From Within

Chapters

Patient Zero
Relationships
The Mayor
License Renewal

Patient Zero

There are many ways to topple a regime.

A shift in culture could often be just as effective as a hostile takeover. When it comes to overturning an administration, there were almost countless ways of going about it. Even the strongest of kingdoms were, at the end of the day, little more than a house of cards. Tall, looming, impressive, yet subject to crumbling under the force of the gentlest breeze. A strong push, or the strategic removal of a key component, either was a viable choice for turning a kingdom to rubble.

The favorite method of the changeling Hive was the one where no one knew the kingdom was falling until it already hit the ground.

To a people like the changelings, it was the only thing that made sense. With access to an almost endless number of fiercely loyal, obedient soldiers, each with deception and subterfuge in their very nature, it would be a waste of their talents to simply throw themselves at the enemy. No, when the changelings wanted to take a kingdom, they did so from the inside. One drone is all it took to get things started. One drone to begin the fall of a nation.

That one drone was in position, looking across the dimly lit night landscape at his target. Whereas most sieges would seek the top of the food chain, changeling invasions tended to have much more humble beginnings. What this drone needed wasn’t a politician or a member of the nobility. What it needed was somepony easy. What it needed was somepony well-connected. What it needed was somepony that had a believable reason to be anywhere, anytime.

What the drone needed was Ponyville’s mailmare.

The drone had watched the Ponyville Postmistress for months, taking note of her routine, her habits, the paths she took to and from work, until the drone knew Derpy Hooves’ life down to the minute. It knew when she left home for the post office, and it knew when she clocked out of work. It knew that Derpy tended to walk home at around 5 PM, in the company of a close stallion friend of her’s. Derpy and the stallion (some sort of a scientist, according to the most recent intelligence) were very rarely seen apart, and he was never late to walk her home. Yet, on this night, Derpy was on her own, only leaving the post office after dark had fallen. This sudden change in behavior, combined with the time of year, left the drone with just one possibility.

Derpy was in heat, which gave the drone the perfect opening.

It watched Derpy continue down the path for a bit longer, silently watching from the shadows until its target had passed. With a quick, subtle flash of emerald magic, unlikely to be noticed by the undoubtedly distracted mare, the drone assumed the proper appearance; an earth pony stallion of average build, with a brownish coat and a mane that was a significantly darker shade. The mark on his flank, a golden hourglass, completed his new form, and so he strode from the bushes to make his play.

“Oi! Fancy seeing you around!” The drone watched its prey carefully, hiding its cold, calculating gaze behind the stolen grin of the pony it was pretending to be. Derpy jumped at the voice, clearly distracted by her own musings and not at all expecting to be called out to at this hour. She turned her head, positively confused, until the drone called out again. “Behind you, love.”

“Doc?” Derpy turned, her eyes lighting up as she met the gaze of the pony she thought was her friend. “What’re you doing out this late?”

“Lost track of time working on this blasted calculation. I just couldn’t pull myself from my numbers until I worked out the problem. Took me far too long, but I finally got it!” The drone gave a good-natured chuckle, watching its prey carefully. Just as it had expected, Derpy relaxed, lowering her guard and joining in on the laughter. “Fancy some company? Seems like a rather lonely walk home, especially at this hour.”

“Oh, gee, I dunno… I’m, uh… S-sick! I’m sick!” Derpy illustrated her point by very unconvincingly coughing into her hoof, all the while pressing her tail down against her flank in an attempt to better conceal herself. It was an act that was unlikely to fool a normal pony. Against a creature with deception wound up in their very soul, she stood no chance. “I don’t want you to c-catch it.”

“Are you alright? You don’t sound yourself.” The drone took a step forward, and, almost as if by some reflex, Derpy took one backward. “Hey, what’s the matter? You never act like this.” Another step from the drone, and another retreat from Derpy. Blissfully unaware of her surroundings, she didn’t even realize how close to the tree she was nearing. “I’m serious, Derpy. You’re beginning to worry me.”

“No, no need to worry, Doc. I’ve got everything under control!” promised Derpy. She twitched somewhat as she took another step back, her body reacting to the smell that was suddenly wafting towards her. It was some musky, earthy, masculine aroma, the type of thing to send a shudder through any mare, even one out of season. It was clear that Derpy was trying her hardest not to let on what was happening to her, and she was failing spectacularly. “Just a, uh… Personal problem. I can handle it.”

“Are you sure? I’m your friend, you know, you can ask me for help,” said the drone. It could tell from how Derpy’s eyelids fluttered that its pheromones were taking effect. Soon, Derpy would be right where the changeling wanted her. “I want to—”

“It’s a mare problem, Doc.”

“Mare problem? What does that…?” The drone trailed off, as if only just now coming to this conclusion. It buried its face in its hoof, parroting embarrassment while subtly continuing his approach. Now, Derpy’s back was touching the large oak tree, and there was nowhere for her to go. “Oh, dear… I think I get it now.”

“Y-yeah. It’s why I’ve been avoiding you recently,” admitted Derpy. Her posture shifted, body language that the drone correctly read as shame. She felt bad about the way she was avoiding her friend, which was just more fuel for the drone. “I didn’t want to embarrass myself in front of you. Well, not any more than usual…”

“I’m sorry you felt you needed to do that. I understand, of course, but I wish I could be more help. Although…” The drone shook its head, as if beating back some ridiculous scheme. “Actually, scratch that. Nevermind?”

“Hm? What is it?” Now, it was Derpy’s turn to ask the questions. “Do you have some sort of machine that could help with… This? You always seem to have an invention for everything.”

“It’s less of a machine and more of a method, and I certainly can’t take credit for inventing it. In fact, it’s a method about as old as life itself.” The drone coughed, darting his eyes away from Derpy’s whenever they dizzily bounced to his face. “Estrus only has two cures, really. Time, and… Well. A stallion. If you’d like, I could certainly help you with that second one.”

“G-Gee, Doc… Wouldn’t that be… Weird?” Despite her apparent resistance, Derpy slowly lurched forward, intoxicated by the scent. She could barely control herself, her tail swishing restlessly behind her as she pressed her rear legs together. “We’ve been friends so long…”

“I don’t see why that would have to change. Just a friend helping another friend out,” said the drone, expertly balancing the false tones of embarrassment and eagerness. “Of course, I understand if you’d rather not. I just want you to know that I’m there for you if you need me. I care about you."

"I know… Oh geez…" Derpy bit her lip, her eyes trained on the ground. Finally, she shook herself firmly, looking up to her "friend" with uncertainty in her hazy, dazed golden eyes. She let out the breath she had been holding in as she considered the situation, and it would be evident to anypony watching that she wasn’t entirely in her right mind. “We… We’re still friends, right? Even if we…”

“No matter what, you’re my friend first and foremost,” said the drone. It stepped forward, coming close enough that it could touch noses with Derpy. It breathed deeply, blowing out even more of its special pheromones directly into Derpy’s senses. The drone leaned in close, dropping its voice to a husky whisper. “That said… I must admit, I’ve always fancied the idea that we could be… more than that.”

Before Derpy could give the situation even a single second more of thought, the drone had its lips to her’s. A shivering moan shuddered from Derpy as the drone’s tongue clashed with her own, every lash and smack of lip on lip turning up the heat that plagued Derpy’s body. Her head went dizzier and dizzier the longer the two kissed, until Derpy could barely stand on her own.

The drone pushed her away, gently yet with authority, turning Derpy around to show her flank. Derpy’s tail swished and twitched restlessly, the golden locks brushing against her cunt in an ill-guided attempt at maintaining her decency. The drone pulled her tail aside, sliding up to mount the mailmare. Derpy let out a grunt from the weight lowering onto her, nearly buckling were it not for the tree in front of her that she used to brace herself.

“Doc…” Derpy gasped breathlessly when she felt it, the hard, thick length of a cock firmly tapping against her underbelly. The stallionhood rubbed itself between her haunches, grinding against her burning, dripping, winking pussy before Derpy felt it slowly press against her entrance. “Be gentle… It’s my… My first time.”

No answer was given before the drone slowly eased itself into Derpy’s tight, virgin passage. The mailmare moaned as she was penetrated, her entire body quivering with delight. It was as if lightning shot up her spine, tingling pleasure surging all throughout her body from even this slow, gentle motion. With each inch that entered Derpy, that electric sensation seemed to grow stronger and stronger.

The drone wasted little time in moving its hips forward, bucking sharply into Derpy’s twat. It shook Derpy’s body with each deep, powerful thrust, shoving nearly every inch of horsecock that it had into Derpy with every movement of its hips. Regardless of Derpy’s warning that this would be her first time, and her request that they start things gently, the drone didn’t seem to particularly care to take things slowly.

