His plan was simple - deceptively so. An Infiltrator alone would never come up with such a scheme, no, for they lacked the chemistry knowledge that he had for so long thought of as a burden. Thorax was one of a few totally self-sufficient changelings. All he needed was Octavia's help gathering ingredients.
Octavia had not reacted when he had told her the recipe for Nectar, and would not intuit his plan or attempt to disrupt it. He could likely also use her knowledge of pony society to acquire the distilling equipment necessary to mix Nectar. The only problem was the one ingredient that Thorax could not supply or locate.
He was not at all sure what love looked like, or where exactly it came from. It was something the ponies possessed, as well as griffons and mules and all the other intelligent races, save the changelings. The details of where they kept it remained a mystery to him. He had never struck up a conversation with a Harvester, as they had greatly outranked him before his promotion, and would doubtless never be seen talking to a low-ranker like him.
Where to get it was a problem that could wait. Once he had all the other ingredients, he could then worry about the last - and most important - one.
"Where shall we conduct our next scientific expedition, Mister Hist? I'm afraid I must be in town this evening to meet the rest of my quartet, so nowhere too far away, if you please."
Octavia's saddlebag had been stuffed full of papers and spare pencils. Her eyes were alight with a new thrill that they had only hinted at before.
"I know exactly what we're going to be studying next. Has Twilight Sparkle done anything on plant species?"
"Actually, she gave me a list of important topics."
Octavia pulled out a scroll and unwound it. The bottom of the scroll hit the ground and rolled under her, continuing halfway across the street before stopping under its own weight, and certainly not for a lack of parchment. She busied herself scanning it.
"Hmm hmm, lots of plants on here. I don't think we'll be duplicating any of Twilight's research."
"Excellent. Follow me."
Thorax led the way straight towards Fluttershy's cottage on the outskirts of town. He had been feeling better as of late, even with the awful-prepared Nectar he had been forced to consume. His steps were lighter, he felt more alert and slower to tire. His excellent sleeping technique could only explain part of it, what else could be heightening his senses was a mystery.
If anything, he could view recent events as a boon. Now he could mix Nectar properly, and relieve himself the pain of having to consume that sludge for the rest of the month. Yes, his mind now was truly sharpened, and his confidence grew with each step. He could do no wrong, now.
"Mister Hist?"
Octavia was now a distance behind him, and sitting still on the ground. Thorax had noticed this, he was sure, but had ignored it on purpose, without even being cognizant of it.
He turned around and trotted back to Octavia, who wore a more muted expression than she had a moment ago.
"I don't know if anypony told you, but that's the Everfree Forest you're about to barge into."
"Yes, and? This forest will have the plant species I - we - need to examine."
"I'm sure it has no shortage of flora, it's the fauna I am worried about."
Fauna? That sounded like a female changeling's name. Another field agent?
"Oh, that will be no problem. We have a special relationship, Fauna and I, and I assure you, no harm will come to us."
Octavia was uncertain, but remembered the aardvark encounter the day previous and brought herself to the right conclusion.
"I had thought you were a pony of many talents, Mister Hist. You know, Fluttershy thought that aardvark was just thrashing you, but I knew you had it all under control."
Thorax shuddered. If his new strength was not temporary, he was considering doing some research under the revenge category.
The great arching canopy of the trees of Everfree dimmed the sun and made day into night. Only glimpses of light could be caught through the leaves as the two traveled down the path beaten through the woods. Plants species were all around them, but Thorax was interested only in certain ones. Certain ones that he did not know the appearance of.
"So, shall we get started? I'm sure there's a whole day's worth of research to be had just along this path," Octavia said.
"No, we are looking for some very specific plants."
"Oh? Do you know what they look like?"
"No. Not what they look like."
Thorax grabbed a nearby shrub, uprooted it, and proceeded to tear it apart. Octavia began scribbling notes as he did, presumably about proper botanical analysis. Once the plant had been torn to smaller shreds, Thorax ground it up with his hooves by stamping it against a rock and turning. The plant took several minutes to reduce to powder, at which point Thorax tasted it.
