//------------------------------// // Oops!: 4 // Story: They're home. // by Nameless Narrator //------------------------------// The hot chocolate is gone, and so are the hot pocket, the burger, and both wrappers. The tray has been returned, and Smiley’s story keeps going. Night Hunter finds himself gritting his teeth as he glares at one tablet which Smiley slowly fills with words over and over and over, piecing together fragmented threads of a story over the course of an hour. Finally, he just can’t take it and puts his hoof on Smiley’s head, rubbing her behind the ear. “I’ve read enough, Smiley,” he pulls the small mare close without regard for protocol, and she wiggles tighter against his side, “It’s not your fault.” [but-] “Not. Your. Fault,” Hunter gently pushes Smiley’s writing hooves down, “Nothing you wrote was something you should regret.” [not good enough] “Smiley, if you, or anypony else for that matter, blames you not for screwing up but for not being far better than your equals… that pony, or a changeling, isn’t worth listening to.” [Failed best number. Failed 36658. Failed again. 10000 knows] “Everypony makes mistakes. Anypony who tries to make you pay for somepony else’s isn’t your friend.” [10000 friend] Night Hunter sighs. Words won’t help here so he just hugs Smiley and sits there until she lets the tablet hang on her neck, her writing goop stick glued to it. They sit like that until they hear the distant tolling of a bell announcing 9 o’clock in the evening, the time when they were supposed to meet up with Gloom and 99999. “Moon damn it, Gloom. Where are you?” Hunter curses quietly, “I’m really not in the mood right now.”   Thankfully, all roads of Ponyville leading to the train station are wide open, and his eyes used to the night spot two slowly approaching blue dots in the distance. He waits and squints until 99999 comes into view, Gloom sitting on its back while hugging the backpack, swaying softly from side to side. Eventually, the reason how she’s managing to remain atop the drone is revealed to be a layer of goop presumably gluing her legs and backside to 99999’s back. Despite the size difference, the drone’s breathing is quicker but otherwise it doesn’t look bothered by Gloom’s weight. Thank stars.  “Heya, Smiley! Hello again, Mister Night Hunter!” 99999 greets the duo cheerfully, “I was worried you wouldn’t be here because I thought it might be Miss Gloom’s sleepy time already.” “... much chair wobbles, Hunty…” mumbles Gloom. “What the buck, Gloom?” Hunter breathes out quietly, “I’ve never seen you this messed up.” “...I wanna huggy chair too… ‘s not fair only Luna gets one…” “99999, can we somehow unglue her from you?” “Yup, easy. We’re used to carrying big stuff,” replies the drone and the goop turns into water as the drone absorbs the love out of it, which leaves Gloom free to slide off onto Hunter’s lowered barrel. “Thanks. Sorry you had to take care of her.” “It’s okay. She was very nice and refilled me,” 99999 hops onto the bench next to Smiley, “Let’s share.” The two huddle together while Hunter stabilizes Gloom on his back where she quickly falls into some level of unconsciousness. “I’d like to stay with you two until the train arrives, but I have to get her away from here before she throws up all over the platform.” [Got ticket] “Good. Don’t forget - it’s an express to Las Pegasus. You still have to get a ticket to Northern San Palomino from there,” Night Hunter reminds them of the route and Smiley nods, “And Smiley? If things don’t work out… feel free to come to Canterlot. 65536 will be happy to see you and we’ll always find a place for you.” Smiley smiles, scribbles, and shows her reply: [Must earn home] “You will, just maybe not the one you want right now. You are stronger than you think,” Hunter starts walking away, “Goodbye and good luck, you two.” “Byyye, Mister Night Hunter,” calls out 99999 and Smiley waves.  Gloom’s unfurled wing hanging from Hunter’s side wobbles at them too.  *** “Nnnngh…” 10k grits its teeth so hard that even the comparatively tiny drone fangs painfully grind against the inside of its mouth, “You can do it… you’re still… a drone…” Inside the High Score Cavern, the drone leader is once again not feeling like a drone at all as it slowly creeps forward with a big stone slab on its back, panting heavily and groaning in pain. While the slab would at least inconvenience a pony of Big Mac’s size, by all rights, 10k should still be able to carry it on its back from one end of the HSC to the other without significant problems. Granted, even the visible part of 10k’s vast injuries easily explains all problems the drone might have with moving something of easily ten times its weight, and the drone itself should know best how deep the real physical wounds go. “This is… you. This is what… you’re for. Carrying… and digging…”  Yet, it keeps trying. Despite pieces of its fractured carapace flaking off as they grind against each other, despite green slime oozing through the cracks at every movement, despite blinding pain that any drone could feel through their links just by being close enough to 10k, it keeps trying to be who it’s supposed to be. And failing. 10k yelps as its foreleg buckles with a sickening crack when it raises the other to take another step, thankfully in such a way that the slab slides directly sideways on the floor instead of crushing any part of the drone further.  “What the holes are you doing?” asks a voice that’s more annoyed than worried despite coming from another drone. Why that’s the case is easily explained by the drone’s hive link revealing rank 99000, although 10k’s mind is too occupied by agony to analyze the tone anyway. The drone’s current situation is making Chrysalis’ mental influence blocking any suspicion regarding her behavior unnecessary. Still, once ‘99000’ approaches 10k, the question repeats in the form of, “What happened?” “Just… trying to… carry the big stone… around,” without the crushing burden,10k’s breath is stabilizing, “Like any other drone can.” “Aren’t you supposed to be the drone thinker exactly because you’re physically limited right now?” asks 99000 before adding, “And, from what I’ve heard so far, you’re doing a good job.” “That hurt my head last worky time, digging and carrying hurts my everything else,” sighs 10k, “But all the scheduling is ready for 65536’s stay here.” “Isn’t it supposed to stay here for at least a week?” “Yes, but the new way of mining organization needs me to plan far more ahead then just for the next worky time,” with a groan, 10k pushes itself up from the small pool of ooze and chitin chunks, “I just wish my head didn’t resist as much as the rest of me when I try to be a drone.” 99000, hesitantly, pats 10k’s head, coupling it with a love refill and mentally preventing 10k from questioning what’s happening. All the drone leader’s allowed to think is that it feels a little better and significantly recharged without worrying how that came to be. To Chrysalis, the mind control resistance is less an unbreakable fortress and more a single impassable wall - still an obstacle but one that she can work around. “You’ll get used to the mental strain eventually and the headaches will stop,” 99000 changes the subject when it notices something bright green from the corner of its eye, “Is that another of 99856’s resin experiments?” it shoots a suspicious look towards the slime. 10k shakes its legs one by one to feel if there are any serious problems caused by its carrying attempt. Just dull pain all over and the now persistent, sharper cutting-grinding along its carapace’s cracks, so nothing new.  “It’s not,” 10k shuffles over to the slime that’s slowly but steadily moving through the HSC and leaving behind random lines of cleaner stone floor, “99066 fell into a cavern full of these under the black-crunchy deposit we’ve started mining for 99856’s experiments, and brought one here.” “Huh, something that’s not trying to eat changelings on sight?” 99000 pokes the slime blob which jiggles, “I guess it was bound to happen one day.” “I don’t think it has eyes, so maybe that’s it,” 10k shrugs, and looks closer at the floor, “It seems to eat dust, especially the black-crunchy. Note to 99856 - do not leave doors open or the goop friend might eat its stuff.” The mention of the chemist reminds Chrysalis of her original reason to visit this place.  “I’ll do it,” says 99000, “I was on the way to see it at work anyway.” “Nice,” 10k finally conjures a small smile, “It’ll love to know there’s another drone interested in its experiments.” “That I certainly am,” 99000 smirks. “Great!” 