> An Infestation in the Herd > by Redheart-Medlabs > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- > Chapter 1 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- An Infestation in the Herd Part 1 By Draconicon Moonlight Thunder, an earth pony farmer who lived halfway between Ponyville and Canterlot, was in the middle of dragging the goods from the far edge of the farm to his barn when he had a most curious encounter.  The brown-colored stallion, with ‘socks’ on his legs of black fuzz, looked down at the little mass of goo further down the dirt path that ran between his fields. He huffed slightly, chewing on the end of a piece of hay as he debated whether he should drag his cart in a different direction. He’d just cleaned the wheels, and had taken a lot of care to keep from getting them dirty while dragging them around the mucky parts of the field. That stuff looked like it’d slime up the axle something terrible.  At the same time, he knew better than to try and change direction now. All the lanes between the fields were one way, just big enough to get the cart down, and the next turn was past the goo. If he was gonna take a different route, he’d have had to have turned about a hundred feet back.  Tarnation… He grumbled, clenching his teeth on the edge of the hay as he grumpily pulled the cart forward.  If so much as a bit gets on the wheels… He slowed as he approached the puddle. It wasn’t quite wide enough to risk the wheels, after all, but the gunk looked absolutely foul. Bright green, it seemed to jiggle as he came close, wiggling like some of the wife’s jell-o. It looked like something someone sneezed out, and…was there something moving in there? Hoping the rain would wash it away later, he pulled the cart forward that little bit further. He stepped on one side of the puddle, then a bit further, then – Pinch! “GAH!” Moonlight Thunder about jumped out of his skin, whipping his head around to see what in the world had just done that. There was nothing on the road behind him that coulda snuck up and got him, and he hadn’t see anything in the puddle. Nothing for real, anyway; there couldn’t have been any –  But there was. Something green had grabbed his black tail as it had dipped down, pinching it between two strange foreclaws. The thing itself was almost like a crab, except that it was long rather than wide, and it was using its forelegs to drag itself up his tail, and it was moving a lot faster than it had any right to. He couldn’t even buck it off. The harness had him stuck, bound to the cart, and the cart itself was too close for him to rear back and try and kick at it. All he could do was stomp and shake his ass back and forth, trying to wiggle the little critter off him so that he could crush it beneath a hoof.  “Get off, you damn thing! Get offa me before I – Nnngh!” It had climbed all the way up his tail, and now, it was pressing right between his rump cheeks. The oddly smooth ‘face’ it had was wiggling back and forth against his pucker, almost like it was trying to force it open. He whinnied loudly, but…but… But there was something odd about it, something that was making his hole almost itch. He grunted, shaking his head, trying to keep the feeling at bay, but try as he might, there was nothing he could do. It was just getting worse and worse, his hole puckering hard, his eyes rolling back, and his cock slowly starting to spill out of his sheath.  “T-tarnation…” He huffed, having not felt this aroused since the last time that his mare went into heat. The feeling was running through his cock and balls all the way back to his ass, and his hole started to relax, opening up a bit. He’d felt it happen before, the few times that he’d bottomed for a neighbor for a favor, but…fuck… He huffed, his tail flagging up before he could stop it, his body fighting his brain as he felt the urge to feel something inside of him. The more that the slime from the creature rubbed against his ass, the more he wanted it. The more he needed it.  The weird little critter pushed against his hole again, and this time, the tip of it slid right in. He gasped, arching his back, his cock completely hard and dripping from the end of his sheath, slowly grinding and thudding against his belly as he felt the creature sliding in deeper, further into his hole.  It was no longer so thick, only a long tendril that hung out through his pucker. His tongue hung out of his mouth as he felt the pleasure rising, his ability to think diminishing. He started clenching at his muscles, making his cock rise and fall, thudding it against his belly in equine masturbation. Up, down, up, down, even as the thing in his ass continued to move and squirm and grind against his little button inside.  It almost felt like his ass was slurping up that tendril still hanging out, too, sucking on it like a piece of pasta. His eyes were rolling back in his head, his body shaking from head to hooves at the weird, heated feeling that was filling him up from below. His cock was hard, stiff, throbbing, dripping, the flare starting to grow at the tip as the critter started to settle into his ass properly. It brought all those legs around and –  Clench. He whinnied as he felt something latch onto his prostate, digging into the inner walls of his ass. His eyes were rolled so far back that he couldn’t see anything anymore, and his cock throbbed and –  “NNNNNGH!” Moonlight Thunder whinnied as he came, squirting his load all over the ground right then and there. His body shook, but the spasms of pleasure continued to fill him, running through him, leaving him trembling as his cock kept jerking, kept squirting, kept flailing all about.  He almost wanted to collapse, his mind on anything but the thing in his ass, but he didn’t. Something…something pushed him to stay upright. Something pushed him to stay hard and horny. Something… Something was in his head.  Moonlight Thunder huffed and puffed, staring straight ahead as little ripples of sensation echoed up and down his spine, bubbling and pushing out from his back along his sides, and then over his neck, slowly moving further and further up towards his skull. It was a strange, twisted, very different feeling, almost like he wasn’t entirely himself anymore.  His head swayed left, then right, then left again, lazy, slow, tired. The stallion kept staring ahead, his ability to think impaired, his mind distracted by all the need coming from between his hind legs.  The feeling in his spine reached his skull at the same time that another clench happened right against his prostate. Moonlight Thunder moaned again, his head dropping down, and shortly after, he went quiet. The pulsing between his prostate and his skull were almost completely in sync, and his cock throbbed obediently to the feeling that it provoked, bouncing up, slapping his belly, and then pointing down again.  The stallion went still, his eyes straight ahead, his thoughts paralyzed in place. Not rendered dumb, not unthinking, but obedient. Obedient, directed, focused. Yes. That was right. Something else was giving him what he needed, something else was telling him what was right.  And that wasn’t the cart of food. It was…something… There was a rustling, searching feeling in his head, almost like there were fingers darting through his memories, something picking at them and pulling them out and putting them back again. Moonlight – just Moonlight, now, no need for Thunder, no need for the second name for someone like him – kept staring straight ahead as the different images popped up in front of his eyes. A picture of his wife, a mare as white as he was brown. Then there were the friends in the village, mostly other stallions, other men that he spent time with, other people that he talked his trade with.  And then there was the neighbor down the road, another stallion, one that was burly, thick in the shoulders, wide of hip, and who had shared a fair bit of ‘fun’ with him in the past.  There was a click of sorts, a feeling of completion, and Moonlight stood up straight again. He felt an urge to undo the harness, and he started doing it, slowly, mechanically, precisely. Every move was just as much as was needed, turning his head to undo one strap on his left, and then doing the same on his right. The leather straps came loose, and he stepped forward, leaving the cart behind.  Moonlight looked down at the puddle, and he realized that it had completely shrunk. There was almost none of the gunk left behind, save for a tiny bit that was oozing out from his pucker. He could just barely feel it dribbling down along his taint, running down to the balls just under them. It would dry soon, and then there would be no trace of it left, nothing that would reveal that he was infested.  There was a part of him that knew that this was wrong, that he should be panicking, that he should be afraid. Yet, there was nothing in him that was willing to go that far. He just turned, staring down the road, feeling what was needed. His plans for putting away the crops for the night had just disappeared on him, and it was like they had never been important in the slightest, as if all his priorities had just been rearranged.  His cock twitched under him, but it was slowly starting to shrink back into his sheath as the pulses that ran down from his prostate started to grow less and less regular. Instead, the pulses were coming from his head, something that…yes…yes… Yes.  He was no longer Moonlight Thunder, a farmer. He was Moonlight, a part of the hive.  Clench. A reward, pleasure, bursting through him. The stallion moaned softly, thrusting his hips forward, one last squirt of pre shooting from his cock before it was fully dragged back into his sheath. Yes, he was a member of the hive, and that meant that part of his responsibilities were to spread the hive.  How did he know this? The creature didn’t speak with him, but the urges came to him in thoughts, in brief images in his brain. It was as if the understanding was passed to him, and when he knew what he was supposed to accomplish, pleasure confirmed it. Pleasure that ran through his ass, through his cock, and then back again.  Spread the hive… Moonlight realized that he was still walking, still making his way down the roads of the farm. He’d taken a turn along one of the intersections, bringing himself parallel to the main road that ran beside the farm. Where was he going?  Yes, he remembered now. There was a meeting with another farmer, his fuck-buddy, Ivory Flash. The white and black stallion was going to meet him halfway between their farms, and they were meant to go back to his place, to have some fun together. Neither of their wives knew what they did, really; they always excused it as a night out, having cider, enjoying each other’s company, but they usually ended up rutting each other. They’d done it ever since they’d met each other as foals and grew up enough to understand what it meant. Ivory had been a good friend for a long time. Tonight, he would become the second member of the hive.  Pulse. Another little clench, not as strong as the others. It wasn’t a reward so much as it was communication, reminding him that he was on the right track, and telling him to keep it up. He was glad; he’d never been that smart, so getting it right this easily was a nice change.  The stallion glanced down the road at the farmhouse, considering heading down there to see if his wife was up. Then he decided against it. The wife would be there in the morning, and she’d be more likely to be interested in him at that point. Besides, if he managed to infect his old friend, then Ivory could start spreading it to his wife and family, and then they would have an even bigger hive.  The little pulse was all the confirmation he needed. He shouldn’t get creative. He should just follow his objective. He was good with that.  # Ivory was waiting for him at the usual spot, halfway between their respective farms beneath an old willow tree. The white and black stallion had been lying on his stomach, legs folded under him like a cat, and his friend chuckled at his approach.  “Looks like you finally made it. Get into some sort of squabble with the wife or something?” “No, just needed to put a few things away.” In truth, it was more that he’d deliberately slowed down on the road. He felt something happening with the creature inside of him, something growing and bubbling in there, and he knew that it needed time to finish. He didn’t know how or why he knew, but he felt that it was just about complete. They could have their fun, now.  He smiled, letting his cock drop from its sheath. Moonlight would have been surprised by that, but he’d felt that it was something that he could do now, and it dropped easily and fully from between his hind legs. Just like usual, the burly stallion he’d come to visit looked down, and just like usual, Ivory grinned.  “Well, now, looks like someone is happy to see me.” “He always is.” “Heh…been missing my ass, have you?” “You know it’s better.” “You’re damn right it is.” The other farmer pushed himself to his hooves, slowly turning around and showing off his ass. It was a wide thing, well-muscled from all the farm work that the other stallion did, and as he flagged his tail to the side, he showed off a hell of a donut between the cheeks. It showed just how much use it had gone through, and Moonlight knew how easily it took dick.  Tonight, it was going to take that, and much more.  He walked forward with a slight waggle of his own hips, just enough to make his cock throb, make it sway, showing it off. His old friend chuckled, pushing his ass out a bit more.  “You plan on taking me here, then?” “I was thinking further down the road…but why don’t I give you a little tease…” Moonlight lifted his front end, pressing his hooves down on either side of Ivory’s haunches, and dragged his back half forward. His cock throbbed, spat pre-cum everywhere, but some of it managed to land on the other male’s ass cheeks. He wiggled a bit further forward, grinding between the muscular cheeks, the flared tip of his cock finding that pucker.  Squirt, squirt, squirt.  He could have slid in then and there, but when he thought about it, there was no confirmation from the hive, no telling him that he was picking the right thing. So, he didn’t. He just ground against that ass, squirting from time to time, staining it with his seed. It was a good way to spend time, at least, and it was definitely marking the other stallion.  Or…was it doing more? He could feel Ivory shivering more than usual, trembling from the teasing, and that wasn’t how the other male acted when they were having fun. At least, not until they were much deeper into it, when he was balls-deep in the other stallion and rutting him. He normally started out pretty stoic, making Moonlight work for that satisfaction. This time, he was just giving it up right off the bat.  Before he could try and figure it out, Moonlight felt his cock going soft again, and he knew that it was time to slide off. He pulled back, and he trotted up to stand beside the other, panting farmer.  “Why…why did you…” “Stop?” “That was feeling good. I don’t know what it was, but…” “Heh, call it a tease. We’ll get to the main event later.” “Ugh…you ass.” “Up yours.” “What the hell do you think I’m begging for?!” “Then start walking, Ivory. We need somewhere more private if we’re gonna get down to business…” That was all that he needed to say, and the white and black stallion was on the move. He followed, smiling to himself as he watched that ass twitching, knowing that he was doing the right thing, even if he didn’t know what that was. He was part of the hive, and the hive would make sure that he stayed on the right path.  It didn’t take long for Ivory’s cock to start dropping as they walked along, nor did it take long for it to get hard. Shortly after, he could see the other stallion’s hole twitching, puckering, begging for attention, and he started to piece it together. Just like how the creature had managed to make his ass horny with all the slime that it produced, somehow, it had changed him, making all his pre-cum do the same thing to Ivory’s ass. And the more time passed, the more that the other stallion showed how horny he was. He started to stumble, his hips starting to thrust without his consent, his cheeks burning with shame. Every so often, he would look over his shoulder, almost as if he was going to say something, only to turn his head around again and blush worse than ever.  There was no pretending that he wasn’t staring at Moonlight’s cock, either. It was rising once more with the help of the creature inside of him, and Moonlight smiled as if he was completely unaware of what was going on. “Is everything okay?” “Y-yeah, everything’s…fine…” “You sure?” “S-sure I’m sure.” There was no way that Ivory was that fine, though. He was stumbling, shaking, his tail perpetually pushed off to the side as if he had lost all control of it. He wanted to bring it down, clearly, but his body was desperately in need of something inside of him. There was only so long that he would be able to hold out.  Hive will give you what you need, Ivory, he thought. You will be a good drone. A good helper to the hive. You will spread it, just like I am. They kept walking, and Moonlight kept waiting. There was no need to hurry, no need to push. Sooner or later, his friend would give in, and then, they would have their fun.  And soon enough, he did. Ivory groaned as they passed by an old oak tree, finally turning off the road and darting for the big tree. He was halfway around it before he looked over his shoulder, staring at Moonlight. He nodded his head to the side, making it clear that the brown and black stallion was supposed to follow, and with a small chuckle, he did as he was asked.  By the time that he’d rounded the tree, the other pony had his ass up in the air, posing almost more like a dog than he was as a pony. He was panting, shaking it back and forth, his hole puckering and begging for something.  “Please…I can’t…I can’t keep waiting…I need something…something in me.” “Desperate, aren’t you?” “Nnngh…please…” Ivory had never been this needy before, and if Moonlight had still been himself, there was no way that he would have been able to resist this display. It was so different from the strong horse that he had known for so long. Seeing anyone this desperate would have made him hard as a rock, but seeing his long-term fuck-buddy being like this? It made him feel like there was a magnet attached to his cock and it was dragging him straight ahead. He groaned under his breath, flexing his cock a few times, feeling it eagerly slapping against his belly.  The creature inside of him, the feeling of the hive, also seemed to approve. It pushed him along, clenching around the little pleasure button in his ass, telling him that it was time to fuck. He stepped forward, his hooves clip-clopping against the earth.  “Well, if you really want something inside of you…” There was a small part of him that wanted to actually fuck his friend, but he knew better. The hive told him that there was something else, something better than needed to be put in there, and that he needed to focus on that. So, instead of rearing up on his hind legs, he lifted one foreleg, holding it out to the side.  Just as he did, the green tendril that had bene sucked up his ass before pushed out of his hole again. He would have groaned if he was himself, but all he felt was pleasure, and that pleasure was kept tight inside of him. The tendril pushed out slowly, rippling against his pucker, turning around until the end of that long, slimy thing was hovering just over his hoof. It expanded slowly, getting wider until –  “Waaaaah…” The end of the creature’s tail opened up, and out of it emerged another, slightly smaller creature, one that was an exact copy of the one in his ass. It unrolled itself from its curled position, skittering about on his hoof, and he slowly carried it to that stretched, exposed pucker.  Ivory was still groaning, his head buried in the earth, but that was not going to last for long. He’d need to do something to make sure that his friend didn’t reject his gift, didn’t start fighting it.  So, as soon as he pressed the parasite to the other stallion’s pucker, he leaned down and started sucking on the other horse’s balls.  “Ah…ah…oh…fuck…” The white and black stallion thrust his hips back, probably thinking he was getting the tip of Moonlight’s hoof shoved up his ass while his balls were getting sucked and licked. That was fine. As long as he didn’t fight, he could imagine whatever the hell that he wanted. Moonlight twisted his head this way and that, gently tugging on those big, leathery balls with his lips, pulling them down, teasing them, licking them, tasting the slight hint of musk and sweat that clung to them after a long day in the fields. Just above him, however, he could see the parasite wiggling back and forth against his old friend’s hole, slowly using its forelegs to get a grip on either side of the pucker so that it could burrow against it. There was no cutting, no hurting, just a lot of slime coming free, coating the hole properly and making it loosen up.  It wouldn’t take long for the little critter to get in. Not with a hole that had that much experience.  He grinned as he felt Ivory start to squirm backwards, trying to get up to all fours once more. The other stallion was struggling, though, lust-drunk from his own need, his eyes going wide, his body shaking as he started to hunch his hips, his cock swinging up to hit his belly.  “Ah…ah…what…what…that’s not your…” “No…” “M-Moon…” “Welcome to the hive.” Squelch. The parasite got its main body past the swollen rim, and just like that, it started to dig deeper. Ivory spasmed, arching his back, and Moonlight stepped back so that he could get a better look at what was going on.  His old friend stood like he was shocked to the core, his hooves pushed forward, his eyes wide and rolling back. His cock was already oozing a river of pre-cum into the earth below, dribbling and wet and thick and musky. Every little squirt added to the flow until it was a veritable flood, being milked out of him by the pressure of the hive bug on his prostate, pushing down and squeezing and –  “AGH!” Suddenly, Ivory thrust his hips forward, and he came hard, harder than ever before, his seed hitting the earth and swelling outwards in a great white puddle. Moonlight watched as his friend’s cock spasmed again, and again, remembering how it had felt when he had joined the hive, how it had felt to feel his cock jerking up and down, milked by some otherworldly force. Even now, he felt the urge to feel that again.  And he knew how, but he would have to wait.  Instead of pushing, he pulled his hooves together, laying down as he watched the other parasite take control of his friend. Once, there might have been guilt. Once, there might have been a feeling that he was doing something wrong. But no. He was part of the hive, and the greatest gift that he could give someone else was to make them part of the hive, too.  Slowly, his friend stopped shaking, and bit by bit, he was able to stand up normally again. His hooves clicked against the earth, and his head tilted slowly back and forth. This time, he understood. It was the hive parasite working out how the body worked, making contact with the various parts of the host form, turning the drone into a proper tool for the hive’s purposes. It was all part of taking control.  It was fascinating and, on some level, wonderful. He felt good about bringing his friend around to the right way of things. The hive was the best thing for them, and accomplishing something for the hive was the best way to feel good in life. By bringing Ivory into the same group, he had given his old friend the best gift that he could.  Slowly, the other male turned to him, and the stallion smiled.  “This one has a bit of information for the hive.” “Then let’s share it.” Share and enjoy. He knew from the parasite in him that this was a reward, a blissful thing that would bring him some hint of that first great pleasure. He got back to his hooves, turning around as the tendril sticking out his ass waved back and forth.  As Ivory approached, he watched as the other stallion’s tendril push out, forcing that pucker to gape as it swayed from side to side. He slowly backed up, their asses almost touching when –  Squelch. The two tendrils grabbed hold of one another, and both stallions went ram-rod straight, gasping and going rock-hard all at once. They could hardly breathe, at first, feeling the connection and slime as the two tendrils touched each other, the two members of the hive doing…something… Pictures rushed through his brain, half-seen at best, and he knew that they were coming entirely from what the other stallion had in his mind, looted by the parasite inside of him. They were giving greater information to the two creatures, spreading it between them, giving the hive the communal information that they needed to operate.  And as a reward, they both were given the pleasure that they loved.  They moaned and whinnied. They wanted to stamp, hump, thrust, push, but they were held still, their bodies completely paralyzed as they were used as a helpful conduit for the information for the parasites. They could not move while the hive studied the information that they’d gathered. All they could do was whinny, pant, and moan. The earth turned to mud under their hooves before the tendrils retracted, and both Moonlight and Ivory were eager for the break. They almost fell flat on their faces when they could finally move again, and they slid a great deal through the muck before they could find their footing again.  When they looked at each other, they no longer saw a stallion on the other side. They saw a member of the hive.  “You need to go home,” Ivory said, and Moonlight knew it for truth, getting the same message from his own parasite. “And I –” “Have to go back and fuck your wife.” “For the first time in years.” “She’ll let you? Oh, right –” “She’s in heat. She can’t resist.” “I have to do the same.” “She’ll love it. She always does,” Ivory said. “I can see it…see you…and her…” “Not as good as you.” “But good enough. They have plans; we’ll follow.” “We’ll always follow.” And so they would. There was no way for them to escape the parasites on their own, and even if there was, they didn’t want to. The hive had given them acceptance, a way to live in happiness and pleasure. There was no need to go back, not after they had been given something so good.  They parted with one last little caress of tendrils that left them shivering in arousal, splitting up and heading back to their farms. He looked over his shoulder once, but that was more to make sure that the other stallion was properly embedded with the hive parasite than any other reason. After all, it would not do for Ivory to have second thoughts.  As for himself, he was already imagining himself making sure that his wife was properly infested, too. She wasn’t in heat, the way that Ivory’s mare was, but now that he knew that his seed was corruptive, arousing, he was pretty sure that he could leave her out of it. The best way would be if he could get her to wake him up with a blowjob, leaving her sucking it out of him and getting all high and needy afterwards. She’d be too weak to resist, and he could just watch as her body was bent to the will of the hive.  If not? Well, there were plenty of other ways to seduce her into the grip of the hive, and she would accept one of them, eventually.  His cock dribbled pre-cum and cum all the way home, and he was sure that there would have been ponies asking questions if he had done that by day. As it was, he was able to make it all the way home without incident, without questions, without anyone even noticing him. Moonlight nudged the front door of the farmhouse open, walking inside with a clip and a clop. Considering the late hour, he wasn’t surprised that his mare wasn’t in the front room. She was probably deep in sleep, now. If he’d had the time to make another parasite already, he would have been tempted to fill her ass with it now, to get this over and done with before she could wake up, but he needed time. They could make a few a day, but it still needed time between creating one and pushing it out to make another one.  Well, the morning would be time enough.  Finding his mare, a pink-furred pony, already lying on her side, he slid into bed behind her. His cock was slimy enough that he could have just slid right into her pussy, but he didn’t bother doing that. It would be time enough tomorrow, and it would probably wake her up. If he didn’t fill her up at that point, she’d probably have questions, and he wasn’t sure what to say just yet. The hive didn’t offer any guidance to that.  So, instead, he closed his eyes, and he allowed the hive parasite to drag him down, to put him into a state of sleep befitting a drone. His worries faded away, and he slid down into dreamland, where all he could think of were happy moments of service to the hive. That was his reward.  The End Summary: A parasite comes to the land of Equestria and starts taking over ponies to use for drones.  Tags: M/solo, M/M, parasite, pony, stallion, mlp, feral, anal, anal infestation, hive, hive mind, mind control, series, butt, tentacle, aphrodisiac, orgasm, cum, forced orgasm, obedience,  > Chapter 2 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- An Infestation in the Herd Part 2 By Draconicon Moonlight was used to waking up with the sun, but this time, he was woken up with the parasite. His eyes flicked open, staring into the semi-darkness of his bedroom as the gray of the outside pre-morning touched everything around him. The soft clenches along his prostate were all that he could feel, at first, and it forced his cock harder than morning wood would really account for.  Spurt, spurt, spurt went his dick in the dark, wetting the blankets between him and his wife and filling the air with a thick scent of sex. Not of male, but of sex, something that was different to the smell of pre-cum or seed that he was used to smelling from himself. He didn’t question it; if this was what the parasite and the hive wanted, then this was what he would do, regardless of whether it made sense to him.  There was a feeling of being slightly bloated in his guts, and he knew that there was another parasite birthed and ready. When it was time – Female. He had known that the time was coming, that he would have to infest his mare, his Azure Breeze. He knew that she would need to be brought into the hive as well, that she would be part of the group. The old Moonlight might have thought that was too much, and it might have broken his faith in the hive, but now? No. There was no reason to want to avoid the hive at this point. They were what would make the ponies of Equestria better. They would be many times better if they accepted the gift of the hive.  Clench, squirt, clench, squirt. The feeling of pleasure and pressure continued to grow, and the bed was soon well-soaked in his transformed juices. It was slightly green compared to what it used to be, no longer clear or white, and as it soaked into his pink-furred mare – dye, of course, as anyone who knew her name would know – he could smell her starting to be affected by it. She shifted in her sleep, spreading her hind-legs slightly, and he could smell her scent adding to the room, thick and heated.  Not in heat, of course. The parasite couldn’t quite do that, he thought, but it could simulate what the heat needs were. She would feel the urge to breed, even if it wouldn’t get her pregnant. At least, not pregnant with foal.  She shifted again in her sleep, starting to buck her hips back slightly, grinding her rump and haunches back without thinking about it. If the blanket hadn’t been between them, he would have been tempted to thrust forward and take her right then and there. Filling her up from behind with another load of his seed would have been sufficient to keep her in a state of need for hours, if not longer, and he wondered if the parasite wanted him to do that.  Hive gave him no indication, which was the same as a no. Apparently, he needed to wait for a while.  He was happy enough to do that. There was no need to do anything until the hive gave him an indication of what was needed, so he would wait for the signal of what he needed to do.  Moonlight didn’t feel boredom the way that he might have felt before his own infestation. There wasn’t a need to get up and do something, no need to start rolling around and finding something to keep busy. Instead, there was only this feeling that he would be of use when he was ready. All he had to do was wait for the right direction. Until then, he was a drone, something to hold part of the hive and nothing more.  He remained like that for nearly an hour and a half, feeling his cock pulsing, his prostate squeezing and depressing, constantly getting abused. The bed was slimy and wet, almost like some sort of bug nest rather than a horse bed. He could feel his hole oozing with a bit of the parasite slime, the hive bug rather excited inside of him as far as he could tell.  That made him excited, too.  When the sun finally poked over the horizon, the light woke his mare. Azure Breeze slowly rolled over, looked him in the eye, and her gaze was one of pure lust. He smiled at her.  “Good dreams?” he asked.  “Horny ones…Really, really horny ones…” She blushed as she looked down at his cock, and it was like looking at the filly that he had gotten to know all those years ago, before they’d started growing up and having to be responsible. He shifted forward just a bit, dragging his cock up against her belly, and she groaned as she grabbed it.  “God, I don’t know what you’ve been doing but…but you smell good…” She leaned down, her muzzle parting and her tongue flicking out to tease the tip of his cock. He groaned, his head rolling back a bit, his cock swelling and his flare doing the same as she dragged her tongue down along the shaft proper, teasing it good and hard, getting it ready for their fun.  The more that she licked, the more of the corrupted cum started to ooze out of his shaft. The whole thing flared hard, twitching, pulsing, and his balls were trembling. He didn’t know if the hive creature in his ass was just injecting its goo into the pre-cum as it flowed out through the prostate, or if it was doing something else, but it was making every little jet of pre-cum feel as good as an orgasm. If Moonlight hadn’t been a drone, he would not have had the stamina to keep up with this.  His mare started to bob her head up and down his cock, sucking along the side, then dragging her head up to the flare again. She gummed at the edges of it, teasing him, making him harder than ever.  “You…mmmph…taste so good…” “Mmmph…then maybe…take the whole…thing…” Azure Breeze had never been that keen on giving the deeper sort of oral. She was always more one to be fucked than to do the sucking, but today, she seemed to be lost to her own needs. She rolled her head to the side, stretching her jaws as much as she could, and then –  POP! The head of his cock disappeared into her throat, going deep right from the start. If the parasite hadn’t had some control, he would have arched his back, thrusting his hips up to impale her neck with the sheer pleasure that she was giving him. He moaned under his breath, his hooves pressing down against the bed, his balls swelling and churning like mad.  Yes…yes… He panted, feeling the pulses of yet more arousing pre being shot right down his mare’s throat. When he could bring himself to look down at her, he could see her face burning bright red through the pink dye in her fur. She was bobbing her head up and down like a female possessed, her eyes closed tightly, her face the picture of aroused embarrassment. She had one hoof back between her hind legs, grinding against her sex as she sucked him off.  That was not the sight that he had expected for the morning, but fuck he loved it.  Moonlight felt the hive holding him back, making him build up more juices, but he didn’t know if it anticipated just how hungry his mare was for his load after being saturated with the horny juices in bed for so long. She was moaning out loud, bobbing her head faster and faster, sucking his cock right down into her neck. He could see the bulge of his flare more than once as it went down her longer neck, and she made sure to rub the backs of her forelegs against it, making him feel it even as she swallowed hard around his cock.  Gods… The need she had was obviously worse than anything that they had experienced as younger horses together. She had never been this eager to suck him off, this desperate to get him to cum. Even when she had been in heat and wanted him to breed her, she hadn’t been pushing him this hard. She started to groan, then to whimper, obviously trying to entice him to fuck her throat that much harder, to get himself off, to give her what she needed. The vibrations alone would have made him cum if he wasn’t being restrained, and he shivered as he felt her go all the way to the base of his cock again.  Swallow, swallow, swallow went her throat, the rippling motions more than enough to make him slam his head back against the bed behind him. He wanted to cum so badly, but the command of the hive kept him back, making his balls churn, his eyes roll back in his head as he did his best to hold back.  She whimpered for him again, dragging her head all the way back to his tip, the motion nearly enough to get him off. The clench kept him from doing it, but his cock felt like it was going crazy, all the need and heat and horniness in it driving him mad. He wanted to cum, but he wanted to obey at the same time, and the hive said to wait. His balls felt like they were heavier than they’d ever been, and he moaned as his mare pulled off of his shaft, licking her lips. Her leg wrapped around his fat cock, jerking it slowly.  “Come on…you know I need it…let me have it…” “I will. I’m close.” “How close?” He got an instant answer from the hive, and he responded fast enough that he hoped that she didn’t notice the pause.  “Very…just…just a bit more…less than a minute…” “You better be…I need it…I don’t know why…but god…” She licked around the head of his cock again, teasing the flare, working his most sensitive spot harder than ever. He moaned again, bucking his hips, the muscles in his ass and thighs tensing hard as he tried to ram his cock down her throat again. She resisted, keeping him just outside of her mouth and neck, but he could feel her moaning for it, could feel the urge that she had to just open her mouth and take it.  “Mmmph…” He ground his cock against her lips, painting them with the corrupted pre-cum that he was drooling all over the place. She moaned from it, her eyes rolling back a bit, and she finally opened her mouth again.  He popped his cock inside, and no sooner had his cock made contact with her tongue than he came.  He whinnied loudly, cumming hard enough that he felt like he was cumming his brains out. He would have flopped back if he had the chance, but the hive kept him thrust forward, ensuring that every drop of their juices would go down the mare’s throat. Azure Breeze kept swallowing, sucking it down, stroking his cock with her foreleg, making him cum and cum and cum again.  And the more she swallowed, the more horny she looked, and the more that she ground her hips against the bed. He realized belatedly that she was as hard up as he was for arousal, and she was wetter than he had ever seen her. Her juices stained the already soaked sheets, marking them with the pleasure of a female.  With the last blast down her throat, she swallowed hard, and then –  “NNNNGH!” She flopped out on her back. Her belly wobbled slightly, her nipples along her belly hard as could be as she came, squirting across the bed. She arched her back against the sheets, her head lolled out against the sheets, her face looking like she had gotten high off of some plants in the forest. She was completely out of it, and she was completely helpless, too.  She weakly tried to reach down to her pussy, but her legs didn’t seem to be working for her the same way that they usually did. She moaned, whimpering and panting as her pussy drooled down to her asshole. It puckered and pushed out, her body’s natural response to arousal turned up to an eleven by the power of the juices that she had sucked down. He smiled, knowing that she was ready.  “Moony…please…” Azure Breeze panted as she managed to touch her pussy with one hoof, trying to pull herself open the way that she always did when she was particularly needy for him. She couldn’t get a good grip, though, her entire body limp and relaxed, unable to do much besides weakly try and get some attention.  He smiled down at her, shaking his head as he felt the parasite wriggling in his ass. The tendril was already starting to push down his inner walls, grinding down towards his hole. It was almost time to infest her, just as he had done to Ivory.  “Moony…please…I need…I need something…I need…I’m so hot…” “Don’t worry. You’ll get exactly what you need.” “Mmmph…you can…go again?” “Oh, I can…but not for that.” Squelch. The soft, almost messy sound of the tendril pushing out of his pucker was starting to get rather sexy in its own right, and he groaned as he felt it pushing free of him, slowly rippling free of his asshole and then sliding around to point towards him. He held out his hoof, and the end of the tendril started opening up, just like it had done for Ivory the night before.  She was slowly looking up at him, her face burning with the blush of arousal and excitement. Even as she watched what he was doing, she barely seemed to care. The goo in her was already making it so that she didn’t have nearly the inhibitions that she normally would, and that meant that she wasn’t panicking.  She didn’t quite spread her legs, but she didn’t need to. Her hooves were already up in the air, and that meant that she was more than ready for this. He laid the crab-like creature down on her tail, and it followed it all the way up to her rump.  “What…what are you…” “Don’t worry. It’s going to feel good.” “You promise?” “I promise.” “I…mmmph…ah…” She broke off as the parasite started rubbing up between her cheeks. Unlike with Ivory, there was no need for him to fight her or keep her pucker open, or keep her distracted. She was hornier than he had ever been, her need for something inside of her so strong that she’d accept everything, even something that her common sense would have told her was not right for her.  It was quite the pleasure to watch the bug sliding into her, too. It was like last night, except that he was getting to relive the sight of his own infestation from outside again. Every time that he helped the hive infest someone else, it was like getting that pleasure all over again, allowing himself to enjoy the possibility of being infested himself again.  The crab thing slid against her pucker, rubbing its narrow head against that puffy donut of a thing. The more that it touched it, the more that she started to loosen up, her pucker puckering that much more, clenching and releasing, opening and closing. There was a need that was building in the mare, her hooves slapping against the bed.  “God, I need it in me…please…please…” “It’s working on it.” “I need it…” “You’ll get it. It’s almost in.” And it was. The parasite was nosing back and forth, pushing her rim open, the slime coating her all along her rim. There was no getting away from it, now. She was tainted, and she would crave it, even if she pulled away at this point.  The crab-thing grabbed her rim with its forelegs, pulled it open just a bit. Azure Breeze gasped, arched her back slightly –  POP! And then it was in. She moaned out loud, her eyes going wide as she was suddenly filled, stretched, the parasite slithering in just as it had done with Ivory, just as it had done with him. The walls of her asshole clenched down on him again, pulling it in deeper, making sure that the parasite was inside of her.  She had no prostate for it to hit, but it must have found something, because Azure Breeze screamed out loud as she came, hard. Her pussy clenched, her fat folds squeezing down on nothing as she came and squirted. The air was thick with the smell of sex again, and –  “AAAAAAAAAAAGH!” She screamed a second time, cumming again, and again, and again, each time squirting hard enough to hit the far wall with her juices. The parasite was hitting her harder than it had hit either him or Ivory with the pleasure take-over, and he wondered if this was because she was being more obedient than they had been, or if she was just getting pushed down more. Maybe this one was less of an obedient subject than he had thought.  Spasm, shake, spasm, shake. Each time she came, she seemed to lose a bit more, falling deeper, becoming more and more obedient, more and more languid and limp. Soon, she was completely still, staring up at the ceiling, her sex dripping with her juices.  Then, she did the slow head turn to one side, then the other.  He smiled to himself, getting off the bed, the tendril still holding his asshole open. They would likely be exchanging information, and he wanted to be ready.  The mare laid there for another few minutes, one leg stretching, then another. Her tail twitched to the right, then the left. She looked up, down, and then up again before finally looking off the bed at him. His mare’s face twisted slightly, becoming more disgusted, then more accepting, and he knew that the hive was experimenting, rifling through things, figuring things out with the new body.  Then she looked at him properly, and he could tell that it was the hive speaking through her as much as it was her saying the words.  “This pony has information for the hive.” “Then share it,” he was made to say.  They turned around, ass to ass, and the tendrils sought each other once more. Moonlight tried to brace himself, but there was no bracing for the extremity of such intimacy.  They gasped as one, arching their backs as they felt their ass tentacles touching each other. For a moment, he almost felt Azure through it, and wondered what she was feeling now that she was part of the hive. If he could have connected with her the way that the hive parasites were connecting to each other –  But no. That wasn’t happening, and that meant that he was just along for the ride. He felt images passing between the tentacles, some that went down to the mare, and some that came back to him. He didn’t recognize anyone in the images, but he knew that it was important the hive, and that meant that it would be explained to him when it was important and right for him to know.  The images kept passing back and forth, almost like it had done with Ivory, but there was something different about it this time. There was something…he didn’t know how to put it. It was almost like there was something that had grabbed the attention of the hive beyond a mere update. Through it all, his cock was trembling between his legs, and he could smell that Azure’s  pussy was just as wet as it had been in bed. She was on the verge of squirting on the floor, just like he was on the verge of cumming from this information sharing. He didn’t know why it felt so good, but it did.  He was quiet, kept off to the side as the hive consulted with itself. They did not need to share information with him that they did not wish to; he was not part of the planning process, nor was he the same as them. He was a drone, a vessel, a thing to accomplish what they needed, not anywhere near their level.  Slick, slide, rub. There were times when the tendrils almost seemed to flirt with one another, when the two horses were pushed to have their assholes grinding together, pressed against one another, and one tendril went inside while the other followed. It was a strange feeling of almost-fucking, and despite being on the bottom more than once, Moonlight wasn’t bothered by it at that point.  Forward, back, forward, back, giving of himself and then having it taken. The feeling was so strange, so erotic, but he loved it all the same.  Eventually, the tendrils stopped, and they were allowed to separate. Azure looked back at him, her eyes slightly more subdued than before, but not in a way that anyone else would notice. He only saw it because he knew her better than anyone else, saw the way that the glow in her eyes was less than it had been before.  “The hive has a plan,” she said, and suddenly, he knew it too.  “Yes. A plan for expansion.” “A plan for supplies.” “You will handle someone else?”  “You and Ivory –” “The new merchant. Yes. We’ll handle that. And you – right, the –” “The landlord.” “Yes.” The plan had been formed without either of them needing to do a thing, and that was for the better. It meant that they were already focused, and they only had to follow orders. That was the long and short of it.  And his orders meant that he had to get to town, and hope that Ivory was there. The parasites didn’t communicate over long distances the way that other species did. They had to be close by, allowing for an exchange of information. He wondered, briefly, if there was a way for them to speak to each other without the anal tentacle, but that thought went out of his head when he felt a sense of displeasure and discomfort from the back of his mind. The hive didn’t need to tell him that wasn’t something that he needed to think about. He figured that out all on his own.  To town, then. He didn’t need to tell Azure anything about that. She already knew, and she had her own plan. He imagined that she’d be quite popular among the landlords of the area; most of the farmers rented their plots from richer ponies further off, paying off their rent with crop harvests and more. He imagined that they would be eager to ‘harvest’ something else, not knowing what they were getting into.  Jealousy was not a thing. Not that he had ever been, particularly, what with his relationship with Ivory, but knowing that she was going to be seducing other stallions didn’t bother him at all.  The hive was all, after all.  # Town was bustling, and that meant that there were plenty of distractions to keep anyone from seeing Ivory and Moonlight from meeting. The pair of them had come together in an alley, exchanged information via tentacles, and now, Ivory was taking the lead as they went to the little trading post at the edge of the village.  It had been a wild night for the white and black stallion. He had been corrupted, turned into something different. His cock had been hard all night, forced that way so that he could breed and break his mare through the night, and then give her a parasite in the morning. She was still coming down from the high from his infected cum, and that meant that the parasite in her was having a hard time fighting through her biological response in order to do things.  Ivory was not in trouble, but he and his parasite were going to have to do better in future.  “Think that this guy is going to be interested in a pair of stallions?” he asked the brown horse behind him.  “The hive saw rumors in Azure’s mind. That he offers discounts to sexy males.” “That could be true, or slander.” “You never know.” “We’ll find out.” “And if he is?” “I’ll start sucking him, and you start fucking him.” “That’s a good plan.” “And then we’ll have a new member of the hive.” They were both keen on that, and he could feel the parasite in his ass already swelling slightly, eager to get started on the plan, eager to pull someone else into the hive. It was nearly ready with another birthing, and as soon as it was ready, they would be set.  So, they walked a bit more slowly through town toward the trading post, just to make sure that they had enough time for this. The stallions chatted, not really paying attention to what they said, just trying to look normal. The occasional reflexive clenches of their parasite masters meant that their cocks kept flopping out of their sheaths a bit, starting to drop before their arousal faded and they pulled back in. It attracted the eyes of a few ponies, but never for very long.  The trading post was at the edge of the village, somewhere that a traveling merchant could visit, setup, and then leave without having to go all the way through town in the process. It was a short, squat, square building, and it was the sort that nobody would really want to live in long-term. The ponies here had set it up so that traders would come, and then sell their goods, and leave as soon as possible.  It was just far enough away from the main part of the village that they would have plenty of privacy, too.  Moonlight and Ivory walked up to the front door of the little trading post, and Ivory lifted his front hoof to knock a few times. There was a voice on the other side, the trader calling for them to enter.  So, they did.  He was a younger trader, they realized. Another earth pony, unsurprisingly, considering that he probably had to lug his cart of goods hither and yon across Equestria. The stallion was probably only about twenty years old, compared to the thirty-five of Moonlight, and the near-forty with Ivory. The older stallions looked at each other, and then at the red-furred stallion that was still setting up shop, dragging his goods from his bags to the counters.  “You’re the trader?” Ivory asked.  “Yep, that’s me. Sunrise Spark’s the name.” “And what’s the game?” he asked with a chuckle. “Uh, haven’t figured that part out yet. But, hey, I got my whole life ahead of me.” You really don’t, Ivory thought.  “So, what can I do for you guys?” “Well, we were thinking about…making a deal,” Ivory said, allowing his cock to drop from his sheath, and he could see that Moonlight was doing the same out of the corner of his eye. Their cocks slid down, getting bigger, stiffer without even being touched.  And that was all that was needed to get the trader blushing. He obviously hadn’t expected two older, more experienced stallions to come to him for something like this. As Sunrise Spark fumbled some of his goods, the two older stallions moved to either side of the counter-top, standing just sideways enough for him to see their low-hanging cocks.  It had been a long time since either of them had tried any sort of seduction, but they were massively helped by the young stallion’s inexperience and the fact that the parasite pheromones were already starting to fill the small post. That meant that the young stallion would be more into what they had to offer, and certainly, he was getting turned on. There was no missing that new dick starting to drop.  “Uh, what…what kinda deal?” Sunrise Spark asked.  “Oh, nothing too hard for you,” Moonlight said, chuckling.  “After all, you’re young. You can keep going for a long time, I imagine,” Ivory pointed out.  “Uh…uh…” “What’s the matter? Cock got your tongue?” Ivory asked with a chuckle.  “Um…a bit…you’re the most forward of any customers I’ve ever had.” “Well, we’re not looking to buy your goods, are we?” “So why should we waste time?” Moonlight asked.  “And besides…you know that it’s going to be better with two guys that know what they’re doing.” “We just need a little young blood around here.” “I’m on top, right?” Sunrise Spark interrupted. “Sorry, I just…I want to make sure that I’m not getting my ass ripped open, and I…I honestly don’t think I could take either one of you.” That was a bit of a disappointment, but he imagined that they weren’t going to have that much difficulty. Sucking someone off would get them into a rather compromised position, and that would give the other stallion room to get their parasite out, to infest the young stallion and bring him into the fold.  Ivory shared a look with Moonlight, and they didn’t have to say anything. Both of them were getting the same adjustment of the initial plan from the parasite that they carried. It was going to be Moonlight under the young man, and him behind.  “You’ll be on top,” Moonlight said. “But first, I want to spend some time sucking that thing…” “You…me?” “Of course. You might not be as big as us, but you’re big enough…and I think you’d taste good…” As the brown stallion pushed behind the counter, Sunrise Spark was pushed back a bit. Not far, but enough for him to be pinned in a specific position, rising up on his hind-legs a little bit while Moonlight shoved his neck and head under his body. There was no real getting away from a hungry, horny horse when they got it into their mind to start playing with someone else, Ivory supposed.  But it did mean that he had a perfect angle. There was no easy way for the merchant to pull back, no way for him to get out of the way, and no way for him to kill the parasite before it could wiggle in. The plan would work out. The hive adapted and adjusted.  As the soft sucking, glucking sounds of a blowjob filled the air, he pushed out his tendril. It made the usual sound as it passed out of his rim, hanging down between his rump cheeks for a moment before pulling around and offering itself to him. He held out his hoof, and the crab parasite was born, oozing out of the tip.  Let’s see how it looks from this side… He had been able to infest his mare before, but that had been a busy sort of thing, something that had been fast and rough. This time, he had a chance to watch it happen, and he didn’t intend to miss a thing.  The hive is all. That was honestly what he felt at this point. The hive had given him great pleasure, had allowed him to become closer with his best friend and fuck-buddy, and it had given him the chance to make his mare happy again. They were spreading the connection, the obedience, and the collective with each new member.  Sooner or later, all of Equestria would be part of the hive, and then everyone would understand how much better being a hive drone was. As the young stallion arched his back, starting to thrust against Moonlight’s muzzle, Ivory reached out, allowing the parasite to take hold.  It wouldn’t be long, now. The End Summary: The parasite infection continues to spread, as the wives of the two stallions are infested, and a new target is found.  Tags: M/F, M/M, horses, ponies, mlp, stallion, mare, oral, blowjob, aphrodisiac, corruption, hive mind, parasite, control, mind control, orgasm, forced orgasm, cum, anal, anal infestation, series,  > Chapter 3 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- An Infestation in the Herd Part 3 By Draconicon Being a drone wasn’t that different to working for his backers. Sunrise had been quite the deal maker before he had come to this little village, and he’d gotten a number of deals from rather wealthy ponies. They all wanted him to take their goods hither and yon, selling the little luxury goods for them. They never made that much money, but they were vain enough that they didn’t want to get money for their products, merely recognition. They got that, alright, recognized as the crap that they were.  This was not that different, in all honesty. Sure, he had less free will – well, no free will, now – but he was still doing what he wanted. It just that, now, what he wanted was the same thing that his employers, his backers, his masters, the hive wanted. It wasn’t that different…not really… That was what he thought, at least, and he wasn’t sure if there was anyone that could argue that. Certainly not the ponies that he invited in to trade, only to infect them afterward.  It turned out that some of the stupid crap that he had been trying to sell had some interesting uses when he decided to put them out for the ponies to see. The bondage harness had been perfect for allowing him to back ass-to-ass with the pony interested in it, forcing them to stay still while he fucked a parasite right into their asshole. Another one, interested in a pair of stocks as a punishment for their foal, had been rather helpless while he fed them his seed, making sure that they were well and truly out of it before they were infested with a parasite themselves.  It had been three days, and he had already infested six other ponies, each one eager to fall under the power of the hive once they had had the chance to taste his seed. He was eager to see how many more he could bring into the hive before he had to move on, and the hive rewarded his eagerness with a few tense squeezes of his prostate.  Sunrise stood behind his counter, his cock hard and throbbing under his belly. All the windows were open and several of the fans that he had for sale – little clockwork things that he had to wind every three hours – blew the smell of his musk out of the room. Much as he enjoyed it, and as helpful as it could be in other situations, it might serve as a warning for anyone that walked in and hadn’t been corrupted and infested just yet. He needed to keep a low profile until a majority of the village had been pulled into the hive.  Not long for that, though. He knew that he had been responsible for six infestations, and at least two of those would have been able to infest another two. That meant a total of ten, eleven including him, and if Moonlight and Ivory had been doing their part, that meant that there were probably six more, at least, for each of them. So, a minimum of twenty-three ponies in the village already pulled into the hive.  The hive parasite squeezed at him again, rewarding him for his devotion, and he smiled as he shifted from hoof to hoof, enjoying the pleasure that was pulsing away in his ass. Every time that he did well, the hive made sure to make him feel amazing, and for that, he would keep up the good work for as long as he could. Even if it did mean that he started spraying his own goods with his seed.  He was still shifting around, getting used to the throbbing erection that hadn’t gone down for the last few hours, when someone new approached the trading post. He cocked his head to the side as a horn poked around the leather sheet that covered the entrance, and blue-white unicorn followed. He had a sort of imperious look to him, his eyes narrowed, his horn glowing as he whipped his head back and forth. There was a way to him that made the merchant slightly nervous, though he did his best not to show it.  “Welcome to my trading post, unicorn,” he said with a small smile. “How can I serve you?” “You can tell me if you’ve had any strange customers lately.” “Strange? How so?” “Hmmph. You’d know if you’d seen them.” Sunrise felt a prickle of nerves from the hive, and he realized that there was some genuine concern over this stranger. The stallion wasn’t sure if he was okay with them feeling nervous; he’d thought that they were damn near invincible. But he didn’t let that show on his face. Instead, he kept smiling, watching the stranger with as much neutrality on his face as he could summon.  “Maybe, but I see a lot of strange things. Perhaps you can tell me what you mean?” “Ponies that have been out of it, not focusing very well. Almost like an extreme distraction?” “I have seen one or two like that, yes, but everyone is distracted sometimes. Anything else?” “They would have been…showing,” the unicorn said with an obvious blush.  “Showing?” “Dropped, stallion, dropped!” So, this unicorn was a bit of a prude, too, in addition to being more nosy than the hive would like. That was something worth noting, and something rather interesting, as well. Sunrise cocked his head to the side.  “You’re saying that I should be on the lookout for ponies that are having horny daydreams?” “No! You…Look.” The unicorn sighed, shaking his head. “Obviously, we’ve got off on the wrong hoof. May I start over?” “Probably the best thing that you could do.” “At this point, probably.” “Right. My name is Keensight, or Keen, for short. I’m an investigator of suspicious things.” “Are you part of the pony police, or…” “Just a freelancer.” “Oh? Someone hired you?” “…No, this is just personal work. Curiosity, you might call it.” The anxiety that the hive had been feeling was slowly dissipating, though it wasn’t completely gone yet, not by a long shot. It was clear that this pony had come about because he had felt something changing, something that might catch the eye of someone more powerful if the hive wasn’t careful, or if they didn’t shut him up, now.  He could feel the parasite in him weighing the options, knew that it was trying to make a decision with limited information. Sunrise didn’t push his own opinions on it. He was a drone, and that meant that he did what he was told, trusting in the hive to do the thinking for him.  Instead, he kept up his last order, making small talk, keeping Keensight from doing much more than look around.  “What kind of leads brought you here?” “My unicorn magic helps me sense different emotions. I’ve been feeling high spikes of happiness around here, more than I’ve ever felt around a trading post before.” “Maybe it’s just people finding bargains that they’re particularly happy about.” “I thought about that, but I doubt it.” “Why’s that?” “Because that low-level happiness keeps spiking all over the village, and there’s nothing going on to cause it. Considering the most that I was feeling from anyone around here before was contentment, it’s weird to feel everyone being so happy.” “What do you think it is?” “Either a group of changelings, or some sort of rogue unicorn, or some magical item that people keep tripping in your supply.” “You don’t think I –” “Obviously not you. You’re not smart enough to pull something like that off, obviously. But you might have something here that you don’t understand, something you wouldn’t know the power of.” Sunrise was doing his best not to be offended by the blatant assumption that he was an idiot, but it was playing into the favor of the hive. They weren’t as ‘caught’ as they had worried they were. This stallion had no idea just what was going on, and was spitballing to try and find something that stuck. They were in the clear. And as soon as they dealt with him, there’d be no worries of any other unicorn finding them by the same method. No two unicorns had the same sort of magic, and that meant that they could eliminate this threat right now.  Of course, that meant getting him into a precarious position for infestation, and Sunrise doubted that this stallion was going to just bend over the way that the others had.  “Would you like to take time to peruse my wares? I can step out of the way for you to scan them for a while, take some time to examine all the different magical items.” “You have some?” “A few.” “Then show me, and then get out. I’ll be at this for a while.” Sunrise nodded, having to hide the little burst of pleasure that the hive rewarded him with. He had managed to figure out something that they wanted, at least, and that meant that he was on the right track for moving forward. The stallion stepped out from around his desk, the hive pulling his cock back into its sheath to not offend or arouse suspicion, and he trotted around the small post, pointing out the objects that had magic to them. The whole thing was harmless, all things considered; none of these items were part of the plan, after all.  Once Keensight had the items pointed out to him, the unicorn turned away, ignoring him. The way that the other stallion was completely focused on his mission was almost a credit to his dedication. Not particularly a smart thing to be doing when there might have been suspects in the area, Sunrise supposed, but a good way to keep on task.  He took a moment to ogle the unicorn’s ass, looking at the taut cheeks, the way that the puffy pucker stood out. It was completely untouched, something that had obviously never been fucked, and he knew that he’d need to make sure that Keensight was completely out of it before offering him the parasite. Otherwise, he’d just get it killed.  But that hole…it was almost a pity that he would only get to fuck it once.  He turned his head away, walking out of the trading post to give the unicorn the promised space. As the leather flap stroked down his back, he looked out at the village. The hive had already taken so many of them, almost half. Soon, they’d be able to start thinking of bigger and better things, no longer having to hide what they were.  But he had to get rid of Keensight, first.  Almost as soon as he thought that, the hive offered him a suggestion, and he was rather surprised that he hadn’t thought of it himself. After all, it was simple enough that even a drone could have thought of it.  My seed. If I can mix it properly…yes… The pony trotted into town, taking his time to keep from standing out, his tail a bit low so that his pucker and the bit of juiciness that it had wasn’t so visible. The other corrupted, infested ponies would understand, and the modest ones would be happy not to be staring at his ass, as if he was some sort of pony slut.  He made his way to the general store, bumping the door open with his head. The local merchant, another one of the infested, looked up. Their eyes met, and they shared a smile.  “Welcome.” “I am welcome.” “Anything that you need?” “Water, and a cup.” “Why a cup?” “Because there is someone that needs to drink.” Their speech was a bit less natural, but that was because they were sharing the words that the parasites needed to speak to one another. It was midday, so they couldn’t risk the tentacle in this open space, and the hive was not great at oral speech. They were better with concepts, images, ways of conveying information quickly without having to go through each of the different word-pieces that made up the concept.  The infested stallion nodded, his little mustache affectation bouncing along his lips as he ducked beneath the counter. The tan pony pulled a cup out, and then passed it over with one hoof. The water was passed over in a small barrel, one that the shopkeeper slung over Sunrise’s back.  “Here you are.” “Thank you. Is there anything owed?” “Not for one of us.” “Thank you.” “Good luck.” They parted, and he half-trotted, half-hopped down the street with the glass held on his hoof. He could feel the idea percolating in the back of his brain, and he knew that this was going to be one hell of a thing.  Once he got back to the trading post, he walked around to the far side, just in case Keensight finished early. He kept the water off to the side for now, but slowly straddled the glass, wiggling his hips slightly until his cock started dropping again.  Just have to make sure that most of it goes in the cup… Sunrise grunted as he started tensing his muscles at the base of his cock, and the hive parasite helped by doing its thing with his prostate. It took almost no time at all for him to be completely erect and hard, throbbing against his belly, and he slowly lowered himself, laying over the cup, almost touching the glass rim to his belly. Certainly, the rim touched his flare more than once as the big horse cock throbbed under him.  He had to bend his head forward a bit to watch, making sure that the throbbing thing was aimed properly. He didn’t have to focus on the masturbation part, as the hive parasite was taking care of that bit for him, but he did have to focus on how it was pointed. He shifted his haunches slightly, moving his hips, keeping the thick flare pointed right at the edge of the glass.  Green-laced pre-cum dripped from the head into the glass, starting to fill the bottom and bring it up a little bit. He grinned to himself, feeling his balls rising and falling, feeling them churn with need and arousal. He could already imagine feeding this heavy load to the unicorn inside, watching as his eyes went made with lust. He would be completely vulnerable to the parasite after that, perhaps even to a fuck.  It’s been a while… The hive didn’t say no, and he hoped that they would say yes when the time came. It had been too long since he had been able to enjoy the feeling of a hot, wet ass around his cock. Usually, his backers were quick to offer their asses as well as their products, wanting to get a bit of ‘common cock’ before they sent him off, but this time, they’d been in too much of a hurry. He wanted to get his dick wet again, and who better than this pompous unicorn? He groaned as his cock twitched again, pleasure squirting up and over the glass, and he had to shift his aim again as the massive rod started twitching, throbbing from the base to the tip. His medial ring was showing, now, and that meant that he was definitely getting closer to orgasm than he had thought.  A little more… The hive helped him, controlling him so that he didn’t start humping or upsetting the cup or anything like that. It pushed his hooves down, making him anchor himself, and instead of thrusting, he had his prostate squeezed, rubbed, manipulated. The parasite was making it easier for him, giving him the chance to fulfill his purpose with less chance of failure.  It was good to be part of the hive.  He felt the pleasure building up in a series of tingles and sparks through his ass, running up his spine all the way to his brain. The stallion wanted to moan, wanted to pant and whinny as he felt his orgasm coming, but the pressure on his insides kept him from doing that. All he could do was stare straight ahead, his eyes closed tight, his hole clenching hard around nothing. It was like getting fucked without getting fucked, all the prostate pleasure with none of the pleasure of his hole being forced open.  Stroke, tease, press, the parasite played, and he gritted his teeth as his cock bounced up and down, hitting the glass over and over again, pre-cum splashing out until –  He didn’t even groan when his climax hit. His vocal cords felt like they had seized up, and the only sound he made was the soft hiss of air that wheezed through open lips. He huffed softly, puffing through his mouth and nose, but that was all that he managed to make in terms of noise.  