I heard Iqqel groan in frustration as I zipped away towards the reception platform.
I wish I wasn't such a nuisance to her... I just get so nervous when she's around! I feel like everything I do just makes her angry at me...
I slowed down to a trot as I thought over our conversation.
Did I really suggest we party our way through the Hive? That's so absurd! Parties take a lot of preparation and planning, and the mess and chaos it would create would be all kinds of trouble!
I tried to shake my head of these thoughts as I drew near my destination. I stood on the thin wooden elevated platform for disembarking passengers as the train started coming in to a halt. It wasn't much, but the Hive had made it and laid these tracks for the Exchange Program train in just a few short weeks – a testament to our organizational and labor skills.
I felt a momentary surge of pride before I reflexively smacked a hoof into my face
Party contest?! I was repeating that rubbish Piri-Knuth told me!
I thought back to a brief rant the young female Feeder had treated me to on Pinkie Pie and her love of partying, which had briefly mentioned something called “party contests” and the vagaries of victory therein.
I was just trying to seem enthusiastic and energetic... I didn't want Iqqel to be upset because I invited Pinkie – I didn't expect her to come so soon! I acted so stupid... what must Iqqel think now?
I found myself biting my lower lip – an old habit of Chrysalis' I seemed to have inherited – as tears came unbidden to my eyes.
Not helping! Crying isn't going to solve anything! Queens don't cry!
I was just in the middle of wiping my face off with a hoof when I realized the train had stopped, and the doors were opening. The nervous energy that had made me so erratic since learning that Pinkie would be arriving that day started rising again as I watched changelings flood off of the colorful metal machine.
But all that came off of the train were changelings.
Where is Pinkie?! Is something wrong?!
I watched in horror as the train doors closed, no pink pony in sight. I was about to rush to the conductor to plead for an explanation, when a sudden explosion from behind me nearly caused me to jump out of my skin.
“SURPRIIIIISE, CHANGELINGS! YOUR HIVE HAS BEEN INFILTRATED BY NONE OTHER THAN SUPER SPY, PINKIE PIE! Hey that rhymed!”
I whirled on the spot to face the source of the shout, seeing a giggling pink pony taking off a fake changeling head.
“No fair! That's a completely convincing changeling costume!”
“Oooh, alliteration! Good comeback!”
The giggling intensified as the pink pony stripped out of the rest of the costume. Something about her attitude made me relax, and forget about all the little nagging worries I had. I found myself giggling as she tripped over the last leg of her suit.
“If you want to make infiltrator-class, Pinkie” – I snickered – “You're going to have to get better at changing your disguises!”
Pinkie shook the last leg of the costume off and started bouncing up and down excitedly.
“Iiinfiltrator class? That sounds like fun! Would I, like, dress up as a changeling, but then dress up as Pinkie Pie and then dress up like a changeling, so that later in the day I could take off the changeling costume-and-then-I-would-take-off-the-Pinkie-costumeandthenyouwouldthinkIwasachangelingbutI-”
I found myself bouncing up and down with her, listening to her rant as it quickly became all but incoherent.
“-and then just before I leave I'll yell 'SURPRIIIISE' again and I'll take off the Princess Celestia costume and everybuggy will be like –” she took a massive inward gasp of air, which I figured she needed anyway – “SO YOU MEAN WE DIDN'T HAVE TO WORRY THIS WHOLE TIME?!”
“That sounds HILARIOUS!”
“Really? I should do that!... oh, but I guess I can't, now.”
Pinkie looked downcast, and I found myself scrambling to cheer her up.
“That's fine! We'll have lots and LOTS of fun anyway! There's so much for you to see and I've been looking forward to meeting you SO MUCH!”
“Really?! Oooh! Oooh! I get to be an important pony! I can act all-” and she stood up on her hind legs, thrusting her nose in the air and haughtily crossing her forelegs high on her chest.
I found myself giggling uncontrollably, and somewhere in the back of my mind I realized that the area had been saturated in love energy at some point. Pinkie seemed just as susceptible as I was, though, as she started giggling uncontrollably as well, and soon we were both bouncing up and down in cadence with one another.
It honestly kept up like that for a while before I decided to just start bouncing towards the warrior cluster Kekay, where I figured Iqqel would want us to head.