Spiral Swirl's Encounter

by Juke Denton

Chapter 17

Stacy’s eyes fluttered open to reveal that they had returned to normal as she gave a rather loud yawn.

“So Stacy, how do you feel?” The unicorn hypnotist asked with a friendly smile.

“I...I feel...”

The girl’s mind hadn’t completely woken up yet and took a moment for her to register the question. Spiral and the other children could only wait in anticipation for her answer.

“I feel wonderful!” Stacy replied with a newly awakened confidence she hadn’t felt before. Maddie immediately went over and hugged her friend to show how happy she was. Spiral and Joey both gave a quick chuckle at the heartwarming sight.

After breaking the hug, Maddie asked, “So Stacy, what is it YOU want to do now?”

“Well, I’m definitely up for having a sleepover with you tonight!” Stacy answered without feeling any anxiety coming over her. “But are you sure it’s okay with your mom if I stay over for the night?”

“Well it wouldn’t hurt to ask. Let’s go see!” Said Maddie as both girls headed downstairs, leaving Spiral and Joey alone in the bedroom.

Silence filled the room as the boy and pony were both in deep thought, until the latter spoke up and asked, “So anything you want to discuss Joey?”

The unicorn’s voice broke Joey’s train of thought and asked back, “About what?”

“Oh, I don’t know. Anything’s fine with me.” Spiral said shrugging.

“Well...there is something I am curious about.” The boy said climbing off his bed and sitting next to the unicorn. “You don’t have to answer this if it makes you uncomfortable. But...exactly how would you have enslaved the whole family?”

The hypnotist was taken back at the child’s morbid curiosity and asked, “Umm...not to sound rude Joey, but why in Equestria are you asking about something that I promised never to do against you or your family’s will?”

“I’m just curious how you would’ve done it and what you would’ve done with us after. I’m not saying you should, I just want to know is all. But if you don’t want to answer, I understand.”

Spiral took in a deep breath in before letting it out slowly and asking, “If I tell you, do you promise that you won’t be angry with me?”

Joey looked at the unicorn solemnly, shook his head in a “Yes” fashion and said, “You have my word that I won’t be angry.”

“Very well then. When I first hypnotized you and Maddie at the pond, I implanted a post-hypnotic trigger into both your minds to where if I say or write out a certain phrase, and only I, the two of you would immediately fall right back into an entranced state. Then when I used my Hypno Magic on your parents, I did the same thing with them after I used the trigger words on you and Maddie so you wouldn’t know.”

Joey raised an eyebrow but said nothing as Spiral kept talking.

“I originally intended to let all of you keep your free will intact for a few days so I could learn about this place and how to survive in it. I then would’ve used the trigger to have you all under my control again, but with the command of never being able to wake up from trance. To avoid suspicion, I would’ve ordered your parents to act like their natural selves while I would’ve asked you and Maddie to bring over any friends so I could implant the same trigger in their minds as well.”

Joey stopped Spiral for a moment and asked, “Did you do the same thing to Stacy?”

“Of course not!” Spiral replied immediately. “I only used my Hypno Magic to send her into a pleasant trance the first time and then to help her overcome her anxiety the second.”

“Just making sure.” Said the boy. “So is there more or is that it?”

“I had contemplated whether or not to expand my control to the entire population, or just to your family and friends. But, if I had gone with the first option, I would’ve had over one person at a time and implanted the suggestion to have them invite another friend of theirs over to have them endure the same treatment.”

As Spiral revealed her original plan, Joey felt a bit uneasy at the thought of an entire human population being under the control of a unicorn from another world.

“But I’m passed that now. As I said, it was wrong of me to take advantage of you and your family when all of you have done nothing but help me and let me stay here.”

Joey was digesting everything Spiral before asking her, “Do Mom, Dad, Maddie and me still have those triggers you gave us?”

The teal pony felt nervous about how to answer that question, but decided to be straightforward and said, “Yes. But if you want, I will gladly remove the trigger from your mind as well as the rest of your family, if it makes you happy.”

The child turned his head away and thought about it for a moment. The unicorn simply stayed put and didn’t dare ask him anything while he was thinking.

Joey soon returned his attention to Spiral and said, “Well I certainly do expect you to speak to Maddie about it. I don’t know how Mom and Dad will react if you just straight up told them. Maybe removing it discreetly would be best. I’ll leave that up to you. As for me...”

The child was quiet for a moment before he gave the mare a surprising smile.

“...you know what? I think I’d like to keep the hypnotizing trigger you gave me.”

Spiral was absolutely stunned at the boy’s decision and needed to be sure she heard him right.

“Really?!? You still want to keep it even after I promised myself never to enslave you, your family, or your friends against their will?”

“Yep!”

