Chapter 10: A New Way
Dawn broke over the Changeling Nation Hivis, it's first rays creeping over the treetops of the distant Everfree to strike the buildings of Equestria Minor. All throughout the city, changelings began to awaken and don their various disguises and uniforms, ready to go about their day. Many of them wouldn't have bothered under normal circumstances, but word had passed quickly the night before of travelers from Equestria. Though noling in Equestria Minor had participated in the failed Canterlot Invasion, word had reached them afterward of six mares who had plowed through half of the rag-tag army. "The Six", as these mares had come to be known, had been the subject of many a frightening tale over the last ten years, told to young pupae to keep them in line. "You'd better brush your teeth, or The Six will come for you tonight." Though it had started as a harmless joke, The Six had become a replacement for the boogeybug.
And now they were in Equestria Minor.
Two of the six had already awoken by the time the sun rose, and the rest were soon to follow, though not all of them by choice.
"Can't believe this," Rainbow mumbled, rubbing sleep out of her eyes. "Finally get decent beds for the night, and we barely get to use them."
"We need to get going a- a- aaaaas soon as possible," argued Twilight around a huge yawn. "The longer we're here, the more likely it is that somepony- er, someone will recognize us. I can't imagine we're exactly popular amongst the changelings after what we did during the invasion."
Rainbow smirked at the memory as Twilight knocked on Show's door. "Show Stopper? Come on, get up. Everypony else is ready to go."
"I can't go on yet!" called a voice from the other side. "Stall with the ballet from act three of tonight's opera!"
Rarity and Pinkie, the only ones to get the reference, rolled their eyes as Apple jack asked, "What the hay is he talkin' about?"
"Phantom of the Opera, dear," said Rarity. "I'd imagine that we'll be hearing several more theatrical references now that he's back on his old stage."
"Exactly!" The door swung open to reveal Show Stopper, dressed in an outfit that the girls hadn't seen before. He wore a black vest with several pockets and a short black cape that almost covered his cutie mark. A gray pauper's cap sat on his head above a jovial smile.
"Hey, what happened to your uniform?" asked Pinkie.
Show grimaced. "That tacky old thing? Stuck it in the bottom of my saddlebags as soon as I could. This getup is much more my speed."
"Who cares about clothes?" whined Rainbow. "Let's go get some breakfast already. I'm starving."
Show nodded and slipped into a Prench accent. "Oui, Mademoiselle. Let us, how you say, get some grub."
He led them downstairs an up to the front desk. "Bonjour, Monsieur," he said to the attendant. "We would like ze continental breakfast, and un table for seven, se il vous plait."
"Allez vous pendre d'une falaise, fils d'un mulet."
Being the only one who actually spoke Prench, Rarity was unfortunate enough to understand the pony's response, though the others were able to guess the gist of it from her repulsed expression. Dropping the accent, but not his grin, Show tried again. "Good morning, sir. We would like the-"
"Don't have a breakfast here," the pony interrupted. "Now get your stuff and get out. I don't want to see your kind here any longer than I have to."
Show simply nodded. "Of course. Good day, sir." He then turned and strode out, leaving the others to follow him.
"What the hay was wrong with him?" demanded Applejack.
Show sighed. "Don't be too hard on him, Jack. Not all changelings are accommodating towards ponies, especially after the invasion."
"But he seemed fine with us last night," said Fluttershy.
"What are you talking about?" asked Show, leading them to a cafe. "We didn't see him last night."
"Yes, we did," said Twilight slowly. "He's the one who met us, gave us the rooms, stoked your ego, ring any bells?"
"No no, that was last night's receptionist," said Show. "This was a different ling altogether. 7 morning specials," he added to a waitress who had been about to ask for their orders.
"Then why do they look exactly the same?" asked Rainbow. "Are they brothers or something?"
Show rolled his eyes. "No. Well, maybe, but that's not why. That's the uniform for the inn."