As it turned out, neither did Derpy. She had expected there to be some degree of pain or discomfort involved in such rushed, rough fucking, but for reasons she couldn’t yet explain, it felt perfect. The “Doctor’s” cock felt like it was made for her, fitting into her like two puzzle pieces. It felt so good, so perfect, that Derpy didn’t care about taking it slow. All she cared about was getting more, something her partner was more than happy to give her, albeit in a way that Derpy probably hadn’t expected.

“Jeepers…” Derpy let out a gasp, her tongue hanging out of her mouth as she took in deep, heaving breaths while the drone slowly slid its cock out of Derpy’s cunt. The mare’s body, so tight and desperate, fought and resisted, only leaving itself more frustrated when it couldn’t hold on any longer. “W-why’d you take it out? I was getting close…”

The drone said nothing. It had no need for words just then, thanks to the aphrodisiac precum that had been leaking into Derpy. Now, the drone had its target right where it wanted her. The aphrodisiac, combined with the mare’s natural estrus, would magnify nearly every pleasurable sensation, which changeling research had concluded would make even the most stubborn of equines significantly more agreeable. While Derpy was, by all accounts from earlier recon, generally compliant and obedient, the drone had to imagine that even she might resist what came next.

“W-wait! Doc, I don’t think you’re supposed to…” Derpy’s protests were interrupted by a whinny of pleasure as the drone prodded her tight tailhole. Even just this gentle touch sent shockwaves throughout the mare’s body, and she only just barely resisted the urge to comply and let the pleasure take over. “You’re not supposed to put it… there.”

“Loosen up, will you? I promise, you’re going to enjoy this,” promised the drone. Despite its reputation for deceit, both as a spy and a changeling, that statement was certain to be true. “Just let me show you. It might hurt a bit at first, but…”

As it spoke, the drone eased its hips forward, piercing Derpy’s ring as gently as it could manage. Just as it said, the sensation was uncomfortable at the beginning but, as it worked more and more of its length into Derpy’s ass, any pain she was experiencing quickly melted away into pleasure. She wanted to resist, but it was just too good. Derpy hadn’t ever felt anything quite like it, the fiery, electric sensation that ran throughout her quaking her to her core. Almost before she knew what was happening, Derpy felt her body tense and twitch, a shaky squeal leaving her as she came hard.

There, this was the opening the drone was waiting for. It let out a tired groan, signifying its own “orgasm” of sorts; a stream of liquid flooded from its erection, a pale green goo that filled Derpy’s ass. After that initial gush of fluid, something else followed; something bulbous and tailed wiggled through the drone's member. A little gasp shuddered out of Derpy, her body lurching as the egg entered her body.

"That felt… So strange," giggled Derpy. "But good. I didn't think it could feel so good like that! I kinda wish you woulda…"

A pulse of energy rocked Derpy to her core, the green light nearly sending her over onto her side. Inside of her, the egg went through its incredibly brief gestation and quickly began to hatch. Some manner of insect wriggled from its shell, slithering from the shell and swiftly crawling its way throughout Derpy's insides. Using a combination of its six thin, spindly legs and a short range teleportation magic, the creature made its way through Derpy's body, finally stopping at the brain stem. The parasite clasped its tiny, razor sharp pincers into Derpy's grey matter and let forth a surge of magic.

Derpy twitched and kicked as the parasite took hold of her body and mind. Her head jerked and her legs jumped as the energy had its way with her. Her eyes flashed with an emerald glow, the light pulsing before fading away into wisps of gaseous smoke.

"I am ready to receive my orders," said Derpy, her voice devoid of its usual bubbly airiness. Her accent and the slur of her words were all but gone. She spoke with no emotion, only cold, unyielding efficiency.

"You will return to your job as usual. Maintain your cover at all costs." Even though the parasite that the drone had infected Derpy with was still in the larval phase, it had enough of a hold over the mailmare to scorch these orders into her mind. Soon, Derpy wouldn't even need to remember the commands. The parasite and changeling hivemind would do the work for her. "You will search for targets of interest in Ponyville, and you will implant an egg into important figures. Then you will await further instructions from The Hive."

"Understood." Derpy nodded in agreement. "For the glory of The Hive."

"For the glory of The Hive," said the drone. It watched Derpy do an about face, boldly and confidently strolling through the night. Once it was certain that Derpy was gone, the drone turned back to the darkness from which it emerged.

Now, the first seed was planted, and the invasion had finally begun.

Relationships

"Have a great day! May I help who’s next?"

Derpy waved to the mare as she departed with her package, smiling politely all the while. The mare waved her goodbye, carrying her package out of the post office to make room for the next in line. It had thus far been an uneventful day at work for Derpy, at least, as far as she could tell. Delivering packages, helping customers to send out their mail, looking for prime targets to seduce and infect, all pretty standard fare for Derpy Hooves.

“Hey, Derps.”

Two mares approached the counter, the newly-engaged couple of Lyra Heartstrings and Bon-Bon. Good friends of Derpy’s ever since she moved to Ponyville, the pair were always interesting characters to Derpy. Polar opposite personalities, prone to butting heads and fighting like cats and dogs, and yet, by the time the pair came through the other side, their relationship only seemed stronger. That strength was the sort of thing that Derpy admired in Lyra and Bon.

The Hive was more interested in the open nature of the swingers’ relationship, however.

“Hey, guys!” Derpy waved to her friends, smiling brightly as the mares approached. “What can I do for you? Or are you just here to visit?”

“A bit of both, actually,” said Bon-Bon. “Can we talk a bit? If you’re busy, we can come back later.”

“But there doesn’t seem to be anypony else here, so…” Lyra grinned. “We should talk now.” Bon-Bon elbowed her fiance in the side, at which point Lyra amended her statement. “If you’re free, I guess.”

“I was just about to have a coffee break, actually. C’mon!”

Derpy beckoned to the two mares, who rounded the front desk and followed Derpy to the back of the post office. Down a short hallway was a small break room, containing little more than a sink, coffee pot, vending machine, a round table with four chairs, a small refrigerator, and a microwave. Derpy poured out a coffee for each of them, adding sugar and cream where applicable (Lyra liked it straight black, while Bon-Bon predictably had a bit of a sweet-tooth). The mares accepted with a thanks, sitting down at the round table so they could have their chat.

“So, what’s up?” asked Derpy. Lyra and Bon shared a look, silently discussing who would take lead in the conversation.

“Well… I don’t know if it was supposed to be a secret, but…” Bon-Bon smiled a bit sheepishly. “The Doctor had us over for tea yesterday and… he told us everything.”

“Huh? What do you—”

“Doc told us how he dicked your brains out onto the pavement,” laughed Lyra. Bon frowned at her fiance, her disapproval met in equal measure by Lyra’s amused, self-satisfied smirk. “What? If we did it your way, we’d be here all day!”

“Oh… I didn’t expect him to tell anypony yet…” said Derpy, shrinking down and giving her best embarrassed grin. “I was trying to find out the best way to tell you guys, but I guess Doc beat me to it, huh?”

“First of all, we’re both super happy for the both of you,” said Bon.

“It’s about time you two goobers got together.” Lyra winced as Bon-Bon elbowed her again, and she snorted in frustration. “Like you weren’t thinking it…”

“I knew I should’ve come alone…” Bon-Bon shook her head before turning her attention back to Derpy. “What we’re really here for is to see if you might be interested in something a little… Unusual.”

“Unusual? What do you mean?” asked Derpy, tilting her head innocently. She sipped her coffee, watching carefully as her friends did the same. “You don’t mean, like…”

“It’s pretty much common knowledge that Ly and I have an open relationship,” explained Bon, taking another healthy sip of coffee. Something about this particular cup was extra tasty, perhaps even addictive. “But it’s actually a little more complicated than that. We have an agreement on who we can sleep with, and neither of us can hook up without getting the okay from the other. We’re very careful about who we invite into our bedroom.”

“Yeah, only ponies we really trust and like. Like… You and your new coltfriend,” said Lyra with a smirk. “So, we were wondering if maybe you two would like to fool around with us tonight?”

“Oh, wow…” Derpy blushed, rather convincingly, in fact. “I’d have to talk to Doc first…”

“We already did. He’s interested, we just needed to run it by you.” Lyra grinned, bouncing giddily in her seat. “So… Are you interested?”

“I’ve never done anything like this before, but…” Derpy matched Lyra’s grin and nodded eagerly. “I’m in! When do we do this?”

“Awesome! See, Bonnie? Told you she’d be down to clown!” said Lyra, nudging her fiance. “We’ve gotta get stuff ready, but how about we come pick you and Doc up at his place say… 7 PM?”

“Sounds good to me! Can’t wait!”

“Oh man, I’m getting antsy just thinking about it!” Lyra finished off her coffee, not suspecting that it was in any way related, and rubbed her hooves together eagerly. “This is gonna be so much fun!”

“Easy, Ly. We should take it easy,” said Bon. “We’ll scare them off if you’re too… ‘Lyra’ about it.”

