A Conspiracy of Order

“Oh good, you’re safe,” Cadance said, all but charging at Shining-Drone as soon as he entered the room. “What kept you?”

Conditioning by the Nest. Infestation. Learning. Planning. Preparing to bring you into the fold.

“Just had a long day with Twilight, that’s all,” Shining-Drone lied, the parasite already ready with its script. “She wanted to talk, and I knew that you’d be busy with that patrol of yours, so I didn’t want to interrupt.”

“You still don’t think there’s something wrong here, darling?”

“My sister lives here. She’d tell us if there was anything wrong.”

“Twilight is…very skilled, but she’s also very young. What if she gets it wrong? What if Sombra is still out there, waiting to take his revenge?”

“Dear…”

Shining-Drone leaned in. There was so much love in the host’s memory, so much intense affection that it was easy to fake it. All they had to do was lean close, horn to horn, and there was a comfort that spread from them to the Princess.

Too much comfort, however. Cadance was…disturbing in the way that her presence affected the host. Something passed from her to the depths of the controlled mind, and there was something that echoed it, craving that affection and warmth that the mare put off just by being there. It disturbed the parasite, and it spent the bare minimum of time against the princess to keep up their façade.

“It’s going to be fine. I mean, remember what happened between me and Chrysalis?”

“I do…”

“But I didn’t start seeing Changeling plots everywhere, did I?”

“Heh…not after the first few months.”

“Well, that’s true, but how long has it been now?”

“…Years…”

“If Sombra was going to come back, then we’d have seen something by now. And what do we have for proof that there’s anything out here? Ponies acting strangely? A little less themselves? That happens when an election comes around; everyone starts to act differently because they’re a little worried about what’s going to happen next.”

“Heh, since when is the prince-consort of a princess such an expert in elections?”

“Well, you made me an expert in erections; it’s only one letter off.”

Cadance sputtered with suppressed giggles, and Shining-Drone chuckled as he walked around her. He pressed his flank against her side, and his cock started to drop. Best not to waste time.

“Mmm, why don’t we go to bed, hmm? I think that you and I –”

“Maybe tomorrow.”

Shining-Drone blinked. Of all the memories that the parasite had from its host, there was none that implied that Cadance would refuse sex from her husband. That had never happened between them, not once, and the sheer strangeness of the moment brought Shining-Drone up short. His mouth worked silently, trying to find something to say, before he slowly closed it.

“If you say so.”

“I do, dear. Come. We’ll sleep.”

She nudged him to bed, and the host went along. The brief idea of trying to have sex with her in her sleep and fill her with drugged seed was entertained, then dismissed. If Shining-Drone failed, then he didn’t have the strength to force it. More to the point, the uncomfortable aura of Cadance’s power gave the parasite something that it had never felt before, and hoped to never feel again:

Guilt.

The next day brought sunlight and good cheer, at least for the morning. The attempt to seduce the mare into staying in bed for a bit of fun didn’t go anywhere; Cadance was too focused on finding the source of the problems outside town. She was utterly convinced something was happening, and she wouldn’t rest in bed until she had found out what the hell it was. Shining-Drone didn’t push it as hard as the Nest likely would have wanted; the host was already weakening slightly, and it wanted to reinforce the connection via the Nest before it took further action.

Cadance, as far as the Nest could track, spent her time wandering the edges of town, heading down to the forest, and trying to find Zecora. The drones that watched her had a hard time keeping track of her, because they had to keep their distance and make sure that they didn’t get affected by the same aura as Shining-Drone had.

Shining-Drone, on the other hand, spent most of the day connected to the main Nest at the bottom of the library, his ass planted firmly against the roots as the connection between the Nest and his parasite buzzed away. The slime that oozed from him made a puddle in short order, while some of the other hosts trotted around, wiping drool from his face and occasionally pushing water past his lips. A set of caretakers had emerged for those that spent hours connected to the Nest, ensuring that they were in good shape when they had to leave.

