Amie turned to watch Ivy gallop into the room. There was no need to act to make herself look uncomfortable and want to leave—the less time she was stuck in here, the better she would feel.
“Do you really have to give my friends a dressing down, Dad?” she asked, annoyed. “We had plans today. You can’t just… drag ponies in like this! She’s not even military!”
Bravo settled back into his seat with exaggerated informality. He flipped the folio back open, pretending to be interested in whatever was on its first pages. “I was just taking a healthy interest in the ponies you spend time with,” he said. “You’re traveling out beyond Agate’s borders. I couldn’t risk you spending time with someone unqualified.”
Amie kept behind Ivy now. She had no place in this argument, and no way to say anything without upsetting one or the other. Besides, Ivy was obviously right.
“So are you done? Figured out she’s not a secret changeling spy?” Ivy rolled her eyes exaggeratedly. “All you had to do is walk down to the gym and see if she was qualified. She’s done more than most ponies on your base.”
“You can go, Rain Fly,” he said. “Sorry about your morning plans, Ivy. But I won’t apologize for caring about my daughter.”
Ivy groaned loudly, took Amie by the foreleg, and dragged her out the way they’d come, then down the hallway. She said nothing at all until they made it to the stairs, radiating frustration and shame.
“I should’ve known he would do that,” she said, through gritted teeth. “Sooner or later, he always has to get his nose into my life. Every single time.”
Amie nodded. “It’s no trouble. I was just afraid he would tell us we couldn’t go. He just wanted to make sure I knew what I was doing, like he said.” A lie, but it was the same lie he’d already said. Probably her safest bet.
“Of course he does. He can’t trust anypony, Rain Fly. This job is going to his head. He’s guarding the largest changeling population ever discovered, don’t you know? They could be a terrible threat to Equestria if they got loose. They could infiltrate all levels of government, or threaten the strategic iron supply…”
She rolled her eyes again. “Like those bugs even care. They have their mountain, and they’re not even trying to hide. Obviously they aren’t coming to attack Equestria.”
They left through a back door. Ponies in the base didn’t seem to care where Ivy went—they took one look at her, and kept their distance. That probably is a security risk to Equestria, having somepony who isn’t military with such free access. If a bug knew her perfectly and wanted to impersonate her, she could go anywhere she wanted.
Amie put that thought from her mind, following her friend out their usual route to the family barracks up against the fence, where her own quarters were located. “Still want to go up today?” she asked, as soon as they reached the still-open door.
Ivy had a room on the officer’s floor, and a relatively large space to herself. Two packs waited at the bench in front, already packed for their day trip. “We could just skip the morning workout and go out.”
Ivy levitated one pack up into the air, then dropped it again. It was too much weight for her to easily lift with her magic, one of those weaknesses that Amie had picked up on over their time together.
The unicorn could barely use magic to levitate small objects. Anything big or complicated, and she was useless. “Nah. Feels like there’s a shadow over our hike now. Tomorrow?”
“Tomorrow,” Amie agreed, without hesitation.
“Before he wakes up, so he can’t stop us,” Ivy said. “And… not the day trip. I don’t want the warm-up. Let’s go straight for the lake.”
“That’s—” It was an incredibly bad idea. She could hardly make the plausible argument that she knew Ivy was ready for something more challenging if she hadn’t tested with her first. But how could she say no without sounding more like a counselor and less like a friend?
How much longer do I need to hold down this job? If things were going well, this was her brother’s first day of research. She still didn’t have a good conception for how many bits Bud paid her—was it enough to pay for a trip to Canterlot yet?
“You sure?” she asked. “I’ve looked at the map. It’s a rough trail. Over a thousand meters of elevation gain, rough terrain—“
“You don’t think I can do it either?” Ivy demanded, turning her glare on her. “Is that what it was really about? He was just trying to make you turn into another tutor? No more doing anything fun, let’s go to the library today? Wouldn’t I enjoy reading about the noble unicorn houses again?”
“Buck no!” she said. Amie rested her foreleg on Ivy’s shoulder. “I haven’t known you that long, but—your dad doesn’t get to tell me what to do. I’m not in the military. If you wanna go, we’ll go. Just… make sure you tell whoever you have to tell, because that trip is definitely an overnight. We’ll need to add a tent and some sleeping bags to our kit.”
