When Tuesday came around, Silver Rose found herself standing in the courtyard at home, wearing a simple white t-shirt, a purple plaid skirt and black slippers. She had been instructed not to wear any panties or socks and Silver could only guess why. Thankfully, there were no strangers at home. Right? She didn’t know how her mother was going to help her get used to the smells.

Not too long later, her mother had walked in, dressed in a long black dress and she had a big smile on her face.

That can’t be a good smile…

From within the folds of her dress, Ebony Wings drew out an assortment of vials and bottles, which she set down neatly in a row on a table.

“What are these, mother?” Silver asked as Ebony placed the last bottle down.

“Pheromones,” Ebony said simply. “They’re meant to simulate human emotions.”

“You have things that can do that, mother?” Silver widened her eyes, staring at the contents of the vials and bottles. “How do you make them?”

Ebony flourished the sleeve of her dress. “Why, with alchemy, of course. You and I both know that with sufficient alchemy, almost anything is possible.”

Silver nodded. That was true. Somehow, alchemy could be used to even make sure you can’t give birth, or the other way around. That sounded really odd.

“So… what are we doing?” Silver looked up at her mother.

“Well, we are going to expose you to various pheromones to build up your defense to it. Kind of like a vaccination, with smaller doses.”

“So, shall we begin, mother?”

“Certainly,” Ebony Wings’ fingers slipped over the tops of the bottles and vials, settling on a glass phial of yellow liquid. “Let’s start with something easy. Pride and ambition. A positive.”

Pride and ambition weren’t too bad for the girl, but increased amounts of it have proved uncomfortable. An example would be yesterday’s stomachaches and need to throw up.

“I’m ready, mother…” Silver took a deep breath.

“Very well,” Ebony Wings raised the phial and uncorked it. Almost immediately, a smell akin to a weaker odor of Cinch’s office filled the air.

“Mmph, it smells…” Silver wanted to pinch her nose, but she resisted the urge to do so. She needed to get used to it, to tune it out like her mother and aunt did.

Silver took a deep breath, but instantly regretted doing so. She gagged and coughed, almost falling to her knees as the smell invaded her nostrils and her mouth.

“Fight it, Silver,” her mother said urgently. “Get used to it.”

Silver tried. She really did, but in the end, the smell proved too much for her and she began coughing again.

She looked up at her mother, who didn’t even look affected by the smell. She knew she had to keep it up. Her mother would be disappointed if she couldn’t.

Trying again, Silver tried to keep herself composed, filling her mind with happy thoughts. She pictured herself giving Sunny Flare a good hook across the face and that made her smile.

“Yes, that’s right,” Ebony grinned and placed a hand on a palm. “Use your other emotions to cloud the bad taste.”

Silver kept it up, and after a few minutes, she found that ambition and pride no longer smelt as bad, but they were still pretty bad.

Finally, Ebony stoppered the vial and placed it back on the table.

“Phew…” Silver inhaled deeply as the smell began to die off. “I think I’m getting the hang of it, mother.”

“Well done, Silver,” her mother said. Next, she picked up a round vial and opened it.

Silver immediately noticed a bland smell fill the air. It wasn’t particularly bad, nor was it good, but it wasn’t exactly pleasant too.

Ebony Wings saw the confusion in Silver’s face and laughed. “Why, this is indifference, Silver. Boredom, really. The taste is as boring as the emotion. Not good, but not bad. I see you can handle it quite well.”

“Yes, mother.” Silver found it was just like fish. It wasn’t all that nice of a smell, but it was endurable. “It’s not so bad.”

“Then on with the next one.” She stoppered the bottle and grabbed a triangular one. “This one is deceit, the smell of liars and thieves.”

When she popped the cap open, Silver began to smell something bad. It wasn’t overpowering like pride and ambition, but it still tasted pretty bad, kind of like a stale piece of bread, and Silver had tried that before.

Once again, Silver found herself wanting to run away, but she kept her feet firmly on the ground, fighting through the smell. At least she wasn’t coughing violently like with ambition. The girl concentrated on happy thoughts again, this time picturing herself dunking a basketball over Sunny’s head.

