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An Infestation in the Herd

Epilogue

For FlimFlamFun5

By Draconicon

With the Princesses of the Sun and Moon infested by the Hive, there was no stopping them. They could unleash the full power of the Hive without the royal sisters to stop them in their tracks, but there was one more thing to be taken care of. One more force that needed to be dealt with.

The Princesses worked together, seeding the area that the Changelings had been sent to with more and more eggs. Those that had already hatched had found their prey, infesting two Changelings and making them take more of the Hive within their next. Bit by bit, the first nest was falling, and soon enough, they knew, they would have access to the other nests across Equestria. The little issue of their alliance with the Changelings would soon be a non-issue. The entire kingdom could then be infested properly. Not slowly, not quietly, not out of fear and safety, but fully and properly.

Every parasite would have a host.

Every horse would be made to learn where they belonged.

A proper society was soon to be born.

In Cloudsdale, Sugarfrost Harvest had put in a great deal of work. The average pegasus still had no idea what he was or who he was, but there were those in power that were very fond of the various treats that he offered them. Or at least, they had been, right up until he gave them the eggs that would bring them into the Hive. Then they stopped being quite as interested in him and were far more interested in furthering the interests of the Hive.

That was his priority as well, of course, and he did it well, but he rather missed the days when he could lure anyone into his shop and get fucked by them. The pleasure that he got from his rewards under Stormbolt Rising, a prime pegasus stallion that all but ran various parts of Cloudsdale, was a lovely little treat to be sure, but that was still something that wasn't the same. He wasn't getting that same rampant fuck that he really wanted, and his parasite was rapidly becoming tired of him.

He knew that much to be so, for all that they were still working together and the fact that the parasite was always keeping him on a leash. He wanted to be out there, getting fucked, sucking, making his way through all the different Hive stallions, but there was so much work to be done. He had to be kept focused, forced to bake, to taint, to get other things ready.

It bothered him, and it annoyed his parasite, insofar as they could be annoyed. The thing inside him wanted a different host, but while he would have been happy to have it leave him and let him go back to being a normal pony that just happened to be obedient other than getting fucked, it wasn't an option. They were stuck together, no ifs, ands, or buts. And there were a lot of butts.

He stepped away from the latest pegasus to be infested, letting them go through the usual twitches and spasms. Insofar as a host could be bored, he was dreadfully bored. The chance of actually getting fucked today was all but nil, and it had been so long since he had been allowed to really let loose and enjoy himself.

Why can't you do what you're told?

It wasn't a true thought coming from the parasite, but rather a feeling that rippled up his spine. It was a familiar one, coming almost daily. And it wasn't entirely accurate, either. After all, he did do as he was told.

He just wished that he could do more.

Sugarfrost Harvest almost shook his head, almost sighed, and would have were it not for the parasite inside him. He waited -

Knock.

Knock.

Knock-knock-knock.

He turned, the parasite within exhausted and angry at the interruption. Of all the various parasites, the one within him came closest to feeling emotions on a pony scale, just for the fact that it had more frustrations to deal with than most others. What was the interruption now? What was going on? They were not to be disturbed.

Sugarfrost Harvest was allowed to go to the door as the pegasus he'd just seeded shivered, panted, spasmed and then went still. He ignored it, opening the door a crack.

A cross-eyed mare stood on the other side, wearing a satchel for carrying mail. He recognized her. One of the delivery ponies from Ponyville, one of the earlier-infested ponies. Sugarfrost opened the door a bit further, allowing her to enter. She landed and extended her tendril.

Must we? the host complained to himself, though no more bitterly than he might have complained about having to dust off his hooves before leaving the kitchen. He turned, extending his own tendril tail from his ass, and they touched once more.

The electric pleasure had long since lost the mind-blasting bliss that it had once been. Once you did this more than ten times in a day, the actual flicker of electrical energy running up and down the spine stopped being the mind-bending wonder that it had started as and was simply one more stimulation, one more thing that you got more often than you did the other things.

More often than being fucked, in his case. The parasite grumbled at him as much as it was capable of, receiving the information.

And there was a lot of it. A lot.

The knowledge that the Princesses had been taken was a game-changer, and one that made both host and parasite happy. They were going to be able to move out from the shadows, and that meant -

Fucking!

Sugarfrost Harvest's hopes were pushed back down, replaced by the parasite. It meant that the minority of free ponies still left in Cloudsdale could be approached much more aggressively, to the point where they could just -

Fuck them silly. Fuck me silly.

To the point where they could just be done with this.

And then get back to fucking.

