Hivemind Control

Through a very ordinary door near the center of the hive, Chrysalis enjoyed her bath. Her throne room was very nearly finished, but not quite yet. As she was the most important, she would be enthroned at the very top of the tower, and as a result, the whole tower needed to be completed, first. Until such a time as her throne was completed, now mere days away, she was ruling from a large bedroom, one of the first created. It was fancier than most of the other rooms, and would go to her most decorated commander after she moved up to the top of the tower.

"A little higher," she commanded, lifting her leg. "Up near my knee; you missed a spot."

"Yes, mistress," responded her thrall, raising his head and licking her thigh. He had fought particularly hard against her, a trait that would usually result in her relegating the task to one of her subordinates, but he was special. They had tangled before, and he'd grown a resistance to her charms.

She was about to dismiss him and call for dinner, when there was a familiar knock at the door. She could always tell when it was Cercus, anymore. She shifted into a young mare and pulled her stallion toy up on top of her to make it look as though she was losing a fight. "Come in," she called, certain that, while he wouldn't appreciate the joke, she'd at least enjoy it marginally.

The door swung open, and who should enter but Twilight Sparkle. Sure, Cercus entered after her, but given the situation she was in, now was not the best time for a jape.

"Shiny?!" called Twilight, rushing forward. Once more, the line pulling taut threw her to the ground on her back. "What have you done to my brother, you monster?!" she wheezed, standing up.

With a chuckle, Chrysalis reverted to her normal form and sat up, pushing Shining back to the floor. "I've done the same thing to him now as I had last time. While I had tried to do so slowly and carefully, he was very resistant to the idea. Now he belongs to the hive, and has been adjusting to his new life quite well. Isn't that right?"

"Yes, mistress," said Shining, blank-faced as he licked her hooves.

"I take it you've seen the others?" chuckled Chrysalis, pushing him aside to make her way to a desk across the room.

"I've seen enough," growled Twilight. "And I won't let it continue."

"You say that as if you have a choice in the matter. You do not. Letting you interfere with my plans is not on the itinerary today." She picked up a binder and flipped through it, starting about two thirds of the way through. "In fact, letting you stop me doesn't seem to be anywhere in here. It must not be part of the plan."

"The plan to destroy Equestria?"

Chrysalis threw her head back and laughed deeply. "What good would that do? I told you at the wedding: Equestria has more love within its borders than anywhere else in the world. I do not want to destroy Equestria. I intend to farm it. To draw out the love and feed my army of changelings. It is the same reason you don't raze that orchard in Ponyville; Apple Street Bakery, was it?"

Twilight narrowed her eyes. "If harvesting from Equestria was your goal, why did you take away the princesses?"

"Don't ask stupid questions, Twilight," sneered Chrysalis. "I know you're smart enough to have figured that out." She slid the binder back into the desk and closed the door. "Cercus, did you show her?"

"I did," answered Cercus. "We arrived just in time to watch Luna lay a fresh clutch."

"There was a second reason," shrugged Chrysalis. "Since you're playing dumb, I'll go ahead and say it: Alicorns are very powerful. If there was anypony who could stop me, it would make sense if I took them out of the equation. To let your foes run free is a bad idea. Surely, you would know that?"

Twilight said nothing, just turned her head away. As she sat down, her eyes were drawn to Shining, kneeling next to the bed.

"I'm going to call this the end of the tour," said Cercus, leaning against the wall. "Anything else you want to ask before you go back to the room you'll be staying in?"

Twilight took a deep breath. "Are the princesses in any pain?"

"Are you kidding?" chuckled Chrysalis. "With the venom flowing through them, they love every touch from every changeling. They're in ecstacy. Even laying their eggs is a simple task for them, much moreso than live birth would be. In fact, they walked in here of their own choice after being given the command. We didn't have to collect them, and in fact, you will note, if you look at the carriages, that they were opened from the interior with no evidence of tampering."

"What about my friends?"

"Most of them will remain unharmed," answered Cercus. "Applejack, Pinkie and Fluttershy for certain, as they have jobs to do here. Rarity, well... Not much use for a seamstress right now, but she may be more valuable in the future. As for Rainbow Dash, she's actually doing a lot more damage to herself than we are. That back injury a few nights ago was more than she could take."

Twilight was about to ask what was going to happen to Spike, but not knowing how much the changelings knew about the current situation regarding the ruling of Equestria, she didn't want to risk them going after him, next. She just had to hope that he could hold out, and that she could return to him with this information. Instead, she asked something else. "What's going to happen to me?"

Slowly, the corners of Chrysalis' lips curled up. "That's an excellent question. I've actually decided not to be the one who assigns your fate. We have three other princesses laying eggs for us, so as long as you don't interfere with any of our plans, I don't actually care what happens to you."

"Does that mean I can go free?"

"Not at all. You're still going to stay in the hive, but I'm not going to do anything to you."

Twilight breathed a sigh of relief.

"Cercus is going to."

Twilight spun and looked from Cercus to Chrysalis, then back to Cercus. "I... You mean..."

"Oh, don't worry, Twilight," smirked Chrysalis. "I'm sure your new husband would be more than happy to let us play together. Just be warned, I bite."