It tasted bitter and stung his tongue. Therefore, it was not one of the species he needed for Nectar. He knew what they all tasted like.
Octavia insisted on taking a sample of the original plant and the powder, even though Thorax had no need for it. He instead began working on the next plant species, a bramble covered in spines. It, too, tasted bitter, but a very different kind of bitter. The first one had been stinging, this one was merely acrid. Changeling taste-buds could discern several hundred types of bitter, and Thorax knew them all by a song he had composed once.
Stinging, burning, biting, slashing.
Painful, hurtful, ripping, gnashing.
From these eight, look for more.
Each splits again, into four.
Stinging hurts in just your mind.
Fast or slow, It knows but time.
Then comes the two that linger,
Stop it Hist, you're a terrible singer!
Octavia was holding both hooves to her ears and had dropped her pencil and papers. Thorax looked up from his work to see her squeezing her eyes shut. Tears had poured out and stained her fur.
"Oh - I'm so sorry. I didn't mean it!" she said.
"Mean what?"
"I - that song was just ghastly! Was that even sound? Who wrote that song you were humming?"
"I did, when I was little and shoving things in my mouth all the time."
"That - I - I," Octavia stammered. "That makes so much sense."
"I am glad you approve."
"Not of your singing. Please let me teach you how music is really made - later, when we're not in the middle of the forest."
Thorax tested all the species in the immediate vicinity, and found that none of them were Nectar ingredients. He was starting to feel a little strange, though, which he attributed to hunger. He didn't know how long it took to starve to death, but if worst came to worst, he could try going back to the hive, temporarily.
Except he didn't know where that was. A sudden panic struck him, and he stopped his work. Spiracle knew where the hive was, he didn't. Unless another agent came to rescue him, he couldn't go back. The panic dissipated quickly enough that Octavia didn't notice, and Thorax grabbed a dark-green grass and did the grind/taste test on it as well.
Other than starvation, what reason did he have to go back to the hive? It had not occurred to him that he would need to return some day, but the other Infiltrators did, didn't they? Was he any different? His assignment was high priority, but what about when it was complete?
This dark green grass had no taste at all, not even a bitter ashen one. Thorax took a bite of the powder to make sure he had gotten enough, and it still had no taste. Was this a key ingredient? Thorax wasn't sure, and he couldn't think straight all of a sudden.
Thorax reached towards the next plant, a red-and-orange little flower half a meter away. He lost his balance and tumbled over, bumping his head on the ground.
"Are you all right?" Octavia asked.
"Jusht fine. Of course I'm all right. Shhno problem here."
Octavia moved at triple speed over to him, one moment she had been across the clearing between them, the next she was beside him. Her outline blurred and she slurred as she spoke, her voice slower and lower in pitch.
"Yoouu licked thish? Thish shtuff isss a hallucinnigin. Heyyyyyyy? Cannnnn yuuuu hearrrr meeeee?"
Thorax blinked, and the inside of his eyelids shone a bright red. Blue lines whirled and collided, sparkling and shattering into a million fine points of silvery light that slid down the inside of his eyes. A roaring sound started in his left ear, and crossed through his very brain to the right side, touching every neuron between with a powerful vibration. Pain erupted in his forehead, and a crisp thwack made the world rocket back into focus.
Octavia was standing in front of him, along with her three identical twin sisters.
"Shorry to do that," all four of them said in unison, "but I can't let you passh out here. Let'sh get back to town."
"Who are they?"
Thorax pointed his hoof at the two ponies who had emerged from the shrubs behind Octavia. She turned to look, and looked back to him a second later.
"There'sh nopony there. You're shick."
"No, no. Look," Thorax said.
The two ponies started towards him, and their forms blurred and shifted as they did, revealing changelings. Octavia turned to look and again saw nothing. She held her hoof up to Thorax's forehead, and jerked it back suddenly.
"You're burning up - up - up - up - up - up - up," Octavia said. Her twin sisters each echoed the words at random, Thorax tried to concentrate on the pattern but found himself unable to fathom it. There was no pattern.
