Spiral Swirl's Encounter

Chapters

Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 7

Chapter 1

A loud groan could be heard coming from the middle of a forest clearing where a unicorn with a teal coat, gray eyes, a long straight navy blue mane and a picture of a pocket watch overlapping a black and white spiral for a cutie mark, woke up from a comatose state. As she looked around, the mare couldn't help but wonder how she ended up in the middle of a grove. Last thing she remembered was walking back to her office to close up for the night, when she suddenly was knocked unconscious and ended up in Celestia knows where.

The unicorn noticed that she was still carrying saddlebags and quickly checked what she had on hoof. In her saddlebags were a pair of binoculars, a notebook and pen, keys to the office, and her lucky pocket watch.

After closing her bag, the mare went down a set path heading north to find a possible exit. As she was trotting along, she took notice of her surroundings and came to the conclusion that she was indeed far away from home, possibly in a different world even.

Fifteen minutes of traveling through the woods later, she heard something that sounded like laughter coming from nearby. With nowhere else to go, the unicorn made her way to the source of the noise.

When she got close enough to where the laughing was, what the mare saw shocked her. It was two creatures, the likes of which the pony never saw before, sitting near a pond. The two were bipedal, dark-skinned, fur-less (except for hair on the head), had strange claw-like appendages, and possessed no cutie mark of any kind. The unicorn quickly recovered as she stayed hidden from the two creatures as she observed what was happening.

The two creatures were a seven-year old girl and an eight-year old boy who were both clad in their swim wear (with the girl wearing a two piece pink suit and the boy wearing a pair of orange trunks) and sitting on towels. They both giggled again as the boy spoke up.

"Alright, it's my turn now."

The unicorn, was slightly taken back as she said in her mind, 'So these creatures have intelligence like ponies.' She continued to stay hidden to see what the two children would do next.

"Okay. Okay." The girl said in a relenting tone as she went into a sitting position against a tree and prepared herself for what was to happen.

The unicorn got out her binoculars to see a better picture of what they were about to do. The boy then held out his arms in front of the girl with his fingers acting in an erratic pattern as he spoke in a spooky like tone.

"You are getting very sleepy...your eyelids are becoming very heavy...let yourself fall into a hypnotized state...obey your master..." The young girl closed her eyes and responded in a monotone, "Fall...asleep...obey...master..."

The unicorn was all the more surprised at what she was witnessing. 'These creatures have hypnotic abilities? Intriguing.'

The boy continued wiggling his fingers near the girl until he heard her giving off the sound one would give when asleep. He then said, "Now, when I count from three, you'll act like a monkey. 3......2......1......0!”

The girl opened up her eyes and started to screech and scratch under her arms like a monkey would. While the boy was laughing hard, the mare in hiding was all the more fascinated with what was unfolding. 'That one must have some unimaginable hypnotic powers to make her do that in just a matter of seconds.'

After a couple of minutes of giving the girl other commands, the boy decided enough was enough and said to her, "Stop! Now I'm going to countdown from three to one and when I do, you'll awaken. 3......2......1......Awaken!"

The girl shook her head, looked around and asked the boy, "How did I do?"

"You did great. You might have what it takes to be an actress someday."

The two of them then burst out into laughter with the unicorn only confused as to what they meant by that. The boy's laughter soon died down as he said, "It's too bad that it's only pretend. If we could actually hypnotize one another that would be something else."

The mare in hiding was all the more taken back at what she heard. 'That was all just an act?!? So they don't possess hypnotic abilities of any kind then.'

The boy sat next his sister, put his arm around her and said, "Man, I wish hypnosis was real. Could you imagine how fun it would be to pull off that kind of power?"

The unicorn drew a smirk on her face from hearing the boy's wish and decided, 'Perhaps that's my cue to introduce myself to them. And who knows? This could be fun.' She giggled to herself before making her way to the two children.

The two swimsuit clad children heard a rusting coming from nearby and saw something approaching that made them both unable to move from fear and fascination.

It was a unicorn.

As it slowly approached them, the children took notice of the pony's features. From the teal coat, to the saddlebags, to the strange pictures on the mare's flanks, to even the smile she had on her face. Both children immediately grew nervous as they backed up to a tree trunk with the unicorn only about an arms distance away from them. Trying not to be intimidating, the teal-colored pony stopped and tried being friendly by saying,

"Hello there!"

The two kids had a look of shock on their faces as not only was there a mythological creature in their presence, but it could also talk. Trying to break the awkward silence, the mare continued to speak in the best way she could.

"I'm sorry if my presence has startled you but I've never seen your kind before and my curiosity compelled me to learn more about you."

The girl, working up the courage, got up, made her way to the unicorn, dropped down to her knees and slowly stroked the pony's fur. The mare sighed in delight from the girl's hand stroking her head before the girl quietly asked, "You're real? You're actually real?" The unicorn giggled in delight both from the ticklish feeling from the girl and her question. "Of course I'm real! I wouldn't be talking to you or letting you stroke me if I wasn't here, would I?" The unicorn said, keeping that friendly demeanor.

The little girl was at a loss for words, before gaining the strength to say, "This. Is. AMAZING!!!" She was squealing with delight and hugged the pony like a stuffed animal. The mare was gasping for air as she responded with, "AAAACCKKK!!! I'm......glad too. But......could you please......let go of me?"

The boy took the opportunity of springing into action, by pulling the girl away from the pony, and holding her tightly. He then gave the unicorn a nervous smile and said, "You'll have to forgive her. When she gets pretty excited, she likes to grab onto things like no tomorrow."

The mare recovering from the girl's actions, brushed off, and responded to the boy by saying, "It's alright. I know she meant no harm. But if she could ask me next time she hugs like that, it would be appreciated."

The boy, not wanting to fall back into awkward silence, put the girl down next to him (after quieting down) and said, "Well, I believe introductions are in order. I'm Joey and this is my younger sister Maddie."

Joey held out his hand to the pony as the pony stuck out a hoof to shake his hand with. "It's nice to meet you Maddie and Joey! Though I have to say, those are the strangest names I've ever heard."

"Really?" Questioned Joey with curiosity. "Because where we're from, they're pretty common names. If I may ask, what's your name?"

The pony closed her eyes, puffed out her chest, and pointed a hoof to herself in a proud fashion and said, "I am Dr. Spiral Swirl!"

Joey felt a bit of confusion dwelling within him as he responded with, "Spiral Swirl? I feel like I'm on the opposite side of strange names now because that sounds like a basic adjective mixed with a verb. But I digress, it's nice to meet you as well!"

The unicorn opened her eyes in surprise to Joey's response and said, "Oh! Well then, I guess it's not every day you come across somepony or something that has a foreign sounding name, is it? Though if you don't mind me asking, what type of creatures are you anyway?"

"We're humans." Joey said bluntly. "A species that has five fingers on each hand." The boy said he demonstrated for Spiral. "And feet so we can walk around without any problems." As he lifted a foot in front of the unicorn. Spiral Swirl studied the foot before her and brought a hoof towards it to feel it. The fur brushed against the boy's foot as he retracted it and said, "That tickles!"

'How amusing.' Spiral Swirl thought to herself. "Sorry about that. I didn't know you were sensitive in that area." She said as the mare brought her hoof back down before continuing. "I'm sure all of us have more questions for each other, but there is something I wanted to ask first. And I hope you don't mind, but I was actually observing the two of you earlier and it looked like you were just playing around. What was it you were doing?"

"Nah, why would I mind a pony observing my sister and I, let alone a unicorn?" Joey said casually before answering Spiral's question. "As for what we were doing earlier, we were just playing pretend hypnosis. We both have a strong fascination with how hypnotism works from what we've seen, that sometimes when we're alone, we simply just act out what it'd be like to have that kind of ability."

Joey took a deep breath before falling onto his back and looking up at the trees. "Sometimes, I'd give anything to actually experience what it feels like to be hypnotized and see someone obey any command you give them."

'Anything you say?' The unicorn thought to herself as ideas started going through her head. "What if I told you I knew somepony who has that ability?"

Joey shot back up into his sitting position as he and his sister gave Spiral their full attention. "You do? Who?"

The teal-colored pony's horn glowed navy blue as she activated her unicorn magic and directed it at the saddle bag to open up one side of her saddlebags and presented to both children her gold pocket watch on a chain.

"I'm not called Spiral Swirl for nothing."

Both siblings were simply in awe. They were not only in the presence of a magical, talking unicorn, but also one that had actual hypnotic powers. Maddie was all the more ecstatic and simply couldn't hold back anymore. "THIS IS INCREDIBLE!!!" She shouted as she went to hug the pony again. The younger sibling however was stopped short as her brother held her tightly to prevent her from suffocating Spiral. "Uggghhhh...Remember what we talked about Maddie!"

The little girl soon settled down as she looked at the unicorn's gray eyes and said, "Sorry about that. It's just we've never come across a unicorn with the ability to talk, let alone, hypnotize others. By the way, why do you have those pictures on your flank?"

"Oh! You mean my cutie mark?" Spiral asked as she looked down at her rear. "It's a symbol of what my special talent is. In this case, hypnotism. Speaking of which..." The pony looked back at the children, with her magical grip still holding the pocket watch. "...who wants to try it out?"

"OH! OH! OH! OH! ME FIRST! ME FIRST!" Yelled out Maddie with excitement. Joey gave his sister a glare before she calmed down again with the unicorn chuckling at her response.

"I guess maybe the question I should have asked is, do you two want to be hypnotized to see what it's actually like?"

"Of course!" Joey responded this time. "I've...or rather, we've always been intrigued with what it's like to fall into a trance. Just tell us what to do."

'These two are even more trusting than I thought. This will be easy!' The unicorn said in her mind while keeping her innocent smile. She then directed her magic so that the pocket watch was suspended in the air at Joey and Maddie's eye level, but didn't start just yet. "I just need you to relax and focus all of your attention on the watch. Can you two do that for me?" Asking in a friendly way.

"Okay." Said Joey as he adjusted himself and his sister in a comfortable sitting position on their towels.

"Sure thing!" Maddie added with excitement.

With that, Spiral began to swing the pocket watch back and forth by the chain in front of the children's eyes.

“Now just concentrate your eyes on the watch.” Spiral began in a calm manner while keeping a consistent rhythm with the swinging. "Yes that’s it, just watch the watch. Watch it swing back and forth for me. Following it with your eyes as it swings.” The unicorn said, luring the kids to a more relaxed state.

“Yessss, watch the watch,” Maddie slurred on her words as her eyes followed the watch. Joey could do nothing as he kept his eyes glued to the watch without missing a single swing. Both siblings' fascination for the watch grew stronger with every swing as their minds soon began to grow cloudy.

“Continue to focus on the watch as you begin to relax for me." Spiral Swirl continued, “With every swing of the watch you feel yourselves slipping into a more relaxed state. So relaxed you are beginning to feel tired. Tired and drowsy. Sleepy even. So sleepy, your eyelids are beginning to grow heavy.”

The two children were on the verge of collapsing from the induction, but kept staring at the watch until they were told otherwise by Spiral. The pony herself couldn’t help but give out a soft chuckle at the sight of the human kids struggling to stay awake and decided to wrap up.

“Now, when I count from one to five, you will no longer be to hold your eyes open and you’ll drift off into slumber. 1......Relaxing for me more and more. 2......You’re doing so very, very, well concentrating only on the watch and listening only to my voice. 3......Feeling ready to fall into deep hypnosis. 4......So sleepy, eyelids so heavy. 5......Sleep! Allow yourself to fall into a deep sleep."

At Spiral Swirl’s count of five, both Maddie and Joey's eyelids locked shut as they fell into a deep, hypnotized sleep. The unicorn put the watch back in her bag and sat on her haunches in front of the spellbound children.

"How do you feel Maddie and Joey?" The teal-colored pony asked.

"Wonderful..." and "Perfect..." were the responses that came from their tired, state-of-minds. The unicorn was delighted with their responses as she proceeded further with what she wanted to do with them.

"Very good. Now, I want the two of you to repeat after me." She cleared her throat before starting. "I am deeply asleep and completely hypnotized."

Maddie and Joey processed the unicorn's words before repeating back in perfect synchronization.

"I am deeply asleep and completely hypnotized."

"My mind is empty of all thoughts, as I have no stresses, no cares, no worries; only...obedience.” The pony said as she got off her haunches and circled around the human children.

"My mind is empty of all thoughts, as I have no stresses, no cares, no worries; only...obedience." The entranced siblings replied.

"Since I am obedient and mindless, that makes me Spiral's hypnotized slave, ready to serve her in any and all ways."

Maddie and Joey repeated Spiral's phrase in a monotonous voice, "Since I am obedient and mindless, that makes me Spiral's hypnotized slave, ready to serve her in any and all ways."

"You may stop repeating me now." Commanded the pony as she looked over her fine work on the two newly met creatures. She smiled to herself before adding, "Also, while you two are in this state of mind, just call me mistress and when I give you an order, you’ll both respond with, ‘Yes, mistress.’ Understand?"

"Yes, mistress." The two kids answered in a drone tone.

"Good! Now then, both of you stand up and open your eyes, but remain hypnotized."

Maddie and Joey obediently stood up from where they were sitting and their eyes blinked open, revealing that they had turned into black and white spirals. As the two of them stared off into the distance, they only waited to hear more commands from their mistress.

"Maddie. Joey. I want you two to listen very carefully to what I say next. Whenever you are not in a hypnotic trance and you hear me say or write the words 'Trance Time' you will immediately fall back into this obedient, hypnotized state. Do you understand?”

"Yes, mistress." The compliant siblings said as the command drove itself deep into their subconscious.

The unicorn was thinking of other ideas, until a sudden realization hit her. She had no place to stay. She took the opportunity and said to the entranced Maddie and Joey, "You know, with the time I've spent with you two, I never once thought about my current predicament of having nowhere to go. But I'm sure you wouldn't mind if I went home with both of you, would you?"

"We would love to have you come home with us, mistress." Maddie said as she continued to stare at nothing in particular.

"The only problem is how our parents would react to seeing you." Joey brought up. "They've never seen a real-life unicorn that can talk."

Spiral Swirl thought about it for a few moments and finally said, "Well, if they don't approve, I can always persuade them to let me stay with you. Isn't that right my little, hypnotized slaves?"

"Of course, mistress." Joey responded.

"Whatever you think is best." Maddie added in her emotionless tone of voice.

Smiling with satisfaction, Spiral said to the human children, "Very good! Now that that's settled, it’s time to wake you up. When I count to three you will come out of your trance and return to normal. You will forget everything that happened while you were hypnotized and only remember how nice and pleasant you felt under the trance, but all of my commands will remain buried within your mind. Do you understand?”

"Yes, mistress." The spellbound Maddie and Joey said together.

"Then on the count of three you will wake up, feeling happy, refreshed, and wonderful. 1…2…3!” Dr. Spiral Swirl said, putting emphasis on the ‘3.’

The spirals soon faded from Maddie and Joey's eyes and the two shook their head a few times as the effect of being hypnotized wore off. Spiral putting on her innocent face again, looked up at the children and asked, "How do you feel?"

"I feel...great!" Joey said, with emotion returning to his voice.

"Let's do it again!" Shouted Maddie as her excitement returned once again.

The pony chuckled at the youngest sibling's response and asked, "I take it from your expression you enjoyed the session?"

"Enjoyed it? I loved it!" The dark-skinned boy replied. "It was definitely one of the best things I've ever experienced. But, how come I don't remember anything past watching the pocket watch though?"

“Because it's a normal condition called post-hypnotic amnesia.” Spiral made up to hide her intentions. "Most of the time, subjects who wake up too quickly from their trance don't remember what they did while hypnotized."

"That's a shame." Joey said in disappointment, but quickly cheered up by saying, "But I'm sure the experience was worth it!"

"I hope we can do more again soon!" The little sister said happily before asking the unicorn, "Would you like to come home with us?"

"I don't know..." Spiral said, playing with the children's post-hypnotic suggestion. "I mean, we have just met after all. And I don't know if your family would approve of me."

"Please!" Maddie pleaded as she got down to the pony's level of height and hugged her, but not as tightly as before. "Don't leave us! We were just starting to become good friends!"

The unicorn simply returned the hug and said, "Well...if it means that much to you, I'll travel with the two of you to your home. Besides, it's not like I have anywhere else to go."

Maddie broke the hug and said in her gleeful tone, "Great! Our house is this way!" She was about to run in the direction of where she lived, until her older brother caught her by her arm and brought her to a halt.

"Not so fast Maddie!" Joey said he looked at Spiral then back at his sister. "Don't forget, she's probably never been in these woods before. Added to that is the fact she doesn't know the path to our house, so let's stay close and keep ourselves at a walking pace."

Maddie sighed before she said to Joey, "Okay...you win." The oldest sibling then released his sister's arm, grabbed their towels and shoes.

As the children were putting their footwear on, Spiral couldn't help but ask, "What are those things you're putting on your feet?"

Joey looked back at the pony and said, "Oh, these?" As he pointed to his pair of sneakers. "These are shoes. They protect our feet from getting scraped, burned, and hurt on surfaces.

"Interesting..." Spiral said studying the way both children put the shoes on.

After tying both laces, Joey stood up, looked at the mare and said, "Well let's get going. It's going to be sunset soon and our parents will start to worry about us if we don't head back."

"Lead on!" Said Spiral in a cheerful tone.

Author's Note

I hope you all enjoyed this so far. This is actually my first time posting a story online. So let me know what you think of it so far. Creative criticism is welcome.

Chapter 2

As the three were making their way to Maddie and Joey's home, the oldest sibling decided to strike up a conversation with their new acquaintance.

"So, where are you from?"

The unicorn looked up at the boy before answering his question.

"I'm from the land of Equestria. It's populated by mostly ponies consisting of earth, pegasi, and of course unicorns; with alicorns as acting rulers. But there are also other species like changelings, yaks, griffons, and dragons."

"There are dragons where you're from?!?" Joey asked surprisingly. "No way, that's awesome!"

"How did you end up here though?" The sister asked curiously.

"I honestly don't know..." Spiral said while scratching her head. "One moment I was locking up my office for the night. Next thing I know, I woke up in the middle of these woods."

“Well, we’ll help you get home, whatever it takes. Even if our parents don't approve of you, you'll still be our friend.” The oldest sibling said looking back at the unicorn. The pony's heart felt slightly tinged at what Joey said. 'They think of me like a good friend? Maybe they’re more than just ponies...or rather ones to enslave.' Lots of thoughts were going through Spiral's head as she was battling out what she wanted most. 'No! No! No! I'm not going to let them soften me up. Not for what I've got planned. Besides, it’s fun to have some hypnotic playthings at my disposal.'

It wasn't long until they reached the end of the woods where Spiral saw a house overlooking the forest. The house itself was a two story home on the outside with a tire swing and tree house close by. The children raced each other up the hill for bragging rights with their pony friend catching up to them.

When the three of them reached the back door to the house, the siblings were about to enter until the unicorn used her magic to pull them back and asked, "Not to be rude, but how are we going to go about introducing me to your parents?"

"You know, I haven't really thought of that." Said Joey as he brought a hand to his chin while thinking it over.

"What if the two of you went in first to tell them about me and then I trot in and introduce myself to them?" Suggested Spiral.

"That's a great idea!" Maddie replied in her usual overly happy tone.

"That could work." The older brother nodded in agreement. "We'll bring Mom and Dad to the living room and when we say to come in, that's when you can introduce yourself to them. Maybe even demonstrate your hypnotic power on them when I tell you to."

"Sounds like a plan then!" The pony said eagerly. The two kids nodded their heads and went inside with the unicorn waiting patiently outside.

"Mom? Dad? We're home!" Joey said aloud as he took the towels down to the laundry room.

"Maddie! Joey!" Their mother said, coming to give them a hug and kiss on the cheek. "How was your time at the pond?"

"It was fun as always." Replied the older sibling. "Though, we actually made a new friend while we were there today."

"Oh?" The mother said in a questioning tone. "And who might this 'new friend' of yours be?"

"She's amazing!" Maddie exclaimed. "She's actually a..." Joey immediately put his hand on his younger sister's mouth so she didn't give anything away just yet.

"What Maddie means to say is, is that if you and Dad sat in the living room, we could introduce the two of you to her."

"Alright...I'll play along." The mother sighed, thinking this was another one of Maddie and Joey imaginary games they played often.

After the mother and father got comfortable on one of the couches in the living room, Joey asked both of them, "Are you ready to meet our new friend?"

"Yes, we're ready." The father said, in a tone that meant to sound interesting.

The boy then went to the back door, where Spiral Swirl was waiting patiently, opened the door, and told her, "You can come in now." She followed Joey through the hallway until he stopped at the entrance to the living room and said to his parents, "Mom. Dad. May I introduce to you, our new friend!" As he stepped out of the way and pointed his arms at the empty space.

The teal-colored unicorn slowly trotted in the living room, with the parents immediately growing wide-eyed at what was in their sight. The mare went up to them with a friendly smile and said, "Hi! You must be Joey and Maddie's parents! I'm Dr. Spiral Swirl and it's very nice to meet you!"

The children's parents could only stare at the pony with dumbfounded expressions as each one was trying to process how there was a living, breathing, and talking unicorn in their living room.

"Uhh...dear?" The father asked his wife while never taking his eyes of the mare. "Tell me I'm not the only one who sees a talking horse in our house."

"Technically I'm a pony." Spiral said correcting the father. "But yes, I am very real and it's a pleasure to make your acquaintance." She said as she held her right hoof up.

The kids' father hesitantly shook Spiral's hoof (as did the mother) as Maddie went to hug the unicorn lovingly.

"So...h-how did you meet our children?" The mother asked as she tried to gather her bearings.

"We met at the swimming pond in the woods. At first I was hesitant about showing myself to them, since I've never encountered humans before. But after I opened up to them, they were friendly and accepting of me." Spiral explained as she lifted a hoof to rub against Maddie; still hugging her.

"And talking isn't the only thing she can do. She also has magical abilities! Show them." Joey said eagerly.

Spiral nodded to the boy as she nudged Maddie off of her. Her horn then emitted a navy blue aura as she opened up one the sides of her saddlebag and floated in front of her, her gold pocket watch. The parents were stunned at what they were witnessing. They're hearts were racing like no tomorrow at the sight of the scientific impossibilities this one unicorn was achieving.

"That's not even the best part." The oldest sibling added as he looked down at Spiral and winked at her.

As he winked to the mare, Spiral already knew what Joey meant and had her pocket watch dangling in front of the parents' eyes.

"Shh…let your eyes watch the watch,” Dr. Spiral Swirl said, as she began swinging the watch back and forth, “Watch it and relax. Relax and just focus your attention on my watch.”

Between being caught off caught earlier from the pony’s ability to speak, to the magical talent that they had just witnessed, the parents had no time to react as the swinging pocket watch fixed their gaze. This only made Spiral’s hypnotic induction all the more easier.

“Let the relaxation flow through your whole body. From your head to your feet. Let your muscles grow limp and relaxed. Relax even further for me. You are beginning to feel sleepy. So very sleepy. So sleepy your eyelids are growing heavy. So heavy that by the time I count backwards from five to zero you will be unable to hold them open any longer. 5...Still focusing all your attention on the watch. 4...Forgetting about all the stresses and worries in your life. 3...Eyelids so heavy. They feel like they are made of lead. 2...So very sleepy. 1...Eyelids barely open so insanely sleepy. All you want to do is fall into a deep sleep. And finally...0. Now sleep for me.”

At Spiral's count of zero, Maddie and Joey's Mom and Dad's eyes blinked shut as they fell asleep. The two children who had watched from behind went up to the sleeping forms of their parents and were amazed. "So that's what it was like when you put us under." The inquisitive Joey noted as he and Maddie poked their mother and father to see if they'd respond. Their reaction was a slight twitch from the poke, but kept sleeping on the couch, ready to be given orders.

“I must admit it is quite amusing to see that happen to someone else after having experienced it myself just a short while ago.” Joey said looking at the mare as she put her pocket watch back in her bag.

“I can imagine. Oh, and children?” Spiral said, as a sly smile appeared on her face.

"Yes?" They both asked.

"It's Trance Time."

Maddie and Joey let out a gasp as their eyes turned back into black and white spirals.

“Are you two ready to serve me again?”

"Yes, mistress." Joey and Maddie answered in an obedient state of thinking.

"Then sit down in those chairs and sleep until I call your names." The unicorn said as she pointed a hoof to where two chairs lay. The two kids complied with the pony's command, sat in the chairs, and dozed off, while the mare focused her attention on their parents.

"Can the two of you hear me?"

"Yes." The husband and wife said in a quiet voice. The unicorn smirked before continuing on.

"You both are deeply hypnotized. I am the hypnotist and the hypnotized subject always obeys the hypnotist. And since the two of you must obey me that makes both of you my hypnotized slaves. Do you understand?”

"Yes, I am your hypnotized slave,” The father replied blankly.

"Always…obey...the hypnotist,” the mother repeated as her voice became more and more of a mumble.

"Very good. And please, call me mistress. It makes me feel happy when you refer to me as that while in a trance. And you want to make mistress as happy as possible, don't you?" Spiral asked, messing with their minds.

"Yes, mistress." Said the two entranced parents.

"Excellent. Now then, both of you open your eyes, but remain deeply hypnotized."

Maddie and Joey's Mom and Dad's eyes blinked open, revealing they too had turned into black and white spirals. Spiral took in the sight of her work as she initiated more commands.

"Now then, both of you listen up! Whenever you are not in a trance and you hear me say or write the words ‘Trance Time’ you will fall back into this deep, obedient hypnotized state. Do you understand?”

"I understand mistress." The mother said absorbing the information.

"Yes, mistress." The father responded with the command embedding itself in the back of his mind.

'I love having this kind of power!' The unicorn thought to herself. "Very good. Now then, I'm in a bit of a pickle. I've been brought to this world by some unknown force and have no way of returning home. Until I can find way, I'm going to need a place to stay and judging from what Maddie and Joey described, this seems like the perfect place. Because you don't want your mistress to wander out there alone without food or shelter, do you?"

"Of course not mistress." The children's father responded.

"Our home...is open to you." Said the mother in her sleepy tone.

"Great!" The hypnotic doctor said. "Now then, when the two of you come out of your trance, you will not remember anything that happened while hypnotized. Only that it was a pleasant experience. But the commands I gave you while under hypnosis will stay strong, plus you'll be very open to the idea of letting me stay here out of trance. Understand?"

"Yes, mistress." The two parents said in unison.

"Good." The pony said as she turned her attention back to the hypnotic-bound Maddie and Joey sitting in their respective chairs. Spiral approached the two of them so the parents didn't hear what she was about to tell the children.

"Maddie. Joey. Open your eyes back up but stay in a trance.”

The two kids obeyed and showed their mistress their spiral filled eyes and awaited the next command.

“Go back to the positions you were in before I said your trigger. And when I stomp my hoof twice, you'll awaken from this trance without any memory of being placed under. You'll only think that both of you zoned out for a few seconds after I hypnotized your parents. Understand?"

"Yes, mistress." The children replied simultaneously as they went into the exact same positions they were in several minutes ago, waiting for the wake up trigger.

*STOMP* *STOMP*

Maddie and Joey's spirals disappeared from their eyes as they shook they heads and looked around for a moment. Breaking the silence, Spiral asked them in a concerned voice, "Are you two alright?"

"Huh?" Joey responded first. "Oh yes! I'm fine. I probably just zoned out for a couple seconds."

"Same here." Maddie added. "It was probably nothing!"

"If you say so..." the unicorn said keeping up with acting innocent. "So now that your parents have experienced what it's like to be hypnotized, do you want me to mess with their minds or do you want me to wake them up?"

"As much as I like the idea of messing with their heads, it might be a good idea to put that off for another time, so go ahead and wake them up." The oldest sibling said giving the mare his answer.

The pony doctor brought her attention to the children's parents and cleared her throat before saying, "It's time for both of you to come out of your trances. When I countdown from three to one, you'll wake up feeling refreshed. 3......2......1......Awaken!"

At Spiral Swirl’s command to awaken, the spirals faded from the eyes of the parents and they shook off the effects of the hypnosis. Joey spoke up first and asked, "So, how do you feel?"

"I don't know what I just experienced, but it was wonderful!" Said the mother in a content voice.

"Same here!" The father said still waking up and looking at the teal-colored unicorn.

"She hypnotized you with her watch!" The little Maddie said happily. "That's why it felt so great! Joey and I were hypnotized earlier and we loved it!"

"She hypnotized us? And you?" The mother asked in a wary voice.

"How come I don't remember any of it?" The father wondered.

"It's post-hypnotic amnesia." The unicorn answered. "It's a normal condition most subjects that experience hypnosis have."

"Don't worry, she didn't do anything bad!" Joey said. "Maddie and I saw the whole thing play out. All she did was put you into a trance for a few minutes, then brought you out."

"If you say so." The father said taking his son's statement as the truth. "By the way, I notice that you have some pictures on your flank. What's that about?"

"Oh, that's just my cutie mark!" Spiral said proudly. "It's a representation of what my special talent is. Which of course is hypnotism!" She then looked at everyone in the room and asked, "Don't humans get cutie marks as well when they know what their special talent is?"

"No, I'm afraid not." The father answered. "People here figure out what their special purpose is on their own. In my case, it's engineering, but I didn't need a tattoo to tell me that."

Spiral raised an eyebrow in confusion. "What's a tattoo?"

"A tattoo is a mark people get where a design is made by inserting ink, dyes and pigments into the skin. It's actually a bit painful at times."

The pony had a look of disgust from the description and asked, "Why would anyone want that?"

"Some see it as artistic. Others think of it as a way of expression. Everyone who gets them has their own reason."

"I see..." the unicorn said as she decided to change the subject. "So anyway, I already told Maddie and Joey, but I'm sure both of you want to hear my story as well?"

"Of course." The mother said as she got up from the couch. "You can tell us about it over dinner. I'm sure you must be hungry."

At that moment, Spiral's stomach growled in hunger. The pony had a sheepish look on her face as she replied with, "I think my stomach just answered that question for me."

Everyone in the room broke out in laughter for about a minute until they all settled down and went into the dining room.

Chapter 3

As the family was eating helpings of meatloaf and mashed potatoes (with Spiral helping herself to carrots from the refrigerator), the unicorn explained how she just woke up in the middle of nowhere and came across Maddie and Joey. Everyone at the table listened intently to the pony's story and couldn't help but feel sorry for her predicament.

After Spiral finished her story, the mother feeling the most remorse spoke up first. "I can't imagine a poor soul like you being taken from your home world and fending for yourself with no one to turn for help. You're certainly more than welcome to stay here. There's a guest room upstairs you can use."

"Thank you. All of you." The pony said with gratitude as she bit into a carrot while also saying in her mind, ‘My very helpful slaves.’ She took another bite of her carrot before saying, "You know, when I first arrived in this strange, unknown, land, I was afraid of having to survive on my own. But ever since I met Maddie and Joey, they've filled me with a newfound sense of hope." The unicorn then looked up and directed her attention at the two children. "And for that, I'll always be grateful."

"You’re welcome Spiral!" Joey said. "We'll always be here for you!"

The unicorn’s heart soften up at what the oldest child said, but put it to rest quickly and said to the family, "Well, I've told you all about my predicament, but perhaps maybe we could move on to something more positive? I'd like to hear about stuff from this world."

"Sure thing!" The father replied. "After we clean up the table and put everything away, we can take this conversation back to the living room."

The pony nodded in agreement, finished the rest of her dinner, and decided to help clean up the table.

The rest of the evening was spent with the father and mother telling Spiral everything they knew about Earth and answered some of her questions from time to time. Wanting to take this knowledge back with her (if she found a way to return home), the mare took notes of everything the children's parents said in her notebook. During the discussion, the parent’s asked about what the world was like where Spiral came from. She gladly explained how things worked over in Equestria, all the different races that existed and other miscellaneous topics. Maddie and Joey sat and listened the entire time; sometimes tuning in to the topics, while other times zoning out from sheer boredom.

When it came time to send the children off to bed, the unicorn decided to call it a night as well. The mother showed Spiral the room she would stay in and gave her an unused toothbrush, bottle of toothpaste, and hairbrush. When the pony got to the bathroom, she noticed that the sink was too high for her to reach, so the mother brought a step stool for her to use.

After brushing her teeth and thanking the mother for everything, the teal-colored mare made her way to the guest room. The room was comprised of a single bed with two layers of sheets, a bedside table with a lamp, a writing desk with a chair, and an overhead fan.

As she was about to get under the covers, Spiral heard a small knock on her door.

"Who is it?" Spiral asked casually.

The guest room door opened to reveal Maddie and Joey, all dressed up in their night pajamas. Spiral smiled at the children and said, "Ahh...Maddie, Joey, come in! What can I do for you?"

The little girl and boy went up and embraced the pony.

"We just came to give you a good night hug!” Maddie said with Joey adding, “And to say, thanks for accepting our hospitality!"

The unicorn mare returned the hug and nuzzled the children’s arms in affection. The youngest sibling giggled with delight before her and Joey broke the hug. Just as the two were about to get up and leave, an idea crossed Spiral’s mind as she ask the kids, “Maddie, Joey?”

“Yes, Spiral?” Joey asked as he and his sister gave the unicorn their attention.

Spiral used her magic to shut the door; garnering a strange look from the boy.

“Umm…why did you shut the door?”

“Because…” Spiral giggled playfully. “…It’s Trance Time.”

As soon as the trigger was said, Maddie and Joey’s eyes immediately burst with black and white spirals and their freedom to think had diminished, as now, they only waited to be given orders from their mistress. The unicorn found it amusing that the children had their mouths wide open from the gasp they gave right as they were put back under her spell.

“Close your mouths children, we are not a codfish.” Spiral said in a commanding yet playful manner.