“I’ll take care of it,” Ivy said. “The quartermaster likes me. He’ll give us what we need. I’ll find someone to tell my dad we’re camping. We don’t have to get specific about where, do we?”
Amie grinned back. “I won’t if you won’t.”
Instead of the usual workout, they went to the pugil arena for the next few hours, sparring with padded rods. Here was something Ivy was much better than Amie. She could handle archery, rifles, and even shotguns—but physically martial arts were far outside Amie’s area of interest.
At least they had been. She couldn’t say no or act disinterested, so all she had to fall back on was an endless well of determination, where she kept climbing up to get beaten to a pulp over and over again. The other pony wasn’t usually trying to hurt her that badly. But today Ivy let her anger out in earnest, spinning the practice weapons around so hard they actually sent Amie flying.
By the time they left for a quick lunch, Amie ached all over and felt that her body was made of bruises. She was improving at it—and more importantly, her partner felt much happier. Getting all her anger out really made a difference for her. That, and the important ego-boost that came from being better at something.
“You’re a quick learner, Rain Fly,” she said over lunch. “Soon you’ll be fighting alongside the guard, you’ll see.”
I hope not. Given what the guard were doing to keep her friends trapped in camp, she hoped that never happened. Finally she waved goodbye, promising to meet her early the next morning for their camping trip.
Amie had a little time to get back home to clean up and change. Not her clothes, since obviously the ponies didn’t wear any. She had some bits now, and more coming in all the time. But that didn’t mean she would spend them on things that they didn’t really need, not when her friends at camp were starving and every day of delay was potentially disastrous to someone.
In the end, she chose the pegasus she had created while experimenting with Tailslide. None of the guard had actually seen that mare, so surely that would be safe enough. It wasn’t like she was trying to get back onto the base.
Her brother returned a little before sundown, right as the closing bell whistled. He had a cloth book bag slung over his shoulder, and several heavy volumes inside. “Amie, you have to see what I found!”
He deposited the bag onto the table with some difficulty, grinning at her. “The librarian was so helpful, and I—”
Amie hadn’t stopped. In fact, she was all the way to the door. “Sorry Sunny, I’ve got to go back out. There’s someone waiting for me. You can tell me all about it when I get back!”
“Sunny… right. Feels weird hearing you say it.” Her brother nodded weakly, then waved her off. “They’re making you work nights now?”
“Not exactly. I’ll explain when I get back.” And more, she would need to tell him about her planned absence for the next few days. But that could all wait until she got back. Amie hurried down the stairs, then out across Agate. She’d chosen the second-worst time to be making a trip, unfortunately. Instead of heading to work, everypony was on their way home.
If only she had learned to actually use the feathery wings on her side by now, the way many of the other pegasus ponies had. They didn’t walk home so much as fly over it all, cutting directly to where they wanted to go, without worrying about traffic. But not Tailslide—he’d been on the ground when she found him last.
He was on the ground now, lingering outside the foundry just where he said. His emotions had changed noticeably since the last time. There was plenty of exhaustion, weighing him down after a difficult day of work. But instead of hopeless defeat, there was something else under the surface. Eagerness, anticipation. When he turned toward her, there was recognition, and a flare of relief so profound that Amie tasted it from a dozen meters away.
He couldn’t gallop towards her, not as visibly worn-down as he was. He made his way over, exhausted. “Amie. You’re really here. I thought…” He glanced nervously around, silent. “Not safe. Do you have somewhere we could go? I, uh—don’t. Or I did last night, but there are no clouds in the sky, so…”
“I have no idea what you mean.” She flung her forelegs around his neck in a brief, tight hug. “What happened to you, Tailslide? What are you doing out here?”
There was a hard shell over the surface of intense pain, and she broke it. He sniffed, his voice cracked. “Thought you were dead. They found… I’m so glad you’re okay.”
Amie was already overflowing with emotion, how could they expect her to hold so much without exploding? Could changelings gain weight from being overfed?
His relief actually did bring pressure in her chest. He’d been so worried about her, the kind of worry that only came from real love underneath. Here she was, with somewhere safe to stay and a job she could actually do, while Tailslide…
“You look so thin,” she said. “Know anywhere in town with large portions? We can talk over dinner.”
“Y-yeah.” He broke away, gesturing. “There’s this buffet on Fifth. I don’t have the bits to eat somewhere like that anymore. Saving what they give me for a train ticket out of here.”
