Three friendship lessons were arranged on the table, but Twilight couldn't narrow down which was the best for an initial friendship lesson. Her current state of dress had made it more difficult to focus. After Starlight had discovered Twilight’s fantasies and accepted them, it had been an emotionally draining process and they couldn't rush into things. Starlight had decided they would need to wait a day to talk further over what form their experimentation would take. But in the meantime, to help Twilight get a primer, she’d given Twilight a handful of instructions to follow. Most of the instructions had involved how she’d be dressed today.

She’d put on the tiniest skirt she owned that morning. It was a black pleated skirt that had been significantly more modest, but had suffered burns during an encounter with will-o-wisps. Rarity had done her best to salvage the skirt, but had been forced to sacrifice nearly eight inches of it. Afterwards, it was still technically a skirt, and Rarity had suggested Twilight would find it liberating to wear, but it had seemed far too racy to Twilight and had been hanging in the very back of her closet for ages. Standing up, the skirt just barely covered her rear, and sitting down offered no protection from cold chairs. This was doubly true as another instruction had been not to wear any panties. Along with the skirt, she’d put on a low cut tank top and push up bra. She was showing more cleavage than she could ever remember, not that it was impressive compared to what Rarity could manage, but it was quite exceptional for her.

The outfit had drawn some odd looks from Spike that morning at breakfast, but Star’s gaze was full of pleasure and approval. It had put a lively spring in Twilight's step all day, and made her skirt swish around perilously. Still, she’d been too embarrassed to show her current look to her friends. They’d all come to discuss the impending crystalling for Cadance and Shining Armor’s baby. Twilight had sent word she was too busy with research to join them for the chat, but Spike and Starlight were there and could report back. It wasn’t a total lie. She’d needed the time to narrow down the possible friendship lessons for Starlight. The three options filled large opening categories, making a challenging new friend, reuniting with an old one, or learning about what makes ponies special. The latter seemed necessary for Starlight considering her past predilections, but the reuniting one was the most fascinating.

It had taken a lot of work to track down Starlight’s old friend, but once she’d found his school records, it was just a matter of time before she'd located him. And he was in the Crystal Empire no less. It seemed awfully convenient with the crystalling coming up. Cadance was due to give birth in a little under two weeks, and then the invitation for the crystalling would arrive. Still, the other two options were no less important.

She could talk the options over with Starlight and then...she shivered and pressed her thighs together, letting out a hot sigh from the contact. Balancing her time as Starlight’s pupil and submissive was going to be hard, but she had never let a challenge stop her before.

Just then Starlight returned from the crystalling meeting, poking her head in through the door. “Hey Twilight. Can I ask you something about the Crystal Empire?”

Twilight brightened and stood, hoping where her thoughts had been heading wasn't too obvious. “It’s funny you should mention that. I’ve narrowed your first friendship lesson down to three options and one of them is in the Crystal Empire.”

“Really?” Starlight moved closer as Twilight picked the three options up from the table to show them off.

“Mhm. I found out that’s where the first person you ever cared about lives.”

Starlight’s smile faded and she furrowed her brow, “Sunburst?”

Twilight refolded the pages and walked back towards her work table. “Of course that’s just one idea. We could also go to Griffinstone. Making friends with a griffin is a challenge all by itself. Or we can tag along with the CMC’s the next time they help an Equestrian who can’t figure out why they’re special. I thought…”

She looked back and noticed Starlight hadn’t moved and had her eyes clenched shut like she’d been hit with a migraine. Twilight paused and moved back to her, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. “Starlight...is something wrong?”

Starlight’s eyes jerked open and she looked quickly at Twilight, seeming to just notice her presence. “What? Uh, no no. Those...all sound great.” She formed a tight smile on her face.

Twilight brightened back up. Starlight had seemed in pain in that moment and her smile looked fake, but she insisted that nothing was wrong. Twilight knew she could trust Starlight completely, so it was enough to remove all her concerns. “I know, right? It is going to be hard to just choose one.”

Starlight chuckled through her smile. “Yeah I guess so, really hard.”

Twilight’s eyes shifted back and forth. In truth, the friendship lesson had seemed less and less urgent the longer she’d been in the same room as Starlight. “Out of curiosity, did everyone already leave the castle?”

“Hmm? Oh yes, everyone’s heading home to plan on crystalling gifts and just waiting on our invitation. Spike went back to his room as well.”

“So I guess it’s...just the two of us now?” Twilight reached out and lightly stroked along Star’s shoulder.

Starlight’s forced smile vanished. Her eyes narrowed and she smirked at Twilight like a cat stalking a mouse. It was the same expression she’d had sitting at the cutie map when Twilight had first found her. Back then the look had made her scared and concerned but now it made her knees weak. Starlight stepped closer and wrapped her arms around Twilight’s waist, staring into her eyes. “Say it properly.” She whispered.

“It’s just the two of us now...Miss Starlight.”

