Year 3, Week 10, Monday
Flare looked out the back of the truck as it bounced over the rough road, grunting as his flank impacted the hard metal floor. “Does this human even know how to drive?” he grumbled irritably.
Dawn Breeze snorted. “Relax, we’ll be at the boat launch soon, then you can get all the smooth riding you want.”
“Great... from one nauseating mode of transport to another.” Flare muttered as he banged his head on one of the roll bars forming the roof. “At least Nimbus is riding up front.”
Grinning like a fool, Aegis then chuckled at Flare. “Where’s your sense of adventure? It’s just a few bumps. And the boat’ll be quite relaxing after this.”
Flare narrowed his eyes disbelievingly. “If you say so...” He trailed off, looking around at the humans that were accompanying them. Not one of them wore a uniform, or at least anything resembling a common dress standard, and that extended to their weapons. Most of them held similar weapons to the one Miguel used in Brazil three years ago, and Flare briefly wondered what had become of the human.
What bothered him a little was the look in their eyes when they looked at him. While not openly hostile, it was clear they were still dismissive of him. He tossed his head with a snort and glanced toward the front cab, past Suzy and Jimmy, who were trying to make a game of the bounces. Hopefully it was at least more cushioned than the back.
Nimbus meanwhile stared out the side window of the cab, watching the flat ground race by. After another few minutes, she looked back over at Fluttershy and Amy. “So, when are we supposed to arrive at the boat launch again?”
Their driver looked over with a grin. “Not long now, only another hour or so, my golden friend.”
Nimbus sighed, returning her stare out the side door, idly scratching her stomach with a hoof.
“How are you feeling?” Fluttershy asked quietly, putting a hoof on Nimbus’ shoulder guard.
Nimbus looked at Fluttershy levelly. “I’m fine.”
Fluttershy smiled a little, though the shy pegasus was a little off-put by the cold stare returning hers. “A-are you sure? I mean, I’ve known a few mares around Ponyville who had foals of their own and-”
Nimbus cut her off. “Look, I appreciate what you’re trying to do, I really do. I’m just not comfortable talking about this kind of thing with peop-... po... others.”
“Oh... O-okay.” Fluttershy took her hoof down and looked out the front windshield.
‘Great job Nimbus. Mare’s just trying to be friendly and supportive and you treat her like crap.’ Nimbus thought angrily as she stared out the side of the truck.
---
The imposter pegasus took a second to admire the expanse of green as she swooped down toward the treeline. It was so much like home that she occasionally forgot that they weren’t back in Equestria. Spotting a tree branch large enough to support her, she alighted on it and began to relax her disguise. The birds scattered at the flash of green fire, and after flexing her proper wings she flew down into the underbrush. She buzzed around the massive tree that the hive entrance was embedded into and flew into the hollowed out interior. Folding her wings, she squirmed through the green lit tunnel and emerged into the humid atmosphere of home.
Smiling as her individual mind joined back into the hive’s collective, she wove her way through the winding tunnels toward her destination.
Chrysalis’ throne room.
The expansive chamber was adjacent to the egg chamber, lit by the same glowing green growths that snaked throughout the hive. The changeling approached the twisted mound that squatted at the opposite end of the room, more growths emerging from it to connect to the rest of the hive. Chrysalis sat upon it, her hooves sunk into the fungus-like structure.
“So, my child, what has you returning to us so soon? And with such a meager reserve of emotion on top of that.” Chrysalis purred as she rose to her hooves, pacing slowly down to the dirt floor and approaching her.
The changeling groveled in terror on the floor. “Please forgive me my Queen. I know you charged me with a task, but I have information that you must hear. One of the Elements of Harmony is here, the yellow pegasus Fluttershy.”
Chrysalis paused in her advance, her green eyes going distant. “This is an... interesting development. Were you able to see where the Element was going?”
The changeling started to relax a hair. “They were heading for the river. I was unable to get close enough to hear their reason for coming, but the river passes close by. There are five Royal Guard ponies with them, and several humans. I am certain that-” The changeling occupied herself with the floor as Chrysalis turned back to her.
“Be mindful my child, we have yet to address your punishment for failing your simple task.” Chrysalis hissed idly. She strode past her cowering minion, already lost in thought. “But having an Element here... alone... does present some interesting opportunities.” She pointed idly with a hoof to some of the changelings lurking on the walls. “I want you to watch our new arrivals, follow them along the river and note where they make their camp.”
The changelings nodded, buzzing out of the chamber quickly, none of them sparing a glance to the changeling on the floor.