The two entranced children obeyed as they continued to stare at the hypnotic doctor and awaited further instructions.

The unicorn then cleared her throat and said, “Maddie and Joey, both of you have done very well in giving me a place to stay while I’m here. And for that, I shall reward the two of you with the command I’m about to give you, so listen carefully…”

Right before Spiral could say anything else, the sound of the children’s mother shouted in the hall with a loud, “MADDIE! JOEY! IT’S TIME FOR BED!”

The unicorn cursed herself at the mother nearly interrupting what she was doing. The two children heard the yelling ring through their ears, but luckily, the kids were in a deep enough state of hypnosis that the shouting barely registered in their minds. Thinking quickly, Spiral looked at the boy and ordered him with, “Joey, shout back to your mother in a normal tone, ‘Maddie and I are saying goodnight to Spiral. Just give us five minutes.’”

Joey did just what the doctor ordered and shouted back to the mother with, “MADDIE AND I ARE SAYING GOODNIGHT TO SPIRAL! JUST GIVE US FIVE MINUTES!”

The mother’s voice returned again with, “ALRIGHT! BUT REMEMBER, FIVE MINUTES AND THEN IT’S LIGHTS OUT!”

Satisfied with an incident avoided, Spiral concentrated back on what she was about to implant in Maddie and Joey’s minds.

“Very well done Joey. Now that that’s taken care of, let’s get back to what I was about to do before I was rudely interrupted.” The unicorn readjusted herself before continuing on. “Maddie. Joey. You’re both listening closely to what I’m about to say, right?”

“Yes, mistress.” The obediently sound children responded with their ears wide open to the sound of Spiral’s commands.

“Good, then listen very carefully. When the two of you go to bed tonight, you will both enter the best sleep you’ve ever had and have the best dreams about the three of us playing together. And when you wake up the next morning, the both of you will feel refreshed and energized. Understand?”

“Yes, mistress.” The children responded as the suggestion took root in the back of their minds.

The pony gave a satisfying smile as she added, “I may be your mistress, but that doesn’t mean that I’m not one without rewarding my subjects who’ve helped me in a desperate time. I’ll always be grateful for what you’ve done for me. But at the end of the day, I’m still your mistress and you two are still my hypnotized slaves where I’m in control. Are we clear?”

The two siblings waited until Spiral finished her statement before answering with the usual monotone-like, “Yes, mistress.”

“Very good. Now listen up, when I count from three to one, the two of you will wake up from your trances. But when you do, you will not remember entering a trance, what you’ve done during your entranced state or even me saying your trigger. Instead you’ll think that we’ve spent the last few minutes discussing the fun the three of us had today. But the command I gave you earlier will still remain in effect. Got it?”

As if on cue, the hypnotized Maddie and Joey said the usual, “Yes, mistress.”

“3…2…1…Awaken!”

The spirals left the children’s eyes as they awoke from Spiral’s spell. Before any of them could say anything, the teal unicorn said, “Well as much fun as today was, it’s probably time to head off to bed.”

The littlest sibling responded with an, “Aww…”, but the pony simply smiled back and said, “Don’t worry we can have more fun tomorrow. I promise.”

The oldest sibling then got up with his sister and said, "We’ll hold you to that. Come on Maddie let’s head to bed before Mom throws a fit. Have a good night Spiral. See you tomorrow."

“Good night children and sweet dreams." Spiral said while internally chuckling at the thought of the dreams they would have tonight.

The dark-skinned girl and boy waved good night to the pony as they went back to their room. After closing the door with her magic, Spiral got herself situated in her bed and looked through her notebook to reread what she wrote down earlier in the evening.

‘This place sure has a lot of differences from Equestria, but it certainly has its fair share of benefits.’

When she was done reading, Spiral put her notebook back in her saddlebag, and thought back to the events of the day.

‘Those two children are so easy to manipulate and fun to hypnotize. They surely know how to give me plenty of entertainment while I’m here. After all, who knows how long I’ll be staying here for? This house they’re letting me stay in will be sufficient for the time being and with those triggers I gave them and the parents, I have them right under my hoof.’

As she was reminiscing though, she couldn’t help but feel a bit guilty about taking advantage of the family with her hypnotic powers and pondered if maybe perhaps they were more than just mere subjects to control for her amusement. But she put that thought aside as she closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep as one last thought went through her mind.

‘Tomorrow will be another fun filled day with those two children and more hypnotic playtime…’

Author's Note

I know this was a pretty short chapter, but rest assured, the next chapter will be longer and with Spiral using more of her Hypno Magic on Maddie and Joey.

Chapter 4

The sun slowly started to rise over the horizon to signify the start of a new day. Spiral Swirl opened her eyes slowly and blinked a couple times until she felt ready to start the day. She used her magic to lift the sheets off of her and to open the door from the guest room to the hallway. She made her way to the bathroom and splashed some water in her face to rub away any morning drowsiness. After brushing her mane, the teal-colored pony decided to go downstairs and see if there was any fruit in the kitchen.

As the mare made her way there, she heard a noise coming from the living room and decided to check it out. Trotting to the living room, Spiral saw Maddie and Joey watching a series of pictures on the screen of a box set.

‘So this is television.’ The unicorn thought to herself as she noticed that the two children hadn’t seen the pony walk into the room as their eyes were glued to the screen. ‘It’s almost as if the television’s hypnotized the children.’ Spiral thought amusingly; making her way to where the kids were sitting and greeting them.

“Good morning Maddie and Joey!” Spiral said cheerfully as the children turned around in shock as their new friend approached them.

“Good morning Spiral!” Maddie replied giddily as she gave the pony a good morning hug. The unicorn chuckled at Maddie’s response and returned the hug.

“Morning Spiral! Did you sleep well in the guest room last night?” Joey asked.

“I slept very well, thank you. And how about you two? Did you sleep soundly last night as well?” Spiral asked as she was very interested to hear them respond to her question.

“I had the best sleep I’ve quite possibly ever had!” Joey said with a look of blissful satisfaction written on his face recalling the dream he had last night.

“Same here!” Maddie perked up while breaking the hug. “I even had the best dream I’ve ever had!”

“Oh?” Spiral asked in pretend surprise. “Would you care to share this dream with me?”

Maddie described in the best detail she could about how the three of them went on fun adventures, walked and talked, and play around with hypnosis. Joey was a little taken back with the dream his sister described and said, “You know, strangely enough, I had almost the exact same kind of dream as you sis.”

“I guess great minds think alike.” Spiral said jokingly both to the children and to herself. The pony then looked at the television to see what was playing and then back to Maddie and Joey. “I’m sorry if I broke your concentration from what you were watching just now.”

“Ah! It’s nothing.” The older sibling said in an assuring tone. “There’s nothing really good on right now anyway. Just a bunch of reruns.” Joey went to turn off the TV, then sat back down with the other two sitting beside him.

“So what do you two have planned for today?” The unicorn mare asked with curiosity.

“Well first things first, we have to have breakfast!” Joey began. “Then we were going to go back to the pond in the woods for a swim. And maybe afterwards, we can have some more fun with your hypnosis.”

“Sounds like a plan to me!” Spiral said in agreement.

Just then, footsteps could be heard as the children’s parents came into the room (still dressed in their nightwear) holding coffee mugs.

“Good morning children.” The father said as he took a sip of coffee.

“Morning Dad!” The siblings said in unison.

“And good morning to you as well Spiral.” The mother added. “I trust you slept well last night.”

“Oh, very much so. I can’t thank you enough for all you’ve done for me.” The pony said in gratitude while also thinking in her mind, ‘And for how easy you are to control and make things simple for me.’

“What are friends for?” Maddie replied.

At that moment Spiral felt a huge tug on her heartstrings as she looked at the youngest sibling. Lots of thoughts were going through her head as she was internally debating on what to do. On one hoof, she just wanted to hug the little girl, forget everything she did to her and the family, and turn a new leaf. On the other hoof, she wanted to just push the thought aside and continue to exploit her powers on the family.

Noticing Spiral acting strange, Joey looked at the unicorn and asked, “Umm…Spiral? Are you okay?”

Hearing the oldest child’s voice brought the pony out of her train of thought and shook her head as she wore a smile on her face and responded with, “Oh, sorry about that. I was just thinking about the possible fun later today. I apologize if I worried any of you just now.”

“It’s alright.” Joey said. “Maddie and I will definitely look forward to spending time with you later today!”

The father decided to cut the moment short and asked, “Who wants breakfast?”

“Oh! Oh! Oh! I do! I do! I do!” Maddie exclaimed wildly as she jumped up and down excitingly.

“What’s on the menu this morning?” Joey asked in a laid-back casual tone.

“Your favorite: Pancakes.”

“YAAAAYYYY PANCAKES!” Maddie shouted with even more energy as the brother and pony both looked at each other and chuckled at the youngest sibling’s response.

“Alright then! One order of pancakes coming right up!” The father said as he went to the kitchen to prepare.

“Do you want anything Spiral?” The mother asked.

“Some fruits would suffice if you have any.”

“I’ll have a fruit salad made just for you!” The mother said as she went to join her husband in the kitchen. The two children soon followed suit and joined their parents to help with breakfast; leaving Spiral Swirl all alone in the living room in her own thoughts.

‘I’ll definitely have some fun with Maddie and Joey…when they’re under my control again. But for now, a nice morning meal is in order.’

After breakfast, the two children changed out of their pajamas and put on the same type of bathing suits from yesterday (with Maddie wearing a two-piece pink suit and Joey wearing a pair of orange swim trunks), along with their shoes. Following their change in garments, the siblings went to the kitchen and made a couple peanut-butter and marshmallow sandwiches for themselves and their new companion to take with them to the pond. Finally, the two kids put sunscreen on to prevent themselves from getting sunburnt.

With everything in check, the children and unicorn were ready to head to the pond. Joey was holding a basket for the sandwiches, Maddie was carrying the towels, and Spiral had her saddlebags with everything she brought to this world along with some fruit provided by the mother. As they were heading out the backdoor, Joey shouted to his mom, “Hey Mom, were going to the swimming pond!”

“Okay, have fun! Make sure you’re back before sundown!” The mother responded from across the house.

“Don’t worry, we will!” The oldest sibling replied as he, his sister, and the unicorn went out the backdoor, closed it tightly, and made their way to the pond in the woods. The walk was quiet as the three were mostly in their own thoughts and enjoying the nice breeze. One thought crossed the boy’s mind and felt compelled to ask the pony about it, but decided to save it for later.

A short while later, the group made it to the pond. Joey set the basket against a tree trunk and Maddie put the towels on the ground in a clumsy fashion. The brother looked at his sister’s antics and sighed in frustration.

“Maddie! How many times have I told you that’s not how you set up the towels?”

The younger sibling twiddled her thumbs and asked in a nervous tone, “Uhh...five?”

“Many! I’ve said it many times!” The boy began, but looked at the pony watching them and calmed himself down before continuing on. “Alright, look. You don’t just throw the towels randomly on the ground. You lay it down, like so.” He explained as he took his own towel and gave it a wave in the air before laying it flat on the ground. “Now, you try.”

Maddie grabbed her towel and tried to wave it in the same fashion as her brother, but ended up making it look wrinkled as it hit the ground.

“Uhh...ta-da?” She asked again nervously.

“Well...it’s a start.” The brother said in a defeated tone. The little girl felt disappointed in herself until she felt a hoof on her right shoulder. The youngest sibling turned her head and saw Spiral smiling at her as the unicorn used her magic to flatten out Maddie’s towel. The pony winked at the dark-skinned girl as she received a hug from her.

‘I could get used to this.’ The mare thought to herself as she returned the hug. ‘But I still prefer to be the dominant one.’

Maddie broke the embrace and took off her shoes; putting them next to her towel. She let out a sigh of relief as the little girl let her feet air out and laid down on her towel for a moment. The brother took off his sneakers as well, placing them beside his sister’s pair of shoes and went to take a dip in the pond. The younger sibling soon went to join her brother and waved to the pony watching the two of them.

“Come on in! The water’s great!” Maddie yelled in a friendly manner.

The unicorn giggled and responded by shouting, “No thanks, I’m good! Thanks for the offer!”

The human girl went, “Aww…” in disappointment, but soon shrugged it off as she went back to enjoy herself in the pond.

While the kids were having their fun in the water, the unicorn took out her pair of binoculars and went bird gazing, but made sure not to stray too far away from the pond.

After about an hour of swimming, the children decided they had enough and went back to the shore to dry themselves. While drying off, Joey opened up the basket and got himself and Maddie a sandwich for lunch. They asked Spiral if she wanted one as well, but the mare kindly rejected the offer. With the pony’s answer, the two kids said a quick prayer and dug right in. The unicorn sat next to the children and took a bite out of an apple the mother gave her.

Satisfied with their quick meal, the children laid on their towels and let the air dry off the rest of the moisture from their bodies. Ten minutes later, Spiral decided to break the silence and ask, “So...what do you two want to do now?”

Maddie perked up at the pony’s question and shouted, “Oh! Oh! Oh! Hypnotize me!”

Joey looked over at his sister and added, “Yeah, pretty much what she said.”

“Alright then. Why don’t the two of you get comfortable and we’ll get started.” The unicorn said smiling as she went through her saddlebag using her magic and brought out her pocket watch.

Joey and Maddie readjusted themselves on their towels to help with the induction with the oldest sibling sitting crisscross and the youngest sitting on her legs. While the two children eagerly awaited their unicorn friend to start the process, Spiral wanted to try something a bit different and decided to ask the children for some creative input.

“Okay, before we start, I have a couple questions. First, do you want the hypnotizing process to be slow or fast? And second, do you have any specific requests of what you want me to do to you after you’ve fallen into a trance?”

While Maddie was having a hard time deciding, Joey knew exactly how he wanted everything to play out.

“Personally, I think it’d be more enjoyable to take your time hypnotizing us, because since you already make it as relaxing as possible for us, why not just drag it out? And as far as what you make us do, I don’t really care as long as all of us are enjoying it, so do whatever you want.”

“Okay, and what about you Maddie?” Asked the mare.

“I’m pretty much with what my brother said. So take your time and have fun with it!”

‘This will be fun indeed! With them trusting me completely there’s no limit to the amount of amusement I’ll get from this session!’ The unicorn thought to herself as she brought the gold pocket watch to the children’s eye level and said, “Very well, let’s begin. Just relax and watch the watch.” The hypnotic pony began to slowly swing it before the siblings’ line-of-vision. “Just focus all your attention on the pocket watch. Just watch it swing back and forth.”

Right on cue, the children focused all of their attention on the pocket watch swinging before them.

“You’re doing very good Maddie and Joey. Focusing on the watch. Letting your eyes follow it. They’re magnetized by it. The constant simple motion of the swinging watch is beginning to relax both of you. Just relax a little for me. Why don’t you start by slowing your breathing? Taking slow relaxing breaths.” Spiral Swirl said, continuing the induction. She smiled when she noticed that the kids were following along and had indeed slowed their breathing. Even Maddie who was highly energetic just moments ago, had begun to show signs of lowering her heart rate. The unicorn carried on in a quieter and calm voice.

“That’s it. Now just relax some more for me. You’re beginning to feel calm. You two had lots of energy while swimming. Allow that energy to fade and just relax. You’re beginning to enjoy this experience. You’re beginning to embrace hypnosis as you relax even more for me.”

The children started to feel the heavy effects of hypnosis kicking in as they just continued to stare at the entrancing watch and relaxing further as per the pony’s instructions.

“You’re both being great hypnosis subjects Maddie and Joey,” Spiral said as she continued with, “Now as you continue to watch the watch I want you to notice the rest of the world fading away as nothing else matters anymore except for the pocket watch and my lovely voice. You just want to ignore everything else and continue to relax. Just relax completely for me. Your whole body is completely relaxed and it feels wonderful.”

“Feels...wonderful...” The older sibling whispered as he found it increasingly difficult to keep his eyes open. The younger child’s thoughts were already on board Cloud Nine as she could only stare and listen.

“This wonderful feeling comes with something else,” The unicorn mare said, “A feeling of sleepiness. You’re beginning to feel very sleepy. And your eyes are beginning to feel tired from keeping a constant focus on my pocket watch. You just want to drift off and go to sleep. So now when I count down from ten to one you will close your tired eyes and drift off into a deep hypnotized sleep for me.”

She then began the countdown in a more soft and inviting voice.

“10...Letting my words guide you down into a deep trance. 9…Just drifting down deeper into relaxation. 8…So peaceful, sleepy and relaxed. 7…Your mind is calm and relaxed. 6…Your eyes are growing heavy. 5…You’re doing so very well Maddie and Joey. 4...You’re nearly there. So close to drifting off to sleep. 3...So close. You want to sleep for me. 2…Your eyes are closing. 1…Close your eyes. Fall into a deep hypnotized sleep for me.”

Right when Spiral reached one, Maddie and Joey’s eyes blinked shut as their heads dropped down and fell into a trance.

With the induction process completed, Spiral stopped swinging the watch and said to the two hypnotically sound children, “Lift your heads up and open your eyes, but stay hypnotized.”

The two kids obediently lifted their heads and opened their black and white spiral, filled eyes as they stared off in the woods and waited to be given more commands.

“How do the two of you feel?” Asked the pony as she put the pocket watch back in her saddlebag.

“Wonderful Mistress...” The boy answered in a tired, monotone voice.

“Like I could stay this way forever Mistress.” The spellbound girl said.

The unicorn studied the two mesmerized siblings as she was debating on what to do next with them. “Hmm...” The unicorn said aloud as she rubbed a hoof under her chin and looked away from the human children. Just then, a light bulb went off in the pony’s head and a mischievous smile grew on her face.

‘Of course! Why didn’t I think of doing this yesterday?’

Spiral turned back to the spiral eyed kids and said, “Maddie! Joey! I want to listen carefully about what I say, because we’re going to play a game. I’m going to say the name of an animal and when I do, both of you will act like that animal until I say the name of a different one. But when I say, ‘Game Over’, you two will return to sitting on your towels as you currently are. Understand?”

“Yes, mistress.” The two children said as they waited for their hypnotic friend to begin the game.

Thinking for a few seconds, Spiral went through a mental list of animals, until she decided to start with, “Cow.”

At the sound of hearing their mistress utter the name of the animal, the two entranced siblings got down on all fours, and went, “Mooooooow…” as if they were a real cow.

Spiral was chuckling at the sight for a few moments, until she said, “Snake.”

At once, Maddie and Joey got down on their stomachs, “slithered” around and hissed like they would for a real snake.

The teal unicorn began to laugh harder at what she was making the children do as she said in her mind, ‘This is even more fun than I thought.’

After calling out a few more animal names, she decided to wrap the game up by saving the best for last with, “Monkey.”

The mention of monkey from their mistress’ lips had the two kids overarching their backs, scratched their underarms with their fingers lazily, and screeched with, “Oh! Oh! Oh! Oh! Oh! Oh! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah!”

Spiral was laughing hard at the way her hypnotized subjects were acting to the point where she was clutching her sides and nearly passing out. Her laughing died down after a minute and said to the two “monkey-minded” children, “Game Over.”

When the siblings heard the phrase, they immediately stopped acting, sat back on their towels, and awaited their next command. Spiral meanwhile, was thinking of other fun ideas to do with the spellbound children. Another idea suddenly popped up and the unicorn grew a playful face as she said, “Maddie. Joey. I want you two to rearrange your sitting positions so that you’re sitting up straight with your legs stretched outward!”

The entranced kids obeyed the pony’s commands and sat on their bottoms with their legs pointing towards their mistress.

Spiral sat on her haunches and used her magic to gently lift Maddie’s right leg until her foot was in the unicorn’s hooves. A sly smirk drew on the mare’s face as she stroked a hoof against the bottom of the foot. The little girl started to burst into laughter at the ticklish treatment she was receiving and only amused her mistress even more.

“Tell me Maddie, do you enjoy this?” Asked Spiral as she kept rubbing her hoof on the girl’s soft sole.

“Yehehehehes...Iahahah... l do mistrehehehehessss!” The hypnotized Maddie laughed; continuing to stare at nothing and letting the unicorn play with her feet.

“I’m glad you like this.” Spiral responded as she used her magic again to bring the youngest child’s other foot in for the fun. “It makes me happy that you enjoy this.”

“AHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! I’M HAHAHAHAHAHAHAPPY...THAT YOU AREHEHEHEHEH HAPPY MISTREHEHSS!!!” Maddie responded hysterically.

As the pony continued tickling the girl’s feet, she turned her head to the steadfast boy, still sitting in anticipation for what was to happen next. Spiral was chuckling at the oldest sibling’s non-existent, expressive face as he just sat and stared.

‘Oh don’t worry Joey, I haven’t forgotten about you. You’ll have your turn when I’m finished with your sister.’

A few minutes later, after more tickling and laughing, Spiral Swirl released the now panting Maddie and used her magic to set the girl’s legs back down gracefully. The mare then went over to the youngest sibling’s ear and whispered in her ear, “Shh...rest, relax, and let yourself fall asleep. You’re tired from the tickling and need some rest. So just lay down on your back and let sleep overtake you.”

As the pony was filling the child’s mind with thoughts of sleep, Maddie’s short, quick breaths, began to die down and she slowly closed her eyes, lied down on her towel, and fell into a deep hypnotic sleep. The unicorn smiled as she brought her own towel over to the youngest sibling and draped her with it to make her comfortable.

With the youngest child asleep, Spiral went over to Joey, sat in front of him, and just like what she did with Maddie, used her magic to lift Joey’s right foot up to her hooves and brushed her limbs against the sole. Joey’s reaction was just as funny (if not priceless as his sister’s), as he broke into uncontrollable laughter and tried to break free from the unicorn’s grasp.

Spiral decided to tease him by saying, “Now, now, now Joey. You don’t want to accidentally hit your beloved mistress from all that flailing around do you?”

“HAHAHAHAHAHA...NEHEHEHEH...NO...I...DOHAHAHAHAHAN’T...MISTRESS!!!” The spiral eyed Joey responded as he kept laughing up a storm with how sensitive his foot was against Spiral’s hoof. The unicorn gave a small, playful, evil smile with what she was about to say next.

“Then your mistress commands you to be a good boy and be as still as possible. You may still laugh of course, but the rest of your body may not move at all until I say so or I move it with my hooves or magic. Understand?”

“YEHEHEHEHEH...YEHEHES...IAAAAA...UNDERSTAHAHAHAHAHAND MISTRESS!!!” The hypnotic bound boy said as his body went stiff and was at the unicorn’s mercy.

Spiral then used her magic to bring the oldest sibling’s other foot in her grasp and now had both feet in her hooves.

“Say, ‘Ahhhh’.” The unicorn said playfully as she attacked the boy’s feet in the most ticklish manner.

“AHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!” The vulnerable Joey laughed like no tomorrow as he could only sit still and let his mistress have her way.

Needless to say, Spiral was having fun toying with the boy. After another minute of tickling, she let the boy have a breather from the torture session.

“Alright Joey, lay down, relax on your towel, and sleep.” The unicorn commanded. As Joey was recovering from the ticklish onslaught, Spiral decided to let the two kids sleep while deciding what to do next with them.

While she was thinking, a strange thought crossed her mind and at first simply dismissed it. But the more she tried to push it away, the more it surfaced until at last, she decided to satisfy herself and said to the two sound asleep siblings, “Maddie. Joey. I want you two to sit up and open your eyes but stay in your trances.”

Without question, the two kids sat up on their bottoms, revealed their black and white spiraled eyes to the world and stared at their mistress – waiting for more commands.

Looking over the two for a few seconds, Spiral then said, “I’m going to ask the two of you a couple of questions and I want you to answer them not as if you were under my spell but as if you were in a normal state of mind. Afterwards, I will let the both of you sleep for a little longer. Understand?”

“Yes, mistress.”

“Okay then. First question I have for you Maddie is, what do you think of me not as a hypnotist, but as a pony?”

Maddie didn’t have to think twice before answering with, “I love playing with you and hugging you. Being around you makes me feel happy.”

The unicorn couldn’t help but chuckle at her honest answer and said back to her, “Well I certainly can’t argue with that.” She then turned to the boy and asked, “And what about you Joey? What are your thoughts about me as a pony and not just your mistress?”

Joey answered almost straightaway with, “I think you’re a fun pony to spend time with and kind of cute as well. Even without your powers, you’re a great friend to have.”

Spiral blushed when Joey called her cute. But it was when he said that she was a great friend where she felt a little conflicted about that statement. She decided to push it aside for now and move on to the next question.

“How would you feel Maddie if I wasn’t able to return to my world?”

“I would feel sad that you wouldn’t be able to go back home. But I would be happy since we could spent all the time we can with each other.” The youngest sibling replied.

‘Well at least she was honest about it.’ Spiral said in her mind before asking Joey, “How about you Joey? What would you feel if I couldn’t find a way home?”

“I would feel very sorry for you for not being able to return back to your friends and family and would do anything to help make you happy here.” The boy answered earnestly.

The unicorn felt taken back at Joey’s response. She decided to ask one more question this time starting with Joey.

“Joey, if you knew that I was just merely using you as a hypnotic slave, how would you feel?”

“I would feel betrayed at the thought of just being used only as a puppet to be played with and not just as a friendly pastime.”

“And you Maddie? How would you feel if you found out I was only using my hypnotic powers to take over your mind?” The pony asked in anticipation; waiting for the girl’s answer.

“I would feel saddened that you weren’t really my friend from the start.”

It was at that moment a sense of regret started to wash over Spiral. She then said to the spiral eyed kids, “Thank you for your honest responses. Now lay back down on your towels and drift into a peaceful slumber.”

After the hypnotized children complied with the order, Spiral went for a walk in the woods to collect her thoughts.

Chapter 5

As she was walking through the woods on her own, Spiral Swirl was debating with herself on the issue of the two children she had under her control.

'I don’t know what to do. I like spending time with Maddie and Joey and having fun with them, but I enjoy having them under my spell. They said they would never forgive me if they found out they were my hypnotized slaves, but that only gives me a better reason to keep them as such.’

She could feel he heart racing with every thought that processed in her head. It was indeed hard for the hypnotic doctor to make a decision on the matter, but kept on talking to herself about what the best way to handle everything would be.

Finally, after a good amount of thinking, Spiral decided to let Maddie and Joey have some freedom from her hypnosis. She went back to the two children (who were still sleeping) and said, “Maddie. Joey. I’m going to bring the two of you out of your trance. When I do, you won’t remember anything that happened while hypnotized. Only the feelings of bliss and relaxation will be the only things you recall from the session. Understand?”

“Yes…mistress…” Joey said in between breaths as he slept. Due to how deeply asleep Maddie was, she was only able to whisper a, “……Yes……”, but heard the command loud and clear.

“Then on the count of three, you will both wake up from your trances. 1…2…3...Awaken!”

Just like always, the spirals dissipated from the children’s eyes as they woke up. Joey rubbed his eyes as Maddie stretched and yawned. After they both recovered, Spiral with her seemingly warm smile asked the two, “So how did you enjoy your session?”

“It was nice and relaxing like last time.” Joey answered in a contented tone of voice.

“It was wonderful!” Maddie replied, smiling with satisfaction.

“That’s good.” Spiral said. “I always do my best to make sure subjects enjoy hypnotic sessions to the fullest.

“Speaking of which, I know you said that we can’t remember from the session because of post-hypnotic amnesia, but what did you make us do under hypnosis?” Joey asked with curious eyes.

Spiral thought for a moment about how to answer his question, until she decided to be honest and see his and Maddie’s reaction. If things turned sour, she could always use the trigger to make them forget.

“Well…what would you say if I said I made the two of you act like random animals?” She asked with a sheepish smile.

“What kind of animals?” Joey asked curiously.

“Oh…just basic kinds like cows, snakes…monkeys.” Spiral answered in a slightly worried tone.

The older brother processed what the pony told him about the animals he acted out under hypnosis and with a sly smile asked, “Were we a wild bunch?” The three then broke down into a fit of laughter from the crass joke.

After recovering from his laugh attack, Joey asked Spiral, “So was there anything else you had us do in a trance or did you just make us act out different animals?”

“Oh no, there was another activity we did while both of you were still under. But, would you be angry if I said I played around with you and your sister’s feet?” She asked while also deciding not to bring up the fact that she questioned the two later in the session.

“You played around…with our feet?” Joey asked in a confused tone with an eye brow raised.

“You mean, like tickling us?” The little sister questioned back.

“You could say that.” The pony replied as she waited to hear another response from them. When none came, she asked, “I take it by the silence that you two didn’t enjoy what I did?”

“Oh no.” The brother retorted before tackling the unicorn down playfully and saying, “But I know that I’ll enjoy THIS!” The boy then began to assault the unicorn’s belly with merciless tickling.

“NO! HAHAHAHAHA! PLEASE NOTHAHAHAHAHA, NOT THE STOMACH!” Spiral laughed out of control while the boy had his way with her.

“Why not?” Joey asked with an amused grin. “It only makes sense that I get my share of tickling you.”

“YOUHAHAHAHA! BAD BOHOHOHOHOHOYYY!” Spiral as she was trying to wrestle her way out of Joey’s grip, but the oldest sibling had a good grip on her and continued his onslaught.

Maddie, simply watching what her brother was doing to the hypnotic doctor, couldn’t resist joining in the fun. She helped hold down some of Spiral’s limbs and added her own set of tickles to the poor pony’s tummy.

All Spiral could do at this point was just laugh uncontrollably as the two siblings had a ballgame with tickling their quadruped friend. Soon after, the siblings settled down and ceased their game of tickling the unicorn. The mare was regaining her breath from the excitement she had just endured as she looked over at the two children and gave an approving smile at them. She could’ve used the trigger at any time, but decided to let the children have their fun and in the process, actually had a fun time as well.

After calming her heartrate down, Spiral asked Maddie and Joey, “So what do you two want to do now?”

“Well it’s only mid-afternoon, so how about a stroll through the woods before we head home?” Suggested the brother.

“Love to.” The teal unicorn responded. “I’ve never actually seen much of these woods since my arrival so, maybe you could guide me around to other landmarks that might be worth visiting?

“Of course! The pond isn’t the only place me and Maddie love to play at.” The boy said. “Come on. Let’s get everything picked up and then we can be on our way.”

“Alrighty!” The younger child said happily as the two of them put their shoes back on and neatly folded their towels (with Spiral helping Maddie out again).

Picking up the basket, Joey looked at his sister and their pony companion and said, “Well, let’s head off!” The three then started to head into a deeper part of the woods.

As they were walking, Spiral took notice of the different types of birds that had nests on the branches and the flowers that grew in certain areas of the grass.

‘These woods certainly are the perfect place for birds to gather. Maybe one day, if I come here alone, I’ll spend a good couple of hours bird gazing.’

After a few minutes, the trio arrived at a massive tree that was hollow at the bottom.

“This is our favorite tree to play at.” Joey told the doctor as he then went inside and ushered the two females to join him. Maddie of course giggled with glee as she sat down next to her brother with Spiral following suit. “When we play hide and seek, we always argue about hiding in the tree’s empty space. But we sometimes also tell stories here when we’re tired of playing.”

While she was taking in the surroundings, Spiral couldn’t help but ask, “I’m sorry if this sounds rude, but how come your parents let you two come to these woods all by yourselves? Aren’t there any possible dangers to being out here, like ferocious creatures?”

Joey was the one to answer her question.

“When we first moved here a year ago, Maddie and I didn’t have any friends to play with and we both loved the outdoors. We didn’t think anything of the woods during our first few days in the new house and stuck to playing in the backyard. About a week later, while our parents were rearranging furniture, we decided to go outside and run around in the backyard. While we were doing that, something about the woods caught our attention and against better judgement, we decided to walk through and see what there was. While exploring, we didn’t find a single animal in sight expect for the occasional bird that flew over us. The first place we discovered was the pond which later on became our favorite place to swim at. It was there and then we realized our parents would be worried sick if we weren’t in the backyard so Maddie and I hurried back to the house and luckily our parents had just finished moving furniture around. The next free day we had, the two of us were able to convince our parents to come with us for a walk in the forest. We showed them around and afterwards asked if it was alright if Maddie and I could come here by ourselves. Mom and Dad were initially very skeptical about us traveling alone in the woods, but after bringing up the fact that we hadn’t come across anything dangerous and my sister pleading, they gave us their consent, as long as we always returned home on time and I always kept a close eye on Maddie. So you could say that these woods are like our playground.”

“I see.” Spiral said.

The boy soon stood back up and asked, “Onto the next location?”

Spiral stood up with a genuine smile on her face and said, “Lead on!”

About six minutes later, the children and pony came to an open grove where the sun shone down on a field of grass. Maddie and Joey both looked at each other for a moment before nodding their heads, putting down the towels and basket, taking off their footwear, putting them next to the towels and ran through the grass in their bare feet. A minute later the two siblings laid down with their backs touching the grass as both let out a content sigh. Spiral only looked on in confusion as to what just happened.

“So what’s special about this site?”

“This…” The brother began as he closed his eyes and put his hands behind his head. “This is our favorite place to relax. The grass here has a soft, soothing touch to our skin. Somedays, we come here to have a nice afternoon nap when we’re bored with nothing else to do.” He then pat a patch of the grass next to him and said, “Feel for yourself Spiral.”

The unicorn shrugged at the human boy’s request, but decided to join the children and to her surprise, the grass was indeed some of the softest she had ever felt. As she sat next to Joey, another question popped into Spiral’s head.

“I know the two of you love coming here by yourselves, but don’t you two have any friends to share this with?”

Joey looked at Spiral and said, “Well we have you to share this with don’t we?” before breaking out into a laugh for a few moments. His laughter soon died down as he looked back in the sky and answered with, “But in all seriousness, Maddie and I don’t have that many friends we hang out with. Those ones we do have are either too busy to spend time with us, don’t share our same level of enjoyment for the outdoors, or go on vacation with their families. I mean don’t get me wrong, we still talk and socialize with them when we’re at school, but we’ve never been able to convince them to walk with us through the woods.”

