Twilight steeled herself as the oversized door opened. She was here to learn about friendship, and was determined to be supportive. Even if she didn’t understand why Rarity had volunteered for domestication, even if the whole thing sounded completely insane. She focused herself on being a good friend as she entered the newly enlarged Carousel Boutique.

All of Twilight’s resolve vanished as she beheld the scene before her. She blinked, eyes rapidly scanning the room for anything she could even remotely place within her own experience and senses. Rarity’s home, supersized, with counters and tables clearly built for ponies much larger than Twilight. Beautiful dresses in designs she had never seen, which, despite their obvious impropriety, still nonetheless carried the distinctive feel of Rarity. The strange scent bubbling in the air. The massive glass jar, full of an odd, semi-transparent gold liquid, with a stock-still figure in the center. A gigantic grass-green stallion rising high above her, tiny red flowers flowing across his shoulders like a cape, with something Twilight didn’t even want to think about hanging between his legs. His handsome, scruffy face, that was nonetheless made from woven plant matter and utterly alien at a closer look. His deep, lavender eyes… That was a pattern her mind was ready to process. The swirling colored flecks clearly had some pattern to them, and she was sure if she just looked closer, she could…

No!

She quickly shook her head, and turned her gaze down, blushing furiously. Something in the back of her mind told her that this was the right thing to do, and she felt approval flow through her, a confusing feeling given her situation. Before she could spend any time puzzling that out, a deep, rich, flowing voice resonated from the affini above her, and seemed to fully demand her attention.

“Ah! Twilight Sparkle, I presume! It’s good to see you; I’ve heard so much about you from my little princess here. All positive! She was hoping to see you, and I’m glad you dropped by. It’s good to see you out and about again. I’m Wheatley Flunix, Eighth Bloom, and I’m frankly ashamed that it’s taken me so long to meet someone so dear to my floret. You must excuse the state of the hab, we weren’t expecting company.”

Her eyes followed as a thick, green vine reached down into the massive glass jar. It wrapped around the figure contained therein, and retrieved the dripping unicorn, completely covered in a viscous, amber fluid. It sparkled in the light, giving off a sweet, citrusy smell.

Wheatley put her down on the floor in the center of the room, on a small spot that seemed to have been cleared in advance for this. Rarity lay stock-still, not moving a muscle, covered in… thick orange… something. Other vines, splitting impossibly thin, started to comb through her coat, wicking away thick globs, revealing Rarity’s fur, as silky and shiny as ever, below. A mask over her eyes was removed, and she blinked, slowly readjusting to the light.

Were it not for the slow rise and fall of Rarity’s barrel from her breathing, Twilight would have believed she was looking at one of Rarity’s fashion mannequins, rather than one of her closest friends. Rarity did not move her legs. She did not rotate her neck to look at Twilight. Her blown-out eyes met Twilight’s, but she remained perfectly still. What few movements Twilight could see felt sluggish, like Rarity was still moving through the honey-like substance she had been submerged in. Twilight glanced down at the collar on her neck, then back up as she started to feel a bit dizzy.

They stared at each other for a moment, as more and more of the sap was cleaned from her fur. She took a deep breath, and the citrus scent of the sap filled her head in a way that faintly tingled. Twilight’s breath hitched in her throat - Rarity looked stunning. Twilight had always known that Rarity was attractive, but… something about seeing her in this light was… different. Her coat was flawless, free from any stain. Her mane curled beautifully, tumbling down her neck. And her expression… It was serene. As if the weight of the world had been lifted from her shoulders. As if there wasn’t a single thing in the world she was concerned about, even as a thick vine tousled through her mane. It was otherworldly, in a way that resonated inside Twilight. Her heart pulsed, as she took in the sight.

She paused. Was she falling in love with her friend?

Rarity’s voice broke the silence, stopping that line of thinking in its tracks. “Twiiiiiiiliiiiight! Daaaaaaarliiiiing! It’s sooo good to see you! I juuuuust got… Ohhhhh… Riiiiiight… Hang on dear…” Her eyes swiveled up towards the Affini gazing down at them. “Please, Daddy, may I pleaaaaase have my brain back?”