“Good girl.” Starlight slid a hand under Twilight’s skirt and cupped her exposed rear. Twilight squirmed and pressed herself tighter against Star’s body. Starlight’s lips pressed against hers and she melted into the kiss, surrendered to it. Suddenly Starlight broke away and stepped back. Twilight’s breath had become quick and shallow and she stared at Starlight, unsure what to do. “We should head to your room to have our talk. But we need to grab something from my room first. You can lead the way.”

Twilight nodded weakly and made her way to Starlight’s bedroom. She realized this was part of the game. Starlight was keeping her off balance, kissing her so intimately and then suddenly changing gears. It helped reinforce that Starlight was the one in control. Twilight had found several books that discussed submission and read them furiously the previous night. It described different practices just like this one. Having Twilight lead the way was a change from usual practice, but she realized Starlight still had trouble finding her way around the castle and getting them both lost wouldn’t help the mood.

Leading was exciting in its own way though, with Starlight right behind her, watching her. She imagined Starlight’s eyes panning up and down her body. And there was the question of just what they were going to get. Could it be a collar, ropes, maybe a sex toy? Starlight had asked yesterday, if Twilight had hard limits. She’d been tempted to declare no limits, but that impulse had been reckless. She had settled for saying she was willing to try anything as long as they had a safeword. Starlight had decided on the safeword, and had been very clever. Rather than a literal word, her safeword would be using magic. Her horn flaring to life would be the signal to stop whatever was happening. It meant she could be gagged and still signal, and meant magic was forbidden while she was submitting, adding another disparity between her and Starlight. The upshot of not mentioning any limits was it was impossible to know for sure what Star had in mind.

They stopped in front of the door to Starlight’s room. “Wait here.” Starlight pointed at a spot on the floor. Twilight stood there in place while Starlight entered her room, closing the door behind her. Suddenly Twilight was alone in the hallway. She’d assumed Starlight was going to grab a single item and they’d be swiftly on their way to Twilight’s bedroom, but soon a few moments in the hallway stretched out to over a minute.

She started wondering what Starlight could be doing. There was no way to know. Was she gathering a number of things together, or just on her bed reading a book? The latter possibility made her squirm in place. It could be Starlight playing another game, teaching Twilight who was in control. She imagined Starlight simply hopping in bed to nap after she’d closed the door, leaving Twilight to stand there for hours, arousal running down her thighs, obediently waiting where she’d been told to. Would she really just stand there for hours if Starlight didn’t return? The idea of it was already starting to make her wet. Was she really this desperate to give up control to Starlight? Yes. The answer came immediately. Twilight wondered if there really was something that would make her safeword. Maybe she was so needy that she had no limits at all. What would Starlight do if she realized how much control she really had? Or was the question when she realized? It was a sexy and terrifying idea, but Twilight realized she may not know her limits until they were reached.

After six minutes, the door opened and Starlight emerged with a large brown duffel bag slung over her shoulder. “Okay, we’re all set. Lead the way to your room.”

Once more Twilight made her way down the hall, now preoccupied with questions of what could be inside the bag Starlight was carrying. It was big enough to hold a whole mini-BDSM lair. The size could have been another game too, making Twilight over-guess what was in store for her. It wasn’t like Starlight knew to bring S&M equipment to Ponyville with her and how much could she have possibly acquired in less than a week?

Once inside Twilight’s bedroom, Star set the duffel bag down on Twilight’s bed then turned to her. “Alright. We’re going to talk about how this works. Take everything off and stand in the middle of the room.”

“You mean strip?”

“Exactly. I still need to confirm if you followed the last of my instructions from yesterday.”

Twilight blushed and began to comply. There wasn’t a whole lot to remove. She started with her top and bra, watching curiously while Starlight dug around in her bag. Twilight betrayed a gasp as Starlight retrieved a silver collar. She continued to strip, unzipping her tiny skirt and kicking it away along with her heels. She moved to the middle of the room and faced Starlight with her legs at shoulder length, giving Starlight an ample view of her bare pussy.

“Ohhh, very good girl.” Starlight put the collar down on the bed and moved closer, leaning down to make an inspection. “Flawless.”

“I...made a spell that dissolved every hair completely.”

“Impressive Twilight, you are quite talented.”

“Thank you Miss Starlight.” She beamed happily.

“Hmmm, Starlight, Twilight, our names start to get a bit repetitive don’t they?” She reached out and cupped Twilight’s chin. “We need something shorter for ease. I can just call you Twi. That works well, don’t you think?”

She’d been called Twi in the past, but never in this context. Starlight was only shortening only her name, demonstrating another disparity between them. There could only be one light in the room. “Yes Miss Starlight, you may call me whatever you wish.”

That made Starlight smile. “Good girl. Stand up straight, Twi, hands behind your back.” Twilight quickly followed her instructions while Starlight returned and picked up the collar as well as a long line of black cloth. She returned to facing Twilight and dangled the collar in front of her eyes. “Are you hoping you get to put this on?”

She nodded vigorously, “Oh yes Miss Starlight.”