He was barely aware of them. The host’s pleasure continued to rise and rise and rise, never ceasing, never going down. The feeling of love was blasted from his mind, erased with the sheer intensity of the pleasure of the Nest. There was no need to love or feel guilt when there was nothing but pleasure to be found.

And at the same time, he was aware of something else that the Nest felt as it touched on the memories of the parasite. It felt…threatened.

The communal memory of the Nest was filled with many things. The experiences of hundreds of ponies and hosts were mingled there, washed together but with just enough details to give any host what they needed. Among that were the decisions of the Nest in the past, and all the plans that it had.

And through all that, there was never any sense of the Nest being threatened. Concerned, yes, and there were other moments where a vague sense of alarm had spread through the great consciousness of the strange plant, but threatened was…new. No pony, no matter how powerful, had ever managed to crack the control that the Nest had over its hosts before, and if Cadance could do it, there was a chance that she could spread the technique of how to do it to other ponies. She had to be stopped before she had the chance to start telling them the weaknesses of the Nest proper.

Shining-Drone had the guilt drained from him, and by the time that he disconnected from the Nest, he was a proper host again, filled with the drive of a fresh parasite that had no reason to feel guilt for what it did.

He left the library and trotted to the woods. Cadance was just emerging from them, looking vaguely distraught, and the host assumed a sympathetic look.

“No luck?”

“Nothing to be found,” Cadance said, shaking her head. “I was hoping that the witch would still be at her hut, but she’s long gone.”

Which was a pity. Zecora would have been one more valuable host, but as long as she hadn’t uncovered the truth, there was no problem with her disappearing. They would find her again, soon enough. The Nest would spread.

“Ah, well. Could be worse.”

“She could be…”

“I doubt that anyone that strong is in danger, dear. Come on. You have no faith in anyone anymore, it seems.”

“I just…”

“You’re afraid. That’s fine, but fear’s not something that you can let rule you. You have to believe that it’s possible to win, or you’ve lost before it starts.”

“…I know, dear. I know.”

She rested her head against his neck again, and the host smiled as he nudged her back. That same power that he’d felt that morning was still there, still pushing at him, trying to make him feel guilty for his plans. There was such a sense of love and power and devotion from her that it tugged at heartstrings that should have been cut long ago. Shining-Drone didn’t feel the same guilt at the same intensity as he had when the parasite decided not to fuck and drug the princess in her sleep, but something was still there. Something that most certainly should not have been.

“You have been working too hard. Come on. Let’s go back to the inn and…relax. You and I can distract each other from all this. You know that you need it. Come on. Let’s just…take some private time together.”

“Heh, you’ve always been so amorous, my darling. Always so eager to please me since our wedding. And that’s just one of the many things that I adore about you, my devoted, darling Shining. Heh…I can still remember how Chrysalis almost took you away from me, and how much I cried when you came back to me. Do you remember that?”

“I do. I couldn’t believe how long I’d been under her spell, but there was nothing like you. Nothing has ever been like you, before or after.”

She smiled, nuzzling into his neck again. It was warm, soft, and if it hadn’t been for the deep syncing with the Nest, he would have felt something again. As it was, the parasite had to fight to keep the affection at bay and keep focused on the mission. It was one more sign of just how dangerous Cadance was to the Nest.

“Shall we, then?” Shining Armor said.

“Not yet. I have more that I need to do, but I’ll see you at the inn later.”

“Heh…I hope you find what you’re looking for, dear. It’s strange to have to keep waiting this long. I forgot how much normal stallions have to hold back.”

“Heh, I promise. I’ll make it up to you when all’s said and done.”

“I’ll hold you to that.”