That’s right! Beat her at her own game!

She felt the smell of deceit begin to tone down as a barrier of happiness appeared around her.

“Not bad, but remember…” Her mother wagged a finger. “You won’t always be able to think of happy thoughts to protect yourself.” Then she closed the bottle.

Silver sniffed the air again and smiled. After all those terrible smells, fresh air was something to be treasured, at least until the next bottle.

“The next one is something a little strong,” Ebony said as she picked it up. The bottle’s contents had a dark red tinge to it, looking a little like blood. “You might be tempted to gain the same emotions yourself, but control yourself. Do not let it consume you.”

Ebony Wings unstoppered the bottle, allowing its fragrance to waft out into the open air. Silver breathed in deep, her mouth filling with a warm, spicy taste that left a slight burning feeling in her nose.

Silver lifted a hand to hold her nose, trying to counter the pain.

“Ah!” she gasped, falling back a step and closing her eyes. “It-it burns, mother.”

“Control yourself…” Ebony said quietly, leaning up against her daughter. “Don’t let it consume you.”

“I’m trying,” Silver said through gritted teeth. She had to restrain herself from snapping at her mother; the smell and taste were just too intense for her to keep a cool mind.

“That’s it…” Ebony whispered. “Ignore the scent. Focus yourself. Don’t let it take control.”

Silver’s breathing began to grow heavier, sweat beading on her brow and her fangs slowly easing out into view.

“Ah-ah, you’ll need to do better than that…”

Silver Rose clamped her mouth shut and closed her eyes.

I mustn’t give in… I have to stay strong.

After a few more moments, her fangs began to retract and the spiciness mellowed to a more manageable level.

“Hmm… Impressive…” Ebony rubbed her chin and gave her daughter’s head a pat. “Anger isn’t an easy emotion to get over and yet, you’ve cleared it faster and better than the last few. Well done, Silver.”

She recorked the bottle and patted Silver on the head again.

“Now let’s try something stronger.”

Ebony selected a phial filled with a black liquid, giving it a little shake before unscrewing the lid.

“Umm… what is this one, mother?” Silver looked warily at the black liquid. “It looks nasty.”

“This is hatred. It’s a more… heated version of anger, but seeing as you can handle anger quite well, I think you’ll manage with this one. But… if you do get impatient with me, it’s alright for today. I can’t blame you for it.”

Then she unstopped the black vial and held it out to Silver’s nose.

If the girl were to compare it to anything, this vial was like chili. The first one was a pretty spicy one, but manageable once she got the hang of it. This one was much spicier than the first, blinding the girl slightly.

“Gah, hot! Hot!” Silver fanned herself and stuck her tongue out. “It’s too hot!”

“Keep going, Silver. Focus and stay strong.”

“I am!” Silver yelled. “I’m trying so hard, but it’s burning my nose and mouth! And it tastes horrible!”

“Calm down, Silver, the hatred is affecting you. Fight it. Fight the burn,” her mother cheered.

The initial burning sensation gradually subsided, leaving a nasty taste in Silver’s mouth. It tasted just as bad as the vial made it look, as if she were smelling and chewing on tar. Her mother was right. These things were bad and they did make her angry. They were dangerous emotions to feed off on.

You can do this, Silver…

Breathing through her mouth, Silver Rose looked at the phial, then back to herself. The taste was acrid, and managed to be both sour and sickeningly sweet, like fermenting garbage. It was almost as bad as Cinch’s office, though in a completely different way. She still felt the pain in her nose and mouth, but at least, by now, it had toned down slightly.

The girl took a deep breath again, wincing as the smell began to burn at her insides, then exhaled. After the fourth exhale, she felt herself begin to calm down, the burning fading to a mild spiciness.

“I’m sorry I yelled at you, mother,” Silver apologized when her mind began to clear.

“I told you, just this once, it’s okay.” Ebony wrapped her arms around Silver, which was very rare and abnormal. Silver Rose couldn’t even remember the last time her mother had given her a hug. “You did well, Silver. I think that’s enough of hatred for one day.”