The parasite twisted away, the tendril link breaking. The delivery pony host turned, looking back at them.

"Something is wrong?"

"It's this host. He is...problematic."

"How? There cannot be problematic hosts."

"The eagerness of this one..."

"That is our way in, though."

"And he has too much."

"...Show me?"

The parasite did not think that it was the best idea, but considering the possibilities, it was better that the rest of the Hive know of the risk. He backed up, and their tendrils touched again. This time, the information traveled in the other way. It was slightly more pleasurable for Sugarfrost Harvest, if only because the information was going out, almost feeling like something pulling out of him rather than just tingling his spine.

It was a short transfer, not nearly enough to get his cock up. The other host stepped back, eyes widening slightly.

"That is...problematic."

"Indeed."

"We will solve this."

"One hopes."

"Continue the work."

"We will."

"The orders will come soon. Within the week."

"We will wait, and listen."

Ivory Flash continued his travels through Equestria. He never stayed in one place for long, merely passing through and setting up a miniature Hive that would begin the slow take-over of whatever settlement he found. Sometimes, it was a small thing that would grow over time, keeping itself quiet until greater orders were received. Other times, he was able to set something up that would allow the ponies to be converted from the top down, as he had managed with Tindertown by taking the innkeeper and mayor first, giving them the chance to utterly obliterate all authority from the top and make it theirs.

He was a stallion of chaos. Not a breeder, not a stud the way that Moonlight Thunder was, but someone else, someone that did his own thing that the Hive greatly appreciated, and made good use of.

As a traveler, however, he was sometimes hard to find, and when the delivery pony did find him, it was well between different settlements, making his way back to Ponyville to see how things were at the little town. The winged stallion came to a flapping halt not far from him, not even nodding in greeting, merely turning and displaying his ass and ass tentacle.

Ivory Flash turned and took the news. A quick flicker was all it took; the host and parasite had become well-accustomed to rapid transfers of information, and they still enjoyed it, as their cock lunged upward. Ivory Flash focused on that at least as much as the news, so much so that it took a moment for the full import of it to hit him.

The Princesses were taken.

Equestria had fallen.

Not loudly, of course, nor even to the point that most of the ponies through the land knew it yet, but it had. The Hive had won, and soon, it would proclaim that victory to the world at large, and take over everything that was left.

Ivory slowly turned, looking at the messenger. There was little need to speak, though there were times that the host missed doing so. It had been months now since he had been converted, since he had been given that early parasite. The need to speak had faded slowly, and then had become an indulgence, and then something that he remembered enjoying at one point.

But why speak when the tails were so much faster? Why talk when he could just...transfer?

It was difficult to remember why speech had been so enjoyable. So slow, so difficult, so fraught with misunderstandings. This was better, more direct, even if it didn't go down so many different tangents.

Sometimes because it didn't go down so many different tangents.

Ivory Flash nodded, and the messenger took to the skies, doubtlessly heading off to find other hosts that needed to know the news. He, however, had something different in mind.

The news for him had come with something else, a packet of information that would need to be taken care of. There was a Changeling hive nearby, something that had been discovered from all the aerial surveillance that the Princesses and pegasi had been doing. They were burrowed in merely two days west of where he stood, two days away, and hungry. They would be desperate for someone that would be able to feel things for them, and they would take him in without question.

And then, he would work to spread the Hive from within. Provided that he could pretend that he was normal long enough to be put to use.

He could do that. He was very good at that.

In Hayburg, the source of the whole infestation, the world had been utterly changed. The unnatural silence of the village was something that no pony could have heard upon entering it without feeling like they had entered a land of the dead. Nobody muttered a word. There were times when one could barely hear the breathing of the various ponies that lived in the small village, where every movement was precise, almost robotic in its nature, and any pony walking in groups of more than one walked in startling unison with each other.

But in the place that the infestation had begun, what did one expect? The ponies had been adapted for use as hosts, and with the ability to transfer information by anal tendril rather than by voice, with the option of just allowing contact through that, and the lack of any need to hide oneself from those passing through, there was no need to be like others. They could be like the hosts everywhere would eventually become: quiet, focused, efficient at what they did, directed by the Hive and everyone knowing everything.

Such was the silent, adapted way of life in Hayburg when the messenger came. The pegasus that flew in paused at the edge of town, surprisingly on-edge for being a member of the Hive, before slowly moving in. The silence, the stares, the slow movements that were nonetheless too fast at the same time, were always on them.

They extended their anal tendril as a sign that they were part of the Hive, too, and the suspicion seemed to fade, but the silence did not. The messenger, as a new convert, didn't have the same adaptation, and was still slightly ill at ease.