Spiral felt sorry for the brother and sister, but then, an idea crossed her mind as she asked the two, “Well what if you brought your friends over now that I’m here? You could introduce me to them.”

Maddie stood up and exclaimed, “I have a friend I can bring over! Stacy loves ponies and I think the two of you would get along great! Maybe even hypnotize her for fun!”

Spiral chuckles at Maddie and says, “Well perhaps I could meet her tomorrow and get to know her.”

“I’ll ask Mom when I get home!” The little girl stated happily.

Spiral then turned her head to the other child and asked, “What about you Joey? Have any friends you might want to invite over and introduce me to?”

The boy simply let out a sigh and said, “All my friends are away this year for the summer. Maddie’s the only one I spend time with.”

The unicorn felt even sorrier for the boy and said, “I’m sorry for asking. I just wanted to-”

“You don’t need to apologize.” Joey interrupted the pony. “It’s something neither you nor I could change. Plus, it gives me more time to look after my sister.”

Before she could keep pressing the subject, the oldest sibling got up and said, “Well we’d better move on.” The unicorn stretched herself with some of her limbs popping back into place.

Maddie and Joey quickly put their shoes back on, carried their supplies and continued on their way with Spiral following right beside them.

“How many more stops are there?” The pony asked not out of disrespect but out of curiosity.

“We have just one more.” Replied the brother sibling. “And it’s our favorite of all.”

“Can’t wait to see it!”

A short while later, the three arrived at the entrance to a small cavern that was only about seven feet high. Making their way inside, the unicorn looked around and saw different pictures carved against the wall. The trio of travelers soon reached the end of the cavern where the two kids sat in front of an engraved drawing depicting two children embracing each other. Joining the children in sitting down, Spiral stared at the picture before her and asked, “That’s you two isn’t it?”

“It is.” Joey responded. “This picture holds a special place for Maddie and me. It was a couple months ago when we first came across this cavern during a massive rainstorm. We didn’t have any rain jackets or umbrellas on hand so we took shelter here and waited for the storm to blow over. It continued on for a good couple of hours with the rain hitting down hard, lightning flashing everywhere and the thunder booming loudly. To make matters worse, it had started to get chilly inside. Maddie had been frozen from both the cold and fear of the storm. So I did the only thing I could do. Comfort her and keep her close for warmth. I can’t remember how long we hugged each other for but a little while later, the storm had moved on. We returned home as quickly as we could, only to receive a scolding from our parents about how careless we were and earned a punishment of being unable to go back to the woods for a couple weeks. The two of us were upset at being forbidden to stroll through the forest for the next few weeks, but deep down I was happy that my little sister was okay and receiving any set discipline from our parents couldn’t take that away from me. The weeks following the storm had been long, grueling, and boring but they eventually passed by and soon we were allowed to walk through the woods again. The first thing Maddie and I did, was travel back to this cave and carve up this image as a reminder that even when things seem to be dark and bleak, our love as a brother and sister can never be broken.”

The boy then turned his head to the teal pony and said, “That’s why this is our favorite place in the forest. We also carve up other pictures along the wall for fun, but this first one will always have a special place for us.”

Listening to Joey’s story made Spiral Swirl’s heart soften up even more and made her ultimately question whether she should continue to enslave the children for her own personal benefit or tell the children the whole truth about what her intentions were when she first met them. She studied the picture for a few more seconds until she looked at the two children and said to them, “Thank you for sharing your story Joey. I can certainly understand why this place means so much to the two of you.”

Joey then got up and said, “Well we should start heading back. It’s going to be sundown soon and we don’t want Mom and Dad to throw a fit about us returning late.”

The unicorn lightly chuckled at the oldest child’s statement and said, “I certainly can’t argue with that.” Maddie then stood up and joined her brother’s side with Spiral getting up on her four hooves and saying, “Lead on!”

The brother and sister began walking to the cavern’s entrance while Spiral stayed behind for a minute and stared at the picture a while longer.

“SPIRAL! YOU COMING?!?” Maddie’s voice rang through the walls, breaking the pony’s concentration as she hurried to join the two kids waiting for her at the cavern’s exit while a lone thought went through the doctor’s head.

‘Maybe someday…’

Author's Note

It may be awhile before the next chapter is uploaded. I've had a ton of busy things happening in my schedule and work has overtaken most of my time. But, I hope to have Chapter 6 written soon.

Chapter 6

The sound of birds chirped in the background as the two siblings and their pony companion were traveling through the woods back to the children’s home. Their walk was uneventful and mostly quiet with only the beautiful weather and calm wind to accompany them.

The trio soon arrived back at the house just as the sun was beginning to go down. Maddie and Joey made their way through the backdoor with Spiral close behind them. After closing the backdoor and making sure it was locked, the young children shouted, “Mom? Dad? We’re home!”

“Hi Maddie! Hi Joey! I’m almost finished with prepping up dinner!” The children’s mother shouted back as the siblings went to put their towels in the laundry room, the picnic basket away and wash their hands for supper. Spiral meanwhile went to the kitchen to see what the mother was cooking up for tonight.

As she entered the kitchen, Spiral could smell something pleasant and delicious coming from the oven as she asked Maddie and Joey’s mother, “What’s that wonderful smell?”

The mother jumped at the question and looked to see the teal unicorn look up at her with enquiring eyes and said, “Oh! Spiral. I thought you might be with Maddie and Joey. As for what I’m cooking up, it’s pizza.”

“Pizza?” The pony questioned at the very sound of it. “I’ve never heard of this ‘pizza’ before. What is it?”

The mother smiled at the doctor and said to her, “To put it simply, it’s a type of flatbread topped with tomato sauce and mozzarella cheese and cooked in an oven, but you can also add other toppings like meat, veggies, and other types of cheese. It’s a delicacy most people enjoy and it’s one of Maddie and Joey’s favorite dishes I cook up for them.”

“It certainly sounds delicious.” The mare said as she continued to inhale the smell of bread, sauce, and cheese coming together in an irresistible flavor that would make anyone (or in this case anypony’s) mouth water over. “Would I be able to try some?” She asked in a polite tone, hoping the mother would let her.

“Of course!” The mother answered back. “I have one pizza cooking especially for you. I didn’t know what kind of toppings you might have wanted, so I just put on extra cheese. Maddie and Joey’s pizza has meat toppings so you don’t need to worry about confusing which one’s which. I also have a salad on the cutting board to go with dinner. ”

“Splendid!” Spiral replied as she couldn’t wait to get her hooves on the pizza that was on the other side of the oven door. “But wait, what about you and your husband? Aren’t you two having any?”

“Oh…that’s right. I forgot to tell you and the children earlier today. The two of us have a dinner meeting to go to tonight so that’s why I’m cooking this up. I’m so sorry to ask you of this Spiral but, could you watch Maddie and Joey tonight? I know this is a last minute request, however this is a mandatory event my husband and I both have to attend. All you have to do is make sure you clean up after dinner, keep an eye on the two and have them in bed by 9:00. Can you handle this?”

“Sure thing.” The pony doctor said with confidence while thinking to herself, ‘Foalsitting Maddie and Joey will be fun with the time their parents are away. Perhaps maybe they’d like to do another session with my hypnosis.’

“Wonderful!” The mother replied, as just then a *DING* *DING* *DING* *DING* noise went off, signifying that the pizza was ready. She went over to one of the drawers, put on her oven mitts, turned off the oven, pulled open the door, took out the sheets the pizzas were cooking on and set them down on the counter to cool off.

Spiral could only stare at how appealing the cheesy flatbreads looked and smelled. The mare was about to drift into a pleasant fantasy when a loud, “PIZZA!” brought her back to reality and saw the two children (still wearing their swim outfits) standing at the doorway to the kitchen.

“Indeed it is.” The mother said with a smile. “And it’s your favorite: sausage and pepperoni.”

“ALRIGHT!!!” The two siblings shouted in unison and rushing over to the counter to get a good look at the tasty treat. But before any of them had the chance to even touch it, their mother asked in an authoritative but kind tone, “Did you two wash your hands when you walked through the door?”

“Yes, mom.” The kids responded while showing her their hands as proof.

The mother checked the hands thoroughly before giving an approved look and said, “Very good. Now, sit yourselves down at the table and I’ll have the pizza all ready in a minute.” Maddie and Joey were about to race each other to the dining room, until they heard a voice that said, “And no, running. We don’t want any injuries to occur now, do we?”

The boy and girl turned their heads to see their father standing in the doorway, looking professionally dressed and responded with, “No, dad.” in disappointing unison as they quietly made their way to the dining room table.

The father then went over to his wife, gave her a quick kiss, and said to her, “You’d better hurry and get ready. We have to leave soon.”

“Yes, yes. I was just getting dinner ready for Maddie and Joey. Also, I talked with Spiral and she’s agreed to babysit the two tonight.”

The father looked at the unicorn with a slight worried look and asked, “Are you sure she can handle it? We can always call up Denise to look after them. She’s always reliable at the last minute.”

Spiral interjected to the conversation with, “Don’t you worry. I can look after Maddie and Joey while you two are away for the evening. I promise to make sure they don’t cause any trouble and to have them in bed on time.”

The father thought for a moment, then said, “Okay. I’m trusting you’ll take care of everything while we’re gone. As strange as it sounds, even though I’ve only met you yesterday, I feel like you’re trustworthy enough to watch our children.”

“Well thank you.” The pony said taking in the compliment. “I won’t let you down.”

Looking back at his wife, the father said, “Well, better serve dinner to the little rascals and then get changed. We have to walk out the door soon.” The children’s mother nodded, then got out a pizza cutter from one of the drawers, sliced the children’s and mare’s pizzas up, and took the dishes out to the dining room with Spiral following behind.

Meanwhile, Maddie and Joey were waiting patiently to be served while thinking about the fun time they had earlier with their pony companion. Soon enough, their mother brought out the pizzas for them and Spiral. The unicorn, entering the room, went to pick a seat of her own and helped herself up to the table. The mother then went back to the kitchen to retrieve the salad and put it next to the pizzas.

“Now be sure to have plenty of helpings from the salad, for vegetables, to offset that pizza. Understand?” The mother asked in a firm manner.

“Yes, mom.” The kids said in a tone that was meant to be compliant on the outside, but deep down they had a distaste for the green leaf and carrot vegetable mix. Spiral gave an internal chuckle knowing how the kids really felt toward the salad.

“Very good.” The mother said before she kissed each child on the cheek. “Now then, your father and I have a dinner meeting to go to tonight, so Spiral will be looking after you two tonight.”

“Really?!?” The two kids asked surprisingly as they looked at their mother then at their unicorn friend.

“That’s right!” Spiral said while she thought of possible fun activities to do with the two of them for the evening.

“This is WONDERFUL!!!” Maddie shouted. “First we got to spend time with Spiral for the afternoon and now we get to do it again for the evening! I hope we can do this more often and…” Just then, the little girl remembered that she was wanting to bring one of her friends over to meet the unicorn. “Oh! Mommy? Would it be okay if I invited Stacy over tomorrow so she can meet Spiral?”

The mother seemed a bit hesitant about letting others know about Spiral Swirl’s existence since having magical, talking, unicorns around wasn’t common. She looked down at her daughter and said, “I’m not sure if that’s a good idea. It’s not every day that people see a pony, let alone one like Spiral. And if word of this got out, then it could be problematic.” She then looked at the mare and said to her, “But, this is up to you Spiral. Are you okay with meeting other people or do you just want to keep your presence known only to this family?”

The pony simply smiled back to the mother as she replied with, “Oh, I don’t mind meeting a friend of Maddie’s. In fact, I’d love to meet some of Maddie and Joey’s friends, but perhaps maybe having one over at a time would be best.”

“If you say so.” The mother responding as she looked at the time and said, “Well, I need to get ready. Enjoy the dinner everyone!” She then left the dining room leaving the children and the mare to chow down on their pizza and salad.

The unicorn used her magic to lift a slice of her cheese pizza onto her plate while the children got their hands on a couple slices of the sausage and pepperoni pizza. But before Spiral could bite into the delicious looking cheese bread, she noticed Maddie and Joey had folded their hands, bowed their heads, and said a quick prayer. She noticed them doing it earlier in the day when they were at the pond and thought nothing of it, but now she was compelled to ask, “Umm…forgive me if this sounds rude but, what were you two just doing?”

Joey looked at the inquisitive Spiral and answered with, “We were saying a prayer for the meal. Mom and Dad say that it’s always important to give thanks to God before eating an evening meal to show thankfulness.”

Spiral only felt more confused now and instinctively asked back with, “God? Who is this ‘God’?”

“He’s a holy father who looks out for people in the world and has a son who died so we may have eternal life in heaven.”

“I see.” Spiral said before asking another question. “But how does sending a son to his death grant eternal life?”

“Well…” Joey thought for a moment as he tried to come up with the best answer he could, until he decided to reply with, “You might want to ask our parents, especially our Dad. They would know more than us.”

“I might just have to.” Spiral said getting more curious about the subject, but decided to push it aside for another day.

At that moment, Maddie and Joey’s parents (all dressed up in their dinner party outfits), went to give their children good night hugs and kisses as the mother said to them, “Now you be on your best behavior for Spiral, okay?”

The two children nodded their heads in understanding as the parents went out the front door and locked it, leaving the hypnotic doctor and the two siblings alone for the night. The children dug right in to the pizza on their plates, while Spiral held her slice in the air with her magic as she slowly brought it close to her mouth and took a small bite. Her face lit up with delight as she took another bite of the scrumptious delicacy and tasted the flavor of sauce, cheese, and bread.

‘I can certainly understand why humans love this stuff!’ The mare thought to herself in ecstasy. ‘Imagine if this recipe was brought to Equestria, ponies would be lining up for blocks just to try a slice!’

Quickly finishing the first slice, Spiral used her magic to retrieve another piece of her pizza, along with some salad. She took notice of the children eating away at their pizza, but didn’t have a single leaf of lettuce or slice of carrot on their plates.

“Maddie. Joey. How come you don’t have any salad on your plates?” The mare asked bluntly.

“Because we don’t like salad. It tastes bland.” Joey replied while taking another bite of his meat filled slice.

“Well salad is important to have and your mother did insist on the both you having a good portion of it so…” The unicorn said as she used her magic to push the salad bowl between the children. “…go ahead and serve yourselves.”

“But I don’t want to.” Maddie pouted with her arms crossed.

An idea suddenly went through the pony’s mind as she gave a smug grin as she looked at Maddie and Joey and said in a laid back tone, “Oh, I see how it is. Hehehe…okay then, I guess it’s Trance Time.”

Maddie and Joey’s mindsets went from defiant to obedient in zero seconds flat from the trigger as their eyes changed to the hypnotic unicorn’s trademark black and white spirals. The mare looked at the two kids from her seat and said to them, “Now you two are willing to be more cooperative. Isn’t that right Maddie and Joey?”

“Yes, mistress.” The droned voices of the siblings responded.

“Good. Now then, listen up. From now on, when you are asked to eat vegetables by your parents or myself, you will not complain but instead comply with the request in a normal state of mind. Understand?”

“Yes, mistress.” Replied the children as the command became implanted in their subconscious.

“Very good. Now, I know all of us want to have more fun right now, but it is dinner time so we can wait till later. In the meantime, I want both of you listen to what I say next. When you two wake up from your trances you’ll forget about me saying your trigger and everything that happed while hypnotized, but the command will stay in the subconscious part of your mind. Understand?”

“Yes, mistress.” Maddie and Joey said a third time to the pony doctor.

“Then on the count of three, you’ll return to normal and be free from entrancement. 3…2…1…Awaken!” The pony readjusted herself as if nothing happened while the two children yawned and stretched themselves from the short hypnotic time they were put under. To avoid awkwardness, Spiral said to the children, “You two okay? You look like you just zoned out there for a few seconds.”

“Yeah I’m fine.” The oldest sibling stated as he shook his head until he got his bearings back and said, “I just forgot what we were talking about a few seconds ago.”

“We were just discussing about you and Maddie needing to eat your vegetables.” Spiral replied as she tested the post hypnotic suggestion. “You both want to be strong and healthy don’t you? So, will you go ahead and have some salad?”

Something in the back of Maddie and Joey’s heads told them that they should try some of the salad put before them. Complying with the unicorn’s request, the two kids each took a handful of greens and carrots from the bowl and put them on the plates next to their pizza slices. The siblings stared at the lettuce for a moment before grabbing a fork and stabbing some little portions with the utensil. After another moment of looking at the vegetables, the children hesitantly began to chew on the leaves and were surprised that it wasn’t as awful as they thought, but still thought it tasted too bland for them.

Spiral was watching the whole situation play out with an amused look that said, “This is too funny not to watch.” She chewed on her own serving of salad while trying not to laugh at their expressions.

As the children were starting to eat more of the salad, Maddie had wondered something about her unicorn friend and asked, “Hey Spiral, can I ask you about something?”

The teal colored mare shifted her focus on the human girl with a warm smile and responded with, “Of course Maddie! What is it you want to ask me?”

“How did you get those pictures of the pocket watch and spiral on your flank? Was it called a cutie mark?” The little girl asked with a cute expressive look in her eye.

Spiral chuckled at the youngest sibling’s curious nature and answered with, “Yes it’s called a cutie mark. As to how I got it? Well…there’s not much to say except, it just happened to appear out of thin air one day when I was on spring break helping out my mother and sister around the house. You see, I always had a knack for determining the inner workings of a pony's mind combined with a yearning to help others. When I got my cutie mark, I had somehow awoken a special type of magic called Hypno Magic.”

“Hypno Magic?” Joey asked curiously.

“It’s rare type of magic only a few unicorns have been born with, which can enhance the effects of hypnosis on any given subject. I would sometimes use my power to help my family with sleeping problems and memory issues. Though other times, I would use it to mess around with my sister for the fun of it.”

“Interesting.” Joey said as he now had a deeper fascination for hypnosis more than ever before. “I don’t suppose you could teach us how to use hypnotism the way you use it, could you?”

“Well…” Spiral started; unsure of how to answer his question. She didn’t know enough about humans to be able to teach them about her methods, plus she wasn’t one who liked to give away her secrets that easily. “…I’m afraid that’s a question I can’t answer right now. I’m not pushing it away to be mean or anything, I just need some time to think about it. Okay?”

“Ohh…okay.” Joey sighed in defeat but understood where the mare was coming from.

“Don’t be sad about it. I’ll tell you what, when we finish eating, let’s clean up, and then we can have some fun until bedtime. Sound like a deal?”

Joey looked at Spiral before smiling back and saying, “Sure! I’m up for an evening of fun!”

“Me too!” The little sister added in excitement.

The three then went back to eating quietly and enjoyed the rest of dinner.

Author's Note

I'd like to thank Rathbane for giving me some input on how to incorporate a little bit of Spiral Swirl's backstory.

Chapter 8

As the two children and their pony companion were watching The Wizard of Oz, Joey was engrossed with everything that played out in the film, from the transition of sepia tone to color, to the characters, to the musical numbers, to the overall fantasy world. Spiral was enjoying the movie for the same reason, but was also completely enthralled with how different movies in this world were compared to the ones back in her home.

After the movie ended, Maddie looked at her brother and asked him, “So what did you think? Did you like it?”

“I loved it! I didn’t think it would be that good, but wow! I’d definitely be up for watching it again sometime soon!” Joey exclaimed in satisfaction. He then turned his head to Spiral and asked her, “What about you Spiral? What did you think of it?”

The teal unicorn had no words to describe the film she just watched in comparison to all the movies she saw back in Equestria. “It was terrific! I had no idea humans were this creative in making movies as wonderful as this. Oh, and before I forget Joey, the movie’s over.”

Right when Spiral uttered the trigger phrase, Joey put his right hand on his head as he felt all the memories from the previous times he watched The Wizard of Oz resurface in his mind. When he recovered, the unicorn asked him, “So, how did it feel to watch the movie for the first time, again?”

“Woah…That was something else…”

“Is that in a good way or bad?” The pony asked feeling anxious about how he felt.

“Of course it’s in a good way, don’t be ridiculous!” The boy responded chirping up. “I’m actually glad you suggested doing that Spiral. Reliving a movie again for the first time is pretty cool. Maybe if we watch other movies later on, you could use the same technique on Maddie and me if we want you to.”

“I’ll certainly keep that in mind.” The teal pony responded, glad that the boy enjoyed himself. “Though, if you don’t mind me asking, how many movies have your kind made?”

“I’m not really sure…” Joey said thinking of just how many films there were in existence. “I think its somewhere in the thousands region but that’s just a wild guess.”

Spiral could only imagine what it would be like if human cinema was shared with her home world and how ponies and creatures alike would react. “If this is only a small sample of what your movies are like, I can’t wait to see more!

“Well don’t forget, next time I get to pick.” Joey said as he went up to the television set, put the film back in its case, and stacked it back on the shelf. The boy sat back down next to the others and asked, “So, what now?”

The unicorn pulled out her watch with her magic and said, “Well, it’s time for the two of you to start getting ready for bed.”

“Aww…” Whined the little Maddie in a cute, pouty tone with Joey looking at his babysitter and asking, “Do we have to right now?”

“Now, now.” Spiral said to them. “I promised your mother I would have the both of you in bed on time. But I’ll tell you what, if you two get ready for bed fast enough, we’ll play a quick game. And before you ask, yes it does involve hypnosis.”

At the mention of a possible game featuring the pony’s hypnotic powers, the two kids excitedly went upstairs and started to get ready for bed. The mare was left alone in the living room chuckling to herself as she said, “One of these days I going to have to ask those youngsters why they like hypnosis so much.” She then got up and headed upstairs to help with preparing the children for a good night sleep.

After the children brushed their teeth, combed their hair, and changed into their nightclothes (with their babysitter giving them privacy), Maddie and Joey sat themselves down on their beds comfortably with Spiral entering the bedroom and asking the siblings, “Are you two ready for bed?”

“We sure are!” Exclaimed Maddie. “So what type of game are we playing?”

“Well I’m glad you asked Maddie. But first things first, it’s Trance Time.” Spiral responded while she looked at Maddie and Joey’s eyes exploding with their usual spiral filled eyes from the trigger as the two entranced kids awaited to hear their mistress’ voice.

“Okay Maddie and Joey, get up from your beds and stand in front of the mirror.”

The two kids obediently did as the pony instructed and walked over to the mirror on top of their clothes drawer.

“Now both of you can see the spirals swirling in your eyes, correct?”

“Yes, mistress.” Maddie and Joey stated emotionlessly while staring at the reflections of the black and white swirls in their eyes.

“Then listen carefully to what I say next. When you’re out of a trance and my horn touches your head, you will see those same spirals that are in your reflection appear in the same manner when you look in a mirror. Understand?”

“Yes, mistress.” Answered the kids as their ears absorbed the information.

“Good and when you stare at those spirals, you will slowly be hypnotizing yourselves into the same state of entrancement you’re both currently in. Understand?”

“Yes, mistress.” The two kids said again with the command burying itself in minds.

“Very good.” Spiral said smiling in satisfaction. “Now when I close the door to this room, you will both wake up from your trances, but forget hearing the trigger, forget what you did under trance, and think you two are still waiting for me to show up to start the game. But, the command I just gave you will stick with you only for tonight. Understand?”

“Yes, mistress.”

“Then go back to how you were sitting on your beds earlier before I said the trigger.”

Both siblings returned to their beds in their respective sitting positions as Spiral went to the hallway and closed the door. When Maddie and Joey heard the door shut, they both broke free from Spiral’s spell and waited for their unicorn babysitter like she hadn’t entered yet. About ten seconds later, the teal mare opened the door and asked them, “Are you two ready for bed?”

“We sure are!” Said Maddie happily not realizing she was repeating herself. “So what type of game are we playing?”

Spiral gave a small giggle to the girl’s enthusiastic nature and said, “Well this is a different kind of game Maddie. But before we begin, would the two of you mind going up to the mirror and looking at yourselves for a moment?”

The boy and girl did what the pony asked, got up from their beds and went to see their reflections staring back at them in the mirror.

“Now I want you two to be honest, do you notice anything different about your appearance in the mirror?”

“Hmm…” Joey thought as he studied himself to see if there was anything off from his usual looks. “Nope. Can’t say there’s anything out of the ordinary about me.”

“Nothing different about me!” Maddie responded as well.

“That’s good. Now could both of you come over and sit down on the floor next to each other and bend your heads down?”

“Umm…May I ask what we’re doing?” Joey asked. Questioning what any of this had to do with anything.

“Don’t worry. It’s all part of the game.” The unicorn said assuring the oldest sibling.

“All right, if you say so.” Joey replied as he and his sister went over to Spiral, sat next to each other, and waited for what the mare would do next.

Before he could react, the pony’s horn came into contact with the boy’s head, startling him for a few seconds. He got himself situated back in his sitting position and was about to ask the unicorn why she touched his forehead, but decided to not to bring it up since it probably was part of the game. Spiral did the same thing with the younger sibling which earned her a giggle from the little girl.

With both of them now ready, Spiral said to the children, “Okay now, can both of you return to the mirror and see if you notice anything different about yourselves now?”

Obliging with Spiral’s request, Maddie and Joey sat up from the rug and went back over to the mirror. What they saw in their reflection seemed normal at first, but when they caught a glimpse of what was in their eyes, they were shocked.

“Woah!” Joey said in surprise. “Are those spirals in my eyes?”

“Oooh! I have swirly eyes!” Maddie added complimenting herself.

“That’s right.”

The siblings looked back at Spiral as the oldest tried to come up with what to say until the youngest beat him to the punch and asked, “How did we get swirly eyes? Does it have to do with the game?”

The hypnotic doctor could only smile at Maddie and said to her, “Let’s just say I used a magic spell so you and your brother have the ability to hypnotize yourselves by looking into your eyes in a mirror and that my dear Maddie is the game for tonight. The game is called Hypnoflection and the way it works is you both hypnotize yourselves with the swirls in your reflection and the first to fall into a trance first loses.

“Sounds fun!” Maddie retorted eagerly. “And what does the winner get?”

“That’s the best part. The winner gets to do whatever they want to the loser, until bedtime of course. Plus the one who lasts the longest will also get a special prize.”

“Ohh…I wanna win!” The girl shouted with hopes of beating her brother.

“Then you’d better not lose.” Spiral then took a couple steps back and said, “Alright, now Maddie and Joey, face the mirror and close your eyes. After I count to three, that’s when the game begins and during that time I’ll be judging to see who’s playing fair and of course who’ll fall into a trance first. Understand?”

“Got it!” Joey said with confidence.

“I’m ready!” Maddie said waiting for Spiral to begin the countdown.

“Alright then. 1…2…3…Begin!”

With that, the two opened their eyes and stared at their black and white spiraling eyes in the mirror. Almost immediately, Maddie and Joey were captivated by the swirls and slowly started to feel the hypnotic effects kicking in as their minds started getting cloudy. Spiral, standing beside them, observed the game playing out and waited in anticipation to see which human would fall first.

‘It’s times like these where I wish I had a music player to play a soothing track and make this game more interesting. But doesn’t mean I still can’t add some spice to this.’ The mare said in her head before clearing her throat and speaking softly.

“Stare…just stare at your reflection and as you do, you only feel more mesmerized and relaxed by the second.”

The siblings could only listen and obey what their pony babysitter said as they kept gazing at the mirror image of their hypnotic spirals.

“Just imagine the blissful and wonderful sensation of what being in a trance is like and how you can experience it by just relaxing further…”

Joey was already feeling his eyelids grow heavy from the combination of watching the black and white swirls and listening to Spiral’s voice. Maddie was trying to her best not to give in to the desire of falling into hypnotized state, but was only struggling as the unicorn’s sweet words filled her ears, making it harder for her to think.

“Relax…relax…relax…don’t be discouraged if you lose the game, only picture how much the swirls in your reflection are beckoning you to sink down into a state of delightful…sleeeeeeeeeep.”

‘Must…win…have…to…to…sleep…so…sleepy…I…feel…NO! Have…to…win…before…Joey…and…sleep…” Maddie was doing everything in her power to stay focused on her goal to win the game, but with the spirals and voice overtaking her mind, her chances of victory were growing slimmer.

“As you keep staring at those spirals, you find yourselves more and more tired. It simply feels good to let go and just…give in…”

‘…N…N-No……mu…mustn’t…g…g-give……i……in?’ Maddie was hanging by a thread at this point, using whatever brainpower she had left to keep herself from falling asleep.

Spiral noticed how much Maddie was struggling to stay awake and commended her endurance, but kept talking as she said, “Just…fall. Fall into a nice, peaceful, hypnotic slumber…” She then trotted over to the little girl and whispered in a sing-song voice, “You know you want to…”

The youngest sibling couldn’t take it anymore as her eyes shut tight and her mind entered a deep state of trance and obedience. Giggling with amusement, Spiral said to the girl, “I’m surprised Maddie. I never would’ve guessed that someone as young as you had the durability to last as long as you did. But nevertheless, you won! How do you feel about it?”

“Happy…mistress...” Maddie replied in a somnolent, fatigued tone.

‘Poor dear. She must’ve exhausted herself too much.’ Spiral thought to herself and said to Maddie, “I’m happy that you won too, but just rest for now.” The unicorn then used her magic to lift the girl from where she was and put her on top of her bed. “Let yourself fall into a well-deserved sleep until I call your name, okay?”

“Yes…mistress.” The young girl responded before entering a tranquil and blissful sleep.

Spiral smiled kind-heartedly at Maddie before she turned her attention to Joey and said to him, “Alright Joey. Since you lost the game, I want you to listen to my instructions very carefully. From this point forward until the next time you wake up, you will obey every order your sister gives you. And when you do awaken, you will have no recollection of what happens during your time in this trance. Understand?”

“Yes, mistress.” The boy said unquestioningly while still standing with his eyes closed.

“Good boy.” The unicorn said jokingly to herself as she went back to Maddie to wake up her up. But when the mare saw how deeply asleep the girl was, she couldn’t help but feel a bit bad about waking the younger child up from the peaceful rest she was having. After some thought, Spiral asked her, “Maddie? How do you feel right now?”

“I feel…wonderful mistress…like I could sleep this way…for a long time…” The drowsy Maddie replied in between breaths.

“I want you to be honest. Do you want to spend a few minutes doing whatever you want to Joey as a prize from the game you won or do you just want to go back to sleep?”

Maddie kept up her Zzz’s while listening to her mistress speak. When the mare finished asking the question, the little girl responded with, “I’d…like to play around…for sure…but…I’m too sleepy…could we do it…tomorrow?”

“Of course we can.” Spiral replied in a quiet like tone. “You can tell me when you want to use your prize tomorrow, but for now, just let yourself fall back into a peaceful night slumber, let your mind enter dreamland where you can have the most pleasant and soothing dreams you could ever have and when you wake up in the morning, you’ll feel happy and refreshed. Okay dear?”

“…Yes…mistress…” Maddie responded again as she nodded off for the night and slept even more soundly than the previous night. Helping the human girl to get comfortable, Spiral used her magic to levitate the child to her brother’s bed, lift up the blankets from her own bed, put the child back on her mattress, cover her with the layers of bedspread, and adjust the head on the pillow.

“Good night, Maddie.” Spiral said with a soft whisper as she gave the girl a quick kiss on the forehead while saying in her thoughts, ‘She’s such a sweetheart.’ She then turned her attention back to the boy and said to him, “All right Joey, listen closely to what I’m about to tell you. All day tomorrow, whenever you hear your sister say, ‘hypno playtime’ you will fall into a hypnotic trance where your sister, Maddie will be your mistress and you’ll obey all of her commands, BUT ONLY for tomorrow. Understand?”

“Yes, mistress.” Joey replied with his subconscious soaking in the information.

“Very good. Now then, it’s time for bed. So open your eyes, get yourself situated on your mattress, under the covers, and lay as comfortably as you can.”

The amenable boy did exactly as he was told by revealing the black and white spirals in his eyes, climbing in bed and arranging himself in the best sleeping position possible. After Joey got done positioning himself, Spiral continued her next set of commands for the boy with, “When your sister wakes up, you’ll awaken too, ready to take on the day and feeling full of energy. But until that time comes, let your body release all tension and stress from the day as you fall into a pleasant, good night, rest. Just relax, close your eyes and…” The mare then went up close to Joey and whispered in his ear, “…sleeeeeeeeeep…”

With that, Joey succumbed to Spiral’s commands, shut his spiraling eyes and fell into a deep hypnotic sleep.

The unicorn then shut off the lights to the bedroom and closed the door with her magic as she went to get ready for bed herself. After fixing herself up for a night’s rest, she went to the guest room and got settled under the covers. She began talking to herself in her mind.

‘Well today’s certainly been fun. Maddie and Joey are such sweet children to be around, not to mention fun to play with in and out of my control. I can’t wait to meet Maddie’s friend tomorrow as I’m sure she be enjoyable to spend time with. But how to go about introducing myself to her though…hmm…well I’ll just make it up as I go.’

As she was pondering, about good ideas for tomorrow, Spiral couldn’t help but think about the fact that she was still trapped in a different world. Granted she was with a family that gave her food and shelter and was relishing in learning about the different aspects of the foreign land she was in, but she still had a family of her own and wanted nothing more than to find a way to return to her own home in Equestria. But the only thing she could do was bide her time and wait for the opportunity to present itself. With her head starting to grow tired, the mare put those thoughts to rest and decided to just simply make the best of her situation and spend as much time as she could with the children.

With that in mind, the unicorn repositioned herself to a more comfy sleeping form and shut her weary eyes as sleep overtook her.

Author's Note

It might be awhile before I start writing up Chapter 9 as I will be busy a lot for the next few weeks. But I hope you're all enjoying the story so far.

