As the family was eating helpings of meatloaf and mashed potatoes (with Spiral helping herself to carrots from the refrigerator), the unicorn explained how she just woke up in the middle of nowhere and came across Maddie and Joey. Everyone at the table listened intently to the pony's story and couldn't help but feel sorry for her predicament.
After Spiral finished her story, the mother feeling the most remorse spoke up first. "I can't imagine a poor soul like you being taken from your home world and fending for yourself with no one to turn for help. You're certainly more than welcome to stay here. There's a guest room upstairs you can use."
"Thank you. All of you." The pony said with gratitude as she bit into a carrot while also saying in her mind, ‘My very helpful slaves.’ She took another bite of her carrot before saying, "You know, when I first arrived in this strange, unknown, land, I was afraid of having to survive on my own. But ever since I met Maddie and Joey, they've filled me with a newfound sense of hope." The unicorn then looked up and directed her attention at the two children. "And for that, I'll always be grateful."
"You’re welcome Spiral!" Joey said. "We'll always be here for you!"
The unicorn’s heart soften up at what the oldest child said, but put it to rest quickly and said to the family, "Well, I've told you all about my predicament, but perhaps maybe we could move on to something more positive? I'd like to hear about stuff from this world."
"Sure thing!" The father replied. "After we clean up the table and put everything away, we can take this conversation back to the living room."
The pony nodded in agreement, finished the rest of her dinner, and decided to help clean up the table.
The rest of the evening was spent with the father and mother telling Spiral everything they knew about Earth and answered some of her questions from time to time. Wanting to take this knowledge back with her (if she found a way to return home), the mare took notes of everything the children's parents said in her notebook. During the discussion, the parent’s asked about what the world was like where Spiral came from. She gladly explained how things worked over in Equestria, all the different races that existed and other miscellaneous topics. Maddie and Joey sat and listened the entire time; sometimes tuning in to the topics, while other times zoning out from sheer boredom.
When it came time to send the children off to bed, the unicorn decided to call it a night as well. The mother showed Spiral the room she would stay in and gave her an unused toothbrush, bottle of toothpaste, and hairbrush. When the pony got to the bathroom, she noticed that the sink was too high for her to reach, so the mother brought a step stool for her to use.
After brushing her teeth and thanking the mother for everything, the teal-colored mare made her way to the guest room. The room was comprised of a single bed with two layers of sheets, a bedside table with a lamp, a writing desk with a chair, and an overhead fan.
As she was about to get under the covers, Spiral heard a small knock on her door.
"Who is it?" Spiral asked casually.
The guest room door opened to reveal Maddie and Joey, all dressed up in their night pajamas. Spiral smiled at the children and said, "Ahh...Maddie, Joey, come in! What can I do for you?"
The little girl and boy went up and embraced the pony.
"We just came to give you a good night hug!” Maddie said with Joey adding, “And to say, thanks for accepting our hospitality!"
The unicorn mare returned the hug and nuzzled the children’s arms in affection. The youngest sibling giggled with delight before her and Joey broke the hug. Just as the two were about to get up and leave, an idea crossed Spiral’s mind as she ask the kids, “Maddie, Joey?”
“Yes, Spiral?” Joey asked as he and his sister gave the unicorn their attention.
Spiral used her magic to shut the door; garnering a strange look from the boy.
“Umm…why did you shut the door?”
“Because…” Spiral giggled playfully. “…It’s Trance Time.”
As soon as the trigger was said, Maddie and Joey’s eyes immediately burst with black and white spirals and their freedom to think had diminished, as now, they only waited to be given orders from their mistress. The unicorn found it amusing that the children had their mouths wide open from the gasp they gave right as they were put back under her spell.
“Close your mouths children, we are not a codfish.” Spiral said in a commanding yet playful manner.
The two entranced children obeyed as they continued to stare at the hypnotic doctor and awaited further instructions.
The unicorn then cleared her throat and said, “Maddie and Joey, both of you have done very well in giving me a place to stay while I’m here. And for that, I shall reward the two of you with the command I’m about to give you, so listen carefully…”
Right before Spiral could say anything else, the sound of the children’s mother shouted in the hall with a loud, “MADDIE! JOEY! IT’S TIME FOR BED!”
