Rainbow Dash Discovers Erotic Mind Control

Chapters

Daring Do and the Glaring Fetish
The Deal
Starting Slow
First Session
Next Level
Break
Thinking with Brains is Hard
Growing
Let's Go to CoCoCon, Part 1: Getting In and Getting Off
Let's Go to CoCoCon, part 2: Shiny Toys (And Not Just the Merchandise)
Let's Go to CoCoCon, part 3: Homeward, But Not Bound
For the Girl Who Has Everything
Thinking on Your Hooves Is Easy
Confession
The Thing About Privacy
Eating Out
Patience, and the Limits Thereof

Daring Do and the Glaring Fetish

Rainbow Dash trotted into the library. “Hey, Twilight. Oh, sorry. Princess Twilight.”

“It’s still just Twilight, Rainbow Dash,” the alicorn replied, ushering her friend in. “You don’t need to call me anything special.”

Rainbow Dash nodded, then found herself staring at those new wings atop the former unicorn’s back. “So… how are your wings now?”

“A little sore, but the doctor said I should just rest them up,” the recently ascended alicorn replied.

Rainbow Dash nodded in sympathy. While the transformation had been sudden – not to mention all the insanity that had preceded it – Twilight’s new status as an alicorn princess didn’t mean she was beyond the little aches and pangs of an overzealous flyer.

“What about you, Rainbow?” Twilight settled on some pillows, unfurling those purple wings and motioning for Dash to plop down on some pillows herself. “You look a little worn out,” she noted, rubbing along the bottoms of her eyes.

Rainbow Dash rubbed the same spot, and found the skin there sagging.

“Guess I’m a little tired from cleaning up the weather after Rarity. I don’t know how or why, but it’s like the world hasn’t decided what exactly happened when our cutie marks changed. Like, I cleared the clouds this morning, the usual, and then when lunch comes around, there’s checkerboard clouds over Sweet Apple Acres. No one scheduled it, nopony on my weather patrol did it, there’s no reason it should be that way. And that’s not even mentioning all the other stuff.”

“What other stuff?” the princess inquired.

“Just stuff that doesn’t make sense. If Rarity and me switched homes, why would she live in a cloud home? If she got my job, how did she manage to suck at it for so long and not get fired? How did the town turn into jerks without Pinkie Pie if she’s been away from Ponyville with us dozens of times? And how did you even cast that spell if it was unfinished?”

“You know, I’m honestly not sure. I didn’t put that much power into it, I just said the words. Never had a spell that worked like that before,” Twilight offered.

“Exactly. And our destinies changed because of the Elements. How does that work? Are we going to die if the Elements ever get dropped into lava? I can’t make any sense of it. And our true selves were supposed to have changed, but… I don’t remember acting like Fluttershy at all. The only thing I got from her was her job, which is weird because there’s no way I could have gotten it. And how did the rest of town not notice something was up until the afternoon?”

Twilight frowned. “Wow, this is really bothering you, isn’t it?”

“Yeah. I don’t know why. I’ve just been trying to clean up this mess all day and I can’t figure out why it’s a mess to begin with,” Rainbow Dash grumbled.

“And I thought I was the one overthinking everything.”

The blue mare chuckled. “Guess you rubbed off on me, Twilight.”

“I guess I have, and speaking of which, I called you over for a little something I think you’ll enjoy. This,” Twilight announced, hovering two copies over of a book. It was a testament to Rainbow’s fatigue that it took her five seconds to identify the mare on the cover.

“You’ve got the new ‘Daring Do’ novel? How?”

Twilight wriggled her wings in response and raised an eyebrow.

“Using royal privileges,” Rainbow concluded, turning her attention back to the cover art. “I gotta admit, Twilight, I didn’t think you had it in you.”

“Guess you rubbed off on me, too, Rainbow Dash. I should warn you, though, it’s not by the same author. This is the first issue of the revamped series. It’s supposed to have a darker tone and be geared more towards adults," Twilight warned.

Rainbow's left eyebrow raised up. “More towards adults? What are they gonna do, put Daring Do in college?”

“I don’t think anyone would do something as silly as that, but it is supposed to be pretty different compared to the old series.”

“’Daring Do and the Glaring Fetish’, sounds like the old series to me. If all she does is chase after a magic statue that stares, I’m okay with it,” Rainbow offered.

“Good,” Twilight replied, “a little reading will get your mind off all that frustration, I’m sure.”

Rainbow Dash settled into the pile of pillows with a content sigh and opened the book as her friend opened hers. “Yeah. This’ll do me a lot of good.”

Daring Do groaned as she came to. Slowly opening her eyes, she took stock of her surroundings. Stone steps on the left, stone steps on the right. Stone steps in front of her, stone wall behind her. Wide open skies above her, with a stray sliver of green here and there to remind her that she was in the jungle. Not that the sun burning down on her wouldn’t be reminder enough.

Nevertheless, she had her vest on, still, and her hat remained in its rightful position. All in all, it seemed like the usual Thursday morning for the mare.

Except for the stone slab beneath her and the manacles around her hooves, keeping her firmly in place on what looked like a ritual table in the middle of an amphitheatre.

Definitely a Saturday morning, then.

The silence was what unnerved her the most, though. The sounds of the jungle beyond were just background noise to the seasoned adventurer, but the distinct lack of villain monologue in this situation unsettled her.

“Hey there, sleepy head,” a soft voice greeted.

The yellow mare craned her neck to look behind her. She only caught a glimpse of the familiar pegasus, but a glimpse was all she needed.

“Foxfire,” Daring Do spat, struggling against her bonds. “What are you doing here?”

“Same thing you are, sweetie,” the mare replied, walking over to her captive’s side and gently running a wing over Daring’s exposed belly. “I’m here for the statue. Well, not quite, actually. I’m here for the statue’s power. I’ll let you have it when I’m done and then you can do whatever you want with it.”

“What are you talking about? The Glaring Fetish doesn’t have any power. It got exhausted during the Battle for the Second Crystal Empire.”

Foxfire chuckled, her back turned to the yellow pegasus.

“Oh, silly. You need to get out more, meet some stallions. Or maybe have some fun with mares,” the red pegasus with the black-tipped mane teased. She gave Daring a tentative tickle on the ankle with her wing.

Rainbow Dash’s leg suddenly twitched. Taking her eyes off the page for a moment to catch her breath, she suddenly found she had a really dry mouth for some reason.

“Rainbow Dash, are you okay?” Twilight asked, bringing up a glass of apple juice with her magic. “You look a little nervous. Want something to drink?”

“Just got to an exciting part, is all,” Rainbow replied, taking a sip.

“I know, right? This Foxfire sounds like an interesting villain,” Twilight noted.

“Yeah. She sounds really… captivating.”

“What does that have to do with anything?” Daring Do asked.

“Just because it’s shot one load, doesn’t mean it’s spent, sweetie,” Foxfire joked, “You can just wait and let it recover, or even help it along a little.”

It was only as she said it that Daring Do noticed what had changed. She remembered Foxfire’s red coat, the little twinges of black in her light burgundy mane. She even remembered those little eyespots on her wings that had earned her the nickname ‘foxy peacock’ in college. A gross misnomer, of course, since she was at most a peahen.

She didn’t remember Foxfire having a horn, though.

“W-wha? How did you – that can’t be real. That horn’s a fake.”

“Oh, I’m afraid not, pet. I found a few loopholes in my anatomy, and exploited the flying feathers out of them. And if you’ll just help me with this one thing, my ascension will be complete. Just watch,” the red mare explained, sending power into that unnatural growth to bring forth the dragonequus statue Daring had spent weeks to track down.

The statue floated above her head, the gems in its eyes flashed once, then it was sat down just behind the tablet she was bound to.

Daring Do shivered. All of a sudden the air around her changed. Foxfire had a triumphant grin on her face, one that only got wider as she ascended the platform and lay on top of the prone pegasus.

“You know, it’s a real shame you and I never had any fun together. You would have made college so much more interesting.” The alicorn casually removed Daring Do’s hat to reveal her grey and black mane. Judging by the whiff of dragonfruit, the prone mare guessed barely a night had passed since she’d washed up in that hotel. She couldn’t figure out how Foxfire had tracked her, though, or what her angle was.

“It’s not my fault. I-I'm just not like you,” Daring Do stammered, wriggling under the warm weight of another mare.

“Oh, I know, pet. But what if I could fix that for you?”

“Wuh-what?”

Foxfire leaned in close and softly blew in her captive’s ear, sending shivers through the pegasus’ body. “It wouldn’t take much. All you’d have to do is listen to me. Let go of that silly free will and let me be your Mistress. It’ll be fun, I promise.”

“Umm, can’t you just leave me hanging over a pit of lava or something? You’re starting to freak me out,” Daring Do tried.

The alicorn on top of her just smiled in what looked like sympathy. “Is that really all you’ve been doing? A good-looking mare in her prime, spending all her time dodging death traps, running from old enemies? What about old friends, Daring? Why wouldn’t you wanna be with someone who cares for you, who admires you?” Foxfire asked, opening up the vest Daring was wearing.

“You can’t just do this, you –“ Daring started, before moaning at the soft touch of a wing on her chest.

“You like? It comes with the package, pet. Alicorns have a different aura around them, a different energy. I can make you feel so wonderful, all you have to do is let me. I can send pleasure into every fibre of your being, just from touching that hard, hot chest of yours. Imagine what I could do in some other places.” She grinned, then chuckled.

“This isn’t you,” Daring pleaded. “What happened to my friend? You used to be nice.”

“Oh, but I’m still nice, pet. See? I’m not using any fancy alicorn spells to get under your skin, just a few little touches on your skin,” she offered, gently holding Daring’s head in her hooves and locking eyes. “If I really wanted to, I could slip a little magic into my words, make my every command go right into that cute head of yours. I could try making your eyes go all bright and googly. I could even zap your brain with just a little beam of light in your eye and that would be it. You’d be my perfect little pet, all kissing, all licking, all serving. And you’d love every moment of it.”

“You wouldn’t,” Daring Do started, shivering in fear mixed with guilty pleasure.

“Of course not, pet. What’s the fun in that? I just want you to see things my way, no sense in forcing you into it. Just relax,” she whispered, fully lowering her body onto Daring’s now as she gently lowered her prisoner's head. A little electrical current seemed to pass through the captured adventurer as her private regions slowly made contact with the alicorn’s. Her mouth hung open in a soundless moan, and she felt her body seeking out the pleasurable contact despite her mind's warnings.

When it passed, Daring Do found herself a lot less eager to get away. The warmth wasn’t all that bad, Foxfire wasn’t hurting her. In fact, she seemed pretty tender. The sneaking paralysis worried her, though. “What are you doing to me? Why can’t I move?”

Foxfire pouted and tilted her head like a begging puppy. “Me? What makes you think I’m doing anything? I just wanted to talk to you here, all alone, where we can have a bit of fun. As for why you can’t move, that’s just because you don’t want to, silly.”

“N-no it’s not. You cast a spell on me. I felt it.”

Foxfire smiled petulantly. “What you felt was me telling you to relax, and apparently you like doing what I say. You’re carrying a lot of tension in you, Daring Do. Why shouldn’t you let a Mistress take care of you? Ease off the tension, stop needing to think for yourself all the time. You know you’d like it.”

“No, I wouldn’t. I’m not like that.”

“Really?” Foxfire teased with a wide smile. “So you think I’ve got some kind of spell on you. Well, I think that all I need to do is soften you up a bit. Your body already seems to think it should do as I say, but I guess your mind needs a little more coaxing. So… what kind of girl are you?”

“Please stop, Foxfire. This isn’t right.”

“Shh, pet, Mistress is thinking. Are you an ear-nibble type of girl?” the red alicorn asked, moaning slightly as she took a tentative nip at Daring’s ear, taking care to rub the soft length of her belly over as much of Daring's as she could. The yellow pegasus shivered and cringed, but shook her head despite the little tease.

“No, that’s too obvious. Chest, maybe?” She nuzzled and licked at Daring’s chest, seeking out the little nips beneath that short fur. Daring winced as the tiny nubs stood on end, reaching out for more of that soft, warm tongue. She clung to her own thoughts, determined not let any of the pleasure distract her, even if it did feel good. And even if it did come from a pony she rather liked, and who was giving her a fair chance, at least. Her train of thought derailed as she couldn't quite think of a good reason anymore why this was so wrong. She was sure it was, though, it had to be.

Foxfire rose up to test her pet’s reaction. She didn’t find what she was looking for. “No, you’re not that type of gal. You like something a little more exotic, more down south, don’t you?”

“Please don’t,” Daring begged, paralysed and shaking with lust. She found beads of sweat starting to make their way across her face, and she was too dazed to care whether that was due to the sun or the company.

“If you’re so intent on stopping me, pet, go right ahead,” Foxfire offered, unlocking the bonds with a twinkle of her horn.

Daring Do snapped her forelegs out of the cuffs, then rubbed her wrists to make sure she hadn’t chafed them. She couldn’t move her head, though, or her back. But there was nothing holding her down.

And yet she couldn't find the force of will to push the alicorn away.

She had her.

Foxfire slid a little lower, stroking her pet’s sides with those soft wings and hooves. She lowered her face to just above Daring’s nether regions, blowing softly over the lips concealed by her outer folds. She smirked mischievously as that got a lustful moan out of the prone mare. “No, that’d be too easy, and kind of unfair. You smell eager, though, pet, that’s a good sign. But I don’t think I’ve really found your sweet spot yet. I wonder….”

Looking back with a knowing grin, Foxfire grabbed hold of Daring’s hind hooves. She stretched out her right wing to circle around a calf, then gave the briefest lick with her tongue.

Daring Do’s breath quickened, her mouth hanging open. She humped the air in a reflex.

“Bingo. You’re just a little hoof slut, turns out. Don’t worry, pet, your secret is safe with me. And I’ll make good use of it,” the alicorn taunted, stroking and blowing over the sensitive appendages.

“Nuh-no. You can’t make me….”

“I’m not making you, Daring. You’re doing this on your own. Why do you keep denying you enjoy it? If you really hate it so much, prove it. You’re not chained, you’re not enchanted.”

“You hypnotised me,” the adventurer concluded.

“Suppose I did,” the alicorn admitted. “But even then, you took your first year of Psychology with me, you know that can’t happen without you wanting it. Just admit it, pet. Just say it once to see how it feels. Let your mind slip, I’ll take good care of it, I swear. Just say it once, I promise you’ll enjoy it.”

“Mmm…” Daring Do started.

Foxfire blew over the surface over her hooves. The black-tipped wings started tickling along her ankles, sending more waves of pleasure through her body. “Go on, say it.”

“Rainbow Dash?” Twilight asked quietly. “You look a little out of it.”

“N-nothing. It’s nothing,” the pegasus stammered, suddenly finding her wings throbbing with blood. Those weren’t the only part of her anatomy flush with arousal, either. The smell of sex hung in the air, and while she had no experience regarding her friend, she was pretty sure it was coming from both of them.

Twilight grinned and got a little closer, spreading her wings as if to hug her friend. “I thought you might like that scene. I always pegged you for sensory thinker, you know.”

“A what?” Rainbow Dash asked, trying not to let her immobility or panic thereat show.

“Sensory thinker, instead of a verbal thinker like most ponies. You don’t think in words, you think in sights, sounds and –“ she started, pausing to take a sniff of Dash’s arousal scent, “smells. Means you have a very vivid imagination and it’s hard to control your mind with magic. You’re very easy to hypnotise, though.”

Rainbow Dash gulped. “Well, at least you can’t hypnotise me like in the book, right?”

“Of course not. That silly thing had nothing to do with real hypnosis,” Twilight assured, draping herself closer over her friend. Rainbow Dash’s breath started to quicken at the alicorn’s closeness, and she could swear she felt the vaguest tingle of electricity between their touching nether regions.

“See, real hypnosis starts with an induction. First you’d have to relax and listen to my voice,” Twilight started, letting the edge bleed out of her tone. “You’d start to notice it’s getting a little harder to think, but that’s all right because you can let me do the thinking for a little bit.”

“T-Twilight? You’re starting to scare me here.”

“Oh, nothing to worry about, Rainbow Dash. It’s not like I’m forcing you to listen to every word I say. You can decide to hold on to all that uncomfortable tension if you want to, or follow my voice and relax. Just feel your body getting heavier and your mind following my words,” the princess cooed. She started talking more slowly, in a slight monotone. And as much as Rainbow Dash wanted to pretend it was just for fun, she had to admit Twilight's voice was sounding very hypnotic.

“Isn’t that nice and pleasant? Don’t your forelegs feel so heavy you don’t want to move them anymore? Your hind legs, those overworked wings? Try slowing down your breath, Rainbow Dash, it’ll help. Just feel that relaxation flowing in with every breath, relaxing your whole body, just breathing out all that tension. You’ve been working so hard, your body must be so tired. You deserve a little break from everything. And who better to give it to you than a good friend?”

The blue mare moaned as her breathing slowed on its own. She tried to ignore her friend’s words, but they flowed right into mind like sweet honey, making her thinking slow down and turn to images of warmth and stickiness. Her arousal from the scene she'd just read made her eager for the real thing, at least deep down. It scared her, though.

“Stop. Why are you doing this?” Rainbow Dash whimpered.

“To help you, Rainbow. You clearly have a deep desire to experience the kind of thing you just read about, I’m just letting you,” Twilight explained, backing off to sit in front of her. “It’s just for a little fun. Don’t you like fun things?”

“Yeah, but --”

“Tell you what. I’m going to count down from five to one. With every number I count, you get to decide how deep you go. If you really want to stop this feeling, you’ll just wake up and we can talk about it, no hard feelings. But if you do enjoy the idea of being controlled and being somepony’s pet, you’re going to relax more and more with every number I say. You’re going to want to obey my every word, letting go of any control you have over your body and falling into a deep state of trance. I’ll be your Mistress, you’ll be my pet, and then we can have some fun. It’s all up to you. Ready?”

Rainbow Dash meekly shook her head, her mind desperately reaching out to move her unresponsive limbs. Her heart pounded, her mind raced.

“Five.”

Like a wave on a cliff following her breath out, the relaxation washed over her. Rainbow’s mind went dark and silent, only Twilight’s voice echoing in her head. That pounding in her chest came so fast she thought she might die, and her breath turned from quick panting to a shallow and steady rhythm. It felt like Twilight had flipped an emergency switch to stop an overload, although it seemed at least one part of her body just didn't feel like easing up.

“Four.”

Another breath out, another wave. It wasn’t quite so drastic that time. Her wings stopped aching, her heart was still pounding but it didn’t distract her. It was slowing down to a pleasant thumping. She couldn’t think in her own voice anymore, but she didn’t really feel the need to.

“Three.”

She felt heavy as lead now. Her muscles had completely gone slack all over, going into whatever position the pillows and gravity agreed on. Her face must have looked like a mask, because even her jaw was starting to go limp.

“Two.”

So hard to think now. Where was she again? Library. Books. Twilight. Twilight Sparkle. Princess Twilight Sparkle. That was what was important.

“One.”

She stopped caring. Rainbow Dash felt happy like this. For once, nothing ached. She couldn’t think of any little remarks that always seemed so funny at the time but made her feel stupid afterward. She couldn’t think of a good reason not to close her eyes. Really, there wasn’t any reason to just listen to Twilight, to her Mistress.

Darkness was all around. Silence reigned. She couldn’t remember where she was, how she’d gotten there or who she was with.

“Open your eyes, pet,” the princess commanded.

Without any thought on Rainbow’s part, her eyes went open.

“Told you you’d like it. Now, how about a little fun?” Twilight asked with a big smile on her face.

“I-I don’t….”

“Shh, pet. No need for you to speak unless spoken to, I know what I’m doing. I’ve done a bit of research on this topic, and I’m sure I can find something that’ll help you feel better. Now, the first thing we need to do is determine your individual erogenous zones. That way I know exactly how to reward good behaviour. So, tell me: does this feel good or does this tickle?” the alicorn asked, slowly stroking over Rainbow’s chest and belly with her wingtips.

“T-tickle.”

“Okay, we can scratch that, then. How about this?” the purple mare continued, laying on her friend and running her hooves over the length of Dash’s erect wings.

“G-good,” she admitted, grimacing.

Twilight ceased her stroking, the rested her head on her friend’s chest, looking her right in the eyes. “You’re still not reacting the way I thought you would. Maybe along here,” she started, gently rubbing along the sides of the pegasus’s ribcage and the side of her abs. “Hmm, you’ve got a pretty hard body, you know, even when it’s relaxed.”

Rainbow Dash nodded.

“That feels pretty good, huh? Still not your soft spot, though. I wonder… oh, silly me, I should have noticed,” Twilight joked. “You’re sensitive in your hooves. That’s why you got so excited about Daring Do. I told you you had a lot in common with her. Raise your hind legs for me, pet.”

Again, the pegasus moved on autopilot. She couldn’t object, she couldn’t flee, she could only obey. She placed one hind hoof on her friend’s shoulder, then the other. A vague sense of dread surfaced at the back of her mind as she realised she was not only putting her sensitive hooves in licking range, with her legs open like that she was presenting the most private part of her body to her friend.

Twilight held her the way a stallion would hold her.

And to make matters even worse, the smell of Dash’s arousal only became stronger as she did.

Slowly, tentatively, Twilight rubbed her face against the hard surface, one wing folding over to stroke her fetlocks. Keeping her eyes on Rainbow Dash, however, she found it didn’t have the result she’d expected. Her dear friend wasn’t enjoying this at all. Rainbow's face was contorted as if she were suffering unspeakable pain. Never breaking eye contact, the princess slowly extended her tongue towards the sensitive hoof.

Rainbow Dash cringed, or at least she tried to. In her self-induced trance, there wasn’t much she could do about it, but if Twilight pushed her any further, she might snap. “What’s wrong, pet?”

“N-nothing. It’s okay,” Rainbow stammered.

“You’re lying, pet. I don’t like it when you lie. Tell me, it’s all right,” Twilight gently commanded.

“It’s nothing,” the pegasus insisted.

“Okay, if you really have to keep that a secret from me, then I guess there’s no problem if I just keep going,” Twilight remarked as she licked the surface of that hoof.

“IhadabadlandingonceandIskiddedoversomegravelandbrokenglassitchippedupmyhoovesreallybadlyandhurtmylegsandIknowyoucan’treallyfeelonyourhoovesthatmuchbutwhentheypulledoutallthatstuffitreallyfeltbadandevenafterithealedupitstillhurtswhenit’stouchedbyanyponylikesomethingthat’snotsupposedtobethere,” Rainbow Dash blurted out.

Twilight stopped, shocked but keeping her composure. “Say that again, slowly.”

“I had a bad landing once and I skidded over some gravel and broken glass. It chipped up my hooves really badly and hurt my legs. And I know you can’t really feel on your hooves but when they pulled out all that stuff it really felt bad. And even after it healed up it still hurts when it’s touched by anypony, like something that’s not supposed to be there,” Rainbow Dash admitted, breath coming in little gasps like she was sobbing.

“You get a phantom pain, remembering all those things that hurt you. It's just a memory, but it's enough to hurt," Twilight concluded.

The pegasus pony nodded, tears starting to form. “I’m sorry, Twilight. I guess I do like this, deep down, but my hooves just hurt too much. You’re right: I do wanna be a good pet sometimes. Not all the time, just to relax. But I just can’t.”

Twilight reached out and put a hoof under Rainbow's chin to make her look the princess in the eyes. “Of course you can, Rainbow Dash. I'm your friend, remember? I don't want to hurt you. I could ease the pain, if you like.”

The fact that Twilight called her by her name and not ‘pet’ hung in Dash’s head for a moment. The whole pet and owner act just evaporated, all because Rainbow Dash had said it hurt. She could stop this whole game right now, she realised. Yet somewhere in the deeper parts of her mind she wanted to know where this would lead. "How?"

"Just give me a second. I know what to do." The alicorn conjured up a black blob of sorts that split into four, one for each of her hooves.

As they settled on the blue mare’s tender appendages, Rainbow Dash found the liquid hardening into something like rubber. With the rubbery socks settling into skin-tight shells, her hooves became isolated, numbed, protected. Twilight smiled at the tension in Dash's face visibly easing, the vaguest hint of a smile forming on the pegasus' face.

Another nuzzle, another lick, and this time Rainbow Dash whimpered in pleasure. The pressure registered on her hooves, but the thin membrane made the things feel unnaturally smooth. It felt like her hooves were touched, without that awful memory of chipped and broken surfaces to tarnish the feeling.

It felt divine. A shudder started in her hoof and travelled all the way up her back to her head, then settled on her lower belly. She humped the air and groaned, soaking the pillows with her arousal scents.

Twilight smirked at the reaction. “Much better, isn’t it?”

“Y-yes,” the pegasus admitted, growing hot all over and finally enjoying her predicament in earnest.

“Glad you like it. It's a little spell I learned after studying changeling magic. That stuff on you is pretty sturdy, but thin enough to feel organic, plus it grows nice and warm after it's been on you for a while. But you know, pet, there’s a lot of other uses for that substance,” Twilight teased, getting another blob of the black matter ready. A little touch of magic, and it reshaped itself into something even a dazed Dash knew the place for.

The phallic object floated tantalisingly slowly towards Rainbow’s nether lips, now slick with her juices and being caressed by her Mistress.

“You know what I want to hear, Rainbow. Just say it once. Try it, to see how it feels.”

Rainbow Dash’s breath quickened again. Her body refused to respond to anything but what Twilight told it to. She just wanted release from all this pent-up frustration and lust. She tried to hump towards the improvised dildo, but it didn’t give her any solace.

Twilight leaned in and whispered. “Do you want this, pet?”

Clenching her eyes shut, Rainbow Dash decided to let go. “Yes, Mistress.”

“Good girl, Rainbow,” Twilight cooed. “Rainbow?”

“Rainbow!” Twilight’s voice called out.

The pegasus shot awake, furtively looking around. Her heart was pounding, her wings felt stiff, and there was a dampness in her nether regions she’d have a hard time explaining if anyone noticed. “What happened?”

The alicorn wiped a bead of saliva off her friend’s cheek. “You fell asleep. I didn’t think I needed to wake you up, but then you almost started drooling on the book. And from the way you’re sweating, I’d say you had one whopper of a nightmare.”

“Err, yeah, nightmare. I think,” the blue mare started, shaking her head to clear it.

“You really don’t look so good, Rainbow Dash. You should take a break. And not just a nap, a real break.” Twilight extended a comforting hoof to rest on Rainbow's shoulder.

Rainbow Dash's gaze fell on the hoof, then followed the foreleg to look at Twilight's face. “You’re probably right, Twilight. I don’t know what happened. When did I pass out?”

“Around the tablet scene.” Twilight withdrew her hoof and looking at the still open book. “You didn’t get to the part where Foxfire reveals her plan.”

“And how did Daring Do get out of it?”

“Spoilers, Rainbow. How about we try this again sometime, when you can stay awake?” the princess offered.

“I’d like that,” Rainbow Dash started to head for the door. “But, Twilight? Did we… I mean, did I….”

“Did we what? Read a book? Yes. Did you fall asleep? Yes, you did. And I’m not that surprised, honestly,” Twilight noted.

“I didn’t snore, did I?” Rainbow Dash asked with a wince.

Twilight shrugged, inadvertently making her wings flap clumsily. “I wouldn’t know. When I read, I just tune everything else out. Why do you ask?”

Rainbow regarded her friend for a moment. She couldn’t find any hint of mockery, of pity, or even shame. Nothing had happened. “It’s nothing. I should head home, get some rest.”

“You do that,” Twilight encouraged, ”take care of yourself, Rainbow Dash. And take care of those wings, they look a little stiff.”

Rainbow Dash chuckled. “Right back at you, princess. See you around.”

And with that, she was off, rainbow trail in the sky.

Twilight sighed and floated a heavy tome over to her table. “Inventory check. Let’s see,” she started, going over the list.

Once she found her mark, Twilight headed down to the basement and collected the book she needed. A brief look at the index, a quick flip to the right page, and the princess gave a confident smirk.

“Hoof salve for irritable extremities and injury traumas,” Twilight cited aloud. “This should make our next reading session a little more enjoyable.”

The alicorn suppressed a chuckle.

“Good thing Rainbow Dash talks in her sleep.”

Author's Note

Since this was written a while back, there are a few too many speech attributions in this chapter. It's noticeably less in my newer works, and will be in future chapters. Ditto on double spacing after a full stop, that's what you get when you leave a story unpublished for so long. Consider this first chapter a throwback to my pre-FimFiction days. The rest of the story will be... in between.

Much like Ventes-sur-lattes, this one chapter would have been a story on its own, had it not been for community feedback. Most of the feedback could be summarised as "More, please."

Will it be worth the effort? We'll just have to wait and see.

The Deal

Chapter 2: The Deal

“Can you guess what I've got here, Rainbow Dash?” the silver grey pegasus stallion held up what looked like a bunch of paperwork.

“Err, a report?” Rainbow Dash tried, shuffling her hooves nervously over the cloud’s surface. Getting her schedules from the Cloudsdale officials wasn’t so bad, but the feedback always made her a little anxious.

“The bi-annual efficiency report, indeed. It’s a comparison between the Weather Patrols of Manehattan, Canterlot, Ponyville, and the new one being set up at Appleloosa, according to the new standards.”

“Look, Tradewind, I know I don’t always get the clouds right at the crack of dawn,” Rainbow started.

“Of course not: you’re not supposed to.”

“Wait, what?” The mare stopped whatever retort she’d been thinking of.

“Plant life doesn’t start its metabolism at the crack of dawn, it takes several hours for photosynthesis to get going, that's what it says in the manual. No one clears the clouds right away because it’s better to leave them until ten, I thought you knew that by now.”

Rainbow Dash rubbed her forehead. “Yeah, I did. You told me, but I keep hearing ponies asking why the clouds aren’t cleared yet and… you know how it is.”

“I do, in fact. And I hear a lot about you napping on clouds in the middle of the day, as well as flying well past your jurisdiction,” Tradewind continued. He shook his head, possibly trying to make sense of Dash's distraction.

“That’s just to help my friends and the mayor,” Rainbow Dash retorted. "It's still Weather Patrol duty."

“Oh, I know all about that. I’ve got the records right here. The past six months, you've been all sorts of things on the side, according to the mayor. You’ve been helping set up a stream for the local beaver population, counting butterflies for a census, and err… blowing through meadow weeds?”

Rainbow shrugged. “It was Applejack’s idea. The place was a little rugged, the bees didn't go there much yet, and the plants wouldn’t have spread the way they should have. It doesn’t affect my work.”

“Indeed,” Tradewind replied, flipping through the records, ”if anything, I’d say you’re only able to do all that because you do such a good job. Did you know Ponyville has the most efficient Weather Patrol of the bunch?”

Rainbow Dash blinked in confusion. “We do?”

Tradewind kept his eye on the paper. “You do. I keep hearing from your subordinates that you cover the entire area on your own despite having three other ponies designated to doing just that. You free up a lot of pegasus power, and yet you’re not a career weather pony. Unless you’ve given up on your dream to become a Wonderbolt?”

Rainbow suddenly felt the grey stallion’s eyes boring into her. She took a deep breath to steady herself. “Um, no, not really. I just do the best I can.”

“And you don’t allow for any slackers, is that right?” Tradewind continued.

“No, sir. I make sure everypony on my patrols is up for the job. And I make sure someone can stand in for me when there’s an emergency, and I always tell the mayor when I need time off,” Rainbow Dash insisted.

Tradewind Gale nodded. “Good. So, if you don’t mind me giving you some advice: ease off.”

Rainbow frowned. “What?”

“Ease off. Not on the job, obviously, but on everything else. You’re doing too much on the side, Rainbow Dash, you’re going to burn out. You already need to take naps in the middle of the day just to catch up on sleep, you can’t keep all these things up, not along with Wonderbolt training. If someone needs help from the Ponyville Weather Patrol, that does not mean you need to do it. You’re a captain, and a fine one at that. You’re already doing the job of four ponies, five if you count being an Element of Harmony,” the stallion explained.

The mare's frown did not let up. “What are you saying?”

“I’m saying that your job is to make sure no one on your squads overworks themselves or gets in over their head. I’m saying you’re responsible for the safety of the entire Ponyville Weather Patrol… and that includes you. Do you know what I just heard from the doctor who gave you your physical?”

“Yeah, she said I was a medical marvel.” Rainbow flashed him a triumphant smirk.

“She did not mean that in a good way, Dash. You’re toughened up, you’re fit, you’re probably Wonderbolt material, I get that. But if you keep taking on every single Weather Patrol job like it’s all on you, eventually you’re going to get into some serious trouble. I don’t know why I even need to tell you this, but whatever guilt trip or hero complex you’re having needs to stop now before you hurt yourself. You're too valuable to get wrecked over nothing. Next time you get yourself checked up, I'd rather hear you have the physique of a Wonderbolt than the physique of a walking corpse. Do I make myself clear?”

The mare clenched her teeth together. “Crystal, sir.”

Rainbow Dash sighed as she dropped herself on her bed. Her squads had gotten their schedules, she had hers, and then she’d cleared the skies over Ponyville. She was on schedule, she’d trained yesterday, meaning she could take today off. And yet nothing felt right.

Her head felt heavy, and her limbs were sluggish. On top of that, she had an odd ache in her chest and an emptiness in the pit of her stomach. Every breath came with a thought, a tiny little whisper that everything she was doing was pointless.

She couldn't tell why, though.

What’s wrong with me? Am I getting sick? Why do I feel so old and worn?

The doorbell rang. She got up and walked over the fluffy floor of her home to find she had a royal visitor. One carrying what she presumed were books in her saddlebags. “Twilight, hey. What’s up?”

“Just thought I’d hop in for a bit. Spike’s taking care of the library for me, and I figured maybe I could keep you company while you rest up. I’m still getting used to the wings and all. I’m not interrupting anything, am I?” Twilight poked her head in through the door.

Rainbow ushered her in. “No, no, come on in. Want something to drink? I’ve got all kinds of fruit juice,” Rainbow Dash offered as her friend sat down at the living room table, another cloud construction.

“Got pineapple?”

A rainbow blur later, Twilight found herself sipping some pineapple juice through a straw.

“So what do you wanna do? I’ve got nothing planned for today.” Rainbow Dash sipped her own juice.

“I thought maybe you could try some of this.” Twilight fetched a small jar from her bag. Opening it up curiously, Rainbow noted it looked like some sort of aromatic ointment, with vanilla and some sort of citrus scent mixed in.

“What is it?” the blue mare asked.

Twilight gestured towards the floor. “It’s for your hooves, so they’d feel better.”

Rainbow Dash froze. “What makes you think my hooves need to feel better at all?”

Twilight blushed and nervously rubbed the back of her head. “Umm, I don’t know how to tell you this, but… when you came over the other day and read the new Daring Do novel, you talked in your sleep. And I heard you say your hooves got chipped up once and it gave you a trauma. That salve should help: it’s very soothing, and it’s got a powerful scent to trigger your memories.”

Rainbow Dash’s heart started pounding as she stared at her friend. “What else did you hear me say, Twilight?”

The princess stared right back. “Nothing I’d tell anypony else. Nothing I don’t understand.”

“Don’t give me that, what did you hear?” Rainbow insisted, getting annoyed.

Twilight didn't break eye contact, or even flinch. “I heard you say you wanted to be a pet, deep down. That you’d enjoy just letting go, not all the time, but just for a little while.”

Rainbow Dash gulped, gritting her teeth.

“Do you want to talk about it?” Twilight tried.

Rainbow Dash looked away. “There’s nothing to talk about. It’s just something from the book that… you know, turned me on. It turned me on more than I thought was possible. But I’d never just surrender to anyone.”

“Of course not, I know that. It's just a fascination with losing control." Twilight shrugged, accidentally causing a draft with her wings that made the floor wobble.

Rainbow Dash gave off a private grunt. “You don’t understand, Twilight, it’s not just the loss of control. It’s a lot deeper than that.”

“I think I do understand, actually. You keep pushing yourself to be better than before, and you only refuse to do anything when you absolutely need to rest your body. You’re worried about the mistakes you make, or the ones you’ve made in the past. You want to give up control, because then it wouldn’t be your mistakes any more. You’d be perfect, just for the pony who owns you,” Twilight reasoned.

Rainbow Dash nodded; albeit reluctantly. “Okay, maybe you do understand. But I’m not into anything like that. There’s no one I feel that good with. I mean, sure, I used to date Thunderlane, but that just didn’t work out. I don’t know why.”

“Maybe you toughened up so much you forgot how to be sensitive? It happens sometimes, more than you might think. It took me a while to become sensitive to what others feel. Maybe you can’t hear what your heart, or your body, is telling you because you conditioned yourself not to listen. Do you ever just fantasise about… you know, being close with someone, physically?” Twilight asked carefully.

“You mean sex? Not really, no. I can’t remember the last time I felt like that before that little scene. Why am I even telling you this? This is my problem, and I’m supposed to be the one to fix it.” Rainbow Dash threw her arms up, already lifted off the floor with an angry flap of the wings.

Twilight kept her composure steady. “Well… I’m not so sure if you can fix that on your own. But I wouldn’t mind doing it for you.”

Rainbow Dash shook her head in disbelief and settled back down. “What do you mean?”

“I know how to hypnotise you, for real. It’s not like magic, it’s not even that invasive. It’s just like a bedtime story, only it feels more real. And I’ve wanted to try it for quite a long time now,” the royal librarian admitted with a nervous blush.

Rainbow sighed in sympathy.

“You know how everything always needs to be perfect for me,” Twilight continued. “It doesn’t stop with just cleaning the library or following schedules: it’s the same thing for my friends, and it feels horrible. I wasn’t lonely back in Canterlot, I got all the invitations to parties and everything, but I just couldn’t stand all those little things, little habits or flaws that just looked silly to me. Everything and everyone always has to be just the way I want it, and it drives me crazy sometimes. I keep wanting to step in and fix everything, including my friends. And I know that’s wrong. I know I shouldn’t want to fix the ponies I care for, but deep down I do. I don’t think hiding it forever is going to help fix that.”

“No, it won’t,” Rainbow Dash interrupted. “It never helps. Stuff like that sneaks up on you if you pretend it’s not there.”

“And, well, I just thought: you need help with letting go of control, I could do with some practice. I still haven't decided what kind of magic to research next, but I'm already at the level where I'd need to know how deep trance works, and I can't figure that out on my own. Maybe we can help each other out?”

Rainbow’s pounding heart had slowed down a notch, but only a notch. “What would you do, exactly?”

“All kinds of things, just name it. I could give you some hypnotic imagery to help your body recover and rejuvenate, give some post-hypnotic triggers to help you feel physical pleasure. I can make it so you can feel love or lust like normal ponies do, you don't have to break down that shell on your own. And if you're not comfortable with that sort of thing, fine. I can even take you back to the memory of your hooves getting hurt and ease the trauma. I just… I want to help you with this. Just so I have something to do, something new to try. I wouldn't do anything you didn't agree to, I swear.” Twilight curled her hooves up ever so slightly in a half-finished defensive posture.

The pegasus looked at her horned – and now winged, she still hadn’t gotten used to that – friend. “What if I say ‘no’?”

“Then I’ll get out of your hair, talk about something else, and I won’t bother you about it or tell anyone else. But you could still ask me, and I’d do it,” Twilight offered. “No hard feelings.”

Rainbow Dash shuffled in her seat. The edges of her hind hooves brushes against each other, sending a shot of pain up. She suddenly noticed the salve in front of her again. “How about we just start with that salve, and see where it goes from there?”

“Sure. You want me to put some on?” Twilight got up from her seat with a flap of her wings.

“Y-yeah. I’m still kind of scared to touch my hind hooves. I don’t even scrub them that hard, just rinse them, you know?” Rainbow Dash flew over to the couch in her den and settled down, nervous blush on her face. “Just be careful. I don’t want to wind up kicking you.”

Twilight smiled as she levitated the jar of salve over and put a dab of it on her hoof. She got hold of Rainbow’s left calf with her dry hoof and looked up at her. “It’ll be easier if you look away. Try to relax. This’ll make you feel a lot better, I promise.”

Rainbow Dash nodded, gritting her teeth and forcing herself to look at her friend’s head instead of the activity near her hoof. Her breath quickened, and she concentrated on Twilight to distract from the imminent pain.

How did I ever get a friend like her? She’s kind, caring, she’s a princess and she’s offering to rub my hooves to make them feel better. Rainbow gasped for air, tensing up for contact. Her head felt light and her chest felt tight. It took all her force of will to keep her leg steady, and even that was while shaking all over.

Then, all at once, the tension just oozed out of her. She let out a content sigh as the salve worked into her left hind hoof, leaving her slumping into the couch. “That f-feels good, Twilight. That’s really good.”

“Told ya.” Twilight smirked, gently rubbing it into the surface before giving the muscles above it a little workaround.

Rainbow Dash was gasping for air so hard she barely noticed her other calf being lifted. The second dollop of the stuff sent another wave of relaxation through her, eliciting a private moan.

“See? Much better. Now, could you give me your front hooves, please?” the alicorn asked.

Numbed from the sudden drop in excitement, Rainbow Dash presented her forehooves to be rubbed and coated. When it was over, Rainbow’s whole body felt like it had been unwound like spring. Her muscles had lost nothing of their strength, but a lot of their tension. She lay there, faintly looking up at the ceiling.

“You look kind of pale, Rainbow Dash. I guess you must have been carrying that tension along for a long time,” Twilight noted.

“About ten years, I think,” Rainbow Dash replied. “How did you do that?”

“Just find the recipe and follow it, then carefully apply it,” the alicorn replied casually.

“No, I mean how does this work? My hooves aren’t really hurt, it’s all in my head, but this still feels better.”

“Like I said, it’s a soothing salve, and the aromas trigger your memory. Smell is a very powerful trigger, and putting it on your hooves makes you relive that painful memory while the smell calms you down and the salve itself eases any pain your mind creates.” Twilight sat back and smiled.

After taking it in, Rainbow Dash nodded. Twilight had a knack for explaining things simply when she really wanted to.

“Do you feel better now?” Twilight asked.

“Lots. You have no idea,” Rainbow Dash chuckled meekly, blinking away a tear she barely managed to hide. “And my head feels clearer now, too. You're right, I could use some help to work things out. Just a little relaxing, so I don't need to catch up on sleep. Getting some pictures in my head to help focus wouldn't hurt. And I definitely need help when it comes to love, it's not normal. I need someone I know to help me, in private. And I know I can trust you with it, Twilight. You wouldn't tell anyone about it, or risk making a mistake.”

Twilight chuckled softly. “Thanks, Rainbow Dash, that means a lot. So I can look up some of the imagery to use, read up on inductions to put you under sometime?”

Rainbow Dash took a deep breath, carefully straightening her posture. She looked at her now salve-covered hooves.

“Where’s your sock drawer?” Twilight asked, seemingly reading her mind.

“Big closet on the left, second drawer from the top.” Rainbow Dash pointed to her bedroom.

After a little while, Twilight came back with two pairs of colourful striped socks to put over those hooves so they wouldn’t stain anything. “It’ll dry up in about an hour or so. And the socks will help keep it nice and warm.”

“Thanks a million, Twilight. This feels a lot better.” Rainbow Dash put the socks on.

“No problem. Just put some salve on your hooves before you go to bed, once every two days. And… for the other thing?”

“I’m okay with it,” Rainbow Dash firmly stated, “but only if we agree on some rules.”

“Okay, name them,” Twilight replied.

“You don’t put me in trance to feed me anything I don’t know, or put any sort of salves or ointments on me if I don’t know what they’re for. I can’t risk getting anything on me that’d show up on a doping test if I want to get into the Wonderbolts.”

Twilight nodded. “Of course. That salve won’t do that, either, by the way.”

Rainbow nodded. “Good. Second: no magic. You don’t use a spell to get into my head or put anything in there. You said hypnosis was just talking, and I’m going to hold you to that.”

Again, Twilight nodded. “Sounds reasonable.”

“Third,” Rainbow Dash started, then paused to catch her breath, “I know you'll try to get me excited about this, and I'll need to start fantasising. So I can understand that you don't call me by name while you're doing it. But you don’t call me anything bad, ever. Don’t call me ‘slave’ while I’m under, or anything like that,” Rainbow half-asked, half-demanded.

“What about ‘pet’?” Twilight asked.

“I’m okay with being called a pet: you care for a pet. And one more thing: if you put anything in me that’ll act out later, it has to be when I’m alone. I know I wouldn’t have a choice in it anyway, but… please don’t make me do anything in public,” Rainbow Dash pleaded with a wince.

Twilight put a hoof to her chest to swear. “I’d never do that to a friend, Rainbow. You have my word.”

“Well, okay, then,” Rainbow Dash agreed.

Awkward silence fell between the two.

“So what do you want to do in the meantime?” Twilight asked.

Rainbow Dash looked over her friend’s sides. “How about a flying lesson? Do you know how to land properly yet?”

“Slow down your flight with two well-controlled flaps of the wing, carefully extend your legs and gently settle down on the ground?” Twilight smiled proudly at her perfect recitation of the instructions she'd read.

Rainbow Dash stared at her friend, unimpressed. “Yeah, you definitely need a lesson from me.”

Author's Note

This chapter had to go through a few edits for Twilight's motivations to make more sense, especially given how things turn out later. Again, I don't know if Twilight can fly yet in canon because I'm not watching Season 4, and probably won't 'till at least New Year's. I've got too many things on my mind to get hyped up over colourful equines, so please save the spoilers.

That said, while Twilight will be in the spotlight a lot, it is still Rainbow Dash's story. She discovers what hypnosis is, what it can do and how much of a tun-on it can really be for her.

But don't worry; there's nothing that can possibly go wrong.

Really. *sarcasm detector explodes somewhere*

Seriously, though, if you've caught my works recently, you'll know that mood whiplashes tend to sneak in once in a while, and they tend to be pretty dire and twisted, to the point that people just stop reading (*ahem* COWARDS!). I have taken the criticisms regarding this trend on board and I'll try to make the scene in question have more of a leadup this time, as well as give it a proper cooling down phase so the chapter doesn't end on a sour note. It's in the distant future, though, three or four weeks hence, I think.

Again, for those who don't know: I have several chapters lined up as is, as well as finished outlines, but the story itself is not done. I'm trying to write one chapter per week, with a few spares so I have a buffer if I'm really busy. I will make an effort to publish a chapter weekly, but it may not always be on a Monday. If you spot a few missing then you are free to point them out. Except in that last sentence, that was to make sure you're paying attention.

Starting Slow

Chapter 3: Starting Slow.
“All right, everypony, Cloud Kicker and Raindrops are with me today, the rest of you do the usual routine,” Rainbow Dash announced. “Meet back here at eleven.”

As the Weather Patrol captain saw the rest of her squad off, she turned and flew towards the west end of town, with Raindrops on her left and Cloud Kicker on her right. Raindrops flew closer, curious. “What’s wrong, Rainbow Dash?”

Rainbow gave her colleague a pensive look. A yellow pegasus with greenish blue mane -- Tiffany blue, some said, but Rainbow never got into colour names – Raindrops was a competent flyer but not a strong one. Though she had decent speed, she lacked confidence and that affected her ability to use pegasus magic. Despite getting into the Wonderbolts Academy, she’d never really shaken her habit of always assuming the worst.

“Nothing’s wrong. I’m just splitting up the work differently,” Rainbow Dash explained as they reached the skies over Froggy Bottom Bog. “There’s a downpour scheduled for today so the swamp doesn’t get too much rot piled up.”

Cloud Kicker frowned. “And you needed our help to get all those nimbus clouds into position?”

Rainbow Dash shook her head matter-of-factly. “No. But ever since you had that accident and hurt your back, you’ve only been doing the lighter clouds. And I saw Raindrops at the Academy trying to clear heavy clouds. You had even more trouble than the rest of the cadets.”

“So you brought us here for training, then?” The lavender mare brushed away a bit of her blonde mane -- ‘jasmine with a lemon chiffon’, Rarity would insist – out of her eyes.

“I brought you here for a little practice. Both of you need to work on getting the thicker clouds to move. You’re both C-level weather ponies, and you’re good enough to be B-level, at least. I just want you to build some core strength for now, and in a couple of weeks you can decide if you wanna try for the promotion or not.”

Raindrops’s eyes widened. “You think we’re up for promotion? Really?”

“Sure, if you can get your skills up before the test, and if you want to take it. I’m not gonna make you, but it’d help the Patrol. In the meantime, I’m going to go get some of the cirrus clouds from a few miles south, you two start pushing the nimbus clouds closer, and we’ll start the downpour once we’ve got a pile,” Rainbow Dash explained, before taking off. “Oh, and don’t push any clouds on your own. Work as a pair.”

“Got it.” The mares saluted their captain. Rainbow Dash turned and rushed off with a burst of speed.

Turning to the task at hand, Cloud Kicker and Raindrops pushed against the first nimbus. After some prodding, they both threw their full weights into it and flapped their wings harder to get the thing moving. With their arms extended, they barely got it to budge.

Raindrops grunted. “This one’s really thick. What is Rainbow Dash thinking?”

Cloud Kicker grunted in kind, her face turning red at the exertion. “I guess she just wants us to be better at our jobs. Maybe the mayor asked her: we do have mostly C-levels on our squad, and you need to be B-level to help the fire brigade. Remember that one time me and her went to the Wonderbolts Academy? The whole squad was exhausted after just one week.”