"Time to go back," one of the changelings said. The other nodded in agreement.
"Go back?" Thorax asked.
"Go back home," they said in unison.
"No! I won't go back!" Thorax shouted.
Octavia grabbed him and held his forelegs still. He fought and tried to break free, but her strength was far more than a match. The two changelings circled around him and grabbed his rear legs, then held them up in the air. They were just holding them there, not really supporting them, and Thorax's leg muscles quickly tired and began to seize.
"Go back, go back. You want to go back," the changelings chanted. Octavia joined them.
"We need to go back," she said. Her sisters kept echoing her last word: "Back, back, back, back."
Thorax panicked and fought. He swung his forelegs as hard as he could, throwing Octavia off balance as she tried to hold them down. Thorax fell over, realizing for the first time his coat was stained with sweat. Beads of it were rolling down his face and he felt points of cold all over his body where he lay on the dirt and grass.
"Stop it Hist!"
Octavia backed up and let go of him. He stood up and flailed at her again. He wouldn't go back, ever!
"Never! I want to stay here!"
Octavia wrapped her forelegs around his neck and yanked him forward as she simultaneously stood aside him. Thorax offered no resistance, unsure of what she was doing. A split-second later, she slammed his face down into the dirt, and stomped on the back of his head with her hoof.
"You're going back to the hive if it's the last thing you do. I never want to see your filthy face here again, do you hear me?" she said.
Thorax tried to look up, but the weight on his head meant he could only turn it in place. He painfully ground his mouth through the dirt until one of his eyes could see up at who was holding him.
The black face and cool green eyes of Villainous Queen Chrysalis looked down at him. Her fangs shone white and glinted in the sun as an evil smile adorned her face. Her hoof raised and came down on his face, blinding him again.
"Kiss my hooves, worm. Kiss them and be bound forever to me, as my servant."
She laughed, a shrill laugh that pounded into Thorax's mind through his ears. He closed his eyes and began to cry. Another strike came and buried something heavy into his face, scattering his tears all around. He tried to shake his head, but something was holding it in place. Throbbing sound of unearthly origin wracked his mind as he drifted off, lost in a sea of pain and confusion.
"What the hell happened to him?"
Vinyl and her guest, a large, burly minotaur, stood up as Octavia barged into the house. Hanging off her back was a sickly green Hist Amine, with several bruises along his face and body. Though his eyes were open, he was definitely not conscious.
"We were researching herbs in the forest. He licked some Rat Weed, and then he just started flipping out!" Octavia gasped out. Where the sweat on her coat began and Hist's ended, Vinyl could not be sure.
"I'll go get the doctor," the minotaur guest said. He dashed out the door as Vinyl and Octavia hauled Hist's body onto the couch and flopped him down.
"Rat Weed doesn't do this to a pony," Vinyl mused.
"Maybe he's allergic?"
"And you just let him lick plants willy nilly?"
"He's a chemist! I figured he knew what he was doing!"
"'Tavi, do most chemists you know go around licking stuff?"
Vinyl held a hoof to her chin.
"Actually that would explain more than a few things about him. I bet he ate a lot of paint chips when he was a foal."
Octavia glared at Vinyl, but the situation demanded action. She dashed upstairs quickly and came back down with a bed-sheet off of Vinyl's bed and threw it over Hist.
"Hey, y-"
"This is important, Vinyl," Octavia said with more than a little malice. She tucked Hist in tightly, and whispered, "Oh please be all right."
He was mumbling something to himself. Octavia leaned in close to hear it, but it was inaudible. All she could tell is that he was speaking very fast in whispers.
"If you don't mind me asking," Vinyl began, "why is he covered in bruises?"
"He didn't want to come with me. I think he was seeing things, things he didn't want to see."
"Oh yeah, now that's Rat Weed. Stuff gets right on top of you, if you don't cut it with any soap. So you beat him up?"
"No, I just tried to hold him. He beat himself up."
