//------------------------------// // Come On In, The Water's Fine // Story: I Come From a Land Down Under // by Dropbear //------------------------------// Burrow had to resist the urge to bolt from the cave as Chrysalis uttered a low and menacing growl. The four drones cowering behind him were likewise fighting the same compulsion, he could feel at least one of them shivering. Across the room, Aphid peeked out at Chrysalis from behind Mr Growl’s legs, his fellow soldier’s eyes wide with fear and confusion. He couldn’t help but share in her befuddlement. At first everything had been going pretty well, and it had seemed that Mr Growls and Chrysalis had started to come to some sort of accord, but then the furious outbursts had started. The Queen appeared to be under the impression that one of them was mentally insulting her, but Burrow was positive that no-one in the cave would ever be foolish enough to challenge the imposing monarch directly. “You? You!?” ‘Wait, what?’ Burrow furrowed his brows when Chrysalis pointed a hoof directly towards Mr Growls. “How are you doing that!?” Burrow looked towards Mr Growls, the biped’s own eyes narrowed and head tilted. “Grung rawbra… Gra?” The undecipherable-as-usual reply elicited a low hiss from Chrysalis. “Foodbeast.” The Queen’s fangs flashed. “Did you just call me… a crazy bug?” Burrow alternated his glances from Mr Growls to Chrysalis every few seconds. ‘I… I am completely and utterly lost.’ “You are getting dangerously close to provoking me, beast!” Chrysalis shouted at Mr Growls once again, before she paused and shook her head after a few seconds. “What does that even mean!? You are speaking nothing but nonsense words and insults!” Another few moments of silence, and Chrysalis snarled. “You’re the one that is acting like a ‘stroppy sook!’.” “Oh no…” he heard Muddle whisper fearfully from behind him. “The Queen’s actually lost it this time…” As if on cue, Chrysalis swung her head around to glare at them with her hoof still pointing towards Mr Growls. “Do you hear the filth that your Foodbeast is saying to your Queen? Have you not trained him at all?” All of them glanced back at Mr Growls, the biped having crossed his arms with a frown. “Rawbra grung raw graw.” A finger was then pointed at Chrysalis. “Grubbra grung rawb grawbra.” Burrow slowly looked back towards Chrysalis to meet her furious eyes, and he had to swallow a lump in his throat before answering her. “Uh… well, we can certainly hear him, Your Highness. It’s just that…” he trailed off, the last bit of his courage fleeing him as Chrysalis’ eyes narrowed further. “Yes?” “What Burrow means,” Cypher managed to get out. “Is that we can’t really, uh, understand what he’s saying.” She quickly coughed into her hoof. “It is kind of all grunts and, well…” Meddle took over. “Growls. My Queen.” Chrysalis stopped pointing her foreleg at Mr Growls, and leaned her head in towards them. “I realise that,” she spat. “I am referring to his interference with the Hive Link! How come none of you sought to bring this to my attention earlier?” She looked back at the biped, and hissed again. “He is a non-changeling, and a rude one at that!” Burrow’s ears picked up at the news, and despite the Queen’s rage he couldn’t help but take a step forwards. “My Queen… did you just say that Mr Growls is in the Hive link?” He resisted the urge to grin. “And that you can speak to him?” Evidently it was the wrong question to ask at the current time, and he quickly found himself on the receiving end of a venomous glare and a low growl. Burrow’s eagerness to investigate the Queen’s claim quickly fled as she leaned in close to him and narrowed her eyes further. “Creature-controller,” she stated low and evenly. “This is no time for celebration. I have much to deal with, and adding this annoyance into the mix is not something that you want.” Chrysalis glared around the room, making sure that everyone was paying her their full attention. “It’s not something that any of you want, let me make that clear now.” She stood back up and made a point of avoiding eye-contact with Mr Growls, her eyes shut as she massaged her forehead with a hoof. Then, opening them again, she shook her head and let out a snort. “I’ve had enough stupidity for now. I’m done.” Frowning once more at Burrow, she pointed a hoof towards him. “Fix this issue. Find out how he did it, find out why, and then find out how to stop it. If you don’t, I’ll have him investigated by the scholars… and all of you punished. Severely.” A second’s pause was left to allow the threat to sink in. “Do I make myself clear?” Burrow nodded quickly, and bowed his head afterwards. “Yes, my Queen.” “Good. We leave in a matter of moments.” He looked back up, Chrysalis already having turned and started to hurry out of the small cave they were in. Burrow was quite glad to see her gone, and he took the time to wipe the sweat off of his brow. “My Queen?” Burrow froze as Meddle spoke up from behind him, Chrysalis pausing in the cave tunnel. “Do you still want us to bring him to you so you can feed?” The Queen didn’t even turn around, Burrow swearing that she seemed to tense up before relaxing. “Of course. I need the energy, after all… unfortunately.” The last word was faint, but Burrow still managed to pick up on it. He was wise enough to not say anything, and Chrysalis left without any further interruptions. He waited for a few moments for her to get out of earshot, before he turned to stare at Meddle. She looked back at him with wide eyes, before she tilted her head. “What?” “I…” Burrow gritted his teeth, before sighing. “Never mind.” He gave up and trotted over to Mr Growls, leaving the drones to whisper amongst themselves. Aphid was already sitting down when he reached them, his fellow soldier staring up at the silent biped as she held her forehooves tight to her temples. ‘I need to meet new changelings,’ Burrow thought to himself, closing his eyes for a brief moment, before he opened them again and prepared himself. “Aphid, what are you doing?” “Trying to communicate with him,” she replied over the Link without breaking eye contact with Mr Growls. “Chrysalis only seemed to freak out when they were looking at each other, so maybe that’s why he can apparently ‘talk’ to her. You have to look at him and concentrate maybe.” Burrow tilted his head. “Huh, that actually makes a bit of sense.” He looked back up at Mr Growls. “Any luck so far?” “Not quit- Hey, Growly!” “Graw?” Mr Growls turned and tilted his head, and in doing so broke eye contact with Aphid. A finger was then pointed at her, and the other hand went up to scratch the confused biped’s head. Unable to resist, Burrow cracked a smile. “Yeah, pretty much.” “Did he just talk to you?” Aphid had gotten to her hooves and immediately pushed her way in-between them to face Mr Growls once more. “Growly, did you just talk to Burrow, and not me!? Growly!?” “No Aphid, I was just…” “Growly!?” “Oh! Oh!” Things only got worse for Burrow as the four drones swarmed around him, pushing and shoving in their attempt to get the closest to Mr Growls. “We can help!” Mirror eagerly stated. ”Growly!” “Growly!” Cypher joined in, eyes wide as she grinned up at the backpedalling biped. “Speak to us Growly!” “Growly!” both Meddle and Muddle contributed at once as the females kept pace with his retreat. Mr Growls quickly found himself out of cave, and with a thud his back hit the wall. Burrow noticed him glancing nervously between all five of his silent questioners, and winced at his friend’s predicament. “We’re helping!” Meddle proudly proclaimed through the link to them all. ‘I’ve got to wonder if being able to hear them over the Hive Link is better for him at all.’ He sat down on his rump and, unable to really do much else, watched on as the females all silently stared up at Mr Growls with their wide and unblinking eyes. For both of their sakes, he hoped that the Queen would give the order to move out sooner rather than later. “Crzzt rzzt.” Daniel glanced down at the bug horse trotting alongside him, the male shaking his head after a few moments of silence. “Bzzrt chrz.” A sigh followed up the alien speech, and it wasn’t hard to guess why. The bug horse hitching a ride on his back shifted slightly, her forelegs clasping tighter around his neck as her hind legs readjusted their position around his waist. He frowned while she settled down into her new position, the creature resting her head down upon his left shoulder and letting out a wheeze through her nose. Trudging through yet another long and dark cave tunnel, bug-horses all around him, Daniel couldn’t help but get the feeling that she was playing him. ‘I mean, sure, a hug now and then is nothing really, considering.’ The female wiggled her head in closer to his cheek with a happy snort just as the thought popped up. ‘But she can bloody well forget it if she thinks I’m going to be waiting on her like some sort of butler forever.’ He focused back on the way ahead, the occasional green glow of a bug-horse horn lighting up the otherwise pitch-black tunnel. There were more important things to worry about, after all. ‘Fuck, the tall one’s certainly bad enough,’ he thought with a frown. ‘I liked it better when she was just pissed off, now she’s pissed off and can argue about it with me.’ Daniel absentmindedly smacked the side of the rocky tunnel wall with a fist, drawing glances from a few bug-horses that he didn’t pay any mind to. ‘I bet she can probably hear me right now, head-invading grumpy bitch.’ He paused and looked out through the darkness towards the head of the trotting black mass, no telepathic insult flying out in retort. ‘Maybe not then.’ It was certainly strange. Well, relatively. He was currently surrounded with waist-high sapient magical insect-aliens on the run from magical sapient ponies after all. But no matter how hard he tried to file the new occurrences under the ‘deal with it later’ mental folder, he just couldn’t quite shake off the new concerns. ‘I would have thought that being able to actually communicate with them would have been a good thing, but of course…’ He was unable to keep his scoff inaudible. “The top dog has to be a psycho.” “Bzzzrt?” Daniel looked back down to his right, his words having grained his friend’s attention. Bright blue eyes stared up at him as an ear flicked, the bug-horse swerving slightly to avoid a small rock in his path. “See? Why couldn’t I be able to speak to you instead? You know, with the whole mind-thing? At least you seem to be sort of sane.” He got a tilt of a head in return. “Not that you’ve got much competition, after all.” Daniel quickly glanced behind him, setting eyes on a group of four bug-horses. The different network cables around their necks made identifying them easy enough in the gloom, the females ceasing their hushed chattering once they noticed the attention. He was immediately met with wide smiles and ear twitches, and Daniel hurriedly returned his eyes to the front in the hopes that they would remain content to stay behind him. But it was in vain. He sighed to himself as he felt one of them move up alongside his leg, the creature continuing to trot along in time with him while occasionally bumping her side against him to make her demands known. “Crzzt brzt.” Glancing down to his left, Daniel met his friend’s eyes just in time to receive a pointed eye (or rather pupil) roll. “Yeah, I know,” he muttered back as his right hand lowered down to give the other bug-horse the head rub she wanted. “Sometimes I just bring it upon myself.” “Chrrzt.” “Pfft,” Daniel scoffed while he focused back on walking along through the tunnel. “Like you can talk.” “Well, we’re making good progress despite all of the injuries. I’ve ordered a few scouts to check out the way ahead, but for now I think we should be okay to rest for a few hours. I’ve also commanded that everyone gets half-rations as well, so we don’t overdraw from our current stocks. Is that okay, Your Highness?” Chrysalis didn’t pay Scuttle any mind as he prattled on, her attention focused solely on her aching left forehoof. Leaning back further into the large white cushion that one of her subjects had pilfered from a pony house and subsequently ‘gifted’ to her, she frowned while she used her magic to pluck a small yet sharp stone from the inside edge. “My Queen?” “What!?” Her snarl echoed around the small cave that they were both sitting in, a few changelings lying down in the outside tunnel lifting their heads to peek in through the small entrance. They quickly averted their curious gazes when they noticed her eyes dart towards them, and Chrysalis snorted before refocusing solely on Scuttle. The Commander, to his credit, hadn’t even flinched at her irritated reply. Instead, he gave it a second before repeating himself. “I said that I ordered for the love-ration to be cut in half. Is that okay with you?” Wriggling back further into the pillow, Chrysalis flicked an ear and breathed out through her nose. “Why wouldn’t it be?” She frowned. “I’ve got better things to concern myself with than rations at the moment. Think more, Scuttle.” Scuttle, sitting down in his full armour and helm, didn’t reply for a few moments. Chrysalis ignored his unblinking stare, and instead focused on shifting herself into a new resting position atop of the pillow. Laying down on her right side, she grimaced as her bottom half was forced to rest down upon the cold stone ground. ‘I bet that Cadence, curse her, hasn’t had to suffer the indignity of having to spend even a single minute with her rump on the cold ground.’ Then the memory of the crystal caves beneath Canterlot entered her mind, and Chrysalis felt some of the irritation lift as it did so. ‘Well, more than a few days, in any case.’ Unfortunately, it was a fleeting moment of wicked happiness, and she quickly found herself slipping back into her regular scowl again. The comfortable pillow did little to take her mind off of everything, and she snorted air out of her nose once more with a huff. There was movement to her left. “Is something wrong, My Queen?” Chrysalis didn’t even bother to look at Scuttle, or even muster up any malice to inject into her answer. “Oh, nothing at all, Commander. I’m only stuck in a cold tunnel away from my throne, after losing to a bunch of high-and-mighty pony princesses and their irritating, soft-hearted subjects.” She scoffed. “Then another personal loss to that arrogant, so-called ‘Princess of the Night’. Then being forced to flee from Equestrians once again…” She laid her head down upon her forelegs, her eyes furrowed. “And to top it all off,” she continued with her voice dropping to a mutter. “The Foodbeast of all things is suddenly able to insult me over the Hive Link like it’s natural. The Creature Controllers I picked are inept, everyone seems to be utterly incapable of doing anything helpful, and… nothing seems to be going right.” Another scoff, and she didn’t continue. Instead, she just stared at the dusty cave wall and waited for Scuttle to undoubtedly prattle off yet another useless question. “Well,” he said after a few moments. “I suppose there’s some valid complaints.” ‘I can’t even be bothered to berate him…’ “But, how about…” Scuttle leaned in slightly. “I fetch you a nice, love-filled pony snack to take your mind off of things? I’m sure that I can find one that’s almost unused, and-“ Chrysalis silenced him with a buzz of her wings, her head not moving from its spot upon her forelegs. “No,” she groaned, wincing briefly. “Don’t you remember? The Foodbeast is being brought to me soon, unfortunately.” Scuttle raised an eye. “I thought you liked the Foodbeast?” “I like feeding off of the Foodbeast,” she quickly corrected him with a growl. “I eagerly await the day I drain that irritating blubber-pile into nothingness.” This time, it was Scuttle that scoffed. “Oh, come on. The energy he emits is bountiful and satisfying, and I doubt that he’s that bad. The other changelings seem to get on fine with him from what I’ve heard and seen.” Chrysalis folded her ears down and groaned. “They can’t talk to him. I’m not lying when I say that it’s an irritating experience to go through, I don’t even understand half of the words that exit his disgusting mind.” “So no progress on getting any useful information then?” “…Scuttle, shut up.” She could almost feel his smirk. “Of course, my Queen.” There was a shuffling sound as he shifted on his spot. “Besides, I think that we’re about to receive some visitors.” Chrysalis lifted her head, frown primed and ready, just as her evening meal arrived through the entryway. Stepping hesitantly into the cave, the Foodbeast squinted his beady eyes as he looked around as a single drone trotted before him with her horn lit up with a soft green glow. Chrysalis immediately noticed the bright red cord that was hanging around the drone’s neck, marking it as one of the changelings that somehow was able to withstand the beast’s presence for extended amounts of time. Both arrivals immediately paused upon spotting Scuttle and her, yet only the drone had the sense to drop to her knees in a bow. “Y-your Highness, Commander,” the lowly female addressed without looking up. “I’ve brought Growly, like you wanted.” Chrysalis noticed that the Foodbeast was taking care to advert his eyes, a fat hand scratching his stomach through the ugly patchwork clothes he was wearing. “Growly?” Scuttle questioned from the side with a slight laugh. “I thought that he was supposed to be a ‘Mister something’?” The drone, perhaps curious at the light-hearted query, raised her head to look at them both. “Only Burrow… I mean, the Creature Controller, calls him ‘Mr Growls’ anymore.” One of her ears twitched. “Commander Scuttle, Sir.” “Oh,” Scuttle followed up with an eye raise. “I see. You like him that much, do you?” A light green shade tinged the drone’s cheeks, visible even in the darkness. “I… ah, well, he’s just really nice and all, Commander. All of us, the six of us watching Growly I mean, we all get along with him really well. We help him fit in and feel comfortable, you know?” Chrysalis didn’t miss the way Scuttle’s smile grew as he glanced up at the grimacing biped. “Oh, I can certainly see it, Drone.” Both of them ceased talking when Chrysalis decided to make herself known, her throat-clear causing the drone’s eyes to widen. “Are you both quite done?” she asked, before quickly raising one of her forelegs. “I’m not actually asking Scuttle, I’m displaying my irritation.” Scuttle wisely closed his mouth. Chrysalis focused on the drone, the changeling shivering under her gaze. “I believe that’s all, Drone. Leave us.” The drone broke her bow, but didn’t start to move out of the cave. Chrysalis narrowed her eyes to get her point across, yet still the drone hesitated. “Um, I’d love to, My Queen,” the changeling hurried out with another bow of her head. “But it’s Growly. He can’t see that well in the dark, and well…” The drone’s foreleg went up to touch her glowing horn. “I’m sort of making sure that he can see where he’s going.” She bumped her flank against the Foodbeast’s leg, and smiled nervously. “I’m not being mean, but if he falls over then he might… crush someone.” Chrysalis fixed her with an unamused glare. “Drone, I gave you an order, did I not?” “I… yes, you did,” the drone answered with a wince, before she seemed to take a deep breath and straighten up. Meanwhile, the Foodbeast was glancing between them all with his hand scratching his head. “A light would be good,” Scuttle suddenly chimed in again. Chrysalis shot him a look, her Commander looking back at her with a shrug. “What? She has a pretty good point. I don’t want to have to sit around with my horn acting as a torch, do