“I get that, but... “ Raindrops grunted and gave the cloud another burst of strength to get it into position. “She sounded like she doesn’t think we’re up to the job.”

Cloud Kicker panted when they were done, then looked up. “There’s about twenty more of those things we have to move. I’d say she’s right in thinking that.”

Raindrops wiped her brow and bared her teeth in defiance. “Come on, we just need some practice. Although I will admit, this is a lot harder than she makes it look. This is way different from Wonderbolt training.”

Grunting and flapping their wings to no avail, they both gasped when the nimbus suddenly shot forward. Rainbow Dash was flying slightly above them, looking down. “See what I mean? Suppose you had to get one of these big ones to put out a fire. You’d be in trouble.”

“Look, we’re trying our best here, Rainbow,” Raindrops protested.

Rainbow Dash didn’t flinch, or even get angry at the protest. “Exactly. And if you can’t do it by now, that’s my fault. The Weather Patrol is supposed to be prepared for emergencies. We’ve only got C-levels and me right now, and that’s not safe. So save your breath and let’s get to the next one.”

Raindrops and Cloud Kicker sighed, but obeyed.

“Oh, and another thing. On the heavy rainclouds you need to push with your shoulders, don’t stretch your forelegs into it. You go slow at first, then when it starts to give you flap harder. If you push hard right away, it’ll push back and you might wind up getting zapped if it’s still got some thunder in it.” With that, Rainbow Dash demonstrated the proper form and gave the cloud one firm shove, sending it right to the airborne pile with in one big swoop. “Just like that. Any questions?”

Twilight yawned and rubbed her eyes. “Spike?”

Spike saluted her as he bolted in. “What do you need, Twilight?”

She didn’t turn to look at him, she just kept her eyes covered, relieving some pressure. “Did you rearrange the history section like I asked?”

“Yes, ma’am. All magical history and pony history is now separated and easy to find.”

“And did you find that missing tome on the history of apple farming?”

“Yup. It was on the bottom of that pile in the basement.” Spike looked away and started fidgeting his with his index fingers.

The mental picture formed, the mental movie started playing, and the ending to it mingled with the dragon’s tone of voice to tell her the obvious. “Oh. I take it the basement needs cleaning up, then?”

“Yeah, it does.” Spike sighed, resigned to his fate.

Twilight shrugged. “All right, I’ll get to that tomorrow.”

The little dragon raised his eyebrows at that. ”You’re not gonna make me clean it up?”

“No, Spike, those books are mine. I put them there, it’s my mess. Besides, I’m thinking of using the basement more as a lab. I’ll be using some heavy machinery and some unstable magics that might be dangerous for you. So from now on the basement is off limits, not your job anymore. The library, however, still is. Would you mind taking care of it for me again while I’m gone?” Twilight finally opened her eyes and got up. She collected her saddlebag with some quills and paper and led the way down.

“No problem, sure,” the dragon replied with a shrug, happy with the responsibility.

“Thanks. If anyone asks, I’m doing some new research. I should be back before dinner.”

“Umm, Twilight?” Spike asked as they went down the stairs.

“Yes?”

He gathered up his courage to look her in the eye. “Is something wrong? You look like your eyes hurt from just two hours of reading. But I’ve seen you do whole days, easy.”

Twilight stopped. “You noticed that, huh?”

Spike nodded. “It’s not the first time, either. Something’s changed about you, like when Discord turned everypony grey, only the other way around. There’s something different about your colour.”

As she headed towards her front door, Twilight weighed his words in her mind. “I guess that dragon sight picks up subtler stuff than any pony can. But you don’t have to worry about me, Spike, honest. Cadence said I might have some trouble reading at first after... you know...“ Twilight wriggled her wings to illustrate her point. “It should get back to normal in a week or two.”

Spike winced, then shrugged it off. “Well, if you say so.”

Twilight smiled at the little dragon, before exiting. The sun felt warmer than she remembered, the air in her lungs more potent. Being an alicorn now, she could feel the influence of pegasus magic and Earth pony magic coursing through her body.

She still hadn’t quite decided how she felt about that.

With a few cursory flaps of her wings and a tiny sliver of pegasus magic, she took off and flew towards Rainbow Dash’s house. Not that she wanted to avoid most of the ponies in Ponyville, she just needed the practice. She only took minor altitude for safety’s sake, to have a cloud to rest on in case her wings cramped up again. It wasn’t to avoid the other pegasus ponies, too.

Though if she was totally fair with herself, she had to admit that avoiding other ponies was exactly what she wanted to do. Even if she didn’t wear her crown all the time – or at all, for that matter, the thing had a nasty habit of falling down when she tried to read – she had the energy and presence of a princess now. There were things she really didn’t want to do right now, questions she really didn’t want to answer.

Looking down, she realised one such question would have found her if she’d stayed in the library. She spotted an orange dot down below flanked by a yellow and a white one. Even up so high, Twilight could feel the anticipation of the Cutie Mark Crusaders.

Can you help us get our cutie marks, princess Twilight?

The very thought of those girls calling her ‘princess ‘made her shudder. It just felt wrong, right to her core. Twilight picked up some speed to feel the wind in her mane. Though that made her feel slightly better, it didn’t block out the other question she really didn’t want to hear.

Could you teach me how to fly, please?

Truth be told, Twilight wasn’t entirely sure how she was flying now. It didn’t feel like she was putting that much effort in it, but she wasn’t going that fast, either. It just happened or it didn’t. She certainly had no idea how to teach Scootaloo to fly.

She shook those thoughts away as she neared her destination. Rainbow Dash’s cloud home hung right above an open field, which allowed Rainbow a lot of airspace to practise her moves in as well as a very impressive view in the morning. It looked lonely, though, now that Twilight could see it on her own instead of visiting with the rest of her friends.

Twilight took a deep breath to steady her nerves, then landed. She rang the bell.

“Hey, Twilight,” Rainbow Dash greeted when she opened the door, “got everything you need?”

Realising she was getting excited over nothing, Twilight nodded calmly and trotted in at her friend’s gesture. “Yes. I’ve done some extensive research and I know where to start, as well as some basic exercises you can try on your own.”

“Okay, sounds good. So I just lie on the couch?” Rainbow already took the position with her forelegs resting stretched out next to her sides.

“Yeah, the couch will do fine. I just need to know a few basic things before we start.” Twilight got out a piece of paper and quill in her magical grasp.

“Okay. What do you need to know?”

Twilight read the first item on her list. “Have you ever had any training in just relaxing? Any meditation, breathing practice, things like that?”

“Yeah, a little.” Rainbow Dash shook her head. “Okay, a lot. I used to be pretty hyperactive when I was little. I had trouble concentrating, so my mom and dad taught me to count my breath to slow down.”

Twilight marked that first point off. “And how quickly do you breathe normally?”

Rainbow sighed. “Seven a minute, in and out. But I know I’m supposed to cut it in half. I’ve been trying, but… nothing works. I think it used to be slower, though.”

“Okay, so your breathing sped up at some point in the past, and you grew out of the concentration problem, right?” Twilight already knew the answer to that one since she’d seen Rainbow Dash’s rendition of Commander Hurricane, but it was on her checklist so she asked anyway.

“Mostly. I don’t have any trouble getting pictures in my head, if that’s what you mean.”

Twilight took some more notes and steadied herself. “That’s what I thought. Umm, you don’t have to answer this question if you don’t want to, but it’ll help if I know. And I won’t tell anyone, no matter what you answer.”

Rainbow Dash closed her eyes and braced herself. ”All right, let’s hear it.”

“About the problem you said you have with intimacy, can you remember when it started?”

The pegasus blinked. Not the question I was expecting. “No, I don’t know when it started. I know when I started noticing it, though; back in high school. I was dating Thunderlane, and it was fun. We flew together, we had some laughs, but…”

Twilight kept taking notes, but stopped when her friend did.

“I don’t know why, but something always felt off when we tried to kiss. It didn’t matter if I started or he did, it never felt right. And I really liked Thunderlane, a lot, and I know he liked me, too. But I never felt right. Never even had the nerve to tell him what was wrong with me.”

“Was it just kissing that felt off or any affection? Did you get that same feeling when you rubbed wings together or held hooves? Assuming you ever did.” Twilight hoped the presumption wasn’t a step too far on her part.

“We did.” Rainbow’s face lit up with a smile. “And yeah, it was everything. I tried, though. Like I said, I don’t know what went wrong. I didn’t think he looked bad or smelled bad, and he was the sweetest guy in school. It was something wrong with me, definitely. But we’re still friends, we don’t hate each other. I hardly ever even see him nowadays.”

Twilight put away the notes. “Okay, that’s all I need to know. So, before we start, here’s what’s going to happen. I’m going to start talking you into a trance, and you need to follow my instructions for it to work. At first it’ll just make you relax, and help you concentrate. Then, when you’re deep enough, I’ll talk you through some basic images to get you used to the idea of being hypnotised. If I’m right, then you should have quite a knack for it and it’ll be like walking in a dream. But I will make sure you start feeling, smelling and tasting things in the dream as well. That’s pretty standard stuff.”

“And what can I expect from that? Afterwards, I mean? Are there any side effects?”

“It might help you focus on some of your senses, but that’s something you can work on later. Some ponies have been known to get sharper senses out of trance, but it’s hard to predict and not what we’re aiming for at first. You need a good foundation to start off with.”

Rainbow nodded slowly. “Makes sense.”

“But aside from that… I’d like to get started right away with your emotional problem.”

Rainbow Dash took a deep breath to keep herself calm. “What do you have in mind?”

“I was thinking, since you like the idea of giving up control, that I could put a fantasy in your head, to be played out when you’re alone and there’s no harm. I wouldn’t make you think of anypony in particular, of course, but just put in some actions and gestures for you to think about. And I’d make you forget what they are, exactly,” Twilight hastily added.

Rainbow Dash tensed up. “What? Why?”

The alicorn felt her wings and arms rise up in a defensive posture. “It’s not to fool you or prank you, if that’s what you’re thinking. But right now the thing that arouses you physically is something that makes you feel bad. You like the idea of giving up control because without control, you can’t make mistakes or get embarrassed. But if you take that idea and make it so it’s something you feel good about, then you can use that as a stepping stone. By making you forget, you have something good that you don’t have absolute control over. That’ll help associate the pleasure of the loss of control with the pleasure of a normal fantasy.”

Rainbow Dash bobbed her head left and right as she processed that information. “What about you, then? Don’t you need help, too?”

Twilight backed away at the sudden question. “Me? Oh, I-I’m not really that much into romance or anything physical. I just… I like being right. I like being the one with the answers. And now that I’m a princess, I’m kind of supposed to have all the answers, that’s all. It’s just weird for me to know a friend has a problem and I can’t help them, I guess, now that I’m… you know, like this.” She pointed to her wings to illustrate. “I’m not going to try and force you to do anything you don’t want to do, I won’t actually make you my pet or anything silly like that. Unless that was what you wanted?” She mentally slapped herself for even suggesting it.

“No.” Rainbow Dash thought it over. “Not really. Maybe. Sort of. I don’t know. I mean, I’d let you have a little control, but --”

“But If I started referring to you as ‘pet’ while I put you under, would that make it easier or harder for you to relax?”

Rainbow Dash closed her eyes and sighed. “Easier. A lot easier, I think.”

“Then I think we’re ready to begin,” Twilight announced. “Trust me, you’re gonna enjoy this.”

Author's Note

Hit the Publish button a little quick on this one, so there may be more errors or even more missing than in other chapters.

This chapter's kinda weird, in that it's meant to portray Rainbow Dash taking charge at her job, as the previous chapter indicated she should. The basic feel of that is that she's becoming aware of what's causing her to feel bad, and doing something about it.

Twilight's also a weird factor in this story. Even knowing where she'll be four chapters from now, it's really hard to pin her down and write her properly. To add further complications to the equation, the next few chapters focus more on Twilight, because that's where the interesting stuff starts to happen. I want to still keep it Rainbow's story, though, so once the initial focus shifts to Twilight it will shift back to Rainbow, rest assured. Twilight's reading problem is a side note, subtle reference to Whimper's condition, ditto on the counting breath thing.

Spike's sight is a bit of headcanon I'll be using in the Flight Camp sequel as well: the idea is that dragon eyes can pick up the shifts in greyscale that happened during the discording thing, while normal ponies cannot. 'Green isn't Your Colour', as well as 'Winter Wrap-Up', strongly imply ponies cannot see the magic glow that the viewers can, and in Winter Wrap-Up it looks like Spike can see Twilight casting the spell whereas Applejack cannot.

I will also be addressing Spike's Spike syndrome, where his personality/maturity shifts depending on the episode, in a later chapter.

First Session

Chapter 4: First session.
Twilight kept a close eye on Rainbow Dash as she started talking her into a mild trance. “Just relax for now. Focus on your breathing, in… and out. In… and out.”

Rainbow Dash followed the command, her breath slowing down as she went. With her eyes closed, Rainbow looked quite cute, Twilight felt.

Stay focused, Twilight. “Now I want you to concentrate on the edges of your hind hooves. Feel how nice and relaxed they are, just lazily resting on that soft, fluffy cloud. Concentrate and just picture how heavy and relaxed those hooves feel. Just those hooves for now, feel it out and let it start nice and slowly.”

A minor twitch went through Rainbow’s hind hooves, but it soon passed.

“There’s no pain, no tension, just a warm and heavy feeling spreading up as you listen to my words. Just picture a warm sense of relaxation flowing up, up into your hooves, making them heavy and warm and relaxed.” Twilight kept her voice calm and even, doing her best to sound as relaxing as she could. Of course, given how a lot of ponies tended to get sleepy whenever she lectured, she didn’t need to make that big an effort.

“Feel the warm and relaxed feeling travel up your ankles, up to your knees, your thighs… so heavy and relaxed. It’s so easy to just let go and listen to my voice. So easy to let your body follow my instructions. Just let your attention wander to those warm and heavy limbs, letting go of any tension, letting go of any stress. ”

Twilight gulped. She put her hoof on her chest. Why is my heart pounding like this? It’s just Rainbow Dash. Come on, Twilight, you can do this. It’s easy, just like it said in your notes.

And just like it said in those adult books you ordered and then hid in the basement.

Oh, why did the delivery pony have to be so fast?

And why did I have to go and read those things so late at night?

“Feel the relaxation go over you, travelling up to your butt, working its way into all those tired muscles. So heavy, so relaxed. Feel your whole body sink into that comfy cloud, all the tension just evaporating.” Twilight reached up to feel her cheek. Her face felt flush as she went, it reminded her of the day she took her entrance exam. She forced herself to stop thinking about it. “Feel your tail muscles relaxing, just going soft and limp all over, sinking into that warm, blissful feeling.”

Rainbow Dash was limp all over. She was getting ahead of the instructions and relaxing her whole body instead of just the areas Twilight focused on. Is she really good at this, or just really eager?

Twilight steadied herself again. “Now this warm and heavy feeling travels up, up into your crotch and over your belly. Your hind legs are completely immobile now, just heavy and relaxed. You can’t move them at all, and trying only makes you relax more. The tension to move stops before you can do anything, and that’s okay. I want you to test this, at my signal. I’m going to count to three, and at the count of three, you will reach out and try to move your hind legs just once. They will remain in place, the muscles will not tense up, and you’ll know that you can let go and relax. Ready?”

No answer came.

“One. Two. Three.”

Rainbow Dash’s jaw was already hanging slack, her wings and forelegs draped over the cloudy couch. Twilight blushed at the sight. I never knew she was so muscular. Even relaxed, I could make a perfect anatomical reference image. I’ll bet she’s got a mean thrust in those hips… She shook her head as Rainbow remained paralysed. “Very good. Now feel this relaxation wash over your chest, your arms, and your wings. Your whole body is just letting go, and so is your mind. You’re doing great, following all my commands, and it feels good to obey.” Don’t rush it, you amateur!

Rainbow Dash sighed, and what little tension was left in her wings dropped, leaving them lazily hanging over the edge of the cloud’s surface.

“And finally, your face. Feel your face relaxing, your jaw unclenching, ears drooping. Your whole body is heavy and relaxed, and safe. It’s open to my words, and concentrating on my words alone. What I say goes straight to your mind without any hesitation or thought. You can let go and let me put thoughts in your head, just to help or for harmless fun. While you are like this, you will be my pet, and I’ll take care of you. If you’re okay with that, just nod.”

Slowly, Rainbow Dash’s head bobbed up and down.

Okay, just keep your cool. Don’t get carried away, Twilight, just do what you’re here to do. "In a moment, I want you to become just awake enough to speak to me, pet. I’ll be describing images for you to work with, and I’ll need to know if you are getting them all. At the count of three, your mouth and throat will wake up slightly, letting you talk to me. Your mind will still be heavy, relaxed and open, but you’ll be able to tell me how open. One, two, three. Are you with me, pet?”

“Yesss,” Rainbow’s voice came out slurred, her breathing had slowed down to barely four a minute, maybe three and a half.

Twilight caught herself staring. It’s perfect. Textbook example of deep trance, literally. On her first try, even. On my first try, even. Argh, don’t rush it, Twilight, you’re not here to live out some sick fantasy. It’s bad enough you practically bribed her with that hoof cream.

Stop enjoying this and just get on with it. You’re both straight, anyway.

“I want you to imagine you’re standing in White Tail Woods, in the fall. You’re surrounded by the sight of orange leaves and the smell of maple syrup. Push your hooves into the forest floor for me, and hear the rustling of the leaves. Can you hear it clearly, pet?”

“Yes,” Rainbow Dash whispered, her face still an emotionless mask.

“Good. Now I want you to walk up to one of those trees and put a drop of syrup on your hoof. Look at it closely, the golden shine in the sunlight. Have a smell. Can you tell me what it smells like, pet?”

“Bitter.” Rainbow Dash scrunched her nose, a sure sign of the suggestion sinking in.

Twilight gulped and stretched out her arms and wings just to get the blood flowing normally again.“Very good, pet. Now take a little lick of it. Feel it on your tongue. Can you taste the bitterness, pet?”

Rainbow swallowed and grimaced slightly. “Yes.”

“Very good.” Twilight mentally checked off ‘bitter’ for taste visualisation, then ‘orange’ for colour visualisation. “Let’s try something a little more enjoyable, then. I want you to picture yourself in a nice, warm bath, like at the spa. See the mirrors around, clouded by vapours. Hear the steam rise up, no other ponies around at this time. Look around this huge bath and feel the warmth seeping into you.”

“Hmm…” A smile crept up Rainbow Dash’s lips.

Twilight’s nostrils flared as that heightened alicorn sense of smell picked up on pegasus sweat. Very vivid daydream there. Then again, she is used to having to feel out her body, and the cold of the upper atmospheres. She mentally steeled herself. Time to get to the nitty-gritty of it.

“I want you to concentrate on your nether regions, pet. Feel the warmth slipping into your outer lips, your inner lips, and your – “ She nearly choked on the word. “ -- clitoris. You may feel your folds opening, that’s okay, too. Just let it happen and let the warmth seep in.”

Rainbow Dash grimaced, then blushed. Twilight followed suit as a fold between Dash’s legs started slowly opening, letting off a musky smell into the room. It made her nose curl, and something in her stomach felt empty all of a sudden. Rainbow Dash didn’t break trance, though, so Twilight persisted.

“Just keep breathing for me, pet. Nice and relaxed, it won’t go too far. It’s just a sliver of warmth in a place that needs it. And it feels good, doesn’t it?” Twilight blushed, thankful Rainbow’s eyes remained firmly shut.

“Y-yeah… ‘sgood.”

“Very good, pet.” Twilight extended her hoof, then stopped herself. Don’t pet her, you idiot, it’s just a game. You’re supposed to be helping her, you nearly snapped her out of it. Okay, keep it together, Twilight. Just stick to the schedule. She’s clearly very deeply under, she’s very good at what she’s doing, you just need to do two more things and then you’re done.

Twilight took a deep breath to steady herself. “Now I want you to get out of the bath. Feel your body rising up, drying off without any help, still feeling a little warm, still feeling relaxed. Right in front of you, you’ll see a door. Walk up to it and put your hoof on the handle, but don’t enter yet. At the other side of this door is your centre of control. It is where all the things in your mind are laid out, a room that is a reflection of yourself. From there, your body can be controlled, your memories can be accessed, and negative thoughts can be eliminated. At the count of three, you are going to walk through this door and into your control centre. You will describe it to me as you look around, and then we’ll start looking for the switches we need. Ready?”

Rainbow’s face remained passive. “Ready.”

Here goes nothing. “One. Two. Three. Walk through the door, tell me what you see.”

Rainbow Dash’s eyes clenched shut harder, a sign of her concentrating. “Bedroom. Big pillar in the middle with buttons, Wonderbolts posters all around. Couple of doors, books all over the floor. One that’s got a picture of me in the centre. And a doll that looks like me. It’s got needles in it, especially the hooves.”

That set off a few alarm bells in Twilight’s head. “Good, do not approach the doll. The doll is fine, you can leave it where it is and it will not go where it isn’t wanted.” I hope. If that’s what her traumas look like, I can’t risk breaking through that on a first session. “Just head towards the pillar and look for a button labelled ‘record’. It’s a nice, big, red button, flashing brightly.”

“Found it.”

Hoo boy, I hope I’m right about this. “Good, pet. At the count of three, I’m going to tell you to push that button, and it’ll stop flashing. When it does, anything that I say will be blocked out of your conscious mind. Your subconscious will still be aware of it, you will still follow commands given after you wake up, but you will not be aware of them. When you push this button, you submit to everything I say and you will not remember. You’ll be giving me full control. Do you understand and do you trust me with this?”

Twilight kept her eye on Rainbow’s chest. If she didn’t know any better, she’d have sworn that Rainbow’s heart skipped a beat.

“I do.”

“All right, pet. At the count of three, I’ll tap your forehead. When I do, I want you to push the button. One, two, three.”

Twilight tapped Rainbow Dash’s forehead, and Rainbow’s face went completely slack.

Twilight’s breath quickened as her eyes darted over Rainbow’s form.

It worked. It really worked. She’s gone, she’s totally under. Of course it worked, silly, it’s what you planned. Now you just have to add those other suggestions she wasn’t supposed to remember, and then she’ll wake up feeling like a million bits.

Rainbow Dash opened her eyes. Her breath quickened, along with her heartbeat. Twilight was staring down at her, a worried look on her face. “Are you okay, Rainbow?”

Rainbow Dash rubbed her head and sat up slowly. She gulped down a glass of orange juice that floated towards her at her friend’s command. “Yeah, I’m… I’m fine. I feel woozy, but good.”

Twilight’s worry faded somewhat. “And what do you remember about the trance? What did I make you taste?”

Rainbow groaned and stretched out, flexing her wings to get them to wake up again. She licked her lips a few times. “You made me taste something bitter, I think it was tree sap from White Tail Woods. Then the warm bath in the spa, then the control room. Then you made me hit a button so I wouldn’t remember.”

Twilight levitated a scroll and quill in front of her and marked something. “Okay, good. And what’s your trigger for returning to trance?”

Rainbow Dash raised an eyebrow. “Umm… did you put that in me when I wouldn’t remember? Because I don’t.”

Another check on the list, and Twilight smiled. “Just relax and try to go back into that control room. See anything new?”

Rainbow Dash closed her eyes. “Huh. There’s a couple of scrolls there. One of them’s open. It says ‘Dive down deep, pet’.” She caught herself wobbling, shaking her head to clear a sudden rush of vertigo. “Woo, okay, that one works. I thought I wasn’t supposed to remember that sort of thing?”

Twilight smiled and shook her head. “That’s with mind control magic. Hypnosis has its limits, unless you do something really extreme to break the subject’s resistance. If anything ever happens that really goes against what you want, you’ll be able to remember even if I told you not to. Are the other scrolls open?”

Rainbow slowly opened her eyes and shook her head. “No. They’re sealed. I think I can open them if I want, but… I don’t really feel like it. Is that supposed to happen?”

“That’s perfect, it’s exactly how it should be. You should enjoy the triggers just fine, then. You can practise using that to relax, and it’ll make it easier for me to put you under later.” Twilight turned and headed for the door. “You shouldn’t have any trouble moving around, but try not to go too fast. Your body will be a little sluggish at first.”

Rainbow Dash checked it with a few cursory flaps of her wings. “Got it. I can still do my routine now, though, right?”

Twilight considered it for a moment. “If it’s something you usually do after a nap, no problem. Deep trance like that is about the same as a deep sleep, so just give your body time to wake up and you’ll be fine.”

Rainbow nodded. “Okay. Guess I’ll see you around? Or do you need another flying lesson?”

Twilight winced embarrassedly. “Eheh, I think I’ll wait until the bruises from last time clear up. No offense.”

Rainbow Dash chuckled. “None taken. Just make sure you brace yourself when you land and don’t let your wings take all the pressure.”

Twilight opened the door, hesitating for a moment. “I’ll try to keep that in mind.”

“And Twilight?”

Twilight turned for a moment. “Yes?”

“Thank you. I feel a lot better now.”

Twilight smiled. “That’s what friends are for. Take care.”

With that, Twilight was out the door. She spread her wings and flew off the porch, then glided along a gentle breeze, keeping herself aloft with just the right amount of calculated flaps she needed to keep from plummeting. After a short flight, she landed on her balcony at the library. She called out to Spike, let him know she was home, then calmly entered her room as he went back to his usual business. She grasped a few pillows in her magic and piled them up on her bed.

Then she plunged her head into the pillows and screamed. “What have I done? What have I done? I just hypnotised my friend, I took control of her mind and I put… that in her head! Sure, I didn’t use magic, but I still took over her mind. What was I thinking? I’m not a therapist! Why did I even offer to do it? I should have kept quiet, I should have told her to see a doctor.”

She stopped herself for a moment, before rolling over to stare at the ceiling. She became acutely aware of her belly rising up and down as she caught her breath. “Okay, Twilight, get a grip. You just talked to Rainbow Dash, and she followed your instructions. If she didn’t like it, she wouldn’t have gone along with it. She enjoyed it, so it’s okay. She didn’t break trance when you put those suggestions in her, which means she’s fine with it. She looked better afterwards, she’ll have a good workout once the sluggishness wears off, and you can help her more if you keep doing it.”

The train of thought reached its logical conclusion. “She wanted me to help, and she’ll get a lovely surprise tonight to move her along. It won’t matter that much if I keep helping her. Rainbow Dash is enjoying it. Rainbow Dash is enjoying it.”

“Twilight? Did you call me?”

Twilight jumped up to land on her hooves with a shriek. Spike jumped up in surprise, nearly falling back on the stairs. “Whoa there, sister. What’s got you so excited?”

“I am not excited, Spike, I am distracted. And no, I didn’t call for you. I was just going over some of the things I still had to get in order for my next experiments.” She walked down the stairs with the dragon in her wake, her mind still lingering to Rainbow Dash.

Spike scratched his head, trying to piece that bit of information along with what little he’d heard. “Oh, so Rainbow Dash is going to help?”

Huh. Maybe she could be more than a gauge for deep trance. Maybe she could be an experimental subject. That would work out nicely, actually. I could finally get into purple magic without having to bother Cadence about it. Twilight stopped to think when she reached the end of the stairs. “You know, it’s funny, I completely forgot to ask. But I’m sure she’d love to help, if she has the time.” Twilight’s mind reeled with the possibilities as she opened the door to the basement.

I can get all the books I need by mail order, nopony would suspect a thing. Yeah… Rainbow Dash would be perfect for that kind of experiment. She might not want to, though. I’d have to keep the details a secret, or the experiment would be void.

A stray thought silenced that doubt as Twilight descended into the basement.

I guess I’ll just have to be very persuasive. And besides, it’s not bad if she enjoys it.

I suppose… I could just keep making her enjoy it.

That would be okay, wouldn’t it?

Rainbow Dash lay in her bed, enjoying the mild burn of the day’s exertions. Her right hind leg was pleasantly stiff from her workout, her forelegs felt nice and heavy, and her wings had once again earned a good rest. That hypnosis session with Twilight had turned out to be as potent as ten power naps, at least.

Her mind wandered to all the other things she had to keep track of. Tank was in his little den on the ground, he had plenty of food. Her work schedule for tomorrow was on the kitchen table, her food was ready and waiting in the fridge. She’d checked her nutrition schedule, her workout schedule, every schedule she had and normally didn’t bother checking at all.

Guess Twilight put that in my head, too. Well, that’s not too bad, if it keeps me focused.

She still couldn’t get to sleep, though. She just lay there on her back, staring at the ceiling.

Something tingled in between her hind legs. A pleasant warm pressure was building there, like something rubbing her sensitive mound up and down.

Rainbow Dash looked at the source of the pressure. She was stroking herself. The outer folds that hid her lips had already opened, leaving her marehood on full display. Heat began building inside her, with that stray hoof gently exploring her body.

Whoa, okay, that’s a first. So that’s what Twilight didn’t want me to remember. I’m… I’m masturbating? She’s forcing me to masturbate?

Surprise and confusion fought for a moment in Rainbow’s head, before she decided to let go.

Just chillax, Rainbow. You wanted this. This’ll be good, most fillies start doing this when they’re way younger than you.

Rainbow Dash kicked the covers off of her and spread her legs to get better access. The one hoof that had started this was carefully exploring her outer lips, the other pushed in a little deeper and started massaging the inner ones. Rainbow’s mind filled with words that felt off and alien, like ‘clitoris’ and ‘labia’. A schematic of what her sex looked like flashed before her eyes, with the scientific names indicated in large, friendly letters.

Count on Twilight Sparkle to make masturbating sound like a science project. She chuckled to herself.

Rainbow Dash smiled at the sensations running through her body, her hooves and hips acting on their own. She found a little nub inside of her, one that quickly swelled and sent tingles of pleasure up her spine, one she knew as her clitoris thanks to the suggestions Twilight had planted in her. Still her body felt chained, pent up.

Come on, Rainbow, just come already. You know you’re supposed to, what are you waiting for?

She stroked and rubbed harder, but to no avail. Her body went on edge, but her clumsy attempts at self-gratification yielded nothing.

This isn't working. How do other girls do this? They think about sexy stuff happening. Sexy… like sexy guys. Like Thunderlane. Yeah, that’d work.

She closed her eyes and continued stroking, before taking a deep breath to relax and picture the stallion she’d once dated. His firm body, those kind hooves, big wings holding her… it still didn’t bring her the relief she wanted.

Rainbow Dash grimaced. “Dive down deep, pet.”

The wave of relaxation hit, just as she thought it would, and it made Thunderlane’s body feel heavier and more real. She could feel him press into her, the warmth of his body on hers, that soft fur stroking along hers as they shared a warm embrace. She could even smell the lavender soap he used to wash.

She stroked and bucked and fantasised for what seemed like forever. Eventually, her throat went dry and her arms tired. She groaned in frustration as her trance broke. Rainbow Dash turned on the lights and went into her kitchen for a drink.

With her cloud home basically being one big room with walls only on the outside – except for her bathroom, of course – she never had any trouble walking around in the dark. A few smaller light bulbs in strategic places let her bathe her interior in the dim light of dusk, rather than the biting sting of full dawn.

Rainbow Dash sighed while her brain got back to the matter at hand. She was in the entrance to the kitchen. Furnace on the far right, with black sheets of metal marking the hot plates on the cloud. Oven right around the corner. Table in front of her, with a pair of small chairs made of the same cloud material the rest of the place was made of. Cupboards on the left, along with a sink.

What was I doing here, again?

Then she spotted the fridge in front of her. With her thoughts collected, Rainbow Dash got a glass of cold milk and downed it. It still tasted like milk, much to her relief. Twilight hadn’t gone quite that far with her yet, though Rainbow Dash would be hard-pressed to describe what a stallion’s seed tasted like, anyway. She shook those thoughts away. She’d gotten horny because of a suggestion, she’d tried masturbating, it hadn’t worked. There was nothing else for it, she’d just have to try again sometime.

And she had to admit, fantasising about Thunderlane wasn’t too bad. Rainbow had fond memories of her former boyfriend, most of which were flittering past her mind’s eye right then. Only one thing nagged at her as they did, though.

Thunderlane always smelled like oranges. Why would I picture him smelling like lavender?

She rubbed her bleary eyes and went back to bed, flicking the smaller lights off. A few deep, relaxing breaths, and the thought was pushed back into oblivion.

Maybe I just like lavender more.

Author's Note

Yeah, I know, hypnotic inductions are kinda boring to read. That's why I added the trigger right away, so in the future there's more room for tension to build. I am aware of what real hypnosis is and how it's done, please don't point out any errors I make, it's still meant to be fiction and not a depiction of objective reality.

Next Level

Twilight read on, blushing furiously. Her wings stood stiff from the excitement, her throat felt dry, and there was a dampness building in her nethers that begged for release. “Oh my, can you really do that with your tongue? Either this author’s really well-read on shapeshifting spells, or he doesn’t know what he’s doing and just doesn’t care about anatomy.”

A voice came from behind her, atop the balcony of the library. “Twilight?”

“Yaah!” She jumped up and made her horn flare up, causing the book she’d been reading to disappear in a puff of smoke. An astute observer would have noticed the book was titled ‘Thirteen Erotic Tales of Fourteen Raised Tails’. If said observer was also an avid reader who’d stumbled into fetish territory once or twice, this observer would have known the book as being a collection of short stories mostly centered around kidnapping and brainwashing in various different iterations.

Rainbow Dash was neither an astute observer nor an avid reader of fetish material. She did, however, notice the book disappearing. “Whoa, calm down, Twilight. What were you reading, horror stories?”

Twilight smiled sheepishly and nodded. “Yes, I was reading something very disturbing, so disturbing I don’t want Spike to find it.”

Rainbow Dash landed in front of her. “Oh, right. Where is Spike?”

Twilight cocked her head towards the back window. “Helping out the Cutie Mark Crusaders. Apparently they needed someone with opposable thumbs today.” She shrugged.

Rainbow Dash looked at the floor bashfully. “Right, guess they would need that sometimes.”

Silence fell between the two. Twilight bit her lip. “Soo… how was last night?”

Rainbow Dash nearly erupted, taking off with excitement. “It was great! You wouldn’t believe how good it felt to finally stroke myself like that, I don’t even know why I never tried that before. It was like a thousand lights going off on my skin!”

Twilight suppressed a smile. “So you liked it? And you… you know…”

Rainbow Dash sighed, settling down on the ground again. “No, I couldn’t. It wouldn’t work, at least I don’t think it did. I know how it’s supposed to feel, and I still didn’t feel it. But now I really want to, and I think you might be able to do it.”

Twilight flinched. “I beg your pardon?”

Rainbow Dash smiled ecstatically. “If you put me under again, like really deep, and you told me to come, then I’d come, right?”

Twilight’s erect wings twitched, eliciting a wince from her. “Umm, maybe. You’re absolutely sure you don’t get aroused by normal means? You tried fantasising about just making love?”

Rainbow Dash nodded. “Yeah, I tried that and it didn’t cut it.”

Twilight felt a lump form in her throat. She tried to ignore it, but it only went deeper down into her chest. “That’s okay, I was kind of expecting that. The first try was just a test run, really. We can do a little more digging today.”

Rainbow Dash flew up to her, her face inches away from the alicorn’s. “Oh, thanks so much, Twilight, I really appreciate it. I was thinking maybe you could make me fantasise about putting on socks that made me feel sexy, or having to wear a collar, or maybe even forcing me to exercise, that’d be pretty hot and make me stronger. Ooh, or maybe you could have something lick my pussy.”

Twilight recoiled and nearly gagged. “Rainbow! Do not call it that.”

Rainbow frowned, her wings nearly missed a beat in the excitement. “Why not? Isn’t that what it’s called?”

Twilight held her head high, trying to look as regal as a bookworm could. “No! Civilised ponies call it a vagina, or an opening, or a marehood. We do not call it a pussy; it’s offensive.”

Rainbow Dash squinted, confused. “Offensive? To who?”

“To the Love Cat Kingdom’s residents, and any other races of talking cats I’m not aware of. I’m sure there must be somewhere.” Twilight raised a hoof to her chin, pondering.

“What about honeypot?” Rainbow grinned.

Twilight rolled her eyes. “That’s even more offensive, Rainbow Dash.”

Rainbow’s ears perked. “To who? The bees outside your window?”

“To the Honeypot family, who are very close friends with my family, by the way. Canterlot nobility does not like it when you disrespect their family name. Besides, if you really taste like honey, you should see a doctor.” Twilight grimaced at the thought.

Rainbow Dash let off a resigned grunt. “Fine, I’ll call it a vagina, or a marehood. Just anything to rub against my lips, okay?”

Twilight’s serious expression did not let off one bit. “You mean your labia. Those are called labia.”

Rainbow Dash’s ears drooped, along with her wings, sending her back to the ground with a groan. “Yes, I mean my labia, I can still see that diagram you made me memorise. Now could we please just get to the good stuff already?”

Twilight suppressed the urge to let off a groan of her own. “So you’re sure you want to go further? You really want me to bring out that submissive side to make you come?”

Rainbow Dash shrugged. “It’s just to fantasise about stallions. Not like it makes a difference or means anything, right? It’s just a game.”

Twilight’s mood lightened at that. “Exactly. It’s just a game, and you should get to enjoy yourself.”

Rainbow Dash flew up again and dropped herself on a pile of pillows, ignoring the papers she scattered with her landing. “So, can we get started?”

Twilight nodded and picked up the mess of papers with her magic. “Sure.” She sat down behind Rainbow Dash’s head.

Rainbow Dash’s nose curled when Twilight approached. What’s that smell? Is that Twilight’s perfume? Smells nice, kinda like lav-

“Dive down deep, pet.”

The wave of relaxation washed over her, making her muscles go limp and heavy. Rainbow Dash kept her eyes open, though.

Twilight smiled down at her friend. “Comfy, Rainbow Dash?”

Rainbow Dash nodded and stared blankly ahead. “Y-yeah. That trigger really works.”

The alicorn smiled and got into character again, letting the edge bleed out of her voice so it became a gentle monotone. “Of course it does. You want it to work, so it does. You can relax for me, and you can trust me. We’re going to play a little game, Rainbow Dash.”

Rainbow’s ears perked when she heard Twilight address her by name.

Twilight made a mental note of it, but didn’t let anything show. “What we’re going to do is play pretend. I want you to get into a part, like you did for the play for Hearth’s Warming Eve. You remember how well that went, don’t you?”

Rainbow closed her eyes to visualise the scene. “Yeah. That was fun.”

Twilight afforded herself a small grin. “It was, wasn’t it? Just getting into character, becoming somepony you weren’t. It’s natural to want to be something else, right? It’s fun, and it makes you feel free. And sometimes you get into a part so deeply you might even forget who really are for a moment. Think about that for a moment, Rainbow Dash, and breathe in deeply for me. I want you to feel that good memory and focus on it as you relax.”

Rainbow Dash took in a big gulp of air as that memory came back to her. Playing Commander Hurricane had been so fun, she’d really gotten into it. The memory, as well as the attention to her breath, made her feel relaxed and happy.

Huh. I really am breathing deeper now. Can’t remember when I last felt this goo-

“Dive down deep, pet.”

Again, Rainbow Dash could feel herself diving down an imaginary platform and into a deep well of relaxation, cutting off her train of thought. Funny, didn’t notice that the first couple of times.

Twilight smiled at the immediate response. “Now I’m going to describe a role for you to play. You are going to play a pony pet, and you’re going to feel great pleasure in doing so.”

Rainbow’s jaw went slightly slack, the words trickling into her mind like sweet syrup again.

Twilight kept her voice steady and even, just as before. “It’s an easy thing to play, a sexy pony pet. You can already see yourself just strutting alongside a strong, powerful Mis-” She stopped herself. “-Master who takes care of you. Picture yourself being groomed, if you can, feel a soft brush go over your mane.”

Rainbow breathed slowly, a tiny smile still on her lips.

“And as you know, a sexy pony pet is rewarded with sexual pleasure. Every time you feel your Master brush your mane, every time you sit still like a good sexual pet should, you’ll feel a tingle in your nether regions.”

Rainbow’s smile grew.

Twilight had to suppress a gulp at the sight of her friend like that. “Feel it happening, just feel yourself playing along. A good pet obeys, a good pet is rewarded with pleasure. In fact, just being called ‘pet’ is making you wet and eager and hot, isn’t it? Just say ‘Yes, Your Highness’.” Twilight held up a hoof in front of her mouth, embarrassed.

Rainbow Dash didn’t break trance. She didn’t so much as twitch at the suggestion. “Yes, Your Highness.”

“Good pet.” Even as Twilight said it, she could smell the arousal sweat coming off Rainbow Dash’s body. She took a deep breath to steady herself. Okay, time to get to the serious business. Just do it like the books said and try not to get too scientific. And remember you’re dealing with a straight mare, for crying out loud, not a fictional gay character! “It’s easy to picture yourself as a good pet, isn’t it? Just following and obeying your Master, nothing to care about but obedience, just letting go of everything and enjoying the pleasure.”

Rainbow Dash moaned.

Twilight took that as a good sign. “See it in your mind’s eye, pet. See yourself submitting to a strong, powerful, but caring Master, following His orders and feeling that wonderful reward. Feel your mane being brushed, your tail and wings being groomed, your hooves being tended to. With every breath you take, you’re becoming prettier and prettier, and feeling hotter and hotter. Every single breath makes obedience feel better, until it becomes natural to obey, and enjoy your mindless devotion.”

A tiny grimace crept in Rainbow’s expression at the mention of her hooves, but it didn’t snap her out of it, still.

She’s still sensitive there, even in trance. “You can feel yourself getting into that role more and more, can’t you? Just playing along and feeling it become easier and easier to play. Just say ‘Yes, Your Highness’.”

Rainbow Dash sighed blissfully. “Yes, Your Highness.”

“Very good, pet.” Right on cue, Twilight could almost feel the wave of pheromones being ejected by her friend’s body. Then again, I suppose the technical term should be ‘allelochemicals’, since that’s what they’re called in between different species. But on the other hoof, pegasus ponies can breed with unicorns, so it’s still pheromones. Except I’m not a unicorn, I’m an alicorn now. So are those pheromones I’m smelling or allelochemicals? She shook her head. Dumb magic messing up my taxonomy. Now, where was I? “The more you obey, the more you grow aroused. The more you grow aroused, the more you want to obey. It’s easy to let go and obey, so it’s easy to grow aroused. I want you to imagine your Master is standing beside you, Rainbow Dash. Pretend He wants to reward you, like the good pet you are. Can you picture that for me?”

Rainbow Dash’s body shivered. “Yesss, Your Highness.”

Twilight swallowed and steeled herself. “Good pet. Now feel your nether lips growing warm and moist, and a slight tingling starting in your clitoris. Your body remains still, your legs cannot move to stroke yourself. All you can do is submit to the pleasure of obedience. It's all you feel, all you want, all you can think of. Can you feel it, pet? Can you feel the pleasure blocking out everything else?”

Rainbow Dash clenched her eyes shut. She nodded curtly and her breath sped up.

Twilight afforded herself a smile as the suggestions sank in. “It’s such a wonderful feeling to submit, isn’t it, pet? Your sex set alight like that, all your cares being pushed aside. Nothing matters but the pleasure, and your body wants to submit. You can be a good pet and come if your Master tells you to, can’t you?”

Rainbow Dash grimaced. Even from her vantage point, Twilight could see Rainbow’s marehood twitching and leaking in anticipation.

“Be a good pet for your Master, Rainbow Dash. Feel yourself losing control, getting closer and closer to a climax. Feel how long you've been pent up, just waiting for Him to give you release.”

Rainbow’s breath came in ragged now. Her face was contorted in agony. “Y-yes, Your Highness… so close…”

Twilight mentally braced herself. “Hear your master’s voice talking for me. Hear Him give you permission, hear Him give you the command.”

Rainbow tensed up all over, her wings spread out and hard.

“Come, pet.”

Rainbow Dash’s eyes shot open along with her mouth, though whatever sound she wanted to make got stuck halfway up her throat. Her wings stiffened and contorted, her back arched, her hips bucked. She could feel the tension leaving her in rough bursts, with wave after mind-numbing wave of pleasure wracking through her.

She bucked once, twice, thrice, she lost count and her body just wouldn’t stop until, after what felt like an eternity, it did.

Settling back down on the pillow, Rainbow Dash slipped back into the trance she’d been in. Every little hair of her fur was standing on end, the air was thick with the smell of her arousal, and she only vaguely registered that her arousal smelled strong and awesome, not that she’d ever doubted it would. Her wings settled back down, tiny threads of muscle and sinew pulsed pleasantly and her feathers brushed idly against the softness of the pillows. She took deep breaths through her nose, welcoming the smell of books and wood, the scent of an egghead’s home. It felt comforting, somehow, not at all like the fresh air of her cloud home, which had always had more of a sterile feel to it.

Everything throbbed in blissful afterglow. She tried to raise a hoof to her chest to feel her heart, but it wouldn’t budge. She tried to move her head, and the motion made her aware of the same throbbing in the tip of her ear. If she concentrated, she could follow the very vein that was making such a ruckus.

Rainbow Dash panted and closed her eyes.

Well, that was… pretty good. No wonder so many ponies like it. I've really been missin' out.

Master? Twilight? Am I saying this out loud? No? I think I need to… close my eyes and… rest...

Twilight gave Rainbow Dash a few gentle taps on her face. “Rainbow Dash? Rainbow Dash, are you okay? You really went out of it there.”

Rainbow Dash blinked in confusion. “Dashie wanna play?”

Twilight raised an eyebrow. “I’m sorry, what was that?”

Rainbow Dash shook her head. “‘Dashie wanna play’, that’s the trigger you put in to make me feel that again, right? That’s what’ll make me submit, make me come. I can see the scroll in that control room thingie you made me picture. So why isn’t it working now? Why aren’t I coming again, or feeling horny?”

“Rainbow Dash, you just had your first orgasm ever, while in trance. You clenched muscles you might not have been aware existed before today, you arched your back like you were possessed, and I’m pretty sure you’d have screamed if you hadn’t been so deep under. Can you even feel your marehood now?” Twilight frowned. She went too deep, she must feel so embarrassed. She came so hard she’s stiff all over, and she’ll never trust me with something so intimate again.

I just ended our friendship. She’ll never want to even talk to me after this.

Rainbow Dash reached down with a stray hoof and winced. “Ah-ow, okay, that-that’s a lot more tender than I remember.” She slowly rolled over to sit up. “Wow. I feel great. A little tired and… whoo, I don’t think I’ll be able to walk straight for a bit, but hey, that’s what I’ve got wings for.” She flew up and stretched out her arms and legs, before wriggling her neck around to get the blood flowing normally again.

Twilight rolled her eyes. Then again, she is Rainbow Dash.

Rainbow settled down on the library floor and did some cat stretches. “Thanks a million, Twilight, I really owe you one.”

Twilight smiled. “Well, now that you mention it, I have been thinking of researching pu--”

“Oh, next time, you could make me come by rubbing my hooves, like they did in the Daring Do story. Or you could make me come by making me picture a Master who only licks me. Oh, could we maybe do some kind of story? That fantasy was kinda bland.” Rainbow Dash frowned, though still clearly on an emotional high.

Twilight swallowed her initial response and smiled. “No problem. You just make sure you keep up your practice, and don’t let this distract you from your job, or get any weird stuff in your head.”

Rainbow Dash waved her hoof, flying up above the alicorn again. “I’ve got nothing to worry about, Twilight. I’ve got you to look out for me, don’t I? Anyway, I’m gonna do some loopings over Ponyville to loosen my hind legs up.” She sniffed the hoof she’d used to check herself. “And maybe shower first.”

Twilight smiled. “You do that. I’ll see what I can do for our next meeting.”

“Thanks a lot, Twilight. See you around!” With that, Rainbow dashed out towards the balcony, multihued trail following her.

Twilight grunted and picked up the pillows Rainbow had rested on, careful to hold them in a magical field that blocked their scent. That Rainbow… if I didn’t know any better, I’d say she just wants me to get her off. I’m not a whore, am I? Well, technically she’s not paying me for it, so I wouldn’t even be that. What do ponies call someone who gives sexual relief on command, but doesn’t receive payment for it?

A slut. That’s the only word for it. Rainbow Dash thinks I’m a slut.

She shook her head and forced those thoughts away. No, of course not. She just wants help with intimacy issues, and she’s letting me practise hypnosis so I learn to use my voice, learn what trance looks and feels like and get control over that blasted impulse to control everything. Besides, I’m not trying to control her that hard, am I? I didn’t press the issue on the purple magic, not like it would matter. I could just keep reading about it and formulate my theories, let some other researcher work out the specifics. But then, Rainbow Dash is the best subject anypony could find for this. And I'm the only pony who's really researched the magic of friendship. The magic of arousal is the next next logical step, and that's easier to measure, at least. It would be nice to have something useful to show for all my work.

Maybe I should stop. Suppose I go too far, what if all this power goes to my head?

Twilight spotted Spike entering as she went down the stairs, mentally thanking herself she’d scent-proofed her pillows. “Hey, Spike. How did the crusading go?”

Spike nervously rubbed his right arm. “You know how you said opposable thumbs were a blessing?”