In terms of cum, however, he was quite productive. He came, and came, and came, filling the cup to overflowing, and then some. The green-laced seed kept squirting free, his flare going wider and wider still, almost like a blooming flower, and he winced as he felt his balls trying to rise up yet further than they already had.  Oh, fuck, it felt good, but it was oh so intense.  He kept cumming, shooting his load all over the cup and ground, and the smell of sex was stronger than ever around him. It felt like he was swimming in his own musk. Every breath sent a shock right down to his cock, keeping him good and hard, and he swore that his hole was puckering like mad.  And then, then, it was over.  He panted hard, relying on the help of the hive to get himself upright again, his legs shaking for a moment or two before the hive helped him stabilize himself. Sunrise fumbled with the small water barrel, turning it so that he could dilute the load that he’d had. Not much, not enough to get rid of its chemical properties, but enough to make it less obviously a glass full of cum.  When it was turned into more of a cloudy soda, he put the water down and looked at the glass proper. It still had the right amount of green in the cloudiness to seem like it was going to be good enough for arousal, but he’d only know for sure when Keensight started drinking it.  He felt the ‘do it’ push from the hive parasite, and he moved, going back to the flap and then stepping under it.  “Keensight?” he asked.  The unicorn jumped, obviously having been hyper-focused on a clock that the merchant hadn’t even pointed out. Sunrise chuckled.  “Thinking there’s more magic in here than meets the eye?” “You are inexperienced; you could have picked one up that you didn’t know about.” “Well, any dangers?” “…Not so far.” “Well, how about we take a break and have a drink, then.” “Unnecessary.” “Then just indulge me.” He offered the cup, and the unicorn arched an eyebrow. After a moment, dark blue light surrounded the cup, floating it off of his hoof and towards the other stallion. He smiled to himself, knowing that Keensight was too oblivious to the obvious to really be worried about the drink; it was more about the interruption than anything else.  He dragged the water barrel in behind him, surreptitiously pouring himself a drink. Keensight didn’t seem to notice that his was clear and the other male’s was not, and the unicorn continued to shake his head as he looked around the room.  “I swear, the feelings were coming from this tent.” “Why are you so sure?” “I triangulated it, sensing for it from every part of the village. Every time that I felt it – and I could sense it from more than four miles away – the direction pointed right here.” That was something that could be useful in the future, but the hive would need to infest the unicorn to know for sure just what he could do. More than ever, he felt the hunger of the hive to have this one.  “Take a drink, Keensight. You’ll think better when you’re less thirsty.” “Probably, but it’s a waste of time.” “Then you might as well chug it.” “…Fair point.” And just like that, the unicorn did as was suggested. Sunrise watched with a growing grin as the slimy water went down the unicorn’s throat. He obviously didn’t like the taste, but he chugged it down, alright. Chugged hard, too, for that matter. The cum-water bulged out his throat, and he was obviously struggling to get it all down, but the unicorn just about managed it at the end of it all.  Even before he finished the cup, though, his body was already showing signs of being tempted, teased, altered. His cock started to swell in his sheath, and his balls started churning in a most obvious way. Sunrise smirked as he sipped his own water, watching as the stud started panting, his face going red, his cock finally starting to drop.  “Ah…ah…” “Something the matter?” Sunrise asked innocently. “N-nothing. I…I just…” The aphrodisiac effect of the seed in the water was obviously hitting the other stallion pretty damn hard. He was huffing and puffing more than usual, and his eyes were slowly rolling back in his head. His cock had dropped completely, and he had a pretty good-sized one, one that swelled and lifted and rolled upward until it curled around his belly.  “Nnngh…” “You’re dropping.” “You…nnngh…what is…ah…ah…” The stallion was panting hard, his eyes rolling back in their sockets again. The first drops of pre-cum were flowing from his dick, and he seemed unable to decide between humping forward and thrusting his hips back. Sunrise stepped out from behind the counter.  “You know, I offer a different sort of service as well as goods.” “Nnngh…what are you, some sort of…some sort of traveling whore?” “Something like that. Would you care for some relief?” “Nnngh…” The unicorn obviously meant to decline, but the drugged seed hit him hard. He moaned, thrusting his ass back, falling down with his face on the ground and his rump high. “Fine…I…I don’t know what…what’s come over me…but I can’t…I can’t…think…need…fuck…” “Then you’ll have it.” As Sunrise approached the other stallion, he felt his cock throbbing, his need rising. Was he going to be allowed to fuck that ass? Was he going to be allowed to take his pleasure for doing well? Yes, and no. As he approached, his hole suddenly opened, the parasite’s tendril tail pushing out. He didn’t groan, because that would have implied that he wasn’t obedient, but he felt a bit saddened that his pleasure was not going to be part of this.  Then, he felt the tail dropping down, wrapping around the base of his cock, and then pushing down along the underside. It had made itself part of his shaft, giving him the chance to fuck with it, and with his dick.  Fuck…fuck…rut… He felt almost feral as he approached Keensight from behind, staring at that pulsing pucker, knowing that it was begging for him, knowing that it wanted to be filled, needed to be filled. Sunrise groaned under his breath, his cock throbbing harder than ever, but his balls staying pulled down, the tail keeping them from rising.  Of course. It had to put the new parasite in, and then he could swell that hole with his seed. It wouldn’t do to make the other male even more high on those aphrodisiacs than he already was.  The stallion shivered in anticipation at the idea of getting to fuck again, and as he put his forelegs around the other stallion’s hips, he could feel the hive parasite squeezing again, giving that pleasurable reminder of good behavior leading to good rewards. He moaned, thrusting his hips forward, grinding his flaring, wet cock head against that hole. Keensight moaned under him.  “W-well…are you going to…do it or not?” “Oh, I am…” And he slammed forward, then. The flare was so wide that he almost couldn’t get his cock in, but when it slipped forward, it was perfect. He moaned loudly, feeling the tightness around his cock, something that he hadn’t felt in far too long. He thrust forward again, and again, each time feeling the defiant pucker open that little bit more for his throbbing shaft, giving in and allowing itself to be molded to his whims, his pleasure.  Thrust, thrust, thrust, and he felt the edge of the tail slid in under his cock, forcing it open that much more. The stallion under him was gasping for breath, arching his back, obviously enjoying himself. More than he expected, it seemed.  “Ah…why…why the fuck…does that…ah…ah!” He was trying to think, obviously, but there was no thinking, now. There was only fucking. The parasite inside of him was already swelling, adding more pressure to his prostate, and he could feel the beginning of the new parasite sliding down the tail. It was bulging his own asshole, making his own pucker spread wide, and that only fueled his thrusts to go further, deeper, harder.  In and out, in and out he went, his balls swinging forward, endlessly full. He moaned with abandon, savoring the rising pleasure as he plunged in over and over again, feeling that hole open and close, open and close, squeezing on him desperately.  There was some hint of pride in the back of his mind, but it was buried beneath the direction and objective of the hive. Breed and infest, breed and infest.  He was balls deep in the other stallion in short order, feeling the other male clenching on him constantly, pulling him deeper. He could see little flickers of blue light along the unicorn’s horn, Keensight obviously trying to use his magic to understand, but his focus getting shattered every time. Sunrise didn’t let up; if anything, he hammered his cock home all the harder.  In and out, in and out, each time feeling his balls battering the other male’s, feeling them drawing up little by little, only to be tugged down by the tendril around his balls. It was impossible to get away from it, impossible to cum. He was just the delivery method for the new parasite.  And it was coming, sliding down the tail, moving out of his ass and down the tendril. He could feel it swimming, feel it running along the base of his cock, and then –  “Ah!” And then, it was inside.  “What…I…nnngh!” It was so intense, even though he was made to stop. The hive parasite in him didn’t want to accidentally crush the new parasite in the new host’s ass. There was no need to be vicious, no need to be rutting so hard, not when –  “Ah…ah…ah…” They moaned together, Keensight probably from the parasite that was getting a good grip on his prostate, and Sunrise from the twin pleasures of having a parasite rubbing his prostate and grinding up against the base of his dick. They were rubbing him from both sides, and the tail around his balls was slowly loosening.  “Ah…ah…” They didn’t even move, but the parasites were keeping the bliss of fucking and being fucked alive. They were feeding their hosts, their drones, all the pleasure that they needed to be satisfied. In the case of Sunrise, more than enough to finish, and as soon as he felt the grip around his balls loosen –  “AHHHH!” He whinnied and moaned and screamed as he was finally allowed to cum, squirting his load deep in that hole. He was made to back up quickly, so not everything went inside, but enough did. The rest landed on the other male’s ass and back, soaking that blue fur with thick white seed, marking him as the little butt-slut that he was.  Further back he was forced, and the last of his seed splattered on the other stallion’s balls. They were white as could be at the end of that, and they were swelling even as the parasite started taking control.  Sunrise knew the signs, but was nonetheless aroused as he watched them. He could see the way that the other parasite was taking control, the slow stillness followed by the experimental movements. Head turning one way, then the other, and then back again. Lifting one leg, lowering it. Testing each limb. The tail twitching to the left, to the right, and then the left again. Each part needing a tweak, a test.  The other stallion turned around and smiled.  “He was very willing,” Keensight said. “And he will be called Keen from now on.” “He wanted it?” “This drone didn’t know he wanted it, but he did. And when he found the hive, he submitted.” “Will he be useful?” “He knows more magic than just sensing emotions; he can cause them, too.” “Like our seed?” “As good, and possibly better, if he was trained.” “Then we have someone useful.” “For attack –” “And defense –” “Of the hive.” They said the last one together, and the merchant and the unicorn smiled at one another. Another member of the hive gained, and one that would help them a great deal. The earth ponies were very like one another, very interchangeable when it came to what they could do. But the unicorns were different. They would be no different than the rest of the hive in how they were treated, but in terms of what they could do, they were somewhat special.  “Share what you have,” Sunrise said, turning to expose the tendril still sticking out of his ass.  “Yes. The hive must be informed.” They touched, and the host dropped down. There was no more need to speak, no more need to be there. He could just feel and enjoy the pleasure that came from interfacing and interacting with the hive members. He wondered what it would be like if more than two of them ever worked together at the same time.  He wasn’t sure if he could come through that with his head screwed on straight, that was for sure.  For now, though, plans were being made, and that was hive business. He remained out of it, and waited to know what to do next like a good little drone.  The End Summary: Sunrise Spark encounters an investigator unicorn that has a unique power, but isn’t particularly good at his job. Time to improve him and make him a member of the hive. Tags: M/M, anal, ovipositor, mlp, horse, pony, stallion, cum, masturbation, prostate play, cum in cup, milking, tentacle, parasite, mind control, drone,  > Chapter 4 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- An Infestation in the Herd Part 4 By Draconicon Cloud Scraper, the mayor of the little town of Hayburg, was fucking his assistant. That hadn’t been his normal afternoon activity until just a day or so ago, but he was pretty happy with the change. Hazelblossom seemed to be, as well, considering that she had been the one to instigate it.  The stallion grunted as he hunched his hips forward, driving his cock into her pussy again and again and again, each time burying himself up to the hilt and grinding against what felt like her womb. His flare had already popped, and he knew that he was on the verge of ‘popping’ himself, ready to blow his load deep inside of her.  “Ah…ah…ah…” “Are you enjoying yourself, Mayor Cloud Scraper?” she asked, looking back at him with a smile.  “Celestia…yes…” “Well, make sure that you get it in deeeep.” She had been completely in control yesterday, and she seemed no different today. He groaned as he kept thrusting away, feeling her inner walls clenching down tightly on his cock, pulling him deeper, forcing him to enjoy her body in a way that he had never expected to. Anyone that walked in would have thought that he was an employer abusing his position, when, in fact, it was something of the other way around.  He still remembered how she’d come in yesterday, bringing him the papers for the day before turning around and deliberately flicking her tail to the side. He had started to tell her that it was inappropriate, but she…she’d ground her pussy back against his desk, then slid her hips back and forth, almost as if she was marking her territory. Then she’d flicked her tail towards him, and some of her juices had hit him in the face, and –  After that, things got a bit fuzzy, but he knew that she had given him permission to be fucking her. That much was clear.  He grunted as he bottomed out in her again, and again, and again, each time feeling her pussy clenching down on him and milking his shaft. The black-furred stallion was right on the verge of climax, had been for the last minute, and it was getting harder and harder to hold back.  “Nnngh…are you…close?” he panted, having a hard time getting the words out. “Not as close as you.” He gritted his teeth, stallion pride demanding that he make the female cum first. She deserved that much. That was part of being a male, to see that your female got off before you did, to see that she got her pleasure before taking your own.  The middle-aged stallion started thrusting harder, faster, forcing his cock to go as deep as he could. He swore that he felt their juices splattering further, going up his cock, along her ass, and he shivered as he felt the sheer sliminess of being so deep inside of someone else, of having this round of sex go on for so long. It was getting messy, and yet, at the same time, he didn’t care in the slightest.  In and out, in and out he went, each thrust bottoming out, each pull back dragging her juices with him. Despite his frenzy, she was far more in control, barely doing more than pushing back from time to time despite her occasional moan.  Yesterday had been different. She had been seductive, needy, showing off how much his cock did to her. Today…today… He panted as he tried to hold out, his eyes rolling back in his head as he felt the urge to cum. He tried to hold out, but Cloud Scraper had been holding off for nearly three minutes now. After that long, he desperately, horribly needed to cum, and there was no more holding back. With a great moan, he slammed in up to the hilt again, and came.  With a whinny that echoed through the little square office, he felt his seed splattering inside of her, and he felt her squirting around his cock, splashing his balls, her juices running along his taint and all the way back to his asshole. He groaned at the weird, tickling feeling, but he still savored the feeling of her pussy milking him.  God, that was good.  The stallion held himself there for a moment, slowly taking his time to pull back, panting all the while. It felt so good to be buried inside of her, and his cock was still rock hard as he dragged himself free. It was kind of surprising. He had been expecting to be done with that, but instead, he felt like he could go for another round or five. It was weird for a stallion of his age to still have that, but…well, it was nice at the same time.  He groaned, shaking his head. He had some sort of phrase of dismissal in his mind, something to tell himself and Hazelblossom to get back to work, but –  “Mmm, Mr. Mayor?” Cloud Scraper blinked, watching as her pussy clenched and squeezed, his seed still dribbling out of her puffy pussy. It was weird to see that he was still so productive, and weirder to see that he was so aroused by the sight of his own conquest. His eyes lingered on her, his head tilting to the side slowly as he stared at her puffy sex.  “Mr. Mayor. Do you think you could clean me out a little bit?” “I…I should get…” “Come on…” She backed up a bit, and her scent seized him by the balls, making him feel like he needed to bury his face between her hind legs. Her pussy was squelching, squeezing, and her asshole was puckering at him like it was in as much need as her pussy had been.  “Come on. Give me a few licks, at least, so I don’t make a mess back at my desk?” “Fine…just…just a few…” The mayor had always tried to be a gentleman, but this was pushing it a bit. He slowly stuck out his tongue, dragging it from her dry fur just over her clit to her clit, and then a bit further back. There was a little shiver from her, but no more than that. She was oddly still, he had to admit, almost like there was something keeping her from giving into the fun completely. It was weird.  As he dragged his tongue through his own mess, he tasted the saltiness and the slight bitterness of the cum oozing out of her, and he did his best to ignore it. After all, that had been part of the fun, and he supposed that he owed her the cleaning-up. There was no need for other ponies to know what they had been up to, after all.  However, after the first lick, his cock ached all the more, and the second made him harder than he had been before that first fuck. He groaned, trying to pull his head back, but her tail dropped down on him, forcing his head against her once more. His tongue slid deeper into her, tasting her juices rather than his seed, and it –  “Nnnngh…” It sent a shock right to his cock, and he swore that he was on the verge of cumming all over again. But it was more than just arousal. It felt like everything was swimming around him, and his legs felt funny, like they were about to –  No, they were giving out. He stumbled, falling to his knees, his head swimming and rolling around. Hazelblossom turned around, smiling at him.  “I wondered how long that would take. You were pretty resistant to a little dose yesterday, so I felt that I needed to up the dosage to make sure that you weren’t going to resist this time.” “D-dosage?” “You can feel it, right? So horny, so needy…so desperately eager to be filled…” He groaned, trying to sort through his own thoughts as the burning inferno threatened to consume his body. He was horny, alright, needy and horny and desperate for something to get him off again. Yet, there was something different to it than before. It wasn’t coming from his cock in the way that it had before, but rather from his…from his asshole.  He blushed as his pucker started clenching, squeezing, almost as if it was trying to pull off an imitation of what the mare had been doing almost a moment ago. He could feel it sucking at air, trying to pull something inside, desperately trying to milk a cock that didn’t exist.  “What…what is…” “Don’t worry. It’s only going to get better.” The mare walked around him, and he huffed and puffed as he heard something squelch. It was different, not quite the same sound as a hoof rubbing a pussy, or anything like that. It was more like something coming out than something going in.  What…what is… He gasped as she pressed something against his ass, something wet, something like her hoof, but it was slimy. Slimy and…and hot… And immediately spreading that heat from inside of him to his outsides. The mayor gasped, his black fur on edge as his hole started going puffy, puckering hard as it pushed out a little bit. His mind went blank, his urges rising to the fore.  His tail flicked off to the side quickly, and he groaned as his assistant started grinding her hoof, lubed in some strange substance, against his asshole. He shivered, his head falling, his mouth opening wide as he tried to find the words to tell her to stop…or tell her to do more, he didn’t know anymore.  All the mayor knew was that this was feeling a whole lot better than it should, and he couldn’t get his head out of the clouds. All he could do was stare straight ahead, his eyes wide, his hole puckering like mad, and his entire body feeling like it was on fire. He needed something inside of him, and he needed it badly.  But he couldn’t even push back. The heat that filled him made it impossible for him to move, almost like everything was going limp and weak. Nothing wanted to obey the limited commands from his brain, almost like he was going through a full body rebellion. He couldn’t even turn his head to look back at Hazelblossom again. All he could do was fall all the way to his knees, his head pressed against the ground, his cock throbbing futilely between his belly and the ground.  “Ah…ah…ah…” “Yes, that stronger dose was definitely needed.” “Nnngh…” “Your ass is ready.” “Mmmph…” “It’s time for you to become one of us, mayor.” The feeling of her hoof pushing in one last time was beyond compare, and his eyes just about bugged out of their sockets as he felt his rim spreading wide open. His mouth hung open, his breath came in barely-there, ragged gasps, and his eyes were trying to roll back in his head as he felt that hoof-tip pushing into his guts.  More, more, more of it came forward, and he swore that he was being spitted on something that was going to leave him gaping for the rest of his life. His hole burned, but in a good way as it was forced to stretch to accommodate the hoof point.  And then, it was gone…and something else returned.  It was like a pair of fingers, digits that were pressing on either side of his pucker. They slowly pulled him open, followed by something thick, though not as thick as that hoof, slowly pushing in. He gasped under his breath, grinding his head against the floor.  “Ngaah…nnngh…” “It’ll be over soon, Mayor.” “Nnngh?” “It’ll be inside you, and then everything will be okay.” What would be inside of him? There was no way that Hazelblossom was a secret stallion, but…but at this point, even if she was, he doubted that he’d care. That would be the perfect thing to scratch the itch that was building in his ass, but –  “Ah!” He gasped, almost shouting as he felt the thing thrust itself forward, dragging past his rim into his depths. The feeling of his inner walls starting to stretch, to part, to come open for something that didn’t belong was beyond… Sexy… He moaned as he was filled to the brim, his eyes rolling back completely, his cock spurting pre-cum across the floor. He started to roll onto his side, then onto his back, his assistant doing nothing to stop him. Something pulled at his rim, almost fell out, but the mare pressed her hoof down there, keeping it in place, allowing it to keep –  “Ah…ah!” He gasped again, feeling the thing inside of him wriggling about, little pinches and tugs on his inner walls corresponding to the different movements it made inside of him, as it dragged itself deeper, as it made its presence known.  What is that thing? He didn’t know, but he knew that it was making him feel good, and he was pretty sure that was all that mattered right then.  Deeper, deeper, deeper the little creature went, and he could feel it sliding further into his hole as he felt the tail at the end of it slurping past his pucker. The slow, slimy insertion was far easier than that hoof or the first bit of the creature, and the way that it soothed his heat, took that pain and need from him, was just perfect.  He didn’t even care that it was unnatural. The relief that it provided was more than worth it.  His eyes were slowly rolling back to normal when he felt the first clench.  “AH!” He screamed again, this time arching his hips, thrusting his cock up over his belly. Hazelblossom stood over him, patting his head with her hoof as he panted, as he moaned, as he shot bursts of pre-cum over his belly.  “Don’t worry, Mayor. It will be over soon. You’ll feel so much better when it is in control. The hive is all.” Cloud Scraper didn’t know what to think. His head was hazy, filled with a strange, lustful fog that was only getting worse as that thing in him moved around, as it tickled his insides, as it pushed around and then –  It clenched around his prostate, squeezing down so hard that he came right then and there. His eyes bugged out of their sockets as he came, shooting his seed over his chest, then up to his face, and then over it, hitting his assistant along the hooves. His body was so tight, so tense, and it was hard for him to catch his breath.  Hell, he wasn’t sure that he could catch his breath.  The stallion rolled back and forth, never quite managing to get on his sides, but always in motion. He moaned under his breath, and then out loud, corresponding to the tight squeezes and bursts of pleasure that came from his ass. Each new load that was milked from him was less white, more green, tainted by the thing inside of him, forced to change by what it was forcing on him.  And the more pleasure that he felt, the more…right…he felt with it inside of him. The distraction of pleasure became the reward of pleasure, and the questions of what was happening became the questions of how to keep it going.  His expression of shock faded to an expression of pleasure, particularly as the rippling feelings of bliss that came from his ass started to ripple up and out from his spine as well as out from his hole. He moaned as it went up the middle of his back, making all the muscles relax, feeling limp and happy the further that it went. He rolled his head to the side, his tongue hanging out a bit as he surrendered all control to the pleasurable feeling.  The mayor was still laying like that when he felt his head turn. Not from his control, but from another. It turned one way, then the other, then back again. His legs pulled tight to his chest, and then out again, one by one, as if they were being tested.  It felt…good. No more questions…just…doing what I’m told… Yes, that felt right. That felt good. That felt…hot… Yes, doing what he was told was right. That would make him feel like this any time that he obeyed.  Cloud Scraper liked that. He smiled, even as the hive parasite continued to feel around inside of his body, testing it out, making it do different things so that it understood what it could do with him.  Eventually, he was rolled onto his side again, and he was able to look at his assistant. He smiled.  “Thank you.” “You are welcome.” “To the hive and beyond.” “To the hive and beyond.” “Heh…May I learn?” “You may.” She turned, and the same squelch from before filled his ears again. He saw the tendril that slowly pushed out of her, and he smiled as he felt the tendril-tail of his own parasite slowly sliding out of his pucker. It was a very strange feeling to have it happen in reverse after taking it so deep, but he loved it. It was like getting a sense of relief, as well as a sense of pleasure, all at the same time.  He pushed himself to all fours, turning around as the tendrils met. It was time for the hive to exchange information, for his knowledge to become theirs, and for the plan for the rest of the little village to be made.  The shocking pleasure of their contact forced him hard, and the control of the hive parasite kept him stiff as they talked. He moaned at the top of his lungs, cumming all over the floor, and he could feel Hazelblossom squirting against the backs of his hind legs and against his balls.  They were all helpless to the pleasure of the hive.  Bit by bit, their masters talked, and bit by bit, the information was collected from him. He felt some coming back, the hive parasite in his ass taking the information that the rest of the hive would have collected, and he felt image-pictures of memories popping through their shared consciousness. There were quite a few ponies that had already become part of the hive, more than half of the population of the village, as a matter of fact. It was only slowing down because there were no more ponies that regularly talked to the other ones, so it was harder to find a reason to get them somewhere private.  There were options, but the hive were the ones that knew the options, and they were the ones that needed to decide what would happen. He remained silent, making sure that he didn’t push any thoughts. They would know it was there, and he was merely a resource to be tapped, nothing more.  Eventually, the tendril tails disentangled, and the mare and stallion nearly collapsed. He shivered.  “Is it always…” “The hive shares pleasure.” “That much?” “More than.” “How was it –” “Better than your cock.” “They’re that good – oh, yes, they are.” “You see.” “I know.” The exchange between the tails had left him with more knowledge than he had expected, or at least, had left the hive parasite with a great deal, and he was privileged to be allowed to know some bits and pieces. Memories of other meldings, the pleasure that came from being part of that transfer, the bliss that came from being in the hive.  He could see and feel that, and he shivered. His pleasure was only going to grow in this group. There would be more for him than anything that he might have gotten as the mayor.  Then, an idea came to him.  “Call a town meeting. Later tonight.” “The plan?” “It’s there.” “I’ll make sure everyone is there.” “Everyone. No excuses. All ponies present.” “We’re going to take them.” She knew. There was no way that she didn’t know, and yet, despite the fact that the two of them were ‘betraying’ their entire village to the hive, neither of them could do less than smile. This was right. This was what they needed to do.  Otherwise, how could the other ponies ever be happy? # Cloud, neither mayor nor Cloud Scraper, ascended the platform in the town square. As he did, he looked out at the other ponies that had gathered for the speech. Just by looking at them, he could feel the burst of recognition and pleasure from his hive parasite when he saw others that were part of the group. Here and there, he spotted those that were not, but they were in the minority. Of the fifty people in the village, there were no more than fifteen that were left without a parasite, and that would soon change.  He smiled to himself as he took the podium, moving so that he faced the other ponies that were looking up at him. Those that were part of the hive had taken positions at the edge of the square, making sure that nobody that panicked could run off. The males were already starting to drop now that they weren’t being looked at, and the females were slowly edging their tentacles out from under them, creating ovipositor cocks that hung under their bellies.  Those that were not part of the hive soon would be, and that was all that mattered.  Cloud smiled as he started to speak.  “Ladies and gentle-ponies, I asked you here so that I could tell you of a grave emergency that’s come to town.” There was a soft mutter between those that were uninfested, the close circle looking at one another while the outer, infected circle started to move closer. Many of the innocent ponies had their tails flicking side to side, some of them starting to show signs of unconscious arousal from all the parasite pheromones in the air. It wouldn’t be long, now.  “As you know, there’s been a great deal of changes. You’ve noticed that some of our village friends have started acting strange. Copping off and going places privately, sometimes even married mares slipping away for some…attention…from stallions not their own.” There was agreement, mutters that the ponies had seen that. A little closer, a little closer still. The infested were just on the verge of rearing up and taking those that they wanted, and he knew that they were going to be relentless once they started. The only reason that he hadn’t given the game away was because he was behind a stand, his dropping cock concealed by the large block of wood. Nevertheless, it still throbbed, spitting at the stand and soaking his side of it as the parasite in his ass pushed him to hurry up.  “This is because we have been invaded, but not by anything malicious. Just…unable to tell us what it needs.” “What’s going on, Mayor?” one of the mares asked.  “Yeah, what’s happening?” “You’re beating around the bush. Be blunt.” “Tell us what’s happening.” “What’s going on?” “What’s going to happen to us?” “You are going to be assimilated into the hive,” Cloud said.  The silence that spread through the crowd was deafening. Not one sound broke the crowd, not one little murmur, not one hoofbeat or indrawn breath. Cloud smiled.  “They will assimilate you, and make you part of a group. We will be more than a herd. We will be a hive. Drones. Nothing more than the appendages of the minds that control us. All of us will be equal to one another, with none greater, and none lesser. We will be drones, and we will be happy.” “You…you can’t be serious, mayor.” “Come on, this is a joke, right?” “No joke. They have me…and they have most of us. You…are the last ones to be infested.” With a nod, and no more than that, the hive was unleashed. Mares were pinned beneath stallions that were all too willing to fuck their asses for the first time in years, and the few stallions had the unique humiliation to be doubled-up on by the mares around them, one to shove her pussy in his face, the other to fuck his ass with her slimy parasite cock.  The few people that were free were soon pinned down, and the sexual juices that were being forced down their mouths and up their asses were soon enough to turn their screams of pain and fear into pleasure and need. The panic faded almost as soon as it started, and he felt the satisfaction of the parasite in his ass as he watched the ponies crumble beneath him.  Hazelblossom moved up to stand beside him, her hive parasite tendril stroking along his hip. He allowed his out, as well, and they met. They did not tangle, as there was no need to start spreading that sort of pleasure, nor any need to exchange information. But the touch was enough to send pleasurable shivers down their spine, even if it wasn’t enough to make them cum on the spot.  The hive was spreading. Everywhere, the mares that were being taken up the ass were giving in, cumming hard enough to squirt the earth to mud. The stallions that were being mounted were hard as ever, their bodies submitting to the domination of another. Their bodies knew what they wanted, even if their minds wanted to fight it for a bit longer.  Here and there, other corruptions, other completions were being done. He could see that there were some stallions that were trying to hold back, but as soon as he saw the bulge of the parasite running down the tail tendril, he knew that they were on the clock. Cloud watched with glee as he saw different stallions suddenly seize up, their eyes going wide, their bodies going stiff, their cocks squirting like mad as they were suddenly, finally infested.  It was a universal reaction across the map, every male pony giving into the pleasure of the body, his eyes rolling back, his balls coming close to draining themselves as the seed spent went from white to green. The parasites were converting them, claiming them, testing them. Seeing the bodies go from still to slow-moving, experimenting, just as had happened with him, confirmed every little conversion was a real one.  He turned to one of the stallions that dismounted one of the females, his seed swimming in her ass. She was still begging for more, the mare wiggling her fattened rump back and forth, showing it off and pushing her claimer to use her again.  Instead, the stallion in question extended his tendril-tail, the green tube pushing out of his ass, and then into hers. It connected them like a double-ended toy, just big enough to reach her, just wide enough to cause pleasure as it slid in… And just big enough to allow the parasite coming down the chute to enter without any difficulties.  He heard the moan of the mare from the stage, and he grinned to himself. She was embracing it, wanting it, needing it. She started to shake, and then go still. The same testing motions began, and he knew that she had been claimed.  “It is done.” “There will be no escape.” “They want it, just like us.” “We have always wanted it.” “Always needed it.” “We are drones.” “We serve and obey,” Cloud said.  The recitation gave him another burst of pleasure, and he was given permission to enjoy himself. With all the different drones to be claimed, he turned to Hazelblossom. She pulled her tendril-tail back into her ass, and then turned to offer herself to him.  “Take me.” And so he did, sliding his flaring cock up her ass this time. As long as he was careful, it was allowed.  # In one short afternoon, the final conquest of Hayburg was completed. Started with Moonlight, ending with a young stallion named Astral Ace, all fifty ponies and the merchant that had come to visit were corrupted, infested, and turned to the service of the hive. They were all together in it, all part of the group.  But there was more to be done. The hive knew that there were other ponies in the world, other equines that needed to be brought into the fold. If they were able to reach out and offer the hive to them, surely they would be willing to join, as well.  Yet, at the same time, the hive was aware that there were difficulties. There were rulers in this world, monarchs that were calling the shots. The hive knew that there were always difficulties when dealing with other rulers, other authorities. But if they could get to the rulers, then there was the possibility of dealing with them, of creating a new world for the hive and their drones.  Just as they had learned with the mayor, once they had a good number of drones, they could make a quick, sudden attack as long as they had someone to call everyone together so that the situation was completely under their control. If they had the power of someone in charge, then they were guaranteed to win.  The question was, what did they go? They were a tiny village, something that wasn’t that important save for as a food source for some of the bigger settlements in the area. The hive had no idea of how they were supposed to expand, how they were going to bring the gift of being part of the hive to the rest of the world. For all that they had done well in Hayburg, that was because it was a small village. People knew each other, were willing to spend time with each other, would let others into their homes or go off for a walk with each other. They felt safe with one another.  From what the hive managed to see in the minds of its different drones, that was not the same in the other towns in this world. They would need to find a different way forward, something that would feel normal, that wouldn’t make other ponies want to fight.  And, oddly enough, that way forward came with a declaration from none other than the Princess of the Sun herself.  The End Summary: The parasite hive continues to spread, this time taking the mayor. It’s time for the whole village to fall.  Tags: M/F, pegging, pony, mlp, feral, parasite, mind control, ovipositor, prostate play, anal, hoof, orgasm, forced orgasm, pleasure, hive mind, tentacles, series,  > Chapter 5 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- An Infestation in the Herd Part 5 By Draconicon Hayburg fell to the hive, but it was not the only settlement in Equestria, nor was it anywhere near the largest. The hive wanted – no, required – more hosts, as there would be an ever-growing number of parasites that would need them. While their current bodies were fine for that, the hosts knew that eventually there would be too many to contain. Already, some of them were starting to shift and take on different forms, their bellies swelling ever so slightly as the parasites moved from the rectum to the abdominal cavity of the equines. While there was room there for them to grow, change, and even host their young to some extent, it was only a holding measure, not a full solution.  So, when Drone-Mayor Cloud Scraper got a message from the governing monarch of the land, inviting all those ponies that had ideas for improvements to the kingdom to gather in Ponyville to present them, it represented a golden opportunity for the hive.  A number of drones were chosen at random. Many of them would stay at Hayburg, if only for the fact that the merchant horse, Sunrise Spark, had promised that more traders would be paying their little town a visit. The merchant himself was heading off to a number of other settlements, where he’d start building up the other parts of the hive in different places, just to make sure that they could spread faster, further through the land.  But it was the representatives that had to go to Ponyville that had the most important mission. If they failed, then they would expose the hive to threats from all over Equestria, and they could easily be wiped out. Yet, the hive knew that there was no better opportunity than this, and they had to take it.  Those chosen to leave were among the first and last infested of the little town. Moonlight Thunder and Azure Breeze, the married pair that had been near the start of it all, were chosen, as were the stallions Astral Ace and Storm Chaser. Four wasn’t much, but provided that they were smart about what they did, it would be more than enough to start a cascade that would bring all of Ponyville into the hive, and if they were lucky… Well, if they were lucky, then Celestia herself might be drawn into it when she came to hear of their complaints and suggestions. That was the hope of the hive, at least.  They left with pleasure between their legs and the feeling of more parasites growing in their guts. When they arrived at Ponyville, they would be ready to spread their hive to many people.  # Moonlight Thunder was the first to see the settlement in the distance, and the first to feel his cock start to throb between his legs at the thought of what they were going to do. He pulled his anal tendril away from his wife’s, making sure that there was no trace of it as it slurped back into his pucker. Azure was quick to do the same, hiding the evidence of her infestation, and she cleared her throat. The other two stallions quickly did the same, blushing not from the embarrassment of being caught, but from having to be corrected in what they were doing.  The town ahead was bigger than theirs by quite a bit. Ponyville had once been a town, but as certain equines grew up there and grew stronger, more famous, it started to grow as a town, as well. Now, it was almost a city with nearly four hundred ponies in it. The only places bigger than that were Manehattan and Canterlot itself, and they weren’t nearly as much larger as they had once been.  The four equines made their way to the main road, heading into town. Stallions and mares alike waved at them as they entered, and the four horses had to remind themselves that they needed to wave back. They weren’t just having their minds read like they were doing with the parasites all the time anymore.  The four-legged inhabitants of the town were rather friendly, and one of them, a pink horse wearing a blue apron, walked out of her shop to greet them as they approached the center of the town.  “Hey there. What brings y’all out here?” “Oh, just the –” Moonlight Thunder paused for a second, as if he was trying to recall the word, as indeed he was as the parasite fed him the information he needed. “The convention that’s being held. We kinda thought that, being out on the edge of things, we might be able to tell the princess some of the stuff that we need. It’s not just you big towns out there, after all, and we need things, too.” “Well, that’s awesome.” She smiled, nodding towards her shop. “Why don’t one of you come along inside? I have a few treats to spare, and I bet you’ve bene walking for a long time and could use the break.” In truth, he hadn’t really noticed any tiredness. His parasite had made sure that he felt good from walking, from obeying the trip to get out here. The feeling of tiredness was on the periphery of things, and he chuckled, feeling that would be the best response.  “Heh, don’t you worry about us.” “Oh, you’re not? Tired, I mean?” “No way.” “Wow. And I thought that the Apple Family was tough. You walked all day and you’re not tired?” He could tell that she was more than slightly impressed, and more, he could tell that she was interested. Or at the very least, she was thinking of rather naughty things, things that might be exploitable.  “Tell ya what. We’ll get things set up, and then I’ll send Storm Chaser over to pick up a few snacks. Good?” “Oh, lovely. Tell him to ask for Ms. Sweets, okay?” “Sure.” They left the happily-humming mare to her business, walking into the main square of the town. Storm Chaser walked up behind him, nudging him with a hoof.  “Are you telling me I’m going to have to…mate her?” the younger, dark-blue stallion asked.  “If the hive tells you to.” “Well, if the hive says so…” If the hive said so, Storm Chaser would do just that. They were all drones of the hive, all eager to obey, and the pleasure that came from doing what they were told was all but mind-blowing. They might remember what they had been, but he knew that they were all better off now that they were infested than when they were ‘free,’ and they were here to bring that gift to the rest of Equestria.  He glanced at his wife. While he and Ivory had been great friends and fuck-friends, even, before the beginning of the corruption, there was every reason for him to stay with Azure, as well. She had been a very giving mate, someone that had allowed him a great deal of pleasure, but if the parasites ever told him that he was not allowed to put his dick in pussy again, he would obey.  All of them would obey.  “So, where do we go now?” Azure asked, making a little face afterwards. “It’s so…strange to talk…” “I know. But we have to blend in.” It was a simple thing, something that he imagined that none of them had thought of during their walk towards Ponyville. They would have to go back to talking out loud rather than just exchanging tentacle touches. The horses that weren’t infested yet didn’t know how to get along without speech. They’d learn, but until then… Well, they’d just have to make sure that happened quickly.  Eventually, Moonlight managed to snag one of the other equines running through the square and found out that they needed to register their village with one of the officials down at the town hall. They would need to talk to Mayor Mare to make sure that they had a slot for giving their presentation next week, and they’d need to make sure that they paid the fee for the slot, too.  All of that was down at town hall, and that meant that they needed to, forgiving the phrase, pony up some cash to find a way to get what they wanted.  Or, as the hive reminded them, they had other options.  #  Moonlight went to the town hall himself, walking into the Civil Affairs office. There was a stallion behind the desk, one that was a soft red color. Not bright, but soft, looking like a nice glowing guy behind the desk. The earth pony looked up as he kicked the door closed behind him, cocking his head to the side.  “Can I help you?” “I’m looking to register for a speech slot?” “Oh, right, right. You’re another one of those outsiders. One second.” The earth pony pulled a drawer open, all while Moonlight listened to the hive through his own parasite. A little pressure began to grow in his middle, the much-grown parasite having moved to the belly and spread out from there. He could feel it clenching down on parts of his colon and bowels, feeling around until –  He stifled a moan as he felt a clench around his prostate, and the pleasurable feelings back there continued, slowly milking his cock from his sheath and making it hang down in the open. The thick thing started to throb, slowly rising up as he shifted from hoof to hoof.  The red-furred stallion paused in his fiddling around, looking over the desk.  “Uh, we don’t do that in the city.” “Do what?” Moonlight asked.  “Show off our…you know.” “Really? It just happens, back where I’m from.” “Well, you can find a place downtown to buy some leather to cover it, if you need to. I mean, if you’re prone to…you know…dropping…” Dropping cock was a way of referring to an older stallion that didn’t know how to keep his dick in his sheath anymore, that didn’t have the muscle control to hold it in or the virility to get it hard. Moonlight might have been a bit offended if it wasn’t for the fact that the other horse was staring at him so hard, and not just in the disapproving way that he had started with.  He likes it, he thought, and he would have chuckled if the hive hadn’t been holding him still, debating what to do next. He could feel his balls throbbing, churning, rolling and swelling between his hind legs, and he knew for a fact that there was a parasite waiting to come out of his ass to give this younger stallion a good induction to the hive.  But not yet. Not yet.  He turned to his side, showing off his cock as it didn’t just drop, but swelled upwards. The thick thing was quite wet and shiny, dripping with the new seed that he had been altered to produce. The hive was very good at making sure that its members were well-supplied with slippery, thick, mind-altering seed, and that was what was dripping from his balls these days. Not mere baby-batter, but thick, heavy, mind-melting seed that would make most equines go into a rut just feeling it on their skin, let alone inside them.  The smell from it, too, was getting the other horse to prance slightly, shifting from hoof to hoof again and again. He walked a bit closer, his hooves clopping gently on the floor.  “Something the matter?” “Huh?” “You’re staring. You don’t like it?” “Just…didn’t think you were…Celestia…” “Do you want a closer look?” “I shouldn’t…” “Come on. I’m a stallion of the world. I know what it looks like. Come on.” The official blushed, but did as he was asked, moving around the desk to take a better look. As soon as he moved from behind the big wooden thing, it was clear that his cock had slipped free of his sheath, too, dropping down and then rising up. The head hadn’t flared just yet, but it was well on the way to doing that, starting to pulse and drip from that thick hole down the middle.  He lifted one hind-leg, showing off his cock a bit more, as well as the swollen balls down below. The other horse stared, going so far as to lean down and forward, his eyes widening and his mouth falling open.  “Good lord, man…” “Heh, doing well for my age, right?” “I’ll say.” “Glad you like the view. What do you say to giving it a bit more than a look, though?” “Wha?” “You know what I mean. You’re a stallion, you got needs.” That finally got through to the other male, and the red-furred stallion yelped, yanking his head back and blushing enough that his face actually looked like it might catch fire from pure embarrassment.  “What? No, that’d be completely unprofessional.” “Just saying, you could have fun.” “I don’t have fun on the job!” “And why not?” “Because…because…” “What’s your name, kid?” “…Ember Days…” “Well, Ember, what do you say that you clock out for a bit, and you and I have a break together?” “…” “It’ll be fun. And besides, if you don’t do something, I’m going to end up making a mess on your floor here.” That seemed to be what finally convinced the other stallion. Ember darted to the door, turning the lock with a hoof, and then leaned down again. Once more, Moonlight lifted a hind-leg to expose his cock and balls, and the other stallion blushed a bit further.  “Just…just to keep you from making a mess, got it?” “Got it.” Besides, it wouldn’t take more than a little bit for the pre-cum to start having an effect on the other stallion’s mind. He was young, already a bit horny on his own. It’d be easy to turn him, for the good of the hive.  Another clench in his lower body, another little twitch down there. Ember groaned, but slowly leaned in. He felt the rubbery lips of the other horse gripping at his cock, pulling it to the side, and then –  “Mmmm…” He moaned as he felt the wet tongue working along the underside of his cock, dragging it in and giving him one hell of a tongue-lashing. It was beautiful, fucking hot, but that was hardly the only thing that he was getting.  By obeying the hive, by giving the stallion something to enjoy, he was getting rewarded for being a good drone. His mind burned with pleasure, his body throbbed with it. His balls started to rise up, a little surge of pleasure running through them, too, another little dose of the parasite’s chemicals running through them and making them swell with hive-seed.  Thank you…thank you… There was no response from the hive, just like there never was. He was a drone, after all. All he needed were his orders.  He moaned as he turned a bit, starting to mount the other male’s head. Ember’s head stayed down, neck outstretched, and the big stallion started to thrust forward. Each little hump dragged his cock a bit deeper, forcing it further down the other male’s throat, making him swallow hard to keep from gagging.  “Mmmph. Mmmph!” “That’s it.” “Nnngh!” “Take it. It’ll be easier this way.” And it wouldn’t make a mess, and it would make sure that Ember got the full dose of the mind-melting seed. In, out, in, out, each thrust going a little faster than the one before it, each one taking him that little bit deeper. He could feel his flare swelling, but that was secondary to the constant pleasure that he was getting from behind.  Ah…ah…thank you… The hive rewarded him again for keeping the young stallion down, for keeping him from getting away. He thrust in, pulled back, thrust in, pulled back again, soon bottoming out with each thrust.  Ah…ah… He panted in his head, his body too controlled, too firmly commanded by the parasite inside of him to actually get off in the same way. He was giving himself to the parasite, letting it take full control, reminding him of his place as a drone. He was there to fuck, to fill, to give the parasite the chance to expand to new hosts. He was an obedient drone, happily fulfilling the purposes of the parasite.  In, out, in, out, in, out, until he finally felt his balls starting to rise.  Seed, was the command that he felt from the parasite, and he did as he was ordered.  No sound escaped him, not even a warning that he was about to cum. Instead, he just thrust forward one more time, his front hooves resting on Ember’s back, keeping him in place, holding him there. One pump, two, three, four, each one flooding the other stallion’s throat with seed, forcing him to swallow or drown.  Like a good little stallion, Ember swallowed.  As he felt the gushing subside, the swallowing pleasure no longer matching the waves of pleasure that the parasite released through his body, Moonlight slowly pulled back. His cock didn’t quite subside, nor did it push forward quite so had as before. Instead, it was merely ‘readied,’ pushed to the right spot to fuck again if needed.  Looking down, he could see that Ember wasn’t in the best of ways. The mind-altering seed that the other stallion had swallowed was doing its job, making sure that he was good and horny. His cock had dropped completely, and the shaft throbbed and swelled by turns, swinging up and hitting his belly again and again.  “Feel better?” he asked.  “Mmmph…wha…what’s going…on…” “You are being taken by the hive.” “What…what’s that…” “You will be part of the hive. It will be for your own good.” His voice was slightly emotionless as he said that, even though he felt particularly good about being able to offer this gift to someone else. It was the best thing that someone could feel, the greatest gift that could be given. It was something to be celebrated, even if all he could offer was a monotone response.  Ember didn’t have a response to that, only leaning forward, barely keeping himself upright on all fours. His tail was flagged up high, his breath coming harsh, hot, and fast, and Moonlight Thunder knew that the other stallion was barely aware of what was going on around him. His cock was throbbing, dripping all over the floor, and the red-furred stallion looked like he might just cum from the mouthful of cum that he’d swallowed.  Truly, the parasite offered powerful boons to those that joined and obeyed the hive.  He walked around to the far side of the other horse, looking at that puffy pucker. It was already clenching, begging for something to fill it, and he had just the thing. His cock would have been nice, but he had already been given the chance to just rut something. It was time to offer something else.  Moonlight would have groaned in pleasure as he felt the tendril running out of his asshole, but there was something more mechanical to it today, less biological. He did not moan. He did not smile. He merely moved so that he was standing with his ass facing towards the other stallion.  He was, however, allowed to look over his shoulder, and that he did with great eagerness.  As he watched the green tendril rising out from between his ass cheeks, he could feel its slimy pressure running out of his hole, running along the wrinkled, puffy flesh that came from someone having something big sliding through that pucker on a regular basis. It was a pleasure all its own, making his cock throb, but his face never changed expression. He never moaned, never whimpered, never gasped the way that Ember was doing.  After all, he was a drone, and a drone did what they were told. If he had needed to blend in, perhaps, he would have been allowed to and encouraged to moan. As it was, it was better to hold still and let matters take their course.  The green tendril slid back and forth, exploring the other stallion’s ass. Wet slime ran down the cheeks, and along the tail, before it finally found the waiting pucker on the other horse. It stroked along the rim a few times, leaving behind more and more of the green slime that it dripped everywhere, before finally running towards the little opening at the center.  “Nnngh…so…so horny…” Ember panted.  “You will enjoy this. Take the gift of the hive.” And then, the tendril pushed forward.  As Ember gasped, he slowly backed up, given instruction from the hive. He worked his ass back until their cheeks touched, his tendril sliding deeper as he moved. The feeling of them standing pucker to pucker, balls to balls, really gave him a sense of power as he delivered the hive’s newest member to them. The parasite inside of him seemed to swell slightly, and then he felt the newest parasite sliding down the tendril.  It was almost like pushing an egg out of his hole, and it felt a little like someone like Ivory pulling out of him as it ran through his hole. He stomped his hoof once, but that was less because of the stretching feeling and more to get rid of a slight spasm that was making it difficult to maintain his position.  He remained still as a proper drone should be other than that little motion, allowing that rounded parasite shell to pass through. Their holes stretched together, pushing wide open, and Ember gasped for breath as he felt the thick thing sliding in.  “What…oh god, what’s that…what’s that thing…inside…me?” “It is the hive. You are a host, now. Be welcome…” He felt the tendril slurping back into him once the parasite was deposited, and he waited until it was all the way back inside of him before taking a step forward. The slurping sensation was surprisingly pleasant, and he smiled as he felt it happen. He stopped a few paces away, then slowly turned in place.  There was a slimy mess around the other horse’s pucker, but that was being pulled in, likely done by the new parasite as it saturated the insides of the stallion’s hole with all of its essence. Ember gasped, hunching his hips, his cock slapping up against his belly again and again. Each time it hit, there was a slow, hollow drum-smack, almost like the parasite was taking control of it and beating out a tune on the host’s body.  It wasn’t, of course. They did not take pleasure from something like that.  It took very little time for Ember to go over the edge, the new drone cumming on the floor just as he had threatened to do only moments ago. Ember panted hard, his eyes closed as he felt the pleasure of being a new host rolling through him, and Moonlight felt a slight stab of envy, wishing that he could feel that again for the first time rather than knowing exactly how good it would feel every time that he obeyed.  Eventually, the new drone opened his eyes, smiling as he turned on the spot. His hooves dipped into the seed left behind.  “I am part of the hive,” Ember said.  “Be welcome to the hive.” “There are others?” “It will tell you.” “Yes. Three others, and soon more.” “Yes. They will all know the pleasure of the hive, and of obedience.” The stallions smiled, though not from the throbbing that took place between their legs. No, it was more than that. It was the good bliss that rolled out from their middles, filling them from head to hoof with the reminder of how good it was to do as they were told. Ember bowed his head a few times, moving back to his desk.  “You will need a space.” “You have some?” “Plenty.” He pulled out several sheets of paper, using a pencil between his teeth to make a few marks on it. Eventually, the sheets were passed to him.  “The fee will have to be paid.” “The hive will have them pay us,” Moonlight said.  “Yes. Oh. There is something else.” “Yes?” “Information of the host. May I share?” Moonlight nodded, and they backed up to touch again. The slow extension of tendrils was its own pleasure, but what followed was the same bliss that he always craved.  The familiar shocking bolt of pleasure, like raw nerves touching each other for the better, slammed through him. He almost lost his footing, his legs shaking from the information exchange, and poor Ember, inexperienced as he was, did lose his footing. He could hear the spurting as another mess was made on the other side of the desk.  The parasites, however, exchanged information with one another, the hive gaining new things. He could not tell what it was, but he knew that it must have been important. The rewards that rushed through them, the muted gasps – breath trying to be exhaled and failing due to the control that the other parasite had over its drone – all that he could hear, but it was enough to know that Ember was getting something good for his service.  Eventually, they pulled apart again, and he knew that he had to get in touch with the rest of the hive. It was not a suggestion, or something to get around to. It was something that was utterly required.  “You will watch things here?” he asked.  “I will,” Ember said. “And I will spread when I can.” “Good. The seed will soak in.” “And arouse others. The hive tells me.” “Good. Be obedient.” “Be obedient.” They bowed their heads, and he left.  # Moonlight didn’t have to look for long to find Astral Ace. With Storm Chaser busy working on getting the baker female on their side, Astral Ace was there to help them with ‘buying’ their space for speaking, while Azure Breeze was waiting for the chance to speak with this Mayor Mare.  He found them both and gathered them together, making it clear that the hive in him had determined that they needed to speak. They were quick to leave the town hall, going outside and finding a bush where they could hide behind. The tendrils slid out, and they had a quick little three-way exchange. When they finished shaking, the parasite in him finally shared the information that it had gained from Ember.  They weren’t the only hive out here.  Moonlight was surprised at that, and more surprised to find that the other hive was something that did not infest people, but rather fed off of them directly. Predators, almost, rather than parasites, they were known as the changelings. They were strange creatures, almost like bugs, able to change their appearance to match any horse that lived in Equestria, and they fed on love and affection.  Now that the hive knew about them, there was a priority – at least in Moonlight’s mind – to be on the lookout for them. The minute that they were able to take one and turn them to the work of the hive, the better. An obedient drone that could transform at any moment, that could look like any horse that it knew, would be beyond useful.  Moonlight, Azure, and Astral all shared a look. They had no idea how they were going to find one such changeling, nor did they know how they would recognize it when they found it, but they knew that the hive demanded it of them. That was all that mattered. Good drones did as they were told, and they were good drones.  “We will watch,” he said.  “And we will find,” Azure said.  “And we will bring them into the hive,” Astral said, the black and white pony bowing his head.  Thus decided on a course of action, the three drones separated again. They had part of their paperwork, but they needed to find a place to stay for the night – it was starting to get late, after all – and one of them needed to check in on Storm Chaser, just to make sure that things had not gone sideways there.  The hive was powerful, but needed to be close to share information, and they were too far from him to be able to share in what he was doing.  As Astral Ace made his way back into town, Azure Breeze and Moonlight Thunder started walking through the streets, seeing if there was a hotel or anything that might be open for travelers. He imagined that there had to be, with all the different horses that were making their way into town, but whether there were rooms was a different question.  “You enjoyed Ember,” she said as they trotted along.  “He had a good mouth.” “He will serve the hive well.” “You already do.” “Why?” she asked, looking at him. “How?” “You aren’t jealous.” She paused, obviously listening to her own parasite, obviously trying to untangle what he meant. Eventually, she nodded.  “I am not jealous, and that makes the mission easier. Of course, that doesn’t mean I don’t enjoy what I see.” “Oh?” “Yes. You put males in their place very well. You are more than a drone, sometimes. You are a stud.” “That isn’t a role in the hive.” “Hmm. Perhaps it should be. After all, drones are workers, and you’re more than a worker.” That was something to consider, he supposed. His part of the hive was already thinking about it, and he knew that he’d hear a decision later, something that would decide whether more was needed or not. For now, though, they needed a bed, something that would give them a chance to rest. Just because the parasites took the tiredness away didn’t mean that their bodies weren’t waiting for it, after all.  The End Summary: The hive continues to spread, this time moving from the town of Hayburg to Ponyville, where the infested start looking at ways to take others into the hive.  Tags: M/M, age difference, ponies, horses, MLP, equines, oral, blowjob, musk, parasite, infestation, series, body control, slavery, cum, orgasm, forced orgasm, tentacle, anal,  > Chapter 6 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- The hive horses managed to find a place to stay for the night towards the edge of Ponyville, where the buildings were newest and, surprisingly, cheapest. The older buildings towards the middle of town had apparently been there when the little place was small, when it was one of those little towns that nobody knew about before the famed Twilight Sparkle had come about and started changing things. The new buildings, those that were built around that center, didn’t have the same acclaim, so they were cheaper than the old-style ones.  Moonlight Thunder, Azure Breeze, Astral Ace, and Storm Chaser all made their way to their room after paying off the innkeeper with the last of their bits, and when they were sure that they were completely alone, they formed a square, their asses all facing each other.  The tentacles that came free brought all four of them to their knees in short order, and it was only through the iron control of the parasites that the four drones kept from completely losing their minds to their pleasure or giving themselves away.  They shared information about the other hive – the Changelings – and about what information they had all managed to gather about the town proper. Who was in charge, who had power, and what they would need to do in order to bring the gift of the hive and obedience to it to the ponies here: that was what they shared with each other.  Of course, the hosts weren’t allowed to see the information as it passed through. That was only for the hive, and they were only there to carry the hive to their objectives. All the horses knew that, and were happy for their place.  Eventually, the pleasure ended, and the tendrils retracted back into the holes of the different drones. Moonlight Thunder stood up again, shaking his head.  The hive shared with him the information that they had all gathered, giving him what he needed. There were several stallion soldiers here to keep the peace and make sure that there were no interruptions from the Changeling hive. No more than twenty, but still a number of stallions that knew how to fight rather than just the horses that would struggle against the gift. They had a leader, too, a commander by the name of Sunlight Charger.  Moonlight was given a picture of him, too, something to recognize the other stallion by. White-furred with a gold horn – probably how he got his name – the commander was a fairly tall stallion as things went. He’d be at least a hand or two taller than Moonlight was, and he had a pretty good-sized body.  That, and the fact that he was a unicorn, meant that they’d need to be careful around him. It was one thing to fight an earth pony with muscles and not much else, and it was one thing to deal with a unicorn with all the magic that they had but not much in the way of physical skills. It was another thing entirely to deal with a stallion that had both of those.  Azure Breeze groaned as she dragged herself to her hooves again.  “I can handle him,” she said.  “I’m sure you can.” “He’s not partnered?” She paused, then nodded. “He’s not.” There was a moment when he almost wondered if he should feel a little jealous that his own mate was talking about getting with another male, but the moment passed. They were all drones, after all, and it wasn’t as if they were going to be exclusive. He certainly wasn’t. She was there to corrupt someone else, to bring them into the hive and make them part of the group. There was nothing exclusive about the group.  Still, it was worth knowing that there was a part of him that was even curious about that. He couldn’t be a proper drone if he felt something like that. He’d need to ensure that it was dealt with.  The other stallions soon recovered as well, and they got to their hooves. They looked at him, then at each other.  It was clear that the hive was still considering the best route to take, but that would have to be done in the morning. They needed rest, and the parasites needed time to think. They all acknowledged that they would rest, and then begin their work in the morning.  They went to bed, and while they were all interested in ‘fun’, the drones quickly slipped off to sleep. They needed it, and the hive enforced that need.  # The next morning, Azure Breeze woke before the others. Her parasite had already told her that it was time, and she was more than willing to obey. She slid out of bed, landing on silent hooves, and made her way out of the inn. It was not to sneak away from her people, of course. The rest of the drones were all fine, and she had no quarrel with them, but the hive demanded that she start early, and she was a good, obedient drone.  The orders came through without her being asked. They flickered up and down her spine, going from where the parasite rested in her abdomen with pleasurable tingles to her brain, and then back down to her ass and her pussy. She could feel herself getting wet down there, and knew that it wouldn’t be long before she was dripping. The rest of the town would get a lovely view of her hindquarters as she walked through the streets, she was sure.  