Amie left Agate less than an hour later, traveling with her brother. She'd pushed things so late with Tailslide that they very nearly had to sneak past the gates and get around the curfew.
Wes surprised her with a new body just before they left, a pegasus similar to the form she'd given Rick. She suspected he had copied it from him, only changing the color of his coat. "You didn't want to keep using the unicorn?"
He nodded. "He didn't seem like the kind of pony who would go on adventures like that. He wants to stay safe inside the city walls, surrounded by his books. Where we're going, I need to be an adventurer like you!"
"I don't know if I qualify. But I'll take the compliment.”
They carried far less on this trip than their flight from Stella Lacus. Some camping supplies, but neither gun, nor very little of the human artifacts in general. Only their phones and a single solar charger came with them. Even that much was a risk, depending on the generosity and honesty of strangers. But if they couldn't trust their future allies, Stella Lacus really was screwed.
"I wish we had more time," Amie continued, as soon as they were out past the wall, and any chance of being overheard. Strange how fast she could adjust to having a new pony beside her, with a new scent, new voice, new appearance. She could easily accept Wes's new identity, while still curious about how he might behave. She had only herself as a sample so far, to test what she thought about how form affected behavior. "I would've bought camping gear from the ponies instead of bringing our old stuff."
"Ponies can make it better?" Wes asked, curious.
"Not even close," she answered, without thinking. “It's heavier, bulkier, and worse in every way. But the stranger stuff ponies find, the more reason they'll have to be suspicious if they search us."
Wes shrugged. "You think that's a problem where we're going? Around... others like us? Aren't we on the same side?"
Amie didn't answer for a long time. They walked the same trail to the lake that Amie had traveled the day before. Part of her wished Tailslide was coming instead. Her brother was naive and defenseless. Tailslide, by contrast, was a royal guard, powerful and confident.
But lying to Wes wouldn't make the situation any easier. "Imagine a forest near a city. We are the wolves who live in that forest. The people in the city want to hunt us to extinction. We can work together with the other wolves to stop this from happening, to learn the best hiding places and ways to hunt. But at the same time, we can't forget that we're spending time with wolves. We eat the same food, and their teeth are as sharp as ours. Sharper—they're older, they know the forest better than we do."
"I... think I understand." Wes slowed as they reached the abandoned dock. All the same boats were moored here, untouched from when Amie had been here last. Her coins were still the only ones in the bucket. "We don't have a choice, we need the other wolves to survive. But they don't need us."
She tossed in a few more than before, then unhooked the rowboat. This one isn't gonna get returned. My apologies, whoever runs this place. "Exactly. We have to convince them we don't want to eat any of the same food, but that we're good friends to have. We're not a threat, but we're not too weak either. We're useful."
Wes nudged the boat nervously, spreading both wings. Even without the heavy saddlebags, there was no chance he could fly with them. "You know how to do that?"
Not a clue. Amie couldn't get away with lying to Wes, even when it was only meant to reassure him. "I'm going to play it by ear. I know... what the camp has to offer. And I know some ways having us around could be helpful. The part I don't know is how not to look too vulnerable. I've spent weeks with ponies, learning how they're like. I know nothing about changelings. I only learned how to share magic this morning, when Pachu'a showed me."
"And we still don't know why you get to have hair." She urged him into the boat, and finally he complied. She did the hard work, rowing them with both legs. But Amie had always been the more physical of the two. Taking care of her brother was just the way things worked.
She couldn't enjoy the sunset like she had the night before. Instead of an evening alone with Tailslide, she would be spending her night with hunters. "Whatever happens, I'll protect you," Amie promised. "No one hurts my kids, or my family. You're both."
"Bold of you to assume I won't be the one protecting you," Wes said. He stood, resting one hoof on the seat, and posing dramatically. The sudden shift made the boat start rocking violently left and right, threatening to capsize.
"Sit down!" Amie gasped, flapping both wings, and moving opposite to him. She had plenty of students do the same thing on their sailboats, which could all be toppled just as easily.
Wes slumped back into his seat, ears flattening. After a few tense seconds, Amie got the boat under control, and was sailing them forward again. Around the bend, and she saw the same place she'd made breakfast the morning before. A single pony lingered near the trees, a muscular earth pony with paint covering the eyes in dark shadows. He was dressed differently than the last time, but Amie recognized Pachu'a, since it was the same body as his prospector.
