From Within

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.