A Conspiracy of Order

Dapper-Bit Twist was something different after two nights and two days with the Nest, as he had come to call the growing plant that he towed along with him. There was no other name that seemed fitting for it, and as it called itself and those beneath it the inhabitants of the Nest, he just took to calling it that. The blue-black stallion had made that choice as one of the last that he had been 'allowed' to make.

He felt...different after that much time being connected to the Nest. Spending his waking and sleeping hours with something jammed up his ass, keeping him connected and spread open, had done things to his mind, things that he didn't entirely understand. He spent more time empty, blank, waiting for something to happen, for orders to be given, than he did thinking for himself. The way that the plant stayed connected to him, the way that the Nest was making him relive his memories over the last forty-eight hours, meant that he was in the past more than the present, a thing to be drawn on rather than a living pony. He submitted to it, though, because it felt...good.

It was a combination of many things that gave him that 'good' sensation, ranging from the feeling of the tendrils rubbing his prostate and rewarding him with pleasure through the day to the feeling of 'approval' that the Nest gave off, to the scent that it put out throughout the day that lingered in his nose like a drug pulling him away from the anxieties and worries of any uncertainties. Everything about the Nest was designed, he had come to realize, to keep its servants -

Drones.

The correction-concept came up his spine without warning, reminding him that he was supposed to keep the right word in his head. Yes, they were all drones.

They.

That was a new one, and the Nest explained as it piloted him forward, directing his legs to keep stomping along the path in mechanical, orderly fashion. Stomp, stomp, stomp went his hooves against the dirt as more of the concept started flowing up his spine, burning into his brain with all the other small orders - Tail Up, Keep Walking, Keep Listening, Obey, Open - that the Nest had given him during the day. He listened, as he had listened to all the other things that he'd been told, and felt the shiver of pleasure that came with obedience.

'They' would be the drones, the extensions of the Nest. 'They' would be the other ponies that the Nest eventually welcomed under its metaphorical banner, giving them a place to be themselves, to be organized, to be extensions of the greater will that would slowly spread. The Nest liked what it had seen in Dapper-Bit's head -

He felt proud of that.

-and it wanted to see more, to do more, to be more than just a simple flower. The urge to expand was so strong that it almost set part of his anatomy to doing just that before the order of staying soft unless ordered asserted itself again in the back of his head. The number of orders piling up back there was getting almost absurd, but he took to it well. Orders, commands, general management of his life: it took away the chaos, and it made him happy.

He and the Nest had been walking for nearly eight hours when they saw the spring ahead. It was the last stopping point before they would reach Ponyville the next day, and the Nest made the decision that they would not push on through the night. The Nest had considered that to reach Ponyville earlier, but the tiredness of the drone-host was something to be considered.

Of course, Dapper-Bit hadn't realized that he was tired before the Nest mentioned it, but the passing of the concept through his mind was like the key in the door, and his body suddenly felt like it was going to drop. The firm way of walking that the Nest had pushed him through, commanded of him, had done more to his body than he had realized. It was a more aggressive form of wagon-pulling, and his body wasn't used to pushing that hard.

The Nest stayed connected right up to the point of the turn-off from the road towards the spring, only retracting when they - drone and plant - saw someone else waiting at the spring. The Nest's tendril pulled out of that open pucker so fast that Dapper-Bit almost slumped over from the rapid exit, a hint of slime running down from his pucker to his balls before it dried out completely.

"Ho the wagon!"

Dapper-Bit was more than slightly out of it as the shout rang out from the spring, his eyes hazy as he was forced to think and move and exist as himself once more. His thoughts, formerly so organized and focused, were spread all over the place, and it took him a moment to even remember that he had to keep walking. The effort that came from moving his legs on his own through that sort of exhaustion nearly convinced him to just stop and make camp there, or even fall asleep standing up, as he had seen some stallions do on the road from long trips.