“I don’t remember hearing you complain about my being too ‘Lyra’ when you were sitting on my face last night.”

“Lyra!”

“Oh, so we can invite her to have sex but we can’t talk about it in front of her?”

“Heh. Well, as excited as I am, I should probably get back to work,” said Derpy. “Do you guys want more coffee before I go?”

The two mares nodded, which was what Derpy had been expecting, and they graciously accepted the drinks when Derpy delivered them. They were finished with their beverage before Derpy had even led them back to the front of the store, and they had a noticeable fidget and quiver as Derpy waved them away. Not once did they suspect that the coffee was more than it appeared, spiked with the same aphrodisiac precum that had set the stage for Derpy’s own infection.

Now, with two more prepped, the invasion could continue on as planned.

“Thank Celestia you’re here!” exclaimed Bon-Bon. “Ly is dying to get started.”

Derpy smiled, leaning her head against “The Doctor” as they were greeted by their friend. Bon-Bon waved them in, leading them through the foyer and to the living room, where Lyra was waiting. Bon let out a surprised yelp, blushing profusely and averting her eyes from the sight of her fiance sat on the couch, legs spread and rubbing her cunt eagerly.

“Lyra!” Bon-Bon was glowing red with embarrassment. “We have company!”

“Company that’s here to have sex. You sure are weird about this whole swinging thing." Despite how she teased her fiance, Lyra did close her legs and made herself a smidge more presentable for their guests. "Sorry. I've been antsy since earlier. Couldn’t wait for you two to show up.”

“We’ve been excited, ourselves,” said “The Doctor” with a smirk. “Shall we get started?”

“Mh-hm. If everypony’s ready to go…” Bon-Bon gestured to the couch, directing her friends to sit. “Me and Ly have this kind of tradition where the stallion gets our attention first, since we’re normally mare-on-mare.”

“Yeah, dick is like a special occasion thing for us,” added Lyra.

“So if you don’t mind waiting just a sec, Derpy?”

“Oh yeah, no problem here!” Derpy twitched and fidgeted, rubbing her thighs together restlessly. “I kinda wanted to watch anyway.”

From there, the happy couple of Lyra and Bon slid to the floor in front of The Doctor, watching eagerly as he opened his legs to reveal his stallionhood. The engaged mares shared a look, a mix of concern, anxiety, desire, and excitement, before leaning forward to give the intimidatingly big tool a slow, sensual lick. Almost immediately, clear, sticky precum began to sputter from the tip of The Doctor’s cock, which the mares eagerly lapped up. Their eyes rolled back, neither mare quite prepared for just how good it would taste. It was indescribable, almost more of a sensation than a flavor, setting their bodies alight. Their eyes went heavy with lust, and a fiery desire burned between their legs, driving Lyra to reach over and tease Bon’s pussy with a hoof. Soon enough, Bon-Bon was doing much the same to Lyra, their pleasure almost secondary to the main task of licking up more and more of The Doctor’s pre. Most important to note of the sticky, clear goo wasn’t it’s flavor, but it’s almost addictive properties.

Lyra went up, while Bon-Bon slid her tongue down; The latter mare inhaling The Doctor’s musk and wrapping her lips around his balls, and the former opening her mouth wide to take his head into her mouth. They worked together seamlessly, sucking and licking at The Doctor with the goal of producing more of that delightful precum. Once Lyra had swallowed quite a bit of it, she and Bon-Bon switched, to give the other mare a taste of what they had come to desire. They moaned in delight, savoring every bit of The Doctor’s flesh, grinding themselves against their partner’s hoof and bringing themselves nearer and nearer the edge.

Unnoticed by the mares, Derpy stood up from the couch, stepping around until she was behind Lyra and Bon. She inspected both mares carefully, measuring her target before deciding on Bon-Bon. Derpy grabbed her by the flanks and, with a strength beguiled by her gentle, bumbling nature, easily hoisted her up, barely noticed by the mare in question, who was so focused on The Doctor. Derpy said nothing, simply rising up to mount Bon-Bon, gently lowering herself onto the candymaker’s back. If Bon found this strange, she certainly made no mention of it, too busied with the cock before her. Derpy didn’t mind. If anything, it made her job much simpler.

There was a slight wet, squelching sound, and slowly, a thick, tubelike appendage grew out, pushing past the lips of Derpy’s cunt and sitting not unlike a stallion’s own cock. This organ was quite a bit simpler than that of a true penis, however, and it had a few key physical differences. Derpy’s appendage was segmented by large portions of rigidly scaled flesh, coming to a pointed tip with a rather large opening, larger than that of a stallion’s. It was also perpetually slick, some manner of gland responsible for self-lubricating the ovipositor.

Derpy pushed Bon-Bon’s tail aside and, with no pomp or circumstance, forced her tip into the tight ring of Bon’s flank. A moan escaped Bon-Bon, who was too dazed by The Doctor’s addictive precum to think about anything other than how good Derpy’s appendage felt, spreading her apart. She shook and trembled a bit, her head going down low to the floor while Derpy mounted and bred her. After a bit, Lyra was made privy to her fiance’s moans, and she turned her attention away from The Doctor for the first time since she began essentially worshipping him in the first place. Her eyes went wide, a bit confused to see her meek, mare friend Derpy drilling Bon-Bon with what looked like, from Lyra’s perspective, a rather impressive member. Before she could voice her confusion (and admiration for the fucking Bon-Bon was taking), The Doctor took advantage of her preoccupation; He spun her around to face away from him and pulled her by the tail, yanking Lyra into his lap. He very easily lifted up and lowered her flank down onto his cock, immediately matching Derpy’s speed and pounding Lyra’s ass.

Any pain the mares may have been experiencing was drowned out by the electric, infectious, unshakable pleasure they felt. They weren’t concerned with the strangeness of the situation, because they simply couldn’t think about anything except getting fucked, taking what their partners were dishing out. Lyra bounced eagerly on The Doctor’s pole, rubbing her clit while she did. It wasn’t long before Lyra was quivering, letting out a deluge from her pussy as she reached her peak. Her shriek of pleasure was soon matched by Bon-Bon, who also came from the force of Derpy drilling her ass into the floor.

As their respective mares reached their climax, The Doctor and Derpy arrived at their own finale; A jet of sticky green liquid brought with it an egg that wriggled into their new homes, completely unnoticed by the mares currently in their afterglow. While they recovered, the eggs swam and teleported to their brains, latching on and sending out a surge of magic.

The energy made the mares tremble and quake, twitching and quivering until they collapsed to the ground while the parasite rewired their thoughts. Their likes, dislikes, even their love for one another, all became secondary to their one true love, the only thing they cared about now: the parasite in their brain, and the glorious changeling Hive. It was a relatively slow process, taking a bit more than a minute to push their desires aside, each electric spark of transformative magic making both new hosts twitch. Those sparks weren’t just felt in the mind, but in the host’s entire body. Bon-Bon quivered and convulsed, the sensation of her mind being rewritten sending her into another orgasm.

Their eyes rolled back in their head and, just as quickly as it started, it was over. Lyra and Bon-Bon pulled themselves up from the floor, standing upright and looking The Doctor in the eye with a glazed, vacant expression and a wide, unnerving smile. This version of the parasite was even stronger than the one that had infected Derpy, more aggressive. Perfect for The Hive’s purposes.

"I am ready to receive my orders," said Lyra and Bon, at the same time and with the same even monotone to their voice. The Doctor stood up, relaying the orders to the new sleeper agents, as well as new directives for Derpy. With their numbers growing, the invasion force could make some larger strides in their plan. Things were progressing as expected, and it was only a matter of time before Equestria fell, as all kingdoms did sooner or later.

All for the glory of The Hive.

Lyra and Bon-Bon had been very, very busy as of late.

Formerly, they didn’t invite other couples to the bedroom terribly often, perhaps every few months. They both preferred when swinging felt more like a special occasion than the status quo. That all changed after their night with Derpy and The Doctor. Now, Lyra and Bon found themselves with a new couple every weekend, and sometimes even independently of one another during the week. Lyra didn’t think to mention her weekday escapades to her fiance, nor did Bon think it necessary to mention hers. Somehow, they both knew the other wouldn’t mind.

Coincidentally, around this time, Bon-Bon introduced a new candy to her shop, a dark chocolate and amaretto truffle that was doing very well in Ponyville. Some chalked it up to some secret ingredient, something to give the candy such a delectable, addictive flavor, but Bon-Bon never confirmed that. She was likely to point to the amaretto in the candy; the liqueur did have some alleged aphrodisiac properties, after all. The secret ingredient… Well, from what Bon-Bon could tell, people were plenty happy with the candies, and that’s what really mattered.

Bon-Bon sighed, wiping down her counter as the day ticked to an end. She had been so busy with work, and candy-making, that she barely had a moment to herself all week. She sipped her coffee, the same addictive, aphrodisiac recipe that Derpy had shared with her the last month. The coffee certainly helped, but at the moment, Bon-Bon felt like she needed more than just a hot drink.