Three days came and went. Ponyville officially instated Dapper-Drone as their new mayor, and Mayor Mare retired to her dwelling. She was connected almost twenty-four hours a day to the Nests, giving them advice and knowledge from a long-term political powerhouse on what would work and what others in the nation would do if they were approached by Dapper-Drone in different ways. Combined with the knowledge of Dapper-Drone with his travels and her political suss, as well as what Twilight-Drone had been able to weasel out of Shining-Drone, the plans for conquest across Equestria were slowly being drawn up. The battle plans for the Nest to take every pony as a host were almost complete.

Yet, there was still the snag of Cadance. The princess continued to wander through Ponyville, never quite interfering in something directly, but spreading her aura and her eye through the place. The new infestations were slowed to a crawl, making the Nest more and more irritated at the delays, and most of all, irritated with Shining-Drone.

He remained at the inn again, staring out the open door of the bathroom at the rest of the room. No way was the Nest going to be caught with someone seeing it in mid-conversation with a host again.

This should be done. The Nest was very clear on that point. The infestation of Cadance should have been done days ago. At the very least, she should have been drugged to the gills and been used at least a few times. The Princess of Love was meant to be a slut, a whore, something that was constantly fucking and getting fucked. So why hadn’t Shining-Drone at least used her once?

It all came in a rush of images and the closest thing to anger that the Nest could feel, and the host would have buckled under it if it wasn’t for the parasite keeping it stock-still and listening to the berating comments from the tendril in its hole. The host’s shaft twitched, pre-cum rolling down into a waiting bottle between its hind legs in hopes of being used at a later date. The parasite within took every question, but had no answer.

The Nest commanded. It would be done tonight.

The tendril pulsed, and the host gave the slightest of twitches. Its cock, hanging low, spurted with more pre-cum as the forced pleasure of connection forced more and more cum from its balls. Pulse, throb. Pulse, throb. Pulse, throb.

It was not a plan. It was not a suggestion. It was a direct command. The Nest was overriding the parasite’s individual ability to do anything. It was forcing an action at a specific time. The parasite and Shining-Drone would take the Princess of Love tonight. They would have sex, and they would have back-up to make sure that the rut went properly.

The rape.

It was the faintest of responses, and yet, it was still more than Shining-Drone should have been able to think or feel. The Nest was aghast, shocked beyond measure that something could penetrate that deep. It was more than mere emotion; this was what the power of the Princess of Love could do. It was able to instill a devotion that was nearly as strong as the Nest’s own, and more than that, could wake it again. If she ever understood the power that she had, if she ever brought it to bear against the Nest hosts…

The utter empty expression on Shining-Drone’s face shattered. The parasite itself was almost obliterated with the sheer force of will that ran up the host’s spine, the pleasure that followed breaking down anything that was left. Those tiny little flowers trying to grow through the Nest’s gravel in his head were ripped out, and then the flames of pleasure burned the surface, trying to scorch down to destroy everything that was left behind.

There was no love.

There was no guilt.

There was no shame.

There was only devotion to the Nest, and that devotion would be obeyed. Shining-Drone would accomplish this mission, or there would be consequences.

For the first time for any drone under the Nest, the pleasure turned to pain. There was so much of it that the parasite’s control wavered, and the stallion crumbled, falling to one knee. He couldn’t see, couldn’t think, couldn’t do anything but stare straight ahead as his body was ravaged from head to hoof. He came, he came, and came again, unable to stop as the pleasure ravaged him and the Nest warped him.

Finally, it came to an end, and the tendril withdrew from his ass. He couldn’t immediately get up; the parasite was rebooting itself as much as he was. Instead, they just stared straight ahead, their purpose burned into them.

Rape Cadance.

Break Cadance.

Turn Cadance.

Infest Cadance.

There was no wiggle room. Tonight, when they were together again, there would be no further resistance on his part. No more flirting, no more attempts at drugging that went nowhere. He would mount her, he would fuck her, and he would show her where she belonged. She would be part of the Nest.

And back-up would be there to make it happen.

