rainbow Dash pushed Twilight’s mouth with her hoof. “I’m. Fine. Just get on with it already!”
Well. Perhaps her friend wanted her to do this before her own confidence dissolved. Twilight could sympathize with that.
And so, she cast the spell. And she did it to perfection. Even if she hadn’t ascended to become a godlike alicorn, Twilight was the greatest archmage of the era - far beyond the occasional unicorn who screwed this spell up at college. The casting was flawless.
And then, she was treated to the sight of the charmed Rainbow Dash. Not asleep like with the lullaby spell. Not mad with adoring desire like with the Want-It-Need-It spell. This time, Rainbow Dash was standing at attention, expressionless, eyes wide and ears perked up, entranced and completely focused, ready to absorb information like a sponge.
It was one of the hottest things she had ever seen.
“Ahem.” Collecting her wits, she thought back to her original plans, and the potential suggestions she had considered. She’d read enough about this spell to have a general idea of how it functioned, but…
“Rainbow Dash. I want you to imagine a box within your mind. The box is for hiding memories. When a memory of yours is placed inside the box, you cannot remember it until the box is opened.
“Now, I am going to place some of your memories inside the box. I am putting inside the box your memories of how life has been since I became a princess, your memories of how ponies treat princesses usually, and your memories of what is happening in this hypnotic trance. Until the box opens, you will not remember those memories. But when you leave this room, when you next go to sleep, or when I tell you the box is open - whichever comes first - then the box will open, and all your real memories will come back.
“Until your real memories come back, you will remember this instead: You remember that it is customary for princesses in Equestria to have their personal harem of sex slaves. It’s considered perfectly normal. You remember than when I became a princess, you quickly and eagerly volunteered to be the first slave in my harem. You remember that you’ve been my slave ever since, that it’s been incredibly sexy, and that you love it. You remember how you’ve gotten used to calling me ‘Mistress’, and are always eager to obey my orders.”
Twilight paused - she needed a glass of water. Then… “In a moment, I will wake you from this spell. You will remember that I used a hypnotic spell on you, but not anything that happened while you were in trance. Those memories will only return when the box opens.”
Her horn glowed.
Rainbow Dash blinked, her posture relaxing. She looked around in momentary confusion. Then her eyes settled on Twilight.
Twilight wasn’t sure how good her attempts at a smouldering grin were, but Rainbow Dash clearly had it down pat. The look she was giving her could melt basalte.
“Heeeey, Tw- Mistress,” the pegasus looked slightly annoyed at the near-slip but recovered quickly. “Not that I mind, but why were you putting the hypno-whammy on me?”
Twilight was aroused, a bit intimidated… and just barely able to hide it and stay in-character. “Because controlling you turns me on, Dash.”
“Mhm. You and me both, Mistress,” Dash licked her lips. “So, whatcha do to my brain? Anything fun?”
“Very,” said Twilight, “but I’m keeping it a surprise. For later!”
“Hot,” said Dash, very visibly meaning it. “So, my sexy Mistress,” she nuzzled Twilight, nearly causing the alicorn’s brain to crash, “What do you want me to do for you? Something hot? Something awesome?”
Twilight was finding it a bit difficult to maintain a coherent line of thought - what with the rather sexy distraction that was her brainwashed friend - but somehow she pushed through. “Well… I was curious. What’s the tightest loop you can perform mid-air? Tight enough you can do it in a room this size?”
“Ooh, a flying challenge?” Dash now had that familiar look - the one where she was facing a dare she was confident she could win. “Just watch this, Mistress!”
All in all, Rainbow Dash’s ability to perform multiple consecutive loops in a room whose ceiling was only seven times as high as she was tall was pretty impressive. Having some actual flight experience herself, Twilight was all the more qualified to understand just how impressive the performance really was.
But that wasn’t what mattered. What mattered was that Rainbow Dash was following her orders. Because she had controlled her mind, rewritten her memories, made her a slave. True, it was a command that she would probably have followed of her own free will under normal circumstances - Dash had always been a showoff - but it was still incredibly hot. The sultry look her slave gave her upon landing only helped.
“So, howdja like that, Mistress?”
“It was a great performance… slave.” The word felt weird in her mouth… but exciting. And it seemed to make said slave shiver in pleasure.
“I love it when you call me that, Mistress. Now… any chance I could serve you… directly?” She hovered toward Twilight, again with the smouldering grin.
Twilight fought back the urge to panic. She was supposed to be the Mistress here. The one in charge. It would ruin the fantasy for her to lose control. “Perhaps, slave,” she said, thinking quickly. “As a matter of fact… my shoulders are sore. I could use a nice, relaxing massage from my number one slave.”