“Hello? Are you still open?” A stallion slipped into the shop, a thin, lithe, almost fragile looking pegasus with a pleasantly pale pink coat. He looked soft, gentle, easily malleable. In other words, perfect for Bon-Bon. “I hope I’m not too late.”

“Not at all! Come on, don’t be shy.” Bon finished off her coffee and set it aside, smiling politely as the stallion made his way to the counter. “What can I do for you?”

“Well, tonight’s my anniversary, and my boyfriend loves chocolate,” said the stallion. “I was hoping to get him a little gift.”

“Ah, yes. If romance is your game, may I just suggest our new amaretto truffle?” Bon-Bon ducked under the display case and withdrew a tray of the aforementioned sweets, setting them down atop the counter. “Dark chocolate shell with an amaretto syrup. Absolutely delicious, and some say it adds a little extra spark of passion. Just between you and me, when my fiance tested these, she was insatiable. Had to pry her off me with a crowbar.”

“Is that so? Things have been a little rough between us…” The stallion tilted his head curiously. “Is there any way I could maybe sample it?”

“Absolutely! Help yourself.” Bon nudged the tray forward, watching the stallion grab up one of the perfect little chocolates and pop it into his mouth. He let out a surprised little hum, which shifted into a satisfied moan as the “amaretto” squirted from the shell and coated his palette. “So? What do you think?”

“Wow, that’s amazing! I’ve gotta stop myself from eating the whole tray!” The stallion smiled, reaching into his saddlebags to pay for the chocolates. “How much for a dozen?”

“Actually… You’re a big strong stallion. I’ve got this crate I need carried home and I just can’t seem to lift it,” said Bon-Bon, gesturing to the wooden box over in the corner. “I only live just down the road. If you would be so kind as to carry the box for me, your chocolates are on the house.”

“Sounds like a deal.”

Bon smiled, watching the stallion fidget ever so slightly. His cock had grown stiff between his legs, unbeknownst to the man himself, which was precisely what Bon-Bon had been anticipating. The candymaker directed traffic, instructing him to lift the crate she had pointed out earlier. The stallion did so with ease (the box felt as though it held nothing at all, but he didn’t question it), and he obediently followed Bon-Bon out of the shop.

True to her word, the walk was a brief one, just up the walking path to the humble little house that Bon-Bon and her beloved called home. She pushed open the front door and directed the stallion to the kitchen while she herself sat upon the couch. The stallion set the crate onto the counter and rounded back to meet Bon, a bit shellshocked by what he saw. The homeowner was sat on her couch, lounging with her legs spread as her hoof explored her pussy.

“What… Are you doing?” he asked, his brow arched in confusion. Bon-Bon let out a tiny moan as her hoof brushed against her clit, and she didn’t slow down in the slightest to answer.

“Masturbating. It’s been a long day,” said Bon plainly. “Wanna come eat me out?”

“Uh… I’m gay?” said the stallion, as if that were the biggest problem with the situation. Somehow, the idea of going down on a woman wasn’t as off-putting as he might have previously anticipated. In fact, it sounded rather enticing. “Like, really gay, actually.”

“Me too. Let’s pretend for a bit, okay?” Bon-Bon gestured to her guest and spread her legs a bit wider. “C’mon, my fiance won’t be back for like an hour. Just lick me a little, okay?”

“Well… Okay. Just don’t tell anypony.” The stallion felt his body drag itself forward, dropping him down onto the ground before the candymaker. He couldn’t explain why, but the cloyingly sweet aroma of Bon-Bon’s pussy pulled him in, drawing him forth to get a taste. With a clumsy, unpracticed mouth, he tongued at Bon-Bon’s cunt, the addictingly saccharine taste of her nectar clouding his already somewhat fuzzy thoughts. With each lick of Bon-Bon’s wet, hot cunt, the stallion could feel himself growing harder and harder, his dick drooling a steady drip of pre onto the carpet. He was so focused on licking Bon’s pussy that he didn’t notice the sound of two more ponies arriving from the back of the house. He glanced up to see Lyra leading the way, followed closely by a larger, sturdier stallion than himself. He thought he looked familiar, but he couldn’t quite place it at the moment, his attention devoted almost entirely to eating Bon-Bon’s delicious pussy, trying to get every drop of Bon’s sweet, delicious juices onto his tongue as possible..

“How was work, hon?” asked Lyra, leading her stallion to the couch. Instead of receiving some oral gratification of her own, she gestured forward to her soon-to-be wife and the stallion pleasuring her; the bigger stallion nodded and strolled around until he was behind the thinner, softer stallion from Bon-Bon’s candyshop.

“It was okay. Really needed this, though,” sighed Bon-Bon. She bit her lip and, with no warning, wrapped her legs around her stallion’s head tightly. She let out a satisfied wail as she came, spraying his features with sticky, sweet, addictive marecum, chuckling slightly as the stallion gagged and coughed on her juices. Just as forceful as his sputtering was his attempts to slurp up her sticky nectar, even as he slightly choked on it. “Fuck, yeah… How about you?”

“Had the day off. Been fucking this stud all day,” laughed Lyra. She leaned over and rested her head on her fiance’s shoulder. “I think these two know each other…”

“Boyfriend.” The bigger stallion grunted that single word before grabbing the smaller stallion by the tail, and it all suddenly came back to him; This big hunk of a man that was pulling his flank up was his boyfriend, and he seemed to have less than pure intentions; The Boyfriend was hard, with a cock that put the Small Stallion to shame, and he seemed intent on using it.

The Boyfriend prodded the Small Stallion’s tight hole with his impressive equipment and—whether due to the transformative properties of Bon-Bon’s marecum, The Boyfriend’s cock being slick with Lyra’s juices, or a combination of the two—The Boyfriend very easily forced his way into him. He jerked his hips into the Small Stallion, slamming him into Bon’s muff with each deep stroke. The Small Stallion moaned into Bon-Bon’s lower lips as his boyfriend drilled him deeply, rocking their bodies with his powerful hips. The Boyfriend didn’t say anything as he pistoned his hips, and the Small Stallion had little to offer in terms of words at the time. His Boyfriend was being so rough, so deep, in a way the Small Stallion didn’t think was possible from his usually gentle, tender lover. Though unprepared for such treatment, it was impossible to deny its efficacy, especially when the Small Stallion let out a groan, his cock twitching and dribbling his load down onto the carpet.

The Boyfriend grunted in kind, letting a deluge of sticky green cum spray from his cock and into the Small Stallion’s tight ass. Closely chasing that green goo was the wriggling, bulbous shape of an egg, which quickly squirmed into the Small Stallion’s pucker. The egg made its way through the Small Stallion’s body, squeezing its way past his prostate and causing another trembling orgasm to drool from the Small Stallion’s half-hard cock. As the Small Stallion stopped to catch his breath, his body lurched, and a surge of green energy sent a tremor through him.One last time, he moaned, collapsing and spraying the biggest, thickest load of the night onto the floor. He went still, standing up straight and blinking his glowing emerald eyes, the green light fading back to his formerly blue irises. A thousand voices whispered in his brain, melding from individual sounds into the single, constant stream of knowledge, consciousness, and understanding that stood as the changeling Hivemind.

“I am ready to receive my orders,” said the Small Stallion. Lyra and Bon smiled, each of them reaching over to tease the other’s cunts. Lyra kissed her fiance on the neck, leaving Bon-Bon to give the instructions.

“Go out to a club and celebrate your anniversary. Three stallions each,” said Bon-Bon.

The Small Stallion and his Boyfriend nodded, pecking each other on the cheek before cleaning each other up a bit; The Boyfriend lapped Bon-Bon’s sticky fluids from the Small Stallion’s muzzle and, when he was finished, the Small Stallion stooped down to suck and lick any evidence from his Boyfriend’s fat cock. Once the two clean and ready for a night on the town, they gave another nod and strolled out of the home as if nothing strange had occurred at all. The engaged couple watched them leave before diving in to kiss once again. When they broke apart, their hooves returned to their sides, and they wore matching sultry smirks.

“That’s three for you this week,” said Lyra. “I’m at five.”

“Shoot. I need to catch up,” chuckled Bon, feeling her hungry pussy quiver in anticipation at the thought of bringing even more ponies into the Hive’s control. “Wanna hit the club? See if I can’t match those numbers?”

“Of course. For the glory of The Hive.”

The Mayor

The Mayor was not pleased.

Ponyville was normally a very simple town to look over. Not a huge amount of citizens, not very many bureaucratic problems, and the only headaches Mayor Mare tended to experience were the semi-common magical disasters. Even with all the monsters, gods, demons, and maniacal sorcerers that seemed to gravitate towards the small town for whatever reason, Mayor Mare didn’t worry, because her town was home to the Spirits of Harmony, and things typically worked out just fine.