Chapter 9 Author's Note

Sorry it took so long to upload a new chapter. I've been excessively busy with a lot of things. But hopefully I'll start releasing new chapters more often.

Chapter 9

A restful night sleep came and went for Spiral Swirl and the family she was staying with as the sun started its rise over the horizon. The unicorn yawned loudly while rubbing the sleep out of her eyes and saying to herself, "Time to start a new day."

She went to the bathroom to wash her face and brush her mane. After making sure she looked ready for the day, the mare went downstairs to the kitchen and saw Maddie and Joey's parents all dressed up and preparing breakfast. The dark-skinned mother, noticing the teal-colored pony enter smiled and greeted her with, "Good morning Spiral! Did you have fun with Maddie and Joey last night?"

"Yes, I did." Spiral answered while adding, "And before you ask, yes they were on their best behavior and were in bed by 9:00."

"She's quite the mind reader." The father joked as he took a sip of coffee while stir frying scrambled eggs.

"How did your dinner meeting go?" Asked the mare.

"Ah, it was business like most meetings go." Replied the father as he added some salt and pepper to the eggs.

Spiral sniffed the aroma of breakfast filling the kitchen and felt her hunger starting to surface.

"That smells delicious! Are those eggs you're cooking?"

"Why, yes they are Spiral." The father smiled at the pony. "But that's not the only item for the morning meal. My wife's also making batter for pancakes and you know how much Maddie and Joey love them. Though I'm surprised the two of them aren't already downstairs. They're usually awake before us and watching morning cartoons."

Of course, only Spiral knew the reason why.

But just as the unicorn was about to talk again, the father spoke up first and said, "But that's alright, I'm sure the little rascals are just tired from the fun you had with them last night. Speaking of which...what did the three of you do last night?"

Not wanting to bring up the sessions from yesterday, she went for a bare minimum answer with, "We played a couple of games and watched a movie."

"I see." The father said deciding to leave it at that. He finished cooking up the eggs while the mother poured some batter in another pan to start the pancakes.

A few moments of silence had passed before Spiral spoke up again and asked, "So is there anything planned for today?"

"Well after breakfast, I have to go out and pick up an order for a client." The father said as he put a portion of scrambled eggs onto separate plates. "I won't be back until later in the evening."

"And I have to do some grocery shopping this morning." The mother added; keeping her focus on the pancakes.

"I don't suppose you want me to look after Maddie and Joey again for the morning, do you?" Spiral asked.

"Well, normally I'd ask the two if they would want to accompany me to the store. But since they're still asleep, would you mind?" The mother said returning the question.

"Oh, not at all!" The mare responded in a delightful tone. "In fact, I've been enjoying spending time with those two and would love to look after them again for the morning!"

“Thank you Spiral.” The mother replied warmly. “You know, with how much Maddie and Joey seem to love you and the way you seem to have handled things just fine from last night, I would consider you to babysit them almost full time since you’re staying with us.”

“Well I would be honored.” The unicorn said proudly. “It’s certainly the least I can do until I find a way to return home.”

The rest of the time cooking was spent with only the sound of the pan sizzling with delicious flapjacks on the way. Soon enough the pancakes were finished as the mother distributed them evenly on the plates with the scrambled eggs.

“I think I’ll go wake up Maddie and Joey, if it’s alright with you.” Spiral spoke up as she began to trot to the children’s bedroom.

“Okay, tell them to hurry down or their breakfast will get cold!” Shouted the mother from across the kitchen.

The mare soon made it to the kids’ room and saw the two youngsters still asleep. She decided to wake each one up individually starting with the Maddie. Spiral gently nudged the youngest sibling and said in a quiet-like, sing song tone, “Maddie, it’s time to wake up.”

The little girl slowly cracked open her eyes and gave a yawn as she saw her unicorn companion smiling at her. Spiral then said to the child, “Good morning, Maddie. Did you sleep well?”

“Yes I did!” The young Maddie said while giving her friend a good morning hug. “And I had the most wonderful dream last night!”

“Oh! Would you care to tell me what the dream was about over breakfast?” The mare asked curiously.

“It’s breakfast!?! Breakfast!!!” The giddy Maddie shouted with joy as she went over to her brother and excitingly said, “Joey! Joey! Wake up, it’s breakfast time!”

“Ugghhh…” The older sibling moaned as he started to awaken groggily from the loud sound of his sister’s voice. But his energy built up progressively until he felt wide awake and said, “Wait…it’s morning already? I don’t even remember falling asleep. What happened last…” Just then, the events from last night clicked into his head. “Now I remember. We played that game before we went to bed, didn’t we? Who won by the way?”

“I’ll tell you at breakfast.” The mare answered back. “Your parents made eggs and pancakes for the three of us.”

“PANCAKES!!!” Maddie said nearly screaming in happiness as she went full throttle down to the kitchen leaving the older sibling and the unicorn in the bedroom.

“She must really loves pancakes in the morning to have that kind of energy.” Spiral said humorously.

“You have no idea.” Joey said in a light chuckle as he got up from bed and said to his pony companion, “Come on. Let’s hurry downstairs before Maddie breaks anything.”

Joey and Spiral quickly made it to the dining room to see Maddie blissfully enjoying the pancakes and scrambled eggs on her plate and the mother bringing out Joey and Spiral’s own breakfast plates too.

“Mmm…these are yummy!” The young girl said with delight.

“I always know how you like pancakes and you can thank your father for the eggs.” The mother responded while putting the other two plates down on the table. “Also I called Stacy’s mother about you wanting to play with her daughter and she said that she can drop her by later this afternoon.”

Maddie perked up at the notion of being able to spend time with her friend and immediately got up from her chair, went over to her mother, and hugged her tightly all while saying, “Really?!? Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you Mommy!”

“You’re welcome sweetie!” Replied the mother in a warm tone, returning the hug.

Maddie then took notice of Joey and Spiral standing at the entrance of the dining room. She broke the hug and said excitingly to the unicorn, “Did you hear? Did you hear? Stacy’s coming over today!”

“I did.” The pony said smiling at the hyperactive child. “I can’t wait to meet her later.”

“Ooohhh…we’re going to have so much fun today!!!” Said the little girl squealing with delight. The older sibling and unicorn looked at each other and chuckled in amusement while the mother sighed and rolled her eyes in a playful manner before speaking up again.

“Well, I have to do some grocery shopping this morning along with a few other errands. Do you two want to come or have Spiral look after you for the morning?”

Maddie spoke up first and said, “Could we stay with Spiral, please?” with Joey additionally saying, “I’d like to stay here with Spiral if that’s alright.”

“Alright then. But you’d better hurry and eat your breakfast before it gets cold.” The mother told them as she went to get ready to leave while the children and their pony companion sat at the table. After the kids did their good morning prayer, they all began to chow down on their breakfast (with Maddie already halfway finished with hers).

As they were eating, Spiral took notice of the flavor from the scrambled eggs and said in her mind, ‘Mmm…this family really knows how to make great food! It would almost be a shame to leave all of this behind when I return home. Or if I return home that is. But…’ She quit eating for a moment as a question popped into her head that made her feel conflicted about her situation.

‘…do I really want to leave?’

“Hey Spiral!”

The pony shook her head as the sound of Joey’s voice broke her train of thought and looked over at the boy’s direction as he asked, “You alright?”

“Oh yes, I fine. I was just in deep thought. That’s all.” The mare replied, hoping the boy wouldn’t press the matter.

“Okay. Just checking.”

Spiral gave a mental sigh of relief and decided to put the thought to rest as she continued to gouge down her breakfast plate.

The mother shortly returned back to the dining room, gave her children a quick peck on the cheek and told them, “Alright, I should be back around the time Stacy arrives. Until then, have fun with Spiral!”

“Thanks, Mom!” Joey said as he took a stab at a piece of pancake.

“Okay Mommy!” Maddie replied in her joyous tone.

With that, the mother went out the door, leaving the two human children and the teal pony by themselves for the morning. While continuing to eat, Spiral asked the youngest sibling, “So Maddie, you said you had a wonderful dream last night. Would you care to share it with us?”

“Oh, yes!” The girl said, eager to tell Spiral and Joey her experience. “I was dreaming that I was a pony just like you Spiral, but I had wings instead of a horn and I was enjoying flying peacefully through the sky.”

“So you dreamt of being a pegasus.” Spiral said in an amused tone. “Is that all your dream was about?”

“Oh, no. I made many pony friends during my dream and all of us were sharing stories and having a fun time with one another.”

“Sounds like quite the dream.” The mare said before turning her attention to the older brother. “What about you Joey? Have any vivid dreams last night?”

“Not really. I was just sound asleep from the game we played. Speaking of which, you still haven’t told us who won yet.”

Spiral took a bite from her scrambled eggs, then answered the boy’s question with, “Well Joey, I’m sorry to say but your sister beat you by a landslide.”

Maddie’s eyes instantly grew wide and she asked in a thrilling voice, “Really?!? I won?!?”

Spiral nodded at the girl and said, “That you did. Unfortunately, you seemed completely out of it after you entranced yourself so I let you sleep for the night. But, since you won, you still get to have your prize of being able to do what you want to Joey while he’s under hypnosis.”

“YAY!!!” Maddie screamed in happiness. “I WON! I WON! I WON!”

“Umm…” The brother began sounding a bit nervous. “I don’t suppose she’s wanting to use that prize anytime soon, would she?”

“Oh! Could I use it now? Please? Please?” The giddy girl asked giving the unicorn the pleading eyes look.

Spiral giggled at Maddie’s expression and said to her, “I’ll tell you what, let’s finish eating breakfast, pick up after ourselves, and then we can have some fun. How does that sound? Sound like a plan?”

The girl nodded her head in agreement and went back to eating the rest of her morning meal. The rest of breakfast was spent in silence with only thoughts going through each of three minds present.

‘Maddie certainly has a passion for having a fun time.’

‘I can’t wait to use my prize after breakfast!’

‘I have a feeling I’m going to regret having my sister mess around with my head.’

After the children and their unicorn friend finished their meals and cleaned up the dining room, the three of them went back to the Maddie and Joey’s bedroom for some morning activities.

“So now can I use my prize? Can I? Can I?” Maddie asked the mare with a hopeful sound in her voice.

“All in good time, Maddie.” Spiral replied teasingly. “But first…Trance Time.”

As per usual, the mindsets of the children switched from free will mode to obedient mode with the black and white spirals complementing their return to entrancement. Spiral waited a moment before clearing her throat and speaking again.

“Alright Joey, listen very carefully to what I’m about to tell you. Whenever you’re under the control of your sister, you will not remember anything she does to you. Only the hypnotic feelings of delight and relaxation will be what you recall. Understand?”

The mesmerized Joey processed the command and replied with the typical monotone, “Yes, mistress.”

“Very good.” Said Spiral. She was about to snap the children out of their trances until she realized something and thought, ‘You know, with all the times I’ve hypnotized them and have made them forget the experience, maybe I should let them remember what it’s like sometime.’ But the more she thought about it, the more she felt it was a bad idea. ‘No. I already lied to them about having post hypnotic amnesia after sessions. But on the other hoof…’ She looked at the kids, who were merely staring at nothing as their eyes continued to swirl and waited to be given a command. The doctor was debating with herself, until she came to a decision.

‘…I’ll tell them when the time is right. But for now…’

“Maddie. Joey. When I count to three, the two of you will break free of my spell, but you will not remember me uttering the trigger phrase, returning to a hypnotized state or anything from this trance. You’ll only think you zoned out for a second. Understand?”

“Yes, mistress.” Answered the mesmerized kids.

“Then on my count. 3…2…1…Awaken!”

Maddie and Joey blinked their eyes and shook their heads as their eyes cleared away the spirals and returned to their natural state. Spiral sitting down on her haunches looked at Maddie and said to her, “Alright Maddie, are you ready to claim your prize?”

The little girl couldn’t hold back her excitement and shouted, “Yes! Yes! YES!!!”

Not expecting the youngest sibling to shout after waking from her spell, Spiral put her forehooves over her ears and said, “Okay. Okay. Just settle down first and I’ll explain things further.”

Maddie soon calmed herself and sat herself down (with Joey sitting cross-legged next to her and expecting Spiral to start swinging her watch). Taking her hooves off her ears, Spiral said, “Maddie, would you like to sit next to me so you can understand how your prize works?” The girl enthusiastically went over to her unicorn friend, sat next to her and waited in anticipation for what was to come. Before the human girl could react, Spiral put a hoof over one of her ears and whispered, “In order to bring your brother under your control, all you have to do is say the phrase, ‘hypno playtime’.”

“Hypno playtime? How exactly does that make him do what I want?” Maddie asked looking at the mare curiously.

Spiral could only chuckle at the child’s inquisitive nature and answered by extending one of her forehooves in the direction of where the brother was sitting and said, “See for yourself.”

Sure enough, when Maddie turned her head back to where her brother was sitting, she saw black and white swirls formed in his eyes. She stared at her brother with an amazed expression for a moment, until she broke from her own slight trance and asked, “So he’s really hypnotized?”

“Yep. And ready to obey any command you give. Go ahead. Give it a try.” Spiral said encouragingly while putting a hoof behind Maddie and giving her a small nudge.

The girl crawled on her knees towards her empty-headed brother and sat in front of him. Thinking about what to make Joey do, the first order that came to Maddie’s lips was, “Joey, if you’re under my control then bark like a dog.”

As soon as the command registered, the entranced Joey let out a loud, “BARK!” that surprised Maddie for a few seconds.

After recovering from her small shock, Maddie smiled in amazement and said, “He really is under my control!” She then looked back at Spiral and asked her, “But, how was it possible for him to be hypnotized without using your watch?”

“Well I’m not usually one who likes giving away techniques, methods, and secrets just to anyone.” The doctor said with Maddie hanging her head down in disappointment. “Buuuut…since you did last the longest in the game last night, you also get the special prize.

The little girl perked right back up and clapped her hands playfully while saying, “Ooooohh! What’s the special prize?”

“The reward for the special prize is me sharing with you a thing or two about hypnosis and it can be about anything. Just name it.”

“Okay, how did you do it? How did my brother fall into a trance without looking at your pocket watch?”

“Alright.” Spiral began, “Have you heard of something called a post-hypnotic suggestion?”

The girl shook her head in confusion to the teal unicorn.

“Well, let’s say for example I wanted you to attempt a backflip right now. Would you be able to do it?”

“Nuh uh!” Maddie answered shaking her head. “I’d be too afraid of hurting myself.”

“That’s what I thought. Now of course if you were under a trance and I told you to do a backflip, you would have no choice but to do it.”

“You wouldn’t make me do a backflip, would you?” The youngest sibling asked a little bit scared at the prospect.

“No. No. Of course not.” The mare assured the child. “Like I said, I would never make you or your brother do anything that makes you too uncomfortable to do, as long as you tell me beforehoof. I’m just using an example to help you understand what I’m saying.”

“Oh, okay.” Maddie sighed with relief before letting the unicorn continue on.

“But suppose I did want you to carry out such a task even when awake from my spell. How would I pull it off? It’s like this. Whenever you’re in a hypnotized state, your mind is open to suggestions of all kinds from the one who puts you under. So if I said, ‘Maddie, whenever you hear me say the word, ‘overboard’ when you’re awake, perform a backflip’ while you’re in a trance, then every time you hear me utter the trigger word, which would be ‘overboard’, then you would automatically execute a backflip, even when conscious.”

Maddie let the words sink in for a minute before asking with a curious, “Really?”

“Mmm hmm.” Spiral answered back and nodding her head up and down. The mare then turned her attention to the spellbound Joey and said, “Now in this case with what I did to your brother, I made it so that every time you utter the phrase, ‘hypno playtime’, he’ll fall back into an entranced state and obey you.” She then looked back at the girl and told her, “That’s what a post-hypnotic suggestion is. Do you understand it better now?”

“I think so…” Maddie replied in a semi-confused tone. “So all I have to do is say, ‘hypno playtime’ to Joey when he’s awake and he’ll be hypnotized again?”

“Yep. But only for today.” The pony answered.

The youngest sibling thought for a moment about what to do, until she looked at her brother with a mischievous smile and said, “Joey, if you can hear me, then wake up.”

The spirals disappeared from the boy’s eyes as his mind came back to reality. He was only able to look around for a couple seconds until he heard his sister’s voice proclaim, “Hypno playtime.” and immediately went right back to the mindset where he was just seconds before. Maddie giggled for a couple seconds until she said, “Wake up!” only to spout out, “Hypno playtime!” a few seconds later.

After four more times of sending her brother back and forth from being awakened to being entranced, Maddie suddenly had idea and asked Spiral, “Hey Spiral, would it be alright if we went to the pond this morning? I want to try something out with Joey there.”

“Umm…well I don’t know…” The teal pony said not sure leaving the house without anyone around was a good idea.

“Please?” Maddie asked giving her provisional babysitter pleading eyes. “Just this once, pleeeease?”

Thinking it over for a while, the unicorn said, “Well…your mother didn’t say anything about not being able to leave the house. So…sure!”

“YAY! Thank you so much Spiral!” The giddy little girl exclaimed as she gave her friend a hug.

“You’re welcome.” The mare said as she returned the hug. When she broke the embrace, Spiral made her way to the hall and looked back saying, “I’ll give you two time to change into what you want. Just let me know when you’re ready to leave. I’ll be downstairs.”

“Okay Spiral and thanks again!” The youngest sibling said. The unicorn nodded before activating her magic and closing the door to the bedroom. Maddie turned back to face her brother and was about to issue her next order until she saw the black and white spirals swirling about in his eyes and thought to herself, ‘Maybe one more time…’ She cleared her throat and said aloud in a sing-song voice, “Wake up, Joey!”

At hearing the command, the spirals left the boy’s eyes and he slowly came to and held his head with his right hand and asked, “Oooohh…what’s been happening?”

Maddie let out a stifled giggle as she said, “Hey big brother! You were hypnotized!”

“I was?” The brother asked looking confused. “How come I don’t remember Spiral swinging her watch then?”

At once Maddie grew nervous, until she remembered that she was in control. She quickly acted surprised and said to Joey, “Uh oh! Guess what?”

“What?” The brother asked in a concerned tone.

“It’s hypno playtime!” The sister playfully announced as she saw the black and white spirals flood the eyes of Joey once more. She laughed for a little while until she controlled herself and said to her brother with an orderly voice, “Okay Joey, grab your swimsuit, go into the bathroom and change into it. When you’re done, come back here.”

The obedient boy complied with the command as he mindlessly went over to his clothes drawer, got out a pair of orange swim trunks and walked over to the bathroom to change into the bathing suit. While she was waiting for Joey, Maddie sat on her bed thinking of creative ideas to exploit with her control over her brother.

A few minutes later, the oldest sibling walked back in the bedroom wearing nothing but his swim suit, stood still, and waited to hear his sister’s next command. The girl gave a small giggle at the power she had over her brother and said to him, “Okay Joey, while I’m changing into my bathing suit, I want you to lay down on your bed and close your eyes.”

Joey did as he was told and laid himself on his bed as if he were sleeping while Maddie jumped up from her bed, got out her two piece, pink swim suit from her clothes drawer and went to the restroom to change. After fitting herself in the swim wear, she went back to the bedroom and asked her brother in a teasingly fashion, “Joey, who do you obey?”

The older sibling didn’t have to think at all to answer that question (not that he really could in the first place) and responded with a tired-like, “I obey you.”

“And you’ll do everything I tell you to do, isn’t that right?”

“Yes.” The brother answered with no mood to his voice.

Giving a quick chuckle to herself, Maddie gripped her shoes in her hands and said, “Then open your eyes and get up from the bed. Also, grab your shoes and follow me downstairs.”

Following the command, the spiral-eyed Joey rose from the bed, retrieved his shoes and tailed behind his sister to downstairs. Meanwhile, Spiral was sitting on a couch in the living room humming a tune to herself and waited for Maddie and Joey to find her so they could be on their way. When she saw the children enter, the mare smiled at them and asked, “So are you two ready to go?”

“Almost Spiral!” The youngest said happily. “I just need to grab some towels and get my shoes on.”

While Maddie was collecting the towels, Spiral noticed Joey behind his sister still entranced and asked the girl, “Are you planning on keeping him in a trance while we’re walking to the pond?”

“Yep!” The sister responded as she then began to put on her shoes. Just as she was finishing fitting her limbs in the footwear, Maddie took notice of her hypnotized brother still standing barefoot with his shoes in his hands. Another idea suddenly went through the little girl’s mind as she bore a mischievous smile, looked up at her brother and said to him, “Joey, put your shoes down on the floor.”

After Joey nonchalantly placed his shoes on the rug, Maddie looked back at Spiral and told her, “Okay, now we’re ready!”

“Why’d you make your brother drop his shoes? Isn’t it dangerous for his feet to not wear them while we’re in the woods?” Spiral asked and looked at the girl with a questioning look.

“I’d like to think of this as personal payback.” Maddie retorted; giving the unicorn a lighthearted, evil smile.

“So you’re going to make your brother walk all the way to the pond and back hypnotized and barefoot? That’s quite devious.” Spiral said giving Maddie a playful wink.

The both of them chuckled for a couple seconds before Spiral broke the laughter and said, “Well, let’s head out then.”

Maddie nodded her head at the teal pony and said to her standstill sibling with a commanding, “Okay Joey. Hold onto these towels and follow me.”

Obeying the command, the spiral-eyed boy grabbed the towels from his sister and began to walk behind her as the two of them and Spiral went to the backdoor, with the unicorn using her magic to open the door to the outside air. When everyone was outside, the unicorn shut the door tightly and the three of them made their way to the pond for a morning of activities.

Chapter 10

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Chapter 11

As she was trotting along the denser portion of the woods, Spiral used her magic to levitate her binoculars and gaze at the different nests in the upper branches. Finding a good place to observe from afar, the teal pony sat on her haunches and simply observed the various types of birds living in their habitat. Soon enough, the sounds of chirping filled the air and Spiral enjoyed the serene view of different birds flying out and about from their homes up in the trees.

After about ten minutes of bird-watching, the unicorn was about to move to another part of the woods until a screeching sound caught her attention and looked wide-eyed at what she saw. Lying on the ground was a small, blue bird flickering its wings hard and looking like it was trying to fly back in the branches, but wasn’t strong enough to stay in the air.

Taking pity on the little, blue bird, Spiral thought to herself, ‘I should go help that poor bird.’ Not wanting to scare it, the mare quietly went over to the bird, with the small, blue-feathered, nestling trying in vain to fly away from the approaching pony. With no way to use its wings, the bird could only cower at the base of the tree and wait for whatever fate had in store. The unicorn nearly wept at the sight of the scared baby bird and bend down so as to not frightened it and said in an almost whisper tone, “Shh…shh…it’s okay. I’m not here to hurt you. I only want to help.”

The blue nestling looked up at the teal unicorn and while not being able to understand what the pony was saying, did see that she didn’t mean any harm. But that didn’t mean the bird trusted the mare as it still tried to move further back against the tree’s base.

Spiral could see that the nestling wasn’t convinced about her wanting to help it, yet. Under normal circumstances, the mare would’ve used her Hypno Magic to help calm the bird down, but since it was just a baby, she wanted to gain its trust naturally without having to resort to using her pocket watch.

“I know how terrified you are. But please, if you’ll just let me help you, I promise to not hurt you in any way.”

The bird’s uneasiness seemed to die down from the calm manner the pony gave and simply looked at the unicorn with curious eyes and a few questioning chirps.

‘It’s times like these where I wish I had some birdfeed on hoof.’ Spiral thought to herself. She put aside the thought and spoke once more to the nestling.

“All I want to do is help you find your family again. I swear on my pocket watch that I won’t do anything that will harm you in any way.”

Hearing the sincerity of how the unicorn spoke, the little bird decided that the creature in front of it was trustworthy enough and gave the pony a chirp to signify its consent. Giving the bird a warm smile, Spiral was about to extend one of her forehoofs forward until she realized that the bird might react out of fear again. She then got an idea and said to the bird, “Ok, what’s about to happen next might shock you, but I need you to trust me.”

Before the bird was about to do anything else, it was suddenly lifted off the ground and had no control of what was happening as the unicorn activated her magic. Being as gently as she could, Spiral lift the bird towards her and slowly lowered the baby right on top of her mane. When the bird was freed from the unicorn’s magical grip, it was surprisingly calm from the way Spiral handled it with her magic and from the soft comfort the pony’s mane provided. The bird then adjusted itself on top of the pony’s head by nestling in the mane like it was home, which earned a chuckle from Spiral.

‘Now I really wish I had some birdfeed.’ The mare said to herself in her head. She then looked up at the trees surrounding her and said aloud, “Hmm…I wonder which nest you came from little one.”

Spiral began going from tree to tree to see which nest the little bird belonged in. The blue bird all the while had settled itself further in the pony’s mane and took a nap. Studying all the bird habitats around her, the mare couldn’t find any matches for the blue bird.

Some time later, Spiral was beginning to get discouraged when she saw an older looking bird that had a similar shade of blue to the baby bird flying about around its nest as if on the lookout.

‘This must be the nest.’ The mare assumed, hoping it was the right one.

Activating her magic, the unicorn very carefully levitated the sleeping form of the baby blue bird from her mane to the nest in the tree. While it was being held in the pony’s magical grip, the little bird awoke and started to chirp loudly, gaining the older bird’s attention. The adult bird landed on its nest and waited until the little nestling was released from Spiral’s magic before rushing towards it and showing affection.

‘Yep. Definitely the nest.’

The two birds let off a tune of happy chirps with another joining in as well. Spiral then noticed, coming from the bird’s home, another blue nestling around the same size as the one she found earlier. The unicorn’s heart melted at the sight of them showing affection for each other in a sibling like way.

Spiral continued to watch the happy little reunion, until she realized that she needed to get back to Maddie and Joey before the day escaped them. The mare was about to make her way back to the children, until she realized she didn’t even know which part of the woods she was in.

“Okay, let’s see here.” Spiral said out loud to no one in particular and scanning for the direction she came from. “I must’ve come from that way, so that must be where the pond is.”

She went at a normal walk pace, navigating through the deep woods while deep in thought.

‘Maybe it was a bad idea to wander too far from the children. But I’m sure I’ll find my way back to them soon enough.’

Minutes passed by and Spiral was still traversing through the forest in the same direction until something occurred to her.

‘Hold on! Did I make a turn when I was making my way to the nests? I must have. Well, par for the course.’

She began to head off in a different direction hoping to lead her to her destination, but after another minute of wandering, she realized something.

‘But wait! I passed by a big, red leaf, tree about halfway to the mother’s bird nest so this is certainly not the way I came. I should probably head back to the blue bird’s nest and start over.’

What the unicorn thought would take a couple minutes to return to the nest only proved to be a fruitless endeavor as time went by. The pony’s heart started to race from the stress of the situation.

“Okay. Okay. Calm yourself down. I’m sure there’s a good reason as to why I’m off course. I just need to…to…” She looked around with no real plan in mind and just pointed a hoof in a random direction, before finishing her sentence with, “…to travel in that direction!”

As more time went by, it became apparent to the pony hypnotist that she was very lost and couldn’t find her way out.

“Oh no. Oh, no, no, no, no, no.” The mare said to herself in a panic as fear began to take hold of her. She ran even faster through the woods as quick as her legs could carry her as her mind began to play tricks on her. Images of her earlier encounter with the vicious geese sprang into her head, adding to her anxiety attack. Illusions of the children appeared as well, but instead of bringing the unicorn comfort, they were berating her for lying to them about the “post-hypnotic amnesia” and merely using them as play puppets.

Spiral closed her eyes to try and block out the imagery, only to trip over a branch and roll over with a *THUD* with her side hitting a tree base. The poor pony couldn’t take it anymore and began to let out tears of regret as she made a solemn vow that if she ever got out of the woods, she would make amends to the children and tell them the truth.

Just as she was about to collapse from despair, Spiral heard a chirping sound coming from nearby, as she looked up and was in shock to see the same nest she brought the blue baby bird to. The mare quickly gathered her bearings, brushed herself off, and stood up straight to see the mother flying around in a circle until she flew in front of the mare, catching Spiral off guard for a moment.

When Spiral recovered, the bird chirped a couple times as if trying to speak, but all it did was leave a questioning look from the unicorn. The bird then ascended a few feet higher and started to fly about in circles near where Spiral was standing. Getting curious, the pony took a few steps towards the bird, with the bird itself circling a bit further away.

‘Does she want me to follow her? Well I guess there’s only one way to find out.’

Spiral put her trust in the bird above, and began to move in the direction the bird was heading. After a good distance, the bird then changed patterns and flew ahead in one straight path with Spiral doing her best to keep up.

Sometime later, Spiral could see a speck of light in the distance and hurried her running pace. When she broke through some foliage blocking the light, she let out a cry of joy as the sight of the pond and the sleeping forms of Maddie and Joey nearly brought her to tears again.

Spiral was about to literally kiss the ground, when the sound of the blue bird caught her attention and took notice of how it landed right near her. The unicorn saw that the mother bird was collecting worms from the dirt and guessed that it was gathering food for the family.

When it was done on the ground, the bird flew back up to Spiral’s eye level and chirped a few times. Spiral smiled sincerely back and said, “Thank you. Thank you for your help.”

The mother bird chirped a couple more times, before taking to the sky and leaving the unicorn alone with the sleeping children.

The mare then went over to the hypnotized children and was about to wake Maddie when she thought back to the promise she made to herself earlier on.

‘How am I to tell them about my original intentions without breaking my trust with them? Should I just wake them up now and tell them that I originally just wanted to brainwash them when I first saw them? That might not be the best idea, especially since Maddie wants to introduce me to her friend later today. I could just make them accept whatever I tell them as a post-hypnotic suggestion and-NO! I want to come clean with them, not continue to sweep it under the rug!”

The frustrated Spiral took in a deep breath and let it out slow to compose herself. She then sat herself down on her haunches and proceeded to think things through more calmly.

‘Okay, from the top. What’s the best scenario to tell Maddie and Joey the truth about my deception?’

Author's Note

I sincerely apologize for my lack of updates but things hadn't turned out as well as I had hoped for. Between working so much and having writer's block for the past several months, it's been hard working on a fanfic I originally had a passion writing for. But with recent ideas and inspirations I finally have another chapter written (even if it is a bit short this time around). Hopefully I'll have a longer chapter for the next update. Fun fact: the word count in this chapter contains the exact number for the year I was born in.

Chapter 12

Maddie was immensely asleep in her hypnotic induced slumber with nothing to disturb her peaceful time. It was as if in the little girl’s mind, time stood still and she was in complete contentment. There wasn’t a sound to break her from her tranquil nap, that is, except for the sound of Spiral Swirl’s voice telling her, “Maddie, time to wake up!”

The girl’s ears registered the command as she slowly woke up from the unicorn’s spell and rubbed the sleep out of her eyes. When she finally came to, Maddie looked at Spiral, gave her a friendly hug and said, “That was a wonderful nap! Thank you Spiral!”

“You’re welcome Maddie!” The teal mare responded back with a warm smile.

“Though I will say, before falling asleep, it was hilarious the way you gave orders to my brother by having me say everything you said and having him move in a zig-zag pattern! Maybe I should ask you for more creative ideas in the future when we play around with hypnosis!”

‘Wait! How does she know about what happened earlier on? She should’ve forgotten what she did when…oh shoot! I forgot to tell her to forget what she did while she was in a trance.’ Spiral said in her head realizing the mistake she made. ‘I just hope she doesn’t…’

“Hey, wait a minute!” Maddie said breaking Spiral from her train of thought. “I thought you said that Joey and I couldn’t remember anything we did while we were hypnotized because of some post-hypnotic amnesia or something.”

Spiral was utterly tempted to use the trigger phrase to send Maddie right back down to trance and cover up her little slip-up. But she remembered the promise she made to herself earlier and with a heavy sigh, looked the girl straight in the eyes and said, “Maddie. There’s something I need to tell both you and Joey.”

“About what Spiral? Does it have to do with what I just said?” Maddie looked at the pony with a confused and scared look.

“Wake your brother up so I can tell the both of you.” Spiral said as she prepared herself for what she was about to say to the children.

‘They deserve to know the truth. Even if they hate me for it, I have to get it off my chest.’ The mare said quietly in her mind, knowing it was the right thing to do.

“Joey, wake up!” The younger sibling ordered to the entranced older sibling, bringing him back to the waking world and immediately taking notice of the swimming trunks he was wearing and the sudden change of location from in their bedroom to the swimming pond.

“Umm…how did we get here and why am I suddenly in my swim suit?”

“Spiral has something she wants to say to us.” Maddie said getting her brother’s attention before sitting down on her own towel and giving Spiral her awareness and said, “So what did you want to tell us?”

Spiral let out another heavy sigh before she said, “I haven’t been completely honest with you two.”

The eldest sibling had a raised eyebrow from what he heard come from the unicorn’s lips and asked, “What do you mean Spiral?”

“I lied…I lied when I said that hypnotic subjects forget their experience during entrancement. Post-hypnotic amnesia is all made up. I just made the two of you forget what you did every time you fell under my spell.” Spiral confessed as her heart began to race, expected the worst responses to arise from the children.

“But why? I don’t understand.” Joey asked anxiously trying to understand what was going on.

"When I first saw the two of you...I...I……I wanted to turn you into my hypno slaves." Spiral said as she couldn't bring herself to look the children in the eye. Maddie let out a loud gasp while Joey was taken back the most from what he just heard. At first he refused to believe that the magical unicorn he and his sister befriended would even consider doing such a thing.

“I don’t think I heard you right. You didn’t just say you wanted to turn us into your hypno slaves, did you?” Joey asked wanting to hear from the pony’s own words that what said was a mistake.

“I did Joey.” Spiral answered back still not looking at the siblings who at this point were questioning their faith and friendship in the teal colored mare.

