Hivemind Control

Entering the bathroom on wobbly hooves, Twilight found herself longing for the harness Cercus used. It was degrading, certainly, but Chrysalis had Twilight's mane wrapped around her hoof and was pulling her along faster than she was comfortable with. At least with the harness, there was slack, and any tightness was applied to her shoulders. With her mane being held, there was no room for slack, and she could no longer lower her head.

Cercus was standing next to a bathtub that was half the size of the one she'd jumped out of this morning. Rather than the dull green of that bathwater, this one was clear. There was no sachet of herbs hanging under the faucet, so this was just straight water. As she readied herself to climb in, Cercus waved Chrysalis away, and to Twilight's surprise, she actually left the room.

"She sat on my face after you left," said Twilight, slipping into the water. The thermal shock caused her skin to contract, but after a few moments, her body adjusted to the warmth, and she began to relax.

"That doesn't surprise me," came Cercus' answer as he secured her back hooves in place. "It shouldn't surprise you very much, either. She is the queen, after all. Her word is law around here, and she can do as she wants for as long as those who stand in the next row down are not complaining. Of course, they have to watch those under them, and they have those beneath them. The opinions of a prisoner, even a notable prisoner, are not going to stop her. I can, and a few others can, but why would we? We benefit the most from her rulings, so the only reason we would have for treason is if we think there's a better deal, and I don't think it's worth the risk right now."

Twilight nodded along as her body began to warm up. She wasn't listening very hard, and could feel herself falling asleep. That suddenly came to a halt as Cercus pushed her forward and began rubbing a wet bristle brush up and down her back. Soap suds began to flow down around her shoulders as he scrubbed between her wings. She could feel his breath on her neck, but as much as she wanted to reach back and break his nose, she wouldn't be unstuck from that tub without aid from him, or another changeling, and she'd had enough torture for one day. Whatever would warm her up and dry her off was most preferable.

After her back came her shoulders and neck, and she was quite pleased to find that he was both thorough and gentle. Not quite as diligent as Aloe and Lotus, but still more thorough than when she bathed herself. He even used a small brush to clean the crevices under her hoof when he made it to her front legs. He even took the liberty of washing out her mane. Her horn fit neatly into a cavity in his hoof, and while it was still numb, she could feel his warmth in her forehead as he lightly scrubbed her scalp and brushed the soap from the roots to the tips. "You've taken very good care of your mane."

"Th-thank you." While she was still uncomfortable with the situation, she was growing more accustomed to his company. Perhaps he wasn't so bad, especially compared to Chrysalis. Sure, he was still a changeling, and he had been the one to seduce Luna and Celestia, but he wasn't treating her poorly. Perhaps it was the new level of care she felt, but thanking him for the compliment felt right, and was not much of an inconvenience for her.

"Deep breath, close your eyes."

Twilight did as she was told as he dunked her momentarily underwater. He had to hold her down to let her mane rinse, but after a few seconds, she came back up. She looked down into the water, and it was murky enough to not show her hooves at the bottom. She'd been covered in dirt.

As he began to scrub her chest with terrycloth, she began to feel uncomfortable. Her breasts were not too far away from his hoof, and he would soon be down there, touching them. He'd already made her lick his balls. What was he going to do to her when he found those?

As his hoof drifted lower and lower, she could feel it rubbing her teats. In an instant, she saw images of what she could do. She could bite his ear; it was right in front of her. She could say her leg hurt and convince him to release her and run again. Her front hooves were free; she could push his head under the water and drown him if she was that desperate. No other changelings or ponies were in the room. She could probably do it.

"Stand up and put your front hooves on the rim."

Twilight opened her eyes. He was done already. He hadn't fondled her or groped, he'd simply cleaned her breasts for her. She did as she was told, with her front hooves being secured and her back hooves released. He proceeded to apply the same level of care and cleaning to her back legs and tail as he had to her front legs and mane, respectively. As per his promise this morning, he did not move his hoof anywhere inside of her labia, only grazing the outside to ensure it was clean.

As the water drained out of the tub, he gave her a towel to dry herself off. Using a nozzle, he sprayed down the sides of the tub, rinsing away any trace of soap scum, mud, and any loose hair she'd lost in the brushing. He did not secure her to anything, but she wasn't going to try running this time. When he was done, he dried his hoof with her towel and tossed it into a hamper on the way out into the main chamber. Once more, the stairwell was mostly abandoned, and there was nothing standing between her and his bed, and now, she didn't care whether he was in it or not. Any comfort at this point was welcome.