"Sure. And that guy who called me tone-deaf just fell against a doorknob three times."
"Vinyl, this is serious!"
Nurse Redheart kicked the door in and barged into the living room, followed by Vinyl's minotaur friend. She looked at the three assembled ponies for five seconds, focused on the one presently lying on the couch with his tongue sticking out, and decided what to do.
"He's the mid-towner?" she asked, pointing at Hist.
"Yes," Octavia said.
"Okay, so who's the one who's sick?"
"Uh, he is," she said.
"Who brought him here?"
"I did," Octavia said.
"Right. You two - out!"
Vinyl and the minotaur trodded outside and shut the door. Redheart needed no distractions.
"What'd he do? Flash? Smoke? Salts? Bungleweed? Red Fireworks? Nipponese Stationary? Pixel Squicks?"
"Actually, I think he just tasted some herbs we found in the forest."
Redheart gave Octavia a dirty look.
"If you don't tell me, I can't help him. What's he on?"
"I told you! It was some plant we found in the forest! We were doing research!"
Redheart looked at Hist again. She ran her hoof gently along his chest, prompting Octavia to take note. Redheart shooed her away. "I'm a professional."
His eyes were dilated and unfocused, but his breathing was normal. His heart rate was fast but within safe parameters, he was no more strained than a pony doing heavy running. His teeth, however, presented a very different story. Redheart sucked in her breath, and jerked back suddenly. Octavia snapped to attention.
"What? What is it!?"
Redheart looked at Octavia, then back at Hist. Her eyes lingered on the teeth, a story assembling in her head. Only one conclusion, based on this evidence, and 'Tavi had not come to it yet.
"Plants, huh. Was he allergic?" Redheart asked evasively.
"I don't know. Maybe?"
Redheart leaned in close. Whatever this newcomer was, he wasn't a pony. His teeth showed almost no wear, he had never eaten any significant amount of food in his life, subsisting on something else. His saliva was unable to break down the basic plant fibers he had ingested, not suited at all for anything but basic straw and simple sugars.
While this was the first changeling she had ever operated on, Redheart had read about them in her medical books. There would be no problem treating him, the question was, should she report this one to the authorities?
No. That would be breaking her solemn vow as a healer: "First, do no harm". The government had sent out notices and instructions to detain and arrest any changelings seeking medical attention, but she had determined the moment she saw those orders that they deserved to be ignored. If she did that, no changeling would seek help when injured. What then? Bleed to death, die of infection, or, as this one was, overdose on mind-altering drugs?
"His teeth, see that green near the gums?" Redheart asked. Octavia leaned in to confirm there was indeed a green film at the base of Hist's teeth.
"His saliva can't break it down, it's a genetic defect. As long as those leaves are in his mouth, he's got a constant drip. Get me some water to wash his mouth out, and he'll be good to go in an hour or two, once the drug clears his system."
Octavia fetched a cup of water from the kitchen and allowed Redheart to wash out Hist's mouth. Care was taken to prevent him choking. Redheart rolled him over on the couch and tucked the blanket up to his head.
"All right, here's what you do," Redheart said, "if he's not awake in under ninety minutes, you call me again. If he is, don't let him go running around until his headache dissipates - and he will have a headache."
"I see," Octavia said simply.
"Now, we may as well do the paperwork part while I'm here. Do you know where he keeps his ID?"
"No. When he came to town, he wasn't carrying anything. I don't think he has an ID."
"Huh. Ask him when he wakes up, I'll be at the Urgent Care tent all day today. I need to keep his files up to date in case this comes up again," Redheart said.
Redheart bid Octavia good day and headed out, allowing Vinyl and her minotaur friend back into the house. They crowded around Hist until Octavia pushed them back.
"So, what was he on? Flash? Smoke? Salts - " Vinyl asked.
"No! How many times do I have to tell you - " Octavia protested.
"I'm joking. That was a joke. He's gonna be okay, right?"
"Yes, Redheart said he'll be fine."