She felt butterflies in her tummy. What was happening? Rarity’s voice had always been lovely, but today it was raising feelings in Twilight she wasn’t sure she was comfortable with. She’d never thought about her like that…

The warm chuckle from above felt like the morning sun on her coat.

“Oh, I do so love to see you like this, dear, but how could I refuse such a charming request?” A bright red flower snaked out of a vine and buried itself in Rarity’s flank, just above her cutie mark - the diamonds now surrounded by and partially covered by an artful lattice of plantworks and flowers. Flowers that looked exactly like the ones on Wheatley’s shoulders. At least the plant had seen fit to merely adorn Rarity. Trixie’s cutie mark had been completely erased - and from what Twilight could tell, so had most of her personality.

Rarity carefully, languidly slid into a slump on the floor, bright green eyes staring at Twilight, fur matted with that amber fluid she had been immersed in.

She stretched out one limb, then another, as vines removed the last of whatever was covering her from her tail. “Thank you, Sir,” she chirped, leaning into a vine that nuzzled against her cheek. She turned to Twilight, who was gawping at her, dumbstruck. “Twilight! My dearest! I haven’t seen you… well, since the Affini arrived!”

For how soft her body looked, it moved surprisingly quickly, rising up to hug Twilight, who returned the gesture, blush spreading across her confused face. This was not how hugging your very good friend was supposed to make you feel, right? Because if it was, she’d been doing something wrong up until this point. Wow.

Rarity, seemingly unaware of the effect she was having on Twilight, released the hug, and kept talking. “I will admit I was somewhat caught up in my own things, what with Wheatley here, but after a while, I was worried something had happened… Or, well, tell the truth, I was worried you were stuck in your treehouse, terrified of the outside world.” She laughed, and Twilight couldn’t help but grin stupidly. “And, given that your company is an affini, but has thus far remained outside, I’m guessing they sent someone to check in on you.” A dazed, confused smile drifted across her face for a moment before she continued. “They really do care so much, you know.”

Twilight blinked again, words starting to filter through the confused haze. “Rarity, you’re…” You’re still you. “You look different.” Smooth move, Twilight.

Rarity turned to rub her flank gently against Twi’s. It was unfathomably soft, as if hard muscle and bone had been replaced with velvet and plush. Twilight shuddered against the contact, but ultimately decided to lean into it. This was normal, just standard body contact. She was not going to be weird about it. “You think? It may have to do with this new beauty regimen Daddy has been doing to me. Better than any spa, and I always feel so deeply in love with him afterwards. You just walked in on the end of it, actually!”

“What was that?” Twilight wondered, briefly gazing over at the massive glass jar and the amber fluids congealing within.

“Oh, it’s plum!”

“It doesn’t smell very much like plums…” Twilight had a very good idea of what Rarity smelt like at the current moment, for some reason, and it certainly wasn’t plums. There was something else, something rich and citrusy, that she couldn’t quite put a hoof on.

“...Err… Yes, never mind. Anyways!”

Rarity’s horn sparked, briefly, and Twilight could sense the field grasp for Rarity’s glasses, high above on the oversized counter, as well as some strange interference before the light surrounding it fizzled out completely. Rarity blinked, and giggled. “Oh dear, I guess I’m not quite as sober as I thought. Wheatley, would you please give me my glasses?”

“Very good, dear,” rumbled the massive colt from above, snaking out a vine to retrieve the glasses and plant them on Rarity’s nose. He turned an eye to Twilight, and chuckled. “Rarity has been adapting to her new life so well. I could hardly be more proud of her. Most unicorns chafe a little when they can’t use their magic, but my little princess here was only too ready to let me take care of her every need.”

