//------------------------------// // Chapter 10 // Story: Spiral Swirl's Encounter // by Juke Denton //------------------------------// A sense of dread washed over Spiral Swirl as she was passing by the spot where the flock of angry geese chased her the other day. Time seemed to stop for the unicorn as her heart started to race while several thoughts went through her head. She began to breathe a little more heavily from memories of the past until she heard a soft voice ask, “Spiral?” The voice brought the mare out of her anxiety attack and looked around until she caught a glimpse of Maddie staring at her with worry in her eyes. “I’m sorry did you say something Maddie?” Spiral asked, faking a smile while trying her best to shrug off the emotional breakdown she nearly had. “I was asking if you were okay. You looked like you were upset about something.” “Oh, it’s nothing to get yourself worried over. I was just in deep thought is all.” The mare said in a slightly unconvincing tone. “Are you sure? You can tell me what’s bothering you if you need to.” The youngest sibling replied. Finally clearing her head, Spiral looked back at the girl this time with a more genuine smile and said to her, “I’ll be fine. Don’t worry about me. Now how about our friend back there? How’s he doing?” “Let me check.” Maddie said before she turned her head to see Joey still hypnotized and following the two females as they reached the entrance to the woods and started on the path to the pond. The mindless boy kept up his walking pace despite having nothing to protect his feet from the uncomfortable path and hazards in the woods. “How do you feel Joey?” Asked the girl in a teasing tone while also adding with a sly grin, “And answer honestly.” “My feet feel sore from what I’m walking on.” The simple minded boy answered in a low manner voice. “But aside from that, I feel wonderful.” “I’m sorry to hear that Joey.” Maddie said in a tone that was more mischievous mockery than sad. “But your master commands you to keep walking until I say otherwise.” Spiral stifled a giggled for a couple of seconds, but Maddie caught her laughing and asked, “What? What’s so funny?” The unicorn recovered quickly and spoke up again. “Actually, the better method is to say, ‘Your mistress commands you’ since the term master is more related to those of his gender. “Oh, okay Spiral.” The little girl replied happily before she looked back at her brother and said to him with a smug expression, “So Joey, your mistress orders you to ignore the sore feeling in your feet and instead focus only on following and copying my movements like so.” Maddie went over to her brother and grabbed the towels he was carrying, then walked in front of him so he could see her movements. The girl began to march at a consistent pace with her arms swinging from side-to-side in a consistent rhythm as she said in a military like voice, “Step, walk! Step, walk! Step, walk! Step, walk! Say it and repeat it, Joey!” The mesmerized boy copied his sister’s movements down to the very beat as he no longer concentrated on whatever he was stepping on but instead marching in a robotic manner and swinging his arms as he chanted the mantra of, “Step, walk. Step, walk. Step, walk. Step, walk.” “Very good Joey. You can stop talking now, but keeping walking like that until we reach the swimming pond.” Ordered Maddie as she went to catch up with Spiral who had watched the whole thing play out. With a look of amusement written on her muzzle, the unicorn asked the little girl in a joking manner, “So how is our new recruit, sergeant?” Giggling at the question, Maddie responded in the same military like voice with, “He’s got potential, but needs more discipline and practice!” “Whatever you say, sergeant.” Silence soon followed, only for it to be shattered seconds later as Maddie and Spiral looked at each other with sly smiles and broke out laughing. The two soon recovered from their laugh with Spiral speaking up first. “I’m not sure if I can see you as a drill sergeant, but with how creative you can be at times, you might have what it takes to be a hypnotist.” “Really?!?” Maddie asked her teal pony friend in a cute, innocent tone. “You really mean that?” “Of course I do.” The mare said returning a warm smile. “Just commit yourself to learning the art and study of hypnosis later on, and who knows? Maybe one day you might be just as good as I am.” The rest of the walk was spent with Maddie fantasizing about being a powerful hypnotist and using the powers of hypnosis to help people with personal issues and having a fun time with it on stage shows. The girl’s daydream soon ended as the three arrived at the swimming pond. As per instructed, Joey stopped his marching within reach of the water and stood at standstill waiting to be given the next command. He didn’t have to wait long though as the sound of his sister’s voice spoke to him saying, “Joey, take these towels and lay them out over there.” Taking the towels from his younger sibling’s hands, the boy obediently laid the cloths down on the ground where the girl was pointing. After he finished the task and stood back up, he was immediately given another order with, “On second thought, fold the towels back up and place them down over there.” Complying with the instructions, the oldest sibling folded up the sheets neatly, walked over to the new location that was pointed out, and laid out the towels in the same manner previously. Just as he finished though, his sister spoke up once again with, “Hmm…actually, refold the towels and set them out to over there.” After another five minutes of messing around with Joey’s head (and laughing hysterically during that time), Maddie decided she had enough, pointed