“Good girl. We’re going to have that talk now, about what it means to wear this, and if I believe you’re ready for it.”

The idea that there was some question of whether she’d be able to submit created a quick surge of panic, but Starlight stroked her cheek reassuringly. “It’s going to be alright, as long as you’re willing to do what is needed.” She put the collar down and wrapped the cloth around Twilight’s eyes, tying it in a knot behind her head. Twilight breathed a little faster and kept her head pointing forward. She was totally blind but could hear Starlight’s footsteps.

“Quite a situation you have yourself in Twi.” She said, slowly circling, “You’ve been craving this feeling that you only have a name for because you read about it in a book. I’m sure since yesterday you’ve studied, analyzed, and become familiar with all the different ways of submission. Isn’t that right?”

Starlight ran a finger lightly up Twilight’s spine, making her shiver and arch her back. “Yes Miss Starlight.”

“That’s understandable, it’s in your nature.” Starlight circled around her slowly, running fingers along her tummy then whispered gently behind Twilight's ear. “But submission is something that you can’t just read about, you have to feel it to truly understand.” As Starlight spoke there was suddenly a warm lick along Twilight’s nethers.

Twilight yelped in surprise. How was it possible when Starlight was standing behind her? She smiled slightly as she figured it out. “You’re using a ventriloquism spell.”

“Did I ask for commentary?” Starlight replied sternly.

“N-no Miss Starlight.” The voice made her blood run cold.

“You may speak when I desire it.” Starlight’s voice travelled around her again, or was it a spell projecting her voice? There was no way to tell. She felt a hand stroke along her rear and then two pieces of ice pressed against her nipples. “This is the one issue I’m concerned about Twi. You are a fantastic student but that can hold you back in this case. What am I doing to you right now, Twi? What am I doing to your state of mind?” The ice was removed and replaced by two warm palms, cupping both of Twilight’s breasts.

“Y-you’re disorienting me, making it impossible to tell where you are or what you might do with me next. It reinforces how helpless I am in your control.”

The hands slide down from her breasts over her tummy and hips. Starlight left one hand resting on Twi’s mons while Starlight’s middle finger curled and dipped into her folds. Starlight’s voice circled her even as the fingers began to stroke in and out in a steady rhythm. “That’s exactly right, Twi. You read up on all the tricks of the trade. You can analyze every action I take and theorize why I’m doing it, what my intent is in relation to your submission. But can you see how that’s a problem? You’re becoming an voyeur of your own body. You allow yourself to be overly analytical, detached. You won't be able to just feel in the moment. You have read about the concept of subspace undoubtedly. I can tell you that you’ll never be able to get there as you are. You’ve submitted your body to me, but not your mind and without that you’ll always just be taking a half measure. You’ll never get to that deeply submissive state you crave.”

Twilight struggled to remain standing under the assault of Starlight’s finger. She was overflowing and worried there was going to be a wet spot on the floor. She could see that Starlight was right as well. Subspace had been described as an amazing state where people could totally lose themselves in submissive pleasure. As long as she was running a mental play by play of Starlight’s actions, she’d always be a little on guard and never able to fully let go. There had to be some way to get there, to commit herself fully, to silence her subconscious instinct to analyze everything that was happening. She wanted to declare that she was ready to give anything in order to get there, but Starlight had not asked a question so she remained silent, albeit panting in arousal.

“I know of ways to help you get over that analytical mindset. I can train you on how to lose yourself completely in my control. With time you will be able to slip into subspace as easily as you slip on a glove. Are you able to submit both your body and mind to me?”

“Yesss Miss Starlight.” Twi replied huskily. The finger withdrew from her folds and made its way to her lips. She parted them and moaned as she tasted her own arousal.

“Good girl. If you’re fully committed then I know this collar is going where it's supposed to be.” Starlight removed the finger from Twilight’s lips and wiped it dry on her chest. Then Twilight felt the first touch of the silver collar as Starlight slipped it into place. It closed around her neck and then was set in place with a firm CLICK. The sound made Twilight shudder and moan in joy.

Starlight slipped behind Twi and slide her arms over Twi’s shoulders. “I’m going to hypnotize you in order to train your mind to let go. You just have to focus on my words and let things happen.” She untied the blindfold with one hand and as Twilight regained her sight, the first thing she saw was a blue gem swaying back and forth inches from her eyes.

Twilight gasped, instantly focusing on the motion of the gem. She tried to remember the details of hypnosis. She had read about it somewhere before. But every swing of the gem made her lose track of that memory and think more about Starlight’s voice. Her thoughts were slowing down and getting murky, like her brain was sinking into a pool of honey. At the same time, Starlight’s words seemed to resonate, becoming more and more clear, echoing in her head.

Her mind was so slow now that she couldn’t even process what Starlight was saying, but those words were the most important thing in the world. They wrapped around her like a blanket and Twilight allowed her mind to go limp.

Author's Note

Another chapter to round out Thanksgiving week. I'll refrain from making any bad puns. Next week will be Chapter 5: Art of the Trance