But he pushed through it, approaching another earth stallion that had already made camp for the night. The other merchant, red-green in coloration, had nothing more than a tent, and his trade bags were limited to a simple set of saddlebags that he likely threw over his shoulder. He had already gotten a campfire going, too.

So many details.

Almost too many.

"You okay there, sonny?" the older stallion asked, cocking his head to the side. "Looks like you might've pushed yourself a little too hard there."

"Just...tired," he said, hoping that it would be a good enough excuse for not talking too quickly, for his huffing and puffing, for being unable to think straight. "Just going to...get this set up..."

"Here, lemme give you a hoof."

The other stallion trotted over before Dapper-Bit could think of an excuse to say no, but he was grateful for the help, nonetheless. Everything felt distant, though, and even that gratitude was something far away, something that wasn't as close to him as it would normally have been. Feeling, emotion, those things were...not gone, precisely, but muted, as if the pressure of the Nest had done something to make it harder to connect to those while he had been walking, and it hadn't turned them back to full 'volume' yet.

With the help of the older horse, they got the wagon parked and set up for the night. The Nest plant was completely still while the new guy was around, and Dapper-Bit had no orders of what to do.

"There, that oughta hold her," his new acquaintance said. "Name's Comet Leaf. You?"

"Dapper-Bit," he said.

"What's got you wandering 'round this road?"

"Trading."

"Don't talk much, do ya?"

That wasn't quite right. It was more that talking had become rather difficult with the intense level of connection that he'd had with the Nest over the last forty-eight hours. He had come to rely on the back and forth mental-chat that they'd shared, and he had to keep reminding himself that a word was not the same as a mental picture-concept. They were doing something out loud, something imprecise, something slower, something that required more time and effort to get across the whole thing.

As he tried to find words, shaking his head from the tiredness, he felt something else, something that the Nest had burned into his skull as it had pulled out. It was a simple statement, a simpler command.

Do Not Reveal Us.

"Sorry," Dapper-Bit said, forcing himself to speak a bit more normally. Fluidly. Focusing on the words, and directing his attention more thoroughly towards Comet Leaf. "It's been a long couple of days. Nobody to talk to. Nothing to talk about. It gets a little tiring when you're all alone."

"Heh, I get that, sonny, I get that."

"I hope I didn't offend. I'm just...not used to other ponies right now."

"Yeah, got that much. You sure you're okay?"

"Just that. Just...been alone too long."

"...Uh-huh."

The excuse probably wasn't working, but he was too discombobulated and too forced-tired to come up with a better one. He shook his head, walking around the wagon, the command of keeping his tail high and his pucker exposed reminding him how long it had been raised. The base of his tail actually ached from the constant tension inherent in that muscle exposure, and his hole puckered slightly as he made his way to the back of his wagon. Water. Water would probably help him quite a bit right now.

As he opened the back, pulling out his canteen and dipping it into the open water barrel that he kept for this very occasion, he heard the clop clop sounds of the other stallion making his way to the back, as well. Dapper-Bit looked over his shoulder, his eyes going wide as they dropped to the other stallion's dropping shaft.

"You know, kid. If you want some 'company' for the night, I ain't complaining. You ain't a mare, obviously, but you got a fine enough rump from all that trotting around. You good for selling what you're advertising?"

Dapper-Bit blinked, the 'offer' taking him completely off-guard. Advertising?

His tail.

His pucker.

He'd been walking around, showing off, talking about how 'lonely' he was, and that had led to this assumption that he wanted that kind of company for the night. The blue-black stallion didn't want anything of the sort, but -

"Cock got your tongue, sonny?"

"No, not at all."

"Heh, so, what do you say?"

Comet Leaf leaned against the back of the wagon, belly against Dapper-Bit's back, and that throbbing thing pressed right against his pucker, running up against it and sliming the twitching flesh. It was so sensitive from the day of being spread, and he was made to enjoy that so much.

Nevermind the fact that he hadn't had much in the way of relations.

Nevermind the fact that he had almost always been with mares before, with only one or two stallions ever touching him.