She put the cap back on and placed the bottle of hatred back on the table. Silver looked to the end of it. There was just one last vial left and she knew exactly what was remaining. It was the reason she wasn’t wearing any underwear down below, after all.

Lust. It’s contents were of a light purple, almost pink, but not yet. Silver watched as they swirled around within the vial as her mother picked it up and walked over.

“Good work, Silver. You’ve cleared all the negative emotions.” She tapped a nail against the glass. “Now, lust isn’t a bad emotion, but in a way, it could be bad. You know what I mean, seeing as you’ve experienced it yourself. It perhaps isn’t as easy to master as the other emotions, but at least it doesn’t smell bad. In fact, it smells really good.”

“Yes, mother,” the young changeling nodded. Perhaps it smelt too good. Pleasurable, even.

“Now, this one’s going to be quite strong.” Ebony put her fingers on the cap. “You might feel like you need to relief the pleasure, let’s say that. That’s fine, seeing as you’re new to this, so I won’t get mad at you if you start touching yourself, but try your best, daughter.”

“Oh, um… Okay. I’ll give it a shot, mother.” Silver’s cheeks turned red. “I’m… I’m ready.”

“Then let us begin your final test…” Ebony pulled up, releasing one of the most powerful scents Silver had ever smelt, into the air. Free from its prison, the smell wafted all around the courtyard, making Silver gasp and Ebony smile.

There it is again… Silver recognized the smell immediately. It was the same sweet scent from school, albeit weaker here. The moment the scent hit her nose, Silver was overcome with a heady, dizzying feeling, as well as a slight tingle between her legs. The flavor, so sweet, so tempting that she opened her mouth for a better taste of it.

Then she saw her mother watching her from the side and shut her mouth. Ebony Wings folded her arms, but said nothing, keeping her eyes on her daughter. Feeling her mother’s stare, Silver meekly ducked her head and went back to focusing on not smelling the lust.

It was a valiant, if ill-fated attempt. The cloying, sweet scent wound its way into Silver’s every opening and did its best to knock down her defenses. It was all the girl could do not to open herself to the bottle’s contents. She stood there, legs pressed together and shivering slightly.

Ebony Wings circled around her daughter, taking in every detail. She licked her lips, already absorbing the lustful aura that Silver was giving off.

“Yes… yes…” Ebony whispered, drawing in more and more emotion, feeling its power surge through her system. “Now, remember what I said. You’ll find that happy thoughts are no good on lust. You’ll need to try something different.”

Is she telling me to think unhappy thoughts?

Silver closed her eyes and tried recalling a less-than-pleasant moment. Unfortunately, those were few and far between, owing to her rather sheltered upbringing. She recalled the memory of her shoes being stolen, but it didn’t help. The feeling was just too good. She began panting, her face going red and her breathing shaky.

Silver fell to her knees, one hand already instinctively snaking under her skirt, looking for the source of the heat. Just as her hand touched the now moist skin below, her mother was instantly by her side, pulling her hand up from under her skirt.

“Hmm,” Ebony said, half to herself. “I think that’s enough for today.” She put the lid back on the vial.

“Wait, I can still do this, mother…” Silver panted, a part of her still wanted to inhale the lust potion. She wanted to feel good. “Just… give me more time. You told me I was allowed to, um, touch…”

“Yes, I did, but now that I think about it, it would just be awkward for everyone involved.”

“Oh…” Silver looked at her fingers, which had slightly sticky liquid on it. “How-how did I do?”

“I didn’t expect perfection on your first day,” Ebony said, edging closer to her daughter. But you seem to be doing well in the negative emotion department, which is good. You’re far more likely to encounter those in the world.”

Ebony Wings strode up to Silver Rose, and without preamble, put her fingers up the girl’s skirt, then licked the juices off them.

“Mother!” Silver scurried back, shock and embarrassment on her face.

“Not bad, this liquid love. We’re done for today. I’d advise you to take a shower and get ready for dinner.”

Her piece spoken, Ebony Wings scooped up the various bottle and vials and disappeared into the house, leaving her daughter standing there, her flushed face glowing with embarrassment.