//------------------------------//
// Chapter 51 
// Story: Don't Bug Me 
// by Starscribe 
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Amie followed Albrecht long enough to see where he was headed, and to confirm her suspicions: the cabin he shared with his wife. The lights outside that cabin were still on, shining out at the darkened camp all around it. Stranger still, Amie was positive she saw a pair of patrolling guards circling the building. They each wore one of the camp's many target-shooting .22 rifles.

If this were her body, she could think of several ways she could try to get past them, and confront Albrecht alone. She couldn't take any of those risks with Lily.

It would be better if she could show these bugs how she really looked. Maybe some instinct would take over then, making them more willing to trust a queen. 

Her powers didn't work that way, unfortunately. She couldn’t look like another bug, no matter how much she wanted to.

Amie used her bat again—someone smaller than Albrecht, so it wouldn't look like she was a physical threat. Being a bat with darker colors would keep her looking similar to the bugs, while maintaining her sharp senses out in the dark. It did mean she wouldn't have magic to fight with—but if it came to a fight, she would just have to run.

Amie wasn't the only camper who tried to approach Albrecht. Most of them had very little to say, just asking for reassurance from the one they perceived as an authority figure. He told them all the same thing, that Stella Lacus was in good hands and that by doing their duty they had the best chance for survival.

Eventually she didn't feel any other changelings approaching from the gloom, and it was her turn. "Director Albrecht," she called. The whole group stopped to look in her direction.

Strange that having a normal voice was what made her stand out, when everyone else here had the characteristic reverberation of changelings.

She'd picked a particularly dark patch, where she could keep her wings folded and expose as few differences as possible. "Director..." she repeated. His guards stopped too, staring skeptically into the trees. Like the ones circling the cabin, these had rifles. And they'd learned to use their magic, enough to levitate them up into an alert position.

"Come forward," one of them ordered. "Where the president can see you."

President? Apparently the bugs of Stella Lacus had founded their own government while she was gone. "I look like a pony, but I'm not. I had to transform into one of them to get here."

A lie, kinda. But it would be true if she had tried to cross the border naturally. Hopefully that was close enough that they wouldn't be able to tell. 

She stepped out of the shadow and into the light. She kept what she hoped was a neutral smile on her face, exposing bat fangs. For once, they would actually make her look more familiar. 

They gasped, and one of Albrecht’s guards pointed his rifle in her direction. "Pony! Stay where you are!"

Amie froze, instantly obedient to the command. This was what she had feared. "I'm staying!" she shouted back. "And I'm unarmed. But I swear, if you kill me, there won't be any more relief shipments coming. You'll be on your own."

Another lie. Like the first one, it was probably the wiser answer. If Albrecht killed Lily, then she would need to overthrow him, before he could do any more harm.

"Don't shoot," Albrecht said. He held out one wing, pushing the gun aside. "I think I know who you are, but I want you to tell me."

"Amie," she answered, voice flat. Maybe that was technically a little lie too. But if Lily was still in there somewhere, she didn't object. "I need to talk to you, Director. I can't stay long."

He advanced past the guards, looming over her. Albrecht was leaner than last time, but showed none of the signs of starvation that many campers did. So he'd kept back enough glamor to keep himself going while others starved.

"What makes you think you have a choice? If I order those men to keep you here, then you're staying."

Amie shrugged. This close to him, the guards weren't pointing rifles at her anymore. If she could get away from him, she could slip back into the crowd of campers, and Lily could disappear. They'd never seen her real face. Hopefully she could stop this from becoming aggressive long before she had to run.

"That wouldn't be a good idea." She sighed. "Director, I didn't come here to fight with you. You made me a promise, and I'm here to make sure it happens."

For a few seconds, Amie felt only a maelstrom of conflicting feelings from the director. Part of him wanted to imprison her, and use her as some kind of example for the camp. She was a tempting way to expand his grip on power. But in the end, his better instincts won out.

He turned his back on her. "Search her. If she's not armed, she can come inside with me."

Amie gritted her teeth—but let them do it. At least never wearing clothes meant it was a quick process, if embarrassing. Once they could see she hadn't brought a gun under her wing, it was simple.

Next she knew, she was back in Albrecht’s office. The cabin was basically unchanged from every other time she'd visited, except that many of the numerous fancy leatherbound books on his shelves were removed, arranged on the floor in little piles. Only the titles from his previous legal career remained untouched on the shelf.

The guards didn't follow them into the building. She could still feel them outside, and the profound anger that spread from the first two to the others. Her changeling senses didn't let her feel it exactly, but she could guess. Three of their number were dead, and they blamed her.