Yet, somehow, things had slowly and silently begun to go off the rails. Everything seemed to be moving more slowly than usual, and required a lot more oversight from the mare in charge. Paperwork wasn't coming in on time, which meant she had to spend more of her time waiting around instead of making things run smoothly. And just today, the Mayor had to fire her help after catching her new bulky intern and a secretary going at it in the storage closet. It was a shame, as far as she was concerned. The intern was just talking about how excited he was to celebrate his anniversary with his boyfriend, and here he is having a workplace affair (with a mare, no less) just a week later.

"Pah. Men…" snorted the Mayor as she recalled the incident. Even as she derided the opposite sex, she begrudgingly found herself craving one’s touch; Her estrus had snuck up on her seemingly overnight, at the worst possible time. "Pigs, all of them… Kid made good coffee, though…"

In fact, that good coffee was the only thing keeping Mayor Mare from going off the deep end entirely. It was somehow both energizing and soothing, filling the Mayor with vigor and also keeping her from being too jittery. It tasted excellent, as well, a perfect blend of nutty and fruity notes, and was supremely smooth. She only hoped there would be some of that fantastic coffee leftover. It was likely that she’d need it, because the Mayor foresaw this trip to the post office being very tiring, indeed.

Mayor Mare frowned as she approached the post office, which should have been as bustling as ever. Yet, for some reason, the place seemed deserted, without even staff coming in and out to handle deliveries. That would certainly explain the Mayor’s current predicament: A letter was meant to arrive from Canterlot several days ago, permission to continue on with her proposed increase on the vendor’s license tax, and yet, it never arrived at her office. The only explanation the Mayor had was some sort of hold up with the post, and the secretary she sent to look into it was the one getting railed by her intern. As such, the Mayor had no choice but to investigate for herself.

“This damn mail mare…” grumbled the Mayor as she approached the post office. She grabbed the door and pulled, encountering the resistance of a lock. Her lips curled down, but the Mayor tried again, with equally disappointing results. “Oh, for Celestia’s sake… Can’t just one thing go right for me this week?” The Mayor firmly rapped her hoof against the glass door of the post office before growing frustrated and rattled the door handle yet again. “Where is that idiotic postmare? I swear, the moment I can find a replacement…”

“Lookin’ for somepony?”

The Mayor nearly jumped out of her skin at the sudden voice from behind her, a series of angry, startled swears just barely contained behind a thin veil of professional decorum. Once the Mayor had stilled her beating heart, she turned to meet the “idiotic postmare” that she had just a second ago complained about. Derpy tilted her head and smiled, apparently unbothered by the Mayor’s somewhat incendiary comments, if she heard them at all.

“Ms. Hooves, just the mare I was looking for.” The Mayor frowned at the apparent nonchalance that Derpy was treating the situation with. She really shouldn’t have been so bright and bubbly, considering the situation. “Respectfully, ma’am, I’d like to know just why you think it’s acceptable to leave our town’s only post office unattended during operating hours?”

“Oh, well, ya see, there was an incident yesterday in the mailroom earlier, so I had to clear the place out and talk to some folks about it.” Derpy wiped her brow, shaking her head in disbelief. “Wouldn’t have believed it if I didn’t see it myself! I’m only just getting back, and let me tell ya, Mayor, it’s been a day so far!”

“What could have been so disrupting that you needed to close the entire post office?”

“Er… I had three visitors sneak into the mailroom with some of my post mares to, eh… Handle some business, if you know what I mean.” Derpy chuckled, shaking her head yet again. “Looks like estrus week is comin’ early this year for some folks. Anyway, how’s about you, Mayor?”

“Excuse me?!” scoffed the Mayor, blooming bright red. “My heat cycle is none of your business!”

“Eh… I meant your day… You’re normally too busy to come get your own mail, so I thought maybe something was goin’ on?”

“Oh. Yes, of course.” Mayor Mare cleared her throat, then did what any decent politician would do when faced with an embarrassing, uncomfortable situation; She ignored it completely. “I’ve been expecting a very important letter from Canterlot days ago and I still haven’t received it.”

“Yeah, that’s been a problem lately. Our mail wasn’t being organized properly!” said Derpy. “Guess those post mares must’ve been ‘getting to know’ visitors for a while now, cause they sure haven’t been sorting letters!” Derpy hoofed her forehead, then quickly dug through her saddlebag to retrieve the key to the front door. “I just remembered, I pulled all of your letters aside once I realized things weren’t being sorted. I should be able to find your Canterlot letter in no time!”

“Finally…” The Mayor rolled her eyes, but kept the brunt of her annoyance to herself. There was no need to be frustrated. All she needed to do was focus, get the letter, get back to her office, and start looking for a new secretary. “Right behind you, Ms. Hooves.”

“Just need to get this darn key in… These locks are always sticking, been a pain in my flank for ages now…”

Derpy was supremely focused on unlocking the door, seemingly oblivious to the Mayor’s growing impatience. Finally, after about a minute of quiet jingling and fidgeting with the lock, Derpy finally opened the post office, and led the way for a growingly irate Mayor Mare. The building was dead quiet, almost eerily so, and the somewhat haunting aura was in no way abated by the quiet creaking of the front door as Derpy gently pushed it shut.

“Your letters should be in the breakroom. I’ll get those out for you lickety-split, Ms. Mayor!” Derpy sauntered deeper into the post office, past the front desk, but paused before she disappeared through the hallway to the back of the facility. “Would you like to join me for some coffee, Ms. Mayor? My boyfriend just got some really nice imported stuff that I save for special guests.”

“Mm… You know, I could go for some coffee…” The Mayor felt her entire body jump and twitch at the offer, such jittering perhaps indicating that she should refrain from any more coffee that morning. Yet, despite knowing that she was in danger of a caffeine overload, Mayor Mare couldn’t resist the siren’s call of a hot cup of joe. “Today had a rough start, I could really use a kick in the pants to get me going.”

“Then follow me!”

The Mayor did just that, and trotted close behind Derpy towards the breakroom. With each step forward, the enticing scent of coffee grew stronger and more intoxicating, nearly clouding the Mayor’s vision with its earthy, roasty, saccharine aroma. She needed this more than she initially realized, so much so that her body seemed to be tingling with desire. Was the smell of coffee turning her on, she wondered? Or was her ill-timed estrus just especially strong just then?

“Here ya go, Ms. Mayor!”

The Mayor blinked and, all of a sudden, she found herself at a table in the breakroom, with a steamy mug of coffee placed in front of her muzzle. Strangely, the Mayor did not remember quite making it out of the hallway. She shook herself firmly, eventually deciding that she had lost focus for a bit during the walk from the front of the post office. Apparently, she needed this coffee more than she initially anticipated.

“I… Thank you.” The Mayor slowly brought the coffee to her lips, preparing for the worst. If Derpy couldn’t manage to get clearly marked envelopes where they needed to go, Mayor Mare had very low hopes on her ability to make coffee; To her surprise, the drink was perfect. Smooth, bold, with a lot of body and lacking an ounce of bitterness. A perfect cup of coffee. “Oh my… This is amazing.”

“Fresh ground beans, no cream, two sugars. Just the way you like it,” reported Derpy with a smile. She set the coffee pot on the table, nudging it towards the Mayor. “Only the best for our Mayor.”

“I appreciate… Wait a moment…” The Mayor looked over to Derpy inquisitively, but could not resist taking another sip. The coffee sent waves of warmth throughout her, leaving her tingling all over, nowhere more so than her winking, eager marehood. “How do you know how I like my coffee?”

“Musta read it in the paper somewhere.” Derpy shrugged, never once losing her cheerful grin. “I’ll be right back, Ms. Mayor. Just gotta fetch your letters.”

“Take your time.”

The Mayor sipped her coffee idly, not even looking up as Derpy departed. She could feel herself grow hotter with each sip, the smooth java sending a buzzing sensation throughout her core. It was a bizarre sensation, the tingling and yearning between her legs growing with each gulp, and yet she couldn’t stop herself from drinking more and more. By the time she had finished her cup, she could barely sit still, but not for the caffeine she consumed; She rubbed her legs together, her thighs sticky with the juices from her needy, drippy cunt.

“Damned estrus…” The Mayor glanced over her shoulder and, when she was certain she was still alone, slipped a hoof between her legs. Her body erupted into pleasured shivers from the moment her hoof brushed her lower lips, and the Mayor needed to bite her lip in order to stifle a moan. The Mayor blushed, more than a bit embarrassed by just how good that little touch felt. Unable to resist, she rubbed herself some more, her hoof gently gliding up and down her hot, wet slit, each motion bringing with it more pleasure than the last.

“Must be some coffee, huh?”