Vinyl and her the minotaur moved their conversation to the kitchen while Octavia kept watch on Hist. His fever went down quickly and he took on the look of a pony in a troubled sleep. Perhaps a nightmare, lingering from the drug. Octavia would not let concern cloud her judgement, and preferred to let Hist sleep his troubles off.
Vinyl emerged from the kitchen after an hour had passed.
"I don't think I introduced you," she said, holding up a hoof to indicate her minotaur friend. He was too tall for their house, and ducked as he walked through the portal into the living room.
"Name's Turnbull, but my friend's call me A.C," the minotaur said. Octavia politely shook his hand.
"Turnbull here is gonna put the billboard up. You gonna be okay without us?"
"I think I'll be fine," Octavia said.
"Suit yourself, I'll be back in a bit. Remember, it's illegal if he's asleep because he can't give consent."
Vinyl dodged Octavia's swinging hoof and was out the door before a chase could be launched. Turnbull shrugged and went after her.
Hist let out a cough.
"Gah - water! Water!" he sputtered.
Octavia bolted to the kitchen to fetch a glass, and Hist gulped it down immediately and completely when she brought it to him. She provided two more glasses before he was satisfied.
"Thank you, Octavia," he said. He wiped his mouth crudely on the blanket, which brought a dark smile to 'Tavi's face.
"Glad I could help. Don't get up, the doctor said you shouldn't move until your headache goes away."
Thorax laid back down and closed his eyes.
"I am sorry to inconvenience you so. You have helped me more than anyone has ever helped me in my whole life. I am not sure now if I can ever repay you."
Octavia moved in close to Hist and spoke softly. "That's okay. I'd prefer it if you never did."
Thorax opened his eyes again to see Octavia's radiance in front of him.
"But - why?"
"Think about it. If you paid me back, then you could just leave. I don't want you to leave me."
"I don't want to leave you, either."
Octavia leaned in and kissed Thorax on the cheek. A warm feeling overtook him, and he relaxed and smiled.
"How did you do that?" he asked, sitting up slowly.
Octavia giggled. "It was just a kiss."
Thorax held up a hoof to his face, examining it. He could pick out the small details on his fur, see the individual strands and feel the air flowing gently over them. His stomach relaxed, he let a feeling of complete confidence overtake him as Octavia hovered nearby. Her sweet, soft face hinted a grin as she watched him. It was only once he could tear his eyes off her that he noticed his headache had evaporated.
This was some sort of pony secret weapon, no doubt just like the ones that the changelings possessed and did not speak of. He could improve his visual acuity and change his form as a situation demanded, while the ponies could heal each other and increase physical strength and agility through some, as-yet, unknown mechanism. It was delivered by kissing, perhaps, though there was also some proximity component as well.
A knock came at the door and Octavia flashed a smile before turning to answer it. Three other ponies came in after her, and took up positions in the living room.
"Mister Hist, I'd like you to meet my quartet. This is Brass, Concerto, and Frederick," Octavia said, with a strained grin on her face. The other three ponies bowed or gave salutations. Thorax merely looked confused.
"I was not aware you had another roommate, 'Tavi," one of the stallions said. Thorax didn't know which one was which, Octavia had just waved her hoof in their general direction.
"He's scarcely been here a week. Oh - I almost forgot. Mister Hist, do you have a birth certificate or health card?" Octavia asked.
"A what?"
"Identification. The doctor needs it to keep your medical records up to date."
Records?
"They're keeping records of me?"
Brass the Sousaphonist coughed. Octavia ignored her.
"Well now is the ideal time to get that all straightened up. I doubt you want to be here and sit in on this meeting of ours, so maybe you could pay Redheart a visit? Please?"
"Yes. I must take care of these records."
"Good. I figured it was time he got going," one of the stallions said.
Thorax found himself standing alone outside the house rather abruptly. Octavia had had barely enough time to give him directions to the hospital before her friends had forced him outside. Whatever their problem with him was could wait, Thorax had a new and much more important job than even manufacturing a new supply of Nectar.
He had to get to the hospital and destroy his medical records, and he knew exactly how he was going to do it.