//------------------------------// // Day 1 - Shippy time: 1/9 // Story: They're... ON HOLIDAY? // by Nameless Narrator //------------------------------// The trip from the Badlands to Manehattan was nothing to talk about. The summer weather was perfect for a long trek and, being accompanied by a warrior holding more than starvation level of love, an infiltrator ranking in double digits, as well as the queen herself, no timberwolf or any other predator could even close in on the group at any point in time unnoticed. No, no amount of begging would persuade the queen to let the drones keep a shiny bear with its hide covered in stars that they saw one night as the newbie drones wanted. 387 and the drones that survived the dreamscape battle against Tantabus were much less enthusiastic as well, so eventually 387 just promised to fashion each drone a sturdy walking stick over the course of the trip instead. I mean, having a chance to pet a giant shiny bear was one thing, but getting a durable stick that a drone would get to keep for itself? Now that was something. Anyway, back to Manehattan… *** I’m not scared. There totally AREN’T way too many ponies around. I gotta stay cool. The others are looking up to me. I’m not High Score but if anything goes wrong it’ll be on me.  It’s all about keeping and eye on things, staying vigil- *Huff huff huff!* “EEP!” 10013 darts to the side as the wet nose of a dog presses against its leg and starts sniffing the drone before licking it. “Eww,” the unicorn mare holding the dog’s leash tugs on it with a haughty pout, “Don’t touch that, Daisy, you don’t know where it’s been.” “In a forest, then some grassy hills, swamp, forest again, road…” 10013 stops as the mare ignores it and walks away with the dog. 10013 breathes out in relief. Whatever the fluffy sniffer was, it was close in size to the drone itself and, as it was breathing through its open mouth, 10013 saw teeth which, while not overly sharp, could still likely cause serious damage. The drones are walking through the streets of Manehattan, dutifully following Chrysalis and 387. 10013 is in the back, making sure no one wanders away or stays behind. Thankfully, the queen’s pace has been fairly relaxed ever since they entered the city, so even the short legs of drones are enough to keep up. On top of that, the crowds of ponies on the sidewalk seem to part in front of Chrysalis, giving the drones some space so that they don’t have to push through. Unfortunately, while their surroundings are completely alien to the small drones, they don’t have any opportunity to examine the smells or colors, and this strange world has shrunk to the endless stream of colorful ponies passing by and obscuring the view of anything else. “Everything is ready for your arrival,” 93’s voice sounds through the minds of everyone, making a crude map of several streets assemble itself in everyone’s heads, “You, Your Majesty, are to use the representative entrance here,” a marker appears on the mental map leading up a smaller pier towards the depiction of a massive white ship, “while the rest of us will take the staff entrance here,” the second marker appears on a larger pier, and 93 shares an image of ponies carrying heavy bags.  “No, you’re coming with me, 93,” replies Chrysalis, “387, take care of the drones and stay linked up.” “Yes, Your Majesty,” both high ranks agree. They arrive in the public section of Manehattan docks not even half an hour later, and split up. The crowds of ponies haven’t thinned a bit despite the heat, but 387 is leading the way without a problem, and the group soon find themselves standing in a long queue filled presumably with servants of various members of nobility who signed up for the trip. In comparison to the ponies in front of and behind the changeling group who are wearing colorful clothes and distinguishing symbols, the changelings look even more out of place than usual, but no one is bothering them due to having a number of their own tasks to do. Finally, however, the drones get a clear view of the ship, the sheer size of which is absolutely stunning to their minds used to narrow, underground tunnels of the hive. 10013 looks to the left - there’s the side of the ship, the concrete pier, and a queue of ponies leading all the way back to the dock. 10013 looks to the right - even now that they’re close to the ramp leading into the ship, there’s still so much ship that way! Finally, it looks up - STILL MORE SHIP! “How are you feeling, guys?” asks 10013 the others. “Overwhelmed,” replies 36658, “I just wish we got to see more of the city.” “Overhelmet too,” 99526 nods vigorously, “I thought you guys were kidding when you said ponies were so big.” “My leggos hurt,” 99380 sits down briefly, rubbing its hooves. “I’m a bit scared,” 99111 rubs its head, “There’s so much of… everything and no safe nook to curl up into.” Smiley gives distraught 99111 a hug.  “Don’t worry,” 20100 looks around at everyone, “We’re nearly inside and then someone will tell us what to do and everything will be normal again. I just hope I’ll have some time to draw all these weird kinds of ponies,” it nods to the back where a group of muscular zebra mares wearing leather armors which, to a sufficiently pervy eye, would look like a mix of protection and BDSM gear, “Look, those ponies have stripes.” “Those are zebras,” 36658 peeks out from the line, beams, and waves at a rather confused mare who catches it looking and gives it a raised eyebrow before it shuffles back, “They’re pony versions of the tree I used to make agonyslayers from before the queen made me tend to our new poppy patches. I wonder how they taste…” “...and which part of theirs to eat…” mutters 387 with a snicker, earning a puzzled look from 99111, “Nevermind,” he sighs and pats the drone’s head, “I give it at most half an hour before it’s our turn. The ponies ahead of us don’t look too burdened with luggage.” *** Chrysalis’ looming shadow falls on a unicorn wearing covering dark blue clothes from head to hooves. On the barrel of his padded jacket, yellow letters spell out SECURITY. The stallion is currently looking downwards at a notepad filled with names and numbers with a pen in his mouth due to his telekinesis being occupied by the pad. “Ticket,” he mumbles, and 93 presents it to him, “Number 86… 86… 86…” his eyes scan the paper, “Ah, here you are. Queen Chry… sal… is…” his head snaps upwards over 93 at the queen, “Hnng!” and he swallows his pencil. As he keels over, choking and pawing against his neck on the concrete pier, two other security unicorns rush closer. One opens the original victim’s mouth and begins weaving some kind of spell while the second approaches Chrysalis who is watching the scene with mild amusement. His bodily features of both are hidden under the same covering security uniform as the others, but he looks in his forties with greying brown mane and a short beard complementing his brick red coat. “What an unexpected… honor. You must be queen Chrysalis,” the unicorn gives Chrysalis a courteous bow, “Glorious Quest, owner and representative of Quest Security. We’re responsible for making sure this entire trip goes without a hitch. However, I’m ashamed to admit that I wasn’t aware you’d be joining us on this trip,” he levitates up the dropped notepad, and 93 once again presents the ticket she caught as the original security guard was falling, “No matter, ticket 86 is here aaand everything seems in order. Present your ticket to the staff inside and they’ll show you to your delegation’s cabins,” he beams at the queen, “Oh, one final thing, Your Majesty - the island resort we’re heading into belongs to the Griffon Empire, but there’s no need to worry with Quest security onboard.” “I just made one of your guards eat a pen without even doing anything,” sneers Chrysalis, “I think I’ll manage,” she glances sideways at the original guard now saved by the second unicorn who managed to telekinetically pull the pen out of his throat, “Although… maybe if I get bored I might try to have your beefcakes eat a bug next,” she boops Quest, “93 sure could use some action,” she chuckles as 93’s eyes bulge just like Quest’s and walks past him onto the ramp leading up into the cruise ship itself. Quest remains, visibly frozen and straining his face to remain polite. “Wasn’t that needlessly antagonistic, Your Majesty?” mentally asks 93. “I can smell a suck-up a mile away.” “Everyone sucks up to you at home, Your Majesty.” “Yes, because I’m their queen and they’re afraid. That’s absolutely fine and proper to a certain degree. This Quest guy wants something he isn’t saying. No matter, I hope this clears up at least a little why 387 is so important and enjoys freedoms I rarely offer to anyone else.” “His… defiance isn’t always constructive.” “True, but he tends to point out problems in areas that would be too time and energy consuming to monitor directly.” “I will take that into consideration and be more lenient with him in the future.” “Oh, don’t go too far. I enjoy it when he’s grinding his teeth.”