Even the parasite within noticed the difference between a place that had been long-converted and a place that had not. Even though it was a façade in places like Canterlot, the infested still put on a display of life and vim and vigor. Here, in the place of the oldest infestation, there was nothing of the sort.

And there were eggs.

Many, many, many eggs.

The piles of them had grown around the buildings. While true, the hosts laid but one a day, there were no new hosts for the eggs to infest. The village had been completely taken over, and there was nothing left to give the new eggs, the newborns, a place to live. The egg shells were scattered and plentiful, but no sign of the young. If there had been any, they were long-since dispersed. Where they had gone, the messenger didn't know.

He went to the first stallion who was willing and shared his information. The Princesses were taken, and the land was about to be completely offered up to the Hive. There was no emotional response, no stomping of the hooves, no sudden splatter of pleasure. There was just an acknowledging burst from the other end when the transfer was done. No emotion, no sudden pleasure, no explosion...

Nothing.

It was silent and strange enough that the messenger took wing almost immediately, suddenly wanting to be anywhere but there.

In Ponyville, Mayor Mare continued her work. The town had been mostly changed over the course of her infestation. The few that weren't were mostly new arrivals that hadn't integrated with the town yet, and while there were still those that were slightly off with their parasites, nobody hated it. Even she was rather pleased with the difference that it made having someone keeping her on task. The number of times that her silly little ideas had distracted her in the past had made her remarkably inefficient, and it was a miracle that the town had kept her on as mayor.

Now, she was very efficient. The town ran properly, the Hive ran everything, and everyone knew what they were supposed to do. Leisure time was up, though what they were supposed to do with it, no-one entirely knew. It was like giving a library card to an illiterate foal: it just didn't get used.

Instead, they kept working.

And working.

And working.

The town was clean, cleaner than it had ever been when the messenger showed up. She looked up from the papers that had been filed by the non-infested in town, including a message from a pony merchant that wanted to integrate Ponyville with a neighboring city for better trade deals, and saw the anal tendril already extending, Curious as to the brazen, bold move for someone that should have known better, she walked around the chamber, shutting windows and closing the door before offering her own.

Her leg kicked and twitched, and she felt a hint of relief through the link as she reacted to the spasm. She didn't understand why, at first, but the information that came through answered her questions.

She - parasite and host - had a similar reaction to the information in Hayburg. The sight of the Hive like that, so different from the ponies that they were used to imitating, gave her an odd turn. Not fear, precisely, nor a feeling of worry, but rather an odd fascination, and a curiosity of what that would be like. Would it be better? Worse? Had they become too much like the ponies that they imitated to be the same as the old generation of parasites?

It was hard to tell. Harder to feel good about it.

The rest of the information was better, however, and was cause for as near as the parasites could come to celebration. With the Princesses taken, that meant that the war with the Changelings would soon be over, as well. The Alliance that they had to keep with the little bugs would be taken care of, and then they would be able to live...

It was odd. That was almost a Mayor Mare thought rather than a proper Hive thought. The parasite had been about to be relieved at the dropping of normal pony restrictions, something that had allowed the parasites to move more freely and travel and act more successfully. It was odd to want to have them down.

Perhaps there was a greater bleeding between the host and the parasite than the Hive had ever known. Or perhaps it was something about being made to maintain that illusion, something that the rest of them had had to do while the others in Hayburg hadn't. The ponies had been allowed to remember what they used to be, and act like it, sometimes. It was strange, very strange.

But the good news was still good news. They would be able to move forward, and they would figure this out later.

She was dripping when they came apart, and she nodded her thanks back at the messenger. He turned to face her.

"I don't want to go back there," he said.

They didn't have to ask what 'there' was. Hayburg had become...something different. Something odd. Something that didn't sit right with the more recent hosts. Even her, one of the second or third wave of hosts depending on how one saw it, felt disconnected to what their origins had been. Even the parasite inside her didn't quite like that. They didn't dislike it, either, but it wasn't...them. It wasn't what they had become.

"Do you have to?" she asked.

"No...and I hope I never do."

"Was it that bad?"

"It was like death."

"..."

"I must return to Canterlot."

"To the Princesses?"

"And the Stud."

She nodded, giving him permission to go. He did, and she went back to her desk. Suddenly, the paperwork felt a great deal less urgent, and all she could think about was the future...and wonder if it was as dark and silent as what Hayburg had become.