Twilight raised her eyebrow. “Yeah?”

“They’re not all they’re cracked up to be.” Spike grimaced and tried to make a fist with the claw he was nursing.

Twilight nearly dropped the pillows right there. She stopped halfway the thought, though. “Spike, what happened?”

“I tried to carry some heavy stuff, and I felt something pull in my right claw. I can’t make a fist, and I can’t stretch it out. It’s stuck like this.” He blushed.

She walked over to him and carefully inspected that hand, still keeping the pillows up. “Looks like you got a nasty cramp there. Didn’t Applejack take you to the doctor?”

Again, he grimaced. "I didn't tell her. I didn’t wanna make a fool of myself in front of the girls, especially when Rarity showed up.”

Twilight chuckled and rolled her eyes. “Okay, big guy, you just take a seat over there and I’ll get the salve. I just need to throw these pillows into the laundry machine first.”

Spike plopped down at the table in the central reading room. “Still setting up for your experiments?”

Twilight bit her lip. Well, if Rainbow Dash had bothered to listen, maybe. But that’s not her fault, she was just really excited. She’ll hear me out next time. “Yeah, just tidying up the basement, setting up some charged crystals. I should be able to do some serious work soon.”

Twilight trotted out back and threw the pillows with Rainbow’s musk on it in the laundry machine. She sighed. Well, I still feel like myself, at least, so the initial exercises aren’t too bad. Spike’s hurt, and I still feel I have to take care of him. Rainbow Dash was a little too excited, sure, but that doesn’t mean she won’t help or listen. She still respects me enough to hear me out.

She stuffed the pillows in and hit the button to start them washing. She chuckled.

Besides, even if she doesn’t, she wouldn’t have much choice if I insisted.

She shook her head and fetched the salve from her bathroom.

I really need to stop reading those novels. A straight girl like me has no business getting so riled up over another mare.

Author's Note

This is one of those weirder chapters. I need to set up what happens next, but not make it too obvious, and I need to keep everyone in character where I can. So the dark stuff is coming, and this chapter sets up some of it, but next chapter will properly prepare for the actual event. I did learn my lesson from last time, guys.

Rainbow Dash's experience of orgasm was originally not in the chapter, but I decided to add it because it's a big breakthrough for the character and it should get the attention it deserves. The Love Cat Kingdom is a reference to the comic books, they're not show canon. Seemed like a funny idea to have these two discuss what the proper term for things is. I mean: come on, it's Twilight 'Gesundheit' Sparkle, of course she's going to object to the more vulgar terms.

That said, I'm really, really worried about the next two chapters. I keep going back and editing them, but I still need to write new chapters as well as make sure the published ones are up to snuff.

I'm still not entirely sure if the purple magic (aka sex magic) is worth adding, though, but that's probably because I haven't advanced in future chapters enough. The one I finished writing at the time of publishing is one involving Scootaloo, and after that it's probably going to be a three-parter chapter involving a simple two-word combination that, right now, only shows up once in a Google Search and doesn't show up at all for custom searches on this site.

So yeah, that three-parter chapter will either put this fic on the map or shove it right off. No pressure at all.

Another note on this chapter: Denial is not just a river zebras drink out of, Twilight.

Break

Twilight smiled as Rainbow Dash followed her down into the basement. The shelves lining the walls were mostly empty, though what books were on the shelves looked to be as organised by theme as the upper library was. Rainbow could only guess what the themes were, and what books might end up filling the still empty spaces.

The centre of the room was the biggest improvement, though. Rainbow Dash had helped set up some of Twilight’s research equipment when she’d first moved in, but now the room was mostly adorned with seat cushions, as well as a table and some more lights. Twilight had turned the basement into a reading corner, a private reading corner at that.

Rainbow whistled, impressed. “Wow, you really livened things up in here.”

Twilight nodded. “I kind of thought I’d need some more private space for my new books. I wouldn’t want Spike to find any adult literature.”

Rainbow sat down on a pile of pillows. “You’re getting adult literature into the library? Really?”

Twilight sat down facing her friend. “Sure. How else am I supposed to research ways to help you?”

Rainbow smiled brightly. “So you’ll make me, you know…”

Twilight forced out a smile. “Actually, no, I don’t know. What is it you want, Rainbow Dash? It helps if you can word it for yourself.”

Rainbow Dash idly looked around the room, checking the high windows as well as the bookcases and some stray machines she guessed Pinkie Pie had once occupied. “I wanna come again. Hard.”

Twilight stared at her intently. “Just that? You want climax, orgasm, nothing more?”

Rainbow replied with a casual shrug. “What else is there?”

Twilight stealthily gritted her teeth before continuing with a smile. “Any particular fantasy you’d want to live out?”

Another casual shrug. “Just anything that lets me lose control, anything that gets me hot.”

The alicorn nodded. “Anything that lets you submit to a more powerful, more dominant pony, then. Is that right?”

“Yup. Anything like that is fine.”

Good to know. “All right, then, I think we’re ready to begin. Dashie wanna play?”

Rainbow Dash froze and gulped, a wetness formed in her loins and her heart skipped a beat. She could feel the heat building, a bead of sweat running down her neck. “W-wha? Aren’t you supposed to put me under first?”

Twilight marched confidently up to Rainbow Dash and gently pushed her down on the pillows. “We’re not doing a standard hypnotic session here, pet. You’ve already been so diligent to ingrain those triggers on your mind, I don’t really need to do that much to make you follow my words. Dashie wanna play?”

Rainbow whimpered and let herself slowly go down on the pillows, her eyes fixed on Twilight as her body submitted to the motions and tensed up with arousal. “B-but… I’m still gonna enjoy this, right?”

Oh, you’ll get your enjoyment, all right. If pleasure is all you care about, that’s all you’re going to get. “Of course you will, look at you. You’re already obeying, and I haven’t even given you your trigger to enter trance yet. I just want you to get nice and aroused so when you do enter trance, you’ll be far deeper than ever before. That’s what you want, isn’t it?” Twilight walked behind Rainbow’s head, keeping her wings spread to look more imposing.

Rainbow nodded. “Y-yeah. I want this.”

Twilight smiled triumphantly. “Excellent. Now say you want to obey.”

“What?” Rainbow frowned.

Twilight kept her voice sounding calm, but domineering. “Letting go and acknowledging your desire to submit will make it easier to go ahead with it. Just try it.”

Rainbow Dash took a deep breath. “I want to obey.”

Twilight smirked and tapped Rainbow Dash on the forehead. “Dive down deep, pet.”

Vertigo washed over Rainbow’s body. Her hooves felt heavy as lead, her legs turned to jelly. She felt her jaw unclench and her eyes flutter.

I’m… I’m passing out. Is this supposed to happen?

I want to obey. It’s true, I do. This is what it feels like to obey. This is what I asked for.

Twilight’ll take care of me.

So why do I feel scared?

Twilight leaned over. “Still awake?”

Rainbow’s mouth moved just enough to whisper. “Barely.”

Twilight nodded. “Good, the trigger’s working perfectly now. When I tap your head again, you’re going to let go completely and fall into deep trance. Understand?”

“Yes, Your Highness.” Wait, why did I say that? I only ever call her that when she asks me to.

“Dive down deep, pet.” Twilight gave her another little tap, and that was that.

Rainbow’s body went completely limp, wings sprawled over the pillows. Her mouth hung open, her eyes were firmly shut, and the scent of her marehood was leaking out once again.

Twilight’s nose curled. I’m really going to have to do something about that smell, ponies will notice if she gets this in public. Oh well, I suppose I can work on that later. First, let’s do some interior decorating.

Rainbow Dash stood in her control centre. The big pillar with the buttons looked as it had before, though there was less clutter about it now. The stray socks had been cleaned up, and the dust had been cleared, leaving the crisp smell of a well-kept library. The rest of the room looked better, too, more organised. To her right, the doll that represented her body and mind lay on a pedestal, and the needles that had been in it before were absent.

She carefully walked up to the pedestal, like Daring Do approaching her prize, except there weren’t any traps to dodge. Rainbow looked at the doll.

This is me, huh? This is what I look like to myself. This is how I can change what I am.

With barely a thought, the doll turned from Rainbow’s normal blue colour to Twilight’s purple. The doll’s mane turned from all the hues of the rainbow to Twilight’s mane colours, though there were still different shades of the same blues and purples throughout. A buzzing came from under the pedestal, and a compartment opened to make way for glass boards that rose up and folded around the doll’s space to make it into an exhibit piece. Rainbow Dash calmly stepped away and looked at the pedestal.

A sign appeared on it, sending tingles of pleasure through her.

“Property of Her Highness, Mistress Twilight Sparkle.”

Looking at herself, she saw the purple creeping up her hooves and displacing the blue of her fur.

Wow. I’m… Twilight’s now. I can feel her taking over me, all of me. Okay, that’s… that feels kinda nice, actually. I wonder if that’ll get even better?

With her hooves turned purple, Rainbow Dash walked over to the walls of her mental landscape to look at the posters. As she reached up for a Wonderbolts poster, the purple flowed up to her shoulders. She folded it up in a box and smiled as a poster showing her Mistress’s face appeared.

What did I just put away? A poster? Wonderbolts? What’s a Wonderbolt? Am I… am I starting to forget things? She looked around. Oh, I get it: Mistress wants me to clean up my head. Well, it can’t have been that important if I had to put it away.

The purple colour of her fur rose up to her belly when she took off a picture of her and Thunderlane, again replaced with a portrait of Mistress Twilight. Taking away a picture of Rainbow and Fluttershy at some place with a lot of butterflies made the purple soak into her tail. A stray thought nearly stopped her from taking down a picture of Pinkie Pie pranking her, but the purple kept on flowing up, taking over her neck. The same purple crept up the walls, pushing away the metallic blue that made the place look like a messy science fiction set.

Rainbow Dash looked around, her mental landscape now a shrine for Mistress Twilight Sparkle. A mirror appeared in front of her.

Rainbow Dash smirked. Wow. I look hot. All purple, with Mistress’s mane colours. Matches the doll and everything. Shame it’s not a complete copy, though. Oh well, guess there’s only room for one perfect mare.

Rainbow Dash picked up the box with the pictures, feeling the weight of her memories in them. She stepped through the looking glass and gasped as the vista unfolded before her. She stood on a vast white cliff, with the ocean roaring down below. With a deep breath to steel her nerves, she stepped to the edge and looked down.

The abyss was infinite, the waters would greedily keep whatever fell within them.

She gulped.

Okay, Rainbow Dash. This will be fine. Mistress Twilight is trying to help you.

She sat down and stroked her nether regions. The touch made her shiver and moan.

Hoo, tha-that’s a lot stronger than it was before. It’s working. I just have to obey, and then I’ll get to come.

I just have to be a good pet. Good pets obey, and good pets get rewards.

Mistress knows what’s best.

She held the box in her hooves and stretched her arms out before the abyss.

She let go.

Rainbow Dash smiled in bliss, a purple mare filled only with memories of obedience to her Mistress. She afforded herself one stroke, then sat and waited.

Okay. I did as Mistress asked. Now I’ll get my reward.

Nothing came, least of all Rainbow Dash. A sliver of fear crept into her mind.

Nothing’s happening. But Mistress would make sure I’m enjoying myself. I’ve finally let go of everything. She should be waking me up now, or filling me with more instructions.

Rainbow looked at her purple hooves. Mistress didn’t say she’d do this. She wasn’t supposed to be my Mistress in the first place. I-I was straight when I went into trance, wasn’t I?

Mistress wouldn’t do this to me, this is too sudden. I liked the Wonderbolts, I liked a lot of the memories I tossed away. Why did she make me throw them away?

Something’s wrong. Mistress is in trouble.

“T-Twilight?” Rainbow Dash opened her eyes and turned to stand on her four hooves, wobbling about in a daze. She saw Twilight holding her head in her hooves and crying.

Twilight looked up with a start. “Rainbow Dash? You weren’t supposed to… why did you wake up?”

Rainbow Dash rubbed her head, grimacing. “Umm, the trance, I think something went wrong. You went quiet after you made me throw away my memories, and I thought I heard you crying. I thought you were upset, or something had happened to you. A-are you okay?”

Twilight wiped away a tear. “I’m fine, I just… oh, what have I done? Are you still yourself, Rainbow Dash? What colour are you, in your mind’s eye?”

Rainbow squinted and looked at the floor, trying to concentrate. “Still purple. And all those things you made me forget, I can’t find them.”

Twilight walked over and tapped her on the forehead. “Dive down deep, pet.”

Rainbow Dash felt her jaw drop again along with her eyelids, her wings draped numbly on the floor and her rump went down to meet with the pillows.

Twilight kept that hoof on Rainbow’s forehead. “Okay, you’re obviously not fully awake yet. I want you to see yourself on that cliff again, pet. I want you to reach out for that box you threw away. It’s fallen deep, so deep, but it’s still in the water, and the water is in your mind. So the box is still in your mind, too. It’s right there, you just have to reach out and let it surface. Can you feel it coming to the surface?”

Rainbow Dash shook her head. “I dunno…”

Twilight pushed her hoof harder. “Feel my magic reaching out for it, pet. Your Mistress wants that box. Can you feel it coming back up?” Please don’t make me have to resort to a spell for this. Please tell me I didn’t screw up that badly, just tell me I don’t need magic to fix this.

Reluctantly, Rainbow Dash nodded. “Yes, Mistress.”

Twilight breathed a sigh of relief. “Okay, now I want you to take that box and put the posters back the way they were. As you do, you’ll feel the purple receding.”

Rainbow Dash grimaced. “Receding?”

Twilight nodded, keeping her voice as calm and even as she could, though the quiver still shone through. “Going away, flowing back like the tide. I want you to go back to your old self, pet. All blue, with a beautiful rainbow mane, and all her memories. Can you see yourself in the mirror again? Can you see the Wonderbolts, Fluttershy, and Pinkie Pie, all of them?”

Rainbow stood still for what seemed like an eternity, grimacing from time to time. When it was done, she smiled. “It’s all there. It’s all back.”

Twilight withdrew her hoof and sighed again. “Thank Heavens. For a second there, I thought I might have lost you.”

Rainbow winced and opened her eyes, looking sadly at her friend. Her stomach groaned, though her attention was centred somewhere lower. “You tried to make me into your pet, your slave. What’s wrong, Mist-“ She clenched her teeth together. “-Twilight? You don’t do that kind of thing, not to a friend.”

Twilight sat down and looked away. “I don’t know. I just wanted to help you with your problem, and then you had to go and make it all about the sex, I guess I just lost it. I’m really sorry, Rainbow Dash, I don’t know what came over me.”

Rainbow Dash cocked her head and held up a hoof, if a wobbly one. “One thing at a time. What were you planning to do with me once you had me?”

Twilight looked to the side and gulped. “I’d, um, I’d have sent a letter to Celestia to make you my new bodyguard, so you’d be my personal servant. I’d make it official, so nopony would notice you being around me all the time.”

Rainbow Dash perked her ears. “You were going to make me be with you, all the time? Really?”

Twilight nodded and wiped away the last of her tears. “Yes, really, and I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have done that, I don’t why I did.”

Rainbow kept her hoof up, if only to have something besides her arousal to concentrate on. “Hold on, Twilight, I still don’t get it. You don’t need a servant, and I know you’ve met plenty of stallions who’d do a better job at being your bodyguard than me. Actually, I’m pretty sure I introduced you to a few on that hurricane thing, so why me? What were you planning to do, like…”

“Sexually?”

Rainbow Dash nodded.

Twilight groaned. “I don’t know, okay? I don’t know what I was thinking or what I was going to do or why I was going to do it. I just think you’re physically attractive, is all. You’re strong, you’ve got perfectly outlined muscles, you’re flexible, and I guess I just wanted to have you to myself. There, I said it. I wanted you, I wanted to take you and keep you for some sick reason.”

Rainbow Dash narrowed her eyes. “Then why didn’t you?”

Twilight looked her friend in the eye. “What do you mean?”

“If you really wanted me that bad, why not use a spell? You know how to do it, you probably know how to hide it, too. Have you been lying to me?” Rainbow Dash leaned in, trying to catch her breath while sweat beads formed on her forehead.

Twilight vehemently shook her head. “No, no, honest. Hypnosis really does have limits, and I didn’t use a spell on you, I swear. I didn’t want to.”

Rainbow shrugged and averted her eyes. “Why not? It’d be easier.”

Twilight sobbed and wiped away another tear, anger rising in her voice. “I-I couldn’t, okay? I promised, and it didn’t feel right. I didn’t want you to be mine because I made you, I wanted you to be mine because you wanted to be. Do you have any idea how depressing it is to know the only way a pony will care about you is if you make them? That’s why I stopped when I did. I just felt this awful hollowness in my chest and it wouldn’t go away. I couldn’t keep going, I just started crying and then I couldn’t stop when I realised how badly I’d screwed up. I couldn’t do it, Rainbow, I just couldn’t.”

Rainbow Dash gulped and suppressed the urge to cry herself. She noticed a twitch in her wings, and one little vein at the base of her left wing was throbbing. She forced herself not to think about it. “I can imagine. That doesn’t make what you did right, though.”

Twilight looked up, eyes narrowed in thought. “But what about you?”

Rainbow raised an eyebrow, trying to still her pounding heart. “What about me?”

“You were just going to let it happen. I didn’t force you to listen or tie you down or drug you, you could’ve woken up anytime you wanted. Why were you going to let me take your life away?”

Rainbow Dash rubbed the back of her head and looked at the floor. She saw the dampness in between her hind legs and bit her lip when she realised she was still insanely aroused, so much so that ignoring it wouldn’t help. “Because it felt good. Having somepony take care of me, somepony who understands me, somepony I can just cut loose with for once, I want that now.”

Twilight let her head hang in defeat. “So you really do get aroused just from being dominated.”

Rainbow Dash groaned and stroked her marehood. “No, not just that. What you did just now, it wasn’t being owned that turned me on, it was knowing I wouldn’t be alone anymore. You’re the only pony I feel that good with.”

Twilight’s head snapped up, surprised. “Wait, what? That can’t be right, I didn’t put that in you. Why would you think of me like that?”

Rainbow shrugged, never taking her hoof off her marehood. Her wings twitched and throbbed as she moved. “Same reason you wanted me to be all yours, maybe?”

Twilight gulped. “Rainbow… does this mean we’re both attracted to each other? Does this mean we might be in love?”

Rainbow grimaced and idly stroked herself more. “I don’t know, Twilight. I don’t feel so good.” Something groaned in her belly, making her buck feebly.

Twilight strode over and put the back of her hoof on Rainbow Dash’s forehead. “You’re burning up. Your body’s all flush.”

“I wanna come, Twilight. I wanna come so hard, I’m sorry.” Rainbow Dash gritted her teeth and kept on stroking, one hoof now exploring her chest.

“Shh, it’s okay, Rainbow.” Twilight stroked her friend’s face. “It’s just your body acting up and your mind getting all confused, you can’t help that.”

Rainbow Dash shivered and nodded, her wings fully erect and stiff from the excitement. “I still can’t come on my own, Twilight.”

Twilight got closer and looked down at the moist marehood. “Do you trust me, Rainbow Dash?”

Rainbow Dash grimaced. “How can I trust you after what you just did?”

Twilight leaned in and whispered, putting a hoof to her friend’s most private spot. “Your mind is conflicted because you woke up too suddenly, Rainbow. If you can come, the afterglow will clear your mind and you’’ll feel better, standard magical banishing. I want to make this up to you, but I’m not going to if you don’t want me to.”

Rainbow Dash closed her eyes. “Okay. But do you know what to do?”

“I’ve read some books on the topic, yes.” Twilight came closer and gently pushed Rainbow Dash onto her lap, keeping the pegasus mare’s legs around her waist. “Just relax, and think about sexy guys, okay? Whatever fantasies you have, let those happen, and you’ll be back to normal in no time. And if you want to hurt me… that’s okay, too. Anything to get you back to normal.”

Rainbow Dash did as she was told and leaned back, keeping her front hooves on Twilight’s shoulders. She closed her eyes as Twilight gently let her down onto the pillows and started thrusting, rubbing her nether lips against Rainbow’s.

Rainbow tried to find the right images that would trigger her body. Thunderlane flashed through her mind, with his sweet smell and the adorable way she’d seen him care for his baby brother back in flight school. It didn’t do much for her. The image of an alicorn stallion came to her, a commanding presence that made her into a slave. It didn’t do anything, either.

She opened her eyes and saw Twilight grimacing and grinding against her lithe pegasus physique. Rainbow felt something give inside her, and the motion of wet lips against wet lips finally registered the way it should. Her body tensed as she felt Twilight’s soft flesh and fur rub and stroke against her own, sending ripples of pleasure through her. The muscles Twilight kept underneath that egghead exterior pulsed and throbbed ever so gently against the hard powerhouses Rainbow Dash had under her skin. It felt oddly comforting, even familiar.

It’s Twilight that turns me on. The other stuff doesn’t work because I just don’t feel it. I feel it for Twilight.

Rainbow grunted as her arousal built, with Twilight picking up the pace. The alicorn winced in what looked like a mix of guilt and shame.

Rainbow reached up and gave Twilight a nip on the neck. Twilight gasped, and Rainbow bit down as hard as her arousal and smouldering anger let her. Her back arched, her body tensed, and unlike their earlier sessions she could feel Twilight doing the same this time. Still Rainbow kept her teeth sunk in Twilight’s neck, just to get the anger out of her system.

They froze, though that didn’t stop their hips from bucking at each other or their fluids from coating the pillows below. Rainbow Dash held Twilight in a powerful embrace and bit down harder, making Twilight yelp ever so softly.

When it was over, Twilight went limp on top of her friend. Flustered, she quickly got up and pointed at the stairs, rubbing her now sore neck with a hoof. “Um, you’d better go and shower. If Spike walks in, I’ll tell him you crashed in some mud and splashed me.”

Rainbow Dash finally caught her breath and rubbed her head. It was still pounding, but she didn’t feel the need to fondle any part of herself, at least. And the need to submit had been purged for the moment. She nodded slowly, ignoring the mild pain she’d caused her friend. “Twilight, what are we gonna do?”

Twilight pointed to the stairs again. “Shower, now.”

Reluctantly, Rainbow Dash marched up the stairs, her back turned to the princess. “I mean after that. Are we lesbians now? Were you always one?”

Twilight picked up the pillows in her magic. “No, I don’t think I ever was.”

“But you did like doing what we just did?” Rainbow Dash turned her head.

Twilight let her head hang. “I did. And I know that’s wrong, I didn’t mean to force you into anything, well, sexual. It’s just that that’s the only way I know to fix the mess I made of things.”

“It’s okay. I let you, and I liked it. I don’t hate you, Twilight.”

Twilight groaned softly. “What about me trying to own you? You can’t pretend you’re not angry about that. Don’t tell me you bite everypony you like.”

Rainbow Dash shrugged. “Well, I am angry, and you deserved something for it, but so what? I’ve been upset with you before, you’ve been angry at me, it always turns out okay. I don’t wanna stay mad at you just because you did one bad thing without thinking about it, especially if part of it is my fault. And I can’t pretend I didn’t hear you say what you did, neither can you. So unless you plan on wiping both our memories, what are we gonna do?”

Twilight sighed. “There’s no point discussing this when neither of us has a clear head, so how about we just call in a break for now? No trancing, no trying to live out fantasies, we just take a step back and try to figure out where we stand.”

Rainbow nodded solemnly. “Okay. Time to think. Thinking’s good.” She exited the basement and went to Twilight’s bathroom. She switched on the hot water and let it run over her mane, before turning to let it clean off her tail and her private regions. Soon enough, the smell of her arousal was rinsed away. With her fur wet, she looked around for some soap. She uncapped the first bottle she found and took a whiff. Lavender. Of course it’s lavender.

After what had happened in her mental control centre, she decided against using that bottle. She heaved a deep sigh and just relaxed under the stream of water, taking a bottle of ‘Machete Jungle Fever’ soap instead, most likely belonging to a certain dragon.

Rainbow idly soaped herself up to get the events of the day off her mind. She breathed in the warm vapours and tried to block out the memory of her best friend’s arousal scents with whatever aroma Spike tried to impress Rarity with.

Just gotta get through this. Wash up, rinse off, go home, get some rest, do some thinking.

We can work through this, we’ve gone through worse. We just need time to think.

She groaned. Right, because I’m a really big thinker. Shouldn’t be any problem for a smart pony like me.

She let her head rest against the wall and felt her throat to check her heart rate. It was almost back to normal, along with her breath. The last physical traces of the life-changing events that had transpired mere minutes before were all but gone. She could just as easily pretend it never happened, and so could Twilight, once Rainbow was out of the shower. Rainbow Dash let off another dejected sigh.

This was supposed to be fun. Why did it have to get so complicated?

Author's Note

This chapter was hard. Not the first scene, not the hypnosis, but the aftermath got deleted and rewritten. Originally it was a two-way thing they did to clear Rainbow's mind, but that just didn't feel believable. It also focused on the chest area in terms of stimulation. Rainbow always bit Twilight, though. The shower thing was also new.

Next up is a Scootaloo thing, kinda short but should be good on the feels, as well as both parties trying to figure out where they stand.

Thinking with Brains is Hard

Physically, Rainbow Dash was feeling like a million bits that morning. The skies over Ponyville had been cleared, Cloud Kicker and Raindrops had gone the extra mile and tagged along for her morning workout, all in all things were shaping up to be, as Twilight would say, certainly fine.

Which was just perfect, because she had a lot of thinking to do. Sure, the minor burn of a good few flips, spins, and dashes helped clear her head, and the company for her usual training routine had been nice enough, but the topic on her mind today was heavier than usual. She had two questions that needed answering, and only two.

Am I really gay? And if I am, am I gay for Twilight?

Granted, there were other issues to consider, but she was nothing if not a mare with solid priorities. Flying over Ponyville to do one final check on all the clouds, Rainbow Dash considered some of the mares she knew and how attractive she felt they were.

Let’s see… I wouldn’t make out with Cheerilee, that’s for sure. I wouldn’t try to get hooked up with Fluttershy, I’d hurt her feelings on the first day. I’d drive Rarity nuts because I’m not as finnicky as she is, and Applejack would drive me nuts because she’s as stubborn as I am, so they’re out.

Her mind then drifted to the stallions in her life. I’d totally go out with Big MacIntosh, if he asked. I’d still go out with Thunderlane, and Twilight’s brother isn’t that bad-looking, either. Applejack’s got plenty of stallions in her family I think are good-looking, and none of the mares in her family really do it for me.

She shook her head in confusion. So why is Twilight the only mare I’d wanna be with? What makes her so special? Is it really just us being that much alike? But I had a lot in common with Lightning Dust, too, and Applejack. Twilight’s not the hottest mare in town, even if she is cute, so why Twilight and not them?

She sighed. Then a different detail dawned on her. Hang on. We’re all adults, aren’t we? And adults have some kind of sex life. Except I don’t, or I didn’t until Twilight helped me. Maybe that has something to do with it.

She found herself landing on a cloud -- one that was there with Weather Patrol permission, of course -- near Sugarcube Corner. She looked down at the crowds.

Let’s see… Flitter and Cloudchaser, they probably date stallions. At the very least, they masturbate. There’s Cheerilee, I can’t imagine she doesn’t stroke herself to ease off the stress. Then Derpy. Well, Derpy’s an adult too, she must have needs.

Her eyes wandered to a pair of friends. Lyra and Bon Bon, they’re together a lot. And Bon Bon is a lot less touchy when Lyra’s around, too. I wonder if they’re a couple, and Lyra just gets her off? They look happy together, at least. She shook that thought away. Get a grip, Rainbow Dash. Just because Twilight and you did it doesn’t mean every pair of mares in Ponyville is a pair of lesbian fetish nuts.

That brought the mental image of Lyra and Bon Bon dressed in rubber to Rainbow’s mind. It did not compute. Oh, horseapples.

There has to be a reason, though, doesn’t there? Everypony I know, every adult, knows what sex is, they had the same classes as I did. And they must have all masturbated at least once before they grew up. So why didn’t I? Why would I need somepony like Twilight to show me that? Am I special or is Twilight special? And in a good way or a bad way?

Her loins stirred at the thought. That was really nice of her, though, getting me off when I couldn’t do it myself. Shame it was over so quickly, though, that could’ve been a lot more fun than it was. She felt her face grow flush. Stay focused, Rainbow. She deserved every bite you gave her, too, and it’s still not okay what she tried to do to you, even if it was a turn-on. So why is it getting harder to stay angry at her? Sure, you don’t hold grudges that much, not usually, but that was kind of a big deal. There has to be a reason Twilight’s gotten under your skin while no other pony has.

What makes me different? What makes her different? You can figure this out, Rainbow, it’s not rocket science, it’s sex. Sex is physical, you’re good at physical. Just think why you never masturbated when everypony else has. It’s a normal thing to do in private, everypony does it. Cheerilee masturbates to buff stallions, probably, Pinkie Pie… is Pinkie Pie, no sense wondering about her, Rarity…. probably masturbates to pictures of royalty or something? Do they make prince porn at all?

She rolled over on the cloud, defeated by her train of thought.

Great. That’s just great. First I get so hung up on sex I nearly drive my best friend nuts with it, then I find out I might have the hots for my best friend when we have something that looks like sex, now every single pony I see looks like a compulsory self-gratifier. She pressed a hoof to her forehead when she realised exactly how she’d worded that in her head. And on top of that, Twilight’s been putting the Equestrian Dictionary in my brain.

“Rainbow Dash? Is that you up there?” A voice called out.

Rainbow flipped over and looked at the pony down below. Okay, maybe not every pony masturbates. At least, not for a few more years… I hope. “Hi, Scootaloo.” She flew down with a flourish. “What’s up?”

The filly flashed her a nervous smile, standing unsteadily on her scooter. “Umm, I was wondering if it’s okay if I came over to your place for the weekend? Like, tomorrow night and Saturday night?”

Rainbow Dash cocked her head. “You mean like a sleepover? With Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle?”

Scootaloo looked away and blushed. “No, just me. My parents have this thing to get to, and I was gonna ask Apple Bloom or Sweetie Belle, or my grandparents, but I thought since you said you’d be like my big sister and all…”

Rainbow Dash felt her heart sink. Huh. Talk about awkward. I’ve been so wrapped up with the whole sex thing I’d almost forget all the things that aren’t sex-related. Maybe that’s why I never got into it before: I was just too busy.

Scootaloo looked up at the mare, anxious. “Well? Is it okay for me to come?”

Rainbow Dash did her best not to chuckle or drag the filly off to wash her mouth with soap. Kid, you have no idea how bad that sounds with everything that’s been going on. “Sure. You’re right, I did promise I’d take you under my wing, and it’s about time I did. I’ve got nothing planned, you can come over for the weekend.”

Scootaloo’s face lit up with a smile so wide it made Rainbow wonder if the girl had been taking lessons from Pinkie Pie. “Really?”

Rainbow Dash nodded, smiling brightly at her fan. “Sure. If your parents are okay with it.”

The filly’s smile evaporated. “Oh, they are. I’ll see you tomorrow then, Rainbow Dash!”

Scootaloo turned and took off on her scooter, rushing off towards Sweet Apple Acres and the safety of the Cutie Mark Crusader clubhouse. She wiped her brow once she was clear.

“Hey, what’s the big rush? If you wanted to race, you just had to ask.”

Scootaloo looked to her right. Rainbow Dash wasn’t even breaking a sweat keeping up with her, just going at a casual high speed strut. The filly hit the brakes, nearly veering off with a loud screech before Rainbow extended a hoof to the steering rod to stabilise her.

Rainbow Dash frowned. “What’s wrong, Scootaloo? Didn’t you ask your parents for permission?”

Scootaloo gulped. “Yes, I did! And they said it was all right, honest!”

Rainbow nodded calmly. “Good. Then it won’t be any problem if I go over to your place and make sure. Where do you live?”

The filly groaned nervously. “No, you can’t. They’re really busy getting ready for the weekend, they have a ton of work to do, they don’t even want me to go in.”

Rainbow Dash folded her arms in front of her chest, hovering to look down at the girl. “Look, kiddo, if your parents know about it, fine, but I still need to hear they’re okay with you spending two nights at my place, from them. I’m not about to get us both in trouble just because you don’t want me to know who your parents are. What’s so bad about them that you can’t tell me?”

Scootaloo turned away and got her scooter pointing towards the apple orchard again. “Um, never mind, then. It’s not that important, I can sleep over at Sweetie Belle’s place.”

That got the gears in Rainbow Dash’s mind turning. Let’s see, she said her parents would be out for the weekend, but that doesn’t mean anything. The only place I know that’s closed then is… oooh.

Rainbow Dash scratched her head as Scootaloo revved up to leave. “Say, squirt? Before you go, can I ask you something?”

The filly froze with nerves, wings buzzing in anticipation. “Sure?”

“Scootaloo, is that your real name?”

The filly tensed up more, her ears drooped nervously, and her wings revved up like an engine, a tell-tale sign she was ready to bolt. “Err… yes?”

Bingo. “Uhuh. You know, if you’re not gonna come clean to me, I’m just gonna have to ask Pinkie Pie. And if you never made her Pinkie promise to keep things a secret, she’s gonna tell me. I never really thought about it, but you can’t have been named after your scooter. Your real name just sounds like it, huh?” Rainbow tried her best to keep a gentle smile up. All things considered, she wasn’t sure what would work.

Scootaloo sighed. “It’s a stupid name.”

Rainbow Dash chuckled. “No, it’s not. It’s tradition, especially for Earth ponies. A lot of them are named after plants, so sometimes they name their kids after a fruit of a plant, or a seed, or a shoot. Which, I’m just guessing, would make you...”

Scootaloo groaned, defeated. Her wings stopped buzzing, seeing as escape wasn’t an option anymore. “Shoot of Aloe. You already kinda know my mom, she’s a spa pony.”

Rainbow Dash nodded calmly. “Okay, I’ll fly over there and get it all clear.”

The filly grimaced. “You’re not gonna laugh at my mom being so… frou-frou?”

Rainbow took off a slight distance and shrugged. “Laugh at your parents? Kid, I never laugh at anypony’s family; it’s not fair. I’m kinda jealous, actually: your mom can give you a massage after a long workout. That’s a pretty sweet deal for ponies like us, especially if you ever overdo it.” She winked.

Scootaloo nervously rubbed her head. “Well, it does help sometimes, kinda.”

Rainbow Dash flew up further, leaving the girl to her own devices. “I’m gonna go talk to your mom at the spa, then, make sure everything’s clear. See you around!”

“See you around, Rainbow Dash!”

The mare took off at her usual speed, still pondering. Wow. Even after what happened on that camping trip, she’s still scared of embarrassing herself in front of me. Guess I can’t blame her. It must be pretty scary trying to impress an awesome pony like me. I’d feel pretty embarrassed, too, if my friends ever met my parents. Well, except Twilight. I wouldn’t feel embarrassed in front of her.

She stopped in mid-air.

I don’t ever feel embarrassed around Twilight. Surprised, sure, but not embarrassed.

Maybe that’s why I like her more?

Twilight Sparkle fidgeted the whole train ride, her mind reeling with what had happened. When she finally arrived at her destination, she was no closer to an answer. Nevertheless, walking down the pristine boulevards of the Crystal Empire and taking in all the sights, she let her mind wander to the big questions at hoof in yet another attempt to find what she was looking for.

Am I an awful pony for trying to make Rainbow Dash my slave? Yes, that was horrible and I shouldn’t have done it. But Rainbow Dash can forgive me, just like she forgives everything anypony ever does to her. That’s just how loyal she is, I hope. That’s no excuse to treat her badly, though.

Am I an awful pony for stimulating her sexually right after she broke trance? Maybe. She asked for it, literally asked for it, and she needed it to get it out of her system. She didn’t object, she didn’t hold anything against me, she actually enjoyed that. The climax helped clear her head, or at least it should have, no reason to think it didn’t. And she did get even as much as she could.

Twilight idly rubbed her neck before continuing down the main road, the flesh tender just from thinking about what had transpired. And I liked what she did, too, at least when she was trying to be gentle. She didn’t know what she was doing, I barely knew what she was doing, and we both got some enjoyment out of it. It was a little too short and tense, but given the circumstances it could have been a lot worse. There’s potential there, at least. If we read up on it a little, we could… we could really have fun together.

Except I’m not into mares, never have been. I’ve seen plenty of stallions I like, I stroke myself just as much as the Equestrian Surgeon General says is average, and I’ve never thought about mares while I was doing it. Well, except when I started reading those books for Rainbow, maybe, but that was just to get the feeling of it right.

It doesn’t make any sense. Why would I be attracted to Rainbow Dash? She’s a straight mare, and so am I. I don’t even know what came over me, trying to make her my pet for real.

She looked around and found she had ascended the last step of a long staircase, leading her onto a balcony high above the streets. Her answers, or rather the mare who had them, walked over and gave her a warm, friendly, and most importantly, familiar hug.

Cadence smiled as she broke away. “Hello, Twilight. How’ve you been?” She led the way to a pair of cushions and a low table, where some of the local sweet treats had been prepared. Tea was already poured, and Twilight’s nose picked up on that rare aroma only her favourite blend had. Cadence took a bite out of a cinnamon bun, clearly a cue for Twilight to start talking. The lack of song and dance in their greeting only made it more clear to Twilight that she must have looked extremely worried, or that her old friend just didn’t want to make her feel uncomfortable.

Cadence always did know when I didn’t feel like talking. Well, no use in delaying the inevitable. “I had a bit of an accident, actually.”

Cadence swallowed and let the bun float gently down on her dish. “Really? What happened?”

Twilight shrugged, making sure to keep her wings steady for once. “I snapped. I did a terrible thing to somepony very close to me, we had kind of a fight, and now I’m just so confused I don’t know what to think anymore.”

Cadence reached out with a hoof to keep Twilight from looking away. “Twily, did you hurt one of your friends? Are they still hurting now?”

Twilight shook her head. “No, nothing that bad. They’re okay now, I think, but… I don’t know why, but I’ve started feeling possessive about them and it won’t go away.”

Cadence narrowed her eyes. “So, wait. There’s a pony you feel should be yours, like property?”

Twilight winced and nodded. “That’s horrible, isn’t it?”

The pink alicorn held up a hoof. “And you wanted to be with them so badly you just snapped?”

Twilight nodded, keeping her eyes on the teacup. “Yes. I think I may have finally gone crazy. Everything just fell apart, and I didn’t even realise I was doing anything wrong until it was too late.”

To her surprise, Cadence squeed and made a face most mares reserved for when they saw a cute baby. “Oooh, Twily’s got a special somepony!”

Twilight recoiled. “Wait, what?”

“You’re in love, Twilight. I could practically smell it when you walked up the stairs, and you’re not exactly hiding it, either. You’re distracted, your wings have this cute little shake in them, I’ll bet you have butterflies in your stomach and everything.”

Twilight groaned, then formulated and immediately abandoned her plan to go suck on a can of insecticide just to check if that helped her feel better. “But I’ve started thinking of ponies like property! That’s awful!”

“Yeah, it is. And it’s perfectly normal for an alicorn who’s just ascended.” Cadence took a casual sip of her tea.

Twilight stared for a moment, then picked up her jaw. “Excuse me?”

Cadence shrugged. “When you ascend, or transform in any way, your consciousness changes, your wiring changes. The way some emotions affect you, it becomes more intense. All the different parts of you start talking more loudly. You’re still you, but you’re even more you than usual. And you, Twilight, have some… different ways of caring about somepony. It sounds like you just overdid it for somepony you love.”

She thinks I’m exaggerating. She thinks it was just a harmless little argument. This is the Smartypants incident all over again! Well, no point in breaking the illusion, I suppose. “But I’m not in love with this pony, that’s what’s confusing me.” I wouldn’t call physical attraction ‘love’, anyway.

Cadence chuckled. “Oh, really, Twily? So this pony you snapped at, it’s not somepony you’d want to be with, no matter what? You can honestly say you wouldn’t do anything to make them happy?”

Twilight looked away bashfully. Well, I do want Rainbow Dash to be happy. The whole reason we got in this mess was because I accidentally found out she was in pain. “Okay, maybe.”

Cadence stealthily rubbed her wings against her sides, a minor tic she used to have when things were going her way. “And do you get all giddy inside about being around them, maybe even nervous? Do you constantly want them to be impressed, more than you do any other pony?”

All right, I was pretty happy that one time I beat Rainbow Dash at the Falling of the Leaves race. And I can’t say I cared as much for what Applejack had to say about that. The first thing I did when I met Rainbow Dash was try and look as confident as she did. I didn’t want her to ever think I was a pushover, that’s for sure.

Cadence didn’t even wait for a reply; the look on Twilight’s face said enough. “And with the way you like things under control, do you try to keep that pony in line more than any other pony you know?”

Oh, no. Pulling her away when I thought she was mad at Applejack, all the times I tried to correct her when she misspoke, the Mare Do Well thing, I really do crack down harder on her. I’m even harder on her than I am on Spike.

Cadence kept up her smirk. “Are you absolutely sure you don’t have a crush on anypony?”

Twilight shook her head vehemently. “That’s ridiculous. None of those things mean anything. None of those things say anything about being in love.”

The pink alicorn chuckled. “Maybe not for other ponies. But I know you, Twilight, and everything you’ve told me so far sounds like you’re in love and you’re just scared to admit it. Think about it for a minute. You love dear Shiny, how do you act around him?”

Twilight bit her lip as she considered it. “I don’t do anything out of the ordinary with him.”

Cadence didn’t let up one bit. “You and I both know that’s not true, Twily. Every time he’s around, you’re checking if his mane is in order, if his fur is nice and groomed, if his armour is all shiny and hooked up just right. You always check him, you always meddle.”

Twilight looked away, embarrassed. “No, I don’t, I never do that.”

“Oh, not when other ponies are around, no, not when you might embarrass him. But you still did it at the wedding, even while I was walking down the aisle and nopony was watching him but you. And the rest of the time? Face it: you show you love somepony by getting finnicky over details around them. You get attached and you meddle, more than you do with just friends. You never did that kind of thing with me, and I’ll bet you don’t do that with your friends, either, but you do that for Shiny, because you are a lot closer to him. It’s part of who you are. Maybe becoming an alicorn made that part stronger for a little while, strong enough to go out of control for a pony you have a real crush on.”

Twilight groaned. “You don’t understand, Cadence. I have nothing in common with this pony, nothing. We’re friends, sure, but half the time I’m not even sure how we manage to stay friends. I don’t even know how I’m supposed to make up for it.”

Cadence gave Twilight a stern glance. “But is that because you don’t know or because you’re scared to look at it that way? And if they’re really that angry at you for whatever you did, why even ask for advice if it’s hopeless? It can’t be that bad if you still think I can help you.”

Twilight bit her lip. What am I talking about? I do have a lot in common with Rainbow Dash, I've known that for a long time, now. We both try to improve all the time, but we both like fun. She has the same drive for her tricks and flying as I do for reading and magic. “Umm… maybe you’ve got a point. But what am I supposed to do about it? All the things I’ve thinking about doing, it just feels wrong. You don’t even know what I did.”

Cadence chuckled before finishing her bun. “Really, Twilight, how bad could it be? How bad can you possibly be?”

Twilight flashed a nervous smile. Umm… worse than you might think?

Cadence sat back, thinking aloud. “And I suppose you never were the dating type, but whatever you’re thinking of doing, at least a part of you wants to just do it. Romantic dinner by candlelight, reading together, I’m sure you’d like that sort of thing if you tried. As for getting somepony to forgive you? Give it time, and make sure you understand each other. Accidents happen for ponies like us.”

Well, that’s just peachy. So me fantasising about pushing Rainbow’s muzzle into my marehood is normal, huh? Turning her into a doll, making her learn how to stimulate all my erogenous zones properly, using her as an experimental subject… oh, who am I kidding? I really would enjoy all that. And so would she, if I just respected her limits, which I would. “So just trust my instincts, then?” Twilight took a careful sip of her tea, trying to take all this information in.

Cadence nodded. “Trust your instincts. You’d be surprised how much you can clear up with just talking. And besides, if it turns out it was just a one-time thing, that doesn’t mean you can’t still be friends, right? If you both really want to, you patch things up and go your own separate ways without any hard feelings.”

Yeah, that’s true. Rainbow Dash has already had one relationship that had to end, and she’s still friends with him. She would be able to see the bigger picture.

Cadence leaned in and motioned for Twilight to continue. Twilight blinked, oblivious. “What?”

Cadence rolled her eyes. “How much longer are you going to keep me in suspense, Twilight?”

Twilight looked left, then right. “About what?”

Cadence chuckled. “Who’s the lucky guy?”

She couldn’t quite feel it happening, but the sudden ‘woosh’ sound of her wings snapping to erection made Twilight acutely aware of where the term ‘wingboner’ had originated, as well as why so many erotica authors had a marked fascination for the phenomenon. Uh oh, I didn’t think this through. Cadence knows me too well, she’ll guess what’s going on. And on top of that, I can’t think of any lies she might fall for. I can’t tell her I’m a lesbian, I can’t tell her Rainbow Dash is the pony I’m infatuated… aroused… attracted… horseapples, why is it so hard to tell what I’m feeling? And how am I supposed to hide this?

Celestia said I had the honesty of a princess now. Does that mean I’m as bad at lying as Applejack is? Think, Twilight, think! “Oh, it’s not a stallion you know.” Brilliant, Twilight, brilliant. Daring Do couldn’t have come up with a better line herself.

“Not gonna tell me, then?” Cadence smiled mischievously. “That’s okay; I can guess. I’ll bet it’s kind of a jock, huh? Really buff, or maybe really lean? It’s gotta be somepony who looks strong and fit, at least.”

Twilight went wide-eyed. “How exactly did you guess that? You’re not reading my mind, are you?”

Cadence took another casual sip of her tea, before digging into a slice of cake. “I don’t need to. I remember when we used to play, and what colts got your eye. There wasn’t much that could distract you, but it was there. You haven’t changed all that much, Twilight, not where it counts.”

Twilight blushed and let out a nervous sigh. “Okay, you got me.”

Cadence put a hoof to her chin, thinking and staring intently into Twilight’s eyes. “So it’s an athlete, or a workhorse, at least. Oh, you’re not dating that Apple stallion, are you? What was his name? The big red one, not much of a talker?”

“Big Macintosh? No, not him.” I don’t think he’d look quite as cute in trance, anyway. Besides, if Applejack didn’t kill me, the Cutie Mark Crusaders would try to get in on the act. She suppressed a shudder at that thought, albeit barely.

Cadence waved the remark away. “No, of course not. Your Prince Charming would have a blue mane.”

Twilight felt her ears flatten. Cadence just kept her smirk up. “I’m right, aren’t I? You’ve got a crush on somepony with a deep blue mane.”

Twilight clenched her teeth, then forced out a nod. “Yes, there is blue in that pony’s mane.” And red, and green, and yellow…

Cadence smiled petulantly, smirking to herself. “So… athletic, blue mane, anything else you feel like sharing?”

Twilight fidgeted in place. “Not really, no, and I’d rather not talk about it at all at this point, if that’s okay. I, um, I’ve suddenly got a lot more to think about. Promise you won’t tell Shiny about this?”

Cadence held up a hoof in front of her chest to swear. “I promise he won’t hear it from me, nor will anypony else. But if you can patch things up and it does turn out to be serious, you’re gonna have to bring that stallion along sometime eventually. If he can get under your skin like that, he must be something special.”

Yeah… that stallion, sure. Well, at least now I’ve got confirmation. Cadence didn’t even know I might be in love, and she could tell I was.

Maybe I should just face it: everything I’ve been doing, I’ve done because I want to be with Rainbow Dash. And doing all that, controlling her, I can’t remember ever feeling better.

Maybe it’s not the control I like so much. Maybe it’s just cutting loose and doing what I want. Maybe I just needed somepony I could share that with.

“You okay, Twilight? I’m sorry if I got a little too excited there. But hey, this is great, isn’t it? You’re finally getting a taste of real love. Don’t you think so?”

Good point. Apparently it tastes like a mare’s exertion sweat. And when you get right down to it, I don’t really have a good reason to think it’s wrong. We’re both adults, we can agree on some rules, and we both enjoy it.

We can be closer together than any so-called ‘normal’ ponies ever could, all I have to do is fix my mistake and own up to it. Rainbow Dash will understand, and even if she doesn’t, at least now I know what I’m in for.

For better or worse, I am a sexual dominant. Took me long enough to figure it out, but at least now I know.

Cadence is right. This could be the best thing I’ve ever discovered.

“I guess you’re right. Thank you, Cadence, I needed to get my head together after… well, the less said about it, the better.”

Cadence winced in sympathy. “Knowing you, I can imagine it's a little embarrassing. But it can’t be worse than the broom incident, at least.”

Twilight blushed furiously. “Nothing could be worse than the broom incident, no, so that’s something. Speaking of embarrassing incidents, how’s my big brother doing, training the Crystal Empire athletes?”

Cadence nearly choked on her tea, trying her best to look as royal as she could whilst simultaneously fighting back the tea determined to make its way out through her nostrils. “Oh, Twilight, you wouldn’t believe me if I told you.”

Twilight smiled and shrugged. “Tell me anyway. You never know how long it’ll take before we get a chance to catch up without some threat to Equestria interrupting us.”