“But why? I don’t understand.” The pony said feeling confused.

“I think it might be fun to have a surprise hypnosis session every now and then with you using it and besides, you yourself promised that you wouldn’t abuse your powers over us for what you originally had planned.”

“But...but...” Spiral said looking nervous and began to sweat slightly. “It wouldn’t be any trouble at all, really! Just say the word and I can have it removed in less than a minute!”

“Spiral.” Joey said placing a comforting hand on his friend unicorn’s shoulder. “I understand if you’re wanting to do it because you want to make up for your mistakes. But I’ve seen firsthand how you’ve used your hypnosis talents to help someone overcome an emotional issue they’ve dealt with for years. You’re trustworthy enough and I know deep down you’re a good pony. But please, if I want to keep a post-hypnotic trigger you’ve given me, will you respect my decision?”

Joey’s words took awhile for Spiral to digest, but she eventually accepted his decision and said with a warm smile, “Very well Joey. If you want to keep it then I won’t argue. But be warned, I might have a few surprise sessions planned later on, just for you.” Ending the sentence with a mischievous tone in her voice.

The two shared a playful chuckle, until a thought crossed the unicorn’s mind and asked the boy, “Something just occurred to me Joey. I’ve never gotten the chance to ask you or Maddie this but, why is it you like hypnosis so much and what got you interested in it in the first place?”

“You know, now that you bring it up, I’m surprised that we haven’t even told you yet. But I think the best way to explain it would be to show you later. Would you be able to wait a little while, at least until later tonight?”

As much as Spiral wanted to hear the answer now, she decided to be patient and said, “Okay, I can wait.”

Joey then returned to sitting on his bed, reading a comic book. A short while later, Maddie and Stacy returned to the bedroom, with Joey asking first, “So what’s Mom decision? Is she okay with Stacy staying the night?”

“Yep!” Maddie answered cheerfully with Stacy adding, “I spoke to my Mom, over the phone as well, and said she’s okay with it! She’ll swing by shortly and drop off my toothbrush, toothpaste, pajamas, and sleeping blanket.”

“And you weren’t anxious at all when you asked her?” Spiral asked curiously.

“Nope! In fact, I felt absolutely happy when I asked her!” Maddie’s friend stated as she went to hug the teal unicorn. “All I can say is, thank you Spiral! I honestly don’t know what I would’ve done if I hadn’t met you!”

“Well I’m certainly glad to be of help.” The mare said, feeling proud of using her abilities to help someone with their emotional struggles. Just then a dull pain started to throb in the pony’s head as she scrunched her face at the discomforting sensation.

“Spiral, are you alright?” Stacy asked quickly breaking the hug.

“Yeah, I’m fine.” Spiral replied reassuringly feeling the throbbing leave and returning to normal. “I think that last session took a lot out of me. But other than that, it’s nothing.”

“So what do you want to do before your Mom gets here?” Maddie asked her friend.

“Well...I have a fun idea. But it involves you and Spiral.”

“Oh! And what fun idea do you have in mind?” Spiral asked wondering what Maddie’s friend had in store. Stacy then gestured a “come here” to her friend, which Maddie did. The former, sitting between the dark-skinned girl and the teal-colored pony, put a hand up to cover part of her mouth and began to whisper in each ear.

Maddie giggled mischievously at the whispered suggestion and said, “I’ve actually got you covered. Just a moment. Hey Joey, could you come over here?”

The brother went over to sit next to the two girls and unicorn and asked, “Yes Maddie?”

Maddie was having a hard time trying not to giggle, but managed to get her bearings and said, “It’s time for some more Hypno Playtime.”

Right on cue, the boy’s mind switched over to obedience mode and the ever familiar swirling spirals flooded his eyes, signifying Maddie’s control over him once again.

“What just happened?” Stacy asked with confusion written all over her face.

“He’s hypnotized of course!” Maddie answered while giggling.

“But how? Spiral didn’t even use her pocket watch on him.”

“Perhaps I can answer that for you.” The unicorn said garnering Stacy’s attention. After explaining how post-hypnotic suggestions worked and how she implanted the trigger words into the boy’s subconscious, Maddie’s friend was marveled.

“So every time you say, ‘Hypno Playtime’ he does whatever you tell him to do?”

“Yep! Just watch.” Maddie said before turning her attention to her brother and saying, “Okay Joey, act like a chicken!”

At the command of hearing what Maddie said, Joey immediately tucked his arms, flapped wildly, and clucked sporadically. The two girls laughed hysterically at the sight of Joey mindlessly making a fool of himself (with even Spiral silently chuckling as well).

After having a good laugh, Stacy asked, “Would it be alright if I had some fun with him? You know, let me give him some commands?”