Nevermind the fact that he was completely discombobulated.

With his thoughts scattered to the wind and without direction, Dapper-Bit did the only thing that made sense to him at that moment. He leaned forward and allowed that shaft to brush against his pucker more invitingly. The sensation was different to the feeling of having that tendril - or those tendrils, even - brushing against him, and it was hotter, wetter than the feeling of the Nest sliding into him. This was something more brutal, more intense, more forceful, and there was something in him that liked that well enough to embrace it.

The flare of the other stallion's cock bround against his hole for a few seconds, pushing in, pulling out, and then pushing in properly with a firm thrust. He grunted, leaning against the back of the wagon, his hooves thumping against the rear step. Comet Leaf grunted as he slid inside.

"Mmmph...got some practice there, kid?"

"Mmmph...a...a little..."

"Don't worry. Ain't gonna go that hard."

"Mm."

"Just take it easy. I'll show ya how it's done."

True to his word, the older stallion took his time, each thrust gentle but relentless in how it kept going deeper, deeper, and deeper. Dapper-Bit let himself focus on that, telling himself to stop thinking about what this meant, or how he was going to get out of this. There was no getting out of this now, there was no stopping it. The only thing that he could do was be a good little drone, keep his tail high, and let the other male use him the way that he clearly wanted to.

In, out, in, out, the flared head grinding against his inner walls, touching places that he had forgotten. It wasn't so long that it beat the tendrils for depth, but the thickness was something new, and the lack of the constant slime that the Nest offered him was something different. He shivered and panted, his tongue hanging out after the first couple of thrusts, and by the time that Comet Leaf was able to go balls-deep, it was a completely different experience.

"You still with me, kid?"

"Mmmph...mm-hmm."

"Clenching around me pretty hard."

"S-sorry."

"Don't be. Feels good."

Getting a little nibble on the back of his neck didn't exactly stir greater lusts, but he did huff as his cock drooled from his sheath. The command to stay soft kept him from showing his pleasure, but that didn't mean that he didn't drip like hell from the feeling of being filled to that extent. He panted, his head down, his cheeks spread wide by the thick, older cock in his hole.

"You ready?"

"Mmph...think so."

"Don't think. Feel."

"Mmph...feels...feels like it."

"Okay, kid. Ain't going to take long. You good with that?"

"Mm-hmm."

"Knew it when I saw that raised tail. Bottom if ever there was one. Don't even need to cum, do you?"

He wanted to, but he could already feel that probably wasn't going to happen. Not with the way that his asshole was clenching, shifting, not with the way that his cock was stuck in his sheath and refused to drop without an order. He nodded.

"Don't need it..."

"Good boy."

He enjoyed that, but not as much as the sudden bucks from behind, Comet Leaf finally letting loose and humping away. He arched his back against it, taking it with his mouth hanging open. The slow strings of drool from his mouth and his cock left him gasping, wet, messy from the constant barrage of pleasure, but it didn't matter. Dignity didn't matter for him anymore, not with that feeling of that flare and the medial ring alike slamming down on his sensitive, needy prostate.

In.

Out.

In.

Out.

The feeling of those muscular hips slapping against his ass, the way that his pucker was slowly swelling with the rough use, the sensation of those heavy, leathery balls swinging forward and tapping his: it all combined to make him feel...good. Good and hot and needy with the raw feeling of hot sex with another stallion. His previous, much more limited experiences had never gone this far, never reached a stage of actually getting rutted the way that a mare might have been. All he'd felt were the casual touches, the gentle licks, the occasional pressure of a hoof or a toy back there. This...

This was something different.

This was something better.

As Comet Leaf thrust away, huffing against his mane, coming close to knocking his top-hat off time and time again, Dapper-Bit just stared straight ahead. His face was the picture of pleasure, his cock was oozing so much pre-cum that it might have been a waterfall beneath him, but the biggest takeaway was how easy it was to just go with it, to just take orders, to just let himself be guided.

