//------------------------------// // 26. My Bug Problem // Story: Azure Days // by Anzel //------------------------------// Bliss. This was bliss. After a week or so of generalist classes, my instructors had felt like they were a waste for me. Two of them had, in fact, repeatedly tried to talk me out of being a generalist. Even in the face of all that pressure, I stuck to my decision. Being a first line for ponies is what I wanted to do. My heart was set on it. Once everypony else had accepted that, they still felt like the classes were a waste. In the Royal Guard’s infinite wisdom, it was decided that an internship as a generalist with a generalist would be better. The problem with that was that internships didn’t exist, so they just decided to assign me to an actual PRO and help her do her work. Of all the ponies to supervise me, it was the one I expected the least. Chief Print! She was still helping out with the palace backlog and now I was, too. She’d teach her classes while I sat at a desk beside her and worked on files. It was perfect! I hadn’t even graduated yet and I was already doing what I had set out to do. I was loving it, too. So much so, I’d almost stopped worrying about the giant pink bubble that had cut Canterlot off from the rest of the world. Sure, it was just a precaution, but you don’t ask a massively powerful unicorn to shield a whole city unless there is an actual risk. The newspapers had downplayed the whole thing, but I knew better. In my entire life and that of my father’s, this had never happened. We’d discussed it over brunch the Sunday after it went up. He said it was bad for business. I said it was bad for staying alive. Aurum said I was overreacting, but she respected my opinion. Mom said she’d protect me, and Quartz just sat there chewing. He was more like his father than our side of the family. “Guard Azurite,” Chief Print said to me. Always Guard Azurite! Never Azurite. “Yes, ma’am?” I replied, looking up from a beneficiary declaration form. “That will be all for today, you can go home,” she said as she stated putting the files away. I looked up at the clock. The day wasn’t even half over. “Ma’am?” “Was I unclear? You can go. You’re dismissed,” the chief replied. “No, ma’am, you weren’t unclear. I’m just confused. We have a lot of work hours left in the day,” I said, not keeping my mouth shut like I should have. It would be best not to screw this internship up, Azurite! “That’s true, but if you read your memos, you’d have noticed that today is only a half day due to the royal wedding. It has been declared a holiday for all but essential roles. Catching up on old files is not an essential role. “Pack your bag, lock up your work, and go home and do whatever it is you do for fun. I am going to assume that you don’t do paperwork at home?” My ears wiggled. “No, I have a fish. I mostly talk to him.” Why did I say that! “Good. Everypony needs a friend. Go home and talk to your fish. I’m going to head up to the palace,” she said. “Business, ma’am?” The chief shook her head. “No, I’m going to the wedding and if you don’t hurry up, I’m going to be late.” That was a surprise! I quickly shoved the files I’d been working on into my desk drawer and locked it. Then I locked the file cabinet that had been brought in for me. “Done!” I chimed before scooting out the door and waiting for her. Chief Print came out and locked up. “Do you know the couple?” I couldn’t help blurting out. “Not well, no. Captain Armor and I worked together briefly. My friend, however, knows him quite well and I’m her plus one. See you tomorrow bright and early,” she said before heading off. If only I could be somepony’s plus one. I’d pass my plus oneship to Aurum and let her go. She really wanted to! This was the event of the year! Perhaps even the decade! The century? Who knows! I trotted out onto the street and started to head home. Canterlot wasn’t overwhelmed with the hustle and bustle. The streets were pretty empty. On occasion, I’d pass by a pony that was staring off into space, but that wasn’t my problem. The more groups of ponies looked away from me, the better. It didn’t feel so nerve wracking when they were distracted and in small groups. Going to and from places during the day was getting easier and easier. My thoughts were usually occupied with work and that helped. When I reached the street corner to turn down my road, I noticed several ponies standing around and looking up. That was happening more than usual, but this was even more than that. What were they seeing? I stopped and did the same. On the other side of the large pink barrier was a swarm of hornets. Big black hornets with stingers on their heads. “What are those?” a mare asked the stallion she was with. “No idea,” he replied. “Maybe that’s why they put the shield up? To stop the infestation?” She shrugged. “Maybe so. As long as they stay out there.” That was for sure. Just looking at their shiny black bodies made the hair of my coat stand on end. I started trotting faster towards my apartment. This was putting a cramp in my good mood. Bugs bothered me on a good day. Giant bugs, though? Who knew they even existed? As I got closer to home, I saw that the door was open and Aurum was standing just