Hivemind Control

Over the next few days, Twilight grew more accustomed to Cercus' touch. Every morning, she would wake up with his leg draped over her middle. She made a fuss the first day, but after speaking to Fluttershy about the worms, she lost enough of her fight to just let it happen. After a week, she didn't seem to notice anymore. She was still tethered to the lead as they moved through the hive, but she didn't feel like running anymore. She'd even been in a few instances where he would undo the tether as long as she stayed in view, typically in rooms that had only one exit.

He hadn't asked her for sex or forced it on her since she had been made to lick his balls, but he had run his hooves all over her multiple times. At first, it was just in the bath every other morning, but he'd also groped her in bed a few times, though he wasn't particularly forceful. True to his word, not a single changeling had penetrated her. One had tried, but Cercus had struck him across the jaw.

Twilight was allowed to go almost anyplace in the hive as long as he was escorting her, and it wasn't often that he barred her from going wherever she wanted. There were, of course, exceptions and limits on where she was allowed to go, but he was pretty liberal with most of it. He'd even taken her outside at one point, and she'd stretched out her wings to take in the sunlight that Celestia was once more in control of.

One morning, however, she woke up to find that her side was cold. She reached up to touch it, and found that Cercus had not draped himself over her, and a quick rollover revealed that she was alone in bed. In fact, the room was completely empty. No Cercus, no cleaners, not even a guard.

She moved over to the door and peered out into the hallway. A single guard was in a chair outside the door, gently snoring. He was asleep, and there was nopony else around. If she wanted to, she could sneak out. She remembered exactly where the door was, she wasn't tied to a changeling, and the stairwell was pretty empty this time of day. If she was careful, perhaps she could even slip past the guards at the main entrance.

She grabbed the guard's shoulder and gently shook him awake. As soon as he woke, he pointed his blade in her general direction. "You're not supposed to leave your room," he growled.

"And you're not supposed to be sleeping on the job," spat Twilight back. "What would your supervisor say if I'd just walked right out the front door while you were snoozing?"

He rolled his eyes. "Fine, what do you want?"

"I want to know where Cercus is."

"He left. He's not here. He was given orders to check on something elsewhere."

"Where?"

"That's classified information. Go back to bed."

"When will he be back?" asked Twilight, not moving from that spot.

"That's also classified information. Your temporary chaperone is supposed to be here in less than an hour, so you need to return to your room."

With a short sigh, Twilight turned and made her way back to her room, feinting a rush for the grand hall to push enough adrenaline through the guard's veins to keep him from falling back asleep so easily.

She wondered who the replacement would be. She didn't know any other changelings by name, save for Chrysalis, so her list of possible candidates was exceptionally small. It would make the most sense for Pinkie to come watch her, if a pony was selected. As she was in charge of keeping everypony else compliant and calm, it would be little effort to add Twilight onto that roster for a few days, if that long at all. Even a week would be little issue.

As she thought about it, she considered what Cercus had said when they'd first laid down together. He spent most of his time outside of the room, either working on the hive, or outside of it doing site work. He'd since revealed that a month and a half of his time was spent in Canterlot, unable to return to the hive for more than a day because he didn't have the time. How long could he be this time?

Her contemplation came to a stop as a changeling entered the room. "You are Twilight Sparkle?"

"Yes, that's me. And you?"

"I'm your new chaperone." He walked in, sat down on the chair, and just stared blankly at her. He did not say or do anything else, just sat in Cercus' chair, staring at her.

For a minute, Twilight stared back, then looked to the door, and finally, down at her hooves. Nothing was happening. "So, what's your name?"

The changeling just blinked. He had spoken previously, so she knew he was capable, but not a word came out.

"You do have a name, don't you?"

He continued to stare, as if he hadn't heard the question.

"I guess I can just call you Whatever, then. Have you ever worked with any of the other princesses, Whatever?"

"That's very rude," the changeling said, scowling.

"But it drew a reaction out of you," smirked Twilight. "That means I win the first round. Now, if yo--"

Twilight was pushed back as a lump of changeling goo covered her mouth. She was sitting on the bed, so even if she had been knocked all the way onto her back, she would have landed comfortably, but she was able to catch herself.

"Looks like I won all subsequent rounds," sneered the changeling. "I'm no more happy about this than you are, so just sit there quietly and don't move. Time will pass a lot quicker if you cooperate."

Twilight couldn't argue with that statement. She might have argued that a deck of cards would pass the time even quicker, or a trip to the dorms to talk with some other ponies, but she was unable to articulate this notion. She was silent as she leaned back in bed and just stared at the ceiling. There was nothing for her to do but sit back and wait for Cercus to come and let her out. At the very least, she might be able to keep her mouth open after lunch.