He needed it.

They all needed it.

In, out, in, out, the tapping of sac to sac getting faster and faster, and the other male was huffing harder and needier against his mane. He knew that they weren't going to last for much longer; they were going to go over the edge, and they were going to do it hard.

In.

Out.

In.

Out.

In.

And then staying in, the flare getting wider, the pumping seed getting thicker as it filled him. Dapper-Bit huffed, wanting to cum, feeling himself right on the edge, but the Nest's programming remained. He had to stay soft unless ordered to be hard, and for the moment, that was as effective as a chastity rule. He stood there, drooling pre-cum - so much pre-cum - between his rear hooves as his belly felt like it was bloating from Comet Leaf's load.

"Ha...ha...that's...that's a good one..."

Then he pulled. The flare dragged back, pulling through his inner walls before getting stopped at his pucker. There was a short moment of pressure, something pulling where it wasn't supposed to pop free, before finally coming loose. He gasped, his head dropping down for a moment, shocked out of his dazed state, and Comet Leaf grunted as he walked around.

"Yeah, that about did it. Thanks, kid."

"Mmph...any time."

"You come 'round Ponyville when I get back, and I'll do it to ya again. That is, if ya want it."

"I'll remember that."

And if he didn't, the Nest would.

Exhaustion had become too much. He finished getting his water, sucked down half a canteen's worth, and then dragged a blanket free. Comet Leaf went to the far side of the fire, flopped out, and was unconscious in seconds.

As for Dapper-Bit, he walked back around to the front of the wagon and locked himself between the pull-bars again. The Nest extended one tendril, ever so slightly, and he laid his tail over it to hide it during the night. As soon as it 'plugged in', he closed his eyes, and he was off to dreamland.

He woke the next morning, slightly stiff but otherwise fine. Comet Leaf was already gone; he wondered if the older stallion was merely early-to-bed, early-to-rise, or if he'd been too disturbed with Dapper-Bit's behavior before they'd fucked. Desperation had probably played a part in last night's coupling, if he was completely honest with himself, but -

Coupling.

Sex.

Fucking.

Rutting.

Information.

Dapper-Bit stomped one hoof as he stood ram-rod straight, the Nest pulling at the information in his head. Previously, it had mostly been interested in the geography of the world, in the ponies that populated it, in the idea of drones and expansion. Now, after the rut that Dapper-Bit had experienced, it wanted to know about sex.

Just like before, his memories were dragged out of the back of his mind, pulled forward and shoved to the forefront. Every memory of every fuck that he'd had throughout his life was forced up, making him live through it, feel it as if he was right there all over again. The time that he had enjoyed some touching with another mare just before leaving school. That time that he'd been given a 'bribe' during one of the customs checks, one of the mares there sucking his cock for the sake of getting some of his goods. The rare time that he had gotten drunk on berry-juice that had fermented without him knowing, and the fun that he'd had with the partner that he'd been trading with at the time.

They came and came and came, and he wanted nothing more than the chance to cum, at first. Yet, the information took precedence, and as the ripples went down his spine, his desires, his needs, were pushed off to the side. He stood there, silent as the grave, doing nothing but staring straight ahead.

The sun skipped twice, and when the newest download was over, it was halfway towards noon. The Nest pulled out of him, and he knew that it was considering something -

Squelch.

The soft, wet sound was something that he had not expected, and he looked over his shoulder. The Nest had lifted one of its roots from its sandy pot, and from it, a wriggling, worm-like creature was slowly emerging. One of its other tendrils reached to him again, sliding in to communicate.

Connection.

Presence.

Orders.

The image-concepts poured through, and with it, relief. It was something that would connect him deeper to the Nest, a presence of the Nest that would get attached to his insides and carry with it the newest orders. The time that it had to spend programming him directly was ineffecient, and it led to moments like the fuck last night, which could have been disastrous if Comet Leaf had been more of the suspicious sort rather than the older, hornier sort.

