It had been sitting at the doorstep of her castle. There was nothing more than Twilight Sparkle’s name on the label. Not even an address, as if it had been dropped off by the sender personally. The brown, cardboard package was now being carried in the light glow of Twilight’s magic. The purple alicorn trotted through the halls of the castle with the package floating beside her.

Upon reaching the comfort of her library, she took a seat on a cushion and her hoof pushed aside this week’s stack of books to read. The box was set on the table in front of her. Attempting to hold back her excitement, Twilight couldn’t help but be giddy. It wasn’t often that she received packages. Letters and pictures from ponies wanting to tell her about their friendships made from her lessons, sure, but almost never a package! Those were usually her favorites, if she was to be honest. They’d always been things like friendship bracelets or something else that ponies worked hard together to create and wanted to share with her.

Twilight’s magic tore through the tape holding the box closed and, with a hoof, she lifted the top to look inside. Almost immediately she had a confused look. Reaching in, she retrieved the item. Dangling from her hoof was a dark purple collar, matching near perfectly with her mane, and in place of the tag was a lighter purple gem cut into the shape of... Her cutie mark?

She set it on the table and looked back in the box. Maybe there was a letter or picture or something to explain why it was a collar. Why not a bracelet or something else? Did somepony think she had a pet dog or something? Inside lay a small piece of paper. Taking it in her magic, she held it up.

Have fun

Underneath the short, simple message was a heart. She flipped the paper over, hoping there was more on the back. Blank.

“What?” she couldn’t help but ask out loud.

Before she could think any more about it, the library door opened. She turned, expecting to see Spike, but instead saw a flustered Rarity, blushing, but angry at the same time. “Is this some kind of joke, Twilight?” the white unicorn asked, carrying a cardboard box beside her.

“What is it, Rarity?”

Rarity practically slammed her box on the table beside Twilight’s. It was about the same size as her own, and already opened. Inside was another collar. Purple, just like Rarity’s mane, with a blue gem shaped just like the ones that made Rarity’s cutie mark. With it was another slip of paper with the same heart and the same two words. Have fun.

“As beautiful as it may be, Twilight, I certainly hope you don’t think I am the type of lady to wear something so degrading as... That.”

Twilight turned back around to face her friend. “What makes you think I sent this?”

Rarity’s look of anger was gone near instantly. Had she just wrongly accused her friend? “Well... The package doesn’t have an address, so it was delivered personally. I just assumed it was from a friend. And the imprint of magic just made me think it could only be you.”

“Imprint...?” Twilight muttered, turning back to look at the collars she and Rarity had received.

“My apologies, darling.” Rarity stepped closer beside her. “I should not have accused you for this.”

The alicorn lowered her head and closed her eyes, focusing her magic on the collars. There was indeed a magical imprint on the collars. More specifically, on the gems that rested on the front. With the way magic worked, unicorns and alicorns could sense the presence of magic on anything infused with it. Typically things that were enchanted. They couldn’t, however, figure out whose magic left the imprint.

“Hmm...” Twilight tapped a hoof to her chin as she thought, looking at the collars. “Rarity, I wouldn’t recommend wearing it.”

“As if I would ever!” Rarity huffed, then paused and looked back to Twilight curiously. “Why, specifically?”

“I can’t be sure. But the gems are enchanted and you and I are the only ones in our group capable of magic. Neither of us made or delivered them, so they’re from a unicorn we don’t know.” She set the collars back into their respective boxes. “I wouldn’t trust anything like this from a stranger.”

“Uh-oh...”

Twilight looked back to Rarity. “What is it?”

“When I was at the spa with Fluttershy, she mentioned getting a strange package this morning too. She hadn’t opened it yet, but mentioned it didn’t have her address. You don’t think...?”

“She got a collar too,” Twilight agreed. “It must be. And if the three of us got one, I bet the others did too. In that case, something’s up.” Twilight retrieved a blank sheet of paper and her ink and quill, scribbling a quick note.

Emergency meeting. Come to the castle immediately. If you received a package this morning without an address on the label, bring it with you.

Her magic then cloned the letter into four copies and sent them out. One to Pinkie Pie, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, and Fluttershy.

Rainbow Dash came speeding through the castle doors, holding her box in her hooves as she hovered in the air with strong flaps of her wings. Applejack followed after, a box on her back, and Fluttershy flying in behind with a package of her own. Twilight and Rarity were already in their own chairs around the table.

“What’s the big emergency, Twilight?” Applejack asked, taking her seat at the Cutie Map table with the box beside her.

“Is there something wrong with the collar?” Fluttershy asked, her opened box resting at her side as she took her seat.

“Collar?” Rainbow asked. She quickly opened her box and pulled out her own. A violet collar matching her eyes with an orange lightning bolt shaped gem. “Huh. Kinky.”

“Rainbow Dash!” Rarity gasped.

“What?” Rainbow chuckled. “Not interested in a bit of pet play with a collar?”

“Are you?” Applejack asked, opening up her own package to see her own collar, green like her eyes with a reddish-orange apple-shaped gem.

“So what if I am?” the pegasus replied with a smirk. “It’s all in good fun.”

“Letting your partner treat you like a pet?” Rarity huffed. “It’s just so degrading...”