"No clothes?" scoffed Rarity. "Since when does that constitute a uniform?"
Show's head hit the table. "Not the clothes," came the slightly muffled response. "The look: brown earth pony with a dark red mane and tail. Anyling who works there will wear that form while on the job."
The group was silent for a moment as they contemplated that revelation. It was quite the concept to wrap their minds around, having ones entire body be a uniform.
"Wait," said Twilight as their food arrived, "then how did you know that it was a different changeling?"
Show rolled his eyes. "Apart from the attitude 180? The name on the desk changed. None of you noticed?" Seeing all six of them shake their heads, he sighed. "OK, look. If you're going to travel around changelings, you have to look for the nametags. There was a small chalkboard on the desk that read 'Five Star' last night and 'Victor' this morning."
"So, how do you tell them apart when they don't have a nametag?" asked Rainbow.
"The hive mind," said Show, taking a bite of his breakfast salad.
"The what?" asked Twilight.
Show was suddenly overcome by a coughing fit. "Sorry," he coughed out. "Bit of lettuce down the wrong pipe. O answer, changelings share a communal hive mind. It's, kind of difficult to explain. Basically, each changeling has their own mind, but they also have access to a sort of artificial mind. Think of it as a massive group telepathy. It's not strong enough to read each other's minds, but it is enough for them to tell each other's names."
"Yeah, about those names," said Rainbow, "why did one of those guys have a pony name but the other have a gryphon name?"
"Good question," said Show. "There are actually very few changelings who have traditional changeling names. It's mostly the nobility that do. Everyling else takes pony names, gryphon names, really any sort of name." He paused to take a bite and look around. "Speaking of which, take a look around. It looks like there's a new trend as far as cutie marks go that might be helpful."
Everypony looked around as they ate, and it quickly became obvious what Show was talking about. Almost everyling around had a name emblazoned upon their flanks where their cutie marks should be. There was quite a variety of names, too. There were pony names such as Snowball, Summer Gale and Quicksilver, but there were also a lot of foreign names such as Elohna, Torh, Mahaue and John.
It wasn't always the cutie marks, either. Some had their names on their legs, sides, or sewn into shirts or skirts. One mare named Eve even had her name spelled out with her mane!
"Sh-should we be wearing our names too?" asked Fluttershy.
"Of course not," said Show. "The fact that we aren't makes us stand out."
"I rather think that that's what she meant," said Rarity.
Show sighed. "Look, Shy. I realize that you're as timid as your name implies, but we need word to get out that there are ponies traveling through Hivis. We don't necessarily want them to know exactly who you are yet, but the sooner they know that there are ponies here, the sooner word will reach Queen Milkweed." He stood as they finished the last of their meal. "Well, we'd better get going. Lots of ground to cover. Put it on my tab," he called to the waitress who had served them. "Show Stopper, greatest thespian in history." Several jaws dropped as changelings finally recognized him.
"Don't want them to know who we are, huh?" deadpanned Twilight.
Show grinned. "Who you are. I, however, should be recognized wherever I go."
They soon left the town and resumed their march north-west. Well, this will take forever, thought Show. I could handle this pace in the Everfree, but we need to move faster out here if we want to be back home... back in Equestria as soon as possible. But how to get them up to speed? He looked around at them and, his eyes falling on Applejack and Rainbow, he smirked.
"So Dash," he said, "I hear that you're the fastest flier in Equestria."
Several of the girls groaned as Rainbow puffed out her chest. "Of course!" she replied. "Nopony's ever beaten me in a race, and nopony ever will!"
Hook. "Really?" asked Show, raising an eyebrow. "Because the Crusaders told me about one Running of the Leaves where-"
"That doesn't count!" shouted Rainbow and Applejack.
Line. "Oh I know that coming in last didn't count, given the circumstances, but the fact remains that you still didn't beat Jack."
"We tied," Rainbow snapped. "And in a fair race we would have tied for first."