The week passed, and the advance notice went out through Equestria. Those that were in vulnerable places were given the chance to move to less vulnerable parts of the land. Those smaller Hives that needed to make sure that they were properly prepared for orders were given the chance to outfit themselves, so that they weren't caught off-guard when the official orders went out.

And most of all, those that were ready to take charge and become the miniature Hive 'queens' that they needed to be were more than ready to drop the façade.

Azure Breeze was one of those, and she had been slowly getting ready for proper work ever since she had been installed in the inn. She had slowly grown more needy, more heated, and she was ready to take control of the various infested individuals of Canterlot. They were going to be under her rulership, rather than the old rules of the nobility and others that had been in charge for years. The system was going to change, and there was nothing that the average pony could do about it.

Celestia and Luna, she knew, were going to be the overall ponies 'in-charge', inasmuch as the Hive allowed any sort of freedom. They were among the most cunning and the most powerful of all equine-kind, and they were allowed that much freedom to do what the Hive needed, to order around those that needed commands on a more broad scale. Thus, they would be on the move, going from place to place, delivering orders and moving forward on a war-footing, if needed.

Others, like her, would be in charge of the local areas. Azure Breeze was fairly sure that there would be one or two hosts that would dislike her sudden rise, considering that she was just a common farm pony from way off on the back-end of nowhere, but she had something that they could not challenge. Two things, as a matter of fact.

First, she had seniority. She had been part of the Hive since the beginning, and her parasite had developed far more than theirs. There was nothing in her that it did not touch, and of all the egg-makers in the Hive, she was one of the few that could make more than one a day. She could outbreed any of them, and she had a connection with her young that the others didn't share.

Second, she had Moonlight Thunder.

The Stud of the Hive, as he had come to be called, was the most powerful male among their numbers, outstripping even Lancer in terms of raw muscle, raw stamina, and sheer cock size. Even the hosts of the Hive had a hard time staying on their hooves when he was let loose, and that was if they were merely going to be faced with a sexual punishment for their uppity-ness. There were times when she could unleash him and make him punish hosts that were getting dangerous, whose parasites were giving them too loose a leash.

It had happened twice. Both times, the hosts had been sent to the infirmary to recover, and some unicorns had to be called.

He was loyal to her, and she appreciated that. He was loyal to the Hive, as well, and that meant that her requests sent two messages: that she was allowed to strike back at those that thought that they could bring her down, and that she was allowed to command the strongest male. That was enough to quell most resistance.

The day was coming, she knew. The day was coming where she would be allowed to do what she wanted, inasmuch as a host ever could. She had ideas for how to shift Canterlot around, ideas of how to make it...different. There were ways to be hosts while still being subservient to the Hive, and that would keep Canterlot from becoming another Hayburg.

I will not do that. I will not.

It was something that she and her parasite were in agreement over. They weren't sure how to change everything, but that was something that they could change.

Moonlight Thunder entered the room at her inn, and she looked up. There was what might have been mistaken for a smile on his face, if one didn't know the way that hosts looked at one another. It was merely a frozen expression, something that had been glued to his face to keep uninfested ponies from knowing he was different. She cocked her head.

"It's time?" she asked.

"Almost."

"Shall we -"

He nodded. She dragged herself to her hooves, and they made their way out of the room. Their anal tendrils were almost pushing free, wanting to connect with one another, but they held them in. Soon, soon. Even though the inn was safe, they couldn't be completely sure that it was inviolate against any new visitors. They couldn't reveal it before the announcement.

They made their way down from the top floor to the first, then out onto the streets. The war on the Changelings had met some powerful progress, according to the announcements from the upper authorities, so some of the street restrictions had been eased. More ponies were out and about now, no longer staying in their houses, no longer so isolated.

They loved it, but they didn't know the truth. Azure Breeze did.

This was intentional, ensuring that the maximum number of hosts were outside when the announcement came. The conspiracy to take over Equestria was about to hit a fever pitch. The announcement would essentially open up a hunting season, allowing the Hive to take to the streets and hunt down all those that were uninfested. Those that were quick might teleport away if they had the power, or hunker down somewhere that would take a long time to pull them free.

No, this was the way to get them as fast as possible. Open the restrictions, let them feel safe, let them wander around...

And then, strike.

As they stepped onto the streets, they looked up and down the cobblestone lanes. She saw other stallions, other mares that were already ready and waiting. They gave the tap-tap hoof signals in greeting as they passed by, and she returned them, ensuring that they were all on the same page.

They assembled at various parts of the street. It was carefully crafted, each of them essentially looking as casual as possible but in reality lying in ambush. When the announcement was made, they would leap into action. The stallions would begin running, and the females would move and ambush those that ran away, spraying them with orgasmic fluids that would cloud the mind and slow them down.

