//------------------------------// // Head On A Stick // Story: I Come From a Land Down Under // by Dropbear //------------------------------// Bug-horse chattering and the sound of an occasional splash echoed off the walls of the small pool area, the air smelling of a mix between a flowery field and a fruit orchard in full bloom. Occasionally a group of bug-horses would glance in from the main bath area, resulting in many raised eyes and smiles. Daniel was long past caring about the spectacle he’d become, however. Not that he could do much to avoid it in his current position, his bare legs resting in the pool’s lukewarm water while the two bug-horses pressed up on either side of him giggled and chittered to each other. Red and Yellow were obviously having a good morning, their own hind legs also resting in the water and occasionally rubbing up against his. The bug-horse soldier sitting out in front (and awkwardly for Daniel, between his legs) on the submerged pool bench was a stark contrast to the two drones. He hadn’t uttered a sound for the last five minutes, instead sitting down in the water with his forelegs sitting in-between his outstretched hind ones. With eyes closed and red tongue poking out, the occasional wing twitch was the only movement as a pair of hands massaged banana-scented liquid soap onto the scar-spotted head. Daniel sighed at the thought of what he was doing, regretting his decision to just give up and let the four drones ‘volunteer’ his services out to every curious bug-horse that entered the ‘private’ bath area. “I feel like a whore,” he muttered to himself while rubbing the soldier behind the ears. “Chrrrztt-Czt!” Grey said with a smile as she leaned down over his shoulder from behind, her own soap-covered forehooves not leaving his hair. “Bzrt-zzrt.” “I suppose it can’t hurt to make some more allies,” Daniel replied with a grunt. He didn’t actually understand what she had said, but found no harm in continuing the conversation. “And it could be worse, after all.” He glanced around the pool as he spoke. His eyes still found no trace of Snouty, just a few random bug-horses dotted around the area and in the pool (all with squeaky-clean heads), with Green at the opposite end happily chatting away to a group of three listening intently. Grey didn’t need an understanding of English to grasp what he was alluding to, a soft laugh escaping her before she stood back up and refocused on washing his hair for him. Daniel for his part ignored the teasing giggles and prods to his unprotected and defenceless nips from Yellow and Red, and instead removed his hands from the soldier’s head. “Times up,” he informed, managing a small smile. “Sorry.” The soldier opened up his solid blue eyes and turned around with a grin of his own, a nod and chatter reassuring Daniel that he understood. Slipping off the bench and fully into the water, the bug-horse doggy-paddled over towards to the middle of the pool to join up with another. Daniel glanced down at his still-soapy hands and his smile grew. Aware of the hooves still poking his chest, he lifted both arms up and plonked his palms down atop of Red and Yellow’s heads, much to their surprise and Grey’s amusement. “Zrrzt!” Red jolted, before she turned to fix him with a frown and huff. Yellow did the same, but before the two could protest further they were set upon by Grey, the snickering bug-horse pushing Daniel’s hands off with her hooves vigorously going to work. Temporarily free of the bug-horses, Daniel took the chance to slid down the smooth black surface and enter the pool fully, coming to rest with his arse on the bottom with his head and shoulders above the water. ‘Finally.’ Dunking his head under the surface, he rubbed it with his hands to get the soap off and re-emerged only to receive a face-full of water. A trio of sharp squeals from behind him caused a wince, before he opened his eyes to spot the perpetrator. Green had obviously learnt from her last watery-assault, the bug-horse cackling loudly to herself while already madly paddling for the opposite pool edge. Daniel glanced back to the three now-soaked drones before looking back at Green, the bug-horse chattering and chittering loudly to the entire pool in-between gasps of air. ‘Fucking spastic.’ Shaking his head in an attempt to get most of the water off, he didn’t miss how the general noise in the pool died down all of a sudden. Blinking his eyes and looking around, he saw that every bug-horse had bowed their heads, even the ones in the pool having ceased their splashes to float in place and go quiet. Daniel only had time to register the fact that they were all aiming their bow towards him, before cold metal touched down upon his right shoulder. Shifting his gaze to spot the purple-metal shoe that was now resting upon him, Daniel tilted his head back to meet the bug-horse’s gaze. “Crrzzhrzt.” Muddle lifted her head to watch as Commander Scuttle made numerous facial and hoof gestures at Mr Growls, the high-born changeling backing away from the edge to let the biped turn around. Both of the males had smiles on as they ‘conversed’, smiles that quickly grew into grins as they continued to interact. “Runga?” Mr Growls directed towards the Commander, before his eyes raised at the wink and nod he got in return. “Grung…. Gra?” “Yeah, she did,” Scuttle answered with a hoof banging against his chest and a smug grin. “All thanks to some advice she received from one of the ‘scholars and stuff’, don’t you know?” His armoured hoof went back to pat Mr Growls on the bare shoulder, Muddle bowing her head back down when the Commander glanced back over at her and Cypher. “I owe you one, buddy. See you later, I’ve got some things to attend to for the Queen.” “Grangra.” Armoured hoofsteps approached, and Muddle looked up to find the smile of the second-highest changeling in the entire hive directed to her. “Keep up the good work, drones.” Commander Scuttle said with a look towards Cypher and Mirror as well. “It seems like your charge is managing to fit himself into the hive quite nicely. Well done.” With that, Scuttle gave Growly a final wave of his hoof, before trotting out of the private pool area with a bounce in his step. Every changeling in the room looked up as soon as he had left, whispers starting up between them with curious looks going towards Mr Growls. Muddle for her part trotted over towards him with Mirror and Cypher following behind, her head tilting with her question. “Growly, just what did you do?” She lowered her voice to a whisper as everyone’s eyes were on them. “That was the Commander, the Commander of the Hive! He even thanked us, us! We’re just drones!” Growly’s smile, smugness equal if not greater than Scuttle’s just before, didn’t even waver when Meddle surfaced up alongside him to poke him in the nipple. “Growly!” Burrow waited at the side of the corridor for the pack of drones to pass by, taking the opportunity to shift the position of the brown saddlebag he’d commandeered from the Stores. Behind him Aphid did the same, the other soldier making loud smacking noises with her lips while she did. Waiting for the five drones to pass, each one looking back at Aphid with furrowed eyes, Burrow fixed her with a look. “Are you okay there?” “Never better,” Aphid ran her tongue over her fangs and teeth, the back of her shoed hoof rubbing her nose. “Feels good to finally have that gunk off of my snout, I had this itch that was driving me wild.” She smirked, and Burrow rolled his eyes at the grin she gave him. “Speaking of itches needing a scratch…” “You can’t use your injury to guilt Mr Growls anymore,” he reminded her, the pair moving back into the centre of the corridor and continuing on towards the bathing area. “And I’ve built up an immunity to you, thankfully.” “We’ll see,” she muttered, her lecherous tone causing Burrow to tuck his tail in tighter