"Oh, no doubt," said Show. "I'm sure that the two of you were the fastest racers in Equestria at the time."
"What do you mean, 'at the time'?" demanded Applejack, glaring at Show.
"Well," said Show diplomatically, "it's just that you've both been gone for a decade. For the last seven years every soldier has been trained in strength, skill and speed. I just find it hard to believe that you two are still the fastest."
"Oh really?" said Rainbow, joining in on Applejack's glare. "And I suppose you think that you're faster than us?"
"Well I don't mean to brag," said Show, "but I did outrun the entire Utopian army to escape from them. I'm not the fastest by any means, but I'm probably up there in the ranks."
Rainbow jumped into the air and landed in front of Show, flaring her wings. "You want to test that?"
"I don't know," said Show, looking down and rubbing one leg against the other. "I wouldn't want to embarrass you two."
"Trust us," said Applejack. "It ain't going to be us that get embarrassed."
And sinker. "Girls, calm down," said Twilight. "This isn't a good idea."
"She's right," said Show, still avoiding eye contact. "We shouldn't exert ourselves too much out here. Besides, I'm not sure that readysetgo!"
--------***--------
By the end of the day, everypony but Pinkie was gasping for breath. Show, Applejack, Rainbow and Pinkie had led the herd, with Rarity keeping pace fairly well and Fluttershy taking wing a few times to catch up. Poor Twilight was left in the dust and had to keep teleporting all day just to keep everypony else in sight. They had stopped twice to graze, both times barely giving Twilight enough time to choke something down.
"So," said Rainbow once they'd all caught their breaths that night, "still think you can outrun us?"
"I will admit," said Show, "you two are better than I expected. Tell you what, we keep this pace up all the way to the Hub. A huge wall surrounds the City. As soon as we see it, we sprint. First to reach the wall wins the race. Deal?" He held out a hoof.
Rainbow and Applejack both nodded and tapped it. "Deal!"
The next three weeks passed in much the same way. They would wake up in the morning and stretch for a bit before they started running. They would stop three times to eat, and would occasionally dine or sleep in one of the small towns they passed. After a week Fluttershy no longer needed to fly, and after two Twilight could go an entire day without teleporting. They'd seen a number of changelings on the road after leaving Equestria Minor, and the numbers had just increased as they got closer to the Hub. They'd received many curious looks as they passed, but Show had been able to direct their attention onto him and away from the girls. Finally came the night when Show announced that they would reach the Hub the next day.
"If we keep up the same pace," he said, "we'll reach it by noon. That'll give us all afternoon and evening to meet up with some of my old friends."
"And you think they'll help us, Show?" asked Twilight. As they'd traveled and talked, the girls and Show had grown closer to each other, Show showing less and less of his old arrogance as they got closer and closer to the Hub.
"Definitely," he replied. "They took me in and gave me a chance less than a year after the invasion. A couple of them might be wary of you girls for a while, but they'll come around. We'll need to get you some disguises once you get into the city, though. Can't have The Six causing a panic just by walking down the street."
They shared a laugh before lying down for the night. Show looked up the road one more time before resting his head and closing his eyes. Home soon enough.
######
The unicorn stirred and awoke, slowly opening his eyes. Thirsty. That was really all that he had the energy to think. His throat felt like sandpaper as his stomach tried to devour him from the inside. He tried to speak, but all that came out was a course croak which led immediately into a coughing fit.
Suddenly, there was a cool glass against his lips and he felt water pouring into his mouth. He quickly swallowed the small trickle, painfully reaching up to tip the glass a little more. Sweet relief filled him as a shadow of vitality returned.
"Just a bit, now," came a motherly voice as the glass was removed. "Don't want your stomach to take more than it can handle right now."
The unicorn turned his head and his eyes slowly focused on the speaker, a light red unicorn mare with kind green eyes and a matching green mane. She held the glass in her magic beside her. "Don't worry," she said. "Your safe here. My name is Flee. What's yours?"