With this, he would have continued orders, updated every time that he pushed himself down on one of the tendrils - which, he realized, were becoming thicker. So was the plant, as it had grown to nearly three and a half feet tall, and the tendrils had gone from soft, beaded strings to something almost the width of a baby dragon's finger. The Nest was growing, and soon, he wondered if it would even be possible for him to keep it on the small wagon.

Dapper-Bit put that thought to the side and leaned his rump back. The root lifted up, and as it touched his hole, he felt the worm. It was thicker than the tendrils, though not by much, and with his ass freshly fucked the way that it was, there was no difficulty with it sliding in. He didn't shiver, didn't squirm, not like he had done with the rut. This was different. This was more focused. This was...this was programmed, to hold still, to allow the infestation and connection to happen.

The worm wiggled from side to side, squirming and 'swimming' against his hole. The cum oozing out was both barrier and aid, forcing the new creature to push itself harder. The tendrils pressed against Dapper-Bit's cheeks, forcing them further apart, and he stared straight ahead, almost smiling as he waited for the worm to get inside of him, to connect him, to keep him feeling...focused. Right. On track for the Nest.

Finally, it slid inside, and there was a surprising weight to it as it fell inside of his ass. He clenched for a moment, but it didn't seem to harm the slimy creature as it wriggled deeper. It pressed down against the bump that was his prostate and -

A bolt of lightning not dissimilar to the Nest's connection to his spine jolted through him, nearly sending him off his feet through the sheer shock of it. Whereas the Nest felt like a vast, empty hole that was sucking down all the information that he had in his head or an endless well when it was pushing shocks of information into his mind, this was different. This was more like...like a book compared to a library, a set of instructions that were detailed and were always being added to, but more...focused. And it was already pushing its set of information right up to his head with miniature jolts that came with more intense, more focused image-concepts, as if they'd been customized just for him.

Travel.

Find drones.

Find safe place.

Sleep.

Bring Nest to...

The input stopped, and the output began. He felt the worm in his hole starting to reach out for him, spreading up his spine and going through the bits of memories that it knew were in his head. There were many different things to touch on, many different ponies to examine. It processed some of them, putting them against its own goals, and he could feel it going through the list of ponies he knew before it arrived at the proper target.

Bring Nest to Twilight Sparkle.

The image of the purple alicorn popped into his head, and he knew just what they wanted. The Nest wanted a safe place, and it wanted more information. The last time that he had been in Ponyville, Twilight had spread the small, hollowed-out library tree further and further, using her magic to grow it upwards and downwards, and even outwards to cover the entire open area around it. The library had become one of the premier sources of information across all of Equestria, and there were ponies in and out of it all day, every day, looking for sources on some subject or another. If they were able to convince Twilight to allow herself to be linked to the Nest, even temporarily, the library would be one of the safest places for the Nest to rest, because it could be hidden further down, surrounded by all the information that it needed for its expansion.

Dapper-Bit would be a good drone, but he did send concept-images back. Time, space, the distance between them and Ponyville, the energy it would take to get there, the energy that he would need to be convincing when they arrived so that she would understand the need to be linked to the Nest. All of those things were factors, and while he was not saying no, he was saying that it would not be immediate.

To his relief, the worm in him understood. The security and safety of the Nest was paramount; while they only had one drone, they would work with him, use his understanding of how the world worked to their advantage, and push forward only when they had to.

Dapper-Bit sighed in relief.

Maintenance.

The concept-image didn't match the word that came to mind, but he had no time to think about it before the parasite worm within had started seizing control of his body. The shock-ripples of communication were replaced with something more intense, something like...like roots sinking in through his prostate, running through the various bits of tubing down there. Some of them went down, down, down, touching at his testicles, running through his sac in a very different way than he was used to, while others tended further up, drifting towards his bladder and the mass of liquid up there that had been ignored for far too long. A sense of desperation hit him at that moment, leaving him standing up a bit straighter, eyes wider, wanting to let his shaft drop for relief, but bound by command.

