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 Notes:

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.