Author's Note

Oh, the foreshadowing in this chapter. The idea for Scootaloo's name came from arcum42, and no, Scootaloo will not be hypnotised next chapter. I had intended to do a scene where Scootaloo flies because Rainbow Dash puts her in trance and that forces the girl to tap into all her magic, but I cut it. I didn't cut it because it was too close to foalcon, 'coz I'm weird like that, but rather... I cut it because I'd done it already.

No, I'm not referring to that one chapter in that other story that was kinda popular (seriously, why?), I'm referring to my former magnum opus: the Flight Camp fic. I've already done Rainbow Dash using hypnotherapy, this story didn't need it again. In hindsight, I wouldn't have even included Scootaloo if it wasn't a necessary inclusion for Rainbow's daily life. It's getting stale and formulaic (not to mention some accusations), but at least here's it's for a reason. The point is to show that despite everything, Rainbow Dash still keeps her job, and she's still expected to perform normally. So obviously, the conflict's going to be between those two lives.

Honestly, I'm writing this the same way I wrote Flight Camp, and I'm running into the same problem: I know the final scene, but right now I've run out of key scenes in between. All the significant, carrying scenes and ideas have been jotted down, but there's a lot that still needs to happen to get to the end. So it may peter out slightly. At the very least, it needs more sex scenes. I still haven't written enough of those to keep this under 'clopfics'. At least three angles come to mind, here's hoping they work.

I also want to point out the question of lesbianism isn't due to prejudice, but identity. There's not going to be any overt gay-bashing in this fic, at most it'll be some apprehension. The tension isn't coming from persecution, it's just the insecurity of being something you didn't know you were and in fact know nothing of. Twilight's reason for the crush just seemed like the normal thing to go for, I don't know what the fandom dictates on that. Basically, this chapter is where Twilight gets her head around how she's feeling. Next chapter is RD doing the same and the confrontation. Then it's the epic three-parter of hilarity, and I do hope I can keep writing, because this story's getting harder and harder to do right.

Growing

Scootaloo set her scooter at the base of the hill and put a lock on it, tying it to the fence around Tank’s pen. She looked down as the tortoise started making his way towards the wooden box in the centre of his pen, then up to Rainbow Dash. “Doesn’t Tank live with you?”

Rainbow Dash nodded. “Sure he does. He lives right here.”

Scootaloo frowned. “But doesn’t he fly up to your home?”

The mare trotted up the hill towards her cloud home, Scootaloo right behind her. “Sometimes, but he can’t be airborne all the time. Tank’s a tortoise, remember? He needs to keep his legs going, too. Can’t have any pet of mine getting out of shape.”

The pair stopped at the top of the hill and looked up to Rainbow Dash’s cloud home.

Scootaloo gulped, her wings trembled. Rainbow Dash flashed her a sympathetic smile. “You can’t fly that high, huh?”

Scootaloo let her head hang. “No.”

Rainbow Dash leaned down and presented her neck to the filly. “Then I guess I’ll just have to carry you.”

Scootaloo sighed and clambered up the mare’s neck. “Sorry, Rainbow Dash. I should have told you sooner.”

Rainbow Dash took off slowly and steadily. “What? That you can’t fly yet? I already know, kid, it’s hard to miss. It’s not like I haven’t carried you before.”

Scootaloo clenched her teeth together as she recalled their trip to Rainbow Falls. Rainbow Dash didn’t seem to notice. She just set down on the fluffy porch of her cloud home and smiled. “There we go. Welcome to my place. What do you think?”

Scootaloo’s grip tightened. She gulped again. “I-it’s awesome, Rainbow Dash.”

Rainbow turned her head as much as she could, but she couldn’t see the filly’s face. She noticed the tension, though. “What’s the matter, kid?”

Scootaloo didn’t answer. She just stared at the cloud door, at the cloud walls, at the cloud floor, they weren’t even inside yet and she was ready to bolt. Rainbow raised an eyebrow. “Scootaloo? What’s wrong?”

Scootaloo jerked her head when she heard her name. “I-I’m… I’ve never been on clouds before. Not walking, at least.”

Rainbow Dash’s raised eyebrow was joined by its neighbour. “Never? Your dad never took you up to Cloudsdale?”

Scootaloo bit her lip. “Um, no. My dad’s a unicorn.”

Rainbow Dash turned her head away from the filly and thought. “Huh. Anypony I know?”

“You know Pokey Pierce?”

Rainbow’s ears perked. “Oh, blue guy, white mane, long horn? With a safety pin for a cutie mark?”

Scootaloo nodded nervously. “Yeah, him. He’s a paedo-something.”

Rainbow’s mind suddenly took a dip in the gutter, before she realised her first impulse was most likely wrong. “You mean he’s a doctor for kids.”

“Right, that.”

Phew. “So neither of your parents know how to fly? You don’t have any pegasus ponies in your family?”

Scootaloo tensed up again. “Nopony I’ve met. That’s kinda why I was hoping, you know…”

Rainbow Dash chuckled. “Yeah, I get it. So this is your first time up so high, huh? First time you’re setting hoof on a cloud?”

Scootaloo took a deep breath, but even that didn’t steady her nerves. “Yep.”

“Okay, so you’re scared to step on one. I can fix that.” Rainbow Dash sat down on her haunches and reached around to push the girl forward. “Crawl on over and stand on my legs. Try not to look at the cloud.”

Naturally, Scootaloo got a very good look at the fluffy, soft, and entirely insubstantial cloud substance that would undoubtedly break and send her plummeting to certain death as soon as she stepped on it. She did manage to stand stably on her hind legs, though, keeping her front hooves on Rainbow Dash’s shoulders while her hind hooves stood on the mare’s thighs.

Rainbow extended a front hoof to her. “Hold on to me. I’m gonna let you go down, back first. The important thing is you don’t see the cloud you’re landing on, at least the first time. Just remember: no matter what happens, I’ve got you. Understand?”

Scootaloo shook all over and looked behind her. “I-I don’t know, Rainbow Dash…”

“Look at me, kid.” Rainbow put a hoof under Scootaloo’s chin to force the girl to look at her. “You are not the only pegasus pony with parents who don’t have wings, and you’re definitely not the only pegasus pony who grew up on the ground.”

Scootaloo winced. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“It means even kids like you end up on clouds eventually, and they have to learn. It means there’s a procedure for letting kids like you get on a cloud gently. I’ve seen ponies do this on Flight Camp hundreds of times, it works fine. Now, grab on to my hoof.” She gestured with her hoof again.

Scootaloo wrapped her arms around the offered limb.

Rainbow Dash nodded. “Hold on tight, okay? As tight as you can. Even if you think the cloud can’t hold you, it’s holding me and I’ve got you. You ready?”

Scootaloo closed her eyes and nodded. “Ready.”

“Okay, good. Keep your eyes on me.” Rainbow gently let the girl fall backwards, making sure she wouldn’t slip by keeping her hind hooves steady as well. “Bend your knees if you have to, you’re just about halfway.”

Scootaloo’s heart pounded. She breathed quicker and quicker as she went, getting ever so close to a horizontal position.

Something touched her mane, then the back of her head, something cold and soft, only not that cold. As she went further, the thing underneath her made contact with her whole head, letting her sink in slightly, and she realised what it was she was feeling. Fresh. It’s like fresh air. Fresh, solid air.

Her head supported, she forced herself to stop shaking. She still had a rigid grip on Rainbow’s hoof, she was still held steady. Her shoulders met with the cloud, then she relaxed and let her back touch its surface. Rainbow let her go lower, but that only made her arms bend, since she was supported now. Slowly, gently, Rainbow Dash let Scootaloo’s body slide off her legs and onto the cloud, making sure the filly could keep her vicegrip on Rainbow’s arm.

Rainbow smiled down at her. “Now spread out your wings, get a feel for it.”

With a dopey smile, Scootaloo let her wings unclench and feel the soft, ghostlike texture of a cloud on her body for the first time. She looked up at Rainbow Dash. “Can I let go now?”

Rainbow nodded. Scootaloo let go of the arm, then carefully patted the cloud supporting her. Her head remained facing the blue afternoon sky, her wings wriggled to explore this new yet somehow familiar sensation. “It’s weird, kinda like jelly.”

Rainbow Dash kept on smiling as she opened the door. “Yeah, you get used to it. And don’t worry about bucking it or busting it by accident; you need to try hard to do that kind of thing.”

Scootaloo spread her arms, then folded them to her sides, trying to make a cloud angel. It worked, but the cloud material flowed right back into shape afterwards. To her relief, it didn’t make her dig into the stuff, either, so she wouldn’t be making a hole. A slight pounding started in her head that went all the way into her eartips, but she paid it no heed. After all the stunts she’d done on the scooter, that adrenalin rush was pleasantly familiar, actually.

Rainbow Dash cocked her head at the girl. “You wanna come in now, or do you need a minute?” Poor kid. Maybe I went too fast. Maybe I should just let her pitch up a tent down below.

Scootaloo jumped up excitedly and dashed in. “This is gonna be the best sleepover ever!”

Rainbow Dash shook her head to clear it. Or maybe she’s just fearless, like me. Scootaloo’s voice came out from near her bed. Given the mostly wall-free architecture of her home, Rainbow Dash had never bothered with any sort of privacy issues. Scootaloo’s call, however, made her blush.

“What’s this tube-shaped vibrating thingie for?”

Twilight sighed. The basement had been cleaned up, with all the dust removed and all the seat cushions washed and dried. Still, something felt off about her surroundings.

Empty book cases.

She’d set up the shelves herself, of course, and loaded them with some new additions to her personal collection. She had books with stories about lesbian dominatrices, stallions who brainwashed innocent mares to be their slaves, and of course a manual on rope bondage, though she didn’t quite see the need for that particular one, it just came with the publisher’s introductory package. She was, however, quite interested in her issue of ‘The Eroticon, Third Edition’, particularly the parts on magical constructs. She couldn’t quite understand why more ponies didn’t know how to conjure basic rubber costumes, though, since at the very least the stuff made for a good emergency tourniquet.

She pondered her next move, summoning the letter that had come with her order.

“Dearest customer,

we thank you for your interest in BRB Publishing, and hope you find your order satisfactory. Should you wish to procure the items in our specialised range, our contact information is provided below, our catalogue can be delivered discreetly and anonymously. However, if you prefer to collect such items in pony, we recommend a visit to one of our stands at the various gatherings we frequent.”

Twilight put the letter down. It wouldn’t hurt to try. I could ask Rainbow Dash, if she still feels like hanging out with me. I do like doing all of this, I’d have to get some serious reference material. Even if Rainbow Dash isn’t that into it, I guess I am. No better way to make sure than to show up for one of these events.

She enveloped another piece of paper in her magic. It was a signup form, though unlike the ones she was used to it didn’t ask for her name, just her alias. So these guys pride themselves on anonymity, and they only send the tamest works to the regular publishers. If they’ve only sent me their tame stuff… I’m gonna need to know how other ponies handle this kind of thing.

She found her quill and put it to the paper. I just need to fill in an alias, a name I can answer to easily, but that doesn’t betray who I really am. “Mistress… Purple… Prose. That should do it.” Her eyes wandered to an addendum to the signup note. “Disguises optional, but recommended? Preorder at a discount? What do they mean by that?”

She frowned, fetching the Eroticon book. I’m sure I saw something in the index about protocol at meetings… ah, here. She leafed through the book and found a segment called ‘Milk Masks’.

Take two units of regular bovine milk and add one tenth of a unit of zap apple vinegar, one tenth of a unit of weeping wine vinegar. Mix with food colouring, roll into ball and chill, then heat up… what is all this for, why would it- She flipped some pages back and found the start of the chapter.-oh. Oh! Oh. So this section is for disposable costumes, then, for ponies who can’t afford a full outfit. But... that? Really? Is it… it’s all of them, even the magical ones. Why would they... ooooh.

Twilight looked up from the book, her mind awash with questions that even in her surprised state didn’t take long to answer.

A smile formed on her lips, which promptly became a confident smirk when she returned to the section on magical constructs, a section which was dedicated to summoning the same thing with unicorn magic. Everypony’s equal in their fetishes, after all. Earth ponies and pegasi can make this with fairly simple ingredients, it’s fair if I use my magic for it.

And Rainbow… oh, I hope Rainbow joins me for this. She’s going to laugh her tail off when she finds out we can do this.

Scootaloo looked up nervously at Rainbow Dash. The tubular object in her hoof was still vibrating. Rainbow Dash raised an eyebrow. “It’s a massager. You’re supposed to put the tip on pressure points, eases off the tension.” She took the vibrating object from the girl’s hoof, pressed it into a nerve point on her neck to demonstrate its purpose, then put it back in place on her nightstand. Good thing I don’t have any sex toys lying around the house. She then looked down at the massager and realised it looked thick, was capable of vibrating, and was also decidedly phallic in shape. Huh… funny how I never thought about using it down there. Does that make me more of a lesbian or less?

“Sorry, Rainbow Dash.” Scootaloo kicked the cloud floor idly, then thought the better of it when it made the floor wiggle.

Rainbow Dash just kept her gentle smile up. “That’s okay, kid. So, now that you’re up here, what do you wanna do?”

Scootaloo looked around the place. With hardly any inner walls, it all looked like just one giant hall with sections that blended seamlessly into each other. It made the structure look intimidating, which wasn’t a bad match with its owner. “Um, I’m not sure. I was kinda hoping maybe we could hang out?”

Rainbow walked up to the girl. “We’re already hanging out, Scootaloo. What do you want to do while we hang out?”

Scootaloo fidgeted in place. “Well…”

“Come on.” Rainbow Dash flew up and dropped herself on a couch, patting the seat next to her. Reluctantly, Scootaloo walked over and sat down next to the mare. She looked up at Rainbow, Rainbow looked down at her. Everything fell silent.

The filly sighed. “My mom told you, huh?”

Rainbow Dash looked away obliviously. “Told me what?”

Scootaloo’s ears drooped. “About the thing?”

Rainbow still smiled, then shrugged. “What thing?”

Scootaloo felt her wings bunch up. “Do I really need to say it?”

Rainbow Dash folded her arms behind her head and leaned back, staring at the ceiling. “Isn’t that why you’re here? So you could talk to me about it instead of with your parents?”

Scootaloo took a deep breath, then heaved it out in a deep sigh. “Yeah, it is. I, umm, my mom and dad wanna take me to see a doctor in Canterlot. They want me to get my wings checked out, see if everything the works the way it should. My dad’s been keeping tabs on it, but he still thinks I should see a specialist. They’re worried something’s wrong with me.”

Rainbow Dash shrugged. “Sounds like a good idea to me. So what’s the problem?”

Scootaloo threw her head back and nearly screamed. “I don't wanna go! Suppose there is something wrong with me? What if my wings are gonna stay like this forever?”

Rainbow Dash would have replied, but she stopped herself halfway. Instead, she unfurled a wing to curl around the girl’s shoulder. “Hold it right there. You think there might be something wrong with you because your wings are too small? Because you can’t fly?”

Scootaloo gulped. “Uhuh.”

Rainbow nodded, following the girl’s logic as best she could. “And that’s stopping you from seeing a doctor?”

The filly nodded. “I’m just scared.”

Rainbow scowled. “What kind of an attitude is that? How’s that gonna help anything? I thought you were braver than that, kid.”

Scootaloo pouted. “You don’t understand.”

Rainbow Dash shook her head. “No, you don’t understand. If there really is something wrong with you right now, you should get it fixed right now. A doctor’s only gonna tell you to how to get better, not worse. You’re taking a big chance if you don’t go, your mom and dad will probably make you go even if you don’t want to.”

“I know.” The girl gritted her teeth. “I know, honest, but I can’t do it. I don’t wanna go, I’m scared of what they’ll tell me. I want to be like you when I grow up, I want to be like you right now, and I know I’m not, but... I’m getting closer, aren’t I?”

Rainbow Dash chuckled softly and nodded. “Yeah, you actually, sort of, are. You’ve gotten closer than you might think.”

Scootaloo smiled, though the glint in her eye betrayed the tear that was trying to find its way down. She gestured towards her idol. “See? That’s what I want, right there. I can walk into the doctor’s office and know I’m still cool, like you. But when I come out, I don’t want to walk out knowing it was all for nothing. And I really don’t know how I’m supposed to be brave like you and do it anyway. I don’t want to grow up… you know…”

“I know.” Rainbow patted the girl’s shoulder with her wing. “You’re right. It is a really scary thing to deal with, and I’m flattered you’d talk to me about this. Just don’t forget your parents are there for you, too, and so is Cheerilee. So are your friends, and Twilight, and Pinkie Pie, there’s lots of ponies you can ask for help. There’s lots of ways you can get help, lots of answers to any problem you might think you have, assuming you even have one. We have magic, you know. It can’t fix everything, but it can get pretty close, as long as you catch it when it can still be fixed. You know what I’m gonna say about the doctor, kid.”

Scootaloo nodded, resigned to her fate. “I should just suck it up and see the doctor. Guess I’m just a coward.”

Rainbow Dash sighed and pulled the girl closer into a hug. She grunted to herself as she fought the words coming up from her mind. In the end, she realised she might as well, given the circumstances. Talk about déjà vu. “Look, kid, I’m not gonna lie: things get scary sometimes, especially when you don’t know what comes next. Stuff happens when you grow up. Some of it’s gonna be bad, and it might even get so bad you start thinking you’ll never grow up to be what you wanna be.”

Scootaloo perked her ears and looked at the mare intently.

Rainbow Dash smiled and nodded at her. “But I promise all the bad things you’re feeling now will go away. One day you’re gonna realise you’ve grown up into an awesome pony, exactly the way you want to be, and to make it even better, you’ll see you’re still growing even after you’ve come so far. When you see that, you’ll see it was a different pony who felt all scared and hurt. You’re not the same pony you were yesterday, and tomorrow you won’t be the same pony you are today. It’s not a big deal if you think you’re scared or weak today, because… tomorrow, you’ll get to be a pony who isn’t.”

Scootaloo whimpered. “How do you know?”

Rainbow just shot her a confident glare. “Trust me, I know. You’ll see, one day.”

She turned out more stubborn than Rainbow’s younger self, clenching her teeth as she tried to work her mind around it. Eventually, she just took Rainbow’s word for it and chuckled. “I think I’m gonna enjoy that.”

Rainbow chuckled and ruffled up Scootaloo’s mane. “I know you will.” Oh, Twilight, what would I be saying right now if it hadn’t been for you? Did part of me know this would happen, maybe? Why couldn’t this kid ask a smarter pony to figure it out?

Scootaloo shook her head and clenched her eyes shut. “But what if it turns out I really can’t fly?”

Rainbow Dash looked away, thinking. Maybe I am smart enough for this kind of thing now. “Then you can get a hot air balloon and learn to fly that.”

Scootaloo frowned. “But then I won’t get to fly fast.”

Rainbow shrugged. “So we’ll strap a helicopter screw to your back, like we did for Tank.”

The girl shook her head dismissively. “But then I wouldn’t be flying with my own wings. I’d be cheating with a machine.”

“You can learn hang gliding, then. They’ve got competitions of that, too, with their own sets of rules. Hang gliding's got its own celebrities even the Wonderbolts look up to. There’s some real daredevils in that, and they go fast. Like, freefall fast, stunts and everything. You'd probably be good at that, and all sorts of ponies do it, whether they can fly on their own or not.”

Scootaloo shook her head, thinking. “But… but…”

Rainbow Dash hugged and squeezed the girl tighter. “Listen to me, Scootaloo, there is nothing wrong with you, nothing. You’re great on your scooter, I’ve seen you. You’re one of the best athletes in town, and anypony who disagrees either doesn’t know what they’re talking about or just wants to bring you down because you can beat them if they don’t. That’s just something ponies do, and they did that to me when I was your age, too. It hurts, but it happens, and it doesn’t mean anything. Nothing I’ve seen you do ever made me think you were handicapped, ever, and if your parents want you to see a doctor, it just means they’re looking out for you. It doesn’t mean there’s anything wrong with you.”

Scootaloo stealthily wiped away that tear that was forming. She broke away from the hug to look Rainbow in the eyes. “But then why are my wings so small?”

Rainbow Dash shrugged. “Probably because you’re a dodo.”

Scootaloo went quiet, and the maintenance pony in charge of running Scootaloo’s head kicked the computer that had gotten stuck whilst processing that last sentence. “What?”

Rainbow Dash grimaced at the girl’s confusion. “You’re a dodo, Scootaloo, or you look like one, at least. You never learned about pony breeds? Your dad never told you?”

The maintenance pony in her head gave that computer some more taps, but it didn’t seem to take. “Uh uh. Am I supposed to know it?”

The mare chuckled. “Well, I learned about it when I was your age, but maybe that’s a Cloudsdale thing, or a pegasus thing. See, ponies come in all shapes and sizes, not just Earth ponies, unicorns and pegasus ponies. Well, those and alicorns, but nopony really knows about alicorns, except for alicorns.”

Scootaloo blinked, surprised.

“Anyway, you get breeds of ponies, and you can tell which is which by how tall a pony is, how big their legs are, the colour of their mane, that sort of thing. They started naming them before the tribes united, so a lot of it sounds kinda silly. My breed’s called the peacock: we’re all bright colours so we stand out on a battlefield, we have pretty strong wings, and big lungs for barking orders. My breed’s a natural leader, you see, we’re supposed to stick out so ponies follow us easily. Your breed’s called the dodo: less bright colours, flexible limbs, good sense of balance, tiny wings, but really good runners, and extremely hard to catch. They were great scouts and fighters, especially in the woods, since their wings didn’t get caught on stuff, and they were known to be totally fearless.” Rainbow rubbed the girl’s back with a wing for comfort.

Scootaloo grimaced. “So does that mean I’ll never get to fly because I just got a stupid breed? You’re just making stuff up!”

Rainbow patted the girl’s head. “No, you don’t have a stupid breed, and I am not making stuff up. Ask Cheerilee about it sometime, she’ll tell you. But you should still get your wings checked out. At the very least, you should make absolutely sure which breed you are, so you know what’s normal. You have to get everything measured, answer a few questions, get your bloodwork done, and that’s all. I had to get my breed checked when I was your age, too, and I’m glad I did. You might have a problem with your small wings, but peacock breeds like me have to worry about their tails, it’s no different. Everypony’s got something that sets them apart, something about them they’re scared of going wrong, and not everypony grows the same way. That’s why we get it checked out. We need to know what to expect so we don’t get in trouble, especially us pegasus ponies. We wouldn’t want to fall out of the sky once we do learn to fly.”

When the maintenance pony in her head was finally done getting the processor to cool down, Scootaloo’s ears perked. “Wait, so do you know any other dodos? I mean, other ponies like me, the breed you think I am?”

Rainbow Dash looked away, grimacing awkwardly. “Err, sure? I think I know one who even made it to the Wonderbolts Academy.”

Scootaloo squeed. “Really? Who?”

Rainbow cleared her throat nervously. “You know Snow Flake?”

The maintenance pony in charge of Scootaloo’s consciousness groaned and kicked the central processor again. “Big guy, red eyes, not a big talker?”

Rainbow Dash nodded. “And a grownup stallion with wings that aren’t any bigger than yours are now. He got into the Wonderbolts Academy just fine, doesn’t have any trouble flying. I know a lot of other ponies like you manage it. The Weather Patrol captain in Baltimare’s got tiny wings, never bothered her.”

Scootaloo wasn’t listening. When the image of Snow Flake had entered the girl’s mind, combined with the knowledge she might end up looking like that one day, it had caused a minor meltdown in her thinking. The maintenance pony in charge of her brain had given up at this point, and was currently looking into the newer models to upgrade around puberty.

Eventually, the information sunk in and met with some modicum of acceptance. Scootaloo sighed. “Okay, I guess if it is just my breed, I can handle it. And if it’s not -”

“-Then we’ll just have to find a way to work around it, and you’ll still get to fly, just not the same way everypony else does. You’ll have your own way to fly, and if I have to, I’ll show you every way I know until we find something you like.”

Scootaloo weighed that in her mind, then nodded and sighed. “Right. So even if my wings don’t work, I’ll still get to fly. I think I’m… not scared of that?”

“That’s the spirit. So, now that we’ve got that out of the way, how about we cut all this sappy stuff and have a little fun, huh? If you can’t think of anything to do, we could just go out flying together.” Rainbow Dash hopped off the couch and stretched her legs and wings.

Scootaloo frowned. “I’d rather not. It’s fun and all, but I kind of feel like a baby when you have to hold me up to fly.”

Rainbow Dash smirked. “Well, your wings can’t hold you up, but they can move you forward, can’t they? Your only problem is getting up and staying up.”

Scootaloo checked her sides. Her wings were still as small as ever. “Yeah, so?”

Rainbow Dash smirked. “How high up do you think you are now?”

The filly looked down at the floor, then suddenly realised she was not only talking to the most awesome pony in Ponyville, but also the captain of the Ponyville Weather Patrol. “Oooohhh…”

Rainbow’s smirk went wider. “Wait right there. I’m gonna go get us both some clouds to hold onto, and then we’ll get a good wing workout together.”

Okay, Rainbow. You've had time to think, Scootaloo had fun, she's back home. You did what you had to, you're still awesome.

Despite her apparent awesomeness, Rainbow Dash gulped as she stood before the library's entrance. Just go in. You don't need to turn tail and go check on Scootaloo again, she's fine. It's Twilight you need to worry about now. Quit stalling or ponies are going to notice.

Rainbow Dash took a deep breath to steady herself. She raised her hoof to the door of the library, then stopped. Should I really do this? What if it goes wrong?

Then she decided that the concept of romance had no place on that illustrious and selective list of things that managed to scare her. She opened the door and strode in confidently, finding the princess, as per the norm, reading a book in the middle of the room.

Twilight looked up. “Time for the talk, huh?”

Rainbow Dash nodded. “Yeah, I, err… Spike?”

Twilight gestured to the stairs. “Six-hour nap, won’t hear a thing as long as we don’t shout.”

“Owloiscious?”

“At Fluttershy’s, getting his nails done.”

Rainbow Dash walked over to the alicorn and sat down at the table. “Okay. Look, Twilight, I’ve had time to think, so have you, and I... “ She looked towards her friend, who was still shaking at the wingtips. “Maybe you should go first, if you think you can.”

Twilight smiled and bit her lip. She looked at the floor as she spoke, only occasionally checking Rainbow Dash’s response. “Thank you. I, umm… I’ve thought it over and I’ve come to the conclusion that I like controlling ponies the way I do. I like having power over them, and it’s not just a bad habit. Me trying to step in and fix everything is just how I show I care, as wrong as it might get sometimes. The ponies I meddle with the most are the ones I care for the most, and I’m just going to have to learn to live with that somehow. So I’ve decided I’m going to look into it, seriously. I’m going to see if there are ways to get a relationship that allows me to do what comes natural to me, that’s all there is to it. What about you? Do you really want to be a pet to somepony, even if it’s not me?”

Rainbow Dash shook her head. “No, not just that. I had this talk with Scootaloo, and I said some things I didn’t realise I knew. I, err, I had to act like not me, and I’m really glad I could, because that would have made a huge mess.”

Twilight winced at the thought.

Rainbow took a moment to gather her thoughts. “Anyway, it made me realise I don’t want to be a slave, I don’t want to be a puppet you can toss aside. I want somepony I can cut loose with, I want to be somepony else sometimes, and I need that to come from somepony who’s okay with that. I guess I just want to be the kind of pony who isn’t as stupid or embarrassing as I can be sometimes.”

Twilight winced in sympathy. “That’s not true, Rainbow Dash, you know you’re better than that.”

Rainbow threw a hoof up and pointed to Twilight. “See? That’s what I want, right there. I don’t want to just be a dumb jock, or a serious captain, or some goofball. I wanna keep mixing it up, you know? I need to be ready for anything. I need to be smart sometimes, or a good listener, even if that’s not the kind of pony I usually am. I need to start looking out for all the different parts of me, not just the ones I think are cool, or else I’m gonna keep screwing important things up. And I want to be with somepony who understands that there’s more to me than what I show.”

Twilight chuckled. “So that’s the big attraction. You don’t want to be stuck as just one colour, you want to be a whole rainbow.”

Rainbow nodded, finally noting the odd connection with her mane colours. “Exactly.”

Twilight slowly strode closer, swaying her hips as she went. “So if I started, I don’t know, entrancing you more and making you do things for me, intimate things, that would make you feel better. You want somepony you can submit to and still feel safe with.”

Rainbow caught her breath. “Uhuh. I want to be with somepony who understands me, and I wanna do those things with a pony I love, and who loves me. But even if you like doing that sort of stuff with me, I can’t force you to love me, so if you wanna call it qui-” Rainbow froze. Her wings went erect, her face flushed, her ears perked, all over her body signals were getting mixed up. She felt the warmth flood her body, flow in, then flow back out.

The warmth was focused on her forehead. Twilight was kissing her.

The alicorn broke away, as flustered as Rainbow was. “I-I had a talk with Cadence, and she made me realise that I may have kind of, sort of, had a crush on you for a while. You know, on top of everything else.”

Rainbow Dash blinked, confused. “What do you mean, you had a crush on me?”

Twilight looked at the floor again. “There’s a lot of little things I do with you that I don’t do with anypony else, so little I never realised it. What I did, what I’ve been doing, it’s all just because I didn’t realise what I was feeling. The pet thing and me being in love, it’s the same thing for me, I just didn’t think that was possible. It’s confusing, and I’m still not sure how I’m supposed to deal with it. But I know now that I think you’re very attractive, Rainbow Dash, I really do. Your mane, your tight body, all that on top of a personality I just adore. The way you can inspire other ponies to do better, the way you can forgive even when anypony else wouldn’t, the way you always try to be better, you’re everything I ever wanted in a special somepony.”

Rainbow bit her lip and pulled away slightly. “But we’re both mares, Twilight. Does that mean we’re lesbians now?”

Twilight’s wings bunched up and rubbed nervously against her sides. “I don’t know. Does it matter? I mean, do you find me attractive?”

Rainbow blushed and smiled. “Yeah, you know I do. You’ve got the whole cute librarian thing going, you’re in really good shape for an egghead, and you put just as much effort into your magic as I do in my flying. We’re a lot alike, and the only reason we have to remind each other of that so much is because we’re just scared. On top of that, you’re the only pony I know who’s ever made me feel smart. You have no idea how big of a deal that is for me, not feeling like the dumb one for once. I don’t feel embarrassed around you, ever, not if it’s just you. It’s like you just know me, more than anypony else. I don’t know if I’m that into mares, but I’m into you, and you’re a lot of other things I do know I like. So no, it doesn’t matter that much to me.”

Twilight smiled. “Then I guess we can be together. But if we do this, we’d be a normal couple, too, not just Mistress and pet. We’d be in a relationship, with each other, and everything that comes with it. Is that okay with you? Can you forgive me for doing what I did?”

Rainbow Dash lunged for a hug. “Look, Twilight, you scared me. It’s gonna take a while for me to get over that completely.”

Twilight sighed, gently returning the hug and then backing away. “Of course. If you want me to keep my distance, I will. No hard feelings.”

Rainbow Dash squeezed her harder. “I didn’t say I wanted you to stay away. I don’t want you to be lonely just because you made one dumb mistake, I want things to be fun again, and I do lots of fun things that are scary, it’s no big deal. I wanna hang out with you, like I said I would when we first met. Just you and me, we could have so much fun together, we don’t need to get hung up on how stupid either of us can be. I can get over it, and we can work it out if we just keep our heads together.”

Twilight squeezed right back and wiped away a tear. “Thank you, Rainbow Dash. I promise I’ll earn your trust back. I want to have fun with you, too.”

“Then we will. I’ll show you how to fly like a real daredevil, you can show me around those big, dusty libraries of yours, and I promise I’ll try not to fall asleep when you talk about history or something.”

Twilight grinned and stroked Rainbow’s mane. That hard chest on hers made her heart flutter, and they were close enough to be able to tell it was a mutual sentiment. “Oh, don’t worry about that. I’m sure I can come up with a post-hypnotic suggestion to keep you awake when I want. That is, if you still trust me with that.”

Rainbow squeezed her even tighter and chuckled, before breaking away. “I want to trust you with that, Twilight. It’s fun, and it doesn’t need to get out of control.”

Twilight planted another kiss on Rainbow Dash’s forehead and let off a sigh of relief. “It won’t. I’ll make sure you enjoy it every step of the way, and I’ll never cross the line again, ever.”

Rainbow Dash nodded and wiped away another tear from Twilight’s eyes. “So what happens now?”

Twilight looked away. “Well, since we’re both new to this, I was hoping to get some books.”

Rainbow Dash groaned in defeat. “Of course you were.”

Twilight smiled sheepishly. “Hey, you might follow your heart easily enough, but I want to be as prepared as I can. I need to know what’s normal for ponies like us, or ponies like me. I need to know what kind of practical problems we might run into.”

Reluctantly, Rainbow Dash agreed. “Sounds fair. Anything else?”

Twilight put her hooves on Rainbow Dash’s shoulders and sighed. “Well… I’ve been thinking about doing an experiment with sex magic.”

Rainbow Dash raised an eyebrow. “Excuse me? We have sex magic? Why have I never heard of this?”

Twilight blushed and looked away. “Yeah, turns out we do, but it’s not very well-documented. From what I can tell, it’s a very old discipline that’s mostly been lost over the years. Any source material is mostly coded in imagery, and you can’t really tell which is which if you don’t try. So… if it’s okay with you, I’d like to try and incorporate some of those images in our sessions together.”

“You want to put hypnotic images in my head, and you don’t know what they’re for?” Rainbow’s eyebrow remained up.

"No, but I can guess, based on what I do know. I’d have certain goals for you to achieve, so I would know if something is going wrong or right. I wouldn’t do anything I don’t know is safe, and it’s still just hypnosis, not spells being cast. Whatever happens, it would be all you, it would just make you stronger or faster in some areas, I think. And I’d have to keep you from remembering what the images are, or risk getting a placebo effect.” Twilight's ears had flattened, clearly anxious about the proposal.

Rainbow Dash winced. “So after what you tried doing to me, you want me to be a guinea pig?”

“I wouldn’t ask if I didn’t think it would help. At the very least it’d increase your sexual energy, but without affecting your consciousness. It might just cure any intimacy problems right off the bat. But more importantly, it would give your body sexual healing. That’s what I need to know, that’s what I’m interested in: how sexual energy can strengthen a pony’s magic, and not just unicorn magic. I’d do it myself, but it’s just that I can’t with me knowing what to aim for and being… you know…” Twilight looked at her wing-adorned flanks.

Rainbow nodded slowly, looking those big wings over. “Yeah, I can see why that might be an issue. But why do you want to know? It sounds like you’ve got a good place to start, somepony else can research it.”

Twilight shook her head. “Actually, no. I’m the only pony who’s researched the magic of friendship seriously, I’m the only pony who knows how that magic works and how it feels when it transforms you. I’ve done all that work, I’ve gotten so much insight, but I can’t put that into words. I’ve learned so much and the only thing I have to show for it are friendship reports. That’s fine for when one of us forgets, but what about the next generation? If ponies have magic that’s powered by the sense of friendship, then at the very least we have magic that works through physical arousal. That’s something you can measure, that’s something you can replicate.”

Rainbow Dash relented. “That’s something you can leave behind for the future.”

“Exactly. Unicorn magic is documented, it’s written down, but Earth ponies and pegasus ponies get stuck having to figure everything out by doing, and they have been for centuries. That’s not right, somepony needs to step in and fix it. The only problem is that Earth ponies and pegasi don’t have a focal point. Their magic that runs through their whole body. The only way to come up with a proper protocol for that kind of magic is-”

“-To make their whole body work with the energy. And sexual energy’s something everypony can deal with,” Rainbow Dash concluded.

Twilight nodded. “Right. I want to write down what sort of erotic imagery triggers what, so other ponies can mend their own magic when it’s unbalanced. It wouldn’t be that invasive, but it would help. And… you know… it would also end up making you a better pet, a little heightened sexual energy should do you good.” Twilight blushed furiously at that last mention.

“I’ll do it.”

Twilight’s ears perked. “Really?”

“If this means that much to you, and if you really are doing it so other ponies can be happy, I’ll do it. Besides, it could be fun, even if it doesn’t end up working. And I do want to be good at this whole pet thing, I might as well try. But I’ll expect you to tell me when things are about to get weird, Twilight.”

Twilight broke away. “Of course. I promise you’ll enjoy it, you’ll get exactly what you wanted right from the start, it’s what I had in mind when I started, actually. I’ll keep a close eye on whatever happens, and I’ll make sure to stop if it goes too far. I’ll be going on a trip to shop for books, too, if you want to come. Err, ‘come’ as in join me, not the other kind. You don’t have to.”

“Shopping for adult fetish books? You?” Rainbow Dash shrugged. “No way you’re doing that alone. I’ll tag along for moral support. I just hope nopony recognises us.”

Twilight grinned. “I’ve got that covered, and I’ll tell you what, pet.” Twilight leaned in and slowly, gently rubbed over the inside of Rainbow’s thighs. “How about I just put a little suggestion in that pretty little head to join me when I leave? Keep the destination a surprise?”

Rainbow Dash blushed and shivered with excitement. “S-sounds good, Your Highness, I think I can trust you with that. You’ve been reading that Daring Do thing again, huh?”

Twilight squeed and withdrew. “Maybe. It’s a lot more fun to cut loose and get into character when you have a standard to follow. Oh, which reminds me, you never finished that draft. Here.” Twilight brought forth the manuscript that had started this whole predicament. “If you have the time for it, you can finally finish it.”

Rainbow Dash smiled and took the script, flipping pages to the point where she’d left off. “Don’t mind if I do.”

Twilight quickly trotted up the stairs. “I just need to check up on Spike for a moment, make sure he’s not eating his pillow again. Oh, and Rainbow?”

“Yes?”

Twilight lowered her head ever so slightly, embarrassed. “When we do, you know, play together, I’d actually prefer you call me ‘Mistress’, not ‘Your Highness’. It sounds all proper, and it was my idea to begin with, but it’s just that I grew up calling my teacher ‘Your Highness’, so it’s got a weird ring to it.”

Rainbow Dash looked up from the book. “Sure, no problem. You could just put that kind of thing in my head while I’m under, you know.”

“I know. But I’d rather just tell you while you’re awake.”

Rainbow Dash smiled and nodded, Twilight smiled back. She entered her sleeping quarters and ascended another set of stairs to sit down next to Spike’s little cot. She poked the baby dragon while her magic fetched an item from the saddlebag she kept handy next to her book cases. The dragon barely stirred. Twilight let her mind wander.

Wow. I never thought it would come to this. I finally admitted I love Rainbow Dash, and Rainbow Dash loves me. She forgave me, at least partially. We’re both weird in the way we express love, sure, but that doesn’t mean it’s not real. And we’ve both really matured since we first met each other.

Right on cue, a hollar came from down below.

“She turned Daring Do into an alicorn?! This series is ruined forever!”

Spike shot up from his bed. Twilight caught him in mid-jump, placed him back in his bed, gave him the five bits she owed him for the bet he’d just won, then patted him on the head and strode off to let him sleep.

Author's Note

Stop. You, writing the comment. Stop for a moment. Are you about to comment on Scootaloo? No? Proceed, then. Yes? Does it involve quoting canon or remarking on her condition, whatever it is? No? Proceed. Yes? Check my blog on the Scootaloo flight thing before commenting, please. Look here, if you haven't yet: WARNING HERE

I am instituting a zero tolerance on Scoots-based drama. Violators will get comments deleted, repeated offenders will be blocked. Don't start ranting about canon. Do not even mention canon. You have been warned. That is all. I'm not going to say too much about Scootaloo in this chapter, mainly because I think it's all fairly straightforward. The point was to show Rainbow Dash in another role she's unfamiliar with, but isn't linked to sex. You know, add to the depth, sort of, show she's matured... but not that mature that she wouldn't be upset about Daring Corn.

I think I heard someone on QI remark that one of the reasons the dodo went extinct was just because the birds didn't flee from danger, they didn't know they had to run from the things that ended up killing them. Seemed like a nice little tidbit to make a pony breed called 'dodos' be fearless.

The sex magic thing... I've found a way to let it tie in and be resolved more or less adequately. It'll be slightly relevant and come with a good enough punchline to warrant its inclusion.

The Daring Do thing... it was too easy, I couldn't resist. I'm only human, after all... most of the time...

On a lighter note: the three-parter is coming next. Rubber will be involved, as well as, err, possibly a self-insert OC, you'll know him when you see him. I'm planning to do a custom Google Search to check what bragging rights I can claim. And brag I shall, if I can.

Prepare your bodies, folks, it's gonna be one fun trip. It was the most fun I've had writing anything since Flight Camp, so I do sincerely hope you all enjoy it at least half as much as I did. I'm probably not going to get away with any of it, but I don't care.

Stay tuned for next week. It will be glorious.

Let's Go to CoCoCon, Part 1: Getting In and Getting Off

Rainbow Dash let off a satisfied sigh. “Okay, everypony: dismissed. If any of the clouds from Manehattan get here on a draft, you know what to do.”

The squad of pegasi saluted their captain and flew off. Cloud Kicker and Raindrops tagged along with Rainbow. She turned as she glided down. “Something wrong?”

Raindrops dove down slightly faster to catch up. “No, no, we got everything done on our end, and patrol duty won’t be any problem. We’ll keep Ponyville out of the rain while you’re away.”

Rainbow Dash slowed down. “So what’s the matter?”

Cloud Kicker flew on Rainbow’s right. “We need some advice.”

That got Rainbow Dash to stop entirely. “Can we do this quick? I’m kinda meeting somepony.”

“No problem.” Cloud Kicker waved her hoof apologetically. “We just wanted to know how to train for stunt flying.”

“Stunt flying?”

Cloud Kicker nodded. “Yeah, like recovering from a twister. You know, the kind of stuff they test you for when you try to work your way up to B-level?”

Rainbow Dash slapped herself. “Of course. Sorry, I totally forgot about that. Umm, best way to practise that is to practise your turns. Start your turns fast and wide, then make it narrower. Keep your hooves in while you turn, then stretch out when you’re going straight again, it’ll stop you from flying off.”

Raindrops nodded. “Okay. So turn first, no twister practice?”

Rainbow Dash nodded. “Go slow first, then try to do it out of a twister. I don’t need to tell you to be careful with twisters, do I?”

“No, ma’am.” They both nodded.

“Good. Oh, and remember to stop and land if you’re starting to feel dizzy. It’ll sneak up on you if you don’t. And practise over water or some hay bales so you’ve got someplace safe to crash.”

Cloud Kicker nodded. “Got it. Thanks, captain.”

“That’s what I’m here for.” With that, she was off.

Okay, I’ve got my saddlebags, I’ve got some money, and I’m… headed to the train station, of course. Twilight said she’d put that in my head as a surprise, that’s fine. She’s not gonna do anything crazy to me, not after last time. She’s still my friend. She’s more than my friend. She’s… something.

“Howdie, stranger!”

Rainbow Dash snapped her head around to find Applejack trotting up beside her. “Hey, AJ. What’s up?”

Applejack kept up the brisk pace. “Nothin’ much, just the usual. Where’ve you been? I ain’t seen you around the farm for weeks.”

Rainbow Dash looked up at the skies to check for any colleagues. “Yeah, Cloud Kicker and Raindrops are going for a promotion, so I put them on farm duty, give’em more of a challenge. It’s not a problem, is it?”

Applejack shook her head. “Nope, not a problem at all. If you think those two can handle patrollin’ the skies, I’m fine with it. So where are ya headed?”

Rainbow gulped, but tried to hide it. “I’m meeting Twilight to go someplace.”

Applejack raised an eyebrow. “Someplace?”

“Someplace with books, I didn’t catch where.”

“Oh, right, makes sense.”

The train station came into view. Rainbow’s heart sped up. Good, now I just need to find Twilight and hope nopony else I know shows up.

“Rainbow Dash, darling!”

Rainbow suppressed a groan and stopped. Should’ve seen that one coming. “Hi, Rarity.”

The unicorn mare came up to the pair, before letting them continue at a slow walking pace. “Is something the matter, Rainbow Dash? You never got back to me about that modelling job.”

For the second time that day, Rainbow Dash slapped herself. “Sorry, I’ve had a lot on my mind the past couple of weeks.”

Rarity blinked, seemingly taken aback by the mere mention of Rainbow’s stress. “Oh? Anything I can help with?”

If you know a thing or two about relationships where one pony takes control over the other, I’m all ears. Oh, and it’s a lesbian relationship. With hypnosis. And a princess. And wings, lots and lots of wings. No rope, though. “It’s a long story.”

Applejack nudged Rarity. “Rainbow’s got some ambitious ponies on her patrol.”

Rarity looked up at the skies, checking for any patrollers. “Ah. Cloud Kicker and Raindrops, per chance?”

Rainbow Dash froze, prompting the other two mares to do the same. “How do you know about that?”

Rarity shrugged. “I may have picked up a rumour here and there. As I heard it, you recommended they… up their game, as it were?”

She really does know about that. Of course she does, Rainbow, this is Rarity you’re talking about. Rarity knows all the gossip in Ponyville, she probably knows everything that goes on in this town.

Uh oh. Rarity probably knows everything that goes on this town. Wait, what am I worried about? She wouldn’t know about me and Twilight. The only pony who really knows everything that happens around here is-

“Hi!” The sound cut through Rainbow’s train of thought like a knife through butter.

“Hey, Pinkie Pie.” Rainbow Dash could only barely stop her left eyelid from twitching.

“Look who I found waiting for her train.” Pinkie Pie bounced up and down excitedly, eliciting a nervous smile from the alicorn next to her.

Rarity smiled back. “Say, Twilight, you’ve been almost as absent as Rainbow has. Are you two doing anything together?”

Twilight didn’t flinch, or even blink. “Rainbow Dash has been helping me out with a few things, just some experiments regarding pegasus magic. Ready to go, Rainbow?”

Rainbow Dash patted her saddlebags with her wings. “Yup, all ready.” Smooth, Twilight, really smooth.

“So where are ya headed out to?” Applejack asked.

Twilight turned and led the way to the train station. It was in view, but with their friends tagging along it seemed like an abyss separated her from her goal. “Baltimare, to a book convention.”

Rarity nodded knowingly, then frowned. “Ah, so it’s an adventure for Daring Do novels, then. In Baltimare? Today? You are quite sure?”

Rainbow Dash had to fight the urge to roll her eyes. Daring Do did get me into this mess.

Twilight just nodded. “Yup, Baltimare book convention, today.”

A whistle sounded from the station. Pinkie Pie jumped up. “Oh! You’d better hurry, you wouldn’t want to miss it.”

Rainbow sighed internally. Finally. With a curt wave and a goodbye, the pair of mares was off to catch a train.

Applejack shook her head. “How much you wanna bet Rainbow’s got Scootaloo on her mind?”

Rarity snorted, albeit in a ladylike fashion. “Please, darling, that’s hardly a fair wager. Rainbow Dash is a public figure, after all, a lot of ponies look up to her, and with her being the way she is I can’t imagine she doesn’t worry about her number one fan.”

“Good point. Do you know anything about it?”

Rarity shrugged as the train departed, waiting for the whistle to die down. “All I know is what Sweetie Belle told me. Scootaloo is seeing a doctor today, nothing more. I suppose that’s all for the best, we’ll hear it when it’s certain.”

Pinkie Pie looked on at the train, pondering. Her left ear twitched, she dragged her right hoof over the ground, and a single lock of hair on her tail sprang up.

Applejack noticed the anomaly. “Pinkie sense?”

“Uh huh. I’m not sure what it means, though. Ear twitch, hoof drag and tail whip are kinda rare. It definitely has something to do with Twilight, though, I can tell that much,” Pinkie Pie said.

Applejack shrugged. “Well, what happened the last time you had that?”

Pinkie thought long and hard, but not about the answer to the question. “Um, that was with princess Cadence at her wedding. Well, the fake one, I think.”

Applejack frowned. “And you didn’t get that for any other weddin’, or any other time we had to fight something attackin’ us, or any other time Twilight went a little cuckoo in the clockwork?”

Pinkie Pie shook her head. “Nope, never.”

Rarity held a hoof to her chin. “Right, then, that narrows it down. Something is going to happen with Twilight that happened with the fake Cadence at the wedding, yet didn’t happen before. So it either means Twilight has found somepony to marry, Twilight is hypnotising somepony, or there’s a changeling invasion coming.”

Applejack pondered it for a moment. “I’ll go stock up on bug spray.”

Rainbow Dash shed her saddlebags and plopped her rump down on the seat. Twilight let the bags float slowly to an unoccupied seat and settled next to her. “You okay?”

Rainbow Dash closed her eyes and nuzzled Twilight’s neck. “I’m fine, just tired again. I’ve got a lot of things on my mind.” She looked up at her friend. “Oh, um, do you mind if I’m this close? If I am, you gotta let me know.”

Twilight put an arm around Rainbow Dash’s shoulder. “I don’t mind. And I’m sorry again, Rainbow, for what I did. I didn’t mean to upset you.”

Rainbow shrugged and shuffled closer to lean more on her friend. “That’s okay, Twilight, you know I don’t stay mad for long. Besides, this feels kinda nice now, don’t you think?”