Release.

The worm was taking control of his penis, and it gave him the command. His sheath opened, shaft spilling out and falling down. The head pointed towards the earth between his hooves, and he groaned, feeling his bladder spasming, wanting to empty itself -

Releasing.

The shock to the system that such utter relief brought was nearly enough to take him off his hooves. Only the sheer control that the parasite worm had over his legs kept him from doing that, but his head did sag down. The sense of relief that came with that heated fluid running through his shaft, the utter drainage of his bladder, the way that his shaft lifted up from the pressure of it coming out: it all hit him at once, and he let his mouth hang open. Thankfully, he was a big enough stallion that there was no risk of it splattering his face, but he imagined that his face would have been quite amusing to any number of stallions that happened to wander by.

The flow continued for far too long, and when it finally faded to a trickle, he felt...better. He had just a moment to enjoy it before -

Releasing secondary.

The second shock went to his sac, and a tense soreness that he had only been scarcely aware of suddenly released. The constant pressure of wanted pleasure from the night before washed over him, sending him over the edge to orgasm...but not in the same way that he was used to. It didn't overwhelm him, nor did it feel like it was leading to that sleepy feeling that usually came after his explosive moments when he was with someone else. Instead, it felt...almost like a draining thing, a relief to get rid of pressure, just as it had felt with his bladder.

As white mixed with mud, a second release of his bladder followed, clearing everything out, and the worm slowly dragged his shaft back into his sheath. He felt...better, emptier, which was a real change considering just how full both of those had been.

Integration continuing. Keep walking.

Dapper-Bit didn't even nod. Instead, he pushed himself forward against the pull-rods on either side, dragging the wagon forward. There was a brief moment where it threatened to get stuck in the mud that he'd left behind with his various releases, but he had the momentum and the strength to keep moving forward. The slow tucking of his shaft back into its sheath was a pleasant feeling, but one that he rapidly put out of his head as he got back on the road.

It wouldn't take more than a few hours to get to Ponyville, but they were starting late. He was thinking about what they would have to do when he arrived, what they'd do with sunset pending. The next day was when they'd meet with Twilight Sparkle, but for tonight, finding a place to stay - a hostel or an inn - would be the best choice. There would be other ponies there, and that would be awkward, but he trusted the Nest. Every time that he gave it more information, it found a way to improve itself, and him. Sooner or later, they would work out all the kinks.

Sooner or later, he would become the perfect drone.

Walk, walk, walk, and as he walked, he drifted back to that dream again. The dream of everyone being perfectly ordered, perfectly managed. Everything on time, everyone pushed to their proper place, everyone having exactly what they needed and not having flights of fancy that disrupted the lives of those that brought the necessities and the luxuries. They were always on time, and nothing went wrong.

Dapper-Bit looked forward to that being a reality. With the Nest, that was possible. With the Nest, that would be what all ponies would become.

Proper Drone.

It was a statement, but it came through almost as a compliment, so he took it as such. He would have smiled, but the worm was already starting to integrate with his facial muscles, taking control of them, keeping his cheeks neutral for the moment. Yet, he still felt the smile for the praise, faint and perhaps unmeant as it was.

Behind him, the Nest plant swayed from side to side, completely silent. The difference between what he felt now and the constant connection of the last two days was so strange, but at the same time, almost...right. This was what he would become, what all of them would become: creatures that served the Nest, who had commands and orders that were updated every so often, but kept to a brisk schedule and set of commands. This was good. This was right.

But it was also new, and he wasn't used to it yet. Fortunately, he knew that the worm within would gradually help him along that path. He just had to let himself be open to it, and be a good drone for the worm.

And he could do that. He could do that very well.

The stallion continued his walk under the cooling sun, putting the desert behind him and making his way through the outskirts of the forests around Ponyville. He still had a long way to go, and he didn’t want to get too distracted, even as his fantasies grew ever stronger, and the worm inside him did nothing to dissuade him from feeling them as completely real.