The wastes around the Changeling Hive were always inhospitable and The Event did little to change that. Outside of the carefully curated hanging gardens of the Hive itself, nothing grew. Out there, among the rock outcroppings, you would only find things that wished to do you harm. For a long time, that included any ponies that you would encounter.
For a brief period of history, Changelings weren’t hated by their Equestrian neighbors. They were even welcomed to a degree. Then The Event happened and the neighbors became not-so-friendly once more.
Elytra stood by Lord Commander Pharynx’s side overlooking a valley near the Hive. Several changelings were in the heart of the valley, digging. Pharynx was here to supervise and protect the hardworking bugs, while Elytra was told to tag along.
“Are you going to tell me what we’re doing out here yet?” She prodded the King’s brother once again. “Looking for buried treasure?”
“Dead Equestrians.” Pharynx responded with a grunt, his violet eyes scanning the horizon. “Some ventured too close to the Hive, so we put them down and buried them out here.” Now that he mentioned it, there were little mounds that dotted the floor of the duty valley below them. Shallow graves. “The King wants us to give them back to the Equestrians as a show of good faith.”
“And what do you think of that…?” Pharynx had always been a hard read. The Lord Commander kept everything that wasn’t anger or disgust close to the vest.
“Every creature deserves to be buried in their homeland.” Was the solemn response she received. “I’m sure the Princess will appreciate it.” While that was true, it wasn’t much to go on. This was the most she’d gotten out of anyone about the upcoming summit other than the fact that dragons would be joining them as well. “Did you ever fight any of them?” He asked after a small pause.
“I tried not to.” Elytra cast her eyes down and spoke to the dirt and rocks beneath her hooves. “There were moments when I had no choice…but I always tried to delay or scare them and not hurt them.” She recalled summoning a wall of fire while they dragged a stunned Twilight Sparkle back to the castle. “They didn’t know what they were doing. It’s not like they wanted to hurt us…they weren’t in control.”
“How do you know that?” Pharynx fired back and turned towards her. “Who is to say that they didn’t enjoy all of the killing, the slaughter? Being at peace for so long…it can’t be healthy. Something has to build up deep down, a need for violence.”
“No.” Elytra responded simply. “I was there, in the middle of it all. I…” Should she reveal what she knew? “...where I was, we changed two ponies back to normal. We cured them. I don’t think I’ve ever seen two creatures more broken, not even any of us after Canterlot could compare. They’re not violent, Pharynx. They’re not evil.”
“They weren’t.” He corrected. “Things change. They can’t stay like that forever, especially after what happened. Once you’re forced to fight, once that switch is flipped, you can’t just turn it off again. It’s not that easy.” His eyes returned to the drones diligently digging up the corpses of turned unicorns, but he looked past them as if lost in some vision. “When flight fails you even once and the fight is all you have, you start to go looking for it.”
“I know the Equestrians, I’ve seen the best of them.” A desiccated corpse was lifted from the earth and placed on top of a pile of about a half dozen similar looking bodies. “They’ll do anything for peace, for their friends.”
“Yeah, you saw the best of them. You saw what happened to them, too.” She had gathered from reports she had been allowed to read that the Elements of Harmony, save Twilight Sparkle, were killed. There was no indication of how, but it was a safe bet that using the mana pool below the castle had burnt them out. “So now that the best of them are all dead, what’s left?”
“Everypony has the capacity to be like them.”
“But do they have the conviction?” The question fell on Elytra like a weight. “We know better than any creature that being good is hard. When your back is against the wall, when you’re starving and scared…is doing the right thing worth it?”
“It’s always worth it.” Elytra was sure of that. No matter the cost, it was always worth it to be in the right. To help. Even if it cost you everything. She had been willing to die to save the world, it took a lot less to be friendly and try to be nice despite hardship. “If we have to remind the Equestrians of what they taught us, then we will.”
“You sound like my brother.” A small smile escaped the Lord Commander’s hardened exterior. “Which is something we need, I’m told.” She was going to say something, but was cut off before the thought could materialize into words. “I think I got this from here, Elytra. Head back to the Hive and get some rest.”
Elytra wouldn’t argue with Pharynx right now. Being in a coma for half of a year had left her low on energy more often than not. While she didn’t have traditional muscles like a pony would to atrophy, she still felt fatigue from even moderate exertion. Her legs were yelling at her to sit or lay down and rest.
While the Hive wasn’t absurdly far to get back to, it would be a lot easier to fly. If she could. While Changeling healing magic could repair her chitin, even help her regrow the hoof she had lost to the jaws of a unicorn, it couldn’t repair the delicate gossamer of wings. That would take something more than simple magic. So she started her tiring trek back.