10k doesn’t register the sinister tone of the other ‘drone’ even without any mental block, “I’ll leave you to it. There’s something I… think I should talk about with 99.” “She’s training with 387, but they should be finishing by now, and then she’s supposed to guard the throne room again,” says 99000 and immediately blocks 10k’s question regarding how a common drone would know that. This leaves 10k with only one way to proceed, which is: “Thanks,” it smiles and carefully walks off. Before 99000 heads to 99856’s laboratory, it stops by the slime which is moving at a glacial pace in a direction that even to Chrysalis trying to analyze its patterns and assess its threat feels entirely random. Her changeling instinct that allows her to control and drain love from non-equines and creatures of limited intelligence fails her as well, so all that’s left to think is that it’s just some kind of… blob on the level of intelligence of an insect, if even that. With that resolved to her satisfaction, Chrysalis finally moves onto more pressing matters. *** By the time 10k reaches the throne room at its slow pace, it’s breaky time. “Hi, 99!” 10k greets the visibly exhausted mare whose carapace is dented and cracked in places, oozing the same brown-tinted, green mess as the drone’s persistent wounds, “Wow, you don’t look good. Should I send someone to fetch 57999?” “Combat training against 387 does that,” 99 shakes her head and smiles, showing a gap in her upper row of teeth explaining her slight lisp, “I’ve got nothing planned for the rest of the day so I’m letting it heal naturally.” 10k pauses and scrunches its nose in thought.  “Is your missing tooth somewhere or did you eat it?” “What?” 99 tilts her head in puzzlement, “Why do you ask?” “I’m just wondering if any drone ever had a high rank’s tooth for trading.” “If you want it, stop by cave -a-t-11,” 99 shrugs, adding with a chuckle, “You’re free to keep all the blood you can mop up too. You don’t need to ask 387 for permission, because I’m pretty sure all the abstract art on the floor is from me.” “Hey, that’s not a bad idea!” says 10k, making 99 sigh. “That wasn’t a real suggest- nevermind,” she shakes her head, “What brings you here? Unless it’s poor, bruised me, I’ve got bad news.” “Actually, it is you,” 10k looks upwards, directly into 99’s smashed face. “Huh,” she finds herself at a loss for words, “Well, here I am.” 10k taps its hoof softly against the floor, wondering how to begin. “I… don’t know what I am,” it dives head on into the problem, “I’m supposed to be a drone, but I can’t dig anything without passing out in pain. I can barely carry a third of what any normal drone can before my carapace and the green stuff underneath starts falling off. The others say that I should be a planner and thinker now that I can’t be a proper drone, but I did that and my head just hurt, I could barely see, and in the end I passed out too. The voice said I should talk to you for some reason.” It has no idea why, after a moment of surprise, 99 frowns, much less why her frown turns into a scowl. For the first time in its life, though, 10k isn’t terrified in such a situation, and just waits. 99 leans down, her nose almost touching 10k’s, looking for signs of anything other than genuine curiosity. “What voice told you to talk to me?” she asks carefully. “Uhh, the voice,” replies 10k, “It never talked to you?” “I have no idea what you’re talking about,” she puts a hoof on the drone’s shoulder and says firmly, “Tell me everything you know about this voice.” “It’s just a voice. It knows a lot about us drones and it helps us when we have important questions. That’s all.” “Can all drones hear it?” “I know 99380 talks to it a lot, and I think 99111 sometimes does too,” 10k rubs its chin, “I didn’t ask around, really.” “10k, I need to look into your head. Don’t resist.” “Sure,” the drone shrugs. Other than 99’s inexplicable worry, there’s nothing special about the situation. 99 delves deep into 10k’s memories, guided by the drone’s mind reacting to her mention of ‘the voice’. She hears it mention her in response to 10k’s identity worries, she hears it calm the drone down during its altercation with Smiley after 47989’s death, she hears a couple other innocent conversations on the top of the drone’s mind before she overhears 10k’s dialogue with the voice when it thought it was dying on the island. It’s unlikely that 156 or 387 –the only ones she talked to about her ‘identity crisis’ to get the insight of a warrior and an infiltrator– are putting on some elaborate prank. Whom could they have told, though? Chrysalis is the obvious- “99, I only believed you would be the right one to ease 10k’s mind because you worry about a similar thing,” a voice- the voice rings through 99’s link with no identifiable source. “Who. The. Holes?” 