Cadance invited him to take a moonlit walk with her along the river that ran beside Ponyville. He knew for a fact that it would take her to the picnic spot where he and Twilight-Drone had been together, when he had been drugged and turned. A perfect place for her to get the same treatment, considering the privacy that the location offered. He accepted and joined her, meeting her just outside town.

As they clopped along, he was aware of another drone following them. A glance over his shoulder confirmed that it was Twilight-Drone, the host’s sister. Her power, combined with his strength, should be sufficient to take Cadance down before she could use her powers to stop them. She was unaware of the danger she was in, and that would give them the edge.

The walk was quiet. He expected the host’s wife to have some sort of conversation, something that she wanted to talk about, but there was nothing that came up. She would instead just lean against him, and the power of her aura would crackle through him.

Resist. Resist. Resist.

The power of the Nest promised pain and pleasure alike. If he fell, he would be broken in, the parasite in him replaced with a new one that could do the job. If he succeeded, he would be given pleasure beyond his wildest dreams, and the host was able to be distracted with that. Not much, but enough.

It didn’t take long to reach the picnic spot, and Cadance stopped, looking down at the water. She wasn’t looking at him, either trusting him or not thinking. Shining-Drone’s parasite started pushing their shaft free of their sheath, the flared head already swelling in anticipation. They were going to do it. They were going to do it.

It was just starting to rise up, the head kissing their belly, when Cadance turned around and looked him right in the eye.

“Are you going to betray me now?” she asked.

“…”

“I know what happened,” the Princess of Love said, shaking her head. “I found one of the other hosts in the forest this morning. It was wandering around, following me, and…and it tried to attack me. I stopped it, but when I tried to get information, it fought me. It tried to pretend that it was normal, that nothing was wrong, and then…”

Shining-Drone was caught in the story, but he could see Twilight-Drone slowly edging around the tree, the other host scooting closer and closer. No sign of her magic just yet, but it was only a matter of time.

“I used my power on him. He screamed, and apologized, feeling as guilty as I’ve ever seen any pony feel. He would have killed himself, I think, if he wasn’t trying to apologize for what he tried to do. He told me everything. Everything. The parasites, the Nest…you…”

So, it had happened. One of them had broken under her power. What else had happened, then? Shining-Drone said nothing as the host’s wife turned to face him properly, her horn glowing as tears ran down her face.

“I tried to help him. Do you know what happened when I did?”

“…What?” he asked, his face losing its smile. There was no point in hiding anything any longer.

“He went into a coma. I tried to encourage him, to give him love, to heal him from his pain and his guilt, but as soon as I eased it enough, the stallion passed out. And he wouldn’t wake up.”

The parasite in him had a guess as to why. Each host had most of their emotions completely muted, pushed down, all but extinguished save for shadowy memories that they existed in the first place. That was what the parasites used to ensure that they were acting correctly with each non-infested pony; without that knowledge of emotion, they would never be able to keep up their acts.

But to have it all come rushing back, and worse, at a greater strength? No host would be ready for that. The feelings alone would be enough to knock them out from how strong they were and how unused to them the host had become, but to feel the guilt and shame that the parasite had felt when it held back from rutting Cadance in the past – and to feel it without filter – would be enough to break anypony.

“If that’s what’s happened to you, Shining, I…I will find a way to fix you. I will find a way to drag you back out from under the parasites. But you…you didn’t try and hurt me. You didn’t do anything to me. If there’s anything left of you in there –”

“There is.”

Cadance gasped, her eyes lighting up for a minute. Just for a moment, she seemed to have hope once more.

“The part of him that is still alive in this host is the part that wishes to see you join us. He has been promised pleasure. It is a substitute for love.”

“…Nothing is a substitute for love.”

“It is sufficient.”

“Do you really believe that? Do any of you believe that, in that Nest of yours?”

A few days ago, the parasite would have questioned itself at that. Being exposed to someone of pure love, being made to feel it, to experience it, had given the parasite more questions, more things to wonder about. A large part of it had wanted to know what it would be like to feel love rather than anything else that the Nest could give it.