“Sure! Ahem...Joey stop acting like a chicken and listen up! You will obey whatever Stacy tells you to do, the same way you do for me, until you awaken from this trance!” Maddie said before sitting herself away to give Stacy some room to play with her hypnotized brother and saying, “Okay he all yours!”

“Thanks Maddie!” Said Stacy before turning her attention to the oldest sibling and saying, “Joey, if you can hear me, tell me what your most embarrassing moment is.”

“My performance at the school talent show where I performed a dance routine and messed up in front of the crowd.” The droned-tone Joey said. Under normal circumstances he would never reveal this to anyone, let alone his sister’s friend.

“Well you’re about to put on another dance performance, because the moment I say, ‘Look, it’s the Chicken Man!’ you’ll start doing the Chicken Dance until I say stop.”

Maddie was holding back her laughter as best as she could while Spiral was wondering what the Chicken Dance even was. The latter’s question was soon to be answered as no later than just a few seconds after Stacy gave Joey the set of commands she exclaimed, “Look, it’s the Chicken Man!”

Joey immediately began performing all the motions that went into the dance, despite the lack of music. The two human girls were cracking up in hysteria (even Spiral couldn’t bring herself not to laugh at how foolish the dance looked). As the girls were busy laughing away, the same throbbing pain Spiral felt earlier returned and slightly grimaced at the sensation. Luckily, none of the humans noticed her expression and the pain quickly subsided once again.

Maddie and Stacy kept laughing for several minutes until they had grown tired from watching Joey. The boy, however, could only keep on dancing to the invisible tune in his head. It wasn’t long though when the sound of his sister’s friend filled his ears with a, “Stop!”, and at once froze in place, waiting for the next command.

“Okay Joey, tell us, how did you feel performing that dance?” Asked Stacy.

“I felt good.” Came the reply from the entranced boy’s lips.

“Good because from now on, whenever you perform in front of people, whether it be dancing, acting or anything in particular, you will feel good and happy and not be embarrassed by what you do.” Stacy commanded, before turning to Spiral and asking, “This will work when he wakes up right?”

“Yes it should.” The mare answered back.

“Great! Oh, and one more thing Joey!” Said Stacy before getting up close to his ear and whispering something that neither Maddie nor Spiral could hear. Once Stacy was done, she went over to Maddie and said to her, “Well I’ve had my fun. He’s all yours!”

“What did you whisper to him?” Maddie asked curiously.

“I’m not saying.” The other girl replied with a few giggles escaping her mouth.

“C’mon tell me!” Maddie said wanting to know badly.

“Alright I’ll tell you...”

Stacy leaned in close to her friend’s ear and finished the sentence softly with, “...after everyone else is asleep tonight.”

“Aww!” Maddie groaned and was about to argue, but decided to be patient and whispered back, “When everyone else is asleep.”

The two giggled giddily for a few seconds before Maddie said, “Joey, in a moment I’m going to count to three and wake you up from trance. Ready? 1...2...3...wake up!”

“Nnngggghhhh...” The boy groaned, breaking free from the hypnosis. Once the spirals had dissipated, he looked around hazily for a few seconds until his mind kicked back into gear.

“Wha...what happened?”

“You were hypnotized dear brother!” Maddie replied in a chirpy tone.

“I was? Then why don’t I remember Spiral using her pocket watch?” Joey asked with a look of confusion written on his face.

“Because she didn’t. I used a trigger given by Spiral that automatically sends you into a hypnotic trance where you do whatever I say, as a reward from the game we played last night. Remember?”

‘I can’t believe I agreed to play that game last night.’ The older brother said to himself silently in his head before asking, “Do I even dare ask what you made me do?”

‘Huh. He doesn’t remember what I did to him. Oh well, I’ll humor him and see what happens!’ The younger sibling thought to herself then said aloud, “I just made you act like a chicken, but Stacy made you do the Chicken Dance! So you could say you’ve been chickened out!”

The two girls laughed at the pun while Spiral gave a stifled giggle.

“Ha. Ha. Ha.” The boy replied sarcastically. “Well if you two are done messing with me, I’m going downstairs.”

Before Stacy got the chance to speak, the eldest sibling had already left the room. She then asked her friend, “How come you didn’t tell him about me helping him overcome his stage fright?”

“Sorry. But hey, you can tell him later!”

“I guess so. So what now?”

“Hmm...”

Maddie thought for awhile, but was having a hard time coming up with any fun ideas.

“Truthfully, I really don’t know. Maybe another one of Spiral’s hypnosis sessions?”

“Nah.” Stacy replied with a dismissive wave of her hand. “I’ve had enough to last me awhile. Maybe later tonight though.”

“Oh...okay.” Maddie said with slight disappointment. “What about you Spiral? Got any fun ideas you can share with us?”