The guards at the entrance to the Hive gave her nods as she crossed the threshold. The interior of the Hive was bathed in soft light that spilled through the plant laden holes that served as windows. The air inside was heavy with moisture that collected on the plants in the morning and dripped back down to pools in the floor. It was a much needed change of pace from the dry desolation outside and the cold dreariness of the Hive before the metamorphosis.
No matter how nice it was, how comfortable and soft it all felt. It still didn’t feel like home to Elytra. She yearned to go back to Equestria, to find her friends and let them know she was okay. Moreso than anything else, she wanted to go find Cheerilee again. Nopony had believed in her more than the teacher from Ponyville and she still needed to make good on a promise she had made.
The first step in fulfilling that promise would be getting back to Equestria, and that meant somehow being partial to the meeting between whichever Princess or Princesses showed up here and King Thorax. So how to do that?
Well…she had information that might prove valuable in negotiations with the Equestrians. She was at the heart of it all, she saw and knew things that the ponies obviously didn’t want getting out. Was she really willing to betray the trust of the creatures who had given her a second chance?
To a degree, yes.
—-
“Scootaloo, come in here please! Dinner’s ready!” Cheerilee called out from the kitchen as she tended a boiling pot of stew. She had started it in the early hours of the morning and let it go throughout the day and her patience was finally rewarded. The savory smell of well seasoned vegetables wafted through the home. She grabbed the ladle with her mouth and scooped some of the rich broth into two bowls until they were near full.
Filled with potatoes, green beans, carrots and whatever else Cheerilee could get her hooves on meant that it would be a filling meal and the leftovers would last them a few days. That was more important than anything considering the guards had taken away some of their food stores for the needy ponies in the cities. They would need to stretch what they had out a little more than usual.
Scootaloo came into the kitchen with a stack of papers on her back, which she hoisted onto the table before coming over to her teacher/adoptive mother and taking a bowl from the counter. Cheerilee followed behind the filly quietly, her eyes focused on the papers Scootaloo had brought along with her.
“What’s all this about?” Cheerilee motioned towards the papers with her spoon after she had sat down across from her charge. “I know you don’t have that much homework and I don’t think mail ponies are supposed to take their work home with them.”
“They’re letters to me!” Scootaloo answered proudly. “I talked to Mayor Petals and got the address of every government place she could think of and wrote letters asking if they knew where Sweetie Belle and AB are! Almost every one wrote back to me! One of them has to know something, then I can write them and we can get the Cutie Mark Crusaders back together!”
“Scootaloo…” Cheerilee sighed. She had so much to say, but the little voice in her head kept her from letting any of it slip out. “...I hope so. For now let’s put those down so we can eat, okay?” Kindness won out over needless cruelty in her head and she gave Scootaloo a smile. “I’ll help you sort through them after dinner.”
So the two former Ponyvillians sat and ate in silence for a few minutes, enjoying the hearty broth that Cheerilee had cobbled together from what she had. There was a simple pleasure in sharing a meal with the filly in her care. In these moments, where they could just focus on each other and eat while forgetting the world outside. It almost felt like they were a real family.
“Do you think we’ll get snow for Hearth’s Warming this year?” Scootaloo finally spoke up between spoonfuls of dinner. “I know the radio keeps saying we’re not getting any snow…but surely they’ll let us have a little for the holidays, right?”
“We can hope.” Cheerilee replied with a slight smile. “I think ponies could use a little snow day and some holiday cheer.” Cheerilee thought for a second and gave a little shrug. “As long as it’s not too cold the crops could survive a day with a little dusting, right?”
Scootaloo just shrugged and went about eating while reading one of the papers she had brought with her despite Cheerilee’s chiding. There was no use in harping on the subject, as Cheerliee didn’t want to upset Scootaloo. This, finding her friends, was important. Their reunion, if it would ever come, would be a sign for all three of the fillies that everything would be alright again.
Scootaloo’s spoon dropped unceremoniously into her bowl as she stared at one of the papers. The little wings on her back started to buzz as a smile spread across her face and a light Cheerliee hadn’t seen in a while sprung forth in the filly’s eyes. The little pegasus jumped out of her seat and hovered for a brief second.
“Appleloosa!” Scootaloo exclaimed. “Applebloom is in Appleloosa!”
Cheerliee joined in the smiling and she wanted to get up and jump and cheer with Scootaloo, then the dread set in like a heavy fog. Scootaloo had been out when the report had come over the radio the other day, and Cheerilee hadn’t told her about it because it seemed inconsequential. It had been an act of brutality by the Royal Guard and it had taken lives, but it hadn’t been important.
Now it was.
Now the decision whether to tell Scootaloo or not was on the table, and needed to be addressed and decided immediately. Could she snatch defeat from the jaws of victory so readily? Could she really snuff the flame of hope?
No.