That part had been extinguished in the great purging that afternoon. There would be no mercy.

“There is nothing we need beyond the Nest, and hosts for it. You will become part of it, too.”

“Shining –”

“Do not resist. The pleasure will make you forget soon enough. Let it happen, and the Nest will welcome you.”

He stepped forward, and Cadance stepped back. She wouldn’t just accept it, which meant that she would have to be forced. A pity, but the host did not fight the parasite as they both moved to follow orders.

Twilight-Drone joined them, and Cadance whipped her head to the side. She sighed.

“You, too?”

“This host is waiting to bring you in. It is tired of waiting.”

“I had hoped…but no, you would have just…given in. You were too curious for your own good, Twilight.”

The Princess of Love looked between them, her horn glowing. Shining-Drone didn’t bother with his, and Twilight-Drone already had her own glowing a deep purple. There was no word said between the hosts, and Cadance just shook her head.

“I will do what I must. My darlings…I will save you.”

The light of her horn suddenly surged, and Shining was knocked back with a searing light that had no equal. He had no idea what happened to Twilight, but he fell backward, onto his side…and screamed.

Love.

Guilt.

Shame.

Feelings.

Everything that the parasite and the Nest had suppressed hit him all at once, and the only thing that kept him from completely breaking right then and there was the fact that he had only been a host for a few days. He screamed at the top of his lungs, his forehooves pressed against the side of his head. His parasite felt like it was breaking apart, the feelings and emotions rushing up from his chest so painful, so sharp, so powerful that they couldn’t be managed en masse. It was too much, too much!

The white stallion rolled onto his side, still screaming as his guts twisted up inside of him. He rolled to the river, heaving as everything came up at once. The horror of what he had been about to do struck him, and everything that rested in his stomach came up in a rush, flooding out of him and into the river. He kept puking for nearly a minute before there was nothing left to come up, and dry-heaved for a minute more.

No, no, no, I…we…I…we…

Shining-Drone and Shining Armor were the same thing. He was aware of the parasite, and the parasite was aware of him in a way that it had never been before. Suppression was not the same as knowing; reading was not the same as experiencing. They were forced to see each other in a completely different light, and neither could feel right about it.

And there was so much more of it. The horrors of everything, the intensity of a world that was too bright, vibrant, and wonderful to be lived in, the depravity of what the Nest was making them do, was too much for an emotional mind, particularly one so deadened as his had been, to feel. He was sliding away, about to faint –

Then the light disappeared.

The emotions were still there, but the presence of Twilight-Drone’s power was sufficient to get rid of the glow that made everything so much stronger. Shining-Drone slowly asserted itself over the first feeling – the guilt – and worked from there, slowly dragging it back down to a level that wouldn’t drive the host insane.

Guilt.

Shame.

Fear.

Those were handled quickly enough, and from there, it moved on to the other emotions. Love and devotion were too hot, too bright to completely suppress, so the parasite worked on reminding the host where that sort of hot loyalty belonged. Its wife didn’t need that, not after hurting it. The Nest was the one that would save it, protect it, keep it from feeling anything that intense ever again.

Never again.

Never again.

Shining-Drone could not face feeling anything like that ever again, and took that offer. The host sunk deeper beneath the control of the parasite than ever before, quailing away from the reality of the world. Almost like a coward – no, precisely like a coward – the stallion slipped back into the oblivion that being a host offered. No more would he feel things of that intensity, and the parasite itself was grateful; it could not survive another blast of power like that.

Bit by bit, the white-furred stallion was able to get his hooves under him. The host turned to the shaky Twillight-Drone, breathing slowly.

“That was…impossible.”

“No, merely unique,” Twilight-Drone said. “This host has understood how the magic works. Only Cadance has the skills to do something like that.”

“Then the danger lies solely in her.”

“Yes. This host believes that, if she were removed, there would never be another pony that would be able to rise to that level.”