instinctively. “We’ll see…” Trying to ignore it, Burrow led them on closer and closer to the bath area, the pair heading down a small ramp and making to turn around the last corner. A flash of purple and gold beat them to it from the other side, both Aphid and Burrow skidding to a halt before immediately going straight and saluting at the changeling that likewise stopped and stared at them. “Commander, Sir,” Burrow greeted, Scuttle raising an eye at him before breaking out into a smile. “Ah, the two notorious ‘Creature Controllers’,” the Commander chuckled, before moving around to the side of them and inspecting them both. “Wearing armour and saddlebags into the baths? Planning on trying to impress some of the drones?” Scuttle tapped his hoof against Aphid’s purple-armoured shoulders as he spoke, a solid clank echoing around the corridor thanks to his own armoured shoe. “No Commander,” Aphid answered before Burrow could, the normally lax female staring straight ahead at attention. “We’re hunting bigger prey today.” Burrow twitched, a reaction that seemed to go unnoticed by the Commander. Still, Scuttle’s smile widened into a grin while he circled back around to the front. “Foodbeast, I take it?” He didn’t give them a chance to reply, Scuttle shaking his head with a chuckle. “I’d be careful with how you treat him, Soldier. That non-changeling has made some surprising progression with his hive social status, I just ran into him in the bathing area a few minutes ago.” Cocking an ear, Burrow allowed himself a tilt of his head. “The drones certainly are warming up to him from what I’ve seen, Sir.” ‘Is he also talking about himself? There was also that one time back in that cavern with him and Mr Growls…’ Scuttle chuckled. “Yes, that was fairly plain to see.” Stepping to the side, the Commander started to walk on past them, but not before one last remark. “But not just drones it seems, even I’m still surprised by it.” Armoured shoes clacked off down behind them, both Burrow and Aphid waiting until he was well out of earshot before relaxing to look at each other. “Hunting ‘bigger prey’, really?” “Hey,” said Aphid with a hoof going over her chest. “It’s just the truth, isn’t it?” Briefly closing his eyes with a sigh, Burrow looked back at her. “I… what’s the point?” After the mutter, he gestured with a foreleg in the direction that Scuttle had left. “What do you think he meant anyway? Himself?” “Probably just the scholars,” his counterpart dismissed while shoving her way past him. “Going crazy over those things of his. I’m more concerned about what the Commander said about the drones, and how they’re probably-“ “Yeah, yeah,” Burrow groaned while starting to trot up behind her. “Going crazy over his thing, I get it.” “Burrow, you too?” He didn’t bother replying, his teeth grinding together as they entered the main bathing area and looked around. Only a smattering of changelings were hanging around, the few groups of soldiers and drones likely taking a break in-between their works shifts to relax and socialise. Aside from a few glances the pair of Creature Controllers managed to avoid drawing attention to themselves, Aphid pausing to sniff the air before immediately making for one of the more secluded areas with a spring in her step. “This way, I can already smell all of the pony soap!” Having no choice but to follow, Burrow was a second behind Aphid when they entered the smaller bathing area. A second too late. “Gra! Ra… grung, unga.” Aphid had managed to catch Mr Growls right as he had been exiting the pool, the unfortunate biped having nothing but a towel around him to protect himself with. Water dripped off of his hair, a few drops splashing down against Aphid’s helmet as she busied herself with nuzzling the side of her head into the towel, the awkward spot she had chosen likely no accident. “Growly!” she greeted, both forelegs wrapped around Mr Growl’s waist. Without any hint of subtlety, her armoured hooves squeezed biped-behind while she rubbed. “I’m back to full strength!” Her voice lowered, Burrow having to strain his ears to hear the following whisper. “There’s no more need to be gentle with me…” “Bleugh,” he muttered under his breath, the four drones moving up alongside him with frowns firmly fixed on the oblivious Aphid. “Good to see that she’s back to her usual self,” Muddle growled, the other drones nodding in agreement. “I know,” Burrow sighed. “I’m almost tempted to order you to find another bathtub…” The five of them let that thought hang in the air for a moment, before Mr Growls looked over at them with a strained expression. A giggle from Aphid accompanied it, the soldier still nuzzling and muttering into the towel. “Oh, now what do we have here…” “Grag.” With the grunt, Mr Growls gave up with waiting for assistance and instead firmly pushed Aphid off before hurriedly marching over to the patchwork clothes that were draped over a black bench. The female blinked a few times in confusion, before she frowned and made to follow. “Aphid,” Burrow addressed, gaining her attention. “Leave him alone and let him get changed. We have to talk with the drones about the plan for today.” He made sure to inject a commanding tone, Aphid shifting her frown onto him before huffing and trotting over. Burrow didn’t miss the thankful look Mr Growls gave him, before he picked up his clothes and retreated behind a low dividing wall to quickly get dressed. Focusing back on the waiting drones, Burrow gave them all a smile while Aphid slid up alongside him to sulk. “Some good news. I received a message this morning from one of the nurses, apparently Her Majesty wishes for us all to spend the day outside of the Hive. Surprisingly, it seems as if she trusts us enough to go out without any other soldiers to supervise.” The drones all shared looks and raised eyes with each other, Burrow giving it a moment before patting his saddlebag and continuing. “We’re primarily tasked with foraging for anything useful or edible for Mr Growls, although general scouting is also something she would like us to do during.” The drone with a red necklace, Cypher, raised a foreleg. Burrow nodded at her to go ahead, Cypher shooting a look over towards the biped in question. “What about Growly?” Burrow smiled. “He’s coming with us, a condition that the Queen laid down for whatever reason.” A gesture to his saddlebag. “We’ve got some food and water for him, and I’m sure that he’ll be more than happy to spare us some love once we’re outside in the sun.” He glanced back to his friend, Mr Growls now dressed and working on putting on his weird shoes. “As soon as he’s ready, we’re good to go.” All four of the drones were already smiling at the news of the excursion, even Aphid had brightened at the reminder of their task. “A whole day with Growly, away from the rest of the Hive!” Aphid chortled while dancing on her forehooves. “What could be better?” “I could think of a few changes,” Mirror muttered just loud enough for Burrow to overhear, but her tone remained jovial. Then, they all looked up as the creature in question ambled over to see what was happening. “Guess what, Growly?” Before Burrow could even smile in greeting, Muddle was already bounding in front of Mr Growls. “We’re going outside today! Queen’s orders!” “Ragrab?” The response was accompanied with a smile and a head pat for Muddle, the happy drone pushing her head up into his hand to meet the rub with a hum. “Gungra rab?” Burrow couldn’t help his own smile upon witnessing his ‘friend’ talk with Muddle, the other drones quickly moving up to circle around on the off chance attention would be given to them as well. Despite there being absolutely no shared knowledge of each other’s speech, the continued efforts at genuine socialisation was oddly touching. Especially considering that his friend was as non-changeling as one could get. ‘Is he really though?’ Burrow thought while watching Mr Growls give alternating head rubs to the drones, and even hesitantly to Aphid when she approached. ‘So far, I understand him better than any Equestrian…’ Granted, his primary interactions with the colourful equines hadn’t exactly been on relaxed and friendly terms, but still. He had no more time for thoughts on the topic though, Burrow blinking with surprise at the quick ear scratch that managed to get him past the helmet. “Come on Burrow!” Cypher called out as the other five changelings and Mr Growls made fast progress past him and out of the private bathing area, Aphid leading their two-legged friend out with his hand in her jaws. “Let’s get Growly’s things and leave already!” Shaking his head, Burrow started to trot and catch up, a snort escaping his nostrils. “Onwards, to a new and no doubt eventful day,” he murmured, increasing his pace to keep up. Small rocks crunched beneath dependable work-boot, Daniel pausing to take in a deep lungful of dusty air as he crested the sun-scorched top of the rocky hill. While still barren like the area around the black spire castle, at the very least the hill had a few sprouts of hardy green bushes dotted around in various soil-filled crevasses. More importantly, the bushes in question were laden with fat berries coloured a grungy brown. Glancing up while placing his tool case on the ground beside him, and seeing that the sun was about halfway up into the sky, Daniel reached out to the closest bush and plucked a single fruit. Shoving it into his gob, already knowing that it was fairly safe to eat thanks to previous bushes in the morning, he chewed and nodded slightly at the tart taste. The bug-horses had admittedly been feeding him rather well with assorted canned produce and suspiciously-fresh baked goods, a lack of meat being understandable, but it didn’t hurt to ingest some fresh food from time to time. Still smiling and chewing, he turned around to his left as a set of black hooves landed upon the rock next to him and pulled their owner up. Bluey huffed and panted while he secured a solid hoofing on the dusty bolder, and Daniel shook his head once again at the purple breastplate, shoes, and helmet. “Probably not your brightest idea to wear that out, mate,” he said, Bluey looking up at him before chattering in response. Taking a moment to remove off his helmet, the bug-horse reached around with a foreleg to rummage around in his worn bag and somehow retrieve a rounded canteen. Pausing to offer it to Daniel, receiving a head shake in response, Bluey tilted his head back and took a few deep gulps, before recapping the canteen and replacing it into his bag with a satisfied sigh. More puffing heralded the arrival of a second bug-horse, this one also armoured. Bluey frowned when Snouty joined him on the rock, the female pushing him out of the way to rest her heaving side up against Daniel’s leg. “Brzzrt,” she huffed with a glance to Bluey. “Zrrrzt-hrrt.” Cricking her neck and shifting on her hooves, Snouty started to bump her side against his leg repeatedly, Daniel taking the hint and rolling his eyes. Snouty’s back arched up to meet his rub, the bug-horse’s wings tickling the underside of his forearm while she chittered and shifted. She seemed to perk up immediately at the contact, Bluey eyeing her with a raise of his eye and a shake of the head. Glancing back down the hill while still rubbing, Daniel saw nothing but rocks and the occasional shrub. “Where’s the rest then?” He asked, both of the armour-toting bug-horses noticing where his attention was and straining their own eyes. The three of them scoured the rocks, until Bluely gave up on using solely his eyes and cupped a hoof around his mouth. “Brrzzrrrrrrt!” The call echoed out, a second passing before it was returned. “Czzrt!” All three turned, the reply sounding from the other side of the hill. Daniel was the first to investigate, initially bending down to pick up the tool case again before walking over to the opposite edge and looking over. Red smiled up at him from about four metres down, the other three drones already laying down underneath the shade of a rocky outcropping. Looking over the area they had chosen to take a break at, it looked as if the four had managed to navigate around a small natural path to find a flat section of hill. “A small rest couldn’t hurt,” Daniel agreed out loud. With Bluey and Snouty up alongside and looking down, he started the perilous journey down the hill. In actuality, it wasn’t that bad. With plenty of small rocks for footholds, he only had a slight stumble even with the toolbox in hand. Boots once again hitting solid ground, the four drones watching with interest all the while, Daniel looked back up at the two armoured bug-horses. “Easy-peasy. Your turn.” Both bug-horses shared a look, before their wings sprang into life with a buzz, the two lifting off into the air. Daniel shook his head at them as they landed beside him a few moments later, Bluey grinning at him while Snouty stuck out her tongue. “Soft cunts.” With the snort of dismissal, he moved over to the three bug-horses laying down already. The trio greeted him with chatters as he paused to look over the edge, the rather steep face broken up by the occasional small cave or similar outcropping to the one they were on. Sitting down upon a fairly flat rock with a grunt, he placed the tool chest down beside him and glanced around at the resting drones. “How are you all holding up then?” He smiled. “You know you’re in trouble when the fat guy’s got more stamina than you.” Green, laying down on her side, chittered and chattered in between her puffs. “Chrzrrzt, brrzzrtt zrzt.” Her wings twitched, before she rolled over onto her back and flopped out all four limbs to her sides. “Zrrzt.” “Brzzrt tzzt!” Yellow teased from the right, laying up against the cool stone wall. Green shot her an unamused look and a sharp gesture with a hoof, earning a round of buzzing laughter from all the bug-horses. Bluely and Snouty took up spots near the cliff edge while they continued to laugh at whatever it was that Green and Yellow had shared. Blue’s mirth quickly ceased however, Snouty still chuckling while looping a foreleg around his midsection. Daniel managed to catch the unfortunate male’s eye, and with a grin he gave him an exaggerated wink. It was returned by an eye roll, however Bluely made no visible effort to fight off the friendly gesture. ‘Better you than me, mate.’ Daniel shifted on his spot, one hand instinctively covering his groin at the memory of the morning hug. ‘That bloody semen-demon knows exactly what she’s doing.’ Red chose that exact time to join them, the last drone sitting down right next to him. Her rump had barely hit the ground before a sharp and girlish squeal rang out from the two soldiers, Daniel and the drones snapping their attentions back to the pair. Bluey had a very, very deep green blush on his face, Snouty cackling madly as she wriggled her foreleg in Bluey’s grasp. Roughly it was forced out from his lap, the male soldier going quiet while quickly crossing his legs. While the females continued to giggle and chortle, Daniel shook his head in sympathy. ‘Better you than me, better you than me…’ He’d spoken (or rather had thought) too soon, a weight settling down over the top of his left arm. Looking down, he met Red’s smile and noticed her two forelegs, the pair of limbs held straight out across his own arm. Her dusty hooves wiggled, Red tilting her head at him before waggling an ear and buzzing. “Chrztz.” Quickly giving the others a glance, and seeing that they were all preoccupied with Snouty and her wandering hooves, Daniel raised an eye at her smiling face. “Well,” he replied, keeping his voice low so only she could really hear. “While demanding, you did at least say ‘please’ after all… I think.” Pausing to dust his hands off on his patchwork pants, he did what she asked and took both forehooves in his fingers. Red’s wings briefly buzzed as the rub started, the bug-horse uttering a low chitter while shutting her eyes and relaxing up against him. Shifting in his spot as she rested her head up against his arm, Daniel’s smile lessened. ‘Should probably be more careful and dial it back a bit, don’t want them to get too comfortable with stuff like this.’ He didn’t exactly want to admit that, rather than them, it was he who was starting to skirt a dangerous line with familiarity. His dwelling on the rapid change between threatening Bluey with a screw driver shanking to bathing with the creatures was interrupted by the noise of metal clinking together, Grey shuffling forwards with his box of tools pushed in-between her forelegs. Daniel, Red’s hooves still in his hands, matched her tilt of the head with a curious look. “Hmm?” Grey tapped the clear plastic top of the chest with a hoof, bowing her head down towards it before looking back up to him. Then she gave a pointed look around at the others. Daniel followed her gaze and saw that the two soldiers were preoccupied with hushed conversation, Green and Yellow had both decided to nap in their spots, and Red of course was not looking like she was planning on doing anything else for a while yet. Facing her again, Daniel shrugged and nodded. “Sure, go ahead. Just don’t hurt yourself or break anything.” His meaning was instantly clear to Grey, the eager bug-horse giving a swish of her short tail before diving into the tool chest with a wide grin. Daniel watched her struggle with the plastic clasps initially before she managed to get them open with a chitter of success, and upon seeing her manage to open it he rested the back of his head up against the cool stone wall and just let her go at it. Metal clanked and clicked together from beside him, occasionally punctuated by hushed chatters and inquisitive buzzes. Closing his eyes for a brief rest while he continued to work on Red’s hooves, he only managed to catch a few minutes before a sharp clanging brought his attention back to Grey. Glancing down to his right, a few of the other bug-horses also looking over, he found the drone happily banging two large flat-head screwdrivers together. Grinning to herself, Grey showed no signs of stopping her newfound activity as the banging continued. A few moments passed, even Red breaking from her relaxed rest to stare over at Grey, before Daniel finally removed his hands from her hooves. “Okay, okay,” he said, Grey looking up at him as he placed a hand over the ends of both screwdrivers. “Congrats on discovering music, but maybe you can practice your percussion skills another time?” She looked around at the other bug-horses at his words, their unamused looks likely having a much better effect on getting the point across. Muttering softly, Grey bowed her head sheepishly and slowly lowered the screwdrivers back into the toolbox. Daniel gave her a quick pat on the head, Grey immediately perking up before resuming her rummaging unperturbed, the other bug-horses returning to either their previous conversations or naps. Not Red however. Daniel was well aware of the eye-roll and sigh he received from her when he failed to return his hands to her hooves, his attention instead focused on the small and rectangular object that Grey pulled out next from the box. The cheap work smartphone was fumbled around in Grey’s hooves, the bug-horse tilting her head at the faux-leather encased device. Finding the small flap for the part covering the screen, her horn lit up with a soft green glow, a tiny cloud of green encasing the tab and pulling the cover open. The blank black screen was met with all sorts of investigation, Daniel reaching over to grasp it in his fingers as soon as she started tapping at it with the tip of her hoof. Grey didn’t resist, instead her eyes locked on him with interest and she scooted closer while Daniel held the phone in his hands. Red for her part also tilted her head at the device, both bug-horses leaning in closer when Daniel held down one of the buttons on the side. The screen lit up white, both bug-horses locking their focus on the phone as it went through its colourful start-up sequence. It took a while for the device to start up completely (It was a cheap hand-me-down after all), but upon reaching the main blue menu screen there was a nice surprise for Daniel. “Huh, look at that,” he muttered to himself, both bug-horses remaining quiet while they watched him tap the screen with a finger. “The battery is still over ninety.” The signal however was, as expected, non-existent. Quickly moving to turn off the data connection to conserve even more power, Daniel was left staring at the near-useless phone in his hand. “Still got a light at least.” He turned the phone over, his eyes catching sight of the circular area cut into the material of the case. Daniel paused, the round lens of the phone camera facing up towards him. “Actually…” With a smile he flipped the phone back around and turned the rear-facing towards Grey, the bug-horse blinking at him with a titled head while she sat. Looking at her through the phone’s screen, Daniel felt the side of Red’s head slid up against his left arm. “Crzrzgzrt!” Red whispered upon seeing the scene before her recreated on the phone screen in real time, and Grey’s ear flicked right before a soft snap sounded from the phone as Daniel took her picture. Lowing the phone to his lap, Daniel let the two sit up beside him and lean in while he brought the fresh photo up onto the screen, Grey in particular uttering an excited burst chatter upon seeing the picture of herself in full digital glory. “Brzzt crzrz zzrztz!” “I know,” Daniel replied, before raising an eye and smiling. “What a looker.” He zoomed in closer using both fingers, until only Grey’s face and confused look complete with floppy ear were in frame. Tapping it, he pressed a few buttons and closed out of the camera, showing both Red and Grey his new wallpaper. “What do you think?” Both bug-horses chattered rapidly at the same time, Grey’s tail starting to swish up against him. Chuckling at their reactions, he made sure to reopen the camera application before holding the phone up. “See this?” he said, both bug-horses watching as he pointed to the largest button on the side of the phone. “This takes the picture for you, if you press it.” To demonstrate, he aimed the lens at Red and made a show of pressing the button, another snap sounding out before he turned the device back around to show them the new picture. It went away after a few seconds and returned to the shifting view through the camera, Daniel then passing the phone over towards Grey. The bug-horse for her part carefully held the phone before her with a green glow from her horn, her eyes widening up at him. “Have a play. Go wild.” He waved with his hand towards the other, still distracted, bug-horses around the clearing. Grey’s mouth broke out into a toothy grin, her wings buzzing while she jumped to her hooves with phone still in magical grasp. “Brzzrzrt!” Red stood up from her spot as well, hoof massage forgotten as she joined Grey with a smile and tail swish. Chattering to themselves, the two immediately made their way over to the two drones who were still snoozing in the shade, Daniel shaking his head as the faint sound of camera snaps started up. ‘This will be trouble.’ Daniel stood up from his spot at the thought now that the two drones were distracted, his back clicking. Turning around to face the mountain side, he started to stretch and crick and his neck while he had the chance. Behind him, more bug-horse chatter started up as the other drones no doubt were introduced to the wonders of a digital camera. ‘Still, at least they’re having some harmless fun.’ Burrow kept a neutral expression while the four drones giggled amongst each other as Mirror took another picture, a complete opposite to Aphid. Sitting beside him, one of her forelegs wrapped around the back of his neck, his fellow soldier wore a wide and toothy grin at the situation. She’d adapted quite quickly to the discovery of Mr Growl’s picture-taking device, her position and pose against him changing every time the four complicit drones captured another photo. Burrow’s eyes gave a quick glance away from the group of four in front of him and towards the device’s owner, Mr Growls standing over at the mountain wall with his back towards them and his forelimbs held in a stretch over his shoulders. ‘Good work with distracting them so well,’ he thought with a silent groan inside of his thoughts. ‘I just wish they hadn’t latched onto me instead.’ Another camera snap punctuated his mental grumble, Aphid also wrapping a hind leg around him this time as well. ‘Although to be honest, this isn’t nearly as bad as it could have bee-‘ His musing was short lived, his trail of thought quickly wrenched away by the feeling of a wet tongue invading his ear. “Wha-!?” He was too late in pulling away, another sound of a picture being taken sounding out. “Aphid!” “Got it!” Mirror cheered, all four of the drones leaning in to examine the device front. “Ha, this one’s great! Burrow’s face!” All four broke out into another round of giggles, before their attention turned to taking more pictures of themselves. Burrow frowned at Aphid beside him while brushing his now-wet ear with the side of his foreleg, the other soldier chuckling while flicking her tongue out at him. “Oh don’t be so sour,” she teased. “It was just a small lick.” Her eyes waggled, Burrow getting in before she could no doubt follow up the comment with something filthy. “Yeah, well how about you keep your tongue to yourself next time,” he grunted, managing to get most of the wetness out. Still, he could still feel the sensation of it, and shuddered. “Don’t just stick things into other changelings’ ear holes without asking.” Burrow paused at the last word, already realising that he had made a mistake a second before Aphid’s grin widened. “Oh hoho,” chortled Aphid with another raise of her eyes. “Speaking of orifices…” He wasted no time in pushing her away, Burrow getting to his hooves while she laughed at him. “Anytime Burrow, anytime!” Aphid stood up herself, still chuckling to herself as she made her way over to the drones. “Hey, stop hogging that thing Mirror, I want a turn!” “I swear…” Shaking his head, Burrow looked over towards the only other sane member of the group and considered joining him. ‘Actually,’ he reconsidered, seeing that Mr Growls was still happily stretching by himself. ‘I’ll let him have a break from changeling attention.’ He rolled his eyes at the next thought, a small smile crossing his face while he turned around. ‘After all, we’ll both be swarmed again as soon as they lose interest in pictures.’ Leaving the group of troublesome females behind as well, Burrow trotted away from everyone and peered out over the horizon. Standing on the very edge of the rocky mountain outcrop, Burrow looked out over the barren ground and smaller hills. He could just make out the green grass of the fields far off in the distance that marked the unofficial border of Equestria, the large mountain ranges they had passed underneath towering above them. A brief gust of cool breeze swept by him, and he turned his attention to scanning the area closer to them for anything interesting. A few more berry bushes seemed to be growing on top of a hill to the left of them, Burrow mentally jotting them down as a possible stop on their scouting journey. Apart from that, a few of the other hills seemed like good places to stop and examine, clusters of leafless trees and other hardy plants hinting that something of interest could be found. A flash of gold caught his eye, Burrow ceasing his scanning to look down at the small hill to the right of their current spot. Searching the rocks he couldn’t see anything at first, but then movement and another flash of metal drew his focuses to one spot near the top. He froze in place as soon as he noticed the first Equestrian Solar Guard, the golden-armoured pegasus trotting out of a concealed cave mouth to stand in the sun with spear-point glinting in the warm light. The pony was followed by yet another one a moment later, the two conversing with each other. It was the third guard that exited the cave that caused the most worry however, the dark-purple armoured bat-pony sheathing a silver short sword with a bat wing as it did so. “Aphid!” Burrow hissed out while simultaneously dropping down to a low crouch behind a rock. “Wh-“ Her reply immediately cut off and he heard her rapid hoofsteps approach him, Aphid thankfully taking the situation seriously without further prompting. He could hear that even the drones had stopped their joking around, the rocky outcrop going dead quiet. Burrow kept his focus firmly on the three conversing guards, Aphid wriggling up beside him and following his stare. “Equestrians,” she cursed under her breath, eyes narrowing. “Easy to guess what they’re doing here.” He didn’t need to answer her, the two of them perfectly aware that the hunt for them wasn’t just going to stop at the mountain ranges. Still, Burrow had never heard of Equestrians bothering to come out so close to the Hive’s location, and by the looks of things they weren’t going to be stopping soon. A soft sound of a picture being taken drew his attention to his left, Burrow spotting Mr Growls crouching behind a large boulder. The picture-device had obviously been liberated from the drones as soon as he had noticed the alarm, the biped thankfully having the sense to conceal himself while snapping the shots. “What should we do?” Aphid asked him with a hushed whisper, her eyes also glancing over towards their two-legged friend. “Two of us and the drones have a chance of taking them on, especially if Growly helps.” Burrow whispered back. “No, too risky. They’re armed and the drones aren’t fighters.” He paused for a second. “Even if we managed to overcome them and not end up with heavily injuries, what then? We take them back to the Hive and the other guards will know that they went missing.” He shuffled back away from the edge, Aphid following a second later. Out of sight and standing up, Burrow faced the drones. “Me and Aphid are going to warn the Hive,” he told the four, Mr Growls creeping over in a crouch to join them. “You take Mr Growls back the fastest path you can while staying as concealed as possible.” “What if they find us before we get back?” Muddle asked, causing Burrow to grimace. “You’ll have to fight them off,” Aphid answered for him, her expression serious. “At all costs, you can’t endanger the location of the Hive.” The pair of them started their wings. “Growly will help you though,” Aphid continued. “We’re sure of it.” At the mention, Burrow turned in preparation to try and explain it all to Mr Growls, but thankfully his friend was already grabbing his case of things. Moving over to the path that the drones had taken to get to the outcrop, he stood by and looked back at them. Giving him a nod of thanks, Burrow breathed a sigh of relieve at his comprehension of the situation. “Remember,” he reminded the drones as he jumped up into a hover with Aphid alongside. “Be quick but careful. Good luck.” With those words he flew off low, zipping through the valleys between the hills and darting through shadows. He didn’t need to look back to see whether his fellow soldier was following, Aphid keeping up behind him as they cleared the highest point of hills and set eyes upon the spires of the Hive in the distance. He could only hope that the Equestrians had a few more caves to search to occupy their focus. Chrysalis raised an eye while