Twilight smiled and felt the flush going into her cheeks. Looking around, she found the wagon was empty except for the two of them. With no witnesses, she stroked Rainbow’s arm. “Yes, it does. We can pull this off if we’re careful, right? We can be together and do… those kinds of things.”

Rainbow Dash smiled. “Those fun things. I did like those, you know, I don’t want that to stop. I just don’t want it to be just that.”

“I know, me neither.”

Silence fell between them.

Rainbow Dash reached up and looked Twilight in the eye. “And if you really do feel like you need to do that kind of thing, just tell me. No more keeping things bottled up ‘till you burst.”

Twilight kissed one of the hooves holding her face. “I won’t. I’m just a little confused right now. I promise I’ll open up, though, once I figure things out.”

Rainbow smiled and flared her wings, giving Twilight a slight tickle on her back. “Good, you just take your time. So what am I in for? Is it just gonna be books at this convention?”

“No, it’s going to be a big, giant hall filled with aisle upon aisle of erotic paraphernalia.”

Rainbow squinted. “That means sex toys, right?”

Twilight let off a soft grunt. “I knew it was a bad idea to put new vocabulary in your brain.”

The pegasus chuckled. “I’m sure I’ll be grateful for it when I’m a Wonderbolt and I have to start talking to Canterlot ponies.”

“Hmm, maybe. Like the one you’re talking to now.”

“I’ll try to squeeze in some big words for ya, then.” Rainbow Dash closed her eyes again let her head rest on Twilight’s shoulder.

Twilight sighed. “Hey, Rainbow Dash?”

“Yeah?”

“About the trancing thing, are you sure that’s still okay? And the purple magic, the sex magic?”

Rainbow gulped. “I liked it, Twilight, and I got scared. It’s risky, I know that, but it’s no different from doing dangerous tricks. I don’t wanna be scared of something I like and something that’s good for me. Besides, you liked doing it before I took the fun out of it for you, and even if I don’t really need it, you do, so why shouldn’t I agree?”

Twilight bit her lip. “So would it be okay if I put a little bit of a trance on you? Just to pass the time?”

The train stopped. Behind them, they could hear the doors opening and closing, and somepony blowing a whistle. Once the train was on the move again and no one had boarded their wagon, Rainbow Dash nodded. “Something light for now. Just so we can both get into it again.”

Twilight smiled and stroked Rainbow’s mane, letting the edge bleed out of her voice again. “Okay, pet, how about we start with that purple magic, see if that works okay? I’ll try to keep you talking, so you can stay more awake. ”

Rainbow Dash wriggled her wings to get comfy against the alicorn’s warm body. “Okay.”

Twilight closed her eyes and concentrated to find the right words. “First we need to get you nice and relaxed. So what I’d like you to do is picture yourself standing on the edge of a flight of stairs. The stairs are made nice, soft, fluffy clouds, and they go down deep into a blue horizon. Can you picture that for me, pet?”

Rainbow Dash closed her eyes just as Twilight opened hers. “Yes, Mistress.”

Twilight shuddered at being called that, and Rainbow clearly noticed, if the grin was anything to go by. Still, Twilight pressed on. “Breathe in the cool, fresh air, feel those soft, fluffy clouds under your hooves, and look down, down at the flight of stairs. Can you picture that for me, pet? Can you feel those clouds on your hooves?”

Rainbow smiled. “Hmm, feels good.”

“Good pet,” Twilight cooed. “Now you’re going to walk down those stairs, one step at a time. And every time you do, you’ll feel me giving your back a gentle stroke, just like this.” Rainbow Dash felt the hoof gently tracing along her spine, only really touching her in between her shoulder blades. “And every time I do, you’ll feel your body relaxing and your mind only concentrating on my touch. We’re going to count down from one hundred to one, and when we reach one, you’ll feel totally relaxed and safe. When you’ve done that, I’ll put some suggestions into your subconscious, whatever you choose to do with those is your call. Are you ready?”

Rainbow’s smile hadn’t faded, though there was a little tremor in her wings she couldn’t quite shake. “Yes, Mistress.”

“All right, pet. I’m going to start the count now. Count with me. One hundred.”

Rainbow took a step down the imaginary stairs and mouthed the number. She felt herself unwind ever so slightly, along with a gentle stroke down her back.

“Ninety-nine.”

Another step, another stroke.

“Ninety-eight.”

“Tickets, please.”

Bright. Why is it so bright? Hooves. Can’t move my hooves. Wet. Great, I’ve been drooling, haven’t I? I hope I didn’t snore.

“There you are, sir.”

“Oh, princess Twilight, I wasn’t aware you’d be with us today. Is everything all right with your friend there?”

Well, this is embarrassing. At least I’m not alone, though.

“She’s fine, sir, just taking a nap. Long hours on the Weather Patrol.”

“Aye, suppose that’ll do it.” The sound of a ticket puncher clicking, then the sound of hooves marching on. “Have a good day, Your Highness, hope your friend feels better soon.”

“I’m sure she’ll be up and running by the time we get to Baltimare.”

The sound of a door opening and closing, then the feeling of an arm wrapping around her.

“Rainbow Dash? Would you like to wake up now?”

Rainbow tried to talk, but the sound came out garbled. She nodded instead. Something softly pressed into her back, and the sensation made her aware of the increased sensitivity she was feeling all over. Twilight’s hoof ran slow circles over the area, sending muscle tension back into Rainbow’s body. Her breath picked up to a steady pace, her arms and legs stretched out in a reflex, and her wings gave a cursory flap. She yawned. “Wow. Talk about a power nap. So did you do the sex magic thingie?”

Twilight stroked along Rainbow’s left wing. The touch made Rainbow blush furiously, as well as send a quiver down into her loins. Rainbow didn’t even hear herself gasping, but evidently Twilight did. The alicorn recoiled at the sound. “Oh, sorry.”

Rainbow stretched out again and rubbed along that wing herself. “It’s okay. It feels pretty good, at least. Kinda like what they made me do in school, only deeper.”

Twilight raised her eyebrows just as the train came into the final station. “Oh. Well, what I did just now will leave your fur sensitive for about a whole day, if I’m right, the rest of it we’ll just have to wait and see. You shouldn’t have any problems if you’ve done this sort of thing before, though. Assuming you don’t mind doing it again?”

Rainbow Dash smiled and took off from her seat, fetching the saddlebags from under their seats. “I don’t mind, Twilight, it helps me focus. So where are we headed now?”

Twilight pointed to a monumental building in the distance as they exited the train. “The main convention center. We walk in through the big doors, get dressed, then walk into the right convention hall.”

Rainbow Dash kept flying rather than walking, if only to have something keep her mind clear and focused. “And when you say ‘get dressed’, you mean-”

“-I mean something fun, yes. Trust me, you’ll laugh when you see it.” Twilight smirked mischievously.

Baltimare’s convention center was famous in Equestria for several reasons. First and foremost, it was huge. Having been the hub of the Equestria Games in years past, the building itself was more than large enough to accommodate for the crowds that the Games drew. Secondly, it was famous for its practicality: all the former stadiums were connected through one great hall and converted to convention halls for gatherings of various stripe. There were conventions for hobbyist aquarium holders, for exotic weapons aficionados, and even for those funny comic book geeks who liked to dress up in silly outfits vaguely reminiscent of their heroes.

As Rainbow Dash strode into the main hall, she was reminded of the times she’d asked about the third reason this convention centre was so famous. The mare she’d asked, as any Baltimare mare would, had insisted this third point was a measure implemented for geeks in costume. The mare had been most insistent on the topic, even. It was only now Rainbow Dash realised that the insistence hadn’t been due to any sort of veracity in the claim, but rather that any other answer to the question “Why do you have such a complicated system of revolving doors?” would have brought embarrassment to the fair city.

Rainbow, still airborne to keep her head cool, regarded the contraption in front of her. It was wide, cylindrical, silver-ish in colour, and mostly featureless, save for buttons on the walls. It was flanked by a wall made of wire fencing, meaning every visitor would have to step through such a contraption at one point. Twilight pressed one of the buttons, and a door opened in front of them. A casual landing, Twilight walking in behind her, and another button pushed saw them inside what looked like a dressing room, complete with mirror, small stool and bright lights, as well as a very sterile feel to the place. The door closed, and Rainbow Dash felt the room itself moving, being shuffled around like a card in a deck.

Twilight smiled. “Now it’s time to get dressed. You ready?”

“Ready for wha-”

“Dive down deep, pet.” Twilight pressed a hoof against Rainbow’s forehead.

Even after what had happened last time, Rainbow Dash couldn’t stop herself from relaxing. Her jaw went slack, her eyes fluttered, her body felt light and weak all over. “W-what’re we doing?”

“Nothing you won’t enjoy, I promise. I’m going to use a spell to warp my voice so nopony’ll know it’s me, but I promised I wouldn’t cast any spells on you, nothing that would show up on a test. So I’m just going to have to hypnotise you so you can’t talk.” Twilight leaned in and ran her tongue over Rainbow’s lips. The warm wetness made Rainbow’s wings stand erect, as well as make her tail twitch.

Twilight slowly withdrew, clearly trying not to look flustered. “Feel your Mistress’s fluids on your lips, pet. Feel it sealing those lips together, carefully, painlessly. No need to talk now, no need to be afraid. Just relax. Let your throat relax for me as well, just letting go of your voice for a little while. Can you let that happen for me, pet?”

Rainbow Dash mumbled something through her lips, but she couldn’t get them to budge. They were stuck fast, glued together by mere suggestion. She nodded as she felt a numbness creep into her throat, completing her muting.

Twilight’s smile turned to a smirk. “Good, pet. Drift back up out of trance at your own pace. Now, time for your disguise. I hope you like latex, or rubber. It’s a collective name anyway, I didn’t catch the details.”

Rainbow Dash’s eyes went wide when she saw Twilight conjure up a black ball of shiny rubber. Her mind wandered to that one fateful daydream in the library. She can really do that?

She can conjure rubber? Seriously?

Twilight took the response as a positive and gently lowered the ball onto Rainbow Dash’s back. Cold at first, the slick material quickly warmed up and coated the small of Rainbow’s back. Thick blobs reached out from the main mass to wrap around the base of her wings. She turned her head around to look, then shot Twilight a questioning look.

Twilight pointed to the blobs moving. “Oh, you’ll want to keep your wings up and stretched out, it’ll hold them comfortably. You will be able to fly, still, but I wouldn’t if I were you.”

Rainbow nodded and kept her wings still. Before she even realised it, the rubber had coated her wings from base to tip. They felt oddly comfortable, isolated but not cut off from the world entirely. Her torso was being coated in the same smooth, black matter, and she giggled inside as it tickled around her belly.

Once again, Twilight noticed. “Good Heavens, you are really enjoying this, aren’t you?”

With her lips sealed, all Rainbow could do was nod.

Then she realised she could still moan against the mental restraints when Twilight made the rubber squeeze her muscular rump. Before long, her hind legs were half coated and the sight of her rainbow tail was replaced by that of a heavier black mass of rubber, with rings along its length to make it look like a raccoon’s, or at the very least a settler pony’s.

Twilight came closer to look Rainbow Dash in the eye. “Rainbow, do you want me to numb your hooves for this next part?”

Rainbow Dash smiled and shook her head. She closed her eyes, then lifted her hooves off the ground as one by one, they were encased in the safety of black rubber. Good thing she gave me that cream. Good thing I listened to her advice, too. She looked down at her new, shiny self, and found the mass was making its way up to her head.

Twilight backed away slightly. “You’ll be able to breathe normally, don’t worry. And your eyes and ears will stay covered, but they won’t be blocked.”

A nod and a deep breath later, Rainbow Dash was fully encased in the rubber suit. She could see clearly through some lenses conjured into the design, and the stuff around her ears didn’t feel too uncomfortable, either, even keeping them warmer and more comfortable than usual. She moved her hind legs slightly and moaned into the costume upon realising every move created a squeaking sound. Then again, the fact that the costume hugged her private regions very tightly and even seemed to vibrate ever so slightly whenever she moved may have contributed to that as well.

With a flourish, Twilight conjured her own costume. Rather than splashing herself with it, she let out great ribbons of rubber to wrap around her limbs, belly, head, wings, everything, even her horn.

Rainbow Dash then realised the fatal flaw in Twilight’s plan: Twilight now looked like a rubber alicorn. She had big green eye lenses that made her look like an alien of some sorts -- and Rainbow Dash could only assume her own lenses were identical, hiding her eye colour -- along with a deep, dark purple colour scheme with blue and reddish areas along where a princess’ chest piece and shoes would be.

Rainbow Dash’s ears perked when she heard her own costume hiss. Rivulets of red crept up the rubber on her hooves, marking some sort of tribal pattern on the surface. Twilight took her saddlebags back, and gave Rainbow hers. Twilight then made a circling gesture over her throat, warping her voice to sound lighter, slightly higher-pitched. “Now no one will know it’s us. Oh, and if you really need to speak, then just tap me to get my attention and tap your throat. It’s just a precaution in case something gets you too excited, so no one recognises your voice and all.”

Yeah, of course. And we’re covered in rubber so nopony can see our furs or our cutie marks. But what about your wings, Twilight? Can’t you hide your wings? Or at least hide your horn? Rainbow pointed to said horn even as Twilight pushed the button to send the booth to the exit point.

Twilight smirked in her costume, noting Rainbow hadn’t checked the mirror yet. The purple rubber alicorn just shrugged, keeping those coated wings in their upright position. “Don’t worry about me, pet, I’ll be fine. Oh, and if we lose each other, I’ll call you Pallette, just so we don’t end up revealing ourselves. Think that’ll work?”

Rainbow nodded as the door opened, though the horn and wings situation still bothered her. Two ponies in uniform stopped them, turned off the light in the booth, shone a blue light into it, then let them pass without further fanfare. Rainbow Dash followed her Mistress, albeit apprehensively. Looking back, she saw another shuffling contraption that was letting visitors without rubber outfits filter through and attend some convention or other. With the way the wire fence was set up, along with the security, presumably there was no way of getting in without entering and exiting a shuffling contraption. A good way to get a security check, she felt, if a little convoluted.

Oh, Twilight, this is never gonna work. Sure, you’re covered, but you’re the only alicorn here -- I hope, it’d be kinda weird to run into Cadence -- and being covered in rubber is still gonna leave a pretty big hint about who’s under there, you know!

Rainbow’s train of thought stopped when they reached the counter for their hall. Twilight paid their admission, then said she was “Mistress Purple Prose, with guest,” or something along those lines. Rainbow Dash’s mind returned to reeling over the implications.

Then she saw the convention hall.

“Welcome to the Coursers and Corsets Erotica Con,” it said on one of the overhead banners. That didn’t take long to process.

Aisle upon aisle of sex toys lay before her, all kinds of things for use among consenting adults with a good lock on their door, and even a stand selling locks for those who needed one. This sight also wasn’t too mind-boggling.

She reached up to touch her forehead and found a very solid protuberance poking out of it. Twilight had added a horn to the costume, apparently, making Rainbow look like a red and black alicorn. This was, yet again, not a difficult thing for the mind of Rainbow Dash to process, as she was fond of pranks and this was turning out to be Twilight’s best prank ever. Truly, Rainbow Dash had never thought Twilight had this kind of scheme in her.

There was, however, one sight that refused to fully process at first. That sight was not the banner, nor the aisles, but the crowds amidst the aisles.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, Rainbow Dash realised that what she was seeing was real.

Rubber alicorns.

Rubber alicorns everywhere.

Author's Note

Ladies and gentlemen, you've gotten a little bit of clop, lots of character, some worldbuilding and some jokes in between. Now, though, comes some pure fun. Sex jokes, (un)fortunate implications, and even some food for thought, but even that will be referring to the kinky side of things.

I've been sneaking in adult jokes in my fanfics since pretty much the beginning of my career. I don't put them where they don't belong (how's that for a double entendre?), only really using them for SoL fics to make them more broad in their appeal and less kiddy. Since this is already a mature story, the question isn't so much where to go with those ideas, as much as it is "What can I get away with?"

Also, at the time of writing, I've done some Google searches. I custom searched "rubber alicorn" and came up empty. The phrase "rubber alicorn" is not present anywhere on this site, according to Google.

So my story is the first instance of rubber alicorns, or even rubber-clad alicorns, on this website.

I like to think that's something to be proud of, right there.

Let's Go to CoCoCon, part 2: Shiny Toys (And Not Just the Merchandise)

Ponies had long been known as a tolerant bunch.

True, they were frightened easily, and the herd mentality that had evolved over millions of years wasn’t exactly purged in the few millennia they’d decided to build cities. And certainly, every zebra, griffon, and minotaur would leave for pony lands with the same warning: never threaten a pony child, and never antagonise ponies when one of their children is missing. The occasions where ponies showed reluctance to accept new and strange things were usually cited as being due to circumstance, rather than any prejudice on the ponies’ part. After all, many ponies would argue, it takes a dangerous creature to survive in a dangerous place, and if you live among monsters, one has to ask why the monsters would shy away from you.

Minor caveats aside, ponies, as a race, had a reputation for their tolerance, and this tolerance stretched to sexual deviants of the norm. However, while their race was tolerant as a collective, individual ponies still knew shame. When faced with the dilemma of exploring their true selves -- possibly the greatest driving force in any pony’s life -- in the face of public humiliation, social barriers had long stopped all but the most curious and zealous of ponies.

Thus the need for anonymity among fetishists was formed. Baltimare naturally added their system of anonymous dressing rooms to attend to this need, but this alone would have left ponies with a great practical conundrum: how to disguise oneself properly. A unicorn could make their horn disappear easily enough, but there were timing issues involved on having it reappear. An Earth pony could put a fake horn or fake wings on a costume, but this still created an inequality, as whoever wore a costume with a fake horn was already identifiable as not being a pegasus pony. All things considered, unicorns had an easier time hiding their true selves than the other two races did, while pegasus ponies had an unfair handicap in the matter. Anypony wearing a cape to hide their wings could still be identified as hiding wings, and anypony not wearing a cape could be identified as not hiding wings, thus being either unicorn or Earth pony. Identity was not absolutely secret and equality was not guaranteed.

As a direct result, for the longest time, it was customary for fetish-exploring ponies to attempt to dress up as another race and thereby make other races look like perverts. That is, of course, until one Marquis Clever Biscuit from the Pony Neo-Classical Era realised that merely hiding body parts in tight costumes would never quite work. The art of magically forming rubber as a temporary construct was ancient by the time Marquis de Biscuit was born, but strangely nopony had ever given thought to the deceptively simple answer to anonymity’s needs. The answer, as he wrote down in the first version of the Eroticon -- paraphrased for the sake of modern readers -- rang thusly:

If you wear a costume that makes both wings and horn look real, it doesn’t matter which one is. Unicorns can wear a costume with fake wings, properly constructed and held in place. Pegasus ponies can keep their wings up and covered and just slap a horn on their costume. Earth ponies get both. Any kind of pony could be under a rubber alicorn costume. Well, any pony except a real alicorn, because that would just be scandalous.

As Rainbow Dash heard the clopping and squeaking of the multitudes of rubber-encased alicorns perusing paraphernalia, she found herself wondering just who was under each costume. To her delight, she didn’t have the faintest clue.

Twilight tapped her shoulder and spoke in her high-pitched voice. “Remember, I’ll let you talk if you really want to, but I wouldn’t want you to get embarrassed because somepony recognises you. Stay close to me, and let me know if you want to get anything. If I read it right, a lot of pets here don’t talk, so we’ll blend right in.”

Rainbow Dash nodded as Twilight led the way towards the first aisle. Before her lay a collection of cuffs, mouth bits, and gags, all of varying materials. Rainbow kept her eye on the purple rubber alicorn beside her, and said alicorn kept her eye on the red and black rubber alicorn, which wasn’t an easy trick because red and black was apparently a popular colour scheme among fetishists. Rainbow’s mind reeled at the sight of so many anonymous ponies covered in shiny, sleek rubber, even if the stuff was only temporary, and possibly a different material from rubber.

Twilight was right. It’s the perfect disguise. Nopony can tell it’s me, or her. Nopony would ever think it’s her, it’s brilliant! Focus, Rainbow, check the merchandise. Let’s see, I can’t really do anything with cuffs, I think, and gags aren’t exactly my thing, either. She chuckled to herself, stealing another glance at the purple rubber alicorn beside her. Oh, this is gonna be fun. Suppose I did run into somepony I know? My neighbours could be standing right next to me and I’d never know.

She pushed that thought away and followed her Mistress. Get a grip, Rainbow. Nopony from Ponyville would ever come to a place like this.

“Hey, Bonsie, look! They’ve got those arm sleeves you wanted.”

Rainbow Dash froze and turned to look at the rubber alicorn who’d spoken. This one was a rarity in the crowd, given the mint green colour scheme and a red and white candy cane pattern of the horn. No, it couldn’t be…

“I told you, Puppetstrings, when I’m in the costume it’s ‘Mistress Liquorice Whip’! Ooh, and there’s a discount on gags, too. You always get the best deals here.” The second one was beige, and also sported a candy cane pattern on her horn, possibly as a means of finding each other in the crowds.

Twilight had frozen as well. She looked back at Rainbow Dash and gestured for them to continue. Rainbow Dash followed wordlessly, and did her best to filter out the sound of legions of rubber alicorns clopping around with their squeaky hooves.

Huh. I wonder what other surprises we’re gonna get.

Princess Celestia strode through the crowds with all her royal grace in every step. No guards flanked her, for this was not a place of violence. Here, princess Celestia was just like any other pony, casually browsing the offer of dildos on one end, and acknowledging the newer ‘dragon cock’ designs with little more than a courteous glance. She picked up one of these dragon members for her personal collection, paid for it, then moved along. None of the rubber alicorns paid any heed to her, none except Twilight Sparkle, who had a few questions as to why Celestia would be interested in draconic phalluses, whether or not she should be worried about Spike’s well-being, and why Celestia had bothered to turn her fur into a rubber skin. Twilight could only guess it was to fit in with the crowds, which apparently worked, given how nopony paid any attention to their immortal sovereign.

From within her own rubber confines, Twilight’s mind was grinding its gears hard enough even for Rainbow Dash to hear. Rainbow kept on moving past the dildo stand, but Twilight stopped her. Twilight pointed to a contraption that looked like some sort of undergarment, but was equipped with two thick prongs. One was pointed inward, the other outward.

“Double strapon, Ma’am?” the vendor alicorn asked. He was dressed in the same red and black as most ponies here were, though this one had more of a claw mark pattern than Rainbow’s straight, techy linework.

Twilight nodded, her smile occluded by the mask. “Yes, please, and do you have anything in purple?”

Rainbow Dash felt the cold sweat of fear trickle down her neck. She’s getting a strapon? She’s planning to use that to… have sex like stallions would?

The vendor nodded in agreement. “By costume reference, I presume? Yes, we have that darker shade of purple in stock. Would you like the standard model or do you have any preference for a breed model?”

Rainbow Dash bit her lip. She’s not seriously going to…

Twilight’s costume squeaked when she raised a hoof to ponder. “Well, I know what the breed looks like, but I don’t know the name. The stallions have a stocky build, thick forelegs, rather soft fuzz around the hooves. Mares have a shorter mane than normal, both are good endurance runners, but poor sprinters. Does that narrow it down at all?”

The vendor nodded and pulled out a purple model that came equipped with two thick dildos, each slightly curved and with a very distinct bulbous head. “I believe you’re referring to a ‘frosty’ breed. Is it a unicorn cock you’re after?”

Rainbow could practically hear Twilight gag. “Yes, unicorn cock.”

The vendor placed the strapon in a bag and handed it over. “There you are then, Ma’am. One purple double strapon, ‘Prince Charming’ model. My associates three aisles down have the loose version in stock, I believe.”

Rainbow Dash’s train of thought derailed again. Prince Charming? They named a unicorn sex toy ‘Prince Charming’?

The purple rubber alicorn paid for her item and tilted her head. “Prince Charming?”

The black and red vendor shrugged. “It used to be called ‘Grand Commander’, but then Shining Armour married into royalty.”

Even underneath that mask, Rainbow Dash could feel Twilight’s nerves play up. The alicorn (flesh and blood one, that is) barely managed to keep her composure. “I see. Thank you very much, sir.”

“You’re welcome.”

Without a further thought, they moved along and left the stallion - or mare with a warped voice - to tend to another customer.

Rainbow Dash nudged Twilight and pointed to the thing in her saddlebag. Twilight turned her head towards it and made it float in front of her in her magical grip. “What, this? It’s just in case we want to try something new, pet. And now that I know what the model is called, I think I will go check if I can get the loose version, too.”

Rainbow extended a hoof to block Twilight’s way. She stared from under her lenses at her friend.

Twilight groaned and lowered her voice a whisper. “Ugh, I only went with that make because that’s the one I’d be if I were born a stallion. I want to know what it’s like, without cheating with magic. I’m doing what any mare would do if they wanted to know. It’s for science, nothing more.”

Rainbow Dash considered it. Guess it makes sense. If you did want a stallion thing to make love to me, the closest you can get is something that looks like your brother’s. Unless you just turn into a stallion, I guess, but that’s kinda extreme just to have some fun, and it would be cheating a little.

Twilight looked around. “Now I just need to know where the books are.” She flapped her wings and took off, squeaking all the way and holding the double strapon in her magic.

Rainbow Dash looked up at the purple rubber alicorn, who was now flying and using magic at the same time. Twilight pointed to her target. “Oh, there it is! We should be able to do the whole hall in no time, then.”

Rainbow Dash angrily pointed to the rubber horn on her head, then to her immobile wings. Twilight quickly settled down and put the strapon away. Rainbow Dash shook her head in disappointment, until a tap on her shoulder distracted her. A green rubber alicorn, the one she’d heard identified as Puppetstrings when they’d come in, leaned in to talk. “Don’t feel bad about it. Earth ponies just like to show off when they have a new contraption, especially if it makes them look like a princess. Happens all the time.”

Rainbow Dash felt her heart sink. No one had so much as glanced towards Twilight when she’d revealed herself as an alicorn. There were, in fact, several rubber alicorns doing the same thing, and obviously combining glitter and strings to simulate magic. There must have been a DIY stand for it somewhere, judging by how close together the alicorn impersonators were. Seriously? They think she’s an Earth pony with a contraption? Nopony here thinks that might be the real Twilight? Even the perverts from Ponyville?

Puppetstrings chuckled and moved along as Twilight decided to investigate her purchase more closely. Twilight pondered, it seemed. “You know, I don’t remember it that well, but I’m starting to wonder just how accurate this thing is. It’s even got a tiny nick along the side, almost like that time Shiny… wait a second, you don’t suppose this is accurate accurate, do you?”

Rainbow Dash shrugged, before it finally dawned on her. Shining Armour’s a prince. Princes are hot to a lot of mares. It makes sense there’s a prince fetish, and modelling something like that to be lifelike would help feed that kind of kink. But if there’s a prince fetish, wouldn’t there be a-

Rainbow looked forward, towards princess Celestia. Then she turned around, and in the distance she saw another rubber princess Celestia, this one holding a leash for what looked like a shiny Nightmare Moon. Yet a third one was browsing the straightjacket stand a few aisles further down, and this one was being led on a leash by a rubber Nightmare Moon.

Twilight followed Rainbow’s gaze and apparently caught the same ponies walking around. Her ears flattened, a whimper escaped her lips. “S-so… there’s a royalty fetish? An alicorn fetish? And I’m… and my brother is…”

Rainbow Dash patted her friend on the back, trying to comfort her.

Twilight kept shaking her head as they passed by a stand for rubber hoofwear. She kept her voice down just in case. “Well, at least no one’s dressed like the newest princess, except me. And I don’t see any Cadence costumes around, either. Maybe there’s a rule about it, or it’s just not as popular.”

Rainbow Dash stopped to stare at a pair of shiny legwarmers on a doll like she’d seen in Rarity’s shop. The legwarmers were made of slick, shiny rubber in a black that was even deeper than the one she was wearing now. They were big enough to reach up to shoulders and thighs, and the fit on the doll was so tight it looked seamless. The ad next to the item stated it had pads with small, harder orbs lined into the bottom; tiny massagers that would titillate the frog of the hoof while a simple dollop of oil around the sides would tend to the hard nails. The massagers had different sets, too; one for stimulation, one for posture training to keep the wearer on tippy toes, and several geared towards pressure point stimulation.

Even just looking at it, even with a layer of rubber on her already, Rainbow Dash could feel the tight fit of those hoof mitts on her, caressing her arms and legs, squeezing and warming her muscles as she moved about in the privacy of her own home. They had a lifetime warranty and everything. The price was extravagant, but then the items themselves were, too. It was the kind of thing ponies left home for just to pick that up. It was the kind of thing Rainbow would have happily saved her money for.

That must feel so good to wear. It looks so smooth and sleek and-

“Do you suppose they measure that kind of thing in the Royal Guards?”

Rainbow’s train of thought stopped. Focus, Rainbow, focus. Your best friend and Mistress just found out she’s a sex symbol and her brother’s stallionhood’s been turned into a brand and used by mares all over Equestria. Okay, maybe she’s not a sex symbol, but there’s bound to be a market for it sooner or later. And even without that, it must be rough finding out your brother’s a dildo model. How does he live with that? It can’t be that much of a secret, or is it? Who knows that’s really his? Do they market it like that?

Uh oh. If that Puppetstrings really was Lyra back there, wouldn’t that mean - no, it couldn’t be. Then again, that vendor did seem to know his product pretty well. Suppose one of Shining’s bridesmaids masturbated with that model? Suppose they all did?

Suppose Cadence did? And if she did, when did she start?

What do you say to that?

“Then again, princess Celestia wouldn’t allow this to happen without Shining Armour’s permission. These ponies are running a business, after all, they must have reported it at some point. And Shiny’s well-known enough for somepony to tell him if it was done behind his back,” Twilight said.

Rainbow Dash nodded. Looking back, she realised they’d walked a far longer way than she’d anticipated, possibly because she was so lost in thought. Most of the stands they passed were all the same, anyway: cuffs and gags, not quite her style. That’s true. Maybe it’s just flattering for a stallion to know his thing is going into so many mares without him actually putting it into them. It’d save him a lot of work, wouldn’t it?

Twilight stopped and ordered another ‘Prince Charming’ model dildo for herself. Rainbow Dash didn’t show any interest. Looking closer, Twilight did indeed notice the slight nick on the side of that rubber member, something Rainbow Dash presumed had been a childhood accident involving zippers and a trip to the emergency ward, possibly therapy. Then again, considering Twilight’s overall mental health and what little Rainbow Dash knew of the princess’ family history, the therapy may have been omitted.

“It’s not like it’s hurting him, at least I don’t think so. He never mentioned it to me, and Cadence never did. Oh my, suppose Cadence doesn’t know yet and she finds out? Suppose she does know?”

Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes in that suit. That’s what I was thinking. Maybe she knew what she was getting into, or what was getting into her, before they got married.

Twilight stopped in front a stand selling the eponymous corsets of the convention. “Feel like getting anything from here, pet?”

Rainbow Dash looked at the designs. Tight lace straps, hard plank things that went around the waist, none of it looked too comfortable. Granted, she could accept it as an acquired taste, but the notion of having her breath cut off didn’t sit well with her. The one race she’d run with a tight rope around her wasn’t one of her most cherished memories, for starters. She shook her head, and idly wondered if she should ever ask Applejack for an apology regarding that little incident. It’s not worth it, Rainbow. Just stay focused, you’re not here to dwell on the past.

Twilight slowly led the way onward. “Guess you wouldn’t, the way you need to mind your breath and all. I think there’s a salespony for sports fetishes around here, too, you might like that.”

Rainbow Dash groaned. Sports fetishes? That’s a thing, too? I guess some hot shorts wouldn’t be too bad. I wish I’d gotten those stockings, though, or legwarmers, whatever you call those.

They couldn’t even take two steps before Shining Armour’s masculinity got in the way. “But still, how? Why? When? And does he get money for that? Who gets all that cash? And who else is in on it?”

Rainbow Dash pondered it. Well, if they’ve got a ‘Prince Charming’ model, and it used to be called ‘Grand Commander’, then it might be something they do with all the high-profile ponies: the Royal Guard, the Wonderbolts... the Wonderbolts… do they do that for Wonderbolts, too?

As if on cue, they reached the stand with the sports items, more accurately the Wonderbolt fetish section. The Wonderbolt costume imitations were spot-on, and supposedly ‘officially sanctioned’. Despite the apparent seal of approval, though, Rainbow Dash noticed some differences between the costumes for sale and the original ones. For one thing, these were made from a far shinier lycra-ish material that was most certainly not optimised for air travel. For another, the bolt patterns weren’t an exact copy, but that was most likely to avoid confusion.

What really caught her eye, though, were the sex toys.

As if Twilight’s brother hadn’t presented her with a big enough shock, Rainbow Dash now found herself faced with Spitfire’s marehood. She could tell it was Spitfire’s because of the colour, even if it bore the name ‘Captain Blaze’. She’d never gotten too close a look at her future boss’s private parts, but given the circumstances she was willing to assume it was accurate.

Twilight patted Rainbow Dash on the back. “You want to get anything from here?”

Rainbow Dash looked around. Let’s see here. I’ve already got a real uniform and a Shadowbolt uniform, I don’t really want to know what my hero’s marehood feels like against mine, and I don’t need any goggle-shaped blindfolds. Nah, I’m good. She shook her head.

Twilight nodded in agreement. “There should be a general sports section around here somewhere. Oh, it says ‘watersports’ there.”

Rainbow Dash nodded. Now we’re talkin’. A hot swimsuit, or maybe something with counterweights for my hooves wouldn’t be so bad. Yeah, I’d look good in a fetishy swimsuit, wouldn’t I?

They went to the watersports stand, checked out its merchandise, and without a word swiftly left it behind them. Rainbow Dash would have grunted if it hadn’t been for her sealed lips.

Twilight’s mind was reeling. “Okay, maybe I should have researched the term ‘watersports’ a little bit better.”

Rainbow kept her lips firmly together. Ya think?

Princess Luna sipped her tea in the royal private quarters as Celestia walked in for her lunch break. “Rough day, sister?”

Celestia groaned and sat down with the most royal and elegant ‘plop’ her posterior could manage. “Indeed. What did you wish to see me about?”

Luna held up a note in her magic. “The annual report for your ‘purple industry’.”

Celestia took the note and examined the figures. “Ah, would you look at that. Balanced budget as ever. And given the reports so far, it seems the new dragon range is coming into fashion, as well. Oh, and it seems dear Shining is still popular, too, that’s always nice to see.”

Luna grumbled. “Honestly, Celestia, I still don’t see how you can justify doing this. You’re breaching the privacy of the very ponies you hold dear. What of the Royal Guard’s honour? What of the Wonderbolts?”

Celestia shrugged, fetching herself a cup of coffee with a mere thought. “The ponies who sign up for it are welcome to sign out. Those that remain signed up are compensated for their contribution. It’s a perfectly fair system.”

Luna’s jaw clenched in anger. “It’s an institutionalised brothel, with the nation’s heroes as the whores!”

Celestia looked back at the door of the room, checking for any guards. “Really, Luna, it’s not that bad.”

Luna’s wings spread out, a futile endeavour given her sister was bigger anyway. Still, old habits die hard. “Oh no? What of the stallions who are objectified by lustful mares, what of the mares who are reduced to a mere rubber contraption and semen receptacle?”

Celestia rolled her eyes. “We make imprints and copies, Luna, we do not transform ponies into inanimate objects or reduce them to anything. At least, none of my subsidiaries do. I’m sure there’s a niche market for it somewhere, but we have laws against the worst abuses. Come to think of it, that may have been a form of punishment at one point, I’d have to check the records. In any event, those stallions and mares are contributing to the image of our heroes, not deprecating it.”

“How can you say that? Do you honestly not think this is causing irreparable damage?”

Celestia chuckled as she took a long, comforting sip of coffee. “Oh, my dear sister, this is what happens when you miss three sexual revolutions in a row. You’re just out of touch, nothing more.”

Luna backed off for a moment, surprised. “Only three sexual revolutions in a thousand years?”

Celestia looked away. “Well, three by our standards, obviously. The times have changed, and I’ve done everything within my power to see to it that they changed for the better.”

Luna sighed dejectedly. “Then would you care to explain to me why I should consider prince Shining Armour’s phallus being a publicly owned image a good thing?”

Celestia calmly set down her cup, the coffee drained and currently warming up her long, slender neck. “Think of the stallions, then, if you’re so concerned with them. Suppose one of them takes a good look at his most private possession, the very thing he may hope to one day sire offspring with, and decides it looks ugly. Suppose a young stallion hears girls talking, as they do once they get to a certain age, and wonders if he’ll ever measure up to the stallions they’re talking about.”

Luna glared in response. “Do not change the subject, sister.”

“I’m not. Modelling the way some Royal Guards and Wonderbolts do, and they are a minority, let me remind you, is a message to any pony who has any sort of sexual desire whatsoever. It lets my little ponies see that in the end, even the ponies who are admired the most aren’t that different in matters of love. Suppose I didn’t set that into place, and my little ponies started to get the idea that enormous sizes were the norm, or that there even was a norm to begin with. There’s more than enough shame around to keep our society going, I’m not about to let anything take the fun out of intercourse. Between consenting adults, naturally.”

“So you don’t think this objectifies anypony? You don’t think this is going to cause any harm?”

Celestia sighed and poured another cup of coffee. “If anyone wishes to know what it is like to make love to one of the stallions or mares who’ve modelled, they are free to. Better to do that in private than to go out and violate the privacy of anypony else. Besides, if they are being lusted after they are already being judged and objectified. It’s a normal behaviour, it just needs to be kept private for decency’s sake. All I did was make the process more agreeable for all parties.”

“But what of Shining Armour? He’s part of our family now, and his very masculinity is being sold like some cheap commodity.”

Celestia cleared her throat and took another sip of coffee, barely holding back her grin. “Oh, I assure you, the price on that has… inflated, shall we say, since his marriage.”

“Do not mock our cousin, Celestia!” Luna slammed her silver-coated hooves on the table. “What if his friends find out about it? Suppose his bridesmaids learn of it, or worse yet, his bride?”

Celestia tilted her head and shuffled closer to drape a wing over her little sister. “What’s the matter, Luna? If you were really that angry about it, the castle would be shaking. What’s gotten you so rattled, then?”

Luna sighed and rubbed her forehead. “Am I… are we…”

Celestia chuckled again and rubbed her wing over her little sister’s back. “No, you silly goose, no. I’m not on that market, and neither are you, nor will we be. Some impersonators, certainly, but they’re only living out a fantasy in private, nothing that damages our image. We remain out of the market’s bounds, always have.”

“But what of our dignity?”

“That is what privacy is for. Let ponies think what they will, and let them act towards us as they will. If any ever step out of bounds, they shall be punished for it, but no sooner. We do not persecute thought crimes in our realm, Luna, you know that.”

Luna sighed, defeated. “And what of Twilight Sparkle?”

“What about her?”

“What if she finds that other mares consider her the new epitome of sexual power? How will she handle that?”

Celestia shook her head. “Nopony ever impersonates a mortal alicorn, sister. Even among perverts, there is a sense of respect. If nothing else, there’s always the fear of running into the real thing. I have my agents where I need them, and I know for a fact no one has ever gone in public dressed as dear princess Cadence. The system works, honestly.”

Luna grumbled. “So you do not believe Twilight Sparkle will be damaged by this in any way? She won’t get into trouble when she finds a true love who does know this is happening?”

The white alicorn shrugged dismissively. “Oh, I’m sure Twilight will find a nice, handsome, loyal stallion who’ll gently ease her into the physical aspects of love. I’d be surprised if she even found out this exists.”

“Except she will when one of her friends is asked about it.”

Celestia frowned and backed away. “I beg your pardon?”

Luna closed her eyes and recited the rule matter-of-factly. “Is it not, at this very moment, customary for any public servant above a certain rank to be asked? And, should they accept, to be added to the line according to their breed?”

“Yes, but none of Twilight’s friends are… oh.”

Luna opened her eyes and grinned. “Forgot about that one, didn’t you, sister?”

Celestia gulped. “Well, I suppose that’ll turn out as well as it did last time.”

“What last time?”

“Let’s just say that when Shining Armour signed up as a model to help pay for his sister’s insurance fees, a few mares were given a group discount. I suppose that's one way of keeping the peace among mares with the same taste.”

Author's Note

As much as I like the rubber alicorn thing, my favorite line in this one has to be the ‘Mistress Liquorice Whip’ one. I don't think I'll ever top it, and this story isn't even a proper comedy.

Let's see... last-minute additions to this chapter were explanations regarding why there are no Twilight or Cadence cosplays at the con (this year), and changing Shining Armour's reason for signing up. Originally it was to pay his tuition, because apparently that's a thing that happens, but then I realised it didn't make much sense. Shining Armour would have been on the radar of the recruitment offices, it wouldn't be that hard for him to sign up. Paying the insurance fees for Twilight 'Book Tosser' Sparkle and her assistant, Spike 'Sneeze Equals Property Damage' Dragon, that would not only make more sense but also be funnier. Do note that when ponies are referring to the bridesmaids, they mean Minuette (Colgate), Lyra and Twinkleshine, the bridesmaids Shining and Cadence originally picked, not the Mane Six who filled in later.

I'd also like to thank the good people at Bad Dragon for providing me with the inspiration for the main reveal of this chapter. Yes, you can buy a rubber marehood online, in colours such as 'Dashing Blue' and 'Butter Yellow'. That got my train of thought towards this result. Thanks for making the rest of us furry freaks look normal, guys.

On that note, I do feel I need to point out that I do not condone what Celestia did, nor would I recommend any government on any planet or reality to do so. What I did intend was to show an extreme of tolerance, just like there are extremes of intolerance. Celestia and Luna's dialogue was added to change the scenery (can't do that otherwise) as well as show that this isn't just random, but has a justification. Not a very valid or good one, but a justification nonetheless. Feel free to add your own headcanon about horses having herds of several mares for one stallion, and how this would evolve when civilisation rolls around.

Next chapter: changelings at CoCoCon, in the most obvious place changelings could be at an erotica convention.

Finally: if you don't know what 'watersports' means in the fetish community, do not look it up without brain bleach handy. It is very much Not Safe For Work.

Let's Go to CoCoCon, part 3: Homeward, But Not Bound

Rainbow Dash grumbled while Twilight looked at the sign in front of them. The lack of moving lips hadn’t been too much of a bother, and apart from that one set of alluring rubber socks -- or stockings, she wasn’t sure of the proper term -- she hadn’t really felt like buying anything at the Coursers and Corsets Erotica Convention. The need to speak hadn’t been all that pressing so far.

But eventually, both the royal alicorn and the red and black fake alicorn had reached the most popular stand of the convention, the one stand where every visitor, even the most timid and prudish, would make at least one small purchase: the food stall. This was the place where even the most dedicated of pets had to take off their gags and open their mouths. Either that or go hungry, which no self-respecting dominant allowed to happen to their pets.

How anypony managed to overpower the scent of rubber and arousal with the scent of apple fritters and donuts was anyone’s guess, but the big barracks in front of the pair managed it somehow. Wide enough to serve three rows of primarily black and red rubber alicorns, as well as three Celestias and four Nightmare Moons, the ponies doing the cooking were a true rarity at the convention, in that they were the only ones not clad in rubber.

The ponies were also a rarity in that they were not ponies, but changelings. Rainbow Dash waited as Twilight finished reading the signs in front of the stall.

“Well, this is interesting. So apparently, these guys are solitary changelings living in Equestria, all registered. And since they don’t have to hide their identity with rubber, they’re the ones behind a hot furnace, instead of ponies. I guess their skins can take the occasional splatter. Good way to get them integrated, I guess. How did they get in here with nopony noticing, though?” Twilight turned her head towards her silent companion, who just pointed to Twilight, then back to herself.

Twilight tilted her head back as it sunk in. “Right, same way we did.”

The line moved on, and Rainbow heard the subtle clopping of a pony in stilts as the Nightmare Moon in front of them got ready to give her order. “The Grand and Potent Nightmare Moon would like seven apple fritters and a glass of grape juice, if you please.”

Rainbow suddenly felt glad her lips had been sealed by that post-hypnotic suggestion. Even if the Nightmare Moon costume was a good replica, that kind of talking sounded too familiar to not be noticed. Twilight held up a hoof to her mouth to stop from laughing herself. She lowered her voice to a whisper, barely audible above all the clopping of the rubber alicorns looking for a seat. “Did you just hear that? You don’t suppose that’s… no, it couldn’t be. She wouldn’t talk like that, not here.”

Their turn came. Twilight ordered apple fritters for two, with some milk to go along with it. After paying and getting her wares, they went looking for a seat where Twilight might unlock Rainbow’s lips.

“The Great and Powerful Nightmare Moon would like a packet of honey-roasted almonds and a cup of coffee, if you please.”

Twilight and Rainbow Dash froze, before turning to the other Nightmare Moon who was now getting nuts. Twilight shrugged, eliciting a squeak from her rubber costume. “Okay, that one might be.”

They found a seat someplace private. Rainbow Dash settled down with a soft moan, still relishing the feel of the rubber against her sensitised fur and nether regions. Then her eyes caught a different kind of food stall, and her mouth struggled to keep her laughter in against the suggestion.

Rarity absent-mindedly cleaned her dishes after lunch. Even as the spell animating the sponge kept it scrubbing, her mind kept on turning to Rainbow Dash and Twilight.

They said they’d be going to Baltimare. Plenty of conventions happen in Baltimare. There’s no reason to think anything strange of that.

Then again, Rainbow Dash seemed awfully distracted. Cloud Kicker and Raindrops can’t be that hard to train, can they? They’re adults, they must be progressing just fine on their own. And then there is Scootaloo.

Poor thing, not knowing if she’s handicapped or not. Oh, nonsense, Rarity, of course she’s not handicapped. Twilight managed to slap wings on you, after all, there’s no reason to think a proper doctor can’t fix whatever is keeping that girl on the ground.

She stopped her train of thought, and the sponge. With a mutter under her breath, she summoned a kitchen towel to dry the last dish off, then neatly completed the stack of dishes in the cupboard.

You’re being silly, Rarity, and evasive. Rainbow Dash has a lot on her mind, that’s all. Twilight is probably helping her get more organised, maybe help Rainbow take care of Scootaloo like a proper big sister, or even give her dating advice.

Rarity pulled the plug from the sink and strode off to the main room of her shop. There’s a thought; suppose Twilight is helping Rainbow Dash fetch herself a stallion? Rainbow did mention Thunderlane once or twice, perhaps she’s finally found a new paragon?

Yes, that must be it. The fake Cadence gave all of us advice at the royal wedding, when she didn’t know what she was talking about. That’s why Pinkie’s Pinkie Sense went off: Twilight always knows what she’s talking about, except when it comes to stallions. That particular combo must happen when someone is pretending to know what they’re talking about, and Twilight was just hiding her ignorance for Rainbow’s sake. They’re off to Baltimare now to acquire some proper literature, no doubt.

Rarity bit her lip as she regarded some of the items lying ready for pickup.

And if not, I suppose I’ll just have to explain why I added edible boots to my collection.

Twilight eagerly picked up another book and leafed through it, careful to use her hooves and not her magic this time. Rainbow Dash sighed in her rubber confines and browsed the stall herself. We’re gonna be here a while.

Rainbow’s eye wandered to Twilight’s saddlebags. They looked more swollen than she remembered, but then Rainbow hadn’t been keeping too close a track on what her Mistress was buying.

Twilight looked up from the book she’d been checking, to see her pet staring out into the crowds. She turned to red and black alicorn vendor number 57 (and counting). “Excuse me, sir, I don’t suppose you have any books aimed at the athletic crowd?”

The pony in rubber nodded emphatically and pointed to a corner on his, or her, far left. “Certainly, Madam. We have a section dedicated to the jockification fetish, as well as some practical guides on flexibility.”

Twilight prodded Rainbow Dash and pointed to the same corner. Slowly, rolling her eyes, Rainbow checked some of the books on offer. There were discounts and group buy offers littered around the table, most likely because there wasn’t much of a market for athletic dominants or submissives.

Still, Rainbow checked out one book that caught her eye: “Your Perfect Jock: Fitness in Sexual Pets.”

Okay, index looks promising. Looks like it’s got tips for all three races, good. Exercises… ooh, so that’s where those muscles are. I can get a tennis ball easily enough. She leafed through it some more. Huh, it’s even got tips to keep your libido up after cardio, that’s right up my alley. Wait, was libido being horny or slipping a disk in your back? Pretty sure it’s got to do with sex. Well, either way, this one’s a keeper.

She skipped the surprisingly numerous erotic fiction lying around with athletes of varying stripe as the protagonist -- or antagonists, depending on one’s point of view and relevant local legislation -- and went straight for the next book: a flexibility manual, geared specifically towards sprinters and stunt flyers, like her.

And this one… oh, this one’s pretty good, too. Wow, they don’t teach those stretches in the Wonderbolts. Ooh, and isometrics? I’ve been looking all over for this stuff.

Twilight, true to form, had already found the dozen or so books she’d been looking for by the time Rainbow Dash had decided she rather liked the pair she’d found. Rainbow Dash gestured to the two books, and with some minor management from her Mistress, Rainbow Dash made her first two purchases at an erotica convention.