He watched them come in silence, unmoving. Only when they reached the shore did he approach, watching as they hopped out of the water. Amie spread her wings, and tried to glide to shore. She cleared most of the way, but ended up splashing her hindlegs into the water, showering herself with a sudden burst of cold. That was far less relaxing than when she'd been a fishing bird.
Wes had worse luck, landing inches from the boat and flapping more water onto his body. He shivered, dragging his hooves through the mud. "You can't fly," Pachu'a said, watching them. "How is this possible? What skill is more essential to learn?"
"We haven't been here for generations," Amie said. Hopefully she struck the right balance, insistent without whiny or defensive. "My brother and I only gained our wings two months ago... not quite. How many newborns can fly in that much time?"
Other shapes emerged from the trees. Both were pegasus ponies, the same ones she'd seen from that morning. "We may have time for lessons on the way," Pachu'a said, waving them into the trees. "It is good we came with an expedition. We can return by rail. I do not know if the Elders will grant you use of the network to come back this way. You will need to discuss it with them."
There was one comfort when entering the woods with a group of strange men in the middle of the night—Amie could still read their feelings. They might not be powerful enough to feed on, but they would give themselves away if they were plotting something. She hoped.
"You have your own tracks? How'd you build them without Equestria noticing?"
One of the pegasi laughed. "We use theirs. Listening ears in the right places, and we know their schedules. Or if the route is too busy, we can always book a freight-car."
They did not walk for long. Not even a minute, before Amie felt emotions growing in the other of Pachu'a's hunters. Suspicion, that quickly grew into defiance. "I will go no further until we know the truth of them," Pavati said, fluttering directly into her path. "I will not be the bug to lead spies into our nest."
Magic flashed from around her, and the pegasus was replaced with a changeling. She was leaner than Pachu'a, though matched him several other ways. She had the same orange frills, and tattoos on her face and side. They were less extensive than the ones Amie remembered from Pachu'a, though, with a simpler swirl design.
She probably would've stared at them if the bug let her. Instead, the changeling advanced, baring her fangs. "Abandon the disguise, hunter. I demand to see."
"Him first." Pachu'a changed in a similar flash of magic, then gestured at Wes. "We can't return with a spy, but we also can't return without a promise fulfilled. Show yourself, as I show myself."
Wes stopped just beside Amie, touching her side for reassurance. He whimpered, wings opening. Pony wings were too heavy to buzz with his anxiety, so they just flapped once. "Relax! Just let me... I'm still new at this." It took him almost a minute to change back, with their escorts growing increasingly suspicious as the seconds passed.
Finally he vanished, replaced with the colorful variation of an ordinary changeling. Pachu'a's companions both gasped. Amie felt their shock with some satisfaction. Pachu'a experienced only a touch of relief, before turning on Amie. "Now you. I can tell you're the same bug, but it doesn't matter. You see the custom—one form is shown, another must be given in response. I for your brother, and Pavati for you."
Amie nodded. She would have to remember this particular performance for the visit ahead. God help her if she accidentally used it with a pony. "I understand." She closed her eyes, then shed her disguise. It took very little concentration from her, really just a few seconds.
Amie's transformation was no more dramatic than any previous time. One moment she looked like a pony, and the next she was the scary not-pony creature. Even in the first few days she had mastered the technique, eliminating a disguise took almost no effort. It was forming the body where things went wrong.
But from the reaction of the changelings with her, Amie had done something wrong. Pavati gasped, her mouth hanging open in shock. Pachu'a froze in place, not looking away. In that instant, she felt shock from the changelings as real as any pony emotion. For the other male hunter it wasn't even surprise, but pure terror, making him retreat behind Pachu'a for protection.
Amie looked between them, flaring her wings to either side. "If I've got toilet paper on my hoof, you can just tell me," she said flatly. "Whatever you're looking for..."
Anger flared in Pavati, but not at her. She spun towards Pachu'a, baring her teeth. When she spoke, it was in a frustrated hiss. "How could you not know this? You saw her before, you testified to all of us. How is there a queen before us now?"