99 immediately fires up her mental skills to the maximum to seek the source of the voice and finds… nothing. Alright, calm down, 99. If you can’t read or even find their signature, there’s a limit to how far a changeling can transmit. Who’s in the vicinity? “Please, calm down,” says the voice, “You won’t find anything.” YOU’RE READING MY MIND?! “In a manner of speaking yes,” says the voice, “but also no. It’s complicated. Can you stop freaking 10k out at least?” 99 looks down at the drone who, while still waiting, has shuffled a little bit away in response to her shifting expression and strange hive link activity.  “I’m sorry, 10k,” she says, “Your ‘voice’ started talking to me.”  “Oooh, I get it. It spooked me the first time too,” 10k calms down, “It’s weird how it can talk to you even when you just think about something.” “That’s a definite yes on the weird. You wouldn’t know it but the Queen had to purge the hive mind of malevolent entities pretty much responsible for the shitty state of the hive pre-invasion once already. Whatever this voice is, it’s critical that the Queen knows about it.” “But the voice is helpful,” counters 10k. “10k, listen to me-” Before she can finish the sentence, 99 gets sucked into the hive mind and time stops. She finds herself standing in the blackness, looking at a changeling - specifically what she would instinctively call ‘default drone template 001’, a completely unremarkable, standard drone. “I pulled us here because I knew what you wanted to say,” says the drone. “Oh, you’re trying to stop me?” 99’s primes her mental defenses, although she can’t help but feel outmatched. However, awareness and confidence are the core of protecting oneself from undue influence and can supplant some technical skill, at least according to every mental specialist she’s been learning from. “Obviously, but I’m not trying to force you,” the fake drone sighs, “Your reaction is one of the reasons I haven’t talked to any ranked changeling directly yet.”   “What are you?” “I just am. That’s the only answer I’ve got.” “Name. Rank. Species. Anything.” “I have none of those. 10k thinks I’m the drones’ semi-religious idea of High Score, or some surviving consciousness of dead drones, neither of which is correct. I exist to help them, that’s all. If you let me, I might learn enough to help you as well. Before you ask just like 10k did, my first moment of awareness happened inside a hotel room in the presence of 36658, on the island where it sacrificed itself to save 10k.” “And what do you want from me?” she narrows her eyes in suspicion, “I WILL tell the Queen about this.” “I understand that,” the default drone changes into ‘default ungendered warrior template 001’, followed by a default infiltrator when 99 lowers herself into a combat stance, and finally returns back to the drone form, “However, the drones need the most help and the fact that they are trusting to almost dangerous degree makes it easy to offer a guiding advice when needed. You sowing distrust can only hurt them and,  possibly, in the long run even you ‘high ranks’. While I can’t stop you from telling 10k what you want, I just wanted to present my case.” Without any input from 99, the hive mind waiting room vanishes and she finds herself once again with her mouth still open mid-sentence. “-I will have to tell the Queen and possibly the others about whatever this ‘voice’ is. Just so you know that you guys might receive some questions soon.” To her surprise, 10k just tilts its head. “Has it never talked to any of them before either?” “You know what? Can we talk about your problem later? I think the sooner I tell someone about the voice, the sooner we can get to it. Just stay here, okay?” she puts a hoof under 10k’s chin and makes it look up at her. The ONE TIME I really need them, no one’s around. I can’t just sit here and possibly let the knowledge of an unknown hive mind entity evaporate from my head. “I won’t do that,” says the voice. Shut up, I don’t trust you! 99 only hears a quiet sigh in response. “Sure,” 10k shrugs. “Good, now where could everyone be-?” Her ears twitch. Moments later, so do 10k’s. 99’s hive link, reflexively resisting any outside influence since the voice’s intrusion, relaxes, and lets in a wave of other hive links coming from the direction of the tunnels. Just like with hearing, 10k catches on as well while mouthing: “What?” She can sense almost every single drone heading towards the surface, the crowd led by 99111. WHY IS EVERYTHING SUDDENLY HAPPENING AT ONCE AND WHERE IS EVERYONE WHO MIGHT KNOW WHAT TO DO?! Wait… do I smell smoke?!