outside with her eyes on the sky. “Hey, Aurum,” I called when I got closer. “Hey, Azurite. Do you know what is going on up there?” she asked, glancing down at me. “No, this is the first I’ve seen. I’m guessing that’s why the barrier is there. Maybe it is some kind of bug migration season.” Aurum nodded slowly. “It wasn’t in the papers. Do you think we’re safe?” That was another question I didn’t know the answer to. “I think so? I guess so? They’re up there and we’re down here. We should probably stay inside, though. Where is Quartz?” “He went shopping in old town. I’m worried. Maybe we should go there, get him, and huddle in with Uncle Sapphire and Aunt Azalea?” Aurum suggested nervously. Mom and Dad would probably be nervous about this too. We should probably shelter in place but Aurum had a good point. The sooner we made a decision the better. With a resolute nod, I said, “I’ll get Mr. Peepers and we’ll go.” Aurum looked like she might argue for a moment, but then nodded. I went inside, grabbed Mr. Peeper’s travel bowl, and scooped him and his water up in my magic. Once he was safely inside, I put the lid on and sealed it. He blew a few bubbles at me. “Yes, we’re going to visit Mom and Dad, okay? I wouldn’t use the lid if you didn’t like to jump out and go do your own thing.” Mr. Peeper’s big eyes rolled. “It isn’t my fault you can’t breathe on land!” I said before levitating his bowl onto my back and securing it to my bag. Then I went back out, locked the door, and nodded at Aurum. “Let’s get moving.” “Alright,” she replied, her eyes flicking upwards frequently. My parents didn’t live that far from me in the scheme of things. Just a tier up and into the middle of town. It was an older, mature shopping district that had been around long before my family had moved in. The trip was terrifying every step of the way. Ponies everywhere were looking up and gossiping. More seemed curious than afraid. We were being bombarded by giant bugs! How was that not scary? It wasn’t like crowds scary though. It was the kind of scary that made your coat crawl. Whenever I saw bugs, I could feel them on me even though they weren’t. “Maybe it has to do with the wedding?” I overheard a random stallion saying. Yes! Yes, that is what every fine lady wants on her wedding day: icky bugs. Oh darling, instead of doves, let’s release a swarm of angry hornets to sting the guests. We’ll save a massive sum of bits on the food and drink budget. Aurum’s tail lashed and she looked back at me. “We’re almost there, but I just realized this was a stupid idea.” “What do you mean?” I asked, coming to a stop. “Quartz might not think to go to your parent’s house,” she muttered. “He doesn’t really know them. What if he went home a different way? We’ll be here and he’ll be there.” “We can go back,” I suggested but didn’t really want to do. Aurum shook her head. “No, we need to think about your parents, and we’ve come all of this way. Quartz will be fine, he’s a smart boy.” In my experience, Quartz was not exactly the smartest boy. In the brief time he’d been with us, he’d gotten his hoof stuck in the peanut butter jar twice and his mouth in the jelly once. The stars knew he didn’t get that from our side of the family. Those were thoughts I shouldn’t voice, so just I nodded in agreement. “He is. He also might think about the family shop after all. If he were back home, wouldn’t he go to Uncle Emerald’s?” “He would, and you’re right, he does know about Uncle Sapphire’s store. Let’s just hope he thinks that way. We should push on.” We should! The sooner we were inside, the better. “Yeah, okay, let’s go.” The moment I took a step, a shriek off to my side startled me and caused me to almost tip over. Aurum threw her hoof out to stabilize me. “What is going on!” “Look!” somepony shouted. Our gazes shifted upwards at the same time. The shield had shattered and the bugs were swarming into the city. Aurum grabbed my hoof in hers and started pulling me. If she was afraid, she wasn’t showing it. I held onto her and did my best to keep up. Her legs were so much longer. All around us I could hear the alarm bells echoing off the walls of the buildings. They were so loud it hurt my ears. Without warning, Aurum suddenly slid to a stop. I crashed into her side and lost my bearings. “Stay back!” she shouted defiantly. I blinked away the shock and peered out from under Aurum. There were several of the black bugs standing in our way. They started to stalk towards us. The looks on their weird, creepy bug faces were not pleasant at all. There were at least six that I could see. I held onto Aurum and she yelled, “Don’t come any closer! I know how to fight!” That wasn’t true at all. Aurum was in retail. She knew how to haggle, maybe. My grip on her hoof tightened and nervous energy started to well up inside me. I pulled in all of the magical energy that was around us as fast as I could. When they were only a body length or so away, I screamed and forced all of the magic into my horn that I could. There was a soft pop and I felt myself being pulled along extremely fast. Aurum was clinging to my hoof as we sailed through reality. We reappeared well beyond them. I was dazed and disoriented. Teleporting was the most complex spell I