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 Notes:

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.