The unicorn cursed herself at the mother nearly interrupting what she was doing. The two children heard the yelling ring through their ears, but luckily, the kids were in a deep enough state of hypnosis that the shouting barely registered in their minds. Thinking quickly, Spiral looked at the boy and ordered him with, “Joey, shout back to your mother in a normal tone, ‘Maddie and I are saying goodnight to Spiral. Just give us five minutes.’”
Joey did just what the doctor ordered and shouted back to the mother with, “MADDIE AND I ARE SAYING GOODNIGHT TO SPIRAL! JUST GIVE US FIVE MINUTES!”
The mother’s voice returned again with, “ALRIGHT! BUT REMEMBER, FIVE MINUTES AND THEN IT’S LIGHTS OUT!”
Satisfied with an incident avoided, Spiral concentrated back on what she was about to implant in Maddie and Joey’s minds.
“Very well done Joey. Now that that’s taken care of, let’s get back to what I was about to do before I was rudely interrupted.” The unicorn readjusted herself before continuing on. “Maddie. Joey. You’re both listening closely to what I’m about to say, right?”
“Yes, mistress.” The obediently sound children responded with their ears wide open to the sound of Spiral’s commands.
“Good, then listen very carefully. When the two of you go to bed tonight, you will both enter the best sleep you’ve ever had and have the best dreams about the three of us playing together. And when you wake up the next morning, the both of you will feel refreshed and energized. Understand?”
“Yes, mistress.” The children responded as the suggestion took root in the back of their minds.
The pony gave a satisfying smile as she added, “I may be your mistress, but that doesn’t mean that I’m not one without rewarding my subjects who’ve helped me in a desperate time. I’ll always be grateful for what you’ve done for me. But at the end of the day, I’m still your mistress and you two are still my hypnotized slaves where I’m in control. Are we clear?”
The two siblings waited until Spiral finished her statement before answering with the usual monotone-like, “Yes, mistress.”
“Very good. Now listen up, when I count from three to one, the two of you will wake up from your trances. But when you do, you will not remember entering a trance, what you’ve done during your entranced state or even me saying your trigger. Instead you’ll think that we’ve spent the last few minutes discussing the fun the three of us had today. But the command I gave you earlier will still remain in effect. Got it?”
As if on cue, the hypnotized Maddie and Joey said the usual, “Yes, mistress.”
“3…2…1…Awaken!”
The spirals left the children’s eyes as they awoke from Spiral’s spell. Before any of them could say anything, the teal unicorn said, “Well as much fun as today was, it’s probably time to head off to bed.”
The littlest sibling responded with an, “Aww…”, but the pony simply smiled back and said, “Don’t worry we can have more fun tomorrow. I promise.”
The oldest sibling then got up with his sister and said, "We’ll hold you to that. Come on Maddie let’s head to bed before Mom throws a fit. Have a good night Spiral. See you tomorrow."
“Good night children and sweet dreams." Spiral said while internally chuckling at the thought of the dreams they would have tonight.
The dark-skinned girl and boy waved good night to the pony as they went back to their room. After closing the door with her magic, Spiral got herself situated in her bed and looked through her notebook to reread what she wrote down earlier in the evening.
‘This place sure has a lot of differences from Equestria, but it certainly has its fair share of benefits.’
When she was done reading, Spiral put her notebook back in her saddlebag, and thought back to the events of the day.
‘Those two children are so easy to manipulate and fun to hypnotize. They surely know how to give me plenty of entertainment while I’m here. After all, who knows how long I’ll be staying here for? This house they’re letting me stay in will be sufficient for the time being and with those triggers I gave them and the parents, I have them right under my hoof.’
As she was reminiscing though, she couldn’t help but feel a bit guilty about taking advantage of the family with her hypnotic powers and pondered if maybe perhaps they were more than just mere subjects to control for her amusement. But she put that thought aside as she closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep as one last thought went through her mind.
‘Tomorrow will be another fun filled day with those two children and more hypnotic playtime…’