she gave her foreleg a curious sniff, the scent of fresh citrus not disagreeable to her nose. Dunking her leg back into warm and soapy water, she settled back down into her polished black bathtub and let the bubbles cover everything save her head. “Maybe the Equestrians do have a good idea with this ‘bubble bath’,” she admitted with a mumble to herself, relaxing back into the soothing warmth. “Hmmm.” She swirled a forehoof through the bubbles with a glance over to her bed at the other side of the room, currently missing the sheets. Chrysalis didn’t envy the unfortunate drone in charge of cleaning them that day. “Accursed Foodbeast.” She uttered the words with a scoff, but couldn’t find the urge to blame him too much despite her best efforts. The initial frown quickly died away, the Queen sighing to herself with another flick of the bubbles with a rear hoof. “Oh well, no point dwelling on it now, maybe things won’t go so bad this time around.” A shudder went down her spine at the thought of a thousand more Scuttles running around, so she quickly dumped the worrying concern out of her mind and instead tried to focus on other things. Chrysalis had just managed to turn her thoughts to fantasising about her inevitable conquest of Equestria when she heard a faint commotion, her ears flicking up as the noise seemed to draw closer. It reached her bedroom door, and it was testament to her current state of relaxation that she merely frowned at the changelings who dared burst into her private chambers unannounced. “My Queen!” Her bulky door guard shouted as two armoured soldiers tried to push their way past him. “A thousand pardons, but these soldiers-“ “Enough.” She didn’t raise her voice in anger, but still the three immediately ceased their squabbling to stare at her. Idly flicking a rear hoof, her right leg hanging over the smooth edge of the tube, Chrysalis fixed the two intruders with a firm gaze. “I recognise my two Creature Controllers.” Her eyes narrowed. “And while I’m certain that even they have the sense to not just barge into the royal chambers during my bath for nothing, I of course have to remind everyone of the possible punishments that will be dispensed if I deem so.” Her voice gained a cold edge. “I swear, if you’ve gone and destroyed his clothing again or something equally incompetent…” Chrysalis allowed the threat to linger for a moment, but curiously not even that stopped the two soldiers. Using the momentary distraction of the guard at the door, the pair pushed past and wisely dropped into a full bow of supplication. “I apologise for the disturbance, My Queen,” the male she recalled as ‘Burrow’ hurried out. “But we bring urgent news.” He looked up, his fellow still maintaining her own bow. “While out scouting with our charge as you ordered, we came across two Solar Guards and a Lunar Guard inspecting caves out to the East.” Queen Chrysalis immediately sat up, her wet mane loudly slapping against the side of the tube. “What!?” “They didn’t see us,” the other Controller, Aphid, quickly followed up. “They seemed focused on their task and we managed to slip away without notice.” “Our four drones and Mr Growls are making their way back to the Hive now,” added Burrow. “Entering through one of the secondary entrances if needed.” He frowned. “But the Equestrians may have more troops in the surrounding area and are certainly looking for us.” The pair, and the silent door guard, stared at her. “What would you have us do, My Queen?” Water poured off of chitin to splash down on the smooth floor, Chrysalis almost jumping up from the tub and stepping out without a care for the mess she was making. “You two are to alert Commander Scuttle and the rest of our forces, we must prepare to repel any attack.” Her dripping mane fell around her shoulders, Chrysalis barging over to the doorway to join them. “Also, we shall dispense weapons from the armoury, the security of the Hive is paramount. Go.” The two rushed back out to follow her commands, Chrysalis making to follow while focusing on her guard. “You, order the scholars to attend me in the Throne Room immediately. We have spells to cast.” “Your Highness.” Chrysalis ground her teeth as he left, and she didn’t even pause to dry herself before stomping out into the corridor linking her quarters to the rest of the Hive. ‘Stupid Equestrians,’ she thought with a scowl, storming off to her throne. ‘Of course they have to bother me now.’ “Chrrz.” “I’m fine, all good.” Brushing the remnants of the small bush off of the back of his patchwork pants, Daniel silently hoped that the latest slip and resulting flora destruction hadn’t ripped anything. Their rapid descent down the mountain had gone relatively well despite a few minor falls and close calls, and Daniel couldn’t really blame the four drones for hurrying him along. Red led the group further down at the front, her eyes scouring the terrain for the easiest paths and gentlest slopes. Green followed next, somehow managing to balance the toolbox perfectly on her back even as she darted between bushes and rocks. Behind him, Grey and Yellow kept their focus behind them and above, no doubt searching for any potential pursuers. Daniel had placed his phone back in the case before they had left the outcrop, the images of the three armoured horses stored within. He had recognised the grey bat-like one from the earlier equine battle, and it wasn’t too much of a stretch to assume that the white and gold ones also belonged to the local horse rulers. “Shit,” he muttered under his breath after his boot slipped on a small rock, although he was lucky enough to find another foothold a split second later. “If I’m not careful I’ll just end up running down this fucking mountain.” “Brrzt zzrt.” Green’s encouragement didn’t exactly cheer him up that much, but he could do little but continue on the path that Red had selected. More slippery rocks and patches of soft sand continued to plague their descent, but despite all that they managed to make the bottom the mountain in good time. Stepping down from the last jutting rock, Daniel take a moment to catch his breath. ‘Yeah,’ he though between puffs. ‘That’s about enough exercise for today, I think.’ He looked back up when a snout bumped against his knee, Green standing before him. She met his eyes and then gestured her head to the other bug-horses, Yellow and Grey hopping down from the mountain to join them with hushed chatters and skyward glances. “Sure, guess we should continue,” he agreed before pausing. Reaching over with one hand, he lifted the toolbox off of Green’s back and with the other gave her a quick pat on the head. “Thanks, by the way.” “Chrzzrt,” she replied with a smile, tired but thankful. “Not far left at least,” Daniel said while looking up towards the hive in the distance. “It’s only- wait…” The black spires were gone. As in, completely gone. Bare rocky earth, unmarked by even a large boulder of interest, sat in the former place of the bug-horse castle. It was certainly the same location though, Daniel just able to make out his favourite pissing tree from where he was, but there was nothing else there. Just empty and barren ground. He made to ask the others (or at least make the attempt), but he saw that they were already slinking off to the right. Taking a second to once again look at the former castle location, he sighed and tried to follow them as stealthily as he could. ‘I suppose that if they’re not worried about the entire place going, I shouldn’t be.’ He was of course not nearly as stealthy as they were, his increased bulk making it quite difficult to squeeze through the small rock passages of the new hill they had reached. Still, he managed, and with frequent glances back the way they had come from Daniel was fairly confident that the armoured horses had yet to spot them regardless. Within a few minutes they came upon a gap in the rocks, Red and Grey’s horns lighting up to move a sizable boulder away from the rock wall. Daniel noticed the small cross marked with dried green bug-horse goop on the rock a second before the bug-horses finished their task, Yellow rushing into the tunnel that was now revealed. The drone turned back and looked at him while the others held the rock, her horn almost touching the rock roof. “Brrrzrt.” Daniel gave the tunnel a flat look, the small size meaning that he’d have to crawl, and he realised just how far away they were from the castle’s previous spot. “I’m not that keen on this, to be frank.” Yellow seemed to think for a moment, before she smiled at him nodded. Her horn lit up with a bright glow, the green light banishing the tunnel’s darkness. She then turned and trotted forwards a few steps, before looking back at him hopefully. “That’s not...” He gritted his teeth before giving in. “Fine, fuck it. We’re being chased after all.” Grunting, he moved to the small entrance and dropped to all fours, toolbox held awkwardly in one hand through the handle. The bottom of the sturdy plastic chest thumped against the ground while he moved forwards further into the tunnel behind Yellow. He felt grey hair tickle his nose, and too late he realised that he was now stuck in a very awkward position in line. It was too late to turn back however, the other three drones piling in behind him. ‘I swear we better not stop suddenly.’ His thought was punctuated by the sound of the boulder rolling shut over the entrance with a groan, Daniel not even able to properly glance back at the drones behind him. “I just want to let you know,” he announced to all of them while the line started to slowly move deeper into the tunnel. “If I die down here, I’m going to haunt all of you forever.” Yellow obviously misinterpreted his words and chattered back happily at him without looking back, her tail giving an involuntary swish to either side while she did so. Daniel closed his eyes, sighing while continuing to crawl forwards on his hand, knees, and toolbox. It was going to be a long journey. The Throne room hummed with magical energy, a soft green light bathing all of the forty-two scholars sitting within it. They chattered and whispered to each other while they sat on looted equestrian cushions, an occasional drone passing each learned changeling with a tray carrying water jugs and small concentrated love-gems on their back. The Scholars’ horns maintained solid streams of magical energy looping straight up to the ceiling, every one of the forty-two strands of energy powering a massive glowing crystal that jutted out from the centre of the roof. Six soldiers stood guard at the doors watching it all, their freshly-sharpened chitin spears and polished blue armour glinting in the glow of the magical efforts. The Queen meanwhile sat upon her throne with her own horn adding a far larger stream to the spellcasting efforts, her long teal hair frazzled and unkempt. Sipping from the cup of water she held in the crock of her hoof, she tried her best to keep her frown from morphing into a full-blown scowl. Finishing her drink, she left the cup on the edge of her raised seat for the next passing drone to collect before adjusting her position, her back sitting flush against her throne with her forelegs resting in-between her hind ones. Allowing herself a quiet and irritated sigh, Chrysalis looked over towards the main throne room doors upon hearing them open. Expecting another few drones arriving to help keep her scholars refreshed and comfortable, she was surprised to see that it was instead another soldier and Foodbeast. Chrysalis didn’t even notice the way she managed the slightest of smiles, although the human himself did not seem too happy either. “Ah, Foodbeast,” she greeted across the room, the puzzled guard left standing at the door as the creature in question made his own way to the throne without coercion. “I didn’t expect you to arrive so soon after your scouting trip.” He kept his eyes on her while sidestepping around scholars and making his way through the rows towards her. Chrysalis noticed a few of the Hive’s best and brightest smiling at him with some familiarity, the oldest scholar amongst them even going so far as to enthusiastically wave his forelegs in the air while muttering unintelligible murmurs. He was pointedly ignored by Foodbeast, the human approaching closer to her throne. “I assumed, considering the situation, that getting here sooner was the better option," he replied, a few of the closest scholars tilting their heads at the conversing pair. "Your entire castle-thing was gone, after all.” The Queen’s smile grew slightly, even as she rolled her eyes. “I’ve told you before, this is the Hive, not a ‘castle-thing’. And it is far from gone as you can see.” She gestured with a hoof first up towards her horn and then to the crystal in the ceiling high above. “A concealing spell will hide us from Equestrian detection, those fools will have no chance.” She allowed herself a chortle at her own words while he stopped at the foot of her throne, before she raised an eye at him. “You’re hurt?” Foodbeast raised a hand to his face, his fingers touching a long and red scratch across the left cheek. “Got this from a bush I face-checked on the way down a mountain, along with a few more scrapes and a lot of bruises.” He lowered his hand. “Hard to be graceful when you’re pretty much running down rocks. Nothing major though, don’t worry about it.” A pause, Foodbeast shrugging. “It actually kind of fun, really. Going out of course, not coming across those horses you pissed off before.” She snorted at that, but judged that it would be a waste of time explaining how she was one-hundred percent in the right, and instead settled for flicking a forehoof at him. “Well at least you had fun.” Her response had a healthy amount of sarcasm injected into it, Chrysalis silently reminding herself that others were watching and that she couldn’t be as unguarded as she normally was with their talks. Still, he merely snorted, likely realising the same thing. “So, what do you want?” Foodbeast continued, glancing around at the scholars before focusing back on her eyes. “Head rubs with all these blokes watching?” The corner of his mouth twitched. “My fingers in your mouth again?” Chrysalis didn’t even award him a glare for the latter suggestion, but she couldn’t help but mentally smirk at the jab. ‘Maybe he’s a little bit more like a changeling than I first thought.’ “You shall sit down in front of my throne,” she commanded with a gesture with her hind hoof. “And remain there until I deem otherwise. Our concealment must be maintained until the Equestrians give up their search of the area, and the scholars will need to be rested soon so I will require a bounty of energy from you.” Expecting at least a token resistance, or the usual dismissive insult, her order was instead met with a shrug. “Alright.” Foodbeast made to sit down as commander, however the Queen halted him with a raised hoof. Furrowing her eyes, Chrysalis lowered her voice to a befuddled whisper. “Wait, just ‘alright’? Not even another swear?” “I can call you a cunt again if you want,” he said. “But honestly I’m just tired and can’t be bothered. Anyway,” he looked behind him again, before re-establishing eye contact. “All you’re asking is the usual, and if it keeps you bug-horses safe then I don’t see why not.” The Queen didn’t really know how to respond to that. It wasn’t as if she could thank him for cooperating within earshot of other changelings, after all. He’d already sat down before she could think of anything, so instead she just remained sitting upon her throne. The scholars and guards quickly lost interest in the pair and returned to their conversations, Queen Chrysalis taking the opportunity to slide down into a lying position with her head resting on a forehoof. ‘A shame really,’ she thought with one of her hind hooves starting to idly bump against Foodbeast’s shoulder with a rhythmic beat even as she started to siphon energy off of him. ‘I’m actually starting to enjoy our dinner conversations.’ “Chrzzzrt.” A strong nudge against the side of his head jolted Daniel awake from his nap, his back resting up against the cold black material of the Queen’s throne. Feeling like he had hardly gotten any rest at all, he yawned and looked out into the wider room. “Chrzrzrt brrzrtz, bzzzrt trzzz.” Chrysalis’ voice echoed around the throne room from behind him, the bug-horses all filing out through the main doors in an orderly and chittering mass. Some exited from the holes in the wall, and all of the streams of green energy cut out while they did so. Except for one. Daniel didn’t need to ask to know what the Queen expected from him, even the armed bug-horse guards following the rest of the chittering group out and shutting the doors behind them. Looking up and behind him, he was met with a pair of lime-coloured eyes and a smile. “They’re gone,” the Queen stated, with a tone more suited for a forbidden tryst. Her hind hoof stopped bumping him on the head as she moved to sit up straight. Evidently it was all that she felt she needed to say, her rump shuffling over to make room for him on the raised throne. Daniel grunted and stood up, cricking his back while he did so. Turning to face her, he glanced up at the solitary stream of magic heading up to the glowing crystal before looking back at the Queen’s gaze. “Are you able to power that thing all by yourself?” “Of course,” Chrysalis scoffed, a hoof going over her chest. “I’m Queen of the Changelings, powerful even when I’ve not been feasting on love.” She lowered the hoof, a glance going to the main doors. “My scholars do help a bit of course, but they lack my royal stamina and ability and so require a break and rest.” A pulse of extra energy surged through her horn to travel up to the crystal, the Queen’s smile widening at the boast. “Fear not, those moron Equestrians will fly right past us without a clue.” Daniel shrugged. “Alright then, if you say so.” Clambering up to join her on the seat, he held back a wince as his knees sent a letter of complaint up through his nervous system. ‘I’m going to be sore in the morning.’ Managing to make it without too much issue, he sat back right as Chrysalis aimed a disapproving look at his dusty patchwork pants. “You could have at least cleaned up before seeing me,” she snorted. He rolled his eyes. “As I’ve already said, more important things on my mind.” Before she could retort, he followed up. “I didn’t think you were the prissy type, you’ll live.” Her stare remained, but Chrysalis quickly recovered with another snort and a flick of her head. “Bah, I’m still above resting down on such a filthy Foodbeast.” Despite her words however, she still pressed up against his side and lazily flopped a hoof down on his thigh. Figuring out what she wanted, Daniel grabbed it in his fingers and half-heartedly started to rub. His current lack of enthusiasm didn’t seem to faze Chrysalis, the Queen’s wings briefly buzzing before she continued. “So, what should we talk about today? I recall that we were discussing those ‘computer’ things that you seem so fond of.” “Actually,” he replied. “I’m still knackered from today and not feeling it.” He yawned again. “If it’s all right with you, I’d prefer to just have a quiet one and give it a while. Just rest for a bit.” Chrysalis’ smile dropped, but didn’t devolve all the way into a frown. “Oh, of course,” she answered, waving her free hoof in dismissal. “I suppose that I can allow that, as long as you continue to provide me with energy. If it’s quiet you want, then who am I to deny that?” That was all that she said before turning her head away, Chrysalis focusing on the opposite doors with a steady expression on her face. Normally, Daniel would have fallen for the Queen’s sulk and given in, but this time he was too sleepy and cranky to care. Shuffling back to rest up properly against the throne’s smooth back, he continued to rub her hoof regardless. A few minutes later, and he didn’t even notice his movements slow and his eyes close as he drifted back off to sleep. Daniel’s eyes opened up again to a warm fire burning in a stone fireplace, his drowsiness completely banished. He didn’t need to look around for very long to recognise where he was, the blue-banner adorned room in the white stone castle a place he’d visited a few times before. ‘Oh,’ he thought, looking around and seeing nothing on the four-poster bed. ‘Fucking fantastic, as if today wasn’t shitty enough.’ A loud throat clear from behind him prompted him to turn around, Daniel coming face to face with a blue alicorn armoured in an ornate suit of silver armour. “Princess Luna,” he greeted with a defeated sigh, the tall horse furrowing her eyes at him in a frown. “I thought that you weren’t talking to me anymore?” A silver-shoed hoof pawed at the expensive-looking rug on the floor, the Princess scoffing in return with a flick of her head. “Well, fate has unfortunately forced my hoof in this matter,” Luna told him, before her frown increased. “My subjects are missing, and I require information as to the whereabouts of the Changeling Hive.” Her wings flicked. “Information that you will provide.” Now, Daniel didn’t exactly mind Luna and could honestly understand why she would be a little miffed, but it was not the right time for a confrontation. So, instead of trying to reason with her, he instead snorted. “Already told you that I don’t know,” he answered. Crossing his arms, he met her glare with a confrontational raise of his chin. “And this is just a dream, what are you even going to do? I’m waking up soon anyway.” A moment of silence passed, Luna narrowing her eyes even further. “Indeed, I am unable to stop you from waking up,” she nodded. Then, from outside the window, a crack of lightning flashed in the starry night sky. “However, I am the Princess of the Night, the Princess of Dreams and Nightmares, and more than capable of making the time before that extremely unpleasant...” She let the threat hang in the air between them, another crack of lightning punctuating the moment. From outside, a long and drawn-out howl accompanied the thunderous storm that started up, Luna not taking her eyes off of him. Daniel for his part shifted on his footing, arms still crossed at the challenge. “Do your worst,” he shot back with a scoff, before his mouth curled with amusement. “Could be fun really, I like horror.” There was another crack of thunder and a throaty howl, Luna still maintaining her frown while raising her eye at him. “You ever seen Wolf Creek?” Chrysalis sighed loudly while leaning on her hoof, her right foreleg propped up on her throne’s armrest. The human leaning up against her left side let out another snore, his only movement being the occasional shifting of his spot. His hand, having previously been massaging her hoof, was now dangerously flopped over her inner thigh and his head had fallen to lay across her shoulder. All in all, she would have a lot of explaining to do if one of her subjects suddenly burst in with more news of the Equestrian movements. “This wasn’t exactly what I was expecting,” she grumbled to herself. “Usually it’s the other way around.” Still, the energy was flowing and that was what really mattered. Foodbeast shifted up against her again, his hair tickling the side of her face. Looking over to frown down at the sleeping creature, Chrysalis watched him snore again. Sighing, she dropped the glare and shook her head. “The things I do for my subjects,” muttered Chrysalis as she reached around the biped’s back with her spare foreleg and patted him on the shoulder with it. “If only they knew the sacrifices I make.”