It was decided right then and there. She couldn’t be the one to break this to Scootaloo, at least not yet. Maybe if it came up again she could feign ignorance and act just as shocked and disappointed as Scootaloo would be. This wouldn’t be easy. The idea of her former student who had already lost so much, losing even her life, settled on her heart and dragged her spirit to dark places. She would have to put up the act though, for Scootaloo’s immediate happiness.
“I’m going to write a letter back right now!” Scootaloo yelled and started to run away, only to be halted by Cheerilee grabbing her tail. The mare put on the kindest smile she could possibly fake and shook her head. “Oh come on! Do I really have to finish dinner? This is important!”
“Eating is more important.” Cheerilee picked Scootaloo up and put her back in the chair at the table. “We don’t waste food, you know that. So finish, then you can write your letter. Okay?”
“Uuuuuuuugh fine!” Scootaloo grumbled under her breath, but acquiesced and returned to eating her stew while flipping through more of her letters for a trace on her other lost friend. Cheerilee was about to join her in finishing the meal, but was interrupted by a sudden knock at the door. “Are we expecting somepony?” Scootaloo cocked her head to the side and asked.
“Not that I know of…” Cheerilee tapped her hoof against the wooden floor in thought for a moment. “Stay here and finish your dinner, I’ll see who it is. I’m sure it’s just the Mayor or a neighbor. Maybe Sweet Pepper.” She trotted off towards the living room and the front door, venturing off of her path slightly to look out the front window. The sun was setting slowly and shining right through, blinding her as she tried to catch a glimpse of their visitor. With no luck there, she went to the door and opened it.
Outside was a stallion, at least two full heads taller than her. He was built almost like Big Macintosh but a bit smaller, not much smaller though. He had a light brown coat with darker brown streaks running down his sides and a shaggy chestnut mane that parted down the middle framed a pair of brilliant blue eyes perfectly.
Behind him was a pair of wagons, one hooked up to the other in a mini-caravan, with a harness to pull them sitting in the dirt in front of them. The sun was still beaming right in her face, but Cheerilee could swear she recognized one of the wagons. It was definitely one she had seen before.
“Cheerilee?” The stallion asked in a pleasantly bass-y tone.
“Y-yes. Hello.” Cheerilee shook herself from the surprise of seeing a complete stranger for the first time since they got to Hope Hollow and addressed him. “I’m sorry, you are?”
“Muddy Rivers, Ma’am.” He said with a nod. “From the-uh-” he lowered his voice to a whisper. “-Equestrian Repopulation Bureau.”
“Oh. OH!” Cheerilee felt her cheeks turn red hot as the realization hit her. She looked at the stallion again and cleared her throat before finding her words. “Right! I-I’m so sorry. I wasn’t expecting you so soon.”
“Mmm, my apologies.” Muddy said with a slight smile. “It’s been a chaotic few months for us and sometimes those fat cats at the Bureau don’t get the letters out on time. So I suppose they didn’t tell you about my special circumstance either?” Cheerilee shook her head. “Right…” Muddy sighed and cursed those ‘fat cats at the Bureau’ again under his breath. “BOYS!”
Two colts, one about the same age as Scootaloo and the other visibly a few years older and in the throes of adolescence, bolted out from the first of the wagons and raced over to Muddy’s side.
The younger colt was a pale blue with dark brown streaks running down his side just like Muddy. His smile was missing a few teeth and wild blue eyes shone through his shaggy brown mane. The older one was slate gray with a black mane and eyes the color of steel. A vicious scar wound its way from his cheek all the way down to his flank on one side.
“These are my sons: Rock-” Muddy pointed at the older gray colt. “-and Roll.” He then pointed to the younger one. “I know that it’s a lot to take in on a moment’s notice and I like to have them confirm with the mares that it’s okay. I don’t wanna impose, if this is a dealbreaker for however long I’m here then-”
“-this…this isn’t just a…y’know…” Cheerilee felt dirty talking about this, even if there was nopony around to hear her and even if she was practically whispering. “...this isn’t a one night deal?”
The response she received was a bellowing laugh from Muddy and a few snickers from his sons. “They are doing an awful job of explaining all of this, aren’t they? Every time it just gets less and less detailed. This is what we get when they have pegasi in the office, a bunch of featherbrains.” Muddy cleared his throat. “We have to make sure it…sticks. If you catch my meaning.”
“Ah.” It would certainly be a lot more awkward than just a one night fling, but it made sense that they had to make sure the repopulation part actually happened. “Well please, come in. I just cooked dinner and we have a spare room if you don’t mind sharing!” It was better to just rip the band-aid off and be hospitable towards their short term guests than stand out here awkwardly.
“Well thank you, we do appreciate it. Right boys?”
“Thank you, Miss Cheerilee.” The colts said in unison, Roll’s words a bit more sincere than Rock’s.