you?” Looking back at the drone, Chrysalis huffed. “Fine,” she said with a dismissive wave of her hoof. “The drone can stay. Just remember, if you speak of what goes on in this cave to anyone…” She let the threat hang in the air, the drone gulping as she no doubt imagined any number of the possible punishments. “I… I won’t, My Queen.” “Good.” The drone smiled and looked up towards the still-confused Foodbeast. “Besides, I don’t think this feeding is going to be half as embarrassing than when you started sleep-sucking Growly’s-“ Chrysalis’ head immediately shot up straight, her fangs flashing wide and sharp at her subject. “Silence! Finish that sentence and I’ll have your head decorating the top of my throne!” With a yelp, the drone immediately fled for the sanctuary of the Foodbeast’s legs, the female sheltering from the withering royal glare behind a wall of bipedal blubber. Chrysalis didn’t let up, save for a quick glance to the entryway to once again ward off the unwanted attention from the changelings outside. “Don’t think that your precious Foodbeast will save you from me, whelp!” Chrysalis spat with narrowed eyes. “I ordered you to never, ever mention what happened in that cave! I should de-chitin you right now!” “I’m sorry!” the drone wailed as she collapsed down and covered her eyes with her forelegs. “I’m so sorry Queen Chrysalis! Please don’t take my chitin!” “Graw-“ “You shut your mouth!” Chrysalis shot to her hooves, one foreleg extending out to point right at the cowering drone while maintaining her glare on the female. “For once, this isn’t about you! This is a solely changeling matter and as Chrysalis, Queen of the Changelings, I alone am the only... the only…” Chrysalis, the Foodbeast, and even the teary-eyed drone stopped their respective yelling, grunting, and sobbing to glance over at the slowly-building source of laughter. “You…, oh my…” Scuttle slapped his armoured side. “You sucked his what!?” A lime-green eye twitched. “I swear I…” Chrysalis gritted her teeth while Scuttle continued to shake with laughter. “It was his fingers, his fingers Scuttle! That’s all!” Her Commander continued to laugh, Chrysalis shaking with rage as she stamped her hoof on the rocky floor. “Stop laughing you fool!” “C…can’t!” Scuttle wheezed, collapsing onto his back and rolling onto his side. “Too… funny. Image… stuck in my h-head and… ah-ha-ha!” He continued to roll, his purple armour quickly gaining a fresh coating of dust. “Can’t stop l-laughing. Send help!” “Why you…!” Scuttle didn’t stand a chance. With a snarl and a embarrassed blush, Chrysalis powered up her horn and magically plucked up her Commander from his spot on the ground. With nary a second thought she then flung him out through the entryway and into the main tunnel, Scuttle’s guffaws continuing to be heard even as he flew through the air unaided by his wings. The resulting crash of changeling-armour impacting against hard ground was quickly drowned out by the nervous chattering of the many witnesses outside in the tunnel, and Chrysalis let out one more low growl before she stopped the magic glow to her horn and returned to her pillow. “Just great,” she grumbled, flopping her belly down atop of the comfortable cushion and rotating to face the wall. “I’m surrounded by idiots.” She continued to fume in the following silence, her head once again going down to rest upon her crossed forelegs. “Um…” Chrysalis closed her eyes and tried to take a calming breath as hoofsteps approached from behind her. “My Queen? Do you want me to take Growly away and, maybe, come back in a little bit when you’re… feeling better?” Slowly, ever so slowly, Chrysalis raised her head up once more. Twisting around, she locked eyes with the drone and asked her a question with a perfectly even voice. “What’s your name?” The drone swallowed a lump in her throat. “C…Cypher, Your Highness.” “I see,” Chrysalis nodded. “Cypher. I shan’t quickly forget that name.” Cypher made to take a step back, but Chrysalis got in first. “Cypher, be a good drone for me, will you?” Her hoof patted a spot on the ground right beside her. “Come sit down beside your Queen.” Her eyes flashed with a dangerous glint. “I insist.” “O-oh… wow,” Cypher gulped again, but wisely decided to start trotting over. “You h-honour me, My Queen.” Chrysalis didn’t take her eyes off of the drone as the she hesitantly moved over, Cypher wincing as she sat down right by her side. Reaching out a foreleg, Chrysalis patted her on the head and watched as Cypher shivered under her touch. “Don’t be afraid, my subject,” Chrysalis reassured. “No harm will come to you,” Her voice lowered to a whisper. “…yet.” The shivers increased. “M-m-m-y Que-“ “Just remember to keep your mouth shut when I tell you to, hmm? If you listen to your Queen and obey, then every changeling gets to stay happy. You understand what I’m saying, yes?” She ceased patting Cypher on the head, and kept her hoof firmly on the drone’s forehead as she made a nodding motion. “Yes. Your Highness,” Cypher managed out with another shiver. “Good.” Chrysalis turned her attention to the Foodbeast, the biped still staring at them and scratching his head. She met his beady blue eyes, and had to focus on not flashing her fangs at him. “As for you, sit down beside me.” Surprisingly, the beast didn’t object or fire back with a barrage of insults. Instead, with eyes shifting to watch the still-shaking drone, he lumbered over to take a seat on the ground next to her without making a sound. Chrysalis watched him all the while, forehead still on top of Cypher’s head. As soon as the biped had sat down, his back against the cave wall, his eyes once again made contact with hers. “I’m in no mood for your rudeness,” Chrysalis informed him with an even gaze. With a flash, her horn lit up and her magic moved to envelop his closest hand. “Sit down, shut up…” Her magic moved the hand through the air, warm fingers quickly coming to rest atop of her own head. “And focus on rubbing. Do I make myself clear?” He simply stared at her, hand not moving. “You… going to explain what happened?” his irritating mental ‘voice’ asked. “Like… the shouting? Old mate laughing? Or the whole ‘mental chat’ thing? Or…” “I said rub, not prattle,” she grunted, using her magic to keep his hand steady on her head as she rested on her forelegs once again and broke eye contact to stare at the wall. The mental quiet that followed was the first true moment of peace for Chrysalis in a long while. As an additional bonus, the Foodbeast seemed to take the hint, and Chrysalis let her magic die out as she felt the soothing fingers start to massage her scalp. ‘I’m starting to really hate being Queen,’ she silently skulked as she ignored the Foodbeast reaching out his other hand over the top of her to pat the rattled drone upon the shoulder. ‘I sometimes wish that I could just be a carefree and spoiled moron, just like that prissy pink wench Cadence…’ Barraging snow whipped all around the desolate wasteland of the frozen north, occasionally blocking out the distant crystal city that sat just outside of the storm’s edge. “Crrrrystals!” “Why does he keep saying that!?” Cadence yelled above the howling winds as she continued to gallop for her life, a single backwards glance going to cloud of evil black smoke that swirled around up in the storm behind her. “I don’t know!” Shining shouted back from beside her as he sent another bolt of magic towards Sombra, before dodging the shard of crystal that shot out in return. “But Celestia forgot to mention anything about this!” ‘I should just give up and leave.’ Daniel sighed and drummed his fingers against both cheeks, his eyes tracking the many cracks in the cave wall as he shifted slightly to dislodge to small pebble from beneath his stomach. “Crrzrt brzt?” “No, it’s fine,” he answered with a dismissive wave to the bug-horse straddling his waist. “Just a rock.” The surprisingly soft hooves resumed their previous movements upon his sore back, and Daniel winced as one of them dug into his left shoulder blade for what seemed like the hundredth time. The bug-horse sitting on him was certainly commendable in her eagerness to give him a relieving and stress-releasing massage, and he wasn’t exactly the sort to have sought one out previously to compare, but Daniel couldn’t help but feel like she wasn’t exactly qualified for the task. “Brrzt chrrzt, brzzerz…” “All good,” he forgave with a sigh. “Maybe you’ll miss it on the next try… or the next…” ‘Eh, maybe I’m being a bit harsh,’ he thought as the bug-horse moved her forehooves to his shoulders themselves. ‘It’s not really her fault.’ He glanced sideways towards the snoozing mass beside him, the leader bug-horse curled up on her pillow in a thankfully quiet slumber. She’d conked out a few hours earlier after copious amounts of petting, and Daniel was still without answers to his many pressing questions. Like the whole sudden telepathy thing. Kind of important, that. ‘Typical bloody luck.’ Still, it was probably for the best, considering her previous mood. “Chrrzt burzt bzzrt. Czzt.” “Hmm?” The bug-horse atop him paused her massage as she spoke, and when he looked up Daniel noticed her glancing towards the cave entrance. Following her eyes, he spotted the male bug-horse from earlier trot into the cave. In addition to the purple armour and helmet, the creature had the new addition of a brown saddlebag on his right side, a light clinking sound coming from within whenever the bug-horse took a step. “Cherrzt?” The newcomer asked as he looked around at the three of them, a smirk growing on his face as he no doubt noticed that his leader was asleep. ‘Should probably keep an eye on this one,’ Daniel thought to himself as he recalled the male’s role in the earlier bug-horse fight. ‘He seems to piss off Sour-Tits more often than I do, could be good for a laugh’ The bug-horse on his back obviously had a different opinion, the female rolling off to the side in order to prostrate herself with her head bowed towards the obvious higher-up. “Brrzt Chrzt.” “Crzzt.” The male waved off with a buzzing laugh, the bowing female looking up with her head tilting in confusion in response. “Chrzrt Brzt.” His next words actually caused the female to smile, and she left the bow in order to sit up on her rump with her forelegs in-between her outstretched hind ones. Both of the bug-horses glanced towards the slumbering leader, before they shared a knowing look. Not really caught up with all of the local bug-horse politics, Daniel took the time to sit up against the cave wall and dust himself off, a frown crossing his face as he realised how dirty his patchwork shirt was. ‘Time for a wash soon,’ he thought absentmindedly, before he winced. ‘Yeah… after last time, it’d be better if I did it on my own terms.’ Memories of a bathtub and a roof flashed in his mind, before he shook them off. Instead, he focused on the armoured bug-horse before him, the creature trotting closer with a grin. Daniel had learned to not trust the smiles of the bug-horses, so naturally he warily eyed the newcomer and prepared to ward off an advance. Left hand stealthily moving to cover his groin, he waited for the creature to make his move. The bug-horse’s horn glowed a bright green, and despite being already close he took another step forwards. ‘I’m primed and ready to slap a bitch,’ Daniel tried to mentally warn as he looked into the male’s bright eyes, his right hand tensing by his side as the brightness of the bug-horse’s horn intensified… Only to dim down as the purple helmet lifted off of the creature’s head to land down on the ground by his side with a green glow. “Brrrzt czzrt zzrzrt! Zzzrt crzzt!” Daniel took a second to process the happy greeting, his hand already half-way raised in the air. It took him another few moments to work out the meaning of the raised foreleg that was being held out towards him, the bug-horse still smiling all the while. “I…” he stammered out before hesitantly reaching out his own hand. “Uh…” His fingers clasped around the purple leg greave and the top of the bug-horse’s gold-tipped shoe, the strange metal cool to the touch. The bug-horse watched his fingers all the while, head tilted with interest. “As useless as it is, name’s Daniel.” Giving the foreleg a few good shakes, he let it go and returned his arm to his side. ‘Says a lot about this place that I can’t even recognise a simple handshake.’ Still at least it was only a handshake and, more interestingly, the first one that had actually been offered to him. “Zzrt!” Continuing to smile, the bug-horse lowered his leg and moved to sit down, a green glow removing the saddleback from his side as he did so. Obviously as concerned about modesty as the rest of his kind, the armoured bug-horse was perfectly happy to spread his hind legs wide as he cricked his neck from side to side with a content sigh. Then the saddlebag was plonked down in front of him, the bug-horse chattering rapidly while he swiftly removed both of his forehoof shoes and set them down beside him. Daniel just sat and watched while the excited creature undid the flap of the saddlebag with his hooves instead of his magic, the creature digging around in the sizable bag with a ponderous expression. Something warm bumped against his side from the left, and Daniel glanced down to see that the female bug-horse had shifted herself over to sit up against him. She was watching the armoured bug-horse with her head tilted, one ear flicking as the sound of clinking glass once again could be heard. “Brrzt crzt!” Daniel looked back to the front just in time to see the male withdraw something from the bag with his triumphant chatter, the bug-horse immediately stretching out his limb with something held carefully in the crook of his hoof. Gingerly taking the offered item with his fingers, Daniel lifted his hand up to examine the clear drinking glass in the steady glow provided by his bug-horse escort. It was pretty tiny really, looking more like… “Oh shit,” Daniel mumbled out, before he looked back to witness the male bug-horse take out three differently labelled bottles from within the saddlebag. “Is this…?” The male’s next action of taking out a further two tiny glasses and passing one to the puzzled female only confirmed his suspicions, and Daniel found himself starting to smile as he watched the grinning bug-horse eagerly remove the cork from the fattest brown bottle. Thick reddish-brown liquid filled the male’s own glass, before the bug-horse held the bottle out towards Daniel with one eye raised. “Fill ‘er up,” Daniel said as he held his glass out, the bug-horse grinning as he carefully as he complied. The bottle was only taken away once the shotglass was filled, and Daniel sighed happily as he lifted the glass to his nose to take a whiff of the strong alcohol. “Fucking finally, someone is starting to talk my language around here.” “Crrzzt zrrt,” the male seemed to chatter in agreement as he filled the female’s glass, before the bottle was placed on the ground and the male’s glass held out into the air. “Zrrt chzzrt, brzzt!” “Damn right,” Daniel grunted as he clinked his glass together with the male’s. He could have been toasting world genocide, and he still wouldn’t have really cared one bit. The female bug-horse, having sniffed her drink and scrunched up her face afterwards, looked to both of them before hesitantly clinking her own glass against theirs. The male then immediately withdrew his and made to take a drink, the female hesitantly bringing her own glass in to take a hesitant sip. She stopped before any liquid reached her tongue, Daniel having tapped her on the shoulder to grab her attention. “Nah,” he told her as she looked up. “Like this.” With her attention on him, he raised the glass to his lips and tipped his head back, draining the shot with one gulp before placing the glass on his thigh and wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. To be honest, the taste was horrible. Comparable to the cheapest bourbon often found in only the most refined backyard pissups of the local bogan gentry, he was used to far better. Still, grog was grog, and the drink’s strength was readily apparent as the alcohol continued to burn in his throat. “Fuck, I needed this,” he announced out loud despite there being no chance that his present company could understand. “You should hook us up with-“ He didn’t even need to finish his sentence before the bottle was already back at the rim of his glass, the male bug-horse flashing him a fang-filled grin with his own glass already refilled. Daniel stared down at his now full-again glass as the bottle was once again withdrawn, before looking back up at the bug-horse. “Like I said, talking the same language here.” “Chrzt.” Once again, in apparent agreement, both of them raised their shotglasses at once and simultaneously downed their second drinks without another word. Daniel, still slightly aware of the sleeping (and continuously cranky) leader next to him, put a fist over his mouth to muffle the belch that came afterwards. He had barely lowered his empty glass before the bottle was once again filling it back up, Daniel glancing back towards the female at his side. She was still hesitantly sniffing her full glass, Daniel grinning and rolling his eyes at her. “Come on,” he goaded, making a drinking motion as she looked up at him. “Give it a chug.” “Zrrt brzt,” the male bug-horse joined in, nodding in agreement. “Crzzt brrzzrt.” “At least have one. We’re already on our third.” The female glanced back down at the glass held in her hooves, before she wrinkled her nose. Closing her eyes, she lifted it up and in one fluid motion downed the entire drink fully with a gulp. Barely even a moment passed before her face scrunched up again and she spat out her little red tongue with a hacking cough, her head shaking from side to side as she ‘savoured’ the booze’s ‘delicate’ aftertaste. “Crzzrzrzrt!” the male chuckled, pausing to quickly down his third drink before making to refill it immediately. “Brrzt chrrzt zrzt! Brrzt crzt.” “Chrzrt!” the female answered with a sour expression, before glancing down at her empty glass with disgust. “Brzt!” “Crzzrzrzrt!” Daniel let them have their conversation as he downed his own glass again, the drink tasting noticeably better this time around. Only starting to just feel a tingle, he placed his empty glass down in the hopes of getting another refill. He had barely finished his thought before the bottle was once again moved into pouring position, this time with a green glow around it. Daniel looked towards the male and scoffed as he watched him take another drink while simultaneously pouring. “Show-off. Let’s get to eight and then we’ll see how well you majick-it.” A smug grunt was the only reply, and they both turned to stare at the female as the bottle was withdrawn from his glass to hover by hers. “Up for another?” He asked her, waggling his own full glass. “It gets better as you drink more, honest.” She removed her hoof from the side of her head as he spoke, her eyes going from her empty glass to their full ones. While she was pondering the suggestion, the male leaned in with his free hoof waving in the air. “Crrzrt urzzt. Crrzrt urzzzzzt!” Daniel didn’t need to speak bug-horse to understand the notorious ‘Come on, come oooonnn!’ that heralded all bad drinking decisions. Evidently it was enough to sway the female, and the third glass was soon held out and filled to the brim. Seeing that she was still regarding it warily, Daniel surprised her by giving her a reassuring pat on the back. “It’s all good,” he told her before tipping his drink back and gulping it down. “There’s a first time for everything, love.” Her focus went back to her own glass, and both Daniel and the armoured male let out encouraging cheers as she took another drink. “That’s the way!” She had barely finished gulping the liquid down before he wrapped his free arm around her and pulled her closer, his glass already held out in front of him while she hiccupped with surprise. The other bug-horse was already grinning and hooflessly refilling all three of the glasses, Daniel giving the female’s head an affectionate rub before turning to nod at the new bug-horse friend he had made. “Damn right, let’s do the proper thing, ay?” He let out another soft belch into a fist, his smile the widest it had been for days. “Let’s get ab-sol-lutly off our fucking tits!” “G-grunga.” “I knows-hic! -rights? Can yous believe that shes said that?” Chrysalis’ eyes blinked open a few times as she awoke with a start, her ears flicking as they picked up the conversation that was happening behind her. She recognised Scuttle’s voice, odd as it was, but it was only when she rolled off of her side and onto her stomach to look up that she realised how bad things were. Commander Scuttle, her number two and second highest-ranked changeling in the entire hive, was sprawled on his side with a half-full bottle clasped in his forehooves. His horn was glowing a faint green, and Chrysalis glanced to where his half-lidded eyes were loosely focused on. The Foodbeast hadn’t yet noticed that she stirred, the disgusting creature slumped against the cave wall with his own bottle clutched in a meaty paw. For some reason he was wearing a small glass upon his head, the drinking container rocking precariously from side to side with every heavy breath. The drone that was supposed to be watching him was clearly passed out in the Foodbeast’s lap, little snores occasionally escaping from around the two fingers that she had snared in her mouth. A shudder went down Chrysalis’ spine as she watched the drone’s tongue give the fingers a tiny lick, the female smiling happily in her sleep as she enjoyed the salty taste. ‘Did I look that undignified while I was…?’ Chrysalis quickly shook it off and forced her attention away from the juicy finger-pops and back to Commander Scuttle, her nose wrinkling in disgust as she became aware of the reek that arose from all three of them. “Ohs, Queeny,” Scuttle made the attempt at addressing with a floppy wave of his foreleg as he turned to smile at her. “Yous awake. Want to…” Scuttle moved a forehoof to his mouth, and held it there for a few moments as his eyes unfocused. Then, eyes focusing again, he removed it and instead pointed towards an empty bottle by his side. “Drink? Drink’s good. Drink? Drink!” “Gra-grunga!” the Foodbeast felt the need to add with his eyes rolling upwards, his hand awkwardly groping for the glass atop his head. “Grunga!” “Psssph,” Scuttle half-huffed, half-chuckled. “Nots you. Too much alr-already.” Scuttle’s forelegs swung out to the left, pointing in Chrysalis’ general direction. “I wash ashking Chrissy.” Chrysalis closed her eyes for a brief moment, taking a deep breath before opening them again. “Get out.” Scuttle blinked at her words, before he glanced down to the bottle in his hooves. “I donsh have that ones.” “No, Scuttle,” Chrysalis said slowly, taking care to space out her words. “Get out. Of my cave.” She looked into Scuttle’s eyes when he looked back at her. “Please.” “Ohsh.” Scuttle staggered to his hooves, his magic scooping up all of the glasses and bottles to store them in his brown saddlebag. He took a few seconds to fumble with the flap clasp, before giving up and looping the saddlebag’s strap around his neck. “Grung?” the Foodbeast slurred, Scuttle looking over as he fumbled with his armoured shoes. “I’sh gots to go,” he explained, turning for the entrance after the last shoe was securely on. “Queen’s mad.” Without waiting for an answer, Scuttle started to stumble towards the exit. “We shoulds do shish-“ Without warning, Scuttle pitched forwards as his forelegs collapsed underneath him, his helmet clanging against the ground. Luckily for Scuttle, his saddlebag hit the floor before his face, and thus he came to a complete stop with his head on the bag and his rear in the air. All was still. “Scuttle?” Chrysalis said slowly. “Are you alright?” There was no reply, save for a long and drawn out snore. “Oh for…” Chrysalis sucked in air through her teeth, trying to think of something that she could do to punish him. “Rabraw.” Unfortunately, the Foodbeast got in first. Chrysalis looked over at the creature just in time to see him yank his fingers from the drone’s mouth with a wet plop. Rubbing the saliva off on his shirt, and with eyes unfocused, the Foodbeast drunkenly snaked an arm under the drone’s torso as he made to stand up. Lifting the still-sleeping drone up with him, the female’s four legs dangling down as she was held by his side, the Foodbeast ambled over towards the downed Commander with only a tad more grace than Scuttle had himself demonstrated. “Grumbra-grung.” Bending down, and still somehow maintaining his balance, the Foodbeast stared at Scuttle for a second before making his move. As Chrysalis watched on wordlessly, a free arm reached out to repeat the same process that the drone had been subjected to, Scuttle soon safely secured under said arm as the Foodbeast stood up again with visible effort. Then he was off, ambling towards the exit with both drunken changelings in his arms, for only a few steps before pausing. “Grung…” Staggering, he turned on the spot, and Chrysalis felt a spike of dread shoot through her when she realised that he was staring right at her. Sitting up still, she didn’t do anything as the oaf managed to make his way over towards her, the biped quickly towering over her before he bent down to stare right into her eyes. He was dangerously close, and Chrysalis pulled her head back even before she fully registered his bloodshot eyes and booze-laden breath. Still he moved his head closer, Chrysalis’ own eyes widening as her heart-rate quickened. ‘Is he… surely he won’t even…’ She nearly leapt out of her chitin when his nose bumped against hers, the biped holding the contact for a full second. “You... you have pretty eyes.” “…” Without warning he stood back up, turned on his heels, and resumed his stumbling towards the main tunnel without another word. Chrysalis watched him go with her mouth agape, before she sat back on her rump and raised her forelegs up in front of her. “What!? What just happened!? Why!?” Burrow raised his head from his forelegs as the general chatter of the tunnel picked up a notch, his ear flicking as he turned to stare past the changelings in front of their group and further up the tunnel. “What is it?” “I don’t know,” he replied, even as he noticed Aphid stir beside him to likewise take a look. “It’s probably Mr Growls coming back though, he’s been gone for a while.” A changeling trotted out on his left, the drone wearing a bright green Ethernet cable around her neck. “I hope it’s Growly,” Muddle murmured while craning her neck forwards and squinting her eyes for a better look. “Chrysalis has been hogging him all to herself.” Burrow pointedly cleared his throat. “You might want to watch what you say, Muddle. The Queen might be bringing him back herself, after all.” Muddle quickly folded her ears down and sunk back down onto the ground, tucking her legs in beneath her. “Chrysalis has been acting a little odd, lately,” Aphid silently shared with them. “Well, we did lose at Canterlot,” added Meddle from behind them, evidently feeling that it was better to communicate her thoughts non-verbally. “And again after to that blue pony,” Mirror contributed out loud from the right. “She’s probably feeling a bit down.” “She can talk to Growly though.” “I don’t think that’s a plus,” Burrow reminded them while he lit up his horn with green light. “Now quiet down, I think they’re coming this way.” All five of them stopped conversing to stare towards the front of them, the chattering of their changeling fellows growing louder and louder. Then, over the increasing din of voices, a familiar and distinctly different voice became clear. “Grung. Grung. Grung. Grung…” ‘Is that…?’ Burrow had to blink his eyes a few times to ensure that what he was seeing was accurate. He would have blamed the strange image on the general gloom if it wasn’t for the fact that his magical light lit up their section of the tunnel almost like day, and he slowly tried to process the unlikely scenario heading towards them. “Grung.” Mr Growls, with an unconscious Cypher nestled in one arm and the sleeping Commander of the entire damn Hive held under the other, was stumbling through the resting lines of changelings while repeating the same grunted apology ever few seconds. Unable to act, Burrow could only stare as his friend slowly made his shaky way towards them, befuddled changeling drones and soldiers getting up from their spots to clear a wide path for the biped. The whispers and murmurs of the witnesses of the strange event didn’t seem to faze Mr Growls, and he continued on without paying any mind to the general changeling populace. “Growly?” Mirror took it upon herself to call out as he drew nearer. “Are you okay?” “Grung-a-rung, grah!” The cry was strangely jubilant, and Burrow didn’t miss the wide grin that was plastered over his friend’s face as he drew nearer. “By the Queen,” Aphid said as her eyes widened and she instinctively made to raise her foreleg in a salute. “Is that… Commander Scuttle himself? No way.” Burrow had to admit it was unlikely, but there was no mistaking the fine purple armour and golden trim that marked one of Mr Growl’s passengers as being the Hive’s second-in-command. He couldn’t help but feel a cold chill run down his back at the realisation, Commander Scuttle not even twitching as he flopped with Mr Growl’s every