The Mayor jumped in surprise, very quickly snatching her hoof from her greedy pussy. Even still, she knew she hadn’t been quick enough; Derpy smirked as she entered the room, carrying a stack of papers on her back, which she off-loaded onto the table. Despite catching the Mayor of Ponyville jilling her sloppy cunt like some sort of needy pervert, Derpy didn’t have much to say about the situation. She simply sat down across from the Mayor and began rifling through the stack of letters in search of the proper documents.

“Oh, don’t stop on my account, Ms. Mayor,” said Derpy. She pulled a letter from the stack and used it to start a new pile. She seemed primarily focused on sorting the mail she had uncovered, barely even acknowledging that her guest had been touching herself. “I know how hard heat can be, believe you me, so I don’t blame you for needing to blow off a little steam.”

“I haven’t the faintest idea what you’re talking about,” remarked the Mayor. Even as she spoke, she felt that burning, tingling, unwavering desire in her loins, and her hoof dragged itself between her legs once again. “I just… need my blasted mail…”

“Gee, I dunno, Ms. Mayor. Seems to me like you need more than just a couple of letters." Derpy refilled the Mayor's mug and, almost before she pulled the coffee pot away, the Mayor had already begun gulping down the delicious beverage. “Ya know… My boyfriend is always out of town, for work, you see, so when he ordered that coffee for me, he also got me a little something to help me with heat. I could lend you one, if you want?”

“Excuse me? Did you just offer to let me borrow a sex toy?” Despite the way The Mayor scoffed, ostensibly in disgust, she still let her wayward hoof slide between her legs to rub her pussy. “Honestly, Ms. Hooves, if we could have just a bit of professional behavior…”

“It’s not really a toy, and I was gonna give you one, to keep. It’s really gonna help scratch that itch that’s bothering you. But, if you wanna deal with your estrus the old-fashioned way…” Derpy smirked, as if she knew something that The Mayor did not, and gently nudged the coffee forward. “Can I get you another refill, Ms. Mayor?”

“I… I shouldn’t…” murmured The Mayor. Her breathing hitched, and she rubbed her cunt faster, each flick of her wrist driving stakes of pleasure and desire throughout The Mayor’s body. She couldn’t seem to control herself, and she soon found herself openly touching herself with no attempt made to conceal her actions. “Damn it… Yes, I’ll take another coffee…”

“C’mon, Ms. Mayor, just give this thing a try,” said Derpy, as she poured The Mayor yet another coffee. The Mayor polished off the drink in a flash before slumping in her seat to masturbate with even more fervor. "I promise, you won't regret it!"

"Grr… F-fine. I'll play along," relented Mayor Mare. "What is it that we're talking about, anyway? A pill? Potion?”

“Just stand up for a second. It’s easier if I just show you,” said Derpy. The Mayor stood up, rubbing her hindlegs together in sexual frustration. “Good. Now turn around, and lean on your chair.”

Just as before, The Mayor did as she was told without much in the way of thought or hesitation; She all but presented herself to Derpy, clambering up into her chair and facing away from the mailmare. Now, with her target clear, Derpy began to mount her mare. She shuddered with pleasure as her ovipositor revealed itself, sliding from her folds, perpetually slick and oozing addictive precum from its tip. With a lick of her lips, Derpy scooted up close behind The Mayor and slid her slippery appendage up to The Mayor’s tight tailhole. She gave The Mayor a little prod and, when she returned no resistance, Derpy slowly forced herself into her mare.

The Mayor’s eye twitched, her tongue hanging out of her mouth as she sat paralyzed by the overwhelming pleasure that struck her from just one stroke. After drinking so much coffee (or, more importantly, the aphrodisiac precum Derpy used to spike the pot), The Mayor was a powder keg, ready to blow at any little disturbance. Any thoughts of resistance or surprise were lost in a haze of pleasure just as soon as they materialized. The Mayor moaned without shame or restraint, and quickly began wriggling her hips back to impale herself on Derpy’s shaft.

The pleasure The Mayor felt may have been intense, but it was a drop in the bucket compared to the electric feeling that arced through Derpy. She felt like she was cumming just from sliding into The Mayor’s tight pucker, but nothing came out of her ovipositor. Were she more sound of mind, she may have noticed that the pleasure was more than just from the physical stimulation; The Mayor was a very important pony in Ponyville, and therefore an extremely valuable target. The changelings needed a pony like The Mayor, and this seemingly endless state of orgasmic bliss was a reward from the hivemind to their loyal drone for such excellent performance. A tight, wet hole was nice, but the praise of countless changelings flooding through one’s own brain was an incomparable sensation.

Derpy grabbed The Mayor by her distinguished-looking grey tail and pulled her back as she worked her hips, burying every inch of her ovipositor into The Mayor's snug ass. With each thrust, Derpy felt a new wave of mind-numbing delight rock her body, new worlds of pleasure revealing themselves to her. Just as she penetrated The Mayor, she could feel the pleasure penetrate her brain, with The Hive's praise fucking her mind just as hard as she fucked the tight piece of flank before her.

The Mayor didn’t realize it was happening until, all of a sudden, she was twitching, her cunt constricting around nothing as she came hard. Never before had Mayor Mare ever taken a stallion (or anything, for that matter) up her ass, nor did she ever expect she would enjoy such a thing. Were she able to string together a complete thought, she would attribute this orgasm to her estrus. In the end, it didn’t matter why she enjoyed it so much. All that mattered was that the pleasure kept up, that Derpy held her in place to fuck her ass to pieces.

"F-fuck…" moaned The Mayor. She didn't know how long she had been getting fucked, or where she even was anymore. All she knew for sure was that this feeling, being spread by Derpy’s slick, firm, powerful appendage, was the greatest sensation she had ever experienced, and it was unlikely to ever be topped.

Or, so she thought. Just as she was brought to the edge once again, she felt Derpy's ovipositor flare inside of her, signaling the arrival of a stream of thick, viscous green liquid. The egg swam through the stream and into The Mayor. The egg hatched as it shimmied forth, and the newborn parasite used a leap of magic to make its way to The Mayor’s brain. With flash after flash of powerful magic, the parasite rewired The Mayor’s brain, each electric charge sending another spike of orgasmic pleasure into her core. Her eyes flashed green, as did Derpy’s, and with one last shrieking, twisting, winding moan of sheer, blinding delight, The Mayor collapsed.

“Ooh, I found it!”

The Mayor blinked, her emerald eyes slowly fading back to their usual cold, powerful shade of blue. By then, she was standing again, struggling to remember where she was or why she was there. She found herself accepting a stack of papers and leaned in to inspect them. A letter from Canterlot, hoofwritten by the enemy herself; Celestia had signed off on The Mayor’s proposal to increase the tax on certain vendor licenses, specifically vendors who dealt in luxury goods.

“Hmph. Idiot,” snorted The Mayor, her brain buzzing with approval from The Hive. “She’s so trusting…”

“Is this all you need, Ms. Mayor?” asked Derpy, the green just barely faded from her eyes. The Mayor nodded. “Excellent! Well, I’ve gotta get back to work, and I’m sure you’re plenty busy, yourself. Don’t be a stranger! For the glory of The Hive.”

“For the glory of The Hive.”

The Mayor gave a polite nod in Derpy’s direction before securing the documents and heading off. Even as she made her way out of the post office, she could still feel Derpy inside her, the thick appendage drilling her to her core, and her new, one true love attach itself to her brain. The one thing that would always be there for her, that would never leave or cheat. With each memory or thought it obstructed and replaced with orders, a shockwave of joy followed. The Mayor could feel herself growing more and more excited as The Hive stole any useful memories or ideas to add to the hivemind, and it whispered to her their secrets, plans of their victory. The Mayor could hardly wait to begin her part in the downfall of Equestria, and her enthusiasm to betray her own kind was rewarded with more pleasure from the hivemind.

The Mayor couldn’t help but smile, the buzzing from her parasite coming together with the low, constant roar of the hivemind encouraging and instructing her to create a warm, tingly, satisfying sensation that carried her throughout the streets of Ponyville, all the way until she arrived at City Hall. She waved to the office worker that was waiting for her at the doors, a mare whose name escaped The Mayor just then.

“Ms. Mayor, welcome back!” she said. The Mayor just nodded, walking past her to enter the building. The Assistant didn’t seem to mind, and she merely broke out into a little jog to catch up. “Er… I’ve been scrambling all morning to replace Jenna and Burke the intern, and I’ve found a few suitable candi—”

“Replace? Why are we replacing those two?” asked The Mayor. She came to a stop outside of her office, tilting her head in confusion. “They were good, weren’t they? That Burke kid makes excellent coffee.”

“Er… You caught them… Ahem… clowning around on office time,” the Assistant said. The Mayor’s confusion didn’t wane, so she elaborated. “In the closet? Just this morning? You could hear them… finish up from the lobby…”

“Oh. Oh, of course. Well, it was just one mistake, we shouldn’t hold it against them forever,” said The Mayor dismissively. “Go track them down, I want them back by the end of the day.”