Moonlight had always enjoyed looking at her when she was in heat, though not as much during the rest of the year. She knew that was down to him having other urges, other interests, and she didn’t mind. She hadn’t then, and she certainly didn’t mind now.  As her body was forcibly aroused, she saw more pictures in her head of the commander of the Canterlot Guard, soldiers from the bigger city that were sent her to maintain order during the little festival that the princess of the sun had decided to hold. They were here to make sure that no Changelings disrupted it, and to make sure that no malcontents – if there were any – tried anything with the princess.  If they were going to get at Celestia, they needed to take down Sunlight Charger and bring him to their side.  Shouldn’t be hard, she thought. If he’s not interested in stallions, my body should do the trick… She had little doubt that he could resist the average female, but there were mares, and then there were mares. She had learned her tricks when her husband had decided to go out and about with other stallions. Having to attract her own lovers again had made her learn the arts of seduction all over again, and she was well-informed on what horses liked. And more to the point, she had the parasite in her to make her that much more irresistible.  The information that the rest of the hive had gleaned suggested that the stallion made his resting place towards the middle of town, in an old shop that had been converted into a temporary barracks. She decided to start there.  Clopping along, she felt her juices running down her legs, aroused and needy. Her scent was heavy in the air, but the parasite controlled her just enough to keep her from panting and shivering like some whore. She was a lady of quality, a mare of good standing. She just happened to be horny beyond belief.  She walked into the main part of town, where the library tree was. Once, that had been the home of a young unicorn, one that had turned alicorn and gone off…somewhere, nobody was quite sure where. She had her own experiments, according to the stories. But that was neither here nor there.  In the early morning, there was barely more light than the sunrise, and not many ponies or stallions or mares were out and about to see the world in that gray light. Certainly, there weren’t any to see her dripping away. The urge to grind her thighs together was there, but the parasite helped her control herself, keeping her physical needs and her mind in two different places, making it so that she didn’t have to deal with that.  Inside her, she could feel the parasite creating more young, rumbling around and getting ready for the sort of pleasure that they were going to have implanting that into the commander. There were several eggs in her, things that would eventually hatch, and one parasite young that already had, waiting for the chance to have its own host.  She was more than eager to give it the chance to control the commander.  Azure looked around, eventually spotting the shop in question on the far side of the square. She walked over, feeling her tail rising in eagerness, but the sensation was at the back of her mind.  Now, let me see…what does he like… That was information that the parasite did not know, but that was fine. She had seduced other males before. She knew how to make this happen.  She walked up to the door of the shop/barracks, rapping on it with one hoof. There was a groan inside, and a soldier opened in, dressed in sunshine-gold armor. Not the commander, not even a unicorn, but decently dressed. The gray-furred stallion looked down at her.  “Can I help you, ma’am?” he asked.  “I’d like to see Commander Sunlight,” she said.  “He’s asleep.” “Dear, I doubt that stallion ever sleeps.” “…Well, you’re right there.” The soldier chuckled. “But that doesn’t mean he’s seeing anyone, miss.” “I think he’d like to see me.” “And why’s that?” “I have intelligence on a hive.” That shot the smile on the gray stallion’s face right into the ground. He couldn’t open the door fast enough for her at that point, and she was shepherded through the barracks right to the back rooms almost immediately. The sleeping stallions still in their beds started groaning as she passed, but none had the chance to talk to her before she was sequestered in the back.  Easy, she thought, and she felt the hive parasite take note. The chamber they’d put her in wasn’t a very big one, and had probably been used as the temporary storeroom when this place was still a shop. A bed had been shoved in the back, and she walked over to it and pulled herself onto the mattress. Not very used, and that meant that it was probably more of a place for the local guards to keep prisoners for the short term rather than for anything else.  Which meant that they probably thought that she was a member of the hive, or someone that had been compromised by them.  It was not that hard for Azure to figure that sort of thing out. She had been a house-mare for a while, and that meant that she had to notice things. If she hadn’t, she never would have figured out that Moonlight had been with other stallions, or that they were often in her own house, or that there were little colts and fillies that came by to steal things from time to time. She was good at noticing things and figuring out what they meant, and this was no exception.  She relaxed, pulling her legs under her. The parasite kept her tail flagged off to the side, keeping her body horny and her mind relaxed. She appreciated it. That would allow her to serve the hive better.  Eventually, the commander came to meet her. The white-furred, golden-horned unicorn walked in with a shimmer on his head, and she realized that he used light the way that others used their hooves. She supposed that was how he had gotten his name.  “I’m Commander Sunlight. I’m told that you have information for me, miss…” “Azure, Azure Breeze,” she said, bobbing her head a few times. “Sorry. I needed to talk to you quickly.” “I’m sure. What contact have you had with the hive in question?” “Intimate contact, sir.” “…Intimate?” he asked. “Are you saying that you…” Azure turned her head slightly, looking down. It was something else that she knew how to do. How to look ashamed, hurt, guilty. It was a look that every female grew up learning at her mother’s hooves, something that was one of the few tools that the mares had against stallions that would judge them harshly. It always melted hearts, and Sunlight Charger was no exception.  He clopped over to her, resting a forehoof against the bed.  “Were you…raped?” he asked. She nodded, faking a tear as she did.  “I’m sorry, ma’am.” “I…I am ashamed to admit, I enjoyed it.” “They are good at making you want things that you shouldn’t,” the stallion said.  He was already starting to be sympathetic to her. That was good. That meant that the whole thing was working the way that it was supposed to, and he was interested in what she had to say. She twitched her tail, the pheromones in the air stirring. He snorted, obviously trying to ignore them, but she caught the tell-tale twitch between his hind legs.  It would be interesting to see how long his military training kept him from giving in to what his body wanted.  Azure Breeze shifted her position, letting her hind legs splay out behind her. It made her rump look that much bigger, that much more inviting as she got comfortable. She could not miss the way that his eyes twitched down, looking at her backside, nor did she miss the slight blush as he pulled himself back to the task at hand.  “Miss Breeze.” “Yes?” “Were you approached by a male or female of the hive?” “I’m not sure. There was…more than one.” Oh, that shocked him. That made him upset. No, that made him…oh, she knew what that was. That was the look of a stallion that had just seen something that he wanted – or something that he’d claimed – getting ripped out from under him. Had she already hooked him that much? Or was his sense of duty that strong? Azure was almost surprised that she was being allowed the chance to think as much as she was. When she had first been hooked by the hive, she had been kept in a tight little box in her own head, smothered by pleasure until she was willing to go along with what they had planned. Now, she was going along with it of her own free will, and they were giving her the chance to do what she was good at.  Apparently, that was the way to work with the hive. She could be a good little drone, obey and have the freedom to think in her own head, or she could fight and drown in pleasure as the parasite worked her body for her.  It was good to know where she stood.  She continued her story.  “They came out of the shadows when I was coming to town. They pinned me down and…and then…” “You don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to,” Sunlight said.  “I…I think it’s better if I…show you…” “…What do you mean, show me?” “If I act it out,” she said, watching him as she got out of bed, watching him staring at her ass, at her pucker as it clenched as she moved along. “They did something to me. Maybe you can…maybe you can help me figure out what it is?” “This…this isn’t necessary.” But his cock said that it most definitely was. She could see the way that his shaft was slowly dropping from its sheath, the way that her pheromones had his interest, how the officer so very much wanted to see her do this ‘demonstration’. His duty told him that it was right to take care of her, and his body told him that he needed to see her debase herself. She knew how stallions worked. They either wanted to be a hero, or be a stud. She was giving him the chance to be both.  “Fine. Show me,” he said as she stood with her hind legs on the bed and her forelegs on the floor. “But…quickly.” “Well…” She slid off the bed, and then dropped herself down to the floor. She kept her hind legs upright, her tail pulled off to the side. As she flagged her tail, showing off both holes, Sunlight’s eyes dropped between them, staring at her sex and her pucker. His eyes widened, and then he looked away.  Such a shy boy, really, but she could see his cock from her. It was getting bigger, harder, needier. Oh, he was going to give in soon enough.  The parasite in her was impatient, but it was able to feel her confidence. It was letting her continue for now, but with the understanding that it would take charge if she didn’t hurry it up soon. She gave a mental nod, continuing.  “Two of them held me down, hooves on my head and back, pinning me like this. Then the third one? It came up behind me, holding my tail off to the side. It shoved a hoof against me back there, grinding, pushing, squelching against my…my holes…” “Both of them?” Sunlight asked in a choked voice.  “They insisted…they wanted to see me squirm…to break me…” “…You poor girl…you poor…naughty…” “What?” “Nothing!” Sunlight shook his head, though she could see his shaft descending further, soon fully dropped. “Continue. Continue with your…your demonstration.” She did, reaching back.  “What are you doing?!” he gasped.  “Showing you…what they did…” At least, that was part of it. She reached back, pressing her hoof against her sex, pressing against it until it juiced itself, dripping down along her hoof and down between her legs. The thick scent of a mare in heat filled the room, and that dropped dick was slowly rising, pressing up against his belly.  “They rubbed me here, forcing me to keep…to keep getting wetter and wetter. They made me moan, beg them to stop, but then they kept going, teasing me, making it so that I couldn’t think of anything but them doing more. And then…then…” She reached up further, touching her ass. Her pucker clenched, pulling in a bit, but then pushed out. It looked like she was getting fucked from behind, she knew, but the main thing that she was doing was collecting her little parasite. It clung to the bottom of her hoof, and she hid it as she pulled her foreleg back.  “They used me…they used me in both holes…” “Did they hurt…” “…They made me love it.” “…Did you…cum?” He was not supposed to ask things like that, but with his cock rising, driven up by her show, by the way that she had displayed herself, by the many teases that she had already given and his own need to be the hero, the stud, she knew that he wasn’t thinking clearly. He wanted to have her, needed to have her, and she only had to give her permission.  It wasn’t that hard to make a stallion want you, just like it wasn’t that hard to make a stallion your plaything. She had done it a dozen times already, and this commander was only the most recent one.  She could feel the hive parasite being pleased with her, and she blushed a bit. It was good to be obedient.  As she swayed her hindquarters, she could feel Commander Sunlight coming closer and closer. She slowly nodded.  “Yes…they made me cum.” “…You…naughty…” “I need something, commander. I need…I need a real stallion again…to make me stop thinking of them. I need…I need you…” She lifted her tail fully, a squirt of her parasite-tainted juices flicking out from below her tail. It hit the commander right in the face, and he was lost. He whinnied, charging her like his namesake, and she felt his hooves gripping her hips for a split second before that flared cock RAMMED in.  Even as used to the pleasure as she had become, she had almost forgotten just how powerful that first thrust could be from a stallion that was driven mad by lust. She gasped as she was almost knocked off her hooves, barely managing to catch her balance and avoid dropping the parasite that she’d pushed out. She huffed and puffed, bracing her other foreleg against the side of the bed, giving her the chance to toss the parasite over her head and land on the commander’s back. He was so far into his own rut that there was no way that he’d notice what was happening until it was too late.  And Azure just took it.  Part of that was the experience that she had with the different stallions in her life. She knew how to take a pounding, but normally, she would be huffing and puffying, whinnying and moaning from the sheer delight of being filled. That wasn’t happening, and that was down to the parasite. It realized something that she didn’t, and that was that the stallion on top of her would go harder, rougher, if he thought that he wasn’t doing enough to get her to be nice and loud.  That, and the fact that the two of them were surrounded by other soldiers, all of them ready to come running if they heard too much of a struggle. And try as they might, they would sound like they were struggling if she got into it.  So, Azure stood there, her hooves planted to the floor as she was fucked from behind, that flared cock pounding into her womb and pulling right back out. The parasite was able to clench from her abdomen, making everything tighter for the big guy, and Sunlight whinnied in her ear.  “I’m going to make you forget all about the changelings…I’m going to make you want us again…real horses…real stallions…not those bugs…” It was an ego thing, then, something that was pushing him to be better than the changelings. She smiled, huffing ever so quietly, but it was nothing more than an enticement to keep him going.  She knew for a fact that he wouldn’t last long. None of the stallions that mounted her in a state like this did. The fact that he was so horny, so hard, so eager, told her that he was right on the verge of blowing his load already. All the parasite-corrupted juices that she’d sprayed in his face would help with that, as well as keeping him from being too aware of the little guy that was on his back, almost to his ass.  She could almost see the parasite in her mind’s eye, knew that it was clinging to the stallion’s tail-fur with little pincers, keeping from falling over, waiting for that moment of stillness where it could force its way in. Not long, now, not long at all.  Azure Breeze felt his balls swinging forward, slapping against her clit, and she felt her pleasure rising. It was…nice, though not quite as nice as the pleasure that came from obedience. The parasites had spoiled her for everything else. It was better to obey, better to do what she was told, than to be tempted by cocks.  The parasite cared for her.  The hive cared for her.  And so it was easy to take that shaft, after that. She let him rut her, let him proclaim how he would make her forget about all the other things that had happened, and how he would take down the changelings and get a promotion and all the other little ambitions that he had for his life. It was all secondary to letting him blow off steam and get tired.  It didn’t take long before he finally slammed forward, his cock buried inside of her. She could feel the pulsing, the squirting, the flooding that always came after, and she realized something. With everything that had happened to her, could she still get pregnant? The parasite had warped her body a bit, taking control of a number of different things, but could different stallions still give her foals? Could she… Could she still give birth? Or was she limited to the parasites alone, now? She honestly didn’t know, and it was a weird thought. What would be better? To raise foals to be eventually given to the hive, or to be the sort of mother that only wanted to give birth to more of the parasites to spread the hive? It was hard to decide.  Commander Sunlight leaned over her, huffing and puffing, his chest against her back. He leaned in, nibbling the side of her neck.  “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have done that. I lost control.” “Then it is a good thing that someone else is taking control,” she said.  “What do you mean?” “Just…stay where you are.” She clenched down, her inner walls holding him by the flare and even pulling him a bit deeper. Even as he gasped in shock, she could feel him squirming, trying to pull back with his hind legs, but he didn’t have the leverage when both she and the parasite within were squeezing that tightly. The way that the hive parasite had integrated with her body, it meant that they were both squeezing at the same time, and there was no easy way out from that.  And that was when the parasite that she’d thrown over her head, the one that had landed on his back, struck.  Slimy as ever, she felt it when the crab-like thing pushed into him. He stiffened up so much, gasping, shivering, and she could tell that he was trying to say something. It wouldn’t work, of course. All the juices that she had squirted on his face had kept him from thinking clearly, and the fact that she had been soaking his cock in similar fluids meant that he wasn’t going to be completely there. She clenched again, keeping him focused on his cock pleasure.  “Just let it in. Be part of the hive.” “Nnngh…what…what is…” “I told you, I had information on a hive. I just didn’t say what kind.” She looked over her shoulder.  “There is more than one hive in Equestria, and mine is far better, far kinder…far stronger.” The commander gasped for breath, his horn flickering again and again as he tried to use his unicorn magic. It wasn’t working for him, of course. There wasn’t enough focus for him to use it. Every time he tried, either she squeezed down and milked his cock that much better, or the parasite wiggling into his rectum managed to find another sensitive spot to touch.  She could tell when it found his prostate, too. He suddenly arched his back, gasping for breath, and Azure grinned.  “Yes, that’s it. Just give in.” “Nnngh…ah…ah…” He was almost pissing pre-cum into her as the squeezing started, the parasite digging itself into his nervous system, just as it had done to her, to Moonlight, to all the stallions and mares of Hayburg. Bit by bit, he was becoming part of the hive, and that meant that he would be part of them.  It didn’t take long for him to blow his load in her again, making her belly look full and swollen. She’d need a bucket before she left to get rid of that and keep from arousing suspicion, but it was working. The parasite in her told her that it was time to release him, and she finally stopped clenching.  Commander Sunlight pulled back, alright, stiff-legged and wobbly. He twitched as he finally was on all fours again, blinking, staring, then blinking again. The parasite inside was slowly taking control, conditioning him, taking charge. She watched, waiting for the moment when the commander finally relinquished all control to the pleasurable obedience that would be his as part of the hive.  It took almost five minutes, this time. The parasites were getting good at this.  “Be welcome to the hive,” Azure said.  “I am part of the hive. May I share?” “Share with me.” They turned, ass to ass, and the tendrils emerged again. They touched, and in silence, they shared bliss and information.  It was a brief exchange, but it was enough for the parasite within her to have more ideas. Those ideas were shared as they detached from one another, and the mare knew that there’d need to be another sharing when they returned to the inn.  Sunlight Charger was the public face of authority here in town, but he was only the one that the average person knew about. There was another stallion, one named Darkmoon Dancer, that was the one that ran things properly, and who passed his orders onto Sunlight Charger. That meant that, while they had one officer, the hive still didn’t have full control over the unit of guards in town. They had to take one more.  And that would only work until Celestia arrived. According to the information that they’d gleaned from Sunlight, she’d bring another detachment of them, another group, another officer that ran things and would be able to order Sunlight and Darkmoon around.  Well, that’s irritating, she thought. I thought I’d get a little more in trade for my body this time, but at least it’s a start. Still, it was more than they’d started with, and that meant that they knew what they had to do next.  Of course, what was more interesting was the information on the changeling hive. Apparently, there were reports of an active changeling nest in the area, though the guards had yet to find out where it was. There were, however, reports of who might be one, and little tricks and traps that were being set up to try and lure them out so that they could be caught and interrogated about the location of the hive proper.  That, she knew, would be of great use to the rest of her hive.  “Thank you, Sunlight.” “Thank you, Azure.” “You know your orders?” “To watch and wait for the chance to take Darkmoon.” It was better to take the head of the group, if they could. If they had that, then they could take out the rest of the lower-ranking soldiers one by one without the worry about reinforcements being called in. That was the biggest worry for both of them.  However, with everything the way that it was, they had the chance to get what they wanted. The big expansion of the hive here in Ponyville was looking better and better for them.  Sunlight left, calling for someone to bring her a bucket. He was off to do his duty, and she would be leaving shortly to do hers. As soon as she could push all that cum out of her, of course. No need to leave ponies wondering what had happened to her during her walk.  # When she returned to the inn, the rest of the hive ponies were awake. She looked at her husband, and then at the other stallions.  “I have news.” “Is it to be shared?” “Yes,” she said, smiling. “For once, good news.” “Then share quickly.” They made their square of tendrils again, and Azure could feel the happiness of her parasite as it reached out to the others in the hive, eager to share the good things that it found and quite proud of itself. There were even moments when it seemed to be proud of her, telling them that she was a good host.  Of course, that might have been wish-fulfillment thinking, but it was still there, and it still made her feel good.  She was, after all, a good drone.  > Chapter 7 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- With the new information about how the soldiers were assigned to the town, how their authority structure worked, and how they were going to be reinforced when Celestia arrived in a week’s time – six days, now – the hive horses were forced to start planning in earnest. They had information, now, and they had ideas of where the changelings were operating. With Sunlight Charger on their side, it meant that a little bit of obvious behavior would be excusable, though not necessarily a smart idea. Still, they had some wiggle room, and that meant that they could start being a little more…aggressive.  Moonlight Thunder in particular was looking forward to that. Ever since he’d woken from sleep, he’d felt his particular parasite doing things to him. It had spread more through his abdomen, taking more direct control of his parts down there, but there was also more of a tingle down between his hind legs. He didn’t know quite what was happening there, but he could feel his cock almost constantly sticking free of his sheath. Not dropped, necessarily, but the head was always pushing past the opening, showing itself off.  It was a good feeling for any stallion, and he was no exception.  As he stretched his legs, he could feel something else, too. His forelegs and hind legs felt different. Stronger, he supposed, thicker. Not so much that they were visibly bigger, but there was definitely more muscle there than there had been when he’d gone to sleep. Maybe Azure Breeze’s idea of making him a stud-drone had settled in, after all.  Whatever it was, he was not left to think about his new parts for long. The hive had orders. He stood up straight as the ideas started filling his brain.  There were priorities that needed to be done. They needed resources, and that would mean bits. Bits to buy things and bits to pay for their room at the inn. Even though they could take over the innkeeper, it would be better to wait until they were sure that they could hold the place if they needed to.  If they wanted bits, that meant getting a shopkeeper on their side. There were plenty of ponies running shops through the town, particularly with the big celebration and event coming up. The locals might notice if some of their shopkeepers acted a little strange, but they’d probably put it down to all the excitement.  There would be no better time than this.  That said, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to start grabbing people that would be good at more than one purpose. Any shopkeeper could keep them supplied with money. They needed someone that could give them information, or access, or something like that.  It didn’t take long to figure that out, either. Astral Ace had been asking around town, seeing who regularly got orders for the fancier things, and there were a few bakers that were always getting orders from the richer ponies, and particularly for the monarchs when they were passing through. The other stallion offered to come along, but Moonlight Thunder shook his head. Both he and his parasite wanted to test how the stud-drone modifications would work for him, and that meant handling this on his own.  “I’ll handle the baker,” he said. “Astral. I want you to take a soldier. Sunlight Chaser will probably have a few of them on patrol. Tell him that you had a message from him and he should go along with meeting you somewhere alone. Azure, see if you can find out more about this Darkmoon stallion. We want to make sure that he can be brought down as easily as his colleague. And Storm Chaser?” “Yeah?” “See if you can get a meeting with Mayor Mare today. If we can get her, too, then we’ll be good.” “Do I have to go after the female again?” “The hive has its orders.” “As the hive says.” There was no resignation there, merely hope that he might have been mistaken. It was a pity, in a way. Storm Chaser was a fine stallion, and he had the rump to attract a number of shafts. However, he also had the sort of shaft that tempted the females quite a bit, long enough to hold the attention, but not thick enough to chase the females away.  It was his curse, one might say, to have to please others rather than himself.  “Everyone understand their assignments?” They all nodded.  “Then go. We’ll meet up here in four hours.” That would be sufficient for them to either succeed with their mission or realize that they would need more time to get it done. Either way, they’d have more information to work with than they had when they started. Even if they all failed, they’d be even better prepared for later.  The hive could not lose. It could only be delayed, and the chances of even that happening were looking slimmer and slimmer.  # Moonlight Thunder showed up at the baker’s place of business shortly before ten in the morning. Most of the morning rush was done by then, and only a few colts could be seen inside, begging for sweets. The small bakery was settled into the bottom floor of a house, and he imagined that the baker in question – a stallion by the name of Sugarfrost Harvest – lived on the top floor rather than somewhere else.  The minute that he set hoof into the building, he could tell that the baker was losing his mind at the constant begging from the colts. He shook his head, walking up behind them and stomping his hoof on the floor. Hard.  THUMP. It was as stern and powerful as a warhorse stomping, and he, and the parasite within, made a mental note not to do that again without reason. It had chipped the floor slightly. Apparently, he was a bit stronger than either of them had noticed.  The colts immediately jumped, though, whipping around. They pulled back a bit from him, and he chuckled.  “Maybe you should stop begging. You’re already round enough.” “H-hey, are you calling us fat?” one of them asked.  “Just saying, if he’s not giving you any right away, then maybe you don’t need any for free. Get along.” The colts looked like they were ready to argue, so he fixed them with a firm stare. It was the sort of thing that any farmer picked up after doing the job long enough. A good, hard stare that made sure that the troublemakers understood that pushing their luck would be a bad idea. It kept the theft down, and made sure that all the tools stayed where they were supposed to be.  It was also very good at making little colts stop arguing.  The young males ran out of the shop, leaving him and the pony behind. Sugarfrost tossed his head back, his white mane falling in little bows around his neck.  “I thought they’d never leave.” “Were they that bad?” “Bad enough. I’m still getting the goods ready for the afternoon. They just wouldn’t leave me alone.” “Well, they’re gone now.” “And you’re here. Very…here…” Sugarfrost Harvest looked him up and down, and even without the parasite to give him orders, he knew that he was being ogled. The other stallion was definitely the sort to be interested in males. Fine-featured, long-legged, low-muscle save for in the rump? He was the kind of horse that went out chasing dick, and now, he had prime stud in his shop.  Moonlight Thunder was happy enough to show off. He turned to his side a bit as if he was looking at the goods in the display cases, taking time to show off his own ‘goods.’ His cock was already starting to drop, sliding free of his sheath, and he could feel his balls churning already. The parasite was keeping him good and ready for action, the hive making sure that their new stud-drone was ready for work.  It didn’t take long for him to realize that his balls were even more full than before, filled to the brim with seed to entrance new hosts. He could feel the new parasite in his rump wanting to come out, to be part of this too, but he held back on that. Just for now.  “Do you have anything special?” “Mmm, I think I have something special right in front of me,” Sugarfrost said, looking back with his eyes almost lit up like hearts.  “Anything…a little more adult?” “Heh, are we talking cider-sweets, or…something else?” “Heh…” Moonlight smirked. “Something else.” “Oh, give me that look again, big guy.” So, he did, and Sugarfrost swooned, leaning away from the counter and swaying from side to side like some foal, heartsick in love.  “Ooooh, come with me. I have some special stuff…in the back.” The way that the pink and white stallion walked off, Moonlight wondered if this was the first time that one of the bigger stallions in town had been offered to come to the back of the shop. The way that Sugarfrost looked back at him, he imagined not. This was one of those slut-ponies, one of those that wanted what they wanted and would do whatever they needed to get it, no matter how undignified it might be.  They left the little room of sugary treats behind, passing through a small kitchen of four different ovens, many mixing bowls, and – surprise, surprise – a breeding stand. Perhaps Sugarfrost did something to some of his treats that required a little stallion ‘milk’ for the flavor.  Definitely a kinkier hose than I thought… Regardless, he wasn’t at all surprised to find that the back room at the back of all the rooms had something beyond toys. There were little chains, breeding stands, dildos, and more that were jammed onto the shelves and into different little cubbies along the wall. He cocked his head to the side at the sheer variety of them, looking back at the baker who was already getting his hind-legs locked down.  “You’re some kind of freak,” Moonlight said.  “Mm, well, freaky treats are the best treats.” “Heh. I guess so.” “You from the country?” the baker asked, clapping his hind legs into one shackle each.  “Yeah. All the way from Hayburg.” “Mmmm, I love you country ponies. You always sound so…twangy, so rough.” “That what all the toys are for?” “You bet your pretty dick it is.” “…pretty dick?” “Well, it’s pretty to me. Pretty sexy.” By that point, Sugarfrost had restrained himself, and nodded his head to a couple of other toys. A ball gag, a blindfold, and more. They were all laid out and easily put on, and Moonlight shook his head. Quite honestly, this was probably going to be the easiest infestation that he had ever done, and Sugarfrost was making it that way on purpose.  Well, if they were going to enjoy themselves, they might as well do it right.  With the other stallion properly restrained, he started hunching forward. His cock hardened almost instantly, springing from his sheath as if it was spring-loaded. It almost shocked him how quickly it went up. The changes hadn’t just made his muscles stronger, but had increased his libido, made him stiffer, harder… Hell, he felt like he might be able to fuck away for hours, if he was given half a chance.  He chuckled, dragging himself up off the ground. With the chains, the blindfold, and the gag, there was no reason to take this too quickly. He could do what he liked without Sugarfrost trying to get away, or trying to call for help. This time, he was getting a treat out of this.  With a gentle thrust, he ground his cock against the other stallion’s pucker. He could feel himself dripping already, pre-slime rubbing across the cheeks, across that donut of a pucker. It was a beautiful, heated feeling, the sort of thing that he had been missing the last few times when he’d had to do this quickly. He ground between the muscular cheeks again and again, grinding his pre-cum into that hole, feeling it twitch against his cock.  Sugarfrost moaned under him, huffing against his gag, and he arched his butt back just a bit further. He could have taken it, but he waited, taking his time.  He half-expected the hive parasite to make him hurry up, but it seemed to be testing the new capabilities of the stud-drone, so he was allowed to take his time. His balls churned and bubbled between his hind legs, giving him his own reasons to maybe speed up, but for now, that was tolerable.  Forward, back, forward, back, feeling his cock twitch and throb, bounce and thrust against that backside. He could feel his own need rising, his cock head flaring out and going flat at the tip. Squirt, pulse, squirt again, pre-cum messing the base of the other horse’s tail. It was a mess, a slimy, hot mess.  And it was sexy.  He smiled as he pulled himself a bit closer, grinding his tip against that hole again. It flexed against him, almost opening up, and he pulled back a little bit. He could feel all that pre-cum seeping through the fur, but particularly against that pucker. The donut was puffing up, getting more and more inflamed and needy, looking like a mare going into heat. That had to be the new pre-cum that he had, the stud-drone made to be better, more tempting to those that he went after.  If that’s the case, I can make anyone into a bitch for the hive, he thought, adjusting his position. I wonder… Out of curiosity, he held his cock directly against that twitching pucker. He hadn’t had direct control of things before, but he was a stud-drone now, made to fuck and subdue others with his body. Would that mean that he –  Squirt, squelch, squirt! It wasn’t pleasurable, at least, not in the same way as an orgasm, but he came. It was almost like he had forcibly made himself cum on the spot, pissing cum right into that pucker. The heat and thickness of his seed made for a good lube, too, something that he had almost forgotten in the heat of the moment.  Sugarfrost gasped under him, shivering as he went wide-mouthed, the gag falling out.  “Oooooh, don’t tell me you had a hair trigger. Come on, you can do more, right? Ri…righ…oh…oooooh…oh that feels…weird…” The other stallion started to roll his head around a little, almost sounding drunk or high. Apparently, his seed and pre-cum was even stronger than it had been. The average drone had fluids that would make someone’s libido skyrocket, but his seemed to be potent in a different way. Not controlling the mind – that was still something that only the parasites, only the hive could do – but rather making them stupid, stupid and easy to manipulate.  And he could control when he shot, too, as easy as if he was going behind a tree to relieve himself.  This is going to make it so much easier… With that pucker puffing up, nice and eager and heated for fucking, and with the stallion going from being into it to being in desperate need for it, there was no more need to hold back. Moonlight Thunder pulled back just a bit, angled himself properly, and rammed in.  “Mmmmph! Oh, fuck, oh, fuck, oh FUCK yes, fuck me – mmmph!” He managed to knock the gag back in, and the other stallion bit down on it as he picked up the pace. His hips slammed forward, battering that big, swishy butt with each thrust that he made. In, out, in, out, the flare of his cock forcing that tight hole to open up for him a bit. Oh, there was experience in there, it had been fucked before, but not by something as big as him, not by something that was so fast and furious as he was.  In, out, in, out, the parasite still allowing him the freedom to act, to follow orders, and he took it. His body was stronger than before, with more stamina. He didn’t feel like he had to cum, didn’t feel the urgent need like before. No, he was a stud-drone now, someone that had the right to fuck as they liked. He had the power to go for as long or as short as was needed, and he wanted to take his time. Before he infested this stallion, he wanted to treat Sugarfrost like the mare he was, make him bend, make him break, make him moan.  In, out, in, out, in, out, each thrust bottoming out all the way down, the flare of his cock pulling some of the pre-cum out, shoveling it out in thick lines that ran down the stallion’s ass cheeks and down his hind legs. It filled the air with a heady, warm musk, something that kept them both of them nice and horny.  Sugarfrost couldn’t stop moaning, either. Every time that he thrust forward, the smaller male made another whimper, another gasp, another muffled moan against the gag in his mouth. It was like he couldn’t stop, couldn’t control himself anymore. Whatever it was, it made the rut all the hotter for the top stallion, and Moonlight just took him that much harder.  Faster.  Deeper.  Fiercer.  As he huffed and puffed, he kept expecting to feel his body start to slow down, to weaken, to have some sign of his middle age as he kept humping away. He expected his hard pace to be less sustainable, but it wasn’t. Whatever the parasite had done to make him into a stud-drone, it had done it in a way that made him better than ever. He didn’t just feel like he could hump and breed all day. He actually could.  In, out, in, out, thrusting away, building himself up, grinding into that pucker until he felt Sugarfrost cum not once, not twice, but three times. The other stallion was all but helpless against the barrage of thrusts Moonlight hammered in, and the corrupted pre-cum was keeping the other horse from getting in a word edgewise. He was too far gone to even think of anything but more pleasure right at that point.  He could have gone for a few more hours, but he understood that it was time to slow down. Time to stop. Time to mark the stallion as a member of the hive.  So, he came. He flooded that formerly tight pucker, blowing his load deep down that hole. He felt his balls drawing up, felt something different as he came this time. Pleasure, yes, from both the obedience and the climax, but something else, too.  Something…something more chemical, something more like an injection being pulled from his balls. It was changing the other stallion on the inside, he realized.  Preparing him, the stud-drone thought to himself. It wants to make sure that the insides are perfect for the parasite. He slowly pulled out, his cock wet and slippery, messy and slimy from his own seed. He turned around, this time, rather than just reach under his tail, and backed up so that they were rump to rump. The slime rubbed against his own ass cheeks, and he could feel the same tingles that the other stallion had been feeling. It didn’t affect him the same way, but he could tell that some of the other drones would have been left horny, hornier than they should be.  Something to remember, he could feel the hive thinking.  As he stood against the other male’s ass cheeks, he could feel his pucker opening. The parasite inside slid out, gripping the base of Sugarfrost’s tail and getting a good grip. It held tight, then slowly started to pull the pucker apart, sliding into the slimed-up hole and digging deeper. He could feel his own pucker starting to stretch a bit as the rest of the body left, then felt the soft ‘pop’ as the new parasite left him.  “Go on…be part of the hive…” “Mmmph?” “You will be part of us.” “Mm-mmmph?!” “Relax…and enjoy…” He turned around just in time to see the end of the parasite sliding into the other stallion. It was a brief moment of utter pride, followed by a sudden spasm that went through the pink pony. He arched his back, thrust his hips, trembled from head to toe. The infestation was different, and the baker was more violent in his initial spasms, shaking, twitching, slamming his hooves down with a clatter before his forelegs went still.  One by one, the muscles through his body stopped twitching. They spasmed for a moment, then went still, leaving the baker looking like he was almost paralyzed, like he had been stung by some poisonous creature that had stolen his ability to move.  Then, almost like he was recovering, he lifted and lowered one leg. Then he blinked an eye. Then he twitched his tail. It was the parasite, the hive, slowly getting used to its new host. It worked through the different muscles, testing itself, finding out what did what, gradually starting to understand how the new body worked.  He reached down with his hooves, undoing the shackles around Sugarfrost’s hind legs, and then worked on getting the other restraints off. The gag, then the blindfold, and everything else that had been of use.  By the time he was done, Sugarfrost Harvest was completely infested.  “I am part of the hive,” he said.  “Welcome to the hive,” Moonlight said, nodding. “Do you have anything to share?” “No. All I have is this.” The room, the sex, the sluttiness, in other words. The contacts that he had were probably not as good as they had hoped, then, but at least it was something. And now that he was a member of the hive, that meant that he would be able to start infecting some of his baked goods. If he was turned into another stud-drone, that would mean that anything that he cooked with his seed in it would become an aphrodisiac in its own right.  That would be good for the hive. It would mean that they wouldn’t need to use their fluids all the time to get the other ponies on their side. They could just feed them treats that they brought as gifts.  Even if Sugarfrost gave them nothing else but that, it would give the hive one more way of assimilating the whole town.  There was no question that the new host knew the plan, too. The hive thought very similarly to one another. They were going to have the same ideas, particularly the ones that came from the same host-body. He didn’t need to command it, nor did his parasite.  “Good luck,” he said, turning to leave.  “Wait.” He paused, looking over his shoulder.  “What’s the matter?” “We need to clean up. Or…well, I do,” Sugarfrost said. “I can’t just go out there slimed up like this.” “…And?” “And that means that you’ll have to take the counter for a bit.” “…I’m sorry, what? I’m – well, I was a farmer before I was part of the hive. I don’t know how to run the store.” “That’s easy. We’ll just exchange that information.” “…Never thought I’d learn a new skill this way.” # Sugarfrost was still getting used to the feeling of the parasite inside of him. He got the feeling that something different was happening to him compared to what happened with Moonlight or the other members of the hive. They had all been infested and gradually changed, while with him… Well, he could already feel the movement of the parasite from his bowels and intestines to his abdominal cavity. It was parting the flesh walls inside of him, and he could feel it moving, but it was something so strange and different that he didn’t really get pleasure or pain from it. Maybe he should have felt a little pain, but the parasite was hooked right into his spine, and it was keeping him from feeling much of anything as it moved around. He did, however, feel the goop that Moonlight had left in him moving around, sealing up the holes that were left behind as the parasite moved around inside of him. The stud-juices allowed the parasite to grow and adapt quickly, and that meant that it was allowed to grow and do more adult things faster than the others had.  It also meant that he would be able to get ass-fucked again sooner than the others had, which was great.  He could feel the parasite inside of him interfacing with his mind and his spine, and he was more than slightly fascinated with it. The initial panic was long gone, and in its place was a complete love of what it was doing. He could feel the way that it could restrain his body at a thought, that he could lose all control of himself if the hive thought that he needed to be doing something else.  It turned him on like nothing else.  Sure, there were tingles going on up and down his spine, pleasure and bliss that he didn’t entirely understand echoing through his nerves, but that was secondary. He knew that the hive was going to treat him like a drone, that it was going to use him like a tool, but he wanted that. He’d always wanted that.  “Sugarfrost?” The hive parasite stopped the pleasurable shocks when he didn’t react at first, and Moonlight had to nudge him again.  “Hey. You going to tell me what I need to know or not?” “Huh? Oh, sorry. I was still…interfacing.” “Yeah. Uh-huh. Share.” From what the hive had imparted so far, he knew that this was going to feel amazing, and he was eager to see what the new pleasure would be like. He turned around, wiggling his ass a bit despite himself, while the older stallion turned and exposed his rump. Sugarfrost watched as the other tendril pushed out, starting to lick his lips a bit in anticipation –  Then had his face frozen. He didn’t know why. It almost felt like the parasite in him was starting to get mildly annoyed at the eagerness that he had. Not stopping it completely, just…holding him still. He still felt the pleasure of the tendril easing out of his own ass, long and blue and dripping with some sort of slime. Something conductive? He had read about how some creatures were like that and –  The hyper-active horses’s mind was shattered into a few hundred pieces as the two tendrils touched and the lightning jolts of pleasure rammed up his spine. Instantly, his muscles tensed up, and he could feel something transmitting down his spine as well as up it. Bits of information here and there, existing as nothing more than powerful stimulation for him, were sent down through the tendril into the other stallion.  Sugarfrost wanted to shove back, to feel the other male pressed against his ass again, but the parasite held him still. His slutty urges were being slowly changed, altered, shifted for the purposes of the hive. There was something about it that was subtle, different to the grand control that he had somewhat expected. He was still…him…but he was getting his rewards and urges and commands from something else.  He was surprised, in a way. All the other ponies had to be encouraged to be more horny, more aggressive, while he had to be encouraged to be less. It was kind of funny, in a way.  Then they split, and he was allowed to let out a quiet moan as the tendril slithered back into his ass. “Well…that was…different,” Moonlight said.  “What do you mean?” “Usually, I give information, or don’t really get much access to it. This time, I got the whole thing.” “Well, just make sure that you don’t sell anything for the wrong prices.” “I know.” “Hive needs all the money it can get, after all.” “I know.” Moonlight walked out before he could try and rile up the stud any further, and Sugarfrost smiled. It was less than what he’d normally do for the tops that came to the back room with him, but then again, he supposed that it was going to be different from now on. He was a drone now.  The stallion giggled as he waddled from the bed to the shower head on the far side of the room, unable to help himself. It was something that probably would have shocked most other ponies, but with his kinky habits, he enjoyed the idea of having something take control, of having someone else telling him what to do. It got him hard and stiff just thinking about it.  Actually, yeah, it did. He felt his cock throbbing up under his belly, and he cocked his head to the side. Normally, he would have been at least a half day before he could actually get hard again after cumming three times, but –  Breeding post. Frosting. Ingredients. Oh, right. He saw the plan now. He was supposed to infect the various pastries and cakes and everything else he made so that ponies could be more easily infected and ambushed. That made sense. Oh, oh, the sort of parties that he could be invited to after this, the kind of people that would be begging for his pastries –  He smiled as he pulled the handle for a shower, letting the water fall over his rump and along his hole. He felt like he might have been gaping back there, but if he was, did it really matter? He had enjoyed the hell out of that, and he deserved to have a little bit of a mark from getting fucked that hard.  That guy deserves to be a stud-drone, he thought, flicking his tail side to side, washing his hole and his cheeks off. Man, I better get that again. Hey, hey, can I get that as a reward? Can I get fucked by him again, can I – And just like that, the entirety of his existence exploded into pleasure.  Sugarfrost had been banged by some of the biggest stallions in Ponyville, and he knew how it felt to get a mind-blowing orgasm. Hell, he’d just had three of them from the stallion that was running his shop just a few minutes ago. However, this was something different. Deeper. More intense.  He would have fallen down, except that his body was completely under the hive’s control. The parasite turned him under the water even as, in his own mind, he was screaming and gibbering in bliss. His body turned, yes, clumsily, yes, with difficulty, but the washing continued even as his cock splattered the floor and the drain with more seed than he should have had in his balls.  The parasite kept it up for a total of three minutes, and by the time it was done, he was on shaky legs. His tongue would have hung out if he had full control of his face, and he barely was able to stumble from the back of the building to the kitchen again.  “Breeding…breeding post…yeah…” He panted a little as he walked over to it, the hive keeping his cock active, forcing him to be ready for this. And yet, for all that it was intense, for all that it left his muscles aching from the sudden tightness that the parasite had had to exert to keep him on his feet…he loved it. He truly was under the control of another.  He could have ‘fought’, he supposed. Pushed against the parasite, tried to stay himself, but why do that? This felt amazing. He liked the way that it was already molding him, keeping him obedient, keeping the slutty stuff inside until he was allowed to let it out again. He loved that feeling of control.  And as he lined his cock up with the breeding post, he hoped that he’d get so much more of that in the days to come.  > Chapter 8 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Another day passed, and the hive expanded slightly further into the ranks of those living in Ponyville. In addition to Sugarfrost, they managed to nail down another secretary in City Hall, and they managed to gain another minor merchant. They were getting money now, and they were slowly bringing the pleasure of the hive to the city.  That said, they had also realized that they needed something else, and Azure Breeze was the first one to say it.  “The hive needs messengers.” That was simplifying it a great deal, and she knew that. It wasn’t just that they needed ponies to carry messages, but that they needed ponies that would keep the various members of the hive updated, so that each member was aware of what all the other members knew. They needed ponies that would be able to move around, keeping in touch with all the different parts of Ponyville, that had reasons to go where they did, and weren’t going to be suspicious talking to any member of the city.  That left them with a relatively short list of potential relays, as they took to calling them, and once more, it was Azure that came up with the solution. Not because she was smarter than the rest, but because she had been a house-mare, and she knew how these things worked between the different females in the cities.  They needed the delivery ponies.  The stallions all looked at her in slight confusion. Rather than trying to explain it all out loud, she turned around, extending her tentacle from her ass to invite sharing. The others turned around, and they all connected again.  She was allowed a smile as the pleasure rocketed down her body rather than up it. The feeling was different compared to when the parasite was accepting an ‘upload’, as the creature called it. That was like getting herself fucked, getting something shoved into her and pumping her full of pleasure. This was more like she was oozing the pleasure out, still enjoyable, but not so mind-shattering.  No, that was more what the stallion drones were getting. Considering that she was the one that got pumped full of information of how to run a bakery, how to run a secretary business, and how to keep the accounts of a store straight yesterday, she felt that it was only fair that she got a chance to do the delivery for a change.  The other horses pulled away a few seconds later, not quite stumbling, but clearly under the control of their parasites rather than themselves so that they didn’t fall over. They weren’t clumsy, but they were slightly stiff, almost like they’d already had a long day’s work.  However, it was clear that they had also gotten the information and understood her point.  “They can go wherever they want. They’re just…nobody expects them to do anything else,” her husband said.  “And they’re allowed into the different homes, too,” Astral Ace added.  “And they’re not all females,” Storm Chaser said.  They all turned to look at him, and he shook his head.  “Hey, I want a turn with the guys, too.” They chuckled slightly, but only slightly. It wasn’t as funny as it might have been weeks ago, when they weren’t all part of the hive. Their sense of humor hadn’t been killed, but it was no longer quite so prevalent.  So, the plan was made. The next morning, they would go back to Sugarfrost, pick up some early, tainted goods from him, and then head to the delivery station. They’d already been informed of it, having found it on the first day when they were making sure that there were ways to get in touch with the hive back home if they needed to. They would set out first thing in the morning, catch them when they were still getting stuff ready for the morning deliveries.  As that meant getting up early, the various hosts were encouraged by their parasites to get to bed and start resting. They would need that.  Azure Breeze slipped into bed with her husband. His cock throbbed against her hindquarters, and she could feel that he still had a fair few loads to go. She smiled over her shoulder at him.  “You’re a stud-drone now. How does it feel?” “Needy,” he admitted.  “Like you have to do it all the time?” “That, and…yeah. That, and I think that it’s more corrupted. The cum, I mean.” “Well, you are supposed to fuck things into submission.” “You think that you could take it?” “Not right now. But maybe later.” It would depend on if she was allowed to, she supposed. They had a lot that they needed to do, and the fact that she had been allowed to keep with her husband probably meant that she was doing a good job for the hive. They wanted her to be happy so that she could keep doing a good job, so they were allowing her to remain with her mate.  That said, would they be allowed to do much in the way of mating when they weren’t busy expanding the hive? That remained to be seen.  Azure Breeze closed her eyes, letting sleep come. With the parasites controlling her body, it was easy to sleep. All they had to do was flip a switch.  # The next morning, they all bundled down to the bakery. Sugarfrost Harvest was just as they had seen in the memories that Moonlight Thunder had sent them, and Azure Breeze had to admit that she had expected someone almost too slutty to believe.  Sugarfrost completely fit that expectation.  As the pink stallion swayed out from the backrooms, obviously rather eager to see Moonlight Thunder again, it was clear that he was one of those stallions, the sort that threw themselves at the big studs and lived as if they were mares. They were the sort that wanted to get fucked all the time, and didn’t mind if they were seen as weak. It didn’t matter that the mares weren’t so interested in them as long as the stallions were.  She hated to admit it, but that would go a long way for some of their targets. She couldn’t seduce all of them, after all, and she’d need someone else that was happy to bottom in the group. At least he would be happy about it.  Sugarfrost smiled as they shut the door behind them, Astral Ace kicking it shut with a hind hoof. The darkness in the room was banished by a few lights, but it had that painfully lit feeling that all illumination at the wrong hours of the day had.  “What brings you here so early, my hive-friends?” “We need treats. Tainted treats,” Moonlight said.  “And how many?” “Enough to make sure that the delivery ponies are all too horny to fight back.” “Oh, that’ll be a lot. They’re such hard workers that they’ll be hardy, but I think I can do that.” “Do you have any ready now?” Azure asked. “We wanted to get them before they left for morning deliveries.” “I think so. Let me check the back…” The way that he swayed, it was clear that he hoped that there would be time for a bit of pre-mission fucking, but none of the stallions under Moonlight moved. It had been decided that they needed to do this now, rather than later. They were down to five days before the princess of the sun arrived, and they needed this relay set up so that they could keep expanding. Otherwise, they’d be constantly slowed down with informing their own members of every update that happened.  She knew that Sunlight Charger was already in desperate need of an update. It might have only been a day or so since he had been brought into the fold, but they’d already expanded the group quite a bit. They needed him to know what sort of ponies were in the group, under the hive, and which were not. Otherwise, they could have a serious problem. Passcodes were not a bad start of security between them, but that could be broken. Having a list to confirm identity against would go a long way towards helping each other out.  Eventually, he returned, bearing with him a large tray of different sweets. Donuts, the sort that didn’t have the holes punched out but were rather filled with cream or jam, were the majority of them, but there were a few pastries. Those looked rather wet, though, and she could imagine why.  “There you go. This should get them all nice and needy.” “That will do. The hive is grateful,” Moonlight said.  “The hive will be more grateful still if I get fucked later, heh – mmph.” The stallion stiffened, not from pain but pleasure. She could hear his dick slap against his belly, and more than that, she could see that his entire body had spasmed to stillness. Obviously, the host and the hive parasite were still arguing about a few things.  Azure stood to the side as her husband put the tray across her back, and she shifted from hoof to hoof until she had the balance about right. When she felt good about that, she stretched out her back and then turned to the door. Astral Ace and Storm Chaser followed her, and Moonlight Thunder followed after.  The fact that her stud-drone husband was tempted to give Sugarfrost another ‘frosting’ of cum wasn’t a bad thing. She didn’t feel any jealousy, but she did give him a slight slap of her tail as they walked on.  “What?” he asked.  “Mission, remember?” “I know.” “Just making sure.” “And you better be sure to do your part.” She smiled. She already had plans for how she would approach this. There were mares in the delivery service as well as stallions, and Moonlight wasn’t the only one that rather liked the idea of being with the same sex.  She wondered what it would be like to have one under her rump and giving her a little attention. It had been a long time since she’d been a filly and had tried that out for the first time. Maybe someone that had grown up a bit more would be more experienced in giving the sort of pleasure that she craved.  The hive made their way down the darkened streets of the early-morning Ponyville, heading towards the outskirts where the delivery station waited.  # Derpy Hooves, perhaps the most experienced of the delivery ponies, was in the middle of sorting through the letters that had come in yesterday. The papers were already rolled up and waiting to head out, and so were the morning packages, but the letters had to be a little more precise. They were so flat and so light that they had a bad tendency of being blown away if they weren’t perfectly settled into the different pouches that each delivery pony had to wear, and she had been in trouble before for the mix-up.  Her eyes slipped a bit off the letters, and she gently bonked the side of her head as a reminder to focus. Straining herself a little, she forced her eyes to focus on the envelopes, reading the addresses carefully. “This one…here…and this one…here…” She made sure to take her time, knowing that if she got another delivery wrong, she could easily be fired. With the number of mix-ups that she’d had this year, it was kind of a miracle that she still had a job in the first place. So many complaints from all the people that had moved to Ponyville that didn’t really like her the way that the locals did. They were all so angry, all so…so mean, sometimes.  Shaking her head, the gray-furred mare pushed another letter where it belonged, flicking her wings idly as she imagined starting her own delivery company. She had the name for it, and she knew all kinds of people all over Equestria. Maybe she could make it work if she didn’t have to be the one delivering everything and making all the mistakes.  It was a nice fantasy, though probably not one that would ever really come about. She didn’t have the money to start that, and she didn’t think that there would be many ponies that were willing to work for her, no matter how good her ideas were. Her mind wasn’t as messed up as her eyes were.  She was just starting to slide another letter into place when the ding-ding of the door bell caught her attention. They shouldn’t have been open this early. She cocked her head to the side as the other three ponies that were waiting to head out on delivery turned to the front room, looking at the slatted window where they’d normally interact with customers.  With everyone else refusing to move, Derpy went and opened the slats.  It was a small group, four ponies that had rather intense stares and smiles for her. She was slightly intimidated, particularly by the taller stallion that stood at the front of the group. He had thick shoulders like some of the farmers around Ponyville, but he also had the muscles that made her just a bit nervous to be around him.  “Uh, can I help you?” she asked.  “Just thought that we’d bring a treat for the hard workers here.” The stallion nodded to a mare that was standing in the middle of the group, who stepped forward. The tray of donuts on her back immediately got the attention of Derpy and all the other workers, and they surged forward, eager to see what was on offer.  Her associates, Glitterwing, Wallflower, and Cloudjumper, all leaned through the window. They each grabbed one of the donuts in their mouths and another on their hooves, darting back to the back room with grins on their faces. Derpy opened her mouth, then shut it.  Well, it’s not like it’s going to hurt them to have a little extra food… She turned back to the stallion with a smile.  “Thank you. That’s really awesome.” “You’re welcome. Aren’t you going to have some?” “Heh, I shouldn’t. I get hyper.” “That’ll help you deliver, though, dear,” the mare said, tilting the tray a bit more. “Go on. Have a few.” “Well…” “I insist,” the stallion said.  There was a little more force to that than she expected, and she blushed as she realized that he was staring at her the way that some of the colts had done when she was still younger. That sort of stare that went a bit beyond Hearts and Hooves day. She shook her head, leaning down and taking one of the donuts in her mouth.  It was better than she expected, for all that she had been a bit hesitant. The donut had a soft, doughy feeling along the outside, with a fairly crisp sort of frosting. The inside was sweet and salty at the same time, and she groaned happily at the good taste.  “Mmmm…so good…” “Heh, go on. Finish it up and have another.” Derpy went against her better judgment and did just that, grabbing the other donut and eating it up. She was halfway through it when she heard the moaning going on behind her.  Half-afraid that someone had gotten food poisoning, she spit the other half of her donut out right then and there. Whipping her head around, she feared that she’d see someone throwing up.  Instead, she saw Glitterwing panting, the gold-winged, blue-furred pegasus panting. Her wings were pushed out hard, almost like a…a wing-boner, and she was gasping for breath. Her cheeks burned, and her legs shook.  The other two pegasi were not much better. Cloudjumper was in a similar pose, his legs shaking and spread out, but his shaft was already falling down, dropping to the ground between his legs, the head starting to flare out and grow thick and heavy. It dripped as it started rising, and Wallflower? The yellow-furred pegasus was already whimpering, shifting and grinding her hind legs together in obvious lust.  The air stank with the smell of sex, of lust, of need.  And then it hit her, too. Her eyes crossed as she stood ram-rod straight, her spine tingling and her nethers doing the same. Her pucker clenched down on nothing, and her sex did the same, dripping along the thighs of her hind legs. She could barely manage to stay on her hooves as she turned back to the four customers.  “What…what…” “What was that?” the center stallion asked. “Just a gift.” “A…a gift?” she panted, struggling to find the air to speak more.  “Yes. A gift to welcome you. To welcome you all to the hive.” “C-changelings…” “No, nothing of the sort,” the stallion said, walking around the counter and pushing the unlocked door to the sorting room wide open. He walked in, his cock hanging down, as were the shafts of the other two stallions. They dangled low and heavy as they walked in, looking around the room. “We’re a new hive in town, and we’re here to find more members.” And just like that, the three stallions leaped through the room, grabbing and pinning Glitterwing, Wallflower, and Cloudjumper. Derpy stared, unable to believe her eyes, and she tried to move, to run. Her legs shook, almost throwing her to the ground more than once, and she dared not fly. Not inside. Not when she was already struggling just to stay up.  Stumbling along, she almost made it out to the main room. She stumbled out of the sorting room door, managed to take another step, and then was bowled over by the mare that was waiting for her out there.  “Ah ah. Where do you think you’re going?” the tray-bearing mare asked. “I didn’t say you could leave.” “I need to…gotta…gotta get…” A hoof against her sex was enough to get her to stop in her tracks, falling down so that her rump was up and her face was down. The smooth pressure against her pussy made her whimper, dripping more than ever.  “NNngh…ah…ah…” “Don’t worry. You’re going to be much happier once you’re part of the hive. We don’t judge. We like people like you.” “Like…like me?” “Who want to make other people happy.” Another treat was shoved under her nose. The pastry was wet and salty, almost like butter, but thicker than that. Derpy tried to turn her head away, knowing that it had to be a trap, but she couldn’t stop it. Not in time.  It was forced past her lips, and as she was made to bite down, it exploded with that same salty taste that had been mixed with sweet in the donut. It almost tasted familiar, almost like something that she’d tried before, but she couldn’t place it.  She managed two bites before the pleasure hit her again, overwhelming, bursting through her body. Her hips shook, grinding and humping against empty air, and then –  “AH…ah…ah!” She gasped as she came right then and there, squirting across the floor, untouched but orgasmic. Her legs shook, falling down, leaving her flat on her stomach as she kept humping away, unable to stop herself. She wanted to grind her clit on something, her pussy against something, but there was nothing there. There was just this strange pleasure that rippled out from her guts to her spine, and then from her spine down to her nethers.  It was like a full-body cramp, in its own way, except that the pleasure hit harder than the stiffening discomfort of her muscles. Her wings flared out, popping in place, stiff and unable to pull back. She whimpered, her cheeks burning in humiliation.  The mare had moved, her wide rump swaying slowly. She stood over Derpy, and the whimpering messenger couldn’t move.  “Your name’s Derpy, yes?” the other mare asked.  “Mmmph…mm-hmm…” “I’m Azure. Azure Breeze. Welcome to the hive.” And with no more warning or explanation than that, the other mare sat on her.  “Mmmmph!” She was smothered beneath the wide rump of the other female, smelling a sex so wet that she would have sworn that Azure was in heat rather than just horny. It was hot, slightly bitter, pungent and thick down there, and it only made her own needs rise hotter. She had never been this interested in another female, or in sex in general before, but right then? Right then, she would do anything for more.  She stuck out her tongue, licking without being told. Lick, lap, lick, lap, each and every little lick sending another burst of pleasure down her spine. She could feel it building up down at her sex again, everything leaving her shaking, dripping, wet and whimpering. A puddle was building under her, a flood that was leaving her shaking more.  “Ah…ah…” She could vaguely hear the other members of the delivery station losing their minds in the other room, and she knew that they were getting fucked by the stallions. She didn’t know if they were going to be okay, but the Derpy Hooves that cared about her friends was slowly fading away, replaced by the Derpy Hooves that needed to cum. And HARD.  Whining, she stuck her tongue deep into that slippery hole, gathering up the wetness that was on the edge and then ramming it in. Azure bucked back against her, grinding on her tongue, utterly dominating the gray mare. They gasped almost in tandem, their pleasure rising at the same time as the other.  Every lick fed her more of the pleasure that she had gotten from the donut and the pastry. Had these ponies gone and tampered with the goods? Or had their hive already spread that far? She didn’t know. She didn’t know.  She didn’t care.  Lick, lap, lick. She could feel the pleasure growing, her worries fading in the face of pure lust and need. She kept on teasing those lower lips, tracing the puffiness of them, shoving her tongue in deep and nuzzling against the soft bud of the other female’s clit. It rewarded her with pleasure beyond what she’d ever expected, and her own sex dribbled, clenched, trembled in response.  