Twilight’s eyes went wide. She’d heard the rumors - that the drugs the affini carried could disable your magic - but to see it discussed so casually felt borderline sacrilegious. “I can’t imagine giving up my magic,” she said, shrinking back from Rarity’s touch. “It would be worse than going back to magic kindergarten.”

Rarity giggled again. “Well, my Owner takes care of everything for me, and everything is always so much fun, and feels so good… Lately, he’s been turning me into a mannequin for my dresses. I don’t need my magic… I don’t need much of anything! Sir takes care of everything. Most days I don’t even miss my magic. I mean, I can’t even move some days unless Sir poses me, so that should hardly surprise me.” She paused her revelry, noticing the look of shock on Twilight’s face, and pulled back. “Well…. sometimes, when Daddy wants me to, I get to use it. It’s really nice.”

Her face shot up with realization. “He even gave me my new name, so reintroductions are in order! I’m now Rarity Flunix, Fifth Floret, and I have never been happier. Of all the best things that could happen, this is the best possible thing.” She squealed and nuzzled into another round of headpats from exploring vines.

Twilight felt her heart beating in her chest. This was Rarity. This was her friend, Rarity. Her dear friend, who she cared deeply about, in ways she was certainly not going to bury and suppress later. It was undeniably the same pony, even as she was caressed in deeply inappropriate ways by roaming vines. Vines belonging to her… owner. Twilight flinched inwardly at the thought. She’d just barely earned her independence, when Celestia had sent her to Ponyville on this important assignment. The thought of giving that up made her shiver. Never again. What did Rarity even see in this alien, that she would volunteer to be his pet, for the rest of her life, after just a few scant days?

Her eyes roamed over Wheatley - his massive, broad shoulders, the rugged simulacra of feathering on each tree-like limb, the way the flowers flowed over him like a cape - and she couldn’t help but be struck by his majesty. Her eyes ran across his barrel again, and down to the… extension of plant matter hanging between his legs. She couldn’t help licking her lips as she saw it twitch, a short film of amber fluid dripping from the tip to the floor below. It looked… delicious.

Twilight’s eyes went wide as a few things clicked into place.

The first was that, in a matter of seconds, Rarity’s behavior had made more sense to her. This was just what being around an affini did to your brain.

The second: the fluid dripping onto the floor from the thick vine between Wheatley’s hind legs was the same fluid Rarity had just been coated in. The same fluid whose scent was suffusing the entire room.

The third: she really, really wanted a taste.

Twilight had never so much as kissed someone, and yet everything in her body was telling her to kneel before this alien stallion and lap his nectar from the floor, before reaching up to beg meekly for more. She indulged her fantasy for but a moment, and pictured what it might feel like, taste like. She wouldn’t even need to bend down. Her nostrils flared, pulling in more of that scent that sent sparks flying in her head, and she felt a shameful wetness trickling from between her legs.

“Twilight, dear, are you all right? You seem a bit… distracted.”

She paused. When had she walked in front of Rarity? When had ~~Daddy~~ Wheatley gotten so close? What was that hungry glint in his eye?

That was the straw that broke the camel’s back.

Her eyes shot wide open. Her breathing became more shallow and rapid, and she barely heard as Rarity said her name. She reared up, spun on her haunches, and fled from the room, bolting as fast as her legs would carry her.

She made it as far as the door before she felt the pinch of an injector flower in her neck and a weave of vines lifting her from below. She felt the cold sensation of the drugs sliding into her system, and, realizing she was getting nowhere, stopped struggling. Instead, she stared up at Lilian, whose face was molded into a caring, matronly frown.

“Twilyflower, what’s wrong? It seemed like everything was going fine in there, and then you just suddenly bolted. Why do you smell so much like bonding accelerants?”

Twilight expected to feel indignation or anger at the sudden, unwanted intrusion into her body, at the drugs coursing through her mind. She reached out, channeling the energy through her horn that would allow her to teleport away, but the magic fizzled and failed. The anger expected again failed to materialize, so she let herself go limp. Her mouth felt sluggish and unresponsive as she groaned, “Why can’t I use my magic?”