The completely stuffed state of Twilight’s saddlebags at this point caused her only a minor degree of concern.

“Well, pet, did you see everything? Got what you wanted to get?” Twilight led the way towards the exit.

Rainbow Dash suppressed a sigh. Those rubber socks are still there, waiting for me. I should’ve said something at lunch, but… nah, I don’t really need to get those right now. They are kinda expensive, even if they would feel nice. She nodded and followed her Mistress without hesitation.

They went into the contraption to get changed. Twilight first dispelled her own second skin, then slowly peeled off the temporary rubber from Rainbow Dash’s body, grinning to herself as she went.

Rainbow Dash moaned, still keeping her lips together. Her ears twitched as the cool air touched them once more, her head was positively throbbing from the warmth the suit had held. Then the suit dissipated around her marehood. The mere touch of air, the softest reassurance she was bare again, sent tingles up her spine that settled into her wingtips just as they too were exposed.

Twilight placed her lips on Rainbow’s mouth again, gently giving her a lick as she touched her pet’s forehead. “Dive down deep, pet.”

Despite it all, Rainbow couldn’t help but surrender to the heavy comfort of obedience. She still felt insanely aroused, but she couldn’t do anything about it, not without Twilight’s approval. The alicorn gently rubbed along Rainbow’s lips. “Feel the glue around your lips dissipating now, letting you talk freely and openly. Your lips are unsealed, your throat is free to speak. Can you talk again, pet?”

Just being called ‘pet’ made Rainbow quiver in her nether regions. She clenched her eyes shut, hoping to hide it. “Yes, Mistress.”

Twilight ruffled Rainbow’s mane. “Excellent. Now you can wake up, we’ll catch the next train headed home, and we’ll be back in Ponyville in time for dinner.”

Rainbow Dash rubbed her head as the trance subsided. “Sounds good, Twilight.” She caught herself saying it. Twilight. I’m listening to Twilight now, she’s not Mistress. We’re not playing right now.

They went out with their things packed in their saddlebags, hidden from prying eyes. Once past security, no one would ever know they’d been to an erotica convention. Rainbow patted her bags with her wings, just to check if their contents were still there. The books felt heavier than the ones she’d read, making her think she’d only gotten her hooves on a lighter version, or a safe one. And if that was the safe parts, what kind of other stuff is in there?

Twilight looked at said bags. “Got some interesting books?”

The pegasus pony looked around for anyone listened and lowered her voice. “Um, yeah. Something about being a jock and a pet, and something about stretches. The one on stretches looked really good just for normal stuff, too; I get this twitch sometimes on really small muscles near my wings, it’d be nice to know how to fix that.”

Twilight nodded. “I’ll bet. So, um, did you enjoy today? Being with me, I mean?”

Rainbow bit her lip and suppressed the urge to grin in public. “I’ll tell ya when we get on the train.”

Rainbow Dash checked the clip on her saddlebags after checking her books for the umpteenth time. Twilight checked her bags as well, and promptly placed all the bags under their seat.

They looked in front of them, they looked behind them, they looked to the sides. The train car was completely empty. Rainbow Dash twitched in anticipation. “You know what’s gonna happen next.”

Twilight shuddered. “Yup.”

As one, they burst out laughing. Rainbow fell over on the seat, landing with her head on Twilight’s lap, though she would deny it being on purpose. Twilight didn’t care, as she was too busy trying to cope with the severe case of the giggles. “Oh my, I have to admit I did not think it would be quite like that.”

Rainbow let out one last chuckle, kicking her hind legs with glee. “You knew there’d be rubber alicorns there. You knew you’d blend in perfectly.”

Twilight blushed. “I did read up on it, yes, it’s basic etiquette. You didn’t mind, did you?”

“I don’t mind a good prank, Twilight, and that was a really good one. And it was funny to see you finding that dildo, too. Is that really, you know…”

Twilight looked around again, just as the train left the station. She looked flabbergasted. “I honestly think it is, but I don’t know how. I don’t think it really matters if it is, there’s no reason to bring it up anywhere. And hey, it’s only for science. It’s not like I’m doing anything illegal or incestuous.”

Rainbow mentally noted the distinction Twilight seemed to make between breaking the law and making love to her brother, but she didn’t voice it. She was still reeling, and laughing. “No. It was really interesting to see all that, and we got some good books. Even stuff I’d want to read.”

Twilight gently petted Rainbow’s mane. “So… you had fun today?”

Rainbow Dash looked up to see the doubt forming in her friend’s, her Mistress’s, eyes. “I had a lot of fun, Twilight, and I’m happy you got some good stuff out of it.”

Twilight chuckled. “So you are okay with me being, you know, like this? A dominant?”

“You’re not just dominant, Twilight. You’re my friend, more than my friend. You’re the only one I know I’d want to rest my head on like this.” Rainbow nuzzled upwards into Twilight’s belly. They could both feel the warmth growing in between them. “I don’t really know what it is between you and me, but I want to keep it. And even if I can’t, I want you to be happy. Are you? With me, this?”

Twilight bit her lip and chuckled again. “Happier than I’ve felt in a long time. It’s just that…”

“What’s the matter?”

Twilight closed her eyes and sighed, before forcing herself to look at Rainbow’s face again. “If we’re going to be together, then eventually we are going to end up making love to one another, for real. Not just trying to get each other off to clear our heads, but real, loving, sex. Are you sure we can do that?”

Rainbow reached up and stroked Twilight’s neck, gently going over her mane. “Of course we can. Why wouldn’t we?”

“W-well, it’s just that-”

“Mistress?”

Twilight froze.

“Is that what’s scaring you? That you’d have to put me in trance to make love? That you being what you are would get in the way otherwise?”

Twilight gulped. “It’s bad enough that I masturbated you with hypnosis, Rainbow Dash. The idea that I’d do it to actually make love, it just feels like rape.”

“So don’t, then. Like we promised: it has to be fun. I’m still getting the hang of being a good pet, you’re still getting used to being my Mistress. We’re both still getting used to liking mares. One fap, err, flap at a time, that’s how you learn to fly.”

Twilight giggled like a little school filly. “You did that on purpose.”

“It got a laugh out of you, didn’t it? Read up first if you’re scared, Twilight, see how other ponies do it. I wouldn’t mind making love in trance, if it means I get better at it. Isn’t that what you wanted? To have it be perfect, just the way you wanted it?”

Twilight blushed and turned her head away from the head on her lap. “Well…”

Rainbow Dash lowered her voice to a seductive whisper. “Don’t you feel hot just thinking about me licking you, stroking you? You know being controlled holds me back, just waiting for you to give the right command... I’d go really slow, and really try hard to do it just the way you like it.”

Twilight grumbled. “Now you’re just teasing, pet. It’s not proper.”

“Sorry, Mistress. But you get my point, don’t you? It’s okay to be scared of hurting me, but you shouldn’t be scared of just talking about it, or doing something harmless. It’s not rape if I get a choice.”

“Fair point. I suppose I’ll just have to brave it when I get there. Thank you, Rainbow Dash, I needed that.”

“No problem.” Rainbow sat up again and wrapped an arm and a wing around Twilight’s back. “That’s what I’m here for.”

Twilight pondered it for a moment, just as the train hit its first stop. No passengers boarded, they were still alone. “Come to think of it, Rainbow, we haven’t really vocalised our affections, have we?”

“We haven’t whatnow?”

“I love you, Rainbow Dash.”

Rainbow chuckled. “I love you too, Twilight Sparkle. There, does that feel any better?”

Twilight checked herself. No elevated heart rate, no blush, no ears warming up. Compared to changing species (twice), declaring her love was proving to be quite the letdown in terms of physical feedback. She grunted. “Not really. I was expecting that to be somewhat more impressive.”

“Well, what do you want? I’m not big on words, I never have been. I don’t see why it makes a difference if we say it. It’s not like we don’t know by now.”

Twilight looked out the window at the passing landscape. “Maybe. Or we’re just deluding ourselves and each other.”

“Twilight, if you really want to be sure, then you’re not gonna know just with me saying I love you. You know I’m more of a physical kind of girl.” Rainbow Dash turned Twilight towards her. “Do you really need to be sure, right now?”

The alicorn gulped. “Yes, Rainbow Dash, right now I really need to be sure if what I’m feeling is real. I just spent the better part of a day surrounded by ponies in rubber, and as funny as it was, I could use some normality right now.”

Rainbow nodded and smiled. “Okay. So now it’s your turn to let go and relax.” She let her hooves go over Twilight’s shoulders, then settled on the upper arms to pull her Mistress closer. “Have you ever kissed anypony? For real, on the lips?”

Twilight whimpered, her nose curled at the breath of warm air coming from her pet. “N-no. I don’t know how to do this, I’ve never done this. Why are we doing this?”

Rainbow looked Twilight straight in the eye. “You wanted to know. Do you still want to?”

Twilight took a deep breath to steady herself. Rainbow Dash waited patiently for the nod to come.

Then they kissed. Rather than the sloppy licks she’d used to seal Rainbow’s mouth for the convention, Twilight kept her tongue going around Rainbow’s lips, occasionally giving the mare a subtle nip.

They broke away and gazed longingly into each other’s eyes. At least, that’s how Twilight’s mind worded it, due in no small part to a steady diet of teen romance novels when she was young.

Rainbow smiled. “And? Happy now?”

Twilight checked herself again. Her heart was beating more loudly, her face felt warm, and the tips of her ears were throbbing. Not quite the same as her ascension, but a good feeling nonetheless. “Yes, very. It does feel more… real now. Thank you, Rainbow Dash.”

“No problem. Now put the book down.” Rainbow’s expression hardened.

Twilight’s ears flattened. “Um, what book?”

“The one you’re holding behind my head, the one with the section on kissing. I can see the reflection in the window over there. Just put it down.”

Twilight groaned and let the book float back into its bag, not breaking her hug. “Fine. But I was just trying to make sure I was doing it right!”

Rainbow chuckled. “I understand. It was good. But next time, don't use your tongue so much, it’s kinda messy.”

That got a resigned nod from the princess. “I noticed. I hope that won’t happen when we make love again.”

“Don’t worry about it. My cloud home’s easy to clean, and it’s big enough for the two of us if we ever go live together.”

Twilight raised an eyebrow. “What makes you sure I’d be moving in with you, and not the other way around?”

Rainbow smirked. “Um, you live in a library?”

Twilight shrugged. “So?”

“That’s a public building.”

Again, Twilight shrugged. “I still don’t get it.”

“You can get arrested for having sex in your house, Twilight.”

No answer came. Twilight just stared straight ahead.

Rainbow smirked, mentally marking them as even on the prank department. “You know, if you ever do tell princess Celestia about this, she’s got about as much explaining to do as you do, doesn’t she?”

Author's Note

I'd like to take this opportunity to thank my friend Yuki for convincing me to go to the F.A.C.T.S. in Ghent a while back, the only real con I've ever been to aside from gun expos (my dad needs a mule sometimes for his merch. I'm close enough). To be perfectly honest, I do feel I could have gotten more stuff, but I wound up only getting some Magic cards. I kinda regret not getting the Bamboo tablet Wacom was premiering, or whatever it was they were doing. I'd be lying if I said that's where the sock thing came from, but I'd be lying even more if I said it did nothing to inspire it.

Anywho, at the con, Yuki introduced me to some of her friends. One of them was in Asuma cosplay. I warned him to be careful, because I'd seen at least two Hidans around. He got out his cardboard blades. Gotta admire a guy for going the extra mile. There were also enough Narutos to reenact a fight scene from the series. Suffice to say, some of those experiences shone through for this trilogy, including the crowds at the food stalls.

Changelings are in this because I can't really make a statement about Equestrian sexual ethics without including them, and it also means Rarity's first assessment of the Pinkie Sense was right on all counts except the marriage one.

Yes, there is a hypnotic jockification fetish. Yes, I have it on good authority it is indeed not a popular fetish. The Dutch word 'lumbago' refers to a back injury, thought it might be funny if it was a technical term in Equestria, too.

As for Twilight still being insecure, keep in mind she's getting to grips with identity in general. Species changed twice in a short amount of time, a lot of insecurity, and on top of that she learns she's a sexual deviant (as in deviating from the norm) when before she'd never really considered herself a sexual creature. That sort of thing takes time. The difference between Twilight and Rainbow will be addressed more later on, too.

For the Girl Who Has Everything

Rainbow Dash soared through the air that morning, punching and kicking clouds left and right. Ponyville had gotten a visit from a storm front coming out of the west overnight, leaving a mess of clouds over the town’s sky. Reports from her colleagues had warned that more unneeded rainclouds were on the way, making it even more important to clear the ones already there. Still, she didn’t do all of them. “Come on, slowpokes, try and keep up!”

Raindrops and Cloud Kicker struggled to catch up to the speedster, but that wasn’t anything new. They weren’t panting today, at least, much to Rainbow’s delight. Raindrops bolted towards the clouds on Rainbow’s left, Cloud Kicker took the right. All in all, Ponyville’s skies weren’t cleared as fast as usual, but it was worth the exercise, as far as the captain was concerned.

Rainbow waited patiently at the outskirts of town for her colleagues to arrive after they’d finished. Though sweating profusely, they still had some fight left in them, from the looks of it. She smiled at them. “Well, you two are getting better. Still feel up for the B-level?”

Cloud Kicker nodded eagerly. “Yes, Ma’am. I can see why you like it so much. I can’t remember going this fast without getting into freefall.”

Raindrops wiped her brow. “Are you sure we’re up to it? We’re still nowhere near your level.”

“Raindrops, nopony is on my level, that’s kinda the point. It takes time to get that good, and practice, more practice than it’s worth for most ponies. You don’t have to be as fast as me for B-level, but being as fast as a Wonderbolt would help.”

Raindrops and Cloud Kicker shared a glance. Raindrops shrugged. “And… are we?”

Rainbow Dash scratched the back of her head, thinking. “You’re definitely getting there. You should be ready by the time the tests start if you can keep this up, and if you still really feel like doing it then. In the meantime, take the rest of today off, rest up but make sure the rest of the Patrol can find you in case that storm front turns out to be too big.”

Cloud Kicker nodded. “Got it, and do the weight training tomorrow and keep the stretches up too, right?”

Rainbow Dash nodded. “Right, but don’t overdo it. The biggest clouds should hit our area around noon, make sure you’re in plain sight by then if anypony comes calling. If you need me, I’ll be in Sugarcube Corner, I don’t know how long.”

Raindrops chuckled. “Roger. Quarter of a century, huh?”

Rainbow heaved a heavy sigh, letting her head hang. Great. I’ve been so busy I nearly forgot about it myself, never mind telling anypony else. Of course they’d know. “Yeah, quarter of a century. Kinda awkward, huh?”

Raindrops didn’t stop smiling. “Not that awkward. It’s only, what, three or four years less than us? Heck, the oldest pony on the Patrol hasn’t even hit her forties yet. Ponyville’s a fairly young town, hasn’t even had a Weather Patrol for that long, no reason for you to feel old. Happy birthday, by the way.”

Cloud Kicker nodded in agreement. “Yeah, happy birthday, Rainbow Dash. And don’t worry about it; you look younger than twenty-five, actually. Do you, umm, use anything special? Off the record?”

Rainbow Dash looked at her hooves and wondered. Do I look younger than I am? Well, it’s been three days since Twilight put that sex magic thingie on me, it must be working by now. It might be that. “Umm, just something for my hooves, and I’m doing breathing exercises, but Twilight’s helping me out with that, you’d have to ask her.” Smooth, Rainbow, real smooth. “Anyway, I’m gonna head down. Wouldn’t wanna be late for my own party.”

“See you around, captain.” Raindrops gave her captain a salute.

“And a good day to you, ma’am.” Cloud Kicker followed suit.

Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes at the pair as she turned to fly away. “You guys…”

Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes once the chorus of five ponies and one dragon ended. “You guys…”

Rainbow looked to Twilight. Her heart skipped a beat, and she forced herself not to keep looking for fear of giving anything away. Twilight did the same, obviously not comfortable with being around her sexual pet as well as her friends and her dragon assistant.

“Time for your presents!” Pinkie Pie hopped up and down excitedly, breaking Rainbow’s train of thought. The pink mare took a bright yellow box with a red ribbon on it in her mouth and presented it to Rainbow Dash.

Rainbow undid the lid. Inside were three sheets of metal, each with six indentations that had been pounded into the shape of a cloud with a bolt coming out of them. “It’s my cutie mark?”

“It’s baking moulds shaped like your cutie mark,” Pinkie explained. “In case anypony ever wants your hot buns. Now they’ll look as awesome as they taste.”

“Oh yeah, ponies love sinking their teeth into those. Thanks, Pinkie,” Rainbow said with a smile.

A ‘woosh’ went through the room. Applejack and Fluttershy backed away from Twilight, whose wings had sprung to erection at the mention of Rainbow’s hot buns. Applejack frowned. “Still havin’ trouble keeping your wings down, huh?”

Twilight blushed and forced her wings back against her sides. “Eheh, just some minor technical difficulties.”

Applejack chuckled. “Well, if you say so. Here, Rainbow, happy birthday.” Applejack fetched a golden-hued piece of paper from her saddlebag and gave it Rainbow.

Rainbow Dash took a moment to read it. “A coupon?”

Applejack nodded. “A coupon for next year’s cider season. See, every year we wind up getting this huge line in front of the stall, and not everypony who wants the cider, gets it. It doesn’t help when we give some ponies more cider because they’ve done us favours.” She nodded towards Pinkie Pie to illustrate. “So after that whole mess with those unicorn brothers, Big Mac had a talk with Filthy Rich, and we decided to start makin’ coupons for the ponies who really, really want to be sure they’ll get cider. That way, we can plan ahead, less ponies get disappointed, and we can get a little more money and a little less pressure. That one’s for you.”

Rainbow’s eyes went wide. She could already feel the drool building up in her mouth. “That’s a great idea. So with this, I don’t have to get up early to get a glass of cider?”

Applejack shook her head, smiling proudly. “Nope. That coupon’s good for five glasses of cider, startin’ first day of the season. You can pick’em up any time of day, there’ll be barrels set aside just for that. No gettin’ up early, no needin’ to take time off work or training, no long line, and definitely no runnin’ out when it’s your turn.”

Rainbow kept on staring. “Wow. Thanks, AJ.”

Fluttershy pushed her gift forward with her nose. “Um, here’s mine, Rainbow Dash. I hope you like it, but if you don’t, I can always get you something else…”

Rainbow Dash opened the box. “Bandages? Are these for my arms?”

Fluttershy nodded gently. “It’s to tape in your arms when you do your punching workout. Um, you know, just in case you needed something to keep them steady.”

Rainbow Dash smiled. “I did. Thanks, Fluttershy, I’ll make sure to put them on when I need them.”

Applejack snorted. “Just make sure you put them on right, eh, Rainbow? Wouldn’t want to find yourself all trussed up like a turkey on the floor.”

Rarity was about to comment, but a purple wing slapped her face with another ‘woosh’. She spat out a feather. “Bleh! Twilight, darling, you really must get those wings under control.”

Twilight blushed furiously and shot Rainbow an awkward glance. “I’m really sorry, I can’t help it.”

Fluttershy looked over those wings as they were forced down again. “Um, Twilight, do you preen your wings? They look a little worn.”

Twilight’s ears perked. “Preen them? You mean pull out the loose feathers? No, none of them have come loose yet. Mostly I just wake up in the morning and find feathers lying about.”

Rainbow Dash sighed. “Preening isn’t just pulling out feathers, Twilight. You need to pull at them, and put oil on them so they can keep you up. Didn’t you notice the gland at the back of your throat?”

Twilight frowned in confusion. “Gland? What gland? I’m not a bird, I don’t have a gland there.”

Rainbow Dash tilted her head. “Huh, that’s kinda weird. Every pegasus pony I know has to preen their feathers sooner or later, it kinda comes with the wings. How have you gone this long without needing to preen?”

Twilight shrugged. “Honestly, I don’t know. All I know is that ever since I became an alicorn, my feathers just fall off at night and breakfast always tastes like chicken.”

All eyes fell on Twilight, then. Twilight flinched, especially at the glare Rainbow Dash was shooting her. “Was it something I said?”

Spike pressed his clawed hand to his forehead. “Really, Twilight?”

Twilight blinked. “Ooh, now I get it. I’ve been sleep-preening, haven’t I?”

Rarity nodded. “I think the more pertinent question, Twilight, is: how would you even know what chicken tastes like?”

Twilight groaned. “That happened when I changed species.”

Rainbow Dash smirked at the former unicorn. “You’re gonna have to be a little more specific than that.”

Twilight groaned more loudly. “That happened the other time I changed species, the time we promised to pretend never happened.”

Spike nodded. “Oh yeah, the dog thing.” The baby dragon shuddered.

Rarity smiled. “Ah, say no more. Shall we carry on with the gifts, then?”

Twilight breathed a private sigh of relief. Her eyes met Rainbow Dash’s again, and they both looked away again at the same time. Pinkie Pie’s left hoof was making random movements for no discernable reason -- though Twilight could think of a worst-case scenario related to its causes -- which thankfully distracted everyone long enough for it to go unnoticed.

Rarity offered Rainbow a piece of blue cloth, wrapped with a gold ribbon.

Rainbow unfolded the cloth and rubbed her face against it. “Whoa, this is really soft. ”

Rarity smiled. “It’s a new blanket for when winter comes around. It’s made of jackalope wool, woven into velvet.”

Rainbow looked over the pattern. “Oh, cool, it’s got bolts on it and everything.”

“Indeed. That should keep you nice and warm when winter comes around again, provided you don’t have anything else to keep the bed warm, of course.” She winked mischievously.

Another ‘woosh’ sounded through the room. Applejack had barely managed to block the incoming blow. “Gosh darnit, Twi, just keep your wings upright if you can’t stop from slappin’ ponies all the time!”

Twilight was positively flustered by now. “I am really sorry, girls, I have no idea what’s wrong with these things today. They just slip.”

Spike rolled his eyes, before grabbing his present from Rainbow and offering it up. “Here, I got you this. This one’s from me, Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo.”

Surprised, Rainbow Dash raised an eyebrow. She opened the box and took out a single gem set in gold. It had two clips on it, making it look like a brooch of sorts. “A sapphire?”

Spike shyly kicked the ground. “Um, yeah. I didn’t really know what else to get you, but I figured since I never see you with any jewelry, even when you go to these big, fancy parties, I thought maybe you might like something that goes with your coat, but doesn’t stick out too much. Like, um, if you ever go to something else like the Grand Galoping Gala, or if the Wonderbolts ever go to any big thing and you need something fancy. You can clip that on any dress, it’s supposed to go on your neck. You know, like the Element of Loyalty.”

Rarity leaned in to check the gem. It was remarkably clear, no doubt shined up before being set in the brooch. “My sister and her friends went out digging for gems? With you?”

Spike shrugged. “Yup. We didn’t go to where those Diamond Dogs were, if that’s what you’re thinking. And I did remember to tell Raindrops where we were, just in case something happened.”

Rainbow Dash nodded. “Smart move.”

Spike looked up. “You like it?”

Rainbow put the brooch down, pulled the dragon in close and gave him a playful noogie. “I love it, big guy. I’ll be sure to thank the Cutie Mark Crusaders, too, when I see them. How did you find this thing, anyway? Sweetie Belle can’t do spells yet, can she?”

“No, but it turns out Apple Bloom taught a pig to sniff for gems. Don’t ask me how, something about an animal training cutie mark.” Spike shrugged.

Applejack groaned and glared into the distance. “So that’s why all of Elmer’s truffle-hunting ends up in the mountains.”

Twilight chuckled. “Well, I guess that just leaves my present. Here.” Twilight hadn’t wrapped or boxed her present, she’d just placed a bow on top.

Naturally, it was a book. Rainbow Dash accepted it with mixed feelings, since this was coming from more than just a friend. At the very least, a part of her had been expecting a sex toy of some description. Then again, Spike was present, so adult entertainment of that sort wouldn’t have been appropriate.

She read the cover. “Memoirs of a Failure?”

Twilight nodded. “It’s an autobiography of Spitfire, an older Spitfire. She was one of the first Wonderbolts, and eventually made it to captain.”

“So why is does it say she was a failure?”

Twilight gestured with a hoof. “Check the back.”

Rainbow looked at the back cover. Sure enough, the original Spitfire had the same mane style as the Spitfire Rainbow knew. There was no question the Spitfire she knew had been named after this one. The old Spitfire had the same yellow coat, the same relaxed look in her eyes as when Rainbow had met her idol at the the Best Young Flyers Competition, and the same deceptively lithe physique.

She did not, however, have the current Spitfire’s wings. The original Spitfire sported stubby dodo wings that were barely visible over her uniform. The cover even made a point of informing whoever read it that this particular Wonderbolt captain had been grounded until the age of sixteen.

Rainbow grinned knowingly. “I think this’ll be good to read, especially with some company.”

Fluttershy leaned in to check, curious. “Oh, I’m sure it will be.”

Rainbow put the book down with the rest of her presents. “Thanks, Twilight. I’m sure that’ll make a couple of things a lot easier.”

“Don’t mention it. So, what’s next on the schedule?”

Rainbow Dash suppressed the urge to groan. You and your schedules…

“Piñata time!” Pinkie Pie hollared, hopping up and down excitedly. She pushed the birthday girl towards a paper maché figure shaped like a changeling.

Rainbow Dash winced, the changelings at CoCoCon still fresh in her mind. It seemed insulting to them, somehow.

Pinkie Pie didn’t notice. She already had the blindfold and stick in her hooves. “Come on, Dashie, wanna play?”

Twilight froze. Her jaw clenched, her wings flushed in their erection.

Rainbow Dash shrugged. “Sure, I’ll take a good whack at it.” She stole a stealthy grin towards Twilight. She wasn’t sure what she was relishing more: the notion that Twilight had forgotten her triggers wouldn’t work if she didn’t want them to, the idea that her Mistress was feeling more flustered and embarrassed than she was, or the fact that Twilight most assuredly would be plotting a revenge.

It didn’t matter. Rainbow Dash and Twilight were surrounded by friends, they were there to have fun.

Sexy revenge could happen when they were alone.

Rainbow Dash donned the blindfold and whacked the paper changeling, idly wondering if paper changelings and rubber alicorns had any sort of family relationship in the fetish world.

Rainbow Dash flew back at a leisurely pace, Twilight behind her. While she didn’t get swamped in gifts, it would have been a bit clumsy for her to get home with everything on her own. Twilight didn’t need any further excuse to tag along.

Rainbow landed at her doorstep, Twilight settled down and placed everything neatly on the cloud with her magic. Rainbow opened her door and smiled. “Do you wanna come in?”

Twilight smiled back. “I’d probably better leave you be for now. I think we nearly gave ourselves away at the party.”

Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes. “You mean you almost did. You really need to get your wings under control, Twilight. And look up how to preen. You’re going to hurt yourself if you don’t take care of those things.”

Twilight nuzzled her friend. “I will, pet, don’t worry. And when we have some time alone, we’ll have a bit of real fun, how does that sound?”

Rainbow Dash giggled, nuzzling right back. “Sounds great. Oh, I almost forgot, the ponies on my patrol said I look younger. Do I?”

Twilight nodded and checked Rainbow’s body. “A little, but that’s to be expected. The image I put in your head is self-reinforcing, it should get some real results in a day or two.”

“Oh, okay. And then you’ll know how this sex magic stuff works, huh?”

“Yup, I might finally be able to answer those important questions that have been plaguing ponykind for millennia.” Twilight smiled proudly.

Rainbow looked idly at the sky and pondered. “You mean questions like: ‘How do we get sunburn or blush when we’re covered in fur?’”

Twilight’s ears flattened. “Please, Rainbow Dash, I said I’d answer important questions. I’m not a miracle worker.”

Rainbow held a hoof up to keep from bursting into laughter. “I’ll catch you later, then… Mistress.”

“Have fun with your present, pet.” With that final remark, Twilight took off with all the grace of a princess and then proceeded to fly with all the aerial skill of a penguin. Still, as frantic as it was, she managed her flight well enough to be safe, Rainbow Dash had made sure of that much.

Rainbow took her gifts in, placing everything in the cupboard or closet for it. She walked up to the kitchen to check her schedule.

This place is pretty big for one pony, but I knew that when I moved in. Maybe Twilight’ll move in with me someday? Nah, she’d never want to be away from her books.

She looked at the piece of paper and ran a hoof over the next item for today: checking Tank’s den.

Rainbow flew down and opened the wire fence, smiling to her reptile buddy as he came up in what she presumed was the tortoise equivalent of running and jumping at his owner. “Heya, Tank. Have you been good while I was out?”

Slowly, almost mechanically, Tank’s head bobbed up and down.

Rainbow chuckled. “Knew you would be. Here.” She fed him a bowl of thick, juicy berries and let him be. She stuck her head into his wooden den to check if it was clean. No smell, still pretty clean.

She looked down. Right underneath her face, there was a cardboard box, about the same size of the presents she’d gotten today. “Tank? Did you get me something for my birthday?”

Tank’s head wove left and right. Rainbow took the box out and read the card attached to the otherwise unremarkable container. “From Mistress, to her pet. Open in private.”

Rainbow’s heart skipped a beat. She wouldn’t have. She couldn’t have. Rainbow looked at Tank. “You gonna be okay with that, buddy?”

The tortoise looked to his food, carefully appraised it, and solemnly declared it would suffice with a mere nod of the head.

Without further ado, Rainbow rushed back indoors and opened the box. She did. She totally did.

Inside was one piece of paper, a written letter, on a transparent resealable plastic case. In the plastic case, she could see another piece of paper, containing what she could only assume were printed instructions. Underneath those instructions, there lay the shiniest masses of black rubber Rainbow Dash could imagine.

She took the note and read it carefully.

Dear Rainbow Dash,

I hope you don’t mind, but I took the liberty of getting those rubber condom socks you were so excited about at CoCoCon. Since it was close to your birthday, I figured I might as well blank your memory of me buying them to keep it a surprise. If it worked, I can only assume you were very eager. If not, then I guess it’s not a surprise, but simply a well-deserved gift.

Read the instructions carefully, pet. These things are not called ‘condom socks’ for nothing.

Have fun,

Mistress Twilight Sparkle.

Rainbow could feel her mouth going dry. She flipped the note to see if anything else was written on it, then placed it down, opened the plastic case, and read the instructions. Okay, so turn them inside out and slip them on, hooves first. Don’t use with sharp objects, don’t rub too fast or you’ll get friction burns, don’t wear them while operating anything hot, got it. I don’t think I need to wear these things while I’m cooking, anyway. To take them off, just roll over the edge and pull down gently. Wash with regular soap, list of permitted oils… oh, you can use olive oil for that? Didn’t Rarity say that was a beauty thing, too? Lifetime warranty, manufacturer’s address…

She bit her lip, then read Twilight’s note again. Then she read the instructions again. Then she took out all four socks and laid them out on the sofa. The hoof stimulator pads, she left out for the moment. One thing at a time. Everything was set, she didn’t need anything more to go ahead. Rainbow Dash put a hoof to her chest, feeling out the pounding of her heartbeat. Her wings had gone erect already, but she paid it no heed. Okay, here goes.

She pushed the first condom sock inside out, one that was sculpted to go on her hind legs. She placed a hoof into it, then started rolling the rubber over her fur, carefully pushing out the air in between as she went.

Her leg warmed up, the frog of her hoof throbbed against the soft, protective surface.

She reached the end and shuddered. Her whole right leg, stopping just short of her thigh, was coated in black rubber shiny enough to see her reflection in. The seam looked perfect, not pulling at her fur anywhere, just going from blue fur to perfect, smooth, shiny black rubber.

Rainbow Dash gulped and did the same for her other leg. Again, when she reached the end, she felt a shudder go up her spine and right into her ears, before settling down to make her tail twitch. She groaned and felt her marehood clench. Her left front hoof wandered to her loins, before stopping. Not yet. Gotta do this right, Rainbow. Mistress would want you to do it properly.

Carefully, she rubbed the rubber-coated hooves and legs together, producing the same squeaking sensation she’d felt while at CoCoCon, only more intense. Clearly, this stuff was designed for prolonged use and increased sensitivity, unlike the mere summons Twilight had coated her with. She clenched her eyes shut as the vibrations ran through her, then forced herself to stop.

With another deep breath, Rainbow Dash turned one of the arm socks inside out and placed her left front hoof on it. Working this up was slower, since she had to fiddle with only one hoof this time, but she managed it. The black rubber stopped just short of her shoulder, and it made her arm feel warm, strong and throbbing against its confines.

The last one was barely an afterthought. Rainbow Dash had all four on before she even realised it. She ran her hooves over her couch, relishing the feeling of rubber separating her tender appendages from the cruel world that had hurt them so long ago. Her head was pounding from the excitement. Her marehood clenched, yearning. Everything in rubber throbbed, and everything not in rubber was feeling hot just from being exposed to the air.

This is too good, it’s too much. I need to lie down. She rolled over on the couch to lie on her back, rubbing her hind legs together and letting her front hooves explore her body. Rainbow’s nether regions were wet, hot, and tense, but then so was everything else.

Okay, Rainbow. You know what to do. The instructions said it was okay. It won’t ruin it, it’ll wash right off.

She stroked her nether lips and bucked. As she did, her hind hooves rubbed into the couch, making her even more aroused. Another front hoof went to her chest, rubber on nipple giving off another squeak, this time coming with a squeal of delight.

Rainbow stroked herself harder, trying to build up to a climax. She could feel her body tensing up and growing warmer, throbbing harder.

I can’t do this. She slowed down. This still feels wrong. Why does it feel wrong?

She tried to picture Mistress Twilight giving her permission to come. Rainbow knew Twilight would give her permission, Twilight had practically ordered her to come with her little tease, but it was to no avail. The tension stayed, the heat stayed, but the relief wouldn’t come.

She stopped and kept her rubber-covered appendages still. She caught her breath, relaxing into the sensations of rubber coating her limbs.

Okay, what’s really holding me back here? Pain? I’m not in pain anymore, Twilight took that away. Shame? I’ve got nothing to be ashamed of. Guilt? Guilt. Guilt, maybe. I can’t come without Twilight telling me to come. It’s not permission I need, it’s somepony to pull a switch I can’t pull for myself. I need somepony to give that to me, take away my choice, because I can’t choose for it on my own. But why?

The image of her earlier infatuation came floating into her consciousness. Thunderlane? We broke up okay, no hard feelings, and we had fun. He doesn’t owe me anything, I don’t owe him anything.

She sighed. Except maybe a reason.

She stroked herself again, bucking into the affections with full abandon. The rubber-coated hoof found her clitoris and slowly circled its slick surface, sending tingles up Rainbow’s spine. Her wings lay uselessly on the couch, swollen to full erection. She panted and moaned, letting the other hoof stroke her nipples again.

That’s my problem. I’m the Element of Loyalty. Every time I do something wrong, say something bad, it always sticks. And I always push it down, pretend it’s not there. But it’s there, it’s always been there and it’s been trying to butt in on my fun all my life.

This is exactly what happened at the Best Young Flyer’s Competition. I’m scared, and that holds me back.

The bucks came in harder, the strokes faster, the squeaks louder.

I’m not perfect, and my friends don’t need me to be. I’m allowed to have fun, I’m a good pony.

Just let go, Rainbow, stop thinking. Do it like you while you’re flying. Just for some fun. Just…

Stop.

The orgasm wracked through her lithe body, those muscles she could never remember the name of clenching down hard. Every muscle, every nerve, every little hair on her fur was awash in her sexual energy. Vaguely, she felt the warmth of her juices coating the covered hoof that had gone from stroking her clitoris to pushing inside. The one on her chest had gone down to stroke her belly, just to feel those tight abs she was so proud of quiver with pleasure.

It was relief. It was bliss. And just when she thought it was getting painful, it was over.

She settled back down, squeaking in her condom socks. Her mind had shed a great load, at least for the moment. When she finally opened her eyes, she had clarity.

That’s it. I can’t come on my own because I can’t stop worrying. And now I can stop worrying, and it’s all thanks to Twilight.

She smiled and moaned lustfully as she worked the rubber into her tender loins.

It finally feels right. I’m finally fixed. I’m normal.

Rainbow’s eyes drifted shut, squeaking hooves still exploring her body.

Thank you, Mistress.

Author's Note

I think I should point out that this fic is a little bit out of control at this point. Not everything that's been introduced is going to get the full exploration, and I know that'll disappoint some people. But it's necessary. I can't be distracting readers with every little subplot so far, so... some questions, you're not going to get a straight answer to in this story. For example, this was going to set up a reconciliation between Rainbow Dash and Thunderlane, where she lets him know it wasn't his fault and she does think he's a good guy, yaddayaddayadda, the issue with that is that their relationship is another story on its own, and I couldn't find time or space to set it up. So I just had her get to the core of the thing: she can fly carelessly, but she cannot love carelessly.

Also, out of all the Mane Six, I feel like Fluttershy is the least present one in this story, but she's going to get her own scene later on, don't worry. You'll laugh, I hope.

And finally, now that Rainbow Dash and Twilight have properly found each other and have what they need to experiment safely and build a constructive relationship, let's address the next crisis: how to keep it from their friends?

I couldn't write a story like this and not use wingboner jokes. I might lose my license otherwise.

Twilight was always going to surprise RD with the socks, that was not based on reader response. Nor was the EqG reference. I'm glad I thought of it, though, since apparently that's what people wanted.

Thinking on Your Hooves Is Easy

Rarity inspected her model carefully, keeping a tape measure, a needle and thread, and several ribbons up in her magic. “You know, Rainbow Dash, you’re actually looking younger than you were yesterday. Did you put on any cream after the party?”

Rainbow Dash looked away, still standing perfectly still in the uniform, in a pose she’d found in that book on jock pets, though she’d never let Rarity know that. She was wearing a chest armour piece much like that of the Royal Guard, as well as metal shoes, but unlike the Royal Guard’s uniforms she had to wear a dark fabric underneath, as well. The sleeves of the shirt went all the way over her front hooves, and her hind hooves were covered by soft black socks that reached up to her haunches.

More importantly, her wings had a pouch on the sides of the shirt to keep them warm.

Rainbow Dash blushed. With her hooves feeling so much better after yesterday, she almost forgot Rarity had asked her a question. “Um, no, not really. I’m doing some breathing exercises. Why, is it showing?”

Rarity circled around again, shaking her head. “Something certainly is. Your coat is shinier than I can remember it being since… well, ever, your eyes are a lot brighter than usual, and if I didn’t know any better, I’d swear your mane and tail are at least two inches longer than yesterday. What’s your secret?”

Rainbow’s ears perked. Well, now that you mention it, yesterday I masturbated with rubber socks on, and I came pretty hard. After that I rubbed myself wherever it felt good until every single muscle in my body felt nice and relaxed. Actually, you might wanna avoid putting any kind of hoofwear on me for a couple of days, unless you want to know what I smell like when I’m hot. And Twilight’s been putting images in my head that I’m pretty sure get stronger every time I come. She turned to look at herself in the mirror and check. “Oh, that? Yeah, that’s just a growth spurt, my breed gets that every now and again. I just need to make sure to get it cut in time.”

“Or you could leave it, darling. It does look rather fetching on you, and it keeps those ugly spikes in your hair down a notch.” Rarity moved to adjust some of the stitching on the side of the chest.

“Thanks, but I can’t fly right when it gets too long. It starts tickling on one of my wings, it’s too distracting. Plus, it throws my balance off, and I kinda like those spikes, actually.” Rainbow kept on standing still, not even budging her wings as Rarity worked.

The unicorn stepped back again and inspected her work. “There, that’s looking fine, isn’t it? Could you try bucking for me?”

Rainbow braced herself, then gave a careful buck with her hind legs. The shoes shuffled slightly. “I think the shoes are still a little loose, Rarity. If you buck hard with this, they’ll fly off.”

Rarity narrowed her eyes and pouted, her usual thinking pose. “Indeed. Can’t have that, even on a ceremonial thestral uniform.”

“They’re not called ‘thestrals’, Rarity, that’s a made up word from a kid’s book. They’re called Rousettus ponies, or rousettes, or flying fox ponies. They’re not bat ponies and they’re definitely not thestrals.” Rainbow put a hoof to her mouth right after she said it. That’s what I get from hanging around Twilight too much.

Rarity grinned at her. “So it’s true, then.”

Stupid, stupid, she baited you into that. You let her bait you into it.

“You did have a talk with Scootaloo about pony breeds.”

Oh. Okay, not the worst thing she might have thought of. “Um, yeah, I did. I didn’t really know what else to say. I mean, I know she’s only a fan who wants to hang out with me, but…”

Rarity nodded, walking back to adjust the straps on the metal boots. “And she’s not the only one, you know. Sweetie Belle told me Snails did a presentation about you a few weeks ago.”

Rainbow bit her lip. “Yeah, I know. Only Snails doesn’t go around trying to do stunts like me, or follow me and study my moves when he thinks I’m not looking. Scootaloo does.”

Rarity paused once the boots were on tighter. Rainbow looked back and shook her hind hooves. Her nether regions clenched ever so slightly at the sensation of being covered in a snug armour. She pushed the distraction aside. “I’m responsible, at least for part of what she does. So I did the responsible thing and told her what I thought. Nothing else to it.”

Rarity picked up one of Rainbow’s hind hooves and rattled the boot around. “That doesn’t hurt at all? No chafing against the socks?”

“Nope, no chafing on my legs. This is nice stuff, you know, really warm.”

Rarity nodded. “It has to be, darling. Rousettes don’t have the luxury of preening any feathers, so their winter uniforms need to keep their extremities warm. Can you move about in it, though?”

Rainbow Dash stretched out this way and that, curling her arms and legs as far as she could. “Looks fine to me.”

“And for combat? Any remarks?”

Rainbow Dash carefully extended a hoof to punch, then kick, then spin and kick. She did the same motion faster, then did a quick spin around the dressing room, settling back down easily. She rubbed her chest. “There’s a little chafing around here, I think the shirt just drops down after a while.”

Rarity leaned in close, leaving Rainbow Dash to get a good whiff of the fancy shampoo she used in her mane. Unabashed, Rarity pulled and tugged at the fabric that had slipped. “Ah, there it is. Nothing a little clip won’t solve.”

Blushing at the close presence of another mare other than her Mistress, Rainbow Dash just let it all happen.

Rarity fiddled around with the costume, not even looking her friend in the eye. “Do tell me when you’re feeling bored, will you? I wouldn’t want to be getting on your nerves.”

Rainbow chuckled. “It’s fine, Rarity. I promised I’d help, I’m the only pony around who’s got the right muscle for it, and a Night Guard winter uniform is a lot more awesome than those fancy dresses, no offense.”

“None taken. Though I will admit, I’m surprised you’re lasting this long.” Rarity backed away. “Normally you’re fidgeting around or flying off while I’m working. Are you really that concerned about Scootaloo?”

No, actually I’m just preparing for the hypnosis Twilight promised me this afternoon, and I need to practise my posing with somepony. You know, since hypnosis makes you be still and all, it’s kinda hot. I wish we didn’t have to force it into our schedules and plan it so much, but you can’t have everything, I guess. “I’ve got a lot going on right now, but that’s on the list, yeah.”

“I see.” Rarity gestured with her horn and had Rainbow carefully shed the shoes, chest piece, shirt and socks for Luna’s Royal Guard.

Rainbow didn’t get off the stand. “Do you know anything more? About Scootaloo, I mean. I haven’t seen her around the past few days.”

Rarity took a dramatic breath and put a hoof to her heart. “Me? Darling, I hardly know that girl, why should she ever talk with me? I assure you, Scootaloo has not told me anything.”

Rainbow Dash glared at the unicorn. Unsurprisingly, Rarity buckled slightly. “But there’s a good chance Scootaloo told Sweetie Belle about her doctor’s visit, or Apple Bloom, or Applejack, or Cheerilee.”

Rainbow kept her glare up.

Rarity bit her lip. “And possibly, maybe, I might have been so bold as to ask Sweetie Belle, or Apple Bloom, or Applejack, or Cheerilee.”

Still, the glare would not relent.

Rarity smiled sheepishly. “Or all of them. Just out of curiosity, of course.”

Rainbow Dash stepped down from the stand. “Why would you want to know? Scootaloo’s not related to you, is she?” Not that I’d be too surprised, knowing what her actual family is.

Rarity snorted ever so gently. “That girl? Heavens, no. She’s a ruffian, she’s impatient, she’s reckless, she’s-”

“-like me.”

Rarity sighed. “Indeed. She’s a friend of my Sweetie Belle’s, Rainbow Dash, and as much as I dislike her uncouth behaviour sometimes, I can’t deny she’s helping my little sister stick up for herself. So yes, I did inquire about her as soon as I heard.”

Rainbow shrugged. “And? If she knows what’s wrong, why’s she avoiding me? What did the doctor say?”

“As I understand it, Rainbow, the doctor said her wings are a fine size for her age. She had her blood checked, and you were right in thinking she’s a… I think it was a dodo?”

Rainbow rolled her eyes. “That’s what the breed’s called. It’s a pegasus thing.”

“Of course. The, ah, ‘issue’ Scootaloo is having isn’t related to her breed or a handicap, it’s related to her diet. Apparently a pegasus pony’s ability to fly is affected by what they eat, and Scootaloo is now seeing a dietician from out of town. From what I hear, it’s the same mare who is in charge of the Wonderbolts Academy dietary regimes. A pegasus pony, a very capable one, I’m told.”

Rainbow tilted her head back and thought. “Oh. That doesn’t sound too bad. So why wouldn’t Scootaloo tell me when she found out?”

Rarity winced. “I’m no expert, but I’d say it’s out of your hooves at this point. It’s a matter between Scootaloo and her mother. They had a bit of a row afterwards, and it’s probably best if you don’t try and step in. You’d only make the gap between them greater.”

Rainbow frowned. “Why?”

Rarity sighed. “Pegasus ponies, and I’m only repeating what I heard, need certain things in their… well, their gut. And these things can only come into the gut one way, namely by ingestion.”

Rainbow shrugged. “So what’s the problem? If it’s just her food and not her genes, that’s good, right?”

Rarity bit her lip. “Genes are not the only thing a mother gives to her infant, Rainbow Dash. There are… other things that are given to babies after they’re born, and that is where, I’m told, Scootaloo was lacking. Or rather, her mother was.”

To say that the realisation hit her would have been an understatement. Oh. So that’s why she hasn’t talked about it yet. She gulped. “Right, I think I’m getting the picture. But what about Pound Cake? He should have the same thing, right? His mom’s an Earth pony, too.”

Rarity made some notes and folded up the uniform in a trunk. “How do you know Scootaloo’s mother is an Earth pony?”

“She told me. And she told me her dad is a paediatrician. Aloe and Pokey Pierce, right?”

Rarity nodded and mumbled to herself, before speaking up. “Right, I suppose she would. As for Pound Cake… his mother knew, I suppose, Scootaloo’s mother did not. Or perhaps she did and it just didn’t take, I didn’t pry. At any rate, I don’t think it would be wise to try and have another talk, not now. Scootaloo might get upset, given, you know… No sense in rushing into things.”

Rainbow sighed. “No. Thanks for the headsup, though. You need anything else?”

“No, I do not. Do you need anything else, Rainbow Dash?” Rarity cocked her head to the pegasus.

“Why would I?”

“No real reason, I just couldn’t help but notice you’re more focused than usual, or more distracted, it’s hard to tell. Are you seeing anypony, per chance?” Rarity rubbed up against Rainbow’s neck, cutely begging for the information.

Rainbow felt her jaw clench as she walked to the exit. “Why does me staying still more mean I’m seeing somepony?”

“You’re not flying off, for one thing. Normally, ponies can’t even breathe the word ‘sentiment’ around you without getting some response, and yet here you are, calmly inquiring about something very near and dear to you. I’d have expected you to be kicking the air by now, honestly, that’s what’s you always do. Whether you notice it or not, you’re looking a lot better than usual, and I mean that in the most flattering way possible, darling. Besides that, and I suppose I am cheating just a bit here, I happen to have it on good authority that there was no book convention in Baltimare when you and Twilight left.”

Rainbow froze. A single bead of cold sweat ran down her neck. “Excuse me?”

“There was a convention for knitting, one for terrarium owners, and one that was, shall we say, for ‘special interest’ groups. You went to the latter, no?” Rarity pushed the edge of her mane up and down, taking the excuse to look away.

“H-how do you know about that?”

“Not going to pretend you were getting Tank some new things?” Rarity smirked.

Rainbow Dash planted a hoof to her forehead. “Is it too late to?”

“Very much so.”

“Okay, fine. Me and Twilight went to this other thing. But if you tell anypony about it-”

“-I sell my edible boots there.”

Rainbow stopped midway her threat. “You what?”

“Every once in a while, I make a shipment of edible boots for a special crowd of ponies, and that gathering is one of the places where I can sell those goods. By proxy, naturally, not in pony. There’s a reason they hold that convention in fashion’s off season, you know.”

Rainbow put her hoof down, surprised. “So… you’re not gonna tell anypony?”

“Of course not, Rainbow Dash, why would I? I think it’s very endearing that Twilight would accompany you to such a place. I can’t imagine it was easy for her to admit she was clueless.”