“We do not infest?”

“We must try. If we fail…The Nest will forgo this one, if required, but it will have us make the attempt.”

It was a decision that they were having to make on their own. With the Nest so far away, there was no chance to actually confer with it. Shining-Drone considered what it had in its own memory and what it knew of Cadance, and –

“She will go for the Nest,” Shining-Drone said.

“Your host is sure?”

“This host is reasonably sure. It knows her compassion; it will lend her bravery.”

“Does she know?”

“She gained a confession from a broken drone. She will know at least one.”

“Which drone?”

“She did not say.”

The hosts went still, the parasites considering. With that knowledge, there were three possibilities.

Sweet Apple Acres could be written out almost immediately. While there were some high-profile ponies that had been taken there for an overnight conversion, they were rare, and that growing sapling was mostly used by the Apple family. The broken drone would not have been able to tell her about that one, as it had yet to reach the sewer lines and link up with the other two major Nests.

Which meant that she would be going either for the library Nest, or the hospital Nest.

“This host believes you would be best to go to the library,” Shining-Drone said.

“This host is curious as to why. Surely the hospital is more vulnerable?”

“This host is aware of the defenses at the hospital. More drones live in the building. It is saturated with the spores now, affecting even the ‘free’ ponies. There are roots in the building that can attack from hidden places with greater ease. Your host is the greatest defense that the library Nest has, and it is more isolated.”

“…”

“We go.”

“We go.”

Shining-Drone and Twilight-Drone split up, the latter running for the center of Ponyville while the former rushed for the hospital. The parasite had already decided to make two stops along the way, both of which would make contact with each Nest. The first would involve stopping at the old campaign quarters for Dapper-Drone to make contact with the main Nest at the library, giving it the notice that an attack was coming, while the latter would be a quick stop at the Cakes to let the hospital Nest know that it might become a target.

From there, decisions could be made. If it were up to him, Shining-Drone would evacuate the city, and he imagined that Mare-Drone would feel the same way. The first thing that one did was ensure that the witnesses and potential victims of any fallout weren’t in the way. They would want to make sure that they could spin whatever story they wanted when this was all said and done, and that would be easier if they didn’t have conflicting reports.

They had time, though. If the host knew one thing about its wife, it was that Cadance was too compassionate for her own good. She had the determination to do powerful things, and she was proving that now, but she would want to take her time, avoid confrontation as she made her way to her target. That would mean being slow, being quiet, taking to the air where she could and sneaking when she could not. That would keep her from reaching either Nest before he or Twilight-Drone could make preparations.

Shining-Drone only hoped that the Nests would take the report seriously. Considering the orders from the main Nest that morning and how angry it had been, the parasite hoped – as much as any parasite could hope – that meant there was enough fear to hear the truth. If not, then they were in trouble.

A lot of trouble.

The host ran faster, rushing toward the edge of town. It didn’t take long to find the mostly-abandoned house that had been the center of Dapper-Drone’s campaign, and Shining-Drone kicked down the door to the bathroom. He turned around, pushed back, and wiggled the toilet handle several times, sending the usual password of access down the drain to the waiting tendrils.

There was a delay. It was only a slight one, a few seconds at most, but it was enough to make the parasite feel that sense of fear and urgency again.

It was not just the fact that the loss of a Nest would set them back immensely in their plans. It was the fact that a loss of a Nest risked losing massive amounts of information, and more than that, possibly rendering some of the hosts in danger. The connection and syncing rejuvenated the parasites inside them, giving them more energy, refreshing them, almost like the way that the hosts needed sleep to be at their peak capacity.

If they lost that, if they lost the ability to sync, what would happen to them? Would they be able to recover?

Shining-Drone didn’t know, and it didn’t particularly care to find out. When the tendrils came, nudging against his hole, he pushed back hard. The syncing began, and the parasite within forced the details of the recent confrontation right back down. There was no time for protocol; they had to download this information now.