Curled up at Marble's feet, Twilight had never felt so calm in her life. She was content, safe, and her mind wasn't chasing up a thousand different lists of things she needed to do. None of it mattered to her mistress, and that meant it didn't matter to her.
"Twilight?" Marble asked.
Lifting her head, Twilight looked up the bed along her mistress' body, over hips, belly, and breasts, to see Marble's expression. "Yes?"
"I think we're done now. Do you understand what that means?" Marble watched Twilight's fuzzy face as the other girl blinked a few times, then her eyes widened in shock. "You're back?"
"Wow!" Twilight blinked in surprise, her mind purging the last remnants of her slave-self, though she had all the memories fully at her disposal. "Just—Just wow."
Marbles needs were sated, and all it had taken was her dominating the mind of another person and making them her personal plaything to do. One part of her wanted to just make Twilight stay that way forever, but the sensible part of Marble Pie knew that it wouldn't have lasted beyond the moment Twilight Sparkle didn't want to be her slave anymore. "Good wow, I hope?"
"Amazed wow, actually." Twilight looked around the room and spotted one of her many notepads and a pen. With her magic, both writing implements animated and started scrawling down her thoughts. "I didn't think it would work that effectively. I mean, when I broke out of it with Sunset, I figured it was all kinda fragile."
"It is. It will only work until you don't want it to. You just really wanted it to." Her belly no longer ate a hole in he, so Marble turned on the bed and then remembered she was naked. As her hands moved automatically, she mentally stopped them from attempting to preserve her modesty. There wasn't a part of her body that Twilight hadn't not only seen, but nuzzled and licked. "I-I need to go."
"Marble!" Twilight bounced to her hooves on the bed. "Marble! Do you want to, uh, do this again sometime?"
And once more Marble Pie was aware of the hunger that felt like it came from her belly, but she knew it was the thing in her head. She bit her lip and nodded. "Mmhmm."
Rather than focus her attention on Marble, Twilight floated a second pen and notepad over and started writing on that too. The second pad began filling with the chronological order of events, while yet a third began listing the benefits and disadvantages of the brain parasite—part of her kept coming back to touch on the topic like an itch she couldn't scratch enough.
It was the third pad that Twilight spent most of her focus on, to the point where the other two pens stopped while she read over her thoughts on the outward effects of the creature.
Insatiable sex drive
Modification of social behavior
Expanded memory and recall abilities
Twilight wrote two pages to describe each in a positive way, then another two to describe them in a negative way. "I can't believe I'm contemplating this," she said as she read over the twelve pages of notes. "I mean, I was planning to have a lot of sex anyway—just to experiment—what's wrong with making that more of a requirement and reap the benefits this parasite brings? We'd be more symbionts then, rather than parasite and host.
"I need to talk to Marble about this some more—" Twilight paused a moment and bit her lip, "—or I could go to the basement where she has her projects and borrow one." She shook her head just as quickly and made all the quills stop writing. "No. Talk to Marble first, then make a sound decision."
Things had been looking up for Applejack. The farm hadn't taken a huge downturn with her absence, she was getting prepared for the start of college, and the new house was most agreeable since she was sharing it with her friends.
The lack of hard work to do was something that was bothering her, which is why she found herself in the local mall shopping for garden equipment. Looking around the mall, Applejack was sure she'd have found Rarity lurking somewhere.
Spotting a garden center, Applejack felt the pull of growing plants from within. "Now that looks exactly like what I need." She got exactly two steps toward it before a hand reached onto her arm.
"Miss!"
"What 'n tarnation?" Instinct caused Applejack to reach up to her hat to ensure it was firmly on her head—the last thing she wanted was to have people crowd around her because of her pony ears.
"You have to help me."
"And me!" Another hand reached out for Applejack.
"Look, Ah'll help, but what'd you need?" It wasn't hard for her to shake loose the casual grip of the two people, but more hands replaced them. "Hey, back off a bit 'n give me some room!"