Every whimper, every moan, every little exhalation of pleasure was buried under Azure’s ass, leaving her to keep gasping for breath as she slurped down the other female’s pussy juices. Every swallow, every little bit that she drank down, made her feel like she was on the verge of another orgasm. Her muscles were slowly going limp, her body going still like she was being infected by some venom, some horrible concoction to leave her helpless.  But the need for pleasure, the need for that release, wouldn’t leave her. She couldn’t stop trying to get more, even though she knew that it was making things worse for her. All she could do was keep going. Keep licking.  Keep swallowing.  It built up more and more and more until it was too much. The mare arched her back upwards, her pussy clenching one more time. She was sure that she was going to cum again, and her body…just went limp.  Hssssssss.  The soft hiss started just before she realized what was happening. Cumming? Maybe, but that wasn’t all. Everything had gone limp. Everything had relaxed. That meant everything that was holding things back, too. Her bladder was slowly emptying as she pissed herself, excitement and relaxation combining to make even that humiliating experience arousing.  The heated wetness ran down her thighs, along her hooves, staining them and her. She couldn’t move, not even when Azure finally lifted her hips up. Had the other mare cum? Maybe, she couldn’t tell. She was still so out of it, the pastries and the juices of the other woman having put her somewhere else. Thinking was impossible, and so was escape.  “You will be a good little drone, won’t you?” Azure asked.  “Nnngh…mmmph…” “I promise you, that pleasure was nothing compared to what you will get every day under the hive.” “Mmmph?” “It’s going to be wonderful.” The mare moved out of sight, a hoof pressing against Derpy’s tail. There was nothing that the delivery mare could do, not when she was this drugged, this gone, this out of it. She could only let it happen. She felt another hoof pressing against her. Not against her sex, but against her asshole, rubbing against the pucker. It was already so puffy, so needy, and she groaned, clenching down, wondering if one of the stallions would be called over to give her another pounding.  Instead, that hoof kept rubbing her, teasing her, stretching her. She could feel her rim starting to open up a little. Some of her juices were used for lube, and she shivered as the pointed tip of a hoof started to slide in.  “Mmmph…ah…” “A little practice back there, hmm?” Derpy didn’t answer. She couldn’t. Her body was completely shutting down from all the stimulation that she had gotten. There was no willpower left to move her muscles, nothing that would give her any way to fight.  So, when she felt the slight pinches to her ass cheeks, she didn’t fight back. When she felt something nuzzling into her pucker, she didn’t try to shake it free. All she did was lay there, feeling it rubbing in, and then sliding in.  “Mmmmmmmm…” A low, soft moan escaped her as whatever it was forced its way between her ass cheeks. It was getting thicker the more that it wiggled into her, and the feeling that it brought with it was an odd tingle, a sort of pleasure that she didn’t entirely understand. She started to try clenching down, wanting to feel it more, but that didn’t give her anything.  What…what… No question in her thoughts, no thought that could be completed. It pulled the rest of the way in, and then she felt the slight pinches inside. Never enough to hurt, never enough to tear, just something that was settling in and then –  “MMMPH!” She couldn’t get the moan past her own teeth, a scream of pleasure that wanted to escape her that was reduced to a whimpering, grunting moan. Her pussy gushed again, and if there had been anything left in her bladder, it would have splattered all over the floor. As it was, she was utterly soaked as she came again, and again, and again, the rolling orgasms leaving her spasming against the floor of her own delivery station.  Yet, with each successive spasm of pleasure, she felt something…else. A tingle that was running up and down her spine, and then going out to her muscles, and then through the rest of her body. Her head stopped shaking, then her ass stopped clenching. Her pussy stopped squeezing, and then her legs stopped flailing.  She felt it touching her, filling her head with…something. Bits and pieces, memories, thoughts, orders, images.  And a word. Hive.  Welcome to the hive, Azure had said, and she could feel something like that bursting through her mind. Something that pulled her in, something that welcomed her, something that made her feel like she was genuinely part of a group rather than just working with other people. She could feel the thing in her insides, squirming, wriggling, getting a grip on her.  It was…it was controlling her. And she felt… She felt her eyes focus.  Derpy Hooves gasped as she felt her eyes focus without her having to strain them for the first time in her life, and she almost cried right then and there. It gave her the chance to see. It helped her see without giving her a headache. It left a tingle in her mind, made something just between her eyes feel different, but… But it fixed her.  It fixed her.  And it was slowly making her stand up, making her turn around to look at Azure. The other mare looked back at her with a kindly smile, and Derpy shook her head.  “I’m…part of the hive…” “Yes, you are.” “The hive…wants me.” It wasn’t even a question. She could feel that the parasite inside of her wanted her to be part of it, was converting her to be able to be part of it, and that in and of itself made her feel beyond welcome. The fact that the other ponies had come here to make them all part of the hive didn’t feel like an attack anymore. It felt… It felt like they were becoming part of a family. A good family. A warm and welcoming and wanting family.  She startled herself by leaning in and nuzzling against the mare, and was more startled in turn when the mare gave her a nuzzle in return. The affection nearly made her cry all over again, and that was saying something.  The other stallions came back out of the sorting room, followed by Glitterwing, Wallflower, and Cloudjumper. They all had the same wide-eyed, happy look on their faces that she did.  “We must share,” Moonlight Thunder said.  The eight of them turned around, exposing their rumps to one another. The tendrils came free, and they all touched. Despite coming from different ‘parents’, the new parasites were eager to be fully informed by the main members of the hive, and they touched together.  Derpy moaned, happily, and so did the new members. The older members of the hive just smiled, though Derpy barely noticed. She was so absorbed with what was happening to her, what she was being filled with, that she barely noticed anything else.  Tingle, zap, pleasure. Her head was filled with the signals of information being sent into her, with knowledge, with insight, with perspective. She saw the way that the hive had been operating, saw what they were doing, knew what they wanted.  Then the information was sealed off from her, held by the hive parasite as it realized that she was paying attention. She didn’t mind. She knew that they were there for her, and she would know what she had to do when the time came.  This…this is my family… She smiled, closing her eyes, savoring the pleasure that had no real way of describing it. The tingles in her spine, the shattering, spasming feeling that was suppressed by the hive’s control, the feeling of belonging to something, finally: it all came together to make her feel better than she’d felt at any other part of her life.  It was the start of a new life. A life where her herd would care about her, want her, protect her rather than just tolerating her. That was all that Derpy needed to know to be comfortable with the decision to stay here.  This was her place, now.  These were her ponies.  This was her hive.  > Chapter 9 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sunlight Charger had a reputation for being one of the more chivalrous of the various soldiers in the service of Princess Celestia. He had an image of being there for any lady in need, for being the bulwark between the helpless and those that would threaten them. Everything that he did had always been for the greater good of the realm, to safeguard Equestria from all threats, inside and out.  That same devotion was slowly being taken up by the Hive, turned to serve them, turned to make them safe from those that would see them exterminated. He stared out the window of his little improvised office, a house that had been emptied of those ponies that had lived there before and sent somewhere else. Ponyville, lively as it was, stretched out before him, and he knew for a fact that it was changing, even if all those that lived in it didn't realize it just yet. They were blissfully unaware of the two Hives that were competing for control of its residents.  Even now, he felt the compulsion that came down through the parasite inside of him, a reminder of what the Hive wanted, and what he was supposed to do. He was to secure them against the threats from those that would be on the lookout for them, as well as find ever more opportunities for hosts. The Hive needed to spread, needed more bodies for those being born, and they needed them sooner than later. Already, they were storing up their eggs more than they should, and if they didn't do something, then the eggs would hatch without a host to live in, and they would die shortly after.  That would not happen. He wouldn't allow it to happen.  Sunlight Charger had been completely subsumed into the Hive, but his traits remained, the useful ones, at least. His devotion to a cause, his raw eagerness to see the task done, the fact that he was willing to do whatever it took to see a task through to the end...and a great eagerness to be loved by the ladies, as well. That had remained, mostly due to the complaints of another Hive member in being made to try and seduce the various mares around the village. There had to be someone that was willing enough to go out and do that, and if that was going to be him, then he would do it, and do it well.  The unicorn shook his head, making his way to the command table that had been installed in the center of the chamber. The map should have held his attention, and he pretended it did for the benefit of any of the stallions under his command that might have come into the room when he wasn't looking. Rather than planning out what to do to keep the village secure against the Changeling threat, however, he focused on what he could do to keep it under the control of the Hive, and to spread that control as fast as possible.  The Hive requires hosts, and it requires security. That requires two figures for that to happen. The first was Mayor Mare, the ruling figure of Ponyville and the one that would be key to ensuring that the civil authority cooperated with the militant power that he commanded. Once she was properly inducted into the Hive, then the town itself could be directed into different infestation procedures in the name of security and proper procedures.  The second was Darkmoon Dancer, his counterpart among the guards and the one that ran the night shift. That one was a little bit more difficult to handle, considering that his fellow officer was busy during the night and rather well-secured during the day, but there would be opportunities, he was sure. All he needed to do was be on the lookout for them.  But that would come later. First, he had to take care of Mayor Mare, and there was a perfect way to handle that and open up his men to being infested at the same time.  "Soldier," he called.  One of the other ponies under his command, an earth pony, poked its head in from the other room. He nodded at the stallion.  "Take a letter to Mayor Mare. Tell her that we are going to hold a ball. A social. Whatever term will most likely get her to agree. Tell her that it is mandatory, for the sake of showing that we are unified in our wish to move forward and be better, and that the Changelings aren't going to scare us off." "Isn't that a bit of a security risk, sir?" the stallion asked.  "We will be there in force, and Darkmoon Dancer will still be on-duty. I doubt that there will be any serious dangers." "Are you sure, sir?" "I am sure. Now, follow your orders." The stallion saluted with a forehoof and ducked out of the room. Sunlight Charger forgot about him almost immediately, his mind turned to other pursuits and other tasks. He had managed to secure that front, and now, he had to secure others.  He was the soldier of the Hive. He would do his duty.  # The day came and went, and two hours before sundown, a letter arrived from Mayor Mare. She agreed to go along with the ball, and it was decided that it would take place that very night. His plans - the Hive's plans - were going right on schedule.  He stood in his chambers, looking at himself in the mirror. He wore a uniform of stylish cut, something that he normally would have only worn during parade events back at Canterlot. However, for a night of dancing, it would suit him well. It ran along his torso, a slash of gold cutting diagonally across the center of white cloth. It was pinned with four different medals, and he knew that it looked impressive, even if it was a hint uncomfortable.  Then it wasn't uncomfortable at all, and the drone stallion knew that was the work of the parasite that he carried. The Hive wished him to be as functional and effective as possible, and that meant that he had to be comfortable with his work. That was something that he appreciated, and he nodded at himself in the mirror.  He turned slowly, looking down as the parasite stimulated him, forcing his cock to drop. The feeling of his shaft sliding forward in his sheath, followed by the feeling of it falling down from inside, was something that he hadn't felt for a day or so, but before his infestation, he hadn't felt that for weeks, if not months. The sensation wasn't something that a polite stallion did feel very often, particularly those that were kept in court. They were made to be as polite as possible, and to never let more than the head slide free unless they were in company where it was appropriate to show that. Even here in Ponyville, well away from the lands that he had grown up in, the propriety was still part of the culture.  Yet, as the parasite stimulated him to the point where it had no choice but to drop, he couldn't help but enjoy it. There was enough left of him to enjoy pleasure, and the reward of that pleasure in that moment made him smile. Or rather, it would have, if he wasn't just a drone.  He looked at the mirror, examining himself, seeing how his shaft fell and seeing how it compared to the memories that the Hive had of other shafts within the collective. There were images of another big one, something wielded by the Stud of the hive, but other than him, there were no others with his actual size. That might be a detriment for some females, but at the same time, there were stirrings of memories in him. Mayor Mare had been rumored to have...preferences, and he believed that his shaft fit those preferences quite well. Nodding, he waited for the stimulation to stop, and bit by bit, his shaft was sucked back into his sheath. There was a dull ache in his balls at the same time, a feeling of something lost, something missed, but it was gone shortly after. There was no regret, no discomfort, and he was able to walk it off in a way that most stallions with blue balls never would have been able to manage.  He left his quarters, joining his men downstairs. They were likewise decorated, showing off their various awards, medals, and ranks along their uniforms. The earth ponies saluted as he emerged, and he nodded at them in greeting.  "At ease," he said a moment later, the words taking a second to come to him. "Everyone, tonight is a night of leisure as far as everyone else is concerned. We are still somewhat on-duty, regardless of the presence of Darkmoon Dancer and his men. We are going to ensure that the safety of Ponyville remains inviolate, and you will ensure that your dancing partners, whoever they may be, end up returned to their homes safely at the end of the night. You will not leave their sides during the walk home, and you will not leave their homes until they give you permission. You have official permission to be late to report tomorrow if the need arises." The drone knew that his stallions were taking that as permission to get laid, and he was willing enough for them to take that and run with it. There were some that would likely get approached by some of the ponies that had been pulled into the Hive already, and if they were, then that meant that he would come to work tomorrow and find out which ones were part of the group. They would know him, but he would not know them until the update was done.  Regardless, he knew that he would have other drones that he could rely on tomorrow. The question wasn't if; it was how many.  "Move out." # The dance was to be held in the village square, and after a short speech from Mayor Mare, it began. Various mares and stallions met in the middle of the green, bowed to each other, and then started dancing with one another. Others, such as Darkmoon Dancer and his soldiers, as well as some of the city officials, stayed off to the side to observe. Sunlight Charger shook his head, making his way to his counterpart. He stood beside the dark-furred stallion, looking at the assembled dancers.  "The civilians are enjoying themselves," he said.  "Yes, it seems so. Nothing untowards so far." "I can properly hand the watch duty over to you, then?" "Consider it handled," Darkmoon said.  "Make sure that nothing happens. If anything does..." "You will be informed immediately. Just like you've informed me of everything." If there had been anything more of Sunlight Charger but a blueprint left for imitation, then there might have been a pang of guilt at abandoning his duty. Instead, there was only a smile and a nod. Darkmoon shook his head, a faint smile on his face. "Already thinking of your mare for the night?" the other stallion asked.  "Of course." "You have your vices, Sunlight. Just don't take them too far." "I never have." "Lies, but we accept them." He shrugged, leaving his counterpart behind and weaving his way around the various ponies that were dancing with one another. He only had eyes for one of them, and she was on the far side of the village square, among the other officials and looking away from everything else that was going on.  As he approached, Mayor Mare looked up from the merriments going on and fixed her eyes on him. Her cheeks burned ever so slightly, and why not? He was a fine stallion, and she was something of an older mare, someone that had doubtlessly come to the dance in hopes of seeing the others happy rather than thinking that anyone would pay attention to her. He bowed his head as he came closer.  "Mayor." "Commander," she said, nodding in return, pushing her spectacles up slightly. "I'm sorry, is there something you need? Did we miss something?" "Not at all. Except for possibly the chance to get yourself a partner." "Oh, I don't think so. I'm a trifle old for this." "I imagine that you could still dance very well, ma'am." "I think that you're flattering me." "Even if I was, would I be wrong?" In the background, he could see Storm Chaser giving him a nod of thanks as the other stallion moved through the crowd. He was obviously seeking other men for a change, looking for those that he might seduce into the Hive, looking for those that might dick him. There was an eagerness there that bespoke a slight individuality, and for a moment, Sunlight wondered if it came from the parasite in that stallion, or a hint of personality that needed to be forced forward to reduce suspicion. Either way, it was very prominent for a member of their group.  He took his eyes from the other stallion, turning his attention back to the blushing mayor. She looked down and away, her other civil officials giving her little nudges in tease, suggesting that she might want to grab him now to keep him from getting away. He smiled slightly, allowing the compliments to her and him to keep coming until -  "Ma'am. If I might have this dance?" "What - me?" Mayor Mare asked, her mouth falling open.  "Yes, ma'am. I believe that, as the commander, I am obligated to dance with a woman of responsibility and breeding. That is clearly yourself." "...I...Yes, please." She nodded, stepping up beside him. They trotted to the dance, joining in with the younger ones. It didn't take them long to find the rhythm, and as soon as they did, he realized something.  Mayor Mare was very, very spry for her age. Despite the difficulties that some of the older mares might have had with the kicks and the rears, she pushed herself right to the limits. It took almost no time at all for her to find her hooves, and she was soon dancing with the best of them, showing off, giving everyone the steps, giving a display of exactly how one danced to this sort of music. She kicked and leaped, matching every movement that he made, never letting him get that far ahead, and never letting herself fall behind.  He was surprised, and rather impressed, as was the parasite inside of him. She would make for a good member of the Hive once she was properly infected. There was little that would need to be done to make her a more suitable host. She was already quite suitable, and merely needed to be given the confidence to use her office properly.  They moved closer together, dancing until they were pressed right up against each other. Other ponies stopped short of actually touching, holding that distance, but them? They bumped hips, they ground their sides against each other, they all but mounted one another right there on the dance floor with how intimate they were becoming. The drone had to remember to show signs of affection and passion on his face, pulling from the past and the blueprints that were left of his old self in the Hive collective, using them to still look right.  There were moments when the expressions didn't quite fit with what the real Sunlight Charger might have done, but it was close enough, and it was likely excused as him focusing on the steps of the dance. Mayor Mare was swiftly proving to be the mare of the evening, putting all the other females in the square to shame.  Finally, the song came to an end, and so did the dance. Sunlight Charger and Mayor Mare came to a sudden halt, panting and gasping for breath, and the pair of them looked deep into each other's eyes.  She looked at him like she had been given a new lease on life, like she had been reminded what living actually was. Her eyes were burning with passion, with interest, with keen and delightful bliss.  He could only imitate that. He felt a smile on his face, a hint of something that showed some casual interest while maintaining discipline and a soldier's demeanor. He bowed his head ever so slightly, thanking her wordlessly for the dance.  "Another?" she asked.  "So soon?" "I haven't danced like this, felt like this for years." "Then perhaps we should not push it so fast." "You think I can't keep up with you, dear?" "I think that I might struggle to keep up with you." "Flatterer. I know that you soldiers are stronger than you look." "And we can endure for some time," he agreed as he marched her through the applauding crowd of ponies. "But that means that we also know our limits. Let's take a short break, and then dance." Internally, he was already trying to plan what to do next, how to move them from the town square to somewhere a little more private. They needed that space to get the infestation done, to ensure that the mayor was properly among the Hive rather than just watched by them. After the numerous failed attempts by Storm Chaser, they needed this to go off without a hitch for a chance. That meant that he needed to get them out of here, and soon.  Thankfully, she seemed more than keen to keep his company. He led them to the punch table, and he poured them both something to drink. She took hers, sipping it slowly, and then put the cup back down on the table. She fixed him with a firm stare, and she looked...almost too intent for words. The Hive did not have a good comparison for this. Not heat, not biological, but something else.  "Come to my office. I want to show you something." "Is this official business?" "Let's say that I am making it official." There was a panic in the parasite, fear that they had been found out. The fear did not show on the stallion's face, however, not allowed to pass from parasite to host, and he only nodded.  "Lead the way, ma'am." And so, not entirely according to any plan, they left the town square, walking back towards city hall. It wasn't that long a walk, but it was just long enough for him to get a good look at the mayor from behind. Her hindquarters were swaying slightly more than usual, and while her sex wasn't winking in heat, her pucker was.  Perhaps, just perhaps, she hadn't found out about them after all.  # They had barely reached her office before she swept everything from her desk. Papers and more hit the floor hard and loud, and if he hadn't been completely controlled, then he might have been startled. Instead, he stood there as impassive as a statue, cocking his head to the side and waiting for an explanation. He got it as the mayor threw herself forward, her forelegs going over the edge of the desk and her tail going up, revealing quite the welcoming pucker.  "I want you," she said, as simple as that.  "In...the other hole, I assume, ma'am?" he asked.  "Yes. It's better for me, these days." "Oh? Is that a preference?" "Mmm, don't tell me that you're put off by a civil official being a little dirty." "Not at all." It actually made his job easier, particularly as his body was already stirring, a new parasite coming down through his body. He could feel it moving through his bowels, shifting things aside, running right down to his pucker and slowly pushing it open. He moved forward carefully, knowing that the new parasite was fragile, that it could be damaged with an impromptu clench of the cheeks if he didn't move with caution.  He could have just leaped up and started fucking her, but he needed to buy time. He allowed his sheath to drop - the parasite stimulating him enough that there was no way that he could stop it, now - and gathered some pre-cum up from the tip. It was as poisoned and drugged as any member of the Hive's, now, and he pressed his hoof slowly against her pucker. The touch of that slime to her sensitive flesh left her gasping.  "Ah...ah...oh, that's...that's different," Mayor Mare whispered. "What...what is that? It makes it feel so good back there," she muttered.  "Just a little something to make it slide in easier," he said, standing on one back hoof and one front one. The parasite newcomer was almost out of him, almost ready to be caught. "Just let me loosen you up a bit, ma'am, and we can get started." "Mmmmph...oh, goodness...You have big hooves..." "I have something else just as big, maybe bigger." "Oh, please..." "You will have it soon enough, ma'am." "Please..." She had her face covered by her front hooves, keeping her eyes covered. She looked like she was embarrassed at how much she wanted this, which played into his favor. It meant that he could keep doing what he wanted without her looking back at him, without having to pretend that he was enjoying this.  Oh, it was true that his body was. There was no change there. His body, his cock, everything wanted to fuck this mare and pound her right into the ground. The same thing that had made his body weak to being infested by Azure Breeze had him eager to do the same thing to this female. That said, he was controlled by the Hive now, and those urges were being channeled properly rather than being allowed to run rampant.  He kept slowly rubbing her pucker, adding more and more of his drugged pre-cum to her hole. She was arching her back, gasping, pushing back for more, and he knew that she wouldn't last for long once he put the parasite to her pucker. She would cum and she would beg for the chance to get filled again. Then, of course, the Hive would start to take control, and then the mission would be an official success.  As she moaned, as she whimpered, the parasite finally plopped out, landing on his hoof. The next time that he reached down, he passed it from his rear hoof to his front hoof, coating it in pre-cum, and then gently pressed the head of the parasite to her flexing pucker. It gripped at her flesh, slowly pulling its head forward -  "Ah! Oh gods...oh Celestia, what is THAT?!" "That is something special." "Oh, it's so...so slimy...so...so...ah...ah..." Her words were failing her, and she was slumping forward further and further across the desk. The drone was instructed to move around, and Sunlight Charger did just that, making his way to the far side. He jumped up, his front hooves hitting the desk, his cock sliding against the mare's face.  "Suck," he told her, and in that word, he dropped all pretense of being normal.  She looked up at him, obviously confused at the shift of things, but too horny to be able to hold back, too horny to question it. The parasite was slowly worming its way past her pucker, going in, sliding forward, digging deeper. She arched her back, obviously enjoying the feeling of something so deep inside of her. All the preparation that he had done had left her utterly ignorant of her peril, just focused on the pleasure, the heat under her tail.  He pushed his cock at her face again, and she gasped as she sniffed at his shaft, and then tasted it. The same chemicals that had seized hold of her ass seized hold of her mouth, leaving her sensitive, hungry, horny. The aged, gray-maned mayor reached for him, pulling him closer, thrusting his cock down her throat without even thinking. She sucked away, and he could feel the pleasure as a sideways thing in his mind, almost like something that he was being informed of rather than actually feeling directly.  Almost...almost... A normal male would have been thinking of how close he was. Sunlight Charger, like a good drone, was thinking about how much longer the parasite he'd helped into the mayor would need to properly settle in and become a good member of the Hive. He could just make out the tail of the creature slowly wiggling forward, could see it rising under the mayor's tail, could see the way that it was being slurped forward by the parasite's forward movements. A few more seconds, and it would be deep inside. A few seconds after that, and it would be taking control through spasming pleasure, bringing the female the pleasure that would bind her to the Hive in perpetuity.  He remembered how it had felt for him to be completely taken over, and how he had felt that splinter of fear before he became a proper drone. He remembered the pleasure that had come as a reward, driving away so much of his mind, leaving behind only the useful semblances of his former self. He had become a drone, and so too would the mare on the table in front of him.  Freezing to avoid getting his cock bitten, he waited for her to stiffen up. The moment that her tongue stopped flicking along the bottom of his shaft, he jumped back, keeping his rigid erection from getting nibbled or bitten or bruised if she started spasming.  And she did. Her head twitched, her mouth clenched, her jaw bulged from the strain. Her eyes went wide, then rolled back. The hissing sounds of fluids splattering against the ground grew louder by the second, adding to the thick smell of sex in the room. She had been fragrant before, but now, she positively stunk up the room with the smell of need and want and desperation. This was what she had been; a host would no longer be like that unless the Hive had need of...that... There was a strange sense of growth in the back of Sunlight Charger's mind, something that neither the drone or the parasite within him had felt before. It felt like something had expanded, like there was more room in the mind for something. Not just his mind, but in the Hive mind, something that... It was hard to explain. They needed more information, more experimentation, and for that, they needed to share. The host was still shaking, but was gradually going still, the mayor's tail the last thing to stop flailing around. Her eyes closed tightly, her breathing stabilized, and then, bit by bit, she opened her eyes again.  It was clear that the parasite had taken control. There was a blankness in those eyes at first, Sunlight Charger remembering the feeling of everything that he had known being taken, absorbed, understood by the parasite. It had done much to incorporate his knowledge into itself before sealing that away, only giving it back when it was needed. He remembered how strange it had felt, how fearsome it was until pleasure had utterly eclipsed the feeling.  Mayor Mare seemed to take it in her stride, and then, as she got back to all fours, she cocked her head to the side, too. The other drone seemed as puzzled as he had been a moment ago.  "Sharing must occur," she said, and Sunlight Charger recognized the voice as being more that of the Hive than of the mare herself.  "Share with us," he heard through his own mouth, his voice being co opted for the moment. He turned around, feeling the slow tendril movement sliding out of his pucker and pressing down hard on his prostate. The mare turned around and the other parasite extended its own tail.  They touched, and bliss followed.  The pleasure was as powerful as ever, but while his cock and her pussy were spasming, twitching, him hard and her wet, they were not moving. Neither shifted from their stance, not even to adjust their weight on their hooves. They just stood there, staring into the distance as the pleasure rolled through them and the information was shared back and forth between the two parasites.  The one in Mayor Mare was getting the current understanding of the Hive, the various members that made up this particular group, as well as the memories of those that had been left in Hayburg. All the roll lists, all the different members, and the plans that they had been putting together were passed down.  In exchange, the one in Sunlight Charger received something different. There was a list that the mayor had been concealing from him, and from Darkmoon Dancer, for that matter. She had a list of all the potential suspects of Changeling infiltrators, running from those that were in a compromising position to those that had been acting differently, strangely compared to those that were normal. The list was a dozen names long, and all of them were among the upper echelons of pony society, ranging from officers in the higher ranks of Celestia's army to those among her nobles.  If the drone had been capable of surprise, true surprise, he might have gone so far as to gasp at that. Instead, the information was sorted away by the parasite, and put somewhere off to the side to be passed on by others. There was something in that information that they could use to their advantage, perhaps to the point of finding the other hive before the other hive found them. The information had to be shared with the rest of the group, however, and that -  Then they noticed it. The parasites paused, and a hint of the information, the realization, filtered down to the drone. Sunlight Charger was almost as surprised as the creature inside of him.  They were smarter. That was what had changed when Mayor Mare had been brought into the fold. She had provided just enough hosts to bring them to a different level of awareness. They had been growing bit by bit, the two parasites realized at once, with each new host adding incrementally to what they were capable of figuring out. Their intelligence had grown from the simple desire to spread to wanting to protect the hive, and now... Now they were realizing something else. They were realizing... There weren't enough ponies.  It was a striking moment. The Hive had always realized that it would need to expand, but it had never really understood why before. When it had reached the end of Hayburg's population and had sent this group off to Ponyville, they had been under orders to keep spreading the Hive, to keep finding more hosts that they could bring in. The fact that they had run out of hosts in the village hadn't mattered. All that mattered were that there were other hosts over in another area, a group of hosts that hadn't been tapped yet. More young could find hosts there.  Now, however, the pair of them - or rather, their parasites - were realizing something more integral than that. Each host could birth a new parasite daily, and they had been doing that. That had spread their numbers through Ponyville, doubling from four to eight, and then eight to sixteen, and they were still growing. In mere days, they would have birthed enough parasites to infest the entirety of the town's population, and then a day or two more, and they would have enough to infest those that were visiting for the festival. That was just how the numbers worked.  But what would they do when there was none left? Move on somewhere else? They had done this once before, scarcely a month ago. What had happened? Why did they think that this would be different? What could they actually do to make things better, to survive when they were breeding so fast that they were going to outstrip the pony population of the entire kingdom in less than a year? How were they supposed to survive? These were questions that, as far as the Hive knew, none of them had had to answer before. Not many Hives grew big enough to gain this awareness, nor did they get enough hosts to build to this point before they were obliterated by some other species. This time, they had been sneaky enough, quick enough, to not only gain intelligence, but actual awareness of what they were doing.  How were they going to fix it, though? They didn't know, and that left something that was almost like fear in the parasites.  Sunlight Charger, of course, did not feel that fear, and neither did Mayor Mare. They merely stood there, as robotic as one could imagine, until the parasites took charge again. The one in Sunlight Charger knew that there would be a delivery pony arriving soon, one that would take the information of his success or failure to the rest of the Hive. That information would be collected and disseminated to the others as the delivery pony went from place to place, touching and sharing as she went. This time, however, she would take something else. That same awareness and understanding would be awakened in all the different drones in the Hive.  It had to be, regardless of the potential fear. Otherwise, they would outbreed their hosts, and then, the Hive that had been so successful up til that point would die. That could not be allowed to happen.  "I must write up orders," Mayor Mare said.  "Yes...and I must...send messages." "Do your job." "And you do yours." "Guard the Hive." He bowed his head, leaving her to her work. He followed the paths of the city hall building to one of the balconies on the upper floors, and Derpy Hooves joined him up there. She turned around and immediately pushed a tentacle out of her anus, and he felt his own sliding free, as well.  It was time to share once again.  > Chapter 10 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Of all the ponies within the Hive, Sugarfrost Harvest was probably the one closest to his original self. Not because there had been much in the way of mercy when the parasite had become part of him and taken away most of his willpower, but more because he had been the one that had the most personality that had to be imitated. A simple blueprint hadn't been enough, and the eager pony had become an eager drone, throwing his lot in with the Hive and doing everything that he had been instructed, happily obeying all orders.  Then again, 'happily' might have been the wrong word. 'Lustfully' might have been a better one.  The pink stallion tossed his white mane back as the latest of his secondary 'customers' walked off, dizzy and still shaking off the effects of being well-serviced. He had been accumulating a reputation as a slut among the different males of the town as well as that of a baker, and that meant that he had all sorts of customers coming around. Mostly stallions that weren't so interested in their wives, those that found that they needed more attention than a mare could give them, that sort of thing.  The parasite that had taken hold of him didn't seem bothered by living as a prostitute as well as a baker, as it served the Hive to have all kinds interested in them. While they had yet to infest more than one customer, they had been building up a good client set, and the various fluids that they used to tease their clients had been more than sufficient to start building a low-level addiction for the stallions that came to visit. They would find their wives less and less enjoyable until they would do anything for Sugarfrost's services, and that... Well, that would have fed an ego. As it stood, it was just useful. Useful to the parasite, the Hive, and to the bakery.  Wiping a hoof across the edge of his muzzle, he was just about to get back to fucking the breeding stand - he had to drug up a few different goods, after all, for the deliveries later in the day - when someone else flew in through the upstairs window. A momentary burst of paranoia came from the parasite within before it remembered that it was probably one of the delivery ponies that they had pulled into the Hive not that long ago. They relaxed, and by the time that the pony came down - Derpy Hooves, in this case - they were completely back to normal.  Without witnesses, there was no need to smile, no need to pretend different emotions for the comfort of the non-infested. They had blank faces as they approached, and he turned as he always did in the morning, ready to receive the morning information from the core of the Hive. The slithering tendril pushed out past his pucker, a feeling that was so slimy and sensual that it pushed his cock to start dropping right then and there, and then he waited.  The blissful touch of tendril to tendril sent the drone to cloud nine almost immediately, leaving him smiling on the inside and blank on the outside. His cock went from dropped to throbbing in the space of a few seconds, slapping up against his belly and begging for attention. It was outside of his awareness, though, something that was secondary to the mental pleasure and the tingling feeling that went up and down his spine as the information was transferred from one parasite to another. The feeling was always intense, but this time, it brought something different with it. A feeling of expansion, a feeling of awareness, a feeling of -  A feeling that he wasn't allowed to look at, not yet. Instead, he had an image pop into his head, an image of one Darkmoon Dancer. The dark-furred unicorn that led the Night Shift of the guard ponies that had come to Ponyville, he had struck a mysterious figure for most of his time in town. He had a black coat, a red horn, and many ponies looked at him with suspicion due to the fact that he had some rather 'bad guy' coloration.  As it stood, Sugarfrost would have felt heavily attracted to him if he had a chance to feel much of anything besides whether something would be useful or not for the Hive. As Darkmoon Dancer would be very useful to the Hive, he was able to feel interested in the unicorn stallion.  More information passed through the pleasurable link, feeding him bits and pieces about what his mission for the Hive today would be. In addition to the different foodstuffs that he had to get ready for the evening delivery throughout Ponyville, he would have an assignment to -  Surprise, almost real, popped through him. He would have the assignment to seduce and infest Darkmoon Dancer, due to the unicorn's own proclivities.  Oh, my... The drone smiled on the inside, though the feeling was a shadow of its former self. Still, compared to the dreariness inside that came with being a drone, that was a hell of a lot better than anything that he had been feeling up until that point. He looked forward to the potential fun that he and Darkmoon could have, particularly considering the information that followed. The unicorn's tastes verged towards the rough, and that meant that there was a lot of possibilities for some of the fun stuff that the other stallions in denial about their needs couldn't bring themselves to do.  Yes, yes, this was going to be very, very good.  The tendrils detached, and he turned to face the messenger drone. She would be waiting for some of the already-made stuff, and he nodded, gathering them up with one hoof and helping her pack them into her bags.  "The dose is the same as yesterday?" she asked.  "As close as possible. It's hard to be entirely precise with those fluids." "Should I add a little?" "If you can find the time, mixing your scent in the air should improve their quality." "I will do that, then." "Just don't leave marks all over." "I'm not that messy." "They wouldn't let you be." They nodded, parted. She went up the stairs, and he heard her leaving the bakery through his living quarters on the second floor. She would be heading through town after that, going to every open window and leaving treats for the various stallions and mares throughout Ponyville. He could only imagine the orgies that would be occurring later in the evening, once they were all affected by the lust that the different treats would produce.  That was one of many different plans that the Hive had going. The more sexually compromised a pony was, the more willing that they would be for one of the parasites to slide in. More to the point, the more fucking they did, the more hosts would be waiting at the end of the whole ordeal. They needed as many as they could get, after all, what with the Hive already needing more of them.  Sugarfrost felt something like pride at the work that he did. The drone put in a lot of work for the Hive, always putting out the best goods that he could bake, always properly balanced with as much of the drone fluid that he could milk from himself. It wasn't a perfect plan, but at least it was doing a fair bit to get the rest of the ponies to stop being so uptight. Some of the higher-ups in town had already stopped caring quite so much about whether this stallion had a dropped cock or that mare had a bit of a glisten  under her tail. It was something natural, and they were horny enough to appreciate it rather than put it down.  The parasite inside nudged him, mostly through his prostate, and he had a reminder of what he should be doing. Getting ready for Darkmoon Dancer, just in case he showed up. The Hive wouldn't have given him the assignment if there wasn't a pretty good chance of the other commander coming by the bakery today, whether he was looking for something to eat or something to have fun with. Darkmoon, from the information transfer, had a definite preference for the type of pony that Sugarfrost represented: someone that was soft, someone that was eager, and someone that could take it.  Considering that Darkmoon was from the military, that probably meant that he knew a lot of stallions that could take it, but not that many willing, or that many that could also be qualified as soft. That meant that he'd have to find citizens that had that interest and that hardiness, but still maintained their own little glow like he had done.  Sugarfrost was encouraged to smile. He was going to be very useful today.  # Sugarfrost was still in the process of deciding whether to have a bondage harness on under his mane just in case or not when the ding of a customer entering the shop filled the air. It looked like he'd have to go without for now, but the ring around the base of his sheath and balls should be enough for those that were discerning, and he had every reason to believe that Darkmoon Dancer was a discerning sort of stallion.  The drone had an endless amount of perverted information gathered from living in the bottom of the sexual society of Ponyville for so long. He knew the ways of bondage, knew the ways of lube and the ways of pleasure. He knew how to be on the bottom, how to flirt and seduce, and he knew how to judge a pony's wants and needs just from being around them for a moment or three. That information would come in handy when their target was here, but the parasite inside was clearly wishing for something different, something slightly better, in its mind, for serving the Hive.  Of course, who should be in their bakery but the target himself? Sugarfrost Harvest put on a small smile, the drone making his way to the counter as he eyed the commander of the Night Shift.  "Good to see a guard patronizing my shop," he said with a smile. "What brings you here, Commander?" "Darkmoon, please," the unicorn said in his gravely sort of voice. "I avoid my rank when I'm not on-duty." "I'm surprised you're not sleeping." "I had other urges that I needed to take care of. Urges that, I'm told, that I could have taken care of here." It took everything in the stallion to not grin like a moron there, or would have, were it not for the parasite being idly amused that the fucking around had actually done a damn thing for their work. It had gone along with what the Hive had demanded, giving in and doing what it was told to do, but it hadn't expected it to yield any results. Well, consider it convinced.  "Those rumors are quite correct, Darkmoon," he said, bowing his head. "Particularly if they are of a, shall we say, nature with a creamy finish?" "Heh, for you, certainly." "Wonderful. I would love to be of service." "Then the back room. Now." "Yes, sir." The drone knew that the memories of the past and all the little bits and pieces that had been retained from his prior personality were being drawn on. It was easy to inhabit that space again, to be part of that, to give in and be the sort of drone that the Hive needed him to be. In some small way, in a way that didn't make much sense but was nonetheless true, it was also rather fun.  He pulled the little barrier that kept the colts and other troublemakers out of the back out of the way, and no sooner was the way clear than Darkmoon was walking past it, strutting forward in a way that showed off all the muscles of his sides and legs, and gave the baker a hint of the sheath that was waiting just between those hind legs. He wasn't given the treat of seeing it properly just yet, but as he fell in behind the big stallion, he got the chance to see the balls waiting just behind. Oh, they were large, the sort that would have been all but guaranteed to breed colts into mares, the sort of balls that dangled and were a testament to the stallion's status that he could afford to let something so vulnerable hang so free.  Oh, there was a part of him that looked forward to feeling those banging off of him. He smiled, but there was a slight pause, a reminder from the parasite.  "Please make yourself comfortable. I have to...clean myself out." "Take your time to do it properly. I prefer things immaculate," the commander of the Night Shift said, dismissing him.  It was a good thing that the unicorn wasn't a farmer, then. He imagined that wouldn't have worked as an excuse in that case. He hurried off, making his way back upstairs. Of course, there was no need to really clean out, but the real reason was all the more important.  Sugarfrost reached back, holding one hoof just under his rump. He pushed a bit, and the beginning of a stretch pushed at his hole. Not much of a stretch these days, not really, not compared to what he used to push out without any trouble, but still something of one. He groaned under his breath, feeling his hole distend slightly, followed by the sudden stretch of something pushing through the center. The head of the new parasite was already sliding free, and he held his hoof in place carefully to catch it.  The passage of the parasite coming out was enough to start his cock pushing forward, sliding through the ring around his sheath and leaving it dropped down. He groaned under his breath, feeling his shaft throbbing quickly, the ring that it passed through trapping blood inside and keeping him good and hard, good and horny. It was a little minor feeling of bondage that pleased him, and made him feel all the more sensual as he was restrained down there.  But it was the parasite that made him happy. He carefully pulled it out from under him, and then slowly moved it up to his tail. There was an unspoken knowing there, and the parasite got a good grip with its claws to his tail. That would keep the little guy out of sight and out of the way while he was having his fun, and it would give the little parasite the perfect chance to move back and get a good grip on the other stallion.  He could feel his own parasite shifting in his guts, moving a bit further down. The constant barrage of anal sex had done a number on the parasite until it had been able to get to a different position inside him, and this was going to be another hard session. He could feel the weight of it down in his stomach, and nodded when he got the signal that it was properly hidden away, not vulnerable to anything too big for the moment. That would do.  He climbed back down to the main part of the bakery, and then into the back. He found Darkmoon Dancer examining his equipment, from the breeding stand to the various chains that were laid around the place. The dark-furred unicorn looked back at him with a slight smile on his face.  "It seems that you like it rough." "I'm always the one in the chains. That's where I like to be." "Good. I will be enjoying you in them." "Mind if I get myself set up?" "Do so. I want to see how you look properly tied." Perfect. He had two different types of chains, one that was proper, hard to escape from, and another set that were more like trick-chains, ones that were easily escaped from if you knew the trick, and far harder to get out if you didn't know where the loose bit was. He planned to use the latter, wearing them until just the right moment, and then kicking them back to pin Darkmoon in place. It was almost foolproof as a plan could be, and he looked forward to seeing the other stallion become part of the Hive.  Once the fucking was done, of course. The drone maintained his eagerness for that, or at least, his lust for it. It was his reward for doing so much, so well for the Hive, and doing it without complaint.  He slid his front hooves, then the back ones into the chains. They slid up with ease, adjusting the metal bands with a bit of effort, and then he put on a show of pulling his legs this way and that. The metal links kept him from moving them more than a few inches in any direction, keeping him pinned in place, his pucker on display shortly after as he flicked his tail to the side. There was a slight tug as the parasite hidden within his tail gripped that little bit tighter, but that was all.  "Do you like what you see, sir?" he asked.  "You have a most appealing rump." "I hope that it appeals to you enough to fuck it." "Oh, yes..." "Will I get the commander's cock, then?" "Heh, do you think you can take it?" Darkmoon turned slightly to the side, and Sugarfrost had his first glimpse of the big dick that the commander sported. For all that he had been eager for something big in his ass, he was almost a little afraid of what he saw this time. That flared shaft throbbed harder than anything that he had seen save for Moonlight Thunder's cock, and even that was only barely the size of the thing that he was looking at now. Maybe even a little smaller than that. The flare was thick enough that it would be at risk of stroking the parasite in him, even as deeply buried as it was, and the sheer length was something that would have terrified any mare.  All of a sudden, he realized why the commander came to stallions. They were the only ones that could take a cock like that.  "Mmm, I think I can. I've taken toys that size, at least," he lied.  "Then let us see what your flexibility is worth..." The commander walked up behind him, as cocky as one could imagine. Sugarfrost lowered his head in submission, glancing back and between his legs to gague the distance between him and the unicorn. He wanted to be braced for when the first thrust happened, not caught by surprise. It was always a fun feeling when it first went deep, but he knew for a fact that this one would put him off his game, that it would be big enough to distract him, and that wasn't something that he needed to deal with when he was trying to bring this guy into the Hive. Focus, focus, focus.  He spotted the rearing up just before it happened, and he relaxed. It was just enough for that massive cockhead to push right into him, and he gasped out loud. It was a forced gasp, but one that he still felt, regardless.  Holy... That cock was big enough to physically drive the air from his lungs, and he stood there wheezing as it went deep, feeling it deep in his guts, rubbing over his prostate like it was trying to drive him to orgasm in that first thrust. His cock throbbed inside the ring that he wore, and he shivered as he felt his shaft go ram-rod straight.  Hold me back...hold me back... The ring and the parasite worked together for that, the latter shutting down the ability to cum, the ring keeping him nice, horny and ready for when it would actually happen. He groaned as he felt the massive stallion on his back shifting his weight around, getting a good thrusting angle going, and those massive balls dragged against his, draping over them before slowly pulling back. That flare in his ass, the thickness of it was more than enough to stroke over his prostate, to drag him back to full pleasure once more and then -  SMACK! In that cock went, and he moaned under his breath. The sounds and moans and whimpers of pleasure came from the parasite using his old identity, the old bit of him that everyone had come to fuck and use, but the stimulation was all real. Inside, the host was enjoying it as much as one could enjoy anything, but outside, it was all mechanical, all done by the parasite anticipating what he should sound like, what he should act like.  It was an odd thing, both feeling the pleasure and being divorced from it. He grunted as that shaft slammed in, as he was spread open again and again, as the sheer power of the bigger stallion was put to use rutting him. One thrust, two, three, four, each time feeling that wide shaft spreading his pucker that much further, making him feel like he was properly getting bred rather than just getting fucked. Darkmoon could easily become a stud for the Hive, he realized, just like Moonlight was. That was a sexy thought, having them both there at once.  It would not help the Hive, though, and he knew he would not get it. The drones did not get rewards like that.  The fucking went on and on, and he knew that it was time to start moving on before Darkmoon Dancer started to move towards orgasm. If this ended before he was able to get the parasite in the other guy, then there was no chance at all. He had to deliver the parasite to its target, and then he had to shift the bindings from him to the commander. First, the parasite.  He moaned, flicking his tail at the next thrust, reacting just like a bitch should. He felt their tails twitch, brushing together, and in that moment, the parasite slipped from him to the other guy. Further back, further in. Just a bit longer. He waited, feeling the thrusting continue, feeling Darkmoon getting more and more into it. Any second now, and then the parasite would reach that little bit too high, and then -  "What the -" And that was it. The sound of surprise, the little shock. He kicked back, the chains leaving his legs and grabbing the other stallion's hind legs, pinning them to the ground. It was perfect, and he wiggled forward, feeling the flare dragging along his insides until it popped free, loudly and wetly. "What is - there's something under my tail. Get it," Darkmoon Dancer grunted.  "I will check it, of course," Sugarfrost said, his face as expressionless as one could imagine, even if his voice sounded a bit concerned. "Just putting those on you for now..." "What - what are those chains for?" "Hold still while I check you." The commander was obviously confused at what was going on, which was entirely the point. The chains would have held, at least for a short time, if the commander had started bucking and trying to get free. For now, though, they were serving their purpose in keeping Darkmoon from doing anything, and more to the point, being too confused to start something. That was always helpful.  He leaned around the other stallion's ass cheeks, looking at the pucker as that tail went up. The parasite had managed to get in place, rubbing its head against the pucker, but there was no forward movement. It was clenched just a bit too tightly to allow the little thing in.  Well, that was easily fixed.  Reaching under his own belly, he rubbed his hoof against the slimy head of his shaft, getting it nice and slippery, and then pressed the slime against the stallion's pucker. Just like magic, the drugs and chemicals that laced every Hive member's juices went to work, getting that hole nice and sensitive, and more to the point, rather...hungry. Darkmoon Dancer gasped, his eyes going wide, and better, his pucker opened up, too. The parasite slid in with a little help from him, and the other stallion gasped out loud.  "What - citizen, what the hell was that?" "Something that will change your life, commander." "Tell me what it was, right now!" "It's the start of a brand new life." "Citizen, I'm ordering you. Tell me what the hell that was." "Ah. You'll feel it in a moment. Your link to the Hive." "What - Changeling?!" "No, not that sort of Hive. A different, better Hive. One that will make you happy, one that you will be happy to be part of, and one that you will never, ever want to leave." He smiled as the bigger stallion's cock jerked just as the parasite found where it needed to be. It throbbed up, then down, then up again, spitting cum and pre-cum in equal measure across the floor. So, that was what it had looked like when he had taken the little parasite up his own hole, how it had looked from the outside as he was rocked with pleasure from one side and the other. He remembered how it had felt to get rid of all the cum in his balls and replace it with what the parasite wanted, but seeing it was an entirely different thing.  Pretty sexy, right? The drone would have chuckled, but the parasite didn't let that happen. The drone had some hint of the amusement that he would have felt before, but no more than that. He wasn't really a full pony anymore, after all, so why would he feel something to that extent? Squirt, splash, squirt, splash. Everything was messed up with the total deluge of cum that surged across the floor, splattering away. Those huge balls were emptied completely, and the only thing that made the drone a little down was the wish that some of it had gone inside of him rather than all over the place. The familiar stillness followed, and the stallion stared straight ahead as the parasite worked at interfacing with his mind.  He could feel his own parasite's curiosity, the interest in what might be hidden in that mind. They had gotten quite a bit from Sunlight Charger when he had been brought into the Hive, and there were high hopes for what they would get from the night commander of the group. Particularly with -  Oh, that's new. He hadn't realized that part of the information that Derpy had brought had been a list of those that might have been Changelings. Darkmoon Dancer had been among those that had been considered a possibility, too, which was another reason why it had been so important to capture him and make sure of his identity. As it turned out, it seemed very likely that he was just another stallion.  Still, worth knowing.  Finally, the other stallion stood up straight again, and looked down at the chains. Sugarfrost kicked them along the side, popping them open, and the fresh host stepped forward, experimenting with its body.  The parasite in the other body extended its tail without even talking, this time, which meant that there was something huge going on. They turned around, offering their own little tendril, and Sugarfrost futilely braced himself for the barrage of pleasure that he was about to receive. Futilely indeed, as it came like lightning and ran up and down his back. The blasts of stimulation were echoes of what information his parasite received, and he only saw shadows of it, bits and pieces that were allowed to pass through the barrier between his drone-understanding and the total Hive-understanding. It was just little bits and pieces, pictures that were fitted against the list, and he realized that the parasite in him was doing a cross-match against the different ponies on the list that was contained in their head. The night commander had been doing his own sorting out, testing out those that he didn't feel were acting quite right, and finding out which could be verified quickly and easily.  The list of the potential Changeling infiltrator had shortened massively, leaving only six names on it, six names of which it could be. Four nobles, one city official, or the new commander that was coming in to take charge of Darkmoon and Sunlight.  Sugarfrost had no idea which it could be, as he had never been that involved in politics around the town, but he had every reason to believe that it was going to be a hard thing to find out. All those upper-crust ponies were very keen on their own company and not that keen on others visiting them. Except... Except for the delivery ponies, and the packages that they brought. Various gift baskets could easily be sent, all from his bakery and from others that had been infested, and that would start breaking down that veneer of blue-bloodedness. They would start to show their need to the rest of the town, and they would want company. Company that some of the Hive could provide during their investigation.  If they found the Changeling, great. If they didn't, then they had someone on the heights as a member of the Hive, which could only be for the good. Sugarfrost was astonished at the sheer quickness of the Hive to adapt, and wondered just what else the group could do.  # Darkmoon Dancer was slowly coming down from the pleasurable state of being that had shocked him from head to toe after the parasitic creature had bitten down and seized hold of him. At least, that had been what it felt like at the start. The sudden shock-storm of lightning and pleasure through his body had rocked him to the core, ripped out most of the different parts of him that were him. Now, he was just something of a shell that remembered what he had been, what he used to be, and how he could... No, how the Hive could use him. The facts of his identity remained, that he was an officer in the royal army, that he had the post of commander in the local garrison, that he was a well-respected stallion among the army and could command the loyalty of most soldiers. That, in and of itself, was definitely worth keeping around.  The rest, from his particular affinity for the stallion body to the fact that he needed someone to take it rough from him from time to time, were being copied, but not necessarily kept around. The information, not the traits, were important to the Hive and to the parasite inside of him. That was something that he would just have to live with, as he was not going to be getting everything that he wanted anymore.  What had been Darkmoon Dancer would have been angry at that. The drone that he had become was satisfied with that part of his life remaining. Pleasure, particularly that near-addictive pleasure that came from joining and sharing, was something that he could no longer live without, and that was something that only the Hive could give him.  He sensed that the parasite with him was glad that he could see it their way, and that was all that needed to be said.  As Sugarfrost splattered the floor with nearly as much corrupted seed as he had, he could feel his parasite going through their list of goals. The list of different Hive members surprised the formerly free stallion, but he could see how they had spread so fast through the town. When they could do it during or post sex with such ease, there was no way for them to entirely be slowed down other than a complete containment of the entire force. He might have been able to do that if he had known what he was looking for, but lacking any knowledge of the Hive's existence up until this point, he had no idea how this could have been defended against.  The parasite inside him drew on that, too, pulling on his experience. The military experience that Sunlight Charger had, that of fighting enemies head-on and dealing with all the scuffles that came about in the streets, had been less useful to the Hive, he felt. However, his experience - that of setting up investigations, of trapping his opponents in compromising situations, and being able to control a foreign group without having to confront them directly - was of far more interest to them. His parasite was taking that, organizing it, studying it, and Darkmoon had little doubt that it would be passed on to the rest of the Hive at the first possible sharing.  Until then, he knew that he would be of better use in the field. He turned, walking away. Sugarfrost didn't say anything to stop. In truth, there was nothing to say at that point.  After all, he had several meetings ahead, and one of them was with someone else on the list of suspects. Now that he was infested, he had every reason to go, and no reason to delay. His meeting was with a blue-blooded minor noble that had come from Canterlot to oversee the little festival that they had going, and to push his own ambitions among some of the ponies. This particular stallion had come to be seen as someone that was detached from the common people, and it had started to hurt his image among the populist court in Canterlot, particularly as the princesses had been more and more keen to be seen as loved by the people. He was losing power, and it was entirely possible that this particular noble had turned his attention to a different source of power, one that had been a danger to the realm at one point.  And if he hadn't, then he could be turned, made to be a little more useful. Darkmoon Dancer had no doubt that the Hive would turn the noble towards being more useful to the general public, if only for the chance to get access to other high-ranking figures when they were done in Ponyville.  When they were done in Ponyville... There was something that the Hive still didn't understand, something about numbers, something about how they could end up screwing themselves over if they went too fast. They didn't know how to slow down, though, didn't know anything about that. They needed more knowledge, more minds, more hosts that would feed the understanding that the Hive now knew that it was lacking.  That will start tonight. Darkmoon Dancer didn't quite prance down the street, but did he strut? Yes, indeed, the unicorn did.  > Chapter 11 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- As Darkmoon Dancer walked the streets of Ponyville, gradually making his way towards the richer part of the New Town - built in the last few years as Ponyville had expanded further and further from the historic center of town - he felt the parasite taking greater and greater control of his body. It already had full capability to control everything that he did, but it was taking finer control, more force over the autonomic functions, shifting him further back so that he only had to obey orders in the case of an emergency. The drone was happy enough to let the parasite have full control, if happy was the right word for it. The feeling was more like contentment, something that was lower-level, not so intense as the word 'happiness' suggested one might be.  The commander, what was left of him, at least, was aware that he was betraying everything that he had stood for as an officer of Celestia's army, but that didn't trouble him as much as one might have thought. There was some sense of loyalty left, yes, but that had been shifted over to being loyal to the Hive, giving himself to it, allowing it to be the one directing him in the world. There were no worries about having to be a good officer for others; sooner or later, the Hive would be the only officer that there was, and the Hive would call all the shots to the pony drones under its control.  There was something satisfying there, a load off his shoulders. He had been an experienced fighter, an experienced stallion that had done many things for the crown. Now, he no longer had to think about it. All he had to do was go along with it. The Hive would be better informed as a collective than he ever was, and he would always be allowed to see just what the decision was long before the action had to be carried out. He was an instrument now, truly an instrument and a weapon, rather than a free pony, and that? That was fine.  He felt his body being experimented with, the parasite flexing its muscles inside of him as it burrowed deeper. He felt it rubbing against his prostate, felt his cock dropping down before being forcibly pulled back in. He felt his pucker clench down, felt the pleasure of being penetrated by something that wasn't there. His muscles tensed and tightened as they walked, something that nobody else saw, thankfully. The little spasms of muscle through his body would have drawn attention.  