shambling step. He hadn’t interacted with the Commander much, as he was but a lowly soldier and no-where near important enough to warrant even a silent acknowledgement from Scuttle, but he had heard things about the officer. Talk about Scuttle’s ability to somehow even stump the Queen from time to time, and the whispered rumours that even Chrysalis wasn’t game enough to challenge him in arguments when they occurred. And here was Mr Growls, with said Commander firmly in his grasp. Burrow didn’t even want to begin to guess at what had gone down while Chrysalis had been feeding. “Rangra.” Mr Growls sat down with a thump against the right wall of the tunnel, a dopey grin on his face as he sat his two unresponsive passengers up against him on each side. Burrow, aware that a hundred other changeling eyes were watching, cleared his throat once more. “Mr Growls, are you-“ He was cut off by a loud snort and then a snore, his friend’s head flopping down to rest against a shoulder. Beside Mr Growls, both Commander Scuttle and Cypher slumped in further to rest against him, their own deep breaths of slumber joining his. “…Okay?” Burrow sighed, his forehoof poking Mr Growl’s chest with no response. “Just what did the Queen do to him?” Mirror murmured from behind, Burrow shaking his head after pulling his foreleg back. “I don’t know.” He turned his head around to look at her, ignoring the stares of the other changelings in the tunnel. “What about her, though? We should probably check.” Mirror immediately shrunk down, her eyes glancing in the direction that Mr Growls had arrived from. “Uh… perhaps you should. You’re a soldier and I’m a drone, after all. If she’s in a… mood like before, then she’ll probably listen to you more.” Burrow glanced around at the group, the other drones and Aphid merely looking at him while keeping their mouths shut. “You know what?” he answered with a gulp, slowly lying back down. “On second thoughts, I’m sure she’s fine. She’s the Queen, after all.” With that, he started to focus intently on the tunnel wall while ignoring anyone else, silently praying that their journey back to the hive would be quickly over. “Left foot. Right foot. Left foot. Right foot…” Daniel continued to mutter to himself as he trudged forwards through the same endless tunnel that he had been struggling through for what had seemed like days. In truth, it had been about two hours since he had woken up with the aftermath of the recent piss-up, and the chattering of the of the bug-horse horde that marched around him wasn’t doing much to help things. “Czzzrrt…” He glanced down to the bug-horse cradled in his arms, the female letting out her own tortured mumbles with one foreleg held firmly over her closed eyes. “It’s not that bad,” Daniel quietly reassured her as he tried to focus on his balance. “You’ve just got to think about a cure. Like Maccas, or a fat and juicy Whopper, or Maccas and two Whoppers. With cheese. And more Maccas. Mhmm…” “Chrrzt?” “Yeah, tough shit that there’s none of that out here though.” He snorted, stomach churning widely. “Guess we’re just going to have to put up with it.” She only mumbled an unintelligible reply, well more unintelligible than usual, before sinking her face deeper into the crook of his arm with a huff. Fairly secure in the assumption that she wasn’t exactly up for more banter, Daniel kept his mouth shut instead turned to his own thoughts. ‘Fucking purple-fucker,’ was the first thing that popped up. The high-up bug-horse in purple armour, who had generously shouted the grog, had been spotted about an hour earlier. Chatting carelessly with the bug-horse leader up at the front of the pack, the creature had shown no ill-effects from the prior drinking session and seemed quite chirpy. ‘No way he could have escaped with the amount that we put away…’ Closing his eyes and wincing as a throb went through his head, Daniel stopped walking when the front of his left leg collided with a bug-horse rear and tail. Suppressing a grimace of irritation at the hurried chattering that followed the contact, he looked down to meet the eyes of the bug-horse with the yellow collar. “Chrzrtzt!” “What?” Glancing up, Daniel noticed that the tunnel section they were in seemed brighter than usual, and the mass of bug-horses ahead of them were increasing their pace and chatters. Squinting his eyes, he swore that… “Oh, hell yes!” He almost leapt over the surprised bug-horse in his haste, the ones in front of him parting to the sides as he barged down the tunnel that grew brighter and brighter. Bright blue eyes stared at him in confusion as he continued to move forwards, but Daniel paid them no mind. He didn’t even acknowledge the bug-horse in his arms when she lifted her head to chatter out a question. No, he only paid mind to the dot of light that steadily grew into a noticeable hole at the end of the tunnel. “Finally!” he shouted as he neared the tunnel exit, and he thundered through the chittering bug-horse horde with a speed that was impressive for his bulk and hangover. Bursting out of the tunnel and onto the rocky plains, bug-horses all around him, he looked up into the sunny blue sky with a wide grin and a yell of triumph. “Glorious sun!” It took a second for his eyes and mind to register his mistake. “Ah, fuck!” Immediately, he clasped his eyes shut as his entire head throbbed in protest, and his ears picked up the sound of multiple hooves as they thundered out of the tunnel. “Fucking light!” The galloping stopped, and he could feel bug-horses flocking around his legs. “Chrrzrtt?” “Give me a sec!” Daniel took a deep breath in, before breathing out slowly. Gently, he bent down and lowered the bug-horse he was carrying in his arms, the creature taking the hint and vacating her spot to scramble off to his left. Then, after standing back up and ensuring that he was looking down at the ground, he opened his eyes. Plain grey rock broken up by tiny amounts of ash grey dirt was the first thing he saw, the pair of black chitin-covered forehooves being the second. Raising his hand up to shield his eyes from the sunlight, he traced them up until he saw the blue-collar that the owner possessed. “Yeah, what?” “Crzrt, brzzt zrrt?” “I’m fine, just… fuck, I need a drink.” The bug-horse’s concerned frown lessened, his head tilting. “Shit’s fucked.” “Zrrt chrzzrt!” Daniel looked down to his right, another of the bug-horses circling around his legs and chattering up at him. A yellow Ethernet cable dangled around her neck while she looked up at him with a toothy grin, his locked toolbox strapped firmly on her back with a yellow sheet. “Chrzzrt!” A second female joined the first one, her rump jerking to the side to knock the other away. Daniel didn’t need to see the grey phone cable to identify her, the green goo covering her snout was identification enough. Understandably, Yellow Cable wasn’t too pleased with having the legs annexed, and a glare was sullenly levelled at Grey. It was returned with a smug and haughty snout raise, Yellow huffing as the other bug-horses around him chittered with laughter. Despite his head, Daniel couldn’t help but feel his mood lift a tad. “Brzzt crzzt,” the lone male bug-horse muttered under his breath before looking up and attempting a smile. “Brzt. Zrrt chzzrt brzzt crzt.” He turned on the spot and gestured outwards with a foreleg, so Daniel winced and risked another dose of sunlight to see what he was trying to show. Jagged rocky outcroppings dominated the surrounding area, their fractured and upwards-facing positions hinting at a previous upheaval in the earth long ago. Sickly and near-leafless trees swayed in the light wind, scattered around the area in patches of dry dirt. There wasn’t a single hint of animal life that Daniel could see, the entire area seeming completely dead and barren. ‘Huh,’ he thought. ‘Feels a bit like home.’ But his attention only lingered on the surrounds for a few brief moments, his eyes going directly to where his friend was pointing. “Oh…” A jagged spire of ash-grey rock sat in the distance, easily rivalling a mid-sized skyscraper in size. The central ‘tower’ was flanked by a number of smaller rocky spikes, every single one pointy and looking as if they aimed to spear the sky above. Towards the wider base, a number of holes of various shapes and sizes dotted the rock face like holes in swiss cheese. Daniel glanced down to the bug-horses around him, paying particular attention to the appearance of their legs. ‘Not really the weirdest observation,’ he realised, before he looked back up at the sound of buzzing wings. The horde was on the move again, almost all of the bug-horses taking to the sky with excited chittering. Daniel watched on even as the sky darkened, the sound of the swarm echoing around the rocky wasteland. They all zoomed off towards the spire in the distance, leaving only his group of six with him. “Crrzt. Zrrzrt chrzzt?” “It’s nice, I suppose” Daniel shrugged without taking his eyes off of the tower of rock. “Could use some paint and a verandah, though.” Walking closer to the tower, the six bug-horses leading the way, Daniel felt apprehension creep up upon him as they neared closer to the largest hole in the rock. It wasn’t the mass of armoured bug-horses swarming around the apparent entrance, nor the general foreboding look of the bug-horses’ home. Rather, it was the realisation that he had come to a few moments earlier. As large as it was, there was no way that the tower itself could host the many bug-horses that he had travelled with, not even taking into account the larger swarm of creatures that had flown out to meet their approaching brethren. That either meant that they were all going to pack into the tower like sardines, or… “We’re going underground again, aren’t we?” Bluey, Daniel having decided to change the bug-horse male’s original name of ‘Boris’ to a