“Umm, yeah, it wasn’t.”

“Then again, she hardly seems the type to know much about stallions, does she?”

Stallions. Of course.

“And I’ll wager she got you some good material for your new gentlecolt friend, no?”

Rainbow gulped. “Umm, yeah, she did get me some good books.”

Rarity prodded Rainbow’s flank. “So who’s the lucky fellow? Anypony I know?”

“Umm… it’s not any stallion you know, no.” Hey, that was pretty clever, I gotta remember that one. Nopony’ll ever suspect me with that.

Rarity backed away, clearly surprised. “Oh, not a stallion? That just leaves…”

Rainbow Dash tensed up. Uh oh.

“Rainbow Dash, are you dating a griphon? I should think that’s a bit exotic, even for you.”

Rainbow rolled her eyes. You and your fantasies… or fetishes… or both. “Could we not talk about it, please? It’s kind of embarrassing.”

“Oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to pry. But if you ever need advice on dating stallions, feel free to ask, dear, I won’t tell anypony. Mum’s the word.” Rarity made a zipping motion over her lips to illustrate.

“I am not pregnant!”

Rarity blinked, surprised.

“Oh, that was a figure of speech, right?”

Wordlessly, Rarity nodded.

“Sorry, I’ve just got a lot of stuff on my mind right now. If I ever need advice on stallions, I’ll be sure to come to you. Guess you would know that better than me.” Let’s hope Twilight never masters that mare-to-stallion spell, then.

“I may have had one or two experiences in the matter. Although it would help if I knew who your partner is, of course.”

Rainbow took a deep breath and and blew it out, almost fuming. “Rarity, I don’t want ponies to know who I’m seeing. It’s bad enough that you know I’m seeing anypony as it is, but I am keeping this a secret and I’ll expect you to do the same. So please, as a friend, could you just let it go?”

“Of course, Rainbow Dash. That was out of line, and I apologise. I shan’t mention it again, but please, do think to ask if you need help? Love is a very complicated matter, and you, well… I’d hate to think you make a novice mistake and drive your true love away. No offense.”

Rainbow chuckled softly. “I see your point. I’ll be careful, I promise, but I’m fine now, honest. If I ever do need advice, I’ll be sure to ask you next time, I promise. Thanks for the talk.”

“And thank you for the modelling, dear. I’m sure princess Luna’s guards will feel much better at the next Grand Galloping Gala.”

“See you around.” Rainbow Dash took off, tense with a mix of excitement and trepidation.

Today’s the day. Today’s the day me and Twilight finally do it for real.

The smell of wood and books greeted her as she entered the library. Twilight gestured towards the open basement door, Rainbow walked in without a word.

Finally, some peace, quiet, and privacy.

Relief washed over Rainbow’s body, the tension just washing away. Twilight took notice. “Wow, you must be really eager to get started.”

Rainbow Dash closed the basement door behind her. “It’s not that. It’s just keeping this whole thing a secret, it’s getting harder. I think Rarity might figure it out.”

Twilight bit her lip. “That might be a problem. But let’s focus on the here and now.” She sat down on the pillows amidst the book cases. “Are you feeling okay? Did you find your present?”

Rainbow Dash chuckled and got in close to nuzzle Twilight’s neck. “I did, and I loved it. I never felt so good in my whole life, well, not without flying, at least. Did you put a suggestion in me to come?”

Twilight blinked. “Um, no. Did you come?”

“Yeah, I came hard. And if you didn’t put that in me, that means I mean I can come on my own now, right? It means I’m fixed, I’m normal now.”

Twilight pouted ever so slightly. “And you don’t really need me for your pleasure.”

Rainbow reached up to stroke Twilight’s face. “I don’t need you for getting me off. That doesn’t mean I don’t need you for anything else. I still want to do this with you, Twilight, and I still want to be with you. So what do you want me to do? Did you read up on anything fun?” She sat upright, neck stretched out and face forward to present herself like a good pet.

Twilight smiled. “I did. And I’m guessing you did, too?” She circled around her pet, gauging the changes to that lithe physique.

“I did read a little bit on jocks and pets. You like my pose?” Rainbow kept on staring straight ahead.

Twilight approached her from behind and gave her a hug. Even in so little time, Twilight’s arousal scents had started to spread. “I love it, my little showoff. And I like your shiny coat, too. Have you noticed any increased speed or strength anywhere?”

The pegasus pet kept her composure as best she could. “Nothing yet.”

Twilight broke the hug and walked to Rainbow’s front again. “That’s odd, it should have shown something by now. So, are you ready for this?”

Rainbow braced herself, then nodded. “How long do we have?”

“An hour or so. Spike’s helping out Pinkie Pie at Sugarcube Corner, Owloiscious is out hunting, and the library’s marked as closed. No one will disturb us. Are you absolutely sure this is okay? I’m not going to give you that much control over your body, you’ll be… licking me down there.”

“As long as it’s not dirty, I’m okay with it. You know what I can and can’t do, Mistress.”

“Okay, then, here we go. Dive down deep, pet.” Twilight tapped Rainbow Dash’s forehead.

Rainbow never quite got used to the sensation of falling down into deep relaxation. All her thoughts slowed, her body went limp and weak, and Mistress approved. Her head felt light, swaying back and forth and left and right, eyes staring into nothingness. Her breath slowed down, and her wings dropped lazily to her sides.

Twilight smiled at the response. “You’re a good pet. Repeat that for me.”

Rainbow Dash’s eyes stayed half-lidded. “I’m a good pet.”

Twilight’s smile went wider, giddily so. “Good pets get rewards. Repeat.”

“Good pets get rewards.”

Rainbow Dash could see Mistress get excited, those big purple wings stiff and erect. It didn’t register enough for her to react, though.

Twilight continued, as per her schedule. “Now, pet, you’re going to grow aroused for me, with the trigger your Mistress implanted. As you grow more aroused, I will run my hooves over parts of your body, and as I do, you’ll feel that part of your body lose control, to be replaced by my control. It will be as if you are moving with puppet strings attached to you, and you’ll feel great pleasure in submitting. Do you understand?”

Rainbow smelled her own arousal, along with that of her Mistress. It didn’t bother her in the slightest. “Yes, Mistress.”

Twilight went to her pet’s left side. “Dashie wanna play?”

The pegasus kept her eyes staring straight forward, even as Mistress unwound the nerve endings on her left shoulder, rendering her arm useless. The trigger sent waves of pleasure up and down her spine, almost making her moan.

“Dashie wanna play?”

Rainbow moaned against the arousal as she lost control of her left leg. More pleasure, more obedience, came flooding in through every fibre of her being.

“Dashie wanna play?”

Rainbow Dash whimpered at the building arousal. She caved in. Her body just gave up.

Twilight carefully stroked her right leg, then her belly. “Dashie wanna play?”

Everything went white.

Rainbow came to with her nose in front of Twilight’s marehood. It didn’t look like anything special, but that may have had something to do with the addled state of her mind. She caught her tongue lapping out at the outer lips, then pressing inside while she kissed them and rubbed her lips against it. Every so often her tongue would seek out the nub above, then she’d find her snout lowered again, tongue back at the lips and nose nuzzling Twilight’s clit. She was moving on instinct, barely aware. She wasn’t in control of herself, but it didn’t bother her. Twilight was enjoying it. Mistress was enjoying it.

How long was I out? Did Mistress knock me out?

Rainbow became aware of the weight on her shoulders, as well as her hooves wrapped around Twilight’s legs. She stroked along their length, feeling out the supple musculature of her cannons.

Twilight lay panting on the pillows, stroking over Rainbow’s head with her front hooves while her legs rested on that hard pegasus back. “Keep going, pet. Just relax. Are you with me again?”

Good pets let go. Good pets lick. Good pets lick and nuzzle and kiss. Good pets get rewards.

Rainbow blinked to try and focus. Her tongue kept on moving, but that was the only thing she was really aware of. Mistress didn’t taste bad, either, mildly fruity. She stopped for only a second, vaguely realising she had another planted suggestion to follow. She made sure to keep her mouth close enough for her hot breath to tingle over Twilight’s nether regions, though. “I am with you again, Mistress.”

“Good pet.”

Rainbow shuddered at the praise, bringing her to full awareness. Twilight had put her legs comfortably on Rainbow’s shoulders, just far enough for the tips of Rainbow’s wings to be able to stroke her cannons. Like a good pet, Rainbow kept up her administrations, carefully licking and nipping where she could, keeping her rhythm slow and steady just like the commands ringing in her head told her to. Twilight’s voice was everywhere, but just a little too quiet to register. All Rainbow Dash had to do was listen and obey and lick and quiver like a good pet. Her face was already covered in Twilight’s juices. Mistress was eager.

“It seems you blacked out with sheer pleasure, pet.” Twilight pressed Rainbow’s muzzle in deeper, prompting her to suckle ever so gently over Twilight’s sensitive nub. “You went deeper than you were supposed to. But that’s okay, it just means you needed that break. And you’ve been so very good in the meantime.”

Another shudder, and only now Rainbow realised her own nether regions were throbbing in the afterglow of orgasm. She wasn’t sure how many, though. I came? I came without Mistress allowing it? Or did she make me without me remembering?

“Just like that, pet, hold.” Twilight gripped Rainbow’s head tighter just as Rainbow Dash circled her tongue around a fleshy nub.

Clitoris. It’s called a clitoris, Rainbow, you know that. Just keep going. Circle, up, nuzzle, circle, up, nuzzle, circle, up, nuzzle, and moan for a little vibration, that’s what Mistress wants. That’s how it has to be to be right.

Twilight gasped for air. “A-almost there, such a good pet, obeying so well. Almost… ah!”

Rainbow kept licking in the same spot, following the same programmed rhythm with her snout deep in Twilight’s private regions. Twilight’s juices poured out, but to a good pet like Rainbow that wasn’t an issue. She just lapped all the sweet nectar -- undoubtedly altered by another suggestion, but a welcome one -- up with the same dedication she had been licking her Mistress with.

Twilight panted, riding the throes of her climax. “Now, come for me, pet. Feel yourself go back to normal as you climax for your Mistress.”

Rainbow felt her loins clench, another climax wracking her already tired body. Her wings went flush in a heartbeat, and even with Twilight’s legs over her like that her ears somehow managed to get even hotter.

She was pretty sure she’d blacked out again when she felt Twilight’s arms around her. They were together, just lying there on the pillows, Twilight sporting a content smile while Rainbow tried to make sense of things. “Twilight? What happened? Was it good?”

Twilight clenched Rainbow tighter, before planting a kiss on her forehead. “It was perfect, exactly the way I wanted. I love you, Rainbow.”

Rainbow chuckled and rubbed her now sore nether lips. “I love you too, Twilight. I’m sorry I blacked out, though. I don’t think I was supposed to.”

“I didn’t expect you to, but that’s normal. Just the act of submitting can do that, it’s a survival thing. I thought it’d be best if you stay like that, keep things going ‘till you came back up at your own pace. You did like it, didn’t you? Is it coming back to you?”

“I loved it. And I think I do remember some of it. You made me see another image before we started, right?”

“Right.”

“And then you got me started on getting used to your taste, how to lick and nuzzle… wow, you were really technical about it. I didn’t know you wanted it to be that specific.”

Twilight winced. “Was it too much?”

Rainbow Dash reached up and kissed Twilight’s cheek, reminding them both she was now covered in Twilight’s scent. “Nah, it was fine. I wanted to do it right for you, and that’s the best way of doing it. I had fun, and you got to get something exactly the way you wanted it. I’m glad you’re happy.”

Twilight nuzzled her. “Excellent, pet. But now, I think we both need a shower.” She sniffed Rainbow Dash’s face, and only now did they both notice the actual smell hanging over Rainbow. She picked up the now stained pillows in her magic. “You know where the bathroom is, don’t you?”

Rainbow Dash stretched out and flapped her wings once, then took off towards the door at the top of the stairs. “I know.”

Twilight came trotting behind her. “Start the water up, then, but don’t go in the tub.”

Rainbow walked out into the main room of the library and turned her head back. “We’ll shower together?”

Twilight shrugged, before walking off with the pillows. “Might as well. I’ll just toss these into the washer.”

Before long, the two mares were wet again, except this time it was in a clean sort of way. Twilight rinsed Rainbow’s face off with the showerhead, then picked up a bottle of soap.

Rainbow grimaced. “Um, not the lavender, Twilight.”

Twilight raised an eyebrow.

Rainbow smiled sheepishly. “Please not the lavender, Mistress?”

“Why not, pet?”

“Don’t get me wrong, I like the smell, but I don’t like smelling that way. I’d rather use Spike’s soap again, if that’s okay.”

Twilight frowned. “You like smelling like a stallion?”

Rainbow Dash shrugged. “I like smelling strong and powerful. I don’t think they make mare soap that does that.”

“Point taken.” Twilight fetched Spike’s soap and worked it into her hooves. “Sit down for me, pet.”

Rainbow sat down in the tub and closed her eyes, letting Twilight work the soap into her face. She unwound, her breath slowing down again, all on its own. Her head bobbed back and forth with Twilight’s gentle caresses, only a little twitch in her left ear kept her from nodding off entirely.

“You still with me, Rainbow?”

“I’m still with you. I think I might be floating in and out of it, though. Is that supposed to happen?”

Twilight gently rubbed the soap into Rainbow’s ears, making them twitch even more cutely. “It’s been known to happen, yes. When you act submissive to a certain degree, sometimes your consciousness blocks things out. I guess it’s even more true when hypnosis is involved. But this isn’t hypnosis you’re feeling, just pure submission. It shouldn’t be too unpleasant.”

Rainbow got a dopey smile on her face as her Mistress washed off the scents of their lovemaking. “It’s not, just a little weird. Nice, though.”

“And just so you know, that is something that happens to good pets, I looked it up. So you are getting better at it, in case you were wondering.”

Rainbow felt the relief wash over her again just as Twilight rinsed the soap off her face. “Thanks, Twilight. That’s really good to know.”

They snapped their heads towards the bathroom door when they heard a pounding.

“Twilight?”

Twilight gulped. “Yes, Spike?”

“Is that Rainbow Dash in there again? Is she using my soap?”

Twilight shrugged. Rainbow winced. Twilight gestured to the door for her to answer, and Rainbow obeyed. “Um, yeah, it’s me. Sorry, Spike, I’ll start bringing my own from now on.”

Twilight’s face contorted in panic, her voice lowered to a whisper. “Please don’t question it, please don’t question it…” Rainbow shot her a questioning glance.

“Oh, okay. But, Twilight? What are you doing in there, and why are you doing it with Rainbow Dash?”

Author's Note

Since the story is getting closer to the end, you will start to notice reader feedback just a little more, here specifically regarding Scootaloo. I had Rarity broach the topic because I wanted Scootaloo to get the amount of attention she would be getting without making the story too much about her. If you can't tell what her problem is based on what the mares are discussing... well, use your head and think what mothers give their newborn children, aside from genes. Again, this wasn't meant to be too original, it's just an angle I hadn't used yet, and it's a deep enough cause to warrant some time alone to let it sink in. I got the idea from Grant Morrisson's The Invisibles, btw, so this is really not that original. If you've got the comics, I was inspired by something Edith said about the Ganges river just before she , not the obvious Miss Dwyer scene.

References to my other stories? What references? There are no references to my other works here. And I'm certainly not using the term 'rousettes' in a future fic, the very nerve. *sarcasm detector explodes* I will admit I refuse to use 'thestrals' because Harry Potter uses the term. I'm just not a fan, and I thought I could do better. I picked rousettes, btw, because those are fruit-eating bats (big deal when you're dealing with herbivore ponies), but they haven't lost the echolocation ability, unlike most other fruit bats. So basically, the Rousettus bats are in between fruit bat and regular insect-eating bat, the way Rousettus ponies are between bat and pony. Seemed appropriate, and it has a nice ring to it.

There may be a grammar issue regarding the sentences being interrupted, but I'll work that out when I come back to edit it again. I need to find a better resource for grammar, because the ones I've got now are contradicting one another, I think.

The sex scene was actually edited at the last minute, to make it longer and more involving from Rainbow's perspective. The process Twilight describes is referred to as 'subspace' in BDSM circles, it's not directly related to hypnosis.

As for Spike? Or the rest of the gang? Next chapter.

Confession

Twilight froze, still sitting in the bath tub. She lowered her voice to a whisper. “What should we say?”

Rainbow Dash bared her teeth, barely containing her frustration. “You should know better than me, Twilight; you’re the one living with him. What do you want him to know?”

Twilight turned off the showerhead and floated some towels over to dry them both off. “Um, Rainbow’s just showing me how to preen, Spike.”

Twilight and Rainbow tensed as they exited the tub and took the towels, both hoping he’d take that as sufficient explanation.

Unfortunately, Spike had been raised by princess Celestia and Twilight Sparkle, and while he wasn’t always the brightest bulb in the room, they’d apparently caught him on one of his clever days. “Then why were you doing it in the shower? I thought the whole point of preening was to get your feathers greasy, not wash them off.”

Twilight winced. “Umm…”

Rainbow Dash looked at Twilight sympathetically. She sighed. “Come on, Twilight, he’s part of your family, isn’t he? Plus, he lives here. He’s going to find out sooner or later.”

“Rainbow, I can’t tell him what we’ve been doing. He’s only a child.”

“Yeah, he is. So maybe you should tell him the kind of thing you’d tell a child? Don’t you want him to know?”

Twilight bit her lip. “Are you absolutely sure you don’t mind the secret being out?”

Rainbow Dash smiled and shrugged. “Not all of it needs to be a secret, right?”

Twilight nodded and opened the bathroom door. She was drying her mane off with a towel, leaving Rainbow Dash to do the same. Spike looked up at the two, sensing the tension in the air. “What’s wrong? Did I knock at a bad time?”

Twilight shook her head. “No, Spike. The fact of the matter is… Rainbow Dash has something to tell you.”

Rainbow took a step back, startled. “What? Me? Don’t you have something to say?”

Twilight rolled her eyes. “Well, we both have something to say, but I think it would be best if you said it, Rainbow.”

“Is either of you gonna say it? Because I’m kind of confused now, just saying.” Spike scratched his head.

Rainbow stepped forward to face the baby dragon. “Well, Spike, what Twilight is trying to say, what we are trying to say is… we were in the bathroom together because we were taking a shower together.”

Spike stared up at the mare. Twilight nodded in agreement. “And we were taking a shower together because… the two of us are together.”

Spike stared at them for a moment. “So you two did a workout together, and you were washing off the sweat. Why are you making a fuss about it, then?”

Twilight gulped. “Well, we were doing some vigorous physical activity, sure, but that’s beside the point. The point is we decided to shower together because we are together. You know, together together.”

Spike finally realised what they were saying. “Oh, so you two are dating now?”

Twilight chuckled nervously. “You might say that. We haven’t done that much together because we want to keep it a secret, but we are a couple.” She wrapped a wing around Rainbow’s neck and pulled her closer. “We are... in love.”

Spike pursed his lips, no doubt trying to get his head around it. “So you’re in love with Rainbow Dash, and Rainbow Dash is in love with you? And neither of you remembers any spells going wrong or drinking anything that tasted funny?”

Rainbow nodded. “It’s not magic, and it’s not an accident. It’s for real, like, seriously. We hung out, we found out some stuff about each other, and we decided we like each other a little differently than we thought. It just happened, and now we’re kinda together, kinda figuring things out. Are you okay with that?”

Spike grimaced. “I don’t know, Rainbow Dash. Does this mean I have to clean up after you, too?”

Rainbow Dash looked away wistfully. “Wow, I hadn’t thought of that. A personal assistant is pretty tempting.”

Twilight shot her sexual pet a stern glare.

Rainbow flinched and flashed them both a nervous smile. “Umm, no, Spike, that wouldn’t be fair. I do my own chores. I won’t ask you to clean up after me, and I’m not gonna tell Twilight to tell you, either.”

Spike kept his eyes on the floor, taken aback by the news. “So are you going to live here, then, or are you moving out, Twilight?”

The two mares looked at one another, before facing Spike again. “Honestly, we haven’t thought that far ahead yet. We’re just taking it one day at a time, see what happens,” Twilight said.

Spike gulped. “But… you’re not just gonna abandon me, are you?”

Twilight let go of Rainbow Dash and grabbed Spike for a hug. “Of course not, Spike. I’m not going to abandon you.”

“Neither am I, just so you know,” Rainbow Dash attested. “I’ll still be around if you need me for anything.”

Spike scratched his left arm, something Twilight had learned was a cue he was upset, but hiding it. “Then why does this feel so weird? Why do I feel like I’m losing something here?”

Twilight looked away and sighed. “Well, I guess that’s because me and Rainbow Dash are going to need time alone sometimes, and that means you’d have to be out of the house, or I’d leave the house and not take you, just like I have a few times already for other things. But I’m not going to force you, or make any demands.”

Spike went forward for a hug and squeezed Twilight’s neck slightly. “So you’re not gonna get rid of me?”

Twilight rubbed his head to calm him down. “No, Spike. I know I can trust you to respect my privacy, and I’m still going to be there when you need me. If you need somepony to help weigh the dough for a gem cake, or to help carry your stones, or to tell you you look ridiculous when you’re trying out a new outfit, I’ll still do it. And I’ll still need you to tell me I’m spending too much time in the books, or getting worked up over nothing, or when I’m forgetting something.”

Spike's grip loosened once the scare was over. “And then you’ll just keep going instead of listening to me.”

Twilight snickered. “Exactly. Only now there will be two of you looking out for me, and I might listen to one of you. Once in a while.”

Rainbow Dash winked at the dragon. “I don’t think I’ve got the same authority you do, though.”

“So… nothing’s really gonna change?”

Twilight sighed again, not wanting to trip over her words. “Not for you, no, nothing important. A few small things might change, but none of them involve getting rid of you, or me leaving, or you being any less precious to me than you are. I just… found somepony I love, is all.”

Spike withdrew. “Does that mean you’re going to get married, then?”

Rainbow raised an eyebrow. “You’re not bothered by Twilight marrying another mare?”

Spike shrugged. “Why would I be? Hey, if she does, she’ll never get to tell me I don’t have a chance with a unicorn.”

Rainbow nearly burst out laughing when she heard that familiar and patented Twilight Sparkle groan of defeat. Twilight glared at him, then rolled her eyes. “I suppose that wouldn’t be entirely fair of me, no. Nice to know you’re so open-minded about it, Spike.”

“No problem, sister. But err, you still didn’t answer my question. Are you getting married?”

Twilight looked back at her friend, her hypnotic subject, and sexual pet. ‘Lover’ was somewhere on the list, ‘spouse’ hadn’t quite made it through the registration process yet. “I’m not sure. We haven’t been seeing each other for that long yet, it’d be a little sudden, no?”

“Yeah, way too sudden. This has only been going on for a few weeks, we haven’t really gotten a chance to get to the practical stuff.” The practical stuff that doesn’t involve fetishes, at least.

“Just checking.” Spike extended a claw to Rainbow. “In the meantime: welcome to the family, Rainbow Dash.”

Rainbow grinned and shook that claw. “Thanks, Spike, I think I’ll fit right in. And my parents will like you, too, trust me.”

Twilight nervously cleared her throat. “Speaking of which, Spike, would you mind keeping this under wraps for the time being? We’re not quite ready to make this public yet. I mean, most ponies think we’re both straight. It’d be a bit of a shock, and possibly embarrassing.”

“Yeah, I know what you mean. Ponies used to think I’d turn into a girl when winter came around.” Spike shuddered at the thought. “Your secret’s safe with me.”

“Are you sure you can do that, Spike? It’s a pretty big secret, and Rarity might start asking questions.” Rainbow took the towel off Twilight and tossed it in the hamper.

Spike prodded his chest with his thumb. “Hey, this is me you’re talking about, remember? How long did it take Rarity to hear Twilight had a brother? And that she had a princess for a foalsitter?”

Twilight grinned. “He’s got you there, Rainbow.”

Spike grinned in kind. “Besides, nopony even knows about the broom incident, either.”

Rainbow leered at Twilight, who immediately began to blush. “What broom incident?”

Twilight caught her breath and looked up at the sky.

Trees. Trees everywhere. Air. Fresh air. Did I zone out for a bit? I feel like I’ve been here forever. How did I get here? Where am I?

“Twilight?”

Applejack. Sweet Apple Acres. Bucking apples to get the hang of Earth pony strength. Oh, Applejack, why didn’t I come here sooner?

Goodness, what time is it? I really need to get out more. I can’t even remember last time I saw Fluttershy. Focus, Twilight, focus. You’re here to do good, honest work, and clear your head. Well, your head’s feeling empty as it is, you just need to get the work part done right.

Twilight gave the apple tree another buck, throwing her full weight into it this time.

“You all right there, Twi?”

Twilight looked back at Applejack. “What? Oh, I’m fine.”

Applejack walked over and bucked the tree next to Twilight’s. “You sure? You’re lookin’ mighty distracted today, you know. Maybe you were cooped up for too long.”

Twilight nodded and wiped her brow, before looking at the tree behind her. Three bucks and she had barely gotten half of the apples to fall off. Clearly, of all the alicorn abilities she’d gotten, Earth pony strength had been the one she was least in tune with.

Still, the physical exercise did wonders to clear her head. She yawned. “I think I was, Applejack, way too long. It’s nice to be back in some fresh air, get my head out of the books.”

“Too right. Everypony needs a break sometimes, even you.”

Twilight nodded and lined up for buck number four. With Rainbow Dash off for her evaluation and Spike off helping the Cutie Mark Crusaders with something she gathered involved hang gliders, a day alone in the library just didn’t strike her as appealing, not anymore.

That didn’t do anything for her aching loins, though. The fresh air seemed to make her arousal more intense than usual. Calm down, Twilight, you already had Rainbow Dash yesterday. No need to get greedy. “Yup. Summer’s over halfway done, after all. I need to make sure I’m in shape for the next Running of the Leaves.” And to make sure my legs can hold Rainbow’s head in place when we get to the more exotic poses. Maybe I should return the favour, though. The books do say a good dominant looks after their pet. I should look up how to use my tongue, too, just to be sure.

Applejack chuckled, already going in circles around Twilight’s tree. “I see. Lookin’ to impress anypony in particular?”

Twilight nearly missed her next buck, but she caught herself and finally got the last of the apples down. “Umm, no? What makes you say that?” Oh, Spike, please tell me Applejack didn’t make you tell her. Wait, what am I worried about? He only found out yesterday, there’s no way he could have told her. Then again, there’s no telling who else already found out.

“Oh, just the way you’ve been hanging around Rainbow Dash all conspicuous-like, and the way she’s been prettying up. She looks younger now, don’t you think?”

Why, yes, sex magic may have a rejuvenating effect, but it’s not cosmetics I’m going for. “Really? I can’t say I’ve noticed.”

“Oh, come on, Twi. You really mean to tell me there’s nothin’ goin’ on with you two?”

Twilight felt her wings bunch up. She trotted over to the next tree and gave it a hard buck to get the apples down, but that didn’t distract Applejack at all. “No, honest. Why would you think anything’s going on?”

Applejack glared at Twilight. “Pinkie Pie’s Pinkie Sense went off when you two went shopping for books.”

Twilight Sparkle had never quite understood where the expression ‘my heart sank’ had come from. Always literal-minded, she’d thought it a silly notion that hearts could just detach from the cardiovascular system and fall in whatever direction gravity prescribed. And yet, the feeling of the blood in her head receding, her hooves growing heavy, and a weight falling straight down from her chest, all of it made her realise whoever had coined the phrase knew what they were talking about. “Well, Pinkie Pie’s Pinkie Sense is hardly reliable. It could mean anything.”

“Uh huh. Cut the act, Twilight, I know what’s goin’ on. You’ve got a crush on a certain pegasus pony, don’t you? That’s why you’ve been hanging out with Rainbow Dash so much.”

Twilight sighed and nodded, her wings unfurling with the admission of yet another defeat. “Okay, you got me. I was hoping to keep it a secret.”

Applejack got back to bucking trees. “Guess I shouldn’t ask who the lucky guy is, then?”

Lucky… guy? Seriously? “I think that might be best, Applejack. It’s a fairly recent development, and on top of sprouting an extra pair limbs it’s not exactly been smooth sailing the past few months.”

Applejack chuckled. “I’ll bet. But hey, at least you’ve got a good, strong stallion to keep ya busy. You sure you don’t wanna tell me? I might just run into him at the Running of the Leaves.”

Twilight bucked the tree again. “What makes you so sure the stallion I’d date is into sports? Or a pegasus, for that matter?”

Applejack looked away innocently. “If he was an egghead, you’d be tryin’ to impress him with even more books than usual. If he wasn’t a pegasus, you’d have swallowed your pride and gotten a proper teacher instead of going along with Rainbow Danger Dash for stunt practice. Besides that, I always pegged ya for a fan of the sporting crowd.”

How is it everypony but me knows I have a thing for athletic types? “That obvious, huh?”

“Aw, don’t feel bad about it, Twi. It’s only natural, after all: a princess belongs with a prince.”

Twilight’s ears fell flat against her head. “Right… a prince. Can’t marry a commoner now, can I?”

Applejack gave her a confident nod. “Nope. A pony princess can’t marry a commoner, so whichever stallion ya end up with is gonna be a prince. And if he’s good enough for you, he must be prince material.”

Twilight resisted the urge to groan and make a snarky comment. Her success at such wasn’t so much due to self-control as it was necessity, and she made a mental note to just say aloud everything she’d been meaning to say at that point when she was alone in the library. In the meantime, she sucked it up. “You know, I never thought of it that way. I should be looking for prince material, shouldn’t I?”

Applejack and Twilight both reared up against their respective trees and bucked. “Exactly. Can’t be too careful with pickin’ a husband.”

Twilight stopped and looked up. Just as before, about a quarter of the apples fell from one buck. She positioned herself carefully to line up her legs before trying again. “I don’t suppose you’re an expert in the matter?”

“Oh, in marriage? Sure I am. I’ve been to plenty of weddings in my day, ever since I was a little filly.”

“I don’t follow.”

“Big family, remember?” Applejack grunted and bucked another tree, neatly letting all the apples land in the buckets underneath. “One of us gets hitched, you gotta be ready for an army.”

Twilight bucked again. “Right, of course. So I guess you’ve seen a lot of different ponies… get hitched?”

Applejack looked at the sky wistfully. “Yeah, it’s always nice to see a mare and a stallion say their vows.”

Twilight tried to sound casual, but the nerves showed through her voice. I shouldn’t ask, really. But… would she? She wouldn’t. She couldn’t. “A mare and a stallion? Never a mare and a mare? Or a stallion and a stallion?”

Applejack lifted a hoof to her chin to think. “Nope, not in my family. We’re just traditional like that.”

Uh oh. She might be. “But if you knew anypony who was a lesbian, or turned out to be, you wouldn’t be upset, would you?” Twilight nearly slapped herself for saying it.

Applejack stopped her bucking and walked over to Twilight. “Twi, what are you saying?”

Oh, I should have kept my mouth shut. “N-nothing, really, I’m just curious. I mean, it almost sounded like you don’t like gay ponies.”

“Oh, that.” Applejack chuckled. “Nah, I don’t have any problem with them. I just like traditional marriage better, is all.”

Twilight didn’t press the matter any further. She just kept on bucking trees.

Applejack looked at her friend. Twilight did her best to look away, betraying her thoughts. Applejack groaned at the sight. “Look, I ain’t prejudiced, Twilight. It’s just weird for me to see a stallion kissin’ another stallion, and I can’t say I enjoy the sight as much as I do a mare kissin’ a stallion.”

“That’s okay, Applejack, you don’t have to explain yourself to me. I understand.”

The farmer stomped the ground ever so slightly, clearly annoyed. “Do you? Do you understand why?”

Twilight shrugged. “It’s tradition, right? Just how you were brought up.”

“But do you know why I was brought up like that? Why kids in our family are brought up like that?” Applejack walked closer to emphasise her point.

Twilight thought it over. “Actually, no. Why?”

Applejack motioned towards the barn in the distance. “Suppose I got married to another mare, Big Mac got married to a stallion, and Apple Bloom marries a mare when she grows up. What do you think happens?”

“You all live happy lives with the pony you love?” The princess shrugged.

Applejack smiled. “Sure. And what happens to the farm?”

Twilight fell silent. “Right. No heirs. There’s always adopting, though.”

Applejack nodded, if reluctantly. “Maybe, but I’d hate to put a child through that. Farm life ain’t somethin’ you can be dropped into, not when you’re a little kid. You have to be raised on it or work into it when you’re grown up and strong enough to handle it, otherwise the shock is just too much. And I’d know; I moved out once to live in the city, that was a huge shock for me. Doin’ that the other way around, that’s just downright unconscionable. Gettin’ married, in my family, means you try to get heirs if you can. If you can’t, no shame in admittin’ it. It’s not a big deal. If it turns out that I’ve got gay ponies in my family, so be it. But I can’t pretend it wouldn’t cause any problems later down the line.”

“I suppose that makes sense.” Twilight resumed the bucking with renewed vigour after her short break. She still looked worried, though.

Applejack wouldn’t let it rest on a sour note. “It’s just a practical thing, Twi, nothin’ more. I know some of your friends from Canterlot are gay, I wouldn’t go offending them.”

She thinks I’m worried about my Canterlot classmates. Why didn’t I think of that? That’s a perfect excuse. “I wouldn’t call them friends, per se. Mostly we just exchanged notes and tips.”

“You know what I mean, Twilight. To me and my family, marriage is something different than what it is for other ponies, but that’s just what works for us. Just because I like one thing over the other doesn’t mean I have a grudge against ponies who are the other way, any more than they do against me. Don’t worry about bringing any gay friends over: I promise if the topic ever comes up, I’ll mind my manners. I ain’t a bigot, after all.”

Twilight let off a little sigh of relief and smiled. “Good, you had me worried there for a second, no offense.”

“None taken, sugarcube. Just comes with speaking your mind and bein’ honest. As long as you’re honest, a good heart always shines through.”

“Eheh, yeah… honest. Gotta be honest, after all.”

Me and my big mouth… what am I supposed to say now?

Author's Note

Oh, this chapter... this one was hard. A couple of things to make clear here, because we can't have nice things:

-I don't know nor care how mature Spike is in the show, or how much it varies. What he does here is my best guess of his average default state, and what I need for the story to work. There was going to be a remark from RD saying Spike took it well, and Twilight replying Spike's brain rejuvenates itself from time to time (like a lizard shedding their skin, but with thinking), but it didn't really belong here, I felt. Rainbow's seen him march off into dragon territory and stand up to bullies who could kick his tail, and given her own past with bullies she'd probably give him the benefit of the doubt. That's not to mention she thinks him mature enough to take care of Tank when she knows that tortoise can cause a head injury.

-straight ponies are just more common in this story, that's all. If there's no reason to assume a pony is gay, no one thinks they are. And some of the more rural areas are populated with really oblivious ponies in that regard, as you have no doubt noticed.

-I don't follow the fanon that the Apple family is made up of bigots. Some people, I'm told, do. I thought a little more nuanced point of view might work. What I wanted to show here is that even if you do have a society with tolerance towards gay ponies, there are still some things that can cause problems. With all the talk about pony breeds, the idea of progeny becomes more important, too. I wanted to present a character who is not entirely okay with the notion of lesbianism, but not out of hate. That, to me, is tolerance: you don't like it, but you won't go so far as to want to eradicate it. Also, even without hate, that can still increase the threshold to coming out. The mere hint of disapproval can lead one to assume there's a bigot talking. While the extremes are best known, gray areas exist and prejudice can go both ways. But of course, this is just a straight guy's guess.

It's funny how now I have two stories with a lesbian couple that contains the moral 'you shouldn't force someone to like something'.

Please keep comments free of gaybashing or the gnawing of so-called 'holy' texts. I'm a chaoist, so to me no text is holier than the other. Except maybe cheese grater catalogues and Playling Magazine, but those are just weird.

I am aware it's a hot topic with everything going on with anti-gay laws, but please keep that debate out of this story, that's not what it's here for.

The Thing About Privacy

Rainbow Dash rubbed her neck, idly noting the smoothness of her fur. Her mane had grown overnight again, along with her tail, and she was fairly certain her arms and legs were slightly longer than before, too. Part of her thought it was just a late growth spurt, but part of her had reached the conclusion that whatever Twilight’s sex magic was doing, it involved making Rainbow look more like an alicorn every day. She hoped she wouldn’t wake up with a horn anytime soon, but then again she’d been feeling horny already.

Her medical exam done, she waited right outside Tradewind’s office, as always. The routine of hearing that stallion drone off all the things she’d been doing wasn’t too much of a concern, although it did make him sound like an expositioning villain in a Daring Do novel, or a changeling trial. It had to be done, though, for every Weather Patrol. The paperwork had to be in order, everything had to be documented and confirmed, the psychological evaluation had to be done.

A dark blue stallion walked out of the office, one Rainbow Dash recognised as a captain for a small town just east of Froggy Bottom Bog, she couldn’t recall the name. He motioned for Rainbow Dash to enter. “You’re up.”

Rainbow Dash steeled herself and entered.

She froze. Instead of the usual stallion, she was greeted by the sight of an orange mare in an officer’s uniform. She’d seen the mare’s private parts cast in rubber not too long ago, too, but given the circumstances she didn’t think it prudent to bring that up just yet. “Oh, hi, Spitfire… Ma’am. Did I walk in the wrong way?”

Spitfire shuffled some paperwork around and kept her eye on one sheet once she’d found it. “No, I’m doing the reviews today. Have a seat and close the door.”

Rainbow Dash did as she was told. She shuffled nervously in her seat while Spitfire went through the reports.

After reading through what Rainbow guessed was her personal report, Spitfire looked up. “So I hear you’ve been taking Tradewind’s advice? Training Raindrops and Cloud Kicker?”

Rainbow nodded. “Um, sort of. I figured they were up for it, I asked, I gave them some tips and training, and they went along with it. I didn’t force them, I just offered it. ”

Spitfire nodded. “Mind if I ask why? You were doing fine on your own, there weren’t any complaints about your work. You’re good enough to cover all of Ponyville, you just had to delegate.”

Rainbow Dash looked away from Spitfire’s gaze. “Yeah, but I’m still only one pony, and patrols are done on a schedule. If the schedule doesn’t say I’m doing it, or if there’s an emergency and I can’t be there, there needs to be somepony else to fill in for me. And, you know, sometimes there’s emergencies that aren’t mine, and other ponies need to be filled in for. Raindrops and Cloud Kicker were pretty good already, and I’m sure they’re doing well on their tests right now. Besides, if they pass, then they can help train other ponies, too.”

“But you’re the captain, Rainbow Dash. You’re supposed to lead, you make the schedules.” Spitfire smiled knowingly.

“Well, yeah, obviously, but it has to be fair. Nopony’s going to listen to me if I don’t keep things fair. I’m still doing my job, I’m not backing out of anything I’m supposed to do. It’s just that Ponyville’s got a lot of ponies in it, and I can’t be the only one to depend on for Weather Patrol stuff.”

Spitfire let her head rest on her hooves. “Sounds reasonable. What about the Wonderbolts? Still want to be one?”

Rainbow gulped. “Yes, Ma’am.”

“You did pretty well on the first training session. What did you think of the rest of the squad?” Spitfire’s eyes seemed to shoot fire as she said it.

The blue pegasus suppressed a gulp. “Honestly? I don’t think anypony except Lightning Dust was on my level, but they could be pretty soon. I don’t think they can beat me, but I think most of them can keep up, if they try.”

“Pretty good assessment. And I assume by now you’ve figured out why I’m here instead of Tradewind?” Spitifre smirked.

“Umm… if I had to guess, I’d say you’re here to do another personal checkup. And since I’m pretty sure I’ve stayed out of trouble, that means I’m getting a raise?” Rainbow flashed her a nervous smile.

“Close, but not quite. Think a little bigger, rookie.”

Rookie? She doesn’t mean… “Ponyville’s getting its own Wonderbolt squad? And I’m gonna be on it?”

Spitfire chuckled. “Yup. It’s decided, but it’s not official yet, so keep it to yourself for now. There’s still a lot of work to be done, and a lot of training, but we know now Ponyville’s got enough talent to support a squad. With all the stuff going on there, the town can do with a little extra protection, and it’s got a good terrain to practise, as I’m sure you’ve found out. The next round of training will move to there, so no more putting your day job on hold. You haven’t earned your spot just yet, but you’ve definitely earned the chance to work for it.”

“Umm, I don’t know what to say. Thanks, I can’t wait to get started.”

Spitfire glared at her. “Just remember things are gonna get rough. Wonderbolts push their limits, doesn’t matter how high those limits are. You’ve still got a few weak points that can do with some work. Think you can manage?”

Rainbow barely caught her breath. “Yes, Ma’am, I’ll give it my best shot. And, um, Lightning Dust?”

“What about her?”

“I kinda lost touch with her after what happened. I mean, has she found something else, or is she still on the list?” Rainbow tensed up.

“She won’t be joining you anytime soon, but she’s fine, don’t worry. I’d expected you two to rub off on each other, and it was a little more one-sided than I’d have liked, but she did come to her senses and we don’t want to waste her talent. She’s just got some issues she needs to work through.”

Rainbow breathed a quiet sigh of relief. “Okay, as long as she’s not giving up.”

“Right then, that just leaves one more thing I have to ask.” Spitfire took out a document and a stamp. “You’re not much of a beauty queen, are you, Rainbow Dash?”

Rainbow narrowed her eyes. Hang on. “Beauty queen?”

“A model, I mean. If you did make it to official Wonderbolt recruit, you wouldn’t be interested in modelling on the side, right? It’s a formality, but I’m legally obliged to ask. You’re not into that, right?” Spitfire had her hoof over the piece of paper, stamp ready.

A great many thoughts ran through Rainbow Dash’s mind at that point. How it would be easiest to just agree and say she was indeed not interested, for example, or how it would be ‘uncouth’ of her to continue, as Rarity would put it. Then there was the notion that Spitfire was her future boss as well as her current idol, and as such it would be unwise to antagonise or embarrass her. But unfortunately, one thought sounded louder than all the others.

I will never get another chance like this ever again.

“Oh, I don’t mind modelling. I do it for my friend, Rarity, all the time. I didn’t know Wonderbolts did that kind of thing.” Rainbow flashed her a petulant grin.

Spitfire gulped and nervously rubbed the back of her head. “Well, err, they don’t. Not all of them, I mean. Some do, though, for a little extra cash. But I don’t think you really need that with your job.”

“Why not? More cash lets me buy more fun things. Besides, modelling is just standing around and looking awesome, I can do that just fine.”

Spitfire was starting to sweat at this point, little damp spots forming under the armpits of her uniform. “It’s not regular modelling, though. It’s more of a… special kind of deal not everypony’s cut out for.”

“You mean like a calendar?”

Spitfire perked up at the notion. “Yeah, sort of like a calendar. A really, um, ‘adult’ calendar.”

Rainbow Dash refrained from smirking, though it was getting harder by the second. “Oh, you mean a nude calendar. Hey, I’ve got nothing to hide, just say where and when.”

Again, Spitfire looked away nervously. “Err, it’s not a nude calendar. It’s something a little more saucy and embarrassing.”

“So it’s a dressed-up calendar, then? Wow, that is kinky. Well, I do look good in socks.” Rainbow shrugged, still smiling brightly.

Spitfire cleared her throat, properly flustered. “No, it’s not even a proper photoshoot. It’s kind of a public service Wonderbolts are asked to do, and it’s not mandatory. No one can force you to do it if you don’t want to.”

Rainbow Dash kept up her act. “But it sounds like something I’d want to do. Why wouldn’t I get my picture taken?”

Spitfire couldn’t even keep eye contact at this point. “Umm, because it’s not a picture they’d be taking. It’s something a little more… ‘tangible’.”

“A video? Hey, that’s even better! I’d make a great motivational speaker.”

Spitfire sighed in defeat. “It’s not a video, either, Rainbow Dash. I’m trying to tell you this modelling job isn’t for normal ponies. It’s silly and it’s embarrassing and it’s -- you’ve been to CoCoCon, haven’t you?”

Rainbow’s budding smirk could be held back no more. “I swear I have no idea what you’re talking about, ‘Captain Blaze’.”

Spitfire rolled her eyes and groaned. “Okay, cards on the table, then. The modelling job involves going to a hospital and getting a scan done of your… well, your private bits. You get registered, they make a note of your breed, you sign off on it, and within a year there’s sex toys shaped like your marehood being sold, with a name that doesn’t leave a lot of doubt as to whose marehood it is. You’d get a fair cut of the proceeds, and Celestia makes sure anyone harassing you about it gets dealt with nice and quick. The press is strictly forbidden to speak about it, too, and the tabloids know they can’t touch the subject, every single one. So, would you please stop joking about it and give me a straight answer?”

Rainbow Dash weighed it in her mind. “Honestly, off the record? I don’t know. What made you do it?”

“Off the record? Princess Celestia asked me if I felt up to it. She’s usually the one to ask the Royal Guards, too, you’ve probably seen some of those models. She, umm, made me an offer I couldn’t refuse. Part of me wanted to, obviously, but another part kinda felt bad about refusing. I can’t say I regret it, either, it’s just… weird.”

Rainbow tilted her head, confused. “So why’d you say ‘yes’?”

“Because it helped pay the rent when I was just a rookie, for one thing. But mostly I thought -- well, Celestia convinced me -- it was a good idea to contribute and show ponies that, you know, there’s all kinds. Besides that, I realised I’d rather take one for the team than think some poor boy wants to know what it’s like to mount a pony like me and end up mounting something modelled after his sister.” Spitfire winced at the thought.

You mean like the situation Twilight is in right now. Right, got it. “But ponies never talk to you about it? Ever?”

“Never. Princess Celestia is very strict about that: anypony on the list is guaranteed privacy. Besides, if they talk to you about it, that’s admitting they have your model back home, or at least saw it. Nopony wants to explain that,” Spitfire said.

“Makes sense. So, um, you’re not mad about me joking about it? And me knowing?”

Spitfire rolled her eyes. “No hard feelings, rookie. What a Wonderbolt does in their own time is their business. It’s only my business if they can’t fly anymore because of it. You keep this private, we’re not gonna have any issues, same with the rest of the Wonderbolts. We all know this is going on, anyhow, it doesn’t make a lick of difference. We joke about it sometimes, but it’s all harmless. So, what do I put down for you? Yes or no?”

“Well, if you did it, I guess I can, too. Just, umm, make sure my family doesn’t find out?”

“Oh, trust me, family never finds out about this. You’ve got strict deniability, and if any vendor claims it’s modelled after you, you can claim it’s just a sales pitch. I’ll put you down for a ‘maybe’, then. You can get it recalled if you do change your mind.”

Rainbow smiled. “Good. Anything else, Ma’am?”

Spitfire looked up and narrowed her gaze. “Just one thing. You’re looking a little thinner than I remember, Rainbow. Taller, too. Have you been experimenting with purple magic?”

Rainbow Dash looked away. “Um, that’s kind of personal. But, off the record, if I was, would that be a problem?”

“Not really. Not like it works.”

“Wait, what?”

“Purple magic? Sex magic? Doesn’t work, aside from cosmetics. It makes you look younger, obviously, and the advanced stuff can make your body look more like an alicorn’s, but it doesn’t make you any stronger or faster. The books are kinda weird like that,” Spitfire explained matter-of-factly.

Rainbow Dash stared for a moment, wondering if her prank was being met with revenge now. “How would you know?”

“Old friend of mine told me. It’s a running gag in magic schools, mostly on the higher-ups. Every once in a while, some ambitious unicorn comes around thinking it’s not fair pegasi and Earth ponies can’t learn magic, so they get into purple magic to try and decipher the symbolism in the older books. Thing is: in the old days they only used symbols to hide magic stuff from the other tribes. That’s the only reason it’s there.”

Rainbow frowned. “So?”

“So? Stuff that works for all ponies doesn’t need to be hidden. When the books say an exercise or meditation makes your hair grow shinier, it’s not a symbol for strength, like it is in the other books. It really does just mean it makes your hair shiny. Apparently the old mages had a weird sense of humour like that. You, err, weren’t hoping for any real boost, were you?”

“Me? No, no, not really. It’s just, err, something a friend of mine recommended to work on my looks.” Rainbow Dash chuckled nervously. “You know, just for show.”

“Right, that Rarity gal. I remember her.” Spitfire rubbed her chin. “It’s good advice, though, if you can stick with it. There’s worse ways of working on your looks, more painful ones, too. Just make sure you don’t overdo it and keep up the good work.”

Yeah, keep it up.

Twilight’s not gonna like this.

Fluttershy enjoyed these tea parties with her animal friends. Mister Grizzles, the bear in charge of keeping tabs on the honey bee population -- a job he did happily and with a very paws-on approach -- was an unexpected authority on the maturing of her blends, and Angel Bunny loved being out and about in the sun with her, not to mention his taste for cucumber sandwiches. It made the darling so much easier to handle in the evening, she found. But, as was the case for traditional tea parties, there was always a bit of gossip to be had as well.

“Hoo!” Owloiscious argued.

Fluttershy nodded. “Yes, I know they’ve been acting strange, Owloiscious, but it doesn’t mean anything.”

“Hoo!”

