//------------------------------// // Chapter 27 // Story: Don't Bug Me // by Starscribe //------------------------------// So went the next few days. Amie visited the base in the mornings, and spent more and more of her days with Ivy afterwards. Her fear over discovery and swift execution soon faded into the background. After a week, even the occasional suspicious looks had turned to friendly greetings. Ponies didn’t know her, but they knew Ivy, and seeing the young mare happy for a change was something her friends couldn’t just ignore.  It didn’t hurt that Ivy was exactly the kind of kid she was used to teaching at Stella Lacus, and who would likely go on to being another counselor herself. She was brave, compassionate, and restless, always looking for the next horizon to conquer. Now that she had a friend to keep her company, her father gave her a little more freedom, letting her take short trips away from the base and out to the wilderness around Agate.  Always away from Mt. Stella Lacus, where the Changeling Containment Perimeter now stood. Even a full town of separation was not enough for the people of Agate to feel fully secure—the town had guards patrolling the road, and refused to let any creature in or out of town after nightfall.  Of course Amie didn’t tell them their security had failed to stop her from getting into town, even with her brother walking right beside her. How long would they have lasted in town without Pachu'a pulling them aside for a covert conversation? Amie left a note waiting for him in the warehouse, which she visited periodically to check for any sign of his return. It was by this means she received a visitor just before dawn, when a set of hooves landed on her roof, not far from where her brother slept in the other room. She put on a familiar pegasus disguise—the one she’d made with Tailslide’s help—before hurrying upstairs to check. The pony waiting for her looked entirely unfamiliar, an older male wearing a heavy pack and traveling cloak with gaps cut for his wings. He looked up as she emerged, watching silently.  “Did you bring any avocados?” she asked, both wings open instinctively. That made sense for real pegasi, who could fly to escape danger—considerably less so when she had spent her last few weeks as a unicorn, and never learned.  “Seventeen,” answered the stallion. “But one spoiled on the way.” Then he stopped, tilting his head slightly to the side. “What is an avocado?” “A delicious fruit from our homeworld,” she answered. “Green with a hard pit at the…” she trailed off, backing towards the stairs. “We shouldn’t talk out here.” He followed her inside, just through the open doorway. They didn’t descend the stairs, not even to check for listening ears. When they could sense nearby emotions, there was no reason to bother. “You’re back from visiting your people…” Amie said, as soon as the door was shut behind them. “What did the Elders say?” His face barely twitched, betraying none of his emotions underneath. Almost nothing made it through the cracks—eagerness, relief, and amusement. They were so faint when coming from another changeling that it was hard to get them straight. “You survived on your own, Amie. I am surprised, and relieved. Do the ponies of Agate know of your presence here?” She shrugged. “One does, technically. But he’s taking a risk by letting me work for him, so it’s mutual.” Pachu'a reacted instantly. His wings opened, and he backed towards the door, flipping his robe aside to reveal a long metal dagger, easily within reach. “What leverage did you use? Not hope, not pride, joy, or love—which feeling gives you sustenance, anyway?” “Which feeling?” It was her turn to be confused, as much by the rapidity that Pachu'a changed subjects, as the strange things he said. Which feeling, as though it was only one? “Lots of things? I’ve felt, uh… love, compassion, joy, appreciation… probably more.” She eyed his knife, and didn’t move closer. “What did your Elders decide, Pachu'a? Are they going to help my people, or not?” She felt almost as much confusion from the other changeling as she was experiencing herself—so confused that she wondered if they were even speaking the same language, for a moment there. At least it passed quickly. “I’ve come with a small expedition—ten strong hunters, expert in stealth, with a peace offering of glamour. We’re prepared to travel north as soon as the sun rises, under cover of miners visiting Motherlode. We’ll divert on the way, and cross into your settlement.” He kicked the door open behind him, extending one hoof. “We’ll need you to travel with us, to make introductions.” Amie winced, remaining where she stood. “Well, uh—“ “This place seems secure,” he said, dismissively. “I’m sure your brother will be fine. If you’re worried..” He unclipped a canteen from his belt, tossing it down the stairs. “Give him that. A week’s worth of glamour at least. We’ll be back by then.” Amie shook her head once. She definitely wouldn’t leave Wes behind, no matter how secure she thought her new home should be. Which was probably not at all, if she stopped visiting Ivy inexplicably. But that wasn’t the reason she refused to go. “I can draw you a detailed map, but I can’t come with you to make introductions.” “Why not?” Pachu'a closed his wings, expression hardening. “They’re your swarm. Even if no queen has appeared from among you, you must feel some sense of loyalty to your kin. You felt enough to beg for relief on their behalf.” “It’s not that!” She backed away, retreating a single step down. “When we first got to Equus, we didn’t know how dangerous it was. My brother and I… were trying to leave camp. On our way out, we crossed the Changeling Containment Perimeter, and the guards discovered us, killing several of my swarm.” The word felt strange on her tongue, but it was clearly what Pachu'a expected. “There are no surviving witnesses from camp, other than my brother and myself. That’s why my brother and I are out here—they think we’re murderers.” He rolled his eyes. “Amie, the truth of your words is manifest in your emotions. You can’t know they blame you, you aren’t there! And if they did, they will sense your feelings, and know you speak the truth. I feel it now, you have taken no lives. So why worry?” If she pushed too hard, would Pachu'a abandon his expedition, and leave Stella Lacus to its fate? “They don’t know their powers!” she hissed. She couldn’t keep her feelings suppressed the way he did, and she didn’t try. Let him feel the full weight of her fear, and the greater anxiety she felt for Wes’s safety. Maybe they would crush him the way they crushed her.  “Listen to me, Pachu'a. You said your Elders knew there was something strange here, right? So tell them that. The camp director is an old man named Mr. Albrecht. When you’re with him, you can tell him the truth. I found you, told you that my campers were starving, and hoped you would be able to help us. He’s a stern, prideful man—but he cares more about keeping his campers alive than anything else. He’ll be receptive, because we’re desperate.” None of this was exactly good information to give to the other party in a negotiation. What future waited for Stella Lacus, if the swarm Pachu'a came from knew how weak and helpless they were? Pachu'a pawed at the ground, radiating unhappiness and mistrust. Finally, he spoke. “You are a hunter yourself, Amie. You must sense how dangerous this feels. You send my group into a mountain patrolled by Equestrian soldiers, into a swarm on the edge of starvation and surrounded by enemies. What stops them from attacking us? My hunters are strong, but we are few.” What could she say? “Make sure you aren’t wearing pony disguises,” she said. “I’ve sent messages back since I got out, warning them about Equestria, and trying to make my case. If you look like us, that will give them less reason to fear.” Pachu'a glanced over her, then back down into the building underneath. There was only one creature there, with feelings radiating up towards them through the floor. Her brother dreamed, and so was surrounded by peaceful, comfortable feelings. “I will go,” he finished. “But in exchange, I demand an oath. An oath that when I do, your brother will accompany me to the cliffs. You may come as well, if you wish. But your brother will come, and be a guest of the Elders.” He extended his hoof again, expectant. “Give me your word as a hunter, Amie.” There was nothing inherently magical in a promise, exactly. But with their ability to sense emotions, Pachu'a would know if she made the oath with any hesitation of doubt. She couldn’t say anything she didn’t mean and expect him to agree. “Will my brother be treated well?” she demanded. “I’ll do anything to protect him, Pachu'a. I have never killed anyone before, but I will if they threaten him. Will they dissect him, feed on him, do anything to hurt him?” Pachu’a’s leg sagged, expression bewildered. “Who hurt you that you would ask such questions, Amie? What does guest mean where you come from? There will be no harm, even if you are the eggs of another queen.” He raised his leg again, insistent. “Make this oath, and I will deliver aid with my hunters. I can promise nothing of what agreement we will reach beyond that.” “I would swear,” she began. “But I’m the wrong person to ask. We need to wake Wes, get his promise.” “Promise you will allow it,” Pachu'a insisted. “Then we will ask him.” “I swear,” she said, taking the extended hoof. “I’ll encourage him, and not stop him from going with you.” Pachu'a lowered his leg, satisfied. “The sun is already rising. Let me speak with him, while you draw a map. My hunters and I are already familiar with the area, but not the new mountain. Focus on this.” Within the hour, Pachu'a was gone with his group. Once he had a personal oath of consent from her brother, he was eager to get on the road to camp. Amie sat across the table from Wes, who sipped at a steaming cup of coffee. Unfortunately for her, the familiar relief of caffeine did her no good, so she could only watch. “You trust they’ll help in camp?” Wes asked, setting down his mug. “I thought the plan was getting to the capital and studying their library for a spell to send everyone in Stella Lacus home.” “The campers have to be alive to send home, Wes. They were already hungry, hunting the mountain bare. They might be starving by now. Besides…” She reached over, resting one hoof on his shoulder. “We aren’t the first humans to end up here. I know we only have two groups to compare against—but I can’t help but notice they’re still here. What if we can’t ever get home?” Wes dropped his mug. He whimpered, eyes filling with tears. “N-never see Mom and Dad again? Look like this… f-forever?” She rose, walked around to the other side, and wrapped her foreleg around his shoulder. “I’m not saying it’s true. We don’t know yet, there’s no reason to give up. I’m just saying, we have to explore every option. Those campers are going to starve if no one does anything—or worse, they’ll be stuck there until they’ve gone crazy with hunger, then wander out and get killed by the Royal Guard as they forage past the line. They need this deal to work out. That might mean we take a detour for Pachu'a’s tribe.” Wes nudged up against her, whimpering with pain. Even so, she felt his love as powerfully as ever, that desperate need for support and dependence on her, refilling her magical reserves. What little they had drained, anyway. Amie spent most of her days full to bursting with friendship. “I can’t hide in this apartment any longer,” he said, pushing in his chair. “Agate has a library waiting for me, and from now on I’m spending every day there.” He backed away from her, shook himself out—then he changed.