It would not take long.

They were ready.

Azure Breeze and Moonlight Thunder shared a glance with each other before staring expectantly towards the heavens.

Celestia was still getting used to the feeling of being infested, of being controlled. In all her years in power, even under Discord, she had never felt this way before. It was not merely the helplessness to do anything but obey, but the feeling of that being right pressed into the back of her mind. That was the thing that stood out more than anything else. The fact that this was supposed to be right, that this was her natural place.

And most of all, that she was starting to believe it.

The winged alicorn stood over Canterlot, standing in midair and barely flapping her wings. Luna was ostensibly asleep, but she knew that her sister was in the dungeon of the palace, ready to rise and sweep it from top to bottom with other infested, just to ensure that their bastion of power was completely secure. There were still one or two Changelings within the palace, too, and they would have to be brought into the Hive, made into tools that would take care of any other agents in the city.

It was time.

It was finally time.

She felt her mouth opening, felt her vocal cords moving on their own. The parasite was doing it for her, making it so much easier to just go along with something that she could no longer fight.

Something that she no longer wanted to fight.

Something that...

That she approved of.

If I can't stop this war, if I couldn't win it, then I have no right ruling over my people any longer.

That had been the turning point for her. Not pleasure, not submission, not the constant pressure and lust that had come from allowing the parasite to take control. It wasn't even the feeling of release of allowing someone else to do a hard job, since she had been ready for that and had been doing hers for generations.

No. It was the reminder that she had failed, and someone else had succeeded. That had been the parasite's way in for her. This was her way of paying for screwing up. She would hand authority over to the Hive, and be their mouthpiece and helper.

At least this way, things would get better.

She heard and felt herself speaking, and listened to the words coming out of her mouth.

"Citizens of Equestria. I have an announcement to make," she said, her magic shimmering as bright as the sun before her, carrying her words and her image to every town in the kingdom. She would appear overhead, a bright, glistening silhouette, sending her orders to all and sundry. "And this...is important. Please listen, and hear what I have to say."

The infested citizens of her former kingdom were already approaching those that had turned their heads up to stare at her and listen. The infested knew what she had to say. They were in on the plan. The others were not.

She already knew where this was going. Rape that would turn far too consensual, slave-drones that worked for the Hive, and more. They were giving in to become a far different kingdom, but if it would beat the Changelings, she was willing. If it was better, if it made others happier, then she would be willing.

"Today is the start of a new era for Equestria," she said, her voice still being drawn from her. "This is the day where everything changes, where everything gets better. This is the day where we will all look back and realize, this was the turning point. Today..."

She breathed in. Some part of her wondered if it was the best decision, to finally go along with this, but it was too late now. She had to commit.

"Today is the day...we embrace the Hive."

The attack began below. Males leaped on the nearest hole, bearing their targets to the ground. Others ran, trying to get away, only to be misted by the waiting females, sprayed and marked with arousing fluids that left them gasping, shivering, shaking as they were waiting for someone to use them. All around Canterlot, the smell of lust rose through the air, as the enemy finally struck, not from without, but from within.

"The Hive will give us freedom," she said as the drones stole the bodily autonomy from those standing against them.

"The Hive will give us strength," she said as the various infested merely stole what the other horses already had.

"The Hive will give us focus," she said as minds and more were taken, suppressed, drained for the sake of the Hive purpose, whatever it might be.

"The Hive...will give us victory. You will surrender to the Hive, or you will be taken by it."

She ended the spell, and knew that all over the kingdom, similar uprisings would be going on. Some would be token, enough to keep the citizens of a town from fleeing, while others would be more full and drastic. Ponyville would be completely taken down, as would Cloudsdale and Las Pegasus, but there would be others that would take longer, require a more thorough siege and treatment.

As she flew to the ground, she could see the ones that had changed her already busy, the male fucking away, rutting one of the mares that had tried to flee. She was already cross-eyed, brain-drained from the fuck, and she would be seeded before long. Azure Breeze stood beside her male, ready to push the new parasite into the new host.

They exchanged a look, Princess to Queen, and Celestia knew that there would be no turning back. The days of a free Equestria under her watch were done. There was nothing left of that.

It was the time of the Hive, and only time would tell where it would go from here. She only hoped that it went somewhere better.

The End

Summary: A final epilogue to this series. Looks like the Hive won.

Tags: M/M, M/F, Tendrils, Tentacles, Parasites, Series, Epilogue, MLP, Pony, Horse, Pegasus, Body Control, Horny,