“No, it doesn’t mean they’re in love. There’s a lot of things that might be going on. It, um, it certainly doesn’t mean they’re in love with each other. They’re just spending more time together because they have more in common now. Twilight is still the same pony.”

The owl folded his wings in front of his chest in indignation. Mister Grizzles and Angel Bunny were digging into the treats while Fluttershy tried to calm down the upset bird of prey.

“Hoo.”

Fluttershy did her best impression of a grumble. “Now, really, Owloiscious, that’s just not fair. You’re still a wild owl, after all, you just have an extra bed at the library. You’re not really a pet, and Twilight still takes very good care of you. You’re not around all the time, either. Why, I can think of a hundred times Twilight might have needed you and you weren’t there. Um, not that I’m trying to make you feel guilty, but, you know, you might want to consider that, too.”

The owl grumbled. “Hoo?”

“Me? Oh, no, I haven’t noticed anything out of the ordinary.”

“Hoo?”

“Smell? What smell?”

“Hoo.”

“Oh. Oh, my, no. No, that’s actually a common mistake: ponies can’t smell that in other ponies.” Fluttershy shook her head.

Owloiscious raised an eyebrow and looked the mare right in the eye. “Hoo.”

“I’m sure Twilight did read that, but that doesn’t mean it’s true. Ponies cannot smell that in other ponies.” Not right away, at least. It’s something you learn, and not everypony does. Doesn’t make Hearts and Hooves Day any easier on the singles, too.

Reluctantly, the owl backed off. “Hoo?”

“Well, maybe she’s been busy. Rainbow Dash is a busy mare, too, but she can find time to see her friends. I haven’t seen Twilight and Rainbow Dash that much, either, but I’m not worried. I’m still meeting her for the picnic, after all. We can catch up then.”

“Hoo?”

“No, I don’t think you really need to talk to her about it. Wait until things settle down, she’ll come around.”

“Hoo?” Owloiscious whimpered.

Fluttershy waved his concern away. “Oh, Rainbow Dash isn’t trying to steal anything from you, silly. She’s just helping out a friend, that’s all. That’s what Rainbow Dash does. I’m sure Twilight is giving her advice, too.”

“Hoo.” Slowly, Owloiscious nodded, then took off, most likely in the pursuit of meatier treats than the cucumber sandwiches on offer.

Fluttershy let out a sigh of relief. Phew. I hope Rainbow Dash and Twilight just come out soon. It’s nice that they found each other, but I’d hate to keep lying to keep their secret.

“Look out below!”

Right at that moment, an orange filly came crashing down into a nearby tree. Fluttershy jumped up and flew to the girl’s aid. “Goodness. Are you all right, Scootaloo?”

Scootaloo jumped down from a tree branch and brushed off some dirt before shedding her helmet. “Yeah, I’m fine. Me and my friends just went hang gliding.”

Fluttershy landed and inspected the girl, before inspecting the tree. “Then where is your hang glider?”

Scootaloo pointed a hoof up at the sky. “With my friends.”

Fluttershy’s left eye gave off a twitch. “Y-you just fell, just like that? Isn’t that dangerous?”

“Not for a pony who can slow down her fall, like me. I’ve been taking lessons from Rainbow Dash.” Scootaloo raised her head up proudly.

Fluttershy nodded. Even Mister Grizzles looked puzzled.

This is Flight Camp all over again. The mare sighed. “Um, right, I guess she would start with landing practice, with your stunts and all. But aren’t Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle going to come looking for you?”

Scootaloo trotted off. “No, I had to leave early. I gotta go, Fluttershy; I have to go see Missus Flora this afternoon. See you around!”

Fluttershy blinked, confused. “Who?”

Author's Note

The thing about privacy? We respect it because we want it for ourselves. Yeah, not the best title, but it stuck.

I'm surprised no one realised that if Wonderbolts are asked to model, then Rainbow Dash becoming one means she's asked, too.

Lightning Dust? Not gonna debate her too much. It's just that loyalty means you forgive the ones you're loyal to, and seeing as Lightning and Rainbow did hit it off at first, it seemed appropriate to address.

All in all, this chapter's mostly meant to show life moving on for Rainbow Dash. She's not a Wonderbolt yet, but she's done her job and she's earned a chance to work for a spot on the team. I know I keep saying this, but I have no idea what the new S4 canon is on the Wonderbolts and I have no interest in spoilers thereabout. I treat them as an extension of Weather Patrols: very skilled at manoeuvering, strong flyers and weather manipulators, and specifically trained to deal with emergencies. They can cut a dragon's scales and show enough restraint not to kill him outright (I'm guessing someone did tell them that was Spike in Secret of My Excess, and the cowering was meant more to keep him distracted and in place, but that's just me). They are also built up as shining examples of good flyers: they are made out to be heroes in a setting where power is common but true heroism is not.

Fluttershy knows Twilight and Dash are together, why? The answer's kind of obvious, but will be spelled out in the last chapter, which is the next one.

Also, Flight Camp fic references? What Flight Camp fic references? I don't see any references to my Flight Camp fic, do you? I most certainly didn't slip two OC's in there without anyone noticing. Well, no one commented on the first one a few chapters back, at least.

Yeah, about Scootaloo: I'm not going to give too much closure on that. The main characters of this story are not her family, not in this story, at least. It's Scootaloo's choice to share that, and she chooses not to. But she's happy, and she's boasting she's been getting lessons from Rainbow. That should be enough.

And gosh, we're near the end. This has been quite a ride, I must say.

Eating Out

Twilight took a deep breath to steady herself. The basement had been cleaned and aired out, it was a fresh and wholesome environment once again.

I am a good dominant. I am a good Mistress. There is nothing wrong with me controlling Rainbow Dash. I love her, she loves me.

And if our friends ever find out, then that’ll be that. There’s nothing wrong with either of us.

She heard the library door open. and flew up to greet her guest. “Right on time, Rainbow Dash. How’d the evaluation go?”

Rainbow Dash winced. “I’ve got some good news and some bad news.”

It didn’t take Rainbow Dash long to find the picnic. Fluttershy had already put the red and white checkered blanket down, along with some treats. Rarity arrived just as Rainbow landed, and Twilight was heading their way with Spike in tow. Applejack and Pinkie Pie were talking to one another as they took their time to arrive, and before long everypony was seated and everypony’s contribution to the picnic was set out.

Rainbow Dash sat right across Twilight and Spike, with Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie on her left and Applejack and Rarity on her right. Twilight and Rainbow avoided looking into each other’s eyes, barely aware of what anyone was saying. Yesterday had been quite the experience for them both.

“Hello? Ground Control to Captain Rainbow Dash?” Applejack asked.

Rainbow snapped out of her reverie. “Huh?”

“Would you mind passing me a bun?”

“Oh, sure.” Rainbow passed one of her cutie mark-shaped buns to Applejack, who held it in front of Spike to get a dragon flame. She took a knife to spread some zap apple jam over it while Rarity poured her coffee. “So how’s the Patrol doin’? Raindrops and Cloud Kicker take their tests yet?”

Rainbow Dash nodded. “Yup. They both passed, so now there’s three ponies that can deal with a big emergency, instead of just me.”

Rarity smiled. “That’s great news, Rainbow Dash. I assume that takes some pressure off your shoulders, then?”

Rainbow Dash rubbed her wings against her sides and smiled. “Just one less thing to worry about, really.”

Rarity nodded knowingly. “Not to mention lightening the load for Wonderbolt interventions.”

“Eheh, yeah, the Wonderbolts… gotta remember those.” She looked away awkwardly. Everyone but Twilight stared at her.

Rarity’s ears perked. “Rainbow Dash, darling, did you get any bad news on your evaluation?”

Rainbow Dash bit her lip. “I’m not supposed to talk about it, but I did get some news, yeah… and it’s not bad news.”

Twilight planted a hoof to her forehead. “So sex magic really only works cosmetically? Well, guess I only have myself to blame. I should have asked around first.”

Rainbow Dash smiled and nuzzled her. “It’s okay, Twilight. I do look better, at least.”

Twilight looked away, moping.

Rainbow frowned. “You’re gonna keep trying it anyway, aren’t you?”

Twilight squeed. “Well, it wouldn’t hurt to be thorough, would it?”

Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes. “If you really want to, it’s okay by me. Spitfire said she knew about it, and it’s allowed, so there’s no real problem. Oh, and I’ve got everything covered for today, so you don’t have to rush anything on my account. Where’s Spike?”

Twilight led the way to the basement. “He came home covered in tree sap, so he’s currently going into hour three of his eight-hour bath. That gives us plenty of time.”

As they sat down on the pillows, Rainbow Dash straightened her back, flared up her wings, and thrust her chest forward in her best presentation pose. “So what do you want to today, Mistress?”

Twilight smiled and inspected her pet, circling around to give the occasional poke and prod on Rainbow’s flesh, just to gauge her performance. “Today I want to do something special, pet. I’m going to make sure you unwind, and then I’m going to take control of your body, just like before. I’m thinking we could experiment with keeping you still, if you don’t mind.”

The slightest tremor went through Rainbow’s wings at that. “Okay, but… I do wanna keep moving afterwards. I can’t go slacking off now I’m this close to the Wonderbolts.”

“Did you do your workout today?”

“No, Mistress. Today’s a resting day, I only do distance flying on those, and I got that when I went up to Cloudsdale and back.” Wait, doesn’t she know that? She put that in my head too, didn’t she?

Twilight hugged Rainbow Dash from behind and hummed in her ear. “Then I’ll make sure you can keep your schedule like a good little pet should.”

Rainbow Dash shivered, still forcing herself to stay in the presentation pose. She could feel it getting harder without a hypnotic suggestion to keep her in it, but she persisted.

As if on cue, Twilight kissed her on the forehead. “Dive down deep, pet.”

Rainbow’s body slumped back against her Mistress. Her breath slowed, her wings dropped, her eyelids felt heavy, and there was a pleasant warmth behind her.

Twilight smiled. “Relax for me, pet. Mistress has got you.”

Fluttershy got up from her seat. “Oh, where’s the strawberry jam?”

Applejack raised it up in her hoof. “Right here, sugarcube.”

Fluttershy didn’t bother taking it. She just flew up and landed in between Applejack and Rarity, leaving Pinkie Pie as the only pony in between Twilight and Rainbow Dash. Applejack nudged Rainbow’s flank. “Scoot over a little, would ya, Rainbow?”

Rainbow Dash shuffled closer, ending up right next to Pinkie Pie. She gulped, quietly hoping Pinkie Pie wouldn’t shift seats herself.

Rarity shook with anticipation, enough to fail to notice Spike taking a spot right next to her. “Go on, darling, what’s the news?”

Rainbow snapped out of her reverie. “Umm, it’s good news, but it’s the kind of good news I’m not supposed to talk about.”

Twilight smiled and dug into a tea cake. “Suffice to say Ponyville will be a safer place soon.”

Applejack frowned. “So you do know what’s going on?”

“Royal privileges. I am Rainbow Dash’s boss, after all,” Twilight said with a smirk.

Fluttershy hid her face behind her mane, but Rarity could have sworn she heard a giggle from behind that mass of pink hair. Rarity pursed her lips. “I see. Speaking of good news, have you heard anything from Scootaloo, Rainbow Dash?”

Rainbow shook her head and idly sipped a cup of tea Twilight had poured for her. “Nothing yet. She’s been avoiding me, and pretty well, too.”

Fluttershy perked up. “Oh, I saw her the other day. She just came falling out of the sky, all on her own.”

Twilight grimaced. “Alone? She didn’t hurt herself, did she?”

Fluttershy averted her eyes, thinking. “No, she didn’t look hurt. She told me Rainbow Dash had taught her how to break her fall, then she just marched off. She said she had an appointment to keep, but, um, I didn’t ask any more.”

Rainbow Dash frowned. “And she didn’t look sad or anything?”

Fluttershy shook her head. “She didn’t look sad at all. She seemed pretty cheerful, actually.”

“How did she even fall out of the sky if she can’t fly?” Rarity asked.

“She’d gone hang gliding,” Fluttershy replied matter-of-factly.

“Ah. And what about you, Twilight? How’s royal life been so far, aside from busy?”

Twilight chuckled nervously. “Oh, you know, just reading so far. I still haven’t really had a proper talk with Celestia yet.” She caught herself. “Heh, listen to me, talking about Princess Celestia without calling her by her title. Honestly, I still don’t know what to make of it, even now. I keep feeling like something’s about to happen next, some other big disaster I’m destined to solve and it’s taking its sweet time getting here.”

Applejack nodded. “I know how that feels. But you can’t get stuck worrying about tomorrow if today needs your attention.”

Rarity nodded in kind. “Quite right. Surely there must be some new interesting developments in your life, no?”

Twilight looked down at Rainbow Dash’s prone form. Rainbow’s head rested on Twilight’s lap, giving the alicorn ample opportunity to stroke that soft rainbow mane. “Now, pet, I want you to repeat after me and take the following commands as true, but you need to remember that they’ll only be true while I say they are. I will take them back when we are done, and if you feel any discomfort you need to tell me like a good pet. Understand?”

Rainbow stayed paralysed. Eventually, she got her lips and tongue to move. “Yes, Mistress.”

“Good pet.” Another stroke, and a shiver went through Rainbow Dash’s body. “Repeat after me. I am a good pet.”

“I am a good pet.”

Twilight smiled. “Good pets get rewards.”

“Good pets get rewards.”

Twilight rubbed her pet’s left ear with a wingtip. “I belong to my Mistress, in mind, body, and soul.”

Rainbow’s eyes clenched shut. Twilight withdrew her wing. “Just relax, pet. If you can’t handle it, tell me.”

The prone mare opened her eyes. It’s just for now. She’s not going to keep me like this. I wouldn’t let her. “I belong to my Mistress, in mind, body, and soul.”

Twilight leaned down to nuzzle Rainbow Dash. “Very good, pet. And knowing you belong to me, that means your body is mine, doesn’t it?”

Does it? I guess it does. “Yes, Mistress.”

Twilight gently eased Rainbow’s head onto the pillows. She walked towards Dash’s hind hooves. “Everything about you is mine, just for now. Your body, your mind, your soul. But one thing you can keep, pet. Until I wake you up, only one thing will be truly yours.”

Wait, what? Rainbow Dash couldn’t move her head to look, but she felt her hind hooves rise up in Twilight’s magic.

Then a bolt of energy shot up her legs. Rainbow couldn’t move, but her whole body tensed and a moan barely escaped her lips. She vaguely recognised the sensation as a hoofnail touching the frog of her own hoof. Twilight chuckled mischievously. “Pleasure. Any pleasure you feel will be all yours. I’m going to start touching you, pet, stroking and rubbing however I want, and you’re going to feel pleasure, as a reward for being such a good and loyal pet. You are free to climax whenever you feel overwhelmed, but I will not trigger you into it. For now, we’re doing this the old-fashioned way.”

Twilight gave off another nervous chuckle, forcing herself not to look at Rainbow Dash. She was sure she was blushing, though. “Actually, nothing more interesting than anything that’s been going on for you. Really, girls, how’ve you been? I feel like I’ve been cooped up for far too long after that whole mess of a coronation.”

Pinkie Pie looked over the picnic blanket. She’d been making herself a seven-jam bun, and currently found herself in need of jam number seven. Without further fanfare, she rushed to the other side of the blanket, settled in between Rarity and Fluttershy, got a last stripe of jam on her bread, then dug in.

Applejack nudged Rainbow Dash again. Rarity nudged Twilight.

Rainbow felt the blood rush up to her face once her flank touched Twilight’s. Twilight bit her lip and nervously clenched her wings against her sides.

They looked up and around to the four ponies and one dragon.

Spike looked anxious. Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy both had smiles on their faces. Applejack and Rarity were sporting knowing smirks.

Twilight caught her breath, her eyes darting from one pony to the other. Rainbow Dash felt her chest pounding, her jaw clenched. They both thought the same thing.

What do we do now?

Rainbow Dash gasped as Twilight stroked over the soft flesh of her hooves. She could feel her marehood clenching and unclenching in anticipation, growing wet and warm and welcoming, but Mistress didn’t take the bait. Instead, she slowly ran the tip of her nail in circles over the frog of Rainbow’s left hoof, then her right.

Rainbow Dash bucked her hips when Twilight let go.

“Such a good pet. Close your eyes for me now, and do not open them without my permission. I want you to be focused on what you’re feeling. And no talking, either, except if it hurts and you need me to stop.”

Despite herself, Rainbow Dash obeyed. Her eyes fell shut and refused to open again, even as Mistress picked up her right leg and ran a soft feathery touch over her right cannon. Rainbow grimaced as more tingles of pleasure ran through her body. Her nether lips quivered, her nose curled from the smell of her own arousal. She was slick and waiting, but her arms couldn’t move. Her wings throbbed with arousal as Twilight repeated the same motions on her left cannon.

“Hmm, you really are a good pet, Rainbow Dash. Very responsive, very obedient, and so accepting of your Mistress and her affections. It’s good that you haven’t climaxed just yet; I’d hate to think I’ve pushed you so far you can come just from wearing socks.”

Rainbow whimpered, clenching her eyes shut harder. You have no idea, Mistress.

Rainbow’s face tensed as she felt Twilight’s warm breath over her marehood. Her legs were lifted and gently placed on Mistress’ shoulders, giving the alicorn the perfect angle on her pet’s most sensitive areas. Even so, the strokes along Rainbow’s muscular sides and the gentle rubs along the bases of her wings had to come first. Rainbow Dash knew what Mistress was doing now: she was just following a schedule, as she always was. Mistress was in control of everything. She just needed to, for a little while. Twilight could relax afterwards.

Only one question ran through Rainbow’s mind, still.

Why is she making me come, but not herself?

The question evaporated when Twilight’s lips found the sweet spot. Rainbow moaned and whimpered, still clenching her eyes shut to follow the command she’d been given. Something soft landed on her face, before attaching itself with a knot on the back.

“You can open your eyes now. That blindfold will suffice, pet. Just relax for me.”

Rainbow’s face unwound with her eyes open and staring into darkness. Without sight, the warm and gentle movements of lip against lip and rough nub against soft nub filled her awareness. She bucked into Twilight’s tongue as it ran circles over her clitoris. She moaned when Twilight’s own moan sent vibrations down to her very core. On and on it went, until Rainbow Dash lost track of time. She zoned in and out of awareness, the pleasure being the only thing she could feel.

She drifted along, riding her Mistress’ affections like a good pet.

In the end, it was just a breath that set her off. One simple, small, warm gust of air over her belly that drove her over the edge. Rainbow lost herself, bucking and thrusting into her Mistress’ mouth. Twilight lapped up the fluids as best she could, keeping her pet as clean as possible.

Rainbow felt something heavy rest on her belly. A little shift and the feeling of something softer pressing against her fur told her Mistress was listening to her breathe.

“There, pet. That pleasure was all yours. You can talk now. Did you like it?”

“Y-yes, Mistress.” She panted for air. “I might need a second to do it for you, though. My body’s all shaky.”

The blindfold floated up, revealing an alicorn princess whose face was smeared with bodily fluids. Her fur had flecks of white all over it, but it didn’t seem to bother her. “You misunderstand, pet. That was for you, and only for you. I won’t ask you to pleasure me to today.”

Still catching her breath, Rainbow tried to wrap her head around that. “Why?”

“I’d be a poor sort of dominant if I didn’t put your pleasure before mine. Well, sometimes, at least.” Mistress winked. “And besides, I started all this wanting to help you with your intimacy problems. Now that I can make you come the traditional way I have final proof that I did.” She ran her hoof in circles over Rainbow’s taut and sensitive belly.

Rainbow chuckled at the touch. “I still can’t move, Mistress.”

Mistress smiled. “And you won’t, unless I tell you to. As much as I wanted you to feel pleasure, you did end up making a mess of my face. So you’re going to roll over, get on your hooves, and then follow me to the bathroom. And once we’re there, you are going to clean up my face and primp me like a good, obedient pet, and you'll wash off the smell of your sweat while you're at it. Is that clear?”

Primp you? Well, I get to run my hooves over you, so that’s okay. “Yes, Mistress, but… I thought Spike was in the bathroom?”

“He is. But he’s a big boy; he knows eight hours is a long time to go without bathroom facilities, and he doesn’t mind me entering to clean myself up. More importantly, he closes the curtains while he’s in the tub. So come on, pet, I want to know what it’s like to be groomed by a future Wonderbolt.”

Twilight and Rainbow gulped. Their flanks were touching, their friends were watching.

It’s now or never.

Before anyone knew what had happened, they’d locked in embrace. Neither would ever really be able to tell who’d gone first, but Rainbow Dash’s wing rested on Twilight’s back, and Twilight’s rested on Rainbow’s back. They held one another, one wing each, and slowly each rubbed over the other in comfort.

Twilight looked to Rainbow Dash. Rainbow Dash looked to Twilight. They both looked to Spike, who was doing his best to convey his innocence without words.

Twilight sighed. “You knew.”

As one, the four ponies nodded.

Rainbow Dash winced. “How? When?”

Rarity shrugged. “Only just now, darling. You have quite a strong scent on you, one you did not have when you came to model for me. And it’s a scent Spike tends to carry as well. Combine that with your own admission the other day that you were seeing somepony, along with your more frequent visits to the library, and the list of candidates is narrowed down considerably.”

Spike put a palm to his forehead. “Sorry, Rainbow Dash.”

Rainbow chuckled and let her head hang. “Not your fault, Spike, I should’ve paid more attention. Should’ve known ponies would notice the smell.”

Rarity smiled. “It’s only when you get up close and personal anyone would notice. And it’s fine by me, darling, really. I think the two of you can complement each other wonderfully, and it’s great that you’ve taken the next step.”

Twilight pulled Rainbow closer with her wing, nerves acting up again. “Thank you, Rarity. What about you, Pinkie Pie?”

“Oh, I only figured it out just now, too. My Pinkie Sense has been doing some weird stuff around you two lately, but when I left Sugarcube Corner this morning, I got a really rare combo that’s only happened once before.”

Twilight tensed up. “And that was?” Pleasedontsaysexpleasedontsaysexpleasedontsaysex…

Pinkie Pie giggled, slightly embarrassed. “When I introduced Bon Bon to Lyra. They were really happy together, and they still are. So should you, you know: my Pinkie Sense is never wrong.”

Rainbow Dash chuckled, before looking to Fluttershy. She was all bunched up, hiding her face behind her mane and folding her legs underneath her body. It was like she’d turned back into the shy little girl at Flight Camp. Rainbow looked down at her. “Fluttershy?”

Fluttershy squeaked, revealing the very obvious blush on her cheeks. “Oh, um, I just noticed it on your birthday.”

Everypony stared at her. The yellow mare raised herself up to face the attention, though her ever-reddening blush made it clear it wasn’t an easy task.

Rainbow Dash perked her ears, surprised. “How could you possibly tell it that early?”

Fluttershy blushed. “Well, um, I’m around bunnies a lot.”

Silence hung over them.

Fluttershy looked away. “And you know what they say about bunnies.”

The silence refused to leave.

She forced herself to look at the still oblivious Twilight and Rainbow. “They breed. Like, um, bunnies. It’s not hard for me to tell when ponies like each other. Um, you know, really like each other. I just know what to watch out for.”

Twilight bit completed the circle. “Applejack? Um, I’m sorry for -”

“Don’t apologise, Twi, I know what you’re gonna say. And for the record: I only figured it out this morning, trying to think about which pegasus pony you’d be datin’. I just figured you’d asked Rainbow Dash to help impress somepony, but… I should’ve known it was Rainbow you really wanted: she’s the only pony who’s been around the library more than usual. And I should’ve remembered how Rainbow’s wings went crazy that time Pinkie Pie did her song and dance in Appleloosa. I’m the one who should apologise, Twilight, I should’ve noticed it sooner. I wouldn’t have said what I said if I’d known, not like that.”

Twilight sighed and looked away. “But you’re okay with it, right? I mean, I know you prefer tradition and all.”

Applejack nodded. “I do. And I can’t say I’m totally all right with it, but that ain’t because I think it’s wrong, and I ain’t gonna hold anything against ya. I’m just worried it might cause you problems in the long run, that's all. Aside from that, it ain’t my place to approve or disapprove, and if this is what makes you happy then you shouldn’t let what I think matter, or anypony else. I’m sure if you do run into trouble, you’ll find some way to work it out. As long as you’re happy.” She smiled at the couple.

Twilight blushed. “So you’re not upset about us keeping it from you? All of you?”

The four ponies all shook their heads. Applejack looked to Spike, then to the pair. She smirked, realising the dragon had already been in the know. “No worries, sugarcube. Love ain’t an easy thing to talk about, and it’s even harder if you turn out to be different from what everypony thought you were. You did what you thought was best, can’t fault you for that. Right, girls?” Applejack turned to the rest, who all nodded.

Twilight and Rainbow Dash chuckled, hugging each other closer with their wings. Twilight cleared her throat, speechless. Rainbow Dash wiped away some dirt in her eyes that was most certainly not a tear and no one would ever be able to prove it was. “Thanks, you guys.”

Rarity afforded herself a smirk. “Well, Twilight, I suppose Princess Celestia should be informed sometime soon?”

Twilight took a moment to think, then shook her head. “I think I’d rather tell my parents first, and my brother, and Cadence. Princess Celestia never told me everything, and this is a personal matter that doesn’t concern her, not like before. I’m not obliged to tell her first.”

Rainbow sighed. “Yeah, we haven’t even really been dating yet. We were a little busy trying to figure out what to do, and hide it. Family first.”

No one saw it, but Spike closed his eyes and wiped away a fleck of the same kind of dirt that had been in Rainbow’s eye moments before, and which was, likewise, most certainly not a tear.

“Fair enough.” Rarity turned her gaze to Pinkie Pie, who was now vibrating in place. “Pinkie Pie, what’s wrong with you?”

Pinkie’s face contorted with excitement. “What’s the matter with you ponies? Aren’t you forgetting the most important question?”

Twilight and Rainbow exchanged a glance. “What’s that?”

“When do we get to eat the wedding cake?”

The End

Author's Note

Well, that's the end of the ride for this story. This is one of the few things I decided on right from the onset of expanding the idea from the first chapter: that the story should end with everypony admitting they know and they're fine with it. Pinkie Pie always had the last word, but originally the scene was just mostly silence, and no explanation as to how anyone knew. Everyone just smiled quietly until Pinkie Pie interrupted it with "So when's the wedding?" Cue laughs, the end. Problem with that is that it would make for too much of a shock compared to the rest of the story. A little more fluff and silliness was in order, and one final sex scene spliced seamlessly (I hope) with daily life.

There you have it. The story's had a dramatic climax (the enslavement and acceptance), a comedic climax (CoCoCon, so much), and now the logical next step: the narrative climax, or whatever you call it. The 'family first' remark was added quite late, but seemed appropriate. Twilight didn't even know Celestia had a pet phoenix, so obviously there's a big gap in terms of sharing personal information between the two. Twilight's coming to terms with being Celestia's equal in this story, so it's not that big a stretch. I'd feel bad if I wrote a Twilight that tells Celestia she's gay before telling her parents; feels unfair to them. Ditto on Rainbow.

I mostly overload on explaining here because in the past I've gotten some trouble for not explaining some important things. So, while I'm willing to leave it implied and non-canon for the story, my authorial intent is for Scootaloo to have gotten closer to her mother because of the things that have been going on, and her treatment involves probiotics, not (necessarily) pegasus breast milk. It's inspired by an offhanded remark in Grant Morrisson's 'The Invisibles', when a dying woman, after being told she's about to step into an open sewer, replies "It's the sacred Ganges. The microbes are part of the magic." That's the kind of brilliant stuff I like to ~~plagiarise~~ reference. As for Applejack's concern, I'm going to say that mainly affects Rainbow Dash. Rainbow is a very fast, very fit pegasus. If she doesn't have any offspring, the things she's leaving out of the gene pool are pretty big. On the other hand, you could argue that she got fit because she tried and practised hard, so maybe she'd prefer a kid who aspires to be like her by choice, but isn't related by blood, and any adopted child wouldn't be nudged to try and be like her. But that's reader interpretation, and I'll be consistent with my views on the show and say neither of these two points are confirmed canon for the story. You're welcome to draw your own conclusions or make your own stuff up.

All that's left for me to say is a well-deserved thanks to the people who encouraged me and contributed to the story. This is my best-received work yet, clocking in at about a thousand views per uploaded chapter, consistently. Comments have been constructive, even when I overreacted and put up unnecessary warnings. Downvotes mostly came at the time of posting, and are well within reasonable limits for a clopfic (I've looked around, and I consider the first 30 or so to be background noise). Reader feedback was taken into account for some details, especially regarding Scootaloo and the purple magic. And it was fun, at a time when I was feeling down and in a slump.

Edit: slump has been replaced by thesis woes, then usurped by a high, which got beheaded by a low... let's just say things have progressed since writing this story and leave it at that.
Peace be with you, dear reader.

Please don't ask for a sequel.

Patience, and the Limits Thereof

Rainbow Dash stroked herself before she went to bed again. Her hoof slowly went over her nethers, eliciting a slight buck and a moan. She pictured her Master; a big, buff stallion to take away her cares and concerns. He was firmly built, he smelled of lavender, and in a bout of silliness she’d decided he was an alicorn on top of it all.

In her mind, she was a royal slave, submitted to the whims of a powerful prince. She bucked and groaned and tried everything she could to get herself off, but to no avail.

She sighed. “Dashie wanna play?”

The trigger worked brilliantly. Even in only two days, she’d used it on herself at least five times. First the question would sink into her mind, and the little pet name would arouse her sense of indignity. Part of her would feel humiliated and try to fight for her sense of honour, but another part would feel the need to submit to the command and lose herself in a mix of arousal and obedience.

The submissive part hadn’t lost the fight yet. Every single time, like clockwork, she’d feel herself relaxing and letting go, submitting to her fantasies and her guilty pleasure. She’d become horny at the mere mention of her trigger, a feat she’d have deemed impossible less than a week ago.

She kept on stroking, rubbing, gently seeking out that pleasurable nub. Clitoris. Yes, Master, I know it’s called a clitoris. I won’t call it a clit. Shivers of joy wracked over her body, but she didn’t come. She still couldn’t come on her own. Her Master just wasn’t real enough yet.

Or maybe He was, and He just wouldn’t allow it. Either way, she was stuck.

She grunted and stopped. With her eyes closed, she could see into her inner command center clearly. Things had gotten a lot cleaner the past few days, less posters and books lying about. All the books in her mind now stood neatly in their own section, just through the door on her right. Not that she ever bothered concentrating on those books in her head. It was much more fun playing with her buttons.

Twilight finished another book and rubbed her bleary eyes. Well, that was another interesting resource. She moved her hooves from her eyes to her temples. Oh, who am I kidding? It’s just pornography. Still, at least it helps Rainbow Dash with her intimacy problems. It shouldn’t be too hard to make up a fantasy for her tomorrow. Some standard controlling, another forced orgasm for her, she’ll like it. She grasped the book in her magic and teleported it to the basement, the same place where she kept all the other adult literature. Looking around her bedroom, she spotted the other work she’d gotten involved in.

Mental Imagery for Magic Mastery. Chapter 5, Purple Magic.

She sighed. She’d read the relevant bits of the chapter five times already, but she still felt the need to review it.

Certain types of magic benefit from a background in acting. The ability to let go of the learned personality is both a noted side effect of magic practice as well as a recommended exercise for dedicated mages. This is doubly true for those wishing to dabble in chaos magic.

Twilight bit her lip. She darted over some irrelevant trivia to check the next part again.

By nature, chaos magic is hard to classify and learn. However, of the eight disciplines that can be said to comprise chaos magic, purple magic, also known as sex magic, is the easiest to master. The other forms, as discussed later, can flow forth from the practice.

Twilight grunted and flipped ahead to the page she really needed.

In order to prepare for the spells of chaos magic, the practice of purple magic should be used to become accustomed to shifting one’s personality. Sexuality, if repressed, needs to be awakened and embraced. Anathemism, while a dangerous undertaking in normal circumstances, becomes feasible and even pleasant when combined with sexual practice.

She gritted her teeth at the next part. She’d read this part often enough to have memorised it, but it still haunted her.

The object of the exercise is to conspire against the values one holds dear. The easiest and safest way to do this is through erotic fantasy, culminating in climax. By indulging in fantasies one normally finds morally abhorrent, by actively going against one’s nature and learning to enjoy it, one becomes omnivorous and loosens the hold of preconceptions on the mind. This releases creative energy as well as breaking down barriers the Self has imposed on one’s potential. In this state, great magic can be performed by will alone. The achievement of climax, and the resulting clearing of the mind, hold the danger of obsession at bay. Likewise, if obsession does appear in the mage’s mind, it is a simple matter of either abstaining or stimulating oneself without the use of mental imagery.

Twilight closed the book. Would I really want to do this, though? Try chaos magic, the same thing Discord used? Do I really need that kind of power?

She opened the book again and checked a few chapters ahead. I guess it would be interesting just to see if this sort of thing can affect my body. I mean, I grew wings because of something similar, but… would that work on other ponies, too? I’d need to warp the mind of another pony to really check. But then that pony would be getting all the benefits of it, so it’s not necessarily a bad idea, is it?

She lifted a hoof to her chin to ponder. It would be interesting to see if I can use purple magic to manipulate a pony’s physical energies. It could be a great healing tool. I might find a way to help treat grievous injuries, or even better, I could find a new way to teach magic to other unicorns. I could inspire a whole new generation of doctors, fix any number of diseases ponies might be born with.

But would Rainbow Dash help me?

Well, if this works the way I think it does, I could make Scootaloo fly. I could make every pegasus filly remotely like Scootaloo fly. That’s something Rainbow wouldn’t even think twice about, I’m sure. That’s not even mentioning what I could do for the Wonderbolts.

Twilight crossed her hind legs and took in a deep breath. Her wings gently moved back and forth, her muscles unwound.

Okay, let’s just see if this makes me feel stronger or not, see if I can power magic through arousal and break some barriers. That should be easy, just find something I’d never do and picture myself doing it.

I’d never leave an awful mess of the library. Wait, yes, I would. I’ve done that hundreds of times already. That won’t work.

I’d never be tardy with an assignment. Well, I don’t have any more assignments now, so that’s not quite true, either.

I’d never turn on my friends. I’d never make love to a mare, let alone a friend.

Twilight fell her breath catch. Tension built up in her body, and a tingling in her marehood demanded she break the posture. She stayed still, though.

All right, let’s just take a step back and pretend I’d turn one of my friends into my lesbian love slave. That’s something I’d never do. I’m already trancing Rainbow Dash, so I’ll pretend I’d do it to her.

She gulped. The tension in her body mounted, and she forcefully silenced the little voices in her head that were screaming for her to stop thinking bad things.

How would I do it, if I really wanted to? It’d be a simple matter of portraying myself as Rainbow’s Mistress, really. She already wants to submit to another pony, she needs that to reach a climax. It wouldn’t take much for her to be fixated on me. And once she is, it’s easy enough to instill complete obedience in her. I’ve had more than enough deliveries the past few days, I know which publishers have the books I need.

Yeah, I wouldn’t have any trouble training her.

Twilight was shuddering at this point. Her breath was harder to control, her head began pounding.

The magic’s getting harder to hold. Guess that means it’s working. Suppose I did make Rainbow my slave? She wouldn’t mind, she’s already receptive to my suggestions. But then, other ponies might notice.

“Dear princess Celestia,

I’ve been giving some thought to my new position, and something worries me. As a princess, I am meant to help protect Equestria, much like I have in the past. But now that I have a higher position, I couldn’t help but wonder if now I do not have a higher priority to our foes, as well.

As you may recall, my brother was targeted by one of Equestria’s enemies shortly before his marriage into royalty. The wedding itself was even a vital part of the enemy’s strategy. I know I cannot ask for a regiment of Royal Guards, and Heavens know they’d be far too intrusive for my work, but what if I had just one personal bodyguard?

I was thinking of hiring Rainbow Dash. Technically, since she is a public servant, I am already her boss, as I’m sure you’ve realised. Rainbow Dash is the fastest pegasus pony around, she is an able fighter and could be even more so if properly trained -- I’m sure my brother would be happy to share some tips with her -- and besides that she is an Element of Harmony.

If Rainbow Dash were my personal bodyguard, the response time for the rest of the Elements would drastically decrease. Keeping two of the Elements in close proximity, especially considering I'm the only Element capable of teleporting, would be a great boon to our national security.

Rest assured, I’ve presented the matter to Rainbow Dash, and she proved very eager to assume her new position under me.”

Twilight’s horn was dripping with magic, much like another part of her anatomy south of the proverbial Equator. She kept the image of the letter firmly in her mind’s eye, along with the image of Rainbow Dash lying down underneath her and getting to work with tongue. Not that Twilight had any idea of what such a tongue would feel like.

Oh, my. That’s actually looking a lot easier than I anticipated. A lot more tempting, too.

Twilight’s nose curled when she smelled her own arousal. She stretched out her overcharged body to get the blood flowing to where it needed to go, then hopped off the pillows. Her body shook with sexual energy, and her horn was definitely feeling more charged because of it. Okay, so that works, and it works pretty well. A little too well, maybe.

I need a shower. And tomorrow, no sexy trance for Rainbow Dash, just some healing. I can’t start indulging in fantasies like this, it’s too dangerous, even if I do feel more powerful. Rainbow Dash didn’t sign up for that, it’d be wrong of me to force it on her. Even if she can be a little callous, she cares about our friendship.

And she cares about me, that’s why she trusted me. I can’t go experimenting on myself, it’s not worth it.

I just need a break from it, she’ll understand.

Rainbow Dash flew up, outraged. “What do you mean, you won’t make me come today? I got washed up for it and everything!”

Twilight rolled her eyes, then idly dug her hooves into the cloud floor of Rainbow’s house. “It’s just to make sure you’re not getting obsessed, Rainbow.” And to stop me from doing something I’ll regret. “I’d rather you get the issue with your hooves fixed before you go any further with sexual arousal.”

Rainbow Dash grunted and flopped down on a sofa. “Fine. But can we have some fun afterwards?”

Is that really all you care about? Do you even know what I’m trying to do here, how much effort it takes, how much I have to concentrate and mind my voice? This is hard work, you know. “Maybe. It’ll depend on how well you respond.”

“I promise I won’t cum until you tell me to. Is that what you want?” Rainbow Dash looked up, face lit up with hope.

“I am not going to bring you to climax today, Rainbow Dash. That’s not part of the schedule.” Twilight gritted her teeth and felt her wings flare up angrily.

“Then what are you doing here, Twilight? I thought you were supposed to try and help with this.” Rainbow Dash sat up and turned to face the alicorn.

She only got halfway. Twilight extended a hoof to Rainbow’s forehead and tapped her ever so gently. “Dive down deep, pet.”

Rainbow Dash’s body went slack. She slowly dropped back down into her prone position, mouth slightly open. There was no objection, no resistance, no getting uppity.

Twilight allowed herself a private sigh of relief. Much better. “Now, pet, I’m going to describe a scene for you, and you will picture it in your mind. When I tap your forehead again, you’re going to close your eyes, you will follow my commands, and we’re both going to do this according to my schedule. Is that clear? Just say ‘Yes, Your Highness’.”

Rainbow stared blankly ahead, the smell of her arousal already tainting the air, much to Twilight’s chagrin. “Yesss, Your Highnesss...”

Twilight smiled. “Good, pet.”

Rainbow Dash saw the hoof move towards her this time. Her body tensed up in anticipation, she could feel her walls deep down clench and grow wet.

She felt the tap on her forehead, then everything went dark.

Rainbow Dash cried and screeched, shivering all over. Her hooves hurt, and at first that’s all she could think of. The nails were chipped, the skin in the middle - Frog, the fleshy bit’s called ‘the frog of a hoof’ - had gravel in it, it was agony. She screamed and squirmed, barely aware of where she was.

The smell was the worst part. Disinfectant alcohol hung in the air, making her eyes water even more than the pain did. Green walls surrounded her, and the white bed underneath had coarse sheets and a hard mattress. She tried to stand, tried to get away, but every time she stood up the pain shot up through her hooves and straight into her head. Her wings flapped and buzzed uselessly in her panic.

I don’t wanna be here. Please don’t let me be here. It’s a dream, it has to be. Please, don’t let me be here.

Stallions dressed in blindingly white uniforms came into the room and grabbed her by the hooves. The massive hulks held her down while a white-coated nurse held up a pair of plyers.

Something pulled at one of Rainbow’s nails, making her arm go along with it. A shot of pain made its way up her shoulder. Still she was held down, her cries unheeded. She clenched her eyes shut.

The pain. It never went away. It never stopped. Make it stop, please, somepony make it stop.

She blinked, and all of a sudden, she wasn’t in the hospital bed anymore. The pain was gone. She was standing beside the bed, but the filly she used to be was still suffering.

Rainbow Dash looked down at the little thing that was squirming and screaming in pain. She only now realised the stallions holding her down weren’t all that big compared to her. She sighed and gulped, shaking her head as the scene unfolded in this new perspective. “This isn’t how it happened.”

The filly with the rainbow mane looked up at her. “Please, make it stop, it hurts!”

Since the girl’s arms were preoccupied, Rainbow Dash stroked her former self’s wings instead to try and calm her down. “I know, kid, I know. It’s hard to think straight when you’re hurting. Pain just blocks out everything else sometimes. But look over there.” Rainbow Dash nodded towards the nurse with the plyers. “That nurse isn’t being as rough as you think she is, and those stallions aren’t holding you down because they want to hurt you. You’re just struggling so much you’re hurting yourself. Don’t you remember the painkiller they gave you?”

The girl feebly tried to squirm under the weight of the nurses. She stared accusingly at her older self.

Rainbow Dash sighed. “You’re gonna blow out your heart if you don’t calm down. It’s not your hooves you’re feeling, it’s the pulling. They have to drag on your hooves to get all that sharp bits out, kid, and that’s gonna hurt, but it’ll hurt more if they let that stuff stay in. They can’t help that, so you need to be brave and let them fix you. You just have to let this happen, stop hurting yourself. They can’t put you to sleep for this; you might not wake up. Just hold still, it’ll hurt less.”

The little Rainbow Dash whimpered and sobbed, then stopped squirming.

The real Rainbow Dash kept on stroking her younger self’s wings. “See? This’ll be over before you know it. Your mom and dad will be here any minute, and they won’t make you feel bad about this. The pain will go away, if you just let it go.”

The filly gulped. “No, it won’t. My hooves are gonna hurt forever, and then everypony’s gonna make fun of me, and then I won’t be able to walk or even run, ever. I’m done, I’m never gonna be a Wonderbolt now. I’ll have to stay up in the air all my life like a big scaredy cat who’s afraid of the ground.”

Rainbow Dash flinched. Did I really think that back then? But I don’t… do I? Rainbow Dash flashed the filly a confident smile. “Look, kid, I’m not gonna lie: things get scary sometimes, especially when you don’t know what comes next. Stuff happens when you grow up. Some of it’s gonna be bad, and it might even get so bad you start thinking you’ll never grow up to be what you wanna be.”

The filly Rainbow Dash sobbed, but looked at her older self intently.

Rainbow Dash smiled and nodded at her. “But I promise all the bad things you’re feeling now will go away. One day you’re gonna realise you’ve grown up into an awesome pony, exactly the way you want to be, and to make even better, you’ll see you’re still growing even after you’ve come so far. When you see that, you’ll see it was a different pony who felt all scared and hurt. You’re not the same pony you were yesterday, and tomorrow you won’t be the same pony you are today. It’s not a big deal if you think you’re scared or weak today, because… tomorrow, you’ll get to be a pony who isn’t.”

The filly’s breath slowed down. The medics in the room went quiet, the whole room seemed to turn a dull grey, with only the mare and the filly keeping their natural blue and the rainbows on their tails and manes. The little Rainbow Dash looked up at her future self and smiled weakly. “How do you know?”

Rainbow just shot her a confident glare. “Trust me, I know. You’ll see, one day.”

The filly chuckled. “I think I’m gonna enjoy that.”

Rainbow chuckled and ruffled up the filly’s mane. “I know you will.”

Twilight smiled down at her subject, a proud look on her face. “Well, you look a lot better. Did that help?”

Rainbow Dash rubbed her hooves together and for once, she didn’t flinch. She wiped away a tear from her eyes. “Yeah, that was great. I feel… fine.”

Twilight nodded in agreement as Rainbow Dash sat up. “Good.”

Rainbow Dash sat up and faced her friend. “Can we maybe do something hotter next time?”

Twilight’s heart sank. She took a stealthy comforting breath to keep her smile up, a distant remnant of her days among Canterlot nobles. Really? That’s what you want? After all that, you just want me to- “Sure. You, umm, I think maybe I should leave you alone.”

Rainbow Dash blushed. “Eheh, maybe. I think I’ll try some stretches, get the blood flowing again, or fly around to cool off.”

Twilight turned and headed for the door. “You do that. I’ll see what I can do for next time.”

“Sounds great, Twilight, I look forward to it. See you around!”

Twilight had to stop from growling. “Yeah, see you next time.”

With a hop and a jump, the alicorn was off.

That was interesting. Rainbow Dash faced her trauma, she gave herself the pep talk she needed, she had a proper breakthrough.

And then she wanted me to get her off. Again.

“Dear Princess Celestia,

I’ve been thinking about getting a personal bodyguard. You wouldn’t mind if I commandeered Rainbow Dash for it, would you? After all, I have the authority for it, and she’s had the great foresight of preparing the Ponyville Weather Patrol for her absence. I’m sure word will reach of you of her progress shortly.”

Twilight’s anger rose as she went, almost unbalancing her on an updraft.

“Rainbow Dash is the perfect candidate, and I am confident she will do an excellent job protecting me in whatever functions I need to fulfill as a princess while leaving me enough space to continue my personal projects. It would also spare you the soldiers that, of course, are needed to protect Equestria as a whole.”

Twilight was shaking by the time she got back to the library. An angry scowl had set on her face and refused to fade.

“Rainbow Dash is eager for her new position. Her aspirations as a Wonderbolt are not a concern, since her main goal was fame and glory, not the mere title. She believes she’d be a greater hero dedicating herself to my protection, and I’m sure I can find ways to reward her properly. She’ll be a great bodyguard, and a great spokespony on my behalf, once’s she’s properly trained.

Rest assured, Rainbow Dash has no objections to serving me.”

Twilight descended into the basement and hit the lights, before calling over one item in her reference material she’d neglected, one which comprised a collection of stories that all covered the topic of straight mares being made into lesbian sex slaves.

Strangely, the princess hadn’t questioned why it was so easy to procure this book, or why it had come with her introductory package.

She opened the book and smirked mirthlessly.

“After all, Rainbow Dash cares about my wellbeing so very much.”

As she started reading and taking notes with a magically held quill, Twilight pondered the letter that had been forming in her head.

Hmm… come to think of it, I am a princess now. There’s Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, Princess Cadence, and now Princess Twilight Sparkle. I don’t really need to ask for permission anymore, I could just go ahead and set it up. It’s not like it’s forbidden magic or anything. My mind is still clear, I don’t feel the way I did when I tried that purple magic on myself the other day. It’s a perfectly reasonable thing to do, and I’ll be conducting research that’s actually helpful and measurable, not like my friendship reports were. It’s perfectly justifiable. Why would I have to ask for anything?

Her eyes started darting over the pages, sweet words painted the images of a predatory dominant mare and an unfortunate, unsuspecting submissive.

I think I’ll keep that letter on hold, just until I can finalise this.

Author's Note

This chapter has the most recycled stuff to date. The notion of arousal-powered magic, the paradigm shifting, the very concept that an entire form of magic is occluded by symbolism, it's all stuff I'm using in other places. I even had to check my Quorum Sensing sequel to make sure I'm not re-hashing anything entirely. Even the idea of hypnotic therapy isn't new to me: I had Rainbow Dash use hypnosis in Flight Camp, too. Heck, the whole idea of Rainbow being defined by an accident in her youth was in Flight Camp, too.

That said, I think it does stand on its own well enough. The concepts are repeated because they work, and because they are, in effect, underused. The Flight Camp sequel will have magic symbolism and mental imagery as a relevant element, but it will focus on the results for a fighter, not the standard practice of a dillettante. It'll be more focused on the images themselves, too, while here it's unknown what's being presented. The sex magic angle in the Quorum Sensing sequel (still need a better title for that one) is more of cautionary side note than the focus. The defining accident in Flight Camp was something Rainbow kept secret, but had already dealt with. In this story, she kept it a secret and she's learning to deal with it, plus the consequences in her daily life are vastly different from what they were in that other story. So this has its own place.

As for what happens next, I'll try and keep it a surprise. Suffice to say I had to delete and redo an entire scene for the next chapter. I still can't guarantee everyone will like it, obviously, but that's a risk I'll just have to take. I seem to have made a habit of doing stories that get people upset (Sleepover, Changeling Blood, Empathy), but the overall response is still positive. I don't do these things because it gets people upset, I do these things because I feel it benefits the story. It'd be a cop-out if I chickened out of doing an important scene just because I'm scared of readers disliking it.

Sorry for the delay in publishing, there's some stuff going on around the house right now. It's cut into my storywriting time as well as my editing time. Hope you enjoy, regardless, and hope that hasn't made this chapter suffer.