Cadence Control
Part One: Practice Makes Perfect
By Scribe Feather

	When it wasn't being used as a crown jewel of the Pony Empire, the Crystal Kingdom stayed rather quiet. And the crystal ponies were okay with that. Anything for a change of pace from the hostile take overs of years passed was a wonderful change.

	For the past couple of weeks, Cadence had spent her free time in the grand Crystal Empire library. Her downtime freed up her schedule to do some more research over the ponies she now ruled over. 

	Before it started as a curiosity. The long forgotten library had untold amounts of information about her kingdom that she had never known before. There were books about the history of the crystal ponies and a lot of culture to be learned about these ponies. 

	In the beginning, Cadence merely wanted to read a couple books, brush up on her history, and help the crystal ponies recapture their heritage. A lot of culture was lost in the dark days of King Sombra. However in her venture into crystal pony history, Cadence stumbled across some curious looking books here and there.

	Some were dusty old joke books that contained terrible puns that even Pinkie Pie wouldn't find funny. Other books documented old ghost stories about Old Wither Bones, the ghost pony who haunted graveyards and stole children who didn't behave themselves. All these books were bound in canvas or crystal, giving them a unique appearance.

	In her weekly searches around the library, Cadence stumbled across a curious looking book. "Hypnosis: A Practical Application of Controlling the Mind By Brain Teaser". The name itself gave Cadance a puzzled look. The author sounded silly and fake and the mere thought of hypnosis made the pony...Curious...She always thought of it as a bunch of hogwash, but that didn't mean she couldn't read it for entertainment purposes.

	During her search through the library, the pink pony had acquired a small stack of books on one of the tables. Each book she planned to read up on, learning all there was to learn from the books and about the culture she now ruled over. At the end of that day, Cadence placed the 'hypnosis' book in a stack with the other history books. 

	When the history books grew tiresome and dry, Cadence decided to read the hypnosis book, brushing the dust that still hugged it's cover. The pages crackled quietly as they were pulled away from each other for the first time in years. The old glue that bound the pages was dry, but delicate hooves kept the parchment together.

	[i]Hypnosis: A Practical Application of Controlling the Mind, By Brain Teaser
	The basics of hypnosis can be broken down into four key concepts: Trance, suggestion, trigger, and reversion...[/i]

	To her surprise, the book was very thorough, breaking apart the necessary steps to bring a pony under a trance, insert suggestions in their head, and initiating the commands. Each of these steps were given great detail, multiple chapters of explanation, and covered the situation at different angles.

	The book separated the process into multiple chapters, blocking general steps together in a streamline fashion, much like any other well practiced spell book that was commonly used in magical schools all across Equestria.

	Back when she started reading, Cadence thought this 'Brain Teaser' pony was just a shallow pen name someone used to sell books filled with dysfunctional magic techniques and parlor tricks. But as she continued reading she realized she was starting to believe him. As mysterious and made up hypnosis was made out to be, the author seemed to know what he was talking about, summarizing everything as an exact science, not made up hearsay.

	[i]Like any spell that a student would learn under the watchful eyes of a teacher, hypnosis requires the caster to start small. Start with perfecting the tracing process and then begin submitting simple commands to your subject. As you gain more experience, start complicating your commands with gradual milestones...[/i]

	Further research of the writer himself brought up nothing except for the oil painted portrait on the back of the hypnosis book. It seemed that this author only wrote this single book or he changed his pen name frequently. Perhaps other books were written and never published or were lost to time. It was an old book after all.

	Cadance finished the hypnosis book in under two days. She found herself heavily engrossed by it's science. By the end of it, she was convinced if she tried she could actually put somepony under a trance. It was a stretch...But she had all the tools.

	The princess started small as the book suggested. Her real goal was to bring Shining Armor under her control, but she needed her practice. It was best to be prepared.

	One of her first subjects was one of the guards that patrolled the perimeter of the royal grounds. Compared to the guards who stood watch over the castle's hallways, these guards saw less action and very rarely overlapped with other guard's routes. They were mostly pegasi who could act as an early warning system before something got too close to the castle.