at the ground in front of her and said, “Never mind what I said about that spot. I want you to carefully put those towels together and then bring them over here and lay them out as neatly as you can.” Like every other time, the dimwitted sibling could only obey the command as he once again packed up the towels in an organized manner, walked over to the spot his sister was pointing at, placed them before her and flattened them out in the best way he could. After he finished, Maddie said to him, “You did well Joey. Now sit on the ground next to where my towel is and wait until I give you more instructions.” When the boy sat himself down next to his sister’s swimming towel, Maddie smiled to herself and said Spiral, “Would you care to sit down?” as she patted the second towel with her left hand. “I thought you’d never ask.” The unicorn said jokingly as the two females sat down and relaxed themselves. While they were enjoying the beautiful morning, Spiral looked over at the younger sibling and asked, “So I know that were playing around and messing with your brother, but, why did you make him pick up the towels over and over again all the way out here?” “Because I’ve always wanted to get back at him for all the times he’s chastised me for how I handle towels and this was the perfect way to do it. Though it’s mostly in thanks to your hypnosis of course Spiral!” The little girl said as she gave her pony companion a quick hug before settling back on her towels and laying down. A few minutes passed as Maddie continued looking up at the sky and began to feel exhausted to the point where she just wanted to fall asleep. While the unicorn was taking in the refreshing air, she noticed the younger sibling nearly slipping into slumber and suddenly got an idea and said to her, “Hey Maddie, I would like to try something out if it’s all right with you.” As the little girl turned her head towards Spiral, cracked an eye open and said, “Mmm…what is it you want to try out Spiral?” “Well, it involves hypnotizing you. I would put you in a trance and I would use you to issue orders to your brother, just for the fun of it of course.” “So you would just have me say stuff to Joey for him to obey while I’m under?” Maddie asked as she gave Spiral a pondering look in her eye. “You don’t have to be put under if you don’t want to.” The unicorn said to Maddie. “It’s just an idea that I thought would be fun to try out.” “Well since you put it that way…sure. But…” Maddie yawned a bit loudly as she sat herself up on her legs and looked at her friend with tired eyes before continuing with, “…could you hypnotize me quickly? I’m already sleepy as it is.” “Sure thing!” Spiral answered back as she drew out her pocket watch with her magic and hung it in front of the human girl’s eye. Before she started the session, she asked Maddie, “Do you have any requests while you’re entranced? “Well…” Maddie began before giving another yawn. “…after you’re done with your idea, could you let me sleep for a while?” “Of course. Now if you’re ready, just gaze at the watch.” Spiral began her hypnotic induction as her magic swung the golden pocket watch to and fro in front of Maddie’s drowsy eyes. The girl was instantly drawn to the watch as her eyes followed the swinging rhythm of the watch. “Watch…stare…gaze…let your eyes follow the watch. Nothing else matters except watching the watch and listening to my voice.” Blocking out everything else, Maddie kept her sight glued to the swinging object and grew more and more somnolent with every sway. “I know how sleepy you are. I can see in your tired eyes that all you want to do is sleep. So now, when I count backwards from five, you’ll fall into a deep, hypnotic slumber. 5…Letting yourself relax. 4… Feeling more tired than ever before. 3…Growing ever so closer to falling asleep. 2…Getting very, very sleepy. 1…Nearly there and ready to take a pleasant trip down slumber lane. And…sleep!” Right on cue, Maddie shut her weary eyes and drifted off into a hypnotized sleep. Using her magic, Spiral put her pocket watch back in her saddlebag, went over to Maddie’s sleeping form and said to her, “Maddie, can you hear me?” “Yes, mistress.” The youngest sibling responded in a sound asleep tone. “That’s good. I want you to sit up and look at your brother and when I finish this sentence, you will repeat everything I say loud and clear until I tell you to stop. Got it?” “Yes, mistress.” The hypnotized Maddie replied as she sat up straight and stared at Joey with her own black and white spiraling eyes. Spiral cleared her throat and began her little game. “Joey, lay yourself down on the ground and sleep!” Maddie’s ears took in what Spiral said and repeated the same sentence flawlessly. “Joey, lay yourself down on the ground and sleep!” Hearing his sister’s voice register in his empty head, Joey did what he was commanded and laid down on his back. Spiral spent the next minute thinking of another command for Maddie to issue to Joey. Finally getting a creative one, the pony said, “Joey, the next time I say ‘up’, you will stand up straight and tall and begin marching forward in the same fashion you did earlier!” After absorbing the unicorn’s words, Maddie’s lips copied Spiral’s sentence as she repeated, “Joey, the next time I say ‘up’, you will stand up straight and tall and begin marching forward in the same fashion you did earlier!” After she let the order sink in, Spiral spoke up once more and said, “Also while you’re marching, whenever I say ‘left’ or ‘right’, you will change in that direction by 90 degrees. Now…up!” “Also while you’re marching, whenever I say ‘left’ or ‘right’, you will change in that direction by 90 degrees. Now…up!” Maddie spoke, repeating Spiral’s