Chrysalis smiled to herself, then sighed as she turned back to her cowering minion. “Now... what am I to do with you?” She paced a slow, languid circle around the changeling, who somehow managed to grovel even further into the floor. “You did fail to return with anything near an adequate level of emotion for the hive...”
“Please forgive me, it won’t happen again...” the changeling whimpered in fear as Chrysalis lowered herself to the ground, gently touching her horn to her minion’s.
“I know you won’t. Still, the rules exist for a reason.” Her horn pulsed with a sickly green light, sending a wave of energy into the changeling’s body. “You will not be able to feed for one week. I hope you learn your lesson well.” Chrysalis rose to her hooves and made her way back to her throne, already forgetting about the waste of carapace on the ground behind her.
---
Flare eyed the boat suspiciously as he trotted along the rickety dock. “And you’re sure that this... ‘boat’ is safe?”
Their guide nodded with a grin. “Oh yes, this good boat. It serve me well for a long time.” Everyone jumped as the engine suddenly banged, a plume of blue-tinted smoke pouring out of it. The guide turned back with a chuckle. “Well, mostly well.”
Aegis leaned over to Lariat. “Two bits says we’re paddling halfway...”
Lariat laughed. “I’m not taking that bet.”
Dawn Breeze shouldered past the two stallions. “I’m going airborne before the heat glues my feathers together, think you stallions can handle getting the boat loaded?” She asked rhetorically before she spread her wings and launched into the air, circling over the dock. “I’ll head down the river, see if I spot anything, alright?
Flare nodded. “Don’t take too long Dawn, don’t want to miss lunch!”
Dawn laughed. “No worries there. First chance I’ve had in months to eat something other than Chow’s cooking? Sign me up.” The armored pegasus rolled over and glided off downriver, the rush of air bringing almost instant relief from the heat.
Nimbus chuckled as she climbed awkwardly onto the boat, joining Amy, Jimmy, Suzy and Fluttershy on the open bow section. “How long did the guide say that this would take?”
“A few hours, give or take.” Amy replied, her eyes focused on something further along the treeline. She reached into her backpack and pulled out a set of binoculars, staring intently for a few seconds.
“What is it Amy?” Fluttershy asked, peering closer but not seeing anything.
“I’m not sure, I thought I saw something.” The zoologist said absently, sweeping the binoculars across that patch of jungle. “I guess it was nothing.” She turned in time to see Jimmy half falling off the edge of the boat, Suzy gripping his tail in her mouth. "Jimmy! Be careful around the edge of the boat!" She strode over and took hold of his hindquarters, hauling the sheepish unicorn back onto the boat.
"Sorry mom, I just saw something cool in the water and wanted to see it." Jimmy muttered apologetically.
Amy sighed. "Just please think before you do something, alright? This place isn't like living back home, you can get hurt if you aren't careful."
Jimmy's ears flattened and he pressed against his 'mother's' legs. "Okay..."
Amy smiled and ruffled his mane. "Now come on, let's have a smile, this is your first boat ride after all!"
Across the river, the changeling pressed himself against the backside of the tree, wondering how in Tartarus the human had spotted him. When no further commotion came, he relaxed a hair, and risked another peek. He could see the armored pegasus continuing down the river, and hissed to the changeling nearest him, indicating she should follow it. With a nod she carefully slunk further into the jungle before taking off in a buzz of wings. Nodding, the changeling returned his gaze to staring at the ponies on the boat. Narrowing his eyes, he couldn’t recognize the details on their armor at this distance. That was a problem, compounded by the fact that the small amount of bodies to copy would make infiltration difficult. The changeling hissed in aggravation before motioning to the rest, the group melting back into the jungle as if they were never there.
---
The boat chugged up toward the open patch of shoreline, the twin arms of land framing it in the amber glow of the setting sun. With a final rattling bang and a plume of smoke the engine fell silent as the boat came to a stop a few feet from shore.
“Ugh, finally... If I had to smell that combination of roast meat and engine oil any longer I was going to be sick.” Nimbus muttered as she got to her hooves.
Flare nodded. “It’s not a pleasant smell, that’s for sure.” He stood and helped round up their supplies. A few of the mercenaries jumped into the shallows and started ferrying the boxes and bags to shore.
Lariat leaped over the side and landed in the water with a splash, sinking up to his cannons in the mud. Tugging himself free of the muck, the earth pony made his way to shore, shaking as much off him as he could. “Well, I’m certainly happy this armor starts us out marrón...”
Nimbus snorted as she took off, landing on the shoreline away from the water. “Lucky you. We can’t even look sideways at dust without it staining our coats.”