	[i]A trance is rather simple. It's a state of the subject that allows optimal suggestion insertion and when the suggestions have the best chance of 'sticking'...[/i]

	Rather out of the way and secluded, Cadence would have plenty of privacy for her small 'experiments'. One pony that caught her eye was a lone pegasus guard near the south side of the castle grounds. He was dressed up in the usual Crystal Empire garb that covered up his rather cute colored shade of green coat. The pony had the loveliest of teal eyes that were kept vigilant and aware of his surroundings. His sky blue mane was kept neat and tidy to reflect his passion for the job.

	"Your highness," the pegasus guard straightened up and saluted when he saw Cadence land next to him. He stood his ground with certainty and deliberation, holding his chin high as if he was being inspected by one of his higher officers.

	"At ease," Cadence casually wiggled a hoof in the guard's direction. He slowly relaxed into a more natural stance, "how are things out here in the perimeter?"

	"Quiet, your highness. Not much action out here," the guard spoke, his crystal blue armor gleaming in the sunlight.

	"What is your name?" Candace asked.

	"Wind Shield, ma'am."

	"Wind Shield, huh?" Cadance parroted as she dug something out from under her wing. "Perhaps you can help me with something."

	"Of course," the green pegasus bowed a slight bow of respect.

	[i]Placing a trance over somepony may require some form of tool to bring their heavily active conscious mind down to more susceptible levels. This is more important to new hypnotists who are still learning. Objects metallic and shiny tied to a string such as a gold coin on a string or a polished watch on a chain catches a subject's attention, making it easier for a trance to set in...[/i]

	Cadance floated out a golden watch on a chain and dangled it in front of the other pony. The watch was nothing special, an old relic she found buried away in the many cabinets of the castle. It was old, but well maintained, gleaming in the sun with a golden shine that rivaled Wind Shield's own armor. It's glass half was completely free of cracks and the gold was cleaned of signs of any damage from the elements.

	"Could you take a close look at this watch? The light doesn't seem to be reflecting off of it well," Cadence held the watch up in front of Wind's face. She slowly swayed it from left to right and the pegasus's eyes were soon to follow. "Do you notice how the light seems a bit odd? Perhaps it's dented."

	"It's a bit hard to see," Wind Shield commented as his eyes followed the shining watch, "I believe I see some damage, but it might be best to take it...To...A...." The pony's words slowed to a crawl as his eyes became blank. He focused less on the watch as his wings and shoulders became looser. He relax where he stood, still standing upright, eyes locked on the watch.

	Cadance pulled away the watch and waved a hoof in front of the dazed pony. "You there?" She asked, trying to get the pony's attention. No response. It seemed to have worked! The pink pony's wings fluttered for a moment in excitement. It worked! It worked! She could barely contain her relief that it did! 

	Cadance controlled herself. She had to be calm, remember the steps in the book, and play it safe until she knew what she was doing.

	[i]A hypnotic suggestion is a command embedded into the subject's mind that lies unnoticed until needed...[/i]

	With her first subject under a trance, Cadence now had to think of something simple and quick to tell him to do. She didn't think she'd get this far so she was caught a little unprepared. However Wind Shield didn't seem to mind. The guard stared blankly into space as his mouth hung open. The occasional trail of drool dribbled from the pony's open mouth as he waited under trance. He wasn't going anywhere.

	[i]A trigger is what sets it all off. Triggers can be a phrase, key word, or action that causes the suggestion to happen...[/i]

	"Okay, Wind Shield," Cadence started, floating the watch back up in front of the guard's face. His eyes quickly locked onto the watch like it was candy to a colt. "Good." Cadance swayed the watch back and forth as she began. "Now than, Windy, when you hear me say 'it's hot out here' you will take off your helmet and say 'apple cobbler'." Cadance held back a laugh. A silly test, for sure, but it was simple and distinctive enough for her to see if it worked. "Understand?" The dazed pony nodded slowly. "Good, and then when I say 'ice cube,' you'll put your helmet back on." The guard nodded again.

	[i]Reversion is a sort of 'reset button' that is used to reverse any triggers you might have activated in your subject. It also acts as a way of bringing your subject out of their trance after you've finished inserting your commands...[/i]

	"Now than, Windy," Cadence continued to sway the shiny watch in front of the other pony. He behaved himself and followed the golden item as it swung. "When I stomp on the ground three times, you will be brought out of your trance, completely unaware of what happened."

	Cadance floated the watch back down and tucked it under her wing once again. Wind Shield stood there frozen, not moving an inch except for the occasional slow blink.

