Being able to teleport long distances is quite the time saver. What was once a day’s journey by car (or multiple days by the carts these backwards ponies still use) is now a mere moment away. Perhaps this has military applications, but I will leave that for another time. What is clear is that Viirad must have a more developed train network if any of my plans are to succeed. The efficiency of these bumpkins in anything is astoundingly low.

Silver Star proved compliant. Instantaneously appearing in his study right behind him had the effect I hoped it would. A simple friendly gesture while being sure to emanate as much power as possible was enough to get him to agree for me to search his library. For now, out of fear, but I believe in time that when he recalls this interaction, he will justify to himself that he was merely helping a friend, the in-the-moment sensory information of the surprise and my aura of magic forgotten. Although, perhaps he’s the type to linger on that feeling of fear. No matter, I’ll just send him a thank you note later to direct his memory to my desired outcome.

Silver Star aside, I was able to find another spell that I did not find a copy of in my collection: Fiducia Compelus. I’ve read of the spell before, but I’ve never cast it. It causes a target to gain a compulsion to do something. In its standard form, it’s to obey one’s commands, though you can easily change it to induce any behavior. It involves a command phrase and is targeted, which I do appreciate. Moreover, the victim may not even realize that they are under enchantment, only realizing when the compulsion tests their sense of identity and ability to confabulate, causing them to suspect and resist. The ability of the subject to resist the spell is annoying because increasing the power of the spell also increases the conspicuousness of the spell in tandem, which makes them more likely to resist in the first place.

Overall, a somewhat useful spell, but not scalable to my requirements. While I could alter the spell to remove the verbal components, the range of influence it exerts is not enough for functioning soldiers and civil servants who will need to adapt to new circumstances to say nothing of the issue of resistance. The common Viirradian is probably not even aware the Count is dead yet and would most definitely find total obedience to me suspect to say the least.

Perhaps the solution is to combine multiple spells together. Just Cogeria and Fiducia together could complement well. Cogeria would induce a state where the subject does not question their obedience while Fiducia would provide the primary mental control. It is still unlikely to be enough for my liking, but it would be useful to see the effects firsthand. I have, after all, never cast either of these spells before. I could use the enhanced mental faculties the Machine has granted me to simulate the effects, but the real thing is much more entertaining. When the morning comes, I’ll abduct a few townsponies from near Viirrium for testing. It’ll be a good first use of my new laboratory. I could do it now, but apparently even goddesses need to sleep. It does make me wonder if the princesses of Equestria feel as I do - blessed with incomparable power and yet still bound to the need to sleep and eat.

Author's Note

There's the final spell from "Every Little Thing She Does". We'll start where Starlight left us.