//------------------------------// // S1E4b Love Harvest // Story: Creator Hatch // by Josh Crapo //------------------------------// I lie back down to let my legs heal. Looking up, I see Gac standing on the ceiling. “Hey, Hatch! I saw the whole thing!” “What whole thing?” “Your chaaaaangelings.” “My changelings?” “They’re crawling all over the cave!” “Uh oh. Gac, neither Night Glider, Double Diamond, nor any other resident of Our Town may enter this cave for any reason. They have likely developed a search party for Party Favor. It appears that I cannot walk with much stability, so you’ll have to take guard. I would greatly appreciate it.” “I can do even better!” “Okay. Surprise me then.” Throughout the rest of the day, I grow used to the chittery sounds of dozens upon dozens of grubs, possibly enough to replace the entirety of Our Town, echoing throughout the caves. By the time my drowsiness kicks in yet again, however, the chittering suddenly stops, replaced with clipping onto the hard cave floor. -=- “Finally! Night time!” I point to Our Town for the grubs that have come with me. Counting them, I see about twenty. The group starts advancing without me, so I study the town near the horizon. “Wait up, little grubs. The lights aren’t off yet. When darkness is in all of the houses, we can get to said houses. Do any of you know how to fly?” Most if not all of the grubs look at me in confusion. One jumps, thinking he or she understands, buzzing his or her wings, desperate to stay off the ground. However, a few seconds later, the grub lands, tired out. Finally, the group follows the little grub’s example to little success on their part. So, I decide to lift off the ground to show how easy it is. “I see the error in how that one grub was doing it. You only have to pay enough attention to your wings to enjoy whatever view you get from it. Not too much. Not too little.” So, another individual grub tries out my tip and manages to stay up three times as long as the first time and actually lands quite safely. I flutter my wings in excitement. “Yes! You’re getting it!” The rest of the group follows the second grub’s example and manages to stay in flight for more than twenty seconds, just as a test flight. “PERFECT!!! And now that the lights are off, let’s move! Only the moonlight can truly guide us to Our Town now.” -=- When the twenty or so of us arrive at Our Town, we are hovering high into the air. I reminisce about counting the ponies outside, seeing that there was thirty ponies that populate Our Town. It sure is a small town. Okay. Hatch and I will have twelve grubs out of the initial twenty I dragged out that will come back. So, there wasn’t as many that was needed as I thought. So, eight of the grubs land on top of the roofs of all the unlabeled structures. Then, they hide behind the houses to search for the windows of the rooms that the fillies and colts are in. Finally, once each of them find the window showing a foal, they teleport into the room, posing as them. That’s when I go to each house to snag the fillies and colts, levitating each one I collect before I return to the cave to cocoon them all. -=- Still resting up, I hear buzzing coming from where Gac went. I pull myself to the edge of the makeshift cliff to see that twelve grubs are hovering with Gac following suit. “Hello, Gac. How did guard duty fare?” “It went well, Hatch! A lot was done! How’re you legs?” I try to stand. My legs don’t shake as much as they did when I first saw the grubs around me. But they’re still shaking nonetheless, so I lie back down. “Well, better than earlier.” Gac starts snickering. “I can’t wait to see the looks on the ponies’ faces when they see what we all did!” “What... did you do? Show me!” “Not now, silly!” “Oh right. My legs.” “Well, that and it’s past our time to get to sleep.” “Okay.” -=- “So Hatch! How do we do this?” “I have to come up with a winged disguise so that I don’t get noticed. I’ll watch from a bird’s eye view. Someone has to stay here and watch the grubs, so I need to have you stay here.” “Yes, Hatch!” “Now, I know the way to Our Town, but I can only do so well, if any one pony is headed to the cave, so watching the grubs means guarding the cave entrance from Our Town.” “Yes, Hatch! Will do!” “I trust you. And I know you can do it.” “Yes, Hatch!” So, I fly straight off the ground over to Our Town to keep my legs rested. On the way, I change into a pegasus with reminiscence of Double Diamond. I find a cloud to drag overhead of Our Town and watch below it. What I don’t expect is the entire town in a small crowd, Double Diamond, Night Glider, and one unicorn facing all the others. “Uh oh. That certainly can’t be good. What in Queen Light’s name did you do, Gac?”