Maddie was on the verge of breaking down in tears and asked in a heartbreaking tone, “How could you Spiral? I thought we were friends!”

‘Just as I predicted…Maddie already despises me. Now for the other stab in the heart…’ Spiral said sadly in her head and only waited for Joey to respond just like his sister.

But surprisingly, he didn’t.

Instead the boy asked, “Why are you telling us this?”

This completely caught Spiral off guard as she looked at the boy with a surprised, wide eyed look on her face and saw him standing up, staring deep in her eyes as if scanning her down to her core. She was left speechless for a couple moments trying to gather her thoughts until Joey broke her concentration and said in a firm voice, “Spiral, I want you to look me straight in the eye and tell me the truth of why you decided to tell Maddie and I your true intentions.”

Spiral swallowed to help calm herself and finally had enough thoughts gathered to begin speaking again.

“With the short time I spent with you, Maddie, and your parents, I felt…welcomed; almost as if I was part of your household. Despite the fact that I initially wanted to control you all for my own personal benefit, in the couple days I’ve spent living with you and your family, I realized how selfish I had been with abusing my power over everyone and how much I took for granted.”

Joey let the information sink in for a minute before moving on to another question.

“Why did you originally want to make us hypno slaves?”

The boy’s question sat in the mare’s mind as she contemplated how to answer it.

“When I first woke up in this world, I was alone, with nowhere to go and nopony to turn to for help. It was by mere chance that I even came across you and your sister and when I saw the two of you for the first time, I thought that by making you my hypno slaves, you might’ve been able to help me not only with providing food and shelter, but potentially finding a way for me to return to my own world. For the former, as I said earlier, my abusive actions toward you two and your parents is inexcusable and will face the consequences for those actions. As for the later, I now realize at this point it’s only wishful thinking and have come to accept the proposition that I may never be able to travel back to Equestria.”

“But why go out of your way to turn us into your mindless puppets if all you wanted was help?” The older sibling asked as he sat back down on his towel. Maddie listening intently to the whole conversation.

“I didn’t know what to do and I didn’t even know if I could fully trust you or your family. Let me put it this way; if you suddenly woke up in a completely different world where everything is unfamiliar and there weren’t any other humans around, would you really be so careless as to walk straight up to the very first creature you might come across and try to befriend it without first thinking how it could potentially be very dangerous?”

As much as Joey hated to admit it, Spiral did bring up a good point and sat in deep thought. But, while he was thinking over what the unicorn said, Maddie spoke up and asked, “But isn’t that what you did when you first met us? You just came straight up to us, befriended us, and started to trust us before you even started hypnotizing us. So why try turning us into hypno slaves after befriending us?”

The girl’s question regarding the pony’s contradictory statement brought the boy from his thinking state and asked, “Yeah, why did you?”

Knowing she was cornered, Spiral let out another heavy sigh and said, “Life’s always been hard on me and my family. I’ve always used my Hypno Magic to help ponies out with their problems, but I also use it as a means to deal with those who’ve done my family wrong in the past by bending them to my will and...” The mare stopped for a moment and let her head hang.

Joey began to grow concerned for Spiral with where she was going and told her, “We don’t have to hear this if you don’t want to talk about it.”

The Equestrian looked up at the children and said to them, “This is something that needs to be shared. You deserve to know the whole truth about my past after everything that’s happened.”

Spiral took in a deep breath, held it in for a few seconds, and exhaled before she started talking again.

“Remember a couple nights ago, when I was describing in detail about the way things work in Equestria? On the surface, it sounds like the perfect place to grow up in and live. With magic to help us in our everyday lives and a population that surrounds itself in the traits of friendship, you would think that statement is universally true. Sadly that’s never been the case for me. My family has had a dark history of being mistreated and unloved for years. It all started back with an attempted theft of a magic super weapon known as an Eclipse Bomb.”

“Eclipse Bomb?” Joey asked raising an eyebrow.

“Not much is known about it. Only that it was a device designed by Nightmare Moon as a means to help her in her conquest to bring everlasting darkness across the land of Equestria and the borders beyond.” Spiral explained to the boy. “But in short, it was something that screamed, ‘Bad News!’ to the entire population. Luckily, it never got the chance to be used and after Nightmare Moon’s banishment, it was locked away deep in a royal vault in Canterlot.”

“That’s a relief.” Maddie said before her brother asked, “But how does this connect with your family?”

“About 55 years ago, three criminals broke into the royal vault with the help of an unsuspecting unicorn who was brought along under the pretense that she was helping to test the security. That unicorn happened to be my grandmother: Fine Detail.”

“What happened to her?” Joey asked a bit more concerned with how Spiral might answer back.

“She, along with the three convicts, were caught in the act and imprisoned for trespassing in the vault. My grandmother did her best to prove her innocence to Princess Celestia, and was able to get a reduced prison sentence of only four years, but in the end, her testimony wasn’t enough to save her horn from being…”

Spiral stopped for a moment as she closed her eyes and took in another deep breath to help subside the rage she felt at that moment before finishing her statement.

“…shattered.”

Maddie gasped at the unimaginable horror of a unicorn losing their horn while Joey’s heart skipped a couple beats as he tried to stay as stoic and calm as possible.

“And yes, it’s just as painful as it sounds. The three convicts received the same treatment of having their horns chopped off as well and were sentenced to prison for life, but I feel my grandmother’s punishment was far worse than what the others got. While the three would be spending the rest of their days in a confined cell being fed meals, the innocent unicorn, who just lost her horn, was about to endure much worse than she could ever ask for. The four years had passed, and my grandmother was finally allowed to return home. The first thought that crossed her mind would be how happy her husband would be to see her and how she could reconcile with him for the time she was gone. But instead, she found him married to another mare. He wanted nothing to do with a unicorn with a ‘criminal record’ and broken horn so he kicked her out of the house along with the filly she brought into the world before she was imprisoned.”

This only made Joey’s heart feel heavier than before while Maddie was on the verge of breaking out into tears.

“With nopony to turn to and a four year old filly to watch over, my grandmother began a long journey to find a place to raise her child in peace. Needless to say, the expedition was grueling and harsh for her because of her broken horn and anypony she came across showed little to no sympathy for her. Carriages and trains wouldn’t let her board as a passenger; forcing her to travel on hoof. And because of how much hotels and inns overcharged their open rooms just for a one night stay, the money my grandmother had on hoof had rapidly run out. Throughout the next couple of months, she and her daughter were forced to rely on the kindness and generosity of pass-byers to get through. After earning enough, the two of them were able to travel a little further, until they came to a small town called…”

Spiral paused for a few seconds until she had the vigor to utter the name that made her seethe with anger as she said it.

“…Ponyville…”

“Ponyville?” Joey asked in a confused tone. “What was so bad about that place?”

“It’s a town that claims to be the perfect place for anypony to live, but the inhabitants were too concerned with upholding their reputation as a place without a trace of ‘criminal element’ to assist out one of their kind who was in most need of help. To make matters worse, at the time my grandmother and her young foal had arrived in that town, winter had already started and it was expected to be the coldest location in Equestria that year. The citizens in that town had no compassion towards her whatsoever and didn’t so much as offer a slight bit of shelter. And because of their attitude towards her and the extreme cold, my grandmother died during that winter.” Spiral said as her anger was starting to boil up. Maddie was letting tears flow down her cheeks from listening and wanted to hug her tormented friend, but Joey held her back and had a look that said, ‘Let her finish.’ Spiral paused momentarily to breath heavily, trying to rein in her anger some before continuing.

“With her death, the ponies of Ponyville were more than willing to help out the filly who was forced to survive on her own thanks to their cruel nature towards Fine Detail. But because of how long the foal was out in the cold for, she had a severe frostbite on one of her legs and had to have it surgically removed.”

Maddie simply couldn’t hold it back anymore and hugged her pony companion in a tight embrace (not enough to choke her) as tears flowed down from the girl’s cheeks onto Spiral’s fur as she cried out with, “Oh, Spiral! I’m…*SNIFF*…so very sorry about what happened to your mother and grandmother!” Even Joey, who had tried to stay strong, couldn’t prevent shedding a couple tears for the unicorn’s tragic story.

The little girl kept embracing as the mare continued on.

“Luckily for my mother, she has a happier ending than what my grandmother had. Despite having to live with an amputation, she went on to become one of the most beloved ornithologists, met a nice stallion and had two fillies. The family grew up together in a nice household and loved each other very much and everything finally seemed to turn up for them during the first couple years of the newborn foals. However…”

The mare took in another deep breath as Maddie calmed herself down, broke the hug, and sat back next to her brother to listen to what Spiral was about to say next.

“…one of those fillies’ childhood would be full of abuse and cruelty, especially in the later years at school.”

Joey seemed to catch on to which filly Spiral was talking about, but just for reassurance he asked with a soft, “You?”

The mare nodded her head and felt her rage rising again while saying, “It was hard to make friends around since a lot of ponies were gossiping about my family being descendants of a ‘criminal mastermind.’ My sister and I were often bullied at school by the other classmates and some of the teachers outright gave us bad grades on purpose just because we ‘shouldn’t be allowed to succeed.’”

“That’s terrible!” Shouted Maddie in protest.

“There was nothing I could do about it and when I tried to tell a teacher one time about how the answers to the questions on one test were correct, that teacher just marked my test with an even worse grade.”

“Spiral…” Joey began, trying to think of what to say next. “Didn’t you ever tell your parents about what was happening in school?”

“I tried to, but they weren’t much help at all. My parents were too busy with their careers. I was pretty much living every school foal’s worst nightmare.”

The teal unicorn then took in a couple more deep breaths before calming down and letting herself continue on.

“But there was a small silver lining from the years I spent in school and that was spending time with the only pony I ever considered close to a companion: Beachcomber. I felt like she was one of the only classmates who didn’t see me as anything criminally related, just somepony that needed company. She and I often talked about what we hoped to accomplish with our special talents. Her talent was scuba diving and finding all sorts of rare shells and had hoped to use those skills to open up a marine store and sell all sorts of underwater goods for decent amounts of bits.”

“Did you two still talk to each other before you arrived here?” Joey asked.

“Not much. We went our separate ways after graduation. She went on to start her own business at Palomino Point Beach.”

“When did you start using your Hypno Magic on others?” The boy inquired moving back to the subject at hand.

“It was shortly after I had earned my cutie mark, my family and I had a celebration and my mother gave me the pocket watch I carry with me to this day as a gift. The first pony I ever used my Hypno Magic on was my sister, Inside Scoop, where I helped her get over anxiety issues when interviewing ponies for the school paper, but I also implanted a suggestion to where she had to share her frozen fudge bars with me.”

Maddie gave a quick giggle at last part before being nudged by her brother to let Spiral continue on.

“I’ve always had a passion to help ponies out with their problems using my hypnotic abilities, but at the same time, I also wanted to get back at those who did my family wrong in the past with those very skills.

“Ponyville?” Joey questioned wary of where she was going with this.

“Yes...” Spiral answered as she tried her best to contain her anger in front of the children. “And I had come very close to enslaving them all to make them pay for what they did to my mother, and her mother. But it was the work of one Princess Twilight Sparkle where she used my own power against me and prevented me from using my Hypno Magic on other ponies.”

Maddie and Joey were having a hard time sympathizing for Spiral with how she talked about mind controlling an entire town for revenge, but said nothing.

“I spent time in jail for my actions of course. During my imprisonment though, I didn’t think about how to better myself as a pony. No. The only thoughts I had were about how to get back at the citizens of Ponyville and Princess Twilight.”

The two siblings were beginning to get a little nervous with the mare’s tone building up with rage. Before any of them, could say or do anything though, Spiral took in a deep breath, held it in for a couple seconds, and let it out slowly, calming herself down before continuing on.

“But looking back at what I did, it was probably a bit too extreme what I tried to do. I realize now that taking revenge on ponies whose parents have probably passed on wasn’t the best thing to do. But no matter what anypony tells me, no one will ever make me change the way I feel about that town, what they did all those years ago, and how Princess Celestia knew that my grandmother was innocent, but refused to prevent her horn from being broken.”

There was silence for a few moments, until Joey cut through it and asked, “What happened next?”

“Well, after spending a few years in prison, I was eventually let out under parole. I was given approval to keep an office to work with and continue to help ponies with their problems, but I was still not allowed to use my Hypno Magic on them since Princess Twilight’s post-hypnotic suggestion prevented me from doing it. I made due with the best of my situation until I could prove to society that I was worthy of using my hypnotic talents to the fullest again.”

“Did you ever get permission to use Hypno Magic on ponies again?” Maddie asked curiously.

“Sadly, no. Before being brought to this place, I still had a lukewarm reputation with the citizens at best and still had a long ways to go before getting their trust again. But at this point, I don’t think it matters.”

Spiral stood up from where she sat, looked away from Maddie and Joey, and closed her eyes.

“I’m stuck here in this world with probably no chance of returning back, my mother and sister are certainly worried about where I am, and now…I’ve betrayed your trust since our first meeting and continued even after everything you and your parents did for me in the past few days. I don’t deserve to stay in your house let alone be in your presence. Perhaps…it is best that I…I…”

The unicorn couldn’t hold back her sorrow anymore as tears began to form and her voice couldn’t bring itself to finish her thoughts. She didn’t care if the children bore witness to her breaking down crying. In her mind, she deserved to be ridiculed, shamed, and banished from the family that took her in, in her time of need no less. The mare sat on her haunches and expected one of the siblings to ask another question or deliver their harsh judgement onto her just like the ponies back in Equestria did when she was younger. But what she received next was something that shocked her to her very core. It wasn’t a rebuke, or even a slap…

…it was a hug.

Spiral opened her tear-filled eyes in surprise to find the oldest sibling having wrapped his arms against her fur coat in a consoling manner.

“But I *cough*…I *cough*…*cough*……”

Spiral was choking on her words; trying to come up with whatever excuse she could think of as to why the boy should leave her alone, until Joey interjected.

“You don’t need to say anything else Spiral.” The boy said breaking the hug and looking deep in the mare’s eyes.

As the unicorn stared back at the oldest sibling’s eyes, she knew exactly what he meant and didn’t hold back anything now, as she wrapped her forelegs against his own form and cried even harder. Joey did his best to comfort the pony by stroking her mane to help calm her down. Another pair of arms wrapped around Spiral as Maddie joined in the hug and shed tears of her own.

Tears filled with years of built up agony and torment rained down from the mare, onto the ground with painful thoughts of the past playing in her mind. With only a bit of strength in her voice, Spiral weakly uttered, “Don’t leave me…”

“We’ll always be here for you Spiral.” The brother said in a sincere tone while still stroking her mane. “Take all the time you need right now.”

Joey’s words only made Spiral tighten her hug against the boy. Doubtful thoughts still lingered in the mare’s head and said in a broken voice, “I don’t deserve your kindness…your generosity…or even your forgiveness…”

“Shh…just let it all out.” Joey said not minding the tighter hug, only wanting to comfort the distressed pony. Spiral said nothing else and just continued to pour out tears. The more tears that left the teal unicorn, the more negative memories seem to vanish from her, until new, positive ones started to sprout with images of Maddie, Joey, and herself spending time together talking, playing around, and overall having fun. Those thoughts combined with the reassuring and soothing hugs from the siblings soon brought a joyous yet small smile. The whole ordeal had left her with just one question in her mind.

‘Is this…what real friendship feels like?’

Chapter 13

Several minutes of crying left Spiral Swirl with red eyes, but didn’t think much of it as she eventually broke the hug from the siblings. Joey was the first to speak up.

“Feeling better?”

The unicorn sniffed a couple times and rubbed any remaining tears from her bloodshot eyes before looking up at the older sibling and nodded in a yes fashion.

“That’s good.” The boy said giving the mare a heartfelt smile.

“I’m sorry if I acted mad towards you earlier Spiral.” Maddie said looking down at the ground nervously while tracing the ground with her foot. “You won’t hold it against me will you?”

“Of course not Maddie.” Said Spiral. “There’s nothing to be sorry for at all. In all fairness, I completely deserved every bit of spite you and your brother could’ve had towards me. But something I don’t understand is, why Joey?

“Why what Spiral?” The boy asked back at the mare.

“Why weren’t you angry with me earlier? Even when I told you clear as day what my original intent was with you and your sister, you didn’t lash out at me or even seem upset the way Maddie was. So why?”

“I was angry Spiral.” Joey answered garnering Spiral’s full attention as well as a small gasp from her lips. “And you’re right, I could’ve yelled or even screamed at you for the way you wanted to turn me and Maddie into your mindless slaves. In fact, I was tempted to do so……but I chose not to. Because as much as you deserve to be rejected by my family, I could tell how truly remorseful you were, even before you started to tell us your family’s history. I can’t say that I agree with your extreme actions what you did back in your world, but I can understand the harsh life you and your family have gone through. And what kind of person would I be, if I only inflicted more pain to the already open wound?”

Spiral was stunned at how Joey acted in the most mature manner, at such a young age no less. She said nothing though and let the boy continue.

“If you truly are sorry for what you originally intended to do to me, Maddie, and the rest of my family, then I forgive you.”

The teal-colored pony was almost at a loss for words, for how much the oldest sibling was willing to give her another chance.

“Joey…I-”

“BUT!” Joey interjected. “I want you to solemnly swear that you will never use your hypnotic powers to enslave us as your mindless servants again!”

Spiral understood the boy explicitly and brought out her pocket watch with her magic (but not swinging it), and said in a sincere tone, “I solemnly swear on my pocket watch that I’ll never again use my abilities to hypnotize you, Maddie, or anyone else in the family into being my slaves, against their will, again.”

The air was filled with a dead silence for a moment as the unicorn waited to see what would happen next. That question was answered with Maddie giving the pony a quick hug while saying, “I forgive you too.”

The latter, returning the gesture, closed her eyes in contentment for the friendship she was able to keep and said, “Thank you for giving me another chance…” while putting away her watch.

“How will we tell Mom and Dad what you told us?” The girl asked a bit timidly, wondering how her parents would handle the truth.

The unicorn broke the hug and said, “I will speak to them tomorrow. They deserve to know everything as well. If they do decide to kick me out because of my actions, then I’ll at least enjoyed having spent one more day with you all.”

“Well we’d better get back to the house then. For all we know, Mom’s probably going to be back any minute wondering where we are.” The eldest sibling said as he got up from where he sat and stretched for a bit. “Hey by the way, where are my shoes? I can’t find them.”

Joey’s question brought a look of shock on Maddie’s face as she suddenly remembered the reason the three of them were at the pond in the first place. She began to grow nervous as her mind scrambled to think of what to do.

“Seriously where are they? Maddie, have you seen-”

“HYPNO PLAYTIME!!!” The littlest sibling screamed as loud as she could.

The words echoed through the forest as Spiral covered her ears from how close Maddie yelled. Once her ears recovered, the mare gave the child a slight irritated look and asked, “Was it really necessary to shout like that?”

The girl looked at Spiral with an embarrassed look on her face and said, “Oops…sorry Spiral.”

“It’s okay. But next time when you’re sitting next to me, could you not do it so loudly?”

The little girl gave a happy nod to which the pony responded with a warm smile, garnering a giggle from the former.

“So, why did you use the trigger on your brother just now?” The unicorn asked curiously.

“Well, while you were talking to us, I completely forgot why we came here earlier. I just sort of panicked when he was asking about his shoes and that’s why I screamed it out loudly. Plus, I don’t want him to get mad with him having to walk home barefoot.”

“I see.” The mare said looking over to the boy to see his eyes swirling away, ready to listen and obey whatever his sister wanted him to do.

Joey didn’t have to wait long though as Maddie’s voice soon registered in his ears as she said, “Joey, fold up those towels neatly, then hold them out for me!”

The oldest sibling followed Maddie’s instructions implicitly with each towel folded up as if they were brand new. When he finished, Maddie grabbed the towels, looked at Spiral and said, “We’d better hurry and get back to the house before Mommy arrives.”

“Mmmhmm.” The pony nodded in agreement, making her towards the little girl.

“Alright Joey! Follow us back to the house in the same marching fashion you did when we walked here earlier!” Maddie said in her mock drill sergeant tone.

The brother obeyed the command as he marched behind Maddie and Spiral in the same clockwork fashion as before. The unicorn couldn’t help but give an internal chuckle at the young girl’s playful antics.

‘She never does cease to amuse. I wonder if-’

“So Spiral?”

The sound of the youngest sibling’s voice broke the pony’s train of thought as she looked up at the girl and asked, “Yes, Maddie?”

“Are you excited about meeting Stacy? I know she’ll be excited to meet you!”

The question made Spiral feel uneasy and asked Maddie, “Are you sure it’s even a good idea to let me meet her? I just told you and Joey what I tried to do to the both of you, as well as your parents.”

“We both forgave you though; plus you did promise not to use your Hypno Magic to enslave us against our will and I trust you enough not to do the same to Stacy. I’m sure we’ll all have a fun time together!”

The girl’s encouraging words and enthusiastic nature made the pony feel much better and said with a warm, bright, smile, “You’re right, Maddie! I’m sorry if my doubt got the better of me just now.”

“It’s fine Spiral!” The young girl said feeling happy at the notion that Stacy was going to be in for the time of her life.

The three continued through the path until they eventually made it back to the house. Maddie and Spiral made their way in, while Joey continued to hypnotically march behind the two into the hall. He soon heard his sister’s voice yell, “STOP!” bringing him to a complete halt. Luckily the mother hadn’t returned yet, so Maddie didn’t have to worry about explaining anything. The little girl cleared her throat as she spoke once again.

“Alright Joey, listen closely, go into the bathroom upstairs, wash all the dirt off your feet, dry them off, then go straight to the bedroom and wait for further instructions.”

The black and white spiral, eyed sibling did as he was told and went upstairs to follow his younger sibling’s commands. Maddie went and put the towels away before grabbing her brother’s shoes from the living room, with Spiral trailing beside her. The youngest sibling and the unicorn had just begun walking up the stairs, when the door to the garage opened, with the children’s mother shouting, “Hello, I’m back!”

The girl’s heart skipped a beat. She quickly made it up the stairs out of sight and shouted, “Hi Mom! Joey, Spiral, and I are upstairs!”

“Okay! Stacy should be here soon!” The mother replied back.

The girl let out a sigh of relief with the pony looking at her with a raised eyebrow and asking, “What is it?”

“I didn’t want her to see me like this and start questioning about what we did earlier.” Maddie whispered in Spiral’s ear. The mare nodded, understanding the girl’s reason before they made their way to the bedroom. Joey, meanwhile, was still in the bathroom, obeying his sister’s command to wash his feet clean from all the dirt that clung to him. As they waited for the oldest sibling to finish, Spiral decided to strike up a conversation with Maddie.

“So how exactly do you want to go about introducing me to your friend?”

“Hmm…” Maddie said sitting down in a thinking manner. “I haven’t really thought about it.” She continued to ponder in her head for a moment, until her eyes lit up and she grew a giddy smile.

“Okay! When Stacy arrives, you can hide in the closet and wait there until I bring her upstairs and give you the signal to introduce yourself to her.”

“Sounds like a plan.” The unicorn said in agreement.

Just then Joey marched into the room, stopped in the center and waited for his sister to initiate more commands.

“Now Joey, what I’m about to say is very important, so listen closely. When you break free from this trance, you will not remember anything you did after I yelled out your trigger phrase. Instead, you will think that from the time you started asking about your shoes at the pond, to the moment you wake up, you found your shoes hiding near the pond, walked home with me and Spiral with them on, heard Mom come home, got dressed in regular clothes, and walked in on us discussing plans regarding Stacy’s introduction to Spiral. Did you get all that?”

The eldest child’s subconscious absorbed every word that came out his sister’s lips and after she finished the question, his response was a droned, “Yes.”

“Good. Now then, go to your clothes drawer, pick out a shirt, a pair of underwear and pants, go to the bathroom, change out of your swimsuit and into the clothes you pick and then come back.”

Joey followed the orders without a second thought and soon disappeared out of the room to the bathroom.

“You really love messing around with him don’t you?” Spiral asked in a teasing manner.

“As I said, it’s mostly payback, but all in good fun!” Maddie answered with a small giggle. “Oh, before I forget, after I introduce you to Stacy, I think it would be fun for her to-“

“No wait, let me guess.” The unicorn interrupted, already knowing what the youngest sibling was requesting. “You want me to use my Hypno Magic on her, so she can experience what you and Joey have felt when put under a trance, right?”

Maddie was a little stunned at Spiral’s interjection and said, “How did you know that I was going to say that?”

“You could say I read your mind.” The mare replied while giving off a small chuckle. “But how do you want me to hypnotize her and do you have any specific requests of what happens after I put her under?”

“I say just do what you usually do, perhaps draw it out for her to make it as relaxing and wonderful as possible. While, she’s entranced, how about doing something that you haven’t tried with me and Joey yet. But don’t tell me what it is, I wanna be surprised!” The little girl answered, already fantasizing at all the possibilities of hypnotic entertainment only the unicorn could deliver.

“Sure thing Maddie!” The mare said, mentally noting everything the girl said.

Before the two of them said anything else, Joey walked back in, all dressed in the clothes he picked out, consisting of a sleeveless, gray T-shirt and orange running shorts. He stood in front of Maddie and Spiral as he awaited the former to speak to him once again.

“Alright Joey, before I wake you from your trance, I want you to repeat back to me everything I told you to remember in regards to the events after you started asking about your shoes.”

Without emotion, the brother said, “I walked home with you and Spiral with them on, heard Mom come home, got dressed in regular clothes, and walked in on you and Spiral discussing plans regarding Stacy’s introduction to Spiral.”

“Very good. Now, wake up!”

As per usual, the spirals in Joey’s eyes dissipated soon followed by the return of his normal colored iris and sized pupil. After shaking off any remaining effects of being in a trance, he was fully awake and alert with Maddie’s post-hypnotic suggestion kicking into play.

“Hey you two, so what’s the plan of introducing Spiral to Stacy?” Joey asked in his normal tone again.

After the younger sibling explained the idea to her brother of how Spiral will introduce herself to Stacy and hypnotize her, Joey had a serious look on his face.

“I’m fine with this, as long as you promise not to subjugate Stacy to being your slave. Am I clear, Spiral?”

“Of course, Joey.” Spiral said in a solemn tone. “I promised never to use my Hypno Magic prowess to steal away you or your sister’s free will again and I intend on keeping that promise with any of yours or Maddie’s friends.”

“Just making sure is all.” The oldest sibling said returning to a calmer demeanor. “Well, I’m going downstairs to watch some TV.”

Following the boy’s departure from the room, a thought popped into the girl’s head.

“Hey Spiral?”

The mare looked at the child, waiting to hear her question.

“You said earlier on that you’ve always made Joey and I forget everything we do when in a trance. When you do hypnosis sessions with us from now on, would it be possible to make us remember what it is we do?”

“Sure thing! In fact for Stacy’s session, I was planning to have her remember everything she does while under my spell.”

The little girl couldn’t resist giving her pony companion a warm hug and said, “Thank you Spiral. You’re one of the best friends I could ever ask for!”

The child’s comment touched the teal unicorn’s heart and was on the verge of getting watery-eyed, but held back and simply said, “That means a lot to me Maddie. Thank you.”

The two continued to embrace for another moment, until a realization hit Maddie.

“Oh my goodness!” The youngest sibling said, breaking the hug.

“What is it?” Spiral asked, fearing something was wrong.

“Stacy’s gonna be here soon and I’m still wearing my swimsuit! I gotta change quickly before she gets here!”

Not wasting any time, Maddie zoomed over to her clothes drawer and rapidly picked out a set of normal clothes to wear. When she felt happy with the choices she picked out, the girl sprinted to the bathroom, leaving the mare alone. Spiral rolled her eyes at the girl’s antics and found it too funny not to laugh at.

‘Like I said, she certainly never ceases to amuse.’

Maddie returned to the bedroom about a minute later, now garbed in her new clothes consisting of a plain, white T-shirt and a pair of pink shorts.

“Now I’m ready, for an afternoon of fun!” Maddie said with excitement in her voice. “What about you Spiral? Are you ready for an afternoon of fun?”

“Sure am!” The unicorn answered back in a genuinely cheerful mood, until the sound of her stomach caused her to blush in embarrassment. “After I’ve had a quick bite to eat.”

Maddie giggled at the pony’s reaction and said, “I’m feeling hungry myself. Let’s head to the kitchen and get some lunch!”

Spiral nodded at the girl’s suggestion and the two of them headed downstairs and making their way to the kitchen, all while passing by Joey who had all of his concentration towards the television screen. When the mare and child arrived in the kitchen, they saw the mother was busy with putting groceries away.

“Do you need some help with putting things away?” Spiral offered by grabbing one of the food items with her magic. Despite her hunger status, she wanted to assist the family in any way she could.

“Well thank you Spiral, I would sure appreciate it!” The mother replied a sincere smile and showed Spiral where to put the rest of the groceries.

As they were finishing up, the mother looked at the pony and said, “Now you’re absolutely sure you’re comfortable about meeting Maddie’s friend? It’s not too late to say no.”

“Positive!” The unicorn replied chirpily while putting a loaf of bread on a countertop. “And from what Maddie said about her, Stacy sounds like someone who’s easy to get along with.”

“Okay. I just didn’t want you put in an uncomfortable position.” Said the mother.

After Spiral finished with the last of the grocery bags, she received another thanks from the mother before the latter went and grabbed a cloth and spray can of Endust, After the mother left the kitchen to clean around the house, a loud *DING* *DING* *DING* *DING* rang through the room and the teal mare turned her attention to see Maddie opening a small door to a rectangular shaped box.

“Something smells delectable.” Spiral said as her muzzle caught a whiff of the heated up food.

“Just heating up leftover pizza from last night.” The girl said carefully taking out from the box a couple steaming slices of pizza and putting them on a plate. Spiral was left in a confused state.

“I don’t understand, how could you have heated up those slices from last night so quickly without burning them?”

“With the microwave oven. Here I’ll show you.” Said the youngest sibling as she grabbed a couple slices of leftover cheese pizza, put them on top of a paper towel in the microwave, closed the door tightly, pushed a couple buttons, and stood back.

The microwave oven roared to life with a small humming noise, leaving the unicorn curious. Soon enough, the same beeping sounds from earlier rang from the machine. Maddie grabbed a plate before retrieving the slices from the oven and placing them on the plate to cool off.

“What do you think?” The girl asked. Spiral was left stunned.

“Incredible…” The mare said all the more marveled at how advanced human technology was compared to Equestria. She was about to ask about how the device worked, but her stomach was running on empty and the smell of the heated up pizza made her decide to save the question for another time.

The aroma managed to find its way to Joey and sure enough, the boy went to the kitchen to heat up some the leftover dinner from last night as well. He opened the fridge to find any remaining slices with meat toppings, but was dismayed at not finding any. When the oldest sibling turned around, he saw that his sister had, on her plate, a slice all chowed down to the bare crust and another with meat already bitten down on.

“Maddie!” He cried out in a dismayed tone. “You didn’t leave any slices for me!”

“Finders keepers, brother!” The sister said in a teasing tone.

Joey’s level of patience was being tried and was about to retort until Spiral spoke first and said, “If you want, you can have whatever slices are left of my pizza from the refrigerator.”

“No, it’s fine Spiral. It’s your pizza, not mine. I’ll just find something else to eat.” The boy responded in a disappointed tone. But Spiral would have none of that.

“No really, I insist. I don’t really need to eat all of it. Plus, I do want some fruit or vegetables, if there are any around.”

Joey, touched with Spiral’s offer said, “Thank you, Spiral,” got out the two remaining slices of cheese pizza from the fridge and heated them up in the microwave. While waiting for the microwave to finish, he grabbed an apple from the fruit-bowl as well as some celery, took them over to the mare, and asked, “Will these be sufficient enough for you?”

“Yes, yes they should. Thank you kindly, Joey.” Spiral replied with a satisfactory smile, using her magic to levitate the food onto her plate.

The eldest child turned his head back to the microwave oven after hearing the timer go off, grabbed a plate (as well as some fruit), retrieved the slices of steaming pizza, and sat at the table. The three enjoyed the rest of their lunch in peace with only the sound of munching, crunching, and the occasional, “Mmm…” coming from their mouths. Afterwards, the trio put their dirty dishes in the sink and cleaned off any crumbs from the table into the trash.

Just then, the sound of the doorbell rang through the house, and Maddie’s level of excitement skyrocketed.

“She’s here! She’s here!” The youngest child squealed, barely able to contain her enthusiasm.

“I guess that’s my cue to hide then.” Spiral said as she quickly went upstairs to the children’s bedroom, activated her magic grip on the closet room door knob, trotted inside, and shut the door tightly. She sat down on all four legs as thoughts crossed her mind regarding Stacy.

‘How will she react to seeing me? Will she act the same way Maddie did when I first met her? I guess there’s only one way to find out.’

Chapter 14

Maddie eagerly opened the front door to be greeted to the sight of her friend standing close to the doorway, with her mother standing nearby. Stacy was around the same age as Maddie, had tan colored skin with blonde hair that tied up into a ponytail and wore a simple white and pink stripped, short-sleeve T-shirt, with blue shorts and open toe sandals. Her giddy smile screamed, “BFF!” as the two hugged and exchanged hellos with each other.

“Stacy! How’s it going?” Asked Maddie.

“Oh, it’s been a fun summer so far. What about you Maddie?” Stacy asked in return.

“Same here. Been spending a lot of time with my brother nowadays.”

“Ah Stacy, how nice to see you again!” Maddie’s mother said approaching the door and greeting Stacy’s mother.

“I’ll pick her up in a couple hours. Have fun!” Stacy’s mother said before kissing her daughter on her forehead, walking back to her car and driving away.

“Well don’t just stand there, come in, come in!” Maddie said to her friend in an enthusiastic tone. Stacy followed Maddie close behind, as the mother of the latter shut the door behind them before continuing on with her set of cleaning activities.