Once he thought that particular thought, the parasite inside him stopped tensing up, and they stopped moving. His head turned, left, right, up, down, looking around the town square to make sure that there was nobody watching them. There wasn't, and they moved on.  There are many things that the Hive needs to learn from me. How to move without being seen, how to be surreptitious in what they're doing, how to keep someone from noticing that they're watching... Darkmoon Dancer had always been the commander of the more subtle field ops, and it was clear to him that the Hive had survived through a rather lucky set of circumstances. They were able to spread through the use of sex, and they were able to make ponies want to have sex. The combination meant that they could get a lot of what they wanted in the short term, but it also meant that they were obvious enough that someone else could pick up on what they were doing before long. If there was a large enough population of ponies in the area, the rest of the uninfested ponies would pick up on the weirdness going on in the settlement before everyone was infested, and that would mean that there was a chance that word would get out about what they were doing. If that happened, then the entire Hive would be compromised, and they would end up being discovered before they were ready.  He could feel that the parasite in him was taking this information, sorting it out, making it part of the collective consciousness that it would share with the rest of the Hive at the next 'sharing' with another member. Darkmoon made sure to offer whatever extra bits of advice he could on that subject, knowing that the survival of the Hive depended on every member giving everything that they had to see to it that the group succeeded.  He was almost blind to their travel, since the parasite was the one driving them through the town, but he was pushed forward again when they were a few minutes from their destination. The houses at this end of Ponyville were bigger, closer to three or four stories rather than the one or two stories that were more common closer to the center of town and towards the cheaper sections of new housing that had been built on the other side of town. Here was where all the rich ponies had come after they had seen the town start to rise up, becoming bigger and better than it had, and this was where his current target was.  Darkmoon paused in front of the manor in question, a four-story house that loomed over its neighbors by a full story. The grounds of the house were surrounded by a wrought-iron fence, keeping out those that weren't explicitly invited and the little colts and fillies that were running around with toys and playing games. They would never be allowed on the grounds, never allowed to play on the grasses. He looked at the path leading from the gate to the front door, saw that it was littered with little statues and decorations.  The parasite saw nothing wrong with that, but Darkmoon saw the potential for ambushes everywhere. The host's paranoia was taken from him, pushed down, made to relax, but he knew that the parasite was keeping the information. His instincts were useful to the Hive as a collective, and they would likely use that for further planning in the future.  An earth pony opened the front door of the manor. The gray-maned stallion called out to him from the front door.  "Who may I say is calling on Master Blue-Mane?" the servant asked.  "Commander Darkmoon is here for his scheduled appointment." "Ah, yes, sir. I will return shortly. Let me announce you properly." The other pony disappeared back into the manor, and, assisted by the parasite, Darkmoon Dancer tapped his hooves together as he waited patiently. He would be allowed in shortly, he knew, but there was a part of him that wanted this over with already.  At least, until the parasite started filling him with pleasure. Darkmoon Dancer would have gritted his teeth if he still had that level of control. Instead, he stood there stolidly, not making any reaction to the fact that his cock was slowly sliding free of its sheath, pressing forward along his belly before dropping down. The sheer length of it meant that it almost touched the ground, the half-flared head exposed as lewdly as possible before anyone that might care to look. He stared straight ahead, the drone unaffected by the potential shame. Even as a normal stallion, he might not have been embarrassed by this, but there was something powerful in being under the control of someone else. All shame went to the other, never to him.  Pleasure. Bliss. The thrill of being right on the edge of orgasm rushed through him, a burst of pleasure and power and utter masculinity in that moment. Then it diminished, sliding away, just as his cock was forcibly pulled back into its sheath. He sighed softly.  It was a lesson, he knew. The parasite was telling him what he would get, why they would take their time and not hurry. This was something that he was to enjoy, to become part of the Hive properly, and he would get that again, and again, and again. Pleasure would be his reward for doing what the Hive required of him, and to feed that addiction, he would do it the way that they needed.  Darkmoon Dancer understood his orders. Soon, he knew, he would crave more of them.  The gray-maned stallion returned, opening the door and making his way across the grounds to the gate. The wrought-iron was likewise opened, and the other stallion stood to the side to allow the black-furred unicorn entry.  "Master Blue-Mane is expecting you, sir. He will meet you in the third drawing room." "Thank you. I know the way." There were plans and blueprints of all the buildings in Ponyville available in Canterlot, filed with the royal architects and planners. It was a requirement to get something built anywhere, but particularly in a new place that had high value. Blue-Mane had been one of those that couldn't help showing off what his wealth was getting him, even as he privately disdained the paperwork and the fact that he would have to deal with living among common ponies. Darkmoon had studied the plans, as he had done for all of the high-ranking ponies that he would probably have to visit. Some had thought that he was particularly dedicated to the protection of everyone, and to a degree, that was true.  It was also the need to know just how all of the potential places he would have to break into were laid out. Not every pony was honest, and Darkmoon had always been one to prepare for any eventuality. In this case, that meant being ready to invade any pony's home if they started showing themselves as a potential Changeling.  He entered the manor and was immediately assailed with a familiar smell. He had caught a whiff of it in the bakery, but it was stronger here, almost like it was fresher, somehow. The stallion briefly cocked his head to the side, then smiled as it finally dawned on him.  Pheromones. Everywhere. That meant that the bakery had been sending drugged treats here, and probably to other manors throughout the rich area. Treats that would go unquestioned by the rich ponies, things that they would accept as their due, never knowing what they were filled with. Likely with Sugarfrost's seed and who knew what else in terms of intoxicants.  But there was something else. Something that was a little bit more shimmery, bitter in the air. He didn't quite stop his walking as he moved down the hall, but he sniffed the air a bit more forcefully.  Finally, it came to him. It was the smell of mare, too, which meant that - yes, the delivery ponies were in on this as well, he realized, the parasite filling him in. That meant that she would have brought the pastries, but she would have overstayed her welcome, touching herself, rubbing her pussy against different bits of furniture, spreading her intoxicating juices throughout different parts of the manor to make the trap that much more effective.  He had to hand it to the Hive. They were effective at getting their message across. He imagined that Blue-Mane would be all kinds of riled up when they met, and that would make the infestation of the other stallion that much easier.  Infestation. He had hardly thought of that since being infested himself, but he realized that it was already possible. The parasite inside of him was young, yes, but that didn't mean that it wasn't capable of popping an egg already. He could feel it squirming in his guts, getting ready to do that very thing, and Darkmoon Dancer wondered just how these things hadn't already taken over the town. The only answer that he could find was that, on some level, they were aware that they had to do it slowly, secretly, and if they were aware of that, that meant that they were learning quickly. Or, on the other hand, that they had seen what happened when someone found out about them.  Either way, it meant that they were a dangerous, viable force, and that they actually had a chance for victory. That, in and of itself, told him that he had been pulled to the right side. It might have been a forcible conversion, something that he might not have chosen for himself, but that didn't mean that it wasn't a welcome one. He had been taken from the losing side and put on the winning one. Any soldier appreciated that, he imagined.  He finally found the third drawing room, and he stepped inside. True to his anticipation, there was a little treat basket on the table in front of him, filled with different pastries, covered in various bits of 'icing' that he would just imagine had been personally applied by Sugarfrost Harvest. The smell certainly implied that the other stallion had been involved, which surely meant that the other stallion's seed was inside. The air was thick and rich with the smell of sex, though he was fairly sure that he was only aware of it because he knew where it came from. After all, it wasn't like the room smelled like someone had just rutted in it. Rather, it smelled...thick, heavy, warm. The pheromones were hidden under other things.  That said, when the other door to the room opened and Blue-Mane stepped in, Darkmoon wasn't in the least surprised to see that the other stallion was dropping already. His cock was heavy and full, rolling out of his sheath, and his face was red with embarrassment.  "S-so...So good to see you, Commander Darkmoon," Blue-Mane said, tossing his namesake mane back and over his shoulder. "What brings you...no, I apologize, you had an appointment. Was there...was there something specific that we were going to discuss? I must apologize, my mind has been scattered lately." Likely intentionally, he thought, looking at the noble horse and getting a few little clues. The blue-maned, gold-furred stallion looked like he was on something, either having been rather drunk or rather compromised by some herb burning elsewhere. That was the fumes in the air, he was sure, as well as the uncommon lust that the stallion was probably feeling. He knew that there were many ponies that could not handle their libido, and more to the point, that there were drugs and chemicals aplenty in the seed of those that had been infested. If Blue-Mane had been consuming them through the day, then there was no way for him to avoid being completely out of it from all the chemicals that he had consumed.  A glance at his attire, something that was quite disheveled - the blue-and-yellow tunic that he wore as a sign of his station had been pulled back and forth, no longer fitting quite right - and the way that his horn sparked at random intervals as his magic went a little wild told Darkmoon something else. This was not a Changeling, at least, not likely to be one. Blue-Mane might have been an ambitious asshole, but he had obviously not been shifted out for a Changeling. Someone that had shapeshifting powers would not have been so assiduous as to leave their clothing looking like this, particularly if they were actually affected by something. They would have been fighting to keep from changing back, and that, in turn, meant that they would have been holding a much simpler image to keep from having to focus on too many details at once.  You aren't a Changeling, but you might know them. That's worth infesting you for, at the very least. "I am here to discuss security arrangements for the upcoming festival. I believe that we are both due for a refresher course as to what your responsibilities to that are." "Ah, right, right...I believe I have already contribute - mmph - contributed to the officer's fund, though?" the noble unicorn asked, making his way to the lounge chair. He gestured at the treat basket. "Would you mind? I'm having a hard time focusing, and...and they are...quite good." Darkmoon nodded, his horn glowing red for a moment before floating one of the pastries to the other stallion. He opened his mouth and swallowed promptly, taking another bite of the pastry.  "Mmmph...so good...oh...mmph..." The unicorn's cock was as hard and eager as one could imagine, no longer just dropping, but rising up and slapping against the stallion's belly and stomach. He was so high on his own libido that he didn't even seem to realize just how much he was showing off. Or perhaps there was something to eating all those pastries that left the stallion incapable of feeling shame anymore. He certainly didn't seem to mind showing off his cock to someone else, or the way that his pucker was starting to clench, or the way that his balls were drawing up and pumping pre-cum through that massive shaft.  Whatever the reason was, Darkmoon moved a bit closer, the parasite allowing their shaft to drop down just a bit, showing off their own girth and size in response to what the noble was doing. Almost immediately, Blue-Mane ended up looking at them, his eyes going wider, his mouth opening and dropping just a bit. There was a hint of satisfaction in being the biggest in the room, but Darkmoon didn't let that go to his head. There were other things that needed doing, and that involved seeing just how much more the unicorn needed to go over the edge to unbridled hedonism.  "Sir, are you alright?" he asked.  "Nnngh..." "I believe that isn't a word. Speak, sir." "You have...something big..." "I am quite well-endowed, sir, but that is not the subject of the meeting." "Prude." "I would hardly say that. After all, I am already showing more than you." "..." "Sir, I would suggest -" "Screw the suggestions." The unicorn struggled to his feet, only to gasp, his hips bucking and thrusting. His cock was throbbing, large, heavy, but nothing to write home about compared to what Darkmoon had between his own legs. The officer watched impassively as the noble briefly gave into his urges, thrusting his cock against his belly, huffing and red-faced in the process. When the thrusting was done, the pony noble looked him in the eye.  "I need...I need..." "You need something desperately, apparently." "Yes...oh Celestia, yes..." "Are you in distress, sir?" "Mmmph...stop talking...like..." "Like I am better than you, sir?" "Nnngh..." That shaft throbbed upwards, and Darkmoon smiled. He walked around the unicorn, tossing his head back slightly.  "That I am larger? That a common soldier is better endowed than the famous Blue-Mane?" "Nnngh..." "That Blue-Mane the Brilliant obviously wishes for a shaft to be jammed up under his tail?" "That...that isn't..." "You are twitching, sir." "Nnngh...mmmph..." "If you wish it, you need only ask. But you must ask." He floated the pastry over to the unicorn's lips, and Blue-Mane took a bite without even noticing. The latest dose had those balls all but jumping, pulling up hard. It was a rather nice view from where Darkmoon was standing, and he rather liked seeing something so drastic after having been the teaser for so long. He reached out with one hoof, rubbing those balls lightly, pushing them up and then letting them fall again, encouraging Blue-Mane down the road to depravity.  "Just say it, sir, and you will have what you need." "Nnngh...mmmph..." "Or am I wrong? If so, sir, say it, and I will stop immediately." "...You're...not..." "Not what, sir?" "Not wrong..." "Then speak your request, sir, and I will fulfill it." "Filthy...commoner..." The lust was pushing some of Blue-Mane's more honest opinions to the surface, it seemed. The noble had always had the hidden reputation of looking down on other ponies, but ever since the more populist movement had started gaining traction and the princesses themselves had started to blend with the ponies of the commons to try and retain their power, the other nobles had been forced to do the same. Blue-Mane was one of the less successful ones, but even he had hidden thoughts like that from the public.  Not anymore, though. His lust was burning through him, and the stallion groaned as he finally gave in. He threw himself over the couch, begging as his hind legs parted, showing off a pucker that had obviously never taken anything like what Darkmoon had to offer before. For that matter, it rather looked like it hadn't taken anything before, let alone something that big.  But there was a first time for everything, and the parasite, armed with all the sexual knowledge that the Hive had accumulated, knew that there was not going to be a complaint. All the drugs in Blue-Mane's system would see to that.  He leaned forward, pulling himself up on his hind legs, and he started grinding between the cheeks. Unlike with Sugarfrost, he didn't have to hurry, or do this more carefully. The only thing that he might have to take care with was the possibility of fucking the noble too hard, leaving that hole too loose for the parasite that would follow. For now, he could fuck, rut, use that hole as hard as he wanted, do whatever he wanted to it, and then leave the noble with an enema of drugged cum that would keep him completely pacified for the infestation process.  That appealed to him. He hadn't had the chance to finish properly in the bakery, and this would give him the chance to really go at it and enjoy himself.  Darkmoon thrust forward, dragging the medial ring of his massive shaft along that puffy pucker, giving it a light tease. The stallion groaned, pushing against him, wanting more, but there was no more to be given just yet. He was teasing himself, lubing himself with his own plentiful pre-cum. The arousing scent of it started to fill the room with a fresh wave of pheromones, ensuring the obedience and continued neediness of the slut under him. He pushed forward again, and again, and again, his cock head dribbling against the other pony's tail, staining it in his scent, marking him as the lowly bottom that he was, and the lesser stallion that he would soon become.  Forward, back, forward, back, his balls bumping the smaller sac just in front of him. He smiled every time that he felt it jump up from the contact, probably from Blue-Mane's little resisting bit worrying about being on the bottom, being a little scared against the arousal. It wouldn't last long, he knew. Sooner or later, it was going to break, and when it did, the noble unicorn was going to be little more than a bitch until a parasite was fed to him.  Thrust, thrust, thrust...and then, he realized that it was time. The parasite in him was the impatient one this time, wanting to move on to the main event. Darkmoon went along with it, the flared head of his shaft throbbing eagerly. He supposed that it was time, anyway. He brought his hips back, his cock sliding down between those cheeks, until the head was resting right against that pucker.  And then, forward.  The soft pop of his flare sliding in was music to his ears, and he groaned as he felt the tight squeeze of a hole that was truly virgin to this sort of experience. There was a hard spasm, a squeeze that would not let go, that even he would struggle to push past. The sudden squeezing, clamping, clenching inside milked the head of his cock well, forcing him to spit pre-cum into those dry depths, and the drugged liquid only aroused the smaller stallion further. The other unicorn whimpered under him, arching his back wordlessly.  "That's it. Take it. Take it and learn your place." He pulled back slowly, making the flared head pop back out. The sight of that pucker pulling backwards with his shaft was just what he wanted to see, the way that it was already giving in, the way that it was puffing out and getting broken from his bigger cock. He loved to find men that could take him that way, that he could bend to his will, that he could punish and mark with his cock.  And then he pushed back in, feeling the puffy flesh caressing him again. In, out, in, out, training that pucker to take something that was bigger than it was ever meant to pass, let alone take inside. The stallion under him gasped for breath, his eyes going wide at the new stimulation. He knew that this was overwhelming the noble, that he was pushing the unicorn towards a point of mental breaking, but that didn't matter. The parasite would be able to draw anything that he had in his mind out again, and that was good enough for him. He could be rough, leave a few marks behind, and nothing would be lost. Nothing of value, at least.  He pushed in again, feeling that resistance finally fading around the pucker. It no longer clenched quite so hard when he pushed forward, no longer tried to pin and paralyze his cock with tightness when he slid in. That meant that it was time to go deeper.  Pop. Out.  Pop. In. Squelch.  He forced himself forward, taking his time to go all the way down. He could feel every inch of his cock going in, could feel the spasms around the head of his shaft as Blue-Mane's hole was forcibly molded around his cock, made to expand and widen to take something that huge. He worked himself down to the balls, feeling his sac clap against the one in front of him, feeling the domination that he exerted over the puffed-up, stuffed-shirt unicorn. He enjoyed the feeling of being the one in charge, putting someone else down for the glory of the Hive.  For the glory of the Hive. Yes, that was a new thought, but an accepted one. He did this for the glory of his new officers, his new commanders, his new superiors. For the Hive.  Now that he knew that Blue-Mane could take the whole thing, there was no slowing down. His hips started pumping hard and fast, almost mechanical in their precision. No moan, no gasp, no grunt left his lips. His body was in the hands of the parasite, giving him stamina beyond the common lot of stallions, and more to the point, automating him, keeping him from having to think about anything. Not about the angle that he was thrusting, not about the different techniques that he could use to really batter the stallion down under him. No, none of that. Just the feeling of being on top, of having his big cock stuffed inside of a tight hole, and the feeling of being utterly, truly in charge.  In, out, in, out, each thrusting slam of his hips making a clapping sound as they came together, those cheeks under him shaking every time that he hilted with that pucker. He groaned in his head, his cock rising, his balls doing the same, but it was the stallion under him that was cumming. Blue-Mane was draining his balls over the couch again and again and again, each time smearing it with more of his pre-cum, more of his slime, more of his drippings. His loads were thick and heavy, but not as fragrant as Hive-seed.  Not yet, anyway. That would come soon.  He kept humping, thrusting, pumping. The parasite had him moving like an automaton, like a sexual golem. His face was impassive, his eyes pointed straight ahead. The feeling of that hole clenching around his cock in near-constant orgasm was a pleasurable thing, but it was just pleasure, something that he enjoyed inside rather than outside. He was a machine, something meant to break in those that were brought for infestation, someone that was meant to take down those that were resisting the Hive, and without question, without debate. He was a weapon to be wielded, and that wielding would bring all the pleasure that he wanted.  The drone accepted that, and kept going. In, out, in, out, thrusting away, feeling that puffy pucker getting wider, more gaping around his shaft. He pushed deep every time, felt the throbbing down below, felt his balls gradually drawing up. He had no idea when the parasite would allow him to cum, but there was a part of the drone that hoped that it would be soon. He had been going for so long now that he didn't know how much more that he could stay interested.  Minutes passed, and they were closer to the hour mark than the half-hour when he finally felt it. The final burst of pleasure, one that was rising, growing, getting stronger with each second. His balls pulled up, and then -  He wasn't even allowed a groan or a whinny, not even a neigh of pleasure. Instead, he stood there, stock-still, as he came. His flood of seed went right up that hole, spreading out through the insides of the other stallion, forming a plethora of rich pre-cum and cum stores. Protein that the new parasite would be able to feed on and grow from, which would allow it to mature quicker than the one that was inside his ass. He held his cock deep, feeling some of his seed running around his shaft and down to the stretched pucker further below, but that was fine. As long as the majority of it was still in the stallion, that would be fine.  He slowly pulled backwards, feeling his flare scraping along the unicorn's inner walls. The feeling of it was nearly enough to draw a second orgasm from him after humping that long, but the parasite was still in control, allowing his stud-juices to roll around in his balls and build up potency for another, future breaking. It would be that way for a while.  With a final tug, he pulled out. Blue-Mane jerked slightly on the couch, but the other stallion had been fucked utterly silly. He doubted that the other male could even determine up from down anymore, let alone mount any kind of resistance against anything.  Darkmoon shook his head, slowly turning around. There was no need to part the cheeks, no need to hold that hole open for the parasite that was already sliding down in his guts, moving through his bowels to his hole. He could just turn, backing up until his tight donut touched that pucker, rubbing against it.  "Nnngh..." Blue-Mane groaned, but that was the only sign of consciousness that Darkmoon noticed before his hole opened and that parasite head started pushing out. The feeling of stretch wasn't that bad, and was even easier than when he had been filled back at the bakery. There was something pleasurable about it sliding out, but that was probably just the coating of slime that covered the creature. It was meant to feel good going in to stop anyone from trying to pull it out, but - and perhaps it was just the ego speaking - Darkmoon doubted that Blue-Mane could feel anything of the sort. He had fucked that stallion right over the edge, making him cum his brains out, and had stretched that pucker as far as it could go. There was nothing, nothing, that would feel that good again, other than the parasitic transfer of information.  It was an easy shift of parasite to hole, and he stepped back to watch the fireworks.  This time, there was little in the way of spasming, shaking, or even orgasming. He had done his job well, fucking the resistance and the seed out of the other stallion, and the process was more akin to watching grass grow than seeing lightning spark. There was the occasional flex of a limb here and there, but other than that, the only thing to see was Darkmoon's own seed dribbling down from that wrecked pucker. The drone took pleasure in knowing that he had utterly wrecked someone that looked down on everyone like that.  Slowly, the shift began, and the gold-furred, blue-maned stallion managed to get off the couch. Even with the control of the parasite, he wobbled, the parasite fighting against the forced bodily exhaustion that the new host was going through. Darkmoon would have been amused, but that would have been more than a drone was allowed. Instead, he just watched with curiosity.  Eventually, wordlessly, the tendril pushed out, and the sharing was made to begin. Pleasure, great pleasure, rolled up his spine as they passed information back and forth.  # All across Ponyville, the same traps were being laid for those on the list. The delivery ponies were taking the drugged treats across the entire town, giving them to rich ponies, poor but well-placed ponies, soldier ponies, and more. They were consumed with eagerness, and it didn't take long for rising lust and poor decision making to spread through town. Guests, always members of the Hive, would arrive at the door to take advantage of thoes poor decisions, and one by one, the higher-ranking, better-placed, well-financed members of the city were taken in by the Hive. Every passing day narrowed down the list that much further, reducing the possibilities of who the Changeling in question actually was.  The Hive gained information of other sorts, too. They learned the superstitions that the ponies had about their enemy, about how the Changelings could be anyone, how they fed on and reduced the love in the area. They learned other things, too, such as how the Changelings had magic that could change others, how they could control without infesting their enemy. It was something that they would have to experiment with if they ever managed to capture a Changeling host.  But more than that, more than any of that, they learned of places they'd need to go to get more information, like the universities in Canterlot, where stallions and mares studied science, studied how life grew and changed over time. There were no educated ponies of that caliber in Ponyville, none that might have been able to tell the Hive how they were supposed to survive in the long term.  But they had time. Time in which to grow, time in which to secure themselves in the town, and then, when it was all over and done, they could move on Canterlot, gaining the intelligence that they needed.  And in the meantime, they would continue to narrow down the list. The process was slowed slightly as they sent one of the delivery ponies off to Hayburg, maintaining a connection with the home hive and giving them the awareness and connections they needed with the Hive as a whole, but it still slowly shrank.  Until there was only one name remaining.  > Chapter 12 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- It was their new commander, Dawning Glory.  Neither Sunlight Charger or Darkmoon Dancer had entirely expected that, even after seeing the stallion's name on the list of possible Changeling infiltrators, but with all the other potential Changelings eliminated either through personal testimony of another host or being infested themselves, he was the only one left. More to the point, he was the one that would be the most dangerous to the town if he actually was a Changeling. Rather than having to take out two different commanders and move around under the watchful gaze of an overall commander, they had managed to seize the lynchpin between the pony guards and those they were guarding. The other Hive had pulled something of a coup by seizing one particular pony that could serve every need rather than a bunch of ponies that could serve a number of smaller ones.  Sunlight Charger, Darkmoon Dancer, and Mayor Mare stood in a circle as they, or rather, their parasites, silently debated a course of action between them. The three ponies would have been trembling in pleasure if they hadn't been under the control of the Hive, but even with their still bodies, their pleasure was still obvious with the dribbling fluids running down her legs and the throbbing spittle of pre-cum and orgasmic fluids shooting from the two males.  The conversation between the parasites kept on going, too, the pleasure impossible to entirely dismiss. Sunlight Charger would have been completely consumed by it if he hadn't been rendered a drone, and he was sure that the same was true of his fellows. They were subject to a pleasure that was greater than any normal mind could have taken, and it was slowly getting stronger and stronger as the parasites kept planning.  He was able to see bits and pieces of the plans as they passed between the different tendrils, but it was hard for him to focus on that when the bliss was there. His entire body tingled, the ravaging pleasure running up and down his spine and forcing his cock to cum again and again and again. The only thing that kept the orgasm from becoming painful was the way that the parasite in his lower body kept shunting off the discomfort that came from repeated orgasms, only allowing him to feel the good things. No bad things, only good things.  The commander of the day shift continued to stare straight ahead, trying to be useful as a good drone, but there was little that he could do until the sharing was done. The pleasure of three drones was far stronger than the pleasure of two, and he was essentially forced to hand over all control of his body to the parasite to keep from falling over. There was nothing that could be done to actually plan, plot, or be helpful until the sharing was completed.  He didn't know how long the throbbing, twitching, burning bliss between his hind legs continued, but it finally stopped as the tendrils pulled apart. He didn't gasp, but his body did twitch and spasm as the parasite started to relinquish control again. The feeling of having his own body back, limited as that was for a drone, was a small relief, but at the same time, he almost would have preferred that the parasite stay in control until he wasn't at risk of falling over. As the pleasure faded, other things began to emerge. Information, ideas, plots, plans that took into account the various bits and details that all three of them had contributed. The mayor's understanding of the political situation was particularly useful, but so was Sunlight Charger's understanding of their fighting forces, and - "You were responsible for that particular massacre?" Sunlight Charger asked, blinking as he turned to Darkmoon. "I never knew that." "It was something assigned some time ago. It was meant to stay quiet." "I never knew it was official." "Nobody was ever supposed to know." He nodded, the drone unable to feel anything besides the mild feeling of shock that someone in the military would have been part of all but annihilating one of the pony villages on the edge of the kingdom. It had been blamed on the Changelings, and true enough, there had been Changelings there, but that hive had not been responsible. Equestria's military had been the one to wipe it off the map, to displace all the ponies that had been living there.  And Darkmoon had been responsible for that. He had been responsible for a great many black ops, apparently, for the things that the kingdom didn't need to have brought to light.  But that was good. That meant that they had that experience on their side, and it could be brought to bear against the Changelings. If there was one, then there were others in the vicinity, waiting for their chance to be able to take the place of one of the ponies in town. They needed to pin down where they were, and they needed to ensure that the Changelings realized that there was another Hive...one that was willing to make a deal.  After all, if the Changelings bred half as fast as they did, then that would mean that there was a hive that could match them, and more to the point, it was a hive that could host them. That was a possibility for keeping the young from running out of hosts, and even better, it would mean that the Changelings would have someone that was unconditionally loving of them. All they had to do was allow two different hosts to be together, and there would be love, lust, and emotion aplenty for them.  It was a good deal, but they needed to find the Changeling in question to be able to present it, and then ensure that the Changeling didn't cause the Hive trouble in turn. If they were a smart individual, then they would know that exposing the Hive would mean that the Hive would expose the Changelings. It was mutual destruction, and thus, they would be mutually preserved by working together.  But if they were not smart, or did not understand that... Well, they had options. They didn't want to use those options, but they could.  Mayor Mare shook her head, turning around. The two military commanders turned back to face her as she spoke.  "I believe that our parasites have a plan. Let us speak it to be sure." "Yes, let us ensure that we all understand," Sunlight Charger said. "Dawning Glory will be here tomorrow. He will come from the north, passing through the richer part of the city first, and then come to the town square, where he will make a speech. After that, he will enter City Hall." "That's when he will be at his most vulnerable," Darkmoon said. "The public is almost half-infested now, which means that there is a smaller number that will care whether something happens to him or not. That number will be diminished further by the fact that he will be in City Hall, and most of them won't be in there." "And those that will be are already mostly part of the Hive, and the rest can be restrained," Mayor Mare added. "Once he's inside, we need to guide him somewhere private, somewhere out of sight. Somewhere that he can be tempted." "Yes. Your office, perhaps?" Sunlight Charger asked. "I seem to recall that you like to take males there for a bit of a ride." "He will be unlikely to be tempted by me." "Untrue," Darkmoon said. "Changelings are always tempted by love and lust. If you flirt with him, then he will be more than willing to follow you. A little bit of affection, a little bit of lust, will ensure that he is baited along like a fish after a hook." "Are you sure? That seems a little too easy," Sunlight pointed out.  "I have been fighting these things for years. I know what they want, and I know what they crave. They want to have someone to love them. If this one gets that offer from Mayor Mare, she will find him more than willing to go anywhere that she asks." "...Which means that we can spring a trap. You and I, we wait in the office, and we pin him when he arrives. The mayor shows herself off, keeping him eager, and then..." "And then we push him until he has nothing left. No stamina to hide, no strength to stay in disguise." And then they would make the offer. If the Changeling rejected the offer, he would be infested, and then he would be sent back to his people. If they would not listen to an offer of alliance, then they would listen to the offer of subjugation. That was the way of the Hive.  "We have less than a day to prepare. Let's not screw this up," Sunlight said.  # Mayor Mare was among the greeting party at the town square as the military parade came their way. She would have been nervous in her previous state of being, but as a host, all she had to do was allow the parasite to take that anxiety from her, and she was completely normal. She stared straight ahead, a small smile on her face as the new soldiers entered the square. None of them were infested, but there was nothing to worry about there. All she had to do was deal with the new commander coming down the street. Dawning Glory was a pegasus, and a proud-looking one at that. He had a way of walking that made it look like he was somewhere between prancing and strutting with every step he took, and his head was tossed back, looking down at the crowd around him in a way that made him feel like a stuck-up officer. That said, he didn't sneer the way that the nobles did, nor did he have that problematic feeling around him that Blue-Mane did. Instead, he seemed proud, and justified in his pride, even though Mayor Mare would bet that nobody in the town actually knew him or any of his accomplishments. It was just in the way that he carried himself.  If he's actually a Changeling, then he's very good at acting out a role. The orange-furred, red-maned unicorn approached the town square, and then stopped. He lifted a hoof to his head, and snapped a salute.  "Ponies of Ponyville. I am Dawning Glory, and I am here to tell you that your safety is in good hooves. Now that I am taking control, there will be no further threat of Changeling intrusion, no chance of danger for the festival. My record speaks for itself. I have pushed the Changeling hive back from the border with the buffalos, and I have safeguarded Canterlot itself with the absence of Shining Armor and his wife. There will be no threat from the Changelings, so long as I am around. "I will be here for the entirety of the festival and, provided that there is blessing from the princesses upon their arrival, I will also be stationed here from now on. This historic site of pony pride and power will not be touched by those that would taint it with their horrifying ideas, who would feed on innocent ponies and leave them nothing but a meal. This, I promise you. Safety is yours." Mayor Mare found herself rather unmoved, but had to fake it for the sake of her disguise. Most of the ponies that were uninfested were very, very touched by the speech, and applause echoed through the square.  Apparently, most of the ponies were rather afraid of the Changelings, and were well-aware of the threat that they posed. That was something that she had been a little less aware of, or at least, that the Hive had been. The difference between what the Hive knew and what it assumed was suddenly thrown into stark relief, as the facts and feelings of the various hosts had obviously been ignored based on what the Hive itself had believed about the Changelings. That the Changelings weren't that much of a threat, that they weren't that bad. For the Hive, perhaps, they weren't, but to the average pony? Well, they had a different view of things, and the Hive needed to remember that.  Mayor Mare put her smile on properly as Dawning Glory approached. She descended from the stage that they had set up for a speech, shaking her head and adjusting her spectacles.  "I'm almost hurt that you didn't use our platform, Dawning Glory," she said with as proper and friendly a smile as she could muster. A little flirt thrown in, too, just a bit of a shift to her eyes so that they were flickering with light shyness rather than just staring at the stallion. "I would have thought that you would have liked a grandstand." "Hardly necessary. They could all hear me, and I would prefer to be on their level." "I can imagine that you'd like to be slightly over their level, or at least, some of them." "Ma'am?" "Pardon me. I'm sorry, how inappropriate. I shouldn't have said something like that." She giggled slightly, something that was informed as the proper flirting behavior from the information that the Hive had from some of the younger female hosts. "I'm Mayor Mare, the mare in charge of Ponyville." "You? You mean - oh." Dawning Glory finally seemed to get the picture of what she'd said. Slightly over their level? Slightly on their backs, slightly - she saw it in his eyes, and it was rather adorable to see the different sort of understanding finally click. She smiled, walking around him, letting her tail brush against his side as she walked behind him and then around him again.  "I would appreciate some time to talk to you one on one, Dawning Glory. May I call you Dawning?" "Um, certainly, ma'am." "Perhaps we should go inside?" "Yes, perhaps we should." He nodded at his soldiers, sending them out through the square, while he fell in step behind her. She led the way up, her tail raised slightly, but not completely. There was a point of being flirty, and there was a point of being whore-y, and that was something that she felt this officer wouldn't entirely appreciate. He wanted to be flirted with, get affection from someone, but not necessarily completely get that sort of sex offer. He would take that later, of course, the Hive was sure of that much, but for now, she needed to get him to the ambush point.  She realized that, as she entered City Hall, she needed to do something to make this visit look a little more official. At the same time, she needed to talk to him to make sure that he didn't start to suspect something. She leaned over, pressing her body a bit against the soldier's side, allowing herself the aid of his shoulder as they walked along.  "So, tell me. How long have you been part of the army?" "A very long time, ma'am. I joined when I was very young." "You think that you will stay in it forever?" "Nobody stays in the army forever. I imagine that you would come down from being a mayor before too much longer; I can't imagine that the stress does anything good for you." "Dear, I assure you. I take the stress in my stride, and more than that, it means that I have all the more reason to go chasing after someone that can take care of me. I have so much to give, and not everyone my age appreciates that." There. That should keep him interested. She had been flirty enough without being outright horny for him.  Sure enough, the pegasus started to push back against her, keeping his body flush against her side. There was something to it that was both affectionate and a little bit of something else. Hungry, perhaps, something that made her feel a bit like she was being pursued, hunted by someone that had something very different in mind for her. If that was what a Changeling was like, she could see what Darkmoon meant. They were hungry for affection, alright, hungry for anything that they could get. This one felt like he was going to bite her neck if he got much closer, almost like he could pull the affection from her that way.  It was a rather interesting thing for the Hive to study, and she knew that her parasite was taking that and holding it tight, making sure that it had something to share the next time that the time came for that.  Eventually, they reached her office, and she pushed at the door. She could all but feel Sunlight Charger and Darkmoon Dancer on the other side of the wall, waiting for their chance to tackle the officer and take him down. The mare stepped forward, smiling over her shoulder.  "Come in. I have some coffee and tea around here somewhere, if you would like something to drink while we chat?" "I would love that." "And I would love quite a bit more than that..." Oh, it was easier than expected to lure him forward and into the room. She could have done a little bit more, but he was already so hungry, like a colt tempted with a sweet, that it would have been overdoing it. Besides, the Hive was happy with efficiency. No more than needed.  She stepped inside, Dawning Glory followed. She shut the door, and the other two struck.  # Darkmoon Dancer was the one to knock Dawning Glory off his hooves, sending him falling to the ground. As soon as the pegasus hit the floor, Sunlight Charger lunged forward, thrusting his already-stiff cock down the pegasus's mouth, and then came. The flood was perfectly timed, fully meant to drug the other pony as fast as possible and leave him unable to fight back. The swell of seed that was already rushing down the bright-furred pony's throat was going to make him aroused, very, very aroused, and more to the point, very exposed.  "Did you have to hit him so hard?" Mayor Mare asked, almost as a clinical question. "It seems like an abuse of force, there." "It's the best way to be sure." Darkmoon knew just how sturdy the Changelings were, and more to the point, so did his parasite. That information had been taken first and foremost from him, ensuring that they knew their enemies. A small blow wouldn't have been enough, and if Dawning Glory was a Changeling, then those wings weren't just for show. He would have been able to get airborne, get away from the lustful attack and trap that they had planned. This way, it would ensure that the pegasus wouldn't be able to get away without being heavily drugged.  Even now, after Sunlight Charger had managed that one cum-shot down the other stallion's throat, Dawning Glory had managed to flail his legs and hooves enough to push the big man back. Darkmoon and Sunlight moved to the side as the pegasus slowly got back to his feet, panting hard as his cock started to drop, slipping down and out of his sheath.  "Nnngh...what...what is the...meaning of this?" the officer groaned. "What...Nnngh..." "This is a test," Darkmoon said. "A test to see if you are what you say you are, or if you are not." "I am Dawning Glory. If you - nnngh..." The drugged seed was working, that much was certain. The stallion's shaft was almost as hard as it could get already, and the stiff rod was bouncing up and down beneath the horse's stomach, slapping against his stomach, almost pissing pre-cum onto the office floor.  It won't take long now. Darkmoon kept back, knowing that he would need to be the one to take the Changeling down if they changed form or if they tried to pull a runner. The office didn't have a window, which was for the best for this kind of situation, but Dawning Glory was big enough that he could probably barrel forward and knock the door down if someone wasn't ready for that. He nodded at Sunlight to take the lead, and the other host did as he was told.  "We suspect that you are a Changeling, Dawning Glory. We brought you here to find out if we were right." "You think...then you..." There was almost literal pain in Dawning's eyes as he looked at Mayor Mare, as if he had been stabbed through the heart, as if he had been completely betrayed by someone that he cared more than he should for. That was another sign of being a Changeling, as far as Darkmoon was concerned. That sort of attachment did not form that quickly with normal ponies. Only Changelings latched on that fast, that immediately to someone that showed them a bit of kindness. Territorialism between them and their food sources was a big thing.  He shifted his weight slightly, moving to put himself that much closer to the door. Dawning was shaking, but was showing some surprising resistance to the drugged seed that had been pumped down his throat. The stallion huffed and puffed, shaking his head, obviously trying to push the needs that were filling his body out of his mind. The orange stallion's balls were still swelling, too, getting heavier, looking needier as Sunlight Charger moved closer.  "There are easy ways to find out whether you're a Changeling, but a confession would work best." "I am not...not...a Changeling," the pegasus grunted.  "You're not, hmm? Then why are you shimmering?" It was a lie, but it was a prepared lie, something that they had discussed. Something to throw an amateur Changeling off their game, to get them worried. This one...didn't work. The stallion huffed, shaking his head.  "I am not...a Changeling. I am not...shimmering. Now...get out...of...my...WAY!" He lunged forward, charging between Mayor Mare and Sunlight Charger. He managed to push hard enough that he knocked the white unicorn out of the way, and the mayor was hardly strong enough to stop a rampaging stallion, not without getting set in place first.  Darkmoon, however, had been ready for that. As soon as the pegasus came near, he whipped his head and neck to the side, slamming against the other stallion's outstretched neck. His horn glowed, adding to the force of the blow, and he knocked the other male off to the side, sending him falling to the floor.  "Is he okay?" Sunlight asked.  "He will be." Fighting dirty was just one more skill that would need to be passed on to the other stallions, considering that was exactly what they were going to need to do with the Changelings. Waiting to engage properly was what non-infested stallions did. Waiting to engage at the opportune moment was what he did, and that was what they needed to learn.  The parasite took that from him, storing it in the bundle of other things that they were learning from this situation that would need to be spread out through the Hive and the infested.  As the pegasus flopped out on the floor, gasping for breath, his hips hunching almost without him being aware of it, Darkmoon glanced back at Sunlight. The bigger stallion looked back, nodded, and then lowered himself down, pressing his cock directly against the throbbing shaft that the pegasus was displaying. That drugged, sensitizing pre-cum immediately became a lube between them as the brighter-furred stallion started thrusting, grinding, rubbing up against the other male.  "Nnngh...what..." "There's an easy way to test. I told you that. This is it." "I'm not...I'm not..." "You'll enjoy stallions soon enough." "Nnngh...stop...please..." The begging was not very convincing, and that was likely because the other stallion was getting stiffer and harder the longer that the frotting went on for. It wasn't just the drugged pre-cum, though (although that was causing most of the stiffening and throbbing). It was the fact that Sunlight had a huge dick, and he knew how to use it. He thrust forward, back, forward, back, gradually rubbing it up against the other stallion's rod. The pegasus's cock wasn't as big as the unicorn's, but it was big enough, the flare filling up and going wider and wider the more that the arousing pre-cum dribbled down on it. The other pony's shaft throbbed harder than usual, getting thicker and heavier, wider, more veiny. The whole thing looked like a monster of a cock, enhanced and teased to peak size and perfection.  It didn't take long for the pegasus's tongue to start lolling out, for the protests to turn to moans, for his eyes to roll back in their sockets. Sunlight Charger's balls bumped against the other stallion's, adding a little more stimulation, the two of them frotting that much harder as the bigger unicorn pushed down with his front hooves, pinning those spreading wings in place. Mayor Mare joined Darkmoon in watching.  "Did you know it would go like this?" she asked.  "I assumed it might." "The plan didn't include that." "My parasite is still processing everything." "The Hive benefits greatly from you." "I would hope so." "I think that you will be the one that it treasures most." "Until we find someone better educated." Darkmoon was not fooling himself. He was a drone, just like the others. He just had more experience, more things that could be drawn from his mind and memory. When that was all drained, his treasured status would fall, and they would want something different, something else, someone else more educated that would continue to give the Hive what it needed to grow. That would happen by the time that they moved on Canterlot, if not before. He knew the sort of priorities that the Hive was developing, and he knew how little he could give towards the end-game.  But for now, he was valuable. As the show before them continued, with the Changeling getting ever more amped up from the pleasure, he circled around. He could have infested the pegasus right then and there, but there was something going on. That shimmer that they had lied about before was starting to look like it might just -  Yes, there it was. It was nothing more than a flicker of light near the head, just behind the eye, and it faded almost as soon as it had started. However, he had seen the difference, a hint of black beneath the orange. They'd been right. Dawning Glory, the best officer that Equestria had against the Changelings, had been replaced by a Changeling himself.  Now, what do we do with this information? Well, to start, that meant that the kingdom's force was compromised. If he had been running the Changeling force, he would have taken that infiltration and run with it, pushing forward and replacing as many officers as he could with other Changelings. It would be relatively easy with the recommendations of the best Changeling hunter in the kingdom, and after that... He wouldn't have had time. That was something of a pity, but Darkmoon knew that there was no way that a Changeling would have done the raid in buffalo territory that he had bragged about to the ponies in town. That had been a massacre for the Changeling population in that Hive, and no Changeling would have been able to maintain cover while being ordered to get rid of its own. That meant that this Changeling would have only held his post for perhaps a month, not much longer than that. And that was little time to start compromising someone else.  Equestria's military was still mostly intact, but that meant that they didn't have to root out other Changelings. Not yet, at least. They just had to deal with this one.  Darkmoon watched as the frotting continued, the slow grind of cock on cock, the throbbing shaft of an impassive drone driving the needy cock of a drugged stallion further and further towards climax. One thrust, two, three, four, slowly nudging and teasing it towards the end point. Pre-cum dribbled in a small flood around the pegasus's cock, and the flickers were coming harder, faster, more often. Dawning Glory was losing his red mane, replacing it with something blue, and his eyes went from yellow to blue, as well, and faceted.  Soon, the entire disguise crumbled, the other stallion so overwhelmed with lust that there was nothing that he could do against the frotting pleasure that he kept receiving, the throbbing down below keeping him from holding on to his disguise. He just had to hump, thrust, hump, thrust, grinding his dick against the cock on top of him until -  "NNNNGH!" Dawning Glory, or rather, the Changeling impersonating him, came right then and there. The flood that followed was thick and heavy enough that it splattered all over the place, smearing over the Changeling's chest and leaving it covered with a thick, off-white color. Sunlight Charger followed that up with a load of his own, splattering it against the Changeling's chest and face, marking that black chitinous flesh with everything that the big guy had to offer. It was a mess, a musky, slimy, dripping mess that would take forever for the Changeling to completely get rid of.  Sunlight Charger pulled himself back, his shaft throbbing and twitching under his belly, while the stallion that had been impersonating an officer laid flat on his back. His breath came slowly, his eyes glazed as they stared straight up at the ceiling. Bug-wings had replaced the feathery pegasus ones, and he didn't move. Not much, at least, even as his cock changed from a hefty stallion shaft to something that was a little more wrinkled.  "...That's what a Changeling looks like?" Sunlight Charger asked. "The hosts...they had interesting ideas of what they looked like, but I didn't think that they were right." "It's what they look like. It's clear to see why they change form so much. They don't want people to see them like this. They think that they can never get loved like this." Personally, Darkmoon as drone believed that it wasn't that bad. They were insects, and insects were meant to be held down. The drone had previously wondered just how it would feel to interrogate one with his cock, to push them down and use them the way that he had used others, but this was not the time. He needed to find out what this one knew, and then...then they needed to present the offer.  He glanced at Mayor Mare, and then stepped to the side. That host was the one that was supposed to present the offer, considering the way that things had gone.  "Do you have a name?" Mayor Mare asked the panting Changeling.  "Nnngh...mmmph...Moro..." "Moro. If you haven't already guessed, we are not normal ponies." "I...I gathered...nnngh..." The Changeling lifted his hips again, thrusting his dripping cock into the air, showing it off once more as it dribbled down onto his face. It was clear to Darkmoon that he was barely sober, barely past the edge of need that they had forced on him, and that he needed far more than he had gotten. But that was coming. That would come if he was a good, cooperative Changeling, if he did what they asked. Or after they infested him, it wouldn't matter. Either way, it wouldn't be a torment to suffer through for long.  "We are members of a different Hive." "Nnngh...you...you aren't...you aren't Changelings." "No, we are not." Mayor Mare turned around. As she did, she lifted her tail, the beginning of her anal tendril slowly pushing out. It extended until it was as long as her real tail, the limber thing twitching left, right, and then left again, showing itself off. It pushed down, stroking the shaft of the Changeling, and then pulled back in as the mare turned around once more.  "We are a Hive that takes things from the inside." "How...where..." "We don't know where we come from, but we know what we need. Hosts. And we know what you need. Affection." "Nnngh...you..." "We are willing to offer you a deal. Cooperation between our two Hives." "..." "You are willing to listen?" "I will...hah...listen..." "Good. Sunlight." The light-furred unicorn leaned down, slowly putting his mouth to use against the Changeling's shaft. It was part of the agreed-upon reward for finding one that was willing to be reasonable with them, something that would at least show that they were willing to put out something in good faith. The Changeling groaned in pleasure, slowly closing his eyes. "Are you still listening?" Mayor Mare asked.  "Nnngh...yes..." "Good. Then this is the offer. We will give you guaranteed affection. There are ponies all over the town that have already been consumed and pulled into the Hive. They feel what the Hive tells them to feel. We offer that affection towards you." "Mmmph...and in...in exchange?"  "In exchange, you offer us hosts." "..." "We will give you all that you can ask for in terms of affection, and you give us bodies. Bodies that our young can fill, bodies that our next generation can take and use for our purposes. If you do this, then you will never starve. If you do this, then you will have all you need as we spread further and further." "...I...I can't make...that decision..." "Why not?" "I'm not...I'm not the queen..." Darkmoon should have known. They were dealing with another drone, not someone that had authority, power, or anything useful. He grunted and cursed softly under his breath, not happy about this, and neither was his parasite.  "But I can...I can take the offer to her...Just give me...ah...give me three days...and I will...get you what you need...I promise..." Darkmoon looked at Mayor Mare, and then at Sunlight. They both looked back at him. The decision had to be made, and it had to be made soon. Did they trust this drone to do what he said, or should they infest him right then, right there, to keep the risk minimal? > Chapter 13 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Moonlight Thunder, Darkmoon Dancer, and their respective groups of fellow hosts met up after the celebrations finally ended. Unlike the few remaining un-infested citizens of the town, they were not in the best of moods. Their plans had, after all, failed.  The Hive did not gain HER. They had gained a number of other ponies, that much was true. They had finished their collection of the Ponyville City Council, and they had gained the bodies of a few more soldiers, keeping the possibility of Darkmoon Dancer or Sunlight Charger from being exposed quite low. They had seized hold of a number of other merchants of Ponyville, thanks to Sugarfrost Harvest’s treats, and the delivery ponies had done their part to keep various sharp-eyed individuals busy by distracting them with impromptu gift deliveries during the festival. By all accounts, it should have been a success.  But the Hive, and their hosts, were well aware that their prime goal had eluded them. The idea of luring Celestia down to Ponyville with the celebrations, of stirring up enough discontent and difficulty for her to come down and deal with it personally, had not quite worked out. Oh, she had turned up, alright, but she was surrounded by guards at all times, and there had been no chance to get them on their side. Even Darkmoon Dancer and Sunlight Charger had been kept at bay, and the commoners, like Moonlight Charger and his group, had even less chance to get near her.  And so, the ruler of Equestria survived without a parasite in her. They would have to try again, somehow.  But how? “Do we have a plan?” Darkmoon Dancer asked, the night stallion arching an eyebrow as he looked around the hotel room. “It seems that our current one is shot to pieces.” “We’ll have to come up with another,” Moonlight admitted. “There’s got to be a way.” “There doubtlessly is. But there is still the danger of the other hive.” The Changelings. They had let the one they had caught go, seeing if he would bring back allies that they might be able to use in the long run. He had promised that he would be back in three days with a decision from his queen.  Tonight, midnight, had marked the passage from day two to day three. He should be back at any time.  In the meantime, the members of the Hive pulled closer together. They turned, looking away from one another as they lifted their tails. As one, they started releasing the anal tentacles that allowed the Hive parasites to speak with one another without invoking the hosts, and Moonlight Thunder kept his head down, the host knowing what was about to come, and what kind of mess it was going to involve.  Even bracing himself, he still wasn’t prepared for the shock of pleasure that ran down his spine, the bliss that followed, the warmth that filled his mind and left him panting happily from the intensity of it. He groaned, shaking his head, occasionally stomping his hoof as the electrical shocks of pleasure ran through his body, and particularly through his cock and balls. The latter pulled up again and again, pre-cum flowing through the shaft to the floor.  At his side, Azure Breeze was suffering similar pleasures, her eyes straight ahead, but her body tensing. Her pucker clenched around the edge of her tendril, and her perfumed scent filled the air with as much intensity as his own musk did.  Of course, as the rare mare in the room, she didn’t add much. She and Mayor Mare were the only females in the two groups, with the rest of them consisting of stallions. The heady scent of stallion musk pushed through everything else.  Even that, however, was secondary as the parasites of the Hive talked to each other, passing information silently. Here and there, images passed into the minds of the hosts, little things that allowed them to guess, if they wished, what was being discussed. Images of Celestia and her guards passed through Moonlight Thunder’s head again and again, and he knew that they were desperately trying to figure out a way through that particular barrier.  From the looks of things, it seemed impossible. She was away from home, and thus surrounded by the elite. There was no way through that, even for the other guards.  Darkmoon Dancer and Sunlight Charger, both of which were part of the guards, had had no success in getting near her. They were too low-ranking for that. Their superior, Dawning Glory, might have had a chance, but… Well, that had been its own problem. Dawning Glory turned out to be the changeling that they’d offered a deal to, and he had to leave. The missing commander of the local forces had been something that Darkmoon and Sunlight had needed to cover up, pretending that he was busy at all times, even when Celestia wanted to see him. The whole thing had ended up doubling her security, and that left them unable to see her, unable to get close and attempt an infestation.  And now, they were at an impasse. The parasites were trying to find a way around it, but as of that moment, there was no clear path forward. The Hive was due to be split, with Darkmoon being sent to one of the rumored changeling nests on the edge of the kingdom, and Sunlight being sent somewhere else to attend to another of the blue-blooded nobles of the kingdom. It would divide their forces at a time when they could scarce allow that, and the rest of the Hive was too low-ranking in the kingdom to be sent to Canterlot. They would be kept at the edge of society, where the Hive would grow too slowly for them to be able to actually do anything about taking over.  They needed a way to change things.  Eventually, the parasites pulled their tendrils back, giving up on finding a solution for the night. Moonlight Thunder and Azure Breeze stepped to one side of the room, along with the other ponies that they’d brought from their village, and the other hosts clopped over to the far side.  “What do you think the Hive will have us do?” Azure asked as she settled into bed with him.  “I don’t know. Something.” “They always have us do something.” “That’s all I know.” “Do you think we’ll stay together?” “Probably not.” Once, that would have been rather starling, even earth-shaking for the couple, but they had long-since left their married relationship at the door. They were barely together, something that they could use in social situations if they had to, but the Hive was all that mattered. If they were ordered apart by the Hive, sent to different places to spread the infestation further, then they would do that. If they were kept together for different tasks, giving the Hive an in somewhere else, then they would do that.  Obedience to the Hive was all. Moonlight Thunder lowered his head to the pillows, and closed his eyes. Tomorrow morning would bring answers, he hoped.  # Darkmoon Dancer could not sleep. The night had been a failure, and while the civilian ponies seemed to be alright with that, he was not. There was an objective loss to the night, regardless of the mild successes that they had achieved. While his counterpart and Mayor Mare enjoyed themselves, rewarded by their parasites, he found himself getting up and walking out of the room. His parasite was in accordance with him, though neither entirely knew why, just that they shared the dissatisfaction of failure.  This was supposed to go better than this, he thought.  It could have. It should have.  It will do next time.  But only if we plan for it. It was a very mild back and forth between him and the parasite in his lower body, given in more of a sense of feelings and assurances rather than actual thoughts and words. They understood each other, however. Darkmoon was a drone, but he was a drone driven by purpose, perhaps more than any other figure in the Hive. He knew what he was supposed to do, and he had every reason, every intention, of doing it well.  The dark-furred stallion walked down the empty streets, making his way to the far end of town. He stared into the distance, his eyes burning slightly from lack of sleep, but it was a familiar feeling that no longer bothered him. He kept his eyes peeled, half-hoping to see someone coming from the distance.  And strangely enough, he did. It was barely visible, a hint of a silhouette against the night sky, but there was something coming. Not one of the night guards of Luna, but rather something that was lighter, softer, something…bug-like.  The changeling was returning.  Darkmoon Dancer stood quietly at the edge of town, watching as the green light of changeling magic consumed the bug-shape on the approach. Black-blue chitin turned to orange fur, with a red mane running down his neck. The slightly curly horn that the changelings seemed to have turned to a straight unicorn point, and he was smiling. Darkmoon Dancer stared straight ahead at him.  “You come with good news, then?” he asked.  “Great news.” “Then share.” “…Uh, not that way,” the changeling said, shaking his head as a tentacle started sliding from the other stallion’s ass. “I can just say it.” “…If you must.” “My queen has agreed to your idea of an alliance.” “Good.” “And we will devote some of our people to your cause.” “…How many?” “Five here, and others elsewhere.” “That will make quite the difference…” Particularly with Dawning Glory able to give orders that benefitted the Hive at large. As a matter of fact, an idea came to him, an idea that was swiftly stolen by the parasite within. He had permission to offer it, and so he did.  “You will give an order tomorrow morning. See to it that Sunlight Charger and myself are reassigned to Canterlot, with two of the commoners to be brought with us.” “What? Why?” “Because that will put us in a position to handle royalty.” Realization dawned on the changeling’s face, and the slow curl of those illusionary lips made it quite clear the sort of plans that were going through the bug’s mind. They were clearly thinking of what it would be like to control the queen, displace her, and that was not something within the Hive’s plans. Darkmoon Dancer held up a hoof.  “You will not remove her.” “…And why wouldn’t we? Our queen craves the throne.” “And she will be revolted against.” “Not a chance. No-one would be able to tell the difference.” “They will, if we expose her.” “You’d break our agreement?” ‘Dawning Glory’ asked, hissing.  “Not unless you break it first. Our best chance is to infest her. She will then bow to the will of the Hive, doing as we say. She will be as malleable as needed.” There might have been some discontent if there had been anything of Darkmoon Dancer’s original mind left, but more than any of the others, he had become a willing drone, allowing himself to be directed as the weapon he was. He was a stallion meant to fight, meant to break others. This was his duty.  And he would do it well.  Taking a step forward, he leaned in, narrowing his eyes at the changeling. Despite the physical size favoring the other male, he knew that he had won the last fight. And more, he knew that he could win again if it came down to that. Their eyes remained fixed on each other.  “Our alliance is fragile. Our position more so. We cannot make mistakes. Now, will you work with us, or not?” “…We’ll work with you. But we better get what you promised.” “You wish love, do you?” “Heh, if you can even deliver that.” “Observe.” In that moment, things changed. Darkmoon Dancer had been merely the mouthpiece of the parasite for that moment, someone to deliver the words of the Hive to another. But in the blink of an eye, he went from being an unfeeling drone to being something quite different. A warmth rose in his heart, something that was tingling, soft, gentle, attached…attached to the stallion in front of him. A soft gasp left his mouth, and his eyes fluttered as he looked over the changeling’s body. Even knowing that there was a bug-horse beneath that shape did nothing to take away his feelings, his genuine affection for the other male.  “Oh…oh, Dawning…” The changeling’s eyes went wide, a gasp cut off by clenched teeth. Darkmoon Dancer barely noticed, carried along by the great swell of love rising in his chest. It burned hot, and then hotter, and then – Then it was gone. Cut off in that moment, pulled away and buried. He shook his head.  “There,” he felt compelled to say. “Is that satisfactory proof?” “You…you can make them feel that? For us?” For anyone, Darkmoon Dancer realized. There was more than body control with the parasites of the Hive. They were able to affect the emotions, as well, turning them up or down at a whim. In that moment, his devotion to the Hive had been turned into adoration for the stallion before him, making him wish nothing more than to make the other male happy. Not just sexually, though that had been there as well, but also with everything in his being. To offer his heart, his time, his affections. It was all there.  And then, it was all gone. Just as soon as it had come, it had disappeared, withdrawn at the order of the parasite.  “Yes,” was all he could bring himself to say.  “Then this deal…this deal is perfect.” “Then come. Let’s change the world.” # The next day came with the rising sun and the command from Dawning Glory. As the resident commanding officer, he had the ability to override anything that wasn’t a direct order from Celestia or Luna themselves. The Princesses of the realm being busy, there was nobody to countermand the counter-command, and so the soldiers and their commanders started packing for the long trip to Canterlot.  More surprising, however, were the orders for Moonlight Thunder and Azure Breeze to come along. The commoners cocked their heads to the side when Sunlight Charger came to meet them and tell them the news.  “Why does the Hive want us there?” Moonlight asked.  “We don’t know. But they have decided,” the larger stallion said. “We can share, see if they are willing to tell us.” “…” It was tempting, but if their own parasites had yet to tell them, then that meant that it was unlikely that they would be allowed to find out. Better to allow the information to come in the fullness of time.  “How long do we have?” Azure Breeze asked.  “Until noon. We set off then.” “By hoof or by train?” Moonlight asked.  “Train. Too many of us to keep together by hoof.” That meant that there would probably be a great deal of ponies all clustered together in very tight quarters, and from what Moonlight remembered from the information passed between them so far, the train had very long stretches in which nobody could get on or off the vehicle. That meant that the few ponies onboard that weren’t infested certainly would be by the time that they got to their destination. A good trap, and a good way to bring an infested load right into the main city of Equestria.  The Hive was wise. The Hive was good.  They took their leave from the daylight commander, and began packing. As they did, they did not talk. Whatever chatter they might have had was saved for later, for they no longer felt the need to chat at random times the way that they once had. The question between the two of them the night before had been exceptional, and it had exhausted what little social need they actually had. Thus, everything was done in silence.  They joined the procession of military ponies that were leaving Ponyville, heading to the station with the armored stallions and mares that were all headed home. They shared occasional glances with other members of the Hive that were staying in town, and those that had been converted in town. Sugarfrost Harvest waved them goodbye in his flamboyant way, and they knew – or at least, their parasites did – that the stallion would be sending regular shipments of corrupted treats up to Canterlot, expanding his market and giving them openings for whatever plans they came up with.  The rest of the Hive would be separated, sent out to more towns in the region to make sure that the expansion of the Hive continued. There would be no holding them back. They would spread as far as the eye could see, and one day, the kingdom would be theirs.  At the train station, they joined the queue with the other ponies. Even to their eyes, it was hard to tell who was a host and who was an un-infested pony. Everyone within the Hive was conditioned to look normal on the outside, keeping their ‘oddness’ and drone-nature to their inner selves to avoid giving the Hive away. Was the entire cluster of soldiers and the rich merchants heading to Canterlot all infested? Or were there some small groups here and there that needed their assholes invaded, their bodies taken from them? They would only find out with time. They boarded the train, given their own little cabin. They stored their luggage overhead, and then waited for the train to set out. The window curtains were pulled almost immediately, covering them so that nobody could accidentally see what they did.  As soon as it was done, as soon as the door was closed, they turned to stand ass to ass, and they released their tendrils. Their parasites touched, and they went still, staring straight ahead as the usual feelings of arousal ran through their bodies. Information, ideas were shared, but without the input of other members of the Hive, all they felt was a stubborn, annoying sense of being incomplete. They had both seen the same things, after all, and while their parasites were somewhat different from one another, being in different hosts, they were not able to put together different ideas to such an extent that the joining made a difference. They came apart quickly, sitting down once more.  The train set off from Ponyville, beginning its long, meandering journey through the land of Equestria. They would be stopping at four different stations on the way to Canterlot, and though this was a more military journey than a civilian one, the in-transit announcements confirmed that there would be a few civilian passengers picked up. They looked at each other, and knew that there would be some infestations happening in the meantime. There was no point in wasting a chance to expand the Hive.  # Mid-afternoon eventually rolled around, and Sunlight Charger was feeling good about himself. As a matter of fact, the daylight commander was actually smiling, and not because the parasite inside him was making him do it.  I am a good drone. There was a certain amount of pride in orchestrating four different infestations in one afternoon, particularly when the soldiers doing it had to be commanded through it. Four cabins had been ‘invaded’ and the civilians inside guided into enjoying the infestation. The rich ponies of the kingdom were surprisingly easy to convince to try it; they wanted to indulge themselves, and what was more indulgent than the attentions of ‘lonely soldiers’ that just needed a little bit of attention? Regardless, the Hive now possessed the bodies of four rather upscale members of pony nobility, including a few that would be staying at the palace in Canterlot. Nobody that would give them access to Celestia, but the fact that they would be able to invite people into the palace at all meant that they were going to have access that they needed to eventually take down the Princess of the Sun.  But for that, they would need to take smaller steps first. He might not have the devious mind of Darkmoon Dancer, but he knew that they were going to have to take it slow. This was a siege, and one that the realm had never had to deal with before. The Hive had a plan, however, and that plan would carry them to victory.  First, we take the guards. Then, we take Luna’s head of the guards. Then, we take Luna. Then, we take Celestia. One built up a power base, and then moved forward from there. Each new tier that one gained brought one another step closer to the final objective, and in the end, Celestia would be helpless to fight against so much. She might have been able to win against one member of the Hive, but against a kingdom? Against her own sister? Sunlight Charger felt confident. They would win, eventually.  The stallion entered the dining car of the train, spotting Moonlight Thunder and his infested wife at the far end of the car. They were both munching on a salad, looking as discontent as a pair of drones could be. They probably had not been informed what their purpose would be, now that he thought of it.  The drone commander thought about it for a moment, waiting for input from his parasite. He was eventually given permission, and he turned, adjusting his course to move towards their table.  They looked up at him, nodding in greeting, and he nodded in return. His public persona overcome his drone quiet as he spoke.  “Well, seems like you’re enjoying yourselves,” he said as he ‘sat’ down by them, as much as any of them could. There were cushions to allow one’s hind legs to take a break, but that was it. He shifted over a bit, keeping his hindquarters out of sight of the rest of the car. “Are you traveling well, ma’am?”  “Well enough, sir,” Azure said. “But we’re not sure why we’ve been summoned.” “Oh, it’s nothing bad, I assure you.” “Still, it’d be nice to know what royalty wants with us.” All the while, his hole had already opened, letting loose the tentacle inside. It writhed under him, rather than sideways or backwards, moving around and feeling for one of the others that waited. It didn’t take long to find it, and he stiffened slightly as he felt the sudden shock of connection rush through him. Suddenly, speech became something of an effort, and it grew more so as the mare connected her own tentacle to the mess.  “Ah, well, you know royalty. They tell everyone what to do, and we…we do what we can to keep up…” He had never tried to speak before when the connection was going on, and he hoped that he never had to do it again. The sheer intensity of stimulation that came through the tentacle was hard enough to deal with at the best of times, and trying to focus his thoughts into intelligible words while the parasite was talking to the others… Well, it was almost like splitting his mind in two. It was all but impossible, and the only thing that made it possible was the fact that he was speaking absolute nonsense.  “See, all you have to do is do what you’re told. These are dangerous times, after all, what with the changeling threat. You’ll be safe in Canterlot.” “We’re being summoned…for our safety?” Azure managed to get out.  “Quite. Must have some good allies at court, eh?” Their tentacles retreated, and it took the parasite’s support to keep him from collapsing right then and there from the sudden change in stimulation. He got to his hooves once more, clearing his throat.  “Anyway, must continue my patrol. Never know when a changeling might show up, eh?” He smiled, making his way out of the dining car, leaving the civilians to their lunch. At least now, they’d feel a bit better. They’d know the plan, at least.  # “…Fascinating,” Azure Breeze said.  “Actually…brilliant,” Moonlight Thunder agreed.  The whole plot of bringing them in to Canterlot was more than just the fact that they were among the first of the Hive, and thus the ones that most of the various parasites were descended from. It was also the fact that they were known to all the different parasites, their images imprinted on those members of the Hive. And that meant that they were recognizable to everyone that was part of the Hive.  That, in turn, meant that the changelings on their side just had to look like them. Anyone that saw them outside of Canterlot would be seeing a changeling, which in turn, meant that any Hive member that saw them would know that a message was being circulated among the Hive for their area. So long as the ‘real’ pair of Moonlight and Azure stayed in Canterlot, it meant that anytime they were seen elsewhere, it was like a giant beacon for all the Hive members to talk to them and get the latest news.  It also meant that, while in Canterlot, they were the people to go to for any incoming messages. Changelings would know to come to them, and anyone from a far-off Hive looking to get a message to the locals would know to come to them, as well. They would become the lynchpin that helped keep communication among those infested going.  They felt oddly honored, though that felt like a reward from the parasites more than anything else. They went back to eating. Fuel was needed.  # The rest of the train journey was rather uneventful, and they eventually arrived at Canterlot station. It was just outside the city, on a large cliff-face with a wide road that led from the station to the city proper. Soldiers and civilians alike departed from the train and formed a procession making their way up. To those that watched from outside, there were some eerie moments when the civilians started marching like the soldiers, falling in line and in sync with each other with scary ease.  Darkmoon Dancer walked up and down the lines, giving the new hosts that weren’t paying sufficient attention gentle nudges and harsher kicks when needed to break up the lock-step. While it wasn’t so obvious from a distance, he knew that there would be those that would notice in the city. It wasn’t a changeling thing, so it wouldn’t be immediately terrifying to anyone, but it would be remembered. Better not to leave such an impression upon returning to the city.  The majority of those entering were guided to the military gates, with the civilians sent to the checkpoint at the main gate. Darkmoon Dancer, Sunlight Charger, and their ‘superior’ Dawning Glory, however, were taken to an elevator that went over the walls. They were cleared already, pre-checked at the station, and didn’t need to go through changeling tests.  A vulnerability that the changeling among them certainly enjoyed. He chuckled as they were lifted up. “My people could do so much right now…” “They will not,” Darkmoon said.  “I know, I know. But they could.” And it would cause an uprising of immense proportions, putting the people of the city on their guard against anyone and anything that might threaten them. The short-term gains of having them hyper-focused on the doings of changelings would not be worth the potential discovery of the Hive, which would be very possible given the fact that the checkpoints would become more numerous and the tests more invasive.  Darkmoon Dancer continued to glare at his ‘superior’ until the changeling looked away. Message received, thankfully.  As they reached the top of the wall and began the descent on the stairways on the other side, the parasite inside him began running through procedure here in Canterlot. They would be required to attend orientation again, to be reminded of the way that things worked in the capitol. They would be given places to sleep, then assigned squads that they would be responsible for, both in terms of leadership and ensuring that the changelings didn’t become part of them.  That was something that they would be betraying quite quickly. Darkmoon, at the very least, would be getting a changeling that could replace him while he did other things. He knew that he’d need to be part of the eventual infestation of Luna’s guards, considering he understood how they worked better than Sunlight Charger or Dawning Glory did. Without someone to take his place and ensure that nobody knew that he was missing, however, that would be all but impossible.  With someone to take his place, however, and with the chance to give that changeling all the information needed to impersonate him properly… The only downside will be his lack of a parasite, and how the Hive can tell him apart from me… They would need something of a code-phrase, or something along those lines. It could be sorted, eventually.  Soon, they were on the streets of Canterlot. The average person in the city was better off than anyone in Ponyville, and it showed in the large buildings and larger stores that the ponies manned. There were many different places that could benefit from a little infestation, though that would be of necessity slower here. The soldiers would seldom frequent the different shops, and there was more security here. They would be restricted to doing things in the palace, behind the eyes of security forces through the city.  But eventually… Darkmoon Dancer knew that the parasite in him, and the rest of the Hive, were greedy for hosts. They craved more bodies, and there were more here than there were in Ponyville, hundreds more. Maybe thousands.  But that meant more eyes, as well, more possibilities to be seen. The parasite in him drew that information from his mind, storing it away, using it as a way to temper its own temptations. That would be brought up in the next meeting between the hosts, and it would inform the decisions of the Hive in how they would go forward.  Regardless, they passed through the city without infesting anyone, and eventually, they reached the palace. The guards of the Sun, dressed in gold and blue armor, greeted them with bobbing heads.  “Commanders,” they said, nodding in greeting. “Your rooms are prepared.” “I’ll take some time to observe the barracks, first,” Dawning Glory said.  “As you wish, sir. Commanders?” Sunlight and Darkmoon both submitted to being taken to their chambers. It had been a long day, and the hosts were tired. Come the next, however, they would be gathering intelligence, and beginning the process of clearing the way to the Princess of the Sun. It wouldn’t take long…provided they made no mistakes.  > Chapter 14 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ivory Flash had left Hayburg some time ago, and in that time, he had met a number of ponies and stallions who had been depressed, who had wondered what the point of being part of Equestria actually was, who had been worried about how they were going to stand up to the changelings, or the gryphons, or any of a number of threats to the kingdom that were never truly addressed outside the core cities. He met them, and he helped them.  Not out of any warm desire of the heart, of course. The Hive had commanded him to do things, to find more hosts, and he was happy to spread the word of the Hive, and the parasites, as well. They were to find more hosts, to bring the Hive to the other villages, and they would eventually spread across all of Equestria.  And the fact that they would all be infested would mean that they would be better suited for finding different solutions to things than they currently were. A group mind of the Hive would be better than a council of ponies.  He had traveled far, the white and black stallion making his way along the road before finally coming to Tindertown. It was a little place on the edge of Equestria, well away from the main roads of travel, and it bordered a forest where other creatures lived, wilder horses that regularly caused problems for the ponies that lived there. He figured that there would be plenty of those willing to drown their sorrows with a willing ear, and that would make it all the easier to infect them.  What he didn’t expect was a familiar pair of faces waiting there for him. The white and black stallion walked into the local inn to find Azure Breeze and Moonlight Thunder waiting for him. He stared at them, only the influence of his parasite keeping him from making a mistake and outing them immediately. Instead, he walked in casually, talking to the guy behind the desk. A room was booked for a few bits, and he walked over to the table that they were sitting at.  “Have a little room for someone?” he asked.  “Yep,” Moonlight said, nodding.  Sitting down, the host tried to figure out the best way to ask the obvious question. The parasite, however, was the one in charge, and it juts asked.  “When did you get here?” “In truth, never.” “…” The pair of ponies looked at each other. To anyone observing them from other tables, it would be clear that couple were looking at each other lovingly, but to him, sitting right across the table, there was a different message. The faintest hints of a green flame slid over their eyes, exposing the bug-like facets of a changeling’s eyes. Ivory Flash had no reaction, none at all, and that seemed to satisfy the changelings as they put their disguise back on.  “Meet you in our room in five minutes. 201.” They got up from the table, their tails affectionately flicking from side to side as they chatted with one another about some nonsense or another, sounding for all the world like a normal couple. The host, however, stayed at the table, waiting out the minutes.  What had happened to the rest of the Hive? Had something gone wrong in Ponyville? There’d been no announcement of new orders from Canterlot, so obviously the plan to take down Celestia hadn’t succeeded just yet, but had something happened to their drone-leaders? No, no way. There was no chance that Azure and Moonlight had been taken down by mere drones. They weren’t going to go down to bugs, and the Hive was too strong to be taken out that easily. Something else was going on.  Hopefully this meeting would answer what.  He waited the five minutes that they asked, then got to his hooves, making his way to the staircase in the back. His room was on the second floor, so the pony at the front door didn’t question him. Up, up, he went, and then took an immediate right to door 201. He didn’t bother knocking; the changelings would know that it was him.  As soon as he entered, the changelings changed their shape. They went back to their bug forms, looking right at him.  “You’re Ivory Flash, right?” one of them asked.  “Yes.” “And you’re one of them. Moonlight’s first infested?” “…” “He told us. It’s part of the alliance. We just need confirmation.” “Alliance?”  “We’ll explain, if you can confirm.” The parasite inside him thought for a moment, then slowly nodded. It seemed safe enough to admit that little fact.  The two changelings sighed softly, heaving breaths of relief. Clearly, they were taking a risk as well. They were, after all, enemy number one in the kingdom, and if anyone from downstairs recognized what they were, they would be captured and probably imprisoned immediately, if not outright destroyed. Nobody would consider it a murder, either, just like they wouldn’t consider stomping on one of the parasites a murder.  But questions still remained. The parasite had him ask.  “What are you doing here?” “Looking for you, and the other Hive members,” the changeling said. “The real Moonlight and Azure are down in Canterlot. They’ll be there for the rest of the ‘war’, if you want to call it that.” “…Why?” “Because that way, anytime someone sees us, they’ll know that we’re changeling messengers.” “…Oh.” “Oh? That’s all you can say to that brilliant idea?” Ivory had never been much of a thinker. Planning stuff out had never been the thing that anyone would have praised him for, so the idea didn’t make a lot of sense to him. But the parasite inside liked it, so that was alright.  “So, anytime we see you –” “Just find a private space to talk,” the changeling said. “We won’t be around unless it’s really important.” “And the rest of the time?” “Just consider us back-up.” “…Back-up? Then you’re…really on our side?” “Yep.” The changeling chuckled. “We figured that we needed to kick up the pace a bit. Like, we came here to help you with bringing down the mayor right off the bat.” “That’s impossible. He’d be missed.” “Not if someone else was imitating him.” One of the changelings, the one that hadn’t talked just yet, shimmered. When the green fire faded away, a perfect copy of the black-red earth pony that ran Tindertown stood before him, complete with the usual woodcutter vest and the axe that he carried with him on a daily basis between the town and the forest. It was rather startling just how good an imitation it was, and a reminder of just how good the changelings were at imitating others. They were all but perfect as infiltrators.  It was a reminder to him, too, that he would need to be careful with them despite the alliance. There was every chance that they might try and imitate Hive members for other reasons, and force them to expose themselves in public. If that happened… But the parasite in him didn’t feel worried. For good reason, as well. The Hive had a wonderful way of proving whether you were a member or not. All you had to do was show your tentacle. If you couldn’t or wouldn’t? Then you were probably not Hive.  Of course, if you showed it to someone that wasn’t a member of the Hive, then there was a great deal of screaming, a lot of other problems coming up, but that was to be handled at another time.  He nodded in understanding, and the changeling shifted back. Ivory cocked his head.  “Are you hosts?” he asked.  They laughed.  “Oh, no, no. That’s not part of the deal.” “…Doesn’t seem like a good deal.” “The queen wants to maintain our independence for now. So long as we have our love and our food, then we’ll make sure that we work with you. If that gets cut off, however…well, we want to make sure that we have ways of getting what we need.” They didn’t trust the Hive. Good. It was mutual. That said, they were both getting something that they wanted, so they could work together. For now.  “So, what’s the plan?” he asked.  “You think that’s our job?” “We’re just assistants, Hive. We’re here to do what you say, not give you a plan.” Well, that made things a little bit more complicated. Ivory, as stated, had never been much of one for planning, and that meant that he would have to work a little harder to make this one work. Particularly since he only had the one parasite to think with… But that might be fixable. Yes, it might be fixable, alright.  “Can you become the mayor again for a minute?” “Why?” “I want him to come in and order the innkeeper into the backroom for a chat. Then I can infest the innkeeper. Free room, and another person to think with.” “…Heh. Looks like the Hive can improvise, at least,” one changeling said.  “We can do that,” the other said.  # It was less than an hour later that the innkeeper, a unicorn of white and gold fur, was knocked out on the floor of the backroom. He had been sweaty, worried, obviously concerned about what might have caused the mayor to come to him in the middle of the day, and hadn’t seen the wooden board that Ivory Flash had swung at him until it was too late. Now, his ass was up in the air, perfectly vulnerable.  “So, how does this work?” one of the changelings asked.  “Like this.” Ivory reached under his tail, flicking it up and to the side. He’d been slowly developing more eggs inside of him, holding back as much as he could and eating less to ensure that they didn’t develop too quickly, but there were three eggs waiting to hatch in his guts. As soon as he started pushing them back, they started squirming, and he had to really focus to only let one keep moving towards his rim.  The feeling of the egg sliding free of his pucker was a surprisingly pleasant feeling. Holding back on the road when he didn’t see anyone he could infest had been rather hard, and he would have liked to just leave the eggs in the open, but the parasite had kept him from doing it. That was a bad idea. It risked them being discovered, or left for dead. Not a good feeling. Not something that he wanted to be guilty of, right? Right.  But now they had someone. Someone that had at least a little authority. Someone that would make their immediate lives that much easier.  He let the egg fall into his raised hoof, then gently rolled it onto the floor. With the shell already cracking, it wouldn’t take long for the young parasite to come free. The changelings leaned in, watching curiously.  Crack.  Snap.  Crack.  And just like that, the sides of the egg fell apart, revealing the little monster within. Shaped with crab pincers near the front and a long tail in the back, with mini-legs that allowed it to move similar to a centipede or millipede, it was not a particularly attractive little creature. Yet, it had a great deal of life, rushing about, trying to find a host.  The changelings darted back, obviously not willing to risk their own freedom, and Ivory Flash picked it up, carrying the little beasty to the innkeeper.  The unicorn hadn’t stirred just yet, but he would soon. The stallion hadn’t swung the board of wood that hard. He laid the head of the parasite against that raised pucker, the claws gripping the edges of the rim gently. The parasite oozed with a simple slime, something that immediately set the other stallion to reacting. His sheath opened, his shaft dropping just from making contact with the parasite.  “Wow…he must have some seriously weird dreams,” one of the changelings said.  “No. This is what we do.” “What, you make them enjoy it that much?” “Yes,” Ivory Flash said, smiling. “We are always eager for this.” “…That explains so much…” It probably did to them, though that wasn’t really the point of the exercise. The point was to get the innkeeper on their side, and that meant pushing him to be infested as fast as possible. The unicorn hadn’t gotten to his feet yet, but he was starting to groan in his sleep.  To hurry it along, Ivory pressed his front hooves to the stallion’s cheeks, holding them apart. That, in turn, spread the rim a bit further, and that allowed the parasite to do what it did. It wiggled forward, parting the cheeks with some of the slime, sliding past the open pucker. It wiggled and slithered in, the tail slurping in like pasta down a hungry horse’s throat.  Once it was inside, the groans got louder, the barely-unconscious stallion starting to stir. The two changelings started to change forms, becoming random ponies, and Ivory…waited.  After all, it was bad manners to push someone else further when one didn’t have to. It was best to allow them to make an accommodation with their parasite on their own rather than forcing it.  He remembered how it had felt when he had been infested, how his body had felt almost like it was shutting down at first, how he had stopped being able to feel or control different parts of him. Then, he had been paralyzed, locked in his own head for a moment or two before the parasite made contact with him, before it started bringing his body online again, but under its own control. That had been something hard to get used to, but rather pleasant in its own way, once he had. He liked having the parasite in the driver’s seat. He liked having someone in his head that kept him from making stupid mistakes.  And now, the innkeeper would have that same pleasure. The unicorn opened his eyes, started to move his legs to stand…and then they locked up.  It had started.  They waited with baited breath as they watched the stiffening go through the other male’s body, his cock going from soft to throbbing hard under his body, and his muscles tensing through his flesh. They could see his legs bunching up, his forelegs pushing against themselves, his back legs twitching every so often. They were tight, the muscles refusing to compromise even as the innkeeper fought with himself. His horn lit up briefly, then went out, the parasite taking control of everything. Then, little things started to move again. Blinking first, twitching ears next. That tail went up, showing off a pucker that clenched and released in time with the horse’s heartbeat, fast at first, and then slower as it got more regular, more regulated. The stallion breathed slower, his eyes closing again, his panic coming under control. His muscles stopped tensing quite so hard, and his cock…well, it stayed hard, but that was to be expected from the various chemicals that the parasites put out. For that matter, Ivory Flash’s shaft was slowly sliding free, dropping down and exposing itself.  The unicorn stallion finally opened his eyes completely, getting to all fours once more. He shook his head, then experimentally tilted it to the left, then the right. The parasite within Ivory knew that it was getting used to the new senses that it had. Better eyes, better ears, able to see and hear things as proper things rather than guessing from the vibrations around it.  It was a better life. A simpler one.  The innkeeper turned to face them. He had become a host, and one that was still a bit off in his own head, more than likely. The parasite within made him speak.  “This host has questions. And is afraid.” “It doesn’t need to be,” Ivory said.  “It will be, however.” “Let us share.” “Please. It needs reassurance.” It was a strong-willed host, then, one that could push back against the parasite that much. Probably had something to do with the magic, as far as Ivory was concerned. That always seemed to cause some sort of trouble when they were dealing with new hosts.  They turned around, ass to ass, and their tentacle tails extended from their holes. Ivory braced himself, knowing that this was going to be good. He had no shame; he merely wished to maintain –  There was no moan, but there was pleasure. His eyes locked forward, and the parasite within him froze their body in place, keeping them as still as possible as the information was exchanged. After all, the one in the innkeeper didn’t know about the changelings, since it had been laid well before the changelings had come into their life.  As the information passed in system-wide shocks, his cock flipped up, down, up, down, bouncing against his belly in eager pleasure. It dripped like mad within seconds, and started oozing pre-cum in solid streams within a minute. The pleasure kept rising, too, leaving his balls churning as the two of them put on a show for the changelings. Not that either of them were thinking about their audience past the fact that they were just there.  It didn’t take long for Ivory to cum, and no surprise. The tentacle pushed out of his rump, plus the eggs still rolling around inside him, meant that they were grinding on his prostate at all times. He couldn’t help but be aroused. He couldn’t help but want to enjoy himself. And –  Stomp.  That was the only sign of pleasure, a single back-leg hoof-stomp, something that was followed by a massive spray of white across the storeroom. Splat, splat, splat went the seed, and the pleasure that followed was good.  They disconnected a few seconds later, the parasites having updated each other. The update had been mostly one-way, giving the news of the changeling to the new one, but there was some data from the innkeeper, too. There were plenty of folk that were coming to this inn to meet with some of the wild horses on the sly, including some of the officials of the town that wanted to enjoy themselves with ‘feral’ horses. Or at least, ones that weren’t touched by civilization, that could be rougher and such.  Among them, surprisingly, was the mayor. No wonder the innkeeper had been concerned.  “We have secrets to share,” Ivory said.  The changelings blinked at him. They looked rather shocked, he realized, and he wondered just how much, or how little, they actually understood about how the Hive worked. If they didn’t understand how they were able to speak, what they got from each other like this, then they were about to learn a lot.  “The mayor comes here every week, specifically to enjoy the attention of the wild horses.” “How – did you talk like that?” one changeling asked, nodding at the ass tentacles.  “Yes. We did.” “…That’s how you get all the information. You take over, and then you can just…send it to anyone that gets close enough?” “Yes, that’s right.” “…Wow.” “Is it that much better than what you do?” Ivory asked.  “It’s a lot better. We have to spy and guess, but you…Wow.” That meant that they were always going to be at a disadvantage when they were infiltrating a place that wasn’t familiar. They wouldn’t know how their disguise behaved around those that they hadn’t seen before. They wouldn’t know for sure if someone knew the pony that they were disguised as, which meant that they could be tripped up.  Ivory didn’t know if that was something that the Hive would need to know, but he filed it away, anyway. If the alliance ever came to pieces – and any alliance could – then it was good to know what the weaknesses of the enemy was. They could probably get a lot of information from their ‘partners’ if they were able to shove a parasite into even one of them, because it was clear that the changelings, with their use of spies, shared a lot of data with one another.  We could use that… Tempting as it was, however, they were currently in an alliance, and that meant honoring that. And besides, they had bigger things to deal with. A mayor that had a dirty secret would be easy enough to kidnap, and having the two changelings around to keep him from being missed while they did a more thorough infestation…well, that would be very useful.  # Half a week later, the kidnapping occurred. It went off without a hitch, and the mayor was taken from the inn to the nearby forest. It was all too easy, particularly with the help of two infested wild stallions. The changelings remained behind, one of them imitating the mayor, the other ready to take a second shift if need be.  In the forest, the black and red stallion was tied down, ensuring that he wouldn’t be fighting back too hard when he woke up. A good thing, too. He started thrashing about as soon as he opened his eyes.  “What the hell? What is the meaning of this?!” the mayor shouted.  “It’s called a take-over,” Ivory said, trotting up. “But I thought you’d like something like that, considering what we kidnapped you during.” “What – who the hell are you? Some outsider? Get the hell away from me.” “Not until we’re done.” His backside felt surprisingly roomy as the most recent egg started sliding down. Being able to infest multiple people and clear the extra space that had been taken up by the other eggs made him feel…better, in some ways, and worse in others. The emptiness was something that normally would have been filled by someone fucking him, but there was no one that was of the right size for that. More to the point, he wanted to make sure that he kept himself in good condition for pushing the eggs out, and the fucking could cause build-up of other things back there.  But now, he would have a good chance to clear that out. He would be able to infest the mayor, then he could take the mayor’s place among the wild stallions and enjoy a rut. His parasite had promised that he was due a break.  The egg came free, falling into the prepared soft earth. He picked it up as it hatched, the familiar parasite coming free, and he approached the mayor from behind.  It wasn’t an easy approach. Despite the bindings that the other infested horses had prepared, he was a kicker, trying to buck his hind legs back to stop Ivory from getting any closer. It was a moment of taking his life in his hands as he approached, knowing that one wrong move would get his muzzle kicked in, or worse.  Thankfully, nothing of the sort happened. He rested one front hoof against the mayor’s rump, the other holding the parasite near his hole. The little pincers managed to get a grip on the other stallion’s rim, holding tight as it started oozing its slime. The mayor’s reaction was almost instantaneous.  “What…nnngh…Mmmph…MMPH!” The sudden throb that ran through the other male made it clear that his cock was already eagerly rising, trying to get into the action. His hole went from tight to loose, clenching like mad, trying to pull something, anything inside.  It seemed that the mayor was something of a secret slut. Kind of embarrassing, if one was honest, but rather sensual to look at.  The parasite was quick to take advantage, however, and slid in. Once it was past the rim, Ivory stepped back. It would only be a matter of time, now that the parasite was inside… # With the mayor, the innkeeper, and a substantial portion of the wild horse population nearby already infested with parasites within two weeks of Ivory’s arrival, it was only a matter of time until the population of Tindertown started to notice that things were changing. They saw that the attacks from the wild horse population had gone down, and more to the point, that there was a new trade going on between them and the horses of the forest.  More than that, even, they attributed it to Ivory Flash. They believed that the foreigner had come in and helped them out, had given the mayor a bit of aid in reaching out, and that it was all due to him that things had gotten better.  Certainly not due to the royals back in Canterlot. Certainly not due to anything that the kingdom had done for them. They were safe again, and it was all due to this stranger that had owed them nothing.  They worshiped Ivory as a hero, and that gave him every opportunity that he needed to spread the Hive further and futther through the village.  A month after his arrival, the town was half-converted, with the rest of the population only seeing an improvement in their lifestyle. He was able to take it slow, and was ordered to, once the delivery ponies from Ponyville were able to get a message through from Canterlot. They brought many different sweets with them, as well, things that were quickly put to use keeping the entire village happy and horny at all times.  He was happy enough to take it slow. The whole thing was more fun that way, and he had worked hard on the road. Ivory Flash was due a break, and he liked it.  # Back in Canterlot, Moonlight Thunder would have been in an irritable mood if he had been a normal stallion without the influence of the Hive on him. As it was, he was vaguely out of sorts, disturbed by his lack of ability to do anything in the city.  He, and the Hive by extension, had not expected there to be so many countermeasures against any sort of incursion from the changelings. They had expected some, of course, but the fact that there were military patrols going through the city at all times, the fact that there were curfews, the reality that they were constantly watched due to being strangers, meant that there was nothing that he and Azure could really do except more or less exist in the city.  And they were getting rather annoyed by the sex, as well. They were both supposed to be in love with each other, and they were able to play the role in public well enough. But they knew that they were supposed to be showing that they were a couple in all ways, and that meant rutting one another at night for others to hear.  After the first week, they’d taken to just kicking the floor and making sounds rather than going through the same thing night after night. They were just bored of it, and the parasites saw little reason to make them go through it when an act of passion could be just that: an act. There was no point in making it into the big show that the entire world seemed to demand that it be.  Despite it all, they were still told that they served a purpose for the Hive, but there was something to be said when even their own parasites found it more annoying than usual to be just stuck there. The eggs and new parasites that they produced on the daily were collected by different members of the Hive and taken to the palace, where they knew that the parasites would be given to different members of the guard, the court, and more. Sooner or later, they would spread far enough to allow him and her to be brought to the palace proper, but for the moment, they were little more than breeders.  And it’s annoying. He wanted to take his stud-self out on the streets, to find someone to break down again, to put his cock to use as the weapon that it was made to be for the Hive. He knew that Azure wanted to go to the palace, to seduce those at the top, to put her body out there to bring weak-willed individuals into the Hive proper. It was something that they had both been ordered to do so many times that the lack of opportunity was driving the pair of them utterly mad.  Moonlight had paced back and forth across their room three times in the last hour. The parasite had ceased being satisfied with that, and was debating whether it would be acceptable to infest their local innkeeper. He was just about to consider it a worthwhile thing when someone knocked at their window.  He turned, not surprised to find a messenger there. It was dressed as a member of the guard, but he had learned how to spot the changeling eye-shape under the illusion. He walked over, nudging it open with his head, and the changeling leaned in, dropping the head-disguise.  “We’ve got an update.” “Please let it be a good one.” “Oh, it is. Darkmoon Dancer’s figured out who the top guard for the Night Guard is.” “…” “And we’re going after her soon.” “Which means…” “We can get access to Luna.” That was a big step. Even if they managed to take over the full guard, there was no way that they would be guaranteed a shot at Celestia. The Princess of the Sun had become more and more withdrawn the longer that the war with the changelings had gone on, having less and less trust with the world at large. She seemed to believe that there was little that would stand with her, and perhaps she was right, because she didn’t even take petitioners anymore, merely audiences that she screened heavily first.  Only her sister still had that unrestricted access, and many believed that it was because Luna was second only to Celestia in raw magical power. If anyone else could handle the danger that the changelings posed, it would be the princess of the night.  But that whole thing didn’t give him or Azure any chance of leaving the hotel anytime soon. He waited, just in case that meant that there was an invitation to the palace, but there was nothing.  “…Is that all?” “I thought that the Hive would be pleased,” the changeling said, looking vaguely impish about it.  “…” “Heh, sorry. But we need more people in the palace before we can get away with inviting ‘common’ ponies up there.” “How much more?” “Oh, about a hundred more servants, and two dozen nobles.” The changeling pulled his head back before Moonlight Thunder’s impatience could get the better of him. The parasite was no help, either. It was nearly as out of its mind as he was, mostly due to the fact that it was laying eggs and getting no feedback. It hadn’t had anyone else in the Hive to link with other than Azure’s parasite for almost a month, and they were driving themselves half-crazy. If they didn’t get the chance to link with someone else soon, it might actually do damage.  The two hosts turned to look at each other, and silently agreed. If they didn’t get to the palace within a week, they were going to turn this inn into a Hive den. If nothing else, it would keep them from finding out if there was a point where the Hive connection could cause actual damage through lack of being connected with each other.  > Chapter 15 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Due to the various connections that he’d made at the festival in Ponyville, Sugarfrost Harvest managed to secure himself an invitation to Cloudsdale. It was a rare honor given to ponies that tended to live more on the ground than in the air, and it was an opportunity for the Hive that one could scarcely ignore. The baker was quick to take the invitation, and was more than happy that the invitation directed him to bring his own supplies. Some would have seen it as a cheapskate’s way of not paying him as much, but he saw it as a chance to show just how much he could do with his own goods.  And the chance to keep infesting his goods with his drugged seed, of course. That was the real gain of that.  Hmm hmm…so many stallions, so little time… The parasite inside him was holding back the lust that he would have normally been feeling in full force. The old Sugarfrost Harvest would have arrived in the clouds with a grin on his face, the beginning of a full drop from his sheath, and a twitching hole. As it stood, only the last was happening, as even the parasite struggled to keep all the lusts that its host felt from being seen.  The brilliantly pink earth pony walked with his head held high along the clouds, only allowed to stay above them with an enchanted tail ring that the pegasi had sent him along with the invitation. Otherwise, he would have been plummeting to his death far below. He trotted along, looking up at the flying stallions around him, and he would have whistled at them if he had been himself.  As it stood, the drone still had the needs to look up and enjoy the view of those dangling bits that were normally obscured by the ground angles, and shook his head. Time would tell whether he got them, but he was fairly sure that his efforts for the Hive would get him laid again and again.  The puffy clouds around him were cleared to the side of the walkways, allowing him to make his way to a formed-building, made of clouds as everything else was. The pegasus that had been assigned as his guide and greeter, a mare by the name of Windy Lanes, smiled at him as she held the door open.  “This is where you’ll be working,” she said. “Is everything to your liking?”  A quick glance inside proved that it would be a little bit…difficult, he had to admit. The lack of a breeding stand like in his own bakery meant that he’d need to find another way to extract his drugged juices for the baked goods. The oven was a little smaller, too, and the mixing bowls –  “It will do,” the parasite made him say.  “Is there anything that can be better?” “Actually, can I mold the clouds?” “Yes, actually; your sponsor had one of the unicorns enchant some of the clouds inside. I think that there’s a wand that you can use to make what you need.” That would do the trick. He nodded his thanks, stepping inside with a mincing gait. The mare shut the door behind him, and the parasite inside finally let the façade drop. A sigh of ‘relief’ escaped the stallion’s lips as he looked around.  So far, so good. Whether out of mistaken pride or just general carelessness, there was none of the anti-changeling measures up here that there were down on ground level. If he could get the Hive started up here, there’d be nothing to slow it down. No curfews, no guards that were doing sudden checks, no security that would be keeping an eye on things. The Hive would be able to spread like wildfire.  And up here, that meant that they would have every opportunity to let loose eggs towards the ground. It would be something of a sacrifice, but only if they did it wrong. It could easily go more in the direction of cushioned ‘bombing’ runs of the eggs and new parasites, allowing them to seed far-off villages without infiltrating them first.  All in all, it was a place that would boost the Hive’s ability to infest the kingdom by no small measure. It was the perfect place for him.  And plenty of sexy stallions. The drone was still rather randy, and the parasite, if it could have, would have groaned at the continued bubbling needs that came up from below. All the other parasites talked about having to boost the lust of their hosts. This one had to push it down, control it. There was something of an obsession there, an obsession that was more annoying than it was helpful.  But it meant that the milking was easier. Now, to find the magic wand… # A few alterations to the back of the shop made it all but perfect. The parasite still preferred the general stability of the normal construction on the ground, but the clouds were…workable. They were able to grow a few restraints, a better breeding post than the one that they had in the shop back in Ponyville, and a few other kinky things that would work well as invitations and incentives to anyone that happened to be attracted to the flamboyant baker.  The parasite clamped down on the stallion’s sudden surge of lust, shaking their head. That was an if, not a guarantee.  They were just about ready to start milking themselves for the first batch when the bell rang. They hurried out of the back of the shop, putting the wand away –  And found themselves face to face with their sponsor.  Stormbolt Rising was a pegasus of some renown in Cloudsdale, with dark blue fur and a yellow scar over one eye. It was said that he had been a warrior during a period of war in the past, though it was a story that never really got much in the way of real plot behind it. Something about vanquishing some enemy or another in a storm, without ever saying who the enemy was. Some doubted it. Those that did tended to get kicked in the head and had to fly their way back to Cloudsdale afterward.  Stormbolt had been one of the rare pegasi that had come to Ponyville for the celebrations, and had tried a rare untainted treat from Sugarfrost’s bakery. It was a bit of a pity that it had been an untainted one, because that meant that he still needed to be broken in, but it had gotten him the invitation to come above the clouds, so the baker wasn’t complaining too much.  Particularly with that hefty sheath to look at. Mmm.  The parasite clamped down on that thinking again, putting on a half-professional, half-flirty demeanor as they approached the counter.  “Mr. Rising. Good to see you again.” “Yes. I’m sure.” “I just got here, so I don’t have any goods yet.” “I realize.” “…So, why are you here?” “Just making sure that you understand what I’m going to be…asking for.” The pegasus smirked, and in that moment, the parasite seemed to realize just what they had been pulled from the earth for. Not for the baking, but to be a boy-toy for the bigger, stronger pegasus.  Sugarfrost Harvest the host could not be more thrilled. Sugarfrost Harvest the parasite? Less so.  “Oh…we’re going for that, are we?” Sugarfrost said, the parasite allowing some bit of the lust that the host felt to come through, turning a bit to the side, just enough to show off their rump. Full and wide, of course, and the pegasus grinned a bit. “Oh, you definitely like what you see.” “I knew that I’d found a slut down there.” “Mmm, but I would still like to have business.” “You have my sponsorship, don’t you?” “Yes, but…it is still something I have to take care. Much as I’d prefer to make it in…other ways.” Not to mention that being some stallion’s fuck-toy would not go towards spreading the Hive very far, particularly with someone that looked like he only wanted to top. That would not be very useful to him. He would have a very hard time getting a parasite up an ass that was never taking it, for sure.  But the stallion seemed reasonable. The pegasus nodded, his hooves clipping the floor as he turned around.  “I’ll give you a week to get set up. Then, I will come back for my first…payment. I hope that you understand my meaning.” “Oh, I understand it very well. I promise you, I will be ready.” “You better be…” The scarred pony gave him one more grin, then left the bakery. The baker shook their head as they were left alone once more. Someone else might have sighed. They just stared at the closed door.  Things had just gotten that much more complicated.  # Three days later… Sugarfrost Harvest was running a brisk business, though it was a little bit different to the one that he had run down in Ponyville. Rather than the ponies surging through his doors to get their sweets, they were coming in with masks and robes, disguising themselves and panting as they stepped inside. No customer met another’s eyes. They were just desperate for the product.  And well they should be. He had drugged each of them with his tainted fluids, and they were all but rampant with need as they came begging for more.  “Two glazed donuts.” “Four twisted twisties.”  “Sixteen berry blast bars.” Order after order crossed the bar, and he smiled with all the good customer service grace that he had acquired over the years as he filled the orders. Some ponies were panting even as they took their boxes from him, and every single one of them had a dropped cock beneath their robes, or a dripping pussy. It was like they were horny for the food itself, and in a way, they probably were.  Spreading corruption, spreading need…and soon, they will want to have it right from the source… It was the way that he had helped down below. The fluids of Hive ponies were altered once they were infested. A single dose was enough to get someone randy, needy, too horny to think clearly and more willing to make bad decisions for the sake of pleasure and stimulation. Further doses more or less entrenched that horniness, but also gave something else, something of a low-level addiction to the fluids, making the consumer want more and more of it, giving them a compulsion to seek out the source of it.  Eventually, it would lead to them sniffing out the source of it, and when they did, they would be begging for the chance to have some of the real stuff. It had happened in Ponyville, with some of the stallion’s customers finding some of the Hive members by scent and instinct, and then bending over and begging for a full injection of the stuff.  That wouldn’t work with him, of course, as he was hardly a top or capable of fucking someone. Even the parasite inside would be hard-pressed to get around that little peculiar quirk of his. But that didn’t mean that they weren’t able to infest the individual in question… The bakery was busy all through the morning and the afternoon. Eventually, it slowed down, somewhere towards the evening, and finally died off just before sundown. Despite being driven by the relentless parasite inside, the body was tired after that, and Sugarfrost was allowed to lean against the counter and rest when the crowd had finally died down. The pair of them were eager for a chance to just get off their hooves for a while, and they began to make their way to the back of the establishment when – Ding, ding.  The bell at the front door rang. They turned, glancing back, and saw a sweaty, panting, shivering mare waiting.  She was a pegasus like everyone else, with a soft gray-white coat and a shockingly white mane. She stared at him with all the needs of a woman gone mad with lust, and her back legs were stained with her juices.  They vaguely remembered her. She had been a customer on the first day…and the second…and the third.  She’s gone. Gone with need, gone with lust, her thoughts fled from her in favor of all the rutting need that had taken their place between her back legs. She stumbled forward, groaning as she did, sniffing the air.  “Need…need it…” she muttered.  “Back room,” Sugarfrost Harvest said.  She followed, sniffing at him, panting, groaning, all but a zombie. They wondered how much she had consumed in the last few days to get to this point so quickly. Some of the addicts would be getting near to this point by the end of the week, but she had done this in just a few days. She must have been pigging out on their goods.  There was some flattery there, they supposed, but it was a good thing that nobody had seen her. They needed to take care of this quickly.  They guided her into the back of the bakery, and no sooner had they done so than she was shoving her nose right under their tail. She breathed warm air over their balls, and then up towards their pucker –  “Ah ah. Not yet.” Flicking their tail in a sharp, whip-like motion, they pushed the mare away from their pucker. She groaned, but took direction, moving with them.  Thankfully, she was so out of it that they were able to apply the cloud bindings with ease. The chains fit her hooves well, clapping firmly around them and pulling tight. She whimpered, leaning forward to show off her ass and her slippery sex in the process.  “Need…need it…” “Oh, dear…” If only she was a stallion. Then he could have stayed there, enjoyed it, had some time to at least suckle at her shaft while she was being changed. As it was, she was a mare, and Sugarfrost Harvest the host was hardly someone that was interested in that. Even the parasite could only get him so hard… Thankfully, they didn’t need to fuck her. They only needed to infest her, and they had eggs for that.  Sugarfrost had been storing his up ever since he had gotten there. The cool clouds made for a decent hibernation chamber for the eggs, since it wasn’t as cold as winter snow, but was nice and chilled, keeping the eggs from needing to hatch as soon as they were pushed out. He stored them in the walls of the bakery well away from the oven, and it worked. They were still alive as he pulled them free, and just holding them to his chest with one hoof was enough to wake them up.  As soon as the cracks stared spreading across the shell, he brought the egg against her ass cheeks. She moaned, the nameless mare dropping her head to the ground and wiggling her hips back and forth, showing off her pucker, giving every indication that she was in heat with all the wet juices running down her thighs.  “Give it to me. Give it to me.” “Oh, you’ll get it, honey. You’ll get it.” And then maybe he’d get it. Later.  The egg hatched, the parasite pulling itself free and grabbing her anal rim with its pincers. It pulled itself up, grinding its goo-slick body against her rim. She moaned with all the satisfaction of an addict finally getting what she needed, too.  It didn’t take long for the little thing to slide in, finding its way past her pucker and into her depths. The warmth of her body was probably just what the little thing wanted, considering it had been sleeping in the cold for so long. The tail slithered in, and –  “AH!” The mare gasped out loud, her breath coming in a sharp hiss. Her body spasmed, a quick squirt shooting from her sex. The host wanted to rub his nose, get rid of the smell in the air, but the parasite kept him nearby just in case they were needed.  The mare was shivering, shaking, gasping more and more. She didn’t try and escape the chains, didn’t do anything that might have looked like resistance. If anything, she rolled her hips back, almost like she was trying to push the parasite in further on her own. It was like she had lost all thoughts of pulling away.  Maybe the juices… They hadn’t actually studied what the continual effects of the tainted fluids were, now that they thought about it. They didn’t know what it did over a longer period of time, or what it might mean when the parasite finally showed up and gave a proper, full dose rather than the minor amounts that the host was used to. Did it mean that they were utterly shattered by it when they finally got it, defenseless against the infestation even more than the average host? If so, that could be very useful in other parts of the land.  They watched as the female went still, her eyes the only thing that were still wild. Her body was coated in sweat, the mare looking as if she had run a marathon, and was still pushing for more. Her eyes flicked back and forth a few times before tensing up, getting locked as her new parasite took control of the host properly. The host shivered, trembled as per usual, with the flow of her fluids from between her legs increasing for a short time.  Then the movement started again. A little tremor down one hind leg before it lifted up and stomped again. Then another shift, the front-right leg doing the same. Each leg repeated the check and stomp motion, before the tail flicked. Then the back straightened, the mare lifting herself back up from the ass-up, face-down position that she had taken. Her eyes finally calmed, no longer wide, but more of a gentle, generic gaze.  Sugarfrost Harvest waited patiently, or rather, the parasite within waited patiently. The stallion deeper inside was waiting for the mare to be done so that he could get the smell of pussy out of his bakery.  Finally, the mare nodded, and the stallion undid the restraints. She turned around, presenting her ass silently. The parasite, concerned at the silence, did the same.  Their tendrils touched. It was less than satisfying for Sugarfrost, mostly because it was outside of him, but also because it was with a mare. He would have preferred his first convert to be a stallion, but… Well, the Hive would reward him later, he supposed.  They continued to have contact with one another, and information poured through. The host, while not damaged, was altered with the perpetual dosing of tainted and aphrodisiac materials that they had used. It was going to be perpetually horny, and there was a lot of work that the parasite was having to do to suppress that and make them behave normally. Sugarfrost winced slightly at that information, but it was something that they could work with, he was sure. They were, after all, connected to those that would be able to make use of that.  Other information kept coming through. The mare was not important, but she knew a few that were. Rivals of Mr. Rising, other ponies that might be able to offer other sponsorships. That would mean that they could move forward, leave the annoyances of Mr. Rising behind.  It wasn’t a happy thought for Sugarfrost the host, but the parasite rather enjoyed the idea of not having to be a boy-toy forever. It would much prefer to just move on and get what it needed, expanding the Hive however it could. Deals were made, and information taken in, and plans conceived.  # By the end of the week, four more infestations had been done, and the beginning of Cloudsdale’s fall had been planned. They were exponentially spreading through the city, and while their numbers were still small, they were able to get more and more of the baked goods into the higher echelons of power. They were passing them between other ponies of Stormbolt Rising’s status and higher, and some of them had come by the bakery for some attention, some extra goods, or… Well, the infestation had been easy, and the chains had been used more than once. That was the important thing.  But the end of the week had come, and that meant that their sponsor would be coming to claim his boy toy. They weren’t going to be able to just chain him; he hadn’t eaten anything that they had made, and he was not going to allow them to top him, they already knew that. They only had one choice, and it was, thankfully, an easy one to make.  “You’ll be ready to take his place?” Sugarfrost asked the copy of Stormbolt that was waiting in the back room.  “We’ve gone through this. I’m ready.” “I’m just checking.” “You’ve checked already.” “I’m sorry. I’m nervous.” “First time that I’ve ever seen one of you be nervous.” And it was the first time that one of the parasites had been. Of course, emotion was naturally somewhat foreign to them, but one could not help but pick up some of the feelings of the host. A little bit of their hosts got imprinted on them, if only in the most minute ways, and this time… This time, the parasite’s nervousness wasn’t something from the host. It was something that it felt. Something that it didn’t like feeling, but which was there regardless.  The host had a problem with its lust, with its needs. Sugarfrost the host wanted to be fucked and used by the big stallion that had invited it up to Cloudsdale. It wanted to submit, and it wanted to give in with all the raging need that most hosts had for survival, except that this burned hotter and more constantly for that. It knew, from other meetings and merging with the Hive, that the other parasites had always struggled to take over their host, but had generally had no problems with them after getting inside.  This host, however, had barely struggled at all during the infestation, but ever since, it had struggled. Not to get free, but to be allowed to have more sex, to be allowed to indulge itself more and more often, and that had become a more and more serious problem the longer that they had been together. The parasite struggled to keep the host in line, and the host always made it more difficult than it should be.  If they actually got into the whole debauched thing with the pegasus stallion, they might actually lose themselves. They were taking a risk by luring him in, by having other members of the Hive in the back room to actually turn this into a kidnapping. If the host decided to push while the parasite was trying to keep hold of the situation…well, it would be a fight to get back in charge. The parasite knew it would be able to, but… It was a first. And the Hive didn’t like firsts.  The bakery was cleared, and soon enough, Stormbolt Rising arrived. The pegasus nosed the door open, chuckling as he walked in.  “Are you ready for me, Mr. Harvest?” the pegasus asked.  “Of course, sir, of course.” “Then show me what I’ll be having today. I’m sure you have a donut just waiting for…glazing.” The perverted stallion had the host all kinds of hot for him, and the parasite didn’t have to direct the host to turn around. It just did. They flicked up their tail, showing off their pucker, and in short order, hot breath was puffing over it. A hoof pressed against one cheek, rubbing them and teasing them.  “Mmm, I look forward to leaving you cream-filled.” “Shall we go to the back room, sir?” “I’m almost tempted to have you right here…” “Someone could see, though.” “Heh, do you really care?” The host didn’t. The parasite did. They looked back.  “Please. Let’s not ruin this business. You did pay for it, after all.” “…Heh…Fine. Lead on.” The parasite was relieved, the host was not. The host was, as a matter of fact, hornier than the parasite had ever felt. There was no risk of losing control, but at the same time, it was like juggling quite a few balls at once. There was a genuine risk of one of them coming down and hitting the floor, no matter how hard you tried to keep them all aloft.  They led him to the back. His eyes were glued to their ass, refusing to look anywhere else. That was good, however; it meant that the trap was all but guaranteed to work.  And it did. They stepped through the door to the back of the bakery, and the infested ponies leaped for the well-off, perverted sponsor. The stallion shouted at them, trying to order them off, but they were no longer obedient to him. They only obeyed the Hive.  In short order, the pegasus was taken off his hooves, pulled along towards the chains at the back. He shouted at them to let him go, to give him his freedom, demanding an answer that was not forthcoming. They were silent workers, pulling him to his bondage and ensuring that they were tight enough to hold him. Through it all, Sugarfrost Harvest was all but bristling with need, the host’s cock throbbing, spitting pre-cum on the cloud floor, tail held high.  He wanted to be fucked. The parasite needed to wait for a bit longer.  “What in the HAY is the meaning of this?!” Stormbolt demanded.  “We are inducting you into the Hive,” Sugarfrost said.  “Some sort of cult?” “No. A Hive.” As the copy of Stormbolt stepped out of hiding, the changeling smirking with the other stallion’s face, the rich pegasus finally stopped his squirming. His eyes went wide as he realized just how fucked he was, and he whipped his head from side to side.  “No…no, you can’t…” “It’s already happening.” “You – I brought you here! You owe me!” “And you’re going to get what you are owed.” There was little chance that the parasite would be able to keep his host happy if he didn’t do something about that. He didn’t like the reality of the situation, didn’t want to be the slut that Sugarfrost wanted to be, but there were compromises to be made. He would allow it…and the copy would keep anyone from coming to look.  He clopped forward, pushing the other stallion back to his hooves. There was just enough of a height difference between them that he could have slipped under the other stallion, forced his ass back and taken that cock. The host wanted that. The parasite held off for just a bit longer. Just a bit longer.  “It is time for you to be infested, sir. You will join the Hive.” “You can’t take me! I’m no changeling!” “No. And neither am I.” “Then…then…” “You will understand.” The host begged for a rut, and the host would get it. Sugarfrost slid beneath the other stallion, the tentacle pulling further back into his ass, but not before leaving it slimed with the aphrodisiac that would keep the other stallion interested. He lifted his hips, offering his hole to that cock, and it throbbed as soon as it came in contact with him.  And in the background, a fresh egg cracked.  # Moonlight Thunder and Azure Breeze had ended up going through with converting the inn, and it had almost gotten them caught. Almost. The innkeeper had happened to be related on his mother’s side to a unicorn that was part of Celestia’s court, and that had almost caused an incident when the innkeeper had not shown up to a party that he was due to attend. Darkmoon Dancer had managed to smooth it over, but barely.  Thankfully, after that, they had been allowed to move to the palace, invited now that they had more of the guards on their side. It was a sideways move, though, since they were no longer allowed out of the quarters for more than a few hours of the day, not wanting to raise suspicions among the palace populace about the commoners that had come to live there.  It also meant that they were as bored as could be.  “I want…out…” “I know,” Azure said. “I do, as well.” “We haven’t done anything in too long.” “I know.” “I am not meant to be a breeder.” “I know.” They had taken to talking out loud more and more often of late, if only to give their hosts more of something to do. The less that they did, the more that they laid around in silence, the less stable their hosts felt. It was like they were losing a mind that they didn’t entirely have to begin with, but it was still concerning to the parasites inside, considering that they had been very active previously…and had taken the time to modify their hosts quite considerably for the purposes of the Hive, only to be shifted off to the side and unable to use them properly.  