"They won't." Adagio stepped out from behind a wall to stand just across a few feet of crowd from Applejack. "You might as well follow me." Turning, she began to walk for the side door of the mall.
"Like heck I'm gonna follow you! I'll let the girls know and—" As Applejack reached for her phone, a pair of arms grabbed her from behind and tried to pull her arms backward. "Look, I don't think you realize how stupid that idea is."
Straining on the arms that were holding her, Applejack slowly used more and more strength to pull out of them until another pair of hands were added. All the fight drained out of Applejack as she saw a young girl trying to strain and pull her arms back. "Dammit."
"Please don't hurt my little sister."
The crowd parted before Applejack, and she walked toward the exit of the mall with several people behind her, keeping her arms from reaching to her pockets.
"What's she done t' y'all?" Applejack asked, trying to make sense of the situation.
"You have to do what she says."
"Please do what she says."
When Applejack made it to the exit and stepped outside, she spotted the big white-paneled van pulled up to the curb. "C'mon. You don't think I'll willin'ly climb into that van, surely? Ah don't wanna see no one hurt, but kidnapping? No way, no—" She cut off as the adults around her backed off, and nearly two dozen children started pulling and urging her forward.
"Push her harder." Adagio walked over and patted the floor inside the van. "You know what happens when little children put all their strength into doing something?"
Applejack narrowed her eyes. "Wh—"
One of the children, a young boy, tripped and fell—landing on another. Both the fallen children quietly stood back up, blood and road-rash on their hands, and resumed trying to push Applejack.
"Takes a lot to get me t' hate someone, Adagio, but yer pretty much doing everythin' right fer that. Why all this?" Applejack walked forward and climbed into the van.
Climbing in behind Applejack, Adagio made room for several children to make their way in to sit between them in the rear of the vehicle. "I know. It's delicious. As for why I'm doing this, it would be obvious to most of your friends—which is why I picked you."
The situation was a problem Applejack rarely had to contend with. Her strength would only result in more injuries that she couldn't bear, and her anger at Adagio was only going to make her stronger. "Ya picked me 'coz I'm all muscle and no brains. Adagio, Ah don't pretend I'm the most clever of our group, so you can forget using that against—"
Applejack cut short her words as Adagio's eyes began to glow a soft green. For a fraction of a second Applejack felt like there was nothing better than to just relax and do what she was told, but then her power came onto her. Banishing the magic of the siren sitting across from her, Applejack felt her body buzz with strength and potential. "In the wise words o' muh brother, 'Nope'."
Adagio Dazzle giggled and gestured expansively into the air. "I don't care! It's honestly better this way. You know how long it's been to be this challenged by something? Equestria was boring. This whole world was far more fun to take over, but now I have my magic back revenge is what I want. Revenge, little human, on you, your friends, and your entire species for daring to challenge your betters."
"Ya know, Ah'm pretty sure I like Sonata better." The moment the words were out of her mouth, Applejack felt a ton better. Adagio looked like she was ready to chew through the wall of the van. Everything seemed right.
Clamping down on her fury, Adagio only kept from yelling with the power of her magic. "Little boy?" She turned to look at one of the children. "Bend your left little finger back until it breaks."
The bottom fell out of Applejack's delight. She reached forward to grab the boy as he tried to wrench back the little finger on his right hand. "Stop! Adagio! Stop doing this! I'm doin' what you wanted!"
"There's that anger again. You see, back at your school you caught us before we had our host to protect us. You will do everything—give everything—to protect those around you. With this little beast trying to break his fingers you are restrained more firmly than any cuffs or irons I could hope for." Adagio could see the green mist gathering around Applejack, drawn out by siren magic, the essence of Applejack's anger. "Let him go and you could pummel me. Ignore all these children and you could defeat me in a moment."
With each hand wrapped around one of the boy's wrists—holding them apart—Applejack growled her annoyance. "But Ah won't do that!"