“I’ve got bits,” she said. “Don’t worry about it.” Those bits had another purpose—but she couldn’t look at Tailslide without feeling an empathetic ache in her chest. Too bad she couldn’t just share some of the emotions she’d eaten lately, she had more than she could ever want.
Soon enough they were there, tucked into a booth near the back. Amie had only a glass of water for herself, but left Tailslide to get the full package. He clearly needed it.
The restaurant was busy that night, packed full of prospectors and other boisterous visitors. Their own conversation fell easily by the wayside, overpowered by so many others. Unfortunately the proximity also meant she had to smell him. Gone was that powerful, enticing scent of ozone and sweat, replaced with unwashed bodies and harsh chemicals. The close quarters did him no favors.
She was right to think he was hungry, too. He barely looked up until he’d finished two full plates, and started on his third.
“It looks like you’re out on the street, Tailslide. What happened to you?”
He looked up from his plate, ears folding flat over his head. “Nopony will rent to me,” he said, defeated. “When you’re on the commander’s shitlist, everyone knows he’ll give them trouble too. I wouldn’t suggest eating with me if you were… real. People will see us together.”
Amie rolled her eyes. “Buck who sees. What happened?”
Tailslide settled into his chair, looking distant, haunted. “I told them the truth.”
Oh crumbs
Ahahahahahahahahahahahahahahhaahahah
I neeeeeeeed the next part
Nneeeedd to know
Am dying
Ohhh, crapbaskets.
But tailslide. They Can't Handle The Truth!
So much for friendship and harmony. Tia you have some explaining to do.
I expected that Ivy had heard enough to know Amie was being paid to be her friend. Well I guess this is preferable.
Anddd... so guesses on what will happen:
A) Amie will have to defend Ivy in the woods, and may or may not reveal her identity in doing so.
B) They will find out Amie is a changling and think she kidnapped Ivy and there will be a big search for her.
C) Ivy will inadvertantly reveal her identity as someone who knows Tailside and agrees with him.
D) C, but it will happen because she tries to stick up for him with Ivy or her dad, and they will wonder why she is defending him, or how exactly she knows him.
Also, I wonder if anyone noticed anything odd about Wes, that will come back to bite them?
whatever happens, I look forward to more of this story!
HAH. how ironic.
Oof. I wish I knew how that conversation went…
Oh boy
You can be sure the zealots will be out for your blood when you look like you're in the fifth column. Tailslide's gotten thrown under the bus for it. Amie will have to find a place for him. She knows she owes him that much. Though I'm guessing that's an easy way for Path to tear the contract with Rent-a-friend if Rain Fly is spotted with a changeling sympathizer. Tread carefully.
Gotta love the irony.
Path paid for this service and by hell is Amie going to deliver it!
Seems like Wes got stuff done as well.
It's even worse than usual since Tailslide's partner is dead. They would expect him to be motivated by revenge but seeing him like this would make them ask questions. One of those questions asking whether he was the one that did it.
Looks like bugs can give good hugs.
At least Tailslide stuck to his guns and told his superiors what's up. Maybe one of the other princesses would listen better. Still, what will Amie do about his feelings? She knows how he feels about her and I imagine it will just keep growing now that he's lost everything and the kindness that she's showing him.
It was brave of Tailslide to tell the truth but I guess that his supriors won't tell anyone else like Princess Celestia who would naturally be interested in hearing Tailslide's story. ThatAmie is able to spot weaknesses in the guard doesn't say anything good about their abilities.
With how thing going, it's likely some kind of conspiracies playing behind the scene.
And with author's track records, the current status quo would come craahing down somehow.
I just hope whatever come to filled the vacuum will not be typical boring absolute monarchy or farcist because this time we have a population of americans that are educated and can be wall-gardened and still functioned as a self-sufficient community.
11357909
Unlikely. When it's the main plotpoint, starscribe's equestria is likely somekind of fake utopia that masked something dark. And princesses are involved.
Here's what I think will happen.
The Stella Lacus lings break out and happens upon the pair, Ivy is kidnapped and used to blackmail Amie, and either Amie disguised as Ivy returns with the news of Rain Fly's death or Guards find Amie disguised as Ivy and an undisguised ling.
It's not entirely unreasonable for the commander to dismiss Tailslide like that considering he's basically admitted to being compromised by the enemy.