The big balls that Moonlight Thunder had been given, for example, were supposed to be used to break down mares and stallions alike, turning them into eager bottoms for the Hive so that they could be infested properly. He had been modified so that his body produced plenty of seed, had plenty of stamina to do that sort of thing. He had been made into a weaponized stud, and he had nobody to use it on.  As a result, he was more and more irritable, and the host body was increasingly agitated, stressed, and leaving messes everywhere. The sticky slime that oozed perpetually from the never-soft shaft was becoming an irritant, and even the pair of them were starting to notice it despite doing their best to filter it out of the information their host bodies sent them.  “When is this going to be done?” Moonlight asked.  “I don’t know.” “Is that all you can say?” “Of course not. But it’s all I know.” “Nothing.” “Just like you.” He stomped a hoof in irritation, chipping another tile. Surely, they were getting close, at least, to when he and Azure could be useful again? The guards of the palace were weakened, now, right? Which meant that they were soon going to…to… They needed to bond and merge with the other members of the Hive again. They were out of the loop, so far out of the loop because of how busy the others were. They didn’t know what they were up to, and they were going mad. “How much longer?” Moonlight grumbled again.  “Are you two actually talking?” Finally, someone else. They both turned to the door, which had opened on silent hinges to admit Darkmoon Dancer. The dark-furred stallion shut the door behind him, shaking his head. Rather than speaking again, he turned, the tendril sliding from his hole and offering them the chance of connection.  They both leaped on it. It was the only thing that would keep them sane at that point.  > Chapter 16 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- It was a download and a half from Darkmoon Dancer, and by the end of it, the two ‘common’ hosts were finally updated on everything that had been happening throughout the palace. The sheer amount of information had forced the hosts to climax three times in a row, and they stood with legs locked in a puddle of juices that had spread far enough that there would be definite questions from the servants if they were not already infested. However, they were finally in a position where they felt, if not right, then better than they had been, and far more stable than they were.  The palace had been infested, alright, infested with all kinds of plots and problems. There were those that had been against Celestia for the fact that she was handling the war poorly – in their opinion – and should be removed from power. The lack of stability in the palace was something that boded badly for the Hive, particularly if they wanted a smooth transition in power, so the plots had to be removed first. While it would mean that Celestia was in less danger and thus could be better protected in the short term, it meant that there would not be a general revolution when she was infested properly.  In addition, the Day Guard and Night Guard had been gradually infested, as well, with members of the Hive probing through their ranks to find out who were the most important officers and the ones that needed to be taken down the soonest. That, too, had been accomplished, though almost by accident.  “Can’t believe…”  It was Azure Breeze speaking, though she was more in control of herself than she had been in some time. The parasite had finally gotten the female’s urges subdued once more, though the violent pleasure of having the information passed through them certainly affected the body. The mare host took a deep breath and then tried again.  “I can’t believe that it took the captain almost catching you to discover who it was.” “In our defense, it was hard to imagine him as Luna’s chief guard,” Darkmoon Dancer said. “I would have thought that it would be someone…smaller.” “Why smaller?” “She is a sneaky one like that.” The three equines nodded. The Princess of the Moon was one to play things close to the chest like that, keeping things quiet and hiding things in plain sight. She would have had a bulky stallion to keep up the public persona of who was in charge, while a smarter, smaller one would have done the real work.  Instead, she had pulled a double-bluff, making everyone think that it would be someone smaller and smarter, but instead, she had given the job to the biggest earth pony in Canterlot.  Lancer, a stallion without a last name because he didn’t seem to need one, was a massive, gray-furred earth pony that came from somewhere far off on the borders of the kingdom. Equestria seemed to have just one of him, and that was probably for the best, considering the sheer amount of food that he went through on a daily basis. All three of the hosts had seen him at the communal dinner, watched him wolf his way through three troughs of food and then go back for part of a fourth. Nobody else, not even the most gluttonous of the blue bloods, managed to get through that much food.  But he earned it. He regularly trashed the practice yards with his sparring opponents, the earth pony kicking them to the ground and then out of the ring without any effort. Taller than all the other soldiers by a head and a half, his body was positively armored with muscle, and even Moonlight Thunder would have a hard time staying on his feet in a fight.  It was a good thing, then, that they didn’t have to fight.  “We will use Azure to keep him busy,” Darkmoon Dancer said. “She’ll take care of that. And then, when he is subdued…” “He will bring me to Luna,” Moonlight said.  “Yes. She…has a thing for larger stallions.” And with the pair of them there, it would be far easier to subdue her than it would be to just send Lancer in on his own. It would be doable, yes, but it was always better to have a back-up.  Their plans were finally ready to move forward.  # Lancer was on lunch-break, though he didn’t really think of it as a ‘break.’ It was more a pause, something that happened between the sessions of patrolling the halls, kicking some sense into the Night Guards that were coming on shift at the end of the day, and ensuring that the Day Guards didn’t get cocky. They might have run the palace during the daylight hours, but that didn’t mean that they were the best of the bunch.  Not like they deal with any security breeches. The last time that there was a daytime security problem had been during the wedding of Cadence and Shining Armor before they had gone off to another kingdom. Ever since then, all the big problems at the palace had happened at night. Some of them had tried to shift the blame for that onto Princess Luna, but the Night Guard had pushed back, pointing out all the dangers that came in the night, and all the unfortunate advantages that the Day Guard had, particularly with the fact that they could call on Celestia at any time.  He, on the other hand, had to do it himself. That was why Luna had picked up, and that was the duty that he would always fulfill.  Lancer finished his trough of greens, shaking his head and clearing it of the complaints that were always bubbling at the back. It was…yes, about an hour until sundown. That meant that he had plenty of time to do a quick pre-waking patrol through the palace, make sure that the Day Guard were doing their jobs properly and spot any little security weak points that they might have left for him and the Night Guard to deal with. There was almost always something.  As he walked down the hall, however, something caught his attention. It was a sharp, almost bitter scent, something that was at once hot and worrying. His shaft began to stir in his sheath, and he gritted his teeth as he realized what it was.  Mare? In heat? There shouldn’t be anyone going into season already… The various noble-mares were on the other side of the palace, anyway, and the few mares that served in the Guards were regularly watched for any sign of impending heat and given time off to keep it from affecting their duties. Why would there be some-pony in heat over here? The answer came shortly after he asked the question. The mare stepped out of one of the public chambers that were offered to guests at the palace, and he recognized her from one of his patrols in the night, having seen her at the window of her chambers more than once. She was a commoner that had come in from Ponyville, from the report that Darkmoon Dancer had filed on her. And… And she was… She was flaunting herself, he realized belatedly. Her tail was flicked to the side, and a sex as slippery as it was shiny was exposed. It was something that no noble-pony would have done, particularly in public, but apparently the commoners had different standards.  Who is she? The name escaped him right that moment, but he doubted that even Luna would entirely blame him for that. There were expectations of stallions, and there were understandings about them. And the understanding part would be very understanding about having one’s brain go blank when there was a pussy waved in your face.  He walked toward her, but rather than waiting, she trotted ahead, keeping her tail off to the side, save for the moments when she fanned it back and forth as if to send more of her pheromones his way. Every time that he breathed in, he got a stronger breath, a stronger scent to contend with.  It didn’t do any favors for his shaft, either. Soon, it was properly dropped, hanging under him in a way that would have been shameful in all other normal occasions. This, however, wasn’t entirely normal. Even in his growing haze, the guard could tell that this wasn’t the way that a female should behave, particularly one that –  Yes, yes, he remembered now. Her name was Azure Breeze, and she was partnered. Partnered with a male who was also in the palace.  And yet, she was looking for more pleasure elsewhere.  This… This was off. Something was wrong, and he didn’t know what it was.  However, as a stallion, he had little choice but to follow her. The instincts that were bred into his species for so long demanded that he get some of that pussy on offer, and he groaned under his breath as he followed her through the hallways. Every time that she flicked her tail, every time that he breathed in her heated scent, he felt his doubts disappear that little bit more.  It didn’t help that she was flaunting her ass as much as her sex. Even Luna didn’t let him have that hole very often. He groaned, following her around the corner –  And then found himself almost walking into her ass.  “Mmph!” He had a brief taste of something – her juices, he imagined with a blast of shame and embarrassment – before he pulled back. It still burned through his system, leaving him panting and gasping as he felt his cock throb right up against his belly. His eyes were wide, his face burning with lust and need, but he managed to clear his throat as the female turned to face him properly.  “Oh, hello there. Were you following me?” she asked, her voice soft and low, flirtatious and needy. If his cock hadn’t already been hard, it would have been after hearing that.  “I was on patrol, ma’am.” “Is that all?” “I’m…on-duty, ma’am.” “Aren’t you part of the Night Guard?” “…How did you know that, ma’am?” He wasn’t wearing his official uniform yet, after all, and that should have been the only giveaway. Particularly since he didn’t patrol the grounds in that. It was only worn when he was giving a speech in the barracks, or when he was working on an official task that needed the head of the Night Guard around. This was… He breathed in again, and that scent…that thick scent hit him hard. He groaned, his cock throbbing against his belly again, flare starting to form as the female started circling him for a change.  “Oh, don’t worry. I like to know what males are around.” “Ma’am…” “You look so dashing.” “I…thank you, ma’am.” “I think that you’d be a great father.” “…Ma’am, I…I…” “Don’t worry. You don’t have to stick around.” She bumped him with her hip, coming around his backside, and he gasped as she tongued his balls. Not even taking a moment to sniff them first, but just dragging her tongue along his sac from behind. He almost jumped out of his skin, and if it wasn’t for the fact that it would draw more attention to them from down the hall, he would have. She was doing this almost in public; the only thing saving them from an audience was that the guest quarters were almost abandoned these days, and that the servants had done their jobs and gone home.  Ho-holy Celestia… But it felt good. So very good. He had gone without much in the way of attention back there save for the rutting that Luna wanted for a long time. The princess didn’t put her tongue to work the way that this female did. Azure seemed to be more than willing to get at his balls, to lick them, lap at them, show them attention.  He groaned, his cock getting stiffer still, the medial ring down the middle filling out and feeling fat and tight, almost like a cock ring around his shaft. He stomped his back hoof, groaning and huffing.  “You…mmmph…” “You like that, big boy?” “Mmmph…do you…ah…do you do that for…your husband?” “I do lots of things for my males…” “M-males?” “I have permission to wander…” And wander she did, dragging her tongue up from his cock and balls all the way to his asshole. His eyes went wide as he felt it there, dragging across his pucker, almost sinking into him without warning. His own tongue slipped free of his mouth as he realized what a naughty, depraved female he had back there.  Oh, fucking Celestia… It was a heavenly feeling to have something licking, lapping, teasing along his pucker, giving him some attention that no male could ever turn down. Each lick was another tease, another reminder of just how much she wanted him, and his cock was oozing pre-cum over the tiled floor in short order.  He was going to breed her. He didn’t care that she was partnered, didn’t care that she had a husband. He could take that asshole if he tried to make a thing about it. Whatever else happened, Lancer was going to breed this mare, and hard.  She sucked on his pucker one last time, then popped her head free, looking at him with a smoky, sultry smile as she walked around him again. Her tail flicked down, touching her sex before coming up and brushing his face. His thoughts, what few were still in his head, scrambled right then and there, leaving him completely blank save for the desire to ram his cock into her and use her. Hard.  He lunged forward as soon as she flagged her tail to the side, ramming his cock inside. She was not so used to him as Luna was, so he expected a gasp as he rammed in. Instead, there was silence. No reaction, only the mare going stock-still under him, almost as if she was frozen.  She wasn’t, of course, as her pussy was hotter than anything that he had felt in all too long. He rammed forward, his eyes rolling back in their sockets, like his brain had gone all the way down to his balls and refused to leave them. In, out, in, out, each thrust breaking his mind down that much more. He could feel it, his orgasm already welling up from inside of him. It was so…so good… More than that, his cock felt so hot. It was like her juices were doing something to him, soaking through his cock, mixing with it, and he felt almost like he could melt into a puddle right then and there, a puddle of happy horse goo that would just lay there cumming his brains out all night long. His hips were still pounding forward, his balls swaying and churning away, but any thought that might have crossed his mind, any worry as to how easy this was and what she was allowing him to do in public, was all but gone.  No thoughts.  No worries.  Nothing but need and lust.  In, out, in, out, his cock slamming away in her, leaving him drenched in her juices from the head of his cock all the way to his base, and along his balls, too. There was something about that, something that made him…that made him hot… But no, no thought. Just horny.  Just needy.  Just humping.  Breeding and thrusting, thrusting and breeding. She was going to carry his seed. She was going to carry his foals.  In and out, in and out he went, each time bottoming out inside of her before pulling back. His balls were churning away like mad, and he could feel her clenching down on him. It was the only movement she made. Despite the size difference, despite everything, she didn’t rock the way that his other partners did. No, she just stood there and took it like a breeding post, never bothering to shift position, never giving in to his thrusts.  She loved it, she was wet enough, but –  Clench.  Something inside clenched hard around his cock, trapping it inside just as he was starting to pull out. Her juices squished and squirted around him. Was she cumming? Lancer fooled himself into thinking she was, and the ego trip was enough to get him to do the same.  “Nnnnngh!” He thrust forward what little she allowed, cumming hard. The feeling of his seed shooting through his cock was somehow magnified, as if he could feel every spurt that was going through him. It was like every inch of his cock was hyper-sensitive, needy, wanting. The sheer pleasure that came from using her like this… Fuck… Fuck… The orgasm felt like it went on and on, like his balls were being utterly drained, her velvety walls pulling everything that he had to offer from him. That little bit more, and then that little bit more, and then… Then… She slid forward, his flared cock popping out of her with a squelching sound. She didn’t seem bothered by it, and she pulled forward enough that he could see her gaping, stretched…and then, supernaturally closing.  What…what… Something was wrong. A female shouldn’t close up that quickly after he had rutted them. Not even Luna, with all her power, closed up that quickly after one of their romps. Something was wrong. Something was very, very –  “You did good back there…I didn’t think that you’d finish.” Her voice had changed. Flat now, very flat, and no longer so flirty. She was oozing his seed, and she should have been shaking like a leaf from how hard he’d fucked her. What was going on? And why… Why couldn’t he move? His legs didn’t want to move, and the moment that he tried to bend them, he almost collapsed. His body felt like jelly, his breath coming in shaky gasps from the bottom of his lungs. His eyes fluttered, and his cock…his cock was still rock hard despite having just fucked the living daylights out of her and having had the best orgasm of his life. What…what had she… The smell. There was something just a little off about it compared to what a mare’s heat should have smelled like. Something a bit bitter, something a little… No… His eyes widened as she lifted her tail further, showing off her pucker. This time, as it clenched, some sort of blue ooze started coming from it, squelching out of her before it was followed by an egg, of all things. She held out a hind hoof for it, catching it as it spread her pucker wide and fell. She lowered it to the ground, nudging it with her hoof again.  “What…what are you?” he managed to ask.  “Hive. I am part of the Hive. And soon, you will be, too.” Changeling? No, changelings didn’t act like this. They didn’t go around trying to get bred. She wanted to convert him, not just break him. That meant… That meant that there was a different sort of Hive out there, a different kind of creature that was looking to take over. They had been so focused on one threat that they had completely missed this other one.  Darkmoon’s part of them, he realized. He wouldn’t have missed them, screening them. That means that he’s one of them… And that meant that, once Lancer was taken, there’d be nothing between them and the Princess of the Moon. There’d be no-one to stop the parasites from reaching Luna. And once that happened… He struggled to think. His head was heating up again, his cock throbbing and taking his attention as the mare leaned down and kissed the head. The egg was out of sight, but he knew that it was somewhere between his hind legs from the sound of a shell cracking. Something was hatching, getting ready to come for him, getting ready to take him.  No…no… Despite his protests, the sound of the hatching egg only got louder and louder, and soon, the crackle of shell pieces falling to the ground was all he could hear. He groaned as he felt the shells flicking against his legs, and then –  “Nnngh…” Something pinched the hair of his tail. It was pulling on him as it climbed. He wished he could see, but he couldn’t even move, too weak, too limp in all places save for his cock. The juices of the female must have been drugged, somehow, or she had been changed to make her that way. He didn’t know.  All he knew was that something wet and slimy was making its way up his tail, and then along his rump. It gripped his hole, pinching it gently, and it oozed against him. The same hot feeling that her juices had given his cock was already spreading through his pucker, and he realized that the parasites were what gave them that change.  No… He tried to think of something, some brilliant move, something he could have done to get rid of the stupid thing. Yet, there was nothing. No thought occurred, and no combat maneuver was executed. He just stood there like some breeding stud as the parasite’s harder, slimy head pressed against his hole…and then slid in. Lancer had always been a stallion’s stallion, someone that had never bent over or lifted his tail for something to go in back there. This was…this was something entirely new, entirely different for him, and he didn’t know how to feel about the sensation of his hole spreading. His body told him that it felt good, and his cock bounced up and down at the feeling of something sliding into him, but –  “Nnngh…” It was rather pathetic as last words went, but the ‘nnngh’ sound he made just came without warning and without intention. He gasped for breath as the creature pushed in further and further, a slimy noodle of a tail flicking against the sides of his hole as it went deeper and deeper. Whatever it was, it clenched around the most sensitive parts of him, wrapping around it and –  “Ah…ah…” His breath came faster, catching in his throat as the parasite found a really sensitive part of him and seemed to hook into it. It clenched, squeezed, sending lightning bolts of pleasure all the way through his cock. It somehow seemed to find more cum from his balls, became he came again, right there, right then.  Move…move… He strained to move something, anything, just a hoof. Something that would make him fall, that would make noise, to let someone know that there was something going on.  But he couldn’t. Even as he tried to lift his front hoof, his muscles tensed, locking down and keeping him from doing anything. He tried to lift his hind legs, but no, that was impossible, too. He opened his mouth, and his throat locked up. It was always happening a split-second ahead of everything that he did, too, almost like the creature was reading his mind before it could happen.  Then… Then it came.  Spasms of pleasure rose from his ass, spreading up his spine, and then down along the rest of his body. It started in the places that always felt good during sex, but then spread to places that had never been sexual before. One shot after another, one blast of bliss transitioning into another. Blast, zap, blast, zap.  He moaned as he came again, and then again, his balls pulling up tighter and tighter behind him. What thoughts he had were burning out, one by one, and he shivered as he fell into that maelstrom of pleasure, unable to fight his way back out…and not entirely wanting to, either.  Slowly, he slipped away, and the mind of Lancer, the guard of Princess Luna, began to change. The blasts of pleasure, the conditioning need, flooded over him. All the rewards that Luna had ever given him seemed so insufficient compared to this. This was what…this was what a guard deserved, what they should be getting at all times.  He should… He should feel this.  He should want this.  He should want her to give him this…but she didn’t. So he should serve the one that did.  The parasite.  The Hive.  These were the bits and pieces of information that came to him as he stood there, as he was filled to the brim with all the bliss that the parasite could give him, as his prostate was massaged, and as his flared cock bounced off his muscular stomach and chest again and again, showering the floor with his cum.  In a matter of minutes, it was done. He stood stock still for another few seconds, then felt the parasite taking control properly, moving his forelegs. One, then the other. He shook his head, feeling the parasite testing his body and feeling a sense of satisfaction from it. There was…there was goodness here.  He was good.  His body was right.  The parasite turned him to face Azure Breeze, and nodded.  “This one will work.” “Is he ready?” “He is very ready. His mind is as needy as his body.” “Perfect.” The mare nodded without the smile that a living being might have had with that statement. Neither of them had much in the way of expressions; without other uninfested around, facial expressions were mere annoyances. “Is there information to share?” The parasite within him seemed to check, and then shook his head.  “Everything is as Darkmoon suggested. He’s a good guard, though not as brilliant as he thinks he is. He does have access to Luna, and has an appointment with her near the midnight hour. We can carry out the plan, then.” The plan? Lancer wondered. The information came through their link, and Lancer was made aware of the Hive’s goals. They were to take down Luna, and then move on to Celestia. They were going to use him, to have her rut Luna hard, and… And he would do it with a partner.  He realized that there was a chance that he was going to have to share a hole that he had all but owned until this point, but rather than feeling shame, he felt…exhilaration. There was something that he could offer the Hive, something that he could do for them, and they would give him the reward of pleasure once more.  Before he could ask about the other stallion that would be involved, he heard the sound of clip-clops coming down the hall. The parasite in him cocked his head at the mare. She didn’t run, so he believed that he was safe.  He was right.  # Moonlight Thunder walked around the corner, his head lifted high as he approached the newly-converted guard. The stallion was huge, and Lancer had a cock that gave him every right to be called that. But… I am bigger. Moonlight Thunder smiled, slowly turning to the side as he rounded the corner, letting the taller stallion get a look at his cock and balls. Even post-conversion, the guard stared, his eyes going slightly wider at the sight of what the stud was packing.  The parasite had continued converting his cock, and he was fairly sure that he could actually deliver an egg with the size of his package these days. His urethra had been stretched, allowing him to pass smaller eggs through it if he had to – though he hadn’t tested it, and it was only a guess that it was what his body had become. His balls hung low, thick and heavy with sperm, and he knew that even a whiff of that would be enough to put a mare into season, or to turn a questioning male into an all-out cock-slut.  He was the first stud converted, and it showed in how they had warped him further, further, further, ensuring that his shaft was a weapon of conversion, and finally, he would be able to use it again.  They didn’t have to think or plan it. The two stallions fell in step with each other, marching down the corridor. Their parasites had to take action to pull their cocks back into their sheaths, hiding their needs, but their puckers continued to twitch under their tails.  There was no need to talk, either. They both knew what the Hive’s plan was. They merely needed to wait for the moment when Lancer was called to service the princess, and then Moonlight Thunder would follow along. Due to the way that Lancer was always called to her privately, and no guards would be there to question him, it would be simplicity itself for someone else to follow along.  As they walked along, another pony joined them, a shimmering Night Guard. A changeling, of course, one to imitate Lancer later when they were busy, someone that would be able to order all the other Night Guards away if they came to check what was going on. The plan was all but foolproof.  Tonight is the beginning of the end of free ponies… Even though he had been a host for months now, Moonlight Thunder knew that there was still something odd in the way that he thought that. Anyone else, any other conspiracy, would have been gloating over the possibility of taking over to that extent. They would have been laughing, celebrating, grinning giddily and having all kinds of debauched orgies to enjoy the soon-to-come victory.  The Hive didn’t do that. The Hive didn’t feel on that level. They were not that sort of creature, not that sort of debauched thing. They wanted to spread, wanted to take, wanted to have hosts. And that…that was what they were going to do. They were going to take over, and while the host might be given pleasurable reward to ‘celebrate’, they would not linger. They would keep going.  That was the inevitable truth of the Hive. They would not, could not stop, and they had no emotions attached to it. Nothing to celebrate, nothing to feel guilty about. Even those that had been slightly changed by the host that they were attached to only felt some of what the host did, and only then to know how to work with them better.  There will be no overthrowing the Hive. There will be no mistakes. There will be no missteps. They will take over…and it will be better. It was little more than a statement of fact, and that statement would become true in…well, very short time indeed. Luna…Celestia…and then all of Equestria would be helpless before them and the changelings.  A dream would very shortly become reality.  > Chapter 17 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Moonlight Thunder and Lancer, the two largest stallions in the Canterlot palace, walked together in tandem. Their hooves moved together at the same speed and cadence, neither faltering nor speeding up. Anyone that happened to watch them from outside would have suffered the feeling of something off, something strange, simply from that moment. It was stiff, though not so stiff as to imply something wrong, and too uniform, even when one of them happened to be part of the Night Guard. It was just…not quite right, not entirely real, and yet it was.  Of course, that was all due to the parasites. They were so close now, so in sync with one another, that they simply moved together. The nature of the parasites within them, the nature of the Hive, meant that they were simply able to tune into each other without thinking, without speaking, without even trying to. In fact, it took conscious effort on both their parts to de-sync when others turned to look at them.  Not that there were many that did during the late hours of the morning. The sun was soon to rise, and when it did, Luna would call Lancer to her side for one last romp before she took her sleep. Then, when she was tired from her long night, when she was drained from her time with the large stallion, Moonlight Thunder would strike. And not merely with his shaft, this time.  They did not have to look at the saddlebags that he carried over his back. They both knew what was there. The parasites had confirmed it with the drone that had packed it earlier that day, the information transferred through the parasite tails as images that they could see with ease. A memory transferred with the same ease as a simple spoken word, and yet, far clearer. They knew what was in the pack as if they had packed it themselves.  A few cordials of concentrated Hive-stallion juices.  A bottle of berry-wine.  A few snacks that were ‘altered’ by the bakers to be highly corruptive.  And rope. Lots and lots of rope.  After all, they were preparing to take down one of the Princesses, and that meant putting out extra effort to ensure that it all went well. They were the most powerful horses in the entire realm, able to take down greater powers than any mere parasite if they were focused. Their minds would be like fortresses if they didn’t put out every effort to weaken them first.  But they could be taken down. They were sure of it. This was the beginning of the end for Equestria.  Lancer waited in the hallway just a few paces away from Luna’s door, while Moonlight Thunder continued further down the hall of the palace. He walked around the corner, only to find himself staring at…himself. He nodded, and the Changeling behind the guise shimmered as it went down.  “Everything’s ready?” the Changeling asked.  “Yes…all is prepared.” “Heh…I never thought that you’d be this brazen.” “It is the will of the Hive. All must be brought under our influence and guidance.” “Except the Changelings, of course.” “…Of course,” the host said.  They shared a gaze for a moment, both of them knowing that it was only a matter of time before one or the other stabbed their partner in the back. It was the nature of things. The Changelings wanted to survive, needed more than they were being offered, and the Hive could not trust that they would not be backstabbed in turn. The nature of the beast, of any parasite, was that there could only be one dominant strain, one dominant species that had all the hosts that they wanted. Having to share was a temporary agreement at best, and this agreement was already fraying.  The Changeling merely smiled, however, and bowed his head, shimmering into a copy of Lancer.  “The plan will be carried out.” “Yes…see to it,” the host said.  The Changeling turned around, walking back down the hall. It would serve as the best way of keeping the Night Guard from seeing what was about to happen. Having their commander waiting for them, telling them to keep away for now, would be the perfect dodge while the real Lancer – and him – worked the Princess of the Moon over. No reinforcements would come for her, and the real Lancer would never be suspected of infecting her. He would be blameless, able to continue acting if something went wrong.  Not that it should.  Moonlight Thunder walked back to the edge of the short hallway going off from the main one, standing on the other side of the intersection as Lancer. He ‘hid’ himself behind a curtain, though it barely worked. He had grown, and he did not take cover as easily as he used to. He barely fit behind the curtain, and even that was a stretch, as his tail and his balls pushed out slightly behind it, and his shaft – already rising at the instructions of the parasite within him – was dropping from his sheath, hanging lower and lower in anticipation of what he’d be asked to do.  They waited…and waited…and waited. Neither of them showed any sign of impatience, and nor did the parasites within them. They were not subject to the same feelings, the same concerns as their hosts; the parasites came from a state of mind that barely acknowledged time. All that mattered was that they were in place, waiting like a spider sitting in the back of its web for the right moment.  And the moment finally came. The door leading to Luna’s chamber opened, and a younger pony exited the room. He pranced down the corridor, turned to Lancer, and gave a quick nod. The shared information that the Hive had from Lancer meant that the young pony was familiar: a page of the Princess, someone that she sent with idle messages, and then sent down to a bar to get drunk, to knock the memory of what he did out of his head.  Whatever he did remember, it wouldn’t matter. Lancer’s memories had been clear on that, and Moonlight Thunder’s parasite had the same memories now. They were safe. They were in the clear.  As the young pony pranced off, Lancer made his way to the open door, and Moonlight Thunder followed. He hooked the door with a front hoof as the other stallion stepped inside, listening quietly.  “Ah, my captain. You come at your mistress’s call.” “Yes…I do.” “So stiff tonight. Have you dealt with trouble?” “Some, your highness,” Lancer said, his voice clearing, becoming just a hair less professional as the parasite within adjusted itself. “But nothing that you need to be concerned about.” “Good…I knew I could trust you to handle things.” “May I approach?” “Of course…but shut the door. We do not wish our royal voice to carry.” “Then let me ask something else, first. Your highness, may I offer further company?” Both hosts would have been nervous in other times, but with the control of the parasites, they were merely patient. The possibility of consequences was there, of course, but they were minimal, particularly with Lancer doing the questioning and asking permission. He was trusted, and they knew from his memories that he would never bring something up with her that he wasn’t completely sure of. It lent him credence to ask for something that they normally would not.  Of course, the original plan hadn’t been to ask at all, but rather for Moonlight Thunder to sneak in and become part of the fun partway through, poisoning the wine and the food as he went. However, once she had demanded that the door be shut, they’d needed to go with the secondary plan of inviting him in.  And it worked.  “Let me see your…friend.” “Come in,” Lancer called, and the other host stepped inside.  He posed as he stepped through the door, deliberately tensing his muscles, showing off every inch of his stallion power. There was much to show off, of course, as he was quite the farm pony, someone that had built up his body through long hours of work and intense devotion to his craft well before the parasite had taken him. Since then, he had grown stronger, more masculine, and the host’s shaft hung lower than ever.  He posed particularly to show that off, turning slightly to allow the dropping, dropping, dropping shaft to be on display from the side. He did not miss the glance that she gave him, nor did the parasite misunderstand the hunger that she had in her eyes.  For all her presence of the night, Luna was still a mare, and a mare with needs.  “You have…found quite a friend,” Luna said, the dark-blue mare smiling as she walked up to him. Despite her height, he still stood level with the alicorn. “You are…from far away, I can tell.” “Yes. Far off.” “And you come here…” “I was invited.” “Ah. Then I must thank who invited you. They found…quite the treasure.” She looked him up and down. Once, the host might have been flattered at the attention, but he had been a host for so long that there was little of that left behind. What was left understood what those glances meant, and what it would offer for the parasite within. They were close, now, very close.  “You will accompany us to the bed,” Luna said abruptly, turning away. Her tail flicked to the side, the princess showing off her sex and her other hole, as if her meaning could be in doubt. “Come.” “I have…refreshment,” Moonlight Thunder said.  “You may bring it. But to bed.” This…was not part of Lancer’s memories. The two hosts turned to one another simultaneously, the parasites briefly conferring, or attempting to without making contact. This was atypical, but it was, at the same time, an opportunity. If she wanted both of them at once, then they might be able to tire her out without using the various poisons and fluids that they had brought along.  Perhaps… They decided without words to go along with it. They followed, Lancer’s shaft dropping just as Moonlight’s already had. They had a job to do, as studs for the Princess of the Moon.  # Three hours later, Moonlight Thunder dragged himself from the bed, excusing himself for a rest that he did not need. Luna rolled off him, dragging herself onto Lancer, impaling herself on his shaft and slamming her rump down on it. He groaned, as even the supernatural stamina of the parasites had limits, and Luna was rapidly pressing them to find them.  They had not expected someone to be this ravenous for sex, for them to be this hungry, desperate, and horny for it that they would keep going three hours into the night. Even the various fluids that they had expelled in her, tainted as they were, had barely slowed her down. The magic might have stopped – they had both been manhandled with ease, at the start, as she positioned them with her magic – but that was scarce comfort when she showed no signs of slowing down.  She was no simple mare. They needed the help that the rest of their gear would provide.  As Lancer groaned, the host driven to vocalize despite everything that the parasite was doing to keep things under control, Moonlight Thunder opened the pack that he had left on the ground. He pulled out the bottle of berry-wine, popping the cork with his teeth. The vials came next, each one poured right down into the bottle. Concentrated and stronger than the various fluids that they’d been expelling into her pussy and ass, he could only hope that the combination with the wine would be sufficient to actually bring her down. Nothing else seemed to be working.  Shaking the bottle up quietly, he pulled out the treats. Little baked goods, nibbles rather than proper meals, they were meant to entice the eater to be more randy, less inhibited, but at this point, he only hoped that he could get her to eat them and then slam down the bottle of wine all at once. That might be their only chance.  “Your highness,” the host said.  “Nnngh…mmm…yes? We are – ah – listening?” Luna panted.  “I have…refreshments.” “Bring them here.” He waddled over, his balls feeling half-drained for the first time in months. His head spun, his body ached from the hard fuck. He could only hope that they were slowly getting close to the end, and he hoped against hope that Celestia would be easier than this. If she was as difficult as her sister, then there was no way in all of Equestria that they were bringing her down without an army.  Thankfully, Luna was hungry enough that she demolished the various treats without question, and thirsty enough that she floated the bottle of berry-wine to her lips and started chugging it, almost more like a country-pony than a royal princess. They watched, hoping, praying that it would have an effect… And it did.  She slumped forward, losing her balance as she fell forward. Her pussy slipped right off Lancer’s shaft, popping it free, and the soldier host groaned. Even as controlled by the parasite as it was, the host was still exhausted from the rough studding that he had been required to offer.  Luna was giggling, rolling her head side to side as she laid on her stomach. Her ass and tail were up, and it was their only chance.  “Get the wire,” Moonlight Thunder muttered.  Wordlessly, Lancer rolled off the bed, trotting to the bag, while Moonlight Thunder moved behind the princess. He reached around behind him, behind his balls, all while Luna giggled drunkenly.  “Hee hee…oh, pretty balls…pretty studs…you stallions…you’re gonna do more than that…better have more for me…hee hee…” The parasite inside him was not entirely pleased with the situation, but considering the way that the night had gone, it was better than some of the other possibilities that they could think of. Luna might have fucked them both dry without ever stopping, and they would have been discovered if she’d maintained her stamina and checked the bag without them being able to take advantage of her. They would have been found out, and it would have been very hard to keep the whole conspiracy from being uprooted at that point.  Instead, they had the princess drunk, and while that wasn’t the best situation for a new parasite to join someone’s body, it was better than not getting a new body at all.  His hole opened up, and the familiar passage of parasite egg to hoof began. The host would have groaned if his mouth wasn’t clenched shut, and the passage of something sliding down his inner walls was as odd and interesting as it always was. The feeling of something sliding over his prostate reminded him of the other pleasures that came when he wasn’t a breeder, wasn’t a stud, and Moonlight Thunder’s shaft twitched slightly.  Only slightly, however. Now that they were focused on the task at hand, there was no need to think with his cock. There was only the need to obey, to get the task at hand done.  The egg fell out shortly after, landing in his hoof, and he held it out, the shimmering shell just a few inches from the princess’s rump. Lancer had already returned with the wire, pulling it tight around her hind legs and around her forelegs, too, ensuring that she wouldn’t be able to just get up and fight if she realized what was happening.  They had to be ready. If she fought, they’d have one chance, and they’d have to move fast.  The egg hatched in seconds, the shells falling soundlessly to the sheets. As Luna kept giggling up a storm, sipping on the last of the wine bottle, the crab-pincers on the parasite’s front grabbed the lips of her asshole. It was already well-stretched from getting fucked for the last three hours, so there was no difficulty in the parasite pushing forward and sliding past her rim. The way that she giggled and laughed, rolling her head from side to side as she started to sing off-key, it was almost like she didn’t even notice.  The two hosts looked at each other as the parasite continued to slither forward, shaking their heads. They had never, ever had to deal with someone as powerful and focused as this, and they honestly weren’t sure what was going to happen next. If this wasn’t enough… Well, they weren’t sure what would be. It was only possible to have one parasite per person, and they were really pushing their luck at times with just how fast they introduced them. If this wasn’t enough, they’d be faced with the possibility that there were those that had a strong enough will to hold the Hive back, and that was a terrifying thought.  They waited… And waited… And waited… Finally, the parasite was fully inside of the princess. She giggled and hiccupped once more from the drink, then went quiet. For the first time all night, she was completely, totally quiet.  The hosts were concerned, almost wondering if something worse had gone wrong, as if she might have gone braindead or that her heart had stopped. The parasites just waited, keeping their hosts calm.  Rather than the stiffening and then going still that they were used to seeing from other hosts, it seemed like Luna just completely went limp. The mare’s body sagged off to the side, and rather than going stiff and shivering, she flicked, twitched, and even wiggled. Everything seemed to go completely…off.  And at the height of all the ‘relaxation’ that she was going through, she lost control of her bladder.  Both of the stallions were surprised at that, and their host, as well. That had never happened, and it made them all rather concerned, particularly as the spray continued. Bit by bit, it increased, staining the sheets. Neither host was offended by it, just slightly curious and confused at the process.  Eventually, it came to an end, and the princess raised her head. She slowly extended her forelegs, looking down at the wire wrapped around it. She lifted her head, then looked down, then looked up again.  “I am safe. You may remove this.” “You are Hive?” Lancer asked.  “I am Hive.” “You swear?” Moonlight Thunder asked.  “You doubt me?” “You are…her. There’s the possibility that she might be lying to us.” “This is…understandable. She is strong. Powerful. She…pushes.” “What do we do?” “…Rut her.” # Two hours later, the princess parasite called a halt to the fucking, saying that it had control. The relief for the two stallions was all but palpable. The exhaustion was being passed on to the parasites within them, and despite all their efforts, it was not easy to keep up with that sort of vigorous activity for hours upon hours upon hours.  But it was worth it. The wires were undone, and the host-body stood up. The alicorn spread her wings, tilted her head one way, then the other. She extended her forelegs, then the hind-legs, testing them, shifting from side to side.  “This body is…tall.” “Taller than most mares,” Lancer admitted.  “It will take some getting used to.” “Yes. Does she have information?” Moonlight Charger asked.  “Yes…very much.” “Share with us.” They all turned, rump to rump, and their parasite tails dropped. The princess shifted slightly for a moment, but only for a moment, as the parasite took back control. The other two hosts were concerned, and so were the parasites within them. This was the first time that there had been so much resistance, and while it was certainly possible to quash it, it didn’t bode well for what the Princess of the Sun might be able to muster against them.  Then they made contact, and the electrifying feeling of pleasure rushing through their bodies stiffened all three hosts where they stood. The two males dripped pre-cum through their drooping shafts, and the princess began to ooze where she stood, her back legs getting slick and shiny along the thighs.  Nobody spoke during the transfer of information, nobody daring, and nobody wanting to. There was no need. Just stare straight ahead, just take the pleasure of the transfer as the hosts were rewarded for giving the parasites what they needed.  It was familiar for the two males. The princess, however, occasionally twitched and even spasmed as she went through the treatment. Once, a gasp even managed to break through her lips, something that no other host had managed. She could not move, but those small signs were strange, different… Until the moment that it broke her.  The Princess of the Moon let out a moan that was choked through her teeth, her juices flowing freely down her legs as the pleasure finally got to her. Something about the direct transfer of information and pleasure broke her, sending her over the deep end as she climaxed from it. She went slack, save for the control of the parasite, and the resistance finally seemed at an end.  A few moments later, the hosts were able to step away from each other, the tails of the parasites slithering back into their holes. They shivered slightly, slowly coming back to the moment as they turned to look at one another.  The transfer of information left the parasites in the males…rather well-informed, and in more ways than they expected. Not only was this something that was rather common for Luna, but Lancer wasn’t her only partner. Not by a long shot. Nor was this the only way that Luna worked out her stress. If anything, this was the mildest way that she did it, and more often than not – “Celestia is worse,” Moonlight Thunder whispered. “She’s worse.” “Far worse,” Luna said. “And much more…eager.” “…I do not know if the host can take it,” Lancer said.  “It will have to. We will have to.” Without Celestia, the plan to take over the kingdom was dead. She was too powerful, too dangerous to be allowed to stay without an infestation. Even if she did present dangers and difficulties to actually take down, they still had to find a way. If they didn’t… Well, they had Luna now, but that was nothing compared to the Princess of the Sun. The Hive had assumed that the sisters were at least close to one another in power. They were most definitely not.  Not even slightly.  The hosts looked down, all of them being put to use thinking, processing the problem before them. The parasites added their own thoughts and priorities, guiding their hosts to think of some sort of solution to the problem now that they all had the same information. Celestia and Luna both attended an orgy every two weeks, a way for the two Princesses that ruled the land to blow off steam and enjoy the different males and females around them for a time. It was only allowed to those of a certain rank of nobility and the guests that they chose, though that wouldn’t be as difficult as it sounded. The Hive had already infiltrated much of the upper ranks, though it wouldn’t hurt to find more of them, just so that they could get more of their numbers there for the next orgy.  But the idea of dealing with someone as rampant and needy as Luna, and worse… “There…may be a way,” Luna said.  “What?” Moonlight Thunder asked.  “Unlike me, she is more…fastidious. She will want to be cleaned out again and again. We may be able to make that work.” “Cleaned out?” “She will have others eat her out, clean the mess of the previous partner out with their tongues, and sometimes with actual sprays,” Luna said. “If we replace the sprays with fluid, over time…” “It didn’t work with you.” “We can feed her, too, and perhaps find other ways of introducing the corruption to her. And do it all night long. With more stallions.” It was a rough idea, but it was better than nothing. And at least with Celestia, they’d have an excuse of what they were doing, rather than just trying to pull one out of their collective asses. They’d have a reason to be stuffing her full and pretending to clean her out while only adding more of the corruptive, mind-altering slime.  But even with that possibility, there was no real optimism between the hosts of being able to take her down. Their effort to bring Luna to their side in private had been enough to show that there were those that were genuinely too strong-willed to be brought down the same as normal ponies. The fact that Moonlight Thunder, the stud himself, had been forced to rely on the other tools that they’d brought, was proof enough of that. They were going to have to take Celestia hard right from the start, and in front of witnesses. Witnesses that would be at least partially on their side, yes, but they were going to have to do it all at once.  None of them liked that. The parasites were meant to do this secretly, quietly, taking over bit by bit rather than all at once. They were powerful, and they were good at what they did, but there were limits even to their capabilities. If they pushed too far, too fast… Well, they were going to be doomed.  But now they had Luna, and that meant that there was no turning back. Now that they had the Princess of the Moon, it would be impossible to hide her condition for long. They could have a Changeling impersonate her for a time, but…well, they were still pushing their luck. The moment that Celestia wanted a meeting with her sister, she, at least, would notice that something was off.  But they had to try. One way or another, they had to try.  “Lancer, stay.” Luna nodded at her guard. “And you…you go.” Moonlight Thunder nodded. The normal way of things. Lancer stayed overnight, and anyone that might be watching that they weren’t aware of should be thinking that things were going as close to normal as possible. Best that he not stick around when he wasn’t a normal companion for the princess, anyway. He stepped away from the bed, picked up the saddlebag, and left. No need to nod; that was normal behavior, and they were no longer anything like normal ponies.  He left the chambers, making his way down the corridor, and the host felt like something had shifted. There was…something different to the parasite now, something that would probably rock the rest of the Hive when they made contact again. The fact that there was a possibility for a host to resist them, even partially, meant that any further infestation would have to be approached with care and caution. Even if it was limited only to the most powerful ponies, that was still something that they needed to be aware of.  Until Celestia was caught, until Canterlot was fully subdued, they couldn’t afford to be outed. They needed to take everyone…or at least, most everyone…and then… Then… Then they would be safe. Then the Hive would grow. Then the world would be theirs, and the freedom that the ponies had enjoyed until that point would be ended. It would be the Hive’s will, and that was all that they would ever need.  And so, down the corridors of the palace he trotted, thinking of what was coming next. The orgy wasn’t for…ten days, so they had ten days in which to spread their influence through the palace, ensure that they had all the different stallions and mares under the Hive’s control as they could get, and move on from there.  Moonlight Thunder knew that all the planning was being done by the parasite inside him, that it was trying to convince itself that the confidence-shattering event of Luna’s near impossible breaking hadn’t actually happened, but the host knew the truth, even if the parasite didn’t. However, he was not a disobedient host. He didn’t have plans of how to use that to break free, or use that to start building a resistance.  No, he was a good host, a broken host, one that knew his place and knew that there was no point or purpose fighting against the control of the Hive. They were there, and they were going to stay. It was better to serve them and find a way to make things easier, rather than to put himself in their way.  The host was rewarded with a blast of pleasure for his thoughts, sufficient to make his tip flare from his sheath for a moment before pulling back in. It was hardly the sort of pleasure that would make someone lose their minds, but the host still appreciated it.  # Luna remained in her chambers, staring at the window while Lancer rested on her bed. Or rather, as the host Lancer rested on her bed, and the parasite within him.  Luna herself was…conflicted.  She stared out at the night sky fading to morning, knowing her sister had already left the palace and had begun the process of bringing the day to the world below, but her thoughts were on the thing inside of her. The parasite, the Hive, the pleasure that they offered, and the control that they were exerting over her and those that she knew. More people than she expected upon the infestation.  She could feel the parasite’s frustration, the way that it was constantly trying to exert more power over her. She wasn’t trying to hold it back, not much, but there was some part of her that it still struggled to completely control. Luna looked out at the heavens, at the star-lit sky, and she slowly shook her head.  The parasite didn’t make her. She just did. She knew that it would be a slow fall into being fully controlled by the parasite, by the Hive. There was no avoiding that; the pleasure that came during their theft of her memories was enough to convince her of that, considering that she’d lost all control of her body after that. The only reason she had the ability to move her head now was because the parasite was testing her, seeing what she would do if she was allowed some small bits of freedom.  Not that she was trying much. The only bit of her freedom that she took advantage of was moving her head, looking around her own room, and seeing what it felt like to have that bit free when the rest of her was not. She’d felt it from the first moment that the parasite had purged her bladder, forcing her to push out all the contaminants in her body at once. It had been…oddly forceful, and something that she didn’t know how to feel about, but it was done without any concern for her feelings.  Not that she had many of those left, either.  Luna looked out at the sky again. The end of Equestria was coming, and she was just…dead to it, in many ways. She didn’t hate it, but she wasn’t sure that she welcomed it, either.  Another shiver of pleasure ran down her spine. Perhaps, she thought, if she received more of those, she might consider it.  > Chapter 18 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ten days until the next orgy turned to five in short order, though few enough in Canterlot would know about the passing of the days or what they meant. To the average pony under lockdown against the Changeling threat, one day was much the same as another. They remained in their houses until they were allowed out for the stores, to visit the palace, or to take care of whatever business that they could still conduct under the guardianship of the Princess’s army. Aside from that, their lives were boring, repetitive, but at least they were safe.  As far as they knew, at least. They still had no knowledge of the Hive, nor of the parasites that had already infested their ranks. The network of the Hive had spread far and wide, and regular visitors at the train station brought more information to those that were there to receive it.  Each day, someone new came, stayed for a day in Canterlot, and departed the next day on a different train. Each day, that pony brought more information.  A pegasus arrived the day after Luna’s infection, and a converted Day Guard was there to receive them. An ‘interview’ happened around the corner, where they went rump to rump, mere inches of parasite tail extended to give information.  Las Pegasus half-fallen, the casinos in our hands. Canterlot converted, majority of nobles in our hands. And then they passed, and no more was said. No more needed to be said.  With each new arrival, greater progress and greater news of infestation was passed between them. Nobody brought news of failure, only greater progress, and at the worst, slightly slower progress than had been hoped for. There was always something that could be said for the expansion of the Hive.  Five days of good news passed quickly, but five days of waiting still remained… # Luna remained in her chambers, as she had done every day since the infestation when she was not due to be flying across the sky, ruling from the Moon, and ensuring that the peace of night descended upon those that lived throughout Equestria. There had been thoughts of using her flight to seed the world with more of the eggs that the parasites created, but the height of her passage was too much to risk, and there were too many ponies out there that were still uninfested. An egg that was caught in the wrong hooves could spell greater problems for those that were still under-cover.  However, that very height meant that there was something else that they gained from her. They were able to track the Changelings in a way that they could never do before, and with knowledge of the difference agents that crisscrossed the land, and Luna’s nightly flights, they were able to follow the different Changelings to where they nested.  In two days, they had the location of their central strongholds, the nests where their ‘allies’ made their homes, and the places that they believed utterly secret and safe from the rest of Equestria.  Luna returned to her balcony with a somber mood, or what would have appeared such to those that didn’t know her internal struggle. Inside, the princess was curious as to why the parasites had made such a deal, only to have the answer instantly.  The Changelings were useful, and it was better to keep them from becoming part of the fight for Equestria until the Hive had sufficient hosts to deal with them. Or at least, that had been the plan. Now that they knew where the Changelings nested, that changed things. It changed them quite a bit, as a matter of fact.  Of course, the host was not privy to all the facts that the parasite within her had, but that didn’t mean that she didn’t agree. The war with the Changelings had been her focus for years, now, and they had never been closer to being able to deal a decisive strike as they were at that moment. It was in that moment, when she knew that the Changelings and the Hive were not on the same side, and that the Hive was always looking for a way to take them down and bring them under the same ruling hoof as the rest of Equestria, that Luna finally made her choice to work with them.  Not that she had much of one, but it was still a choice. The parasite within her accepted that, and they began to plan.  # It was the work of three days to bring the plan to a fruition, three long days in which Luna had to avoid her sister and ensure that the kingdom kept running. She wasn’t sure how she did it, how she managed it, but somehow she did. The rest of the world kept turning and nobody found out about her and the parasite within.  It helped that she was the Princess of the Moon and dealt with matters of the night. She didn’t have as wild and varied a court as her sister did, nor did she have to deal with nearly as many petitioners. That said, she did have many lovers that she had to avoid for the sake of preserving her privacy, particularly as they were all quite keen to have their fun with her in groups.  She might have been able to infect them one at a time, but in groups? It wasn’t going to happen.  It meant that she was rather…unstimulated, unfortunately. The parasite was able to give her something, to tease her nerves and imitate the memories of being rutted, but there was nothing quite so satisfying as the real thing down there, and she didn’t have that during those three days. Luna’s mind was put to work, and her body was left to stand there, robotic, frozen as her mind worked through cunning plans for the sake of the Hive. She was made into a thinking machine, something that did nothing but plan and plot, and that was something that she did very well.  Three days and countless orgasms later, the Princess of the Moon had her plan, and she opened her court. The first to enter were a mare and a stallion, very familiar, and very much not the people that they were pretending to be.  “Leave us,” the Princess of the Moon called through her court, her voice booming as it always had. “We will speak to these ponies alone.” The Night Guard nodded, moving through the court to grab those that had assembled to speak with her and encourage them to the exit. They were used to her whims, and they were quick to act on her demands.  It didn’t take long for the room to be clear, and she dropped the imperious expression that she had donned upon entry. Her body went half-limp, half-stiff, hard in some places and soft in others as the disguise was dropped.  “You risk a lot going around like that. The real ones are here,” Luna reminded them.  The Changelings dropped the shimmering façade, blue and green eyes shimmering into being to replace the pony ones that they had been presenting. The rest of the disguise fell after, turning them back to their bug-like selves. The one that had been imitating the stallion chuckled, bowing his head.  “But it is our way of ensuring you know who we are.” “That is besides the point. The Hive needs you to maintain secrecy, just as we do.” “So long as the real ones are not in the palace, what does it matter?” “…” “You sent for us, your highness. What do you need?” “…I have a task for you.” “Heh, one that requires special sneaking around, I assume.” “Yes.” In truth, it was more than that. The Changelings had long been on the watch for anyone that might have come back with a parasite within them, so much so that the Hive had not bothered trying to infest one of them lest it give the game away. But with the advent of Luna’s capture, there was no more need for that. There were ways of laying traps that the Changelings could not ignore.  Luna’s horn shimmered. The parasite had learned to use her power for its own, and it was keen to show off. It pulled a map from behind her throne, displaying it beside her.  “You will go here,” she said, pointing with one hoof to a place well off the beaten path, somewhere away from many villages…and coincidentally only a few miles from one of the Changeling nests. “There is someone that we need to make contact with. Messengers that have found a tribe of older, wild ponies.” “Wild ponies? I thought that was just a myth.” “Apparently not. They need to make contact; you will do that.” “…And then?” “Then bring the information to your own nest, wherever that happens to be. These ones will be our gift to you. A new source of…sustenance.” That was the second lie, of course. The first was that there were any herds of wild horses at all, considering that they had long since disappeared from Equestria. In truth, this was merely an excuse to get them to that area. It would take them some time to arrive – weeks, even – during which time Luna could air-drop eggs into the area. By the time that they arrived, it would be a minefield of different parasites eager for a host.  The Hive would have their first Changeling hosts, and that…that would mean the beginning of the end of the Changeling threat. They would take their hosts back to their hive, alongside a few others that had been disguised to look like wild horses, and then the Changelings would welcome them within the bounds of their nest. From there, infestation would be slow, but ever so possible, particularly as Luna dropped more eggs from the sky to be collected and brought within. It would be fast, very fast, once the first wave of infestation was past.  And clearly, the Changelings were intrigued. A food source that no other had fed on just yet would be quite the bait for them, and that was what Luna was relying on. They would crave it, and not ask too many questions.  “When do you leave?” the parasite made her ask.  “Tomorrow,” the male said, changing back to his stallion shape. “We will leave first thing in the morning.” “Do so.” “Heh…you think that you’re as good as our queen, Luna? We might be on the same side, but don’t try and command us. You are not Chrysalis.” The pride of the host was buried, but not quite gone. It surged for a moment, and the parasite suppressed it. With her compliance in the war against the Changelings, that had become easier for the parasite. Instead of rising in rage, Luna merely nodded.  “I will remember that.” The Changelings ‘bowed’ before turning and leaving the throne room. They were clearly cocky, confident, and hungry for the ‘reward’ that they were being offered, so cocky and confident that they didn’t ask the obvious question of how the Hive had found the wild ponies and the Changelings never had. Luna knew that would be how it went; she had been fighting them long enough to know the arrogance and the blind spots. When it came to food, they were always stupid.  And their leader was no different.  Despite knowing what the Hive did to those that they captured, she felt no same or grief in sentencing someone else to be infested. Perhaps she might have if it had been another pony, another normal equine that needed to have some sense of freedom in their life – though even that was doubtful, these days, what with how the parasite within was changing her with every passing hour – but the idea of putting a Changeling through the same thing, particularly Chrysalis…well, that was a very enjoyable idea, indeed.  She did not recline, as that would have been a thing that the host would have done in a petty, job-well-done gesture. The parasite kept them sitting at attention, head back and breathing evenly.  Despite the pleasure. The pleasure was always there, and Luna sighed inside as she felt it running down her legs. The juices were becoming almost constant, a blast of lust that she enjoyed and was rewarded with every time that she came up with a good idea for the Hive to use. She was getting very good at coming up with good ideas, at this point.  # Five days, now. Five days until the orgy, and five days in which the palace was slowly getting turned upside-down. Lancer was busy with the various Night Guards, and the officers that they had converted in the Day Guard were doing the same, pushing to get as many different officers as they could converted to their cause. They were going to need every bit of force that they could get if things went wrong and it turned to outright fighting, and they were not going to give up without a fight.  Lancer stood over one of the Night Guards that he had just fucked, his cock slowly pulling out of that pucker that had been stretched further than any male was ever meant to be stretched. The parasite noted that he was not entirely happy about fucking males, but didn’t care. He was a stud, and so, he would stud.  The flared tip of his cock popped free, and the other male’s hole, dark and puffy, flexed and gaped, oozing seed and – more importantly – lubrication from their rut. The Night Guard stared straight ahead, his eyes glazed over, the drugged, corruptive seed having its normal effect. The male couldn’t move, didn’t want to move, was on shaking hooves as Lancer turned around.  Unlike most ponies, he didn’t reach back to collect eggs as they came from his hole. Instead, he just positioned himself over his partners and cracked the egg with his rim as it came loose. He was strong enough to time it right and powerful enough to just do it without risking himself, and it was more enjoyable that way, anyway.  This was no different. The egg passed through his pucker, parting it slightly, giving him a mild stretch. Just as it was starting to feel like something more than an egg, making him think of a cock, the parasite gave him permission, and he clenched. His hole cracked the egg with pressure all around, and the top of the egg popped off. The parasite within fell out, landing on the ass of the stallion behind him, and began its work.  Lancer pushed the rest of the shell out with practiced ease, his parasite already waving his tail back and forth to clear any mess that stuck back there. No-one would know, and he stomped out the shells on the ground to ensure that nobody would ever find evidence of what he had done.  The parasite was already half-inside the dark-furred Night Guard, the stallion panting and drooling as the parasite wiggled from side to side inside of the puffy, pulsing donut. Its tail slurped in, and then –  “Nnngh…” The stallion moaned, his head tilting back as he was infested. Lancer remembered how it felt, how it was to have something grabbing onto a pleasure button that you were barely aware that you had, how it felt to have it grabbing and pulling and squeezing something inside of you and taking control.  