phrase as the sleeping Joey stood up as straight and tall as he could and began marching himself forward with his arms swinging forward and backward in alternating patterns. As the boy began marching, Spiral was about to start chuckling until she realized that Joey was about to march right into the swimming pond and quickly shouted, “Left!” with the youngest sibling shouting, “Left!” in the process. Hearing the command, the steadfast Joey turned to the left just as he was about to reach the edge where the pond was and continued his march. He was approaching a tree rapidly, until his sister’s voice rang through his ears with, “Left!” and once again spun another 90 degrees. Spiral began laughing to herself in sheer amusement at the sight of the parading Joey taking orders from his sister who in turn was taking orders from her. She then issued the next set of marching instructions with, “Left! Right! Left! Right! Right! Left! Right! Left! Left!” When Maddie heard the set of directions, she repeated them in precise order as the clockwork boy went in a zig-zag formation with Spiral laughing a bit harder. ‘I can’t believe I never thought of doing this before. Maybe I should do something like this again soon, but only in good fun of course.’ The mare spoke in her head. After a couple more minutes of issuing marching orders, Spiral began to get tired of the oldest sibling walking around and shouted, “Halt!” Maddie repeated the phrase back to her brother, with the boy stopping on a dime. A mischievous idea came to Spiral as she said, “Go sit back down on the ground next to my towel!” With Maddie relaying the command to her brother, the hypnotized sibling went back to where he sat earlier and awaited more orders to come from his sister’s voice. Giving a small chuckle to herself, Spiral then spoke up with, “Joey, I command you to wake up!” “Joey, I command you to wake up!” The youngest sibling reiterating the unicorn’s order as the brother’s eyes returned to normal and awakened from his sister’s control. When he finally came to, the first thing Joey noticed was the change in his surroundings and asked, “What am I doing at the swimming pond? Wasn’t I in the bedroom?” “Ahh…finally awake I see.” Spiral said surprising and catching Joey off guard as the boy turned his head to see the pony sitting next to his sister with the latter saying the same sentence. “Ah! Spiral, Maddie I didn’t see you guys. Though what are we doing here at the swimming pond? I thought we were in the bedroom with Maddie wanting to…” Just then a realization hit the boy. “…use her…reward on…me. I’ve been in a trance this whole time haven’t I?” “Quite perceptive of yourself Joey.” Spiral replied to his question with the little girl repeating the same thing. Hearing his sister repeat what the unicorn said only raised more questions for the eldest child as he asked the mare, “Why is Maddie repeating everything you say?” Just then, he noticed black and white spirals going through her eyes. But before he could ask any more questions, Spiral spoke first and said, “We were just trying out a game I thought would be fun to play where she mimics everything I say and she decided to go along with it.” Maddie of course said the exact same as the teal pony did. “I see, but that still doesn’t explain why we are all the way out here and not back at the house. Also, where are my shoes? I can’t seem to find them anywhere around here.” Deciding to move on with her game of amusement, Spiral got out her pocket watch with her magic and said in a playful, mocking tone, “Oh! Would you look at that? It seems that hypno playtime isn’t quite over yet.” Joey was about to question what the doctor meant by what she said, until he heard his sister parrot the trigger phrase and immediately ceased all thoughts and actions. An eruption of black and white spirals overtook his eyes as his mind filled itself up with a dose of relaxation and submission. Before continuing on, Spiral wanted to give one more command to the boy through the girl. “Joey, when you awaken from this trance, in addition to not remembering what you’ve done while hypnotized, you will also forget what happened while you were awake at the pond just now. Now, when you’ve processed the command, lay down on the towel next to me and fall asleep.” After Maddie relayed the message to her brother, the oldest sibling laid himself down, closed his spiraling eyes and went to sleep. Spiral then concentrated on the younger child and said to her, “You may stop repeating everything I say now Maddie. I’ve had my fun so now, as I promised, you can take a nap. So sink into a nice relaxing sleep and let yourself sail away to dreamland where you can dream whatever you want. When I tell you to wake up, you’ll break free of this trance and feel restored and content. But for now, just lay yourself comfortably on the towel and just…sleep.” Complying with the doctor’s orders, Maddie positioned herself on her towel, closed her eyes and descended into a hypnotic rest where nothing in the world could compare to the pleasant sleep she was having. Smiling warmly to herself, Spiral then whispered in the girl’s ear, “Sweet dreams, Maddie.” Seeing that nothing could bother the children in their hypnotic induced sleep, the unicorn decided to go bird gazing in another part of the woods and return to the siblings when she was done. ‘This could be my chance of finding some exotic birds of this world and hopefully I won’t run into any angry swarms of geese this time around.’ Spiral thought to herself as she shook at the mere thought of being chased again by vicious water fowl. Taking one more look at the sleeping forms of Maddie and Joey, the mare ventured into a deeper part of the forest.