knew. “Azurite, that was amazing!” Aurum said before grabbing me and tugging me along. “Yeah,” I replied as my head bobbled to the side. That had taken almost all my magical reserve and sapped my physical strength. It was mostly up to Aurum to get us to safety. She pulled me along, huffing and puffing as we galloped across town. The storefronts I saw zip past me were familiar. That was good, we were almost there. We could get to my parents’ house and hide behind a locked door. Aurum slowed down and pressed herself against the side of a building. We were one right turn away from my parents’ street. She peaked around the corner. “Okay, I see two of those things. Do you think we can fight them off?” Fight them off? What sort of pony was Aurum! “What do you mean?” “You know, fight them. You’re a royal guard, you know how to fight, right?” Technically, I had passed basic combat training. Particularly when it came to subduing and such. I hadn’t even thought about it since the Summer Sun Celebration. “Uh, yeah. You’re not a guard, though.” Aurum snorted. “Don’t you worry about me. Those things are between me and my son. Plus, I did six months of cardio buck boxing after Quartz was born to get my figure back. Let’s just hope they underestimate us.” We were going to fight giant bugs? That was insanity. She was crazy! I ducked under her and peeked too. There were only two. One for each of us. They looked super icky, though. I bit my lip before mumbling, “Okay.” “Okay?” “Yeah, okay. We can do this. Let’s just walk out around the corner, look scared, and draw them in. That will be easy because I’m very, very scared. Then when they assume we’re too frightened to fight, assuming we’re not, we just whack them.” Aurum looked impressed. “That training clearly gave you a tactical mind. Alright, let’s do this.” Yup, let’s just walk out in front of the giant bugs attacking the city. That will work. Without a moment’s hesitation, Aurum stepped out, took one look at the bugs, and screamed. It wasn’t her real scream. It was a good fake one, though. It scared me enough to scream too before I tumbled out. From over my shoulder, I could hear Mr. Peepers angrily bubbling. The two bugs turned towards us and started stalking down the street, their ugly translucent wings fluttering. “They have fangs,” I whimpered. Aurum fell back onto her rump and held her chest. “They’re so terrifying! I can’t move!” she said louder than normal. She wasn’t a great actor, but the bugs were buying it. When they got closer, she rolled over onto her belly and crouched down. “Don’t hurt us!” What was going on! What was I going to do? How do you fight a bug? When the pair reached us, Aurum rocked forwards and yelled, “Buck it and buck it! Buck it real good!” Her back legs shot out from under her and caught the bug right in the chin. He flew up into the air and landed with a heavy thud. The other bug and I were both shocked. His jaw opened in surprise, so I did the only thing I knew to do. I punched him as hard as I could. Pain shot up through my foreleg after I did it and I could have sworn I saw little birds go by. It hadn’t been enough to knock the bug out. Instead, it just hissed at me with a big, ugly tongue poking out. Aurum got up to help but the second she did, the thing burst into green flames, blinding me briefly. When I could see again, it looked exactly like me. I was staring at myself! Only this thing had to have been smaller than I was. I was short, but not that short. It stuck its now-my-looking tongue out at me and blew a raspberry. “What in the kingdom!” Aurum squeaked, stunned into inaction. It was taunting me! The bug wasn’t just some bug! It was a smart bug that was taunting me. The fear started drain out of my hooves and as the things tongue fluttered at me, my face went hot. “I’m the little pony!” I bellowed before surging forwards and tackling the sham me. It wasn’t expecting that at all. Using my training, I managed to get it on its back so that I could wrap my hind hooves around its barrel. Then I started punching it in the face as hard as I could. “Don’t taunt me!” I shouted as I continued to land blows. All of my fears and insecurities welled up inside of me. I was tired of being scared! I was tired of struggling to go out! I was tired of being weak! Rage flowed into my hooves as I punched the me-bug over and over. Aurum set her hoof on my shoulder and started tugging me. “Azurite. Shhh! Azurite, please stop yelling. He’s unconscious. You got him.” I hit the thing one more time before Aurum managed to pull me off. “Uh oh,” she said softly. More of the bugs were landing all around us. My little show might have attracted attention. “Oops,” I muttered. “Yeah, that’s okay. You probably needed to get that out. Any other bright ideas? I’m not sure these are going to fall for the distressed ponies. Not after seeing you go ballistic on their friend.” We were being surrounded, which was a shame. We’d almost made it. A block or two down the street and we’d have been inside. Now we were trapped. “Azurite? Any ideas? Please?” Aurum asked nervously. I didn’t have any. It was an angry crowd pressing in on me. It was happening again! It was just like before and as Aurum shook me, I started to shut down.