Stomp.  Stomp.  Yes, those were the usual leg stomps, and those were the usual pulses and sprays of residual seed from inside. Nothing new there. Nothing like Luna, where the princess had been forced to void herself of all the toxins that she’d taken in with the wine and the drugs and everything else just for the body to be functional. That had been strange. Very strange, indeed.  But this Night Guard was sober. No need for that.  He put up very mild resistance, too drugged, too weak-willed to resist the power of the parasite. Lancer waited until the spasms stopped, the period of stillness beginning.  There was always a danger during this period that someone might walk up on them and see them. Converting someone inside the palace was less of a danger than it used to be, but there was still the possibility that an uninfected servant might walk around the corner and find them. That was why there always needed to be someone around that could keep an eye out, someone that served as a lookout and was able to take charge of the situation and explain it.  Lancer hadn’t been required to do that yet, but some of the studs had, and it was always awkward. Never failed, but it was awkward.  The stillness period ended five minutes later, and the dark-furred stallion lifted his head. There was a smoothness to the motion, no jerkiness, though there was the uncanny way that it stopped. No longer horse-like, but almost more like a bird, no wasted movement, always stopping and starting right where it meant to.  “I am Hive.” “You are Hive,” Lancer said.  “May I share?” “Yes.” # Four days until the orgy, and another conversion had happened. She was a servant mare for the Princess of the Sun, an older mare that had been in the job since most of the other staff members were barely more than foals, but she still enjoyed the attention of other stallions despite the way that none of them paid her more than half a mind most days. When Darkmoon Dancer himself had come to her – the legendary field hunter of the Changelings – and had offered her the chance to go somewhere private, who was she to say no? How was she supposed to know that he was something else, these days, and that there was a danger to him that no other would have understood? Their rut was fast, and what came after, as her pussy dripped and soaked the carpets under her, shocked her to the core. The feeling of something sliding past her untouched pucker pushed through the cloud in her mind, and she was able to stomp one hind-hoof in irritation – thinking that the young man was being cheeky – when there was a shock inside. Her eyes went wide, and her mouth went still as her body went through a full-body cramp. Everything seized up, getting tense and tight, and she couldn’t move.  “Ah…ah…” Her breath wheezed out through clenching teeth and jaw, but rather than pain, pleasure rippled up and down her spine. She was forced to relax, bit by bit feeling her muscles no longer tightening. The feeling of her pussy clenching down on nothing, forcing the seed inside of her to squirt out every time it spasmed, became its own odd pleasure. It didn’t matter how wrong it was, it was still enjoyable. And as the easing of the tight muscles came, she could feel something else, something that was grinding, burrowing, pulsing inside of her.  What…what… Her thoughts were slowing, overwhelmed with the pulsing, shimmering feeling of lightning running up and down her spine, starting from her ass and going all the way to her head, and then going all the way back down. Her breath came in short bursts, then longer ones as something else took the effort of breathing, of standing, of thinking away from her. It was so wrong, and yet… And yet, not that different from being a servant in the first place. A servant followed orders. A servant did what she was told.  This…this was just… “Nnngh…” The soft groan got cut-off partway through, and she couldn’t quite finish the sound. Her throat sealed, and then relaxed, but without her able to do anything. Instead, she just stared out her own eyes, breathed the scents in the room, and she realized that something else had completely taken charge of her body.  She felt like she should be afraid…but she wasn’t. Fear had been taken from her, too, as had anger, and –  Zzzzzz. A slow buzz from her rump filled her with a new pleasure, one that rippled south to her pussy and then up and down her spine, somehow translating happiness into some kind of full-body bliss. She would have rolled her head down, almost falling to her knees, but the thing that had taken control of her body kept her upright, seizing her and keeping her from losing control again.  She felt her mouth moving, her words coming without her consent or permission.  “This one has knowledge,” she said.  “Is it safe?” “It is safe.” “Then share.” She felt the same sort of pressure that had started outside her going in pressing out again, something slithering from inside and pushing into the open air. It almost felt like it was embarrassingly voiding her of things, but instead of some horrible mess coming out of her, it was something…something almost phallic, if slender. She would have moaned if her mouth and voice was her own, but instead, she shivered, enjoying the feeling of that thing coming free and what it felt like as it dangled down.  There was something oddly good, something wrong and naughty about it, and she wondered just how it was going to share anything. She could not turn, could only hear Darkmoon Dancer moving, shifting positions.  And then, they touched.  If it had been lightning dancing on her spine before, lighting her up with pleasure and leaving her moaning, this was something greater still. She felt like she was being stormed with pleasure, rocked with it, and yet, she could not react. Her body was no longer her own, and it responded, yes – there were squirts to the floor below, her heart raced in her chest – but her face did not change.  Even the panting had stopped. There was no need for it, the thing inside of her seemed to feel. There was no need to pant. She was focusing on –  There were signals going down her spine this time, and she had flashes of images in her mind, things that were being sent. Celestia’s schedule, Celestia’s room, Celestia’s possessions.  Her toys, even.  She had been a servant for the Princess of the Sun for a long time, and had become accustomed to her peculiarities. Apparently, such was not the same for the other host. There was a startled shock back, one that continued to please her, but nothing to slow it down.  Then, the flood of information came the other way. If she’d thought that the first had been intense, then the download of information coming from the more experience Hive member was something else entirely.  The parasite clamped down on her muscles, forcing the earth pony to stand stock still as she was forced to take in information blast after information blast. The pleasure rocked her from head to toe, and if she had been free to move, she didn’t know if she could have stayed upright. For that matter, she didn’t know if she could have stayed where she stood; the pleasure was so much that it was almost painful, as if the shocks were burning through her ability to think, or even move.  But the Hive needed her there, so she took it.  The information blasted through her spine, up to her head, and then back down again. Bits and pieces were allowed through. The knowledge of the Hive, the presence of it within the castle, a hint of the identity of some of the members. Not all of them, not nearly all of them, but many, including some that she never would have guessed.  They were here to take over, she realized…and she realized that she supported that.  There was no clear reason why, but the pleasure meant that there didn’t need to be. It felt good to do what she was told, always had, and this was no different. # Three days, and the guards were nearly completely taken in. The doubling of their numbers every day meant that there was scarcely a quarter of them still free, and they would be taken in another day. Those that were free were falling behind in the discipline tests that the officers ran, no longer able to keep pace with those that were supernaturally in-sync with one another during the training operations.  It wasn’t just that they were slower, but that they were no longer keeping pace with the infested soldiers and officers. Where the Hive-taken ones were able to move with ease, shifting from position to position without thinking about it, the others had to pay more attention, and they inevitably started falling behind.  The constant show of unity by those that did well meant that the ones that didn’t were deemed outsiders, and they didn’t question the way that they were pushed aside by those that were doing better. They just determined to be better, by any means necessary.  And if those means meant meeting with someone else for a secret ‘power-up’ that had to be done in private, well…desperate times called for desperate measures.  # Two days before the orgy, and the guards had been taken. The nobility, unaware of the secret siege that had surrounded them, were all but brought to their knees, as well. Luna’s guards had allowed some small back and forth between her and them of late, and they were quickly infested when they were brought before her.  They were willing, too. They could no longer keep up with the princess, and they took what she offered them to have a chance to stay conscious for the blissful nights, not knowing what they were getting into.  But the various nobility were also subject to it, and even those that were haughty and horrible were made to bend their knee to the Hive.  “I will have you know that it is hardly proper to talk back to one like me,” Prince Blue-Blood said, berating the servant that had failed to bring him his afternoon cream puff. “You had one responsibility, and you failed.” “But – but sir –” “You dare question me?” He flipped his hoof out, knocking the empty tray flying. It hit the ground with a clang and clatter, drawing the eyes of a hundred other servants in the great hall. It did not matter. He was a prince, and he was allowed everything.  “I will have you kicked out of the castle for this. There is no excuse. You will –” “But Prince Blue-Blood, I swear –” “Again, you speak to me?” He leaned in, grabbing the smaller stallion by his bow-tie, pulling him in. They were close enough that the servant could lean in, and did.  “A creamy dripping.” “…Dripping inside.” Their words were exchanged quietly, without a hint of the emotion that had been blowing over a moment before. They released each other, with Blue-Blood stomping off in high dudgeon, and the servant discretely stepping away.  They met up again two halls down, in a private room that nobody else would enter for the next hour, and the servant pressed a hoof to the prince’s shaft, which had already begun to drop.  Neither had known for sure that the other was a member of the Hive, but the phrases that the Hive had begun to spread meant that they were starting to find ways to make contact without the Changelings as go-betweens. This meant that they were able to find ways to meet up…and more importantly, to keep their hosts happy, exchange pleasure as well as information.  Both were dripping, their hosts eager for the attention that they were about to get – and Blue-Blood particularly so, bitch that he was deep down inside – and they soon backed up, allowing their parasite tails to extent.  The blissful touch was met with the usual stillness and silence, broken only by the dripping of stallion fluid to the floor below.  # One day before the orgy, and Luna was prepared. The parasite within her made it clear that there was to be no deviation from the timing, and for once, she agreed.  It wasn’t just the practicality of the situation, either. The parasite had been training her with pleasure ever since her infestation, and the old ways were more and more hazy to the mare. She remembered her life before she had been a parasite host, yes, before the Hive, but it felt so stressful in comparison. She liked the new life. She liked the chance to strike down the Changelings that had stood against her and her sister for years. She enjoyed the constant pleasure and good feedback that she got for being a good, useful host.  There was no need to fight back.  There was no need to resist.  All she had to do was obey, and she would get everything that she ever needed.  The pleasure that came from between her hind legs was all that she needed as a reminder of just how good she had been, and how good she could continue to be. The orgy was less than a day away, and everything was in place.  Of course, it would depend on her to a good extent, and the host knew that. Luna had been preparing, mentally, for the fact that she would likely have to be the one to put an egg in her sister, to get her infected with the parasite and ensure that her ass was completely filled. It was her power, and her power alone, that would be able to stand against anything that Celestia did to resist.  But once that was done… Once that was done, they were all but unbeatable. Once Celestia was part of the Hive, there was no more need to hold back. They could open up their infestation, they could go public. They could be as open as they liked, bringing ponies in and making them bend over to take it, to become one of them, part of the Hive.  The very idea was enough to have her dripping, oozing down her hind legs. It was a sign of just how far she had given in, and how far the Hive had accepted her.  Yet, even for all her arousal, she didn’t succumb to the temptation to tease herself. After all, the Hive demanded more action.  She had talked with the captains of the guards, ensured that Lancer would be around to take care of anything extreme. The Night Guard would be there all night, making sure that any of the residual Day Guards didn’t step in and cause any problems. For that matter, the last bit of infesting Celestia’s guards might be done before orgy, though they weren’t entirely sure of that. Best to have something ready in case.  Her mind was allowed to run rampant. It was an asset to the Hive, something that they could profit off, and they were more than willing to allow it as it worked for them. Luna had been broken, brought into the fold fully and totally in a way that she had never been brought into anything before.  The Hive pleasured her.  The Hive valued her.  The Hive needed her.  And that was something that she would continue to fight for until her last breath. Even as her body submitted fully to the control of her parasite, she continued to scheme and offer more and more to the parasite within, almost desperate for its approval. Every time that she offered something, her body was blitzed with pleasure, pleasure that it would never show to the outside world but mattered beyond words to her inside. She squirmed, she panted, she moaned from it, and that… That was what brought her. Not the pleasure, but the rewards, the acknowledgement, the reminder that she was part of the Hive, and that she was wanted, and needed.  The Hive had broken the Princess of the Moon. Soon, it would do the same to the Princess of the Sun.  > Chapter 19 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- The night of the orgy came. On the night of the new moon, when there was no need for Luna to go flying through the sky, it was said that the sisters and their most loyal attendants met for a discussion on the politics and the decisions that needed to be made about the realm as a whole. The rest of the kingdom had no idea of just how debauched those ‘discussions’ became on a general rule, with most of those invited passed out on cum, pussy juice, and perhaps more depending on just how extreme the princesses were feeling that night.  But tonight, it would be different. The Hive would be there, and in force. There were multiple couples that were invited to the party that were completely infested, and there were no couples that didn’t have at least one partner completely taken over by the Hive. The mix of Day Guards and Night Guards at the party would be all but taken over, as well, ensuring that the Hive operated in security and secrecy. Nobody would know that it was a night of infestation, a grand coup over the royal powers of Equestria, until it was already over and done. Perhaps not even then, if they did their jobs right.  Moonlight Thunder walked beside Princess Luna. With Lancer officially ‘supplanted’ as her preferred lover – at least, in the eyes of those that hadn’t been infested by her yet – he was a perfect choice to bring along to the party. Celestia had heard the rumors, and most ponies that were in the know of the sisters’ preferences knew that she would want to try out the one that had captured Luna’s fascination. He had every reason to be there.  The Hive ensured that.  The Hive would have the Princess of the Sun by morning.  As they walked down the hall, they both would pause here and there, glancing at the ponies they passed. Here, a servant looked Luna in the eye and nodded. There, a soldier looked at Moonlight and stomped his hoof three times. Signals, little pass-codes that they had developed to remind each other who was a host and who was not.  After all, the Hive was powerful. It was not omniscient.  Other conspirators might have talked to each other to ease the tension of what they were about to do. The Hive and its hosts did not. The parasites seldom felt emotions the way that their hosts did. Anxiety, nervousness, all those things were more suited to the ponies than to the ones that controlled them. As a result, there was no need for banter to bring down the worries. The only reason such a thing would come about would be to blend in.  And there was no need for that. Two ponies of every three that they saw gave the code, the signal, the indication that they were already possessed and infested. They would soon be able to drop the pretense of being ‘normal’ ponies, and go back to just living as the parasites that they were.  They traveled through the palace for some time, killing the minutes until the midnight hour in which they would be required to be at the party. Luna said nothing, though the host’s body was dripping. Moonlight Thunder said nothing, either, though his shaft throbbed out of his sheath, pushing forward and out.  It wasn’t in anticipation, of course. It was more along the lines of someone checking their weapon, priming it, ensuring that it was ready and willing from the start. His balls churned between his hind legs, sending what should have been rutting insanity to his mind, but the parasite within him kept that to a minimum. There was no reason for the Stud of the Hive to be anything less than focused at this point. They were going to use him, weaponize him against the Princess of the Sun. He needed everything that he could bring to bear, and the parasite primed him, controlled him, wielded him for the Hive’s benefit. That was all there was to it, and all there needed to be.  They finally reached the door to the private room. Luna’s horn glowed as she brought her magic to bear, blasting the little hole in the center of the massive stone door. The blue light glowed for a moment, and the door unlatched. Moonlight Thunder opened the door with a hoof, looking inside.  The other nobles were already there, though Celestia was nowhere to be seen. He imagined – or rather, the Hive did – that she would be there later, when the rest of the party-goers had all arrived and she could take her pick of partners. He pushed the door open the rest of the way, his parasite already dragging him down into that proper role as a princess’s companion. He bowed his head, even though he was the more senior host, and stepped to the side to allow her to step through the door.  All voices stopped, some sooner than others. The infested hosts stopped together, seeing Luna, while the uninfested took a second to realize that she was there. It was a moment of stupidity, of weakness, but the uninfested were too eager for the festivities to notice.  Luna stepped through, her austere nature as a general rule meaning that there was less chance that the detached ‘personality’ of the parasite would be noticed. She looked down at the other party-goers, and almost as if remembering what she was there for, put on a small smile.  “Let everyone enjoy themselves,” the Princess of the Moon declared. “This is a celebration. Let there be celebrating.” There was a small cheer at that, though the ponies in the great hall were quieter than they had been, almost as if they were a little afraid. Perhaps they should be. Even though the memory of Luna’s lusts and hungers had been mostly suppressed by the parasite inside him, Moonlight Thunder still vaguely remembered the aches that had come afterward, the reminders of just how powerful and needy one princess was. Her past partners probably remembered far more than he did.  Yet, despite those aches and pains, he didn’t feel fear. Nor anxiety. Nor worries. Nor guilt. He felt…confident. There were more than enough Hive members here to take her down, and he was the best of them. So long as they were able to pile on, to keep giving her more and more of what she needed, she would eventually fall before them.  Luna had already moved on, the parasite knowing what she was supposed to be doing to keep her cover, and Moonlight moved to the buffet line. There were already some ponies that were starting to wobble, and not just because of being drunk. He walked down the table, eventually finding one of the servant stallions. He leaned in a bit.  “A dripping rod.” “A slippery tail.” Another pair of codewords. He nodded.  “Are we dosing everything?” “Everything that we can. Running low, though.” “Do you need more?” “Badly.” “Around the corner.” Moonlight had time, and he was dripping enough that he could make a contribution. They walked casually around the table, making it look like the commoner was just trying to fit in with the servants rather than the higher-ranking nobles around him. It was safer this way; while he could have gone around using different signals and codewords to try and find out which were which, he could end up approaching a pair that were married but not both infested, and that would give the game away early.  Once they were fucking, rutting, changing each other, then there would be opportunities to start talking to everyone. Until then, he had to play it safe.  He and the stallion servant made their way to the corner of the room and into the side, hidden corridor that the servants used to bring food and drink into the chamber. They moved just out of sight, with Moonlight Thunder glancing back at the chamber to make sure that they weren’t followed, and then set to work.  His parasite pressed down on his prostate, sending a shiver of pleasure through him that didn’t quite show on his face. The servant held a glass just under his shaft, allowing the silvery pre-cum to dribble into it.  There were no comments made between them. Observations and quips were the realm of the normal ponies. The infested didn’t have the need to make comments about everything around them, questioning and making remarks about everything in their lives. They just interacted and got on with it.  Drip, drop, drip, drop. Moonlight felt every dribble through his shaft, the sensation of oozing and leaking having never been so powerful before. The longer that he remained bonded and infested with the parasite within him, the more sensitive and sexual his body became. It was an odd mix of physical attachment and physical detachment, as he was not in control and could not feel what his parasite didn’t want him to feel, but at the same time, everything that he did feel was just completely overwhelming, hitting him harder and harder with each new thing.  It was rather wonderful in its own way, if rather difficult to deal with.  He didn’t moan when his parasite told him that he was done, nor did he complain about the blue balls that he was already getting. Instead, he just slapped his cock up against his belly to signify that was all the pre-cum that the other stallion was getting, and the other host pulled the cup back, holding it carefully and swilling it around. One might have thought that he would be about to drink it, but no. He was merely checking to make sure that it would settle.  “This should be enough.” “For now.” “For now,” the servant agreed.  “You’ll have to find another or milk yourself for more later.” “Understood.” There was no need to explain further. All other parasite-infested hosts knew the plan. They had passed that between them, tail to tail, well before the party had started. The way to take Celestia was entirely based on her needs.  Fuck her.  ‘Clean’ her with enemas of pre-harvested corrupt cum.  Fuck her again.  Drug her with the goods.  Clean her again.  Fuck her again.  And then, when she was finally completely out of it, or at least, as out of it as she could be without being rutted right into the ground and tied up, they would put an egg in her, telling her that it was just a toy that would make her feel even better. That was the only way that they could get it in her, it had been decided. Celestia would be too powerful, otherwise, and they needed her to take it without question.  Once the egg was inside, it would hatch. That would be the end, they hoped. They would have to keep feeding her, drugging her, making her drunk and horny and too distracted to think while the parasite attached itself inside and fought with her will. Luna had almost overwhelmed the parasite, and they couldn’t risk that happening again.  The only worry was whether the parasite itself would be able to hatch inside the mare rather than outside. That was different to all the other infestations that they had done, but they didn’t have a choice. Anything obvious from outside would pull the powerful Princess of the Sun’s attention on them, and that would be the end of the coup.  This, or nothing. That was the plan.  He was just returning to the buffet table when the windows at the far end of the great hall illuminated with brilliant sunlight. It was impossible, considering it was midnight, but that did not stop the power of the Princess of the Sun from displaying itself. The windows opened, and the white-furred, winged mare flew in from outside. She tossed her head back, her rainbow mane fluttering down over her back.  “My loving subjects. It has been too long…” She smiled benevolently around the room, though not without the hunger that he finally noticed. There was a need there, a desperate need for the real purposes of the party.  And Luna did not disappoint. No sooner had Celestia given her greetings than her sister stepped forward. Moonlight Thunder followed her, standing just behind the tall mare and looking up at the even taller one.  “My sister. May I present my latest acquisition?” Luna said.  “You mean acquaintance, my dear, I’m sure.” “He is quite eager to be mine. And ours, even.” “Is that so? And what is your name, little stallion?” Celestia asked.  “Moonlight Thunder.” “And are you partnered?” “Technically.” “Oh? Is she here?” “No…she wanted me to come here and enjoy myself, and then come back and tell her about it. She likes to hear about what her stud does.” It was a lie, a blanket lie compared to what they used to do, but that was fine. All hosts got used to lying, and this was no different to what he had done in other villages. All the relationship and love that he had shared with Azure Breeze had been left behind, nothing more than a memory compared to what the Hive offered him and the other infested. They were all part of a group, and if a different lifestyle suited the group, then they would pivot to that rather than regret the loss of their old one.  Celestia seemed to like his answer, too, as she smiled and slowly turned in place. He had a good view of her hips and ‘plot’ for a moment before she turned all the way around, lifting her tail and showing off.  He was already completely prepared for his duty as a stud, but if he hadn’t been, that view would have readied him in a second. That puffy donut of a hole stood over a slit that was clenching madly, dripping down her hind legs and giving off fumes of arousal. The utter control that this mare had to not show any of that on her face was legendary, and made him think that she would be perfect as a host.  If she could be overwhelmed.  “Let the orgy begin,” Celestia called out. “And you…put it in me, now.” Moonlight Thunder had no reasons to hold back, though there was a hint of that fear that his time with Luna had prompted. He glanced out of the corner of his eye at Luna, the other sister giving him a nod. There was no holding back now. He had to get started.  And so he did.  He lunged forward, shoving his cock past Celestia’s pussy lips, and he was inside of her almost immediately. She squelched from how wet she was, her inner walls already gripping him tight, and the parasite deep down inside him started pushing him to squirt pre-cum, flooding her inner walls, making sure that she was even wetter.  Drug her.  Dose her.  Make her hornier.  Make her want it more.  Even as he started thrusting, she pushed back, but it wasn’t the drugged, moaning hip thrusts that he was used to from all the other bitches that he’d studded over the course of his time as an infested drone. No, this was someone that wanted it, that needed to be fucked, and who was taking what they needed to get that.  This was someone that was utterly in control of themselves, and shameless about getting what they needed.  In, out, in, out, and he was going balls deep for the first time with ease. There was no holding back here, no need to. She was bigger than him, able to take every inch of his cock with ease. She moaned out loud, her head lowering towards the ground, but she didn’t give in. She didn’t just go quiet or let him rut away. No, she pushed back, she took him as far as she could take him, making his balls swing forward and slap against her clit.  “Mmm…I can see why my sister likes you…” He didn’t pause, didn’t respond. He pulled her hips closer with his front hooves, doing everything in his power to keep the rut going hard. The parasite was already weighing how long to wait for the first orgasm, how long they dared wait with their stamina. The fact that they’d have to go multiple rounds wasn’t in question; it was just a matter of how long they’d make each round, and how long they waited between them to do it again so that they could recharge.  The main point was to make it messy. His balls were going into overdrive, producing cum and pre-cum in thick, extensive measure and blowing it right down his cock and into her pussy. Every blast was making it easier to bottom out, making each thrust that much faster and more pleasurable, but more, it was providing more and more of that aphrodisiac dose that would – hopefully – make her more pliable, more eager.  In, out, in, out… He didn’t pant, but she did. Moonlight Thunder didn’t take it as a sign that she was weakening, though, just that she was indulging herself, having fun, allowing the pleasure of the moment to settle in. She wasn’t going to break that easily, even as her juices and his oozed out in equal measure from between her hind legs. She lowered her front hooves, stretching out, pushing her rump back towards him.  He took it as the invitation it was and hammered at her harder, faster. The pleasure of her inner walls around his cock was as good as he could imagine, but he knew that it was not for him to enjoy. He had a task. Hump, thrust, grind, bringing her pleasure and –  “OOOOOH!” Celestia’s moan broke out over the room, accompanied by many others that were doing the same. He looked around momentarily, spotting several couples where the top was someone that was infested and the bottom was not, and vice versa. The couples had been swapped in many cases, with some of the nobles getting new partners, and some of the infested making sure that they were getting with those that didn’t have a parasite yet. There were some couples that had the same bored, blank face that he was trying to keep off his own muzzle, knowing how much of a dead giveaway it was.  But the whole room was filled with rutting couples, some of which were having the time of their lives, and most of which were merely doing a task. In that moment, he saw the difference between them… And he was fine with that.  “Oooh…oooh…” Celestia moaned under him, and he allowed himself a climax. A thick, gooey one, one that would take a while to clean out. Pulse, pulse, throb. His seed splattered through her insides, the flared head of his cock ensuring that it went deep and stayed deep. Even with the flare trying to keep it all in, though, he could feel some of the slime pushing back, trying to slide out, trying to drip out past his cock.  It was warm, naughty, and a little bit filthy. In the past, uninfested, he would have loved it. In the past, he would have been eager to tease his mare bitch about how much she loved it from how much her inner walls clamped down.  Now, he just saw it as a job partially done, and they needed to do more. Celestia shivered, pushing at him with her tail.  “Time for a cleaning…but then you can go again…if you can.” “Mmm-hmm.” He pulled back slowly, taking his time to really drag his cock along her inner walls. Despite the fact that he had just cum, he was still hard. Rock hard, as a matter of fact, and he could feel that the head of his cock was still rather sensitive. The flared edges of his cock head dragged along her inner walls, stimulating her further, ensuring that she was going to be primed and ready for the next bit.  POP! The head of his shaft left her, and her pussy lips gaped open for a moment. Despite their size difference, he was still particularly well-endowed, and that meant that there was going to be an effect of him ramming in that hard. She gaped, and dripped. Oh, how she dripped with the slime that he had left behind in there.  “Mmph. Cleaner!” She called out, and one of the infested servants came forward. They held a syringe filled with clear fluid, one that looked like water and soap together. In reality, it was more of the harvested, corrupted fluids of the various Hive members, ranging from some that Moonlight Thunder had contributed to some harvested mare juices, all jumbled together to create the most corruptive, arousing concoction that they could.  The mares that had it injected in them before had almost cum instantly, but they knew that wouldn’t be the case here. They’d need to do this over and over again to wear Celestia down, but eventually…hopefully… Celestia spread her hind legs further, allowing the rubber-tipped end of the syringe inside her. The pony holding it pushed down, and she shivered, her asshole puckering hard as she was filled to the brim with the slime inside.  It didn’t take long for it to fill her up, and she squatted down as soon as the syringe was removed, oozing, dripping. She pushed it all out, making a puddle of stallion cum and more between her hooves, almost as if she was pissing it all out, though far slower and far more erotically than that. Bit by bit, it fell from her, staining her, soaking her.  But then… Then she was all the more eager. She looked back at him, her eyes wild, her face twisted in utter need.  “More,” she whispered.  Moonlight Thunder didn’t sigh, though he wanted to. It was time to get back to work.  # The rutting continued for four hours, and there was no sign of the mare slowing down. If anything, the aphrodisiacs seemed to give her more energy, more power than she had before, and she kept pushing for more. She wanted a cock in her ass, too. She wanted a cock in her ass and in her mouth at the same time. She wanted a mare under her to lick her pussy while she was getting fucked in the ass and mouth. She wanted a stallion to back his ass up to her face to rim him while she was getting fucked.  Everything she wanted, she got, and between the different rounds, she was fed and watered with as much of the drugged food and water as they could shove down her throat.  Moonlight Thunder watched dispassionately when he allowed other stallions to step forward and do their work, knowing that he needed the rest and not offended by it. More, he was studying her, seeing how long it would take. Four hours of fucking was not uncommon, but it was still intense.  The rest of the room had long since gone quiet, though not still. The majority of the herd had been converted, with just two or three prudes that were holding out. They were being wined and dined by those in the Hive that wanted to take them in, but nobody was pushing that hard with Celestia still somewhat sober.  They needed her.  They needed to bring her down.  Finally, five hours in, as one of the stallions pulled out of her pucker and groaned in utter satisfaction, she nearly collapsed. She slumped forward, her front legs no longer supporting her, her asshole and her pussy alike oozing so much cum and slime that she looked like some alley-mare that had been left by her John rather than the Princess of the Sun. She moaned, her holes puckering for more.  It was time.  This had to be it.  He stepped forward, taking one of the eggs offered by someone else in the crowd. They were all ready for this moment. Luna stepped around to face her sister while he walked up behind her.  “Sister. We have something more for you.” “Mmm?” “A toy.” “Heh…what would a toy do for me?” “A lot. An egg-shaped toy, one to carry around. Pregnant without being pregnant.” “Oooooh…that could be fun…” “Just relax…and let it in…” There was no way that Celestia would have fallen for that in another time, another place, but after cumming her brains out for five hours straight, after being drugged, after being rutted, after having an entire bottle of berry-wine shoved up her ass as an enema at one point, there was no way that she had the sobriety to see the trap before her. All she did was lift her tail further, showing off her cum-stained pucker.  Moonlight Thunder pushed the parasite’s egg against her hole without guilt or shame. It was already cracking as he nudged it forward with his hoof, and then…he waited. They all waited, and even the parasites couldn’t quite keep the anticipation off their hosts’ faces.  At first, nothing happened. Sure, Celestia continued to moan and she didn’t get back up, but there was none of the stillness, the limpness, or anything else that had happened to the other hosts. Instead, she just stood there, giggling, smiling, bent over and moaning. Her holes clenched, her juices flowed –  Squirt.  And she came again, though with more of a grunt than a full moan. She squirted from both holes, and the hosts wondered if they saw egg slime there, or just the slime that they had already pushed inside.  The giggles finally stopped. Instead, Celestia groaned, tilting her head one way, then the other. She looked dizzy, out of it, confused. She shook her head, stared straight ahead, and then shook her head again.  It was happening, they realized. It was finally happening.  Moonlight Thunder watched, waiting, seeing if he would be needed. If he had to rise up and mount her again, fuck her into the ground while the parasite took control. His cock rose up, ready to do just that –  But then the same thing that had happened to Luna happened to Celestia. She started urinating.  “Ah!” She gasped, the white mare’s eyes going wide as the slow but gradually speeding up flow between her legs continued. It ran white, sliding down white fur, and then squirting down to the floor. Nobody else laughed, nobody else stared for any more reason than fascination at the fact that she was doing it. Her face went from ashamed and embarrassed to an expression of pleasure, and then finally something completely blank.  The fire in her eyes remained, but that was slowly changing, too, shifting, becoming something else. They were slowly warping, slowly dulling, becoming something less focused and more… More relaxed.  More subdued.  The hosts waited, watching as her holes puckered and clenched. Bit by bit, her asshole opened. A wave of cum and slime oozed out, followed by a hint of shell. Then another, a bigger piece, and another past that. The crunchy pieces hit the floor, breaking the silence that had fallen on the great hall.  The hiss of her urine hitting the floor finally stopped, turning into more of a drip-drop as the last bit of her bladder’s contents stopped flowing. She had been purged of most of the drugs at that point, then, according to what they had learned from Luna. The Princess of the Sun remained in the bent-over position for a moment more… And then she stood up.  There was none of the shaky hoof-fumbling that one might have expected from someone so drunk or distracted. Instead, she got to her hooves with a grace that belied her situation and the mess on the floor. One steady step, then another, lifted her back to all fours. She turned her head left, slowly, gradually, until it could turn no more, and then did the same as she turned to the right. She lifted it up, then down, almost like someone learning how to do it for the first time.  The hosts knew that was precisely what was happening. Celestia’s host was learning how her body worked, and how it could put it to use.  It turned, looking down at them. Luna looked back, her horn at the ready.  But there was need. Celestia slowly turned around, exposing her fat rump, and the hole spread, a tail pushing out. No statement, no requirement for information. If anything, the tendril was desperate enough, asking for information, asking to be filled in.  Luna gave it.  As soon as the connection was made, Celestia opened her mouth. Moonlight Thunder was ready to stop her from shouting, but rather than demanding an explanation, or pleading with her subjects to run, she said something entirely different.  “Seize free ones. Break them.” That was all that she said, and it was all that she needed to say. The swarm of infested ponies fell on the ones that were yet to be broken, pinning them down with four or five ponies to a free mare or free stallion. The others screamed and whinnied in utter shock at what was happening around them, even as the servants brought out more syringes, more bottles of berry-wine.  The infestation was going to happen, whether the ponies wanted it or not. The Hive had waited long enough.  As the rutting went on in the background, as complaining shouts and screams turned to desperate moans, Moonlight Thunder looked back to Princess Celestia. The more that the parasite within her learned from the sister-host, the more in-control it seemed. The Hive did not have a king or queen, but they could have those that called the shots, that were allowed to make decisions on the part of the Hive when there was not a consensus to be reached with the overall group. Moonlight Thunder had been one such pony, directing the conversion of others for some time.  Celestia, it seemed, would be another, one to command the overall infestation of the kingdom. Not as a host having free will, but like Luna, being rewarded for being good at making decisions, at finding ways to get what they wanted, and then giving it to the rest of the Hive. Her mind would be useful, her body moreso, and her power more than that.  They had the Princesses, now. There were few forces in the land that were able to stand against one of the Princesses, let alone both. Once they had this one, once they had Celestia fully informed and were able to take down the Changelings, bringing them into the fold… Well, that would mean the end of a free Equestria. Everyone would be brought into the Hive. Everyone would further the goals of the parasites, to breed and create more and more hosts, to allow for a world where everything worked the way that they wanted, and never to be shifted or messed up by free will.  Moonlight Thunder paid homage to the moment, knowing that it was the end of all freedom. There would be no turning back from this point. There would never, ever be an Equestria where those uninfested would have a chance to turn back the clock all the way to no infestations. With the power of the Princesses, the Hive was there to stay. It was just a matter of how much more they took.  The parasites within, Moonlight Thunder knew, wanted it all. They had made a deal with the Changelings, and then had gone back on it. They had held back at times, but never for long. They were an expanding species, constantly expanding, growing, getting stronger and needier the more that they had. They couldn’t stop. And they wouldn’t.  > Epilogue > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- With the Princesses of the Sun and Moon infested by the Hive, there was no stopping them. They could unleash the full power of the Hive without the royal sisters to stop them in their tracks, but there was one more thing to be taken care of. One more force that needed to be dealt with.  The Princesses worked together, seeding the area that the Changelings had been sent to with more and more eggs. Those that had already hatched had found their prey, infesting two Changelings and making them take more of the Hive within their next. Bit by bit, the first nest was falling, and soon enough, they knew, they would have access to the other nests across Equestria. The little issue of their alliance with the Changelings would soon be a non-issue. The entire kingdom could then be infested properly. Not slowly, not quietly, not out of fear and safety, but fully and properly.  Every parasite would have a host.  Every horse would be made to learn where they belonged.  A proper society was soon to be born.  # In Cloudsdale, Sugarfrost Harvest had put in a great deal of work. The average pegasus still had no idea what he was or who he was, but there were those in power that were very fond of the various treats that he offered them. Or at least, they had been, right up until he gave them the eggs that would bring them into the Hive. Then they stopped being quite as interested in him and were far more interested in furthering the interests of the Hive.  That was his priority as well, of course, and he did it well, but he rather missed the days when he could lure anyone into his shop and get fucked by them. The pleasure that he got from his rewards under Stormbolt Rising, a prime pegasus stallion that all but ran various parts of Cloudsdale, was a lovely little treat to be sure, but that was still something that wasn’t the same. He wasn’t getting that same rampant fuck that he really wanted, and his parasite was rapidly becoming tired of him.  He knew that much to be so, for all that they were still working together and the fact that the parasite was always keeping him on a leash. He wanted to be out there, getting fucked, sucking, making his way through all the different Hive stallions, but there was so much work to be done. He had to be kept focused, forced to bake, to taint, to get other things ready.  It bothered him, and it annoyed his parasite, insofar as they could be annoyed. The thing inside him wanted a different host, but while he would have been happy to have it leave him and let him go back to being a normal pony that just happened to be obedient other than getting fucked, it wasn’t an option. They were stuck together, no ifs, ands, or buts. And there were a lot of butts. He stepped away from the latest pegasus to be infested, letting them go through the usual twitches and spasms. Insofar as a host could be bored, he was dreadfully bored. The chance of actually getting fucked today was all but nil, and it had been so long since he had been allowed to really let loose and enjoy himself.  Why can’t you do what you’re told? It wasn’t a true thought coming from the parasite, but rather a feeling that rippled up his spine. It was a familiar one, coming almost daily. And it wasn’t entirely accurate, either. After all, he did do as he was told.  He just wished that he could do more.  Sugarfrost Harvest almost shook his head, almost sighed, and would have were it not for the parasite inside him. He waited –  Knock.  Knock.  Knock-knock-knock.  He turned, the parasite within exhausted and angry at the interruption. Of all the various parasites, the one within him came closest to feeling emotions on a pony scale, just for the fact that it had more frustrations to deal with than most others. What was the interruption now? What was going on? They were not to be disturbed.  Sugarfrost Harvest was allowed to go to the door as the pegasus he’d just seeded shivered, panted, spasmed and then went still. He ignored it, opening the door a crack.  A cross-eyed mare stood on the other side, wearing a satchel for carrying mail. He recognized her. One of the delivery ponies from Ponyville, one of the earlier-infested ponies. Sugarfrost opened the door a bit further, allowing her to enter. She landed and extended her tendril.  Must we? the host complained to himself, though no more bitterly than he might have complained about having to dust off his hooves before leaving the kitchen. He turned, extending his own tendril tail from his ass, and they touched once more.  The electric pleasure had long since lost the mind-blasting bliss that it had once been. Once you did this more than ten times in a day, the actual flicker of electrical energy running up and down the spine stopped being the mind-bending wonder that it had started as and was simply one more stimulation, one more thing that you got more often than you did the other things.  More often than being fucked, in his case. The parasite grumbled at him as much as it was capable of, receiving the information.  And there was a lot of it. A lot. The knowledge that the Princesses had been taken was a game-changer, and one that made both host and parasite happy. They were going to be able to move out from the shadows, and that meant –  Fucking! Sugarfrost Harvest’s hopes were pushed back down, replaced by the parasite. It meant that the minority of free ponies still left in Cloudsdale could be approached much more aggressively, to the point where they could just –  Fuck them silly. Fuck me silly. To the point where they could just be done with this.  And then get back to fucking. The parasite twisted away, the tendril link breaking. The delivery pony host turned, looking back at them.  “Something is wrong?” “It’s this host. He is…problematic.” “How? There cannot be problematic hosts.” “The eagerness of this one…” “That is our way in, though.” “And he has too much.” “…Show me?” The parasite did not think that it was the best idea, but considering the possibilities, it was better that the rest of the Hive know of the risk. He backed up, and their tendrils touched again. This time, the information traveled in the other way. It was slightly more pleasurable for Sugarfrost Harvest, if only because the information was going out, almost feeling like something pulling out of him rather than just tingling his spine.  It was a short transfer, not nearly enough to get his cock up. The other host stepped back, eyes widening slightly.  “That is…problematic.” “Indeed.” “We will solve this.” “One hopes.” “Continue the work.” “We will.” “The orders will come soon. Within the week.” “We will wait, and listen.” # Ivory Flash continued his travels through Equestria. He never stayed in one place for long, merely passing through and setting up a miniature Hive that would begin the slow take-over of whatever settlement he found. Sometimes, it was a small thing that would grow over time, keeping itself quiet until greater orders were received. Other times, he was able to set something up that would allow the ponies to be converted from the top down, as he had managed with Tindertown by taking the innkeeper and mayor first, giving them the chance to utterly obliterate all authority from the top and make it theirs.  He was a stallion of chaos. Not a breeder, not a stud the way that Moonlight Thunder was, but someone else, someone that did his own thing that the Hive greatly appreciated, and made good use of.  As a traveler, however, he was sometimes hard to find, and when the delivery pony did find him, it was well between different settlements, making his way back to Ponyville to see how things were at the little town. The winged stallion came to a flapping halt not far from him, not even nodding in greeting, merely turning and displaying his ass and ass tentacle.  Ivory Flash turned and took the news. A quick flicker was all it took; the host and parasite had become well-accustomed to rapid transfers of information, and they still enjoyed it, as their cock lunged upward. Ivory Flash focused on that at least as much as the news, so much so that it took a moment for the full import of it to hit him.  The Princesses were taken.  Equestria had fallen.  Not loudly, of course, nor even to the point that most of the ponies through the land knew it yet, but it had. The Hive had won, and soon, it would proclaim that victory to the world at large, and take over everything that was left.  Ivory slowly turned, looking at the messenger. There was little need to speak, though there were times that the host missed doing so. It had been months now since he had been converted, since he had been given that early parasite. The need to speak had faded slowly, and then had become an indulgence, and then something that he remembered enjoying at one point.  But why speak when the tails were so much faster? Why talk when he could just…transfer? It was difficult to remember why speech had been so enjoyable. So slow, so difficult, so fraught with misunderstandings. This was better, more direct, even if it didn’t go down so many different tangents.  Sometimes because it didn’t go down so many different tangents.  Ivory Flash nodded, and the messenger took to the skies, doubtlessly heading off to find other hosts that needed to know the news. He, however, had something different in mind.  The news for him had come with something else, a packet of information that would need to be taken care of. There was a Changeling hive nearby, something that had been discovered from all the aerial surveillance that the Princesses and pegasi had been doing. They were burrowed in merely two days west of where he stood, two days away, and hungry. They would be desperate for someone that would be able to feel things for them, and they would take him in without question.  And then, he would work to spread the Hive from within. Provided that he could pretend that he was normal long enough to be put to use.  He could do that. He was very good at that.  # In Hayburg, the source of the whole infestation, the world had been utterly changed. The unnatural silence of the village was something that no pony could have heard upon entering it without feeling like they had entered a land of the dead. Nobody muttered a word. There were times when one could barely hear the breathing of the various ponies that lived in the small village, where every movement was precise, almost robotic in its nature, and any pony walking in groups of more than one walked in startling unison with each other.  But in the place that the infestation had begun, what did one expect? The ponies had been adapted for use as hosts, and with the ability to transfer information by anal tendril rather than by voice, with the option of just allowing contact through that, and the lack of any need to hide oneself from those passing through, there was no need to be like others. They could be like the hosts everywhere would eventually become: quiet, focused, efficient at what they did, directed by the Hive and everyone knowing everything.  Such was the silent, adapted way of life in Hayburg when the messenger came. The pegasus that flew in paused at the edge of town, surprisingly on-edge for being a member of the Hive, before slowly moving in. The silence, the stares, the slow movements that were nonetheless too fast at the same time, were always on them.  They extended their anal tendril as a sign that they were part of the Hive, too, and the suspicion seemed to fade, but the silence did not. The messenger, as a new convert, didn’t have the same adaptation, and was still slightly ill at ease.  Even the parasite within noticed the difference between a place that had been long-converted and a place that had not. Even though it was a façade in places like Canterlot, the infested still put on a display of life and vim and vigor. Here, in the place of the oldest infestation, there was nothing of the sort.  And there were eggs.  Many, many, many eggs.  The piles of them had grown around the buildings. While true, the hosts laid but one a day, there were no new hosts for the eggs to infest. The village had been completely taken over, and there was nothing left to give the new eggs, the newborns, a place to live. The egg shells were scattered and plentiful, but no sign of the young. If there had been any, they were long-since dispersed. Where they had gone, the messenger didn’t know.  He went to the first stallion who was willing and shared his information. The Princesses were taken, and the land was about to be completely offered up to the Hive. There was no emotional response, no stomping of the hooves, no sudden splatter of pleasure. There was just an acknowledging burst from the other end when the transfer was done. No emotion, no sudden pleasure, no explosion… Nothing.  It was silent and strange enough that the messenger took wing almost immediately, suddenly wanting to be anywhere but there.  # In Ponyville, Mayor Mare continued her work. The town had been mostly changed over the course of her infestation. The few that weren’t were mostly new arrivals that hadn’t integrated with the town yet, and while there were still those that were slightly off with their parasites, nobody hated it. Even she was rather pleased with the difference that it made having someone keeping her on task. The number of times that her silly little ideas had distracted her in the past had made her remarkably inefficient, and it was a miracle that the town had kept her on as mayor.  Now, she was very efficient. The town ran properly, the Hive ran everything, and everyone knew what they were supposed to do. Leisure time was up, though what they were supposed to do with it, no-one entirely knew. It was like giving a library card to an illiterate foal: it just didn’t get used.  Instead, they kept working.  And working.  And working.  The town was clean, cleaner than it had ever been when the messenger showed up. She looked up from the papers that had been filed by the non-infested in town, including a message from a pony merchant that wanted to integrate Ponyville with a neighboring city for better trade deals, and saw the anal tendril already extending, Curious as to the brazen, bold move for someone that should have known better, she walked around the chamber, shutting windows and closing the door before offering her own.  Her leg kicked and twitched, and she felt a hint of relief through the link as she reacted to the spasm. She didn’t understand why, at first, but the information that came through answered her questions.  She – parasite and host – had a similar reaction to the information in Hayburg. The sight of the Hive like that, so different from the ponies that they were used to imitating, gave her an odd turn. Not fear, precisely, nor a feeling of worry, but rather an odd fascination, and a curiosity of what that would be like. Would it be better? Worse? Had they become too much like the ponies that they imitated to be the same as the old generation of parasites? It was hard to tell. Harder to feel good about it.  The rest of the information was better, however, and was cause for as near as the parasites could come to celebration. With the Princesses taken, that meant that the war with the Changelings would soon be over, as well. The Alliance that they had to keep with the little bugs would be taken care of, and then they would be able to live… It was odd. That was almost a Mayor Mare thought rather than a proper Hive thought. The parasite had been about to be relieved at the dropping of normal pony restrictions, something that had allowed the parasites to move more freely and travel and act more successfully. It was odd to want to have them down.  Perhaps there was a greater bleeding between the host and the parasite than the Hive had ever known. Or perhaps it was something about being made to maintain that illusion, something that the rest of them had had to do while the others in Hayburg hadn’t. The ponies had been allowed to remember what they used to be, and act like it, sometimes. It was strange, very strange.  But the good news was still good news. They would be able to move forward, and they would figure this out later.  She was dripping when they came apart, and she nodded her thanks back at the messenger. He turned to face her.  “I don’t want to go back there,” he said.  They didn’t have to ask what ‘there’ was. Hayburg had become…something different. Something odd. Something that didn’t sit right with the more recent hosts. Even her, one of the second or third wave of hosts depending on how one saw it, felt disconnected to what their origins had been. Even the parasite inside her didn’t quite like that. They didn’t dislike it, either, but it wasn’t…them. It wasn’t what they had become.  “Do you have to?” she asked.  “No…and I hope I never do.” “Was it that bad?” “It was like death.” “…” “I must return to Canterlot.” “To the Princesses?” “And the Stud.” She nodded, giving him permission to go. He did, and she went back to her desk. Suddenly, the paperwork felt a great deal less urgent, and all she could think about was the future…and wonder if it was as dark and silent as what Hayburg had become. # The week passed, and the advance notice went out through Equestria. Those that were in vulnerable places were given the chance to move to less vulnerable parts of the land. Those smaller Hives that needed to make sure that they were properly prepared for orders were given the chance to outfit themselves, so that they weren’t caught off-guard when the official orders went out.  And most of all, those that were ready to take charge and become the miniature Hive ‘queens’ that they needed to be were more than ready to drop the façade.  Azure Breeze was one of those, and she had been slowly getting ready for proper work ever since she had been installed in the inn. She had slowly grown more needy, more heated, and she was ready to take control of the various infested individuals of Canterlot. They were going to be under her rulership, rather than the old rules of the nobility and others that had been in charge for years. The system was going to change, and there was nothing that the average pony could do about it.  Celestia and Luna, she knew, were going to be the overall ponies ‘in-charge’, inasmuch as the Hive allowed any sort of freedom. They were among the most cunning and the most powerful of all equine-kind, and they were allowed that much freedom to do what the Hive needed, to order around those that needed commands on a more broad scale. Thus, they would be on the move, going from place to place, delivering orders and moving forward on a war-footing, if needed.  Others, like her, would be in charge of the local areas. Azure Breeze was fairly sure that there would be one or two hosts that would dislike her sudden rise, considering that she was just a common farm pony from way off on the back-end of nowhere, but she had something that they could not challenge. Two things, as a matter of fact.  First, she had seniority. She had been part of the Hive since the beginning, and her parasite had developed far more than theirs. There was nothing in her that it did not touch, and of all the egg-makers in the Hive, she was one of the few that could make more than one a day. She could outbreed any of them, and she had a connection with her young that the others didn’t share.  Second, she had Moonlight Thunder.  The Stud of the Hive, as he had come to be called, was the most powerful male among their numbers, outstripping even Lancer in terms of raw muscle, raw stamina, and sheer cock size. Even the hosts of the Hive had a hard time staying on their hooves when he was let loose, and that was if they were merely going to be faced with a sexual punishment for their uppity-ness. There were times when she could unleash him and make him punish hosts that were getting dangerous, whose parasites were giving them too loose a leash.  It had happened twice. Both times, the hosts had been sent to the infirmary to recover, and some unicorns had to be called.  He was loyal to her, and she appreciated that. He was loyal to the Hive, as well, and that meant that her requests sent two messages: that she was allowed to strike back at those that thought that they could bring her down, and that she was allowed to command the strongest male. That was enough to quell most resistance.  The day was coming, she knew. The day was coming where she would be allowed to do what she wanted, inasmuch as a host ever could. She had ideas for how to shift Canterlot around, ideas of how to make it…different. There were ways to be hosts while still being subservient to the Hive, and that would keep Canterlot from becoming another Hayburg.  I will not do that. I will not. It was something that she and her parasite were in agreement over. They weren’t sure how to change everything, but that was something that they could change.  Moonlight Thunder entered the room at her inn, and she looked up. There was what might have been mistaken for a smile on his face, if one didn’t know the way that hosts looked at one another. It was merely a frozen expression, something that had been glued to his face to keep uninfested ponies from knowing he was different. She cocked her head.  “It’s time?” she asked.  “Almost.” “Shall we –” He nodded. She dragged herself to her hooves, and they made their way out of the room. Their anal tendrils were almost pushing free, wanting to connect with one another, but they held them in. Soon, soon. Even though the inn was safe, they couldn’t be completely sure that it was inviolate against any new visitors. They couldn’t reveal it before the announcement.  They made their way down from the top floor to the first, then out onto the streets. The war on the Changelings had met some powerful progress, according to the announcements from the upper authorities, so some of the street restrictions had been eased. More ponies were out and about now, no longer staying in their houses, no longer so isolated.  They loved it, but they didn’t know the truth. Azure Breeze did.  This was intentional, ensuring that the maximum number of hosts were outside when the announcement came. The conspiracy to take over Equestria was about to hit a fever pitch. The announcement would essentially open up a hunting season, allowing the Hive to take to the streets and hunt down all those that were uninfested. Those that were quick might teleport away if they had the power, or hunker down somewhere that would take a long time to pull them free.  No, this was the way to get them as fast as possible. Open the restrictions, let them feel safe, let them wander around… And then, strike.  As they stepped onto the streets, they looked up and down the cobblestone lanes. She saw other stallions, other mares that were already ready and waiting. They gave the tap-tap hoof signals in greeting as they passed by, and she returned them, ensuring that they were all on the same page.  They assembled at various parts of the street. It was carefully crafted, each of them essentially looking as casual as possible but in reality lying in ambush. When the announcement was made, they would leap into action. The stallions would begin running, and the females would move and ambush those that ran away, spraying them with orgasmic fluids that would cloud the mind and slow them down.  It would not take long.  They were ready.  Azure Breeze and Moonlight Thunder shared a glance with each other before staring expectantly towards the heavens.  # Celestia was still getting used to the feeling of being infested, of being controlled. In all her years in power, even under Discord, she had never felt this way before. It was not merely the helplessness to do anything but obey, but the feeling of that being right pressed into the back of her mind. That was the thing that stood out more than anything else. The fact that this was supposed to be right, that this was her natural place.  And most of all, that she was starting to believe it.  The winged alicorn stood over Canterlot, standing in midair and barely flapping her wings. Luna was ostensibly asleep, but she knew that her sister was in the dungeon of the palace, ready to rise and sweep it from top to bottom with other infested, just to ensure that their bastion of power was completely secure. There were still one or two Changelings within the palace, too, and they would have to be brought into the Hive, made into tools that would take care of any other agents in the city.  It was time.  It was finally time.  She felt her mouth opening, felt her vocal cords moving on their own. The parasite was doing it for her, making it so much easier to just go along with something that she could no longer fight.  Something that she no longer wanted to fight.  Something that… That she approved of.  If I can’t stop this war, if I couldn’t win it, then I have no right ruling over my people any longer. That had been the turning point for her. Not pleasure, not submission, not the constant pressure and lust that had come from allowing the parasite to take control. It wasn’t even the feeling of release of allowing someone else to do a hard job, since she had been ready for that and had been doing hers for generations.  No. It was the reminder that she had failed, and someone else had succeeded. That had been the parasite’s way in for her. This was her way of paying for screwing up. She would hand authority over to the Hive, and be their mouthpiece and helper.  At least this way, things would get better.  She heard and felt herself speaking, and listened to the words coming out of her mouth.  “Citizens of Equestria. I have an announcement to make,” she said, her magic shimmering as bright as the sun before her, carrying her words and her image to every town in the kingdom. She would appear overhead, a bright, glistening silhouette, sending her orders to all and sundry. “And this…is important. Please listen, and hear what I have to say.” The infested citizens of her former kingdom were already approaching those that had turned their heads up to stare at her and listen. The infested knew what she had to say. They were in on the plan. The others were not.  She already knew where this was going. Rape that would turn far too consensual, slave-drones that worked for the Hive, and more. They were giving in to become a far different kingdom, but if it would beat the Changelings, she was willing. If it was better, if it made others happier, then she would be willing.  “Today is the start of a new era for Equestria,” she said, her voice still being drawn from her. “This is the day where everything changes, where everything gets better. This is the day where we will all look back and realize, this was the turning point. Today…” She breathed in. Some part of her wondered if it was the best decision, to finally go along with this, but it was too late now. She had to commit.  “Today is the day…we embrace the Hive.” The attack began below. Males leaped on the nearest hole, bearing their targets to the ground. Others ran, trying to get away, only to be misted by the waiting females, sprayed and marked with arousing fluids that left them gasping, shivering, shaking as they were waiting for someone to use them. All around Canterlot, the smell of lust rose through the air, as the enemy finally struck, not from without, but from within.  “The Hive will give us freedom,” she said as the drones stole the bodily autonomy from those standing against them.  “The Hive will give us strength,” she said as the various infested merely stole what the other horses already had.  “The Hive will give us focus,” she said as minds and more were taken, suppressed, drained for the sake of the Hive purpose, whatever it might be.  “The Hive…will give us victory. You will surrender to the Hive, or you will be taken by it.” She ended the spell, and knew that all over the kingdom, similar uprisings would be going on. Some would be token, enough to keep the citizens of a town from fleeing, while others would be more full and drastic. Ponyville would be completely taken down, as would Cloudsdale and Las Pegasus, but there would be others that would take longer, require a more thorough siege and treatment.  As she flew to the ground, she could see the ones that had changed her already busy, the male fucking away, rutting one of the mares that had tried to flee. She was already cross-eyed, brain-drained from the fuck, and she would be seeded before long. Azure Breeze stood beside her male, ready to push the new parasite into the new host.  They exchanged a look, Princess to Queen, and Celestia knew that there would be no turning back. The days of a free Equestria under her watch were done. There was nothing left of that.  It was the time of the Hive, and only time would tell where it would go from here. She only hoped that it went somewhere better.