"I know, and I can already taste how much you hate me for it. Wait until we get back, Aria is going to love this." It took all of Adagio's (very) limited self-control to resist drinking away all of Applejack's anger. "If I didn't need her at my side, I'd drink you all up myself."
Applejack kept quiet the rest of the trip to wherever they were going. She focused on holding the boy's hands apart so much that she barely noticed when the van stopped and the engine turned off. She realized Adagio would want her out of the van. "Now what?"
"Welcome to my parlor." Adagio, stooped over in the back of the van, opened the side door and slipped out. "By the time you leave here, you'll be a new woman." Better than the expansive gardens of the mansion was the huge pool to one side. Adagio could almost feel the water calling to her. When Applejack didn't immediately follow, Adagio looked back into the van with some disdain. "If you don't come out now, I'll tell them all to break all their fingers. They'll do it, too. Gorgeously loyal little slaves they are."
"Ah'm comin'. If'n I agree to follow you, will you tell this'un to stop?" Applejack was clamping down as tight as she could on her anger, but the casualness of Adagio's scorn ripped at something inside her like an open wound.
"You know, I've heard so much about your word, and the truth you seem so fond of. Yes. If you give me your word you'll do what I say, I'll stop little—I've already forgotten his name… I'll make him stop." Giving her sweetest smile, Adagio Dazzle meant every word.
Taking long, deep breaths, Applejack looked into the boy's determined eyes. "Ah'll do what you say until mornin' if ya stop him from breakin' his fingers."
"Little puppet?" Adagio asked as she leaned back in the van. "Stop trying to break your fingers. You passed my test and don't need to do it anymore."
Applejack hated the sinking feeling inside almost as much as she hated to see the joy spread through the young boy's face. Her hands relaxed as he pulled his wrists free. "I hate you, Adagio."
"I know! It's wonderful! Now, come along, I've got so much to show you!" Unless Adagio was mistaken, and she was sure she wasn't, she had Applejack right where she wanted her. Time to brag and show off before closing the trap. "Follow me!"
As Applejack took her first full step after Adagio, she felt the lump of her phone in her back pocket. A spark of hope caused the anger and worry to push back, and with a slightly higher heart she followed the siren into the front door of the mansion. "Lemme guess, you just picked the biggest place in town?"
"Close. There was a larger house on the other side, but its pool was smaller. Let me show you." Adagio recognized the young woman Aria was talking to beside the pool. It caused more than a little worry just how much Aria enjoyed owning pets among the humans, but not as much as Sonata's preferences had done so. "This is the pool. We had the water drained and replaced with salt water to remind us of home. This is my little sister, Aria, you two are going to have sooo much to talk about."
Aria Blaze looked up and away from Trixie. "You actually caught one of the Rainbooms?!" Jumping to her feet, she inhaled the rich aroma of anger Applejack radiated. "Trixie, bring me more wine."
"Yes, mistress." Trixie Lulamoon smiled broadly at having yet another chance to please her owner. She turned and walked back to the bar her father kept well stocked.
The smell of flaring anger caused Aria to shiver. She turned and looked more intently at Applejack. "Is this for real? How can she be so angry and look so calm?"
Adagio, however, had noticed a slight edge leaving Applejack's darker emotions. "I don't pretend to understand how the silly beasts work, Aria, I care only that they do what they're told. This one belongs to you, now, but she's not your pet." Leaning down to get in her sister's personal space, Adagio put a little growl into her words. "Break her, wear her down, and when she finally gives in, feed from her magic and regrow your gem."
What shocked Applejack the most about the pair was that they completely ignored that she was standing right there. She looked between them as they both turned to look at her with expressions that worried her—hungry.
"You want to know the best part?" Adagio asked.
For the first time in a century, Aria felt excitement boil in her veins. She looked at her sister. "What's that?"
"She cares about them. I got her to promise to do everything we say just to stop me breaking one of their fingers. Until tomorrow morning, she'll do anything without question." Adagio smiled at Applejack. "And who knows, maybe she'll find some other reason to give up tomorrow's freedom?"