Hivemind Control

"How did you find your room?" asked Cercus, tethering her to his body with a chest harness.

"I woke up, and there I was," answered Twilight. "It's not as though I went looking for it."

"You know what I meant."

"Considering it's nothing more than a prison cell, I would call it tight and restrictive."

Cercus chuckled as he began pulling her down the hallway. Not wanting to cause the line to go tight, Twilight followed closely. What was most important right now was that she acted as though she was willing to cooperate. It would be easier to plan an escape after seeing the place, and knowing right where her friends would be, along with the princesses. She would be given a wealth of information on this tour, and she had to remember all of it.

As they reached the end of the corridor, the line went taut. Twilight had stopped to take in the view, and, having not seen much of it due to excursions, Cercus decided to join her in gazing.

The main chamber was huge. Despite being lit exclusively by bioluminescent mushrooms, Twilight could see the whole way up to the ceiling, which was taller than the highest tower in Canterlot Castle. It was a circular room, widest at what she guessed was the central floor, then tapering down at the top and bottom. At the center was a massive pillar, with a wide stairwell surrounding it. Large bridges extended from the pillar to the walls, supported by arches that covered the bridges beneath them, which were supported by arches beneath them. One could see right through the wall of bridges, and truly take in the massive scale of the place.

"Not bad for a few months' work," smiled Cercus, placing a gnarled hoof on Twilight's shoulder. She pulled away and gave him a dirty look. "I know, I know. We're all disgusting bugs that can't have possibly created something so beautiful as this. Or perhaps not so beautiful. Just look at those evil buttresses; those sinister collumns; that horrifying stairwell of doom. It's all so frightening, is it not?"

Twilight didn't speak for a moment. Both sides of his statement were true. As beautiful as it was, it was still her prison, and she could not feel that it was as grand as she had initially thought. Without that context, she would have loved spending time here. "Just... Don't touch me."

"As the princess commands," bowed Cercus, a mocking smile on his face. "This way."

The two crossed their bridge to the central pillar. From the outside wall, the pillar had looked like the axle for a wheel, with the bridges serving as spokes. From the central column, it more resembled a spiral, as if the walls has twisted on their crossing.

"The bridges and stairs are mostly for structural support," explained Cercus, making his way up the stairs. "We, the changelings, have designed the stacks for easy flights up and down, as well as across. Walking is optional for us. For you, not so much."

"I can fly."

"Not in here, you can't. Pegasus flight has been restricted."

Twilight flapped her wings, but the air beneath her just slipped through her feathers. No horn, no wings. Even if she could fly in here, she was still tethered to Cercus. He could fly against her and slow her down, all the while calling for other changelings to aid him. At least she had that information now, and didn't stumble onto it during an escape attempt. It was a long way to the bottom.

Four levels above where she'd been sleeping, they crossed another bridge. "This is a path you'll want to learn well," continued Cercus. "For your first stretch of time with us, you'll be doing what we say, when we say it. With good behaviour, you'll be allowed to walk here of your own accord."

"Why would I want to do that?"

Cercus didn't answer, instead just opening the door at the end of the bridge. Through it, Twilight found a large room with several ponies and changelings inside, or perhaps all changelings, with some in disguise. They sat at long tables with short benches, with a long covered table at the far wall. The ponies all looked up from their trays and fell silent as Twilight walked in. Many of them looked ragged, though not all of them. Most notably, an orange mare just on the other side of the covered table was waving a ladle.

"Applejack!" called Twilight, bounding forward. She made it two and a half leaps before the cable went taut, and her harness halted her forward movement in midair, collapsing her to the floor on her back.

"No running," scolded Cercus, offering to help her up. She pushed his hoof away and stood up on her own, walking briskly over to where Applejack was.

"That looked like it hurt," said Applejack when Twilight was close enough. "You alright?"

"I'll be fine," assured Twilight. "How are you?"

Applejack sighed. "I'll be honest, I'm a little miffed about bein' tied to the table, but I'm glad you're not hurt too badly. How's your head?"

"Swollen and throbbing. How are your injuries?"

Applejack turned and showed her bruising. Her cuts and bites were bandaged up. "I'll be alright. Pinkie and I've been labelled as important, so we're not bein' treated the same as the others."

"Where is Pinkie?"

"One of the dorm rooms, I think."

"You'll see her soon enough," nodded Cercus. "A quick explanation for how this one works: Applejack and Pinkie Pie are keeping the ponies happy. If they stay happy, they taste better for us changelings. More nourishing, too. In return for their efforts, they are not to be fed upon or altered, so long as we have no need to do so."

Twilight looked back to Applejack, who turned her face down in reservation. "Is that true?"

"Sorry, Twi. I know it's aiding the changelings, but I can't just let the ponies they're feeding from suffer. It ain't right. If feeding them well will help them suffer less, I'm not just going to sit idly by. I really am sorry."

Twilight took a deep breath. "I can't fault you for that, AJ. If I was the one in your shoes, I can't imagine letting them suffer if I could change it."

"This is touching and all," interjected Cercus, "but we have a schedule to make." He gave Twilight's leash a tug. "Come along, princess. We can come back during your free time."