Although the amount of hostility the ponies show the changelings here is quite honestly still extreme. Given what Ivy said, it looks like the ponies are very much aware that they're dealing with a completely different hive here. Having a policy of 'kill on sight, take no prisoners' would be unusually extreme even in actual war, let alone taking such a stance upon first contact.
And I'm guessing they didn't like that truth too much.
Hoo boy. This isn’t getting any simpler any time soon. I can’t say I envy Amie. We’ll see how she handles this.
11357585
You assume that information has gotten to Canterlot. It seems far more likely Tailslide told the commander, who dismissed it and blackballed him.
11358758
The commander is from Canterlot. So we should know her policies
Romance Tag!!!
Somehow it didn't occur to me until just now that the commander Amie just met with, who's daughter she's been befriending, is (probably) the same commander that Tailslide would've reported to after Amie left him to flee Motherlode.
11359188
Oh god... Good eye
Well, this was quite the cliffhanger. Telling them the truth, hoo boy. They'll be concerned that there's mind magic at play there.
11359188
It definitely is. Ivy's name is Ivy Path and her father's name was stated as Bravo Path. And Tailslide said he got on Commander Path's bad side.
If this is what I think it is, then this is quite good news for Amie, since they will not be looking for an "escaped changeling". I hope she won't overreact to Tails' revelations.
...And I still hope that Tails and Wes will meet each other and he will join Amie in her adventure (and her life)!
i had a bloody premonition, ivy will somehow die on the trip and amie will return as her and go to canterlot estate as her
I made another comment in chapter one of this story. Take a look at that if you're interested, but suffice it to say, I wrote one story that is a little similar to this story. That is enough to reveal I have some interest in the subject.
But for this comment, I want to congratulate the writer for such fabulous quality to the story so far. Strangely enough, I had a feeling about it too when I stumbled upon it. Putting it on "Read it Later" list was a good call in order to not lose track of this one. Sure enough, I perused through several other stories that I mostly couldn't finish because it was lacking something. Now that I found a story that does have what I'm looking for, I'm wracking my brain trying to articulate why this is so, but I'll give it my best shot.
First of all, the concept of changelings in MLP Gen 4 fascinates me on several levels. Their society, their capabilities, and the story that can potentially surround them. It's more than just the mystique, but there is that too. Changelings, as noted multiple times in this story alone, have notoriety attached to them which is no fault of the protagonist of this story which already leans the reader sympathetic towards her, and for more than just that reason as well. She's trying to take care of her brother and trying to do the right thing along the way. She's strong without being a Mary Sue. The storyteller reveals her strengths and weaknesses while also building upon both as the story progresses. Readers already know what what a changeling was potentially capable of but Aemie does not know that. She had to learn it as the story progresses.
It has not escaped my notice, either, that the story entirely relies upon OCs so far. Show canon characters are barely even mentioned here. I personally find that refreshing and even liberating because I can't have any expectations with truly original characters, or at least not at first. As the characters are revealed, we learn more about them as the story continues and only then can expectations be formed.
The conflicts of this story feel expertly crafted as well. Take, for example, the changeling hunger that the Camp was suffering from on day one combined with a sole exception, the protagonist's brother Wes. As time went on, the writer revealed the fairly predictable conflict of them drooling over him when they sense any sort of affection from him, yet there lingers an awareness that everyone in that Camp is a victim too. Like the leader of that camp is presented as reasonable and sympathetic. While reading him, part of my soul quivered with dread over the possibility that he might go full villain someday and through no fault of his own. Just the desperation and hunger and losses driving his sanity potentially over the edge. That mere possibility dangling over our heads feels so tragic which means the story generates emotion. Things like this just don't happen with boring stories that are empty of soul and meaning.
Then, as the story continues, there is a building dynamic with every character the protagonist meets. New potential opportunities as relationships grow and are explored, then those new characters meet other characters that the protagonist met and they interact with each other. Layer by layer, this story is building like layers to a cake.
And imagine being that changeling who is behind "enemy" lines or at least potentially hostile. Changing forms becomes a necessity and that lingers with it the fear of being caught. I wonder if anyone who is currently reading this comment has ever had a dream where they have turned invisible. During that time, have you ever felt that fear of being discovered despite your advantage? Have there ever been moments within those dreams where you nearly were, or actually were, discovered despite being invisible? I hope you can understand this analogy, because that is the feeling that this story captures.
well done. I look forward to reading more.
11358835
this is a certified pog moment