“Are… Are you sure about that? With all due respect, Ms. Mayor, it’s going to be a tough sell if anyone finds out why they were initially fired to begin with.”

“Let me worry about the selling. You just get them back in the office.”

“Okay… I’ll get right on that.” The Assistant was confused, but couldn’t dream of disobeying The Mayor. “Oh, and you have a stack of forms on your desk. License renewal requests and whatnot.”

“Shouldn’t be too long for that. Thank you, I’ll see to that at once.” The Mayor smiled as she let herself into her office, swinging it closed before her Assistant could respond. Sure enough, a stack of papers sat on her desk, which she quickly investigated. She looked it over once and smirked, the Hive’s influence sending tingles of excitement and amusement through her loins. “Well, isn’t that just perfect?”

The Mayor took the license renewal application and set it aside as she produced an ink stamp from her desk. She took the crimson-inked stamp and pressed it down onto the sheet of parchment, grinning as The Hive gifted her with another shock of betrayal-fueled pleasure upon seeing that the name “Rarity” was now obscured with two simple, scarlet words.

REQUEST DENIED

License Renewal

"There must be some misunderstanding!"

Rarity was, during the best of times, a bit dramatic. A romantic mare with a penchant for theatre, The Spirit of Generosity tended to exaggerate and embellish little details in the name of a little flair. This was during the best case scenario, so one could only imagine how she may behave when her business, her dream, her very livelihood, was being threatened.

To her credit, Rarity maintained much of her composure after receiving her letter. She took in some deep breaths, and made her way to Town Hall the very next morning, more than a bit eager to get this whole thing resolved. Upon arriving at Town Hall, however, Rarity’s tension and frustration only seemed to climb with each passing moment. From the moment she stepped into the office area, right as the building opened for the day, there was a line almost to the door. It seemed that Rarity wasn’t the only one who had their request denied. Ordinarily, Rarity would have just come back another time, but that wasn’t an option today; Due to some mishandling by the postmistress (Rarity loved Derpy dearly, but she had always thought the mare was a bit too dim for her profession), Rarity didn’t even receive the letter notifying her of the denial until the day of the appeal deadline.

And so, with no other recourse, Rarity waited. And waited. And waited and waited. For hours, Rarity was stuck there, the line barely crawling forward at all. Rarity was beginning to think this was some sort of cruel prank, and she could feel insanity inch nearer at a much more rapid pace than she approached the desk. The whole situation would be infuriating on a good day, not even accounting for the fact that Rarity’s business, her passion and livelihood, hung in the balance.

Then, after hours of frustrating waiting and dreaming up worst-case scenarios, Rarity made it to the front of the line just to learn that she had been in line for nothing.

“Afraid not, ma’am,” said the stallion behind the desk. Rarity didn’t recognize him, so she reasoned he must be new; The nametag he wore labeled him as “Burke”, certainly a new name in the office. “Mayor Mare has you down for ‘do not renew’, signed and stamped. There’s two copies of the paperwork that she has to fill out, so I don’t think it was an accident.”

“But the DNR list is for overdue licensing fees! I’ve never once missed a single payment or tax on my license!” said Rarity. “This is preposterous! You can’t just take my license away for no good reason!”

“I’m sorry, ma’am, but there’s nothing I can do. If you’d like to file an appeal, I can get you the necessary paperwork and in 48 hours—”

“I don’t have 48 hours! The deadline is today!” snapped Rarity. Burke hummed curiously before checking his notes and shrugging.

“So it is. In that case, you shouldn’t have put it off until the last moment, ma’am.”

Rarity very nearly lost her temper but, by some miracle, managed to contain herself for the time being.

“Alright, alright, I didn’t want it to come to this, but… Do you know who I am, sir?” Rarity genuinely did hate throwing her name around, as she believed someone of her stature should behave with humility and grace, but these were extenuating circumstances. “I am Rarity!”

“Yes, ma’am,” said Burke with a nod. “Says so right here at the top, see? ‘Rarity: Request denied. Do not renew’. This is your file, isn’t it?”

“I meant…I’m Rarity. You know.” Rarity beckoned with her hoof, to no avail. “The Spirit of Generosity?” Again, the new receptionist seemed puzzled. “One of the Elements of Harmony? We’ve saved Ponyville—All of Equestria, in fact—from numerous cataclysmic threats?”

“I’m from Cloudsdale, so…” said the earth pony receptionist with a shrug.

“I’m best friends with Princess Twilight Sparkle, for Celestia’s sake!” Rarity was blooming bright red, both from frustration and embarrassment as the whole room seemed to be looking at her. After this still got no results, Rarity took in a breath to calm herself, and lowered her voice considerably. “I would like to see the Mayor now.”

“I don’t know, ma’am… I’m pretty sure the Mayor is out to lunch right now…”

“Just… Dial her and tell her it’s me, and that I need to speak to her. Urgently.”

“Alrighty, then. Your call, ma’am,” said Burke with a shrug. He picked up the phone that was set on the desktop and dialed out the relevant number. The line barely had time to ring at all before the line connected, and he set the device to speaker so that Rarity could hear her. “Ms. Mayor? There’s a mare here to see you about her ‘do not renew’ status. I told her it was irreversible without an appeal, but she insisted I call anyhow…”

“Ms. Mayor, it’s me, Rarity.” The seamstress quickly cut into things, hoping to get this whole messy ordeal smoothed over as soon as possible. “As I was telling your incredibly ‘helpful’ receptionist, this simply must be a mistake. I am a reputable businessmare, I keep on top of all of my paperwork, and my payments are always in on time. So I fail to understand why you’re revoking my vending license.”

“Ah, Ms. Rarity. This is actually quite lucky, that you’re here. I wanted to speak with you,” said the Mayor, the phone speaker not quite masking the disinterest in her tone. “I’ve just finished up with a meeting. Come to my office straight away.”

“Thank heavens, I’ll be right there!”

Rarity turned her nose up and trotted forward, stopping just long enough to shoot Burke an incendiary glare before carrying on down the corridor into Town Hall proper. Though she had only been to the Mayor’s office a few times, Rarity remembered the way, and it wasn’t long at all before she was before Mayor Mare’s door. She straightened her hair and took in another deep breath before knocking firmly. After a few tense moments in silence, Rarity knocked again, a bit harder this time. Still, no answer, and Rarity was beginning to get frustrated. She knocked one more time, even louder than before, and was about to barge in when the door finally swung open.

“Oh, hello, Ms. Rarity.” The Mayor stood before Rarity with a smile, and slowly stepped aside, gesturing into the room. “Please, come in.”

“Ms. Mayor. Forgive me if I’m a bit short, but this has been quite the stressful incident,” said Rarity, entering the room with an air of impatience to her. So focused was she on getting this whole ordeal resolved, she didn’t even hear the Mayor lock the door behind them. “This is my business we’re talking about.”

“Of course. I’m more than happy to discuss these things with you. Have a seat, dear.” The Mayor gestured to a nearby cart carrying mugs, spoons, and a pot of coffee. “Can I offer you a coffee, Ms. Rarity?”

“No, thank you. I’m more of a tea… mare…” Rarity trailed off as, somehow, the Mayor produced a cup from the cart that was prepared with a tea bag. Almost as if she had been expecting Rarity to say that. “Very well. I’ll take tea. Just sugar and a bit of lemon, if you have it.”

“Of course.” The Mayor prepared Rarity’s tea accordingly, and sat it on the desk for her before pouring herself a coffee. She sat at her desk, across from Rarity, and sipped her coffee. “It’s nice to see you, Ms. Rarity. It’s been some time.”

“Yes, quite. No disrespect intended, Ms. Mayor, but I didn’t stand in line for nearing four hours just to catch up with you over a cup of tea,” said Rarity, all but leering at the Mayor as she very casually enjoyed her coffee. “If you don’t reverse your decision soon, I won’t be able to sell my designs for the upcoming fair in the Crystal Empire, or sell anything anywhere at all. I’ll be ruined! I—”

“I offered you a drink, Ms. Rarity,” said the Mayor plainly. “I would be incredibly offended if you were to refuse my offer just because you’re upset with me for doing my job.”

"Ms. Mayor, I don't see how—"

"Just relax, Rarity. I give you my word that, by the end of our conversation, we will have reached an agreement." The Mayor pushed Rarity's teacup forward, smiling with a disarmingly gentle warmth. "Drink the tea. Calm your nerves. Then we can chat."

Rarity was beginning to get frustrated, but she held her tongue. Causing a fuss wouldn't get her license renewed any sooner, a concept she understood well from her dealings in her own profession, and so she kept her cool. What's more, the tea smelled incredibly enticing, and were she not so stressed, Rarity likely would've indulged without much convincing. Finally, after considering the situation, Rarity took a sip of her tea, begrudgingly admitting that the warm beverage, perfectly balancing sweet and tart, did indeed make her feel a bit better.