Aegis fared worse than Lariat, having plopped right into the worst of the mud and splashed mud all over himself, coating every inch of himself in a thick coat of brown goop. “Ahh, now this is more like it. Out in the wild unknown, nothing but you, your wits, and your friends.” Aegis flashed a startlingly white grin at Nimbus as he ‘splorched’ through the sucking mud to shore, hardly even noticing the effort it took. “Adventure at its finest!”
“Do you ever have a setting other than ‘cheerful’ Aegis?” Dawn asked sarcastically as she landed next to Nimbus.
“Well, I play at drill instructor sometimes. But y’know, my dad told me somethin’ I think ya might need to hear.” Aegis stepped into a clear part of the river and ducked under, coming up more-or-less clean of the light river mud. “Mud washes off, pain fades, wounds heal. You'll always remember these days, Dawn.”
“Sounds like good advice, not sure why your dad called you Dawn though.” She said with a flick of her tail as she trotted up the shore. Aegis just laughed.
Flare finally hopped off the deck, the slick mud causing him to lose his footing and end up completely soaked, globs of mud clinging to his armor. Spluttering his way to the surface, he looked down at himself and sighed. “Well, that could have gone better.”
Nimbus giggled at the sight, trotting into the water with a long-suffering sigh. “Let’s get you cleaned up, no sense letting it get caked on.” She spread her wings and pushed them forward through the water, swamping Flare, but getting most of the mud off.
Flare snorted a noseful of water. “Could have warned me first.”
“But then it’s not as much fun.” Nimbus teased. “Though I suppose I could always lend you a hoof later...” She trailed off as she turned and carefully made her way out of the water, shaking her wings dry.
Flare just shook his head, followed by the rest of him as he tried to dislodge more of the mud before trotting onto dry land.
Fluttershy watched the interaction with a smile as she helped Amy sort out the equipment. “It’s nice to see them enjoying themselves.”
“You say that like its uncommon.” Amy set down a box of syringes.
“Well, I’ve not really seen that many Royal Guards, but they always seem so focused, so serious all the time...” Fluttershy said as she watched their banter, a small smile on her face.
Amy chuckled as they continued to unpack the crates, but stopped as the hairs on the back of her neck rose again. She looked furtively around the clearing, but the jungle was impenetrable. Fluttershy seemed to shrink in place, pressing against her side with a muffled squeak. Across the clearing, Aegis’ ears flicked back and forth, while the mercenaries muttered amongst each other, a few pulling their weapons closer.
Nimbus stamped down her urge to take off and looked at the others. “Okay, this is officially creeping me out. What do we do?”
Flare, his ears plastered flat against his head, looked from tree to tree. The shadows now seemed to loom menacingly, tendrils of darkness snaking their way into the pools of light left by the setting sun. “I don’t know...”
“Well, I ain’t about to let a buncha sombras spook me.” Lariat snorted defiantly, standing his ground. “Ah say there’s nothin’ out there worth gettin’ our tails in a twist over.”
Aegis tossed his head, and then smiled at the others. “Lariat’s right. Now c’mon, this ain’t more than our imaginations acting up on us. Let’s show ‘em we ain’t a bunch of scared fillies on Nightmare Night.”
Gradually, the others took heart from their defiance and resumed setting up the camp. Though every so often, one of the ponies would catch their ears folding back, or one of the humans would see something moving in the dark. Though as more of the equipment was set up and portable lights turned on, the looming shadows were driven back and everyone found themselves relaxing somewhat.
Beyond the edge of the lights, the lead changeling nodded to the others, and they slowly slid back into the night.
---
“And they were setting up a camp?” Chrysalis asked, idly inspecting a large pod embedded into the wall of the larval chamber.
“Yes. It appears that they intend to remain for some time. The guards with them are all experienced officers, and seem to be very familiar with each other. The humans also seem to be experienced, though they were more fear prone than the ponies.”
Chrysalis smiled wickedly, reaching up with a hoof to caress the pod’s side. Her slitted green eyes met the terrified brown ones staring back. “Well of course. For all their strengths, humans do have such... delicious weaknesses. For now, we will have a single drone stay out of sight near the Element’s camp, to absorb any ambient emotion. But there will be no direct feeding, and not a wingtip shown to them. We don’t want to risk them getting word to Celestia at this time.”
The changeling bowed low, it’s wings buzzing in anticipation. “As you command my queen.” He took to the air and disappeared around a corner.
Chrysalis continued her stately circuit around the chamber, the pod she’d left behind squirming as its contents struggled vainly to get out. For a few seconds, a large, dark-skinned hand pressed against the membrane covering the outer surface of the pod before sliding out of sight into the murky depths.