The unicorn stared at her for a few seconds before turning back to stare at the ceiling. "Bucking Tartarus," he muttered.
Flee raised an eyebrow. "You know, if you don't want to tell me you don't have to. You don't need to make up a name that ridiculous."
The unicorn chuckled, which quickly turned into more coughing. After another sip of water to calm him down, he tried speaking again. "Might as well be. It sure describes my situation perfectly. I spend two weeks nearly getting myself killed, only to wind up back with ponies. Figures i would get myself turned around in those Celestia forsaken woods."
Flee tilted her head to the side. "And who were you expecting instead of ponies?"
The unicorn scoffed. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you."
Flee just smirked. "Try me."
A moment passed in silence before... "I was trying to cross the Everfree to find the changeling nation."
"The changelings?" asked Flee. "You mean those creatures who invaded Canterlot last year? Why would you want to find them?"
The unicorn motioned to his flank. "Check the cutie mark. I aim to be the best, and only the changelings can help me do that. Fat lot of good they're going to do me if I can't even get to them, though. Stupid Everfree."
"I see," said Flee. "And how do you know you didn't make it?"
The unicorn rolled his eyes. "Because you're a pony," he said. "Nopony's been to changeling lands in years. If I'd made it there, than you'd be a..." He trailed off as his eyes went wide. He slowly turned to see Flee smirking at him. He swallowed nervously. "To be fair, I'm extremely dehydrated, and I'm pretty sure it's affecting my ability to think."
"Then let me spell it out for you." Green flame enveloped Flee's hooves and slowly rose up her body. Her red coat solidified into a black carapace, her legs and horn filled with holes, and a pair of gossamer wings sprouted from her back. Small fangs grew from her mouth and her eyes became solid orbs of blue. "Welcome to Hivis," she said, her voice a little higher but still holding that motherly tone. She levitated the glass over to him again. "Now, drink up. I think your stomach can handle more now."
After a few moments of shocked silence, the unicorn closed his eyes, furrowing his brow in concentration. A week brown glow enveloped the glass of water and floated it over to him. He quickly drained it and finally took a look around the room. It was a rather small room, barely enough space for the bed, a table and a couple of chairs. "Where am I?" he asked.
"An inn in Equestria Minor," said Flee, refilling the unicorn's glass. "This was the chief trading city between Hivis and Equestria before, well, before things got complicated."
The unicorn took the refilled glass and drained it again. He laid back in bed, staring at the ceiling in wonder. "So, I did it," he whispered. "I made it here." A grin split his face as he started to laugh. "Oh, yes! I made it! Take that, Shining Armor! Never make it through the Everfree? Wrong. Never find a changeling city? Wrong! Killed on sight if I do get here? Bucking wrong! Haha!"
Flee chuckled at the unicorn's antics. "It would seem that the idiot's invasion left the Captain with a bad impression."
"That's the understatement of the year," scoffed the unicorn. "He can't even look at a ladybug without shivering these days. Honestly, I don't know what Princess Cadence sees in- wait." He sat up and raised an eyebrow at Flee. "'The idiot's' invasion? Is that really how you refer to your queen?"
Flee hissed and spat to the side. "Our former queen," she said. "Her niece usurped her as soon as she came crawling back from Equestria without half of the lings she went in there with. Exiled her sorry hide faster than you could say, 'failed idiot'." She shook her head and looked back at the unicorn. "Sorry. It's just that one of my sons was swept up in her 'grand cause' and almost didn't make it back alive."
The unicorn winced. "Sorry about that."
Flee quickly waved him off. "Not your fault," she assured. "Noling blames you ponies for what happened, not even The Six. It was more than enough to see Chrysalis (may she rot in her carapace) kicked out of the country." She sighed and smiled at the uniocorn. "Trust me, noling is going to give you a hard time about that, Mr..."
The unicorn smiled and reached out a hoof to shake. "Stopper," he answered. "Show Stopper."