“So what should we do first?” Stacy asked, wondering how the two would spend their time together.

“Well, I have something special show you upstairs!” Maddie replied trying her best to hold back her excitement.

“Ooohh! What is it? Is it a new computer?” Stacy questioned as her mind started envisioning all the possible things Maddie wanted to show her.

Maddie wanted to just tell her friend what it was that was awaiting her upstairs, but restrained herself.

“It’s a surprise silly! You’ll just have to see it for yourself! But, I know you’ll love it!”

The two girls walked through the living room to the stairs, but not before Stacy saw her friend’s older sibling walking by and said, “Hi Joey!”

“Oh hey Stacy.” The oldest child responded stopping and turning around to give his sister’s companion his attention. “How have you been lately?”

“Been doing great actually!” Stacy answered back, before she received a playful tug from Maddie. “Anyway, Maddie has something she wants to show me!”

“Well you two have fun. I’m gonna play some video games.” The boy said as he headed off to the living room.

After he left their sight, Maddie started walking upstairs with Stacy following behind. The two girls soon made it to the bedroom where Stacy looked around the room and asked, “So what’s the special surprise, Maddie?”

“Hold on.” Said Maddie as she closed the door to the bedroom all the way, before looking back at her friend. “Before I show you what it is, I need you to perform your sacred vow of secrecy; to never to tell anyone else outside of this house what you’re about to see.”

Stacy and Maddie performed their little ritual of silence with the former afterwards asking, “Okay, so what’s so special that you made swear to secrecy over?”

Maddie quickly grew a bright smile and said rather loudly, “You can come out now, Spiral!”

“Who are you talking to Maddie?” Stacy asked her friend with a confused expression written on her face. Maddie simply said nothing as her closet door swayed on its own with Spiral Swirl using her magic to gently swing it open.

“Did someone call for me?” The teal colored unicorn asked jokingly.

The moment Stacy laid eyes upon Spiral, she was completely astonished at the sight of the pony that was just mere feet away from her. She tried to say something, but all that escaped from her lips was a faint scream.

Spiral giggled at the girl’s expression and said, “You must be Maddie’s friend, Stacy! I’m Dr. Spiral Swirl and it’s very nice to meet you! And before you ask, yes I am very much real. Don’t believe me, just touch my mane.”

Stacy was having a hard time moving herself as she continued to stare at the creature in front of her as if it were a ghost. She slowly made her way towards the pony, not once breaking eye contact.

“Go ahead, I won’t bite.” Spiral said with a kind and warm smile to help melt away any shyness and fear Stacy still might have had.

Feeling much braver now, Stacy brought her hand to feel Spiral’s mane. Suddenly, a rush of excitement flowed through Maddie’s friend.

“Oh. My. GOSH!!!” Stacy said finally regaining her voice and pushing her cheeks together with her hands. “This is actually happening! There’s an actual, talking, unicorn that knows my name! I must be dreaming!”

“You’re very much awake actually.” The mare said unintentionally making the overjoyed girl even more ecstatic. “Maddie’s told me a bit about you and that you like ponies.”

“Are you kidding?!? I love ponies! I think they’re some of the most amazing creatures ever!” Stacy exclaimed before she sat down in front of the unicorn and said, “Tell me everything! Like, where are you from? What’s it like there? Are there are others like you? How did you get h-“

“Whoa, whoa, whoa, hold up now!” Spiral said cutting off Stacy’s plethora of questions. ‘Wow, she can certainly be just as energetic as Maddie.’ The mare thought to herself before speaking again. “I’m sorry, it’s just hard to keep up with how many questions you were asking at once. But to answer the ones that you did ask, I come from the land of Equestria. For the most part, it’s a nice place to live and yes there are other unicorn ponies like myself, as well as earth, pegasi, and alicorn. As to how I got here, I still have no idea.”

Having a little more self-control, Stacy scooted away to give Spiral some personal space before asking, “So how long have you known Maddie for, and does anyone else know about you?”

“I’ve known Maddie for a couple days. I came across her and her brother shortly after I woke up in this world. I’ll admit, I was uncertain about showing myself to them at first since, I never saw humans before. But they seemed nice enough and soon we became good friends and even allowed me to stay in their house; with their parents’ permission of course. So, aside from you, Maddie, Joey, and their parents, no one else knows about me.”

Stacy looked at her friend and said, “You must be one of the luckiest girls in the world to have a living, breathing, talking unicorn live with you. I can see why you want this kept secret.”

“I don’t mind meeting other humans.” Spiral said, gaining Stacy’s attention once more. “But I think just having one over at a time would be wise to not cause any problems. But I digress, did you have any more questions you wanted to ask?”

“Is there anything else you can do besides talk?”

“Oh! Oh! Oh! Can I answer for you Spiral?” Maddie spoke before the unicorn even had a chance to respond. Spiral shrugged her forehooves and nodded her head in a yes fashion.

“Okay! So Spiral can actually do two other things besides talk. The first is use magic to levitate objects with.”

“Really?!?” Stacy asked in a hyper tone of voice. Sure enough, the unicorn’s signature magical aura appeared around her horn, grabbed hold of her saddlebag with said magic, and held up in the air for Maddie’s friend to see. Needless to say, she was stunned.

When she got her bearings, Stacy stood up, looked straight at Maddie and said rapidly in the giddiest tone, “DidIevertellyouhowmuchyou’remybestfriend?!?” She then embraced Maddie as the other two chuckled at how overexcited she was acting.

When she finally calmed down again, Stacy said, “I mean…wow! Not only do you have a pony living you that can talk, but also one that can perform magic? How can this get any better?”

“Oh but it does!” Maddie replied. “Because her other ability is one that Joey and I love the most: hypnotism!”

“Hypnotism?” Stacy asked giving her friend a puzzled tone and look on her face. “Isn’t that just some phony stage trickery where people pretend that they’re under some form of somebody else’s control?”

“Not the way she does it! This is the real deal!” Maddie answered back before turning to Spiral and winking at her without Stacy noticing.

Spiral took this as a sign to get ready and gripped her golden pocket watch with her magic. She then asked, “Would you like to try a session and see what it’s like?”

Despite the unicorn being a friend to Maddie, Stacy was apprehensive to the idea of letting go of her free will, even for a short time. She thought about it for a moment before asking back, “Will it hurt at all?”

“No, I promise you that my methods will not harm you in anyway, in fact you might even love how good it feels when I start hypnotizing you.”

Hearing Spiral’s statement made Stacy only feel slightly more open to trying it out and wanted some more assurance. “Will I remember anything afterwards?”

“Of course! I can make it to where every session we do, you’ll wake up remembering everything that happens.”

There was just one more question Stacy wanted to ask before even remotely thinking of giving the hypnotic doctor her consent.

“You won’t turn me into a mindless puppet forever, will you?”

That question hit Spiral hard and made her think back to earlier in the day. She quickly shook off that moment of uneasiness, looked at Maddie’s friend with a sincere look on her face and said, “I understand if you’re frightened of my power because of what it can do. But I solemnly swear on my pocket watch that I will never use my Hypno Magic to make you into a hypnotic slave of any kind. I made that promise to Maddie and Joey and I intend to keep that promise with them and you!”

Stacy let out a deep sigh.

“I’m sorry if I seem afraid, it’s just I’ve never been hypnotized before and I’m just a little nervous about trying it, is all.”

Maddie knew her friend needed a push and said, “What if I underwent hypnosis with you? I’ve always enjoyed being put in a trance by Spiral and I’m sure it would be fun having both of us put under at the same time. Please, won’t you try it?”

Stacy considered Maddie’s proposition and after thinking it over said, “Well…alright. I’ll do it. But, only because I trust you.”

“Yay!” Maddie replied happily and gave Stacy a hug in the process. “You won’t regret this!”

“Okay then, so what do we do?” Stacy asked after breaking from the hug.

“I’m glad you asked Stacy.” Spiral answered with a warm and inviting smile on her muzzle. “The first step of every hypnosis session is to sit down and get in a comfortable position. I also usually recommend to my patients to remove any article or loose clothing that might get in the way of relaxing.”

Stacy sat down on the floor, removed her sandals and placed them nearby before getting herself comfy in a W-sitting position while Maddie seated herself next to her friend in her typical sitting position.

“So what happens next?” Stacy questioned as the golden pocket watch she saw from before, dangled right before her and Maddie’s eyes, catching her attention.

“The next step is quite simple actually…” Spiral spoke in a softer and alluring tone of voice. She started to swing the watch in a slow rhythm and said, “…just let your eyes follow the movement of the pocket watch…and listen closely to my instructions.”

Stacy focused all of her attention on the trinket swaying in front of her while Maddie was already relaxing from how many times she was put under Spiral’s spell previously.

“Follow the rhythm of the watch with your eyes…with every swing, you begin to feel a strong fascination for the watch building up, as it moves back…and forth…back…and forth…back…and forth…”

Stacy was certainly beginning to feel the mare’s words affect her as it was harder and harder to look away from the irresistible pocket watch. Maddie, meanwhile, while not fully under a trance yet, was practically at Spiral Swirl’s beck and call; only listening and obeying what her voice told her to do.

“If there is any anxiety or doubt lingering in your mind, let my words help wash it away…you can feel them slowly drifting away as the watch fills you with new feelings…feelings of tranquility and relaxation…”

With every word that left the pony’s lips, the levels of captivation towards the pocket watch, for Stacy, grew and grew to the point where nothing else, except watching the charm swing to-and-fro, mattered.

“As you continue staring at the watch…let your mind and body start to relax…every swing making it harder and harder to look away. But why would you want to tear your gaze from the ever appealing watch…when all it does is make you feel better and better?”

Needless to say, Stacy’s mind was hooked onto the watch and was only falling more and more under Spiral’s hypnotic influence. Maddie at this point was sitting like a ragdoll, merely staring absentmindedly and taking in everything the pony was saying.

“You’re doing very well Maddie and Stacy…but I can see now that the two of you are starting to get sleepy…very, very…” Spiral paused for a moment and put her lips closer to the girls’ ears and said in a low, whisper, “…sleepy…” before moving back to her prior position.

Maddie felt the sleep effects almost instantaneously and nearly conked out while Stacy was beginning to feel the symptoms of the doctor’s words taking hold on her and let out a small yawn, all while not once breaking eye contact with the pocket watch.

“I can see just how very tired your eyes have become from the time you’ve spent staring at the watch…but don’t close them yet…both of you still want to catch glimpses of the watch as much as you can, before you fall…asleep…”

Stacy did her best not to nod off right there and then, but between keeping her eyes glued to the still perfectly, rhythmic pocket watch and all the suggestions of sleep coming from Spiral, the idea of drifting off to sleep felt too good to pass up. Maddie was struggling to keep her eyes open and wanted nothing more than to be given the instruction to sleep, but did as she was told and continued staring at the trinket.

“Yes…I know how fatigued the two of you have become…so listen carefully to what I tell you next…I’m going to count backwards from ten down to one…and every number you hear me say will send you spiraling deeper and deeper into relaxation…but when I get to one, you will close those heavy eyelids of yours and fall into a deep state of sleep and trance…”

Maddie was practically pushing herself stay conscious while Stacy felt more and more tired, but listened intently for the teal pony to begin the countdown.

“10……Your mind beginning to quiet down and preparing for a nice nap…9……Keeping your fascination and concentration on the watch until I finish counting…8……My voice helping to guide you further and further down…7……You’re doing so very well Maddie and Stacy…6……Your eyes becoming heavier and heavier with each passing second, but never leaving the watch…5…..Halfway there and feeling more and more relaxed…4……My voice becoming the only thing you hear and register in your mind…3……Feeling so good, warm and tired…2……Almost there and ready to fall asleep any second now…and……1, SLEEP! Deep, deep, sleep…”

Both girls’ minds went out like a light bulb following the end of Spiral’s countdown as their heads hung limp and their eyes shut tightly. Stacy gave off faint breathing patterns, whereas Maddie snored softly, indicating that they were indeed asleep.

The teal pony put her pocket watch away in her saddlebag, then sat on her haunches in front of the girls, ready to continue with the session.

“Maddie? Stacy? Can you hear me?” She asked in her normal tone.

“Yes.” Stacy replied in a sleep-like manner while Maddie said in between snores, “…Yes, mistress…”

“Good. Now then, both of you lift your heads up and open your eyes, but stay in a trance.”

The two spellbound buddies followed the command without delay and showed the unicorn their eyes spiraling away with the trademark black and white swirls. Spiral prided herself in her craft before turning her attention to Maddie’s friend.

“So, Stacy. I want your honest opinion. How does it feel to be hypnotized for the first time and did you enjoy how the pocket watch put you in a trance?”

“It feels wonderful, safe and relaxing and I loved the pocket watch.” The girl answered in a low key tone.

“I’m glad.” Spiral said closing her eyes in delight. “It makes me happy when my subjects appreciate the positive aspects of hypnosis and how it can make them feel so much better.” The unicorn took in a deep breath, let it out and opened her eyes again while saying, “Now…just one more question before we move on. With your time of experiencing what it’s like to be in a peaceful state of trance and the answer to my previous question, would you ever consider trying another session in the future?”

Stacy answered the question without a second thought and said, “Yes, I would.”

“Great. I’ll keep that in mind whenever you visit again. But now, it’s time for the main event.” Said Spiral as she activated her magic and brought two pillows from Maddie and Joey’s beds over to where the mesmerized girls were sitting. “So Maddie, Stacy, I want both of you to lay yourselves down as comfortably as you can on the floor, with your heads on top of the pillow put before you.”

The deeply entranced duo did as the pony said and laid on their backs with legs outstretched and heads staring up at the ceiling. Stacy had her arms planted firmly by her side and Maddie crossed her arms over her stomach. Spiral found it almost humorous how the two girls were just staring at the upper interior part of the room.

“You may choose to close your eyes if you wish, but now listen very closely to what you hear next. In a moment, my voice is going to be issuing commands to the two of you. But the way this will work is that your bodies themselves won’t be reacting or moving. Instead, you’ll be playing out a scenario, I’ll be describing, in your minds. Understand?”

Maddie and Stacy shut their spiraling eyes and said, “Yes,” and “Yes, mistress.”

“Good.” Spiral said and began speaking in a softer tone. “Now, I want the two of you to picture yourselves outside in an endless sea of grass, sitting next to each other on top of a small hill, taking in the beautiful afternoon weather.”

The two friends were relishing at the scenery around them as both waited to hear more of Spiral’s voice.

“Yes, the cool breeze feels delightful as it brushes across your face with the warm sun breathing gently on your body without a cloud in the sky. And the best part is that there aren’t any annoying bugs or flies buzzing around to ruin the calmness surrounding you.”

While it seemed liked they were only laying idly on the floor, the hypnotically sound Maddie and Stacy were enjoying the illusion of the grass-field with nothing, except the sound of the unicorn’s voice, to disturb their peace and quiet.

“You also take notice of how soft the grass feels when you touch it. The light wind blows through the field with the tips of the grass blades gently brushing against the bottom of your feet.”

The two girls slightly giggled at the “ticklish” sensation they were experiencing, but nonetheless stayed in tuned to the picture Spiral was weaving in their minds.

“You both stand up and begin to walk forward down the hill and towards the never-ending field. As you continue to walk, you begin to take notice of a crystal shrine beyond the horizon and walk faster. Every step you take towards the shrine only piques your interest further, causing you to walk faster and faster to where you begin running. You soon reach your maximum running levels and continue for a while. Eventually you reach the shrine and stop to regain your breath from all the running you just did.”

The breathing patterns of the girls got faster as their “run” increased their heartrate. Soon after being told they made it to their destination, Maddie and Stacy’s breathing and heartrate, died back down again.

“After you’ve calmed down, you take notice of the crystal structures around you and are struck with awe at how stunningly beautiful everything looks. The way the sunlight reflects off the crystals gives a unique blend of soft colors all around the shrine and as you stare at the twinkling effects the crystals give off, it becomes captivating to the point of nearly hypnotizing you in place. But you manage to shake off the effects and walk around the shrine.”

‘You know, it’s times like these where I REALLY wish I had background music to use.’ The unicorn thought to herself, but decided not to beat herself up over it and continued on.

“You soon come across six doors in a semicircle pattern on top of an altar. Making your way up, you stand in the center of the altar and take notice of each door before you. You don’t know where they lead to, but your curiosity compels you find out what’s behind at least one of them. So both of you talk about which one to open and after reaching a decision, you decide on the first door from the left. You open the door slowly, before a bright flash of light engulfs you, causing you to shut your eyes tightly. When you open them again, the two of you find yourselves no longer at the crystal shrine, but instead on a huge mattress that stretches as far as the eye can see with a purple hue color for the sky. You take a moment to look and walk around and as you do, you find that the cushioning material is the softest you’ve ever felt and instinctively rub your feet against it.”

Maddie and Stacy let out quiet moans, signifying their enjoyment of the fantasy they were playing out, as Spiral continued talking.

“You also notice how springy the mattress is and decide to jump on it. It bounces you into the air a little higher than you jumped. Both of you continue to jump repeatedly on the mattress and with every jump, you bounce higher and higher. The experience makes you feel as light as a feather and with one more jump, you find yourselves reaching beyond the highest you’ve been and notice that instead of falling back down to the mattress, you’re flying around freely in the air. You take full advantage of the ability and fly towards the endless horizon in no particular direction. As you’re soaring through the air together, you’re left with feelings of freedom, calmness, confidence, and above all: happiness. The best part about all of it, is that no one and nothing can take it away from you.”

Maddie and Stacy’s stomachs felt like they were falling as their “flying” experience sent them to an even deeper level of relaxation.

“After a while, you both decide to descend back down to the mattress. You gracefully float downwards, but the moment your foot touches the soft cushioning, you lose the ability to fly and instead are overcome with sudden exhaustion. The sensation becomes too strong to resist and you both fall backwards onto the mattress. You don’t feel any pain or discomfort when your backs hit the mattress; instead your heads come into contact with what are arguably, the world’s comfiest pillows which only increase your levels of tiredness. You then look up to see a huge blanket, falling from the sky, very slowly towards where you’re laying down.”

Spiral took a moment to look around and see if there were any spare blankets she could use to enhance the effect of her suggestion. Luckily, there were two folded up blankets on top of a basket case in front of Maddie’s bed (one being dark-blue colored and the other a pink color). The unicorn used her magic to spread out the blankets to see that they were large enough to cover the two girls from head to toe. Gripping the two with her magic, she hovered the blankets over the girls and brought them down slowly on top of the girls and continued speaking.

“Soon enough, the blanket touches your body and you feel completely at peace. The combination of the mattress, pillow and blanket with your fatigued state becomes too overwhelming for you to stay awake. That’s right, just let yourselves take a nice, soothing nap without anything, except the sound of my voice, to wake you from your slumber. You soon begin to drift off into sleep. An un-disturbing…… nice……deep……sleep…..”

To say that Maddie and Stacy were asleep would be an understatement. They were in such a heavily relaxed state of trance ever experienced in their young lives. Spiral looked over the two girls and gave a satisfying smile.

‘I’ll let the two of them continue to have their nap for now. It would almost be a crime to wake them up from how adorable they look sleeping like that. But in the meantime, I’ll go see what Joey’s up to.’

With that, Spiral quietly went to the bedroom door, activated her magic to softly open the door while making as little noise as possible, exited the room, shut the door with only a slight creaking sound, and began to make her way downstairs.

Chapter 15 Author's Note

Happy New Year everyone (as well as New Decade)! I've been having a recent creative drive flowing through my head and couldn't stop writing up another chapter to this fanfic. Hope you all enjoy!

Chapter 15

When she got downstairs, Spiral Swirl went into the living room to find Joey sitting in front of the television. She approached from behind him and said, “Hiya Joey!”

The mare’s introduction caught the boy off guard as he turned around to look at the mare and said back, “Oh hey Spiral. Where are Maddie and Stacy? I thought you would be spending time with them.”

“I was, but they were pretty tired from the fun they had and took a nap.”

“Did you hypnotize them to sleep?” The boy asked half-jokingly.

“You could say that.” The pony said chuckling a bit at the question herself. “And before you ask, no, I didn’t force my Hypno Magic onto Stacy. She tried it of her own free will after I explained how my sessions worked and with a little persuasion from Maddie.”

“That’s good.” Joey said. “As long you don’t use it to-“

“To turn her into a hypnotic slave. Yes, I know.” Spiral interjected. “I made a promise never to do it to you, your family, or your friends and I’m a mare of my word.”

“Okay. Just making sure is all.” Joey said before turning his attention back to the television screen. Spiral went up next to him and noticed the oldest sibling gripping a strange, wired device in his hands.

“What’s that you’re holding Joey?” The unicorn inquired as she sat right on her haunches next to the boy.

“What, this?” Joey asked, not even bothering to look at Spiral. “This is a controller for a video game I’m playing.”

“Controller? Video game?” The teal colored pony asked in confusion with a raised eyebrow, looking back and forth between the television screen and the controller.

“Let me guess, they don’t have video games back where you’re from?” The boy questioned in a way that showed he was more concentrated on the game he was playing at the moment, than the mare sitting beside him.

“We do, but nothing like this.” Spiral answered back. “What kind of game are you playing anyway?”

“The game is called Pikmin.” Joey said, finally pausing the game. “It’s playing on a console called the Nintendo GameCube.”

“Intriguing…” The unicorn said, bringing a hoof and rubbing it under her chin as she studied the controller. “Would it be alright if I watched you play some?”

“I thought you’d never ask!” The boy replied with a friendly smile, un-paused the game, and continued where he left off.

As Joey was playing, he went on to explain how the game worked, what the objective was, and what each button on the controller did.

Spiral watched on in absolute captivation at how unique the game looked, sounded, and played. While she thought it was neat seeing something so different, it felt disappointing to not being able to try it out.

“It’s too bad there aren’t any of your games designed for ponies to play.” The unicorn said.

Just then, an idea went through Joey’s head and said, “Wait! I might have something we can both try! Hold on a moment.”

After saving his progress, the boy turned off the console and put the controller away. He then used the television remote to change inputs before turning on a different console and retrieving two different controllers, putting one next to Spiral and holding the other. Spiral was left even more puzzled and asked, “What is this?”

“This is called the Wii Remote!” the child answered enthusiastically as he pointed the controller right above the television screen, pushed a couple buttons on his remote, and started up a game.

“We remote?” The pony questioned, making sure she heard what the boy said correctly. “How exactly is this compatible for ponies like myself to play?”

“You’ll see.” Joey said as the title for the game appeared on screen with the intro music playing. “These are special controllers because they have motion sensitivity. Go ahead, pick up the remote with your magic and point it right above the television.”

The unicorn did what the boy said; her horn surrounding itself in her magical aura, lifting up the rectangular controller with said magic and aiming it directly over the TV. When Spiral saw a hand appear on the screen that coordinated with the way she pointed the remote, she was shocked and nearly lost her grip. She then directed the device at different points and was taken back even more so with how the hand followed synchronization.

“What do you think? Pretty neat, huh?” Joey asked in a casual, laid back tone.

“How is this possible?” Spiral inquired inquisitively, staring at her controller before looking at the boy and saying, “I don’t understand how humans can make all of this without magic, but it’s truly amazing!”

“If you think that’s amazing, wait till you try the actual game.”

Joey then pointed his controller near the screen, pressed two of the remote’s buttons simultaneously and said, “Now, I don’t know what kind of sports your world has, but with this game, Wii Sports, there are five simulated sporting events included: Tennis, Baseball, Bowling, Golf, and Boxing.”

The pony’s eyes widened at the boy’s mention of one of the sports. Joey took notice of her surprised reaction and asked, “Umm Spiral? Are you alright?”

“I want to make sure I heard you correctly, but, did you say one of the sporting events in the game included bowling?”

“Yes I did. Why?” The child asked before he started putting two and two together in his head.

But the unicorn spoke first before the boy did and said, “Because Equestria has a sport of the same name! It also wouldn’t happen to be a game where you roll a ball down a lane and knock pins over, would it?”

Joey was just as astounded as Spiral was earlier asked, “How is it possible? How does your world have bowling like ours?”

“I don’t know Joey.” The pony answered while scratching her head. “But now I’m more than curious to try out this version to see how it plays.”

“Then I guess bowling will be the first game we play!” The boy said after recovering from his bewilderment. He then aimed his Wii Remote at the game, clicked, and waited for the sport to load up.

The two played the bowling for a while, with Joey helping Spiral to understand the way humans played the game. After the game finished, the child beat the unicorn by thirty points, but the latter didn’t care as she was having too much fun learning how to play something that was familiar, yet different.

“I have to say, you did pretty well on your first try. Good job, Spiral!” Joey said, applauding the pony.

“Thanks Joey!” The mare said in beaming contentment. “Could we perhaps play another bowling match?”

“Sure! And afterwards we’ll try the other sports games as well!”

Joey and Spiral spent about a good two hours playing against each other (or in the case of Tennis, with each other) and having a great time with Spiral immensely enjoying herself and even won a game of Golf against the boy. Afterwards, the boy turned off the console and television, put away the controllers and sat next to his quadruped companion.

“That was quite fun, wasn’t it Spiral?”

“It sure was! It’s not every day a pony, let alone a unicorn like myself gets the privilege of trying what these kind of video games are like firsthoof. But regardless, thanks for letting me play with you Joey.”

A funny thought came across the unicorn’s mind and couldn’t resist sharing it with Joey.

“If there were games like this introduced to Equestria, I bet ponies everywhere would be very frantic to try and get their hooves on them. They would almost be enough to put other video games we have back at home to shame.”

“What kind of video games do you have back home?” Joey asked giving the pony his curious attention.

“We have ones that are the size of cabinets that are played with a joystick and a couple buttons next to them. I don’t remember the names of any of the games since, truthfully, I never really took the time to play them. Every now and again, I’d see ponies young and old playing them whenever I walk around.”

“Those sound like old arcade machines.” Joey deduced by Spiral’s description. “They aren’t as popular here anymore. Nowadays, most people play video games at home or on the go.”

“On the go? How is that even possible?” Spiral asked, giving Joey a curious stare; wondering as to how one could take something as complex as a video game and play it where and whenever one goes.

“Some companies have invented consoles that are specifically designed to handle playing games portably. Though more and more people have been using tablets and smartphones to play games for free.”

“Tablets? As in a stone used for inscriptions?” The unicorn asked feeling confused now.

“No.” The boy said while giggling before regaining his composure. “I mean…how do I put this? You remember the night our parents told you about our world? And how computers work?

“Yes, I vaguely recall how they’re machines used to hold information. But I still don’t understand how you can something that massive and carry it around.”

It seemed for every question Joey answered, it only left Spiral with more questions and ones the boy certainly couldn’t answer on his own.

“My dad would probably be able to answer that better than I could. Maybe ask him when he comes home.”

“I might just have to then. Sorry if I was pressing too many questions on you.”

“No, no, it’s fine.” The child said shaking his head, until something dawned on him. “That's odd. Maddie and Stacy haven’t been active like they usually are. Are they still asleep upstairs?”

The doctor’s eyes widened at having forgot about the girls and the suggestion she gave them.

“I might have accidentally forgotten to give them the suggestion to where they wake up on their own after I hypnotized them.”

“Well, we should probably go upstairs and wake them up then.” Joey said as he stood up with Spiral nodding in agreement. The two then quickly made their way to the children’s bedroom and sure enough, Maddie and Stacy were still laying down on the floor, deeply asleep and spellbound, and could only wait and listen for the sound of their mistress’ voice to tell them what to do next. The oldest child went and sat on his bed while the hypnotic doctor focused on her subjects.

“Maddie! Stacy! Listen closely to what I’m about to say to you. In a moment, I’m going to count from one to five. Once I reach five, you’ll both wake up feeling refreshed and free from your trances. One…feeling energy beginning to flow through your bodies. Two…your minds slowly waking up and breaking free from hypnosis. Three…remembering everything that happened before and after watching the pocket watch. Four…you’re almost there. Just open your eyes and…five! Awaken!”

The unicorn’s command worked like a charm as the two girls woke from their hypnotic-bound slumber. Maddie stretched herself while Stacy let out a loud yawn as they rubbed away any remaining somnolence.

“Good morning girls…or rather, good afternoon!” Spiral said jokingly with a quick, hearty chuckle.

“Hey Spiral!” Maddie replied, full of her energetic self again and hugging Spiral. “Thanks for a fun session, it was certainly enjoyable and relaxing as always!”

“Oh, I know how much you enjoys my sessions Maddie.” The mare said returning the hug before breaking it and concentrating on Maddie’s friend. “But what about you Stacy? How did it feel being hypnotized for the first time?”

“Well…um…” Stacy said, twiddling her thumbs nervously. “It was…um…”

Suddenly the girl hugged onto Spiral tightly and said, “It was wonderful! The best I’ve ever felt in a long time! Thank you so much Spiral!”

“You’re very welcome.” The unicorn said letting the girl hold on to her until she let go and sat back down. “If you ever want to try another hypnosis session, all you have to do is ask.”

“Well…if it isn’t asking too much…would you…maybe be able to do another session…before I have to leave?” The girl asked once again playing with her thumbs while looking down from how uneasy she was.

“Of course we can.” Spiral said noting how nervous the girl was and in her mind thought, ‘She seemed pretty anxious when asking me just now. Is she worried about something? Maybe when I put her under again, I’ll find out.’

Just then, Maddie let out a yawn before asking, “Gosh…how long were we asleep for? It feels like I slept for almost the whole afternoon.”

“I’d say a little over two hours.” Joey answered earning a worried look from Stacy which Spiral took notice of right away.

“What’s the matter Stacy?” The unicorn asked with concern.

“Maddie and I have been asleep almost the whole time I’ve been here and my mother will be picking me up soon!” Maddie’s friend replied in an upset tone.

Maddie thought for a moment before she chirped up and said, “I have an idea! Why don’t we have a sleepover tonight? Just ask your mom if you can stay the night; I’m sure my mom won’t mind at all!”

Maddie’s suggestion cheered up Stacy a little bit as she said, “I would love to stay over for the night, except…”

The girl looked down and started to play with her thumbs again as her nervousness surfaced once more.

“…I’m not sure if my mom will let me…I’m too afraid to ask her…plus I’ve never slept over here before and…and……”

Stacy lost her train of thought when she lifted her head back up to catch the sight of a familiar trinket swaying back-and-forth before her eyes.

“Shh…it’s okay Stacy.” Spiral said in a hushed, soothing tone. “Just let your eyes gaze upon the center of the ever swinging watch and as you do, you feel a wave of bliss washing over any and all nervousness and anxiety you might be experiencing.”

Joey observed what was happening from his bed and let Spiral continue on with her induction, knowing what she was doing, while Maddie chose not to interrupt or even join in on the session and sat near where her brother was and watched from afar.

“Every swing from the watch makes you feel better and better…while every word my voice says relaxes you more and more…in fact, you’re already starting to grow incredibly tired from how good you feel, aren’t you?”

Stacy said nothing as her eyes only followed the movements of the watch and her ears absorbed every word that rang from Spiral’s lips. Maddie couldn’t help but feel a bit jealous of her friend getting a hypnotic session all to herself and wanted to join in, but restrained herself and let the pony carry on with the rest of what she has planned.

“Yes…you feel so good…relaxed…and tired that your eyelids are beginning to grow heavy from how fatigued you are. But don’t close them just yet. In a moment, I’m going to count backwards from five down to zero and when I finish, you’ll fall into a pleasant trance and ready to listen to what my voice tells you next. 5…The watched sending you deeper into relaxation. 4…My voice helping to guide you to a tranquil state of contentment. 3…Shh…let your mind settle down while your take a nice nap. 2…Growing even more sleepy now. 1…You’re almost there…just waiting for my voice to say the last number before you nod off…and…….0…sleep!”

When Stacy fell into a trance Maddie went up to her, crouched down, then looked at Spiral and asked, “Pardon me for asking, but why did you hypnotize her all of a sudden?”

“Something’s bothering her and I want to see if I can try and help her overcome it.” Spiral answered with Joey figuring that that was the mare’s intent. “Plus she did want to experience hypnosis again before she leaves, so why not now?”

Maddie giggled at the last part and before she said, “Well I certainly understand that. But, I guess something I should’ve told you about Stacy is how she can be a bit antsy when it comes to her asking permission. I asked her about it when I first met her, but she’s too nervous to answer me and keeps it to herself. I never understood why but I guess we’re about to find out.”

The mare nodded her head then cleared her throat (with Maddie giving her some room) and spoke to the entranced girl.

“Stacy, if you can hear my voice, lift your head up and open your eyes up for me but remain in a trance.”

Maddie’s friend did as she was commanded and waited for more instructions after presenting her spiral filled eyes to the doctor.

“In a moment I’m going to ask you some questions and I want you to try to be as honest as you can. Can you do that?”

“Yes, I can.” The girl replied in a mindless tone.

“Good. Now then, I understand that you have trouble trying to properly communicate when asking for others’ permission to do something you want to do. Would you say that is true?”

“Yes, that is true.” Stacy answered monotone-like back to Spiral.

“Okay. Do you always feel an anxiety attack or nervousness taking over whenever this happens?”

“Yes, I do.”

“I see…” The pony said rubbing a hoof underneath her chin in deep thought for a few seconds before continuing on. “How long has this been happening for now?”

“Three years.”

“And during that time, have you ever once told anyone about why you feel this way?”

“Yes, I have.”

“Could you tell me who?”

“My mom and dad.”

“What did they say to you?”

“They said that I should try and make friends to help break through my nervousness.”

“Hmmm…” The unicorn thought quietly to herself before she asked Stacy, “How long have you and Maddie been friends for Stacy?”

“Since kindergarten.”

“And during all the time you’ve been friends with her, you never once told Maddie why you’re always too afraid to ask her to do something you want to do?”