name better suited to his collar, glanced up with a smile. “Bloody knew it…” His mutters didn’t go ignored, Bluey about to say something before quickly snapping his attention back to the entrance at a buzzing shout. Up ahead, a dozen or so bug-horses stood in a line as the group of at least fifty armoured bug-horse guards inspected the bundles of assorted loot that they carried on their backs. The one at the head of the line was waved through the entrance by a guard as his collection of wooden mugs evidently proved to be acceptable, but all of the attention was quickly focused on their little group. Daniel was a little more unusual than cutlery, bags, and the occasional pillow after all. “Brrzrt.” Bluey stopped the group with a low chatter and a gesture with his foreleg, his magic adjusting the purple helmet upon his head. Daniel complied without question, his guard immediately up as the bug-horse guards filled the air with buzzing wings. In just a matter of seconds they were surrounded, dozens of blue eyes locked on Daniel with glares and frowns. He didn’t need to be a bug-horse expert to recognise the looks of distrust, hate, and even fear that the soldiers gave him, and even Bluey seemed a little taken aback by the cold reception. The other bug-horses previously in the inspection line took the chance to leave, a few looking back with a touch of concern on their faces. “Chrzrtzt,” Bluey called out to his fellows, the female with the injured snout also adjusting her helmet and stepping forwards to stand beside him. “Brrzrt chrrzt?” “Zrzrzt,” one of the flying guards buzzed back, a foreleg snapping out to point right at Daniel. “Crzrt? Brzrt zrrzrt czrt?” Bluey attempted a calming smile. “Brzt.” Daniel looked down as he trotted backwards to stand beside him, and Bluey reached out to touch a patchwork-panted leg with a hoof. “Zrzrzt. Brrzt crzzrt zrzrrrt.” All at once, the surrounding guards seemed to relax their aggressive stances, many of the hostile looks turning into confusion and curiosity instead. “Zrzt?” the same guard questioned. Bluey’s smile increased and he nodded his head. “Zrzt.” Daniel watched as he made a gesture up towards him. “Crzrt zrrrzzt, brrrzt.” Glancing to his fellows at first, the guard slowly flew forwards, stopping just in front of where Daniel was standing. His big bug-horse eyes gave him a quick look up and down as he hovered in the air, a foreleg hesitantly reaching for his helmet. “Zrzrt,” Red Cable encouraged from the ground, the bug-horse soldier furrowing his eyes before removing his helmet. Daniel felt a nudge in his leg. “Crzrt.” “I’m pretty sure I can work it out,” Daniel answered with a roll of his eyes. “You bug-horses aren’t exactly hard to impress.” Raising his hand, he watched for any signs of imminent biting as he extended his arm out towards the helmetless guard, the hovering bug-horse never taking his tiny white pupils off of his approaching fingers. Wishing to get it over with, Daniel gave the creature a quick pat on its bald head and a scratch behind the ears, the guard going stiff for a second before flicking his ears with a smile. “Brzrzrt!” Daniel removed his hand and returned it to his side, the soldier watching it go with his smile still intact. “Crzzrt?” Bluey nodded with his own grin, his foreleg once again gesturing up towards Daniel. “Zrzrt.” “Czzrtzrt!” Green Cable added in support from behind his right leg, the female leaning forwards to wrap a foreleg around his leg and nuzzle against it. There were a few moments where the guards shared glances and hushed chattering, before they all steadily ceased their flying and settled back down to land on the rocky ground. The soldier that had received the head pat tilted his head to the side in thought, but it was only for a moment. He stepped aside, out of their path, and extended a foreleg towards the entrance tunnel. “Crzzrt.” He put his helmet back on and levelled a steady stare at pair of bug-horse soldiers leading the group. “Zzrt brrzt crrzt krrzt, zrt?” “Zrt,” Bluey answered with a nod, and then began to trot forwards while looking back with a smile. Daniel started to follow as soon as he felt Yellow release his right leg, aware of the many stares on his back as he once again walked into a dark tunnel for what seemed the hundredth time in the past week. The six bug-horses trotting with him were all talking excitedly as they did so, Daniel switching his attention to his surroundings once more. The entire tunnel was coated with an odd black substance, even the floor. It was firm yet springy beneath his shoes, Daniel guessing that even the seemingly resilient bug-horses got tired of walking on hard rock the entire time. He was able to see the coating because of the green glow that lit up the entire tunnel, and upon looking up to the ceiling far above him he could see spots of hardened green goo that shined light down upon them. ‘Better to not question the glowing goo,’ he silently thought as he was guided further into the entrance tunnel. Smaller passages branched off occasionally from the main tunnel, some heading upwards into the rock while others snaked off around corners. Daniel’s focus was solely turned to the wide open up ahead however, a loud buzzing sound hinting at the presence of more bug-horses. The bug-horses leading the group headed towards the opening, and Daniel paused with a start once he reached it and peeked out. Bug-horses. Bug-horses everywhere. A massive hollow chamber greeted Daniel and his bug-horse group, a single cylinder of rock rising up in the centre from the rocky floor to disappear into the heights above. Staircases hewn from the same rock that made up the entire tower snaked everywhere, connecting the cylinder to the hundreds of holes in the walls that buzzed with bug-horse activity. The green-goo pods that provided lighting hung everywhere, bathing the cavern with a surprisingly warm glow. Speaking of bug-horses… “Fuck me… they’re coming out of the goddamn walls.” Daniel whistled at the sheer amount of the creatures, their numbers far beyond counting. Many flew around the central rock pillar from wall-hole to wall-hole, others trotting up the stairways in pairs or groups as they chittered to one-another. A few of the ones flying caught sight of them, many stopping mid-air to stare while a few looked over with recognition and small waves of their forelegs before continuing on their way. He took a step forwards out into the cavern, his curiosity peaked, but he was halted by a foreleg going out in front of him. “What?” he asked while looking down to meet the stares of the bug-horses. He raised a hand and pointed out at the pillar of rock. “I want to have a quick squiz around the joint.” “Brrzrt,” Red Cable said with a shake of her head. She gave him a pointed glance, and scrunched up her face while waving a hoof in front of her nose. Seeing the other bug-horses nod in agreement, Daniel raised an arm and sniffed. Only to immediately snap his head away with a wince. “Point taken,” he admitted, glancing down at his dirt-stained shirt and pants before fixing them with a stare. “What do you want to do about it?” They seemed to pick up on his implication, Bluey sheepishly rubbing the back of his head with a foreleg before chuckling. “Zrz… brrzt czzzrzt rzzzrt.” He gestured with his head towards a passageway to their left, the other bug-horses seeming to perk up at his words. “Chrrzt brrzt zrtz?” Yellow asked, Bluely shrugging his shoulders before smiling. “Zrzt.” This prompted Yellow to give a small bounce and a buzz of her wings, the female zipping off into the passageway with a wide grin. The other bug-horses rushed to follow, Daniel noticing that Bluey shook his head in disbelief before looking up at him and gesturing forwards with his head again. “Brrrzt?” “Sure.” Daniel started to follow the group already rushing ahead, his friend smiling again before trotting along at his side. “But if there’s any flying tubs, I’ll have to smack you one.” The pair of them made their way through the passage, the ceiling thankfully a full metre above Daniel’s head so he didn’t have to slouch. Wide enough to comfortably fit the two of them side-by-side, it twisted and turned before angling downwards with a gentle slope. Occasionally they would pass other bug-horses who would move to the sides and stare, but evidently the presence of Bluey was more than enough to avail any fears that they may have had about the biped in their presence. There was no sign of the other five bug-horses that belonged to the group, and after a full minute of walking combined with several passage changes Daniel was completely lost. ‘At least he seems to know the way,’ thought Daniel with a glance down to his smiling friend. Thankfully, it was proven correct when they reached a much wider tunnel soon after, Daniel guessing that they must have been at least two hundred metres underground. The new tunnel led to a cavern up ahead, and contained a sound that Daniel was well-familiar with. Bug-horse chattering. It was the second sound, however, that caused Daniel’s head to lean forwards even as he walked closer. ‘Is that… water?’ For the second time that day, Daniel stepped into a large cavern that certainly hammered home that he wasn’t in familiar territory anymore. Water, crystal clear and pure, poured out of several holes in the perfectly rectangular walls of the new cavern like underground waterfalls. Each constant stream of water fell into the same large underground river that swiftly flowed through the cavern, the snaking stream of water vanishing through another large hole in the opposite wall. A set of bars, seemingly constructed of the same black substance that caked the walls of the bug-horse hive, sealed off the hole while simultaneously allowing the water through. Smaller streams, which appeared to have been artificially carved in the rock, directed water away from the main river and into a dozen large pools that dotted the massive cavern. Daniel took a quick guess and figured that they were roughly the same size as a standard commercial pool back home, vastly outdoing his town’s local swim centre. He also didn’t miss the steam that wafted up into holes dug into the rock ceiling far above, and idly remembered that he hadn’t noticed any vapour pouring out from the rock tower when he was looking at it from outside. Bug-horses also filled this cavern, although there wasn’t nearly as much as the horde that dominated the central pillar room. Individuals and groups rested by the side of the dug-out pools chatting to each other in their alien tongue, while others bathed and swam in the warm waters. A few were even clustered around the sides of the massive rectangular cave, drinking from water troughs apparently made from the strange hard black material. Daniel followed the makeshift piping of the drinking troughs, the waterworks running up the walls to a single pulsating green pod located high up on the side of the cave. He could just faintly see the water gushing out of a wall-hole and into the huge pod, the alien construct shaking and glowing as it took the water and funnelled it into the pipe-system, and he wondered just what it was for. A massive amount of steam seemed to radiate out of the pod, hinting to its purpose, but he had no further time for thought as he felt a tug at his pants leg. “Hmm?” Bluey looked back up him with a grin, his foreleg moving away from the pants to point at a tunnel leading off to the left of them. Daniel didn’t miss the small stream that flowed through the middle of the walkway, and he glanced around at the general populace of the bathing area. “Somewhere more private?” “Crzzrtz!” Trotting off through the passage with the reply, Daniel had no choice but to follow Bluey through the cavern. Many of the bug-horses turned to look as he passed, but Daniel noticed that most of them greeted him with smiles and chattered greetings instead of stares. ‘Probably all of the other guys from the trip,’ he figured, pausing a few times to rub the heads of the bug-horses that trotted up to him expectantly. He noticed Bluey sighing out of the corner of his eye, but he didn’t miss his friend’s light smile at his actions never-the-less. Continuing on through the small side-tunnel, they passed into another cave room with a much smaller pool inside. More circular in shape, this bathing spot was currently occupied by only four bug-horses that he knew very well. Daniel briefly winced at the sight of every one of them wearing their network cable necklaces in the water, but silently reminded himself that the cables were unlikely to ever see a socket again in their lifetime. Three of the females were currently engaged in a vicious splash-fight between themselves at one end, their chittering laughter filling the small cave with mirth. The forth one, Red Cable, was preoccupied on the side of the pool. Hind legs resting in the warm water, she was busily scrubbing her grey tail hairs with what was likely a pilfered bar of pink soap. Strangely, there was no sign of the fifth bug-horse, the crazy snout one. Daniel would have normally been worried about that, but he was currently too preoccupied with just enjoying the relaxed moment that was playing out before him. Thanks to the four being preoccupied with themselves, Daniel and Bluey managed to make it to the side of the pool without being noticed. While his friend immediately slid into the water with a blissful grin crossing his face, there was a small matter that Daniel had to attend to first. Quickly removing his dirt-streaked work shoes, glasses and carefully taking off his bug-horse made socks, he placed them gently against the wall next to his tool chest before standing up and walking over to the pool edge. “So,” he said with a smile, gaining the attention of the bug-horse group as they stopped what they were doing to glance at him. “What’s the water like?” It was almost as if they understood his words. A mischievous grin crossed the face of Green Cable, and Daniel didn’t take heed of it before it was too late. He didn’t even flinch when the splash of water flew an impressive distance out of the pool to collide with his legs. Well, okay, he flinched a little, but it was a manly flinch. His earlier observations were proved correct however, and the water was a comfortable warm temperature. Grinning, he took a second to point a finger directly at Green Cable, the other bug-horses glancing at the confused female as Daniel’s eyes focused on her. “You,” he whispered out just loud enough for them all to hear, and Green Cable only had enough time to widen her eyes before Daniel slipped into the pool still-clothed and submerged himself in the water. Using his feet on the wall to propel himself off the smooth wall, he swung his arms wide out to the sides under the water and propelled himself forwards with surprising speed and power. The pool wasn’t that deep, only about a metre and a half or so, but it was enough for him to travel underneath the water like the magnificent and majestic dugong, true king of the seas. The water was perfectly clear, and so he had a perfect line of sight to his target as he surged forwards. Green Cable had quickly regretted her splashing decision, and had turned around in an attempt to clumsily doggy-paddle her way back to the safety of the closet pool edge in a panic. Unfortunately for her however, Daniel had been raised a swimmer, and her attempt was ultimately in vain. Even under the water, Daniel could hear her squeal of surprise as he grasped her around the barrel with his hands, her legs flailing as he stood up and lifted her right out of the water. “Ha!” Standing up, the water reaching the bottom of his chest with his feet on the floor of the pool, Daniel held her out in front of him and flipped her around to face him. Hands under her forelegs, he chuckled as she mock glared at him. Meanwhile, the other bug-horses chittered with amusement at her situation as they watched. “I think you know what’s coming next…” Eyes widening, Green Cable glanced down towards the water below her below her before looking back at him. “Crrzt zrrt zrr-“ she slowly tried to negotiate, before Daniel interrupted her by dunking her under the water with a splash. Letting her go, he laughed again when she surfaced with a splutter, her eyes furrowing with a frown as she treaded the water. It quickly faded into a smile however, and she only paused to laugh, fire off a quick splash at him, then quickly turn to launch a flurry of surprise water-attacks at the giggling and unsuspecting Yellow Cable floating beside her. Leaving them to splash-fight amongst themselves, Daniel swam over to the chuckling Bluey to join him in hanging out at the side of the pool. Leaning his back up against the smooth wall, avoiding the small ridge jutting out from the side under the water that he guessed was for bug-horses to sit on, and resting his arms on the pool edge to hold him up, he settled down to relax and let the warm water do its job. “Maybe this won’t be so bad,” he mentioned to his friend with a smile. “By the way, where’s old Snout McGrout?” Eyes facing Bluey, Daniel completely missed the curved black horn breaking the surface of the pool water as it headed towards him, before it submerged completely into the depths. Waving his hand, Daniel rolled his eyes at Bluey’s tilted head and pointed to his own nose. “You know, Ms Bad Touc- Ah! Bad Touch!” He jolted up in his spot as two objects roughly groped his ample (yet supple and firm) buttocks, the pair of hooves massaging his arsecheeks like they were trying to cover as much ‘ground’ as they possibly could. Shoving his left arm into the water, Daniel grabbed the closet foreleg he could and pulled, and it was no surprise as to who it fished out. Snouty didn’t make a sound as she was pulled from the water to answer for her crimes, but Daniel knew that she would have been cackling like a mad thing if she had been able to. Staring at him with grinning eyes, she made an unintelligible gesture with her free forehoof towards the other females before using it to splash water at him. He let her foreleg go, and she didn’t waste any time in swiftly swimming to the edge and resting up against the wall and his right side. She looked up at him and waggled her eyes teasingly, so Daniel fixed her with a flat look in return while the other bug-horses laughed and giggled at the incident. Even Bluey, normally protective and quick to admonish the over-familiar female soldier, was wearing a huge grin on his face. “I’ll get you back for that,” Daniel threatened with a steadily-growing grin of his own, which was met with another eye wiggle from Snouty while she snaked a foreleg over his shoulder. Ignoring it, he chose to just relax and focus on the water, the bug-horses continuing to laugh and chatter even as he rested his head back and closed his eyes in bliss. “What a rump!” Burrow snorted at Aphid’s mental comment, his compatriot earning giggles from the four drones. “Best one I’ve felt in a while.” Quickly banishing the idea of questioning that particular comment, Burrow instead let out a final chuckle before glancing towards Mister Growls. His friend was currently relaxing with his eyes closed, apparently paying no mind to Aphid’s close-contact and with the previous molestation forgiven and forgotten. He himself even felt relaxed, no thoughts being given to the incidents with Chrysalis nor her orders regarding his friend, and he realised that this was one of the rare bits of peace they had experienced in a while. ‘And we’re finally back in the Hive,’ he thought with his smile still wide upon his face as he enjoyed the soothing water. ‘Seems like things are finally quieting down.’