	The pink pony stomped on the ground three times and the effects quickly took hold. The dazed Wind Shield quickly snapped back to reality, blinking a couple times as he looked at the royal pony.

	"Can I help you with anything, your highness?" he said dutifully.

	The princess smiled warmly before she spoke. "Oh no, just out enjoying the weather. [i]It's hot out here[/i] though."

	Wind Shield didn't react...Not immediately. For a few long minutes, the guard simply stood there and blinked at Cadence like he fell asleep with his eyes open.

	Eventually the commands took hold. The guard took his helmet off and held it under one of his wings. "'Apple cobbler," he exclaimed rather blandly. He didn't seem all that phased by this sudden habit. He didn't question it.

	Cadance held back a happy 'it worked' dance and recomposed herself. She cleared her throat, "Good, [i]ice cube[/i]."

	This time Wind Shield reacted much quicker. It still took him some time to do it, but soon the guard was putting his helmet back on.

	Cadance simply smiled at the successful experiment. "That is all. Return to your patrols." And just like that, the pony flew off, leaving a rather confused Wind Shield. Why did she come out here in the first place? Why did she leave so soon?
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	As the weeks ticked by, Cadence became more and more attuned to her inner hypnotist. When she had free time she would bring a couple guards under her trance, becoming more efficient and bringing them down and back out quicker and quicker each time. She even revisited a couple of her old test subjects to see if the commands still held up. Wind Shield was once her her favorite regulars, being her first test subject made him stand out among the others.

	Cadance became better at hypnosis as the days progressed, developing her own little techniques that improved upon what Brain Teaser explained in his book. Slowly but surely she found herself using less of the gold watch and more of her own magic as she tapped into this rather unknown school of magic.

	To test her skills, she would usually just do typical stuff that was unusual enough for her to notice. A command to make the guard suddenly lay down while on the job, one that would make the pony bark instead of talking until reversed, and even a phrase that caused a guard to drop what they were doing and start to suck on their hoof. Cadance always found that last one adorable.

	But all these were practice runs and simple playthings to giggle quietly about when she was bored. She developed her hypnotic powers to put them to the real test, hypnotizing her husband. The moment she realized these hypnosis techniques would work, Cadence daydreamed about all the things she could implant in Shining. After so many successful runs, she finally decided to set her plan into action.

	[i]To increase the effectiveness of your suggestions try inserting them into a pony's mind while they're asleep...[/i]

	The princess's opportunity came one night when Shining and her were climbing into bed. Shining was always a heavy sleeper, the perfect time to insert suggestions into his subconscious. She quietly waited for her husband to drift to sleep before her horn glowed in the dark room.

	She followed the instructions written out in the book, making sure to say anything to Shining in a calming and bending voice. Her horn glowed ever so faintly as her words twisted about Shining's subconscious, causing the stallion's body to relax a bit in bed. Shining slumbered on as the magic worked away at his mind.

	One by one, the princess slowly worked in commands she had been saving for just the occasion.

	Cadance had always had one heck of a diaper fetish. She spent many quiet nights getting lost in her fantasy land of diapered stallion's who toddled around and used their diapers when they needed to. She always envisioned the diapered stallions stopping in their tracks to let loose into their diapers only to be laughed at by a the faceless crowds around them.

	The princess had always wanted to test them out in real life, but Shining was never for it. He always called it childish or not his cup of tea...But with these hypnosis, he'd have no choice. Not that he'd have any issue with that when she was done with him. 

	"Listen to my words Shining," Cadence seductively whispered into the slumbering stallion's ear. "Listen closely and relax..."

	For the next couple hours, Cadence steadily worked her commands into Shining's mind. She had to pace herself to prevent any undesirable effects on the sleeping pony's mind. If she moved too quick most of the commands probably wouldn't stick.

	The slumbering stallion stirred every now and then as the hypnotic suggestions worked into his mind. Shadowy images of his hypnotizing wife could be faintly seen in his dreams.

	The magical glow around Cadance's horn faded as she pulled the bed sheet up to crawl under. All that hypnosis was exhausting so she decided to just let Shining sleep on that. Tomorrow she'd start testing them out. She cuddled closely to her husband, feeling warm and relaxed. Soon she'd see...