“No I have not.”

“If I understand correctly, earlier on you were too nervous to try my hypnosis because you’d never experienced it before. But when Maddie urged you to give it a try, you said that the only reason why you did it is because you trusted her. Is that right?”

“Yes.”

“If Maddie is someone you trust, then why are you too afraid to tell her about why you’re too nervous to ask about something you want to do?”

“I did not want her to know, I never felt like I deserved to be happy with the time I have spent with her.”

Maddie let out a soft gasp as she started getting a little teary eyed and quietly said, “Stacy…”

Spiral continued on with her questions.

“Do you feel happy when you spend time and play with Maddie when you two are doing what she wants?”

“Yes.”

“Do you always feel that around all your friends?”

“Maddie is my only friend.”

That answer hit hard for Maddie as the dark-skinned girl quietly sobbed for her friend. Even Joey began to feel guilty about not trying to spend more time with his sister and her friend.

“Just two more questions Stacy.” Said Spiral. “Do you want to be free of these of panic attacks?”

“Yes.”

“And would you do anything to be free of them forever?”

Another “Yes” left the girl’s mouth as the unicorn began to think of how to fix Stacy’s emotional condition. As Spiral was contemplating for a solution, Maddie went up to her and asked, “Will you really be able to help Stacy overcome her nervousness?”

“I’ll do my best.” Spiral replied before Maddie hugged her tightly with her head buried in her fur with tears flowing down.

“Please…I don’t want Stacy to feel like she has to be miserable! Please, help her!”

The mare lightly patted the girl on the back with her hoof and said, “You have my word that I’ll help find a way to put her anxiety to rest.”

“Thank you Spiral…thank you for being a good friend.”

The pony’s heart melted at the statement and simply said nothing else as Maddie released her grip on Spiral and sat next to Joey on his bed. The older brother comforted his sister to help ease her sadness and looked back at the unicorn, trusting that she knew what she was doing.

Spiral then focused her attention on the mesmerized girl and thought to herself, ‘Okay. Time to get to work.’

Chapter 16

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Chapter 17

Stacy’s eyes fluttered open to reveal that they had returned to normal as she gave a rather loud yawn.

“So Stacy, how do you feel?” The unicorn hypnotist asked with a friendly smile.

“I...I feel...”

The girl’s mind hadn’t completely woken up yet and took a moment for her to register the question. Spiral and the other children could only wait in anticipation for her answer.

“I feel wonderful!” Stacy replied with a newly awakened confidence she hadn’t felt before. Maddie immediately went over and hugged her friend to show how happy she was. Spiral and Joey both gave a quick chuckle at the heartwarming sight.

After breaking the hug, Maddie asked, “So Stacy, what is it YOU want to do now?”

“Well, I’m definitely up for having a sleepover with you tonight!” Stacy answered without feeling any anxiety coming over her. “But are you sure it’s okay with your mom if I stay over for the night?”

“Well it wouldn’t hurt to ask. Let’s go see!” Said Maddie as both girls headed downstairs, leaving Spiral and Joey alone in the bedroom.

Silence filled the room as the boy and pony were both in deep thought, until the latter spoke up and asked, “So anything you want to discuss Joey?”

The unicorn’s voice broke Joey’s train of thought and asked back, “About what?”

“Oh, I don’t know. Anything’s fine with me.” Spiral said shrugging.

“Well...there is something I am curious about.” The boy said climbing off his bed and sitting next to the unicorn. “You don’t have to answer this if it makes you uncomfortable. But...exactly how would you have enslaved the whole family?”

The hypnotist was taken back at the child’s morbid curiosity and asked, “Umm...not to sound rude Joey, but why in Equestria are you asking about something that I promised never to do against you or your family’s will?”

“I’m just curious how you would’ve done it and what you would’ve done with us after. I’m not saying you should, I just want to know is all. But if you don’t want to answer, I understand.”

Spiral took in a deep breath in before letting it out slowly and asking, “If I tell you, do you promise that you won’t be angry with me?”

Joey looked at the unicorn solemnly, shook his head in a “Yes” fashion and said, “You have my word that I won’t be angry.”

“Very well then. When I first hypnotized you and Maddie at the pond, I implanted a post-hypnotic trigger into both your minds to where if I say or write out a certain phrase, and only I, the two of you would immediately fall right back into an entranced state. Then when I used my Hypno Magic on your parents, I did the same thing with them after I used the trigger words on you and Maddie so you wouldn’t know.”

Joey raised an eyebrow but said nothing as Spiral kept talking.

“I originally intended to let all of you keep your free will intact for a few days so I could learn about this place and how to survive in it. I then would’ve used the trigger to have you all under my control again, but with the command of never being able to wake up from trance. To avoid suspicion, I would’ve ordered your parents to act like their natural selves while I would’ve asked you and Maddie to bring over any friends so I could implant the same trigger in their minds as well.”

Joey stopped Spiral for a moment and asked, “Did you do the same thing to Stacy?”

“Of course not!” Spiral replied immediately. “I only used my Hypno Magic to send her into a pleasant trance the first time and then to help her overcome her anxiety the second.”

“Just making sure.” Said the boy. “So is there more or is that it?”

“I had contemplated whether or not to expand my control to the entire population, or just to your family and friends. But, if I had gone with the first option, I would’ve had over one person at a time and implanted the suggestion to have them invite another friend of theirs over to have them endure the same treatment.”

As Spiral revealed her original plan, Joey felt a bit uneasy at the thought of an entire human population being under the control of a unicorn from another world.

“But I’m passed that now. As I said, it was wrong of me to take advantage of you and your family when all of you have done nothing but help me and let me stay here.”

Joey was digesting everything Spiral before asking her, “Do Mom, Dad, Maddie and me still have those triggers you gave us?”

The teal pony felt nervous about how to answer that question, but decided to be straightforward and said, “Yes. But if you want, I will gladly remove the trigger from your mind as well as the rest of your family, if it makes you happy.”

The child turned his head away and thought about it for a moment. The unicorn simply stayed put and didn’t dare ask him anything while he was thinking.

Joey soon returned his attention to Spiral and said, “Well I certainly do expect you to speak to Maddie about it. I don’t know how Mom and Dad will react if you just straight up told them. Maybe removing it discreetly would be best. I’ll leave that up to you. As for me...”

The child was quiet for a moment before he gave the mare a surprising smile.

“...you know what? I think I’d like to keep the hypnotizing trigger you gave me.”

Spiral was absolutely stunned at the boy’s decision and needed to be sure she heard him right.

“Really?!? You still want to keep it even after I promised myself never to enslave you, your family, or your friends against their will?”

“Yep!”

“But why? I don’t understand.” The pony said feeling confused.

“I think it might be fun to have a surprise hypnosis session every now and then with you using it and besides, you yourself promised that you wouldn’t abuse your powers over us for what you originally had planned.”

“But...but...” Spiral said looking nervous and began to sweat slightly. “It wouldn’t be any trouble at all, really! Just say the word and I can have it removed in less than a minute!”

“Spiral.” Joey said placing a comforting hand on his friend unicorn’s shoulder. “I understand if you’re wanting to do it because you want to make up for your mistakes. But I’ve seen firsthand how you’ve used your hypnosis talents to help someone overcome an emotional issue they’ve dealt with for years. You’re trustworthy enough and I know deep down you’re a good pony. But please, if I want to keep a post-hypnotic trigger you’ve given me, will you respect my decision?”

Joey’s words took awhile for Spiral to digest, but she eventually accepted his decision and said with a warm smile, “Very well Joey. If you want to keep it then I won’t argue. But be warned, I might have a few surprise sessions planned later on, just for you.” Ending the sentence with a mischievous tone in her voice.

The two shared a playful chuckle, until a thought crossed the unicorn’s mind and asked the boy, “Something just occurred to me Joey. I’ve never gotten the chance to ask you or Maddie this but, why is it you like hypnosis so much and what got you interested in it in the first place?”

“You know, now that you bring it up, I’m surprised that we haven’t even told you yet. But I think the best way to explain it would be to show you later. Would you be able to wait a little while, at least until later tonight?”

As much as Spiral wanted to hear the answer now, she decided to be patient and said, “Okay, I can wait.”

Joey then returned to sitting on his bed, reading a comic book. A short while later, Maddie and Stacy returned to the bedroom, with Joey asking first, “So what’s Mom decision? Is she okay with Stacy staying the night?”

“Yep!” Maddie answered cheerfully with Stacy adding, “I spoke to my Mom, over the phone as well, and said she’s okay with it! She’ll swing by shortly and drop off my toothbrush, toothpaste, pajamas, and sleeping blanket.”

“And you weren’t anxious at all when you asked her?” Spiral asked curiously.

“Nope! In fact, I felt absolutely happy when I asked her!” Maddie’s friend stated as she went to hug the teal unicorn. “All I can say is, thank you Spiral! I honestly don’t know what I would’ve done if I hadn’t met you!”

“Well I’m certainly glad to be of help.” The mare said, feeling proud of using her abilities to help someone with their emotional struggles. Just then a dull pain started to throb in the pony’s head as she scrunched her face at the discomforting sensation.

“Spiral, are you alright?” Stacy asked quickly breaking the hug.

“Yeah, I’m fine.” Spiral replied reassuringly feeling the throbbing leave and returning to normal. “I think that last session took a lot out of me. But other than that, it’s nothing.”

“So what do you want to do before your Mom gets here?” Maddie asked her friend.

“Well...I have a fun idea. But it involves you and Spiral.”

“Oh! And what fun idea do you have in mind?” Spiral asked wondering what Maddie’s friend had in store. Stacy then gestured a “come here” to her friend, which Maddie did. The former, sitting between the dark-skinned girl and the teal-colored pony, put a hand up to cover part of her mouth and began to whisper in each ear.

Maddie giggled mischievously at the whispered suggestion and said, “I’ve actually got you covered. Just a moment. Hey Joey, could you come over here?”

The brother went over to sit next to the two girls and unicorn and asked, “Yes Maddie?”

Maddie was having a hard time trying not to giggle, but managed to get her bearings and said, “It’s time for some more Hypno Playtime.”

Right on cue, the boy’s mind switched over to obedience mode and the ever familiar swirling spirals flooded his eyes, signifying Maddie’s control over him once again.

“What just happened?” Stacy asked with confusion written all over her face.

“He’s hypnotized of course!” Maddie answered while giggling.

“But how? Spiral didn’t even use her pocket watch on him.”

“Perhaps I can answer that for you.” The unicorn said garnering Stacy’s attention. After explaining how post-hypnotic suggestions worked and how she implanted the trigger words into the boy’s subconscious, Maddie’s friend was marveled.

“So every time you say, ‘Hypno Playtime’ he does whatever you tell him to do?”

“Yep! Just watch.” Maddie said before turning her attention to her brother and saying, “Okay Joey, act like a chicken!”

At the command of hearing what Maddie said, Joey immediately tucked his arms, flapped wildly, and clucked sporadically. The two girls laughed hysterically at the sight of Joey mindlessly making a fool of himself (with even Spiral silently chuckling as well).

After having a good laugh, Stacy asked, “Would it be alright if I had some fun with him? You know, let me give him some commands?”

“Sure! Ahem...Joey stop acting like a chicken and listen up! You will obey whatever Stacy tells you to do, the same way you do for me, until you awaken from this trance!” Maddie said before sitting herself away to give Stacy some room to play with her hypnotized brother and saying, “Okay he all yours!”

“Thanks Maddie!” Said Stacy before turning her attention to the oldest sibling and saying, “Joey, if you can hear me, tell me what your most embarrassing moment is.”

“My performance at the school talent show where I performed a dance routine and messed up in front of the crowd.” The droned-tone Joey said. Under normal circumstances he would never reveal this to anyone, let alone his sister’s friend.

“Well you’re about to put on another dance performance, because the moment I say, ‘Look, it’s the Chicken Man!’ you’ll start doing the Chicken Dance until I say stop.”

Maddie was holding back her laughter as best as she could while Spiral was wondering what the Chicken Dance even was. The latter’s question was soon to be answered as no later than just a few seconds after Stacy gave Joey the set of commands she exclaimed, “Look, it’s the Chicken Man!”

Joey immediately began performing all the motions that went into the dance, despite the lack of music. The two human girls were cracking up in hysteria (even Spiral couldn’t bring herself not to laugh at how foolish the dance looked). As the girls were busy laughing away, the same throbbing pain Spiral felt earlier returned and slightly grimaced at the sensation. Luckily, none of the humans noticed her expression and the pain quickly subsided once again.

Maddie and Stacy kept laughing for several minutes until they had grown tired from watching Joey. The boy, however, could only keep on dancing to the invisible tune in his head. It wasn’t long though when the sound of his sister’s friend filled his ears with a, “Stop!”, and at once froze in place, waiting for the next command.

“Okay Joey, tell us, how did you feel performing that dance?” Asked Stacy.

“I felt good.” Came the reply from the entranced boy’s lips.

“Good because from now on, whenever you perform in front of people, whether it be dancing, acting or anything in particular, you will feel good and happy and not be embarrassed by what you do.” Stacy commanded, before turning to Spiral and asking, “This will work when he wakes up right?”

“Yes it should.” The mare answered back.

“Great! Oh, and one more thing Joey!” Said Stacy before getting up close to his ear and whispering something that neither Maddie nor Spiral could hear. Once Stacy was done, she went over to Maddie and said to her, “Well I’ve had my fun. He’s all yours!”

“What did you whisper to him?” Maddie asked curiously.

“I’m not saying.” The other girl replied with a few giggles escaping her mouth.

“C’mon tell me!” Maddie said wanting to know badly.

“Alright I’ll tell you...”

Stacy leaned in close to her friend’s ear and finished the sentence softly with, “...after everyone else is asleep tonight.”

“Aww!” Maddie groaned and was about to argue, but decided to be patient and whispered back, “When everyone else is asleep.”

The two giggled giddily for a few seconds before Maddie said, “Joey, in a moment I’m going to count to three and wake you up from trance. Ready? 1...2...3...wake up!”

“Nnngggghhhh...” The boy groaned, breaking free from the hypnosis. Once the spirals had dissipated, he looked around hazily for a few seconds until his mind kicked back into gear.

“Wha...what happened?”

“You were hypnotized dear brother!” Maddie replied in a chirpy tone.

“I was? Then why don’t I remember Spiral using her pocket watch?” Joey asked with a look of confusion written on his face.

“Because she didn’t. I used a trigger given by Spiral that automatically sends you into a hypnotic trance where you do whatever I say, as a reward from the game we played last night. Remember?”

‘I can’t believe I agreed to play that game last night.’ The older brother said to himself silently in his head before asking, “Do I even dare ask what you made me do?”

‘Huh. He doesn’t remember what I did to him. Oh well, I’ll humor him and see what happens!’ The younger sibling thought to herself then said aloud, “I just made you act like a chicken, but Stacy made you do the Chicken Dance! So you could say you’ve been chickened out!”

The two girls laughed at the pun while Spiral gave a stifled giggle.

“Ha. Ha. Ha.” The boy replied sarcastically. “Well if you two are done messing with me, I’m going downstairs.”

Before Stacy got the chance to speak, the eldest sibling had already left the room. She then asked her friend, “How come you didn’t tell him about me helping him overcome his stage fright?”

“Sorry. But hey, you can tell him later!”

“I guess so. So what now?”

“Hmm...”

Maddie thought for awhile, but was having a hard time coming up with any fun ideas.

“Truthfully, I really don’t know. Maybe another one of Spiral’s hypnosis sessions?”

“Nah.” Stacy replied with a dismissive wave of her hand. “I’ve had enough to last me awhile. Maybe later tonight though.”

“Oh...okay.” Maddie said with slight disappointment. “What about you Spiral? Got any fun ideas you can share with us?”

The unicorn replied, “Not really.”, before she felt another throbbing pain coming on and this time couldn’t stop from crying out in pain. Maddie and Stacy both shouted, “Spiral!”, and went to comfort the pony. Maddie asked, “What’s wrong? What hurts?”

“It’s my head...” Said Spiral clutching her head with her forehooves. The pain soon left her again and she took a couple deep breaths before a loud yawn escaped her.

“Perhaps I’m just exhausted and need some rest. I’m going to take a nap.”

“Okay, sleep well Spiral.” Maddie said as the mare made her way out of the children’s bedroom and towards the guest room.

“You think she’ll be alright?” Stacy asked in a semi-worried tone.

“I’m sure she’ll recover after a bit of rest. Besides, when she wakes up, she’ll have plenty of energy for later tonight!”

Just then, the sound of the doorbell rang through the house.

“That must be my Mom!” Stacy said, immediately heading downstairs with Maddie following close behind. Sure enough, when the two got to the front door, they saw their mothers greeting each other and exchanging a laugh.

“Hi Mom!” Stacy greeted her mother as she went up to her.

“Hello sweetie.” The girl’s mother said as she handed her a bag. “Here’s everything you need for tonight. Toothbrush, toothpaste, pajamas, sleeping bag and your evening medication. Make sure you take it before you go to bed.”

“Yes Mom, I understand.” Maddie’s friend replied feeling embarrassed from her mother.

“Good. I’ll pick you up after church tomorrow. Have fun!”

Giving her daughter a kiss on the cheek, Stacy’s mother went back to her car and drove off once again.

“Well, I’ll let you two get situated with sleeping arrangements. Dinner will be ready in about an hour.”

“Okay, thanks Mom.” Said Maddie.

After the two friends went back upstairs to the bedroom, Maddie asked, “So after dinner, what should we do first?”

“I know! I think it would be fun to watch a movie. It’s been awhile since I’ve last watched anything good. You think Spiral would be interested in watching with us?”

“Sure! In fact, funny enough, Joey, Spiral, and I watched The Wizard of Oz last night and Spiral hypnotized my brother to forget the contents of the movie, making it seem like he was watching it for the very first time.” Maddie said with fond memories of the event playing through her head, until she realized something else during that time. “Oh...I just remembered.”

“What is it?” Stacy asked with concern.

“I promised Joey that he would get to pick the next movie for Spiral to watch.”

“That makes it all the more fun! If the four of us can watch something together, it’s even better. Plus I’m up for whatever he has in mind.”

Maddie didn’t argue with her friend and helped her get set up for sleeping arrangements. The next hour was spent with Maddie helping Stacy empty her bag of sleepover essentials and organizing everything she had with her, all while discussing other fun ideas to do after watching the movie.

Just then a loud voice from downstairs shouted, “TIME FOR DINNER!”

“C’mon, let’s head downstairs!” Maddie said quickly heading for the hallway with Stacy following behind. They made their way to the dining room to find Joey already sitting at the table, waiting patiently. The two girls sat next to each other as Maddie and Joey’s parents had already set the table and were bringing out the food from the kitchen.

As the parents sat down at the table, Joey asked, “Hey, where’s Spiral? Didn’t she hear it was dinner time?”

“She’s probably in the guest room. She was complaining about a headache and went to take a nap earlier. I’ll go see if she’s up.” Maddie said as she got out of her chair, ran upstairs, and down to the guest room. She knocked a few times before saying, “Spiral! If you’re up dinner’s ready!”

She waited for the unicorn to answer back but heard no response. She slowly creaked the door open and noticed that the teal pony wasn’t on the bed.

“Spiral?” Maddie asked cautiously. She opened the door all the way and headed toward the bed. Out of the corner of her eye, the girl turned around and saw the unicorn standing near the door.

“Oh there you are! Come on, everyone’s waiting downstairs for you!”

The mare didn’t respond or move which started to creep Maddie out.

“Spiral? Are you feeling okay? Why aren’t yooooooaaahhh...”

The girl couldn’t finish her sentence as the sight of an ever familiar pocket watch swung before her eyes, completely catching her off guard and leaving her open for the hypnotist to weave her magic.

“Deeper......deeper......deeper......” Spiral moaned in an emotionless tone.

Maddie was helpless to resist the unicorn’s order and felt herself falling farther into hypnosis.

“Deep sleep......deep......deep......sleep...” Spiral continued to drone. Maddie took it as an order and closed her eyes, falling into a state of trance.

The unicorn approached the girl with a glazed look and hypnotized expression and said, “Obey......follow......”

Chapter 18

“What’s taking Maddie so long?” The children’s father asked. “Joey, would you go and see what’s keeping your sister.
Tell her dinner’s getting cold.”

“Sure thing Dad.” The oldest sibling said as he left the dining room to head upstairs. Right as he got to the top step, he saw Maddie and Spiral in the hallway and said, “There you two are! Let’s go, everyone downstairs is waiting!”

The two simply said nothing and stared blankly back at the boy. It was there that Joey noticed the spirals in his sister’s eyes. He approached the two and said, “Look, I don’t know if she asked you first, but you both can play with hypnosis after dinner is over. Now please kindly snap Maddie out of it Spiral.”

The unicorn didn’t listen to a single thing the eldest sibling said and merely used her magic to grab her pocket watch.

“Hey! Are you even listening to what I’m saaaaayyyyyiiiinnn...”

Just like his sister, Joey slurred on his words as the spellbinding pocket watch captivated his attention.

“Relax......deeper......deeper......”

The unicorn’s words along with the pendulum motions of the watch had begun to shut down the boy’s mind. It wouldn’t be long until he joined his sister.

“Sink deeply......sleep deeply......fall deeply......” The mare droned commands to Joey who sure enough, fell under the control of the unicorn. Spiral then went up to the older sibling and ordered, “Come......follow......”

“Yes, mistress.” The boy uttered in his entranced sleep as he opened his spiraling eyes and walked in sync with his sister toward the stairs.

Meanwhile, in the dining room, Stacy asked Maddie and Joey’s parents, “Can I use your bathroom?”

“Sure. Just through the kitchen near the laundry room.” The mother answered pleasantly.

Stacy made her to the bathroom while the children’s father said, “What is going on with Maddie and Joey? They should’ve been back here by now!”

“If they aren’t back soon, they’ll have a cold dinner waiting for them. And speaking of which, look who decided to return!” The mother said seeing three figures heading towards the dining room. The three stopped right at the dining room entryway and merely stared ahead, with the swirling eyes of the children out of the parents view.

“Well don’t just stand there, come sit down and eat.” The mother said in a half-joking manner. All she received though was the sound of silence and glazed looks without an ounce of emotion. “Hello! Earth to Maddie, Joey, and Spiral, dinner’s over here!

With still no response from any of them, the mother decided to drop the nice demeanor and said in a firm voice, “Maddie and Joey, I suggest you make your way over to the table now!”

Silence.

“Children.” The father said in stern voice. “Do not ignore your mother. You do what she tells you.”

The children just continued to stand by idly along with the pony. The mother had just about enough.

“Maddie, Joey, this is getting ridiculous! If you don’t come over and sit yourselves at the table by the time I count to three, so help me your father and I will drag you to your seats without any dessert! 1......2......”

Stacy meanwhile was finishing up her business in the bathroom and washed her hands thoroughly in the sink. After making sure her hands were completely dry, she shut off the lights and began to make her way back to the dining room. She was in the kitchen when she heard her friend’s mother say in a firm tone, “That’s it! As punishment, there will be no dessert for a week!”

Stacy quickly hid behind the cutting board in fear, not wanting to get involved with whatever was happening in the other room. She heard the parents get up from their seats and walked to the opposite end of the dining room with the mother saying, “I can’t believe that you two are acting like this, especially you Maddie since you have a guest staying the night! Perhaps I should call Stacy’s mother to pick her up for your misbehavior!"

‘No...’ Stacy thought to herself and began to slowly tear up quietly without anyone hearing her.

“But enough is enough! If we have to drag you two to the table, then perhaps...you...twoooooooooo......”

The mother was unable to finish her train of thought as the swinging motion of Spiral’s pocket watch grabbed both parent’s attention.

Stacy was confused as to the sudden slurring of the mother’s words and rubbed the tears out of her eyes quickly to take a peek behind the doorway of the kitchen. She caught a glimpse of Maddie and Joey’s parents standing in place with bits of Spiral’s pocket watch catching her attention every now and then. Despite how tempting it was, she turned away from the scene as not to get caught up in the induction.

‘Spiral must be hypnotizing them to calm them down. But what did Maddie’s mother mean by Maddie’s misbehavior. That doesn’t seem like how she normally act!’

Then she heard the sound of Spiral’s voice croak, “Watch......deeper......deeper......”

‘Why is Spiral talking like that? It doesn’t sound like her normal self.’

At the same time, the parents were struggling to stay awake. But it was all over once the unicorn said, “Relax......fall......sleep......”

With that the parents went out like a light bulb and now the entire family was under Spiral’s control.

‘Something feels wrong here. Spiral is talking strange and Maddie’s mother yelling at her for misbehaving. Could it be?’

Just then, she heard the mare say, “Follow......obey......”

The girl looked through the doorway again and sure enough, her worst fears were confirmed as she saw her best friend next to her brother with her eyes full of spirals.

‘They’ve all been hypnotized! Spiral must be under some sort of trance as well! I have to help them, but how?’

Stacy was running out of time until she looked at the water glasses on the table. Thinking quickly, she grabbed one that was full and shouted, “Spiral!”

The unicorn turned her attention to where the girl was which truthfully made the latter afraid. But she tried to act as brave as possible and said, “You want me, then come and get me!”

Spiral did nothing for a moment until she said, “Stay......sleep......”, and began to head towards the girl.

Stacy went back to the kitchen still clutching the glass of water in her hand.

‘If I can splash this on her face, maybe it’ll break her free from her trance.’

She hid behind one of the counters and waited for Spiral to enter in. A few moments passed until the sound of hoofsteps beating down on the tile echoed in the room. Stacy was shaking in fear knowing she had one chance to save herself and her friend’s family from becoming mindless followers of a hypnotist, who wasn’t even aware of her actions. Luckily the unicorn hadn’t seen the girl yet, giving the human the advantage of preparing herself.

Getting into position, Stacy held a firm grip on the glass cup and mentally played out how to throw the liquid at Spiral. Confident in her ability, she snuck to the side of the mare and readied herself.

Just as she was about to splash the water in Spiral’s face however, Stacy’s foot slipped on a small puddle on the tile floor, causing her to lose her balance and spill the water from the glass onto the floor. The girl fell on her back with a thud and moaned in pain. Thankfully she wasn’t hurt too badly and prevented the glass cup from shattering (as she still held on to it), but her clothes had gotten wet from the impact.

Stacy didn’t have long to think about her debacle though as she lifted up her head to catch Spiral staring directly at her. She was too sore to try and move around and yelled, “Spiral, please wake up! WAKE UP!”

The girl’s pleading however didn’t stop the unicorn from retrieving her watch and commenced weaving her hypnotizing spell over Stacy. The human couldn’t bring herself to break eye contact from the un-resistible effects the trinket emitted.

“Look......Watch......Stare......Relax......”

The girl’s mind was already absorbing the mare’s words and felt herself giving in to the unicorn’s power. She was able to utter one last sentence that bubbled in her dwindling free will.

“Please Spiral...don’t...”

But the feeble girl’s plea was in vain as the perfect swaying motion of the pocket watch and Spiral’s commands completely overpowered her.

“Sleep......sleep......sleep......”

Not able to take it anymore, Stacy went down in defeat as she fell into a blissful state of trance and let go of the cup in her hand. The unicorn now had every human in the house household under her hypnotic control.

“Listen......obey......stand......” Spiral ordered Stacy as the girl stood up from where she was and revealed her own set of swirling spirals. The unicorn stared blankly at her for a moment and was about to make her way back to the dining room where the others were. However, the unicorn didn’t inspect her surroundings and slipped on a puddle of water. Unable to keep her balance, Spiral fell onto the floor with her face hitting the cold, wet surface.

“Uggghhh...” Spiral said shaking her head and looked around. “What happened? How am I in the kitchen?”

The mare tried standing up, but the slick surface made it hard for her to stand still and ended up skidding and bumping against Stacy.

“Oomph! Sorry about that Stacy.”

Once the pony’s hooves found themselves on a drier surface, she finally stood up straight and got her bearings.

“Looks like someone accidentally spilled their drink on the floor.” The unicorn said observing the empty glass cup in the middle of the puddle. “Do you need help cleaning it up?”

The girl said nothing and just merely stood in place as the mare wondered why she wasn’t answering back.

“Stacy? Are you alright?”

“Yes...” The empty headed girl replied in her trancelike tone.

‘She doesn’t sound alright. She sounds like...wait a minute!’ Spiral thought to herself and began to put two and two together before saying, “Stacy if you can hear me, step away from the puddle and sit down in front of me!”

The girl obeyed and moved herself onto the drier kitchen surface tile, sitting in front of the mare with her swirling eyes.

“I knew it!” Spiral said out loud confirming her suspicions. She didn’t know how she ended up in the kitchen or how Stacy was under her spell, but she was sure that the two were related somehow.

“Okay first things first. Stacy when I count to three you’ll wake up from your trance. 1...2...3...awaken!”

Stacy’s eyes returned to normal and her mind raced back to life as she saw Spiral staring at her. She immediately backed up against a cabinet door in fear and said, “Spiral! Please don’t, I beg you!”

“Woah, woah, woah, calm down Stacy. Calm down. What’s wrong?” The doctor asked as she couldn’t help but think why Stacy was afraid of her.

Hearing Spiral speak in her normal tone of voice helped to melt away some of Stacy’s fear, but the human still had a bit of suspicion that it was pretend. Wanting to make sure, she slowly inched her way towards the teal unicorn and asked, “Spiral? Is it really you? Are you awake?”

“Yes it is. Though I don’t know what you mean by being awake, but yes I am.”

Hearing those words, the girl immediately threw her arms around the pony and hugged her tightly, not wanting to let go and cried. The quadruped returned the hug and said, “Shh...it’s okay.”

“No it isn’t! I thought I couldn’t save you!”

The mare’s eyes widened at what the little girl said, “Save me? What are you talking about?”

Stacy only tightened the hug saying, “It was like you were hypnotized and wouldn’t respond to anything anyone said! I tried to help wake you, but I slipped and fell and then you...you......”

“You don’t need to say another word. I’m here and that’s all that matters.” The unicorn said soothingly and gently patting a hoof on the child’s back to help calm her down.

“Oh Spiral...” Stacy said choking up.

A minute passed until Spiral asked, “Stacy, I don’t know what’s going on, but I need you to tell me everything that’s happened.”

Stacy wiped the tears from her eyes and cheeks before breaking the hug and saying, “As I said, it looked like were in a trance and wouldn’t respond to me or anyone else. You had already put everyone else under your control before y-“

“Wait!” The mare said interrupting the child. “You mean I’ve hypnotized Maddie, Joey, and their parents?!? Where are they?”

When Stacy replied with, “Out in the dining room”, the two made their way there and just as Stacy has said, the whole family was standing in place, sleeping, and waiting for Spiral’s voice to command them.

“Did I really do this?” Spiral asked staring at what she had unintentionally done.

“Mmhmm.” Stacy said nodding her head.

The mare studied the family in stern horror as a question consistently bounced through her head.

‘What could’ve possessed me to do this?’

Spiral took in a deep breath and let it out slowly before saying, “I don’t know what’s going on, but the first thing to do is to wake them.”

“Spiral, wait!” Stacy blurred out, before the pony could utter a command to the family.

“What is it Stacy?” Spiral asked, looking at the girl as if something was wrong.

“Before you wake them...well...would you make it so the parents don’t remember what happened in the past fifteen minutes?”

The unicorn raised an eyebrow at the girl’s request and could only ask, “Why?”

“Well...before you used your watch on the parents...Maddie’s mother had shouted at her and Joey while also stating how my mother should pick me up early because of how Maddie was behaving...and it wasn’t even her fault!”

The child was on the verge of crying again, but Spiral comforted her once again and said, “I understand, completely Stacy. But before I do that…” The hypnotist directed her attention to the spellbound children and said, “Maddie. Joey. On the count of three, you will break free from your trance and remember everything that happened. 1...2...3...Awaken!”

When the two siblings had fully woken up, Joey was the first to ask, “Spiral? What is going on?”

“I was hoping you two might be able to answer that for me. Because truthfully...I have no idea myself.” The unicorn answered the boy with concern in her voice.

“And why are your clothes all soaked Stacy?” Maddie asked pointing at her friend.

Stacy felt slightly embarrassed about her friend seeing her with wet clothes and asked, “Would it be alright if I went and got changed into my pajamas?”

“Sure. You can change upstairs while we talk to Spiral.” Said Maddie, earning a thank you from her friend before the brother and sister were left with the teal pony (and their still hypnotic bound parents).

“I know this is completely awkward for all of us, but I need to know exactly what happened here.”

Spiral listened to both the siblings stories about how she weaved her hypnosis on each one individually (minus the parents), while apparently under some form of hypnotic trance of her own. She processed the scenario described to her and reached an unsatisfied conclusion.

“I have a hunch that this whole incident started when I went to take a rest earlier. And I bet the aching I was feeling in my head prior had something to do with how I ended up in that stupor state. Unfortunately, how the pain started and why it’s affecting me is beyond me.”

“What are you going to do about it?” Joey asked truly unsure how to help his friend out.

“Well, for the time being, the best thing to do is to snap your parents out of it, make them forget what happened and try to make the best of the evening.”

“Are you sure that it’s a good idea to try and sweep all of this under the rug like it never happened? What if you try it again the next time you sleep?” The oldest child asked worried for the unicorn.

“If it does come down to that…”

The mare paused for a moment before she let out a regretful sigh and finished her sentence.

“…then perhaps I should leave.”

Chapter 19 Author's Note

It had been an incredibly long time since I've touched this story. But after months and months of neglect, I decided to write up another chapter. Maybe it'll convince me to try and finish it sometime. Hope you all enjoy!

Chapter 19

“WHAT?!?” Screamed Maddie at what the teal pony had said. “You can’t be serious!”

“I made a promise to you, your brother, and your friend. If I can’t control what I’m doing, I’m breaking that promise.” Said Spiral, hanging her head down in shame.