“Twilight, dearest, I know your magic is important to you. But right now, you’re panicking, and it’s my responsibility, as would be the responsibility of anyffini, to calm you down. So I gave you a fast-acting class-E anxiolytic to help calm you down, as anyffini would have. What scared you so much, petal? Would you like to talk about it?”

Twilight quickly took stock of her mental state. The indignation, anger, and fear were there. They were just… held at a distance. Something she could consider, but which wouldn’t overwhelm her. She could still think. She was still herself. In fact, she felt remarkably lucid, compared to earlier. She took a deep breath, and murmured, “I think it was just all too much.”

She gazed up at Lilian, and felt the anger drain even further. Lilian was just so beautiful, it was hard to stay mad. She had such beautiful blue flowers poking out of the vines in her coat, and her four eyes were so pretty as they shimmered and flickered in the noonday light. Some part of her wanted to complain about the obvious violation, but another part of her felt a strange sense of gratitude. Lilian had done her a favor, and she did feel better. Much better. It felt right for the next words out of her mouth to be, “Thank you, Miss Ketamina.” Immediately, she felt a pleasant emotional warmth spread through her - she must have done the right thing.

Twilight sighed. This was surprisingly nice. For all the time she’d been afraid of the affini, she had never considered how nice it was to be held in the vines of a beautiful mare like Lilian. It felt… calming. She let her head droop, and felt a vine stroking down her mane. It felt better than it had any right to.

Still, she frowned. A thought had crossed her mind that was not easily discarded. “But… Without my magic, how am I supposed to write a letter? Or hold a quill? Or do anything? How am I supposed to study magic and be a good student?”

A subtle pressure in the back of her head prompted her to look up, to see Rarity and Wheatley standing there, concerned looks on both their faces. Rarity smiled that beautiful smile up at her, and Twilight couldn’t help but blush.

Rarity answered the question. “Well, Twilight, I can tell you exactly how! Affini are the most generous beings I’ve ever known, and I would know.” She giggled softly at her own joke. “I’ve never had to worry about anything when Sir is around. He gives me whatever I need.”

“That’s right, Twilight. If you need anything, you can just ask me for help!” Lilian snaked out a vine to pat Rarity on the head, which brought out a happy little squeal. “Such a clever sophont! You’ve learned one of the most important lessons of the Compact already.” She winked at Wheatley. “Your owner must be so proud of you.”

“I certainly am,” replied Wheatley. “You’re looking well, Lilian, and I’m glad to see you’ve found a floret of your very own!”

Twilight attempted to glare at Wheatley but managed something closer to an annoyed pout. “I’m not a floret,” she said, indignantly. “I’m independent, and I want to be put d-ohhhh…”

A vine behind her ear sent stars across her vision.

“Of course you are, dear. I would put you down, but class-Es tend to be a little hard to move around with, so if it’s all right, I’ll just carry you for now. I apologize for any confusion. I’m so glad you got to catch up with your friend, and I hope you feel a bit less concerned about them now.”

That same prompting feeling came, and it was just all too easy for Twilight to say, “Thank you, Miss.” She wasn’t sure where the thought came from, but the feeling of approval that followed left her warm, fuzzy, and not particularly interested in further self-inquiry. Lilian’s vines felt so warm and soft against her skin, and she just let herself drift. She mused to herself - when was the last time she hadn’t been scared? It felt pretty nice. She sighed, relaxed into the plant’s vines.

She heard Lilian say something. It didn’t quite fully register, but Twilight nonetheless understood, and smiled and waved goodbye to Rarity as Lilian turned to walk away. Gosh, Rarity was so pretty… Twilight wondered if it was appropriate to ask her friend if she could kiss her. Was that a thing friends did? Twilight still had so much to learn about friendship.

Author's Note

Quick note: a sweet citrus smell is commonly used in HDG to indicate the presence of bonding enhancing chemicals. Also, for anyone confused... Plum = Plant Cum. I'm not sorry.