Maybe they were right to.

"What do you want, Amie? I can see you're not starving, and you can get past our security detail whenever you want. Say what you're here to say and don't waste my time."

There was no chair on the other side of his desk. "The food we need to survive is called glamour—that's what the relief team brought. Did they tell you where it came from?"

He shook his head once. "Only that it was something changelings hunted. They seemed disgusted when we offered them some dried meat in return."

She was really here—really back in his office. This same man had ordered her brother sacrificed to discover what made him able to eat ordinary food when they couldn't. Now Amie knew the secret, and Wes was still alive. She couldn't muster any fear for Albrecht this time. Once her kids were gone, he wouldn't be able to hurt her anymore.

"To survive in Equestria long-term, we'll need glamour for everyone. Meat is unsustainable, and... disgusting, as they pointed out. I'm building a way for us to get the food we need. But I need more bugs to do it. I'm taking my students now. In exchange for their release, you'll get another aid shipment. Hopefully you can stretch it long enough for us to start gathering our own food to send back."

For a time, Albrecht sat back in his chair, quietly seething. He might be the 'president' of Camp Stella Lacus, but Amie could still feel what he was thinking. She kept her touch light, not wanting to betray this new ability. Just as she didn't want him to know that she wasn't even here in person.

"I don't have any guarantee you'll send that food once you take them," he said. "I know how loyal you were to your campers. Once they're gone, do the others starve? You could keep the relief shipment for yourself."

Amie rolled her eyes. "I could. I didn't have to send the first shipment either, Mr. Albrecht. But I'm telling you that I won't do that. My campers will not get a single drop of the relief shipment—I already have enough to feed them."

He shifted in his seat, levitating open a thick leatherbound book in front of him. It was a ledger of some kind, covered with writing she couldn't see from the ground. "Do you intend to hold this secret over us? You know how to feed us while we do not. With every delivery, you'll demand more, is that it?"

Good thing you're not our queen. Kaya probably would've cut your throat. 

"It's not a secret, it's just not something useful to you right now. I... don't have the time to explain in great detail, but I can tell you this: our species is called Changelings. We're emotional parasites—we can't survive on our own. But where other intelligent creatures are living, their positive feelings create food we can eat."

"Will you share your secret to escaping the mountain? Then we could send people out there to gather this... glamour. We wouldn't need to depend on humanitarian relief."

Amie shook her head once. "There is an entire Equestrian military base in the town at the bottom of this mountain. If they realize they can't contain us anymore, they might decide to wipe us out instead. Our numbers need to be small."

"You think your campers are the best for the job? There are other adults who would volunteer—adults should be the ones taking these risks. Your campers are children."

Amie nodded her agreement. "They are children who haven't been eating under your care. Four of them were comatose when I got here. Whatever risks are waiting for them in Agate, they're still safer than they are here."

She felt his anger again, another burst of rage and pride and blame all directed at her. His expression never changed, and he probably thought she was oblivious to all but his general displeasure. That was wrong, obviously. 

"I can't stop you from taking what you want," he finally said. "Look me in the eye and promise we'll get another shipment of supplies. Give me your word."

She stuck one hoof towards him. "I swear to these terms. You let my campers go unharmed, and I'll make sure another shipment comes."

He extended one leg, then touched up against hers with obvious reluctance. “Agreed. They can go. But when this is over—Amie, this camp is depending on you. Those children only happen to be the ones who signed up for Pioneering. Camp Stella Lacus has many hundreds of others, whose only crime was not wanting to learn how to tie knots and survive in the wild. Will you abandon them?"

"No." She settled one hoof under her. "I'm going to get us out of this, somehow. Now I need you to tell your private army the deal we just made. Nobody attacks my campers until then, nobody takes revenge, and nobody tries to stop them when they leave. Or me, obviously. Can't negotiate for more food if they shoot me."

He stood up again, pushing the chair back. "That would be easier to enforce if you hadn't killed three of them. You're not exactly popular around here."

She ground her teeth together, baring her fangs. "Maybe it's time for you to tell them the truth. Equestrian guardsmen killed them, or their own mistakes trying to chase me down a cliff. I didn't kill anyone."

"You'll need to offer more than you have if you want that. But come—I can make them let you go, anyway. I suggest you exit the camp quickly once you do. I can't supervise them all night."

“I’ll be out of here in minutes,” she agreed. “And my campers will follow. I expect to get them in the same state they were when I saw them tonight. No punishing them for what you think I did.”