Well, I get to pose as a guard, which apparently means standing around until something bad happens. Well, I haven’t lived in Chrysalis’ hive since the Canterlot Invasion way back when, so I might be a little bit rusty in my performance.
Carina and I stop to let other changelings move ahead, and to take a brief moment to look at the guards from a still far view, who appear to be as colorful, if not more so than any one pony in Equestria.
“What are they doing?” Carina inquires.
“They're just staring forward. But the way they look makes the light in my eyes want to blow.”
“Look. Let’s just dish out as many details about them as we can get. I have 24. And what’s yours, Carve?”
“About 23.”
“Okay. I’ll have a look first.”
Carina proceeds to squint at the hive.
“Hmm... All I can see of their heads is their faces. Everything else is covered in armor.”
Now, I try a closer look at the guards, and it looks like Carina’s right. The rest of the body I can see just fine, only to find one confusion.
“Uh, Carina? Can they fly?”
“Doesn’t look like it.”
“Hmm... maybe if I can fo- oh, I can see the wings. They’re just tucked away.”
“Really? I thought those two didn’t have any wings from what I saw.”
“That’s because of how they’re hidden.”
Suddenly, something catches my eyes. Thinking back to when I saw the guard helmets when I entered the hive last, I remember being able to see the horn through a hole in the helmet. However, the helmets I see seem to hide the horns, yet they’re the same shape as they were during my last visit.
Then, I scan the rest of the hive to gather some of the newer features of these pastel colored mutants of me and Carina’s kind. Some seem to be missing their horns and start falling for the same trick that Carina fell for with the guards with the wings, although those are who were just standing at the front of the hive. Then, the manes seem to be absent, along with the tails being translucent like our wings. The ears look to be a lot longer than the ears of those who I accompany. Finally, the eyes look to bear a color of either dark blue, purple, or red. Contemplating, I have leeway for transformation, so whatever I change into, it’ll be convincible.
I engulf myself in a green flame and close my eyes. After a few seconds, I look at my body, able to see the expanse, hive, and Carina. What I’ve transformed into features whole hooves, large green butterfly-like wings that are still flared out, a long, translucent, draggable tail, and two coats. These coats have two different colors, seemingly contrasting each other in a way that makes Carina avert her gaze towards me. Those colors are green, for my hooves, and orange, for my torso. Looking back at the hive, it seems that I have lost a good deal of detail through the new eyes. Nevertheless, I can still see Carina just fine, which is kind of confusing.
I watch her until she starts looking at me again, this time likely to have grown a toleration for my form.
“Well, what’re you waiting for?”
Okay, it’s weird to hear my own voice sound just like that of a pony.
“How did you do that?” Carina asks.
“Well, we’ve been looking at them this whole time.”
“The guards?”
“Well, them, yeah. What I meant to say is that I managed to get more of the details from bystanders higher up in the hive.”
“Oh.”
Then, Carina engulfs herself in the same green flame as I did, leaving her body looking just like mine. I blink twice.
“In retrospect, that’s actually kind of cool. Alright. Ready?”
Carina nods.
“Ready. Let’s go.”
And with that, Carina and I head closer to the hive. When we finally arrive though, the guards flare one of their wings in a way that they’d touch, the right of the two ready to speak.
“Tahot! Nota enetez eno fa cerohe te Mono Solaz?”
Looking at Carina, she looks particularly confused, causing me to smile before turning around..
“I got this,” I whisper, before raising my voice to a normal talk. “It’s okay. We’re back from looking for the helmets we lost.”
The guards start showing expressions of recognition from my voice. Then, the left of the guards starts to laugh heartily.
“Welcome back, Carve. It’s okay if you’re just visiting.”
“Oh. Uh, really? Okay.”
“Here to give a tour?” the right one asks.
“Uh, no. She’s from here too.”
I can only assume this is true from how she was included when I met the rest of the drones in front of Rusty’s house. I just have to be careful not to refer to Carina by name in front of anyone. The left guard blinks.
“So, uh, what’re you here with your friend for then?”
“Just a simple visit, trying to catch up with the hive ‘n all.”
The guards fold their wings back to where they were beforehoof, the right one nodding.
“Alright, Carve. You and your friend are all set then. You two may enter. Let us know if you need anything.”
Carina and I walk past the guards, through the new entrance that had formed as the guards folded their wings.
“Well, here we are, Carina: inside the hive.”
“Wow. I haven’t been in here in years. It’s a little darker in here than I remember.”
“Yeah, it is strange. I haven’t been in here since the week before Thorax overthrew Chrysalis, and I still can’t believe how different it looks in terms of lighting. I remember there being a lot more cocoons. A lot easier to see back during my last visit. But hey, if we’re going to pose as guards, we’re going to have to get used to it.”
Carina nods before screaming in shock of one of the pastel colored changelings coming up beside her, causing the changeling to take a few steps back.
“Whoa... sorry. Didn’t see you there. I was walking towards the armor room to prepare for guard duty.”
Carina and I freeze, that is before I step towards the changeling after the couple of moments that the room is silent.
“Hmm... need some company?”
“Well, I don’t need it, but it’d be nice.”
Carina and I nod together in response, letting the changeling lead us to where to pick up armor soon to be ours.