Hivemind Control

Cercus was still asleep when Twilight woke up. It was quite early in the morning, which was reasonable. They'd gone to bed early, and she'd made a habit of sleeping lightly at night recently. That she felt rested at all was a boon in her eyes. Of course, that may have also had something to do with her bed being warmer with something to wrap around her, even if it was just Cercus' body.

His front legs were both wrapped around her middle. She'd placed his left there, but during the night, he'd wiggled underneath her and pulled her back against his chest. Not that she minded very much. His body was comfortable against hers, and he'd not done anything untoward to her, at least without warning. The worst thing he'd really done to her was abduct her, and that was under orders. After that, he'd bathed her, which was not as bad as she'd anticipated, left her alone with Chrysalis, which was out of his hooves, and lied to her about his identity, par for the course as far as changelings were concerned. He was worse than most stallions, but as far as changelings were concerned, Cercus was the gold standard.

She sat up and stretched, moving the bed just enough to pull Cercus from his slumber. "Good morning," he yawned, rolling onto his back and letting his joints pop into place. "Sleep well?"

Twilight ignored the question. "You said yesterday that there were ways to let me leave here early, right?"

"That's right."

"What were those ways, again?"

Cercus sat up. "You can turn yourself into breeding stock, become a thrall, wait until Equestria is completely bent to our will, or..."

"Or I become bound to you."

"That's right."

Twilight took a deep breath. She didn't like any of those options, but there was one that she wasn't sure that she understood fully. "What do you mean by binding us together?"

"It's not vastly different from how you live now," answered Cercus. "There are some notable differences, though. First, you'd have to do whatever I tell you without question. No more would you have a chance to refuse or postpone something."

"That's not so different from how it is now."

"I said it wasn't a vast departure. As of right now, I could demand that you pleasure me, and if you tried to run, I'd just have to pin you down and force you to do it. If we're bound, you won't even be able to run. The moment I told you to do anything, you'd be compelled."

"Isn't that the same as enthrallment?"

"Not quite. In enthrallment, you do so without thought. As a thrall, if I asked your opinion on how my tail looks, you'd just tell me what you think I'd want to hear. Thralls cannot think above their station, and their only desire is to please their master. That is what happened to your brother. If you're bound to me, you can say things like "That sweater doesn't match your trousers, wear this one, instead." If you're mine, you can introduce me to your parents, have lunch with your friends, read books and make decisions. Just as long as those decisions don't stand in the way of following my orders."

Twilight took another deep breath. "Can a thrall be unenthralled?"

"A thrall can't think for themselves enough to want to be unenthralled."

"No, not for me. I want my brother back."

Cercus looked up at the ceiling. "I've never heard of it happening, but it might be possible. Even if it is, that's not my decision to make, even if I had the ability."

Twilight closed her eyes as her body tensed up. "I'd have to talk to Chrysalis about that, wouldn't I?"

"He is her pet, after all."

That didn't bode well. Convincing Chrysalis to let him go would be a monumental task on its own, let alone finding out if there was even a possibility of return Shining's mind to him. Even if he could come back, what then? Just reaching that point, she may not have any desire for him left.

"Is that all that would change?"

"There would be a few physical changes, as well, mostly internal. You'd be capable of laying changeling eggs, you'd gain the same ability to shift your pelt and mane colour that Luna is learning over the next few days, and of course, you'd be capable of flight and magic again because your body will have adjusted to the hive entirely."

That certainly was a notable change. Being able to use her magic and wings once more would be huge.

"And also, you'd be able to see Spike again, recognize him, and still feel joy at the feel of his claws around your shoulders. Unless I told you to feel something else, of course."

A twinge of fear ran through Twilight's whole body. "You wouldn't..."

"No, I wouldn't. But I could."

Twilight reeked of fear. She couldn't believe she'd considered doing this. "Any changeling could just stop me on the street and tell me how to feel? That's--"

"No, no, just me."

That was not what Twilight had been thinking. In her eyes, submitting to Cercus had meant submitting to the hive. He'd set her rules and limits for so long now, and had allowed other changelings to follow in his wake that she had assumed that anything he was capable of doing would apply to every other changeling. "So, if I go through with it, I only have to listen to you? No other changeling can make demands of me?"

"They can make demands, but you don't have to listen."

"I can just ignore Chrysalis?"

"Well, she'll probably order me to order you to do things, so there's no reprieve there, but no, she can't order you directly. And I'll make sure she knows that you are exclusively my property. If she wants orders carried out across Equestria, she still has Luna, Celestia and Cadance, so it's not as though she needs you that badly."

Twilight released her breath that she didn't realize she'd been holding. "So, let me see if I have this right. If I bind myself to you, I become your servant, doing whatever you tell me to do, feeling whatever you tell me to feel, but otherwise I'd be free to do as I wished. I'd still have my thoughts and emotions, I'd just have to obey every order you gave. If I refused, I'd be..."

"You would be physically incapable of refusing."

"Can my friends come with me?"

"Only if they're also my property."

Twilight took another deep breath. "I have a few conditions."

"You know I can just agree to them now and ignore them later, right?"

Twilight smiled "I don't think you will."