"There we go, isn't that nice?" asked The Mayor. Rarity gave a slightly acrimonious little nod, which seemed to tickle The Mayor for some reason. "So, your license, yes?" She flipped through her paperwork, clicking her tongue at what she saw. "I must say, Rarity, I was very surprised. It's not like you to miss a payment."

"I agree, which is why I did not," said Rarity. "If you look in your records, you should see my payment of 900 bits on the 25th."

"Ah, I see. That explains it. The vendor licensing price has recently been adjusted, it's actually 925. But our system isn't equipped for partial payments, so it considers your fees unpaid."

"Is that all? Then why didn't my initial partial payment get reversed or… you know what? That's unimportant!" Despite the situation, Rarity actually felt a fair bit of hope. The problem, formerly insurmountable as far as she could see, was suddenly very easily solved, indeed. "If that's the case, then I'll just write up a new check and—"

"I'm afraid it's not so simple. We'd need to issue a whole new payment in your name, and that will take some time to process," explained The Mayor, casually sipping her coffee. "By the time the paperwork has cleared, it'll be long past the legal grace period, and you'd need to close your business entirely before reopening."

"But… That could ruin me!" said Rarity. "By the time I'd be able to reopen, I'd have bled so much money I'd have to close at least one of my shops, and if one of those shops go, then—"

"I understand how upsetting this must be for you. There's truly nothing that can be done, I'm afraid. However…" The Mayor let that one word hang in the air for a bit, grabbing up Rarity and pulling her in with the implications such a simple word could have. "You are an upstanding citizen, and the City of Ponyville owes you a great debt for all you and your friends have done for us. So… I believe I have a solution."

"Whatever it is, I will do it," swore Rarity, her hoof to her heart. "Anything to save my business."

"Ah. Well, firstly, when I said there's nothing I can do… Perhaps it'd be more accurate to say that there's nothing legal I can do. If I were to, say, fudge some dates and authorize some paperwork before it's ready, then I can technically have your paperwork filed 'yesterday', as far as the law is concerned." The Mayor chuckled, taking another sip of her coffee. Almost as if unaware that she was doing it, Rarity too sipped her own drink. "We call it the Time Machine Method. Trouble is, of course, this is highly illegal. And if I'm to be risking my job, and—more pressingly, prison time—then I'm going to need some sort of compensation to ensure I get something out of this little gamble."

"Compensation." Rarity arched her brow suspiciously. Far from stupid, and with a good amount of experience with the sometimes shady upper crust of Equestria, Rarity knew what a bribe was. Though her previous experiences with The Mayor had never given her the inclination that she was any less than a perfectly moral elected official, Rarity had to suppose that you never really know with politicians. Always pushing their own agenda. “And what exactly do you mean by that?”

“If you’ll forgive my asking…” The Mayor hid her smirk behind her coffee cup, though she did so poorly. “You’re in season, aren’t you?”

“I beg your pardon?” scoffed Rarity. She had been thinking she’d need to reach into her coin purse, but it seemed that The Mayor had even less pure thoughts in mind. “And what exactly does that have to do with anything?”

“Oh, calm down, Rarity. It’s just us mares. Though I suppose you have a point. It doesn’t really matter if you’re in heat or not,” said The Mayor with a shrug. “Because I am. And if you want that license of yours renewed, then I think it would be in your best interest to lend me a hoof. You help me, and I’ll help you. Seems fair, no?”

“Seems disgusting and unbefitting of a mare of your position to me.”

“Perhaps. But unless you’d like to be panhandling in the streets in order to feed your little sister, you’ll be a good girl and help your old friend out.”

Rarity scowled openly, but couldn’t refuse. Unfortunately, she was in a bind here. If she didn’t act soon, her business may never recover. It wasn’t pleasant, far from it, but The Mayor spoke the truth; Rarity had others to provide for, and one evening of unpleasantness was more than worth it to protect them. So, with a seething frown, Rarity took gulped down the last of her tea (to steady her nerves, of course), and stood up from her seat.

“When and where?” demanded Rarity. The Mayor smiled, setting her coffee down and rolling back in her chair. She spread her legs, her smirk widening when Rarity processed what she was being shown. “Really? Now?”

“I think I’ve waited long enough. Besides, I’m sure you’ll want the relevant forms filed as soon as possible,” said The Mayor. She held up the clipboard of documents, the forms that Rarity so desperately needed. “So put your tongue to work for me, and I’ll have it all in order by the time you’re finished. I give you my word.”

Rarity looked The Mayor up this way and that, appraising her a bit before giving a tiny nod and rounding the desk to meet her. The Mayor winked, visibly annoying Rarity, who kneeled before her and shimmied into place. A sweet, honey-like aroma wafted into Rarity’s nostrils, and she immediately felt her cheeks flush red. Suddenly, it felt so much warmer between the two mares, and it only took a stern look from The Mayor for Rarity to lean in and slowly lap at The Mayor’s cunt.

“I’ve always liked you, Rarity,” sighed The Mayor as she scribbled the necessary adjustments to Rarity’s paperwork. She wiggled a bit closer, using her free hoof to keep Rarity’s head steady. A bit taken aback, Rarity did the only thing she could think to do, and licked a bit faster, gently kissing around The Mayor’s lips before suckling her clit. She was a bit more eager than she’d expect of herself, but that was simply to speed the process along. The quicker she finished the task at hand, the better. “Always so agreeable. So pleasant. So easy.”

Rarity grumbled her indignation, but didn’t stray from her goal. If anything, her tongue only worked fasted, her lips sliding and slithering up and down The Mayor’s folds with increased vigor. A moan floated down to Rarity from above the desk and she smiled, taking that sound to mean that progress was being made. She doubled her efforts, and so too did The Mayor’s moans increase.From the sounds of things, The Mayor’s heat was working in Rarity’s favor. She couldn’t foresee this taking too much longer.

“And good with your tongue, too. Mm… Oh, Rarity, hon?” The Mayor glanced down to meet Rarity’s gaze and smirked at the frustration that was slowly slipping away into lustful obedience. “I’ve got a surprise for you. Would you like to see it?”

Before Rarity could reason out a response, or even conjecture as to the nature of The Mayor’s “surprise”, a pillar of warm, slick flesh invaded her mouth, pounding straight to the back of Rarity’s throat. She yelped in surprise, the bulbous tip of The Mayor’s ovipositor filling her gullet and suddenly stealing away any thought in Rarity’s mind. She didn’t fight it, didn’t resist or pull away, she simply bobbed her head up and down, as if nothing was unusual at all.

“Since you’re being such a good girl, I’ll tell you what’s happening before your mind is too warped,” said The Mayor with a cackle. “You’re going to suck me off like a good pony whore, and then The Hive is going to take your mind. You will become one of us, and you will help us destroy your kingdom from the inside out. And it’s going to feel so damn good.”

A moan left Rarity’s lips, but the thought of pulling away never once occurred to her. Her mind was hazy, foggy, poisoned by The Mayor’s changeling presence. She sucked The Mayor's ovipositor dutifully, each flick of her tongue and sloppy smack of her lips sending another tingling wave of pleasure through her quivering body. The Mayor held Rarity by the horn and slammed her hips forward, pistoning her shaft in the obedient little pony's tight throat. Thick, sticky green goo drooled from The Mayor's ovipositor into Rarity's belly, the saccharine nectar making the mare jitter and twitch beneath The Mayor.

"Go on, pony bitch," growled The Mayor, yanking on Rarity's horn and forcing her to swallow every last inch of changeling ovipositor before her. "Become one of us…"

Rarity's eyes rolled back in her head, moaning around The Mayor's ovipositor as it sprayed more of that viscous green goo down her waiting gullet. In addition to the goo came a tiny egg, splashing down into Rarity's gut before hatching and teleporting to her brain. Her eyes flashed green before fading back to their normal sapphire color, and when The Mayor withdrew her ovipositor, Rarity wore only a smile on her face, and few droplets of changeling nectar on her chin.

"Always a pleasure, Ms. Mayor," said Rarity with a grin. The hivemind buzzed noisily in her head, plans of The Hive's next move. Everything was going according to plan, and now Rarity would be a part of her kingdom's downfall. Her smile widened at the very thought. "Not a bad haul. You've got the entire office?"

"My secretary is railing the last straggler right now. We've been busy while we were waiting for you," said The Mayor. "So, tell me, what's next?"

"Oh, I need to see to my workshop," said Rarity, waving as she made for the door. "These designs won't finish themselves."

"Eh… Workshop? Designs?" The Mayor tilted her head, more than just a bit confused. As her job was done, The Mayor couldn't quite access the hivemind to know what Rarity had planned. "Whatever for?"

In response, Rarity used her magic to grab a stack of documents from The Mayor's desk, chief of which being her license renewal form, and grinned at her cohort as she exited the office.

"For the upcoming fashion fair in the Crystal Empire," said Rarity deviously. "And for the glory of The Hive, of course."