Hivemind Control

Twilight sat at the corner of the bed, a smile on her face, but dread in her heart. Cercus had informed her that today, he would be testing his control over Rarity, and if it was anything like what he'd done to her, she might very well be losing one of her best friends over this, because she had been commanded to help. Her only hope right now was that her friends would forgive her for what she was about to do.

Rarity walked in right behind Cercus. Rainbow would be coming in at a later date, but for now, this is where they would start. "So this is where you've been staying," she observed, looking around. "Not exactly the most colourful place, but it's better than where I was sleeping, at any rate."

"If all goes as planned, you may be sleeping up here soon," promised Cercus. "This is just a test; a formality to make sure that you will be allowed to return to Ponyville."

"This is the first I'm hearing of there being a test," groused Rarity. "Did you know about this, Twilight?"

"I did," answered Twilight. "I've known for a few days."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"I was commanded not to tell you about it until it was time to start," she said. What she didn't say was that she wished she could have warned her. She still wished that she could warn her, tell her to run, or prepare for the worst, but she could not give any hints to what was coming next. She was under command to smile and not give away any information until it was too late to stop it.

"Well, if it will help me return to Ponyville, let's go on, already."

Cercus smiled. "That's the spirit. Go sit in the bucket in front of Twilight, facing away from her."

Rarity did what she was told, but as Cercus had stated after Twilight's test, this was a task that was so minor and miniscule that she would have done so whether she was under control or not. If she did, she would be upgraded to a nicer room, and allowed to return to Ponyville. Why would she refuse the order at this point?

"Now just sit there and don't move your head or body from that spot until Twilight is done," Cercus commanded. Again, this was nothing.

"And just what is it she'll be doing?" asked Rarity. She didn't have to wait very long to find out. Twilight had three tasks in front of her, the first of which was to dump a basket of little insects over Rarity's shoulders, filling the bottom of the bucket she was sitting in. Rarity lowered her eyes and shrieked in disgust for the creepy crawlers. Of course, none of them were venomous or even dangerous, but they were still tiny little arthropods, crawling all over her. "Why can't I move?!"

"Because I told you not to," smiled Cercus, taking a seat in his chair to watch. "You're perfectly safe, but Twilight is going to be dying your mane and tail different colours while the bugs crawl over you."

"What kind of sick test is this?" cried Rarity. "What is this supposed to show?"

Twilight began to rub a liquid substance into Rarity's mane. It was now too late to stop the colouration. "Your mane is going to be green," she said, working the dye into the roots. "Not a vibrant light green of spring, but a dull, murky green of swamp moss." She'd had to say that with a jovial voice, pretending to be happy, but she had meant it more as a warning, preparing Rarity for the moment where she would have to look in the mirror when all of this was done.

Throughout the whole process, Rarity was cringing and wincing, not at all wanting to resemble the muck that infested the most disgusting parts of Equestria. Her facial expression told Cercus all he needed to know, and if he hadn't needed to file paperwork detailing this, he might have even stopped here. Alas, he had to be thorough and see this through to the end. "Ignore the bugs," he commanded.

Immediately, Rarity's expression changed to one of mild discomfort. "Why does it have to be such a horrid shade of green?" she asked. "I quite liked it as violet, but can't we go with an indigo, or perhaps a soothing sky blue? Perhaps even midnight? How about magenta? Anything else?"

Twilight wiped down her hooves with a damp towel. It was too late to debate the colours. They had been predetermined, so even if she wanted to, Twilight could not change the colour. Besides, she was finished with Rarity's mane. It looked terrible, as had been expected.

"Lower your face down into the basin and stick your tail up so Twilight can reach it."

At Cercus' command, Rarity lowered her face into the bugs, which immediately began crawling on her. It was a good thing that Cercus had told her to ignore the bugs, as Twilight could only imagine the horrified screams that would echo through the room, otherwise.

"This is going to be orange," said Twilight, globbing the colourant around the base of her tail and stroking it back. She tried to be even in the coating, as letting it be splotchy would be even more disturbing to Rarity than a nice, smooth consistency. "Bright, fiery orange."

"Ugh," grunted Rarity. "Could you have picked colours that clash more?"

"I don't think Twilight is knowledgeable enough about mane stylings to do polka dots," chuckled Cercus. "Even if she is, I doubt you really want her doing even worse to you. Do you?"

"No," huffed Rarity. "Hurry along, Twilight. I'd just as soon put this experience behind me."

As soon as her entire tail was orange and Twilight had wiped her hooves clean, she placed a mirror in front of Rarity. The look of disgust as she saw the dye job was heartbreaking for Twilight. "I look horrid. Only in my wildest nightmares have I ever looked this bad."

"You can move again, and you can notice the bugs again," said Cercus, standing up. Rarity immediately jumped out of the basin and swatted away all of the tiny creatures, which Twilight had to pick up and return to the basin.

As soon as she was in the clear, Rarity slapped Cercus across the face. "How dare you?!"

"I dare because I must," said Cercus simply. "Now, you're not allowed to tell anypony about the test, especially Rainbow. You're to come back here tonight for your new sleeping arrangements. You are not allowed to invoke any notable degree of violence toward changelings. Now, that colour washes right out, so go take a bath and then move your personal effects up here."

No longer bound by the test, Twilight was allowed to drop the façade, and she followed Rarity out the door to try to undo the damage she'd unwillingly caused. It was the least she could do.