“Scootaloo! We have guests!” Cheerilee called into the kitchen as she entered the house with the newcomers in tow. She at least hoped the Bureau had told Muddy about her family situation and not left him in the dark like they had her.
“Scootaloo?” Muddy tapped Cheerilee on the shoulder. “You already have a foal?”
“No…” Cheerilee swallowed and licked her lips nervously as her mouth was getting increasingly dry. “...I was a teacher, y’know, before. Scootaloo was one of my students and after everything, I took her in. Her parents…” Cheerilee trailed off.
“Ah, okay.” Muddy nodded. “You’re a good pony for doing that, Cheerilee.”
“Uh, hi?” Scootaloo trotted into the doorway that led to the kitchen and looked up at the hulking stallion then to the two colts beside him. “Who are they?”
“Oh…a pegasus.” Muddy muttered behind Cheerliee.
“This is Muddy, and his sons Rock and Roll. They’re…staying with us for a little while.” Cheerliee really didn’t want to explain this to Scootaloo, at least not right now. She would get into it later with the filly and try to discuss this in a mature manner. She was a teacher, she had the talk with plenty of fillies before. Surely this would be no different.
“O…kay.” Scootaloo looked at Cheerilee with a raised eyebrow and words dripping with suspicion, but she accepted it. “Hi, I guess?” The three males behind Cheerilee simply nodded in response. “I finished eating, by the way. Can I go and write my letter?”
“Yes, dear. You may.” Cheerilee smiled and reached out to pat Scootaloo on the head. “No going outside to post it tonight, though! You can take it into work tomorrow and send it then.” There was a vocalization in the affirmative, but it went as quickly as Scootaloo did. In no time flat, the filly was off towards her room with her stack of letters.
“Boys, go on ahead and get something to eat while I talk with Cheerilee.” Like dutiful little soldiers, Rock and Roll nodded and marched into the kitchen. Once they were in there, Muddy sat on the couch with a grunt and patted the spot next to him. “Come on, I won’t bite. Just wanna talk, get to know you a bit without the kiddos around.” His eyes flashed with a certain spark that Cheerilee couldn’t deny was magnetic. It brought the blush back to her cheeks as she went over to the couch and sat beside the stallion.
“That’s a good idea.” Cheerilee nodded and brought her tail into her lap. She brushed the pale pink hair with her hoof and looked up at Muddy. “So where are you from, Muddy?”
“Beat me to the first question.” Muddy chuckled and leaned back, the old periwinkle couch groaning a bit as he did. “Here I was, had a one-liner all lined up and everything. Does a ‘do you come here often’ work? Or is it bad form these days?”
“It’s just as corny as it always has been.” Cheerilee giggled and rolled her eyes playfully.
“Oh good, so it still works.” Muddy winked. “To answer your question, I’m from a little bit of everywhere. My parents ran a barge that went up and down the Maresouri River, shipping things, trading others. I grew up on it. You?”
“Well-” Princess Luna had told her never to mention that she was in Ponyville during The Event, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t say she was from there. She just had to come up with an alternative to where she had been before Hope Hollow. When others had asked she had avoided the question, but that seemed like bad form here. “-I was born and raised in Ponyville, but I moved away a few years ago. I lived in Dodge City before…everything.”
“Ponyville?” Muddy asked, a hint of disbelief creeping into his voice. “I heard about what happened there, I’m so sorry. You must’ve lost…” The lighthearted tone was sucked out of the room in an instant and the omnipresent gloom of the present situation settled back on top of everything once more.
“...a lot of ponies, yeah.” Cheerilee whispered. “Did you?”
“Almost did.” Muddy nodded and looked through Cheerilee and into the dim past. “Me and the boys stayed safe on my boat through almost all of it. Almost made it all the way to the end. We were drifting near Cloudsdale when some of those things attacked us. They just…lined the banks and shot at the boat, sank it real fast. We got to shore and I fought them off…but they got Rock.” Cheerilee saw his jaw tighten and one of his eyes twitch. “That scar he’s got down his side…I was pinned by a few of them when one of ‘em tried to gut my boy like a fish with its horn.” Muddy closed his eyes and took a very deep breath before exhaling deeply. “Then it ended. Suddenly they changed, went from snarling and attacking to sniveling messes just like that.”
“Thank Celestia they didn’t…” Cheerilee couldn’t finish the sentence.
“The only pony I thank for that is me.” Muddy stated, flatly rejecting any praise for the alicorn. “I patched him up. The doctors we found eventually did more, but I’m the pony who saved him. I remember making a promise to him on that river bank that I would never let another unicorn hurt him ever again. They would never get close enough.” He looked Cheerilee dead in the eyes as he spoke the next words.
“That’s a promise I intend to keep.”