Fluttershy quietly took her own collar out of the package to set it on the table. Everyone else was. And if this conversation was about them, it may as well be in the open. Hers was a greenish blue like her eyes with a pink butterfly gem. It was actually kind of cute... She’d just been about to try it on when she’d gotten Twilight’s letter about it.

“Figures you’d say that, Rarity,” Applejack said with a little laugh. “Ah suppose you’d prefer something more along the lines of a romantic candle-lit bedroom with him treatin’ ya like a proper lady?”

“Absolutely!” Rarity was quick to answer. She sighed with a little smile and seemed to imagine it. “Being laid back and taken as an expression of love... It will be so divine~”

“Will be?” Applejack noted.

“Are... You still a virgin, Rarity?” Rainbow asked, surprised.

“You say that like there’s something wrong with saving yourself for the one!” Rarity crossed her hooves over her chest.

“Girls,” Twilight spoke up. “I didn’t ask you all here so we could talk about fetishes and virginity.”

“Darn,” Rainbow crossed her hooves over her chest and came down from the air to settle into her seat.

“So why did you call us here?” Fluttershy asked.

“The collars,” Twilight said, setting her own on the table along with everyone else’s. “They’re enchanted. I could sense the magic imprints the moment you all entered the castle. Every one of your collars have been enchanted in some way.”

“And that’s... Bad?” Rainbow shrugged.

“Of course it is!” Twilight replied. “The packages didn’t have our address, so they were delivered personally, probably to avoid giving a return address so we can’t figure out who they came from. And they were enchanted by somepony we don’t know. The question is why would somepony just randomly send each of us an enchanted collar without telling us who they are, or what the enchantment does?”

Fluttershy let out a little squeak at the horrible thoughts that quickly came to mind and pushed her collar further away from her. Rainbow Dash and Applejack looked a little more concerned now that Twilight had put it that way.

“I just wanted to ask you girls... Did any of you happen to see who might have delivered the packages? Or know of anypony that might want to send them to us?”

The five mares sat in silence, exchanging glances with each other as they thought about it. None of them had been home when it was delivered. It could have been anyone...

The doors of the castle opened again. “Sorry I’m late!” Pinkie nearly shouted as she bounced her way in, her open box resting on her back. “I had some last minute deliveries to make on the way here. So!” She took her seat at the table with her box on the tabletop in front of her. “What are we talking about?”

“The collars, Pinkie,” Rainbow mentioned.

“Oh, the collars!” Pinkie giggled with a little snort and smiled widely. “Aren’t they fun? I had a blast with mine! A couple of times, actually. What happened with all of yours?”

The other five mares stared at the pink pony with surprise for a moment.

“Something wrong?” Pinkie asked, looking around like she said something wrong.

“Pinkie?” Twilight spoke up. “You didn’t... Put your collar on, did you?”

“I sure did!” Pinkie nodded. “Why?”

“Why would you do that, darling?” Rarity couldn’t help but ask.

“It was free,” was Pinkie’s simple answer. “I’m not going to turn down a free present!”

“But, Pinkie, the collar is enchanted!” Twilight told her.

“Oh, I know! That’s what makes it so fun.” A happy giggle and Pinkie smiled, reaching into her open package and pulling out her collar, yellow with a blue balloon shaped gem, both colors matching the balloons of her cutie mark. “And it’s cute too!”

Twilight groaned. “Well. You probably shouldn’t put it back on, Pinkie. It could be dangerous.”

“Dangerous?” Pinkie giggled and shook her head. “No, no, Twilight. It’s the opposite of dangerous! It’s super-duper fun! Look, I’ll prove it!” She lifted the collar up to her neck with the gem at the front of her throat.

“Pinkie, don’t!” Twilight tried to stop her.

“Don’t worry, Twilight!” Pinkie giggled and clasped the collar in place. Once the clasp clicked, there was a small flash and Pinkie appeared to fall limp, leaning back in her chair. Twilight’s immediately reached to Pinkie’s collar and tried to undo the clasp, tugging at it in desperation to get it off before something could happen, even working her magic at it to try and destroy it, but it seemed protected by some sort of spell.

“It’s stuck!” Twilight gasped.

“Uhm, Twilight? What’s happening?” Fluttershy pointed to the gem on Pinkie’s collar.

The blue balloon gem was glowing faintly. A look up at Pinkie showed that she had a wide smile, and her eyes were featureless, glowing white. The collar’s enchantment had taken action on her already.

“Oh, no...” Twilight settled back into her seat and started to focus her magic. A beam was shot from her horn, right at Pinkie’s head and a circular form of magic appeared above the table.

“What are ya doing, Twilight?” Applejack asked, worried for her party pony friend.

“I’m projecting her mind!” Twilight answered, looking up at the magic above them. “If I can’t get the collar off of her, all I can really do is get a look at what’s going on in her head. She might be getting hypnotized or something!”

“A look into Pinkie’s thoughts?” Rainbow asked. “Are you sure you want to see that?”

Nobody answered. Everyone was concerned. They each looked up to the portal of magic, worried about what sort of effect the collar could be having on their friend.

Author's Note

The start of my first clopfic! I hope everyone will enjoy this story. Don't forget to follow to stay up to date and get updates for added/edited chapters and new stories in the future!

This chapter proofread by Aegis Fate