The unicorn replied, “Not really.”, before she felt another throbbing pain coming on and this time couldn’t stop from crying out in pain. Maddie and Stacy both shouted, “Spiral!”, and went to comfort the pony. Maddie asked, “What’s wrong? What hurts?”

“It’s my head...” Said Spiral clutching her head with her forehooves. The pain soon left her again and she took a couple deep breaths before a loud yawn escaped her.

“Perhaps I’m just exhausted and need some rest. I’m going to take a nap.”

“Okay, sleep well Spiral.” Maddie said as the mare made her way out of the children’s bedroom and towards the guest room.

“You think she’ll be alright?” Stacy asked in a semi-worried tone.

“I’m sure she’ll recover after a bit of rest. Besides, when she wakes up, she’ll have plenty of energy for later tonight!”

Just then, the sound of the doorbell rang through the house.

“That must be my Mom!” Stacy said, immediately heading downstairs with Maddie following close behind. Sure enough, when the two got to the front door, they saw their mothers greeting each other and exchanging a laugh.

“Hi Mom!” Stacy greeted her mother as she went up to her.

“Hello sweetie.” The girl’s mother said as she handed her a bag. “Here’s everything you need for tonight. Toothbrush, toothpaste, pajamas, sleeping bag and your evening medication. Make sure you take it before you go to bed.”

“Yes Mom, I understand.” Maddie’s friend replied feeling embarrassed from her mother.

“Good. I’ll pick you up after church tomorrow. Have fun!”

Giving her daughter a kiss on the cheek, Stacy’s mother went back to her car and drove off once again.

“Well, I’ll let you two get situated with sleeping arrangements. Dinner will be ready in about an hour.”

“Okay, thanks Mom.” Said Maddie.

After the two friends went back upstairs to the bedroom, Maddie asked, “So after dinner, what should we do first?”

“I know! I think it would be fun to watch a movie. It’s been awhile since I’ve last watched anything good. You think Spiral would be interested in watching with us?”

“Sure! In fact, funny enough, Joey, Spiral, and I watched The Wizard of Oz last night and Spiral hypnotized my brother to forget the contents of the movie, making it seem like he was watching it for the very first time.” Maddie said with fond memories of the event playing through her head, until she realized something else during that time. “Oh...I just remembered.”

“What is it?” Stacy asked with concern.

“I promised Joey that he would get to pick the next movie for Spiral to watch.”

“That makes it all the more fun! If the four of us can watch something together, it’s even better. Plus I’m up for whatever he has in mind.”

Maddie didn’t argue with her friend and helped her get set up for sleeping arrangements. The next hour was spent with Maddie helping Stacy empty her bag of sleepover essentials and organizing everything she had with her, all while discussing other fun ideas to do after watching the movie.

Just then a loud voice from downstairs shouted, “TIME FOR DINNER!”

“C’mon, let’s head downstairs!” Maddie said quickly heading for the hallway with Stacy following behind. They made their way to the dining room to find Joey already sitting at the table, waiting patiently. The two girls sat next to each other as Maddie and Joey’s parents had already set the table and were bringing out the food from the kitchen.

As the parents sat down at the table, Joey asked, “Hey, where’s Spiral? Didn’t she hear it was dinner time?”

“She’s probably in the guest room. She was complaining about a headache and went to take a nap earlier. I’ll go see if she’s up.” Maddie said as she got out of her chair, ran upstairs, and down to the guest room. She knocked a few times before saying, “Spiral! If you’re up dinner’s ready!”

She waited for the unicorn to answer back but heard no response. She slowly creaked the door open and noticed that the teal pony wasn’t on the bed.

“Spiral?” Maddie asked cautiously. She opened the door all the way and headed toward the bed. Out of the corner of her eye, the girl turned around and saw the unicorn standing near the door.

“Oh there you are! Come on, everyone’s waiting downstairs for you!”

The mare didn’t respond or move which started to creep Maddie out.

“Spiral? Are you feeling okay? Why aren’t yooooooaaahhh...”

The girl couldn’t finish her sentence as the sight of an ever familiar pocket watch swung before her eyes, completely catching her off guard and leaving her open for the hypnotist to weave her magic.

“Deeper......deeper......deeper......” Spiral moaned in an emotionless tone.

Maddie was helpless to resist the unicorn’s order and felt herself falling farther into hypnosis.

“Deep sleep......deep......deep......sleep...” Spiral continued to drone. Maddie took it as an order and closed her eyes, falling into a state of trance.

The unicorn approached the girl with a glazed look and hypnotized expression and said, “Obey......follow......”

Comments

[LavenderRain24]

Uh-oh, sounds like perhaps a possession?? This chapter went from 0 to 100 suddenly! Interesting!