“Number one slave, eh? Sure thing, Mistress! Just get comfortable!”
And so, Twilight lied down on her stomach, letting her brainwashed slave give her a massage. It wasn’t as good as the ones she got at the spa - Rainbow Dash lacked finesse - but it was incredibly hot, simply because it was her brainwashed slave doing it.
“So… Number one slave, huh. Gotta ask, Mistress, you got any plans for getting a number two or three?”
“Hm. Hypothetically, let’s say I did. How would the number one slave feel about it?”
“I think my Mistress is awesome, and should get all the sexy slaves she can!” Twilight briefly wondered if, now that she thought of herself as her slave, Rainbow Dash associated her own perceived awesomeness with that of her Mistress. “And maybe you should ask some of our friends. Applejack and Rarity might go for it. Fluttershy would probably make a great slave!”
Twilight chuckled at that. If Cadence was to be believed, Dash was quite wrong in that specific regard.
“And maybe some other girls too. Like, have you seen Vinyl Scratch and Octavia? Damn. And… actually, weren’t ya into that one guard from the Crystal Empire, Mistress? So maybe him. And if you want guys, then it’d be a shame not to get Big Mac. I mean, yum.”
And so Rainbow Dash went on for another five minutes, recommending a wide variety of slaves. Twilight enjoyed the fantasy. She enjoyed the massage. She enjoyed the control. She enjoyed Rainbow Dash’s unsubtle attempts at seducing her Mistress into sex - those became a lot less panic-inducing as her own feeling of control strengthened.
Eventually, though, fun and games had to end.
Getting up, she stretched as her slave cooed. “Oooh, so, what now, Mistress?”
“Now? Now, Rainbow Dash… The box is open.”
Rainbow Dash blinked.
Then her eyes got wide as saucers.
Then she blushed even deeper than before.
“Oh. My. CELESTIA!”
Briefly, Twilight wondered if she had screwed up again. She had carefully avoided doing anything truly sexual… She had refrained from total emotional brainwashing… She had avoided things she suspected Rainbow Dash would consider humiliating… But what if it was still too much? “Are you OK?”
“I, yeah, just, gimme a moment.” Dash took several deep breathes. Finally… “Wow. That… That was something.”
“Um, good something or bad something?” said Twilight with a massive awkward grin.
“I’m still trying to decide, but it was hot. Actually… You know what?” Rainbow Dash’s expression turned serious. “Maybe it wasn’t my usual kind of awesome badassness. But it was the hottest thing ever, and we’ve gotta do this again. We’ve just gotta.”
Twilight smiled in relief. “I loved it too. I’m really glad you enjoyed it, Rainbow Dash!”
“Right back atcha, Mistr… Er, I mean, Twilight.” She paused. “Er, I should be back to normal, right?”
“Sure, but that doesn’t mean the memories are gone. Um… So, any further thoughts on this experience? Things you think need to be handled better? Things you felt were handled well?”
Her friend snorted. “You’re gonna be making checklists, aren’t ya? Well, it was awesome, but you could use being a bit more forceful and Mistress-like. And if you’ve got a sex slave, maybe use her for sex!” she winked.
“Maybe next time,” said Twilight, blushing. “It seemed a bad idea to rush into it the first time.”
“Yeah, probably. Actually, what does this make us? Are we fillyfriends now? Friends with benefits?”
“Let’s try friends with benefits.”
“Works for me, the benefits are awesome. When can we do this again?”
“I have a busy schedule tomorrow, but the day after that has a few free hours. What about you?”
“I’ll make time! This is gonna be awesome!”
As her friend (with benefits) eventually departed, Twilight felt… great, really. Few times in her life really compared to this feeling.
She had taken over the mind of an attractive mare, if only briefly. She had made said mare an eager sex slave. The whole thing felt amazingly empowering. Like she was the most incredible person in the world and could take on any challenge.
Briefly, she wondered if that was how Rainbow Dash felt whenever she beat a difficult flight challenge.
Well. Despite some missteps, that had gone rather well. And now that she had cleared the air with Rainbow Dash… well. She had some rather exciting ideas. Next time they met, she intended to be far bolder in her use of mind-control.
Author's Note
Aaaand Thunderbirds are go! Hopefully you all enjoy this chapter as Twilight begins exploring possibilities.
My thanks to Angelgrace and MotherfukinLuna for beta-reading this chapter. For the record, I am looking for assistance with beta-reading other chapters in the future...