“But where will you go?” Joey asked.

“Anywhere where I can’t hurt you and your family.” The unicorn said, turning her back to the children.

“But…but we love you!” Maddie said having a hard time trying to contain her despair.

Spiral let out a sigh before saying in her head, ‘I understand, but it might be for the best.’

Just then, Stacy quickly came down the stairs dressed in her pajamas and asked, “What’s going on? I heard Maddie shout earlier. Is something wrong?”

“Spiral just told us that she might be leaving if she tries hypnotizing us again in her sleep!” Answered Maddie.

Stacy immediately turned to Spiral in disbelief and asked, “But why? What you did wasn’t on purpose.”

The unicorn turned to Maddie’s friend solemnly and said, “I know, but it would be unforgiving of me if there were a repeat of what I just did to you and everyone else.”

“You’re not thinking of leaving now are you?” Stacy asked.

“No, no, of course not.” Spiral said, shaking her head. “I would only leave IF it were to happen again. Plus, I haven’t eaten dinner yet. Speaking of which…”

The teal pony focused her attention on the spellbound parents, cleared her throat, and said, “Listen closely! You will take the dinner you’ve made, heat it back up, but make absolutely sure you don’t burn or overcook it! Then when it’s ready, you’ll serve it in the same plates and place them back on the table in the same positions. After that’s done, you will sit back down where you were before I hypnotized you and forget everything that happened in the past 30 minutes! Do you understand?”

When the parents gave their conformed answers and went to carry out the command, Spiral looked back at the children and said, “But I think after dinner, I might need some time alone.”

“For how long?” Maddie asked curiously.

“I can’t say for sure. Could be an hour. Then again, it could be the rest of the night.”

“But what about the sleepover and other activities? We don’t want you to feel left out!” Said Stacy.

Spiral was in deep thought for a moment before she replied, “Tell you what, during dinner I’ll think about it. I promise if I feel up to it, we can have some fun together.”

“You promise?” Maddie asked hopefully.

“As a friend, I promise!” The unicorn said in an assuring tone; earning her a hug from both Maddie and Stacy.

Joey decided to join in the group hug as well and said, “Don’t forget, we’ll always be here for you.”

After Maddie and Joey’s parents finished reheating dinner and sat back down in their seats, they had a look of confusion for a few seconds before they saw the kids and their pony companion talking in the other room.

“It’s dinner time!” The mother said, shocking everyone in the other room. Maddie, Stacy, Joey, and Spiral all sat down in their respective spots as the father said a quick prayer over the food. Soon, everyone began to dig in with the humans enjoying herb and spice seasoned chicken, potatoes, green beans, and carrots while Spiral stuck to just the veggie portions of the meal.

“If you don’t mind me asking Stacy, why are you wearing your pajamas so soon?” The children’s mother asked.

“Oh, well…I accidentally slipped on a puddle in the kitchen earlier and got my clothes all damp.” Stacy responded, trying not to sound too nervous.

“Goodness! Are you alright? You didn’t hurt yourself, did you?” The mother asked with concern.

“No, no, I’m fine. But I should probably go clean up the mess.” Maddie’s friend replied.

Stacy was about to get up from her chair until the mother said, “Oh no please, allow me. It was only an accident as you said and you’re our guest.”

The girl chose not to argue and let her friend’s mother take care of the task. She let out a mental sigh of relief as she continued eating.

“Mmm!” Spiral’s voice cut through the dining room. “These veggies are really good! What ingredient did you use for this?”

“Turmeric.” The father said before chewing on some green beans. “It’s a special spice that’s not only delicious, but also healthy with its antioxidants.”

“Hmm.” Spiral responded as she took another bite of her food while saying in her mind, ‘If by some means I can return to Equestria, I might have to bring some of this spice back with me.’

“Oh by the way, Maddie and Joey’s dad? I wa-”

“Joe.” The children’s father interrupted the unicorn. “I guess I never told you my name since you first came here. Silly me. But Joe Taylor is my name and my wife is Carla.”

“Nice to meet you Joe. As I was about to ask though, how exactly do humans make all this technology without the use of magic? Joey told me that there are machines you can carry around that hold information like computers. How is it possible to carry something so big around like that?

“You’d be surprised what humanity is capable of producing.” Joe said as he gave a hearty laugh. “But technology has continuously been revolutionized time and time again over the years. Some of the earliest computers, which cost a fortune, were the size of refrigerators and could only perform the kind of functions found on a calculator. That was back before I was even born. Now, when I was Joey’s age…”

As Joe went on about the history of computing, Spiral listened with great interest and was left in awe about the power the machines possessed and how it helped humans in their everyday lives. It was when Maddie and Joey’s dad brought up smartphones and tablets that left the unicorn stunned.

“That’s incredible! A device that allows you to access information, documents, music, and other needs all while being able to fit it in your pocket? Ponies back home would be extremely envious about this! Is there a way I might be able to see one of these for myself?”

“Sure! I’ll show you mine after we’re done eating and what I use it for.” The father said before returning to his meal.

Carla soon returned to the table and said, “I’m sorry about the wet spot in the kitchen. I guess the sink has been having a bit of a leak again. We fixed it a few months ago, but it seems like we need to get it looked at once more. If you’d like, I can put your wet clothes in for the next load in the laundry.”

“Thank you Mrs. Taylor. I’ll bring them down after dinner.” Stacy said, while internally glad that her friend’s mother didn’t raise any other questions.

The rest of dinner was spent with everyone enjoying the delicious meal and occasionally making small talk. Soon afterwards, dessert was served, which consisted of brownies. Needless to say, the children loved the chocolate confectionery, but Spiral’s expression is what got the most stares.

“Mmm! These are very delicious!” The pony said with the most content smile on her face.

“Well thank you Spiral!” Said Carla. “The kids always enjoy these kinds of sweets, but now that I know you enjoy it as well, I’ll have to make extra in the future!”

When dessert was finished, Maddie and Joey’s mother went around the table and collected all the dishes to take to the kitchen. The children left the table to go upstairs, while Joe went to the living room with Spiral to show the unicorn his smartphone. He sat comfortably on the couch before beginning the demonstration.

“So first things first, I’ll have to unlock my phone with the passcode.” The children’s father said, using his right thumb to hit the numbers on the screen. The mare had her eyes glued at the screen, amazed how each number was punched in, all with just a simple touch of the screen. But it was after the screen changed when Spiral’s eyes grew wide and curious.

“Wow…so what are all those little squares with the pictures on them?”

“Those are called apps, or applications. Each one has a different use with various functionalities. Let’s take this one for example.”

Joe hit one of the apps with his thumb before it covered the whole screen. The logo of the app was in the center for a few seconds before it dissolved and was replaced with what looked like different names of topics.

“This app is how I send emails, to my colleagues and to other people. Here, I’ll show you. We’ll begin with composing a new message…so the first thing to do is putting what the topic of the message will be, right here. In the case of what I want to send, I’ll be asking one of my colleagues if we should change any measurements of a fabrication drawing that was recently made. So I’ll just simply type, ‘Fabrication Drawing Measurements’, like so.”

As Joe explained the step-by-step basics of emailing on the app, Spiral stood up on her hind legs and used her forehooves to grasp onto his legs to get a better look at the screen. She was fascinated with how quickly the human typed on the screen with only his thumb.

“Next, I’ll type out the email in this big space here.”

The sound of fast-paced clacking droned on for a few minutes as the mare stared intently at the message that was being transcribed on the smartphone.

“Now that it’s written, I’ll need to decide who to send it to. Since it’s an issue I’m bringing up with one of the departments at my job, I’ll be including all these people.”

Spiral said nothing while Joe put down twelve email addresses in the send portion of the email.

“Once I know everything looks good, the only thing left to do is to send it!”

With that, Joe pushed a paper plane icon and a box that read “Message Sent!” popped up for a few seconds before disappearing.

“And that’s all there is to emailing!”

“Remarkable…” Was the only word that came to the pony’s mind and left her lips, before she returned to reality, looked at Joe and said, “So all those people you emailed, they’ll receive it right away?”

“That’s right, Spiral. Though I doubt any of them will read it right away as it is the weekend. Most people where I work at don’t like to work on Saturdays or Sundays.”

‘I can relate to that.’ Spiral thought to herself, before releasing her grip on the human and standing on all fours again. She then asked, “So what do the other apps on your smartphone do? You mentioned how it also has the ability to play music?”

“Ah yes, it does. So I’ll go back to the home page, then hit the app with the eighth note icon here…then it brings up a whole library of albums and songs I’ve bought and downloaded onto the device.” Joe explained before showing the screen to Spiral.

“Might I be able to hear one of these songs?”

“Of course. I’ll play…this one.”

As the music began to play from the smartphone, Spiral was taken back by the sound emitting from the device, but quickly relaxed from the quiet-like piano tune she heard. The pony sat on her haunches as she continued listening intently. The sound of other instruments soon joined in the melody which intrigued Spiral, but kept silent. Needless to say, it was a different kind of music she wasn’t used to hearing, but nonetheless liked the tone and usage of the instruments in the song. It was when the synthesized strings kicked in, that the unicorn’s head started to conjure up thoughts of her home in Equestria and everything she held dear back there. Memories of the past played in her mind of her family and the good times she remembered. It was an overwhelming sense of nostalgia that nearly brought the unicorn to tears. She did her best to fight against it, but when the organ overtook the song with its loud crescendo, Spiral couldn’t hold back as she covered her mouth with a hoof, closed her eyes and broke down quietly. Joe took notice right away and stopped the song.

“Spiral? What’s the matter? Did you not like it?”

“Yes…I did.” The pony sniffed. “It was…very beautiful.”

“Then what’s wrong?”

“I don’t know why…but as I was listening…I couldn’t help but think about my home…my clients…my…my…”

“Family?”

Spiral looked up at Maddie and Joey’s father with tearful eyes and shook head up and down while going, “Mmhmm…”

“Do you need some time alone?”

“No, no.” The unicorn answered while wiping away her tears and gaining her bearings. “I’m fine. *SNIFF* Really. It truly was a beautiful piece of music. What sort of music is it?”

“It’s part of a soundtrack from a movie made a few years ago. The basic rundown is about humanity’s struggle to survive in a future where Earth is dying and a farmer travels beyond the stars with a group of astronauts to find a new habitat for mankind. It’s called Interstellar and it’s a great movie that I’d love to show you sometime.”

“It sounds interesting.” Spiral said feeling like her old self again. “Would Maddie and Joey be interested in watching it?”

“Ehh…every time I ask them if they want to, they never sit through the whole movie. They always think it’s too boring. And to be fair, it is a long film that’s almost three hours long.”

“Three hours?!” Spiral asked with wide eyes. “That’s a long time to sit through one movie! Most movies in Equestria are only two hours, at most! How does one have the patience to sit through something that long?”

“Oh you’d be surprised.” Joe said with a chuckle. “Well I should go see if Carla needs any further help in the kitchen.”

“Okay, thanks for showing me how a smartphone works!”

“You’re welcome, Spiral. But I’ve barely even scratched the surface of the iceberg of all of its functions. I’ll have to show you more later.”

The unicorn was soon left alone in the living room, but it didn’t last for long as the sound of two girls chattering made its way to the living room.

“There she is!” Maddie said, rushing over to the pony. “So Spiral, are you up for hanging out with Stacy and I for the sleepover?”

“You know what? I sure am!” Spiral replied with a friendly smile, which earned her a hug from both girls.

“YAY!!! We’re going to have so much fun this evening!” Said Stacy.

The unicorn chuckled and returned the hug to the girls. She could already imagine the activities they would partake in.

Chapter 20

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Chapter 7

When they had finished eating dinner, Maddie, Joey, and Spiral cleared the table, washed the dishes, and put away leftover pizza that didn’t get eaten in the refrigerator.

With everything in the dining room and kitchen picked up and cleaned, the children and their unicorn friend went to the living room to discuss what to do for the evening.

“So, since we have the house to ourselves for the evening, what do you two want to do?” Asked Spiral while saying in her head, ‘No wait, let me guess. They want another hypnosis session.”

“If it’s not too much to ask, could we play around with more of your hypnosis?” Joey asked with Maddie adding, “Yeah! Yeah! Another round of hypnosis!”

‘Called it.’ The unicorn said in her mind as she smiled and responded with, “You both really love my hypnotic sessions don’t you?” The kids nodded their heads happily and got into their comfortable sitting positions on the rug; waiting in anticipation for their companion (and temporary babysitter) to begin the induction. ‘They both seem eager to have themselves willingly be hypnotized twice in one day.’ “Alright. Alright. I’ll get my pocket watch, then we can start.”

Spiral went through her bag until she found her trinket and used her magic to hold it in front of the children’s eyes. Instead of swinging it though, she asked the brother and sister, “Since you two tried out the slow induction earlier today, would you care to be put under a trance with the faster method?”

“Sure!” The youngest sibling said enthusiastically with the older one saying, “Alright, just tell us what to do, like you always do.”

Spiral kept dangling the watch before the children and said, “Okay then, just look at the watch and tell me what time it is.”

“Umm…it says 6:00.” The little girl said with the brother wondering what this had to do with anything.

“Tee hehehe so close.” The mare giggled playfully. “But actually…it’s Trance Time.”

With that, the two kids were sent right back into the hypnotic unicorn’s control to be commanded whatever the doctor ordered.

As Spiral put her watch away and paced back and forth in the room, she was having a hard time deciding what to make the spellbound Maddie and Joey do under her hypnosis. Then the mare had an idea she wanted to try out for the fun of it.

“Maddie. Joey. Listen very carefully to what I’m about to tell you. I want you to picture a box in your minds and imagine that whatever memories are put in that container, you can’t remember them. Now I want you two to place all the memories of me and all the times I’ve been with you two out of a trance, into that box. Once all those memories are placed, shut the box and store it away in your mind.”

Spiral gave a minute for the command to sink in before asking, “Have you completed the task?”

“Yes, mistress.” Answered back the monotone children.

“Good. Now then, the next time you hear me say, ‘Opening Time’ when out of a trance, you will feel all the memories that you put in the box flow back into your head. Understand?”

“Yes, mistress.” The kids saying the usual response.

“Then when you hear the backdoor close, both of you will both be awakened from your trances and think that you two are waiting for a babysitter your parents hired to look after you for the evening. But, you will forget about being hypnotized and still have my commands in your minds.”

Spiral then used her magic to put her saddlebags on her back and went to the backdoor, opened it up, trotted to the outside evening air, and slammed the door.

‘This is going to be fun to play out.’ The unicorn said giggling to herself and waited a few moments before knocking on the backdoor.

A few seconds passed until Joey answered the door and the moment he saw the pony in front of him, he had the most shocked look on his face (just as much as he did from the very first time he saw the unicorn). The mare just simply smiled back at the boy and asked, “Good evening, are you Joey?”

The oldest child only felt more taken back at the fact there was a talking unicorn that somehow knew his name and could only barely answer back with, “Y-y-y-yes…b-b-bu-but ho-how do you know-”

Spiral interrupted what Joey was trying to ask by saying, “Well, let’s just say we know each other more than you think. Also, your parents arranged for me to babysit you and your sister tonight. Could I come in please?”

Using her magic, Spiral opened up the door wide enough to let herself in. Feeling even more awestruck, the nearly speechless Joey could only stare wide-eyed at what he was witnessing and letting out a nearly silent, “Ahhhhhhhhhhhh…”

Chuckling at the eldest sibling’s reaction she helped close the door with her magic and made her way to the living room to “meet” the younger sibling.

Maddie was sitting quietly, waiting for her brother to return when she caught sight of a unicorn, whom she never saw in her life, standing at the entrance to the room. She immediately got up, went toward the teal pony and nervously brought one of her hands towards the creature’s fur.

Spiral felt the little girl’s hand on her back and said in a friendly voice, “Yes, I’m real and you must be Maddie. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

The youngest sibling was stunned as to how the pony was both talking to her and knowing her what her name was. But unlike Joey, who was left nearly speechless, Maddie was only more overjoyed and said out loud, “This is WONDERFUL!!! I can’t believe that there’s an actual talking unicorn who knows my name!” She then hugged Spiral a bit too tightly for the mare’s comfort.

‘Aaauuugh…I forgot how tight her hugs can be.’ Spiral thought to herself until the brother arrived in the room to rescue the mare from being squeezed to death. Gasping for a couple breaths, the unicorn thanked Joey for saving her from Maddie’s intense hugs (even though she knew it was just out of enthusiasm) and politely asked the two to sit down on the rug. The siblings sat on the floor and gave the unicorn their full, undivided attention.

“Well…now that we’re settled down, allow me to introduce myself. I am Dr. Spiral Swirl and I will be your babysitter for the evening!”

“Umm…forgive me if this sounds rude Miss Swirl, but how did you convince our parents to let a magical, talking unicorn like yourself to babysit us? I don’t want to sound impolite, I’m just wondering is all.”

“It’s okay, I’m not offended at all Joey.” The mare said with a genuine smile. “To answer your question though, I actually met them yesterday. They were nice people and easy to get along with. It was actually your mother who told me that she needed someone to look after you two while they went to a dinner meeting tonight. She thought I was trustworthy enough and well…here I am!”

“Okay then.” Joey said feeling a little bit of closure but still having a hard time believing that his babysitter was a mythological creature he only heard of from stories. Before anyone else said anything, another question went through the boy’s head and asked the unicorn, “Forgive me again if this sounds disrespectful, but what kind of name is Spiral Swirl? I’ve never heard anyone have that kind of name before.” The oldest sibling asked trying to sound as respectful as possible.

“There’s no need for apologies. As for my name, it’s just a name my mother thought would fit me best and I think it has quite a nice ring; especially with my special talent.” The doctor said proudly.

“And what is your special talent?” The boy asked quizzically.

The teal pony used her magic to open her saddlebag, lift her pocket watch out, held it in front of the children and answered the curious Joey with, “Hypnotism.”

Both siblings went wide eyed at the pocket watch held before them and from hearing what their babysitter’s special talent was.

“Oh! Oh! Oh! Could we try it out? Please? Please?” The little Maddie asked excitingly while giving Spiral the cutest eyes she could muster.

Joey was equally eager to try out the unicorn’s method of hypnosis and said, “Would it be alright if you did a small sample of your hypnotic method on us? You don’t have to have us under for long.”

“Well…” Spiral began as she closed her eyes while merely teasing the two children; knowing full well they’d do anything to experience her power.

“Please? Just this once?” Joey resorting to begging like his sister was just a couple seconds ago.

After “thinking it over”, the unicorn opened her eyes and said, “…all right. I’ll do it. But first, get yourselves comfortable.”

Complying with their babysitter’s request, Maddie and Joey rearranged their sitting positions to suit their more desirable comfort. The boy then spoke up with, “Okay we’re ready! What’s next?”

“What’s next is that you simply watch the watch…” Spiral answered back as she brought her golden, pocket watch closer to the children and began to swing it back and forth with her hypnotic, rhythmic patterns. The eyes of the two siblings were even more drawn to the watch as they just simply sat and listened to what their babysitter told them.

“Watch the watch…watch it swing back and forth…back and forth. Let your eyes follow the movement of the shiny, gold, pocket watch.”

The watch kept enticing Maddie and Joey in a more mesmerizing state as their ears were open to everything their babysitter said.

“That’s it. Just keep watching the watch. Let everything else fade as the watch becomes the sole focus of your attention and as it does you begin to feel yourselves starting to relax.”

As their eyes became magnetized to the unicorn’s watch, the children started to feel the drowsy effects kicking in from the suggestion. Nevertheless, the siblings used all their energy to keep their focus on the swinging object until told otherwise.

“Both of you are doing well. Focusing only on the watch and listening to my voice. Your eyes are glued to the watch, as you relax more and more for me.”

Maddie and Joey’s eyelids began to slowly droop as their posture began to slump slightly from the relaxation the two of them were feeling. But, the two still managed to not break eye contact even once with the entrancing watch. The doctor was amused with their determination to keep their attention on her trinket.

“Relax…relax…relax…feel relaxation as it begins to encompass your body and your mind. Relax for me Maddie and Joey. Let a wave of total relaxation flow across your bodies.”

The siblings’ minds by this point had packed their bags for vacation time and were only becoming more and more sleepy from the suggestions they were absorbing from Spiral’s voice.

“I know how much you two are enjoying this session. You love this feeling of relaxation. You love watching my watch. You’re so relaxed now. You’re starting to feel sleepy. And the constant swinging motion of my watch is making your eyes feel even heavier. But now, when I count down from ten to one, both of you will close your tired eyes fall into a hypnotized state for me. 10…Letting my words guide you into a hypnotic trance. 9…Feeling more relaxed. 8…So peaceful and tired. 7…Your mind is calm and relaxed. 6…Your eyes growing heavier and heavier. 5…Becoming more hypnotized by the second. 4…You're nearly there. So close. 3…You want to sleep for me as your eyelids feel like they’re made of lead. 2…Almost there and ready to be hypnotized. 1…Feel the power of hypnosis wash over you as you close your eyes and sleeeeeeeeep…”

Maddie and Joey went out like a light bulb when Spiral finished the countdown as the two fell face first to the rug and slept soundly next to each other. The mare smiled to herself for another hypnotic induction well done while looking over the two kids. ‘You know, maybe I’ll let them rest for a while before I wake them.’

The unicorn activated her magic by rearranging the boy and girl so they were laying on their backs and bringing blankets from one of the couches and laying it on top of the two spellbound siblings. The sight of the two of them warmed the pony’s heart as she thought, ‘Aww…they look so adorable sleeping like that. I would certainly hate to disturb their little rest. But first things first…’

“Maddie. Joey. When you two wake up from your hypnotized state of mind, you will both feel refreshed, energized and happy from the time you spent under. Understand?”

“Yes, mistress.” The boy and girl said with monotone obedience.

“Now I want both of you to enter the most peaceful and relaxing sleep you’ve ever had and only when I tell you to wake up, you’ll both break free of your trances. So relax…and sleep.”

As soon as the command left her lips, Maddie and Joey drifted off into slumber, with only the sound of their mistress’ voice to wake them.

While the kids were resting, Spiral decided to go outside and do some bird watching. She quietly went out the backdoor (while making sure it would stay unlocked) and went to the entrance of the forest to see what type of birds would fly through. As she was gazing, a flock of nine strange looking geese caught her eye as they flew together in a V shaped formation and landed in the open field right near the forest. Growing curious, she went to get a closer look at what type of geese they were and took note of their physical exterior with having black fur covering their heads and necks with white cheeks, white under their chins, and having mostly brown body plumages.

Not wanting to have this go unchecked, Spiral got out her notebook with her pen and started to draw out as best she could the design of the geese so she could ask the family later on what they were. When she was done drawing, the mare put her notebook and pen back in her bags and went closer to where the flock of geese landed. But when the unicorn got too close, some of the geese started to hiss at her and opened up their wings up wide. Fear started to grab ahold of Spiral as she galloped back to the house as quick as she could with an angry swarm of geese right on her tail. When she got to the backdoor, the unicorn quickly activated her magic to open the door wide and then slammed it shut with the flock flying away in a different direction.

Spiral was gasping loudly at the close encounter and for the first time since her arrival to this unknown place, felt legitimately scared and afraid. After taking in a couple deep breaths, the mare eventually calmed herself down and went back to the room where Maddie and Joey were still in their hypnotic slumber. The teal pony went up to one of the couches, laid herself down, and looked over at the children covered in blankets.

‘I don’t know what I would’ve done if I hadn’t met Maddie and Joey. Would I even have survived one day in this world on my own? All I know is that those two have been a saving grace since my encounter with them at the pond and they deserve the best. In the meantime, I’ll let them rest for a little longer.’

Ten minutes later, Spiral jumped down from her couch, went over to Maddie and Joey and said in a sweet sing song voice, “Maddiiiiiieeee. Joeeeeeyyyyy. It’s time to wake uuuuuuuuup.”

At hearing their mistress’ voice speak, the two siblings woke up from their hypnotized states while yawning and stretching. The first thing Maddie and Joey noticed after sitting up straight were the blankets covering them followed by the sight of Spiral sitting on her haunches in front of them.

The unicorn spoke up first and asked both children, “So how did you two enjoy the hypnosis session? Was as enjoyable and fascinating as the other times?”

“It felt absolutely wonderful!” The little Maddie stated with joy as she shook off the blankets and hugged the pony hard with Joey having to step in to Spiral’s rescue once again.

When he had his sister under control, the brother answered with, “I certainly loved it for sure with how relaxing and captivating it was to stare at your watch and…hold on. What do you mean with ‘other times’?”

Giggling to herself for a second, Spiral responded to the boy’s own question with, “Well, what if I told you that tonight isn’t the first time we’ve met and that this isn’t the first time I’ve hypnotized you both?”

Joey raised an eyebrow in confusion and said, “That can’t be though. Maddie and I have only met you from tonight as far as we remember.”

“Yes. As far as BOTH OF YOU remember. But now, it’s Opening Time.” Spiral replied while saying in her head, ‘I can’t wait to see their reactions.’

The children felt a fuzzy feeling in their heads as trapped memories started to emerge from the spoken trigger and had a look of surprise as they stared for a good long while at the unicorn while processing everything that just happened. Joey spoke up first and said, “Woah! I feel like I just woke up half my brain.”

Spiral said to the siblings, “If you’re wanting to know why that is, let’s just say I wanted to try something a bit different with you two tonight.” She then went on and explained how she made the two of them forget her for only a short period of time and relive the first encounter of meeting her. When she told the children everything, Spiral asked, “So what did the two of you think of the session?”

“I thought it was fun!” Maddie said with her typical joyous attitude.

“Well…” Joey began as he felt split down the line about the recent hypnotic session. “I’ll admit, it was pretty neat meeting you and trying out your hypnosis for the first time all over again, though it was unsettling with making us forgetting who you were. I mean why makes us forget you? I know it was only for a short while, but how would you feel if someone made you forget stuff that was important to you?”

Spiral understood Joey’s reason completely and immediately felt guilty about what she did.

She then said, “I’m sorry if putting you through that made you uneasy. I just assumed that you two were okay with anything I did while under my spell.”

“Like I said before, I don’t mind what you do to us when we’re in a trance.” The eldest sibling said. “But can you promise me not to make me forget you again?”

“I guess I should’ve asked beforehoof.” The mare replied. She then went and sat in front of Joey, looked in his eyes and told him, “If forgetting about me for a short while makes you feel uncomfortable, then I promise not to do that again in any future hypnosis sessions.”

Joey then embraced his pony companion and replied to the unicorn with a, “Thanks Spiral…thanks for being a good friend.” This only warmed the pony’s heart up as she returned the hug with Maddie joining in as well.

A few moments of silence later, the three broke the hug as Spiral smiled at the children and asked, “So what do you two want to do now? There’s still plenty left to do before bedtime.”

“I know, let’s watch a movie!” Suggested Maddie.

Spiral had been curious about the human style of cinema and replied by saying, “That sounds like a great idea. Although, I don’t know anything about movies made by humans so what do you recommend?”

“Oh! I know!” Maddie said as she went to a shelf that stored blue, plastic cases and pulled one out for the mare to see.

“The Wizard of Oz? Seriously Maddie?!?” Joey asked while groaning in frustration. The unicorn took notice of the oldest sibling’s behavior and asked, “What’s the matter Joey? You don’t like this movie?”

“It’s not that. It’s a good movie for sure, but the amount of times I’ve seen it makes me feel sick of watching it.”

Spiral then got a creative idea and said to the boy, “I have an idea, if you’re willing to try it out Joey.”

“I’m listening.” The boy said giving the equestrian his full attention.

“What if I hypnotized you to make you briefly forget the contents of the movie so that way, it would seem as if you were watching it for the first time?”

“Hmm…I’m not sure.” The eldest sibling replied having a tough time deciding. “We just did this type of session and you know how I felt about it.”

“Well think of this as a way to make up for the previous session. I did promise never to use my hypnosis methods to make you forget me again, didn’t I? So what do you say?”

“Well it does sound tempting. But still…”

It was clear that Joey needed a push to come to a decision so Spiral sweetened the deal for him.

“Well how about this? We watch the movie Maddie picked tonight and the next time we decide what to watch, you get to choose. What do you say?”

Looking back and forth between his sister and the unicorn babysitter, Joey came to a conclusion with, “Well…I suppose I can put up with another round of not being in Kansas anymore. Plus it would be interesting to see how it feels to watch The Wizard of Oz for the first time all over again. So yes, I’ll watch the movie with you two. BUT…I’m holding you to your end of the deal.”

Spiral didn’t understand what he meant by “not being in Kansas anymore”, but brushed it off and said, “Good. Now then, let me get my watch and we can start the induction.”

After retrieving her watch with her magic, Spiral held the watch in front of Joey’s eyes and was about to start until she noticed Maddie sitting next to her brother with her eyes regarding the dangling watch as well.

“Oh, Maddie! You wanted to jump on board the hypnotized bandwagon as well?”

“Yes, please!” The girl said with willing anticipation. “But I still want to remember the movie and not forget it. Would that be alright?”

“Sure, sure. I’ll just mostly focus on your brother during his time under hypnosis while you can enjoy a nice, little nap.” The unicorn then readjusted the watch so it hung in front of the eyes of both children. “Now did you two want to be entranced slowly or quickly?”

“Could we maybe have it somewhere in between?” The brother stated. “I enjoy the slow method, but the movie is about 100 minutes long and the sooner we start, the better.”

“Same here.” Maddie added.

“Very well, then. Now if you two are ready, just gaze at the pocket watch.” Spiral said as she started swinging her pocket watch in her traditional spellbinding measure. “Simply gaze at the pocket watch and let yourselves become drawn in as your minds grow cloudy and tired.”

As per usual, the siblings never once took their eyes off the golden pocket watch, sat comfortably and listened to the doctor’s voice.

“I know how much you both enjoy watching the watch swing from side to side. Just keep your focus on the watch’s rhythm and as you do, your eyes will start to feel heavy as you become more and more tired.”

Maddie and Joey’s eyes indeed started to falter with the amount of lethargy in their system, but kept their focus on the swaying trinket.

“Yes, you both love how much the pocket watch pulls you in with its alluring charm, but now when I count back from five, you two will sleep and fall under my hypnotic spell, ready to obey me. 5……4……3……2……1……and…sleep!”

With the countdown complete, the eyelids from the kids shut tight as the two entered Spiral’s trance again and were waiting to hear her voice for further instructions. The mare then said to the children, “Now both of you sit up straight and open up your eyes, but stay in your trances.”

Complying with the unicorn’s order, Maddie and Joey sat on their rears and displayed their hypnotized eyes to the pony as they sat tight for the next command. The mare focused on the younger sibling first.

“Maddie, lay down on the carpet and let yourself fall into a nice slumber and when I tell you to wake up, you’ll break free from the trance feeling great and ready to start your movie. Understand?”

“Yes, mistress.” The little entranced Maddie said in a low tone as she laid her back on the soft carpet and dozed off to sleep, leaving Spiral to weave her suggestions on the boy.

“Now Joey, do you remember that box from earlier on that stored up and locked away memories?”

“Yes, mistress.” Replied the acquiescent boy.

“I want you to put all of the memories you have about the movie: The Wizard of Oz in that same box, close it up, and push that box into the back of your mind.”

After giving the oldest child a minute to perform the command, Spiral continued with the next set of instructions.

“Now, the next time you hear me say ‘movie’s over’, you’ll regain all the memories you put into that box. Understand?”

“Yes, mistress.”

“Good. Now then, I’m going to count to three and when I do, you’ll wake up from your trance but not remember what happened when you were under or what movie your sister recommended wanting to watch, only that you and your sister wanted me to hypnotize you both and enjoyed how good it felt being under my spell. But the orders I issued to you will remain in effect. Understand?”

“Yes, mistress.” The drone-tone Joey answered back as he could only sit by and wait for his unicorn mistress to start counting.

“1…2…3…Awaken!”

The spinning spirals left the boy’s eyes as his mind returned to reality with Spiral greeting him with, “So Joey, did you enjoy the short session?”

“Sure did!” Joey said as he quickly stretched himself. Before he said anything else though, he saw his sister snoozing out of the corner of his eye and said to Spiral, “Looks like Maddie is still hypnotized. Better wake her up.”

“Right.” Spiral replied and said to the sleeping girl, “Maddie, it’s time to wake up!”

The youngest child yawned as she gently came to and rubbed the sleep out of her eyes. When she was fully awake, Maddie looked at her unicorn companion and said to her, “That was a great nap! Thanks Spiral!”

“You’re very welcome!” Spiral said warmly. “Now that you’re both awake, shall we get settled in and watch that movie Maddie?”

“Oh, yes!” The giddy little girl responded enthusiastically as she picked up the movie case. “I can’t wait to show you The Wizard of Oz!”

“The Wizard of Oz?” The brother asked looking at his sister then the case cover. “Is that a new movie we got recently? Doesn’t exactly sound like one I’d enjoy that much.”

Knowing what Spiral did to her brother, Maddie said nothing, except let out a small giggle that escaped her lips. When the brother was about to ask why she was laughing, Spiral interrupted his train of thought and said, “Well I don’t know about you Joey, but I’m interested to see what this movie is like. Aren’t you the least bit curious to see what it’s about? Who knows, you might like it.”

Joey did have to admit that Spiral had a good point and at times he did find himself enjoying movies that he thought on the surface sounded terrible to him. With that in mind he said, “Well then, what are we waiting for? Why don’t you go ahead and get it started for us Maddie.”

The youngest sibling went over to the television set, put in the movie, and the three settled themselves for the feature presentation.

Author's Note

August 22nd Update: I decided to add more to this chapter after reading grey_shadow's comment about an opportunity that Spiral could've used and I just couldn't pass up that creative idea. Thanks for your input grey_shadow!